#and why would she want to fit into such conditional acceptance etc (even though it is Easy and she is Tired)

[rustedskyprisms]

I am so, so sorry for ever internalizing, believing, and parroting that “if you talk about having trouble connecting to a lot of other women, you must hate them/want male approval” mentality. But that was when I was a teenager and really heavily influenced by tumblr shit. But I’m saying I’m sorry because that’s such bullshit. You cannot simplify someone’s personal problems and experiences like that. And the idea that this always connects back to men, or wanting their approval, or that you’re just “not supportive of other women” is stupid.

And it’s funny that I held that belief when it’s a sentiment I myself can relate to. And it has nothing to do with “seeing women as a monolith”, “getting along better with men”, or whatever. So that’s what I’m saying.

But also, this shit about “a woman with no female friends is a red flag”-I genuinely think it’s very weird to say things like that if you do not know the person in question. If anyone sees women as a monolith, it’s you. To you, the only reason a woman would ever hang out with men is because she values them more, or wants their approval. Are you projecting? Yeah, there totally are women who are super annoying and hate other women; this post is obviously not about them.

Also, I don’t think you can go on about how rough gender roles are for women, and then fail to understand that, if a woman doesn’t fit those roles, really, any “acceptable” roles or ideals in society, yeah, there’s probably going to be a disconnect there.

I just hate how women get simplified. “All women have experienced this”, “all women can relate to this”. Because yeah, I cannot relate to most of those experiences, but if you say that, then you’re making shit about yourself. But you’re literally making blanket statements. Also, I just love when people imply that all women know what It’s like to have female friends they can rely on. Because….yeah. That is not everyone’s experience.

I’m just going to say it though, I think one of the reasons I got so into online spaces that were dominated by women for a while was because I wanted to fit in. There was like a weird thing there, that connects to me really struggling irl with this-I can’t articulate it right now. Maybe one day I’ll figure it out.

I feel like I’m stirring up a hornet’s nest any time I even discuss this subject. So yeah I usually don’t even say anything. And that actually bothers me because I do think it’s important to talk about this stuff. It’s not always what you think. Like I really do believe that before you jump into getting angry, or taking something like that personally, you should ask the other woman why she’s saying that/feels that way. And if you get some response like “guys are less drama/are funnier/cooler/etc”……okay yeah then that’s the type of person who is a complete idiot. If you get a very in depth, personal explanation, even if you disagree with it, I still think you should hear them out. Especially if you yourself are always going on about how women should support each other.

I don’t know, it’s just bizarre to me how so many adults cannot grasp that this stuff is complicated, and very, very heavily influenced by societal rules/expectations. I’d throw in how attractive you’re considered too, but uh, yeah I’m not touching that with a ten foot pole. This really articulates a lot though, in my experience: “There are feminist circles made up mostly of women who have never had a problem with being accepted by other women, and their ideas about how girls and women treat each other are very influential. The things is that they don’t realize that how other women treat them and how other girls treated them growing up isn’t universal. They’re unaware that they aren’t accepted just because they’re women but because they’re able to check off a number of conditions that signal to other women that they “belong.” One of the more important conditions is being able to do femininity the right way. They’re unaware that there’s a huge difference between women who can do femininity the right way and choose to subvert it for feminist reasons versus women who can’t do it the right way at all, and that difference has a huge impact on how other women treat you. A lot of these women are probably well intentioned, but that doesn’t make it okay that their viewpoints, which erase women who are marginalized in ways they aren’t, have become so mainstream.”

I have experienced this firsthand. These were almost always the exact women in these online spaces. Your experiences are not universal. Stop thinking they are and projecting that on to other people. And that’s one of the biggest reasons I left-it became very clear to me that there is a “right way” to go about or experience things to a lot of these people. I feel very out of place in a lot of feminist spaces, but I feel like you just cannot say shit like that. You must have internalized misogyny if you do, right?

[riallasheng]

Happy holidays!! I hope you had a greay day 🫶

If you don't mind me asking, what are your headcannons of the Tracy boys, or Thunderbirds in general?

Happy Holidays, hope you have a great day as well, and a kind year to follow ^^

ohhhh, so many. XD

Granted, a lot of my headcanons are more me taking elements from one continuity / variation (like from the novels, or comments from the creators, etc) and applying it to The-hodge-Podge-Mostly-Based-On-The-Novels-And-Comics that it my ficverse XD

Also a lot of headcanons and cherrycanons to make the various Supermation shows fit more cohesively together as a whole (characters having past interactions, changing up parents or kin a bit, etc. And not always the way one would expect - for example I've got it where Gordon never really knew Troy which is the common headcanon in fandom but instead it's Scott that knows Troy, via a pre-existing friendship Scott had with Phones. ...Cause the 5 year age gap between Troy and Gordon is actually REALLY BIG in terms of officer training at the WASP Academy, plus the fact that Gordon was apparently on Bathyscapes while Troy was Combat Subs. BUT I also have it where Gordon knows Holden / Captain Grey and Fisher - having it where those two served on the same boats he did.)

hmmm, let's see what are some fun ones...

....

Okay, I actually went over the word count limit before I even finished The youngest 4 characters, let alone the Thunderbirds and IR... XD

I'mma just link to my Timelines, as I've got all my headcanons for the characters and plotting and stuff in it.

Link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Adw1Cx1dLIzG4TfMKCm_953pjiFk_7xn?usp=share_link

but some small headcanons to put here:

The Thunderbirds are numbered in order of construction completion / first time used on a rescue

What makes a rescue craft a Thunderbird is nothing more or less than the fact that it's the personal craft of one of the active rescue personnel. That's why 4 is a Thunderbird, even though she's technically / would otherwise be a pod vehicle.

TinTin designed the Mole and if / when she switches from Support to Active Rescue then the Mole would be reclassed into a Thunderbird. (the same applies to the Firefly, which was the craft that Brains considers to be 'his personal' craft

Grandma Tracy gets her confirmation name and Maiden surname from Joan Hughes, stunt pilot for Thunderbird 6 and actually a rather amazing woman just on her own. Her Maiden Name of Hughes also does double duty of tributing Howard Hughes, famous aircraft designer and business man Like the real Joan Hughes, Ruth was a pilot from the age of 15, and was one of the first people accepted into the World Air Force, and served as a ferry pilot (ferrying / flying aircraft all over the world), flying everything from fighter craft, to scout craft, to bombers. Much of her 'Globe Trotting' was done during this time, and she served (in her mid 40s) in the first Global War in the 2020s-2030s. Ruth was a stunt pilot in her youth, and quite skilled at flying both modern stunt-planes and vintage planes. Her pride and joy was a vintage Tiger Moth, which she kept in pristine condition and taught all of the boys (and TinTin) to fly, and is indeed the first aircraft Jeff flew when he was young. It was brought over to Tracy Island alongside the rest of Ruth's personal effects, and has a pride of place in the 'Operation: Coverup' hanger. While Ruth doesn't trust herself to still fly the plane (or any plane really, due to vision problems and arthritis) the Tiger Moth is still flown on occasion, and Ruth has (living)willed it to Alan, and gave it to him as his 21st birthday present, who adores the craft and flies it the most often out of anyone.

This one is less a headcanon and more a frightening fact that hails from two facts about Thunderbird 1 that I just really want some characters to realize and freak out over in a story XD She can reach speeds of over Mach 19 She carries high density spears Combine those two facts... and Thunderbird 1 is capable of precision K-STRIKES.

#kynee #thunderbirds #headcanons #seriously I started putting my headcanons from my timeline in #and before I even finished #I went WAY over the word count #and went #oh #okay #um #alright #LINK TIME #XD #Autism oversharing and hyperfixation means I have WAY TO MANY WORDS

[takasgf]

Acrostic f/o game my beloved

Answers for Rocky under the cut!!

R - Rainbow - what colors do you associate with them and why?

Simple question, simple answer : orange and blue! They are the colors he wears most and I naturally started to associate them with him. Also, he looks really adorable in both <33

O - Online - what is your f/o’s social media presence like, or what would it be like if they had internet in their world/era?

I really don't think social media would be part of his life at all, it just doesnt fit with his character. Probably uses the internet to scam people or for business reasons, but not as entertainment. Still, Morgen always sends him cute cat videos that remind her of him or their relationship (he appreciates the gesture, but he does not like cats OR being compared to one)

C - Confession - which of you admitted romantic interest in the other first (if they’re the flirty type, when did they admit they were really serious about the other?) how did they do it? what was the reaction?

Aw man. The simple questions are over I guess. I want to keep my detailed answer for later, but for the sake of answering, R.ocket is the one who confesses to Morgen, some time after the events of I.nfinity War. At that point they would have known each other for 7 years. Morgen developed a crush on him 3-4 years after their initial meeting (just a bit after/during Vol2) and he came to terms with his own feelings (he was in DENIAL) a few months before he actually confessed. I will elaborate later bc im embarassed and this feels like important information

K - Kiss - give us any kiss headcanon you want. description, reason, location, who initiates it, etc.

EEEEK!!!!! Morgen gives him goodnight forehead kisses always, even before they became a couple. This is big because R.ocket is very distant and grumpy when it comes to affection, but allows this, to somewhat show Morgen that he is more comfortable with her than with other people. On the condition that she doesnt tell anyone or make a big deal out of it, ehehe

E - Emotion - is your f/o open with their feelings or do they keep them close to their chest?

He's got "emotionalistical issues" !! Does not open up at all, especially about his past, not even to Morgen. Over time he gets more comfortable showing her that he loves her and allowing her to take care of him, but directly adressing his emotions in general, his fears and worries is almost impossible to him. If he ever does, he doesnt even take himself seriously and assumes neither do his friends. Morgen is able to approach him by noticing the subtle ways he expresses himself, the hidden meanings behind his snarky remarks and jokes, and his non verbal manners. He won't talk about it. Morgen accepts that, and still tries to help and support him, as much as he allows her to.

T - Teach - what skills of theirs would they teach you? what would you teach them?

Not me, but my s/i. He helps her improve her weapon building skills and he teaches her math!! Morgen has very little math knowledge for a person her age, due to being homeschooled and living in a very controlled environment. All her other skills she mastered "by eye" (i cannot remember the exact expression for the life of me; she just guesses/approximates i mean) which is impressive, but she could use a general knowledge of the subject. He is very patient with her. When it comes to R.ocket learning from Morgen, he jokingly suggests that she teaches him to play the piano - obviously she takes it seriously and shows him how to play from time to time. He is truthfully not very interested in it, he prefers to hear her play, but lets her teach him anyways, when he's not busy with anything else or to cheer her up. This isnt exactly a skill but he consequently learned a ton of bug facts from her, not because he wanted to, but Morgen never shuts up about it and he had to accept that. He's come to really enjoy hearing her ramble about insects though, and all the reasons she finds them endearing. He doesnt want to admit it, but he's absolutely in love with her quirkiness and all of her excentric manners and interests - he thinks its both funny and adorable.

＼(*T▽T*)／

#ratonel🦝🧡 #morgen🍰

[piepeloe]

She-Hulk S1E1

I truly enjoyed that! Probably more than I expected I would. it's not perfect, I have some quibbles, but the humor works and I like Jen.

This got long and potentially spoiler-y, so here's a cut

I was mainly interested because of Bruce as he's one of my favorite MCU characters. I'm glad the show confirmed my theory that Smart Hulk is the two identities (Bruce & Hulk) merged, and not just Bruce in the Hulk's body. Because, yeah, Smart Hulk does not act like Bruce would IMO.

They improved on both Bruce and Smart Hulk by no longer making them caricatures. But I do still prefer OG Bruce, so I was a bit disappointed we only got 2min of him.

FYI: the merger of both is the only way I can ever accept the brawl at the end, so I don't care if they retcon it later. That fight between the cousins was the low-points of the ep, though I get they couldn't not have the Hulks fighting. Ugh.

Also glad to have nods to Bruce's trauma, to all the work he did to manage his condition, to how it affected his life. But even more so: they finally hinted at some form of DID, how there's 'more than just his hands on the wheel'

It's why I don't mind that Jen is 'better' than he is: she became a Hulk in a different way, she's apparently genetically different, she has a stable life and experience with yoga and the like (compared to Bruce being on the run), she knows someone who's been through it before and can learn from him, etc.

The only thing that annoyed me was the idea that being a woman magically primes you for being a Hulk. The only reason they could pull that off was because the MCU never established that Bruce had an abusive childhood the way the comics did.

I liked the mention of Tony and their friendship. The franchise has memorialized him a couple of times, but this was the first time it was just a friend reminiscing and not talk of a heroic sacrifice or something. I wish we could have gotten this in FATWS for Steve, instead it was all about 'Cap's legacy'.

I do not get why people are freaking out about Cap and his virginity. It's inappropriate, but people do ask stuff like that about celebrities. Also, if it doesn't fit your headcanon: maybe Bruce lied? She was crying when he said it. Or Steve lied? Why would he tell any of the Avengers anything like that anyway?

I laughed at the mention of the lullaby. I'm sorry, but 'how did that work?', that's hilarious.

Finally, yeah it is starting to look like maybe some kind of World War Hulk storyline is coming. I haven't read it but apparently it's great. It sounds like they'd have to alter it a lot for the MCU though and I can't say I'd want to see the original? I muss Bruce and Hulk from the 1st Avengers movie.

Tbh, I do think we'll only have a sense of what the show will be like starting from the next ep. This was just the origin and training, we haven't seen Jen's life yet. The credits listed Ruffalo as a special guest star, so I doubt he'll be in every ep which might be for the best in the end.

#she hulk #spoilers #she hulk spoilers #bruce banner #smart hulk

[literatikoo]

Lane Kim deserved better

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I would only write Lane Kim meta when I am very very angry because I need to be powered by spite and petty energy to unravel exactly how much of a disservice this show was to Lane and by extension any Asian kid with a similar life. And, well, it's happening now, so buckle up kids, this is going to be a loooong ride because I have a lot to say.

Before we start on the negative aspects, the show got a lot of things about Lane right, which is why I care so much about her character. Yes, ASP obviously didn't know how to write a POC experience and it's seen in the way some very harmful stereotypes were propagated (the tiger mom trope, Mrs Kim's religious beliefs, the depiction of the Kim extended family etc) but at the same time Lane was beautifully written as a character, unlike her plot which left much to be desired. Lane Kim was an Asian girl with rock n roll dreams who had an extremely fraught relationship with her mother and had to fight for even a semblance of independence. And I hate to say it but a lot of daughters of Asian households are forced to hide a part of themselves from their families, so Lane's story was authentic.

