#despite being right after That Scene

[nera789]

IT WAS GONNA BE QUICK DOODLES I TOLD MYSELF

You'll have to pry this head canon from my cold, dead fingers

I recorded this with my Tav, should anyone be interested(realized after she had different armor on whoops).

#but is it really a headcanon if im right /j #He confessed immediately after Raph's speech despite being grumpy here so ...XD #This game has me in a vice grip and I fear I may never recover #tw blood #bg3 #astarion #baldurs gate 3 #baldur's gate #bg3 spoilers #bg3 tav #bg3 astarion #astarion ancunin #astarion x tav #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate iii #baldurs gate fanart #I did feel a little bad tho #i know you get the grumpy aftermath dialog regardless of how you kill the orthon #but god do i have so many feelings about this scene lmao #probably so blinded by how convinced he is that you're about to betray him #that he doesnt even pick up on what you're doing #and not only did you not betray him #you didnt even have to touch the orthon to kill it #despite the good in [this] Tav she can be...also a little terrifying sometimes haha #Astarion is probably thinking the same thing as Gale but wouldn't admit it out loud lmao #my Tav was calm and collected #meanwhile me SHHH ASTARION BEFORE HE HEARS YOU OMG YOURE GONNA KILL US

[sovonight]

;

#still thinking abt that scene in the underdark where xan is (force) propositioned by that drow lady #and while his first response is shock/apprehension ('*me*??') #radri loses regulation over the volume of her voice going 'what?! no!!' louder than anyone's ever really heard her before #when challenged though she can't come up with a drow-valid reason why hunrae *can't* just take xan #(yes i just now remembered her name lmao) #the thoughts 'bc consent??' 'he'd hate that' '*he's mine he promised*' keep getting translated into an ineffective verbal 'you just cant' #so xan saves himself and falls into a worse mood after it and radri falls into an equally poor mood at how she couldnt do anything/she can #never really do anything can she #oh but there's a kind of equivalent/reversal moment when radri's offered a 'night with one of with phaere's males' as a reward #and xan is just silently panicking/trying to reassure himself with 'she wouldn't' 'she'd hate that' 'she loves me... right?' #radri honestly has an easier time with the excuse this time bc she's not feeling as much panic/pressure as earlier #but the excuse that comes out is along the lines of 'uh monogamy is custom in my city and i already have a male--' #'NO no not one of these guys in my party!! (don't look too closely at them!)' #'i prefer not to travel with him! to make the reunions sweeter...??' #xan's mind catches on 'i prefer not to travel with him' and he gets in a bitter mood bc that might as well be true-- #bc really what use is he when he can't even do anything to help/save/protect her despite being right by her side #the underdark has them both on an internal monologue of 'i hate this' but while xan's is mainly towards their surroundings #radri's is almost entirely inward & so isnt eased the moment they reach the surface like xan's is

[snug-as-bugalugs-in-rugalugs]

Hey fellow Murdochians, I need something new to obsess over :) So if you have the inclination, please reblog this post and put in the tags (or just normal reblogs) a piece of symbolism or parallel or some other kind of connection you noticed in the show that, even if the creators may not have intended it, makes you go a little insane :)

#murdoch mysteries #cbc murdoch #rb game #ok ill go first #ummm im sure this has been said before but other characters giving watts pretzels always seems to symbolize acceptance in one way or other #like when jackson said he 'wasn't interested in anything unusual' and seemed rather disturbed by watts' pretzel #in s10e12 #which is a bit. yk. considering watts is rather 'unusual' himself so to speak #but then in s10e15 when watts is rejected by the only family he has left #and feeling so alone and abandoned #jackson buys an 'unusual' little pretzel anyway for him basically saying like. you may be a weirdo #but we're friends now and i'm here for you #and i think a bit of unusuality might be ok #(tragic that he died before watts ever convinced him to try a pretzel himself hhfdkhfk) #also the inspector giving watts his pretzel back after beating up that guy who was hatecriming him in s15 #obviously symbolizes acceptance of him being gay #and then the most recent one with george at the end of s16 #was right after the 'despite who i am?' 'because of who you are' scene #so i think that's pretty self explanatory lol #there might be other instances but i don't remember #in retrospect the writers may have actually intended this one #its pretty straightforward. but i think its neat

[ikari-shinsei]

These drawings look really cool, and I'm sure it was an epic moment in the comics, but when I look at these images, I can't help but think 'This feels so empty without Super Shadow there with them.'

