#Except arguably maybe not that much of an idiot?

[cookie-nom-nom]

Idk about anyone else but I’m having a fun time picturing Ivan as the irresponsible captain Taylor.

[suzukiblu]

Day seven of “obligatory sugar baby Kon” behind the cut. tw: implications of past grooming/abuse and the inherent problems in someone who was in that situation trying to flirt with someone actually age-appropriate. prev: (( chrono || non-chrono ))

“. . . ‘fast’,” Kon echoes awkwardly, glancing down at their hands. Tim tries not to wince. He definitely sounds like an idiot or a prude or–whatever. Just incredibly, incredibly uncool. 

He has actually never felt less like a prude since getting to know Kon well enough to notice things like how good the bastard looks soaked in Kool-Aid, but now is just . . . really not the time for thoughts like those, yeah. 

“I, uh–I’ve never actually, um . . . with anyone, actually. Guy or not,” Tim half-admits, though it feels stupid that being a virgin is something to admit instead of just a statement of fact. Normally it wouldn’t be, is the thing, but he just really doesn’t want Kon to think he sounds lame or antisocial or . . . whatever, exactly. “I actually would literally not even know how to, uh . . . give you ‘tips’ or anything. Unless I had like, the prep time to do some research, I mean. It’s just, uh–I don't date much, to be honest. Or, uh. Pretty much at all? Like, you're definitely more experienced than I am either, uh, either way, like that's just–I don't do much of this stuff. Any of it. I have in fact gone out with exactly two girls in my life and they both were definitely, um–also the ones who were making the moves and all.” 

It's not that he never want to make a move, just usually he's too busy being way too in his own head about it or something else entirely or–

God, he is rambling so much, Tim realizes, repressing a cringe when he realizes how blankly Kon’s currently staring at him. Because it is very, very blankly, that Kon is staring at him. 

Crap. 

“Uh,” Tim says with a grimace. “Sorry. Um. If you were expecting something . . . faster, I mean.” 

Kon should definitely not have anything that fast if he’s thinking of himself as a product, Tim’s basically positive, but also that’s actually not any of his damn business, but also he definitely needs to look into Kon’s dating history just to add a few names to his list for when he finally goes supervillain and just maybe look into–

. . . Kon is still just staring blankly at him. 

Tim fails to repress the cringe this time. 

“Uh,” he attempts again. “Kon? Are you . . .?” 

Kon turns literally crimson and ducks his head, but also doesn’t actually stop staring at him. 

. . . alright then, Tim thinks. 

“I do like you. I like you a lot. Like–I like-like you a lot, if I have somehow managed to not be embarrassingly obvious about that at this point,” he tries, borderline flailing in the conversation now since Kon is apparently no longer willing to use his words and he was already not doing that great with it when Kon was using his words, and he can’t even talk with his hands or anything because he’s holding Kon’s hands like an actual grade schooler, except probably no one ever has held Kon’s hands like–no, no, he is not far enough down the supervillain pipeline to be able to finish that thought process and deal with the psychological consequences of having to not burn down the system about it, he really cannot do that at any point in the next ten to fifteen years whatsoever. “This isn't–I'm just–it's not me not wanting to . . . take some pictures, eventually. Just . . . maybe we could wait a bit on it. Stick with the streets and buildings for a little while longer, maybe?” 

He tries for a smile and also tries not to cringe again over how weak an attempt it feels like, and then has the uneasy and uncomfortable thought that actually doing anything like that isn’t even really–is that ethical, even? Even the idea of doing something like that? Kon doesn’t really know Robin all that well, no, but they’re on the same team and the same side, and they’re teammates and at least arguably friends, and Kon also doesn’t know he is Robin, and– 

“Um,” Kon says, his hands tightening just a bit around Tim’s and his face still blazingly and borderline inhumanly red as his head ducks a little lower and his mouth curves into what is, in fact, the most unfairly soft smile that Tim has ever seen on the bastard’s face. “We could do that, yeah.” 

Tim was thinking about something, probably? Which hopefully wasn’t something important, considering just how ruthlessly Kon just fried his brain out of his head. Which is not even reasonable or logical, because all Kon did was . . . well, imply he was fine taking things at Tim’s pace and not actually going to get immediately bored if he didn’t put out and was actually interested in just being together, and also did it while smiling at him like that. 

Alright, fine, Tim knows exactly why his stupid brain got itself fried. He’s still apparently embarrassingly easy, though. 

Well, that’s not exactly new information in regards to Kon anyway. 

[cipheramnesia]

Re: your tags, I don't think this is going off the rails, and it's sort of interesting to me that what you're describing reflects similar to my experience (I was not depressed, but I was and still am baffled [well, maybe a little depressed - I cannot get over how unpleasant Ken's characterization was]), but it also raises an interesting point of nuance.

That is, there's the usual uniformed alt right critics who just hate anything that breathes near a woman, obviously there's not any nuance to that. However, generally speaking the crux of both people who love the movie and people with actual negative feedback (not just knee jerk reactivism) is the issue of nuance. Both groups seem to agree nuance is key but people who liked it feel criticism lacks nuance, while people who did not like the movie find it suffers from a lack of nuance.

There's different ways to approach the question - for example it's possible to argue that having these conversations represents the intended effect of the movie. I don't believe that to be the case, but it's a fair interpretation. It's arguable that the movie literally makes it's thesis statement in Gloria's monologue and intends the rest of the movie, whole cloth, as demonstrating this thesis. Which, I don't think it does, but also that's a valid interpretation - which is kinda the whole point of criticism, not to come to a right opinion, but to have a discussion about art.

On the third side, I find it weighs heavily that the response to negative criticism is either that we were thinking to much about a fun lighthearted movie or that we just didn't have the nuance to understand it. It's a scab I really need to stop picking at.

I mean saying the movie supported men's rights kind of ignores that what the kens did was painted as bad. Like that was very much the message of the film

That was the text of the film but not the message.

I'm not going to apply greater nuanced analysis to a movie that had all coherent structure papered over in producer notes. But for a movie that spends a lot of time pointing out situations that are unfair, not equal, or "bad" it didn't have anything to say about why or what might actually resolve the inequality.

Not saying it needs to author the revolution or anything, just it kinda stopped at "patriarchy bad because men rule all and are dumb boys who are gross" and I think that's boring? It's like hey, inequality sure is bad! And it seems like weird and wrong the girl empowerment doll for diverse women is exclusively developed by old white men! Followed by crickets chirping.

