something that’s always worth remembering is that Suvi’s parents died for the empire - ostensibly (according to Steel) to save the world, sure, but as representatives of the Empire. It wouldn’t shock me if, on some level, Suvi felt that her parents had died to save the empire, the world and then her, in that order.
And yes, because of How Stories Work (and because things called Empires tend not to be known for their benignity), we know that there’s FOR SURE more to that story that Steel has let on. But the version of the story that formed Suvi-the-adult, the version that set her core values in stone (no pun intended) was that her parents sacrificed themselves for some Empire-driven cause that ultimately saved the world.
So the empire has to be not only a force for good in the world, but THE force for good in the world, right? A force worth orphaning your child for.
And I can’t decide what will ultimately be more catastrophic - to find out that Suvi’s parents actually died fighting against the Empire for some reason, that maybe even Steel herself killed them; OR that Suvi’s parents did die in service to the Empire, willingly sacrificed themselves for what they thought was a greater good, and for Suvi to discover that her parents were mistaken, and the empire is not a force worth dying for at all.
The end result in either case is gonna be the violent deconstruction of Suvi’s entire self-image, which is going to be devistating (AABRIA I AM READY, FUCK ME UP). But for the first arc or two of the campaign that means that of course Suvi can’t tolerate criticism of the empire. She can’t entertain the possibility that the citadel, say, might not be the place to send Ghost. She can’t tolerate any interrogation of the empire’s heirarchies and value systems - because they are her own value systems. They are completely integrel to who she is because those are the values that have made her parents deaths meaingful. If those values aren’t worth living up to, then her parents died for nothing.
(Don’t get me started on how Suvi’s defensiveness also kind of suggests the seeds of doubt - she wouldn’t need to snap at Ame and force an arguement that Ame wasn’t even trying to start, if she was actually fully confident of her position. Suvi is so, so smart - I have to imagine that deep down she has doubts and questions that she is terrified to get answers to).
Which is to say - Suvi is a perfect angel who has never done anything wrong in her life ever and also I cannot wait for whatever Empire Fuckery rug-pull is coming.
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how long do you think it takes Kate and Valeria to day ‘I love you’ to their s/o’s? love ur stuff fyi!!! 💚
Hello! Thank you for liking my stuff, I hope this is enjoyable to you as well! I think it would take the both of them quite a while to say it!
When do Valeria and Laswell Finally Say “I Love You”?
Valeria: It would take her a while to say it. I mean, once she’s with you, she’s already smitten, but she says “I love you” in different ways that aren’t just saying those three words. Valeria courts you with lots of gifts, that much is true, but the closest thing you’ll ever hear from her that resembles a “You have my heart, I love you more than the sun loves the moon, than the ocean loves the land” would be her spending a day with you where she isn’t spending copious amounts of money on you. But that’s not what you asked. Valeria will tell you that she loves you when you’re feeling insecure since she never says it, but on her own accord? It would likely be a year or longer into your relationship, on one of those nights where the two of you are lying in bed together, just talking about your lives, what you’ve been through and how it’s shaped you as people. Just venting your worries, voicing your appreciation for each other and how you’ve helped one another. It’s during such a night, when you’ve gone quiet for a moment, that Valeria would hold you close and tell you, in a voice softer than what you’re used to normally from her, that she loves you.
Laswell: Like Valeria, she shows her love for you through different means. While she may be a gift giver as well, she also shows you how much she loves you by doing anything you may or may not ask of her. From chores, to walking your pet, to cooking you some stew when you’re sick. Laswell doesn’t say that she loves you from the get go either, it would take her several months to a year for her to say it. But when she does, it doesn’t seem like a special moment to anyone else. You’re probably hanging up your freshly washed clothes while she’s sitting at the table, a cup of coffee in hand. Laswell would get up, give you a kiss on your cheek, and tell you that she loves you so very dearly. She was overcome with adoration for you during that moment and needed to show you that she loves you. It’s afterwards that you get a lot more I love yous from her. Not on the daily still, but they would be more common. She will always, and I mean always, accompany her I love yous with some form of affectionate gesture, regardless of whether it be a kiss to your temple, a hug from behind, or a small lovely rose she found in a flower shop. You will always be taken care of and loved.
