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#learn to accept characters u enjoy will do things that are wrong and hurt.
fiovske · 9 months
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can I just say. coffee theory is stupid and completely cheapens the choice Aziraphale makes.
Aziraphale continues to say no to Metatron's offer until Metatron uses the real bait: if you take over Heaven, you can reinstate Crowley to his Angelic status. And that is what gets Aziraphale to say yes hook line and sinker — he can take Crowley with him so Crowey doesn't have to be afraid of Hell and Aziraphale can run things Do It Right as the Head of Heaven and no one would say anything to Crowley ever again if Aziraphale was on his side. Aziraphale doesn't know about the trial and the fact that Gabriel was fired for disagreeing w Heaven on the Second Armageddon front. He just thinks Gabriel was fired bc he fell in love w a demon (and Aziraphale's in love w a demon). Aziraphale strongly believes that if he can reinstate Crowley as an angel again then there would be no such objections from Heaven at all, because they would both be on the same side and they can be together and if anything ever goes wrong, both Crowley and he would be protected under Aziraphale's position as the new boss of Heaven. Plus, the way he remembers it, Crowley enjoyed making things creating things and still likes to do good deeds which he gets in trouble for if Hell finds out, but he won't if he's an angel, in Aziraphale's eyes then Crowley would be free to do all the good he liked. And because Aziraphale would be the boss, Crowley would be able to ask questions and work with him and make things better w his inquisitive perspective, something Crowley always wanted to do and Aziraphale wants to give him that also.
He doesn't know the full depth of things that Crowley knows, which is why when Crowley hears Aziraphale's offer, all he hears is that Aziraphale is choosing Heaven, after everything they have done to him, Aziraphale is leaving Crowley FOR Heaven. The way he sees it, Aziraphale wants him to change and be Heaven's definition of "Good" so they can both be in Heaven, conforming to a life Crowley left behind long ago, a life he knows Aziraphale wouldn't be happy in either. Which is the killing blow to Crowley's heart bc Aziraphale would choose THAT instead of coming away with Crowley? Devastating. But he doesn't know that Metatron's offer WAS Crowley's Angelification and hence forth security that got Aziraphale to say yes. Crowley hasn't communicated a lot to Aziraphale but Aziraphale also hasn't communicated a lot to him either and they're both on very different pages w the information they've got and what they feel they need to do to be together and be safe and happy.
Does Aziraphale make the naive choice? Yes. Does he make so in full control of his mind and senses? Also yes. Having his coffee poisoned is an incredibly cheap tactic because as a writer it's a cop out. It robs Aziraphale of not only his agency but also the reasonings behind his choice. It absolves him from the struggles and consequences of his actions and robs him of the growth and realization and epiphany he will have in the third act. It cheapens their inevitable reconciliation.
Metatron didn't hand him the coffee to poison him. He handed it to him so he can use the manipulative familiarity of "oh look i brought ur coffee order, isn't it cool how I know your coffee order isn't it nice how we are close like that?" that was the tactic. to get him to listen. Not some elaborate coffee poison.
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If Danny Phantom Got A Reboot👻
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* 2D Animation.
* The ghost concept to be dead people like it was originally. Also make less antagonistic and more like people with unfinished business. A lot of the ghosts seemed capable of having redemption. Perhaps more ghosts who become allies or atleast morally grey associated to Danny.
* The Ghost Zone explored more.
* Danny at first to see all ghosts as evil and dangerous because that’s what he was taught and eventually realize a lot of them are people like him with unresolved issues and tries to help them, later becoming allies with the majority of ghosts.
* Have Sam be etheir less judgemental/stubborn or have that be played straight and have her work on that. Maybe a bit of both. There's been a lot of criticism on her character.
* Tucker. Perhaps had been Danny's friend longer than Sam and when he becomes a ghost and they start drifting away, especially after he gets with Sam, making him feel like a third wheel.
* Sam to be a huge fan of horror stuff, ESPECIALLY Ghosts. Have her enjoy reading into legends and myths on the ghosts they face and find out their past and what could stop them. And it would give the Trio more distinct roles, Danny's the one who can fight ghosts, Tucker's the brains and one who can do tech stuff and Sam's the expert on the specific ghosts and figure out what makes them tick.
* Go into Jack’s obsession for ghost hunting. I’m rewriting Maddie here more interested in understanding ghosts rather than hunt them. It be cool to see how they got into it in the first place. Especially why Jack himself specifically hates ghosts and sees them as bad. Perhaps a traumatic experience with one when he was young.
* Jazz to use her psychology learning to try to help the ghosts with their unresolved issues.
* Have the A-Listers should more redeeming qualities. They’re still jerks but develop into better people like Valerie.
* Another thing I wanna change is Mr Lancer. I prefer him to be a jerk with a heart of gold type, him to be a stern guy but cares. He genuinely tries to help Danny and keep jerks like Dash reigned in, Dash isn’t able to get away with as much but being the school’s best player and having maybe parents that help the school or just really important, the school tends to let things slide which frustrates Lancer. With that said, he also wants to help Dash, seeing he has issues he needs to work out.
* Valerie after realizing ghosts aren’t all that evil, help Danny take the badder ones down. Also her dad joins the Fenton’s family and get financial stability back. Perhaps she bonds with Jack about realizing not all ghosts are evil.
* Vlad.
Make it not about trying to get back on Jack by taking his family and destroying Danny. Backstory change. Have it stay almost the same(Jack accidentally opens the portal, hurting Vlad and making him a ghost). Jack wanted to defeat ghosts, where as Vlad felt the ghosts could be used to help humankind under their control. Jack thought was too risky while Vlad felt Jack was overlooking the bigger picture and paranoid They. They had a fight and in the heat of things accidentally opened the unstable portal, causing Vlad to take the brunt of it. Jack tried to reach out to him but the damage was done and things were over. Jack's been haunted ever since by that. Years alone, dealing with the ghost affects made Vlad bitter and stubborn. His motive is to continue and what he wanted to do and show Jack wrong, in the process trying to control things he shouldn’t and going down a dark path. 
I want it to be more personal between him and Jack, and more so sees Maddie as a potential ally in hopes she can get Jack to help him. Tbh I want Vlad and Jack to have ex vibes.
Vlad-Join me Danny, ur father will never accept u! He’ll only reject and leave u with a bitter and broken heart. 
Danny-…When u said u and my dad were ex-partners, did u mean lab partners or…
Vlad-Ok this got akward, LETS BRAWL!
He still grows a soft spot for Danny and sees him as a son, wanting to take him under his wing, to embrace his ghost side.  At the end I want him to realize just how much he put everyone in danger for his goals and reconcile with Jack, both seeing each other’s perspectives and no longer resenting him for the accident, becoming an ally of not just Danny but the Fenton family as whole. This version he still does crazy things but isn't as bad and more dark gray. I see him develop into being better from Danielle’s influence, caring for her in this version.
* Perhaps Jack, Maddie and Vlad could be a dark parallel to Danny, Sam and Tucker, what could happen if Danny closed himself off from everyone, if they didn't fully listen to each other, let their pride get the better of them. The tension's more between Jack and Vlad but Maddie was affected by what happened between the Trio and tried to be the tired peacemaker but just couldn't keep it together.
* WES!!!!!!
* Have Maddie be more interested from a scientist perspective, while Jack’s more obsessed with the ghosts. Perhaps at first she was sceptical but perhaps after meeting Jack and him showing his work to her as well as a IRL experience, makes Maddie curious and want to know more with him. She still continues with other scientific explorations and makes inventions outside of ghost hunting, especially to pay for expenses, but her main interest is in the ghost discovery. At first she assumes ghosts are more like creatures seeping into their world. When she realizes though Ghosts are genuine people and that her own sons a ghost, try safer, non dissection stuff on ghosts.
* Have more struggle about Danny being a halfa. Have that talked about more. Perhaps for an arc he realizes whether he's Fenton or Phantom he'll always be Danny.
* It was said Jack's family has been through the Salem trials, perhaps someone was wrongfully accused as a witch and killed, thanks to one of Jack's ancestors and wants revenge. Perhaps they make Jack realize his own mistakes of letting fear cloud his judgment and hurting people based on ideas based on fear and how he endangered his own son because of his fear of ghosts, thinking they're all evil.
* Perhaps when Jack and Maddie find out about Danny being half Ghost, Jack and Maddie make a vow to never hunt any ghosts, giving up their hunting career and become overprotective of Danny. They'd realize their work can still do good, especially for the more dangerous ghosts. They just try less extreme methods.
* The guys in white to have more screen time.
* Have better build up of a big bad hinted throughout the series for an epic final battle. Maybe Pariah. Say Vlad in his pursuit of ultimate power over the ghostly forces, accidentally unleashed Pariah or some other big threat for an epic finale. I feel like Pariah should’ve had bigger impact.
* Dark Danny.
* Have less emphasis on Danny/Sam hint.
What do u think? Any ideas u have for a rewrite? I’d love to know💖
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(Nsfw content) hey so feel free to completely ignore this ask, but I think u have good inputs I'd like to know Ur thoughts about this, if it's okay.
So this is about fanfic right. For context, I am a cis woman and I struggle with CSA trauma. Writing erotica has been very freeing to me these past few years. Now the thing is, I can't exactly point to the reason why, but specifically in fictional erotica, when I write men it's always men with female genitalia. Not that I can't read about guys and dicks in general, it's just not something I feel comfortable writing. Now, I feel a bit weird about tagging any of that as "trans characters" because it doesn't feel fair to lump what I write with actual representation (even though if trans men enjoy what I write they are more than welcome to ofc).
Basically I'm not trying to write actual trans men and represent their struggles, or even their bodies realistically (I also find it a bit ehhh that in fandom spaces "trans man" has come to be synonyms with = "has a vagina" but I digress).
So with that in mind, I have come full circle and I'm noticing I'm back at feeling guilt and shame about what I write... much like I used to feel when I started writing/reading erotica. I feel guilty of writing that type of thing because in a way I fear it may come off as fetishization. That's not what I'm trying to do though, I realize this is mostly a fictional kink that doesn't correlate with how I view actual trans people irl. But the guilt is still there.
I'd like to know your thoughts about this. Do you think this is hurtful for trans people? For me to not tag that content as "trans" specifically? That I write that content? Am I alienating trans people? Are there better ways to go about this? Sorry if this is a lot of questions. My brain really wants me to feel ashamed of my sexuality and sexual desires so sometimes it's hard to have a clear idea of what's going on, if I'm actually doing something harmful or if it's just my brain being mean to me.
Sorry for the long ask, and again feel free to completely ignore it.
I mean, fanfic isn't really representation to begin with if you ask me. So by writing it, you aren't representing anyone. Besides, the purpose of your story isn't to describe trans people's struggle, so I don't think you need to go out of your way to "properly portray" said struggle/issues.
If we were to deny people right to write about groups they aren't apart of, we'd lose any chance at exploring each other's experiences. Like, you have every right to write a trans character. It's not illegal or wrong. I also don't think you have some moral obligation to make sure your portrayal is perfect cuz 1. There isn't any perfect portrayal of any experience or group of people and 2. Writing isn't always about doing that anyways.
So long as you're not coming with ill intentions to write something that you actively DESIRE to hurt some group with (this is how propaganda works) then I think you're fine to write whatever you want. Especially when it comes to fanfic which is written for FUN. Enjoy yourself. It's fine.
As for the tagging. I don't read much fanfic anymore. But I think the general rule of thumb is to be sure triggers are tagged. Whether you tag ship names, trans, or other tags is fully up to you. As a trans man, I don't think I'd care either way? Just do what makes you comfortable. You aren't hurting anyone by writing fanfics. Especially not what you described above.
You might get people who misunderstand, but genuinely that's fine. It's important to learn how to accept that some people will take what you do in life the wrong way. You can explain yourself, but ultimately it's best to just move on. Talk it out with someone you trust, reassure yourself, and continue your life. You can't please everyone so just make sure you can make yourself happy. Ya know? If these writings make you happy, don't let some random person get you down. You're not hurting anyone, or actively trying to bring down the trans community. You, as one person, couldn't actually do that anyways. It's ok. Take a breath and keep writing.
Summary: you're ok. You're not hurting anyone by writing fanfiction.
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almondtqfu · 2 years
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falling out of love headcanons ✦ kazuha, xiao, albedo, eula
✧.*.:。 gn reader / modern!au ✧.*.:。 warnings: angst with no comfort, sad endings, mentions of breaking up, showings of both healthy and unhealthy communication ✧.*.:。 req: "So like i saw how u write angst and immediately fell in love <3<3<3 can i request for kazuha, xiao, albedo, and eula (or if thats too many characters then any of the four of ur choice!) In a relationship with reader but fell out of love so they try to break up w reader?? (feel free to ignore this btw if ur not comfortable!!)" ✧.*.:。 ✉️ : thank you anon for requesting this, honestly i don't write a lot of angst but this was fun to write, i hope you enjoy it, it ripped my heart out a bit ngl~ :)))
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kazuha
Kazuha loved you. He really did. After a while though, he could feel the sparks he once had dying out.
