#plus there's a difference between like. a Pattern Of Behavior and a thing that happens once or twice
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Disclaimer: as always, the emotional descriptions of Mike do not require self-awareness. I stand with my belief that he is a knee-jerk, don’t-look-for-explanations emotional reaction kinda guy, at least up until the van scene.
Thinking about how Mike has actually barely distanced Will at all. He has always been the same with Will, really....In private. It wasn’t always in private, but I think the more Mike’s feelings develop, the more he feels like he needs to keep his relationship with Will in the shadows almost entirely to remain in the closet. As if their entire relationship is intrinsically romantic and therefore would expose him somehow with the slightest of intimacy (he’s always shown with Will) just because there is now some different feeling behind it. This also explains his increasing sensitivity in fights to say things from “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls” (sexuality to comment) to “We’re friends! We’re friends!” (comment on the nature of their relationship) when no one was questioning otherwise. He may genuinely believe that increasingly smaller details about their relationship are inherently romantic without realizing that he feels this way because he is feeling romantically about them.
In season 1, the little we got was “It was a 7″ and the hug in the hospital: one private, one public.
In season 2, we got a lot of opportunities for very intimate, private moments, but also a fairly public nonromantic confession of love in the shed.
In season 3, though, it started to shift. Mike and Will had that intimacy in the movie theatre when whispering and sitting separately. And their fight, to an extent, is a result of Will’s de-prioritization to Mike when El is present or focal. It is even a direct result of the developing pattern while they’re broken up of El even being the focus during Will’s time with him - which has already been shortened and his own one-on-one time made near-nonexistent because of Mike’s time alone with El. Will’s fears of their friendship ending come from the fact that their only quality time is now in group settings - in which specifically he is second to El. They make up - or rather Will drops it - when they reform as a whole group. But in that group setting again, Mike still has more focus on El than Will for the remainder of the season - with a small, sweet moment when they’re alone together at the end, talking about Will not joining another party, and Mike and Will able to hug tightly as the Byers say goodbye.
During the time in between season 3 and 4, Mike keeps in touch with El but is unable to with Will - maintaining that exchange of presences even long distance. His aforementioned “sensitivity” also increases to the point of not hugging Will at the airport in public - despite him being completely comfortable hugging others we know he thinks of platonically in episode 1 (so gee I wonder what the difference could be). He gives him minimal attention outside of the socks comment (but notice I said gives him minimal attention, because he pays attention to him just fine as we find out when he lists Will’s behavior throughout the day). They fight. Then Mike doesn’t really interact with anyone all day. (He also ignores Will at breakfast - but I chock that up more to stress and concern for El, plus Jonathan was present then.). But what happens the first time in the season we see them truly alone together? Emotional intimacy. Mike is still cold in a similar way to how he was at breakfast, but he opens up about it until Jonathan comes in. And then (note: also with El’s absence so he only has to balance one of them again), he and Will’s dynamic is pretty normal while talking to Jonathan for the rest of the time. (There’s also a solid chance that he is more sensitive around El as well - whether it be fear with her as a witness specifically OR fear that people will notice that he treats Will the same way he treats his girlfriend and have her right there as direct comparison. So now, with El gone, he may feel a bit more comfortable to return at least to talking. I mean, silent treatment would honestly be more suspicious). The next time we see them alone together, Mike comes into his room and closes the door (Jonathan came in last time: more privacy) and again: emotional intimacy. To skip ahead, basically we get almost exclusively one on one interactions from them for the rest of the season with Mike much more comfortable with them, likely out of realizing he needed to prioritize this is or he would lose Will, leading up to having one in a car with both Jonathan and Argyle (maybe a little too comfortable, Mike: Jonathan noticed).
So, though there’s been a lot of weirdness. It’s all either been in public or a resulting fight of the weirdness in public. Alone together, Mike has always felt safe being intimate with Will. I think this speaks to the fact that unlike some GA have speculated, he isn’t/wouldn’t be uncomfortable with the idea of Will having a crush on him. All evidence supporting that is immediately contradicted by his deep comfort with Will when the only difference is a lack of witnesses. It isn’t a concern for Will’s reaction. It’s a concern for witnesses’ reactions. That’s what he has to tackle next. His heteronormativity is still scaring him. And he’s gotten to a place maybe of more self awareness since the van scene (theory linked above). And he’s become less sensitive with Will again because he realized it was causing too much harm to their relationship. But his interactions with Will and El remain mutually exclusive. And his relationship with Will is getting to the point of being as publicly comfortable as it was in season 2 again - then because he hadn’t become scared yet, now because he realizes that fear isn’t worth losing Will over.
But the in-between discrepancies show us the difference - or rather show the one consistent thing in changing everything around it: Mike has always been comfortable with Will one-on-one. Even when everything else seemed crazy. Even when he seemed like he was pushing him away. Maybe it’s just coincidental timing, but Mike has never pushed Will away in private. In fact, seldom do they have a private moment that isn’t incredibly intimate and bringing them closer together (something he hasn’t been self aware to realize may also be dangerous in the war against his own sexuality)
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Wholeheartedness, Part 3: Agility
In my prior two posts in the Wholeheartedness series, I've laid out a couple ways in which I've been able to improve my life by building a habit of tossing myself at things wholeheartedly despite intuitive hesitation and aversion-to-the-potential-risks-of-doing-so. But the thing that made me make this a series, with formally-numbered entries, was the realization that there's a broader common thread between those two techniques.
So. What do those techniques have in common? Loosely speaking, the common thread between them is that they're about making large moves when large moves are warranted.
The default human condition—especially as one ages and gets more set into one's ways—is to move slowly, having a habitual set of behaviors and choosing one's actions as habitual-behaviors-plus-optional-small-modifications. Small diversions from one's usual pattern aren't too difficult to pursue, in that condition, but large diversions are hard to pursue, even when clearly the best choices available. Force of habit pushes back against them. This leads to missed opportunities, to long periods of slow readjustment to new circumstances, and otherwise to not doing the things that best serve one's goals even once one is in a position to know what those things are and be capable of doing them. Which is bad, and worth avoiding!
(Stereotypically, big changes to the world are made by the young. This is, I think, related: the young have had less time to get set-in-their-ways, and so are more prone to aiming themselves at goals or ideals and then seriously throwing themselves forward in pursuit of whatever new things they've aimed themselves at on a regular basis, rather than just continuing in one direction forever despite diminishing returns and/or better options presenting themselves.)
But it's not enough to know that that's a bad condition, if one lacks any idea of how to do better. And that's what this series is about, ultimately: how to do better than that sort of slow-moving-ness, to shift from a default of "don't move, hold to previously-established patterns" to a default of "more whenever it seems warranted into whatever new patterns seem warranted".
Now, doing better than that sort of slow-moving-ness doesn't mean always moving quickly, or never pausing to think things through. Taking some time to think things through is often a good move, one which will produce better outcomes than the alternatives. The goal isn't to act on every life-derailing idea that happens to run through one's mind. Rather, the goal is this: to not get stuck. To take whatever actions seem, based on one's imperfect-but-better-than-random-chance assessment, likely to turn out best in expectation; to do so even when those actions are radically different from one's current patterns and even when those actions carry some risk of going-worse-than-current-pattern; and to take more rather than fewer actions of that sort, so that even if any given one goes wrong they'll end up pretty reliably summing to positive value in the end.
(Rolling a single fairly-weighted die, results towards the middle of one's output-distribution are no likelier than results towards the extreme ends; but, rolling a thousand fairly-weighted dice, it would be a matter of deeply unlikely bad luck to get a result far below the middle of one's output-distribution.)
In order to do this, it's important to be able to act on one's decisions once one has made them. It's important to control one's loss-aversion, to avoid risks only in proportion with how bad they'd actually be to incur. And it's important to avoid getting unwarrantedly stuck on any particular impression of what the best thing to do is. Run wholeheartedly in the direction of whatever option currently seems to be best, and be ready to switch to running wholeheartedly in some other direction as soon as it starts seeming better than one's current one.
#Archive#Self-Improvement#Wholeheartedness#(this principle breaks down if one can't trust one's impressions of a decision's goodness to correlate positively with its actual goodness)#(but that's not a position most people are in most of the time)#(“being lied to by a hostile force so much better at lying than one is at truth-discernment that it might as well be Descartes' Demon”#should be pretty much the minimum threshold for the necessary degree of correlation-failure)#(and isn't something that tends to come up much in the vast majority of people's lives)#(and there's no need for the positive correlation between impressions and reality to be very *strong* for this principle to hold)
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personal ranking of all skb volumes + explanations (contains plot spoilers for the whole series)
1, 4
6
8
2, 5
3
7
1st place:
Vol 1: do I even need to explain this? It's the OG, where everything began. It is also generally very good w setting up the story, main cast, and the despicable villain, and I don't think any of us will truly be over the scene of bisco dying and coming back to life thanks to milo's love.
Vol 4: Shishi as a character is awesome and one of my favorites of the series both design and personality wise. I like the benibishi as a whole too, I think their lore and powers are very cool. This vol ranked high for that reason plus the fact it has some absolutely incredible raw moments, particularly shishi vs milo fight, shishi losing control of themself to their new powers, and I mean... the whole twist ending?? Jesus
pawoo gets forcefully yeeted from the story pretty early on, but when we get to see her in the beginning she gets some really sweet character insights and we see how her relationship w milo has changed. she and shishi are also v cute
2nd place
Vol 6: loved this volume primarily for the absolute soul crushing sadness of the ending. the jabi vs bisco fight and jabi’s death rank (in my mind) as 2 of of the most iconic moments in the series. i thought there were a lot of other fun moments/elements of this, like bringing in amli/shishi/chayka for some shenanigans (shishi’s section in particular being sad yet great... #ShishiSweep). but also milo getting drunk and rambling about how gay he is. has a number of parallels to 1 but is still distinct and does its own thing.
It introduces the choushin ability which is frankly SUCH bullshit, like jojo main villain tier universe-breaking bullshit, but after finishing the series and simmering on it i’m just like “yeah ok sure” about it lol. since skb is all about the power of love and believing in your willpower/ideals, i think it’s kind of the natural end you’d reach
ranked a bit lower than the highest tier mainly cuz kurokawa didn’t seem as scary/threatening time around save for the jabi brainwashing. also we get to see pawoo do stuff in this vol after her being basically absent since 3.... but not really since she’s brainwashed for the majority of it. this was kind of sad
3rd place
Vol 8: despite being the longest book and having So much going on every single second that involved nearly every major character of the series, it ultimately concluded very well. I also really liked getting to explore bisco’s feelings re: jabi’s death after it being skipped over in 7, the backstory about marie and jabi, pawoo getting to actually DO THINGS, and even sugar's birth and growth as a character cuz it was handled way better than I'd expected. i think one of the sweetest parts about this vol is how it shows bisco isn’t alone like he thought he’d be once jabi passed. he has his mom back, his new family, and a huge circle of friends to support him.
However, because so much was happening there were a couple of notable big plotholes ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
4th place
The difference between this and 3rd place is almost negligible, it was REALLY hard to separate ranks for the middle.
Vol 2: a lot of really amazing bismilo moments that show how much they mean to each other. the death scene after milo is tortured by kelshinha is so heartbreaking yet lovely. i think this was overall a good sequel plot-wise (kelshinha was a cool villain and the stuff about mantras leads into 3 / the parallels between bismilo and kel/raskeni), and it showed how the boys developed a much more solid bond and bisco realized that being apart hurts them both...... tho there’s also the beginnings of milo’s unhinged behavior lol.
i remember thinking it was really cool that the mantra system seemed pretty well thought out, and there was an actual pattern/meaning behind the chants.
Amli was creepy and overly sexual for a 14 year old (luckily she gets better in later reappearances) so that was a turn off in this vol. also there was no reason to have random ok*ma characters like 😩 we know you can be normal about gay people so why did this happen
Vol 5: weird premise (probably the most weird besides 7) but ended up being pretty fun. it was VERY silly how and why bisco got turned into a child, and honestly this could have been omitted and the book could have been 99% the same, but it did make for a few cute scenes.
the latter half after it’s revealed how the camellia is controlling shishi’s body was neat (and very dark at times. in good ways). i thought it was great having shishi come to terms w their destructive powers and feeling remorse for what they’ve done/not knowing if they deserve to be saved. i also liked the reappearance of kelshinha via amli spirit channeling him; that fight was pretty cool.
also......... the gay hugs.............. very important to me.
5th place
Vol 3: It's been almost a year since I read it, but i remember this being the book I felt most confused by because apollo's powers and the way the "apollo particles" work felt hard to understand. Maybe I'd rank it higher if I reread it in english.
I've also ranted about this plenty before, but bisco/pawoo getting married to trick the enemy was clever in the moment but ended up hindering a lot of their interactions until the end of 7 so that ended up being a huge negative point of this book.
I did like how tirol was a major part of 3, and the backstory about apollo and domino. despite the particle thing being confusing, it was cool learning about how the rust wind happened. this is also the only book that includes any dates, and bitches love compiling info based on dates (i’m bitches)
6th place
Vol 7: I felt this vol was by far the most poorly written, and it pretty much entirely has to do w the author not knowing how to handle pawoo's character. She is pushed aside once again despite the main conflict of this vol centering around her, and we only get to know of her feelings and thoughts via what bisco thinks/assumes rather than from pawoo herself. she’s rendered useless (like in 6) due to turning into a cat and losing the ability to speak.... despite tirol and bisco also turning into cats but being perfectly fine.
also it’s hard for me to pin down why, but i was kinda ambivalent about youkan and geppei? they’re meant to be parallels of bisco/pawoo (tho youkan and geppei each have different elements of both characters) and. hmm. geppei has a pretty interesting backstory where we learn she’s hardcore as fuck, and i do like her haughty personality, and her redemption/running away with youkan at the end is pretty decent. but overall i think both of them kind of felt Off. since bisco/pawoo are already a badly written pair with a lot about them that doesn’t make sense, it ended up translating over to the cats a bit too....
It manages to have a fantastic ending and ultimately comes to what i feel is a good conclusion, but the way we got there was not as smooth as it could have been. There were a number of great moments in 7 (notably the illusion scene/milo's rant, tirol once again getting to be a main character and showing off her mantra abilities), but ultimately it's dragged down by the poor underlying plot.
#sabikui bisco#once again. meant to do this months ago and i forgor#anyway pardon the long rambling its been a hot minute since i descended into this level of brainrot#cautiously high hopes for 9
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Am I the only one that's pissed at Rhysand for telling Azriel to stay away from Elaine? I get that he's probably not wanting him to mess up things with Lucien because of the mate bond or whatever but usually if that was going to happen Sarah would of had them fall in love first before they find out they're mates it's what usually happens in her books even in CC.
Hello anon!
I mean, what you feel is valid. And idk if other Elriels felt the same way (maybe some are) but honestly anon, even tho Rhysand ordered Azriel to stay away from Elain, I kind of like it since he gave us the forbidden romance lmao. However, there are actually three reasons why I think Rhys did that:
First: (I'm basing this on SJM's way of writing) Maybe SJM wrote it there for the possible conflict in acotar5 and we know she has this "staying away" pattern for her endgame couples. Rhysand avoided Feyre for 3mos, Cassian avoided Nesta for almost a year and now Azriel avoided Elain for months. If Rhysand didn't ordered Az to leave Elain alone, we will never have this one (of the many) endgame pattern in acotar series.
Second: (s/o to @tessacursebreaker for being kind and confirming about the mate behavior) so when it comes to mating bonds, it is usually males who have a harder time dealing with it. If rejected, it can drive them into madness. Plus, they have this feeling of "entitlement" to their mate and they could invoke a blood duel (https://acourtofthornsandroses.fandom.com/wiki/Mate). So, despite Elain and L*cien not wanting the bond, it'll be so much harder than what we think esp for L*cien. Rhysand considered the possibility that if rejecting L*cien would drive him mad or a possible duel (or Az could kill the poor man), this will taint the alliance, which leads us to the third reason
Third: It is more of the politics and peace between courts, we know there's still another battle/war coming, and breaking of alliance would be another weakness so Rhys, as a High Lord, have to prioritize his court and people:
You see, Rhys is afraid to make one wrong move against L*cien and is quite willing to use Elain. They did it once when Feyre went back on the Spring Court. They don't trust L*cien enough, so to protect the NC they have to make Elain as a pawn:
In the Bonus Chapter, it seems like Rhysand has no choice but to use any possible means (including Elain), why? Because L*cien have the knowledge/information regarding the NC. He cannot risk it especially now that everything between L*cien and the IC is not going on the right direction :
They have to play safe for now. Rhys couldn't risk his court. So despite every choices Rhys made (whether we think is wrong or right) High Lord acts according to what he thinks is the best for the court.
I think this what makes acotar 5 much more interesting, there's so many things at risk. There's still unresolved problems. And there's Elain's CHOICE. There'll be confrontations in IC, possible breaking of alliance. What Rhysand do is not entirely right (but who the hell does when politics and powers are being discussed) but that one "stay away from her" scene is a great set up for the next book. Especially for Elriel's forbidden romance.
ps: Regarding the mating bond between El*cien, i actually love your point that sjm has this pattern of falling in love first before the bond takes place. And it's not a coincidence that she hinted about: choice, two mates, true mates. And who falls in love first before "sensing" the bond? (There's actually a lot of theories regarding Elriel as true mates so this is still another pattern for us, ig)
But all in all anon, what you feel is valid. We have different point of view regarding on Rhysand's decisions. Hope sjm would clear everything in acotar 5!
Have a great night/day ahead!
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Apache Flink plus Apache Kafka: A perfect open-source combination
Organizations in the era of ongoing digital transformation should plan how to quicken their business pace in order to stay competitive, if not outpace it. Consumers are changing quickly, making it more challenging to meet their changing needs. Because of this, she believe that having access to real-time data is essential to developing corporate agility and improving decision-making.
Real-time data is based on stream processing. It enables your company to absorb real-time continuous data streams and push them to the front for analysis, allowing you to stay ahead of ever-changing market conditions.
Collaboration between Apache Flink and Apache Kafka
The open-source event streaming de facto enterprise standard, Apache Kafka, is well known to everyone familiar with the stream processing environment. great throughput and great fault tolerance in the event of an application failure are just two of Apache Kafka’s many impressive features.
Data is delivered to its destination via Apache Kafka streams, but when Apache Kafka is installed separately, its potential is not fully realized. To make sure you’re getting the information you need from your real-time data, Apache Flink should be a vital component of your technology stack if you already use Apache Kafka.