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you know that moment where Calliope Burns promised to Juliette Fairmont "I would never hunt you" and Juliette promised "I would never hurt you" and then when Cal was talking about her family's plans on killing legacies vampires Jules put Cal's hand over her heart and so softly asked "Is my heart safe with you?" and Cal's answer was straight up "Forever" and then at the end of the season when Jules saw that her sister had hurt Cal by killing Theo she didn't even flinch on turning against her and when thought she had a chance of making Theo suffer less while dying she went for it because she would do anything to ease Cal's pain and knowing her brother agonized would hurt het so she did it but when that backfired and she turned him Cal immediately assumed she did it willing to hurt her and her family and not only physically broke her promise of caring for Juliette's heart by pointing an silver spear straight to her heart but by promising to find a way for killing Jules and everyone like her just after Juliette begged her not to give up on them and saying she loved her, so even though there's several betrayals thourout the episode, like Talia taking Theo, Juliette betraying Elinor, Margot and Sebastian betraying Elinor, the title of the episode "First Betrayal" is about how Calliope Antigone Burns was so hurt and scared she ended up betraying and breaking every promise she made to Juliette Anastasia Fairmont meanwhile Juliette went above and beyond to try to keep hers because she loved Cal that much, all that with a voice over of both girls quoting Romeo and Juliet "These violent delights have violent ends, therefore love moderately." and saying that had they not fell for each other they may have had control over how hard they fell.
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i’ve been comparing the usa now to germany circa the late 1930s and it is not a favorable comparison.
let’s see what we’ve got:
increasing antisemitism
increasing transphobia
increasing ableism
continued oppression of indigenous peoples
laws being introduced to ban gender-affirming care and remove children from their homes if they are allowed to live as they wish
books being banned for having honest and age-appropriate portrayals of race/racism and queerness/homophobia
pushing maid (medical assistance in dying) on people with disabilities and even people who are just poor (this is more in canada but i’m including it here anyway)
a right wing that is seen as ridiculous and absurd, yet is somehow still managing to hold onto power while liberals/leftists laugh it off as if they’ll run out of steam
it’s important to note that in the 1930s, when hitler came to power, the international community thought he was a joke. his overblown rhetoric was silly, his history was laughable, and nobody took him seriously. they thought it would all blow over. also, he wasn’t saying anything that a lot of people didn’t secretly agree with. antisemitism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and racism were widespread throughout europe and the usa, and a lot of people had less of a problem with what he was saying and more with how he was saying it. (think kanye west’s antisemitic comments, which joe rogan did attempt to stop him from making so blatantly, but didn’t actually disagree with.)
the first medical and educational facility for gender affirming care was in berlin. did you know that? the institut für sexualwissenschaft (known variably in english as institute of sex research, institute of/for sexology, or institute for the science of sexuality) was founded in 1919 and headed by magnus hirschfeld, who was both gay and jewish. he helped build a library in the institute that was dedicated to the topics of gender, eroticism, and same-sex love. the research undertaken there regarded sexual health of all people, gay, transgender, and intersex, as well as counseling and treatment for alcoholism, gynecological issues, venereal diseases, contraceptives, and more. sexual reassignment surgeries were performed successfully there. the goal was to help those who were suffering because they could not live as who they truly were and to educate the common people, because people fear what they see as different, what they cannot understand.
you won’t find the books in that library today. they were burned as part of the nazis’ campaign of terror and censorship. in 1933, 6 years before world war 2 officially broke out, the institut was broken into and looted by the deutsche studentenschaft (aka the german student union). young adults who had spent their formative years surrounded by hateful rhetoric were accompanied by a brass band as they destroyed this oasis of understanding and knowledge. hirschfeld himself had fled germany years before, as he had been targeted numerous times by nationalists/far right “activists”.
berlin once had a thriving queer community. germany was a home to many jews, my own great-grandparents included. my great-grandmother’s younger brother had a learning disability. their home turned on them out of fear and ignorance, the people told by their leaders that other human beings were not really human, but degenerate filth. my great-grandparents escaped with their lives. many– my great-grandma’s brother included– did not.
the concentration camps that imprisoned and killed so many jewish, queer, and/or disabled people (as well as romani and political prisoners, and japanese-americans IN THE USA) are not consigned to the past. our prison system disenfranchises those who are placed in it and uses them for unpaid labor. refugees are caged for daring to hope that our country– the so-called “land of the free”– would take them in when their homes turned on them. indigenous people are ridiculed and attacked for wanting to help our planet heal and for asking to conserve the land that was stolen from their ancestors. almost a hundred years since the holocaust, and we still haven’t learned.
