#like completely missing the mark on their dynamic entirely. like when we HAVE platonic relationships they're just overlooked and minimized | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dustbunny105 · 2 years

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Simpatico, RodiDrift, and BumbleBlades for ship bingo? :3

Woo! Tackling theses in order:

So, the funny thing about Simpatico for me is that I was heavily invested in it at the end and their interaction was one of the few things I really enjoyed about the finale but I was genuinely incapable of caring about it for most of the time I was reading MtMtE, lol. Brainstorm having an intense, platonic colleague-crush was just too relatable to me. Also I was sort of obsessed with Brainstorm's tragic taste re: Quark, to the exclusion of any other romantic prospects for him. Something made me start to develop an interest in them as a couple riiight around the mutiny, which nearly killed said interest until we got to see more about what the real situation was back on the ship, at which point the realization that they had completely different ideas of wtf had happened and how that would impact their relationship smacked me back and forth across the face and I was just in it. The Mederi fiasco made it weird for a hot minute-- on the one hand, the potential implications of the Quark construct were highly appetizing and so was the sparkester scene but the recollection that Brainstorm used to try to reach Percy was so obnoxious (I guess the bantz were just too important to not undermine the respect Percy had developed for Brainstorm??) that it legit almost killed it dead for me, lol. BUT I got over and I enjoyed them for the brief rest of the series. I honestly have rarely thought about them since, though, and I'm not sure why since they both went out on a high note and had a lot of interesting stuff left to explore.

NOW, THIS IS WHERE MY FEELINGS LIVE. This is how I know it's not just my general disconnect from MtMtE/LL that keeps me from bothering much with Simpatico anymore, because I think of these two sometimes and wanna cry. Which is also funny because I feel like I only started getting retrospectively invested in them at the point when their relationship was the least interesting to me, lol. Like they're both such glorious messes of unresolved trauma and bad coping mechanisms and they can bring out the best and the worst in each other that way and, Idk, the way they treat each other specifically feels like such a close view of the ways they're both bad at peopling in general? I'm not finding the right words but that's the feeling, for sure. And the thing is I think I've said before that I could've been just as happy with them as an endgame ship as with them having had something that just didn't work out and they're past it but I think I actually wouldn't have been happy with them as endgame just because their reconciliation gave me roughly the end result I wanted without the work I wanted to be put into it? And I say roughly because there were times that their new dynamic just felt like a less aware version of the old dynamic, Idk. I dunno, I guess the idea was that it was supposed to be a more genuine reflection of their genuine affection for each other but it just missed the mark for me. Anyway, yeah, I love them a lot but that love is wrapped up almost entirely in a part of both their lives I'm happier seeing them moved past. Which is more what I meant by marking that I like it platonically here, as opposed to being open to a purely platonic read on Simpatico still.

Yas!! Y'know, I'm only just now realizing that I never read Blades's interest in Bumblebee as platonic the way I did Brainstorm's in Percy for so long and I really don't know why. Maybe IDW gave me certain expectations that were not being met. In any case, yeah, I am all the way on Team BumbleBlades. Or, well, I am actually open to other potential Blades ships sometimes but I chose the OTP square anyhow because I simply cannot care about Bumblebee's romanic prospects outside of developing a return interest in Blades. Probably a byproduct of not caring or barely caring about his shows, lol. I do love his appearances in Rescue Bots, though, and would've liked to see him appear more often (even though I appreciate that he didn't) because I do love his interaction with Blades and really would have liked to see it further developed. My love for this ship is easily the least conflicted of the three, haha. Granted, my standards for Rescue Bots are different than my standards for MtMtE/LL, not because I think the former is beneath the latter in any way but simply because it did not have to go as hard as it did but it did. Plus, entirely different tone, so. Anyway, yeah, I love them a highly disproportionate amount because of that, lol, and probably also because Rescue Bots didn't disappoint me the way MtMtE/LL did. In fact, the only thing I don't like about this ship-- namely, the apparent one-sidedness of their friendship-- is entirely down to the limitations of the story each of their shows was telling and so I simply can't be bothered to dwell on it. I am still pretty disappointed that Blades never got to make the jump to RiD, mind, dunno what made Blurr so special...

#transformers #mtmte #simpatico #driftrod #rescue bots #bumbleblades #rescue-ram

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formless-monkeys · 4 years

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What is your favorite relationship(s) in the show (romantically or platonically, doesn’t matter!)

Anon you will regret opening pandora’s box. Or not. In any case, this post is going to be very long because I’m full of love. Also, anything marked romantic does not need to be romantic for me to lose my shit over them. In no particular order, either. Just in the order I thought of them.

1. The Black-eyed trio

Characters: Otto, Sparx, and Gibson.

Type: Platonic, Romantic,

Explanation: These three are grouped together by virtue of not being obscenely powerful and serving more practical uses on the team. Also, their eyes are all the same color. Besides the poetic connections of the colors of their design, they were alone in the robot together while the other three monkeys were out training.

Sparx and Gibson’s interactions give me life, going from playful jabs to genuine fighting right back to ride-or-die is amazing. The beginning of Night Of Fear, the battles in Brothers In Arms, and a bunch of small moments throughout the series are wonderful for this.

I could write an essay about Otto and Gibson, and someone else already has, but I’ll summarize it as ADHD autism solidarity with a side of Shut The Fuck Up Gibson. They care about each other and learn to respect each other in a way that’s better for both of them. I know a real-life Gibson to my Otto and learning that she’s just pretentious and doesn’t really hate anyone, and figuring out that we’re both equally brilliant and incredibly similar has made life a million times better.

Otto and Sparx don’t have as much development as Gibson with both of them, but their jokes together and general trust is amazing. Sparx is the dumb monkey and Otto supports him in his himbo endeavors.

These three together make an unstoppable technical team, and the only reason they probably couldn’t be a superhero team on their own is because of the raw power and fun dynamics brought by the other half of the team.

Romantically, these three would make the DUMBEST polycule ever. There is no true mediator here. It’s three dumbasses figuring out how they could possibly share a twin-sized bed when they have the ability to just make a bigger bed. Gibson calculates the most efficient 3 monkey makeout and none of them follow the statistics. They all give Chiro equally useless and conflicting advice on homework. Trying to give them a mediator in the polycule just makes me go back to shipping polymonkeys because I literally can’t decide if Antauri or Nova go better with them.

2. Quiet trust and encouragement

Characters: Otto, Antauri

Type: Platonic, Romantic

Explanation: When Otto is being dismissed by the other monkeys, or by the show itself, Antauri is usually the first to say “that’s bullshit, Otto is wonderful”. Circus Of Ooze is a notable example, but there are little moments in other seasons as well.

I just love the idea of the historically MOST SERIOUS and strongest monkey, sometimes even elevated to god-like status by some fanworks... paired with the monkey that has been infantilized and disrespected to no end. I personally like making Antauri have to lean on Otto, just to subvert that even further.

Beyond spite, I ship this simply because I like their dynamic. Antauri needs someone to ground him with more tactile physical things, and Otto needs someone to share his more nebulous thoughts I can’t imagine the others listening to. I love them.

Also, I want Antauri to unlock his true dumbass potential. He has the abilities, but not the will. Be silly with Otto. I want to hear him snort-laugh.

I literally forgot all the silver monkey stuff but I got three fics about that you know I go nuts over mechanic x robot shit.

3. The monkeys and their human son.

Characters: Chiro, Antauri, Nova, Sparx, Gibson, Otto

Type: Familial

Explanation: This family gives me joy. They were forced together through astronomical means and they made the best of it.

Everyone living in the robot is absolutely fucked up. They help each other in the darkest of times. They lift each other up when it’s light. They are a perfect team and nobody can be missing without it feeling wrong. But they can add people!

“Girl Trouble” as a concept is AMAZING to me but my secondhand embarrassment is so strong that I hate the episode. But never once is any of the monkeys resentful of Chiro. Not even Mandarin is like “wow I wish he didn’t take my place” no he’s also struck with the urge to nurture this kid to his fullest potential. Whether you see the team as a bunch of older siblings or 4 dads and a mom doesn’t really matter, they’re a family.

I mean, this also has a sprinkling of shipping all the monkeys in a really domestic way because I like seeing my optimal future in characters I like, but like literally all of these, it doesn’t need to be romantic for me to go nuts. I just think it would be fun to throw just a big monkey wedding or whatever. And funnier for Antauri to go “Chiro I’m having a baby. The baby is you” and holding up adoption papers because on the principle of Toby “Radiation” Fox I love that joke, especially when made much less weird than the original context.

I have a set of characters who is just 5 people in a polycule raising kids and living life because I really love this concept as a family.

4. Evil Coworkers

Characters: Mandarin, Sakko

Type: Romantic, Platonic,

Explanation: Why the hell are these two, in particular, working together? SK could’ve put Mandarin with literally anybody else and he chose what on the surface appears to be the LEAST compatible person on the account that they’re both monkeys. Some bitter asshole who now looks like the epitome of toxic masculinity and this tiny pink pet who used his femininity both as an advantage and a style. They’re different but it ends up working really well for both of them because they’re different in ways that cover each other’s bases. It’s wonderful. Pink and Orange go well together. Green and Purple go well together. Mandarin and Sakko go well together. Also, they clearly trust each other. During almost the entirety of “Hidden Fortress” Sakko was presumably just chilling inside of Mandarin’s armor. Mandarin trusted him enough to have Sakko in a place where he’s able to mess with his cybernetics, and Sakko trusted Mandarin enough to go into the battlefield with him and probably get tossed around.

If they were both human and in a more modern media, then they would definitely be shipped in the straightest way you can get without actually being straight. The Straightest Gay Ship.

5. A Witch and her Accidental Evil Coworker

Characters: Skelemandarin, Valeena.

Type: Platonic, Romantic,

Explanation: These two have been through some shit. Skelemandy was made to serve Skeleton King only to have that purpose yanked away from him. Valeena was groomed to idolize and serve Skeleton King for nearly her entire life. They were forced together by SHEER CHANCE and they both hated it. Arguably they both died at some point.

They both have absolutely NOBODY they can trust so let’s make them trust each other. All hilarity and sweetness comes from that.

Their dynamic is so good that I have them on a blog for a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FANDOM and people love them with no context.

This is the only cross-species ship I have (besides chinmay and the antauri ships but that doesn’t count), but the fact that Skelemandy isn’t actually a monkey and needs no cybernetic assistance to be human-level sentient makes it a lot less weird. Just put them on equal ground power-wise (like by nerfing Valeena’s magic) and you have the ingredients for bonding.

They have like, no cute moments in canon, but that’s why we have fics and art. They have potential. I want them to help each other figure out who they are without their purpose. I want them to survive this horrible life together. I want them to figure out how to trust again. I want a lot but Valeena is fucking dead.

But she doesn’t have to be.

(Also Valeena is REALLY HOT and Skelemandarin is just me as a monkey)

6. Gay Dads

Characters: The Alchemist, Captain Shuggazoom

Type: Romantic, Platonic

Explanation: Oh my stars. Oh null. Oh me oh my hhougfhfakjghf. These two have the angst of Mantauri but on crack.

They only appeared in about two episodes each and all three episodes are top tier. They call each other “Friend” multiple times in their shared episode. THEY’RE FRIENDS!!!!!!!!! The face Al makes when he realizes that Cap is visiting makes me really happy. The fact that Cap had this whole Batman Double Life thing and he shows the Alchemist BOTH OF THEM is amazing. The alchemist is a hermit living in the woods and he lets Cap into that life.

There isn’t a lot shown, much less than everything else here. But that makes every single fanfic so much richer since they’re almost completely based on headcanons. Friends who have a mutual crush on each other but are No Homo about it? Secret boyfriends? Husbands with 6 monkey kids? An Old man and a grumpy Skeleton making it work? Literally just platonic friends? Dude, you can do whatever you want.

The tragedy of these two losing each other to one big horrible event crushes me. It influences my every move in my creative work. I have an entire character dedicated to reuniting these two in the most astronomical and ridiculous way possible because the alchemist angered the gods but she thinks he needs some company in his eternal punishment.

I want Clayton to unlock Al’s less serious, more fun side. I want them to work together. I want them to hold hands. GHGHGHDFBG UTTHTYE CNAZSNT EBCV ASUA ER

7. The girl power duo

Characters: Nova, Jinmay

Type: Familial

Explanation: These two were my only comfort during the uncomfortable nightmare that is “The Hills Have Five”

Nova was the one who trained Jinmay, and it seems like they hang out a lot offscreen in season 4. They fulfill the early 2000′s cartoon archetypes of girl and Girl, so they’re supposed to get along. If they didn’t I probably wouldn’t like Jinmay.

Nova is a really good big sister/parental figure to Jinmay, who never had any family to speak of.

Anyway, this entry has to be shorter because most of their bonding is in “The Hills Have Five” which is either #1 or #2 in my least favorite episode list. Not because it’s bad, but because it makes me viscerally uncomfortable. I really wish literally any other character than Jinmay was in her role in that episode. Or that the “taken to an offscreen area by an adult man while she screams” just wasn’t there. SHE’S 13!!! Nova did literally all she could to help.

I really like that scene in questionable where Valeena kills almost the entire gang. It’s what they deserve.

Look I just really like Jinmay and I always have. She deserves a good Mom.

8. "My Second In Command”

Characters: Antauri, Mandarin

Type: Theoretical

Explanation: The fandom has really made this ship go from “literally nothing to stand on” to “integral plot point in a lot of fics”. Seriously. I have TWO screenshots that vaguely imply these two ever stood next to each other on the battlefield. This was entirely title-based and fan-made until ProjectAfectivity interviewed Ciro. Yeah he knows Antauri but only as well as the rest of the team. Anyway. Wow. This ship.

This is by far the worst breakup in history. These two, despite what Antauri says, were on equal ground at some point. According to Ciro (and fan speculation), they trained together. This (and other Mandy ship) changes wildly depending on if you think Mandarin was corrupted by the portal or not. Maybe Mandarin was once a kind leader who just crossed the wrong boundaries and paid for it. He could’ve held Antauri gently before battle. He could’ve been the monkey Antauri went to when he needed someone to talk to. He could’ve hyped the team up like Chiro does.

Or maybe, they were constantly fighting against each other in small ways. An incredibly unhealthy relationship, yes, but an interesting story. I like stories where Antauri isn’t this all-knowing pillar of stability. He’s got weaknesses. One of them may have been Mandarin.

Now that’s a good nickname from one to the other.

Imagine Antauri, in a moment of complete trust, declaring Mandarin his weakness. A sweet sentiment. They both know the other is incredibly strong, and trust that the other would never take advantage of that connection. They love each other. Until...