When Apache Flink and Apache Kafka are combined, the possibilities for open-source event streaming grow dramatically. Low latency is produced by Apache Flink, which enables you to react fast and precisely to the growing corporate demand for prompt action. When combined, you have the power to produce automation and insights in real-time.
You can obtain an unfiltered stream of events from everything that occurs in your company when you use Apache Kafka. Nevertheless, some of it gets caught in queues or huge data batch processing, and not all of it is necessarily actionable. This is where working with relevant events instead of raw events is possible thanks to Apache Flink. Furthermore, Apache Flink uses pattern recognition to contextualize your data so you can see how different events relate to one another.
This is crucial because processing historical data could make events less valuable because they have a finite shelf life. Think about handling situations involving aircraft delays. These situations need for quick attention, and handling them after the fact will undoubtedly make some very irate consumers.
Apache Kafka communicates everything that is always happening within your company, serving as a kind of firehose of events. The ideal blend of pattern recognition, facilitated by Apache Flink, and this event firehose allows for lightning-fast response times once the pertinent pattern is identified. Use Apache Flink in conjunction with Apache Kafka to receive a wealth of capabilities that will help you: encourage positive behavior in your consumers, make smarter decisions in your supply chain, and captivate them with the appropriate offer at the right moment.
Developing Apache Flink: Providing Apache Flink to Everyone
You may be thinking, now that IBM have shown how useful it is for Apache Kafka and Apache Flink to collaborate, who can use this technology to work with events. Usually, it’s coders these days. Still, when you wait for astute developers with heavy workloads, things can move slowly. Furthermore, expenses are always a crucial factor to take into account because companies cannot afford to engage in every opportunity until there is proof that it will provide value. Finding the right people with the necessary expertise to take on development or data science initiatives is difficult, which increases complexity.
For this reason, it’s critical to provide more business professionals access to events for their benefit. Other users, like as analysts and data engineers, can begin to obtain real-time insights and work with datasets when it counts most when you make working with events easy. As a result, by avoiding crucial information from becoming trapped in a data warehouse, you lower the skills barrier and accelerate your data processing speed.
By building on Apache Flink’s features, IBM’s approach to event streaming and stream processing applications addresses these significant industry challenges in an open and modular manner. In order to prevent vendor lock-in, IBM’s solution builds on what customers already have and Apache Flink can be integrated with any version of Apache Kafka. Making the most of this perfect combination, IBM grabbed the initiative and selected Apache Flink as the preferred option for event processing, with Apache Kafka serving as the industry standard for event distribution.
What if you could experiment with automations while still having a continuous view of your events? With a straightforward, user-friendly, no-code style that enables individuals with little to no knowledge in SQL, Java, or Python to exploit events, regardless of their function, IBM created IBM Event Automation in this spirit. IBM Automation, Integration Software’s VP of Product Management, Eileen Lowry, discusses the innovation that IBM is implementing with Apache Flink.
“IBM understand that funding event-driven architecture projects might require a significant financial commitment, but they also understand how important they are to a company’s ability to compete. They’ve seen them become completely trapped as a result of budget and expertise limitations. Because of this, IBM created IBM Event Automation, a no-code solution for Apache Flink that simplifies event processing. You can test new concepts more rapidly, extend into new use cases by reusing events, and shorten the time it takes to get data.
This UI not only makes Apache Flink accessible to all those who can benefit the business, but it also fosters experimentation, which can spur innovation and accelerate data pipelines and analytics. The tool allows the user to configure events from streaming data and receive feedback right away. You may pause, alter, aggregate, play, and test your solutions against data right now. Think about the innovations that could result from this, including bettering your e-commerce strategies or preserving your products’ real-time quality control.
Read more on Govindhtech.com
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J'ai publié 8 262 fois en 2022
C'est 4 089 billets de plus qu'en 2021 !
138 billets créés (2%)
8 124 billets reblogués (98%)
Les blogs que j'ai le plus reblogués :
@spongebobssquarepants
@yramesoruniverse
@renecdote
@kitkatpancakestack
@rantblog-no1
J'ai étiqueté 5 940 billets en 2022
Seulement 28% de mes billets ne comportaient pas de tag
#911 fox - 2 708 billets
#eddie diaz - 1 372 billets
#evan 'buck' buckley - 1 329 billets
#buddie - 953 billets
#miscellaneous - 337 billets
#howie 'chimney' han - 295 billets
#911 parallels - 273 billets
#buddie parallels - 272 billets
#henrietta 'hen' wilson - 266 billets
#animals - 262 billets
Tag le plus long : 139 caractères
#i'll be honest i first saw him in hana yori dango in which ...well his nickname was 'tête à claques' which is a french expression meaning :
Mes billets vedette en 2022 :
n°5
I would like to congratulate Mochizuki Jun for taking 2 romantic moments from Princess Mononoke and merginf them into one romantic moment between Vanitas and Noé (plus another one not that long before).
Just... Congratulation
49 notes - publié le 9 mai 2022
n°4
Natsume Yuujinchou / Natsume's Book of Friends / Le Pacte des Yokai chap 100
Look at how adorable he was as a kid. I just can't.
57 notes - publié le 31 août 2022
n°3
Homura Arc (chapters 100-104) - How Ban's character highlighted Natori and Matoba's bond/Frienemieship/Whatever it is they have through cats
@joelleity here's the thing I was talking about
Heads up I haven't read the non translated chapter so this is only resting on the canon we have up to chap 108.
I've always considered NatsuYuu to be a cat people story in part because most characters have cat-like tendencies (especially if they're Ayakashi related, whether because they're Yokai or because they can see/feel them). This show is about the importance of interpersonal relationship and those are treated very much with a cat themed thesis of "even if it's just for a second and you find happiness with other people, it doesn't make its impact lesser than"...Also Natsume punching creatures bigger than he is and running away immediately is peak cat behavior u.u.
Generally speaking there are very few humans in this show who give the cat vibe as much as Matoba Seiji does.
However I didn't expect Midorikawa sensei to play with it this literally instead of just jokingly (if one day we get a chapter with any character, but especially Matoba being turned into a cat I'll die)...
More seriously though, the focus of this story is Maneki Neko exorcism tools and the fact that Ban wants to capture them for his Master who happen to be Matoba Seiji's Sister (whom I will call Lady Matoba from now on for practicality). Which actually give us these two as foils
through the Matoba siblings feud(?).
Surprising, I know. I actually don't know the point of this, I've mostly noticed a pattern and am trying to write my thoughts down.
First let's take a look at what we know of where Matoba Seiji and Natori Shuuchi are at, at the beginning of this story.
So far in the main story Matoba and Natori have been established as people who know each other through having clearly worked together before which brings some level of knowledge about each other that's common between colleagues and Natori is particularly distrustful of Matoba. They still both acknowledge the other's skills.
We've also got to know only a few chapters prior that they have known each other since high school and had moments which they remembered differently. Natori remembered not liking the loquat he tried meanwhile Matoba remembered being offered loquats only because he was with Natori and remembering the context as well as remembering Natori's experience too.
The flashback chapters, which we have had for longer, give a lot more depth to this. We know that Natori's distrust is caused both by Matoba's attitude toward casually using others (well, him specifically) AND because of Natori's family rejection because of who he is. Basically Natori has a huge inferiority complex and doesn't know how to have interpersonal relationships.
Meanwhile Matoba seeked him out regularly 'cause lonely teenage boy, and because he too sucks at interpersonal relationships, he tried to find a pragmatic reasoning for why he was there. Since he was basically raised to live, breathe and die for his clan his pragmatism is inherently linked to that. Whether he was trying to find use for his clan and took the opportunity to find a friend or he wanted a friend and took the opportunity to help his clan is left unsaid. Either way he tried to get both.
It generally seems mostly one sided in the fondness department. with the exception of that one time Natori woke up after being possessed, Matoba seems to be the only one trying to turn this into an actual friendship.
So on the one hand we've got Matoba seeking Natori out and trying to befriend him but unable to be vulnerable because that would make his clan vulnerable. Matoba even tried to get Natori to come to his clan so he'd get a talented exorcist and get an actual friend out of it (vulnerability would not be as much of a problem if it's from the inside. Granted I doubt he though that far ahead). Matoba who is used to being rejected and still tries. Though he stops trying to recruit Natori he still seeked him out. Until he stopped which we don't know a thing about.
On the other we've got Natori who doesn't want to be vulnerable out of fear of being rejected, who takes Matoba at face value and never really tries to see past the Clan Heir to who Matoba is because Matoba's front gives him an excuse to fear vulnerability.
The one time he tried, Matoba got cold feet because while hoping, he's never actually had anybody try to reciprocate a genuine interest in him as a person and didn't know how to react so he fell back on known mechanisms.
This is represented by their names. Matoba calling Natori by his first name and getting him to call him Seiji and them arriving at adulthood using their last names with a polite distance.
Neither was in a good enough place to actually manage to build strong foundations so there are foundations but they're kind of just...there waiting to be reinforced and built on.
So that's it for the run down.
But why does that matter ? Well this chapter nuances everything through more or less subtle additions which hasn't really happened yet in the main story, at least not on such a big scale.
Natori's familiarity with the Matobas
We start the arc with Natori recognizing an object belonging to someone we don't know. Just that they make him shudder. We learn at the very end that this is Lady Matoba. Which brings some behaviors to a different light.
For example when explaining who Ban is and what kind of person he is sevring, we get this:
Voir l'intégralité du billet
57 notes - publié le 29 août 2022
n°2
Natsume Yuujinchou / Natsume's Book of Friends / Le Pacte des Yokai chap 101
Matoba is such a nerd.
72 notes - publié le 3 septembre 2022
Mon billet n°1 en 2022
OK but Eddie's announcement about leaving the 118 and putting Buck on the spot at the end of 510 is sooooo similar to the way he chose to enroll in the army leaving Shannon behind.
In both cases he's running away with the excuse of taking care of his son (both were fully valid, but still excuses).
He admits to Carla that the shooting and the kidnapping both impacted him, the same way he admitted to Buck that he left for the army because he was scared.
Except now he clings to his son instead of leaving him behind. But he still leaves his partner behind without discussing with them the fact that he won't be able to have their backs first.
If there was any moment Eddie needed to get Therapy... It's now.
141 notes - publié le 3 mars 2022
Obtenez votre année 2022 en revue sur Tumblr →
#tumblr2022#année en revue#mon année tumblr 2022 en revue#votre année tumblr en revue#year in review#my 2022 tumblr year in review#your tumblr year in review
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Adults dating adults is not a problem. Like I'm 22 and if I wanna date a 50yo that's my prerogative
you'll turn 30 someday, and then feel grossed out by the concept of dating even a 22 year old, realizing how huge the chasm is between those life stages.
and then you'll think of it again in a few years, and again. the more time goes by, the more you feel like college-aged kids really do seem like "kids". and then you'll be 44, and the idea of men your age dating girls as young as 20 will make you nauseous, because they'll mostly look like kids to you. in appearance, but even moreso in behavior.
middle-aged men (particularly famous men) consistently dating women as young as possible without being illegal is not a situation of "adults dating adults", it's a pattern in a pedophilic society that says that 18 year old girls are the hottest and most desireable, women are old when they turn 26, and it's "totally normal" for men to lust after girls who are young enough to be their biological children
please re-prioritize why you felt the need to justify a celebrity's pattern of dating women who are barely even old enough to drink, to me, a person who is not your friend.
#it's not Your judgement that should be called on. You are not the one who is needed to justify it#you are 22. it's not On You to make that decision bc in that relationship there would be a huge power imbalance#obviously the younger party always thinks it's fine. 14 year olds who are ''in relationships'' with 20 year olds#also think that it's okay and will defend it. it's not on them to defend it though. all the attention should be on the older party#sergle answers#anyways.#plus there's a difference between like. a Pattern Of Behavior and a thing that happens once or twice
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what do you think scott and stiles' dynamic was like before scott got bitten? i always wished we got a flashback because i looove scott during those first 5 minutes of the first episode (and also to see him with his justin bieber hair plus stiles in a backwards cap again)
Thank you for this ask! I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to reply.
A preface: my thoughts are based on canon, but what we have is sketchy enough that I think there’s plenty of room for different interpretations and headcanons. A lot of my thoughts come from the single data point of “Wolf Moon,” and as Lydia says, that’s not enough for a pattern.
I accept Posey and O’Brien’s headcanon that the two of them meet as toddlers in the sandbox at the playground, and add that Scott is living with his dad while Stiles’ mother dies, which explains why Scott doesn’t know much about her form of dementia, or Stiles’ panic attacks afterwards. In my mind, the two of them were close weird-kid friends before those things happened. Once Scott comes back, however, they become joined at the hip, a mix of simpatico and abandonment issues. In “Wolf Moon,” I see a dynamic where each of them gets to be his real self, and benefits from the other being his real self.
Between his parents’ divorce and his family’s financial issues, I think Scott feels a lot of pressure—both real and self-imposed—to be responsible, to not be a burden. Largely, he manages. He has a job, and gets decent grades, and grabs the groceries, and brings his mother dinner at the hospital. He’s a good kid who doesn’t complain or make problems. Melissa says she doesn’t have a lot of practice playing tough mom. We also see Scott agonize about messing any of that up, however: losing an inhaler, doing poorly on a test, disappointing his mother. The most obvious example to me is when he’s extremely stressed about being late to work (“Pack Mentality”):
SCOTT: Sorry. Sorry.
DEATON: You're all of two minutes late.
SCOTT: I just don't want you to think I'm slacking.
DEATON: Scott, I guarantee you, you're one of the least slacking kids in this town.
Scott acts like being two minutes late, one time, will cause Dr. Deaton to lose faith in him, even though he’s been firmly established in Deaton’s mind as a reliable employee. For Scott, any misstep is an opportunity to lose everything.
His friendship with Stiles is a break from that stress. Stiles wants to do something completely irresponsible like go into the woods to look for a body on the night before tryouts. We see Scott go, and then criticize the idea (“Wolf Moon”):
SCOTT: We're seriously doing this?
STILES: You're the one always bitching that nothing ever happens in this town.
SCOTT: I was trying to get a good night's sleep before practice tomorrow.
STILES: Right, 'cause sitting on the bench is such a grueling effort.
SCOTT: No, because I'm playing this year. In fact, I'm making first line.
STILES: Hey, that's the spirit! Everyone should have a dream, even a pathetically unrealistic one.
SCOTT: Just out of curiosity, which half of the body are we looking for?
STILES: Huh! I didn't even think about that.
SCOTT: And what if whoever killed the body is still out here?
STILES: Also something I didn't think about.
SCOTT: It's comforting to know you've planned this out with your usual attention to detail.
Some people read this as Scott being against the whole enterprise but doing it out of love for Stiles, which the text doesn’t dispute. I see it, however, as Scott indulging in the having-your-cake-and-eating-it pleasure of doing something you want to do but know you shouldn’t, while also criticizing it, which he can do thanks to the fact that Stiles comes up with the idea and insists they do it. Scott gets to do something irresponsible and complain and be an asthmatic little sarcastic kid, all things he doesn’t have a lot of room to do in his day-to-day life. Most importantly, Scott isn’t worried about losing Stiles’ regard as a result of any of that. I can even see Stiles’—admittedly snide—line about Scott’s “pathetically unrealistic” dreams being read by Scott in this light. Stiles doesn’t give a shit if Scott makes first line or not, because their friendship isn’t dependent on Scott’s achievements or behavior.
Stiles, meanwhile, is different from Scott in that he isn’t worried that he might mess up, but rather convinced he is messed up. He seems resigned to the (false) ideas that he killed his mother, and is a burden to his father, and is generally an unlikeable problem child. I read much of his attempts to help his friends and family as him trying to make up for the “fact” that he is unloveable, rather than prove himself worthy of love. As a result, it’s incredibly meaningful to him that Scott loves him the way he is. Even Scott’s criticisms of his plan are simply proof that Scott knows exactly who Stiles is, and is still there with him.
It isn’t as visible in those first scenes of “Wolf Moon,” but I think the last piece of this dynamic is that Scott trusts Stiles to get him out of whatever trouble they get into. Stiles gets the reputation as the man with the plan, but even he says it’s more about the plan to fix things once everything goes haywire: “You know, I actually used to be the one with the plan... Well, or at least a plan B” (“The Overlooked”). In “Wolf Moon,” Stiles’ plan is to go out in the woods at night. That’s pretty much the entirety of it, and he doesn’t seem all that fussed about the lack of detail. But then, when he’s caught, he nails the lie to his father to cover for Scott. He can’t pick Scott up in his Jeep, as he’ll do later in the season when Scott is lost and alone in the woods, but he’s there the next morning to check in. He goes with Scott to look for his inhaler. He does research about what could have bitten Scott. This dynamic fits, for me, with the idea that Stiles is fatalistically resigned to the idea that he’s a bad influence, but tells himself that he can make up for it. He’s got Plan B. We don’t see enough of Scott and Stiles before the bite to confirm it, but it makes sense to me that between his quick thinking, his bravery, his car, and the fact that he’s the sheriff’s son, Stiles can get them out of trouble.
The tragedy of all of this, of course, is how the bite changes everything. Suddenly, Stiles finds that the trouble he can usually worm his way out of has gotten a lot more serious, and he has to work to find a way to be helpful in a life or death situation. Scott, meanwhile, has no more space to be a kid. His emotions now have life or death stakes, as we see when his irritation with Stiles telling him not to go to the party suddenly turns into him nearly hitting Stiles. Scott now really does have no room to make mistakes, or do something irresponsible, or be a kid. He can’t be a teen wolf. He’s got to be a werewolf.
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When Gon’s anger becomes a protective mechanism for Killua
IMPORTANT: The text is long, plus, I do not support Gon hate. He’s a human being and a kid, so don’t worry, none of my analysis will put him as a monster.
You know the theory that one of the reasons Gon shuts Killua out from Pitou’s fight, besides proving himself and erasing his guilt, is also to keep Killua safe? I didn’t understand at first, but I kinda agree with that now.
Remember the “YES I AM AN IDIOT” iconic scene, Greed Island arc?
Let’s talk about that and link it all.
They’ve spent half of the chapter 158 arguing because Gon kept insisting on meeting this “Chrollo Lucilfer” person inside the game, while Killua was trying to be logical, saying that this person wouldn’t clarify their reasons only by asking them. Killua eventually gives in, and after Gon uses the card, they travel to met not Chrollo, but Hisoka, who asks if they went all that way just to ask him a question (implying how dumb it was).
