#...i mean i do not think that scene is necessary shippy and being maybe shippy is not reason i like it but...it might be shippy and | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fencer-x · 3 years ago

Note

Hi fencer-san! Firstly thank you for replying my question before... I love your answer! Now do you mind if I ask you again?

So recently I just saw a pict about the child rinharu holding hands. Is that the official scene from the movie FS 2? If yes, why they were holding hands?

Also, is there any other skinship between those two? I know that we already got that tackle-hug after the rematch in the rooftop right?

Or perhaps we also get the skinship of the two with the others? Maybe Rin hugs Sousuke or Haruka holds Makoto's etc? Or we only got to see the one and only skinship from Rinharu in the movie?

Would you mind to explain why Rin loves to touch Haruka? Well, I don't recall he did that so often with the others even Sousuke? A slight touch might be yes, but does Rin hug Sousuke or Ikuya too after the final? I mean, does Rin being THAT touchy/clingy with the others just like what he did to Haruka?

And the last...

What do you think about skinship? Is that even necessary in the (((SPORT))) anime? Cuz I don't remember watching sport anime that gives me the 'shoujo manga' vibe like Free! Even I do think that Free! is somehow gayer than Yuri on Ice--the actual sport-shounen-ai anime imo.

Thank you!

For the pic of them holding hands, I don't think that's official? But I could definitely be misremembering--there are several scenes of them as kids, so I won't profess a solid memory for that part. (guess I'll have to go see it again and confirm 8D)

ETA: nm it's definitely official, it's from the early dream sequence scenes set in a movie theater, where the characters are watching memories (or fantasies) of themselves. That particular one comes after Makoto envisions a sequence where Haru and Rin are power ranger-like superheroes who have to work together to defeat an evil, and once they do, they revert to their child versions where they're holding hands.

There is of course the tackle-hug, which is the main instance of skinship--but they also hug again after the relay, along with Sousuke and Ikuya (in the classic post-relay group hug as we've seen before). For other instances of skinship, Rin gives…Ikuya or Sousuke? (I think Sousuke, but for some reason my first instinct was Ikuya…) a fistbump before a race. I'm positive there was a little bit of skinship with Makoto and Haru, but I can't recall the details, so I'll just say I assume there was because they're them XD

As for why Rin loves to touch Haru…………………well that's the $64,000 question, isn't it? XD

From as non-shippy a perspective as I can manage: I feel like Rin is just a really tactile person in general. He's fistbumped Sousuke on several occasions, he's hugged his Samezuka relay team, and in a more negative light, he's pushed and shoved people when angry. He has no problems showing affection through touch, and even when his temper shows itself, he still gets 'messy' with his hands. It's just in his nature. But he definitely is more tactile with Haru than anyone else we see--there's TONS of official art out there with Rin leaning on Haru's shoulder or touching him in some way. It became a meme, even. So why is Haru special? Well…because Haru's special. Period :P

Haru doesn't get fist-bumps like Sousuke because he's not the same kind of 'friendly rival' that Sousuke is. He doesn't just get 'hanging on the shoulder' (though he does get that), but bone-crushing hugs, at least two that we've seen so far. Hugs where Rin is so overwhelmed with emotion, to the point of tears, that he can't hold himself back from just unloading it all onto Haru.

Haru means SO much to Rin--he's a friend, he's a hero, he's a goal, he's an impediment, he's a yardstick by which Rin measures his own success. He's something ineffable, someone who has made Rin the happiest he's ever been and close to the saddest he's ever been. And Rin loves him, I think that's clear--whatever you want to define that love as--even though he'd probably deny it, or explain as he did to Ikuya that his feelings for Haru aren't that simple.

And those feelings might just manifest in a tactile relationship unlike Rin's with anyone else's. Maybe because he's had to keep Haru at arm's length for so long, he overly indulges now. Haru just pushes him over the edge until he needs to touch, needs to feel with his full body that Haru is real and there and not going anywhere, needs to impress upon Haru the depth and breadth of his feelings for him and it's the only way he knows how.

Or idk maybe he's just gay af and wants Haru's ass. All equally possible, imho.

#free!#sharkbait #rinharu #harurin #free! the final stroke #spoilers

64 notes · View notes

snkpolls · 4 years ago

Text

SnK Episode 69 Poll Results (for Manga Readers)

The poll closed with 200 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Manga Readers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll, click here.

RATE THE EPISODE 193 responses

The anime continues on with it’s hot streak, with episode 69 receiving only 1 vote in the negative direction. The vast majority were very pleased with this episode.

this time the pacing felt quite weird, specially with how they managed the flashbacks. sorry mappa, but for the first time i feel like this was a 7/10 episode

nice i guess.

Beautifully done

It was great especially the confession part hahah

I love MAPPA's takes on the series so far!

Overall, very good episode. MAPPA is doing a great job.

i liked it!

A little iffy but still solid.

WHICH MOMENT FROM THE PRESENT TIME WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 194 responses

There were many significant moments in this episode, so we opted to divvy up the options. For favorite moments during the present time, Eren’s harsh tone with Hange garnered the highest amount of votes at 34.5%. Not far behind, 26.3% most enjoyed watching the 104th talk about Eren and what happened in Marley. Behind those two scenes were Hange asking Eren why he was talking to himself in the mirror (12.4%), and getting the small zevi crumbs at the end of the episode (8.2%).

WHICH MOMENT FROM THE KIYOMI FLASHBACK WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 192 responses

For the flashback where the Survey Corps meets Kiyomi, nearly half of the fandom (43.2%) were ecstatic to finally see the scene between Historia and Mikasa animated. 24% most enjoyed Eren’s rejection of Zeke’s plan in Historia’s defense. 14.6% were immersed in Hange’s dismay at considering making Historia continue the cycle of children eating their parents, and 12.5% were thrilled to finally see Mikasa reveal her tattoo to Kiyomi.

Tfw you think MAPPA cut Kiyomi’s drooling scene due to tv lag and later you find out the scene was changed to something equivalent: O__O

5head pixis made me laugh

WHICH MOMENT FROM THE RAILROAD FLASHBACK WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 193 responses

Eren’s confession at the end of the railroad flashback took the most attention from fans, with 41.5% enjoying that portion the most. 20.2% enjoyed the 104th all discussing who is most suited to inherit Eren’s titan. 19.2% got a kick out of seeing smol Armin chasing around smol Sasha, and 13% were happy to see Levi (and his annoyance that everyone is taller than him).

Armin's :o face was just adorable! Had forgotten it from the manga

MIKASA REVEALS THE AZUMABITO CLAN SYMBOL AS A TATTOO ON THE TOP OF HER WRIST. THIS IS A RETCON FROM SEASON 1 WHEN WIT REPLACED THE BRANDING WITH EMBROIDERY INSTEAD. THOUGH THE TATTOO IS WHAT’S FAITHFUL TO THE MANGA (MIKASA’S MANGA COUNTERPART HAS ALWAYS HAD THIS), WAS THIS A GOOD DECISION ON MAPPA’S PART? 192 responses

When it comes to the tattoo retcon, opinions seem to be relatively mixed. 22.9% of respondents felt that the retcon was a good move, because they feel that faithfulness to the source material is the most important thing in an adaptation. 21.9% felt it was a mixed situation, because they appreciate faithfulness to the manga, but also prefer for things to have proper continuity. 20.8% agreed that it was a good move, but mainly because the embroidery was “lame and forgettable” anyway. At smaller percentages, 16.1% felt that it wasn’t really a big deal either way since the family symbol was acknowledged regardless, and 9.4% didn’t care at all.

Mix of 3 and last point

Yes because faithfulness to the source material is important and I don't think the existence of the embroidery means that the branding didn't also exist.

No: continuity issues in the anime, but Yes: the embroidery thing was stupid.

1) we never saw the embroidery being kept by mikasa 2) kiyomi could have thought they just found it and stole it from the shogun's descendants' tombs or something. we as manga readers know mikasa is truly a descendant of the shogun, but anime onlies would have thought it could be possible for kiyomi not to trust them. so a tattoo is the best choice

Yes, MAPPA made a good decision. The anime onlies probably don't even remember the embroidery thing anyway.

Bruh, if I hadn't read the manga, I would've forgotten the Mikasa mom scene.

Options one and two.

HYPOTHETICALLY, IF ONE OF THE 104TH WERE TO INHERIT EREN’S TITAN POWER, WHO DO YOU THINK WOULD BE THE BEST OPTION? 191 responses

The notable majority of respondents feel that Jean would have been the best candidate to inherit Eren’s titan. At a distant second, people would opt for Armin to inherit Eren’s titans (perhaps because he is already a titan anyway). The rest of the characters were relatively evenly chosen.

WHICH “SHIPPY” MOMENT FROM THE EPISODE WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 193 responses

This piechart turned out to be very colorful. Nearly a quarter of respondents couldn’t choose just one moment, so they voted for “all of them.” Behind that, 14.5% most enjoyed the scene where Eren showed determination to ensure Historia wouldn’t have to be sacrificed, 13.5% swooned over Eren and Mikasa’s blushy glances at each other, and 11.9% most enjoyed Connie and Sasha’s increasingly awkward conversation about who’s the bigger idiot.

I loved the Erehisu moments

sasha and connie <3<3<3

Erehisu canon

MAPPA DIDN’T INCLUDE THE PART OF THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN ZEKE AND KIYOMI WHERE ZEKE EXPLAINS HIS PARENTAGE, WHY HE SOLD THEM OUT, AND CLAIMS THAT HE’S THE “TRUE ELDIAN RESTORATIONIST.” THOUGHTS? 192 responses

The conversation between Zeke and Kiyomi got shaved down quite a bit, losing the claim of Zeke being “the true Eldian restorationist.” 30.7% aren’t sweating about it and feel it’s something that will be included in a later episode. 27.6% feel that it’s removal isn’t a big deal. 18.7%, on the other hand, feel that losing that moment watered down Zeke’s characterization and would have preferred its inclusion. 8.9% don’t care.

I feel it will be brought up next episode

I think leaving it out makes the moment with ksaver telling him to sacrifice his parents more impactful to the anime onlies.

they may have prepared an anime original scene where this is explained, probably at some point. this chapter was loaded with tons of info

I think everything zeke is going to be saved for his big flashback after losing to levi

Maybe they'll include it at the part where Zeke has his flashbacks when he was injured by Levi.

MAPPA ALSO LEFT OUT THE PART OF THE 104TH’S CONVERSATION WHERE ARMIN THEORIZES THAT EREN WOULD BE IN CONTROL OF THE COORDINATE ONCE HE AND ZEKE MAKE CONTACT. THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT? 185 responses

Another dialogue that was axed this episode was Armin brainstorming about who would be in control of the Founding Titan if Eren and Zeke make contact with each other. 35.7% (a small jump from the previous question) feel that this, again, will be included in a later episode. 28.1% feel that its inclusion wasn’t wholly necessary. 18.4% feel that this fact was already obvious anyway, so it doesn’t matter. 10.4% feel that the anime will get to that point so quickly that the exposition isn’t necessary to begin with.

Armin's motives don't necessarily change either way so I'm fine with the cut. I do hope it's mentioned later on though.

Every episode is only 25 minutes long, so some parts of dialogues need to be removed.

I honestly think they're going to retcon this so zeke's reverse uno in chap 120 doesn't seem so wild

I do understand that they need to make cuts (and there's still to many manga chapters to fit in the rest of the season) but that one was really important bc they might not explain it fully later on

If they animate Zeke's backstory, it will be there. It would've been nice to show Armin still using his brain though.

DO YOU THINK EREN SEEMED MORE INTIMIDATING IN THE MANGA OR THE ANIME? 191 responses

Manbun Eren was introduced as being intimidating, cold, and generally mean. His outburst at Hange was the first of many examples of this behavior as he lashed out at them for having no good ideas. 65.4% of respondents felt that MAPPA did a much better job at portraying Eren as a much more intimidating figure than Isayama did.

IN RETROSPECT, DO YOU FEEL THAT EREN WAS TOO HARSH ON HANGE? 190 responses

Almost a total opposite from the previous pie graph, 66.3% of respondents felt that Eren was much too harsh on Hange, given the circumstances and their dwindling options.

DO YOU THINK THAT, EVEN AFTER READING CHAPTER 123, PARADIS COULD HAVE FOUND ANOTHER WAY TO RESOLVE THEIR ISSUES THAN THE PATH THAT EREN TOOK? 191 responses

One of the constant questions in the manga since the timeskip is “could there been another way?” 59.7% think it’s just a solid maybe, and that there’s no longer any way to know that now that Eren has stripped Paradis of all their options. 23.6% feel that the rumbling was the inevitable outcome against a world that would never give them a chance. 14.1% feel the opposite, however, and believe there was always another way, and that Eren didn’t give them enough time to figure it out.

I wonder what would happen if eren talked about his future memories

There is always another way than violence. The problem is that no one on Paradis was able to find it.

Maybe we will find out in the last 2 chapters, this might be correlated to a possible "the mist" ending that Isayama originally planned

Who even knows? All I know is that there was too much distrust, secrecy and mystery for anyone to get anything done before shit hit the fan and now here we are. I also think it was a huge mistake to keep Eren so isolated.

There's no good way and never only on path but eren choose one who solve the problem

WE’RE GONNA ASK THIS… WHO IS THE FATHER? 196 responses

The never ending debate of who the father of Historia’s child hasn’t slowed down since the introduction of her pregnancy, though the question has ultimately boiled down to whether the child is Eren’s or not. Only 33.2% of respondents seem to think so. 28.1% presumably feel that it’s not Eren, but are overall tired of this debate in general. 21.4% are firm in their stance that it’s the farmer. 13.8% just wish it had anything to do with Ymir and nothing to do with the other options.

I’m tired of this whole damn debate... but it's the farmer

LEVI SEEMED MORE VISIBLY IRRITATED ABOUT HOW TALL THE 104TH HAVE GOTTEN IN THE ANIME. THOUGHTS? 192 responses

MAPPA animated this scene with their own take and made Levi more irritable in the anime adaptation than he appeared to be in the manga. Generally, half of respondents felt that both ways were effective and funny. 25.5% seem to enjoy MAPPA’s rendition of it more, while 18.2% prefer the original manga portrayal of Levi’s grievances.

THE TRAIN SCENE WHERE EREN CONFESSES TO HIS FRIENDS IS TREASURED BY MUCH OF THE FANDOM. DID MAPPA DO IT JUSTICE? 193 responses

For fans of the 104th in particular, this scene has felt like it’s taken 84 years to finally be animated. And very few were disappointed, with 56.5% stating that the scene was cute and they are content with it, and another 36.8% showing a little more enthusiasm, feeling that it was more beautifully done than they ever could have imagined. A handful felt it could have been better, but was still good, or just didn’t care. No one agreed that the scene was ruined.

DARK!CONNIE RETURNS! WHO DID HIM BETTER? 190 responses

Another highly anticipated moment… the return of Dark!Connie! MAPPA didn’t quite hit the mark on this one, with Connie’s aura in the manga still being much more preferable to manga readers than the way MAPPA portrayed him in the anime.

WHEN CHAPTER 108 WAS PUBLISHED, READERS WERE ASKED IF EREN STILL PRIORITIZED HIS FRIENDS. AT THAT TIME, THE MAJORITY BELIEVED THAT HE DID, ALTHOUGH THE LARGER HALF OF THAT MAJORITY FELT IT WAS TO A LESSER DEGREE THAN BEFORE THE TIMESKIP. WE’D LIKE TO ASK AGAIN, DO YOU THINK THAT EREN ULTIMATELY TOOK THIS PATH OF DESTRUCTION BECAUSE HE PRIORITIZES HIS FRIENDS? 190 responses

Overall, the majority of the fanbase believe that Eren’s actions are generally in the interest of his friends and their lifespan, though to varying degrees (38.4% feel he prioritizes them wholly above all else, while 34.7% feel that he prioritizes them, but to a lesser degree than he used to). 21.1% still think that Eren’s contradictory actions make it hard to come to a solid conclusion on this front. A handful feel that Eren has abandoned them completely and only cares about himself and his own freedom at this point.

I want to believe that hes prioritizing his friends, but too many of his actions contradict that, like forcing them into the battle in liberio and sending titans after the alliance

Eren wasn't able to save his mother and this fact still torments him. I think that his friends matter to him a lot, but there is something darker in him what causes all the mess he is doing.

He’s selfish and doing whatever he wants.

DO YOU THINK IT’S POSSIBLE THAT EREN PUSHED HIS FRIENDS TO THE FRONT LINES BECAUSE HE ALREADY SAW IN HIS FUTURE MEMORIES THAT THEY WOULD STOP HIM, THUS KNOWING THEY WOULD NOT DIE? 188 responses

When chapter 108 was published, we hadn’t yet learned that Eren saw memories of the future and so we couldn’t speculate on such a thing. Now that we can, we thought we would ask. 42.6% believe that regardless of whether Eren saw his friends in those memories or not, Mikasa is correct in her belief that Eren simply trusted them to survive. 33% feel that he already knew that they would survive, which is the only reason why he dragged them to Liberio in the first place. 18.6% don’t want to say either way, and a small percentage believe Eren had no way of knowing about the fate of his friends.

He said "I HOPE they will have happy long lives". It means he didn't see much.

WILL WE SEE THE WARRIORS + MAGATH AND COLT NEXT EPISODE? 187 responses

With things shuffled around, we still have yet to see the Warriors recuperating and planning their next move. Half of the fandom feel that MAPPA was waiting to put the focus back on Gabi and Falco before giving us this moment. 32.1% aren’t sure if we will get it in episode 70 or not. 14.4% think it’s something that will come later, and a tiny fraction think it will be cut entirely.

Need my warriors back

WHICH SCENE FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? 193 responses

The largest percentage (48.2%) went to the scene with Hange confronting Floch and the Yeagerists, though it is edged out by both of Gabi and Falco’s preview scenes combined (42% for the visit to the Blouse’s, and 9.8% for their scuffle at the river).

Can't care less about to gabi and falco, it's the final season cut the filler please.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

I miss Sasha

No thoughts, anxiety only.

