#I'm normal. so are they. inarguably so | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

verdantmeadows · 7 months

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I've been meaning to post this for a bit, but, in the (live action) TV shows I often see in the background that my mom watches (shows like hospital shows, drama shows), the amount of interracial couples, even if the characters are very racially/ethnically diverse, is incredibly small. Not only that, but black characters usually end up with black characters, latine ones with latine ones, white ones with white ones, Asian ones with Asian ones....and honestly not much consideration for people who might not fit into those categories, but, if they are in the show, almost always with each other. If there is an interracial couple, it is usually of people with similar skin tones. Seeing a dark-skinned character with a light-skinned character is very rare. And this makes me so, so sad. Normalization of interracial couples has so far to go. As a kid, I truly thought it wasn't something most people cared about. But as I've grown older, I've learned that most families do care, whether on a small or large level, if their child is in an interracial relationship. Much of many societies do. Within any group or community of any race/ethnicity, it is almost always generally frowned upon or completely acceptable to make jokes about those or directly to those in interracial relationships.

In my experience with ("Western") cartoons, interracial couples are far more common, although still not as common as I think they should or could be. But I am very happy about every year they get more prominent. I do not usually watch live action TV shows, so I don't have as much experience with them, but I think it's often common for cartoons to be more recognizably diverse in their characters, ranging from things like sexuality, gender identity, disability, race/ethnicity, and more (although this still is far from where it should and could be).

That's just a really long amount of text to preface a relationship that means a lot to me that has come about recently, and is canon. In Fionna and Cake, we see a gay M/M couple, which is incredibly rare in cartoons (and if it does occur, usually only happens between gay dads, for meaningless background characters, or is immediately sidelined—I can only think of one gay M/M couple in "Western" cartoons that isn't the first two and is then immediately sidelined). Gay men (as in all MLM) are incredibly underrepresented in cartoons (and in general). All forms of queer people are, but gay men are noticeably represented less in comparison to other queer people, especially in cartoons.

Not only are they a gay M/M couple, they are also an interracial couple and one with a very visible difference with their skin tones. Marshall Lee is inarguably a black person, and Gary is presumably a white person. And their relationship is so, so cute and healing. They are truly loving towards each other. They are supportive. They are incredibly relevant to the plot, not sidelined, and are given their time to shine. We get to see a visible, gay male, interracial couple. One of them is even likely bisexual, and the other commonly and easily relatable to autistic people. They are an on-screen couple. They are relevant. This is the first time the part of me that's MLM has actually felt and been represented in a cartoon that didn't make me feel belittled or frustrated. I'm so, so happy from this.

I have seen very few people talk about how genuinely revolutionary this relationship is for the representation of queer men and queer men of color as well as for interracial and interracial queer relationships. In fact, I've seen many QUEER people be frustrated or upset by it, feeling as if it takes away from other queer people and queer relationships in the particular show/series, which is disheartening.

However, rather than focus on the negatives (although I think it's important to examine why those might come about), I want to focus on the positives. This is genuinely such an amazing push in representation on so many levels that we have. And I am so, so happy about it. I can't even express it in words. I hope that there are other people out there who realize just how big of a deal their relationship was. I am genuinely astounded by it. I don't have much more to say, so I'll just end this post with an image of them.

#book of kells #fionna and cake #gumlee #garylee #marshall lee abadeer #marshall lee #gary prince #lgbt #lgbtqia #lgbtq community #interracial love #lgbtq #queer representation #poc representation #<- dont like the phrasing of that but that's what the popular tag is :/#gay men #gay representation #mlm representation #mlm

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cpericardium · 1 year

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Taylor's locker didn't give her toxic shock and claiming it did is ignorant and misogynistic

When I was growing up, my mother didn't let me or my sister use tampons, citing the risk of toxic shock syndrome. We didn't have them in the house. Literally I thought I'd die the moment that thing entered my glovebox. I also went to an all-girls convent school for much of my life and never met anyone who used or advertised the use of anything other than pads.

My sister has since moved on to using cups, but even now I don't think I can ever use a product that you insert. Lingering Catholic guilt, you understand. But I looked into toxic shock syndrome anyway to counteract the terrible sex ed I was getting from both my school and my mother (father's a doctor, so for all his conservativeness he's more inclined to give me unvarnished medical information). Because it's my body, and being AFAB I'm practically required by law to be afraid all the time. May as well find out which fears should be prioritised.

Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) can develop when staph bacteria, and in some cases strep bacteria, enter the bloodstream via open wounds like cuts and abrasions. These bacteria are normally harmless and live all over your skin, but under certain conditions they can multiply rapidly and release toxins. Adolescents are more susceptible, mostly because they haven't developed the antibodies to fight the infection.

“The first is vaginal colonization with a strain of S. aureus, which can make the toxin; the second is production by the S. aureus of the toxin; the third is penetration across the vaginal epithelium of enough toxin to cause disease; and the fourth is a lack of adequate titers of the neutralizing antibody to the toxin,” says Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton, executive director of The North American Menopause Society.

The incidence of TSS is estimated to be around 0.8 to 3.4 per 100,000 in the United States. Cases have declined massively since peaking in the 1980s. The point is: TSS is an incredibly rare complication of a complication that requires specific conditions to develop under.

So why is it on the worm subreddits and discord servers and forums, there are always people insisting that the locker incident was an act of bioterrorism, that her bullies need to be shipped off to Guantanamo for what they did? Why are there so many wormfics where Taylor physically rots in the locker as a result of TSS compounded by aggressive necrotising fasciitis, and this necessitates Amy staying with her for days to tend to her failing organs? Why are people doing nonsensical Tampon Math to justify her being on the verge of death when she's found? See thread for more inane arguing.

Yes, the locker was biohazardous and it was inarguably a cruel prank, a disgusting experience all around. But absent other circumstances (like the bullies deliberately planting a virus or Taylor uhhh getting impaled on a coat hook? both of which I've seen in more than one fic), Taylor in all likelihood didn't get TSS from it. Sure, authors can do what they want, but out of all the possible deadly infections, why oh why do they always specifically choose TSS?

Is it because of the tampons?

The reason it happens with tampons is that the bacteria can become trapped in the vagina and enter the uterus via the cervix. Most cases result from the use of highly absorbent tampons, as dry tampons can abrade the skin when removed and thus provide more entry points for bacteria. The National Organization for Rare Disorders estimates that TSS related to tampon use occurs in about 1 in 100,000 menstruating women. It usually happens if the tampon is inside them and they left it in there for days. The risk of toxic shock via tampon rises significantly after eight hours.

The tampons were not inside Taylor. She was also only trapped in the locker for about an hour and a half. Afterwards, she spent a week in the psych ward, and as far as we know had no significant physical injuries. But, detractors say, all her struggling might have broken skin, and the bacteria on the tampons could have fermented over winter break!!! Have you ever fished out a used tampon that's been in a bin for a while (i.e. weeks)? Just saying, Taylor is more likely to get an infection from all the used hypodermic needles that are undoubtedly a large component of Winslow bathroom trash.

To quote Kyakan whom I had to pester for the canon info about Taylor's stay,

"There are a lot of things that can go bad with the human body when exposed to X Y or Z conditions, but we survived long enough to evolve. It's not like touching blood will instantly disintegrate us. Human bodies are resilient even without modern medicine."

Here’s my theory. People don’t understand what TSS is, its risk factors or its rarity. They have a vague idea that it’s the icky female period disease even though only about half of all TSS cases are menstruation-related, so obviously Taylor contracted it from touching icky female period blood.

I won't say it couldn't happen to Taylor, ever, in (fan)fictional stories written by men. Just that it's not as likely as you think.

