#so read mores are just broken then? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

Visit Blog

Explore Tumblr blogs with no restrictions, modern design and the best experience.

Fun Fact

Tumblr was the first site to host the blog for President Barack Obama in 2011.

#so read mores are just broken then?

void-and-virtue · 1 month

Text

You go into reading ORV thinking it’s going to be a story.

You read it and it’s a story: it’s a story about a reader.

You read a little further and realize that it’s a story about stories: stories that make people as much as people make them.

You get to that point and you finally realize that it’s a con.

It’s a con: it’s been a con from the very first word, the longest, most visceral and excruciating con you’ve ever seen, yet somehow never saw coming—and you’re fuming but you’re also holding your breath because you can’t even be mad, it’s got you hook, line and sinker and you’d follow it beyond the end of the earth, you’ve already followed it beyond the end of the earth unknowingly and now you’re willing to go even further than that, willingly choosing it for yourself, because you need to see where this goes, you need to, because you care. You care.

Somewhere, you know with all the faith of a reader that Han Sooyoung is smiling.

#I will never be okay about this #conned into loving this broken world by making us see it through the eyes of the man who loved it more than anything #conned into loving him because the world and the people in it loved him back even when he couldn’t love himself #even when his own mind was crueler to him than anyone else could ever be #conned into loving him because god wants him to love himself so badly she’d damn the world for him to survive and we get it. we get it.#conned into loving yourself just a little bit more because how could you not after reading a story like that?#orv #omniscient reader's viewpoint #orv spoilers #omniscient reader’s viewpoint spoilers #han sooyoung #kim dokja #hsy #orv hsy #kdj #orv kdj #doksoo

94 notes · View notes

seventh-fantasy · 6 months

Text

friendships as marital ties (and other notes on relational ties) in mlc

this is sort of a third installment in the series of meta on 'mlc as an exemplar of constructing queer narratives out of chinese ideological frameworks' (1. jianghu as queer space and 2. how it manifests in li xiangyi) - focusing on the nature of relationships in it. (which I've briefly mentioned in the first one and finally actually getting to it!!)

I would like to first call attention to chinese ideological frameworks as a premise of queer reading in mlc. the goal of chinese philosophy is to explore the becoming of human, taking two broad paths of the (mainstream) secular vs. escaping the secular. (these two paths are not a strict dichotomy, and rather, are ever in flux and in conversation with each other.) as said by @markiafc too, chineseness is so much about the rigidity of structures, and in equal part, a desire to break out of them. thus, chinese ideological frameworks can very much offer a rich reading of queerness - that mlc, a story very deliberately structured based on chinese ideologies (more accurately, with good reasons for me to believe that it is as such), has managed to materialise.

if the conceptualisation of queerness is premised on a defiance against mainstream norms, then a reliable way to read queerness in chinese ideological frameworks can be to deconstruct it by the mainstream confucian frameworks.

in mlc, this is implicitly set up with its stage of wulin/martial jianghu. then it is further broken down by asking, hey wulin jianghu is still closely related to the hegemonic values and the mainstream structure of authority (historically, 侠 xia being politically involved says a lot about this), so what is the true meaning of jianghu? what does it then really take for jianghu to be a queer space offering comfort and freedom to those who have escaped to it - to be the space that allow the transcendence of rigid roles and labels? mlc took a step further to resist the proxy to mainstream values that wulin jianghu has become.

this is why there can be a very strong buddhism reading of mlc (suggested here, expounded in the A+++ meta by @markiafc here and here, and also what I've seen discussed by cnet as well), given that buddhism is one of the 'extra-secular' ideologies, alongside (philosophical) taoism. I've also touched on a taoist angle in this meta. both schools are articulated in different sets of languages, but ultimately convey a same ideal of what it means to be human and how to live well - that is, to resist the roles and labels defined by the norms.

so, back to confucian frameworks.

a lot can be discussed about mlc with it. but in the context of this meta about relationships in mlc, it's specifically drawing on how confucianism conceptualises social relationships with familial ties as a cornerstone, and how these relational ties are inextricable from the conceptualisation of the 'self'.

as such, one of the things about mlc that has fascinated me is how deliberately it seems to ignore and reject the conventional familial ties (the kind by blood and marital ties). I've joked about how it is a miracle for me to love mlc as much as I do, as a prime dysfunctional family story enjoyer, despite none of its main characters struggling with any complicated feelings about their (biological) parents. but on closer examination, mlc is also making a comment on the model of familial-based relationships that dominates mainstream society - but through the absence of it.

