#and his narrative judgment capabilities

[lookingforcactus]

My opinion on Brandon Sanderson was formed when I was reading Mistborn back when I was in college

I was happy about the potential of having a really prolific, established, mostly well-regarded new SFF author to read! Cautiously happy, because SFF Has Burned Me Before, but hopeful

I liked the beginning of Mistborn! I really did. I liked the protagonist a lot, and went ahead and dug in

here's the thing though: my first loyalty is almost always to female characters, esp in SFF, because way too much SFF (especially older SFF) has treated female characters so poorly

And as I kept reading Mistborn, I started noticing that...there weren't really any female characters besides the protagonist

And I kept going, "Well, maybe in the next group of characters that get introduced!"

And that kept just...not happening

Eventually, maybe half to two thirds of the way through the book, a second female character was introduced! Nice! Finally!

She ended up, iirc, being a maid or a servant with a bit part at one of the locations (a noble house), and was then never mentioned again

And look, it's been a while since I read Mistborn, and I wasn't inclined (though I was tempted) to go through the whole book to double check, so I can't swear by this

But iirc? That servant and/or maid was the only other named female character in the entire 600+ page book

So, yeah, that's right about when I lost interest in what Brandon Sanderson had to say

#emphasis on named female character #iirc there were maybe two whole other unnamed background characters who were women #two whole characters! #I also kept waiting for him to address the gender divide in the worldbuilding and that kept...basically not happening? #besides generic “sexism is a problem for the female lead” #after much thinking I ended up pretty convinced that he actually had no idea that there were so few female characters in his book #like how all those studies show that men think women talk an equal amount in meetings #when women are in fact doing only a third of the talking #and that men think women getting equal speaking time is actually them dominating it completely #bc the brain is terrible at accuracy when any bias is involved #so like. I just assumed having a female lead felt like So Much Women to him #that he just never introduced another significant female character #in the entire 672 page book #yes I did just look that up #presumably/hopefully there are more female characters introduced later in the series #but like...too little too late imho #color me unimpressed #so his wheel of time comments feel pretty in line with my impression of him #and his narrative judgment capabilities #suffice to say #wheel of time #wheel of time s2 #brandon sanderson #also he's wrong s2's character arc resolutions were FANTASTIC #which he might know if he bothered watching any of the other episodes! #then again #to be petty for a hot sec #maybe he would just go “oh wow way too much time with women” #wot on prime

[bikenesmith]

Despite [Xavier's] previous insistence that he is only whole when able-bodied, he comes to terms very quickly with his return to disability: “My back is shattered, a parting gift from the Shadow King… It appears… if I am ever to achieve my dream… I will need all of you… to walk me there” (Nicieza 23). In the span of a single panel, Xavier acknowledges that he is once again disabled, accepts it, and asks his teammates for help. Due to his previous elation at becoming able-bodied, one would think he would require more time to adjust, to shift his identity once more from “able-bodied” to “differently-abled.” The ease in which Professor X resumes his disabled identity lends itself to the notion that being able-bodied, not disabled, is a plot device. He takes more time to adjust to using his legs than he does to losing them, a pattern generally reversed when other characters become disabled. This smooth transition back to disability implies that his truest identity is as a disabled man.

(emphasis mine) was reading crippled crusaders: disability representation in the superhero genre by cassandra m. nicol a few days ago and was struck by this bit....the idea that charles' "true" self is a disabled self is really interesting. (edited) crosspost from twitter:

the dominant, most objective read is that charles becomes abled, is disabled, + becomes abled again ad nauseam. yet those narrative tendencies have inadvertently created a reading where charles' disability is, functionally, a chronic illness that flares due to outward stimuli.

whether charles' paraplegia is due to physical injury or a brain/psychosomatic/astral issue isn't clear, having been complicated over the years by all the different ways the text has chosen to able + re-disable him.

what makes the most sense to me is leaning into that ambiguity. its both — either mental or physical injury/ailment can cause him disablement. and the back + forth of charles' paraplegia signifies he's uniquely in danger of that specific disablement — paraplegia/spine issues. and those issues happen ALL the time in real-life non-psychic people who experience (non-psychic….i presume) brain damage. the brain + the spine, the central nervous system, they're basically extensions of each other, and are some of the most important parts of your body.

so you can extrapolate that charles has a particularly "weak" spine, and it's likely to give out if he experiences intense physical or psionic injury. and as an x-man, he risks that often.

i also think the "ease" with which he moves from ability one state to another that nicol mentions is important to this. to be clear: we have seen charles agonize over his disability, and especially losing his ability. it's undeniable that it impacts him emotionally. but charles doesn't go through the intense "grieving" process a lot of newly disabled ppl do — the kind he went through himself when he was recovering from his first spinal injury. as nicol points out:

In Xavier’s next appearance two issues later, he is seated in a golden wheelchair and seems insistent that his disability not hinder his participation in X-Men adventures. Instead he emphasizes his usefulness with his telepathic powers, declaring, “I too shall be coming. Though I am crippled once again, my particular talents may be needed there” (Portacio and Byrne 6). His disabled status is stressed through a visual weight of the word “crippled,” both bolded and italicized in the comic panel, similar to how “whole” was stressed when he became able-bodied in 1983. But here, “crippled” is not laden with judgment. It is merely an acknowledgement of Xavier’s condition. This smooth transition back to disability in some ways rectifies his description of “able-bodied” as “whole,” as Charles insists that even paraplegic once more, he is still more than capable of being an X-Man, and he is still the most powerful mutant in the world. Regardless of the state of his physical body, Charles knows that his disability need not impose limitations on his actions; he harnesses his role as leader of the X-Men and his disability is, effectively, relegated to background information.

of course this is in part bc he'd already been paraplegic for years, but you can also see it as him just being ready for it. seeing it as an eventuality, a familiar state that he will return to throughout his life. a chronic disability that exists whether or not he can walk.

There is one more major instance in which Professor X becomes able-bodied. In 2002, a mutant named Xorn restores Xavier’s ability to walk (Morrison, “All Hell” 32). This is the most short-lived instance of Xavier being able-bodied. Only a year later, Xorn is revealed to be Magneto in disguise, one of Professor X’s oldest enemies; Xorn removes the nano-sentinels that had been holding Xavier’s spine together, crippling him again (Morrison, “Planet X” 19). Later, once freed from captivity, Xavier reappears in a chair with alien-like legs, giving him autonomous movement (Morrison, “Phoenix Invictus” 27). This time, he makes no mention of his return to paraplegia. He is in full command of the X-Men, and has again made a smooth identity transition from “able-bodied” to “differently-abled.” The fact that this occurs once more stresses that to be disabled is part of Charles Xavier’s truest identity, and that being able-bodied is a temporary plot point rather than a character trait.

and that raises the question…what does this mean in the krakoa age? does a newly grown body come without that disability? or is it a "symptom" of his mutation? is it imprinted in his mind-soul-whatever you want to call what part of a person cerebro catalogues?

throughout all of krakoa era, there's never been any mention of what charles feels about making his bodies ambulatory. the closest thing we have is the knowledge that he brought his own wheelchairs with him to krakoa which is a solid point in that theory's direction at least.

(interjection from a subsequent thread:

keep thinking abt the fact that charles brought his chairs with him to krakoa…in this place allegedly free of death or sickness he still prepares for his needs to change, as if its an immutable part of him that can resist miracle drugs + literal resurrection.

its so quintessentially x-men that we only get that interesting insight in the backdrop of an ableist story beat where a character is punished and humiliated by…. being dis-abled.

i'm still floored by how incompetent and tactless that whole thing was but that was the same book that gave us hits like kitty's "viking funeral", emma flashing men to distract them instead of using her, you know, telepathy, emma worrying about eating carbs, + other such bullshit. but i'm still surprised it went so under-discussed in x-comics fandom)

via xuân's resurrection, we know that its possible to request your physical disability be preserved when you're resurrected. so this must have been an active choice of his.

i don't think it's odd at all that charles would choose to walk considering his past feelings about it i just wish the text contended with that like at all 😭 but getting into charles' feelings abt his disability is a long ass post for another day.

(i accessed this paper on proquest here via my alma mater. if you would like to read it yourself but are not connected to an institution or library that has access, dm me and i'll send you the pdf!)

addendum: examples of charles’ disability as neurological illness and/or chronic illness

#charles xavier #professor x #xmen #x men #cherik #Me If Tagging Posts That Are Just About Charles or Erik Separately As Cherik Was A Job: 💵💵💵💵💵 #x.txt

[monstersinthecosmos]

ARRIGHT SO the context here was me and @madshelley having a deep ass conversation about how Marius must hate that there are people who knew him when he was alive and remember him being a fucking loser. ((Aided by he’s a scrawny weirdo, my child LMAO)).

(here’s a small 2x sample of how I paced back and forth in my kitchen talking with my hands about it)

And like this goes back to the several hundred times we’ve discussed Marius being a person  who has sculpted an ideal personality for himself that he is not always capable of living by. ie: A patient scholar who wants to be challenged, when in fact he’s quite petty and holds grudges like everyone else and often loses his temper when he’s challenged.

So like I mean, I often wish that I could erase everyone’s perception of me from before I was 30 years old LOL, I’m sure this isn’t an uncommon feeling as we all grow and change. And taking Marius as an example it’s like, there are 3 people alive (that we know of) who knew him as a human and it must bother him so much to know that these three people have seen him at his lowest and most foolish.

It’s not even JUST the “he’s a scrawny weirdo”-ness of it, either, like that Pandora knew him as a wifeless drifter, but someone like Marius who tries so desperately to codify every single one of his emotions and who might feel shamed by his own vulnerably would hate that Teskhamen and Mael saw it, as well. 

