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katanashipping · 6 months

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I know this a leosagi blog but your ask box wasn’t open on your other blog so I am asking here if that’s fine. I looked through your blogs so I don’t think you said but what’s your favorite iteration of raph?

I am sorry I left this sitting in my inbox for so long!

I haven't seen all versions of TMNT that are out there by far, but in general, I prefer versions where Raph is kind and funny, or grows to be kind and funny. His bond with his brothers is the most important to me (as, tbh, with all of the turtles).

Also, I tend to prefer versions that have been out a long time, mostly because when I was younger I had a lot more time to rewatch and reconsider the same media over and over again, and interact with fandom and analysis, whereas these days I just don't have as much time, so I suppose my view is somewhat more reductive of newer iterations of the TMNT in general?

On the other hand, I have rewatched parts of 2k3 pretty much once a year for like 17 years... so I have Thoughts about those boys.

Anyway, out of the versions I have seen and remember, this is my tier list from favorite to least favorite:

2k3 (the all time champion)

Rise (a surprisingly interesting and different version)

2k7 movie (Nightstalker! a childhood fave)

Mutant Mayhem (wish he wasn't so overtly mean)

Batman vs TMNT (I don't remember him much from that movie tbh)

Bayverse (never again)

I have not watched very much of the 87 show (maybe six episodes total, and the Turtles Forever movie), but I think 87 Raph is hilarious and very sweet, so he would be somewhere around Rise for me.

Overall, I prefer Batman vs TMNT to Mutant Mayhem, but MM Raph had a bit more growth, which I liked.

I dislike pretty much everything I remember about the first two Bayverse turtle films though.

I also watched the first season of 2k12 when it came out, but it wasn't really for me, so I didn't include that Raph here because I don't remember him much. I liked how sweet he was with his pet turtle, though. <3

Some reasons that 2k3 is my top tier:

clear progression/growth from S1 to S4 in which Raph works out his anger issues; in later seasons, he is basically all snark and no bite with his brothers and I love to see it

his family grow alongside him and later on, when he needs to blow off steam for half an hour, they let him go without comment and respect his space

I love the special little bond he has with Mikey <3

not to mention the special little bond he has with Casey <3 talk about soulmates 🏍️

I wanted to propose a drinking game where you take a shot every time Raph pushes one of his brothers out of harm's way in a fight or risky scenario, but I abandoned the idea because I like not having alcohol poisoning lol (I think just in Return of Savanti pt 1, which is one of the most recent we rewatched, he does it three or four times???)

not afraid to speak his mind, but also not afraid to change his mind if he's wrong

he's so cute with kids! I headcanon that he and Tyler are still in touch in future and Raph has a special kind of pride in Tyler's progress. ("did you know Tyler got an A on the test? did you know Tyler learned judo? did you know Tyler was accepted into NYU?")

also, the entire episode with Mrs Morris is just <3

cries when emotional (relatable)

has no luck with bugs 🐞

where did he get that accent? don't worry about it!

Gremlin Laugh (tm)

Anyway, that's me! What's your favourite iteration of the boy?

#tmnt 2003 #tmnt 2k3 #hamato raphael #tmnt raphael #asked and answered

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moreespressoformydepresso · 3 months

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You think the Descendants books are canon? And who's you're least fave AK and why?

Yes and no. I think the books color in canon, and things like the shrimpy debacle and Cruella’s abhorrent parenting certainly seem to fit in very well with the movies, but I don’t think they’re straight up 100% canon. Mostly because the rotten four in the movies are very close and behave like they’ve been besties since birth. They have a clear, deep bond and behave like they’ve known each other since forever. You cannot tell me with a straight face that they met in the same year that the movies happened. Also, their parents live together in the movies and they don’t in the books. Well I guess it’s not explicitly stated that they do, but how else do we explain them being together whenever they’re onscreen, and stuff like Evil Queen knowing how the “safe” works? It’s the most logical conclusion to me. Aside from that, Ben and Mal give no indication of recognizing each other in the movies, so the dreams aren’t canon either unless I’m supposed to believe that Ben made a declaration based on his dream, partially to get that one girl off the isle, and then didn’t recognize her when she stood in front of his face. To me it seems some parts of the books are canon, some are canon-esque, and the rest are creative liberties for the sake of telling a good story.

My least favorite AK is Chad, I hate his guts. Or rather his lack thereof.

It was a tossup between him and Audrey, but Audrey has redeeming qualities and a reason to be the way she is. I briefly considered going with Jane but she’s only kinda unlikeable in the first movie and just like Audrey has good qualities and a reason to be Like That. Chad does not. Like- at all. He doesn’t have a single good thing about him, he doesn’t do anything other than act horribly, and his only merit is that he’s so unlikeable we can laugh at him every time he face plants into the mud. His main character trait is that he’s mean, he’s judgmental, and he uses his good looks and status to get what he wants (like making girls do his homework and then dumping them/not following through on his end of a deal). Then in D3 he’s lost all the charming front and has turned into a pathetic coward who licks Audrey’s (fabulous) boots and that’s it. That’s all he has. His reason for being that way?

Good question, I’d love to know too!

Actually no at this point I honestly don’t care, but I guess I’d hear it out if we ever got anything. That’s why I dislike Chad so much though, there’s nothing to him. He’s an antagonist making our villain protagonists’ lives harder because he can and he’s something for the audience to laugh at or yell at, but he’s got nothing beyond that. I can’t analyse him, I can’t really talk about him in any meaningful way because there’s nothing to talk about. Audrey, I can talk about for days, because she’s fascinating and a lot deeper than you’d think in the first movie, but Chad just isn’t. Jane was only kinda mean in the first movie and it’s clear that it’s because she’s been an outcast all her life. Of course she’ll do anything to keep her newfound popularity once she’s finally accepted! When you get what you’ve wanted all your life you’ll do stupid shit to not lose that again, especially if you’re an insecure teenager. And Audrey was told since birth she’d be the queen of Auradon, her grandma (who she clearly cares about a lot) puts a lot of pressure on her and even talks down to her when Ben breaks up with her in a way I’d say borders on verbal abuse.

"A lifetime of planning gone. Our family status gone. Audrey you were supposed to be his queen and you let him slip through your fingers."

"Your mother could hold on to a prince her sleep."

Imagine someone you love deeply telling you that because your boyfriend broke up with you. Look at that and tell me queen Leah hasn’t been pushing Audrey to become queen since forever. Audrey herself says she and Ben were supposed to be a couple from an early age, practically betrothed, that whole thing was not her idea and I can imagine her boyfriend singing a love song for another girl in front of the entire school isn’t gonna inspire nice behavior. Was Audrey a little vain? Yes, but again she’s clearly had much pressure put on her to be perfect (she and my Anthony would get along great with the instilled perfectionism, I might write about them bonding one day 👀). Her behavior can be explained, and given her lyrics in Queen of Mean we can assume that she was very nice to people who weren’t the VK’s. As you can tell by the length of this, there’s a lot to talk about with Audrey. I can’t do that with Chad because there’s nothing there. He’s not a good person, and that’s all we get.

The most I can do is tell you he’s a representation of the nature vs nurture themes, with his parents being heroes and him being the way that he is, but not only is that very obviously his purpose in the story aside from driving the drama of the plot, he’s also not the only character serving that purpose. Queen Leah does it better than he does given the way she treats Audrey (her grievances with Mal and her behavior towards here are unjustified, but they do have a basis), and Audrey is just a more interesting angle to take in that theme. Jane’s little “mean girl” phase is better than Chad’s whole character, because it shows in just a few scenes how good people can become assholes in certain circumstances.

So yeah fuck Chad, at least he’s an easy pick for when I wanna write drama and need an inciting incident. He’s perfect for that if nothing else.

#descendants #disney descendants #descendants books #descendants chad #chad charming #chad charming sucks #i hate him #canon or not? both :)#anon ask #ask #uhmmm idk how to tag #how do i tag this #i don’t i guess

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so-i-grudgingly-joined-this-site · 8 months

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I don't like Thessaly all that much and there is a lot of reasons to dislike her character but I do think there is a double standard when it comes to the whole transphobia thing espeically in comparison to George who is a clear out and out transphobic. And maybe there are reasons maybe George doesn't get hate is because he's a much more minor character compared to Thessaly who is still minor herself but has a bigger role or because people don't see Thessaly as being good for Dream which one can debate the other way as well though I do think Dream's overall morals are better than Thessaly's but I can't help but think it's down to misogyny or at least it's partly down to that. Like I said I don't like Thessaly but I also don't like the double standard of how women and men are treated differently and this also happens in real life.

Oh yeah, I'd definitely say misogyny is a large part of it. Fandom loves any excuse to hate on a female character, especially one who "gets in the way" of self-shipping or a more popular non-canon ship for their (usually male) fave. Thessaly just happens to be a rare case where she ALSO is legitimately terrible. The fact that she's also terrible in a way that corresponds to a current hot-topic issue likewise gives people easy "brownie points" for hating on her, because fans can frame it in a faux-activist way that comes across as "cool" on tumblr or twitter.

And as for George, I'm not sure if it's because he's a minor character, or, sadly, if it's more "expected" for a man to be cruel towards a woman. The fact that he's presented as villainous to begin with likewise gives him something of a "free pass" to express bigoted views, because hey, he's obviously supposed to be evil anyway. Thessaly is at least marginally heroic in that she's helping our protagonist Barbie (although she ultimately does more harm than good), so hearing her be bigoted is more potentially shocking and disappointing to a reader. Of course, this misses the major theme of the story where everyone, including powerful or divine figures, can be flawed, wrong, or bigoted. Neil himself emphasizes this in The Sandman Companion interviews about A Game of You: the moon rules are supposed to be taken as outdated/bigoted for only accepting menstruating people as women, and Thessaly isn't supposed to be a "heroic" or aspirational figure.

(Also, as a side note: The Companion also states that Dream and Thessaly were supposed to not make sense and be a "wtf why are they together?" type pair. However, given that The Companion often seems to be nudging readers to see Dream in a negative light, it's not exactly clear why they would be "obviously" bad for each other...)

