#10 fans in trauma center fandom

[littlechibs]

[naeldeus]

jjk 251

Megumi is a background character to his own tragedy

Chapter 251 dropped, and a certain character is not coming out unscathed. Our cast is trying to seperate Sukuna and Megumi, and after a few tries, Yuuji finally reaches Megumi. But Megumi denies Yuuji's help, having lost the will to live, allowing Sukuna to launch a counter-attack once more. For this, Megumi is called a bum and slandered all over the internet. Yuuji and Megumi's suffering is pitted against each other by the fandom. Part of it is memes, sure, but it's clearly more than that.

Realistically, Megumi and Yuuji are going through very similar events. Megumi lost his sister and teacher while under Sukuna's possession. Yuuji lost his friend, his mentor right in front of him in the span of minutes. Sukuna killed an untold amount of people in their bodies. Both went fetal after it happened. So why is the response so contrasting?

Yuuji's trauma in Shibuya is front, right, and center. His relationships were developed on-page, the reader is just as shocked by the loss of his loved ones, we're grieving right along with him.

Meanwhile, the events Megumi goes through aren't given the same care. Ever since he got fed the Finger Special, at no point does the narrative slow down so the reader can digest what's happening. Megumi's plot and struggles gets glossed over, skipped, or is a complete tonal disconnect to what's actually happening.

Tsumiki wakes up: the only on-page interaction is Megumi telling Tsumiki to go back to sleep, even though she woke up from a nearly two-year coma. She doesn't show up the entire Culling Games arc even though Megumi's participation was to save his sister

Tsumiki turns out to be an incarnated sorcerer: Megumi's reaction to his sister being dead and possessed is practically non-existent because Sukuna takes over Megumi right after

Tsumiki gets killed by Megumi's own technique: This is the worst one, imho. Yorozu is completely in control during this fight, we learn nothing about Tsumiki. There is almost no acknowledgment on how horrifying this situation really is. The narrative focuses more on Sukuna trying to kill Yorozu, creating this disconnect where Tsumiki is seemingly already dead but she has to die again for Megumi's angst. Does it really matter that Tsumiki's body needs to be killed by the 10 Shadows? Isn't the fact that Megumi will forever remember her dying by his own hand not enough? There is accidental pseudo-incest in this arc and it's completely unacknowledged. The tone is just all over the place.

Megumi takes the damage of 5 Domain Expansions: Is he brain dead? Was his soul damaged? Is he fine? What are birds? We just don't know

Gojo, Megumi's guardian, gets killed while possessed: Megumi and Gojo's relationship is a hotly debated topic amongst fans. Is Gojo Megumi's father figure? Are they even close? Did Gojo hold back from trying to kill Megumi or did he think Megumi was a lost cause? Is Megumi even aware of what's going on?

And the ultimate kicker to all of this: Megumi has shown up for a handful of panels for most of the events described. His story is absolutely horrifying and would cripple any man, but it's all off-screened or shrouded in vagueness.

But to large parts of the fandom none of that matters. If Megumi's friends put aside all their pain, why can't Megumi? Setting aside that Yuuji very definitely did not when it was him, I believe this is a direct consequence of the lack of character work. For months now, character after character dies, and no one reacts to it. Gojo, the biggest hope to most of the current cast, died and the story moves on to the next contender in the same chapter he kicks it. They all just jump into the fight like they're swapping party members in an RPG. It's no wonder Megumi gets disrespected for being the one guy who breaks down to the shit he goes through like a real human being. Why should the fandom care when the story itself does the same thing?

There's a lot of parellels Gege could have drawn between Yuuji and Megumi, and while that might still happen, the way Megumi has been treated as a plot device makes the entire experience incredibly unsatisfying.

[maaikeatthefullmoon]

This week I have mostly been reading...

Jun 10-16th, 2024

It’s that time again! Here’s what I’ve been poring over this week!

Completed works I've read this week:

The Art of Letting Go by NekHen Rated E – By the same author as Rough Enough For Love, this is an unfinished work but ends in a satisfying place. Reading through the comments, it would appear that the author has passed away, which is absolutely horrendous and so, so incredibly sad. Much like REFL, this is a Soft Dom A/Sub C story. This narrative is so incredibly soft, gentle, and well thought out, I think it’ll be one I will read again and again. There is a great deal of subtle psychology behind it and explores a great deal of trauma within the dynamic. The ‘soft’ aspect is truly soft, unlike some other stories. I cannot recommend this fic enough.

Impromptu Collab by @mrghostrat Rated E – A standalone PWP oneshot within the And They Were Streamers AU universe. It was hot. It was smutty. It was gratuitous. Everything I love. I needed a ATWS fix and this was just perfect. 10/10, no notes.

Angel-Centered Therapy Through a Multicultural Lens: An Integrative Approach by Nnm Rated G – This should have been under my WIPs but due to it’s very occasional updates, I accidentally left it off. This is the companion fic to one of the Big GO classic fics: Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach. This time it is Aziraphale who gets therapy, and it goes just about as well as you might expect. I read Demonology in one go, whereas I’ve been reading this fic as it came out, and I think it’s definitely better read in one continuous flow. The tags are absolutely amazing, as well.

WIPs which have updated this week (which I devour as soon as I get the update!)

There Is A Light And It Never Goes Out by @phoen1xr0se Rated M - A is a researcher (puffins!), C is a lighthouse keeper on the island where A has run away to to escape his problems and do his research. The author has recently spent a week studying puffins - which is the ultimate dedication, if you ask me. Ch 10/26 posted so far

Find The Light by @klikandtuna Rated E - Headmaster A and Rockstar C. The story teases out a fraught history between them whilst keeping a tension between them in the modern day. Ch 12/15 posted so far

Under The Summer Stars by @pannotbread Rated E - This wonderful fic has taught me more about physics than school ever did (mostly because I never did any physics, but...well). A & C have to share their time at an observatory because there is Only One Telescope. Not only will you learn about astrophysics, astrobiology, and astroecology, you'll also read some of the most poetically, beautifully written masturbation scenes I've ever seen. *ahem* Ch 8/13 posted so far

Poetry Carved In Flesh by @fellandcrow Rated E – Tattoo enthusiast A becomes a fan of tattooist C’s work, but doesn’t have any tattoos himself. C convinces him to get tattoos…but due to distance, A can’t get any work done by C. Until C comes to see him. This fic has GORGEOUS artwork, and speaks to my tattoo-obsessed soul. It’s an A-falls-first-C-falls-harder story, which is always fun. It also features ghostrat’s Nice and Accurate fandom. Ch 7/16 posted so far

But, soft! by @on1occasionfork Rated M – This delightful human AU features cats! Two cats!! Both A & C have cats, A’s cat breaks in to C’s flat to be with his cat. This leads to A & C meeting and getting closer, and of course pining commences. It’s so lovely. And sweet. And fluffy. A wonderful story if you’re looking for a soft, fluffy, slow burn. Ch 12/30 posted so far.

Exodus_2 by @tismrot Rated E – Human AU set in a dystopian future. The summary says it best, really: Ezra studies programming at the University of ha-Gan. He’s as determined as he is damaged, as fastidious as he is precise, and likes to believe he'll stop at nothing to achieve his goals. His beliefs are challenged when a new student appears late to the first Ethics module lecture - and his life is changed forever. It's the future, it's dystopian, it's cyber and it's punk. It's political, grimy and slick with tears, lube and chemical snot. TW: Sex, drugs, trauma. Ch 31/35 posted so far

Free by well, me: imposterssyndrome Rated E - A & C meet (again?) in an acute mental health ward after both having had mental health crises. A runs a bookshop but is very much under his parents' control. C has been homeless since childhood and has struggled his entire life. They do not trust each other when they first meet, but feel strangely drawn to one another all the same. Where will this lead them? This is a passion piece for me. There is a lot of lived experience in it, and extensive research from both professionals and peers. It has been a real journey for me to write it, and as I'm coming closer to the end it's becoming very emotional for me. Ch 55/57 posted so far

Want to see more recs? This is last week's list.

[phantomoftheorpheum]

any thoughts on the results of the poll? 🤍

a few! as usual, I'm going to place most of my thoughts under a cut, so as to not junk up people's dash.

so the final results were-

Faran - 10 votes (as you can see, one is me)

Mouse - 6 votes

Tabby - 5 votes

Imogen - 3 votes

Noa - 1 vote

Obviously, with only 25 votes, that's a super small sample size of the fandom. Ngl, I was surprised by the late surge Mouse had, after not getting any votes for hours, but that's cool to see (particularly since she hasn't had much of a storyline this season). There's obviously nothing scientific about this, since people who follow me are probably more likely to have similar tastes and interpretations, and while the poll was tagged and hopefully got some outside votes, I'm sure a different blog would get different results.

That being said, I think the fact that Faran led the entire 24 hours quite comfortably speaks to how many different elements of her character resonate with the audience. Some people told me that they relate to Faran's no-nonsense attitude, her perfectionism, her chronic pain or surgical trauma, her relationship with her parents, her dance background, etc. etc. I just think Faran has been a well written, well performed, and well rounded character.

Mouse came in second. I didn't get as many responses (public or private) about her, but someone did mention her tendency to hyper-fixate, which I also relate to, so I can definitely see where they're coming from. Personally, I'd like to see Mouse get a little more to do if we get a third season, but even her lack of screen time didn't stop y'all from saying you connect with her, so that makes me feel like she has a lot of potential.

Tabby was third, and she and Mouse traded 2nd and 3rd several times during the polling time, so they came very close to tying. No one told me why they voted for Tabby, so I don't have any external explanations. For me, the thing I most relate to with Tabby is her creativity and passion for film.

Imogen landed in fourth. At first, I was a little surprised, since she's at the center of the show so often. But I think Imogen's experiences are just a little less common. For example, becoming a teen mom (particularly in the traumatic way that she did) is something I suspect not too many of my followers relate to. So I think Imogen may genuinely be a little less "relatable" than most of the other characters, though I think she's well realized.

Noa came fifth. This wasn't a surprise, tbqh. I think if I'd done this poll in season 1, she might have been near the top. It seems to me that a lot of people feel at least a little confused with or disconnected from Noa's actions this season. I don't think this is mostly the character's fault. While her storyline would probably always be the type to divide audiences, personally, I feel that I do understand why she might be behaving the way she is (I wrote a thing about why I think I understand her draw to Jen over Shawn a while back, even if I'm not a big fan of this kind of romantic drama), but I am confused and frustrated by the way the show is choosing to handle it. I just feel that a lot of the production choices (writing, dialogue, cinematography, editing) are inconsistent in what they seem to be trying to express to the audience, and that does confuse me. I think that makes an inherently divisive storyline even more so.

I only got specific feedback about Faran and Mouse, so I can't tell you specifically why people voted for the other 3, but those are my feelings and some speculation!

[thepearlescentdragon]

I think either I'm canon divergent, or I misinterpreted the situation with 10 and Martha. Or just interpret it differently than fans. And that may or may not be because of the whole "fictionkin" thing but I don't really know.

HEAVY Disclaimer:

This is a Fictionkin's perspective of a character dynamic in Doctor Who. I am fictionkin, so I'm sharing my interpretation of it from that perspective.

My experience and feelings may not match what was intended by writers and they have no obligation to accommodate it; neither does the fandom. I am aware of this and you don't need to inform me. If this doesn't interest you, just scroll away, it's all good.

I agree with most people that 10's treatment of Martha was utter dogshit. I don't dispute this at all. What I do dispute is the reason, because it seems the fandom looks at it a little differently

Where I agree: On at least two occasions, 10 thrust her into places where race relations for the time/setting could (and often did) make things harder for her, and he wasn't too considerate of how her experience might differ from his as a white-and-human-passing alien.

Her first proper trip, we have Shakespeare calling her questionable things in an attempt to flirt. We also get Human Nature where she's reduced to his maid and babysitter in a racist setting - even 10 as John is wildly racist toward her. And like every other companion, this is all new to her. She's not a seasoned time traveler. She doesn't know the rules or the science, but he brushes off her butterfly effect concerns and other things she has the foresight to at least ask about (where other companions - even Rose - would've acted impulsively about instead)

Where I disagree is on the idea that it was poor treatment for The Doctor to reject her romantic/flirty advances. I think that was understandable. He/I had a good reason to (not that you ever need to justify saying no)?

He'd just lost someone he was deeply in love with to horrible circumstances. He was recovering from trauma and heartbreak, and here comes a new human who definitely got the wrong idea - he was well within his rights to reject the flirting.

Could he have said more about why he was doing this? Sure, technically he could've. But at the same time, no one owes anyone an explanation for why they're not interested in them romantically; a no is a no. Getting rejected isn't a temporary obstacle, it's a door being closed.

Had it happened at a different time, maybe it would've been different. But the circumstances just didn't make it so. And I don't think it was a form of wrongdoing, it's just bad timing and/or bad luck.

Also, I really don't see him learning she's engaged when he and Donna meet with her as "jealousy." I don't think he wanted her romantically. I also don't think he wanted her to want him romantically. I think he just realized, "Oh, it's not just me that moves on when I say farewell to a companion - they also go on and live their own lives when I leave." He's on the other side of the fence now. He knows how it feels to see your friends have adventures with other people without you.

At least, that's how I interpret it. And it's how I remember it. Maybe the writers intended otherwise, in which case I would be canon divergent and that's fine. I just... I don't know. It feels very uncomfortable seeing people insist I was/should have been romantically interested in Martha. In my experience, I wasn't, because I was still heartbroken about yet another heavy loss. I was looking for new distractions, but not the relationship sort.