I was kinda waiting for the other shoe to drop, like yes, this is a pretty fun satirical look at gender and... and..? And that's it. Barbie world goes back to hierarchical control in a perfect utopia. The real world is unaffected because all those executives are just silly guys who are trying their best. Gloria gets to be a good mom, and hands her ideas over to the corporation. The new line of Barbies are Barbies that just don't want anything at all. And Margot Barbie just leaves.

Which is unfortunate because it starts out with a great deal of very interesting ideas, but ends up without anything much to say at all. It uses all the right words but mostly just kinda ascribes broad universal meaning and morality rather than considering any of it could have some underlying complexity.

We all know feminism can't hold hands with capitalism, but the Barbie movie wants the cache of the feminist movement beholden to the bottom line of Mattel's investors. And as a fun movie about children's dolls it's fine, but it's also selling itself as a feminist film, which it very much is not.

[indiestsnake]

Is it an unpopular opinion to say mouthwashing would’ve been a better, more nuanced story if Jimmy wasn’t an absolutely inhumane monster before the story even started?

Idk. I’m gonna talk about it. Mouthwashing is a video game btw, and its plot contains some messed up stuff. Warning for mention of severe SA, suicide, and probably some gore here and there. Also spoilers! Go play or watch it, it’s such a good fucking game holy shit.

Btw I fucking love this game as is and don’t think it’s bad. Not hating, just speaking out my tiny grievance with the plot. Again, I love this game!!!! And I don’t need it to change to be good. Now, with that out of the way.

So. I’m not saying I don’t hate Jimmy. Fuck that guy, he’s a horrible person. End of sentence. The meme of never saying his name in fandom is so goddamn funny.

But if he wasn’t, I think the story would’ve been more interesting.

Mouthwashing is a psychological horror game. It it about human beings with human flaws having human reactions to human (if complicated) situations. Is Swansea a bad person for killing Diasuke? Complicated, because he believed (arguably knew for certain) that Jimmy’s delusions of grandeur and “fixing” everything would only make him suffer. Anya swallows all the pills, the pills she knows are the only thing between Curly and endless agonizing pain. But… it’s more complicated. Because Jimmy emotionally abused, SA’d, and bullied her into thinking she was better off dead. Everyone is extremely human, even Curly. He’s just a dude who got lucky with his talents, but wants something different from what he got.

Except Jimmy.

Jimmy is horrible to the point of parody. Especially in the fandom. And I get why. He non-consensually got Anya pregnant (I don’t like using the word okay shush) on a spaceship. When he knew they wouldn’t see another human face for over a half a year. Maybe more. That amount of horrific selfishness for five minutes of pleasure is not only completely inhumane, but downright idiotic in all faucets. He is not just a horrible person, he is a complete fucking moron. I genuinely struggle to believe anyone would be dumb enough and evil enough to do that, and maybe that’s a me thing. Feel free to say if that makes sense to you, but to me, it messes with suspension of disbelief.

And it also devalues so much of his later actions and guilt. Jimmy cuts off Curly’s fucking leg and feeds it to him because he is that mad with guilt and a want to fix things. That kind of nuanced insanity, extremely human insanity is such an interesting concept. But he’s not just a regular human. He is a complete fucking idiot and monster. It feels like just another act of idiocy. What about this in particular made him go crazy? Why not his rampant lashing out at his friends? Why not his assault of Anya? If he was just a below-average moral person, a struggling but ultimately good-hearted friend, Anya’s semi-awful boyfriend, his guilt would make so much more sense and feel so much more meaningful. But I struggle to believe such a horrible person would feel such deep guilt.

And there’s the fandom shenanigans I’ve seen claiming evidence for Jimmy emotionally abusing both Anya and Curly. I haven’t seen everything the game has firsthand, so i won’t comment on the realness of that. I choose to believe it as overhating (because remember, this is fiction. Jimmy is not real. You don’t need more reasons to dislike him.) because Curly treats Jimmy like a friend and calls him a friend. At least before the crash.

TLDR, I struggle to believe someone as awful as Jimmy would go mad with guilt to the point of doing what he did. That being, condemning Curly to live twenty-something years of endless agony and misery off a piece of his own leg and then putting a gun in his mouth. I think the story would be more nuanced and interesting if he was more of a normal, slightly-below average dude.

That being said, I love the story as is and it’s amazing. And the SA representation is good and makes Anya’s character arguably better. And hating on good ol Jennifer is kinda funny. So yeah. Cool game. I should really draw smthn for this fandom soon…

[moghedien]

You know what I'm curious about is Lanfear describing Moggy as 'insane'. Since vain idiot is arguably the persona Graendal intentionally plays up in thr books, honestly she right thst most of the men Foresaken can't plan their way out of a bag (Demandred and Ishamael are the two real exceptions), but Moggy's description just catches my ear. Also I am curious if they've say, cut Mesaana and Semirhage, aka two of the more competent Foresaken.

Mesaana I absolutely think is getting the axe, and I've been on that for a while. Like sorry to her, but she's barely in the books as it is and her role can very easily be given to Moghedien since she doesn't even do much between book 7 and the last battle anyway. If they wanna condense the Forsaken, she's the most obvious one to cut after Be'lal

Semirhage I'm not convinced of. She's a late series Forsaken anyway, so they don't need to start hyping her yet. I can see Lanfear just not wanting to bring her up up because she's scary, but also like, name dropping all of the Forsaken in that scene would have been to definition of an exposition dump, so I think its still entirely possible for her to still show up. Moghedien and Graendal make sense since they're some of the ones we're gonna see soonest. I am curious about "the boys" still

Anyway, about Moghedien being insane, she's extremely paranoid to the point where she refuses to attend any meetings with the other Chosen even when its a group activity sorta thing and definitely isn't the "Let's Kill Moghedien" party she assumes it is. But also despite being extremely paranoid to the point where it hinders her from doing basically anything, she still meets privately with fucking Graendal of all people (Graendal mentions this after Moghedien is captured and didn't make their meetings). Like she won't meet with the group because she's scared of them, but she'll meet with the most balefire happy of the Chosen who turns people into mindless pets as a hobby. The girl doesn't think these things through or make logical decisions. Or maybe Graendal is just her therapist, who knows.

Lanfear and Moghedien also have a sort of petty rivalry because they both claim to be the master of Tel'aran'rhiod. Moghedien is just obviously too scared to challenge Lanfear on this to her face, so it makes sense that Lanfear is just dismissive of her because she'll talk big about shit until she actually has to back that up, then she runs away.