9. "My Closest Ally”

Characters: Otto, Mandarin

Type: Theoretical

Explanation: Okay I'm looking at the screenshot I put for this entry while also having watched Evil Ages recently. My brain is making uncomfortable connections. Combine that with the fandom and the show’s general treatment of Otto and I’m about to slam my head into a wall. I really do not like that, but I feel like there’s somebody out there who does.

Anyway, this is Gibotto and Ottauri but with all the spice that shipping Mandarin with one of the other monkeys brings. When done well, it’s all the respecting Otto that comes with Ottauri and all the intimate partnership of Gibotto. And the Angst of Mantauri, but a lot more grounded.

It paints a lot of stories. A story of a single point of comfort in a world Mandarin thinks is out to get him. A story of powerful validation from the one authority in Otto’s life. Of letting your guard down. Of trust, then breaking that trust.

I’d LOVE to see some things with Mandottotauri because that’s epic and cool and poggers. Don’t see a lot, though.

10.The Hets, I guess.

Characters: Jinmay, Chiro.

Type: Romantic. Platonic. Canon.

Explanation: Look two entries on this list are polyamorous and four of them are mandarin so I have to say SOMETHING for the heteroes following me. Picked this ship over Spova because when I was a young child still suffering from comphet, I never watched the last episode of the show. I only saw up to season 3 at the most. This was the only canon ship for me. And out of all the ships, it’s the most relatable. I’m currently a teenager with black hair who looks really good in eyeliner dating a girl with pink hair who can pick me up and is unbelievably sweet. Except we’re gay and polyam. Wait a second I totally had a crush on Jinmay as a kid and now my gf is the Jinmay in this situation. Oh my god I was going to make this comparison if I did Spova too and I liked Nova.

ANYWAY

These are two LONELY kids. Chiro had bullies during school, and now he doesn’t even go to school. Jinmay hasn’t really had friends at all. Two kids with places in their universe that they aren’t too sure about, and just need someone to lean on. Their date was cute. They instantly bonded over their love of monkeys and I love that.

The super robot is sometimes an analog for Chiro, in the first two season at least, and the way the super robot held Jinmay’s hands to keep her steady on the COB while her head flew in was SO SWEET. Chiro’s instant recognition and reaction to Jinmay’s head being thrown at the team, as well. He really loves her.

I think it’d be interesting if she didn’t love him back, though. I might take a stab at writing that.

#srmthfg #super robot monkey team hyperforce go #srmthg #chinmay #Mandotto #Mantauri #Mandareena #Manokko #Captain Alchemist #Ottauri #Polymonkeys #Gibottarx #Anonymous

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a-lil-bi-furious · 3 years

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omg i sent an ask for the ship ask thingy a while ago but completely forgot about it (i assumed it never arrived??) but now i remember and still.. need ...to .. know... opinion on stisaac and allydia?

Hi Anon! Tumblr would betray me and not deliver your ask?? 😱😠 Rude. I did not receive the first, but I am happy to answer this one. Sorry it took me a bit (school’s got me super busy rn), but hopefully you’ll still see this!

Stisaac

I don’t really ship Stisaac tbh, so I haven’t given them tons of thought? It would take some convincing for me to ship them romantically because their relationship in canon just felt like pure hostility on both ends to me. I do, however, see some potential there with the banter (add in even a tiny sprinkle of affection and we have something to work with). If they were to have a relationship, I can’t see them being all that serious or committed to it, and I have a hard time seeing it as a very healthy dynamic. They’d be like...the pair that people think are dating? Maybe? It’s kind of hard to tell when the only things that ever come out of their mouths are insults with very little outward affection (even though they both care at least somewhat, they just won’t admit it).

I think their dynamic in general is interesting, though, because they’re only really in the same circle because of Scott. And (in my opinion) some of their hostility is because Scott’s in the middle of them; he’s always been close with Stiles, but he’s starting to really bond with Isaac too. Scott has always been Stiles’ best friend, and for a long time it was just the two of them, and now suddenly there are all these other people around. And that’s great! They could both use some friends. But Isaac is living in Scott’s house and suddenly just seems to be everywhere Scott is. Stiles already wasn’t all that fond of the guy and now he’s getting all chummy with Scott and Scott is all chummy with Isaac. And he hates it. And Isaac knows he does. But look, Isaac wasn’t big on Stiles either and with the clear chip on his shoulder and all the insults Isaac is happy to just deflect that bitchiness right back. He couldn’t care less about what Stiles thinks of him. He kind of wishes he wasn’t around so much, though, practically marking Scott as his best friend territory. What I’m trying to say is (whatever the nature of their respective relationships with Scott) there’s some jealousy here.

The form of their relationship I’m most on board with is begrudging friends who somehow end up paired off a lot and hate it, but kinda, sorta, maybe, a little bit have grown more fond of each other. But that’s a secret for the grave. They’re frenemies. And hey, sure, maybe they’re frenemies who get a little hot and bothered and make out once. It’s not a big deal, okay? Stiles threatens Isaac in his very morbidly specific way about telling anyone it happened. Isaac quips that it wasn’t good enough to be worth telling. And then casually announces it hours later, entirely too pleased with himself. Lydia and Allison are so over this before it even starts, but ultimately decide to fan the fire. Poor Scott is ready to bash his head in with these two fighting. Again. (Afterward he never lets Stiles live it down. After all, what are best friends for if not to mercilessly lovingly harass each other?) I’m rambling nonsense at this point. What I’m trying to say is I see them as essentially rivals turned friends-ish. I don’t ship them, but I’m discovering this dynamic would be fun to play with in the love/hate, bantering sort of way. I could potentially be convinced to read fic with them given the right premise, but couldn’t see it/wouldn’t want it in canon.

Allydia

Now, Allydia. I don’t even know how to describe my feelings on this ship! I feel mystified by it, honestly. They both just have such wlw energy so much of the time, and it’s a damn shame Lydia never got a girlfriend. I always loved both Allison and Lydia individually, and I did love their friendship! They were never a pair that I really gave much thought while watching the show (specifically ship-wise) but I remember seeing a gif set once outlining their relationship, and was kind of like “ok but why the fuck not??”

I love pretty much any iteration of them, canon-compliant and not. I ship them romantically, platonically, queerplatonically; in a polyamorous relationship, as friends who dated but decided they were better as friends and are super close/supportive exes, mutually pining, unilaterally pining; in different AU situations like... dark!Allydia, (both) supernatural!Allydia, (both) hunters!Allydia, non-supernatural world Allydia, etc. etc. I am 👀 intrigued about pretty much any idea. I do prefer a healthy dynamic, so that’s for sure a constraint, but mostly I just...am more or less indifferent to the form of Allydia I get as long as I get it somehow and they’re close and love each other, whatever kind of love it is. I get so emotional sometimes about how much they bonded, and especially about their relationship in season 3. That’s where it really seemed to blossom in a genuine, reciprocal way. In seasons 1 and 2 I do think Lydia and Allison cared about each other, but they were both so focused on portraying an image/persona that sometimes genuine care in that relationship got overshadowed by superficiality. And they are such a power couple too! Oh my godddd the strength and the confidence and the skill and the intelligence and the sass...incredible. I also cry whenever I think about Allison dying, and Lydia feeling it and screaming for her. I just....they were so connected and they loved each other and I am sad. I haven’t read fic for them before, but I certainly would if recommended a good one.

I think my overall preference for shipping Allydia is as a queerplatonic relationship--just “platonic” doesn’t seem to quite cover how they feel in the way that most people mean it, but there isn’t a romantic connection. (To be honest, Lydia strikes me as somewhere on the aromantic spectrum just in general.) But, yeah, no one quite understands them like the other does, and ultimately they want to go through life together. So they live together and build a life together. They’re open to date other people romanticlally/sexually (if either wants); they function as partners in every other way, just as they always have, really, since Lydia first spotted Allison and announced “You are my new best friend.” And maybe love at first sight does exist, but maybe it isn’t what everyone assumes it will be. Maybe there was something about that glance that said “come get to know me” and Lydia declared “I already do.” Maybe there’s so much focus on romantics that people miss it when true love in other forms passes them by. Not Lydia. She’s not one to let opportunities pass her, and, honestly, she isn’t one to wait for them to come along either. She creates her own; if she wants something she goes for it. She wants a relationship with Allison. She gets a relationship with Allison. And hey, it works out wonderfully. No one is impaled by a sword, and they live out their long, happy life together. Yep. It’s decided.

(Send me ships and I’ll tell you if/how I ship them!)

#ty for the ask! <33 hoping my answer didn't come so late you miss it anon #Anonymous #Allydia #Stisaac #Stiles Stilinski #Isaac Lahey #Allison Argent #Lydia Martin #Ask Games

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beevean · 4 years

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SEGA and the eternal issue of “Sonic’s girlfriend”

[Translator’s note: here is the original article written by @latin-dr-robotnik, originally written on the 18th of May 2020]

Today we’re going to talk about one of the aspects SEGA is more secretive about: Sonic’s relationships.

[Translator’s note: this article was written to celebrate Seaside Hill Paradise’s 200th entry. If you’re fluent in Spanish, I highly recommend you to check it out! And if you aren’t, go follow Latin’s Tumblr blog if you haven’t already and you’re into Sonamy, analyses, gushing about music and shitposts.]

This article concludes my Sonamy trilogy, and I recommend you to read the previous two articles: “SEGA and the eternal issue of the Sonamy dynamic” and “’I love you’ – forbidden words in Sonic”. This means this is a shipping article – if you’re not interested into another essay about the love life of a blue hedgehog, I can redirect you to other articles such as “Sonic and speed: are we misunderstanding them?” and “What went wrong with Classic Sonic’s music in Sonic Forces?”.

Everybody else, welcome to today’s article!

It should be noted that this article focuses more on the semi-official and strictly official aspects, since there is really not much to say about the fandom. Nowadays the fandom has a relatively peaceful coexistence, creating art, fanfics and more, for all kind of ships; sometimes there’s an occasional fight between ships or a ship that clearly is not appropriate… but besides that, everything seems relatively calm, at least in my experience and compared to other fandoms.

Too cool for relationships...

Few things are as mentioned and yet silenced by the official SEGA media as the fateful words “girlfriend” and “Sonic” put together. In official terms, Sonic has always been this young, cool hedgehog, with a pure love for nature and never too worried about life, but with a moral code that makes him fight against injustices. During his first years, Sonic was almost impatient and a little emotionally distant, although as it was the ‘90s and things were not so clear for the young SEGA star, different interpretations would take the character through different paths - some more radical than others. As the years went by, and going through many redesigns, certain aspects of his personality would be perfected, exaggerated, or even flanderized. His position on relationships, on the other hand, would remain relatively constant over the decades, with a few particular exceptions.

The this is that Sonic, in the words of his own creator Naoto Ohshima, has always been considered “a young man with a child's heart”, which has helped to substantiate and understand why the character would remain relatively distant from his feelings, and much closer to his own interests associated with the life of adventure.

... or is he?

Despite everything I just said, they tried in many occasions, if not succeeded, to give Sonic a girlfriend, with various results.

As carefree as Sonic is, and as much as SEGA tried to clarify this point over and over again, the people behind his character have always tried to introduce one or more relationships into his life. Even Naoto Ohshima himself has made his own suggestion as to who might be a hypothetical partner for his character. The different interpretations I’ve mentioned have tweaked Sonic’s character to make it more apt to certain types of dynamics, and the cultural gap between the East and the West (which I analyzed a few years ago with the first article of this “trilogy”) also has a considerable impact on the type of relationships that would be established for Sonic from very early in his history until today.

Author’s note: the concept of “Sonic + human woman” of 1990 wasn’t completely forgotten, no no, it was brought back 16 years later, in… well… the worst way possible.

Let’s see an example. Going back to his very origins, in his pre-Sonic 1 sketches Sonic was often depicted with a stereotypical damsel in distress, Madonna, his own “Princess Peach” that ended up being scrapped for many reasons, including the similarities with Super Mario. As the years have gone by, this concept has not disappeared, but rather the writers and directors of the series have taken it down different paths over time. While Madonna was too cliché, other candidates for the role of “Sonic’s girlfriend” would quickly appear to try different dynamics, directly or indirectly endorsed by SEGA.

Sally Acorn

For many years, Princess Sally was for Western fans the first person who came to mind when they thought of “Sonic’s girlfriend”. Since 1993, and for 2 more decades, her relationship with Sonic has gone in many directions, but fundamentally the most amazing thing about this whole situation was that she was Sonic’s official girlfriend (at least in the Archie Comics canon). It was also one of the many headaches for SEGA in the last decade.

Originally a fellow fighter against the macabre Robotnik from the 1993 animated series Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic and Sally’s relationship was always marked by their opposite personalities; while Sally tends to plan ahead and is much more focused on the seriousness of the task, Sonic was the type to destroy robots first and think later. “Opposites attract,” they say, and by the (premature, I might add) end of that series both were already more than friends. They had already kissed a couple of times.

At the most critical moment in their relationship, Sonic, after a year of being missing in space and presumed dead by everyone, returns to Mobius only to end up back in potential danger, decides to ignore the wishes and warnings of Sally, who’s clearly emotionally traumatized and stressed by both the general situation and the responsibilities she had to carry out for her kingdom in the absence of her parents. The result of this explosive cocktail was one of the most infamous scenes in all of Archie Sonic, "the Slap", where Sally finally reacts violently to Sonic's selfish statements. The hedgehog's response? Well, a long exposure to the screams about her experience - also traumatic - up to that point. In the end, both end up screaming and crying in front of virtually everyone.

What followed in the next decades was an expansion of that original SatAM canon in the Archie Comics, in which its various writers introduced varying degrees of drama and increasing conflict to demonstrate the strong bond between them, destabilizing or even stabilizing it again, multiple times. They would be together for some time, then they would be apart, eventually rekindling the flame of love passionately, until a final sacrifice on their part and the eventual resetting of the entire Archie Sonic canon.

In their last years, after the Super Genesis Wave, Sonic and Sally’s relationship went back to being platonic. a good friendship with the advantages and disadvantages of their personalities - Sally’s leadership and Sonic’s extreme confidence - while the focus was put on the flourishing relationship between Sally and her best friend (and old computer!) Nicole.

Regardless of the way their relationship ended, it's undeniable that Sally has left a huge mark. Being a product of the West, her existence was never really accepted by the Sonic’s Japanese creators, but because the bulk of the fandom is here in the West, Sally's presence has been strongly associated with Sonic, the Freedom Fighters, the comics... and also the ship wars between her and the character we’re going to talk about next. Her very existence was a living contradiction to the Japanese central canon, an official girlfriend who broke all the ideas that existed for Sonic in terms of his conception of relationships and lead him through unique paths. Whether for better or worse, Sally broke the mold.

