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phoenix-fell · 1 year

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Anti-Bumbleby criticisms answered with BB analysis - Big post

As expected, as Bumbleby gets more attention from the show, the anti-BB crowd have surfed in on their tidal wave of bitter lemons. So, I’d like to put my degree, job and training to use and compile my thoughts down in one place - a one-stop shop if you will - it’s long and will be largely unfiltered as I tackle the weirdest and most common criticisms and BB analysis. (I kinda miss Bumbleby analysis Megaposts, I might make one sometime to go alongside this as a point of reference as most I’ve seen end around Vol 6).

TIA for anyone who actually takes the time to read my ramblings and please feel free to give your thoughts/analysis and I’ll edit it in. FIRST EDIT - 8th Mar 2023 presenting labels and sexuality in Remnant - 4th from end.

Credentials: Double major 1st class grad in Literature and Creative Writing, specialising in fairy tales and WLW representation in media. Recipient of dissertation award exploring character psyche and the presentation of psychological themes. Literary critic, writer and content specialist.

Let’s start off with a cracker from Reddit!

“Why couldn’t the BB scenes be more of a background thing? Why do they need to focus on them like they’re a main plot or something?”

Is... Is it stuffy under all that homophobia? I could easily rhyme off a string of sarcastic quips like ‘gee, I wonder why, it’s almost like it’s important to the development of two of the main characters or something.’ But it’s so lost on some people that I’mma spell it out:

We’ve seen Blake and Yang’s trauma painted across the screen from ‘Burning the Candle’ when Yang first confesses her abandonment issues, to the White Fang / Adam arcs that gave us a picture of the abuse Blake has endured - not just as a Faunus, but from her partner (“Adam used to get into my head, make me feel small.”), right through to their separation that dealt with their respective issues with running away/being abandoned and the shared trauma which has tied them both together indefinitely. They’ve been apart, they’ve repaired their relationship, they’ve grown together. In a current volume that’s so inherently focused on character’s individual development, seeing Blake and Yang together was almost inevitable as they’ve been so completely involved in one another’s development throughout the entire series. This is without going into their fairy tale allusions that tie them together which I’ll go into further down or the references to Yin/Yang and numerous romantic tropes that show how integral they are to one another’s characters. Contrary to belief, it’s not romance for the sake of romance - in this instance, the romance very much strengthens their development individually.

Asides from all of this, it was decided from the very beginning that Yang would lose her arm (foreshadowed in the Yellow trailer). The moment they decided that Yang would lose her arm protecting Blake, was the moment a decision was made to invariably tie these two narratives together on a very fundamental level.

But also, don’t clown yourself into thinking you’re not a homophobe if you think any LGBT content belongs in the background whilst also rejoicing any onscreen developments between straight ships.

“If BB was meant to be a thing then they wouldn’t have had Sun as a romantic interest.”

Is there a universe where love triangles and bisexuals are a foreign concept?

But in all seriousness, I think that certain corners of fanbases seem to struggle with any concepts that are non-linear; something I often see with anime. By ‘linear’, I mean: love interest introduced > build up > canon > together forever. As opposed to ‘non-linear’; a character that goes on their own journey of discovery and, through which, has more than one interest and path over time and has the ability to change their mind. The show was never a ‘romance’ as a primary theme; it’s an action/adventure which has some romantic subplots. But to honest, Blake changing her mind shouldn’t really be this much of a shock to the fanbase given that our FIRST ever interaction with Blake, in her TRAILER, is her changing her mind about her partner (and first romantic interest) and deciding to pursue a new journey. A scene which is actually referred back to in the Season 6 opener when Blake uncouples the train and sees what she believes to be a hallucination of a hooded Adam on the opposite carriage, foreshadowing the importance of that original decision later in the series (“you didn’t leave scars, you just left me, alone”).

The arc that follows Blake thereafter is inherently tied to Adam (amongst other important themes), who is predominantly based off Gaston and the rose (or curse of the rose) from Beauty and the Beast. Blake and Yang are interchangeably alluded to as both Belle and the Beast throughout their character arcs from as early as the Red Trailer: “Black the beast descends from shadows / Yellow beauty burns gold.” and as recently as Blake describing Yang to the Hunter Mice in Vol. 9 Chapter 1. I can rhyme off these allusions until I’m blue, but again, I may save this for a master post.

The story that Blake is based on is a love triangle - she was never meant to have one set path from the beginning and romantic interests were always meant to play a huge part in Blake’s story/development; she was always going to have a romantic decision to make after conquering the curse / Gaston. Blake being haunted by her first romantic interest is foreshadowed in the ending of her trailer and first referenced in her conversation (with Yang) at Mountain Glen, and becomes an undeniable path of exploration once Yang loses her arm to Adam at the end of Volume 3. Let it be noted that Sun was present when Yang announced she was going to find Blake at the Battle of Beacon - a decision was made here for Yang to be the one to lose her arm protecting Blake, as was Adam’s poignant promise to take away everything Blake loves - “starting with [Yang]” or, otherwise, the solidifying of this romantic subplot. Which, again, is called back to with the infamous line: “What does she even see in you?” besides the obvious subtext, it’s setting the stage for these parallels between Adam and Yang, past and future, the previous love interest identifying something in Blake that used to be reserved for him, now directed towards Yang.

This season began with Blake declaring that Yang “seems scary, but isn’t”. Because, once Belle knows the Beast isn’t scary, she allows herself to fall in love (conveniently, this is said whilst walking through a fairy tale).

I could go into a big post about romantic foils and the ways in which Yang, Adam and Blake are all foils to each other but I might make a separate post instead for anyone new to the FNDM. Either way, I feel it’s worth mentioning as it’s Blake who directly compares Yang to a past love interest who was designed with semblances and characteristics that mirror each other. Point being, no one should be shocked that Blake has multiple interests given the character and fairy tale she’s based off and heavy allusions where Yang is concerned.

“Oh yeah, because Yang ‘literally purred at guys in their underwear’ Xiao Long and Blake ‘literally kissed a boy’ Belladonna are clearly bisexual because of [insert out of context reasons]” and “yes but Monty said...”

1. You mean... the one, and only one scene in 9 entire volumes where Yang shows any interest (albeit jokingly) in a guy, and the literal scene directly before she sees Blake from across the crowded room and proceeds to never express interest in men again? (Ignoring the very obvious implied trope here). And, in fact, only expresses interest in a woman from this point onwards? This is your frame of reference? Personally, I find it quite lovely that Yang’s perspective is never the same from the moment she sees Blake. Asides from this, while ‘bisexual’ is the label that these guys have gone with, Yang’s sexuality hasn’t been confirmed outside of being sapphic - it’s not outside the realm of possibility that she is, in all likelihood, lesbian. It’s important to note here that any young character expressing an interest in a man would not invalidate that same character being a lesbian. In fact, if we apply this to real life, it’s not uncommon for people not to realise that they’re queer immediately (I myself didn’t until I was 21). But in the opening episodes of the series especially, I’d very much chalk this up to writers exploring the characters.

2. As for Blake - there are, from what I remember, three kisses in the entire show so far. The one between Jaune and Pyrrha - on the lips after prolonged romantic allusions between the two (their romance is explicitly referenced by Nora - “practice what you preach, Pyrrha.” - almost fitting that it’s Nora to call out the Bees in Season 7 - A Night Off, no? Neat little parallel for y’all). The one between Ren and Nora after trying to work out the status of their romantic relationship - again, on the lips. And the one where Blake says goodbye (and thank you) to Sun by kissing him... On the cheek. (So hot, I know). Which is immediately followed up with Sun telling Neptune “it was never about that”. One of these is not like the other, can you guess which? I’ll wait.

As for referencing Monty - I could go on all day about this one, and the quote most notoriously used is ‘they’re a sisterhood’. Firstly, let me just say that I find it disturbing that anyone would use the show’s deceased creator as ammunition, whilst also disregarding his other comments on LGBT rep - specifically, ‘maybe there are LGBT characters there now / they’re just kids rn and figuring it out / it needs to be earned’. But also, it’s really disturbing and egotistical that anybody would pretend to know what Monty wanted better than the crew he handpicked, worked with, collaborated with and was friends with (special mention to the fact that his own brother is one of the cast). If you truly want to honour his legacy, then show respect to the people he put his trust in.

“I don’t have an issue with BB, but why does it always have to take away from Yang’s moments with Ruby?” / “All Yang’s feelings for her sister transferred to Blake.”

One from the hall of fame. The age old question of ‘can a girl have a romantic partner and still care about her family?’ I wish this wasn’t a serious question, but there are actual sides of the Fandom that seem to think that Yang’s forgotten about her sister that she raised because she has feelings for someone and that the sole purpose of Yang’s existence is to be her sister’s keeper.

I’mma address this on 3 fronts. 1 - Logistically, the episodes for RWBY, excluding the intros, are 15-20 mins long currently and typically oversee several different storylines particularly as the cast grows larger, leaving us with... What? About 5 minutes of team RWBY interactions? It’s not a lot of time to pack in character development, relationship development, plotline, strategy etc. so often if they’re wanting to develop more than one relationship, they will alternate between putting these themes in the background (such as the yellow in Blake’s sword, references from other characters etc.) and foreground, and some developments have to be shoulder-to-shoulder to fit them in. This isn’t an indicator of how much one character cares for one another and is more a demon created by people’s perception of how they ‘think’ a protective sister should act.

Additionally, it should be noted that Yang fawning over Ruby and not allowing her to develop other relationships outside of her sister, would actually offer us nothing from a development perspective for both Yang and Ruby’s characters and would, instead, steer these two strong female characters down a path of co-dependency.

2 - It feels like a very easy excuse for Anti-BB folk to throw out there, conveniently forgetting how great of a sister Yang actually is (contrary to the number of RWDE videos I’ve seen arguing otherwise, as this is an essay I could write in itself). These very often take isolated incidents out of context and conveniently forget important information like Yang 1. Literally sacrificing herself twice to protect her sister 2. Sacrificing her entire childhood to raise her sister and 3. Importantly, the fact that Ruby is her (self-sufficient) Team Leader needs to be factored into their dynamic, as Yang gives her space to find herself as a leader and steps in when her sister actually needs her - not when the audience thinks she does. People hear ‘protectiveness’ and seem to think that this should mean that Yang should be overbearing.