Maybe canon Doc was otherwise, but I don't know that. I don't know if I can know that.

I know I'm not supposed to "take it personally" when fandoms talk about the media they're centered on, or the characters in them. And I don't! Not exactly.

Because at the end of the day, I know fans aren't criticizing me, they're criticizing the fictional character I just so happen to identify as. And there IS a difference. I identify as him, but the entity they're interacting with in media is not literally me. (I imagine actors might feel similarly, watching their characters get criticized, now that I think about it...)

It just feels funky and I'm still learning how to adjust, you know?

[ridley-was-a-cat]

Fall 2023 Anime Roundup

Anime of the Season – The Yuzuki Family’s Four Sons

I don’t know if it was because this adapts a shoujo manga, or because the premiere episode aired with abysmal machine-translated subtitles, or because people just weren’t in the mood for a slice of life when all these powerhouse shounen adaptations were airing, but this went almost completely ignored across the English-speaking anime fandom despite being a delightfully heartfelt story about four brothers living on their own after their parents suddenly died.

While many stories dispense with parents just to allow their young characters the freedom to play around, this series deals with their absence in a more grounded way. It looks at how high school teacher Hayato is alienated from his peers and is running himself ragged by raising his younger brothers himself, how the middle two brothers, both first years in middle school, clash with each other in their efforts to be helpful, and how the youngest brother, who’s only in the first grade, doesn’t know how to feel about parents he lost while he was so young. All of this drama is perfectly balanced out by lighter moments of fun interactions between the brothers and the multi-generational family across the street, as well as an optimistic framing. It’s clear that whatever struggles these four brothers will encounter, they’ll pull through together somehow. 8/10

First Runner-Up – Overtake!

Just like mecha anime are rarely about the robots, this formula racing anime is less about motorsport than it is about a struggling mid-career photographer and a teenage F4 driver changing the course of each others’ lives through racing. It touches on racing in a way that’s friendly to newbie and gearhead alike, and the races are animated and framed in an exciting way, but the real story is the characters, and touches everything from grief, to job anxiety, to the enduring trauma of the Touhoku earthquake. 8/10

Second Runner-Up – My New Boss Is Goofy

While the first episode was a little weak, it gains its footing after two or three episodes, and becomes one of the warmest and coziest slice of life series of the year. Momose’s lingering anxiety from his abusive boss at his last job provides just the right amount of saltiness to keep the sweetness of his new boss, the earnestly kind but a bit airheaded Shirosaki, from feeling too saccharine. 8/10

The Faraway Paladin: The Lord of the Rust Mountains – It’s a bit of a shame that this series has not gotten a terribly good production, because it is the best D&D-flavored fantasy adventure series I think we’ve seen since Record of Lodoss War. It has a real sense of stakes and scale, where battles aren’t won on guts and the power of friendship alone, and the hero really has to work for it alongside other powerful people. 7/10

Tearmoon Empire – The do-over element of this story makes it feel like it belongs in the otome isekai bin, but it is, in fact, a straight up fantasy about a princess sent back in time to her teens after being beheaded by revolutionaries along with her diary, letting her fix what went wrong. Watching Mia accidentally set everything right and gather loyal allies was extremely entertaining. 7/10

I’m in Love with the Villainess – I’m not generally a fan of romcoms centered on an obsessive girl doggedly pursuing her crush who wants nothing to do with her, but it was all so over the top here, and also clearly a bit of a front put on by the pursuer, that I couldn’t help but enjoy the ride. It’s nice to get some good, silly queer romcoms for a change. 7/10

Dead Mount Death Play Part 2 – All of the conspiracies and schemes set up in part one come to a head here, revealing characters’ backstories and complicated loyalties. It leaves off on a good stopping point, but I hope there’s another season, as not a whole lot has been resolved, and I want to know what everyone is going to do now. 7/10

The Ancient Magus’ Bride S2 Part 2 – Whether or not you enjoy this arc is going to depend upon how much you like Philomena and the other students at the college, because she is the center of the story here, for better or worse. I preferred the focus on the fairies and other folk of the countryside in season one, but it was satisfying to watch Chise unravel the mysteries surrounding her new friends. 7/10

Migi & Dali – Part absurd comedy, part murder mystery, part psychological thriller, this was a delightfully unusual little series about identical twin boys pretending to be one person to get adopted by a couple that lives in the idyllic town their mother was murdered in so they can investigate. If you can hang with some bizarre situations, this is a fun ride that sticks the landing. 7/10

Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions – I don’t know how I feel about the big reveal concerning Ron’s background, and the mystery writing isn’t particularly clever, but I really enjoy the manzai comedy-like dynamic between Ron and Toto, and the cases they investigate often have equally entertaining characters. 7/10

Dr. Stone: New World Part 2 – I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to watch any more of this series, but I picked it up shortly after it finished airing, and I ended up enjoying it. Even if I prefer the science focus of the first season, the shounen adventure action of this arc was entertaining enough. I’m still just a little cranky about how none of the female characters are part of the “science team”. 7/10

Under Ninja – I guess this series about a modern-day ninja who infiltrates a high school along with other ninjas to fight some kind of inter-organizational battle falls under the dark comedy category, but I’m not going to lie and say that I totally understood what it was going for in the end. The visuals were a bit of a mixed bag as well. 7/10

Helck – It was nice to get a two-cour fantasy series that wasn’t an isekai, and had a number of creative story ideas and likeable characters. The storyboarding and animation could only be described as so-so, and a chunk of the story is told in flashback, which holds it back a bit. 7/10

Spy x Family S2 – Even more so than the second half of season one, this season felt like it was aimlessly spinning its wheels. The characters are still plenty charming, and the production is still solid, but the story lacks focus. 7/10

The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent S2 – This season follows basically the same ground as the first, sans the drama with the second saint, with Sei still working at the institute, going on expeditions to fight monsters, and getting romanced by Captain Hawke. It all makes for a pleasant and laid-back isekai story, but it is disappointing to have an adult protagonist for a change, only have her act like a young teenager capable only of blushing and stammering around her crush. 7/10

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead – After screaming out of the gate with an extremely strong premiere episode that showed a zombie apocalypse being a welcome reprieve from corporate drudgery, the series’ story and production steadily declined, ultimately coasting into a generic shounen-style action series with one-note characters by the end. 6/10

I’m Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness – A powerful magician nicknamed Demon Lord rescues a woman he found on his property who is fleeing a plot in her country. It was cute watching him teach her how to have fun and be a little selfish, but nothing in the writing, acting, or visual presentation ever rises above just okay. 6/10

HYPNOSISMIC -Division Rap Battle- Rhyme Anima PLUS – There’s a lot I enjoy about this campy sci-fi series where fighting has been replaced by hypnotic hip-hop battles. The character designs are fun and colorful, the story has good twists, and the characters are entertaining. The rapping, however, is just not good. 6/10

After-School Hanako-kun – This was only four ten-minute episodes consisting of side stories, and not a sequel, and as nice as it was to see the characters again, it felt a bit aimless, like the jokes lacked punchlines. 6/10

Jujutsu Kaisen S2 – I can’t remember ever falling off a show as hard as I’ve fallen off this one. Season one was everything I ever wanted from a battle shounen, while this season took much of what I loved and sent it through a paper shredder. I won’t say it’s wrong to chain fight after fight after fight while killing off popular characters, but it’s not a story I’m interested in following. 6/10

[kazz-brekker]

I posted 3,832 times in 2022

That's 28 more posts than 2021!

191 posts created (5%)

3,641 posts reblogged (95%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@libraryleopard

@tanoraqui

@wizardysseus

@dwellordream

@spaceshipkat

I tagged 3,831 of my posts in 2022

#q - 1,680 posts

#hotd - 662 posts

#fanart - 342 posts

#asoiaf - 218 posts

#this amuses me - 215 posts

#pie says stuff - 187 posts

#the locked tomb - 156 posts

#the sandman - 122 posts

#the legend of vox machina - 120 posts

#xmen - 119 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#rip my slightly amoral elf treasure hunter girl if you had to go out trying to steal the silmarils was definitely one of the best ways to go

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

hotd episode 9 thoughts:

thought i might miss rhaenyra & daemon & co in this episode, but there was enough tension and drama that i honestly didn’t and i think it was a good choice to have the whole episode be centered around the greens.

i do have to admit i’m a little amused that the way they stretched out the green council plot was by having people run around king’s landing looking for aegon. an egg hunt, one might say…

olivia cooke was absolutely FANTASTIC in this episode she did such a good job of showing how alicent was pulled between her love for rhaenyra and what she thought was her duty.

rip lyman beesbury you spent most of your screen time talking about boring finance stuff but you were a real one when it counted.

let out an actual flinch when they mentioned storm’s end and lord baratheon’s unmarried daughters. if you know you know.

helaena with her bug embroidery was so cute.

i don’t know who in this fandom coined the phrase “mommy’s favorite war criminal” in relation to aemond and alicent but i am literally incapable of not thinking it when they have a scene together now, so that’s your influence.

rhaenys was such a badass in this episode, i love her very much. her scene where she told alicent that she wasn’t seeking freedom but rather to make a window in her prison wall … oh hell yeah it was everything i wanted someone to say to alicent.

the whole otto vs alicent plot was SO good i am ready for their relationship to fall apart. alicent calling him out for manipulating her whole life was incredibly satisfying, i’ve literally been waiting all season for it.

criston cole saying all women are made in the image of the mother and they should be treated with reverence … i believe that’s what we call irony.

i enjoyed aemond complaining about aegon and how he should be king instead, it was a great insight into his character. also, aemond targaryen canonical nerd.

i do have to respect mysaria for just being totally on her own side with her own agenda and willing to support whoever will further it.

her stuffing aegon underneath the sept to keep him safe was honestly kind of hilarious.

aegon running away from his coronation was a bit funny but mostly just very sad. he doesn’t want it! he doesn’t want to be king! this whole tragedy could have been averted if not for the forces pushing him around!

the fight between aegon and aemond WAS extremely funny though. the hair pulling, the spitting, the rolling around on the ground shouting … peak sibling behavior.

as a twin i greatly enjoyed the building tension between erryk and arryk and their conflict about serving aegon, it’s going to lead to so much drama.

i could have lived a long and happy life without seeing that scene between alicent and larys. but unfortunately i have seen it. and now i must life with the trauma.

big fan of how completely dead-eyed and miserable aegon looked during the coronation scene, props to tom glynn-carney for his acting.

the scene with rhaenys and meleys bursting through the bottom of the dragonpit was extremely cool and i was rooting VERY hard for her to murder aegon even though i know it wasn’t going to happen. your dragon stepped on a bunch of people what’s torching one guy after that!

category 5 event imminent i spy aemond taking off his eyepatch and vhagar up to no good in the trailer for episode 10. 

literally since the moment this show was announced i have been steeling myself to see That Event at storm’s end adapted and now that we’re almost there i would like to publicly announce that i am still! not! ready!!

1,161 notes - Posted October 16, 2022

#4

hotd episode 4 babyyyyy

benjicot blackwood out there murdering grown men for insulting him, boy that was a scene

i am really fascinated by the way this show depicts the relationship between daemon and viserys and the fact that he clearly resents his brother but also still wants his approval. like, the part where he rested his head on viserys’s shoulder after giving him the driftwood crown did kind of get me.

alyssa targaryen reference! not by name, but it made me so happy that they acknowledged that daemon got his personality from his mother because he 100% did.

really fascinated by the fact that daemon and rhaenyra’s conversations in high valyrian are some of the most honest dialogue in the show, it’s such a great choice.

slightly obsessed with the fact that harwin strong immediately recognized rhaenyra even though she was running through the streets of king’s landing in the middle of the night disguised as a boy.

alicent babygirl i am GETTING you out of that marriage you don’t deserve to be stuck with a scabby middle-aged man.

baby helaena <3

the fact that daemon heard rhaenyra say “i don’t want an arranged marriage” and was like “i should take her to a brothel.” this man is insane and i Do Not understand how he got from that point a to that point b.

very glad that the director for this episode (who is a woman, btw) acknowledged that the brothel scene was kind of fucked-up because. like. it was.

even though it is absolutely not going to end well i do kind of have to respect rhaenyra going and banging criston cole because she was horny. get it, girl!

rhaenyra deserves an oscar for the “vile accusations” scene that was some next-level lying by omission.

the fact that otto hightower, sleazy manipulator extraordinaire, got dismissed from court for telling the truth … l m a o

“you are not a conquerer, you are a plague” oof ouch that one hurt didn’t it daemon?

i swear to god that man did not even make it 24 hours in king’s landing before being exiled AGAIN.

i spy with my little eye in the episode 5 trailer some next-level wedding drama, even more dragons, and possibly rhea royce :)

1,175 notes - Posted September 11, 2022

#3

hotd episode 3 thoughts:

i thought this would have more fighting in the stepstones but as a great lover of the “people being mean to each other at parties” genre i can’t be THAT mad about it

rhaenyra making that bard play the same song over and over again while being emo … she’s just like me actually

kudos to this show for acknowledging that the targs sometimes have prophetic dreams, we love to see it

harwin strong and rhaenyra looking at each other when she returns from the hunt … viserys saying that rhaenyra can choose her own husband but then apparently taking it back in the next episode presumably to make her marry laenor … the fact that rhaenyra’s velaryon boys were actually harwin’s … hmmMMM i am thinking thoughts about how this will play out

appalled that this show is making me enjoy the interactions between rhaenyra and criston cole, their falling out is going to hurt so bad

rhaenyra and daemon both deal with stress by going bananas, running off on their own, and brutally murdering something … character parallels indeed

laenor <3 velaryon <3 and <3 seasmoke <3

daemon’s braids <3

caraxes stepping on that guy and killing him should NOT have made me laugh as hard as it did

where are laena and vhagar and rhaenys and meleys i would like to see them!

