#I cast: wall of text

[elizabethrobertajones]

kriles summer trust top is kinda problematic tho... lalafell r smol and should be wholesome.

Aw, come on.

I'm sorry but I have to disagree because within the fiction, lalafell are just as mean, gross and horny as anyone else. Gegeruju is a perv, and the whole Ul'dah Syndicate is full of evil little bastards. On the good side, lala are just as complex and grown up as anyone else - Tataru courts followers and dances in a skimpy outfit in the Forgotten Knight, Giott is a roaring drunk stereotypical fantasy dwarf (not to mention whatever the heck is going on with the Tomra and Komra dwarves in general tbh :P). And Lamitt's story was sweet but it did involve her having adult feelings for Ardbert.

Like, really, I can only think of 4 completely wholesome lala out of a cast of hundreds, and they happen to mostly be the ones we've interacted with a lot (Nanamo; Pipin who is a Heroic Knight archetype; Papalymo, who was a grumpy old scholar man; Krile). But that's more about them being main characters serving roles in the narrative rather than indicative of how lalas behave as a whole. In fact after going through ARR, meeting Pipin and finding One Good Ul'dahn Lala is an enormous relief (since the other one is apparently dead now).

And Krile is a main character now so she's allowed to step out of the shadow of being uwu cat hoodie girl who wasn't written with much depth outside of being serious and earnest and rather spooky; she's actually 22 years old according to the first wiki I found - regardless of if that's totally accurate she's definitely meant to be a peer of the other adult Scions and they all treat her like an adult. Her introduction cutscene has her ribbing Alphy as an older friend laughing at how a much younger one used to behave, so we're supposed to immediately understand on meeting her that she's post-teen since she knew 11 year old Alphy and was of course older than him since he was a freak entry into the Studium at that age. Probably a necessary writing moment because establishing lala's age with hilarious moustaches or deep voices or whatever is a part of how the game has to present them.

Out of the fiction, I know lalas are part of a much wider trope that people do find problematic as a whole (e.g. just because in universe Tataru has babes across the globe and that's normal to everyone involved, who are consenting adults in a world which wholly understands Tataru as a consenting adult, is it actually really creepy that it's happening at all because her body type is toddler-esque? Is it weird in general that lala emotes are SO baby in the same way miqo emotes are SO kitty?

ffxiv definitely goes waaay further into borderline creepy territory than many games with smaller fantasy races in it, when it comes to how lala look, so yeah I know it's a fraught area and can be discomforting to see the game present child-shaped people as having adult desires and a thing some people understandably set aside along with other elements as things they're not happy with co-existing in the game with things they really love.) We can absolutely talk about that on a meta level of how we relate to the game and feel about it, just like things we find racist or uncomfortable in other ways e.g. eng translation Hien's treatment of Yotsuyu being a really problematic point.

But, that's one thing, versus talking about us here in fandom and how we relate to it, and I think your ask is, well, really not very deeply considered on any level, but I think is talking about how we as fandom relate to lalas, based on an inaccurate reading of them in the game, meaning you're really not even analysing a thing about it and therefore your ask comes more in the terms of policing how we should FEEL about Krile's beach outfit, and dictating that we SHOULD find lalas smol and wholesome, and that therefore there's an inherent problem in anyone reacting positively to the outfit, rather than critiquing its place in the game in the first place. Having hit a cognitive dissonance in seeing swimsuit Krile existing you've come to me to complain it's problematic rather than taking any actual meaningful action. Ergo, this is a fandom problem to you, not a game problem. WE should find it problematic and say so, you are implying, shocked that so many people looked at a post about the beach outfits and no one commented as such.

Aside from lalafell being fictional and at no point other than the visuals are they treated as children (and emotes aside, playing through the MSQ as a lala wol you easily fall into seeing them as an adult because of course all the cutscenes share the same level of gravitas no matter what you're playing or what clown costume you have on any player), there ARE actually real humans who are built somewhere closer to lala than not, and would be drawn to playing any of the smaller races in a game (like, gnomes in WoW, halflings in D&D, etc) because that's just their chance at representation. And because FFXIV doesn't have anything other than precious moments doll-shaped people the look might be great in the sense that they have the proportions of a cherub statue and it is a lot harder to meet in the middle than a halfling (notoriously hairy middle aged bastards and much easier to read as adult, though that doesn't exclusively represent people who've had growth developmental differences), that IS still the only representative option some people have in the game and if they want to indulge it rather than play something else with proportions forced on them by many games, then what the hell is wrong with that?