Hope to see the cut scenes in the next episode

Maybe I'm the only one, but I'm not so hyped for this season anymore. Sure, I'll still watch all the episodes no matter what, and I don't think Mappa is doing a bad job. But it's just a good adaptation. For the anime-onlys, I'm sure it's great because they're discovering the story we already know, but for me, this season doesn't add much to the manga. I probably had too high expectations for this season... (I'm also watching/reading Jujustsu Kaisen from Mappa and I don't have that feeling at all, so I'm pretty conflicted)

The episode was fine but I had a feeling that it was going a little too fast. However, I'm not complaining because I overally liked it. I could finally see adult Historia. She looks different than her manga counterpart. In the manga she was more mysterious and mature, while in the anime she still has cute baby face. I think that the moment between her and Mikasa was sweet. I feel kinda tired of the whole "who is the father" theories. I think that people waste their energy on fights and debates. If I wasn't part of the fandom, I wouldn't even think of Eren having a child with Historia. They never had romantic relationship and their last conversation was far away from being loving. Eren is an amotional mess. He has never mentioned the child in his POV, he says that his friends and Paradis are the most important, so I will be surprised if all of sudden he turns to be a father.

The lightning around eren when angry at hange was amazing addition (I think it's new) and historias situation feels more real in the anime. (ps: hail ponytail mikasa is bea)

Did a great job imo, but I don't think it's possible to make it anywhere near 122 at this point

Scenes were great as usual. The pacing was a little bit jarring though. I don't know how anime-onlys will take it since we do have different perspectives given our forehand knowledge of the events.

Where's shirtless Reiner??

Good episode, can’t wait for Gabi and Falco’s realization next episode

I wish everything from the manga could fit into the episode or that the episodes were longer.

There's really no where else I could've put this so I'll just put it here......lol. I feel like it's not as obvious in the anime how much longer Jean's hair has gotten sometimes (specifically during the railroad scene here) and I wish that wasn't the case.

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 180 responses

Thank you to everyone who participated!

#snk poll #snk polls #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #snk #aot #snk s4 #snk spoilers

18 notes · View notes

kylermalloy · 5 years ago

Text

my Thoughts on rebels

Now I don’t have any hot takes or any controversial opinions to put out here. Rebels is a simple show with a simple plot. There’s not a whole lot to analyze, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to enjoy. Sometimes all you need is a straightforward concept with lovable characters. So let me proceed to squeal about Dave Filoni’s second masterpiece, Rebels.

Spoilers abound!

Before I say anything else...

THEY HAD A BABY I haven’t stopped squealing.

Zeb Okay I’ll start with Zeb, for no particular reason. He was the only main character I hadn’t really heard about or seen much of before I started watching. In the first few scenes with him, I was afraid he’d become his stereotype—the thuggish gorilla who argues all the time, disobeys orders, messes up plans, and borderline betrays his friends. I was so pleasantly surprised when none of that happened. Maybe by virtue of being a kids’ show, these characters don’t have *edgy* or twisted nuances. Zeb is fiercely loyal. He likes smashing heads in and gets grumbly sometimes, but he’s never a hindrance. He’s not just “the muscle”; his ingenuity saves the day on more than one occasion. If anything, his nuances take him the other way—he’s incredibly sensitive and childlike in some ways. Being one of the last of his kind is a major plot point of several episodes, which brings so much depth to him and his psyche. It also informs SO MUCH on his relationship with Kallus. Speaking of...

Kallus I never, ever expected Kallus to be anything more than a season-long plot device. The fact that he stuck around and went through actual character development?? Amazing. The episode where he and Zeb are stranded together is gold. He’s got a sense of honor even as he works for the Empire, sparing the rebels as Zeb spared him. He develops a new set of ideals thanks to our heroes, and he begins to question and regret the things he’s done for the Empire—ethnic cleansing of Zeb’s Lasat people included. And that last scene of them in the epilogue? I’m not gonna lie, it was a bit shippy.

KANERA I know while the show was airing, fans were constantly asking when Kanan and Hera were going to get together. But for me, they seemed to be married from the first episode. Hera calling Kanan “love” and teasing him? Kanan constantly worrying after Hera while simultaneously believing in her ability to do...absolutely everything? Their parenting of Ezra, Sabine, Chopper, and even Zeb? Explicitly referring to them as “the kids” and themselves as “Mom and Dad”? Yeah, they’re married. And let’s not underplay their strengths as individual characters. Kanan—or Caleb—is exactly what you would expect of a Jedi whose training is only halfway complete. He’s cool and awesome, but also riddled with self-doubt and uncertainty. And Hera is the mature voice of reason this merry band of children so desperately needs—except of course when she’s the one rushing headlong into danger, whether to get a fighter prototype or to steal a family heirloom or to save a couple pilots in a suicidally risky move. She’s a perfect blend of mature reason and headstrong determination that makes a true rebel. (Wait a minute...she’s totally Katara! Maybe that’s why I love her so much.)

Now back to them as a couple! Most of the show did nothing to advance their relationship—further reinforcing my headcanon that things were always happening between them behind the scenes. Even though they became official canon in the last season, the appearance of their kid in the epilogue proves I was right—based only on what we saw, there was no time for them to make a baby. Of COURSE there were things going on behind the scenes. 😏 (I found the interview that explains exactly where Jacen came from, and I was equal parts ecstatic and freaked out.)

Did I mention THEY HAD A BABY???

Ezra So apparently there are people in the Star Wars fandom who hate Ezra? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised; Star Wars fans hate everything. Except the OT. If you hate the OT you’re a heathen. I can’t really think of a solid reason why people hate Ezra, except for the fact that he seems to be a Luke Skywalker analog. He’s a poor kid with Force sensitivities who gets adopted by a Jedi and becomes a venerated leader of the Rebellion. He also finds an oddball group of friends he comes to call family but eventually bids them farewell after the death of his mentor. They’re not carbon copies, of course—Luke’s an optimistic idealist; Ezra’s a cynic. Luke whines; Ezra snarks. Luke blows up the Death Star and defeats Vader; Ezra completes a series of far more complicated missions and defeats Inquisitors and Thrawn. Again by virtue of him being the star of a tv show instead of just three feature length movies, he gets a lot more time to have his adventures. Maybe there’s some resentment over him getting more screentime than Luke? Maybe it’s because I’m just Not a Luke Skywalker stan. I like him fine, but I don’t hold him up as some perfect saintlike hero. (I didn’t have any problems with his TLJ characterization.) The people who do need to rewatch the OT they hold so dear. Luke’s a beautiful drama queen and you all should love him for that. But I’m here to talk about Ezra! Listen, this child is a disaster and a half—just like Luke, just like Anakin, just like young Obi-Wan. There is nothing to not like about him—except that he reminds you of your favorite characters but he’s not them.

Clone Wars characters I initially started watching this show solely for the characters I already knew from Clone Wars. Ahsoka Tano has been my girl ever since I started watching Clone Wars, and I didn’t even consider watching Rebels until I knew they had undone her death. (If there was just ONE character they could needlessly save via time travel, they picked the right one.) At any rate, she’s perfect in this show. She’s more grown-up, more mature, but still retains that *young and plucky* spirit. (For the record, I usually hate the *plucky* characters. Somehow, she works for me. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t really do that annoying cocky smirk thing.)

But it’s not just Ahsoka. Rex survived! I’m so glad at least one clone (two? Wolffe?) made it out of the war okay. And he’s great here. His constant snarking with Kanan reminded me so much of his banter with Anakin (and I’m sure it reminded him of that too ;-; ) His presence on Rebels isn’t strictly necessary, narratively speaking, but it’s just a nice tie-in to the world we got used to in Clone Wars. It reminds us that this world with the Empire was once the world of the Republic, and there are still clones out there—even if there’s no place for them in this new order. This of course reinforces the tragic narrative of clones as sentient beings created for nothing but combat. And again, I commend both shows for making me feel that narrative so deeply!

Hondo and Maul were two of my favorite antagonists from Clone Wars, so seeing their multiple appearances here filled me with joy. Hondo cracked me up, as usual, and Maul’s farewell was touching and heartbreaking. I almost wish he were still around! There’s still his duel with Ahsoka in season 7 of Clone Wars... 👀 Honestly what surprised me most about those two were the way they were both presented as protagonists. Hondo especially, and Maul does become an antagonist again. But it really speaks to the way all paradigms in the galaxy have shifted after the Republic became the Empire. In Clone Wars, Hondo was portrayed as an annoying hindrance to our heroes. Now with the Empire as an adversary to our main characters, Hondo is an ally. An untrustworthy one of course, mostly in it for the money, but his interests usually lie with helping our heroes, not hurting them. Besides, nothing tops his relationship with Ezra. Their first meeting had me in fits: “You lied to me?? I KNEW I liked you!” (Also I forgot to mention the running gag of Ezra introducing himself as Jabba the Hutt? Genius. And hilarious, since some people actually believe him at first)

THEY HAD A BABY!!!

Thrawn I need to see this guy again. Whether in a continuation where we learn what happened to him and Ezra, or some other moment in time where we see him younger, rising through the ranks of the Empire full of ambition and ideas. He’s quietly menacing, always confident and meticulous. He does a great job of making the rebels feel helpless in their fight, needling their pressure points and taunting them—but he never makes the conflict personal to him. He always remains detached, just a guy doing his duty. He’s just there to pick up interesting art pieces. I love the way he’s acted—always quiet, cultured, practically whispering. I didn’t know he was voiced by Lars Mikkelson until after I watched, but that was a perfect choice. I found the Inquisitors a little flat as villains (antagonists, whatever) and the other Empire ministers and governors not very threatening. Thrawn was the perfect balance (lol) between interesting and a genuine threat.

MANDALORE For all of Sabine’s merits as a character, I love her most in the Mandalorian arcs. The episode where she comes into her power and wields the darksaber is one of my favorites. She’s not a traditional stern, stoic Mandalorian character. She’s a free spirit, incredibly creative and intellectual. Yet she’s also afraid of her mind and what she could create—for years she created weapons for the Empire to feed her hubris. Maybe that’s why she mainly sticks to painting throughout the series. :) Anyway. I look forward to the follow-up detailing her adventures with Ahsoka.

Chopper I rolled my eyes so hard when I first saw Chopper. Everything from his name to his design screamed “kiddie version of R2D2” and I was fully prepared to hate him. I don’t. He’s just like R2, in that every sentence he says sounds like it’s punctuated with about ten different swearwords. It’s hilarious seeing such a cute character being so surly and even threatening on occasions! Chopper kicks some serious butt. He even comes with a tragic backstory!

Lastly, I don’t think I’ve mentioned...

THEY HAD A BABY AND HE’S ADORABLE

#star wars #rebels #mymeta #ish #kylerrambles #zeb orrelios #kallus #kanera #kanan jarrus #hera syndulla #ezra bridger #jacen syndulla #ahsoka tano #rex #hondo ohnaka #darth maul #grand admiral thrawn #sabine wren #chopper

70 notes · View notes

she-toadmask · 4 years ago

Text

I’m kind of in a mood suddenly so below the cut there will be me just talking about fanfics I have read or am reading and why I like fanfic and stuff because I need to just

Fanfiction fucking rocks the basic part before all the stuff about it as the story just...it’s so easy to access and there’s so much and it’s just all there on the internet I don’t have to find a physical book

And on AO3 (where 90% of good currently-updating fic is afaik) there is TAGGING where you will know what you’re getting into (unless the author suddenly adds a sex scene and only then updates the tags but at least they give a warning at the start of the chapter but it doesn’t bother me as much as it did a couple years ago as long as I know it’s coming I know it’s a tool and it has its uses) with character drama and deaths and all that jazz not to mention how Ash being a badass has a specific tag and just other random things having tags that are important parts of the story

Like there are multiple fics I have found (not all of them are living fics sadly) of writing Ash’s journey in the beginning differently, like there was one I saw once that I kind of forgot to keep reading where he went to Sinnoh (and was still rivals with Paul and I think their ship tag was there?) and it said it was following game plot and then there’s one that I definitely don’t have open anymore because it didn’t update for some amount of time where he had a Joltik and then a Ferroseed and it’s really cool and a different one that’s still living and it’s called Pity of the World and Jesse + James (who is genderfluid in this fic) + Meowth are good people and stuff and just steal abused Pokemon and they run into Ash and they all end up being travel buddies and Ash understands Pokemon (not literally of course that’s not this fic) and also just knows what James’ gender is before they say anything and also in one chapter Zapdos is in Gringy City and says something about friendship being for mortals or something??? idk we’ll see and then there’s a different fic that I was reading and lost when switching devices and Ash was raised by Pokemon and literally can speak Pokemon and it was really neat but I haven’t tried to find where I left off because I’m too lazy for that tbh but it is still updating it’s Symbiosis or Symbiotic or something like that

Most things involving Ash that aren’t shippy or weird like that (ok there are some I’m not interested in but whapdfajaldjakjdf) end up being really cool because he’s a fucking legendary magnet which can either be played for laughs or deadly serious or just not be part of the fic if it isn’t relevant and so many fics use Aura it’s really cool (including Pity of the World I think he mega evolves Pidgeot (who evolves before leaving) when he fights Sabrina who does not have a doll in this fic) and there are different ways they do it and the thing I was mentioning about his connection with Pokemon like maybe it’s just a bit more than normal or it’s just yes he is everything and I kinda skipped out on gens 6 and 7 of the anime but I get enough to understand what they mean in chat fics and when referring to it in other fics it’s really cool

I think I mentioned Creepypasta and how there were two Harry Potter Creepypasta fics, one that was one and was slow to update if it wasn’t dead and one that was on the fourth one actually I was wrong about what number it was I think and updates every two weeks the first one is more lighthearted/written by a younger person like Slendy is a character and Harry x a lot of the ‘pastas I guess and it takes place starting before 4th year and the beginning is kinda meh with some weird dialogue and absurd levels of Dumbledore Ron and Hermione bashing but it does call out some of the other legitimate problems like how the lake trial in the tournament just kidnaps people which is very big because it was Ben who was kidnapped so big yikes there and honestly it’s not what you want to read if you want something really high-quality and serious like not that it doesn’t take itself seriously but it feels closer to something I would have read when I was in middle school than most of the Sanders Sides fics I read (just using that as comparison because the vast majority of that is well-written stuff). Then the other one!!!! For one it has a much more realistic/developed take on the Creepypastas’ existence like how the stories are how they exist with Slenderman being a cosmic horror being thing more than a character with character which is always really cool and Jeff kidnaps Harry as a baby (he is Boy when he is with the Creepypasta and Harry when at Hogwarts and there’s some really cool stuff about how they’re different) and, having lived with murderers, Harry gives zero fucks about things and kills Fluffy in the first book long before other stuff happens, Quirrel tries to use him to get the stone but gets annihilated at the mirror because family and then Voldemort is just a giant white snake for the rest of the series so far and also because he sucks Lockhart tries to exorcise Harry because Harry is fucking nuts and it’s great and also Harry is a Hufflepuff and there is probably more Gryffindor bashing than is necessary and pretty much all the adults get bashed for sucking (like in book 3 the boggart stuff is called out for being hella dangerous for them also Harry can’t cast the Patronus charm make of that what you will idk what) though Harry does make for quite the conversation topic among the teachers, Harry x Neville is the main ship and Neville eventually gets resorted into Hufflepuff because the Gryffindors are being massive dicks to him, also Harry flirts with Draco because Harry gives no fucks and it’s great (also both books give Luna lots of love, like the young one she’s a Seer like from Madame Macabre’s old webcomic that’s dead as it gets and the long one she’s just a good character and shit) and Harry makes these books to spread Slenderman’s legend throughout Britain/the Wizarding World and Draco may have gotten one and survived???? but now Neville has one during the summer months (and also through feeding Fanged Geraniums or whatever live stuff and blood instead of bonemeal he is creating Audrey II and straight-up says something about having to call it Harry Jr. but that’s probably just a little joke and isn’t going to stay beyond this but it’s just fun because Little Shop of Horrors slaps) and I have big fear about him doing the stuff and getting hurt and Harry/Boy conflict will be scary

There’s this other fic I found when trying to find good fics involving Ash and it’s kinda weird and seems to be written by a younger author but we’ll see where things go, like Harry got transported by Celebi to the world of Pokemon and Giovanni is Silver and Ash’s dad and they live with him and also Harry does too and he’s in a wheelchair and also is really smart and I wish we had gotten to spend a bit longer seeing their dynamics before when Harry is 14 the Goblet of Fire somehow spits his name out and Celebi helps with getting Harry (and also the other three because of course) safely there without dying because dimensional travel is hard and Celebi is friend and Luna gets to be important here too I think she’s shown up as a named student and guided them to a room and seems to know things about the castle and that’s kinda all there is so far there’s a bit more but it’s not got a lot yet I hope the author keeps going it’s a weird idea but I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes

Oh I forgot to talk about it but there’s this whump Ash fic that was being written under one title but it got dropped and now it’s being rewritten with the same concept but under a new title and going about a lot of things a different way it’s just the same starting premise and the fic is Helpless and Ash almost dies multiple times and there’s this theme of adults failing him and also Gary fucks a thing up and Ash needs support and therapy (a good number of fics have Ash needing therapy but given the shit he’s been through that is not surprising especially from my limited knowledge of Kalos holy shit Lysandre was doing some mad shit) and it’s just good but it is a lot of hospital and Ash being hurt and almost dying so be warned if that isn’t a safe read for you

The reason I don’t just outright block explicit anymore despite the horrors of trying to find safe Pokemon fic on AO3 amidst the consensual porn, incest porn, pokephilia porn, etc., is I randomly decided to try and find some Sonic fanfic on AO3 because a couple people on YouTube have been doing Sonic story stuff (Sonic What If has some good stuff that’s just... what-if scenarios and then there’s Sonic Rewritten which takes a game’s plot and then redoes it but good like the Deadly Six having personalities or Sonic 06 not having maybe bestiality or Generations being more than ‘oh past and present stages now have nostalgia’ and Robotnik and Eggman are significantly different people in that one and it’s really cool) and I thought maybe I would find some good stuff on AO3 (which I have but nothing that I want to ramble about specifically though there was one fic where Eggman does Tails clone and then his original body dies so he’s stuck looking like Tails and it’s kinda wild) and I found a fic that was marked explicit because torture and violence (honestly it wasn’t that bad) and I like it and don’t want to miss something that I might like by accidentally blocking it and now when I try to find Pokemon fic I have to see Leon x Hop and Pokemon x human smut.