A final note—if you, the author, are fixating on gruesome medical details and describing the contents of the locker in terms of microbiology, you are completely and tragically missing the core of Taylor Hebert's trigger event. .......but that's just a theory! a worm theory

#wormblr #wormwebserial #wildbow #taylor hebert #parahumans #long post #personal stuff #menstruation #geez it's like none of you have ever been shut in a tampon locker before #the truth is taylor did get toxic shock but it was unrelated to the prank #she just didn't change the tampon she was wearing for 10 hours

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hazelnut-u-out · 1 year

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I think an interesting facet of the storytelling of Rick and Morty is the way that you’re intended to view Rick as a main character. It’s inarguable that both Rick and Morty are the main characters of this show (although, season 6 left Morty feeling a bit neglected, in my opinion). That being said, there are some things that I’ve found interesting regarding the way that Rick is intended to be perceived.

Generally, when you’re consuming a piece of fiction, there is a compulsion to like the main character. At the very least, you’re used to empathizing with them on most things. Now, I’m obviously not trying to say that main characters can’t be bad people. That wouldn’t exactly be a generalizable statement. In fact, I think that it is a marvelous tool in fiction to follow a protagonist who is very obviously doing the wrong thing. Main characters are allowed to be villains.

I guess what I’m getting at here is that I’m used to liking main characters as people (not just their presence on the page or screen, dialogue, or personality) even when they’re consumed by a villain arc. I really loved the tonal shift that took place in the last episode of season 6 of Rick and Morty, because they really challenged me on that. They flipped the script, in a way.

(Disclaimer: I love Rick. I'm just angry with him at the moment.)

I think the only other piece of media I’ve consumed in the genre that I’ve felt executed this same earth-shattering disappointment of being denied a main character you like was Bojack Horseman. Bojack is the main character. He’s funny, charismatic, empathetic, tormented. As the viewer, you want to like him. You’re waiting for a reason to be able to love him, but… it’s never enough. It never comes. No matter how many grand gestures he attempts or how well the groundwork is laid out for a redeemable character, as he says, “You have to be dependably good.”

That fundamental dissonance is something that I can’t help likening to Rick.

All the pieces are there, but he can't quite put them together.

I’ve even found myself waiting for the moment Morty gets to deliver a confrontational monologue to Rick with the same emotional significance of Todd’s.

“You can’t keep doing shitty things, and then feel sorry for yourself like that makes it okay. You have to be better.”

I truly felt, for the first time, that I wasn’t supposed to like Rick. I was supposed to hate him. ‘A Rick in King Mortur’s Mort’ and ‘Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation’ were both episodes told quintessentially from Morty��s perspective. This meant that, of course, I loved Rick’s screen presence, what he offered the narrative, his dialogue, and comedy; but also that I found myself hating him as a person. I was so angry with him.

These were episodes told from the perspective of a victim, but with the gift of adult/outside perspective on the situation, which Morty doesn’t have.

It was truly a brilliantly executed narrative device. As the viewer, I was begging Morty not to go down into that lab. I was urging Morty to realize that none of this is normal or acceptable or something he had to go along with.

On the other hand, Rick is a deeply tormented character that is incredibly easy to empathize with, but it’s very clear that he’s not who you’re meant to be rooting for anymore.

With all of this in context, it makes more sense to me why Morty was pushed to the background to highlight Rick’s growth as a character. It’s a lot easier to empathize with an abuser- to feel bad for them and be on their side- when you’re consuming a narrative about their healing from their warped perspective. It’s a lot easier to like them as a person when you’re not facing the direct consequences of their actions on their victim.

I think that’s why there’s something so eerie about the ending of ‘Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation’ to me. It left me feeling nauseous and anxious; consumed by this anxiety from watching an unknowing child fall victim to circumstance, manipulation, and abuse.

Rick’s drunkenness in that final scene isn’t played for laughs, like in the pilot or ‘The Rickshank Redemption,’ nor is Morty’s hesitance. There’s this harsh reality that he isn’t frantically stumbling and running away in terror, like he did in earlier seasons. Instead, he’s just uncomfortable. This is something he’s used to. His normal is dealing with his grandfather’s drunken, violent mania. His normal is accepting his role- his destiny to be a sidekick.

This shot of Morty’s face is actually what reduced me to tears while watching the finale. There is something so unsettling about this look of, ‘Nothing has changed.’ Something heartbreaking.

Rick’s role is to fuck Morty up, and Morty’s role is to forgive him for it.

And Morty is accepting his role…

For now.

It’s a harsh reality to accept that your beloved protagonist is destined to become a villain, and I can’t help but feel that we’ve rounded a corner with this series where Rick is fated to be the villain in Morty’s story.

Evil Morty and Rick Prime might be the facetious faces of the ‘big bad,’ but I have this sinking feeling that our bad guy has been hiding in plain sight for a long time- whether or not it’s his intention.

#rick and morty #rick sanchez #morty smith #rick and morty season 6 #bojack horseman #a rick in king mortur's mort #rictional mortpoon's rickmas mortcation

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seat-safety-switch · 2 years

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Only a rank amateur puts a car together with the parts that the car is supposed to have. No, what you want to do is intermix parts. You can start out doing it with different models, and eventually move to different brands altogether. You're not done building your car until it takes a good thirty minutes to try and explain to a curious onlooker just how many different other cars all of its parts were sourced from.

This is inarguable: the hybrid vigor of combining a bunch of horrible cars to produce one car makes that final car better. Or at least weirder, which is the same thing. So how do you figure out what parts interchange? There's two ways to go about it, one better than the other: you could ask on the internet and see if any crazy people will let you in on their junkyard speed secrets, or – preferably – you can just have a lot of broken parts lying around and eyeball them when you're looking for a new project.

Having stack after stack of garbage is the ideal way to go about it. Divine inspiration will strike when you're tired, or drunk, or just are tired from working on your daily driver. Getting a lot of random junk can only happen from owning a lot of cars, and working on them a lot. Your spare parts pile will organically grow, and the process of having to move all that trash in and out of cars will teach you intuitively about their relative sizes, mounting holes, and special magical aspects. And the contempt that you develop for literally all automotive products will help radicalize you into using the hammer and plasma cutter to make things fit when they don't.

Congratulations: your car is now a rolling freak show of three decades' worth of swapped parts, and it may be completely impossible to source any of those exotics from your average auto parts store when you break down during a road trip. Better not chance it. Maybe it's finally time to get a reliable, normal car and not fuck with it too much. Didn't someone mention the word "vigor" up above?

Man, an Acura Vigor would be pretty sweet. Maybe you could swap out the transmission for one of those late-model TSX 6-speeds, and bolt in a limited-slip differential from an RSX-S. It'll probably need some weird combo of axles, but I'm sure I can figure something out while we're at the junkyard. Get in the car.

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clownprince · 1 year

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Joker's motivations in Joker War

Now idk if I was the only one initially confused by wtf Joker's actual intentions were in Joker War. Maybe I'm just a bit schewpid and everyone else got it but regardless here's my attempt to piece together what's going on in his weird little mind.

Imho, the first lines we get about Joker's underlying intentions are here:

It's extremely important that he was aware of Bruce's intentions to redesign the city. That was definitely the catalyst for the whole thing.

Speaking of Bruce's plans to redesign the city:

He mentions multiple times that his goal is to build a city that doesn't need a Batman.

Regardless of whether he actually mentioned something like this at a press conference or something, I'm sure Joker would be able to pick up on it anyway.

And it's very well-established that Joker needs Batman. The Best Man arc has this whole beautiful monologue about it:

Joker NEEDS Batman. A city without Batman is a city with no place for Joker.

The whole Best Man arc takes during the same year (year 17) as Joker War (prior to it, obviously).

