#in that regard she's still very loyal to her roots

[bibibbon]

Mei mei is well written

⚠️this post will discuss things like manipulation and exploitation ⚠️

A good character ≠ A morally good person or a good guy

Mei mei is a character that acts as a foil to many characters like choso, nanami, Gojo and even toji. However, even with all of that mei mei still ends up feeling like her own character and is unique enough to not just be regarded as a foil to other characters.

Nanami and mei mei

Nanami and mei mei are very obviously character foils in my opinion. The share a lot of differences and are basically anthesis.

Mei mei doesn't have a problem with exploiting children (her brother ui ui) she she can use them to gain money or survive whereas nanami is known to be the protector of children and his famous line " being a child isn't a sin" says it all. As soon as mei mei escaped kenjakus grasps she was out of shibuya not even taking a second to worry about her examinee itadori yuji and basically leaving him to fend for himself wherever he was at the time whereas nanami even after being heavily injured by jogo's attack had megumi's wellbeing (his examinee) on the forefront of his mind. Mei mei wasn't going to risk her life for anyone not even her own brother as seen in the most recent chapter if it weren't for Miguel, UI UI would of died for certain whereas nanami died protecting the children. Due to mei Mei's selfishness and her own ambitions she easily achieved her dreams and was able to go to Malaysia during the downfall of everyone in shibuya whereas nanami could only dream of going to shibuya and ended up also dying for his own desires to make sure everyone is ok. Nanami could of easily walked to shoko and seek medical attention yet he chose not to. There's also one for their biggest contrasts chapter 236 the famous south and north conversation where mei mei says, "if you want to change go north but if you want to stick to your roots then travel south" nanami states that he didn't hesitate and picked south which is seen in his character as nanami could never really abandon the past whereas mei mei has been implied to go north and that can be seen through her own character and how she continuously moves and sticks with the flow of a situation.

However, you would think that we would get at least one scene where we see Gojo and nanami (the supposed protectors of children) criticise mei mei on how she treats and exploits UI UI but we don't

Mei Mei and choso

They are mainly contrasted when it comes to the idea of family.

A huge aspect of choso's character is his love for family. Choso deeply values all of his siblings and his mother but completely despises kenjaku (as he should!) This is contrasted to mei mei who has been stated to exploit and only use her family for money. Choso only hates one member of his family noritoshi Kamo aka kenjaku whereas mei mei only values one family member and that's UI UI. Choso will do anything for his siblings whether that is to kill for them or to he heavily protect them in the battlefield whereas mei mei wouldn't even protect her brother from sukuna and if it weren't for Miguel coming in UI UI would be dead. Choso wouldn't force anything upon yuji and tired to assist him the best he could whereas mei mei literally made UI UI take a binding vow that states that he can't use his CT without her permission. Mei mei and choso are directly foiled to eachother in chapter 133 where choso is seen to be continually freaking out over the discovery that itadori yuji is his sibling and that he almost killed him whereas mei mei was manipulating and basically grooming UI UI so he would stay a loyal pawn to her.

Mei and choso are basically the saying :

A curse that acts more human than a human that acts like a curse

Mei mei and toji

Their whole contrast mainly centers around their standing in Jujutsu society and the modern capitalist society.

The biggest difference between mei mei and toji is that toji failed in gambling and hoarding money whereas mei mei succeeded.

Both mei mei and toji used their family members as a way to gain money. Toji was going to sell megumi to the zenins clan (even if it was somehow for megumi's own good he was still gonna do it) but changed his mind right before dying whereas mei mei still exploits her brother and only views him as important when he can benefit her. They both gamble and hussle a lot of money however, toji fails at gambling and ends up running himself to the ground by trying to gain money over and over again whereas mei mei succeeds and is able to naturally exploit any situation to where she comes out on the winning side of gaining money. Both mei mei and toji seem to only care for one of their family members (megumi and UI UI). Mei mei manages to exploit the Jujutsu system and easily gain money from it whereas the system despises toji and made his life unbearable. Toji literally died because of his hatred to both the pinnacle of Jujutsu society (Gojo) and to his desire of money whereas mei mei didn't.

I also find mei Mei's character to be fascinating her cursed technique is basically black crow manipulation. In Japan black crows are seen as a symbol of good luck, fortune and gratitude which is similar to mei mei. There's also the hair design for MEI MEI. It looks like a curtain of some sort almost her hiding her identity and making her seem two faced but that honestly contradicts with the way she acts considering that she is very open about her lobe for money and how she uses her brother to get it.

In conclusion, I personally like mei mei but I just hate how gege doesn't outright use her character to critique anything and just has her there.

#mei mei #jjk mei mei #jjk analysis #jjk manga #jjk #jjk critical #jjk parallels #jjk rant #jjk ramblings #gege akutami #choso kamo #nanami kento #toji fushiguro #mei mei is well written

[lying-on-floors]

In Defense of Lori Grimes...

Listen, I've been rewatching TWD and I can only think of Lori Grimes.

I am a Lori Grimes defender for life and I don't care for your criticisms of her. The beginning of the show established that she was a woman going through marital issues. She already voiced how she felt guilty for the way she talked to Rick earlier that day and then found out her husband had been shot and fell into a coma! I don't know if y'all have ever known the grief of losing a parent and have had to watch how the grief affects your remaining parent, but I have. See, I was 5 when my dad was first arrested. My brother and I stayed with my grandma a lot because my mom was rarely home. She went out with friends as a form of escape from everything going on. Yes, she still loved us and she loves us now and we love her, even if it's really complicated and confusing at times. She just wanted to forget.

Shane wasn't much more than a distraction for Lori, an escape. And I am going to remind y'all that Shane took ADVANTAGE of her and her vulnerability. Everything people like to criticize Lori for is rooted in misogyny, like a lot of hate directed toward female characters.

Now, I am going to go over some of the common criticisms I have seen regarding Lori Grimes and I am going to disprove them.

"Lori Grimes was a bad mother."

No. Just No. She was a wonderful and loving mother. She loved Carl so much and she loved Beth. She would've loved Judith. All the times Carl acted bratty, understandably, she never once hit him or degraded him but reatherscoldde him and told him to do better.

AND I AM NOT PUTTING DOWN MICHONNE! I love Michonne and I love Lori. You can love both women and praise them for their roles as mothers and wives without pitting them against each other and it's sad that it is such a common practice amongst fandoms.

2. "Lori Grimes was a bad wife."

No. She was a loyal, supportive, and loving wife. As soon as she saw Rick was alive, she set immediate boundaries with Shane. She told him it was over. She told him she didn't want him to involve himself with her or her family EVER again. Shane didn't like that. He believed that HE OWNED HER and fucking assulted her! Like she is her own person and doesn't belong to anyone.

She supported Rick up until her death. She was his left hand. He went to her for everything, like he does with Michonne. And I love that he does that.

3. "Lori Grimes is selfish."

Okay? And? She's human. She's going to behave selfishly at times. And don't bring up her not wanting to have Judith at the beginning of her pregancy. She didn't need to tell Rick because it was her choice. She told him because she loved him. Rick even told her he would never make her have a child she didn't want but Rick helped her to look positivly towards the world's future. She had very valid reasons for not wanting to have a baby in the apocolypse and even if she had no reason other than not wanting to go through child birth, especially without medicine readily available, that's STILL VALID.

4. "Lori Grimes was a bitch."

This is the last one I'm going to address. Lori Grimes was not a bitch. She was a strong and powerful woman, who didn't take anyone's shit and set strict boundaries.

All I can say is that fandom hates women. Women of color also get a lot of shit, like I'm not denying that AT ALL and I will defend every last woman throughout the TWD universe, even the villians. Just because a woman wasn't submissive or she was antagonistic DOES NOT MEAN SHE'S DESERVING OF ALL HATE!!

In conclusion, I love Lori Grimes and the women of TWD. They're always overshadowed by the men around them and it's time they have the spotlight and praise they deserve.

Only comment if you want to uplift the women of TWD and the world. If not, die. <3 XOXO <3

#twd #the walking dead #twd lori grimes #lori grimes #women #feminism #twd women #female characters #twd rick #rick grimes #carl grimes #judith grimes #twd carl #twd judith #michonne grimes #twd michonne #hot take #unpopular opinion #that should be popular

[neverchecking]

Ngl… kinda wanna see Aaliyah and Zelda have beef. It could be from any timeline you want but I’m personally curious about the restoration period between games or even TotK. Those two times would probably have the most drama considering…. Literally everything that’s happened up until then. Only if you wanna share, though!

Yeah, sure! Those two absolutely have beef. Like Grade A, grain fed, free range, sirloin beef.

During the beginning Calamity it wasn't nearly as prevalent since the Sheikah were always hovering over Aaliyah's shoulder, so she had to remain proper, but she evidently didn't agree with the royal family at times. Sage, at the time, probably saw nothing wrong with it, so they probably had issues there too that rooted in them wanted to just defend where their loyalties lied.

After the Calamity and post BOTW her and Natura probably had quite the tension between them especially in regards to the beasts (I forgot the name for them oh my god), Natura wanted them gone, but Aaliyah saw them as part of a crucial history of the land and her people and the generations prior.

As we can see in TOTK, we know who won.

From that point on, they probably never got better. it would just be one thing after another. Since Natura is more focused on development and scholastics, Aaliyah probably did a lot of behind the scenes work in reconnecting the nations of Hyrule. People learned to trust her as the Sheikah champion like never before while Zelda was more focused on her readings. When TOTK went down, and lets say for the sake of argument Sage DID save Zelda in the end, would probably be a boiling point for all three of them.

I've established before that Sage is a still a Link. He's still unfathomably loyal to his person. Only, in this case, his person isn't Zelda or Hyrule. It's Aaliyah. And Aaliyah's already had rising tensions with the state of Hyrule and this takes the cake. Especially if after the fact, Zelda, instead of focusing on her people chooses to instead focus on studying the Zonai. There is where it would probably come to blows. Aaliyah would snap that no good ruler would choose a kingdom long past over one currently struggling without its ruler, while Natura would argue back that the Zonai shaped them and it would be beneficial to learn from them.

I'm not saying it would be a total breakdown regarding the hierarchy, but it would be a start. The Sheikah have lost all sense of Government sway because Aaliyah is no longer their bargaining chip, the royal family is all but devastated with a heiress that has no interest in ruling her kingdom, and the only two that could possibly step up in her absence have absolutely no interest in doing so and in fact want to destroy the very remains of the monarchy as it is.

I can't say i've decided where this would lead in terms of my world building but that's where it stands now.

But King! Sage and Queen! Aaliyah certainly is a thought.

#cinder rambles

[dutifullynuttywitch]

Autumn Nightbloom

My MC for Blades of Light and Shadow/Blades 2

Autumn is an elf raised by humans in the small town of Riverbend, along with her adopted brother Kade.

Initially, she knows nothing about her culture and heritage. She feels like a bit of an outsider in the small Riverbend community and would love to understand better who she is and where she's from. Tyril is the first of her kind she’s ever met. With his help and guidance, she gradually learns more about her cultural roots, though she comes to find elven society too rigid and insular. She is very much a “human” in her worldview and belief system.

After meeting the goblins in Blades 2 and learning more about her family’s sacrifice to protect them during the Elven war against the Shadow Court, she chooses to honor them and adopts the Nightbloom name.

Physical appearance: She is an elf, fair-skinned, blond hair, and light purple eyes.

Personality: Autumn is very curious, with a thirst for knowledge and an adventurer at heart. Growing up, she always dreamed of traveling the realms, meeting interesting people and going on quests, just like the heroes Kade would tell her about in his stories. She is a very caring and loyal friend – not afraid to jump into danger to protect the ones she loves. She is charismatic and uses her seduction skills to get out of many sticky situations – to her friends’ amusement and Mal's occasional exasperation. She is witty and banters with friends and enemies alike. While she is quick to trust, she is slow to forgive – and forget – betrayals, particularly when they affect her friends and loved ones. (Autumn is still working through her anger at Aerin and Valax’s betrayals, though she allies with them for the greater good.) Always very independent, Autumn had never dreamed of getting married or starting a family. Meeting Mal and choosing to run the orphanage with him was an unexpected blessing. Now she couldn't imagine her life without him or the children.

Hobbies: Autumn grew up reading about famous adventurers of the realm and fantasy novels. She still enjoys a good book whenever she can indulge in free time. She enjoys a night out at the pub, drinking and dancing the night away with her friends. Autumn is musically inclined, she learned to play the transverse flute and piccolo growing up. She now plays mostly to entertain her friends and the children at Mal's orphanage. (It's also a much safer alternative to Mal's singing!!) She is a horrible cook but compensates with excellent foraging skills.