Gon says that’s pretty much their reason and Killua kept teasing Gon on his dumb choice.
But after some ping-pong teasing between them, the reason Gon was being stubborn is, actually, a concern that lights up on his mind with memories of his journey to rescue Killua from Kukuroo Mountain. Even blushing, Gon says that he was reminded of Gotoh’s words and was worried that both of them were being deceived.
Gotoh’s words were, exactly:
Be careful. And protect Killua.
This also adds to the character analysis - one that is very on point - that Gon being outgoing doesn’t mean he puts depth to analyzing his feelings. He speaks his mind, the problem is not to talk per se - but to put effort into understand his intentions behind those actions. He could say he was worried about them, but he doesn’t, because he speaks first and doesn’t think through what he feels. He’s yes outgoing, but impulsive, and very immersive into acting first, think later - or even thinking only when questioned, because it didn’t even crossed his mind. That’s why we see him talking but yet... it’s hard to know what is happening inside him aside from Killua’s common inner monologues. But maybe protecting Killua it’s so natural that he doesn’t even bother to explain. To think that he keeps Gotoh’s words and even mentions it after all this time, such a nice and gentle touch of how much he respects his bond with Killua.
Now, let’s get back to the CAA events. Specifically chapter 222.
A very shocked and distressed Gon was learning through Kite's attacks, but not to defend himself or parry. His painful attempts were all leading to dodge the punches and faints, so he could give puppet Kite a hug, and an apology.
Yes, he said terrible things to Killua - and of course wanting to protect him wasn’t the only reason. But he knew from the moment they first met Pitou, that they were dangerous. He wanted to deal with that alone, because it was “his mess”, so he shouldn’t endanger his most beloved one.
We know that this is a turning point for Gon’s development in this arc, because it is the moment where his resolve becomes tainted with all the guilt he is facing. It’s when he starts to lose himself, and Killua knows that, probably, nothing he says or do will convince Gon otherwise.
But what contrasts with the well-known harsh words towards his best friend, is that he never meant to exclude Killua from the whole situation. That's why he says "OUR fault".
Then, right after, he addresses Killua directly. Visibly starting to lose himself, he takes the responsibility to prove he's strong to fix it, but I think that due to his communication pattern, he might also mean that he’s want to fix it without endangering who he wanted to fight by his side under normal circumstances.
It’s an act that can hold both guilt and protection. He addresses only that one person in the room because he needs Killua to know that this isn't a normal situation, and that's why he can't bring him to this fight. It isn’t normal because someone dear to him got hurt really bad. It isn’t normal because his best friend, someone who would not think before putting his life at risk for Gon, shouldn’t endanger himself to the point he could face the same destiny, specially because this is Gon’s way to show he cares. Again, Gon just speaks his mind without much thought, with his intentions between the lines. His effort to put his feelings into words mixed with the suffering he is handling are, on his mind, overwhelming enough - but still he cared to speak directly to Killua. Could this be, again, another demonstration of not-so-well-thought feelings spoken with the first words that come to his mouth?
Wouldn’t make sense, after all of those demonstrations of Gon’s behavior when someone is endangered and he desperately wants to take control of the situation because he thinks this is the best way to protect them and to be useful, and with that, deserving of their company?
As Gon's communication is both simple (in words) and complex (behind the words), since he doesn't think through his feelings and he’s a stubborn child, it makes hard for others to catch his intentions, specially if they're already struggling to understand that they are not a burden. Because Killua’s mindset on making friends also includes the need to feel useful, just like Gon’s, but expressed through different means - and by being casted away fro Gon’s decision and later saving the boy in order to push him forward once again to his goal (alone this time), Killua thinks Gon has cut ties with him. as he couldn’t play a helpful role within Gon’s life anymore. So, this is how he reaches the rejective conclusion.
But the connection that I'm trying to make is that even thought Gon’s words were awful as the boy himself recognized, I truly believe Gon still wouldn't want Killua to fight even if he knew how his friend felt. But not because he rejected Killua or meant to cut ties with his “no longer useful” best friend.
Because Gon has stated already: Killua doesn’t have to earn his friendship.
Those harsh words during the Palace Invasion were an attempt to regain control of the situation, prove his worth in the middle of a mental chaos that he wasn’t ready to face. But still, what if he kept reminding himself that he must protect his best friend in the entire world and just couldn’t find a better way to say it? Because he knows Killua is capable of self-sacrificing, Gon tried to stop him before, and Pitou is terribly strong. If it’s hard for him to translate his feelings when he is calm and collected, the extreme condition he found himself dragged in would’ve just made this communication face more obstacles. Fighting his own pain - another thing he couldn’t translate for the sake of his own mental health - led to the words to come out like they were: heartbreaking.
So, I’m not saying that it was solely to protect Killua, but I think that makes sense for Gon’s character. And again, I don’t think he would agree that Killua would fight what he thinks it’s his battle alone. But, with his mind cleared and the right questions, he would've given Killua an answer. He would say that this is not about taking Killua out of the special place Gon has put him, but about Gon taking the the responsibility based on what he thinks it’s best for everyone. His feelings, either protective or hurtful, are only explained when he’s asked, because action speaks volume for him and he needs this trigger question to make him translate his intentions.
Just like in the Hunter Exam, he only tells Kurapika about how he felt with Hisoka because he questioned.
And in the Yorknew Arc, Gon didn’t let Killua hurt himself and was really trying to understand how the other boy felt. Gon doesn't communicate well but not because he rejects his feelings, and still, he cares about others’ feelings too. He was just literally out of his mind. So yeah, I think he cared for Killua safety, and if after all this time he made a connection between his stubborn acts and Gotoh’s words, it’s because - on his mind - these words and thoughts never leave his head. He’s constantly worrying about Killua, in his own way. But he couldn't explain something that he didn't put a second thought even for himself to understand. And it's not the first time, he acts very similar in these mentioned situations.
What all these stubborn oriented situations that I’ve mentioned, except for the one regarding Hisoka, have in common? He wanted to protect Killua.
He was undeniably wrong in saying those words to Killua, but it’s something acknowledged by himself already. He IS, by his nature, a protective kid, and under normal circumstances, Killua would be allowed to fight by his side because it has to be him. If it’s not going to be him, it won’t be anyone else. He can’t risk to lose him for something that he feels overly responsible. His words were rooted in pain, but the moment he addresses Killua that he would fight alone - a moment recollected by the latter in the hospital scene - shows respect for the one he has just lost, Kite, and the one he doesn’t want to lose.
Killua is the one who never left him, never discredited him and is irreplaceable. Killua is the first thing that comes up to his mind when thinking about meeting Ging. Who would have thought that Gon’s mind would reach so far into memories and hold so deeply someone’s words like Gotoh’s?
He was selfish. But it’s a childish selfishness, built on such empty expectations about himself that he ends up forcing on others what he believes that is the right thing to do, in order to keep others safe, no matter how bad he hurts his body... because when it comes to protect those he care, he loses respect on his self-care due to this low self-esteem of his. So, he didn’t ask Killua to “please, let me fight alone”, because he’s decided to not drag Killua into a fight he knows he might lose, and then Killua couldn’t be protected.
And makes sense, again, that Killua couldn’t read between these lines, because he also blames himself for everything that happened, and thinks his feelings and desires would only keep in Gon’s way - that’s why those words hit him so deeply, but the thing that hurts him the most was the sole fact that Gon fought alone. He can’t help but compare to the dodgeball, and like Gon, Killua has his own unhealthy patterns: since he only knows love through pain, when he’s prevented from getting hurt against his will, he fails to understand it as an act of love.
The bond they’ve established while playing Greed Island was expressed through dozens of symbolisms already well discussed among the fandom (Killua’s badge, the rainbow diamond, the famous line during the dodgeball game). And I don’t doubt that their encounter with Pitou held traces of the same protective pattern, but messed up by Gon’s internal struggle.
For the times Gon showed concern before, we can mention more expressive moments like the whole Zoldyck arc, when they were escaping from the Troupe, when Tzeseguerra said he’d endangered Killua or even when Killua got caught by some spell, etc, or we can even analyze his body language. Like here:
Before the date, Gon is indirectly protecting Killua in here, through his body language (Killua entered the room first, but Gon puts himself between them):
And after the date, while being punished for hurting her feelings, Gon screams at Palm when she tried to stab Killua, probably implying that he was observing and only interveins when she tries to hurt anyone other than himself - because he is, again, being stubborn and taking all the blame and control in order to redeem his actions and prove his capacity to fix things. I think it’s possible that Gon talked to her about Killua off curtains, or at least made an agreement about not involving Killua in her madness, but it it’s open to interpretation.
So, yeah, I can’t help but link everything to his pattern. He responds to the fear of losing those he loves with the same impactful devotion that is given to him, but it is so impactful that fails vocabulary and second thoughts. He knows Killua will be the first to risk his life if something happens or to prevent Gon from getting hurt during his tasks. Killua tends to sacrifice a lot and never complains while doing it, so I think it’s pretty much plausible that even when he can’t express himself at all, he’s worrying about Killua in the corner of his mind. Sometimes, just before our eyes.
Anyways, I love re-reading Greed Island arc and linking to their development through CAA because pretty much anything they do, they’re doing together, and they were bonding so beautifully. Their relationship was never so well-detailed before, but mostly for us, when they didn’t get much time to put in the balance how rushed their training was, and how fast they got attached to the point they can’t even stop thinking about each other while distant.
They look at each other like this:
They inspire this kind of reaction from others:
And there’s this one... nothing big, I just love it hahahaha
They’re in love each others’ top priority. It’s not impossible that Gon took Killua’s safety into matter, but his mind and words failed him, as he himself acknowledges that the only explanation to say those things to Killua is that “he doesn’t know what he was thinking”. Because, under normal circumstances, just like about letting Killua fight by his side, he would NEVER hurt Killua’s feelings. He IS protective. He didn’t have to rescue Killua from his own home - since Killua left for himself - but he still does it, instead of sticking to his main journey. And did not budge until Killua was safe by his side.
It’s a badly worded protection, because he doesn’t even know self-protection and puts action before everything. To figure a better way out of this pattern, he will now have plenty of time to find new ways to protect Killua and himself from the flaws of their dynamic. Their emotional attachment didn’t grow as fast as their fighting skills, but it doesn’t mean Gon is a monster, was malicious towards Killua or wanted to break his heart. I don’t even think he would reject Killua, but would explain the reason behind his decision in a reassuring way.
And finally, it’s so symbolic how Gotoh died and got replaced by a Kiriko - the same creature that translates Gon’s perceptiveness and how the boys are close. This way, they are still linked by Gotoh’s words through someone that mimics Gotoh’s appearance and also understands their relationship like the long gone butler. His words will never die.
And not to mention... how shoujo and romantic it is that Gon remembers the promise he made to Gotoh before he takes Killua with him? It is almost like a marriage proposal. That he didn’t forget, not even after all this time.
Do I think he would’ve change his mind on letting Killua fight? Not at all, and Killua couldn’t change his mind even if he begged, at least not without some patient mental work. This is Gon’s mindset on protecting someone. But like that time in Greed Island, under normal circumstances, Gon would’ve ease Killua’s worries directly or indirectly after some talking. And of course, it is not his job to guess Killua’s feelings, communication must be a two-way path. Killua waited for too long, and at that point, Gon was too lost in his grief and wasn’t able to measure his words. But I truly believe that, deep inside his mind, those words and that promise were still there, waiting to resonate if necessary.
And as @gallyl added so perfectly: Killua is alive and well, grieving on the hospital’s bench, trying to get a grip of everything he just experienced. Decided to give Gon a second chance, he’s now able to understand this message of love Gon has left for him: there’s so much he can do in life, that Gon simply doesn’t want him to die because Killua’s whole life was surrounded by death - and Killua’s greatest wish was to live like a normal kid. And this speaks louder to Gon than having Killua to himself in death. A love that is not selfish, and does not envy. Killua’s life is validated, and in return, he saves Gon and his sister, the ones he loves the most, and validate back their right to exist, to grow, to try again. Unconditional love. At first, he’s hurt and demands an apology. But it’s Alluka who reminds him of how love must be free to give and to receive - he should let his heart open for whenever Gon is ready to reach him again.
But now, the apology will matter.
And this is absurdly romantic. Not every sacrifice ends up in dying together to prove a relationship. They’ve made promises similar to marital vows, and not everything happened like they wanted, but they made clear to us that they’re not done with each other - as they refuse to say goodbye, and keep grammatical constructions like “for a while”, indicating a break, an interlude.
Their song is still playing, and their promises still exist as their split was never mentioned as something definitive, because preventing the other one to get physically hurt on your behalf and taking some time to think before you take the risk to accidentally emotionally hurt them too are both ways to show protection. Ways that they’re learning now, two boys who think they should get hurt to love and be loved.
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A handful of ways 02 often gets misread
02 is a series that, in many ways, seems to adhere to a lot of conventional shounen anime tropes, structural aspects, and plot beats -- except a lot of them are very much not played the way you would usually expect, or have aspects to them that are slightly different or more nuanced than the average play on it. Unfortunately, this means that a lot of people (perhaps rather understandably) tend to be expecting the usual formats or plays so much that they try to shove 02 back into that box, which inevitably leads to a lot of its important subtleties getting pretty badly buried.
A lot of these misconceptions have become mantra in the fanbase, even despite a lot of hardcore 02 fans’ efforts to counter them, so while this isn’t an exhaustive list, I’ve decided to unpack some of these!
That the 02 characters didn’t get character development or much depth
Fighting back against this stigma is practically this blog’s major raison d'être; one of the first posts on it was a full meta on this, later followed by individual posts breaking down each individual character and their role in the series (Daisuke, Ken, Miyako, Iori, Takeru, Hikari). Yes, they did get character development, no matter whatever your definition of “character development” is -- we saw into all six of these kids’ heads, we saw what made them tick, we saw what their internal worries and aspirations were, and we saw all of that to a level that many, many other series, Digimon or otherwise, don’t even hold a candle to.
Personally, I feel like there are two major reasons this stigma keeps circulating around: one, that the series has a very unique emphasis on “character relationships” and the nature of relationships between characters rather than them individually in a vacuum (that "human relationships” was a deliberate theme of 02 in contrast to Adventure’s “oneself” has been stated outright by official, multiple times at that), and two, that the series has a habit of not saying in outright words what it’s doing, meaning you have to read between the lines a lot to figure out what’s going on here. This means that (especially for those who are expecting 02 to use the same writing style as Adventure) it’s too easy to observe the fact that 02 doesn’t have “character focus episodes” to the same extent as Adventure, and that there’s few or virtually no points where the characters look back and say in explicit words what changed about themselves, and think “oh, so nothing happened at all with them?”
But just because they don’t say it outright doesn’t mean it isn’t there! If you pay proper attention to the kids’ words and actions, the way they interact with and see each other, and in general just what their behavior patterns are between the early episodes and the final ones, there’s a huge difference, to the point where making it to the end of the series and rewatching the early episodes can cause pretty severe whiplash from seeing how different the characters are at first. Plus, “relationships between characters” gets an elevated amount of importance compared to Adventure, so defining a given relationship between one character and another, and how each character approaches others, is given its own spotlight -- and, in a cast of six major human characters, you can get a very good idea of how almost any pair might interact and see each other, which is a pretty huge thing, all things considered.
Moreover, this leads to a bit of a (paradoxically) frustrating situation where a lot of people will describe the characters in terms of how they were in only the very early episodes of the series, even in scenarios where their later characterization would be more pertinent; Daisuke and Miyako especially tend to get the short end of the stick here. Daisuke’s characterization in 02 episodes 4 and 7 is very, very much him at his worst and most shallow -- compare him in an episode like 26, or 35, or 45, and it’s very easy to understand that grew out of a lot of that shallowness and Hikari-related hangups, but many seem to be all too often convinced that Daisuke somehow only ever stayed the same character he ever was in those very, very early episodes.
It’s a very “slow burn” type of character development and growth that doesn’t involve them handing the answer to what happened on a plate, and it definitely forces you to read into things a bit harder than usual to figure it out...but, again, that doesn’t mean it’s not there!
The alleged “gender pigeonholing” of the Digimental and Jogress assignments
It’d be foolhardy to say that “matching genders” didn’t have some likely part in Miyako’s Digimental assignments or the fact Hikari is her Jogress partner, but if you listen to a huge chunk of the fanbase, this must have apparently been the only reason such is the case, and Miyako and Iori’s Digimentals were actually forcibly “swapped”, and meanwhile, the Jogress pairs “should” have been Miyako-Iori and Takeru-Hikari because of their prior existing relationships (instead of, say, a more likely scenario that the assignments were a factor taken into account, but that Miyako and Iori’s characters were also fundamentally built from the ground up to make sure that things tracked, instead of retroactively forcing anything).
This interpretation of “forcing” or “pigeonholing” is only really possible based on surface-level readings. The idea of Miyako and Iori’s Digimentals of Love and Knowledge being “swapped” only works based off a misreading of the meaning of the Crest of Knowledge and a surface gloss of Miyako’s character; Miyako’s character really doesn’t work with the Crest/Digimental’s correct definition of “inquisitiveness and curiosity”, Miyako’s association with computer skills doesn’t actually have much to do with her character and personal aspirations, and moreover “Love” is actually specifically “affection” in this context, which Iori is...definitely not the shining example of, even if he has a different, more passionate kind of love.
As far as the Jogress pairings go, trying to imply that a Miyako-Iori and Takeru/Hikari pairing setup based on existing prior relationships would be more appropriate misses the deeper implications of Jogress, which involve actively working on relationships being the point. Daisuke and Ken weren’t people with an existing relationship, either; the fact they’re Jogress partners comes from the fact they have complementary personalities and therefore provide what each other needs to grow and do better. Miyako and Iori certainily “get along” based on knowing each other beforehand, but that simply means that they have a surface-level friendship, and not as much about what they can provide for each other on the deeper level, and while Takeru and Hikari likewise seem to “get along” based on their prior knowledge of each other, 02 episode 13 had already established that they’re actually not that great at communicating with each other and may not be the best people to most intimately solve each other’s problems at the moment. The pairing of Miyako-Hikari is significant because it means that Miyako’s aggressive personality can be the one to break through Hikari’s infamously closed-in one while Hikari can be there to provide a proper ground for Miyako’s loose cannon tendencies, and the pairing of Iori-Takeru is significant because Iori’s way of methodically going through things helps in poking through Takeru’s convoluted layers, and said complicated emotional perspective from Takeru becomes the first important step in Iori learning to take the human heart into account.
