#Saying I love you to villains is probably a bad idea lol | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

super-paper · 8 months

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"Thank you for such wonderful comedy."

I've been wanting to talk about how MHA plays with the concepts of "fiction vs reality, the characters vs the actor, the world vs the stage" for awhile now, bc I believe understanding how MHA utilizes these concepts is pretty crucial to understanding our Big Bad (and Tomura!) (...and Izuku!) (.. etc!) (y-yeah...!!!) (wooo.....!!!!!)

If this post is more incoherent than usual, I apologize-- I'm just really enthusiastic about stories that play with the fact that they're stories and characters who throw themselves into a fictionalized role as a means of coping. I love the way MHA handles these concepts in particular, so I lost all sense of restraint as usual.

Hori: "I'm Like Dropping Hints That Hero/Villain Personas Are Actually Coping Mechanisms Lol"

"As Tomura Shigaraki and Tenko Shimura, I've got just one wish: the total destruction of everything that created that house." "If my origin as Touya and Dabi was such a simple thing, then... No, there are still things I want to say. Arguments I want to have."

I've seen a few ppl saying that it sounds awkward/strange to have the characters repeatedly asserting themselves in the third person, but imo, the emphasis on real names versus hero/villain names during these particular scenes plays into the idea of the villain/hero identities being "alter egos" that might not actually have the same core desires as the """"actors"""" that are behind these personas.

Tomura and Touya invoke both their real and villain names while asserting their respective wishes. Himiko also invokes her villain name, though it's less obvious to english speakers because she uses her real name as her villain name (in the raws, "HIMIKO TOGA" as a villain name is written using katakana-- and this is what she uses when asserting her wish). MHA plays with the idea of "fiction"/"Alter Egos" as a form of escapism and as a coping method, and at this point in time, the Dabi/Tomura/"Himiko" identities are still being utilized as a crutch/mask by these three very hurt individuals.

*loud, terrifying chanting* PEAK FICTION PEAK FICTION PE--

Ochako's fight being like the second most thematically important fight in the whole series still makes me unreasonably giddy btw.

To contrast, Ochako uses her civilian name alone when asserting her wish-- and imo we're meant to read this as Ochako wanting to save Himiko as herself, not as Uravity. Saving Himiko is not something she can accomplish as her alter-ego-- Ochako is able to save Himiko by stepping off the stage and becoming a "real" person, while also acknowledging the person behind "Toga Himiko (villain name)".

Izuku hasn't had his "I'm Izuku Midoriya"/"I'm-saving-you-as-Izuku-not-as-Deku" moment yet-- instead, we see Tomura intentionally making that distinction between the-hero-and-the-true-self by constantly referring to Izuku by his real, full name. And I'm pr sure Izuku is also the only one he does this to-- we see him referring to all the other heroes he encounters by their hero names alone, or by insulting nicknames (l-lol). Correct me if I'm wrong, tho!

(side note: Tomura switching to calling Izuku just "Hero" in the aftermath of Bakugate is actually a big step backwards imo-- it reads as Tomura trying to push Izuku away by shoving them both back in the hero/villain box and doubling down on enforcing their respective "roles." Not that I ever expected mister doomdere to make things easy, but, woof. Good Fuckin' Luck, Izuku ( ´･ω･) )

TL;DR The final arc has mostly been about tearing off the hero/villain masks to reveal who is hiding underneath— MHA's careful use of names and monikers plays heavily into that and its distinction between "alter-ego"/"true self" a lot. Which is... probably one of the many reasons why All For One still doesn't have a given name, as someone who has all but completely lost himself in his character.

Anyway! That brings us to the meat of this post: how does MHA take the concepts of "reality vs fiction" and "the character vs. the actor" and apply it to All For One (...and Tomura) (and Izuku--)?

"Pay No Attention to That Man Behind the Curtain!"

"If you refuse to submit, then I'll just rewrite the story." - it's amazing how all of this coulda been avoided if someone had just introduced AFO to Demon Lord x Reader fanfiction. (/j)

AFO fancies himself as the author of MHA's greatest tragedy (the desecration of Shimura Nana's legacy via the sacrifice of Shimura Tenko), while simultaneously inserting himself into its overarching narrative and treating himself as the leading villain of the story-- it's self-indulgent and intentionally invasive in the way that most self-insert fanfiction tends to be invasive, with him going to extremes to make it seem as though the whole story revolves around him. AFO wants to be both the author and the leading character and the leading antagonist. This greed is typical of him, but it also establishes him as a character who's more caught up in (read: trapped by) his relationship to "fiction" than anyone else. Again, MHA explores the use of fiction and alter-egos as an escape from a painful reality-- so, it's entirely reasonable to assume that this applies to AFO as well.

To me, so much about AFO reads as an escapist fantasy of someone who is utterly terrified of being put in a position where he is truly seen. The idea of being vulnerable, of being naked, of being "human," is intolerable to him. But by not allowing himself to feel and "be a human," he has effectively cut himself off from what he wants most. The character of “Shigaraki Tomura” is as much an escapist fantasy for AFO as it is Tenko-- It's just another (younger, prettier) layer of skin he can hide his true self in.

"so basically you're saying that AFO is a never nude" yes, actually :)

AFO dehumanizes Tomura through his attempts to turn the boy into his personal comic book character, but he also dehumanizes himself by desperately trying to insert himself into that “character." It's only fitting that Tomura’s innate humanity and capacity for feeling ends up rendering AFO himself painfully, painfully human-- and ultimately causes AFO's carefully constructed character to start crumbling.

If All the World’s a Stage, Then Let’s Destroy the Stage

"That stage is gone now. The theater's knocked down. How much longer can we afford to be spectators on the sideline?" "Once upon a time, a man named All Might showed all of us how to be a hero. But somewhere along the way, people forgot about the heart and soul that made the man." -MHA, Chapter 325

Tomura is attempting to destroy the stage, because without the stage there can be no "Shigaraki Tomura" (Or "All Might," or "All For One," or "Endeavor," etc etc etc). Without the stage, there are no more "characters" and no more tragedies. But-- without the stage, there are no more stories period. There are no more tragedies, but there are no more happy endings either. The world never recognizes the actor behind "Shigaraki Tomura" without the stage. The stage is not inherently a bad thing, so long as people can remember that the actors on the stage still exist outside of it.

But Tomura himself cannot imagine what happens after the curtains fall, and all that's left is Shimura Tenko. He is stuck in a role that was written entirely for someone else, but remains convinced that the role was always his and that the role defines him.

Tomura rebels against the story the only way he knows how--against an "author" who *LITERALLY* views him as a spicier self insert, and against a "setting" that treats his death as a happy ending-- but even so, Tomura still can't picture an ending that doesn't end in tragedy. His rebellion is not about him trying to wring a happy ending out of a miserable, mean-spirited book-- it's about burning the whole damn library down so he never feels let down or hurt by a story again.

Basically: Tomura cannot act outside the confines of his "character" in a way that will truly save him. Even as he rebels, he's rebelling in a way that is painfully consistent with the way his "character" is written-- and that's why AFO (the author) still poses such an enormous threat to him. Destruction cannot save him from this story when he was explicitly penned to destroy.

The only way to break this narrative is to act in a way "the author" doesn't expect, and to tap into all the traits that AFO desperately attempted to "write out" of him-- Shimura Tenko is someone who has always rebelled against his writing, his author, and the unfairness of this story with his kindness and his willingness to accept those that no one else will.

AFO cuts off Tenko's own power at the root by reinforcing Tomura's belief that the world will always inherently reject him, without fail, always and forever-- so he should just reject the world, too (and I've talked at length about this before, but this is why a story that ends with Tomura dying or locked away from society is an ending that fails in its goal to save Tomura). The more Shigaraki Tomura rejects everything and the more Shigaraki Tomura is rejected by everything, the more he distances himself from his root and the source of his power-- and the more Shimura Tenko gets lost in this character.

While AFO is terrified of someone seeing behind his mask, Tomura longs for it. Tenko has been there since the beginning and has been begging for someone to finally see and acknowledge him (both in-universe and out of universe).

"I’ll Be There, Changing Fate by Your Side."

AFO: "Blah Blah Blah Do you still believe myths can save you? Foolish creature. Let me be clear: every version of the story ends with you being slaughtered yadda yadda yadda :) :) :)" ENTER, MIDORIYA IZUKU WITH A STEEL CHAIR.

Izuku's role is that of a completely average boy who gets pulled into a narrative ''that wasn't for him"-- he has no heroic lineage, no hidden powers, and no connection to the centuries old conflict that drives the plot. He's just a boy who did the right thing at the right time and was rewarded for it. Izuku is someone who was "never supposed to be a hero" the same way Tenko was "never supposed to be a villain" per the "rules" of their world-- and Izuku, like Tomura, is someone who exists to destroy those rules and the expectations of their narrative, completely changing the ending.

But rather than burning the book and ending the story forever (like Tomura wants to do), Izuku believes that the story and characters can still be salvaged. There's always something worth saving. It doesn't have to be a tragedy, they can still change the ending. They can talk specifics after Tomura's crazy ass puts the lighter down.

Izuku, like Tomura and so many other characters, throws himself into an alter-ego in an attempt to redefine himself and escape from pain ("Nobody's been saved yet. Don't be the worthless old Deku who can't save anyone" 😬). He almost loses himself in the role of "OFA's torch bearer" the way All Might did-- but just as Izuku managed to find Toshinori Yagi and helped in convincing him that his life as Toshinori has meaning, Izuku ends up getting saved by his friends who couldn't care less about OFA's ~protagonist power~ and know that Izuku is just a goofy, awkward, human boy who needs help.