Fighting skills: Autumn is skilled with the bow and sword and will practise both for hours to hone her skills. She'll often run through her Kai'tar movements early in the morning as a form of meditation. As an elf Autumn is magically inclined. She practices her skills regularly in the hopes of becoming a powerful battlemage. She also spends much time with Nia learning the secrets of healing magic.

Languages: In addition to the common language of Morella, Autumn learnt the elven language with the help of Tyril in order to read the old manuscripts and understand her house's history and that of Undermount. She is now learning Spanish to better understand Mal and Wren's cultural roots.

Love interests: Autumn was attracted to Mal from the moment she met him not that she'll ever admit that to him. She felt drawn in by his charm and flirty banter, and a little star-struck initially that he was an established adventurer, living the life she had always dreamed of for herself. Her feelings for him deepened as Mal gradually opened up to her, showing vulnerability and more of his authentic self hidden beneath all his charm and cockiness. They also share many of the same opinions regarding the authoritarian nature of the political and religious systems within Morella, and disgust at the elite’s abuse of the common folk. Autumn chose to create a life with Mal at the end of Blades 1, and to help him run the orphanage after Blades 2. She accompanies him on his heists, partly to keep him out of trouble, but also because she needs a bit of danger and adventure to feel truly alive. Also, she'll never waste an opportunity to stick it to the rich & powerful, and redistribute wealth along with the love of her life!

She was also drawn to Tyril when they first met, though that connection quickly blossomed into one of friendship and respect. She was initially intrigued by his stoic and reserved nature, impressed by his remarkable fighting skills and deep sense of honor. And his devotion to his lost friend Kaya. Autumn was also curious to learn more about elven culture and felt a sort of kinship from the moment they allied. She panicked when he was injured in the undermount catacombs, and realized her concern for him ran deep.

#blades of light and shadow #playchoices #blades of light and shadow 2 #my mc #bolas #choices #mal volari #mal volari x mc #tyril starfury #meet my mc

[elliepassmore]

Never A Hero review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: time travel, morally gray characters, magic

Only A Monster review

Have you ever had a series where you liked the first book but didn't love it, but then read the second book and it completely elevated your opinion? That's what this book did for me. I liked Only A Monster but wasn't in love with it (even though I rated it 5 stars, don't @ me I have rating problems). But this book definitely hooked me. I liked where and who the characters were when this book opened, I enjoyed the adventure they went on, and overall I was more interested in seeing how it ended and was more desperate for the next book when I finished.

Joan was less naïve coming into this book and was still grappling with the implications of everything that happened over summer. She's obviously struggling with her heritage and has vowed not to time travel ever again, but is also still having fade outs where her mind dangerously tries to make her travel without time. As the action picks up, we see that Joan is still hugely protective and loyal toward the Hunts, despite the mixed emotions she feels toward them. She's determined to ensure that they're taken care of while at the same time she's trying to survive herself. We get to see even more of her complicated emotions regarding her monster heritage and her feelings of loyalty toward humans, which I liked. I wasn't so much a fan of how she decided to take such a morally high road that she didn't even use the trinkets that hold time. Like, girl, it's already been stolen, it's not going to become any less stolen if you don't use it and hurting yourself to avoid using it doesn't do anyone any good.

I loved Aaron from the get-go in book 1, but he does fall downhill here a little bit. It's not...entirely his fault, but I did hope he'd snap out of things faster. That being said, Aaron does make the right decision and returns to being his hilariously privileged but lovable self. His and Joan's friendship continues to be one of my favorite parts of this series and I'm very excited that he'll be in book 3 from the beginning.

Nick comes back in and I liked him again! I felt, in general, like he was much better this time around than he was in the other timeline. We get to see a different side to him this time around. He's gentler and more caring, and his protectiveness over humanity now gets extended to Joan and some of the other people they meet along the way. I think Nick is a more complex, nuanced character in this book than he was in book 1, and part of that is that he is able to make his own decision and come to his own conclusions in this one vs. in the first book when he was manipulated behind the scenes every step of the way (or almost every step).

I'm going to be honest and say I kind of had mixed feelings about the plot for a large portion of the book. Don't get me wrong, I really liked that Joan was forced on the run and there seemed to be this big mystery about the timeline. I also really liked how we got more insight into the true timeline as well as some of the other families we briefly came into contact with in book 1. That being said, I felt a little weird about Eleanor (new character), though I came around to her role in things toward the end. It's just, she felt cartoonish at first, but as more was revealed, more of both her complexity and her monstrosity became apparent. I like a good villain, even if I don't root for them, and Eleanor shaped up to be a good villain. I'm very interested to see where she goes and what she does in book 3 (also kind of scared at some of the implications for how the team is going to fix this).

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot more than the first one and it really elevated my opinion of the series as a whole. The villain in this one is more nuanced, and we get more nuance for our other characters and their past actions as well, which I particularly liked. The ending is definitely a banger and I'm looking forward to seeing how our protagonists get out of this one.

#book #book review #books #book recommendations #fantasy #bookstagram #booklr #bookblr #bookaholic #bookish #book addict #never a hero #only a monster #aaron oliver #vanessa len #ya fantasy books #fantasy book #time travel

[bakerolivias-archived]

anyway i’m bored and i’m back into my echo/becho stanhood era so let’s get into it:

a lot of the vitriol echo experienced from fandom was somewhat unfair, especially on a show like the 100, where the entire point is to question the morality of decisions and how much survival is worth over doing the “right thing” - which, on this show is entirely subjective. like it’s perfectly normal to hate a character, for a character to get somewhat on your nerves, but some of the complaints regarding her were just plain nonsensical, and mostly out of boredom but also because echo deserves a lot more credit than she’s given, i’m here to address all the arguments against her.

1. echo was just as interesting, and multi-dimensional, as clarke, and as morally grey/compelling a character. in s2, she was a side character, a random girl in a cage, and we knew little to nothing about her other than the fact that she was a member of ice nation and she and bellamy were forming some kind of alliance and borderline friendship in the “you’re a war prisoner and our groups are fighting but you’re also being tortured and i don’t want you to die” sense. in s3 echo and bellamy had a familiarity to their relationship when echo seeked bellamy for help after she was “captured” (i think that’s what happened it’s been years since i watched t100 s3 i barely remember it) and he told the other person to let her go, exhibiting some kind of trust and friendship towards her in this scene too. now, i liked echo despite how little screentime she got as opposed to other characters like roan, because she was very interesting in s2, even when she spat on bellamy - and given the audience’s love for bellarke which had spanned multiple eps since the pilot, it would make sense that they wouldn’t be as enthusiastic about her, or a ship where the two characters’ first interaction was to spit on each other, but echo as an individual was pretty interesting imo. the reason echo wasn’t fleshed out as much before s4 was because she was freshly introduced and naturally had to take a backseat to clarke, the lead, bell, the male lead, raven and jasper and lexa... the list goes on. even roan got more screentime than her, because she wasn’t as important to the narrative, other than being the instigator for the Gina Died Incident so bellamy could become an ooc villain and be driven to genocide.

the Gina Incident in particular is what most of fandom seems to hate her for, and she didn’t seem to be particularly remorseful in the traditional way about it either - but remember, this is coming from ppl who liked BC even when clarke told bellamy his life and endangering his safety was worth the risk to further her plans, when she used information he’d given her while coming down from intense hallucinations to get him to come back from camp (a scene lots of ppl interpreted as a milestone/improvement in their relationship, much like the “i was being weak” scene), when bellamy and clarke betrayed each other left and right for the span of the entire show, especially s5 (clarke left him to die in a fighting pit at the hands of his tyrannical sister and still ppl hated on echo for wanting to avenge bellamy and being angry at clarke?? and physically assaulting the woman who got her boyfriend killed??? like idk about y’all but that’s perfectly relatable and justifiable to me lol). clarke is a very flawed person much like echo but because she’s a main, we root for her, because her side of the story is always shown so we can cheer her on as a hero. echo does one admittedly terrible thing, and because she’s not a main and thus we don’t know her motivations, we’re inclined to dislike her. all we knew her as was the blindly loyal soldier who would commit murder at her boss’s demand, even if it meant bringing a friend’s loved one to great harm.

but echo knew what she did was wrong, that whatever trust bellamy had in her couldn’t be restored properly, and she accepted this. there are many scenes where she quietly took responsibility for her actions, where she made no excuse, something the beloved protagonist clarke does several times (it was all for my people this and that). she was almost driven to s*icide in the s4 finale out of grief and shame for her actions - which, obviously, doesn’t absolve or redeem her of them, but the point is that despite complaints about tasya teles’s “lack of facial acting range” (which, considering the environment echo grew up in, it would more than make sense for her not to show her emotions plainly on her face but rather in her actions), she shows remorse and loyalty and the many things that make her character unique so blatantly and clearly.

2. echo experienced a lot more growth and development than fandom would like to acknowledge. echo is a loyal person, and had blind faith in azgeda’s actions and what they told her to do because that’s the environment in which she was raised. surviving on the ground meant to prioritize life, and the clan, above all else. grounders glorify war, grounders brutally punished their people (such as when nia forced echo to kill the original echo or when roan left echo to die in a poisonous radiation wave even though she only tried to help the clan, not just herself, survive). but she never used her upbringing as an excuse - it’s merely a fact that she was raised this way, and she’s held accountable by bellamy and the narrative for all her “sins,” as it were.

but here’s where her development and growth, which y’all like to ignore, comes in. in s5, she, for the first time, experienced the genuine love of a real family, who didn’t rely on her to commit murder or do their dirty work like azgeda did, who valued her for the first time as a person, not just as a spy or based on what occupation she could do for the group. her loyalty was still there, one of her many core traits, but when used properly it’s actually a very good character to have - and echo did not use it blindly. she did not support violence and murder for the sake of it, did not follow a leader or authoritative presence because she could, and there are several instances where this shows - she refused to give away the defectors to tyrant!octavia, she wasn’t the one who immediately followed the teachings of the primes despite being, arguably, the most vulnerable in the group to that kind of propaganda and brainwashing (plot twist: it was murphy who attempted to become a Bodysnatcher because he was so afraid of hell). we also got to see her background and childhood traumas in s6, the lack of which many members of fandom were complaining about, and then immediately hated once they got exactly what they said they wanted because it interfered with their favorite characters getting more screentime (which really was the main problem with echo all along, lbr).

3. becho was a very healthy, stable, and mature relationship. on the ring, bellamy and echo experienced a drastic change as they both needed to adjust to a life where violence was no longer necessary, where they could live in peace. much of echo’s actions on the ground were a result of wanting to belong in a group after she lost her family (and her friend, Original Echo) - and that desire being exploited. but on the ring, she flourished, as did her relationships. bellamy and echo learned to properly cope with the trauma they’d experienced on the ground, bellamy was able to hold her accountable for her actions (something the narrative never lets him do when it comes to cl*rke, especially after she repeatedly endangered his life and proved she could do it again and again), and as they got their bearings in a new life, they both began to grow into evolved versions of themselves. it was clear they enjoyed spending time together, that they were friends, and that friendship blossomed over three years before the buildup led to their eventual kiss.

and the writers make an effort to show them communicate, to challenge each other, to reassure each other about their biggest worries. echo confides in bellamy that she thinks their affection and love and respect for each other will change on the ground, bellamy reminds her that nothing would change because they won’t revert back to what their relationship was like before - trust and mutual respect was restored between them. in s6 - in their huge fight which BCs like to think is some kind of proof of BE being toxic for some reason, even though it was a relatively normal and organic conflict for becho as individual characters and for their relationship - bellamy confronted echo because he felt she was becoming emotionally withdrawn from him, and he feared this time they’d fall into their old patterns. echo was overwhelmed, because she was processing this big new change in her life - the loss of two members of her family - in the only way she knew how and felt pressured by bellamy, and went to get space away from him. he admitted he was wrong, he made the genuine apology, he let her grieve in the way that was best for her and was only concerned about her well being and happiness, and was a sweet, emotionally supportive, and caring boyfriend. the entire scene was actually designed very well, successfully rounding out becho’s relationship and help us, as an audience, get to know them more intimately - especially after the considerable backlash because their six years together onscreen wasn’t shown and thus fans couldn’t invest in the relationship.

idk about y’all, but this is actually normal relationship stuff and that fight is a lot more healthy because of the mature and rational way they worked through the conflict (it wasn’t as if bellamy endangered echo’s daughter and echo threw him into the hunger games and sentenced to his death, lol). it was resolved beautifully in a way that worked for them and made their relationship shine - and, comparatively to b*llarke, becho is the type of relationship ideal that’s actually for the most part healthy, excluding the beginning of their relationship. and even in that case, bell and echo were on different sides of a war, which fandom is inclined to forget, while clarke repeatedly betrayed and even shot at bellamy while they were in the stage of their relationship where they were (supposedly) friends.