rip the crabfeeder you would have loved the invention of the crab rave meme

1,230 notes - Posted September 4, 2022

#2

hotd episode 6 thoughts

ohhhh the family drama in this one was DELICIOUS, i enjoyed it very much.

i will admit i found the time skip a little jarring at first even though i knew it was coming, just because so much stuff happened during those years, but emma d’arcy and olivia cooke were absolutely SERVING and i loved them.

rhaenyra with her kids … rhaenyra obviously loving them so so much … rhaenyra smiling as soon as she saw baby joffrey … oh it was a lot.

as soon as older rhaenyra said “fuck” while climbing the stairs i was like. yes. absolutely. i love you, this is perfect casting.

i have been overly invested in daemon and rhaenyra’s children ever since reading f&b so i feel pretty emotional actually seeing jace, luke, joffrey, rhaena, and baela on my tv screen. they’re real! they’re little and squishy! i want desperately to protect them!

i’m really glad that they included alicent’s “do keep trying, sooner or later you may get one that looks like you” bit, it’s such an iconic line of bitchy dialogue.

i SO wish that we had gotten to see more of the relationship between rhaenyra and harwin (they didn’t even kiss!) but the little bits that we did see of it were really tender and lovely, especially with baby joffrey.

helaena targaryen being a weird little girl with a bug collection is something that can be so personal, actually.

also, her saying something like “you’ll have to close an eye” while aemond is talking to alicent about wanting a dragon … please oh PLEASE let helaena have prophetic dreams, that would be great.

i am aware that aemond targaryen is going to grow up to commit a ton of war crimes but honestly i just wanted to give him a hug in this episode.

alicent being constantly exasperated that her children are growing up to be a bunch of absolute weirdos was really, really funny.

we finally got to see vhagar! she is so large and so ugly and i love her very much and seeing her fly with caraxes was a lot of fun.

i’m really sad that we only got to see adult laena for one episode, she was so regal and self-possessed and i really liked her interactions with her daughters and the fact that she clearly doesn’t want to indulge daemon’s sulking.

the implication that daemon stayed away from westeros for 10 years because he couldn’t stand to be around rhaenyra when they were married to other people … oh man. oh boy. that is so much. can’t deal with this right now, sorry!

alicent and criston having a weird warped version of fealty and courtly love based on their shared hatred of the same person … yesssss i love it give me more.

harwin strong in his dilf era repeatedly punching criston cole in the face is literally everything i wanted to see from him in this episode.

viserys talking about the bonds of friendship being forged through combat together while aegon ii is beating up his nephews is just like. jesus christ. viserys please learn to read the room.

alicent and larys having their scheming little dinner together was so fun, especially since it’s clearly a common practice. seems like larys is going full-on villain and that’s going to be entertaining to watch.

kind of sad to see that daemon and rhaenyra’s marriages are both breaking down, but i can understand why since there are a lot of stressors in both of those relationships.

around halfway through this episode i was like “there seems to be a lot going on here, maybe i won’t have to watch harwin and laena die yet” so the last 10 minutes absolutely sucker-punched me.

rip lyonel strong you were a real one and possibly the only man in westeros with both honor and common sense.

i am not quite sure how i feel about laena’s death, i always thought childbirth was a lazy way to get rid of her and i can see that they were trying to add more dignity/autonomy but it also made it more violent … i’ll have to think on it.

the milf on milf violence in this was just really fun and i can’t wait to see more.

i am READY for the funeral drama next week, bring it on!

1,426 notes - Posted September 25, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

hotd episode 5 thoughts

rip rhea royce, you seemed cool so even though i knew your death was coming i’m a bit sad about it. at least you got to bully daemon before the end.

loved that we got to see larys strong do a bit of scheming and i am quite excited to see where his character will go.

house velaryon and driftmark seem extremely cool, hope we do end up getting a spin-off about them someday.

corlys i am TRYING to stan you but trying to marry off your daughter at 12 and saying your gay son “will grow out of it” is not great behavior.

i do love that rhaenys and corlys are a total power couple who clearly respect and love each other a lot.

i liked the the scene of rhaenyra and laenor walking on the beach and forming their alliance/friendship very much since i’ve always interpreted them as being friends.

i’m glad we got to see some of the relationship between laenor and joffrey before things went south, they seemed really good together and i do wish they had gotten their life of a king consort and his sworn bodyguard.

of the different rumors surrounding rhaenyra and criston cole’s falling-out i have always thought the one where he suggested they run away together and she turned him down made the most sense so i’m glad they went with that one.

i also appreciated that his bitterness towards her is not just “criston’s crush doesn’t like him as much as he likes her” but also his sense of ruined honor.

i Do Not Trust grand maester mellos, something is up with that man. please stop with the leeches i swear to god.

the velaryons entering the wedding was ICONIC, they are legends, they are the moment, i love them.

it was nice seeing seasmoke and meleys but where! is! vhagar!

lyonel strong remains the only person on this show with common sense.

daemon showing up to rhaenyra’s wedding feast despite being in exile was legendary, i expected no less.

also rhaenyra being mean to him when they were dancing and throwing his words back at him was excellent.

alicent entering the feast in her green dress and calling rhaenyra “stepdaughter” was such a power move i literally cannot wait for her villain era.

that wedding was So Fucking Stressful even though i knew going in roughly what was going to happen i was on the edge of my seat.

oh joffrey, if only you were not so good at sussing out who is sleeping together and criston could be normal about his break-up things might have had a much happier ending :(

was hoping we would get more than the few harwin strong crumbs that we did buuuut it seems like he’ll be important in episode 6.

i’m going to miss milly alcock and emily carey but i cannot WAIT to see emma d’arcy and olivia cooke, they are going to absolutely kill it

2,329 notes - Posted September 18, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[goodwoodpod]

GOOD WOOD is a podcast about what it's like to be a hockey fan who thinks maybe these guys should try kissing a little at center ice. Your hosts Kit, Bec, and Jes are longtime transformative fans who are fascinated by fandom communities... and by what happens when our practices collide with mainstream sports cultures. We're here to tackle the real questions: Why do we want to put Sidney Crosby in a jar and study him like a bug? What unholy force compels us to babygirlify hulking athletes with false teeth? Should men even be allowed to tweet? Join us every other week as we explore all things transformative hockey fandom, from politics to culture to our big feelings about a silly little game.

Meet your hosts in Episode 0: Well, I'm Definitely Not Going to Become a Hockey Fan. Relive the trauma of Contractgate & begin the healing journey with us in Episode 1: Clear Eyes, Hearts Open, Win Forever. Cram for your trope exams with Episode 2: Graduated Summa Cum Laude in Alpha Beta Omega. Join us as we search for community in Episode 3: Of Shoelaces and Groupchats. Go head-to-head with the Flyers in Episode 4: The Battle of Pennsylvania. Meow in the new season with us in Episode 5: As Far As We Know, Kris Letang Is a Human. Let our favorite silver fox soothe your hockey fears in Episode 6: Release the Sully Cut. Ponder if you're allowed to be a Real Hockey Fan in Episode 7: Women Only Watch Hockey For Hot Men. Learn how to cherish your dumbass team of beloved losers in Episode 8: Surviving Penguins Hockey. Wrap up the season with Episode 9: Bringing It All Full Circle. Brag with us over getting Kyle Dubas in Episode 10: Be Your Own WAG. And share your reactions, episode ideas, and opinions on whether or not Sid's jar should include a little twig right here.

[twh-news]

Loki (TV): 5 Things the Disney+ serie got right (& 5 it ruined)

With its new Disney+ shows, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has managed to expand its reach and develop characters that didn't quite get enough attention in the movies. WandaVision grants Wanda Maximoff her rightful role as the Scarlet Witch while also developing her relationship with Vision. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier tackles some heavy themes as Sam Wilson struggles with the weight of Steve Rogers's legacy and Bucky tries to overcome his trauma.

In Loki, fans are reunited with a beloved character, one many deemed lost with his death in Avengers: Infinity War. The show centers on the adventures of a variant of Loki created after the Avengers' Time Heist. Loki's return to the MCU is more than welcome and gets many things right, but some elements could have been dealt with better.

10 Got Right: Loki's Enduring Affection For His Family Still Stands Out

Loki is easily one of the best villains in the MCU, and a big reason why he stands out is his affection for his family. He has a genuine bond with his mother Frigga, who is among the few people who support him. His rivalry with his brother Thor gradually disappears, and the two eventually mend their bond.

In the Disney+ series, Loki hasn't yet reached the right mental state to forgive and be forgiven. He is forced to confront the fate of his people--and his own--and it's one of the most touching moments in the series. Tom Hiddleston's portrayal is as always impeccable, adding another layer to the emotionally aloof god.

9 Ruined: His Character Doesn't Shine As Much As It Could Have

Despite the series being titled Loki, it doesn't really focus on him as much as it should. After Loki makes his escape using the Tesseract, he's taken captive by the Time Variance Authority and eventually joins them. He's then forced by circumstances into cooperating with a female variant of himself, Sylvie. Caught in a web of events he's unprepared for, he often seems just along for the ride. This wouldn't normally be an issue, but the limited number of episodes makes the pacing a problem. With a better balance, Loki's character could have shined through properly.

8 Got Right: Loki Is Confirmed To Be Bisexual And His Relationship With Sylvie Is Very Interesting

During a conversation with Sylvie, Loki comments that he's had relationships with both men and women in the past. The admittance of his bisexuality isn't a surprise, but it's still a welcome element. His subsequent relationship with Sylvie--who is, in the end, a version of himself--is interesting and chaotic, suiting the nature of the rule-breaking god.

7 Ruined: Sylvie Creates A Missed Opportunity As Viewers Would Have Liked A Truly Genderfluid Loki

Sylvie's character has its origins in the second Enchantress, Sylvie Lushton. Her look--mimicking Amora's in appearance--is combined with the concept of Lady Loki. Unfortunately, her presence comes at the expense of a highly-anticipated element of Loki's character.

Before the series came out, rumors were rampant that the show would finally give viewers a genderfluid Loki and tackle his sexuality in a more elaborate way. Loki's bisexuality may have been confirmed, but it doesn't feel like enough. Sylvie just isn't the Lady Loki viewers wanted.

6 Got Right: Loki's Relationships In The Series Make Him Grow As A Person

Throughout the series, Loki builds close relationships, not just with Sylvie, but also with TVA agent Mobius M. Mobius. Mobius places his faith in Loki and helps him realize many things about himself, even risking his own life for Loki. Meanwhile, Loki's romantic connection to Sylvie is so powerful it creates a nexus event. It gives Loki hope that he doesn't have to be alone, making him grow as a person.

5 Ruined: His Abilities Become Even More Confusing

Loki's abilities in the MCU have always been somewhat puzzling. He's a highly skilled sorcerer, but half the time, he doesn't use his powers. Thor mentions his brother shape-shifted into a snake as a child, but the ability is never used.

The Disney+ series makes things even more confusing. Loki is easily incapacitated by the TVA, even if their physical strength shouldn't be enough to overwhelm an Asgardian/Jotun. Later, after he makes his escape, Loki uses highly advanced telekinesis to hold falling buildings upright on Lamentis. The addition of Sylvie's strange form of mental projection muddies the waters further. It's not a new thing for characters in the MCU, but it could have been dealt with better.

4 Got Right: Classic Loki's Sacrifice Steals The Show

Sylvie isn't the only variant of himself Loki meets throughout his journey. After being pruned by the TVA, Loki ends up in The Void, where he meets Classic Loki, Boastful Loki, Kid Loki, and Alligator Loki.

Classic Loki easily steals the show, and his sacrifice to help Sylvie and Loki defeat Alioth is one of the best scenes in the series. Richard Grant's portrayal of the character is as powerful and emotional as Hiddleston's and leaves a true impression on the viewers.

3 Ruined: Most Variants Of Loki Barely Receive Any Attention

Despite the huge potential of the Loki variants, most of them don't get enough time in the spotlight. Kid Loki is said to rule The Void because he killed Thor, but the concept doesn't go anywhere. President Loki appears briefly as a villain, but his background is unknown. Alligator Loki--affectionately called Croki by the fandom--receives more attention than most other variants of the character. It's truly a shame, as each individual Loki had their own fascinating stories to tell.

2 Got Right: The Inclusion Of The TVA Tackles An Important Theme That Leads Into The Multiverse

Loki isn't the first MCU release that has mentioned the Multiverse, but it develops the theme much further, in a way that leaves a lot of room for further expansion. The concept of the "Sacred Timeline" sets into question the idea of free will, of the consequences of each choice. The TVA polices the path people have to take, enforcing a fatalistic design that would make many want to rebel.

Loki and Sylvie understandably want to topple it, but they soon learn that the TVA may very well be the lesser evil. With Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness just around the corner, the themes and issues that appear in Loki will doubtlessly be even more important than ever.

1 Ruined: The Overabundance Of Elements Makes The Final Villain Underwhelming

The addition of the Multiverse may have been a good idea, but the multitude of elements end up clashing against each other due to the format of the series. The introduction of a whole new figure as the villain ultimately makes him fall flat. He Who Remains may have great influence and power, but he doesn't do much except monologue. Presuming that he is indeed Kang the Conqueror, he isn't a bad choice as an antagonist. The series just doesn't do him justice, and the finale feels weak and underwhelming.