Like.... If we explore quirklessness as like... a narrative stand-in for characters that the story typically views or dismisses as irrelevant extras/npcs, then AFO's barely restrained anger at Izuku and Toshi (and possibly Yoichi if we're being honest) for daring to ''act beyond their roles'' becomes even funnier. AFO can't stand the idea of his power/the protagonist role being passed on to someone who seems so utterly unworthy, unremarkable, and plain. He can't stand the idea of someone without a quirk/"role" standing up to him, the leading character. Dude really is a toxic comic book fan to the core.

afo really said "I didn't like how things were going so I stopped reading and just wrote a better ending to the story :^)" like...... @mhareddit that's u buddy...........................;

Anyway...........!!!!! AFO is someone who cherry picks what he likes about a story while ignoring the actual intent/message of the work (#theabsolutestateofthemhafandom), but he has no intention of breaking down the dichotomy between heroes/villains and instead actively enforces it (.............#theabsolutestateofthemhafan--). He just wants to flip what side wins in the end.

Tomura wants to break the narrative because he sees that as the only way to escape from his pain (but in doing so, he permanently cuts himself off from being a part of a story with a happy ending). He wants to destroy the dichotomy between heroes and villains because heroes and villains "will never understand each other and never stop creating each other" (lol. lmao, even).

Izuku wants to break the narrative because he's realized that there's something more to this story than your standard "Hero versus Villain," "good vs evil" affair and that he cannot explore what lies behind those masks and labels without tearing them down, first.

These three work together well as a narrative set of Fucking Nerds, and AFO works well as both Tomura and Izuku's villain for all of the above reasons (& also bc he's the only one who is actually benefitting from their current society) ((which basically offers him an endless buffet of hurt and angry children he can exploit on a silver platter)).

Anyway! Kick his ass, Izuku.

#shigaraki tomura #shimura tenko #all for one #sophie.txt #midoriya izuku #mha spoilers #mha.txt

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thrawns-backrest · 10 months

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I've never heard anyone talk about this theory on tumblr, but I was curious to ask you. What do you think about Ronan becoming a Grysks spy? I saw such an idea in one fanfic, but there they made Ronan just an ambitious and stupid villain. But I thought about and decided that given its canonical nature, such a development of events also seems to be probable to some extent. It seemed to me so, because look: Ronan in Ascendancy is even more vulnerable than Eli, who managed to build good relations with at least Vah'nya and Ar'alani, he obviously needs a lot of time to somehow get along with at least a brother-in-misfortune, and already especially with someone else. In essence, he is alone, and his character also repels the Chiss from him, which leads to their distrust and unwillingness to explain anything to him. A person who communicates little with anyone and understands little is easy to take advantage of, besides, attachment to some things or people is something that the Grysk are only too good at pressuring, with intimidation or cunning. And Ronan is attachmented to Krennic, to the Empire, to the Death Star, so in theory they have something to hit. In addition, if he is faithful to someone, then he is faithful, as we see, almost to the end. And if someone else could become for him a figure like Krennic to whom he "swears" - this person could push him into many things.

If anything, I'm not saying that this is a full-fledged theory and it will be so in the canon. These are just my thoughts on one of hundreds of possible scenarios. I was wondering how likely you think this is?

Oooh... honestly, as much as I love Ronan, I think that's very likely. I think it's even likelier when you consider Thrawn's suggestion to Ar'alani about feeding Ronan the right kind of information because they know he's a potential traitor.

Looking at the book, it's hard to tell if they mean that in the sense of feeding the Empire information through him or using him to misled the Grysks but both scenarios are kind of sad because neither assumes an eventual assimilation into the Ascendancy (which I'm trying to fix in my fic lol).

But yes, as you said Ronan is a very likely target for the Grysks. Ar'alani herself points it out and if something isn't done to prevent it, Ronan could easily be converted into a Grysk agent. The moment he realizes Thrawn didn't send him on some secret mission to find Chiss jedi, he'll grow even more distrustful of him. And if his experience in the Ascendancy is as negative as we assume it'll be, there's plenty of dislike there for the Grysks to feed and exploit.

In a way, characters with a lot of zeal and extreme views always have that problem. They're just... unstable. Kind of like Anakin in the prequels, because they feel so strongly about something they're open to manipulation and their loyalties can be exploited with the right kind of nudging.

That said, making Ronan's motivation ambition and depriving him of his intellect is just... dumb. Ronan genuinely believes he's on the side of the greater good, that the Empire is doing good, etc. I can see the Grysks convincing him that the Chiss are the bad guys in the grand scheme of things, maybe that they're planning to betray or attack the Empire and use his loyalty and inflated self-righteousness to pit him against them.

The thing about Ronan, I think, is that he has an eye for detail and is good at noticing things and reading people (e.g. realizing that Vah'nya is force sensitive) but he's not as good at using that information to come to the right conclusions. Sometimes he does and that's when his skills shine but sometimes his takes are just so far off it's funny.

Whether it's because he tends to overthink or because his biases skew his thinking, it's still a flaw and one that could be exploited.

My only hope for Ronan resisting the Grysks' manipulation is that he's already seen what they're capable of. There's this moment in the book where he gets a very strong reaction to seeing the bodies they've left behind ("Ronan nodded silently from his seat at the conference room table, trying very hard not to be sick. [...] He tried to remind himself that these men had been thieves who’d stolen from Stardust and the Empire, and that they deserved punishment. The rationalization didn’t help.")

At the end of the day, Ronan isn't cruel and doesn't have the stomach for cruelty. And that could be the only thing stopping him from trusting the Grysks who don't have a problem openly showing their ruthlessness. But, of course, if he's already in a bad place and vulnerable to manipulation, that might not be enough to save him.

#brierly ronan #thrawn #thrawn treason

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moose-muffin · 2 months

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yo, i think i have some for Velvette and Charlie ig

Velvette is a very teasy Ler and a bratty Lee

Her worst spots are her underarms

She LOVES to Target Vox ever since she found out he was incredibly ticklish

I SWEAR she is the one to Bang her fists on the ground because "it tickles so Bad"

She squeals while laughing loudly. No Questions asked.

She WILL and CAN Target your worst spots.

Her laughs become really high-pitched if You Target her underarms LOL-

Teases You all while wrecking the living hell out of ya.

As for Charlie-

She adores tickling Vaggie, they often get into Tickle fights

Speaking of Tickle fights she and Lucifer always had little Tickle fights when she was little, for fun OR when she was feeling down

Her worst spots are her belly and Ribs

She on rare times takes the role of the Tickle monster (or most times)

Well that's all i have for now!

You might recognize me with this.

-🐝

OH MY GOODNESS???? THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THESE THEYRE SO PRECIOUS HELLO!!!

VELEVETTE IS ACTUALLY AN ICON I LOVE HER SO MUCH AND HER LER STATUS IS ACTUALLY EVER PRESENT LIKE!!!

AND THAT SHOWS IN HER BRATTY LEE VIBES TOO HEHE UR SO RIGHT!! SHE IS SO COMBATIVE BUT ALSO SUPER GIGGLY!!! I LOVE THAT SHE WOULD BANG HER FISTS, MIGHT I ADD SHE WOULD KICK HER LEGS TOO? I THINK ITS ENTIRELY POSSIBLE

ALSO YES SHE TICKLES VOX ALL THE FUCKING TIME AND LETS JUST SAY EVEN THO HE S A Y S HE HATES IT, WE ALL KNOW HES A LIAR AND A DECEIVER ☺️

SHE IS SOOOOO TEASY!!!! AGREED 1000% I WOULD SAY SHES VERY MUCH A FAN OF TEASING THEM ABOUT JUST HOW TICKLISH THEY ARE?? SHE LOVES COMMENTING ON THEIR REACTIONS TO THE TOUCH. SHE MIGHT TEASE YOU ABOUT LIKING IT (especially if your name starts with a V and ends with ox)

(Very quick Valentino mention, feel free to skip if it’s not ur thing. not a Val apologist, I have just always been a villain enjoyer. his character is very interesting. Also four arms) Val and Vel teaming up as lers is actually a crazy collab that would send Vox into an early grave or I guess you know, just make him very flustered. see how I add Vox to everything i am so sorry please don’t worry about it 😍 (i am so horrendously lee and ler for that man)

BUT YES! VELVETTE IS DEF TICKLISH! I HC SHE CAN KIND OF TURN IT OFF? LIKE PRETEND SHES NOT TICKLISH! SHES REALLY GOOD AT IT TOO, BUT IF YOU GET HER ARMPITS… SHES COOKED 😚 OR ALSO I FEEL LIKE HER KNEES ARE HELLA SENSITIVE TOO!! GOD I LOVE HER!!

CHARLIE!!!!!!

MY BELOVED, SHE LOVES TICKLES ALL DAY EVERYDAY!!!!

HER AND VAGGIES TICKLE FIGHTS ARE THE BEST?? BC VAGGIE KNOWS CHARLIE LOVES IT AND SO THEY HAVE LIKE BIGGGG TICKLE FIGHTS. LASTS FOR LIKE THE DAY SOMETIMES (THEY DO LIKE HIDE AND SEEK TYPE STUFF. CHARLIE ENJOYS THE BUILDUP AND THE IDEA OF TICKLE GAMES AND VAGGIE IS HAPPY TO OBLIGE WHETHER IT BE GIVING OR RECIEVING!)

One time they got into one of these and of course ended up getting the whole hotel involved <3 (OH AND NOW IM THINKING ABOUT THIS CONCEPT ON A GREATER SCALE I MIGHT JUST HAVE TO EXPAND ON THIS LATER)

Vaggie def prefers to be the ler but she loves watching Charlie’s face light up when she lets her tickle her (sorry this sounds so busted 😭 basically Vaggie is a softie for when Charlie tickles her bc Charlie gets really excited about it and has a lotta fun)

Charlie is absolutely shameless about loving tickles (kinda stealing from @kt-the-lee hi honey 😽) she is not embarrassed in the slightest and it’s just such a normal part of her identity it’s beautiful

She is also a very gentle ler. She is so excited about tickles all the time but absolutely does understand it’s not for everybody. (If I’m being 100% canon she prooobably had to learn this one the hard way and felt bad but whoever it was gave her a hug and of course forgave her bc they knew she meant well! They also probably tickled her too just to ease her anxiety <3)

The Lucifer one is very wholeosme and sweetie. I’m not big on family tickles personally but adorable nonetheless <3

HER BELLY AND RIBS BEING BAD SPOTS AWWW!! ID SAY TICKLISH NECK TOO <3 SENSITIVE AF AND SUPER GIGGLY IF YOU TICKLE HER THERE!

