#what does he got to redempt himself for ??? he apologized to Will already

[bottomlessabyssposts]

"Mike as of now doesn't deserve Will", "Mike isn't good enough for Will", "Mike redemption arc!" BITES YOU BITES YOU BITES YOU

#mike wheeler #stranger things #STOP TALKING #you lost your mike wheeler privileges #i am gatekeeping him from you #acting like Mike is the villain you need to defeat when he's just a teenager #what does he got to redempt himself for ??? he apologized to Will already #Will FORGAVE him #pretty sure the topic of calls is gonna come back at some point bc Mike does deserve an apology too #he and El will talk for sure but !! all their issues isnt just his fault !! BITES YOU BITES YOU BITES YOU

[vampirzina]

Hello! May I pretty please request mk1 characters with a reader who is really tired and it's having some complications on her like having a harder time breathing or being dead tired?

tw: gn pronouns, sfw, mdni, alphabetical order, short hcs, illness and sleep disorders, injury

notes: anon! i hope you and anyone who feels like this get well if this has anything to do with what’s going on offscreen. i also didn’t know if you wanted specific characters or not so i did the entire roster. also apologize if it’s a little ooc. take care x

masterlist : divider credit

Ashrah paused her path to redemption to check on you. She’d ask you when you first shown signs if you were okay, but when you brushed her off she had no choice but to leave it be. She’d simply help you when you’d fell sick, until she knew you’d be okay. She wouldn’t further herself until she knew you’d come with her.

Baraka already worried constantly about giving you his disease if you weren’t already infected. So to him, your health was the utmost importance and seeing you well was a sign that he didn’t harm you. When it was reported that you’d fallen ill from the lack of sleep, he would help you as often as possible but take his frustration out on some of the colony for not looking after you when he can’t. He’d even ask Mileena if there is anything she could do to help you, or advice, but he’d rely mostly on what he knew.

Bi Han would have noticed something was up when you didn’t sleep when it came time to. He might not care too much at first when he sees you’re still functioning but that changes entirely when one of his subordinates told him that you were rushed to the infirmary because you felt like you were suffocating. He will know what’s wrong with you whether you tell him or not, and until you rest, you’ll be bedridden. If he can’t bring you things you ask for himself, he’ll get others (or his brothers) to do it for you… Except for cuddles/intimacy.

General Shao begins to worry on the inside when you start to get sick, but he keeps he’s tough exterior. He’ll investigate your current habits if he hasn’t already, and go to the best doctors in all of Outworld for help. When he gets to the bottom of it, don’t try to deny it—he notes your dark under eye. He knows what it’s like to be sick and it is not fun at all. He scolds you for not taking care of yourself, even a little offended that you’d do such a thing while with him. However, he relies on the doctors who he sends on order to report to him. You don’t get to leave until he thinks you’re okay, regardless of what the doctors say.

Geras doesn’t need sleep, but that doesn’t mean he is unaware of the importance of it. When you stay up with him to bond over the hourglass and timelines, it’s fun… At first. But when you keep doing it day after day and night after night, he hints at your depleted energy as of late. You may brush it off, but he looks into what this could mean for you. Ideally, he stops it one way or another before it could get worse.

Havik thinks it a major nuisance, and it mostly wouldn’t stop him in his endeavors. He doesn’t care for how you look. When you begin to have physical complications from your exhaustion, he lets it only so far thinking you’ve got it before he himself stops it. While he bounds you to the bed until you sleep, he’s out doing what he normally does best. He comes straight back to you, though, but don’t mention it at all to him. He doesn’t want something so tame like that exposed.

Johnny Cage would innocently comment on how you look the moment it started to show. It would start an argument from how agitated you’ve been lately, sure, but he says it’s out of concern (and love) for you. He gives you just about anything that could help you sleep. If you get ill from not being able to, he makes you see a doctor. Either that, or he “has some ideas that could tire you out”. You roll tired eyes, whatever that means.

Kenshi would also note your sullen look if he sees it [through sento], but much more cordially and obviously a lot more genuinely concerned. He doesn’t mind if he should stay home and cuddle to sleep at all, and it makes him a little sad when you turn him down. When you eventually get sick from your habits, he argues with you briefly as soon as you’re sentient again, but becomes your ultimate schedule reminder. You scared him half to death.

Kitana pulled you aside, even going as far as to get you excused you from your duties for a moment so that you could get some rest. When you fall ill from it she wants updates on your health even if you’re stagnant. She offers you certain herbal remedies to encourage sleep, and gets you a spa day so that you could look a little bit better than what you did before (and hopefully encourage you to sleep). News of your troubles don’t leave where you stay, and she’s discreet about it so you do not get embarrassed amongst your peers. Rumors are dispelled with the quickness.

Kuai Liang worries about you first, gets information second, and then makes a solution last. He listens to you talk about your problems sleeping when you eventually fall ill from the lack. He feels somewhat guilty for not checking on you as you are in his arms every night, but he feels that brainstorming with you and those who are experienced in health a plan that would help you recover is the best apology even though you remind him it’s not his fault. You’ll be required to rest, and he’ll make sure you do before he ever gets any sleep at all.

Kung Lao notices first and foremost when you start to deny rigorous activity with him. It’s only then does he realize how exhausted you look, and for once he gets serious and somewhat selfless. He fights off any of the ill feelings with medicine, all while getting you to do things not too strenuous on your body so that it gets you tired enough to sleep (even if it was just for a minute). He spends as much time needed until it goes away entirely, because he’s relentless like that and not the type to give up or leave you to it. And sometimes, when he’s trying to get you to sleep, he accidentally makes himself fall asleep.

Liu Kang already knows before it gets too late to find out, so it’s no use hiding it from him. He personally clears your schedule somehow, and if you want to work, you can’t. He’s upset with you because of how he found out you haven’t been sleeping, not because you haven’t been sleeping. He makes you prove that you are able-bodied enough to start moving around again when you insist that you can; he begins to check for you at night, having fixed a sleep schedule for you to follow. He complies if you need help sleeping again, and only leaves to return to the hourglass once you’re fast asleep.

Li Mei is the utmost level about it. After you get sick by it, she’s perfectly rehearsed and practiced, but doesn’t enjoy when others franticness starts to impede on her moves. Eventually, your comfort lie solely in her and her quarters instead of some royal infirmary or hospital. She accommodates for you, and covers for you if there are others checking for you elsewhere. She knows a thing or two about exhaustion, so she makes great efforts to help you sleep regularly from now on.

Mileena hardly leaves your side. When you collapse from your breathlessness, Princess!Mileena forgets that she’s not yet Empress. The stress does eventually get to her and it hikes up her symptoms of Tarkat, so once she bounces back from it, she immediately asks about you. She may pull away to engage in her royal duties, but she gets them done quickly and comes back to you as both Empress and Princess. She even bathes in some sort of relaxing herb so that when you both cuddle, you’ll be more prone to falling asleep.

Nitara scours her people’s remedies for a cure. It took her some time, but it doesn’t matter—it doesn’t really work anyway. You’re still tired and ill. As she searches for remedies she brings up the topic of being immortal; she doesn’t press if you deny. She asks a few of her more trusted coven members to look over you when she’s away, and she’s there in an instant when you so much so think of her.

Quan Chi is disappointed, but he helps anyway. He deals more in death and whatnot, but he knows a thing or two about the health of self. He does what he knows best, and if need be, he does great research before making a move. Whenever he feels annoyed from your stubbornness to sleep, that’s when he scolds you for being so reckless. But he wouldn’t let you go unattended.

Raiden chastises you all the way to the infirmary. You’d collapse mid-conversation, unable to breathe and now his hearts racing. When you end up okay, he wants to know what’s going on immediately. He tries not to be so upset with you, but he does everything in his power to help you. Herbal teas, medicine, gentle work over a span of hours—everything. He keeps using what he sees works best. He’s your alarm now and he forces you to sleep when he does; if he could stare at you until you fell asleep he would, but that’s counterproductive.

Rain gently taps you on the head with his staff when you look out of it. He gets annoyed when he’d have to keep doing it, and eventually confronts you. He gives you solid advice if he can’t do it himself, and he checks up on you very often. He feels a sense of shame and guilt from not being more concerned with you and more with his work, and for mindlessly hitting you in the head when you obviously weren’t feeling well. He’s unsure of how to make it up to you, but he’ll get it eventually if you don’t tell him.

Reiko acts as your personal guard already, and it’s only worsened when you can hardly function. One by one does he get some of his more insignificant duties off of him so that he has more time with you. If General Shao knows, he may offer some sort of help. Reiko sometimes makes himself late to duty so that he can take care of you, until he’s sure you’ll be fine on your own for an entire day. He sometimes comes back to you in the middle of duty, when things are boring and he can sneak away, and he helps you get as much sleep as possible from then on.

Shang Tsung makes a snide remark before casting some sort of spell on you to sleep. Before, he’d just made some sort of joke about how tired you look and smothers you with slightly sardonic pet names, but the total 180 when you couldn’t breathe could kill someone. It’s the most emotion he’s shown other than his usual in so so long, and once you’ve come to your senses he practically threatens you to get better. He’d help here and there, but your recovery is reduced to a side hustle over time.

Sindel first noticed when you became lackluster in your work. She confronted you firmly, and only backed off when you assured her that you could continue working. When she caught wind you had ended up in the medics hands, she focused on fixing you first before confronting you on your lie. She’d be hurt, at first, and she temporarily relieves you from your work. You’ll have your own private quarters if you haven’t already, and more luxury that she thinks will help you feel better. Even if you apologize, she’s already made up a reason why you did it and accepts that. However, you’re required to see her now.