There’s one Sanders Sides fic that I was reading and I don’t remember the name nor do I know if it’s updating I think I lost it but it started from the beginning of the series with the Dark Sides being a platonic poly family and when they weren’t in the episode they were talking about it/the Light Sides and it’s honestly really really good and the author just decided to have Deceit’s name be Janus and it was amazing when it turned out that was his real name it was just great but IDK if the fic has been abandoned, I think I lost it in the shift, but it was really good (but sympathetic dark sides and unsympathetic patton and roman and logan for a bit so do be warned if those aren’t comfortable for you)

Oh yeah I remembered another fic I can talk about there was this one Creepypasta fic and it’s completed and it is a Jeff x Reader but it kind of just stops being about the romance after a certain point and just goes way off the rails. It starts like ‘oh this will be a normal x reader with mansion and Slendy is dad and Zalgo is probably evil’ and then NOPE SLENDERMAN HAS BEEN RAISING FAMILIES THAT LOVE HIM TO TURN THEM INTO CRYSTALS TO MAKE HIM MORE POWERFUL AND ZALGO IS AGAINST THAT and it just is great like I never see Zalgo being good, like Slenderman being evil or whatever is plenty common (especially in the innumerable ARG fics I don’t read because I don’t have the attention span to learn what the fuck the source is) but never in tandem with Zalgo being anything but chaotic evil n shit it’s wild and it’s great and also Slenderman’s parents have faces I guess idk that was weird also there is one smut chapter but like the author said you can skip the smut and I did and didn’t feel like I missed any plot stuff so if that’s a no for you just keep an eye out for the author’s warning. It is by a younger writer, as demonstrated by its daily updates while it was being written, tiny chapters, and some general writing style stuff common to younger writers, but honestly I just love it for being something so wildly different, under the guise of a typical x Reader fic.

Speaking of ship stuff and Creepypasta the trilogy of Sans x Creepypasta fics are amazing. The writer definitely improves over time, the beginning of the first book kind of has the weird ‘then I knew I was in love’ stuff from a couple of the pastas (then again I’m ace and demiro so starting romance is just generally weird) but it is just a really good series. Sans ends up with seven kids in the third book and, while everyone else in the Undertale cast is bashed in the first two, Papyrus does seem to get some redemption in the third, so there is that. Also Murderer Sans is a fantastic tag, Gaster made a deal with Zalgo to create the skelebros and Sans is more demon than Papyrus by a lot and Zalgo is trying to kidnap Sans and Sans’ children so he has his family together to destroy the world and wander free and it’s wild and also Chara and Flowey show up and also LJ being an angel is mentioned and relevant to the plot for a bit so that’s neat and I don’t know all the details of how it ends because I lost it when I shifted and didn’t want to find where I was but it’s a great fic (albeit with a few things I can argue on) and the author has also been writing other Sans x Creepypasta stuff but I haven’t read it because idk

I really wish I had a good Minecraft fanfic to gush about but I really don’t it’s hard to find Minecraft fic that isn’t tuber-based, either Dream and friends (which occasionally I find a good one but so much is either Dream SMP which I have no interest in getting into, involves people I don’t know from Dream SMP, or just is shippy or straight-up doesn’t have a premise I’m interested in) or Hermitcraft (I fell behind so I have no idea what’s happening anymore) (but also like Mianite and Aphmau stuff but not as much as used to, but now Dream rules all so), and it just sucks. Like if some of it was Team Crafted fic I would be on board like hell yeah give me that nostalgia juice but it’s so much shit I just don’t know. I love the idea of Minecraft fanfic because there are so many options for the world and you can either make your own characters and you probably have to but then there’s just if you use Steve Alex Herobrine or Notch how they are written depends on the author and I live for that shit it’s a big part of why I read Creepypasta fic it’s because I like when there are different ways characters can be done (not unsympathetic or sympathetic like Patton so much like straight-up different characters) like Herobrine and Notch are the big ones like good vs evil, involved vs not, serious vs comedic, there are so many different ways to play them and I’m so disappointed AO3 doesn’t have much of it and so much of it is just Dream stuff and it usually just isn’t what I’m after in a fic.

The only other fics coming to mind right now are two wildly different fics involving Springtrap x Reader, one of them is being transferred from Wattpad for copy reasons, complete with tiny-ass chapters and that language that’s just so middle-school in the best way possible (like William and Springtrap are different consciousnesses and they way the author describes their struggle at one point is just so similar to a stupid thing I did and I have so much affection for it) and the other is legitimately really really good and the reader-insert has recently found out that Springtrap is William Afton and has murdered many children and they are currently dying multiple times to help his victims pass on because they can see ghosts and it’s actually really good and I have no idea where things are going, reader has currently met up with Michael Afton, currently all purple and dead and stuff, and has learned about remnant (weird-ass shit from modern FNAF lore) and it’s getting wild. I feel like there are two types of FNAF fic, ones in the style of FNAF 3/4 and earlier and ones from maybe 4 onward. Like ones where the lore was basically ‘bad man committed murder against children and they’re possessing the animatronics and that’s why they’re trying to kill you’ and then 4 starts having some more expansive lore ish and then after that it just goes everywhere with remnant and scooping and even more locations and also the books matter probably??? There is this one fic involving Glitchtrap that hasn’t updated in a bit and it’s fun, I like the idea of Glitchtrap and really wish I could read more fic just centered around FNAF VR. Then again, BEN was always one of my favorites and after I stopped being absolutely terrified of Herobrine I really liked his possibilities, maybe I just like the story utility and possible execution of characters with wide-ranging powers over technology and affecting the real world outside of it, IDK.

Ok I’m out of ramble energy, and also topics unless I go more in-depth about specific character options, but my energy is gone so I think that’s the end of it. I typed 3,000 words about fanfictions I’m reading and probably could have talked more about some of them if I wanted. This is my new hyperfixation. I guess. At least I know I have one, it’s reassuring to know for some reason, like for a while I missed how much Pokemon was my life in elementary school and Minecraft was in sixth grade, like it was nice just having something to focus on, though maybe that’s just the college and depression talking.

That was good, I’m glad I did that. Y’all are loved.

If you seriously read this entire thing... Wow. I really appreciate you digitally listening to me talking about random fanfic shit that I like. You’re really really cool.

5 notes · View notes

millennialzadr · 5 years ago

Text

WHY I LOVE ZADR!!!

HEY GUYS WHASSUP? LMAO

So this is a whole ass giant long post of me absolutely spewing my feelings of love for ZADR, it was the very first thing I wrote when I made this blog and I think it’s a nice, positive thing for my fellow shippers to inhale and enjoy 👌👌

it was originally a reply to mitarashiart’s post about why HE loves ZADR (link in replies) but I decided to delete that and make my own post since MY WHOLE ENTIRE TEXT WALL WAS SHOWN IN THE REPLIES and drowned out anyone else who was trying to talk (thanks tumblr mobile u fuckin idiot)

I had also posted a summary of an AU that I’m working on in the original post, but decided to remove it since it just about doubled the length (I’m thinking about posting it separately along with the wips I’ve been putting together, we’ll see 👀)

But ANYWAY, here is about a million reasons why I think ZADR is the fucking best, so if you like reading gushy gay ship feelings, please enjoy ❤️❤️❤️

[Posted June 2019][WARNING, LONG ASS THOUGHT BARF]

SOOO, holy hell y’all my journey back into this fandom has been a wild and unique experience for me, i went from adding invader zim to my bookmarks on kisscartoon, rewatching the series, finding out theres a movie coming out, finding out there was a shitload of content i’d never seen before (commentaries, lost episode scripts and audios, panels, the COMIC, episodes i’d never seen because the dvd i used to watch was scratched!! and a FUCKLOAD of quality modern fan art like oh my GOD) and finally curiously googling ‘zadr’ (which i was way into when i was maybeee 13/14) to see if there was any interesting new art, and holy hell, mita (the artist above) singlehandedly THREW me down the hole into modern zadr hell, first with his absolutely stunning IZ art (all his art is dope tho check him out yo), then reading the above explanation put the final nail in the coffin like, 100%

so i wanted to add onto his post here on why this ship got me so fucked up, both for anyone who might be wondering why on earth i’m shipping two characters from a kid’s show (i’m very aware how weird that is at first glance trust me) and also so i can get some ideas down for possible future reference (will i ever draw them? maybe)

(first of all, a disclaimer, and this is not pleasant to write but it’s important to address for clarity’s sake: I have no interest in romantic or sexual relationships between minors, and do not ship zim and dib as they are presented canonically in the show (as children). what i’m interested in is the conceptualized relationship they may have as modern adults, and i view zadr more as taking the concepts of existing characters and experimenting with them with different interpretations, which i personally think is a constructive and fun creative outlet, especially if these characters hold personal significance for you (childhood faves of course). growing up together is an important facet of their relationship, and certainly they were important to each other even as children (see: mopiness of doom) but as an adult i’m personally curious about what kind of adults they might’ve become, and that’s the focus of my interest. i’ll still be reblogging regular IZ art because it’s dope but if you see shippy looking art of them as tiny lil beans its either friendship or chibis (and i personally headcanon zim as getting taller with dib but some people stick with his canonical height when drawing them as adults, which is super short. it still doesn’t mean he’s a kid). aaand i wish i didnt have to write this and it would just be obvious but we live in a sick sad world and it is sourced from a children’s cartoon so i feel its necessary. end of disclaimer)

NOW THAT THAT’S OUT OF THE WAY

- ok, first reason’s a bit obvious - the nostalgia. holy hell, the feeling of rediscovering a ship that was popular when i was a preteen during the mid 2000s and discovering a totally new perspective on it as an adult comes with an almost totally overwhelming sense of nostalgia and comfort, as well as inspiration!! the kind of art that seems so common for zadr, these sketch pages of scenes and expressions and visual gags where artists would just scribble every idea they had and LOVE doing it, this was exactly the kind of art that made me so passionate about drawing as a kid, and it still sparks such a powerful feeling of love and admiration for me to this day. fan content of iz and zadr is simultaneously achingly familiar and totally new and fascinating, and it just makes me SO damn happy to consume, it is most definitely my new comfort content. and just, GOD. THE ART!! SO GOOD. FUCK

- now for the characters themselves: for some reason i just really love the thought of a mid twenties, modern Dib?? lanky goth dork, disaster bi, depressed as shit, uses bad sweaters and memes to cope?? when i was a kid i didn’t even LIKE Dib, but now i totally sympathize with him! he’s just a hyper obsessive nerd wishing there was more to life than the situation he got stuck with, how wildly relatable. he was a pretty big asshole as a kid (even to people besides zim) but he was also totally isolated and constantly bullied, so there’s a lot of room for growth. i feel there’s a lot of juicy character development potential for that boy, and there’s always been a special place in my heart for characters who are totally sad and screwed and hopeless, but there’s one thing, or person, that means the world to them and could possibly save them…

- aliens. Zim. i love nonhuman characters, i love monsters, i love aliens, i love characters that don’t understand human shit (and thus have much less room for shame or fear bc theyre just totally oblivious the negatives of modern society) and need guidance (bonding!!) from their human. i also love morally grey characters and characters with skewed logic, they’re always really interesting, and Zim himself just has such a unique personality and set of mannerisms, he contradicts himself a lot and you can never quite expect how he’ll behave, and i love that in a character, it makes them super versatile and fun, especially since there’s so many different possibilities for their development. Also, Zim is a gremlin, a little shit, and a disaster. I also love those traits in a character. And don’t even get me started on his character design?? big sparkly eyes? expressive antennae? monster teeth? complimenting colors? he’s adorable.

- mutual obsession. for someone like Dib, who seems almost repulsed by how boring and slow the people around him are, Zim quite literally personifies Dib’s escapist fantasies, both as an inhuman entity from beyond the stars, and as a person who’s knowledge, charisma and mystery far exceeds that of anyone Dib has met in his entire life. (so basically what i’m saying is that for a shunned, jaded misanthropist, an actual alien is terribly alluring, even if said alien is dangerous, stupid, and possibly insane). not to mention Zim vindicates Dib’s entire life passion, the supernatural! Even when their relationship is totally negative, there is not a single inch of room for Dib to get tired of Zim. as mita explained, they validate each other. for Zim, WHO AGAIN, IS TOTALLY SHUNNED, ISOLATED, AND HATED BY EVERYONE HE KNOWS, Dib is the only person in the universe who gives a single shit about him!! he gives Zim credit as a threat, a capable invader, which if you ask me is the sole thing Zim is after (he’s hellbent on his mission because it would win him the approval of the tallest, all he’s ever wanted is recognition from the people he thinks so highly of). He literally gets depressed when Dib isn’t around to pay attention to him, not even the tallest were enough to motivate him before Dib came back. these two have no one and nothing without each other, and while lifelong nemeses is fine and dandy, i personally prefer friendship, affection and love, cause i’m a softie like that. how could they possibly get there after years of actively trying to kill each other?? well, i think under just the right circumstances it could become a possibility after a long, long time.

- growth. i. love. me. some. good. character growth. especially for characters with trauma/mental illness, bc again, relatable. these boys have issues, and as mita mentioned, their canon stories are actually INCREDIBLY sad! but the happy thought is, they could recover! they could help each other recover, for little reason other than the two are the only source of happiness for each other. now of course this also opens the gate for angst lovers, but at the same time offers potential for comforting, uplifting content of the boys supporting and inspiring each other, maybe even to the point of becoming happy and healthy enough to create the lives they want for themselves (as in appreciating life and doing things that make them actually happy instead of the delusions of grandeur they both sought when they were younger). gimme that positive shit and let the poor beans be happy щ(ಠ益ಠщ)

- LITTLE THINGS. LITTLE THINGS THAT ONLY COME WITH CHILDHOOD FRIENDS. WITH HUMAN/NONHUMAN. WITH THE SHOW’S WEIRD LOGIC. Zim being the person Dib knows best and vice versa. Zim having an involuntary respect/admiration for Dib because he’s tall. Learning each other’s needs, limits, and communication methods, both emotionally and biologically. Sensitive antennae. Affectionate bickering. Being less insecure bc your partner literally has no idea why you see your flaws as flaws. Laughing at the flaws they do notice because they make no sense. Zim only wanting to eat waffles and chow mein. Dib being forced to overcome his depression lethargy and stay hygienic/keep the apartment clean because Zim has a sharper sense of smell and is afraid of germs. Endless conversation about anything and everything because they’re from literally different worlds, and endless intrigue. TOUCHING. TALKING. DOING EVERYTHING LIKE ITS THE VERY FIRST TIME AND ALWAYS NEEDING THE OTHER TO GUIDE THEM. HOLY HELL THERE IS SO MUCH POSSIBILITY FOR TINY LITTLE MOMENTS THAT MEAN THE WORLD. FUCK. GOT ME FUCKED UP.

so that wraps up the why. fuck man. its just such a good ship. if you read this big ass text post, thank you for indulging me, i hope you enjoyed it! because i enjoy it very much 👀 so stick around if you’d like to for a shit load of IZ and zadr content on this blog, possibly (MAYBE) even from me!! come roll around in alien hell with me why dontcha ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ its a fun time! thanks for reading!!!

SO THAT’S MY MANIFESTO Y’ALL, FEEL FREE TO REPLY WITH YOUR OWN REASONS!! I WOULD LOVE FOR THIS POST TO JUST BECOME A BIG GIANT PILE OF LOVE AND YELLING!! GO NUTS! SCREAM ABOUT IT! INFODUMP! DO WHATEVER YOU WANT! I’LL READ EVERY LAST REPLY! Y’ALL DESERVE TO ENJOY YOUR SHIP BC IT’S LITERALLY THE FUCKING BEST!!! LOVE Y’ALL!!!!!!

#in this trying time of shippers being stressed over discourse #i offer a gift<3 because i love you guys #and we should spread the love #i want yall to go OFF #tell me every little fuckin thing about zadr that makes ur heart doki OK #LETS GO 👏👏👏#invader zim #zadr #text post #my post #long post

343 notes · View notes

catty-words · 5 years ago

Note

not sure if i asked for this already, but for the dvd commentary meme: the passage from "a friend," starting from "I think we can drop the metaphor" to "She’s even in the middle of googling how to make bread—it’s surprisingly simple, really—when her phone rings."

mm good choice

She squeezes him closer. His responding grunt has her pressing her face even harder into his shoulder, trying to staunch her smile.

“Rebecca?”

“Right, right, right. So I’m at the egg store.”

i loved making the whole set-up of this fic a cozy tightrope for rebecca to walk. obviously, their physical draw toward each other has always been a great source of distraction for rebecca, so to have them snuggle while she tries to explain why she a) nearly gave into temptation and b) can’t give into temptation now because of what these distractions have meant to her in the past should fill the reader with a tension at the same time the snuggles are a shippy treat. because i like to have my cake and eat it too.

But what I really need to do is learn how to bake myself bread or make pasta from scratch or, I don’t know, glaze doughnuts.

in the silly egg metaphor, rebecca finding other foods to eat is obviously her looking for other things to sustain her emotionally. and my including glazing doughnuts is my own personal, didn’t-expect-anyone-else-to-pick-up-on-this nod to the fact that the gurls are in her life. she’s not baking them from scratch cause they’re already there, but she does need to spend more time on the relationships.....glazing them, if you will

“Don’t two thirds of those foods also require eggs?”

“Well, sure. Because I’m still going to want eggs in my life. They just can’t be the only thing I rely on to give me sustenance.”

love literal nathaniel over-analyzing the metaphor, and rebecca turning that around to, well, poke at the show not dealing with the fact that rebecca never actually leaned how to have romantic relationships in her life in a healthy way even though that’s gonna be an important part of her journey eventually

“And…Greg is the egg, right?”

Her stomach goes on an entire roller coaster ride between the thought that, no, Greg will probably never be eggs again—or at least not for a while

man, could you tell i was bitter about the direction of canon? let greg be free, it’s not healthy for him to hang around after this!!!