I have to say, Thessaly's TERF reputation preceded her before I got to A Game of You in the comics, and I was actually surprised at how little of her personality that is compared to her other unpleasant actions. I expected her to be full-on "author-who-shall-no-longer-be-named", but basically she makes one transphobic comment before instead doing a spell that causes mass destruction and presumable mass death by moving the moon and thus bringing the storm into the city. She also cruelly sacrifices animals at multiple points in her appearances. I mean, it's all bad, obviously, but the fact that the fandom hones in on ONE particular thing to hate her for, out of the MANY reasons she's hate-able, makes me wonder how much is performative activism.

And on one last note... we all need to talk about Wanda more. Seriously. She's far more than just "groundbreaking representation" or "a victim of transphobia". The Sandman Companion rightly points out that she embodies the intended message of the arc: that everyone should be able to change and define themselves as they wish, the will of any alleged authority be damned. Plus, in a series where the central conflict of the protagonist is ultimately about needing to gain self-knowledge and the willingness to change...Wanda is the one who actually MANAGES that! She, a normal human person, does what an Endless cannot. Of course, the inspiration kind of falls flat in that both her and Dream end up equally tragically dead. But still, she's a very notable foil in the overall themes of The Sandman.

#ask #asks answered #anon #the sandman #the sandman meta #thessaly #george (the sandman)#wanda (the sandman)#the sandman companion

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hopeymchope · 1 month

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So if you had to give your persona favorite persona protagonist who would it be

(Personally it’s in between makoto or tatsuya for me)

Full Disclosure: Although I attempted to go back and play Persona 2: Innocent Sin, I wound up falling off of it pretty hard in the early game. There was too much I disliked to keep me wanting to play it... so I ultimately don't know that much about Tatsuya. And by extension, that also goes for Maya — even though I wish I knew more about our only adult protag to date, I can't claim to know much.

And I've yet to try the first game, so uh, yeah. I don't know Naoya, either! Ultimately, I'm just your typical "Persona started for me with Persona 3" plebe — at least for now. Maybe until the rumored remakes of the first two games come along. :P

..........all of which means I really only have four protagonists to choose from as my fave right now. Out of P3-P5, I think P3 is easily the game that does the best job of giving the protags distinct personalities that are made clear through their dialogue options. And of the two P3 protags, I'm particularly soft for Kotone Shiomi, aka "FeMC." She's my current favorite.

She's got that upbeat nihilism, and her personality leads to her having some of the best (1) dialogue options (2).

#persona #femc #kotone shiomi #persona series #asks

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notmoreflippingelves · 5 months

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Eoa 5, 6, 9, 16, 24?

5. 3 favourite characters?

Esteban, Elena, Naomi. (Though it's a very close call between Naomi and Valentina ngl and sometimes, Elena annoys me a little and gets bumped down a place or two).

6. Least favourite character?

Shuriki in the sense that she's the one who personally evokes the most angry feelings in me. But I also thinks she's a particularly good and effective villain and a very effective means of creating high stakes and woobifying Esteban further, so she can stay in my book.

I also really dislike Cristobal Castillo a fair bit for obvious reasons, but I think he also works fairly effectively in the context of the show as both a temporary baddie and as foil to Esteban (even if I wish we could've seen them interact more).

I think Fiero and Zopilote are both really interesting conceptually but were largely wasted in the show itself. Maybe they would've worked better if they were combined into a single character. Ash's evil mentor who serves as a foil to her and to Mateo, allies temporarily with Shuriki for POWAH (but always plans to betray her) in S2 and is both very proud of and very demanding of Ash. But in their current incarnation, they're just kind of there and largely pointless to me.

In terms of characters who weren't specifically designed to be villains, I am not particularly fond of Flo, Charoca, Luisa, or Mateo. I wouldn't say I "hate" them exactly as all do have some moments that I enjoy and have a role to play in the story. But even at their very best, I am decidedly "meh" about them compared to the others. Particularly Mateo. (I recently made a post about what I see as pretty clear writer's bias/favoritism toward him and why it aggravates me).

9. Favourite season and why?

It's difficult to say, since I think each of the seasons have their own particular strengths and weaknesses.

S1 is most consistent on an episode-by-episode level. At this point, the show is mostly filler/world-building but its much less glaring and disruptive here than in the later seasons. Also "Island of Youth" and "King of the Carnaval" have my whole heart.

S2 is best at pacing and balancing filler with the main plot. Shuriki is also by far the best villain on the show, and while there's still a lot of missed opportunities with that (which I'll get into at the next question), her return and defeat are handled reasonably well. I also feel that S2 has the best Dia de los Muertos episode (" The Jewel of Maru") and the best holiday episode ("Snow Place Like Home"). That being said, S2 is particularly aggravating to me as an Estefan since he does pretty much nothing of substance for an entire season--with the exception of an (admittedly great) cousin rap battle and a bit of (shared) focus in the Navidad episode.

S3 is probably my favorite and there is so much to love about it. the show finally gives Esteban the characterization and plot focus that he has deserved all along--and as a bonus, they gave him magic powers, a (reluctant and fortunately temporary) villain era, a redemption arc, a sparkly magical outfit( that pairs with Elena's) and an extremely stupid new hairdo to boot. I also love love love Elena's emotional magic (particularly as a parallel with Esteban's teleportation and just the aesthetic of her dress changing colors with her mood). I also love Victor and Carla redemption (even if I wish we could've seen more of them). In S3, we were introduced to Chloe, Antonia, Ixlan, and Rebecca who are some of my faves of the supporting characters. I love everything about "Dreamcatcher" and most of "The Magic Within" (except for Flo and the mood whiplash she brings with her) and "Coronation Day" as well.

But for all that is great about S3, there are some notable flaws as well. The most obvious of which is pacing. (Granted that this is probably unintentional and a lot of the problems are due to Disney airing things wildly out of order). We will go from some of the most devastating and emotionally exhausting episodes on the show to just super low-key filler episodes without any preamble and it's so frustrating. That being said, S2 did a much better job integrating the main plot even into filler episodes. (Ex: There was a little bit Victor and Carla shenanigans in "Royal Rivalry" and a few scenes of "Carla-as-Rita" even in the mostly filler science fair ep). It's also wildly funny to me how we will go through multiple S3 episodes without Esteban appearing or even being mentioned, yet the moment he does show up--either in person or conversation--he is accompanied by the affirmation that Elena is 110% incapable of being normal about him. It's like he either doesn't exist at all to her OR he is one of the only things that exists to her. There is absolutely no middle ground. It's hilarious.

I also have mixed feelings about Ash, Chatana, and the Four Shades of Awesome as villains. Chatana in particular seems underdeveloped and underused. While I mostly like Cahu as the final Big Bad, the other Shades seems kind of random and out of place, and I also think Cahu should've been introduced an episode or two earlier. Even if she doesn't appear, we could've learned that summoning her was Ash's plan and what she expects to accomplish. As well as the stakes of what they are risking by doing so.

16. Most ridiculous plot line?

The absolute nonsensical timeline/episode airing order throughout the whole show but especially in S3. Honestly, ridiculous is not at all the right word, but the plot arc--or at least plot element--that I find most aggravating is Esteban's plot during the S2 "Shuriki Returns" arc. Or more specifically, the complete and utter lack of Esteban plot during said arc. More than anyone else on the show except possibly Elena (and even that is debatable), Esteban's entire character has been shaped by 41 years of Shuriki's reign, coupled by his own guilt for enabling that reign in the first place and his lingering fear and trauma from the Dark Times in general.

As such the Shuriki returns arc should've been nearly as crucial to his character development as it was to Elena's. And yet...all we get is "The Right Thing to Do" and a few tiny little moments in "Song of the Sirenas" (him hiding behind Francisco on seeing Shuriki again and wanting to be rescued first from the tower). That's it. Three little moments, two of which are specifically played for laughs and all of which only really contribute to Esteban's character development if you really stop and think about them beyond the surface level.

Esteban uses his body as a shield multiple times to protect Elena from Ash (and later Cahu) in S3 and yet, he sees Shuriki and he immediately darts behind his grandfather for protection like a scared child. He literally does a song and dance to try to persuade (and then force) Elena to stay as far away from Shuriki as possible. He jumps the line to try be the first to be rescued from Shuriki and then his second thought is to protect the youngest and most vulnerable person in the room (Isabel) instead of himself. It's almost (sarcasm) as it he knows better than anyone exactly what truly horrendous things that Shuriki is capable of and wants to protect himself and his family from them.

I mean, I understand that the nature of this being a children's show discourages them from delving too much into Esteban's trauma and what exactly the Dark Times looked like. If they reminded the eight year olds watching that 41 years is an insanely long period of time to live alone without family, friends, or freedom, they would probably get so many angry letters from parents. Yet in the very first episode of the show, they just low-key reveal that Shuriki enslaved the noblins .

I don't think it would've been too much to have Esteban be like "Remember the noblins. Remember your parents. Remember the amulet. These are only a few examples of the terrible things Shuriki has done . I've seen them all firsthand and I've seen countless more equally nightmarish so I will not let you go after her now" before he breaks into his Hamilton audition piece.

Or even just there be a brief moment during the "Shuriki Returns" arc where someone is like "How are you holding up, Esteban? This must be so scary and stressful for you too/ you in particular." But no, this was apparently too much to ask for.

24. Favourite song from the show?

youtube

My favorite songs from the show are always the random ones with guest characters as opposed to the actually plot-important ones with main characters, lol. So my top 5 would probably be: "You Can't Catch Me," "A Little Bit More," (Val, my beloved) "More, More, More" (which is probably the most underrated song on the show imo), "You Want to Live Forever," and "The Gift of Night" and probably in that order.

If you held a gun to my head and told me I had to pick a more important song that is song by a series regular, it would probably be either "Something I Would Never Do" or "Let Love Light the Way."