Like, Teskhamen has a huge asterisk here because ~turning the Dark Trick~ is such a unique spiritual experience, and it’s not necessarily “Teskhamen saw deeply into my soul in a way others didn’t, and felt all of my secrets and knew I was a wifeless drifter”; I don’t think those are issues here, and Marius in turn would’ve been able to feel the lack of judgment. Still, Marius is one of the characters who was turned against his will, and it’s a massive source of trauma, and he goes on for two thousand years without any closure about it. Mael fills that spot for him as the person to resent and blame for his turning because he doesn’t have a maker.

(I’m thinking also about how Lestat’s and Marius’s turnings were so extremely similar and yet Lestat bounces off into the world without needing to pin his resentment on anybody and Marius refers to his irrepressible optimism in QOTD and it says this in BCtu:

So let me begin the narrative on a night when Marius, the ancient Roman Child of the Millennia, in a fit of pique became impatient with what he referred to as my “nauseating buoyancy and optimism” about the world in general.

Ahjsdklg. Anyway like, without getting into a side tangent about it and bringing their respective mommy issues into the fold to compare & contrast it’s just really interesting that Marius isn’t capable of finding that buoyant optimism in himself.) 

Sorry, back to the point about Teskhamen: It’s not necessarily about what Teskhamen might have seen of Marius’s soul in that exact moment, but also Marius knowing that this was like, the most frightened he’d ever been in his life, him at his weakest, and I just wonder how that balances out against the like Vampire Big Brain, you know? Did the vampire enlightenment kick in fast enough for him to forgive himself for being so powerless? Idk. Anyway, put a pin in this, I’m just saying, his turning was extremely traumatic and came after a year of being powerless, and on a night that his entire worldview was shattered.

The point with Mael, though, in the end, is like. They really did spend so much time together, and VC has a way of yada yada’ing huge swaths of time. Marius saying “and then I was captive for a year while my hair grew out and Mael came to me all the time and I tried to bargain with him to free me” doesn’t really fucking say it, does it? Like a year is a fucking long time for a mortal. A year is a long time.

And so like, how desperate did the bargaining get? How badly was he worn down? How many times did it devolve into piteous begging? 

We already have the other reasons Marius resented Mael afterwards (abducting him in the first place, becoming his maker by proxy) but a person like Marius, who hates feeling weakened by emotion, who wants to always be seen as someone very in control of his feelings, must hate it so much that Mael saw him like that, that Mael has this knowledge of him. 

So often trauma comes down to “I wasn’t in control” and we talk about Big T and little t trauma when it comes to pinpointing it to an event. I mean I think the entire year of captivity (plus the cherry on top of his MURDER) is a Big T, but there’s a whole year of little t in there, too, a whole year of mundane bullshit, passing the time, drinking mead, learning Mael’s stupid songs, where Marius wasn’t in control. And often like thinking down to the barest bones of trauma, no matter what the Big T or the little t is, the most basic conclusion is often “I wasn’t in control.”

Marius is a person who needs control. The way he was turned and the year leading up to it and his immediate burden with the Parents taught him that he needs to be in control. And even as his life smooths out, as he gets older, as he starts building seasons for himself and trying to sculpt the person he wants to be, he so badly wants to be in control of his emotions too. (“I have lived lies,” etc.). 

Exactly how desperate and pathetic did he get!!! Enough that Mael bought into it at some point. 

It’s so hard because for Mael, he knew that the God of the Grove was real. It wasn’t a question of faith for him, he’d experienced Teskhamen and knew. And it makes me wonder like, when we see in Blood & Gold that Mael was just as hurt and resentful that Marius damaged his own worldview and his commitment to his own people, that he took the Naples stuff to heart—was he going to let Teskhamen turn him anyway? Would he have wanted to free Marius after he’d become the new god? Did he want to escape with his deity boyfriend???

SOMETHING HAPPENED BETWEEN THEM AND MARIUS HATES THAT PEOPLE EXIST WHO HAVE SEEN HIM AT HIS WORST 

#cant believe lestat said that marius had a fit of pique lmfao im bawling #marius de romanus #deep ass thoughts about vampires #mael #teskhamen #marius/mael

[leportraitducadavre]

Naruto and the "hero" concept

Volumes Covered: 1-27 (first part)

How Naruto as a character interacts with those in power, particularly those who represent the position he wants to achieve (Hokage) is an interesting discussion to have. However, since the manga is particularly long, such debate would inevitably become far too extensive, so I’ve decided to indulge in some investigation on the matter during the first part of the manga. The driven question: How does Naruto interact with the notion of Hero and how (or if) does evolve through his development?

Be warned, this is mostly an incredibly organized rambling of mine. Many things might not make enough sense to you and some specific moments could have been interpreted differently by some: This is a specific reading of the canonical material, not definitive facts.

Long post!

Wave Arc

“If something is precious to you, you need to protect it with all the strength you’ve got, even at the risk of your own life” (x)

Such words were spoken by Kaiza, Inari’s father and the first character to introduce in a deep manner the idea of what being a “hero” entails. These words, plus Kaiza’s sacrifice to save his son (and the town’s citizens), are both glorified by the narrative as something Naruto should aspire to want and become (even if later on the own narrative twists itself and destroys its own “heroic” concept when justifying the UCM and Tobirama’s Curse of Hatred).

I don’t think, and the manga in itself quite literally encourages to do so, that Naruto really understands the link between Inari and the concept of “hero” he possesses (I'm making no judgment since he uses his own conception to approach the subject). To the small civilian boy, the word hero was meant to categorize a person that protects what and whom they love even at the cost of their life. It’s pretty much highlighted here when Inari finally understands what Kaiza was trying to convey when they first met now that he formed an emotional connection with him (father-son). When Kaiza is killed -here-, Inari’s pain makes him turn his sadness into anger, and he gives sense to that feeling by accusing Kaiza of abandoning him and, therefore, taking away that “hero” status (he’s not there to protect him as a hero would). 

Upon hearing this, Naruto’s response “I’m going to show Inari that there are still heroes in the world!” (here) not only twists the narrative to introduce himself into an issue he wasn’t asked to be part of (furthermore, Tazuna had no right to tell) but also, realistically: it fixes absolutely nothing. Here’s the thing: Heroes, to Inari, are people emotionally invested with what or those they’re saving -it doesn’t have to do exclusively with being physically capable of doing so, but about wanting to because of the deep connection between them. Kaiza didn’t fail as a hero because he couldn’t defeat Gato, but because he “disappeared” (died). 

Naruto rescuing Inari should (from a narrative point of view, at least for now), not change Inari’s perspective because they have no relationship and because Naruto is pretty much paid to carry out a duty (even if canonically the mission Tazuna paid for doesn’t cover the costs of what Naruto is about to do, Inari knows nothing about it, there’s no panel that tells us otherwise).

So why is there a dichotomy between Naruto’s perception of a hero and Inari’s? In the very first chapter of the manga, there’s a direct link between the “Hero” concept and the “Hokage” title. Naruto’s wish to become a hero (or more specifically, The Hero), is a direct correlation to the mighty leader of Konohagakure, whom Naruto aspires to be. 

[The importance of the “hero” concept is mentioned again in chapter 8, where Naruto learns that there are shinobi who are considered “heroes” because they died for the village (sacrificed their life for Konoha’s benefit) and, in exchange, were rewarded with their name upon a stone.] 

However, as I presented before, Naruto’s way of approaching the subject has more to do with being physically able to save someone (for him, a hero is someone who is powerful enough to help, like how the Hokage is considered the strongest shinobi of the village), than understanding what the concept entails for Inari.

During Naruto and Haku’s conversation, the MC’s approach to the entire concept is finally addressed (x), Haku asks him if he has someone precious to fight for (x), and after hearing Naruto’s response, he tells him that people become stronger when fighting to protect someone they care for (x). It’s just then that Naruto relates that idea to Iruka (specifically Iruka sacrificing for him and his own decision to protect Iruka against Mizuki), to Kaiza’s story, and to Kakashi’s phrase: “I’ll never let my comrades die” (here). 

He understands upon speaking with Haku the importance of a bond and, therefore, of having an emotional reason (person, place) to fight for (and become stronger), yet this understanding doesn’t necessarily contradict Naruto’s previous belief. He still wants to prove a point and earn the recognition of the village that ostracized him by becoming the strongest ninja; whilst the notion that both Kaiza, Inari, and Haku preach does not necessarily include any sort of acknowledgment for their actions (Kaiza was literally used as an example of what happens to those who defy Gato while Haku establishes himself as a tool at Zabuza’s disposal -both are okay with that for their wants rested elsewhere). 

In the next chapter, 22, we have an important interaction: On this page, Inari, mad at Naruto, screams at him that not only he won’t be able to win against Gato’s tugs, but also he accuses him of speaking of a subject he has no idea of, being foreign, and (assuming) Naruto has experienced nothing of what he had to go through. 

As readers, we know that Naruto has been mistreated by his own people, but Inari’s point is understandable: Naruto knows nothing about Wave other than what was told to him, in the same manner, he puts himself in the position of becoming the island (Inari’s) hero: He wants the help he provides -or he’s about to provide, to be recognized, for the Hokage is Konoha’s hero, and his existence, relevance, and power are acknowledged. [Perhaps calling it Naruto’s idea of a hero is misplaced, for it could easily be labeled as Konoha’s idea of a hero].

