#Critical Ditto

[deepblueink2d]

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*NEW ANIMATION *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ So excited for this one! Join our Pokemon heroes from

@criticalditto fight, flirt heavily and scheme in today's animation "Plotting against the Pokemon League - Critical Ditto Animated" going live later!

[arogoldpika123]

In other news, I've been binge relistening to Critical Ditto. Even better then I remember.

[moonknightproductions]

Found a new tabletop podcast where it’s a home brew Pokémon narrative called Critical Ditto and I’m so excited to listen to it because it sounds AWESOME

[septic-aye]

Some old critical dotto fan art based off of some if those group pose references :)

[carboncorvidart]

I've been listening to the Critial Ditto podcast almost every night winding down from work. It's been a delight. I think my favourite moment so far was them yeeting a Slowpoke off an airship. Slowpoke, you know what to do. -toss- They even said he has a little kings rock parachute. It's been living rent-free in my head for over a week now.

[ducksbellorum]

[kimabutch]

Finally watched EXU Calamity and I'm just in awe of how good that was. Heartbreaking, hilarious, nerve-wrecking (I was stress-crocheting through most of it), beautiful.

As someone who struggles to create characters that make terrible life choices and hurt other people, I'm just amazed by those characters, the roleplaying, and the choices. Luis really showing with Zerxus why paladins are my favourite class when they're fucked up in a righteously arrogant way, hitting so many of my favourite tropes at once. Marisha and Lou creating these amazing character arcs in a handful of sessions. Travis and Brennan roleplaying such a realistic parent/children dynamic. Aabria and Sam breaking my heart over and over again with Laerynn and Quay's love story. I could write so much more about the characters and they're going to live in my heart for a long time.

[pitotube]

"live action httyd" sounds like a parody made to mock live action remakes i'm like weirdly fascinated by it

[randomnameless]

As you said just war theory isn't really relevant in current international law isn't really relevant anymore and the UN sees no war justified unless it's in self-defence (like Ukraine fighting back). If the person genuinely wanted to use just war theory you would expect them to use sources like Aristotle, St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and Hugo Grotius, not contemporary sources like the Red Cross.

IIRC the "Just War" theory had a resurgence during the early 2000s, but, well...

As for the sources, that's why I don't think this essay was an academical essay but felt closer to a 10k words redshit "essay", where you cite random sources, no sources, or at times, Wikipedia (Wiki is useful to find sources, but then you should read the article sourced, not the abstract Bob wrote on the wiki article!).

I still think discussing "Just War" regarding Fodlan is as pointless as discussing sewer facilities in Magvel, because the games aren't interested in depicting those topics in detail.

[blujayonthewing]

really funny being at least mildly parasocial with A Creative who made something you didn't end up liking, like 'well my official opinion of this piece of media is I'm really happy for my very good friend(s) for getting to make it, I know this project means a lot to them, I hope it brings them joy'

[psqqa]

okay wait, because i can never edit tags on poll posts and the notes on that one are like genuinely catching me off guard: do americans for real not use duvet covers? like as a rule? across the entire country? like you’re all just using random blankets or quilts and shit all the time? and then sticking a sheet between you and the blanket pile? or is this one of those “depends on where you are but obviously each regional standard is considered universal by its adherents” situations?

[pocketgalaxies]

"you'll leave me alone?? D: i'm canonically a coward!!!"

[rotzaprachim]

reading retrospective 2023: extremely thick and unexpectedly gripping general histories 

[randomnameless]

Yay!

The beginning of the, uh... Well.

I don't even understand what Almyra was supposed to be, in the devs's mind, like, it's basically barbarian land, but also, Nader can ask the King to please sign this paper and don't think too much about it - and it actually works so their entire navy is deployed on a foreign front ?

I wonder what would have happened, in a potential AU, if Adrestia used Claude and the Allian- Federation to wage war on Faerghus, while Edel actually uses this opportunity to target the now defenseless Almyra (iirc when Shahid died, he mounted one of the biggest invasions in history?).