Not only was Lane amazing as an individual, she was also a great friend. She was the only one who was really in Rory's corner; she never judged her and supported all of Rory's relationships (my favourite example of this is when she barely tolerated Jess in S2/3 and then did a complete 180 like 5 episodes later, all because Rory decided to finally accept she liked him). Lane never pointed out what Rory was doing wrong not because she was afraid of doing so but because the two of them had been friends for years and Lane believed that Rory would figure it out one day. Lane shows this unconditional kindness not only to Rory but to everyone. She takes in her Korean cousin and teaches her to have fun even when she's afraid that Mrs Kim has replaced her, she lets Gil be in the band because she empathises with him, she takes care of the band and prevents it from breaking up multiple times. And these are only a few examples of Lane being the kindest character on GG.

One of the best things in Gilmore Girls is that the most unproblematic, amazing guy is given to Lane. Dave Rygalski is the best love interest on the show hands down (Sorry to my boy Jess but Dave was LEAGUES ahead of him at 17) and Lane definitely deserved someone like that. Their story was adorable and I would have loved for them to be endgame. However, what grates me is that when I see people talking about Lane "deserving better," it's usually about Dave vs Zach. When Lane actually deserved better as a WHOLE and not only in terms of love interests. I always thought it made more sense for her to end up alone at the end of the og series. Because Lane was a person who craved independence and she was not going to get that while tied to some guy (even if that guy is boyfriend extraordinaire, Dave Rygalski). It's even worse when we see that Lane is the only female character on the show to be treated this way. Rory rejects marriage for her career while Lane ends up with marriage as her storyline. Lorelai and Luke get back together but their relationship is still left open ended, though arguably it would've made more sense if they got married when Lane and Zach did. Paris gets into Harvard Medical school and gets a great relationship, similarly Sookie gets the family she wanted and continues to be amazing at her job. But Lane... god Lane is the only one without an open ending, without any space for speculation of where her life might lead her. Not only did they marry her off, they also gave her a terrible first time and twins, effectively locking her to Stars Hollow. The show even cut down all hope of her being a rock n roll mom as one of her S7 storylines is choosing the kids over going on tour with Zach. She doesn't get to be her own person for more than ONE season; she's stuck with being a daughter and then a wife and then a mother.

Something else that angers me about Lane's storyline is that we never really get to see how badly her relationship with her mom affects her. Don't get me wrong, I adore Mrs Kim's redemption arc and I think it was beautifully juxtaposed to Lorelai and Rory's crumbling relationship, but having a mother like that is hard. Not only did Lane have to hide 90% of her personality from Mrs Kim but she also lived with the fact that one day she might have to choose between her dreams and her mother. In the end, Mrs Kim makes that choice for her and deals with it by kicking Lane out in S4, and yet we never really see how that negatively affects Lane. Hell, Jess acts like a broody teen for two seasons, Rory wastes six months of her life away at the DAR and they both come out of it successfully. Lane gets kicked out, figures out her own living conditions, gets a job, works insanely hard for her band and... ends up having to give her dreams up completely.

Lane and Paris shared a lot of similarities too, even if they both had different friendships with Rory. They both came from terrible families and looked to Lorelai as a mother figure, they both cared deeply for Rory, and they were both incredibly passionate about their careers. Paris made calendars and flashcards and went crazy studying for both pre med and pre law. Lane was a walking, talking music encyclopaedia, she bought CDs obsessively and organised them by genre under her floorboards, she taught herself to play the drums and then found a band to play for. And yet... only Paris becomes successful in the end, whereas Lane takes over Kim's antiques. Lane was still a musician in AYITL and she can be rock n roll even with kids but this is all hypothetical and we never see it on the show.

There is a lot of terrible, lazy writing on the show and a lot of characters get ruined because of it but with Lane, her character stays the same, they just ruin everything else for her. I think she'll be an amazing mom and will probably make her best out of doing music casually. But the writers also took something so special and destroyed it just because Lane stopped being as important to the plot as she was in seasons 1-3. Lane and Rory drifting a little after Rory leaves for Yale makes perfect sense, that's just how relationships are, always changing. And yet as Lane's importance to Rory decreased so did her importance to the writers.

Lane wasn't the kind of character that needed character development or a redeeming character arc- she was never a bad person and nothing about her had to be fixed, unlike Jess or even Paris. All she really needed was for her dreams to come true because for the first 4 seasons her dreams were the biggest fixture of her personality. Like how Jess needed to overcome his trauma and Rory needed to figure out where she fit in and Paris needed to become a girlboss, Lane needed to realise her dreams because that's where her arc was leading her. But it just didn't happen. Instead, Lane becomes 2-dimensional; a large part of her screentime is taken up by Zach problems, her dreams fall flat and she becomes tied to Stars Hollow for the rest of her life. Not to mention we see less of Lane in favour of Logan and the dickhead posse.

This is not me hating on all the other characters I've mentioned in this meta, I'm just pointing out the lack of respect the writers have for Lane in comparison to all these other people who fulfilled the role they were made for. Why would you write Lane to have all these dreams and make her struggle so hard for 4 seasons just to smash them to pieces? And why is it that one of the only POC characters on this show is treated like this?

And you can't tell me the writers didn't know what they were doing, not when this is a direct quote from Lane in S7:

"It was such a small window -- a peephole, really. For years, I was this repressed kid, and then there was the briefest of windows. And then -- slam. All of a sudden, I'm this overburdened mother. I barely got to do it, Zach. I barely got the chance to be a person."

#gilmore girls #gilmore girls meta #lane kim #lane kim meta #mrs kim #rory gilmore #jess mariano #lorelai gilmore #paris geller #lane x dave #amy sherman palladino #anti lane x zach #anti zach van gerbig #in the end paris and rory got a lot of their opportunities because they are rich privileged white women #and if lane got opportunities like that she would’ve grown wildly successful #i always saw paris as a raging lesbian #and yet!! her and doyle's divorce meant less to me than zach and lane's

[wehavebiggerproblems]

Fallout 4 Random Companion Headcanons

Wrote these a few years ago, too nervous then to share them.

Ada

-Ada was built in 2268. She's about 21 years old.

-Her first memory is of seeing The Mechanist in front of her. Then she watched as The Mechanist removed their head and smiled.

-She's Isabel's first project. 

-Her voice was originally supposed to be more synthesized and robotic, but the more human sound was easier for Isabel to work with.

-Ada prefers to travels in groups with 3-4 people, knowing fully well a robot is a higher target for scavvers.

- Her base body was constructed from many different trial runs of the "ADA" project.

-She's programmed to remain indifferent but the nagging voice in her programming says to do good things in order to to aid other people.

-Ada appreciates the effort Sole goes through to upgrade her body. She doesn't think it's necessary and she's somewhat sentimental about her original form.

-She finds Codsworth's attachment to Sole strange. Almost too human, those Mr. Handy's.

Cait

-Cait loves baths. Bubble baths with bath bombs and even a little rubber ducky. Only Sole knows this.

-The rubber ducky's name is Codsworth. Will not explain why.

-Can fire a rifle over her shoulder behind her. (Annie Oakley style)

-Hates Jazz music. Says it's too slow and calm. Really dislikes it because she's uncomfortable slow dancing with anyone.

-Allergic to feathers. Rad chickens make her sick to be around.

-But once the feathers are removed, the chicken has been cut up, and cooked with some veggies and a loaf of bread, loves it.

-Chicken soup is her favourite dish. Only likes Sole's chicken soup though. Will not eat anyone else’s.

-Shot put would be her favourite sport. Throwing a heavy metal sphere a very long distance is goals.

Codsworth

-Codsworth can speak 8 languages. Including: English, Spanish, French, Japanese, German, Italian, Polish, and Swedish.

-Can recognize almost every written language and translate but lacks the programming to speak every one.

-Nate/Nora got him two years before Shaun was born.

-Sole did minimal repair work on him, and offered to polish him every time he got a dent or scratch.

-He always accepted the polish offer. Very wary of Sole doing factory repairs on him. Would prefer professionals doing the delicate work.

-Always celebrated Nate/Nora and Sole’s respective birthdays. For 200 years.

-When Sole called him "Family", he felt an odd electric pulse through his core processor. He decided to call it a skipped heart beat.

-Calls synth Shaun "Sonny", and "Young Master Shaun".

-Makes Sole's favourite meal when they come back home from Vault 111.

-Will ask to take over if he catches Sole doing chores.

-Hesitates when he has to bring up Sole's spouse knowing it's a touchy subject.

-His favourite friend of Sole's is Nick. Thinks Nick is a good role model for synth Shaun.

Curie

-Curie, like Codsworth can speak 8 languages. However, after becoming a synth, she can only speak about 4.

-Curie loves the feeling of velvet. Collects pieces of velvet clothing. 

-Once wore a velvet cape around because she loved the way it draped over her shoulders and fluttered when she walked.

-Has sensory phases. Music, nice noises, soft materials, different foods, perfumes, etc. Collects whatever makes her senses happy.

-During the "feeling phase" her favourite feeling was holding Sole's hand. Loved running her hand over the surface of water. And velvet.

-Talks out what her feelings are with Piper. Piper explains to her what the "spin spin spin" in her head meant.

-Favourite smell is fresh baked bread. Bakes bread with Mama Murphy every weekend.

-Favourite sweet food is mutfruit pie. Will badger Piper to make it with her.

-Curie's motor functions are still new. Sometimes she misses what she was trying to grab and fumbles.

Danse

-Danse is a horrid mechanic. You'd think spending time in the BoS and dedicating time to auto repair with Ingram. Can't put a toaster together.

-But Power Armor is a piece of cake. Can't do much with pre-war tech, yet fixing power armor is as easy as making breakfast.

-Like all gen 3 synths, he loves Fancy Lad snack cakes. He'd share whatever box he'd find with the squires around the Prydwen.

-Scribe Haylen would volunteer to work alongside Danse on all his scouting missions.

-Danse found out Deacon was the one who stuck the dildo to his power armor. He made sure Deacon's wigs were the same bright purple color the very next day.

-Loves country music. When a traveling courier stops by and shares their western/country music, he actually dances. 

-Has a heart for kids. Even Billy. 

-Leg bouncing habit. Can't bounce his leg in power armor but as soon as he's out, his leg's jittering.

Deacon

-Deacon is in his late 40's. 

-Did not lie about his wife and the University Point Deathclaws.

-Enjoys learning about Pre-war culture, spends free time with ghouls asking them about the past.

-Sole can fool him easily about prewar facts though. 

-Has incredible luck with the pie claw game. Has won 8 times while traveling with Sole.

-Loves making silly bets. "I bet I can skip this plate across the lake at least 1 time." Proceeds to throw the plate at the water horizontally. 

-Doesn't hate Danse. He will pull pranks on him though. Once stuck a dildo on the back of Danse's power armour. 

-His hair grows quickly so he has to shave every day.

-Shaves his head, isn't bald. Shaved head works better with his pompadour wig. 

-Doesn't like mutfruit. Says it's too acidic and hurts his gums.

-Has a rifle-shaped scar on his forearm. Will tell a different story for it every time.

-Once drank a dozen Nuka Cola Quantums on a dare. His pee glowed for a week.

-Tried going vegetarian once. ONCE. Found out being vegetarian means eating no meat or dairy products. Had to have Sole explain that, while gross, radroach could technically be  considered meat.

-Is kinda clumsy. Always bumps into counter edges and stubs his toes on bits of debris.

-Doesn't lie about his family. And when Sole calls him family, promises to never lie about family again.

Gage

-Gage juggled skii balls to entertain the last Overboss, Colter.

-He enjoys small shooting competitions with MacCready, Sole, and X6. All four are sharp shooters.

-Fastest learner. Spent an entire week learning how to cook Sole's old recipes. He can cook them better than anyone with the exception of Codsworth.

-Hums when he works. 

-Had a one night stand with Nisha. Ended so bad, he avoids that area of the park at all costs.

-Hates cats. Had an awful run in with a rad lion. Radiated Mountain Lion that tore a scar deep down his back. 

-Does routine maintenance on the rides in the park. He knows how everything works there. From social hierarchy - to the intricacies of the Vault Tec: Among the Stars ride.

-His favourite flavour of Nuka Cola is Nuka Cola Victory. Rare to find but easily the best.

-Record farthest shot is a bean can from 410 meters. 

-He's a lightweight. Only two beers and he's buzzed enough to sing along with Red-Eye.

-Will tell a different story every time if anyone asks about the eye patch.

Hancock

-Hancock is a history buff. Loves learning about colonial era civilization. 

-Has spent days with Kent Connolly researching Silver Shroud information. He knows more about the Silver Shroud than any other companion.

-Has had a fling with every person in Goodneighbor at least once. Even Kleo. 

-At least in a sexual way, he is extremely open minded. Welcomes new experiences and new information given anywhere anytime.

-Had a decent childhood with his brother. He remembers tending to the mutfruit trees with him and eating every other piece they picked.

-Adores pickles. Would sit and eat an entire jar of pickles just because he loves the cronch so much.

-All time favourite chem is Mentats. Loves making intellectual jokes while high as a kite.

-Does not know what a lot of pre-war expressions mean, but enjoys saying them and hearing them from Sole.

-Is a master at repairing clothing. How else does the frock stay in such good condition? He tends to it every night.

-As far as euphemisms for ghouls go, he likes "beef jerky".

Longfellow

-Longfellow met Hannah while out hunting. She blasted a trapper's head clean off, and he fell harder than the trapper's body.

-He spent his youth training, hoping to become a Brotherhood soldier one day.

-And then he met a vertibird full of them. They called Far Harbor a dump while gathering supplies there. Officially decided to cease all training.

-Managed to take down 17 Mirelurks in 3 minutes. 

-Holds the record in Acadia for alcohol consumption. All records involving alcohol consumption.

-He's really fit? Longfellow could and has bench pressed Sole. 

-He only did so because Hancock and MacCready wouldn't shut up about it.

-Loves singing old shanty songs and dancing with Sole. Only when no one else is around though.

-After the events at Far Harbor, he decides to go sailing along the coast. Wants to see the world more.

MacCready

-MacCready does brush his teeth. He brushes his teeth regularly. He started brushing after he left Little Lamplight. By that point the damage was already done.

-Lucy was the one to convince him to brush his teeth.

-He can't stand the smell of lavender. Lavender candles, lavender lotion, etc...makes him feel  nauseous.

-He named his sniper rifle, "Lucy"

-Won't drink brahmin milk with cereal even to Sole's encouragement.

-Is very well read. Vault 87 had many educational textbooks hidden among the super mutants.

-MacCready was the longest lasting mayor in L.L. He was mayor for 6 years.

-He has no idea what television is and is afraid to ask any pre-wars about it.

-Wary of all ghouls, both feral and normal. He's not bias to non-ferals, but he is a little uncomfortable.

-Had a crush on Lone Wanderer when they first visited L.L. Mac told Joseph and he made fun of him.

Nick

-Nick has an oral fixation. Smokes out of habit and having the familiar feeling of a cigarette between his lips feeds into human nostalgia.