4. echo’s “regression” in which she almost reverted back to her old ways are good for her character. while fandom likes to spew vitriol at her for being murderous (even though clarke can do the same thing and be praised still), it’s important to remember how echo grew up, and how those life experiences would shape her choices (which she has always taken full ownership of with little complaint, unlike the main who is allowed to run away and to whine about “impossible choices” that she makes in the interest of “saving everyone”). of course she’d be tempted to solve a problem with murder - every single character on the show has done this at least once. the temptation to become a “follower” as ppl in fandom bashed her for being in s7, the temptation to kill the people on bardo as vengeance, were tests of her willpower, of whether or not she truly grew and changed. raven was echo’s loved one who reminded her of their family, of the love they shared based on friendship and honor, of their promise to do better. she reminded echo what bellamy would have wanted, and because echo values the love and respect of her friends, she made the correct decision, to stop the cycle of violence (which cl*rke didn’t do, and had permission as the likeable main character to revenge murder someone on behalf of a loved one without being loathed and punished for it).

i actually do understand why people would dislike echo, but she was actually far more amazing a character than fandom gave her credit for.

#long post #echo kom spacekru #the 100 #echo defense squad #pro echo #anti clarke #annabelle speaks #anti bellarke #becho #pro becho #the 100 spoilers

[music-of-dragons]

Hi! I hope you don't mind I have an ask regarding Dany, I was recently rereading to her ADWD chapters and I wanted to ask what you think regarding her relationship with Daario? Why was she so taken with him when he was such a dirtbag after the very beginning? I feel like she recorgnizes that she doesn't share his views & he has no morals, that he offers her no support outside of the battlefield and bed, lmao (he doesn't listen to her and she knows she can't count on him when it really comes down to it) & frankly, his possessiveness rankles me. I get that she was very young, had about the most traumatic romantic experiences you can't have and lived on a shitty world, but she still insisted on wanting him. Was it just bc of Hizdhar?

Been thinking about this a lot & wanted to see some other takes on it, but haven't found anything on the net.

I also love your answers to that post about Dany! ❤

Hiya! Thank you so much for the ask, I'm actually so happy to get one 🤣

So to answer your question;

I love their relationship! Daario is Dany’s first truly consensual relationship. He does not get sexual with her until she explicitly welcomes it and he actually pleasures her at that.

Before this though, he shows genuine concern for her wellbeing by trying to have the crucified children taken down before she sees and bringing her new flowers every day to brighten her mood. These are sweet gestures by him that shows he cares about her feelings and understands her compassionate heart.

Also, Dario isn't intimidated at all by her power, in fact, he loves it. He tells her that her power is slipping and she needs to remember her duty (like reminding her to hold court for her people) and to be careful about the power she grants Hizdahr cause he'll take advantage of it. Despite the shaky stability of her rule and the war not being in her favor, Daario does not betray her or abandon her, he even agrees to be a hostage for her and remains loyal. Again, he makes a point to remind her that she is a dragon, an active queen not a passive one. He is a reminder that some wars need to be fought even if it means fire, blood, and collateral.

For me at least, Daario represents a positive peace which is the presence of justice, while Hizdahr represents a negative peace which is the absence of tension. He's a necessary reminder that being a ruler means making hard choices to protect and serve your people. Dany became complicit in ADWD and Daario calling her out on that frustrated her enough to send him away, but by the end I think she's realized that he's right.

In short, Daario; Cares about Dany's feelings, sexually satisfies her, offers counsel that she needs to hear (extreme but his heart is in the right place), has proven himself a worthy captain, has not betrayed her despite ample opportunity, serves as a reminder of her roots, and wants to help her keep her power. I honestly think Daario is good for her, she keeps him at arm's length anyway so as to not be betrayed, so I don't see the harm in their relationship at all 😄 Tbh I really don't think Daario is going to betray her, he feels like a red herring. Dany herself feels that Daario loves the Dragon Queen aka her power, and now that she's actually a dragon rider she's easily the most powerful person in their world.

[killervelveteenrabbit]

Batman's Contingency Plan for Moon Girl

“Agamemno Contingency: Moon Girl Magic.”

“Moon Girl is active in New York’s Lower East Side, a part of the city admittedly underserved by superheroes. While she appears to have some rudimentary combat training, she mostly relies on gadgets and chemical weapons, apparently crafted in-house but skillfully constructed and deployed. As if this were not enough, her sidekick is a Tyrannosaurus rex brought into the present day by interdimensional transport. Moon Girl can communicate with this creature, known as ‘Devil Dinosaur’ or simply ‘Devil’, and he is mostly obedient to her commands. He can even respond independently to provide backup as necessary.”

“Moon Girl activated to respond to increased levels of crime in her community, perpetuated by run-of-the-mill criminals and supervillains. Locals regard her as a ‘hometown hero’ thanks to her acts of community service and for the simple act of standing up for her neighborhood when no one else would. It helps that she has a robust and sophisticated presence on multiple social media platforms.”

“This very activity helped me learn Moon Girl’s secret identity—a liability others might exploit in the future, but I’ll discuss that later. I had little difficulty connecting all her assorted accounts to Casey Goldberg-Calderon, a local middle school student and budding influencer. Casey attends school and is close friends with one Lunella Lafayette, who has already attracted notice for her advanced academic performance and scientific endeavors. Further analysis confirmed that Lunella is indeed Moon Girl.”

“Moon Girl’s potential for growth is unlimited at this point. She fights crime singlehandedly at an age when most similarly inclined young people are still being mentored by adults. She has held her own against the interdimensional being known as the Beyonder, and SHIELD has supported her in capturing criminals already on its radar."

“Additionally, Lunella’s grandmother, Miriam Lafayette, provided critical assistance in the early development of portal technology before the project she worked on went pear-shaped and she went underground. Some of her friends from graduate school recently provided Moon Girl with upgrades to her suit, and they may offer additional assistance in the future.”

“My contingency plans for Moon Girl may change as her skills evolve, but right now I’m keeping it simple. Devil is loyal to Moon Girl but easily distracted, especially by food. Hot dogs seem to be his favorite. Alfred has provided me with an assortment of sausages from Gotham’s finest restaurants and butcher shops, suitable for rapid deployment upon first contact. Moon Girl would prove a more challenging opponent. I should be able to counteract her attacks—while super-intelligent, she is relatively inexperienced. I’m more concerned with the psychological factors that might cause her to go rogue.”

“At present and in this timeline, Moon Girl has a loving supportive family and friends, even if most of them are momentarily unaware of her superhero work. Also, she has deep roots within the Lower East Side and is fiercely protective of her neighborhood. If she lost that family and community support, or if something threatened those connections—possibly by blackmail if her civilian identity was compromised—she might be convinced to violate her moral code or she might simply snap.”

“To that end, I’ve created dummy accounts on all the social media platforms Lunella Lafayette uses in both her civilian and superhero personas. The trackers I’ve set up will alert me to any changes in posting frequency or content that suggests emotional upset. I can intervene on a case-by-case basis, either by actively confronting the entity or entities causing her distress or by merely posting and coordinating supportive messages on her profiles.”

“Incidentally, I find it necessary to make a record of my contingency plans if only to explain to any outside parties—and myself—why a grown man from Gotham is registered on SnapTok and Tumblebook as ‘moongirlsuperfan’, a 16-year-old girl from Harlem. I’m indebted to both Batgirl and Oracle for their help in building this profile. Just deciding which member of BTS to have a crush on proved daunting.”

#batman #batman contingency plan #lunella lafayette #casey goldberg-calderon #casey calderon #moon girl #devil dinosaur #moon girl and devil dinosaur #mgadd

[neverbettcr]

Information

Name: Lincoln Grimes

Nicknames: Link

Birthday: March 2nd

Age: 24

Star Sign: Pisces

Education: University of Vermont, majored in Animal science

Job: Currently working as a farm hand on his parents farm out of town, but aspires to be a veterinarian

Appearance

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Brunette

Build: He sports a fairly athletic build with lightly defined muscles, strong without necessarily showing it physically, he stands at approximately 5’11.

Face Claim: Hunter Doohan

Personality

During his years in Highschool Link could have been regarded as popular amongst his peers, however unlike some of the other popular crowd Link has always retained his level head and remained humble despite his popularity.However, Link is easily swayed and influenced by his peers. He likes being liked and if that means acting out of character on occasion he has previously been known to comply with less than kind ploys against unfortunate victims of his ‘friends’ bullying.

Link, however, is a kind and well-meaning individual. He admires people who don’t feel the need to fit into the status quo in the same way he does and desires the confidence they have to break out of the confines of social norms.

He’s a romantic at heart and loyal to a fault with romantic partners. Meeting Kaitlin in his freshman year he committed to her and her alone until their breakup and even then never really moved on from their past together. He deeply regrets his cowardice in leaving her when she was still recovering and truly believes she could bring out the best in him; feeling much more liberated when he was with her and could really open up about who he really was away from his friends

Relationships and Others

Sexuality: Bisexual but deeply, deeply closeted

Family: John Grimes (father, strained bond), Cecelia Grimes (mother, very close bond), Sicily Grimes (younger sister, very close bond)

Relationships: Kaitlin Harris (ex-girlfriend), the two broke up after Kaitlin’s accident after being together from freshman year to graduation. After Kaitlin’s accident, Link found it difficult to continue their relationship with limited methods of communication due to her coma and non-verbality. Despite their breakup, Link has not dated another person since and currently is not seeking out a new relationship.

Biography

tw// mentioned abuse

Lincoln ‘Link’ Grimes was born on March 2nd to John and Cecelia Grimes, who lived on the outskirts of Ravenwood on more agriculturally appropriate land, John being a typical low-scale animal and crop farmer. Lincoln was an only child for the majority of his life until he turned 17 and his parents gave birth to his little sister, Sicily. Link has always had a strained relationship with his emotionally distant father, mostly due to his deep rooted issues with his sexuality and his fathers inability to accept his son as anything more than a poster child for toxic masculinity.

During Link’s school years he got in with the wrong crowd, mostly popular meat-head’s with a one track mind for sport that he had met while being on the school’s football team. Lincoln, however, never felt like he fit in perfectly with them. He always felt like a crudely shoved in puzzle piece, however his popularity and affinity for sport impressed his father enough to keep him happy for some time and allowed Lincoln to avoid his fathers alcoholic rages — which gradually got worse over the years. Meeting Kaitlin in his freshman year was arguably the best case scenario for Link, he finally had someone he felt like himself around as well as a beacon of hope away from home — she gave him something to look forward to every day and he was hopelessly devoted to her from day one.

After Graduation and Kaitlin’s accident as well their breakup, Link withdrew from most of his old friend group and got stuck into his studies at university. He briefly moved away and lived on campus until his graduation with a degree in Animal science and a goal set to get into veterinary studies next. He moved back to Ravenwood after and started working full time as a farm hand, as well as passively learning sign language — just in case. His fathers alcoholism and tendency to take out his frustrations on his family has ultimately led to his family withdrawing from him for the most part aside from necessary familial interactions and work, Link assumed the role as man of the house since his father was usually passed out drunk or too inebriated to step up anyway.