And they WILL go to bat for lalas and get upset when people say that they have to be precious baby characters who act like children. I've seen that on tumblr: there's a whole lala community who keeps kinda low key and away from everyone else by their own admission BECAUSE as soon as they get too much attention they're deluged with hate for playing characters who have adult desires and dress fancy - or, you know, like any other random slutty elf WoL. The fact I wandered onto lala blogs at random and saw that complaint on the first pages should speak to how often they have to deal with it. And, again, within the fiction of the game their characters are completely 100% normal and doing what other lalas who are written by the game do as well. I KNOW those blogs are out there and they'd be scared of getting this exact ask, and it would greatly upset them and ruin their day and put them off having any interaction with the community, which fucking sucks. We're here to have fun!

That said I'm not a weirdo anti all up in others' business, it's also fine to just like lalas and stuff without some huge circumstantial justification like "they look like me" - or - "my IRL wife" or whatever - you can also just play a lala or ship with one and it's like, your business. If that's all you're doing and it's not a hypothetical child molester who also has a whole gallery of lala porn that the cops find when they impound the computer full of REAL CHILDREN stuff as well it's never going to be anyone else's business anyway, ever, and that's like, one hypothetical awful person for a whole fandom of normies who are just surprised by how much idk Pipin's deep voice rocked their world and changed their whole perspective on what a hot character was.

Like, granted, that one HYPOTHETICAL weirdo will make everything rancid because there are people waiting to jump on people who like lalas, but also it still won't actually change what other people are doing into being Evil just because someone who actually hurts children found lalas attractive too. That, again, was the hypothetical awful person's problem and not theirs. And in no way can we just casually imply ALL people who like lalas are just inherently going to be dangerous, like real children, or enacting a private psychodrama teetering on the edge of all that.

They could in fact be completely average and boring psychologically and also have a crush on Tataru. Or, I guess, normal amount of weird for a fandom, but basically average XD In a fictional world where these characters are treated as adults, even normal people will naturally end up drawn to them as adults because, well, that's the story that's we're all engaging in. It's not inherently a thought crime to do so, because, weirdly, thought crimes don't exist.

Also, of course, people will literally discourse that hobbits are child-coded and shouldn't be shipped or seen as sexy, despite the most famous halflings, who made the entire halfling race as a generic brand, all being middle aged, hairy, smoking, drinking, guys with normal adult desires and mindsets. I mean yeah Elijah Wood was 18 when they started filming LotR (over several years so he was Krile's age by the end :P) but also Frodo celebrated his 40th birthday before setting off on the Ring Quest in the book and he was the baby of the group aside from Pippin.

In any case, there's no fucking winning and so I can understand completely that if a fucking Hobbit from Lord of the Rings gets shit for being short, and people are getting called a perv for fancying Sam Gamgee, then why not just embrace it with a Lalafell because you're literally damned no matter what in the eyes of someone who won't meet a LOTR HOBBIT where he stands as an adult man.

There's some DEEP puritanical brainrot going on online and I don't want to be a part of it whatsoever, so it means accepting lala likers for the sake of protecting Merry and Pippin's right to be seen as hot, than like, I know which side of of the line I'm dragging my beach chair. It's not even a question. I'm defending people who think lalas are appealing.

ANYWAY none of this is my business, I don't even find lalas sexy, I just think Krile looks nice in her cute summer top and it's lovely that she's getting fashion advice from her besties, and there's a million reasons to be happy about that and for her as a character, and only miserable bastard reasons to go "aurgh aurgh it's problematic" and condemn the game and everyone who plays it just for enjoying something. Lalas are NOT smol and wholesome, they're short and people, and that's fine.

[witherbythesword]

if the theory of sam reich being replaced by .. evil wizard dalton reich (and i cant believe i am partaking in this discurse) is true..

i've seen some people asking the question about what those childhood tapes mean. Well i am one of the ancient ones that owned vhs tapes and you know you could replace whats stored on those tapes with overwriting it with new material but it would slowly degrade the quality as the magnetic tape the information is stored on isn't necessarly made to be re-recorded on indefinetly which would also explain the degrading quality of the gamechanger episode.

So my theory is that dalton reich wants to erase sam from history and to do this he is slowly erasing any proof that could hint on sam and dalton being two different people. One thing he appearantly needed to do is overwrite these old vhs tapes of sams childhood.