Eimi. Rosy. Amy Rose.

On the opposite side of the spectrum there’s Amy, a character that was originally conceived as the Minnie to Sonic’s Mickey, but with her own dynamic.

Despite Amy’s existence being strongly tied to Sonic’s, once again Sonic Team tried to avoid the classic cliché (in this case to copy Mickey and Minnie), opting then to establish Amy as the one interested in a relationship, while Sonic runs away from this idea. For this dynamic to keep working, Sonic’s feelings have to be kept hidden, with excuses like his “shyness”, which leads to ambiguity, or because, as said before, of his “child’s heart”.

The most interesting thing is that Amy kept her canonical status of “self-proclaimed girlfriend” since 1993, which makes her “official” and “not official” at the same time, but there are some traces left from the Sonic manga of 1992 (which in turn influenced Amy’s original design), where a prototype version of Amy (or, as it was spelled there, Emi/Eimi) played the role of Sonic’s girlfriend (or Nicki’s, to be more precise). With this detail in mind, Amy can be considered, at least in the East, the very first “Sonic’s girlfriend”, even before Sally – but her situation is much more complex.

Sonic Mega Drive (top) and Sonic Boom (bottom), representing some differences in different Sonic continuities.

In any case, the manga would be the first and only time Amy was officially considered “Sonic’s girlfriend”, because in the following decades and in several continuities the core of their dynamic shifted to Amy chasing Sonic. Both would get closer or further away depending on each case (in Fleetway, for example, Amy ends up marrying another character, while in Archie Sonic there would be only a few instances of potential interest, quickly overshadowed by convenience or other things directly or indirectly related to Sally), but generally no continuity would establish an official relationship. In some cases, such as Japan, it wouldn’t even be necessary to clarify the state of the relationship, since their cultures accept more easily the dynamic that Sonic Team proposed as an “official relationship”. Just looking at the artwork highlighted on Sonic Channel (run by SEGA of Japan) shows how much more accepted the relationship is, even though Sonic Team’s official artwork still avoids any kind of public confirmation. (Author’s note: I’ve written more about Amy according to the East and the West in the first article of this trilogy)

Unlike Sally, there is no “opposites attract” situation between Amy and Sonic, and, at first, there is no prior friendship from which a potential relationship could flourish. We witnessed their dynamics from the first moment they met, and it would not be until years later that there would be a minimal basis for interaction from which various official continuities would bring both characters closer together.

Technically Amy already knew that her destiny was tied to Sonic and the events of Sonic CD on Little Planet, thanks to her tarot cards (an element that has disappeared since then), but for Sonic it was just another day of adventure, and although we’ve seen how Amy's feelings have progressed, mostly in Adventure 1 and 2, Sonic has never reflected on his personal feelings; it’s an aspect of the hedgehog that to this day remains a mystery to the audiences.

Also unlike Sally, Amy has appeared in multiple continuities of all kinds and because of that her relationship with Sonic has been affected in various ways. The main videogames canon has remained ambiguous and unchanged for 25 years: Amy would stay close to Sonic and offer some good moments to reflect on her feelings about him (some of which I mentioned in my post about Sonic Unleashed and Amy’s emotional support), while Sonic would remain distant, uncomfortable, shy, and, more recently, potentially affected by her apparent loss.

Sonic X is the first official attempt (by Sonic Team no less) to offer an expanded view of our characters. There’s a lot of discussion about how Sonic is slowly opening up to Amy’s advances, and these developments follow a line that we discussed in previous articles of this trilogy, and how, during the 2000s, the Japanese writers of the series kept slowly deepening the interactions between the two, reaching very important symbolic moments like Sonic X Ep. 9, 52 and 76, among several others. I am purposely leaving out specific details to direct your attention to this fantastic thread by Yvanix Rose that highlights some key details about how this continuity worked the Sonic-Amy dynamic. [Translator’s note: the thread is in Spanish]

Sonic X, episode 76.

Another essential continuity for the development of this dynamic was Sonic Boom, since, despite having been a separate continuity with its own interpretation of the characters, its existence managed to influence the main canon in some way in the years that followed its original release in 2014.

Sonic Boom made two important changes in the dynamic: Amy did no longer externalize her feelings with the same frequency or intensity (speeding up a process that already started in the main canon in 2008), and Sonic was noticeably more nervous and insecure of his feelings for her, even being jealous in several occasions. These changes got the dynamic closer to the “friends who have secret feelings to each other but they’re too shy to admit it” trope, and in the second season it could even be said that there are signals of the “secretly dating” trope. Nothing was officially confirmed yet, but the changes to the dynamic offered a fresh perspective to work from: winks and inferences about a relationship that was not talked about but seemed to happen behind the scenes.

Sonic Boom S1E16.

Sonic Boom’s approach also opened the door to working a little more on the characters’ new personalities. Taking a little inspiration from the original foundations of Sally and Sonic’s relationship, Boom now presented situations where Sonic and Amy’s perspectives actively clashed with each other, leading to discussions and moments that showed a little more of the mundane details of the friendship they had, rather than appealing to more classic behaviors of the main canon, like Sonic leaving the scene in a hurry. Considering the way things turned out the last time we saw this kind of dynamic on screen, it was pretty safe to assume that their new opposites were now attracted; the implied secret dating and so on only helped to give it more sustenance - which the fandom would eventually take to the extreme.

And lastly there’s IDW Sonic, the comic series that replaced Archie Sonic after its cancellation in 2017, and the most recent arc that offers an interesting perspective. Starting its continuity from the end of the events of Sonic Forces (which at the same time took on certain characteristics from the post-Boom era, particularly as far as Amy is concerned), IDW Sonic didn’t waste any time in presenting the way in which it would carry out its dynamic between Sonic and Amy.

Amy makes her feelings for Sonic very clear, and he is surprised but unable to match them. However, Sonic doesn’t want to outright reject her, and suggests that she come with him; she refuses, claiming that she has duties to the Resistance, setting the tone for the rest of the series. (IDW Sonic #2)

“Sonic’s girlfriend” today

As I mentioned earlier, after the reboot Sally was no longer considered Sonic’s girlfriend, and her disappearance after the cancellation of Archie Sonic in general is a sign that we may not see her ever again, even as a friend. As of today, in 2020, only Amy has been left in her “unofficial, but…” state, with various minor events taking place both in the main canon and in IDW Sonic:

In 2018 the official SEGA shop wrote a description for a piece of Amy Rose merchandise that said “celebrate 25 years of Sonic’s girlfriend”; the mistake wasn’t immediately corrected, despite the fandom pointing it out immediately.

The video game canon has remained dormant, with Team Sonic Racing in 2019 featuring more of a regular friendship between Sonic and Amy, sharing rivalries and quiet moments alike.

On the other hand, since IDW Sonic and Sonic Boom laid their foundations, we've begun to see a certain shift in the way the two characters are presented. While we’ve talked about IDW Sonic already, Sonic’s social medias have done multiple “Twitter Takeovers” where Sonic characters answer questions from fans, and Sonic has always answered more like his version of Boom to the inevitable question about Amy and his “feelings”.

Recent official animations like Sonic Mania Adventures and Team Sonic Racing Overdrive have shown Amy flirting with Sonic in a more casual way.

The current dynamic seems to be pointing towards “Sonic’s hidden feelings”, and I think we are at a perfect point to change the approach. SEGA in general seems more open to the idea of bringing these characters closer, probably as a marketing strategy, but without yet separating themselves from the central ideas that defined the dynamic for the last two and a half decades.

Conclusion

The idea of “Sonic’s girlfriend” has been one of the most experimental and controversial in the almost three decades that this series has been around for. SEGA has opened the door to all kinds of ambiguities, developments and interpretations, all with their pros and cons, instead of settling on a definitive position. As iconic as these characters, conceived as Sonic’s “romantic interests”, have become, they have also had their share of criticism and controversy, especially in the fandom.

The presence of Amy as the only “official but self-proclaimed girlfriend” today says a lot about the control SEGA (specifically SEGA of Japan) regained over the characters, after decades of interpretations that offered different alternatives with various degrees of success. At her best, Sally represented an ideal relationship with Sonic, much more complete and profound than the back-and-forth game between Amy and Sonic. But at her worst, this same relationship represented everything wrong that could happen by associating Sonic with the emotional spiderweb of a romantic relationship. SEGA hardening its control over the characters seems to have put an end of this type of situation where Sonic ends up being involved in a romantic telenovela, but at the same time it has revitalized the flirting game and the implicit associations that give fuel to the fandom fire.

From my humble interpretation, I think we’ve reached a point where Sonic and Amy have shared enough stories and moments to solidify the core aspects of their personalities and their friendship, allowing them to take the next step, which is to play around with the idea of “something else”. 25 years ago it was hard to see how these two characters could work together beyond “it’s SEGA’s word”; today there’s enough of a story to find a rhythm and chemistry for them, and the series of situations they've put themselves in (e.g. IDW Sonic’s plot arcs) are increasingly helping this case. The topic of “Sonic's girlfriend” may be a controversial one for SEGA and the fandom in general, but the doors have slowly been opened for this debate to develop and be investigated with interesting results, and I think that, in this new decade of 2020, there’s a unique potential to explore this kind of discussion, without sacrificing in any way the central principles of Sonic as a character. Thank you for joining me in these 200 entries, and hopefully we’ll see each other for many more.

#sonic the hedgehog #amy rose #sonamy #translation #analysis #long post #happy birthday latin!#this one was so hard #i had to cut a lot of shp-related parts sadly #but this whole project was very fun and enlightening

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littlesailorinthesun · 4 years

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manifesto no. 790: why nikki/bobo is the best ship

(Author’s note: The title is in jest. It’s just for fun!)

In this essay I will explore the appeal of why Nikki/Bobo is actually the most narratively interesting ship you could choose for Nikki and for Bobo. Note that I don't intend to bash other ships or cause ship wars, because if you know me, you know that I am a multishipper and I support and enjoy ships like Nikkimi. I just want to explain why I personally like Nikbo and why it is the most interesting one to me as it exists in canon. Also note that because of the way I experience "ships", romantic ships and platonic ships have a very blurred and sometimes nonexistent line for me.

Shared Experiences

Not only do Nikki and Bobo first meet at the very beginning of the story, they spend nearly 100% of Volume 1 together, and all of Nikki's moments in Miraland as she learns about the world and forms impressions are spent with Bobo. Because of this shared time together at the beginning of the game, a lot of base game items and early events also have interaction between them, outside of what you see in the main story. By and large, they spend their happiest moments together. (There are way too many of these moments to list! Thank you, writers, for all the wonderful interactions.)

Of course, they also go through low points together. The rebellion in Chapter 12 was one of the few times they were separated before Bobo's eventual departure, and Nikki refused to leave Royal City with Ace until both Bobo and Momo were back with her. Bobo went from uncontrollable crying in V1:12-2 to feeling entirely certain that Nikki would be able to get them out of the mess by V1:12-7. (After all, she's Nikki's biggest fangirl!) The opposite happens in V1:15-9, when it's Nikki who's crying and Bobo giving her the strength to get up and fight. Despite that this was likely part of Bobo's mission, she makes sure to ask if Nikki's okay after Nidhogg defeats her for the first time. Neither situation actually involves much comforting, but they are both there for each other during those moments.

Relationship Arc

To me this is what makes the ship very interesting. Nikki and Bobo do not have a static relationship. It's something that morphs and changes and develops as the story goes on. We all know the feeling of discovering that Bobo and Nikki's meeting was not a coincidence at all and that she was actually ordered to befriend Nikki! But beyond this we also know that Bobo realized quickly into her mission that she actually really did like Nikki, which is a driving force in Bobo's storyline. Without her genuine affection for Nikki, I think her story would have actually been very different.

On Nikki's side of things, she had her faith in Bobo tested in V1:19-5 when it was suggested that Bobo might have been putting Nikki in danger on purpose. Of course, this wasn't far from the truth given Bobo's mission, though we don't know if every instance brought up (like Bobo tripping in the League Till outpost) was on purpose. But Nikki is so loyal to Bobo that she refuses to believe that she could have done anything like that. Reflecting on the matter in her dreamweaver The Girl's Decision, she says to herself, "Maybe you have your own difficulties, but I have always believed in you. You are my best friend on the Miraland. Your sincere wishes and dear heart, I have never doubted them." She also realizes then that she did not know how much she would miss Bobo until she was gone, which I think is important for contextualizing some of the earlier chapters.

We see their "low point" in the relationship at the end of Sunflower in Long Night, when the True King, who has been successfully manipulating Bobo for what seems like a while, forbids her from reuniting with Nikki who is actively searching her out. Paralyzed, she listens as Nikki leaves, and wonders to herself if that was the last chance she'd get, to which the True King responds, in the most ominous and chilling line to end a Dreamweaver ever, "You're right. There's no turning back."

Nikki does eventually find out the truth in Brave New World, but by then she's seen the turmoil Bobo's been going through, and assures her that even if her goals were false, their time together was not, and that her memories were proof of their true and real connection. Their bond of shared experiences was so true that even the lies could not break it - even if it could shake it.

Personally, I just find it more interesting when the ships have, like, literally anything that might stand between them. The deception in this - even if it's a double layered deception where Bobo was only deceiving Nikki because she herself was being deceived - is a fun dynamic to me. They formed their relationship despite the factors that worked against them, Bobo's conflicting motivations and Nikki's being kept in the dark. In a story where many of Nikki's relationships just happen because she ran into them on the street, this is a really refreshing relationship: a dynamic story underlied by a beautifully simple bond.

Mutual Desire to Protect

Both characters are marked by their overwhelming desire to protect each other. It is natural that Nikki wants to protect Bobo. Nikki sees her at her absolute weakest, disappearing right before her eyes in the Cloud Realm due to her uncertain status in the real world. Of course, that's what prompts Nikki to make that promise that the writers will totally make her follow through on, because they would never ignore a plot detail involving a major character: "Bobo... I will find you... I won't leave you anymore, I will face everything with you. Wait for me."

But it's also very important that Bobo wants to protect Nikki just as much. Immediately after leaving Nikki, she's already worried about her, thinking: "Nikki, how are you doing? Are you safe now? Have you found any new clues? I'm sorry I didn't protect you." (This actually reminds me a lot of how Orlando will address Flynn while talking to himself.) She's put in an even more precarious situation because she was meant to involve Nikki in the disputes of the world, which inevitably meant that Nikki was put into danger, over and over.