They’re relationships that don’t come naturally, and that’s part of the point! You have to work on your relationships and make an active effort to get them to work, and that’s an important lesson for real life in general, where relationship maintenance can be even harder than the three episodes Takeru and Iori went through.
Daisuke “being an idiot”
I’m one of the many people who loves affectionately calling Daisuke an idiot, and it’s because it’s funny and it’s my way of showing love for him, but actually, while Daisuke being a bit simple-minded puts him further in the typical “idiot hero” play in this kind of series, there’s a very specific way Daisuke is an “idiot” -- it’s not that he’s going to just ruin every single situation by taking the least advisable path!
Daisuke is actually best summarized not via lack of intelligence per se but rather that he’s “simple-minded”, and this has both bad and good things about it. Given an overly complex situation, or something he needs to think through thoroughly, he obviously struggles, and it means he’s also not very book smart, since that involves a lot of intellectual and complex thinking. However, there’s a lot of different aspects to his personality, and there are a lot of ways Daisuke can be surprisingly perceptive because of this:
Difficult to fool: Actually, Daisuke isn’t gullible at all -- a side effect of his penchant for being overly dramatic and quick to be suspicious of others. Notice how the two characters he’s traditionally been antsiest around are Takeru and Wallace, the two characters who have an infamous penchant for not being very straightforward -- and really, while his tendency to take things grossly out of proportion and act dramatically adds to the comedy, you can’t deny he was absolutely correct about catching onto Wallace hiding things and acting very suspicious back in Hurricane Touchdown. Of course, he’s also an open-minded person who’ll observe proof that someone might be trustworthy and take it into account -- this is how he became so open to Ken after all -- but he does have a certain sense of catching onto shady or unscrupulous behavior and calling it out.
Not all that reckless: Daisuke’s actually more of the type to get easily intimidated by things, so even if he initially talks big, he gets strung around pretty easily, and it doesn’t take long for him to back down. In fact, he does seem to have a sense of self-preservation, so while he could, in some sense, be called “hot-blooded”, that doesn’t mean that he’ll automatically beeline for the most aggressive solution if it actually seems like that bad of an idea.
Not very arrogant: In fact, a lot of Daisuke’s problems seem to come from a lack of self-confidence, since many of his more ludicrous antics tend to come from trying to impress others or prove that he’s cool (and, conversely, moments where he has his head on straight generally tend to correspond to times when he’s capable of having more confidence, or is sufficiently distracted by the gravity of a situation to the point where impressing others is no longer a priority). Beyond that, Daisuke very often gives credit where it’s due and compliments others very often; he really does genuinely like other people, after all, and he’s practically devoid of condescension.
Emotionally sensitive: Daisuke isn’t the type to mow over others’ feelings; even in 02 episode 7 he had a capacity for quickly apologizing once he’d noticed he’d crossed a line, and he actually has a strong capacity for catching onto others’ feelings and treating them with the care they deserve. Even if his exterior seems abrasive, he’s fundamentally someone who likes others and doesn’t like seeing them being hurt. Moreover, one thing he’s very good at is “not denying others’ feelings”, even when he disagrees with them; during the arc when everyone’s unsure what to do with Ken, even when Daisuke proactively reaches out to him, he also respects the others’ right to have more difficulty in forgiving him and doesn’t push them too hard about it, allowing them to accept Ken on their own terms.
Easy to convince or hold back: Tying into the above, Daisuke being an open-minded person in general, plus the fact he holds his friends in high regard, means that he also takes others’ opinions and thoughts into account when making decisions (see the Giga House incident). Daisuke’s only really a loose cannon (his worst incidents being 02 episode 22 and Armor Evolution to the Unknown) if you leave him completely to his own devices, but have his friends with him and he’s more than willing to defer to them and work cooperatively with them. This is why he also has such a good dynamic with Ken; they both have opposite dispositions in many aspects, so working together means Ken fills in a lot of the intellectuality Daisuke doesn’t have, and they can get a lot of things done effectively.
Doesn’t overcomplicate things: Sometimes, the simplest answer is the correct one! In a case where everyone’s getting into circular logic or weird platitudes, Daisuke is likely to emerge as the smartest person in the room, since he’s capable of getting directly to the point, offering pragmatic solutions, and calling out elephants in the room. This is why he ends up being such a vital key to keeping everyone on track during the second half of 02, when everyone’s concerned with abstract concepts of forgiveness and moral responsibility, and he’s capable of reframing things in the most practical solution that’s best for everyone in the immediate moment.
And as for his crush on Hikari, this is something I need to extra emphasize: it starts gradually dying down in prominence over the course of the series, shot up in 02 episode 22 when the Kaiser was defeated and they had nothing to do left, and then started dying down in prominence again until it mostly phased out after 02 episode 35. Post-02 materials clarify that the crush is still present, but it never, ever gets to the same level of Daisuke rolling around like an absolute idiot and constantly fixating on her the way it was in the earliest episodes (and 22). The level of “idiocy” Daisuke expresses on his crush on her scales very directly with how insecure he’s feeling (notice that one of the earliest level-headed conversations with her is from 02 episode 8, when he was feeling very good about himself in the soccer game and didn’t need as much external validation to consider himself doing well) and how much of an important purpose he has as a priority, so it’s extremely reductive to think that his brain would constantly be full of nothing but Hikari-chan in every single waking moment of the day to the point where he has no other apparent priorities in life.
Ken’s “villain reformation”
That Ken went from an antagonistic villain to a member of the team is well-known (I mean, it’s one of the most famous parts of 02, after all), but the details of exactly how tend to often get obfuscated due to it having many details that are often rather different from how most shounen anime that pull this kind of trick would normally play it. This tends to lead to a lot of misreads of Ken’s characterization and rationalizing how Ken and the Kaiser can be the same person, with extreme readings that go from the Kaiser being a completely different persona with a personality that doesn’t even go near Ken’s, to treating Ken as a liability with the potential for “relapsing” into the Kaiser persona at any moment.
The key to understanding this is that Ken’s journey from villain to deuteragonist is actually the inverse of how it would be usually played -- it’s not a naturally cold-hearted person “learning” to embrace their softer side, it’s Ken starting off the series in emotional shambles and putting his life back together over the course of the series. It’s not immediately apparent on a first watch because Ken’s true nature is a “plot twist” when first properly revealed in 02 episode 21, but if you rewatch, you can catch a lot of hints placed in the entire first half of the series that the Kaiser persona has been keeping Ken in an absolutely miserable state from the very beginning.
Something important to keep in mind is that the other 02 kids actually had no part in Ken’s initial reformation. A lot of these kinds of plotlines involve the protagonists “turning” a villain by appealing to their better nature, but the 02 kids had pretty obviously dismissed Ken as a lost cause since very early in the series; even the very pure-hearted Daisuke had reacted to the revelation that a kid he admired was actually the Kaiser by simply being very upset and angry about it, and he made absolutely no attempt to convince Ken to change his ways. Ken himself was the one who slowly started getting pushed over the edge, and eventually decided that he couldn’t take it anymore; at the time, the 02 kids were mostly just cleaning up his messes and hammering in some cold, hard truths into his head. (With a lot of coldness, too.) Ken came to the realization that he wasn’t cut out for a life of sadism and evil all by himself. The desire to do good came from him, not from others.
So, indeed, the other kids’ role in the latter half of the series had nothing to do with the morality part of his reformation. Ken understood from the very beginning that he had to do something to make up for his mistakes, and was the first person to pick up the slack once he’d realized Archnemon was up to no good. The other kids’ role had to do with his healing and penchant for shame; they reached out to him, came to accept him, and helped him learn to treat himself better and stop drowning in regrets over his actions. But the entire part about having the inner strength to overcome all of the mental torture he’d been inflicting on himself? That was all him, and Ken often doesn’t get enough credit for how resilient of a person he’d been through all of it even before the others’ help came in.
The “cliffhanger” of the Dark Ocean episode
I can hardly blame anyone in the audience for being curious as to what the hell was going on with Dagomon’s Ocean, but contrary to popular belief, there’s honestly no reason to believe that the mysterious sea creatures intended to pose any real threat to her after all was said and done. In fact, they said pretty much the opposite: “Oh. We thought you’d be honored to be our bride. No? Okay. We’ll leave.”
The line of “waiting for the time” is pretty much the only thing you can take as a potential hint at something, but this is so vaguely phrased that you could take this to mean pretty much anything, and especially since they also talk about being forced to worship a “new god” and having a need to raise an army against it.
If you consider the fact that this was originally intended as an Adventure episode (with Adventure being a series where “weird out-of-the-ordinary things that you’re supposed to find interesting but also not question too hard” was basically its modus operandi), and that the Dark Ocean itself is actually not portrayed as actively malicious for the rest of the series, there probably really wasn’t any ominous, horrible thing being hinted here -- at worst, just “some things are still beyond the kids’ knowledge at this point,” which may be kind of anticlimactic, but not really a cut-off arc or anything.
Daisuke’s “optimism” towards Ken
It’s definitely a good thing that Daisuke’s hunch about Ken was right and that his faith in him paid off, but this aspect sometimes gets really exaggerated into Daisuke blindly thinking the best out of Ken by default from the very beginning. Actually, this isn’t the case, and looking closely reveals that Daisuke was initially as scornful of Ken as everyone else was!
In 02 episode 21, Daisuke urges Ken to “go home”, but note that it’s not about Ken’s own sake as much as telling him to go home for the sake of his family that he’d hurt. In other words, Daisuke’s not the kind of cold person who’ll kick Ken when he’s down, but note that his facial expression still seems to have a lot of “look what you did. Are you happy now?” sentiment in it. It ties into the rest of Daisuke’s character being more about pragmatism than anything; Daisuke lives not by forgiveness or punishment, but “what’s the best thing to do from here?”, and so his statement to Ken here is basically “well, you’ve gotten yourself into this mess, so if you want to fix your mistakes, here’s something productive you can do.”
Three episodes later, Daisuke voices a sentiment that Ken should come help out in the restoration efforts -- again, he sees things in terms of “fixing things going forward” instead of reflecting too much on the past -- but if you listen to his tone of voice, you might also notice that he delivers this in a very annoyed one. It’s not advocating for the others to let him help; it’s basically annoyance that Ken left them this entire mess and doesn’t have the decency to do something about it.
It’s only after the events of said episode, in 02 episode 25, when we see Daisuke actually start genuinely advocating for Ken potentially having “good points” -- and he says his rationale straightaway: Ken had saved them in the prior episode. It’s not just optimism for no reason; it’s “optimism” that checks out with his own stance on the matter and personal observations, because even later in that very episode, Daisuke himself understands the gravity of the situation that they might have to kill Golemon to prevent mass casualties, meaning that he inherently understood that it was likely that Ken had used the same logic. (Of course, the situation turned out to be very different, but that’s besides the point.) 02 episode 26 has Daisuke cite his encounter with the Crest of Kindness as more proof that there’s something good in Ken, but, given his more abrasive attitude towards the topic in 21 and 24, it seems like that wasn’t exactly a convincing case by itself as much as it enhanced his growing suspicions that Ken might be a better person than he’d thought.
So, the take-home is that Daisuke is, indeed, very pragmatic (remember, as said above, Daisuke isn’t the kind of person who’s all that gullible, and can get suspicious of others if they seem shady), and had pragmatically observed that Ken was trying to help -- thus, his “optimism” was only in the sense that he felt Ken should be given that opportunity to help and fix his mistakes if he wanted to, which is a significantly more reasonable stance to take than the blind optimism he’s often accused of.
That Ken is prone to being melancholic or constantly traumatized about and tortured over his past as the Kaiser
I don’t think anyone would really blame Ken if this were the case, but it really isn’t!
Ken is actually very good at talking about what he’s done; obviously he doesn’t like it, but even as early as 02 episode 25 he was capable of bluntly saying “I did this. This is a problem and I am going to fix it.” Pushing over the edge into feeling so severely hurt that he has difficulty talking about it takes a hell of a lot more than that; he’s a resilient kid!
Situations that had Ken severely emotionally compromised:
Episode 21 and 23: Which was also right after the initial wound of Wormmon’s death and him coming to terms with everything that happened. He wasn’t in an episode 23-level crying state for the rest of the series.
Episode 26: Which isn’t even nearly as “on the verge of tears” as the fanbase often stereotypes him as; it’s just him very frustrated and upset “I’m trying to do something and nothing is working!!” (Also note that, again, this is frustration more than it is being a crying mess.)
Episode 31: Involved excessive exposure to the Dark Ocean, which is notorious for causing people psychic damage in eldritch ways, far more beyond the usual invocation of memory.
Episode 44: Learning (for the first time) some very vicious things about the truth behind the Dark Seed and watching kids volunteer to fall to the same fate he did, in front of his eyes, with nothing he could possibly do about it. Pretty horrifying situation to be in! (Following episodes that do, indeed, involve him actively trying to do something about it, certainly portray him as emotionally invested, but he’s much more level-headed about it.)
Episode 45: Opening the gate to the Dark Ocean, which, again, has a tendency to cause psychic damage to eldritch levels. (In regards to the idea of opening the gate in the first place, he was the one who decided to do it, and very assertively at that.)
Episode 48: Witnessing Archnemon and Mummymon’s death (which also happened to traumatize everyone else in the vicinity). Notably, he actually is the one who still tries to push himself to join Daisuke in the fight; it’s Daisuke who calls him out for being more nervous than he’s trying to let on.
Episode 49: Being shown an illusionary scene of the Kaiser getting beaten up and Osamu forgiving him. Very active invocation of some very serious internal issues here (and even then he bounced back from it very quickly before the others even came into the picture).
Ken may be a naturally “soft” person, but he’s much more assertive than he’s often given credit for, very in control of his feelings, and honestly kind of a go-getter! Painting him as more weak-willed than he actually is...is somewhat of a disservice to how impressively resilient he is over the course of the series, and also doesn’t accurately reflect the connection between the Kaiser and Ken, and where exactly Ken’s potential for being harsh and cruel came from in the first place. Moreover, rather than being “melancholic and sad” about it, Ken would actually be more likely to react with righteous anger towards anyone making light of or exploiting things related to his dark past; he’s someone who’s very quick to stand up for himself and what he believes is the right thing to do.
That Iori never truly became on good terms with Ken
I’m not sure if this is honestly a “misread” as much as this one seems to require just not reading it at all, but this one pops up so much that I’m including it here. But, seriously...
This is before we get into Spring 2003 or the Kizuna drama CD making it extremely unambiguously clear that there are no beefs between the two anymore. Yes, it’s true that Iori was one of the most stubborn to accept him, but they dedicated a whole scene to it with a giant spotlight so that you understood that Ken had crossed the final barrier and that Iori had come a long way! Goodness, this wasn’t even subtle!
That anyone besides Daisuke or Ken got narratively “shafted”
I think the series lead characters often getting higher evolutionary forms than others tends to sometimes be a bit of a distraction, and while there’s definitely still room for criticism on that part, there’s a huge difference between that and whether said characters weren’t allowed to still do awesome things in battle or whether they still had a vital role in the story’s actual plot.
Adventure and 02 often get an accusation of being overly biased towards their leads (02 more so), but actually, director Kakudou personally hated the idea of characters being sitting ducks and actively worked to make sure all of the characters got nearly equal time in the spotlight. True to form, if you count the number of “focus episodes” each character got, or how often they got to play a pivotal role in the episode’s conflict/battle, they do turn out to be roughly even (with the exception of Hikari in Adventure, because she’d joined the story late).
02 makes things a little more complicated because it mostly bucks the focus episode format, with more episodes having complex narratives that have multiple characters being heavily involved, or even character arcs that take several episodes to set in. If we do attempt a count of episodes in which each character ended up pivotal to the episode’s conflict or were given a significant amount of the episode’s character spotlight, while the numbers fluctuate depending on your definition of the above, Daisuke and Ken each only have about 15 episodes (30%) dedicated to them and 25 episodes (50%) combined, and keep in mind that these are episodes shared with other characters -- meaning that a whole half of the series episodes does not feature either Daisuke or Ken as a leading character in its plots. It is true that the two have slightly more episodes than the others, but it’s actually a very minimal difference (one that falls within margin of error, at that) to the point where you can hardly say that the others didn’t play a significant role at all.
Part of the reason it’s so difficult to quantify is because of 02′s writing philosophy of defining character development in terms of “relationships” instead of by characters in a vacuum. There are very, very few “focus episodes” that we can learn about Daisuke, Ken, Miyako, and Iori individually with, because the majority of the episodes thereafter are about defining their relationships to the others, and several episodes will have multiple characters at the forefront of driving the episode’s plot. You’ll also have episodes where a character’s arc is significantly furthered, but it’s not exactly relevant to the battle (for instance, in terms of “character focus”, the one getting the most character attention in 02 episode 10 is actually none other than Miyako -- but this is easy to not realize because it involves her originally sitting out and agonizing about joining in later). And in the case of Takeru and Hikari, we already “met” them back in Adventure and we don’t need to do the initial establishment all over again, which is why we can just cut to the chase with them and bring them up mostly in episodes that define them in relation to others (may I remind you, Iori and Takeru’s Jogress arc has a whole three episodes dedicated to it).
What led to this perception that Daisuke and Ken supposedly dominate the narrative and are apparently the only useful people in this story? Mainly, it’s that the issue of Ken (and the fact that Daisuke is his Jogress partner) is looming over everyone’s heads for so long -- and that’s to be expected, since his existence is central to the plot itself. Moreover, you can think of the latter half of 02 as turning Ken into a sort of “test” for the other five; this is a story of relationships, so what does it take for each kid to befriend and accept someone who should be the last person they’d normally be able to? (This is why the order in which everyone accepted Ken is so important and so telling about each character’s priorities and ways of connecting with others.)
But just because Ken is “relevant to the overall plot” doesn’t mean he was cutting into everyone else’s character development all that much, especially since the entire block of 02 episodes 28-37 has him pop in as a symbol of relevance but actually doesn’t do a lot to advance his personal character arc (30 is the closest) as much as his presence provides a backdrop as to how others interact with him and how the others are dealing with him as a recurring issue. Moreover, the battles are still finished with everyone in cooperation; even as we go from Paildramon to Imperialdramon to Fighter Mode, there’s still concentrated efforts to make sure everyone is keeping busy, both on the Digimon successfully defeating their enemies, and the other four kids playing active roles in the development of the story. (Unless you want to tell me Iori wasn’t actually extremely vital to the last few episodes in terms of his relationship to Oikawa?) Certainly, it results in the effect that the story feels very biased towards his importance in the plot, and you can certainly point out the lopsidedness in that sense, but, again, that doesn’t mean the other characters weren’t constantly running around making massive headway in the meantime. “Lopsided in emphasis” doesn’t mean “only one person did anything”; the others did a lot and got a ton of attention at the same time. 02 is a series where all of the characters were sharing!
