#it's been a journey seeing him reconcile with that from my end since it was usually something with me that made him rethink things

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

My Chapter 51 Thoughts and my thoughts around ShimaMitsu in general

So @mapoeggplant​ had a really cool discussion thread on twitter and I wanted to contribute to it. But I got very longwinded and now idk if the pics in my google doc even loaded... so I decided to share my thoughts here on tumblr as well!

Be warned, this post is littered with manga spoilers so if you are an anime-only or haven’t caught up to the most recent chapters, avoid this post so you don’t have the journey spoiled for yourself ^o^

Mika realizing something is up with Mitsumiー Mika is definitely a character that surprised me in how much I ended up liking her! Everyone in S&L I think is a subversion of popular tropes in manga’s past where on the surface they look like a trope and then boom, sensei hits us with a reality check and explanation as to how they are. Mika is clearly the ‘mean girl in shoujo who hates the protagonist by virtue of crushing on the male lead’. *Worry not, I’m aware S&L is a seinen*

But her maturity and growth over the series? Astounding. From reconciling with her envy of Mitsumi, Nao helping her come to terms with the idea of Mitsumi and Sousuke dating hypothetically in the future and becoming such a good friend? Love it.

So I love how Mika is the first to really notice that something is off with Mitsumi in regards to Sousuke.

Pretty sure that back in chapter 47 it was established that all of the girls have noticed something was off with Mitsumi. But they decided to respect her privacy because if she wants to tell them what’s wrong, she’ll tell them and they want to give her the chance to come to them first. Though they did express they were worried she wasn’t truly seeming like herself.

And the reason Mika starting to connect the dots this most recent chapter is so ‘big’ for me, for lack of a better word, is because it really puts into perspective how Mitsumi has been handling the breakup.

Mitsumi breaking things off with Sousuke was definitely a mature move. I’ve even been in the same position of breaking things off with a relationship because of feeling like the way we loved each other was different and it would be best to go back to friends. Then spending 2 years chatting with my ex as if nothing happened before having an emotional breakdown about it and needing two weeks of space from her before I could function around her. And it feels like Mitsumi is doing the same thing with Sousuke. But by virtue of Mika spotting Mitsumi’s discomfort in sitting next to Sousuke and starting to question things, it really solidifies how Mitsumi is processing things.

Like, Mitsumi telling Sousuke she can work on her own and such when he proposed the idea when she mentioned wanting to work to get Maharu a new wallet. She wasn’t just brushing it off and being all chill, kumbaya. She was more than likely trying to avoid him because she isn’t really ready to just be alone with him yet.

So I’m hoping in this arc that Mika is going to bring up what she’s noticed to Mitsumi. Because since she’s already processed her feelings, if Mitsumi were to admit to her that she and Sousuke dated briefly before she ended things it wouldn’t make Mika spiteful or anything weird like that. If anything, I think it would bring them closer together because if there is anyone who would understand the Sousuke-failed-relationship/rejection love pains Mitsumi is going through, it would be Mika.

Mitsumi & Sousuke (and Yasaka)ー

As for Mitsumi specifically, I think that her relationship with Sousuke as present is a ripple effect of Yasaka’s statement back during the chapter Mitsumi rightfully called Sousuke out for not standing up for her when she would definitely do it if the roles were reversed.

Immediately after that, we see Mitsumi beginning to contemplate what she said, her perspective of Sousuke and she doesn’t really know how Sousuke was raised, his relationships with his family etc. Like, she knows there is some drama there, based on the school festival arc with the play and running into Sousuke’s childhood friends and mother but she also acknowledges she doesn’t know the full story and how Sousuke came to be how he is today.

While Yasaka’s assessment did give Mitsumi the idea that she should keep in mind how she was raised and how others were raised paints how they become in the present, she is almost like… overly internalizing that and trying to be overly conscious of Sousuke’s feelings. And even the feelings of Maharu. I’m not sure I’d go as far as saying Mitsumi is blaming herself for what they are going through since so far I haven’t really seen anything that would indicate self-blame. The closest you can get to that is her scolding herself for expecting Sousuke to come to her defense just because they’re dating.

When, in reality, while Yasaka is right Mitsumi should keep in mind that Sousuke and her have different frames of reference and she should be considerate of that… Mitsumi was well within her right to be upset that her boyfriend was letting some mean girls shit talk in her face and made no effort to defend her.

Then the next time you see them interact in chapter 45, she essentially brushes that under the rug. She apologizes to Sousuke for getting upset, he says he is going to turn down their party invite and they go their separate ways… But Sousuke never actually apologizes for not standing up for her which, at least in Mitsumi’s eyes, would solidify the idea that she was in the wrong and was expecting too much of her at-the-time boyfriend.

This overly considerate behavior Mitsumi is now displaying even went as far as not wanting to tell her friends about the breakup and everything that led up to it because she was worried about how they would perceive Sousuke and possibly give him some sort of negative treatment in response to how things went. Not to mention, she’d rather just bottle up her feelings than cause a rift in their friend group they’ve had since first year.

When she breaks up with Sousuke, she goes above and beyond in reassuring him they have and always will be friends. Which while that is cool because the hiccups aside, they have a pretty great friendship, Mitsumi isn’t really allowing herself to feel hurt by the breakup and thinks that, while even if a large portion of it is that she and Sousuke’s ‘love’ is different her actions thus far would imply she thinks it is on her for expecting so much. (So I guess there actually is a good portion of self-blame from her, even if subconsciously!) 

And with the most recent chapter, Sousuke gets to see how Mitsumi is hiding how hurt she is by Maharu’s rejection of her gift and her outburst that Mitsumi is only thinking about herself and to me his expression is almost like a parallel to his expression in chapter 46 when Mitsumi broke up with him.

In chapter 46, Sousuke needed comfort. He’s worried about being abandoned or viewed as worthless because he wasn’t able to live up to the ‘use’ or ‘idea’ Mitsumi had of him.

This time, Mitsumi needs comfort and it’s like this moment has essentially confronted Sousuke with the fact that she isn’t as cheerful, mature and invulnerable as she has presented herself to him thus far. So while yes, Yasaka was right in how Mitsumi doesn’t know as much about Sousuke as she thought she did, the reverse is also very true in that Sousuke doesn’t really know Mitsumi as much as he thought he did.

Sprinkle all this into the fact that Sousuke is going through his own whirlwind of emotions regarding Mitsumi, their breakup and how he feels about her. He’s jealous of Ujiie and how close he is with Mitsumi, he feels left out that Mitsumi hasn’t really been including him in activities outside of school and he was pouty and perplexed in chapter 47 about her perspective of the breakup going far as to pout to Chris and Ririka:

And Chris rightfully being confused because he doesn’t get Sousuke’s reaction since back in chapter 42 he didn’t even really know if Sousuke really even liked Mitsumi romantically (as proven by how, when Sousuke told him about the breakup, he automatically assumed Sousuke was dumper and not the dumpee). Now he wants to be closer to her while Mitsumi is essentially going ‘I want to keep everything chill and normal but at the same time I’m still upset and trying not to be next to him for extended periods of time just yet’.

Fast forward to chapter 51 and Sousuke’s in Mitsumi’s childhood home and feeling out of place/out of his element. So this is all the recipe for him to confront his own misconceptions of Mitsumi and, hopefully, apologize for his part in the breakup and how he should have stood up for her. Which we do see him do later in chapter 50 when she isn’t present, but Sousuke has the self-awareness to know and bitterly accept that if Mitsumi hadn’t called him out before he likely would have let them continue talking poorly about her.

Maharu & Mitsumiー Now onto Maharu~ I’m fully looking forward to her part in this arc because it is very clear that she is dealing with insecurities regarding herself and her older sister. Mitsumi has been confirmed by multiple characters that she is essentially a prodigy in her hometown and her hometown is being hit with a very real-life problem the Japanese countryside faces. Like, it is to the point where schools in the countryside are shutting down because there aren’t enough students to justify keeping them open because the young people are leaving for the city, not returning and not raising their kids there (which most people aren’t doing anyway due to the decline in birthrates in recent years for Japan).

Mitsumi even went as far as telling Sousuke her thoughts that she might likely be the only one of her siblings to even leave their prefecture.

We don’t really know how much Mitsumi is discussed back in her hometown, but it must be enough to make Maharu feel the way she does. It is just unfortunately manifesting in taking things out on her sister rather than talking to her parents about how she feels or even trying to discuss it with Mitsumi. Hell, talking to Mitsumi about it first probably won’t even help things come to a positive conclusion. As it stands now, Maharu’s perception of her sister is that Mitsumi looks down on her for getting out of the prefecture and going to the holy grail that is the capital of their country for school.

She needs an outside perspective that isn’t ‘tainted’ by Mitsumi.

Mitsumi’s friends from Tokyo are out because 1) they are Mitsumi’s friends and 2) Maharu already is feeling insecure and putting them on a pedestal because they are Tokyonites and fancy people.

Her family is out because Mitsumi is essentially their pride and joy.

And the chapter end with Maharu running into Fumi and while I wanna say ‘Fumi, get in here and rescue this sibling relationship’-

Fumi would still fall under the category of ‘tainted by Mitsumi’ by virtue of being Mitsumi’s best friend, even if Fumi has been shown to be very close to the Iwakura family. So I honestly think it could go either way with Fumi trying to talk to Maharu and help her vent how she feels, but Maharu could easily do that and when Fumi tries to be reasonable Maharu could think that Fumi is trying to take Mitsumi’s side when she is just trying to help give Maharu some outside perspective.

So that would basically summarize all of スキロー thoughts with the most recent chapter sensei has delivered us. I’m loving it all so far and looking very forward to what happens next!

#look she's not writing #skip and loafer #スキップとローファー #スキロー #iwakura mitsumi #shima sousuke #shimamitsu #egashira mika #toyama fumino #iwakura maharu #manga spoilers #skip and loafer spoilers #skip & loafer #skip & loafer spoilers #animanga thoughts

[cfr749]

I love your 6x04 spec about Lucy's camera being broken and her being investigated! You should totally write a fic about that if you're inspired ✨️

hi anon - thanks for the ask!