“So the other night—”

“I had not yet come to this conclusion,” she says, quick to hop in. “Or, I guess that’s not entirely true. Because I’ve come to this conclusion at least half a dozen times.”

this is also a little bit of a snipe at canon for walking back rebecca’s revelation in 4.07, “i know who i am now” and all that. but even with that said, i do love this aspect of rebecca’s journey. how she can come to conclusions and then not follow through, even knowing they’re the right conclusions to draw.

“So what stops you?” he asks. “You know, from learning how to bake bread.”

She feels a twinge in her chest. “I happen to know some really enticing eggs.”

i really am very proud of how ridiculous this metaphor is, but at the same time super apt in breaking down rebecca’s emotional state into easily understood moments like this.

“So I get to stay in the basket?”

“I’d like that.”

the moment nathaniel commits to the metaphor himself...

“Me, too. I think.”

...and how that gets him to really take what rebecca’s saying to heart. the added ‘i think’ is very important to the end of the fic

“It’s okay if that changes,” she assures him, her heart splintering a little to do so. “I know I can be a lot.”

in this version of events, rebecca just lost greg because of her insatiable need for eggs, and idk. this is just me sending my whole heart out to s4 rebecca, who screws up but ultimately is thinking about her people’s well-being as well as her own and all that means for her growth.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“Roll over.”

and nathaniel’s definitely thinking more about rebecca’s well-being than his own in this moment, but because we all love rebecca, we’re okay with that.

“Was that really all it was—um, everything you said? Just raiding the…just raiding?”

as rebecca’s falling asleep, nathaniel’s processing what she’d said and his place in her life, so he’s gotta know where she stands on the stuff she said the other night.

“‘s a dangerous question,” she says.

“Deadly,” he agrees.

and she’s calling back to what he said earlier, about how opening the door to let her in was dangerous, and how discussing what happened after she was inside would be dangerous. they’ve both been playing with fire this whole time--for rebecca it’s the snuggling, for nathaniel it’s the hope that she’ll say something he can keep as proof that she still has feelings for him--and maybe it doesn’t count for much, but them taking this moment to acknowledge that is still Something.

“It’s never just, Nathaniel. Should know that by now. Never just.”

being evolved rebecca, she of course tells the truth, no matter how dangerous

Last night might not have been just about maturely touching base for me, as you helped me realize. I think I should take another few days before we see if there’s room for me in the basket.

In the meantime, you deserve a smorgasbord.

and i think the renewed hope he felt at hearing that she wasn’t just saying anything she could to get what she wanted -- that it wasn’t just about raiding the egg store -- was what finally made up nathaniel’s mind that space was necessary. but him wanting out of the basket for now has nothing to do with her forcing him out by being herself, and he uses that sign-off to tell her as much. the tenderness!

She sets the note aside, feeling unexpectedly buoyed.

it works of course. she feels how much he cares for her even when he’s asking for space -- kinda like their scene in the final episode where she tells him she’s not choosing one of the guys.

She’s even in the middle of googling how to make bread—it’s surprisingly simple, really—when her phone rings.

i like ending the commentary here because i like how this shows that she’s committed to actually doing something about her revelation this time. she’s already taken it a step further than normal and, having taken this step, it’s actually gonna be pretty simple for her to keep moving down this path.

#dvd commentary meme #anthropologicalhands #replies #rebecca x nathaniel

7 notes · View notes

grassangel · 5 years ago

Text

Spyfall part 2

Once again more liveblogish than my yeah nah format. Starts out bullet points but quickly devolves into ranting paragraphs.

Ryan is indeed the best. Glad he got to have a hero moment, especially since there was focus on Graham and Yaz in the previous one. (Also, he’s my favourite, can you tell?)

The video like that in Blink/Family of Blood/etc was a nice reference, though it did feel a bit like copying RTD’s homework.

News from home? I was so excited for that and was really hoping the Time Lords were wanting some favours.

“You can have me” “I’ve got you anyway” Those two lines were certainly something. I want a hundred smut fics about it. And definitely primed me for what came next.

Because wow. That kneel scene was certainly something. Especially how quickly the Master then goes down to the Doctor’s level once he’s gotten what he thinks he needs (emotionally) from her. Like I love it because it's very them and very very shippy and Whittaker absolutely kills it with her expression of 'this again? fine, you asshole' but also? 😬😬😬😬😬 Did you have to be horny on main Chibnall? Did you have to make your female Doctor kneel and say 'Master' three times when asked to? Was it absolutely necessary?

Then again, post-Fleabag (which Chibnall COULD NOT have seen coming), the scene definitely reads more horny than degrading. And if you’re a Doctor Who fan and are familiar with the Doctor and the Master’s relationship... well. You were probably reading it as horny to begin with.

I like the implication later in the conversation that yes, this is basically extreme hide and seek.

Contact! Heartbeats! I’d really like to see Chibnall give an explanation for doing this double dose of fanservice that’s a) platonic, b) heterosexual and c) has the Doctor and Master being intelligent around each other.

Their Paris indeed. So like I hope that’s Chibnall acknowledging Missy happened. Almost don’t care if it’s supposed to be a hint that Dhawan comes before Gomez, just I NEED him to recognise that hey, there’s a dude who ran the show for eight years before he did and that his episodes exist and Chibnall can reference them.

"That's a low." Indeed, so why did you do it Chibs. Why? It's like the thing about female characters dressing in skimpy outfits - unless there's very, very good character reasons for them to do so, that's just the author/artist/director wanting them to be so. And you are the writer. That paints you in a very bad light, especially with the knowledge that Noor’s death was filmed, even if it was wisely left on the cutting room floor. (Also wtf were the script editor/Strevens & Wilson doing? Or the director? Or the costume department? Maybe the script editor didn’t know Dhawan was going to be asked for the role, but Strevens and Wilson would have! The director and costume department knew too, and if the script merely said [the Master walks in, leading a squad of Ges**po] and didn’t specify Na** officer, then they’re the ones to blame and are an extremely good reason why Chibnall should be on set for his stories rather than staying the fuck in London.)

Also fascists, that's more the Daleks. The Master is more of a dictator. They are different.

And er... like... we know Thirteen (and you Chibnall) have a thing for choking and bondage, but really? That happened but you didn't make the Master grab the Doctor's face? At least Moffat made them kiss. Never mind either that choking is a very common form of domestic violence and highly triggering for some people. Like I can tell Jodie and Sacha were staging it safely (her hand is placed over his and she’s in charge of it’s position and selling that she’s trying to stop him) but it is so very much not a good look. (And I only know they’re staging it safely because I did drama in highschool and it’s really just a variation on being dragged by the hair. Not everyone has that same experience!)

And wow... did you mean to make the Doctor so cruel? Make her DIRECTLY responsible for sending the Master to a concentration camp, to a firing squad? Because yeah, back to what I said about very good character reasons? That’s not a good light you’re painting yourself in Chibnall. You could’ve left it at the whole Twenty Committee gambit, but nope, you had to make the Doctor cruel and have her strip away the second to last ounce of protection the Master has.

3 masters in the 20th century? That’ll be fun for fans and the EU to fill in.

😟 So 13 is back to the erasing memories bullshit? Is Chibnall purposefully ignoring 12's entire era and all the lessons learned from it? (Like I mean... I suspected that Capaldi decided to decline to continue with Chibnall after meeting him and presumably talking about where Chibnall wanted to take the series, but uh... this makes me think even more so. All that work he put into Twelve learning that it’s wrong to violate someone’s memories like that, especially without consent? If they discussed any specific details about episodes I can see why he bailed.)

Chibnall. Mr Lee Haven Jones. You are both cowards. Let the Doctor kiss a girl, even if only on the forehead.

😡 Destroying Gallifrey again? Again? However I will admit I like the Doctor and the Master being the last two Time Lords again. 😍 They HAVE to be together now.

😡 Fuck Lungbarrow and anything derived from it or even remotely resembling it though. The Doctor does not, in any way, shape or form, need to be more special that the weird, nigh-immortal, super intelligent alien they already are. They do not need to be a god in the shape of an alien. (I’m okay with Time Lords being glowing squid aliens in meat suits though, but I doubt that’s what the Timeless Child is all about.)

That post-Gallifrey sequence was nice though, lots of good stuff for Whittaker and Dhawan to work with, and I am glad my suspicion this Master would be recurring is probably true. Hopefully. (Some of the comments Jodie made about Chibnall’s plans seem like this will be stretched on for far too long (until the 60th) and, though that also makes it sound like she’ll be sticking around until then too, it may mean that Dhawan’s Master only pops up once a series whenever the Timeless Child mystery is brought up again. Which I sincerely hope isn’t the case because the fandom loves him a lot and wants to see plenty more of him. And it’s not too late to insert him into more scripts for series 13 either!)

Also like... really liked that Dhawan and Whittaker got to do so much across from each other. Lots of stuff I'll interpret shippily, though a decent chunk will also get ignored or reinterpreted because it's stupid and ouch and fuck you Chibnall.

Vor subplot was basically there for a little bit of padding this episode. Which feels useless and pointless, especially the way it sort of literally fizzled out at the end. (Chibnall's not great at sticking the landing)

Also I’m very disgruntled that the BBC Voices audience response surveys haven’t been sent out yet. I hope it’s just because they’re still on holiday, because I don’t like the options why I haven’t received one.

They could not have received an order to run the surveys this series. Which uh... cocky much about your writing Chibnall?

There’s no money to run them for this series, which is a whole bunch of whelp in regards to the BBC being bled dry by the Tory government.

For some reason I’ve been kicked off the panel/no longer qualify. Which would suck. I like giving them what for.

#Doctor Who #DW spoilers #liveblogish #talky #trigger warning: strangulation #because yep I do yell at Chibs for that bit #(and the costuming bit though I can also see that being the responsibility of others too)

5 notes · View notes

nadziejastar · 5 years ago

Note

I haven’t been the kh fandom long, but whenever I see the old sea salt content (Axel and Roxas) I see fans shipping them romantically and sexually together. And it’s fucking gross. Axel is an adult and Roxas is a child. And I see a good chunk of Axel/Roxas content, which is one factor on why the sea salt dynamic is super popular. Which again, gross.

Don’t forget the Roxas x Axel shippers who thinks it’s cute to ship a grown man and a child together. Like one of the reasons why Roxas and Axel fandom kinda bug me. People who LOVE to over step boundaries and do gross shit

Oh, yeah. I’ve been a fan for a long time, and it’s always bothered me. It was so big, especially after KH2. Honestly, I never understood why. I think the trolls I get are shippers. They’ll send me angry messages about how much they HATE seeing my posts in the tags all the time. You think they’d just…ya know, block me if that was the case? It’s really not that hard. But no. Of course they don’t. They have to personally message me, lol. I guess it makes them feel better?

Being Special

When it comes to what befell our late comrades at Castle Oblivion, ambiguity suits me just fine. But the Keyblade master and Roxas come out and say every little thing that comes to mind. Maybe that’s human, or maybe they’re just special.

I can’t stop anyone from shipping Axel/Roxas. But I honestly don’t know how anyone saw it as romantic from an objective standpoint, especially after Days. In KH2, Roxas made Axel feel like he had a heart.

We don’t have hearts, so we accept the facts we’re given as the truth. But something far more important lies behind that truth. Saïx would laugh at people with no hearts calling one another friends, but that doesn’t make it not so. As the Nobody of the hero of the Keyblade and the Replica of that Nobody, these two are special. Unique in every sense of the word.

But Sora and Xion made him feel the same way. And he didn’t even know Sora personally. I think it was extremely important that Saïx didn’t think people without hearts could be friends. Axel was desperately lonely when he met Roxas and this cannot be overlooked. He and Sora were both special to Axel.

Axel: Love is what happens if there’s something really special between two people.

Roxas: You mean, like, if they’re best friends?

Axel: Well, you can care about your friends, I guess, but that’s not what I’m talking about.

But not in this kinda way. I also find Roxas/Axel gross. And creepy. When I see Axel/Roxas art it just feels so degrading to Axel. He’s SO much better than that. He enjoyed Roxas’ company because he was so pure and innocent. Being romantic with Roxas was the last thing on his mind. The whole idea was that Roxas and Xion are like Sora. He has the pure heart of a child, and can connect to many people. Axel was one of those people. They were special to Axel because they made him remember who he used to be.

Roxas: If I had a heart, you think I could love somebody?

Axel: Once Kingdom Hearts is complete, you’ll be able to do all kinds of things.

Roxas: That’s good.

Axel is not the type of person who would be interested in someone who he didn’t have an equal relationship with. Axel had to teach Roxas basic facts about life and human relationships. He didn’t know what friends were, or what love was. He was 15, but a lot of the time he was more like a little kid due to his amnesia. They were NOT on equal levels. Any romantic interest in Roxas would be exploitative and gross. I was happy with how Days handled Axel/Roxas.

Xion’s Conception

Where did the initial concept for the character Xion come from? Was she perceived before the completion for Kingdom Hearts 2?

Nomura: The name Xion and her background story was thought of and constructed during the production of this title, but we actually had the concept for a girl character like Xion drawn up since Roxas’s defection from Organization XIII. Therefore during the production of this title, we just worked on expanding on the ideas we had for that girl character and wrote Xion’s story around that concept.

Nomura said they came up with the idea of a girl around the time they imagined Roxas’ defection. Personally, I think one of the reasons he emphasized this point was because he was taken aback by the Roxas/Axel shipping. I think the huge popularity of the ship made Nomura and the team uncomfortable, since it’s not really…appropriate. I definitely think he wanted to distance himself from that interpretation, since he loves Axel, and that was not the impression he wanted his character to leave. I think Axel was always envisioned as a lonely guy, who had a tragic life history. He was an assassin, after all. But he was cool and decent. He wasn’t like all of the other members. He wasn’t supposed to come off like he was a sexual predator interested in a kid. That’s not cool.

How did you come up with Xion, who became such a key person in the storyline?Nomura: We showed how Roxas left Organization XIII in KH2. At the same time as we were polishing off the KH2 project, we had assumed to a certain extent what Roxas’ movements were during the time period when Days happens, and thought that “Roxas definitely left the Organization because of the influence of someone close to him.” And, we thought that “someone” should be a girl his own age. Flowing from that, we began to construct the storyline, beginning with Xion’s existence.

They thought a girl his own age should be the main influence causing him to leave. Roxas/Axel being the only important people in each others’ lives would send the wrong message. Xion was a necessary member of the trio to send the right message. 358/2 Days went out if its way to distance itself from the shippy interpretation of Axel/Roxas.

Xion’s memories were really Sora’s. But the form she had taken was reminiscent of Kairi. And that was because of Sora’s memories inside Roxas—the memories that knew Kairi as someone precious to him. Like Xion had become someone precious to Roxas.

I remember thinking that when I first played it ten years ago, too. It’s not that Roxas didn’t care about Axel. But Xion was special to him. That kind of special. The game was not even subtle about it. Roxas had a love interest and it was NOT Axel. He wasn’t broken up when he parted with Axel like he was with Xion. Their scene was really intimate. Roxas cried. Their Mystery Gear is “Aubade”. An aubade is a morning love song or poem about lovers separating at dawn. It’s the morning version of a serenade. And since both Roxas and Xion were influenced by Sora and Kairi’s memories, it made sense that they were the primary couple. Sora’s memories of Kairi are his most precious. That’s what Roxas and Xion’s whole relationship was about.

Roxas likes Girls

Xaldin: All the servants speak highly of her. It’s only fitting someone so well regarded would be given such fine lodgings.

Roxas: She’s pretty, isn’t she?

Roxas was like Ventus.

Merryweather: Stop, you get away from her!

Ven: Wha– Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just, I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful.

Unlike Axel, he noticed pretty girls. He didn’t express any interest in Axel that way (thank God). But he took a particular interest in Xion right away.

Axel: Did something happen yesterday?

Roxas: Nah, it’s nothing.

Axel: …Girls sure are complicated, huh?

Roxas had girl issues. Axel was amused by it. He knew Roxas liked Xion and he couldn’t have cared less. Because he didn’t look at Roxas that way.

Roxas: How did you know that’s what I was thinking?

Axel: Because you’re not so complicated. But don’t take it personal. Most Nobodies aren’t.

Roxas: You mean…real people are more complex than us?

Axel: Well, sure! Especially if they’re real and female. That’s like a double dose of complicated.

Axel thinks he’s not complicated. It’s his way of saying that they’re not on equal levels, psychologically. As an adult, Axel can’t relate to Roxas in the necessary way to have an intimate relationship.

Axel: Well, just give her some time.

Roxas: Why?

Axel: Because if you rush in there and try to fix things, you’ll just press more buttons.

Roxas: Fine, whatever.

Axel: Ha ha. You’re all right, kid.

Roxas: Don’t call me “kid”!

Roxas: Stop laughing!

Axel even calls him “kid”.

Ven: What does THAT mean?

Terra: You’ll find out someday, I’m sure.

Ven: I wanna know now.

Terra: You’re too young to know now.

Ven: Quit treating me like a kid.

Like Terra did with Ven. And he hated it just as much as Ven did. It was clear to me that Terra and Aqua were on the same level with each other, and related to Ven differently. Roxas and Xion were on equal levels, and related to Axel differently.

Roxas/Xion & Sora/Kairi

Axel: Roxas… Xion is like a mirror that reflects you.

Roxas: What?

Axel: The Organization made her to duplicate your powers. She’s a puppet.

Roxas: Have you gone nuts? Xion’s a person, not a puppet.

Axel: She’s smoke and mirrors, Roxas. And when I looked in the mirror…It wasn’t you I saw.

Roxas: I don’t know what you’re talking about, but Xion is Xion. You can’t expect her to be me.

Axel: That’s not what I mean, Roxas. It was only a matter of time before somebody had to break the mirror.

Roxas got angry when Axel fought Xion.

Roxas: You mean destroy her. Answer me!

Axel: Roxas, if somebody doesn’t, you’ll… You won’t be you anymore.

Roxas: I’ll always be me! Your best friend–just like Xion!

Axel: Roxas, you’re…you’re not seeing the bigger picture. Any of it.

Roxas: Ugh, forget this.