APOLOGIES FOR TAKING AGES TO RESPOND. THANK YOU FOR THE HCS THESE ARE ADORABLE AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE RANDOM ADDITIONS. IM NOT SURE I KNOW WHO THIS IS FROM YET BUT HIIII OMG

#madi’s answers!!#madis hcs up in here #hazbin hotel tickle #lee!velvette #ler!velvette #lee!charlie #ler!charlie #THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THESE HCS I LOVE THEM AWWW

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beebopurr · 2 months

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Hi! I'm May! And let me just say, I was not expecting this, but it's happened.

I saw your lighthouse au and was inspired.

I started writing something I thought was gonna be a short story that went nowhere and I wouldn't feel the need to post it.

I ended up with a whole long thing with a plot and a villain or two and a close to death sequence and chapters and I'm honestly shocked I finished it because I don't normally finish things this quickly, if at all.

It took me exactly 8 days to write because I was hyper fixated, though it would have been a couple days shorter if I didn't get sick and have flu brain and couldn't think to write. I've had my brain back literally a day and it got done.

Before you get any ideas of how it might go, it's about the 2003 boys, (because they're my favorite boys), it's not a romance, the new lighthouse keeper is my OC-turned-brand new character because my OC didn't fit the story I ended up creating as the story evolved, and it involves guns. It's pretty much not your story and is only loosely inspired, but it wouldn't exist if it wasn't for you.

Don't worry, the guns aren't a major part until the climax. It does have kind of a message thing going about guns so if you do end up wanting to read it I'm sorry if it sounds preachy I really wasn't trying to make it that way but I've re-read it and it might sound that way. I'll try to fix it in the editing if it doesn't impact the story in any way. This is still a TMNT thing, so no one dies and the guns aren't the point of the story, they're just a minor driving force for certain interactions. I tend to write more serious bad-people-doing-bad-things-to-good-people type stuff so it all just happened naturally. Had to remind myself this is tmnt and it probably shouldn't get that serious and hold myself back.

Since it was inspired by you, I wanted to ask if it was ok if I post it on my writing blog and AO3. It's completely fine if you don't want that, and if you don't, I won't post it. But if you are ok with it, just know it's not gonna be out like tomorrow or anything. It's finished, but it still needs some heavy editing. And I will, of course, credit you with the original idea I was inspired by. Since it came from you, I would prefer to have your approval before making it a public thing.

I love your art and I thank you kindly for inspiring me to write this. Even if you don't want me posting it, it was fun to write and I and my friends can still enjoy it privately. You're awesome and I love your au and the premise behind it and everything. It's really creative and super freaking cool!

Oof sorry for not answering this earlier! Yeah you can post it lol, I don't own lighthouses and it's not like you're just doing a carbon copy of what I've made just in writing form lol (even if you were I'd still give it a thumbs up bc imitation is the sincerest form of flattery 👍)

#asks #lighthouse au #if ya'll wanna do lighthouse stuff go for it

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trainsinanime · 11 months

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I feel like talking a bit more about Vanisher 2.0 and Red Volpina (todo: look up what these Miraculous Ladybug season 5 episodes are actually called). My previous review of them has been,

Yes there is stuff where the writing still has potential to get better (not once but twice does everybody in class believe a known liar over Marinette!? Marinette’s classmates suddenly realized Chloé was doing badly in school and somehow that’s Marinette’s problem!? Lol), but it’s still better than it’s ever been.

But maybe there's more to talk about here. Just a couple of days ago I saw a post that complained bitterly about how unfair it is that Marinette must always prove herself, and how Alya was a bad friend in these two episodes.

I don't think that's a great hot take, but I think there is a kernel of truth here. The writing in these episodes was not 100%, but in ways that are interesting to talk about. This isn't meant as salt; I watched the episodes with my sister and I had a lot of fun with them regardless of their flaws. I just think it's interesting.

First of all, I don't think it's actually a problem that Marinette must prove herself. Marinette encountering obstacles and overcoming them through cleverness and strength of will is the point of the show. That's literally fine.

The real issue here is that all the characters are written rather weirdly in order to make the plot happen. Alya is the most visible victim of this, but everyone suffers from it to a certain degree.

In fact, in Vanisher 2.0 (todo look up episode title), this even applies to the villains. Sabrina does not want to steal for Chloé because it goes against her code of ethics as a police officer's daughter. Where did that come from? She has stolen from Marinette before, on Chloé's behalf, back in Darkblade in season 1. The show is just summoning conflict out of thin air.

(There is probably a joke to be made here, about how the cop's daughter steals and plants fake evidence on Marinette to accuse her of a crime, but that's a different thing.)

But it is most notable with Marinette. In Vanisher 2.0 (todo look up title), everybody sees stolen high-value goods such as… paper doilies…? appear out of Marinette's bag, after Chloé told everyone they'd be in there. And the conclusion everyone draws is that Chloé is correct.

Then in Red Volpina, the class learns that Chloé has never made her own homework, something the teacher apparently never noticed before. The class somehow agrees with Lila that this is Marinette's fault for not recognising that Chloé is struggling, despite this not being Marinette's job, and despite Chloé's insistence that she isn't struggling, she just doesn't care.

Neither of these are at all consistent with basically anything that came before. The class knows who Chloé is, how vindictive, petty and entitled she is. They also know who Marinette is, are friends with her, and a surprisingly high percentage are or have been in love with her.

From a story perspective, it makes sense, though. Both episodes want to tell a particular story. In Adoration (todo fix all the spots where I called it Vanisher 2.0), the point is to get to Zoé's big heroic self-sacrifice for Marinette. In Revelation, it's about how always seeing the best in people can sometimes lead you astray. Those are both interesting ideas in their own right. It's just that the episodes used narrative shortcuts to get us there, and ignored character consistency along the way.

I think the point about Alya is the most important one here. Saying "Alya is a bad friend" is canonically not true (look at all the stuff our poor girl puts up with on Marinette's behalf), but also missing the forest for the trees. As smarter people than me have put it, Alya is often only in the story to make Marinette's internal conflict an external one, so we can see the different sides argue in screen instead of imagining them in our head. As a result of that, Alya is sometimes her own character, and sometimes, very often in fact, just whatever she needs to be to get the plot moving.

In Revelation (todo fix yada yada), the plot they had in mind wouldn't work at all if Alya took Marinette and Adrien seriously, and acted on all the information she has. So she just doesn't. That doesn't mean she's a bad friend, it means she's a narrative tool, one that the writers don't always wield super well. Alya is far from the most irrational person in this episode (come on, Gabriel, giving Lila superpowers again? Even though you know she hates you? That's just silly), but since she's one of the good guys and Marinette's best friend and often portrayed as the voice of reason, we notice it the most in her case.

I think the show is genuinely nice and fun, but there's no denying that its writing has flaws. Sometimes more, sometimes less, and these two episodes have some that just stand out a bit. Framing that as "the show is unfair to Marinette" (or even "Alya is a bad friend") is not an interesting way to discuss that, in my opinion. The real issue is that the show had a story it wanted to tell, only twenty minutes to do so, and so it crammed that story in with a crowbar, regardless of the cost. Both episodes have enough good moments to make up for it in my personal opinion, but they have central moments that are just plain clunky.

#miraculous ladybug #ml s5 spoilers #ml season 5 spoilers #ml adoration #ml revelation #ml adoration spoilers #ml revelation spoilers #ml s5 #ml season 5 #mlb meta #adoration spoilers #revelation spoilers

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pixiedust-poppers · 18 days

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you know funny enough, I feel like Jake and the neverland pirates would actually do really well as a Disney channel show for older kids (like say Gravity falls) instead of a preschool show. You’d be able to get more into lore and emotional stuff. Maybe even plot?

I don’t know, if they ever did decide to reboot the show it’s a neat idea.

*grabs your shoulders and shakes you excitedly*

THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING!!!! LIKE!!!!

Ok, I think there is something to be done with Jake and his crew and his dynamic with Peter and Hook. Like for example how do the kids feel that Peter is only here for a day or a few hours, just enough to help with their issue? I'm sure the kids have a bit of an unhealthy attachment to him as he's really the only guardian figure they know, and as shown in Peter Pan's return, they all crave his attention so bad that they fuck up the mission trying to impress him! Like sure they can call him to bring him back to Neverland, but they don't perhaps he implemented a rule that they can only call him for emergencies. Which is also kinda hm. But you know he doesn't completely neglect them.

Word vomit incoming

Now let's take this a step deeper; what about Peter's relationship with them individually, it's clear he has a favorite, and it's Jake like that isn't a contest. Even if the show tries not to portray it in that manner it's obvious (I mean for fuck sake his name is in the title lol). His item(s)? A wooden sword personally hand-carved by Peter himself. After completing the Forever Quest, a golden sword called the Destiny Sword (towards the end of season 3) turns him into Captain Jake after giving the others a rousing speech about teamwork and how they can all get together to defeat Fathom with it. So it's clear he's the chosen (I'll touch more on that pressure later) by Neverland. But what does that mean for Izzy and Cubby? I mean sure they got items from him and he does care about them, but they're not as special as Jake. And they're never going to be, I mean god, Disney didn't even bother to make them Birthday episodes yet gave Jake two, then gave Skully and a minor character one. So it could develop into them realizing that while they are well-liked they aren't loved by Peter, Cubby is in denial about this revelation as he has gotten more gifts than Izzy. Izzy, the only girl in the main cast, is grated by this knowledge, she KNOWS and she has known for a long time. Enough to the point where perhaps she deserves a villain arc (then a redeemed villain arc) with the help of Captain Hook, who sees this opportunity to manipulate her for his gain.