So @literali1110 pointed out to me that there were footage from Lucy's camera after the fall, so doesn't look like this is the route they'll go 😂

I do keep circling back on how hesitant Angela and Nyla looked when Lucy made her suggestion, and it makes me wonder if they may end up questioning whether protocol was followed or something instead? Or maybe Lucy will simply struggle with her own feelings of guilt around ending up in that situation because she was trying to prove herself?

I am glad that there's not really any ambiguity about whether she had to take the shot and whether the guy was 100% guilty, because I think it would destroy Lucy if those things were in question.

I'm definitely feeling some angsty inspiration from Lucy's struggle this season; jury's still out on whether it ever becomes anything more than random sentences in my notes app.

Regardless, I'm gonna hijack this ask to ramble a little bit on why I'm actually okay with the choices they've made and the story they are telling for Lucy this season so far. Like a lot of people, I hate seeing Lucy going through a hard time and of course I want to see her be supported. Give me the scene with Tim in the hospital a million times over; I'll never get tired of seeing that she is valued and loved by the people in her life. We honestly haven't gotten enough of that for literal years.

We've seen Lucy go through so much. But in five+ seasons, we've barely seen Lucy be anything other than her sunshine-y self for more than a handful of scenes. Even more so in the last few seasons. It is beyond time the writers take the time to give her character more depth and emotional range. It is beyond time they turn her back into a character that is deeply empathetic and relatable to the audience.

It has sucked seeing more and more commentary on social media the last few seasons about Lucy being childish, silly, unprofessional, and even manipulative 😭. And I think that's a direct result of the lack of care and intention the writers have put into writing her character since she graduated the FTO program. She's been used as little more than comic relief and a plot device outside of the ship for way too long.

Gif Credit @livelovecaliforniadreams

While other characters have progressed professionally, Lucy has remained mostly stagnant since she graduated the FTO program, beyond a few UC missions that all pretty much ended the same way without doing anything progressive for her character (why didn't we see her struggle with the ethics of UC work when it came to using Aaron's puppy? why haven't they helped us understand how she reconciles her love for UC work to her empathetic nature and the reason she became a cop?).

I think of Lucy's journey in comparison to Tim's -- we've seen him go through awful things. We've seen him suffer. We've seen him struggle. We've seen him evolve and grow.

With Lucy, we've mostly just seen her go through awful things and move on as if nothing has changed. We all have our head canons, I think, about grief and coping and what's going on under the surface, but we don't actually know what she's feeling 99% of the time.

Do I wish they would have taken the opportunity to explore the impact on her character in the aftermath of DOD or after Jackson died? Of course I do. I would have preferred that to having to see her struggle professionally in the shadow of Nolan getting handed success for simply existing. (And if I thought they intended the juxtaposition, I'd give them credit for telling a realistic story, but I seriously doubt it 😂).

But I'm still glad they are taking the time to tell a story for her now. And I'm glad they seem to be doing it with intention.

And this was not at all what you asked about, but here you go anyway, anon 😜🥰

Thanks for the ask!

#chenford #lucy chen #see lana ramble #my asks #the rookie

[aurora-313]

In all your readings, have you found another couple that functions perfectly as both platonic friends and as lovers as ichiruki do, but that is so underutilized by its creator in any capacity?

(Imagine Lisa easing out from Black and Blue, then she and Kaien are friends for a little while, then they see each other once a century.Fans of their relationship will be upset, and it will be their right. What will not be their right will be to act nasty about it. You know that you assume a risk with a WIP. )

Any author can do what they want with their story, but when you create expectations that you don't meet, people will be upset, especially if they pay you, and you use their friendship/romance as a selling pitch. I still don't get why people are upset on the people that are upset. Again being a WIP, doesn't mean that I have to like whatever direction the author chooses. I personally rarely take risks on WIPs, so I STARTED BLEACH AFTER IT WAS FINISHED AND I KNEW THE ENDING, and the false advertising still hit me. I fell for ichiruki, and the end and then the soul burriel chapter where they barely speak on the phone and Renji now replaced Rukia as Ichigo's friend was an 180degree if I ever saw one. I wonder if in the Hell Arc, they'll even recognize each other anymore..

P.S. Thank you for remembering Rukia in your fiction more than her creator does in canon.

(Please forgive me. This answer went on a ramble and I don't think I actually answered your question.)

I'm sure I've seen a few in my time.

The ones that readily leap to mind from my childhood are Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill from Stargate SG1, and Doctor Weir and Major Shepperd from Stargate Atlantis. Although I'm not sure the first duo count since there's multiple alternate universes where they do get hitched.

But onto Bleach. IchiHime fits under this category in my opinion: the 'under developed and under utilized' part.

Sure we have the 'love you in five lives' speech and the not-kiss, but"

One: Kissing an unconscious person that you're not in a committed relationship with is not cool. Under any circumstance.

Two: She's consistently scared shitless of Ichigo's powers and rejects his hollow, even though the Hollow is literally his soul manifest.

Three: Orihime repeatedly demonstrates she doesn't really understand how Ichigo works.

In the post-Deicide novels, Orihime was actively happy Ichigo didn't have powers anymore, only to reluctantly change her tune when she saw how thoroughly miserable he was without them.

It would've been great character progression to see Orihime delve into that personal stance: why was she happy about Ichigo being powerless? Because she legitimately didn't want him to get hurt anymore? Or relief that he wouldn't turn into a monster again?

And overcoming those personal scruples would've been a fantastic personal journey to see in the manga. Her coming to terms and reconciling her image of Ichigo being this heroic ideal and the flawed, deeply traumatized individual who had the capacity to be literally monstrous.

Orihime could've reexamined her feelings about ichigo at their core, and realise perhaps she doesn't actually love him after all. That she lusts after an ideal she's modelled in Ichigo's image. In realizing and coming to terms with that error, in abandoning her preconceived notions and actually seeing Ichigo for the first time, warts and all, Orihime could've paved the foundation to build a genuine friendship. Later possibly a romance.

If this was the journey Orihime went on through Bleach, taken entirely of her own accord, with a conclusion on her own terms? Then I wouldn't have been nearly as jarred by the epilogue. Ichigo's Oedipus complex aside.

But I digress.

Rukia was one half of the main duo that made Bleach compelling. And Kubo absolutely pushed her away after FKT, attempting (key word "attempting") to put Orihime in her place. Which is a frankly bizarre decision. Rukia is the "Death" to Ichigo's "Strawberry". She is the deuteragonist, the inciting incident to the whole story and the primary motivation for the first two arcs (Aizen's and Kisuke's century's long trans-dimensional chess match aside).

Ichigo pushed himself beyond breaking and learned skills well beyond his paygrade to save Rukia from unjust execution. In his desperation to achieve that goal, Ichigo had to learn to fly before he could crawl, ultimately mutilating his own powerset in the process.

In any other media, in any other story, that tends to be a giant glowing give away about the nature of his feelings, even if Ichigo wasn't entirely clear on them himself. Its the classic handsome knight rescuing the princess in the tower and riding off in the sunset to live happily ever after.

Yes, Ichigo went through the same motions to rescue Orihime from Aizen, but he had doubts about her. Even in his venture, Ichigo entertained the idea that Orihime had legitimately betrayed them. Then the narrative goes out of its way to demonstrate her presence was merely an excuse for Ichigo to settle his scores with Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, and for Aizen to remove Soul Society's best weapon from play. Ichigo did personally want to save Orihime but he felt like he was conducting himself out of obligation, driven by his white knight/martyr complex. As soon as Ichigo felt Rukia's reiatsu flagging, he immediately shifted gears because 'Oh shit, gotta go save my totally platonic bestie first, bye!' and would've proceeded to do exactly that until Ulquiorra goaded him.

To me, Ichigo and Rukia is what made Bleach BLEACH. Their banter is what I loved about the first arcs, the teasing sprinkled with moments of heartfelt connection (in case you can't tell, its my favourite love language. Hence why Lisa and Kaien poke and tease each other all the time).

There's no 'Now I realise I why I wanted to save you' moment with Orihime in HM. She's narratively bait for Aizen's schemes and little more, as soon as she's safe-ish, Ichigo ditches and moves onto other grudge matches.

Then the final arc and the epilogue chapters roll around and I had to ask myself, is this even the same manga? Where's the Death and the Strawberry? Where is the bond that started ALL of this? Rukia is the woman who gave Ichigo the means to combat his despair, and they don't even talk anymore? You don't think Ichigo would've wanted to extend his congratulations for Rukia getting married? Having a kid? Getting prompted to Captaincy? Or anything to indicate they were friends at all?

(yes, Ichigo does in the novel but its telling one interaction between them is completely overshadows the story's 'main' pairing.)

My issue with TYBW and epilogue isn't the pairings - though that is a part. My issue is the narrative took great pains from the start to demonstrate Ichigo never felt like he belonged in the living world. His life was a dull tedious affair. The Fullbring arc reveals how much he actively hates Karakura and wants to leave ASAP.

Ichigo only began to truly LIVE once he gained shinigami powers (we'll ignore the fact he was only born and raised to be a weapon/universal battery). He loved every second of it, even when the power scared him and acted beyond his control. He fit into the realm of the dead far better than he ever did in the living.

Then Kubo turns around and claims; actually, NO. Ichigo's super content with exactly the same quiet kind of life he despised with every fibre of his being, living in a town he fucking hates and wanted to leave as soon as he graduated.

How does that shift in gears not raise serious red flags?

I'm not saying Ichigo had to go and live in Soul Society (though that was being set up thanks to the god-tier powers he'd been juiced with) but I did expect him to leave Karakura behind when all was said and done.

As a random-ish segue on the matter of friendship.

The Karakura gang feel like fair-weather friends more than anything else, excepting two circumstances: Ichigo and Chad (first arc) and Tatsuki and Orihime. Even then, those friendships become a stretch in later arcs before basically disappearing entirely. Sure, Chad, Ishida, Ichigo and Orihime have had life and death adventures together, but those scenarios were either a matter of self-preservation or wounded pride. Sometimes both.

But remove the supernatural circumstances, the Karakura gang felt like the average transient high school friendship. Circumstance brought them together, they would remain friends until graduation, then they'd all go their separate ways never to see each other again. Which is a sad state of affairs given Bleach's theme about the heart and nature of human connection.

But one must ask how strong those friendship really are when Ichigo will jump to the worst conclusion at the drop of a hat?