In my point of view, I think this is why Bobo left. It's canon, as stated in Daymare Fairy Tale, that the gun was what caused her to leave, because it caused her to "wake from her dream" (presumably referring to the good times with Nikki). However, the specifics of this are where I lean into theoryville. I think Bobo did mean to trip in V1:19-4 and that's what caused her to realize her actions crossed a line. A gun was pointed at her - and, presumably, at the nearby Nikki - and she realized she could not protect Nikki and involve her in disputes at the same time. She could not complete her mission. There's another more personal reason she could have decided to leave, and that would be that the sight of a gun pointed at her brought up the trauma from the events surrounding the death of her father. Regardless, I don't think either interpretation - that it was related to endangering Nikki or that it was related to her personal trauma - is wrong, but rather, it is easy to read more into it than what's stated so I thought it was worth mentioning.

Their desire to protect each other continues into Brave New World, both the day and the night sections. Really, these two are basically in an endless "no let me protect u" battle. Bobo breaks through the possession of the True King twice, once in Day and once in Night. Both times, she tells Nikki to run, to leave Miraland and herself, so that at least she can be safe. Both times, Nikki responds by telling her she isn't going anywhere: "No matter what you want to do, I will be with you. [...] I choose to stay here to protect the Miraland and keep everyone's dreams and future, to also keep our precious memories. I will not let you face this all alone. Trust me!" Eventually Bobo does accept this and tells Nikki that she trusts her to protect her. I can't wait for Nikki to make good on that promise and find her!

Personalities, Compatibility, and Character Analysis

I realize I have not touched on why their personalities work together, so here are some thoughts on them as individuals. (I will lean into hypotheticals and headcanons here.)

I see Bobo as someone who indulges too much in escapism. She likes to pretend things are okay when they really, really aren't. We see a bit of this when she refuses to believe Nidhogg could have betrayed Lilith in Chapter 12, and of course it's sort of... the entire thing about why she spends so much time gallivanting around with Nikki. After this she's pretty much forced to understand and accept the realities of the world all at once, and I think this is a major component of her character development. Nikki is both a source of her escapism and the entire reason why it comes crashing down. I think, in a hypothetical post-canon context, Nikki could still be that type of person who could help distract Bobo from things for a while (because god knows that girl needs some comfort).

At the same time, just due to Nikki's nature, she wouldn't let Bobo wallow too much in the past. Nikki believes strongly in moving on and becoming the best version of herself. This is a theme mentioned in her most recent birthday suit, Sparkling Cupcake. More personally, she reflects on it in her dreamweaver. She recognizes that she used to be a passive person and vows to change that in order to better protect the people she loves. So I know she would also do her best to help Bobo, because that's just who Nikki is.

As I think about Nikki's main goals and motivations beyond this, I keep seeing one theme pop up over and over: she places a strong value on happy memories. (Really, I cannot overstate this - she talks about it all the time.) She treasures her memories of Miraland more than anything, so much that she is willing to face its impending destruction, because they mean so much to her. These memories are something crucial she and Bobo already share. It's why I think she would find true happiness with Bobo.

(I will also touch on the obvious things here, albeit briefly: they have shared interests, like cuteness, the color pink, and romance, and they... uh... quite obviously get along.)

Comparison to Nikkimi

Really, like I said, this is not an attempt to bash or put down any ship. Nikkimi is great (and canon), but there are a few things that frustrate me:

Their relationship is largely focused on Kimi, not Nikki. Nikki is the one who comforts and supports Kimi on her journey, and Kimi is not there for most of Nikki's moments of weakness, nor does she accompany her on her journey. Kimi doesn't even know Nikki isn't from Miraland until... the very last stage of Volume 1, 19-SS3.

They get together quickly and stay together with no major interpersonal challenges. While yes, this is definitely ideal in real life, it's just not that narratively interesting.

Concluding Thoughts

If there is anything that marks the earlier chapters, it's Bobo's sadness over still being single. Yet, I love the trope of when someone didn't realize the person they were looking for... was with them the whole time!

Bobo has so many countless lines where she is fangirling over Nikki that it is very easy to read more into that. I think people ship her and Kaja for this reason but oh my god there are just as many if not more where she is Nikki's cheerleader, constantly complimenting her and hyping her up to the people she meets (just open Dreamweaver for this).

And even if you still prefer Nikkimi, Bobo having unrequited feelings for Nikki is also pretty fun.

#love nikki #nikbo #nikki/bobo #love nikki lore #character: nikki #character: bobo

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cloudofash · 4 years

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The Future of the Destiny Islands Trio - Part 1

There is so much to discuss in regards to all of the information we’ve received in Kingdom Hearts Re:Mind and I have so many theories conjuring up in my head that I want to share with you all. For today, I would like to discuss the status of our main trio, the Destiny Islands trio.

Nomura himself stated that Kingdom Hearts 3 depicts how each character feels about each other “in this new storyline”. Which means that their relationships going forward into the next arc have been defined. Therefore, we can analyze Kingdom Hearts 3 and get a good idea of where each character stands as of now and theorize where their relationships will be headed. However, I’ll be focusing on just the Destiny Islands Trio since I feel every other Trio has received their happy ending and their relationships are clearly defined. The Destiny Islands’ Trio future remains hazy. With that being said…

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Sora and Kairi : Now

Let’s begin with analysis on Kairi and Sora since their relationship took center stage this time around. First, let’s look at some moments the two had together that were cute: they fed each other separate paopu fruits, they hug, Sora has a strong devotion to save Kairi’s heart, and they had a team attack “One Heart” where they shared angel wings. It is clear that in KH3 Sora and Kairi’s relationship is stronger. So where do they both stand?

I would say that Kairi does have romantic feelings for Sora. We established in KH1 she returned Sora’s crush when she drew her hand feeding him a paopu fruit. She initiates the paopu fruit scene and directly states she wants to be in Sora’s life, the fruit itself implying that she means forever. She says she wants to protect him now, which shows she wants to change the dynamic of she and Sora’s relationship where she is always being saved and protected by him. She wants to reciprocate the desire to protect him, this shows a clear attempt at advancement. She’s ready to be Sora’s equal in their relationship. At the very end in the Limit Cut episode, she chooses to sleep for a year believing traces of Sora exists in her heart which shows she believes the connection between their hearts is very strong. Kairi is taking the initiative to advance their relationship, and this leads me to believe there are romantic motives behind her actions. Of course Nomura is Nomura and there’s a chance that Kairi’s motives are completely platonic but considering Kairi’s known crush on Sora and her insistence that they remain a part of each others lives, I would mark her actions down as romantic.

But where does Sora stand?

Well….

Sora states early in the game that he has a lot to learn about love. He seems to be very clueless and is walking the line between liking and loving, friendships and romance and it shows throughout the game. His feelings are not as clear as Kairi’s so we will have to analyze all of the moments the two share to see if he either reciprocates Kairi’s feelings or initiates/participates in a moment that can unquestionably be interpreted as romantic.

As Kairi initiates the paopu fruit scene, Sora looks baffled and confused which is a reaction completely opposite of what’s expected of him considering this is the same island boy who dreamed of sharing a paopu fruit with Kairi a year earlier. She says she wants to be a part of his life and he never responds directly to the idea he only says “Kairi, I’ll keep you safe.” Protecting Kairi and saving her from trouble is something he’s been doing since the start of the series and doesn’t really demonstrate an advancement in their relationship, and doesn’t imply romance since Sora has shown that he’s extremely dedicated to keeping everyone safe. You can interpret his statement as romantic but since it can also be interpreted as platonic I wouldn’t count it as a purely romantic moment. For this scene to be truly romantic Sora should have returned Kairi’s desire to be together forever, not just with eating separate paopu fruits because there is a high level issue with their exchange that I will cover in a bit. When Kairi loses her heart, Sora tells Chirithy that he is alright with losing the power of waking and even vanishing from the world, which shows that he is incredibly devoted to saving her. He demonstrates this devotion throughout all of Re:Mind, doing all that he can to find her heart’s pieces. However, he does this for all of the Guardians and saves them all from death by abusing the Power of Waking. Sora is, again devoted to saving all of his friends and he has shown this across all games, especially with Riku in KH2 where he nearly accepted that he and Riku could possibly be lost to the Realm of Darkness forever. Therefore I wouldn’t count Sora’s devotion as romantic, else we’d have to consider Sora’s devotion to Riku (and everyone else) as romantic. If Sora was devoted to Kairi alone then I would consider it romantic devotion but for now his devotion is universal (which is why I consider Riku’s devotion romantic because he has shown that he puts Sora above all others).

Now we get to where Sora saves Kairi and gives her a big, warm tender hug. This is something you could definitely consider romantic, it’s a great improvement to the incredibly awkward hug Kairi received from him in KH2. Unfortunately it can also be considered platonic because Sora also gives Riku a big, warm yet excited hug in DDD. He also fell down on his knees, held Riku’s hands and cried that he looked everywhere for him in KH2. The hugging and touching speaks to Sora’s character rather than romance. Sora is very passionate about his friends and gets very touchy when he misses them or when he’s relieved when he reunites with them, it seems he feels he needs to touch them in some way to make sure they’re really standing in front of him. If we call this hug romantic because its tender then we can call his tender moments with Riku romantic as well….which I have nooo problem with! Jokes aside, since most consider Riku and Sora’s DDD hug as well as their entire moment in KH2 as platonic I will go ahead and mark this one down as platonic too. We can’t say one is romantic while the other isn’t when Sora clearly exudes the same energy (being relieved that he has reunited with someone dear) in both cases.

So then we have the team attack, One Heart. Well that certainly has to be romantic, it literally says they share one heart and they share angel wings. This has got to mean something right? I absolutely agree, the attack was super cute and I would definitely give a point to the romance team! Except….if you pay close attention to the feathers of the angel wings you can actually see memories on them. The memories aren’t just of Sora and Kairi, they’re of all of the Guardians. This means that One Heart isn’t just a Sora and Kairi attack, it’s a unified Guardians attack where they draw power from all of their friends. See some of the confirmed memories that appear on their angel wings below:

I give YoSora rights on Twitter full credit for noting this discovery!

There is also the fact that Sora and Riku their own unified team attack with the Combined Keyblade, commonly called “The Gayblade” because it is literally rainbow colored, where each half of the boys’ Keyblades create a unified winged heart which holds Sora’s crown at the top and has a paopu fruit attached to the keychain. They share a single heart with a single paopu fruit. Every piece of “romantic” symbolism is there and yet Sora and Riku are still referred to as friends or brothers. Unlike Sora and Kairi’s attack which includes the other Guardians, their combined keyblade is strictly theirs alone. If the Combined Keyblade is not romantic, then One Heart certainly isn’t.

With each new shared moment Sora has with Kairi, there is a near-identical moment Sora shared with Riku. From the energy Sora himself exudes down to the symbolism. Sora’s demeanor doesn’t change between Riku and Kairi, so we can not say “He is friendly with Riku but lovey-dovey with Kairi”. If there was a clear difference in Sora’s behavior towards them trust me I could admit to it, but there isn’t. The nail in the coffin is when Sora and Kairi get to the Final World and he directly states that he and Kairi looking around the Final World was a moment with a friend.

The bottom line is that Sora still views Kairi as a friend despite having a crush on her. He hasn’t reciprocated her feelings of wanting to be together forever, he’s made no advancement in their relationship. I honestly believe there was more advancement in KH2 where he imagined himself dancing with Kairi after watching Jack and Sally, that was an unquestionably romantic moment. The only other moment in KH3 would be when he held Kairi’s hand on the way out of the tunnel and imagined Rapunzel and Flynn together who are definitely a romantic couple, however he immediately thought of Elsa and Anna afterwards which is an example of sisterly love, not romantic. Sora was thinking of love as a whole, platonic and familial love included not just romantic love.

Sora and Kairi : Future

So where does Sora and Kairi’s relationship go from here? As of now Sora is lost in the void somewhere between the Final World and an alternate universe with Yozora, and Kairi is in a self-induced coma with no sign of coming out of it yet. It will probably be a long while before the see each other in person again. I must also note that Kairi believed that her heart would lead them all to clues on Sora’s whereabouts but after a year of searching her heart nothing came up. This is concerning, since we’re at a point where we’re being led to believe that their hearts’ bond is growing stronger, they share all these moments together and now we’re being told Kairi’s heart has no traces or clues of Sora found for an entire year, yet Riku has a recurring dream and Fairy Godmother suspects his dream will lead everyone to Sora. Does this mean that Kairi’s bond with Sora is weaker than Riku’s? Or is her connection to Sora weakening overall? How can that be when the two shared a paopu fruit, their connection should be stronger than ever right?

This is where Sora and Kairi’s relationship may take a turn for the worst. The paopu fruit scene has been widely considered the moment that Sora and Kairi’s relationship became canon and means they’re dating (some even said married??) but as I said earlier there is an immense issue with it. They did not actually share a single paopu fruit like the legend described, instead they ate two separate fruits and fed them to each other crossing their arms in the process. As many have theorized, most notably the Sleeping Realm Theorists, this may have doomed Sora and Kairi to be star-crossed lovers, where all the forces of nature will actively work to tear them apart. There is evidence behind this theory because Sora makes several statements where he shows that he is okay with not always being with those he cares about, most likely in reference to Kairi.

Sora and Kairi may end up having a relationship where they accept that they can never be together. Or perhaps, Sora and Kairi won’t accept that and will always fight to stay at each other’s sides. Only time will tell, but I believe the overall theme of Kingdom Hearts 3 is learning to accept that you’re not always going to be with those you care about, and to enjoy the time you do get to spend together.

I’m sure this analysis may have annoyed some but I ask that you please hear me out. Sora viewing Kairi as a friend is not bad, it means there is room for change. For growth. Sora may view her as a friend now, this doesn’t mean he will in future titles. Or maybe he will. We’re at the end of the Dark Seeker Saga and Sora is just now learning about love, I’m sure Sora will learn what love means to him in later titles. He’ll fall in love eventually….When he gets swept away by Riku’s heroism and learns that he’s the light, bwahaha! >:)

Sorry, had to be a tad biased. Naturally I want Soriku to win. ;-P

I am going to stop here because this is getting waaaaay longer than I initially anticipated (like usual) and I want to make sure I have enough space for the other two relationships: Kairi and Riku and Sora and Riku. Thank you all once again so so much for reading!

Please see Part 2 here.

#kingdom hearts #KH #KH3 #Re:Mind #destiny islands #destiny islands trio #sora #kairi #riku #relationship

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bookoftheironfist · 6 years

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Am I the only one, that isn't happy with Danny's comic stories latley? I mean PM&IF, and Brissons run were great storywise but what bums me, is that Danny seems a little lost currently. He still isn't over Misty, while she moved on, his best friend is married with a kid and their reunion was (sadly) pretty short. Plus I feel like he is hinted to be depressed in some runs. Just let my son be happy again, Marvel.