with this, I want to talk about 1) how mlc rejects the conventional ties; and then 2) how it repurposes these ties in its own ways.

the five relational ties in confucianism:

father and son 父子有亲 - (natural) affection between father and son

ruler and subject 君臣有义 - righteous relationship between ruler and subject

older and younger brothers 兄弟 (长幼有序) - this is actually about seniority within the family; the order between older vs younger family members

husband and wife 夫妇有别 - differentiation between husband and wife (demarcated by the 内外 spectrum of gendered inner-external spheres)

friends 朋友有信 - trust between friends

logically inferred, all these ties are hierarchical and familial-based except for the last one: friends. ruler-subject is sort of an extension of the natural familial ties, while friendship is the inverse space of 1-4 (ie. you fall back on 5 to define a social relationship outside of the familial sphere that cannot be qualified as 1-4). while all are premised on mutuality, it is only no. 5 that is defined by a sense of choice and equality.

on the surface, 1-4 don't quite exist in mlc in particularly meaningful ways to the narrative or are even outright overlooked, and friendship is the relational tie most valued by mlc. we can tell it's true just by looking at the most meaningful relationships in mlc of difanghua. but at the same time, it is more nuanced. we can take a closer look at how the story plays around with most of the ties as part of a broader queer narrative.

1) how mlc rejects the conventional ties

mlc's rejection of mainstream relational ties can be best seen in fdb escaping from marriage. and it was not just any engagement with anybody but an engagement with the imperial family. he struggles with the prospect of being married to princess zhaoling, but generally, it's about the idea of complying to mainstream conventions and expectations that includes compulsory heterosexuality. all these point not only to a defiance against amatonormativity - the resistance of the traditional husband-wife tie, but also an irreverence for the ties of ruler-subject (the engagement being an imperial decree) and father-son (matters of marriage being sole decisions made by parents).

of course this is on top of how fdb's own biological father is a p-o-s, and the narrative gives fdb minimal struggles in this aspect, allowing him to sever this tie without looking back (I love it, yeap). along the same line is how lxy is an orphan, who came to gain important relationships that are built on natural compassion among people rather than innate, blood-based ties - even as llh. the sense of defiance from the narrative is especially stark to me considering that he could have a completely different familial-based life - as a son, brother, and ruler, if his biological family was still around. the narrative also deliberately treats his biological brother as a phantom, replaced with an older brother who he was bonded with neither by blood nor marital ties. on dfs's front, absolutely nothing is to be known about his biological family. his childhood history with the toxic patriarch of his life - who is not even his biological father - was afforded a clean break and closure.

we can keep going on, but that's pretty much the point.

ritualisation is one of the most important things of the confucianism school, especially to the honoring of these social relationships (and the officiating of social roles). the one ceremony/ritual we saw in mlc involving the main characters - or more accurately speaking, came closest to seeing - was the imminent wedding ceremony of dfs and jlq. even in that case, it was premised on non-mutuality with dfs being the unwilling, passive party. (fem-coded dfs? 25 marks.)

and that brings us to the next part.

2) how mlc repurposes these ties

that particular wedding ceremony gets hijacked by dfs and lxy/llh, and gets turned into an important milestone in their relationship. they consummate - what is on text - their friendship after a long time being more enemies and rivals than friends. it is a clear establishment of the trust they have for each other. and here it is where I circle back to the subject of this post: friendships as marital ties.

in this article, as a part of a feminist, egalitarian reframing of confucianism, there is a proposal for spousal relationships to be reframed as a friendship tie. (this aligns with the interrelatedness of the five ties eg. the ruler-subject mirrors father-son dynamic, with the confucian belief that rulers have an obligation to their subjects alike parents to their own children.) by doing so, it removes the functional, gendered differentiation assigned to marital ties, and shifts it to something equal, and independent of gender. you exalt the value of trust between spouses, instead of basing marital relationships on gendered roles. as such, spouses become more like friends, and conversely, friends can also become more like spouses. (romance not a prerequisite. it has never been about romance anyway.)

given that mlc has repeatedly applied marital motifs to llh and dfs's characters in their joint narratives, this opens up a reading friendships as a marital tie. seeing marriage as a bridge for strangers to become family, marriage in mlc becomes a metaphor for the chosen commitment and mutual trust put in by strangers/friends (non-familial ties) into the becoming of family. the blurring of lines between marital ties and friendship encourages a genuine space of queer experience that goes beyond any pressure for strict labels - of sexuality, and relationships as romantic, sexual, etc etc.