Orihime in Hueco Mundo, as stated above, Ichigo seriously entertained the idea she was a traitor until Ulquiorra claimed otherwise.

Chad with Xcution, Ichigo immediately assumed the worst intentions about it until Chad revealed he joined as a means to help Ichigo get his powers back.

Ishida joining the Quincy, Ichigo instantly assumed Ishida was 110% on board with the whole destroy reality plan until Ishida outright states 'I'm a double agent, you fucking dumbass.' (I give the Fullbringer arc incident a pass because Ichigo was not thinking clearly at the time)

It doesn't strike me as particularly strong or healthy when the first instinct is to immediately assume the worst.

But anyway, I shall get off my soapbox for now.

I do enjoy writing a great deal of Kaien, which means Rukia is inevitably involved given how intrinsically linked their stories are. Kind of hard to have a story about him and not have her in it. :D

I hope you continue to enjoy Kaien and Rukia in my writings. :)

#bleach #my writing #kaien shiba #rukia kuchiki #ichigo kurosaki #orihime inoue #sorry this became a bit long and rambly #I have a lot to say about Bleach's final arcs #and about the character interactions #and how fragile and fleeting the Karakura gang friendship feels in general

[romancemedia]

Miss Martian's Character Journey in Invasion

It's been on my mind for a while since rewatching Invasion for the zillionth time, but Miss Martian was never the same again and that's no surprise after everything she did.

Everytime I watch that season, I hate M'gann for not only the fact she was abusing her powers, destroyed her relationship with Conner and dated La'gaan as a rebound, but also I just hated her whole attitude in general. She wasn't the same person compared to who she was in season 1 and that's to be expected (cause of the timeskip and all), but I just hate how she acted so arrogant and superior, not to mention conceited.

She was so proud of herself for doing all those horrible things, things that a hero should never do.

She justified the abuse of her psychic powers.

She showed no remorse or regret for leaving her victims in catatonic states, seeing they were the bad guys and believed they deserved it!

She immediately started dating Lagoon Boy right after her break up with Superboy and used him as her rebound guy, because he made her feel better about herself, thus allowing her to ignore the problems in her life or face what she had done.

She flaunted her "romance" with Lagoon Boy in front of Conner.

She blamed Conner for their break up, but ignored the fact it was her fault and actions that lead to him ending their relationship.

She acted like everything was normal and living her best life when it wasn't!

I hated her during the first half of the season, but finally in the 10th episode, Before the Dawn, she finally realized the error of her ways and how truly and deeply she had fallen from grace after wiping Aqualad's mind. It was in that moment, she had finally opened her eyes to the monster she had become.

The latter half of the season proceeded to focus on her redemption. In the aftermath, Miss Martian was left deeply traumatized and scarred by her actions after destroying Kaldur's mind and seeing the look of disappointment from Artemis.

She became scared, timid and afraid of using the even simplest basic form of her powers. Even the tone of her voice had changed to one filled with regret, sorrow and shame. No longer was Miss Martian so sure of herself. No longer was she still filled with the same pride and arrogance she had at the start of season 2. Instead now she was guilt-ridden by EVERYTHING she had done and wanted to punish herself, believing it's what she deserved after all the pain and harmed she caused. After facing her guilt and gaining forgiveness from Kaldur, she finally went back to being the Miss Martian I know and love and fixed her mistakes.

She finally stopped abusing her powers for good.

She took responsibility for her selfish and inexcusable actions.

She changed her attitude, no longer was she acting conceited or condescending.

She ended her relationship with Lagoon Boy, admitting what they had was rebound and he deserved better.

More importantly, she finally reconciled and got back together with Superboy, her one true love.

Invasion is one of the most intense seasons as it's so thrilling to watch one of my favourite character development journeys from Miss Martian, watching her being a Major Jerk until she found her way again.

And ever since the impact of season 2 remained with Miss Martian for the rest of the series. She became more responsible with her powers, showing she still carried the weight of her past actions with her. A prime example again being the tone of her voice. It still carried a tone of regret and remorse for her past actions and it didn't have the same peppiness as before.

Miss Martian would never repeat the same actions again, always afraid of crossing that line again, but now that she knows otherwise, she has grown so much and by the end of the series she finally became the best version of herself.

#Young Justice #My Thoughts #Young Justice Invasion #DC #Miss Martian #M'gann M'orzz #Lagoon Boy #Superboy #Conner Kent #Aqualad #Kaldur #Tigress #Artemis Crock #My Thoughts Young Justice

[lord-squiggletits]

Something I keep seeing when I speak to others about MTMTE Megatron is basically the idea that he's going on a personal journey to become a better person, that the point isn't for him to be "redeemed" but for him to get a chance to do good and die as a person he can live with again. That MTMTE presents a unique take on this because being away from Cybertron gives Megatron a chance to be a person rather than a political figure and this is how it gives him more depth as a character. Or just generally pointing out in a narrative sense that Megatron being in MTMTE limits his story options so of course his story is going to be more focused on a personal journey than on politics of him dealing with the Decepticons/Earth/etc and that just because JRO made a choice to take that path with Megatron doesn't mean that it's inherently bad.

And I'm just, mmm like I understand all of those points and acknowledge that they all contributed to the MTMTE Megatron we got. I even think that without JRO writing Megatron we wouldn't have had his lore be as fleshed out and 3D as it ended up becoming.

(Post starts out as a sort of meta analysis or at least me giving a reasoned explanation for my interpretation of the story, ends up being petty bitching in the last 1-2 paragraphs)

I just..... I just personally don't agree with the "he's becoming a better person by getting a chance to relax and experience happiness and trust after a life of trauma" as being the best choice for his character? Because the problem is that maybe if he were a random Decepticon foot soldier that would be appropriate, but he was literally the leader of the Decepticons that made them Like That and has political/cultural/societal responsibility for why things are the way they are? To be completely frank, I don't care about him going on a personal journey for self-peace, I think that he should become a better person by helping to un-fuck all the things he actually screwed up???

Like idc about the debate of whether he can be "redeemed" or if he should've been killed/imprisoned/etc at the ending. It just comes down to the fact that for me personally, I feel that since Megatron's wrongdoings were at a social level, him "being a better person" would've been better shown by him engaging with those people who he wronged instead of just going on a frigging personal journey for his legacy and self-peace???

Especially since in other series (exRID, possibly Windblade) we literally got plots like "the neutrals hate Autobots but they hate Decepticons even more" and "the Decepticons have been taken over by Galvatron and are now invading earth 2 electric boogaloo" and "yeah the Decepticons are literally living in slums because people hate them so much and won't give them any work." It just leaves me wondering why in the hell people are like, "oh Megatron got to be happy and have a chance to be a normal person." I don't want him to be normal! I want him to repay his debts to the people he actually wronged! Like if you want to cast Megatron as a hero of the people so badly (which so many of his stans do as if he actually cared about the Cons) then how do you reconcile the fact that Megatron just fucked off and left the Decepticons to suffer on Cybertron? Including some of them attacking during his trial and getting killed and Megatron is basically like "sorry, I'm not coming with you and this isn't going to work." And then Megatron complains about "toxic Decepticon loyalty" as if he didn't literally make them that way? Like I get that MTMTE Megatron is still an asshole but if you've read something besides MTMTE and know what the Decepticons are going through, it just ends up being really grating.

I just don't see Megatron as being a particularly good hero or having a particularly fulfilling story if he's completely isolated from all the bad things he did on Cybertron/the way the Decepticons are suffering until LL#25 where it's like "ah damn I'm going to trial now, well this is what I deserve so it's fine." Why could we not have seen something like Megatron trying to deradicalize the Decepticons or change their public image so they could integrate into normal Cybertron again? They were living in SLUMS and getting gunned down by Starscream's badgeless enforcers!

The best we got was the Functionist Universe but like.... I'm sorry, but JRO inventing a whole alternate universe for Megatron to save doesn't do jack shit to save or fix the people he left behind in this one. It was especially grating to read because JRO literally wrote in someone saying "you saved billions of lives from the Functionists" as if he was trying really hard to show how good Megatron is because he saved people (and also if not for Megatron existing Cybertron would be even worse and half of your faves would be enslaved or dead, also the Functionist Council was going to genocide organics too so technically they're WORSE than Megatron since they hate organics AND want to enslave their own race).

I read Barber's, JRO's, and MScott's series concurrently using the omnibus + a release order list for phase 3, and after all that I'm kind of puzzled why the fandom seems to ardently love MTMTE Megatron and think he's so well written but then also shit on Optimus for things that he did during the same points in the story? Because, and I know this is a blazing hot take, I honestly think that Optimus makes a better hero of his story than Megatron does for his, and Optimus' personal journey combines his personal and political identities into a narrative that's a lot more gruelling and questioning of his goodness than we got for Megatron in MTMTE. Which is fucking saying something considering Megatron committed crimes against sapient species and Optimus is the guy who tried to stop him from doing that and has always been pro-equal rights for all beings. But people pretty much just cherrypick things like Optimus annexing Earth or beating up Prowl and go "he's bad" and I'm like no??? IDW OP isn't a bad person or a bad character??? It's just that unlike MTMTE Megatron he's placed in a narrative that actually suits the nature of his actions and has themes that match. To the point that IMO sometimes Barber's narrative shits on Optimus excessively or paints him mainly in the most unflattering ways.

But like. It's just funny to me because Optimus spent his entire part of the story doing things like trying to stop Earth from being invaded/colonized yet again. Grappling with his identity as Prime and dealing with the fact that people literally worship him vs. the fact that his upbringing made him see the Primacy as nothing more than a facade of authority/leadership. Having people get mad at him for prioritizing politics over friendship/relationships with other people. Even getting shit on for being a cop a decent amount so people can STFU about IDW OP being "copaganda" or "not held responsible for his actions". The problems that Optimus dealt with were personal because they had to do with his self-doubt, culpability for the war as a leader of one of the armies, distance from his soldiers, etc. But all of these are also POLITICAL struggles. Because Optimus gave up on the chance to just be a normal person having personal struggles when he chose to become a LEADER, which also means that he's held to extremely high standards that he regularly fails at in the eyes of others.