Syzoth genuinely starts to act beside himself even at the first sign of complication. He searches all the land for remedies for your kind, and comes back to you to help heal you whether or not he’s successful. Outside of remedies he initiates naps, cuddles and everything nice that would get you to sleep. Deep purrs from his chest as a lullaby. He’s constantly monitoring you when you’re up and active, clinging to your side. When he thinks that you’ve been out for too long, he insists to go back to sleep some more.

Tanya covers for you before you even know. Your lack of sleep makes you overlook things, and she’s been trailing behind you and fixing your mishaps. She’s meant to confront you, and when you collapse before her unable to breathe it’s as if she already knows what to do. When you’re lying in her bed recovering from the incident, she tells you what she’s going to do—it’s not an open ended choice.

Tomas Vrbada is far too observant. He may be busy with Hanzo, but that doesn’t mean he can’t check for you. He pesters you as you get tireder and tireder each day, and eventually catches you up and not sleeping. It sprouts the conversation of your sleeping habits and he’s overall sympathetic to your guilt. He doesn’t let it get to the point of you being sick; and if for some reason it does, he’s already right there to help you (even if his heart is going a million miles an hour). He begins to stop working later so that you eat, sleep and do routines on time.

@𝐕𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐙𝐈𝐍𝐀೨

info

#mortal kombat x reader #bi han x reader #baraka x reader #general shao x reader #geras x reader #havik x reader #johnny cage x reader #kitana x reader #kung lao x reader #liu kang x reader #mileena x reader #raiden x reader #reiko x reader #shang tsung x reader #syzoth x reader #tomas vrbada x reader #vampirzina #kenshi takahashi x reader

[glade-constellation]

It’s kind of funny to see the literal divide of the TSAMS fandom over Eclipse’s return. His return was something I’ve kind of predicted was going to happen, but wasn’t holding out much hope on. I’m super happy that he’s back, but scared about what TSAMS might do with his character. I don’t want to see him just, reused for the same things and then killed off again.

Like, I’m really hoping TSAMS upholds the redemption arc for Eclipse that they teased over on LAES right after his death. Even if he just becomes a neutral party or plays a sort of anti-hero role, I want him to get his chance at redemption.

A friend and I were just talking about the dynamic between Lunar and Eclipse if Eclipse ever apologized or tried to redeem himself to Lunar’s standard. This would be so interesting to watch. Because Lunar would not accept the apology. That much is clear. He hates Eclipse and has stated so several times. Lunar would down right refuse the apology (which he has every right to do). It would take a lot of work on Eclipse part, work Lunar would need to visually watch him do and/or see the consequences of, in order for Lunar to accept the apology. I would absolutely love to see Eclipse struggling to heal himself, constantly pushing forward and then backsliding for whatever reason. I need to see him fight to be better even when he feels he doesn’t want to be better.

Not to mention his and Sun’s dynamic. Sun does not like Eclipse, and is probably the most fearful of Eclipse besides Lunar. But at the same time, I feel like Sun might be the best way to getting Eclipse through a redemption arc. This is mostly personal feelings and speculation, but Eclipse and Sun have always had this really weird dynamic that was super interesting to watch. Sun hates Eclipse and had even tried to kill him himself at one point, but he also oddly seems to be the most sympathetic towards Eclipse. With Sun’s mental state where it is right now, and how he handled the whole Foxy and Monty situation recently, I think there might be a shot at Sun having the most logical reactions towards Eclipse right now. He’s unhinged but sympathetic enough to listen to his most hated enemy. They still both hate each other, but it’s kind of like the stereotype where the villain is the only one allowed to bully the hero. That relationship dynamic between those two would be hilarious to watch in my opinion.

With the way TSAMS has been handling things, a redemption isn’t going to happen. But I’m hoping.

Because I wholeheartedly don’t agree with “not everyone can be saved”. There were so many moments Eclipse could have been helped, had anyone actually known how to help him. Earth was probably the closest we ever got to that kind of character, but she had already pretty much sided with Sun and Moon by the time she had her therapy talk with Eclipse.

#🌟 Ten Talks #tsams #sams #the sun and moon show #sun and moon show #tsams eclipse

[miraculouscriticismshub]

Why Gabriel doesn’t deserve a redemption - the Hypocrisy of the Writers - Miraculous Season 5 Finale spoilers Ahead.

If you have seen the finale then you already know what happens to Gabriel . He dies but gets remembered as a hero and his reputation was unscratched. The writers have the audacity to say a teenage girl will never become a better person because her actions are unforgivable but they go ahead and redeem Gabriel Agreste - a literal terrorist and abuser - who has done a lot worse. This post will explain why Gabriel doesn’t deserve a redemption arc and how his character feels ruined. 

Part 1 - Gabriels crimes and why the writers think they are justifiable. Triggers of Child abuse and terrorism

This man has committed atrocious crimes of which the most obvious was child abuse. Mainly towards Adrien. The writers think due to Gabe losing his wife - it is justified why he neglects Adrien - it is a sign of grief. That he spends every day terrorizing Paris because he wants Emelie back to complete Adrien's family. They say he does all he does because he cares about his son. While this was the case during seasons 1-4 , his character changes in season 5. He no longer does it for Emily and Adrien but for power. He abuses Adrien even more this season by trapping him in a room and separating him from Marinette.

However his Character is ruined in the season 5 finale. He wishes Emily and Natalie to live and pleads with Marinette to make sure Adrien remembers him as a good father. That's not her burden to carry or her responsibility . Gabriel had the audacity to ask the girl he traumatised to keep every crime he has committed a secret from his own son ! Despite everything Gabriel has done to Marinette - she finds out he was Hawkmoth - she still forgives him and helps build a statue of Gabe in his honor. The writers think Gabriel deserves redemption because he did show remorse for what he did to Adrien and cried when he watched Emilie's tapes.  But Adrien wasn’t his only victim and child abuse wasn’t his only crime. Gabriel never showed remorse for what he put Marinette through (he knows she's a ladybug .) He never apologized for separating her from Adrien or for the trauma he inflicted on her as Ladybug. Even when Ladybug gave her a chance , he blew it by paralyzing her. 

He is also an international terrorist who primarily targets children. He threatened to kill Alya’s family and murdered many Parisians in Strike Back but still gets remembered as a hero. Even in the final fight , he says he doesn’t care about the innocent victims he hurted. He never felt bad about what he did. It gives kids a bad message. While I think Gabe dying in Emily's place isn’t a bad idea , the fact that Gabriel gets away with his crimes and is celebrated as a savior is disgusting. At the very least , he shouldn’t be presented as a good man and should be remembered as the villain and a terrorist. It’s a slap in the face for all his victims. The fact that all of Gabriel's other crimes are forgiven just because he felt remorse for one is sickening.

Especially in Season 5 , where the writer makes Gabe to be sympathetic by having his relationship with Emelie mirrors Adrienette’s relationship because he and Marinette both came from humble backgrounds. That's why the writers think Gabe is redeemable ,  because he and Marinette are similar and both care for Adrien. The fact he basically got what he wanted and is being remembered as a savior is so unfair to Marinette and Adrien. Sure he died , but Emelie came back or he reunited with her (depending if you think it was Amelie or Emelie). Therefore , Gabe doesn’t deserve redemption because he never proved himself or felt remorse for most of his crimes. He manipulated Marinette till the very end into thinking he was a good person when in reality , he doesn't care about anyone except for himself , Adrien , Natalie and Emelie.

Part 2 - Obvious hypocrisy

It is no secret that Thomas dislikes Chloe. However in Season 5 he has taken his hate for her way too far that he sacrificed good writing to bash her character and hurt her fans.  He repeatedly says on his twitter Chloe will never become a better person because she is a bully and has done too many unforgivable acts. Surprisingly , in season 5 episode 26 , they go ahead and redeem Gabriel - a terrorist , child abuser , groomer and manipulator - who has arguably done so much worse. I don’t mind if the writers don’t give Chloe a redemption arc , not all characters need a redemption but it feels hypocritical saying a teenage bully is irredeemable but an adult terrorist is sympathetic. Especially of how rushed and badly written Gabriel's redemption arc is.

So when Chloe does something evil , the writers say she in irredeemable and deserves every bit of Karma but when Gabriel does something worse , the writers justify what he has done because of his sympathetic motive and give him a redemption story. This disgusts me because it is shown time and time again that Gabriel likes to use Chloe in his heinous plans. Three episodes ago Gabriel was manipulating and grooming Chloe into joining his side. Gabriel is partly to blame for Chloe's worst crimes , he enabled her and put the ideas in her head. But the writers act like Chloe is more in the wrong than Gabriel when he is clearly more guilty than she is !! They act like it is OK for Gabriel to manipulate and akumatize Chloe because it's for the sake of getting his wife back. Chloe is not a good person , but it is unfair how she is the only character to face consequences when Characters worse than her are getting rewarded and receive happy endings !! Chloe is disowned by her father and sent to live with her abuser while Gabriel reunites with Emelie (depending on which sister you think it was at the pool party) and is celebrated as a saviour. Gabriel being more moral in the eyes of the writers than a misguided teenager - who also is one of his main victims - is sickening.  Therefore Gabriel redemption isn’t deserved because it shows the double standards the writers have for Chloe. 

To conclude - Gabriel's character in the Season 5 finale is basically ruined. Gabriel receiving a redemption is an example of bad writing and feels rushed. He only felt remorse for what he did to Adrien but never felt bad for terrorizing Paris or using Chloe. He never apologized to Marinette for separating her from Adrien or for other crimes he did. His redemption feels Hypocritical compared to the character of Chloe - who was one of Gabriel's main targets. Hopefully in season 6 , Adrien finds out about what happened and Paris receives the justice they deserve. However if you like what they did with his character , that is perfectly fine . I’m not saying you are not allowed to dislike Gabriel. This is just my opinion . Feel free to disagree :) . Please stay respectful.