Ask Meme

#elena of avalor #eoa salt #i love this show but it is so frustrating to me #esteban is already a great 12/10 character but he could be so much more; should be so much more #but that would require the writers remembering he existed until they needed him to do plot things in s3 #and even then; they'll still ignore him for multiple episode at a time #and act like his (admittedly huge) mistake happened like 5-10 years ago instead of over 40 years ago #like i get that it still feels fresh and new to the characters too but still #*Sirius Black voice* Esteban did his waiting and suffering. 41 years of it in Shuriki's Avalor #fuck cristobal castillo tho; all my homies hate cristobal castillo

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vikugnavikugna · 6 months

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Tagge by @that-one-empty-skull

coke or pepsi? Nearly exclusively water, but I'll go Pepsi if there's a gun to my head

disney or dreamworks? Dreamworks

coffee or tea? The black sludge is a necessity, tea I drink for pleasure

books or movies? Books!!!

windows or mac? If the question was Windows or Linux I at least would have to consider it; as is, the choice is clear

dc or marvel? I LOVE BOTH!!!!!! My shelf has more DC omnis and tps by volume tho and I LOVE LOVE LOVE Superman, so ig DC

x-box or playstation? Steam Deck

dragon age or mass effect? Neither, thank you

night owl or early riser? I wake up at 6 am on a weekend

cards or chess? Cards, ig

chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate

vans or converse? I don't wear shoes like these

Lavellan, Trevelyan, Cadash, or Adaar? What.

fluff or angst? Both, angst-leaning

beach or forest? Beach

dogs or cats? I dream of cats, but wake up to a tiny ass annoyingly loud chorkie at the foot of my bed

clear skies or rain? Clear skies if I'm outside, rain when I'm inside, thank you

cooking or eating out? Eating out

spicy food or mild food? Spicy!

halloween/samhain or solstice/yule/christmas? Dziady! (Halloween)

would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot? Cold. I would just wear sweaters all the time

if you could have a superpower, what would it be? Shapeshifting to deal with my trans-ness would be nice, electricity manipulation if I wanted to minmax life tho

animation or live action? Animation

paragon or renegade? What.

baths or showers? Shower!

team cap or team ironman? I hate those fucking movies, but I love Cap in general. On a very basic level he's *basically* Marvel's Superman, after all (fundamentally a good person representing the simplistic idealism of a bygone era forced to operate a much more morally complex world - also, punches people)

fantasy or sci-fi? I was once a fantasy head but I read near exclusively hard sci-fi for like a year now so who even knows tbh

do you have three or four favourite quotes, if so what are they? “Can a magician kill a man by magic?” Lord Wellington asked Strange./Strange frowned. He seemed to dislike the question. “I suppose a magician might,” he admitted, “but a gentleman never could.” Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell “This is life, and I will not lie by saying every day will be sunshine. But there will be sunshine again, and that is a very different thing to say. That is truth.” Rhyth of War “Every concert pianist knows that the surest way to ruin a performance is to be aware of what the fingers are doing. Every dancer and acrobat knows enough to let the mind go, let the body run itself. Every driver of a manual vehicle arrives at destinations with no recollection of the stops and turns and roads traveled in getting there. You are all sleepwalkers, whether climbing creative peaks or slogging through some mundane routine for the thousandth time. You are all sleepwalkers.” Blindsight (READ BLINDSIGHT) I guess. It's all I could think of at the moment rather than all time concrete faves tho

youtube or netflix? Youtube

[REDACTED] What- What does that mean

when do you feel accomplished? Raking leaves :)

star wars or star trek? Dislike the former, didn't watch the latter

paperback books or hardcover books? I read epubs on my Pocketbook so when I buy books it's just to look good on my shelf - hardback

to live in a world without literature or without music? I could eventually get used to no music, but I cannot realistically go on without books

who was the last person to make you laugh? "Fist my bump". I just finished Project Hail May a few minutes ago, as of writing this. The author is an unfunny techbro but he has his moments

city or countryside? I live in a small ass village and I would love to move to a city

favorite chips? Lay's Oven Baked green thank you

pants or dresses? I WISH I could pull off a dress

libraries or museums? Museum!

character driven stories or plot driven stories? Character driven!

bookmarks or folding pages? Bookmarks!

Dream job? I cannot imagine a satisfying life under the capitalist system. I could be satisfied raking leaves and picking up trash for 8 hours a day, but we don't pay those people well! Make me do that but for a livable wage!

What gives you comfort? Blanket and no light and I'm set

what are some of your favorite song lyrics? "Lately I've taken to vacantly making repetitive movements/Mistakenly seen as improvements/Nearing perfection but wisely electing/To shun my reflection preferring instead shoe inspection/Cheese and chalk do not talk/But their eyes synchronize with a secret rhythm/Which is a way one could say that I love you for psychological reasons"

favorite ice cream flavor ever? Mint! Mint! Mint!

first fandom? Hard question! Akame ga Kill was the first thing I was super into but Yu Yu Hakusho was probably the first time I made fanart and interacted with ppl on the internet abt it. Worm is the first time I made digital art for smth and posted memes on the sub!

Your desert island band?

I'm scared of tagging people. Sorry if you hate this. Add new questions at the end if you follow up. @larky-lark @n0brainjustvibes @clarissa39 @heyitschartic

#tag games r so fun but so stressful fr fr

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sxturdaysun · 8 months

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✍️🤪👯🌦️❤️☕️💘💌 for you and hermes!

YELLS AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS HIM!!!!!!!!

✍️: overall, how does the fandom trait you? are you a beloved character, or hated? are you popular, or a minor side character? anything in between?

by nature of my insert being a part of the hermes familia, she's relegated to being a side character by default, unfortunately. that said, she has her moments where she's relevant and shows up fairly often (with or without hermes), so i like to think she'd have at least some number of fans. definitely a niche fave, though, to be sure.

generally, i think the fandom's opinion of her would be neutral or skewing slightly positive, though there's also... moments... i can imagine would turn some people off from her. the further on in the story you go, the more divisive i think she'd become.

🤪: what is your trait that fanon would exaggerate?

god. definitely how tsundere she is. it'd be played up and also beaten into the ground at the same time.

👯: what canon character are you most similar to?

fans would probably describe my insert as an unholy combination of lili and bete — meaning she's small and cute and is more than capable of being underhanded and sneaky, but also that she's extremely hotheaded and the loner type that doesn't play nice with others. the emotional constipation is also through the roof with her lmfao.

there are far deeper comparisons between myself and those two, though — the desperation to get out of a situation you're trapped in; the overwhelming need to be strong enough to not have to rely on others — but that's an essay for another day.

🌦️: would you be accompanied by mostly fluff or angst fanfics? both? explain why.

i think it'd be a combination of both, but that the number of angst fics would really increase as the story progresses and it becomes more apparent that hermes is... sort of an antagonist. 💀 lots of fics of my insert reflecting on what he's doing (oftentimes to people she cares about) and the fact that she's complacent in a lot of his plans, if not outright aiding in them. fics where she wonders if her devotion has become obligation and if she even wants to be following him anymore. that kind of thing. not to mention the whole immortal god x mortal that will eventually die thing, too.

there'd be plenty of fluff to offset it, though! 😤 plenty of fics of him returning home to my insert, my insert going with him when he travels, and tons where the plot is literally just "Hermes Flusters Koda Beyond Repair Part 14857" lmao

❤️: how popular is you x your f/o? are you a rarepair?

we're a rarepair only in the sense that the hermes familia isn't a huge focal point, so our on-screen scenes are fairly limited and most of our relationship is kept to the background. but of the people who have huge brains and do care about him / the familia / my insert, we're a huge otp. canon, even. 😤

☕️: what are the most common plots of shipping fics between you and your f/o?

i feel like lots of them would have to do with traveling — whether it be him leaving, him returning, or the odd one where my insert goes with him wherever he disappears off to. another common one would be ones that involve him breaking down my insert's walls, whether that be by way of flustering her until she threatens to kill him snaps or through rare, genuine moments between the two of them.

also plenty of ones where they just scheme together — fics that make it very clear why insert fits together so well with the infamously cunning and underhanded god of thieves and wit.

💘: why would people love your ship? why would people dislike your ship? wow might it start debates?

haha. oh boy.

i think the devotion aspect of our relationship — mostly on the end of my insert — would be the reason people would either really love or really hate us together. on the positive side, it's similar to the royal x devoted knight trope in the sense that, regardless of how low hermes stoops or what moderately to genuinely awful things he does, she still faithfully stays by his side, even if she personally disagrees with him or his methods because she loves him and he loves her back.

on the flip side, i can see a lot of people either misconstruing her as blindly following him or, less egregiously but still incorrectly, assuming that she stays with him because she cosigns everything he does. there's also the matter of my insert's backstory and the context in which she and hermes met and, by extension, ended up joining his familia which would probably lead to a number of people believing that she's only still with him out of obligation and that her feelings aren't real (or, if not that, then that they're not healthy). that last one would definitely be a point of contention between the people that ship us and the ones that don't.

💌: how would your dynamic be portrayed? what might people focus on most? any misconceptions?

i mean, the obvious one is god x faithful follower, but that's nowhere near the true depth of it. i think that would undercut a lot of other dynamics we fall into that people would focus on, though — that, alongside the tsundere x one who gets off on teasing them thing we have going on. those would be the main ones, i think.

not necessarily a dynamic thing, but people would definitely make the misconception that my insert just enables everything he does and never questions or disagrees with him, which is just. blatantly false. 💀

#♡ — asks #thank u i love talking about my danmachi insert and also him <3 #terrible awful man. bastard cowboy god. love of my life.#🖤 bedroom hymns #☆ — 𝐠𝐨𝐝'𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞. [ danmachi ]#under a cut because this got long. as usual.#♡ hannah tag!

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birdantlers · 2 years

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Character bingo: Majin Buu? :D

I had to look up the Wikipedia for the basic plot of this arc I watched only a couple months lol. Kind of sets the vibe for this doesn't it—

I am so disappointed in how his entire.. presence? was handled from beginning to end lmao. That is to say I dislike Buu's arc (character, not saga) as a whole rather than as individual segments. For example, I really really liked when he and Hercule/other miscellaneous people were interacting while he was in his first form. I could talk forever about the general ... Weird vibe of the Buu saga starting around the middle of the World Tournament, but I'm going to stick to Buu's character for sake of time. Both my thoughts on canon and what I personally would have done otherwise

Extremely long elaboration and actual chart below cut

For example, I groaned when I first realized we were getting a Hercule-centric B plot (C plot? E? F?? Who's even keeping track with this saga smh.. my god), but it ended up being one of my favorite parts of the arc. It genuinely felt like both characters gained a level of dimension just.. interacting without immediate ulterior motives; something that DBZ severely lacks imo.

It felt like they were really progressing somewhere, and I was genuinely surprised when Bee got shot. (Though I think reviving her weakened the moment, and something like Buu accepting it and moving on could still have been pulled off. Also I have a hard time believing a tiny dog shot through the center of its body with a whole ass hunting rifle would still be alive 5 minutes later, but that's kinda nitpicky)

The following fragile return to peace is really good and creates a lot of tension; an emotion that is constant throughout the Buu arc but is less apparent in some parts than others. This would be one of the more cerebral moments of suspense to me; you want things to be okay—for Buu to actually be redeemed, but not only does everyone else not know his change of tune yet, but there's also the hindbrain knowledge that it can't last.

