#(admittedly when the show DOES provide a backstory i hate it)

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

Hey if you had to put some tvs characters into the rws who would you pick? I can see emily and salty working well in rws but what about other characters? Also do you have any headcanons about how they would fit into rws canon?

Haven’t thought it through extensively yet. I’d like to integrate them into a full headcanon timeline a la @feigeroman, but I also know a lot less about rail than he does so I’m a long ways away. 

Emily is the easiest, though. My thoughts for her are that she was a modern, optimized new build—the Tornado of Stirling Singles. (I first got this idea from FutureRust and became irrevocably attached after reading a bit of discussion about it on SiF.) 

However, her building (a long process) was completed at a pretty bad time as far as finding much demand for her. The original buyers realized that, with steam ending, and preservationists focused on saving ‘real’ engines at the time, she wasn’t going to serve well in her intended role as an attraction. Several other prospective buyers made the same calculations; also, she is significantly heavier than the original Stirlings, to the point where her axle bearing was too much for the one or two heritage lines at the time that did made inquiries about trialling her. 

She was in real danger of being turned static display before logging scarcely a couple hundred miles before the North Western took an interest. Add some brand-new motive power to their fleet for effectively nothing? Right up their alley. And she made a good impression when scouted, not at all caring that she was not being sought out with much any idea of tourism in mind, and expressing eagerness when the more strenuous demands of being in N.W.R. service were explained to her. So her lease was a no-brainer… for them.

(Emily’s owners were far more ambivalent. But they also knew that a lonely, stored engine is an unhappy engine, so that tipped the scales in favor of giving this arrangement a chance. She was so excited and you would have had a heart of stone to say no.)  

Emily’s past experiences as a ‘new build’ had been plenty discouraging enough to help convince her that on Sodor she had better keep her build date a secret and try to pass for the ‘real thing’. 

On her first day, Emily was sure everyone was staring and glaring at her because THEY. KNEW. (Emily can be more than a bit dramatic.) They didn’t, yet. But she was right that everyone’s reaction was just as much them going ‘wtf’ at seeing such an old-fashioned model as the Annie and Clarabel thing… and in the end rather few Sodor engines were long fooled by her ‘hello, I’ve been around forever and I know everything’ act. 

Though there was bafflement at first, seeing such a model, and then also seeing her handle ‘60s-style main line work! 

Anyway, as her fellow main line engines soon put the pieces together, they definitely had some fun over the years toying with the new arrival a bit. Gordon and Henry were especially good at putting her on the spot, with bland innocent faces, and then watching her efforts to brazen through it with great amusement. 

These games never got too severe, though. For one thing, Donald and Douglas took a big brotherly interest in their fellow Scotsengine almost at once. So their scowls kept a good lid on some of the others' baser instincts. For another thing, entertained though they were when making Emily squirm, she showed such sheer stubbornness and 'resource' in keeping up this ridiculous ruse long past the point anyone had imagined she would. The others had to respect her tenacity. 

Besides, despite her mule-headedness and refusal to acknowledge that she needed help, she *did* somehow learn a lot, very quickly. 

To be sure, when Emily was leaning in hard on her guise, she could be very bossy and high-handed, in those early years. Still, only some engines took her seriously. The rest just found it mildly but-no-more-than-average irritating. 

(Gordon once made the mistake of griping about who ‘that child’ thought she was, telling everyone their business… with Thomas and James in earshot. They opened up the history books to section ‘G’ cross-ref ‘1920s’ and had a field day week.) 

Anyhow, the time finally came when, for Reasons, after years of much guilt and internal agonizing, Emily began to seriously explore the merits of opening up and telling her friends the truth. So she sent out a bit of a ‘test balloon’… only to at once find everyone affectionately rolling their eyes at her. 

Talk of bafflement. 

“Of course you don’t know, flower child,” said Henry, tolerantly. 

??? 

“You weren’t around for that!” 

Emily noticed everyone starting to grin, and after a moment found her voice. It was in the ‘high-pitched squeak’ locker. 

“You… you all know?” 

“That you were made in the ‘60s—” 

“Nineteen-sixties, mind you.” 

“—right you are, Bear—or that you’re a fraud, or that you’re the funniest liar on the island?” 

The words really rocked Emily, but the mildly teasing tone was the same as yesterday and the day before. “How—how—” 

Everyone present had good fun quoting the highlight reel. 

“ ‘What is a... ‘zep’?’ ” asked James, going in for mimicry of both gender and accent (and making an utter hash of both). 

“ ‘Oh, yes, of course I’ve pulled an evacuation train before,’” said Duck. “ ‘Scores of them!’” 

“ ‘Full to the brim, they were,” agreed Donald, attempting to flutter his eyelashes. “Aye, of, ahhmm… vacs.’”   

This had evidently been her greatest hit, judging by the laughter. Which was straight out of Emily's nightmares... 

... but Percy, grinning next to her, murmured something so sweet and encouraging that she took stock again, and realized that she actually had—nothing to worry about? 

Possibly hadn't for quite some time? 

She managed to gasp How long? Only to get a few more sniggers. 

“Uhhh... summer '71?”

“Th-Th-That’s when I arrived!”

“Aye, Emmy. We recollect. What d'ye think we are, stu—?… ach,” Donald interrupted himself, with a resigned sigh, and looking perhaps too obviously at James and Henry. “Dinna answer that.”   

Realizing that she had already been accepted completely, long ago, Emily wound up both joining in the laughter and crying (on the latter of which the others, with more tact than might have been expected from them, didn’t comment). 

This is one of the best moments of her entire life. 

Another grand day was when her owners finally caved and allowed her to participate in the TV show. Which brings up another point, and one that is perhaps worth getting into, because this is hardly unique to her—it applies to quite a few of the North Western engines, especially some of the lesser-knowns. Emily has never been owned by the N.W.R. She is owned by a trust who has (with more than a little reluctance) leased her to work on Sodor. 

Originally, their reasoning was that they really had no other offers, except for not-particularly-prestigious museums. (There is the occasional engine that has the temperament to spend all their life sitting still. Emily isn’t one of them!) Besides, there was some hope that a) this way they could generate at least a little revenue from her and b) the experience would make her more attractive to future business partners. 

With A, they completely forget—or had heard, but underestimated—what a hard bargain the Hatts can drive. The lease was cheap to begin with, but the North Western also won the right to charge Emily’s maintenance against the account. Emily’s owners never actually had to pay the N.W.R., but overall this turned into a losing business prospect for them as the N.W.R. basically got her services for free. Their immaculate, unique engineering masterpiece of an engine suffered wear and tear, and for years they never really made a cent off their partnership with Sodor, which was something they long regarded as temporary. They were sure that one of these days “the political climate” would change, and the time would be right to deploy a replica Stirling Single on the proper sort of heritage railtours. In the meantime, they were very persnickety about her privacy, and would not give the North Western any rights to use her for publicity purposes… while then also turning around and being almost as reluctant to agree to any other sort of expansion in her duties. It was a very slow process before Emily was officially allowed to do anything but take local passenger trains. (Officially!) 

After a while, FC3 had to start cutting them significantly more generous deals or have them withdraw Emily from his service altogether. (It was very lucky that this wasn’t FC1. He had a bit of a weakness for sucking a good business relationship dry, and lost quite a few engines in his time because pride in his own masterful haggling skills sometimes rendered him stupidly inflexible about such things.)

Nevertheless, although better compensated, the New Stirling Trust was generally quite unhappy about the arrangement… especially with Emily increasingly ‘shunting trucks and hauling freight’… including in scrapyards… on Hallowe’en! (WTF, quoth the Trust.) On one surprise winter visit they found her not only fitted with a snowplough that they hadn’t authorized, but specifically sent out on line-clearing duty. The resulting blow-up was dramatic… not least of all because Emily had stronger feelings about this than her owners and the Fat Controller combined. Being literally a teenager, she had a massive shouting match with her designer about his overprotectiveness that was heard by everyone in the yard. (Yes, this was still during Emily’s “I’m keeping my origins a secret” years, and yes, she completely missed the fact that she had given up her own game during the course of that very public strop.)

It’s important to note that, for all their fussiness, Emily’s owners were the last thing in the world from hard-hearted. Emily’s pleas to not be withdrawn from Sodor were usually the only reason that they didn’t do just that… for decades. This concession was particularly pronounced by the ‘90s, when the “political climate” really had changed, and they were starting to find other venues for her. But by that point, it would have broken Emily’s heart to leave (and she indeed spent much of the decade quite afraid it was inevitable). 

She had also been begging for years to be allowed to participate in the TV series publicity, with its associated Sodor events. When they finally caved, it was largely for financial reasons. The Trust found this business very distasteful… but the licensing allowed them to finally make some serious revenue from their charge. (Emily was ecstatic, and to this day is probably the engine who is the biggest fan of the show. Incidentally, while this ‘new-build’ idea allows Emily to actually be of some use on Sodor’s main line, ‘As Good As Gordon’ and plenty of other improbable episodes are still complete fiction.) 

However, in exchange Emily also had to agree to occasionally leave Sodor and do some preservation circuit work. This led to a bit of a double life, as the New Stirling Trust’s strategy was that she was Emily, Just One of the Guys, while on Sodor, and Patricia, ‘No. 1010’ Stirling-Merriweather Single while on tour, and never the twain must meet. The Trust really thought that most people would never make the connection. To be fair, the family/tourist casual crowd generally did not. The real question is why they were so convinced that this was their best play. It came down mostly to a good deal of snobbery on their part—they remained ashamed that they had ’sold out’ and ‘commercialized’ engineer Merriweather’s masterpiece. Anyway, Emily of course had plenty of practice in this sort of charade and was by that point the consummate actor. Although she would have rather been at home with her friends, she sportingly made the most of it and had as much fun with it as she could (though the double life only exacerbated some of her insecurities). 

Only in 2019 did the N.W.R. and the Trust (both being led by some fresh blood) come to an agreement where Emily and Patricia could be publicly acknowledged as one and the same, and the N.W.R. had rights to have Emily’s real history publicized, have her run railtours, and carry a North Western number. (A third ‘best day ever,’ in her books.) 

Yes, that’s right. The Trust finally fully caved and acknowledged that ‘Patricia’ was a real true total Sodor engine… long after RWS had puttered to a slow death, and right in time for the TV reboot. 

These people are so bloody smart.

#... naturally Emily is forced to deal with being called 'Granny' for the rest of her life whenever someone wants to annoy her #chatter #ttte #ttte headcanon #ttte emily #thomas the tank engine #the railway series #sorry for slow posting (physical) health problems continue #sorry also to those waiting on other asks #Salty is a darling i agree w/ you Sodor can’t get along without him #i don’t know i think most of the TV characters are fine in theory #it’s the crap storytelling and typical lack of backstory that is the problem #(admittedly when the show DOES provide a backstory i hate it) #… Hiro i can’t make any goddamn sense of. i think i would memory-hole him if i chose just one to leave out of my HCs. #Molly incidentally was on Sodor long before Emily #she was acquired in ’39 after a trial where she helped fill in during Gordon’s overhaul #(she thought she was being sent to cover Gordon but was surprised and abashed to find that) #(she was REALLY there to cover *James and Henry’s* duties when they were filling in on the Express) #(she is not haughty or proud but her lowly assignments were still a shock to her) #(it made her very concerned that she had become even more irrelevant than her worst fears) #then she was purchased and around for WWII #following the NWR’s usual pattern of #‘we don’t acquire the engines when the class is withdrawn’ #‘somehow we have an unerring sense that allows us to do it *approximately 5-10 years before that starts to happen*’

[crusherthedoctor]

Can you list anything you unironically like in the games (and cartoons and comics) that you don't like?

I won't bother mentioning music, since that goes without saying and is to be expected for a Sonic game... unless you're Chronicles.

Sonic Adventure 2 (mixed gameplay-wise, annoying story-wise) - While I prefer Sonic's SA1 levels for a number of reasons, I still think his and Shadow's gameplay in SA2 is fun on its own merit. I also don't mind the treasure hunting gameplay returning or how big the levels are this time around, since Knuckles and Rouge are still fast and not '06 levels of slow. It's mainly the gimped radar that creates the unfortunate domino effect of making them a problem.

- Introduced Rouge, one of my favourite characters for how playful she is and how she's a lot more nuanced and intelligent than you'd expect.

- Some genuinely good scenes, like Eggman's trap on the A.R.K and Sonic escaping from the G.U.N. helicopter.

- Had some good ideas going for it, like the Pyramid Base and the Biolizard as a scientific monster instead of an ancient one.

- Despite my thoughts on the backstory itself (or rather, its execution), Shadow has enough depth and subtle qualities and occasional unintended hilarity to stand out from the typical dark rival characters you see in media.

- The Last Scene's music in particular is one of my favourite cutscene tracks in the series.

Sonic Heroes (mixed gameplay-wise, loathed story-wise) - The gameplay is fun when you're not being screwed over by repetitive combat, overly long levels and/or ice physics.

- Boasts some of the most consistently Genesis-worthy environments in the 3D games, up there with SA1's and Colours'.

- The in-game dialogue that isn't the same tutorial drivel repeated ad nauseam can be interesting, funny, etc.

- Reintroduced the Chaotix, which provided me with another character I quite like in the form of Vector.

- Bringing Metal Sonic back in full force and front and center in the plot after a long absence (not counting cameos and the like) is a perfectly fine idea. Just... not like this.

Sonic Battle (decent yet repetitive gameplay, mixed story-wise) - Emerl's arc is compelling, and it earns the emotional weight of having to put him down at the end.

- While some characters are iffy (read: Amy), other characters are extremely well-handled. Shadow is probably the prime example.

- Gamma's belly dance healing animation is fucking hilarious.

- When I was young, and the game was first announced, I was really excited about being able to play as Chaos. This proved to be my downfall when it turned out he was arguably one of the worst characters in the game due to being slower than me during the writing process, but I still recall that excitement fondly.

Shadow the Hedgehog (comedy classic) - The sheer amount of legendary stupidity this game has going for it makes it practically impossible to actually hate. It helps that it's not quite as white-knighted on the same level as '06... usually. You know you're in for a unique experience when you hear a gunshot every time you click something in the menu.

- By extension, Black Doom never gained an unironic fanbase like Mephiles/Scourge/Eggman Nega did, which means I'm a lot more willing to take Doom's dumbass brand of villainy in stride. He even has a unique design... a terrible one that rips off Wizeman granted, but alas, even that is a step-up from Fridge Shadow and Bumblebee Eggman.

- Despite being... well, Shadow the Hedgehog, some of the environments would fit right in with any other Sonic game, like with Circus Park, Lava Shelter, and Digital Circuit. Even the Black Comet levels look pretty cool.

- This game understands amnesia better than IDW does.

Sonic '06 (what do you think?) - The obvious one: Shadow's character was handled pretty well, even if it came at the cost of everyone else being a dummy and being forced to interact with Mephiles.

- Like SA2, there are some good moments, like the Last Story ending sequence with Sonic and Elise.

- In the greatest form of irony ever, I like Solaris as a concept and design(s), and its backstory has potential to serve as a parallel with Chaos without being a complete ripoff. Iblis sucks, Mephiles sucks, but I'm fine with Solaris.

- Introduced legendary characters like Sonic Man, Pele the Beloved Dog, Hatsun the Pigeon, and Pacha from The Emperor's New Groove.

The Rivals duology (apathetic outside of Nega-related grumbling) - There were some cool zone ideas in both games that were sadly let down by the restrictive and limiting gameplay. I particularly like Colosseum Highway for thus far being the only full-on Roman level in the series instead of merely having a couple minor hints of Roman, and Meteor Base for the unique scenario of the space station being built into an asteroid. These level concepts and others deserve a second chance IMO. (At least Frontier Canyon got a second chance in the form of Mirage Saloon, amirite?)

- Ifrit has a better design than Iblis. Not saying it's amazing, but the Firebird motif it has going on is a lot more interesting for a fire monster than the Not-Chaos schtick they had with Iblis.

Sonic and the Secret Rings (a very frustrating gaming experience) - Erazor Djinn, A.K.A. Qui-Gon Djinn, A.K.A. Dr. N. Djinn, A.K.A. I'll Take It On The Djinn, A.K.A. Not From The Hairs On My Djinny Djinn Djinn, is one of the best villains not associated with Eggman in the series. He's a Mephiles-type character done right, and there's actual weight and reason to his actions, however sinister or petty.

- I don't have strong opinions either way on Shahra as a character, but the Sonic/Shahra friendship is sweet and well-handled.

- The ending is one of Sonic's greatest moments. The sheer contrast between how ruthlessly he deals with Erazor and how comforting he is towards Shahra speaks volumes... Still gonna make fun of the mountain of handkerchiefs though. (Before anyone lectures me, I understand the significance of it and can even appreciate it from that angle... doesn't mean I'm not allowed to poke fun at it. :P)

- Another game with some redeeming environments. I love the aesthetic of Night Palace, and Sand Oasis looks gorgeous too.

Sonic Chronicles (my personal least favourite game in the series) - Uh...

- Um...

- Er...

- I like Shade's design?

Sonic Unleashed (overrated game and story IMO) - The obvious two: the opening sequence and the Egg Dragoon fight deserve all the praise they get.

- Seeing Eggmanland come to life was an impressive moment to be sure. While part of me does feel it didn't quite measure up to what I had in mind (ironically, the Interstellar Amusement Park ended up being closer to what I had in mind), it still looks badass and works well for what it is. I also don't mind the idea of it being a one-level gauntlet... key word being idea.

- Obviously, the game looks great. Not a fan of the real world focus (real world inspiration is fine, but copy-pasting the real world and shoving loops in it is just unimaginative), but it can't be denied that the environments look good.

- This game pulled off dialogue options a lot better than Chronicles did, since they didn't rely on making Sonic OoC.

Sonic and the Black Knight (just kind of boring all around) - Despite my gripes with the story (Merlina wasn't nearly as fleshed out as her unique anti-villain status deserved, which ends up severely undermining the ambition of the plot in more ways than one, and the other characters go from being useless yes men for King Arthur to being useless yes men for Sonic), I will admit it provides interesting insight into Sonic's character.

- Like '06 and Secret Rings, the ending is very nice... well, aside from Amy being an unreasonable bitch ala Sonic X at the very end.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (apathetic) - The admittedly few new concepts sprinkled within had promise. They may not have been as fleshed out as they could have been, but level concepts like Sylvania Castle and White Park, bosses like Egg Serpentleaf and the Egg Heart, and story beats like the Death Egg mk.II being powered by Little Planet, all could have been brilliant had they been better executed.

SatAM (apathetic outside of SatAM Robotnik-related grumbling) - I'm not a fan of the environments on the whole due to them looking too bland or samey, but there are some exceptions that look pleasant or interesting, like the Void.

Sonic Underground (apathetic) - The character designs make me feel better about myself.

- Does "large quantities of unintentional meme material" count as a positive?

Sonic X (mostly apathetic outside of Eggman's handling) - Helen was a better human character and audience surrogate in her one focus episode than Chris was throughout his entire runtime.

- Actually, most of the human characters not named Chris were legitimately likable. Including everyone in Chris' own family not named Chris. Hilarious.