Also I mean, like literally all of Moghedien's role is just her getting easily distracted by and obsessive over mean woman, to the point where it is actively getting in the way of what she is supposed to be doing for the Shadow.

So yeah,

[xjackjackx]

I have no idea how popular this opinion is, but to be honest... Burnout fucking sucked in my opinion.

First off, Green's development felt very rushed, and there's a non-0 chance he's actually stupid. If it was all in a span of 1 day, then the normally happy and confident Green just... randomly becomes depressed for a few hours, gets a sudden reality check after... going on a walk without his friends??? And is suddenly back to normal. Even excluding how flat-out weird this is (a few hours of having no friends and you get depression and rethink all your life decisions???), it feels... extremely rushed and anti-climactic. If it was over a few days then it's better, but it creates the whole problem of neither Green nor Alan, for god knows how long, not noticing the mess on the desktop nor hearing Greenscreen's temper tantrums on YouTube, which makes Green an actual idiot as we KNOW he had to have been leaving his little house to go Minecraft.

I also feel like Green's redemption was... mishandled, if you couldn't tell. Given that Green was straight-up having mental health issues like addiction and seemingly depression (or at least a cartoonish version of it where he's just Big Sad), it feels weird that his solution was just... getting his shit together by himself after spending some time alone. I know it's not what Alan intended and I shouldn't expect some deep dive into these things from the Funny Stickman Series, but with how seriously it played Green's fall into internet addiction, him healing just like that was, by comparision, rushed, anticlimactic and simply unsatisfying. A simple way to fix it would be to bring Purple to help him. Maybe Green calls him to spend time together cause the stick gang isn't there, or something. Not only would it have potential for a great Ep 29 callback where the roles are switched, but it would show that you need help from people to deal with addictions, and you can't fix it by yourself.

Speaking of "redemptions", Greenscreen also didn't have a good one tbh. I feel like he has the King Orange Syndrome of "his redemption makes sense on paper, in execution it's flawed". It makes sense that King was so caught up in anger he didn't realise he loves Purple, but for us, it's an asspull that had no foreshadowing and was thrown in at the last second to justify not killing the guy. Similarly, it makes sense Greenscreen wants to be uploaded as a video, but ir had no foreshadowing and was thrown into Ep 3 out of nowhere, making his redemption also feel rushed.

Also, this might be just me, but I'm frankly getting sick and tired of Alan's redemption arcs. Not because I believe every villain needs to be a Bill Cipher/Jack Horner style "pure, irredeemable evil", but frankly cause Alan doesn't do good redemptions, and every redemption is the exact same: There is this villain that wants to kill the heroes, out of nowhere for [inser reason here] he feels regret/apologizes, he's forgiven with 0 punishment no matter how bad he was, and he immediately leaves the scene. This happened to Alan himself, Ethan, Mario, Q*bert, all the mob friends in AVMS3 (even if they were barely evil), King Orange (THE biggest offender given how evil he was), Purple TWICE, and now Greenscreen. With the singular exception of Purple (purely cause we've always known he's not truly evil, since AVM S1), every single time it's rushed, it's unsatisfying cause the villains gets away with everything (King and arguably Ethan as the biggest examples), and it doesn't matter because the villain never appears again, so we don't even get to enjoy the content of them being friends with the heroes (again, excluding Purple and this time Alan too) (but I doubt the last point will matter to much fans, as 99% of AVA fans doesn't care about any character that's not a stick figure).

If the redemptions were satisfying and went hard, I'd like it, which is why I love Purple's redemption. If they were different in some way each time, I'd also be more accepting. But every single time it's the same formula repeated, and it's not fun. At this point I fully believe that Victim, after torturing Chosen in "The Box" and all the evil shit he'll inevitably do in future episodes, will be forgiven with not even a hint of punishment, and Alan will think him getting hugged/hand-shaked/whatever by the Stick Gang will magically make us satisfied with the conclusion. I know I won't be, unless Vic's case will be executed similarly to Purple.

Also on a more minor side, the fight sucked. Besides the hype moment of Green using Aquaman's trident among other weapons from posters, it really was a nothing burger compared to the awesomeness of Green's Channel. The comedy didn't land either (Red's "you big bully" was honestly cringe. this isn't a disney cartoon alan, you can have red say something even as small as "jerk" or "monster").

To be clear, I am a MASSIVE fan of Alan Becker. AVA is one of my favorite series. I don't dislike any other episode, at worst I find them boring. This is the only one that I genuinely can't bring myself to like.

[ineffably-human]

it's how definitive it is for me. it's how we've actually ficced and debated this for years and they wrote it so crudely and unimportant, in a way that they can't really revisit later. no chance of more thoughtful or better storytelling next year, about one of your show's central goddamn questions.

this is our arguable main character, he is our entry point into everything else. and as that entry point, Guillermo's story is about dedicating his entire life to something, finding meaning in it since he was young, finding and latching onto it when he's not even supposed to know it exists. clawing his way forward for a place at the table where he's decided he wants to sit. risking his life at least a half dozen times I can think of.

Guillermo's story is about damaging his relationship with the entire rest of the world, throwing himself in with people who take years to admit they even like him. rejecting his family and his innate nature and lineage. tying his most important relationship up in it: this is the person who'll give him the thing he wants most in the world. one day Nandor will look him in the eye as an equal, as someone Like Him, who can stand next to him forever. his relationship with Nandor, at every stage, has always been a combination of 'do I want you or do I want to be you? does claiming me as one of yours mean I am yours? am I allowed to have forever with you?'

Guillermo's story, this season, is reacting to every single stage and marker of finally getting what he wants with joy, with the exceptions of 1) stepping away from a family that never seemed to understand or fulfill him in the first place, 2) having it happen in a less than ideal place and way, hurting Nandor in the process. the central problem of his turning isn't his feelings, which are extremely clear, it's how this impacts his relationship with Nandor. (answer: exactly the way you think it will. he's upset and then he gets over it. nothing else changes.)

and then suddenly we're told: Guillermo can't be trusted about what he's consistently said he wants. he hasn't given thought to a regular, inextricable piece of what it means - even though he's been next to, and engaged in, violence that's way more direct and bloody and sometimes even more senseless. the guy whose vampire entry point was Anne Rice never thought about The Horrors for some reason, because he's an idiot now. some people can Handle It and some people Can't, and he Can't because by the way when the vampires said he couldn't get what he wanted because he was lacking in some way, they were right.

suddenly, in the eleventh hour, it's off the table now. and even though every single other part of him has been tied up in it for his entire adult life, that's somehow a simple decision to make.

and more importantly, the show is going to take maybe five minutes at best to tell us that, and to make it clear it's not something that's a 'maybe' or a 'someday'. character development can't smooth it out. he can't try to fix it. it's just how it is.

yeah, of course in life you prepare for things that then swerve unexpectedly and take you in different directions. there are things you dream of that aren't how you imagine in reality, and you change gears, and you adapt.

and those are huge moments. they matter.