You’ve always been together since you both started college, it was only natural for him that he his feelings for you began to grow.
You did everything together, and it made Kazuha realize that he didn’t want to do any of these things without you.
The day he confessed, and you accepted, was probably one of his happiest memories—and it always will be—in time it won’t hurt as much, but he knew this needed to end.
Deep down though, you knew too.
You two had been growing apart. What with Kazuha talking about applying to an abroad university for his masters, and you with your new job that’s kept you so busy.
You’ve barely had time anymore to see each other without being exhausted.
This led to arguments, things you didn’t mean sent back and forth at each other. In the heat of the moment some words were said, and those words couldn’t be taken back.
You both knew that the growing distance you had was due to both of you, not one or the other.
As much as you two started out bound by the hip, now it was time to let go.
The innocent sparks weren’t there anymore, and nothing else was to blame for that but time, and distance. Two things you just couldn’t overcome together, and that’s okay.
After having a talk about it all, you two mutually agreed it was time to end your relationship.
There were tears, there was one more embrace, and like that Kazuha left you with a final kiss to your forehead, and a wish that you have a happy life.
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xiao
Xiao is a man who doesn’t show his feelings often. It’s not entirely his fault, he really has never had a relationship before.
You understood that, but Xiao had no excuse for the way he’d been distancing himself from you.
He knew it was wrong, but whenever you interacted, he began to feel this disconnect.
He thought he was falling out of love with you, so he began to distance himself.
It was that typical "If you hate me, you can move on" card.
Xiao was also afraid of getting hurt, so he thought perhaps if he ended things first, he could protect himself from further loss.
He had lost several people in his life, one day he would lose you too, he didn't know if he could handle that.
So he asked you to meet with him at his place one night.
Deep down, you knew what was coming, you hated it, but you knew.
With the distance Xiao had been putting between you both, it was only natural to you that him asking to break up was coming.
As you expected, he told you that he thought things should end.
You stood there for a moment, quiet, and sad.
In the end though, the distance felt too far to cross anymore. It began to be too painful to be with Xiao anymore.
He never truly explained why he was ending things, and you never asked, it simply went unresolved.
Xiao thinks of you every now and then, and if he's lucky enough. he'll catch a glimpse of you.
Seeing you happy—albeit without him—is enough for him.
A glimpse of your smile was all he ever deserved to begin with, or at least, that's how he felt.
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albedo
Albedo is still learning about emotions and relationships, and he enjoyed the one he shared with you—for the most part.
Over time though he noticed he wasn’t quite as excited to hear from you.
He wasn’t really as excited to see you visit his place.
Nor could he feel that blossoming feeling of excitement he'd just learned to experience when he would listen to you talk about your day, your work, anything really.
He found himself growing very indifferent with you.
You noticed this too, of course.
Part of you worried you'd done something wrong, however when you asked Albedo, he simply denied it, saying it wasn't you at all.
This confused you, it didn't add up with his behavior.
This was Albedo we were talking about.
Every action he performed had meaning. Every step had purpose.
He wouldn't feel so distant, just because.
When you finally sat down and talked with Albedo about this some days later, he told you everything honestly.
He had no intention of hurting you, but he could felt that twisting in his stomach at the sight of your tears.
You forced a sad smile and told him that what he was feeling sounds a lot like falling out of love with someone.
Albedo didn't fully understand the concept, but honestly if that's what this was, it didn't feel good.
After that conversation, you also began to distance yourself.
If Albedo was slowly losing his love for you, you'd let him go.
As much as you loved him you would never force him to stay with you.
Neither of you deserved that.
You knew you'd have to be the one to end this, Albedo wasn't adept at sensing emotions, or reading the room.
You knew if you didn't say something, this distance could go on for much longer than it needed to.
Neither of you deserved that.
As you stood in front of Albedo's apartment door, you took a long look at it. Gazing fondly at the doorknob that you'd turn nearly everyday to see your love.
A shaky deep breath, and you turned the knob for what was most likely the last time.
Albedo turned to you, his emotionless face, his turquoise eyes.
It took everything in you not to crumble and ask him to stay, try again, start over and see where you go from there; but you had to do this.
It'll all be over soon, that's what you'd tell yourself.
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eula
Eula truly cared for you, really she did.
Over time though, she felt as though she was forcing herself to keep that same connection as time went on.
She doesn't know when or how it happened, but the feelings just gradually started fading away.
However it wasn’t just her, you felt it as well. She could tell in the ways you weren’t quite as enthusiastic in your conversations like you used to be.
Or how her holding you or even kissing you, didn’t quite hold the same passion or affection it once did, and you didn’t mind it or ask what was wrong.
You both were growing apart and while it was painful—it’s the end of a relationship after all—both of you had made peace with this.
The feelings simply didn’t carry on past your “honeymoon phase” of your relationship.
Surprisingly enough to Eula, you had no rebuttal when she had said that it may be for the best that you two decide to call it.
You in fact said that you agreed. Things were only going to get more forced; more strained, as time went on.
Eula didn’t know whether to feel relieved that you felt the disconnect too, or hurt.
It was a mixture of both she decided.
As much as she knew you’d grown distant with her as well, it still hurt that you made no attempt of any kind to try and keep the relationship.
However this, was a blessing in disguise, Eula decided. You were right, deep down she knew that.
It just... hurt.
But Eula was never one to properly express her true feelings often now was she?
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ganyuslily · 3 years
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having a crush on you — genshin headcanons
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characters: albedo, childe, kaeya, scaramouche, xiao
category/extra notes: fluff, oblivious reader, like so oblivious in some parts it makes me wanna bang my head why did i do this
a little summary: how do they act when they have a crush on you and how would they confess?
a/n: i wanted to write pining hc but then i read the definition of pining and i was like “i think i understood that wrong” so this is just them having a crush on u enjoy
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albedo
probably doesnt even notice he has a crush on you at first
but one day he notices how he got kind of disappointed when he heard knocking on the door and it wasnt u but timoteus
and hes like ?? why was i disappointed
and then he finally understands that he has feelings for you
doesnt really know what to do abt it
probably tries to ignore it at first
but when this feeling of happiness and excitement bubbles in him every time youre around he accepts it
gets even more smitten when u come to him with food or tea when he forgets to eat while working
or when you braid his hair
i feel like hed be one of those people that want to keep you close
like he gets a little bit clingy and he wants your touch
hes probably extremely touch starved but thats a topic for another day
if he learns that u had a bad day or ure sick or anything he drops what he has to do as quick as he can
i feel like hed admit he likes u by accident
like just randomly while spending time together or something like that
“i like you”
childe
everyone in liyue harbor is aware of the fact that childe is head over heels for you. well, except for you
its kind of funny to be honest, but he also feels like hes loosing his mind
how are u so oblivous??? it honestly baffles him
just yesterday he took to the fanciest restaurant
and the day before out shopping
and the day before that invited u to go stargazing
and u still did not get the hint that he likes you
(maybe a little bit more than he should)
i mean, come on, these are not things you do with someone whos “just your friend”
AND maybe it wouldve been okay if it has been going for like a week, but no, hes literally been hinting that he wants to be more than friends for months at this point
obviously, the most rational thing would be to just ask you out, but childe fears rejection
it is not something that hes used to and so the thought of that even being the possibility makes him unsure
so he probably wont do anything about it
hell just take care of you from afar, as a friend (even though he longs to be so much more)
probably needs a push from something to happen, for example someone taking interest in you
and so it probably just ends up with zhongli flirting with you for childe to finally do something, because the ex archon was just getting annoyed at how he was not confessing
“zhongli what do you think youre doing”
kaeya
when he gets to the conclusion he has a crush on you hes like “oh shit”
doesnt know what to do
his first instinct is to run and just push you away
and he attempts to do that but being away from you hurts him so eventually he comes back
and you were so worried because you thought that maybe you said something or that something happened to him and he just falls for u deeper
his flirty demeanor probably kind of settles and he flirts with just you
you dont get the hint tho, u think hes still just being kaeya
doesnt matter how many times he picks u up or takes you out on what are in his eyes obviously dates
probably just gets frustrated and just says it
although it doesnt come easy for him, he feels so vulnerable and scared that ull say u dont feel the same and hell make a fool out of himself and oh archons why did he decide to do that—
“i like you” “oh, i like you too! i was waiting for u to say something” “..what”
scaramouche
tries to get rid of what he deems a “useles stupid crush”
but obviously he cant
so he just accepts it with a sigh
is really delicate with you, treats you like you could break at any moment
everyone sees he clearly fancies you, but they dont dare to say anything when they see you drag him by his hand throughout the city
(and even if they wanted to, his gaze is enough to make them fear for their life)
he looks at you softly and tries to be a little bit more gentle
you appreciate it a lot
probably just straight up tells you one day
although it took him a lot of mentally preparing himself
looks at you when youre talking abt your day and goes “i like you”
when u answer the same thing the first thing he does is ask if he can kiss you
(cause god knows he wanted to do this for the longest time)
doesnt know how to express his emotions correctly so hell show his affection in the weirdest ways
“do you want me to kill them for you?” “what? no, no!”
xiao
doesnt know what to do at all
like he just freezes when he realizes it
desperately acts like nothing happened and tries to continue with your relationship as before but its just so hard
notices the smallest things
and he gets just really flustered when you come up a little bit closer to him
or when you accidentally touch
hes a blushing mess
doesnt confess though that wont happen easily
at all
it would either have to be you doing that or you being in a near death situation when he realizes he almost lost you
and that moment he decides lifes to frickle to wait and be scared of his feelings for you
“i, i thought i lost you— you were there, just, just laying, so lifeless, and and i thought i was too late and—” “shh, xiao, its okay. im here, im fine—” “i like you, i like you so much”
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shewhotellsstories · 3 years
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i really dont wanna annoy you but you post about racism in fandom sometimes so i thought you'd be the right person to ask. i hope this doesnt come off as expecting u to be my teacher. yesterday someone said they didnt trust white zk shippers and i thought it was mean but then people started sending the them all these nasty messages and i started to worry maybe op was right. honestly a lot of this stuff is pretty new for me. i think our fandom is inclusive & unlike the rest of the atla fandom we actually like katara. but i'm trying to learn.
why would it be a problem that a lot of zk fics have katara looking after zuko? i always just felt like he needed it more bc he was abused and kataras better at dealing with feelings and she's good at taking care of people. is fire lady katara still ok? is there racism in our fandom? there are a lot of woc zks and i've seen them get hate for it. but the messages op got were pretty bad too. i know i'm asking a lot of questions i just hate the thinking that we might be as bad as the z*kka stans have been saying all year.
This is gonna get long so I’m just gonna jump right in. When I listened to fansplaining’s episode on fandom racism one of the guests said white fans who can acknowledge that fandom racism exists tend to frame it as “just a few bad apples” and get caught up in worrying about not looking like a “bad apple” instead of making fandoms spaces that aren’t hostile for BIPOC. Jag offs hiding behind anon to tell women of color who ship zutara that we have a creepy fetish for imperialism and colonialism suck, but your biggest concern really shouldn’t be the optics or if you can claim superiority over zukka stans.
Yeah the “katara’s a homophobe” nonsense didn’t come from our end of the fandom, but it feels naive at best or dishonest at worst to act like the zutara fandom is uniquely immune to fandom racism. A creator I follow made the excellent point that allyship conditional upon if a poc talks "nicely" about racism is still white supremacy. I believe poc need to be allowed to vent and be salty or angry without being tone-policed. I definitely have my days where I’m like “ugh white people,” or "why must white fans be like this," so I get where the OP was coming from. Ironically the folks that sent them anon hate proved their point. You can always count on hit dogs to hollar.
Fandom is only escapist for some people. It doesn’t exist in a vacuum so you’ll find racism in fandom because there’s racism in the world. Navigating that gets exhausting. There are certain things I enjoy, but for the sake of my sanity I'll only talk about it with friends in real life or only follow fans of color. Before I follow white fans I need to see first that they’re not the kind of person who inspires posts about fandom racism. A good friend of mine loves Star Wars, Kpop, and gaming but after years of attempts at calling in she decided that she’d only interact with woc in those spaces. Again, you get tired.
ATLA wasn’t on my radar until last year so I definitely haven’t read every zutara fic out there but I have noticed a lot of fics do tend to have Katara being the one comforting and supporting Zuko. It’s not inherently wrong of course, it’s just in the grand scheme of things in fiction woc are often cast as eternal caretakers and confidants in fiction:
“How characters of color are portrayed in fanworks, especially fanfiction, is worse than the actual films. They are portrayed as supportive, almost invisible understudies. Any characteristics which they possess in the [MCU] films are stripped and given to other white characters. It is not only erasure. It’s a theft of identity.
Characters of color are positioned within storylines to support the main, white characters. Even within the slash biracial pairings, the character of color is underdeveloped and in a position of servitude within the relationship.”