That's why, to me, MTMTE Megatron falls flat in comparison and really as a "hero" or heel-face character in general? Because he also made a decision to be a leader, and IMO once you do things like become the commander of an army and start your own galactic empire, you lose the right to prioritize your personal problems and instead are obligated by the power you've chosen to wield to focus on your POLITICAL problems. If Megatron's power, influence, and crimes are of a social-political nature, then his heel-face turn arc and ways of showing that he's a better person/helping to heal what little damage he possibly can should have been shown with actions that help on a social-political LEVEL. That's why I'm not particularly impressed with his character arc and feel as if it was overhyped by other people in this fandom: sure, the extra character depth and emotion is nice, but I'm not really going to see him as extraordinary or even particularly good when the extent of him "becoming a better person" happens entirely on a random road trip to fuck-off nowhere. Especially not when the ending of LL tried to sell me a "they lived happily ever after" ending while basically leaving the freaking MUTINY as just Rodimus going "oh it's okay you're forgiven, we're all together again" and I guess everyone was fine with Megatron and wanted to spend an eternity on a ship with him just because Getaway died.

This is why I like (the concept/themes of) exRID/OP and the way Optimus' character arc was handled a lot more. Because for Optimus, the personal and the political were as one. He was held accountable for his actions towards others and the disruptive effects they had on a social level, sometimes to a ridiculous extent (the fucking "oh Megatron is an Autobot so now that makes the Autobots colonizers" plot and that stupid colonist screaming about how Optimus is "literally fascist" my beloathed). Even his very personal issues like his relationship with Zeta were still cast in a wider lens of, yeah this is a personal struggle that Orion faced, but he was still part of a Society TM and his actions were sometimes ill-informed or harmful to others. Even if I had a lot of problems with the way Optimus' story was written by Barber (plot holes, little meaningful character interaction, forced conflicts), at least the BASELINE of it was way better than Megatron's in MTMTE. Especially since Optimus' struggle was explictly about things like struggling with responsibility and how he feels he HAS to intervene in political affairs because has to save people/make up for his past mistakes. That's something that a good leader/good person actually does, so I found Optimus to be a better hero (even if his actions weren't all "good") because he was trying to be a good person by actually getting involved with Cybertron/Earth and subjecting himself to something he hates (leadership, war) and dealing with a shitload of criticism instead of just going on a fuckin "personal journey" lksdlkfsd.

Which just makes me extra salty that people hold up MTMTE Megatron as the pinnacle of Megatrons and literally the best Transformers writing evar! while turning up their nose and ignoring or outright despising IDW Optimus. Like okay. I guess since Megatron got handled with silk gloves on while Optimus got put through the wringer of being shit on by every other person in the story, it's easier for you to pretend that Megatron is a poor uwu boy who just needs friendship and love while Optimus is literally the worst bastard to ever exist. Or maybe it's just that since Optimus' story involves him sometimes fucking up, being criticized, or making things worse, that makes him morally bad. As opposed to Megatron who disrupted a lot of other characters' stories in MTMTE, had to have an entire alternate universe invented so that he could "save lives," and got to sail off on a quantum Lost Light happily ever after, so since he's happy and the story says he saved people that means he's a good hero.

#squiggposting #it started out sort of analytical but ended up bitchy #i also feel like for some reason my understanding of what a redemption arc is is different from others? #when i talk to people about it they keep saying 'well M can't make up for what he did' #and i'm like. no that's not what i mean by redemption arc #to me redemption arc literally just means 'a character goes from bad to good over the course of a story' #whether they're forgiven or if they can 'make up for it' objectively is irrelevant like #redemption arc is literally a common label used for the general trope so idk where this confusion is coming from? #also hot take when i say a character should be redeemed i'm literally not talking about wether they're forgiven or pardoned in universe #i just mean. as a reader. do i read their story arc and see them go from bad to good and progress in meaningful ways #do they do something. anything. to address or apologize or fix what they did #is there some sort of symbolic or literal sacrifice or act of service or any Good Thing even if it's only one single moment #then to me they've been redeemed in a narrative sense. it has nothing to do with whether they can literally compensate for hteir crimes #anyways. the tldr of this is that i don't hate mt/mte at all and i also don't hate idw M. i love them in fact #it's just i feel like i was severely let down by how much this fandom hyped and continues to hype mt/mte meg #(peg/gy the pirate spongebob meme voice) that's it? that's the M redemption arc? #that's just a guy going on a space road trip and being emo #mfs tried to tell me it was one of the best tf stories ever written and i'm like. yeah thanks but no #worse still ppl came out of m/tmte going 'actually M was right about everything' #and i'm like. shit take and you are spreading this nonsense everywhere including shitting on my faves w your bad takes #mfs wanna call M a hero of the ppl who at least cared about the cons when he literally left them for broke on cybertron #i don't think idw M had a good heel-face turn arc bc he didn't really like do anything meaningful in the wider scope of things #what if idw M achieved inner peace by protecting the cons and making sure they had rights post war. how about that #i mean for various reasons the story would've been more complicated than that due to editorial and company mandate bullshit #i just feel as if talking about the story narrative itself IDW M's redemption arc is far from remarkable #except for the fact that JRO dared to do it at all perhaps #(vine voice) that's my OPINION!!!!!

[waitmyturtles]

Because I’m me, and I’m always looking at things contextually and collectively, I watched Bed Friend last night while in the heady mindspace of a fabulous conversation with @wen-kexing-apologist​ about The Eighth Sense, addiction, meds, and the show creators. 

And so. I had been seeing the gifs and thoughts on Bed Friend, episode 9 yesterday, but didn’t really process them, so I did NOT realize...

... how freaking HAPPY THIS EPISODE WOULD BE!

I mean! Thankfully! There’s not a lot to say! UEA, WITH KING’S SUPPORT, WALKS AWAY FROM HIS STUPID FUCKING MOM! Pran’s dad gets his ass hauled to jail! Tian’s dad accepts them! King’s MOM comes around (and oh.... I always, always love the whole “call me mom” thing, it makes me weepy as a longtime wifey). Tongkao reconciles with big bro!

Awllll the lovey scenes. The office bathroom scene. The office team and Christmas time. JADE. Mongkol changing. King handing Uea his meds (crying emoji) (what support that shows, omg). King hugging his mom (OH MY ACHING OVARIESSSSSSSS) (I’M NOT HAVING ANY MORE KIDS BUT MEEEEEPPPPP). 

And, if you either know me or my writing or my blog, you might know what also really got me -- the same scenes with Uea, King, and King’s mom. Uea caring for King, cooking for him, comforting him.

Two things there. First off: I loved that in the second half of the show, King NEEDS Uea, not the other way around, as had been the paradigm for the majority of this show (although the show really started with King needing Uea, as King made the first moves). 

So we got to see Uea as a caretaker, cooing and caring for King. 

We got to see....(here’s me being typical)....we got to see them slowly becoming family.

So I think it’s totally apropos that we see a proposal happening next week. Who would have EVER called this by way of the early Bed Friend trailers, but: King and Uea are going to make a family together. That’s why King getting his parents’ approval was so important, and seeing King’s mom accept Uea was also important (Tian’s dad: two for two!). 

It was either @respectthepetty or @wen-kexing-apologist (sorry, I can’t find y’alls’ posts!) who said that they needed to see King’s backstory on how long he’s liked Uea, and I agree, I want that context, too. To manage a whole love journey FROM bed friends, TO boyfriends, and THEN to lifelong committed partnership -- um, King played a DAMN long game, a RISKY one. (Have you ever successfully turned FWB into a relationship? At least for me, in my youf -- definitely not. That shit takes SKILL.)

Knowing King’s love context and history would be so nice, because homeboy was clearly deadset on getting his man, and understanding how he did it, and how he knew so much about Uea in the process, would just be a cherry on the top of this show.

This show: friends, this was an unexpectedly FABULOUS, EXCELLENT, AND DEEP SHOW. Not as cerebral as a Bad Buddy or an ATOTS (since we’re talking about their dads). Not as sophisticated a storyline as The Eclipse. Not as plain dumb as Big Dragon. It was somewhere in-between, but definitely leaning towards the smart side of that spectrum among these shows. 

No side couples. These guys could be idiots and bumbling at times, but: because there were no side distractions of other couplings, à la ATOTS, the show could REALLY give time and light to Uea’s history and development, and to King just falling, falling, falling more and more in love.

Let me not get ahead of myself and end this show already. We’re getting a proposal and a motherfucking YACHT next week, people. A YACHT!

I want to give this show one HUGE hug for DOING THE DAMN THING and wrapping up ALL those messy threads EXCELLENTLY. WOW. What a worthwhile and fabulous experience. 

(@lurkingshan! List this! It’s worth it!)

#bed friend #bed friend meta #tian's dad gets two gold stars #pran's dad gets negative nothing #netjames #king x uea #uea x king #net siraphop #james supamongkon #this was my first netjames show and i can't wait to see them in more #i love learning about these couplings outside of the gmmtv bubble i've been in recently

[callmegaith]

Hey! I'm just wondering where you got the idea to start shipping Dale and David? (Cool art btw!) As far as I know they've met thru Birthday but are they related in any other way?

Oh boy. Okay. This is gonna be all over the place.

So birthday, you get the letter from David saying he's sorry and all that. Yeah. Dale and David are connected, we just don't know how yet. Something important to David was for whatever reason in Dale's home.

But really the appeal just comes from what if scenarios. Both Dale and David are victims of their circumstances. David made Dale the person he is. He set him on the path of the lake, doom pretty much. And seeing he was remorseful for that in his letter, I like to imagine a world where David is doing his best to undo the damage he's done....

And so Down the Rabbit Hole is born. (If you haven't read it, I feel like it explores my idea for their dynamic better than my rambly post can. It's a comic series I'm working on exploring Dale and David's relationship during David's own paradox journey)

To me they are like two people chasing each other for opposite reasons. David just wants forgiveness so he can let go of the guilt of what he has done to Dale, and Dale wants peace of mind and an end to the trauma that the events of that day caused him... Or revenge even.