It's like there's a piece of a puzzle that's missing and without it, all that's left is just an incomplete picture.

#sonic the hedgehog #idw sonic #super sonic #shadow the hedgehog #super shadow #silver the hedgehog #super silver #i swear im not trying to be salty #but i see shadow down in the corner and I'm like #'no! you shouldn't be down there! you should be right up there with them!' #i just love shadow and it pains me when he's not being properly utilised as a character #but i am so glad that things seem to be changing and that shadow is getting more of a spotlight put on him #instead of just being used as a marketing strategy to get shadow fans to buy their product #we are slowly but surely moving forward #sonic 06 #despite all of sonic '06's flaws i really like the game for what it was trying to accomplish #it failed spectacularly but i don't care about that #that moment where sonic shadow and silver all turned super was one of the most epic moments ive ever seen in a video game #i don't even care that it came after the infamous kiss #it was that cool i didn't think it was spoiled by that scene at all

[braceletofteeth]

Cut version viewers that were only shown a short version of this song (30 SECONDS?!?) never got to experience what it is to watch Payu singing a capella for two whole minutes, thinking he's done every other verse and being wrong every time

#love in the air #don't get me wrong #despite being long this is also one of the few Mandatory Singing Scenes in BLs that I actually find enjoyable #and in that sense it's a loss too #especially because my boy Rain looks weak when he can't stand eye contact AFTER THIRTY SECONDS!? #OUTRAGEOUS! HE ENDURED TWO MINUTES OF INTENSE SERANADING! GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT! #btw the cut version is sooo badly edited it'd be funny if it wasn't horrible #ON EP4 THEY CUT. LIKE. 10 MINUTES OUT OF THE ENDING??? #not only the NC scene (understandable) but half the bathtub scene too??? THEY CUT OUT PHAYU APOLOGIZING!!! OUTRAGEOUS CRIMINAL ABHORRENT #they also cut out their tongue kiss in Rain's room lmaooo #memindy everybody knows you're not a puritan. and utube is definitely not that strict?? what is the reason babes

[lesbiradshaw]

the scene of liam collapsed onto the forest floor in front of scott sobbing about how he’s scared of what’s happening to him not because of the fangs or the claws but because he thinks his parents already view him as a monster breaks me a little inside every time.

#its so integral to who liam is to me like hes so scared of failing people and part of him being quick to anger #is his habit of always being mad at himself before he can be blamed by anyone else #all of liams s4 arc really like. the ‘are you mad at me’ scene w dr g. #him always just trying SO HARD even when it makes him come off as cocky or arrogant #mentions of dr g training with him to bond over lacrosse #the ied scene in the shower where hes so quick to assure them he can do things despite his diagnosis #him backing out of helping scott save brett and saying hes not like him :( #scott and kira looking at him while he’s unconscious and talking ab how young he really is #him repeatedly saying he deserves the bad things that happen to him #the well scene. the way he clings to scott after #scott coming up behind him and touching his shoulder on the stairs #him not being able to sleep with the lights off #like its canon hes afraid to sleep in the dark because he has nightmares i feel ill #anyways #i am not feeling normal aboht him tonight #also him crying about his parents seeing him as a monster and not wanting to uproot their lives again bc of what he is #oooooh as a closeted person that got me right where it hurts #anyways! #liam dunbar

[skymagpie]

Ignore tag venting about 20 year old pirate films </3

#I am tags rambling in 2023 but I've been analyzing myself about my selective watching of potc #and like why am I overlooking Davy's flaws and misogyny #and I think it's because after Barbossa's behavior in 1 the bar for misogyny became underground for these films #so everyone that didn't threaten women with assault like three times in the movies runtime (like Barbossa) #was already fine in my book #like when Barbossa set that bar Davy could clear it easily because he doesn't do anything like that despite being an abusive ass #its a matter of perspective #also in the deleted scene I feel like Wills like -choose the right woman- was a bit worse than like #what usually will does since will is the only non misogynistic char around #I don't know I spent the whole night lowkey thinking about this shit for no reason #not because of any moral high ground but because I feel like a fail film student if I don't pick up on these things #and let them slide bc of my own emotions #I am pretty sure I can tear into Davy's character and point out the shitload of unlikable qualities #but I just don't want to #and sadly I also wish Barbossa wasn't like that in 1 because I wanna like him and that's the only way I can