#tw // abuse

[whoree321]

the bad batch + what romance/rom com movies they watch with you

each of the bad batch x gn!reader

ok first and foremost i really truly believe to the pits of my soul that every single one of these fuckos loves romances and you cannot under any circumstances change my mind

ALSO it’s a gender neutral reader except kinda in echo’s theres like a very brief quote regarding breasts but like i still think even that is pretty gender neutral tbh

so anyway

Hunter: Pretty Woman

this is not the first time that i have publicly declared that i think hunter has a deep rooted connection to the movie pretty woman and it will not be the last

first of all this movie is incredibly soothing to hunters overwhelming savior complex

second of all hunter is literally richard gere (debonaire but emotionally distant gentleman that learns to love) and julia roberts (hooker with a heart of gold) at the same time

he was a little skeptical the first time you put it on but he instantly fell in love with it

the humor, the sensuality, the class divide, the glamour, the unconventional cinderella story of it all. it just really butters his bread

after the first time, when you suggest watching a movie and you pick this one he’ll act very aloof about it (“whatever you want cyar’ika, it doesn’t matter to me”) but secretly he’s really really happy bc it’s one of his favorites (you def know this and def pick it more often)

he absolutely hates the scene when stucky the lawyer hits vivian. like it doesn’t matter how many times he watches it he will fully turn his head away from the screen and say “I don’t like this part” and when it’s over he nuzzles a little closer into you and very tenderly kisses your forehead

he loves the soundtrack too. like he fully exposes how much he likes the movie when you catch him singing or humming “pretty woman” or “it must have been love” absently to himself (you kept it to yourself for a while but eventually you just had to tease him about it. he just smiled a little sheepishly and admitted he liked the songs before promptly changing the subject)

hunter also lowkey definitely wants to recreate the ending where richard gere shows up to her apartment in the white limo with you bc he thinks it’s such a sweet gesture and he wants to treat you like royalty

Crosshair: 10 Things I Hate About You

if there’s one thing about crosshair it’s that he’s a sucker for the enemies to lovers genre

maybe its just him projecting (spoiler alert it most certainly is) but he really enjoys watching the drama conflama of a miserable bastard be tricked into love

and really that’s the true essence of 10 Things I Hate About You

he will grumble and bitch and moan about not wanting to watch a ‘chick flick’ when you put it on, but 15 minutes in and he’s hooked

he has strong negative opinions on literally every single character except for kat and patrick

(crosshair really really wants to think he’s patrick but when it comes down to it he is katarina stratford in every single possible way)

he doesn’t say a word throughout the entire movie but you can tell when he’s annoyed at like bianca or cameron or joey bc he will openly scoff at them

will absolutely hum along in your ear during the “can’t take my eyes off you” scene and make out with you during the paintball scene

(seriously he wants to be patrick verona so bad)

when it’s over and you ask him what he thought he’ll roll his eyes and say “i guess it could have been worse” but his little smirk let’s you know he enjoyed it a lot more than he’s willing to admit

Tech: 50 Shades of Grey

ok hear me out on this one

tech is a huge movie talker. like subtitles are a non-negotiable if you wanna be able to take in any of the movies dialogue bc tech is most likely gonna make commentary over it the whole time

this makes him absolutely indescribably so much fun to watch bad/corny movies with

he will go off about EVERYTHING. the plot, the dialogue, the acting, the costuming, the music, the production quality. nothing and no one is safe. whether you just enjoy letting him talk at you or you join in on the roast, cheesy movies are a hoot between you two

and honey. 50 shades is one of THE cheesiest movies ever

you and tech will literally spend the entire duration of the movie tearing it to shreds

and the thing is tech is a very sarcastic, funny guy when he wants to be (and when it comes to you he definitely wants to be) so by the end of it he will have you in absolute stitches from laughing at the ridiculousness of both the movie and him

with any of the other batchers watching a movie like this either turns into a shy, slightly awkward experience (wrecker, echo) or an incorrigibly horny experience (crosshair, hunter)

but in this context tech literally has no shame or squeamishness about sexual things (why should he it’s a natural biological process?) so to yall the sex stuff is just another thing to roast

literally christian grey could be fully tying dakota johnson down and flogging her and tech will be like “in the last 3 minutes they have panned up to her nipples 4 times. this is criminally shoddy cinematography”

even tho he’s busy giving a detailed play by play critique, he never fails to keep some sort of physical contact with you (wrapping an arm around you and running his hand up and down your skin, playing with your fingers or your hair) so you know he’s enjoying spending this time with you despite his nasty words about the movie

also 1000% after you watch it tech will do extensive research on the ins and outs of bdsm and will have lots of hypotheses he wants to test out (as long as you’re willing and able ofc) ;)))

Wrecker: 13 Going On 30

of all the bad batch members, wrecker is the only one who unabashedly loves any movie that could be considered a chick flick

like he doesn’t even try to hide it or act like he’s too masculine for it. he loves romance and he’s proud of it

this man will have full marathons with you. rom coms, regular roms, tragic roms, hallmark roms, you name it and he’s game

his absolute favorite tho is 13 Going On 30

i feel like he has a huge soft spot for childhood best friends to lovers stories like he finds that type of lifelong partnership so endearing (and he loves to live vicariously through jenna since that type of romance was obviously never an option for him)

wrecker is also very childlike at heart and i think the idea of a 13 year old sweetheart trapped inside the body of a 30 year old cut throat magazine exec is so amusing to him (and maybe makes him feel just a little bit represented in the media)

he is definitely the type to completely engulf you in a cuddle for the entirety of the movie and he DEFINITELY cries into your shoulder at matty’s wedding when jenna is crying on the stoop with her dream house

he wants to try razzles so bad. like so bad. i think if he ever came across them somewhere he would barter at least one of his brothers for them

wrecker really just loves love and watching movies about it just reminds him of how lucky he is to have his own love story with you <3

Echo: The Princess Bride

i feel like it’s glaringly obvious why echo loves this movie

pirates. sword fighting. decades long revenge plots. the value of an honorable, loyal man. true love that never wavers even in the face of devastating tragedy and the darkest of hardships. clever but goofy humor.

echo considers this an action/adventure movie and NOT a romance movie (even tho it 100% totally is a romance movie) and requests to watch it very frequently

he can quote the whole thing. i’m seriously telling you echo loves the princess bride with his whole chest

even tho he refuses to admit it’s a love story above all else, he really does try to model himself in your relationship after wesley

like especially given what happened at the citadel and all the time you thought he was dead, the cinematic parellels are alive and present in y’alls relationship and he strives to be even half the man to you that wesley is to buttercup

literally in your day to day life he will sometimes respond to your requests with a smooth “as you wish ;)” (it doesn’t matter how many times he does it it still gives you butterflies)

when you watch the movie, he snuggles as close to you as possible and does his best to make youre comfy the whole time (he’s insecure about his prosthetics hurting you no matter how much you reassure him they don’t)

he just loves to be able to feel your heartbeat and your laugh when you giggle at the funny bits

every single time without fail at the part when buttercup is about to stab herself he leans down, ghosts his lips against the shell of your ear, and whispers the line in time with wesley: “there’s a shortage of perfect breasts in this world. it would be a pity to damage yours”

every single time without fail you wind up making out until he pulls away and tells you to watch the next part when wesley challenges humperdinck to a duel to the pain

echo just loves you to bits and wants you to know he’d endure a thousand fire swamps for you

Omega: Clueless

i have this really specific obsession with omega being a total girly girl and having very traditionally feminine interests as she keeps experiencing the universe and being exposed to a spectrum of gender expression beyond clone (masc and boring) and kaminoan (ugly)

so with that headcanon of her in mind, it’s vital to me that she sees clueless as soon as possible

clueless is an essential piece of media for a girl entering adolescence and i will die on this hill

it has literally everything you want and everything you need to develop into a well-rounded young woman

it’s so deliciously 90s and glamorama and valley girl humor and camp. its got meaningful female friendships and valuable life lessons and paul mf rudd

if there’s one thing you should encourage a burgeoning hetero teen girl to do, it’s to stick to dating guys like paul rudd in clueless. the earlier this message can be broadcast the better

the second you’re able to steal omega away from hunters watchful eyes (“hunter we’re just gonna watch finding nemo i swear!”) you show her this movie

at this point omega is not really a girly girl, but omega also has absolutely zero feminine influence in her life

the first time she sees clueless she is absolutely obsessed. like seriously she is so enamoured with the glitz and glam of cher horowitz

she asks you questions the entire time. she wants to know about EVERYTHING. the makeup, the clothes, the hair, the slang

(she definitely goes around saying stuff like “i’m totally bugging” for long enough afterwards that almost all of the boys have slipped up at least once with some ridiculous valley girl slang. you thought you were gonna die of laughter when you overheard tech say “as if!” to wrecker in the middle of an argument)

it just really introduces her to this whole world of femininity that she didn’t even know existed and she absolutely loves it

she makes you watch clueless with her seriously once a week at minimum. she begs you to style her hair like tai’s and you can’t help yourself when you happen to run across a little yellow plaid dress and buy it for her on sight

(hunter was gonna scold you for recklessly spending credits until he saw how omega almost cried from how happy she was for the gift)

honestly she enjoys the romance of it all and paul rudd is def her first celebrity crush but she enjoys more that you and her now have this special thing of hair and nails and pretty dresses

she loves how confident and beautiful and special you’re able to make her feel, and you love that you get to bring her that small sense of normalcy and happiness

#the bad batch #bad batch #tbb #the bad batch headcanons #tbb crosshair #tbb hunter #tbb wrecker #the bad batch x reader #tbb echo #tbb tech #tbb x reader #crosshair tbb #hunter tbb #tech tbb #wrecker tbb #echo tbb #omega tbb #tbb omega #hunter x reader #crosshair x reader #tech x reader #echo x reader #wrecker x reader

[kylandara]

Quora Sharing Time #1

Would it still make sense for Daenerys to go mad even if they correctly paced everything out and she had a reasonable turn to insanity, when her biggest battle throughout the series was to avoid going mad? by Erik Trobec

For me, Daenerys’s story already made whole lot of sense the way it unfolded on screen. I was one of those who kept having this subtle unsettling feeling about her since very early on and could never really join the “root train” because I’ve felt Daenerys was constantly walking on veeery thin line between a liberator and power-hungry conqueror. I could go into details why I feel this way but I won’t do it this time… if you’re interested, look at my other Daenerys-related answers on my profile.

But what’s firmly my opinion is that Daenerys actually didn’t “go mad” in terms of that she used to be “plain good” and suddenly became “evil. No, I feel Daenerys in “The Bells” was the same person as she has been since her dragons got hatched and I would say that’s actually the root of her problem… she didn’t evolve as a person since obtaining power. At the end of S1, her ultimate goal was to conquer the Iron Throne and be everyone’s queen, because it’s her “birthright” while forcibly submitting or destroying those who wouldn’t willingly bend to her rule. Since the end of S1, . Then she made a “detour” in Slaver’s Bay and when she arrives to Westeros, Her ultimate goal was to conquer the Iron Throne and be everyone’s queen, because it’s her “birthright” while forcibly submitting or destroying those who wouldn’t willingly bend to her rule. See the pattern? Her mentality is still more or less the same

And as I pointed out several times in my past answers, I don’t think her agressive pursuit of the Iron Throne is even an “inherently good” goal. Liberating slaves from oppressive aristocrats? Sure. Invading a foreign continent and claiming the Throne simply because she wants to rule? Wouldn’t say so. In fact, I think it’s the liberation of slaves that made the audience more easily overlook the problematic aspects of her goal and personality but I firmly believe Daenerys remained the same core character all the way to her very end. A character who had this extreme belief and entitlement that she’s special… someone that everyone needs to bow to or else she has “right” to destroy them. The story went well for her as long as she was getting what she wanted. As soon as she stepped foot in Westeros, she now faced characters who weren’t one-dimensional evil but also weren’t the kind who would stare at her in awe but in fact had very clear ambition themselves where they want to be… well, the image of a fairytale conquest shattered. Add Dany starting to experience real losses and huge stakes regarding her conquest (she actually never really “suffer” much after obtaining dragons or was put in serious danger), her darker impulses that she always carried along with her now became way more visible to the audience.

So no, I don’t think Daenerys went “mad”. I think she was always a bit problematic from hero angle and while I still think her story could be more polished, I think her eventual downfall was very much accounted for and certainly didn’t come out of nowhere.

As for whether a completely polished, perfectly paced same story about Daenerys would not end up being controversial… no, I think regardless of how this twist would happen, a certain if not significant part of the audience would always “berserk” over it. In other words, those who ended up unconditionally rooting for her at one point of the story would never be fine with that. I realized that there are two main points where Daenerys gained this “loyal diehard fandom”… first is when she rises from the pyre, second is when she orders the genocide of aristocrats in Astapor (which would ironically be very much like THe Bells if a camera was put inside the city). Those two moments both happen quite early in the story and I think that even if all other seasons started significantly amplifying Dany’s dark side, I think it would already be too late for certain part of the fandom because at that point, Daenerys is already a “badass beautiful Targaryen queen with dragons who we should all unconditionally root for”. Not to mention the fact how Daenerys became this “feminism symbol” in pop culture…. start deconstructing her in darker way and you immediately attract negative response.

So no, I don’t think this story could unfold in a way that it wouldn’t be controversial. The only way would be if Daenerys was ALWAYS shown in much darker and potentially unlikable light and waaay less heroic than we’ve seen her on screen. A.k.a more like Stannis. But I believe that would completely change the tone for a lot of viewers and I actually doubt the show would even be as popular as it was if all characters were grim and bleak.

Just my two cents on it

#anti daenerys #anti targaryen

[thr-333]

Just Another Class Trip :)  Part 2

Marinette sacrifices Adrien and then steals his alter ego.

First<>Next

----------------

With the help of the staff Marinette is directed to the room she will be sharing with Chloe and Kagami. It was meant to be two to a room, but yada yada Lila yada yada medical condition yada yada tears= Lila gets her own room.