-His right hand is missing skin because he fidgets only his right. Whether it was picking at the fraying plastic or rubbing the fake skin raw.

-He lost the chunk of neck skin after Myrna accused him of working for the Institute. Tore off a chunk to prove he wasn't a perfect person or an infiltrator synth.

-Ellie was the first person in Diamond City to wholly accept Nick as he is. She asked to work with him as soon as he decided to stay.

-Piper and Nick have jam sessions where they have heavy debates about Diamond City law enforcement and criminal misuse of power in the capitalistic society of pre-war USA.

-Met Dogmeat under an overpass. He handed the dog a snack cake and scratched his head. They've been close pals ever since.

-Will "sleep" around Sole. He'll lay down and manually put himself into "sleep mode". Any unnecessary functions will shut down. He lets his thoughts take over. All Sole hears is the faintest fan whir.

Piper

-Piper plans Sole's 211th birthday. She goes all out, collects balloons, bakes several cakes with Codsworth, makes everyone attend and threatens anyone who would act up. "It's Blue's first birthday out here, you WILL behave!"

-Knows how to make mutfruit preserves, mutfruit pie, mutfruit jam and jelly. Makes it for Nat constantly.

-Has a notebook dedicated to little tidbits of info about Sole.

-Nat is exactly 8 years, 5 months, and 25 days younger than Piper. 

-Piper has interviewed every person in Diamond City. Made a game of it with Nat at first, then she just kept going with it.

-Piper has awful shorthand. Almost as bad as Curie's shorthand. Still illegible. 

-Piper's handwriting is so bad, Nat does the writing for the paper. Piper writes the final draft and Nat copies it, and sends it through the printing press.

-Despite bad handwriting, Piper is very eloquent. Can make a super mutant sound like good date idea or convince anyone how the mayor might actually be a synth.

-Her favourite of Sole's friends is Kent Connolly. Would gladly dress up and act out Silver Shroud episodes with him and Sole.

Preston

-Preston has insomnia. Cannot sleep well. Has had insomnia since Quincy. 

-Can sleep well if he's sleeping beside someone.

-Has a box under his bed of little knick-knacks children have given him over the years. Can't bear to get rid of the kid's gifts.

-He actually likes all of Sole's friends. Even Strong.

-Hates coconut. Once found an Almond-Joy while scaving and couldn't finish it to save his life.

-All time favourite candy is Peanut Brittle. Hard to find but gnawing on the hard chunks is somewhat soothing to him.

-Loves back rubs. Giving and receiving but only from close friends or lovers.

-Once accidently drank a bottle of perfume. MacCready told him it was a bottle of fancy expensive wine. 

-Sturges and Preston are the closest of friends, no less maybe more.

Strong

-Strong knows how to jump rope.

-But double dutch is a mystery.

-Before Sole, he only ate meat raw. Sole taught him how to cook it.

-Also lacks patience to cook, but slowly learning.

-Strong was created in Vault 87 after the bombs dropped but remembers nothing from being human.

-Doesn't understand bubblegum. Will always swallow it after a few seconds of chewing.

-Likes having poetry and plays read to him. 

-Sleeps holding Sole or having Sole laying across his stomach. 

-Loves fire. The smell, the feeling of heat against his hardened skin, the taste of charred meat, and watching the embers fly up and turn to ash.

-Strong can read, but chooses not to because super mutants discourage any educational behavior. 

-Likes the sound of clacking keys on a terminal. He'll turn one on and mess around with the keyboard just to hear the different sounds each key makes.

-He can't decide if hand-to-hand combat is better than using guns.

X6-88

-X6 doesn't like using plasma. He thinks the plasma is less accurate. 

-But laser weapons are his jam.

-Spends excessive amount of time augmenting his weapon. 

-If Sole helped, he would be "happy". Would never say it, but a tiny smirk would pop up on his face for half a second.

-Will collect Fancy Lad Snack Cakes. Hoards them in his bedroom in Sanctuary and in the Institute. 

-Sole found his stash and X6 blushed for the first time when they confronted him. 

-He called Sole "Mom" instead of Ma'am once. She won't let him live it down.

-He called Sole "Dad" after hearing Shaun call him "Dad" all day. He won't let him live it down.

-Actually likes kids. Won't show emotions, get down to their level, or speak to kids. But he doesn't hate children. 

-Especially likes synth Shaun. He taught synth Shaun how to use a laser pistol. Shaun found out and put X6 on probation for a month.

Bonus Vault Tec Rep and Kent Connolly under the cut.

Vault Tec Rep

-Rep spent a couple decades learning how to draw. Loves drawing from life. Mostly draws people. Occasionally draws ferals, mutants, and various animals.

-Was engaged before the war, lasted about 2 years before she died of cancer.

-His favorite food was and still is a well grilled medium rare steak.

-A total neat freak. Every space he uses as a homestead has to be thoroughly cleaned of any bacteria, ticks, dust, dirt, radiation residue, etc

-Teased in school for his red hair. "Rusty" was his least favorite nickname.

-He's extremely susceptible to pet names. Doesn't have to be anything sexual or romantic, just pet names. He blushes like a starstruck starlet.

-Loves love. Romance and old-timey corny love stories. He like to woo his partner. Flowers, chocolate, dancing, movie dates, hand written poems, you name it. 

-He misses his old red hair. Years of being a brunette and he's a little bitter about his hair.

-Least favourite part of The Wasteland is amount of bodies he sees on a daily basis. He saw about zero bodies a day on average before the war. Even in Goodneighbor, the average has risen to about 4 bodies a week. 

-Favourite part of The Wasteland is the ability to just go anywhere. After realizing he didn't have any obligation to stay any specific place, he just traveled around for a few decades.

-His father worked for Vault-Tec, and when he graduated high school, he was given a job immediately. 

-Didn't hate it. Didn't love it at first, but he had a real knack for selling.

-He never had an office in Boston HQ. He got the van, and got a sweet bonus for being top salesman, but never his own office. 

-Despite being top salesman, he was only allowed on the first and second floors. He didn't find out till after the bombs dropped that the basement and third floor up had the plans for the various vaults in the area.

-He can't apologize enough to Sole. After thinking on it and checking out vault 111 by himself, he truly feels sorry for what happened.

-Sole gets him a set of steak knives for Christmas. They're homemade by Sole. They tell him he's earned far more than a knife set, but if that's what he's pining for...

-He treasures it so much, he rarely uses them. Just before he leaves for work in the morning, he checks them over and admires them.

-He and Sole have spent days just telling each other pre war stories. He almost knows more about Sole than Piper does. And he's a little proud of that fact.

-He gets along best with, of all people, Deacon. Good sense of humour and always interested in pre-war info.

-Second best is Piper. A nice lady who snoops too much, but does treat everyone with respect and tries to remain unbiased.

Kent Connolly

-Kent was 23 when the bombs dropped.

-He was sleeping in on the Saturday morning when he heard the air raid sirens.

-Hid in his house's basement till the sirens stopped. 

-And then the radiation sickness took over. 

-It took him about 3 months to turn ghoulish. Quicker than most. 

-He dislikes Goodneighbor - the town as a whole. The people are fine, the resources are serviceable, and the safety assured is nice. But he hates how back alley it feels.

-Misses his family the most. They weren't the best, but they made him feel loved and important.

-Speaking of which, Kent had a huge family. I'm talking brothers, sisters, cousins for days, aunts, uncles...he remembers family reunions as huge gatherings chock full of food and kids running amuck.

-Maybe, just maybe, he enjoys seeing Sole all dressed like Shroud a little too much. He's a big fan.

-Once spent 4 grand on a mint condition Issue no. 3 Silver Shroud comic just to find out it was a forgery. Never got that refund. :(

-Writes really well. But only writes Silver Shroud fanfiction. Piper almost convinced him to help write an article about how crime differed before the war and after the war. But he turned her down.

-Nick has agreed to dress up as Shroud if Sole dresses up like Grognak or Mistress of Mystery. But only if Sole dresses up too.

-Irma refers to him as her son. Amari will not say the same, but she also doesn't protest.

-He used to work in comic book shop. (Of course he did.) 

-He writes self insert Silver Shroud fanfiction all the time. After the events at the hospital with Sinjin, the Shroud in his fanfictions suddenly start using Sole's pronouns and is described as physically similar as Sole.

#Fallout 4 #Fallout 4 headcanons #Fallout #Ada #Cait #Codsworth #Curie #Danse #Deacon #Gage #Hancock #Longfellow #MacCready #Nick Valentine #Piper Wright #Preston Garvery #Strong #X6-88 #Vault Tec Rep #Kent Connolly #my writing #Sole Survivor

[ckjbun]

What kind of ability would Higuchi have and its potential name?

Hi to whoever is reading this! This is my first self-written post so I’m still figuring out how all this works and I’m sorry, if it gets a bit chaotic. Anyways, recently, I came across a question regarding Higuchi from Bungou Stray Dogs. It was about what Higuchi’s ability would be called and what type it would be. So I won’t go into details whether she has an ability or not. I believe she has since she is named after an author (and Asagiri himself kinda confirmed it via Twitter). Thus, I just want to write my thoughts on the potential names and kind of ability. 

Since abilities in the BSD world are always named after rather well-known works of the authors, I compared some of the famous works of Higuchi Ichiyo. Now mind you, I haven’t read her works myself. I mostly relied on comparing summaries and analyses of them. Since there are not a lot of summaries, I read two lesser-known stories myself. I will add the links of the summaries/analyses of the works down below. However, while comparing I found two works that would fit Higuchi. Now, first what do I mean by “fit”? Well, it might be best to start explaining what I think about the type of Higuchi’s ability.  

I believe Higuchi has not an offensive type of ability. Nothing like Atsushi’s, Akutagawa’s, Kyouka’s etc. If she had, I’m sure she would have used it already, since she’s fighting a lot with her guns, why wouldn’t she use her ability as an addition, why would she hide it? There are two possibilities why we haven’t seen her ability yet. First possibility would be that her ability is not visible like Odasaku’s or Ango’s, maybe it’s even an ability that she hasn’t even discovered, just like Fukuzawa hasn’t realized he has one before the ADA. Second would be that she can use her ability only under stringent conditions. And I believe it’s the latter, hear me out. 

Remember this scene from Chapter 14? Higuchi reaches out to hold Akutagawa’s hand but then pulls back because she remembered him saying that he doesn’t need her help. Now, you could argue that holding the hands of injured loved ones is a gesture of closeness, a way to show them your support, a way to tell them that you’re staying by their side. And Aku doesn’t want this support, so that’s why she retracted her hand. But something bothers me here. In this scene it looks like Aku slapped Higuchi’s hand away, doesn’t it? And then he says, he doesn’t need her help, instead of support. I know, you could say support and help are almost the same. But to me, help is something that you do more “actively”, while support can be something passive. What if Higuchi’s hand represents this “active” help? And what would actively help Akutagawa in this very moment? A healing ability for example. Coincidentally, in the panel before, Hirotsu asks Higuchi what power she posses to make them [the black lizard] obey. Is this a hint that there is a hint about Higuchi’s ability in the next panel? Maybe. But let’s look at the next panel. It’s the title page of this chapter. 

As you can see, Higuchi has a bandage wrapped around her leg and they seem connected to Akutagawa. In this chapter, it is revealed that Higuchi contemplated about leaving the Port Mafia but her reason for staying is implied to be Akutagawa. This is perfectly symbolized by the bandages in this title page. The bandages coming from Akutagawa are holding her leg back, stopping her from walking away from the PM. But maybe there is a second interpretation? If you’re looking at Akutagawa’s left hand, the bandages are starting to come off. What if this means Akutagawa is healing and doesn’t need the bandages anymore? Instead it wraps around Higuchi’s leg, restricting her movement. What if Higuchi’s ability allows her to help someone else (doesn’t have to be necessarily a healing ability) but in exchange she needs to sacrifice something? Anyways, I think she has an ability which allows her to help other people in a non-combat way. With this in mind, I was looking through several works of Higuchi Ichiyo, searching for something that “fits”. Meaning that I was looking for parallels and themes in irl Higuchi’s stories that could be “converted” into an ability. Just like the coat that the protagonist of Rashomon stole in order to now die of hunger was used as Akutagawa’s ability which seems to be able to eat everything, or like the wish that one’s brother does not die in war in Thou Shalt Not Die became Yosano’s ability and serving as a basis of her background story. Anyways, I’d like to present the works that could be used for Higuchi’s ability and draw some parallels. 

1. The Thirteen’s Night

The story revolves around a poor woman, called Oseki. Thanks to her marriage to a rich man, her family was able to live a better life and her brother found a job. But on the thirteenth night of the ninth month of the lunar calendar (one of two special nights for moon viewing), Oseki visited her parents with the intention on asking her parents for approval for divorcing her husband. Before entering, she overhears her parents talking about how lucky they are that they have such good children who don’t cause trouble and that they are very thankful for this marriage. Hesitating at first, she finally goes in and admits that she wants to divorce her husband because he abuses her mentally. He insults her constantly and tells her that she's worthless, stupid, and uneducated. Her mother is outraged. But her father, even though he acknowledges her suffering, reminds her what her husband has done for this family and that she would lose her son since women couldn’t get custody of their children after a divorce at that time. Agreeing with her father, Oseki decides to go back to her husband: 

“It was selfish of me to think of a divorce. You're right. If I couldn't see Tarō, there'd be no point in living. I might flee my present sorrows, but what kind of future would I have? If I could think of myself as already dead, that would solve everything… Then Tarō would have both his parents with him. It was a foolish idea I had, and I've troubled you with the whole unpleasant business. From tonight I will consider myself dead — a spirit who watches over Tarō. That way I can bear Isamu's cruelty for a hundred years to come.” 

– In The Shade of Spring Leaves, translated by Robert Lyons Danly

Just like BSD Higuchi contemplates leaving the PM, the protagonist here wants to leave her husband. The PM is like the husband. It allows her to support herself and probably her family (at least we saw that she has a sister). But there is constant abuse. Akutagawa is clearly the biggest source of abuse that we can see. But it’s not only him. In Chapter 14, Mori asks her if she is really suited for this job. Telling her indirectly that she is useless or that she is too weak for the PM. Later, you can see the Black Lizard doubting her capabilities, even threatening her. But just like Oseki she stays because of a loved one. What really concerns me is Oseki saying that she will consider herself as a dead spirit watching over Tarō. What if Higuchi, in order to use her ability, has to sacrifice part of her lifespan? Or maybe she loses a feeling? Like e.g. she loses the ability to feel happiness, making her a bit more dead inside? If you draw this parallel, you could also say that when ‘consider myself dead’ is the condition of the ability, then ‘watching over Tarō’ is a hint to Higuchi’s ability. An ability that allows her to watch over and protect her loved ones? This theme fits Higuchi perfectly, since a big topic in Higuchi’s story line is how she wants to help and protect Akutagawa. So it makes sense that her ability might be something that would help him (**intensely squinting at the recent events in the manga, especially chapter 88**). Moving on to the second possibility before the pain starts to set in. 