3 - Anyone who says this doesn’t have siblings. I have older and younger siblings and, having largely raised my younger sibling, I can safely say that I still love them even when I’m in a relationship. I also feel extremely secure in arguing/disagreeing with any of my siblings because I inherently know they will still be there at the end of the day - a sibling love goes deep (referencing ‘Fault’ from Volume 8). However, in a romantic relationship that is not established and very new... you will feel insecure, that’s normal, it doesn’t have the luxury of established stability that siblings do, and therefore you will overtly express more anxiety about this as a result. It’s a very strange concept that if you have a sibling, you need to give them all of your attention and ignore any love interests. Yang has gone through her own traumas, she has every right to care about others, heal herself, and have a life that isn’t defined by being a caretaker for her sister. ESPECIALLY as she already gave up her childhood to fulfil this role, unselfishly AND as the person she’s bonding with is best poised to understand Yang’s trauma. Yang as a character deserves to receive the love she constantly gives out. Again, this is a demon born from the fact that it either doesn’t reflect the relationship commentors have with their siblings, or the fact that they’re *imagining* how that relationship should be.

Bonus picture below: Yang putting aside her anguish for Summer Rose, who she considered to be her mother, to prioritise comforting her sister about that same loss.

“I hate BB shippers because they pass off BS interactions as platonic. BS made more sense, there was no build-up to BB until Vol 6 and they let the BS build-up go to waste to force BB.”

First off, there’s nothing wrong with BlackSun as a ship. Shipping shouldn’t be dictated by canonicity and people have the right to ship it and to their opinions. And while a few of these seem to have referenced BS, I don’t actually think that BS shippers are at fault for the hatred coming this way, but rather that the ship seems to get used as ammunition from the Anti-BB crowd - to summarise, Anti-BB and BS shippers are not synonymous. I personally don’t ship BS, but I do enjoy the debate and actually think that Sun is a very important part of Blake’s development and arc. There did seem to be some form of mutual attraction between Blake and Sun. Had they gone down that route, I wouldn’t have hated it, I just never felt excited by it, which seems to be a large consensus amongst BB fans. An appreciation whilst feeling there was a better alternative.

Believing all the development between Sun and Blake was ‘wasted’ is also very closed-minded given how much he helped Blake in the White Fang arc and also disregards the importance of their friendship. BS has the potential to be one of the best and most supportive friendships in the series, I stand by that.

That said, I don’t think it’s entirely wrong to acknowledge that a lot of (not all) interactions between BS were platonic from Blake’s pov while Sun’s feelings were more explicit. The only real hint I saw of Blake reciprocating was a blush at the Vytal festival. Maybe the dance at a stretch, but there’s hints at both BS and BB and I will fight you on it. Now, it might be a question of timing; Adam was still a prevalent threat during this time which will have been weighing on Blake given the resurgence of the White Fang, and is clear when Adam rocks up seeking vengeance in Volume 3. For this reason, I honestly think it would have been disingenuous to have explored Blake in a full relationship with anyone at this point given these loose ends, and Blake undergoes a lot of development over volumes 4-6 as a direct result of this.

Additionally, if BB didn’t begin until Volume 6 then that means that BS had 4-5 volumes to happen - 2 of which where they were in their own arc, separated from the main cast. It didn’t happen. What happens instead is Blake’s guilt over Yang weighs heavily on her while she deals with her arc and Sun helps her come to terms with this, ultimately redirecting her back to her team, and Yang, while Sun’s interactions with her become increasingly platonic from his side.

Lastly, the only way you don’t see build up for BB, is if you actively will yourself not to see build-up. If you replace Blake and Yang’s moments with Sun, I don’t feel there’d be any misunderstandings on how these moments are supposed to be interpreted. Take off the hetero goggles, and we’re cool.

But on a sidenote and personal pet peeve of mine, the cries of ‘BB is forced while BS had build-up’ will forever irritate me - BB has a slow burn, a full arc, developed from a friendship and partnership as well as several tropes and allusions without going into too much detail. BS, firstly, never ended up happening, but it starts when Sun runs past, winks at Blake, magically knows she’s a faunus, then proceeds to follow around a girl he doesn’t know for two days who, at his own admission, didn’t speak that whole time. But... BB is forced? I’d say it’s subjective, but logic defies when this is the barometer for a natural introduction of a romantic pair.

“BB is ‘queerbait’”

Let’s address the ‘Goliath’ in the room, shall we? ‘Queerbaiting’ gets thrown around like a reflex at the moment by pseudo-fans who I don’t believe actually know the gravity of their statements or the meaning behind the word. I often see this slur paired with BB being strung out to keep the shippers watching. Now, there’s an essay in itself that could exist in this section, but are people really still clowning themselves that a show that’s explicitly shown that it wants to have queer representation in the cast and foreground is ‘queerbaiting’ it’s audience? Even weirder for me is the part of the FNDM saying that it’ll be baiting if they make BB canon. Please stop this nonsense and do some research.

Now, one thing I would like to tackle is that, sadly, some will still see pairings on the show through heteronormative glasses, so let me use that here. If the pair were a m/f couple and had several seasons of development and increasingly intimate moments, there would be no doubt in anyone’s mind that 1. It was heading in the direction of canon and 2. That it was a slow burn romance that’s building to its’ climax. Interestingly, the show actually does use the hetero goggles to frame BB on several occasions by paralleling this budding romance with several straight ships such as Arkos and Renora. Why? Because this is a narrative technique often used by writers to frame LGBT romances to separate them from ‘just friendships’ and, let’s face it, use an unconscious heteronormative bias to their advantage.

“BB is badly written, they barely interacted in volumes 1-3 then didn’t speak for two volumes.”

Tickle me pink. Volumes 1-3 are a very strange reference point for ‘in-depth’ development between characters. Crumbs, sure. The odd scene, absolutely. But let’s be real here - the show started as a low budget web series with an onus on cool fighting scenes and, most importantly, the episodes were around 5 minutes long whilst entertaining teams RWBY and JNPR, the White Fang, the Vytal tournament and several other plots. Nobody particularly interacted much but the writers did the best they could with what they had and the rest is left to us, the audience, to interpret that relationships are developing off-screen. Though from a critique POV in the interest of fairness, I would say the current season is a breath of fresh air by re-focusing the plot on the central characters as I think the show can sometimes be guilty of taking on too many plotlines.

As for volumes 4-5, while they’re in different continents, it’s obvious that they’re prevalent in each other’s arcs. Whether it’s Yang admitting she’s struggling with Blake’s abandonment - in the same episode the first lesbian character is revealed confessing their feelings to Blake (sidenote, all of team RWBY left Yang, and it’s Blake she’s mad at, this was always meant to be framed differently to her other teammates and IMO the struggle they go through is meant to frame the characters coming to terms with the depth of what they mean to each other), the parallels of them both getting onto the ship (named ‘Pride’ - wink wink), or Blake actively struggling to talk about Yang, yet referencing it when Sun is hurt (“Not again!”) showing it’s at the forefront of her mind. All of which culminates in their reunion in the Vol 5 finale.

Is it the best writing ever? No, nothing’s perfect. But they do explicitly use parallels throughout the series to drive the narrative forward as a foreshadowing tool to strengthen subplots.

“Blake being bisexual makes no sense - she was interested in Sun, it just seems so out of the blue, she and Yang just seemed like friends to me.”

Funny, because she and Sun seemed like friends to me too.

There are so many things I wanted to fire back at this, from the insinuation that if a woman first shows interest in a man then it’s out of the blue that she’s bisexual now that she’s showing interest in a woman... Like, how do you think it happens for bisexuals IRL?! Did you want her to burst onto the scene in Volume 1, announce she likes men and women, and then express explicit simultaneous interest in both of them? Start a harem? Proposition a throuple?

This particular take amuses me most of all as someone who is very openly bisexual. Yes, she and Yang seemed like friends. Great friends, in fact. That hold hands and blush and want to spend all their time together. And check each other out when the other isn’t looking. And make excuses for casual physical contact and flirt and giggle like a couple of giddy teenagers. Just like me and my ‘best friend’ did, before I realised I was bi. I’m sure that a lot of people thought it came out of the blue for me too. Blake being oblivious to being bisexual until it becomes too obvious to ignore is actually a very realistic scenario.

Bonus headline - just because you don’t understand/identify with something, doesn’t mean that it’s not good representation or realistic. I feel it’s also important to mention Blake’s VA, Arryn Zech, is bisexual and has spoken numerous times on the matter. The reason I bring this up is because it’s clear that the way in which the bisexuality of her character is presented on the show is actually something that’s incredibly important to Arryn - because good representation is significant.

Presenting labels and sexuality on Remnant: A Theory and - “BB is a terrible representation of LGBT and your critique ignores the female and LGBT people that have spoken out against it.”

They say, to someone who is both female and LGBT. Credit to the Anon who charged into my inbox to accuse me of the above - hope you enjoy. Now, there’s a couple of things I’d like to cover before I go into how sexuality is perceived in-universe. The first is that if you use this argument against someone who is queer without seeing the belligerent hypocrisy of your statement, please check yourself as, clearly, you only care about LGBT voices on representation when it aligns with your own rhetoric and ready to dismiss any narrative to the contrary from that same community.

Secondly, the queer/LGBT community is a vast and vibrant community of *individuals* with their own opinions and own voices. I didn’t nominate anyone to speak on my behalf, just as I don’t speak on the behalf of the rest of the community. Moreover, any art is open to interpretation. My opinion does not override theirs, nor does their opinion erase my own. And, believe it or not, it’s quite possible to have two or more differing opinions within one community without being at war with one another. I respect their opinion, just as I hope they respect mine.

We clear? Great. Onto the analysis! Huge shoutout to @crimsonxe for the brilliant discussion and assistance with the analysis in the comments that helped me construct this section! You’re awesome.

Let’s dive in with the headline - Homophobia doesn’t appear to be an issue on Remnant and labels don’t appear to exist, in the sense that it doesn’t appear anywhere in-universe. Now just to pre-emptively disclaimer: this may change, but in 9 volumes and however many supplementary materials, we’ve not heard any labels or had any representation of this type of discrimination. If that changes, I’ll happily remove this.

So why is this important, you ask? Ultimately, when you take away the inherent ‘fear’ that a lot of the LGBT community face IRL along with prevalent ignorance towards the community and society’s insistence on labelling sexualities and gender identity, it creates a world divorced from our own and is, from a narrative point of view, a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it allows the characters to explore themselves in a non-discriminatory environment that is inherently more fluid and free, whilst the audience will inevitably want to compare that to their own experiences. But we can’t - not properly - due to the still very real stigma and discrimination that exists in our own world. Instead, what we see are characters who express an interest in other characters and find other ways to allude to their preferences or identity. A prime example of this would be May, canonically a trans character, who does not use this term in-world but instead says, “To the Marigolds that meant I wasn’t their son, and I made sure everyone knew I wasn’t their daughter.” This is a theme that is poignantly reflected in the accompanying media for the series - such as the books; for instance, Coco, canonically lesbian, referring to “breaking the hearts of many women.”