After an emotional manipulation at the hands of Kakashi (yes, Naruto’s words also influenced the little boy, but he lacked the experience to understand what he was doing), Inari starts to respect Naruto and acts “heroically”, to which Naruto responds by displaying a better attitude towards him. I’ve spoken a little bit about it before it but there’s no harm in repetition: Shinobi’s cultural, economic, political, and social spheres are different from civilians’ -in that sense when in a non-shinobi space, ninjas have no say in civilian customs or actions; yet none of them (I’m including Kakashi and somewhat forgiving Naruto, giving his young age and the fact that this is the first time he ever went outside Konoha) are able to detach their world-view from their specific ninja cultural and political rules. Inari would have never obtained Naruto’s respect hadn’t been because he performed the “heroic” thing (the shinobi thing, which endangered his life for he had no tools to perform in the same manner Naruto or Kakashi did). Furthermore, his relationship with Naruto hasn’t changed, they had no interaction after their fight, but because Inari is suddenly brave enough to stand up for his mom instead of escaping to ensure his safety, their relationship is suddenly fixed.

[Just an idea: perhaps Naruto did approach Inari with the idea of apologizing before he saw him defending his mother -perhaps Haku’s words did modify his perspective, but that doesn’t change the fact that Inari was coerced to perform the “shinobi” thing by Kakashi].

There’s nothing in the narrative that suggests Inari was actually a coward before, the only reason why he didn’t jump to save his dog was that he couldn’t swim. One instance of being afraid to move -because of genuine fear and the knowledge of a more than likely demise-, does not define his entire person, plus, he was even younger, if during Wave Arc he was eight, then it means he back in the flashback that Tazuna tells, he was five-years-old. It would have been slightly more understandable if Inari was born and raised in a ninja village, but for a civilian kid? Why such pressure? Again, the problem isn’t with Naruto exactly, he judges other people with the same bar with which he was/is judged (let’s remember, back in chapter 10, Kakashi shames Naruto when he froze during the attack of Kiri ninjas, despite that being the first time he was attacked in such degree), but we, the readers, are given the tools to question the exchange, not simply nod alongside everything the characters say. 

In the end, Naruto apologizes to Inari for calling him a baby, again, after he displayed bravery (which, I admit, was kind of greatly staged), and Chapter 23 ends with Naruto stating “man, this ‘hero’ thing is a lot of work”. Inari recognizes Naruto’s strength first, not his heroic capacity, until their “bonding” moment.

Naruto still doesn’t exactly question the central issue presented before: the main objective of becoming a hero isn’t about getting recognition (his current belief), but about protecting those he loves. The narrative tries to make a foreshadowing of what might come: Naruto learning that him being a ninja on duty -a person that gets paid to either protect or kill, immediately clashes against what a hero should be (Kaiza’s definition); his current belief is put there only to be questioned, but that questioning ends up nowhere, after the first part (and I dare to say Wave Arc) it disappears (at least for Naruto, since Sasuke seems to be the one who carries this notion afterward). 

Naruto’s speech to Zabuza (here and here) about the way shinobi apparently need to be emotionless in order to follow through with a mission or become strong is a direct contradiction to the rule introduced by Sakura herself. The way Kishimoto wrote those scenes means that the clash of ideals is on purpose, even Zabuza admits that shinobi are human beings and they aren’t able to completely erase their feelings (yes, that also contradicts the Curse of Hatred that is later on introduced). 

The Hokage is a person that -as stated by Ebisu, “knows and understands the eight principles that are the cornerstones of all the knowledge of the shinobi”, furthermore, Hiruzen (a direct example of who Naruto wants to become), expects the future shinobi to know and follow a number of rules, it’s are a requirement to pass the initial course. This is the first time Naruto questions the basis of the shinobi’s belief system (being as heartless as Zabuza = being strong = becoming a hero = becoming Hokage).

In chapter 33, we are able to see Zabuza and Haku’s funeral, which introduces the idea of Naruto growing up to question the current system: Here and here. We are shown the mentality of “shinobis are tools” being disputed by the main trio -Kakashi, their sensei, admits that the value put on ninjas’ lives by the present mindset makes him uncomfortable, yet, he does nothing about it. We are to believe that this new generation of shinobi (with Naruto at the front) will finally question and take action against that belief; however, we are also shown how shinobi who go against the system are considered rogue (Zabuza), so Naruto will have to either reach power in order to change things (fight from within -with all the issues it brings) or fight against the system from the outside, meaning, becoming a missing-nin.

However, by the end of the Wave Arc, Naruto is starting to build up a reputation (the main goal he was introduced with, which makes all the debate presented before absolutely irrelevant for he changed nothing of his views and got the reward he expected), the bridge is named after him (because I guess he inspired Inari who was in charge to name the bridge, instead of naming it after Tazuna, who built it, or Kaiza, to give him a “post-mortem recognition”). The emotional connection between Naruto and Inari was made after Naruto saved him, yet it can’t be said that it isn’t significant. Kakashi convinced Inari to “like” Naruto (directly), and Haku convinced Naruto to “like” Inari (indirectly) -their relationship was made by other people. 

Chünin Exams

When already inside the Chünin Exams’ arc, more specifically, chapter 39, we have an interesting occurrence: Naruto, having put on the over-confident mask he often displays to portray a confidence he doesn’t exactly feels, yells that no one will beat him. Now, that in itself isn’t truly remarkable, yet the Otogakure’s team takes it as an insult to their village. It’s intriguing to think why they take what seems to be an innocent statement with such a negative value because of the village Naruto represents (his Hitai Ate is on his forehead, where everyone can see). 

This interpretation, however, is introducing something of a bigger scale: The resentment of smaller villages towards bigger ones like Konoha -we have yet to know their reasoning, but since we already know Konoha is one (if not the) strongest village, the wording in which the Otogakure’s team presents the conflict is to be noted. Naruto never mentioned the places of precedence of those in the room -he even included the shinobi from his own village (when facing the room, he’s also looking at Lee, Neji, and Tenten) yet the Oto team takes it personally because they can see his headband: they know things that the reader has yet to learn, therefore, Naruto seemingly innocent statement automatically translates onto Konoha shinobi insulting other villages’ capacities.

[It’s also to be noted that Otogakure is ruled by Orochimaru, who deserted Konoha and wasn’t really a fan of his former village, their distaste for Konoha as a village and Naruto as a shinobi might have to do with their commander’s personal feelings if they know about Orochimaru’s past]. 

By the end of the first exam (chapter 43) - Ibiki asks the tenth question, Naruto jumps before Sakura can raise her hand and forfeit (she did so because she didn’t want Naruto to fail and be stuck forever as a Gënin should he answer incorrectly) while yelling that he won’t quit and he’ll become Hokage even if they doom him to be Gënin forever (Kishimoto actually made this to be true: he stayed as a gënin until the very end of the manga). His character is particularly marked by his necessity to go against those who underestimate him, to the point where he sets all of his interactions under that premise until proven wrong; that is, he usually assumes people are belittling him even if they aren’t particularly doing so. 

In Chapter 48, after being attacked by Orochimaru disguised as a Grass ninja, Sasuke decides that the best course of action in order to survive is giving him the Heaven Scroll they have so he would leave. Up until then, Orochimaru has overpowered both him and Sakura yet, Naruto intercepts the exchange and punches Sasuke, calling him a “fake”, because the real Sasuke isn’t a coward. Now, Naruto knows nothing of what both Sasuke and Sakura experienced, so perhaps he truly believes that it isn’t a fight harsh enough for them not to overcome (they have fought against Haku and Zabuza and they won); but what interests me is the weight and value that Naruto seems to put over the notion of “brave” and its counterpart “coward” since he’s done the exact same judgment when in Wave (to Inari), and it was an assessment made towards him by both Sasuke and Kakashi. 

Kishimoto even acknowledges this parallelism through this panel: here. Even the next chapter (49), it’s titled “Coward” [After Orochimaru attacks Naruto, Sakura helps him and yells at Sasuke (who has been frozen since Naruto saved him) - at her intervention, he immediately remembers Itachi’s words which are a direct reflection of Naruto’s words to Sasuke].

Up to this point, for Naruto, a Hero is someone strong enough to help others (I assume since he spoke with Haku that Naruto understood the “fighting for what/who you love” phrase, even if that is incredibly manipulated and he subscribed to the Will of Fire, where the love he possesses for Iruka and his friends translates into him caring for Konoha as a symbol), someone who is acknowledged by others because of their sacrifices/capacities and, now,someone brave enough to jump into dangerous situations.

After the end of the Second Stage of the Chünin Exams, we have a thought-provoking interaction between Iruka and Naruto. There, Iruka advises the tree cell team not to overexert themselves during the next round, to which Naruto replies with -basically, “since I’ve got the Hitai-ate (that you gave me), I stopped being a kid and became a full-fledged shinobi” (x and x). I have pointed this out in some other posts but there’s no harm to reiterate: the pass from childhood to adult -unlike in the civilian society that follows different rules, is marked by the bestowal of the headband. That is, adulthood has little to do with age and more to do with rank. With that mentality, Naruto’s behavior towards Inari is slightly more understandable, since his age is not an excuse to behave like a “child”. Yet, again, where Naruto (and Kakashi) fails is in understanding that Inari is not governed by the same principles that he is.

In the introduction of the preliminary rounds, we have Hiruzen’s speech about the exams and their true goal, I won’t put here everything that they encompass but I will mention the so-called friendship Hiruzen preached about and what will ultimately become Naruto’s own conception of the term: The “friendship” that Hiruzen often speaks about (and many fans still take in the strict term of the word), is more about preserving the balance in between the villages at the risk of people’s lives. That’s the type of friendship that Naruto will end up defending -to keep the balance between the greater villages, massacres, discrimination, and even wars (and war-like scenarios, such as the Chünin Exams), are permitted, because balance equals friendship.