- Despite arguably having the most Chris in it, I actually don't mind the first season that much, partly due to slight nostalgia from seeing it on TV when it was new, but mostly because Eggman actually acted like a villain for the most part, and certain other characters weren't quite as flanderized yet. It's season 2 and onwards where things started going off the rails IMO. (Incidentally, Helen's episode was part of season 1...)

The Boom franchise (apathetic) - Along with Chronicles, the games provide yet more proof that just because someone isn't SEGA/Sonic Team, that doesn't mean they're automatically more qualified to handle the series.

- The show had some good episodes here and there, and Tails' characterization was probably the most consistently on-point out of the cast.

- Despite not exactly being favourite portrayals for either character, even I'll admit that many of Knuckles and Eggman's lines in the show on their own were genuinely funny.

Archie Sonic (pre-reboot is mostly terrible, post-reboot is mostly... bland) - Whenever I doubt myself as a writer, I think back to Ken Penders, and suddenly I'm filled with a lot more confidence.

Sonic the Comic (apathetic) - Fleetway isn't a comic I tend to recall much of aside from how much of a loathesome cunt Sonic is, but IIRC, Robotnik's portrayal is pretty good. Different, but good.

IDW Sonic (stop pissing me off, comic) - Putting their handling aside (and being too obviously "inspired" by MGS in the latter's case), Tangle and Whisper are good characters IMO.

- Same goes for Starline, before he was killed off-screen and replaced with Toothpaste Snively.

- Execution aside (noticing a pattern?), the zombot virus was a fine concept on its own and an interesting new scheme for Eggman.

- I get to remind myself that I've never drawn scat edits and posted them publicly on Twitter.

#Crusher's Asks #Opinion #Sonic the Hedgehog #Sonic Adventure 2 #Sonic Battle #Shadow the Hedgehog #Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 #Sonic Rivals #Sonic and the Secret Rings #Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood #Sonic Unleashed #Sonic and the Black Knight #Sonic the Hedgehog 4 #Sonic SatAM #Sonic Underground #Sonic X #Sonic Boom #Archie Sonic #Sonic the Comic #IDW Sonic

[amras-felagund]

Cutie mark Tattoo Friendship Is Magic: The Next Generation begins thirty years after the birth of Princess Flurry Heart, and the story is... a bit darker and more complicated than My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic before it. It delves into the backstory around Alicorns, where they came from, why Discord is the only Draconequus, and who is the prisoner in the deepest darkest cell of the cosmic oubliette that is Tartarus... (And admittedly, FIM:TNG does take some liberties with the events of MLP:FIM, mostly in regards to Equestria Girls and all episodes after and including The Cutie Re-Mark. That will become more apparent when it comes to the character bios for Sunset Shimmer, Flash Sentry, Starlight Glimmer, and others.) Now, I have done this for years now online, but I think it deserves attention here: whenever I discuss a couple, I always use an ampersand "&" between their names, whereas with platonic pairs/groups, I use the word "and" instead. And also, I think we all take it for granted that same-sex couples in Friendship Is Magic headcanons can have kids. I mean, magic is a thing in this universe, and it's not ENTIRELY written off that sex-changes could happen with magic. Or just, you know, other options with the magic to allow two mares or two stallions to have children together. Anyway, moving on.

This is Octavio Slate Pie, Pinkie's brother. Yes, he is technically a character from Pony Life, but bear with me on this. It will make sense in a little bit. Because, you see, this interpretation of Octavio Pie appeared in the original show. You may also notice that his color scheme and cutie mark are extremely familiar...

Marble Pie always felt great discomfort in her own body. She hated to speak and so mostly relied on her twin Pinkamena to do the talking for them. And after Pinkie got her cutie mark and became so much more talkative, this became much more convenient. Marble let her mane grow out and hid her face with it. She stayed mostly in the farm, and with Maud off to earn her rocktorate and Pinkie off in Ponyville spreading her brand of cheer, Marble's oldest sister Limestone was left to run the farm with her more mellow parents tending to the gruntwork. (As Earth Ponies, they would retain their vigor for far longer than Unicorns or Pegasi.)

And then Marble met Big McIntosh. It was the greatest Hearth's Warming Eve gift that Marble could have ever received, though not in the way that an outsider could have reckoned. Marble herself thought that she loved him at first, and her heart ached that he could have his own special somepony when he came with Sugar Belle the next Hearth's Warming. But as she thought about it, and how she felt about herself, Marble realized that she didn't love Big McIntosh like that. Rather, she wanted to be like him. Marble Pie wanted to be a stallion.

It took more willpower than he could have thought to come out to his older twin. Pinkie was visiting for their birthday and exclaimed that she was so happy to have planned the surprise birthday party for herself and her baby twin sister. "...not your sister." It was the most he had said at once in a long time. He continued, "...your b-b-brother." Pinkie's confusion gave way to absolute joy. She had a baby twin brother now! She had to change her plans post-haste! This would also be an introduction of her brother to everypony!

As for his name, he always loved the name of his cellist cousin Octavia Melody. He wrote it down as the male version Octavio, and it just felt right. His middle name of Slate comes from the metamorphic rock.

In no time, Octavio was the scene of the party (which he interjected himself into the planning for). He spoke more in one minute than he had in several years. To many, it seemed like the backlog of words he'd held back as a mare and filly had come spilling out now that he was a stallion. He cut his mane and tail short, no longer hiding his face. Applying for transitional spells and potions, his features became more pronounced, his voice deepening. Though he wouldn't talk nearly as much as he had at his birthday/coming-out party, Octavio became a much more sociable and open pony than he had ever been as Marble. He finally felt like he fit in his own body. He was finally happy.

For a short period, Octavio took up the same sort of role as party-planner as his twin, to the point that many would have called his parties Pinkie Pie Parties by mistake. This led to several misunderstandings when Pinkie received rave reviews for parties she definitely didn't remember planning. They had all the hallmarks of her parties, though, so only one pony could have put them through: her brother. She confronted him, fearful that he was trying to outdo her, outshine her. Octavio insisted he would never; she was the first one who he'd confessed to of feeling like a stallion. After more discussion, Octavio decided to take a different path with his party plans. He wouldn't use Pinkie's ideas, but his own.

Having opened up finally, Octavio Pie is bursting with self-confidence, to the point of smugness. While this means that he will not hesitate to do something that is firmly in his wheelhouse, he can unfortunately put others off. When it comes to one specific situation, though, he can soften his behavior and project profound empathy: supporting foals struggling with dysphoria. He hates to imagine foals being in the same position he'd been in for years: hating his body, hating his voice, feeling like an alien in his own skin and bones. With his own brand of parties and penchant for providing pet rocks, he yearns to help these foals enter their new identities with the happiest moments yet in their lives.

Octavio no longer lives at the Pie Family Farm, but travels Equestria with his wife planning parties. He specializes in coming-out parties. Among the foals he has thrown such parties for were Piñata Apple and Pumpkin Sweet. At a certain point he got a tattoo on his right foreleg representing his "bolt from the blue" revelation of being a stallion, and it serves as more of a symbol of an Octavio-brand coming-out party than his own cutie mark. He also may or may not have a touch of "Pinkie being Pinkie" that was awakened after his own coming-out, but anypony who knows will neither confirm nor deny.

(also, I know that octavio's cutie mark in pony life is different from marble's and not a tattoo, but everypony's cutie mark is different in pony life, so if you take issue, kindly shut up)

MLP:FiM (c) Lauren Faust / Hasbro FIM:TNG (c) me

#octavio pie #marble pie #my little pony friendship is magic #my little pony #friendship is magic #my little pony pony life #pony life #Friendship Is Magic: The Next Generation #trans headcanon #i hope that i've been respectful and accurate to the trans community

[fruitlicense]

Why Mako and Bolin are initially (and arguably continually) shit at relationships

Okay, I’ll preface this by admitting that I love both Mako and Bolin. I know some of you absolutely hate Mako and while he did do some dumb shit, I don’t think we’re at the level where bemoaning the fact that he didn’t die violently is necessary. Is he problematic? Yeah, but he’s also redeemable, and a little thought about his and his brother’s backstory goes a long way to explaining why he was so shitty to begin with.

The big question is this: where did Mako and Bolin get their understandings of what a healthy romantic relationship should be?

1. Their Parents

Assuming that San and Naoki had a loving relationship, which I’m assuming they did because they look pretty happy in this (fuzzy, sorry) picture and also because of Yin’s description of what San’s letter home said (“It says he married a beautiful girl from the Fire Nation, and had two wonderful sons.”), they were Mako and Bolin’s first understanding of what a healthy romantic relationship should be.

As parents, San and Naoki should have exemplified and taught what was okay and what wasn’t. Unfortunately, they died when Mako was eight and Bolin was six - not really ages at which you’re gonna get into discussing the nuances of romance with your kids. They probably got the basic consent stuff that people see in day-to-day life (always ask before you just take something, share your toys, don’t handle other kids roughly, etc.) but I doubt they were taught much more than that. As for the stuff they learned from observing? Childhood memories can get hazy, and they were relatively young at the time. Chances are they didn’t understand much, since they just didn’t have the context for it.

2. Media???

This is an admittedly shaky point, but since they live in a society that has books, newspapers, radios, and (later) movers, Mako and Bolin probably picked some stuff up about romance just by living in the world. There are definitely some romance novels out there that probably shouldn’t be used to dish out romantic advice, as Jinora and Ikki proved in Book 1, Episode 5.

This is just a (fuzzy again, sorry) screenshot of the episode transcript from the Avatar wiki so you can get a more specific idea, but my point is, getting romantic advice from a book in the Avatar universe is about as helpful as it is in our world - it’s a toss-up whether or not you’re going to get something remotely useful. I can’t say for sure if Mako and Bolin had access to books and radio shows with romantic plotlines before the start of the show (apparently according to the wiki, Mako read some of Jinora’s books after he broke up with Korra, it’s in the trivia section), but it’s worth speculating to cover my bases.

3. The Triple Threat Triad

This is the big one, folks. If Mako and Bolin’s parents died too early to teach them about healthy romantic relationships and there’s no guarantee what they were able to pick up from the media... that means that Mako and Bolin spent their early teenage years learning everything there was to know about romance from the Triple Threat Triad.

I shouldn’t have to explain why Triad members are the literal worst people to learn any life lesson from (except maybe Ozai), but imagine this hypothetical situation: you are a thirteen-year-old boy with your first real crush, and the most approachable person you can go to for advice is a dude nicknamed Shady fucking Shin. No wonder Mako was a hopeless mess! Triad members seem like they’re predominately concerned with getting what they want (money, power, respect) and saving face, and none of that translates well to equal, respectful, honest, healthy romantic relationships. If you’re looking for people who’d condone or even encourage cheating on a partner, lying to a partner, and/or leading a romantic interest on (not to mention writing off women as crazy fangirls or potential girlfriends you can weigh the benefits of and pick as favorites), an organized crime syndicate will probably turn someone up. I don’t think that Mako necessarily believed in that stuff, but I think he internalized some of those examples, and when you throw the kid into a pile of emotional turmoil, he’s going to fall back on the stuff he knows, which in this case was some profoundly shitty stuff.

The Triad bullshit would probably also explain Bolin’s flawed flirting tactics - assuming that every girl you meet is into you (Korra, Ginger) and whatever weird exaggerated stuff was going on in the very beginning of his relationship with Opal (before she called him out on it) seem like things an impressionable kid might have picked up from some not-so-great role models. Luckily for Bolin, it seems like he did eventually understand why that stuff wasn’t cool and made an effort to stop. He’s a good kid at heart.

4. Other Pro-benders

We can hope that maybe Toza or another bending mentor got Mako and Bolin back on the right track once they started living at the pro-bending arena, but honestly, we don’t have much information on how connected they were to other pro-benders. We do know that they were in pretty deep with the Triple Threats, since Mako was learning lightning techniques from their leader.

My overall point is this: Mako and Bolin - but especially Mako - made some shitty mistakes regarding romantic relationships. I don’t condone their actions, but I can see how they might have picked up those bad habits from the few role models they had in their lives - especially since they’re only eighteen and sixteen at the beginning of the show (eighteen-year-olds and sixteen-year-olds are incredibly stupid. not many people are at their best in high school). I’m not asking anyone to forgive characters they don’t want to forgive or suddenly switch their stances on who they hate and who they don’t, but I do think that context can explain why good characters do shitty things and give them a chance to at least be redeemable.

I’m not trying to start any arguments either, just throwing some ideas out there.

-

A final quick aside: when San and Naoki died, Mako took on the role of “parent” for Bolin, which led to Mako becoming reliant on a sense of control. This isn’t super relevant to my overarching point here, but I wanted to mention it somewhere since it does provide some explanation (NOT justification) for Mako’s constant need to be in control and how that influenced his actions.

#Legend of Korra #avatar legend of korra #mako #bolin #lok mako #lok bolin #lok analysis #why mako and bolin are both kind of crap at romance in the beginning #avatar #lok #hoo boy this is not getting read is it #oh well

[frenchibi]

A rant-essay about The Witcher books (and comparison to the show)

((after having read book one, and started into a good chunk of book two.))

Proceed at your own discretion, there will be a lot of frustration and swearing. Also, spoilers for basically the entirety of the Netflix show. Also, there is discussion of sexual assault and objectification and lots and lots of sexism.

The structure of my rant is as follows (because yes I structured it):

 1. Things that I enjoyed in the books

1.1 Geralt talks more

1.2 Geralt and Jaskier have a better relationship

1.3 The fairy tale theme

2. Things that made me want to scream

2.1 Geralt (is not a good character)

2.2 Yennefer (deserves better)

2.3 Jaskier's sexism (Netflix!Jaskier would NEVER)

2.4 Female Characters; Sexy Fantasy That Fucks (it's bad)

2.5 Narrative devices and structure (it’s bad)

3. Bonus: Why the audiobook grinds my gears

Total length: 4k words :’) Click to proceed.

(So, we’re doing this? I think forty likes is sufficient general interest, so... okay. Obligatory disclaimer here: This Is My Opinion. However, I am not fabricating any of the… grounds for my opinion, it is based on the content of the books, that I read, and which are broadly available, so anyone can read them and see for themselves. Personally, I would not recommend the experience, and below I will detail the reasons why. If, like I was, you’re hesitant about reading them, this essay might sway your decision either way. You might go “oh thanks op now I know I won’t like it” or “huh I think I wanna see this for myself because you’re yelling a lot”. It’s all equally valid. Anyway, let’s proceed with “things I enjoyed”.)

1.1 Geralt talks more Geralt in the books is a bit of a mess as far as characterization goes - but I don't hate that he's less stoic here and less... idk, arrogant/superior towards humans than he is in the show. He talks to people, engages with them, discloses opinions and thoughts and… it's a good look. We even get several pages of monologue from him at one point (because he is talking to a priestess who has taken a vow of silence, but I’ll take it – the books in general have a monologue/structure problem which I will address in 2.5) which is way more than the show ever provided us with. I’d like to say it gives us an insight into the character but maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, see below (2.1).

 1.2 Geralt and Jaskier have a better relationship

Geralt and Jaskier are FRIENDS. And I mean that literally the first thing we hear Geralt say about Jaskier in canon in book one is "of course I want to see him, he's my friend". Which - Netflix!Geralt could NEVER and I'm salty about it. Jaskier in the books has his own problems (2.3) but I still think he's my favorite overall, he's fun and Geralt genuinely enjoys his company. They travel together and ENJOY it, they joke, they reminisce and it is Good. Netflix, take notes.

 1.3 The fairy tale theme

This gets lost in the Netflix adaptation altogether but. The idea in the books is that all these monsters that Geralt encounters are dark twists on fairy tales and I'm HERE FOR IT. Renfri is literally Snow White But Badass. Cinderella, Rapunzel and Rumpelstiltskin’s stories are mentioned in passing, and other ideas that are explored here have fairy tale elements, e.g. slaying the dragon. It's cool, but apparently the story loses this aspect in later volumes so I guess it makes sense that the show decided to omit it. Still a bummer tho bc I liked that.

 So. Now on to Things that made me want to Scream, which is what we’re all really here for.

2.1 Geralt (is not a good character)

Geralt, oh Geralt, I wish you weren't such an obvious Mary Sue, Saviour™ and thinly veiled Jesus allegory. Geralt is always, ALWAYS right and it pisses me the fuck off. Geralt gets all the women he wants with NO PROMPTING and it makes me angry. Geralt always has the last laugh in every and any situation. Geralt is always smarter and more powerful than the Idiot Humans. Geralt ignores advice and suffers no consequences for it. Geralt has no well-thought out character, no consistency - he just is the "main character" and "hero" that the story needs - if the story needs him to be smart, he is, if it needs him to make a mistake, he does - he has no AGENCY and it’s BORING. Why am I supposed to care about him, exactly? Because the plot tells me to, and because everyone else is framed like an idiot in comparison and you’re supposed to like strong and smart characters. Cool. Bleh.

 2.2 Yennefer (deserves better)

Strap in, because this is the longest part.

Yennefer in the books is… a badass (but sexy) until the plot needs her to be a damsel (but sexy). She also occasionally has one (1) other character trait and that trait is Crazy Bitch.

I’ll admit I was not her biggest fan after the show (I didn’t really connect with her that much after she became vindictive™, though I gotta say her role in the last battle was Very Cool) but in the wake of what I have read so far, I have decided to AGGRESSIVELY STAN because she fucking. Deserves better. Oh my GOD it makes me so angry. Here’s how I think her character creation probably went:

"Ok so here we have Geralt, who is a badass, and So Cool, and he could have any Female he desires. But his Female can't be inferior and giggly and vapid like literally all other women - she needs to be the ideal fantasy Fantasy.

First: she needs powers. So we'll make her a Cool Sorceress! And more powerful than the other sorceresses because Geralt deserves the BEST. But also, he needs to be able to be Cooler and save her so she needs to be (like all females are, because they are inferior) emotionally volatile and vulnerable, and Geralt will also be the only one who gets to see that Vulnerability because Geralt has the biggest dick is her love interest. So she will be weak around him because he's just so hung wonderful.

Secondly, she needs a believable weakness (besides being too emotional because all women are too emotional), and as we all know, women have one purpose: to bREED. But not Yennefer - oh no, Yennefer is (wait for it, this is the dramatic backstory, hold your breath) broken, she's BARREN, USELESS AND EMPTY AND SHE HATES HERSELF FOR IT!!!!!

*pause for dramatic effect*

I know right that's so SEXY

[This is the point where I’m like… this might, possibly, maybe, under very different circumstances have been a compelling storyline if the author had ever consulted a woman. Or, you know, if the story was written by a woman. This is objectification and fetishization of the worst kind and I hate it. The show has this element too and it’s bad there too but it’s nowhere near as pronounced as in the books. Anyway-]

Speaking of sexy - obviously Yennefer is the sexiest of all the women Geralt has ever encountered. And because I, as the author, am aware that's unrealistic, I will drop in YET ANOTHER PIECE OF DRAMATIC BACKSTORY: She used to be a HUNCHBACK!!! *air horns* I KNOW RIGHT OH MY GOD and now she made herself SEXY with MAGIC because YOU KNOW ALL WOMEN WANT TO BE OBJECTIFIED BY MEN!!! SEXY FANTASY THAT FUCKS!!!!