How does this tie into the relationship with Blake and Yang? Glad you asked. If you bear in mind that Remnant has a very fluid outlook on sexuality and more of a ‘love who you love’ ethos which is blind to gender norms, it immediately subverts the assumption that interactions between m/f are romantic while f/f are platonic. It’s an open field, if you will. BB is a steady build from partner/best friend (though I’d argue that at least Yang had an immediate attraction, with Blake figuring herself out) with interactions that become increasing more intimate. Eye rolls and jokes become winks and innuendo (“I love it when you’re feisty!”), nudges become intimate hugs (Burning the Candle), become hand-holding (it isn’t coincidence that these two have held hands more than any other pair in the series), becomes pining, blushing, forehead touches (BB and Renora - remember those parallels), which evolves into flirting and... More. And yes, some of their interactions will still resemble the friendship they built their foundations on. But in a world where labels don’t exist, that journey from friend-to-lover is much more subtle and embedded in a gentle upwards curve of increasing intimacy.

“BB is only happening because the horrible BB fans demanded it, the show caved and gave in to the toxic fanbase, it wasn’t planned from the beginning.”

I’ve seen this in so many places, like a broken record. I have no doubt that there are BB fans that are fanatical, and I’d never justify the behaviour of any so-called fan that resorts to death threats or violence in any way. I’m hoping this surely must be a minority that has, hopefully, shrunk over the years as the audience has matured. However, this also really isn’t how shows work...

As many have pointed out in recent weeks, the show would be a very different landscape altogether if CRWBY were, in fact, that easily swayed by fans; namely, I’m thinking of Clover/Qrow, Pyrrha, Penny etc. While I don’t doubt that show-makers pay attention to the fanbase where needed and where it’ll be beneficial (seeing how fans react to developments, if allusions are clear etc.), sending death threats or whatever is actually much more counterproductive than anything else. But also... You’re not on the crew, you’re not part of those discussions. I feel confident that Miles, Kiersi and Kerry aren’t writing BB content with a gun to their head.

Lastly, the ‘it wasn’t planned from the beginning’ war cry is a tale as old as time. Like Beauty and the Beast. (See what I did there?) Asides from the fact that 1. Yang and Blake were actually the first created out of the team, and made with each other in mind, regardless of in what context (check out the original character designs/concepts) 2. Even if it wasn’t planned from the beginning, what difference does it make? There are tonnes of examples where the writers have felt the chemistry between two characters as the story’s gone on and decided to put them together (case-in-point from outside the anime world.. Chandler and Monica from Friends). In fact, while some writers like to plan every element of their plot from the beginning, there’s a great many writers who allow the characters to steer the plot as they grow - especially arcs with romantic undertones. The series was made predominantly for the action - it’s not a romantic series, so if they didn’t plan it from the beginning that wouldn’t be unusual, especially given that the episodes of the first few volumes are literally 5-10 minutes long. But regardless of whether the romance of the two was planned or not planned, it does not make it any less meaningful.

But let’s be real, the issue at heart isn’t that they weren’t sucking face in the first 3 seasons, it’s that they thought Blake would be with a guy, and she chose a girl. To which I say... Get over your bruised ego, and move on.

“BB fans deserve the hate they get because of x, y, z and cos it has toxic shippers.”

And you’re... Not... Toxic? If you’re an Anti-BB shipper and go out of your way to stalk and comment on BB tags/accounts just to harass shippers etc, then are you any better than the toxic fans you supposedly hate? To me, following BB tags and looking at BB content whilst being an Anti-BB shipper is so weird, why you trying to hurt your own feelings?

Also, saying that innocent shippers who are just living their best life should bear the burden of the toxic FNDM, is literally the definition of tarring everyone with the same brush. Some of us just want to eat our crumbs in peace, and from our POV, you’re the toxic ones being disrespectful. Bonus point: others being toxic does not give you licence to be hateful to anyone you come across that doesn’t agree with you.

“I’m no longer watching the show cos it’s trying too hard to be ‘woke’”

This ain’t an airport, you don’t need to announce your departure. But since you are, if your issue is the gay representation in the show then wake up and look around... We’re everywhere. The show is literally just reflecting the diversity you see day-to-day; but you keep sipping that haterade, my dude, we’re here to stay.

#anti rwde #rwby analysis #bumbleby #rwby

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grandmother-goblin · 2 months

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My big wishes for new Wyll content!

Ones that I believe would be easy to implement:

Romance greetings! At least 2-3 like the other companions seem to have!

Let Wyll decide what he wants to do with Mizora’s deal in Act 3! I think there is a hidden mechanic for Shadowheart that determines whether or not she chooses to save her parents on her own (player has to persuade otherwise). I would love something similar for Wyll where he can make his own choice, but the player can still potentially sway him one direction or another.

Ones that would be more difficult/time consuming to implement, but I still want.

Act 1

An approval based camp interaction! Kind of like how when you get a high approval with Gale, regardless of flirtation, you can get the Weave Scene. I would love something for when you reach 40+ approval with him, and I would love the scene to have nothing to do with Karlach or Mizora (probably would be easier to implement because there would be fewer permutations). Maybe Wyll can talk about what it means to be a hero over a pint of beer or something.

A romance scene prior to the tiefling party! All the other companions have options for an early romance trigger, I would love something like that for Wyll!

A Post-Karlach scene where Wyll thinks back on his choices and maybe opens up to the player how he’s feeling. Kind of similar to Astarion’s Mirror Scene. (Maybe this could be a potential romance scene? Option to hold his hand or lean against him or something?)

Act 2

I actually think Wyll is okay in terms of Act 2 content when compared to the other companions, but I would love for the player to have a non-romantic non-standard dialogue with Wyll as well! Maybe Wyll can talk a bit about his relationship with his father and the player can get a better idea of how important Ulder is to him.

A cutscene similar to Shadowheart’s wolf flashback when Wyll finally gets to share the circumstances of his pact.

Act 3

I would love a non-standard scene after the player rescues/fails to rescue Ulder. Maybe the player finds Wyll hanging out by his old fishing spot. If Ulder dies, Wyll can reminisce on his father’s fate. If Ulder lives, maybe after the player talks with Wyll for a bit, Ulder comes to sit next to Wyll. As the player walks away to give them family time, they hear them laughing.

More reactivity to the Wyrmway quest. I would also love it if you have Wyll in the party, maybe you have the chance to get Ansur on your side.

A way to ACTUALLY deal with Mizora. Really. I think part of the reason Wyll’s quest feels a bit unsatisfying to me is because we never get to deal with the main problem: Mizora. I WANT TO FIGHT MIZORA SO BAD.

Completely Selfish Desire

I wanna get Wyll naked if he’s romanced 👀 I am a simple woman, I see a hot man and I wanna see a hot man.

Anyways, these are just a couple of things that I think could be added without completely altering Wyll’s current quest. I might flesh out some of these ideas more later, but these are just my thoughts.

#grandmother goblin grumbles #wyll ravengard #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #wyll #bg3 wyll

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norefs · 4 months

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More gen (non-romantic) fic recs for @genuaryficrecs! Fandom: DC, batfam. Focus: Dysfunctional Batfam Type of gen relationships: parental and/or siblings This trope is kinda close to the Bad Bruce one but it's not quite the same; a Bad Bruce often is a manipulative bastard in control of everything, or just uncaring, while to qualify for this trope Bruce (or another family member) has to genuinely try and still be objectively terrible - and not just comically bad at communicating either; it usually references the several canon instances where Bruce knowingly inflicted severe physical injury to Jason, or beat his kids (or the various assassination attempts between siblings); usually also involves complex siblings dynamics. And they fucked up, and they still love each other so much but they don't really know how not to hurt each other and they're trying so very very hard and they're learning.

(… maybe don't read all of them in a row though, I don't think that could be good for anyone)

to the red planet Mars, by r_astra (https://archiveofourown.org/works/27613958) 6/6 Chapters, 36,912 words Not Rated, Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Main Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, the rest of the batfam

Official summary: Tim doesn’t notice the Batmobile roaring into the cave until the tires squeal as it skids to a halt. He starts, splashing long-cooled coffee across his lap as he lurches upright. Bruce is practically throwing himself out of the driver’s seat. He stalks around to the back of the car and Tim stares, confused. The trunk? He calls out. “Mask?” Bruce grunts a negative. Tim circles the car in time to see Bruce haul something—someone out. They’re big, but not quite as tall as Bruce, clad in black Kevlar and brown leather, wrists cuffed. Tim stops in his tracks when he recognizes the man. It’s Jason Todd.

Why I love it: This is about Bruce and Jason's relationship. This is someone going hey. Look at those canon events. If you stop and think about it, that's fucked up. And I love fics that look close like that at canon. And the characters in there are Not Okay - it's a story about abuse - but it's never hopeless. Because they're trying so hard to make it right and they've fucked up a whole lot, but they (the whole family) love each other and they're trying.

Excerpt: “We’re going to the cave.” Hood jerks his head up. “Hell, no.” Bruce starts walking towards the Batmobile. “No,” Hood repeats. “No way. I’m not allowed in Gotham, remember?” “Hn.” Bruce keeps walking, the pressure in his head building and then easing as Hood must start following. Hood doesn’t respond, but Bruce can hear him swearing under his breath in one long, continuous stream. When they reach the Batmobile, Bruce pulls out a pair of cuffs. “Seriously?” Hood sighs. He holds his wrists out anyway. Bruce slaps the cuffs on and checks to make sure they adjusted themselves correctly, then grabs Hood by the elbow and starts dragging him towards the back of the vehicle. Hood must be processing slowly, because he doesn’t start fighting until they get within a yard of the trunk. Bruce wins.

An Aquarium of Nameless Things, by husborth (https://archiveofourown.org/works/18308171) 4/4 chapters, 14.120 words (has a very good second work in the series at 45k more, with a wider batfam sample; the second work is technically unfinished but stops at a satisfying place) T, No Archive Warnings Apply

Main Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson

Official summary: After a difficult case, Jason learns a few things about Bruce, and deals with them about as well as Jason deals with anything.

Why I love it: I like this interpretation of Jason and the Pit, with Jason trying really hard to keep a lid on it but also being emotionally 15 (I know nothing about emotional development I just once read the phrase "emotions too big for his body" and liked it), and swinging between actually dangerous/hurtful and siblingly petty. And them all being in over their heads and Bruce not healed yet (never healing) from Jason's death and a Dick, over-protective of Bruce, who never really knew Jason before, and the crushing weight of responsibility. They just feel so strongly.