TheNavyLanguage, Fansplaining
As the quote above points out this honestly happens in a lot of fandoms. I’ve read fanfic for books, movies, tv shows, and comics and I can’t help but notice that in fics the writers often have the non-white character or-- if neither character is white--the darker skinned character being the care-taker, the bodyguard, or the person who is performing all the emotional labor. It’s not inherently wrong to have a character of color have a nurturing personality, you just have to remember that since Black and brown folks have been saddled with narrative after narrative where we exist to serve leaning into dynamics where the non-white or darker skinned character is providing all the emotional support and getting very little in return has some unfortunate implications.
It’s not better if instead of being defined as the avatar’s girl, Katara’s the fire lord’s girl. Part of the appeal of zutara for me is the idea that Katara could lay down some of her burdens and get some much needed support. I always imagine she’d have some major issues after the war.
"i always just felt like he needed it more bc he was abused and kataras better at dealing with feelings and she's good at taking care of people."
I’m going to push back against that statement. Yes, Katara didn't grow up in an abusive household but she has pain and trauma of her own. In fact I’d argue that her believing it’s her job to take care of everyone is rooted in her trauma. Katara needs support and care just as much as anyone else does.
Having read a lot of fics revolving around abuse victims in different fandoms I’ve observed that if fans feel a character’s trauma wasn’t properly addressed in canon, they’ll give them a lot of TLC in fics. But again, reducing the non-white or darker-skinned character to a glorified therapist has some implications.
I feel like the Fire Lady Katara headcanon's been talked to death so long-story short, it’s not inherently racist but it can problematic if it's not clear that Katara is Katara of the Water Tribe wherever she lives. Fics and art where her crown has a crescent moon, she wears blue, or Zuko wears blue when she's in red are the executions I'm fondest of.
When in doubt just listen when poc talk about uncomfortable trends in the fandom. Give fansplaining’s episodes on fandom racism a listen here, here, and here. And very loosely quoting my favorite professor just remember that if a marginalized person says they’re distrustful of a group of people or institution it usually happens after a lot of bad experiences. Don’t center your own comfort and hurt feelings.
“If we truly believe in fandom’s progressive credentials, then perhaps it is necessary for us to listen to critiques that make us uncomfortable rather than those that keep arguing that the status quo is perfectly acceptable—even as there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. Perhaps then we will be able to come at these, yes, these very complex and nuanced discussions with the type of openness and good faith that is required for them to succeed, rather than approaching them with hostility.”
-Rukmini Pande, Fansplaining
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lochnessies · 3 years
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ok here’s a dissection of a post an anon sent me the link to and bc i have the worst time management possible and i completely forgot i had it lol so sorry anon here you go ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
I am constantly thinking about how Edelgard just doesn’t seem designed to appeal to cishet men.
i hate to be the one to break this news to you op but just because a character doesn’t show skin like charlotte fire emblem doesn’t mean she isn’t designed to pander to men. she’s very much designed to pander to the (majority straight male) player base with her ‘uwu i only trust you professor omg did u see that rat? pls don’t look at my painting of you uwu’.
then there’s the whole edelgard c support in japanese where byleth makes reference to having come to her room for ‘yobi’ which is
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there’s also the scene where byleth can make an unsolicited comment about edelgard’s breast size. which is… uhh… gross.
edelgard also has cipher cards that go from slightly fanserviceie to full on suggestive
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and also her breast armor that my sister relentlessly mocked lol
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and here’s a chart from the 3h subreddit about gender/sexually in regards to edelgard and edeleth. it’s extremely straight male. op might have just overlooked this since they probably don’t go on reddit and stay on tumblr (which unlike reddit is mostly female and has a high lgbt demographic).
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Like the joke is that Bleagles is the Gay House, but everything about her feels deliberately non-hetero.
i don’t like where this is going…
She’s dressed in sharp outfits covering her upper body, with proportions that don’t seem exaggerated.
so women who cover up must be lgbt because straight women are naturally more revealing? oh y i k e s
Her poise and the way she effortlessly flourishes her axe exhibits an air of coolness. While titties out =/= character of no substance, Edelgard being dressed more modestly suggests that she wasn’t designed with male-centred fanservice in mind.
“titties don’t equal no substance but here’s my post on how she has more substance because she doesn’t show titties” ok
And she still looks absolutely stunning in her more modest attire (like seriously, I haven’t felt the need to return to cosplay in years but I want to do her academy look so bad). 
yes she does. amazing design 10/10. i have a feeling this is the only part i’m going to agree with
Edelgard is intense. She does not mince her words and she is constantly evaluating you. Though she tries, she has a difficult time understanding her peers initially. Early on, she talks about how she would sacrifice herself and others in the name of some greater good. She is terrible at communicating with her peers. She has to be seen as infallible. Her heart has been hardened for years and she assumes she has to stay that way. She also assumes everyone mourns the same way she does - which is why she (kind of insensitively) insists you move on when Jeralt dies. Because to her, grief has to be channeled towards action, or else you’ll get lost in it. This attitude is demonstrated time and time again as she presses on. It can make her come off as cold and unfeeling - but look closer, and she’s anything but.
don’t really have anything to say at this part. it is pretty on the nose though i would slightly disagree with that last sentence a bit. i wouldn’t say she’s as i feeling as hubert is but all of her talks of the war boil down to how she feels and never her victims.
Her story is ultimately about her realizing that to achieve her goals, she needs to let people in and allow herself to want things like cakes and tea parties and lazy days in peace. 
????? what ????? her goals include imperialism, ethnic and religious targeting. her story is about having a set of beliefs and mowing down anybody who stands in her way. that has nothing to do with tea, friends, and lazy days. also am i supposed to be sad that she has to get up everyday and work? i do that and i didn’t start a war and only throw a pity party for myself
The game leaves the player guessing as to how involved the Flame Emperor was in each Part I event, makes you feel hurt by her betrayal, and leaves you with a choice: do you follow the orders of the woman who tried to make you a god without your consent, or a young girl with questionable morals about to throw the world into upheaval?
this isn’t an ideal situation but i think i’m going to stick with the woman who tried to make me a god since i’m not selfish and i know it’s not only my desires and life at stake here. plus the green hair slaps ngl
Choosing her of your own volition (not for completionist reasons) requires the basic ability to sympathize with a woman’s pain. It also requires the player to read beyond her unwavering will and dubious methods to get a sense of how deep that pain goes and how the theme of humanity relates to her differently in each route.
i’m not going to touch this since @nilsh13 made a post on it that i’ll link here. i agree with everything he said so to repeat it would be redundant.
The player must be able to see a young woman’s desperate resolve to change the world so it stops exploiting people and ruining lives. They must be able to accept the fact that women can make the same morally wrong and ambivalent decisions that complicated male characters get to make all the time and still be the one to root for.
literally the same reason i love rhea lol her goddess experiments are dubious at best but her reasons are the same you mentioned. i would say that i like this quality in edelgard too if her ending, while bloody, actually ended in a good outcome for fodlan.
This is not unique to LGBT+ people, but this population is likely to understand why Edelgard feels so strongly about why she has to change the system. 
i understand wanting to change a system, i really do. like edelgard, i’m an opinionated bisexual woman (who’s also physically disabled) so yeah i get it. and change can be good but it can also be terrible. even if the church was the boogeyman edelgard treats it as she still replaces it with her own shit regime. so it’s the same circus just with a new conductor.
I don’t think “Edelgard gets undue criticism because she’s a woman” captures the full picture. An important aspect of her treatment by certain parts of the fandom is that she’s a radical woman.
or maybe she does some pretty fucked up shit and it goes unacknowledged in her own route. and yeah she’s radical but in all the worst ways.
Her hatred of the Church and the Crest system resonates way harder with people who have been hurt by institutions that are deeply engrained in our society. 
and what about people who have been hurt by systems where their ‘merit’ didn’t measure up and they were left behind? what about people from nations that experienced imperialism?
Siding with her means siding against the Church - which, while different from real world religious institutions, still invokes language about “sin” and “punishment.
yeah the ‘sins’ and ‘punishments’ are used in relation to attempted murders which i think everybody can agree is a bad thing that needs to be condemned.
Choosing Edelgard will likely hit different if homophobic and transphobic Christians used that rhetoric against you.
it has literally nothing to do with ‘sins’ and ‘punishments’ in regards to being gay or trans. that’s you projecting. especially since the church has 2 canon gay characters and two coded ones.
like i can understand why having a church condemn you can be uncomfortable but i’m begging you to please look at the context of what’s happening.
I’m willing to go out on a limb and say that the reason F/F Edeleth is the more popular iteration of that ship because most people who would choose to S-support Edelgard are LGBT+ themselves. This is not a revelation. To anyone in the community, it’s fairly obvious. 
i was talking to nilish and he said
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so yeah… while there is definitely sapphic femleth shippers out there, there’s still a whole lot of weird fetishizing going on from straight men about edelgard.
Crimson Flower was my first route. I went into the game knowing absolutely nothing. I played it during the last week of 2020 and hoo boy was it cathartic. 
i can tell. this wasn’t supposed to be a dig but it came out that way and i’m not taking it out.
I felt like I was living out a gay revolution power fantasy, where I could truly change systems of oppression while fighting alongside a group of troubled students I’d shaped the lives of.
so a gay revolution power fantasy (cringe) goes hand in hand with imperialism and installing a dictatorship? also the war had nothing to do with sexuality.
Through your unwavering support, Edelgard learns that she needs to be human, that she must listen to her friends, and that she’s allowed to enjoy the world she’s creating.
edelgard gets to learn how to be human all while hunting those who don’t. and she doesn’t listen fo her friends. she doesn’t even trust them. she’s willing to talk to byleth but keep the people who’s been by her side for five years in the dark about everything. and yeah she gets to enjoy her new words since she’s on top. hate to be a commoner under her rule after she burned down my village in her war.
I love this character so much.
clearly. and i honestly don’t care if somebody likes her. i do as well even if my sometimes scathing words can make it seem otherwise.
It has been six months since I first played and I am still analyzing her,
me too. please help me escape i’m losing my mind
because there’s so much depth. Yet so many people fail to see that depth and dismiss her as evil,
i mean, she does some fucked up shit that goes beyond any of the less than desirable actions of the other main characters and does an extremely poor job in trying to make herself seem innocent. i personally don’t think she’s pure evil but i completely understand where the people who say she is are coming from.
because they never had the will to understand complicated women in the first place. 
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that’s big talk from somebody who implies that a gay pope is comparable to homophobic and transphobic irl religions and that leads an oppressive regime all because she uses the vague terms of sin and punishments that you have to gay power fantasy your way out of
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alreadyblondenow · 3 years
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Touched by a god
▸ Jungwoo x reader  ▸ 2.6k words ▸ Fluff, Smut, Angst lol I tried ▸ A Megara story hehe. kissing, public sex, oral (female receiving), cheating?, lucas is here, major character death. just bc 1000 day since debut, we love u zeus. 
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“Do you want to play hide and seek?” 
“No” you answered sternly. 
“If I give you a basket of berries, will you play with me?” 
You stopped walking and looked at Jungwoo. Your mother strictly told you never to talk to the gods or to the young prince who’s the same age as you. But Jungwoo is a lonely prince, and he wants to have a friend. He has been bugging you since he saw you hide under the apple tree. “I’m going to get in trouble if I play with you,” you said to the prince, trying to get away from his presence. 
“Hmm. Well then let’s hide from everyone and play? I don’t have any friends, you can be my first friend if you want to” 
His offer was not hard to refuse because honestly, you’re bored to death. No one can know that you’re friends with the son of Zeus. “Where will we hide?” 
“Come on I’ll show you!” Jungwoo’s smile was from ear to ear while tugging your arm as he wants you to follow him quickly. 
For years and years, following Jungwoo is always the best decision you made. He is the reason why your life is full of adventures, wonders, and learnings. Being a daughter of a slave was never a problem to Jungwoo, he did not care about where you came from. The prince thinks you crave knowledge but you don’t know that you are already smart, you are very honest when it comes to your thoughts just so you can’t lie to him, the way you call his name ‘Jungwoo’ is something he would like to hear every day instead of you calling him 'prince', and the more you two stay as good friends, Jungwoo is falling hard for you. He kept it for the longest time, as long as you stay beside him and became his only friend, your adventure continues and grows. But more importantly, he can admire you closely and love you silently. And because you’re smart and the prince is becoming bold with his feelings each day passes, soon he proved his feelings for you but not quite admitting it yet. He holds your hand, whisper beautiful and sweet words to you, he sings for you, brings you flowers whenever he can, and he makes you happy every day. Jungwoo tried so much to hide his feelings until the right time comes because he doesn’t want you to get in trouble. Slaves are not allowed to be friends with gods, and more importantly, fall in love. 
Today, he brought you to the waterfalls. You two just turned twenty and to your surprise, the prince finally confessed his feelings to you. Which you can’t accept obviously, “Took you long enough, but I’m sorry my prince this is wrong” it pains you to hurt his feelings of course, but he can get into trouble too if you dive in with him.