Ok so jumping, let's go back to that Captain Jake issue. I personally didn't like Season 4, I thought it was shit BUT this new Captain Jake in a reboot could bring up an interesting little angst point called, "The pressure of being forced to be THE responsible one when you're only still a child." You might have all these other well-established Captains around you but, they depend on you to think of ideas, and come up with solutions to save the day, if you fail then it's on you but you're only 8 or 10 years old!!! A user mentioned this before but Jake could develop an entirely new personality as a Captain to make himself seem smarter and more capable than he actually is! This can go two ways A) he burns out and he burns out REAL bad and rather fast. B) The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and the realization of how much power he holds makes him realize he can almost do whatever he wants because he IS the 2nd most powerful person after Peter. This then comes his Power-tripping arc and the consequences of Peter not dividing this power between the trio, and being gassed up everyone, which raises his ego through the roof. This can only end badly obv and it does, how? idk but just know it does.

As for Captain Hook, because this is New Disney he can't be 100% back to his OG self but he can absolutely be raised to be more of an asshole in a Disney channel show and probably a bit fucked up. But you also would have to thread carefully on how you do these things, because one wrong move and Disney will have you rewrite the whole thing and tone it down more than need be. I also think there would be more to explore with the kids and their dynamic with him, since they also would have more nuance to them. They could have more stakes with him, and could honestly do more messed up shit with them he could make them have an inner conflict, he could manipulate one to join his side temporarily. Put the kids in more life-threatening situations that they don't come out unscathed from. Hell, you know what, I want him to win some episodes and get his way with Jake and his crew being powerless to stop it. It would teach a lesson that some days, you just can't win, someone who is nasty will win and get away with it and you have to be ok with that! (if you have resourced all your options first) Life will not always go your way. As for him and Red Jessica, show a toxic relationship, I mean come on do you REALLY think she has a thing for hook lol, it was shoehorned Hetero-shipping bait and it worked now can we do something else with it? As for smee, sharky and bones? I guess they can be less friendly to the sea pups, it would be more of a loyalty thing rather than a personal thing.

Also, the show could bring back the lost boys, to make the island seem less empty than it is, and maybe a different set of kids to replace the Native Americans.

Finally, to end this word vomit, the relationship between the kids. I really beg it be explored more. Now don't get me wrong they can have a wholesome and loving bond but not everything has to be peachy-keen. Like sure Jake is their captain but do they, not envy or resent him in some way? For example, they're all bright but Izzy is shown to be the brightest she has more knowledge about Neverland and its artifacts, so why is she not captain? Is it because she isn't naive enough? She isn't as nice or forgiving as Jake? She has no issue snapping at you when she's fed up? Then there's cubby, does he even have the real guts to be cut up for this type of thing? The classic "why him and not me?" type of deal. Then there's Cubby, does he hate being just stuck as coconut boy by his peers and other pirates? Will he ever break out of his shell, does he have a breaking point with his friends? Then Jake gets annoyed that they're not as in sync as they once were, he kinda hates that they're developing on their own and steadily gaining more and more independence. They're willing to talk back to him, be rude, and do less trio activities. Which leads to more conflicting ideas, possibly fights, and less "what I say goes!". He is scared of them changing and becoming their own individuals, he's scared that they might be growing up.

Sorry this is so so so long and rambly, I just have a lot to say about a reboot for this show that I cannot help myself.

#I also think it could be a bit more horror adjacent. specifically cosmic-eldritch horror #*monster too!#but as you can see I’m v passionate about a reboot for this show #it has potential if Disney is willing to experiment and be unsafe!#will it? maaaaybe..?#jake and the neverland pirates #jatnp #ask #also I will get your other post I promise!!

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creepymarshmallow3 · 5 months

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Ask 1 To Crawler: Did you know centipedes eat bats that fall from the top of the cave? (Which is so unfortunate LMAO)

Ask 2 To Aromo (Can't spell his name right lmao): What if the spike cake out of his brain and he could talk for a bit....a case of BAD IDEAS

Ask 3: Lol Springy hears yelling and thinks it's Pyro again being angry and about to tell him off but sees it's Oliver and the mess is EVEN WORSE lol XD

Ask 4: Who do you think is the most evil out of my ocs (probably draw them and the others annoyed or like "bruh")

Ask 5: Xandy meets one of your ocs, probably won't go well like AT ALL

(Heh, answers time)

Ask 1: he knows :>

[Crunch]

Ask 2:

Watcher: Your theory is interesting. In theory this could be, but... there is a small problem.

Ask 3: Lol

[OUFF-]

[Well shi-]

Ask 4: Weeeeell :>

Hmmm, cool question)

I'll tell you about the ones I remember:>

Leroy. This asshole, although cruel, is not very frightening to me, because, compared to Raven, he is dangerous and deadly, but if you take a stronger trollge than him, then his chances are small. But in general, his madness with anger can make him faster and more dangerous (Springy has already seen this)

Chris. He's already more interesting. It’s interesting because it easily ingratiates itself (Springs and Sharp), behaving like a good guy, while at the same time it can frighten you to the point of losing your pulse (hello to the Doll and Springs :>), plus invisibility and the ability to deceive the victim well with manipulations, and then strike when not you are waiting. I love villains like this.

Samuel. Uh, I don't know much about him, but he's a spider, and... he's fluffy :>

Trollen. Well, I’ll say one thing: Leroy, but crazier and also a cannibal. Well, in general, the same opinion as about Leroy. Becky shredded it into cabbage off-screen :>

Logan. I also can’t say that he is very dangerous or evil. Compared to Ethan and Raven - yes, he is cruel and self-confident, but if someone is stronger - no (hello to Sales Man and Sharp).

Doll. Heh, interesting. He's mad, he's dangerous, and he has a void (if I remember correctly) in his body behind those stitches. In general, the fact that in the past he was a doctor is already alarming and does not give the best idea of his inclinations and goals.

Conclusion. If we compare the facts, the most dangerous and evil in my opinion could be Chris. Combined with the fact that Springy and Sharp are okay with him, not knowing who he really is until now (Springy knows he can be scary, but that's common), this gives Chris a huge advantage to hit my characters when they don’t wait, because out of all your villains, he is the closest to them, without arousing suspicion, which cannot be said about others (even my villains), for whom it is more difficult to succeed.

But by the way, each of your villains is dangerous and evil in their own way)

Ask 5: [in reblog]

#trollge #trollge incidents #ask omg #oc: Crawler #oc: Amorro #oc: Springy #oc: Sharp #not my oc #oc: Oliver #oc: Leroy #oc: Trollen #oc: Doll #oc: Samuel #oc: Chris #oc: Logan #oc: Raven #oc: Xandy

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xenomorphee3 · 6 months

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What do you think about Varang, the Ash Clans of Acatar 3? If you can, do you have any predictions on what you think Varang will be like, her relationship with Quaritch - we know for sure from spoilers that they will make some contact as well as if they will mirror a darker side to Jeytiri, and what the culture of the Ash Clans will be like - we just know they’re more hostile than the other clans

Can’t wait for the next chapter!

Hey this a great question and I wish I knew! In fact, my anticipation for the Quaritch dynamic with the Ash People is one of the biggest factors in me writing my story. What's funny is that I was not aware of like leaks and stuff for Avatar 3 or even Varang's name. I only knew based on what Jon Landau shared that there would be "Ash Na'vi," that their elemental symbolism was fire, and that they would represent a "darker" side to Na'vi.

With this information (and being catastrophically down bad for Quaritch lol 😅), in early January I started crafting my own version of the Ash People and created our beloved Zu as a "Varang" stand-in. So in a way my story IS an embellished version of what I think could possibly happen/is at least plausible at a broad theme level (particularly in the earlier chapters). Now for Avatar 3 whether or not the Ash People will have any positive rapport with the RDA is uncertain. However, I think it could be very possible given that it's near certain Quaritch will be working with them, but I imagine he'd keep his loyalty to the RDA for a good bit of time (at least two more movies worth--much longer than I depict in my story).

I also do think the Ash Na'vi in Avatar 3 will potentially exploit Pandora a bit more than what we've seen other Na'vi do. The reason for this is just based on who James Cameron depicts as villains in Avatar. He is very explicit that the bad guy thing in Avatar is exploitation and destruction of nature (and colonization). So I would expect the Ash Na'vi to keep with this theme. And such matches their associated symbolic element of fire-- which burns and was necessary to the industrial revolution. Probably not to an extreme extent, they are still Na'vi, but... it would make sense. This is why I depicted my Ash Na'vi as embracing of human technology and a little more environmentally destructive than other Na'vi. But we'll see!

I have no idea what Quaritch and Varang's dynamic/relationship will be like to be honest, and I think many people (myself included) are making a lot of assumptions that may or may not hold true in the end. But it's just fun speculation! The Quaritch fan in me ships them *very* hard haha as, yes, kind of like this anti-Jeytiri. Na'vi but dark compared to what we have seen. There is an interview Stephen Lang saying:

"Hope doesn't exist without despair. Eden doesn't exist without the serpent. Quaritch is a necessity, he becomes part of the fabric of Pandora, even if it's to test it."

So that vibes with the idea that he's this dark antithesis. In particular, Jake's anti as it seems Cameron has presented him in Way of Water with his uncanny parallels. Regarding a relationship with an "anti-Neytiri" which may be what Varang is, there are set and cast photos of Stephen Lang and Varang's Actress Oona Chaplin looking close and friendly, but eh that could mean SO many things!

Beyond my just liking Quaritch, I personally think it would be super cool and make sense to the story-- I'd love to see Varang help Quaritch come to embrace being a Na'vi and Pandora, but in a dark way, the way Neytiri did for Jake. Because then you also have the unique influence of Spider who will clearly be some helping hand for multiple characters in the films (Socorro means "help" or "aid). Of course, some people don't want this and think it'd be a cheap knock-off of Jake and Neytiri and could make things too messy for Quaritch's as a character given that Spider is already his primary relationship, and I can fully respect that! But James Cameron cooks.

