#<- not meant to be explicitly romantic or platonic just however you want to see it

[cryptidkey]

My beautiful princess dazai everyone look at her

[hualianisms]

Not father & son, not master & disciple, but a secret third thing

First of all, let me preface this by being clear that everyone is free to headcanon anything they want and like/dislike anything they like/dislike! That being said, sometimes I see international fans interpret FDB as LLH's son, or their dynamic as parent-child or otherwise familial, and as a native chinese speaker, I just wanted to share some reasons why I personally did not interpret them as familial.

Granted, at the start of the show, FDB is kept in the dark and also not up to LLH's level of skill in solving cases. However, FDB quickly catches up in crime-solving skills, intellect and maturity by the 2nd half of the show, after a well-written growth arc. I think the beauty of the characters and relationships in this show is that they grow & evolve, and are meant to do so. The dynamic that LLH & FDB had in episode 1 is quite different from their dynamic at the end of the show. By the later episodes, they are 2 adults who are very much equals.

Why I don't read them as father & son:

LLH & FDB act and speak in a manner that is far too informal & familiar with one another, which would be extremely inappropriate for any kind of parent & child, even a surrogate one. Several times, FDB calls LLH by just his first name "Lianhua", and sometimes even calls him "Damn Lianhua" when he is angry/upset at LLH. This would be extremely rude for a disciple to call a master, or a son to call a father. No son talks to his father the way FDB talks to LLH, and no disciple talks to their master like that. Unless the son/disciple hates the father/master, and is outright rejecting his father/master altogether. As we see in the show, not only does FDB not hate LLH at all, he instead cares deeply for LLH and would do anything to save him. Why, then would someone scold/curse someone they care about? Does the trope of the upset spouse/partner sound familiar?

For comparison, see FDB's interactions with He Xiaohui, who he is close to - he is informal & affectionate with her, but never calls her anything other than "娘 niang" ("mother"). I can't emphasize enough how taboo it is in Chinese culture to ever call your parent or parental figure by their name under any circumstance.

2. In ep 31, FDB himself explicitly rejects the idea of LLH as his shifu and himself as LLH's disciple, responding that he is too old to be LLH's disciple and it was merely a joke. He clearly sees LLH as an equal, and rejects the notion of their relationship being anything other than that of 2 adult equals. LLH also tells his shiniang that FDB is not his disciple, and a few episodes ago LLH told FDB that he has never understimated FDB.

Coding/hints as something other than platonic:

Zhiji/zhijiao - FDB calls LLH his 知交 zhijiao in ep 19, and 知己 zhiji in ep 34. "In this life, I, Fang Duobing, recognize you as my only zhiji." is practically a love declaration. And this bond is reciprocated by LLH, bc in a deleted line in ep 19, translated by forayuarchive on twitter, LLH is the one who first calls FDB his zhijiao.

To clarify, Zhiji is not specifically a romantic term, but it's what was used in both The Untamed and Word of Honor - both dramas based on danmei novels with canon gay main pairings - to bypass censorship, to code the bond between the main duo as deeper than your typical platonic male friendship. (See this post for a detailed explanation of the significance/history behind the term zhiji, and see this twitter thread for an explanation of the meaning of zhijiao in MLC - especially how zhijiao is specifically mutual, reciprocated).

2. Married bickering - forayuarchive on twitter has discussed in these twitter threads how the tone of many of LLH & FDB's interactions (especially FDB) is similar to how married couples or romantic partners speak to one another bc of the level of familiarity, tone and language. For my fav example, see this note (translation by forayuarchive) that FDB left LLH in ep 35, which reads pretty much like a note that a spouse/partner might write when leaving their shared house in a hurry.

3. "Xiaobao" - Personally as a native Chinese speaker, LLH calling FDB "xiaobao" in front of everyone is a level of intimacy that genuinely would make me feel embarrassed to hear as a third party. 小宝 xiao bao (literal meaning = "little treasure") is usually something you call actual babies/children AND is FDB's family nickname for him, so if you're calling a grown man that in front of everyone including his colleagues, family and even strangers, then one might assume he is likely either your biological family or your romantic partner. (For comparison, just imagine calling your s/o their parent's special childhood nickname for them at work.)

4. Deleted lines where FDB calls LLH "xiaohua'er". 小花儿 Xiaohua'er ("little flower") is very intimate and feels like something someone might call a lover. Or, at least, definitely not a platonic shifu, even less so a parental figure. (For meta on the names that LLH & FDB use for one another, see forayuarchive's twitter thread.)

5. More deleted scenes (translated by forayuarchive on twitter), perhaps cut due to censorship, which make apparent LLH's high regard and deep care for FDB. For e.g., a line of internal monologue by LLH in ep 40, translated here by forhenjun, shows that LLH thinks of FDB as the only person in his two lifetimes who has always treated him as a human being rather than putting him on an unfair pedestal.

6. Official MLC accounts act like as if they ship them.

As murderedbyhomework mentioned, there is a song in the official soundtrack of MLC called "Fanghua's Day-to-Day Life" (yes, the exact same words as their ship name). Sounds like a couple's daily domestic life, doesn't it?

The official iQiYi Romance youtube channel lists clips of LLH & FDB under the romance category.

The official MLC douyin account posts MVs with emotional captions (e.g. this one translated here by forayuarchive) that emphasize how much both LLH and FDB mean to one another. Another official MLC douyin calls LLH & FDB the person each other trusts the most.

The MLC clips posted by the official Guangdong TV weibo account also has captions such as these (translated by rice_jpg) that straight up describe FDB's feelings towards LLH as "when you like someone" (very similar CN phrasing as the phrasing used to describe romantic crushes).

7. They are subtly paralleled with a canon straight romantic couple (see fanqxiaobao's twitter thread on the parallels btwn LXY/QWM scenes and certain LLH/FDB scenes). MLC also made a distinct change from the novel by not having FDB get married to Princess Zhaoling, even though the drama could have easily given FDB a romance with her.

8. If you're familiar with chinese romantic tropes or the danmei genre, LLH & FDB fit many common romantic tropes e.g. sharing a drink on the rooftop under the moonlight, forgotten first meeting in childhood (and then meeting again properly as adults), power couple fighting side by side (they even held hands!), nianxia, protective younger ml, sickly older mc - just to name a few. Danmei even has many stories of shizun/shifu & disciple pairings who fall in love as adult equals.

There's honestly lots more but these are just some off the top of my head. Again everyone is free to interpret anything! This is just me explaining why as a native chinese speaker I personally did not read their dynamic as that of a father and son.

[karasuno-planet]

Telling the Karasuno boys about your bad dream 🧡🖤

Includes: Daichi, Kageyama, Hinata

genre: fluffy angst-recovery-type small oneshots—all could be taken platonically or romantically—except for Kageyama's which is explicitly romantic.

tw: mention of cheating and a sports injury/bone breaking

Sawamura Daichi:

The night before the team set out for a big away game you spent the night in an agonizing dream that left you feeling empty in the morning. When you got on the bus you beelined straight to Daichi and sat next to him. He sat up a little straighter when you sat down and looked earnestly at you, silently asking you what's wrong.

You sighed and looked back at him, "I had a bad dream last night."

"You know what, I did too."

"Really?"

"Yeah, vice principal's wig again..."

You laughed at his joke, a slight smile creeping up on your face that replaced the empty expression before.

You sat in comfortable silence for a second before Daichi asked, "But, seriously, do you want to talk about it?"

It spilled out of you quickly, "It was in the future, and I saw you at a supermarket. You didn't remember who I was. We hadn't spoken in years.."

As you explained, he watched you with kind eyes and wrapped an arm around you in a comforting hug.

"You know I won't ever let that happen."

"Promise?

"Promise. After a graduate you won't ever stop hearing from me."

"Thank god..." A smile creeped across your face as you enjoyed his certainty, motivated by his unwavering lack of doubt. If nobody else believed in you, you knew for certain that Daichi did.

A grin spread across his face, "And one more thing about your dream..."

"Yeah?"

"Did I age well?"

Tobio Kageyama:

You woke up early in the morning in a sweat, with tears forming in your eyes. You might've just had the worst dream you can remember. Before you knew it, you were calling him.

When Tobio picked up, you were greeted with a groggy voice, "Y/n? What is it?"

You rubbed your eyes to stop the tears and explained, "I just had a horrible dream."

Kageyama's mind raced, considering the many topics you could have been trapped in a nightmare about. But he never thought of what it actually was.

"You were with someone else..." You tell him.

In a moment of shock, his tired mind blurted out, "but that's ridiculous."

However true, it wasn't exactly what you needed in the moment.

"Doesn't stop me from being upset about it..."

"But I would never—" he sighs, realizing you already knew that. "I'm sorry. Just know it's not real. You're all I want." His tired voice echos through your phone speaker and puts you at ease.

"Thank you."

"Always." He blurts out before you're able to say anything else.

"Sorry, I'll let you go back to bed," You mutter, about to hang up the phone, when he quickly cut you off:

"Y/n, are you free tonight?"

Shoyo Hinata:

At a small practice match that ran absurdly overtime in your school gym, you watched play after play from the bleachers and slowly found yourself having dosed off. A ball bounced your way, hitting the bleachers and effectively jolting you awake. You gasped for air having just escaped the horrible scenario your mind had crafted, to see that the match had ended and the team was cleaning the gym.

"Sorry!!" Shoyo rushed over, collecting the ball he had accidentally flung your way when he meant to throw it in the bin with the other volleyballs. Upon seeing your frightened face, his anxious expression dropped to one of concern. "Y/n? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I um- had a bad dream. I'm just happy you're okay."

"Happy I'm okay?" He sat next to you and took on a puzzled expression.

"I had a dream where you jumped so high to spike, but you were off balanced and- I heard a big crack when you landed-" You wince as you recall the memory of the nightmare you just had.

"Oh no! I'm okay, I'm okay, don't worry!! Look!" He flexed his legs out in front of you, rolling his ankles and pointing his feet. "All good."

You sighed with relief. "Good. Just, be careful."

"Of course, y/n! I'll stay healthy as long as you stay watching me get better every game." He beams at you, smiling with such contagious joy.

You smile back, nodding at him.

"But hey, don't fall asleep next time!!"