Too bad that's not the story they wanted to tell....

So those Houses that wanted to defect to the Kingdom didn’t because Claude’s battle was that bloody in that fire map.

Remember who terminated a house who also wanted to defect when they disagreed with the "regime"?

That's right, our good friend Ionius! GW!Claude is basically ripping a page out of Edel's - disliked by everyone - dad!

He truly became Adrestian /s

So, let me make sure I have this right. Mr. I Want to End Prejudice Between Cultures just provoked Sreng into attacking the Kingdom so Edelgard can take it over because Rhea is the reason for everything bad. Did I get that right?

Hm,

Iirc, he more or less told Sreng he was too going to attack the Kingdom, more or less telling them Dimitri is busy figting the Empire on another front.

But Sreng apparently attacked before Claude could make his move (or was it calculated to send them as fodder), and here goes.

Never forget though, Rhea BaD.

CLAUDE & HOLST A SUPPORT

Oh Naga.

It’s also hysterical to hear Claude talk about wanting to improve foreign relations while instigating a war between two cultures.

Casual reminder that Claude here is talking to Holst, the Head (or is his dad?) of House Goneril, the only House in Fodlan that keeps slaves, I mean, welcomes Almyra children to their abode, asks them to do gruelling work for them, treat them like trash and feeds them once per month.

FE16 didn't tackle this issue because no one gives a fuck about Cyril I guess - especially not Claude in the Cyril'n'Hilda paralogue - but if I could have thought it was a grievous oversight in FE16, given the angle Nopes approaches this issue...

You can really make a point that Claude is talking about "improving foreign relationships!" with the slave owners, without giving three figs about said slaves, or, and worse, it's meant to be a tragicomedy, like Lysithea's support with Edel in CF.

I was half wondering if Holst's beef against Rhea and the CoS couldn't be partly fueled by the fact Rhea "stole House Goneril's property" when she took Cyril in Garreg Mach...

House Goneril GoOd and will promote foreign relationships - once they free their slaves I guess? Or at least feed them? - with Almyra - who was depicted in FE16 as barbarians who raid for funsies, and in this game, as people who pillage and rampage for the same funsies...

Rhea BaD? Rhea BaD. Church BaD.

Hilda’s cleaning, and Linhardt’s honestly upset that he’s lost a fellow lazy person. Hilda claims she never pushes work on people. That, is a lie.

I know I'm beating a reanimated horse here, but after learning House Goneril has child "servants who do all the hard work and eat every blue moon", Hilda's trope of being "lazy" or pushing her work on people is really... off-putting, and that is to put it kindly.

But Cyril isn't playable in Nopes, so we can stop caring about him! Yay?

Oh, joy, Nadar wants to plunder Faerghus. I can see why Fodlan is so evil for not wanting to let them do what they will. GW really had a chance here to finally do something interesting with Almyra. It even marketed itself as a route that WOULD. But instead it’s just doubled-down on Almyra being a one-note lawless place full of barbarians. At least we have Brigid and Duscur so the only brown country isn’t some racist stereotype. Since it’s only 1 of 3, it’s not AS bad of a look.

What I find even more ridiculous is how this route can basically be interpretated as Claude thinking Fodlan isn't "Almyran" enough, so he will tear down Fodlan and its "oudated" customs like chivalry and whatever "be nice to each other" Rhea preaches to make way for more "bringing souvenirs" tours or rampages.

And the fact Lorenz plays for laughs the "tut-tut Nader, we've said no pillaging, right?" when Holst and House Goneril, who had been fighting against Almyrans for centuries can't even add some "and you really want us to side with people like them??", to make some of their prejudice be based on "real" actions, is even more insulting.

What is even the story they wanted to tell here? Rhea is evil because Almyrans are barbarians and Faerghus people are just trying to protect their lands?

That’s right guys. Margrave Gautier died defending his king, his country, his home, and most importantly one of his fucking best friends from an asshole invader. But it’s CULTURE’S fault he died.