(note: despite the borrowing of a feminist concept, I strongly hesitate to call mlc a feminist story. it's a whole discussion - or debate - on its own. nevertheless, it is definitely a gender-conscious story that lays foundation for a strong queer and egalitarian reading.)

it is to be noted that it is intended - and also beneficial to take the confucian framework of relational ties beyond face value. the framework offers what it believed to be the most fundamental social relationship dynamics, and sees room for extension and matching to other kinds of relationships (all if not, most). a relationship such as teacher-student, which is outside of the five ties stated, can also mirror the affection of father-son ties, albeit not in a literal and identical way.

speaking of which. fdb and lxy/llh.

indeed they're known by others to be good friends. fdb thinks they're good friends too - insists on it, and puts his best efforts in keeping it that way. but does it really go both ways? if it does not, then can it really still be friendship? my humble take is that, ultimately - weighing in with llh's perspective - this is a relationship that is not so much based on trust, and rather, based on an innate affection that is only unique to family. (in this case, not blood/marital-based but one that was chosen and built aka lxy's relationship with sgd.) in other words, less of a friendship, more of a familial one.

it is a lot clearer considering their relationship from llh's point of view: some brat you never wanted in your life came barging in, and whether he was going to bring any positive effect to your life was secondary to the tranquility - which you have carved for yourself in the past decade - that is so integral to your personhood. no way. but the moment you hear that he's family? well, that changes the game completely. even before learning about fdb being sgd's son (then beginning to take initiative in showing greater acceptance), it is apparent in llh that there was an instinctive resonance with fdb as his shixiong's nephew. (eg. he remarked to his shifu's grave about how alike fdb is to himself.) this is unlike with dfs whom he had taken a much longer time to build trust with. you do not apply trust - aka the quality of friendships - to family. family is something deeper, more instinctive than that. if fdb was never family, I find it hard to imagine given llh's personality, that he would have let some brazen, bratty stranger intrude for that long. (boy invited himself to llh's home, sat himself down eating the owner's dinner and nosing in his cooking abilities!!! ily bb but that was uncalled for 😭)

of course there are many more layers in their relationship. there is a substantial degree of their history as (unwitting) teacher-disciple: fdb is still healthy and alive all thanks to the existence of lxy as a spiritual teacher role model in his life, regardless it being one-sided or not. there is also indeed some part of friendship in it, especially from fdb's point of view. he sees llh as a kindred spirit who he could enjoy a life of freedom with for life. but llh never reciprocates. he knew this was short-lived. and so ultimately, the hierarchical layer of their relationship overpowers the equal one, where llh's treatment of fdb as a nephew/小辈 younger family member and a disciple is the one that sealed the fate of their relationship.

if (blood-based) familial ties are irrelevant in jianghu, then the closest proxy to a father-son relationship in the martial world would be a teacher-disciple relationship. lxy and his shifu are a clear, indisputable example. for fdb and llh, their teacher-disciple tie is murkier and not consistently applied. they were also never ritualised as teacher-disciple, and thus are not teacher-disciple in any official capacity as far as confucian ideas are concerned. yet in crucial moments, it is invoked by llh as a card of authority over fdb to get out of sticky situations with fdb. and there was their final scene together: in a moment of sincerity, llh gives the approval to fdb as his disciple - then entrusting fdb with the secret manual of his techniques, up until his final letter in which fdb was recommended to dfs as a successor to his martial abilities.

in an imperial setting, this would have been the relationship of an emperor and his crown prince that straddles both ruler-subject and father-son ties aka a tag-team of disaster. the teacher has an obligation to nurture his disciple as a successor to himself, and love him like a son too. on the flipside, he holds the final power in their relationship - withholding knowledge and feelings from the younger one. they are only equals in a way a parent-child can be. they are only equals as much as the parent allows. and this is how fdb got left behind in the dust of llh's departure. he was the child treating his parent like a friend, supporting him emotionally and begging to be loved back the same way he loves his parent - but the parent had a lifetime way ahead of him and stayed out of his reach, physically and emotionally.