Guillermo doesn't get to mourn it. he doesn't get to reflect on where it places him with his loved ones. he doesn't even really get space to decide it on his own before declaring it in front of everyone he's ever met.

he has no anchor for his entire place in the world anymore, and if the amount of attention and care paid (read: very little) means anything, we're not supposed to feel very much about that at all. and we're not meant to have any indication of where he's going next. and I fucking hate it.

it's a lazy, thoughtless, botched-ass job, and I expected better.

[starplusfourletters]

(way too many) thoughts on the ahsoka show

It was fine? I was really afraid there would be something I hated. And there was nothing I hated. Sad but true that that’s the bar for new SW material atm.

I really liked ep5; ep5 will probably get a rewatch. I liked the casting. The visuals were pretty cool. Huyang was a treasure.

So we’re really going with “the Force is in everyone so everyone can use the Force if you just try hard enough”? I… kind of hate that. That somehow feels ableist of me to say. But this is a heckin fantasy universe I feel like some people Really Are That Special, y’know?

Exception that proves the rule: A Force-less Sabine is still VERY SPECIAL. In Rebels, she can hold her own in a fight just as much as Kanan or Ezra. She’s extremely competent without the Force. She’s somehow less competent in this show

She really is just the worst here in ways that I do not remember her being in Rebels. I guess arguably Ezra was the one with Terminal Protagonist Syndrome in that show? And she caught it from him before he left?

I feel like what this season WANTED to be about – and honestly it’s the lowest hanging fruit possible for a show titled “Ahsoka” – is the tension between Ahsoka’s past / her relationship with her master and her future / her relationship with her apprentice. But I don’t think they actually hit a balance there, because they just did not make her relationship with her apprentice very compelling. Three reasons for this:

1. My bias. There are very few things that start with “Ahsoka &” that would get my attention more than “Ahsoka & Anakin.” Feel like I’m not alone on that one tho

2. Established canon. It’s already an uphill battle because Ahsoka and Sabine don’t have much of a relationship in Rebels. I’m honestly not sure they ever have a conversation. I remember Sabine being like “wow she’s cool much cooler than my idiot adopted brother”, and maybe that would be a place for a mentor figure relationship to start, if Sabine weren’t already DROWNING in mentor figures. It’s not that they have nothing in common, they are just straight up not a focal point of Rebels S2.

Hey you know who canonically has latent Force abilities? And maybe needs some training? And whom Ahsoka would have a Complicated feeling about without even needing a prior established relationship? Someone with mutually incompatible daddy issues? Someone deep enough in the cultural zeitgeist she literally would need no introduction?

Yes I KNOW it’s never gonna be canon and I should just go back to AO3 but it’s RIGHT THERE HRRRRRGGGGHHHHH

3. But a lot of the issues with Ahsoka & Sabine as a focal point are of the showmakers’ own creation. You’re telling me they have a relationship now? Fine, CONVINCE me of that:

First they shoot themselves in the foot by not giving us any information about how Sabine became Ahsoka’s apprentice originally. Why did Sabine want to become a Jedi when she didn’t want that in Rebels? DID she want to become a Jedi? What did she want to learn from Ahsoka? Why did Ahsoka decide to take an apprentice at that time and not any time before or after? How did she feel about it? And why pick Sabine, who is, and this is true, Not Very Good at the Force? Who approached whom, or did they run into each other accidentally? I suppose answering some of these questions might require answering “where was Ahsoka between 3 BBY and 4 ABY?” and they aren’t ready to do that yet, but guys. GUYS. If you’re trying to tell me how Ahsoka and Sabine fix their relationship, you gotta tell me why I care first.

I know I'm harping but I really cannot emphasize enough that "fuck it I'm gonna go round two on Found Family" is an arc-defining character beat for both Ahsoka AND Sabine and the fact that the audience doesn't get to see it really makes me question whether the powers that be themselves know what it looks like

Then we get vanishingly little information about why they broke up, and all of it is provided by Huyang. And what I’m picking up from what we have is “Sabine got too Revenge Quest-y, and Ahsoka got nervous.” I don’t even know where to begin here – maybe with the fact that if Sabine decided to go on a murder rampage, she wouldn’t need the Force, lol. We know Sabine’s family died, she wanted to go to Mandalore, and Ahsoka didn’t want her to. So… did Sabine go? How did she end up back on Lothal? Who left who? Was Ahsoka worried for Sabine’s safety, or that she was getting too Dark Side-y, or both? What juicy terrible intergenerational-trauma-driven things did they say to each other when they broke up? I want to compare and contrast this with Ahsoka leaving Anakin, but I do not have the information to do so because there are zero details and the info we DO have is from ANOTHER CHARACTER. Again, if this season is about this relationship, TELL ME WHY I CARE.

To me this is the same cardinal sin as Picard S1 – implying that some really interesting stuff happened when the audience wasn’t watching, and that it explains why the characters are behaving the way they are, and then… not disclosing that information. EXCEPT PICARD GAVE US MORE THAN THIS fjdghjfghjkhkd

I was not on Tumblr when I was watching Picard S1. Probably for the best.

But okay, they have a history, the show is gonna be about them, sure let’s move on. AND THEN THEY SPEND LIKE HALF THE EPISODES NOT EVEN IN THE SAME GALAXY. The time they do spend in the same room is 75% generic sniping. As someone who came into this way more invested in the Ahsoka & Anakin relationship, ep5 was very much NOW BACK TO THE GOOD PART

And the couple of beats they do have together have me going HUH? After ep2 I spent most of a day debating myself on whether there’s a missing scene, between Sabine getting stabbed and waking up in the hospital, where we see Ahsoka actually REACT. On one hand, Ahsoka would be upset, maybe we as the audience can fill in the gaps and we don’t need to spend time on it. On the other hand, maybe we do, tho? At the time I was thinking about how we haven’t seen Ahsoka truly emotionally vulnerable since TCW with the exception of “Shroud of Darkness” and maybe “Twilight of the Apprentice.” She has a very normal range of emotions, and she expresses them in very controlled ways, and I just wanna see what she looks like when that breaks down, ya know? What’s weird to me is that in ep4 when Ahsoka thinks Sabine is dead we do get this beat; she gets Real Mad there for a second. So maybe what we’re learning is it was a double beat and they should have cut the stabbing thing entirely I mean come on they had to have known they were gonna catch flack for that. Then again, having that moment shows the audience that Ahsoka does give a shit, more than she wants to admit and more than she typically shows Sabine, which is a fun compare/contrast with Anakin, and it might have given me a better understanding of the relationship if it had come earlier.