[masterlist]

[sassykinzonline]

what’s your opinion on people who say sns is platonic? like i’ll see well done essays about sns and how they changed each other for the better and their love. then… theyll say its platonic.

is it just blissful ignorance or? 😭

oh wow this is a really good question, thank you.

um hm, i never really want to totally shit on anyone's interpretation of anything so long as its accurate to the information thats presented so im not really against any interpretation thats well-defended. i havent read the kind of opinion youre talking about so i cant really say anything more specific than that.

what i will say though is that i think sometimes some snsers get caught up in "fighting homophobia" that they kind of miss the essence of naruto and i's specific relationship: that we are every type of attraction and every kind of love. its obvious in the manga's arts, the different parallels, the words we use to describe each other, the progression of our relationship, the intimacy we share with each other, i could go on and on.

so, do i think our relationship is presented in a way thats exclusively platonic? nope and the only way you could come to that conclusion is either a) homophobia or b) genuinely not being able to grasp the storytelling elements in the manga (ie. you dont necessarily need to be able to understand or feel romantic/sexual attraction to see that the manga shows you it exists between us explicitly). the anime is a bit...worse but i still feel like most people have seen the anime ONLY and still feel discomfort because they cant figure out if we're gay or not, and ive never heard of another shonen anime with a problem that big.

however, the platonic element is a huge and important part of our relationship. there was no one among our "friends" that could truly understand, sympathize, or care for us. but at the same time, that wasnt enough. there's the familial element too, in the sense that we wanted the safety that we knew a family should make you feel. we knew the "family" we had (iruka and itachi) were broken. there's a professional side to it too, where our profession is so intimately tied to our sense of self that thats how we communicate our feelings to each other. there's a romantic element yes, the feeling of completion and feeling that someone is "for you". there's even a sexual/aesthetic element, where just the appearance of someone overwhelms your senses and consumes your body. i would also look at the relationships you have with other people and ask if they dont include different kinds of love/attraction despite mainly being one thing.

ultimately though, i think that the way the narrative is presented (and the way i feel), the point is meant to be that we have all those different types of love except because of our context (familial, political, social, whatever) its difficult to realize the romance that we both desperately wanted from the other. the manga presents the double suicide proposal as romantic, and thats the climax of the story. so the relationship should be looked at as a romantic one. at the same time though, if people feel like "well just because the manga says its a romantic relationship doesnt mean this is inherently romantic, theyre exclusive queer platonic soulmates that kiss and bone" or something then i think thats fine too. so long as they understand that naruto and i will always come before anyone else to each other, and that whatever we feel for the other is not only mutual but mutually desired and all encompassing.

[tfdtreasurer]

Since you said you like Eridan ships How do you feel about EriKar? (Eridan x Karkat) Do you think they'd be better if they were pale or flushed?

Oh boy, this is my own issue, but you have no idea how insanely difficult this question is to answer concisely for me!

Pale

So here's the thing: Pale Erikar isn't my jam, I'd still call it underrated, and most importantly there really isn't much for me to say that hasn't already been said more eloquently and in more detail in the Eridan Essay Here. While I disagree with a lot of its conclusions, they're still well justified, including the case it makes for pale Erikar. In fact, it makes such a good case that I often find in my own analysis reasonable additions to its case.

However, half of this blog's reason for existing, besides being inspired by it, is standing up for Kanaya in response to it. I will not tolerate her persecution and being misunderstood. But to be clear that's just a silly little kanaya quote, we're all having fun here. To my understanding, the writer of that essay doesn't want to engage with the fandom as a whole, and good heavens do I get that. That being said, I come from a different philosophy of analysis that sees all existing scholarship as something to either be supported or refuted, so that knowledge in a discipline (Eridanomics) as a whole may be advanced. Meaning, a lot of my analysis may implicitly, explicitly, or just incidentally respond to claims made in that essay or on that blog. To be clear, this kind of thing is critically dependant on respectful engagement, and I would never want to appear aggressive in responding. If you try to pass on anything of my analysis to them while being disrespectful to them, you are absolutely dead to me.

That all being said, I mainly find it hard to imagine anybody specifically as Karkat's moirail, because in my opinion he was meant to be everybody's moirail. Much like his ancestor's transcendent relationship with the Disciple, he'd have very nontraditional quadrants. With him as the leader of the trolls, part of that role would be to be everybody's better half, as well as the one that can control and pacify his group as a whole, rather than just individuals. In that way, the irony of Karkat is that although he's kind of the rom com guy, he lends himself best to platonic versions of the quadrants that aren't as exclusive and committal. So while it's not really what you're asking, I do very much like semi-pale (friendship?) Erikar. But, if I woke up tomorrow having completely forgotten about my leader as omnimoirail idea, I'd very much like normal pale Erikar. Not as much as Erikan, but still. Alright long way around but we got to it: Pale Erikar good 👍.

Flushed

I haven't really given much thought to flushed Erikar yet, which means it's time to!

...

After giving it some thought, I think there's a dynamic that can make flushed Erikar fun storytelling: A deliberately obnoxious power couple performance. You have two characters that aren't just interested in finding love, they're interested in the optics and appearance of love. They match pretty well in bombast, vulgarity, rudeness, and hostility, and are just generally loud and forceful personalities, all of which ensures that others are constantly aware of a matespritship that they deliberately craft to be as conspicuous as possible. They're naturally inclined to the theatric, from Karkat's love of romantic movies to Eridan's self-professed melodrama. Everything they do is made more extreme than it needs to be. Their loving public displays of affection to their fights, they play it all up. To a point where to others, everything about them is too fantastic, too artificial to be real, like they're just playing out cheesy tropes, because in part they are.

And that's where the dynamic has its cute twist. Where other people might see superficiality, they see a form of affection that they love doing and receiving. All their heightened drama is just their unique way to demonstrate their love for each other. Behind closed doors, when nobody is paying attention, they can seamlessly switch modes from performative intensity to something even more sweet in its subtlety. The juxtaposition between their public and private personas is to them, the strongest evidence of their genuine love for one another. The hypothetical audience is allowed to savor in the dramatic irony of how they alone can listen in on the dialogue that occurs between them under their breath, as other characters either believe the facade or think they see through it. Description or depiction of their publicized affection take on a whole new meaning when the audience is aware of the nuance behind it.

As people can probably tell by now, for me shipping is all about the story that can be told, and you can easily add another layer to that one. Make it a romance that does actually start out as fake and loveless, but in which real feelings develop over time. A slow burn that other characters perceive as a whirlwind romance. Karkat, perhaps grappling with a cynical view of leadership, seeks to make himself appear as more legitimate by having a romantic partner, one that he wouldn't actually need to manage. Eridan, lonely and desperate just to be perceived as being desired by somebody else, jumps at her opportunity to play the role. In the process of crafting and maintaining their power couple facade, bam, genuine feelings. Genuine feelings that they might not even be mutually aware that they share, leading to the fun scene of a confession of love well into a relationship.

Man, I really like that now. I initially thought I'd finish this ask by saying I like pale more than red, but in the process of writing it out, I fell in love with that dynamic and I can honestly say I value it higher than pale. How ironic, that in my construction of a fiction I fall in love with it. Anyways good going to both you and another anon of an upcoming ask for making me think this one out. Flushed Erikar just got upgraded to "works really well" tier.

[entropy-sea-system]

Redefining Nebularomantic to be more open-ended as a label, like its Nebulasexual counterpart

Introduction:

Nebula- as a label was meant to be quoi- but specific to people who feel their neurodivergence and/or (action/attraction type)-related intrusive thoughts influences the respective orientation for them.

If you look at the nebulasexual label it is defined broadly, just as I described in the above paragraph. However, the term nebularomantic has almost always been defined only as "cannot distinguish between platonic and romantic attraction because of neurodivergence" unfortunately.

Now there are generally a few problems with equating platoniromantic with quoiromantic:

Quoiromantic is an umbrella term with many definitions it can include. It generally includes any difficulty in comprehending or fully understanding an attraction or relationship type. Platoniro definitely is included in this but it is inaccurate to define quoiro as only platoniromantic and it disrespects the broader definition of quoi- that the coiner intended

It assumes that we all have a connection to platonicism and understand the concept of "platonic" well. Not all quoiros use the arospec label and some are more alloromantic-spec aligned but there is an assumption that arospecs must have a huge connection to platonicism (due to platonormativity) which undoubtedly sidelines those of us who don't (aplatonics and plato averse or repulsed people mainly)

It implies that you cannot confuse other attractions with romantic if this is the only way quoi- gets (mis)defined

Anyways, seeing as how the nebulasexual label functions as "quoisexual if orientation influenced by being nd and/or having sexual intrusive thoughts", it is very reductive to make the romantic orientation of nebula- spectrum mean only "platoniromantic and neurodivergent"

For those reasons I am now redefining Nebularomantic as follows:

Nebularomantic: Being unsure whether one experiences romantic attraction, being unable to fully understand romantic attraction, or otherwise identifying as quoiromantic or similar experiences, and this being influenced by one's neurodivergence and/or having intrusive thoughts about romance

The main reason I am doing this is because I'm an apothiplatonic sexuromantic who is quoiromantic and does not want people like me to be excluded from the label of nebularomantic. I also want arospec and adjacent terms to be defined properly, instead of being forcibly made to involve platonicism, despite the other orientation types' counterparts of the term not even specifying confusion with ANOTHER attraction type (while still including it under the term if one wishes to id w it for that reason).

This very much means people who fit the older definition of nebularo are still nebularo !! Just that it will no longer be the ONLY way to be nebularomantic because there was no necessity for that label to be that specific to begin with, especially compared to the usage of it in the acespec adjacent version (nebulasexual).

Additionally if anyone wants to coin another term that specifically ONLY means "platoniromantic and orientation influenced by one's neurodivergence" you definitely can. I think that can be a useful label for some people if they want it. (I might coin one like that for sexuromantic myself at some point)

Additionally at one point I will coin a term 'Nimbusromantic' which is explicitly inclusive of nebularomantics who do not experience platonic attraction and/or don't feel a connection to platonicism thus don't relate to the older definition of nebularomantic.