llh and fdb operate with the trapping of a friendship but have always been family in the core. llh had known that way before fdb did, just like everything else he had known and put out of fdb's reach. because. fdb did not have to know. fdb is different and will forge his own path. and that's a kind of love llh has for him that nobody understands (in fact not even fdb himself) - one that is on a different plane from friendships.

by repurposing the framework of relational ties, mlc showed that the essence of familial relationships aka its intimacy and closeness can be independent from biology and formalised rituals. and it is important to myself for stories to say that people can build close ties and deeply meaningful relationships even without being born or ritualised into any.

then back to how these relational ties are inextricable from the conceptualisation of the 'self' in confucian worldview: the roles you play in these relationships are intended to define you. there is no 'self' independent from it. while the concept of a social, relational self is fully rooted in reality, being locked into social roles can be a painful way to live - a way that llh has experienced as lxy the sigu sect leader. so, in order for lxy/llh to realise a sense of self that exists outside the norms, it inevitably points to another way that requires a cut from these relationships. that is then the buddhist (or taoist) answer of looking past attachments to the world such as the confucian idea of relationships defining your being. only with a dissolution of a sense of 'self', can there be true liberation.

#莲花楼 #mysterious lotus casebook #lhlmeta #lhl #my posts #dihua #can't believe this is how i choose to spend an inordinate amt of my free time 😐😐 being a broken recorder of brainrot 😐#anw the handful of fanghua moments that have moved me are the ones that are about the unbridgeable gap between them as 长辈小辈 as 徒弟师父 #(me realising lxy telling fdb 这个徒弟我没有白收 actually drives me nuts)#me: a brainrot-level dihua shipper first and foremost. also me: dedicating more of this meta to fanghua than dihua #about how fanghua's relationship is its own unique kind in the story. equally deep as dihua. just in a wholly different way.#dihua are friends and married and familial. but fanghua is family through and through #-> tl;dr of this meta actually #i just have extremely strong feelings about fanghua as a complicated little family unit.#which is independent of “shipping” FOR ME. but for anyone else though you can make anything out of it.#(gotta admit i'm a bit antsy about posting this and is uncertain how it's gonna be read. bc my reading of fanghua is so specific...well)#anyways. obsessed with dihua appropriating the heteronormative rituals <3 #edit: I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT TO TALK ABOUT DIFANG aaaAAAGHHHHHHHHHH #but. it's true they're very purely friendship-based i think

98 notes · View notes

tsireyast · 3 months

Text

I feel like we dont talk about one of the main reasons nico was ostracized at camp, not just because hes a son of hades.

Camp half blood is small enough so that rumors and information spread fast, but that doesn't mean they are always right. So imagine you're a random camper, and you're told nico, one of the new campers, gets in a big fight with Percy. During which he makes skeletons appear and somehow opens a huge crack in the floor. But percy wins and nico leaves camp.

Don't you think it would've rang a bell?

Don't you think it would've reminded them too much of two summers ago, with luke?

Dont you think everyone would've been even more scared, because now they know nico is a child of hades, one of the big three, and therefore very powerful?

There must have been so many rumors that summer of nico being part of the kronos army. Betraying camp just like luke did.

Of course after the battle of manhattan many people would've changed their minds. Hes in their side now, after all. But there are probably still many campers who think nico left them to join luke, before he changed their mind and helped them win against luke and kronos. People who still hold a grudge against him for joining the "enemy".

#i havent read the battle of the labyrinth in a while so aorry if this gets cleared up by then #ive never really seen anyone talk about this #nico being a son of hades cant be the only reason hes not well liked by camp #of course hes just emo and traumatized and thinks everyone hates him when they dont but i dont think he was exactly popular at camp #and also this has been in my mind for a few days #i just love nico hes so sad and traumatized #my poor little guy #he got misjudged by so many people for a out of context rumor that got changed and twisted as it spread #obviously at first percy told the truth to chiron and annabeth andnother people who came to ask “yo what happened with the new kid”#(will definitely asked him) (he met nico in the infirmary and had a crush on him since)#i mean everyone must have been curious as to why the floor of the dining pavillion was all broken #but as rumors do it just turned into a broken telephone situation where the story got more and more dramatic #if you asked some (very exaggerated)people they would tell you he tried to kill percy and he was actually sent by luke to camp #percy jackson #pjo #camp half blood #heroes of olympus #nico di angelo #solangelo #pjo headcanon #percy series

67 notes · View notes

bonefall · 8 months

Note

Are you doing anything particularly interesting with Sagewhisker or Raggedstar?