The Hero (The Hokage) keeps the balance. If they feel Konoha is losing power, they’ll start a war, if they sense a small village or a petit organization jeopardizes the position of the Big Five, they obliterate them -I wish more people would read that specific panel: the system isn’t supposed to be good nor fair to everyone, the parameters to be “good” or “evil” are completely different from our own, we are speaking of military, corrupt and powerful states that thrive on wars, they -by our own standards- could never be “good” even at its most basic level. Allow me to copy-paste a response a gave about Jiraiya’s character to illustrate this point:

“We can’t separate his characterization from the universe he was created for (which is not to say we can’t judge him based on our own standards, but calling him a hypocrite would only be factual if he counters his own definition of peace, which he doesn’t).

Who is he killing? People that aren’t from Konoha nor loyal to it, which instantly justifies his actions. Why is he killing? Because it will benefit his village in the short and/or long term (...) The problem in itself isn’t Jiraiya not aligning with our views -he doesn’t have to (furthermore, the narrative doesn’t have to either, which is the apparatus that validates him inside the story, specifically), is the fandom that puts him as a paragon of morality -using him to put other character views/behaviors down, (...) How come Jiraiya is singled out as ‘the’ hypocrite when the system he defends and on which he based his entire views is nothing but hypocritical? You can’t take any other Will of Fire believer/Shinobi system supporter and spare them from the same criticism. If the system he aligns with is nothing but paradoxical (state-sanctioned genocide to “maintain peace” -rather, keep specific people in power- is only one of the most notorious actions perceived narratively as necessary), he has no other choice but to become paradoxical as well -otherwise, he’ll become a traitor.” (x)

However, in chapter 94, we have this interesting piece of interaction, where Hiruzen tells the future generation of shinobi that they are free to live and die as they please (we readers are aware that this, given Konoha’s parameters of both freedom and death, is not necessarily true), but they need to protect those who “are precious to them” (Kaiza’s notion of a hero), alongside this Hiruzen, as the Hokage, claims that he’ll protect everyone in the village -because all of them are equally precious to him. This particular method of emotional manipulation is applied to the young minds of future soldiers, and the truth about the real implication of what is asked of them to do would not come to them until much later -either on their first mission or during their Chünin Exams. 

I’ll repeat: There’s a reason why Hiruzen doesn’t allow the façade of Konoha’s practices to fall until the very last stage of the exams, because Konoha’s educational system (particularly), holds itself by ingraining the idea that Konoha as a symbol equalizes to everyone composing it. In trivial terms: If you ask a young child what they rather save, Konoha or their parents -they’ll probably save the person precious to them rather than a piece of land; however, if you convince the kid that Konoha is a symbol far greater than any person because it’s a place where their parents’ presence (or legacy) will still linger even after their deaths (“sacrifices”), then the decision isn’t as easy as it was before. Tsunade doubting about whether to help Orochimaru or not under the promise of seeing Dan and Nawaki again just reiterates the idea of tying Konoha (the symbol) to those dearest to her. Nawaki and Dan are, at this point, either at the same level or higher than the village itself -it’s after, with Naruto and Jiraiya’s intervention (offering of the Hokage’s title and, later on, threatening her), that the village becomes a symbol for both of them and she finally internalizes her master’s teachings. Even Dan states that he loves the village and all of his friends that live there, which is why he wants to defend it, further proving the idea previously mentioned. Furthermore, When Tsunade saves Naruto from Orochimaru’s attack -he asks her “why go to such lengths to save a Gënin,” to which she replies “I’m doing this to protect the village of Konohagakure”; there’re things to point out about this that intertwine this line with my previous point.

Naruto is the Jinchuriki of the nine tails, if he dies Konoha loses possession of Kurama.

Naruto’s dream is to become Hokage, and the remembrance of Dan and Nawaki allows Tsunade to make a connection between Naruto’s dream and theirs. She also might be referencing Naruto becoming Hokage as a way to save Konoha in the future.

Naruto is the representation of Konoha and its people. 

For Naruto, the title of Hokage is so important that he deems it unfathomable that someone would reject it -as Tsunade did the first time it was offered to her. It’s not only about his lack of knowledge about what the title entails and the responsibilities that come with it (something that isn't propagandistically mentioned, as the only thing highlighted about the position is the physical power the wielder needs to have in order to earn it. Realistically speaking, we know the title isn’t just about power -as Tsunade isn’t the strongest of the three Sannin, yet she’s the most valuable as the last Senju descendant), but also about the acknowledgment position she’s declining. Naruto has glorified the idea of Hokage (hero) to such a degree that questioning the position (or whoever has obtained it) seems incomprehensible, and when Tsunade does question it -he reacts violently. She’s questioning the very thing he wants to be, that’s why he reacts so fiercely against her when she both declines the position and questions its relevance and this is exactly why he’s set to never dispute the notion that was ingrained into him -Naruto questioning the system that killed thousands through the years is being practically buried here.

Regarding Naruto’s characterization, antagonizing the "prodigy" notion is incredibly important to him, not because he (truly) denies the strength of those who are given the title, but because their existence denies him of the acknowledgment he seeks, as all his accomplishments are "overshadowed" by Neji and Sasuke's sole presence. Therefore being recognized (positively so) by their ninja skills (as such is the political and cultural importance of such aspects inside the Shinobi system) is, to him, the most important category when pointing out a person’s value. 

To Naruto (and a big portion of the fandom) Neji is not considered a failure (unlike himself, Hinata, or Lee) therefore he somehow has an easier life despite being, in every other manner, oppressed by his family. This is a mindset Konoha in itself teaches to its citizens as this dogma’s value rests on the fact that it guarantees the success and preservation of the status quo established. Therefore, for Will of Fire supporters,  Sasuke couldn’t be discriminated against because he was praised for his techniques/was popular, Neji might be a slave but he’s incredibly valuable to Konoha due to his strength, so there is some sort of “retribution”. 

The problem with this mindset is that it diminishes valid criticisms as it downgrades minorities' arguments by pointing out the person's "worth" inside the overall structure: They're valuable for Konoha's militia as their power benefits them militarily, therefore this recognition discredits any other way they are politically, culturally or economically oppressed.

This nationalistic mindset, vastly sustained in the "greater good" rhetoric, also tries to diminish the relevance of ethnicity identification inside the Narutoverse. Let me explain it further: Being part of a clan isn't -or shouldn't be by Konoha's standards- as important as being a Konoha citizen. People inside the village should consider themselves Konoha citizens first and part of a clan second, so if the greater good (meaning, Konoha's survival or superiority) entails clans' oppression or the tolerance of slavery practices, not only these practices are narratively perceived as necessary but also are to be accepted by those affected by them because they have to see the bigger picture.

This rhetoric isn't as challenging for those in power: some fans claim that all shinobi are forced to forfeit/diminish their identity as clan members to be Konoha's shinobi first, yet it translates differently in practice. It's easier for those who benefited from the system to consider themselves part of their nation before their clan because their ethnicity isn't perceived or treated differently.

If we roughly translate it to real-life dogmas, it'll be as if a (mostly white populated) nation asked their citizens to "forfeit" their ethnic identity (and I'm comparing the Uchiha and Hyuga with real-life ethnic groups as biological differences inside the Narutoverse are marked by the presence or absence of Kekkei Genkai, as Haku introduces) in order to use their nation as an identifier. The white population of such space won't see nor understand the issue with such a request because their whiteness has never been used as a reason to diminish their relevance or capacities inside the spheres of power; furthermore, their nation's bureaucracy was built around their whiteness whilst POCs political value/capacities are constantly challenged. One (or few) instances of POC individuals being praised by those in power for meeting (or surpassing) the established standards isn't the same as them being treated as equals to their white counterparts.

In this “prodigy vs. hard worker” theme, we have two dogmas introduced in the manga: “A ninja is one who endures” (x) of Jiraiya, vs. “A ninja is one who wields Ninjutsu” of Orochimaru -this is an interesting dichotomy, as none of them contradicts the other, it’s also incredibly accurate to represent both Sasuke and Naruto as a ninja. Sasuke -up until the last chapter, is far superior to Naruto when it comes to Ninjutsu, but Naruto is incredibly tough and continuously increases his power/strength out of sheer stubbornness. Both of them have natural resources to move around the dogma they represent (Sasuke, the Sharingan; Naruto, Kurama), so they’re well-matched in that regard. 

The Naruto fandom seems to think that Naruto lacking a vast repertoire of Jutsus is the way Kishimoto uses to undermine the main character, completely missing the point of his characterization. Naruto isn’t supposed to be flashy nor interesting, he’s supposed to stand against the norm (a.k.a the literal definition of a ninja, which is Orochimaru’s, hence, Sasuke’s), which is why he has mostly two Jutsus during the whole manga. This, again, doesn’t contradict Sasuke’s characterization, as being able to wield Ninjutsu isn’t opposed to being able to endure -and considering Sasuke’s arc and how he, until the very last moment, refused to give up on his journey, only shows how he grew up to fulfill both visions. The narrative tries to show us how Sasuke's path is wicked, which is why his decision to continue is painted in a negative light.  

Sasuke Retrieval Arc

Once Sasuke leaves Konoha, he’s “followed” by Shikamaru and his newly formed squad (you can see an analysis about sexism here), and in chapter 202, we find this phrase uttered by the leader: “I should place more value on the lives of my teammates instead of the person abducted by the enemy (...) besides abandoning a teammate to protect yourself? There’s no one in my squad like that.” (x, x). However, Shikamaru is lying, both to himself and Tayuya. Sasuke wasn’t abducted, he left of his own volition (x). Shikamaru isn’t risking his life to save a kidnapped comrade, he’s risking his life so Orochimaru wouldn’t have the last Uchiha descendent by his side, which is proved by the way Tsunade references Sasuke’s deflection and Orochimaru’s “attempt to have the power of the Uchiha” (here); he’s protecting more Konoha’s possession of the last Sharingan user than Sasuke himself. 