[separatist-apologist]

Tbh I don’t get why nesta fans like nessian pairing. I think they mix up fanon cassian with the canon one ( which funnily enough a fan that was hoping for a nessian book with redemption for cassian predicted. they said the relationship would be shit based on cassians actions in past books)

Cassian, from the JUMP, treats Nesta like shit. His very first statement to her is condemnation and in ACOSF when he says he's guessed they were mates since the moment they met? I was like, this is a SUPER bad look for you, then. In comparison with Rhysand, who also had a mate who hated him (and did questionable shit in ACOTAR), he at least had like pretty solid reasons (a crazy despot who could only be stopped by one human girl? I'd do questionable shit too, in order to save her life) for his actions. What is Cassian's excuse? He baits her every chance he gets and the only true confession of feelings we really get is a deathbed confession.

If Nesta had to have a mate, and it had to be a bat boy, I wish it had been Azriel. There is a moment in ACOSF when Az comes in and sees Nesta's bruised up face. She fell down the stairs and she tells him this. Azriel hesitates and then asks if someone (Cassian) pushed her. This is the same scene where Cassian tells Nesta everyone hates her, which he knows she already thinks. Azriel was kind, he cared about her, he was her friend in a real way, and I think he would have given her space and treated her much better if they'd been mates. I also think he would have stood up for her when it came to his friends.

Cassian very much felt like the guy who was insecure about being low-class and needed to make his girlfriend feel like she wasn't better than him (you know, the dudes ranting about stuck up, snotty bitches). He's got 500 years on a 23-25 year old woman yet his ruled by his petty emotions (and dick) and somehow he was supposed to be the good guy. He wasn't. Not all mating bonds work out, some are toxic, right? I know a chunk of the fandom wants to see that with Elain but honestly ACOSF showed it to us with Nessian. In 10-50 years, when Nesta starts to work through her trauma, I don't believe she's not going to feel a lot of resentment over the way he treats her.

Cassian never once tried to understand her feelings. Everytime she tried to tell him he centered his own feelings and I have to say, that shit was the worst to read. Who fucking cares, Cassian? You have had centuries to process it. And while his life was tragedy, it wasn't the same as hers. Hers was worse and he never seemed to think so. He very much felt like "get over it already" or "hahaha no be sad you're so sexy hahahaha" and I just. I don't like canon Cassian.

[cannibalisticapple]

So got a new word for all fan fiction writers that NEEDS to enter common lexicon, courtesy of @cocoa-nerd​:

Angstgoat

Portmanteau of “angst” and “scapegoat”. The act of making a character subject to massive amounts of angst, whether it’s worsening canon examples of troubled backstories and sometimes even adding extra trauma, for no reason other than cheap and easy drama.

Examples include:

Giving characters whose families are never seen abusive families, and sometimes even changing a character’s canonically loving parent(s) to be physically abusive and neglectful

Killing off loving family members at a young age to remove any support network for all the other angst they deal with

Reviving parents who canonically died when the character was young/before their birth but CLEARLY loved the child, and STILL making them abusive/neglectful for some reason (looking at you in particular, Naruto fandom)

Increased amounts of bullying and/or social ostracization, to the point of outright murder attempts (still looking at you, Naruto fandom)

Changing a major backstory element that was the source of bullying/ostracization, but adding a new one so they’re still subject to that same trauma as canon (looking at you, MHA fandom with Quirk!Izuku fics)

Exaggerating ANY negative aspect of their backstory to make it as horrific as possible

Adding brand new traumatic events that were never even implied in canon on top of everything else

Changing a character’s backstory to make it needlessly more traumatic while not changing their characterization from canon at all to reflect said increased trauma

Discrimination is not only prevalent and much STRONGER than ever implied in canon, but somehow the main cast is totally unaware of it

Oppression against this character is not only played up but suddenly the societal norm and even reflected in laws (looking at you, Quirkless!Izuku fics) (seriously we still talk about that scene where a movie theater manger backhands Izuku and then dumps soda on him)

Absolutely no one else around them EVER gets punished for abusive behavior or outright attempted murder targeted at this character due to said oppression

Completely altering some characters’ canon personalities so THEY can become a direct source of additional trauma and oppression, whether in backstory or in the story’s main events. This can be by making THEM bigots and jerks, or making them giant incompetent idiots who make things worse because they don’t understand the issue (looking at all the MHA fics where All Might completely brushes off students’ comments)

Time travel fics that have the character’s life end up even WORSE than canon even before reaching the canon timeline (seriously, kidnapped and spent three years in a death arena?? BEFORE THE CHARACTER IS EVEN 10??)

(Trigger warning) Sudden sexual trauma, abuse and predation, whether in present or backstory, PURELY for extra angst. The author/story doesn’t address the full ramifications of such an event beyond ���it makes them feel even worse”. This is especially true for genderbent fics

Making canon events go far worse with no reason other than to increase the suffering. Note it usually doesn’t involve characters dying, and the "worse” applies MAINLY to the protagonist/angstgoat

Having villains hyper-focus on the protagonist and start hunting them down from the very first encounter to either recruit, torment, or both

Having said character end up kidnapped by said villains at a young age and forced to work with them, while being abused and mocked and giving them absolutely no reason to have any actual loyalty to their organization

Give actual medical diagnoses of conditions like depression, anxiety, PTSD, etc. as a result of all this trauma, with bare-minimum research on symptoms and accurate portrayals

And so much more.

Many of these things can work fine on their own, and even work together in the hands of an experienced and skilled writer. However, most fanfics will mix and match multiple examples of the above as cheap and easy sources of drama without ever going into the full ramifications of such changes.

Many writers seem to mistake “angst” with “adversity”.

They use angst to add not only an easy resource for drama (from the writer’s perspective), but also make things more “challenging” for the character as they overcome it.

Thing is, they do it in a way that cheapens the severity of real issues. Many stories feature abuse almost casually from a writing standpoint. The sudden presence of abusive families and increased murder attempts and hospitalizations by classmates doesn’t change the character’s personality significantly from their canon personality. Many times it just makes them better at first aid, or ends with them being socially awkward and having a stutter. Other times it goes to the other extreme, to the point said character is barely functional due to the trauma and should be in therapy instead of whatever the story has them doing.

It’s done more for the reactions of other characters around them, who get righteously furious at the obvious mistreatment of the protagonist. That’s what I mean by it being a “cheap and easy source of drama”: it still centers around the protagonist’s direct suffering, rather than anyone or anything else in the plot.

That’s the key thing about angstgoats: every single bad thing that happens in the fic, happens to the main character. Sometimes other characters will get more severe injuries or get pulled into bad situations with them, to highlight that the whole world is bad, but it always comes back to their connection to the protagonist. They come out of every situation worse than before.

Rather than highlighting how bad a certain situation or circumstance is, when you pile up angst like that, it becomes almost comical. Even now, there’s a discussion on my Discord server about one of the fics I referenced and all the unnecessary angst. We’re not discussing “Oh, X is a horrible thing to happen”, we’re discussing how unrealistic and frankly ridiculous a lot of the details are. And I KNOW that wasn’t the author’s intent, just like many other fanfics with angstgoats.

Angst isn’t a bad thing, but there are some topics that need to be approached with more care than they often are. Don’t mistake “angst” for “adversity”.

So let’s get “angstgoat” in the fandom lexicon!

[yoitscro]

I still haven’t watched the video...BUT.

While I’m still of the belief that Sarah Z probably shouldn’t have posted some “rise and fall” video on Homestuck --which uses the traction of 4/13, a positive day for a fandom that likes to eat itself, to give attention some to criticisms involving speculative allegations-- , I’ve seen more anger from people that I frankly don’t trust being upset about it being a “hit” video to tear down WP, and jumping the gun to the point of threatening legal action, versus actually seeing casual watchers talking about the discourse; more so about nostalgia and “ah, homestuck exists still”.

I assume the paranoid jump on the video is because of casual watcher’s potential reactions? But there’s, also, more reactions toward the team’s response versus what the team + team friends were presumably worried about...so like. I guess the fire being fueled is ironically only being fueled because it’s being blown out of proportion, and thereby brought to peoples attention through *that*.

Sarah’s video is not 100% right. There are false facts from what I’ve seen briefly of. I personally don’t think that a person who’s read Homestuck but has only existed in the fandom space primarily during certain years has the same, fair perspective as a current homestuck that’s been aware of the environment going on, especially on Homestuck Twitter. Instead of things being made in 10 days, apparently, and there not being any effort to reach out to anyone on the team before presenting information, I would’ve just, you know, not done that. At least give it a shot, you literally lose nothing but avoid many things later.

The team has also faced blatant threats and harassment, which isn’t the same as other queer or poc people criticizing how homestuck handles content in their own space, but it exists. There’s certainly a reasonable, human reaction that I get, which come from the anxiety of being put on the spot by a something-thousand subscribed youtuber while you’re trying to figure things out in the background as things have been quiet, right after the turbulent year of 2020. I’ve actually been really frustrated that people haven’t considered that and that these reactions are coming out of nowhere. There is a trauma to consider since this is not the white guy taking the brute of stuff despite people using Hussie’s name as a synonym for the team.

There’s also the fact that Gio was apparently not asked to be used in the video beforehand? At least that’s what I’ve heard, which if true was an oversight, given how one may want to ask “hey, i’m making a video on your articles which could absolutely put you in the center of this since I’m using your online identity; let me get your permission at least.”

That said, based on audience reaction, and how it’s been the opposite of what a handful of people associated with officialized content expected, which is the reason things are being targeted right now, I feel like this is an...overreaction. 

Again, I haven’t watched the video. But the video existing with the whispered points it’s brought up is the reason that things exploded yesterday. I’ve seen more dislikes of Sarah’s video from a loud minority who, 1. are people who refuse to ever criticize the issues with Homestuck for actual years, and 2. people who have watched 20 minutes of it and heard what they wanted to hear, versus seeing the criticism acknowledged by everyone else, outside of an acknowledged comment before moving on. The reaction is what’s giving it the most attention, actually.

Apparently in the video she mentions how she’s not trying to enable any harassment, states that somethings presented are just speculation, and doesn’t namedrop anyone specific?

That seems like a cliche way to act like someone can’t ever respond to stuff like this, but that’s usually saved for smaller followed beef on tumblr or twitter. Not a company or it’s contracted IP.

I’ve seen the people say it wasn’t that bad and have honed in on WP + acquaintance reactions versus what was said in the video. It was just something that was posted on a day where so much other 4/13 stuff was going on, which could’ve been given attention instead of one person’s video, which was apparently 2 hours long, and was already being venomously hated before one would’ve been able to watch it in full? (The idea of the anger coming from those who haven’t watched the video is...not surprising. There have been people put on blast for HS opinions for just a sentence.)

The kickstarter update’s response could’ve been posted itself, versus all the stuff prior and after it (the supposed legal action), but I honestly think that it shouldn’t have taken a breadtuber’s threat on Homestuck’s reputation for fans who ACTUALLY engage with it to have communication with what’s been going on, which we’ve been asking for for years. There’s a trust that needs to be rebuilt on both sides, be it from entitlement, elitism, or bullying, and this did not help.

I don’t like that Hussie only speaks up when a boiling point is reached, and people who work on his team are beyond gone or dealing with the fallout with how he’s neglected his IP and the fans that’ve somehow stayed to support it; crowd control and community management is important, and every other indie creator or small team on the internet who thinks ahead has been getting this. And I honestly hope that anyone who is legit having a terrible time producing HS content considers whether or not they should continue to stick around, for their own mental health.

If by a week from now we’re talking about the reaction of the video and the video itself is potentially long out of people’s mind well. That’s the point of this rant.

and on the other side, quoting a friend:

Sarah z's video didn't need to be released on a day of celebration for a healing fanbase and that video regressed that and caused the official team to have fucking public panic attacks.

Not a great 4/13, tbh.

[elizabethrobertajones]

Did Bobo really create the Wayward Sisters? If so, why weren't Jack and especially Cas included in that episode? That's my biggest issue with that pilot honestly, I mean, the fact that the show abandoned Claire and Cas' bond after season 10 and gave that storyline to Salmondean. Her bond with Cas is more interesting because of their connection to the Novaks. I also think that Claire and Jack would've made a more engaging dynamic and spin off together, I think they're strong characters & actors

Hi there!

Bobo isn’t the “creator” of Wayward so much as it can even have one, as it was a very organic idea, which even involved a healthy amount of fandom input. The original campaign in season 10 was for Wayward Daughters, and the idea picked up so much steam the altered title for, I guess, a mix of copyright and thematic relevance was the Sisters one. I’d say 10x08 was the real genesis of it as something that could be really solid. Once Kim and Briana were put together the chemistry and star power they could have had together was really meteoric as far as our small SPN world was concerned. Phil Sgriccia directed 9x13 and wrote 10x08 and was more of the parent of Wayward than any specific writer in that sense. Jody and Claire were pretty much common property of the show by that point. Claire was really introduced again in relation to plotlines and questions about Cas and less to do with them really going out of their way to re-launch her. I think they’d have been much cornier about it from the start and while YA protagonist diary writing her way through the end of Wayward Sisters was cute, it’s the sort of cutesy that really has to be earned. If she STARTED that way, like maybe me and 3 friends would be stanning her and everyone else would be revolted :P

(I am a YA fantasy novel author, but I do think everyone should make room in their hearts for this level of cheese)

In any case, Bobo just threw his hat into an already crowded ring with Alex, but obviously loving the characters and having his own personal wayward child to contribute did help elevate him to the prospective showrunner seat, but also all the other writers who’d written these characters except Dabb had left at that point. If Bobo was going to shepherd them through to their new show, he’d be the legacy writer, even though he was a new baby writer in the season Donna was introduced... Attrition aside, he did genuinely write them very well, loved their stories and was great with writing Jody when he could get her, so he would also have been a good choice even if all the others were left still... 