[healthydoseofhedonism]

my favourite moment in the whole show so far

[melverie]

Okay, but you guys do realize that the reason Mephisto behaves the way he does is because he has been raised with the intent of only being beneficial to the future demon king and nothing else, right?

(Buckle up because this is going to be a loooonnngggg post)

Mephisto comes from a family that has been serving the royal family for ages. He mentions multiple times that his family has always acted as their knights, their advisors and their protectors to them, and it won't be any different with him. It shouldn't be any different with him. Being beneficial to Diavolo has literally been decided to be the very meaning of his life even before he was born. He's been forced into the role and he's following it to a T because he's never known anything else, and because he can't afford to lose that. Without it, what else is left of him? What worth does he hold other than being essentially a tool for Diavolo?

And then the brothers fall and suddenly his position is at risk. Lucifer and Diavolo have already gotten along fairly well back when Lucifer was still an angel. Both Diavolo and Lucifer (as well as several others) mention that they go way back in their Nightbringer homescreen dialogues, and we see them having mutual respect by the end of the 'The Glory Days' Devilgram in the original game. Mephisto and Diavolo meanwhile might be childhood friends, but here's the thing

Diavolo wants a friend. A real friend. Someone that genuinely appreciates him for who he is as a person instead of focusing on his status as the future demon king. And that's something Lucifer can give him. They often hang out for the sake of it (apparently even eating dinner at Ristorante Six together regularly), they regularly engage in lighthearted banter, and Lucifer isn't afraid to give Diavolo his honest opinion

But that's not really the case with Mephisto...? He was never meant to be on equal footing with Diavolo; Diavolo even calls him "mini-Barbatos" at one point. He is literally still calling him 'Lord Diavolo' all the time, requests to speak his honest opinion first and waits for Diavolo to allow him to do so before actually giving it. That's why Mephisto keeps pushing down his own feelings and keeps showering Diavolo in praise any opportunity he gets while he adjusts every aspect of life to be beneficial to Diavolo in a way. Sure, he might be popular, but as long as Diavolo doesn't want him to get married he doesn't even waste a thought about relationships. He might have no real interest in journalism, but of course he'll take over RAD's Newspaper Club. After all, Diavolo asked him to! He's part of the House of Lords because as the future king's right-hand man that just makes sense. He was always just meant to be a tool for the crown prince to use, so he doesn't know how to treat Diavolo as anything but. He was literally groomed to be dispensable, so he's obviously going to act like it

And that's also where Mephisto's dislike for Lucifer stems from—he can only watch as Lucifer slowly grows closer and closer to Diavolo, and threatens to take the role that was always made up to be his. And so Mephisto keeps challenging Lucifer over and over again, trying to sabotage their friendship any way he can in hopes of winning back his position as the crown prince's right-hand man

That obviously doesn't make the way he treats Lucifer (and the rest of the brothers!) right. Lucifer isn't responsible for any of this, and blaming him for it is misguided. But it still doesn't change the fact that Mephisto has the right to be hurt at the situation at hand. His entire purpose of existence is just being ripped away from him right before his eyes and all he can do is watch. That must hurt. Especially when your entire familiy's purpose has been to serve the royal family, and you are the first one to lose that

Also, I feel like something else we need to talk about is how his fight only ever really seems to be with the brothers, especially Lucifer? Again, part of the reason is the entire Diavolo situation, sure, but I feel like it also has to do with the situation in the Devildom at large? I already vaguely talked about this in a different context a few months back, but ever since the brothers have been cast out of the Celestial Realm and arrived in the Devildom, the entire situation has just been super unstable. We as a player have a unique perspective on the events because we only have a limited outsider view to on the actual politics going on the the Devildom, while also being aware how things will play out in the future. We know that ultimately letting the brothers stay is the right choice, but that's not the way a regular denizen who has to live through all this sees it. I mean, just the way Mephisto describes the brothers really puts things into perspective:

The entire realm is super destabilized, they just semi-lost their current king, and there have been multiple very real threats of war—first when the Devildom took the brothers in in the first place, then when "Raphael" showed up and told the brothers to return, and Lucifer rightfully points out to (a comatose) MC that they are bound to go to war should the Celestial Realm ever find out that Diavolo turned Lilith into a human. There's just a lot of tension in the air, and the brothers—extremly powerful as both angels and demons—seem to be at the root of most of it in one way or another. From a the House of Lords' perspective, it makes sense to want the brothers gone, same goes for a denizens perspective. And while it is a delicate situation all around that can't just be blamed on the brothers, it makes sense for Mephisto to also see them at the center of it all. Again, that doesn't make the brothers' treatment right, but it's at least understandable given the circumstances