Axel: Roxas! Why can’t you understand…

He wouldn’t listen to what Axel was telling him, even though Axel was trying to save him.

Xion: What, did you two have a fight?

Roxas: I can’t believe that jerk would actually attack you.

Xion: So he’s a jerk now? Roxas, I wouldn’t be sitting here with you if Axel hadn’t done that. He’s your best friend.

Roxas: So are you.

Even Xion defends Axel, and tries to explain that he just did what he had to do. Roxas won’t even listen to her. He can’t think clearly when it comes to Xion. It was like Sora in Castle Oblivion. He wouldn’t listen to Donald and Goofy when they tried to reason with him about Naminé. And since both situations involved memories of Kairi, this made sense.

Xion: Here, I brought you this. It’s a seashell. I’ve been picking one up every time I go out on a mission. Hold it up to your ear.

Roxas is sentimental about the seashells Xion left him. He put them by her bed too, when he was afraid she wouldn’t wake up.

Xion: It’s too late…for me to undo my mistakes. But you can’t let Xemnas…have Kingdom Hearts. You can’t. Good-bye, Roxas. See you again. I’m glad…I got to meet you. Oh…and of course, Axel, too. You’re both my best friends. Never forget. That’s the truth.

It was the only thing she left behind after telling Roxas to never forget. He sheds a tear for her.

Xion: Roxas, don’t be sad. I came from you and Sora. I am you…the same way that I am Sora. You’ll forget me, but the memories themselves will never go away. Memories of you and me will always be together…forever, inside him.

It all suggested to me that Roxas had romantic feelings for Xion. The seashell thing was special—something meaningful only between them. It was very personal, related to their memories of Destiny Islands. Something only they would understand about each other. They’d never forget each other. Like Sora and Kairi.

Axel’s Memories

However there were two parallel stories in Days. Roxas and Xion’s connection to Sora was one. But Axel’s connection to Sora was the other. Xion was born in Castle Oblivion. And Axel changed after coming back from there. He told Roxas Sora rubbed off on him. Sora’s memories of Kairi formed Xion. But his memories of Kairi also had a connection to Axel, too. Axel and Sora had parallel character arcs in Castle Oblivion. He had special memories of his own that nobody else would understand.

Axel: You will need to follow your memories. Trust what you remember and seek what you forget. Then you will find someone very special.

Goofy: You mean King Mickey and Riku?

Axel: You will just have to give some more thought to who it is that’s—most important to you. Our most precious memories lie so deep within our hearts that they’re out of reach. But I’m sure that you can find yours, Sora.

Axel started off trying to manipulate Sora.

Riku: And as long as they’ve got their hands on Sora’s most precious memories–the ones of Kairi–I don’t think Sora will recover.

Sora’s most precious memories were of Kairi. These were going to be the key to manipulating his heart, using Naminé. All of his memories would be replaced, and he’d be under the Organization’s control. But Axel was impressed by the strength of his heart and changed his mind.

“I mean, Demyx doesn’t have a heart, but he’d go nuts if you took his sitar, wouldn’t he?” Roxas tried.

“Huh…you’ve got a point. So, okay, say you don’t need a heart for things to be important to you… Maybe the closest thing we Nobodies have is our pasts. It’s the memories that give things value.”

After coming back, when Axel is asked what’s most important to him, he says it’s his memories of the past.

Day 150: Too Precious to Lose

Xion didn’t come to the clock tower again today. She and Saïx had some kind of argument. Axel and I talked for a while about the things we can’t bear to lose. Axel thinks that for Nobodies, it’s our pasts, because that’s all we have to remember the pain of losing something.

They’re too precious for him to lose—his weakness. Just like Sora’s memories of Kairi were.

Marluxia: In this place, to find is to lose, and to lose is to find. That is the way in Castle Oblivion.

Sora: Castle Oblivion?

Marluxia: Here you will meet people that you have known in the past. And you will meet people you miss.

They are all that’s left to remember the pain of losing something. Which was what Castle Oblivion was all about.

Goofy: Don’t worry, fellahs! We might forget about where we’ve been or what hings we’ve seen, but we won’t forget who are friends are.

Donald: I don’t know…

Goofy: C'mon, Sora, when you turned into a Heartless, did you forget about me and Donald?

Sora: Of course I didn’t!

Goofy: There ya go! No matter what happens, you won’t forget your friends.

Sora: Huh… You’re right. Thank you, Goofy.

Donald: So, if there’s nothing here that can make you forget about your friends…then we have nothing to be scared of! Let’s go!

Axel was intrigued that Sora retained a sense of self after becoming a Heartless. It was because of the strength of his heart. He never forgot his friends. Kairi was even able to change him back because she couldn’t forget him.

Lea: I want everybody I meet to remember me. Inside people’s memories, I can live forever.

Isa: I know I won’t forget you. Believe me, I try all the time.

Lea: See, I’m immortal!

Axel felt the same way in the past as Sora did. He remembered who he was thanks to being in Castle Oblivion.

Sora: Why me?

Axel: You have lost sight of the light within the darkness. And it seems that you’ve forgotten that you forgot.

Axel knew that Sora’s memories were going to be distorted and he’d forget Kairi.

Axel: Nothing lasts forever, man. Least of all for a bunch of Nobodies. But you know, we’ll still have each other…even if things change and we can’t do this anymore.

Roxas: Yeah?

Axel: As long as we remember each other, we’ll never be apart. Got it memorized?

But it was really Axel who had forgotten that he’d forgot.

Axel: Would you like me to give you a hint?

Sora: I’m gonna figure it out for myself. If you’re in my way—

Donald: Don’t worry, Sora! We’ll protect you!

Axel: Good answer. Just what I’d expect from the Keyblade master. But be forewarned… When your sleeping memories awaken, you may no longer be who you are now.

He told Sora that he’d no longer be the same after his sleeping memories awakened.

Naminé: No matter how much I change his memory, Sora will never forget Kairi. Memories of me— More false memories of me will just make his feelings for Kairi even stronger than before. Because…I’m the shadow of Kairi.

But Sora was able to stay the same. Naminé changed sides, and his memories were restored. He wouldn’t even remember Castle Oblivion afterwards.

Talking to Roxas and Xion always brings back memories of my human life, back when I was a kid. It’s a weird sensation. I ought to be able to share all this with Saïx, but I just don’t feel like it anymore. It’s strange, but I’m content with just missing what’s gone. I’m not the one who changed. You did.

Axel’s words were foreshadowing himself. After his sleeping memories awakened, he’s the one who changed. But he really just went back to being his true self. Axel’s memories of Isa were the equivalent of Sora’s memories of Kairi. Sora slowly forgot who was most important to him. Axel slowly remembered who was most important to him. It’s sad that Lea’s relationship with Isa was so underrated, and got treated with such little respect. If the popularity of the Roxas/Axel ship had anything to do with it, then that is just sad and pathetic.

#kh meta #kingdom hearts meta #kh axel #kh lea #isalea #kh isa

14 notes · View notes

mas-ai · 6 years ago

Text

UTAPRI DISNEYLAND HEADCANONS!

Pardon me while I indulge myself, unload my mind and project.

Warnings ahead: Extremely long post, OOC, self-indulgence, shipping mentions, rare pairs (all characters aged up but nothing nsfw is here), Disneyland ‘spoilers’ , mentions of mental illness/causes of mention illness (Reiji, Ichinose, Aine, etc), not a dark post though, fluff,

Ai:

Mom mode activated

Everyone has specific, custom glowsticks so you can find everyone at night no problem

Also everyone has to wear GPS bracelets that allow Ai to track them in case anyone gets lost

He downloaded a mental map of the parks

Literally never lost, knows where everything is and the fastest way to get there

Faster than the Disneyland app by 73.2% (ok for real though I had almost no issues with it when i was there??)

He knows all of the secrets

All of them

Blurts out a bunch of random trivia and info he found while researching (which makes him fun to be with!!)

Then asks why it's important and has to have it explained to him

Snacks and water every 2 hours

Natsuki:

The actual child

Ai insisted on tethering him to a harness+leash after the aquarium fiasco

Also must have someone keeping an eye on him at all times

Outprincesses the Princesses

where's tinkerbell

more of a fairy than tinkerbell

goes to bibbidi bobbidi boutique and gets pixie dust (glitter) sprinkled in his hair)

the BEST character interactions

insists on eating all the food so he can remake everything when he gets back

somehow finds his way into the kitchens and poor syo is a victim

Poses everyone before all the photos

Must go on the fastest/scariest rides 6 times in a row

Always has hands up and is laughing in every ride photo

The cutest, most magical expressions in all their pictures

Masato:

Brought the snacks and water

Helps Ai give them out on schedule

Also has bandaids, bug spray, sunscreen, hats, sweaters, spare shoe inserts, spare clothes

Has 2 bags in bag check and carries around an oversized backpack all day

LOTS OF BUG SPRAY

"masato there's not really a lot of bugs here"

Insists everyone calls the minute that they're done rides if they separate

Also insists on breaks midday

Ai agrees

Really interested in seeing all the shows, parades, etc and making this a learning experience

Also wants to go on as many tours as possible

Buys everything for Mai!!!

Video calls with Mai so she can see!!

Holds Ai's hand during fireworks

Syo:

we'RE noT taKinG breAkS

he has this D O W N

he trained for this

he made everyone else train for this

This boy is getting everything done. Everything.

Fainted when he realized how much there was to do

Probably asked for Ai's help to make a schedule so they could get everything done

Is the first to deviate from the schedule the minute they're through the gates

Designated FastPass runner

Coordinated everybody else's outfits

"do you think we can get on a parade float"

Boardwalk games!! He wins everything!!

reluctant to leave at mid-day squad

later really glad they left mid-day and is happy to sit by the pool squad

Otoya:

Absolutely the most excited for the trip until they got there

Is now overwhelmed

Really interested in the music

Seriously he pays attention to everything in the background and hums it the entire time

He's so inspired for new songs now

Designated photographer

All his photos are blurry

CARS LAND!!!!!

Winds up just running for FastPasses with Syo instead

(i got kinda shippy with syo/otoya on ideas but ill resist)

Ichinose:

Pulled more allnighters than necessary (sometimes with Ren) to plan and book everything but nobody knows how much they put into it

Original daily routines, flights, reservations, packing lists, everything was started by him and Ren (until Ren started to favor sleep after two weeks)

At first it’s all super simple but then he starts overcomplicating it and when he's in the thick of it he can't stop and has to solve every potential problem

(no problems wind up happening)

Reiji discovers him one night and shuts it down (and then took over/shifted some stuff to Ai who would be better suited)

He and Masato were then in charge of buying items for the trip but Masato started overplanning/over worrying so he took over

Park bags? Got them. Ponchos? Thank him. Waterproof phone protectors? You got it. Chargers? Lots! Trading pins? Preordered online

Also really thinks hard about everybody's individual needs and concerns and is worried about everyone not having the best time ever

This boy is S O F T

He was also in charge of meal plans (until they got to the park and Ranmaru started hearing about all the food and took over)

This boy has not slept since they first decided they were going and hasn't done a single thing he wanted to do the entire time they're there

So crowds are a thing and he's now crashing

Reiji pulls him aside and they wander off to get some drinks and probably to Tom Sawyer's Island (very quiet! beautiful nature views!) and just... be in Disneyland

Really deep conversations while looking into New Orleans!

They ride the Mark Twain together and drive the boat too!!

Reiji takes him through all the shops on Main Street and they spend hours in the art gallery

Also they sit on the disneyland railroad and just go around the park 400 times? (he likes the parts in Splash Mountain, also the show scenes)

He and Reiji get caught in one of the 'bandit' shows where their train is 'robbed'. He's annoyed at first but has fun.

Is now just the designated ticket/pass/autograph book holder. Probably safely storing everyone's passports in his luggage too.

Camus:

Does not appear interested in this adventure. At all.

Until one night he orders Cecil awake at 3AM to do a bunch of research for him and does not say why

Nobody finds out until the day of, but he's upgraded EVERYTHING. First class jet, upgraded rooms, premium viewing for shows, etc

Probably managed to book an entire section of the park (or even an entire park) for the group

Also he just wanted information on every treat in the area

He wants to try EVERYTHING

He knows where all the best sweets are (don’t be fooled a lot of the food/treats are d i s g u s t i n g) and all the specials for the season

Contacted ahead of time to have special treats made for each of them that represent them and are then delivered during their dinner as a surprise

Do it right or not at all

Don't half-ass things

This means nothing. I care about none of you

"peasants"

he's smiling

reluctant to leave at mid-day squad

later really glad they left mid-day and is happy to sit by the pool

Cecil:

"whats that"

O H

NOW HE'S VERY EXCITED

Marathoned every movie EVERY movie for months with everyone

TAKE THIS BOY TO THE PARADES

ALSO ON THE TEACUPS

ALSO MUSICAL CHAIRS WITH ALICE AND HATTER

thinks the princesses are actually princesses

charms them all

Was not amused at waking up so early and obeying Camus but learned a lot and is surprisingly well-versed in the park

Knows where everything is and what everyone is doing at every point in time

"has anyone seen x it's been 4 hours" yes he knows where they are

Also Ai would wake up halfway through his planning sessions and stumble across Cecil and they'd wind up planning together

Really cute early morning planning sessions before work

Cecil falls asleep on Ai’s shoulder

This is when he finds out about Ai

He changes into full-on rainsuit for water rides 'for ai's sake' and makes ai do it too (ai is confused)

He and Ai huddle together under an extremely oversized raincoat (or refuse to get on water rides altogether)

But if they're getting splashed he dramatically sacrifices himself for Ai

reluctant to leave at mid-day squad

later really glad they left mid-day and is happy to sit by the pool nap squad

So inspired by all the lights and costumes

STARISH is now getting led costumes

Also quick-change costumes (tear-away to reveal a second outfit!)

Skipping/running EVERYWHERE

singing the entire time

Ren:

This boy takes forever to get ready in the morning

But he’s one of the first awake and helps Ai & Masato to parent everyone out of bed

There’s an ongoing joke that the three of them are married

Maybe they are

Did so much more for this trip than anyone realizes

Suggests they split off several times during the day so everybody can enjoy what they want to

Probably winds up taking over photos after seeing Otoya's

They're much better

Insists on hiring professional photographer though

Don't tell anybody but he pulled all-nighters to get things planned out with Ichinose

Coralls everybody in for the afternoon breaks

“Time to relax in the pool” initiation squad

“yes you have to shower before we go back”

really glad they left mid-day and is happy to sit by the pool squad

Reiji:

"we're riding indiana jones ten times in a row kids" take me with you

haw yee

This boy has the most flamboyant hats and you can spot him from a mile away

the worst for being tacky

But also at the same time really charming and cute somehow??

But don’t tell him!

Doesn't voice anything he wants to do, wants everyone else to have the best time.

Insists on surprise kiss pictures with everyone

Scrapbooks everything at the end of the trip because it was some of the best memories he had with everyone

he probably cries over the pictures because they mean a lot to him

Ai finds out about the scrapbook and helps out

Is surprised for the following Christmas when everyone pulled together to make matching sweaters & ornaments for the whole group for a group picture for Reiji’s sake

It’s now a tradition

It’s his favourite tradition

Ranmaru:

Here for the food

Or so he thinks

Winds up liking the rides a lot though

Probably the one everyone hangs onto when they're scared

super protective of ai on rides

throws himself over ai on several occasions to prevent him from getting wet

this is a good boy. ty for protecting the precious robot

Last to wake up and first to head home but b o y does he have the most fun

hell to pay the one day masato forgot to pack a banana

masato still feels bad

(reiji to the rescue to prevent meltdown though)

unintentional cat naps with cecil during the mid-day breaks

either they’re cuddling

or cecil wanted to watch a movie and they wound up falling asleep while ranmaru was playing with cecil’s hair

he didn’t realize he swears

he just missed relaxing with a cat

cecil says nothing

Bonus!

Aine:

at the bottom of the finding nemo ride

bye

35 notes · View notes

theonceoverthinker · 6 years ago

Text

OUAT Rewatch 4X14 - Enter the Dragon

Sorry for all the delays with these reviews! I’ve really been DRAGON my feet through this whole season, haven’t I?

...You don’t come here for smart puns, Regina! XD

Anyway, there’s a nice juicy review under the cut!

Main Takeaways

Past

I love how this plays as the evil version of every “young person melts the heart of older person and convinces them to go back to doing what they love” story! While it’s not a parody -- and is in fact played deadly straight -- it’s funny as hell to watch because of that!

It’s kind of weird seeing such vague mentions of Mal’s backstory. All throughout the episode, we hear clues, but are never given anything concrete. I wonder when or even if we ever would’ve gotten a backstory for Mal and Briar Rose.

Present

Wow, I gotta say, considering how DESTROYED Mal was by what Snowing did to her kid, stealing another kid is just horrible (The fact that he’s turned back into August and she may or may not have known that is irrelevant for me since she stealing a son from his father at the end of the day) ! I don’t know if it’s exactly poorly written or not -- a case of extremism turning her into what she hates or mishandling a character who is supposed to be more balanced between being evil and sympathetic. I guess it’s up to interpretation, but given that the there doesn’t get to be a reaction from Marco to Maleficent over the fact considering how big of a deal it is that she reverted a little boy back into being a grown man, I feel forced to say the latter.

This also applies to Regina too, ESPECIALLY considering her conversations with Marco in the last episode and this is more of a problem than I realized. She’s stealing a child, putting him up against three villains, AND disposing any direct means of contact between herself and her backup. And the fact that Rumple reverts him into being August at the end of the episode changes nothing here because that wasn’t an anticipated move. It’s even more distracting given the gravitas of the moment where Emma and Regina try to figure out whether or not to steal him in the first place. Regina says she’s going to protect him and pull out if he’s in danger, but what does she think they’re going to do to him if not threaten his life? Even just the emotional duress of those kind of threats is crazy to do to a kid. And then to drop her phone so he can’t even be tracked? It’s played as this necessary evil, but is never given the payoff to back up what a horrible and reckless thing this was to do. They STOLE his childhood -- what was essentially his happy ending -- and that has to be answered for by ALL involved parties: Maleficent, Regina, and Emma too for ultimately agreeing to this.