The other issue is that it’s probably misleading to be using this “by episode” metric in the first place; again, this isn’t a series that’s big on the focus episode format, so a lot of characterization is constantly being advanced in the background even when said characters aren’t the focus of said episodes. (Particularly in the case of Miyako; certain smaller gestures in episodes like 38 and 46 actually speak volumes about how far she’s come.) Just because they didn’t put giant arrows of attention like “look what this character is doing!!” doesn’t mean something significant didn’t happen -- in fact, a lot of the stigma of Hikari supposedly not doing anything in 02 comes from the fact that it initially seems there aren’t a lot of moments where she does huge dramatic things like literally making Numemon glow the way she did in Adventure, but if you’re actually bothering to pay attention to her behavior, you notice the subtleties of how she’s capable of having Daisuke wrapped around her finger, or how it was her who scared the hell out of Miyako with her assertiveness in 02 episode 18, or how she’s personally responsible for a lot of the advocacy and firm decision-making in the series! They just didn’t put huge red arrows and dramatic music on too many of these moments, so it’s easy to get complacent and think she’s not doing anything special, until you actually stop and think about the fact that she’s basically taking some of her most assertive moments in Adventure and doing it for an entire series.
Bias on showcasing? Sure, but absolutely not bias on the sheer question of doing something productive and important for their own characters and for the overall plot. And especially since, in the end, 02 is a story about how these kids who originally came from different places became an incredibly inseparable group, inseparable to a point that exceeds that of their seniors -- to the point where removing one person from the group could easily disrupt the entire dynamic. Hence why “the issue of Ken” is given so much attention in the latter half, because even given Ken’s relevance to the story’s themes aside, the sheer act of inserting a sixth person into that group subverts the dynamics they’d cultivated beforehand, so of course it’s going to cause them to question themselves and each other all over again! That’s why it’s extremely reductive to act like this is a story about Daisuke and Ken plus four other people who just incidentally happened to be there; the complex web of relationships that this group even is in the first place means that even them getting to where they were depended very heavily on the presence and actions of the other four, all the way to the very end. It took a lot to get Ken to the point where he became a proper member of the group with a sense of naturalness like he’d always been there, and with all six of them uniformly adoring each other’s presence.
And, again, when you actually look at this in comparison to most other series with a cast this big, including other Digimon series: 02 probably still ranks as one of the highest in terms of giving this many characters such uniformly significant prominence all the way to the very end.
That Takeru and Hikari especially didn’t do anything
I’ve already written extensive meta on Takeru and Hikari to prove otherwise, but I think the main issue here is that a lot of people don’t take into account the differing writing styles between Adventure and 02, and how that impacted the way their characters were presented. For instance:
The problems Takeru and Hikari were meant to deal with over the course of 02 were actually set up in Adventure and remained unresolved by the end of the series -- recall that Adventure ended with the writers well aware that Takeru and Hikari were going to be moved to the next series, so it’s likely that they were set up this way to have their stories continued by design.
This means that the initial “establishment” of their characters would be redundant, since we basically know what the issue is already -- hence why Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori start off with single-character focus episodes in the early parts of 02, but for Takeru and Hikari this isn’t really necessary since we already had that established, so we simply see a continuation of said unresolved issues through the other episodes’ narratives (Takeru blowing up, Hikari being too passive).
Both character arcs have to do with the concept of “being difficult to read” and “not being honest about their feelings”, so it’s too easy to take their silence on certain topics and assume that they’re not thinking anything at all, when in actuality the ambiguity of what they’re doing is part of the point and is meant to serve as a contrast to the events that cause them to open up thanks to the efforts of Iori and Miyako.
And, hence, this being a story about relationships: this is why their respective Jogress arcs are told more from the perspective of Miyako and Iori trying to break through to Hikari and Takeru, because this kind of arc is best facilitated by the more active/aggressive/assertive one (Miyako and Iori) breaking through to the one who’s closed up and needs to be actively reached out to (Hikari and Takeru). Again, it’s not that they were sitting ducks doing nothing while everyone else was doing the legwork -- especially since episodes 31 and 36 have resolutions partially driven by Hikari and Takeru becoming able to meet them halfway and willing to admit more of what’s going on -- but that this tendency to be closed-in was actually a severe problem that they’d been struggling with since Adventure.
So in other words, the mistake here is trying to frame 02 in terms of “Takeru’s story” and “Hikari’s story” by itself, rather than “Miyako and Hikari’s story, and how they influenced each other” and “Iori and Takeru’s story, and how they influenced each other”, and things work out much more smoothly from there.
02′s finale and its placement in the narrative
I think one very important thing to understand about 02 is that it’s much more of a theme narrative than it is a plot narrative, and understanding why certain plot points are the way they are is better done by prioritizing “what’s the message and point being made here?” moreso than “does this check out based on material details of the plot?” (This is especially in the case of the epilogue, since the career choices make significantly more sense when you think of it less in terms of material hobbies and more in terms of its relevance to the meaning of each character arc.)
So in terms of the reasoning behind why BelialVamdemon is the “final boss” of 02′s narrative, while on a plot level this places him as the dramatic mastermind behind it all, on a theme level, his point in the narrative actually serves to further establish the meaning behind Oikawa’s struggles and how they relate to the main cast and the Dark Seed children. The point made here is really that even someone like Oikawa, who was supposedly masterminding everything, was himself a pawn; the rest of the finale is a close to 02′s ongoing themes of society’s pressures on a human being, and what it means to move on.
Unconventional as it may be, fixating on “the identity of the mastermind behind it all” is actually not really supposed to be the point as much as what his presence entails, and its relationship with Oikawa’s backstory.
That the 02 group ended up outclassing/is more powerful than the Adventure group, or that they “replaced” them
While it’s common for narratives with cast swaps to power creep the new crowd to prove why they should be so much more necessary to the plot, 02 actually accomplishes this by temporarily nerfing the Adventure group. I think this is reasonable to take issue with, but nevertheless, the point being made here is that the 02 group actually is not treated as a sufficient “replacement” for their seniors, and, in fact, if you inspect the way they’re portrayed throughout the series, the 02 group is constantly reliant on their seniors’ help from the very beginning to end. The first few episodes involve the kids breaking Dark Towers so that their seniors can step in and finish the job, the final arc very prominently shows their seniors constantly intervening during Christmas and after, and if you inspect the 02 group’s accomplishments over the course of the series, they never actually get quite as impressive as their seniors’ at any point. Once we get to Diablomon Strikes back and the assumed lifting of all restrictions, the 02 group is explicitly treated as the backup support group that ended up only moved to the front when things went a little more sour than expected.
The group got its spotlight narratively speaking, but, in actuality, even in-universe, it’s made clear that for all intents and purposes, the Adventure seniors are more capable of tackling widespread problems and the juniors can only do so much in comparison. Even putting aside the fact that the 02 group ended up practically dependent on all of the non-combat support roles their seniors provided, with all restrictions removed, the 02 group doesn’t have nearly as much combat power as their seniors. Moreover, the point is also that they don’t even seem to mind that much -- for them, the accomplishment was what they got out of it, and their happiness in each other, and their cultivated talent in being exceptional in emotional outreach, and, besides, it’s a fitting way to go in a series where the whole point is “you don’t have to be the best, as long as you’re happy with yourself.”
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bad squirrel ↠ han jisung
genre: bad boy!jisung au, enemies to lovers au, high school au; humor
word count: 2.8k
warnings: so fluffy, swearing, mildly suggestive | gender-neutral reader
request: yes (thank you for such a clearly imagined and fun request, anon!)
✧ masterlist & tag list info in bio ✧
↠↞
You’d never understood why Han Jisung had to be so loud.
Wasn’t the “bad boy” of the school supposed to be the quiet, brooding type? Not that Jisung didn’t do his fair share of lurking in corners doing gods knew what, sneaking out of the school to mysteriously reappear hours later, and drinking from a flask in the middle of class…. But he was just so damn loud. All the time! And because Jisung was loud in class, you strongly disliked him. Sure, he did his work (sometimes, like when the sun rose in the west) and had friends—two, to be exact: Chan and Changbin—but other than that, he kept to himself, yet was somehow loud. Jisung also strutted around the school like he owned it, looking much like a disgruntled raven.
As you were in the same year, you were intimately familiar with all his less-than wonderful propensities, and had listened to more gossip about him than you’d care to admit. Granted, that was simply to hear anything about him. You had a strange fascination with Jisung that somehow existed in tandem with your dislike—you couldn’t understand it. And, you commonly thought about him at the most random times; this also meant that you ranted to your best friend, Seungmin, far too often.
Jisung sat in the corner of the cafeteria with Chan and Changbin, and scribbled. He was always scribbling in a notebook he kept in his back pocket, and you wanted to know what he was writing—probably something like emo poetry. And today was no different. Occasionally, he’d look up and stare into the middle distance.
“Do you ever wonder what goes on inside his head?” you asked as you chewed a mouthful of your lunch. Seungmin saw where your gaze rested and rolled his eyes.
“No. Definitely not.”
“But would it be cool to—”
“Again, no,” Seungmin interrupted before you could careen off onto one of your tangents about the merits of this person or that. Except, this person featured all too commonly in those tangents, and Seungmin was tired of hearing it. “I don’t want to hear about the exact wave pattern in Han Jisung’s hair or how long you think he’d had that leather jacket. And I definitely don’t want to hear your thoughts on his skinny jeans.”
You smirked, turning back to the table in front of you on which you’d neatly arranged your lunch: grapes, almonds, a container of rice, and a mix of vegetables and fish. You hadn’t necessarily been planning to rant about Jisung, but now that Seungmin mentioned it…
“What do you think he does when he’s not in school?” you mused, chasing a bit of cabbage around the bottom of your lunch container with your chopsticks. “I mean, he seems to just exist in his own little world—I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with anyone except Minho and Chan, and even then, not that often.”
“I don’t know, Y/N,” Seungmin yawned, resting his chin on his hand. “Probably goes off to some corner and broods. That’s what guys like him do: brood and very obviously not talk about how emotionally distraught they are or whatever. But in a Byronic way—I don’t think Jisung has a violent bone in his body.”
You wiggled your eyebrows at your best friend, who was steadily losing patience with the whole conversation. “I can think of one bone that might be quite . . . angry and maybe violent but probably just hard. Good with forceful th—”
“I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT HAN JISUNG’S DICK, Y/N!” Seungmgin burst out, drawing stares from the other students seated at neighboring tables, including Jisung himself. You made to bang your head on the table, more embarrassed than you’d been in a long time.
Seungmin, meanwhile, couldn’t stop laughing. “Y-Y/N, oh my god, I’m sorry. Hey, don’t hit me!” This was because you had started playfully but insistently punching his thigh. “It’s fine,” Seungmin continued, trying to reassure you. “It’s not like I said anything that would— Oh shit, he’s coming over here.”
You tried to slide under the table, but only succeeded in getting yourself stuck before shimmying back into your seat. You looked up just in time to see Jisung slide into the seat opposite you and lean meaningfully on the table.
“So, Y/N,” he drawled, flashing a feline grin at you. “What exactly did I just hear?”
“I didn’t say anything, Han,” you retorted, nose aloofly in the air.
Jisung sighed. “Okay, okay, maybe you didn’t say anything, but Seungmin definitely did.” Seungmin spluttered and shook his head violently, really not wanting to be drawn into your squabble.
“So?” you said casually, still picking at your lunch. Meanwhile, your heart felt like it was going to beat right out of your chest. “So what if he said something?”
“Why would Seungmin say anything about me, though,” Jisung said. “It’s not like you two like me or anything.”
You just stared at Jisung. Why did he sound petulant? “No, we don’t. You didn’t hear anything, so go away!”
“Oh come on, Y/N,” Jisung wheedled. “I know you’re curious….”
“Han, what the hell?”
“Sorry, sorry!” Jisung protested, leaning back as his hands waved wildly.
“I—” you began, and gulped. “It’s just… You’re just this moody guy who walks around like he owns the place. And you wear tight skinny jeans that leave very little to the imagination. How could I not assume you at least think you have . . . um, yeah.”
“I can’t believe you just said that,” Seungmin moaned, and stuffed his fingers in his ears.
Jisung had leaned forward now and was staring at you intently. You looked away, even more embarrassed than before, and he sighed.
“Y/N, I’m not quite sure what to say, besides the fact that I like my tight pants.” He paused, then chuckled lightly and winked. “And that you clearly like my tight pants, too.”
You felt heat rise to your cheeks, and blurted. “Why are you even talking to us, Han?”
Jisung stopped as he rose from the table. “I was intrigued. Plus, you’re cute when you’re flustered.” Han winked, then turned and walked back to Chan and Changbin.
You just watched him go—casually appreciating the view—completely stunned. Had Han Jisung just said you were cute? Ugh?
“Y/N? Earth to Y/N!” Seungmin was shaking your shoulder. “Y/N, you might start drooling if you don’t watch out.”
Coming back to yourself, you hurriedly shut your mouth and demanded, “Did he just say I was cute?”
“How am I supposed to know? I had my fingers in my ears!” Seungmin exclaimed, throwing up his hands.
“Well, you are no help whatsoever,” you grumbled, and went back to eating your food.
Seungmin was silent for a moment, then said, “Do- Do you like him?”
You almost choked on your rice. “What?”
“Do you like him?” he repeated.
“The last time I checked, I definitely didn’t like Han Jisung. He annoys the hell out of me!”
Like the traitor he was, your best friend just made a ruminative noise and smiled down at his food.
↠↞
There was a park along the route you walked to and from school every day, and you liked to cut through to its other side as a short cut and to have some time in nature. Today, the leaves rustled loudly under your feet as you wove between the trees, distracting you sufficiently that you were completely wrapped up in your thoughts until your eye caught on a spot of black.
You stopped and squinted, brows furrowed ever so slightly. You couldn’t be sure, but that looked to be Han Jisung squatting under an oak at the edge of the park. Thinking the last thing you wanted was Jisung to see you spying—no, simply watching as you, too, strolled through the park—on him, you ducked behind a tree.
A few feet away from Jisung, assuming it was him, a squirrel sat on its haunches. It looked like he was talking to the squirrel, holding out his hand with a small pile of sunflower seeds resting in its center. As you watched, the squirrel, clearly used to this sort of thing, scurried forward and then away, its prize of seeds securely held in its mouth. This happened several times: the squirrel snatching a few seeds, stashing them around the other side of the tree, then coming back to retrieve more from Jisung’s hand. Strangest of all, you could have sworn you heard cooing along the lines of, “Aren’t you so good? Yes, you’re such a good little squirrel. Ooooh mhmm that tastes good, doesn’t it!”
Seeing the boy stand, you pulled your torso back behind the tree and peeked out as he walked away with a spring in his step. Yes, that was definitely Jisung.
Lost in your thoughts, you began to walk home. Feeding squirrels and talking to them was not “bad boy” behavior—of that much you were certain. So, did this mean that Jisung wasn’t as bad as you’d thought? Or was he slowly killing the squirrel by lacing the seeds with poison?
You shook your head, scolding yourself for such thoughts. But the fact remained: Han Jisung fed the squirrels and acted distinctly cute around them, and seemed to drop the persona he cultivated at school.
In a nutshell: you were confused.
The next day, you walked home the same way and at the same time, hoping you’d catch Jisung with the squirrel again. As you neared the edge of the park, sure enough, there was Jisung. You wrestled with your conscience for a moment, then walked the last meters to him and tapped him on the shoulder.
“What?!” Jisung exclaimed, shooting to his feet and almost hitting you in the nose with the back of his head. “What are you doing here, Y/N?”
“I was walking home,” you said innocently, giving Jisung a bright smile.
The young man in front of you was shifting back and forth on his feet. “Did you see—“
“Did I see you talking to a squirrel?” You grinned now, crossing your arms. “Yes. Yes, I did, Han.” Jisung spluttered. “Not so bad a boy, are you?”
“Come on, Y/N, don’t be like that!” he begged. “Just because I wear all black, brood, and write emo poetry—“
“Hah! So you do write it!”
Jisung gave you a look. “Yes, I write poetry and song lyrics for my friends. What about it?”
“Oh, nothing,” you chirped.
“Can you-“ Jisung sighed. “Can you at least not tell anyone that I feed and talk to the squirrels? It’s, like, my own way of doing good, you know?”
“Sure, I won’t tell anybody. I’m just surprised, that’s all.”
“Well, the more you know…” Jisung said and, yet again, winked at you before striding away. You admired the stark contrast between his black clothes and the oranges, yellows, and reds of the leaves on the ground.
↠↞
A couple of weeks later at the end of October, your English class was lucky enough to go on a weekend camping trip to experience the misty atmosphere in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Part of you thought that your teacher was a bit odd for wanting them all to get spooked by mist, but you couldn’t argue with the fact that the foliage was beautiful. After a long day of traipsing through the forest to find the perfect lookout point for the next morning’s mist viewing, the class gathered around a fire to eat and talk.
The fire was warm in front of you where you sat on a conveniently placed log; if you'd been any closer, you would have definitely singed something. You'd been a bit stupid and hadn't brought a proper jacket, thinking the evenings would still be warm at the end of October, but oh how wrong you were. Your nose was cold and your hands were even colder, a fact you tried to hide by sitting on your hands. Soon, however, your shoulders and back felt the slight breeze the rustled the leaves surrounding the clearing.
Across the fire, Jisung tracked your every move with bright eyes. In truth, he’d been watching you all evening and noticed that you were now cold. He noticed a lot about you these days, really. You didn’t see him quietly staring, his black clothes turning him nearly invisible, but you knew he was there on the other side of the flames.
You jumped a little, shoulders shrugging as warmth settled around them, and looked around. On the log next to you sat Jisung, like the piece of the night sky come to earth.
“Better?” he asked casually.
“Y-yeah.”
The two of you sat there silently as your classmates gossiped and ate around you. Occasionally, you saw someone glance your way, then turn back to their friends as if Jisung’s stare repelled them. You’d expected to feel awkward around him, expected to feel some dark aura radiating off him, but it was easy to sit with Jisung. His leather jacket was wonderfully warm, it’s weight around your shoulders oddly comforting, and the faint smell of whatever soap Jisung used caught on the collar made you smile.