On a side note, when discussing his beliefs, I think it's also important to remember that he to this day is incredibly sheltered. He just accepts all this as normal because to him it is normal, but as we've seen in lesson 31 hard mode Thirteen was so shocked by his views that she immediately decided to drop everything and play therapist for him (absolute Queen for not just blaming it on him btw 💖). I know this was just a throw-away line, but this paired with him basically excisting to serve Diavolo already says so much about his character:

And with everyone else he seems to be generally pleasent? I mean, he says he doesn't want anything to do with angels or humans, and yet he risks getting injured in order to save Luke from falling. Yet he actively seeks out MC to solve one of the 666 Mysteries of RAD together with them, and saves them from tumbling on the floor because "anyone else would have done the same" (they wouldn't have. The season 1 brothers would have laughed straight in MC's face). He literally complained to Thirteen about how he was just about to go home and how he doesn't have time for her, yet diligently carries all her things for her as rain is pouring down on him. His actions always end up betraying his words

Also he has a massive sweet tooth which alings perfectly with one of the headcanons I had for months and is RAD's local horse girl so we stan! <3

-> more character & relationship analyses -> masterlist

[ruvviks]

Following the chilling conclusion of All That's Left's first season, Mac and Layla and their friends find themselves scattered across a divided Los Angeles a year after their successful return to town. Matrix Corp has taken control— "With humanity's best interest in mind"— but with our protagonists' knowledge of Opportunity's destruction and Houston's unexpected fall, they know better than to trust the corporation and its near military-sized security force. Closed district gates separate them from one another and a new threat lurks just outside the city's walls— but resistance is on the rise, and it is only a matter of time before truth comes out. [SEASON ONE HERE]

taglist (opt in/out)

@shellibisshe, @florbelles, @ncytiri, @roseeway, @stars-of-the-heart;

@lestatlioncunt, @katsigian, @radioactiveshitstorm, @estevnys, @adelaidedrubman;

@celticwoman, @rindemption, @carlosoliveiraa, @noirapocalypto, @dickytwister;

@killerspinal, @euryalex, @ri-a-rose, @velocitic, @thedeadthree;

@kanos, @swordcoasts, @ordinarymaine, @claudiawolf, @strafethesesinners

[dog-bonezzzz]

sometimes i feel like some of the hlvrai fandom needs to remember these are not corporate soulless characters owned by rich white guys made solely for profit. the science team (and the others) are a group of stranger's half life gmod improv roleplay characters. the cast members have shown they do check on the fandom from time to time these characters do belong to normal everyday people. be mindful

[see-arcane]

"a century and a half of him being a cowardly weakling who sometimes cheats" - about Jonathan Harker in one of previous asks I'm sorry, but that's not even true. Jonathan wasn't always some cowardly weakling in media. He wasn't a cowardly weakling in 1970 Count Dracula adaptation or in 1977 BBC adaptation or in that Czechoslovakian 1971  adaptation or in 1953 Turkish one - he was brave and badass in those. And even if you don't like 1992 version, Jonathan was not weakling there either - he was brave, he was badass chasing Dracula across snowy Transylvania with others and even cut his throat, mortally wounding him. It's an exaggeration to claim Jonathan has always been a cowardly weaking in media.

I don't know what specific ask you're referring to and I don't like my odds of sifting through the pile to find the exact quote, but it's a sentiment that's appeared in a few of my rambles before, so I'll take your word that it's floating around somewhere.

First, thank you for bringing up four whole Dracula adaptations where Jonathan Harker is done some justice that have never crossed my radar. The 1970 version has Christopher Lee himself as the Count, so it seems like a promising watch on principle, and I think I vaguely recall the 1977 BBC being mentioned as a hidden gem adaptation that actually brushed closer to the book's canon. The Czechoslovakian and Turkish versions I will trust you on, as my media saturation is drowning in 'murrican schlock. I will even give the 1992 Jonathan credit for letting Keanu have a fraction of Jonathan's character in Coppola's laughably named 1992 fanfiction.