It's clear this isn't a sustainable way to live, and while Buu is happy, that doesn't mean he's matured any to maintain himself. It genuinely is good stuff and I wish it could have maintained that energy throughout the arc.

The emergence of evil Buu (the grey one) and his eating og Buu to become super Buu was good. It was a simple idea, evil Buu is a cool visual foil to good Buu, and he doesn't overstay his welcome. It's an interesting mechanic for a transformation to use a literal physical manefestation of the character's changing mental state to do so. I liked it.

However. After the transformation happens and he turns into super Buu, THAT👏 IS👏 WHERE👏 IT👏 SHOULD👏 HAVE👏 STOPPED👏

People say super Buu was a bad or uninteresting villain—and while he definitely wasn't as charismatic as the goliath faves of DBZ like Vegeta or Frieza (or Cell imo), he was definitely very interesting to me. At least, for a brief time. He still felt like the Buu from before (unlike later transformations), but now pure id stripped of any innocence or superego. Not to reference Freud i'm sorry 🤢

If Buu was impulsive and flippant like a child, then Super Buu's presentation of those same traits is more like a wild animal—particularly when he attacks the Lookout.

This scene is another example of suspense done well in this arc. I especially like that Piccolo is the one who bargains with Buu and tries to stall for time (pour one out for his sanity). At this point in canon, they're pretty much opposites, and it showcases Buu's instability and opportunism as a core component of what makes him dangerous, rather than power and skill alone; like in, say, the Frieza arc.

Piccolo is probably the most calculative Z fighter even if he's not even the third or fourth strongest at this point. He's smart, but that's way less effective here than it normally would be. Buu isn't exactly sharp, but in this case that makes him more dangerous instead of less. If you try to reason with an angry boar, chances are that's not going to help.

This is nothing new in stories by any means, but as far as DBZ goes, it felt fresh to me. Every other villain either is a genius, thinks they're a genius and thus runs their mouth, or something in between. That's not bad, but it made me more interested in Buu in contrast. He's an agent of pure chaos, and that can make for a good villain if done right.

There is one thing I really wish that they had done with Super Buu in addition to keeping him in that form, and that would be to make him not talk at all. The crazed discordant screaming works, I guess, but when he starts talking normally throughout the exchange and beyond, it kind of breaks the immersion for me. There are glimmers of that—like when he silently walks the rim of the Lookout to size up and kill everyone on Earth. I just wish they leaned into that instead of middling between one or the other.

Idk, I just think it would have been really cool to emphasize his unpredictability and wildness by having him be silent. Could also be more immersive bc the audience would be trying to figure him out while the characters do the same. If you did it right, I think it could move him into the creepy category even.

But alas, this one compelling bit can't last forever. and then, uuuuuuugghghghgh the transformations start..

Look. As interesting as a villain that absorbs and characters' personalities/knowledge is, it automatically creates two big problems if not done well:

You can't get attached to or learn very much about the villain in the brief time before they change again

Their personality as an individual gets muddied in the process so they lose their identity or most of it.

Not to mention we already got Cell, who was an amalgamation of everyone. Not exactly the same, but similar. Transformed Buu (?) also feels a lottt like a Cell rehash after absorbing piccolo and goku. Imo, that's when he becomes insufferably boring. You've already had this character go through like.. three different archetypes. At some point, rule of cool starts looking a lot more like excessive clutter that loses all meaning.

And I don't get Kid Buu at all. Tf do you mean Kid Buu,, he already acted like a kid. I get that there was that contrivance of him coming out of the cocoon wrong, but that could have easily been written around. He just feels like a zanier super Buu, and at that point the story had already been going for so fucking long that I don't remember a thing about him. I still haven't finished the fight, even.

So what's the alternative? What's that?? A tightly written arc with less contrived bullshit bloating it? Yes please. God, yes please.

That's really the core of why i just scribbled the chart there. I really don't know. i haven't seen the last three or four dbz episodes out of pure just. not wanting to be done yet haha, and while some parts of his arc are cool, the rest just feels like a contradictory, mishandled mess. He's one of the biggest problems about this arc that's already ridiculously long, and if a dbz arc doesn't have a good villain (you know just. the literal namesake of all the arcs no biggie), then you're kind of in trouble.

Overall, Majin Buu is a clusterfuck. This arc is a clusterfuck. That doesn't mean I totally hate it, but god I don't know what they were thinking. Maybe I'll make a video essay on it someday, I know many people have but honestly. It feels like the characters are older, but sadly the story does not seem to have grown with it.

Buu disappoints me, both the arc and the character. Both are the definition of quality over quantity, and by god there is so much quantity. I feel like Toriyama felt like this arc/threat had to be the Biggest and therefore Most Full Of Stuff, but in doing that it just spreads everything so thin it feels mid and grueling. And I find it really disappointing that the last DBZ arc is the worst one.

But I guess here's my serious attempt at a bingo board:

Also all of this was pointless bc this arc should have actually stayed focused on Gohan and been more character driven and we should have had Majin Piccolo at some point if Buu was even the big bad in the first place. fight my ass.

#dbz #dragon ball z #dragon ball #dragon ball super #character study #my writing #majin buu #buu #kid buu #buu arc #ask

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fumifooms · 2 years

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I would rather my faves go chaste and NEVER have sex again than have cumfeet, it's so embarassing, it that your ship ???

Girl, why are you bringing me into your embarrassment, your kink opinions? Why are you being a baby about feet? I’m not embarrassed about what my fictional blorbos get up to, why tf should I be?

I watch this show with my family bc we’re all fans of GoT, I’ve been real loud about shipping larycent while they boo it, the only feeling I shall have during that scene is smug pride and I will 100% clown on them about it.

Ok listen tho, fr? Larycent nation has been like this since footgate was leaked for a second time

Coping

Some are saying they’ll drop the ship, whatever, it’s their life. But the rest of us are just praying to god it’ll be good. WHICH

Listen, some facts: They call it mindblowing. Even one that disliked it (which I suspect to be because of bias against Larys/foot fetish, which, yeah sure whatever) said they came around to it. They made it sound as if they did it regularly. If it was coercive/abusive, you better believe that at this point the leaks would have talked about it, but NO!! It’s consensual!! Life is good to the larycent shippers!! We keep winning fr. We were are really scared that the scene will be 1) bad, 2) abusive, but it seems like we’re in the clear, and it’s Clare directing the episode!! WOO!! Also many of us are scared simply bc we do not want to be hunted down for still shipping it lol.

But ok, you wanna talk about feet? Let’s.

You want them to keep chaste? I’m all for it yesss yes!! They did not need to do this, but they did. I’m asexual, turn 20 in a few months, and it took me a long time to grow comfortable with sexuality at all. I’m still a virgin and have no envy whatsoever to change that. There was a time when I was extremely sex negative, but that’s a shitty thing to be when it affects how you act with other people, I grew the fuck up out of my righteous disapproving disgust. Ya talking to me about CHASTE??! YEAH GIRL GIMME THE ACES GIMME THE NO SMUTTIES I SHALL STAN. My GoT otp was theonsa, do you think I’m scared of that??

But you see the problem is that it’s not because I like chaste ships that I dunk onto horny ships. I don’t ship larycent for the smut, but I embrace the smut, because I am a mature adult that do not wish to take away the complexities of sexuality from these characters. Which, both undoubtedly have complicated relationships to sex.

Alicent has been devoted to the rules of her time, so she committed no adultery nor cheating, and she was a virgin when she married Viserys. That means her experience with sex is very narrow, and very bad. From what we have seen of it, she is not attracted to him (which, there’s something to say about her only partner being unhealthy as all hell, almost decaying, without it being her choice ofc), she does not feel pleasure during it, she dissociates during it. With how she didn’t want to go and everything, it’s marital rape. Alicent’s experience with sex has been bad marital rape. And she considered it her duty. That is that. At least as far as we know. And we know she is against sexual freedom in general.

Alicole also puts a lot of care in the sexual dynamic of their ship, and larycent is no different. Alicent is a character with a lot of sexual trauma, unavoidably. The scope of sexual things she’s comfortable with is probably narrow, and I’d bet that pp in vag missionary is not included in that. Yeah, a sexually traumatized person can choose to simply live the rest of their life chaste, but what if they don’t want that? What if they wanted to explore their sexuality now that they could, in comfort and safety? What if the unconventional sex is part of that healing journey? What if it’s about being in control of it for once, for her? What if it’s freeing?

We don’t know much about Larys, but we know he feels as though he’s “never invited to speak” and presumably feels some resentment for the people around him, as with the fire of Harrenhal & Needham’s thoughts on it show. It’s likely he too, has never had a good relationship to sex. At the end of the day, kinks are a way irl people use and explore to deal with their sexual trauma and have fun, and I think it’s a bad thing to want to erase that fact. Y’all are valid. I support y’all.

Ok, the one thing that’s offputting to me at all about the cumfeet? The one thing? It took me a while to think of the link but, Larys has a clubfoot, and then he has a kink on feet…? Like I said it took me a while to realize the link, so if he just has a random feet kink I’m fine with it, good for him, but how he hates his foot so he fetishizes normal feet…? Nooo I hate that… What tf are ya doing HotD? But I try to think that it’s a warped thing about Larys himself, especially since he does really hate his foot as we know from his death in the books, and not like, how the staff chose to portray/see disabled characters. Because ewww no 😭 Do ppl with, idk, heart diseases fetishize people who have healthy hearts? Longing for not having a disability is normal and valid, but it’s important to be careful about sending messages when it’s media. But yeah, I choose to see it as it being Larys that has a big hang up on his disability and makes a lot about it that didn’t need to be, and it’s a commentary on yadayada and an edgy portrayal of a disabled vilain and, sure. So there ya go, I actually prefer to see it as a random harmless kink than one with deeper reason/meaning.

Why do feet have to be that deep? They’re a part of a body like any other, not unlike hands. It doesn’t have to be weird and filthy. Literally don’t make it weird and then it won’t be weird. But whatever, you don’t even need to accept the cumfeet to ship larycent tbh. Ignore the cumfeet, act as if it never happened, I’ll have your back.