[butwhatifidothis]

Opinion on Claude leaving shez without stable work for like 2 years ? I know the alliance is at peace compared to the empire and kingdom so theres not much work for mercs like Leonie Shez and Shamir but give them a job! Was pretty disappointed with our boy ngl lol

Am I a bad person for not caring that much? lmao

Cuz like, a mercenary not having much to do is, like... a good thing. It means no one needs to be fought off, things are peaceful. Like, yeah rip to the mercs, but hearing about a mercenary not having much to do is like, good news lol.

And I like that that causes conflict between them!! I actually really like that; Claude takes him having Shez stay in the Alliance as - what at least appears to be - a way to keep them safe until they're needed for the war. That can be taken one of two ways - Claude wanting to keep his friend safe until war has him make use of Shez's strength for the sake of the Alliance, or, as Arval and Shez take it, just keeping them around until they're useful to Claude's ambitions, their wants be damned. And you can see that makes Shez upset! And makes Claude feel bad! Which is especially hitting because Claude had already unintentionally messed with Shez's life in the prologue, something that also made him feel bad - to the point where he takes Shez to the side and personally apologizes to them. And specifically promise that he'll find a way to make it up to them. If this was that? And it backfired this hard? Mmmm, juice!

This bit of spice between then two of them is something that is such a breath of fresh air after the lack of any real similar conflict between a character and the player character in 3H, and shows off how much Claude can fumble trying to be sincere with others (or, alternatively, how his capability to use people can blow up in his face - depends on how this is played out in the full game). It's something I really hope the full game capitalizes on in some way and has Claude grow from either way.

It also says a good bit about Shez's character too! How being a mercenary is so ingrained in them that even when things are so peaceful that mercs aren't needed despite it being wartime, they aren't only not happy, they're outright annoyed because it gets in their way of becoming stronger - they clearly have their priorities, and they tie directly to their background as a life-long mercenary. But, they still stayed with Claude despite the two year drought of no work - if becoming stronger was all Shez cared about, they'd have dipped way earlier. But as annoyed and put off as they are about Claude not having any work for them, they still stay by his side until they literally can't scrap by anymore. It implies some level of bond between the two of them, and I'm interested in seeing how that bond will play out once the game drops in full!

#ask #anon #fire emblem warriors three hopes spoilers #fire emblem warrior: three hopes spoilers #fire emblem warriors: three hopes #fire emblem warriors three hopes #fewth #few3h #fewth spoilers #few3h spoilers #few: 3h #few: th #few: 3h spoilers #few: th spoilers #basically I like that Claude didn't behave perfectly and had his flaws showcased #and I hope the game will let him learn from this kind of flaw and essentially give him a more slid character arc in general #especially because this scene is almost right after the one where Claude shows his strengths - pragmatic strategy and politics #when it came to both strategizing how to take on Shahid and managing the restoration of the Locket with Edmund and co #Claude actually being really bad at showcasing his sincerity despite the charming personality he presents was always interesting #and you can see it in the base game too like in Marianne's supports with him where he uh. also fumbles until the A support lol #or again alternatively his using people to his later regret is also something in the base game wrt Byleth #either way I wanna see it explored more!!

[fourteenthz]

Balthier remains, in fact, altering every single chemical reaction from my brain.