[romchomp]

i’ve been reading your analysis/rewatch notes about nana and they are really insightful and helped me understand hachi’s actions a lot more. also they are really funny. I reread the manga and honestly i do think ai yazawa did plan to have a romance story that was about nana and hachi being actually romantic partners in the end (maybe it’s just my head cannon idk). if ai yazawa did come back from hiatus and continued nana how would you like it to end?

anon i'm so sorry i've taken forever to get to this 😭

i really appreciate this though. i'm glad that you could find my notes funny and helpful in better understanding hachi's actions!! :) i regret never finishing my note series. i really enjoyed writing them and loved getting comments from people sharing their own thoughts on any given episode.

all that aside,

a part of me agrees with you that the romance between hachi and nana was intentional. so much so I would argue that they have canonical romantic feelings toward each other. they explicitly describe how they feel as something like true love, something like falling in love for the first time, etc etc. they're also narrating to each other. all these years into the future, and they are still centered in each other's lives. i guess my thing is...i think ai yazawa intended for nana and hachi's ending to be with them together, but i'm not sure it was intended to be read as queer. romantic, sure, but in a platonic way.

the likelihood of nana ever getting finished is low, but if ai yazawa were to come back from hiatus one day, i think it would end with hachi and nana reuniting and potentially living together again. I don't see hachi being with nobu or takumi and i don't see nana ending up with yasu either. nana and hachi pick each other and learn how to properly depend on one another. thats what I think ai yazawa planned.

and i think that would be an ending that satisfies both of their arcs. hachi is meant to learn that maintaining some independence doesn't have to mean being alone and/or lonely. and that the person she can depend on for this need doesn't have to be a man or romantic partner. basically, reuniting with nana is hachi's journey to depending on others in a societally unconventional way, which requires some level of confidence and independence she didn't have at the beginning of the series. nana is meant to finally let herself depend on others and in the process open herself up to love and vulnerability. to realize that despite her disappearance, despite hachi having children now, she still waited for her to come back. to learn to depend on and to be depended on is not only a risk but something fulfilling.

on the question of how the reunion would actually go down...i don't really have too many opinions. would I rather nana finally come back to everyone on her own or for hachi to find her? i'm not really sure. i really don't know which one i would consider better- i think there's an argument for both. i think the manga was pointing in the direction of hachi being the one to cross that bridge though.

maybe ai yazawa WOULD pair off nana and yasu idk. i've personally never really liked them that much together and i don't think nana actually loved him. not like she loved hachi. but i admit i see that being a possibility in ai yazawa's vision. hachi ending up with nobu or takumi? not so much. i truly, genuinely, believe hachi was intended to be a single mother who at least gets to reunite with her old homoerotic bestie in the end.

in conclusion... i don't really care that much whether or not nana and hachi are girlfriends by the end or simply galpals. i just want them to end up together and not date any of the men. it will all be lesbianism to me either way. however, i think the main reason i feel this way is because i don't think we'll ever get an ending lmao. they absolutely end up as girlfriends in MY vision.

[kimdokjas]

Hi~ I binge-read orv webtoon today and I have just finished. I came to Tumblr to know more about the fandom and I realised that people ship Dokja with Joonghyuk. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting that. I thought their "flirty"(? interactions were just some sort of fan service or silly jokes. Is there anything in the novel that implies a relationship between them? Or maybe something that I missed in the webtoon? (I struggle with picking up social cues, especially romantic cues)

I hope this ask doesn't upset you, you were one of the top orv blogs that Tumblr showed me

(also, I apologize for my bad English, it isn't my first language)

Wait I'm one of the top orv blogs??? 💀💀💀 But for sure, I don't mind at all, anon! I love having an excuse to rant about orv <3

To preface this: yes, most of the heavier joongdok content comes until later in the novel, but there ARE some highlights in the webtoon as well so far.

I think most of the appeal of early joongdok interactions in the webtoon comes from the enemies to lovers vibe they have going on. Picture KDJ hyperfixating on his single favorite character for 10+ years, through every up and down of his life. In his narration during their FIRST meeting he explicitly says:

I liked you, hated you, resented you, and cheered for you. I was with you throughout your three-thousand episode journey. (webtoon ch. 12)

AND THEN. He finds out his favorite blorbo comes to life and proceeds to annoy him until he starts choking him over a bridge with a sunset backdrop like something out of a romance drama. It's all about the tension and subversion of expectations 🤌

Their relationship is very much a slowburn. YJH very reasonably distrusts KDJ at first (due to some past trauma) but we do see him gradually start to warm up to KDJ as the story progresses.

One of the main highlights is during ch. ~100 in the Disaster of Floods scenario. When KDJ sacrifices himself for YJH, he proceeds to freak out, tries to save him even when he knows it's futile, and refuses to kill him for coins even when YJH is often largely pragmatic in his interactions with others. We're told that YJH pretty much never uses the word "companion" because it holds too much meaning for him and he's never acknowledged KDJ as such, even though KDJ insists they're "life and death companions" (which is already pretty damn poetic if not romantic imo). But when Shin Yoosung asks who KDJ is to him, YJH says:

"That guy. He is my companion." (ch. 102)

(This got translated as "a companion of mine" in the webtoon but the novel is where it's at.) And keep in mind this is also an actual quote from the novel btw:

The weight of this word, 'companion', was too great for Yoo Joonghyuk. (ch. 12)

However, as I mentioned, their relationship only really starts to develop until later in the novel. To be clear, there's no explicit romance in orv–which I personally really appreciate because it opens up the floor instead to flesh out all the platonic relationships all of the characters have with one another that are JUST as deep and profound.

But even so, joongdok is very much canon to me. I don't want to give too much away because I'd be spoiling the rest of the novel for you, but they really are cosmic soulmates meant for one another in a way that is so narratively profound and completely goes full circle. The lengths they go to for one another are actually insane and there's no doubt in my mind the love and devotion they feel for one another is real and simultaneously indescribable by mere labels.

I really hope you're planning on continuing to read the novel now that you finished the webtoon! I truly cannot recommend it enough. It is literally and unironically the single greatest piece of literature I've ever read and the journey is 100% worth it. Plus, the webtoon will take a long time to complete at the current rate so the only way to find out what happens next is by reading the novel 😉

Anyway, I hope this was somewhat helpful to you! I think it's really admirable that you're trying to search for a different interpretation from your own. There's a saying in orv by one of the characters: "Read it again", and the intention there is that by rereading (or looking at things again in a new light) you will always find new meaning even within the exact same text, as long as you're willing to look for it. So the fact that you're asking this question is very much in the spirit of orv itself <3

And this goes without saying but you're also completely free to interpret them in your own way as well!

(By the way, I highly advise you to blacklist the "orv spoilers" tag and try to tread with caution if you're searching for content! There are spoilers literally EVERYWHERE and while orv is still very much enjoyable even with spoilers, all the reveals won't hit as hard–trust me. There really is so much that can be spoiled.)

[weyrwolfen]

Welp, I have some thoughts and feelings on this subject. Might as well post them on the internet and get myself in trouble.

George Lucas has made it very clear what he was aiming for, with the whole concept of attachment, and I really enjoyed reading all of the context gathered together in this post. I guess my thoughts are (and here’s where I’m about to poke the hornet’s nest) that intent doesn't matter if the story can't stand on its own. And I would argue that the various writers in the Star Wars universe haven't always done a very good job of clearly communicating their themes within their stories.

“Attachment = greed, possession, fear, the inability to accept the nature of life, full stop,” definitely comes across in the movies and shows, but as is already pointed out in the comments, Attack of the Clones was also advertised with the tagline, “A Jedi shall not know anger. Nor hatred. Nor love.” And that leads to the arguments I see in a lot of fandom discussions on the topic, because if the Jedi say attachment = greed, possession, and fear, but they also say that attachment = love, then love (according to the Jedi code) must = greed, possession, and fear. And whoa, that’s a load of red flags right there. The Jedi seemingly espousing that love will make you go evil is what sends up some people's hackles. (Does that mean any kind of love, or just romantic love? What about parental love? Platonic love? Cue the screaming.) To be very clear, I don’t think that was what Lucas meant to communicate. However, it’s also not an unreasonable reading of the text, given what was presented.

(Should a marketing tagline be considered canon? Maybe not, but for us fandom olds, that was how AotC was framed and presented to the audience back when it was first released. It's going to color our take on the plot.)

I actually think the Clone Wars arc with Rush Clovis did a little bit better job of exploring this topic. Maybe love in general, and romantic love in particular, weren't inherently problematic, but Anakin and Padme's relationship definitely was. Anakin came across as controlling, possessive, and to just say it flat out, abusive. Even so, the treatment of those issues was pretty superficial, and the writers seriously glossed over a complex, mature topic (presumably because the show was being marketed to kids). So, are we supposed to understand that this relationship is going to lead to Anakin's fall 1) because he's being controlling and possessive and that's bad or 2) because romantic love is always controlling and possessive, so love is bad? Once again, I think the intention was option #1, but the execution was so wishy washy, it didn't do much to counter option #2.

Which could segue over into a whole discussion about Hera and Kanan, who had a romantic relationship, but who didn’t build it on a foundation of trying to possess or control one another, and who could and did put the greater good ahead of their own wants and desires. So, is Kanan breaking the Jedi code in Rebels? Heck if I know. I mean, I do have an opinion, and that opinion is shaped by things like Lucas's quotes above, but it’s just my opinion. The answer isn’t, to the best of my knowledge, explicitly laid out in the text. (Is it? Maybe it is, but I’m not 100% up on all the tie-in books and comics. Yeah, I know. I’m a bad fan.)

So basically, my hot take is that the whole attachment debate in Star Wars is the direct result of not-so-great writing/editing choices made whenever the subject comes up in-universe. (Sorry George et al., I still love your universe and characters!)

This is every time I have ever seen George Lucas talk about attachment in Star Wars and every time he has consistently, repeatedly tied attachment to possession, fear, greed, the desire to control people, the dark side, and the inability to accept that life is transitory, that you can’t hold on to people, you can’t keep them, you can’t possess them.  That if you refuse to let go, which is one of the central themes of the movies, it directly leads to the dark side. That, when the Jedi say attachment is forbidden, they are saying that you can’t want to hold onto things so badly that you’ll slide to the dark side and be willign to do anything just to stop yourself from feeling that fear of losing them (which wouldn’t even work anyway). This isn’t only part of the definition of attachment, this is every time attachment is talked about, it’s synonymous with the dark side.  This is the full context of what attachment means in Star Wars and to the Jedi.  Attachment = greed, possession, fear, the inability to accept the nature of life, full stop.  That’s it, that’s the definition in the galaxy far, far away. : (Bolding is mine for drawing the connections between everything said here.) THE PHANTOM MENACE COMMENTARY: George Lucas, The Mythology of Star Wars, 1999:

BILL MOYERS: “The Phantom Menace is about letting go?” GEORGE LUCAS: “It’s about letting go.”

George Lucas to CNN, May 8, 2002:

    “In this film, [The Phantom Menace] you begin to see that he has a fear of losing things, a fear of losing his mother, and as a result, he wants to begin to control things, he wants to become powerful, and these are not Jedi traits. And part of these are because he was starting to be trained so late in life, that he’d already formed these attachments. And for a Jedi, attachment is forbidden.”

ATTACK OF THE CLONES COMMENTARY: George Lucas, BBC News, 2002:

     "Jedi Knights aren’t celibate - the thing that is forbidden is attachments - and possessive relationships.”