(also I love somebody else who appreciates Stormcloud, should've been a pov, I mean the Firestar parallels-)

Erins stop neglecting your side characters challenge. Stormcloud gets done soo dirty ://

Anyway!

Yellowfang’s Secret is getting redone into Brokenstar's Cataclysm. Much as I love Yellowfang, Brokenstar is getting suuuuper reduxed in BB and he needs to be the POV so I can tell his story. She has the opening and the rest is him.

What I want to set up in that opening, though, is at least a little bit of how hard people have made Yellowfang’s (Shroompelt at the time) life. Raggedstar isn't AS bad as he was, but their relationship was still pretty volatile. Sagewhisker pressured her into the role, just like canon.

I don't regret gutting YS though, to be honest. The original book is pretty freakin' miserable exactly because of Sage and Ragged, without any catharsis for how much torture the main character goes through. I think it works a lot better as an opening, thematically.

"Here's the culture which Brokenstar is being born into. See how his mother is absolutely miserable under this system, being forced to give up her child, pressured into her position. Happiness is offered between friends but there are deeper issues here that love won't fix."

So even though I'm pretty fascinated by Sagewhisker and think the fandom really sleeps on how terrible she is, I'm planning to use her as a minor but emotionally significant character.

And RAGGEDSTAR is going to be explicitly used as the father who Brokenstar loved very much, but someone he is willing to kill in the end. His enabling is also going to get exploited by Runningnose and his schemes. He's a major supporting character in a different way from YS.

#Better bones au #Brokenstar's Cataclysm #I strongly feel it works best this way #Because the simple truth is that Sage and Ragged don't really get comeuppance. Not for their actual shitty behavior #For other things. But not for how they hurt Yellow #AndI think a large part of what makes YS such a miserable read is just that #I think a different rewrite could fix that thougg #Connect Broken more to the things that ruined Yellow's life and make a tragedy out of her having to put her avenger down #For the sake of the clans as a whole #But that's not what BB!TPB or my whole rewrite is really about. Yknow?#I'm not writing a story about how clan culture needs to be protected from change. It needs to be torn down. It needs to be fixed.#So just showing how awful sage and ragged were to yellow in the opening works best instead of... Lingering on it #for lack of better words #bone babble

102 notes · View notes

yumeurl · 3 months

Text

got curious and read the toms memories from hbp and i still DONT understand why the fuck dumbledores beefing with this 11-year old kid. like him trying to explain to harry his analysis even with like u have NOTHING bro.....u knew two facts about tom when u first entered and u immediately assumed he was a bully, without regards to any context. i thought the cave thing would be more specific but theres legit nothing in it to show any malicious intent. tom showing them magic in an effort to impress but traumatized them instead is just as likely as tom doing something awful to them there, theres not much info to go from there, but dumbledore seems to be hellbent in scaring tom with the cabinet and the box and warnings of expulsion (which i find laughably funny when harry and co were stealing ingredients from snape as early as year2)

all i got from the orphanage flashback is tom being a troubled child considering his background (and my personal interpretation, lit just him having difficulty navigating around people who are not in the spectrum too), got wary thinking dumbledores a doctor, showed actual excitement with the confirmation that he actually is Something, and then get blasted by dumbledores cold shoulder that made him immediately close up, with him admitting he can talk to snakes in one last effort to impress him

its just so bizarre...like bro i just cant imagine treating a kid like this. as a character dumbledores p interesting but my god please let other people in the faculty talk to children and stay away from them GMFDMGDFMG

#like bro uve failed tom...uve failed snape...and u even failed harry #tom would steal from me and id pat him on the head and give him more money idc #id spoil him rotten #surely anything is better than treating him like this #and not take responsibility for having a hand in shaping up a kid to turn out like this #this is a p incoherent post im writing this after just reading them #so im a bit emotional #its kinda sad seeing a character be doomed to the path he will soon take #i kinda wish that cc wasnt an extension of the original hp and instead is a spinoff/new series #with more focus on character drama and how the system of this school is broken af #then again with how jkr is maybe its a blessing that it wasnt #hp #rambles