[also? This is revealed to Geralt (and the reader) not by her telling him, or by a flashback, but because he "sees that she has the eyes of a hunchback". I can’t even begin to state how much I hate this.]

Anyway every time she shows up it will be mentioned how shapely her legs and breasts are and how young she looks despite the fact that she must be Old. She will turn heads and men will scorn her because she is too pretty and not interested in them and men hate anything that has any amount of sexual power or agency. but not Geralt, no, because he gets to fuck her at the end of the day so he's the only one who doesn't objectify her out loud. (but he does in his internal monologue. hooray.)

Also, to emphasize this point, we will have a side character sexually violate her while Geralt is tied up because that is The New Hotness™"

And if that wasn't enough, she as a character subscribes to what is known as "Female Hysteria For No Reason" and will become a Woman Scorned over absolutely nothing if the plot needs her to be angry.

The plot regarding her relationship with Geralt is also a bit different - in the show, she gets angry once she finds out Geralt's third wish ties them together (whether this is justified may be subjective - except yeah, no, she’s absolutely right, Geralt what the fuck??). In the book, she hears his wish as he makes it because MAGIC and is somehow SUPER INTO IT because this author has never met a human woman before.

...and then I need to complain about the storyline with the dragon. Because, you will remember, in the show, she gets angry and storms off after learning of the third wish, but that can’t be the case because she already knows about it in the books, right?

Well.

 The story in the books goes like this:

Six years ago, after one of their affairs™ Geralt leaves without waking Yennefer (but like. Leaves her flowers instead) and admittedly that's kind of rude but also like... ok. That doesn’t seem too strange a thing for Geralt to do. Maybe he just wanted to let her rest? Anyway.

They don't meet for six years, in which Geralt idk... idly misses her or something, and Yennefer develops a deep lasting hatred based on her abandonment issues…? (I am. grasping. there's no good reason if this relationship is as casual to both of them as they have made it sound, but she is SUPER MAD because the plot needs her to be ANGERY).

So with his backdrop, cue the search for the dragon. Geralt is like "eh I'll join them. I have nowhere better to be, also Jaskier is here and he's not boring so ok" and then he hears Yennefer will also be there and goes "oh well all the better, haven't seen her in a while"

And when he follows her to her tent to greet her, she spits verbal FIRE at him and is like "bitch you're lucky i didn't gouge your fucking EYES out" and other lovely statements of a similar calibre, and Geralt just stands there and takes it and tells her he missed her.

which implies either a) he knows what he did and he thinks he deserves this, or b) he has done nothing wrong in his own eyes and this is just "bitch crazy" to be ignored. It is heavily implied to be b), because, in our third person POV narrative, we get NO REMORSE from him, no indication as to what he thinks about this whole thing Yennefer is accusing him of, nothing at all in terms of emotional response to her. Cool. She yells at him and then storms of, and he just… idk, shrugs I guess?

So, they travel, Yennefer is Icy Bitch Queen but also everyone hates her and insults her to an absurd degree (see above, she's Too Sexy and Powerful and also like, a Woman) and she takes it without saying anything back but it's obvious that everyone's trash talk is affecting her (so it’s obvious that at some point she will be Vulnerable again). Jaskier, who seems to have no personal grudge against her at this point in the books, joins in the teasing because he's there to make fun of everyone I guess? (boy.) No deeper malice from him than from anyone else though.

And then, for drama, the party reaches a narrow bridge. They’re debating whether or not it is safe to cross with all their supplies and then BAM! there's a landslide so they have no choice. The events go like this:

- Geralt lets the others cross first. Right as he wants to cross, he hears Yennefer yell because her horse fell over, because of course it did

- Geralt abandons his own means of escape to go help her up, and then she proceeds to save his ass because SHE HAS FUCKING MAGIC THERE WAS NO POINT IN YOU GOING TO SAVE HER YOU FUCKER she just makes a shield so nothing hits them and they stumble to the bridge

- they get caught on the bridge as it collapses, and of course Yennefer is the one who falls first, and he catches her, so they're both hanging there and he's holding on to her suspended over this. Canyon or whatever.

- Jaskier, from above, yells to the others to get a rope to help pull them up but they respond to "wait until the bitch has fallen, then we'll pull the witcher up"

which. wow. but ok.

Yennefer can barely hold on, and HERE is where Geralt asks her to forgive him for… his wrongdoings…? (you know, can't have her die with a grudge, I guess? Or whatever?) He's like "Yen, forgive me" and she says "NEVER"

((and also, she has consistently kept telling him to stop calling her Yen (which he first started when they started... having Relations™ so obviously now it has bad memories attached to it for her), which he blatantly ignores because her feelings don't matter))

In the end, Jaskier gets the others to help despite their reluctance and hatred of Yennefer and they travel on. Yennefer's back to being Ice Queen - and then they find the dragon. Some fucker tries to fight it alone and gets injured. Yennefer is in charge of healing this dude, and so she ends up alone with Geralt in a tent – where she asks him to double-cross everyone else and kill the dragon himself (after telling them all she would cooperate with them) - "for me. I want the dragon, Geralt, for myself. All of it. I don't want to share. Kill it for me" and then explains that not all is lost because with certain parts of the dragon, SOMEONE CAN CURE HER BARRENNESS and i want to launch myself into the fucking sun

Geralt is like "uhhhh"

she says "on the bridge, you asked for my forgiveness- if you do this, I'll forgive you"

and then HE GOES "well, that no longer matters to me. I'm over it now" which hsadjlkfhsajdklfhsajkldfhaskdfsj I cannot begin to impart to you how many levels of “UGH” I felt at the predictable reversal of roles because he can’t ACTUALLY have to apologize to her – it’s HER who has to apologize to HIM for being an irrational Female

and now SHE'S all like. quivering lip and wanting him back or whatever and I am SICKENED that SHE IS THE ONE WHO HAS TO GROVEL NOW BECAUSE THE PLOT CANNOT HAVE GERALT EVER MAKE A MISTAKE AND OWN TO IT?!?

Thanks, I hate it.

 Oh and I almost forgot in all my rage about that storyline – when we first meet her, we learn that Yennefer apparently doesn’t “bother with the whalebone [i.e. corset] nonsense other women use” (literal quote from the book) so I guess her tits are magic???

This just in, if she needs boob support SHE’S A THOT, if your knockers don’t stand on their own you’re INFERIOR and NOT DESIRABLE, GTFO.

 2.3 Jaskier’s sexism (Netflix!Jaskier would never)

Jaskier, you have been done dirty.

It could have been so cool too - Jaskier in the books is witty and likeable and makes friends wherever he goes because everyone likes a bard?? Also he's really smart and knowledgeable because "a bard needs to know about many things" which is SO VALID??? And Geralt trusts him and cares about his opinion??? And also it's clear Jaskier likes Geralt, not just for the purpose of writing ballads about him, but because they're old friends, they've travelled together a lot - yes, their relationship is good here, regardless of your shipping preferences. (Also, he wears a hat with a large feather on it, which is how Geralt recognizes him in crowds, and it's amazing and hilarious.)

HOWEVER.

Jaskier treats women terribly. At his first introduction, he literally gropes a priestess (and then makes fun of the high priestess for chastising him for it). He sees women very much as objects to be… maybe not “won” but, well, persuaded, which makes him a tiny bit better than most of the other men, who are basically straight-up rapists. But then there's the scene with Yennefer which. Made everything turn sour tbh. It goes like this:

Yennefer wants to go after the dragon alone (see above), but before she can get Geralt to do it for her and double-cross everyone, she's overwhelmed by some of the other men in the party and they're all tied up (Jaskier, Geralt, some other pacifist sorcerer who is around, and Yennefer). And one of the men, who hates her for her (sexual) power, rips open her blouse and exposes her and assaults her while she screams, so then he gags her. And then when he’s done he walks away and leaves her exposed. Geralt looks away after she screams at him not to stare (wow, points for chivalry, the standard is literally So Low - also his justification for obeying her wishes is that he’s already seen her boobs so it’s not a big deal to him anymore) but Jaskier shamelessly stares at her even after she makes it absolutely clear she does not consent to ANY of this and has no choice because SHE IS TIED UP, and he even jokes that he'll write a ballad about her perfect breasts. And I'm over here like.... no. no, no, no, no, no. Jaskier deserved better characterization and Yennefer deserves a better fucking franchise.

 2.4 Female characters; Sexy Fantasy That Fucks (it’s bad)

I have touched a lot on this already so I'll try to be brief, but. Ugh.

Sexy Fantasy That Fucks™ is practically a legit genre and sadly a lot of semi-progressive fantasy falls into this category - where we have moved on from having only like one or two named female character (see: LotR) to having several, and look, they can even fight, but only as long as they're aggressively sexually attractive to men while they do it. Poor Harley Quinn suffered the same treatment in Suicide Squad - The Male Gaze Filter.

Here in the books it goes like this: Oh look, “vaguely tribal” women who fight - but they're also the most overtly sexual and involved in a canon off-screen orgy with Geralt and an older (practically old) man and are portrayed as Perpetually Horny. Oh look, Yennefer, a badass sorceress who falls apart when Geralt so much as looks her way because Geralt is so fucking great I guess. Then there’s the 14-year-old striga princess who needs to be described, once her curse is lifted, with emphasis to her “perky breasts”. SHE'S FOURTEEN. And there’s the young priestesses, who are subtly flattered by Jaskier's direct "advances" because, you know, they've dedicated their lives to serving a goddess but understandably they just WANT TO FUCK™.

There is a single female character who is not sexualized - the head priestess, Nenneke. She's described as fat and old (and wise though, throw her a bone). Geralt respects her because of her wisdom but that's it - she has a Use™. And also, he ignores her advice in the end anyway. Pity she wasn't more beautiful I guess. I am Sickened.

 2.5 Narrative devices and structure (it’s bad)

Now, we get to the bones of the thing. There's... one main thing that really bothers me and that's a CLASSIC - the fact that this author prefers to have action explained to the reader through monologues by characters that inexplicably have All The Information, rather than have us, you know, experience the action first hand. There are a couple of fight scenes of Geralt vs A Monster, sure, but that's all we get - everything else is told to us through monologues. (and yes it's still a monologue even if Geralt interrupts to say "go on" or "get to the point". It's not really a dialogue if the other person is only being expositioned at. Now Geralt just looks impatient and annoying.) Even the short story format (of the first two books) is explained this way: the individual short stories are monologues within conversations in the base timeline, explaining to the reader (and to Nenneke in the narrative proper) backstories and how characters met.

Which... it's a choice? It makes more sense than the show with it’s wack-ass timeline with absolutely no conext. But like. Why can't you have us at least discover the respective monster through someone else's POV though? I get that we're always staying with Geralt because Geralt is oh so great, but rather than have some Constable explain to him for like twelve pages how the princess (who is, without any intrigue, an incest-princess - this is not a mystery, everybody is aware of this at the beginning of the story and freely provides this information without prompting) became a striga and how many people she has killed and what people say she looks like and how to allegedly cure her - can’t we see that shit happen? Like... ok, thanks? I hate it. The show did this better.

 3. Bonus: why the audiobook grinds my gears

Last and definitely least - the audiobook is BAD (but I don't want to buy physical copies, and my library won't have the English version because I live in Germany, so I guess I'm stuck with it). The guy who reads it is Bad At Reading Out Loud because his emphasis/cadence is incredibly unnatural (also regrettably all the books are read by the same guy) and his pronunciation of names (most notably Jaskier, who is called Dandelion in the English version of the books) is inconsistent??? He started out by (correctly) calling him dandelion in book 1 and now has changed to pronouncing it dandelion, like the flower, which is not how you say his name (and... no offense if he’d started out that way because I, too, thought that was how you said it just from reading the word - but he says it CORRECTLY in the first book and then changes it to the wrong pronunciation in book two so I’m confused?? How does that happen?)

Also - different accents for different characters are only a good idea if a) you're good at accents and b) they aren't overtly connoted? Like. Don't give a guy in a fantasy setting a bad russian accent??? Also what part of Geralt as a character made you think SCOTTISH???? Oof.

And another thing - these little descriptors after direct speech? They MATTER.

"Don't touch me," Yennefer hissed

and

"Don't touch me," Yennefer screamed

are two very different sentences and should be read as such. You can't just. Say "Don't touch me" seductively and then add "she yelled". That's not how voice acting works. Please, pLEASE I'M SUFFERING. I was already struggling enough with some of the content of the books and now you’re making consuming them really difficult and irritating :’) Oof.

 In conclusion – I don’t even know. I was mad and now I’m tired.

  Anyway, all this to say – I didn’t hate every aspect of the books. I will keep reading (in my case listening) because I’m stupid, I apparently love to suffer and I am, thanks to the show, invested in the storyline and want to know what happens. But I will most certainly keep complaining about them because that’s the only way to make this fun for myself. And are you not entertained?!

Who knows. Maybe stuff will get better.

Take from this post what you will, and if it’s only my personal hypocrisy then that’s fine. I hope you had a nice day – I’m gonna go make myself some tea to calm down. And I’ll have you know that despite what you may have heard, I have never worn a bra in my life, because I’m not like other girls.

#The Witcher #The Witcher netflix #The witcher books #Geraskier #Geralt x Yennefer #Geralt of Rivia #Jaskier #yennefer of vengerberg #French speaks #am I worried about posting a possibly controversial opinion on the internet? yes #am I going to do it anyway? also yes #or should I say #and yet here we are

[rwdestuffs]

I need to vent a bit right now, so forgive me if I go a bit… defensive of the show and its characters… Like all the stans I tend to make fun of.

Recently, Soku dropped this and vagued about a “rwde poster” who was defending Yang and Salem. 

Now, I know he’s talking about me. I’m literally the only person who defends Salem in any capacity. Like I said before, in a setting where names are significant to a character (ie: Pyrrha = “Pyrrhic victory”), Salem being named after the period in time where women were falsely accused of crimes is significant. Which is why I tend to lean towards defending her, and bashing the nameless gods who pretty much decided to not give advice, and decided to act like entitled douchebags who treated humanity like a science experiment that they could scrap at any time. Humanity was sentient, and they wiped them out because they couldn’t handle one person being uppity. Seems to me that they were being spoiled brats about the whole thing more than Salem was about Oz’s death. If you’re not willing to fight god for the people you love, then you didn’t really love them in the first place (Looking at you, Abraham).

Now, should Salem had shown more remorse for what happened during the fight?- Absolutely. But the way that she’s being treated right now is that she’s irredeemable. She’s a total monster who can’t handle loss, and was terrorizing people. Last I checked, she was bumming around in her cabin until Light God was all “I know I had this whole thing about balance that I ignored when my brother and I wiped out humanity 1.0, but I’m bringing you back so that you and your ex-wife can fight for my amusement. Try to unite humanity, or else you’ll all get wiped out again!”

For a bunch of supposedly omnipotent gods, they seem to need Oz to solve all their problems… Well… Mainly Light God, but that’s beside the point.

Like… Maybe it’s because I have my own issues where I want Salem to adopt me, and I was also spoiled by fanfics that made her sympathetic and also the ones that outright made her irredeemable in a more blatant sense, but I can’t hate Salem. It’s just not for me. Like… Sokumotanaka claims that Salem could have broken out at any time with her own power.

Okay. Then why didn’t Blake beat up Adam before Volume 5? Why didn’t any of the abuse victims beat up their abusers prior to the show?

Answer: Emotional Manipulation. They get gaslit into thinking that they’re weak. Now, obviously, this should have been shown in the flashback that the writers decided should only last one episode because they think that the audience hates backstories… Because they’re idiots who don’t actually listen to feedback, but they decided to put it in supplementary material. More on that in this video.

Now, onto Yang.

Now look: I’ve said this before. Yang is pretty much the only reason I still watch the show. I recall being pretty miffed about her being stiffed on screentime back in Volume 4, and being very upset and vocal about her being written inconsistently.

But the bar? It has to be a “wretched hive of scum and villainy” at all times for it to be considered a criminal hotspot? I really don’t want to use this card, but… Ever hear of a front? It’s a front so that they can do their shady dealings in the background. Junior’s sure as hell not going to sell out his customers! Now, it could be inferred that he is in fact, telling the truth, and that he genuinely didn’t know any of that. And yes, Yang endangering the patrons should have been a point that should have been brought up in Volume 3. Does anyone have a count for how many posts I’ve made about how that should have been a thing?- I genuinely want to know.

So really, treating me as if I’m blindly defending Yang is honestly flawed at best. And deliberately blind at worst. If Yang, or any of these characters are supposed to be “perfect” as Soku seems to imply that they should be, then the characters would be boring. There would be no flaws. Now admittedly, they really should be treated as flaws that they should overcome. But people aren’t just going to solve all of their problems. Show me a man who has made no wrong, and I’ll show you a man who has accomplished nothing. These characters are always going to have flaws to them, and while it would be nice to have the show actually acknowledge them as flaws, one has to accept that.

This is all on bad writing, and really… I think those anons that I had to deal with from before burned me out on resenting the show. This show is improving in a sense, but it ignores past transgressions that made it hard to watch back then. It’s only in the recent episode (8:4), that any past transgression was called out on… And it was Miles’ pet.

So excuse me for having opinions conflicting with yours because I focus on other details that you don’t! There are details that you focus on that I don’t. I’m not here to blindly hate the show. I’m here to try to provide an introspection on the show, what mistakes were made, how it can improve, and to provide a source of something that other people can come to for gripes, questions, or opinions.

And really… You’re a coward for vaguing about me in the first place Sokumotanaka. You could have called me out or contacted me directly, and we could have had a calm discussion about this. But instead, you comment in such a way that makes it hard to actually reply to you, and then you go on and vague about me doing things like… Having a take about Salem that you disagree with. Or defending Yang’s choices. I’m not saying that these are good choices, but if you want a perfect character that does no wrong… Then we’d be talking about the show for far different reasons. Pyrrha was the perfect character who did no wrong. And outside of her brash decisions to follow through on Oz’s ultimatum and her not turning Jaune in for forging his way in, what character flaws can you really name about her?

Pyrrha was boring. The most notable thing about her was that she was a good fighter (which didn’t matter since that applied to all the characters except Jaune at the time), and that she was attracted to Jaune of all people. And she was an attractive young woman, but outside of that, there was nothing to Pyrrha. She was a boring character. If Yang was as perfect as you seem to want her to be (I assume, considering your weird resentment of her for daring to have flaws), then we wouldn’t be talking about her being “Bad.” We’d be talking about her being boring. Same with Blake. If Blake was a flawless character who spouted everything right about how to combat oppression, then we wouldn’t be talking about her. If Weiss was actually genuine about wanting to end her company’s racism from the very start, and never had to learn a lesson on not being racist (that for some stupid as fuck reason happened OFF-SCREEN), then we wouldn’t be talking about her. Same with… all the characters.

We don’t talk about perfect characters because they’re boring. And I can’t believe I have to actually defend the writing choices here.

I’m trying to see this from an introspective point of view. Not one where the characters should make all the right decisions. Mistakes are how people and characters grow.

Now if the characters grow, is another question altogether. But given that the show is improving (even if only marginally), then there is some level of hope.

People can link this to Sokumotanaka or @ him. I don’t care. I’m tired, and I wrote this at like… 3 in the morning. This was all just to vent about some stuff that I’m tired of seeing.