How dare he protect his friend, his son and his people??? TFW Faerghus culture is so backwards, Claude must bring them civilisatio

As a sidenote, as stupid as this scene was, I thought it was a nice throwback at CF!Claude, who cannot understand why Hilda died to protect him, instead of running away like he told her to.

In CF though, he is obviously touched and mourns her death, not giving his pseudo-Caellach lines.

I’m really confused what the hell Claude thinks he’s doing. Does he REALLY think killing Rhea will magically allow people to live as they please? Didn’t he grow up in another country where they had princes and shit and NO Rhea?? All he’s doing is making Edelgard’s take over easier.

Rhea BaD.

That's all you need to know.

If people die, it's because of her, if people are asses, it's because of her, if nobility exist, it's because of the Church (this take is sponsorised by FEH's B!Lysithea!), if crops don't grow, it's because of her, if I forgot the pie in the over, it's also because of Rhea.

What’s his plan? Kill everyone in Faerghus - profit - “freedom” from Rhea - Edelgard takes over - no profit???

No RL comparisons, but invading a place to get rid of their "backwards" culture, and free them from their "religion" really brings back nasty vibes...

I’m convinced someone who’s a major Edelgard stan wrote the larger plot of this, but then a Dimitri stan wrote the actual dialogue

Since Billy's dead you won't be able to witness the ultimate Dimitri fuckery - but I believe the writers were definitely not Dimitri stans, if they were, they took a break during a certain chapter.

We really go from one moment Claude being like - it’s Rhea’s fault Gautier died bc Kingdom culture bad because church bad to Sylvain being like, naw, he died defending his friends.

Claude is poor man's Caellach! At least Caellach had style!

At the very least, I’ll give Hopes credit here. At least they didn’t write anyone opposing Edelgard as either evil or like they’re idiots for resisting invasion, but I almost feel like they made the Kingdom especially too sympathetic which makes Edelgard look more interesting (since SB is more honest than CF) and Claude just look like a bozo. Rhea just doesn’t look like anything since she’s not even here.

The Lolcalisation lolcalised a bit, but Rhea will be hit with some weird lines coming from her, which might be on par with the Firdhiad BBQ at the end of CF. It's not as gruesome though, and could be explained by the fact she's fucking pissed but...

Though, I REALLY wish Claude didn’t side with us in AG. 

Seeing the Kingdom wreck everyone in AG would have been a nice catharsis after playing this route and Supreme Bullshit, but this game instead prefers to make everyone side against a common enemy, so you can keep the "uwu feels" about the three lords working together...

Golden Wildfire Ch 11

On we go to ch 11. Things are . . . uh . . . interesting.

MAIN STORY

So if you didn't see ch 10, I failed to recruit Byleth. I retried the level a few time, but honestly I just want to finish this game so I didn't bother.

Plus, the reason I failed was that Claude just sat there instead of moving forward on the escort mission, which got really frustrating, and honestly I didn't want to bother.

Ugh, I don't want to fight the Kingdom.

So those Houses that wanted to defect to the Kingdom didn't because Claude's battle was that bloody in that fire map.

Poor Dimitri and co seems like he's just betting bullied for no real reason by two imperialistic maniacs.

I love how Arval is getting snooty over Shez getting credit for their tactics lamo.

Man, this dialogue is dragging.

So Nadar is going to cause diplomatic chaos by utilizing the Almyran army without getting real permission.

Wait, Claude riled up Sreng? So much for "ending racism" lamo. Wasn't having two cultures not be prejudice against each other like his MO? The writers really just threw him in the trash, hunh.

I feel so bad for Claude fans. He's really a piece of work in this.

MAP/SIDE STUFF

Everyone missing Judith has a lot more punch than Randolph. Even Monica was like "get over it" to Fleche (but nicely).

So, let me make sure I have this right. Mr. I Want to End Prejudice Between Cultures just provoked Sreng into attacking the Kingdom so Edelgard can take it over because Rhea is the reason for everything bad. Did I get that right?