It’s the ASOIAF world… Feet are literally one of the tamest kinks there could be. Would you have preferred idk, knife play? Humiliation kink? Bdsm?? Like idk what to tell you, if you like these ones better then your problem isn’t them having a kink it’s them having a kink you don’t like, which, then the problem is that you’re childish. You refuse to pass beyond your reflexive dislike of it and be rational about it. Good on you…? Like I keep saying, you don’t have to enjoy it, you just have to not let this tiny detail ruin the whole thing for you.

Tbh the fact that they’re comfortable and trusting of the other enough to explore kinks with each other is more beautiful to me than the kink could ever put me off of it. Needham has said this below about them before and this is why I ship larycent. People choose to ignore scenes/things about their ships all the time, go for it. The core of larycent isn’t cumfeet, it’s being seen and being valued.

“It’s a sort of sharing of who you are.”

Larycent is highkey one of the least problematic ships of the show. Minimal age gap, no family ties, they like each other and treat each other good. If engaging in consensual foot fetish is what makes them problematic to you idk what to tell you 😭😂

The anti larycent wave is so funny to me, I’m sipping the haterade and having a good week ngl.

Y’all are fricking hilarious

THE EPISODE ISN’T EVEN OUT. We haven’t even seen the scene…

SO NO I’M NOT DROPPING LARYCENT IF IT HAPPENS. AYYO THAT’S MY SHIP!! THE BIGGEST REASON I CARE ABOUT HOTD LEGIT. MISS ME WITH YOUR BABY SHIT. COWARDS

#house of the dragon #larys strong #alicent hightower #larycent #Lol how do i even tag this #asks #anyways today is another beautiful day of feeling good in my skin and my interests #i posted a larycent fic yesterday teehee <3

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oxygenbefore1775 · 2 years

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Jean and Connie should have become Yeagerists (a 〜very〜 unpopular opinion)

Disclaimer: contains ending spoilers so anime-only nation proceed with caution

Warnings: mentions of death and genocide; obscene language (?)

a/n: it's not a hatepost on the ending or anything. Jean and Connie are my faves in the Survey Corp so I want to explore some of the ending options with their characters

Many people say that chapter 123 was the last good chapter in SnK and it started going downhill from that. I personally didn’t mind the last chapters (hell, I still haven’t formed an opinion about the ending). And I didn’t seem to notice the “downgrade” in content quality until I’ve reread chapters 128 and 129 — the whole battle of the port. I’m referring to the murder of Daz and Samuel and how conflicted Connie and Armin felt about that.

On my first reading this moment literally brought me to tears. How much has changed in those 4 years, how black-and-white it all was in the beginning and how people who used to be comrades are now forced to be at each other’s throats.

Shout-out to Isayama-sensei for including a flashback with Bertolt. Although Bertolt’s words here are not stated, it’s implied that it’s “someone has to get this blood on their hands”

Connie is also a brave soul for having it in him to kill his former comrades. (my poor baby has suffered so much already)

But as I’m reading this now… It seems so lackluster to me from a dramatic standpoint. I get why it’s hard for Connie and Armin and the murder felt so emotional because I’ve known their characters for so long and empathized with them. In short, it was hard for me to read because it was also hard for the characters to do.

But come to think of it, why should I feel sad about the death of Daz and Samuel? They don’t have any outstanding personalities apart from Daz being a scaredy-cat. The last time I saw them was during the Battle of Trost, not to mention flashbacks in the Clash of Titans Arc. Hell, even in the official Encyclopedia Samuel was erroneously stated to be dead. And after more than 100 chapters they bring those characters back just to kill them off and then expect me to care?

So I was thinking — how to make it more dramatic? An idea came to me. Now hear me out because it would (kinda?) make sense in the end.

*deep breath in* Jean and Connie should have joined Yeagerists. I think it makes sense from a motivational standpoint. Because — let’s face it — all of the Alliance members have their reasons to stop Eren and the Rumbling.

☆ For Reiner, Annie, Pieck, Falco, Gabi, Magath and Onyankopon it’s to protect their homeland and their loved ones from being trampled to death.

☆ For Mikasa and Armin it’s to bring Eren back home.

☆ For Hange it’s to stop the meaningless genocide.

☆ For Levi it’s not to stop the Rumbling per se but to kill Zeke and through his death give the meaning to the lives of his comrades that were sacrificed (at least that’s what I understood from chapter 112 don’t @ me)

But when it comes to Jean and Connie there’s no clear motif behind their actions. Why did they join the Alliance in the first place?

You know, for a story that’s built around the idea that there is no good or evil, the ending sure does come off as being lopsided when all of the main characters that we care about unite against the forces of evil. No matter how main of the character Eren is, he is not enough to tip the scale and make the viewers cheer for his victory. Not to mention Floch — I know Isayama-sensei stated that he made Floch into a Yeagerist just to create some opposition against the Alliance — but considering how disliked Floch was even in the Return to Shiganshina Arc, it’s still not looking good for Yeagerists.

Why not 〜increase the tension〜 and have Jean and Connie join the Yeagerists?

First of all, out of the whole Eren’s friend group Jeanis the only person to question Eren’s true motives. Even his best friends couldn’t come to the conclusion that it was unusual for Eren to act like this. And Jean was right in the end.

The activation of the Rumbling is basically the point of no return. If before Paradis had a small chance at ending the cycle of hatred between Eldians and other nations and mending the relationships — now it is hopeless.

Jean is not driven by idealistic motives like Armin or Hange. The Rumbling leaves no other options — either the outer world is destroyed and the Paradisians live in prosperity or the Alliance stops the Rumbling which would spell the end for the Island. It’s in Jean’s egoistic (and kinda cowardly) nature to question Alliance’s plan. Jean doubts that they even have a chance at stopping Eren. And that’s true. It was a fucking miracle that the Alliance stopped the Rumbling with NO casualties (Hange doesn’t count they died before the Battle of Heaven and Earth).

Jean acts as the voice of reason. His sense of self-preservation doesn’t allow him to be with a group that is being hunted down and join them on their suicidal mission.

But then the thought of Marco convinced Jean to agree to the Alliance’s plan.

“You know... I wished I could've stayed cooped up in my room, ears shut... But... If I had... The burnt ashes of the dead would never have forgiven me…”

I get what Hange says in chapter 127 about the fallen comrades and that they would never sacrifice all of humanity for the sake of their island. The same thing with Marco — I can’t see this precious boy being ok with genocide. But Marco has been dead for 4 years. Back in those days when everything was black-and-white and the Pure Titans were the only concern for humanity, it was easy to distinguish right and wrong. Marco didn’t get to see the ocean and find out the truth about the people outside the Walls. So it’s hard to tell what Marco’s opinion on genocide would be. In this situation it seems counter-intuitive to look for future-determinative answers in the past when the past was so drastically different. So at this point (when deciding on which side he is on) Jean should have left the memory of Marco and aimed for the future i.e. siding with the stronger group that shares the same goal — successfully finish the Rumbling — and that will appreciate Jean’s support. The Yeagerists.

So I guess it would be in character for Jean to accept Floch’s offer (but for different reasons, his ambitions would have nothing to do with this) and decline the Alliance’s offer to join them.

As for Connie… It’s so sad to see this cheerful baby have all of the joy sucked out of his life. Unlike the golden trio Connie didn’t go through the loss of his parents and family. Up until the Clash of the Titans Arc he doesn’t have any particular reason to be unhappy with his life. But then chapter 37 happens — and suddenly Connie loses his entire family. And not only the family, his entire fucking village — the place where he was born and raised. What’s sad about this is that at this point in the story Connie does not even know what exactly has happened to his parents and siblings. They’ve just disappeared and all that Connie gets to find is a Pure Titan laying on top of his house.

Later Connie learns that the population of Ragako was turned into Titans for the sake of the Marleyan military operation (he finds out about this much later but still) and the Pure Titan was actually his mother. But this knowledge doesn’t bring any relief. In fact, now he knows that his family and fellow countrymen were indeed killed in their Titan form. All he has left is his mother but it’s very likely that she will stay a Titan for good.

After 4 years I think Connie gets used to the fact that he is never getting his mother back and finds a new family in his friends — Jean and Sasha (mostly Sasha).

And then Connie suffers another blow, Sasha’s death. And again, she dies as the result of the cycle of hatred that has been going on for 2000 years. (Connie himself doesn’t openly blame Gabi for the murder of Sasha so hush)

All of the deaths that deeply affect Connie: his family, the population of Ragako, Sasha — are caused by people from outside the Walls. Those losses break Connie and he consequently becomes spiteful and aggressive. It comes to the point that Connie doesn’t hesitate and kidnaps unconscious Falco when he learns about him becoming one of the Nine Titans. Connie, this goofy guy as we know him, is willing to kill a child — all to get his mother back.

Connie has no one left apart from Jean. Hatred towards the Paradisian took all of the people he loved from him. Blinded from grief and emotionally scarred, he is ready to do anything in order to protect the few people he still has with him. Connie would want to break the cycle of hatred so that nobody could hurt the people from the island, his friends, anymore. With the Rumbling activated and being in full swing — all it takes is to wait until all of the other nations are wiped out thus destroying one of the sides of conflict.

Of course Connie would realize how cruel it is to let other nations be crushed to death — even after having kidnapped Falco and while being confronted by Armin and Gabi he is aware of the foolishness of his actions. Maybe they would have had the room and the time for negotiations, but the Rumbling left them no other options.

So I guess it would also be logical for Connie to join the Yeagerists in order to make sure that the Rumbling is carried out fully and on all continents.

Now 〜imagine〜 with Jean and Connie joining the Yeagerists and being in port. How gut-wrenching it would be to watch the Alliance fight not some NPC Yeagerists but their actual friends.