#miraculous ladybug #mlb #mlb salt #mlb writers salt #gabriel salt #chloe is also bad #chloe deserves better #chloe bourgeois #gabriel agreste #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #adrien deserves better #marinette deserves better #astruc salt #thomas astruc #astruc #hypocrisy #double standards #abusers are rewarded #victims are punished #miraculous season 5 finale #miraculous season 5 #mlb season 5 spoilers

[the-unconquered-queen]

With Blades 2 coming to an end, I just wanna get it off my chest that I'm really not a fan of how they wrote Nia for a great part of this one, particularly vis-à-vis the way they wrote MC. I know I've been saying some stuff along those lines for ages now, but it hasn't left my mind so now I'm gonna actually get into it.

For starters, I think a lot of the issue with Nia's writing was captured pretty well in the tags of this post, particularly on point 2. Like I've said, Nia unfortunately falls into the category of a Mary Sue in that every "flaw" she's given just serves to elevate her to perfection. Hell, even when corrupted—when a person is supposed to be in their most volatile state—the worst she does is be snarky that first chapter (she is aggressive toward MC at one point before this, but it's neither acknowledged nor repeated later). After that, she is entirely normal, just not as much of a pushover, and while I much preferred shadow!Nia, I do think that this really undermines the whole gravity of corruption and b2's emphasis on shadow-light balance, since shadow!Nia comes off as quite balanced already, especially compared to other corrupted characters we've seen.

But here's the thing, that post that got me thinking is months old, and we have gotten more story since then, and what I have noticed is that Nia does, in fact, have one real flaw in canon, but it's the one flaw she's absolutely not meant to have: Nia in canon can at times come off as self-absorbed. She either makes things about herself or doesn't stop people from doing this, and there are multiple examples of it. There is the instance in Riverbend when MC is taking a moment to finally try to process Kade's capture (which, following their own capture, they never got the chance to process) and Nia derails the conversation and makes it about her own grief and is comforted by MC and Mal. Another example is the moment on Gerhard's ship when she vents about the pressure she's been under and lets MC comfort her without at any point considering that MC might have been under similar pressure.

And don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a character putting themselves first. But when the book doesn't waste a single chance to tell us that Nia's character is the complete opposite and that she is chronically incapable of not being considerate 25/8, it's quite contradictory. I mean, you can even call out Ethan Ramsey, PB's golden boy, on making things about himself at some point in OH, but because, unlike Ethan, Nia is written for you to consider her super sweet and wholesome and perfect, the Blades MC actually contributes to this by performing mental gymnastics to turn something around to be about Nia.

Which brings me to my final point: Blades 2 pushed MC to the side to revolve around Nia, but MC is exactly the person they meant for Nia to be, by virtue of the dissonance between showing and telling. They tell you that Nia is selfless because she always puts everyone else first. Well, I can and did name examples showing the contrary, meanwhile, MC is the one who was been through the most traumatic ordeal and is constantly checking in on everyone else without expecting and without receiving much of the same courtesy in return, even apologizing to Nia because she was "carrying all that weight on her own", never mind that MC always has the weight of the world on their shoulders. They tell you that Nia is the heart of the party, but they both told and showed us that everything fell apart without MC.

Even some of Nia's most defining character traits, MC has in similar measure. Nia sees the best in everyone? MC can be the #1 believer in Aerin's redemption after all the shit he pulled. Nia is trusting to the point of naivete? MC literally trusted Valax while she outright told them at every turn she would turn on them at the first opportunity, and was genuinely hurt by the betrayal. Miss me with MC calling Nia "our better self".

Every trait that they've gone out of their way to tell you Nia has they've shown twofold in MC, which is why it's so exasperating to me that they reduced MC to the conduct through which other characters' (particularly Nia's) stories get told while their own is an afterthought. I am by no means saying that two people can't have similar traits or that two people can't be good people at the same time, but there is something about praising these traits in Nia when, based on these, MC should be held to a similar standard. Instead, they relegated MC (main. character.) to a supporting character in Nia's story, elevating every trait that MC possesses only in Nia while ignoring them in MC to the point that many scenes felt frustrating to play.

#it's not that she's a bad character but I do resent making her the protagonist of b2 at the expense of MC #I really hope MC gets their flowers in b3 and the chance to really be in the spotlight because this aspect of b2 was not it #I do like that she had the whole light v shadow thing going on and got to be super powerful and I think her arc was overall good though #it's just those other things that bug me

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

so i just found some old interviews of spop, especially ones after the finale, and i just wanted to dissect some of the interesting parts:

the crew themselves keep reinforcing the idea that only catra saw adora for who she is, when the show itself says otherwise multiple times. catra, who mocked adora for never being a true hero, who kept hurting adora because she resented her for being she-ra, who kept saying that adora has a hero complex and that she is full of herself. that catra “motivated and inspired” adora?

“i wanted their romance to be the central arc”

this explains everything. the fact that they took an existing show with an intriguing fantasy world and so much potential and then reduced it to “cute lesbians kiss haha”. if you're gonna write a show about romance, do that. you don't have to butcher an already existing series for that.

“it reveals how that arc has been built”

what arc? is the arc we're talking about in the same room as us? because from what i can see, they put in zero effort to make c//a's development even halfway coherent. catgirl tortures hero for four seasons, gets saved by said hero and joins the good guys, continues torturing hero. how is that an arc?

so.. they have the right idea here. catra and adora did indeed need to take their time away from each other and deal with their problems. but did they? adora came close to building her self-esteem and realizing that she didn't have to take responsibility for everything around her. but then all that was reversed in s5 when she was forced into a relationship with the same person who ruined her sense of self-worth in the first place.

catra.. doesn't even try. the closest she got to moving on from her past was during her time in the crimson waste but then she ends up spiralling even deeper into toxicity, adding more and more into her list of crimes. in s5, she is shown to reflect on her relationship with adora but does she learn anything from it? nope. she continues abusing and berating adora, she continues giving adora mixed signals and relying on adora to do all the work in the relationship.

so the crew seemingly had the right idea (although i'd say they still shouldn't get into a relationship, even after they've worked on their issues) but never followed through. instead they gave us a lazy and rushed redemption, where the wrongdoer never works on their flaws and instead puts all the blame on their partner. amazing.

so nate himself admits that not all of catra's actions were justified. but then, why does the show try to justify them? why does the show justify catra abusing adora by implying that it's because adora abandoned her? why does the show justify all of catra's toxic and abusive behaviour by blaming it solely on shadow weaver? if catra's actions cannot be justified, the narrative should keep her accountable, which they don't.

secondly, i'll try not to assume the worst of nate's personality from what he said, and just get to the important part.

“It's other people's decision to forgive you, that's not a given, but also there are ways for you to fix what's broken. You have to work hard to prove yourself again, you have to actually actively fix what's done, it's not as simple as a sacrifice.”

i'm so confused. the way nate says it, you'd think he applied all of this to catra's arc. but he didn't. “it's not as simple as a sacrifice” but a sacrifice was all it took for catra to be forgiven by her victims. she doesn't work on herself, her apologies were shallow, and she continues repeating the same mistakes. “it's other people's decision to forgive you” yet every single character forgives catra immediately and none of them are allowed to stay mad at her.

how could you write such a bad redemption and then talk about it as if it had all the details and nuance it was lacking? again, when speaking, nate seems to have the right idea of how to write a redemption arc. why did they fumble so badly when it came to actually executing it in the story? the only answer i can think of is that none of the writers in the crew are good at writing.

#spop critical #spop #spop salt #spop criticism #spop discourse #she ra #anti catradora #anti catra #anti c//a #anti spop #antic//a #anticatra #anticatradora

[brigdh]

I was thinking about Izzy as a father figure, and his apology during his death scene, and trying to make it all make sense, and I've got a theory.

I think, perhaps, Jenkins wanted Izzy to symbolize the Good Father, in contrast to Ed's Bad Fathers (his actual dad and Hornigold).

Jenkins's exact quotes: “There is a nice parallel to have Ed treat him so badly at the beginning of the season and then come all the way around to where Izzy is this sort of father figure he doesn’t want to lose — because Ed usually kills his father figures.” And from another interview: "And he’s one person who kind of raised Ed right, because Blackbeard usually kills his parental figures." (Check this incredibly useful post compiling all of Jenkins's interviews.)

I think Izzy wasn't meant to parallel Ed's Bad Fathers, but to be their opposite. Ed kills his Bad Fathers (I don't think there's a suggestion that he killed Hornigold in reality, but we see him try to in the Gravy Basket); in opposition, his attempt to kill Izzy fails and then he tries to prevent Izzy's death and mourns when he can't. Ed's Bad Fathers abuse him and force him to be violent and hard; Izzy (over the course of S2) comes to support him, his retirement, and his relationship with Stede. Ed's Bad Fathers would never apologize to him – but Izzy does, and that's what's going on with his dying speech. Moreso than being about Izzy's own actions, Jenkins wanted to symbolize Ed's dad and Hornigold apologizing for the trauma they caused ("I fed your darkness"), and that's what Ed actually needs to heal and move on (well, he does in a sitcom-level understanding of psychology). Izzy's death, then, is a redemption not particularly of himself, but of Ed's whole category of Fathers.