Unlike SB, GW is entertaining as hell, but man is the logic here is just non-existant. And poor Claude RIP.

Like, I know I'm biased and all, but I don't see how you're supposed to be the heroes and not Dimitri here. The people just defending themselves are getting attacked on all 3 fronts for the crime of *existing.*

Not going to lie. I kinda wish Claude didn't side with you in AG either. It would've been hype to kick everyone's ass as Dimitri after getting cornered by all these land-grabbers.

GW!Claude is really just the mean girl's sidekick. 😂

If Felix and Rodrigue die in this chapter I swear to God . . . (I just remembered Rodrigue is dead in SB now 😭 - LET THIS MAN SURVIVE).

I had to fight Felix in a side mission. Lysithea said they had to "defend this place" - like, girl, you are invading.

When the challenge is "you can't dodge" but you're using Lorenz 😌👌 (FYI, he just does not take damage in this game)

SHEZ & HILDA A SUPPORT

They're talking about how Hilda exerted energy in a battle because she worried about Shez.

Hilda claims it's just self-defense bc she was cheering for Shez on the front lines and enemies were there (honestly, this is pretty boring so far)

It's the same-old Hilda claiming she's weak but that not being true.

SHEZ & CONSTANCE C SUPPORT

I know she's an Empire character, but whatever.

She wants to create new magics to restore her noble house and wants to research Shez bc of their weird magic

Lamo, Constance low-key called us dumb

Shez suggests she get her house back through military accomplishments.

Constance refuses to train right now, she wants to at night (it's her dual personality thing, right?)

CLAUDE & LYSITHEA B SUPPORT

Their first one. Claude's unhappy Lysithea charged in the last battle. But Lysithea kicked ass, so she's upset with Claude.

Claude calls her plan dumb and that he thought Lysithea was smarter than that. Lysithea still argues it ended earlier bc of her.

Lysithea doesn't back down.

Honestly, I side with her here. Claude's being patronizing. And it's rich of him not to care about all the other deaths dragging out the battle would cause and only Lysithea dying because she's *important*

CLAUDE & HOLST A SUPPORT

Oof, this one hurts. Claude accuses the church of creating all the systems to serve their own interests, because he doesn't know the truth here. That the Empire actually created most of it, and that all the church ever did was protect a genocided race from being murdered by more power-hungry humans.

It's also hysterical to hear Claude talk about wanting to improve foreign relations while instigating a war between two cultures.

Oof, Holst doesn't care about any of this. He's only worried Claude's going to send Hilda to marry a big, brown, scary foreigner. NOT a good look.

Holst says he cares more about Hilda's future than the whole Alliance. Yikes.

HILDA & HOLST A SUPPORT

They're preparing a feast.

Oh, it's nice to see Hilda's insecurities about Holst's "perfection" come up in this, bc so far she hadn't said much.

After that last support though, Holst is actually a pretty shitty leader.

Holst wants to make the feast all about Hilda instead of himself though. Hilda likes the attention.

Hilda basically had to set up her own feast lol.

HILDA & LINHARDT A SUPPORT

Hilda's cleaning, and Linhardt's honestly upset that he's lost a fellow lazy person.

Hilda claims she never pushes work on people. That, is a lie.

Linhardt is mostly worried how bad it'll look if he's the only one not working instead one of two.

All this support confirms that Linhardt is by far the superior lazy.

LORENZ & LYSITHEA A SUPPORT

Their only support.

So, not related to their support (and watch it counter it), but I find it pretty amusing how getting a leadership position faster matured Felix and Sylvain, but Lorenz is still a bit of a joke and the butt-end of every support he's in.

He's just bragging about how awesome his position and power is.

Lysithea says she's not inheriting her house. She claims it's because she doesn't like what comes with nobility, but we all know why.

She worried that the land will go to chaos without it's leaders though. Lorenz offers help (which, imo, he's actually mature here!)

Lorenz suspects she's turning it down for another reason and encourages her to rely on others to help.