“Marinette,” Kagami spots her first, rising from the couch.

“Mari!” Chloe vaults over the couch and hug tackles her, Marinette barely moves an inch, “You should have heard all the shit Lila was saying on the way here, you’d think it be enough she got the class to leave you behind!”

“Perhaps it’s best if you do not,” Kagami pulls Chloe off her, “You didn’t answer your phone,”

“Flat,”

“Bags?”

“Stolen,”

“Lila?”

“Probably,”

“Well lucky for you housekeeping dropped this by earlier,” Chloe hands her a box, inside filled with essential items, tooth brush, hair brush, even a pair of pyjamas, along with a note

‘Courtesy of the Waynes, for Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng’

“Must be a generic package,” She had shrugged off the bellhops earlier saying her bags were lost.

“Well since you don’t have to unpack, help me with this,” Chloe leads her over to their kitchen that might actually be bigger than her houses.

On the counter beauty products are lined up along with random ingredients.

“We’re making face masks!”

“Correction, Chloe is making face masks,” Kagami scolds, “I argued that sleep would be more effective,”

“And yet you didn’t go to sleep,” Chloe teases, mashing up avocado.

“Well not without you,” Kagami smirks, making Chloe blush, but it’s not like her to back down.

“Awe, you’d wait for me~” Chloe relishes in the blush dusting Kagami's cheeks.

Marinette dry heaves, wondering how long they were going to keep pretending to flirt like this, each too stubborn to back down. They have been doing this more and more recently, great that they were more comfortable around each other but…

“How about we go to bed,” Marinette disturbs their challenging stares.

“Not without Kagami,”

“I already used that one,”

“I never said we’d use the bed for sleeping~”

“Hey!” Her exclamation doesn't get them to drop their staring contest, “Do either of you know what room Adrien is in?”

“End of the hall,” They both answer, not looking at her.

“Great,” Marinette hastily grabs her bag and the box, she could get ready in Adrien's room, away from the weirdness.

She practically runs down the hall, ignoring her Kwami’s snickering.

“Mari!” Adrien throws the door open for her, “Did everything go ok, you didn’t answer your phone, you look upset,”

“Sorted everything out with security no problems, Phones dead, Bag stolen,” She plops down on the couch next to Nino, “Chlo and Kags are driving me crazy,”

“How long have you been back?” She looks down at her watch.

“Three minutes,”

“Are they doing that thing again?” Adrien, Kwami bless him hands her a mug of coffee.

“Yep,” She takes a sip from the mug, she retracts that blessing “Betrayal! This isn’t coffee!”

“It’s hot chocolate,” Adrien is in the kitchen fixing another mug, “You need to go to bed, and coffee will keep you up,”

No she needed to go on patrol, and a coffee is vital to her surviving it.

“What’s up with Chloe and Kagami?” Nino takes off his headphones.

“They started teasing each other by jokingly flirting but their both too stubborn to back down," Marinette sighs, downing half the mug of hot chocolate so she can get herself a damn coffee, "So they get uncomfortable then we get uncomfortable and its overall very uncomfortable,”

“I think it’s kind of funny,” Adrien sits down next to her, mug in hand.

“It would be if they both weren’t horrible at flirting,” She steals the mug away from him taking a sip.

That is not coffee, that is sugar disguised as a liquid

“That’s the funny part,” Adrien smiles as she hands back the mug,

“Touche Agreste, Touche,”

“If you wanted you could sleep in my room,” Nino offers, oh so innocently.

“Thank’s Nino, but I would rather Alya not kill me,”

“Nah dude, I was going to stay with Alya anyway Madame Bustier wont mind,” Yeah their teacher really should learn not to trust teenagers, "So you can have my room,”

“Nino you are a godsent,”

Nino cleans up his few thrown about items and bids them adieu. Marinette was glad they could still talk, maybe they were even still friends. When you have the devil in one ear and her loyal sidekick in the other it is actually kind of impressive they still have a friendly relationship.

“So how’s your day been?” Marinette gathers up the strength to start a conversation after making her own coffee, and her mouth was only very burnt from chugging a hot drink.

“Good, Chloe took us to a supermarket, I brought a bunch of american snacks!”

Indeed he had, Marinette watches in mild horror as he plops bags full of junk food in front of her.

“I didn’t realise we were feeding an army,” Adrien starts rooting through the bags, “If a super villain comes after you because you brought all their favourite snacks in Gotham I’m not protecting you,”

“I’d just share with them,” Adrien hums, chomping down on a chocolate bar.

“... Yeah that could work,” Dear Kwami I have to protect this sunshine child,  “Maybe,”

“Oi, don’t eat too much, I don't want to have to re tailor your outfit for the runway,” She teases, regretting it immediately as Adrien's shoulders sag.

“Sorry,”

“Adri I’m kidding,”  She places a hand on his shoulder smiling gently, “I already made the measurements a bit bigger so you’re good.

“Have I ever told you you’re the best?”

“Not enough you haven't,” Marinette huffs in mock offence, “Now eat,”

She shoves the chocolate bag in his face, getting it all over his cheek. They both start laughing as Adrien tries to get his revenge. They end up falling off the couch, Marinette on top of him. Adrien is blushing a bright red, Marinette just grins and shoves the chocolate in his face before getting up.

She could almost laugh at how her younger self would react to that. It wasn't as if she didn’t like Adrien, well maybe not in that way anymore, she honestly hadn't put that much thought into it lately. Things just got busy she supposed, Akumas got harder, then she became the guardian, she started her fashion career. Actually her fashion career might be at fault.

Gabriel had started lending Adrien to model for her more and more. The man stepping further and further back from the fashion world, or the world in general, over the years for whatever the reason. At first she had been a blushing mess around Adrien, not directing him properly and making her work suffer for it. Overtime she had learnt how to handle it, getting less flustered every time they worked together. Now that she thought about it, when she had revealed her identity as MDC Adrien didn’t seem surprised; maybe her work attitude had bled into her regular life well before then.

Marinette is washing the chocolate off when a knock sounds at the door. Neither feel like walking to it so shout out ‘come in’. That turned out to be a mistake as Lila bursts into the room. How were they supposed to know Lila would actually knock?!

“Marinette you slut!” Lila all but screeches.

“Lila, you don’t have an audience and neither of us believe you,” Marinette comes out of the bathroom, already bored of the conversation she really needed to go, Lila and Marinette both.

“Well just wait, tomorrow the whole class is going to know what you did,” Lila gets up in her face, so close she can smell her perfume.

No not Lila's perfume her perfume.

“Right, sorry to say but there’s worse rumours than sleeping with a supermodel,” Marinette tries to edge her way around Lila, good excuse as any to dip out for patrol.

“Not if I say you forced him,” Lila looks way to self satisfied for what she is implying

I think the fuck not

“Nah,” Adrien shrugs, getting Lila’s ire turned on him, a noble sacrifice indeed.

“Nah?” Lila looks livid, “What do you mean Nah !”

“I’d just say I wanted to,” Adrien stays calm with Lila's face inches from him, Marinette gives him the thumbs up as she edges closer to the door, Adrien nods back.

She loved this version of the high road

“After all Marinette's super pretty and talented,” Adrien gushes, Marinette grins at the face Lila must be making, “Honestly your lie is so unbelievable, why would she ever go for someone like me?”

Marinette closes the door on Lila’s cursing response, saying a quick word of praise for Adrien's bravery and sacrifice.

At least he gets to see Lila’s reaction when she realises I’m gone

Marinette uses a back door of the hotel to get to the street, not wanting the staff to stop her and warn about the dangers. She skips along looking for a good place to change. The city was actually kind of beautiful at night, she feels drawn to it in a strange way.

“Marinette!” Tikki looks out from her scarf, “You forgot the Miracle box,”

“Shoot!” She looks back to the hotel, a few blocks away from it by now, “It’ll be fine Tikki I leave it at home all the time,”

“You’re not at home right now,” Tikki looks worried, those are her friends after all, “It’s a guardians duty-”

Marinette tries not to groan, she really does.

“I know Tikki, I know,” She looks over the buildings surrounding her, feeling a deep itch to see Gotham from the rooftops “But can’t I just be myself for once, not the guardian?”

“You are the guardian,” Tikki insists, before sighing, “Which means you can make your own decisions regarding the miracle box,”

“Thank you Tikki,” She hugs the little Kwami, “I promise to be back super quick, I just have to stop one bad guy, an eye witness account of Starling so I don’t just appear randomly, I won’t even need to go on patrol again after this,”

“Alright Marinette, I trust you,” Tikki nuzzles her cheek, easing Marinette's conscience.

With that she ducks out of sight to get changed. Her costume is pretty simple really. All she had to do was pull her infinity scarf up, discrete holes allowing her to see. She turns her skirt inside out to a black side, with white, purple, and blue detailing to stick to her Starling namesake. The skirt pulls over her shoulders, a zip down the middle allowing her more movement, and a zip to form a secret hood.

Ready to go she climbs up to the roof, super strength and speed making roof hopping easier. She supposed if someone looked too hard they would be able to piece together pieces of her costume but her ‘cape’ hides the detailing of her shirt. Besides if she has her way she won’t have to use this identity ever again, but she rarely has her way.

About ten minutes into her search through Gotham she spots a broken window. Not notable except that the lights are on. She lowers herself onto the fire escape and sure enough someone is being held at gunpoint.

“Excuse me,” Both people jump, spinning to look at Starling casual sitting on the broken glass on the window sill, “You seem to have a very rude house guest on your hands,”

“Who the hell are you!?” The burglar turns their gun on her.

“Just a stray passing through,” She gives a bright smile, and a very Chat like bow, “Starling at your service… milady,”

If I’m going Chat I might as go full Chat Noir, hope he doesn't file a lawsuit against me

“Ummm,” The woman looks very confused, but not as confused as the burglar.

“Would you like me to remove him from your home?”

“Ah… yes?”

With another smile Starling makes her move. In the split second it takes the burglar to register her offer she's standing in front of him. The gun moves a second too late as she ceases his arm, her strength being as good as handcuffs. She hits a pressure point her Aunt taught her to make him drop the gun, kicking it away. Pinning the man's arm behind his back she spins him around, zip tying his hands.

“What the fuck!!”

“That’s no kind of language,” Starling reprimands, pushing him towards the window, “Now apologise,”

“What?! No way fuck you!” Starling grins, hooking a bungee cord to his shirt.

“Alright then, bye!” She pushes him out the window.

His screaming doesn't stop even when she watches as he bounces back up, dangling out the window. She grins.

Ladybug would never get away with that

Tying the other end of the cord to a post, she double checks to make sure everything is secure before turning back to the victim.

“So sorry about the rude intrusion milady,” She bows again, in jest, “Have you contacted the police?”

“Yeah… what are you?”

“A Starling bird,” Starling spins, showing off her cape, the patterning placed to resemble wings, “I though the name would be a dead give away,”

“Yeah, but what are you? A Bat? Vigilante?”

“Vigilante yes, Bat not so much,” Starling can see as she looks more cautious after that, “Just happened to be passing through Gotham when I saw you in need of assistance,”

“Right... ok then...” She sits down, letting herself slump over the couch, “Ugh, this has been a terrible day,”

“How so?” Starling eyes up the kitchen, “Besides from mister bungee jump out there,”

“I was almost out of work this afternoon when a new rumour about the Wayne's blew up,” Starling nods along, turning the oven on and picking out ingredients.

“I work in the PR department at Wayne tower, do you have any idea how hard that is?!” Starling shakes her head finding a bowl but no measuring cups, she could just estimate.

“They have new bruises everyday,” Starling does look up to that, very concerned, “Don’t worry it’s not abuse or anything, they really are just dumbasses,”

Starling snickers a little bit at that, pouring in ingredients like second nature.

“I once asked mister Drake why he had a giant bruise on his forehead, he told me he passed out at his desk and just slammed into it!” Starling does laugh at that one, “Like?! How am I supposed to tell people that without sullying the Wayne name?”

“I think its funny,” She did clearly not agree, Starling changes the subject as she starts mixing “What was the problem today?”

“Nothin much really someone took pictures of mister Drake talking and giving a ride to some girl with black hair and blue eyes, and now everyone thinks she’s a Wayne,”

“That’s all it takes?” She starts placing the cookie dough on the baking tray, “Maybe I should apply?”

“Nah, you’d sooner be Batman's kid than Bruce Wayne's,” She cracks the first smile Starling has seen so far, “He’s got the same amount of kids, if not more,”

“Maybe they should share custody?” Starling puts the cookies in the oven, “Double the number each,”

“Yeah, how about no?” She smiles more, which is good, “I can’t imagine having to explain away the bruises the Bat kids get,”

Starling smiles, the sound of sirens now drawing close.