 “We don’t need to worry. When did I ever put you in danger?” he came closer to you as you two stood in front of the waterfalls. He was confident, and his presence can make you feel safe and is urging you to let go and fall in love with him. As he keeps you close to his body, he caressed your cheek and slowly came close to you until your lips touched. 
“Tell me, what did you feel after we kissed?” 
You weren’t planning on lying because Jungwoo can always see right through you, so you told him the truth with every bravery you have. “Happy and somehow I felt blessed by the gods. How can a prince fall in love with a slave? I have nothing to offer” you said, pouring your feelings like how the waterfalls continue to flow. 
“I’m not asking for too much like the other gods. I just want you to love me back. I have loved you for the longest time and I am willing to be a normal human being for you-“ 
“Don’t say that. You don’t have to sacrifice what you truly are for me because I accept you for who you are just how you accept me”
And ever since that night you and Jungwoo loved each other deeply in your own little world. Away from every threat, away from reality. And as you get older you became even more beautiful that Jungwoo became greedy when it comes to you. He hates it when the other gods mention you, he even hates it when the other gods look at you. During the banquet where every slave is needed to serve the guests, the god of the underworld, Jungwoo’s cousin was attracted to you to the point that he became obsessed with your existence. 
“Back off cousin, we are in love with each other” Jungwoo said while sipping on his glass of wine. 
His cousin Lucas just smirked and watched you walk around the hall serving wine. When he called you to pour him some wine, Jungwoo was watching you like a hawk, nervous for his own cousin. “I will make you mine” Lucas whispers to you. 
After that day, you shrugged it off and forget about it. No need to tell Jungwoo, you didn’t want him to get angry at his own family. Instead, you shower him with kisses and love when you two finally met at your usual hiding place. The grass feels warm on your skin as you lay comfortably on it, enjoying Jungwoo’s kisses on your neck. The view of the clear sky while feeling Jungwoo’s lips on your skin felt like freedom. Freedom because you don’t feel like a slave and although a god is kissing you right now, you don’t feel like he owns you like some kind of material thing. This is the feeling of being loved deeply.
“Where are you my love?” he asks, bringing you back to your little world. When you meet Jungwoo’s eyes, you returned his kisses, and this time you’re the one who goes on top of him. And because you two are becoming even more touchy these past few days, when one of your sleeves fell from your shoulder and expose a good amount of skin, just enough to make the prince beneath you hard, you smiled innocently and removed the other sleeve. Leaving your breast, fully exposed to Jungwoo. Without hesitation, he kissed you hungrily and knead your breast and pinch your nipple according to his liking. He made you lay down on the grass again and with your permission, he lifts your dress and caresses your inner thighs until his fingers shamelessly go inside your damped underwear. You moan quietly and spread your legs wider so he can have more access. He removed his fingers for a second, remove his clothes, and went in between your legs. “Beautiful,” he says, kissing your knee and slowly removing your underwear. 
“What if anyone sees us?” you moan out while watching him situate himself between your legs. 
“We’ve been going here for years, that’s impossible” he smiled and spread kisses on your heck again. Hands gently cupping your breast, “If it hurts, tell me and I’ll stop” he says, warning you about his godlike strength. You feel him grind on your body while your eyes were closed and just feeling him on top of you, bodies to bodies and skin to skin, listening to his whispers. You don’t have to take a look at his cock, it felt big while he was lining it in your entrance. He kissed you while he pushes in slowly, but it was hurting so bad and so good at the same time that you moaned a little too loud making Jungwoo cover your mouth and start moving slowly. “Are you feeling this-“ he groaned near your ear, hand slipping back down to your breast and feed his lust. You were overwhelmed by every feeling Jungwoo is giving you that your long nails scratch his perfect skin at the back. And even though everything felt great already, it’s obvious that he is holding back. 
“Don’t hold back” you said, kissing him and urging him to do whatever he wants. And when he finally let go, every thrust he gave you is piercing hard that your body is being dragged on the warm grass. He watches you take everything he gives, sucks your right nipple while watching your face contort and your lips part, listening to every sound you make. But Jungwoo was still not satisfied, he pins your legs on the ground while it’s perfectly spread then he fucks you at a quick pace. Quick but hard. That godlike strength is not made for a human, now you understand. He soon cums inside you while kissing your neck deliciously, whimpering and shivering as he enjoys his orgasm. 
“I can’t get enough of you” and because of that, he pulls out, watched his cum drip from your entrance, and glides his soft cock on your slit. The feeling was too much even if his cock is not inside you, but Jungwoo knew that he can make you cum by playing with your slit. And he was right, when he felt you tensed up, he spreads your legs once again and licked your folds in a very sinful way. His tongue glides up and down very fast, that you don’t have a choice but to try to push his head away from you until you finally came and became weak while Jungwoo is still torturing you with his tongue. 
“I can’t take it anymore-“ you said, bitting your lips and breathing heavily. Thankfully, the man in between your legs stopped. And spread kisses on your sensitive body until his lips are near yours. 
“I got carried away” he smiles. “I promise, I will make love to you in my bed. Tomorrow?” he kisses your swollen nipples while he waits for your answer. Tomorrow sounds great you thought, but you were so tired that you only answered him with a nod. 
When it’s finally time to go home, you and Jungwoo watch the sky turn dark blue as you two walk hand in hand on your way back to the village. Little did you know that the perfect day will be ruined in the most unexpected way. You can’t move when you saw it heading towards you two, you didn’t want to let go of his hand but he was brave as expected and bolted to danger. No one knew that a deadly cyclops has been lurking outside the village of Mt. Olympus. He told you to run and call for the soldiers and of course, you did. You left him. 
As you call for help with great panic, the guards did not believe you because you were just a slave. You feel bad and hopeless. You feel like you’re wasting time so came back for Jungwoo with a big rock in your hand, hoping that you could strike the cyclops with it. But it’s too late. You found him on the ground, gravely injured and almost lifeless. “Stay with me!” you shake him and tried so hard now to let him close his eyes as you scream at the top of your lungs, “HELP!”
Nothing. You screamed again, a little desperately than before and then someone appeared. Leaning on the side of the true calmly as if he likes what he’s seeing. You begged him to help you but instead, he smiled, came close to you, and held your chin oh so tightly. His hands were big and hot on your skin as if he was fresh from the underworld. 
“Lucas your cousin needs help please” you begged again. 
“He’s dead. Two minutes ago. He is now trapped in the river of souls”
“You are the prince of the underworld, I’m sure you can do something” you sob. He released your chin and smirked in front of you. 
“Of course I can do anything. But the question is, what can you do to bring Jungwoo back to life?” You don’t know what to answer, you don’t know what you can offer. As a slave, you don’t have anything. 
“I don’t have anything to offer” you looked at Jungwoo’s cold body and hold his hand. Lucas is now dying of jealousy. He did not plot Jungwoo’s life to feel defeated. No. 
“Offer your soul and loyalty and I’ll bring him back. Pledge your loyalty to me, and love me. When I’m satisfied, I’ll make sure to keep my word” 
It was an offer you can’t refuse but also an offer that meant betraying Jungwoo. But he has to live. So without further thinking, you agreed to Lucas and gave your soul to him. He brought Jungwoo’s dead body in the underworld, with you on his side. The deal is to show your loyalty to him and to try to love him until he’s convinced and satisfied. And so you did. You became loyal to the prince of the underworld, stayed with him day and night, accept his gifts and his admiration. Time moves slowly in the underworld so no one is suspecting about Jungwoo’s disappearance. Soon, you earned Lucas’ trust and kept his word. He brought Jungwoo to life and trapped you in the underworld.  
When Jungwoo came back to life, he can’t remember what happened after having sex with you that day. Your disappearance was a mystery to him and your family. He looked everywhere for you, searched high and low but still, nothing. 
“Why are always gloomy my child? It’s banquet everyone should be happy, please wear even a fake smile before you meet your bride” his mother whispers beside him. As prince Jungwoo fakes his smile to all the guests and made small talk to a few people, his world stopped when he saw you again. After many years. Although he is not sure if it is really you, because his cousin’s hand is on top of your waist and you were smiling as he has never seen before. You changed, you don’t look like the girl he loved and adored. 
You tried so hard to avoid Jungwoo and seclude yourself. You missed the view of Mt. Olympus in the afternoon. You let out a sigh and drank your wine, thinking more of how can you escape Lucas. Even if you die, or kill yourself, he still wins. And that thought alone makes you mad to the core. “Y/n? Is this really you?” you turned your back slowly and face the man you love.
“So that’s why you’ve been gone missing? You finally showed your true colors and betrayed me. Cheated with my own cousin?” he was angry but you didn’t care. Everything he said hurt you. 
“I did it for you. Please don’t say those harsh words to me. Jungwoo it’s still me, please save me from your cousin-“ 
“That’s prince Jungwoo for you, slave! I don’t- I can’t believe I loved someone like you. You made a fool out of me” he said tears in his eyes like his own words hurt him too. Hearing him call you a slave was like a dagger to your heart. After everything you did just to prove him, you love him. 
“My love, what are you doing outside?” Jungwoo’s bride came to fetch him, she was a goddess and they looked perfect together. You turned your back to dry your tears and wish to not see Jungwoo anymore especially in the arms of another. ‘My love’, you used to call him that and it was for the two of you only, but now those words are meaningless. 
You were a daughter of a slave. 
He was a prince and a son of a god. 
What did you expect to happen?
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kae-karo · 3 years
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Kae kae! I wanna hear about your thoughts: what is your headcanon for what happened during that night between Kaeya and Diluc? So many people have different thoughts About what happened and I want to hear yours!
hi hi hello dear!!! oof okay okay well for me i do a lot of speculating based on fic and like. i'll write different things depending on what i want to do with a story, BUT here are my thoughts on what may have happened in canon:
first, the basics/what we know based on character stories - kaeya's vision story (x) is long as hell but worth a refresher read, cause it talks about kaeya's internal struggle between his duty to khaenri'ah and his loyalty to diluc and crepus, and how crepus' death upset the balance. while it doesn't explicitly state a resolution to his struggle, it does go on to talk about how guilt consumed him over the fact that he didn't share in crepus' final moments nor in diluc's grieving - he'd instead stayed back, reminded of 'that ancient plot' (which i think we can safely assume to mean his supposed purpose in mondstadt, in service of khaenri'ah)
the vision story goes into the bare bones version of what happened that night - kaeya admitted the truth of who he was, he expected diluc's anger, diluc and kaeya crossed blades only for a rush of elemental power to overcome kaeya as he received his vision
what i find particularly interesting here is this line about kaeya receiving his vision: "But now, for the first time ever, he was facing his brother as his true self."
vision lore speculation incoming, because i think that it helps us better understand kaeya's situation
we've since learned (thanks inazuma) that a vision responds to (and is inextricably tied to) a person's ambition - i know i've talked before about theories with regards to why certain people receive certain elements, since i believe (someone correct me if i'm wrong) we know now for certain that visions are handed out by the archon of that element
i've speculated in the past that the motivator for a cryo vision was the fear of losing someone or something dear to them (this works well for a few chars: kaeya - diluc, diona - her father, qiqi - her life) but starts to get a little forced if it's applied to other cryo chars
but with a bigger pool of chars and a canon explanation for why one might receive a cryo vision, i think my revised assessment works better: the ambition that a cryo vision responds to is a relinquishing of a past self in pursuit of one's true self. or, perhaps a less optimistic take, the relinquishing of a fantasy life for a more complex but truer one
ganyu, setting aside her life as solely qilin and accepting both halves of herself when she took up her position among the liyue qixing. rosaria, choosing to fight for her life against those who would use and control her. eula, setting down her learned grievances in pursuit of a life and a 'vengeance' that felt right to her. chongyun's persistent desire to become a true exorcist. ayaka's acceptance of her leadership role and diligence in her study of skills (that did not come naturally to her) in order to represent her clan. diona's eschewing of her childish desire for her father to be the man she wanted him to be in favor of attempting to accept her father for who he is (she offers to mix him a drink once she knows that he's safe). for qiqi i think it could easily be taken in a literal sense - her past life ended, a new, more complicated one began
for kaeya, his vision story says it all: he gave up his idyllic life of a pretty lie in favor of being honest with diluc in who he truly is, even though that only makes his life more complicated. as was stated in his story, he feels "he must live the rest of his life under the heavy burden of lies"
[unrelated kaeya aside: in his story 2, it says "On the contrary, he actually enjoys putting people into the difficult position of making tough decisions." perhaps you're projecting a bit there, hm kaeya?]