This segment has a really interesting theme of not being overly insistent on complete control. Throughout it, Regina insists to her friends that she can handle the Queens of Darkness. Even as the stakes raise, she makes risky and riskier decisions that she says she can manage. This culminates in a horribly risky decision (See above) that, in her insistence in keeping control over the situation and her sureness that she’s right, has Regina abandon her means of getting backup. And this all ends with Regina, forced by her own hand, to relinquish control to Rumple. I think that this is an important lesson for Regina to learn, and while I didn’t like the big decision that she had to make for lack of a proper fallout (I’ll actually discuss in a bit why I choose this episode to take the issue with it), I think the rest of the story is good!

Stream of Consciousness

-Regina, you trying to KILL ME with the cut of that shirt?! Because it is working!

-Damn, Regina is AMAZING at acting evil! XD

-HOW THE FUCK DID YOU CRUSH GLASS?! ARE YOU THE FUCKING HULK? XD

-I love how Regina looks between Mal’s castle and her book like “I’m gonna get my favorite author to sign my book!”

-Wouldn’t someone just win “Don’t Be a Hero” by only saving themselves?

-I love how there were freakin’ BETS on the game! XD

-We got another Henry and Belle scene!!! Tbh, I wish there was a bit more substance here too. Belle ADORES books and this is literally a mystery surrounding a book! Why couldn’t she give him some advice on maybe where to look or just talk about the nature of books! You have two book fans sharing a scene! Why not use that?

-I would KILL to know how Regina’s night of drinking with the Queens of Darkness went! Like, they drank a whole bar! XD

-To be fair, Emma, Regina’s probably not reaching out because she’s hungover as FUCK after DRINKING A WHOLE BAR! XD

-MAL, DRUNK AS FUCK, SINGED A COP CAR! XD WHERE ARE FICS OF THIS! THIS IS THE TRUE SEQUEL TO “THE HANGOVER!” XD

-”Some drinking.” SOME DRINKING? YOU DRANK AND ENTIRE BAR! XD

-I like how Regina’s “pathetic” flame was more of a matter of nervousness than inexperience. It shows that Regina’s learned a lot during her tenure with Rumple while still having a lot of space to grow.

-Maleficent is introduced as a druggie! She literally stabs herself with something that “takes the edge off!” XD

-”You need to remember who you are.” “That Maleficent had a foul temper, and if you insulted her, she’d turn into a dragon and eat your flesh.” Holy hell! My eyes are filled with hearts!

-”Where the hell have you been all night?” I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW THAT AS WELL!

-NOW WHAT KIND OF CRAZINESS HAPPENED IN THE VAULT?! XD

-To be fair, Emma, Regina’s been ROCKING this undercover mission so far.

-This episode is full of sexy, badass people, but this cake is the sexiest thing of all!

-”Well, look at which two survivors found a dinghy together.” ...Rumple, HOW ARE YOU SO BAD AT BEING KILLIAN? IT’S NOT ESPECIALLY HARD AND YET YOU SOMEHOW FAILED AT IT! It’s like trying to pet a puppy and instead doing a handstand! XD

-I love how Storybrooke can appear on a GPS system! Is someone in town just a really good techie or is Google our new God? XD

-”The only magical thing you’ll find here is duct tape.” Accurate! XD

-”You didn’t ask your questions more forcefully.” Oh trust me, she did. It was scary.

-”One little snafu?” YOU WOULD HAVE TO STEAL A CHILD!

-”Break some rules.” YOU ARE STEALING A CHILD!

-A Pirate’s Oath! XD What the hell? Someone’s just looking to cop a feel!

-I love the fact that it is 100% canon that Regina rode on the back of a dragon. Maleficent gave her the best piggyback ride in the UNIVERSE!

-Wait: GOLD HAS A CABIN?

Favorite Dynamic

Rump-illian and Belle. I absolutely love Rump-illian and Belle’s subplot here. Rumple, for better or worse, knows Belle and is exactly slippery enough to forge a story to get the dagger back for himself but also not infallible as to still fail to discuss things he wasn’t privy to. Major props have to go to Colin. He’s playing Rumple playing Killian and that is AMAZING! His lines and delivery are just awkward enough to capture Rumple’s failure to perfectly capture Killian, but they’re close enough that they could fool someone who’s just getting to be close with Killian like Belle. He’s always a little off center in how he conducts himself, making the reveal something that could feasibly be guessed but also surprise everyone! And the transitions -- the one at the docks the one as he walks into the pawnshop, and the one outside the pawnshop are done so well as to make the whole subplot even better!

Writer

David Goodman and Jerome Schwartz are in charge of today’s episode! So far, they’ve had a perfect season! But...well… Look. This episode isn't bad, but I do wish the present segment had some more polish. Considering that the three people involved in that final decision are all mothers and to not do more with that idea is really distracting in hindsight.

Rating

8/10. I’m torn about whether or not I should punish this episode for what goes down with Pinocchio. This episode is more setup in that regard than payoff and it’s not bad setup. But at the same time, I do have to ask myself if that payoff was ever going to happen and if it wasn’t, then the setup of something that upon inspection is so fucked up. And I do think that the payoff wasn’t intended to come up -- they had to know -- and so I do find fault with this episode for executing this idea in such an irresponsible way. Otherwise though, the storytelling is really good. Everything makes sense, the story’s engaging, the pacing works, the characters are for the most part in line, and the theme of the past segment lines up in a way that’s subtle, yet effective.

Flip My Ship - The Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness”

DRAGON QUEEN - This is my JAM! Look at Regina’s face as Mal enters the room. That is the face of a woman realizing “I am gay for LIFE!” And in the present, could these two flirt any MORE?! <3 Just look at the aspirin scene! Mal and Regina are both letting their guard down (Regina’s being more of a casual spitfire, Mal’s not wearing the jacket and is giving a bit more info), Mal’s helping Regina out a bit, there’s candles everywhere, and there’s a touch of loose tension in the room. It’s enough to make the moment pretty sexy. ALSO, they go on a mission alone and the presentation to it plays out exactly like an impromptu date! This is the BEST! I just love how Regina smiles for Mal. It’s big, but natural and just kind of happy!

Swan Queen - Dude! Emma is so worried about Regina! That panic in her voice is CRAZY and her dedication to having Regina’s back and protecting her really shows how much she cares for Regina! This as some of their best shippy moments by the sheer amount of concern Emma has for her!

Captain Swan - While it doesn’t work exactly, Killian does a really good job assuring Emma that things with Regina will be okay.

Mal/Briar Rose - “What happened to you?” “A Rose. A Briar Rose.” Mal says that line in the same way someone talks about someone who they had a bad breakup with!

-----

Hi!!! Thanks for reading and shout outs to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales and to the lovely @daensarah! See you all next time!

Season 4 Total (121/230)

Writer Scores: Adam and Eddy: (34/60) Jane Espenson: (20/40) David Goodman and Jerome Schwartz: (38/50) Andrew Chambliss: (22/50) Dana Horgan: (6/30) Kalinda Vazquez: (22/40) Scott Nimerfro: (14/30) Tze Chun (8/20)

Operation Rewatch Archives

#ouat #once upon a time #watching fairytales #ouat 4x14 #jenna watches ouat

14 notes · View notes

yaboylevi · 6 years ago

Text

I'm sorry I'm answering like this, but I don't want to get into the ship tag with my non-shippy opinions (please censor the name of the ship in the ask, next time). Also, this answer CONTAINS SPOILERS.

So, first of all, I think every group of shippers is guilty of thinking/hoping, with different degrees of intensity, that their ship will be canon in the future (or is/was canon, it depends). That's not something inherently bad, because it just means we really, really love our ships and we just see how their canon platonic relationship could evolve into something different, something romantic, because their personalities just click the right way in our opinion. Honestly, I think every ship has a chance of becoming canon, however their fates are ultimately in the hands of the original creators and only they can decide which relationship to change into a romantic one. EM shippers may feel more assured about it because, well, it's pretty common for the main protagonist to end up with the main heroine (although it's also common for her to end up with the protagonist's best friend).

Isayama's only implied couple was an f/f ship, though, and that's pretty uncommon. But anyway, honestly speaking, I don't see Shingeki ending with Eren (or even Mikasa) involved in a romantic relationship. Even yumi/hisu's arc wasn't about their love story, it was about the effect they had on each other, which led to mysteries being unveiled (so: it was plot-relevant). EM, imo, is not framed in a way that implies they will become a canon couple in the future; if anything, it's the opposite.

In regards to Eren, I think he is not interested in relationships, he has other things to focus on. Or maybe he is just super oblivious. He never seemed even aware of other people's romantic feelings, while Mikasa (and to a certain degree everyone else) was keenly aware of them (Ymir's, Hitch's). But I also think Eren might be more interested in men than women. However, this is a matter of perspective and preferences (+ I'm thinking about a hilarious smartpass interview where he was asked about the female cadets in a suggestive way and he just went "???? what about them??").

As far as Mikasa's feelings go, in my opinion, they are something different from purely romantic ones. I think she is just so grateful to Eren, she'd do anything for him. As a teen, I think it's almost obvious she might feel like she's fallen in love with the guy who saved her. Heck, she would have been sold as a prostitute to a brothel or, worse, to a noble as a sex slave. Eren gave her a reason to fight, and saved her life. When she thought Eren was dead, Mikasa decided to keep on living in order to remember him. That's how strong her feelings are. But I don't think they are exclusively romantic. They're so much more, more complex, deeper, stronger. For example, if he ended up with someone else, she wouldn't hold a grudge, she would be happy as long as Eren is happy. I think now that she's older, she understands this, but when she was 15, she was jealous, or at times even completely blind to Eren's feelings (which weren't romantic).

This behavior was mainly used as comic relief, but it was there. Hence the "yandere girlfriend meme" Mikasa has become to some people.

The scene in chapter 50 is beautiful. In a moment of utter desperation, Eren hears Mikasa's words and realizes that he isn't a complete failure, he saved a little girl once. He can do it again, he just needs to...not stop fighting. And so he gets on his feet and fights. Was Mikasa about to kiss him? Probably. Eren didn't realize it or simply thought there was no need for Mikasa to confess her feelings as a result of her giving up, because he could still fight, he could still save her. And so he did. "I'll wrap you up in that scarf again and again. Forever," he says. In my opinion, it's not a declaration of love, but a declaration of his devotion to fight and protect and save Mikasa and his friends. Forever. No matter what. This is who Eren is, the pillar of his character. And in that moment, after having momentarily lost his motivation, he strengthened his resolve, his purpose in life again.

How did this moment change their relationship? I don't think it changed it severely. I think it was more gradual and this was just the pinnacle of Mikasa's romantic feelings and after this, she acknowledged that that's not what it was all about. She cares for Eren a great deal. She wants to see him happy, accomplished and safe. Who wouldn't? But she also realized, she cares deeply for many other people. Her crying desperately for Sasha (a friend not from her childhood) is the peak of this. She's way past the "Choose. Eren or Ymir?" phase. Her heart, once closed off because of trauma, has opened up again, and I can see how she can return to be that happy girl she once was, independently from Eren. I think this has been implied for a while now, since she's been put in the background during the Return to Shiganshina Arc, always a step behind Eren and Armin.

But this has always been the case, apparently. She didn't even know about Eren and Armin's promise/dream of the ocean.

While I understand this was a necessary set-up, seeing how things escalated/paralleled with Levi-Eren-Erwin-Armin, I also believe it was a sort of nudge into the right direction for her, like "Mikasa. You are your own person and you're not bound to what Eren does or say. Be free."

(Although, this could change because I'm not sure what happened in Marley. It's possible her hand, in particular, was forced by Eren...and it seems her love for Eren has made her more miserable than anything else...but anyway, these are conclusions I'll draw once we know for sure what happened then.)

Mikasa has gone from not trusting Eren and constantly reminding him that he was "not enough" and that he needed her (a behavior that superficially irritated him but in fact affected him a lot, imo, maybe because there was a bit of truth there)...

...to respecting his personal space and opinions, and trusting in his abilities. And she tells him exactly that, which is super important. This panel below makes me tear up a bit, if I'm honest.

Mikasa went from being so self-centered about her role in Eren's life to the point that she unintentionally ridiculed him in front of everyone...

...to accepting that Eren's life is independent from hers, and leave him to his own ridiculous shenanigans with Jean.

That's also why I don't like when people disregard Mikasa's initial flaws. Because it cheapens her development and makes it look like she never had one. She's far from a static character. Her character development is just more subtle and stretched throughout the whole manga, it's not condensed in just a bunch of chapters (like Historia's, for example). I understand people want her to be perfect from the start because they love her, but...then they say she never gets development. Not acknowledging flaws is just counterproductive.

I really didn't like their relationship at the beginning of the story, it was frustrating because they were both so stubborn...but as both Mikasa and Eren changed, I've grown really fond of it. I don't see it in a romantic light but I still appreciate it. Of course, there's nothing wrong in seeing it as romantic or wishing in a future romantic development, as long as Mikasa is acknowledged as her own person and not Eren's accessory.

I'm admittedly not very knowledgeable about the EM fandom, and I often see comments such as "Mikasa needs to have Eren's babies" or (serious) jokes like "if you take Eren away from Mikasa, she's nothing", which I strongly disagree with, but I'm sure a lot of shippers don't see it like that. Unfortunately, haters and shippers with bad opinions are also the loudest but they certainly don't represent the true nature of the ship. Chapter 50 felt like the turning point to a better balance between EM, and a main point in Mikasa's development.

#snk #shingeki asks #mine #long post #snk meta #snk 50 #vivimetas

171 notes · View notes

reconditarmonia · 7 years ago

Text

Dear Yuletide Writer

Hello, lovely writer!

I’m reconditarmonia here and on AO3 (and have been since LJ days, but my LJ is locked down and I only have a DW to see locked things).

General likes:

-- Relationships that aren’t built on romance or attraction. They can be romantic or sexual as well, but my favorite ships are all ones where it would still be interesting or compelling if the romantic component never materialized.

-- Loyalty kink, whether commander-subordinate or comrades-in-arms, and the trust associated with it. Sometimes-but-not-always relatedly, idealism. I guess the two combined might be, in general, the idea of nobility of character and what that means.

-- Heists, or other stories where there’s a lot of planning and then we see how the plan goes.

-- Femslash, complicated or intense relationships between women, and female-centric gen. Women doing “male” stuff.

-- Stories whose emotional climax or resolution isn’t the sex scene, if there is one.

-- Uniforms/costumes/clothing.

-- Stories, history, and performance. What gets told and how, what doesn’t get told or written down, behavior in a society where everyone’s consuming media and aware of its tropes, how people create their personas and script their own lines.

-- Eucatastrophe.

General DNW: rape/dubcon, torture, other creative gore; Christmas/Christian themes; unrequested AUs, including “same setting, different rules” AUs such as soulmates/soulbonds; PWP; food sex.

Fandom: Dòu Máah Dáan | Peking Opera Blues (1986)

Characters: Tsao Wan

This film is so much MORE than I ever dreamed. More hilarious, more shippy, more dramatic. I think what I want most from this fandom is something on a similar emotional scale - not necessarily something where the plot itself has a national or international scope, but something that has room for opera slapstick, corpse puppetry, and torture; material concerns, and high aspirations; saving each other’s lives, and having sleepovers. Thematically, I’m really interested in the way the film shows friendship and familial love sometimes dovetailing with ethics and ideological goals and sometimes conflicting with them, and in the various ways women can find, or seek, their own independence.

Tsao Wan is the only character I’ve put in my request. I was fully expecting to come out of the film with femslash ships, and instead I have a big OT5 and a huge crush on Brigitte Lin (okay, that part I could see coming), so I’d be happy with any combination of the main five, including the two men, who were not nominated, as long as Tsao Wan is there. Some combination possibilities: how do any of them meet up again after the events of the film, whether by chance - do Bai Niu and/or Sheung Hung happen to be making a tour stop somewhere Tsao Wan has a mission? does Tsao Wan and Ling’s work take them near Tung’s village farm? - or intentionally - how would a new opera about Tsao Wan and Ling’s exciting adventures be created by Bai Niu and/or Sheung Hung, in terms of research and role creation? Or maybe Tsao Wan needs Bai Niu’s skills for a mission. In fact, maybe she needs everyone’s skills for a mission. Recruitment road trip! Some solo possibilities: what was Tsao Wan’s time in Europe like? Was she involved in any political activity there? What does she do post-film as History continues? In anything set post-film, I’d like to know that all five characters are important to each other, even if they’re not actually in the fic and/or sexually involved.

If you want to get really plotty, I love heist and con stuff like Leverage, Ocean’s Eleven (remake), and The Italian Job (original), where there’s a Plan with steps and roles, and then it plays out. If straight-up casefic isn’t your style, it could be fun to throw some shippy tropes at this canon (fake marriage where Tsao Wan is pretending to be the husband? hurt/comfort or sickfic? hell, I’d read accidental baby acquisition), but tropey stuff is not necessary - I’m just trying to throw out some ideas to get things moving. Ideally there’d be at least a figleaf of plot in the background, even if it’s not casefic.

Fandom-specific DNW: Explicit references to torture are still a hard DNW (I covered my eyes during the scene in question when watching the film), but I recognize it’s part of canon and consequently might be part of the world of the fic. If someone is tortured or creatively executed in your story, it’s fine to mention it but I do not want to know how.

---

Fandom: Far from the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

Characters: Bathsheba Everdene

I didn’t nominate this and it didn’t occur to me that it would be in the tagset, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it! One thing that always sticks in my mind about this novel is the way Hardy calls Bathsheba “the young farmer” just as he refers to the men as farmers - which, just saying, is more than most people writing about this story can do - and so, that being the case, what I’m most interested in is something about Bathsheba as farmer. One day in the life or four seasons in the life or five plantings/harvests in the life, or pseudo-academic fic about a case study of a woman farmer in the Victorian era, or a conflict between the farm and nature that Bathsheba has to decide how to solve.