But anyway. Season 10′s subplot for Cas was about Claire and learning some stuff about himself along the way, but she was used very much for his personal development and for Dean as well, being a mini Dean herself in a season where he had lost a lot of his sense of self. It’s a total accident of scheduling but Angel Heart (10x20) being the last episode before 10x22 is a nice touch in that regard. And while Cas tried really hard with Claire and awoke his inner Dad side so that he’d be more prepared for fatherhood next time, it was pretty insurmountable between them to have anything more than a bittersweet relationship where the best he could do was make up with her and see her somewhere safe. The fact of him looking like her actual dead father is horrendous the more you think about it and while she managed to see him for who he was instead of a horrible monster, that’s more than enough trauma to inflict on an already traumatised girl for the sake of helping Cas’s manpain and tidying up the sticky question of Jimmy and Cas’s right to the vessel. 

Angel Heart very specifically ends with TFW mailing Claire to Jody because they know she’s already good with Alex in a genuine way and can handle these sort of issues and has done it before. And also because she can be a guardian who will not constantly remind Claire that her father is dead but something is walking around wearing a perfect reconstruction of his face. Carver era did a few things here and there with bodily autonomy and the problem of angel and demon vessels, but it was also really hit and miss. They’d get random waves of feeling guilty about it but then by necessity go back to stabbing angels in their still-living vessels an episode later. Claire was a way to address at the very least that whatever Cas was being put through was only a punishment on Cas and not on Jimmy as well, which is probably why we got such sappy Heaven scenes. We NEEDED to be shown he was in Heaven and largely okay with what was going on so that the show could justify using Cas at all as a character without breaking the code of ethics they tried to make their own characters adhere to. Aside from that it also gave Cas a side plot for when he wasn’t needed in the main plot, and any emotional connection to anything that wasn’t Sam and Dean.

Anyway 10x20 caused this huge fandom high which was followed by one of the lowest lows of the fandom immediately after, and both centred on female characters (in fact, now we know, 2 lesbians even! Though I’d wonder if, The Gay Agenda aside, Bobo spite-wrote that specifically because of the roots of Wayward) and I think that galvanised the whole movement of fans and hopefully some self-reflection in the show. They DID start making an effort in season 11, which shows some of the early signs of better inclusion but also backtracking or edging nervously away from the more intense Carver era stuff. Not just because Dean didn’t have the Mark any more but in general it was like someone had opened a window and let in some fresh air... Even before Carver bailed somewhere around the midseason to go do a different show and Dabb started to step up. 

All this to say that the Wayward stuff was always about the female characters and making up for the past sins of the show. It’s even a riff on the “wayward son” line which obviously centres around male protagonists and their journey. Claire stumbled into being a part of it in the lucky way of being in the right place and time, but the journey had already started even in the season 10 momentum with earlier work and it was that which suddenly made the prospect that Jody had two young women living with her now seem like a starter for the next generation of the show as it was a mirrored format to season 1 in a way, if you took Alex and Claire as the new Sam and Dean. It was exciting but people flipped out after Angel Heart because stuff had been bubbling since season 9 and earlier in season 10, so this was just pouring more candy into an already visibly full bowl of potential tasty gems. It made a possibility seem real that hadn’t before because we already had Kim bitterly complaining that the CW refused to hear the case for a Jody spin off because she was too old. The next best thing was a Jody spin off where she was the Gandalf to some CW age appropriate characters.

(the CW is and always has been garbage)

Anyway in season 13 Jack was introduced as a Claire 2.0 but as a male character with staying power for that reason, but he was filling the space she left for Cas. He couldn’t be a father to her and neither really wanted that set up anyway. But thematically it had created the possibility of Dadstiel and the space he had in his heart for that. Since the show was in its waning years they would be looking for endgame and handing Cas an easy win with a son he could unconditionally love who would love him back unconditionally absolutely filled that gap. It was a non SamnDean thing that Cas could have for himself outside of whatever happened with them. Not sure the memo came back that he was supposed to have mORE than that but oh well it’s not real if you don’t watch it :))) But yeah Jack was always going to be linked to Cas’s endgame, he wasn’t a free-floating character such as Jody who could go where she wanted and do as she pleased. He was main story relevant from start to finish and tied inexorably to another main character’s fate. Because the show wouldn’t do that with its female characters they could be bundled into spin offs but in practical terms Jack was both never what the Wayward as envisioned by fans or writers was about, nor would he have been free to go. 

Since it would have been about centering the stories of people overlooked by the main story, Claire a case in point that she had her life ruined in season 4 and it was a footnote until season ten, and then metaphorically more the concept of having queer and non-white characters in the mix of main characters, it would have represented a future of the story where the main show was unable to tread. Probably because of the CW. Also inherent biases in the writers. Bad cocktail. Jack is both too white and too male to fit the brief to ever leave SPN, and not only that but he is so as a precise mirror to the main white male characters, being passably any one of their sons if you squint, and meant to be instantly instinctively read as such... he was one of the safest bets of representing the show as the network wanted to imagine its target demographic.

So I really don’t think that Jack has any place being in a spin off of the show unless you want more of the same. They tried to give us something different and the CW didn’t like it because it wasn’t more of the same. Ironically a Jack spin off, with or without Claire, would have more chance of being greenlit and more chance of success. But the spin off they put their heart behind was Wayward Sisters as it was. And I think it was absolutely correct that never mind leaving Jack out of it after his work was done in the lead up episode to help set the table, but honestly they could have cut all the middle scenes of Sam and Dean wandering in the woods and gained precious seconds with the girls and still had a functioning story with those guys. It was like some cowardly missive was sent that the show couldn’t actually go more than 10 minutes without showing a flesh and blood Winchester or the whole thing would spontaneously sizzle out of syndication and the money tree would wither on the spot. And in the mean time, we could have been having Banter with the girls. Or Claire and Kaia holding hands some more. The good stuff :P 

[im-thinking-arson]

Hi wow depression is a hell of a thing.

I'm sorry for the relative silence here, considering everything that has been going on in the last (roughly) year and a half it has been really hard to focus on any creative outlets. Everything has felt pretty heavy as I have been piecing together what exactly happened to myself and the people I used to share a community with.

Although my former FC is basically non-existent at this point, I feel it is appropriate to say that I no longer associate with its' leader @morganaux (sernoudenet on Twitter and formerly here) and to clarify why.

I have been struggling with what to even say about the situation. There are so many layers that I don't honestly know if any single cross-section could explain all there is to unpack. When it takes multiple people six months to explore everything they know as fact... I think that shows its not so much of a 'he said, they said' scenario as the few people who still support Morgy have tried to claim.

I feel guilty not speaking up sooner, considering this person is a member of the FFXIV community who I'm fairly sure some of my mutuals follow. Its so hard to speak out when he publicly acts innocent, like he has quietly moved on and refuses to acknowledge what he's done.

The reality feels so cold in contrast, with the knowledge I have- that he has done this multiple times before, burning down or wearing down those he has hurt with false sincerity; claiming innocence, claiming people misunderstand the significance of the intentions behind the knives in their backs, claiming he is the truest victim of the mess wrought of his own actions.

He quietly retweets fan art, cute animals, head canons, and all kinds of fandom things- but also others' tweets to identify with their own traumas- the same traumatic thoughts and feelings he incites in others through a mixture of gaslighting, lashing out, and playing the victim. He tweets passive aggressively about people he feels the victim of, (justified or not) even amid posts about his dearly beloved OC.

At this point I should just block him and try to scrape all memory of what I went through from my mind, but un-fucking-fortunately I know him too well to believe it's over when it's over. He still makes passive aggressive tweets about people he hasn't talked to in one, two, ?? years, a person who was a good friend to him for 10 years before he scapegoated them to maintain his own sense of righteousness.

Seeing as I witnessed him maintain not one, not two, not three- FOUR venting channels in his own discord, including at one point one specifically made for sh*tting on a single person, defending it's use and encouraging others to participate saying 'this is how victims cope'...

I know it's not over, and if he had a single shred of...anything... He could leverage against me he would have already tried to 'cancel' me. I'm not turning my back again to see if he decides to throw another knife.

For a long time I wanted to believe I had simply misunderstood the situation, that his intentions weren't so self-serving. The more I saw, the more I heard testimony from others that matched my own, the more I began to un-repress and process my own memories and connect the dots... And the less sense his own account made.

While I tried to maintain my friendship with him I ignored all the red flags, my own rise in anxiety, the isolation I felt. I felt so much pressure to fit into his equation, to be a supportive friend, to keep track of how he was feeling that I stopped taking care of my own mental health.

All the while he got angry for people not checking on him when he asked for space, threw a fit when anyone failed to accommodate his whims, and even accused his three closest friends of purposefully excluding him by taking screenshots without him in them or even hanging out together when he was offline..

And he would have people believe that most of the issues he was involved in centered on his friends not communicating with him. But in my case at least, nothing could be further from the truth.

I told him I felt uncomfortable with the fact his (at the time) friend had publicly lashed out at me in his discord server for stating my opinion. He suggested I work harder to befriend this person, that he couldn't and wouldn't approach his friend about it because he wasn't a FC member and only there as a friend of himself and his two closest friends.

He lashed out at a former friend (and FC mate) of mine -on my behalf- because they wouldn't stop messaging me while I was at work... And when this person subsequently put me on blast thinking I had put him up to it I mentioned considering posting my side of the story- to initially be shamed (by the person mentioned above) for suggesting I protect myself, stating it could make things worse for the people who had already publicly attacked this person...

I approached him about another former friend of his angrily ranting about a character I had though at the time they knew I was planning to RP (I had spoken about it both in-game and in a discord we all shared) because I didn't know them well enough to feel comfortable saying that made me feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in the space. I approached my former friend because I knew from experience he took things like this seriously and he was the one who had invited this character TO role play in the first place.

He reacted by telling this person he had no idea why I was upset, asked them to address an issue they had no context for - prompting them to write an apology, and then reinforced their worry that I hated them by saying I "probably disliked them since [I] hadn't written them an apology" in return. I had thought they both wanted to drop the subject because he stopped responding about the situation.

He decided the situation was resolved and kept inviting us around one another for at least four months while keeping up the illusion that I disliked this person despite me trying to remain friendly- and said nothing about the situation until AFTER he had nuked his FC and almost everyone was done with his bullshit. I had asked him to be honest about the situation and finally got "[name] thinks you dislike him" ???

(I might add more details about these situations because it's honestly much more of a mess than it might seem, but I'd probably have to write a fucking book to explain everything well in-sequence of events.)

But those examples aside, I told him up front that the favoritism he showed and my concerns being glossed over was messing with my head, that I didn't know if I felt safe in his FC, that the whole situation was making me feel like I was losing my grip on reality, that at one point feeling like I was being discouraged from defending myself was beginning to make me feel su*cidal. These are things he knew.

He reacted to this ignoring both cause and effect, ignoring me unless I reached out first or it concerned RP, continually inviting me to hang out with people he knew I felt uncomfortable with (or vice versa) and normally turning down anything I invited him to do otherwise- including several times that I offered to help him with Eden or dungeons he wanted to farm when he previously said he was free to do so. A couple of times he declined saying he was waiting to see if he could convince another friend... and then threw a fit about 'no one wanting to help him' despite declining my offer and not reaching out to me after his other friend declined (I was still online but he decided to vent on discord instead).

Behind my back he talked shit about me, enough that someone who had known him 10 years and was familiar with his behavioral patterns qualified it 'constant' bashing, whenever I came up in conversation. And even included confronting me about the three situations I mentioned above in a plan he was working on to 'fix' his FC, as if he thought I was reaching out to him to stir up drama.

Eventually it came out that the friend I mentioned in the first example was emotionally abusing his friends (and I found out later told him two of them were talking shit about him- prompting HIM to lash out at them). One of them mentioned that person had still been talking shit about me 6 months later on a private account and when I got upset that THREE people I had thought were my friends didn't tell me, I made a few jokes in poor taste (that I do now regret) about the situation to try and prevent myself from having a mental break down.

The person he led to believe I hated left the discord server at that point and he decided to divert some of the blame for (in his words) 'being worried for this person's life' -whom he had attacked over the situation- to me... blaming them leaving and him having trouble contacting them on me.

I told him if this former friend was indeed attacking people and he was so worried we needed to talk about the situation, since in other situations his response was to ignore the hurt caused. He blew up about me messaging him at work, he blamed me for every situation I had brought to his attention. He went to his mods to rant about me and sent one of them to scope out the situation in hopes they could shut me up.

This is the friend of 10 years, who quickly became concerned and not for the reasons he had hoped. They shared a few screenshots of things said to gaslight me behind my back as the conversation progressed. Eventually the other mod jumped in and, knowingly or not proceeded to gaslight me FOR him, based on what they were told. By him.

They reinforced everything he was saying in guise of a neutral perspective and my efforts to prevent a full-scale breakdown failed. I lost all grip on reality for several days- in which at some point I wrote an apology to him for accusing him of several things that were later proven true- and one thing he, himself, proved he'd lied about to the other person involved.

I spent almost two weeks in a self-imposed social break to sort everything out and attempt to cope with what I was told was reality. I fell into the deepest depression I've been in since I had to run away from home, and honestly if it wasn't for my wonderful SO and our house mates, I might have really hurt myself.