don’t look away from this. it’s not going to blow over. those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and we are already experiencing a resurgence of fascist beliefs and rhetoric.
write to your representatives. VOTE. protest if and when you can. show them that we are HERE and we refuse to be written out of the history books, banned or burned away. we are human beings. we live and love and deserve to do so with dignity.
and if appealing to your humanity isn’t enough, remember this poetic version of a quote by german lutheran pastor martin niemöller, an early nazi collaborator and antisemite who later changed his views and opposed hitler’s oppressive regime:
“first they came for the socialists, and i did not speak out–
because i was not a socialist.
then they came for the trade unionists, and i did not speak out–
because i was not a trade unionist.
then they came for the jews, and i did not speak out–
because i was not a jew.
then they came for me– and there was no one left to speak for me.”
there is always another enemy in fascism. anyone who is different will eventually be a target. white supremacy is poison, and fitting the mold of a “perfect citizen” cannot keep you safe. queer infighting and pushing down people who you find “too weird” will not stop the people who hate all of us. to the far right, we are all wrong to our very cores. solidarity in the face of oppression is the only way to survive, live, and thrive.
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putting aside the filler arcs in the anime between alabasta and sky island, robin has only been with the straw hats for 2 or 3 days by the time they reach skypeia
the first day we see her slide right into the crew, knowing each member's personality well enough to not raise a big fuss over her being there while also proving how useful she is, something i'm sure she had to do over and over, pleasing and proving that she can be kept around so she can continue on surviving for her dream
after alabasta she was ready to die, tired of this life style, but luffy decided to go against her verbal wishes and save her anyway, and in return she decided to make herself his problem by thrusting herself into his crew ....only to find out that she actually likes being with them
the straw hats aren't like most pirates, they don't plot or seek out destruction, they just want to explore the new islands and seek adventure on the seas
robin tried to bring the straw hats into her own pace by slipping into the crew, but in the end she was the one who fell into their pace and in love with the crew, giving her a peace of mind she hasn't had in a long time and the freedom to be completely and freely, herself without having to prove her existence or usefulness
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I was just thinking about how Erik's death, although very tragic, was important for many plot-related reasons. Not only to Wilhelm's character and Wilhelm and Simon's dynamic, but also because Erik was the Crown Prince everyone wanted.
If Erik would have been alive and became the King, I highly doubt that it would have brought any sort of conflict to the table. He was described as a "perfect" royal by almost everyone (despite S2 giving us insight about him struggling as well). The traditions would have went on as usual, the lies and secrets and toxic high-society solidarity finding a safe abode under Kristina and then Erik's succession. Even if Wille and Simon would have been together, it wouldn't have been much of a deal, Wilhelm was a spare after all, right? Erik was carved straight out of the image the Royal Court wanted him to be, but in reality it would just have been private therapy sessions and secret realizations about your surroundings but too "duty-bound" to act on them.
But Wilhelm is the Crown Prince everyone needs. Even if they don't realize it. Everyone in that damn school and even the Royals need a severe reality check. I agree, everyone is entitled to their worldview and it's not wrong to harbour a certain belief, but they need to realize how stifling they are. They made Wilhelm deny the video even though saying nothing about it was the right option! And then proceeded to offer the throne to the same person who filmed and uploaded that video. How infuriating is that? You are offering power to a person who can commit literal crimes as soon as its intoxication seizes his brain? Just because the current Crown Prince is non-conforming to your toxic systems and would potentially not bear future heirs? DO YOU GUYS EVEN HAVE MORALS?
I actually hope Wilhelm and Simon's relationship rock the foundations of Hillerska and the Royalty's beliefs. I hope Wilhelm's speech make them introspect what is right and what is not. Everyone needs some sort of discomfort in their worldview to grow, and I really hope Wilhelm and Simon's unabashed love makes everyone's centuries-old solidarity with stoic traditions twist and turn in its grave. I hope Wilhelm's growth as a person becomes so tangible that people like Nils and Stella are never afraid to be loudly themselves if they want to.
RIP Erik, you would have been an absolutely charming King. But trust me, your brother is here to start a revolution.
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