Naturally, I'm just along for James Cameron's Avatar ride. Whatever direction he takes Quaritch (If Quaritch doesn't get a hot bad bitch Ash Na'vi girl in the end or just flat out dies, I still have my story lmao)

I was kind of bummed about the leaks at first because it felt like they took the wind out of my story's sails where it was existing in, at that point, an uncertain Avatar future. Some of the Avatar 3 script leaks even had dialogue that was freakishly close to some I'd written. But ultimately, this kind of worked out so that my stories would just be a reasonable alt-universe from the get-go. Though, I wouldn't be at all surprised if my story has genuine similarities with how some things go down since I think Avatar 2 has done a good job of broadcasting some overt aspects of Avatar 3 (in a good way!) and I worked hard to be keen on them. Many writers have! Anyway, this last paragraph is a tangent.

Sorry for the long answer! Next chapter of Happiness is Simple is up by the way! 💙

#avatar fanfiction #quaritch fanfic #miles quaritch #avatar james cameron #avatar quaritch #colonel miles quaritch #avatar the way of water #avatar 3 #avatar oc #varang #ash na'vi #ash na'vi oc #quaritch x oc #recom quaritch #atwow #jeytiri #spider socorro #avatar spider

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justatalkingface · 10 months

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Thank you for your patience lol.

Real last one (my headache is getting better)

Canon LoV has no redeeming quality and the "saving the villains" arc is really really bad. But I thought smth...

What if LoV finds out about Izu's abuse (before war and redestro) and wants to help? Yes. Its an what if scenario. But it could help them seeing more human and give smth for Izu.

Shig and LoV go to Aldera and find out how Izu was treated and how no one cared. And it makes Shig remember how no one cared for him

And then you ask "oh and he killed everyone?" Tempting but nope.

He sure gave them an awful day, for sure. But when asked why...Shig mentioned how no one helped Izu. (Bonus as this could be a converaation between AM and Shig. Shig may hate the man but if he sees the hero being genuine in wanting to protect Izu then...its possible he hates him less)

Ans Izu sees as someone does care (its villains, but at this point someone is listening) and well it gives courage to say how he was abused.

And things could go from there. The idea of Shig sort saving/helping Izu is so interesting...and few writers really play with this angle.

In all honesty, I left this sitting in my inbox (sorry!) way too long, while I tried to figure out how to phrase an answer, and I think I finally got it, and realized what my problem with trying to answer it was.

That problem? Is that MHA doesn't work like that, on this fundamental level. Like, at all. Villains don't get to be developed in a truly sympathetic way, to do anything but get more extreme when everyone doesn't listen to them because they act like one-dimensional shells, Izuku doesn't get people noticing his problems, people that actually help him... that shit just doesn't happen. Even if it would make sense for it to happen, even if characters would love for that to happen, try to make it happen, it doesn't happen so fucking hard, for the entire run of the story, that every time I stared at this some part of my mind went BSOD trying to imagine it.

And it's like... Shigaraki was built with some serious Izuku similarities, probably on purpose. They're mirror images along the AFO/OFA parallel, which means he would get that, and Izuku's backstory is fucked up enough most people would naturally sympathize with him anyways. The ingredients for this kind of thing are there. The set up is possible. The League of Outcasts would of course connect with another outcast. Personally, I think the sparing people thing is too much emotional maturity for canon Shigaraki without some development to start it along but...

It's an interesting idea, but I just have this weird cognitive dissonance trying to think about it, because one of MHA's longest running, and most foundational themes is 'Izuku suffering', and breaking that is almost as radical as making it not about heroes.

#ask #bnha critical #mha critical #izuku deserves better #i really would have liked to answer this better

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shigarakisslutbag · 6 months

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This isnt directly a request but if you do end up getting inspiration out of this then im glad! (wouldn't complain lol) Imagine how Shiggy would act if some villain with a big loving heart came in and just- somewhat adopted him. Shiggy gets injured? They're there soothing and scolding him. Ranting about video games or heroes? They're patiently listening. Makes my heart so happy negl.

Omg anon I actually really like this idea lol. I have no idea how I would write it as a fic or even organized headcanons BUT I will most certainly give you my disorganized thoughts on this because I have no self control.

APOLOGIES because I'm writing this at 1:33pm and I am very tired (but will likely not sleep until 3am.), THEREFORE, I probably have many typos because I didn't proof read an I am so sorry lol. Anyways, hope you enjoy my thoughts on this, feel free to add anything, I don't mind going back and forth on this topic (this goes for anyone btw! Not just anon. I love hearing everyone's thoughts on concepts I write for)

I feel like in this scenario of reader being a villain, reader's motives are either out of spite towards their hatred for capitalism or they're just kind of... goofy...and unhinged... in a bad way .. thatcopsandheroesdontlike YOU GET THE PICTURE OK? (Use your imagination bestie)

But regaRDLESS, you have a huge soft spot (and maybe some hard spots;) ) for shigaraki.

Which actually just ends up with you having a lot of compassion and care towards him. You can tell he's been through a lot. anyone can. and seeing him having clear struggles in his physical life and internal conflicts, you can't help but want to, well, help him.

I won't go into a huge back story because I simply... am tired LOL. But somewhere along the way shigaraki let you grace him with your presence.

So now you're here with your adopted introverted son and guiding him through his life full of terrorism, tyrants, and genocide 🫶 (you don't quite understand how he's both introverted and a menace to society at the same time. Shigaraki is what happens when an introvert just gets really fed up with capitalism ig)

BUT I DIGRESS

Shigaraki actually really appreciates you're presence. Will he admit it? FUCK NO LMAO. he'd rather twist his eyelids off and eat them before telling your annoying ass he appreciates you. But he does. Just trust me, he does.

Besides spinner, no one really listens to his rants about video games, players, the fall of society. Dabi refers to him as "a cartoon villain on heroin who monologues " shigaraki didn't like that very much

But you listen. You really listen. You ask him questions, you validate his feelings and concerns, you make sure he knows that he's making progress, ect. You don't just hear what he says, you listen. You engage. Which is something he's needed for a very long time.

Especially when he gets injured, is when he gets the most attention from you. Honestly sometimes he wants to hurt himself just hear you cry over him LOL. He's low-key obsessed with you but don't ever bring it up if you notice.

Like the one time he came back to the bar after the U.S.J incident, all bloody with bullets wounds, you were... not handling it well to say the least. Lol. Shigaraki was fine, just chilling on the floor cursing the hero bastards, as he calls them. But you were "dramatic" as shigaraki says. "I'll be fine I'll just stick some bread in bullet holes and cover them with plastic wrap"

???

????!!!!

SHIGARAKI YOU SUPID FUCK

You, much to his dismay, disinfected the wound with alcohol and with kurogiris help stitched up the wounds and wrapped them with a compression bandage and made him rest while checking in every so often to change out his gauze and bandages and cleaning the wounds again.

You also checked in quite a bit to make sure he was hydrated (with water because all the idiot drinks are energy drinks and alcohol)

Going back to listening to his interests, you both share some of the same interests so it helps a lot with your bond with the leader of the league. Even political views.

He listens to you too, even if he doesn't understand some of your interests or is very knowledgeable on certain topics you enjoy, he loves listening to you. He actually thinks your way of speaking and the way your voice sounds is very, very cute. But again, he'll never tell you. He's too embarrassed to and doesn't want to ruin,,,, whatever reputation he thinks he has.

#stuff #my stuff #tomura shigaraki #shigaraki tomura x reader #shimura tenko #tenko shimura #shigaraki tomura #tomura shigaraki x reader #tenkoshimura #tomurashigaraki #asks #my asks

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nanistar · 7 months

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what's a character that you like that you would consider a "problematic fav"?

★ julius was fronting when typing this ★

hmmm that's kind of a hard one because i personally don;t really think any characters are problematic, since they tend to be pretty poorly written and a lot of their personalities, values and issues will change all willy nilly between books for whatever the authors see fit instead of creating a character with set morals, ideals, goals, and an established character arc lol. and also i don't really like a whole lot of characters, i tend to Nothing a lot of them. but, as i've said before, my opinion on characters, ships, scenes ect can usually be swayed by whoever is writing it or talking about it.

that being said, characters that i like that could generally be seen as problematic...

i love tigerclaw. always have. (keeping in mind that i read warriors long before the pinestar novella gave him a specific extra hatred of kittypets and the dark forest stuff was retconned to be in his past instead of only after his death) i have always thought that tigerstar was the best villain that warriors has ever had, and ever will have. he's patient, smart, and he plays the long con. despite fireheart being suspicious of him, which makes the reader suspicious, he puts on a front for almost three books. he's mean, aggressive, sure, but he's loyal to thunderclan* in battle and in daily life and i genuinely believe he started out wanting what was best for the Clan, believing (maybe due to thistleclaw's influence, maybe not) that Bluestar was not good for the Clan/was too soft/ect (like bringing in a kittypet kitten, like sending a party to look for WindClan instead of taking their territory) before the idea of absolute power got to his head.

he's awkwardly respectful around the Medicine cats, he listens to Cinderpelt when she yells at him about silverstream's kits (i think the quote is something like "do you want that kit to die?? shut up and lick it") and he does and even fireheart is surprised. this little scene in particular says a lot about his character to me: he's a ruthless killer but he cares about young life, and he respects the authority of the clan;s healers. he's more than Just evil. he's a person.

he plans things perfectly, his plot to kill bluestar and pin it all on brokentail's gang almost succeeded.