“Here,” Jisung said softly, holding out the flask that always hung at his hip. “Have a sip—it’ll warm you up.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me! I’m not going to drink, especially since we’re on a school trip,” you hissed.
“It’s just tea, Y/N,” Jisung said, tone affronted. “What did you think I had in here?”
“I- Tea is fine. Thanks.” You took the proffered flask and sipped what was perfectly brewed and sweetened black tea. The hot liquid sliding down your throat to your stomach was a delicious feeling. You returned the flask to Jisung, your fingers brushing as you did so.
The fire crackled, sparks flying up as sticks fell and broke apart. But these were not the only sparks that were flying around that fire. Between you and Jisung there seemed to be a thread of energy along which those other sparks danced, and, unexpectedly, you wanted to follow that thread to its end with the young man beside you.
Every now and then, you glanced at Jisung. And, every now and then, he glanced at you. After five tense minutes of this madness, you finally glanced at each other at the same time and smiled nervously.
“So,” Jisung began, “um…”
“Hmm?”
“May I say something?”
“I- Yeah, sure.”
Jisung took a deep breath, hands twisting in his lap. “Y/N, I have what’s got to be the biggest crush ever on you. And if you don’t return the feelings, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I’ll never mention it again and I’ll make sure to leave you alone or whatever you want,” he said in a rush.
You wrapped Jisung’s jacket closer around yourself and turned slightly on the log to face him. The firelight danced in his eyes, the look in them soft and searching. His lips were parted slightly, as if to say something.
“It’s okay, Jisung,” you murmured, realizing that this was the first time you’d called him ‘Jisung’, at least to his face. “I think— I think I like you, too.”
Jisung’s face lit like the sun that would rise hours later with the dawn, his smile glorious. “Really?” he asked excitedly.
“Mhmm, I do.”
“That’s great,” Jisung breathed, and made to shift closer to you but stopped himself. “Um, so what now?”
“Want to cuddle?” You hardly believed that you’d just said that, but with Jisung’s jacket around you and him sitting so close, you couldn’t help it.
Jisung laughed and held out his arms to you, and you scooted closer to him so that you leaned against his as his arms went around you. After a couple minutes of shifting positions, the two of you settled. You could practically feel Jisung smiling behind you as you rested your head against his shoulder. Like your own, his heartbeat was faster than usual from nerves and excitement, which made you feel quite proud. You’d actually made the cool, seemingly confident bad boy of the school nervous.
Thinking you’d mess with him a little, you turned your face up to his and kissed his jaw. Jisung nearly jumped, which would have deposited both of you squarely on the cold ground, and then looked at you.
“Are you sure?” he murmured.
“Won’t know until we try, right?” you replied.
Jisung needed no further prompting and brought his lips to yours, sending a current of warmth along that thread between you. You had to smile because, completely unexpectedly, you liked kissing Jisung. You liked it a lot and would be perfectly happy to continue kissing him all night long, if given the chance.
Drawing back from Jisung, you noticed your classmates staring at you and Jisung, and smirked back at them. Unlike you, they didn’t have a cute boy to kiss and cuddle with. They weren’t the chosen person for the Han Jisung.
#inkidz#districtninewriters#stayhavennet#stayracha#0325-net#ultkpop#han jisung#han jisung fluff#han jisung fanfic#han jisung imagines#han jisung scenarios#han jisung drabbles#stray kids#stray kids fanfic#stray kids imagines#stray kids fluff#stray kids scenarios#stray kids han jisung#skz fanfic#skz fluff#skz imagines#skz scenarios#skz jisung#skz x reader#stray kids high school au#moonlit-han#.moonlight
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Interview
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Aaron Hotchner/Latina OFC Sophie Cortes
Word Count: 1,729
Tags: SFW, Pre-relationship, First meetings
Summary: Aaron finally gets the greenlight to hire a new agent.
Collection: Sophie Cortes timeline, 0-6 Months at the BAU
(See Masterlist for reading order)
A/N: Sophie and Reid are partners, because I love them!
Link to AO3 or read below!
It takes two months for Hotch to convince Section Chief Strauss to open a requisition for a new member in the BAU. There was a lot of paperwork to be filled out, including detailed explanations as to why he felt the team needed another profiler. He thought it was obvious: for all they do work together as a cohesive unit, Morgan and Elle were technically partners, and when she left, Prentiss took her place. Reid doesn’t have a partner, which makes him feel like a third wheel, sometimes.
(He won’t admit to it, but Hotch notices things. It’s kind of his job.)
Needless to say, the position becomes available, but it takes another couple of months—and several interviews—for Hotch to find the right person to fill it.
Agent Cortes comes highly recommended by the Intelligence Section’s unit chief, someone he worked on a case with in his early days at the BAU; she is young, just 29, but she is more than qualified, and the referring agent is someone whose opinion he respects, so he’s hopeful.
Gideon sits in on the interview because he respects his opinion, too, although Hotch will make the final decision.
Cortes is Latina, petite and polite, with a firm handshake, a warm smile, and dark, striking eyes. Gideon looks at her with somewhat passive interest (something only Gideon can pull off) as they go over the highlights of her resume.
“You have bachelor's degrees in Psychology and Sociology, and master’s degrees in Behavioral Science and Criminology, all from the University of Chicago. How did you manage all of that, at your age?” Hotch asks, wondering if maybe she is gifted like Reid.
“A lot of hard work,” she replies, and it’s an answer he likes. “I graduated high school, enrolled in a dual major program and completed the bachelors’ at 22. Then I was hired onto the Chicago Police Department, and I worked there and got my Criminology degree at the same time. The Behavioral Science degree came after; I began it in person, and they let me finish online when I moved here to join the FBI.”
“What interested you about behavioral science?”
“I grew up in a city that was rich with diversity, but I still noticed that certain people were susceptible to falling into certain patterns, and became curious about why we as people do the things we do. I was already interested in criminal justice, so it seemed a natural path to take.” He nods, jots down a couple of notes before looking back up.
“Tell us about your time with the Chicago Police Department.”
“I went through training while finishing my Criminology degree, worked a beat for about six months before being assigned to the Intelligence Unit; my sergeant found value in the way I was able to get people talking, and a large part of my work was with criminal informants. I worked in Intelligence for three and a half years, and for the last two I was on the Tactical Response Team as well.”
“Tactical Response—that’s SWAT?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How did you end up in SWAT?” Gideon asks, speaking up for the first time; she looks over at him for the first time, as well. “I mean no offense, you’re clearly more than capable, you’re just… small.” She gives him a brief smile.
“Well, there was a hostage situation, the team leader determined that we could get a vantage point from an air duct... and I was the only one who fit.”
“You don’t seem resentful of that,” Hotch notices, a bit surprised. It’s not an origin sorry everyone would be proud of. Her eyes turn back to him.
“I find it’s more important what you do with your time somewhere than how you got there. I contributed to many successful responses over the course of two years that had nothing to do with my size.” It is a great answer, and he holds back a smile of his own, simply nods.
“So you left Chicago to join the bureau; did you have your sights set on any department in particular?”
“I was torn between Language Analysis and Intelligence and ended up somewhere in the middle.”
“Intelligence because of your background, why Language Analysis?” Gideon asks.
“I speak 6: English, Spanish, and Italian as my native languages, plus Russian, French, and German. I have an ear for them.”
“Impressive,” Gideon says, nodding, lips pressed together. Cortes smiles, modest.
“It’s helpful; more than 30% of the population of Chicago speaks a language other than English at home.” Hotch does crack a smile at that, because the statistic reminds him of Reid.
“How would you describe your current role with Intelligence?”
“The official title is Intelligence Liaison. I’m part of a team that travels domestically and internationally, to law enforcement or government agencies, to debrief them on threats we’ve identified, or potential threat activity, and to help them formulate offensive countermeasures.” There is a lot of experience there that would translate well to the BAU, that much is clear. If anything, she may be overqualified, but they would never turn down the help.
“What’s the most frustrating part of your job?” It’s a question he always throws in, because true frustrations—and how one handles them—can say a lot about a person.
“When they don’t listen and people die. I do my best to make sure it doesn’t happen often.” He looks up from the form to the woman, who, in that moment, shows the things she’s seen all over her face. They’re gone from one blink to the next, and he breaks eye contact to choose his next question. No follow up needed there.
“It sounds like you have experience interacting with law enforcement, which is important here at the BAU. We can’t work on a case unless we are invited by the agency with jurisdiction, so maintaining healthy relationships is vital. We have a communications liaison who deals directly with police departments, sheriff’s stations, FBI field offices, and the media, but knowing how to handle them is a big part of the job.” It’s not a question as much as a confirmation, and she nods.
“I’m confident in my ability to interact with other law enforcement in a direct but respectful way. It’s something I’ve done a lot of as Intelligence Liaison.” He has one final question, and though he’s already more than pleased with the interview, the answer will make or break his decision.
“Why the BAU?”
“Curiosity is what got me interested in behavioral science, but it’s empathy that makes me interested in the BAU. My current work helps to save lives, but it’s all very large scale, and it can be detached, cold. I can be detached and impartial when I need to be, but I can’t deny it would feel like a better use of my skill set to make a more tangible difference.” He agrees, can already tell that she would thrive in the environment of their unit, and it’s just the kind of answer he’s looking for; he takes a few more notes, glances over at Gideon for input.
“Anything else you’d like to ask?”
“I think we’ve covered it,” he says, and he stands abruptly, which makes Agent Cortes stand as well. Hotch follows suit. “Nice to meet you. He’ll be in touch,” Gideon adds, shaking her hand briefly and leaving the room. She is left looking a little lost, and Hotch steps around the desk.
“I apologize for him, he’s a little…”
“Capricious?” she offers with a smile, and he laughs lightly.
“That’s accurate, actually. Please don’t take it personally.”
“I won’t. I’ve heard a lot about him, so he kind of lives up to my expectations.” She tilts her head, looking curious. “You don’t, though. Unit Chief Roberts told me you would be stoic; I expected someone much more aloof, but you’re actually rather warm.” He is a bit surprised by her directness, even more so that she would find him... warm.
“I doubt that my colleagues would agree with your assessment,” he says, thinking of the number of less than kind words used to describe him in the past. She just smiles again.
“I guess you really do need me on your team, then.”
He finds it hard not to agree.
“There are a few more things we’ll need from you, such as a psychological evaluation, recent performance reviews, a physical. I’ll be in touch with Agent Roberts, and then you, if we determine you are the right fit. I’ll see you out,” he adds, gesturing to the door, and she follows. The team, who was not yet in the bullpen when she arrived, looks on, curious, as they head to the glass double doors.
“Thank you for the opportunity to interview. I hope to hear from you soon,” she says with another firm handshake, and he nods.
“We’ll be in touch. It’s a pleasure to have made your acquaintance.”
“Likewise, Agent Hotchner.” She gets onto the elevator, and he heads back to the bullpen, stops specifically at Reid’s desk, though everyone is nearby.
“Congratulations, Reid: you’ve officially got a partner.” Reid smiles, looking pleased.
“Who is she?”
“Special Agent Sophia Cortes. She currently works for Intelligence. Bachelors’ in Psychology and Sociology, Masters’ in Criminology and Behavioral Sciences. Fluent in six languages. Got her start at Chicago PD like you, Morgan—Intelligence there too. And SWAT.”
“SWAT?” Morgan echoes, impressed. “She’s gotta be 5’2” out of those heels.”
“She’s got glowing reviews from her superiors there, and from her unit chief: he called her resilient, determined, empathetic, a team player. She’s good at communicating with law enforcement, victims, even unsubs. The BAU is the right place for her. We’ll just be waiting on paperwork to make it official.” He crosses his arms, leans back against the filing cabinet. “I’d have introduced you, but she doesn’t know she’s being offered the job just yet.”
“She must have made quite an impression on you for you to decide on the spot,” Prentiss says, and he nods his head in agreement.
“I think she’ll fit in well. I saw a little bit of each of you in her, and she’s very…” He tries to think of one word to sum up the woman he just interviewed, and decides with a half-smile: “warm.”
#aaron hotchner x original female character#hotch x original female character#latina original female character#aaron hotchner#aaron hotchner fanfic#criminal minds#criminal minds fanfic#aaron hotchner x reader#aaron hotchner x female reader#hotch x female reader#hotch x reader
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Hi, Dr. Reames! I just read your take on Song of Achilles and it got me thinking. Do you think there might be a general issue with the way women are written in mlm stories in general? Because I don't think it's the first time I've seen something like this happen.
And my next question is, could you delve further into this thing you mention about modern female authors writing women? How could we, beginner female writers, avoid falling into this awful representations of women in our writing?
Thank you for your time!
[It took a while to finish this because I wrote, re-wrote, and re-wrote it. Still not sure I like it, but I need to let it go. It could be 3xs as long.]
I’ll begin with the second half of the question, because it’s simpler. How do we, as women authors, avoid writing women in misogynistic ways?
Let me reframe that as how can we, as female authors, write negative (even quite nasty) female characters without falling into misogynistic tropes? Also, how can we write unsympathetic, but not necessarily “bad” female characters, without it turning misogynistic?
Because people are people, not genders, not all women are good, nor all men bad. Most of us are a mix. If we should avoid assuming powerful women are all bitches, by the same token, some women are bitches (powerful or not).
ALL good characterization comes down to MOTIVE. And careful characterization of minority characters involves fair REPRESENTATION. (Yes, women are a minority even if we’re 51% of the population.)
The question ANY author must ask: why am I making this female character a bitch? How does this characterization serve the larger plot and/or characterization? WHY is she acting this way?
Keep characters complex, even the “bad guys.” Should we choose to make a minority character a “bad guy,” we need to have a counter example—a real counter, not just a token who pops in briefly, then disappears. Yeah, maybe in an ideal world we could just let our characters “be,” but this isn’t an ideal world. Authors do have an audience. I’m a lot less inclined to assume stereotyping when we have various minority characters with different characterizations.
By the same token, however, don’t throw a novel against the wall if the first minority character is negative. Read further to decide if it’s a pattern. I’ve encountered reviews that slammed an author for stereotyping without the reader having finished the book. I’m thinking, “Uh…if you’d read fifty more pages….” Novels have a developmental arc. And if you’ve got a series, that, too, has a developmental arc. One can’t reach a conclusion about an author’s ultimate presentation/themes until having finished the book, or series.*
Returning to the first question, the appearance of misogyny depends not only on the author, but also on when she wrote, even why she’s writing. Authors who are concerned with matters such as theme and message are far more likely to think about such things than those who write for their own entertainment and that of others, which is more typical of Romance.
On average, Romance writers are a professionalized bunch. They have national and regional chapters of the Romance Writers of America (RWA), newsletters and workshops that discuss such matters as building plot tension, character dilemmas, show don’t tell, research tactics, etc. Yet until somewhat recently (early/mid 2010s), and a series of crises across several genres (not just Romance), treatment of minority groups hadn’t been in their cross-hairs. Now it is, with Romance publishers (and publishing houses more generally) picking up “sensitivity readers” in addition to the other editors who look at a book before its publication.
Yet sensitivity readers are hired to be sure lines like “chocolate love monkey” do not show up in a published novel. Yes, that really was used as an endearment for a black man in an M/M Romance, which (deservedly) got not just the author but the publishing house in all sorts of hot water. Yet misogyny, especially more subtle misogyny in the way of tropes, is rarely on the radar.
I should add that I wouldn’t categorize The Song of Achilles as an M/M historical Romance. In fact, I’m not sure what to call novels about myths, as myths don’t exist in actual historical periods. When should we set a novel about the Iliad? The Bronze Age, when Homer said it happened, or the Greek Dark Age, which is the culture Homer actually described? They’re pretty damn different. I’d probably call The Song of Achilles an historical fantasy, especially as mythical creatures are presented as real, like centaurs and god/desses.
Back to M/M Romance: I don’t have specific publishing stats, but it should surprise no one that (like most of the Romance genre), the vast bulk of authors of M/M Romance are women, often straight and/or bi- women. The running joke seems to be, If one hot man is good, two hot men together are better. 😉 Yes, there are also trans, non-binary and lesbian authors of M/M Romance, and of course, bi- and gay men who may write under their own name or a female pseudonym, but my understanding is that straight and bi- cis-women authors outnumber all of them.
Just being a woman, or even a person in a female body, does not protect that author from misogyny. And if she’s writing for fun, she may not be thinking a lot about what her story has to “say” in its subtext and motifs, even if she may be thinking quite hard about other aspects of story construction. This can be true of other genres as well (like historical fantasy).
What I have observed for at least some women authors is the unconscious adoption of popular tropes about women. Just as racism is systemic, so is sexism. We swim in it daily, and if one isn’t consciously considering how it affects us, we can buy into it by repeating negative ideas and acting in prescribed ways because that’s what we learned growing up. If writing in a symbol-heavy genre such as mythic-driven fantasy, it can be easy to let things slip by—even if they didn’t appear in the original myth, such as making Thetis hostile to Patroklos, the classic Bitchy Mother-in-Law archetype.
I see this sort of thing as “accidental” misogyny. Women authors repeat unkind tropes without really thinking them through because it fits their romantic vision. They may resent it and get defensive if the trope is pointed out. “Don’t harsh my squee!” We can dissect why these tropes persist, and to what degree they change across generations—but that would end up as a (probably controversial) book, not a blog entry. 😊
Yet there’s also subconscious defensive misogyny, and even conscious/semi-conscious misogyny.
Much debate/discussion has ensued regarding “Queen Bee Syndrome” in the workplace and whether it’s even a thing. I think it is, but not just for bosses. I also would argue that it’s more prevalent among certain age-groups, social demographics, and professions, which complicates recognizing it.
What is Queen Bee Syndrome? Broadly, when women get ahead at the expense of their female colleagues who they perceive as rivals, particularly in male-dominated fields, hinging on the notion that There Can Be Only One (woman). It arises from systemic sexism.
Yes, someone can be a Queen Bee even with one (or two) women buddies, or while claiming to be a feminist, supporting feminist causes, or writing feminist literature. I’ve met a few. What comes out of our mouths doesn’t necessarily jive with how we behave. And ticking all the boxes isn’t necessary if you’re ticking most of them. That said, being ambitious, or just an unpleasant boss/colleague—if its equal opportunity—does not a Queen Bee make. There must be gender unequal behavior involved.
What does any of that have to do with M/M fiction?