But the thing is, those are five movies. Five whole movies you could point to in a very very very long list of Dracula media. Five where Jonathan is allowed to possess one sliver of his canonical self's character, courage, strength, and ability. I will say the line you picked is one to be rightfully upset about, if only because it isn't right to be angry over 'a century and a half of him being a cowardly weakling.' Fear is part of Jonathan's character.

Jonathan Harker was terrified for his entire stay with the Count. That is in canon. Then he escapes, goes through his magical girl transformation in reaction to Mina being attacked, and winds up beheading the Count. Him starting out afraid is key to his character arc and the catharsis of the climax.

An arc that is--and I will bet money on this--almost entirely gutted even in the four adaptations I wasn't aware of. I know it for a fact in the 1992 film. Keanu was given the same acting directions and script in the movie as you'd give a slice of dry toast or a broom.

Because, as has been the case in far more movies, shows and books with Dracula as a starring role, Jonathan Harker may not necessarily become a coward, but he is always, always gutted. Dracula becomes the dark seducer, now with Coppola's rendition becoming the norm ala 'blaspheming for love,' courtesy of stealing Jonathan's driving passion in the third act. Van Helsing becomes Dracula's badass personal nemesis, courtesy of robbing Jonathan and Mina of that co-owned role.

Yes, Jonathan is sometimes remembered, but it's a coin toss as to whether he gets to A) Participate in the narrative beyond filling screen space, B) Be interesting, C) Be faithful (and not a cookie cutter Victorian Man (c) cliche to poor Mina who needs a REAL VAMPIRE MAN, D) Have any of his importance as one half of the protagonist team with Mina acknowledged without handing everything to Van Helsing. You can only ever have one. If you're lucky.

When people think of the Dracula media of today, or last decade, or the decade before that, and before that, who besides people who have actually read the book would think Jonathan Harker matters as a character? As the guy who opens and closes the story? As the guy who spent two months in captivity with Dracula, as the only person to have actual dialogue with him beyond a single villain rant? As the guy who did not just scratch Dracula's throat, but actively sent him running for his unlife in Piccadilly and ultimately chopped his head off?

The most he's gotten in recent years are the scraps that Moffat tossed him in his latest self insert OCified take on Dracula in his 2020 series, if we ignore the massive middle finger of a send off he gets in the first episode. Or we could look at the 2013 series' lovely depiction of Jonathan (now a jealous prick) and Lucy (an unfulfilled lesbian) having angry-cheating sex about Mina not being into them. Or 2022's The Invitation, featuring Count Ken Doll and his helpers, the elderly Harkers who are also his minions who attack and offer up an innocent girl to his Bride-cult. Or the 1999-2007 comic series of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan 'lol Jonathan Harker is a milksop' Moore, who wrote Mina has his own personal SA fetish stand-in while Jonathan is mercifully off-screen, having ditched Mina because he thought her vampire bite scars were ugly. Or we could give Anno Dracula a read and see Kim Newman's special warm welcome and farewell to the Harkers within the first few pages.

Or we could go back to the beginning. All the way to Tod Browning and F.W. Murnau.

Browning's Dracula of 1931 is, like Coppola's 1992 flick, one of, if not the most immediately recognized version of Dracula there is in cinema. Its climax features Jonathan Harker prancing around a crypt looking for Mina while Van Helsing stakes the Count. (I am being literal. The man is practically skipping. I know, I know, film acting wasn't at its peak back then, but come on.)

Murnau and the very definitely for sure not Dracula with its serial numbers filed off 1922 film, Nosferatu, has Orlok being appropriately menacing and weird at the Jonathan Harker stand-in of 'Thomas Hutter,' who is theatrically terrified--but at least one half of an earnestly loving couple with Mina Ellen Hutter!--and then gets sent away by Ellen on a ruse so she can die tricking Orlok into his death by sunrise.

Jonathan Harker mincing uselessly around while Van Helsing gets the work done.

Jonathan Harker quailing and afraid, contributing nothing to the Count's (or doppelganger thereof) destruction.

Jonathan Harker, however effete or earnest or able, loses the girl to the dark dramatic seducer.

This was the foundation people were given for this character well before anyone bothered to pick up the book. And much of that audience didn't bother. Same for the generations to follow. There's a reason the Dracula Daily wave has surprised, enthralled, and enraged so many new readers who thought that 126+ years of multiple mediums had to be working from some bedrock of comparison in the book, only to find how much had been erased or warped out of recognition.