So, maybe it’s because HBomb’s video raised my hopes and made me actively start looking for the good in this volume, or maybe it’s because I’ve burned out my resentment, or maybe it’s because I’m taking the table scraps of improvement that this show is giving me, but I’m finding myself liking this volume. It still has its flaws, even when it’s so early into the volume, but it’s actually looking good.

Now if only they could have improved earlier… Maybe then, this blog wouldn’t be as active as it is right now…

But anyways, vent over. I’m tired. And I want to sleep. Fucking hell… It’s 3:40 am…

#does this count as rwde? #does this count as rwby?

[noonmutter]

Mun Dash Game

Rules: Name your top 10 favorite characters from 10 different fandoms and then tag 10 people.

Editor’s note: These are in no ranked order or anything like that, they’re just ten favorites as I could think of them.

Bismuth - Steven Universe. You may notice a theme here; I like my characters complex, their motivations valid, their decisions misguided, and their actions questioned by everyone, often including themselves. I loved Bismuth’s entire concept and I’m sad that she hasn’t had more time front and center to develop beyond her introduction as both a plot device and as a catalyst for Steven’s advancement. Same story with Jasper, though she got a few more appearances. I want to see these people grow and for the people they hurt to grow with them, damn it. Even if that growth is downward into an even worse state, I want to see it because positive or negative, emotional fallout is awesome.

Demona - Gargoyles. There was going to be a Gargoyles character here and I am basically legally obligated to pick either Demona or Thailog because I am a sucker for great voices and tragic villains. Demona’s story wins out by a decent margin because her suffering was entirely borne of her own poor decisions, many of which she felt were right at the time. She just refused to accept that she was wrong or that she could try to make things better at any time, and I was fascinated by that from the first time I saw it. This shit was in a kids’ show that predates Steven Universe by 19 years.

Baby Doll - Batman: TAS. She only showed up once (in the original animation style, anyway) but good god damn did it count. She was angry, hurt, belittled, and so unbearably lonely that when everything fell apart and the dust settled and she couldn’t kill all her problems away, she just broke down. “Why couldn’t you just let me make believe?!” is still crystallized in my head, and it still gives me little pangs when I think of it. And at the end of it all, she sobbed “I didn’t mean to” as she hugged Batman’s leg. And he comforted her. Also in a kids’ show that predates Steven Universe by 21 years.

Scanlan Shorthalt - Critical Role, Campaign 1. I bet you thought after those first three it’d probably be Vax or Percy, but... Look, the character was fantastic and the player made him that way and frankly made that campaign. He’s my go-to for when I need a good cry, and he’s why I learned to build a bard. The same man who started the campaign by asking his bestie what the worst race/class combo was and saying “Okay I’ll play that,” at the end of the campaign made the word “Nine” hit his fellow players and viewers in the chest like a sledgehammer, and nobody has topped that since. His second campaign character, Nott, has also got one of the most poignant backstories I’ve heard in a while, and man will it twist yer gut. Meanwhile both of those characters provide some of the best goddamn comic relief you’re liable to find. Emmy Winner Sam Riegel, ladies and gentlemen.

Francis - Left 4 Dead. I love this grumpy asshole biker. I love that Steam took his “I hate everything” (except vests) schtick and ran with it. I love that the trailers for the second game included him and Rochelle meeting up and commiserating on their hatred of everything, up until Rochelle says she hates his vest and he short-circuits. I miss Francis and I miss playing Left 4 Dead all the time and I yearn for a remaster or rerelease that works better with current setups cuz the original one has uh... not aged well, technologically. Francis and Zoey made life worth livin’ in that game.

Jogurt - Shining Force. This is probably the most obscure one on my list but that’s because Shining Force is an old-ass Genesis game/franchise that is, I admit, pretty generic as far as the plot goes. I love it to pieces regardless because it had some fun with it, and the character designs were wierd and some of the interactions were downright silly. Jogurt was the easter egg secret character in this game, and he’s a little hamster thing with a football helmet on. At the time you get him, most of your fighters have stats in the 20s or potentially 30s and their level is 9, 10, or they’ve been promoted to a new class; every single one of his stats is one and he had not been promoted. If you are able to keep him alive long enough to get him the XP necessary to level up just once, which takes some doing since an enemy can be unarmed and as long as they don’t miss, they kill him, you’ll get a ring called the Yogurt Ring.

When worn, it makes a character look like Jogurt. In the remake for Game Boy Advance, the image for the character shows that it’s a costume with a huge visible zipper up the back. That’s all it does. That’s the joke. And I adore it.

Freddy Krueger - A Nightmare on Elm Street series. I have a love-hate relationship with Freddy. On the one hand, creativity in horror movies--especially in the kills--is something to be embraced, and no matter what else you think of them the Elm Street movies got real fuckin’ creative most of the time. On the other...there have been nine (official) movies with Krueger in them, and only the first three were good. The remake in 2010 was disappointing because it tried to both play to nostalgia and ignore it at the same time and also made Freddy darker, which made him less fun to watch.

Still, I enjoyed the hell outta Freddy’s concept, for much the same reason that I love Chucky the Good Guy Doll so much: they’re both snarky monsters who really enjoy the horrors they’re inflicting and they have incredible presence because of the actors who brought them to life. (Mark Hammill worked with what they gave him for Chucky but uh...what they gave him sucked).

Lorewalker Cho/Margeaux - World of Warcraft. The first, because he’s voiced by Jim Cummings and he’s a knowledge-hungry panda who Blizzard has not been stupid enough to kill off thus far. In the middle of an attack by what is basically Cthulhu, he wants to you bring him research notes on Cthulhu’s fishmen. I love him and I would commit war crimes for him.

The second, because she was a bit character that had me fully invested in her and her story within ten minutes. And then Blizzard ripped my fucking heart out. And I yelled at Questifer about it. Aaaaaaaa.

Granny Weatherwax/Sam Vimes - Discworld. They’re both staggering badasses who have neither time nor tolerance for the bullshit trappings of men, while at the same time harboring a deep and abiding love for their fellow beings. They also approach that from completely different ends. They are also both unquestionably the most noble characters I’ve ever read. They are the sum of their principles and their refusal to budge. Steve Rogers could learn from them. In D&D, they’d be paladins to their core, and they’d absolutely hate that.

Spawn - Image Comics. I have, admittedly, read exactly one Spawn comic book, and mostly love him because of his design, his backstory, and the fact that he’s voiced by Keith David in all animated iterations including video game appearances (and only the animated ones were ever good--the 90s movie was fucking horrible). I am hoping the rumored new movie will make things a bit better for the live-action version, but until that actually comes out, I’m not holding my breath.

Tagged by: @safrona-shadowsun and @ourcollectivefantasy

Tagging: Have you done it? Then you’re it.

#prompty things #stuff about me

[marshmallowgoop]

On Ragyo Kiryuin

Please note: This post will contain discussions of sexual assault and abuse.

I am not good at talking about Ragyo Kiryuin.

Every time I do, I mess it up. I don’t emphasize her atrocities enough. I emphasize her atrocities too much. I cause trouble for myself and others, and I always end up feeling awful.

My recent writing on Ragyo’s character—found here and here—proved no different. The reception for the first post was so overwhelmingly negative that it spurred on my first-ever legitimate anon hate, and the second post only made things worse. Even now, my inbox is being filled with dismissive, rude, heartbreaking messages that bring me to tears, and though my therapist has told me not to say that I hate myself anymore, it’s difficult not to in situations like these. I hate that my wording was so poor and that I stated my opinion so badly that I incited all this rage and aggression in someone (or someones, a thought that scares me more than I would like to admit).

It may be a mistake to try to explain myself further. But I hurt people with what I said, and that bothers me. I hurt people because I struggle to explain my feelings on a cartoon character well, and I’m sorry. I’m embarrassed. I’m ashamed. I want to at least put in the effort to be kinder, more nuanced, and more sympathetic.

And maybe it’ll all blow up in my face. But I don’t want to not try.

So. Ragyo Kiryuin. Mother of Satsuki Kiryuin and Ryuko Matoi, CEO of REVOCS, and the ultimate Big Bad of Kill la Kill. Love her, hate her, or love her and hate her, she’s certainly made an impression in the anime-viewing world. And though I can’t speak for anyone else’s impression, my personal impression is... mixed.

Let’s go through this bit by bit.

A Good Villain?

Though I don’t see it much anymore, I remember lots of comparisons between Ragyo and the villains of Saturday morning cartoons back in the day. She was described as a generic, two-dimensional “evilz for the sake of evilz” baddie and criticized for her simplicity.

And though I did admittedly agree to an extent—I craved a lot more depth and insight, particularly in regards to her haunting line about “still having something of a human heart” whilst brutally attacking her own daughter in the final episode—I also found Ragyo to be a remarkably compelling, powerful, and horrifying villain even without tons of backstory and explanation. Perhaps my write-up on her first scene in episode 6 best details why; this woman has such a presence, and the visual language of the series amplifies that presence spectacularly. Ragyo’s intimidating and scary without the audience even needing to know anything about her.

And... I’d say that’s a good villain. That’s exactly what a villain should do.

Why Does This Matter, Goop?

I know, I know. My talking about Ragyo’s efficiency as a villain probably doesn’t seem all that relevant to the stuff that egged on an anon hate assault. But I think it’s important to mention that I do believe that Ragyo is a great, powerful villain. My previous posts were so bleak and cynical that I didn’t make this point clear. It does, in retrospect, seem as though I am crapping all over the character and subtly dissing anyone who enjoys her. I’m sorry for that, and I want to stress that that was not at all my intention.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with loving villains—even when they’re morally bankrupt, atrocious people like Ragyo—because loving villains, of course, doesn’t automatically mean that you excuse or endorse their actions. Villains like Ragyo also leave such a strong impression on the viewers, and personally, I’ve been so captivated by this awful woman that my first attempt at my years-in-the-making Kill la Kill fairytale AU featured about a 30,000-word backstory for her. There is a lot to respect, love, and love to hate when it comes to Ragyo and how she’s written, and I never, ever mean to discount that.

However, as with all things, it’s possible to love a piece of fiction or a character or what have you and also recognize that there are problems in the portrayal. And when it comes to Ragyo, as much as I think she’s a fantastic, engaging, terrifying villain, I do take issue with her depiction.

The Sexuality Point

I got a lot of heat for my ideas regarding Ragyo’s sexuality, and I admit: I didn’t express myself well. There was a lot more I should have said and elaborated upon. Maybe I’ll still fail spectacularly, but as I said before, I don’t want to not try.

So first, I want to take a moment to discuss intentionality. While I absolutely value Author is Dead and respect fan interpretations of any work, I also recognize that narrative decisions in fiction don’t happen in a vacuum. The fact of the matter is, Ragyo was originally designed as a father but was later changed to a mother so the relationships Ragyo shares with her daughters wouldn’t seem so “murky,” “gross,” and “perverted.”

And... that disturbs me. The idea, as I see it, is that a father abusing his daughters is, more than appropriately, disgusting, but a mother abusing her daughters is somehow less bad. In fact, writer Kazuki Nakashima outright states that he didn’t want to explore the “murkiness” of these relationships, noting that he “didn’t want to mix [that] ‘murkiness’ into the battle.” My impression—which I understand might very well be wrong—is that there’s the feeling that female-on-female abuse just isn’t as serious or life changing as male-on-female abuse. There’s the feeling that you can just not talk about how devastating this sexual assault is, and that’s totally okay, because the perpetrator is a woman.

I’ve written previously—and perhaps most overtly here—that female-on-female abuse seems to get brushed off way more than it should be. It’s cute when a girl grabs another girl’s boobs, even when that other girl is noticeably and visibly unhappy. It’s adorable when a girl forces a kiss on another girl. Charming. Sweet. If you have a problem with it, you’re a homophobe.

And I think that’s so, so damaging. I wish I had some statistics (oh anon hounding me about facts, if you’re here), but I recall reading about how this mindset—this idea that girls just can’t hurt other girls—ends up keeping wlw in abusive, toxic relationships. And that’s not even mentioning how the notion that women are harmless and can’t do damage is a totally sexist one that hurts men and other genders, too!

With Ragyo, I actually think there’s a lot of powerful potential. Kill la Kill could have shown that there’s nothing sweet or cute or charming or sexy about female-on-female abuse. It could have shown that a mother sexually abusing her daughters is just as horrific as a father sexually abusing his daughters. Both good representation and bad representation are important, and I do see the value in an evil, awful lesbian; as noted above, the idea that girls can’t hurt other girls, that wlw can’t be bad, and that only men can cause harm is a dangerous mindset to have. I think it’s important to address it, particularly in anime, which attracts younger viewers.

In the past, I argued that Kill la Kill did address it. I wrote, “These scenes [depicting Ragyo’s abuses] are full of what may be typically used as fanservice—female nudity, fondling, touching—but they’re all incredibly disturbing, uncomfortable, painful, and tragic. The series makes no joke about just how violating these instances are.” I’ve seen similar arguments made today. 

But personally, now knowing more about the creation of Ragyo and being aware of the gushy, “Wow, this is so hot!”-type comments concerning the notorious bath scene in the official Trigger Magazine, I’ve since changed my tune. I think it’s undeniable that there is some “this isn’t so bad and maybe actually kinda sexy” appeal to Ragyo’s abuses, and that’s very, very disappointing to me. 

Further, being a survivor, I also find it incredibly hurtful. I’ve been too traumatized to even date ever since what happened to me happened, and to see situations like what I went through depicted in such explicit, detailed, fanservice-y ways... it disturbs me.

I understand that my opinion isn’t going to be shared by everyone, but I’ve come to believe in a “less is more” approach when it comes to these hard, real situations. Implication arguably holds far more power. For example, in all of my college film classes, Osama left one of the strongest impressions. In it, a young girl dresses as a boy to provide for her family. She’s eventually found out when she has her first period, and she’s then married off to a much older man. The ending scene of the film depicts the man washing himself just as the girl, in disguise as a boy, had been taught to do after having sex. Unlike in Kill la Kill, you don’t see the unspeakable scene at all. You know exactly what happened with just that one shot, and that one shot has stuck with me ever since. That’s a powerful, respectful way of portraying these very real, very horrific problems.

I know I cannot speak for every survivor, but I personally disagree with the notion that fiction should not discuss these topics. In my mind, fiction absolutely should because these things are real, because they happen. There could have been so much power in Ragyo’s depiction, in Satsuki’s depiction, in Ryuko’s. But the severity of Ragyo’s abuses is brushed off, and, as I see it, fetishized. That’s what I take issue with—not that there’s a potential evil lesbian, not that there’s a depiction of a mother abusing her daughters, but how this is depicted: not respectfully.

Referring more to my troublesome posts, I also want to address my point of how girls showing affection for other girls is often portrayed negatively in Kill la Kill, which could potentially send the message, “Hey, lesbians just be evilz.” Perhaps more than anything else, this hurt my readers the most. I wasn’t very clear and didn’t speak well, and I apologize.

Maybe surprisingly, I’ve also taken issue with the argument that Ryuko kissing Nui shows that a girl having an attraction towards another girl is bad. As I saw it, the kiss was simply a shocking way of showing that Ryuko is not at all herself; someone kissing the person they hate the most says more than words ever could. The scene isn’t an attack on wlw; the protagonist and the villain in this case just so happen to both be girls.

And I still believe this rebuttal. But I also have mixed feelings, which explains my previous responses. I once more have to question intentionality: if Ryuko were a boy, as shonen heroes so often are, would this scene have happened? Would Nui have been so flirty with him? Would there have been so much screen time and detail put into the kiss? Similar to my arguments about Ragyo, could there have been a potentially much more powerful scene whose power comes from its implications, not what it actually shows?

In all my years in the Kill la Kill fandom, I’ve seen reactions to that scene that find it hot, as “proving” that Ryuko/Nui is the only canon Kill la Kill pairing, and that see it in ways that I find to be unsavory. If the goal of that kiss is to cement the fact that Ryuko isn’t herself in the most shocking way possible, I could argue that it failed for a lot of viewers. In fact, one of my more looked-at posts is about why Ryuko kisses Nui. Its execution is confusing, and yes, I do believe it could potentially send some bad messages about wlw, even if that wasn’t intended.

Which, to bring this discussion back towards Ragyo, I want to take a moment to say that bad messages can be totally unintentional. As a writer myself, I think about potential bad unintentional messages all the time. For instance, in my aforementioned fairytale AU, I had a theme going (’cause it’s a fairytale and all): a healthy, beautiful baby is good, a healthy, ugly baby is bad, and an unhealthy, beautiful baby is good. Notice how there’s only one ugly baby, and they’re bad? I realized that this could subtly say something about ugly people, and I’ve decided to make a point about a heroic character being ugly in order to send the message that anyone can be good or bad, regardless of if they’re beautiful or ugly, healthy or unhealthy.

With Ragyo (and with Nui as well), I don’t at all think the intention is to show that girls loving other girls is wrong and bad. But the depiction, to me, leaves things to be desired. A lot of it feels fetishy, and the fact that Ragyo was purposely changed to a woman for “gross” concerns also greatly irks me.

And before I try to write up a conclusion of sorts, I do want to offer this: what if Ragyo stayed a man, but he was associated with white and rainbows as Ragyo is in the final cut? It was stated at this year’s Anime Expo that director Hiroyuki Imaishi has his heroic characters in black and villainous characters in white, which could possibly send messages like Darkness Isn’t Bad and the real villains are the ones who are perverting the purity, goodness, and so on that are associated with white. In the same way, if Ragyo were a man who seemed straight but had rainbow hair, it could send the message that the real villain is the one perverting this symbol of love and acceptance.

I don’t know. Just some food for thought.

Conclusion

I am bad at talking about Ragyo. I am bad at talking about serious topics. I’m sure this post proves as much.

But I hope I’ve done a better job of explaining my point of view than I did before. But if I didn’t—which, knowing me, is likely—I just want everyone to know that I don’t think you’re a reprehensible person if you like Ragyo. I don’t think Ragyo is “too evil” to be representation. I don’t think she’s some terrible, awful character whom nobody can love. (At least, in regards to the writing. I hope there’s agreement that she’s a terrible, awful person.)

While I have problems with Ragyo’s depiction, I don’t think anyone is horrible and wrong if they don’t and resonate with it. I know I certainly like things that others find horrible and wrong, like the Ryuko/Senketsu pairing that I’ve been attacked left and right for, and I more than recognize and voice my own problems with it whilst still loving what I love (and politely disagreeing with the problems that others see that I don’t!)

I know I’m not good at this. But I hope I’ve conveyed my thoughts respectfully, and that, even if you strongly disagree, you know I welcome and am open to your thoughts and perspective, if you would like to share. That’s why I write these posts at all.

#kill la kill #ragyo kiryuin #analysis #ragyo discourse #ramblings #serious talk #the discourse #abuse mention #i'm sorry if this is awful i just got it confirmed that i do have adhd and hyper-focused on this even though i shouldn't have #and i haven't eaten all day 'cause i've been dying to finish this and i've spent several hours on it and... i'm trying #i'm sorry but i really really am trying

[chatterbox-meta]

Katsuki Bakugou and The Five Stages  of Grief

Or, the essay in which I argue Bakugou was a great character way before S3 rolled around. The title will become relevant eventually. Speaking of, the following contains spoilers for the entirety of the My Hero Academia anime (S1-S3) and some mild spoilers for the manga. I repeat, this is an in-depth analysis of Bakugou’s entire journey.