2. Takekurabe (literally: "Comparing heights", "Child's Play" in the Robert Lyons Danly translation, "Growing Up" in the Edward Seidensticker translation)

Now this is considered as Higuchi Ichiyo’s masterpiece. So the chances are high that the ability is based on this story. The story accompanies a group of children who live next to the Yoshiwara quarter. There are two rival gangs: the main street gang (’omote-machi’), lead by Shōtarō, a cultivated young boy who is the grandson of the owner of a pawnshop, and the back street gang (’yoko-chō’), lead by Chōkichi, the impulsive firefighter’s son. (Maybe a parallel to the ADA with (cultivated) Fukuzawa and the PM with Mori who’s a doctor which belongs into the same category of occupation as firefighters?). Among the main street gang, there was Midori, popular and pretty, who lives in the brothel where her sister works. Shōtarō probably has a crush on her. But Midori probably has feelings for the other main character, Nobu, the son of a Buddhist priest. Even though he returns her feelings, he distances himself from her out of his self-consciousness. Later he joins the rival gang after repeated request by Chōkichi. Anyways, they spend their days very care-free, attending school, playing with each other after school. One day, some conflict arises between the gangs and Midori, while protecting someone else, gets slapped by Chōkichi with a sandal. He then proceeds to tell her that their gang is backed by no other than Nobu. Midori feels humiliated and stops going to school. Soon she also stops playing with the other children. After some time passed, Midori is seen with her hair all done up. She has become a distant, lady-like young woman. This probably means that she got her first period and is old enough to become a prostitute or that she just had her first client as a courtesan. Little by little, the children grow up. Nobu is sent off to be trained as a priest and Shōtarō has come to accept the responsibilities of his family’s shop. 

There are several themes in this story that I’d like to point out, namely unrequited love, Midori’s transformation and underlying unchangeable fates. The first one is obviously a big theme in Higuchi’s story. Midori and Nobu are unable to express their love for each other because of their positions in life. Just like Higuchi is unable to express her feelings for Akutagawa. If you want some hope, AkuHigu shippers, maybe Aku has also feelings for Higuchi but is still very confused and self-conscious about it just like Nobu. Anyways, because of their positions in the PM, it would make everything very complicated if Higuchi confessed. Additionally, Midori feels like she was humiliated by her love when she got slapped by that sandal. I’m sure that Higuchi gets humiliated by Akutagawa a lot. The next theme is Midori’s transformation from a tomboyish to a lady-like, distant woman. We all know Higuchi looks really badass in her suits. But again, look at the title page of chapter 14. Higuchi is dressed up all prettily and lady-like in a dress, and her hair is done all up. Just like Midori after her transformation. Midori’s transformation stands for Midori accepting her occupation as a prostitute even though she doesn’t want to. In this chapter, we see that Higuchi has accepted her job in the PM, even though she doesn’t want to do this job. At the end Shōtarō sings the following: 

"Growing up,

she plays among the butterflies

and flowers.

But she turns sixteen,

and all she knows

is work and sorrow."

– In The Shade of Spring Leaves, translated by Robert Lyons Danly

I don’t know about you guys, but to me that necklace that Higuchi is wearing in that title page looks like a butterfly to me. This is really farfetched but maybe this could be a hint about when Higuchi joined the Port Mafia? However, the biggest theme in Takekurabe is the underlying unchangeable fate of the children. Shōtarō was destined to become the next owner of the pawnshop, Nabu was destined to become a Buddhist monk and Midori would become a prostitute. Maybe this gives us some insight into why Higuchi joined the PM? Maybe one of her parents was a PM member? I also like to think that since Aku is in the PM, since she wants to be with him, she can’t but stay in the PM, and this is her fate. Nevertheless, fate is a central theme in Takekurabe. This is the reason why I think, if the ability is based on this story, Higuchi’s ability would be something like changing fates. Changing fate of someone else but in return she must sacrifice something. 

Okay, so this post has become quite long. But I still wanted to mention two other stories Yamizakura (Flowers at Dusk) and The Sound of the Koto where I saw a lot of parallels. I just want to briefly tell you the story of The Sound of the Koto. In this story a woman abandons her son in order to leave her husband who has a bad reputation. The husband then turns into an alcoholic and dies later at a party because of alcohol intoxication. The boy becomes hardened to the world, despises his mother for leaving them, and even contemplates suicide. The story shifts then to a woman playing the koto.  I want to give you an excerpt for the end of this story: 

“On this night the sound of the woman’s playing helped another to be reborn. Through fourteen springs and fourteen autumns, the boy had been buffeted by the rains. His heart had gradually toughened until it had become as hard as stone. No arrow could penetrate it. He seemed destined to follow the example of his father, to die among the fields or in the mountains, where his remains would be bleached by the elements. Some were convinced the boy’s life would end in prison chains, while his bad name spread to every roadside. 

But now, at once, the tenderness buried in his heart was freed by the midnight strains of the koto. For the first time in many years, he felt tears come to his eyes. Or were they jewelled drops of dew? He would not exchange them for anything. 

He, who had known neither love nor compassion, and who had no idea what the player of these refrains could even look like, felt a moment of happiness as the music drifted over the garden wall. […]

[…] How could a stormy wind blow now? The clouds in his heart had disappeared. Once more the woman began to play. The sound of the koto would be his friend for a hundred years, the seed for a hundred years of yearning. He had entered a world where a hundred different flowers wer in bloom. 

– In The Shade of Spring Leaves, translated by Robert Lyons Danly

This boy somehow just reminds me so much of Akutagawa. Just like this boy, without any parents and home, wandering around in this world, Akutagawa has become hardened to the world. I’d like to think that Higuchi’s ability could free Akutagawa from his pain, just like the sound of koto does for this boy. 

So, now I said everything I wanted to say, I guess. If there is really anyone reading this and reading this until here, thank you so much! I appreciate it very much that you kept reading even though my thoughts are probably quite chaotic. I’m sorry if there are any grammar mistakes or weird sentence structures or anything like this. English is not my first language. I’m very happy, if you could point out any mistakes or have any suggestion for improvement. Lastly, I just want to remind you that these are my thoughts, I love discussing so feel free to comment your thoughts but I’d like you to keep in mind that there is not necessarily a wrong or right, theories are theories, interpretations are interpretations. Everyone has another interpretation. They can only be proven wrong by Asagiri sensei himself. Until then just keep the discussions friendly and tolerant towards other people’s thoughts and opinions. 

Sources:

All manga panels used in this post are from easygoingscans

Higuchi Ichiyo (樋口 一葉)

Higuchi Ichiyo: "In the Shade of Spring Leaves"

In The Shade Of Spring Leaves: The Life Of Higuchi Ichiyo, With Nine Of Her Best Stories, translated by Robert Lyons Danly

In the Shade of Spring Leaves – Ichiyō Higuchi, Part 1

“Flowers at Dusk” and Other Notes – Ichiyō Higuchi, Part 2

“Encounters on a Dark Night” and Other Notes – Ichiyō Higuchi, Part 3

“Child’s Play” and Other Notes – Ichiyō Higuchi, Part 4

HIGUCHI ICHIYŌ: BADASS WOMEN IN JAPANESE HISTORY

The Thirteenth Night (Wikipedia)

Female Subject, Interrupted in Higuchi Ichiyō's "The Thirteenth Night"

GAME OF TRADITIONS: TRADITION IN THE THIRTEENTH NIGHT AND DIARY OF A MAD MAN

HIGUCHI ICHIYŌ IN MODERN JAPANESE AND EUROPEAN DRESS: Modern Japanese versions (gendaigoyaku) of Higuchi Ichiyō’s Takekurabe and their Relationship with English, Castilian Spanish and Catalan Translations

Separate Ways Summary

Literary Analysis of “Separate Ways”

Flowers at Dusk

Nigorie (Wikipedia)

From the Margins of Meiji Society: Space and Gender in Higuchi Ichiyō's "Troubled Waters"

#bsd #bsd manga #bsd theories #bsd theory #bsd higuchi #bungou stray dogs #bsd akutagawa #bsd thoughts #bungou stray dogs theory #bungou stray dogs analysis #bsd analysis #bsd characters #bsd chapter 88 #bsd mori #bsd hirotsu #bsd black lizard #port mafia #bungo stray dogs #bsd abilities #higuchi theory #Q overthinks again

[maldiaaym]

Why do I think Lily Evans (Potter) was not a good friend?

Until recently, the general opinion of the fandom was that Lily Potter was a good girl, deified and the representation of purity and goodness. But, doing a more exhaustive study of the character, we can get to see how Lily evans maybe was not so holy and made mistakes due to her education and, possibly, depending on the stage of her life where she found herself when she made those mistakes.

In relation to Severus Snape, I think she was not a good friend. Regardless of his age, which we all understand that we do not see friendship in childhood, adolescence or adulthood, she also had defects that compared to other characters in the saga, they were not a role model.

Starting from the little we know about her through the worst memory and Snape's memories, we are going to take some situations into account to assess her defects:

She blamed Snape for the letter Petunia sent to Dumbledore.

She got mad at Snape for dropping a branch on Petunia, even though he did so unconsciously and Petunia was rude to him.

The discussion with Snape about what happened with Remus (werewolf accident), his distrust of who was her friend and believing others before, not caring about Snape.

The lake scene, where she never addressed Snape once, as if he didn't know him and was just another boy to help.

The same lake scene, where she taunted Snape after he called her "Mudblood".

Now, let's talk about the problems at different levels (social, emotional, mental, physical and cultural):

Social: Snape comes from a lower social class than Lily and, although at first the girl Lily did not see the difference, I suppose that as time passed she realized that it did not look good for Snape to wear second hand clothes (surely ), he had serious problems in the family sphere, Snape's own unsociable nature that did not allow him to have a larger group of friends. In childhood we do not usually take into account the social variable when making friends with other children (pre-Hogwarts), but as she became related to the peer group at Hogwarts, she surely could not help feeling somewhat ashamed of the friendship with Snape . Let me explain, in Snape's adulthood it seems that no one knew about Lily and Snape's friendship, so it would be a secret friendship (and we all know that shame towards the other is what leads to secret friendships and relationships).

Emotional: Lily quickly connected with Snape because there was something she needed from him, and it was the knowledge and the desire to be accepted in a place like Hogwarts. Hogwarts was a new world that she did not know and Snape could offer her the security of knowing that world ... But, when she knew what she had to know, Snape had nothing more to offer her, but a clandestine and unrewarding friendship for her. It is not a mistake to think this, but it does show that she deliberately used Snape and that their friendship deteriorated over time. I think she might have felt friendship for Snape in a pure way, but when she began to be friends with the marauders, her emotional level turned towards these guys and she began to move away from Snape. I think the dark arts were an excuse to end the friendship, wanting to get away from him in an interested way ... it's easy to think that, when you really feel empathy for someone, you try to make the effort to understand that person, to know why him he likes the dark arts. However, she Lily was not able to understand him, understand his fears, his insecurities and the need to flee from the hell where he was stuck.Referring to the lake scene, I think Lily had a complete dissociation from Snape by now, she didn't defend being his friend, she didn't speak to him directly even once, and when he made a mistake due to the situation, she scoffed of him and "flirted" with James.

Mental: I think Lily never understood the true meaning of friendship, not at least as she later taught us Harry by understanding Ron and Hermione and accepting his flaws, even when this child was only 11 years old. I think that Lily, as soon as she could, got rid of Snape because she no longer wanted to have an uncomfortable friend, a friend who surely helped her for years in her studies at Hogwarts (I mean surely potions). Snape was like a teacher for Lily in her access to the magical world, he helped her in the study and knowledge of the magical world and I think that Lily stopped seeing usefulness when she already found in Gryffindor and the marauders the way to go her way . I mean, I think she coldly weighed whether or not she was interested in staying friends with Snape and she conveniently cut off the friendship when she got the chance. Lily showed herself to be a cold person who did not understand what Snape was in her whole and who did not appreciate all that he had done for her.I know that calling her "Mudbloods" was not right, but instead of trying to understand the shame and harassment that Snape felt at that time, she broke off the friendship and remained friends with the stalker, the one who emotionally blackmailed her and who continued to be a bully. No one can convince me otherwise.

Physical: here we will talk about the implications of a person who is not really physically attractive. There are studies that determine that people who do not fit the standards of beauty tend to have fewer opportunities in social relationships, love relationships or even find a job. With all this I mean that, when we are children, we do not care about anyone's physical appearance, but when we reach adolescence, our group of equals teach us the canons of beauty, which is considered handsome or what not. In this case, I think Lily was superficial. That is to say, Snape was not physically attractive, surely he did not look comfortable being with him because she was a popular, pretty girl, and he was attracted to a boy who was much more attractive than Snape (even though James was, in my opinion, uglier emotionally and disrespectful to others, adding being a bully). Lily preferred to go for the handsome boy rather than choose a loyal friend who was unattractive.

Cultural: At this level many factors enter, but here I will choose to talk about the differences of ideologies and different culture between Slytherin and Gryffindor. As we know, both houses were enemies, they were the contrast between good and evil in the Harry Potter saga. Slytherin represented everything bad and Gryffindor everything good. Here we also talk about the peer group (that is, a group of people that we consider our equals and from whom we learn cultural, social, emotional and behavioral factors), where Lily in the end ended up choosing to choose Gryffindor and be immersed in ideas prefabs that already existed about Slytherin even though, surely, many ideas were not true. Some of these ideas were hatred towards the "dirty bloods", defending the purity of blood, ambition as a negative element and cunning as if it were something bad that always leads to cheating.Where I see these preconceptions most clearly is in the scene where Lily argues with Snape for defending Mulciber, etc ... in this scene it seems that Lily puts the marauders before (she is supposed to talk about them) because they are from her house and believes that what Mulciber does is worse because he is in Slytherin. Being in Gryffindor, she is believed to have the moral superiority and the right to claim Snape to choose a position, when obviously Snape, like Lily, will choose their peer group. The point here is that Lily prefers to believe the marauders and put Snape in the guilty position, without even asking if his friend is okay or asking him what he saw ... Lily is not interested in knowing what happened because surely he was content with James's version and would always doubt any version Snape could give it.