The Batcat engagement took place in year 16. (In which Batman also had Joker locked up in his basement. And he deliberately tracked down amnesiac!Joker and made him Normal Joker again so he could get information. Yowza! Not cool, Bats.)

Additionally, the events of Endgame took place on year 15 and Death of the Family in year 14.

Joker reveals more of his motivations in the final fight scene between him and Batman:

Very interesting that Joker initially chooses to stab Batman in the back. Hmm I wonder if that has any deeper meaning or reveals anything about Joker's own feelings in this situation /sar.

Also very, very, very significant that Joker chooses to battle Batman in that particular suit, after he essentially desecrates it:

So, by now, it's apparent that Joker's direct intention with Joker War was to essentially destroy the possibility of Bruce's vision of Gotham:

He even directly says that all of this was about them.

Hm... I don't think he's just talking about the city, here...

And then we have this:

There's been a recurring theme since Death of the Family, that Bruce isn't being the Batman that Joker wants him to be.

To me, this line feels like "okay, Batman is ruined irreparably, let's just destroy him and start over from scratch."

Then we have this panel. Whew. I think this might be one of the most revealing panels in the entirety of Joker War, largely because of how Joker is depicted in it.

He doesn't look angry, he looks genuinely distraught.

And I didn't notice this until someone else pointed it out but if you zoom in, it definitely looks like he's crying.

I don't think this is just an artistic thing, largely because of this panel from a few issues back:

So those are definitely tears of laughter. But it looks roughly the same. Except based on the context and his expression, I don't think those are tears of laughter in Joker War. At the very least, he's hysterical.

Somewhat of a tangent but it's important to tie everything together: Joker War reminds me very much of DOTF and Endgame in that Joker is depicted (or tries to portray himself) as this terrifying, ruthless, inhuman thing, but if you actually look into his motivations, he's being driven by his emotions, particularly his feelings about Batman, which are almost inarguably the most human part of him.

In DOTF he talks about how Batman isn't being the Batman he wants him to be and yadda yadda, but then in the tie-ins, we have this section, which I think does a beautiful job of explaining his real motivations:

It's jealousy. Jealousy and fear. He's terrified of losing Batman.

And then there's a similar thing in Endgame.

Initially, he says this:

"Haha yeah I'm just bored of you lol."

But then in the final scene we get this:

He's not bored, he's heartbroken. He's genuinely hurt by Batman (in his perception) rejecting him, and he's lashing out in a major way.

I think it's definitely similar in Joker War, except he's not as afraid of losing Batman to the Batfam, more so he's afraid that Bruce's new design for the city will eliminate the need for a Batman, although the Batcat almost-wedding and Bruce's growing family definitely play a role in his motivations.

I think that might be where his whole idea of making Batman start over with nothing came from. Because when Bruce started, he didn't really have anyone except for Alfred, and later Dick.

I think that Joker could tolerate him having a few allies but he can't handle the idea of Batman having an actual family. Both because he doesn't want to share Batman's attention, and because he doesn't have a family, so why does Batman get to have one? Why does Batman get to connect with people when the only person he's truly connected to is Batman? He wants Bats to be as dependent on him as he is on Bats.

So, that's just my Hot Take (read: mediocre interpretation) of Joker War. I wasn't too fond of the storyline until I kinda pieced everything together and it's still not my favorite arc but I definitely like it better than I did initially.

#batjokes #joker war #meta #my silly little thoughts #my timeline might be slightly off my only source was the batman continuity project lol #i am not putting myself through the hell that is tom king's run #and i haven't read batman metal and all that shit yet #i'm going based off of the rebirth timeline though if that isn't clear #my stuff

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sindirimba · 3 months

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a bit ago @nevermindirah and i had a very serious scholarly discussion about who among kiki and matthias' film roles should kiss. it's kind of difficult because both of them have played a lot of people who truly Went Through It in a way not conducive to frivolous nonsense, but we gave it our best try. i made a chart:

now it's true that kiki has not yet played storm and matthias escaped playing batman, but if you believe you can do anything, imagination is the key etc.

we don't know dandelion (dandelion) yet but the music connection makes kissing paul (a bigger splash) obvious. he seems loyal(ish, author is dead etc) and he cries, what more could she ask for

nile & booker is obvious and inarguable. i can't remember why there's a (2) there. comics booker? dirah help.

we went with margaret (don't worry darling) and peter (brothers by blood) because he's large and there'd be some interesting class stuff to explore. probably.

ellie (chip n dale) and gene (our souls at night) are some of the more normal of this group (even accepting the chipmunks), we envisioned them watching tv together and presumably making out on the couch. jane fonda probably approves.

meeka (coming 2 america) and vincent (disorder) is obvious. lots of sexually tense brawling and pinning down and such. the physicality is compelling. highly erotic.

bessie (native son) and gabriel (far from the madding crowd) is wholly a 'who can we give to bessie to give her a nice pleasant time. gabriel as the soft sheep boy seemed like the clear option. now there is some culture/chronology clash but they can work it out i think. note the sheep which is a highly important aspect. also less sensical but we decided to have bessie and roman (the mustang) be besties because i'm not sure i remember why. but i think it's cute. bessie needs hugs and in this fanciful little universe roman is capable of giving slightly horse-scented hugs.

tish (if beale street could talk) and olivia (veracity) are out of the equation here due to being happily partnered and into women respectively but they are on this chart anyway because. just because. gigi (le fidèle) is here for similar reasons, being an Xtreme Wife Guy.

matthias has a more extensive filmography than kiki sadly so we kind of went a little off the deep end at this point. django (django) and andré (a little chaos) are NOT from the same time period but are nevertheless paired because they fit into generically historical wig time, and they'd both benefit from some sweaty weird clone sex. probably. don't question it. it's true that andre is also happily partnered but something something libertine free love french hedonism something something. idk.

roman and ali (rust and bone) form a fight club due to being remarkable examples of meat and who (would) benefit from throwing their bodies at other men. it doesn't need to be sexual but can be if desired. jacky (bullhead) needs an incredible amount of care so why not let him hang out with a literal saint, st peter (the way of the wind). neither dirah or i know much about this topic but we went on the assumption that a literal heavenly being might be able to help the tragically in need of help jacky. the second peter is there for humorous name reasons but also he's had a lot of family related trauma so he and jacky could maybe bond somehow. not really romantic but if they want to i'm not going to judge.

#tog #kind of #we shan't speak of bathsheba at this time

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lakesbian · 4 months

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Do you have any thoughts about Taylor and Emma’s friendship dynamic? I think early on Lisa gets compared to Emma when she’s being socially manipulative with Taylor, do you think that’s something that was always there?

to be soh onest i know i was just reading the early arcs but i don't really remember the comparison. if you have excerpts of the text to look at that'd be neat. off the top of my head i think taylor and emma's friendship was like...i just finished the bakuda fight in the reread and there's this part where she mentions that emma was literally her Only friend as a kid and she's not used to or very comfortable with Group friendship dynamics.

i said earlier i don't go "oh shes LITERALLY autistic" about taylor and someone tagged their rb of my post as 'i think u can get an autistic read out of her' and to be clear!!! i read her autistic also i'm always wringing an autistic read out of her and that's what i'm about to do! the difference between her and rachel is just that w/ rachel i can't not parse her as autistic, whereas with taylor i think her being autistic is v convincing as a read but not, like, explicit/literally inarguable. i just had to clarify that and get that out there since i'm about to make taylor autistic. anyway.