RAPHAEL & LEONIE B SUPPORT

Raphael keeps snapping bows in half when he uses them. Leonie's shocked.

Leonie seems to actually make one and invites Raphael to test it while on guard duty with her.

IGNATZ & MARIANNE B SUPPORT

Marianne found his picture. He puts it down, but she likes it (it's a horse, well a pegasus, but of course)

Ignatz gets carried away talking about it, but Marianne finds it cute.

Ignatz finds Marianne loving pegasus cute. She blushes.

He wants Marianne's help, helping him paint a pegasus bc they don't like men, but if Marianne is around he can get closer and get a better painting. She's happy to help.

Honestly, this whole support is really cute.

MAIN BATTLE/STORY

It sucks having to attack the Kingdom over and over again when all they want to do is exist in peace.

Oh, joy, Nadar wants to plunder Faerghus. I can see why Fodlan is so evil for not wanting to let them do what they will.

GW really had a chance here to finally do something interesting with Almyra. It even marketed itself as a route that WOULD. But instead it's just doubled-down on Almyra being a one-note lawless place full of barbarians. At least we have Brigid and Duscur so the only brown country isn't some racist stereotype. Since it's only 1 of 3, it's not AS bad of a look.

Fuck. I don't want to kill Felix and Rodrigue. It would be one thing if the Kingdom actually provoked this, but Felix and Rodrigue haven't done anything to deserve this.

I get to recruit Ashe again. Is he miserable here too?

Ugh, I was hoping Felix and Rodrigue weren't here. It seems vastly unfair that it's only Kingdom characters who die for reel in this.

Wow. Claude's really an A-class asshole. He told Ashe to surrender because Dimitri wouldn't want him to die. Maybe don't invade for no reason then?

Is Claude also going to single Felix out as a citizen of Faerghus who deserves to live? Or does only Ashe count and not the nobles and unnamed grunts he's slaughtering because he decided to team up with the person who plans on taking over his rule? (not hate to Ashe at all, I honestly feel awful for him in this game)

Ok, so fighting Felix is just a side quest. I'd rather fail a side quest than fight Felix so, going to try to avoid having to kill him. Ugh, he's attacking the engineers. And he's damn right saying he has every right to kill the people who are invading his home.

Thank God, he just retreated.

I still love how Claude got bent out of shape over Ashe, but Lorenz alone has killed 500 citizens of Faerghus this chapter so . . .

Felix is so worried about Rodrigue. I swear the writers wanted you to feel like shit playing this route.

Oh, fuck. Just when I thought I was finished killing people for defending themselves, Daddy Gautier shows up :( He's sacrificing himself to safe Felix and Rodrigue, isn't he?

Oh, fuck. He died for real 😭

It's really hard to like these characters, making mindless chit-chat after killing Sylvain's daddy. I hope Sylvain fucks them up a new one.

I've never wanted to slap a character more than I'd love to slap Claude right now. The moron has the audacity to be surprised people are going to die while he's invading a foreign country. What a fucking stupid moron.

He's also blaming - get this right - chivalry.

I'm like. I'm speechless right now.

That's right guys. Margrave Gautier died defending his king, his country, his home, and most importantly one of his fucking best friends from an asshole invader. But it's CULTURE'S fault he died.

I'm really confused what the hell Claude thinks he's doing. Does he REALLY think killing Rhea will magically allow people to live as they please? Didn't he grow up in another country where they had princes and shit and NO Rhea?? All he's doing is making Edelgard's take over easier.

This is starting to feel like a borderline spoof. Look at us end the war by invading another nation!!! I mean???

What's his plan? Kill everyone in Faerghus - profit - "freedom" from Rhea - Edelgard takes over - no profit???

The writing in this route has gotten really fucking stupid. Like, I LIKE the idea of evil!Claude. Either a Claude who wants to take over all of Fodlan or one who's ruthless and will do anything to preserve Leicester.

But what I don't like is really fucking dumb Claude, which is what GW's devolved into.