The potential of those two just... Meeting again, talking, and David finally having the chance to clear everything up to Dale can make for something so beautifully tragic. There's a story to be told here, not necessarily romantic. But a good tragic story about healing and moving on which is what I want for both of them more than anything. David has turned his back on the Lake. He has betrayed his gods and ran away unlike the rest of the souls at the bottom of the lake, and Jakob wanted to hunt him down and kill him for that. He's been up to something we don't know since then and that eventually led him to Dale. And I just imagine a world where the two of them become the characters that break the cycle of the Lake.

It's the star crossed trope really. With all the jumping around and changing pasts and futures in this game, the idea of them being doomed in every loop, every universe, every recreation. It's appealing to me. Just two people who are broken, running circles around one another but never being able to reach out to finally break the loop. And so they're stuck, never being able to move on while desperately wanting to. And there's just something so MWAH, chef kiss, about the tragedy of them.

So TLDR??? Makebelieve and doomed yaoi :)

It's really hard to explain and I do it better with art than words. I'm not very good with explaining things so I'm sorry if this made 0 sense. But hope it answered your question well enough or that at least Down the Rabbit Hole gave you a better idea than this xD (tho Down the Rabbit Hole is not a ship comic, it just shows the dynamic and idea I have for them)

Generally, the ideas I have for them aren't specifically romantic. I just like dudes kissing :)

(which I never even drew them doing except for a meme)

So yeah, gay, not gay, I just want the two of them to meet again and reconcile.

#asks! #thanks for writing! #ship: jackalope #comic: DTRH #actual TLDR: #its the appeal of the tragedy of them #RL: lore and theories

[smokeybrandreviews]

Bone of my Sword

Scott Pilgrim is a franchise I hold near and dear to my heart. I was already a fan of the comic when it dropped way back when as I WAS those kids. When the OG graphic novel first released, Scott Pilgrims’ Precious little life, I was that twenty year old, hipster douchebag, who knew everything but absolutely nothing. I, personally, didn’t struggle with relationships (fortunate to have met the great love of my life early on and never looked back), but I had friends who were desperately trying to maneuver that mire of self-discovery and intimacy. Scott Pilgrim is the distillation of the Millennial experience during out prime years (if you buy into that sort of thing), captured perfectly on the page by Bryan Lee O’Malley. That said, the film adaption? Scott Pilgrim vs. The World? That is a Millennial culture milestone. When that movie released back in the early Tens, it spoke to me, directly. It spoke to a lot of us. We were those wayward idiots, living in garages, spinning our wheels in terms of careers, just vibing away to dope music and life experiences. I remember being that young, discovering The Killers and Kid Cudi, moving out of state on a whim just chasing new stimuli. Seeing that film, was like watching a crib notes of my entire life experience to that point and it left a strong impression. If I wasn’t a fan before, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World definitely made me one. I showed that movie to anyone who would watch it, gushing about its overlooked genius, and lamenting how there wasn't an anime or something, which adapted the entirety of the comic. Fast forward thirteen years later and, as if the Netflix gods heard me pining all those years ago, they delivered unto us Scott Pilgrim Takes off. I have feelings.

Scott Pilgrim Takes off is a goddamn masterpiece! I absolutely adored this show. It's exactly not what you think and i thought making that choice, was a brilliant one. Don't get me wrong, i am a Scott Pilgrim purist but, if we're being honest, with two decades worth of perspective behind me, the OG Scott Pilgrim story is kind of bullsh*t. Scott is the worst and never really had to reconcile for that sh*ttiness. He dated Knives and never really caught any flack for it on his end. He mooched off Wallace until he started mooching off Ramona. Scott was a scumbag on par with e very other Evil Ex, with the exception of, maybe, Roxie. Removing him from the equation not only gave Scott the distance from his would-be actions to grow into a solid, redeemed character, but gave the rest of the cast that very same opportunity. It gave Ramona that opportunity, one she sorely needed. One that we, as fans, didn't even really KNOW she needed. Giving the big chair to Ramona allowed her to reconcile how terrible she was toward her Exes. It gave her so much more agency than just being "won" at the behest of the weirdly gross and aggressively abusive, Gideon Graves. Takes Off is as much Ramona's story as it is Scott's and that sh*t makes for the overall narrative, becoming something more. Adding Ramona's story to this tale, adds a layer of maturity, which makes sense considering it's been twenty years since Scott first punched Matthew Patel into pocket change. Altering the perspective from Scott to Ramona, taking the narrative from one of destruction to healing, absolutely MADE the entire franchise. Altering the perspective from Scott to Ramona, taking the narrative from one of destruction to healing, absolutely MADE the entire franchise.

This take on the story sees Scott actually "defeated" by Matty Pat and the ensuing mystery of his perceived "death" sends Ramona on a quest to find the truth. During this journey, SHE is forced to "fight" with her Exes, and by fight, i mean actually apologize to them for being a sh*tty person. Ramona finally stopped running after she met Scott and he basically murdered all of her evil exes. That made for, at the time, some cool imagery but it was, objectively, an absurd way to properly unpack your traumas. Especially the ones you create yourself. And let me tell you, that League of Evil Exes? Yeah, Ramona definitely created that sh*t. We get hints of each villain origin story in the film and graphic novels but Takes off is ABOUT those relationships and why they ended the way they did. It doesn't take long to understand that Ramona, too, is just as terrible as Scott, but in a different way. Seriously, Roxie's episode hammers that home with such intensity, you don't have a choice but to accept it as gospel. Every Evil Ex gets this treatment. Mostly. Once again the Katayanagi Twins get shafted but that's their thing and they kind of don't seem like assholes anyway. Not really in the previous takes on the story, either. Like, those relationships should have keyed us into just how f*cking destructive the trail to Ramona's flower truly was but we were kids back then, too, and that's the brilliance of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off: We're not kids anymore and neither are these characters.

I'm thirty-nine years old. While i love Scott Pilgrim for what it was, as a dude two decades removed from that time in my life, i can honestly say i was a f*cktard. All twenty-somethings are. We haven't figured out life, at all, and some of us won't even as we approach our mid-Thirties. By the time you're my age, however, once should hope you have a handle on your sh*rt enough to recognize that, maybe, way back when, during your Twenty-something scumbag days, that you were a little bit of a scumbag. That's what Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is doing. That's what the story is about. It's catharsis and acceptance which comes with the benefit of time and space. Bryan Lee O'Malley published the first Scott Pilgrim story when he was about twenty-five. That means he wrote it at an even earlier age and it reads as such. That narrative reflects the emotional maturity of someone who had experienced a handful of years unto themselves, outside the protective bubble of their parents, give or take. Takes Off is written by a mid-Forties, adult man, who has had a life. O'Malley has been married, found success with his goofy little story about wayward love, walked the Hollywood red carpet, made a name for himself, and suffered the sting divorce. He's not punching his problems or running away from them anymore, he's confronting them head on and accepting that, a lot of the issues in his life, are because of his choices. As i approach the cusp of the big Four-Zero myself, i recognize that. I accept that. I've been doing that. To see it happening in one of the most culturally defining stories of my generation, is both comforting and surreal. Scott Pilgrim Takes off is a wonderful show. It's the most appropriate period on a sentence we Millennials started writing way back when we took our first steps into adulthood and i love it for that. That said, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is the best thing to ever come out of this franchise. Fight me about it.

#Scott Pilgrim #Scott Pilgrim vs. The World #Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

[mischief-lies-and-stories]

From Loki: The Liar #4 (and Scarlet Witch #8) to The Immortal Thor #1

For about a month now, we’ve had what amounts to essentially two Lokis running around the comics (cutting this off mid-sentence because spoilers below the cut)

(three, if you count SW 8 Loki, who looks like Loki: The Liar Loki but has only been stated to come before The Immortal Thor in continuity, yet is still sitting on the throne of Jotunheim when Wanda walks in, whereas in IT Loki says he abdicated). This isn’t particularly unheard of; we had six named Lokis and a Sylvie in the void at the same time on Loki, after all. This isn’t even that unheard of for the comics: in Journey into Mystery, you have Ikol as a magpie trailing after Kid Loki like he’s Sparx from Spyro or Link’s Navi. And then in AoA’s own version of the void, you’ve got echoes of the first iteration and Kid Loki, along with pre-ego death AoA Loki (who’s also technically Ikol), as well as the magpie who may or may not also be a Loki (it’s unclear), with Old Loki off wreaking havoc in the real world at the same time. Technically speaking, we also had a Dark Loki recently in his own What If comic. So multiple Lokis simultaneously who may or may not sync up or even interact with each other in canon is not unheard of. We’re also getting IT 2 next week, which may provide more insight on how these comics and Loki specifically line up with each other (or don’t). But here’s my prediction of how this works.

I think the canon order for these stories goes Loki: The Liar 1-4, Scarlet Witch 8, Immortal Thor 1 (and so on). What we have to basically reconcile is when Scarlet Witch takes place, which is prior to Immortal Thor per the author’s own statement, but could take place at any point before or after LTL (but not during, because SW 8 specifically takes place in Loki’s throne room on Jotunheim, and Loki is off-world for most of the miniseries). And then at what point Loki gives up the throne, as he says he no longer has it in IT 1. 

At the end of LTL 4, we see Loki sitting on the floor of his throne room with his throne up in flames. He doesn't set it ablaze himself, but he also doesn't put it out, either. This feels like he’s at least starting to become disillusioned with his position (though issue one opens with him across the universe in Florida plotting DeSantis and his transphobic cohort’s demise, so he may have already been getting tired of the job). In SW 8, he’s still in charge, though, and also still sitting on this (intact) throne, but like, even though I’m pretty sure this chair is made of ice, it’s not burning very quickly. And also Loki’s magic. So as soon as he gets tired of feeling sorry for himself and sitting on the floor, he probably turns off the fire and reverses the melting.

So Loki’s burnt out and bored and wallowing in self-pity and still dealing with regaining his post-ego death memories (and is clearly not dealing with them well, if the book of truth’s revelations of his self-doubt are anything to go on). And it’s into this mucky swamp of the god of stories’ identity crisis (number-who’s-keeping-count, at this point) that Wanda steps, offering, ultimately, Loki’s ticket out. But he’s king and hates to show weakness, and he already told Arkin no, and (at least as I understand it) Arkin is not asking for all of Jotunheim, so maybe he can trick him into taking it all, but not while the Scarlet Witch is here as his advocate. So he keeps up appearances and says no again, but rather readily offers a duel and does not try to cheat (it’s implied that the truth hex wouldn’t let him, but come on, it’s Loki). I don’t think he intends to get so wrapped up in it that she turns him down in a brutally honest manner almost before he consciously realizes he’s into her, but that just adds to the delicious angst that’s been quietly building since DB. So he admits defeat and gives Arkin what he asks for. And then Wanda goes home thinking Mission Accomplished, but then I think Loki ropes Arkin into now inheriting all of Jotunheim and bounces.