Excerpts: “You’re an annoying prick who didn’t even eat all of my ravioli, which you stole,” Jason said into the phone. “[…] Also my carpet smells like mildew, so if you want to come shampoo my carpet in apology for your whole everything, that’d be great.” - “No,” Dick admitted. “But it’s my turn. Bruce almost died of an oxycontin overdose in front of me. Did you know that?” Jason’s face turned red and hot and got tight—liar, liar, liar, pants on fire, the fire licking at his legs in just the millennium he lay there dying, sucking air through bloody lungs. A lie. A sham. He’d been tricked, Bruce had tricked him, Bruce had made him think he cared but this was a lie, these were all lies. He would die, he would pass in a storm before him, and Jason would be left to root through the garbage, he’d be—the dogs were barking loud and they tore his heels bloody. “No,” Jason choked out. “I didn’t.”

never be the first to believe, by ohnomydear (https://archiveofourown.org/works/17967926) 15/15 chapters, 98.132 words T, No Archive Warnings Apply

Main Characters: Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Ric Grayson

Official Summary: If Bruce 'made up' with Jason at the diner following the events at Sanctuary, the Red Hood shouldn't be reluctant to ask Bruce for permission to be in Gotham for a necessary surgery. Instead, Jason kidnaps Tim and asks him to make sure Bruce doesn't know he's in Gotham. Yeah, nothing about this sounds like they've forgiven each other.

Why I love it: That one is ostensibly about Jason and Bruce, and the aftermath of the big fight where Bruce beats Jason all to hell. But it's also (more so, imo) about each of the siblings' relationships with Jason, and with Bruce. Yay for Robins banding together against Bruce. People talking past each other, contradicting POVs, and what forgiveness means/looks like. Also this one has an amnesiac Ric, which creates fun character dynamics.

Excerpt: “How did you get me this far?” And whose car was this? “The truth, or would you like a face-saving lie that we can both pretend to believe?” Tim groaned and reached for the coffee. “Which board room did I fall asleep in?” “Your office. For once. But intern Jared noticed and called the car company, which showed up in record time.” Jason gestured with one hand at the car around them. “And then they ‘took you home.’” “Why not just wake me up?” Tim hissed. “And don’t even get me started on how I don’t have an intern Jared and I’m really suspicious that he and the car company driver look astonishingly similar.” “Guilty. And as Bruce has always said, if Tim falls asleep on patrol, it’s because he made poor decisions about how much sleep he needed.” Tim gaped at him. “He—he doesn’t say that.” “No, he doesn’t.” Jason grinned. “But let’s say that I say it. Now, to business. Sorry I didn’t get the copies of the agenda printed first, but I was busy finding a wheelchair to get you out of the building.” Tim dropped his head into his left hand, groaning. “You realize I do have to go back there, right? And explain what that all was?” “That doesn’t sound like intern Jared’s or Driver Ulysses’ problem. Both of them are more concerned with finding their respective missing twin brothers – and solving the terrible murder of their mother, which took place ten sad, sad years ago.” Great. He’d made up backstories for covers with a four second half-life. Tim took a sip of the coffee and found it passable. “The agenda?” “You know I’m not allowed in Gotham.” Jason’s voice had gone flat, as if the humor had just dropped out of it.

How Far Love Goes, by BeatriceEagle (@flybynightwing) (https://archiveofourown.org/works/31871722) 11/11 chapters, 99.549 words T, Graphic Depictions of Violence

Main Characters: the whole batfam

Official summary: Plenty of family reunions end in fighting. Not that many end in explosions. A mass Arkham breakout brings all of Bruce's children home, and with them, all the drama, secrets, and anger they've been keeping for years. Amidst rising tensions and a mysterious new threat in Gotham, the family has to work together to round up the rogues—and confront their feelings about each other.

Why I love it: A main plot peppered by tasty flashbacks (that inform our understanding of the present) of batfam interactions through twelve years, ranging from cute to heartrending. Complex relationships web that actually includes the girls too (Babs and Steph and Cass!).

Excerpts: “How about Nightwing?” said a voice from above, and then Nightwing somersaulted from the branches of a nearby tree, landing lightly on the ground beside Cass. Batman pivoted half a degree to face him. “Oracle called you too?” “Of course she did, B, there was an Arkham breakout.” “It’s handled.” Nightwing crossed his arms. “Handled like it was last time?” Batman mirrored Nightwing’s stance. “It’s handled.” “Excuse me, but I don’t feel like standing by and watching you get your back broken ag—” “Go back to Blüdhaven. They need you there.” Batman spun around and stalked away. Nightwing stared after him, his body leaning in the direction Batman had gone, like he was about to run after him. Then he slumped backward. “Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.” He turned to Cass. As always, his body language screamed awkwardness when he spoke to her. Even facing her, he angled his shoulders away, like he didn’t want to be in this conversation. “Is he letting you help him?” Cass shrugged one shoulder, deciding that was better than trying to put the mess of hers, Barbara’s, and Batman’s stand-off into words - [flashback from Dick's Robin days] Then, for the first time since they'd begun their stakeout, movement beside him. Dick looked over. Batman's hand stretched out towards him. In his gauntleted palm, a single yellow M&M. Dick looked up. Batman's face was unchanged. But the M&M was obviously for Dick, right? He picked it up gingerly, as if it were explosive. (And given that it had come from within Batman's cape, who was to say it wasn't?) Eyes still on Batman, Dick put the candy in his mouth. Just chocolate. No explosions. Batman's hand withdrew back into his cape. A moment later it emerged with another M&M. Green this time. Dick took it and grinned.

#genuaryficrecs #genuary fic rec fest #batman #batfam #dc #fic recs #r_astra #husborth #ohnomydear #beatriceeagle #flybynightwing #bruce wayne #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #wow reccing 300k words that I read several months ago does take some time actually

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sillyyuserr · 22 days

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terukane analysis, and/or just random stuff, i have too many prompts in drafts but they’re too small to be their own analysies so they’re here pt. 2 💫

I already made one of these a bit ago, so if theres anything not here it’s either in that other one, or i just haven’t covered it (yet)

Item A: “I like Akane-san”

When teru says this, it comes out differently in every language. And seemingly equally ambiguous which i find interesting

for example, in the french translation of this line, teru says "I love you more than you might think akane" rather than saying “i like akane-san” and i mean having a mistranslation here is obviously something, but what he actually says is just what?

“i love you more than you might think akane” EXCUSE ME??

also not to mention “san” is gender neutral. He very well could be calling akane by his first name and them (akane & nene) misunderstanding what he said. Although he does refer to aoi as “akane-san”, the translators wouldve translated it to “aoi” instead of “akane” if he was referring to her (or not, im not completely sure on how they do the translation 😭)

Item B: queer association

(Edit: Im fucking dumb and forgot to add the panel of that one dude yelling “no i want to be his boyfriend!” But i can’t find it for the life of me so pretend its here)

not only is this one of the only canon queer characters in tbhk, (my guy only got one panel 💔) but also this associates “queerness” or wtv that means with teru

along with akane mentioning both genders being attracted to teru. Again, associating queerness with him. And you may be wondering, why is this important? well, notice how out of all of the main and/or reoccurring characters, he is one of the ONLY characters to be associated with queerness. (The only others being kou; his friends teasing him about wanting to “undress mitsuba” and akane; the whole yamabuki thing) for example, take note of how scarily popular aoi is because of her beauty, shes like a literal god, everyone loves this girl, but notice how never once has a girl ever confessed to her? actively not associating her with queerness, unlike teru.

and notice how the other characters that are associated with queerness are kou, who (its pretty much been canonized atp) has romantic feelings for his male friend mitsuba, and AKANE. The guy i swear he has a crush on like cmon now AidaIro can you be more obvious

Item C: reoccurring patterns

in tbhk, all of the confirmed/obviously implied romantic relationships between the main characters have been supernatural x human, hanako and nene, mitsuba and kou, akane and aoi, excluding only teru and aoi. But this does not exclude teru and akane, almost showing us that in the love triangle between teru, akane and aoi, it may not be revolving around which one gets with aoi, but which one gets with akane. It seems as though teru x aoi was never an option from the start.

Although teru has said he likes aoi, his actions say otherwise. for example teruaoi’s conversation in the convenience store was obviously extremely awkward, the only non-awkward part being when he helped her out of that creepy interaction with the clerk.

And the face he made when akane asked/assumed he had a crush on aoi

(Which he never definitively answered)

The point of this section was because of these reoccurring patterns we can conclude akane is the main love interest, not aoi.

Item D: their relationship

Something teru likes about akane, is how no matter what he doesn’t seem to ever give up. Which yes in some aspects this can be a bad thing, coff coff

But most times, you can kind of tell this is a big reason he likes akane, almost like a “he pushes him down, he gets back up” kind of thing, its a big part of their dynamic. If akane wasn’t like this, their dynamic would change a lot. He likes this because as stated in the spinoff, he kind of uses akane as a “stress toy” (which has obviously changed, as their relationship did when the series progresses) but he likes this because at the end of the day, akane will come back. No matter how many times he ties akane up, he returns to the student council room. No matter how many times teru pushes akane down (in this example, literally) he gets back up.

Something i like about terukane, is their relationship. The trust and motivation they give one another. For example, its shown early on Teru has disassociates himself from other people. Teru views the living as “delicate” and kind of makes it his job to protect them from supernaturals (when i say he made it his job i mean his dad did). He was raised to have a very different view towards the living vs supernaturals. Rounding this back to Terukane, teru doesn't view akane as “fragile” like other people, and I think that's something to take note of. The reason he thinks like this could definitely tie into the fact that he’s half supernatural but also he views akane in a higher regard then most people. Akane keeps up with him, teru actually acknowledges this, saying he values his intelligence and enjoys talking to him.