(Originally submitted anonymously to @heroes-never-discourse over here.)

In the early parts of My Hero Academia, Katsuki Bakugou was defined almost completely by his role in Deku’s underdog story - as an obstacle in Deku’s path to becoming a hero, an arrogant bully and therefore an antagonist you really want to see go down. And he served that role really well, but there wasn’t much more to him. And what little insight we got into his character didn’t make a lot of sense. Why would he think Deku was hiding his Quirk all this time? He hates Deku for wanting to help him up, fucking really? And he doesn’t even have a tragic backstory! Etc. etc. The audience was left with the impression that he’s just a cruel spoiled brat lashing out because the kid he hates for being Quirkless won’t let him do what he wants. That he wants the number one spot because he believes he deserves it. That impression slowly started to change when Bakugou defied expectations by refusing to join the League of Villains just to get more power. Then, it was completely flipped on its head when Deku vs Kacchan revealed that Bakugou never hated Deku for being Quirkless, but that he was always afraid that Deku, despite being Quirkless and clumsy and a crybaby, had whatever it takes to overtake him, knew it, and looked down on Bakugou for it. Of course, Deku’s reply is “I wanted to surpass you because I thought you were amazing, not weak, you fucking asshole” (paraphrased, obviously lol), but that’s not the point. The point is that the audience finally has what was missing from Bakugou’s early characterization - context. With that context, the underlying setup for his character arc becomes visible. Let’s go back to the beginning and take a closer look!

When we first meet Bakugou, he seems completely secure in his place in the world. He’s loud, brash and at his most arrogant. But when the teacher reveals that Deku wants to go to U.A. just like him, he doesn’t laugh along with the rest of the class, he’s shocked for a moment and then he flips his shit, to the point of telling Deku he has a better chance of getting a Quirk and being a hero in his next life. The first time, it’s just meant to make us hate him. In hindsight, with context, it’s the first crack in Bakugou’s facade. I’m not saying Bakugou’s arrogance is fake. He wouldn’t care so much about being the best if he wasn’t prideful, but let’s put it this way: Deku’s confidence is a foundation being built brick by brick, while Bakugou’s is a tower of cards. And all because when they were kids Deku cast doubt on that security in his place in the world, making him doubt whether the things he was praised for all his life meant anything at all, if he was weak despite being strong. However, Bakugou is still in denial of these doubts and fears when the series begins. The Sludge Villain incident and Deku rescuing him bring them to the surface, but he quickly pushes them down again by pretending he totally could have handled it himself (though he knows he couldn’t, which is why he doesn’t accept the praise from the pro-heroes on the scene) and avoiding Deku. But then Deku suddenly gets a Quirk and Bakugou is furious. He accuses Deku of hiding his Quirk all this time and laughing behind his back. Again, on a first viewing, this just sounds like Insane Troll Logic, but knowing that Bakugou always feared Deku had some hidden strength, it makes sense he’d connect that with One For All’s sudden appearance. (Though it’s still not a reasonable conclusion since it’s based on a false premise lmao.) During Deku vs Kacchan Part 1, Bakugou can no longer deny what he thinks is the truth about Deku, so he lashes out. It’s his last chance to make Deku give up on being a hero. He’s not just looking to beat up Deku, though, he wants Deku to fight back, to show him that power so Bakugou can snuff it out. After all, a victory over an opponent who’s holding back isn’t a victory at all. But Deku does hold back, focusing on his mission, and in doing so, defeats Bakugou. And it’s here that Bakugou’s security in his place in the world is completely shattered, not just by Deku, but also by seeing other students, especially Todoroki, whom he doesn’t think he can beat. He can no longer deny it and his anger has only blinded him to the path of true victory, as Yaoyorozu points out. And Bakugou, despite all appearances, can take criticism and learn from his mistakes. In the aftermath, both Deku and Bakugou basically declare war on each other, but despite Deku saying he’ll surpass him, Bakugou feels that their situation is flipped. That Deku is the one who’s ahead and Bakugou’s the one scrambling to catch up. (I don’t think he realises that during the time spent chasing Deku, he’ll work harder and grow more than he has in a decade.) And he wants to catch up. Despite his sense of self as a winner being taken from him, Bakugou is not willing to let it go. And the Sports Festival is Bakugou’s attempt to regain it. It’s a bargain. He has a pretty detailed and strict set of rules for that, too. First, he’ll announce that he’ll take the number one spot to the entire stadium. As Deku points out, he’s not bragging, he’s pushing himself, knowing he’ll look like a complete tool if he loses after a declaration like that. Secondly, he has to defeat Deku or Todoroki (or both), the people he perceives as the greatest threats. Finally, he has to win against all of his opponents at their best. If he fails at any of those things, if he doesn’t prove himself to be the indisputable strongest, he will have failed, completely. This period of the story also showcases a subtle shift in his personality, one that was already somewhat visible during the USJ arc. Bakugou was never stupid, but asides from designing his weapons and costume for maximum efficiency (seriously, despite looking exactly like what happens when you give an edgy 15-year-old free reign to design a costume, his is the most utilitarian, mitigating recoil and absorbing sweat and all that), he used to rely solely on his admittedly above-average combat skills. But the fight against Deku proved that it wouldn’t be enough, so he (probably subconsciously) takes a page out of his book and starts carefully analysing his opponents’ moves to find their weaknesses. He’s also rather less nasty. He isn’t kinder or more polite, but he doesn’t go out of his way to be cruel. And he’s starting to look around himself and see other people, recognizing their strengths, if only so he knows how to beat them (he doesn’t underestimate any of his opponents) or use them to his advantage (Cavalry Battle).  This is also when his friendship with Kirishima officially starts, since Kiri approached him as an ally. Unfortunately, he’s still a disrespectful tyrant in an environment where people aren’t willing to follow him just because, and he doesn’t deal with that well, exposing himself to be a huge antisocial weirdo when he’s not in control. For me, this was when I started to like Bakugou as a character. He still didn’t seem great without the context provided later, but his personality wasn’t just “Deku’s bully,” as he interacted with people other than him. Back on track, all of this is particularly emphasized during his fight with Uraraka. Just like in his fight with Deku, he’s giving it his all not because he enjoys beating up the weak, but because he knows his opponent is stronger than she looks.* Unlike the fight with Deku though, he has no grudge that makes him act like a rabid animal and isn’t letting his guard down for a second. And when it’s over, he’s disappointed because he’s gained respect for Uraraka and was excited to fight her. (*Though maybe that is an overly charitable interpretation of DvK1 lmao.)

Soon afterwards, Deku loses to Todoroki, but not before making him use his fire side. So all Bakugou has to do to complete his mission is defeat Todoroki. Bakugou isn’t upset that Deku lost, after all, he didn’t believe he himself could win against Todoroki’s ice alone before.

But he does. And he’s not satisfied. Because he didn’t beat Todoroki at his full power since he, due to personal issues, couldn’t bring himself to use his fire side, which he did against Deku. Yes, Deku lost after Todoroki used it, but he forced Todoroki to give him all he’s got, something Bakugou couldn’t do. To him, it’s like losing to Deku by proxy.

(He probably thinks Todoroki didn’t use his fire because he didn’t see Bakugou as worth it, unlike with Deku, but the actual reason is that Bakugou couldn’t reach out to him the way Deku could. That’s what he’s missing, he just doesn’t know it yet.)

Okay, so, Bakugou wins the Sports Festival, but fails to accomplish what he set out to do. He feels desperate and lashes out again. Though I actually doubt he would have kept beating Todoroki’s corpse (so to speak), he’s put to sleep just in case and chained up for the ceremony like a wild beast. Certain people take notice.

Before, that, though, it’s time for some work experience! He’s still behind Deku, but maybe working for the number three hero will help him! Wait, what do you mean, Deku is out there improving his fighting style by copying Bakugou’s moves (and Gran Torino’s, and also fighting a literal serial killer, but Bakugou doesn’t know that), while Bakugou is - what, modeling jeans?!

In fairness, Best Jeanist’s intent was to teach him to be respectable, but, like, he came up to a delinquent teenager and told him he should overhaul his entire look and personality, what did he expect was going to happen? XD

Ooooh, but this next part is super interesting. The End of Term Exam. Deku and Kacchan vs All Might.

The in-universe reason for having these two team up is something like “Bakugou needs to learn to work with someone he doesn’t like and Deku needs to assert himself and force an uncooperative teammate to work with him.” Both of those are likely scenarios in their future careers. The narrative reason, however, is twofold.

Firstly, before this point, Deku and Bakugou have grown mostly separately from each other. This means that while they’ve changed individually, their relationship didn’t. And it has to. Bakugou’s issues with Deku were actually only made worse due to how far behind he thinks he’s fallen, so he attempts to prove he can defeat All Might on his own. When Deku objects, Bakugou even relapses into his cruel personality and pretty much bitchslaps him. Deku can fight back now, but he doesn’t want to, he wants to talk.

Secondly, the fact that they’re teamed up against All Might is vital. Because while there were hints of it beforehand, this is the first time we learn about the two sides of All Might that Deku and Bakugou admire - saving and winning. Deku wants to save people, but hesitates to take on All Might, even though escaping him would be impossible. But he doesn’t run, because Bakugou doesn’t. That is our first glimpse into what Deku admires in Bakugou and what he can learn from him.

However, Bakugou charges at All Might alone and predictably gets the crap kicked out of him. Even though he’s beaten to the point of vomiting, Bakugou refuses Deku’s help (saving), saying that he would rather lose. This is when Deku punches him, and not just to get him away from All Might or because Bakugou hit him earlier, but because he doesn’t want Bakugou to give up on the one thing Deku’s always admired about him.

Bakugou seems to remember himself then. He remembers that he’s the guy who wins, at all costs. Even if it means accepting Deku’s help. Oh, but not just that - he starts emulating Deku in turn. He sacrifices his protection from pain by giving his gauntlet to Deku and making bigger and bigger explosions. When Deku uses the gauntlet, he hurts his shoulder from the recoil, but Bakugou should already be used to the strain, so how far is he going for his arms to hurt?

…Yeah, okay maybe the whole “break all your bones to achieve your goal” isn’t the part of Deku he should be emulating, but the saving part? Absolutely. And he does emulate it, when he jumps in front of a blow meant for Deku and gets smashed into the ground so Deku can get to the gate. Deku being Deku decides to attack All Might so he can carry Bakugou to safety with him. They win by saving and save by winning.

This fight was a pivotal moment for both characters as it shows what their relationship has the potential to become. Though Bakugou probably doesn’t realise it because he’s too busy thinking he failed by accepting Deku’s help. Yet it’s his greatest victory yet.

Speaking of pivotal moments, summer arrives and Bakugou gets kidnapped by the League of Villains. Deku tries to save him, but he tells him to stay away. The others take this to mean Bakugou is too prideful to be saved by Deku yet again, but while that might be partially true, I think it has more to do with the guy whose name literally means “cremation” holding him by the neck and Deku having two broken arms, fucking moron, stay away.

Anyway, in the villains’ hideout, Bakugou is offered a chance to join the League. He refuses immediately and attacks Shigaraki despite being outnumbered, even refusing to lie to get out of trouble. He then explains that he’ll never join the villains, not just because of Shigaraki’s less-than stellar persuasion skills (seriously, Bakugou’s the last person to believe he’s “wronged” by society), but because he wants to win like All Might, like a hero.

This is supposed to be a big twist on a first viewing, but if you pay attention to everything beforehand, it really shouldn’t be. Bakugou has many flaws, but his ambition was never portrayed as a bad thing and now, it’s what’s keeping him from throwing in the towel and becoming a villain.

(Also, I don’t know how anyone thought he’d pull a Sasuke, it would make no narrative sense. Like, the reason Sasuke joining the villains had any impact was because him and Naruto were friends, Bakugou joining Deku’s enemies would have changed what exactly? Lmao.)

So the heroes arrive to the rescue, but All For One appears and they’re all in even deeper shit now. All Might can’t go all out because he’s busy protecting Bakugou, who’s busy holding off the League who presumably want to make him into a Noumu now. Luckily, the Rescue Squad comes blasting through the sky with Kirishima’s outstretched hand. Bakugou takes it. I shouldn’t have to explain why that’s important.

Despite being free to go all out, All Might can’t defeat All For One and his true form is revealed. This is Bakugou’s first time seeing the greatest hero be vulnerable and things look bad. The crowd is desperately cheering All Might on and both Bakugou and Deku are screaming for All Might to win. Which he does. But he’s spent and he points to the cameras saying “you’re next.” Everyone starts cheering, except for Deku, who bursts into tears, and Bakugou, who looks pensive.

When they get back, Bakugou is nicer than normal. He cheers up the class using Kaminari and gives Kirishima money for a new camera as a way to thank them for risking their lives and careers to save him. He respects All Might’s decision not to tell him about Deku and OFA and verbally thanks him for saving him.

This is because Bakugou ended up taking this entire fiasco as his greatest failure yet. DvK1, the Sports Festival, the End of Term Exam - all of it pales in comparison. If he didn’t get himself kidnapped, his idol wouldn’t have lost his powers in order to save him and society would still have its Symbol of Peace. That’s right, society is in disarray and they must all think that it’s his fault. Whether or not it actually is his fault is besides the point, what matters is that he thinks it is.

What’s worse is that he knows Deku now has that power. His worst fear has come true. But he can’t talk to anyone about it, so he tries to bury it. He’s been in denial before, he can do it again, right?

No. It’s always on his mind. And I think this was the reason why he was so harsh on the pretend hostages during the Provisional Hero License Exam. It wasn’t (just) his usual jackassery, he screamed at them to save themselves because that’s what he thinks he should have done. Unfortunately, it’s what caused him to fail the exam.

Now, he’s failed plenty of times, just recently caused the end of All Might, surely that’s nothing? But Deku passed the exam and Bakugou has never been more aware of Deku’s back, getting further and further away. That was the last nail in the coffin.

He goes to confront Deku at Ground Beta, the site of DvK1, to get some answers about him and All Might. And so Deku vs Kacchan Part 2 begins.

I won’t repeat what I’ve already said about what’s revealed in this fight, but I’ll elaborate on what Bakugou wants from it. First of all, he didn’t go into it expecting to win. He’s already lost - he ended All Might and Deku was chosen as his protégé. What Bakugou wants is to know why. He’s always feared that Deku was worthy somehow, but he could never put his finger on what made him worthy.

Why did Deku lose? If he’s the true hero, he should have won. Surely that idea is not wrong. Bakugou won, but he’s not satisfied, he knows he’s missing something.

Why did the kid he spent ten years trying to put far behind him overtake him? Why did Deku become the prodigy and Bakugou the failure? Yes, after spending most of the series fighting tooth and nail to hold onto his image as the strong one, he’s accepted that he’s weak, he’s despairing, but why?

All Might provides the answer that was blindingly obvious to anyone but Bakugou. Deku had the heart of a true hero, even though he lacked the power to win and that made him worthy. but Bakugou’s view of a hero that always wins wasn’t wrong either. It was just incomplete, just as Deku’s was. But together, learning from each other, they can be the greatest heroes the world has ever seen.

And with all of their complicated emotions that have been festering for years out of the way, they can finally move forward. Bakugou can finally accept his weaknesses to make himself stronger, he can finally accept Deku as a rival who pushes him forward instead of a threat. And he can support Deku in turn, he does need to make up for years of pushing him down.

…

I think this is as good a time as any to go back to the title of this meta. The five stages of grief are, well, exactly as it sounds, the five steps of the grieving process: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Despair and Acceptance. Not necessarily in that order. Bakugou spends most of his time pinballing between the first three, actually. Yet his overall character arc, spanning the time between chapter one and DvK2, still follows roughly that formula.

But what is he grieving? Well, grief is a general feeling of loss and Bakugou is grieving the slow loss of his identity. Ever since he was a child, he’d put so much stock into his strength and abilities to the point that he didn’t know who he’d be without being the best. Bakugou has no Freudian Excuse, he’s pretty much had it all, yet when I was watching DvK2, I didn’t see a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum because he didn’t get an honor he didn’t deserve. I saw a lost kid who doesn’t even know who he is anymore.

But as painful as all that was, it was ultimately for his own good. His fragile ego needed to be broken in order for Bakugou to rebuild himself into a stronger, kinder, better person. He needed to pick up the pieces that were still useful and fill in the gaps with things he learned from All Might. From Deku.

And the manga is already delivering on that. Bakugou does take a backseat for the next few arcs, but when he appears, he’s always seen making a concentrated effort to be better. I think that’s when his “redemption” truly starts, previously him becoming a better person was more of a side effect of everything else going on and he was dragged into it kicking and screaming.

Bakugou gives comfort and encouragement to Kirishima prior to his internship. He waits up for the interns with the others.

He listens to Todoroki when he suggests a better way to deal with children than physical discipline. He warns a child that reminds him of his past self that if he’s always looking down on people, he’ll be blind to his own weakness.

He integrates himself into the class during the Culture Festival, getting offended on their behalf - because they’re not extras, he’s one of them, now - when the other classes blame them for villain attacks. He listens to Jirou when she tells him to stop improvising because, as a drummer, he’s the support, not the lead.

Finally, he looks out for anyone in danger and jumps in to save them and lets himself be saved in turn. He keeps an eye on Deku and tries to aid his progress, like he promised.

Of course, he’s still got a long way to go. He’s still rough around the edges and he does have a literal decade to make up for, but I believe he will. With him being in on the secret and getting his license, it’s about time he and Deku get into hot water with the League again.

But everything that’s happened so far has been built up from Day One. This is Katsuki Bakugou. In hindsight.

~B

#my hero academia #bnha #bnha meta #katsuki bakugou #chatterbox meta #long post #extremely long post you were warned #almost 4 fucking k #i know bakugou metas are a dime a dozen at this point #but i tried to do it with a different lens!

[heroes-never-discourse]

Katsuki Bakugou and The Five Stages of Grief

Or, the essay in which I argue Bakugou was a great character way before S3 rolled around. The title will become relevant eventually. Speaking of, the following contains spoilers for the entirety of the My Hero Academia anime (S1-S3) and some mild spoilers for the manga.