Sure, he does have a sense of duty since Sasuke is a comrade, and it wouldn’t be weird for them to think that Sasuke was forced into accepting Orochimaru’s help as Tsunade is incapable of replying to Shikamaru’s question (she isn’t even sure of the answer as nor Kakashi or Jiraiya spoke to her about their suspicions); yet what interests us here is the weight that surrounds the use of the word “save” as it’s likely more for the children’s benefit to put them under a “savior” mindset in order to build their sense of duty and the imperative necessity of bringing Sasuke back; as it’s also likely that they gave sense to Sasuke’s escape by attributing it to kidnapping since they cannot conceive one of them deflecting. Here, the savior complex shifts, as we learn that it isn’t an individualistic ethos that it’s solely linked to Naruto’s character due to his background (it’s simply far more visible in his case), but it’s a learned mindset (un)consciously taught to ensure loyalty and obedience (“I’m not the bad guy, I’m saving you”; “this if for your own good!”; etc); it’s not really different to how real-life soldiers are told to perceive themselves.

“Does Konoha mean nothing to you?!” (x) Peak perfection in the sense of the nationalistic mindset Naruto has been constructing during the whole first portion of the manga, here, Naruto’s sparkles of revolutionary interests are crushed –and I mean, they were never bright to begin with. He never questioned Konoha’s relevance but rather Konoha’s structure when it presented challenges or negative preconceptions of his nature as Jinchuuriki that he needed to overcome or modify, as they did in Wave where he refused to become “just” a tool like Haku was (x), since a tool doesn’t need nor deserves recognition, which he craves. Here, the nationalistic mindset of Kakashi gets reflected upon the student, as Naruto internalized the Will of Fire and exposes it (and rather clearly) here: 

Naruto is contemplating Sasuke abandoning him and Team 7, which is the primary fuel in this quest and the reason behind his pain, he mentions the team that Shikamaru gathered (per Tsunade’s orders) to bring him back as these are individuals that put their life on the line to “rescue” Sasuke, yet Sasuke cares not. Naruto’s words are not a coincidence, he never states that the people searching for him are Sasuke’s friends (they aren’t, they never interacted in any significant way), the only thing they have in common is their village of origin and loyalty. For Naruto, that’s enough for a bond, for Sasuke it isn’t.

Sasuke himself put no one in danger, as he fought nor hurt anyone, it was Tsunade who sent inexperienced gënin to search Sasuke in order not to give Orochimaru the “Uchiha’s power”, Sasuke deflecting put no one in any immediate danger as he was, at most, to be killed and possessed by Orochimaru (which, alright, can be argued his body might have been used to destroy Konoha later on –despite Orochimaru being quite capable of doing so prior to having Sasuke’s body as well, so him having or not Sasuke isn’t detrimental for a possible retaliation from the Sannin) which, as he states, isn’t important (x)

I do believe that this specific claim: “You think I’m just gonna let you go?!” which is the culmination of Naruto’s speech about how Orochimaru will grant him power in exchange for his life (x) is understandable as Naruto is both hurt by Sasuke abandoning them and scared for his friend’s life (Sasuke is even leaving despite being aware that he’ll be likely killed, which is quite worse as not only Naruto feels pain as a result of his only friend escaping, but also him leaving to certain death). Naruto’s primary knowledge about Sasuke’s goal (killing Itachi) is that he’s willing to die for it (x) that, in regards to Naruto’s own goal, it’s unfathomable –as death is not one of the lengths Naruto is prepared for in order to get the acknowledgment he seeks. Furthermore, Sasuke’s death will automatically jeopardize his own objective, as Sasuke’s recognition is the one Naruto craves the most (here and here Naruto remembers Sasuke denying Naruto the equal status he wants, and Sasuke once again refuses: “who cares what you want?”). 

“You were my Idol, and so… hearing that… I was never happier, with those words, for the first time… you acknowledged I was good.” (x) Can’t make it clearer here Sasuke’s relevance on Naruto’s life and the importance of him staying, of him acknowledging Naruto.

This is not specifically about Naruto, but it’s interesting for this post. Look at this interaction in between Shikaku and his son, Shikamaru: 1, 2, 3. Here, Shikaku was questioning Shikamaru’s claim that he was not fit to be a shinobi (x), as (he states) all he can do is use this experience in order to improve. This whole conversation happens while both Chöji and Neji are in surgery, by the way, so not only is Shikamaru upset about the mission in itself, but he’s also concerned about his best friend’s and comrade’s lives. He’s putting himself as the only one responsible for the failing of a mission that was way over their skill level to begin with (this is Tsunade’ responsibility, not Shikamaru’s) x, and such notion is not questioned by anyone in that hallway (not by his father, Temari, or the Hokage); furthermore, Shikaku makes a point to drag his child through the (metaphorical) mud in order to “tough him up” for the next mission. This rough treatment wouldn’t have happened if Shikamaru had not questioned his future as a ninja, Shikaku is making sure Shikamaru doesn’t quit as a shinobi, emotionally manipulating the boy to convince him that “missions will continue to happen with or without you, so why resign anyway?” Couldn’t the same be said in the opposite direction? If he’s not detrimental to the structure’s function why does he have to stay? Because it sets a bad precedent: one person resigning does desestabilizes the structure, as then that practice becomes normalized which puts the entire shinobi structure in jeopardy as no one is willing to sacrifice themselves for Konoha, so Shikakau needs to stop this mindset in order to guarantee a faithful soldier. The excuse is “if missions are happening anyway, why not make sure they all come back alive? Be their leader and guarantee their safety!” Yet not only was this said before Tsunade and Shizune communicated the health status of Shikamaru’s colleagues (so Shikaku wasn’t aware if they were even alive), but also, it changes nothing, as Shikamaru’s doubt not only is about his own insecurities as a leader, but also about his reluctance to be under this kind of mental and emotional pressure and responsibility, which will continue to happen until either he gains enough experience or resigns. Furthermore, having experience doesn’t even guarantee such doubts going away, as they might still be present but controlled enough because of Shikamaru’s constant exposure to them. This specific conversation is Konoha’s teachings in a nutshell, emotional manipulation and rough treatment while a child is on the verge of a mental breakdown and all.

There is no closure suitable for this analysis because it would imply an end to this theme that is not given by the simple fact that the manga continues on Naruto Shippuden. However, I don't remember any intrinsic changes in the main character's thinking for the rest of the story, but it would be far-fetched to affirm it without doing the pertinent analysis.

#naruto #naruto uzumaki #naruto analysis #naruto meta #naruto shippuden #anti konoha #anti shinobi system #long post #hero concept #hokage #hokage naruto

[theloganator101]

I have a thing to say about Bakugo's "apology" that many haven't noticed, or at least I don't see any people discussing it.

You see, not only is his apology backhanded, but it's also...kind of manipulative? We're shown time and time again that Bakugo is intelligent and that he knows how to play mind games. Has anyone stopped to ask why ha was apologizing in front of others? Wh didn't he touch the surface of the bullying he made Izuku go through?

Why, it's to force Izuku into a corner and accept his apology, of course! By leaving out any details about the abuse, Bakugo can brush off any objection from Izuku about him lying. And since Hori likes to warp class 1A's personalities and morals when Bakugo breathes, it puts Izuku into a lose-lose situation.

Does he apologize his abuser and face the fact that no one is going to understand the depths of what happened other than himself? Or is he going to fight back and potentially face judgment from his classmates.

This could've been a great narrative point if canon just ALLOWED Bakugo to be a cunt, making the fans question if he's even capable of becoming a hero. You could even have Izuku struggle to come up with a reply, his thoughts diving back to his traumatic childhood, realizing that either way he's screwed.

What did we get instead? A half-assed apology that Hori haphazardly put together to give Bakugo fans a free pass for his continued abuse.

Gee, great writing amirite?

Yeah it's why I like to call it the Apology-But-Not-Really-Apology.

I think the reason why is because since it's shown Bakugou is kind of a prideful kind of character where he hates it when others are watching him doing something good, that him apologizing in front of them is like him swallowing his pride and actually admitting he was wrong.

But too bad it was all done poorly!

And since the apology itself was vague at best, it's missing the VITAL key points of what he's even apologizing for in the first place! And him saying that nothing much would change just invalidates it all together.

Hori! My guy! Can you PLEASE just acknowledge Bakugou's shitty character and express that in the narrative so Izuku can FINALLY get his say and development he desperately needs!

#bnha critical #mha critical #anti bakugou #anti katsuki bakugou #anti bakugo #izuku deserves better #bakugou critical

[yupuffin]

Aside from anticipating getting my heart ripped out and stomped on during the dramatic developments that were teased in the upcoming quests, I'm also intrigued to learn more about Neuvillette because, despite apparently being notoriously impartial and proper as the Chief Justice, he does seem to have something going on: I can't tell yet if it's

a) a sense of doing things "for the greater good" b) naiveté regarding human emotional/thought processes, including his own, or c) active inconsistency/cognitive dissonance.

Or perhaps a combination of multiple factors.

He was completely unbothered by Navia lying to get into his office without an appointment (bypassing standard procedure), and now, according to the 4.1 trailer, he's apparently going to submit false charges against the Traveler to get them into the Fortress of Meropide--something that he stated earlier was taken very seriously and is itself potentially subject to criminal charges should it fail.