Its kind of been shown teru has had a hard time making friends ever since grade-school, i mean yeah he talks to people, but the only people he’s lowered his guard around has been tiara and kou (siblings), and akane. A literal supernatural (the kind of person this guy is supposed to exterminate??) Literally what makes akane so special? This guy is the most popular person in THE school, second to none, and the only person besides his family that he can let his guard around is akane? They both work in the student council, president and vice president meaning they work in extremely close quarters, everyday, giving them lots of time to talk, so its no doubt they became close, but out of everyone, teru choosing akane to put his trust in is just odd to me idk man

Item E: bringing up each other alot

in many instances, teru and akane bring eachother up when they aren’t even involved in the current situation, or unintentionally show us they think about eachother more than we think they do, a few examples:

Teru talking ab akane to his family. Call me insane but i have alot to say ab this one. This one really gets me because that would mean throughout his entire way home from school, including if he fought off supernaturals on his way back (which he seems to do pretty much everyday), from the last time he saw akane, he had to have been thinking about him the entire time. Since they are in the student council they stay together for most of the day when its not their extra/curricular classes or lunch, meaning they probably stayed together until about an hour after school ended, and according to google

School ends around 3:50 to 4pm and their after school activities last until around 6pm. In one chapter i forget which one, kou complains about his brother not being home much and whenever he is home he’s usually sleeping or too sleepy to answer him properly, (and in art of their ‘home life’ teru is always either sleeping or sleepy) because of his constant fighting with supernaturals well into the evening. Now lets assume at this point teru has left the school building, and about a few (5) minutes down the sidewalk and he runs into supernaturals, fights them off yadayadayada, at this point it’s presumably now 6:30-6:40, now lets also assume they live about a few (5) blocks away from the school, one block presumably taking 5 minutes each, times the 5 blocks they live away, taking approximately 25 minutes to half an hour to walk, plus the additional time he took to exorcise the supernaturals on his way home, which by this point we can probably assume its 7-7:20 now which is around an hour after families/people usually make dinner, we can assume he gets home at the 7-7:20 mark, sits down with tiara and kou to have dinner when this panel was shown

Meaning for an esitmated two and half, to three consecutive hours, akane was on teru’s mind. Thats a pretty long time to be thinking ab someone teru. I know what you are

(it says “Aoi is coming too.”) him blushing while talking ab his bf

akane having a literal DREAM about him. I havent had dreams with life long friends in them so to have a dream about this boy you “hate” is.. hmmm

Innermost subconscious feelings you say? okay okay so not queer at all yk so buddy so bro of them

Item F: the original plot

tbhk was originally going to be a oneshot manga featuring the love triangle between akane, lemon and aoi but later was cancelled, and in the official manga, they made lemon and akane “fall in love”

obviously as a joke but that shows AidaIro is not oblivious to the idea/premise of the two boys instead falling in love with eachother, rather than the girl, so the idea (i talked more ab in a past analysis) of teru&akane getting together rather than teru&aoi or akane&aoi getting together is ON THE TABLE

would add more but i fear this will take me too long💔 new chapter next week yall prepare urselfs

#AAAHHHHHH #terukane #tbhk #minamoto teru #aoi akane #aidairo #real #analysis

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blazinghotfoggynights · 18 days

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I hope the 9-1-1 TPTB bring the drama.

There. I said it. I want to see angst, struggling, emotional turmoil, crying, maybe a few holes punched in the wall, again, screaming, arguing. Everything.

They have been freed from the conservative prison that is the you know what network. Why not go big or go home?

Now, some people will say read this and say I'm messy.

Okay. If you think that bothers me, good for you. (It doesn't. IRL, I am the most drama-free, non-confrontational person ever, but I like my entertainment to be a runaway rollercoaster. Don't keep it mentally stable and happy. So boring.)

I've been pretty open about wanting Buddie endgame. But we don't have to take the romantic, sweet, easy route. We can go offroad, turn on the 4x4, and hit the bumps full speed.

So, if Minear and crew (or Oliver and Ryan *waves*) see this, let me throw some messy ideas your way. You want mayhem and chaos? Let's look for some!

Everything below can be supported by canon up to ep 7x5.

1- Have Eddie question why his romantic interactions with women are always forced, initiated or encouraged by someone else, and unfulfilling. Shannon pursued him. Ana was there and familiar. Marisol was there and familiar. Eddie never pursues women due to good old basic attraction. He falls into relationships with those who send him signals they like him and are kind of shameless and thirsty.

We have NEVER seen Eddie actually genuinely excited to go on a date or spend time with a woman. There was always some ulterior reason. He was trying to give Christopher the stable home he thought his son deserved, or Bobby gave some cryptic advice, or Buck said Natalia is the only person who sees him. Ahem.

But Eddie was was all smiles to go hang out with Tommy. The man was bouncing. Bouncing! And every time he has hung out with Buck, he's relaxed and happy. Ijs.

2- I want to remind you that you created the character of Tommy Kinard, so his canonical history is not fandom's ideas. *points to show writers* They did it!

Tommy is canonically a racist, misogynist dbag. (See Hen Begins.) Sure, you can say he did it to fit in, but that also makes him a hypocrite now. He was always the first to follow in the former captain's footsteps when harassing Hen. Tommy wasn't a kid. He knew what he was doing was totally wrong and chose to be racist, misogynist, and possibly homophobic. I mean, I see that you have Hen and Chim forgiving him, which is fodder for a whole different post on retconning, backtracking, the forgiveness from minorities trope etc, but I digress.

I have always lived by the rule that when people show me who they are, I believe them. If you wanted to refer back to past Tommy Kinard, you could make him a total dbag.

It was obvious in 7x3 Tommy was not into Buck. At all. He didn't acknowledge Buck at all until Buck grabbed him. He barely spared Buck a glance when Buck grabbed his arm, pushing Buck's hand away, then looking back toward the direction Eddie exit the scene. That man was blinded by Eddie, who, see number 1, didn't give him the time of day. You could build on that and bring massive amounts of drama and pain.

3- If you really want to blow minds, have fandom go into a collective meltdown, be edgy, and create a storyline that would open the doors to all the main characters being involved, new bonds being cemented between characters who rarely interact, and serious emotional wreckage... just hear me out..

Give us an infidelity arc.

There are multiple options for this one. Some are pretty straightforward and relatively tame, such as Eddie and Buck realizing they are completely in love with each other and kissing, and some are just this side of being banished to Skinimax and HBHo, such as uncovering hidden facts that are scandalous, lying, and intentionally misleading others for your own purposes.

Those ideas could lead to enough material for seasons 8, 9, AND 10 if done properly. 😂 Certain watchdog groups and politicians will condemn you, but smart people don't like them anyway.

Fandom, what say you?

If you have an idea not up there, don't be shy about posting it in a response.

P.S.- I will not apologize for loving messiness. If others didn't enjoy watching messy situations, reality TV would not exist. So, I am not alone.

#9 1 1 buddie #buddie #buck x eddie #buddie 911 #eddie diaz x evan buckley #eddie x buck #evan buckley #evan buckley x eddie diaz #eddie diaz #buck buckley #evan buck buckley

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hybbart · 10 months

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hihelo, raau related things

i really like how you draw and write stuff with hybrid stuff in mind, especially avians, and was wondering if you could infodump a bit? stuff like instincts and little things like sounds they make stuff

sorry if this is too vague, i dont really have any specific questions, im just curious about it all :D

oh actually i do have one, where do you usually learn all this stuff from?

Thank you! I'll try to answer a few things

As far as major ones I don't think it's much all that differently than the general fanon you find in fics, the only real difference is that since I'm drawing, I have to figure out what it actually would look like/go with a more visual option. (For example a lot of people make blazeborn, or at least tango, purr, and that's not something you can depict in a silent, still image easily.) The only other difference is that raau is set on a single, modern world and so ones like blazeborn aren't from the nether or void and these species have a linear history that impacts the world's development.

Avians:

Avians make all sorts of birb noises when theyre emotional of course, and they need preening. Maybe pre apocalypse they were picky about what to do with their feathers, but in the apocalypse they could be a potential resource so at least Jimym and Grian save them.

The main difference is I prefer to interpret things like feather-gifts and nests as familial things. A lot of these behaviours are based on bird behaviours but I like to imagine they don't just... act like birds. These are their culture and traditions not JUST instincts.

So, like, it's instinctive and better for their body if they sleep in a nest rather than a bed, but that nest replaces beds and- while their partner usually is the other person sleeping in that bed, it's more of a big like... sleepover space for everyone in their flock, not a romantic thing. It doesn't really say anything about their relationship other than they're comfortable sleeping around them, in their nest which is their safe place. Nests I also designed based on enclosed nests like weavers, or a bird house, or cavity nests like owls. I think it just made it more distinctly a nest rather than a round dipping bed, especially once all the blankets and pillows are placed. So they'll put up veils and curtains and basically make a fort but permanent. It's the focal point of their homes, basically.

The ranchers' has to be comfortable and accessible to Tango as well but I imagine most avian families straight up make a whole room for just the nest and no stairs. I feel like avians are really bad about making accessible architecture. In raau I imagine their world a lot liek ours but I also image it without a housing crisis or lots of generic homes due to the needs of the various species usually meaning a LOT of people build their own homes.

Feather earrings I also imagine as a nuclear family thing between avians only, for the inner flock so to speak. It's sort of like a house flag, 'these are my siblings/parents/children' type thing. If that involves a non avian a non-feather item might be included, like a blazerod or scale. It's mostly a signal to other avians, though (and pretty). Like if Jimmy removed Grian's feather from his earring that would be A Statement. there isn't really any ritual involved with giving them, either, it's just expected. Outer flock aka friends, extended family, and unmarried partners aren't really involved.

Avians also have a migratory instinct in raau. Though they have specific birds they might resemble I think of them as their own whole species 99% of the time (Jimmy's ability to see sounds being the 1% unique due to their bird thing). In the case of the modern avians this usually takes the form of frequent travelling or nomadic lifestyles and taking up temporary/seasonal work.

A lot of cowboys were avians, and probably a lot of those world travel blogs were run by avians. Probably a lot of jobs discriminate against avians assuming they'll want a bunch of vacation time or up and quit like how women with families are treated. Jimmy doesn't travel much as he's more of a ground-bird and the farms he worked on were plenty spacious, but even he gets antsy if he's stuck at the ranch too long and usually is the one to go out scavenging with Grian or visiting the hospital.

And finally obviously their wings are very important to them. It's their everything, even if they're like Jimmy and don't fly too much. It's their main survival strategy so being grounded makes them very anxious and stressed. Even Jimmy who hasn't been able to fly-fly for several years in raau still instinctively tries to launch himself in the air when startled or attacking. Clipping or damaging them is the worst thing imaginable to them so they treat them with the utmost care.

It's how they display being healthy and well-groomed to others, like a nice clean haircut, and they puff up and flatten largely in the same displays and posturing as your average bird as far as communicating emotions goes.

Blazeborn:

I don't have nearly as much for blazeborn since there's only one of them, but I think their instincts are very cat-like as far as behaviour. They are completely in control of their ability to burn or produce fire, like rapidash. They get VERY firey and turn into a fire hedgehog when enraged, but if they know who it is then even then they won't burn someone they don't want to burn. It's more like a threat display, but of course whoever it's directed at will usually be burnt.

They tend to use their tail to communicate, and they use it like cats use purring; when they're comfortable or are trying to comfort themselves they wrap it around things. Otherwise it communicates much the same way as a cat's tail.

In raau their flame colour is an indication of their internal temperature regulation. Blue/white is extra hot and red is cooled down, yellow is in-between, average temp. Since it's also hair it can't be put out, but it does crackle and steam when wet. They do NOT do well in cold weather, obviously, nor weather that heavily fluctuates.

A lot of traditional blazeborn homes are in deserts or underground, and modern blazeborn-friendly homes ALWAYS have the main part of the house as a basement suit type deal with plenty of climate control, where it's much easier to regulate temperatures to warm and dry.

They have an attraction to metals, though tango's a little freak who likes iron more than gold. Them and pig-hybrids are probably the reason for the gold standard. Probably a lot of traditions involve metalworking and the like. It's instinctive to be attracted to metals, but the working of them into things is cultural.