In the early parts of My Hero Academia, Katsuki Bakugou was defined almost completely by his role in Deku’s underdog story - as an obstacle in Deku’s path to becoming a hero, an arrogant bully and therefore an antagonist you really want to see go down. And he served that role really well, but there wasn't much more to him. And what little insight we got into his character didn’t make a lot of sense. Why would he think Deku was hiding his Quirk all this time? He hates Deku for wanting to help him up, fucking really? And he doesn't even have a tragic backstory! Etc. etc. The audience was left with the impression that he’s just a cruel spoiled brat lashing out because the kid he hates for being Quirkless won’t let him do what he wants. That he wants the number one spot because he believes he deserves it. That impression slowly started to change when Bakugou defied expectations by refusing to join the League of Villains just to get more power. Then, it was completely flipped on its head when Deku vs Kacchan revealed that Bakugou never hated Deku for being Quirkless, but that he was always afraid that Deku, despite being Quirkless and clumsy and a crybaby, had whatever it takes to overtake him, knew it, and looked down on Bakugou for it. Of course, Deku’s reply is “I wanted to surpass you because I thought you were amazing, not weak, you fucking asshole” (paraphrased, obviously lol), but that’s not the point. The point is that the audience finally has what was missing from Bakugou’s early characterization - context. With that context, the underlying setup for his character arc becomes visible. Let’s go back to the beginning and take a closer look! When we first meet Bakugou, he seems completely secure in his place in the world. He’s loud, brash and at his most arrogant. But when the teacher reveals that Deku wants to go to U.A. just like him, he doesn’t laugh along with the rest of the class, he’s shocked for a moment and then he flips his shit, to the point of telling Deku he has a better chance of getting a Quirk and being a hero in his next life. The first time, it’s just meant to make us hate him. In hindsight, with context, it’s the first crack in Bakugou’s facade. I’m not saying Bakugou’s arrogance is fake. He wouldn’t care so much about being the best if he wasn’t prideful, but let’s put it this way: Deku’s confidence is a foundation being built brick by brick, while Bakugou’s is a tower of cards. And all because when they were kids Deku cast doubt on that security in his place in the world, making him doubt whether the things he was praised for all his life meant anything at all, if he was weak despite being strong. However, Bakugou is still in denial of these doubts and fears when the series begins. The Sludge Villain incident and Deku rescuing him bring them to the surface, but he quickly pushes them down again by pretending he totally could have handled it himself (though he knows he couldn’t, which is why he doesn’t accept the praise from the pro-heroes on the scene) and avoiding Deku. But then Deku suddenly gets a Quirk and Bakugou is furious. He accuses Deku of hiding his Quirk all this time and laughing behind his back. Again, on a first viewing, this just sounds like Insane Troll Logic, but knowing that Bakugou always feared Deku had some hidden strength, it makes sense he’d connect that with One For All’s sudden appearance. (Though it’s still not a reasonable conclusion since it’s based on a false premise lmao.) During Deku vs Kacchan Part 1, Bakugou can no longer deny what he thinks is the truth about Deku, so he lashes out. It’s his last chance to make Deku give up on being a hero. He’s not just looking to beat up Deku, though, he wants Deku to fight back, to show him that power so Bakugou can snuff it out. After all, a victory over an opponent who’s holding back isn’t a victory at all. But Deku does hold back, focusing on his mission, and in doing so, defeats Bakugou. And it’s here that Bakugou’s security in his place in the world is completely shattered, not just by Deku, but also by seeing other students, especially Todoroki, whom he doesn’t think he can beat. He can no longer deny it and his anger has only blinded him to the path of true victory, as Yaoyorozu points out. And Bakugou, despite all appearances, can take criticism and learn from his mistakes. In the aftermath, both Deku and Bakugou basically declare war on each other, but despite Deku saying he’ll surpass him, Bakugou feels that their situation is flipped. That Deku is the one who’s ahead and Bakugou’s the one scrambling to catch up. (I don’t think he realises that during the time spent chasing Deku, he’ll work harder and grow more than he has in a decade.) And he wants to catch up. Despite his sense of self as a winner being taken from him, Bakugou is not willing to let it go. And the Sports Festival is Bakugou’s attempt to regain it. It’s a bargain. He has a pretty detailed and strict set of rules for that, too. First, he’ll announce that he’ll take the number one spot to the entire stadium. As Deku points out, he’s not bragging, he’s pushing himself, knowing he’ll look like a complete tool if he loses after a declaration like that. Secondly, he has to defeat Deku or Todoroki (or both), the people he perceives as the greatest threats. Finally, he has to win against all of his opponents at their best. If he fails at any of those things, if he doesn’t prove himself to be the indisputable strongest, he will have failed, completely. This period of the story also showcases a subtle shift in his personality, one that was already somewhat visible during the USJ arc. Bakugou was never stupid, but asides from designing his weapons and costume for maximum efficiency (seriously, despite looking exactly like what happens when you give an edgy 15-year-old free reign to design a costume, his is the most utilitarian, mitigating recoil and absorbing sweat and all that), he used to rely solely on his admittedly above-average combat skills. But the fight against Deku proved that it wouldn’t be enough, so he (probably subconsciously) takes a page out of his book and starts carefully analysing his opponents’ moves to find their weaknesses. He’s also rather less nasty. He isn’t kinder or more polite, but he doesn’t go out of his way to be cruel. And he’s starting to look around himself and see other people, recognizing their strengths, if only so he knows how to beat them (he doesn’t underestimate any of his opponents) or use them to his advantage (Cavalry Battle).  This is also when his friendship with Kirishima officially starts, since Kiri approached him as an ally. Unfortunately, he’s still a disrespectful tyrant in an environment where people aren’t willing to follow him just because, and he doesn’t deal with that well, exposing himself to be a huge antisocial weirdo when he’s not in control. For me, this was when I started to like Bakugou as a character. He still didn’t seem great without the context provided later, but his personality wasn’t just “Deku’s bully,” as he interacted with people other than him. Back on track, all of this is particularly emphasized during his fight with Uraraka. Just like in his fight with Deku, he’s giving it his all not because he enjoys beating up the weak, but because he knows his opponent is stronger than she looks.* Unlike the fight with Deku though, he has no grudge that makes him act like a rabid animal and isn’t letting his guard down for a second. And when it’s over, he’s disappointed because he’s gained respect for Uraraka and was excited to fight her. (*Though maybe that is an overly charitable interpretation of DvK1 lmao.)

Soon afterwards, Deku loses to Todoroki, but not before making him use his fire side. So all Bakugou has to do to complete his mission is defeat Todoroki. Bakugou isn’t upset that Deku lost, after all, he didn’t believe he himself could win against Todoroki’s ice alone before.

But he does. And he’s not satisfied. Because he didn’t beat Todoroki at his full power since he, due to personal issues, couldn’t bring himself to use his fire side, which he did against Deku. Yes, Deku lost after Todoroki used it, but he forced Todoroki to give him all he’s got, something Bakugou couldn’t do. To him, it’s like losing to Deku by proxy.

(He probably thinks Todoroki didn’t use his fire because he didn’t see Bakugou as worth it, unlike with Deku, but the actual reason is that Bakugou couldn’t reach out to him the way Deku could. That’s what he’s missing, he just doesn’t know it yet.)

Okay, so, Bakugou wins the Sports Festival, but fails to accomplish what he set out to do. He feels desperate and lashes out again. Though I actually doubt he would have kept beating Todoroki’s corpse (so to speak), he’s put to sleep just in case and chained up for the ceremony like a wild beast. Certain people take notice.

 Before, that, though, it’s time for some work experience! He’s still behind Deku, but maybe working for the number three hero will help him! Wait, what do you mean, Deku is out there improving his fighting style by copying Bakugou’s moves (and Gran Torino’s, and also fighting a literal serial killer, but Bakugou doesn’t know that), while Bakugou is - what, modeling jeans?!

In fairness, Best Jeanist’s intent was to teach him to be respectable, but, like, he came up to a delinquent teenager and told him he should overhaul his entire look and personality, what did he expect was going to happen? XD

Ooooh, but this next part is super interesting. The End of Term Exam. Deku and Kacchan vs All Might.

The in-universe reason for having these two team up is something like “Bakugou needs to learn to work with someone he doesn’t like and Deku needs to assert himself and force an uncooperative teammate to work with him.” Both of those are likely scenarios in their future careers. The narrative reason, however, is twofold.

Firstly, before this point, Deku and Bakugou have grown mostly separately from each other. This means that while they’ve changed individually, their relationship didn’t. And it has to. Bakugou’s issues with Deku were actually only made worse due to how far behind he thinks he’s fallen, so he attempts to prove he can defeat All Might on his own. When Deku objects, Bakugou even relapses into his cruel personality and pretty much bitchslaps him. Deku can fight back now, but he doesn’t want to, he wants to talk.

Secondly, the fact that they’re teamed up against All Might is vital. Because while there were hints of it beforehand, this is the first time we learn about the two sides of All Might that Deku and Bakugou admire - saving and winning. Deku wants to save people, but hesitates to take on All Might, even though escaping him would be impossible. But he doesn’t run, because Bakugou doesn’t. That is our first glimpse into what Deku admires in Bakugou and what he can learn from him.

However, Bakugou charges at All Might alone and predictably gets the crap kicked out of him. Even though he’s beaten to the point of vomiting, Bakugou refuses Deku’s help (saving), saying that he would rather lose. This is when Deku punches him, and not just to get him away from All Might or because Bakugou hit him earlier, but because he doesn’t want Bakugou to give up on the one thing Deku’s always admired about him.

Bakugou seems to remember himself then. He remembers that he’s the guy who wins, at all costs. Even if it means accepting Deku’s help. Oh, but not just that - he starts emulating Deku in turn. He sacrifices his protection from pain by giving his gauntlet to Deku and making bigger and bigger explosions. When Deku uses the gauntlet, he hurts his shoulder from the recoil, but Bakugou should already be used to the strain, so how far is he going for his arms to hurt?

…Yeah, okay maybe the whole “break all your bones to achieve your goal” isn’t the part of Deku he should be emulating, but the saving part? Absolutely. And he does emulate it, when he jumps in front of a blow meant for Deku and gets smashed into the ground so Deku can get to the gate. Deku being Deku decides to attack All Might so he can carry Bakugou to safety with him. They win by saving and save by winning.

This fight was a pivotal moment for both characters as it shows what their relationship has the potential to become. Though Bakugou probably doesn’t realise it because he’s too busy thinking he failed by accepting Deku’s help. Yet it’s his greatest victory yet.

Speaking of pivotal moments, summer arrives and Bakugou gets kidnapped by the League of Villains. Deku tries to save him, but he tells him to stay away. The others take this to mean Bakugou is too prideful to be saved by Deku yet again, but while that might be partially true, I think it has more to do with the guy whose name literally means “cremation” holding him by the neck and Deku having two broken arms, fucking moron, stay away.

Anyway, in the villains’ hideout, Bakugou is offered a chance to join the League. He refuses immediately and attacks Shigaraki despite being outnumbered, even refusing to lie to get out of trouble. He then explains that he’ll never join the villains, not just because of Shigaraki’s less-than stellar persuasion skills (seriously, Bakugou’s the last person to believe he’s “wronged” by society), but because he wants to win like All Might, like a hero.

This is supposed to be a big twist on a first viewing, but if you pay attention to everything beforehand, it really shouldn’t be. Bakugou has many flaws, but his ambition was never portrayed as a bad thing and now, it’s what’s keeping him from throwing in the towel and becoming a villain.

(Also, I don’t know how anyone thought he’d pull a Sasuke, it would make no narrative sense. Like, the reason Sasuke joining the villains had any impact was because him and Naruto were friends, Bakugou joining Deku’s enemies would have changed what exactly? Lmao.)

So the heroes arrive to the rescue, but All For One appears and they’re all in even deeper shit now. All Might can’t go all out because he’s busy protecting Bakugou, who’s busy holding off the League who presumably want to make him into a Noumu now. Luckily, the Rescue Squad comes blasting through the sky with Kirishima’s outstretched hand. Bakugou takes it. I shouldn’t have to explain why that’s important.

Despite being free to go all out, All Might can’t defeat All For One and his true form is revealed. This is Bakugou’s first time seeing the greatest hero be vulnerable and things look bad. The crowd is desperately cheering All Might on and both Bakugou and Deku are screaming for All Might to win. Which he does. But he’s spent and he points to the cameras saying “you’re next.” Everyone starts cheering, except for Deku, who bursts into tears, and Bakugou, who looks pensive.

When they get back, Bakugou is nicer than normal. He cheers up the class using Kaminari and gives Kirishima money for a new camera as a way to thank them for risking their lives and careers to save him. He respects All Might’s decision not to tell him about Deku and OFA and verbally thanks him for saving him.

This is because Bakugou ended up taking this entire fiasco as his greatest failure yet. DvK1, the Sports Festival, the End of Term Exam - all of it pales in comparison. If he didn’t get himself kidnapped, his idol wouldn’t have lost his powers in order to save him and society would still have its Symbol of Piece. That’s right, society is in disarray and they must all think that it’s his fault. Whether or not it actually is his fault or not is besides the point, what matters is that he thinks it is.

What’s worse is that he knows Deku now has that power. His worst fear has come true. But he can’t talk to anyone about it, so he tries to bury it. He’s been in denial before, he can do it again, right?

No. It’s always on his mind. And I think this was the reason why he was so harsh on the pretend hostages during the Provisional Hero License Exam. It wasn’t (just) his usual jackassery, he screamed at them to save themselves because that’s what he thinks he should have done. Unfortunately, it’s what caused him to fail the exam.

Now, he’s failed plenty of times, just recently caused the end of All Might, surely that’s nothing? But Deku passed the exam and Bakugou has never been more aware of Deku’s back, getting further and further away. That was the last nail in the coffin.

He goes to confront Deku at Ground Beta, the site of DvK1, to get some answers about him and All Might. And so Deku vs Kacchan Part 2 begins.

I won’t repeat what I’ve already said about what’s revealed in this fight, but I’ll elaborate on what Bakugou wants from it. First of all, he didn’t go into it expecting to win. He’s already lost - he ended All Might and Deku was chosen as his protégé. What Bakugou wants is to know why. He’s always feared that Deku was worthy somehow, but he could never put his finger on what made him worthy.

Why did Deku lose? If he’s the true hero, he should have won. Surely that idea is not wrong. Bakugou won, but he’s not satisfied, he knows he’s missing something.

Why did the kid he spent ten years trying to put far behind him overtake him? Why did Deku become the prodigy and Bakugou the failure? Yes, after spending most of the series fighting tooth and nail to hold onto his image as the strong one, he’s accepted that he’s weak, he’s despairing, but why?

All Might provides the answer that was blindingly obvious to anyone but Bakugou. Deku had the heart of a true hero, even though he lacked the power to win and that made him worthy. but Bakugou’s view of a hero that always wins wasn’t wrong either. It was just incomplete, just as Deku’s was. But together, learning from each other, they can be the greatest heroes the world has ever seen.

And with all of their complicated emotions that have been festering for years out of the way, they can finally move forward. Bakugou can finally accept his weaknesses to make himself stronger, he can finally accept Deku as a rival who pushes him forward instead of a threat. And he can support Deku in turn, he does need to make up for years of pushing him down.

…

I think this is as good a time as any to go back to the title of this meta. The five stages of grief are, well, exactly as it sounds, the five steps of the grieving process: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Despair and Acceptance. Not necessarily in that order. Bakugou spends most of his time pinballing between the first three, actually. Yet his overall character arc, spanning the time between chapter one and DvK2, still follows roughly that formula.

But what is he grieving? Well, grief is a general feeling of loss and Bakugou is grieving the slow loss of his identity. Ever since he was a child, he’d put so much stock into his strength and abilities to the point that he didn’t know who he’d be without being the best. Bakugou has no Freudian Excuse, he’s pretty much had it all, yet when I was watching DvK2, I didn’t see a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum because he didn’t get an honor he didn’t deserve. I saw a lost kid who doesn’t even know who he is anymore.

But as painful as all that was, it was ultimately for his own good. His fragile ego needed to be broken in order for Bakugou to rebuild himself into a stronger, kinder, better person. He needed to pick up the pieces that were still useful and fill in the gaps with things he learned from All Might. From Deku.

And the manga is already delivering on that. Bakugou does take a backseat for the next few arcs, but when he appears, he’s always seen making a concentrated effort to be better. I think that’s when his “redemption” truly starts, previously him becoming a better person was more of a side effect of everything else going on and he was dragged into it kicking and screaming.

Bakugou gives comfort and encouragement to Kirishima prior to his internship. He waits up for the interns with the others.

He listens to Todoroki when he suggests a better way to deal with children than physical discipline. He warns a child that reminds him of his past self that if he’s always looking down on people, he’ll be blind to his own weakness.

He integrates himself into the class during the Culture Festival, getting offended on their behalf - because they’re not extras, he’s one of them, now - when the other classes blame them for villain attacks. He listens to Jirou when she tells him to stop improvising because, as a drummer, he’s the support, not the lead.

Finally, he looks out for anyone in danger and jumps in to save them and lets himself be saved in turn. He keeps an eye on Deku and tries to aid his progress, like he promised.

Of course, he’s still got a long way to go. He’s still rough around the edges and he does have a literal decade to make up for, but I believe he will. With him being in on the secret and getting his license, it’s about time he and Deku get into hot water with the League again.

But everything that’s happened so far has been built up from Day One. This is Katsuki Bakugou. In hindsight.

~B

(This meta is dedicated to Celcius-senpai and Kali. Also, I’ll put in a treat in the fake email name every time from now on. ;))

This is fucking amazing, B-non, like no joke, the best character dive I’ve read, maybe ever

also

asdhkglahdskgj

#bnha meta #bakugou katsuki #meta #katsuki bakugou #bnha kacchan #bnha #bnha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #anonymous online #submission #b-non metas #~B-non #this is so fucking good dude #god i love meta #b-non you're a fucking star okay #long post #very long post

[usedtobewerealpacas-blog]

for the send a character thing - what about erik and jasper from dq11 if youre open to doing two? (if youd rather not then you can pick one)

I WILL DO BOTH. erik first.

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life 

woah starting off strong here! when i was playing the game for the first time, i was also kind of liveblogging it for a friend of mine -- sending detailed “omg this just happened” updates, phone screencaps, the works. and i got all the way up to part two and erik’s backstory… and realized i had never mentioned him? to her? like in all my rambling about how much i loved everything. maybe i mentioned him in passing, but i remember having to go back and be like “okay so remember that guy from the start  of the game? well i am at his backstory.”

so that… probably says a lot?? to be clear, i do not dislike erik. i just find him really… uninteresting? his role in the first part of the game is to a) act as the hero’s voice and b) kiiiind of be the straight man for the others, and i guess i just never paid attention to him. i did very much enjoy the mia dungeon section of the game, and it’s… yeah. i don’t dislike erik! i just have always found him the least interesting of the cast in terms of character and backstory, and so i just kind of…… shrug… 

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

in universe he’s apparently really attractive?? but his hair is very distracting lmaooo. like does it naturally grow like that?? does he use a ton of gel?? what happens when it gets wet???