#i can't believe I'll enter 2024 being obsessed about BALTHIER??? in this economy ??? yes this is a fxii update SIT DOWN EVERYBODY #i slowed down a bit bc i was doing too much hunts and got overwhelmed 👍 but that talk he has with ashe #on the coastskdkkddk wtf? HELLO? My child brain from 10 years ago did NOT retain that he was a judge MUCH LESS CID'S SON? #i was like. catoon character reacting to that scene. covering my mouth and giggling going “oh he is SO INTERSECTING” #OBSESSED WITH THIS coming right after fran's arc of “i can no longer hear the woods woods my past is cut off me forever” #vs him going “i need to cut this past now and forever” OBSESSED WITH THEM and how they story just conects like that #not in a “im obsessed abt balfran” way (i am still) but in a “obsessed with xii writing” way #he is so. emotionally intelligent. idk how else to describe it but i LOVE this kind of character SO MUCH #hes genuinely so aware of everything and himself. the way he explained to ashe how he run away from the nethecite #and how he came to find it again and how it keeps bringing him trouble. the whole realization of him not being able to cut ties #and then also this vs ashe genuinely seeing the ghost of her dead husband all the time ARE U KIDDING ME #this game... this game. its soo much about resilience and overcoming and letting go of things we love an things we shouldn't love #and things we hate and :(((((((((((( I'm obsessed every time a character has a talk time with ashe. this balthier one #the one with basch about shame/war and the one with vaan and discovering they way together #they all mean. so much to her. im gonna throw up. #every time someone approaches ashe im already like bawling my eyes. babiest of them all. #also OBSESSED with the fact balthier was a jugde and how he must have been born into this midst #and how his education was all about it and still.... despite it all..... what makes him leave was seeing his father like that . #im gonna throw myself out of this window this mf i swear #absolutely insane about how extra he is. leading man this leading man that. and in the end the mf just wanted to be free from the horrors^tm #he could've it all.... ashe could just take the power and have it all..... fran and her sisters being eruyt leadership could have it all.... #vaan and penelo could just go home and let the adults deal with it and basch could just be free and forget abt everything that #caused him pin and larsa could just accelt the empire and not be on death's way all they and still STILL.... THOSE GUYS MAN... AUAGHH #kissing all of them specially balthier that mf im still in shock with how much i like him #10 yo!kelly did NOT realize one of her very first video game crush would be so much of her 20 yo!kelly taste #AND STILL. AAUUAGGGH i need to write an essay on balthier and all the themes this man encapsulated #writing them down until i finish ffxii sorry xiv followers this one is not a fast phase like bg3 was. I'm ill. #kelly plays xii #kelly says #dl

[ohifonlyx33]

i just think kdrama watchers are probably best equipped to understand the type of character Malyen Oretsev was written to be in the books. send tweet

#malyen oretsev #mal oretsev #malina #should have been written as a kdrama #he is the BFF Male Lead who can't find the right way to declare to his BFF Female Lead while she's on her own journey of discovery #he finds out she's being manipulated by this jerk and gets jealous but knows he can't do anything to stop her #they have a little argument and she gets upset and he gets upset but they just need to take a little time to cool down #And then I can see it... the reconciliation is sweet and sincere... something that seems casual but is deeply meaningful to them #I can see it right now... a situation that could almost be read as romantic or played off as friendly... #we hear Alina voice her thoughts during the scene about how her heart flutters despite having no hope that Mal means to confess love #“It is moments like this that make me wonder what it would be like... but if all we are is friends i will be grateful just to know you” #CUT TO THE AFTER SCENE... Mal has spent three days planning this 30 second moment just to make Alina smile #his hands are shaking and his heart is beating fast and he's watching her intensely but SHE DOESN'T SEE. #and his internal monologue is like “should i tell her? but how? no.... it is impossible to find words to describe what the universe means” #“and i am but a speck in her universe” #and then we learn about their childhood friendship and the thread of destiny that bound them together #and i- AHHHH

[lacomandante]

I know there’s much higher quality clips from the Sharpe series on youtube now, but back in 2017 this was the very first clip I had ever seen with Teresa, as there weren’t many in general. (Though this one cuts off the first part of the scene). I had only ever seen pictures at that point. I’m very fond of this video and this moment in Eagle and I remember being so surprised to hear her voice for the first time!!  I loved her accent and the way she spoke and the tenderness in the scene HOOKED me. So yeah have a little snippet of Sharpe’s Eagle <3