This still isn't really fair to Izzy as a separate character – after all, he's not Ed's dad or Hornigold, he's possibly never even met either of them – and he doesn't function as a father figure to Ed in S1 or most of S2. Ed's his boss, his partner, but not remotely, not even symbolically, his child. We don't know exactly how young Izzy and Ed were when they first met, but it seems likely that Ed already had all of his foundational, self-shaping traumas by that point. Ed already needed the mask and protection of Blackbeard, even if perhaps Izzy had a hand in figuring out how to bring it into existence.

But, if you're Jenkins (or one of the other writers or directors involved, whoever came up with this plot), and you feel like you need to fix Ed's youthful traumas to have him believably move forward to the next chapter of the story, I can see how you'd want a story beat that's the opposite of Ed's core wound – not the Bad Father he kills thereby hurting himself, but the Good Father who dies thereby healing him. And who else could you remotely stuff into that role? Like, Izzy's not a good fit, but anyone else would be even worse. The fact that Izzy did have a good relationship with Ed in the past, that they did like one another once, and that Izzy spends S2 becoming even more open and encouraging is all necessary to make the distinction between Izzy and the Bad Fathers, to make Izzy the one who finally breaks the pattern.

...which still, like, kinda sucks as a plot point? But I think this might have been what Jenkins et al where at least going for.

#ofmd critical #ofmd meta #our flag means death #izzy hands #ofmd s2

[sonoraswinds]

this is exactly what my face looks like when you say Nathan did nothing wrong, bitches you better be joking, his words in voicemail MEAN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for the actions of the adult young intelligent man who kidnapped, drugged, harassed, strangled, s€xually assaulted and, i bet my ass, r@ped young women, this is a total insanity when people saying ”ahh poor boy! dad abused him! he's a victim”, umm, Ted Bundy was abused, Columbiners were abused, all serial killers and r@pists were abused, you can name it, POOR DUDES, Nathan's past does not minimize his responsibility, he's brutal, he has no limits, he's spoiled and cruel, that ain't something like punching your buzzed mate in face, stealing a can of beer from the store or being rude to teachers, when u could have said ”yeah, he's hostile, he's difficult, he has parent issues, but it's not too late”. yeah, I can already hear your protests ”no missy! he was used! it’s not his fault! sure he did bad things but he knows it was a mistake,” save your fucking breath, okay? those things he did, drugging and kidnapping women. that’s not an “oopsie” 🤭, that’s not a “well I messed up but I’ll say sorry and make it better”. this is an inescapable fact about Nathan Joshua Prescott you beloved: he drugged, kidnapped and s€xually assaulted young women. he got them straight to Jefferson and god only knows what Mark actually did to them. nobody! i'll say it again NOBODY pushed him into doing these gruesome atrocities. he did it himself because he wanted to. because lives of these girls mean zero shit for this man. remember that fucking nonchalant tone of ”i'm kinda devastated right now” in Principal Wells' office after Kate's suicide attempt/death. like he's giving a flying fuck...😎

the second Prescott decided it was okay to steal the autonomy of women, to hurt them, to traumatize them for life, he became a fucking devil

OK?

Nathan takes serious antipsychotics? So do millions of people. His meds don't help him? MAYBE BECAUSE HE always MIXES it with ALCOHOL AND DRUGS? hm, dunno. I take ssris, but i don't fucking drink because i'm fucking scared shit of overdosing or a sudden cardiac arrest. you crazy ass if you blame all of this on Jefferson's manipulative behavior, Prescott always knew what he was doing, he has never had an empathy for others

you'll say ”HEY CHIC he has never r@ped girls nobody mentioned that” but dudes🙏🏼 FACE the fucking truth. Prescott is a pure evil, everything he did was about having control over something, he enjoys it, this is the power he has never had before, he knows he is untouchable, he uses this advantage all the time through the game. i'm so scared of people saying this voicemail is a fucking redemption arc for Nate. y'all should apologize to Jesus Christ, i mean it

”i didn't wanna hurt Kate, or Rachel” blah blah, YES, YOU DID, this is exactly what you did, and you fucking knew about consequences, you knew all of your actions traumatized them, you're not dumb, not littlesillycinnamonroll, you're just a real predator. this is unforgivable, and irl y'all would NEVER think about justifying such crimes

#life is strange #nathan prescott #go touch some grass #rachel amber #kate marsh #max caulfield #chloe price #warren graham #mark jefferson

[kheta]

Todoroki Trauma Rant

The thing is. Fuyumi and Touya are the only ones who had an existence in which Enji cared for his kids. As much as Dabi angsts about Shouto replacing him, Enji never replaced Touya. Neglected him, failed to listen or understand him? Yeah, 100%. But Shouto never received any of the love that Touya and Fuyumi did and this is why their reaction to the abuse that the siblings suffered through are so different to Natsuo and Shouto's.

Like Natsuo does not believe, trust or care for Endeavour's redemption. He might have heard stories and caught glimpses of Enji being something of a father, but Enji has never been Natsuo's dad. So he's angry and upset, but he's not wanting anything from Endeavour. He wants him to leave, he doesn't believe any of the apology bullshit. Because seeing those old happy memories, believing in that opportunity? That has only ever hurt Natsuo, so he elects to stop caring at all.

And Shouto, he wants to believe in the possibility of a dad. But he doesn't. He can't trust it, because he's never had one and all Enji has given him is trauma.

Touya and Fuyumi got all that trauma and the added benefits of seeing their dad turn into their abuser.

So Dabi doesn't forgive his father and he shatters, because his father once loved him. Once was his hero and inspiration and the only person he connected to. Once upon a time Touya looked at his dad and thought, I want to be like him. And then, I want to make him proud. He was Enji's world and he knew it. Which is why he felt so fucked up over Enji ditching him. Because this isn't Dabi being like Shouto and thinking somewhere in there is a good dad. This is Touya knowing that once Enji loved him like a dad should and now, he gets absolutely nothing but disappointment from his dad. A lot of his anger is rooted in the fact that once upon a time, he thought his dad was a good person and instead of proving him right, Endeavour gave up. Walked away from the broken mess of his son and showed him that heroes aren't real. And the only lessons he had learnt from his father were burnt and stained in disappointment. So he rages and burns and shows the world what that disappointment has made of him.

And Fuyumi holds onto the curls of hope that she once knew. Clings to the possibility of a dad and a happy family, because once upon a time she had that. And things might be bad now, but hey were once good. And they can be fixed and good again, can't they??? Because Fuyumi needs to fix things. Because Fuyumi was raised with love, however fleeting it was. So she needs to believe in the chance for change, even if she keeps getting burnt. Because if she doesn’t stay. If she doesn’t fix this, who will? Her traumatised mother or her dead older brother? Who will look after her younger brothers if not her?

For her, it would hurt more to give up on her dad, to believe he is irredeemable, because that means that the love he once showed her, the care and patience Enji once had? None of that was real. It means she isn't just learning that her dad is her abuser, she's learning that all the examples she had for love growing up is wrong. It's pretty simple for her to accept her dad's fucked up but he can get better; she cannot accept that her dad fucked up and nothing he can do will change the shit he's already fucked up. He can't change the past. He might be able to be a better dad going forward, but she wants to pretend that she can just like–blank out the years he was an asshole. As if she can flip the script and live in a time where there was no before or after abuse. Both of them are still stuck in their trauma, Fuyumi actively keeping herself in her trauma cycle, unwilling to really process how bad things got, keeping herself stuck in a pretty hopeless cycle of hurt feelings when they can't just turn back the clock. And Dabi poking at his trauma like an unhealed wound, understanding how bad their (his especially) trauma with Endeavour is but not allowing himself to process the past beyond stewing in his own rage. Neither are processing it, are healing from it. Both are stuck there and it fucking rots them. Shouto and Natsuo, while still affected by their own trauma with their family, have created conditions in which they can heal and grow from it. Natsuo cuts off his abuser (as much as you can while still depending on them for basic survival needs anyways) and lives in his own way regardless of his dads expectations. Shouto offers the chance for Endeavour to change, but has started to actively puts his own feelings, comfort and physical safety first. Because as much as all the Todoroki siblings grew up experiencing the same cycle of violence, the lessons they learned because of it and how they cope with it are vastly different. Idk man, so very many feelings on this topic.

#todoroki trauma #todoroki touya #todoroki fuyumi #todoroki natsuo #todoroki shoto #todoroki enji #tw: abuse #my hero academia #rant

[hawthorneandheartstrings]

Okay so I saw some stuff, and I just wanna clarify, so here comes another ramble. Under the cut bc this is probably gonna be an essay or something.

I ship people, and most often it's enemies to lovers. Think Reylo, Dramione, Darklina, etc. Why do I ship them? It depends on each pairing, and each dynamic and I won't get into all of that right here, right now.

I just wanted to talk about Dramione. I know that there may be people who like it bc they like Tom Felton or whatever, and that's fine. But there are also those of us who actually love the ship because we love Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger. And people definitely have different opinions, which they are allowed to have. My opinion? I was really surprised by this ship at first. Like I didn't realize it was a thing, bc well, he bullied her in school.

But then I got to thinking and reading some fics in which there was character growth, there were apologies, there was repentance, etc. As in, I really love those fics in which Draco is very much bit of an asshole, arrogant Draco but then he does some reflection, realizes he maybe shouldn't have treated Hermione that way, and wants to make amends. That's how I write my Draco in Tenebrae and other fics you'll see. I personally like a Draco who is redeemed, not just from his being a Death Eater, but redeemed in the eyes of Hermione. And that redemption requires working for it.