Oh, God, now we get a flashback between father and son. Sylvain and Gautier :(

Sylvain better not be fucking recruitable in this route.

Now Sylvain's in charge 😭😭😭😭

I'm convinced someone who's a major Edelgard stan wrote the larger plot of this, but then a Dimitri stan wrote the actual dialogue 😅

We really go from one moment Claude being like - it's Rhea's fault Gautier died bc Kingdom culture bad because church bad to Sylvain being like, naw, he died defending his friends.

At the very least, I'll give Hopes credit here. At least they didn't write anyone opposing Edelgard as either evil or like they're idiots for resisting invasion, but I almost feel like they made the Kingdom especially too sympathetic which makes Edelgard look more interesting (since SB is more honest than CF) and Claude just look like a bozo. Rhea just doesn't look like anything since she's not even here.

Though, I REALLY wish Claude didn't side with us in AG. I really wish we got to see Faerghus backed into a corner and kick everyone's asses. They've very much the underdog and watching them do that would've been awesome.

Felix and Rodrigue are beating themselves up over this.

See, this is what I mean - Sylvain just said he's reserving all his hatred for the foreign invaders who take everything for no reason - I really feel like a Dimitri fan saw how everyone collectively decided to take a dump on the Kingdom in the big plot and got revenge by making everyone look like villains (or morons in Claude's case) for doing so in the writing.

xxx

[animebw]

Hot take inspired by the Ranma 1/2 remake: Anime Pervert Nonsense was way better back in the days when most protagonists were perverts on purpose, as opposed to today's "Whoops! I accidentally walked in on you changing then fell into your boobs!" nonsense.

Like, this is something I've noticed across all Rumiko Takahashi's works. Whether Inuyasha, Urusei Yatsura or Ranma, when one of the characters acts like a skirt-chasing creep who can't keep his hands off a pretty girl, it's usually framed as something that is keeping them from happiness. Ataru's womanizing is the biggest obstacle between him and Lum, ditto Miroku and Sango. And while Ranma's much less of an active creep, his few moments of peeping under Akane's skirt serve the same purpose of keeping their relationship combative and at odds with each other. Hell, you can also throw in Yusuke from Yu Yu Hakusho; he fits this framework so perfectly I wouldn't be surprised if Togashi was a big fan of Takahashi's works. In each case, the guy is protrayed as an immature, insensitive manchild who will eventually have to grow up, stop being such a lecher, and commit himself to the girl he actually cares about.

In other words, being a pervert is a character flaw he is expected to get over by the story's end. It's something we as the audience are supposed to want to see him stop doing. Compare that to today and it's practically reversed: the Accidental Pervert trope is an excuse to let the audience enjoy that violation while leaving the protagonist (and the audience) supposedly blameless. It's not something the protagonist is supposed to get over because it's "not his fault" in the first place. And if anything, more often it's framed at the woman's fault for getting so worked up over an accident. How fucked up is that? A trope that started as something male characters were supposed to get over for the sake of the women they care about somehow twists around to become something female characters are scolded to stop making a big deal out of while letting men indulge in as much as they want?

And I'm not saying the old way of doing things is free from criticism, god no. There's plenty of reasons to consider it problematic even in this form. But at least there's this underlying intent of "Violating women's boundaries is something that this guy needs to stop doing if he wants to grow into a fully realized man." It's ultimately something we're supposed to want to stop happening, no matter how humorously it's framed. But in its modern incarnation? It's instead an excuse it let it keep happening as many times as the author wants. And it makes me want to personally smack every male author on Takahashi-sensei's behalf.

[ewingstan]

What's the shylock dilemma you referred to in your last post?

That's not a standard term or anything, its just what I use to describe characters who I find interesting, but who are also horrible stereotypes, and whose interesting qualities cannot be isolated from what makes them a harmful stereotype. Shylock from The Merchant of Venice is a prototypical example of this, a character who's interesting because of his justified rage towards the bigoted society around him and towards the antisemitic protagonists in particular, but who only exhibits this in the course of his broader characterization as a greedy and bloodthirsty usurer.