i think emma and taylor's friendship dynamic was very much like...taylor is the happy-go-lucky autistic kid who has not been crushed by the world yet and is still oblivious to the ways in which she's considered kinda weird/immature/overly bookish. and emma is her far more 'mature'/normal friend. and the fact that she's also her Only friend still isn't enough to really contextualize for taylor that she's being socially outcast, because hey, she has a best friend. and they are hanging out and having fun and being good friends, but the second they start hitting adolescence social scrutiny kicks up to 11 and all of a sudden the neurotypical girl is metamorphosing and trying to climb the social ladder while the autistic one is left behind in the dust. because climbing that social ladder necessitates tossing aside the "weird" girl. her "weird" traits stop being permissible aspects of childhood and start being something that make her a social pariah. which is obviously irreversibly traumatizing. that fun part in every autistic persons life when they realize that society finds them inexorably offputting and is going to place all the blame for it on them.

so as for if there was always social manipulation with emma--i dunno, i honestly wouldn't guess there to be much. maybe typical shitty kid behaviors, because kids can be shitty sometimes. but i would not be surprised if there were subtle little inklings in the dynamic that the autistic one was gonna have to be cast aside at some point. will have to read more to have more context 4 what their relationship was like

#ask

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coraniaid · 11 months

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Top 5 parents? (in Buffy and/or Angel)

(Top 5 anything.)

Hmm. I'm not sure there are as many as five unambiguously good parents in Buffy. But, uh, let's see.

5) Joyce Summers [from Season 1's Welcome To The Hellmouth until ... well, you know.]

Cons: Famously doesn't react well to finding out that her only daughter is metaphorically bisexual.

Pros: Reacts a lot better to finding out her other daughter is metaphorically adopted. Did lie to the police for Buffy at least once, and used an ax to protect her from a vampire. Brought Buffy a nice dress to fight the Master in, and later bonded over a mutual dislike of Principal Snyder.

I've said before -- and will continue to say -- that I think Joyce is treated very unfairly by the fandom (particularly compared to how the fandom talks about Giles, who you'll note is not on this list for any number of reasons). That said, while I think the show is actually very consistent about the fact that Buffy loves her mother and wants her mother's approval (it's not an inconsistency just because you personally don't like Joyce!), it's pretty inarguable that Joyce does and says a number of terrible things. Which if she were a real person would matter a lot more than it actually does.

Ultimately, I think Joyce Summers tried to march in the Slayer Pride parade but did a pretty lousy job of it. Even when she wasn't being possessed or magically mind-controlled by a demon or a warlock or an evil robot (which … happens a lot, doesn’t it?). The fact she's on this list at all is more of an indictment of the other options than it is an endorsement of her as a parent.

(Obviously I'm ignoring the big Normal Again retcon here, which I just don't think makes sense with what we see of Buffy and Joyce in the first five seasons of the show. But yeah, if I accepted that as canon obviously Joyce wouldn't be anywhere near the list, even by Sunnydale's abysmally low standards.)

4) Amy Madison's dad [from Season 1's Witch]

Cons: Left his pre-teen daughter to be raised by a abusive mother who would go on to learn witchcraft and steal her daughter's body using evil magic. Never actually appeared on screen in the show. Or given a name.

Pros: Don't think he knew about the witch part. Definitely guilty about the whole thing afterwards anyway. Amy seems pretty happy that he's back in her life at the end of the episode. Not involved in the whole witch-burning thing in Gingerbread, for some reason (well, okay, it’s because nobody bothered to cast an actor to play him or even remembered that Amy had a father, I guess).

A deleted scene from Season 6 suggests Amy's dad goes back to being a terrible parent later on, and even ignoring that he is kind of conspicuous by his absence after this one episode. Letting your teenage daughter eat brownies whenever she wants: good parenting! Letting your teenage daughter visit magical crack dens whenever she wants: significantly less good parenting!

3) Oz's Aunt Maureen [from Season 2's Phases]

Cons: Literally only exists on the show for a single five second phone call where we don't hear her or see her on screen.

Pros: Seems pretty relaxed about the fact that her son is a werewolf (that's not a pro for Oz, sure, but hey, we're not ranking how good an aunt she is). Trumps Amy's dad by virtue of having a name.

I hope things worked out okay for little Jordy and the many, many werewolves he unwittingly sired by biting people when he was a kid.

2) Buffy Summers [from Season 5's Forever onwards]

Look, she's Dawn legal guardian, so she counts.

Cons: Not as good with Dawn's social worker as a literal sex robot was. Tried to kill Dawn one time when she was possessed (... hey, I guess at least Joyce would be proud?). Managed to miss the fact Dawn was skipping school … and dating a vampire … and stealing from the magic shop. (She had a difficult year, okay?)

Pros: Made up for the social worker stuff by ... uh, turning invisible and ruining said social worker's life. Literally died to protect Dawn from being murdered by a god in Season 5. Then worked incredibly hard for two years to protect Dawn from an even more terrible fate (having to go back to LA to live with Hank Summers).

For somebody who was terrified by the thought of becoming her mother (whether played for laughs as in Season 2's Bad Eggs, or for real in Season 5), I think Buffy does a pretty good job with Dawn.

1) Nikki Wood [first seen in Season 5's Fool For Love flashbacks]

Cons: None.

Pros: She's perfect.

Lies My Parents Told Me can fuck right off.

#btvs #ask games #thanks!

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alastairstom · 3 months

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Re Follow up to Wessa spicy and loving ur work > CC and long fits Q

I CANNOT WAIT FOR WESSA SPICY, U WRITE SPICY SO FREAKING WELL! I also have never thought about historical spicy stuff. which obviously happened cuz hello folks back then did it as well, it's not just a present day thing haha.

I think I just feel ur engagement is way more motivating and higher than CC's. Obv CC has mad kudos for creating this Universe, but like any author who has made It so clear that she wants to move on from the universe, the fun part is playing within it YK? Not just creating plots and marriages just so that the union and the good ending is the telos of it. The pay off is now seeing them banter about together, have the dynamics shift as they age, see how they view the world and how they continue to problem solve yk? And it gets even more fun when you create ensemble casts, bc THATS why Downton abbey is so long! It's so much fun to see it through, throughout!

An example I use is I follow these two authors who LOVEE their book universes, and also write generational fun family (modern day) ensamble casts with friends, and they spend normally 3-4 books focused on one character's OTP, seeing it through, throughout, and than moving onto another. Not the traditional stickler predictable "one book per pairing" in a series we see too often. AND THAN, when they move on, they continue to write publish 2 bonus chapters, update their interests boards, and talk about everything on their Patreon for like less than 3 dollars a month. there are over 100+ chapters now at this point!

Not to say that's what CC wants to do, but when you have amounted such a huge fandom, a lot of it is not just about making annual deliverables and canon events occur, but having fun just domestically and I feel like she doesn't want to do that. Which is totally fine! I respect that. But obviously the type of fan I am, as you can see, I gravitate towards the way you produce, engage and write (u write for yourself and ur fans, yes u have fans and I am one) more so than her. That's kind of what I was trying to get at in my initial post :-). Bc when CC wants to move on, it feel so lovely and safe, to know my safe space won't go, because ur still leading it. <3 <3 So again, from the bottom to the top of my heart, thank you <3

This made me tear up. Thank you so much, friend.

Messages like this make me feel extremely motivated to write. I really hope you enjoy my Valentine's fic as much as I am liking writing it.

I think I understand what you're saying - Cassie does a really good job of creating characters and telling their stories. I consider her to be one of the best creators of our time, specifically in TID and TLH as well as Sword Catcher (even if that one has less of a hold on me, it's inarguably one of her best works world-building and plot-wise.) But yes, sometimes you just want little fluffy post-canon stories of the characters, which is not always possible for a world-famous writer with tons of ongoing projects. I'm looking forward to Better in Black a lot because of this.