#sharpe's eagle #sharpe #richard sharpe #teresa moreno #(right after this sam ended up finding eagle online and we ended up watching it- that was my very first sharpe film) #(which makes me laugh LMAO not rifles but eagle) #(which!! is not a bad place to start tbh!) #(this scene is SOOO IMPORTANT to me...this is when they decide what they want is each other ;w;) #(they dont want to be alone) #(i would write an essay in the tags but i might break tumblr if i do dsfghfdgh) #(ngl every scene of theirs is so romantic but THIS one? PEAK romance) #(sorry not sorry to the other sharpe ladies but theyll NEVER have what they had) #(anyways i know some of you havent seen it so: brief context) #(teresa earlier in the film came to see him the night before a big battle and reprimands him ) #(bc she hears a rumor about him wanting to capture an eagle- its basically a suicide mission. she thought he knew better) #(and while she is angry about that the eagle isnt the real issue but she wont voice it bc but sharpe wants to hear it- he asks if she'd care #( if he died. and she desperately blurts out yes!!!! and its SUCH a tender and charged scene and they soften) #(and he tells her that he'll take care not to) #(so this is them meeting after that- he survived and got what he wanted) #(but here again he's pushing her a bit to admit what she wants. to tell him; to be honest despite it being scary!1)

[gregmarriage]

having greg be the one who sees shiv and nate together and feeling immensely obligated to tell tom she’s cheating on him is wild. because of course it’s greg, because it adds to the drama and the flavour of it all. and the fucking scene where they’re arguing about it in the snow and tom pushes him and hits him and tells him to shut up about it is pure cinema

#they managed to make the scene where greg tells tom his wife is cheating on him kinda gay i have to say #bc at one point tom is literally on top of him and it’s like okay is this needed? #does tom need to be on top of him in this scene? #like i get he’s angry and they’re kinda fighting but like bit gay of you tom #honestly it would have been less gay to push him over and walk away then for tom to get on top of him and hit him tbh #and of course greg decides to tell him bc it’s fuckin greg he’s a sweetheart #they have such a weird relationship but they always look out for each other #and greg telling tom is part of that #if it was any of the sibs they would not have told tom #they’d probably just keep shiv’s secret and assume tom already knows and it’s cool #but greg despite being shiv’s cousin also cares abt tom so he tells him #ugh i love him #he knows tom is gonna he heartbroken (which he was) but decides to tell him bc it’s the right thing to do #i love my boy #and the little nod they do after tom kicks nate out is sweet #tom is probs grateful greg told him deep down #but he’s probs not gonna tell him bc it’s tom and he puts on a front #ughhhhh they drive me insane

[orcelito]

Reread discacc chapter 39 and I'm just like. Wow. I really just threw that at you guys???? Goddamn lmao I can't imagine being a reader & having That appear. I'd have been losing my Mind

#speculation nation #discacc shit #as apparently a good amount of people were. judging by the yelling in the comments lol #continuing after That.... wowza lmao #i dont have time to actually write b4 work but i wanted to start working on switching gears #the level of immersion i get for writing cant just be Turned On #gotta read and think and Feel. it's not gonna feel right if i just jump right into it #that's how i keep my cohesiveness despite the thing being so goddamn fucking long #constantly rereading to keep in that mindstate and know how the characters are feeling #which at this moment? theyre feeling pretty rubbed raw. emotionally exhausted. but happy. #i have them waking up the morning after in chapter 40 #we r gonna b getting to business this chapter (finally) which includes the pts coming back into the scene #but before any of that. theyre gonna have a lil check in with each other #see how theyre feeling after the emotions of the previous night. bc it's very necessary #and they are going to COMMUNICATE NOW. which includes check-ins. i love it so much #it's basically official now lol im gonna b working on discacc chapter 40 in the next few days #since only 1 person put their vote in & also i remembered the futaba interaction lmfao #shes gonna b a lil shit to goro and i am Soooooooo looking forward to it #and THEN.......heheheheheheheh #im gonna have lots of fun this chapter for Sure. im feeling the excitement flaring up again #this is good. this means i will Hopefully be able to actually write lmao

[goldentigerfestival]

god i just. the sheer fucking hurt in his voice. feeling so used. so untrusted. had a bounty on his head that wasn't even his fault and he still won't be told him the truth and estelle, too, still hides things from him after he helped her and they'd been traveling together. not only that, but the empire is too busy having its own internal issues to pay attention to its own suffering people.

i hate seeing him so upset, that's my baby boy.