Another example of the same phenomenon would be Tuco Ramírez from "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly," whose characterization as a humorous buffoon, entertainingly sly trickster, and tragic figure are ultimately just extensions of the way he serves as a horrendous brownface caricature of Mexicans. He's only legible as part of a Western imaginary that sees Mexicans as brutes and rapists: savage, disreputable, and "ugly" by nature.

Wildbow has written several queer characters that fit into this mold, in ways the fandom comments on frequently: Amy's characterization in Worm as a tragic victim of family dynamics are ultimately in service to a story about the uncontrollable sexual urges of a homosexual deviant. Her use in Ward as a critique of offloading moral responsibility onto circumstances is motivated by a perceived need to make her less sympathetic, and is accomplished by doubling-down on characterizing her as a predatory deviant with uncontrollable urges. Tristan's backstory has been perhaps my favorite part of Ward so far, but at its core its the story of a man harming his brother in order to pursue homosexual relationships.

I wouldn't necessarily group Alec in as an example of this; rather than being a necessary aspect of his story and what makes it interesting, the detail of him raping both women and men men as a child could've been removed without needing to change anything else in his story. Ditto for Kenzie specifically attempting to force a relationship between herself and another girl. They're both incidentally bisexual, and their characterization wouldn't lose anything if they weren't written as bisexual—certainly, they didn't need to have their bisexuality revealed in the course of recounting their acts of sexual violence.

The same can't be said for Amy and Tristan: Amy's intense shame and repression as a closeted lesbian is an important aspect of the way the Guts and Glory plotline critiques the expectation parents impose on their children to conform to the idealized nuclear family dynamic. It intensifies her feeling of being an outsider, of not fitting the blond, presentable, heroic ideal they represent, of not being able to happily be paired off with the rich or influential boys her family pushes her to pursue. And its an aspect of her worries that she's intrinsically a bad person: The fear that her villainous parentage determines her character, that she ultimately just can't fit into her heroic adopted family, is a major component of her dogmatic early view of heroes as good and villains as evil, and her downward spiral when she realizes that being a hero can't protect her from being a bad person (I go into more detail here). Her sense that something is inherently wrong with her as a product of her shitty upbringing, and the way it leads to tragedy, is her story. You can't just snip out the homophobia by having her not be a lesbian the way you can with Kenzie.

Similarly, Tristan's interesting in part because his is the story of a guy who's denied getting to pursue the happiness afforded to his brother, because forcing someone to live through a "normal" romantic straight relationships is seen by the Vera siblings' corporate handlers as less unreasonable than forcing them to live through a "wilder" gay sexual-and-romantic relationship. And the text does actually criticize this viewpoint, at least in places. Byron making Tristan sit through dates with a person who absolutely hates everything about him, whose mutual attraction is based in part on their shared disdain for Tristan's "peacock" qualities—its horrible, and the text does a good job selling it as horrible despite Byron framing things differently in his narration. The desperation fueling Tristan's actions being, in part, a realization that society will let Byron trample over Tristan to pursue his felicity because it sees it as "safe" but wont let Tristan do the same—its one of the strongest aspects of their plotline for me (more details on this reading of Tristan's reaction to the Byron/Moonsong coupling here). But having it be part of that plotline necessarily means having another story where a gay character hurts their straight sibling to pursue their deviant urges. Again, you can't just snip out the homophobia while keeping all the interesting thematic stuff, the latter only follows from the former given the story's setup.

This isn't to say wildbow couldn't have written stories that cover the same thematic ground without being homophobic. Its just to say that he couldn't have done so while still telling anything resembling the story of Amy Dallon or the story of Tristan Vera. And to be clear, as much as I love Amy and Tristan's stories, I don't think they're merits "make up" for their homophobic writing—no more than the famous "Do we not bleed" monologue makes up for Shakespeare writing the most infamous antisemitic caricature this side of The Protocols.