I would be here all day if I threw myself into all the comic book adaptations. All the spinoff novels. The entire filmography and its neighboring heap of TV series. Even I'm not dedicated enough to comb through every single page and scene just to be reminded of how routinely snubbed or bastardized this character--and, honestly, the whole cast--is as time marches on and the writers and directors behind new Dracula media become increasingly detached from the actual content of the novel, relying only on pop culture osmosis and Wiki pages for Coppola's movie.

Anyway. I suppose it isn't perfectly fair to say Jonathan Harker has been portrayed as a coward through the century and a quarter of Dracula film, TV, and print in every single depiction.

But there is enough saturation in the trends of contemporary media that any crumbs the 20th century offered to him are drowned out to the point that we need a microscope to find them. And even if we're not talking contemporary?

I think it's telling that the examples you gave, bar what I can't not read as a hell of a stretch with 90's Keanu, form a list of four examples out of 126 years' worth of media.

[aq2003]

what possessed the rsc to go backwards and cast a white actress as rosaline in 2015 and actually can they make the 2008 version directed by greg doran starring david tennant and nina sosanya available to the public even if it's in 140p and meant exclusively for archival purposes

[theskoomacat]

M*uthwashing was good, the only things i didn't enjoy lie in the area of writing (but so do some things i enjoyed the most!) - but I expected more from it? kinda?

[lesbiangiratina]

Hehe anyway damn guys did you see the twt gg popularity poll . Testament got 3rd place. Thats my comment for testament at the top. Hehe. That 1 on the bottom is pretty cool too i bet the person who wrote that is so sweet and cool and awesoms and lovable. And the guy they were writing about seems . normal

[rmorde]

I think it's beautifully tragic that it ended up being Sukuna who freed Gojo from his loneliness and made him feel like a human not a god.

It's sad, but it doesn't diminish his love for the students imo.

Objectively, yes. You are absolutely right, Anon. It is a beautiful tragedy. Can't deny that Gege must have crafted #236 as a way to give Gojo a lovely yet ironic send-off. The man everyone touted as the heroic teacher and savior was suffering from isolation brought up by circumstance. Only the villain could save him and end the never ending cycle of sacrifice he was trapped in.

I know it sound ridiculous but frankly, imo, Gojo is sacrificing and being selfless all this time on hindsight. As revealed in the Afterlife Airport, Gojo just wants to have fun and be connected with people. That is his most selfish desire. However, he forgoes those desires and instead dedicated himself into serving others.

Gojo is very simple. Gege said so himself and I could see it only now.

-> Gojo just wants to live happily with friends and have fun with his powers. -> Gojo realizes he cannot do that because people suffer. Suffering is something he had come to know intimately through Geto and Amanai. He wants no one else to experience that. So, he tries his best to prevent others from going through it by being responsible in his own unconventional way. -> Gojo tries to build a better world where people get to have a choice (unlike Amanai) and would not have to fight alone (unlike Geto). Both of these are anti-thesis to the current culture of jujutsu society. -> Gojo cannot kill the higher-ups to get what he wants because it is not a permanent solution since others would just replace them. -> So, Gojo plays the long game. He undermines the higher-ups by becoming a teacher instead of a simple yet effective foot soldier. This is the toughest part because it's like a Heavenly Restriction. Gojo takes in young sorcerers and acts as a buffer for them. In exchange, Gojo has to do missions with barely any time to spare. Those spare time he does get, he uses it to teach his students in a goofy way.

On the surface level, Gojo looks like a happy-go-lucky asshole who never takes anything seriously. However, the guy is working all the time, isn't he? When does he gets sweets? Between jobs while travelling for missions. When does he play around? While fighting curses or partaking in school events which are essentially his job. When is he being so goofy? While teaching his students which again is his job.

No wonder he is so sadistic against curses and downright nasty with his teasing at times. Gojo needs an outlet from all that stress of being worked to the bone. The guy doesn't get a day-off. Even worse, no one really realizes it because of the first impression he makes as a competent weirdo and his lack of delicacy makes him so off-putting that no one really digs deep on what exactly he is doing or how he is doing. His reputation as "The Strongest' could not have been of any help too.

Gojo has simple goals and is very simple in his methods at achieving it. There are no hidden agendas, double meanings, sugarcoating, or anything. Whatever he says is exactly what you will get.

However, everyone in and out of the JJK-verse, tend to make a molehill out of everything Gojo does or says. No one could get an accurate reading on him because as "The Strongest", he must have something grand up on his sleeves like a selfish plan for some sinister selfish goal.