“I guess that's my cue to leave Milady,” Starling jumps up onto the window sill, the burglar still shouting below, “Take the cookies out in fifteen minutes,”

“Hey,” Starling looks back, “Thank you,”

“No problem,” Starling sends a dazzling smile, “Good night, Milady,”

--------------

Taglist (guess I’m doing these now, please let me know if theres any issues):

@smolplantmum @flufflepuffle296 @dawnwave16  @caffeinetheory   @g-arya   @Maribat-2k20   @ladybug-182    @Actual-disaster-human    @fusser90   @messrs-weasley   @soap-lady  @paintedhope7   @zeneralla    @mochegato     @random-nerd-3 @clumsy-owl-4178  @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen   @too0bsessedformyowngood @certifiedbidisaster  @Purplegeekypanda

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug fic #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfic #miraculous marinette #mlb #ml fic #ml #bio dad bruce wayne #Bio Dad Bruce Wayne Month 2020 #bio! dadbrucewaynemonth2020 #b!dbwm2020 #biodad au #Marinette #badass marinette #maribat #marinette is mdc #salt #class salt #Lila salt #lila lies #fluff

[randomingoftherandomness]

Your writing is so much fun! If you feel like it, maybe some more Emperor/Empress? maybe some people want to put pressure on Emperor Zhou but forget that Empress Wen isn't a pampered noble who has never held a weapon in his life?

Hahaha... Thanks! I’m glad you’ve enjoyed reading my works thus far (❁´ω`❁) 

I hope you’ll like this one too!

Note: Prince Xu here refers to Zishu (just in case anyone is confused)

There are some parts that will only make sense if you have read this chapter (AO3 only). Takes place after this chapter.

--

Each Minister, with temples streaked with greys and whites, eyes shrew and calculating, all looked at each other in turn; each men had grown up in the comfortable bosom of the capital, none had ever tasted a grain of sand or a moment of hardship in their route to power. All of them were born of the aristocracy so entrenched and deeply rooted in all sectors of society that they have never had a day of worry about their place or their families’ paths in life. It would be simpler to say that their forebears laid the foundation for this nation and their children will reap the fruits of it for generations to come if they are careful.

And this would have been the case, had it not been for the august personage currently occupying the golden seat.

Even before Prince Xu had reached his majority, he had been a pillar of strength to the South and by the time he was crowned a Prince of the First Rank, his military exploits could fill halls with their glory and there was no doubting that he will be a repelling force by mere presence alone. If he had any designs on the throne, it would have been easy for him to build his own faction to stake a claim for it.

But he had not done such a thing. If anything, he made sure to throw his support fully and utterly behind the Crown Prince and to only return to the capital for special occasions that merited his being there. When the old Emperor had died, that had been the longest period of time he had stayed in the capital. Going as far as to have a battalion of his men stationed within marching distance of the city gates as a deterrent to any dissent when the Crown Prince took the throne. 

It’s a pity that Emperor’s reign was too short for him to have made a proper mark on the passage of time. 

By the time Prince Xu had slicked the flagstones red with the blood of those traitorous scum in revenge for the death of his brother, there was no place for him to go but ascend into the highest position of prestige in the land.

Every single Minister can still remember the way Prince Xu looked as he had led his men right up to the throne room; stalking forth in his armour at the head of a hundred men, face streaked with glory and gore, carrying the sunlight on him as he climbs the last steps up to the throne room. If he had been mistaken as some primordial war god at that moment then, no one would have been surprised.

And then there was the Empress.

The Empress who had borne the Emperor a son and has just birthed another, thus securing the Dragon lineage. The Empress who was still the only official wife of the Emperor, and if the spies in the Inner Palace are to be believed, the only one the Emperor would even deign to look at and listen to - much to the consternation of the Ministers who had hoped to push at least one of their enterprising daughters and granddaughters into the Son of Heaven’s bed. 

The Empress who was very much distinctly, a man.

Which makes what they’re doing something that borders on treason and necessity itself.

That man’s influence on the Emperor and the Court cannot continue and must not be allowed to. The gathered Ministers drink their tea in silence, watching the door for the messenger who will bring the report of their success.

They know they cannot lay a hand on either the Crown Prince or the newborn prince; the Emperor has them well-guarded and wrapped in the security of his most trusted guards who were beyond reproach and bribery. But it did not mean they could not get to the Empress. There were more than a few Palace maids and eunuchs who were still loyal to these deeply rooted families; people they have forged connections with that had spanned generations. These were the people they’ve tasked to attend to the Empress during his confinement.

It will be easy to dispatch of an eyesore who should have never been crowned in the first place.

Someone clears their throat and another sets his teacup down a little harder than it should be. Each one of these men looked peaceful on the surface, wrinkled face unmarred by any visible markers of stress. In fact, if anyone were to look into this group of men, they would have thought they were all bound for enlightenment at any moment. But the tension of waiting is punctuated by the changing of the hour and under the placid surface was nothing more than the seas in the middle of a storm.

They were about to call for an attendant to refill the teapots, when a long shadow colours the doorway. Their first instinct was that this was their moment of victory but that quickly sours into the cold realisation of who the person is.

“Your Highness...”

The Ministers rise in a flurry, going to their knees, bowing in flustered and fear tinged greeting. 

The Empress smiles. His tall figure is hidden by a long black cloak which does little to downplay the sheer imposing nature of his presence as he crosses the threshold, calmly looking around the gathered members of the Court here. His long dark hard is pulled back in a simple undo, adorned with clasps of gold and turquoise. “Good evening, sirs,” He says, still wearing that smile. Someone bustles forth with a chair and the Empress sits. It is then that they realise that with him are ranking members of the Palace Guards who loom in their dark uniforms and the severe glints of their swords. 

“If you’re looking for the Emperor, he isn’t here. He has been provided with a suitable diversion with our children,” The Empress says sunnily, accepting a proffered cup of steaming tea. Sighing as he takes a sip, he calmly regards them with a cheerful sensibility that was at odds with the way the troop of Palace Guards immediately take up all corners of the room. 

This does not bode well.

“The way I see it, you have two options. One, you confess to an attempted assassination on this one’s life. In court. In front of all your peers, in front of my husband. Now, I’m sure you all know what he is capable of. What we are both capable of. Your crime will implicate not only you but your families as well,” The Empress says solemnly. 

A cold silence descends. “Minister Jing, how is your new grandson, hm? Just celebrated his full moon, didn’t he? And how about your new concubine, Minister Tan? Pregnant, isn’t she? And at your age too.” The Empress huffs, passing the teacup back to the young maid next to her. “Ministers, I could go on.”

“And the second?” Someone quietly asks.

“The second is a warning. Not for you, but for everyone who comes after you.”

With a languid flick of his wrist, he calls forth General Han Ying who unlatches the cover of a plain box to reveal lengths of white cloths. The meaning is clear.

“Of course, it won’t be all at once and I am not so unimaginative that you all will... Leave the same way,” The Empress chuckles, closing an elegant hand over his lips. “Choose this path and we will arrange everything for you. From the second it begins to the moment it ends and to what comes after. You won’t have to worry about a single thing. No one else gets hurt.”

One of the elder Ministers shudders, lifting his head. “This is cruelty.”

“This is a blessing,” The Empress counters, all trace of geniality gone. All gathered cower lower to the ground. 

How could they have forgotten? When this man was crowned, he’d been crowned with blood still rusting on his armour and dripping off the edge of his blade. This was the man their Emperor has chosen and for good reason.

With the quiet rustle of fabric, the Empress stands, apparently satisfied with the display of his magnanimity for the day. “You choose.” 

#wenzhou #word of honor #wen kexing #zhou zishu #gab writes stuff #emperor & empress au

[k7l4d4]

A Miraculous Manifesto: A list of my thoughts on Miraculous Ladybug

Hello ladies, gentlemen, and germs of all ages! Everybody clap your hands! Today, I am going to talk about a show that I very much enjoy, but also drives me up a wall: Miraculous Ladybug!

If you don’t know the show, feel free to ignore this, this is mostly to get my head together and my thoughts posted down. It’s basically just a collection of my opinions on topics within the Miraculous Fandom and show.

First off, and it’s a doozy, Chloe Bourgeois. For those not in the know, Chloe is one of the singularly most bitter, mean, and utterly selfish characters ever invented. But, she isn’t a one-note hate sink. Chloe’s mother, who is an even BIGGER bitch than Chloe herself is, abandoned her to focus on the fame and adulation her career in the fashion industry afforded her, never remembering her Birthday and often not even bothering to remember her NAME. Ouch! Chloe’s father, Andre, while not without his faults, being a formerly corrupt, and still kind of shady, politician and all, but he deeply loves his daughter. Unfortunately, Andre is by all accounts and absentee parent, relegating Chloe’s rearing to Nannies, Butlers, and the like, and burying her in presents and gifts to avoid actually parenting and teaching Chloe. All in all, a bad combination.

By all accounts, Chloe was originally a very sweet and kind hearted girl, reaching out and befriending the lonely son of the Agreste family, Adrien. However, her loneliness, her dad’s spoiling behavior, and her pining for her mother combined to turn Chloe into a monster. Chloe, as she currently is, has a massively egotistical and selfish demeanor, and has no real friends, lashing out in the cruelest and most spiteful ways for the pettiest of reasons, or just for laughs. The closest thing she has to a friend is the socially awkward and unwaveringly loyal Sabrina, who often serves as her lackey, and is regarded as such as even her family’s staff don’t believe she has friends. Again, Ouch.

When given the chance to be a superhero as Queen Bee, a role which even Marinette, Ladybug herself, thought might help her change, we saw more signs that there is more to Chloe than just a dumb bully. Despite what people might think, Chloe actually is capable of feeling remorse for her actions, and her deepest desire underneath all the hate and bile is too be useful. To not just be another burden.

Unfortunately, show creator Thomas Astruc sank that idea. Turns out, Chloe is apparently utterly incapable of change and will always remain a self-centered monster. Now, I do NOT condone the fandom that was rooting for Chloe’s behavior against Tommy-boy, as all they did was give him vindication by acting like a pack of rabid jackals going in for the kill. On his official Wiki page for Miraculous, Thomas gives what appears to be a poetic and thoughtful detailing as to his decision and why he is right for it. Honestly? It rings hollow. For all his fancy words and attempts to illustrate Chloe as solely being a toxic, hateful individual without redemptive qualities, his reasoning, as well as his apparent intent from the start to have Chloe becoming a SuperHero to be a fake-out, comes across as crass and tacky.

Thomas perpetually portrays Chloe as being a bitter and spiteful shrew, with any kind deed she does having a duplicitous motive, that she is utterly incapable of showing genuine kindness and remorse as she is, and that is the way she always will be, but the thing is? When you give a character a sympathetic backstory and motive for how and why the way they are, you should expect people to sympathize and relate to that character, as well as acknowledge the you are opening them up to the possibility to change for the better. These are all things Thomas denies ruthlessly. In his narrative, Chloe can never be good, and all her pain has only served to ruin her, nothing more.

One of his arguments to justify this? Supervillains don’t sell toys. To explain, while a tragic backstory might make kids and folks sympathize for a villain, they still won’t consider them good or support them. That is true, of course. But the biggest flaw in his logic? Supervillains are just as capable of changing, becoming better than what they are, just like EVERYONE is. Villains can become heroes, it’s true! Not without trials and tribulation, of course, but they can be more than the label society gives them. Thomas has refused to even entertain the possibility that Chloe can ever be more than what he dictates she can be. In his narrative, people who have done bad things can never attempt to redeem themselves.

Chloe’s a baddy. Case closed. Thomas has repeatedly pointed to moments in the show that “illustrate” that Chloe is beyond redemption, that she can never grow beyond her faults, but the things is? He’s the creator, one of them, and a writer for the show. He has the POWER to CHANGE that narrative, to have things happen that force Chloe to grow and become a decent, if he can’t bring himself to make her good, and make amends, even if others don’t accept it.

Thomas likes to draw comparisons to abusive relationships when it comes to Chloe, but when you look at the show? It doesn’t actually hold water. The only people she has any kind of relationship with that isn’t straight up antagonism are Adrien, Sabrina, Audrey, and Andre. While it could be argued that Chloe is abusive towards Sabrina, and the dynamic they have is NOT healthy, I wouldn’t call it abusive. Chloe in no way forces Sabrina to do all that Sabrina does for her, even if she is barking orders, and Sabrina is cognizant of the fact that they do not have a standard friendship, enough so that even Chloe’s family’s employees don’t actually view Sabrina as actually being Chloe’s friend. Chloe might be harsh with Sabrina when they are on the outs, but she is never shown forcing Sabrina into anything, and Sabrina is often the only person besides Adrien or herself that Chloe shows compassion towards, particularly as Sabrina is one of the few people completely aware of Chloe’s childish and geeky side and accepts it utterly; at the worst interpretation, Sabrina is Chloe’s ENABLER, not her victim.