Up to here, I did my study. It is a bit lazy, I wrote it on the fly and remembering some of the knowledge I acquired when I was studying Pedagogy. But, in essence, I hope you have understood. In the end, Lily opted for what she considered to be okay based on ideas and beliefs that she ended up having with her peer group. She put her friendship with the marauders first and decided to coldly and selfishly eliminate her friendship with Snape. In the end, we have all had friends from whom we have moved away because they no longer shared things with us (although I can presume that I never alienated anyone for thinking differently or liking things that I did not like), but also friends that we have from all our lives, with those of us who do not like things about them, but accept them and try to understand them, where the company of that person is valued more and we do not care what they tell us. It is true that the "peer group" exerts a lot of influence on us, despising those who consider strange people or have unusual habits for the majority of the population. But Snape and Lily met in childhood, this factor should not have been decisive for their estrangement and, I am afraid, that in the almost of Lily, he ended up accepting the conditions of his peer group to the detriment of maintaining a friendship that so much contributed. I don't hate Lily, I have no problem with her, for me she really is a flat character, too overrated and that only has a few three lines in the entire Harry Potter saga. It is impossible to empathize with her as we would with other characters and she hardly has any development of her. The most remarkable thing about her is that she gave her life for her son, otherwise she showed us a girl who had a strange friendship with Snape and who married the popular boy of her time.

#severus snape #severus snape headcanon #severus snape meta #severus #snape #Lily evans #Lily Potter #James Potter #Hogwarts #headcanon hp #marauders #hp #Harry Potter

[redphlox]

Tenko's tears; Touya's wounded inner child

As I've mentioned before, crying serves various purposes, two of which include emotional regulation and forming social connections. Tears signal "I'm sad and I need help" and usually elicit concern from others. But, for Touya and Tenko, tears didn't fulfill these needs. When Tenko cried, the adults around him tried to distract him from his pain or change how he responded to his abuse instead of defending him or confronting his father Kotaro. They meant well, but in the end it didn't help Tenko and he felt alone. No one validated his pain; he was seen, but he wasn't helped. The same thing happened to Touya, who was seen crying, and crying, and crying, but his parents refused to acknowledge the root cause of his pain because it would mean facing their own mistakes. His tears, his cries for help, never got him the help he needed and never made him feel better.

Even as adults, Dabi and Shigaraki weren't listened to because they didn't display socially acceptable feelings such as sorrow or regret, and they weren't dealing with their trauma in a socially acceptable way, like crying. Shigaraki told Endeavor, in front of Deku and Bakugo, that heroes only hurt their families, but it wasn't until Deku saw a glimpse of Tenko that Deku decided Shigaraki was worth saving because little Tenko’s tears humanized him and made him relatable.

While this is a turning point in the manga, the way it came about insinuates that certain unspoken conditions exist that need to be filled before victimhood can be validated or someone is deemed worthy of help. Not everyone is equal, and not everyone's pain will be good enough in hero society. This warrants the questions the League of Villains keep asking: who are heroes here to save? Who is it that needs saving? Where do you draw the line? Are villains not people too?

This new plot point of Deku being moved by Tenko’s tears also brings into light how isolating and demonizing it is for Dabi not being physically able to cry. He compensates for this – because remember, crying regulates your emotions, and if you can’t cry you turn to other coping mechanisms for self-soothing – by telling himself and others that he doesn’t care about anything or anyone. He copes with his emotions by smiling and grinning, by not getting too attached. He takes an offensive approach through keeping a distance from people by insulting them and being rude. However, his quirk’s link to his emotions betrays him and exposes his true feelings: his flames became hotter after Twice died and his flames turned white while confronting Endeavor. Dabi, despite everything, still cares and feels deeply.

So, how is Dabi supposed to be seen and understood and saved if he can’t prove that he has feelings if he can't cry? Why would he even want to cry, since crying never helped him? All Touya did from the age of four was cry for help, literally, and yet he was ignored and neglected. It wasn't Shigaraki's words that moved Deku, it was the unintended display of emotion through crying, which is something Dabi can't do even if he wanted because his tear ducts are burnt as a result of being so heartbroken over his father not showing up to Sekoto Peak. The irony is ugly and upsetting to witness – overwhelming feelings of abandonment and worthlessness almost killed Dabi ten years ago and now, when the story implies he desperately needs to cry to be seen, he can't, and therefore he's still alone and will continue to be alone.

But wait – he cries tears of blood, doesn’t he?

I think that if he’s caught in a vulnerable place, if the right people (Natsuo) meet him or if he is finally validated and seen and understood (Shouto), those tears of blood would come out and he’d finally be eligible (as gross as that sounds) for salvation, for understanding, for sympathy like Shigaraki. Feelings serve as evidence to society that villains are human too, and Dabi must first be considered a human. It seems that salvation, like the attention Touya received from his father, is conditional. Touya's wounded inner child and status as an abuse survivor will be the ticket to his redemption IF he can be vulnerable and express his pain physically to the younger generation of heroes, because talking about his past hasn't helped and won't help. Even now, as noted in 304, people still weren't sure why he became a villain even though he literally explained why in his pre-recorded broadcast. Dabi, or his inner child, has to show evidence he is still emotionally suffering because his words won't suffice for society or heroes. Honestly, this framing is personally distressing and frustrating because it pushes a bad victim vs good victim mentality, especially in light of Rei commenting that Shouto, who she burnt and forgave her nonetheless, is their family's hero.

Don't get me wrong. Shouto has done nothing wrong to warrant this suffering, and I think it's great that Deku is determined to save everyone within his reach. This makes sense as his role as protagonist. With that said, it's unsettling to me how drastically different he's reacting to Shigaraki compared to how he responded to Dabi by comparing him to Endeavor and implying Dabi is worse for not trying to be better. Before anyone jumps down my throat, I know Deku intervened because he was worried about Shouto, and that Deku is 16 and young. My point is that the narrative and the writing is setting up a problematic view of victims by having the main character nitpick who deserves to be saved based on this societal construct that people must first qualify or prove themselves. Shigaraki shouldn't have had to show his trauma receipts or be relatable for Deku to want to save him. Shigaraki didn’t even expose his inner child on purpose – Deku caught a glimpse of that without Shigaraki’s intention.

Let me say this another way. Imagine if you had to present yourself as sympathetic to a firefighter, an ambulance worker, or a doctor before receiving their help. It would be unprofessional and highly unethical for these professionals to turn you down because you don't fit the image of someone who needs help, someone who's not "sick" enough, whose house isn't burning hot enough, whose injuries aren't "bad" enough. So why do heroes, as a group of public servants, have these unwritten rules and preconceived notions about what a victim looks like? I understand that people are more likely to provide services if you're nice to them (you catch more flies with honey, etc) and that everyone has biases etc, but this isn't a core value of the helping professions or public servants. It's unethical to discriminate and assign varying levels of care based on how someone treats you or others around them. People in need are people in need, and that's that.

As of now, it seems like the manga is on route to support the League's complaints by supplying evidence that their disillusionment with society isn't unfounded - even Twice, who died crying at the hands of a hero part of the older generation, was not considered a person before he was considered a villain. But maybe if he had come across a hero from the younger generation, someone who recognized his tears as human despite his criminal record, he wouldn't have met the fate he did. It seems that the older generation of heroes don't take tears or emotions into account, which is why Tenko and Touya were shrugged off. But the younger generation will go out of their way to help anyone who needs help, but only if they prove themselves or make themselves sympathetic.

#bnha #dabi #touya todoroki #shigaraki tomura #tenko shimura #my meta #Bnha 305 #Bnha 306 #Bnha spoilers #Twice #jin bubaigawara #My meta #Green lad

[akihiko-arakan]

YESS GIVE ME A LORE DUMP FOR THE BOY, tell me about himmmm

Akihiko Arakan, a tale to be told boy oh boy! Akihiko Arakan was originally born in the U.S. under the name Marquis Jones. He was the product of a small fling between his father, Akashi Arakan, and his mother, Imani Jones, while he was at a business trip in the U.S.

He lived with his mother and didn't know about his father. Even Akashi didn't know of Akihiko's existence up until his business partner in the U.S. told Akashi about his suspicions about Imani (who worked for him) and Akihiko. Akashi was skeptical at first since Akihiko shared little to no resemblance to him, but still his business partner was insistent, he even offered a DNA test.

Begrudgingly, Akashi flown down to the U.S. when Akihiko freshly hit the age of 5 with the task in mind to find his "son" and to also work a bit. When Akashi and Imani met again, she told him the truth about Akihiko. The only reason why she didn't tell Akashi about Akihiko being his son was because he soon flew back to Japan after Imani found out that she was pregnant and that she had no way to communicate with Akashi. Akashi was angry of course, he had a son he never knew about so of course he had a right to be mad! And what makes matters worse is that Akashi needed an heir for his company, and yet his first son ended up being an illegitimate child. One of the only fortunate sides to this is that Akihiko seemed to be quirkless, so Akashi sprung up an idea.

He wanted to take Akihiko back to Japan so he could raise him himself. Imani was against this of course, but Akashi told her a list of reasons as to why Akihiko would be better there such as he'd be in better living conditions, more financial stability, etc. And Imani and Akihiko didn't have that much money, so the thought of Akihiko coming back to a better house with better food sounded better to Imani.

So rather reluctantly, Imani gave up her custody of Akihiko towards Akashi, who soon took him back to Japan and changed his name from Marquis Jones to Akihiko Arakan so he could fit in better and to fit in better as Akashi's son.

When Akihiko gotten to Japan, he was confused and scared- his life changed so much and everything was different, he didn't know what was going on. Right away he was introduced as Akashi Arakan's son, the man told the press that he wanted to hide Akihiko away from the public up until he was old enough to handle it.

After a couple of tests to see if Akihiko's quirkless in which he is, his father immediately began to put him through training at the ripe age of 6 so he could learn how to inherit the company, be an influence on others, and weaponry and combat use.

Training was hell for Akihiko at first, he was scared and confused- he just barely adjusted to life in Japan and yet he has to do so many big things now. With him being cooped up inside the house to train, he wasn't able to develop much social skills, not even when he went to school. There's been countless times as to when Akihiko's gotten injured or even scarred during training, but his father told him to just suck it up and continue. His reasoning behind this was because society perceived quirkless people as weak, and he didn't want nobody to fucking think of his son as weak and helpless when he's the heir to a powerful company with a strong influence over Japan.

After a couple of years, Akihiko soon learned more and has gotten used to this shitty lifestyle. He's grown cold and closed off towards others. When Akihiko turned 15, his father made him participate on the U.A. entrance exam. Akihiko was confused, he knew full well that Akashi didn't like heroes at all, or just people with quirks in general (In which Akihiko never could grasp). His father explained that he noticed that heroes have a strong influence over society and how it works, they could practically shape it themselves. Akashi wanted Akihiko to get into U.A. so he could become a hero and to grow their influence over the public, he has a good enough chance since he was skilled with combat and weaponry. Akihiko couldn't say no to his fathers orders and tried out the U.A. entrance exams, he was barely even able to pass the physical exams due to the robots being hard to take apart (though it's likely that since this is into the future, it'd be different maybe?).

After a couple of months, Akihiko soon found out that he got accepted into U.A.'s mixed hero course- which was surprising to Akihiko to say the least. And now Akihiko attends U.A. and is a member of Class 1-X. :)

#im so sleepy #if you have more questions #feel free to ask more #pls #im desperate #akihiko arakan #class 1 x #bnha oc comeback #bnha oc

[thebadchoicemachine]

Despair Suits Ultimate Run-Through

Okay this has been sitting in my drafts for months I’m just posting it because all my drafts are stressing me out.

Wilbur - Ultimate “Guitarist” / Ultimate Distortion (despair) 

- He’s the least true despair oriented out of the family. He loves messing with other people but doesn’t enjoy despair himself, something nobody including himself really realizes until Tommy is dead and he’s pissed because it’s not fun when HE’s the one mourning.

- He works with twisting perceptions and rules against people, there is no true good and all that. You do something nice? Well actually you see it’s cause so much more despair here etc etc.. 

Tommy - Ultimate “Playmate” / Ultimate Pawn (despair) 

- Really just a brainwashed kid hyped up on death and despair because it’s what his family is built off of. He holds it to a religious degree and takes it very seriously.

- He’s the most like Junko out of the despair family, the rules of the game are sacred to him otherwise it’s no fun. He really does his own thing so long as it’s within the goals others have set for him to accomplish. His role is mostly fulfilling other’s plans. He simultaneously has the most and least freedom out of the despair grip, being able to function however pleases so long as he fulfills his task but he is completely obligated to fulfill all and any such tasks.

Tubbo - Ultimate Hazard / Ultimate Hope

- Much like Tommy he’s really just a brain washed kid who is drunk on despair because it’s what his friends do and it’s all he’s ever known.

- Helps him realize the reaason he stuck it out so long was becuase he already had jope, belief and drive that things would be better

Ranboo - Ultimate Journalist (main character) 

- He is a journalist. He tries bis very hardest to be objective while still remaining compassionate and driven.Honestlyy he never intended to become a journalist. He started keeping notes to help himself and ended up submitting one for a school project he procrastinated on. Turns out he’s an excellent story teller as well as truthful, it won a contest and was featured in a paper and before he knew it he was writing for big news full time.

- He doesn’t even accept a lot of pay. His main and constant condition is, so long as everything is factual, his words not he twisted.

Niki - Ultimate “Baker” / Ultimate Agent 

- She was already in the habit of not being upfront with her ultimite so as to be able to just get to know people first. She can work much easier when people don’t think they’re being worked at, if they knew they were going against an ultimate they become eager to prove it wrong so she went by “Ultimate Baker” for most of her life.

- As the Ultimate Agent she is extremely good at conflict resolution and always able to get some kind of goodness through her advocating. Ever since she was a child she found herself to be the only one who stood up for victims. She is very multi-talanted as it takes different things to get different people to listen. The skills she’s built up include a BS detector that’s off the charts, being genuinely one of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet, and being able to kick your ass seven ways to sunday. 

Puffy - Ultimate Pirate 

Schlatt - Ultimate Tycoon 

- Tubbo convinces Puffy Schlatt is going to kill him. Schlatt has actually been very kind and mentor-y to Tubbo. He’s a good fit because his gruff additude isn’t too jarring for despair-washed child to dismiss but he is genuinely helpful at heart. He wants everyone to be safe.

- Tubbo is unerved by this shift in views happening to him and half-truthfully vents his feelings of unsafeness to Puffy, who posiosn him.

Hannah - Ultimate Florist 

- Famous for growing the best flower garden in the whole country alll by herself, she has a strict rule about anyone else interfering with her plants. Also, generally a plant expert. Knows a lot more than just flowers. She’s strong as hell (maintaining one of the most revered gardens in the whole world by yourself involves a lot of running and lifting) and can also find the perfect blend of colors, smells, and meanings 

Jackstanifold - Ultimate Determination 

- I love the idea of more abstract talents! Like, “Ultimate Moral Compass” sounds really unique but he was actually more like “Ultimate Hall Monitor.”

- He got picked on by adults and other kids alike for not having an “applicable” talent. Determination isn’t like being a Ultimate Baseball Star or Ultimate 

Fundy - Ultimate Game Designer 

- Has several popular games under his belt. 