I just write what I want to see and roll with it. I am glad that it's what you want to see, too.

Dear God, I am tearing up a lot. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, I truly appreciate everyone who has read one of my fics and given me a chance to play with their blorbos.

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offsidekineticist · 5 months

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△ Theo (bleachling specifically), if you could have 5 minutes of time to speak to your brother again without any other distractions or interference and he HAD to listen. What would you say to him?

Under a cut because this is like 11/10 so CW: panic attack and self-harm (intentionally aggravating an old injury as a response to anxiety)

He freezes. His expression, previously warm, goes mostly blank. Mostly, except for the ways his eyes widen and his stone gray flesh turns ashy. He opens and closes his mouth several times, and you realize he's trying to speak but nothing is coming out.

"Please...don't make me answer that," he finally chokes out, trying to hold a stoic expression but shaking nonetheless.

"You must answer. Those are the terms," the Questioner says. Theoven wraps his arms around his chest, hands tucked between his side and his arm less carefully than you would have expected, the shaking persisting.

"I...I don't think I'd be able to speak," he says, voice unsteady. "Does - does that answer the question? Please, I swear, every time I saw him - or the thing that seemed like him - in that place, I couldn't - it wouldn't - " he stops himself, and you see his shoulders bobbing up and down with every breath, each breath coming more quickly than the last. He nods in a hollow imitation of confidence. "Yes, that is my answer. I wouldn't be able to speak."

"'Without any other distractions or interference,'" the Questioner repeats. "Loss of the ability to speak would inarguably be a distraction."

"I don't want to see him!" Theoven barely gets the words out through the sob he cant hold back any longer, and now his cheeks are darkening again, and he squeezes his eyes shut trying to clear the tears. He slouches, curling in on himself, arms held so rigidly against his body that his hands must hurt terribly, and you can tell the only reason he doesnt curl up into a fetal position is theres no room for it at the table where he's seated. "I don't want to know - if he was there, I don't want to know! I don't want to hear him tell me why he - how he - I don't want to remember him like that!" His sobs are more violent now, racking his body as he struggles for breath. His breaths are sharp and loud and fast, each one sounding almost like the bark of a sick dog.

The Questioner waits.

It takes time, but slowly - painfully slowly - the sobs die down, becoming more like hiccups. They slow, coming less and less often, until he is breathing normally again.

"I would ask him to leave," Theoven finally says softly, head bowed as he stares at his lap, arms still pressing his hands painfully into his side. "I'm sorry. I know that...if he wasn't...wasn't there, there are things he deserves to hear me say but - I don't think I can say them anymore. And if he was there - " he stops. "He hated spiders. Loved chess. Every brawl I ever lost, he was there with a stern, rambling lecture and enough potions that my mentors at the library never noticed an injury. I should be allowed to remember him like that. I shouldn't have to remember - " he stops and slightly shakes his head before whispering, "I would ask him to leave."

The Questioner is satisfied.

#pathfinder wotr #pwotr pals #ask game #giliys is not happy #will probably rb later with the letter Theo wrote to Regill when Qweck was still a kid #which answers the question without Rivad coloring the answer #also part of why i dont see Theo and canon!Regill ever reconciling #even if Regill cared enough to try i don't know Theo would be able to handle that #(also why i like to imagine him in the world where Mino is KC)#(that regill is less likely to dismiss theo's trauma as weakness)#(and more inclined to see reconciling as worth attempting)#oc: theoven #thanks for the ask!

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mediapen · 10 months

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Top 5 motorsport adjacent dilfs. Bless the people with your opinions pls

oh my god. ok most boring yet controversial answer ever but im gonna narrow it to f1 because i do not have dilf knowledge of other motorsports. BUT. imo there are very few true dilfs in f1. now, as we know, dilf means dilf, not a man in his early thirties. a dilf looks like he’s Lived. the best dilf is a man who looks like he might actually growl at you. for an f1 dilf, there is an additional requirement: he must have the it girl factor. it girl factor is hard to define - it’s the personality it’s the sexuality it’s the What the fuck is wrong with him in a mid-2000s way. very few have achieved this. even fewer are currently dilfs. let's discuss.

'even fewer are currently dilfs' JUST KIDDING!!!!!! i actually think there are only two.

1) jenson button. it girl factor: immeasurable. to me jb is the archetype is and perhaps why it is so hard to id AUTHENTIC motorsport dilfs because who was (is) doing it quite like him!!!!! like, his tabloid career? unmatched. his whole deal with the leopard print and the bed mirror… jb horseshoes himself around to campness in a way that perhaps nobody else ever will. meow! a man like this would normally do nothing for me. and yet,

2) mark webber. it girl factor: 7.9/10 (it’s complicated.). mark is to me the dilfiest A Man ♾️/10 argue with the wall BUT a key component of an f1 dilf imo is the playboy to actual father* pipeline which mark. is an outlier on. racing relationship with seb also a complicating factor. few motorsport dilfs achieve such complexity in their person, which makes him hard to categorise. inarguable f1 dilf but the flavour is different. *actual father does not require having children. if you don't get it don't even worry about it

honourary mentions: - no.1 motorsport milf nico rosberg - dilfs of the people i.e. toto; red bull man (unnameable); bono; coulthard (i'm meditating on his dilfiness. he's close. stuck on his massive ted kennedy-esque head); mika, etc.. well. i take issue with them!!!!! these men undeniably enjoy a close proximity to dilfiness but, perhaps controversially, i cannot award them full dilf status. something about the it girl factor is… missing. they are technical dilfs. they are not motorsport dilfs. open to being convinced otherwise. - also there are people who fit the it girl bill but are not dilfs i.e. jacques. so don't be coming in here with a WHAT ABOUT THIS CERTIFIED FREAK! if theyre not an actual dilf.

#returning to my asks from last night.......... i am about to enter a debate that is so filled with wrong opinions!#this is the most i have expounded on my dilfbeliefs outside of the dms I hope to remain valued and loved in the community 😔#answered

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tobiasdrake · 7 days

Text

The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan, Episode 15 - His Uncertainty

Looks like things are wrapping up now. Two episodes left to the end.

We have arrived at Yuki's equivalent to Eternal Eight. Fortunately, Haruhi does not have the ability to loop time again so Escapist Yuki probably won't be exposed to hundreds of years of repeated time.

At this point, I'm not even surprised that Tsuruya's family owns multiple homes. Crane Shop is basically the Walmart of Haruhi's Japan.

What.

Why.

The prank murder's job was to entertain Haruhi and keep her from inadvertently conjuring a real murder mystery. Those guys weren't even relatives of Itsuki's; They were his colleagues from his Esper organization.

Why would this ever have happened in Yuki World? Cute continuity reference but this makes absolutely no sense.

Kyon's sister trying to pack herself away in his bag is a repeat gag....

Y'know, I was concerned when we spent so much time repeating various beats from the Tanabata episode but this episode's doing a bit of recycling too. Did the show run out of ideas?

Nope, never mind, all good. We are moving right along. TAKE YOUR SWING, RYOKO. AIM WELL. XD

I'm annoyed that Yuki's better at playing ball than I am. She should not be this good.

It's a depth perception thing. I have no depth perception. I'm like 80% convinced it's because I spent all of my formative years staring at 2D screens and it killed my ability to perceive in three dimensions.

So I can't play games like this because a ball in the air moving towards me is stationary to my eyes. I have no idea when it's actually going to reach me. It's terrifying.

I like how Mikuru was scared out of her mind a moment ago but now she clarifies that there are no supernatural spookers involved in the Test of Courage. Everyone's just like,

Group: Level with us, Mikuru. Will there be ghosties? Mikuru: Worse. There will be Tsuruya.