For Audrey and Andre’s relationship with Chloe, it is definitely toxic, but, if anything, Chloe is the one being abused! Audrey frequently belittles and ridicules Chloe, forgets her name, HER OWN DAUGHTER’S NAME, abandoned her when she was too little to truly take care of herself or have proper knowledge of right from wrong, and generally treats her like a particularly incompetent employee, when all Chloe wants from Audrey is her affection, her approval, and her love. Andre isn’t really bad with Chloe, but he’s neglected to be a parent to her, showering her with gifts to avoid having to actually be there for her when she needed him for all those years, which probably didn’t do any favors for how maladjusted she is. 

Adrien frequently makes excuses for Chloe, apologizing on her behalf, and only occasionally standing up to her when she acts up. But Chloe isn’t abusing him, emotionally or mentally, as Adrien could be considered Chloe’s sole true friend; whenever Adrien scolds or gets upset with Chloe, Chloe backs down and off, and on the few times Adrien has threatened to stop being friends with her, Chloe has nearly broken. The only real thing keeping Adrien in Chloe’s life is the fact that she was his first friend, and he is her only friend aside from Sabrina. Chloe has no leverage to be abusing Adrien, or anything to use to keep them in each other’s lives; Adrien is friends with her by choice. Nothing else.

The worst part of it all? Chloe never got a chance. Thomas denied Chloe the possibility of growth, and will most likely keep denying it to her. So, I say we mourn. We mourn the loss of what will never come to pass, because one guy with a TV Show said so.

#miraculous ladybug #character study #chloe bourgeois #andre bourgeois #audrey bourgeois #sabrina #sabrina raincomprix #adrien agreste #feel free to ignore

[hafanforever]

Through a Mirror Darkly

One of my favorite things about villains is how they can serve as dark reflections of their protagonist or deuteragonist (or some other major supporting character) enemies. By this, I mean that villains are basically the evil counterparts to the heroic ones. They share some personality traits or have similar goals to the heroes, making them the example of what the good characters could or would become if they go down the wrong path or do not change whatever negative traits they possess.

In Disney, many of the villains from the Renaissance and Revival Eras are dark parallels to the protagonists, as well as occasional deuteragonists. Here are all the villains from the Disney animated canon who are evil counterparts to the heroes and what makes them as such.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The evil queen is this to Snow White.

Both are female monarchs known for their outer beauty, with Snow White’s being the only one to surpass that of her stepmother.

However, despite her beauty, Snow White is a kind, gentle, benevolent, humble person.

Her stepmother, on the other hand, is extremely vain and obsessed with her own beauty that she cannot tolerate any competition. The queen’s determination to remain the fairest one of all drives her to murderous insanity, and she seeks to kill Snow White just to remove her “rival”.

Therefore, the queen is a dark reflection of the kind of person Snow White would have become had she grown obsessed and vain over her physical appearance.

Beauty and the Beast: Gaston is this to the Beast.

Both are handsome men who want to use Belle their own selfish reasons, with the Beast wanting her to help him break his curse and Gaston wanting to make her his trophy wife and slave.

Both also become enraged after Belle rejects them, which happens primarily because of their bad manners towards her, with her refusing Gaston’s marriage proposal and later refusing to eat dinner with the Beast.

However, after he saves her from the wolves, the Beast begins to change into a more caring, compassionate, selfless individual. He falls in love with Belle for her kindness, independence, and intelligence (reasons far beyond her outer beauty), and takes her needs and happiness before his own, especially when he allows her to leave his castle so she can help her father, even though time is running out for the curse to be broken.

Gaston, on the other hand, lusts after Belle purely for her outer beauty and wants to marry her since he believes her being the most beautiful woman in town makes her the right one for him. After Belle rejects his proposal, Gaston makes no attempt to change his ways for the better out of his own arrogance, narcissism, and egotism. Instead, he resorts to attempting to force her to marry him using deception and manipulation. 

Therefore, Gaston serves as a dark example of what the Beast could have become if he had never met Belle, but also the Enchantress. In fact, the Beast makes this realization when he grabs Gaston by the throat and the latter pathetically begs for mercy. The Beast sees that Gaston is the monster he would have become had it not been for Belle, and if he killed Gaston, he would be no better than him. And since he wants to be better than Gaston, especially because he truly loves Belle, the Beast reluctantly spares him by telling him to leave the castle.

Aladdin: Jafar is this to Aladdin.

Both Aladdin and Jafar are men who wish to move up in society and wind up resorting to trickery to do so, including putting on a facade in order to ingratiate themselves with the royal family. Aladdin pretends to be Prince Ali and initially acts cocky and smooth to cover up his true, humble street urchin self, while Jafar pretends to be the Sultan’s loyal vizier when he actually despises the Sultan and schemes to take the throne of Agrabah for himself.

Both also rely on magic in their pursuits. Aladdin relies on the Genie to make him a prince so he can win Jasmine’s heart, while Jafar uses his snake staff to hypnotize the Sultan and manipulate him into doing what he (Jafar) wants him to do. Later, Iago steals the lamp when Aladdin isn’t around, and Jafar makes his first two wishes to become Sultan and then a powerful sorcerer.

However, Aladdin’s guilt over deceiving Jasmine and the Sultan drives him to back out of using his third wish to free the Genie, after which he finally decides to come clean about his lies. In the end, he keeps his promise to the Genie and sets him free, rather than to wish to become a prince again. 

Jafar, on the contrary, becomes so caught up his own power that it ultimately becomes his undoing. Aladdin cons Jafar into believing that the Genie is the only being more powerful than him, so Jafar uses his final wish to become a Genie himself. But seconds after making his wish, Aladdin reminds Jafar that being a Genie makes him a prisoner of a lamp, and Jafar realizes too late that he has been tricked.

Therefore, Jafar serves as a dark parallel as to what Aladdin might have become had he not freed the Genie and become too obsessed and hungry for the power and status that would come with him succeeding the Sultan.

The Lion King: Scar is this to Simba.

Both are rebellious lion princes who develop a sense of entitlement, believing that being a king means that they can always do whatever they want, always get their way, and have their orders obeyed with question or argument.

With such feelings, both Scar and Simba only care for what benefits they would get as king and do not grasp the responsibilities that come with being a ruler. 

Simba starts out as a young lion cub who js the future king of the Pride Lands. His position as the future king inflates his ego, making him arrogant and boastful enough that he believes that being a king means he is entitled to do anything he wants whenever he wants, that he doesn’t have to be told what to do, and can make or get rid of any rules he dislikes.

Scar, on the other hand, is the younger brother of Simba’s father Mufasa, and has lost a legitimate chance to be king due to Simba’s birth. Scar still has a deep-rooted desire to be ruler of the Pride Lands, but only for the power and authority it would give him over the other lions and animals in the kingdom. Scar’s lust to become king drives him to murder Mufasa and try to murder Simba, whom he blames for Mufasa’s death. Sent off into exile, though with everyone believing he is dead, Simba grows up living a carefree lifestyle while Scar assumes control of the Pride Lands. His incompetent, lazy, and dismissive behavior regarding the responsibilities as a ruler, especially the balance of nature, turns the kingdom into a barren wasteland.

However, in adulthood, after being encouraged to do what’s right by Mufasa’s ghost, Simba decides to go home to atone for the mistakes of his past and take his place as the true king. Seeing what Scar’s tyranny has done to the Pride Lands makes Simba understand the importance of his responsibility, and he eventually learns that Mufasa’s death was not his fault.

Scar, however, is killed by the hyenas because he cowardly tries to run away and blame them for his crimes just to weasel his way out of facing the consequences.

Overall, Scar proves himself to be the very tyrant Simba would have become if he had grown so obsessed with his future power and authority and not learned to understand what important responsibilities come with being a ruler. In fact, one could even say that “Be Prepared”, Scar’s song about his plot to become king, is a dark reflection of “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King”, young Simba’s song about his excitement over becoming king and all the great things his rank will do for him.

Pocahontas: Governor Ratcliffe is one to John Smith.

Both men are in charge of the Virginia Company who venture into the New World in search of gold and riches.

Both have bigoted views of the indigenous inhabitants, seeing them as savages upon which to look down.

Both also feel a sense of ownership to Virginian and/or its resources, which can be shown when they both sing in “Mine, Mine, Mine”.

However, after meeting Pocahontas and learning about her, her people, and her world, including that there is no gold present, John no longer views the Native Americans as savages (and instead believes that they could help him and his company), and comes to respect the fact that the land rightfully belongs to them.

On the contrary, Ratcliffe holds on to his intense racism, supremacy, and greed, which drives him into delusion and fantasy that the Powhatans are hoarding the non-existent gold for themselves. He ultimately declares war on the tribe in order to obtain the “gold” while claiming it as a rescue party after John is captured by them.

Therefore, Ratcliffe serves as a dark parallel as to what John would have become if he had never met Pocahontas.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Frollo is this to Quasimodo.

Quasimodo has a monstrous exterior, but he is actually a benevolent, gentle, and kind person.

On the contrary, Frollo is a normal-looking person, he is a pure monster on the inside.

Both have unrequited attraction to Esmeralda, with Quasimodo's being friendly love and Frollo's being lust and obsession. These are further emphasized by their respective songs: Quasimodo's "Heaven's Light" and Frollo's "Hellfire".

Both also face rejection from Esmeralda, but for different reasons. Quasimodo faces it because Esmeralda loves Phoebus, and while he is initially heartbroken over it, he learns to accept it and remains friends with the couple.

On the other hand, Frollo becomes furious when Esmeralda refuses to become his mistress, so he gives into his hatred and racism towards her people by attempting to murder her, and then commit mass genocide against the gypsies.

Therefore, Frollo serves as a dark parallel as to what Quasimodo could have become if he developed bigotry and wrath towards the gypsies after seeing that Esmeralda only loved him as a friend.

The Emperor’s New Groove: Yzma is this to Kuzco.

Both are power-hungry authority figures in the empire, with Kuzco being the emperor and Yzma being his adviser.

Both are very arrogant, callous, selfish people who view themselves as superior to everyone else in the empire due to their ranks.

In the beginning, Kuzco possesses all these negative traits and more. He rules his empire completely without the best interest of his people and always seeks to have his way, regardless of any misfortunes it could cause other people. After Kuzco fires Yzma for doing his job in his absence, she plots revenge by aiming to kill him so she can rule the empire.

However, after being accidentally transformed into a llama and befriending Pacha, Kuzco comes to realize the error of his ways, while Yzma remains bent on eliminating Kuzco.

Therefore, Yzma serves as a dark reflection of what Kuzco would have become if he had not met Pacha and undergone his transformation.

Tangled: Gothel is this to Flynn Rider (aka Eugene Fitzherbert).

Both are manipulative, arrogant, and selfish people who use Rapunzel for something they want, with Gothel using her for the magic of the sun flower in Rapunzel’s hair, and Flynn to get her to tell him where she hid his satchel containing (unknown to her) Rapunzel’s tiara.

Both find themselves as a reluctant companion/protector to Rapunzel, with Flynn helping Rapunzel escape from tower so she can see the floating lanterns, while Gothel plays the role of Rapunzel’s mother and manipulates her into staying in the tower so she can use Rapunzel’s hair to stay young forever.

However, Flynn grows to care for Rapunzel and sees her as a person without ever showing interest in using her hair for his own personal gain. His love for her changes him into a better person, as shown when he aims to protect and rescue her from Gothel, with him ultimately sacrificing the chance to be healed from the fatal wound Gothel inflicts on him so that Rapunzel can be free of Gothel. After being revived, Flynn brings Rapunzel home to her parents and in the final scene, he announces in his voiceover narration that his love for her also led him to decide to stop thieving.

Gothel, on the other hand, only puts up with Rapunzel since Rapunzel’s hair has the magic Gothel wants for her own selfish desire. She views Rapunzel as a pest and any forms of “affection” she gives Rapunzel are actually towards her hair, in reference to that Gothel truly loves the power in Rapunzel’s hair and not Rapunzel herself. To keep her from leaving the tower, Gothel constantly belittles, demeans, manipulates, and emotionally abuses Rapunzel, especially by using guilt trips and victim blaming whenever they argue or when Rapunzel defies and challenges her “authority”. When Rapunzel discovers she is actually Corona’s missing princess, Gothel resorts to chaining and dragging her to another place far away to keep the magic within her hair forever and permanently prevent Rapunzel from leaving ever again.