more feelings in the tags

#GTF Vesperia Clips #and like. I don't blame him. regardless of if they became friends along the way she DID kinda use him #and yet still after even realizing it was her fault he had a bounty on his head didn't tell him the truth #and even now won't tell him the truth. like. even after he saved the PRINCE #nobody will tell him the truth/what's going on. he always pretends not to care abt that stuff #like in Heliord when he says smth similar but here you can rly tell it DOES bother him that #he does all this for them and and knows as much as he does but nobody will tell him a thing #and rly I think Ioder realized that and I think this scene with his voice clearly expressing hurt rly helped that #bc when they DO get to Heliord Ioder understands he already knows enough anyway to tell him things #but this scene I think rly does express that Yuri absolutely cares how he's treated/how ppl see him #bc I think in this scene he feels like after everything he's just /some guy/ and ofc that would hurt #technically Flynn can't say anything without their go ahead but I think the fact that he also #doesn't try to convince them to trust Yuri in this case also added to the hurt #bc at this point how ''public'' is he? how much of a ''regular civilian'' is he to them? #it's like. just. not being trusted by anyone despite proving himself to be trustworthy #I do feel like Ioder in Heliord was kind of the reason this wasn't brought up again #bc he did seem to come to the conclusion after seeing this that yeah Yuri's not just some guy to them #if he'd ONLY saved Ioder that'd be one thing but he'd been keeping Estelle safe and he's Flynn's best friend #and Yuri is completely right to be hurt here bc there's no reason not to just /tell/ him #they know he's not gonna do anything with the information or get involved and try to manipulate anything #LISTEN IT JUST. makes me so sad to see him feeling so betrayed by literally all three of them in this moment #I mean I kinda get Ioder not saying anything right away bc he prob needed to be more briefed on everything #hence why by the time they all were in Heliord it's like okay well yeah why are we bothering keeping things from him #but at that time he'd saved the guy's life and he didn't even speak up for Yuri #and I think that hurt too. listen this makes me FEEL things ;_; #ALSO? honestly that must have felt like such whiplash with Flynn going from #being HAPPY things calmed down for Flynn and that he was more relaxed to just #Flynn not speaking up for him when neither candidate will trust him. buddy. my boy is hurtin'...

[ambrosiagourmet]

I want to talk about why I think this is the one of the most important Falin panels:

So, Falin is really nice, right? It's one of the first things we really learn about her. She's kind even to the monsters of the dungeon - choosing to ward the party rather than fight spirits and cause them needless harm.

In the above early flashback in chapter 11, we see Marcille fawning over Falin's kindness, calling her an angel. Namari calls her soft-hearted. We see Falin choose not to fight even when a zombie attacks - instead she resolves the confrontation with a hug. After the flashback, the first thing Senshi says is that Falin "sounds like quite the person," which Marcille strongly affirms.

At this point in the story, all we have seen of Falin are these impressions; she is a healer, an angel, a caretaker with an infinite well of kindness towards everyone she meets - both friend and foe.

And honestly, that remains most of what we have to go by to understand her. The only times we get to see Falin on the page, alive and just herself, are in the opening and closing pages of the story and in the brief period of time after she is resurrected.

Nonetheless, we do have some more details to work with. For one, there is the scene that The Panel is from - a short memory in chapter 75, when Marcille flashes back to while she's dying. In that scene, Falin prepares to teleport them all out, and says that she's sorry "if there is a person at [their] destination." And that's when we get The Panel.

If you teleport someone or something into another person, the person teleported into is likely to be, at minimum, severely injured. They could die.

We can see a lovely little horrifying example of exactly why in one of the Daydream Hour doodles:

So, hmm. That's not... that's not SUPER nice. Certainly not displaying the same "kindness to all, friend and foe included" we saw represented earlier. On a basic level, this adds some nuance to Falin's kindness. We see it break a little, when pushed to the limit. We see her chose to protect the people she loves above all else.

Which makes sense! As Laios says when the Winged Lion accuses him of similarly being motivated more by his friends' safety than everyone else in the dungeon, "...most people, aside from virtuous do-gooders, would feel the same way."

So, we can take The Panel as simply showing a moment of weakness for Falin. A time when she was pushed to her limits, and that "most people" selfish side of her shone through.