The other big beat is Sabine deciding to help the baddies. That is just such a devastatingly terrible decision. So bad, in fact, that I feel like we’re supposed to be drawing parallels to Anakin. Their whole “screw over the galaxy to save one person” thing. Except 1) Sabine is not Anakin and 2) in order for that to be interesting, Ahsoka needs more information than I think she has. She knows Padme died around the same time Anakin totally lost his shit, and that’s about it. Which is actually a fun little thought experiment: what assumptions does Ahsoka make about the causality there? The only people who could have given her more intel are Palpatine, Obi-Wan, and Vader – unlikely. So IF the show is about the lines between Anakin and Ahsoka and Sabine, Sabine’s choice here could be central to that, and crucially to Ahsoka’s understanding of that, except it’s just for the audience I guess?

I do really like that Ahsoka’s extremely chill about what Sabine did, though. Ahsoka “Eh Shit Happens” Tano. Somehow her lesson from all this is “masters support their apprentices literally no matter what. Citation: Mine did.” That’s an unhinged take and I expect nothing less from my blorbo.

WHICH IS WHY WE SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST GOTTEN A FLASHBACK TO THE SITUATION IN WHICH AHSOKA DIDN’T SUPPORT SABINE HRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH

I realize that I’m really tearing into this thing pretty much just for not being something it isn’t. Like, it’s not BAD. But maybe its weaknesses stem from not committing to being about any one thing. It’s kind of about intergenerational trauma, it’s kind of a Rebels Part Two, it’s kind of a Filoniverse installment, it’s kind of a worldbuilding exercise. And that’s not necessarily too much material for an 8-hour show. It’s more like the powers that be DECIDED that was too much material.

TLDR, footage of me after pretty much everything star wars that’s come out since the Disney acquisition:

[blackholedjester]

I just realized that i can use this as a place to post the Plushswap AU, so, i'mma be annoying about it for a while.

Yo yo hello! for most if not all of you who are here and dont know what the Plushswap AU is or need a refresher, I'm here to ramble your ears off about it!

So here's the

Celestial Idiots Plushswap AU Masterpost!

Tags : Plushswap will always be underneath the following tag : #Plushswap au If you're looking for a specific character, it'll be!: #PS! [character name]

The Plushswap AU is just as it sounds! The cast of The Celestial Idiots, but all the robots are swapped for plushies and vice versa! When speaking in reference to Plushswap, it is normally abbreviated as "PS" for speed of typing Though i do suppose some more context is needed beside that so 'ere we go!

vvv Cast vvv

This is the first art piece, and technically the official 'start' of the AU! It features most of the characters within the Plushswap AU and as close to 'official' designs as they were gonna get (i stay loyal to the reference sheets given v.v) [if there is no image to accompany a character, they're up here in this drawing or didn't have a ref change substantial enough for a new image!]

Color!

Color is the one and only daycare attendant within the Plushswap AU, taking over the roles of both Moon and Sun. They had found Sun and Moon randomly while going through some storage closets for supplies one after-closing eve. Keeps things relatively under control until the plex closes for the day, then its time to grab their choice of the living plushies and head off to play games!

Sun and Moon!

Two of the (arguably) most helpful plushies around! They were made to beta-test out some alternative designs for daycare attendants, though they ended up being scrapped for Color in the long run. FazCo was just too corner cutty when it came to this project, so they settled for one, static daycare attendant instead of the dual-personality.

Eclipse!

[As of this post, Eclipse has only made an appearance in one video, mischaracterization is bound to occur and i apologize ahead of time ^^'!] A much, much older beta plush! Made as a beta to the Daycare Attendant that was the predecessor to Color! They were found torn apart in a storage box down in Parts 'n Services, and was stitched back together by Trix.

Lunar!

The other half of the older beta plushies, they were also found in shreds in Parts 'n Services. They just sort of, appeared in the daycare one day. Color seems to recognize them, but if she knows anything he's playing dumb very well.

Chica!

A very energetic and peppy plush! She tends to hand out more around the other glamrocks during opening hours, though she will occasionally sneak out to lead a group of (older) kids through some stretching!

Roxanne Wolf!

[As of this post, Roxy has made very few appearances and has no actor! Mischaracterization is bound to occur, and i apologize ahead of time ^^'!] A not-too-active plush, usually spending her time outside of the daycare and away from the general chaos of it. If she is found, she's usually found slinking around near or around Foxy's areas. She is the beta design for Foxy.

Montgomery Gator!

A rather rude and grumpish plush, he chooses to be away from the commotion of the activities of the daycare, but that doesn't stop Moon from dragging him along to play once the daycare closes. If there's bickering to be involved, it's usually between him and Moon.

Freddy!

[as of making this post, Freddy has only appeared in one video so far! Mischaracterization is bound to occur, and i apologize in advance ^^'] One of the quieter plushies, seeming to not have the ability to speak at all with how little noise he makes at all! Where he gets off to when he's not hanging around the daycare, no-one really knows! Except maybe Monty, but he doesn't seem like he's going to tell anytime soon.

Trix!

The one and only human amongst this cast! Trix is the daycare attendant handler, though is more of the voice of reason amongst the chaotic flock of somehow-alive Plushies and chaotic attendant. They seem to be the only one to see the loose, child-like plush that appears around the attendant sometimes..

Peepaw!

Admittedly? No-one really knows where Peepaw came from! Moon says he dragged him out of the trash one day, and the ever wise and ominous doll has been occasionally tagging along to the games that the gang plays.

[vampyr-game]

Do you think Myrddin had an "oh shit" moment when he saw his new freshly turned champion, Jonathan, was about to kill himself when he just became a vampire? I just replayed the game for the 6th time, and I just realised that his not-so-average maker probably was watching Jonathan. And Jonathan probably should had died there, so maybe Myrddin just dragged him back with some godly-vampire-magic. Still I'd love to see the panic in Myrddin's eyes at the beginning.