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

okay going with a possibly controversial choice here: i think our boy is a hufflepuff. 

he’s brave and loyal, but they really aren’t his main traits — erik tends to be just a little bit self serving, he keeps things very close to the chest, and he’s also — while not like, unhelpful, not that into doing side quests and doing heroic stuff, especially early in the game. but what he is is loyal, literally spends the entire game defined only by his friendship with the hero, and beyond that has spent years working hard, not liking it but not complaining, to provide for his sister and later try to atone for her. admittedly he’s not much of a team player, as a true hufflepuff ought, but i really think his brand of -- allowing friendship to drive him, rather than a desire to be heroic or brave, slots him in as one and nothing else.

best quality:

his loyalty? i mean it’s tough to say anything else, it’s basically the only thing he’s ever defined as by the game -- but there’s also something for sure to be said for someone who decides (admittedly for selfish reasons) to stick with the luminary, no questions asked,  through hell or high water or the actual end of the world. he might complain about the other members of the party (COUGH veronica and sylv) here and there, but it’s never serious, and i get the sense from his backstory that even he like, sincerely hated serena’s guts (example chosen for the absurdity), he’d look past it because the Mission and his connection to it was more important. so that’s good!

worst quality: 

that he’s only ever defined by his relationship to a silent “blank” protagonist, therefore not actually giving us a sense of their dynamic or what makes them friends, limiting his character by not giving him anything outside of that role?

gonna go ahead and say his secretive nature? it never ends up being a huge problem, but in a game where The Power of Friendship and the party’s deep bonds ends up being such a point, it is kind of weird that he never once opens up about his past or shows any desire to until part three. sure, it’s rough and he feels guilty about it — but idk. i don’t have a great answer here.

ship them with: 

SYLV no one… he could be cute with serena? i have no strong feelings here. 

brotp them with: 

i do actually really enjoy his dynamic with veronica — they’re constantly bickering, but then you get to erik’s backstory and it’s like “oooh, of course.” she absolutely reminds him of mia, they have almost the same dynamic. and erik was also one of the saddest when veronica died — i feel like they’re always going at it, and then serena is like “tee hee, they’re such good friends, aren’t they?” (if veronica wasn’t six i  might ship it. maybe?)

needs to stay away from:

??? NO STRONG OPINIONS HERE. i wanna say mordegon but that actually kind of worked out for erik, didn’t it? lmaoooooo

misc. thoughts:

as fun as the mia dungeon was, and how cinematic it all was, i forever prefer erik’s part three version of the arc. it really kind of bugs me that the game couldn’t think of anything other than “let’s give him amnesia and make him really out of character and distressed until!!”, and as anti climatic as the part three version was (i was kind of hoping we’d get the dungeon again), erik also made the choice, without weird amnesia, to invite his friends and ask them for help. which, considering he’s kind of standoffish and super secretive, is actually really, really good development for my guy!! you’ve grown up erik!!!

also i don’t care what anyone says, i know what the game devs were going for, his accent is a hot mess.

[joemerl]

Post-Korra Avatar Fanficcy Thing

As I mentioned a while back, I’ve had these half-formed ideas for an AtLA/LoK “Next Avatar” sequel pretty much since Korra ended, but without any sort of firm story for the characters that I’ve created. Since these plotbunnies are hopping around my brain again, I’m gonna try to write things out just to see if that will a.) put the plotbunnies to sleep, or b.) help me get ideas for an actual fanfic (that I don’t have time to write anyway).

Keep going if you want to see a ridiculously long explanation of one fan’s stupid ideas.

Worldbuilding/Backstory/Whatever

Much has changed in the Avaverse since Avatar Korra beat Kuvira in her attack on Republic City. The Earth Kingdom/Empire is now called the Earth Confederacy, with a Parliament and Prime Minister running a bunch of semi-autonomous states. Technology has advanced in ways that I haven’t exactly figured out yet; maybe, like, 1950s-level? Also, everybody has last names now. Makes things easier to keep track of.

So, thirty years post-Kuvira, Korra goes on some sort of trip. I’m not sure why, where (maybe the Spirit World?) or what happened, but she vanishes, and all attempts to find her fail. This naturally causes some problems, because nobody knows if she’s alive or dead, and if she is dead, well, good luck finding the new Avatar in a continent-sized country when you don’t even know what birthday to look for. So yeah, we get a smaller version of the Aang-in-an-iceberg situation where people have no idea what’s going on with the Avatar cycle.

Cut fifteen-to-eighteen years later, and meet Keno Hiiragi. 

Main Characters (and the Vague Narrative That Brings Them Together)

Keno Hiiragi (name somewhat subject to change) lives in Omashu with his widowed mother and twin sister. If Aang was the “spiritual” Avatar and Korra the “physical” Avatar, he’s the “intellectual” Avatar. He’s tall, gangly, bookish and introverted. He’s always had big plans for his life and tends to get moody and upset if things don’t work out like he expected. 

Like when he’s worked his whole life to get good grades, won early acceptance to Ba Sing Se University, and then finds out that NOPE, it turns out that you’re the Avatar and have to spend the next decade or two learning to bend all of the elements.

(How does he find out? I’m thinking something dramatic happens, like a flood, and he winds up accidentally Waterbending to save someone. This naturally brings the White Lotus to his door.)

Oh, yeah---Keno already knew he was an Earthbender, but unlike his predecessors, he didn’t bother to master it by the time he hit puberty. Earthbenders learn it for their Physical Education requirement in school, but like most nerds, he dropped that class as soon as he could and faked a lot of injuries so that he could read in the bleachers. Basically, he’s just constantly rebelling against this whole situation, because he doesn’t want to learn anymore bending and why is bringing world peace his responsibility and askjsadkhjdfasknasd.

Which puts him in strong contrast to Mariko Hiiragi, his twin sister. While Keno was always bringing home perfect grades, she was an Earthbending jock who probably had a poster of Toph on her bedroom wall. The siblings bicker, but were relatively peaceful being prodigies in their separate fields. In fact, Mariko was accepted for training by the world’s greatest Earthbending master just as Keno got accepted into school! Accept HA HA no now they’re going to said Earthbending master together, because Keno gets special treatment even though he can barely levitate a rock and never practices and people are talking about how he’s going to be the best Bender ever in every element and---

(The Keno-Mariko rivalry is basically a much toned down version of Zuko and Azula. And it’s also ironic, because ultimately they wish the same thing---that Mariko was the Avatar instead of Keno. Mariko kind of unfairly blames him for the situation, but this would probably be an early subplot that gets resolved fairly quickly---no doubt one of them will save the other or they’ll team up to fight something and then resolve their differences. Then Mariko becomes his tutor or something. She’s probably more of the “B-Squad” of the new Team Avatar, though; she’ll join in the big battles but doesn’t travel around with Keno on his big world-spanning adventures.)

We also have Anling Soh, Keno’s childhood friend (and probably the person he saves in the aforementioned flood or whatever). She’s a Firebender, though she may not be very adept at it, having grown up in an Earth Confederacy city without any teachers. (I’m not sure if the similarities with season 1 Katara are a plus or a minus there.) She’s a lot more extroverted and calm than Keno but also extremely loyal to him, to the point where (despite his strenuous objections) she insists on accompanying him for his Avatar Earthbender training. He thinks his life is ruined, and dang it she's going to stick with him and give him some sense of normalcy until he finally gets over his freak-out.

Anling is Keno’s love interest, by the way. In contrast to both Aang and Korra, however, I don’t want to drag this out forever. Like, in “season one” of this story, Keno realizes that he has a thing for her, that her own playful flirting with him may be more sincere than he thought it was, and after one “episode” of conflicted “do I want to risk ruining our friendship” stuff they hook up. Then they’re just low-key dating throughout the rest of the story, with relatively little drama and mostly just acting the same as they did before.

So they’re off to Zaofu to see Sukru Beifong, the world’s greatest Earthbender, who happens to be the son of Zaofu’s mayor, Bolin, and his wife, Opal. He’s a decidedly tougher teacher than Keno would have preferred; the fact that he’s used to teaching the best of the best (like Mariko) and now has to teach an amateur isn’t helping matters. 

In Zaofu we meet two more members of Team Avatar III: Bolin and Opal’s grandkids (from a kid other than Sukru). Shouta Beifong is the older of the two. He's an Airbender, but he’s decidedly less the “peaceful and spiritual” type and more “Toph as a male Airbender with Bolin’s physique,” prone to boisterous attacks, pranks and loud laughter. His younger sister, Hue Beifong, is a non-bender, but also kind of a psychopath. She regularly carries around ten-foot swords or Spirit-vine-powered bazookas and no that is not even remotely legal, she made them herself. She probably plans to become chief scientist of Varrick Global Industries someday, and will no doubt wind up in prison like her idol. 

Okay, so now all we’re missing is a Waterbender! Admittedly, I haven’t figured out how to fit Nasak Innugati into the narrative as well as the others. I have multiple conflicting ideas of his ancestry: Foggy Swamp? Sokka’s descendant? Somehow related to Desna or Eska? In any event, he’s the apathetic/sarcastic member of our group who nobody really likes, but who cares about the others deep down.

We also need a team pet, which is a problem because Keno hates animals and is allergic to just about anything with fur. He manages to ignore everybody’s “no, seriously, every Avatar has some sort of spirit-bonded animal” thing for a while, but eventually he finds an injured baby viper bat and winds up carrying it around with him for a while. Then someone/-thing attacks him and he instinctively throws it at them, and the viper-bat winds up biting the enemy so hard that Keno can escape. He opts to keep the thing afterwards and names it Mulda (which is Korean for “bite,” if I’m getting my online translation right). 

Other Characters (Including Old Favorites!)

As previously mentioned, Bolin and Opal live in Zaofu with their son and grandkids. Opal’s probably off doing Air Nomad things a lot of the time, though. 

Based on an aborted Korra plotline apparently mentioned on the DVDs, Mako wound up with Fire Lord Izumi’s daughter Susila. He moved to the Fire Nation and eventually became the palace’s chief of security. He currently works to protect his great-nephew, the sickly ten-year-old Fire Lord Thahn, who probably gets kidnapped at some point so that Mako and Team Avatar III can team up to save him. 

Asami continues to run Future Industries, and remains wistful about Korra’s disappearance. Finding out about/meeting Keno no doubt is a blow to her, since it definitively confirms that Korra’s dead. 

(Side note: As a running gag, people keep telling Keno how “close” Asami and Korra were, and he repeatedly doesn’t get what they’re implying.)

Ikki and her husband Haneul are in the White Lotus and are in the group that finally tracks down Keno. He’s a non-bender and skilled at Chi-blocking. (They test Keno’s Earthbending skills by having him fight him. Keno loses in about three seconds.)

Jinora is now the leader of the Air Nomads. She and Kai are married. She runs the government, while he’s Air Temple Island’s main teacher (and has a Gyatso-esque tendency to teach his students how to cause trouble). They probably have some kids but I’ve not fleshed them out too much.

Meelo runs the Air Nomad military on his sister’s behalf.

I dunno what Rohan’s doing. I’ve always headcanonned him as a non-bender, though.

Desna and Eska are probably still alive and running the Northern Water Tribe. I guess Tonraq could still be alive in the South, and it’d provide some more character-building angst when Keno shows up.

Varrick is now an important member of the Earth Parliament, running the opposition to the current Prime Minister. His company is currently being run by Zhu Li and/or their daughter Dipika.

Toph is totally still alive. I mean, this may never come up, but I headcanon that she just lives in the wild now, beating up Death whenever he tries to claim her.

Plot???

I mean, I guess “what happened to Korra” is an obvious one. Team Avatar III must go and investigate? Maybe Keno can contact her spirit, despite being cut off from the other Avatars? The new villain was behind it?

The new villain is...someone? Maybe a non-bender? Or a spirit? 

AtLA-style Evil Overlord or LoK-style Well-Intentioned Extremist? Something based on modern terrorism and/or Asian New Religious Movements?

Vague ideas about exploring the Earth Confederacy, particularly the conflict between its national government and semi-autonomous states? But conflict with no clear-cut right answers = headache. 

Conclusion

This thing has been in my Drafts for like a year now, so I hereby release it into the wild.

#Avatar the Last Airbender #The Legend of Korra #Legend of Korra #AtLA #LoK #Next Avatar #The Legend of Keno

[fadedtoblue]

Im annoyed for the fact that Netflix!DD didn't use the original Mattelektra story to explain its origin? I mean, Elektra was a normal teen and a good person and she would never have treated Matt as a dumb? (among other things),do you think they changed their origin bc they wanted to give the show emotion and their original love story maybe was boring? Or maybe didn't want to show the angel that Elektra was in the comics because they already have Karen for that and it was better to villanize her?

Oh I totally understand that feeling. I actually didn’t read the comics until after DDS2, and when I did, I was definitely bummed because in the comics it starts out so sweet? So innocent? And while I actually didn’t mind that they cut out the whole thing about her father being killed, I do think eliminating that more…normal? baseline for Elektra certainly contributed to the perception it seems fandom has that she’s always been a “bad” person, which is unfortunate. The show does attempt to balance that out by showing Elektra’s childhood – how emotionally connected she is to Stick, and how she doesn’t want to leave the life she has (even though it’s admittedly a really crappy life b/c she’s just being trained to kill and is hated by everyone there with her), it’s still not enough, and provided a little too late. 

As far as why they changed the origin to begin with? I feel like it was probably for practical storytelling purposes. When they dropped that Elektra easter egg in S1, it was clear there was no real plan for her yet. I imagine they found out they were able to use Elektra while they were breaking story for S2, and assuming they knew the Hand would be a prominent arc, it makes sense to slot her in with those storylines because comics Elektra does have a history with both the Hand and the Chaste and it seems like Marvel Netflix is all about streamlining their storylines (for example, there was no other reason to completely retcon the Hand as an Iron Fist antagonist unless it was for the sake of condensing storylines which I’m…still not a fan of). Anyway, all’s that to say is I imagine anything that wasn’t entirely relevant to her connection to the Hand/Chaste story was cut out – that’s why Elektra being a normal college girl with a great relationship with her dad that’s tragically cut short by a botched rescue attempt from terrorists doesn’t make sense as the throughline for her backstory on the show, but rather the one where that will directly link her to the Chaste / Hand so that they can set up that conflict for present day that can lead to her death and resurrection in Defenders, etc. 

Now…did they need to lean so hard into Elektra being such a morally dubious character in the college years? I think there were ways around it and I’m really sad we lost the inherent sweetness of the college years (though they certainly still have some really nice moments on the show for sure). But I also understand why they still needed to replace the original conflict that makes Elektra break bad (her dad dying) with something else that can provide the same wedge between her and Matthew. It’s definitely extreme, trying to get Matt to kill a man, but again, it ties everything together narratively in a very neat package – Roscoe Sweeney being that connection to Matt’s own history, the whole situation being set up by Stick in the first place, the mission overall being a demonstration of Elektra’s loyalty to Stick and the Chaste, and the failure of that mission (and everything that comes after that) representing the shift between her loyalty to Stick to a much more intense connection to Matt than I think she’d realized at the time, and it’s certainly something that resurfaces over and over again in the present day storylines. 

I have more rambles but I’ll stop for now :). Hope that makes sense?

#anonymous #asks #answers #mattelektra #elektra natchios #matt murdock #marvel's daredevil #my thoughts #meta #p talks about stuff

[lynchkavinskyparrish]

Kavinsky Analysis

I generally try to keep my blog discourse free, so I’m putting it under the cut so that people who are tired of all the discourse/stressed from it can breathe, but I’m going to try and make it logical/rational and non-hostile, so give it a read? [It’s long so you can scroll down to the tldr to see if it interests you] (Kavinsky positive btw)

Let’s start by explaining my bias. There isn’t much source material to work with so I have headcannoned him excessively and probably projected my own issues on him, in doing this I may have made him more redeemable than the source text. But that’s the question isn’t it? Is Joseph Kavinsky a irredeemable character?

I don’t want to excuse/justify Kavinsky’s actions (they were manipulative and abusive, point blank) but, at the same time, I’m not sure we should write him off completely. It’s true that that was probably the intent he was written with, so that may be the go to response, but think for a second. Is he truly irredeemable? Call to mind all his actions and try to separate the narrative given by Gansey and Ronan’s biased pov. Judge him solely based on his actions, keeping in mind that we only saw a select few dramatic ones and, with those in mind, decide whether he could ever be redeemed.

However, before making a decision remember that Kavinsky is from the same book that gave an assassin (the one that killed Ronan’s father, nonetheless) a redemption arc. If the gray man, an murderous adult, could be redeemed doesn’t it seem plausible that Kavinsky, an abused (his father probably didn’t try to kill him out of nowhere, so abuse is a logical conclusion [unsure whether physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, but that’s for later.]) self-hating, and possibly mentally ill (but that may just be one of my projections) teenager is worthy of the same redemption?

Going back to the bracketed comments on his abuse; my headcannon is that Kavinsky’s perverse look at sexuality and sexual behavior/consent is due to childhood sexual abuse. I hold this view because, often, that particular type of abuse can create long-lasting, debilitatingly unhealthy, views of sex. Additionally, this would explain Kavinsky’s comment on consent (he said something along the lines of ‘sometimes you just have to take it’). This excerpt is popularly construed as being directed towards Ronan but I find it makes more sense when viewed as a sub-textual elaboration of Kavinsky’s own experiences and internalized schemas of the world. Now, I have thought for a bit on this and I think this abuse would explain many of his skewed views and actions (explain – not excuse). It’s important to note that people react differently to trauma and, while the usual perception is of the reserved, silent, victim, this is not universally true. Often times the victims become ‘trouble makers’ (i.e. elementary school students) and are antisocial (not asocial, but antisocial) because they weren’t afforded the proper childhood development tools and end up acting out as a defense mechanism. This seems to be a less socially acceptable symptom of abuse (somewhat understandably, because it directly/negatively affects more people than the reserved type) but they are equivalent in cause, if not result.

So, Kavinsky’s delinquency, distrust/hatred of authority, reckless (self-harming/endangering) behavior, fear/hatred of the world, and self-hatred (a lot of that comes from a deep, strong, internalized homophobia which probably comes from his father [if abuse theory is correct] and society [he is Bulgarian and, typically, Bulgarian views on homosexuality are very negative, at least according to 2011 statistics on public surveys done in Bulgaria] could be explained by his backstory. But we aren’t provided his backstory and therefore it’s easy to view him as a one-dimensional character who is ‘evil’ for no reason.

It is true that he is meant to be the antagonist, but if we view characters as more than 2-dimensional arc-types we have to acknowledge that his actions are more complex than simply ‘evil’. Now, this doesn’t excuse his actions, but remembering this does help put everything in perspective. At the base of everything he is a scared/hurt teen.

Someone may bring up the fact that Ronan and Adam suffered their own traumas but are overall less violent/malicious (that itself is sort of debatable, but moving on) to claim that Kavinsky ultimately had no explanation/mitigating circumstances for his actions. To this I say; Ronan and Adam’s situations are sufficiently different (not worse or better, but definitely different) and, besides, they had a support group. Now, one could say that Kavinsky had a support group in the dream pack, but the little characterization they were given (which was even less developed than Kavinsky’s) showed little evidence of caring/nurturing. Thus, the dream pack dynamics are largely up to fandom creation, but if you believe Kavinsky is irredeemable then you probably think the same of the dream pack, in which case Kavinsky would be without a support group. Which would be another factor to consider when judging him.

Admittedly many deviations from the source text need to be made to view Kavinsky as favorably as I do and make my ships healthy, but they aren’t unreasonable deviations. What I mean is that, had Kavinsky lived then I like to think he could have gotten help in the form of a more loving environment, therapy, or rehab (or all of the above to be honest). I like to think that he could learn to love himself. And I think that if he learned to love himself he could still be true to character (snarky delinquent) without being abusive (he would let out frustration and excess energy in socially unacceptable but not abusive ways – i.e breaking dishes, burning cars, etc.). This isn’t really a deviation (the deviation is in the fact that he was killed off before this could happen). The main deviation comes into play when considering shipping Kavinsky healthily with Ronan. The biggest jump would be figuring out how Ronan would be able to forgive Kavinsky for his actions. It is possible that he wouldn’t (especially for the brother thing) but it’s also possible he would see some of himself in Kavinsky and be able to understand/come to terms with the fact that he changed. I think that would be hard to manage writing but I think, done correctly, it’s plausible.