Sam - Ultimate Guard 

- Actually, he hates his ultimate. He’s strong and scary and can keep people in check sure but he’s also hella fucking smart as well kind and just wants people to be safe and happy. He wished people didn’t focus so much on his enforcement and more on his protecting.

Purpled - Ultimate Astronomer 

- Actually spends most of his time playing sports, he’s very athletic and wanted to play something professionally but his knack for the stars kind of dragged him away. He doesn’t mind too much though, he really does love space!

Quackity- Ultimate Rogue

- It’s like he’s trying to be a Troublemaker™ (like Celest) but ends up more a Fuyuhiko. Albeit without the depressing jumpstart to his turn into genuinely wanting to help.  It’s more of a slow burn. 

Charlie - Ultimate Forensic Chemist 

- Acts as their detective/doctor character 

- He’s in like an uncanny valley of a mad scientist and just some friendly dude. Sure, he experiments plenty (to the point it’s questioned why he’s forensic specifically or chemist specifically) but his speciality as an actual successful sciencest is in forensics chemist. 

Karl - Ultimate Astrologer 

- Sort of works like Angie but less... awful. He’s more genuine and happy and understands other’s opinions and skepticism. 

- Honestly he more psychoanalyzes people and sort of personalizes some therapy then he does fret about their starsigns. 

Sapnap - Ultimate Arsonist 

- He is very proud of his flame abilities. He holds a “No one gets hurt unless I want them too.” Attitude about his fires. He knows just how to make a flame worse or better and was consulted in several forms be it weapons, demolition, or prevention. Basically, dude knows everything about fire. 

George - Ultimate Model 

- Not necessarily a model for his looks, rather his appeal. He just has a face people apparently love. Companies would play vast sums of money for him to pose with their product as it seems whatever he was attached to would sell like hot cakes. Even when he was a child his school made him sit alone in front of their stand as a mascot instead of working with everyone else.

Eret - Ultimate Aspirant 

- Kind of the other side to Jack’s coin. He earned his ultimate title because  no matter what he was put in he worked his hardest in and improves tremendously, not always beyond others of course but he himself gets better than he was. He as a mind and a drive for success.  

Dream - Ultimate Prey 

- Ultimate prey. Governments from all over the world would drag him into their battlefields to test their powers. He’d been shot several times actually but no one ever managed to catch him.

#despair in suits ♣ ♠ ♦ ♥ #dsmp AU #dream smp #dsmp #dsmp danganronpa

[phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess]

What is your opinion on straight passing privilege? I (bi) don’t think it exists, but a close (lesbian) friend of mine insists that it does bc “You can hold hands with your SO (nb cis passing man) in public without risking being the victim of a hate crime.” I have been researching but keep seeing this same argument coming up, and I’m unsure and don’t want to be making anyone upset if I’m being ignorant here.

I think that there's a lot of fucked up internet politics around who is and isn't allowed in the community. Which is ridiculous.

Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Pan, Poly, Ace, Aro, Trans, Intersex, etc.

The only people who shouldn't be in the community are cishets, and pedos, none of that 'it's a sexuality' nonsense, it's predation.

The concept of straight-passing is ridiculous, primarily because it's all based on assumptions. If you're in an m/f relationship, and you are both cis and heterosexual, it's straight.

But here's the catch, if you identify as any LGBPT+ then it's not straight.

Two trans people in an m/f relationship is not straight passing.

Two bi people in an m/f is not straight passing, it's queer babes, it's in the name. If you're bi and your partner is like, straight, it's still queer from your side of the fence.

It's the 'pick a side' argument from another direction, this straight passing nonsense. Where you are villified by the straights if you have a same-sex relationship (or fetishised, let's be real, every part of the acronymn has it's own p*rn category aimed at straight people with a kink), and if you have a relationship with the opposite gendered person, the queer community gets cranky.

Two things:

1) Is this friend between 13 and 25? Bc they could still be working this out or being mentored by t*rfs, or had some bad info. IT could be jealousy or fear of being open where you live. Perhaps you could question what makes her say that; has she had a bad experience, or did someone say this to her. where are you Are you in america? are there snake wielding jesus warriors near you? Blink SOS if you need an escape route, child

2) Who wins when everyone in the queer community is divided and policing one another? Telling everyone off for dating this person or that person or not at all

I didn't get an invite to the big queer conference to make these decisions, so like, they're not valid. It's some pocket of internet active idiots who think they can speak for everyone.

What we need to do is stop pulling this bullshit on one another and get back to asking just why the fuck it's not okay for people who are perceived as not-straight or cis etc to hold hands in public.

There's a problem for every facet of the acronym, babes and dudes and theys. Lesbians are heavily sexualised by straight cis dudes. Gays are heavly fetisihed by straight cis women. to the point where even saying 'I'm gay' is considered to be an obscene, sexual act that you should not let children be exposed to.

And there's always someone from the opposite gender who thinks they 'are confused' or 'haven't met the right (gender) person yet', or 'they could fix them with their magic genitals' or mumbled religious nonsense. There's such intense stereotypes that people can't stand women who look butch, but also you can't 'really' be a lesbian unless you are' or gay men can't just be, like, a normal dude, instead of some flamboyant in-your-face charicature.

Of course people who match the stereotype exist, too. And they get no respect for fitting into the stereptypes either, it's just another reason for disrespect. There's no winning.

Bi's can't talk to anyone without hearing a question of a threesome come up or being attacked from either side for coice of partner.

Pans, same, but also kitchenware jokes. Both Bi and Pan are considered sluts and whores and can't decide or are going to cheat, etc. Or the 'you're being special snowflakes', 'choose a side', 'you're secretly gay and won't admit / you're secretly straight and want attention' etc.

Ace/Aro - everyone under this banner gets the whole 'you just haen't found the right person' or 'when you're older/you're a late bloomer' or 'how do you know?' or 'maybe you're straight/gay and haven't worked it out yet?' invalidating them completely and trying to push sex onto them. The queer community has always let Ace and Aro in under the Bi banner, and they are welcome. But the internet community, usually young people, are tearing each other to shreds over it lmao.

Chill.

Non-binary, trans, intersex. They have been here for ages, but people from one community try to destroy their credibility, despite them existing since humanity has. It's big on p*rn and fetish sites too, lot of straight dudes think these things are hot and sexy, but would spit on trans people in the street. Hypocrites (I mean, every second low-brow comedy movie out there makes a thai-l*dyb*y joke, and how it 'doesn't count' like yikes).

Nb has only just been recognised, which is funny bc society literally made up gender and the rules and pretended that was how its encoded in DNA lmao.

Transpeople have it bad though. Between the cis straights, the cis queer community (primarily t*rfs and those who fall for misinformation) and the fetishists, and the medical community who treats them like an illness rather than people. Like, they are afforded respect if they 'pass', but even then it's still an EW factor.

Transwomen are seen as 'men in dresses who want to break into women's spaces' and treated horrifically; assaults are very high. Transmen are seen as butch women, and 'gender tr*itors' by the Crazy Motherfuckers we mentioned before; their assaults are high. They're not considered Real People unless they meet the ridiculously high standards for each gender; unless they perform Right.

I remember, but did not understand at the time bc I recall i was little, that there was a gameshpw bachelorette style and there was a big twist. You know what the twist was? That the bachelorette they'd been dating and trying to win over... was trans. I don't think that she knew it would be the big twist, either; of the two men remaining, bother were angry and one might have been sick. Might be on youtube.

But like, that's funny to the non-queer community. They put a huge fucking target on this woman's back, put her in danger of being hurt, abused, killed, by anyone who watched it. By the men who she had 'lied to' as they chose to frame it, of their weird white american families who could have sought revenge. Like yikes.

And intersex people (called h*rmaphrodites for a long time even by medical personnel) were also a p*rn category and/or medical curiosity for centuries. Not to mention all the cases of parents who just went with 'make them a (specific gender)' if there was mixed presentation, at birth, and got mad at the kids for being like "Hey so, you flipped the coin wrong and I'm ___" even thought the potential for this was always on the cards.

And the parents often make a big messa bout how their baby ___ is dead and gone, even if they DO accept the person/child as who they really are. It's like, I get it they have changed but you didn't mourn their first haircut or lost baby tooth like this and that was change too, chill.

-

Straight-passing is a projection and a weapon. Like, is it the people in the relationship's fault that society looks at the pair and decides they are m/f, straight and cis? Nah, it's what people are conditioned assume and that's on them.

We can't bring it into the queer spaces and keep perpetuating that shit, because it's nonsense. Queer people are dying in other countries and your friend wants to being smart-assed about the fact you hold hands with your nb datemate in public?

-

Nonsense. That's right up there with t*rfs and the gold-star bullshit that was going on for a few years there. Probs still is among the younger people lmaoooo.

'Passing priviledge' is a myth, and it is used to hurt people. Vulnerable people and those who need support / guidance and assistance from their queer communities more than ever. So try to talk to your friend or try The Whole Friend disposal services, either way, chill.

The real issue here is that any of us are at risk of a hate crime for daring to even show affection in public. That even in safe spaces, 'allies' and those wise enough not to be openly homo/trans/bi/pan/ace/aro/other phobic are still side-eyeing you and wanting to talk 'for you' without listening to the community itself.

We have bigger issues than this, and your friend (and some others on the internet) need to get a grip and prioritise.

[Insert strained analogy about being pro-child but childfree in a suburb where everyone got married out of high school and anticipates you and your partner will too, no matter how often you remind them No Thanks. But you babysat the other day and people thought you and your partner looked like 'naturals' when you took child to the park and played with them. And you remind them, hey, chill, we like kids too but it's not for us. And they get pissy and pushy.]

---------

I can only point it out from my perspective, I'm certain there other queer people from the above acronymn community who can present their thoughts on the matter to and what it means to them.

Thanks for the question, good-bi.

[boycottyashahime]

Hello! Anti-Sessrin person here. You said if this couple becomes canon it will ruin Sesshomaru's character development. I would love it If you could elaborate on that because you're always so eloquent and smart. It's ok if you don't feel like it, though. Have a nice day!

I've actually been looking for an excuse to sit down and write out a cohesive post on my thoughts about this. Contrary to what the shippers want to believe, my interpretation of Sesshoumaru and Rin's relationship doesn't have anything to do with my moral objections to child grooming. I happen to think there's plenty of evidence for a filial interpretation in the text.

First, I'd like to preface my little essay here by saying I'm going off the manga alone. I haven't seen the anime in a long time, because I dropped it when I got a little tired of trying to reconcile the inconsistencies between the two mediums. So, if you read this and have an impulse to say, "hey, what about that thing in episode such-and-such...", keep in mind that I probably just don't remember what you're thinking of.

So, let's go back, alllll the way back, to Sesshoumaru's first appearance. Here's a guy who tears off a dude's head for no other reason than to get the attention of his subordinates to demand a boat. Here's a guy who's spent a long time looking just about EVERYWHERE for his father's remains, not to pay respects, but to plunder them. Here's a guy who feels ENTITLED to rob his dad's grave for treasure he deserves simply for being his father's son.

Sesshoumaru begins his journey as a selfish, spoiled, entitled brat. He doesn't fit the usual profile of a kid throwing a tantrum on the street because he wants the expensive toy sitting in the window; he's very posh and very reserved, but fundamentally, his motivation comes down to the simple fact that he wants Tessaiga. It doesn't even really have anything to do with respect and admiration of his father, otherwise he wouldn't have been so eager to rifle through dear old dad's bones to get at a sword when he had another heirloom right there at his hip. Only Tessaiga was representative of the sheer destructive force he wanted to wield, so he ignored the fact that his dad didn't seem to want him to have it.

This is important, because at first, Sesshoumaru doesn't seem to think of his father in terms of the guy's intentions or the steps he takes for the sake of his sons. Like most rich spoiled kids, Sesshoumaru views the Inu no Taishou in terms of his prestige and how that priviledge can be appropriated for selfish ends. Sesshoumaru wants Tessaiga not because he needs it, but because it's a birthright, and reinforces his legitimacy. When it's clear that Tessaiga seals Inuyasha's youkai blood, keeps him from going berserk, Sesshoumaru loses interest in Tessaiga - it's just a crutch for Inuyasha, and there's no prestige in taking it from him or using it for himself.

Sesshoumaru doesn't start to REALLY consider his father's intentions for the swords until later in the manga, when it comes out that Tenseiga was originally part of Tessaiga, and Inuyasha was meant to get the Meidou Zangetsuha attack eventually as well. It's at this point that Sesshoumaru starts to question if daddy actually HATED him, to give him a rather neat power disguised in a lame shell, but only to develop it so Inuyasha can have it instead, even after Inuyasha already got Tessaiga in the first place. It kind of looks to Sesshoumaru that Inuyasha gets all the powerful cool shit their father left behind, and that there might have been some favoritism coming down HARD on Inuyasha's side.

Above, you can see Sesshoumaru has two interlinked but distinct issues that are addressed throughout the story - his lack of compassion and empathy, and how tied his identity is to his father's favor and prestige. These two are somewhat separated in the narrative; there's a kind of pause in Sesshoumaru's development while a bulk of the middle of the story deals more with other characters and their development, but there is a little bit of a thematic connection between the two halves.

We'll start with the development of Sesshoumaru's compassion since, well, that's where the story begins working on his character. Right before Rin shows up, Toutousai let's Inuyasha's group in on the sword Sesshoumaru carries around and what it does, indicating that Tenseiga requires a compassionate heart to function. A bit ham-handed, but RT isn't very subtle most of the time, so we'll allow it. This sets up the next few scenes in which Sesshoumaru is unable to move and must play captive audience to a little girl doing the literal opposite of what he's used to. Sesshoumaru's habit is to show up and kill things, with no thought to the years of history, relationships, thoughts, emotions, etc that he's snuffing out. But while he's reclined injured in the woods, Rin demonstrates actual LIFE and the preservation of it, that part Sesshoumaru never gets to see. It's made all the starker by how BAD Rin is at caring for herself, let alone the strange monster she found in the woods. She does exactly nothing to help Sesshoumaru, despite how hard she tries, and is even injured by others in her attempts. She is the very picture of vulnerability, the opposite of the strong and capable Sesshoumaru.

This is a stark contrast, because anything less wouldn't be enough to create the necessary awareness of Rin's struggles that Sesshoumaru needs in order to use Tenseiga on here. And I know I've said this before, but I really cannot stress enough how obvious I think the symbolism is when Sesshoumaru uses Tenseiga for the first time; a phallic object gives life to a child, and the object's owner looks after that life throughout the rest of the story. He's not very good at looking after it, and it's clear that he's not sure about taking responsibility for Rin at first, because she pleaded for him to come back for her when he and Jaken left her behind to requisition a sword from Gaijinbou. To me, it's reminiscent of a teenager who knocked someone up, and ended up having to learn to give a crap about the result.