First of all I would like to commend you on being so thoroughly invested in this game that you've played it 6 times! That's a level of not-normal-about-media I can vibe with. 💞

But what an amusing question! Myrddin is such a smug bastard about the whole affair that I'd certainly enjoy seeing him taken aback by the sheer suicidal audacity of his new Progeny. I think being a newborn vampire comes with plenty of perks (I have many theories about the biological and supernatural process of turning), not least of which include heightened resiliency to mortal wounds--but the change also seems to be something that not everyone survives (Charlotte's friend Emily, Reid's alibi upon killing Aloysius Dawson)... 🤔

So, is Jonathan already out of the woods, just because he's already woken up? Does waking up (and feeding on his sister, when we know how well you KNOW a person effects how much power you can get from drinking their blood...) imbue him with insane temporary strength? Or is it still uncertain whether he'll survive? Would Myrddin have bothered reaching out with psychic poetry if Jonathan weren't a sure thing? Is that poetry a kind of "blessing" or magical invocation to wish his Progeny luck in the coming travails? Is predestination involved in Myrddin's seeming certainty?

I believe we're meant to understand that Myrddin is largely implacable in the face of mortal affairs, and he's made plenty of Progeny. That makes my knee-jerk assumption that he'd watch Jonathan attempt suicide impassively, which is actually so messed up? Sure, if him surviving is guaranteed then I guess there's no need to worry, but jeez. Have a heart, Myrddin. 😰

Having said that, we know Myrddin expresses (arguably contradictory) sympathy for Jonathan in the darker epilogues. Does that care only come after the events of the game, or is it there from the outset? Jonathan is naturally unconscious in the immediate aftermath of his suicide attempt--so if Myrddin, say, called out to him in concern, he wouldn't hear it, and we certainly wouldn't be privy to it. And the idea that Myrddin might PANIC and "drag him back with some godly-vampire-magic" is so compelling?? Surprise, Myrddin, your new son doesn't think you're God, he just thinks he's going insane (or dreaming)! Maybe you should have counted on the skepticism of the modern era, idiot! (Or did his other Progeny also make attempts on their life?) (This does seem like the most narratively expedient way to demonstrate someone has achieved immortality) (munch to consider...)

I know many of us tend to dispense with the supernatural nonsense (namely Blood Daddy and Plague Mommy) for more grounded narratives (I've certainly made no secret of preferring Vampyr's more human-focused original story concept to the JRPG-reminiscent "Let's Kill God" finale we ended up with); but Myrddin is still a crucial linchpin in Jonathan's development as a character, given he provides the inciting incident, is the root cause of most of Jonathan's problems, and the source of all his powers. I'd certainly like to see more of, and try my own hand at, fan explorations of their relationship.

Thank you so much for your wonderful question! 🥰 As preoccupied as I am by the contradiction of Sean being a(n alleged) sole exception to vampires being hurt by the cross, I had almost forgotten that Myrddin's cryptic bullshit and impenetrable poetry was one of the main reasons I became obsessed with this game and wanted to do literary analysis at it. So thank you for the reminder! 🫀💓

[suzukiblu]

Ko-fi thank-you sentences for Plot Bunny; den mom Black Zero.

“You’re Kon-El’s age?” Wonder Woman says, looking thoughtful. 

“I said that, yes,” Black Zero replies in annoyance. He usually has a higher estimation of Wonder Woman’s intelligence than to need the obvious restated, but it could be worse; could be Superman talking again. 

“Are you intending to repeat your crimes in this reality?” Wonder Woman says. 

“You cannot possibly be stupid enough to think I’d answer that truthfully either way,” Black Zero says, eyeing her dubiously. The corner of her mouth quirks up, just a little. 

“Perhaps,” she says. “But I imagine you’re aware that I do have a method to assure that you would.” 

Black Zero rolls his eyes, then holds out his arm in further annoyance. It’s not as if he needs to lie, much less cares enough to. If he wanted to kill them, he’d be killing them. 

“Thank you,” Wonder Woman says, because of course she’d waste time on that, and then loops her lasso around his wrist. “Your name, please?” 

“Black Zero,” Black Zero says. Wonder Woman hums consideringly. 

“What are your intentions towards this reality, Black Zero?” she says. 

“To explain to your Superboy why he’s an idiot and murder anyone between him and his brother,” Black Zero replies dryly. “Also, I might punch your Superman. He’s pissing me off and I’ve never actually gotten the chance to.” 

“Technically not true,” Superboy says. “One of the Superboys we met was actually a younger alternate of Superman, and you definitely punched him. Like, really hard. And his dog.” 

“Did I?” Black Zero feels pleased. “Good.” 

“You’re such a prick, man,” Superboy says, scowling at him. “The dog!” 

“I hate dogs,” Black Zero replies with a dismissive shrug. 

“So do I, but that is not the point!” Superboy says in exasperation, throwing his hands up. “And we’re not murdering anybody! No murder!” 

“You’re not, maybe,” Black Zero snorts. Wonder Woman watches his face, her own expression still thoughtful. 

“You want to abduct Match from the Agenda,” she says, which is again something he feels he’s made very obvious, but whatever. 

“It’s adorable that you’d describe freeing a legally-enslaved teenager as ‘abduction’,” he says. 

“Arguably, I couldn’t even describe him as a teenager, given he’s . . . how much younger than you, Kon-El?” Wonder Woman asks, glancing towards Superboy.

“Oh, uh–like a year, about?” he says. “I think about a year, anyway, I’m a little fuzzy on some of the dates, after the Wild Lands and–I think about a year, yeah.” 

“So you people left a newborn clone with an organization run by slavers,” Black Zero says. “For a year. That’s about as impressive as I’d expect from a Justice League, yes.” 

“Match has made his feelings on remaining with the Agenda clear more than once,” Superman says, narrowing his eyes at him. Black Zero gives him a dubious look. “We tried to help him. He’s made his choice."

“Yes, physiological teenagers with five minutes’ worth of life experience are notoriously adept at making informed choices with long-term consequences that involve them rejecting everything about and everyone in the only life they’ve ever known,” Black Zero drawls, rolling his eyes. “Silly me. How could I forget.” 

“Your priorities are . . . interesting,” Wonder Woman muses, still watching him thoughtfully. He doesn’t know what she thinks she’s looking for. 

“They're correct, is what they are,” he says. “No one else gives a fuck about our kind.” 

“Clones, you mean?” Wonder Woman says. 

“You keep asking me incredibly obvious questions,” Black Zero says. Who else would he mean? 

It's been made very clear to him that no one else is going to look out for any of them except each other.