ANYWAY all of this was basically to say that i think kaeya admitted the truth of who he was and why he was in mond, and 'expected diluc's anger' because he'd kept it secret this the whole time. had lived a whole life growing up with diluc and chose to stay silent. and diluc just lost his father for fuck's sake lmao so he's definitely emotionally overwhelmed
bc in kaeya's character story 5, he and diluc are described as "knowing each other's thoughts and intentions without a word", which says to me that they...basically told each other everything? knew each other too well, but kaeya had still chosen to hide this from diluc. of course diluc would feel betrayed, and of course kaeya would expect him to - he knows him well, after all
but he saw this fight as his punishment, or perhaps losing diluc as his punishment, or (if you want to be especially grim about it) maybe even losing his own life as a punishment for his secrecy - ultimately, though, i can't quite bring myself to believe that diluc cares necessarily about kaeya's actual ancestry (or like...even his supposed duty to khaenri'ah), more just...that he hid this from diluc
and i think that kaeya receiving his cryo vision, the perfect combatant to diluc's fire (well, sort of lmao) wasn't necessarily what stopped their fight - i think it gave diluc the chance to step back and breathe and see kaeya for a moment, outside of his own anger and hurt, and recognize that he didn't want to fight. he just didn't want to like. process his emotions either lmao (diluc bb u have some issues)
and so kaeya left, burdened with this vision (he describes it as the 'stern reminder' that he must live a life of lies), and he and diluc never really...figured their shit out. diluc ran away, kaeya learned to live without him
and kaeya, to me, seems to have developed that mindset of like...'diluc is exactly as he was that night and has not changed'. ie he seems to act as though diluc is still secretly angry with him, in spite of the evidence that shows that...well, he's probably still not processing those emotions BUT it does show that he cares still, somewhere in there (in his vision story, it says "He did not discuss the past. But he did not deny his past, either." and i wonder if he has his ways of showing that he did care, and probably still does - like the vase, like his continued choice to remain in kaeya's presence when there seems to be no need in the 'a child's secret' quest)
askldfjklsdfj i hope this wasn't too excruciating to get through, i know i rambled quite a lot on some tangentially related theories but ty for the ask dear!!!
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sometipsygnostalgic · 3 years
Text
Steven Universe - How the show fails to handle emotion, irrationality, and trauma
I have a better understanding of why SU is the way it is now. Why it is very dramatic, and why the characters often act in ways that are entirely out of proportion
When making a critical post about the handling of Flame Princess in Adventure Time, /u/samhadj01 attributed part of the problem to be that Rebecca Sugar was responsible for Flame Princess’s conceptualizing, and wrote her and Finn the same way that she writes SU characters - in a heightened emotional state, where they are feeling the EXTREMES of their emotions at all times, yelling at the top of their voice when angry, crying their eyes out when sad, and hurting each other. The reddit user said this made it difficult for the writers to figure out where to take Flame Princess next.
I challenged this reddit post’s claim that Rebecca writing FP’s first episodes meant that the crew didn’t know what to do with her. There is a lot of oversight in the AT crew, and Rebecca was just one cog in the wheel, even if she was full of ideas that ended up getting used. If she came up with a bad idea it would be the responsibility of her colleagues to put it back on track, and I don’t even think FP’s initial portrayal is the problem - the issue is she was completely marginalized after the fact, and bizarrely rewritten to lose her early immaturity without there being enough progression into that new stage. Following this she was basically written out of the show, with the exception of when she’d be useful to show off another character’s development (Finn, PB, even Cinnamon Bun).  
WITH THAT BEING SAID, I thought Samhadj made a good point about SU.  
Rebecca Sugar always loved writing music into her stories because it was the purest form of expression. You can hear how much love she puts into her music. She wanted to create a show where she could really sell emotions, where she could fill it up with songs that the characters would sing to express themselves and their troubled feelings. She wanted all the characters to be expressive, emotional, angry. She wanted Steven to be a character that helps everyone else learn to deal with their emotions, much like how her brother Steven helped her, as she’s said before. 
The issue is that, in order to facilitate this, she would need to write characters who would BE in these conflicts, feel heightened emotions at all times. 
So Rebecca conceptualized the gem species. 
Even though they take the form of adults, the gems are incredibly stunted. They remain the same for thousands of years. They are not equipped to process emotional trauma, having lived in a society where you have to cover up all your flaws and feelings at the risk of being shattered.  The show follows several Crystal Gems who rebelled against this system, but still haven’t figured out what it means to be free from this systematic oppression. They’re trying to live peacefully, but they’re prisoners still, in their hearts. 
Steven is the catalyst for change that points out the things that upset them, and forces them to deal with their emotions. He acts as emotional support and encourages the crystal gems to grow.  Steven also has much growing up to do himself. He has to confront the truth about what it means to BE a crystal gem, to have inherited the gem of the person who started the revolution, and Steven over time learns how messed up everything is. He is overcome with the desire to fix it, while still learning about himself.  
Why is this sort of storytelling a problem?
For the characters to have heightened emotions all the time, it means they have to keep getting in conflicts that reveal these emotions. It is these conflicts that make the show feel overdramatic and edgy - how characters will lash out and hurt each other, all the time, because they had a bad day, or something reminded them of something that hurt them. 
More urgently, who they are lashing out against. While the Crystal Gems hurting each other in season 1 makes sense, it is when they start taking things out on Steven himself that things become straight up toxic. 
Steven has to bear the brunt of EVERYONE’s problems, AND his own. He chases after Pearl in “Rose’s Scabbard” and nearly falls to his death while she ignores him, he fights with Amethyst when she is insecure about Jasper, he has to deal with Ruby and Sapphire’s fighting. He has to deal with all the townies and their stupid conflicts as well, Lars and Sadie’s fighting, so on. And ON TOP OF ALL THIS, people are trying to kill him all the time!!!!! But he is getting absolutely no meaningful support, and this is obvious, because the show itself acknowledges this later on. 
You start to ask the question, is this even worth doing? The characters around Steven display incredible immaturity, and after a certain point, they stop feeling like heroes.  They feel like leeches who are taking advantage of a young boy. 
Things get RIDICULOUS in the final season. Even after the episodes where Amethyst acknowledged the shitty status quo of everyone leaning on him, Steven then has to deal with the emotional problems of the Diamonds themselves, who it turns out lashed out the entire GALAXY because they didn’t know how to talk about their feelings?! For millions of years?!?! To be turned around by one teenage boy, even after a revolution where many of their gems expressed why they were wrong???!!!  
I think it was these final episodes of Steven Universe that completely shattered any remaining suspension of disbelief about the diamonds.
I’m no alien to ancient, immortal characters in charge of millions demonstrating incredible immaturity. Look at Princess Bubblegum and Marceline. Marceline would lean closer to the Amethyst side of the spectrum where she lashes out against everyone, while PB would be on the Pearl or Diamonds side where she’d pretend to act all rational and coolheaded and then do something insanely bad like crash a wedding or manipulate children. Pretty yikes, even up to the finale.  However, the difference is that AT is a more lighthearted wacky show where immaturity can slide for jokes, and most of the issues these characters have are inward facing. They identify and work on their problems themselves, with some support but not much interference from outside. They also do NOT act crazy all the damn time, and have plenty of moments before, during, and after their development where they are fully supportive friends. I enjoyed learning more about these characters and their pasts, because the immaturity never broke my suspension of disbelief.
The DIAMONDS, on the other hand, never get any sort of character development. I was excited to learn more about their creation, and how they came to be these insanely powerful beings that controlled a fascist society where emotion is not allowed. Why is it this way? Why do they want to keep it like this?
We never find out. We just see Steven embarrassing White Diamond after she attempts to murder him, and then she immediately goes full 180 redemption. It makes no damn sense! 
Steven Universe Future attempts to address the issues with everyone Steven knows being emotionally dependent on him, but Future forgoes genuine themes about healing in favour of its edgy focus on how Steven has become “damaged”. 
I was shocked watching SU Future’s first few episodes. I was astounded that the show would deconstruct itself so thoroughly, and have Steven address the exact things that were on MY mind. He realised that he’d been used.
How ballsy is that for the show to have the protagonist literally tear it to pieces in the final few episodes? 
However, any hopes for Steven directly addressing these issues, communicating with his friends and HEALING were dashed about half way through, when he only kept escalating.  Steven got so outraged that he shattered Jasper, and attempted to kill White Diamond while also injuring himself. He started to see himself as a monster. He becomes a murderer. He turns into a kaiju at the end since that’s how his perception of himself is different.
I was really disappointed that the show had wasted its entire runtime to build this up. 
The emotion that Rebecca Sugar was trying to capture was Steven’s pain, anger, the disconnect he had with his friends.
Future did not spend ANY time in demonstrating that Steven’s friends were acknowledging his pain. In fact, quite the opposite - they kept dismissing all of his feelings about Ruby and Aquamarine, and Greg was revealed as The Literal Worst when he thought his perfectly normal conservative upbringing was way worse than Steven literally getting tortured by aliens every other day and having no friends or education.  When Steven has his breakdown, they all cROWD him and start yelling at him. They have absolutely no regard for Steven’s boundaries at all. It’s almost like Steven’s friends are P-zombies at this stage. 
I did not like how Steven was portrayed as a dangerous, out-of-control killer. It’s not just that he SAW himself as this - it’s literally what he was.  You can do bad things because of your trauma, but it won’t turn you into a monster. If you act like a monster, that is your responsibility. 
And then the series ends with the hug, but we do not see Steven’s actual healing process or reconnecting with his friends. We only get a brief goodbye episode. 
After watching Obsidian, I cannot help but compare these scenarios. Obsidian was about Marceline healing from her emotional trauma. It was still very much a part of her, but she was learning to recognise when it was damaging her life, and communicate with others about it. It’s about learning to accept your cracks.
If SU Future had been about dealing with trauma properly and healing, it could have been the best series on Cartoon Network, and fully redeemed the weaknesses of the original show. 
However, Rebecca and the SU crew decided to focus too much on Steven’s pain, and Future ended up exacerbating the issues of the show. 
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let-patton-say-fuck · 3 years
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Hello and welcome
This post is going to be long and detailed, but here’s the gist:
I want to create a blog that will serve as a collection of Patton content in which he's portrayed as the extremely interesting character that he is. This includes angst, character studies, theories, discussions of gray morality, etc, etc. Also, I personally heavily identify with Patton, and whenever I see content of him being absolutely feral? Incredibly cathartic. I just think it’s neat. So, this is a blog for Patton content that presents him as more than the “innocent soft little puffball” he tends to be percieved as in the fandom. And, to be honest, more than anything I just want to inspire as many people as possible to join me in my #LetPattonSayFuck agenda. Let him do it. He deserves it.
None (or almost none) of the content on this blog is going to be mine. If you have content you want me to put on here, you can:
Tag me in it
Submit a post
Send me an ask
DM it to me
I will reblog the things people send me and try my best to organise them (more on that after the cut). You can send art, fanfiction, edits, rants, headcanons, memes, just related thoughts that come to your head, basically anything you want.
I will also sometimes reblog things to this blog just because I feel like they fit and I want to. If I reblogged something you created to this blog and you don't want that, please let me know, and I will delete it. Essentially, this is just a place for me to hoard (and navigate) any and all content about my favourite types of Patton characterisation. And you can join, if you want!!
And now onto the details:
About The Different Kinds Of Patton:
Different sides (ha) of Patton might be explored in the posts of this blog, so I think they will require some sort of classification. You can block or search certain tags based on your preferences.
The tags I will be using:
#let patton say fuck - any post where Patton swears (not necessarily “fuck”)
#feral patton - feral Patton. That’s it that’s the tag. Let my boy go feral. Whatever level of feral. From dying your hair at 4am to murder. Give me feral Patton
#angry patton
#patton angst - h u r t  h i m (then help him pls. Not a requirement, just a personal request. Unhappy endings accepted but not without tears). This one will probably have a lot of subcategories
#flirty patton - I will be using this tag for any flirtatious actions from Patton, especially those that wouldn’t usually be seen as “typical” for him.
#suggestive patton - taking the previous tag a step further, this one is for any innuendos, sexual jokes/hints from Patton, whether in a flirty context or just for humour reasons.
#smart patton - any kinds of intelligence. Emotional intelligence, academic intelligence, strategic intelligence, musical intelligence, etc. Bring it on. If anyone wants me to make separate tags for different types of intelligence, please let me know exactly how you want me to do that, and I will, as soon as I can.
#BAMF patton - let him fuck shit up a little. As a treat
#mischief patton - Patton doing pranks, teasing someone, making fun of someone light-heartedly, messing with people. Sarcastic Patton. All that adorable devious shit. Gimme
#smug patton - smug bastard man,,,,,, sarcastic bastard man,,,,,,,,,, teasing bastard man,,,,,, (this one and the mischief one will probably overlap yeah)
#patton and morality - gray morality Patton. Being confused abt moral concepts because morality is hard, man. Patton being wrong, but learning. Patton making mistakes,,,,, I love him
#nsfw patton - I accept NSFW content, it will always be tagged. These posts will also be tagged with "#nsfw" and "#nsfs" (Not Safe For Sanders). This tag is for explicitly sexual things only. Sexual humour/innuendos/hints will all be in the "suggestive" tag. You can filter out one or both, if you want.
Once again, if anyone wants me to make a separate tag, I will.