he's exiled and immediately takes control of the gang of brokentail's rogues that he JUST tried to blame the (attempted) murder of a leader on. his ruthlessness and his diplomacy is unparalleled by any other character in WC. he brings this gang of abusive cats back to Shadowclan, where a majority of them were exiled from due to war crimes in the first place, and takes over the Clan. is he bad? absolutely. but he pulls the frazzled, sick and dying ShadowClan back together, nurses them back to health, and plays the straight man again for the next book all the while he's plotting with blackfoot and darkstripe to bring his kids to safety because he's slowly feeding the dogs in TC territory and plotting to kill everyone in a ruthless, indiscriminate slaughter. he's there for it. he's watching the whole time. we know this because, at the end of the chain, he catches fireheart and holds him down for long enough for the dogs to catch up. at this point, he doesn't care about TC, he just wants fireheart dead. plans are foiled once again when bluestar leaps to the rescue.

next he moves to Riverclan, he convinces Leopardstar to combine Clans and join him. the newer books want you to believe that she was pressured into doing it, but truthfully she was equally as ambitious as he was (just less willing to kill indiscriminately for it) and likely saw it as an opportunity to get into a higher position of power, probably planned on dethroning Tigerstar the second she had the chance. obviously this doesn't happen.

he creates this whole narrative about halfclan cats not being loyal to their given clan, using mistyfoot and stonefur (The RiverClan Deputy!!!!) as examples and even riverclan believes him despite the fact that misty and stone have never had a lapse in loyalty for their entire lives, only finding out they were half-clan a few moons ago. (unrelated since it's due to the retcons of later super editions, but silverstream's mom and crookedstar's mate Willowbreeze (AND her sister Graypool) was also a halfclan cat, though her loyalty was never doubted, which while halfclan cats are rare it seems like for the most part theres not tooooo much discrimination of them, leading me to believe that tigerstar did sort of jumpstart this new narrative of them clan-swapping and having no true loyalty.) they even doubted the loyalty of two young apprentices, featherpaw and stormpaw, and kept them all locked in a prison and starved. riverclan may have objected to this, but they couldn't say anything about it and they certainly couldn't have stopped it at all.

then, he gave stonefur the chance to prove his loyalty; prove you're loyal to your clan by killing these two apprentices. of course he knew stonefur would never. stonefur objects, and while leopardstar does seem reluctant, but she agrees with tigerstar. she thinks, maybe due to his heritage, he IS unloyal to riverclan.

what tigerstar does is cruel, violent and horrible. he has a calmness about him, a patience, and an intelligence that makes him incredibly scary. he always has a backup plan. when his plans are foiled he is quick to think of a new one. he;s diplomatic, charismatic (at first), he could convince you to give him the clothes off of your back. he escalates and escalates until he almost has everything.

then he gets unzipped, and starts ALL over again in the dark forest. (i do not care for dark forest tigerstar after TNP. it gets really played out and boring.)

anyway i like him (: *not fireheart

#warrior cats #tigerstar #nyask

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misc-obeyme · 27 days

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Sprry for just answerimg a smoll part of thr ask my brain is m u s h rn (i jist woke up)

OH DANG but I love that idea about the maids and such in the castle! Demons that messed up so bad, now Barb keeps them at the castle to work??? What was that about not giving into the darkness???? lk;asdfkjlfd

that castle is huge and full of monsters. you can't tell me only lil D's and Barb & Dia live there. where are the guards ? the other workers?? little D's are more like silly children adopted by Barb- y'know when a family has debts to pay so the child goes to work at the castle

like that except there is no debt to pay they just want that lol

anyway so there are possibly more people in the castle, and Barb really doesn't.. do work that much. he mostly just bakes for Diavolo & when there are celebrations or other important things happening. that huge castle does not have one small kitchen istg the HOL's kitchen looks bigger 😭 and he also checks on the other worker's works, I prefer to think his duties are like Dia's. Diavolo is a very busy demon*, so he mostly does the work with people, and brings Justice™ to Devildom. ofc there are things Diavolo has to be present for, but most of the things are done either by Barbatos or people he chose (in different parts of the country, not everyone can meet the duke or the Prince himself.)

alright back on track I think the workers who work "above the ground" in castle are normal people/or "light" criminals or slaves left from war times (poor guys lol)

but lower, in the dangerous/more private parts of the castle like the dungeons or Diavolo's private garden The workers are poor souls who forgot everything they were. they're not allowed in the public unless its their body. I don'y think anyone truly knows if they've messed up so bad or Diavolo. just. just wanted them to work for him. cause theyre pretty perhaps?

And Barbatos is here to grant any of the young Lord's wishes.

*I still haven't thought of why Dia would be so damn busy I may even remove that part but its cool to think about. maybe he is still learning and chose Barb to do such things cause Barbatos knows all, and is trustable. idk really. but we know Dia is a spoiled brat so ?? maybe thats whats happening.

I really have to agree, there's no way Barbatos maintains that huge place by himself, demon or not. I've always headcanoned that he has a whole crew of helpers and guards and so on.

I also imagine the castle's kitchen to be absolutely ginormous. And he probably has a whole crew of cooks, too.

I like to think most of them don't live at the castle, though. Like they just work there and come and go and have varying shifts. Uhh but that's if they're just normal people and not criminals lol!

I suppose whether or not they actually did something terrible has to do with how deranged you want Diavolo to be. Like if he was really kinda off the deep end, he could absolutely just obtain people he thinks are pretty and for no other reason. That's real villain behavior generally speaking. But if you want him to be a little less that way, you could say they were criminals. Then at least there's a legit reason for it, even if the punishment is a bit intense... they are demons, so really there's a lot of ways you can go with it!

As for Diavolo being busy, I'm pretty sure it's canon that he is. I suspect it has to do with all of the crap that comes with ruling a kingdom. Paperwork, diplomatic meetings, making appearances at various functions, consulting with experts on things like constructions projects and the economy, and if Diavolo also has his own company in the human world, he likely needs to make appearances at meetings there, too... I'm just saying his canon job is extremely demanding. And then add RAD stuff to all that? Sheesh.

But this is one of the best parts of the castle stuff - they don't really get into a lot of detail about it. So you get to fill in all the details however you like!

#anyway these are just my thoughts lol #obey me #obey me barbatos #obey me diavolo #expressionless-fr #cc mutuals #misc answers

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themonotonysyndrome · 2 months

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Sorry for the length of this, but you got me thinking! I feel like I should have started keeping an eye out on Erik not planning a lot of major plot points when he introduced Xavier right before the games, gave us no time to get to know him, then killed him and had characters (even Freelancer) react in a way like they were bffs with him like what in the Star Trek redshirt was that? But Inversion was so good otherwise to me that I ignored that.

I feel like I really should have taken more notice when Milo recovered from his Inversion injury after two videos (but Erik had personal reasons for that so I went sure). Then, after all this lore talk of how much bloodlust new vampires have and how much they struggle, we didn't see any of that with Lovely, but we were still not to far off from Inversion so I ignored it again lol.

There's some personal preference stuff where I get confused at his lack of consistent framing when it comes to consent where Alexis is the bitch and is more or less a villain (with little nuance so far in canon) for ignoring Sam's consent. But Cutie (with how Erik says they and Geordi aren't broken up) is framed as being able to work towards forgiveness despite years of ignoring Geordi's consent even after he cried about it to them.

I'm on the fence about his 'I intended Imperium season 2 to be the end' because I don't think it's the worst place to stop, but I do think that there's some more story to tell and if the views were a lot better then he probably wouldn't have stopped (only guessing here)?

I think what made me finally stop and wonder 'does he plan?' was how Quinn's capture (after all that build up) happened off-screen and only had Darlin' punch him while he was tied up. I thought the Summit was fine in a very Clue way, but watching the Vega video today had me go '...oh okay' which I don't mind deaths, but that shouldn't be a reaction to that lol.

I feel like I want to give one more of his big plotlines a chance and hope he's planned that one, but idk. The guy capable of making Inversion has to be able to do something even sort of to that level again hopefully??

Don't apologise, Anon! I love reading your thoughts.

Xavier was the beginning. Yes, I was also emotionally devastated; it added stakes to the Inversion, but a part of me always wondered if killing off a character was the only way Erik could add impact to the Inversion? Because no matter how good the angst is, if you introduce a character, make them have ties with one of the main cast and later kill them just to add depth to the main cast, it feels very cheap.

Maybe this is me being salty, but making Milo unable to Shift for at least a few more videos before his Core is healed enough would've been better. The anxiety of not knowing if he became truly magicless and the trauma that would bring would be a better alternative to Xavier's death. I feel like Erik is so damn afraid to do anything bad to his cash cows nowadays. That aftermath from the Summit? The talk that David had with Angel or whatever? That was honest to go foreplay. Yes, the Shaw Pack was affected by William's plan; they saw a murder happening right in front of them, boo hoo... boo hoo. The Summit is absolutely nothing when compared to the Inversion, where hello? Actual and thousands of deaths occurred!?

That thing with Lovely, and how well and quickly did they transition into the Vampiric lifestyle? Lame. Boring. Where's the struggle? Oh right, the fandom scared Erik badly enough to scrap Bright Eyes.

Also, I get that Erik's movie is Clue, and he was trying to do the same for the Summit, but it just turned into, 'Great idea, bad execution' kind of video. Meh.

That Alexis and Cutie parallels... I never noticed that before, Anon! Huh! You have a good eye when it comes to details. Listen, I love Alexis. I love Cutie. I love deeply flawed characters, and I also love deeply flawed characters that either own up to it or revel in their shittiness. I just want Cutie and Geordi to break up already so Cutie can find someone on their level, and Geordi can find someone with enough patience to deal with him and his baggage. Though both of them need to work on their own stuff first, tbh. Cutie is not blameless, and neither is Geordi.

Will we get an Imperium Season 2, though, Anon? I already don't have faith in Erik's story writing so I'm not looking forward to he'll fucked up another series.

Ah! So Quinn's Ending was your tipping point, Anon. I hate Sam and Darling but even I believe they deserve better. Though I giggled when Darling beat up a tied-up Quinn as a way to get their revenge. Oooo, so badass! What a strong Listener! You feel empowered at that moment, Anon? I feel like I was ridiculed after everything, IMO.