-> Nanami: He is the biggest example for me among the adults. I love him but it's clear that he does not really like Gojo and misunderstands him a lot. He cares about him like a professional colleague and former schoolmate. However, they're not besties. I think Haibara's loss is too much of an overwhelming barrier between them.

Nanami is wise and mature but it's clear in the story that he is human too. Despite logic telling otherwise, he puts Gojo on an unreachable pedestal and resents him for failing him one time - the death of Haibara. This is something I really like about him because it shows that he is not perfect and his emotions cannot simply be ruled over by cold logic. I'm sure Nanami understands that it was the higher-ups that screwed them over. Hence his protective and supportive nature towards Yuji. But, again since Nanami put Gojo on a pedestal, he cannot help the slight bitterness he would always have towards the Six Eyes user.

Because of that bitterness, Nanami does not see Gojo beyond the surface level. Although, another reason might be is that he is scared to see Gojo as human who can get hurt like them too. To think of Gojo as a person might break Nanami's worldview.

-> Megumi: His relationship with Gojo is complicated to say the least. While I love to headcanon them as a loving perfectly functional family, I know in canon that they're not exactly all sunshine and rainbows together. Megumi has a very bad first impression of Gojo and it is something that persists throughout their times together. He is like that "first-child" phenomenon of a parent figuring things out on how to properly treat a child and got fucked up by it.

Gojo did did everything wrong in their first interaction. He did save Megumi and Tsumiki. He even gave the kid a choice on what to do and was planning on telling him the truth about Toji. Those were kind actions BUT that was after Gojo delivered the disgusting news about Megumi being sold like cattle. To cap it all off, Gojo encourage the boy the get strong.

So, how else would Megumi think of him other than being nice on the surface but with a hidden a agenda underneath?

Everyone thinks of Gojo poorly despite everything he does and is only appreciated for his powers. I think the only exceptions are: Yuji, Yuta, and Shoko.

-> Shoko: She was a trio with Gojo and Geto. Out of everyone, she knows him best and truly take his words in for what it is. The trouble tho is they cannot connect because of a misunderstanding. Shoko often waits for Gojo to take the initiative in their interactions first. While Gojo, on the other hand, buys into Shoko's aloof neutral facade and respects it by not getting her roped into his affairs.

-> Yuji & Yuta: I grouped these two together because they are very similar in their relationship with Gojo. They were both outsiders to the jujutsu society and was saved from execution by Gojo. The man was their lifeline literally. Their first impression on him has largely positive despite his weirdness. In fact, out of everyone, Yuji and Yuta are the only ones to see Gojo as a person first then "The Strongest" second. They both worry for him and wanted to rush in to help him (Yuji in Shibuya, Yuta in Shinjuku). I believe the only obstacles that stop them from reaching out to Gojo are: -> He is their teacher. That is both a generational and power gap that is difficult to overcome even in real life. -> Their peers and environment are kind of pressuring them to follow the norm of "Gojo is the Strongest. Don't worry about it. He'd be fine alone."

I had high hopes that it is Yuji, Yuta, or Shoko that could break through Gojo's lonely cycle of sacrifice. If there was anyone that can cross that divide, I thought it would be them after some character development.

So, it is a bitter pill to swallow for me that it was Sukuna that did it first and robbed them of the opportunity by killing Gojo instead. It fucking hurts because it was so unfair for Gojo but more so on the trio who had seen him as a person but were unable to communicate it properly.

In my PoV, Shoko, Yuta, and Yuji were so fucking close at saving Gojo from loneliness and correcting him from his mistaken belief that his love is always one-sided - that no one could ever understand him despite the care he gives judging from the flower metaphor that he used. I partly blame Geto for this and also jujutsu society's toxic culture.

I'm mad and upset that Sukuna got to Gojo first before everyone else has a chance which makes it a beautiful tragedy indeed. I respect Gege for that.

But subjectively, I'm upset about it and find the whole thing so difficult to accept because for that very same reason. It's a tragically beautiful conclusion which makes it a harrowing reminder that this is JJK and JJK is not a pretty world when all I ever want is for Yuji and Shoko to not lose so much more.