I'd attribute these with relative certainty to a) (possibly/partially b)) if it wasn't for one more inconsistency I noticed:

During Lyney's trial, discovering the true culprit was sufficient to acquit him without an additional verdict from the Oratrice.

However, when charges where pressed against Childe, after incriminating Marcel as the true culprit, Neuvillette subjects Childe to another round of judgment by the Oratrice, insisting that "This has always been the rule."

(Clearly not, because it apparently wasn't 'the rule' one Archon Quest ago...)

I realize that brings into consideration the additional factor of the Oratrice and how it operates, about which we still know essentially nothing--although Neuvillette apparently has a hypothesis and has previously considered the possibility of the Oratrice delivering an illogical verdict, so it's possible that I'm overthinking things, and this could simply be a subtle or backhanded way for him to produce a specific reaction from the Oratrice and hence kick-start the investigation, so to speak.

I'd hate to consider Neuvillette suspicious at all because he's so sensitive and kind on the inside that I want to believe he has nothing but good intentions, but I'm not good at speculating--I don't know enough about the story yet to draw any solid conclusions, even though some things just don't seem to add up. I think the same emotional naiveté that makes him so endearing as a character is probably a significant factor--that said, given that he's allegedly a very capable Chief Justice and has been around for hundreds of years, it's not unreasonable to believe that, in some regards, he very much knows what he's doing.

I find it especially intriguing in my particular thought process juxtaposing him with Alhaitham (my other favorite who, indeed, lives in my head rent-free), because... from a narrative standpoint, they're similar in that that they're both stoic as to be enigmatic, they both hold positions that grant them considerable autonomy, and they utilize said autonomy--as well as the abundant resources at their disposal--to assist the Traveler.

...But Alhaitham, on top of being incredibly perceptive rather than naive, is also incredibly consistent. Many players found find Alhaitham untrustworthy because he's highly self-assured and only agrees to collaborate with the Traveler under very specific conditions, with very little flexibility, refusing to bend to anyone else's will solely to appease them. As the Traveler later states, though, this actually makes him extremely reliable as an ally, because Alhaitham is candid about being primarily motivated by a strong sense of self-preservation. He's incredibly selective about how he expends his effort; he's unlikely to flat-out betray an ally because it would simply be too much work for him to set up a genuine, trusting, mutually beneficial relationship with someone, only to jeopardize it later. If he doesn't intend to cooperate, he just says so. ("Until you complete this task, you don't have question privileges" etc.)

Personally, I was inclined to wholly trust Alhaitham from the beginning due to this consistency.

Neuvillette, on the other hand, despite holding position as the Chief Justice, doesn't seem to invariably follow the rules and laws to the letter as one would expect.

As I've already stated, I do want to trust him--and indeed, he's open with the Traveler about the fact that he is actively in the process of investigating the Oratrice, and, even to him, there's just not enough information to draw any conclusions. Factoring in all of the above inconsistencies, though, I think it's as unfair to conclude that Neuvillette is downright nefarious as it is to assume, on the other extreme, that he's wholly benevolent, so I'm going to remain cautiously optimistic while I anticipate further developments from the Fontaine story in the upcoming version. 😆

#genshin impact #neuvillette #genshin impact spoilers #spoilers

[atthebell-moved]

I think what's most frustrating about misogyny in this fandom (and any fandom, but this one has particular issues I'll get into) is that people who've never read a single word of feminist theory can recognize when they're pulling sexist bullshit. Like, my dad has never in his life consumed anything beyond milquetoast feminist takes on NBC family dramas, but he's capable of taking a step back and going "hey, that sucked and i know why."

But here, no matter how much i want to give people the benefit of the doubt for being young and not having the same opportunities as me to engage with feminism, people just go beyond the level of patience and grace I'm willing to extend to them. Yes, it is obvious that you don't care about women. No, I don't care that you rb pretty pictures of them, because at the end of the day you'll turn on them in an instant for any perceived wrong that for your favorite male streamer you would do endless apologia.

Every single woman on the DSMP is treated as an extension of male characters. Every streamer is treated like she doesn't matter unless she's streaming with some guy you actually care about. I've gone through their fanart tags, extensively, and I PROMISE you that the ratio of fanart of them on their own compared to art of them with your favorite white boy is fucking sad. Not to mention how many of these women get doxxed to hell and drug through the mud any time they flirt with a man or do lore that you don't approve of because it slights Tommy or Wilbur in any way.

Do you know the shit that gets slung at female streamers? There's an attitude in certain corners of this fandom that male streamers are over sexualized. Let me tell you about what female ccs go through. There is deepfake porn of every single one of them. There are constant messages about their bodies, about how they don't deserve their fame if they don't wear revealing clothing, and about how they need to cover up more. There are stalkers and rape threats and constant judgment of their actions as inherently sexual and deserving of not just criticism but genuine hatred. Please go watch an unban requests stream and you will see the BAREST minimum of what I'm talking about. The things I have heard people call Niki and Puffy are fucking disgusting, and I can't even imagine what their mods have to see.

If you think Twitchcon SD shoving the only panel for female streamers into a tiny room is bad, I want you to look twice at this community and how it treats women and then tell me you think that's surprising. There were people in line for that panel and for Niki and Hannah's meet n greets who were only there bc they're on the DSMP and stream with the guys you people actually care about. I know because I literally talked to them. They don't know a thing about these CC's content.

Don't pretend like this community is better than how all of twitch treats women. Don't pretend like you care about feminism and then throw completely disproportionate levels of criticism and hate at any woman who fucks up. Don't pretend you care about women within their own narratives and then sideline them at every opportunity in favor of the guys you actually care about. Suck it up and say the quiet part out loud (you don't care about women) and start actually trying to care.

#discourse #fandom critical #feminism tag #its all feminism for aesthetics sake #you all know you ought to be progressive and that feminism comes with that #but you dont actually understand how to stop relying on the patriarchy and examine your own behavior for flaws #also all of this goes doubly for how you all treat women of color #misogyny doesnt just stop when youre trans/gq #its also just so funny to me bc so much of the hate dsmp fans get is bc of misogyny #rape mention #i could make a far longer post with more specific citations but im too irritated right now #i drafted this literally over a month ago #misogyny in fandom

[just-late-roman-republic-things]

Could you summarise Pompey’s political career? Also do you think Pompey was a great politician?

Pompey's an interesting guy, narratively speaking. He reached the apex of a Roman career at a non-traditional age and in a non-traditional way. Then he spent the rest of his life trying to defend his prestige from rivals he couldn't clobber in the same way he did to Rome's enemies. In the end, a couple poor judgment calls and strokes of bad luck got him killed like a dog, far, far from home.

You could characterize his life as a classic tragedy, complete with a fatal flaw: his need for admiration. Or you could view it as a poetic irony, the bloodshed and misdeeds of his youth coming back to haunt him. Or you could simply treat him as a man, one who did both great and horrible things.

He was a capable general, and excellent at organization and administration. When pointed in the right direction he could do a lot of good, but he could also be extremely unscrupulous. Political relationships weren't his strong suit, and his inability to balance his obligations to both Caesar and the optimates likely contributed to the civil war of 49 BCE.

I don't think of him as a good or nice person. It's saying something that even the Romans called him "young butcher." But perhaps in another time, under a more stable government and kinder culture, he could have been a better man.

#pompey #just Roman asks #all just my opinion as usual #jlrrt essays

[soullessjack]

i feel like so many facets in jack’s character that are narratively supposed to attribute to his internal conflict have been woobified and infantilized so extensively that nobody can even register them as actual struggles—like the entire thing about his age vs his life experience. on a physical/mental/emotional level jack is developed to his early 20’s and has all the capabilities of a young 20-something year old, but because he hasn’t actually lived through 20-something years and lacks the experience necessary to having good judgment and a good understanding of how to respond/react appropriately.

and the thing is, jack did choose to be an adult, but had no way of knowing that he’d have to deal with all of this as a result of that. he made his decision on the basis that the world was too dangerous for him to be younger, but Kelly likely never made him feel as if he would potentially be dangerous because of his powers. like I’ve said before, jack is almost entirely unaware that they aren’t a normal human for the entire first episode up until Dean tells the sheriff they’re a nephil. all they knew is that they heard voices and got freaked out and that “things” (sheriff barker getting launched into the vending machine) happened when they got freaked out.

adding onto this, another facet of Jack’s character is wanting to prove his worth or capabilities to others. he wants to be part of the team and be strong enough to protect people, all of which ties into his core desire to be Good and Safe and prove that to the guys, and he expresses extreme frustration and anger at himself when he naively trusts the wrong person (asmodeus, duma), misjudges a situation or overreacts in a way that harms someone else (the tombstone security guard, the Gas’n’Sip employee) because it outwardly proves to his father figures that he isn’t good or safe or worth their love+effort, and while the basis for Jack’s character and conflict is Nature vs Nurture, it also revolves around a struggle for autonomy—particularly his struggle to be more than what his own existence even allows him to be, and I think that’s the thing people horribly misunderstand or purposely ignore about jack and this particular struggle.

it’s not about jack wanting to be a normal kid (he actually very much just wants to be a normal teenager). it’s about the fact that jack has a limited life experience which clouds his judgement, lends to his naivety, and leads him to making the wrong choices and react inappropriately and hurt people without meaning to and further playing into why everyone is afraid of him. it’s about the fact that jack wants to be good and safe and strong and protect others (which are both already conflicting idealizations), and he’s angry when when the factors of his existence lead him to fucking up and registering him as a threat when he very adamantly doesn’t want to be a threat.

jack doesn’t want to be a normal child and none of their problems would disappear if he was one. they want to be capable of having self control and protecting the people they care about (re:, “what’s the point of having these powers if I can’t use them to help the people I care about? it’s selfish of me not to”), and he wants to have better judgement to understand what the right thing is in a situation and make the appropriate choice/reaction. the horror lies in the fact that he inherently does not have any of that. because of Jack’s naivety, he doesn’t have good judgment and he is incredibly dangerous regardless of the effort he puts into being safe, and frankly it’s weird to infantilize that particular aspect of his character (and every aspect, but this especially) the way this fandom has

#spn #supernatural #spn analysis #jack kline #sam winchester #dean winchester #castiel #tfw2.0 #team free will 2.0 #spn fandom #spn family #long post #spn rant #sort of? #idk #spn 13x01 #spn 13x06 #tombstone #ouroboros #spn 14x14 #spn 13x23 #spn 13x03 #just please for the love of god stop infantilizing every single fucking thing about jack #begging and pleading for y’all to start thinking a little more critically about him #begging and pleading and groveling and holding out my little orphan soup bowl

[muzzleroars]

I just realised something, Did the citizens of Heaven even know what was going on when Gabriel slaughtered the council? considering he was way more popular than them, they might have kept his light removal quiet until either he succeded in killing V1 (thus proving that he was still under their control so not a threat) or he dies in hell during the attempt (thus no longer being capable of being a threat). Or would the council have been public with it in order to tarnish his image to the populace?