Ok my rant is coming to the end now sorry if you don’t like it. Just wanted to share my very unpopular opinion. 〜bye〜

p.s. sorry for shittily photoshopped together manga panels

#aot #jean kirstein #connie springer #yeagerists #aot final #aot ending #please dont eat me #jean aot #connie aot #aot au #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #aot opinion #aot unpopular opinion #aot alliance #english is not my first language

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couriersixty · 15 days

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honestly i have many grievances with the fallout show as a long time fan of the series but i think it's really enjoyable in the little moments. the lore mistakes are GIANT and it's not a leftist game in the way that (most of) new vegas was a leftist game - i have issues with new vegas as well but those are more just a long list of critiques of my favourite game that i think abt all the time. and maybe later i'll make a longer post about my issues with the show and with the series in general. i think that it was somewhat unoriginal because it was trying to cater to people who have never played the games, and while it does a lot of winking at the already existing fanbase, it feels like a show that is trying to be both a reboot and a sequel. it can't do both. i think it also tries far too hard to be grandiose, and also. the irony of it existing as it is, distributed by amazon. the communism lite. the events which are literally impossible given the new vegas canon unless they're meant as a GIANT retcon, which i don't accept. lmfao. it shines when it's just being irreverent dark wasteland comedy.

another point wrt fallout i've been thinking about a lot lately is like... the reasons it may be loved. personally i adore it because my family were displaced by genocide, and as a nomad with that history i really relate to a lot of the themes in new vegas (i also have a lot of issues with new vegas and the way it frames benny's story - he did nothing wrong imo - and just. the racism) but like. watching this show i'm also reminded of the horror of the western genre (which is lampshaded a little in the show but it's like... yall are doing this Right Now, writers). haven't seen westworld and i doubt i ever will but there is something about science fiction western which avoids really touching on the racism inherent to the genre by setting it in the future. and in fallout sometimes i feel like that is where the horror comes from, and again, i don't know shit about westworld. in new vegas some of my fave parts are the parts that lean into and do not shy away from the horrors but i feel like the fallout show like? it really? can't grapple with that shit, because it doesn't really understand it. it's a western and it's not really much more than that, but it's trying to pretend to be deeper.

this doesn't mean i fully disliked it but it's like... seeing that shot of new vegas at the end of the show didn't fill me with excitement lmfao it just filled me with dread! i don't feel like this show should go anywhere near new vegas content. i don't want them to hurt it. it's not perfect by any means and i don't mean to uphold it as that, but. judging by s1 i don't think the showrunners have anything close to the nuance required to measure up to a lot of the obsidian writing.

giant list of grievances aside the protagonists are cute i rly love maximus !!! all three of them are chill but i think he is honestly the most interesting lmfao like... cooper and lucy are very fun but i think they're a little more cookie cutter (not a complaint, to be clear - i do enjoy them). maximus like... was also the least predictable to me and i think his motivations at first, despite being clearly stated by the show, seem sort of nebulous because his performance has a little more subtlety and so. yeah. may he rediscover oysters. + from a screenwriting standpoint it's cute that it ended like. with him and lucy both reaching their goal and realizing "oh shit. this is not the vibe."

also genuinely enjoyed the minor characters and cameos!! genuinely just really wish it wasn't trying to do this much, because like... imagine the same story but a little smaller scale. like. all they'd have to have done to make it all make sense is set it a decade or two later and/or simply not destroy the WHOLE ncr.

+ this detail was so cute !!!

#fallout spoilers /#fallout 2024 #fallout #nonzero chance this is going to turn into a fallout blog #just like the inside of my brain...

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decennia · 3 years

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I don't know who needs to fucking hear this, but I'm about to say it with my full chest:

SEVERUS SNAPE DESERVES NO RIGHTS, I SAID WHAT I SAID.

Why? I'll tell you why:

Let's start with Neville Longbottom. Often the butt of the joke, Neville was often played up for comedic effect, so I can understand why we never took the implications of his boggart seriously.

But the fact of the matter is: Neville Longbottom was more terrified of his potion's teacher than he was of Bellatrix Lestrange, a woman who was a proud Death Eater who tortured his parents into insanity, a fate several people throughout the series state as "worse than death."

I've heard the argument from Snape Apologists that Boggarts are "superficial" creatures, so they don't go much deeper for a fear of yours, and, having gleaned a recent and prevalent one, will shift into that. Hence why it would be Snape, who recently tormented Neville, rather than Bellatrix, who Neville has never met.

It still stands, however, that Bellatrix is a known Death Eater, and Snape was just his potion's teacher.

We also see from Harry's own experience with the boggart, that the boggart hesitated before turning into the dementor. It "chose" which of Harry's fears to become, Voldemort, or fear itself?

Now, because I always listen to both sides of a story, try and see it from both perspectives before I draw a conclusion, I asked myself "why?"

There never is a good reason for abuse, but I still tried to look at it from Snape's eyes. And the conclusion drawn was literally the same as almost every single motivation for every one of Snape's decisions: because of Lily.

Neville was born several hours before Harry, and was a contender for being "the Chosen One" (the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies) but Voldemort chose Harry.

By Snape's logic, it meant that if Voldemort had chosen Neville, Lily would've still been alive for him to woefully pine for from a distance.

And so he takes it out on a fucking c h i l d.

He abuses him, torments him, and even forces Neville to poison his pet toad, Trevor, who has been shown to be of incredible significance to Neville.

And when the potion doesn't poison Trevor? And actually proved to be a competent potion? Snape made his displeasure known by deducting five points from Gryffindor.

I know that's not a Big Deal™ in the grand scheme of things, but we have to remember that Neville was a CHILD.

Moving on from Neville, let's get to: Lily.

Remember what I said before, about Lily being his end-all and be-all for everything? I meant it.

I'm not saying she was the sole reason Snape became a Death Eater, but she was the "last straw."

Snape's dislike for muggles stemmed not from Lily (of course not, he loved her), but from his father. Yes, I remembered his father, Tobias Snape. The muggle, the abuser. Apples and trees, I guess. From what I recall, Tobias was never physically abusive towards Eileen, Snape's mother, but he was emotionally and mentally abusive towards her. This would be cause for resentment for any young child growing up in that environment.

But, for a moment, may I direct your attention to Harry James Potter?

Who grew up that exact same way with the Dursleys?

Who was also neglected (Severus was said to have ill-fitting, mismatched clothes, sound familiar?) but who also did not have Eileen there to protect him?

And did Harry ever become a member of a muggle hate group? (No. The answer is no, in case you all didn't remember that Very Important Detail of the series).

So, yes, Snape was abused, and no, I am not condoning it, I do sympathize with him on that front: no child should ever go through that. Ever. No matter the fucking child, there is no good reason for it. But do I condone his actions later on in life? Absolutely not.

Because he called Lily a "filthy mudblood."

Not just "mudblood", but a filthy one, too. And why did he do that? Because she defended him against his bullies. Yes, Sirius and James were bullies, I guess everyone's faves are a little problematic in this bitch.

And not only did he call her that, but he also was besties with people who fancied themselves the next generation of Death Eaters.

And when Lily asked him if he STILL intended on becoming one, he never gave her an answer, prompting her to sectumsempra all ties with him. Meaning, she probably gave him multiple chances to not be a raging bigot, none of which he took. Love of his life my fucking toe, gtfo—

Also, Snape obviously knew what his "friends" were doing at the time. Particularly, and especially, Mulciber's attack on Mary Macdonald.

Now, we can't talk about Lily without talking about James and the Marauders.

I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN THAT THE MARAUDERS BULLIED SNAPE, OKAY? But listen up: still not a good enough reason to join the wizarding world's KKK. Actually there is no good reason, period, end of message, send tweet.

He loathed them so much, he literally gave zero fucks about their wellbeing.

Even though! Sirius' biggest crime against Severus is jokingly telling him to follow Remus Lupin under the Whomping Willow during that time of the month.

And Severus would swear that James' biggest crime against him (after "stealing" Lily, of course) would be stopping him from encountering the werewolf and saving his fucking life.

Where the fuck was that reciprocated energy when Snape KNEW that James was also marked for death?

Also, are you going to tell me, that with his ear so pressed to the ground about news on Lily, that he didn't know who the real rat was? That he didn't know that it was Peter Pettigrew? This is speculatory, but... Snape had to have known that Sirius was not the betrayer, he must've at least known it was Pettigrew, meaning he let an innocent man waste away in Azkaban and for what? Something that happened when they were kids? I wonder why Sirius is a "stray dog" idk probably because someone let him rot in Azkaban for thirteen years?

Don't even get me started on how he literally stepped over James' body to get to Lily's while Harry sat there crying. Please. Or the fact that he only wanted Lily spared? He literally said "yes, only her, please, Dark Lord, fuck that newborn"?

OKAY AND MY FINAL POINT BECAUSE THIS GOT TOO LONG AND HONESTLY I'M LITERALLY WAY TOO FUCKING ANGRY AT THIS POINT... I PRESENT TO THE COURT: THE CARROWS.

Severus had been made headmaster of Hogwarts, and what does he do? Allow the Carrows to torture muggleborns and first years. Eleven year olds. Disgusting. Please. What the fuck.

I don't think Severus Snape died a fucking hero, or in "penance." NOT when twelve hours prior, he'd been turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to eleven year olds screaming as the Cruciatus Curse was used on them.

Also, James never sexually harassed Lily? Wanna discuss sexual harassment? How does "waiting outside the Gryffindor common room until someone lets you in even though it has been made very clear that the person you want to speak to doesn't want to speak to you" sound?

I am not denying that Severus Snape is a tragic character; he's a very complex and somewhat interesting one, even. All I am saying is that I don't think saying "always" on the brink of death excuses any of your past actions. He's a martyr at best — having his sins "forgiven" by sacrificing himself for a just cause.

Yes, this is a hill I'm willing to die on. But, as always, I am open to a respectful conversation (not argument, conversation). If you disagree, I'd love to hear why. Try and change my mind; as long as you do so respectfully, I will hear you out.

#i don't know what to tag this as #anti severus snape #tw hp #tw abuse #tw bullying #this is not a kink shame this is a i just don't really see the appeal of this specific character but you do you b #he deserves no rights cause he should be in azkaban in case i wasn't clear in my thesis

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davidmann95 · 3 years

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Sooo… Superman and the Authority?

magnus-king123 asked: Your thoughts on Superman & the authority Give it to me...lol

Anonymous asked: Seeing Bezos take his little trip into space the same day Morrison puts out a Superman comic that touches on how far we’ve fallen from the days when we dreamed of utopian futures where everyone explored the stars was a big gut punch. Not used to Superman being topical in that way.

Anonymous asked: What'd you think of Superman and the Authority#1?

This is far beyond what I can fit in the normal weekly reviews, so taking this as my notes on the first six pages, with this and this as my major lead-in thoughts:

* Janin's such a perfect fit for Morrison - the scale, the power, the facial expressions selling the character work, the screwing around with the panel formatting as necessary to sell the effect, the numinous sense of things going on larger than you can fully perceive amidst the beauty and chaos. It's a shame he wasn't around 25 years ago to draw JLA, but I'll take him going with Morrison onto other future projects.