Which is a valid concern.

Mikuru and Tsuruya eat their melons with spoons. You hoity-toity upper-class....

Even Lawful Menace Ryoko is out here chomping down like a normal person but there's those two in the back being all Elegant Noblewoman about it. I guess Crane Shop customs take dining etiquette very seriously.

And we're recycling material from the original series again.

It kinda feels like they had too many episodes left over after the Disappearance arc and needed something to pad the runtime. Like, the main goal here seems to be to wrap up the Yuki/Kyon/Factory Settings love triangle but they're stretching it out by Playing The Hits.

This one in particular, however, is hilarious. Like. The cicada hunt is sending me. Have we not seen enough versions of Eternal Eight already? XD Imagine thinking we needed a ninth take on any part of that event sequence.

Ryoko's swinging her net and getting to participate in the cicada hunt for the first time but I'm over here having PTSD flashbacks.

Ryoko leaping at the first chance she gets to not participate in whatever fresh hell Tsuruya has prepared for the group. And she did it by exploiting inarguable responsibility towards the child in her custody.

You win this round, Lawful Menace.

...

Wow.

Really.

Mikuru was freaked out by fireflies this whole time? That's the scary prank Tsuruya plays on her when they do the test of courage? The existence of fireflies?

*deep breath* What is this character.

Alright, you two. You've got one episode left to figure your shit out. I demand some open and honest communication before Haruhi gets impatient and strangles you both.

#the melancholy of haruhi suzumiya #the disappearance of nagato yuki chan #drake watches haruhi suzumiya

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7ban-sama · 1 year

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delineating adoration and possessiveness

It is finally time for me to cover something I have been meaning to cover in a post. [i waltz up to a podium and clear my throat] [ahem]

Tsukasa is NOT possessive. Tsukasa is NOT a yandere.

So there's my mission statement. Let's get to it!

To preface this all: I'm not here to say that Tsukasa's love is "sane" or "normal", etc. This isn't about disproving Tsukasa as an obsessive, eccentric individual; this will always be true about him, and, I love those traits! I'm simply here to advocate that Tsukasa is an example of adoration without a sense of possessive entitlement, specifically.

I'd also like to go ahead and assert that I do not think possessiveness is a wholly negative trait that makes a character unlikeable. It is in fact, one of my favorite aspects of Amane's personality. Also, I am Amane. I do not need Tsukasa's love to be selfless because that's the only good kind of love... I just like that it's how he is! Basically, the point of this post isn't to propose that anything is wrong, or bad, or needs to change. I like the way the characters contrast one another! You can almost think of this post as a taxonomical endeavor.

So... to start, I suppose we should define what a yandere is...! We'll just paste from wikipedia to make this straightforward, le etymology: "Borrowed from Japanese ヤンデレ (yandere), a portmanteau of 病んでる (yanderu), contraction of 病んでいる (yande iru), progressive tense of 病む (yamu, “to be sick”), and デレデレ (dere-dere, “in a lovey-dovey, infatuated, or lovestruck manner”, adverb)."

But of course, words are more than just their literal definition/origins. A yandere is an archetype, and it comes with a gamut of behaviors, seen in media, fanwork and original art. What defines a yandere is obsessive AND possessive behavior. They are so in love with their object of affection, that they cannot handle anything getting between them, which is why things lead to extremes of violence. What makes the love 'sick' is that, even their beloved's disapproval and fear cannot dissuade them from their actions. Some yanderes literally cannot be rejected; nothing you say or do can override their will — they love you, so they're going to do it anyways. In other cases.... rejection breaks them, so much that they lash out on their love, basically the "if I can't have you, no one can" mentality.

It's easy to get a sampling of the common themes and visuals of yandere by just looking at pixiv, or even google search results, really. Obsessive, totally love-struck expressions, wielding a knife, 'protecting' their love from others, by way of violence or even extremes of kidnapping, etc. I think one of the most emblematic yanderes is Yuno from Mirai Nikki, and with good reason. She hits allll the beats. And she is best girl.

There are plentiful other examples across various series, and you'll start to find that they share similar visual cues and behaviors. Enough that I find myself going, hmm... now, this does feel... familiar...

hmmm... what could it mean?

... but, we can't base everything just on known tropes and iconic visuals. So we need to look at Tsukasa's actions, alongside other characters within JSHK, for context.

We'll start with Tsukasa's introduction.

This is probably one of the most commonly cited lines, that convinces people that Tsukasa is jealous of Nene, and resentful of Amane. Combined with the overall depiction of Tsukasa in this chapter being mysterious, ominous, and Amane becoming so distraught from this interaction. A lot of people see Tsukasa's behavior as being purposefully emotionally manipulative, essentially rubbing salt in the wound of Amane's guilt.

Sure, that's a way to look at this all, and I understand that might be everyone's first impressions of this scene. But, well... Given what we come to learn about Tsukasa later, in the very same volume, are we so certain that he is jealous of Nene...?

It's pretty inarguable at this point that yorishiro Tsukasa does not regret or dislike the shinjuu. He loves that Amane did it, so very much, down to the very expression he was wearing during it. And Tsukasa is not at all secretive of this fact; he states it with painful openness.

The more you read the manga, the more you really have to accept that Tsukasa is not at all put off by the idea of Amane killing him, to the point where even at the tender age of four, he is fascinated and intrigued by Amane's capacity for harming him.

Seems like it is fundamentally an aspect of Tsukasa's nature. Killing him was in no ways perceived as wrong, or horrible, or awful. Tsukasa is not vindictive or jealous. How Amane treats Nene does not make Tsukasa feel disrespected, forgotten, or discarded.

But how could he? When I break down his "you'll protect her but killed me" comment further... Now that we know what we do about yorishiro from chapter 95, is there at all a reason for Tsukasa to be envious of Amane being willing to protect Nene? Tsukasa's very existence is defined by the fact that he was something precious and protected.

Being treasured and protected by Amane is not exclusive to Nene at all. You can see where it might be difficult to stir up jealousy over her, in that case! But beyond that, I think he is just being cheeky, lol... as much as he looks at the knife and gets all natsukashii about it. So nostalgic, that knife... Takes me back-!! Says Tsukasa, lol. It's not uncommon for little side comics and illustrations to have Tsukasa defining himself, eagerly, as "the person Amane killed!" We recently even had that Halloween event where Tsukasa dressed himself as a wara ningyo to match Amane's Ushi no Koku Mairi shtick. Tsukasa loves their binary, where Amane is the weapon-wielder, and Tsukasa is the one being staked through the chest with it. Nails, knives... have at thee!

At the very least, metatextually, it's something AidaIro themselves feel is fine to rib and tease about.

But what about the tea party?

Well... I know that, at first glance, it seems as though the function of the tea party abduction is to "get rid" of Nene, so this scene is also widely assumed to be an expression of resentment or jealousy on Tsukasa's end. He says all of this, after all:

It should be noted, however, that none of this is dictated with any animosity; the assertion of this "rivalry" is very glib. It's almost just true in a technical sense, as him and Amane DO have opposing belief systems. Also, Tsukasa doesn't say that he intends to harm or kill Nene, here. He does not speak to Nene harshly at all; his speech is quite casual, even in the original JP of this scene. The sentiment is simply, "welp, anyways, you gotta get going now!" And, considering the fact that Nene actually obtains a physical item from the past Amane (which alters the past, presumably) it seems it really was time for her to go.

Early Tsukasa scenes are framed with the intention of preserving the mystery of who Tsukasa is and what his goals are. It's a twist, to later find out the Yugi's extensive shared history, and how they were precious towards one another. By volume 5, you're not sure what you can conclude yet. We, the readers, are (purposefully! immersively!) in the same camp as Nene: we sit there asking, why did Hanako kill his younger twin brother? What happened between them? But I believe the story is also structured to make you doubt the immediately drawn conclusions, and regularly reassess the information.