The thought of being an angel just minding your own business only for Gabriel to suddenly appear waving your boss's severed head before teleporting away without any explanation is kind of funny.

SUCH a good question...honestly both options have their risks and benefits, with the council REALLY putting themselves in a precarious position regardless of gabriel's actions at the end of act ii. if they tell the citizenry, it would likely be as you said with a ton of spin in order to make gabriel seem heretical - they already label him a traitor upon his return from gluttony, and this could be the option that gives them the most control over the narrative. they do risk unrest and dissent in the public due to gabriel's popularity, but it's possible the council had enough control at this point to sway opinion in their favor and the masses would believe their words without question. or at least. maybe they would think they did.

however, i personally think it's equally likely they said nothing about the removal in order to give themselves time to move politically. i think this option ultimately runs a higher risk, since gabriel's death would necessitate explanation, but it does allow them a breathing room to construct their story. because no matter what, i think they're keenly aware that losing gabriel in any capacity has a high potential to make them seem weak or corrupt due to his reputation in heaven. whether they tell them he died, was executed, or fell (all depending on the narrative they want to tell), they lost the archangel gabriel under their rule so SOMETHING will feel off no matter the authority they've managed to build.

what's most important in determining which path they took though imo is how common this practice is - does the council regularly rip light from an angel as punishment, or is this like. highly unethical? i sort of lean toward the latter, that to remove the light from an angel may be under their jurisdiction, but it's considered taboo to actually implement as a punishment given how harsh it is and how...god-like it seems. to end an angel's life without that judgment deriving directly from god himself? it seems power mad and presumptuous especially when done to such a high-ranking angel that has never caused issue for anyone else in heaven. and if they have failed so egregiously, why not simply banish them? cast them out to wander a blighted earth or rot in hell, but to kill an angel? it feels like this could be an overstep in their authority in a sense, so i do tend to favor the idea that the citizens didn't know gabriel's situation.

WHICH YEA....MAKES THE END OF ACT II SOMETHING. but i think there was SOME idea that something strange was happening and it was at least well known that gabriel was being run ragged by the council. he obviously isn't the type to let anything show, but many noted his long absences from heaven and the virtues that accompanied him in hell would tell of how only he stood in the way of the machines - after all, the virtues aren't met before gabriel's defeat in gluttony, so it seems he managed the threat entirely on his own until v1 took him down. but now the machines have made it deeper into hell. and others must have seen gabriel's return from gluttony, battered and broken and covered in blood. and there was no triumph in him then. uneasy whispers must have run through heaven at that time...and i think they were all expecting an explanation from the council to soothe their fears when instead gabriel showed them their heads. as shocking and terrifying as it is, heaven holds still because they see gabriel as the direct opposite of what he was in that messy return from gluttony - he is radiant, he is regal and serene in how he carries himself, yet he is distinctly out of step with everyone else and he makes his own rhythm. he appears not as a crazed demon but as the messenger he always was...and they would do well to listen

#rambled a bit BUT i love the idea that gabriel doing this is a last showing in his role of messenger #he comes with divine wisdom and he delivers it succinctly #he has no words yet makes his message well known #and i think all in heaven instinctively know and see gabriel here as the messenger #and so they listen in that quiet straining to hear what he leaves unsaid #cake answers #gabriel

[bestworstcase]

question: do you think Salem's immortality having an end condition is true? that is, when she was made immortal, it was so that she would 'understand the balance of life and death.' some people are treating it like a typical fairy tale virtue curse- i.e, she will die when she fulfills the condition of "understanding the balance of life and death." i personally believe that it's bullshit. she's just going to be alive, forever, and that's that. your interpretation of things seems to lend itself to this conclusion, cuz I'm pretty sure you've said something about how the gods made her immortal in a way they couldn't take back. as always, sending this just to hear your thoughts! (p.s - do you think she's capable of Ascension? I think she might be, but whether she would do it or not is another question entirely)

yeah i don’t think it’s really a curse in the typical sense. light threw her into the fountain of creation, she drowned, the water’s power revived her and bound to her forever. and then he got sanctimonious about how she needed to learn a lesson.

these two things are connected emotionally but not, i think, mechanically; if light ever intended to make her mortal again i’m certain that the end condition he has in mind was “salem learns her lesson and comes to him to grovel for forgiveness so he can judge whether she deserves to finally die.” look at the way he sets up the ultimatum for humankind! light very much sees himself as an adjudicator. he wants his judgment to be sought and obeyed.

likewise i don’t think “as long as this world turns, you shall walk its face” is a literally true statement (in the sense that salem cannot leave remnant)—first because if this were a truly literal curse then she wouldn’t be able to fly, and second because the verbiage is repeated later when light says that humankind will rise to “walk [the world’s] face” once more, so narratively this is tying salem to the resurrection of humanity itself and tying the ultimatum to salem because it’s ultimately about punishing her continued defiance. “as long as this world turns, you shall walk its face” is a poetic description meant to emphasize the weight of “you cannot die.”

it’s “you will outlive this planet and there is nothing you can do to escape that fate.”

and yeah i have major doubts that the brothers can take it back. like i said, it’s not a curse per se—the fountain of life and creation transformed her just as the pool of grimm did—and the god of light does it to her in a fit of pique. the god of darkness vaporizes her along with everyone else in the end and she just reconstitutes. at this point the god of light is either inventing whole new levels of sunk cost fallacy (it has been MILLIONS OF YEARS and she’s sworn to her defiance!) or he just can’t remove this thorn from his side.

pre-v9 my only real reservation about this line of thinking was that i’m quite sure that part of the narrative resolution will involve salem becoming mortal again, and if not the brothers then…? but as v9 delivered a cosmic force of change deeper and older than the brothers, the brothers being unable to undo it no longer poses a mechanical problem whatsoever.

which is to say that yes, i think if salem found the tree she would be just as capable of ascension as anyone else, and the more salient question is if she would choose to change and how.

as long as the ultimatum is in place, salem has a pressing reason to STAY IMMORTAL, because her immortality is what prevents ozma from immanentizing the eschaton (in which the best case scenario for her realistically is “everybody else is dead and the gods leave again”) and being immortal is the best—really, the only—weapon she has against the brothers. ozma projects his own suicidality onto her; whether salem actually IS suicidal is an open question.

though tbh i think, given the option of ascending, the real dilemma for salem would turn on her isolation and exile rather than her immortality. i’ve touched on this before but one of the main reasons i think she isn’t going to (and shouldn’t) be ‘purified’ as part of her villain -> hero arc is it’s been established pretty overtly that being grimm isn’t what made her evil, rejection and isolation made her desperate enough to embrace being the evil witch in the wilderness. so she needs to be treated like a person before she can be good, and if she has to be ‘purified’ before she can be treated like a person then it means her humanity is contingent on her looking a certain way.

(there’s uhm. a reason the story keeps using the grimm as a symbol for faunus persecution!)

and salem is old enough—and undoubtedly experienced enough persecution when she lived on the fringes of civilization—to grasp that as long as she looks grimm, people are going to see her as a grimm no matter what she does, and if she wants to be treated like a person she’s going to have to bend over backwards to prove her humanity and even that might not be enough. ozma—OZMA, who knew her and loved her before any of this nightmare began, who came back for her and chose to be with her and had children with her—even ozma would not see her as a person; he lied to her and manipulated her throughout their entire marriage and has since decided to pin the blame for all the evils in the world solely on her. is it any wonder that she’s given up?

but, like, the tree could fix that. the tree could take that away. she could be only human again. wouldn’t that be so much easier? to look like a person so she can be treated like one.

only that also really, really sucks for her, because if the only way to get even the possibility of being treated like a person is to ascend, then salem—who she is now, what she is now—fundamentally never had a chance at all and the best she can hope for is that the essence of her will find a new form that other people will judge to be deserving of kindness.

like this is what sets salem (& to an only slightly lesser extent, cinder) apart from most of the villainous cast; to a certain extent her monstrosity is socially enforced by the way other people perceive her, reinforced by thousands of years of ozma’s shadow campaign against her very existence. it’s not that she won’t change—it’s that she can’t change. she can’t make people believe that she’s a person. she can’t make them listen to her. she can’t make anyone care about her. and when she tried she was manipulated into serving the god who did this to her.

it’s blake’s “you could just be a human, or just a cat” trial with the volume dialed up to eleven. it’s “maybe you could be accepted as a person if you shed who you are now to become someone else.” is that an idea salem would ever accept? that she needs to sacrifice who she is in order to mold herself into something other people wouldn’t hate and fear on sight?