Therefore, Gothel serves as a dark parallel of what Flynn could have become if he had never met Rapunzel.

Wreck-It Ralph: King Candy, who is later revealed to truly be the long-presumed-dead Turbo, is this to Ralph.

Ralph is programmed to be a villain in his own game and is treated as such, but he is actually kind, selfless, humble, well-meaning, and sympathetic towards other characters in the arcade, particularly the homeless ones.

Turbo, on the other hand, was originally programmed to be the hero of his game, but he was actually arrogant, selfish, attention-seeking, egotistical, and had no care or value for anyone else besides himself.

Both leave their own games, or game-jump, in order to get attention and recognition, but have different motives for doing so. Ralph game-jumps to get respect and positive recognition that he had always been denied, while Turbo does so out of jealousy and spite in an attempt to regain the attention and popularity he lost when RoadBlasters was plugged in and got more notice than TurboTime.

Therefore, Turbo serves as a dark example of what Ralph might have become if he had grown too obsessed with getting what he wanted.

Frozen: Hans is this to Anna.

Both are the youngest siblings in their respective families.

Both grew up feeling neglected, rejected, and overshadowed by their older siblings.

However, while Anna still loved Elsa and was willing to do anything to reconnect with her, Hans grew to resent his brothers and was willing to do whatever it took for him to finally be on top, to gain and attention and everything he rarely to never got by growing up in their shadows.

Therefore, Hans serves as a dark counterpart of what Anna would have become had she finally given up on mending her relationship with Elsa.

Big Hero 6: Professor Robert Callaghan is this to Hiro.

Both are intelligent people who lose a beloved family member, with Hiro losing his older brother Tadashi and Callaghan losing his daughter Abigail.

Both become consumed with grief and determination to avenge their loved ones, to the point that they want to destroy those who they believe are responsible.

However, while Hiro briefly becomes enraged after learning that Callaghan faked his death, stole his microbots, and that Tadashi died for nothing after he went into the burning building to save him (Callaghan), he comes to his senses with help from his friends and learns to accept his loss.

Callaghan, on the contrary, lets his rage and grief over losing Abigail consume him enough that he desires revenge on Alistair Krei. Callaghan’s obsession causes his own morality to apparently vanish based on the way he ruthlessly pursues and tries to murder any innocent bystanders who get in his way. He even coldly and callously dismisses Tadashi's death as his own mistake and ultimately rebuffs Hiro's pleas to accept Abigail's loss (despite briefly showing a hint of regret). But when he sees Abigail alive after all (after Hiro rescues her), Callaghan realizes that all of his senseless destruction ended up being for nothing, so he shows shame and possibly remorse for his actions once he is arrested.

Therefore, Callaghan serves as a dark reflection of what Hiro would have become had he let his grief turn into vengeance and not learned to move on from Tadashi’s death.

Zootopia: Dawn Bellwether is this to Judy Hopps.

Both are small prey animals who hold important positions in the city (Judy as a cop, Bellwether as the assistant mayor) and want to be successful and appreciated for their efforts.

Despite their positions, both are overlooked, dismissed, looked down on, misjudged, and mistreated by their bosses (Judy by Chief Bogo and Bellwether by Leodore Lionheart) and other larger animals, especially by predators.

However, while Judy has some mild bigotry towards predators (especially foxes, due to being bullied by one as a child), she truly wants to live peacefully among predators, wants prey and predators to also live as such, and overcomes her troubled past to bring an end to the conspiracy against the predators.

On the other hand, Bellwether gives in to her hatred for predators (particularly because of the abuse she endures from Lionheart as his assistant), and starts her conspiracy of turning predators savage in order to become mayor and remove them from Zootopia.

Therefore, Bellwether serves as a dark parallel of what Judy might have become had she allowed her mild bigotry towards predators intensify into pure hatred.

Frozen II: King Runeard is this to Elsa, his own granddaughter.

Both are very powerful monarchs who, at different points in their lives, are the sole rulers of Arendelle.

Both have keep big secrets about themselves from their kingdom, and also hold great fears of magic.

However, Elsa feared her own magic since she believed that she would lose control of them and harm people, especially those she loved. She learns to overcome her fear and to trust herself, and the people close to her.

On the contrary, Runeard feared magic because he believed it to be a threat and competition to his own royal status and power. His fear grew into paranoia, hatred, and bigotry, which clouded and corrupted his judgment over trusting people with ties to magic, making him believe that the Northuldra, and anyone who is magical or follows magic, can never be trusted.

Therefore, Runeard serves as a dark example of what Elsa might have become if she allowed her fear to consume her.

However, while Runeard serves as a dark parallel to Elsa, he also serves as a darker counterpart to Hans.

As I described them in “The Men with Two Faces”, both men are obsessive, manipulative, selfish monarchs who pretend to be kind and noble in order to hide their true natures and gain the loyalty and trust of others for their own personal gain.

Both are also very power-hungry who only care for the power they have/crave and are willing to go to lengths of treachery and murder to get what they want and expand their power.

Both sneak up on people sitting on the ground and try to murder them with their swords since they view them as a threat to their goals. However, while Hans failed to kill Elsa due to Anna’s intervention, Runeard succeeded in killing the Northuldra leader.

Therefore, Runeard is what Hans could have become if he had succeeded in killing both Elsa and Anna and been crowned king of Arendelle.

I owe a thanks to my dearest friend and soul sis @minervadeannabond for coming up with this title. Although I am called the Queen of Puns, I sometimes have trouble coming up with clever puns as titles for my analyses, and she’s always there to help me out. Thank you so much, girl! Love you much! 😁😊❤️

And since today is All Hallows Eve, what better kind of analysis for me to post today than one about villains?

Happy Halloween, everyone! 😁🎃👻

#Miscellaneous Disney #Disney #Disney Villains #Disney Villain #villains #villain #reflections #reflection #countertparts #counterpart #good #evil #my stuff #mine

[oof-big-oof]

ACOTAR and Setups Part II: Tamlin and Rhysand

SPOILERS: ACOTAR series (and Macbeth too ig)

Part 1: Feyre

In "Macbeth", Macbeth and Banquo are narrative foils to each other. While Banquo is loyal to the king and uses language of growth and imagery of nature when he speaks, the traitor Macbeth's words are full of references to destruction, fire, and unholy happenings. Foils are not just good ways to explore character traits, but also excellent for setting up conflicts and exploring the thematic concerns of the world.

I think it's safe to say Tamlin and Rhysand are foils. They have opposing imagery (spring, flowers and sun for Tamlin, winter, snow and night for Rhysand) and always stand in opposition to each other when it comes to Feyre's narrative, switching in and out of being the "bad guy" and the "good guy". But the way this is handled is .... eh.

I'm going to look at shifts in Feyre, Tamlin and Rhys that work of this foil - and try to look for when and how they were set up.

1. Feyre's shift - TW: discussions of abuse, mental health issues

In the first book, Tamlin is a source of protection and love for Feyre. But by the second book, Feyre is not only struggling with her PTSD but has begun to realise that life at the Spring Court as a dolled up accessory might not be for her. By the end of the book, she has found her place in the Night Court - by Rhysand's side. And honestly? Go girl! Go live up to your potential!

The problem arises with how this is done - that is, Sarah J Mass never does the brunt work of showing us why Feyre cares. It is plausible she is motivated by a desire to protect the human lands, but we never actually see that. There isn't a moment where she realises she needs to work for a greater good, or a moment she realises that she needs to protect those more vulnerable than her - instead, the narrative has her tolerating abuse until she finally has had enough.

Which is great. I have got to admit that I really like the explicit rejection of a happily ever after storyline for Feyre because it took away her agency. But we get this radical shift in character motivation from wanting to be protected and comfortable with those she loves to desiring agency and understanding of herself in two lines:

"The girl who had needed to be protected and who had craved stability and comfort... she had died Under the Mountain"

and

"I didn't know how to go back to those things. To being docile"

hhhhhh. I mean - if you have to say it that explicitly, you're already doing something wrong. But also, why? We never see Feyre struggling with herself in her new body, and wondering why she does not want the same things as she did when she was a human, never see an impetus point for when her desires shifted.

But honestly? I don't mind Feyre's arc. I think it's a bit confused and lacks clarity or intent, and as a result, it is harder to root for her because you don't quite know what she wants, but I think it's still quite good. Where I really have problems are with Tamlin ad Rhys.

2. Tamlin - TW: discussions of abuse, mental health issues

I am not a fan of Tamlin's arc. You could argue that it is part of the thematic message of the series: that things are not as they seem. Tamlin is the wolf to the savour to the abuser, Rhysand is the "most beautiful man " Feyre had ever seen to Amarantha's monster to Feyre's eventual mate. But - the constant twists are unnecessary, more importantly, they and have little to no foreshadowing and just seem like retcons- making it seem as if they are there to keep the audience guessing rather than genuine plot progressions. This becomes even more obvious when the series abandons its core theme of "appearance vs reality" altogether, and as a result loses a lot of its cohesion: a direct consequence of having a bad setup.

His reason for doing the abusive things he does is conveyed to us in two lines, in the same monologue that Feyre's motivation is:

"Tamlin had gotten his powers back, had become whole again - become that protector and provider he wished to be"

Sure. He was much more powerful than Feyre when they first met, so I am having a hard time buying it is the return of the powers that his making him act this way. We know that his actions come from a genuine desire to protect Feyre - this is the guy that was willing to sacrifice his life multiple times and the future of his entire court to keep her safe. The only justification we have left then for the way he acts is that his PTSD, borne out of the trauma and torture he underwent and watched Feyre undergo changed him in some way.

This is why the endless villainizing of Tamlin makes me really uncomfortable. While it is true that the abused can become the abuser, and figuring out how to help them while protecting yourself is something that absolutely needs to be discussed and explored - the way it is done with Tamlin is horrendous because he is never given a chance to heal. Instead, he is thrown from plot point to plot point, an eternal punching bag for the Inner Circle and others to seem morally superior in front of.

And his treatment of Feyre is just weird. If he's so concerned about her safety - why does he not wake up when she has nightmares? Is he instead trying to pretend like everything is okay - if so why does he give Feyre an escort of guards? If his core motivation is protecting Feyre at all costs - why does he lash out at her?? And the text really tries to tell us how to feel about him in this regard, but it doesn't do it very well. For example, take the scene where Tamlin says "There is no such thing as a High Lady". Feyre a second before expressed her desire not to take on any responsibility, and Tamlin responded with this - and the text really makes us want to hate him for it, but all you can see is a person who is perhaps not the best at reading subtext trying his best.

In conclusion - Tamlin's shift to the villain of the narrative is hamhanded and underexplained, making it hard to genuinely hate him, and further confusing the narrative.

3. Rhys the foil gets the girl - TW: discussions of abuse, sexual assault mental health issues

Rhysand in the first book is interesting - he clearly has a heart and a soft spot for Feyre but is also a schemer with dubious motives that drugs and sexually harasses Feyre. There are places in the set up where we understand he cares - but never where we can begin to see he might be a genuine paragon of virtue.

And I will address this more in my post on ACOMAF, but the point I am trying to make here is: we are told through the constantly opposing imagery that Rhys and Tamlin are wolds apart - but never actually given examples of how. Rhys is said to be different from Tamlin because he respects Feyre's choice - but he drugs her in a bunch of weird scenes (that serve no clear narrative purpose by the way - like what was he trying to achieve? why he couldn't he just let Feyre in on that part of the plan?) and withholds information from her about life-threatening situations. Rhys is said to pull less rank - but we multiple times see others defer to him, especially in later books, and never actually see rank being enforced in Tamlin's court with his treatment of Lucien (many times described as his partner, and openly questioning him) and later Ianthe. Rhys is said to have less archaic laws in opposition to Tamlin's Tithe - but he abandons the Court of Nightmares to the monsters who rule it, and never takes serious actions against the Illyrian people who clip of women's wings, and a lot of Tamlin's idea of racial superiority and general superiority just come completely out of left field in the middle of ACOMAF.

Both of them are problematic - it's just that the text tells us to root for one, without actually showing us how one is better, or setting up any clear ideological difference between them. And that cheapens Feyre's character shift and lessen the efficacy of the foil - turning it into Feyre hopping from one lover to the other with little to no character consistency and no nuanced exploration of the theme of the series or trauma.

#tamlin #rhysand #feyre #anti rhysand #anti feyre #tamlin deserved better #critique #anti sjm #anti acotar #anti acomaf #god adding tags exhausting #anti sarah j mass