The author sees the women characters in her novel as rivals for the male protagonists. It gets worse if the women characters have some “ownership” of the men: mothers, sisters, former girlfriends/wives/lovers. I know that may sound a bit batty. You’re thinking, Um, aren’t these characters gay or at least bi- and involved with another man, plus—they’re fictional? Doesn’t matter. Call it fantasizing, authorial displacement, or gender-flipped authorial insert. We authors (and I include myself in this) can get rather territorial about our characters. We live in their heads and they live in ours for months on end, or in many cases, years. They’re real to us. Those who aren't authors often don’t quite get that aspect of being an author. So yes, sometimes a woman author acts like a Queen Bee to her women characters. This is hardly all, or even most, but it is one cause of creeping misogyny in M/M Romance.
Let’s turn to a related problem: women who want to be honorary men. While I view this as much more pronounced in prior generations, it’s by no means disappeared. Again, it’s a function of systemic sexism, but further along the misogyny line than Queen Bees. Most Queen Bees I’ve known act/react defensively, and many are (imo) emotionally insecure. It’s largely subconscious. More, they want to be THE woman, not an honorary man.
By contrast, women who want to be honorary men seem to be at least semi-conscious of their misogyny, even if they resist calling it that. These are women who, for the most part, dislike other women, regard most of “womankind” as either a problem or worthless, and think of themselves as having risen above their gender.
And NO, this is not necessarily religious—sometimes its specifically a-religious.
“I want to be an honorary man” women absolutely should NOT be conflated with butch lesbians, gender non-conformists, or frustrated FTMs. That plays right into myths the queer community has combated for decades. There’s a big difference between expressing one’s yang or being a trans man, and a desire to escape one’s womanhood or the company of other women. “Honorary men” women aren’t necessarily queer. I want to underscore that because the concrete example I’m about to give does happen to be queer.
I’ve talked before about Mary Renault’s problematic portrayal of women in her Greek novels (albeit her earlier hospital romances don’t show it as much). Her own recorded comments make it clear that she and her partner Julie Mullard didn’t want to be associated with other lesbians, or with women much at all. She was also born in 1905, living at a time when non-conforming women struggled. If extremely active in anti-apartheid movements in South Africa, Renault and Mullard were far less enthused by the Gay Rights Movement. Renault even criticized it, although she wrote back kindly to her gay fans.
The women in Renault’s Greek novels tend to be either bitches or helpless, reflecting popular male perceptions of women: both in ancient Greece and Renault’s own day. If we might argue she’s just being realistic, that ignores the fact one can write powerful women in historical novels and still keep it attitudinally accurate. June Rachuy Brindel, born in 1919, author of Ariadne and Phaedra, didn’t have the same problem, nor did Martha Rofheart, born in 1917, with My Name is Sappho. Brindel’s Ariadne is much more sympathetic than Renault’s (in The King Must Die).
Renault typically elevates (and identifies with) the “rational” male versus the “irrational” female. This isn’t just presenting how the Greeks viewed women; it reflects who she makes the heroes and villains in her books. Overall, “good” women are the compliant ones, and the compliant women are tertiary characters.
Women in earlier eras who were exceptional had to fight multiple layers of systemic misogyny. Some did feel they had to become honorary men in order to be taken seriously. I’d submit Renault bought into that, and it (unfortunately) shows in her fiction, as much as I admire other aspects of her novels.
So I think those are the three chief reasons we see women negatively portrayed in M/M Romance (or fiction more generally), despite being written by women authors.
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*Yeah, yeah, sometimes it’s such 2D, shallow, stereotypical presentation that I, as a reader, can conclude this author isn’t going to get any better. Also, the publication date might give me a clue. If I’m reading something published 50 years ago, casual misogyny or racism is probably not a surprise. If I don’t feel like dealing with that, I close the book and put it away.
But I do try to give the author a chance. I may skim ahead to see if things change, or at least suggest some sort of character development. This is even more the case with a series. Some series take a loooong view, and characters alter across several novels. Our instant-gratification world has made us impatient. Although by the same token, if one has to deal with racism or sexism constantly in the real world, one may not want to have to watch it unfold in a novel—even if it’s “fixed” later. If that’s you, put the book down and walk away. But I’d just suggest not writing a scathing review of a novel (or series) you haven’t finished. 😉
#misogyny in m/m romance#how to avoid misogyny writing women characters#writing complicated women characters#asks#writing life#writing advice
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[ID: Excerpt from Zdarsky’s Daredevil run. Elektra and Daredevil are in prison, at the door of Matt’s cell, talking (Matt is in an orange prison jumpsuit and matching mask).]
Elektra: “You wanted to strike higher! No more beating up drug dealers! No more chasing liquor store robbers! This is what you’re looking for! This is the ceiling! There is nothing higher! How can you even--”
Matt: “It’s simple... I don’t trust you. You’re a murderer. You use people.”
[ID: Matt closes the door of his cell in her face and lies down on his bed.]
Matt: “You’re tired of the darkness? You want to work for the light? Prove it.”
Daredevil vol. 6 #25 by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, and Marcio Menyz
Like much of this run, I’ve had kind of a tough time grappling with my feelings on this issue, for various reasons that I won’t necessarily go into in this post. But I did want to talk about this moment, and my main takeaway from the Matt side of things.
One significant, recurring facet of Matt Murdock’s character is that he’s a colossal jerk. Not all the time, of course, but enough to be noteworthy. This is actually one of my favorite things about him. He can be petty, cruel, thoughtless, selfish, and there are several key runs in which you are prompted to root against him, or at the very least, to disagree with his behavior. I love that. I love how human it makes him, and I enjoy stories in which the protagonist isn’t always in the right. I’ve mentioned before that one of my main problems with Zdarsky’s run is that I dislike Matt, but it doesn’t feel like I’m supposed to. I haven’t been able to parse whether he’s intentionally being written as punchable, or if I just don’t like the writing. But regardless, Zdarsky did a great job of making me want to wrap my hands around Matt’s throat and squeeze the life out of him in this issue.
The context, if anyone hasn’t read it, is that Matt (as Daredevil, hence the mask) is in jail for accidentally causing someone’s death all the way back in the first issue of the run. He pled guilty and allowed himself to go to jail only because he felt comfortable knowing that Elektra would be protecting Hell’s Kitchen from this story’s Big Bads. Elektra then comes to him in this issue and asks for his help fighting the Hand, and this is his response: to tell her that he doesn’t trust her and that he thinks she’s a terrible person. I’m not going to claim this is new, because it isn’t. Matt also pulled this type of moralizing with her in Soule’s run, and it bothered me then too (note: that post was written before anyone knew that the whole arc was a dream sequence, but the point still stands). Maybe Matt is being intentionally petty here, because Elektra slept with him and then manipulated him and so he’s annoyed at her. Plus, one of the reasons Matt is so unlikeable in this current run is his repeated self-important moralizing at everyone around him, so this at least fits that pattern of behavior. And it’s extra galling here because it’s Elektra, and this is a genuinely cruel thing to say to her, particularly now, when she has just done him a huge favor.
I’ve had some issues with Zdarsky’s characterization of Elektra, but I think that just comes down to a difference in taste. It was clear from the beginning that he was basing her characterization on Frank Miller’s semi-canon Man Without Fear mini-series, and that became extra blatant in this issue, which literally starts with a flashback to a scene from that comic. And it happens that Elektra’s MWF characterization is... not my favorite. But I certainly can’t criticize Zdarsky for using it, other writers have too, and again, it just comes down to differences in interpretation. What matters here is that this version of Elektra suffers from some kind of inherent violent tendency that she has always struggled to control. And in general, over the years, one of the most common recurring Elektra plotlines has been her attempts to find peace and comfort and human connection in the cruel, brutal world in which she lives. When she returned from the dead the first time, she made a huge effort to put her life as an assassin behind her. Matt knows this. He was there. And many, many Elektra stories have focused on her empathy, on her own feelings of loss and trauma being pulled to the surface again and again, on the clash between the armor of pragmatic cynicism she has constructed in order to do her work and the ethical issues she faces as she performs that work. She is not cruel and she is not unfeeling, and Matt knows this because he knows her. She has helped him many times, she has had his back, she has saved his life, and at the end of the day, when you get right down to it, he loves her-- and this is the point where I give Zdarsky credit for making me want to strangle Matt because telling Elektra that he doesn’t trust her, and making her feel like she needs to prove herself to him yet again, is a nasty thing for him to do to her. And it’s very telling and painful that Elektra seems to take this criticism to heart, and it’s why her decision to act as Daredevil for him (as she says outright: in order to get him to believe in her) is bittersweet rather than just downright awesome. (To clarify: It is awesome. It’s just... an emotionally complicated awesome.)
Clearly, this was a pretty emotional read for me, and I’m grateful for it, because I’ve formed an emotional connection with so few issues in this run that it was wonderful to feel something, even if that something was just a burning desire to punch Matt in the face.
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Jaken = Rin's Dad?
Okay, is this how a daughter treats their so-called father?
Most definitely not.
Rin and Jaken's relationship clearly screams of your typical sibling rivalry punctuated with cute and silly moments of playful bickering.
Yes, Jaken may technically be her main provider, but that doesn't necessarily equate to him being more of a father than Sesshomaru. If anything, he demonstrates more of a brotherly love towards her. As we all know, parents (which Sesshomaru embodies more based on real life patterns and parallels) will leave their older more capable children in charge of looking after their younger brothers and sisters. In this case, that would mean making Jaken responsible for watching over Rin and protecting her if need be. Ah-Un offers protection, too. Think of it as Jaken as the big brother and Ah-Un as the family dog who are babysitting while Sesshomaru as the parent of the household is away at work or taking care of business. I mean, they literally fit that description to a tee and I'm dying at the accuracy of it all! 🤣👌
[Quick! Someone write up a modern au where Sesshomaru finally gets out to have a nice date night but everything goes wrong in the most spectacular way. Like maybe Rin and Jaken catch a ride on Ah-Un to go spy!]
I recently revisited some episodes from The Final Act, and I couldn't believe how many moments like this there were where Rin got after Jaken or when she would "put him in his place" so to speak. Obviously, all of it is mostly harmless. I was only surprised by how often it occurred, not to mention how Jaken would just stand there and take it. Towards a supposed father figure, Rin's behavior is downright unacceptable. There's a certain level of respect a child is expected to show their parents/guardians, and that's just not what I'm witnessing here between them. Like at all.
Rather their dynamic has the nature of some sibling relationships like I mentioned above. So I really wish fans would stop pretending otherwise, because based on what we know of father-daughter relationships- healthy ones at least- they don't appear anything like what Jaken and Rin have. If you could please provide me other examples of where we've seen similar portrayals in fiction or in real life, then perhaps I can get on board.
Look, that doesn't have to mean that because Jaken isn't her father then Sesshomaru must be. They can both be her caretakers without necessarily filling that traditional father role. I'm just saying that if we're going to start assigning titles to characters, let's make sure we are accurate and truthful in our assessments. If you're going to label anyone Rin's dad, then it needs to be Sesshomaru. Jaken doesn't have precedence over him in terms of fatherly attributes, that just wouldn't make sense.
After all, this isn't about what you want to see, this is about what Rin very likely sees. It's safe to assume that she views Sesshomaru more like a father than she does Jaken. She knows she's safe with him (broadly speaking lol) and that he'll come for her no matter what. That sense of security and comfort is what a child seeks and what they should always feel in a parent's presence. She trusts and even idolizes him, just as a young and innocent child tends to do with their parents. At that age, parents are perfect and could do no wrong in their child's eyes. Idk about you, but this describes perfectly how Rin is around Sesshomaru.
Rin adores him and will follow him anywhere- yes, even into danger! That's what the innocence and unconditional love of a child will bring them to do if necessary. Fortunately, at the end of The Final Act we learn Sesshomaru takes Kaede's advice when he realizes that leaving Rin with her in the village is in her best interests. That way she'd be able to lead a more normal and safer life alongside other humans. Remember, Sessrin shippers, that doesn't mean he wasn't still a part of her life and didn't witness her become a young woman over the years right before his very eyes. Therefore, if they eventually do become romantically involved, then most if not all of those gifts had intimate and seductive intentions and it essentially constitutes as child grooming.
I understand from a Sessrin shipper's point of view why it'd be so much easier to claim Jaken as the father. In doing so, they diminish Sesshomaru's role in her upbringing. By refusing to acknowledge the real role he had in helping raise Rin (short periods can be crucial and impressionable too esp. in a child's early years so yes they did assist in raising her not only Kaede), these shippers are better able to justify how their filial-like relationship evolved into a romantic one. So yeah, I get it, if I were a Sessrin shipper I'd probably do the same. It's one of the more plausible arguments available to them, after all. "Let's pin Jaken as the father to fend off antis!" is the best chance they've got, but even so, it's still not good enough. But if you insist Jaken is indeed like a father to Rin, then Sesshomaru is most certainly one too. Who says she can't have two fathers anyway?
The thing is however much you want to deny or downplay what Sesshomaru truly means to Rin and vice versa, nothing will ever change or hide the truth of the matter. Please, stop acting like they're only traveling companions and nothing more. Some of y'all even go so far as to say that they're like strangers. Knowing potentially little about a person is not equal to a lack of love and affection. Making big assumptions such as this to defend your ship is actually doing you more harm than good. Let me elaborate.
According to your reasoning, if that's all Rin ever was to him was a companion and Sesshomaru had no real attachment to her, then what precisely is the basis of your ship? Recall that Adult!Rin doesn't exist yet, thus we have no real idea what she will be like or if she's even alive. So how can you make comments like that but then go on later to say "they have such a unique and unbreakable bond" or "only Rin can be the mother because she's the only human he ever cared for" if all that time spent traveling together didn't amount to much in the first place like you claimed to believe beforehand? Do you see how your rationalizing is confusing?
Contrary to what some of you may think, I'm not just saying all this because I'm an anti and I'm obligated to disagree with you, or whatever other excuse you want to tell yourself. Believe it or not, I'm attempting to give as unbiased and objective of an analysis I can based on widely accepted interpretations of family dynamics, development, and any history we know of.
Of course I respect that at times fans will perceive things differently since that's bound to happen. What's hard for me to wrap my head around however is the unwillingness of some fans- not exclusively Sessrin shippers- to apply basic common sense and sound judgment to their observations and deductions.
Looking at all our facts, then taking the small handful of scenes Sesshomaru and Rin do share together into account, one can logically conclude that their dynamic is akin to one found in a typical parent-child relationship. If you still fail to recognize Sesshomaru as a parent to Rin, then that's fine too. In the end, that won't really change the fact that he'd still take on a role resembling an adult figure overseeing a young child's care and protection. Be it as a vassal, guardian, what have you. Plus, nobody is saying here that Sesshomaru doesn't make mistakes regarding Rin's general well-being, but so do all parents. Overall, I think the majority of us agree that Rin is in good hands. Whether it's in his direct company or in his occasional supervision from his frequent visits to the village.
In other words, it doesn't really matter what exact title you assign him in relation to Rin, as the distribution of power is all inherently the same with any and all adult-child relationships. That bond never changes once you've established it either, seeing as it's a special kind of connection one can only form with a child and a child alone.
I was a teacher for a few years, and speaking from personal experience, you don't need to be a parent, per se, to take on a role of authority in a child's life. I know without a doubt that I could never and will never view any of those kids I taught in a sexual/romantic light later down the road; yes, not even once they become grown-ups who are independent and more than capable of making their own decisions. Those of you who disagree are usually missing the whole point though, because we're not trying to dictate what Adult!Rin can and cannot do like many tend to accuse of us doing. This isn't a question of taking away from her autonomy nor does it fall under "purity culture," which is why people shouldn't continue jumping to these outrageous conclusions and really listen for a change. You're deflecting from the real issue here when you choose to misinterpret what we're saying by ignoring the problem we're actually referring to. You cannot present a valid counter-argument if you persist in twisting our words.
Bottom line: once these kids become old enough to pursue a sexual/romantic relationship, of course they have that right if they're ready. All we're trying to say is you guys ought to stop pushing forward this it's-completely-normal-to-want-to-bang-your-adoptive-dad-since-you're-an-adult-and-can-do-as-you-please agenda and not expect backlash. Ship it if you want, but please stop acting like their romance would be the epitome of a pure and healthy relationship.
Sesshomaru may not wear his heart on his sleeve, but it's foolish to presume he didn't actually care about Rin during their whole time together just because he didn't openly express his feelings until the very end. Surely everybody can comprehend that people handle and process their emotions differently. The way Sesshomaru chooses to is completely valid for the most part, so let's cut him some slack regarding this already.
What I'm trying to get at is that any child whose life you played an influential role in will always be a kid in a lot ways to you even when they're old and wrinkly. Just as they will always picture you as the loved one who guided and protected them when they were most vulnerable and couldn't always fend for themselves. Can't we relate this to children we know personally and apply it accordingly?
Finally, I want to end on this note. Could you kindly take a look at these two images below for a second?
The reason I ask is because of something I recently read that's relevant to the topic. There was this pro-sessrin tweet I saw that stated Rin trying to take care of Sesshomaru when they first met is what a mom would do for a child, which in their opinion, translates to Rin being more like a mother than a daughter if anything.
First off: are you freaking kidding me????
Seriously, so now children aren't allowed to tend to their sick or injured parents?! Parents are apparently superhuman and shouldn't be offered a helping hand from a child, even if they mean well and want to help their parent who's in pain?? Now this Twitter user was mostly being a smartass, but at the same time, it was evident they genuinely thought they offered a valid enough point that warranted no further explanation or clarification.
Secondly, by saying this Sessrin fans don't seem to realize that in actuality they're contradicting themselves and proving the point we've been trying to make all along. Glancing at the first picture and moving down to the second, the role of the one being cared for and the caretaker is reversed. So then by their own logic, Sesshomaru IS in fact like a father to Rin.
What it comes down to is the names you give to the roles these characters play aren't as crucial as the dynamic they share. The specific characteristics of that dynamic are what define the importance of said role, not so much the name in the role itself. So real father or not, Sesshomaru and Rin clearly mean a lot to each other. Close relationships are defined and solidified by the devotion and belonging they have to one another, not solely by the duration of time spent together and their proximity.
Well, that's a wrap! I hope you guys got something outta this blog, and that you enjoyed or found some portions of it interesting. I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject from this fandom, but only engage in conversation if you plan to be respectful. Thank you!