* His intro action sequence is such a great demonstration of why Black actually does have something to offer, and also how he's such a dumbass desperately needing Superman to save him from himself.

* While Jordie Bellaire didn't legit go with an entirely monochromatic palate the way early previews suggested, it's still an effect frequently and excellently deployed here. And glad to see Steve Wands carry into this from Blackstars since there's such an obvious carryover from its work with Superman.

* "Gentlemen. Ladies. Others." Great both because of the obvious - hey, Superman's nodding at me! - and because it's a phrasing that reinforces that this take on him (and let's be real Morrison) is old as hell.

* I'm mostly past caring about whether this is an alt-Earth Superman until it becomes indisputable one way or another, this and Action both rule so what does it really matter? But while there are still a couple signs in play suggesting some kind of division (the Action Comics #1036 cover, Midnighter up to time-travel shenanigans) the "lost in time" quote clearly thrown in after the fact to explain how he could have met Kennedy outside of 5G that wouldn't be necessary for an Elseworlds, the assorted gestures towards Superman's current status quo, the Kingdom Come symbol appearing in Action, and that Morrison would have had to completely rewrite the ending if this wasn't supposed to be 'the' version of Clark Kent going forward as was the intent when they first planned it all say to me that no, no fooling around, this is our guy going forward one way or another.

* Janin and Bellaire making the first version of the crystal Fortress ever that actually looks as cool as you want it to.

Anonymous asked: I like that Superman and The Authority is basically the anti-All-Star; instead of the laid back, immortal Superman who is supercharged, we have a stressed, ageing Superman whose tremendous powers are fading. The former will always be there to save us, but the latter is running out of time and needs to pull off a Hail Mary. Also, he mentions in his monologue to Black that he was "lost in time" when he met JFK, so maybe he is the main continuity Clark. Or he's the t-shirt Supes from Sideways.

* You're absolutely right - the power reversal is obvious and the ticking clock in play seemingly isn't for his own survival but everyone around him as he wakes up and realizes all the old icons grew complacent with the gains they'd made and he's not leaving behind the world he meant to. Both, however, are built on the idea of preparing the world to not need them anymore - it'll still have a Superman in his son, but that'll only work because of the others he empowers and inspires. The question is what happens to Clark if he's not going to live in the sun for 83000 years.

* Clark's 'exercise' here does more to sell me on the idea of Old Man Superman as a cool idea than however many decades of Earth 2 stuff.

* Intergang being noted alongside Darkseid and Doomsday speaks to how much Kirby informed Morrison's conception of Superman.

* This isn't exactly the most progressive in its disability politics but at least it makes clear Black's being a piece of shit about it.

* It's startling how much Clark can get away with saying stuff in here you'd never expect to come out of Superman's mouth. "I made an executive decision" "Privacy, really...?" "You have nowhere to go, Black. Nothing to live for." "There are few people in my life who I instinctively and viscerally dislike, and you've always been one of them." It only works because there's zero aggression behind it, he's just past the point of niceties and being totally frank while making clear none of these assessments preclude that he cares and is going to unconditionally do the right thing every time. He is absolutely, per Morrison, humanity's dad picking us up when we're too drunk to drive ourselves home.

* The story doesn't put a big flashing light over it, but it's not even a little bit subtle having the material threat of the issue be a ticking timebomb left by the carelessness and hubris of generations past.

* Manchester keeps trying to poke the bear and prove his hot takes about Superman and it's just not working. The front he put up under Kelley is gone after decades of defeats, and as Morrison understands what actually conceptually works about him as a rival to Superman underneath the aging nerd paranoia he's exposed as what he absolutely would be in 2021: a dude with a horrific terminal case of Twitter brainworms. I was PANICKED when I heard there was an 'offensive term' joke in this, I was braced for Morrison at their well-meaning worst, but it's such a goddamn perfect encapsulation of a very specific breed of Twitter leftist who uses their politics first and foremost as a cudgel and justification to label their abrasive, judgmental shittiness as self-righteousness (plus it's a killer payoff to a joke from way back in his original appearance). Cannot believe they pulled that off when they're so very, very open about basically not knowing how the internet works.

* @charlottefinn: Manchester Black using his telekinetic powers to force someone he hates to fave a problematic tweet so that he can screenshot it and start a dogpile

@intergalactic-zoo: “Once they cancel Bibbo, Superman won’t be *anyone’s* fav’rit anymore!”

* Friend noted this issue had to be fully the conversation because the whole premise stands on the house of cards of these two somehow working together, and with three 'silent' inset panels the creative team pulls off that turning point.

* So much of this feels on the surface like Morrison bringing back the All-Star vibes with Clark, but when he drops a "That's all you got?" in a brawl you realize what's underlining that bluntness and confidence in the face of failure is that deep down this is still the Action guy too. This dude ain't gonna get wrecked in his Fortress while the other guy chuckles about him being A SOFT WEE SCIENTIST'S SON!

* Bringing up Jor-El made me realize that Morrison already spelled out that this is the final threat to Superman, what he faces at the end of the road:

"Now it's your turn, Superman."

* A l'il Superman 2000/All-Star reference with the Phantom Zone map!

* There's so much intertextuality going on here even by Morrison standards - Change or Die with the old hero putting together a team of morally nebulous folks out to 'fix' everything, Flex Mentallo with the muscleman trying to redeem the punk, Doomsday Clock with the fate of the world hinging on whether Superman can get through to a meta stand-in for an idea of 'modern' comics cynicism, DKR and New Frontier and Kingdom Come and Multiversity and Seven Soldiers and What's So Funny and All-Star and Action and the last 5 years of monthly Superman comics and Authority and probably Jupiter's Legacy and Tom Strong - but none of that's needed. You could go in with the baseline pop cultural understanding of the character and not care about any of the inside baseball shit and get that this is a story about a leader of a generation that let down the people they made all their grand promises to as inertia and day-to-day demands and complacency let him be satisfied with the accomplishments they'd made long ago, looking at a new era and seeing the ways its own activists are dropping the ball. The only thing that fundamentally matters in a "you have to accept you're reading a superhero story" sense is that because he's Superman he's willing to own up to it and listen to people who might know better about some things and try to set things right while he and those who'll take his place still have a chance. And yes, the oldster looking back on their legacy with a skeptical eye and hoping for better from the next generation, hoping most of all that their little heir apparent can fulfill the promise inside of him instead of being a provocating little shitkicker, is obviously also autobiographical.

* The overlaying Kennedy reprisal is such a great visual of a sudden intrusive thought.

* The Kryptonite secret is the obvious "This is going to matter!" moment, but "He lied about his son" is a bit that doesn't connect to anything going on right now so maybe that's important here too? More significantly, the Justice League can't actually be the villains here but that Ultra-Humanite's crew are in an Earth-orbiting satellite makes pretty clear what's up.

* I've said before that between Superman, OMAC, and a New Gods-affiliated speedster this was going to use all of Morrison's favorite things. King Arthur playing a role isn't exactly dissuading me.

* Love the idea that all the antiheroes have their own community in the same way as the capes and tights crew. They definitely all privately think the rest are posers though and that they alone are Garth Ennis Punisher in a mob of Garth Ennis Wolverines.

* Manchester's fallen so far he's gone from trying to convince Superman to kill to convince him to dunk on people for their bad takes and Clark just doesn't get it. Official prediction of dialogue for upcoming issues:

"According to these bloody Fortress scans, the only thing that can restore your powers is an unfiltered hit of dopamine. Don't worry, Doctor Black has a few ideas."

"Hmm. Maybe I'll plant a nice tree?"

"...fuck you."

* Ok I already talked about how great the Fortress looks in here but LOVE this library.

* A pair of pages this seems like the right spot to discuss from Black's original appearance that underlines both his and Superman's inadequacies up to this point:

Responding to the problem of "the government and penal system are hopelessly corrupt" neither of them has any actual notion of what to do about it in spite of their respective posturing beyond how to handle individual outside actors - each is in their own way every bit as small-minded and reactionary as the other. Clark's coming around though, and he's holding out hope for the other guy.

* Superman: Have a lovely mineral water :) proper hydration is important :)

Manchester Black: *Is a dude who can get so mad he vomits and passes out. At water.*

* That last page is the one to beat for the year, and does more to put over the idea of this as an Authority book than that Midnighter and Apollo are literally going to show up. It also feels like Morrison tacitly acknowledging all the ways the premise could go or at least be received wrong - from Superman saying 'enough is enough' to who he's bringing into the fold to go about it - in the most beautifully on-the-nose fashion imaginable. Maybe they'll save us all! Or maybe they'll drown us in their vomit.

#Superman and The Authority #Superman #The Authority #Manchester Black #Grant Morrison #Mikel Janin #Jordie Bellaire #Steve Wands #Opinion

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bookofmirth · 2 years

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Hi! I hope you're doing well in this interesting time in fandom lol. I just wanted to drop in and say I really feel what you're saying about the weird divide between anti/pro tags in fandom as a whole!

It's such a different experience because a few years ago, having something mildly critical to say about a character would never warrant using anti tags. Those were reserved for blogs dedicated to hating a series, or maybe a single post where someone was absolutely annihilating a character. Never just basic criticism. It makes me feel so weird about posting something critical with the intention of having an honest and open discussion, because I know someone is going to take it the wrong way no matter how it's tagged. It's been such a weird shift and imo it makes it a lot harder to communicate and express opinions with anyone else.

Hello! I have been having a great time this week. Even if the crossover is controversial, at least people haven't been as focused on the ship war, which has been lovely! I like talking about other things.

I totally agree with you. I know we've both been in the fandom for a while, I checked and we've been mutuals at least two years, though I thought it was longer. Tumblr isn't very clear on that anymore. But anyway, anti sjm blogs use tags in a very specific way that we are used to, and I respect the way that they use tags because it makes it easy for me to avoid their content. I had "anti sjm" and a few variations of that tag blocked for a while because I will fundamentally never agree with being anti, and that's fine! They can do their thing and I will do mine.

I don't like how now, within the fandom and amongst people who are supposed to enjoy generally the same content, this tagging is creating divides. Especially because I think things are way more complex than "I love this character and hate this one and there is no in between".