And then Immortal Thor opens with Utgard-Loki making trouble and Loki very casually dropping that he’s abdicated. And Thor says something to the effect of “I’m glad you’re back.” Back from where? The cosmos, where we last saw this happier (seemingly), Ewing Loki? Probably a more immediate trip for the characters themselves (it’s not like Ewing is unaware of the recent comics with his current characters. He often tries to reconcile his version of the character with the version readers have most immediate interaction with, so he’s for sure done his research): the quest to reassemble Naglfar.

The quest that ends with Loki out loud resigning himself to being cursed, unloved, the liar.

His mental state around mending the Bifrost before vanishing, their unspoken apology to Thor, the implications by the elder gods that Loki is plotting something that may ultimately lead to her brother’s destruction at the hands of Utgard-Thor or perhaps something older and stronger and more deadly, it’s all making a little more sense with the conclusion of Loki: The Liar. Bullseye was right: The book won, but was it worth it? Prophecies have a way of bringing themselves about even when you try to avoid them.

#loki #loki theories #loki comics #loki miniseries #loki miniseries spoilers #scarlet witch issue 8 spoilers #spoilers for immortal thor #immortal thor spoilers #immortal thor #al ewing #marvel comics spoilers #is it obvious that i just figured out the actual title of the loki miniseries? #loki: the liar #loki: the liar spoilers

[the-bi-space-ace]

Jack O'Neill & Why Stargate SG-1 is the Best Show in the World

Listen. I have been fully obsessed with Stargate SG-1 lately and it has made me realize a lot of things about media these days so... strap in. I'm about to detail for you one of the major reasons that you should watch this show.

Thank you to @concentratedbastardenergy for watching it with me every night and to @floundrickthewayfarer for listening to me ramble about it as I make my way through all 10 seasons.

Under the cut because it gets long (:

This will be focused primarily on one of the show's main characters: Colonel Jack O'Neill.

I'll start by saying that I am only on Season 6 so this is probably not entirely all encompassing but it is what I have picked up on from Jack since beginning this show.

Jack is a career military man with the United States Air Force. He has fought in wars, was held as a prisoner of war, and now leads SG-1 to explore the galaxy and defend earth against threats.

In order to really understand Jack we have to delve into a very important life event that has shaped who he is today. Jack was married to a woman named Sara but eventually their marriage fell apart which is what initially led him to go on the very first mission through the Stargate. The reason that his and Sara's marriage fell apart is that their son, Charlie, died in a very unfortunate accident when he unintentionally shot himself with Jack's unattended pistol. They rushed him to the hospital but he didn't make it, causing Jack to fall into a deep depression. Him and Sara couldn't reconcile with each other, Jack couldn't deal with his emotions, so they ended up getting a divorce.

This is important to really understand Jack and to understand why the way his character is now is so damn important. The spot he is in when he first begins this journey in Stargate SG-1 is very reflective of this event. I think it's important that Jack's story begins with losing everything he had.

First, let's take the average media image of a man like Jack O'Neill and compare it to what we see in SG-1. Typically we'd see a career military man in media today and he'd be the rugged, stoic, standoffish, tough-guy persona who can't talk about his feelings or express an emotion without a mass amount of prompting. Usually we see this type of character be not only closed off emotionally but also physically (unless it is with their romantic partner, typically.) This type of character would be your average tough guy who doesn't know how to process or express an emotion let alone ever do something utterly “humiliating” like hug someone or cry. The only person you will ever see them affectionate with is usually their partner and, occasionally, their children.

This is not at all reflective of Jack O'Neill.

Jack has been through unimaginable pain. He has lost a part of his life that he can never get back and it absolutely kills him inside. Despite how devastating this is he doesn't just hide the pain away forever. Sure, he keeps it close to his chest and he isn't talking about it 24/7, but he does process it with people he loves. He allows himself to feel it, to express that he feels it, to show that he feels it with his facial expressions and with his words. He is immediately connected to any child that needs help and it shows all over him. He was meant to be a father and that was taken from him and he feels like it is his fault. But it doesn't turn him callous. He expresses that fatherly attribute by taking care of his loved ones, children or otherwise.

Jack has deep friendships. He forms bonds with people and not only holds those relationships dear but also shows how much he loves them. He is a touchy person, believe it or not. He was outwardly in love with his wife, Sara, and was very physically affectionate with her. He is also physically affectionate with his friends. He touches them and hugs them and holds them when they cry and he doesn't act like those things are shameful. There are plenty of times when he ruffles Daniel’s hair, or gives Teal’c a good pat on the back, or hugs Sam. Jack has close, affectionate, relationships with the men and women in his life. He doesn't hesitate to give them affectionate pats on the back, hugs, touch their hair or faces, and he holds them when they need to be held. He is there for them emotionally and physically. Because he wants to support them and this is how he knows how to do that. He never treats these moments like they are out of his comfort zone or weird (which is something I see a lot from media nowadays.) He treats it as friendship, companionship, and his responsibility. He loves them. He makes sure they always know that he does.

There is a very charged moment where Daniel literally has Jack held at gunpoint, and is not in a great state of mind and after Jack talks him down Daniel starts to absolutely break down in front of him. He’s scared, he’s ill, he’s hurting. What does Jack do? He makes sure he’s safe and not hurt then Jack holds him and lets him cry. Because as a friend and a leader what else are you supposed to do when someone you love is breaking down? You hold them. You tell them it’s going to be okay. He helps because it is not only what he should do, it is what he wants to do. In an episode I watched not too long ago he hugs Sam so tight and for so long and the scene never becomes weird or tense or awkward because they clearly love each other, just like all of these characters do, and Jack is scared and cold and simply needs a hug. He is a compelling character because he is aware of his responsibility and duty but has such a commitment to also being their friend. 

He is still a person who very much needs and wants to have close relationships and be physically affectionate and when he starts healing from his son’s death he doesn't deny himself those things. He forms those close relationships and he is outwardly loving. It doesn't take away his pain but it does help him feel like a person again, even after all of the tragedy he's experienced.

He doesn't have shame in being afraid or asking for help or crying. One of my favorite Jack scenes so far is with a young boy who says: "Mother says boys from your planet do not cry." And do you want to know what Jack's immediate response is? "That's not true." He goes on to say that crying is good for you. Crying is a natural response and it is not bad or shameful. This man is correcting a nasty thing we tell young boys and he is doing it by admitting that he himself feels emotions strongly and cries and so should this little boy. By the end of the episode he reminds the young boy that it is okay to be sad when you have to say goodbye to a new friend and that he will miss him just as much as this boy will miss Jack. He's healing parts of himself by making sure this kid doesn't grow up with the 'boys don't cry' bullshit that so many people grow up with.

He is shown to have good judgment and protectiveness and has a strong sense of morality tied to his respect for people and their autonomy. In one episode Jack fights back against the government invading another planet and exploiting its native people for a natural resource after they were denied access to it because of destructive and wasteful methods of extraction. He is outwardly angry about the decision to deceive the native people of this planet and he reminds the watcher of all the times we, throughout history and still to this day, have done this and continue to do it even though it is wrong.

The last episode I want to talk about is Abyss an episode in season six where Jack is being tortured for information and sees his dead (ascended??) friend, Daniel. Jack wants Daniel to do something to save him, something that Daniel apparently can not do despite having the power to do so. BUT he does want Jack to ascend. They end up getting into an argument where Daniel is trying to convince Jack that he is a good person. He is worthy of getting out of this. He is able to save himself. Jack swears, up and down, that if he their roles were reversed nothing would have stopped him from destroying everything in his path, taking down everyone who was hurting Daniel and not stopping until every last one of them were dead whether or not they were responsible for that suffering. He'd fight tooth and nail and hurt whoever he had to in order to save Daniel, there is not a single doubt in his mind. Daniel tells Jack that he is a better man than that, that he'd weigh options that weren't killing everyone around them. That Jack wouldn't burn the world down to save him, wouldn't cause that much suffering, and that Jack is fundamentally good. When Jack responds it is to tell Daniel that he's wrong. That everything that Daniel thinks about him, that he's good and kind and he'd find another way to help, is wrong. This moment, although it may seem unrelated, sticks out to me because this is the impact Jack has on people. Daniel sees the good in Jack. He knows Jack would come for him, that he'd support him, that he'd do everything in his power to help. Daniel sees in Jack what Jack always fails to see in himself. They have such a powerful bond, even in moments when they argue. Daniel doesn't doubt Jack's intentions, he doesn't doubt that Jack would come for him, he doesn't ever doubt him like Jack doubts himself. This trust is so indicative of the man that Jack is, of the way he impacts other people's lives, of the way he represents humanity and love and kindness and pain. And the love and respect Jack shows to other people directly impacts the way other people see him.

With the combination of everything above it would be typical to have this character or other characters question his masculinity and challenge it, perhaps even claim they are too emotional to be in charge, but when it comes to Jack this is not the case. All of those attributes are why people say he is a good leader and that he deserves to be in charge. He is shown as strong and dependable and loyal and logical. He is tough. But he is also sensitive, affectionate, and funny. He uses humor to cope and isn't afraid to admit when he's scared or sad. Jack is the king of micro-expressions but I can explicitly tell how he is feeling even with my own challenges with reading expressions.

Today's tv shows tend to shy away from this type of character and want to put a man like Jack into a box. The military man with a tragic past who scowls at everything and hasn't hugged someone in 25 years and doesn't have a close relationship with someone who isn't a romantic interest. I think that does such a disservice to this type of person. I've been missing something from TV shows today and I think Stargate SG-1 has shown me exactly what that is. It's characters who love each other and who show it and say it every single episode. It's story lines that challenge and develop each character past their stereotypes. It is storytelling where I don't have to guess what they're thinking or feeling because it is explicitly written on their face and in their body language. It is a plot that doesn't feel flat or reused. It is fun moments tossed in next to heart-wrenching ones. It is moral dilemmas and fights between characters that get resolved in a satisfying way. It is love and sacrifice and such curiosity and wonder for the world.