But, even if you don't accept that symbolism as particularly significant, Rin being a child, and human, and weak, unable to survive on her own, are important characteristics to how Sesshoumaru's compassion develops. Sesshoumaru is one of the strongest characters in the series, and he rarely has to worry about his own safety. And since he's in the habit of just murdering everyone he comes across if they're in his way, he's never had to worry about the safety of anyone else, either. When Rin comes into the picture, though, Sesshoumaru is faced with the uncomfortable reality of vulnerability in general. Through her earnest and incompetent attempts to foster survival in a world that can and does crush her, she's opened his eyes to how the disadvantaged, those without a powerful youkai lineage to rely on, have to struggle.

Rin herself has nothing to offer Sesshoumaru within this context of supreme vulnerability. She's not a friend, because she can't offer mutual support or use a skill to their benefit as a team. She's not a lover, because, well, she's a child and sexual/romantic attraction are conditions that wouldn't allow Sesshoumaru to extend his compassion beyond just her. As a mostly helpless kid, Rin has to rely upon Sesshoumaru and his power to survive, and Sesshoumaru employs his strength to keep her alive, getting nothing but a sweet smile out of it all. She gets all the benefits, he has all the obligations. This is PURE compassion - using one's advantages to another's benefit because you care about them, and not because you derive something from it as well.

This is why making Rin into Sesshoumaru's lover is a REALLY thoughtless take. It puts conditions on the compassion and muddies the message.

Moving onto Sesshoumaru's continued character development in the latter part of the story, the sword drama starts back up with slow, when Toutousai shows up and offers to reforge Tenseiga into a weapon. Sesshoumaru discovers that because he got angry enough to break his primary weapon in defense of Kagura's honor, he's triggered the next evolution of Tenseiga into something that can murder. Which is what he wanted at the beginning, yay! I want to point out here that Toutousai says Tenseiga noticed a change in Sesshoumaru's heart - anger for the first time for the sake of another. This implies that what Jaken said about Sesshoumaru getting tangled up in the fight against Naraku because Naraku kidnapping and using Rin to manipulate Sesshoumaru hurt Sesshoumaru's pride is actually accurate; he just really hated the thought of Naraku trying to use him, even if it was a failed attempt.

After going through HELL to develop the Meidou into a full circle (literally), Sesshoumaru then learns that the Meidou belongs to Tessaiga and Inuyasha, and that it's supposed to be handed over. Now, part of Sesshoumaru's angst over this idea, I think, is not just "did daddy love Inuyasha more?", but also the assumption that Inuyasha would have to KILL him in order to retake the Meidou Zangetsuha into Tessaiga. Thinking that your father meant for your little brother to kill you at some point to take your stuff is a pretty disturbing thought, to be entirely fair to him. This is why, when Sesshoumaru jumps into the meidou to take back control of the Naraku-possessed Tenseiga and breaks it deliberately, he spends the rest of the time in there moodily resigned to disappear. He genuinely believes that his father meant for him to die at this point, and even after they get out of there, he seems genuinely depressed.

This is Sesshoumaru's lowest point as a character. He's lost something he thought his father had meant for him, at his father's own wish, and he can't help but question why his dad would give him something just to take it away and give it to Inuyasha. It looks for all the world like favoritism, and since the Inu no Taishou is dead, there's no asking him what the hell the meaning of all this is.

This is all leading to one of the most infuriatingly ridiculous scenes I have ever seen in a manga - when Magatsuhi has crushed Sesshoumaru and everyone thinks he's been killed/absorbed, Magatsuhi is blown apart and rendered unable to reform by the shiny new sword clutched in Sesshoumaru's newly regrown arm. I could talk your ear off about how having Sesshoumaru stop being an amputee is erasure of consequences for his actions, or how being given back an arm is kind of a slap in the face for actual amputees, and where the mother f*ck did that sword come from anyway, but that's not what this essay is about, so I'll just keep all that to myself. The point of this is articulated by Toutousai when he says that Sesshoumaru had to let go of Tessaiga and his father's heirloom to stand on his own as a daiyoukai.

We've already gone over how Sesshoumaru is one of the most powerful characters in the series, who rarely has to worry about his well-being. He's just really strong without having to try. Sesshoumaru had already learned that he didn't need Tessaiga ages ago - he knew this when he learned that Inuyasha needed Tessaiga to keep from tearing himself apart eventually. But when he thought he had been passed down something from his father that was truly meant to be his, only to put all this work into it so that Inuyasha could have it, that embittered him again. It's not that he wanted the sword necessarily, but the thoughts and consideration of his father, who seemed to be putting everything he had into Inuyasha.

But his previous experiences protecting and considering someone (in some cases, multiple someones) weaker than him should have tipped him off. During the very battle in which he got his new arm and sword, he was actively helping those around him avoid Magatsuhi and keeping them close because he had a plan and the strength to carry it out. He was willing to take the extra step to protect Inuyasha and friends before trying to take care of Magatsuhi though, and that was the point. He put everyone else's needs ahead of his own, even Inuyasha's, and he did it without even thinking.

Toutousai just articulated what Sesshoumaru should have already intuitively known by that point. He never needed his father's heirlooms, the swords, his dad's power. They were unnecessary for him from the start. Inuyasha needed a leg up, because his own BODY could kill him after a while. But Sesshoumaru always had the capability of being great on his own. He just needed to finally separate his ego from who his father was and become his own person; stand on his own as a great youkai. While I don't agree with the execution, I can get behind the big lesson - don't rely on your daddy's wealth and influence to prop you up, and do the work to build a personality and identity of your own.

Which is ANOTHER reason why making Rin into a lover would be a thoughtless take. It would walk back Sesshoumaru's final lesson about being his own person apart from his father.

So, there you go. A comprehensive post regarding my take on Sesshoumaru's character development. I could add in a bit about Sesshoumaru coming to understand his father's consideration and the lengths he went to for the sake of protecting Inuyasha by having to give similar consideration to Rin, but I think this post is long enough, and that one statement on that aspect pretty much sums it up. Let me know if you would like me to elaborate on any of this, or if you would like to argue any of the points, I'm up for it. Might take me a minute to respond, mind you, but hopefully it won't take as long as it did to draft this behemoth.

Take care.

#inuyasha #rin (inuyasha) #sesshomaru #sesshoumaru #character analysis #character development analysis #i pulled out all the stops for this one #anti sessrin #i know this doesn't match the perfect prince characterization Sesshoumaru usually gets #but i just calls it as i sees it

[anextraordinarymuse]

LOVED your last post. Could have read more—ALL you wanted to write. Thank you!

You know what, anon? I just saw the new sneak peek from Parade of 8x09, and I am feeling exhausted. I am so tired of this game. So you know what? We’re gonna take another little ride on the “We’re not crazy, here’s all the proof” train re: Nathan is endgame. I hope you’re ready to read!  =)

The cast, writers, and characters themselves have already told us that Lucas isn’t endgame. I’ll start with an interview from Erin Krakow (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98IN4aE0LYE) where she’s asked what she would like to see in season 9. Erin says that she’d like to see how the chosen man fits into life with little Jack - and she says she wants to see Elizabeth and said man “without the complication of the other man. Getting to have real dates, and see what that romance and courtship is like ...” At this point in season 8, I don’t think that comment makes any real sense as far as Lucas is concerned. We’ve seen nothing but their dates and their courtship this season. There is still the complication of the other man, because we know that Nathan is still very much in the picture, but I would argue that he’s not really that much of a complication since it hasn’t stopped Elizabeth and Lucas from going on dates or courting. We’ve seen them go to dinner, go on picnics, hold hands, almost kiss ... season 8 has basically been all about their dating and courtship. You know who hasn’t been on a real date? Elizabeth and Nathan. We have no idea what a romance or courtship between them is like, so I would point out that Erin’s answer only makes sense if Nathan is the endgame. 

But we also know that there’s usually always a theme to each season. Would anyone disagree at this point if I said that the theme of season 8 is fighting and conflict? Because come on. This whole season has been about conflict for pretty much every character: the conflict between Rachel and her mom (and then Rachel and Rosemary and Lee); the conflict between Carson and what he wants, and between Carson and Faith; the conflict between Henry and Christopher; between Christopher and Lucas; between Lucas and Nathan; between Nathan and Elizabeth ... etc. This season is about conflict and fighting. More specifically, it’s about fighting for love (and fighting against it). Considering that, it’s very telling that we’ve been told outright by Chris McNally and by Lucas that Lucas has no intention of fighting for Elizabeth. Like, straight up. Chris McNally has said that Lucas only wants what’s best for Elizabeth, whatever that may be. Which isn’t too crazy on its own. But, look at it in the context of the characters. Elizabeth says early on in the season, to Lucas, that love needs to be fought for. And what does Lucas do? He spits out a retort and walks away. Later in the season, when Nathan tells Lucas that he hasn’t given up on Elizabeth Lucas responds by telling him to do whatever he wants. These are both very telling moments. We’ve got Elizabeth who believes that love is worth fighting for, and Nathan who also believes that, and Lucas, who ... apparently doesn’t. They have given Lucas several chances to meet Elizabeth on this, and he pointedly does not. It’s no accident that it’s Nathan who says the same thing to Elizabeth like half a season later, unprompted, without knowing that she has previously said the same words to Lucas. When Jack and Elizabeth were courting they had their shared phrase: “Love is patient, love is kind.” Now we’re being shown that Nathan and Elizabeth have their shared phrase (although they don’t know/haven’t accepted yet that it’s shared): “Love is worth fighting for.” Lucas and Elizabeth don’t share anything like that. They have some similar talents (speaking French, worldliness, love of writing and reading, etc.) but they don’t seem to share the same views on what’s really important. Also, it’s been pointed out that Lucas isn’t the type to stay in one place for long and that he’s really only in Hope Valley because of Elizabeth. Why point that out unless it’s important? If Lucas and Elizabeth were endgame, how would that work? Because Elizabeth would never leave Hope Valley, and teaching is too pivotal to who she is as a person to give it up - but Lucas has more of a vagabond spirit. Would he be willing to stay in HV permanently? I find that hard to believe.

Juxtapose that with Nathan, who has put down roots in Hope Valley and wants to keep doing so. He’s already talked about building a house, and Allie is pretty settled in their life. Nathan is a family man who likes the simple things, by his own admission. Which of those two men seems to align more with what’s important to Elizabeth? That’s a deliberate difference. 

On a bit of a side note, I’d also like to point out that the phrases that have presented themselves for the Jack/Elizabeth and Nathan/Elizabeth pairings are just another example of how different Jack and Nathan are, and the differences in their relationships. Jack and Elizabeth’s phrase is passive, and gentle, and easy: “Love is patient, love is kind.” Whereas Nathan and Elizabeth’s phrase is active, and speaks of turmoil and difficulty and effort: “Love is worth fighting for.” This is a clever way of highlighting the differences through lexical clues. Jack and Elizabeth’s romance came relatively easy - they had the usual challenges of backgrounds, youth, and self-discovery to face and overcome. Nathan and Elizabeth’s romance is going to come relatively difficulty (as I’m sure all of us exhausted Nathan fans can attest): they have to overcome so much more than Jack and Elizabeth did because they are at different places in their lives and have a lot more baggage. This isn’t the ease of a first romance; this is the tribulation and tumult of a second romance on one side, and a first romance on the other. Think of how difficult that would be on its own, without the added complication of Elizabeth being a widow (and both Nathan and Elizabeth being single parents!). This isn’t a relationship that will come easily: it will be earned, and actively chosen, and fought for. No one has ever fought as hard for Elizabeth as Nathan has - including Jack, because Jack didn’t have to fight as hard. 

Also on that note, you know who doesn’t have to fight for Elizabeth? Lucas. He pursues her, as I touched on in my previous answer, but he doesn’t fight for her. She willingly steps into a romance with him, and they never have to confront her fears or worries, and nothing of note ever happens between them. Everything comes easily to Elizabeth and Lucas. Their only real spot of conflict is ... Nathan. Does that sound at all like Elizabeth’s “next great love?” No. 

Keep in mind, the writers aren’t just convincing Elizabeth and Nathan that they’re in love - they have to convince the audience as well. That’s true of any romance. You have to make people want it - you have to give them something to root for and invest in, otherwise there’s no payoff. The end result will feel hollow. Granted, I would say that the writers took that a little far with all of this. This fight has felt all uphill and ridiculously one sided all season. I have no idea how they’re going to change that or even it out in like two or three episodes (since I think Lucas and Elizabeth will still be a thing in episode 9 and probably at least part of 10).

Anyway, continuing on. If we go back to season 7, it’s clear that Elizabeth wants Nathan’s attention, time, trust, confidence, etc. She accepts those things from Lucas, but she actively seeks them out from Nathan. In the Christmas episode, Elizabeth offers to take Nathan and Allie to find a tree; she offers them the use of her decorations, helps them place it in the house, and then stays to help them decorate it. We also get our first moment of physical closeness and suggestion of a kiss here between Elizabeth and either man, in the quiet intimacy of an evening spent decorating said tree. Elizabeth is damn near against Nathan’s chest and in his arms, and she’s the one to turn and look up into his face. I’ll also point out that it’s Elizabeth who first looks shyly at Nathan when she says “when it’s right, you can just feel it.” Elizabeth immediately looks at Nathan as if she’s suddenly aware of having said something that she maybe didn’t mean to, and then Nathan looks at her - but his expression is not the same. Elizabeth almost looks like she’s been caught out, but Nathan just looks attentive. Anyway, twice in this episode Elizabeth tries to gain Nathan’s confidence (here I mean this definition of confidence: “a secret or private matter told to someone under a condition of trust.”) when she keeps asking him what’s wrong. Oh, and her smile when Nathan tells her there’s no place else he’d rather be? Yeah. She smiles at him like that a lot in season 7.

These themes are repeated everywhere in season 7. Every time Elizabeth and Nathan get closer, Lucas inserts himself in the situation. Elizabeth stops Nathan in the street to talk about Allie’s book report, and Lucas suddenly appears and butts in; Elizabeth makes eye contact with Nathan from across the saloon at the bachelor/bachelorette parties and gives him a sweet smile, and then she sees Lucas/he smiles or however that plays out; Elizabeth looks at Nathan when she says the mystery flowers really made her day because that’s who she thinks they’re from. Also, when Elizabeth is telling Rosemary about her argument with Nathan after the windstorm, and about how Lucas sent his mother her manuscript without asking, she says something about how she’s left wondering how much she can trust Lucas, and how the irony is that Nathan seems to be wondering how much he can trust her. Even though Elizabeth forgives Lucas and it ends up working out in her favor, it’s still very telling that Lucas knew that Elizabeth would probably say no to letting him send the chapters to his mother, so he just didn’t ask and did it anyway. So Lucas has momentarily lost Elizabeth’s trust, which upsets her, but she’s also concerned that she’s lost Nathan’s trust - which she’s been working for all season. 