So basically, I'm saying I like Dramione because it's definitely a real enemies to lovers ship. Like there was animosity and then something happened and they discovered love (either one was in love first and then the other fell or both have feelings and deny them etc) I like those fics like Remain Nameless, DMATMOOBIL, Heavy Lies the Crown, in which Draco is still himself, but he's developing or already has these feelings for her, and because of that, he wants to show her that he's not the boy he once was.

There is depth there, not just smut. Don't get me wrong, smut is a thing, and if it's not my thing, it's not. But what I'm saying, is I like relationships in fics to have this depth of growth between the characters, and not an abrupt sudden change from "Filthy little Mudblood!" To "I adore you, my love". No, there needs to be build, and I personally believe between Draco and Hermione, there needs to be some action, some gesture, some things talked about before they can just be a thing.

I don't know if this made any sense, but it's a rough idea of how I feel about Dramione.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk haha, and if you want to keep up with my Dramione thoughts and fics, stick around and follow me here.

If by chance, you are interested in the Fantastic Beasts fandom or Eddie Redmayne, you can follow me here -> inastarlesssky

#Dramione #Draco Malfoy #Hermione granger #Ella is rambling again #My ramblings #This is just how I feel about them

[planetplutoxe]

After seeing so many people comment on the way discduo ended i feel the need to take this into a psychology and criminology perspective.

A common complaint I saw was that Tommy was the one who apologized when dream and punz should have been punished in order to have a better message about abuse.

The thing is, Dream had been punished multiple times throughout the story for his actions. So has Tommy. Dream went to jail, Tommy went to exile. Tommy got isolated and tortured mentally which Dream thought was deserved for his actions. Dream got locked up for a year and tortured physically which Quackity and Sam thought was deserved. A common theme between Tommy, Dream and even real life is that punishment often does not equal reform. Tommy continued to try and create nations, continued to break the rules, continued to put the discs first no matter what Dream did. Whether it was when he got banned or when he got exiled. Dream follows this same pattern. His friends left him because of his manipulative and destructive actions and plans. The whole server teamed up against him to throw him in prison. After all that, despite his goal always wanting to not be alone, he continues to go after Tommy, Sapnap, Sam and Quackity with the same manipulative mannerisms. Which effectively kept on driving himself further and further away from redemption. In real life the likelihood of prisoners to do crime again after being released is insanely high. Especially in regions like the US where the prison system focuses more on incarceration than rehabilitation.

Of course punishment is still an essential way of holding people accountable and setting a point on what is and is not ok. However punishment has already pretty much been the only solution for everything in the whole story of the server. In the forms of revenge, isolation and war.

A main trend I see with c!dream (which also applies in real life as well) is he continues to do bad things because everyone refuses to see him as more than a villain. This is obviously deserved from some characters but even new people who barely know dream are quick to antagonize him.

I honestly think the way it ended was very well done and kind of refreshing. I do feel like it’s also important for me to point out that obviously Tommy didn’t have to be the one to apologize to Dream. But i think the fact he did shows so much growth. For his character and for their relationship. C!Tommy is typically painted as a naive and stubborn child but him taking the step to try and end things with Dream properly gains a lot of respect from me.

It’s seen that rehabilitation already starts to work. It catches Tommy so off guard because he realizes no one in the server has tried just talking to each other before. Obviously Dream is still skeptical but lowers down his guard for the first time ever with Tommy. The first time they made actual healthy progress is when Tommy finally decided to stop poking because Dream will always poke back.

Instead of continuing to poke and elevate each other out of spite, they found their commonality. That they both at the end of it are simple people who are tired and want to go back to the time where they could be happy with their friends. This realization is too late but provides maturity and closure to the end of their conflict. They ended their cycle of self destruction with collateral damage to the whole server ironically by doing that one last time.

#dream smp #dsmp season 2 #dsmp finale #dsmp lore #dreblr #c!tommy #c!dream #dreamwastaken #tommyinnit #discduo #xe once again overanalyzing story from block game

[adickaboutspoons]

The Curse of "The Curse of the Seafaring Life"

So now that I've had some time to come down from the euphoria of watching two middle-aged men kissing in the moonlight, I've got to admit episode 5 is... bad. Like the kiss is divine and perfect and I love it with all my heart and soul, but the rest of it doesn't make a lick of sense, within the context of what we've seen this season, or within the themes of the show as a whole. And it's not just a matter of inserting a couple of lines of dialogue to fix it as with episode 4. To me, it requires a full tear-down to the very studs.

I understand that for future plot purposes implied by the trailers, it will become important that Stede knows how to do fighty pirate-y stuff, but the way they get there challenges credulity. Stede states that he "hasn't really felt [that he is the captain]" since they got back on the ship. But... why? He's called and led at least two all-hands meetings in the past two episodes (letting the crew know Ed was not dead after all, and mediating the non-pology sesh), collected votes for the decision to exile Ed (and stayed with the crew rather than going with Ed, even though finding Ed was, like, supposedly his entire motivation, god that still makes me so angry writers I am in your walls!), and convinced the crew to, at least temporarily, let Ed be un-banished. No one is challenging him for his position. No one is questioning his authority. No one is being insubordinate or any less respectful to him than they generally are, considering he encourages open and honest dialogue (which sometimes invites less-than-respectful expressions of ideas with this crew.) No one is even suggesting that his feelings for Ed might negatively impact his objectivity or his ability to perform his captainly duties. For heaven's sake, half of the crew (eventually) followed him in applauding Ed's feeble scrabble at an apology. And quite aside from all that - how many times, exactly, does he need to prove himself? He JUST orchestrated a successful escape plan using fucking TOWELS. He's ALREADY captain material! So why would he have that less-than-captain feeling?

And the only thing that I can think of is that they needed to get him to train with Izzy somehow (why did it have to be Izzy, though? More on that in a moment). So how to get him there? Well, Izzy's mean, right? So maybe Stede needs to think that he needs to get mean, so he'll go to be trained at the foot of the master. But why would Stede suddenly think he needs to be mean? Especially considering how delighted he was when Yi Sao clocked his energy as soft? Well, maybe Ed tells him the way to Feel More Captain-y is to be more assertive.

But as much as Ed-in-a-collar asking Stede to order him around is going to find a forever home in my fanfic plotbunny document, that just... doesn't make any sense. Ed LOVES that Stede is out here doing things completely different from anyone else. One of the main theses of the show is that Stede's people-positive management style is CORRECT, actually, and another is that living life as your authentic self is more important than duty or obligation. Stede needing to "butch up" to be a proper captain runs antithetical to both those ideas AND to the established dynamic between Ed and Stede. Honestly, it reads a lot more like validation of Stede's insecurities about not being enough for Ed, and that whole dream sequence that opened the season. Which would be fine if Stede was going through an arc where he thinks he needs to be more manly and learns in the end that he's fine just the way he is, but that doesn't seem to be the case? As such, it's frankly pure contrivance, and just sloppy writing.

So taking out that pin about training with Izzy. I'm gonna be real, this feels like pure fanservice to me, and I'm not just talking about Con O'Neil's magnificently sculpted tits. Izzy's "redemption arc" (and, yes, I'm putting it in scare quotes) feels completely unearned to me. What - he's absolved in his suffering? Even though we've seen not one hint of remorse for what he's done to others (only for how the repercussions of his actions actually impacted him)? Not even the barest scrap of a non-pology? Then Why Isn't Ed? Ed who has suffered too. Ed who was so fucked up he made MORE THAN ONE attempts at suicide by proxy in episode 2? Ed who keeps getting kicked when he's already down and NOT extended the same sympathy and understanding from the crew? It's a real bad look, y'all. In fact, it looks a lot more like Izzy is not going through a "redemption arc" so much as an "he's already redeemed, trust us" arc, and training Stede is more about him proving that he's part of the community by offering support and expertise, and resolving his personality crisis ("who am I to you?" and "what even are you?") - roles which, by all rights, would be better filled by Jim (who had JUST given up on their vengeance quest to try and see what being part of a family might be like, only to be caught up in the Kraken's shit and having to fight for survival, and could now have an opportunity to work through their trauma by using their skills to HELP someone rather than hurt, and learning how to be soft - like the flesh of someone becoming human after so recently being someone's puppet) or Ed (who needs to learn to reconcile the various aspects of his personality, and that violence doesn't have to come coupled with the baggage of being unlovable, and who needs to relearn how to trust and be trusted by Stede, and how to earn the crew's forgiveness). Because the fact of the matter is? Stede MUST be lying when he tells Izzy that Ed attributes "everything he knows" to Izzy's teaching. The whole point of the escape from the Spanish relies upon the premise that there is knowledge that Ed possesses that Izzy doesn't and can't. Look at Stede's face when he says "More specifically, he said you taught him everything he knows.":

(corporate needs you to find the difference between these 2 pictures) It's giving very "Stark Revelations" vibes. I'm thinking Stede is getting Izzy to buy in to his training by using a little of that weaponized empathy he picked up studying at the feet of the master: Yi Sao. I don’t love Stede pandering to the ego of a mediocre white dude by conferring upon him the responsibility for Ed’s achievements and brilliance in order to get what Stede wants out of him, but it’s immeasurably better than the suggestion that Ed’s achievements and brilliance actually ARE down to Izzy. Neither way of interpreting the implications of the scene are great, though, which is uncharacteristically sloppy writing from this show. All the more reason why Stede’s training should be in the hands of anyone else EXCEPT Izzy.