I completely agree with this; a lot of Danny’s recent stories have been heartbreaking (and yes– really good comics, for sure– but sad). Danny’s life has tended to be marked by periods of unfocus and loss. We saw this back in the 90s too, after he escaped the H’ylthri. There was a fairly significant chunk of time in which he didn’t know what to do with himself (and, it seems, the writers didn’t know what to do with him). He had lost his connection to K’un-Lun, most of his personal ties had been shattered by his “death” and prolonged captivity, and he felt even more alienated than usual. Part of this is in the nature of his character. He’s an Iron Fist who spends long periods of time away from K’un-Lun. He’s a Hero for Hire, but only when H4H is actually operating (and even then, he hasn’t been on every iteration of the team). He doesn’t really have a civilian identity, and his life is in constant flux. He is a man of two worlds, eternally displaced, and after forty years, this fact is still at the core of his stories. This means that it’s very easy– both for him as a person, and for creative teams– to lose sight of a clear purpose for him, which can result in stagnation.

Danny’s current situation is clearly more intentional than that, and less a factor of the writers not knowing what to do with him, but while it’s made for very powerful character moments, it is also really sad. I’m still upset about the way things ended with Misty (the dragon-chi-false-pregnancy stuff was really hand-wavy and forced), and I’m even more upset that the two of them have barely shared a panel since. As traumatic as the experience was, they ended the relationship on good terms with each other, and it seems like something they should at least talk about. Superhero comics aren’t great about providing this type of closure, but they were together for so long that just leaving things hanging the way they are feels wrong. They’re still friends. They still care for each other, whether it be platonically or romantically. They should still interact! And it is extra heartbreaking when paired with Luke’s situation, which just emphasizes to Danny how much he lost and how far, life-experience-wise, he’s fallen behind his best friend. I love his fear of losing Luke because of this. I love his conversation about it with Stephen Strange in New Avengers, and I was blown away by that scene in PMIF vol. 3 #13. You know the one…

Danny: “Luke… I’m sorry, man. […] This is all my fault. And not just this– I’m talking everything that’s happened since we got back together. I wanted to make things the way they were before. You’ve got your own family. Misty and I are over, I know that, but it still stings. I was… I don’t know how to say it… scared of being alone. I didn’t want to go back to being that alienated kid in K’un Lun with no real friends or family. So what did I do? I dragged you into my loneliness. I used you to try and make myself feel complete. Look at where my fear and weakness has led us…”

I cried the first time I read this scene, because it placed the run back into the context of Danny’s recent darkness– extending back to the false pregnancy, but also encompassing all of the horror and loss he went through in Living Weapon. It turned the entire run on its head, explaining Danny’s initial comic-relief-y enthusiasm about restarting H4H and turning it into desperation, reminiscent of “Happy Matt” in Mark Waid’s Daredevil run. And the fact that Danny sees this fear of loss as weakness is just so Danny, and so painful. I love the power of this scene, and Luke’s reaction, and I am fascinated by this new element of their dynamic because it feels real. Who hasn’t experienced something like this? Who hasn’t been frightened by the thought of their friends outgrowing them? I like it because it’s so visceral and heart-wrenching and powerfully done. That’s what I want to emphasize here– I do like this writing. I’m a Daredevil fan; I enjoy a certain amount of pain. But yes, it also kills me to see Danny suffer.

Fortunately, the way things have been set up, I think (and hope) that Danny is moving into a new, more positive stage of his life. The Iron Fist run that just ended did a lot of work to reinvigorate his sense of purpose. Besting the real Shu-Hu and saving K’un-Lun from Choshin cemented his self-confidence as the Iron Fist, which had been shaken by the events of Living Weapon. And he has formed major new personal connections. He is back on close terms with his childhood friend Sparrow. He now has Pei, who– despite her absence from Iron Fist vol. 5– needs to stick around. Danny loves teaching, he enjoys spending time with Pei, and training her provides him with both companionship and a further sense of purpose. She’s also like a daughter to him, and as such she may also help him heal from “losing” his and Misty’s child. And he finally has his sister back, hopefully for good this time! Also, as of the last issue of Bendis’s Defenders run, Heroes for Hire is back up and running. Danny has a lot of what he was missing before, which bodes well for his future.

If it were up to me, the next Iron Fist arc would be K’un-Lun focused, with Danny, Pei, and Miranda going home and helping Sparrow rebuild. The city is in a period of transformation, following the revolution in Immortal Iron Fist, Davos sacking the place in Living Weapon, and Choshin’s failed invasion in vol. 5, and we haven’t had a long-term K’un-Lun-focused story in a while. There’s a lot of really interesting worldbuilding that could be done at this point, and placing Danny back in the city for an extended period of time would be a great next step following the events of the latest run. K’un-Lun is likely going to be restructured from the ground up under Sparrow’s influence, and that is really exciting. Danny needs to be there for it, and I– as a big fan of the setting– want to see that process close-up. I also really enjoy Sparrow, am interested in her and Danny’s new Yu-Ti/Iron Fist dynamic, and think they need more time to catch up. From there, my dream is that we might finally get an Immortal Weapons ongoing series, with Danny, Pei, Miranda, and the other Weapons (heck, Fat Cobra’s mom can come too!) engaging in pan-dimensional kung fu shenanigans. Pleeeaase, Marvel.

But in any case, I do think all of Danny’s recent comics (Iron Fist vol. 5, PMIF vol. 3, Defenders…) have set up a positive, hopeful future for him, and I’m just waiting for them to announce a new series.

#ironwingedhawk #Iron Fist #Danny Rand #Commentary #Messages

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dent-de-leon · 7 years

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/post/159946508851/on-a-scale-of-1-to-10-how-likely-do-you-think-is after s3, what are your thoughts re: sheith (and maybe kallura as well)?

Short answer? I think sheith makes the most sense now more than ever. Season 3 was the time where I feel like we should have an idea of where major characters’ main arcs and interrelationships are going. If they were going to follow through with ka/llura, they should’ve rolled with it right off season 2 while they still had the momentum. But for Keith, his relationships with everyone else are very clearly pushed into the background while his feelings for Shiro take center stage. He’s the one who really grieves him, who has this single-minded devotion to find him, who adamantly refuses to abandon him.

The way Keith finally revisits Black and speaks as if Shiro can hear him, tells him things like “I know this is what you wanted for me, Shiro. But I’m not you. I can’t lead them like you did,” and “This one’s for you, Shiro”–it’s a level of vulnerability he’d never reveal to anyone but Shiro, and so still reaches out to him in his absence. Like, this is after everyone at the time tried to tell him they were there for him. If he wanted to talk, he had people willing to listen. But he still only wants Shiro.

And we see this intimacy mirrored in Kuron. Again, if you wanted to pair Shiro with a love interest, shouldn’t they be the only one trusted enough to care for Kuron at his bedside? Didn’t the tone of that scene feel completely different from what you’d expect from a brotherly or platonic relationship, and much more in line with something romantic? The air was way more charged compared to say, Keith’s talk with Lance. The scene was heart wrenching, dramatic, and showed the easy intimacy between these two.

Keith has this pre-established backstory with Shiro that’s still being kept a secret from us–which in itself is suspicious–and whatever happened between them, it was enough for Keith to be so enamored with him, to still spend all this time chasing after him. It’s the kind of intimate love you’d only really expect from a character’s love interest. The fact that Kuron and Keith’s reunion is also a private affair (and the way it’s framed with both drifting into each other’s orbit nice and slow, complete with longing gazes)–that’s very different from a loud, happy reunion with the whole team. And excluding the other paladins from the scene was a very deliberate decision that adds to the intimacy of it. It feels incredibly romantic. Not to mention all the sheith and zaggar parallels that make no sense unless it was to show that, like zaggar, sheith is also romantic.

But most of all, I think what really clinched it was the way Kuron teases, “How many times are you gonna have to save me before this is over?” and Keith’s tender, heartfelt, “As many times as it takes.” This idea that Keith will always be there to save Shiro, and that both are so unabashed in their admission of it–that Keith will always be there for Shiro no matter what–that’s love.

And you know, I honestly thought ka/llura was much more likely before season 3. But now? I really don’t see it. Because if they were going to expand on Keith and Allura’s dynamic in a deeper, more intimate way, I feel like now would have been an opportune time to do so–what with all the pain and grief Keith’s going through and Allura’s first time flying a lion. If they were set up as love interests, I would expect them to anchor each other in this time of great upheaval. But that’s simply not the case.

To be honest, I think the only episode that really felt like ka/llura to me was Hole in the Sky. But the interesting thing about that is–with the intro of Sven, it really feels like a homage to 80′s Voltron. And to me, it honestly seemed like they put ka/llura moments in this episode specifically because of that throwback. Their interactions feel in line with something you’d expect from Keith and Allura in previous incarnations of Voltron I think. And the character development we see for them here really feels like part of that nostalgia factor to me–Keith comforting Allura in quiet moments and giving her advice and things like that.

But now, let’s talk about the only other time when I think Keith and Allura have a significant moment, because I do think it hints at love–but in a different direction. When everyone tries to comfort Keith at the end of the first episode, I think the other paladins really missed the mark.

Lance, Pidge, Hunk–the rest of them talk about what Shiro means to them, and they do so in a way that’s very impersonal–he’s my hero, he’s a legend, he was a mentor. They all talk about Shirogane the paladin and star pilot, not Takashi the person. And none of them ever mention or stop to think about how Keith feels. If they were really trying to console him, they should’ve focused on that.

As someone who’s also suffered great loss, Allura understands this more than anyone. She’s the only one who actually says why Shiro’s so important to Keith, the only one who really reaches out and gets through to him. Shiro’s loss was deeply personal, an ache that will never heal. She knows this, knows that to Keith, Shiro is simply “irreplaceable.”

And really, I think this moment was a heart-to-heart between the two of them, something that Keith really needed to hear. But it’s not about how Keith and Allura feel about each other, it’s Allura reaffirming that Shiro means the world to him. The conversation also isn’t private, it’s with friends, found family–which makes Allura seem more so part of that family rather than this just being about her and Keith. Compared to say–things like Kuron’s bedroom scene where the two are entirely alone and it feels much more intimate.

There are other factors that contribute to this of course, like the dark lighting, extreme closeups, framing, Kuron’s haggard appearance and the fact that they’re both dressed down to emphasize that they’re allowing themselves to be vulnerable, the setting, context, Keith being the only one allowed at his bedside, ect–all of which make it feel more romantic

And in that sheith scene, again, Keith and Shiro reiterate how much they mean to each other. Allura and Keith never do this. And you know what? A character mourning the loss of someone they hold dear, someone they can’t move on from, and their friends coming together to talk them through it–it really gives you the sense Keith is mourning a lover. It’s a kind of intimate grief you usually see reserved for a love interest.

I think the way Keith was so indifferent to Allura’s inexperience flying Blue also came across as extremely cold and callous if they’re supposed to be love interests. Like, if you want there to be romantic chemistry and yet you have all these scenes where Keith is outright ignoring Allura when she’s in trouble, that just doesn’t sit right with me. Even when they first lose Allura, Hunk says he’s going to get her, and Keith is mad about it. He literally groans and just tells the others to keep up. Allura’s struggling on her first day as a paladin, and Keith’s just annoyed with her. Compare this with any time Shiro’s in trouble, and you’ll notice an immediate difference. Shiro’s safety always comes before the mission for Keith, but he doesn’t really afford Allura or anyone else that luxury. And it’s just one of the many reasons why Keith and Shiro’s dynamic strikes me as romantic

So again, Keith’s not the one who’s there for Allura when she needs them, but the other paladins are. To see Keith actually lose sight of the safety of his team over chasing Lotor–and to be entirely dismissive of Allura’s safety especially–again, it doesn’t read as a potential couple to me

I think Allura and Lance however do have a lot of chemistry in season 3, and I feel like a lot of their scenes read as something along the lines of buildup to a future relationship. Lance is the one who Allura has a heart-to-heart with about her very personal connection to the Red lion and what it means to her–that easily could have been a conversation she had with Keith, but it wasn’t. And it’s Lance, not Keith, who vows to carry on Alfor’s legacy and not let him down–another Altean King in the making maybe? (And I mean by marriage of course, not the popular Altean Lance fanon). And “If I had to lose Blue to someone, I’m glad it was you,” sure seemed pretty romantic. Not to mention how he’s the one that really welcomes Allura to the team, not Keith

Allura also tells Lance what the significance of her pink armor is, which again, shows just how much she trusts him. She’s also the one who really encourages Lance to be the Red paladin and tell him just how important he is to the team. Then you have other little things here and there, like Allura stoping to ask herself What would Lance do? when What would Keith do? could’ve also been possible, given that he’s there leader and it makes sense to look to him for guidance. She acknowledges that Lance is a natural and clearly cares about him throughout season 3. And Lance was the one who really noticed how amazing Allura is when she’s fighting and he never bothers her with annoying flirting. If anyone was setup to be with Allura honestly, I think it’s Lance.

Going back to sheith, I’ve already talked about it so much already which is why this was a bit more on ka/llura, but basically my point is–sheith was built up like a romantic relationship from season 1 until season 3, ka/llura was not.

#keith #sheith #shiro #allurance #voltron

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nayeon-sadly-owns-me · 7 years

Text

Due to common request, I have decided to do another breakdown but this time it will be of Stormy’s Fool's Gold . This will be split into two parts as it is very long because of the content it is going over.

I do not claim to have any of this be correctly what Stormy had intended but I do try my best. There will be grammar mistakes of course. I do hope you enjoy reading this though. 😊

If you get anything out of this, I want to provide evidence for why Sana’s attachment is unhealthy and why Nayeon isn’t a bad person for being able to provide Momo the happiness that she needs. If you don’t agree, then by all means it won’t hurt my feelings if you skip this : )

Spoilers beyond this point

We begin with a crying young Sana. She’s young enough to still be in the developmental stage of having to learn how to manage and control emotions. Enters in a young Momo who has no care in the world other than wanting to drink non-toxic glue and show off her Barbie sneakers. It’s interesting to point out that Sana’s crying probably saved Momo from a hospital visit or even death if she managed to swallow most of it.

This scene shows how well their dynamic is. Sana unintentionally saves Momo from herself, meanwhile Momo manages to unintentionally take away Sana’s need to cry at everything. It’s only natural that they end up sticking together, figuratively and literally thanks to Momo’s gluey fingers.