George Lucas, Attack of the Clones commentary:

     “The fact that everything must change and that things come and go through his life and that he can’t hold onto things, which is a basic Jedi philosophy that he isn’t willing to accept emotionally and the reason that is because he was raised by his mother rather than the Jedi. If he’d have been taken in his first year and started to study to be a Jedi, he wouldn’t have this particular connection as strong as it is and he’d have been trained to love people but not to become attached to them.    “But he has become attached to his mother and he will become attached to Padme and these things are, for a Jedi, who needs to have a clear mind and not be influenced by threats to their attachments, a dangerous situation. And it feeds into fear of losing things, which feeds into greed, wanting to keep things, wanting to keep his possessions and things that he should be letting go of. His fear of losing her turns to anger at losing her, which ultimately turns to revenge in wiping out the village. The scene with the Tusken Raiders is the first scene that ultimately takes him on the road to the dark side. I mean he’s been prepping for this, but that’s the one where he’s sort of doing something that is completely inappropriate.“

George Lucas, CNN.com 2002:

“The message [of Attack of the Clones] is you can’t possess things. You can’t hold on to them. You have to accept change. You have to accept the fact that things transition. And so, as you try to hold on to things or you become afraid of – that you’re going to lose things, then you begin to crave the power to control those things. And then, you start to become greedy and then you turn into a bad person.”

George Lucas, Attack of the Clones commentary:

    “The scene in the garage here, we begin to see that what [Anakin]’s really upset about is the fact that he’s not powerful enough. That if he had more power, he could’ve kept his mother. He could’ve saved her and she could’ve been in his life. That relationship could’ve stayed there if he’d have been just powerful enough. He’s greedy in that he wants to keep his mother around, he’s greedy in that he wants to become more powerful in order to control things in order to keep the things around that he wants. There’s a lot of connections here with the beginning of him sliding into the dark side.    “And it also shows his jealousy and anger at Obi-Wan and blaming everyone else for his inability to be as powerful as he wants to be, which he hears that he will be, so here he sort of lays out his ambition and you’ll see later on his ambition and his dialogue here is the same as Dooku’s. He says ‘I will become more powerful than every Jedi.’ And you’ll hear later on Dooku will say ‘I have become more powerful than any Jedi.’ So you’re going start to see everybody saying the same thing. And Dooku is kind of the fallen Jedi who was converted to the dark side because the other Sith Lord didn’t have time to start from scratch, and so we can see that that’s where this is going to lead which is that it is possible for a Jedi to be converted. It is possible for a Jedi to want to become more powerful, and control things. Because of that, and because he was unwilling to let go of his mother, because he was so attached to her, he committed this terrible revenge on the Tusken Raiders.“

George Lucas, Attack of the Clones commentary:

      “The fact that everything must change and that things come and go through his life and that [Anakin] cannot hold onto things, which is a basic Jedi philosophy that he isn’t willing to accept emotionally and the reason that is because he was raised by his mother rather than the Jedi. If he’d have been taken in his first years and started to study to be a Jedi, he wouldn’t have this particular connection as strong as it is and he’d have been trained to love people but not to become attached to them.    “But he become attached to his mother and he will become attached to Padme and these things are, for a Jedi, who needs to have a clear mind and not be influenced by threats to their attachments, a dangerous situation. And it feeds into fear of losing things, which feeds into greed, wanting to keep things, wanting to keep his possessions and things that he should be letting go of. His fear of losing her turns to anger at losing her, which ultimately turns to revenge in wiping out the village. The scene with the Tusken Raiders is the first scene that ultimately takes him on the road to the dark side. I mean he’s been prepping for this, but that’s the one where he’s sort of doing something that is completely inappropriate.    “He’s greedy in that he wants to keep his mother around, he’s greedy in that he wants to become more powerful in order to control things in order to keep the things around that he wants. There’s a lot of connections here with the beginning of him sliding into the dark side.  [….]    “Because of that, and because he was unwilling to let go of his mother, because he was so attached to her, he committed this terrible revenge on the Tusken Raiders.”

George Lucas, Time Magazine, 2002:

    “[Anakin] turns into Darth Vader because he gets attached to things. He can’t let go of his mother; he can’t let go of his girlfriend. He can’t let go of things. It makes you greedy. And when you’re greedy, you are on the path to the dark side, because you fear you’re going to lose things, that you’re not going to have the power you need.”

REVENGE OF THE SITH COMMENTARY: George Lucas, The Making of Revenge of the Sith:

    “The Jedi are trained to let go. They’re trained from birth,” he continues, “They’re not supposed to form attachments. They can love people- in fact, they should love everybody. They should love their enemies; they should love the Sith. But they can’t form attachments.”

George Lucas, The Making of Revenge of the Sith, 2005:

     “The core issue, ultimately, is greed, possessiveness - the inability to let go. Not only to hold on to material things, which is greed, but to hold on to life, to the people you love - to not accept the reality of life’s passages and changes, which is to say things come, things go. Everything changes. Anakin becomes emotionally attached to things, his mother, his wife. That’s why he falls - because he does not have the ability to let go.     “No human can let go. It’s very hard. Ultimately, we do let go because it’s inevitable; you do die, and you do lose your loved ones. But while you’re alive, you can’t be obsessed with holding on. As Yoda says in this one, [The scene in which Anakin seeks Yoda’s counsel] You must learn to let go of everything you’re afraid to let go of.’ Because holding on is in the same category and the precursor to greed. And that’s what a Sith is. A Sith is somebody that is absolutely obsessed with gaining more and more power - but for what? Nothing, except that it becomes an obsession to get more.      “The Jedi are trained to let go. They’re trained from birth, they’re not supposed to form attachments. They can love people- in fact, they should love everybody. They should love their enemies; they should love the Sith. But they can’t form attachments. So, what all these movies are about is: greed. Greed is a source of pain and suffering for everybody. And the ultimate state of greed is the desire to cheat death.”

OVERALL COMMENTARY: George Lucas, Star Wars Archives: 1999-2005:

     “The core of Anakin’s problem is that the Jedi are raised from birth so they learn to let go of everything. They’re trained more than anything else to understand the transitional nature of life, that things are constantly changing and you can’t hold on to anything. You can love things but you can’t be attached to them, You must be willing to let the flow of life and the flow of the Force move through your life, move through you. So that you can be compassionate and loving and caring, but not be possessive and grabbing and holding on to things and trying to keep things the way they are. Letting go is the central theme of the film.“

George Lucas, The Star Wars Archives: 1999-2005:

     “[Jedi Knights] do not grow attachments, because attachment is a path to the dark side. You can love people, but you can’t want to possess them. They’re not yours. Accept that they have a fate. Even those you love most are going to die. You can’t do anything about that. Protect them with your lightsaber, but if they die they were going to die. there’s nothing you can do. All you can do is accept that fact.    “In mythology, if you go to Hades to get them back you’re not doing it for them, you’re doing it for yourself. You’re doing it because you don’t want to give them up. You’re afraid to be without them. The key to the dark side is fear. You must be clean of fear, and fear of loss is the greatest fear. If you’re set up for fear of loss, you will do anything to keep that loss from happening, and you’re going to end up in the dark side. That’s the basic premise of Star Wars and the Jedi, and how it works.    “That’s why they’re taken at a young age to be trained. They cannot get themselves killed trying to save their best buddy when it’s a hopeless exercise.” 

George Lucas, Mellody Hobson George Lucas - Virtual Speaker Interview, 2021

   “The thing with Anakin is that he started out a great kid he was very compassionate, so the issue was how did he turn bad. How did he go to the dark side? He went to the dark side, Jedi aren’t supposed to have attachments. They can love people, they can do that, but they can’t attach, that’s the problem in the world of fear. Once you are attached to something then you become afraid of losing it. And when you become afraid of losing it, then you turn to the dark side, and you want to hold onto it, and that was Anakin’s issue.  Ultimately, that he wanted to hold onto his wife who he knew, he had a premonition that she was going to die, he didn’t know how to stop it, so he went to the dark side.  In mythology you go to Hades, and you talk to the devil, and the devil says ‘this is what you do’ and basically you sell your soul to the devil. When you do that, and you’re afraid and you’re on the dark side and you fall off the golden path of compassion because you are greedy, you want to hold on to something that you love and he didn’t do the right thing and as a result he turned bad.”

[meeko-mar]

The more I think about it, the more I might be signing on to the theory that Izuku KNOWS his trigger is Kacchan, and he just hasn't admitted/confronted it yet...At least, that we have yet seen.

Hold my non-alcoholic beverage.

Once again, let's preface with the fact that we have SEEN with our own eyes, that Kacchan has been the trigger of two specific incidents, being Monoma insulting Kacchan and Izuku becoming angry enough to manifest Black Whip.

And second, Kacchan following him into danger, and then getting impaled and nearly dying to protect him, which then triggered possibly the most RAGE we have ever seen Izuku possess, AND the manifestation of Danger Sense, AND caused him to literally throw himself at AFO/Shigaraki which put him immediately under threat of having OFA stolen. Obviously, the vestiges protected the Quirk, but the fact still stands that the rage the a Izuku felt was enough to drive him LITERALLY into Shigaraki's hands, despite how very very dangerous that was. Izuku LOST HIMSELF so badly that he could have lost the entire war right there, if The Vestiges hadn't protected him and the Quirk.

The moment when All Might and Kacchan are trying to coach him and find the connection that brought about Black Whip. The mention of an external factor, and Izuku's avoidance of saying what that factor was(Kacchan being insulted, as we ALL know and explicitly saw), and arguably his words of "It's not something I can handle right now" seem a bit suspicious.

(NOTE: I've said before, that I had slight skepticism that this line about not being able to handle it and putting a lock on something, was meant to refer to the power he unlocked, however, watching season 5 has made me remember that, after the chaotic manifestation, and talking to Lariat, and realizing that Black Whip was part of his Quirk and therefore there to HELP him, and he had successfully used it without losing control because he ACCEPTED that it was a power that was there to help, not hurt him. I am not so sure that Izuku's "lock" is referring to the power anymore, but rather, his feelings for Kacchan.

But, I have new perspective that maybe, like others were pointing out, maybe it IS referring to the actual TRIGGER. IE, his feelings for Kacchan/his anger on his behalf.

I could be wrong, of course? But stay with me because this is a part of a larger context)

So, after the War arc, after Kacchan got gravely injured on his behalf, after hospitalization, we are given one thing before Izuku suddenly leaves. But it was KACCHAN's perspective, Kacchan waking up and being desperate to get to Izuku, and getting DENIED at the door. We are shown Kacchan's desperation to make sure Izuku's ok, but so far, even well after waking up, we are NOT SHOWN Izuku's worry over Kacchan's condition. We are suddenly FLUNG into a brand new world where Izuku is a drop-out "vigilante" working on the villain activity outside of school, cleaning up villains and questing to find out how villains come to be in their own minds.