The training montage itself is… not a training montage. It’s a cringe compilation. Just scene after scene of Stede being bad at things and no follow-up scenes that show him improving. The line about him just letting his body take over in the field and it working out for him is just bad and wrong. First, it conveys Plot Armor on Stede, and obviates the NEED for training. Second, really, Stede? How about the time you almost stabbed Doug for the crime of *checks notes* putting his hand on your shoulder? Or the time you blacked out and walked barefoot to Bridgetown after Chauncy shot himself? Like, let's please not suggest trauma-induced fugue states are Stede's super-power. Third, that's really not how we have seen Stede earn his victories up until this point, and it really undercuts the fact that Stede is VERY smart, clever, and resourceful, great at improvisation and using his environment to overcome mightier or more skilled opponents (think of the way he bested Izzy at their first encounter, or even, more recently, how he used his habit of putting scent on his towels and how everyone inevitably wanted to breath it in deeply to knock out the prison guards and orchestrate their escape - again, using towels as a zip-line). One of the things about Stede that I think gets under-acknowledged is that he's actually kind of low-key a master of seeing a thing once and figuring out how to do it. In spite of what my Advanced Maneuvers  fic would have you believe, the Unhand Me Or Bleed move actually comes from him observing the bar brawl in ep 2, and then there’s all the stuff with the duel with Izzy and the butt swat and taking it on the left that Ed had shown him only once and only a few nights previously. But what does any of that matter if he’s just going to Dead Zone it and let his body do what it will?

It also bothered me that, when his training is “complete” and he’s going on raids, he's just brute forcing things? Like, his plan was the same every time - run in shouting and waving your blade around. Where’s the clever planning? Where’s the distraction? Where’s the style and finesse? What happened to his rapture over fuckeries?

The resolution of the curse storyline/training montage is bothering me in a way that I feel is emblematic of the bigger problems with the season as a whole so far. The whole point of a training montage is either to payoff with a scene SHOWING the use of all the accumulated skills, or a subversion of that; why they CAN'T use those skills (like in Galavant where he over-trained for the joust and therefore couldn't move when it came time to actually participate). But instead, we get exposition fairies. "Wow - that sure was an epic battle we just did! With us fighting back-to-back and Archie swinging from a rope!" All the interesting and important stuff is happening off-camera, and we're just being asked to accept that it happened. Just like we’re asked to accept that the Swede’s time with Jackie is more fulfilling in some way that his time with the Revenge was not. Just like we’re asked to accept that everyone’s just cool with Izzy now - even the people who last saw him when he was marooning them, even to the point of working together to make him a peg leg and calling him their new unicorn. Just like we’re asked to accept that Black Pete or Olu missed their SOs, even to the point of “crying every night” for the former, but never seeing them actually mention it/crying about it.

And about that - although I was initially overjoyed by it, now that I’ve had some time to reflect, I'm not sure I'm so happy about the Proposal. Like, Lucius is still clearly in a v. vulnerable and traumatized state, and it's maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe not the BEST time to be making big life choices? Juxtapose with Ed finally learning to maybe not charge full-speed-ahead. Maybe handing the U-haul keys to another couple isn’t all that great an idea, actually?

Now on to the Curse. What the dying priest literally says when Stede and Jim enter the room is "We were voyaging to the Vatican to seek an exorcism." My auditory processing is sub-par, especially when more than one person is speaking at the same time, so I can't really make out most of what he says after that because Jim keeps babbling about curses (which? I’m sure Vico had lines they were written for them to be saying, but it to present as a translation something that is v. much NOT what the person is actually saying in the mouth of a native speaker of the language is SO weird to me), and maybe it's me splitting hairs, but exorcism is v. much a casting demons out of a PERSON thing - not a "cursed artifact" thing. But fuck it. Let’s go with the “translation” Jim gives us and stick with cursed items instead of bedeviled people. There’s a real missed opportunity here to have done something extremely clever linking the "curse" and the crew's trauma and, through the process of coming together to formulate a plan for how to free themselves from the curse, managing to take the first steps toward exorcising their own demons. I mean, this is just surface-level metaphor stuff, and it's troubling to me that instead we got Stede the Rational White Dude pandering to the superstitions of his mostly POC crew.

I LOVE that Fang reached out to Ed, and that he brought to Ed’s attention the fact that Ed often defaults to problem-solving mode, trying to FIX problems. Which is great when you need to make an impromptu lighthouse to escape the Spanish, but is not necessarily the best approach for emotional problems, where the better answer is sometimes listening rather than talking, or even just actually sitting and dealing with negative feels (though I am not loving the implication that Ed's a non-stop chatterbox. Sometimes he is, but there are plenty of examples of him being introspective - like literally any time he stims with his silk - and also, sometimes soundboarding is an effective tool for processing complicated or painful concepts, too. And also, we see MULTIPLE scenes of Ed crying alone. He’s clearly sitting with his feels. Admittedly there is a huge difference between wallowing/indulging and PROCESSING, but Ed sitting alone in silence with his feels is v. much NOT the problem). But I HATE the messaging about retributive justice in that scene.

So retributive justice - the idea that a person who has caused damage has to be punished to an appropriately equivalent degree in order for 1) justice to be meted to the wronged party, & 2) the wrong-doer to be redeemed for their wrongdoing - is all kinds of problematic to begin with, but especially when seemingly exclusively applied to a MOC. And we have two examples of that in this episode - we have Ed offering to let Lucius to knock him over the rail so that they're squaresies (v. eye-for-an-eye, that), and we have Fang explaining that he's cool with Ed because he brutalized Ed's unconscious body after Jim knocked him out with a cannonball, so that makes them square for all the shit that Ed did to him.

With Lucius, we see that it DOESN'T actually make things square. Lucius is still traumatized, and just as obsessed with Ed as ever, possibly even moreso. With Fang, we see the exact opposite. He and Ed ARE cool, and Fang doesn't seem to have any lingering issues.

So not only is the scene with Fang kind of gross and reductionist, and reinforces the "broken people do broken things" idea that's been uncritically floated earlier in the season, instead of recognizing that sometimes people have maladaptive behaviors in response to suboptimal circumstances and insufficient support systems, but also, when juxtaposed with the scene with Lucius, the show is refusing to come down one way or another on the topic, and I think that's pretty cowardly on the "toxic masculinity and racism are unequivocally wrong" show.

So how would I fix it?

1) Frame Stede’s practical pirate training urges as Stede self-enriching by re-taking up the reigns of his pirate lessons, not as him needing to learn how to captain

2) Make Ed his teacher, and thereby allow for a gradual rebuilding of trust and strengthening of their relationship (and also some flirtatious banter and UST because they're both trying to hold back and re-figure things out, but also that undeniable chemistry is still there. For me. As a treat)

3) I guess Izzy can help. But HE has to ask. As a "trying to find my place now that so much has changed for me" kind of thing, and also expressing some fucking gratitude to Stede for saving his rat ass

4) My training montage would be an ACTUAL training montage with the comedy failboating at the beginning, and showing actual progress until they're ready to do the Curse raid (which sets up the subversion of payoff for the training montage because they ARE ready, but there's nothing to fight on a ship of the dead). Nix the second raid altogether so I don't have to get cranky about expositing the action sequence. Also that line about blacking out and just letting things happen would be erased from history, too. 

5) Ed's participation in the "exorcizing the demons" plot is what starts to mend bridges with the crew and starts to bring him back into the community. (Also, I want Ed to be able to see Stede feeling himself in his red suit, and it is a CRIME that we were denied that.)

6) It’s my drastic re-write, so in my version, we’re gonna nix the Fang line supporting retributive justice, but we’re KEEPING the Lucius interaction. Maybe in the 'exorcize the demons' brainstorm sesh, Ed proposes that he dress in the devil suit and Lucius be allowed to push him overboard (a 2-for-1 expurgation. Also, there would be a line where Ed goes up to Stede and is all "I really need to get you out of those clothes", and Stede breathlessly replying, "Oh, Ed!" and then Ed awkwardly having to walk it back with hasty explanations, and Stede apologizing for making assumptions, and Ed having to beat a hasty, flustered retreat, because even though he has 100% seen Stede naked before, there’s an unbearable tension to the idea of seeing him like that now). But the overboard plan doesn’t work on EITHER front. Once Ed is back on board, still wearing the devil suit, something goes wrong that convinces the crew the curse is still there (maybe it's Stede doing target practice in the background with Izzy, and THAT'S when the sail falls on everyone's head), and Lucius' can still have his "That didn't actually give me the closure I thought it would have" mini-arc. Ed can start in again, pitching more ideas and talking over people, and Fang can gently suggest that Ed doesn't have to be the one to come up with all the plans. Sometimes it's ok to just sit back and listen, and realize that sometimes your input is doing more harm than good, and it's ok to take a step back.

7) Lucius and Pete aren’t getting engaged. Sorry. Maybe Lucius can propose, but Pete would gently tell him that, while he absolutely wants to and plans to spend the rest of his life with Lucius, he’s concerned that Lucius is moving a little fast, and maybe flailing for something to make him feel better immediately rather than taking the time to work through his trauma, and as much as Pete loves him, he’s not going anywhere; Lucius can take all the time he needs to come to terms with what happened to him, and then, when he asks again, Pete will say yes.

8) After the Curse plot is resolved Ed has been sitting and stewing with the bad feelings that your input can be deletory and unwelcomed. THEN Fang can impart the "sometimes you just have to sit with your feels and let it be uncomfortable" wisdom. Maybe Ed shares what he’s been going through on his own and hiding from the crew. But knowing how to process your emotions instead of just ruminating on them is a learned skill. I don’t know if Fang is the person to teach that to Ed, but honestly I don’t know who IS since Lucius would NORMALLY be the emotional intelligence guy, so I guess Fang can be the one with emotional insight since he is quite the softy under it all.