They’re a match made in sweet chaotic-matrimony. Sana gets an impressive house ban at the mere age of 6 just because they can’t contemplate the mess they made with ice cream. It is harsh to punish children because of a situation like this because they truly do not know. In their mind, the mess will be cleaned up by the time they leave the room because that’s how it usually works.

This ban leads to Momo staying at Sana’s house regularly to the point of being able to refer to Sana’s parents in a family manner.

However, it is here that a potentially unhealthy attachment develops on Sana’s part. Think of it like, a child being allowed to sleep in a parents bed every night without being forced to sleep on their own. They are unable to cope without the parent and become solely dependent on them. You might be thinking “What are you talking about?? Having a best friend is healthy???”.

Yes, having a best friend is very important for the social development process, but only having one friend by choice hinders them from being able to understand other perspectives and learn valuable lessons.

For now though, they make each other happy and that’s enough.

In playing pretend, Stormy made an interesting word choice by claiming that Sana is naturally the captain or the leader in other play situations. This perfectly sums up their friendship because Momo will follow what she does to the ends of the earth if it means making her happy. Think back to the scene that talked about Momo bringing an inedible cake and presents each year because that is what Sana wants. We never get a mention of what Momo wants.

(Fool’s Gold/Gold Dust parallel #1- Momo dreams of the stars.)

The scene of Sana getting revenge against Jaebum for simply making Momo cry, shows how clever she really is when she puts her mind to it. Her devotion to a happy Momo trumps any guilt for the act or even getting an entire class in trouble. All she takes away is that the stunt made Momo happy enough to kiss Sana’s cheek (Thus starting their “Totally-platonic-not-romantic-at-all” kissing of all kind).

An interesting thing to point out, is that the kissing began and ended with Momo. More on this later.

Another act of proof about Momo’s unconditional love for Sana would be redecorating her room to give it enough of a glow to relieve Sana of her fear of the dark. She thinks far enough to including a torch simply if she leaves the room and its dark. It’s pure and utterly adorable how Momo does whatever she needs to do in order to make Sana feel safe.

In return, Sana takes care of Momo because the poor girl needs somebody to look after her.

We get our first glimpse at a jealous Sana, it’s a very innocent jealousy though that comes from realizing other people know who Momo is too.

As somebody who has now spent quite a while studying children’s behavior and how it can reoccur later on in life, it’s hard not to point out how these early scenes contribute to Sana’s heartbreak.

It’s innocent, how much Sana prioritizes Momo and how she feels insignificant if she doesn’t get it in return. It’s not so innocent when these feelings grow and manifest later on in life.

Nether less, Momo knocks the valentine cards to the floor and prioritizes Sana’s because she knows that’s what’s going to make Sana happy. They’re both still happy and content with each other.

By the time Sana is 10, her jealousy of others showing Momo attention has grown to showing it physically. Any 10-year-old might feel grossed out at the thought of their best friend kissing someone, but marking said kisser as their mortal enemy because of it is a little much. I remember always supporting my friends in their “dates” and never feeling jealous.

Instead of acknowledging the idea that she should calm down because she might be a little ‘overprotective’ she picks the option to fight about the moral obligations she felt about kicking Jaebum. To pacify Sana, Momo kisses her. This is the first sign that their feelings aren’t exactly equal. While Sana’s heart is beating fast and she can’t talk- Momo does it with no hesitation or appearing the least bit phased. Why? Because Momo doesn’t see the big deal in kissing her and moves on quickly. Meanwhile, it means everything to Sana.

“They don’t bring it up, don’t talk about it, but Sana certainly doesn’t forget, even if Momo does.”

It takes Sana until she is 11 to be able to decide that she is ready for a friend that isn’t Momo. My opinion is that Momo could have made friends, but why do that when she is already making Sana happy. A happy Sana is a happy Momo after all.

Jeongyeon is the missing piece of the puzzle in terms of the SaMo dynamic. They’re so focused on each other’s happiness that they miss out on the times that they need to be more on earth. Jeongyeon plays a key role in keeping them out of trouble but allowing them to be themselves at the same time.

It also shows just how obvious Sana’s feelings for Momo are. How? Because she doesn’t treat Jeongyeon the same as Momo. She treats her as much of a friend that she is excited to get to know more about. It’s already early signs of being a much more balanced, healthy relationship.

The skate park scene makes me understand why people are so keen to believing that Momo returned those feelings. She is the one to make sure Jeongyeon wasn’t looking at them before kissing Sana briefly. I interpreted this as Momo doing the one thing she knows for sure how to do, and that’s make Sana happy. If kissing Sana will keep her from crying then she’ll do it as many times as she has to.

It becomes a thing about them, that they kiss. This aspect of them makes my job harder because it can totally be used to justify Momo’s underlining feelings towards Sana. I just don’t think that is the case and I’ll continue this when we get to later scenes.

We do get context on the fact that Momo has no interest in dating or marrying a man. Because of her close intimate relationship with Sana, it’s actually pretty common that she says she’ll marry her. She hasn’t met anyone remotely interesting in comparison to Sana after all. Even the gummy ring flashback showed how Momo interpreted marriage as a binding of two people- completely skipping over the love aspect because love is a concept that can’t be easily understood at the age of 7.

It’s at 12 that she is taught that what makes marriage special is that it’s about being with the person she loves. This is all thanks to an awkward dinner conversation in which her homophobic mom is clearly hyperfocused on the fact that her daughter’s friendship with Sana is not “normal” and can become “immoral”. Bullshit that I don’t agree with, with every fiber of my being but that is how her character is.

Momo’s mom clearly resents Sana because of the notion that if Momo does end up gay (which she is) then it will be Sana’s “fault”. A reputation that darkens the mother’s perspective of her to a large degree.

It’s only natural that Momo defends her, thus stepping out of line for the first time. She keeps the event and her punishment a secret from Sana because she knows that it will upset her. This is the first time we see that Momo prioritizes Sana’s happiness over own. She chooses to kiss the girl, openly showing that it is a tool to distract her from asking questions about Momo’s own well-being.

Even when she is rejecting boys (something Sana detests for obvious reasons) she is still focused on making sure Sana is happy by holding her hand. I’d like to point out that Sana has never had anyone pursue her of any kind. She really is that obvious.

When we spend a lot of time online or in our own world, we forget how cruel the world can be. Jeongyeon recognizes that and provides the protection that keeps them safe. She is not only the lame but entertaining friend but also the one who will keep them safe.

Like I’ve talked about previously, Momo is a self-sacrificing person in regard to Sana. She doesn’t talk about her feelings because she views herself as a beacon of happiness that shouldn’t go out. It’s when Sana is 13 that she starts to express her dissatisfaction with hearing Momo say she is “fine” when she clearly isn’t.

(FG/GD parallel #2 Momo’s parents forgetting about her to some extent)

This leads to Momo becoming very ill at the expense of her parent’s neglect. It’s also a revelation for Sana that if Momo can keep this a secret then what else has she kept?

Momo knows how much Sana cares about her, so when Sana comes in to scold her, she stops her. She puts blame onto herself and shines a golden light onto Sana by claiming that she was right. She is feeling guilty for keeping her feelings to herself. In the grand scheme of things, it pushes their friendship forward. It makes Sana realize that she can’t ignore what Momo feels even if the girl says she’s fine.

Sana wears her emotions on her sleeve, that has been obvious since the very first scene of this fic. It becomes common sense to Momo that a kiss can be the thing that makes things right. It’s gone from a fun thing to a more serious endeavor. This was their first genuine kiss that wasn’t a peck. Momo wants Sana to know that she won’t do it again, and this is how she shows that promise.

It’s an intimate scene that shows how much they care for each other. They are each other’s soulmates. That’s what makes it soul-crushing to watch Sana fall for Momo. Up until this point, any reader can think that Momo must be falling for her too. That is how normal fic clichés work. If you should know anything about Stormy, it’s that she tries to avoid following the norm.

It is broken by the angry display of Momo’s homophobic mother. She forces Sana out of bed in what can be considered to be child abuse behavior. The mother must be still seething from the lecture she got from Mrs. Yoo. Blaming her bad parenting on Sana because anything that goes wrong with her daughter must be her fault somehow.

By the end, we get the fact that Sana has decided that no one can care about Momo the way she does. The innocent affection has now begun to turn less innocent through this rough encounter.

In Asian culture, being rude to a parent is something unthinkable. It shows how high she thinks of Momo when she apologizes and doesn’t feel the least bit guilty. In fact, she feels more agitated that she has to in the first place. It’s an upgrade from pouring paint in Jaebum’s shoes, and not a very good one.

(For anyone caring- Tweedledee is Sana and Tweedledum is Momo)

Something to point out, Momo apologizes for ruining the Dirty Dancing signature dance move. She continues the trend of being the one to blame herself for anything that goes wrong with Sana. Minus Sana taking the blame for the ice cream at Momo’s parents house. It’s a brush away moment, but significant nether less.

We’ve now entered the years where denial begins to play a role in their relationship. Before that stage though, there must be a period of obliviousness. Someone might say that at 14, a person should be well aware of their feelings by then. Well, when you’ve grown up with someone and live in a homophobic world, you can convince yourself otherwise.

It also doesn’t help when your best friend kisses your face the way Momo does to Sana. Stormy does an excellent job at showing how confusing Momo’s antics can be. Have I mentioned that it’s hard to justify my previous statements because of this? Well it is.

Leave it to Jeongyeon to disrupt the moment. This leaves Sana moving away in a panic, clearly affected by the kiss like the day Momo first kissed her. Momo continues to act unaffected and moves on like it was just a casual thing. Because to Momo it is a casual thing.

The dreaded boarding school scene happens and it’s hard not to root for Sana to follow her impulse and sign up too following Jeongyeon. It’s clear that Sana’s parents are rooting for her and Momo when they let her follow Momo without any further arguments. They always were the cool ones though. Whether their cool parenting style had any negative effects on Sana’s development is up to your interpretation though.

Boarding school gives them the freedom that they never had. It also gives them the freedom to meet new people. We begin to meet the other 6 members through introductions and shenanigans that bring them all together. Although they have more friends than ever, Sana still finds her mind stuck on Momo alone.

Momo, on the other hand, finds herself instantly smitten with Nayeon. Whether Sana wants to admit it or not, she is ultimately threatened by Nayeon’s presence and chooses to dislike her like she was with Jaebum.

Their innocent kisses have now turned into full on make out sessions. Sana is still oblivious to her own feelings but is able to unknowingly satisfy them with kissing Momo. We do not get any context on what Momo is feeling (something done completely on purpose). My idea is that is has something to do with her want to feel something, whether it is to be wanted or to simply be with Sana. Theres no indication behind her motives as to why she takes kissing further.

All we get is that there is passion between them that never gets addressed. They’re exploring their sexuality with each other because it seems so perfectly ideal. Why kiss or have sex with someone who isn’t your favorite person in the world? We know it can’t be all innocent based on the fact that Momo apparently ripped Sana’s shirt open, breaking 5 buttons. (Im so proud of her)

It’s not innocent when there is marking and moaning involved either. We know though, that they’re extremely into it. The question is, are they into it for the same reasons. Well the answer isn’t simple. With Momo moaning her name and holding her so shes basically riding her thigh- it’s extremely easy to get caught up in the momentum of going SHE LIKES HER. GOD WHY WON’T SHE REALIZE IT. It’s so frustrating to argue against because it feels so right in the moment.

Leave it to Jeongyeon to walk into it again, but also leave it to her to believe that it really is platonic making out and refusing to believe that there really isn’t something there. (This is from Ultraviolet)

For the third time, we get a shell-shocked, hormonal Sana who wants to make it look like nothing happened. Momo continues to act like nothing is out of the ordinary. She doesn’t understand why they should act like anything is weird about it because it’s the thing that they simply just do. In concerns to everyone else, it is not just something that people just do. That’s why it’s hard to grasp and understand why Momo may not feel anything for Sana. She just simply likes making Sana happy and liking the way Sana makes her feel.

We know it’s not as serious as Sana makes it out to be when Momo is able to openly joke about it like it’s nothing despite the fact that they haven’t told anyone about their thing ever.

What Jeongyeon doesn’t believe is that it’s completely platonic and can tell that it means more to Sana. After all, Sana had a pretty noticeable reaction. That’s my reasoning as to why Jeongyeon holds her back so tightly when Sana gives her an apologetic hug. It’s a way of saying “Tell me when you’re ready”. Although Sana doesn’t understand this yet.

This scene in the botany club plays a role in providing substance for Nayeon and Momo’s scene later on.

We finally get to a first temporary love interest for Sana, Eunha. Who catches Momo and Sana playing a ‘platonic’ game of slapping each others buts and trying to get a reaction out of each other. The first glance that the two share is intriguing. It’s something Momo supports of completely as she encourages it by leaving them alone. It’s the first time we watch Momo practically give Sana to someone else and no hesitation.

It’s further supported by the fact that Momo is glowing with pride at knowing that Sana and Eunha are a thing now. There are no bad feelings compared to how Sana would feel if the situation was reversed. It’s here that I really got the feeling that Momo really doesn’t see Sana in that way. It’s not her being oblivious to her own feelings. Of course, you don’t have to agree with me.

Even Jeongyeon questions it because she thinks that Momo has to have feelings for Sana too if they platonically kiss as much as they do. Momo knocks it down by showing her complete enthusiasm towards the aspect of Sana dating with no hint of sarcasm or ill-will.

We get more context on Jeongyeon’s feelings for Bona, who is her roommate. We get a piece of information that Momo is still waiting on her own special girl. Cue Nayeon knocking on the door of course. The only thing I regret about this fic is that we didn’t get more of Nayeon before her and Momo became a thing. Instead, we get to watch Momo develop a crush on a girl that we had only heard bad things from (aka ultraviolet where her and Jeongyeon are mortal enemies) up until this point.

Of course, even when Sana is supposed to be ecstatic about being with Eunha, it feels empty like something is missing. Even when Eunha makes a comment about how she thought they were sisters makes Sana and Jeongyeon crack up. They are anything but sisters.

Things begin to break for the two when Eunha asks her to go all the way with her, but Sana realizes that she can’t. She isn’t Momo. That spells the end for their relationship. Eunha is fed up with being number two when it comes to who Sana pays attention to. She makes the interesting comment that Sana isn’t even sorry about not paying attention to her because Momo is involved.

Everything comes alive again when she kisses Momo though. Everything is good until it isn’t.

Sana wants more whether she realizes it or not. Even if that little push comes from a wet dream about her best friend that she totally doesn’t have a lot of feelings for.

Regardless, they continue on in their Summer adventures. Sana is troubled by her dreams and Momo has to figure out how to get her out of her own head without being too invasive. So she settles for ice cream.