Here are some things to consider, after the tea party:

The immediate arc following these events is the Clock Keepers one, which reveals Nene is slated to die within a year. More recently, we now know that Nene's shortened lifespan is explicitly tied to the destruction of the School Wonders' yorishiro. It is the Broadcast Club's goal to have the yorishiro destroyed, and they outright intend Nene to be the one to do it. Tsukasa could not have been attempting to kill Nene, because she is a vital asset to their mission.

In Hell of Mirrors, Tsukasa is relieved to see that Nene is alive and well. He catches himself before he compulsively harms her, and then decides to set her aside somewhere, so as to not let Nene get in the way and further complicate things.

And now, to just be blunt. Tsukasa is an incredibly strong kaii, and Nene is a mortal human being. If he wanted to kill her, it would be effortless and easy to accomplish. Seriously he could, crush her like a grape between his fingers. Nene didn't survive the trip to Nowhere due to incompetence or bumbling! Nene entering the past briefly, and then being quickly rescued, was the intended outcome.

Frankly, the sheer ease of which Nene is isolated and abducted by the Broadcast Club, only furthers my certainty that there cannot be such animosity between her and Tsukasa. We can accept that Tsukasa needs Nene alive to destroy yorishiro, but that doesn't mean Nene has to be happy. IF Tsukasa wanted to be petty and jealous and invasive, he just could be, right? What's stopping him from cornering Nene, or even just tormenting her throughout the day? Even Mitsuba can be petulant and act out by stealing Kou's lunch for attention. But Nene receives no such treatment. Tsukasa is ostensibly far more powerful and crafty than Mitsuba as well, and yet, Nene is allowed to play silly little games of charades with Hanako in peace.

By contrast, how do Tsukasa's feelings stack up against other characters?

There is a gradient of possessiveness and jealousy shown within the manga, ranging from passionate extremes to more tempered, but still very real expressions of it.

Akane and Hanako are on the most extreme end of this spectrum, as... well, yanderes. Let's be blunt. That IS what they are. By this point in time, we've seen that they're both quite capable of disregarding everyone else's feelings for the sake of their own endeavors on behalf of their love. They fit the classic description of a yandere, too.

Perpetually monitoring objection of affection, intervening when others attempt to get close to them, feeling as though they are providing protection... being drawn to violent extremes, due to this... But, there's also (charmingly) less fantastical levels of jealousy expressed by them. Hanako is often clinging to Nene and worming his way between her and Kou, like a fussy cat.

It's so uncontrollable, this kind of thing... To the point where Akane can knowingly use the threat of kissing Nene to force Hanako out of hiding; a gesture from One crazy possessive fuck to another. It's Akane going yeah, I know that'd drive you insane, I know how your love works (because it's like mine).

But even someone less extreme, like Aoi, is capable of a sense of entitlement to Akane's love, and she cannot help but be jealous when he is courted by anyone else.

She maintains a preened image of not being effected by these sorts of things, but is clearly NOT okay when anything happens, in reality. This is a girl who is going to stay home due to feeling miserable at the thought of her friend pursuing Akane. But, Aoi is only human! It's pretty natural for a fifteen-year-old girl to cry over a long-time crush of hers becoming potentially unavailable! There's many degrees of jealousy, here.

With all that in mind... Are we to believe that Tsukasa is SO jealous of Nene that he would make digs at Amane for abandoning him in favor of her... AND drop Nene into an abyss to harm her... but, is simultaneously SO gracious, that he leaves her and Amane to bond and grow close? Those are all quite disparate behaviors, for someone intensely jealous and bitter. For a yandere, who cannot have their love denied... does it make sense to sit around while their object of affection has a twee little cheek kiss on the rooftop with someone? We KNOW for a fact, Akane and Hanako could not bear to do the same.

Speaking of kisses... and going back to the tea party: what is Tsukasa's reaction to when his brother has a new prospective relationship with a girl? ... is it as extreme as fending her off with a bat? Prying the two physically apart? Reduced to tears?

... nope! It's curiosity, and childlike intrigue! Tsukasa very eagerly would like to hear more, in fact! Oh oh, please tell me all about it!!! ... I even think he is so shocked about the concept of Sakura specifically dating Amane, because what, when, why!? Whoa...!!! How did Sakura do that without him realizing! ... by contrast, with Nene, it's almost as though he expects her to be dating Amane. Maybe this is what Tsukasa logically concludes, based on what he has seen between them?

Familial relationships may be separate from romantic ones typically, but it is not exactly a trait of yandere-ism to share, regardless of whatever their relation to the person they love even is. I think even as a strictly familial bond, if Tsukasa were a jealous type of person, he would be threatened by anyone accessing closeness to the previously friendless Amane. All that would matter is that a new person seeks to 'threaten' the closeness established between them. It would behoove Tsukasa to ignore a potential partner.

After all, it's not as if Amane and Nene never encroach on memories shared by the twins, since they attend a Tanabata festival together! You would think a highly jealous person couldn't bear to allow someone to make new, beautiful memories at a festival, just like the two of you used to!! And, yet! He simply does! Tsukasa let's Amane do many things! He does not intervene, where he surely could intervene. Easily! With a bucket of water! He permits Amane and Nene plenty of time without him, decidedly not being a total nightmare haunting them. From the vignettes we see, Tsukasa typically seems to be spending his free time playing games and distracting himself. Not so different from his brother, in that respect.

I think our lovely protagonist summarizes it best, here:

By Picture Perfect, even Nene is starting to glean that there's more to this circumstance than meets the eye.

I think that covers yorishiro Tsukasa's actions quite thoroughly... so.

Let's go further, into Tsukasa's past.

What about Tsukasa prior to becoming a yorishiro? Prior to the shinjuu, many years back, in his childhood. Before merging with the wish-granting entity, even. The boy that Nene and Kou meet. Is this Tsukasa jealous and clingy of Amane, and unable to share him in any way? Does Tsukasa feel competitive when Nene responds that she likes Amane, too?

Well... no! His reaction is far from that! He is excited to hear that Nene feels the same as him. It's those feelings that lead Tsukasa to explaining the details of his wish more. It's not as if Tsukasa was being an undiscerning child, either, as he wasn't willing to explain to Kou alone the details of his wish, despite being asked about it directly. The assertion that Nene likes Amane makes Tsukasa believe that Nene could then understand why he made the wish he did.

Nene liking Amane fosters trust and closeness between them. There is no sense of competition.

(As an aside, I find the word Tsukasa uses to mean "the same" in JP, sooo cute... おそろい (お揃い) ; going together, "matching" ! Ouhh yes you are... you two do match... QvQ)

It all tracks though, doesn't it? After all, Tsukasa already is assuming that Amane is living life happily without him, so why would Nene's feelings change anything? Amane already meant to have a future filled with many other people that are not Tsukasa. He does not ask anything of Amane.

In this scene, Kou asks what anyone would, really, given the circumstances. How is this okay...? What is the "point" of healing someone you love, if you never get to spend time with them, and experience their life together?

No one can be prepared for how Tsukasa's whole psyche is one sooo devoid of expectation or neediness...

Not even asking to be liked! Not asking to be treasured or remembered. Tsukasa accepts that his life is expendable, his remembrance is negligible. If Amane never thinks about him again and is busy being an amazing space explorer, happy and healthy with new loved ones, then that is fine by Tsukasa.

There is no "personal gain" here. There is no imposing a selfish will, or harming others to get what is desired. There is no demanding for attention. There is no refusal of rejection. There is no oppressive, inescapable conclusion.