We've seen him talk to his mom before he leaves. We've seen him talk to Gran Torino.

But we haven't seen him talk to ANY of his friends yet, ESPECIALLY KACCHAN. When there has been such a fantastic amount of tension placed on that particular relationship, after not only the sacrifice Kacchan made, but also, and particularly, the FOCUS that was placed on Kacchan trying to REACH HIM and FAILING.

We've all been forced to inhale a deep breath as Kacchan charged down that hallway yelling for Deku, and we are STILL HOLDING THAT BREATH. There is a huge, poignant LOOSE END there that is hanging over our head. We are still waiting for the payoff.

So like that scene, in theory, Izuku is still avoiding how he feels so strongly about Kacchan that he can be triggered into rage over him being hurt?

Actually, no, I think this sudden change to Izuku is very much him finally acknowledging it and acting on it.

The reason we have so much unresolved tension still hanging over Kacchan and Izuku's non-reunion, the reason Hori set up this big conflict that hasn't been resolved yet, why he showed us Kacchan trying to see Deku and not an ounce of Izuku wanting to see Kacchan before he leaves,

is that Izuku is actively trying to distance himself from Kacchan.

He did say that the reason he won't be returning to UA is of course because AFO could find him at any time and he would place everyone around him in danger.

But Kacchan? I think Izuku is still very much traumatized by the fact that he witnessed Kacchan taking a would-be fatal blow for him and falling out of the sky, drenched in blood.

I think he probably realizes that if Kacchan follows him into battle again, there's a real chance it could happen again... Or worse, AFO/Shigaraki, now knowing what a touchy button that is for Izuku, could actively target Kacchan on the battlefield, kill him, and/or use him against Izuku.

And Izuku is in the literary stage where the protagonist thinks that the love they have for someone else is a weak point and a danger/liability to those he loves, and so tries to shoulder all the burden themselves an shut the other out. He doesn't want his friends involved, he doesn't want Kacchan involved.

Because he knows that his love for Kacchan is his weakness. He's finally acknowledging that when Kacchan is hurt or slighted, he tends to lose himself. He loses control of his heart, and this is not something they can afford at this point in the game. Defeating AFO is now or never. (and he just desperately doesn't want Kacchan to be hurt for him anymore.)

He is going to have to learn, however, that, like Kacchan says to him, he can't keep playing the Hero on his own. And that their love can be their greatest strength, instead of a weakness.

So he's left, probably without a conversation with Kacchan. Hori is holding out on showing us this, building onto that tension, and I feel like he has some very significant pay off coming up. We haven't been shown any such conversation because he wants us to keep holding that breath for a little longer.

And if I'm right, it's gonna be dramatic when Izuku breaks down about this to Kacchan, finally. There was also some theories that Kacchan v. Deku 3 is going to follow the progression of their relationship and have this one center around Izuku's feelings being laid bare and Kacchan "accepting his feelings" as Izuku had done for him in KvD2, I think I'm a fan of this theory.

So yeah, Izuku knows that Kacchan is his trigger and purposely left without him for that reason.

That's basically my theory. Probably not the first one to think this, but I thought I'd write about it anyway. to get it outta my head, lmao.

Alsooo, yeah this is tagged for my Bakudeku peeps, and I use the word "love" in this, but you can read that as you will, either platonic or possibly romantic, not here to say this theory calls for canon romantic feelings between BKDK because that's not really my point, but at this point denying that they love each other in SOME capacity is being blind.

Ship or don't ship, but I legitimately think this is the psychology of Izuku's decision right now.

[mythicamagic]

Boxes: a Sesshoumaru & Rin father/daughter oneshot.

Summary: Sesshoumaru and Rin discuss their bond.

Made in response to today's events. I needed some catharsis.

---

"Sesshoumaru-sama?"

Golden eyes slid open, drowsy at first, before blinking and sliding up to Rin. He arched a brow, noting the distress in her scent.

"What ails you?" he uttered, shifting against the tree he was currently reclined against that overlooked the village.

Rin fiddled with her hands and chewed her lip, scuffing a bare foot against the ground. Even as a teen she hadn't lost some habits.

"Its just that I'm confused about some things people were saying in the village, so... I was wondering if I could talk to you about them."

Sesshoumaru gestured elegantly to one side of the tree, inviting her to sit beside him. Rin plopped down and hugged drawn up knees to her chest.

Noticing the silence and slightly concerned by it from the normally talkative girl, Sesshoumaru took it upon himself to prompt answers from her. "What did the fools say?"

His ward huffed and pouted, "that's not a nice thing to call them, Sesshoumaru-sama," she mumbled, soon sighing and reluctantly continuing. "Well, it was mostly some older women. They were talking about how I'm 'of age now.' I tried to say I wasn't interested in anyone but then... they started talking about marriage prospects."

Sesshoumaru listened quietly, feeling distaste mar his lips into a faint sneer. The girl was no more than 15.

Rin picked at some lush grass, gaze averted. "They mentioned you," she said off handedly, causing him to stiffen. "I got confused. Sesshoumaru-sama doesn't call R-Rin is his daughter," she slipped up, reverting into her old trait of referring to herself in third person. A fresh wave of confusion and distress rolled into her scent, sickly and rotten like dying flowers. "So maybe they're right? They said that it's natural since we've known each other so long and have a bond. You're kind to me. Protect me. You're a man and Rin is a woma-"

"Enough, Rin."

He hadn't meant his tone to slip into one so biting. Youki spilt through his hair, making it flicker slightly, markings emboldening. He closed his eyes to snuff out a burning red gaze. Taking a calming breath, he gave a measured response. "I do not outwardly call you my daughter, no. And correct, we have a bond. Perhaps I am 'nicer' to you than most," he allowed, finally looking down at her and meeting her teary gaze. "But why should that automatically mean romance for us?"

Rin rubbed at her eyes, blinking. "They said its considered 'normal' for humans to marry young and that you wouldn't have protected me for no reason."

Sesshoumaru's claws twitched at his side. Somehow he mercifully kept hold his patience and didn't immediately fly off to have a word with these people. "Perhaps it is normal for them, but that has no bearing on us. This one protected you because you are pack."

Rin thought about this for a moment, "like Jaken and Ah-Un?"

"Hn," his lips twitched. "And you do not see me offering marriage proposals to Jaken, do you?"

A shaky giggle escaped her, "well I haven't seen any, but maybe in private..."

Sesshoumaru huffed with amusement and placed a palm on her head, messing up wild hair and eliciting a squeal that ran into a whine.

The amusement abated however, and Sesshoumaru found himself gazing down at her soberly. True she was no gaped toothed child anymore, but he could not see her in any other light than as... Rin. Rin who liked flowers. Rin who cuddled with dragons. Rin who walked around with mud caked onto her feet and hair. Rin who sang songs. Rin who was small, frightened and sobbed from nightmares featuring sharp toothed creatures tearing her limb from limb. Rin who had died twice before the age of 8. Rin, who needed a guardian. A protector. One stable thing unchanging in her life of confusion, upset and trauma. More than anything. He doubted he'd ever be capable of seeing her as a woman no matter how she changed, nor did he wish to.

"Perhaps it is my fault," he rumbled quietly. "This one is not in the habit of stating things out loud. I should have explicitly said that I see you as...part of my group."

Rin suddenly beamed, sniffing. "You're not to blame, Sesshoumaru-sama. That's just how you are. You like Inuyasha a little better now but you still don't call him your brother."

"Hn, half brother," he said, cutting his eyes to the sky and stroking her head of dark hair.

"I will change my habits, if only to silence those wagging tongues spreading rumors. Or I could rip them out," he mused casually, tone deceptively soft.

Rin winced, "that's a little far," she said, shifting and removing his large hand from her head, studying it. "... I don't think I... see you in a romantic light," she concluded on her own. "Maybe that's weird. They seemed to think that I should. "

"It is not weird," he stated firmly. "How do you think of me?"

Rin was still impressionable, but now that she'd spoken her thoughts aloud, they'd become unclouded. "Like a Papa, but not quite. It's hard to say," she hummed. "My guardian," she settled on. "Definitely someone who will protect me like a Papa."

"Humans often like to box relationships into something they can understand. Familial or romantic," Sesshoumaru uttered, squeezing her fingers. "Demons are not that way. Platonic relationships come easier to us to recognise. Perhaps I should not have left you in the village after all if this is what they're preparing you to think."

Rin quickly waved her hands, "oh no! I still enjoy the village! Kagome-sama seemed angry with the ladies and told me not to listen. I just... wanted to ask you. I trust you."

She trusted him to tell her what was right. To do the correct thing. In the wrong hands, that trust could be manipulated. Become something dark.

Sesshoumaru gentled, nodding. He then leaned back against the tree. "Rin," golden eyes slid to her, serious. "You can marry someone else, if you wish to. If you do not, don't. What do you want?"

Rin pursed her lips and frowned, "I'm not sure. Maybe I'll be a herbalist. Maybe I'll be a demon Slayer!" she gave a cheeky grin, showing her dimples. "But I don't think I'm ready for marriage and babies yet."

Sesshoumaru felt a mild wave of relief wash over him. "And you understand that nothing will change our bond as it is now? You are my ward. There is... Happiness, to be found in that. Far more than some might think. It is not a downgrade from something romantic."

Rin nodded in agreement, giving a smile and hugging his side briefly.

As she stood and removed a leaf from her hair, muttering a thanks in preparation to leave, the demon formulated some words on his tongue. They felt strange and foreign to speak aloud, but they were necessary. As he'd said before, humans needed to place relationships into boxes. He would willingly put himself in the appropriate one, if it meant bringing her comfort.

"Farewell, daughter."

Earthy brown eyes swung to him. Rin froze, looking younger then, childlike, wonderful joy brightening her face. Something seemed to visibly settle over her, a blanket of ease and comfort. Like she'd found the thing needed. It wasn't a bereavement to be rejected by him. To reject the notion of romance. Their happiness and bond as ward and Lord, was more fulfilling than any humans trivial assessment of their relationship.

"See you later, Papa," Rin gave a wave, hurrying away with her long legs, gangly form drawing away.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the rough tree bark. There would perhaps come a time when he would watch her dance with her partner barefoot at her wedding, or maybe she'd never be wed. Whatever Rin chose to do, a certain silver inuyoukai would keep vigil over her life. She had suffered greatly, and brought him quiet joy, the way only a pup could.

Thin lips curved, and Sesshoumaru lazily sunbathed for the rest of the afternoon, watching over the village silently beneath the refuge of his tree.

[applejackofalltrades]

Why Do I Like AppleDash So Much?