Vega's death was a slap in the face to me because of the utter disrespect. You built this character up to be ancient, manipulative, powerful, only for him to moan and die? Wow! I wondered if he actually hated Vega! This might be a gambit, and Vega might be faking his death, or this is some part of his plan, but I don't care anymore. At least give him a proper end, ya know? Again, same with Quinn's situation. I FEEL RIDICULOUS FOR EVER INVESTED IN THE SERIES.

I'm not morbidly curious to see how he's gonna fuck up Project Meridian. I don't doubt that Erik can create a new series that starts off fantastically, only for it to end like a wet fart. Let's hope Inversion isn't his one-hit-wonder, eh?

#monotony's rambling #redacted asmr #redacted audio

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emojellyace08 · 7 months

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Hii-! I have come back with a very weird and strange request. Can we have a reader who is perfect in every way. But..the catch is..what if they weren't human?..like maybe like a Angle,demon,succubus/Incubus or a siren?? Idk something not human! How would u think the lookism characters react to it and how would they find out? Also reader is a good fighter!!

Its fine if this request is so weird and you don't want to write it I totally understand!! Please do ignore this Also have a nice day/evening or night♡

♡"Lookism Men x Demon! Female Reader" ♡

A/N: Thx for the request! I'm personally going to enjoy this one bc I really like horror/supernatural kind of genre and I'm going to be inspired by some of my fav manga characters and their abilities but I'll make other ideas for this character/oc? (which is just not really obvious on my media here lol). Genre: not really fluff and lemon ; slight angst (but there are some cute parts though) TRIGGER WARNING: mentions of g*re, bl**d, organs/limbs, mut*lat*on, mentions of social anxiety and depressive episodes, kidnapping, cannibalism, trust issues, toxic relationships at some parts, NOT FOR SENSITIVE AND YOUNG AUDIENCES Another thing, if you're having thoughts like these I suggest that you don't read this. It's okay if you like gore and the horror genre but don't take anything personally! And stay safe and healthy (keep your physical and mental health in check)

Guide: Y/N (Your Name/Self Insert)

Age: (same age with the character of choice)

Sex: Female (feel free to change if you're uncomfortable)

Abilities: body mutilation, regeneration, immortality (slowly getting physically or looking old but you do have a birthday), clone making, weapon making, strategic planning, whatever else you want to add in.

Talents: *self insert*

Weaknesses (I want to give her some flaws): hand to hand combat, weakness of fire/heat, bad luck, (Bonus!: overthinker in calculations, slow memory and naïve at times, poor eyesight, lacks leadership and socializing, easily gets distracted, short tempered)

Is her powers cursed? Nobody knows. Though the only way to break it and to make her finally rest in peace is to learn how to love (cheesy Ik but let me explain later on). Not meaning to be edgy, but she hears voices in her head and she hallucinates of a beautiful (almost perfect) looking girl saying nasty things for her to do. Good thing she can control it at times.

Gun Park/Goo Kim/James Lee (DG)/ Yoojin (Eugene)/Olly Wang/Jiho Park (villain arc)/ Cheon Taejin/ Charles Choi (Elite)/ Tom Lee/ Baek Hangyul/Jinyoung Park

Oh boi, they seem to be chill and unbothered about your abilities but you know deep down that they're probably planning something about you. You're going to be a great weapon machine. Yoojin, Goo, and Baek might even acknowledge this as a great feat. But you know that behind that smile there's a foul intention hiding.

(Not promoting this behavior!): You seem to have trouble with trusting your peers making socializing hard for you. It may seem to be an easy task for most people but it can be a challenge for you. You may be good with your preferred hobbies but you know deep down that doing simple tasks in your daily life can be troubling. Good thing that he has your back for most times to protect you from harm, even if you're immortal.

This might sound toxic but I think most guys in this list/category will probably use you for their own advantage. Whether it's for strategic planning or in a physical fight he will be willing to train you because he believes that you got so much crazy potential. It's no big deal (no pun intended) for him if you got your arm or leg broken if you even got regenerative abilities (Jinyoung might kidnap and drug you out of "pure" curiosity of what the hell is your body capable of). It's also another interesting thing if you can make your own weapons. At least you can defend yourself from opponent's attacks even when you're losing. But he thinks that your abilities is not enough. You need to train, you need to get stronger since he saw that flaw on you that you depend on weaponry. Expect him to either whoop your ass for a beating everyday or do scientific experiments on you to know if you got more abilities that you are hiding from him and he wants to know your limits. Your endurance, durability, speed, IQ and defense are one of your greatest feats. But you often struggle to take the offense and with your strength, stamina and you need more battle knowledge plus experience. He wants to make you his greatest weapon.

It may be easy for them to just beat you in one punch or kick, but he knows that he may be fighting death. It doesn't mean that he's better at hand and hand combat is that you're not going to bring your guard down. You got your weapons and the only way to evade your attacks is if he is fast enough or if he has insane durability. Despite appearing as a normal being at times, you get easily agitated and stressed. This may trigger your powers and even a single scratch or drop of blood can produce another clone of you own even if it's a really slow process. And you getting pissed off is dangerous, it can cause chaos on your surroundings and you might even unintentionally harm the ones you consider your family. He might consider training your attitude though.

He might even make theories or hypothesis about your abilities. Is it a curse or is it really on your genes? But so far he knows that based on what you said, you never really find or felt love even from your close "friends" or family. He asked why you felt this way but you just don't really know the answer. If you actually get to know each other and have a deep connection he might actually like you, though at times it's just not obvious. He might not be the most affectionate but he promises that he'll try to be more gentle with his approach. You don't know if you could trust that though.

Sinu Han/Kuroda Ryuhei/Vin Jin/Gongseob Ji/Doo Lee/Jake Kim (Goo Kim ; a bit he's more chill than the others above)

Another one who's not really disturbed by your abilities or yourself. But he's not going to use you either. He's fine with you being a succubus or a demon as long as you won't hurt anybody intentionally. Though he can't help but to be amazed by it. "Wow! You can really do that? Can you show me a trick of yours or something?" "Do I really look like a dog to you?" He's just going to let you be. You are you and he wants you to live your best life.

GORE WARNING: He's not really demanding you to help him to deal off his enemies but he'll still appreciate your help nonetheless. But he'll still get really worried about you since he deeply cares tbh. He knows that you're not really a pro with hand to hand combat. But your creation ability and regenerative powers is a great advantage. But he doesn't want you to get hurt. Trust me he'll be in a state of shock when you started crying when you broke your arm or when it got cut off. Your limbs may have the ability to grow back, but you can still feel the pain and it may take a while for it to grow another clone of yours. So it's best if you don't make him worried, he can handle this business on his own.

He lowkey gets scared when you have an episode (like for example when Tomie grows another clone of hers when being triggered or mutilated). He wants to help you out as possible to just stop the drama but he doesn't know how to approach you when these events happen. He will try his best to comfort you though after.

He always feels bad that you experience getting mutilated over and over again. As you explained to him, the more you get revived, you slowly lose your humanity and sense of empathy. You often tried your best to mingle with other people but you end up being awkward and coming out as loud and strong to them making most avoid you. This frustrates you a lot as you want to live peacefully but your powers won't just let you be. He will try his best though in including you to social events and daily activities like partying and spending time with his friends and acquaintances so he hopes that you'll enjoy and appreciate his efforts! And if you're in a romantic relationship with him, he'll make you feel that you are worth it and he'll make you feel loved. Who knows the devil inside you might calm down for a while as you enjoy your moments with him.

Daniel Park/Jay Hong/Zack Lee/Vasco (Lee Eun Tae)/Jace Park/Eli Jang/Warren Chae/Jerry Kwon/Lineman/Brad Lee/Kwak Jihan & Jibeom/Jiho Park/Yuseong/Duke Pyeon/Xiaoleoung

He was a bit concerned with your abilities, almost not believing you at first if you asked me. Daniel might understand you more than the other guys in this list because of his ability to pass his consciousness with his two bodies at will. For sure you know that he was a bit scared about what you are capable of. Though he tries to be respectful with your feelings as possible since he doesn't want you to feel left out or feel misunderstood. Vasco, Jerry, Lineman, and Zack may ask questions again while you can hear his voice getting shaky mixing with his curiosity. (Cannibalism warning!) "Yo-You're a demon? Do you eat humans?" "I can if I want to make myself more powerful. But in exchange of that, I will completely loose my control over myself. So not necessarily because I don't want to. My diet is composed of what humans eat so you don't have to be scared, though it's understandable if you want to distance yourself from me." "NO NO IT'S OKAY I PROMISE!" "SH! BE QUIET!"

With the other more mature guys in this list, he may ask why you have the ability to make yourself to be stronger with you eating others. "It depends on the person. If I consumed a beautiful teenager around my age, I might be able to resemble like her or get some of her striking attributes like her prettiness. Or if I ate a powerful opponent, my hand to hand combat or creation will get more stronger and deadlier. It can probably enhance my regenerative powers but I wouldn't risk it. It can feed her up at have complete control over my body." "Who's her?" he asked as you pointed something behind his back with the coldest eyes. "Behind you." (ANOTHER THING! If someone is completely concerned or is actually really emotionally close with you they might see what you're seeing. It's a really pretty girl almost resembling like you, but her physical appearance has no flaws. But the one of the main difference between the two of you is that her attitude is, well not really pleasing and good if you asked me. She can't also touch other people but she can control you when you're experiencing uncontrollable negative emotions, hence it's the reason why you switch personalities in times of stressful events).

He'll be in a state of panic when you limbs got cut off again. He might take you to the nearest hospital but you told him that doctors will probably hold an experiment on you if they learned about your regenerative abilities. So the only solution he can make up with is him stitching your limbs together so you wouldn't produce another clone. After some weeks your body is back to normal and there is no hint of scars on your arms and legs. He is relieved that you are feeling better now.