Also in raau specifically blazerods are a whole effort and ordeal to produce. it's basically blazeborn cartilage.

Others:

raau doesn't have magic, so races defined by their magical capabilities are no around, like vex or witches.

Medusas like Cleo basically have multiple brains like an octopus and so require a lot of calories and nutrition. They're also immune to snake venom and can develop immunity to other toxins, thus they're actually very reliable for the development of anti-venoms and vaccines.

Scott's an elf but it doesn't mean much other than he's tall and has slightly pointy ears. They have a lot of cultural stuff, but Scott's not a very traditional guy.

Fauns have a lot of prey-instincts, so they tend to have very strong fight or flight instincts at the smallest thing. They're also a bit odd to most people. They're social but in a shield sort of way rather than a cooperative sort of way, so their moral compass can seem off. If I let myself I would make so much faun lore so I intentionally stopped myself there. The only other thing is their horns/antlers shed annually and so they treat them almost like how others treat family picture books or height charts.

Tiny Tom is both a voidwalker and a cow faun hybrid. As far as voidwalkers go they hate being looked in the eye and are similar to avians with a migratory instinct.

Merfolk like Lizzie need to live in humid climates if they are going to live out of the water, and have very strong schooling instincts. They'll often have very large families and friend groups. Home pools were unsurprisingly something that first appeared in land-living merfolk homes. It's an absolute necessity, as well as a large bathroom or full on bathhouse. (they separate the bathroom and the toilet as separate rooms)

And that's about all the things I've thought about. It seems like a lot when actually typed out and explained, but a lot of it's mostly common fanon maybe adjusted here and there for the setting of raau.

#raau ask #raau notes #raau notes: setting

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fraudulent-cheese · 5 months

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OK OK OK SO MY BRAIN HAS BEEN GOING INSANE ABOUT AMICUS CURIAE SO I NEED TO RAMBLE ABOUT IT!!!!

Spoilers for the fic under the cut (duh), link to read it is here, goooo do that!!!

OK SO. The main conflict am i right

Right now we are in a fluff sweet spot where most of the teams are on friendly terms and the main 6 aren't in conflict. However considering what the author has posted to their TD blog recently, it's definitly not staying that way.

Hell even in the current chapters it's probably not staying that way, considering Courtney's 100% caught on that there's something going on between Noah and Alejandro, and in return Alejandro's detected Courtney's crush for Emma.

So yeah! Im predicting that's gonna be the cause of the big rift that happends between the best friends; both of their feelings are going to get in the way of the win eventually in a big way. Maybe Courtney will get distracted by Emma or Alejandro's going to try to keep the Pros in the game in a way that handicaps the Best Friends for the challenge, and it'll blow up in their face, and past events are gonna be brought up and they're gonna get HURT.

I think Courtney's main reasons for being annoyed at Alejandro and Noah's friendship (outside of Courtney would like to win thanks) is her wanting Alejandro to not get hurt; Noah's already betrayed him (from his perspective), she wouldn't want him getting stabbed in the back again. I dout he'd do that, but Courtney doesn't know that!

Also whenever she'll figure out it's romantic, she's certaintly going to discourage Alejandro to go for it during the show. Dating on Reality TV is not a good idea, they both have negative experiences with it, Courtney especially. Neither would want to go through that again, so conflict arising from it makes sense.

Also also, Courtney might be afraid of losing Alejandro,,, she's lost friends due to relationship drama in the past, hell she's still struggling with the after-effects of her trust being broken so many times. So seeing Alejandro be genuine with someone else? Yeah she's not gonna react well. Im basing this off the line "Alejandro's supposed to only be genuine with her" Because it says ALOT. To me.

This is 100% aromantic projection hour but Societytm constantly pushes romantic relationships as more important than platonic ones, an impression reinforced in media and especially tabloids - Courtney and Alejandro have already been mistaken for a couple in this fic by one of the main characters due to their closeness - so i wouldn't be shocked if either had internalised this and fears losing their one actual friend because they're crushing on someone else.

I don't think Alejandro's expressed much derision for Courtney's crush on Emma yet? So im not sure the conflict on his end would come from that. I think his main issue is trying to push himself too much out of a sense of obligation to be performing at his best all the time (especially now at the final 8 teams and non elimination rounds being pretty random so far) + his guilt over previous performances in challenges. It's 100% going to bite him or Courtney (because i dout she doesn't have similar over working tendencies) in the ass in a MAJOR way in an upcoming challenge. That and their respective competitiveness is probably gonna hurt them in a major way.

FINAL NOTE: I have no fucking clue how this can happen if the final POV's not Courtney but it would be so fucking cool if the closing lines of Amicus Curiae were a parallel to the "This is a terrible idea" that Courtney kept repeating in chapter 1, you know bring it full circle and stuff.

God this post is long

#cheese posting #amicus curiae #oh god i accidentally published this because my phone was being stupid #string cheesing #alenoah #courtnemma #courtemma #td alejandro #td courtney

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djtheabishai · 4 months

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Obey Me Ships: Who I Do and Don't Ship

Who I ship:

Simeon x Barbatos

Duh, my page is filled with the ship. My O.T.P. (One True Pairing). Others call it the "Dad Ship" and I can see that. Because they both are parent figures to Luke.

I don't know what it is about the ship I like so much. (that's a lie, I just don't want to give into details)

Lucifer x Diavolo

I can definitely see it. It's fun to watch Diavolo gush over Lucifer in both the main game and Nightbringer. It's also a fun crack ship in my universe when not paired with my twins.

Asmodeus x Solomon:

Like with Dialuci, I can definitely see it. Hell, it slaps you across the face with it sometimes.

Simeon x Solomon

TO A SMALL DEGREE. It's a good crack ship when I'm not gushing over Simebarb. I see pictures and I'm like... "Aww, that's adorable, but Simeon is Barbatos's, you can't change that."

Barbatos x Beelzebub

Like with Simeon x Solomon, but EXTRA SMALL. Barbatos is Simeon's and you can't change that.

Who I Don't Ship:

Simeon x Brothers

I find Simeon to be Lucifer's big brother (don't make me go into detail about family with the OCS, it's confusing) and since Lucifer is big brother in the Devildom, Simeon is big brother to every brother as well.

Simeon x Lucifer

Like I said, Simeon and Lucifer ARE BROTHERS!! (I don't give a fuck what the chat name between them is in the original game. They Are BROTHERS!!)

Simeon x Other Brothers

.... Read the one above it.

Brother x Brother

Ok, I'm NOT into incest, Okay?! I don't care if they "Aren't actually related.". I see them with the Step Brothers bond. If you had a step sibling, would you date them?! No?! Ok then!

Simeon x Diavolo

I can kinda see it, but how I placed these two in my storys is... yeah no...

Diavolo x Barbatos

Another I can see it, but after Nightbringer confirmed that Barb known Dia since the prince was a literal child, it's awkward. Especially since he raised him. And that I see these two with the Uncle and Nephew role.

Barbatos x Solomon

Read what I said about Barb x Dia, but switch out Uncle and Nephew for Father and Son.

Diavolo x Belphegor

I mean... I don't see it.. Belphie resents Diavolo so much that I don't think it can turned around.

Barbatos x Brothers (Minus Simeon)

I.. don't see it.. maybe with Lucifer, but not enough to actually dig and see..

LUKE X ANY OF THE CHARACTERS!!

Luke is literal, confirmed CHILD!! If you're shipping him with ANY ADULT IN THE GAMES, YOU'RE FUCKED IN THE HEAD!! AND DON'T BE UPING HIS AGE EITHER!!

*breaths*

If Luke has relationships with the people, it's platonic, non romantic.

It's DISTURBS me to find out people romanticly pair Luke with any one. Especially with Barbatos...

Like no, Barbatos is your father and NOT in a kinky way either!!

I would do the others, but I don't know know them well enough to cover..

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me barbatos #obey me simeon #obey me diavolo #shall we date #obey me satan #obey me mammon #obey me lucifer #obey me nightbringer #obey me leviathan #obey me asmodeus #obey me solomon #obey me luke #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #Obey me ships

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thewrongmoon · 1 year

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writers twitter deep dive

in light of the "let's start a new party" tweet being cracked, i decided to see what else i could find from the writer's account!

DISCLAIMER: some of these things could have potentially been tweeted by an intern or someone who isn't the duffer brothers themselves. as a result, not all of this is 100% definitive proof of anything! with that being said, here is some interesting things I found:

Tweets hinting at future events of S4:

This is a hint at Max's isolation due to her depression in S4.

This one requires some extrapolation. So, let me interpret this picture by picture:

Steve and his high school friends. I can find two potential meanings for this; the first is that this is meant to show how S4 starts with all the kids not in high school. The second is that this is a representation of "forced conformity", as Nancy, who conformed to fit in with Steve's friends, is present.

Will having an episode. I think this is meant to represent the Vecna visions.

The gang in the basement. This is meant to represent the gang, again, brainstorming in Mike's basement in S4.

Completely black screen. I can think of a couple different meanings behind this-- it might be to show a separation between this storyline and vol 2. Or maybe it's meant to hint at Max's death or coma?

again, let's go through this image by image:

Billy. Billy makes a return in S4. He also serves as a metaphor for the ghosts of their past, Max's especially.

Nancy and Jonathan. I think both of these past two tweets are about the Hawkins storyline specifically, so I don't really think it's meant to represent Jncy literally? I think maybe it might be more of a metaphor for the investigation arc that Nancy and Robin go on, seeing as we usually see Jonathan and Nancy take on that role.

The mindflayer. i.e. the big bad, the lingering doom of the season. Obviously we know that that's actually Vecna, but they weren't gonna spoil the season on their twitter, so think of the mindflayer as a placeholder for him.

Steve with the bat protecting the kids. Once again, Steve is trying his best to protect the kids in S4, Max in particular.

I'll acknowledge that this is potentially a stretch. But CMON MAN, Miss VICKIE'S chips? It's a hell of a coincidence if not intentional.

Tweets of four images:

So on top we have an image of Kali and El, an image of Max and El, on bottom we have an image of Will and El, and an image of Mike and El. The two on the left feature El with an adoptive sibling. The two on the right feature El with a close friend (the image of her and Mike is pre-relationship.) All but one of these are non-romantic relationships.

The top two images are Max and El, and Will and El. The bottom two are Mike and El, and Mike and Will.

Once again, we see platonic/familial relationships on top. On the bottom is one romantic relationship and....one relationship that you literally can't label as platonic atp since one is in love with the other. Veeeery interesting placement here.