Literally nobody has ever asked me this but I'm going to answer this question anyway.

Intro: How I Got Into My Little Pony

Imma be real. The reason I started watching the show is because some of my old Twitter mutuals were interacting with posts about the Friendship Is Magic 10th anniversary. Some of them were talking about Rarijack and how it was a good ship, and others were discussing the implied canonicity of Appledash.

I had, at the time, just finished catching up on The Owl House that had recently been in the process of finishing up season one or had just gone into hiatus (can't remember which) and I was losing interest in my old hyperfixations fast.

See, I do this thing where I get really REALLY invested in a show and then as soon as it ends or as soon as I absorb every bit of media in it, I lose some of the interest or it fades. I don't usually lose full interest. For example, I still love She-Ra (my last big fandom) and I'm obviously still invested in The Owl House, but ever since both of those shows ended/stalled, I was desperately needing something to distract me from the trials and tribulations of my will to live that my daily life often forced upon me.

As you can guess, ponies was my solution.

I went into the show with a Rarijack mindset, but knowing that Appledash existed. I guess my mutuals just really liked Rarijack. I decided to give season one a chance. Actually, I felt quite silly for even deciding to watch the show. You see, back in 2018, I was still quite... trivial about watching anything that was seen as "girly". I didn't really have any problems with watching cartoons (ie. V*ltron, Steven Universe, Avatar, Pokemon etc.) but it was the fact that a show was "girly" that made me iffy. I had a very fragile masculinity, okay?

Anyway, so I actually was really afraid to watch She-Ra, even though the teaser images and trailer looked good. But I did and I decided that even "girly" shows could be good and that I was silly.

But, oh boy, cringe culture really messed with me. In mid/late 2020, I was ashamed to watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I said I'd watch one season just so I could laugh at it. I wanted to watch it as a joke, and who knows, maybe I found a guilty pleasure to watch while I waited for The Owl House to come back?

I loaded up Netflix and I hit play. Instantly, I was cringing at myself. Can you blame me? Early season MLP was obviously meant for kids. Not that it was immature or bad, but it was definitely a kid's show, especially considering the iconic storybook opening of episode one.

I watched the episodes, but they mostly were just background noise as I did other things. I remember watching them, but I was indifferent, although frustrated that I found myself chuckling at a few of the jokes and quips. I wasn't that invested, though. I thought Twilight was boring, Rarity obnoxious, Pinkie annoying, Fluttershy frustrating, and Rainbow Dash infuriating. I didn't really mind Applejack, I mostly kinda just thought she was the best one. (Nothing's changed, eh?)

And then....

Fall Weather Friends

Season One Episode Thirteen rolled around.

It starts (as y'all know) with Rainbow Dash and Applejack throwing horseshoes.

I don't know why, but this caught my attention. Of course, being only a few episodes after Look Before You Sleep, I had Rarijack on the mind. But I did think that Applejack and Rainbow Dash were probably good friends and would make for an interesting pairing, and a more interesting episode given their similarities, but also their differences.

I found myself fully watching this episode, and I dare say, it's the episode that dragged me fully into the show.

Maybe it's because I see myself in both of them in a way. Maybe that's why I connect so much with the pair, but them having an episode together? That was really good for me. I wasn't in the best state of mind, and something about seeing two characters that were in some ways reminiscent of myself interact and argue and have an endearing episode together made me smile.

It was then that I discovered the simple amazingness of AppleDash.

I mean, who doesn't love obnoxious, competitive girlfriends that are both prideful and headstrong?

I know I love it.

Anyway, so at that point, my mind kinda just clicked and I decided that my OTP was AppleDash. However, poly rights and Applejack has two front hooves *cough* Rarijackdash *cough*

But yeah so that's how I got into AppleDash. Fall Weather Friends, which was kinda the episode that made me love MLP.

How That Progressed

Well, obviously, I still love that ship I mean I live for it. If I could have any one single ship it'd be them. It just kept getting better and better as the show progressed, I mean their dynamic is great whether you want to see it platonically or romantically. They have a lot in common right off the bat (example, they are both incredibly stubborn, though AJ would take the cake for that) and seem to be close (I mean right from episode one they appear to already have a pre-established friendship), but they're also different. Applejack is a hard worker all of the time with anything she does, while Dash tends to be lazy but can be extremely driven when she is motivated (for example, when she wants to achieve her Wonderbolts dream). Applejack is immensely caring and family-oriented and does things for the good of everypony, while Rainbow Dash can be kind of a jerk and not mindful of her actions when she's wrapped up in the stuff she's doing for herself (not to say she isn't caring, but she tends to be kind of an ass, even to Fluttershy sometimes).

Their growth was immensely fun to watch and as time went on, they shared more and more screentime together. Even if it's not an episode that revolves around them, whenever one of them is in frame, most of the time the other is close by, and they often stand next to each other.

Now, in terms of why they work in the show's canon (in my opinion, either romantically or platonically, they do make a great pairing):

They are both competitive and enjoy competing with each other, though they know (especially after FWF when they've taken it too far)

They watch out for each other (AJ often holds Rainbow Dash back when she's about to rush into danger, especially in early seasons, and Dash always lifts AJ out of danger first [the two examples I can think of off the top of my head are in Best Gift Ever and My Little Pony: The Movie])

Their personalities even each other out. (AJ is a lot more calm than RD, and while they can both get worked up, Applejack is usually the calm one)

Their colour schemes are literally complementary. (AJ's coat is orange while Rainbow's is blue. AJ's eyes are green while RD's are pink/red).

They share a lot of cute moments. (You can just look these up)

THEY'RE HECCING CUTE.

AND FINALLY

I mean fuck, the finale. They're literally canon, you cannot tell me otherwise. It was absolutely intended and you cannot prove otherwise. (read the script notes l o l "we actually could do sort of a subtle wink to the idea that they are now a couple???" < RE Appledash). They live together, they have domestic arguments about chores, they are always giving each other fond looks throughout the episode, always standing next to or near each other, and well we all know Rainbow's iconic hoof on AJ's head in the last shot of the show.

Ashleigh Ball really was the OG shipper and fuck it, she was right. We all know they are in love, she knows they are in love. The only reason they couldn't explicitly state it in the show is probably bc Hasbro would have been against that at the time (I mean, Lyrabon had to be very subtle but hey we gottem).

Oh and, I know this isn't exactly canon canon, but it is an official game: The My Little Pony Magic Princess app. Future AJ and RD's descriptions allude to them being together.

You could negate this and say that this is just them being friends but I mean... come on. Come on. Sweet Apple Acres is Apple family land, and the only people who live there as of The Last Problem are Apples. (AJ, Sugar Belle and Big Mac and their foal, and you guessed it... Rainbow Dash).

You cannot tell me that they aren't canon. You'd really have to be grasping at straws because all the signs are there. They had build up, development, and it just makes sense.

If you don't think it makes sense... did we watch the same show??? It absolutely makes sense.

Anyway, AppleDash is canon. :)

[bebx]

The way they were so vague abt Slyvie's background not mentioning Thor, Frigga or even Laufey ((bc we weren't supposed to notice the paper)) says so much that S*lki were meant to be the romantic couple -bc of homophobes- and maybe ep2 lokius flirting wasn't scripted and might've just been Wilson+Hiddles chemistry PLS SAY I'M WRONG T.T

(2/2) ... “P.S. i think Slyvie's background wasn't explored bc then it will be like explicitly saying Slyvie is also Loki -like, PPL WUD ACTUALLY KNOW- and I think they wanted to show them as seperate beings for romance purposes ... hope I'm not confusing”

^^^ I suppose you’re the same anon who sent me this second ask as well? My apologies if I’m wrong. Anyway I’m gonna put these two asks together.

So my answer and my thoughts on the subject: I think there was a severe lack of communication going on in the Loki production as a whole. The director once said Loki and Sylvie’s relationship wasn’t necessary romantic, and the writer said it was a ‘love story’ while the composer who wrote the show’s soundtracks said Loki looked at Sylvie the way he looked at his mother (????)

The entire team, even the characters in the show, kept switching back and forth between saying she’s a Loki and saying she’s not a Loki (????) so it appeared Sylvie is a Loki while it’s convenient for the scene, and is not when it’s not convenient (???) I don’t even know if it makes sense but…. Yeah.

I think the fact they showed Sylvie’s childhood, when she was taken from Asgard, was also enough let the audience know she’s Loki? How Sylvie told Loki they were ‘the same’ and how He Who Remains called them ‘Loki and Loki’

Also how Marvel promoted these ‘self-love’ (?????)

My opinion, I don’t think they were being subtle at all about her being Loki.

People know they’re the same person, and Marvel had no problem letting the audience know, either.

That being said, I don’t ship them. Like. At. All. And it’s not because I ship Lokius but because

1. Sylvie is such a strong, independent character. Making her Loki’s ‘love interest’ kind of took away all of that and it kind of make the majority of the audience see her as just ‘another version of Loki that Loki fell in love with’ I think she deserved better.

2. Falling romantically in love with yourself is not — and will never be — self-love. I don’t want to sound rude, but sometimes I doubt the people behind Loki even know what the meanings of self-love and self-acceptance are, but they definitely aren’t kissing yourself.

3. They said ‘falling for himself is in character for Loki’ I disagree. Loki hates himself. He has so many issues that I believe the person who hates Loki the most, is Loki.

You wanna know which character would fall for themselves without it being out of character at all? DCEU Joker. I know they’re under different studios, but since I’m a fan of both the Joker and Loki, I’d say if I were to see a character make out with themselves, I’d expect that to be the Clown Prince of Crime since he’s already so self-obsessed. But Loki? Nah

4. The way Marvel represented Loki and Sylvie’s relationship are, in my opinion, inaccurate and harmful to genderfluid people. Because one of the stereotypical misconceptions about genderfluid people is that they ‘can only date themselves because they’re freaks’ which is inaccurate and harmful.

I also strongly disagree with Loki’s ‘have you met the female variant of us’ line. Like… tf are you talking about ‘female version’ ????? you’re genderfluid, Sylvie is genderfluid.

5. I strongly believe keeping Loki and Sylvie’s relationship platonic (instead of cliche love story but made it weirder because they’re the same person) would’ve been more meaningful and powerful

However, with the strong backlash they’re getting, about the Loki and Sylvie’s relationship, from the majority of the audience, I don’t think Marvel will still continue with this route in their future projects anymore.

Anyway….. talking about Loki and Mobius’s relationship, be it platonic or romantic, it’s the only thing I truly enjoyed about the show.

Tom recently said in an interview that about 95% of his ideas weren’t in the series at all, and only about 5% made it to the show. I don’t know if those ideas of his that we ended up seeing are the Loki and Mobius’s interactions, but nonetheless, it’s a shame how they barely listened to him at all. I mean he IS Loki. He’s played him for more than a decade. He knows him better than the rest.