I'm convinced I didn't know what the found family trope really was until I watched this show. I'm glad that a show made in the late 90s created a character so authentic and well rounded that he feels like a real person and not a flat caricature. A man who had every opportunity to turn into someone closed off and callous that instead decided that the way out of the darkness was love. I think we need more 'Jack O'Neill's in this world. We’d be better off for it.

#stargate sg1 #jack o'neill #spoilers btw #I mean this show came out in 1997 but imma say spoilers anyway #this isn't a full deep dive into his character bc I simply have not learned everything #but as a person who grew up in a family that did not touch very often I am very drawn to characters like Jack who touch quite a bit #Jack is a beautiful character #he has seen so much tragedy and heartache #the writers could have made him such a stereotype #but they decided he was going to actually use all of that love that he had inside of him #that he could have close friendships #that he didn't lose the fatherly instinct within him it just simply... shifted a bit to accommodate his new life #someone so broken on the inside who gets hit with pain all the time and still loves so damn deeply it hurts to watch #let a man like Jack be outwardly affectionate #let him be scared #let him cry #let him learn to heal #because he is a person and he deserves a full spectrum of emotions and reactions and experiences #I brought this up with my partner and had a whole rant about it because I love what they did with Jack's character #and there is still so much to say but alas I will hush now #I'm sorry I've ranted so much I can't help it he is wonderful #Watch Stargate SG-1 #Stargate Analysis

[fayeandknight]

I am writing this while crying on the floor so that's your warning for this post.

I just received a text message from my old/previous/former???? best friend asking about sending me an invitation to his wedding in the beginning of next month.

I just... I have no idea how to process this let alone respond.

For context we became friends in highschool and bonded over being queer and mental health struggles. Our friendship prevailed through college and shitty relationships that we supported each other through. I spent a lot of time at his house and became close with his family as well. We remained close post college and I was a bridesmaid in his sister's wedding.

All of that to highlight that we were very close.

About 5 years ago he started dating an incrediblely toxic person. Given my own past and experiences I clocked said partner as radioactive and tried to express my concerns gently. Those concerns were rebuffed. It came to a head during his sister's wedding weekend where I watched toxic ooze gaslight friend and called it out.

This resulted in a verbally abusive falling out with friend and me being chewed out by his family who basically said they agreed the partner was shitty but it wasn't my place to say so and thus I was in the wrong.

A few years later sister reached out to me to say she felt bad about the way things fell apart and wanted to reconnect. We've hung out a few times and but never regained the previous closeness.

About six months ago friend called me to apologize for things, admit I was right, and tell me he is engaged to someone new. His journey led him to become estranged from his family for a time and he has been building the relationships back up. I have no ill will towards him and wish him the utmost happiness.

We've not spoken since.

So now I'm left in a huge quandary on how to proceed.

They don't know me as a service dog handler and given that, I'd want Forte to be further along than he currently is to feel comfortable asking for accomodations for him. Could he work the event without issue? Probably, but I'm only 75% sure and that's not good enough for me given the short timeline.

Lots of couple intimacies are hard for me. Parties are hard for me. Seeing a bunch of people I used to consider safe and then very much weren't will be hard for me.

If I don't go, I'm afraid that will be the final end of the friendship. Despite the extreme ups and downs, it would hurt me to have the door closed on this friendship forever. I've always held out hope that we could reconcile given how much time we spent together in the trenches of life.

If I do go, I'm going solo into a difficult at best situation. There's no one I feel safe enough to cling to and certainly no one I feel safe enough to rely on to advocate for me if I get overwhelmed. I hate being vulnerable. More so when I know people are more likely to see me as dramatic trouble maker than a person who is genuinely struggling with their disability.

Part of me wishes there was a secret third option where I go with someone willing to play service human. Someone who would help me step away to ground myself when needed and would let me know when it's time for me to leave. Unfortunately I don't have anyone in my life I would feel comfortable asking for that sort of thing.

I feel like there's no good choice to make.

All of it hurts and I'm angry with myself because if Forte was trained enough it would solve the bulk of my problems. But he isn't and that's entirely on me.

So yeah, I'm crying on the floor because I feel like there's no good way forward on this.

[yukirayu]

(Reposting something from Twitter, though my thoughts are a bit more organized this time.)

Unfortunately, I don't have the brain cells to plot out the specifics, but what if... 

What if Towa could still get closure with his past in the aftermath of Taku's good ending? 

Say, some months after he and Taku reunited, Fujieda shows up on their doorstep.

While it took longer for him to find the information he needed on his own, he got enough info nonetheless to figure out that Towa and Taku both are linked to it. So he approaches them, asks them about what he needs to know from them. 

In a few minutes, their world is upturned.

Now here's where my imagination gets blurry, but in the end, Fujieda does find out what happened to Mei, Towa remembers his past and Taku reveals how much he knew. 

Of course, a fallout is inevitable, but it's only temporary.

Because the news will never not be devastating, Towa will feel lost when he remembers what happened to Mei. 

He's lost, he's devastated, but he doesn't try to commit suicide. 

Though he does try to punish himself still, so after a long time, he cuts himself again.

Then Taku sees him, and stops him, and they have a talk. A long one. Where they bare themselves to each other. 

No more lies, no more concealed truths, every ugly truth is out in the open. It hurts, and changes everything. Everything except... their feelings for each other.

And no matter what, they gave each other a reason to live. 

Taku couldn't save his mother, but he could still protect Towa. Mei died protecting Towa, but she wished for him to live on and be free. She reminded Towa that there were other people who cared for him.

With that, they reconcile, and they make their resolve, together. 

Of course, Fujieda is still able to have his reflection and his epiphany like he does in his route. It may not be as profound without the relationship development he got with Towa in his own route, but he still manages to have closure and move on.

So in a way, even though the journey there will still be grueling and heart wrenching, the three still get a happy ending, or something close to it.  

Extra Note: 

But even with the above, there’s still one loose end that I’m trying to figure out how to resolve, and that is Sakaki. 

By this time, he had already long given up on enacting Maya's plans, and one can only wonder if and/or how Towa, Taku or Fujieda figure out that Sakaki may have been involved with everything that Maya had done.

If anything, their only lead is Toono hinting to Towa that Sakaki is the only other person besides Taku who’s keeping Towa’s past a secret from him. This may take a while for Towa to recall, but he’s guaranteed to remember Toono’s remark. 

But even then, I'm having difficulty imagining how Sakaki would act by now. Since even if Towa recalled his memories, it wouldn’t “bring him closer” to “becoming Maya” like what Sakaki was aiming for.

And one other thing: ever since I played the final route, it always caught my interest that Taku could have potentially been in Sakaki's hitlist had the man caught wind that Taku was trying to burn Towa's mail (since that would interfere with his plans), except that Sakaki got distracted by the fact that Fujieda is Mei's older brother, and we all know how much he and Maya loathed the poor child. 

As far as Sakaki is concerned, Taku didn't know anything and just continued to do his job of looking after Towa. 

But imagine if he realized Taku learned of certain info and had actively been trying to repress Towa's memories all this time... that's sure to anger him. And once Towa, Taku and Fujieda investigate the remains of Maya’s mansion... 

No doubt, Sakaki will be involved. The tricky part to picture is how he will be ultimately dealt with, because what I’m at least sure of is that it will play out very differently from Fujieda’s route, and the only thing that’s likely still going to happen is Fujieda finding out that while Maya ordered for Mei’s death, it was Sakaki who directly took her life.  

#slow damage #fen rambles

[stagnantgrief]

(M) Breaking of the Dam — 8k

dedicated to @itsgettingcrazieroutthere @luminescent-chorus @samswound ♡

John’s ring brushes against hers when they hold hands. He looks down at her, and sees no warmth or love in her. He doesn’t love her either. This woman that he’s going to spend his life with. Everything happens for a reason, his grandma had told him, God’s will, destiny, soulmates, all of that crap teenage John hated. Now he hopes it’s all true, he hopes he grows to love her, that maybe one day she’ll love him. The second the song ends Mary is twenty feet away at the refreshments table, downing the cheap whiskey.

COMPLETE (11/11)

And here, this fic comes to an end almost a year after I started it. It's been a VERY long and drawn-out journey, mainly because this was the first real fic that I wrote. I've grown quite attached to it, it's shaped my style of writing and honestly, I did not want it to end. So I put this off despite having most of it written all the way back in September, and even before that I was putting off updates because I needed everything to be "perfect" (very John of me for this fic, I know).

I wanted this last chapter to be the end because I spaced out the chapter titles, (John's vows) and this fic could really drag on if I let it. Mainly, I wanted this to be a study of John and Mary and their relationship. It's not perfect, as we see in canon and in the book "John Winchester's Journal."

I WILL NOT ADDRESS THE PREQUEL SHOW. WHAT A MESS.

But we do see in the show that they are soulmates, courtesy of Heaven and Hell's match-up to get Sam and Dean as their planned vessels. In my opinion, I don't think realistically that John and Mary (without the plot) would've been good together. But since they are, I wanted to show a complex side of their relationship, along with the prompt of "Wouldn't Mary feel guilty over the deal?" Which, she takes out on John. There was no option to save her parents, but there was one to save John and get that life that she'd always wanted. A husband and kids she could love, she didn't want the hunting life. (4x3) MARY: "This job, this life, I hate it. I want a family. I want to be safe. You know the worst thing I can think of? The very worst thing? Is for my children to be raised into this like I was. Well, I won't let it happen."

This, of course, leads to the guilt and possible regret Mary feels for having the husband and the family, but not her parents. As for John, I think after the birth of Dean (first vessel down, one to go), their relationship strains again. Dean is the person John looks to for comfort because he feels alone in his marriage. They briefly reconcile and Sam is born (two for two, the party starts in 6 months RSVP please). But the relationship feels continuously one-sided from John, and when Mary dies John assumes she hated him. So this last chapter is an outlook on her, and finally sends off the couple. Mary did love him, she was just racked with grief and no way to let it out (revealing the hunting aspect when she was finally free). John gets a send-off where his overwhelming loneliness is tamed by Sam and Dean's presence, but the Plan leads to his death. Mary's death broke the dam (John's normal life as a civilian) which sends him into hunting and getting Sam and Dean on the track they're set to be on.