However... I think there's a little more going on with Falin than just her being an angel 99% of the time, except just that once. I love The Panel because I think it helps us understand that Falin isn't just motivated by kindness - she also has a desire to avoid seeing people in pain.

Isn't that the same thing?

No, no it very much is not.

Let's look at a short comic from the Falin section of the Adventurer's Bible, because I think it illustrates this point perfectly. The group is complaining about how much Marcille's healing hurts, and comparing it to Falin's, which "doesn't hurt a bit." Marcille retorts with the following:

Now, the punchline of this comic is that, despite Marcille's sentimental assertion that she's "thinking of [them]" by letting her healing magic hurt, they all still prefer to be healed by Falin.

But hey, this wouldn't be the first time that Dungeon Meshi hides a very real character beat or insight in a gag, so let's think about this somewhat seriously.

If Marcille is right (and she knows a fair bit about magic, so we can assume that she has at least somewhat of a point), then what Falin is doing isn't kind. I suppose if someone specifically requested to not feel the pain, it could be kind, but that's not really what happened here. She is the one who felt badly about the others being in pain, and she is the one who decided, without telling them or giving them a choice in the matter, to take away that pain.

Both Marcille and Falin are healing the party, but Marcille is doing it in a way that accomplishes the task in the most straight forward way, without any additional interference. Falin is going out of her way to perform the healing in a way she is more comfortable with. A way that avoids pain.

Going back the The Panel, I don't think its a coincidence that the only time we see Falin (well, non-chimera Falin) willing to do something that could hurt someone is when any potential pain will be far away from her. If she got someone hurt or killed by teleporting the party to the surface? Not only would it be far out of her sight, but she'd be dead before she had to deal with any consequences of that action.

Falin is not a confrontational person. She doesn't push when Marcille won't tell her the truth about the resurrection, and she comforts Laios about her own death - both of those things happening in the only full chapter she is alive and conscious in the whole story.

We also know that she considered accepting Shuro's proposal, despite not having any special feelings towards him, and that Falin never explained to Marcille that she wanted them to share a meal together. When she brought Marcille various foods at the academy, she just accepted Marcille's confused rejection and gave up.

And lastly, we know that she is still in contact with her parents, despite the neglect and abuse she suffered at their hands. Although the way someone chooses to handle contact with abusive or bad family is a complicated topic, which I don't want to overly simplify, I do I think this fact gets at the heart of how she handles conflict.

So many people that Falin loves have hurt her. There are understandable hurts, like Laios leaving the village, or Marcille not understanding the food. And there are bigger, far less justifiable hurts - like her parents neglecting her throughout her childhood, and sending her away to be alone at the magic academy.

It doesn't seem like Falin has ever confronted any of it directly.

And the unhealthy aspects of this kind of avoidance of pain and confrontation is one of the things that the story of Dungeon Meshi is all about. We see Laios grapple with it before he goes to kill Falin, and we see Marcille acknowledge it at the end of the story, when she tells Laios that she has come to terms with Falin's death:

Eating is a part of life. Consuming other living things is a part of life. It isn't really possible to avoid that pain - you can only hide from the truth of it. You have to be selfish everyday. You have to eat - to choose to live. To choose to take up space.

And this is something Falin embraces, too. She comes back to life, after all.

We see her choose to come back to life.

And how does she make that choice? She eats. She consumes, and then she is asked a question by the manifestation of hunger itself:

Do you want to eat more?

There is a double meaning in the Winged Lion's final words on the next page.

When I first read this, I took it as him saying: life is cruel. You will suffer. You will feel more pain.

But perhaps, especially for Falin, this also means: you are choosing a path where you must cause pain. Where you must consume. Where you must take, and must be selfish. Because eating is the special privilege of the living, and it is their burden, too. In order to stay alive, she will need to keep eating.

And she chooses that. Chooses to be selfish. It's why her resurrection scene is so important, and it's why The Panel is so important. Because Falin coming back isn't the ultimate reward for all of the party's hard work.

It's her choice. Just like it was her choice that started everything in the first place. But this time, she doesn't choose to accept causing pain for the sake of Marcille and Laios. She does it for her own sake.

#dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #falin touden #dunmeshi analysis #I love it when dungeon meshi says. the trauma was real and it changed you #and the way you are because of it isn’t anything to be ashamed of #but you have to keep living. you have to chose to keep living. #and you can #dungeon meshi spoilers

[caramel-ribbons]

I just watched Avatar for the first time all the way through, and yeah, it’s great, but the one thing that surprised me was how different Katara was compared to the fandom interpretation I’d seen and internalized before watching.

Like, before you watch Avatar, you’ve seen all these memes about Katara and her mom, and based on those memes, you assume it’s one of those lines you have to get used to hearing at least once every episode. But then you watch the show and realize that she only talks about her mom maybe five or six times per season and you also realize she only brings her up when she’s trying to comfort someone or empathize with them because that’s how she processes her grief and that’s one way she connects with people.

Or you hear the infamous line, “then you didn’t love [our mother] the way I did” and you prepare yourself for one of the worst character assassinations ever only to see the scene after nearly three seasons worth of context and realize she was kinda right. She’s been the mother, the nurturer, the comforter. She’s been patient, gentle, and accommodating where everyone else has gotten to be insensible and reckless and childish, and the one moment where she allows herself to feel her grief, suddenly she’s this evil bitch and not, y’know, a 14 year old girl whose been thrusted into adulthood in a way no other character has. A 14 year old girl who should be allowed immaturity and raw emotion and anger instead of the patience and grace she’s been forced to extend to every character without even the smallest amount of gratitude or even consideration in return.

Or you see all of the clips where Katara puts Aang in the “friendzone” and you expect to have this wishy washy back and forth where Aang is putting his feelings out there only to have Katara neither commit nor express any clear reciprocation or rejection. Then you watch and realize that, as cute as the ship is initially, that there’s never a point where Aang returns any comfort or grace to Katara despite her always doing this for him to the point of coddling. That for as much as Aang says he loves her, he never seems to outgrow his perception of her so he can recognize her as someone who feels grief, anger, and pain as much as she expresses love, kindness, and maturity. And instead of having moments where he learns to see her beyond her strength or compassion, you’re instead given moments where Aang forces his feelings onto her, both romantic and non-romantic, and Katara is expected to just…shoulder those feelings the way she shoulders everyone else’s.

Katara is the most misunderstood character in the show. As much as people recognize the complexities of Zuko, Sokka, and Azula, they struggle to do the same for Katara because they see her struggles as somehow lesser, and therefore, less deserving of sympathy. They can handle her so long as she’s being endlessly patient and loving and kind, but the moment her endless love, patience, and kindness runs out, she’s suddenly this annoying bitch who can’t shut up about her mother or reciprocate Aang’s feelings. But Katara’s trauma does matter as much as anyone else’s. No, she wasn’t banished from her kingdom. No, she didn’t lose her entire community, and no, she isn’t the only one who lost her mother. But the difference between her and everyone else whose experienced loss because of the Fire Nation is that she’s never given time to process her trauma. Aang gets to lean on Katara constantly. Toph gets to express her feelings to Katara, and yeah, Sokka also lost their mother, but unlike Katara, he isn’t put in the position of being a substitute for everyone’s parent. He even admits that he sees his sister as a mother. The only characters who ever comfort Katara or allow her to vent is Zuko and her father and that’s, like, three scenes in a show where the other characters are consistently given opportunities to seek out Katara for unconditional support.

The fandom interpretation of Katara has been so bastardized that even those who haven’t watched the show know her for this fanon version and not for who she is. She’s such an interesting character beyond her fandom limitations, though. She’s brave, hot-headed, and hopeful as well as gentle and caring. She wishes to learn waterbending, not only because she wants to fight in the war, but because she wants to continue her culture’s practices because, and people often forget this, she also lost an entire subculture within her already fractured tribe. And she wants to defeat the Fire Nation both because of her deep love and empathy for other people, but also because she wants to avenge her mother. But because some of the fans have reduced Katara to a bitch who constantly whines about her mother and friendzones Aang, you wouldn’t know any of this, and it sucks because she’s the only character whose been dumbed down to such an extent.

#avatar the last airbender #avatar #katara #you can tell she’s my favorite character #female character #zutara #I’m not anti or pro either #just something I noticed #I’m ​not against Aang either #just this writing