About The Different Kinds Of Content:
As I’ve mentioned before, absolutely any form of content is accepted. Some tags that will help in looking for specific things:
#pat art - Some art,,, of the Pat,,,,,
#pat fanfic - More on ships later
#pat thoughts - any kinds of thoughts/rants. If you wanna share your ideas or just talk about Patton, this is probably how it will be tagged. Lemme know if you want me to change anything
#pat analysis
#pat theories
#pat hcs - any headcanons!! Ship headcanons!! Random headcanons!!! Vent “This is about Patton but I Am Patton” headcanons haha definitely know nothing about those!!! All headcanons are welcome
#pat memes - memes, shitposts, funny thoughts, incorrect quotes. Anything like that
#pat edits - Video, photo, audio, GIF. Once again, if anyone wants separate tags, I will add them.
Any other types of content will be given their own tags in the future, if they will be needed.
The tag for any asks is just "#asks". Anything related to this blog will be tagged "#blog stuff".
About Ships:
All ships will be given their own tags. More ships (poly ships, ships without Patton in them) will be added later as we go. For now here are the tags I will be using for Patton ships (tell me if anything needs to be changed):
#moceit
#logicality
#moxiety
#intruality
#royality
All characters will be tagged as “#ts *character name*”:
#ts logan
#ts janus
#ts roman
#ts virgil
#ts remus
If you don’t want to see certain characters or ships, please just filter the tags.
About Trigger Warnings:
If you ever need me to tag (or change) anything for any reason, please feel free to tell me, and I will do so as fast as I can and as thoroughly as I can.
Trigger warning tags are added to this post as content is being posted. Before posting anything, I will review it for potential triggers and update this post if needed. If anyone wants to add a tag for anything in advance - let me know, and I will do it.
So, let's start:
#pat discourse - any kind of argument against the way Patton is treated by the general fandom. While I think most people here would agree with those opinions, sometimes just the notion of an argument is distressing.
#tw cursing - I mean just in case
#tw murder mention - for references to murder with no details or visuals
#tw murder - discussion of murder with some details and/or visuals
#tw repression
#tw self-hatred
#tw anxiety attack
#tw threats
#tw alcohol
And finally!!!! This is a No Unsympathetic Patton Allowed zone. I guess it depends on how you would define "unsympathetic", but no content of Patton being abusive and/or anything similar to that will be posted, and please, please do not send it in. Please don't send Patton hate either, I won't post it, but it will hurt me quite a lot, please don't do that. If you don't like Patton, just go to another blog.
#tw arguing
#tw self-destructive behaviour
I'm sorry in advance if I ever forget to tag anything, please tell me right away so I can fix it! I don't really know how to run a blog, so I'm sorry if anything is wrong. I'm willing to try my best to keep this as organised as possible, since it's For A Good Cause. Thank you so much for visiting this blog, and I hope you enjoy it!!
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loftec · 3 years
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what do u think about the new episode? because i personally fucking hate it :) i hate shameless, the only thing i care about right now is fic 😔
Same, my friend. I have been thinking about what to say or not to say about this for over a week and every time I've sat down to just type something out, I haven't been able to articulate anything. But I have so much to say, so I will try.
Now, if you (reading this, right now) are one of the lucky peeps who like this season and what it's got going for Ian and Mickey, so far... then maybe skip this rant. I honestly don't want to drag you down with my criticism. It's so ok to peacefully enjoy something without having to listen to people being crabby about the thing you love. Pax vobiscum.
That said.
(Crabby rant under cut.)
But if you're like me, kinda hurt and let down for the very last time, please stay a while. I'll tell you why I'm like this, and why I'm no longer angry, just disappointed.
Here's the thing, the first episode wasn’t any fun for me, but I quite enjoyed the second! It was the kind of low-stakes close-knit family stuff I want from a Shameless episode. Literally all they have to do to keep me happy is cram a bunch of Gallaghers into a kitchen and let them talk to each other for five minutes. I'm very easy to please. I like Sandy, I like what she does for Debbie's character. I like Tami, I like that Lip seems a lot happier. I like Liam, someone please take care of the boy. I like that Carl has a goal, and that he's all grown up. I like that Ian and Mickey are married and that they're a part of this family again. It’s a nice vibe, we’re having a party for Franny and it’s not perfect, but we learned something and we’re having fun. It’s fine.
On the whole, it’s nice. But for someone whose main priority is Ian and his significant other, it’s the same old bullshit all over again.
In seasons 1-5, I'm pretty sure Ian and Mickey only had like three conversations with each other that weren't plot relevant. But it was fine, it's en ensemble cast and Fiona, Lip and Frank got most of the A plots. Ian and Mickey had a lot of serious stuff going on, so the 5 minutes they got to do something each week had to be used dealing with all the shit they had to deal with. It's fine. This is fine. It's fine. I understand how TV works. We cut in on them in the middle of a conversation about Jean-Claude Van Damme, and I understand that they've spent the whole evening together and that they've talked about other things as well. Silly, inconsequential things, things people talk about when they like each other and want to be close and get to know each other. And when we're dropped in the middle of Ian, Mickey and Svetlana playing house in 5x1, I understand that it has been a period of time since we saw them last, and that things have changed. That they have talked about some things, and not talked about some things. And I happily played along and filled in all the gaps, I did the work; I imagined them together on a good day, on a calm evening lounging on the couch, on a lazy morning sleeping in. Quiet breakfasts, lively dinners. I imagined what they would say to each other, what they would talk about and what they still couldn't talk about. I did the work because it felt like it was worth it, because I knew that the story they were focusing on (Ian's illness and Mickey coming into his own) were worth it. That they needed every second they could get to tell the story of a mentally ill teenager and his abuse survivor boyfriend learning to love and support each other, and get better and grow up on their own terms.
I, the fool, kept thinking that one day. One day it would get better and they would get a break and the show would give them a minute, just a minute here and there, to be happy. Have a conversation that we could get in on. Have one good day for us to witness, and not just imagine.
Instead they broke them up for production reasons, for behind the scenes bullshit, for no reason at all, other than the simple fact that the show runners have never once cared about Ian and Mickey as much as we have. As much as Cam and Noel have. They had no qualms about rewriting a whole season's arc to make no sense in the last minute. They had no issues with throwing a beloved character in prison and leaving him there for a season and a half (which could have been good storytelling... if not every single Gallagher to ever get locked up had some lucky thing happen to spring them out again way before they’ve done their time). They had no problem with letting Ian say and do one thing one minute and then the exact opposite the next.
I think the thing that truly made me give up on the show at that time was the tattoo. We had such precious few things to work from when trying to understand these characters and we did our very best. We took the crumbs and we built a whole castle of cake. And one of the cornerstones, one of the first fucking things we ever knew about Mickey Milkovich, was that he could spell the name "Ian Gallagher". And if they wanted to give him a bad tattoo, they still could have. Maybe he did it himself and got it wrong because of the angle. Maybe there was a miscommunication and whoever did it on him got the name wrong. But no, they had to have him sit there and claim that he didn't know how to spell his boyfriend's name. It was so petty, so mean-spirited, such a massive fuck-you to anyone who dared to care and retain the things they'd previously told us about Mickey, I just had to stop caring about canon. I drew a line for myself around the canon I could understand as emotionally consistent, and ignored anything that landed on the other side of it. Perhaps not the best way to watch a TV show, but then I also stopped watching the show. So it worked out.
Anyway, this wasn't supposed to be about the first five seasons. But I'm obviously still bitter, and I wanted to explain why I'm well past the point of chasing after crumbs. Because it’s still the same bullshit, only now they’ve exchanged important, nuanced storylines about coming out and getting better for... I don’t know. Talking about sex and arguing about money.
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Here is an incomplete list of loftec’s crumbs of disappointment, so far:
Ian and Mickey have been married for 6 (?) months, and the writers will have you believe they still have not had a conversation.
Ian is still relegated to C-plots (only now he's sometimes allowed in the background of an A plot, which is fun I guess but still not near what he deserves after all these years).
Meanwhile, Lip got two separate extended scenes detailing how he tricks his girlfriend into spending less money, in the first episode. That’s so much airtime spent on one point. In the second episode, he had a casual conversation with his baby! Ian and Mickey haven't had a casual conversation about anything since fucking never! 
Ian and Mickey have talked about sex and money, so far. Nothing else. Important things, I'm sure. But let's compare this with Lip in the same episode. Lip and Tami wake up together, they get to be sweet to each other, talk about their lives and daily routine, they have a chat about coffee and someone they know who is having a hard time, then they get into the subject of their conflict du jour. Ian and Mickey get a weird allusion to how much sex they're having (so much sex you guys, just believe and it will come true!) and then they're arguing about jobs and money. For two whole episodes. Except that one time where they got derailed and accidentally talked about monogamy instead.
Monogamy. Something they haven’t talked about before. And apparently a word Mickey doesn’t understand, or know how to spell.
And it still feels so petty, because it's just. So specific. They could have chosen any of the magnificent character traits of Mickey's that they teased us with in the first five seasons, and this is the thing they pick? And then turn into a main character trait?? Mickey can't spell. Mickey doesn't understand words. Haha ha. And I'm not purposefully misunderstanding this scene, I promise. I understand what they were trying to do. I most certainly understand what Noel acted his ass off to convey. I am not here freaking out about Mickey wanting to be with other people, or Ian saying this or doing that. I'm not worried about them cheating or getting a divorce. I'm just really disappointed that this is where we are now.
That Mickey, who we all saw through and understood to be smart and loyal, quick on his feet and quippy as anything, has been reduced to this. I'm pretty sure he's had his hand down his pants in half the scenes he's been in so far. I don't know what that means, but it's like... a choice. And I don't like this choice. They could have had an insecure conversation about monogamy and money and we could have gone on this journey with them as they struggle with their inability to communicate and I would have been all for it, if it had been written with something more, anything else, something to break through the plump humor and crass approach to this marriage that Ian spent half of the last season trying to have a conversation about! But never got to, because the writers thought it would be funnier to have Mickey punch Ian in the face and run off with some guy, rather than talk to him!
Also, I know this is getting outrageously long, but the fighting. The fighting is another thing. Who here watched that scene in 3x9 where Ian tries to get Mickey to be honest with him and Mickey kicks him in the face rather than admit he's gay, and thought, hey! Guys being guys, am I right? Who here watched that scene in 5x10 when Ian punched Mickey in the face because he didn't know how to accept care from someone who loves him and wanted to feel a feeling, and thought; oh yes, this is just how they communicate! This is fine! I know I didn't. But sure, why not. It's a choice, I guess. They're just manly men, and manly men fight with their significant others. They beat the shit out of each other, no problem. This is not something we need to have a conversation about, not at all.
This is about writing. They easily could have written Ian and Mickey’s scenes differently. They could have had incidental bits of conversation, hinting at their lives outside of this conflict they’re having. They could have been in the background of someone else’s scene, just a quick gesture of something nice that would help flesh out the bits in between. They could have conversations and storylines about pretty much anything, and still bring up the question of monogamy and Mickey’s residual insecurities about Ian’s past infidelity. They could have been subtle about it, instead of writing a clown scene where Mickey acts like a clown and Ian doesn’t remember that he’s done a lot of shit in their past that they maybe need to talk about. Because they still haven’t talked about it? NOT ONCE? THEY WERE IN THE SAME CELL FOR MONTHS! AND NOT A SINGLE CONVERSATION WAS HAD. THIS IS FINE. I’M FINE.
I get it. This is supposed to be a fun show about whacky characters. It's supposed to be outrageous, the show runners and writers are choosing these things to get a reaction. I get it, and I don't like it and if you think this means that I should stop watching the show and shut up, then I agree with you.
But also, I love these characters and this community, and I want to like this season. Our last season. I want to watch it and still hope that Ian and Mickey will get to have a conversation about nothing special, just because they like each other, before it's over.
And if not, there is always fic. And you know I will be making them talk to each other in NTW until there are no words left.