It turns out another situation had been brewing parallel to my own. People had been coming to the social mod, the friend of 10 years, with their own worries about him. Almost every. Single. Member. Including at least four people who came forward with fears that if they did a single thing that he interpreted as an insult or threat they would find themselves exiled, called out, and ranted about in a jumbled mix of truth and fictional-malice until their own friends turned on them to support his victim complex.

These four people came forward on the condition that their names be kept anonymous to protect their identity. He didn't take kindly to this, quickly demanding names so they (his mod team) could handle the situation. The mod refused, knowing he has a history of lashing out at any criticism against him and to protect those who were already afraid of bringing the problems up to Morgy.

He reacted by lashing out at this person, claiming they ruined his life, and attempting to weed out those who had spoken out against him by kicking anyone he didn't feel 'safe' being around from his FC. He posted a message in his FC discord about resuming his 'reign of terror'... Which, even if it was a joke, was in in poor taste after pruning his FC of anyone he didn't think could be convinced of his 'good intentions.'

I missed this first culling of his FC members, I assume, because I had apologized and at the time submitted to his version of events. He approached me soon after I noticed the changes in the discord and FC roster; claiming he really wanted to work things out and remain friends- going as far as to say he was so nervous about my reaction that he was shaking.

I wanted to take him at face value despite everything that happened because yeah, I did want to believe he was sincere, that he was a good friend, and that all of it had been an unfortunate misunderstanding. And at first I did until I started talking to other people who knew him and getting their side of the story. Nothing he said added up. Between first-hand testimony and over a hundred screenshots from multiple people the ONLY things that were clear and consistent were that he lied and fit his narrative to whatever he wanted to achieve.

He tried to reduce conflict by omitting information, he controlled people's perception of one another by how he spoke about them and how close he let them to himself and others, he built a support group by polarizing his friends against his 'enemies' and if anyone had a problem with him... They were wrong, and got added to the pile of 'aggressors' he had accumulated over the years, to be bashed and spit on for years to come.

He may have sensed my change in opinion when I directly asked him to help me reach out to the person who thought I disliked them-  managed to come to an understanding and we mutually apologized for the situation... Without his meddling. Or maybe when he realized I was still on talking terms with the people he had lashed out at and directly asked him why he had kicked people who did absolutely nothing to him... Or it could be that I kept in contact with the person who 'ruined his life' by trying to protect his friends from him. I don't know.

While we were still talking he tried to identify with me and bond over the feeling of loosing the FC, a group of people that despite the anxiety, and pain I had felt in the environment he'd built I did deeply respect and care about... Despite the dissolution of that group and the abuse I suffered being -at the core- his own fault. He even went as far as to say my description of the PTSD and fear I was experiencing described exactly how he was feeling, too.

As our conversations further weighed on my mental health I had to take a break from interacting with him. I was honest again, with what I was told, what I knew, and asked him for honesty about the situation... What he had said about me behind my back and why because I wanted to hear it from him. I wanted to see if he would acknowledge the harm he caused both to me and the rest of the (former) FC.

He never did, and probably won't. He asked for some time to tend to his own stress levels and mental health and then blocked me on all social media and discord, and kicked me from his FC without ever making an effort to reach out.

Of the few people who are still close to him, one of them suggested that "maybe he just decided he didn't want to be friends anymore." But after him begging to have a conversation to iron out all the facts, claiming to be so anxious about such a conversation going well that he was 'shaking', admitting that what he did hurt people and that my being wary of him was understandable, asking me -directly- to let him know if he did anything 'shady', and stressing he REALLY wanted this conversation to take place when we were both able to handle it because of how important he felt it was...

I feel like its fair to say that him suddenly cutting off all contact isn't quite so simple. He could have done that at any point. Before pointedly ignoring my concerns, before gaslighting me, before blaming me for the results of his own actions, before accepting an apology for accusing him of things he did legitimately do, and certainly before directly telling me had no real problems with me, that he it was super important to him that we remain friends, and that I deserved his honesty.

I'm not going to try and tell anyone who they should be friends with or not. Frankly, people can change and in a lot of cases experiences with individuals will be different.

But on that same note, if I had known then what I know now I might have saved myself from roughly two years of anxiety and avoided the state of dissonance I now find myself in. I still have moments where I want to doubt the things I experienced first hand. My mind is still trying to repress my own memories to cope.

A part of me still cares about him despite everything because as far as I knew, he was my friend and I am still trying to reconcile what I found to be true.

At this point I feel like I should say please don't harass Morgy if you read this, but honestly? If you have any reason to hold him accountable go for it. He needs it. And if you have any gut feelings about him or anyone in his circle please listen to it. The few supporters he still has are willing to ignore anything he has done previous to the fall of his FC and have shown they are willing to debate and accuse people who speak out about legitimate concerns involving him.

If anyone has any questions I am willing to answer them and share the proof I have.

And in the off chance anyone wants to (further) argue with me about my experiences or whether or not I suffered enough to be considered a victim, please Google some images of a hand giving the middle finger. But if after that you still really want to play stupid games? I can find you some stupid prizes.

I don't owe him my silence. Or peace of mind. The only thing I owe him is to be as entirely, brutally, honest as possible given the information I have. I think it's a fair offer considering the mind-numbing volume of honesty he -still- owes all of us.

- - - - -

I may add more onto this. Unfortunately the entire situation is a lot more complex, but I wanted to get the backbone of my own experiences out there and there is so much bullshit it can't all be seen from any one direction. A lot of the circumstantial evidence loops back into other situations and makes it hard to comprehensively represent everything on any sort of singular timeline. As I said in the beginning there is a reason it took a small group 6 months to piece it together.

I am far from the only person hurt, and the entire situation was a mess with people feeling unnerved or pressured into going along with his agenda. For the most part now that I have more context I don't blame most of the people involved for their own actions. I fully support those who can't or won't come forward about the situation whether they just want out of his drama, or are afraid to come forward.

[cobra-diamond]

The East Asian Origins of the Fire Nation and Its Villains

Introduction

           Over the years, many volumes of fandom blood have been spilled from discussions concerning the Fire Nation’s main villains, Ozai and Azula. Paralleling this have been arguments over their relationships with Zuko, Iroh, Ursa, Mai, Ty Lee, with each other, even with themselves. Since Ozai and Azula are the figureheads of the Fire Nation that Zuko must peacefully restore the honor of, it is worthwhile understanding why people “like them” are considered proper leaders of the current Fire Nation.

           Most of these discussions have sought to create “theories” that explain these characters as exclusively combinations of mental illness, personality disorders and various emotional traumas.

           A couple examples of these discussions are the essays “Azula, the Embodiment of Jealousy and Neglect,” and “Three Pillars Theory of Azula.” These two essays are just examples, but they capture the widespread strategy the fandom has employed in trying to understand the motivations and goals of Ozai and Azula and their various relationships with the other characters. In addition, the shouting matches between Azula “fans” and “haters” also illustrates these discussions. Since the franchise has yielded so few hard answers, these importance of these discussions has not waned.

           What these discussions focus on, as represented by those essays, are the characters’ apparent emotional problems, theoretical moral compasses and perceived inadequacies in the eyes of their families. Typically, the “lens” these discussions view these villains through is one that tries to relate them to present day spousal and domestic abuse narratives, namely as being both “abuser” and “victim” in a cycle of abuse that can be related to the modern, real world.

           What these conversations do not provide are adequate explanations for how the historical, political, military and cultural aspects of the Fire Nation molded these military leaders. You would think that people with “Lord” and “Princess” in their names, who train daily for warfare and hand-to-hand combat, would make their responsibilities take center stage in their lives.

           While there is a place for “nitty gritty” psychological examinations for understanding certain behaviors, trying to depict the Fire Nation villains as purely allegories of modern day domestic abusers, empathy deficient bullies and people afflicted by personality disorders eliminates Avatar’s most unique and defining characteristic: its East Asian origins.

           You don’t need beautiful animation, martial arts-styled bending and immersion in a fantasy world to explain how families in the modern era can hurt their children for petty reasons. We have that in our own lives. We have friends and families who have experienced that. It can be addressed in any other setting. It can be addressed in Avatar but it doesn’t need Avatar to address it.

           What we don’t experience in our modern lives is ancient China 2000 years ago, or feudal Japan after the takeover of the Tokugawa Shogun, or religious monks living in their temples in the mountains untouched by the modern world, and so on.

           The setting of Avatar is one of both beauty and relative detachment from the real (and modern) world, but it is one that is based on a period of history and human civilization that most of Avatar’s audience (North America and Europe) have little exposure to. If the characters’ motivations are too detached from the fictional world in which they live (i.e. by ignoring the historical, political, military and cultural context), then you begin to lose the world’s depth. At the same time, if their motivations are too connected to the present world, then all Avatar is is a visual motif of ancient East Asia.

           By seeking to explain the Fire Nation villains as embodiments of modern psychology’s understanding of “bad” people, you erase the opportunity to apply East Asia’s very real history of warfare, monarchical domination and oppressive cultures to a fictional world that is trying to say something about that warfare, monarchical domination and oppressive cultures. Note that the show did in fact achieve this with the Dai Lee’s corruption and manipulation of the Earth King; it depicted loosely the very real occurrence of Chinese Emperors being “kept in the dark” by their advisors so as not to interfere with the “real” governing of the states.

           If your goal is to view Avatar purely as an allegory for modern dysfunctional relationships and domestic abuse, you lose Avatar’s uniqueness as a fictional dive into an East Asian-inspired world, especially one that is ravaged by warfare and feudalism.

           In this article, I describe an alternative model for understanding the Fire Nation’s culture and history, and how its politics and military molded its heroes and villains.

What We Know and Might Know

           In order to fill the gaps in our knowledge of the Fire Nation, we first have to understand what is both known about the Fire Nation and what can be reasonably presumed about it.

           First, what do we know about the Fire Nation?

1. The Fire Nation is an archipelago with a history spanning thousands of years.

2. The Fire Nation was originally the “Fire Islands” and was not initially governed by a central power.

3. The Fire Islands had a unified cultural and religious authority in the form of the “Fire Sages”.

4. Eventually, the Fire Islands were unified by a single power—the “Imperial Government”—and afterward became known as the “Fire Nation”.

5. The Imperial Government is headed by a supreme ruler: the “Fire Lord”.

6. The Fire Lord is a hereditary monarch whose family is considered the “Royal Family”, both of which are separate entities from the Fire Sages.

7. The Fire Sages remain a distinct entity from the Imperial Government.

8. Both the Fire Lord and Royal Family are military and administrative rulers.

9. The Fire Lord and their Royal Family are not sacred and everlasting; their power can be “challenged” by rival leaders.

10. Fire Lords are expected to “show their worth” and be competent fighters in their own right; prowess in military arts and control of subordinates are valued traits.

11. Agni Kais are a longstanding component of Fire Nation culture.

12. The Fire Nation experienced an “unprecedented time of peace and wealth” during the era of the Fire Nation, not during the era Fire Islands.

           Next, what can be reasonably presumed given what we know?

           Something necessitated the Fire Islands becoming unified, but this unification did not result in the Fire Sages taking power, nor did it yield a peaceful, democratic government.

           The Imperial Government that resulted from this unification is rooted in military control and maintaining the fealty of its subjects; in Avatar and the Fire Lord, Sozin put on his “ruler persona” to Roku initially before acting friendly, only later to demand loyalty from him as if Roku was any other subject.

           The culture of the Fire Nation values strength and bravery from its firebenders, as explained in an official description of Agni Kais. Presumably, the Agni Kai predates the era of the Fire Lord and has been used to settle disputes of various kinds. This could be interpreted as a “non-destructive” means of avoiding war and greater loss of life given how easily firebenders could wreak havoc to wooden buildings and crops (among other flammable components of society). Since nobody recognized Zuko on Ember Island in The Beach, despite his obvious scar, severe scars from burns must be common enough in the Fire Nation that a teen boy having one on his face is not horrifying nor particularly unattractive.

           Presumably, the Fire Nation/Fire Islands used to hold its religion and spiritual ties in higher regard, but Sozin’s start of the war required this aspect of the Fire Nation to be suppressed, as implied by dragon hunting and the divided loyalties of the Fire Sages at Roku’s temple, and the fact that various generals and admirals have defected. At the same time, vast enough swaths of the country and its leadership did follow Sozin’s path, considering that he and his family remained in power for over a hundred years. If Fire Lords can have their power challenged, then either nobody tried to stop Sozin, or they were defeated. Azula’s comment about “rumors of plans to overthrow him (Ozai)” in The Avatar State implies betrayal of the Royal Family is not a dormant threat. Though she was technically lying, it must have been a credible lie since neither Iroh and Zuko thought it was preposterous; his brother being “regretful” is what puzzled Iroh, not that there would be plots against the Fire Lord.

           Notably, the Fire Lord’s throne room changed between the start of the war and the present day. Prior to Sozin, it did not have the imposing wall of flame as it does now. Certainly it had to be rebuilt after Roku destroyed it, but the wall of flame is much more imposing than the old.

           The Fire Sages still pay a role in the Fire Nation, but this role is not known. Presumably, they play some part in the succession of the Fire Lord since they preside over coronation. Perhaps the relationship between the Fire Lord and Fire Sages is similar to the relationship between the Japanese Emperor and the Shoguns, where the Shoguns held the true power in the country (military and administrative) whereas the Emperor maintained a facade of power as a cultural and religious symbol. What is known about the Fire Sages is that they have a temple in the capital and are divided between their loyalties to the Avatar and the Fire Lord.