This one stumped me a bit? The main motif I get is love triangles. Lucas, Max and Dustin were in a love triangle in S2. Dustin is not in the photo with Lumax because their love triangle has been resolved. With Robin, theres two potential paths: Her love triangle featuring her, Tammy, and Steve, or, her trying to get Steve and Nancy together in S4, even when Nancy is dating Jonathan. We also have Dustin looking at her in this configuration, which could represent how he thinks she should date Steve.

And then we have Mike, Will and El. The only set of three here. The only love triangle yet to be resolved.

This one I found interesting because it places the rain fight on the same level as El being traumatized, Max watching her brother be possessed, and Murray watching Alexei being shot. The only other message I can garner is that they're saying these things come back. And we do see that in S4 (El is placed in an isolation tank again, Max is haunted by Billy, Mike and Will have unresolved tension, Murray's Russian skills are needed once again.)

Tweets of single images with lowercase text:

Okay, so if I showed these to a byler on twt I have a feeling they would immediately start doubting and say this means byler has no chance of being endgame. But let me give you my observations on this:

With Jancy and Lumax, there is an adjective given. With mlvn, it's only "love." (you could look into the love being lowercase, I know that's another reoccuring motif.)

I think it's interesting that they chose this word for mlvn. namely because it's literally the exact word Mike cannot bring himself to say to El. THAT is what I believe they are foreshadowing with these tweets.

Also, most other mentions of love on their account is in a platonic sense. See: this tweet featuring a gif of Steve and Dustin.

the only other example of them using the word "love" I found was this one of Nancy:

In which, I believe, she is talking to Steve. So this is another mlvn/stncy parallel!

they also don't just make these lowercase + image tweets with couples. Here's one with El and Hopper!

Miscellaneous interesting tweets:

A mention of Wonder Woman. In relation to El using her super powers. Once again, the only person who compares her to male superheroes is Mike.

For you lettergate truthers, here's another instance of a letter being put in the left chest pocket (by the heart in their own words!)

Likening Max and Mike's relationship to El

Not once, but TWICE they did this! Directly comparing the way Max and Mike "love and support El" despite the fact that one is her best friend, and the other is her boyfriend.

Honestly, they don't tweet many pictures of byler? But this is one of the few i did find. Actually, funnily enough, this is the notorious 53 minutes 5 seconds time code. Makes you think that they were aware of it, hmmmm?

#long post #analysis #byler #stranger things

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dasinclair · 29 days

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king lizard for the ask thing :3

lizzy wizzy

favorite thing about them: his confidence is very charming to me even if it's largely unearned. he's got a classic villain vibe that i really enjoy, from his dress style to his little mannerisms and monologues. i like that he can be something of a commanding presence (to the lizards) but also so casual, like the scene of him putting his legs up on the nuclear control board

least favorite thing about them: he seems to view the other league members as disposable even though they've probably been there for him since he was a kid. also that he gets punched so much in his beautiful face. in the comic he talks about his "infectious seed" and that's kinda nasty

favorite line: big fan of how he says "well, look at this brave little soldier"

brOTP: i will take this as favorite non-romantic relationship and say i'm intrigued by the dynamic between him and his mom. they appear to be the only "actual" lizard people in the bunch (i imagine them as a rare / endangered species) and she's been preparing him for this position all his life. queen lizard seemed to command more respect than he does and he's got to live up to her name. i imagine that'd be kind of a weak spot for him

OTP: my lizardsona that i haven't fully designed yet. their name is skink. skink is very excited for carnage and bloodshed but king lizard keeps making them do technical stuff around the HQ because he likes them too much to send them out on the field where they will surely die

nOTP: this is a question for characters who actually get shipped with people

random headcanons: his fangs are retractable (which is why we only see them in that one shot) and also he has more reptile traits in my mindscape like claws and a forked tongue... he gets cold a lot and will wrap up in his cape but only if he thinks nobody's looking. everybody pretends not to notice that he has a fake Leader Voice that he puts on. he likes citrus flavored things and he loves complaining

unpopular opinion: he isn't stupid, nor is he completely unqualified. i feel like the fact he was able to escape prison and take out supreme lizard by himself is proof enough of that. but he puts his pride above all else and that's his main problem

song i associate with them: black venom or bring it (snakes on a plane)

favorite picture of them: hard call but i really do like this one

#king lizard

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kitkatopinions · 4 months

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Sometimes I think of how people will see the most shallow bit of feminism and girl power in media and then treat it like the height of progressiveness and act like that piece of media is now incapable of being misogynistic.

Like I don't actually have a problem with some of the obvious girl power stuff - things like girls standing up to people who say they can't fight, or girls being confronted by guys who are like rating the attractiveness of them and their friends, or 'you should smile more' stuff, or things like that. Every time I see someone post about how 'we should be past that' and how 'everyone gets it' I also see both women expressing how it helped them and also terrible men talking about how they think it's overdramatic and lying and anti-men, so like... Yeah, we do still need some of this kind of obvious girl power, no we haven't actually progressed past men out and out saying they think women belong in the kitchen or should serve men or something, it actually is totally realistic and empowering to many real life women to see a female character openly stand up for herself and show up men and stuff.

But also that sort of on the nose shallow level stuff is often used in a very performative way, and there's often deeper levels of misogyny at play that writers usually don't seem to bother to deconstruct. And the willingness to only pay attention to shallow level stuff and call that good enough is in my opinion actually detrimental, especially when that's then used to try to shut up the women that are rightfully trying to criticize deeper misogyny.

A female character standing up to a male character that says girls can't fight might be and often is still not given a narrative outside of a love interest.

A female character being the main protagonist might still be shuffled to the side to give more attention to a male character, or not be allowed to be really flawed and therefore less of a real relatable character.

A confident and feisty female character might still be objectified and made specifically for male audiences to sexualize, designed to be sexy for men or just written in a way that's meant to be palatable for them (such as stripping femininity from a female character who is involved in action.)

A female character in a position of power might still be treated like a jealous power hungry bitch or a sad cat lady who secretly longs for a husband and babies, or be 'in a position of power' in name only and not actually be that big of a threat, or do nothing, or be propped up as the important bad guy only for the media to reveal that really, she's nothing compared to this new eleventh hour male threat.

A female character who stands up to one male character might still be written to wind up in a relationship with a male character that treats her like crap and acts entitled to her and yet it's still framed as romantic, or will be pressured into a romantic relationship with no one acknowledging it as weird or bad, or just is written to never really challenge her male friends.

A female character might be allowed to be non-feminine and dismiss beauty standards but she might then be portrayed as having no female friends and being not like other girls and meanwhile women who are more traditionally feminine are put down and men who aren't traditionally masculine are mocked and treated like they're weak and lesser. A female character might be allowed to be non-feminine and dismiss beauty standards, but she might be confined to not going over a certain line, like a female character who is portrayed as strong but not allowed to become muscled, or a female character who doesn't like make up and fashion but is still designed in an 'appealing' way and might have a 'oh no she has to dress all girly and hot against her will and the men will exclaim over her' moment.

Female characters might be given any of the above only for it to feel like the writers punish them for it. Brutally murdering them, having them tortured, having their friends turn against them, or even just the writing around them feeling snarky and pointed. Like a writer making a female character say something right and having a different character be like 'uh-huh, you're probably right like always.' Or a writer making a female character show up the boys in her combat training class only to then have her get brutally beaten on the field like her confidence must be destroyed or proven wrong or something.

Female characters might have everything technically right on paper, and yet be written in thin, spiritless ways that give them no real growth, dismiss their personal narratives, or are just dry like you can tell the writers don't actually want to be writing for the character and don't really care that much about them. Sometimes the misogyny is in the fact that other characters are allowed to have growth arcs and learn and change and go after their goals and make mistakes and forge important connections that are actually relevant, while the female characters that are meant to be important/badass/feminist icons are just a lot thinner and aren't given that same attention and just feel like they're around because the writers feel like they have to be.

I need people to understand that misogyny in media is rampant and that writers rarely seem to be interested in deconstructing their biases, and I need people to understand that the only types of misogyny in media aren't 'women characters only exist to be nameless sexy club girls' and 'women characters only exist to be teary damsel princesses in need of saving.' There's much deeper forms of misogyny in media.

And it's really very frustrating to try to talk about misogyny in various pieces of media and have people hold up shallow level performative stuff and be like 'But if they were misogynistic, they wouldn't have done this, checkmate.' Like, no, that's just the profitable bare minimum people think will get women off their backs. Even when it's meant sincerely (and again, I'm not saying it's always inherently bad) it's most often accompanied by some form of deeper level misogyny.

(Also radfems and terfs leave me alone, DNI, you guys are also really fucking terrible at writing women characters and I swear you've all got misogyny that leaks into that shit too.)

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yarameijer · 10 days

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heyaaaa, i'm a big fan of acidental reverse but that should be no surprise to you at this point, is too good, so good! i was so happy when i went to read on ff.net and found out there were more chapters to readthan on ao3 like "I'M NOT GONNA STARVE" anyway, i really wanted to ask what is your opinion on ships, i know is not the main focus of the story and honestly i dont mind there is any, is more out of curiosity since your other works dont really include ships and the closest i saw you get to the theme of two characters liking each other to that degree was in that one chapter were tenma said ''Repressed sexual tension much?!'' to shindou and tsurugi

also that single line broke me so much, it was like, 3:00 am when i read it and i had to muffle my laugh with the pillow so i wouldnt wake up the rest of the house, the way it got me gagged you are so amazing for that i swear-

anyway i'm writing more than i should, hope you are doing ok and once again, you did a fucking great job, that fanfic is sublime

Hello hello~~ haha, glad to hear you’re enjoying my stories, and sorry for almost making you wake up your family? Wasn’t the intention XD I have to say, this is an interesting ask, not one I was expecting! My opinion on ships…

Well, honestly? I don’t really care about them.

Nothing against people who like shipping (as long as they’re respectful about it), and if I read a story and there’s a good romance in it, I can certainly enjoy it! But I’ll likely never write it as something other than a background thing (mostly just canon relationships).

I think it’s overdone. That’s my biggest issue with it - fandom culture pushes romantic relationships to an extreme degree and downplays the importance of platonic relationships. There’s so many different types of love - between family, between friends, passionate love, playful love, sibling love, parent-child love, found family - and I’ve read far too many stories where the only thing that counts is romance, where all the characters need to be in a relationship, where the only thing that could make you ‘truly happy’ is being in a relationship, and that denies the importance of platonic relationships. The idea that the only thing that matters is romantic relationships is both ridiculous and incredibly toxic. Sometimes platonic love can be more meaningful than romantic love, depending on the situation. Sometimes, when people write two characters who have a meaningful (but canonically non-romantic) relationship as a couple, it takes away from the actual bond between them and downplay the trust and faith they have in one another due to relationship drama.

I guess the reason why I don’t write romance in my stories is because there’s already so, so many stories about that exact topic, and a severe lack of platonic love. I want to read about platonic love, so I write about platonic love. Simple as that.