I saw a post yesterday that was railing on Elain, and the thing is, I actually agreed with half of what this person was saying. I agreed with a lot of her flaws that were being pointed out because I think those flaws are what she needs to work through. I didn't agree with all of it, for sure. I'm not sure if OP had tagged it "anti elain" but what if they did and I had that tag blocked? And now just because of the fandom atmosphere, I don't know this person, so what would they do if I reblogged with my two cents? Is anti/pro like the new fandom DNI?

Something I realized is that while anti tags are supposed to help people sort content, I really don't think that's actually how people are using them. For example, when I say something about a certain ship I dislike not being canon, I will misspell it antielriel or some people do anti e*riel etc. If you spell the word correctly, it will show up in the "neutral" or positive search results as well, so you have to mess with the spelling. It's like Anti Fandom Culture 101: What to do to keep the stans off your back.

But this new pro and anti trend doesn't do that! People will just full on tag something "anti Rhysand" which... completely defeats the purpose of helping people sort content. That post is going to show up in the regular searches for Rhysand. So what's the point? If someone tags "anti Rhysand", does that mean they have zero interest in hearing otherwise? I honestly don't get it because I assume that every single character has fucked up at some point and every single character can have fans. If people are that sensitive that they can only see posts that say good things about their faves, then good luck in the minefield that is fandom, I guess!

#acotar fandom #fandom things #ask #darling-archeron

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thethiefandtheairbender · 4 years

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One thing I’ve noticed is that quite a few Kataang fans go to port for Zukaang as at least their 2nd fave. In some serious ship battles some shippers can’t seem to deal with ships which conflict but I don’t see Kataang shippers as a general rule having this problem. (Though I’m sure they exist). Any (serious or otherwise) theories as to why this seems to be the case?

I think it’s because people who ship Kataang look at Katara, Aang, and Zuko’s characters in fundamentally different ways than Zu.tara shippers do (at least from what I’ve seen) - and in ways that tend to be more generally, objectively supported in canon. The only real ship war I’ve seen in the ATLA fandom is Kataang vs Zu.tara and if you look back at the history of it, it’s very clear to see who (*coughs* rabid zk stans *coughs*) have routinely and persistently started shit, which made it go from a “ship I don’t personally see but it’s whatever” to a notp I dislike.

But I digress.

Zuko and Katara are very similar characters particularly when it comes to their flaws, to the point of Katara in TSR acting like Book 1 Zuko in a lot of ways, which I’ve talked about before. However, these two characters are sometimes held up as the “most mature” or “mom and dad” of the gaang. Not only is the idea of anyone in the gaang being strictly speaking parent-esque to any of the others sort of ridiculous, nor is that dynamic not directly canonly chafed against in “The Runaway,” but Zuko and Katara are almost laughably immature.

I’ve talked about it before, but Katara (and Sokka) as do the rest of the Gaang in the series before they meet Aang project a false sense of maturity. For Katara, that means setting her dreams aside and being more motherly. For Sokka, that means being stoic and “a man” to be a good leader. Over time Katara makes peace with her more motherly tendencies, achieves her goals, and balances out being more of a peer. Sokka learns to express himself more clearly, lets go of sexist ideals, and does become a genuinely great leader.

But while Aang matures in some ways, he is insanely emotionally mature from the very start in a way that none of the other members of his friend group are (except like, maybe Suki, lol). He refuses to come between Katara and Sokka when both are behaving childishly in “The Avatar Returns”; he tries to communicate more openly with Katara in “The Warriors of Kyoshi” than she does with him. More than that, the only time we ever see Aang project onto other people is arguably in “Ember Island Players” and even that is to give a way out:

“On stage, when you said I was just like a ... brother to you, and you didn't have feelings for me [...] But it's true, isn't it?”

Like, when Aang is better at waterbending than Katara, because she’s wanted it her whole life, it grates on her nerves and she explodes at him. When Katara is better at a waterbending than Aang, even though he needs to be good at it to save the whole freaking world and has been struggling with it all day, this is his reaction.

When Sokka loses someone to death, he understandably struggles to cope with the loss. (Aang does too, at the Southern Air Temple.) To the point where Sokka almost misses out on a new relationship after talking about his grief. When Aang lays all his grief out in front of him, this is how he personally frames it (with guiding from Guru Pathik).

Lay all your grief out in front of you. You have indeed felt a great loss. But love is a form of energy, and it swirls all around us. The Air Nomads' love for you has not left this world. It is still inside of your heart, and is reborn in the form of new love.

[Aang is starting to cry tears of joy.]

When Zuko joins the Gaang, Katara both rightfully threatens and wrongfully projects onto him: “I think she’s connected her anger about [her mother’s death] to her anger at me.” Given that two of Katara’s real previous interactions with Zuko were him taunting and manipulating her with her mother’s necklace, and then learning how much the loss of a loved one hurt her, he then turns around and replicates that trauma by helping Azula murder Aang. Meanwhile, Aang actively doesn’t project onto either Zuko or the Fire Nation despite the harm that they’ve directly caused him.

Zuko gets jealous repeatedly based off nothing but Mai interacting with a boy he thinks is objectively attractive isn’t bad, per se. But then he throws the guy out of the way, into a vase, and completely loses his temper? Aang gets jealous... and promptly leaves the scene that’s making him upset in the first place. And although he’s upset, he never takes it out on Katara. And when Mai and Katara call the boys out for making a mistake, here’s how they respond.

Mai: Zuko, what is wrong with you? Zuko: What's wrong with me?

Katara: I just said I was confused! I’m going inside. Aang: I’m such an idiot!

Aang doesn’t lose his crap on Toph until she insults Appa. Toph routinely thinks she has to do things on her own, another similarity with Zuko: “You sound like my nephew, always thinking you need to do things on your own, without anyone's support.”

Aang routinely tries to de-escalate the group’s conflicts between Katara and Sokka, and Katara and Toph. He knows his friends are his greatest source of strength even if he sometimes doesn’t lean on him. Him thinking he has to do things on his own in “The Winter Solstice Part II” and especially in “The Awakening” is not his usual behaviour and the latter of which is born out of deep trauma and loss. He never says that killing Ozai is wrong, just that it’s wrong for him.

Which is more than Zuko “This isn’t Air Temple preschool, it’s the real world” and Sokka “What’s wrong with you?” (when Aang fails to kill melon-Ozai) can say.

Basically, all of this is to say that most Kataang shippers know that Aang is one of the most mature members of the Gaang, if not the most mature, with Katara and Zuko in terms of actually healthily dealing with their emotions very close to the bottom.

But Katara does mature a lot more and can both support and receive support from Aang: “I know sometimes it hurts more to hope and it hurts more to care, but you have to promise me you won’t stop caring.” Comforting her after Jet and bloodbending. Able to disagree while still giving the other the freedom to choose. Aang reflecting Katara’s friendliness and cheerful nature while also bringing out her more fun loving side. Laughing at each other’s jokes and supporting one another as benders.

Most Zukaang shippers, or at least the ones I’ve seen, ship it based on the potential the two have throughout the series, but only years after the show’s end. This is for two reasons:

1) The age gap. Four years does matter a lot in your teens and adolescence and while personalities can mesh later in life in a variety of ways, there’s no actual romance between Zuko and Aang for good reason. At least not until they’re both in their 20s.

2) Zuko has a lot more work to do on himself.

Zuko can be thoughtless when he’s stressed or impatient and some of his cruelest remarks to Aang, specifically regarding Air Nomad culture, come in the last few episodes of the show and finale. He needs to work on removing any residual Fire Nation superiority propaganda and indoctrination. He was calling Katara and Sokka peasants like six months ago. Stuff like that doesn’t go away overnight or even just over a series of months.

He chooses to attack Aang rather than just have a conversation about his training. He needs to work on more freely expressing his feelings first and foremost and creating dialogue that isn’t just about his problems (ie. Zuko’s able to open up to Katara in “Crossroads of Destiny” and about Iroh to various characters because it’s about his pain or hits a sympathetic nerve).

An episode ago he was still asking Katara things like, “Everyone else trusts me now, what is it with you?” as though he’s entitled to Katara’s forgiveness/trust just because he’s changed and everyone else has given it. Part of changing yourself to be a better person is to do so because it’s the right thing to do and to atone whether or not it gives you someone’s compassion or forgiveness. And by and large Zuko does that!

But he still stumbles and while I think Mai is a wonderful Fire Lady for him, because she understands the political world and tempers him. It’s not like Mai is perfect either, but she’s still (ironically) more healthily open with her emotions than he is. Mai also knows Zuko incredibly well because they grew up together, loving him before, during, and after his banishment and his redemption arc. But any other partner wouldn’t have that insight and it would take a lot of work, for more reasons that one.

The main one being what I said before, which is that Zuko has a lot to learn about sustaining measured, supportive, longterm relationships and friendships, particularly with peers and partners, where he gives and takes in equal measures. This is not his fault nor a fault of him; he was a deeply abused child growing up and didn’t get the proper support and love in so, so many ways. But it’s still his responsibility to learn and unlearn, particularly when it comes to Fire Nation ideals and indoctrination.

And only once Zuko has done that to the absolute best of his ability in a year long process, only once talking and opening up is closer to his first instinct, only when he is more balanced with himself within his nation than he is at the end of the show and has come to fully respect other cultures and philosophies, do I want him to be with Aang and be further challenged and inspired.

Because for most of the characters, the end of the show is their ending; their peaceful happy ever after. For Zuko, in so many ways, it is only his beginning. But that’s okay, because he’ll have help in friendship, too.

There’s also a lot of parallels between Kataang and Zukaang in their dynamic with Aang and they’re easily Aang’s two most important narrative dynamics (even if my favourite relationship in the show is him and Sokka’s friendship).

This view of Zuko’s long road ahead and of Aang’s maturity is shared by people who don’t usually ship Zu.tara, with Zukaang and Kataang the most popular subsequent ships. Kataang is cute and canon (like, so canon it can’t be sunk; they spent their entire lives together; that’s Fact, so anything else is obviously very fun fanon), Zukaang lets Aang balance his partner out in a similar way to Kataang, and in both cases, Aang is properly cherished. Everybody wins.

TLDR: We have taste.

#atla meta #aang meta #zukaang #zutaraang #kataang #atla #otp: penguin sledding #otp: kindred spirits #aang #zuko #analysis series #analysis #parallels #the gaang #i love my son #thanks for asking #anonymous

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