           Finally, the Imperial Government’s capital is located in an isolated, fortified city inside a volcano’s caldera, where coming-and-going is strictly controlled. The city is large, full of nobility, physically disconnected from the external port city (versus directly being the hub of economic activity) and contains numerous underground bunkers.

           Why would the Capital require such extensive bunkers and fortifications? Presumably because the Fire Lord and Royal Family can be “challenged” and the bunkers are a defense mechanism against both external and internal threats. The Fire Nation did have a “darkest day” tied to solar eclipses, which suggests that the loss of firebending had profound military consequences. Whatever the reasons, the Imperial Government is so concerned about its survival that it has constructed massive fortifications around its capital, implying that warfare is a major concern.

Areas of Confusion

           But what does all of this mean?

           Was the Fire Nation previously peace-loving and compassionate while Sozin is responsible for all of its “evils”?

           Have Agni Kais been performed for centuries and so Zuko being challenged to one was neither unusual nor particularly grotesque for the Fire Nation’s culture?

           Did Sozin face massive opposition to starting the war or was everyone humbly obedient to the Fire Lord?

           How is a Fire Lord’s rule challenged?

           Why wasn’t Sozin overthrown if he had to “impose” the war upon the country?

           Why did the Fire Lord come to existence in the first place?

           Why has the Imperial Government not been replaced by the Fire Sages?

           Why does the Fire Nation need a national government?

           What is a more compelling explanation for the Fire Nation’s villains other than mental illness and personality disorders?

           As it turns out, there is a way to understand the Fire Nation that adequately fills in the gaps, explains its heroes and villains and provides a lesson on East Asian history.

A Brief History of Ancient Japan’s Unification

           The islands of Japan have been populated for tens of thousands of years, but the “modern” era of warlords and emperors did not begun until the past 1500 years or so. While the Japanese people were not united under a single state, there was an “Emperor” who was believed to have been descended from a goddess. Despite this first emperor having control over a certain portion of Japan, it did not take long until the country split into separate feudal states.

           While the Emperor never went away, their power over the country waned. The real power in Japan laid in the hands of the various feudal lords (daimyo), who used their armies to defend their territories and capture new ones from other lords.

           Since the Emperor represented a shared cultural connection among the people, their power was not completely absent. In the earlier parts of history, before the Emperor became completely subordinated, the Emperor would appoint a Seii Taishōgun, or supreme commander, of the Emperor’s armies. Eventually, this “supreme commander” became the actual ruler of the Japan since they controlled the military. By appointing them “shogun” they more or less had the public approval of the Emperor despite the Emperor not actually being able to control them.

           Various shoguns came and went, but through it all were the daimyo using their samurai to battle for control of the country. Ruthlessness and murder were common. Building alliances only to later betray them were often wise tactics. For a thousand years, the rulers of Japan lived by the sword, died by the sword and used it to maintain their power. Things got particularly bad during the Sengoku Period, which is considered the “Warring States” period of Japan. That tells you all you need to know.

           It was during this time that one of these feudal lords rose to power, a man named Tokugawa Ieyasu (first name Ieyasu, last name Tokugawa). Using a combination of political tact, military genius and European steel breast armor, he defeated all other daimyo during the Azuchi–Momoyama period and installed himself as the shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate. This marked the end of over a thousand years of continuous violence and social turmoil in Japan.

           The Tokugawa Shogunate represented Japan’s first unified national government. The country’s existing daimyo were placed under strict control to ensure they did not rebel. The military was nationalized and the existing feudal governments rearranged to ensure centralized control by the Shogun in his capital at Edo. Notably, Edo became modern day Tokyo.

           National laws were written, along with cultural and religious standards to ensure social cohesiveness, stability and control. The economies of Japan also flourished, especially in the cities. A consequence of the Tokugawa Shogunate, however, was closing off Japan to the outside world. The Shogun wanted to ensure their rule and control of the populace. Allowing other countries to influence them and provide assistance to competing powers within the country was viewed as destabilizing.

           A particularly unique aspect of the Tokugawa’s politic strategy was requiring the daimyos’ families to live in the capital while the daimyo themselves had to go back and forth between their homes in their territory (called a domain) and their homes in the capital every other year. The Shogun essentially held the daimyos’ families hostage to ensure they would not rebel or work against him, although they lived in the comfort and relative freedom of a modern city, not as actual prisoners.

           Another tactic the Shogun utilized to quell rebellion was to keep careful control of who entered the city of Edo and its surroundings. Guards were at all entrances and major roads and registries were kept of all people. Essentially, if you weren’t suppose to be somewhere, you weren’t allowed to be there.

           Bushdio also developed during this period as way of controlling the warrior class, and was much more complicated than most Western depictions. With war and feudal fighting no longer a constant threat, the samurai class became enforces for the new government. Naturally, the Shogun was particularly interested in controlling them.

           Control is a common theme of the Tokugawa Shogun’s government.

           The Tokugawa Period was one of peace and stability, prosperity and enjoyment of the arts, but Ieyasu Tokugawa was not a nice person. He hunted down and executed the families of rival clans, including kids, during the takeover. He held families hostage and made sure his subordinates feared him and never stepped out of line. He enacted strict laws to control the populace and made sure no one could challenge him and his government’s reign. And it worked. Japan did not experience another war until the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate 278 years later, when the Emperor regained control and ended the era of isolationism. There’s a reason why modern day Japan doesn’t view this period with derision and loathing; given the context of the time, it was a proud moment for a region racked by warfare and division.

           A pattern is beginning to emerge: an island nation ruled by feuding lords with no central power to direct them; a religious and cultural figure with no real power; a period of intense warfare and turmoil followed by a lasting period of unification and prosperity; a powerful central government headed by a hereditary monarch who took power using ruthlessness and military might; a hereditary monarch who rules through fear and demands fealty; a capital city with strict control of who comes and goes.

           Themes of control and subordination from a central power.

           This is sounds very familiar.

 The Military and Political History of the Fire Nation

           The history of ancient Japan provides a real-world model for understanding the origins of the Fire Nation’s Imperial Government, the Fire Lord and why they rule through fear and military domination. Keep in mind that the Fire Nation is not Japan, but warfare, centralized control and a desire for peace and stability are universal. Ancient Japan’s experience with feudalism, warfare and the eventual peace that came from having a competent central authority can go a long way in applying Avatar’s “East Asian origins” to the Fire Nation and its villains and heroes.

           Using the rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate as a template, the history of the Fire Nation looks like this:

           The Fire Islands were ruled by various feudal lords. These feudal lords engaged in warfare with each other as they vied for ever increasing control. Firebending was the primary source of these lords’ military might. The Fire Sages were recognized as spiritual and religious leaders by the Fire Islands people, but they did not have the practical power necessary to enforce peace upon the lands.

           At the same time, firebending was recognized as being fundamental to the influence of the Fire Sages and the power of the feudal lords. Since fire can destroy houses, burn fields, melt iron and lay waste to non-bending armies, whoever can control and weaponize firebending for their own purposes will attain the most power. On the other hand, this also makes warfare particularly destructive as even small rebellions could lay waste to cities given how much fire a single firebender can unleash.

           At some point, in order to put a stop to the fighting, a central authority came to power, either as one of those warlords or a Fire Sage acquiring enough military and political power. Maybe an avatar helped them. Without a doubt, military might had to have played a role in ending the “Warring States” period of the Fire Islands.

           In order to make sure the Fire Islands did not fall back into fighting and remained peaceful and stable, this new central authority created a sweeping national government to control them. Thus are the beginnings of the Fire Lord and Imperial Government.

           Because the Fire Nation is full of people with ”desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want” (in the words of Uncle Iroh), the destructive capacity inherent to a nation full of firebenders must be kept under strict control; if the goal is to create a prosperous, flourishing society, you cannot allow it to be destroyed periodically by walking flamethrowers.

           As a result, the Imperial Government is not a “friendly” entity. It controls the nobility and lords who act as the local “vassals” in their home territories; it amasses a large, overwhelming military to quash any attempts at rebellion, and to send a clear message to its people to not even try; it uses fear and threats of violence to control the people who might feel the “drive and willpower” to try their hand at acquiring wealth and power through force.

           The Agni Kai exists as a means of settling conflict without the destructive consequences of firebending. Perhaps a Fire Lord enacted this to further tamp down on firebenders’ destructive tendencies. It may also be an example of how the Fire Nation’s “warrior class” handles internal disputes in a similar manner as bushido.

           Bravery, ferocity and a willingness to fight are valued in the leadership of the country because the Imperial Government is supposed to be a military entity first; how can the Fire Lord, their family and government inspire fear in the people if the people don’t believe they will be crushed if they step out of line?

           At the same time, since the Fire Nation is much smaller than the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Lord must ensure they can defend the Fire Nation from invasion; you need a large, devoted, competent military to go up against an enemy multiple times your size.

           In order to further control the country, the Fire Lord requires the families of the lords and nobility to live in the closed-off, guarded capital inside the caldera in a similar manner as the Tokugawa Shogunate required. This is why the capital is so guarded and closed-off, yet beautiful and comfortable; it is both a defensive measure for the administrative officials and a means of holding the nobility “hostage”.

           The Fire Lord and Royal Family views themselves as presiding over, and maintaining the peace and stability of the Fire Nation. Their responsibility is to ensure that the peaceful Fire Nation does not fall back into the chaotic Fire Islands. Being nice and democratic is not their means of achieving this; making sure everybody subordinates themselves to the Imperial Government is.

           After hundreds of years of peace and an unprecedented era of prosperity, the Fire Nation began to lose its internal enemies. The lords and nobility were under full control. The Imperial Government was vast and efficient. Nobody was trying to invade the Fire Nation. Everyone was happy and proud of their culture and government.

            This allowed Sozin to begin looking outward. Using the all-powerful Imperial Government apparatus developed over the centuries, plus the sweeping loyalty to it ingrained into the public, he was able to get the country to go to war against the world. The militarism inherent to the Fire Nation’s leadership was not crafted out of whole cloth but simply cranked up and sent down a dark path.

           The military being so willing to go along with it was because of their inherent loyalty to the Imperial Government and their culture of aggression and lust for battle necessary for warriors. This is actually where the 20th century Imperial Japan connections come in, but that’s a separate topic.

            In summary, the Fire Lord and Royal Family view themselves as stewards of the peace and order of the Fire Nation. They see their responsibility as doing whatever it takes to prevent the “bad old days” from returning and that the Fire Nation is never weakened by foreign invaders. They rule through coercion and fear in order to ensure a country full of people who can shoot fire out of their hands remain subservient to the Imperial Government’s will. They embrace a culture of fighting because their primary goal is to prevent fighting by deterring those who might want to try.

An Alternate View of the Fire Nation’s Villains

           Viewing the Fire Nation’s culture, government and leadership through the lens of Japanese history paints a more coherent picture of the Fire Nation’s villains, versus the M.C. Escher-like theories that result from focusing entirely on mental illness and personality disorders.

           Look at it like this: the Fire Lord demands fealty and obedience from the people yet Azula’s emphasis on controlling people through fear is a result of Freudian Excuses and personality disorders?

           No way.

           Ruling through fear and coercion is necessary from the viewpoint of a soldier-princess who is supposed to command obedience from subjects, or else.

           Agni Kais are expected events in Fire Nation culture, so common that child-Zuko is perfectly happy to face the general over mere “disrespect”, but the Fire Lord challenging his son to one is uniquely out of line? It’s awful, I mean, really awful, but it’s not out of line and it says a lot about the ingrained culture of the Fire Nation; Ozai didn’t think it would be viewed as shameful by everyone watching. Keep in mind that the tale of the 47 Ronin started with one member of the nobility insulting the other (essentially) and being asked to commit suicide simply for drawing a weapon inside Edo Castle (strictly forbidden). If Ozai can have his power challenged as any other Fire Lord can, then nobody was willing to oppose him because everyone else supported him.

           Iroh spends a lifetime invading the Earth Kingdom, no doubt killing tens of thousands, and he can joke about burning Ba Sing Se to the ground? Of course he can, because it’s what Fire Nation generals do and part of the terrible culture that must be changed, as horrible as it was. The prince-general is supposed to be a military leader and enjoy what he does. He better not be squeamish.

           Zuko is expected to be “loved and adored” for having firebending talent, courtly manners (to quote official descriptions of Azula) and intelligence in a similar fashion as his prodigal, early-blooming sister? Yes, because she bloomed early as the type of princess the nobility and leadership want and expect. It’s unfortunate they were so hard on Zuko, but now we know why he wasn’t “adored” like his sister; she was what others wanted Zuko to be.

           Ty Lee is strong-armed by Azula into leaving the life she loves, even having her life threatened, when Ty Lee is a family member of the nobility that the Imperial Government seeks to control? Of course she is strong-armed. Can you really imagine this scenario playing out:

           Those lines are taken from the show. Sounds a lot different, doesn’t it? Ignore the smirking and smugness for a moment and think about what is actually happening: a supreme military leader and heir to the throne is bullying a subordinate in order to get what they are entitled to; unwavering loyalty from a subject. Doesn’t make it good. Doesn’t make Ty Lee’s fear and loathing of Azula any less justified, but it puts it in a much more relevant context than vague theories of sadism and personality disorders. It also tells us something about the real ancient world: this how military rulers in East Asia’s history behaved and now you’re getting to see it in a fictional setting.

           Fire Lord Azulon orders one of his sons to execute their son? That’s bad. Really bad. Did you also know that Ieyasu Tokugawa ordered his own son to commit suicide over suspicion he was conspiring against him? He didn’t want to but those were the wishes of the lord he was working with to win the war. That’s really bad too, and not shocking for the era, unfortunately. The leaders of the ancient world valued human life a lot less than people do now. It’s sad they didn’t value it more.