But also I still want moonlit middle-aged men kisses, so maybe Fang also suggests that just because your input isn't needed in some places doesn't mean it would be unwelcome in all - and sometimes it's a matter of redirecting your energy, and him indicating Stede (in his shirt) brooding over the rail at the loss of his awesome (I am only saying this word for Stede’s sake, because I actually fucking hate the hideous cutaway tailcoat with its tacky, poorly applied appliques) suit. And things are better between them because of training montage, but still awkward, and Ed is now the one taking the initiative to meet Stede where HE'S at and complimenting the shirt, "wear fine things well," etc.

(And, hell, since this is essentially a fix-it fic in essay form, there may or may not be a plotbunny brewing in my head about them agreeing to "take it slow" and then sloooooowly walking together to the captain's cabin and Whoops! they forgot there's only one bed now. Should one of them maybe take the pile of furs on the floor? No! they can totally share a bed platonically. Yup. Just two platonic buds sleeping and nothing else at all in the same bed. Except Stede DESPERATELY has to masturbate about what just transpired between them. He is not as stealth as he thinks he is. And maybe when he wakes in the morning, Ed informs him that he was moaning Ed's name in his sleep all night…)

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd s2e5 #I've now said “exorcize their demons” so frequently that “Exercise the Demons” by LVCFT is now running on an endless loop in my head

[randomraytrash]

There is something weird in Nate character arc

I love Nate and I like his relationship with Jade. I root for his happiness, I was Nate x Happiness way before season two, because I really relate at many of the mental struggles he faces.

But let me make clear a thing:

Relationships don't fix mental illness.

A new partner will not fix all the problems in your life.

A good relationship can help you, can support you through difficult time, but it won't magically fix you. You need to act, change your behaviour and fix yourself, because nobody will do it for you.

Nate needs to own his fucking mess, he needs to see through Rupert schemes and put his foot down. Because blocking his mistakes (with Ted, especially Ted) like he did during this episode won't help him, avoidance can work only for a short period of time, then it comes back and bite you in the ass.

Because everybody is growing and changing but him (and no, getting a girlfriend is not synonymous of a redemption arc, nor a healing process, especially if all his confidence is still tight with "getting a girl" and without a girl to "show off" he's worthless, which wasn't disproved yet and no, don't spit at your self reflection one time, while never addressing the root cause is not enough). He's risking of getting stuck in the past, in his old mentality, in a fake confidence not internal but tied to an external person (Jade).

Fight forward, isn't it? Get out of that box and live the moment, every moment is worth living, because you are worth it, whatever you succeeded or failed, you deserve happiness in your life.

That's what I think we should stride for Nate's arc.

It's nice that Nate got a girlfriend (I enjoy them because they are such opposite character and energy), but it'll come crushing and burning down if he doesn't understand why he was able to ask her out. It matters that he found the courage to ask her out for a date, but he matters regardless, even without this accomplishment.

Nobody defined Nate if not Nate himself. And I think Jade can help him realize it, but the relationship with her is not a magic cure (and to be absolutely critical I think they will have many communication problem if they don't learn how properly work things out before a real relationship, since Jade is not really an extroverted person and Nate is an anxious mess ready to misinterpret every ambiguous body language, I know it because I'm the same).

Getting a girl is not the redemption arc, is not the finale, it's barely a consequence of the first step in becoming a better person. I believe (eh, Ted Lasso, isn't it?) Nate is fundamentally a good person, he's a brilliant tactician, funny and sensible, but he's also deeply insecure and he broke the trust, and leash out to people who (truly) loved and trust him and we can say all we want to explain his reasoning (his past bullying, his daddy problems, the miscommunication), but it doesn't chance the fact he was wrong, it's not a justification.

Nate matters with Rupert, and without him (a lot more without him). With Ted's or his father's approval or without. (And already had Ted's, like this episode he went to see him play with his son, Ted already, for the most part, forgive him. Ted doesn't have to accept his apology, but Ted Lasso is Ted Lasso and do what Ted Lasso can do best: treating people with compassion, so he will without a second thought the moment he'll see Nate sincerely regrets).

But Nate does need to do it, though, he's redemption arc is tied with this apology. Because they say hurt people hurt people, and it may be true, but it's also bullshit. Even if your struggle with mental health, you have no right to hurt others.

To do this apology thought Nate needs to grow, needs to build his confidence and self esteem for himself, because he's action were mostly a counteract to a perceive rejection, he is not what twitter says about him, or Jade, or Ted, or his father, or Rupert.

The belief that you matter, you know? Regardless of what I do or don't archive.

Ted is going to forgive him, of course he is.

#But let me be real with you real quick #if somebody I trust revealed my mental struggles to somebody else for a petty revenge for a perceived betrayal I didn't even done (while I #I would never NEVER talk to them again nor accept their apologizes. Fucking hell that shit makes my blood boil #I understand Nate but I despise what he did there #he was in wrong and there are no justification #he needs to apologize #I'm just rambling at this point but as somebody who mental struggle made do a lot of bad shit #i cannot emphasize enough how much apologizing was part of healing myself and giving the chance to start over without baggage #ted lasso #ted lasso spoilers #nate shelley #Again it's an interpretation #Do not take this as an attack to his character more like a thought about calling getting a girl a redemption arc #I still root for him #And I shamelessly enjoy him on screen every time

[ouatsnark]

saw a comment saying emma never held hook accountable for anything bad he did after they got together but she has though? i'm confused

My question would be... what did they want her to do?

Because Regina isn't held accountable and neither is Rumple. While Rumple may not be trusted he is still allowed to live his life. In fact, every time Regina does something wrong the others never say a word. Regina got away with the most heinous crimes against Emma, Henry and the Charmings and she wasn't even made to apologize.

Regina isn't held accountable for abusing Henry, wanting to kill Marian and how awful she was at directing the blame at Emma when it was her fault, all of her sarcastic and rude remarks, the way she uses the dagger on Emma, ripping out Belle's heart and using her...

Just going to note that before Emma and Hook get together:

When Hook attacks Belle on the town line, Emma arrests him.

When he leaves with the bean and returns, he's punched for it.

When Emma thinks he's lied about showing up in NY and endangering Henry, she calls him on it (not saying he did anything wrong, I'm just saying she called him out when she thought he did).

And after they get together?

How would she hold him accountable for things he did while Gold was controlling him when he was holding himself accountable? Why would she heap more punishment on him when he was already punishing himself? Y'all just mad he's a better character with better character.

When he doesn't tell her about finding out that he was responsible for David's father's death, she calls him on it AND breaks off their engagement. What else did you need her to do? Oh lemme guess run into Regina's arms? Yeah she's so in love with Regina that she ran to a bartender instead.

And if they mean about the things Dark Hook did then I encourage them to rewatch S5. He didn't ask to become the dark one. He didn't ask to be consumed by evil. And he sacrificed himself for not being strong enough to resist the Dark Ones agenda. He was also holding himself accountable here.

Was there more? Because those are just the things off the top of my head.

So my question remains... what do they think Hook needs to be held accountable for and what did they want Emma to do? Because whatever the answer is then the same rules need to be applied to Regina and Rumple. The show didn't always handle consequences in the best way but Killian faced the most (died & tortured) and the more heinous villains, Rumple and Regina, faced none. I know Regina apologists refuse to accept that Regina did bad things before and after her so called redemption but it's just a fact that she did.

#anti regina mills #fandom asks #killian jones hate debunked #killian jones consequences #killian was the only one to face consequences #regina mills was never held accountable for anything

[radioactive-earthshine]

Bestie please tell us more about Green Lantern Thad AU I don't remember you talking about it. Are we going to see it in Sunshine Falling?

I mentioned this casually months ago in a standalone post, but I didn't really get into the technicalities and I don't really have details but here's my reasoning for why this works for Thad in the way I conceptualized his redemption and who he is as a character.

Basically, Thad is a character that has been indoctrinated to hate Bart and the entire Allen family from pre-"conception." He is an exploited person whose only purpose was to be an agent of misery at the behest of cruel pitiful men as a weapon of personal vengeance.

Thad, had no say in any of this.

We get to see in Mercury Falling how Thad for the first time in his life he gets to experience something he likely had not up until then; affection and love without conditions.

Within Mercury Falling we get to see Thad's own internal dialog talk about those he interacts with and how those thoughts became less about manipulating them (and killing them) and more about how much he felt praised, liked and loved for him being him as he let more of himself show and less of the parody of Bart. Max, Helen and all of Bart's friends were in love with the Bart Thad was showing, which was not like Bart at all. Thad essentially came to the conclusion that they all loved him, not Bart. And he wasn't wrong.

The love Thad was experiencing, was changing him and HAD changed him in this story. He found a home.

The tragedy of Mercury Falling is that Thad had essentially already met redemption living as Bart, as he began to change his mind about everything, but when faced with the option to turn his back on his initial plan he suffered a relapse and defaulted to his 'original programming.'

Thad wasn't defeated in Mercury Falling by being pummeled or tricked or won over like a traditional villain, he was defeated because he realized that the "bitter ghosts" involved in his creation had lied to him. That they set him up on a path of pain and destruction to please only them and none of it meant anything for Thad himself. They would never love him, even if he succeeded in doing everything they wanted him to do he would never have their love.

Thad realized the nihilism of his existence up until that point and bolted giving up his mission, sparring both Bart and Max when he was absolutely going to win.

This on it's own is redemption only lacking in an 'apology' and reconciliation with his victims with forward movement towards a better and independent future, which was set up but sadly we NEVER got.

Where the Green Lantern AU comes in is that Thad (through comic specific events etc etc) is chosen as a ring bearer post Mercury Falling because he does have the ability to overcome great fear. In this AU he decided to turn around and come back, to turn his back on President Thawne and to become someone else, to find his own self and place in the world other than a weapon.