So, while I try to not ship abusive relationships, I don’t think Kavinsky ships are inherently abusive. Given a redemption arc, he could keep his characterization while removing the abusive aspects. The rest is then up to how it’s written.

  tldr; Kavinsky was an abused, lost, suicidal teen. This doesn’t excuse his actions but I think he could easily be given a redemption arc (especially considering the fact that a literal assassin was given one). I think Kavinsky was mentally ill and, had he lived, he could have gotten help. And, had he gotten help he could have gone on to have successful, healthy, relationships.

 Tldr;tldr; most Kavinsky fans/shippers don’t endorse/support the abusive aspects. They simply understand him charitably and see him as a redeemable character. Most often they don’t ship him in abusive relationships; they let his redeemable qualities come to the forefront before shipping him. So please, think about all of this before judging the shippers, and putting out hate (it’s especially hard to handle when I project myself onto him, but that’s my issue, lol). You don’t have to love the ship, or even like it, but it isn’t innately abusive like most people seem to believe.

 If you read this all you deserve a metal/gold star. I hope it was intelligible and inoffensive. Feel free to come message me, but if you have critiques please be gentle (I am fragile, but open to discussion). Really, I wrote this because the Kavinsky hate was weighing on my conscience and made me reflect on whether liking him was problematic or not, and (obviously) I think not, but maybe that’s my bias.

Anyway, hmu to talk about this writing or just about K in general (I need more Kavinsky loving friends).

#joseph kavinsky #kavinsky #rovinsky #parinsky #pynchvinsky

[shenmeizhuang-blog]

10 + 11 questions tag, cont.

I got more questions, that is all. *waves at @renewedmotionforjudgment * 

Original here. 

A. Always post the rules. Answer the questions then write (10 or 11?) new ones.

B. Tag 11 people and link them to the post. Tell the person who tagged you that you’ve answered their questions.

Favorite heroine?

Bu Bu Jing Xin’s Ruoxi/Zhang Xiao, because I loved how they explored her inner conflict, as well as the discrepancy between how well she adapted to the Qing court lifestyle on the surface and her 21st-century ideals. 

A close second would be Legend of Zhen Huan’s Zhen Huan, because I live for that transformation to moral darkness.  

Favorite drama trope?

An anti-hero (preferably anti-heroine’s) “descent to evil”, as well as satisfying comeuppance and/or revenge. 

Name a character that you initially liked but came to dislike?

Oh dear god, Glory of Tang’s Dugu Jingyao. I still have no idea what to ultimately think of her character, though I can rationalize an appropriate ending from the scenario the show provided. Also, I can’t help but suspect that the scriptwriters sort of pretended that the major conflict that was largely her doing was actually between Dongzhu exclusively (admittedly, Zhenzhu leaving the 王府 actually improved the entire viewing of experience of S2, and the “胡话” actually really made sense to me). Umm…this post totally won’t be more of me ranting about The Glory of Tang Dynasty.

Least favorite drama trope?

In period dramas especially, when male lead is forced to marry someone who isn’t his love interest, sometimes the second female lead, therefore acts like a total asshole towards her. Like, WTF? (Sadly, it even happens more often than I’d like to think.) E.g, why I couldn’t even get through Shen An and Song Ning’s arc in Lure of the Hua Xu Song: City of Devastating Love and why I hated the most recent Huan Zhu Ge Ge remake.  

What dramas do you think should be 20 episodes shorter?

Perfect Couple – literally chop away the last 20 episodes and literally we already have a much more improved show. General And I, probably, though I dropped it so can’t give full judgment. 

(I’m also still wondering how Glory of Tang managed to be 92 episodes long. 92 EPISODES LONG. I think maybe they actually needed ~80-85 or so episodes, because there are way too many flashbacks in S2. Like, just from the general vibe of the show it doesn’t feel like a particularly long show (?), and actually remains fast-paced and intense until Ep 70, and then by Ep 76 the pace picks up again all the way to the ending. And even then, I’ve read fan complaints that they actually cut out quite a lot from the original script, and I’m just like ???)

Favorite example of trope dissection/dispellation?

As I was writing these questions, I was mostly thinking of how I LOVED how Glory of Tang completely subverted the whole “he has a tragic backstory but he lurves the girl and happens to be hot, therefore for some reason deserves her love/healing” bullshit. 

But, more GOTD feels aside, Bu Bu Jing Xin in general sometimes feels like such a wonderful trope subversion in itself – the way they examined time travel, Ruoxi/4th’s entire dynamic, Ruoxi’s characterization, developing Minghui and Mingyu, etc., etc. 

Favorite time travel drama?

Bu Bu Jing Xin! Obvious. 

(Go Princess Go is rather unique, though slightly too…brash (?) for my tastes.)

What historical figure would you like to see a drama about?

Something about Tang Dynasty’s Princess Gaoyang, Princess Anle, or Princess Taiping

Also, largely shocked that there hasnt been a hit show about the Qing Dynasty’s Emperor Guangxu and Consort Zhen, since their entire story/political situation literally screams cdrama. 

What type of plot twist would you like to see more?

When someone supposedly had amnesia, but it turns out, he/she was faking it. Something that ends up subverting a trope. Hmm. Maybe?

What is the worst plot twist you have seen in a drama?

I’m pretty much thinking of the entire latter half of Scarlet Heart: Ryeo. If you haven’t watched the debacle, don’t. 

I asked and tagged people already, so I don’t feel like putting out more questions, except for these questions (that most likely won’t see, and probably won’t answer): 

How many more dramas will Mao Zi Jun participate in before he lands himself a lead role? 

When (specific dd/mm/yyyy) will Glory of Tang get English subs?

Speculate why all these upcoming shows are basically 40-90 episodes long.

Help me rationalize how or why JJ Lin has a music video with over 100 million views on YouTube (as well as other music videos with considerably large view counts, despite most of his fanbase located in an area with no access to YouTube), yet zero presence on Tumblr. 

On the contrary, why does everyone talk about Jolin Tsai’s crazy MVs, though her videos actually have considerably fewer YouTube views?

If Yu Zheng, being Yu Zheng, decided to adapt SHR, would it be an even worse mess, or would he somehow miraculously recreate the political intensity and complexity of Schemes of A Beauty? Give statistical evidence.

Anyone watch C-variety??

Given my drama preferences, what non-C-dramas do you recommend?

Longest show you’ve seen and completed ever. 

Thoughts on H&R (欢瑞)’s penchant for repeat casts, tendency to split their recent shows into multiple seasons, as well as overall poor drama-promoting abilities. 

Name two celebrities from different countries that look freakishly alike.

#cdrama #tumblr meme

[canvaswolfdoll]

CanvasWatches: Violet Evergarden

Ugh, I hate writing about good shows. It’s always so difficult to find something to talk about. With bad or average material, it’s so much easier to point at weak points and say ‘Yes, that wasn’t good. Here’s what I would do.’ Which is my favorite exercise when watching things.

But Violet Evergarden is good. Real good. The only complaint I could imagine lobbying is that Netflix didn’t simuldub it stateside. The villains.

I mean, it’s a show with a blonde protagonist who, out of love, lost limbs and had them replaced by mechanical prosthetics, with the actual story happening in a quasi-european setting approximately after a WWI analogue. Somehow, it’s not Fullmetal Alchemist, nor does it try to be. Freaking Magnus Bride had less superficial similarities, and it still fell into that trap.

It’s laudable.

What Violet Evergarden does do is done amazingly.

Spoilers, by the way. Go watch the show now, it’s that good.

I don’t cry for fiction. This isn’t a macho claim, I honestly view it as a minor failing of mine. I can identify sad and tragic parts of a piece, and I have emotions,[1] but when it comes to fiction, there’s just too big of a separation for me. I can see the strings.

This remains true for Violet Evergarden, but there are some real strong attempts to coax tears. Strong and original.

I like the ‘Girl learning to be Human’ trope.[2] Well, Person learning to be human, but, well, cute girls make everything better.

Point is, there’s a charm to watching someone who, through their personal circumstances, has zero idea how to operate in society, and approaches everything with naivety and a hunger to learn.[4] It’s a good character premise that gives ample comedic potential (Faux Pas, satire, general oddity), dramatic potential (lost time, awkwardness, satire again), and fanservice if you feel the need to provide it. It’s a great tool for side stepping ‘As You Know’ exchanges and still actually teach your audience about your fantastical world![5]

Violent is given this status by, initially, being raised as a tool for war. She doesn’t know her family, her age, nor have a name when she’s gifted to The Major by his brother, and from there begins her journey to learn to be a human.

It’s not until she’s finally removed from the context of war and loses the man she devoted herself to that she can truly begin learning the hardest part: empathy.

And you thought my ‘don’t cry at media’ tangent was unrelated! Ah-ha!

Up until Violet begins her job as an Auto Memory Doll[6] people existed in one of three categories: Enemy (people to kill), Allies (people not to kill), and The Major (Person to take orders from). Sure, The Major gave her a name, and taught her to read and write, but on the battlefield, where most people have to be broken down into a state of “Kill or be Killed”, it’s hard to teach a young girl to be a person.

We begin the story right at the point of transition: Violet has lost both her arms, hasn’t heard from The Major since their last operation, and the war’s pretty much over. And her broach is missing. A lot’s happening suddenly, and she’s being taken off by a retired officer turned postal company president, Claudia Hodgins. It’s a confusing time for those involved.

Here’s a fun trivia fact I had to have explained to me: you may ask yourself ‘Why does Violet bite things? It sure helps make her seem alien, but why did she develop the habit?’ Well, Violet doesn’t have hands anymore, so that leaves her sensitive lips to feel things with![7]

Anyways, per The Major’s wishes, at first Hodgins attempts to leave her with some of The Major’s relatives (The Evergardens), the matriarch of which expresses hope that she and Violent can help comfort the other after losing family to the war.

Violent, of course, misreads the intent and explains she won’t be able to replace to Ms. Evergarden’s son. Violet is also generally uncomfortable with this prospective life of not doing anything or receiving orders, so runs after Hodgins, rejecting the Evergarden home.

She does, apparently, have no qualms taking the surname, which seems like a weak justification for it. She’s closer to The Major, shouldn’t she have adopted that complex noble name instead?

Speaking of which, an anime trope grosser than Student/Teacher relationships: The Usagi Drop![8] It’s a romantic relationship where one of the participants (literally or essentially) raised the other! Ah-ha, what a disgusting abuse of a power structure.

Now, to the anime’s credit, there’s at least ambiguity to Violet and The Major’s exact feelings towards each other. The Major isn’t around to clarify if he views Violet Paternally or Romantically, and Violet’s still working through being emotional stunted. However, it’s ambiguous enough to make both options equally likely.

During the first couple of episodes, the meaning of The Major’s ‘I love you’ being a romantic confession could’ve been kosher, and even expected. But as Violet’s backstory is revealed, and we learn that The Major pretty much raised Violet, romance ceases to be charming and instead shifts into worrying.

This isn’t helped when a parallel is drawn with a diplomatic engagement between a 14-year old princess and a prince at least 10 years her senior.

Surprisingly, when it comes to royal pairings, I find myself a bit more forgiving about more squickier elements. Yes, the massive difference in ages isn’t an ideal depiction, and the princess being underaged by modern standards doesn’t help, and the fact it always seems to be an older man courting the younger woman is troublesome.

However, what the situation does have is extenuating circumstances. It’s not just a precocious crush being exploited; it’s years of bad tradition, diplomatic planning, and the fact that it’s two individuals obviously trying to make the best of a bad situation.

The princess is going to get married off to someone for diplomatic gain, might as well be to someone who’s shown empathy for the princess and the situation.

But for Violet and The Major, I would hope the final call comes down on The Major viewing Violet as an adopted daughter

There’s a second major point of ambiguity surrounding The Major to drive the plot: is he dead? Most of the cast accept that his Missing in Action status after a major bombing of the building Violet was found in means the man’s likely dead, but Violet holds out hope.

In most stories, if The Major was still alive, there’d be more hints than provided by the anime, or they’d just accept he was dead and continue forward.

The Major being dead provides a stronger break and arc for Violet. Not only has the war she’d been existing for ended, but the man she’d been devoted to entirely is also gone. At the start of the series, Violet has nothing and must rebuild herself. To deny closure of that chapter by letting The Major be in hiding would just undermine the entire opening premise.

So, of course, the last shot of the series is an ambiguous shot of Violet arriving at the house of an unseen client and stumbling with her well rehearsed introduction, giving the audience a winking ‘Is he?’.[9]

If he is alive, it’d be a massive jerk move because it’s not just Violet’s life he’s derailing and introducing tragedy to. Major Gilbert Bougainvillea has a family, after all, including a mother who mourns him and a brother with undirected rage over the loss of his younger brother. Also friends probably. We’re not given any real reasons for The Major to crawl out of that final battle, put his fists on his hips and say ‘Sweet. I’m gonna abandon my old life!’ Admittedly the backstory of The Major is very light in the anime adaption, but that lightness also paints a lack of past tragedy.

The rules of ‘show don’t tell’ and ‘write the story about the most interest point in the character’s life’ also implies that which is not depicted is not interesting.

Thus, The Major should be dead and should stay dead.

Which concludes my… review of a single character…

Let’s talk about the show proper.

Much like Isle of Dogs, it ticks off a few items on my favorite things list, but more of the narrative devices.

It’s a series of vignettes with a reoccuring protagonist acting as bridge, set in a light fantasy world that is much closer to modern day than is traditional, and has major emphasis on writing as a narrative device. And alsi fantasy prosthetics, a fondness that will go unexamined today!

Also, one of the other Auto-memory Dolls wears glasses.

It’s produced by Kyoto Animation, which I think is tying with Studio BONES for my favorite studio (based solely on the works they produce), which is a major plus.

The individual episodes are very character-driven, including one about a playwright that made me really want to get back into writing plays myself.[10]

Most episodes explore Violet from the perspective of the episode’s client, while offering some world building. Episodes one and two, as a pair, exist to introduce Violet and the world, and thus don’t have much for Hodgins (who gets his development through the rest of the series) and Erica (who doesn’t actually get much besides explaining the origins of typewriters and the term ‘Auto Memory Doll’).

Episode three is when the series rolls up its sleeves and says “Ah, we’re learning what it means to feel emotions? Get ready to choke!” and sends Violet to school, where everyone’s soul goes to die!

While trying to earn a coveted accreditation, Violet meets Luculia, who lost both her parents in the war while her brother returned home with an injured leg and a chip on his shoulder. During the course, Violet shows she can get the practical skills down easily enough, but when it comes to putting any actual soul into her letters, she turns in only tense reports.

Luculia graduates top of the class while Violet does not. Still, Luculia has decided she’s friends with Silver Arms, and sets to help Violet do better. Luculia’s attempts fail, and instead the two have a short heart to heart. Luculia’s brother has fallen to drink and hasn’t come to terms with coming home from war to find his parents gone, and Luculia doesn’t know how to tell him that it’s nice that they still have one another.

Violet takes that in, writes a letter for the brother, and repairs the relationship! Yay!

But that’s the formula. Everyone knows those beats! Got to earn the heart-wrench.

Episode four, Violet escorts her co-worker Iris back to Iris’s hometown for a surprise birthday party. Iris isn’t happy about this turn around, due to a rejection of her feelings and her parents not really supporting her life path.

Again, Violet writes a letter, makes everyone feel better. As you do.

But we also learn the origins of names: Iris got hers from the flowers blooming when she was born, and Violet… got hers at the training center when The Major awkwardly realized Violet didn’t have a name. Thus strengthening the parent/child relationship of The Major and Violet and they better not make this gross, I swear!

Then we reach the royal engagement. I mostly discussed that in the relationship dissertation, but episode five is a strong examination of making a relationship work, despite distance, age, obligations, and other fragile matters. The episode also gently nods to the fragile state the continent’s in after the war, with dissidents to the results of the war still out there, waiting to take center stage.

Episode six is fine. It is. Massive library, Violet meets a reclusive nerd scared to follow the path of his parents. Reclusive nerd crushes on Violet. Violet is ignorant of his feelings because of course, and she accidentally inspires him to change jobs from researcher to Action Archivist! Roaming the world searching for lost texts! Good world building, not heavy on the emotions.

And so we come to Episode Seven: probably the closest I’ve arrived at crying in years.[11]

Violet is hired to transcribe a famous playwright’s newest play. He’d been out of the public eye for a while, but he’s much lauded. However, his house is a mess, he’s slow to get the work started with Violet, using her as a maid for a bit and inspiring her to try cooking.[12]

Anyways, Oscar Webster is writing a children’s play. His first, I believe.  Which is a dead give away for his emotional problems.  Still, the snippets we get really showcase the creative writing process and hit me with nostalgia for the Theater for Young Audience class I took once, and the child’s theater summer camp I worked for.

Then we get flashbacks to Oscar and his daughter moving into a new place after his wife’s passing,[13] then watching his daughter progress through what is one hundred percent cancer as we get the snippets of what inspires the play.

And Violet meets him living alone in his ill kept house.

Which is where I’m ending my summary.

Violet Evergarden is a good anime. Beautiful visuals, distinct characters, strong world building, and amazing writing.

Go watch it now.

Though, on your way over, consider supporting my Patreon. Then, after you watch all of Violet Evergarden, come talk to me about it. And maybe check out the other things I’ve written and drawn and otherwise created. Especially since I’ve decided I’ve procrastinated long enough on a certain project.[14]

After all, August 1st is coming. Sounds like a good day to go camping and/or catch a wave.

Kataal kataal.

[1] Often strong ones! [2] A specific variant of the Fish out of Water trope that, unfortunately, TV Tropes doesn’t seem to have an entry for, as it hasn’t been applied to Violet.[3] [3] Wait, found a video essay. “Born Sexy Yesterday”. Which, admittedly, examines the trope’s problemsome aspects, but,eh, I stand by its strengths. [4] This is why Starfire is the best character on Teen Titans. fight me. [5] I keep meaning to use it myself, but the concept I have would spoil a major setting secret for my current project. [6] A scribe with a typewriter. Anime has an ability to give fanciful names to things at a level I hope someday to emulate. [7] Why she did it during the flashback when The Major got her the broach is anyone’s guess. Maybe it relates to that anecdote about a kid eating a letter from Maurice Sendak. [8] Named for a manga that was apparently pretty cute until it suddenly really wasn’t. At all. I haven’t read it, but reputations do flourish. [9] The light novel isn’t as ambiguous, but I won’t spoil it. Also, totally looking forward to picking it up once it gets translated. [10] I guess I do have that play about tabletop rpgs that needs another draft with a better plot… [11] Since I came downstairs after bedtime at exactly the wrong time of a medical drama show. Was like, four or five. Saw a man coughing up blood. Good times. Before my soul froze up and withered to the merry husk I have now. [12] I really like seeing cooking used as a narrative device. [13] Moving after a spouse dies is a very sad and subtle trope. [14] Though a Three Leaves, Three Colors review may pop up first. It’s the current bedtime anime.

#CanvasWatches #violet evergarden #anime #netflix #CanvasReviews