22 notes · View notes

dazais-guardian-angel · 20 days

Text

it’s sad that a lot of people truly don’t realize how incredibly hard it is for Dazai to make the choice to do things the way he does now in his new lifestyle, every single day. Healing and changing your way of doing things to heal is incredibly hard; it is an active choice you are making at every moment, fighting uphill, because it doesn’t come naturally like it does for anyone who hasn’t been through trauma and/or is dealing with mental illness. It’s hard, and so many days it’d be easier to just give up and revert back to old habits. But Dazai almost never has, even when constantly surrounded by toxic influences that remind him of his old life, and he is so incredibly strong for that.

#bungou stray dogs #meta #sorry I wasn’t done but didn’t want to add more to that post lmao #just ugh…… Dazai is so strong. he’s come so far. he should be commended for it #he tries so hard despite how much he’s struggling #and you won’t understand how that feels unless you’ve been in that position yourself #gone through the struggle to heal yourself #Oda should be commended too. my god the guy stuck to his ideals and the goodness he wanted to embrace for so long #despite still staying in that toxic environment that every day pressured him to give in #even Dazai wanted him to give in because he didn’t understand Oda’s motivations (but also out of concern for his safety)#and you can tell he was going downhill when you read Dark Era #even if the whole Mimic incident hadn’t happened he might have still broken eventually #and it’s so heartbreaking #but he tried so hard and fought so hard for so long. he didn’t win forever but he won for so long and there’s meaning in that #and now Dazai is trying so hard too #and he deserves every bit of respect and understanding and sympathy for it

11 notes · View notes

skania · 1 year

Text

I keep seeing people saying "Aqua only wanted to date Akane because he couldn't date Kana", but I'm not convinced things are that white-and-black.

The thing is, I think a lot of us underestimate just how attached Aqua got to Akane. Sure, at first he wants to keep her near because of her intelligence and incredible insight, but that changes the moment Akane figures out his secret.

The Japanese side-text even gives us a helpful ただのビジネス、カップルを越えて— telling us that they're becoming more than just a business couple.

This little moment right here pretty much disarms the guy. He gets a taste of what being understood is like, and he can't help himself after that. Suddenly he is letting down his walls and allowing Akane to watch his childhood videos, something that even takes Gotanda aback because Aqua doesn't let anyone watch those.

More importantly, he even goes as far as to confess his goal to Akane. It was a clear gamble to gauge just how honest she was to him when she told him that she would be his ally no matter what, and Akane gives him more than he bargained for.

Akane is the real deal. What she is offering him—unconditional understanding and support—is the real deal. And Aqua doesn't know how to react to that. His black star even reverts back to white!

However, we see just how important this was to him a few chapters later, when we get this gem:

"Did you think you finally found someone who understands you after meeting Akane Kurokawa?"

In hindsight, the fact that Goro is highlighting Akane's understanding of Aqua and putting her right up there with Kana completely sets-up the events that would follow.

Because, what happens after Aqua finds out that he's finally free?

He thinks of both, Kana and Akane. She has managed to get under his skin to the point he is genuinely considering her as a romantic option, something he said would never happen.

This is when things get pretty interesting, because Aqua began dating Akane just to use her, right? So he no longer has any reason to keep her around.

Except he wants to keep her around, and this time it's for entirely personal reasons. He knows his growing attachment to Akane will do her no good though, so he shoots that selfish thought down at once.

Akane is young and she has a bright future. I can't hold her back forever...

By his own admission, he thinks he is holding her back, so he decides to break up with her to set her free. He even says as much as they're walking to the bridge, almost like he's trying to convince himself it's the right thing to do.

I don't think... it's good for me to keep you tied down forever, Akane.

In other words, Aqua isn't breaking up with Akane because he isn't romantically interested in her. At the contrary, he even ends up admitting that he is attracted to her.

However, he doesn't seem to be entirely sure of what he feels for her and he is under the impression that Akane isn't romantically interested in him.

All this to say, Aqua mainly wanted to break up with Akane for her. Because he has been deceiving her and holding her back.

Case in point, a chapter later he goes on a date with Kana, who even asks him what he plans to do with Akane. You'd think that this would be the perfect moment for Aqua to confirm his romantic-disinterest in Akane by telling Kana something like:

I tried to break up with her but we got interrupted

I'm going to break up with her

Or any variation of those lines, since that's what he intended to do last time we saw him with Akane. He tells her this instead:

We talked about it the other day, but we got interrupted.