(and is that really an idea the tree, universally and unconditionally kind as it is, would let her accept?)

#i’m kind of hoping the heroes will like #try to offer ascension to her #from the mindset that grimm is the problem #bc either she goes OFF #or she does it but pulls a ruby and comes back as herself #( and then goes off ) #and i think both options are very fun

[orcelito]

Oh the interesting thing about writing ITNL is that it's taking a lot of guesswork on my part for what Vash is actually thinking in a lot of these moments. Like, we as readers of the manga are not privy to most of his thoughts. He just kinda Does Shit and we're forced to accept that it happened.

It's like the black box concept. Vash wants to do something -> ????? -> thing is done. We don't see that middle part, a lot of the time. Normal person logistics don't matter for Vash because Vash is not a normal person. He does some Insane Shit and we just have to accept that.

So me writing ITNL, I have to make a lot of inferences based on Vash's general character and what I know about the situations surrounding him. It's a continuous endeavor of filling in that metaphorical black box so that ITNL readers see what Vash is thinking (from my own judgment and perception of him, at least).

And the wonderful thing is that I really can just be like "and then he drops 4 stories down completely unharmed" or "he reads this person's mind and lifts the information from there" etc etc bc it's VASH. We know so little about what plants (especially independent plants) are capable of. So I'm just taking bits of suggested powers and Running With Them. So long as i keep internal consistency, then I can pull the most batshit insane stuff in the name of explaining what exactly is happening inside that black box.

It's fun :'). I enjoy getting to just do whatever tf I want bc Vash is the most ridiculously overpowered character in SUCH a fun way. & it's balanced out by his dedication to harm reduction & attempts to remain covert about not being human, so it doesn't even feel unbalanced, narratively speaking. I Love getting to write him like this.

#speculation nation #itnl shit #trigun #it's like how i take a lot of creative liberties with the p5 metaverse while writing discacc #except it's All The Time for vash. i can go for the highest stakes possible and he'll turn out just fine #NEVER a question of whether he'll survive. that's not the point of the series #the question in trigun is how much shit is gonna be destroyed Around him. how many people can he save? #vash is rarely scared for his own life because he knows he'll end up okay. #what he's truly scared of is how much his presence will hurt those around him. #a kind of double edged sword of luck. he's got the devil's own luck. able to survive basically Anything #but bringing chaos and strife to the people around him. almost as if he's unintentionally leaching their luck for himself. #it's fascinating to me! i love playing around with this character. so many fun things to accomplish...

[beeblackburn]

1, 6, 22 and 31 for the asks? 💖

Thank you, @xserpx!

1. Who is/are your comfort character(s)?

I mean... I'm not sure most of the characters I read/watch are comfort ones in that sense, I think?

FitzChivalry Farseer (Realm of the Elderlings) - He's so stupid, it's almost hilarious. Like, he's a mess, he's a right mess, but I've always found something familiar and comforting in how Fitz navigates his depression, his repressed feelings that spill out into cathartic rage, and yeah, his total fuck-ups, but is capable of still having loved ones, making up for his mistakes, and having a semblance of a life. I don't know, as a fellow depressed person, Fitz gives me a strange hope that life isn't irreversibly broken, no matter the circumstances, even if Hobb's too good a writer to promise an utter happily-ever-after for us.

Stannis Baratheon (A Song of Ice and Fire) - He's also really stupid. This fucking lobster king, so pedantic, teeth-grinding, grudge-gnawing, snappish, and socially awkward. There's a lot of good reasons I latched onto this fool in my teenage years and still find a familiarity to him. That being said, I've always found the man comforting in how... solid he is, past the surface. He's all the above, but he rewards good service, he tries to grow past his grievances, he puts in the work and isn't happy to do it, but he grinds his teeth because someone has to do it. He's a source of stability in an increasingly chaotic narrative.

Sansa Stark (A Song of Ice and Fire) - She used to be so innocent in her outlook, just a child increasingly swept up in the storm of a dark fantasy world's chaos, constantly told she's stupid and foolish for believing in better, and refusing to stoop down to it, despite a Rogues' Gallery of mentors trying to corrupt her towards moral darkness. I'll always take solace in how she keeps such hope and idealism, naïve at first, then fiercely held onto, despite most things that gave her joy now give her nightmares and horrors, still keeping in her heart, All the stories can't be lies.

Legosi (Beastars) - I think it's partly how much I can read neurodivergence in him, but there's some deeply familiar with how much Legosi is a deeply introverted weirdo in his own right. He has his little quirks, he loves to read tragedies, he's got an uncomfortable relationship with his body and self and urges, he fucks up in small and tremendous socially awkward ways, all of which I latch onto. Yet, he is always sincere, he tries to be kindly and meet anyone halfway, even if he's scary and weird by society's definition, and even gets to live a content life after dropping out of high school, as a service worker who enjoys getting to know more experiences past a more societally-acceptable course.

Crown Prince Orso (The Age of Madness) - Yes, even with that trilogy ending. Like, it's Orso! Whenever I read his chapters, I just know I'm in for some depressed thoughts, wry, self-deprecating humor, and him to acknowledge he knows nothing, but by god, he'll try his best. In a world full of traitors, cutthroats, and tyrants, Orso's mostly just a nice, depressed dude who wants to do the right thing, treats those he cherishes with all the affection through the haze of depression, and maybe have a drink or drugs along the way, refreshingly so.

6. Why did you do that?

Honestly, because she probably needed the money more than me, and someone else could also watch really gnarly, sicko movies.

22. What type of person are you?

I mean... a self-deprecating, self-centered, hot-tempered, perfectionistic, paranoid, stubborn, spiteful, envious, petty, grumpy, needy, lazy, and depressed basket case of a person.

On the other hand, I do try to be non-judgmental, thoughtful, generous, curious, loyal, and kind, so.

31. What type of music keeps you grounded?

Judging from my soundcloud's liked songs, I'm drawn to future bass type songs to keep me in that specifically grounded feeling. I've got plenty others I listen to, but a good chunk of songs are meant to give me some ambient noise or enliven me a little in mood.

#weird asks

[pippin-pippout]

Sooooo I decided to pause watching only friends a few episodes ago. As soon as I learned Atom was blackmailing Boston I was out. Because I knew Atom, younger brother to the incredibly self righteous Cheum, would not be held accountable by the narrative.

I was hoping he would be (and Cheum - honestly everyone else has the narrative say something judgmental about their choices but never the girl who constantly puts her friends down in the name of “holding them accountable”).

I thought the show had a good setup, with the characters all coming in with very clear flaws. I wouldn’t have minded a happy ending that had focused on character growth for all of them, whether that ended in relationships or as “only friends.” But from what I’ve heard everyone (except Boston) gets an unrealistically happy ending filled with BL tropes.

And for Boston. I’ve read some excellent posts analyzing Boston and his punishment by the narrative. I am ok if he doesn’t have a happy ending because his friends are not ready to forgive him for some really shitty things he did. But the narrative is responsible for a) making it clear that his bad treatment of his friends is what Boston is being condemned for, and b) that the friends all of their own issues and like in real life, our personal issues mean we can forgive some thing and some people easier than others.

From what I know of the finale, that’s not what happened. Rather, it warped what Boston was being punished for FROM: sleeping with his friend’s boyfriend and recording Mew and Ray and holding that over their heads TO: a condemnation of casual sex and refusal to commit to an exclusive relationship. So much so that when he became the victim of defamation for something that was beyond what even he would do, the narrative did not care to get him justice (or even establish that there was a need for justice to be served). Instead, he deserved it for daring to have casual sex and daring to sleep with someone who was so clearly very willing and even pushy about it.

It’s fine if Boston and Nick don’t get their happy ending. It’s fine if the reason is because Nick wants something exclusive and Boston doesn’t. But the narrative should not be framing this as an ongoing punishment for Boston preferring casual sex over monogamy. It’s fine if Mew doesn’t forgive Boston because his trust was violated and it’s difficult to regain that. It’s not ok if it’s because Mew judges Boston for having casual sex. And even if the narrative decides to go with the second option, it still has a responsibility to show that Mew’s judgmental actions are not ok either.

Audiences are capable of critical thinking. And I want to make it clear that when I say the narrative should do this or should not, it’s not because I think it needs to spell out the good and bad things they did without any layers of gray or nuance. But the narrative is created by people as part of a huge entertainment brand in Thailand that is the leading mainstream source for Queer content there (and in the world at this point??). And like with any narrative, the author’s POV is there.

And that POV comes through clearly - casual sex and non monogamous relationships should be condemned, as should addiction. Judgmental and often cruel responses to those things should be celebrated. Some makes are excusable (like cheating) so long as the character commits to monogamy (the social norm) after as a way to repent. Other mistakes (also cheating) are not forgivable even if the character recognizes it was wrong and apologizes, so long as they continue to enjoy casual sex. This POV is what I personally am not ok with because this brand has the power to influence a lot of people’s perspective on what is considered morally pure. That is especially true when it comes to the relatively recent phenomenon of mainstream queer television.

So I probably won’t finish it. It’ll just piss me off. If any of this post is inaccurate to what happened in the show, feel free to reply. As I’ve said I’ve only been keeping up with it lately through the commentary surrounding each episode. Not watching it myself.

Side note: where was Sand with his bat??? That was from this show’s trailer wasn’t it? That’s what made me want to watch this in the beginning!

#ofts #only friends the series #ofts spoilers