I hope they listen — actually listen — to him in the second season. And I hope they fix these whole mess, too.

[oreo166]

Avatar Hot Take #2

Time for another topic that might fuel some backlash and more controversy.

The amount of negative flak given to Aang for kissing Katara when he shouldn’t have in the EIP (Ember Island Players) episode -- compared to how much given to Korra when she first kissed Mako in the SoC (Spirit of Competition) episode -- is ridiculous:

Now let me give y’all a disclaimer right now: I am NOT saying that kissing Katara was the right thing for Aang to do at the time. In fact, I agree that it wasn’t.

  With that said, however, nor was kissing Mako the right thing for Korra to do.

Yet why do I see many people calling Aang “selfish”, “entitled”, and even “ab*sive” for his error in the EIP episode? Heck, I’ve seen comments go far enough to imply that Aang should’ve been punched in the face! So would anyone mind telling me exactly where the frick all those kinds of comments are for Korra?

And no, what Aang and Korra did in the EIP and the SoC episodes respectively were not different. They were anything but different. Let’s examine the context of the specific scenario of each of the two episodes, shall we?:

EIP Scenario: 

Aang asked Katara if she really meant what she said about seeing him as a “little brother” even though that’s what her actress said. Even after she replied that she herself never said so and only her actress did - implying that she did NOT see him like a brother - Aang still replied, “But it’s true, isn’t it?” Plus, he didn’t even say it with an angry or explosive tone; rather he said it with a clearly saddened yet calm one. This implies that if Katara had bluntly said that she had no romantic interest in him, Aang would’ve ultimately been fine with that.

Aang mentions to Katara the time when they previously and mutually kissed during the Invasion (and yes, it was mutual since Katara kissed back). He also told her that he thought they’d start dating each other by then. However, he acknowledges that they still weren’t together regardless. And Aang was still obviously broken-hearted yet calm when saying all of this. And to be honest, many hints were shown of Katara having at least some romantic interest in Aang such as Katara’s previous cheek kisses she’d only ever given to Aang; her suggesting the idea of kissing in the Cave of Two Lovers; and etc. So Aang really wasn’t wrong to believe that she wanted to be with him.

Afterwards, Katara solemnly says, “Aang, I don’t know.” Aang then asks, “Why don’t you know?” Katara explains, “’Cause we’re in the middle of a war, and we have other things to worry about. This isn’t the right time.” “Well, when is the right time?” Aang asked. “Aang, I’m sorry, but right now, I’m just a little confused,” Katara said as an ultimatum. So right here, Katara doesn’t say that she doesn’t want to date Aang at all. Rather, she doesn’t whether she actually will be able to or not since they were fighting in the war, and Aang still had yet to face the firelord. And at the time, neither Katara nor Aang knew how much longer the war would last, nor did either of them know if they’d still end up alive by the end of it. Aang, however, didn’t understand that. Rather, he started growing impatient, for he wanted to get a clear and direct confirmation from Katara herself if wanted to be with him or not -- which wasn’t exactly what she gave him.

And as we all know, Aang non-consensually tries to kiss Katara afterwards; she immediately pulls herself away from the attempted kiss, shouted at him for it, and stormed off. This part doesn’t need any explanations.

SoC:

Korra told Mako, “Save your breath. You’ve already made it clear how you feel about me.” “No, I haven’t. What I’m trying to say is as much as you drive me crazy, I also think you’re pretty amazing,” Mako replied. So right here, it’s blatantly made clear that Mako likes Korra back.

“So you do like me?” Korra asked. “Yes,” Mako sighed with uncertainty, “but I like Asami too. I don’t know. Things are complicated. I’m feeling really confused, and -- .” Then, as most of us know, Korra interrupted Mako with a non-consensual kiss, yet Mako kissed back regardless. Bolin, seeing it all, broken-heartedly runs off bawling. Mako and Korra blow up into an short argument about it, and Mako storms off as a result. So basically, what made Mako confused was that he romantically liked his girlfriend at the time, Asami, and Korra; he didn’t know he should’ve decided what to do about that.

So in both scenarios, Katara and Mako, at the very least, reciprocated Aang’s and Korra’s interests in them repsectively (even if it possibly was to a lesser extent). And yes, Katara DID develop romantic feelings for Aang. Hints proving so existed, as subtle as they may have been. However, Katara and Mako also explicitly said that they were confused, yet Aang and Korra still kissed them regardless. So really, there’s nothing that suggests that Korra kissing Mako in the SoC episode was more okay than Aang kissing Katara in the EIP episode.

Heck, I’d even argue that Korra’s kiss was actually even worse than Aang’s. Like I said before, Mako was already dating Asami at the time -- and Korra knew that herself! And while albeit Korra really was seeing mostly as a platonic hangout, she was technically dating Bolin as well; therefore, she ended up ripping Bolin’s heart when he saw her kiss his brother. It doesn’t matter if Mako kissed Korra back unlike Katara with Aang. You don’t kiss someone who already has a significant other. So if any of you anti-kataangers really want to preach about consent, then you ought to be talking about Korra more.

Now let me get one more disclaimer out of the way: I’m NOT saying all of this to bash on Korra or her relationship with Mako! Just like Aang — who angrily called himself an idiot after realizing his mistake of kissing Katara at an inappropriate time — Korra realized her mistake very soon after. In fact, we even get to see Korra apologize to Bolin for breaking his heart. For me to bash on Korra and her relationship with Mako, I’d have to end up bashing on Aang and his relationship with Katara — and that’s DEFINITELY NOT the purpose of this post.

TL;DR: Cut the double standards! Either bash on both Aang and Korra for their inappropriately-timed kisses or don’t bash either of them at all!

[bookwyrminspiration]

if you could give a 100% unbiased guess, who do you think shannon will put sophie with? cause i dont think after all shannon has done sophie will be single (and as much as i want sophiana thats not gonna happen)

[ID in alt text.]

Hopefully you don't mind, but as these two asks from you are essentially the same, I'm combining them into one! Also, I don't actively ship anyone in the series and am one of the main people (if not the main person) who focuses almost entirely on canon as much as possible, so hopefully that's satisfactory for your unbiased requirements.

Based on the events of the book and the things Sophie has said, I have a particular sequence of events that I kinda expect to happen. Given how major the love triangle has been for the entire series, I agree that it doesn't make sense for Shannon to completely abandon it at the end, but I don't necessarily expect Sophie to be actively in a relationship as the series comes to a conclusion.

Here's what I think will happen, and then I'll explain it: Sophie and Fitz make amends and follow through, becoming close and trusted friends who can work well together; Keefe reenters Sophie's life, needing to make a lot of amends; through some sequence of events, Sophie and Keefe become something more, though it is undefined and they have a lot of exploring and learning to do; the series ends, leaving them with an implied future where Shannon doesn't show us the big moments, but we can imagine them.

Okay! Now that I've summarized what I expect (though I still may be very wrong), let me go into a little more detail. Starting from the end of Unlocked, Sophie and Fitz have talked and agreed together to start over but as friends. Sophie explicitly said she isn't ready for a boyfriend (and while it may be tempting to say "she hasn't said she isn't ready for a girlfriend though!" this is meant to say she isn't ready for any relationship). But! She and Fitz miss each other and want to have each other in their lives, even if they aren't dating. So the amends have been made, and what's left is to follow through and to trust each other and commit to rebridging what was broken between them. And I think that'll happen mostly in Stellarlune, leaving book 10 for the later things I'll get to in a minute. They'll build that strong foundation and platonic relationship, and become the powerful pairing that was always hindered by the hidden crush and then the unmatchable status. There have been so many hints about how they could be more powerful if they could just get past that, so I think if we're ever going to see it it'll be then. That is partially wishful thinking though and a little biased, so take that as you will.

Then, once Fitz is solidly no longer a romantic interest and there isn't any doubt between the two of them, Keefe can be reintroduced. However that happens in an entirely different story that I've theorized and talked about before, so for the purposes of this ask we'll just say Keefe's back somehow. Sophie still isn't going to be ready for a boyfriend or a relationship, especially not with the way the drama is going to be amping up as we build up towards the end of the series. But Keefe is now the only romantic interest. However, before that can happen, there is a lot that should be worked out between them. The lack of communication, the acting recklessly without consulting each other, the excluding each other from plans, the mistakes that haven't been atoned for, the emotional pain caused, etc. This isn't all Keefe, but it is...a lot of Keefe. It's a lot to work through, and i think that it'll occupy a lot of book 10. This will get them to the point Fitz and Sophie were at before Keefe reentered the romantic narrative, though maybe not quite as solid.

Without as much pain or distrust between them now, I think they could be in a place to tentatively start something romantic between the two of them. But they are both broken, scared individuals, and the idea of that huge commitment would be incredibly hard and a lot to ask of each other. Especially for Sophie who keeps putting her faith in Keefe and he keeps hurting her. So allowing him to be that kind of person in her life is something she might not fully trust him to do. She doesn't want to mistrust him, but part of her may just be waiting to get hurt again and that makes it scarier. Not to mention how badly her last relationship went. There's not enough time to work through all of this given that in my projected timeline this is happening towards the end of the last book, when all the other plot things from the entirety of the series are coming together.

Because of that, I think it'll be something like Keefe and Sophie talking hesitantly with each other, and then agreeing to try...something new. They're not boyfriend and girlfriend, not right now. But there's something between them that isn't friendship and isn't romantic, it's a special connection just the two of them share as they figure it out. They'd agree to take it slow, to go at whatever pace they need, a classic "we'll figure it out as we go." Kind of thing. It's tentative and cautious, but committed to figuring it out and not hurting each other. We may even get one of those moments of Fitz saying "be happy, Sophie" or something similar to solidify the implied ending to the love triangle. That's less grounded in anything to do with their characters, and more because it's a common thing to happen in these kinds of situations.

With that, the series ends and we don't know what specific Sophie and Keefe are/become to each other, but we do know that it's there. And that they are each other's future, and that while as the story ends it's just starting, it's a relationship that will thrive and flourish as time goes on. We can only assume what happens, but we assume the best and are happy for them.

Essentially, I think Sophie will end up with Keefe, but not explicitly as the two of them dating. This is based off of the relationships between the characters in the past books, their desires for the future, the amount of time we have left compared to the amount of story left to tell, and common tropes. Again, I could be completely off and Shannon pulls a 180 on us and does something entirely unexpected! But this is what I personally expect to happen.

Hopefully that was unbiased enough!!