[x-authorship-x]

Can I just say that except for a handful of characters (I can't think of anyone outside the main Yamanaka family and, like, the old farts of Konoha and the various clan heads and maybe a couple of people from other fandoms here and there) Shisui is very shippable with like, every other character in existence

Hey Anon so I'm going to blow this wildly out of proportion and say that you're absolutely right but Shisui isn't just the ideal character to ship with others but ALSO one of the best to play with in general in the sandbox of fanfiction. Like, let me say my piece-

Shisui is powerful. You can make him literally the baddest bitch out there and you wouldn't even be stretching things. Shisui ALSO has the potential to be pathetic (the hot mess of his death is just...so...so stupid) AND you can make the world's best damsel out of him. Shisui can save people and fix shit BUT he can also be saved and swept off his feet. What a versatile king.

And it goes on. Shisui is sunshine, he's the only Uchiha grinning in public and making friends and he laughs. He's also so fucking traumatised and tortured. You can make Shisui the heart-bruised hero or you can have him as the comedic chaos king or you can have him as baby boy who needs loved or you can have him as fucked up beyond belief but no one believes you because would a psychopath be the nicest person in his whole clan?

You could have shisui siding with Tobi and suddenly the whole world is rewritten because guess what you can't DETECT Kotoamatsukami-

Shisui can be a hero, THE hero, and he has the potential for a great villain, an even more heartbreaking Martyr. He's sweet and hurt, he's loud or sensitive, he grins in anger and he laughs in tears. Shisui contains a LOT of multitudes. I think he's really so baby boy for that.

And look at where he's situated in canon, in the power ranking, in the timeline. He holds Konoha's whole existence in his hands, he can tear into the past that led to that point AND he can reshape her future.

Shisui is painfully loyal but he's also willing to manipulate everyone he knows and loves for his own ideal of peace, stripping them of their autonomy in that moment. He's also willing to die, to actually kill himself, before letting others take that power. He's a genius, the kind that made him Itachi's mentor as a fellow child, and he was given arguably the most powerful and terrifying Mangekyou ability yet he made his name by revolutionising a basic technique, the Shunshin, into something legendary.

A bit of canon divergence and Shisui completely rewrites the world that Naruto's generation inherited. He's the legacy of Kagami, who was the legacy of Tobirama. There's so much you can do, forwards and backwards, with just this one character.

He's also, you're right, ideal for shipping. He's pretty, he's a genius, he's also a mess and an idiot. Frankly, who wouldn't want to kiss him lmao

Yeah, I'm a Shisui supremacist 😉

[imiren-kul]

Okay I'm gonna start using my blog for like, actual blogging. I was telling some friends about the antics I get up to at work and they were saying I should write it down and share it so I guess that's what I'm going to do.

For some backstory/context, I currently work as a driver/salesperson for BlueBell Creameries. If you don't know, it's an ice cream brand that only sells in the American South and has a cult following here in Texas since its original factory was based in Brenham, TX. It's really good ice cream, arguably one of the top three options you can find in most grocery stores.

I also used to work for a flatbed company for a while about a year ago or so. That may come up in the future but I'll elaborate as I need to. All you need to know is that is was a nightmare job where every day was a new calamity.

I'll try and update art least twice a week if not daily. It would probably be fun and cathartic to share some of the wacky shit that happens. I'm also told I'm a good story teller but the jury's still out on that.

So I'm gonna update yall on the latest happenings before I start the week.

I've had no less than 4 freezers go down on me this month and one freezer is on its way out. The first one seems to have been a one-off weird malfunction. It's working and I haven't had ice cream go bad in a few weeks. I'll check back in on that tomorrow. Another one that went bad is on Mondays route as well. (I hit different stores on different days of the week. So Monday stops are different from Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday stops with the exception of major grocery stores that I hit every day.) The second convenience store that went down, I lost like 40 some pints of ice cream. I left them with a minimum of ice cream and I'm not gonna go back until my territory manager gives me the okay.

The third one was actual at a grocery store, one I call the Cursed Randall's™. It's very gross. The back rooms are a disaster and the frozen manager is disgusting. There's a river of slime in the back lot where I park I have to step over. Anyway their freezers suck. They go down more often than they should and the ice cream is always slightly soft in the doors. They got fixed and I refilled the freezers so it's back to the status quo for me.

My latest store that had a freezer go down has been a problem child for a long time. The freezer has failed several times before and has melted ice cream in the past. They fairly recently got a new freezer unit but they put it in the back corner of the store next to the cleaning supplies so they never sell much or any ice cream. I deliver there maybe once a month. Anyway, they lost all their ice cream recently because of some kind of failure. I chunked like 50 pints, 5 ½ gallons, and dozens of snacks. I told the manager on duty that I couldn't guarantee they'd get a credit on the ice cream since this has been happening so much. I'm not gonna go back there either until I get the green light from my TM.

There's more lore but I'll fill you in as time goes on. Hopefully I'm able to keep this going and that yall enjoy my stories. I also have a dashcam so I can share videos of the idiots I encounter on the road as well!

[noisytenant]

rant on places that have policies of “no cis men” or otherwise similar things. not complaining about cis man feelings idgaf abt that

i kinda think events and groups that are like “we include everyone except cis men” are lame as fuck. but lots of times they’re doing cool things, which sucks.

i understand how many people are surrounded by idiot guys who impose their wills onto whatever scene, act as chasers, drive the cool people out, and take all the credit. i think it’s fair to exercise caution and to want to prevent that from happening, and in small settings i think it’s not a big deal—even if the same criticisms apply, it has very few consequences. i especially think this policy catches on because it offers a simple comfort that is rarely afforded to people, and arguably being able to breathe a sigh of relief is worth something, even if that relief is illusory.

but i think that the problems this paradigm raises arent worth it on any larger scale. theres a lot of obvious things from the simple fact that “being a cis man” isnt a verifiable trait, but also it comes across to me like someone has done half the work of thinking about social justice but just stopped there.

i understand that power dynamics are complicated so it’s not that social dynamics are wholly reversed just because you have a position of authority, but if you organize events or operate a space YOU RUN THE SHOW! the idea that cis guys will be an invasive species that predates upon your queer utopia falls apart for the simple fact that you are not a prey animal, you are the administrator of a social club. you can distribute authority among trusted individuals in your group to protect more vulnerable people. you can do the work to cultivate a safer space by setting explicit conduct guidelines, having a clear mission statement, having policies around investigating grievances, etc.

and it will be much harder than turning away cis guys at the door—but i think if you aren’t willing to understand what it actually takes to prevent abuse, then you can never successfully cultivate meaningful community. you’ll exclude people who deserve, maybe even need what you’re offering more than some of the people who fit the bill. and, i’m not likely to trust you to genuinely keep me safe if you operate on this kind of baseline.

it feels like playing house, living in a fantasy where you can just leave the bad guys at the door. and as i said before, i simply think that is lame!