Feel free to bring in the other nominated characters or other major characters if it suits what you’re trying to do, but what I’m really looking for is a focus on Bathsheba’s work, determination, and process of learning. I’d also love to read something like a merchant ship AU (as the first alternate setting that came to mind where it would be not exactly the done thing for her to captain her inherited ship and make commercial decisions herself - although I do have to point out that contrary to popular belief, there were a lot of women on shipboard in the age of sail, may this be useful - but also where nature and luck/fate are as influential as they are in the original setting), or something in which the land, superstition, and ritual were more overtly magical.

---

Fandom: 月刊少女野崎くん | Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun

Characters: Kashima Yuu, Nozaki Umetarou

Pick a trope. Have them fuck it up.

That’s one of the things that makes me love this canon - the simultaneous send-up of and indulgence in tropes, in a very good-natured way. (Another way I’ve described its genre: “nothing happens, but very dramatically.” Everything is shocking or devastating or the pinnacle of bliss.) Kashima and Nozaki are two of the characters whose propensity to do this is most likely to set a story in motion, due to Nozaki’s experimentation/observation for his manga and Kashima’s princely self-fashioning and going 120% on everything; I also love Kashima’s bifauxnen-ness, acting talent, and earnest failboating, and the way that Nozaki could have been written as a tall-dark-handsome-stoic cipher guy and instead is just as quirky as anyone else. That said, this is an OR request, not an AND, and I’d also be happy to read stories about pretty much anyone from the nominated tagset (except Mikoshiba or Mayu; I don’t know Mayu very well because I originally got into this through the anime, and Mikoshiba just isn’t my fave, although I have no objection to his appearing in the story).

There are all sorts of lists out there of common shoujo(/romcom/fanfic) tropes if you’re not sure where to start. And, because Nozaki is all about subverting gendered characterization and role-boxing, and also about people trying to make their lives conform to narrative, go ahead and apply those tropes to whichever characters you feel would be the most interesting or fun. Feel free to pick non-high-school-setting ones, too, if there's magical/historical/high-society shoujo you want to see them tackle, or to take a play that Kashima (and whoever else) is involved in as a jumping-off point.

As you may have gathered, I love the way the canon plays with romance tropes, but I would prefer no overt Shipfic. If you’d like to include a ship, whether slash/femslash or het, I’d like for it to be handled without much seriousness, and for friendship with characters who aren’t part of the ship to be a significant part of the fic, as per canon. I do really like the show’s variety of friendships between characters of different temperaments, interests, and sexes.

If you’re really getting a “why don’t you just rewatch/reread the canon, reconditarmonia” vibe off this, which I’m kind of giving myself, you could try sex comedy future fic? Give them magical powers? What I’m most interested in, wherever you go with this, is the playing-with-tropes thing.

Fandom-specific DNW: I love Hori and Kashima’s relationship, but I’d strongly prefer that her feelings for him not be written as overtly romantic. High levels of ambiguity/intensity/tropey-ness are fine and great.

---

Fandom: Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett

Characters: Any (Alice “Wazzer” Goom, Jack Jackrum, Magda “Tonker” Halter, Maladict, Polly “Ozzer” Perks, Tilda “Lofty” Tewt)

Give me all the loyalty kink for this fandom. Characters rescuing each other from peril, risking their reputation or position or ethics to defend each other, accomplishing the impossible or sacrificing things without even thinking twice because one trusts the other’s orders or judgment. Or A not going off the leash or into danger to defend B because B said not to, to protect A’s conscience or life or reputation. Can be romantic or platonic - I ship Polly/Mal and Tonker/Lofty, but I would also be delighted with Polly&Jackrum, Wazzer&Polly, or other non-romantic twosomes or moresomes in situations of loyalty and trust. Maybe Polly sends Mal on a dangerous mission, or Tonker is captured after she and Lofty burn down another place where women and girls are being abused, or Polly protects Jackrum’s secret/s from someone who could reveal them, or Wazzer ends up in the field again with the general’s retinue and Polly and Mal rescue her from danger (or vice versa!!). What strengths or sacrifices do they have at their disposal for each other?

Pratchett-esque voices would be great. He’s really, really good at sucker-punching the reader with sincerity in an overall satiric mode, and I think that style lends itself well to this sort of thing.

I’m not going to lie, Polly is my fave. I like that this could have been a generic coming-of-age or women-in-war story, where the protagonist learns that she’s brave or worthwhile and then the crisis is past, but instead Polly learns that she’s a cunning bastard and a hell of a sergeant, and being a one-off hero in a country that’s at peace and making slow social progress isn’t good enough for her. That said, just because I’m better able to articulate what I like about Polly doesn’t mean I’d be less excited for fic about anyone else! I think that’s something I’d want to explore for any of the characters who enlist in the course of the story - what are these women good at? What lets them fulfill their potential? What do they want when their hand isn’t being forced? Or for Jackrum, who’s already gone through that whole process by the time the story begins, any more backstory would be fabulous.

If you’re going the Polly/Mal route, I also love ludicrous levels of sexual tension in a military context (I think it’s the unavoidable proximity + the presence of others making it hard to act on it).

Fandom-specific DNW: vampire romance tropes (such as turning and/or immortality) as focus; non-female pronouns/headcanons.

Fandom: Simoun (Anime)

Characters: Any (Aaeru, Dominuura, Halconf, Mamiina, Neviril, Paraietta, Plumbish Priestesses, Rodoreamon)

Simoun somehow ended up being a really weirdly meaningful show to me. I loved how all these women got to be flawed and fucked-up, noble and loyal. How, in the mold of all my favorite epic shoujo anime, it starts off beautiful and fine and then Shit Gets Very Real and that’s actually one of the themes of the show - we had a little debate a few weeks ago on FFA as to whether or not Simoun was a military canon, and the fact that circumstances have remade a team of priestesses in fancy quarters and magic flying machines who are there to pray to God, put off their choice of sex, use their talents, maintain or claw their way into a social position, into a military force involved in a war - that’s an idea that the characters themselves struggle with in the show. (Neviril’s scene in the hearing is one of my favorites.) How everyone gets character development, in the sense of learning and changing, and even what seem like annoying mandatory straight subplots actually end up serving that thematic or character development, to say nothing of the more focal relationships between the leads (not just Neviril and Aeru, but also Mamiina and Rodoreamon, Neviril and Paraietta...)

I’d really like to read a fic where an individual character’s development or two characters’ relationship is similarly tied in to plot developments; it doesn’t have to be a plotty fic as such, but I was very interested in the way the developments of the war and the pilots/priestesses’ actions in it precipitated changes in their relationships. So how might Neviril and Aeru’s relationship develop in the other world (what are they doing?), or Mamiina and Rodoreamon’s on the Messis when they’re not the narrative focus before Mamiina’s last mission and the braid thing? (Or if this is more your speed, dig into that and see how a character grows or the relationship between characters develops when that’s not being moved along by outside events in the same way, especially if they’re aware of that being an issue. When Neviril and Aeru are outside the normal flow of time, or Paraietta and Rodoreamon are civilians, for example.) I’m also interested in all the permutations of loyalty we see in the show - like loyalty to a position over loyalty to a side (as with the Plumbish priestesses’ siding with our Sibyllae), loyalty that develops before liking or friendship, the devoted loyalty to Neviril. I like the show’s military themes despite its magical-girl visuals. I think this is also a canon where it would make sense for sexual first times to be part of a fic - what does that mean for the characters you choose?

I should also say that due to all the magic and timespace warping in the show, I am more than okay with post-canon fic that gets characters back together who were separated by canon, if that’s what you want. You can resurrect Mamiina, or have Neviril and Aeru visit the main reality/timeline again. Or play with timespace even more - time loop fic? (Edit: This didn’t even occur to me until I found out about the IF post, but this fandom might lend itself to interactive fiction, too.)

#yuletide #peking opera blues #far from the madding crowd #gsnk #monstrous regiment #simoun #dear author letters

1 note · View note

comicteaparty · 6 years ago

Text

January 7th-January 13th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from January 7th, 2019 to January 13th, 2019. The chat focused on MoonSlayer by Monica NGalvan.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START! Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on MoonSlayer by Monica NGalvan~! (http://moonslayercomic.com/) You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PST), so keep checking back for more! You have until January 13th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 3. What is Nirúr’s role in Syrma’s curse? Why is her Syrma’s death so important to Deneb and Nirúr’s goals? Is Nirúr as evil as everyone makes him out to be?

QUESTION 4. What do you think happened in the past that convinced Menkar to join to the side of the liosalfar (besides his past betrayal of his former king)? How might revealing this affect Syrma’s quest?

monicang

Hi everyone! I'm Monica, the author of MoonSlayer. This is just for telling you that you can ask me anything you want to know about my comic! Thanks and I hope you enjoy it!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. Why is the Storyteller helping Syrma? What exactly are the Storyteller’s ultimate goals regarding Arunor? Do you believe Puck will remain loyal to the Storyteller, or will he now work for Deneb?

QUESTION 6. What do you believe Henna did in the past that caused her to be exiled from the court of the sidhe? What does this have to do with Henna turning into a monster? Also, what deal did Henna make with Puck?

RebelVampire

1) my favorite scene is probably when henna goes to bathe and puck shows up and we start learning that something is wrong with henna. i enjoy the illustration work a lot with how much detailed work is put into henna's appearance. but i also just like the elements added to the story because it really adds this forboding sense that time is running out for everyone really, not just syrma. and i think the addition really helps to add more stakes to the matter, since the more lives in the balance the better? XD 2) this is a tough choice. probably henna. of the designs i like hers the most because its just so strange, mystical, and beautiful at the same time. but also i like how teasing she can get in one scene but then serious and badass in another. all around shes just a really intriguing character to me that i enjoy learning about. 3) I wouldnt label Nirur as "evil" so much as id probably assume hes self-absorbed and concerned only with his well-being. as for his role, i assume some magic shenanigans where somehow syrma's death will help release him. although i feel like not everything is as it seems. like nirur expects his sister to fail and is just trying to get syrma to come to him to trick her into using her inability to be affected by magic to bust him out of god jail. but just spit balling on that one i have no real evidence other then i assume nirur is cunning. 4) i think maybe the liosalfar saved menkar's life. and that menkar may have really just been depressed and had nowhere else to go at the time. i dont think itll reall affect the quest so much as make syrma go "omg hugs for menkar"

5) given the convo the storyteller had with hatal, im gonna assume hes helping syrma out of boredom. cause it seems implied that their world is just kind of stuck and static, never changing and never growing. and i think the storyteller just wants that to change. which i mean to be fair, you cant be a good storyteller when there are no stories to tell. and you cant have good stories without change, growth, and progress. as for puck, yeah i think hes gonna remain loyal to the storyteller. just cause deneb probably wouldnt help him even if he helped her. 6) im gonna just take a stab in the dark here and say maybe forbidden magic comboed with a lack of deference to the crown. although i assume that henna was exiled partly because nobody wants a monster in their lands, so better to get them out before theyre too dangerous to lose. as for the deal, help syrma and get cured? i mean that seems the most likely. and i assume it was a generally vague deal that henna partly regrets cause theres a lot of help needed.

keii4ii

1) This may be a weird choice, but I really liked the scene when Syrma kissed Menkar and ran off. Or rather, that's the scene that made me like her. It's not that I ship them (I'm aro and rarely get excited for shippy stuff). Rather, it made her feel more 3-dimensional to me. There's a lot of scenes portraying her as this perky, reckless warrior-huntress... But there's gotta be more to her than just the fighting and the hunting, right? And that kiss scene did it for me. She was still the same perky, reckless girl, so it wasn't like showing an unexpected hidden side of her. But it still showed that there are mundane moments in her life, too.

6) There is a short story in the Threads anthology that goes over this. I actually read that short story before reading the main comic... It doesn't explain everything, but it explains a lot.

Kabocha

I've only just now started reading this comic, so I'll answer the questions later... But I really like the art so far. It's lovely and incredibly intricate!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. What do you believe the group will do regarding the last potion ingredient since Henna’s blood is useless? How might Farian and the other sidhe help or hurt the situation?

funakounasoul

I need to do an archive binge of this comic again but I wanna just say that I love this story. Love Syrma and want to see how she achieves her goals. I love the art style. It's clean and professional but it's on a stylistic side that attracts me (I tend to not go for stories, especially fantasies, where the cast looks too realistic). Keep up the amazing work, Monica! :D

Kabocha

1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it? http://moonslayercomic.com/comic/ch5-20/ I loved this sequence -- Syrma getting the Angisu was pretty dang neat to see, especially when she threw the flames at the monsters! 2. Probably Deneb. She's got enough mystery around her, but so far I just like how... IDK, goal-oriented she is? She's interesting so far, and I want to know what she has in mind for Syrma. 3. NO IDEA! I think Deneb probably expects that Syrma will take her place, and that's why she chose her and took her magic -- this was all necessary to get her ready. 4. Menkar was probably going to be king before the other guy was put in place, and things went badly. 5. I can't really say why the storyteller might be helping Syrma, but I do wonder how much of this has to do with fate? Alternatively, Deneb could be totally losing it and degenerating somehow, and he's trying to find a peaceful end for her. ...Granted, nothing involving Syrma ever seems to be peaceful for long. 6. ...Y'know, I'd like to know what Henna did? I imagine her exile is directly related to becoming a monster, and is just a consequence of not being with her people... I do think, based on the cast page, that Henna probably helped Iris become immortal, which pissed off several sidhe.

snuffysam

1. Definitely the sequence where Syrma first uses the Angisu. The flames turning into claws around her hands... beautiful. 2. Syrma. I just love the way you see her grow up throughout the comic. 3. I think Deneb wants to use Syrma to free her brother somehow? I'm not sure how sacrificing Syrma would help with that, however. 4. I agree with Rebel on this one. Menkar was exiled for his betrayal, and the liosalfar took him in. 5. I think it's possible the Storyteller just disagrees with Deneb's actions, and wants to stop her somehow? As for Puck, I think he may pretend to be loyal to Deneb, but I still think he's going to help Syrma overall. 6. Agreed with the other sentiments, I'd also like to posit that maybe Henna doesn't know if she's actually helping Syrma, or if she's a traitor. After all, she threatened to reveal her deal with Puck to Syrma and Menkar, which isn't something you do if you're only being helpful.

Kabocha

Seeing how Puck got in a hell of a lot of trouble, I do wonder if it's just that nobody wants Deneb to know what's goin' on

snuffysam

the whole comic is leading up to a surprise birthday party

Kabocha

Oh no! D'ya think Syrma and Deneb have the same birthday? Maybe Deneb's just trying to prevent Syrma from crashing her party or something.

snuffysam

it's the only reasonable explanation i feel

RebelVampire

QUESTION 8. What insight do you believe the beginning of the comic gives us to the current story? What do you predict given that Syrma was warned about being seduced and is also emphasized to be all alone?

RebelVampire

i want to add to some of the discussion that i kind of think deneb isnt losing it. i think shes already lost it. XD in the sense that shes just being completely used by her brother and just flat out cant see it. is so dedicated to him nothing about morality or anything else registers to her anymore. its all about getting nirur out of prison, even her children be damned. 7) maybe theyre gonna be extremists and kidnap farian. cause that can only go well right? although i forsee them getting majorly delayed, caught, and sent to sidhe court. puck can be their lawyer. 8) the fact shes all alone....gonna be honest. i just assume everyone be dead. henna is a monster, puck got offed by deneb, menkar died fighting the dragon. cause i dont have optimism from that beginning. i feel like the warning about being seduced is gonna cause syrma to maybe sympathize with deneb some. see that she is a victim of nirur's machinations. and then syrma will kill them both cause i mean the title is moonslayer O_O

monicang

I have to admit that I'm amazed with the guessings and theories of all of you. Some of them are quite close to the truth.

Kabocha

Maybe Nirur lost it and that's why he's locked up... and Deneb's susceptible to the same issue as him. And Syrma's... well, Syrma's going to take over for both of them. Regarding question 8 -- I'm honestly worried xD Like, what's Nirur gonna do? Try and tempt her with power and such? Surely he knows she's not really attracted to that... Unless he can promise her all sorts of things like, her family back, a happy life... using illusions. But maybe he'll also just try to win her heart. XD

Monica -- oh my!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. Do you believe that Syrma and Menkar’s relationship is changing, or is it all just playful teasing? How might the growing tension between them change the direction of Syrma’s quest?

snuffysam

No idea what Syrma's intentions are, but I don't think Menkar's going to take the teasing seriously. like 1) from his point of view, syrma was a baby yesterday, and 2) pretty sure he watched his wife and kid(s) die.

keii4ii

It reminds me of something from a game, when a human character and a dragon character interact. They'd met and fought together as allies in a war 3 years prior. They reunite, the dragon gives the human what he needed, and goes on her way. Human: Wait! Aren't we going to talk and catch up? It's been 3 years! Dragon: What? But we saw each other just 3 years ago!

My guess is Syrma has a crush that she's okay with being unrequited, because she understands there are the differences between them. By the same token, I think she might feel jealous if Menkar were to pursue a relationship with another woman, especially a mortal/non-dragon woman (I don't think this likely, just speaking hypothetically). Not like vehemently jealous, just a "hey I thought... ugh n/m " kinda thing.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 10. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

RebelVampire

9) i do think the relationship is changing. they seem way too blushy and into the flirting for it not to be. but more i think the dynamic thats changing is them both kind of coming to terms with the fact that they may have some feelings for each other, even if they dont know what to do with them. in terms of changing the direction of syrma's question, i assume itll motivate her more. up until menkar probably gets killed cause i ahve no hope for him to live through this quest. 10) i am looking forward to syrma's growth most of all i think. cause shes still got a ways to go before she's ready for any moon slaying. so im interested to see in how the future trials challenge her and prepare her for the task at hand.

keii4ii

I'm looking forward to finding out what the whole deal is with the intro, obviously! Wanna know what everyone's endgame is: Storyteller, Puck, Nirur, Deneb, etc. (I also wonder if the sun is ever gonna be more involved? )

snuffysam

what if everyone's fine having a nice picnic and syrma's just alone because she's the only one who could go through the gate,

RebelVampire

that is also possible. i just dont think itd sit well with the other charas

snuffysam

it's not a happy picnic

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about MoonSlayer this week! Please also give a special thank you to Monica NGalvan for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked MoonSlayer, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: < http://moonslayercomic.com/%3E

Monica’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/monicang

Monica’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/A378XX

Monica’s Store: http://moonslayercomic.com/store/

MoonSlayer’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/MoonSlayerComic

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic bookclub #webcomic book club #comic tea party #ctp #moonslayer #monica ngalvan

0 notes

thefatlannister · 8 years ago

Text

Clarke + Manipulation Part 2: Bellarke

the (less shippy) Part 1: Clarke + Manipulation

Okay so there is a lot of controversy in different corners of fandom regarding the presence of manipulation in Bellarke’s relationship. We’ve all scene the ridiculous accusations, of course, but even within our own fandom I feel like sometimes we take certain interpretations for granted without really interrogating them. Luckily, I love self-interrogation and talking about Bellarke so strap in.