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bestworstcase · 3 years
Note
🎥 and i know you already answered this buuuut just in case u have something else big lying around 💥
ask game
🎥- Favorite Season (1/2/3)?
vbhgfhjdfshjd you know. i rag on it constantly but 3. like, flawed as it is– the essentials of it, the broad strokes of the plot arc and lore and cass breaking away from rapunzel and of course demon hours, that’s... what i wanted out of the show, ultimately. and the poor execution is just an opportunity for me to tear it apart and put it back together again the way i like, which is not... a downside, in my mind, because that’s pretty integral to how i enjoy things. 
that being said 2 gets points for having RATGT in it
💥- A big a opinion you have related to the Tangled movie/series?
i mean u know me i hoard opinions like a dragon hoards treasure but one i don’t think i’ve fully voiced on here before is that i actually like where rapunzel’s characterization goes in s3. the frustration for me is that it doesn’t feel like it was intentional, and that’s a problem of poor writing that creates an annoying tonal dissonance.
but like, if we look at rapunzel’s behavior in s3 and take that at face value... like you said here rapunzel kind of does this weird swerve where despite her refusal to give up on cass she also feels much quicker to anger, quicker to judgment, quicker to making snap decisions. she stops accepting blame for things that aren’t her fault and she also becomes more forceful about trying to get her way (e.g. in KAQOH). she verbalizes care and concern for cass without proactively doing...anything about the situation. she meets the mind trap theft with a shrug, meets zhan tiri’s gloating with a shrug, and appears to only care about varian’s kidnapping because it ruins eugene’s birthday and her planned proposal. 
and like, much as i get the impulse to read that as rapunzel repressing her true feelings and putting on a happy front so solid she even starts to believe it... i don’t think there’s a lot of textual evidence for that reading, in the end, just as there isn’t a lot of textual evidence for the reading that cass is using the gothel thing as an easy focal point for all her other issues with rapunzel; because in both cases, there’s never any narrative payoff for these supposed acts of repression. the deeper truth never comes out, is never mentioned or even hinted out. 
and that doesn’t make them bad readings per se but it does make them... not super interesting to me, because damn it if characters are hardcore repressing their feelings i want that to MATTER and i want to see the CONSEQUENCES for that. 
conversely
even though i know it wasn’t the intention, i like reading rapunzel as genuinely growing into a more selfish, more callous person in response to all the shit that happens in s2. i think that makes sense! and i think it is a really fascinating avenue for her character! and i think it opens up a lot of really interesting and complicated options for further growth–like
1) for eighteen years, rapunzel grows up sheltered and inculcated with terror regarding everything outside her tower. then she learns that her “mother” is actually her kidnapper, goes through a harrowing experience that ends in gothel dying pretty horribly right before her eyes, and then goes straight to her real parents in corona
2) where she is then immediately thrust into a position of enormous authority and responsibility and expected to get up to speed on how to be a competent princess in, like, six months
3) then at the six month mark she gets a whole bunch of magic destiny bullshit dumped in her lap on top of everything else
4) she tries so hard to break herself free of the psychological chains gothel left her with, to see the goodness in the world and trust people and embrace the world outside the tower... and then the QFAD stuff happens, and she’s traumatized, and the fallout of that traumatizes her more so she sort of snaps herself back into Repression Mode and pretending everything is fine, and that leads indirectly to varian, her friend, snapping and assaulting the kingdom and kidnapping her mom and trying to kill her mom and best friend.
5) so she Immediately Leaves corona to deal with the magic destiny bullshit but that’s scary so she treats it more like a vacation than a serious quest but that causes friction between her and her best friend and she’s just coping! not very well but she’s trying her best!
6) but her best isn’t good enough and things with cass keep getting more and more tense and the magic bullshit destiny keeps getting more and more real as they get closer to the DK and more information comes to light... and then the great tree happens, and rapunzel makes a choice that leads directly to cassandra getting horrifically injured
7) and this is not a situation that rapunzel is equipped to handle AT ALL so she dumps whatever guilt and shame she feels onto cass as anger and blame and gets extremely anxious and pushy about trying to make cass apologize/accept this narrative that the injury was cass’s fault and not rapunzel’s, and it even seems to work for a while because cass ends up being the one who apologizes at the end of RDO...
8) ...but at this point like, the whole friendship has broken down, right? cass is so shut down and alienated that after RDO imo it was only a matter of time before cass left altogether, and it’s just rapunzel’s bad luck that zhan tiri stepped in to be that final trigger to make that happen. but like from rapunzel’s perspective, everything was fine after RDO until cass just. suddenly. lashed out at her and stole the moonstone and ran away to do lord knows what. 
9) and to make matters worse the only explanation cass offers is that she’s mad at rapunzel because gothel was cass’s mom and abandoned her, something that obviously is not rapunzel’s fault. and rapunzel at this point has PLENTY of experience being blamed for shit that isn’t her fault, and very little experience dealing with guilt for things that are her fault in a healthy way (in fact RDO ended up rewarding rapunzel for refusing to deal with her guilt in a healthy way) so... she has very little incentive to take cassandra’s betrayal as a reason to introspect on her own behavior, right? she has no reason to stop and think well what did i do to make her feel like she had to do that instead of talking to me about it? 
10) and the rest of the friend group likes raps better than cass so they also don’t have any reason to be like hey, rapunzel, we didn’t treat her very well, did we? 
11) and then she returns to an environment where she is effectively the acting queen, and her friend group has this narrative that rapunzel is a kind and compassionate person almost to a fault (because she is) so she is constantly having this idea that she didn’t do anything wrong, this was all cass reinforced. [remember how in DC eugene implicitly agrees with rapunzel’s sentiment that cass, not rapunzel, is to blame for cass’s injury? “that’s how cass hurt her hand”] 
12) and frankly all this seems to me like a PERFECT storm for some of the behaviors rapunzel observed/inherited from gothel to float to the surface. she has always been a little pushy, a little prone to not accepting culpability, a little inclined toward black-and-white thinking. right? so for those things to, in the wake of this traumatic betrayal by her best friend, coagulate together into rapunzel being more forceful, more confident, more focused on her own happiness rather than trying to please other people, all while still giving lip service to being compassionate and refusing to ever give up on anyone and missing cassandra... like, that makes sense as a character development for her to undergo, i think. 
and i LIKE that. the only problem is that it goes unremarked upon and it’s clearly not intended for rapunzel to be this way, which means that the narrative ends up sort of presenting all this as ~positive~ character development when it’s... really... not. and that creates that tonal dissonance that i mentioned.
but like, character development does not always need to be positive and it does not always need to be linear. people can get better then worse then better again and that’s fine, and i think there’s just... so much mileage to be gotten, in fanworks, out of taking this negative character development in s3 at face value and then running with it to the logical consequences thereof: i want to see rapunzel’s friends slowly realizing that she has changed in the aftermath of s3, once they don’t literally have a demon waging war on the kingdom to deal with; i want to see rapunzel getting called out, i want to see her struggle as she learns how to deal with guilt and accept blame for her actual mistakes; i want to see rapunzel wrestle with the personality traits she learned from gothel and figuring out who she is and who she wants to be; i want to see her slowly-dawning horror as she realizes how she’s overcorrected from “people-pleaser” and become callous to other people’s feelings, and the work she does to pull herself back onto a healthy middle ground instead. 
like!! i get, i totally get, the impulse in fanworks to just kinda put all this down to poor writing (because that’s what it is) and take the obvious intentions of s3 (that rapunzel has come into her own and found a good, healthy place for herself and does truly care for cass and want to help her etc etc) and roll with that. that’s a totally valid way to read the text esp for the purpose of creating fanworks
but i just think it’s neat and fun to take it at face value and then try to like, work through the consequences of that. let rapunzel have serious flaws 2k20
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beclynn-herondale · 4 years
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Thoughts on Cassandra Clare ? Are u pro cc ?
dear Anon,
So I am gonna start this out with I wouldn't say I am pro CC,
do I enjoy her writing? Yes
Do I think she does ignorant and hurtful things? Also yes
Do I think it is okay to criticize her In a non hateful way? Yes, i don't approve of hating on someone that's something you can never take back, nor do I support pulling people apart cause let me tell you it fucks people up I have experienced this it is one of the worst things you can do to a person, you make them doubt everything about themself and for some you can fuck them up mentally and it can lead to more extreme measures.
Criticism doesn't need to be hateful or mean, it can be civilized and educational instead, in my opinion we need to educate and explain why it's wrong not hate them or cancel them that's not gonna solve anything, it's not gonna erase what the person said or did, you're only causing more pain and hate and let's be honest there's enough of that already.
Do I agree that she doesn't handle her POC well? YES
Do I acknowledge she said some islamophobic things? YES
Do I agree she may fetishises? Yes
Do I acknowledge she mistreats her wlw ships? Yes but also I do understand that LGBTQIPA+ rep is harder to get in cause publishers can be assholes and the world is still not as accepting of LGBTQIPA+ as we wish it would be.
Do I think it's wrong that most of her POC are half white? YES, and she needs to acknowledge it and give better representation.
Do I think her incest fetishization is wrong? YES, but also I wish you all would stop bringing Clace into this I have my reasons on why I love them but also keep in mind they were teenagers who Valentine manipulated and tried to take away what they loved most, he saw how much they loved each other and used it to try to destroy them cause he knew how powerful they are together and that together they could take him down, but also he saw that he was losing control over Jace and an abuser can't stand that, I know cause I have abusers and everytime I do something that's out of their control they do something to get it back. I saw through it from the beginning and maybe that's why, but it was never a story about incest, was some of it wrong? Yes but also they loved each other so much and you can't just stop loving someone with the snap of a finger, if you did then It wasn't really love, it would be lust, so the fact that Jace and Clary never stopped loving each other proved how much they did love each and that it wasn't lust. Listen I'm not saying it was right or that CC handled it well but I am saying that I get Clace and Valentine knew what he was doing, also CC is who you should be criticizing, as you can see Clace is actually later on a healthy couple and we need that for Heterosexuals just like we need healthy mlm and wlw relationships, the world is so negative right now so why do we have to make it more negative?
So instead of focusing on the bad parts (I'm not saying to not acknowledge them cause I do, but i also acknowledge people grow and change ) let's focus on the good parts as well like how much they love each other, Jace showed me that I can heal from my abusive past and that I can love and be loved in return. They showed us to never give up. Jace showed us Family isn't Blood. Clary showed us that you can be both a warrior and still be whatever hobby you like. Even Simon said in City of Heavenly Fire that they are a team and that's development and in my opinion what a relationship should be. Emma Carstairs said that they are girlfriend and boyfriend but also best friends again an important part of a relationship. Let's acknowledge the fact that Jace went from and Ignorant, angry, broken, mentally unstable boy to as he says a happy man and he isn't who he was at 16, he has grown a lot and it's time to acknowledge it, you wouldn't hold other characters to their past mistakes so why do you do it with other characters? And yes in order to acknowledge the growth we need to acknowledge the mistakes but I have done that myself and I love Jace cause he wasn't perfect, he wasn't automatically a the best person, he had to grow, he had bad qualities and that is human, and I don't think we are gonna hate people for being human? Jace showed abuse victims they can be happy and heal. And honestly I hate how I have to explain personal things for people to understand how important he is to me, and I am tired of hearing how I should find a different character to love this much cause Jace is shit, well I will say I am very much like Jace so i guess I'm shit too then, but also I have sadly tried to not but I can't help but love this character cause he came into my life when I was not great and I needed him and he's always there for me in my darkest moments along with Clary, I could be having a panic attack and guess what I see fanart of Clace and I feel better and it calms me down. Also of it weren't for Clary's bravery I would have had something really bad happen to me recently but because I remembered how brave Clary was and still is I made the brave decision and saved myself from bigger trauma then I already have. Recently Clace is one of the only things keeping me going. So just be respectful and try to understand. Also again it wasn't incestuous. Also when you say Jace is terrible it makes people like me who love him and relate to him feel evil and like we are terrible people for liking him, at least for me it does, i am constantly doubting myself after someone told me Jace is shit and a terrible person. Keep in mind when wording things what you are saying and how it will effect others. (Please be civil about this and remember that we all interpret the story differently, I saw things a lot of people didn't see) also we need to keep in mind that TMI Gang were all teenagers except Magnus and Alec and Alec was a young adult at the time, when they all went through all that stuff and had to save the world, they had to things Teenagers shouldn't have to do and make decisions they shouldn't have had to, and let me tell you as someone who has had to do things as a teenager that I shouldn't have had to, it sucks and you don't know how to feel about it or how to act about it.
Do I think some of her POC are stereotyped? Yes, but also some people like the characters for that, and some see other things in them that. I am no way saying your opinion is invalid, you can be offended and hurt by the stereotyping and feel unrepresented, that's your right. And I really do hope she does better in the future, cause I want POC to feel as represented as i do, and you all deserve it.
No CC's books are extremely important to me, but I can also acknowledge she can be problematic, but everyone can in their own way, and sometimes we need to be called out. So we should criticize her in a none hateful way. Hate Breeds Hate.
And do I think she should give her LGBTQIPA+ couples explicit scenes? Yes but I can understand how CC may not want to mess it up and maybe she is trying to handle it right, and publishers don't always allow LGBTQIPA+ explicit scenes. CC did have to fight for Alec to be Gay in the time she was writing him. Am I hoping for better rep? YES!! And maybe TLBOTW will give us that but I don't know.
Also even if you don't agree or don't understand, Listen To POC When They Say Something Is Racist! Hear their opinion and take their opinion and thoughts into consideration.
I would also say to stop whitewashing characters and find models, actors/actresses, singers, that are the same race and ethnicity and use them for reference for art and edits, and writing descriptions in fanfics and books. Educate yourself on it and ask people, get other prospectives.
But no I wouldn't say I am Pro CC but i am not Anti either, I acknowledge her mistakes and ignorance, I acknowledge her mishandling of POC and wlw and her problematic ways. But I also enjoy her books, I can criticize the author and still love the books.
So in conclusion Listen to POC when they say something is Racist and take it into consideration. Acknowledge that you may not know why someone loves a character, and respect them. Try to be more sympathetic towards others. Remember you can criticize the author and still love the books. Educate yourself and try to learn. Try to understand others. Ask yourself if what you are saying is the right way to be going about things. Just try to be nice and respectful and listen, try to see where the other person is coming from.