The ice cream shop is owned by a lgbt+ ally who convinces herself that the two must be dating because of how they treat one another. Although Momo wants to argue back that they aren’t a couple, because they’re just best friends, Sana whole-heartedly agrees that they’re very happy together. Because what would their world look like if they really were a couple? We get to see though, that Momo doesn’t feel that same happy feeling that Sana gets to feel. Even if they got free ice cream out of it.

Sana doesn’t know how Momo feels. She never asked. It plays into the ‘there is hope’ aspect that is really tragic to read about. They haven’t talked about it, about any of it. So, when Sana has to keep her hormones in check, she has no idea if Momo is struggling too. In fact, I wonder if she ever even considered the possibility of Momo not feeling the same way.

Sana is so wrapped up in her own feelings, that she neglects Momos. It’s one of the first signs of an unhealthy attachment.

Their entire “friendship” is a gray zone that I doubt many of us could actually understand. If you think I can say something clever as to why Momo tries to turn Sana on during an animated movie- you’re wrong. I got nothing. Im just as puzzled as you are. These are the moments where it really does feel real for them both. That’s what makes the ending seem so promising.

They want their first to be with each other and everything continues to feel very right.

The situation that I talked about before with Sana trying to get her feelings in check without knowing Momo’s, has changed. It’s a change that is going to break Sana later on when she realizes that sex did mean different things for each other.

She believes that there is something between them, so when Nayeon comes in- it devastates Sana to find out that she isn’t the one.

Until then, Momo is still all of Sana’s and vice versa.

Theres a harsh realization that Sana is in love with Momo. It’s a feeling that many of us has been there. It’s a reason why so many of us rooted for Sana to get her girl by the end of it and why the ending was so heartbreaking. Because sometimes the girl doesn’t get the girl. It’s not because they weren’t good enough for each other, it’s because it wasn’t meant to be. But it’s harder to resist rooting for the one who was in your shoes before.

She does what many of us have done, she shoved her feelings to the back of her mind and decided that it would be an issue for another day. Because Momo is next to her and that’s all she needs (or so she convinces herself).

We get reminded how easily Sana can get jealous, even if it’s from Momo playfully flirty with Tzuyu. As much as Sana would deny it, she doesn’t like seeing anyone with Momo who isn’t Jeongyeon at this point.

Sana gets that soft reminder to her subconscious though that Momo has to be hers because why else would Momo beg her to fuck her on a trampoline. It doesn’t sound remotely comfortable. It’s such a soft and loving scene that it HAS to mean that they’re destined to be together. It could be just so easy for them to just talk and be together. It just isn’t that way.

We get another brutal reminder of how harsh the world is when Eunha and her goons are in the same board game club as Sana and Momo. It’s only natural that Eunha and her gang try to fuck with Sana anyway they can because they believe that Sana had led her on. Doesn’t make it right of course.

It especially doesn’t make it right when said fucking around entitles to trying to out SaMo and make everyone in the room acknowledge the fact that there HAS to be something going on between them. Because everyone, including themselves, conveniently ignores it.

Sana continues her habit of covering for the two, conveying a master response by playing pretend that they are in the game via request of Eunha. Momo happily agrees because how can she question Sana. This leads to everyone else playing in, ruining Eunha’s chance at revenge. It was a cheap trick that didn’t work.

Sana would be ecstatic if it weren’t for the fact that Momo later becomes occupied with miss Im Nayeon. A girl who isn’t Sana. When Sana gets her attention, Momo is dazed and taken back. A state that she has never been in with Sana before even when they were caught making out.

Sana feels that ping of jealousy.

(FG/GD reference #3 She’s forgetting something important)

#namo #fool's gold

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coshayphinelove · 7 years

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just some thinky thoughts after i wrote a tag essay that got way bigger than the tags. feel free to read if you want, but forewarning... i have more questions after writing than before so..

so before i start anything i’d like to clarify that i love ob. most of my issues with it are bc i got my hopes too high and held the creators to the standards i hold myself, which is not fair in art. also, i’m only talking about the ob team and the characters, not the fans. don’t get all in a twist, this is just me... thinkin.

so ep 5 was great. 2013 me would have loved it. but 2017 me is like.. hard into communication and explicitly labelled representation. and cophine is neither of those things. like... i can understand that there’s not enough time to linger on stuff the way i would want to. i get it. but like... there was enough time to linger on alison. for five seasons. the first time she ever did anything main plot-moving was this season, she was always almost completely seperate. she got flashbacks out the wazoo to explain her entire life story. we met her mom. her monitor is redeemed.

i just am very unhappy with the doling of screen time. like... it’s not even about shipping anymore. it’s about plot holes and i am genuinely confused about the story at this point. like delphine and donnie are easily comparable characters. donnie monitored alison for close to a decade. lied to her for a decade. once he found out about the clones started doing things without alison’s knowledge or consent. he is forgiven. almost immediately. for everything.

delphine lasted as a monitor about... a month? she was so bad at lying that cosima caught her. she immediately came clean. then in the flashback begged cosima to believe that she would always protect her. and yet? the conflict surrounding delphine for the entire show is ~is she good or bad???~. and at every turn she is keeping that promise while making and keeping other promises. and everybody, including her love interest keeps throwing her mistakes in her face.

donnie gets side plots and new dynamics to explore. delphine has to have all of her characterization as a subset of cosima’s screen time. donnie gets a seat at the bubbles table, delphine does not. she has to leave and get shot (a whole different rant of equal length).

on another note, alison and cosima are also easily comparable characters: side characters used to provide info for sarah to react to. cosima’s safety is always at risk, she’s been boiled down to her love interest for several plots, and she doesn’t ever get to acknowledge her Very Obvious PTSD and abandonment issues. alison has low stakes conflict (up until this season, but that’s already over), she is never boiled down to donnie’s wife, and we got to watch her parse through her issues in s2 in great detail.

like even the flashbacks. like alison got half her episode told in flashbacks and it was gorgeous. i by no means wanted that when there’s so much going on but i thought we would get at least a little more.

we met alison’s parent. we hear about her in a natural and very not forced way. cosima gets one very long line about her family very late in the game in a clunky and almost pointless way. (like... why was it in there? what purpose did it serve?)

i think the problem is subtext. everybody is always talking about the subtext. but the problem is there are several issues that the writer’s address almost explicitly. like alison’s drinking problem. we learned all about that and we cheered for her when she went to rehab and we we sad when she relapsed. with cosima it’s.... two instances of smash cuts of bad memories and her reacting to them. ......*gestures with flailing arms* ISN’T THAT ALSO IMPORTANT???

like. i’m going to keep talking about delphine but.. that’s just where my head is rn..

but from s1 to s2 her arc was learning what her role would be in clone club and then how to do that. and she made some big huge strides there. and then she comes back for s3 and it’s gone. she’s just.. not doing that anymore? like they took the time to film her telling cosima immediately after she messed up that she had, in fact, messed up. and then, what, a few days later she Can’t Tell Cosima Anything Anymore? and don’t get on me about screen time here. it could’ve been like.. 2 more lines. “it’s not safe, they’ll hurt you.” “b-but delphine??” “i’m sorry.” LIKE? they just wanted the drama of cosima not knowing. which i can see wanting, but it didn’t end up working. because then you had scenes showing delphine doing things for clone club. so then... it was just.... confusing? and imo drawn out for too long.

but even to this day I, a delphine stan, am still kind of iffy. she literally made an ultimatum (promise me, everyone. you will never make an ultimatum in your romantic/sexual/platonic relationships. that’s a manipulation tactic that a lot of abusers use. slippery slope please don’t do it.)(i’m also not saying that delphine is an abuser or that you’re an abuser but just.. it’s a thing to be careful of.)

“accept our toxic relationship as is or leave.”

IN WHAT WORLD IS THAT OKAY??? like i get the sentiment behind it. like she was saying, ‘hey cosima i know i’ve been bad but like you don’t have to stay if you don’t want. i’ll stop kissing you and everything.’ but then.... have her say that? everything delphine ever says to cosima is wrapped in 3 levels of subtext. or alternatively, cut the kissies in half and let them have a few lines about a new promise or something. idk if that’s just her being extra or if that’s just.... the writers.

bc the creators... bless them.. they’re trying. but when it comes down to it they were predominantly straight men. and they did add tatiana as an executive producer which is like.. the head idea guy who tell the writers what to write. which was awesome! but like.. she’s straight (as far as we know). so like.. i really don’t want to pull the sexuality card here. but i think i am.

bc it’s one thing if you don’t give romantic, mental health, or communication plot lines very much time. it’s another if you give a straight couple plenty and a wlw couple scraps. it’s one thing if the straight couple gets to delve into things multiple times and the wlw couple gets ten seconds before the plot needs to keep going.

i get that the cosima-centric ep was very plot heavy, stuff was happening, i get it. but like... if you cared about giving good rep as much as you claim you do wouldn’t you... re-structure so that they have more than 10 seconds? wouldn’t you sacrifice some of that oh so dearly beloved body horror to let them just... talk for a hot sec? or let them be in the same room?

i know it’s hard work. the longest original work i’ve ever finished is a 30 page script. and even then it’s a lot of ‘is this dialogue working?’ ‘would that character say that?’ ‘that’s a plot hole’ ‘wait where is he going again?’ i get that there’s a lot to keep track of so like... knowing who cosima’s parents are wasn’t on a post-it note on the beat board. but i just... one of the questions i always ask myself is ‘is this healthy?’ so like... i always make sure that if the dynamic isn’t then i either address it somewhere else or change it so it is.

i don’t think they were asking themselves that.

bc straight guys are used to power balances in their relationships. they’re used to ultimatums. whether it’s in their life or in fiction, that’s what they see. and they’re socialized to see that as normal. so when they’re made aware that the media they’re making is feminist/progressive, these guys seemed like they did research and tried to make it more so. but... they missed the mark. bc straight men will never know what it’s like to be a wlw or a woman. that’s just how it works.

and then.. like... they were so hyperaware of the fans and what they wanted. and i think the thing they understood the best was that they wanted cophine kisses. bc a lot of ppl wanted that and like...ppl who are cophine critical sometimes also want cophine kisses. so that’s the loudest thing they heard/saw. and instead of doing the emotional work and the plot work they thought every scene had to have kisses.

and they also knew that they could always fill in the gaps at panels. WHICH. not canon if you say it at a panel y’all. they knew the fans would spread their patches all over the place. so instead of doing the work and explicitly taking a stand they just.. let people ask them questions so they knew what people were wondering about and then...... answered.

i don’t think they did any of this maliciously but like.. the whole drama surrounding sarah’s sexuality, the great debate of whether it was problematic or not. like... knowing now that they didn’t intend it to come off as her lashing out and having a mental breakdown helps, but.... that’s still what it looked like at first glance. and if i’m just a DVR viewer who doesn’t meticulously stalk everything ob online, i wouldn’t know that. and they do that with delphine’s intentions a lot. they do it with sexuality a lot. they do it with gender a lot. and it’s like.... it’s representation but... label-less to the masses. like my dad was in the room when sarah was kissing a girl and he made some snide comment about it. and it’s like... they were just too aware of fans that they gave them what they wanted (sarah kissing a girl/cophine kisses) without thinking about if was the healthy thing for the moment. they didn’t think about the ramifications.

and it’s just so frustrating. bc i love this show, i do. there’s so much to talk about and so many themes and allegories and cool stuff. but they just... do a lot of stuff that..... really grinds my gears. like this isn’t even a comprehensive list.

#blog stuff #thinky thoughts #i think i like that tag...

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glassofgaytea · 7 years

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FYI: A Case for Johnlock: Why SHERLOCK Should Embrace Its Ship of Dreams | ScreenSpy

Thank you!

Article link…

A Case for Johnlock: Why SHERLOCK Should Embrace Its Ship of Dreams - By Chris. B

There are many factors to consider here. Sadly, in 2017, there is still a certain amount of controversy about showing a gay couple in an everyday relationship, one that is not present for purposes of comic relief or sideline plot support. Would the network and affiliates allow it? How conservative are its politics and those of its advertisers? Given the overwhelming popularity of the show on an international scale, I would wager their wallets would easily trump any qualms that might exist. It is amazing how capitalism can solve all manner of perceived ills.

Regardless, do Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat even want this to be the dynamic of their characters? According to them, the answer is no. In an interview with Valerie Parker in July of last year, Gatiss claimed, “…we’ve explicitly said this is not going to happen – there is no game plan – no matter how much we lie about other things, that this show is going to culminate in Martin and Benedict going off into the sunset together. They are not going to do it.”

That sounds pretty final. Maybe.

Since these two have made the most of The X-Files philosophy that a lie is most conveniently hidden between two truths, there is always room for doubt. (Really, how likely is it that a seasoned professional like Gatiss suddenly mistook the names of his characters for those of the men who portray them?)

In any case, I think an openly romantic relationship between John and Sherlock would be well worth it. Consider the following points and determine for yourself if this match is a just a forgettable fantasy, or if it could be an ultimate destiny.

5. The characters are already tightly bonded

No one would argue with the idea that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original characters of Holmes and Watson are best friends; through each of the numerous variations presented over the intervening century plus, this is one of the few facets has remained consistent. They are a team. Individually, though, each member of the team is lacking. At one point, Sherlock confesses in “The Great Game” that he’s been “reliably informed” that he has no heart, going so far as to declare several different times that he is a high-functioning sociopath. John, on the other hand, is “abnormally attracted to dangerous situations and people”; he misses the war that left him behind. Both have a hole that they need to fill, and that is exactly what the other satisfies.

In Sherlock, this is reinforced repeatedly. John and Sherlock are clearly presented as two halves of the same whole, each needing the other to be a complete version of himself—John, the heart and inspiration; Sherlock, the excitement and intellectual challenge. When Sherlock is baffled why a woman would be upset about her child’s death after fourteen years or when he too gleefully investigates a child kidnapping, John is there to mediate his reactions. Then, when Sherlock returns in “The Empty Hearse,” he insists correctly of John, “You have missed this…the thrill of the chase, the blood pumping through your veins, the two of us against the rest of the world.” Later, in “The Abominable Bride,” John quips to Moriarty, “There are always two of us.” There must be. Inevitably, all roads they take lead to Baker Street, back to their roots together.