[nikkisticki]

Firstly, the idea that Kishimoto couldn't figure out what to do with the narrative past ten chapters is correct, but do you actually think it's relevant to anything when the narrative hinged on chasing an idiot around who ultimately just acts as a lead for Naruto to go fight (insert enemy of the arc) or for Sasuke to learn something in place of the audience and then either be a dickhead or get his ass beat.

I'm not going to get into semantics about how Kishimoto speaking in an interview isn't the whole picture, moreso when he's been under their thumb for years.

If you replace Sasuke with Itachi's dog that swallowed the key to let Kurama out, nothing in the narrative changes beyond a sudden lack of yaoi potential and a framing for the Sharingan to reveal how it can do everything+1. You could still have Orochimaru trying to convince the dog to be a bad boy, you could still have the Akatsuki involved.

Sasuke served his best roles in Naruto, the time when he had the most opportunity to be given a character. Even then it just ends in him being shoved in a pot so the narrative can pretend he's being kidnapped (even though logically speaking he'd have been easier to move just being held in the embrace of spider-guy) to have the best fight in the first series end in a "wuh woh he got away".

As we clearly agree, Sasuke was added because rival characters are popular, but a rival needs to actually instigate things beyond acting as a long term maguffin. Sasuke bumbles through life, nearly dying repeatedly (see Sasukes best scene when Killa Bee beats him within an inch of his life) and never developing a personality or learning a thing until he suddenly does. He's no better then Bugboy, but people want to kiss him.

Sasuke fails so heavily as a character that he can't even appear sympathetic towards his own wife in Boruto, needing them to swing back around to insert moments so people don't keep calling Sakura a single mom, even when he functionally doesn't serve a purpose.

Of course, I gave up on Boruto years ago. Something about a room of sharingan possessing uchiha clones that I think were all made noncanon is all that remains in my head beyond knowing Orochimaru is a good guy and they added Duel Disks??, so maybe he got some actual development in between them milking the series for every last dime.

I know I'm here starting shit for no reason, but do people not use quotation blocks on Tumblr? so much cleanerrr

The 20+ character comments seems to have missed the target let me try again., Side characters implies they are characters with functional value beyond chumps to be fought in the starting tournament and as roster for mediocre arena fighters (I'll be fair that some of the Naruto games are fucking amazing tho), which isn't what they are. We both know Shino vanishes into the mist, Tenten becomes a character who gets to be mentioned and most of the rookie teams become nothing more then propagators of their seed so we can have pokemon fusion versions of characters in the next series.

The functional value of this style of cast creation is that people form favorites amongst the cast and are sticking around to see them (as is the Shonen tradition), doesn't it seem like a bizarre choice to then write around those characters existences because the narrative can't actually fit them?

Because they aren't there to be side characters, they are merchandise opportunities. Kishimotos best characters (in my opinion) tend to be the ones that aren't super powered god tiers, and he couldn't even fit Shikamaru in as more then "I exist to explain the plan and breed Temari" after a certain point (even when the Immortal fight is arguably one of the best fights in the series) when he got a lot of the best character work out of any of those characters.

Naruto is a great example of a story that was not designed with any end goal, and that's largely why it leads into a battle against God (except god is a space alien waifu) instead of anything that vaguely relates to the original themes of the narrative.

What it started as was about a boy whose alienated for something he can't control and left crippled by it, overcoming the odds in his own way and proving to others he is the greatest, even those who have pedigrees that involve inherited super powers. This gets rinsed out of the narrative almost immediately after the first tournament as Naruto himself becomes the center of attention for 4 seperate Hokages (including being the child of the coolest one) getting trained by the best fighters in the land, handed multiple new forms and becomes the generic shounen romp that has been getting sloshed out for three decades.

Stories change, and so do people. Not Sasuke though, he just got his character arc ended by his brother revealing he did it for a vewy gud weason. The reason is he had to save Sasuke!

God….

Hmm I wonder why this needs to be underlined all the time. What could possibly be the reason to bring up how odd and bizarre Naruto’s behavior is… we just don’t know.

[allisoooon]

What is your opinion on the babying of klaus? From what I seen since season one their constantly constantly infintalizied, saying klaus is baby, their child, son, etc way more then the other siblings. Considering he is arguably the most popular sibling in every social media aspect of the tua fandom except maybe TikTok with five this probably was to be expected since he is ��skinny” “ frail” “ fragile” “ more traumatized “ as ppl like to say and whatnot. Never have once seen anyone formally hate klaus dislike them not even a hate post where as the other siblings get treated like complete dust and shitted for all their actions/scenes and tons of hate post made on them whereas klaus is on this throne of some sorts. It sucks since klaus is so much more since the dude literally went thru Vietnam, the 60’s thinking they were the only sibling alive, and just their life in general and not some damsel in distress that could do no wrong and if someone does anything to them their atuomatically hated on ( in reference to the siblings ).

With a lot of comfort characters like Klaus and Five, I sometimes have this feeling that what people like isn't actually the character because they gloss over the less glamorous parts of them instead of loving them as they are.

I am weirdly protective of Klaus' flaws--all of their flaws, really--partly because it's what makes them human, but also because it's what makes their growth as characters so compelling. You didn't love Luther this season just because he was wholesome--you also loved how he crooned "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and the fact that he knew all of the words. You didn't just love Diego for how good a brother he is, you also loved him for how bad a father he (initially) was. Klaus actually says it perfectly when talking to Ben about Ben: being a mess, embracing their mess, makes them easy to love.

And when I read a fic with some idealized version of Klaus whose problems are 0% his fault, I don't feel like I'm reading about the same character. Then when people demonize anyone who is remotely mean to him, it actually downplays something that is good about him: he doesn't take everything personally. He's tougher than he looks. He has some areas that are incredibly fragile, but he knows a "sibling I-love-you" when he hears one. You know, like when Diego says "I still think you're an idiot." That's just his way of saying "I love you." So is "Let's go find your stupid mother." Also "I hate your face"/"I hate all of you." It willfully misinterprets the context in which he exists, which in turn misinterprets him.

There are worse things than your fave being a coward, or being self-involved, or having a victim complex. Your fave could be perfect. That is so, so much worse.