Hope that answered your question! And no worries, your ask wasn't too long or anything, it was very fun to read :D

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loveinamystery · 7 months

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I'm sick so you know what that means?

Another episode of...

✨️ Yohna moments I often think about ✨️

Moving another thread across to here and it is a Yohna one you lucky sausages. It is a long post, I'll apologise now.

Let's talk about this scene from the 2001 anime

Spoiler for main series and some elements of Flowers

This was a non manga scene added to the 2001 series. I honestly believe that this scene was added in replacement of the moment Anna asked to stay with Yoh the night before he lives for America.

I believe that the 2001 production team wanted to give Yoh and Anna a scene alone before he left for America. Something to show them acting like a couple. To show that actually they do care for each other. But it had to be done in the most Yoh and Anna way.

Now, Yoh and Anna are a very private couple. Everything happens behind closed doors. Yoh and Anna are not about big declarations of love or PDA. Be it Takei's choice to portray them like this, or his refusal to write full on romance we will not speak on it . So this scene had to be very 'them'.

I mean, I pray for the day we finally get some flashbacks of baby Hana in Middle East. I will not shut up about it. I just want to see them FIGHT TOGETHER. Or just working together as a team because I NEED IT. Just let them be a cute married couple please.

GIVE ME THE YOHNA SPIN OFF TAKEI! I KNOW ANNA IS ONE OF YOUR FAVS. STOP DENYING YOURSELF. BRING HER BACK.

*ahem*

Anyway, back to the scene.

The lead up to this scene is pretty interesting. During school, Manta picks up that Anna has been acting weird.

It amazed me that Yoh did not notice her acting a little off. But, to be fair to Yoh, he has been training very hard and is super tired. The gang had recently been to China to rescue Ren, so our boy must be pretty exhausted, and more than likely falling a sleep in classes.

But omg, he is so clueless. Please help this man.

I mean, either Yoh is so distracted with other stuff, or he doesn't think Anna would be affected by his departure. They lived so long apart back in Izumo so why would this be any different?

I believe that having now lived with each other, their relationship had changed and they are now closer. They act more like a couple. I'm pretty sure by now they have had their first kiss and spoke about their feelings for each other.

Please also offer some thoughts on clueless Yoh 🙏

That is until....

Manta outright tells the gang that he is sad that they will all be leaving.

Yoh, Horohoro and Ryu have been acting like it is nothing, and just a part of their lives. Ryu does tell Manta that they do feel sad but they are dealing with it in their own way.

I think this is where the realisation clicks in Yoh's head that actually, Anna could be feeling the same. That she is sad too, but showing it in her own way. Maybe she did want to spend time together that evening? But I don't think Anna would ever meaningfully get in the way of Yoh seeing his friends. She knows how important they are to Yoh.

Wanna take a walk with me?

Yoh might have been sitting on this idea since the meal out with the guys, and he waited till the last moment to ask Anna to go for a walk.

I think this shows how nervous Yoh is about exploring his feelings with Anna, because who goes out for a walk just before they go to bed? When they are already in their nightwear?

I think that, in the 2001 anime, the emotions are there, but they are teenagers figuring out their feelings for each other and how to express themselves. I'm a romantic, sorry

BUT LOOK AT THE BABIES!!!

Yoh is always a reassurance for Anna. She pushes him to become the best person he can become, and Yoh is always there to reassure and support Anna. They just work together so well. They are a team.

On their late night walk, they talk about normal stuff such as the Patch Village, the SK fight, Anna of course tells Yoh that he better not lose.

But I think there is more to be said about what they don't say, or hidden meanings.

This moment here

I tell you, I can hear the brain clogs ticking in that little Asakura head.

After seeing Anna is cold, Yoh presents her with a warm drink.

We know Anna is always ordering Yoh around, but she never asked him go and get her a drink. Is it one of the first times in the show we see Yoh just do something for Anna without her asking or ordering him to do so.

YOHNA BIG BRAIN THEORY MOMENT 🧠

I struggle to word this but I will try. I feel like Anna is trying to keep her true feelings unwraps (as usual), but this time she is doing it to Yoh.

Anna is cold and is seen as trying to keep herself warm. She doesn't ask for help. She doesn't tell Yoh that she is cold. It is her issue and she will deal with it on her own.

Now let's apply that to her emotions.

Anna has grown close to Yoh and is now sad that he is going to America. There is a chance that she might not see him again, but she just carries on as usual. She doesn't tell Yoh she is sad or express it. She knows Yoh has to focus, and it is his duty to progress in the Shaman Fights.

Yoh and Anna are often said to have an 'unspoken communication', and this was one of those turning points as a couple.

I feel like they became stronger after this. And look, I know the scene could be classed as non-cannon as it didn't happen in the manga but its here and I'm going to talk about it!

ITS WARM!

Like his love for her! 😭😭😭

I read too much romance guys. I'm too loved up. I'm sorry I'm like this.

BUT LOOK AT HIS FACE!!!

Tell me this boy isn't in love!

Tell me he isn't thinking how actually, he is pretty lucky to have someone like Anna.

And really, no matter what they are about to face, everything will work out.

I don't know man. I love the addition of this scene in the 2001 version. Likely one of my favourites, along with a selection of others.

I'll go back into my hiding hole now. That was longer than I thought it would be, and it you made it to the end, well done 😌

#shaman king #anna kyoyama #yoh asakura #Yohna #yoh x anna #I'm sorry its so long

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kaibutsushidousha · 6 months

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You said once that Heian is a story rich with Tale of Genji intertextuality as it is Tsukihime intertextuality. From someone who hasn't read it, what other instances of this in action can you expand upon?

I might been missing a few pieces since it's been a couple years since I read Heian and a few years more for The Tale of Genji, but these are the parallels that stood out to me.

I guess I should start by explaining what I meant in my previous post. So, The Tale of Genji is a heavy long-runner series covering from the circumstances behind Hikaru Genji's birth to the major events of his son's life after his death. And the major early chapters of Hikaru's life are about him courting many different women in an attempt to ultimately choose his wife.

You probably know that Hikaru Genji is a controversial figure. This is true in the story, to the people of the time, and even more so to the people of our time. And the main source of Genji's discourse is his arguably main wife, Murasaki no Ue. What's important to understand about Hikaru is that despite his divisiveness, Murasaki Shikibu's narrative voice always described him as the perfect man. That character is her ideal no matter how much the characters and readers disagree. And the first chapter, the one before Hikaru's birth, establishes that he is the perfect man because his mother Kiritsubo no Koi was the perfect woman. Lady Kiritsubo dies between the first two chapters and that's when Hikaru's quest for a wife begins.

One of the relatively early wife-candidates-of-the-week is Fujitsubo. Her gimmick is straight-up samefaceing. Fujitsubo is the perfect woman because she's somehow a palette-swapped second coming of Kiritsubo. Hikaru obviously wants her but his father obviously also wants her because she's Lady Kiritsubo 2, and it's the dad who gets her because he's the emperor while Hikaru is an illegitimate prince not in line for the throne. With their social status preventing a real relationship, the 18-year-old Hikaru Genji started his relationship with Fujitsubo's 10-year-old niece Murasaki, in whom he saw the budding image of a future new Fujitsubo (Kiritsubo 3?).

Tsuna's backstory in FGO Heian is pretty much all built on references to this character trio. Tsuna came across a woman described word-for-word as "beautiful enough to be taken as the Emperor's wife" and instantly fell in love with her but couldn't actualize this love due to social class differences. Later Tsuna meets Ibaraki, recognizes the woman's face on the younger girl, and is nice to her because he likes seeing "that face" happy. Tsuna's and Ibaraki's relationship can be interpreted as a non-romantic version of The Tale of Genji's main couple, but I can't shake off the grooming undertones that come from its inspiration, and even if I could, the idea of Ibaraki being used as a proxy for her mother is still creepy regardless.

One important thing about The Tale of Genji is that it's the oldest novel we know of, so its earliest chapters were instrumental in popularizing novels as a format. For context, The Tale of Genji had a periodic release format, with each chapter being published as its own separate scrolls, so later chapters were published after the public had read the previous ones and their social impact was already tangible to the author.

One of the most memorable sections of The Tale of Genji (meaning more memorable to me specifically than generally notorious) comes in one of the middle chapters, I'll guess around chapter 25. In this scene, Hikaru Genji catches his wife Murasaki reading a novel. Hikaru parrots the time's popular opinion Genji-spawned novel trend: that prose is literature for dumb people and that only poetry has real value. Murasaki, as the character with the author's name would, verbally tears him apart with a big speech explaining what prose can do that poetry can't and how this new form of literature has just as much potential and value as the poetry classics.

In one of the first chapters when Kintoki's party is crashing at Murasaki's house, there's a similar conversation, where Kintoki tells Murasaki (author) about the things that a writer can do that a warrior like him can't, raising many similar points to Murasaki (character).

Nagiko got a short section giving out her Tale of Genji opinions. It's mostly a repeat of her comments at her debut event's epilogue, but it is there. The whole motivation for her boss fight is that she loves the books' cheery and vibrant depictions of romance despite Hikaru being an unbearable character (based and correct).

Could be related to Hikaru Genji having too many love interests, in contrast to Sei Shounagon's very "one and only" views of romance.

Speaking of a character's whole motivation in the plot, let's talk about Murasaki's. She's a funny character that gets a lot funnier with full context. The Heian Singularity/Lostbelt is set in a time when Murasaki Shikibu had already published many chapters of The Tale of Genji and caused a major cultural phenomenon. The whole capital was crazy to know what would happen next and this pressure gave her immense writer's block. So she fought in the Holy Grail War, risking her life for a chance to wish for the perfect conclusion to Hikaru Genji's story. She lost but Babbage gave her new motivation to write with her own hands the perfect conclusion that her perfect man deserves.

So? What's the conclusion Murasaki writes for Hikaru without any magical interference? You see, The Tale of Genji in its final form is comprised of 55 scrolls, each released separately as one chapter. The 42nd of these scrolls is Hikaru's death chapter. After 41 chapters deriving world-changing popularity, how did the genius Murasaki Shikibu close his story? With boldness and commitment to the bit. See, to Murasaki's authorial voice, Hikaru Genji is too hot and perfect. So hot and perfect that his death is too monumental of a tragedy to be possibly put into words. Thus, Murasaki published an entirely blank scroll and in the next one, Hikaru Genji was inexplicably dead.

Hikaru's death is my favorite thing about the Tale of Genji, not only for getting rid of the worst boy but mainly for the narrative power move that is still as insane writing for today's standards as it was back when it was published in the first novel ever. But this moment of genius is also a perfect thing to turn into a writer's block joke. Easily one of my best contenders for Sakurai's funniest joke.

#fate grand order #the tale of genji

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