           Manipulating subordinates (i.e. playing them off each other) and being ruthless were not frowned upon, but legitimate tactics. Murder and backstabbing were useful means of getting rid of an opposing leader. What mattered was winning, and the blood on your hands could simply be washed off, and if people didn’t like you for it? Well, were they in charge?

           None of this is “good”. None of this is moral, or righteous, or anything close to how people should act in the modern era. However, these were not kleptocratic dictators like we see around the world today. These were legitimate administrative rulers by their day’s standards, and we (you and me) will never truly know what they were feeling when they woke up in the morning with the responsibilities of warfare and politicking.

           We will never be able to completely relate to what these ancient leaders did. Do you know what it’s like to be the law in the land who can order people to commit suicide, and who will do it? Do you know what it’s like to prosecute a political and military war against multiple opponents across a vast country? Do you know what it’s like to manage an ancient authoritarian government after hundreds of years of warfare and chaos? None of us will, but that’s the kind of situation that a fictional country like the Fire Nation can take inspiration from, and should take inspiration from.

           These were all very real problems of the ancient world and problems which Avatar, as a fictional work, can allow us to explore in the safety and comfort of not actually having to be there (and without having to open up huge history books).

Summary

           The Fire Nation’s political and military history can be modeled on ancient Japan’s, in particular the rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate, where the Fire Lord represents the shogun and the Fire Sages the emperor.

           The Fire Nation capital is both the head of the administration and home to the nobility’s families, who are held as hostages (in comfort) to prevent the various lords from rebelling.

           The Royal Family and Imperial Government rules through fear and threats of force because they have to keep a country full of walking flamethrowers in line.

           As military leaders who can have their power challenged, firebending talent and military prowess are highly valued and necessary for Fire Lords. At the same time, the rest of the country’s leadership wants leaders who appear worthy of that power and authority, hence those who have all the right qualities (Azula) are viewed in higher regard than those who have less (Zuko).

           Azula’s emphasis on using “fear to control people” is not a psychological hang-up but a natural tactic of the Fire Lord, military, and Imperial Government to maintain obedience; as a teenager with limited life experience, she has internalized her role as a princess and warrior to the detriment of her personal relationships and emotional maturity (this is where the “child soldier” narrative has relevance).

           Ozai represents the pinnacle of self-interest, authoritarianism and militarism that the combination of Sozin’s War and the longstanding nature of the Imperial Government have combined to create. In the ancient world, lords waged warfare for two reasons: to acquire power or pre-emptively wipe out rivals. Ozai wants power.

           Ozai challenging Zuko to an Agni Kai is awful but not unusual, hence why he felt he could do it at all. Agni Kais are a fundamental aspect of conflict resolution in the Fire Nation, most likely because the Fire Nation’s leadership values bravery and a willingness to fight very highly. As Zuko was a prince and future leader of the warrior class, those values applied to him as well, but they got applied to him far too young (again, this is where the “child soldier” narrative has relevance).

           And finally, by modeling the motivations of the Fire Nation’s villains and heroes on the military leaders of ancient Japan, you have the opportunity to learn about and critique that ancient society while also giving it a fictional flare.

           As a final remark on applying the history of ancient Japan to the Fire Nation, the Tokugawa Shogunate ended when the Emperor forcibly took control of the Tokugawa government in order to end the forced isolationism. If ancient Japan hadn’t been pressured to adapt to more advanced European civilizations (say, if it existed in a vacuum) then the Tokugawa Shogunate might have continued to be the longest and most stable period in Japanese history; post-World War 2 Japan is only 70 years old while the Tokugawa Shogunate lasted for 278. When the Emperor wrested control of the country from the Shogunate, there was already enough peace, stability and government bureaucracy in place to lead a rapid transition of the country into modernity. That was the ultimate value of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

           If the Fire Islands had not unified under a central authority, then they might have never industrialized so rapidly during that “unprecedented time of peace and prosperity” and may have eventually been conquered by the Earth Kingdom (should an EK conqueror have found a way of killing the Avatar, or taking advantage of their absence).

Conclusion

           Think about ancient Japan for a moment. All of the warring lords. The conquest and ruthless political maneuvering. The ruling through fear and totalitarian control. What is a more reasonable explanation for the behavior of that society: mental illness and personality disorders, or universal concepts of ancient nation-building?

           What makes more sense for furthering Avatar’s East Asian themes in terms of the Fire Nation: sociopathy, personality disorders, lack of fundamental human qualities, petty bullies and insecure abusers? Or universal concepts of ancient nation-building in the context of people who can shoot fire out of their hands?

           Was Ieyasu Tokugawa suffering from a personality disorder? Was ancient Japan swimming with people who lacked fundamental human traits? That would be and absolutely extraordinary anomaly of human genetic variation.

           When discussing the evils of the Fire Nation, you have to start with the in-world context that created them, and in order to understand that context, you have to apply some East Asian history. Why “decent” or “normal” people end up doing terrible things is a question as old as humanity itself and should not be erased from Avatar.

           In order to understand why Ozai and Azula seem like “bad” people to us, it’s because the rulers of ancient Japan acted like bad people. Zuko can’t be soft and fumbling. Azula can’t let people say no to her. Iroh can’t abandon the siege with no consequences. Ozai can’t let Zuko refuse to fight. As bad as many of these things are, they are driven by the fact these people are the most powerful entities in their country and must show their fire-wielding subordinates that they deserve their power and should not be challenged. There is no room for weakness, only strength and competence.

           When you resort to psychological theories or genetic anomalies to explain the Fire Nation’s villains, you erase the opportunities to tie the Fire Nation to critical elements of East Asian history, namely the rise and success of the Tokugawa Shogunate. By relating the main villains of Avatar to the very real “villains” of the ancient world, you preserve the East Asian themes that make Avatar unique and informative to a Western audience and help shed light on what drove them to be what they were.

[whateverthedragonswant]

I normally try to keep things light on here and just keep it fandom-only. I mean, we all have dealt with enough this past year and the world can make all of us a bit weary at one time or another. But I want to talk about something here that I think is super important in the face of Walker premiering this week, and in light of Jared’s recent comments. 

Trigger warning: there is mention of suicidal ideation below

So today was a little bit of a rough day for me personally but just really small stuff, like lazy co-workers and nasty callers, things like that. All stupid, small stuff. When that kind of thing happens and I find myself starting to get sucked into the bs or under a little bit of a dark cloud, I put on things that will make me laugh as background noise. Sometimes stand-up routines, sometimes podcasts, that kind of thing. The last couple of months, I’ve been replaying Jensen and Misha Jibcon videos, along with some from Jared and Misha or J2 once in a while. Today’s was Jensen and Misha’s 2016 Jibcon and while it helped perk up my mood as the two of them were hilarious (as always), a part of it caught my attention and well... it hit hard.

Misha talks about a mom and daughter who approached him at a past con (starts at 0:20) and the daughter mentioned how if it wasn’t for the show, she wouldn’t be here. And the mom agreed and was crying, which made Misha emotional as well.

I thought it over for a moment and then rewatched him talking about it again. It hit me especially hard because I know just what that daughter was talking about, what Misha then goes on to say and Jensen. As a human, as someone who has been there, as someone that knew others who had been there...it’s tough, to say the least. Personally, I couldn’t do what these guys do. I would be an emotional mess that needed to take a break every two minutes. So I give them credit, but more importantly, I give this girl and everyone who has had the courage to approach and tell these guys their personal stories even more credit.  

But this... This is why people are upset with Dean’s ending and how his part of that whole finale went. Not just because his character deserved better (he did) and not just because it would have made more sense for the story they had been telling since season 10 (it would have). It’s because of this. The dangerous message that was given out by choosing this ending for Dean, a character who infamously had low self-worth, expected to die young, and had perpetuated suicide ideation within the story line more than once.

“At least my life can mean something.” - Dean

“And it didn’t before?” - Bobby 

Especially with that line of dialogue from the death scene: “We always knew it would end this way for me” + the only time he gets any peace, any happiness is in Heaven? = HORRIBLE MESSAGING to those who identify with Dean and his character, possibly having had to deal with some similar issues and traumas

How horrific for a show that not only was aware of this but also encouraged the interaction with said fans that approached them to tell their stories and how they identified with the story/these characters, calling all of us the SPN Family. Right? That was my first reaction after the finale aired. ‘How could you do this to all of those who told you what Dean meant to them?’ 

The thing is, the actors (Jensen & Mish included) know this (how important this story and characters are to people) and they did things themselves outside of the show to acknowledge this (i.e. Always Keep Fighting, Random Acts, You Are Not Alone) as well as other issues and traumatic experiences fans were dealing with as Misha says above, how important the show and these characters are to the fans, the SPN Family. The show itself was very well aware of this importance, this self-identification that took place with Dean’s story, Sam’s story, Cas’ story, and the other stories presented in the series. These guys are front and center with the fans they interacted with and met with on a frequent basis. They know. 

And like Sam has said to Dean in the show: “How can you care so little about yourself?” 

So they all know. And what floors me is that they did do the right thing. They took it all to heart and they gave it their best, gave it their all, as much as they could have. They never forgot how important this was to people. Not just the cast or J2M. This includes the crew and yes, even most if not all of the writers. I know you’re probably thinking that’s not the case due to the dumpster fire finale we got, the one with the worst messages possible mentioned above, but here’s the thing: if you don’t see that episode breaking the 4th wall to let you know that this episode was not theirs anymore and it was the network’s (and it’s totally fine if you don’t), you at least know from that bridge crew shot and the message J2 both said that they do still appreciate their fans. What other series finale do you get one of those messages included the way they did it? And the writers did start moving Dean away from what they originally planned back in the early seasons to be Dean’s end. We see that starting as far back as season 10, beginning with that confession scene in 10x16. We even see Dean and Sam starting to break their toxic co-dependency. Lucifer says it in season 11 when trying to convince Sam to let him ride shotgun out of Hell to go fight Amara. “That’s not you anymore.” And he says this after revisiting when Sam sacrificed himself to save Dean and the world, which came after the scene of Sam and Amelia with the dog (and he didn’t look for Dean when Dean was in Purgatory). They were effectively trying to get the brothers to a healthier point individually and together, especially Dean. The point is, they knew. 

But the network...well that’s a whole other ball game to put it nicely. They knew, too, but... We know by now that the finale was a backdoor pilot for Walker. We know how this network works. They are the ones who don’t care about the messaging they are putting out unless it’s an advertising message. This is why networks leave the stories to the creatives. They bankroll them and stamp ownership upon the content and that’s it. They are not supposed to get involved in the story being told, not to this extent at least. Because they are executives, people who look at numbers whether they be ratings or how much money made or expenses, contracts, etc. They don’t give a flying fig about the story and how people view the story (except that they’re viewing it) and as long as it doesn’t cause a massive uproar (i.e. D&D’s new show that just got cancelled by HBO this year) that will come back to bite them where the sun doesn’t shine.

So that’s why I think Jared’s comments, while it’s obvious that he’s parroting things the network would say regarding Walker and the end of SPN, hit so hard for some. Not just about the erasure of Eileen but also about Sam living on being Dean’s success story. That wasn’t a success story. Take all the other issues out of it, let’s pretend Sam is any other sibling on TV or IRL, and what would we say to how Jared is framing it? He lived his life well to honor his brother but you don’t call it a success story because that person is no longer there. That’s not success. And ten times out of ten, that sibling would prefer to have the one they lost back if they could, rather than wanting to honor them in the first place.

Jared, my dude, I know you probably gave this interview a bit ago and it was then released in a timely fashion but did we not just learn how powerful words can be in this country in the past two weeks? We all got a valuable lesson on how impactful our words can be, especially when we have a large platform. Especially, since you are a public figure, have done PR before, and know how you need to watch your words on social media platforms. Especially, since Always Keep Fighting and hearing how people/the SPN Family closely relate to Dean and to Sam yourself. I love you but please, think it through before you speak next time, especially when it comes to that part of the finale/story/ending. 

To be fair, articles and magazines, quotes always get taken out of context during the interviews, but this...I was a little surprised by this. It didn’t eradicate my love for Jared but now after rewatching this video and thinking on it more, I see why people are angry, why people are pissed at him. Especially when it comes to Dean’s story. I have had my own rough patch as I’m sure some other people on this site have as well at one time or another, similar to that girl’s story that Misha talks about, and while SPN/Dean/Cas were not what helped me get through it, what did is very important to me. And it would hurt me deeply if someone made similar comments about something that is so personal to me and helped me through one of the darkest times in my life, basically diminishing the impact it had on me and something so deeply personal to me. So I can only imagine how that girl is feeling now, how most of those who hated the messaging behind Dean’s death and his ending feel.

The only thing I can say that may be a source of light for those hurting who identified with Dean, is that confession scene that Robert Berens wrote in 15x18. If you don’t ship Destiel, that’s fine. That’s not what I’m talking about. Listen to the words he says to Dean, we all know how important they are for Dean to hear, for his story. And not just because it helps him with Chuck’s end in the next episode. Not just because Dean may or may not love Cas back. Because Dean needed to hear all of that. It may be a painful scene for some to watch due to Cas’ death soon after, due to Dean’s obvious pain at the end of the episode, but that part, that is light and love and something worth holding onto. Not just for Dean or the show but also for yourself.

Dean may be a fictional character. It may be a fictional story on a TV screen. But it meant something to a lot of people, from all different walks of life.