You mentioned of how you never felt satisfied with your daily life despite being talented at the things you do. He may ask the reason why but you couldn't really find the answer. You often see your classmates chatting and having a great time, why couldn't you have that too despite helping them out when they need assistance? Are you not enough? Are you boring or too loud? Are you ugly? You couldn't even know the answer. The only theory he can make up is that your insecurities and hatred against other people can feed up the "demon" in you to be stronger and take over you. And that hallucination of yours is a reflection of your wrath, envy, and greed getting stronger if you loose control because of you looking for your own perfection. So you got to take a hold on yourself and actually start appreciating yourself. He doesn't blame you if you feel insecure about yourself, but you got to start to change and be more open to everybody even to him if you need advice in your life. He'll make you remind that despite having your own flaws, your kindness shouldn't be abused by other people who wants to take advantage of it and he's thankful that you helped him out in his darkest times when others can't or don't want to. And you shouldn't bring yourself down most of the times. But your "friend" is not pleased with this though. She often reminds you that you're just a pawn to be used by other people and how you wouldn't be strong or approachable without her. Often gaslighting you at times since she's scared of getting physically weaker because of your humanity taking over. So you and him have to work hard to make this bitch calm down. He'll give you lots of hugs and kisses and whispering to your ear about how he loves you. It's your guardian angel helping you out as best as possible battling with your worst enemy, the devil in your head and consciousness.

Samuel Seo/Johan Seong/Hudson Ahn/Daniel Park (post-Gun training arc)/Jace Park/Magami Kenta/Kwak Jichang/Taesoo Ma/Mandeok

He's not really surprised or disturbed by this discovery. But that doesn't mean he's not concerned. It might have hurt on your part to be cut off over and over again. And it might not be obvious since he's mostly calm at times but he doesn't like it when he sees you experiencing this phenomenon. It may have been something along with black magic or a curse even if he doesn't really believe in those unrealistic stuff. But so far he believes that what you're experiencing is not scientifically possible.

A little background story: He'll be asking why your devil just wouldn't leave you alone. You explained to him that you didn't knew either as you just woke up with no prominent scars or wounds on your body. You remembered being in a fight with your so called "friends" who have betrayed you and who have taken your life somewhere between the woods when they asked you out for camping. The authorities couldn't lock them up because of lack of evidence against them. Then you just woke up on your house like nothing happened. You were shocked that the year was different from when you died, maybe around 1987. You tried making contact with the people you used to know in your past life but you couldn't get a hold on them. They're probably dead or they may have forgotten about you. You just didn't know. He suggested if you got reincarnated in a new body but it's far from truth. Your body still looked exactly the same like in the past. And it just doesn't make sense if you woke up with a devil whispering to your ear about the nastiest shit ever and you just don't age at all.

He'll also be in a state of shock the moment your body produces another clone or when your limbs got cut off. He doesn't know what to do since you producing a clone that gets stronger can affect your mental health and you're both in the middle of a fight that can harm both of your lives. He will have a hard decision if he should just run away with you or fuck up that bastard's face for getting you hurt.

Like I said, they might not be the most affectionate out of the bunch but some of them are more mentally stable than the others above except for Samuel and Johan but anwaysss. He'll make sure that you eat normally and sleep well. He'll have a chat with you there and then so it wouldn't trigger your negative emotions and keep them in control. And he'll also spend his quality time with you even when he's tired like cuddling with you on the bed and giving your head some pecks.

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zukosdualdao · 8 days

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Im glad to read the takes of a fellow zuko stan :)

Honestly, it feels like people just hate on him way too much lately. The posts ive seen on twitter, on tik tok, on tumblr... Do people just not like him anymore? Why did everyone turn against him so suddenly? I've been hoping it's something temporary, just a trend, but. I don't know anymore. People mock his disability, spit on his trauma, wish death on him and interpret everything he says or does in the worst possible way. I saw someone crying about how entitled he was because he took aang's seat when watching the play just the other day lmao. Another person wrote about how mysoginistic he was because he didn't remember katara's name when asking about kya's death to sokka? There are those who even call him a colonizer on the same level as iroh lmao. It seems their justifications for all the salt they throw his way are along the lines of "he's been loved for too long, aang stans have suffered way more, people just watched the show again and realized how bad he actually was, he's catching strays since his fans keep setting him up, his fans paint him as perfect and erase every bad thing he's done" etc etc. I'm all for criticism and deeper character analysis, but this is just said in bad faith. I also think it has a bit to do with how different engagement has become in fandom spaces recently (things people support in fiction need to be morally correct) and well, zuko was the perfect target. He's done bad things, sides with the villains for a good portion of the series, redeems himself but there are things he still has to work on... I don't know, it's been getting to me. There are many other harsh things ive read said about him (like implying how every single member of the gaang hates even after redeeming himself), but i honestly don't have the energy to delve into each and every one. His arc was poorly executed and his development was badly written now, apparently. I kind of just ranted here, i apologize. Im very happy to read the posts of someone who genuinely likes him and doesnt throw him under the bus to defend or elevate other characters...

hi! i'm glad you're enjoying my blog <3 and no need to apologize for the rant, i'm always happy to talk about zuko!

about to theorize a bit as to why it seems like maybe zuko has become a more contentious character, but it should be noted i have not been exceptionally, actively involved in the fandom very long. i loved atla as a kid, have retained fond memories, have witnessed some discourse from the fringes over the years, but only recently has it overtaken my brain to the point of making a whole blog about it. lol. so, like, grain of salt, etc.

i think a big part of it is what you said - in the last few years of fandom in particular, it feels like there has been a huge upswing in purity culture, moralizing liking/not liking certain ships or characters, and an overall increase in very black-and-white thinking. there's also an emphasis on "holding people accountable" (good in theory), often without specifying what, exactly, that looks like (less good). the idea then becomes that if you've done harmful things, there's no way you can ever make up for them and should just, like, hate yourself for all eternity and also die, probably, which is not actually helpful to anyone.

so, i think for those who ascribe to that mindset, zuko is a prime candidate for them to criticize. and while there's nothing wrong with criticizing a character or their arc or writing if you truly have a problem with it, as you've said, a lot of the time, criticisms against zuko don't seem to be made in very good faith. after all, a big part of zuko's arc is having to unlearn some very black-and-white thinking. also, zuko is not a real person. he is a character, and therefore a narrative tool, and if we want him to be 'held accountable', we need look no further than the story itself, in which he is probably the character the narrative holds the most accountable for his actions due to his prior status as a villain.

(it reminds me a bit, actually, of another favorite character of mine: alec in the tv series shadowhunters. he starts out the story already in a heroic role, unlike zuko, but a big part of his narrative is unlearning some prejudiced cultural mindsets and challenging not only his previous ideologies, but his conception of himself and the people in his life as well. as a result, alec can look sometimes more obviously flawed than the other main cast, but the point is that the narrative asks him to examine those flaws and change and introspect and grow in a way that it doesn't always ask of other characters when they are showcasing their own flaws. which does make me thing about zuko vs. aang in the atla narrative.)

the other thing i think is contributing to zuko's more contentious status in the fandom is how long atla's been in the cultural consciousness, and how common it is for things that used to be popular to cycle through to people starting to criticize or actively hate it to people saying "no, actually, it's still pretty good, you just don't want to like a popular thing" (this is me rn), to maybe eventually getting popular again/at least in certain subsects of the audience. zuko was probably one of the most talked-about aspects of atla for a long time, and while i can understand how that could get frustrating (because there are some other really great characters and aspects of the story!), that's not, like, for no reason. people connected with and admired his story for a reason, and many still do, and (in my humble opinion) that is because it is one of the most thought-out, intentional, and nuanced character arcs of the show.

the ableism, i think, really gets to me because like... even if every criticism from the people who hate him were 100% accurate and said in good faith (they're not, but let's pretend for a minute)... that still wouldn't be an excuse for ableism against a character with a prominent facial difference (or making fun of abuse survivors for the permanent injuries they sustain from abuse.) if zuko had never redeemed himself and stayed a villain, it would still be wrong to talk about his scar and abuse the way some of his detractors do. and the show agrees with me! you know how i know? the only two characters to ever make fun of zuko's scar are villains in the narrative: zhao and azula. ("make fun of" might not be quite right for zhao, since what he said - "you have the scar to prove it" - is far more matter-of-fact than azula imitating him by covering her eye or "make sure they get your good side", but he's absolutely being a huge jerk about it.) other characters react to zuko's scar in all sorts of different ways, even when he's still in a villain/antagonist/anti-hero role: zuko's crew is horrified to learn how he got the scar, song sees a point of connection and tries to reach out to him, but, while i think well-intentioned, she breaks a major boundary by trying to touch his scar when he hasn't conveyed he's okay with that, jet makes assumptions about his background because of it, lee, the kid from zuko alone, asks with curious, childish naivete how he got it, only for his father to reprimand him for asking, aang reacts with annoyance/boredom to azula's ableist joke, and katara trips over her words to correct him when zuko thinks she's essentially calling him "scary to look at". not all of these interactions are positive, but the characters (all of whom are written as pretty sympathetic, even if also flawed) aren't outright trying to make fun of him for it, and the narrative never implies he deserves to be treated as less than because of it, even before his redemption.

anyway. if people don't believe in characters' (and, hell, irl people's) capacity for growth and change and don't want to have nuanced discussions about how trauma can impact these things, i mean... that's their prerogative, but i don't understand why they enjoy the show, because those are big parts of it (and not just wrt zuko.)

i know it can be frustrating, anon, (trust me, i get very frustrated.) but i promise you, there are plenty of people out there who a) still love zuko and his story and b) are capable of and willing to talk about things with nuance and in good faith. i'm happy to be part of that corner of fandom, and i bet you can manage to carve out a space where more people like that exist, too! <3

#fandom critical #aang critical #atla critical #a little. jic #ableism //#abuse //#atla #zuko #anonymous #asks #i didn't delve into some of the specifics of people's aggravating bad-faith takes anon bc otherwise this post would be 3x longer but trust #hate them too #also the world is not ready for my alec/zuko parallels post that i still haven't made #cross-media parallels #for reasons

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