It's essentially a story about dealing with past trauma and overcoming internal self loathing and hatred to look forward to a better tomorrow. It's also a story that deals with addressing exploitation and how hard it is to face the fear that you were never loved until you left what you thought was home and to return to a place you almost destroyed to start again.

As for if this will show up in Sunshine Falling... Not this time. Maybe in another fic.

#thad thawne #thaddeus thawne #green lantern #alternative universe #dc comics #nebulous plotting #i have no details only that this makes sense in my head #sorry if you wanted something more this is all i have for now! #sunshine. falling.

[briefobservationdreamer]

Kingdom Hearts Redemption Arcs: Lea/Axel

Before this subject can be discussed, there are some things that need to be established regarding some horrible things Lea was subjected to and how it influenced him psychologically. He lost a critical part of his consciousness – including the ability to feel emotions such as guilt and to think ahead and fully consider the consequences of actions when he is already impulsive – since he was a child, before he had fully matured, and had that part of him stunted through a decade of gaslighting and conditioning. Even when he started to grow a heart and develop bonds with Roxas and Xion, he’s going to struggle to process and control those emotions. It doesn’t excuse the things he did, but it does explain a lot about why he is the way he is, and it shouldn’t be forgotten when addressing this subject.  

There are a fair share of crimes he committed in Castle Oblivion. He murdered Vexen to get close to Marluxia and Larxene, betrayed them and led them to their own deaths (and possibly did the same with Lexaeus as well), and then got the Riku Replica to kill Zexion presumably for what he could have suspected about his and Saïx’s plans. These all have logical reasons behind them, including self-preservation, but there is no justification for enjoying all of this as much as he clearly did. And he hasn’t yet apologised for any it. Marluxia and Larxene are understandable as enemies, Vexen is also shaky since he contributed to Axel’s imprisonment in the Organisation, but Zexion was innocent from what we can tell, and Even and Ienzo are absolutely owed an apology before they can be on good terms.  

While it is understandable that losing Roxas was very painful and his situation as a Nobody would exacerbate his impulsiveness, this is absolutely not a justification for his plan to get Roxas back. It was a plan that deeply hurt a lot of people. Not only did it involve kidnapping Kairi and luring Sora so he could condemn the kid to half an existence for the rest of his life, it also involved betraying Riku’s trust after he let Axel leave with Namine in good faith, and threatened the lives of all the remaining Organisation members. He has apologised to both Sora and Kairi multiple times, tried to save Kairi himself in the manga and saved Sora while giving him passage to the World that Never Was, which is far from nothing. However, the rest of the damage goes unacknowledged. In fact, Axel’s sacrifice makes things even worse for someone else who was hurt by this, so it doesn’t really clear him of all the harm it did.

The situation with Roxas and Xion was a very difficult one, and none of the options were good. If he told them the truth, Roxas and Xion might have reacted impulsively out of fear and get caught in the very schemes Axel wanted to protect them from, both in the Organisation and from Diz and Riku’s attempts to awaken Sora. If he lied to them, and especially if they found out, this would run the risk of ruining their friendship and driving them away, which could also get them trapped in one of those plots. Since the Organisation was the side not immediately intending to sacrifice them, Axel mostly chose to keep them close to him – the only person who remotely cared about their safety – and within the relative safety of the Organisation, and ended up lying to them, manipulating them, gaslighting them and even using force to achieve this. It is understandable that he would eventually get very clingy, however it gets way out of hand and becomes an unhealthy attachment that motivates him to hurt a lot of people both inside and outside the friendship group. The lesser of two evils is still an evil, he still hurt them to keep them with him, even if it came from originally good intentions to protect them. The famous quote he says to Xion, “I’ll always be there to bring you back”, was not a promise to always be there for his friends, as was later recontextualised. In this context, it was a selfish, possessive threat that completely disregarded Xion’s own feelings and desires, and it was not okay. It isn’t cute or endearing seeing a grown man be this obsessed with keeping a couple of vulnerable children with him. Axel shows clear signs of guilt for lying to them, but has yet to even apologise to them, he just has a sweet reunion with them as though their relationship was completely wholesome, harmless and innocent and Roxas and Xion have no reason to take issue with him.

And finally, there is Saïx. These two childhood friends got roped into an abusive cult with only each other for external support and plotted their escape and to find their missing friend. Saïx spends the next ten years constantly risking his own neck to protect Axel, geting close to Xemnas to find answers, getting groomed by him and eventually getting possessed, and like what so many abusers do to their victims, Xemnas emotionally isolated Saïx to have power over him. And Axel just…lets it happen. Ditches him and replaces him the second he had newer shinier friendships. Finds some happiness and grows a heart with others while leaving Saïx alone, empty and broken. Right to his face. And then he went rogue, and in the process endangered both their lives and destroyed everything Saïx had worked an entire decade for– plans and goals they were both supposed to care about – after watching Saïx sacrifice everything for it, and it completely spits in the face of everything Saïx did to protect him and Subject X. Axel sends a known Nobody killer to the Castle that Never Was armed with the knowledge that Saïx had his girlfriend without doing anything to deescalate the inevitable fight to the death, resulting not only in Saïx’s destruction but the destruction of the Nobodies of all the remaining apprentices who could have known what happened to Subject X. At a time when it wasn’t known that a Nobody’s destruction would result in recompletion rather than death. All to protect what was left of Roxas and while saying Roxas (and Xion) was the only one he liked, felt for and cared about.

Is there a defence? Well … Axel may be impulsive and not great at thinking things through or looking ahead, but he had to have known what he was doing here. He was fully aware of Saïx’s plans and what he had sacrificed, that going rogue would endanger both of them since Roxas put him in that situation previously, and how far Sora would go to protect Kairi when he exploited that very thing for his own selfish goals. Now, I can also understand needing to cut out a toxic friend (though that isn’t quite what happened here), that it’s unfair to expect him to realise that Saïx was specifically being possessed, and that Axel was struggling to deal with the pain and emotional unavailability from seeing his childhood friend being warped into a cold stranger, but these things don’t make it right to hurt Saïx so badly no matter how cruel Saïx was. Something was still very clearly wrong and Saïx has every reason to be angry at Axel for turning his back on him first when he needed him most. This is what is meant by there not being an excuse. There is literally no reason he would do those things if he actually valued Saïx’s safety at all. His actions in Days and 2 simply cannot be reconciled with the idea that he actually cared about Saïx or Subject X, and it’s very hypocritical of him to say he will always be there for his friends and that he cared about Saïx and Subject X all along after all that has happened. (I’m also aware that 2 came out first and Lea’s friendship with Isa may not have even been thought of back then, and the Subject X plot absolutely wasn’t, making this a retcon and a writing error, which could explain why Axel behaves like he has no further ties to the Organisation in 2 but it still reflects badly on Axel in hindsight).

Their reconciliation is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, there are two main problems. Firstly, Lea is only ever shown thinking about Isa when he is present or relevant to the plot. The only scenes that show Lea cares for Isa are the two they share at the end of 3, there isn’t enough context in the DDD scenes themselves to prove it. Lea has moments of guilt and grief for Roxas, Xion (even when he shouldn’t remember her) and even Ven, but not a single tear or ice cream (yes, I noticed there was some Roxas favouritism here and that there were only three ice creams, someone is getting left out) shown for the friend he has the most history with and is in the most obvious danger. That’s not to say he hasn’t off screen, but it would have greatly helped to show it, especially since the circumstances behind the deterioration of their friendship hasn’t changed and Isa doesn’t really have any reason to believe Lea still cares for him. Secondly, a lot of context is presented differently to what happened. Saïx is presented as being misguided for being with the Organisation with the lines “wise up already and just quit” and “you let them reduce you to this?” when it was absolutely not a willing choice and he cannot simply leave, though Saïx may have deliberately given that impression to hide his true intentions (for comparison, Sora and Aqua beg/demand the return of their possessed friends as soon as they find out), and also misguided for believing Axel would abandon him when he obviously wasn’t. I know the term “forget” is quite vague and true when taken literally, but that’s the impression given with a more metaphorical context. I do, however, appreciate Lea trying to reassure Saïx in his dying moments in what is still a very emotionally charged scene, and Lea owes him one hell of an apology and a lot of reciprocation to start making up for it and earning back Isa's trust.

All in all, it’s very messy, and I place his arc right at the bottom as the most poorly written. Axel has murdered, kidnapped and manipulated people, played favourites with his friends and betrayed everyone who ever trusted him to the point where even Roxas and Isa had very good reasons to doubt him. Yet once he is recompleted as Lea a lot of these wrongs are just forgotten about or whitewashed with him becoming a keyblade wielding hero while doing very little to make up for it. A redemption without the redemption or the arc.

The sad thing is that everything needed to make this work was right there. Giving him a keyblade might be fanservice, but it could have been an excellent way to make him do some heart searching and discover where his duties and passions really lie, and his keyblade could have symbolised his growth as a character and his resolve to bring back the friends he hurt, pushed away and almost lost. Unfortunately, KH3 didn’t really use that potential, and Lea didn’t really contribute much to the war effort in the end besides becoming the butt of a couple of jokes, some fourth wall breaking, and getting a humiliating beatdown from Xemnas, and with how KH3 wrapped everything up to turn to a new chapter, I’m not sure any of this will get touched on ever again.

#kingdom hearts #kh lea #lea #kh axel #lea/axel #redemption arc #i don't really hate lea btw this is just about writing #i was going to compare all the redemption arcs in one post but this got too big so i just did them as individual posts