There are 3 primary narrative reasons that I think Clarke doesn’t manipulate Bellamy pretty much at all compared with other characters, and some of those reasons may be obvious, so bare with me: 1) as the seasons progress, any attempt Clarke makes to manipulate Bellamy would be and are not very effective (this is prominently demonstrated in the narrative) 2) it doesn’t make sense for Clarke to manipulate Bellamy because she really values his input, even (especially?) when he disagrees with her, and 3) perhaps most importantly, Clarke has VERY LITTLE incentive to manipulate Bellamy because they are almost always ON THE SAME SIDE. Manipulation is primarily a tool you use to, as we see in the definitions in part 1, twist someone else’s priorities into your own (which can’t happen if you have the SAME priorities) or employ deceit of some kind to influence someone’s decision-making. Basically: persuasion isn’t manipulation, no matter how good you are (Clarke is) at it. Persuasion is something that is very prevalent in Bellarke’s relationship when it comes to discussing how best to achieve their mutual goals, but even messy or emotional persuasion is not the same as manipulation.

Ok, now to touch on fandom interpretation, which I’ll also address when I look at the scenes below. There are several reasons I think fandom overestimates the amount of “manipulation” in bellarke’s relationship (outside of sheer making shit up), and those are 1) confusing “manipulation” with “telling the truth and that truth bringing about the reality you want” 2) not really examining Clarke’s intent or awareness with certain actions/word and 3) misconstruing hurting someone as manipulating them.

This brings me to the 2 scenes I want to talk about! Finally! Okay, so the fact that Clarke manipulates Bellamy less than others doesn't mean it’s something that’s never present in their dynamic. There’s a couple big scenes that people talk about and have strong opinions about that I think are really important to talk about here. So I’m going to go in chronological order.

#1 - 2x09: “It’s worth the risk”

(x)

I’ve thought about bellarke’s story in this episode A Lot and whether it’s an instance of Clarke manipulating Bellamy, because it seems like a lot of fandom throws this episode around as “proof” that Clarke is willing to - to whatever degree - use Bellamy as a tool/manipulate him for her purposes, etc. But honestly, I ultimately just don’t see it that way, and I don’t think the narrative supports that interpretation.

To be honest, the scene above is the closest Clarke comes in this episode to being “manipulative.” She says “I can’t lose you too” because she knows it will end the discussion immediately. It also has the added benefit of being completely true: in that moment, Clarke has a knee-jerk panic reaction at the thought of Bellamy abandoning her and says the thing she knows will get Bellamy to agree with her, or at least to not fight her on it. This is something Clarke does A LOT, especially with Bellamy - employ the Truth to it’s most potent effect. But I think it’s something that people confuse with Clarke being “manipulative,” which isn’t the case, because she’s being transparent af.

Originally posted by fyeahbellarke

This is the part of 2x09 that I see thrown around a lot as “Clarke being manipulative” or “Clarke using Bellamy” and it’s one of the reasons I wrote this meta because THAT COULDN’T BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. The ONLY person Clarke is playing here is herself.

Let’s think about where Clarke’s head is at in this episode. She’s just killed a person she loved in order for skaikru to get this alliance that it needs to protect itself and save her friends. For Clarke, that decision had symbolic significance as well: shedding her personal feelings and sentimentality in order to put the group first. Throughout 2x09, her choice is validated implicitly by the fact that the move worked - they have their coalition - and explicitly by L.exa, who takes one step farther than Clarke had taken the night before by openly declaring that “love is weakness.” So the whole episode is Clarke really coming to embrace the “love is weakness” ideology in a way she hadn’t with Finn - remember she tried to save him MANY times (despite the odds) before she had to kill him in 2x08.

Early in the episode, when Bellamy offers to go to Mt. Weather, Clarke’s knee-jerk reaction against losing him comes to the fore and she shoots down the idea, and Bellamy backs off. But the thing is, Clarke has no reason to think that Bellamy has stopped thinking that the “inside man” plan is the best possible plan - in fact, the audience doesn’t either! Literally the only reason we’re given as to why Bellamy drops the inside man idea is because he’s respecting Clarke’s feelings for him. So, at the end of the episode, when Clarke finally embraces the “love is weakness” ideology completely, she realizes that it was her love for Bellamy that was holding them back from executing the best plan possible to save their people (because the inside man plan is presented by the narrative as simultaneously a suicide mission but also the best plan they have). So Clarke thinks, having removed the impediment of her feelings, she can just let Bellamy go like he already wanted and had planned to, despite the fact that she’s afraid of losing him.

(x)

And this is where we get into controversial territory. I think people interpret this scene in a way that casts a negative and inaccurate light on Clarke because we are looking at the scene from the perspective of Bellamy’s hurt feelings, which are clear through Bob Morley’s performance. WE know that it meant a lot to Bellamy to hear Clarke say “I can’t lose you too.” WE know that maybe those words made Bellamy feel like maybe he wasn’t expendable, at least not to her, and that when she takes them back it cuts deep. But the thing is, Clarke breaking Bellamy’s heart =/= manipulating him. And it doesn’t equal her thinking of him as “a tool” or a subordinate either because Clarke is not ORDERING Bellamy to go; she literally says “you were right” - she’s agreeing with his earlier plan. And as far as the argument that Clarke intentionally hurts Bellamy as some back-door way of manipulating him into leaving - that doesn’t add up because there’s no evidence that Clarke KNOWS ANY OF THIS or conceptualizes her decision in that way AT ALL.

Clarke does not know the profound damage she’s doing to Bellamy’s heart in that moment - and honestly how can we expect her to? 2x09 is arguably the episode in which Clarke is the most traumatized in the whole series - she is literally seeing ghosts - and she can barely look Bellamy in the eyes the entire ep. As crazy as it may seem to us, the audience, Clarke really has no idea how much she means to Bellamy in general (up until now she’s initiated all intimacy between them, he just reciprocates) and in this episode in particular, she is so consumed with stopping up her own overflowing feelings that she doesn’t question her assumption that Bellamy likely sees her “I can’t lose you too” as an impediment to him completing a necessary mission.

So Clarke telling Bellamy that he was right and that he should go into the Mountain is not some kind of cleverly crafted emotional manipulation meant to get him to do what she wants. Clarke fools herself into seeing it as overcoming the artificial barrier she had put in place earlier in the episode (her feelings for him) and allowing him to carry out the mission he himself proposed so that they can achieve their mutual goal of saving their people. She sees it as not letting her own feelings for Bellamy get in the way, and so she says, “you were right,” and reverts back to his initial plan.

I hope I’m not coming off as preachy or anything, but it was important to me to explain how I - and I think, the narrative - is framing this scene. Which is as a traditional tragedy - as in, a tragedy borne from misunderstanding. The tragedy is twofold: Clarke thinks her reigning in her feelings is doing everyone a favor by allowing her to address the problem at hand, but she doesn’t know how much she’s hurting Bellamy by sending him away. On Bellamy’s part, he thinks that Clarke’s dismissal is a true reflection of her feelings for him - and her feelings about his usefulness/disposability. He can’t see her internal battle - she hides it from him the entire episode despite him constantly being by her side. So both of them are looking at the same situation and coming away with different understandings that hurt them in different ways. This is not a scene that victimizes one over the other, rather one that ratchets up the stakes of their relationship while helping to drive the plot of the rest of the season.

No matter how you read it, this is a devastating scene for Bellarke - it’s heartbreaking for Bellamy and for Clarke and for the audience. But it is a scene that sets up an emotional misunderstanding and reticence between Bellarke that I don’t think is truly addressed until 3x05. It is a scene that places Bellarke’s relationship front and center in both of their emotional arcs going forward, and that’s a beautiful thing. Finally, I think the only way one can come away from analyzing this scene convinced that it’s as simple as Clarke manipulating Bellamy in a way that’s supported by the narrative is if one came into this scene assuming that Clarke already somehow holds the upper hand in Bellarke’s personal relationship, which is honestly antithetical to what the show has been telling us since day one. Other peoples and characters may place Clarke front and center as “the leader,” but Bellarke have, since at least 1x08, related to each other as equals, with Bellamy never taking orders from Clarke. And he doesn’t start in 209.

#2 - 3x05: The Scene

*rubs hands together* I LOVE THIS SCENE. Okay let’s dive in.

So this scene is a biggie that people Freak Out over a lot on both sides of fandom. I’m begging y’all to hear me out for a moment here though while I make my argument. In this scene, for one short moment, Clarke DOES actively try to manipulate Bellamy. However, her attempt is very short and unsuccessful. I’m not trying to attach any kind of moral value to the fact that she tried - there are no perfect decisions in this show and the impasse that Bellarke was at in this scene presented yet another dilemma for both characters. So let’s look closer at what happened.

Clarke comes to Arkadia in 3x05 basically because she cannot imagine a world in which Bellamy is not on her side. She barely seems to hear that he was present for the massacre - all she hears is Indra’s answer when she asks, “how did you survive?” and Indra says, “Bellamy.” Clarke, understandably limited in her perspective because of her estrangement from Bellamy and the sky people over the last 3 months (note Octavia’s “you haven’t been here, Clarke”), does not anticipate that things could have changed so much that he would actively oppose her and what she sees as the peaceful solution.

However, within the first few seconds of their encounter, Clarke realizes that the task of bringing Bellamy over to her way of thinking is not going to be as easy as explaining her side of the situation to him. It’s when Clarke realizes that she’s failing to reach Bellamy (when he says “we’ve been at war since we landed”), and that she doesn’t have time to waste, that she feels like she has no choice but to try a line that has always brought them together in the past, though she’s never employed it quite so tactically: “I need you.”

One of the reasons it’s so hard to talk about Clarke + manipulation is because it’s very hard to tell when Clarke is intentionally trying to manipulate someone or when she just says the right thing - which she has a gift for - and where the line between those two things is. But in this case I think it’s pretty obvious when Clarke says, "I need you” it’s both because it’s true AND because she knows it’s worked before to snap Bellamy out of whatever spiral he’s in. Just like Clarke saw in 1x08, Clarke sees again in 3x05 that Bellamy’s hurting deeply and has once again convinced himself that he’s nothing but a monster. So she says the same thing she said then, under that tree. In 1x08 when Clarke says she needs Bellamy it’s because it’s true; it’s that first formative moment where Bellamy’s vulnerability won him her trust and his honesty won her respect and his capacity for good won her affection. In 3x05, she says it because it’s still true, but also because she desperately needs a shortcut to get back to the place where he trusts her, where she can count on him again.

Now let’s talk about why it doesn’t work.

The “I need you” is a very interesting swerve because usually when Clarke manipulates someone, she uses their political circumstances to her advantage or she leverages the other person’s relationship with someone else (ex. L.exa with Anya). But Clarke rarely leverages HER OWN relationship with the person she’s trying to manipulate. But in 3x05, she does just that - but it totally backfires.

Clarke has meant it every single times she's said “I need you” to Bellamy. In this scene, though, Clarke thinks she can get away with saying it again, that she can use it to manipulate Bellamy without hurting herself. But then something crazy happens: Clarke totally plays herself. Clarke is trying to get the upper hand on the conversation when she brings up Mt. Weather, but when she says she needs him, that she “needs the guy who wouldn’t let me pull that lever by myself,” the actual truth of that - that he did that with her and that she does need him, slaps her in the face. She can't even get through the sentence without being emotional, and that's never happened to Clarke when she wants to be in control before. She's the Queen of control in situations like this. But when Bellamy looks so hurt, when he proceeds to throw her own words and his hurt - hurt that is DIRECTLY TIED to the fact that he ALSO NEEDS HER - back at her, it’s too much for Clarke to handle and she immediately quits playing playing any games and just crumples in on herself.

(x)

Despite what some people say, Clarke visibly coming apart at the seems when Bellamy says everything that comes after “You left me. You left everyone,” is, I think, about more than Clarke just (a) crying because Bellamy’s yelling at her (the shallowest of anti interpretations tbh) or (b) Clarke crying because she recognizes the truth in what Bellamy is saying. I do think (b) is at play - Clarke is definitely hit by a truth bomb in this scene, that’s part of why she apologizes - but even more than recognizing her own sins (sins Clarke already KNOWS she committed!) Clarke begins to break down and cry because she’s being faced with how broken her and Bellamy’s relationship is, and by how much the fact that it’s broken affects her.

(x)

Clarke is hit by a wave of shock and grief in this scene not only because she didn’t expect Bellamy to be this mad at her, but because she didn’t expect his distrust and anger to hurt so badly. She’s so rattled by this that she can’t even keep it together enough to control the conversation, much less persuade or maniplate him to her side (she can’t even keep her goddamn feet! she’s so shook she has to physically sit down). What this scene says to me is that Clarke can't bring herself to manipulate Bellamy - especially when they're at odds personally, and she misses him. Conflict with Bellamy leaves Clarke way too raw to have enough control to manipulate, which is why this initially political conversation just becomes an explosion of feelings.

But the agency in this scene isn’t all Clarke’s - this is a two-way street. This scene is so intense because Bellamy REFUSES to let Clarke get away with feeling nothing, with manipulating him, and she is surprised by the intensity of her emotional reaction to him. He refuses to let her breeze by the implications of her needing him after she left him - he refuses to let her go on believing he doesn’t need her too! He stops her attempts to manipulate the situation, to remain calm, when he says, “enough, Clarke!” I’m not pointing this out to praise Bellamy - like I said, no one’s right or wrong in this scene, and Bellamy is definitely harsh. But he refuses to let Clarke turn the conversation to their personal relationship when what she really wants from him is political.

And I think that, to an extent, Bellamy knows what he’s doing in this scene. He knows Clarke, knows her penchant for getting what she wants and saying the right thing. It's why he's so afraid that she doesn't care about him equal to how he does for her: he KNOWS she manipulates people and is terrified deep down that she has been paying him this whole time and that he is disposable to her (a fear that rose to the surface in 2x09). So while Bellamy’s pain in 3x05 is completely honest, he's intentionally throwing it at her hoping something will stick, trying to get her to reveal her own emotions, because he's sick of feeling like he's the only one who has them. It's not manipulation on his part because both of them just know each other well enough to press the right buttons. For me, this is part of why I love this pairing: they are the first to offer each other forgiveness and understanding, but they will hold each other’s feet to fire to make the other “face it” - from Day Trip on through.

When you know someone as intimately and can be as deeply hurt by them as Bellarke can by each other, detached, cold-blooded manipulation is impossible. And this is the scene where Bellamy and Clarke both realize it. It is a huge come to Jesus moment for Bellarke, at least in a narrative sense: it cements the fact that they really can’t get away with being emotionally dishonest with each other anymore, that they are destined to be equal partners in their emotional conflicts from here forward. And 3b totally bears me out on that. Clarke and Bellamy are on even emotional footing for like, the first time ever, in 3b, and I don’t think that’s something that’s going to change as we head into s4.

Conclusion + Preempting whatever shit I’ll prob get for this

So before someone comes at me and says I’m “romanticizing abuse” or even romanticizing a fight scene in some kind of inherently problematic way, I would like to say a couple things. The first is that this scene does not, in my opinion, in any way, constitute an instance of abuse. It’s characterized by Clarke and Bellamy leveling the playing field between them, not a perpetuation of any kind of exploitative power dynamic. Obviously I don’t think Bellamy handcuffing Clarke at the end of the scene is “romantic,” but it’s also a move that is clearly not premeditated and so has no bearing on the (script-confirmed) emotional honesty that comes before it.

The second thing is that I want to encourage all of fandom to get away from the compulsive need to ascribe moral value to all scenes/actions/words that happen in a story. I hate to break it to y’all, but sometimes stories have...conflict. Interpersonal relationships have problematic moments and people hurt each other and just because I can appreciate how extremely painful or messy scenes add depth to or change a relationship does not mean I am romanticizing a scene, or approving of any one character’s actions.

Being socially and politically critical of media we consume does not mean parsing every action by every character as “Problematic or not” or even as “right or wrong” - especially on a show that goes out of its way to make sure there’s no one way to interpret any situation. Being a responsible consumer of television means holding writers accountable when they perpetuate harmful tropes, it means speaking out for better representation and more diverse stories and discussing issues when we see them. It doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a couple because they’ve had a fight, it doesn’t mean that narratives aren’t allowed to be ambiguous about who’s right and who’s wrong and what’s fair and what’s not.

That’s why there is so much contention about the 3x05 scene - because it’s really up for debate what’s fair and what’s not, who “deserves” what and who was “right.” But the reason I wrote this meta, at least this second part, is to make the point that it doesn’t really matter what percentage of that conversation was “fair” - what’s important about the scene is the emotional depth it gave two characters and the added layer of complexity and history it gives to their relationship.

Specifically, what matters to me personally is that this scene convinced me, in an irrefutable way, that Bellamy and Clarke love each other deeply. Qualify that love any way you like, but this scene shows us two people who, in the midst of an extreme and dangerous conflict over their political positions, cannot help but break down over the loss of their relationship with each other - a relationship that they hadn’t realized had become vital to their very beings. They are trying to claw their way back to some semblance of the trust and intimacy they have counted on in the other previously, but there is too much raw hurt and too little common ground to allow them that reconciliation.

So if you made it to the end of this unnecessarily long and probably boring meta, you should know 2 things: you’re a rockstar and bellarke love each other *hits bong* bye folks

#the 100 meta #clarke griffin #bellarke #bellarke meta #bellamy blake #mine #my meta #seriously yall im sorry if this is boring but its how i feeeeeeeeeeeeeel #my inbox is open

333 notes · View notes