4. There is already plenty of precedent for it

Sherlock has never shied away from the suggestion that Sherlock and John are more than friends. From the outset, John is mistaken for Sherlock’s date, and the man who will “outlive God trying to have the last word” makes no correction, nor does he when a reporter in “The Reichenbach Fall” asks for a quote about whether he and Dr. Watson are “strictly platonic.” Further, the two gay owners of The Cross Keys Inn from “The Hounds of Baskerville” assess John and Sherlock as a pair; and Mrs. Hudson, who lives just a floor below them and knows them very well, refers to one of their arguments as “a little domestic” and is shocked when John is ready to move on (to marry a woman?) a full two years after Sherlock’s supposed death. Then, Irene Adler, who sizes people up as adeptly as Sherlock, calls out John’s jealousy about the 57 unanswered texts that she’s sent (yes, John kept track) and flatly counters John’s insistence that he and Sherlock are a couple: “Yes, you are.” Finally, in “The Abominable Bride,” when John saves his other half from the precipice and Sherlock gushes about John’s intelligence, Moriarty himself rolls his eyes and scoffs, “Oh, why don’t you two just elope, for God’s sake!”

There are innumerable instances of extreme devotion shown to us as well. In “His Last Vow” Sherlock literally restarts his own heart because John is in danger, then commits murder to protect John from the thumb of Magnussen’s extortion. In “The Great Game” John throws himself on Moriarty to allow Sherlock to escape the bomb he wears, and in “A Scandal in Belgravia,” he dumps his girlfriend and their holiday plans to stay home and look after Sherlock, a choice he makes easily after she demands, “Don’t make me compete with Sherlock Holmes!” (Oh, he won’t, dear; there’s no contest.) Further, images abound of the intense and meaningful stares shared by these two, traded like stocks on internet forums and social media, all screaming of something bubbling beneath the surface. Thus, to transition to an official couple would not be much of a stretch.

3. It fits the transformational model of the show

Gatiss and Moffat have shown a penchant for pushing the envelope with their version of Doyle’s characters. Would Doyle have raised his eyebrows over John’s sibling being a divorced lesbian who’s taken to drink? I doubt the original author could have imagined Mrs. Hudson as a former exotic dancer who had been married to the head of a drug cartel. And certainly no one anticipated that the lovable Mary Morstan would turn out to be a former intelligence agent and ruthless trained assassin.

The creators have not been afraid to add their own special spice to these characters. In a 2014 interview with Phil Ittner, Gatiss and Moffat asserted, “Most of [the series] is actually completely new, so there’s not a drying-up of the source…we’re slightly broadening out the world a bit and being slightly more heretical than we probably would have been at the beginning. But then that’s good, it feels like this is our version…” To go all-in and apex this concept with the core pair would allow them to make a truly indelible mark on the enormous canon of Sherlock Holmes iterations.

After all, side characters are only so revealing; in this universe, John and Sherlock are the only ones who matter. The series has been proposed as the story of the development of a genius, hence its very specific title, so building Sherlock Holmes to the point where he can freely give and receive love, achieving true intimacy, would be the greatest development possible. Gatiss and Moffat could provide that humanity for him, to create their own warm center to the notoriously melancholy sphere of the private life of the world’s only consulting detective.

2. Proper representation matters

All segments of society can and should have a right to see themselves recognized unabashedly by the media they consume, whether it is fiction or non-fiction. In the twenty-first century, this should not still be the struggle that it is, yet any in the LBGTQ community know how resistant this practice is to change in the machine of social institutions. Too often, gay characters are used as statue pieces or comic relief, sidelines or after thoughts; they are not permitted to be real and valuable human beings, but are stock characters and stereotypes, extras who inevitably get the axe if the Grim Reaper comes calling.

Steven Moffat has been most emphatic on the issue that the showing of gay or bisexual characters in popular culture should not be approached with triviality, that it is a serious issue that should be offered (particularly to young people) in a way that denotes true acceptance. In his Parker interview, he asserted, “You don’t want to essentially tell children that [being gay is] something to campaign about. You want to say this is absolutely fine and normal. There is no question to answer. You want to walk right past it, in a way. You don’t want to…say, as sometimes other kinds of literature or movies might, we forgive you for being gay. You’re just saying you’re gay and it doesn’t matter. There’s no issue.”

Essentially, one’s sexuality is just an average, marginally interesting, non-personality-defining, run-of-the-mill reality. Thus, no matter what your sexual bent, it is not odd; it is not special or different, wonderful or terrible. It just is, as mundane to one’s whole character as eye color or shoe size. Indeed, until this matter does not flutter pulses with its rakish novelty, true acceptance has not yet occurred. Having Sherlock and John integrate their sexuality seamlessly into the roster of the other attributes that the audience has witnessed, to roll it into the entire picture of who they are, we would be granted a relaxed and genuine portrayal of a devoted couple that happens to be gay, one from which we could all ultimately benefit.

1. It would count Sherlock is a global phenomenon.

According to the Radio Times, it is shown in 224 countries and territories around the world, making it the most watched of any of the BBC’s programs, surpassing even Dr. Who, which has decades of history. It has spawned blogs and merchandise and a number of Sherlocked fan events, which are major affairs to rival the most popular comic cons, where every artifact, set detail, and image from the show is cherished and applauded.

The series’ leads, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, are beloved international stars. Thanks in no small part to this show, they are in constant demand and headline massive studio projects, like The Hobbit series of films and Marvel’s Dr. Strange. Each has a immense following of fans, and rightly so—they are award-winning craftsmen, extremely versatile talents who deserve every bit of success they’ve acquired.

This degree of influence and appeal leverages a lot of power.

What this show brings to the table, the world eats; what it points to as its guides, people would notice, and what’s more, follow. What, then, could be accomplished in social terms if Sherlock were to subtly demystify gay relationships? What might result if a stellar product and the highly popular individuals involved indicate that a homosexual relationship is every bit as complicated and trying and boring and wonderful as every other kind?

Respect. And with luck, progress.

Thanks, Chris. B

#tjlc #love it when the media gets it #Anonymous #johnlock

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dmellieon · 7 years

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Why SHERLOCK Should Embrace Its Ship of Dreams

By The Screen Spy Team on January 10, 2017 By Chris B.

Modern television has more “ships” than the Pacific Ocean. Virtually every character on the airwaves has been matched with another, fancied relationships dreamed up by eager fans, either to generate laughs or to satisfy personal passions. Every fandom has its favorite pairs, but if you’re a follower of the BBC’s Sherlock, the most discussed coupling by far is that John and Sherlock, or Johnlock. The desire to see these two together in more than a simple platonic friendship is one that is played out in blogs and fan fiction regularly, but is this something fans will ever see developed on screen? There are many factors to consider here. Sadly, in 2017, there is still a certain amount of controversy about showing a gay couple in an everyday relationship, one that is not present for purposes of comic relief or sideline plot support. Would the network and affiliates allow it? How conservative are its politics and those of its advertisers? Given the overwhelming popularity of the show on an international scale, I would wager their wallets would easily trump any qualms that might exist. It is amazing how capitalism can solve all manner of perceived ills. Regardless, do Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat even want this to be the dynamic of their characters? According to them, the answer is no. In an interview with Valerie Parker in July of last year, Gatiss claimed, “…we’ve explicitly said this is not going to happen – there is no game plan – no matter how much we lie about other things, that this show is going to culminate in Martin and Benedict going off into the sunset together. They are not going to do it.” That sounds pretty final. Maybe. Since these two have made the most of The X-Files philosophy that a lie is most conveniently hidden between two truths, there is always room for doubt. (Really, how likely is it that a seasoned professional like Gatiss suddenly mistook the names of his characters for those of the men who portray them?) In any case, I think an openly romantic relationship between John and Sherlock would be well worth it. Consider the following points and determine for yourself if this match is a just a forgettable fantasy, or if it could be an ultimate destiny.

5. The characters are already tightly bonded No one would argue with the idea that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original characters of Holmes and Watson are best friends; through each of the numerous variations presented over the intervening century plus, this is one of the few facets has remained consistent. They are a team. Individually, though, each member of the team is lacking. At one point, Sherlock confesses in “The Great Game” that he’s been “reliably informed” that he has no heart, going so far as to declare several different times that he is a high-functioning sociopath. John, on the other hand, is “abnormally attracted to dangerous situations and people”; he misses the war that left him behind. Both have a hole that they need to fill, and that is exactly what the other satisfies. In Sherlock, this is reinforced repeatedly. John and Sherlock are clearly presented as two halves of the same whole, each needing the other to be a complete version of himself—John, the heart and inspiration; Sherlock, the excitement and intellectual challenge. When Sherlock is baffled why a woman would be upset about her child’s death after fourteen years or when he too gleefully investigates a child kidnapping, John is there to mediate his reactions. Then, when Sherlock returns in “The Empty Hearse,” he insists correctly of John, “You have missed this…the thrill of the chase, the blood pumping through your veins, the two of us against the rest of the world.” Later, in “The Abominable Bride,” John quips to Moriarty, “There are always two of us.” There must be. Inevitably, all roads they take lead to Baker Street, back to their roots together.

4. There is already plenty of precedent for it Sherlock has never shied away from the suggestion that Sherlock and John are more than friends. From the outset, John is mistaken for Sherlock’s date, and the man who will “outlive God trying to have the last word” makes no correction, nor does he when a reporter in “The Reichenbach Fall” asks for a quote about whether he and Dr. Watson are “strictly platonic.” Further, the two gay owners of The Cross Keys Inn from “The Hounds of Baskerville” assess John and Sherlock as a pair; and Mrs. Hudson, who lives just a floor below them and knows them very well, refers to one of their arguments as “a little domestic” and is shocked when John is ready to move on (to marry a woman?) a full two years after Sherlock’s supposed death. Then, Irene Adler, who sizes people up as adeptly as Sherlock, calls out John’s jealousy about the 57 unanswered texts that she’s sent (yes, John kept track) and flatly counters John’s insistence that he and Sherlock are a couple: “Yes, you are.” Finally, in “The Abominable Bride,” when John saves his other half from the precipice and Sherlock gushes about John’s intelligence, Moriarty himself rolls his eyes and scoffs, “Oh, why don’t you two just elope, for God’s sake!” There are innumerable instances of extreme devotion shown to us as well. In “His Last Vow” Sherlock literally restarts his own heart because John is in danger, then commits murder to protect John from the thumb of Magnussen’s extortion. In “The Great Game” John throws himself on Moriarty to allow Sherlock to escape the bomb he wears, and in “A Scandal in Belgravia,” he dumps his girlfriend and their holiday plans to stay home and look after Sherlock, a choice he makes easily after she demands, “Don’t make me compete with Sherlock Holmes!” (Oh, he won’t, dear; there’s no contest.) Further, images abound of the intense and meaningful stares shared by these two, traded like stocks on internet forums and social media, all screaming of something bubbling beneath the surface. Thus, to transition to an official couple would not be much of a stretch.

3. It fits the transformational model of the show Gatiss and Moffat have shown a penchant for pushing the envelope with their version of Doyle’s characters. Would Doyle have raised his eyebrows over John’s sibling being a divorced lesbian who’s taken to drink? I doubt the original author could have imagined Mrs. Hudson as a former exotic dancer who had been married to the head of a drug cartel. And certainly no one anticipated that the lovable Mary Morstan would turn out to be a former intelligence agent and ruthless trained assassin. The creators have not been afraid to add their own special spice to these characters. In a 2014 interview with Phil Ittner, Gatiss and Moffat asserted, “Most of [the series] is actually completely new, so there’s not a drying-up of the source…we’re slightly broadening out the world a bit and being slightly more heretical than we probably would have been at the beginning. But then that’s good, it feels like this is our version…” To go all-in and apex this concept with the core pair would allow them to make a truly indelible mark on the enormous canon of Sherlock Holmes iterations. After all, side characters are only so revealing; in this universe, John and Sherlock are the only ones who matter. The series has been proposed as the story of the development of a genius, hence its very specific title, so building Sherlock Holmes to the point where he can freely give and receive love, achieving true intimacy, would be the greatest development possible. Gatiss and Moffat could provide that humanity for him, to create their own warm center to the notoriously melancholy sphere of the private life of the world’s only consulting detective.

2. Proper representation matters All segments of society can and should have a right to see themselves recognized unabashedly by the media they consume, whether it is fiction or non-fiction. In the twenty-first century, this should not still be the struggle that it is, yet any in the LBGTQ community know how resistant this practice is to change in the machine of social institutions. Too often, gay characters are used as statue pieces or comic relief, sidelines or after thoughts; they are not permitted to be real and valuable human beings, but are stock characters and stereotypes, extras who inevitably get the axe if the Grim Reaper comes calling. Steven Moffat has been most emphatic on the issue that the showing of gay or bisexual characters in popular culture should not be approached with triviality, that it is a serious issue that should be offered (particularly to young people) in a way that denotes true acceptance. In his Parker interview, he asserted, “You don’t want to essentially tell children that [being gay is] something to campaign about. You want to say this is absolutely fine and normal. There is no question to answer. You want to walk right past it, in a way. You don’t want to…say, as sometimes other kinds of literature or movies might, we forgive you for being gay. You’re just saying you’re gay and it doesn’t matter. There’s no issue.” Essentially, one’s sexuality is just an average, marginally interesting, non-personality-defining, run-of-the-mill reality. Thus, no matter what your sexual bent, it is not odd; it is not special or different, wonderful or terrible. It just is, as mundane to one’s whole character as eye color or shoe size. Indeed, until this matter does not flutter pulses with its rakish novelty, true acceptance has not yet occurred. Having Sherlock and John integrate their sexuality seamlessly into the roster of the other attributes that the audience has witnessed, to roll it into the entire picture of who they are, we would be granted a relaxed and genuine portrayal of a devoted couple that happens to be gay, one from which we could all ultimately benefit.

1. It would count Sherlock is a global phenomenon. According to the Radio Times, it is shown in 224 countries and territories around the world, making it the most watched of any of the BBC’s programs, surpassing even Dr. Who, which has decades of history. It has spawned blogs and merchandise and a number of Sherlocked fan events, which are major affairs to rival the most popular comic cons, where every artifact, set detail, and image from the show is cherished and applauded. The series’ leads, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, are beloved international stars. Thanks in no small part to this show, they are in constant demand and headline massive studio projects, like The Hobbit series of films and Marvel’s Dr. Strange. Each has a immense following of fans, and rightly so—they are award-winning craftsmen, extremely versatile talents who deserve every bit of success they’ve acquired. This degree of influence and appeal leverages a lot of power. What this show brings to the table, the world eats; what it points to as its guides, people would notice, and what’s more, follow. What, then, could be accomplished in social terms if Sherlock were to subtly demystify gay relationships? What might result if a stellar product and the highly popular individuals involved indicate that a homosexual relationship is every bit as complicated and trying and boring and wonderful as every other kind?

Respect. And with luck, progress.

(via A Case for Johnlock: Why SHERLOCK Should Embrace Its Ship of Dreams)

#Dee posts #screen spy #johnlock article #BBC Sherlock

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