( again like I always say you don't have to have the same opinion and you don't have to agree that is your right however you can be kind and respectful and civil)
( I will add more later )
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machikuragii · 4 years
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Rank the Sohmas and explain your ranking?
Anon, this got really long, so I’ve put everything under the cut. Also I don’t have solid rankings beyond my top 2 so I went into ‘tiers’ that aren’t necessarily ordered by how much I like a character. TLDR; I love all the zodiacs for different reasons, see readmore for more in-depth thoughts.
1. Yuki Sohma
Yuki as a character is really, really important to me. I think about him so much, and how he goes from a neglected, unwanted child with no support network to a confident young adult who is so comfortable with himself and free to be happy and at ease and surrounded by those who love him. I think about how important it is that Takaya displays this journey as incremental, and not necessarily linear. I think about how Yuki’s strength comes not only from himself and his desire to improve step by step, but from the support he gradually starts to receive from the people around him. I think about just how important it is when Takaya says that it’s ok to be weak, to reach out for help, and that for some people, it is only when they DO receive the needed support from others that they are able to get better. I think about just how much it means for a boy with so little self-worth to gradually find himself in the company of people who enjoy his presence and like him for who he is, and I think about how he is able to reach out and help others after receiving the warm and foundation he himself needs, when he is emotionally ready. I think about then, how SIGNIFICANT it is to show a character who had absolutely NOTHING in his childhood go on to make sure that his own child has everything he longed for in a home in his childhood. 
There’s a little bit of Yuki in everyone. Every bit of his internal monologue hits like a truck for anyone who struggles with insecurity and low self-esteem, and his drive and aspiration to find his own purpose and happiness, can be a source of inspiration to so many. Yuki Sohma is one of the best, if not THE definitely best written Fruits Basket characters, and I really wish more people recognised this. As sensei once said herself, I know that Yuki will always have his fans, but I wished that more people realised and appreciated his importance in the story and carrying the themes of Fruits Basket.
2. Hatori Sohma
This is more a remnant of a past phase, but Hatori is here because he was my first anime crush ksksksasoksks . Jokes aside though, I love Hatori because of his kindness and selfless nature that is masked by a cold exterior. As an adult I realise that Hatori’s actions are not always perfect or enough, but I still really think that he is someone who truly cares. There are so many instances that improve his character in my eyes. Can you imagine going through what he goes through with Kana, and learning of her marriage, and not feeling bitterness, but relief that she is happy? And yet he values his own happiness so little that it really breaks my heart. Or the way that he doesn’t avoid Momiji after the ordeal with his mother, but checks up on him and in a way helps raise him? Dude is more of a father figure to Momiji than his own dad. Narratively, Hatori’s backstory is such an effective introduction to the darker, more mature themes of Fruits Basket, and yeah you can bet it worked on kid me. 
TIER: “These are great characters, I love their complexity but I’m also just fond of them as well” (no particular order)
Isuzu Sohma
Someone who definitely grew on me this time round. When I was a child I found it hard to understand what she was going through and didn’t really relate to her either. But oh my god, this girl goes through so much. She’s such a kindhearted character at heart, but struggles with connecting with others and receiving their kindness because of what she went through as a child. It’s so hard to watch her struggle, because we know she deserves the world. 
Akito Sohma
Controversial to say I love Akito just after I said I love Rin, lol. I’ve never had an overly negative impression of Akito throughout Fruits Basket (this is partially because my friends used to call me Akito when we were little.....because I was an Asian girl... and Akito is also an Asian girl????? idk now that I’m thinking back over it...gee thanks guys), so it was relatively easier for me to accept her redemption when it came. Akito’s actions are not defensible, but I find it much more interesting to explore where she is coming from, rather than just mindlessly spew hate and wish violent things for her like some people prefer to do. Akito’s character is a tragedy, and I feel like people are way less willing to emphasise when the victim is not “perfect”, per se. Akito went through the same “broken home” parental abuse that a lot of the characters in Fruits Basket went through, but somehow people are unwilling even to extend the tiniest amount of baseline empathy towards her just because he trauma manifested in a way that hurts others. Guys, she’s a tragic character!!! A tragic character isn’t always “a perfect person who has bad things happen to them”, it can also mean “a character who becomes antagonistic because of circumstances.” Her actions are inexcusable, but there is a lot to learn when we explore WHY she became this way.
Shigure Sohma
Gonna try make this short. Shigure is a controversial character but I like him because I like characters that demonstrate moral ambiguity. The point of Shigure is NOT to be a good person, and he doesn’t have to be one to justify liking him. Once again, you can like Shigure and still know that he’s a piece of shit. The whole idea of “he genuinely cares for Tohru but will hurt her if it means achieving his own goals” is a fascinating one to me, because it shows that the idea of “good people” and “bad people” is vast oversimplification of how actual people think and behave. Still though, I’m really not fond of how Akigure was executed in canon. I think the two could have potentially had a fascinating relationship but it ended up being more disturbing and swept under the rug&uncomfortable than interesting.
Momiji Sohma
On the opposite end of the spectrum we have Momiji who is just genuinely such a good person. I like the dichotomy between his outwardly ‘childish’ and ‘immature’ appearance and behaviors, versus what we gradually learn about him: that he has had to be mature and selfless at a very young age, and that he is also very emotionally intelligent and empathetic. Watching him gradually grow up before our eyes (we were ROBBED of it in the anime) but at the same time feeling more and more lost broke my freaking heart. When his curse breaks and he realises that even though he is now ‘free’, that nothing has changed and the damage was already done -  absolutely heartwrenching. He’s someone I would have loved explore more of what happened post-canon, because I just want good things for him and Momo, screw whatever the hell their asshole dad thinks. 
TIER: “I love these characters but don’t focus on them as much as I think the fandom does”
Kyo Sohma
I’m a self-professed “probably don’t think about Kyo that much” person haha. I know I know, sue me. I think its because out of the main 3, I love Yuki and Tohru so much that I don’t tend to focus on Kyo. I still like him a whole lot though!! I’m a big fan of the way he matures and changes throughout the series, and much like how Yuki does too, becomes a much happier person. When I compare early-series Kyo with later-series Kyo, one thing that always sticks out to me is how much more he smiles. The way he smiles at Tohru is so full of genuine warmth and happiness that it makes my heart melt, especially when I think about how this is a boy who has so much baggage, and has to gradually accept the fact that he deserves happiness before he allows himself finally to accept it. 
Hatsuharu Sohma
Most of my love for Haru comes from the relationship he has with Yuki. It takes so much maturity to accept that your prejudices may be unfair, and Haru did so at such a young age. Sometimes I just think about how much Haru did and continues to do for Yuki without the need for reciprocation or even recognition and it just hits me how much of a good person Haru is. He was Yuki’s ONLY friend at a time he had NO ONE, and is the reason Yuki was able to move out of the estate and become the person we know and love. Haha sorry for making this about Yuki again, but I think their relationship also says a lot about Haru as a person.
TIER: “I like Kureno and am tired of making a thousand disclaimers every time I want to say I like him, Takaya-sensei whyyyy”
Kureno Sohma
I really like Kureno. This is again pretty controversial, but let me try to explain. I like Kureno because he’s an example of someone who wants to do the right thing that causes the least amount of harm to everyone, but inevitably ends up making the decision that causes much more damage. It’s a classic “good intentions, bad outcome” scenario and I freaking love it. I love that it’s absolutely not what he wants, but Kureno ends up doing a lot of wrong things and destroying not only Akito, but also his own life in the process. I just find the idea of an adult of his age who is so isolated from all of society that even a shopping trip is something foreign and out-of-the-ordinary, really, really sad. 
On the romance side though,  I hate that Takaya-sensei decided that Arisa would be his romantic interest, but I do like the idea of romance being a part of his arc. (I actually think their interactions are somewhat cute but that the overarching age gap ruins everything - i keep thinking about if Arisa was older or Kureno was younger, but touching their ages at all would affect the plot so I would rather it wasn’t Arisa at all). Just the idea of Kureno by Akito’s side, playing the part of what he thinks is her “lover” (god sensei why are u liek dis), when he meets someone on one of his rare trips outside the Sohma estate that causes him to realise that what he and Akito have is not at all what a healthy relationship should feel like - and it causes him to reevaluate the harm he is doing to them both, and take steps to leave her. That is...not exactly what Sensei did, but I always remember how much I felt for Kureno when he said in the upcoming anime chapter how it was the first time he had felt like he loved someone out of his own choice...I just felt like that one “choice” could have lead him to the realisation that he can start to make more of his own, healthier choices in life. But yeah. Wish it wasn’t Arisa because it didn’t do anything good to her character arc, and it’s creepy. 
TIER: “I really like these characters but don’t go out of my way to think about them”
Kagura Sohma
Ok I lied, I do go out of my way to think about Kagura. I love her too, despite common opinion. I think her reflection of her relationship with Kyo was so wonderful. Her confession that she started to like him out of pity, but that over time they became genuine feelings. But that Kyo can’t reciprocate her feelings so she’s accepting of that, and thankful that he gave her time to express herself, although she will still go on loving Kyo. Kagura is one of those characters where Takaya-sensei once again demonstrates her ability to take a “trope” of a character and actually delve into their psyche and explains why they feel this way. 
Ayame Sohma
I love Ayame because he’s genuinely so much fun! I appreciate the arc of him rejecting Yuki, but how he is now reaching out to help him, and I feel like we don’t get a good insight into just how significant this rejection was until we see it from Yuki’s perspective. I also admire how he is able to recognise his own shortcomings, and respects Hatori because of his sensitivity to other people’s feelings. He’s a character who could definitely have been explored more if desired, but isn’t underexplored or incomplete as is.
Ritsu Sohma
My poor Ritsu. In contrast to Ayame, Ritsu was definitely underexplored. Such a great potential to explore confidence, identity, and assertiveness. Ritsu as it stands though, is largely a minor character who wasn’t given the time they needed to be fully fleshed out. I would have loved to see them gradually gain more confidence over the series!!
Kisa Sohma
Love love love Kisa, she’s such a cutie pie. But I feel like there wasn’t much more to say about her that wasn’t said in her arc. Kisa is more a character who is used to show the messed-up state of the Sohma house/Akito more than she herself is a complex character, I think. I love her arc and her parallels to Yuki though, it gave us such a great quote about needing to be loved by others before learning to love yourself. 
Hiro Sohma
Hiro is known to be an unlikeable brat but I love him as well!!! I think it’s really important to have characters who aren’t just lovely and receptive to Tohru’s kindness, and his character served to show an important flaw in Tohru’s character, and the way that her kindness could be taken advantage of. For Hiro himself though, I think his brattiness is alright because he’s very young, and I really appreciate his efforts to become a more mature person when he recognises his own flaws! 
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where are u in yr 5 now if u don’t mind me asking?
I don't mind at all! I've gathered all sorts of screenshots just in case. Let's look at some of the highlights:
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...and...and just where exactly do you think you fall on that spectrum, Snape? Because I feel like it isn't the place you think it is. This line may be the single best Snape line in the entire game because it truly captures his exact problem, and his lack of self-awareness (or apathy) to it.
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Well like I keep saying, I see nothing wrong with doing this. Gail might choose to stop Penny from drinking the potion, but Penny calming herself down is a lot more beneficial and a lot less permanent than erasing her own memories.
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Dude. Dude. I know that she's talking about something else but Helena opens with this line, without any additional context. Don't try to convince me that this was an accident. They knew what they were doing. Poor Tulip...
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No, truth be told I just leap at any chance to let the other characters have agency, rather than depending on MC to do absolutely everything. Besides, I don't think Luca is afraid of the Original Incel.
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Good thing we're dealing with Luca, who has a major blind spot for Jacob. Gail would be like: "I'm sure you're right, but why?" Then again, Duncan would rub her the wrong way in general. Either way, tell us more about R already!
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And the game proceeded to negate any further discussion about Miss Green or her fate. In all seriousness, we're really getting into the meat of Year 5 and I love it. The reveal that Jacob worked for R is so well staged, and it doesn't hurt that The Trouble Trio are the ones to learn it in his room.
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Add this to the list of things Luca would come to regret in later years. Just goes to show how much they genuinely trusted Rakepick by this point. Then again, they're registered with the Ministry, so it's not like Cat-Luca is much of a secret to begin with.
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Hello Liz. I relate to you in every way, adore absolutely everything about you, and I wish you showed up in the game more often. I too, love critters, even the big and ferocious ones. I too, decline to eat meat, but recognize that my critter friends enjoy it in their own diets.
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Luca's expression is killing me. You can just tell how much they're realizing that they never hang out with Andre and know practically nothing about him. Alas, similar to Liz, the plot gets in the way. At least Andre gets his time to shine in the romance quests. This boy needs to be a costume designer, 100%
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*sobs in Year 5 Rakepick* She cares. I cannot accept that this was all a lie. Even if the Year 5 Curse-Breaking Squad must exist in a bubble outside of the canon, I shall do whatever it takes to preserve it! That said, is she seriously giving us these lessons in the Great Hall of all places?
Oh damn I'm out of space...I'll need to upload more.
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