Tsukasa has never trapped Amane and given him no other options other than himself. Instead, Tsukasa has sooner used himself as a means to relinquish Amane to the custody of others.

This is... as far from being a yandere as one can get, if you ask me.

I think Tsukasa really is composed of a graciousness that no one else in the cast is capable of. It's incredible, really, how he isn't even just, shaking and in tears at the thought of being unwanted, by the one person he loves more than anything. Tsukasa is simply... a very unique individual. I love you sweetie!!!!!

Also, I know that the following scene in the Red House, where Tsukasa rejoices about Amane killing him, is also cited as a major "yandere moment", but well, after everything I wrote... You can see how I believe that is a misnomer!! It takes more than just being "crazy"(in a broad, fictional sense) to be a yandere! Lots of characters are crazy and unstable, but that doesn't mean they lash out possessively over their love! A yandere must have their singular, coveted target that they never, ever relinquish! Ever!!! *huffing, puffing*

Besides, if anything, that scene is showing us the extent of Tsukasa's acceptance of whatever Amane would grant him. You are witnessing the euphoria of someone who thought that he was wholly hated and unwanted. To then be told that Amane would rather die together than grow up without him... It's an unfathomable, thrilling revelation. (And aren't we just like Tsukasa, dying to find out how, and why? Lol..)

We shouldn't forget, at the end of the day, who is the precious belonging here. Tsukasa has potentially been trapped in Amane's boundary, like Sumire was within Hakubo's, for who knows how many years... Er, and now that the recent chapter has also made it even MORE overt that Tsukasa is represented by the moon, let's not forget a certain someone and his lunar rock...

What a word to use! Aha. What could it meeeean? Hmm.... lol!

So yeah! That's... all that I wanted to cover, really! :3c I hope this offers some perspective... and, as a yandere, my perspective holds some weight here.

Playfully, I will append: I understand that what people are struggling with is also the fact that Tsukasa's emotional resonance isn't dissimilar to something like this:

... but to that, I simply must ask you all to have an open mind to the complexity of our dear sweet Tsukasa. He IS an obsessive person who feels things to fanastical extremes... But this all culminates in an extreme in the opposite direction — just plain, pure selflessness.

Additionally, Tsukasa seems captivated by others' selfishness, and exists to be a conduit of it, as someone granting your heart's desire. This places him in an unflattering position at times, being the one willing to execute things even if no one could approve of the results. But I think this is testament moreso to hearts being messy, and what one desires often being quite twisted and difficult to reconcile with — which is why it's easier to bury it deep down. Tsukasa doesn't care whether or not people hate him though, so... he risks the least by taking action on your behalf. He will do it! He will do what you are too afraid to do!

You should all be thanking him.

#☀️#💭#barely getting this one in before new chap day. yosh!

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brandwhorestarscream · 5 months

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Idk wdyt 👁️👁️

Fr doe, the Shockwave egg thing is something I've mentioned in sntoher post that I honestly can't find despite the key word in it being shark but all in all it involves ladybug Shockwave where his half Insecticon biology saves the Cybertronian race from extinction and gives him a permanent leave off combat duty while he lives in constant sensual pleasure and intellectual glee

I gotta find that post oh my god

Or maybe I also copied it into my notes

I will literally never skip any excuse to talk about the cybermorphs and develop them more! So I'm going with that >:3

I'm gonna say this happens before the actual bombing happens that kicks off the war's full-fledged fighting. Shockwave was, for a long time, the cybermorphs' main contact in the Senate. He was wholly supportive of their endeavors, and was actively campaigning to end the strict lockdown measures and give them the same freedoms that, at the very least, the other warframes had, but was also advocating for some rather radical changes. The abolition of slavery and the banning of such things like mnemosurgery and shadowplay

As we all know, it didn't go well. Shockwave shows up at the hive, broken and violated, his face and hands destroyed and all empathy ripped from his head. But instead of making him entirely apathetic toward the morphs, he's now even more determined to do the logical thing and ally himself with them. Their numbers are swelling so unbelievably quickly, it's foolish to make an enemy of them

Megatron is horrified when he sees what's been done to him. They don't have the resources to try to reverse it or get him any sort of treatment, so he's unfortunately stuck. The queen welcomes him in, the second normal-born mech to freely walk amongst the hive's numbers.

Now, this could go a few ways, but I think realistically, Megatron might assign Shockwave to Soundwave’s care. Just to make sure he's settling in ok, to make sure he won't get lost in the passageways and stumble into one of the egg chambers and get himself facehugged. Shockwave is a dear friend and invaluable ally, the last thing he wants is him being put out of commission by one of the morphlings.

Time progresses and Shockwave has far less political work to occupy his time, and turns to science. Cybermorph biology is wholly unfamiliar territory to everyone: Megatron and Soundwave were among the very first generation, and there were only 5 of them in total. They're an incredibly young species. No one knows the most effective forms of healthcare, nor the intracacies of their internals. Shockwave takes this opportunity to learn. Observing hive behaviors and getting to look at their internal struts and varied alt modes, but eventually he's catalogued everything. He's even permitted to observe the morphlings, to watch their dramatic, bloody emergences, even to dissect an egg that's unfertilized or unfortunately perished before hatching

Eventually though, he runs out of things to do. He turns to another branch of research all together: reproduction. It's no secret in the hive that Megatron and only Megatron bears their eggs. There's no doubt that the cybermorphs are sexually mature as well as active, and yet despite there being thousands of them, not a single morphling has ever been born to anyone but Megatron. Shockwave is the one that officially determines in an inarguable capacity that the cybermorph species is, as a whole, sterile. The average ones can't get each other pregnant, can't become pregnant. The only one that's ever been capable of it is Megatron. It's so odd.

He knows that crossbreeding is possible. Orion Pax has sired several clutches of eggs. He knows that Soundwave has also sired a great many of Megatron's morphs. But he's always the one to create and carry life. Excited at the prospect and undeniably curious, he offers his own body, but rather than sire, he asks to carry

Megatron is taken aback. He doesn't even know if such a thing is possible. Can cybermorphs even concieve with a cybertronian for a sparkling that will be born live, rather than hatched? Neither of them know, that's why Shockwave wants to try. It'll be an important chapter of his research regardless of whether or not it's possible.

Megatron agrees eventually, and they make a schedule out of it: every other night Shockwave comes to the throne room to let the cybermorph queen have his way with him. It's entirely foreign to Megatron--babymaking like this isn't instinctual in the slightest. The idea of someone else carrying is so weird to him. But it would be good to know, if he as a queen caste is virile as well as fertile

It takes a little while but their attempts are eventually fruitful, and Shockwave is successfully sparked up. Just one little spark orbiting his, a soft orange color contrasting his blue nicely. Once again, Soundwave is assigned to keep an optic on him, mostly to ensure his health during the process. Shockwave is approaching the whole thing incredibly clinically--he's not at all attached, nor is there any real love for his little research subject. This is Megatron's morphling and will swiftly be assimilated into the hivemind. It's not like he'll be expected to raise it or anything. That's just not how morphs do things. There are designated caregivers whose sole purpose in the hive is rearing the young. He can't feel attached to them, thanks to the Senate's work: all he cares about is if they're a healthy, viable subject for his research. He spends a lot of time making notes about symptoms--of which there are a lot. Weird monster pregnancy does weird things to your body, who knew?--as well as the speed of geststional progression. The sparkling reaches maturity and is ready to be birthed in only about ⅔ of the time it would take a normal one.

Gonna cut it here cuz this is getting long and I have stuff to do lol. But if you want more hmu

#cybermorph au #shockwave #mans really said yeah I'll get sparked up for science

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