[theheadlessgroom]

@beatingheart-bride

"Sounds like Dorian alright," Randall chuckled; even as a boy, his best friend seemed to take any and all opportunities he found to try and throw a party, and although these attempts didn't always pan out, he still tried. Even as a child, Randall knew it wasn't because Dorian enjoyed being the center of these parties (unlike what some suspected), it was simply because he wanted everyone to have a good time drinking, dancing, playing party games, and just overall having fun, and that especially went for Randall, who got to enjoy some of these lavish get-togethers through Dorian, who always insisted his best friend and his mother get to join in.

(And who knew-maybe that'd still be the case once they made it to California; Dorian throwing parties. They'd probably be scaled down from the wildly over-the-tip ones held at Gracey Manor, of course, but he could see his dear friend still putting quite a few on for even the most minute of celebrations.)

"I wish I could see these dresses too," he smiled, brightening at the idea of making him and Emily matching outfits, and especially giving his all when it came to his bride's dresses; he'd never do anything by half when it came to her. It was a shame she couldn't have brought them back with her from the future, he really would've liked to see them (and see if he'd any gotten better post-mortem-Lord knew he had all the time in the world to practice and improve!)

"Did you, uh, have a favorite that I made, for a particular party, I mean?"

[iris-nonsense]

Koby has haki powers!!!

[piduai]

What are your thoughts on Ogata getting misinterpreted/mischaracterised by like 95% of the fanbase? Idk if it’s because the storytelling is too nuanced, or because people project on him, but most people's takes on him are inaccurate and I can’t figure out why.

(That being said, I’m guilty of this myself – up until chapter 304 I was convinced he was the biggest Tsurumi hater cause he didn’t help him get into officer school like he pinkie promised, so the last few chapters threw me off when I first read them)

idk queen i stopped reading what people are saying about ogata years ago. i see a wall of text that most probably boils down to he's so misunderstood and could have been fixed by love and go like no thank you. at this point i just came to the conclusion that many people are way too intellectually lazy to engage with the characters in the actual narrative rather than their own visions of them/popular fanon so i don't bother

[discombobulatedshoe]

the biggest thing for me is the care factor. like the part where the book gives you a reason to care about the characters and what happens to them. in a fic, the care factor is in-built because other fans are coming to fic specifically because they already care very much. too often in fic-to-romance novel adaptations they don't spend enough time up front giving the reader a reason to care.

i think this is also partly a contributing factor to the jump cut effect. because it's in those moments between major events that you can put subtleties and nuance and quieter emotional beats that endear the characters and their relationship to the reader. (in fact, it's frequently these very moments that can spin off entire ships within fandoms). when we get to the big moments of a book, we should be going in to them already caring about the outcome of these major turning points. that's what gives those moments stakes. when you skip the care factor, these important moments feel soulless.

basically the affective reading experience of fic versus novels is just totally different. and i don't think publishers, authors and editors take that into account enough when turning a fic in to a traditionally published novel.

a fic is more like a continuation of a larger narrative -- or rather a continuation of a conversation about a larger narrative. because often fic is interacting with the discourses and culture of the fandom surrounding the source material, sometimes even more so than the source material itself. fic is inherently born out of fan communities, and the authorship and readership speak a common language with common references that are often only intelligible because of that shared community. not even just fandom-specific references like knowing popular head canons and characterisations, but also understandings of fic structures and archetypes and tropes (think coffee shop AUs, 5+1 fics, fix-it fics &c.) add to that AO3's tagging system and readers of fanfic actually go into the fic with a lot of established knowledge before they even get to the fic summary let alone the fic itself.

there's a lot of crossover with the romance genre (specifically around tropes) but it's still a totally different medium and community. part of the promise of a (good) romance novel, is that the author will give you a couple you care about and can root for, will craft a relationship journey with ups and downs that keeps you hooked, and will finally resolve the tension with a happy ending. but outside of that general promise, the specifics of setting implied by the subgenre (sci-fi, western, historical etc.), and whatever tropes are mentioned in the blurb and the marketing -- novel readers are going in with relatively little information about the story, characters and world. all of that has to be established in the text itself -- and frequently, in fic-to-novel adaptations, just isn't.

this is fix is much more involved than just Ctrl+F find and replacing all the character names, so it's probably why it's not done as much. especially if the publishers' perception of fic-to-novel adaptations when they sign them is that they're a fast and easy turn-around. they're very deeply not, or at least they shouldn't be if you want to do them well.

this comment on that vulture article about the "fanfic-to-romance novel pipeline" is very interesting and not something i've seen articulated...much to think about...

[shokupanda]

nasijau's koi gen hoshino animation save me. save me. save me nasijau's koi gen hoshino animation.