Anyway, this is a very long end note that was NOT planned but I felt very passionate in this fic, and I wanted to give it a proper send off with my thoughts. I hope you enjoyed the ride, it meant a lot to me <3

#my writing #fic #spn fic #my first spn fic i started almost a YEAR ago is done. #feeling emo.

[kaurwreck]

January 2, 2024 [1:04 AM]

below is a transcript of dms i sent while reading the final chapter of Return to Tsugaru by Osamu Dazai

What's worse, that I can't be sure any of this chapter is or that he would write this at all is the only truth that really matters.

Did he find his father in his father's place of birth, or did he just wish he had. Did he see his father in his eldest brother or only the rejection he imagined receiving from his father had he'd ever worked up the courage to ask anything of him.

Was he recieved liked he belonged there or did he just think he should have been so that's what ought to have happened had the narrative been satisfying instead of what it was, which was lonely and othering.

Was he brave enough to even see how he'd be received at all, or did he keep walking, so that he could decide what would have happened had he not cowered.

Everywhere he has never been, he is of the people, their blood is his, he is as native to the locale as the flora and fauna. But where he has history, where his family live and lived, he is a wandering vagabond, a mere passerby, an outsider. "I can't help feeling that this area is not really Tsugaru," he says, as if to reconcile who he is now with the man who declared himself to be a peasant among peasants "There is nothing here of Tsugaru's luckless karma; the clumsy tactlessness so typical of Tsuguru is absent. Just looking at the landscape, you can sense it— it is knowing, cultured, as it were. Its heart contains no mulish pride." Or does it just look like the place where your father lived, and you can't see yourself in anything he's known because he never bothered to know you.

Dazai, have you once written about Tsugaru, or has it been you all along.

Oh, but then he DOES find himself in his fatherland. The worst parts of himself, the parts he despises the most. The pretense and lack of confidence and the naked fear: "The people of the Tsuguru heartland really lack confidence in their own history. They haven't a trace of it. That's why they end up assuming that posture of arrogance, why they square their shoulders and accuse others of being 'base.' It's the basis of the obstinacy, the stubbornness, and the complexity of the Tsugaru people, and ultimately the cause of their sad destiny of isolation and loneliness."

Aren't you like me? He says to his father and brother. Isn't it just that you've forgotten? Isn't it just that you've resigned yourself? Aren't you just as timid, only you're too stubborn to admit it?

Dazai doesn't hate pretense, he's afraid of the loneliness it promises. He's afraid of resigning himself to never being known.

But he also doesn't know if he can survive being known either, if anyone like him as ever survived it.

"Since the start of my journey, I had always been treated by others, but suddenly, the unedifying thought occurred to me that tonight for once, I might try to get drunk all by myself."

...

"I realized that after all, I could not do a single thing by myself, and this made the delicate taste of the entrails even more memorable."

We don't do anything on our own, love.

#japanese modern lit reading diary #return to tsugaru #osamu dazai

[haleigh-sloth]

Adding onto my last ask- I've seen so many people want different endings for Touya. Some people don't want him to be with his family at the end (eventhough I'm 100% sure this will happen and I want him with his family.) Some people said that they rather Touya die than have him reconcile with his dad while some people want to see that. Then they claim he doesn't care for LOV while others say he cares more about the LOV than his own family.But I love Touya sm. I just want him to live and be happy.

Ahhhhh

I'm gonna answer this separately cuz there's a lot, yep. This is exactly what I meant in my response to your first ask, split ideas for his character and where he should go and what he wants etc.

Me personally, I don't hide the fact that I want him to go home to his family. I also am not quiet about the fact that I'm 100% sure that's where he's going.

I obviously have no taste for the death ending, and I don't think that'll happen at all.

The other endings though, well, while they're not terrible--they're not what I want and they're not what I think the story is pointing toward in the slightest.

Personal take under the cut since I don't wanna upset people who don't wanna read this.

Me personally--I seriously dislike the take that he cares more for the LOV than his family, and I seriously dislike and disagree with the take that he would totally be fine if he had opened up to them and accepted their support.

I'm not gonna get into the analysis of the LOV and their relationships with each other on this post since that could honestly be its own post by itself, but I'll say that in my opinion--saying that Touya would have just been content with the LOV's acceptance completely ignores what we know about Touya:

His spiral started because his father basically cut off the parent/child bond cold turkey and made no attempts at rekindling it in a different way outside of training

His spiral got worse because his mother didn't have a strong presence in his life the way she did for Shouto. The only attempt we saw her make for Touya were words thrown at Enji, and Rei asking a half-assed question about the reason Touya wants to be a hero, not acknowledging to Touya's face WHAT was hurting him so bad, even though she was fully aware.

His spiral continued getting worse because his siblings, who were getting neglected and becoming scared of their father as time went on, could not be an emotional support for Touya due to being young children and to the circumstances listed above.

He died during an emotional breakdown after his father failed to show up.

He woke up from a 3 year long coma and immediately wanted to go home to apologize for the last things he remembers saying to his mother, and his siblings.

He RAN HOME

He saw that things hadn't changed, and that he had essentially been replaced, and that his existence didn't matter (obviously this is not the case, he did matter, but Enji is a vile piece of shit)

After seeing that his family had buried him in their past, he declared Touya Todoroki officially dead and became Dabi, and set out for the next 7 years planning his own suicide, his own funeral.

So yeah...personally, nothing about that tells me that even IF the LOV had all sat down and shared each other’s deepest, darkest feelings and miseries with each other (which btw there’s nothing to suggest that ANY of them have done that), he would have felt seen or felt any kind of relief. His pain is so directly tied to his family and his ABSENCE from his own family. He has cried blood two times in this series, and both times were when he thought of his family.

So yeah when I see the metas about Touya needing to open up to the League so he can openly accept their emotional support (which btw I don’t see them give each other as much as everyone claims they do) in order to start his healing journey, I just have scroll on by and ignore because I could not possibly disagree more. I don’t think the League is the answer to his pain or his problems.

That being said I’ve said it before that I DO see some positive development where he doesn’t just ignore his affiliation with the LOV or write it off as a convenience. Like, I think once he’s fully saved from himself (via Shouto+Endeavor’s actions) he can start to act more like he cares, because that’ll be after he finally is seen by his own blood, after he’s finally gotten what he’s wanted.

#bnha #boku no hero academia #anonymous #bnha asks #todoroki touya #dabi #controversial opinion #proceed with caution

[bookofmirth]

lele!

I saw the ask you answered a few days back about Feysand and Elriel being real similar, and so I was wondering if you see gwynriel as having the same problem at all? Mostly in terms of aesthetics, considering both seem to have a similar light/dark aesthetic

Hello! Sorry this response is probably a mess 🤣

(Here is the post we are talking about, for anyone reading this hehe)

So re: the light/dark aesthetic, I agreed with the previous anon that the feysand and e*riel stories would be too similar, based on what people suppose the one story would look like. But, I don't think the aesthetic is in reality similar. IMO it's just that people are taking a lot of creative liberties with Elain's character, given that we have never had her POV and we arguably know less about her than many other characters.

Regarding the art, we just honestly don't know enough about Elain to set her apart from the other sisters, visually. In that post I mentioned facial expressions, body language, clothing, objects, scenery or context. When I see art of Feyre or Nesta, I know it's art of them because I recognize Nesta's facial expression as representing the way that Nesta looks at the world, or Feyre's creativity, or the way Feyre embraces the dark. This is why I detest the whole "flower" thing with Elain. It's a crutch until we learn more about her personality. There's a reason that "flowers" are nowhere to be seen on the prompt list for elucien week 😂

So yeah anyway, I think that Feyre painting the night sky on her dresser drawer and thinking about different types of darkness, and feeling much more comfortable in the NC than in Spring lean more towards her not really "having" the light aesthetic. She's been killing to survive since she was 14, and Rhys says she is a huntress, his salvation.

Elain isn't "light" either; she needs light, she isn't light personified though. That would be her mate. The similarities, to me, are all about the plot for e*riel being too similar to what feysand have already had. Like anon pointed out the Hades/Persephone thing that... already belongs to feysand. The anon also said this, which yeah I see it too: "Elain does the same job as Azriel. Azriel saves her from the "abuser" Lucien and Azriel will let her choose, she finds her voice, and then Elain finds out Azriel is her actual mate, etc…" which would lead to their interactions being similar.

Okay but you asked about gwynriel asldjaklsjdakd

I think that gwynriel are more dark/light aesthetic than either feysand or e*riel, especially if it ends up being a shadowsinger/lightsinger thing (*finger guns* iykyk). I think that gwynriel would also be a very different relationship from feysand, or nessian, or elucien, because there is more emphasis on there being mutual healing, but where the guy needs a wake-up call. Rhys had trauma, Cassian had insecurities, but Az needs to go on a whole journey where he heals and reconciles with his past and his feelings towards his family. (NOT that he has to say a word to anyone who abused him, but I can see people willfully misinterpreting this anyway so why am I bothering. For my stalkers, I suppose. Hey besties!)

Feyre is pragmatic and cautious. Rhys is also pragmatic and can be cautious because his actions have implications for his whole court. They are both self-sacrificial and have served as the heads of their respective households before they were ready to do so.

Az has an intense sense of responsibility (indebtedness, even) coupled with a need for control and tbh love. Imo he also has a fascination with people who are very unlike him - see: The Morrigan. Gwyn is plucky, optimistic, curious, and determined. If you want a light/dark or grumpy/sunshine aesthetic, it's gwynriel. But either way, their plot/journey looks very different from any of the three canon ships, in addition to having an "aesthetic" that doesn't match the others. (elucien = mates = canon in sjm world)

To finish this rambly ramble up, I basically wouldn't hang my hat on a coatrack made of aesthetics. There are a lot more things that make a fictional ship appealing to readers (and more likely in canon), and aesthetics are just one piece of a complex puzzle!

#acotar #feysand #gwynriel #nessian #elucien #antielriel #ask #anon #did I have a point here #idk #someone find it for me help