In fact, season 7 establishes a pattern: in almost every instance in which she has a choice, Elizabeth seeks out Nathan first - as in, before Nathan seeks her out, and before she seeks out Lucas. There are a few exceptions to this, like in the finale of season 6 when she asks Lucas to dance, although if you go back and watch that scene I’m not sure she actually makes a choice. Elizabeth and Nathan do not interact in that scene at all, and she doesn’t actually see him until the moment she sees him walking out the door. So, it’s safe to assume that she probably didn’t even know he was there, in which case it wasn’t really a choice between them. 

In light of season 8, I think we can say that Season 7 was about Elizabeth pursuing Nathan, and season 8 is about Nathan pursuing Elizabeth. We’ve essentially flipped. Lucas has been pursuing Elizabeth since season 6, but she’s more given in to him than she has pursued him. 

And that’s interesting on its own. We find out in season 7 that Lucas’s father pursued his mother for like five years, or some insanely long time, and that she finally gave in to him. If I’m not mistaken, that’s the exact wording that Lucas uses. He then goes on to say that he plans to be as patient as his father was. But then in season 8, we find out that Lucas’s parents are separated and their relationship hasn’t been good for awhile according to Helen. This is clearly an allusion to what the future holds for Lucas and Elizabeth if they were to get that far. Elizabeth asks Helen if she has shown her true self and true heart to her husband, and Helen says no; when Lucas asks Elizabeth “how do you lose that?” in regards to his parents’ love, she says something about how maybe they loved each other at one time, and maybe still did, but it’s clear that it’s uncertain if either of those things are true. So, we find out that the relationship that Lucas has basically used as his basis for chasing Elizabeth is not stable or honest. And of course, we know now that Lucas and Elizabeth’s relationship is neither of those things either. Elizabeth is not showing Lucas her true self or her true heart. 

Also, if you’ve seen the new sneak peek for 8x09, there’s an interesting exchange in that. Basically, Lucas tells Elizabeth that he wasn’t hurt when Elizabeth took Nathan’s hands instead of his, and that she didn’t need to be mortified on his behalf. I’m sorry ... what? This is the woman you have now been courting for some time, and definitely chasing for years, and you ... aren’t at all bothered by the fact that she claimed another man’s hands in a game of “find your true love?” I find that ... odd. Especially considering that this isn’t just some funny, haha accident between, like, Elizabeth and Hickam. This is Elizabeth and Nathan, the man Lucas has been competing with for literal years for Elizabeth’s time and attention and affection. And you just ... don’t mind? Because you should mind. Honestly. If you cared deeply for Elizabeth you should be upset, at least on some level. Unless it was more about the chase for Lucas, and his feelings for her are not on the same level as Nathan’s, and he’s already begun to suspect that Elizabeth’s heart is really with Nathan. 

Because I think that Lucas cares about Elizabeth, and I think that he would be happy with her (at least for a while), but I don’t think that Lucas is in love with Elizabeth. I think he liked the challenge she presented, and he likes trying to sweep her off her feet, but I don’t think it goes much further than that. Here’s Nathan, who stands as sure and as concretely as a lighthouse in a storm, and will not be swayed. Elizabeth runs from him, it looks like Rosemary is going to try to discourage him, he has to watch Elizabeth and Lucas together all over town, has to tell Elizabeth something that will hurt her ... here is Nathan, who has been given basically zero encouragement or support in his efforts, and he still won’t give up. He believes so completely that Elizabeth is in love with him that he’s the freaking man who can’t be moved. Compare that to Lucas, who has finally gotten what he’s wanted for like two years, and he just ... has no intention of fighting for it. Easy come, easy go, I guess.

And that, too, tells us that Lucas and Elizabeth’s story is coming to a close. Relationships take effort - so much effort, even when things are good. They’re not passive: you have to actively build and maintain them. Not necessarily every day, but the longer you remain passive the more they degrade. So, where has all of Lucas’s effort gone? Because Nathan still has effort and try and fight in spades, and that man has been beaten down at every turn for like 90% of the season.

And still - despite how hard it is, and how alone he must feel, and how discouraging this all has to be - Nathan still won’t give up because he knows Elizabeth’s heart so well and loves her so completely that he can’t give up. Which is exactly what he tells Rosemary. 

So, I say it again: this has never been Lucas and Elizabeth’s love story. It’s always been Nathan and Elizabeth, and we’ve always been headed down this road. We’ve just taken a few sharp turns and hit a detour or two on the way.

#nathan x elizabeth #Anonymous #nathan grant

[theotherbackgrounder]

Ever After High OCs.

just decided to share some OCs that I had created (either for fanfics or for the show in general) not everyone was shown, as I haven't gotten around to making those stories, so I will try to tell what exactly they would have been for. If anyone wants to ask any questions, go a head. If anyone wants to borrow them, be my guest.

Name: Destiny

Legacy/Parents: The Author

Magic: Fairy Tale Magic.

Details: Blonde, blue eyes, red and black color scheme.

This is the "Destiny" that the franchise is always talking about. This is the personification. This is the girl that's fucked with Poppy and Holly in "Truth or Hair" and she has created scenarios where characters end up finding or follow their destiny. She is often seen jotting down in her notebook.

It's also revealed that Apple White is actually a "stand-in" for Destiny acting as a meta-context of a self-insert.

Name: Art

Legacy: The Illustrator

Magic: Worth a Thousand Words

depicted as a much elder gentleman, Art is The Author to his Illustrator. She write and he draws. his magic is with his paintbrush where he can contort/reshape/reimagine the world around him with a simple stroke. Gets defeated by Madeline and The Jabberwocky after Maddie finally forgives the monster of Wonderland.

Name: Ramona Cheshire

Parents: Cerise Hood and Kitty Cheshire.

Following my Ramona Theory, Ramona disappears from this world after Cerise finally accepts the truth that she is in fact "The Big Bad Wolf" and that she couldn't continue living in the story she was hiding from. After Cerise and Kitty get together and Cerise becomes pregnant it was Kitty that suggests the name "Ramona" for their daughter.

Name: Madow

Legacy: Evil (Mother)

Magic: Darkness

Like Authors/Narrators/Illustrators/etc, Madow belongs to a family set of "Concepts" rather than characters. Madow is a young man that after living his entire life in complete darkness saw for the first time a bright shining light (from when Raven broke the Storybook of Legends in Way Too Wonderland) and decided to go to ever after high to seek out that bright light and wants to change his destiny. He seeks out that light and the change of destiny to an dangerous obsessive level.

Madow is blind, as light won't reach his eyes, and unless he wears his gloves he can't touch anything without tainting the color or take away the light of life if he isn't careful. if a character has an evil magic affinity (Ex: Faybelle) they feel neutral around him, but those with a Light affinity (Farrah) would feel extremely uncomfortable despite his kind hearted attitude (Madow's cousin, the Daughter of Light, has the reverse effect.)

Gets into a relationship with Cedar, though tragedy strikes when Madow and his cousin has to complete their destiny of "Good vs Evil."

Name: Brock Gounder

Parents: Nam (Father) Lass (Mother) Chara (sister)

"Oh Curses": "Forget me not..."

Brock Gounder is an average character, nothing really impactful about him. Does not stand out in a crowd. Will not do anything special with his life. he is a literal nameless background characters. his "curses" will leave people that meet him to completely forget his name.

In the fanfic (not finished) that he is used in he meets an injured Cerise (who got injured when camping by herself before Ever After High started) and tries to help her. Afraid of whether or not that Brock found out her secret she tries to play aloof with her caretaker. The story comes to ahead as Cerise accidently kills Brock in attempt to keep him quiet about her secret. She buries him afterwards and where she placed him is a small man-made tombstone with no name written on it. He is soon forgotten by even his family that he existed.

In another fanfic, a Silent Hill x Ever After High crossover (Silent Ever After), Brock Gounder appears to Cerise as a zombie with his eyes and toungue torn out. he moves without making noise or disturbing the snow where the story takes place in. it's like he isn't there. Corpse Brock represents the guilt Cerise has for taking an innocent life in the name of her keeping her secret. At the end of "Silent Ever After") she visits the nameless grave where he is buried, accepting the part where she can't make her past mistakes right.

Name: Steppinson

Legacy: The Step son in "The Juniper Tree"

Steppinson is an old friend to Ginger Breadhouse (Back when she still went by the name of "Ginger Witch") but one day, when she went to visit, his Stepmom said he went far away and she never saw him again until in the present day story. Faybelle is seen worried about Steppinson (as Faybelle and Ginger played together when they were kids, so she knew of him as their moms were friends.) and she knows his story.

The story is most of Steppinson and Ginger catching up with one another after so long apart. Steppinson even gives ginger an odd look when mentioning about her dream to cook, but is still supportive. Ginger asks him if he is going to come to Ever After High but he says he can't, as he already completed his story when they were kids so he technically wouldn't fit the conditions of the school. Before Steppinson leaves he gives Ginger some gifts like a stone necklace and as she chases after him, he disappears again. The last thing seen is a white dove watching over ginger.

The story ends with a flashback to the day when Steppinson's step mom tells Ginger that he was no longer there. his Stepmom was making a stew and invites her in for a bowl. Ginger agrees and finds the stew to be the most delicious thing she had ever tasted. It essentially is what inspires her dream to cook, to make something as good as what she had that day.

If you don't know. in "The Juniper Tree" the step-mom kills the step-son (Steppinson here) and cooks him into a stew and feeds her husband the stew (which she let Ginger have some) and why Steppinson (who is a spirit here) gets embarrassed about Ginger's dream because technically he inspired her because of how good he tasted. The gifts he gives her are the same gifts he gives his family in the story and the dove is a form he takes.

#ever after high #ocs #raven queen #apple white #cerise hood

[trainwreckss]

╰ ❛ 💉 — › chris evans. cismale. he/him. . ╯ have you met garrett matthews yet ? this thirty seven year old scorpio has been living in the seattle area for two years. he makes a living as an orthopedic attending, which is best suited for their protective, generous, compulsive, and stubborn personality. born to run by bruce springsteen is one of their favorite songs, and they're written by annie, 25, est, she/her, n/a

UPDATES

garret left seattle emotional and sad after seeing his ex-wife! he had some soul searching to do. that searching led him to new mexico (bc idk its the vibe i have) 

he went on a bender like any sad boi would. then he got himself some help and began to heal. he is still workin’, but he missed seattle. gotta beg for his job back! stat! 

below is the same from before <3

BASIC INFORMATION

full name: garrett michael anthony david matthews

nickname(s): matthews, ‘mad’ matthews (in hs/college)

age: 37

date of birth: october 29, 1983

hometown: charlotte, north carolina

current location: seattle, washington

race/ethnicity: caucasian 

nationality: american

gender: cismale

pronouns: he/him/his

orientation: heteroromantic, heterosexual

religion: agnostic

political affiliation: democratic socialist

occupation: attending orthopedic surgeon

living arrangements: alone in a loft, other side of town

language(s) spoken: french

accent: american

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

face claim: chris evans

hair color: dark brown

eye color: blue

height: 5′11

weight: 172 lbs

build: fit/athletic

tattoos: yes

piercings: n/a

clothing style: casual (but put together)

usual expression: soft, smile, grin

distinguishing characteristics: beard, blue eyes

HEALTH

physical ailments: n/a

neurological conditions: past depressive episodes

allergies: shellfish

sleeping habits: grinds teeth

eating habits: n/a

exercise habits: regular - daily morning workouts (running, cardio, crossfit, etc)

emotional stability: he has slipped into depressive episodes in the past because of the loss of his child; typically he’s at an 8, but it can dip quickly

sociability: often isolates after work, living alone, single, etc. he is very good around people though.

body temperature: average

addictions: alochol

drug use: n/a

alcohol use: socially, binge drinking

PERSONALITY

positive traits: protective, generous, caring, charismatic, kind, simple

negative traits: compulsive, stubborn, closed-off

fears: birds freak him out a little bit

hobbies: building furniture from scratch, watching late-night infomercials

FAVOURITES

weather: spring (a new start)

colour: lilac (reminds him of his daughter)

music: probably anything you would describe as ‘the classics’

movies: tbd.

sport: football, hockey

beverage: black coffee

food: calzones (ben wyatt who?)

animal: dogs, he would be the kind of guy to get a deer to trust him

FAMILY

father: patrick matthews, accountant

mother: grace matthews, english teacher

sibling(s): reese matthews (brother), aria matthews (sister)

children: mackenzie mae-matthews †

significant other: sutton reyes (ex-wife)

pet(s): n/a

family’s financial status: upper-middle class

ADDITIONAL CONTEXT

garrett matthews was raised in an upper-middle class, happy family. he had a privileged upbringing, access to a quality education, and he didn’t want for anything.

garrett matthews met sutton reyes when they were both juniors in high school. they were the picture perfect high school couple, and they decided to marry while in college at age 21. mackenzie mae matthews was born, roughly, nine months later. after graduation, garrett decided to go to medical school.

at 26-years-old, garrett began in the surgical residency program at nyu. shortly after, his daughter was diagnosed with non-hodgkin’s lymphoma.

while mackenzie was sick, garrett spent every spare moment by her bedside. however, for a surgical resident, this did not amount to a lot of time. he began to fall behind in his residency and receive pressure from his superiors to step it up. this is why garrett agreed to be part of an organ recovery team one evening during his second year of residency. he could not turn down anymore opportunities. it was this night that mackenzie took her last breaths and passed away, without her father at her bedside.

mackenzie’s death broke garrett. he felt tremendous guilt. he had abandoned his daughter for a surgery. sutton couldn’t even look at him. she hated him, and she told him often. she filed for divorce a few months after mackenzie’s funeral.

garrett started off on a long, complicated spiral. he experienced, what could probably be characterized as, a series of depressive episodes. he began binge drinking. he fell further and further down, always resorting to alcohol to drown away his guilt. he probably would have lost everything if his mentor hadn’t eventually pulled him out.

garrett got back on his feet. he dedicated himself to helping other people through his work. he wanted to be the best person he could be--for mackenzie. he started to get his life back together (although he was never able to admit he had a drinking problem...he remains adamant that he is not, nor was he ever, an alcoholic; his problem is ‘under control).

when given the chance, garrett moved to the other side of the country to escape some of his more painful memories. he accepted a fellowship at seattle presbytarian before becoming an attending surgeon at seattle grace.

garrett carries mackenzie with him. he is inspired everyday by his beautiful, courageous, generous child. she is why he is so committed to being the kind and caring man he is. he smiles a lot more now. although, at the end of the day, he always goes home alone.

#traumaintro #& ─ about : who tells your story? #tw death #tw child loss