[elpercotreviews]

Reviewing My Anime 10/10's *Relatively* Spoiler-Free

Note: What I rank a 10/10 is very specific and obviously very subjective to my own. Something can only be a 10/10 if I already consider it a 9/10 AND I must have rewatched it. I am someone who typically does not rewatch/reread anything, unless it's something I truly absolutely enjoy. With that being said, because of the requirements, I only have 4 animes that I rank 10/10, and tbh only one of those animes would get that ranking from the general anime audience. The rest are SO SO SO specific to my particular tastes that I would be absolutely stunned if someone also had the same four as me, because the requirement is so specific. Imma make another post eventually for my 9/10's because I think that list makes a lot more sense for a general anime audience lmaooo.

Soooo, in order of least personal to most personal (although obviously they're all personal to me lol) we have:

1. Psycho-Pass

Recommended for people who: are really into that dark dystopian future society vibes, are fans of Ghost in the Shell, like detective/crime stories

Okay, for a few people, this one actually probably makes some sense. At the moment, it has an 8.37 on myanimelist which means this anime is super well liked. I've watched this anime twice, first the original and then the second time I watched the director's cut (yes that exists lol). Overall, I'm a huge fan of the entire Psycho-Pass anime series as a whole. I've watched all three seasons, as well as two of the movies. I didn't watch any of the Sinners of the System ones cuz tbh I literally couldn't find an english sub of that anywhere, it just doesn't exist lol. I think it's okay cuz the ratings for the Sinners of the System trio of movies seems meh. I've actually watched Psycho-Pass the Movie like three/four times LMAO but that's simply cuz a movie is obviously much quicker to watch than an entire anime season. Like just objectively, the Psycho Pass series as a whole is very inconsistent in quality due to the fact that it's all original, so they do technically just make up everything as they go lol. Season two is all right (I think it gets more hate than it should), three is good but season one by far is the absolute best in the entire series. I'd argue the movie is technically my absolute favorite out of the whole IP, but I actually give the movie an 8/10. The movie, because of being obviously way shorter, simply does not have the deep controversial and philosophical lines of thought that season one has. It lacks that extra depth that would make me put it anything higher than an 8. The two main characters have good chemistry as a crime-fighting duo and the main villain's rivalry/relationship with the male lead is super compelling. The female lead is meant to be relatively naive/more on the innocent side which works with the plot as it allows the show to naturally explain and give more exposition as to the actual world and rules of Psycho-Pass without having it seem so ham-fisted or just throwing info to the audience.

2. Violet Evergarden

Recommended for people who: cry to sad movies, like gorgeous animation, are very empathetic, like vignette-esque storytelling

All right if you even remotely consider yourself an avid anime fan, then this anime is probably also somewhere on your 10/10 list or at least an anime you consider to be "very good." That is, unless you are that very vocal minority who simply really just REALLY do not like this anime for some god forsaken reason. However, in my honest opinion, I think an anime like this just really doesn't sit well with ... how do I put this blunty ... people who do not give a fuck about other people or anyone else's feelings but their own. Basically, IF YOU ARE SELFISH, A NARCISSIST, EGOTISTICAL, OR ANY SORT OF COMBO OF THOSE THREE, YOU WILL NOT LIKE THIS ANIME. And if you do, you probably don't think you're any of those things. Because of the anime's very premise, I find it very difficult to see a very self-centered/heartless person particularly enjoying this anime. The whole premise of this anime is that the main character who, because of her upbringing, doesn't understand feelings/emotions, especially the concept of love, grows as a human and slowly begins to learn what love is. The show does this by showing multiple sets of characters meant to represent different types of love (romantic, familial, platonic, etc). The vocal minority of people I've seen give Violet Evergarden bad ratings all typically argue that although beautiful, the anime doesn't have any substance/doesn't really mean anything. If that's honestly all you got after watching the entire show, then you deadass just don't get it, and you probably will never ever get it. If you've seen or heard of Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song, than just know that these two animes are VERY very similar in vibe despite being technically different genres. However, I personally found the themes and concepts in Vivy are done much more masterfully in Violet Evergarden which I think is due to Vivy's heavier focus on a story-driven overarching plot/action as opposed to Violet Evergarden's focus more on emotional impact/an episodic format. I've watched the entire series and I've rewatched the main show twice. TBH you can probably skip the gaiden movie AKA the one set at the girl's academy it was highkey pointless. Compared to the opera episode they added as a "special", the gaiden movie was still good but I wish resources were dedicated to something that actually added to the story. ALSO YES I KNOW ITS A GAIDEN AKA A SIDE STORY AKA FILLER SO YES NO DUH IT DIDNT ADD ANYTHING, BUT STILL. As for the main show, I think I cried for three episodes (the one about the playwright/author I forgot lol, the mother and daughter, and the soldier). On my rewatch, I didn't cry but I still deeply cared for and related to the characters. Violet Evergarden is a beautiful anime with a beautiful story.

3. ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu Ka

Recommended for people who: like bread and bakeries, don't mind a very chill and slow-paced story, like stories about political intrigue and hidden agendas

Based on a relatively short manga, ACCA: 13 follows the main character Jean Otus as he performs his job of auditing the 13 districts of his country Dowa, while rumors and politics brew in the background that threaten to entangle Jean into a complicated plot. To be honest, I think properly reviewing this anime is impossible for me, because I just can't really explain the vibes of this anime besides "chill" and "intriguing." I think trying to explain anything more than the basic premise I just wrote would spoil a lot of what ACCA is, because it's plot is actually relatively quite simple and straightforward. Compared to Psycho-Pass which has a relatively good cult following, and Violet Evergarden which is universally praised, ACCA is an anime that I've yet to personally meet anyone who has ever even heard of it LMAOO. And almost everyone I know watches anime, so that's saying something oof. ACCA is made by Madhouse, which if you don't know, is a super well known anime studio, producing big hits such as Death Note, Hunter x Hunter, One Punch Man, etc. That's why I'm surprised that ACCA has flown just SO under the radar, but that may be due to the overalls nature of the anime itself. ACCA is an anime where all the characters hold their card close and no one seems to really share their real thoughts. One main criticism the anime has is the lack of deeper connections to characters and that for a main character, Jean Otus is very bland. To be honest, I think that's a very fair criticism and I can understand why this would prevent people from rating this anime higher than an 8 or 7. Due to the very nature of the anime and its plot, I do agree that there is a huge cast of colorful characters that we unfortunately don't really get to know more about. To be honest though, I don't mind this because I feel that's honestly quite realistic, especially factoring in Jean's job. All these places he's going and all these people he's meeting, it's literally just his job. He's not on vacation, these people aren't his friends, so the anime has no real reason to dwell much longer on places past its specific episode. Just like in real life, you encounter so many people and go past so many places that you probably won't ever see again. So for me personally, I didn't mind that the anime didn't explicitly show much about the backstories or lives of the cast, save for the very main characters (as their backstories were plot relevant). I think as viewers of not simply an anime, but a whole other world, I think it should be satisfactory to inherently understand that these are whole "people" who have entire lives that we are not exactly privy to. So although admittedly our understanding of many of the characters was all around quite shallow, I think that works for the scope of the anime, which was relatively simple and focused on just Jean living his life and the political plot stirring in the background until it was brought forward in the second half of the anime. Also I love Jean Otus. I actually completely absolutely adore him. He is literally my profile pic for myanimelist LMAO. I think calling him "bland" is fair from other people's perspectives, especially as the supposed main character of an ANIME, but I feel that if ACCA was in a different format like a novel, I think his personality would have been less criticized. Like I said, I love him soo much. I don't find him bland at all, but actually very interesting and highkey attractive LOL (if only he'd quit smoking but it's part of his charm 😞). Yes for an anime "protagonist," he is quite underwhelming especially compared to others, but I think that makes him very charming!!! Like all he wants to do is just chill, vibe, and do his job lmaooo. I think as a person, he’s very charismatic, and in the world of ACCA the rest of the characters see that as well. Because like, if he really were such a bland person, why would so many people like him and actually trust him lol? As for why it’s technically my favorite anime of all time (my ultimate one is a movie), I can’t give super detailed reasons why to be honest. I just really like the overall vibes of the anime itself, and I think the anime is just super unique and original. I’ve watched a ton of anime over the years, but I’ve genuinely seen nothing like ACCA in the slightest. I mean, just look at the recommended animes on the myanimelist. The recommended animes are all stuff I’ve also personally really liked (like fugou keiji unlimited and the great pretender) but yeah there’s just truly nothing that’s close to what ACCA is, and because of that, it reminds my absolute favorite anime show. I’ve seen the dub and the sub, even though I am a vehement dub hater lmaooo (except for very few circumstances, and this also applies to all non-English media, not just anime). There was only one thing in the entire show that slightly confused me/ seemed slightly unbelievable and I won’t spoil but it had something to do with the overall timeline of some events, but it doesn’t detract from the story at all. Oh and the art style! I really love the art style of the anime. It stays pretty true to the manga, but is also just an overall kind of art style I really like. I really enjoy the more like 2d/flat/drawn art style versus really clean and really detailed stuff, and I’m typically not a big fan of very obvious use of CGI (unless done tastefully like in Demon Slayer). All the backgrounds in ACCA have this painted/drawn style and the anime itself has this like muted(?) filter over it that makes the anime seem like someone’s drawings just put up on display in a way that’s really refreshing and nice. I highly recommend this story for anyone who wants a breath of fresh air and to get away from the typical action-packed high energy of big name anime.

4. From Up on Poppy Hill

Imma make a whole separate post JUST for this movie so I can explain why I love this movie so so much. And honestly, Imma need a whole separate post in the first place to address the elephant in the room when it comes to this movie (if you’ve seen it, then you know what I’m talking about). And if you’ve haven’t seen the movie, maybe you’ve heard about one of its controversial themes. I’m not gonna say what it is, cuz I KNOW it’ll be super off-putting for a lot of people, but please omg just hear me out. I just love this movie so so much. I’ve seen it like 7 times and counting. I have it downloaded on my computer and on a flash drive. I’ve watched the sub AND the dub however I’ve stopped watching the dub because it makes me sad every time I hear Shun’s voice actor ;-; This movie is legit an honest-to-god comfort movie for me that I could watch over and over and I’ll fall in love with it again each and every time. And once again IMMA MAKE A WHOLE SEPARATE POST BECAUSE I SWEAR PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE LIKE “Yo ain’t this the movie with the -----” and it’s like PLEASE LET ME EXPLAIN. The vibes of this movie, the themes it addresses (yes even THAT theme), the music, the art, the characters, is perfectly presented in a way that I will never stop watching this movie. The only other film that has come close to the amount of times I’ve watched From Up on Poppy Hill would be Legally Blonde lmaooooo.