Oh, so breaking up actually isn't a done deal.

We'll probably get an answer... the next time we meet.

So, it isn't only Akane who is trying to figure out what Aqua is to her. Aqua himself is thinking about what Akane means to him.

Something about his conversation with Akane got to him, so he starts second-guessing whether he should break up with her or not even though it's "a little too late", since they talked about breaking up already.

If he were 100% intending to pursue Kana, why would he be telling her all this? Not to mention, why is he thinking carefully about his relationship with Akane instead of focusing on his relationship with Kana?

When it comes down to it, ever since Aqua found out that he is free to love someone, Akane and his relationship with her remain at the forefront of his mind. He even broaches the subject right after Akane finds his corpse, which was far and away not the time for that lol

Which of course leads us to the moment they get the answer Aqua alluded to earlier.

Akane finally understands what she feels for Aqua, and while she tries to keep a smile on for him, her true feelings come pouring through her tears.

Aqua wondered if Akane even harbored any romantic feelings for him. Those tears seem to be the answer to that question.

Which leaves us with: What does Aqua feel for Akane?

Aqua seems to realize it in very much the same way Akane did earlier. Through it all, they have been supporting each other, getting to know each other, understanding each other and having fun together.

Their relationship hasn't been a lie. Akane sincerely wanted to get close to him to help him. He sincerely wants to stay close to her to protect her.

Since Aqua had already resolved the question of 'should I fall in love?', that left him with two other questions to answer.

Can he fall in love with Akane?

Does he want to fall in love with her?

Going by this, he obviously decides that the answer to both questions is yes.

Now, this post isn't here to claim that he did fall for her or anything, he obviously still has unresolved feelings for Kana. What I'm 100% here to say though is that Aqua's feelings were way less set in stone than people make it sound, and that that the order of events clearly show that Aqua actually gave his feelings for Akane a whole lot of thought, even before he realized he should keep his distance from Kana.

#aqua hoshino #akane kurokawa #kurokawa akane #aquakane #me: onk #fandom: onk #my aquakane meta #I'm still new to this fandom so I hope mentioning the other ship is fine?#honestly I didn't think too hard about any of this during my first read #because the romantic endgame seems so obvious that it kind of discourages guessing lmao #but re-reading these chapters has made me appreciate Aqua's side of his bond with Akane a lot more #if you ask me I think aqua just figured that he could protect kana better by staying away #and that he could protect akane better by staying by her side #but his choice to do so while dating her was definitely motivated by his relationship with her #he'd have absolutely broken up with her if he had no feelings for her

105 notes · View notes

just-some-guy-joust · 27 days

Note

About your Gilear question - it’s mostly up to interpretation. Basically for the first two season he’s just this middle aged guy who fumbles around with yogurt stains on his shirt (and is even referred to by the DM/his creator Brennan as “He’s just a guy!”) In a story full of dnd characters where even most npcs have something notable in their stat block, he’s just a normal dude

Season 3 has revealed that his lineage was indeed cursed to have bad luck (probably what that commenter was referring to). But also, even now that the curse has been reversed, he’s still the same guy we’ve always known. Even the bouts of bad luck are still there so hes truly still Just Some Guy and has been referenced as such in episodes after this whole fiasco. I don’t think that commenter was malicious in this situation or anything, moreso probably thinking that the s3 revelation of his curse made him more in-universe stand out but *shrug*

alright thank you that clears up a lot for me. not gonna block them since there is in fact An Event that would've prompted that, and also gilear is still just some guy. ok good to know thank you for clarifying 👍

#sorry i'm always a bit on edge about any comment that phrases things like that. like 'they're not just some guy anymore' or whatever #it's the rule that gets broken the most and it's generally an insta block purely because it proves you Did Not Read The Rules #so. 😔 probably sounded more aggressive about it than i really meant to or was deserved. sorry about that #but thank you for the context its super appreciated #asks #-mx narrative #some guy joust

9 notes · View notes

Last Seen Blogs

bizopbooster

BizOp Booster

satanicksfoot

A Deep Sea Prisoner

ratmen

Untitled

saolovers

Sword Art Online lovers

sytycdinternational

SYTYCD INTERNATIONAL