#inuyasha#hanyo no yashahime#sesshomaru#rin#jaken#anti sessrin#child grooming#family dynamics#parent child relationship
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saint. || soobin (3.0)🌪
ayo! welcome to saint 3.0 !
pairing: soobin x reader
genre: au
word count; 4k
it was a rough day for you. school work was heavy and it’s also have been a couple of days since you kissed yeonjun and to make matters worse, soobin wasn’t released yet. you tried your hardest to forget about the kiss and of course yeonjun’s heartless ass went back to treating you the way he was before. but nothing was the same in your mind at least. you didn’t mean to do it, it just happened at a time where you were desperate. you hadn’t noticed the impact soobin had on you until then. and you and yeonjun had already decided to keep it to yourselves so in your heart you promised you would never do it again.
you were tossing and turning in your sleep amongst loud patterns against your window. you positioned the pillow over your head hoping that the tree branch found somewhere else to brush against. but it didn’t. you needed this sleep more than anything, especially since you had your first exam in the morning. it was too annoying to sleep through so you got up and lifted your window, you saw someone standing outside your house gazing up at you. you rubbed your eyes in disbelief and looked back below you. and there was soobin, smiling up at you as if you were the best thing in the world. your heart raced and nothing stopped the jitters you were feeling. “come downstairs”. and like a child on christmas you bolted down the stairs in your robe and opened the front door. you hadn’t had time to stand there and look at him before you were picked up and your lips were curling around his.
he didn’t even have to say anything and neither did you. your legs wrap around his waist and he’s letting his tongue wander your mouth as if it was never there before. you take the moment to enjoy the way his soft lips melted on your own and you wanted to smack yourself for even kissing yeonjun. it was a stupid move to make especially when soobin’s lips were your glass slipper. there was no pair better than his. stumbling into the house as quiet as possible soobin is still holding you up with one hand while shutting the front door and locking it with the other. he places both hands on your ass while he sucks on your lips and carries you up the stairs. he closes your bedroom door behind him and lays you back on your bed. his body felt so warm hovering over yours. his hand caresses your cheek and he uses his other hand to caress your thigh. you missed his touch. you missed his scent. you missed him so much. finally getting the air you both were yearning for, your eyes glossed over his with need.
“i missed you, princess”. he whispers with his lips only centimeters from yours. you saw the love in his eyes but you wish you hadn’t. it only made you feel even more guilty for what you did.
“I missed you too. why were you throwing rocks at my window? it’s 3am. when did you get back?”.
“late this afternoon. i wanted to take a minute to get myself cleaned up and act natural with my parents for a little while. but I couldn’t help myself”.
you sigh, combing his hair back with your hand. “you know I have an exam in the morning”. he leans in and kiss you on your cheek.
“I know. and I know you’ll do well regardless. but I missed you too much. how was yeonjun?”.
“a jerk like always. but I don’t have to worry about him now that you’re here, thank god”.
“he’s an ass but I also think you’re a brat too”. soobin laughs. you playfully scoff. “you’re supposed to be on my side”. you reply.
“see look at you. bratty behavior”.
“I’m not a brat”.
“yes you are”.
“am not”.
“the fact that you’re making this an argument and pouting about it shows how much of a brat you are”.
“I’m not making it into an argument”.
“then just accept the fact”.
“make me”.
soobin furrowed an eyebrow with a grin waiting at the corner of his lips. he started to bite the insides of his cheek shortly after.
“sit on my face”.
you could almost choke, “what?”.
“you heard me”. soobin turned to lay on his back next to you, and you began to nervously babble about nonsense of how loud you didn’t want to be but soobin didn’t care. he grabbed your waist and placed you on his torso. he sat up on his elbows.
“take off your panties”. he interrupts. “soobin it’s late”.
“i don’t care. take them off”. he said again while helping you this time. he reaches his hand up your thigh high night gown and slides your panties down your leg tossing them to the far side of the bed.
“you don’t even have to do anything. just sit down. understood?”. he ordered in a serious tone. and you nodded with your nerves being wrecked with each movement. he let his hands rest on your thighs while you inched your way up to his face until you were finally hovering over it. soobin glances up and smirks, “your pussy looks prettier from this position”. he compliments. you tremble as he ropes his arms around your thighs making you clasp down on his mouth. his tongue his automatically roaming your folds and you felt you heart jump.
he teased you, letting his tongue slurp up and down your mid region barely letting it touch your clit. you stammered his name and he ignores you, doing whatever he wanted to do. it took no time for you to start collecting moisture. the more his tongue avoided your sensitive nub the wetter you became. his lips were so delicate and moist between your legs. your heart pounded and you began gasping hard. you gripped your headboard.
soobin loved hearing you whiny for him. he loved how his mouth made you feel. he could care less how late or early it was. he was willing to please you in every way possible. your soft whimpers were like candy to his ears. you got more needy. before you were nervous but now you were chasing the high that you really needed. your legs began to shake while he let his spit pile up before slurping it up in his path. “sssoobin!”. you whine. your eyes half lidded while you felt as if you were in some sort of euphoric trance. “i waant...”. you began. and that’s exactly what soobin was waiting for. he was waiting for you to beg.
“what do you want baby...?”. he lowly groans while slicking his tongue over your hole making you shudder. you tried to best to ignore the crucifix that was hanging on your wall. you apologized to jesus in advance for what you were about to say. “I wwwannt you to liickk...”.you moan while soobin is groaning and absorbing your wetness beneath you. you felt yourself go into a fit of light throbs.
“lick what?”. he questions again like he didn’t know. you let your hand rest on the base of his jaw. your mouth hung low while he was lapping his tongue over your now wet folds over and over. your breathing got heavier.
“godd soobin--”. you whined biting your lips like so. “cccan yyou lick myy clit pplease”. you stuttered and begged like some horny idiot. your clit was throbbing obnoxiously and you couldn’t take soobin ignoring it any longer. “hmm”. he hums. “pplease daddy”. you beg again. soobin smirks again while tongue kissing his way up to your throbbing and soaking clit writhing his tongue around it like you wished. you convulsed and felt butterflies wreck havoc in your abdomen. he groans while he was eating you, and you had to admit it was one of the hottest things he’s ever done.
“like this?”. he asks and your chest was heaving trying to capture some air. it felt like you were being suffocated with bliss, his wet tongue contorting against your clit. “yes! ohmygod”. you whine again. soobin unropes his arms around your thighs just to grip your ass. he pushes both cheeks up as far as possible to make sure he was licking and sucking every bit of you, and also to make your clit more accessible to his tongue. he relished the way it poked out as soon as he did so and it made him suck it even harder than before. you wanted to yell and scream and moan his name as loud as possible but it was impossible to do that while your parents were in the next room. the slurping sounds of soobin’s tongue was enough to make you cry. your heart beat was going at the same systematic pace as your throbs and it was driving you insane.
“ssoobin please!”. you whimpered clutching the headboard in absolute gratification. it was becoming way too overwhelming for you to handle. since his arms wasn’t trapping you, you decided to move further up in the air where his tongue couldn’t reach you to get away from the pleasure for a bit. “who told you to move?”. soobin growls and pulls you back down onto his mouth. his lips continued to dance at a rhythm that had you shaking. you didn’t know how much longer you could last.
“ssoobin i’m going to--”. you felt your muscles clench before your body spasmed. soobin’s tongue was twirling around your clit while you were releasing on his face. his tongue only prolonged it and there weren’t much to do since you grew limp. as some point soobin gained some mercy and laid you down on the bed, using his drenched lips to suck purpling hickies into your neck until you were finished. you made a complete mess of yourself and you were embarrassed. but soobin was proud of you.
“good job princess, you’re getting better and cumming harder”. and for some reason soobin babying you through this process uncaged a different amount of butterflies. it made you feel accomplished and safe at the same time. “it is supposed to be that powerful?”. you breathed. “if the stimulation is good yes”. soobin smiles while pushing a sweaty strand of hair to the back of your head. he kisses you on your lips and you snuggle your way into his chest.
“are you okay? do you want me to buy you food?”. soobin offers. “no it’s okay. plus I have food here”. “alright. you should sleep so you can be ready for tomorrow”. you laid your chin on his chest gazing at him. “are you going to go?”. “I was going to after you fell asleep”.
you snuggled him closer to you. “don’t go” you sort of whined. soobin thought it was adorable. “your parents will kill us both if they find us here in the morning”. “they leave before me. and they don’t come in my room anyways”.
“you sure?”.
“yes”.
“well alright. I bought extra clothes in my car just in case. wait a minute though”.
soobin sits up and drags his shirt off his body. it was way too wet now to be wearing to sleep in. as soon he pulled his shirt off his head your eyes boggled. you hadn’t ever noticed or saw soobin’s chiseled frame, his wide shoulders and spacious back. especially up this close anyways. he wore a thin gold chain that swept over his neck whenever he moved and you had to say it complimented his body well. he laid back down like nothing happened. you were just admiring him. he truly was perfect. “geesh soobin”. he laughs of course.
“all yours”. he winks. you lay your head into his chest again. “I’m glad”. it took nothing for the both of you to fall asleep after that. luckily at least one of you woke up on time or the both of you were going to be terribly late. that person was you. you happily woke up a little earlier to take a shower actually. you now fully understood why people were so happy after having a good orgasm.
with a towel wrapped around your body you walked back into your room forgetting soobin was even in there. he was sound asleep on his back just as cute as he wanted to be. his pink heart shaped lips were in the cutest pucker and his hair was dangling over his eyes adorably. you followed after your urge and kissed him on his lips. “wake up soobin”. you cooed softly. you kissed him a few more times and combed through his hair before his eyes fluttered open sleepily. he smiles at you initially with his dimples sinking into his cheeks. he looked like a baby.
“we have to get dressed for school”. “5 more minutes”. soobin replies, throwing the blankets over his head. you pulled them back down playfully. “no get up soobin”. you laugh. “please?”.
“soobin we’re going to be late”.
“no we’re not. you’re just an early bird”.
“the early bird gets the worm right?”.
soobin eyes you, letting his eyes wander down your frame. he hadn’t noticed you were wrapped in a towel, basically naked. he smirks, clutching the bottom hem of the towel.
“what’s this? are you trying to tease me?”.
you snatch yourself away from his hand.
“no. I forgot you were even here”. soobin scoffs.
“yeah right”.
“I did”.
you sincerely did but the idea of teasing soobin made your mind spin. it sounded fun, and you decided to make that your new playground. you walk away from him and he watches you. you smirk to yourself while purposely bending over to pick up something off of your floor. “don’t know why that was there” you say, disposing it into your trash bin.
soobin has his hands behind his head now, licking his lips. he looked sexy but you weren’t going to say that. instead you pretended to look for a shoe under your bed, letting your back arch as deep as possible.
“now you’re teasing me”.
“I’m trying to find a shoe”.
“while naked?”.
“i mean, I am in my room aren’t i?”.you snarkily comment. after looking for no such shoe you get up, not even being able to concentrate prior to being pulled onto soobin’s lap. the pressure of the bulge in his pants felt good against your core. but it was way too early for this.
“soobin what are you doing?”. you ask nervously, feeling his large hands slide down your love handles. soobin grins, “you’re so lucky we have school. I’d tear you up right now”. he slides his fingers down to your clit teasing it softly before coming to an abrupt stop. you moaned a bit.
“just for teasing me though, I don’t think you deserve to be touched. we should go”.
and those were his last words before he smirked to fetch his clothes. you wanted to kill him.
but then again you couldn’t, because he brought you breakfast before your first exam. he kissed you on your lips before you entered your classroom, confident that you’d pass. soobin turns around to see yeonjun staring at him with a disgusted look.
“ew. and when did you even get back dumb ass?”.
“shut up. I got back yesterday afternoon. they had no evidence on me”.
“so you weren’t going to call and tell anyone?”.
“what for? you know now. I’m at school right?”.
“whatever. you need to study if you want to pass these damn exams”.
“I hope i can, shit. I’ve been out for a minute”.
“yeah I heard theres a ski trip for the people who pass”.
“ski trip?”.
“yeah some shit like that”.
“damn my parents must’ve doubled up on the tuition here”.
“for real. how it feels being a free man though?”.
“you’re acting like i was a wanted criminal”.
“you were wanted. and found by the police”.
“whatever. I just missed my baby”.
yeonjun made another gagging sound. “you guys are fucking disgusting. what did your parents say when you got back?”. soobin shrugs. “they just asked me how the event was. I think they were glad I was finally doing normal school boy shit for a change”.
“well at least you know what to do to make them happy”.
“I don’t care about making them happy anymore. they’ve never tried to make me happy. you’d think if you had only one other person to pay attention to it would be a little easier.”.
“is that why you love that damn girl so much? because she gives your dumb ass attention?”.
“if i were to fall in love with attention I’d be in love with the whole damn school right now. she pays me a special kind of attention”.
“I’m going to puke on you”, soobin shoves him and laughs.
“shut the fuck up yeonjun”.
✯¸.•´*¨`*•✿ ✿•*`¨*`•.¸✯
“I just hope math isn’t any harder”. you explain,
“today’s exam wasn’t even hard. I doubt they’d make math impossible”. taehyun replies with his lab coat, goggles, and gloves in full effect, squirting a liquid chemical into the test tube. you always thought chemistry was boring but you were happy Sister Christine finally assigned you a lab partner who actually cared about getting the project done. “it’s fizzing”. he announces, “yeah thank you I can totally see that”. you utter in pure sarcasm. taehyun laughs and apologizes lowering it the your level so you can write down your observations.
“I just hope I don’t fail”.
“you won’t. just don’t think about it”.
“then how will i remember?”.
“how do you forget what you’ve learned that fast?”.
“everyone can’t be smart and skip grades like you taehyun. you’re like one of the youngest seniors here”.
“i’m seventeen”.
“exactly”.
“most of you are only a couple of years older than me. plus you all fail because you don’t apply yourselves. the boys are focused on wanting to be the next Choi Soobin and the girls are focused on actually being with Choi Soobin”.
you laugh, “that’s not true”.
taehyun grabs another test tube and plastic dropper. “I take it that you are one of them--god i thought you were different”. he sarcastically jokes.
“I take it that you’re one of the few guys who wants to be Choi Soobin”.
taehyun squirts the chemical inside, getting the dropper ready for the next chemical to mix. “why would I? he’s a menace”.
“he’s changed a lot you know”.
taehyun scoffs, “yeah--either you’re dating soobin or you’re his biggest stalker because what the fuck”.
you laugh, “what? why?”.
“because come on who even knows that you creep”. he accuses before squirting the chemical inside of the tube only for it to react way too quickly and it’s contents to fizz up to the top, exploding. taehyun panicked and held it over the sink while you were hysterically laughing at the mess and his surprise. you knew it would mean a bigger mess for you both to clean but you thought taehyun’s face was worth it.
“was that supposed to happen?”.
“those are the chemicals she told us to mix on the paper”. taehyun laughs along with you.
“the moment i’ve been waiting for. finally, students who got this far into the experiment”. sister christine smiles, she was obviously pleased. “you could’ve gave us a warning you know, that would be nice”. taehyun mentions while wiping the outsides of the tube until it was clean. you took a bunch of paper towels and began wiping the table down until it was completely dry.
“this only makes your lab report that much easier to write”. she exclaims before going to help another student. taehyun sits the test tube in the rack and tries his best to wipe his goggles clean. the both of you were glad that was your last experiment for the day. but you both couldn’t help but to laugh.
you adjusted your backpack strap on your shoulder. “yeah but if you need help with math i got you. it’s nothing to be honest”. taehyun explains while you both exit the classroom. “that would be so helpful actually. I don’t want to fail”. taehyun slips his phone out of his pocket. “what’s your number?”. he asks and you give him your digits while he diligently types it in his phone. “I’m going to call you later, we can go over some practice problems together”.
“that would be such a great help. thank you taehyun seriously”.
“no problem. I’ll catch you later”. taehyun turns to leave and so do you. the only difference is taehyun actually made it down the hallway. you were greeted by soobin’s chest.
“geesh soobin. you don’t announce yourself?”.
“who is that?”. he questions, completely regarding your initial question. his face looked cold and mean-- you thought it was kind of hot. he was always adorable when he smiled and his dimples showed but him deadpanning you like this was a different story.
“can you stop being possessive for one moment? please?”.
“who is that?”.
“it’s taehyun. he’s going to help me study for math”.
“why did you give him your number?”.
“so he can reach me. how else are we going to study? through telepathy?”.
“you don’t need taehyun. I’ll buy you a tutor”.
“soobin please stop being ridiculous. Whose to say the tutor isn’t some other random guy?”.
“it won’t be. I’ll make sure it’s a woman”.
“What if I like women?”.
Soobin deadpans you again with the most serious look. his hotness was undeniable at this point.
“don’t play with me”.
“What if I want to play with you?” You cheekily snarl, walking to your next class. This game was sort of fun up until you were in the car with him. you’d glance over and he’s tousle his hair over a couple of times but his face couldn’t be read. you’d ask him if he was angry and he’d simply say “no” and to spice things up a bit he’d reply with, “what do I have to be angry for?”. but you didn’t know what to think.
you arrived at his house and he was ushering you in like you’d never been there before. his parents were in a separate part of the house in another dining room having a meeting with some guy. you were kind of relieved they didn’t see the both of you enter. you didn’t know if you were ready to meet them yet. halfway up the stairs though you could hear his mother call out, “soobin is that you?” to which he replied, “yes”. and they left it at that. you figured she was making sure that was soobin she heard walking in and not some stranger.
his hand was on the small of your back as he guided you down the hall to his room. he closed the door behind him with the back of your shirt in his grip. you wanted to ask him if he was angry with you again, but in one swift movement you were being pushed down on your stomach atop of his bed.
“whose taehyun?”. he asks again with his veiny arms on both sides of your body. you felt his warmth hover over you while he attaches his lips to the back of your neck nipping at your skin lightly with his teeth before sucking it. he didn’t want to be mad at you but when you were playing you were making it seem as though you and taehyun had something more than just studying habits. you grew nervous.
“he’s helping me with math I told you that”.
“mmm” soobin scowls while reaching his hand up your thighs and making you sit in an arch with his thumbs. he glides your panties down your legs slowly and you could feel the outline of his thick cock pressed against the back of your vaginal lips. from the feeling alone you knew you wouldn’t be able to take his length. you gasp and your heart pounds expeditiously fast.
“don’t lie to me”. he growls and you tremble at how dark his voice had gotten. you heard the sound of his belt unbuckling and you grew cold feet. “I’m not lying soobin--he’s just a friend-- I’m sorry”.
“you’re what?”.
“I’m sorry!--please i don’t think I can take it”.
you apologized again hoping he wouldn’t ruin you. he lets your hips go, letting your body lay flat on the bed. he chuckles at your fear. you hadn’t known you were shaking.
“playing with me isn’t a good idea”.
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