#I know that's the point and every other character is Also frustrated by his inability to see the bigger picture but it's so simple kiddo

[anonprotagging]

paulo's interludes are so angsty though someone needs to sit down and have a talk with this moody little teenager (even though literally everyone has been trying) because jfc he loses like ONE battle and decides to base his whole personality around that. valid, but what a little worm to read about 🙄🙄🙄

[rocketbirdie]

YOU. You are correct about Cloud Strife. Everything you say about him is CORRECT

Hi I'm going to use your ask as an opportunity to go on an unhinged tangent about him below the cut.

I believe that EVERYTHING about Cloud Strife as a character makes total sense once you realize: it's autism.

Here's a character whose entire arc revolves around the erosion of his identity and his desperate attempts to adhere to an ideal image, at the expense of his own wellbeing; and how self acceptance is the thing that brings him back from the edge of despair.

Youtube theorycrafters waste hours of their lives trying to piece together Cloud's psyche, when the answer is just... autism. It really is that simple. I will die on this goddamn hill.

In Trace of Two Pasts, we learn that even as a toddler, Cloud really was just... like that. Unemotive and awkward. And the entire lifestream sequence in the OG shows us a young Cloud who behaves in baffling ways. Tifa and her friends invited Cloud into their group, but he rejected their friendship while simultaneously harboring a seething jealousy. How the heck does that work, huh?

Viewing this through the Autism Lens™️, his approach make way more sense. Fearing his own inability to read and reciprocate their intentions, he pushes them away, and the resulting loneliness crushes him. He mistakes that loneliness for anger. He turns that anger outwards and gets into fights. Because the other kids don't understand him, Cloud sees them as stupid and immature. It's the perfect recipe for disastrous distrust. The tragic result is that, when Tifa gets into her accident, Cloud is immediately blamed by kids AND adults. He's seen as inherently dangerous and unpredictable, even though he did nothing wrong. It's like they were already looking for the perfect excuse to hate him.

The worst part is, because he struggles to articulate his own thoughts and feelings, he starts to just... accept what other people say about him. He's a pain in the ass. He's a selfish brat. He could try being a bit nicer. Any attempt that he makes to argue, backfires and proves their points even more. He's being childish. He needs to get his shit together. Nothing's ever good enough for him. He stops fighting it and lets people drag him around and violate his boundaries, because no matter how loud he yells or how intelligently he argues, nothing he says ever reaches their ears. He trims away more and more of himself to try and appease others and nurse the constant emotional pain. (And that's not even addressing the entire traumatic *waves hands* everything that he's gone through by the time he reaches Midgar! That would have to be its own tangent lol.)

It's hard to watch as a player; the secondhand embarrassment of Cloud's social blunders is immense. Some people don't like Cloud as a video game protagonist, which is perfectly valid. But a lot of times, they justify their opinion by perpetuating the same damaging language. He's an asshole, he's a weirdo, he hates people. The irony would be hilarious if it wasn't so frustrating. I know Cloud is just a fictional character, he doesn't need to be defended from harsh criticisms. But I can't help but wonder what these players think about the "weird people-hating assholes" that they meet in real life.

It also makes me wonder if they were even paying attention. I think the games make it pretty damn obvious what's going on. He's an asshole because other characters treat him like one before they even get to know him. He hates people because he doesn't understand them, and they don't even try to understand him. He's a weirdo because he has a strange way of showing how deeply he loves and cares, and he's afraid that his love will be misinterpreted like every other emotion he's ever dared to show.

The autism is everywhere. It permeates his entire being. It's in his silly responses when he takes things too literally. It's in his painfully practical way with words. It's in the stiff expressionless look and the flat tone of voice. It's in him constantly adjusting his gloves, shifting his weight, looking down at his feet. It's in his questionable idea of what you're supposed to do with your body at a yoga session. It's in the half a dozen flustered high fives, it's in the motion sickness. It's in the contagious eagerness with his special interests in SOLDIER and materia and chocobos.

It's in the moments where the facade crumbles and we get to see the real Cloud, the one that Aerith knew was in there— the one that Tifa finds in the lifestream— the one that Zack gave his life for— the Cloud that cherishes the whole world. He's got so much of everything inside of his heart, and he doesn't know how to get it out. You'd be a weird asshole about it, too.

[twst-hottest-takes]

OKAY TRAUMA OLYMPICS TIME!

Ranking every Overblotter based on how sad their backstory makes me: THAT MEANS IT’S VERY BIASED AND SUBJECTIVE!

Waves hands in a manic gesture towards the disclaimer* (Now is your chance to turn around!)

7: Azul Ashengrotto-Got picked on for being different. The thing that takes me out about Azul’s backstory and its connection to his overblot is how basic it feels. I’m not here to invalidate his feelings, I understand those insecurities, but apparently the only thing stopping more people from overblotting is that they can’t accumulate blot at the same rate because of lower magic output. If you ask me, the real tragedy of his character is his inability to acknowledge his own achievements. He says, “I’ll show them!” and, yes, hon, you did. Calm down. You are 17, nothing is stopping you from becoming the person you say you are (unlike half the other people on this list). (0/10 He tried to take advantage of my compassion and took my home away. He can cry harder into his money for all I care. Also bottom tier Overblot design.)

(Slight edit: changed Azul's age to 17 because I put 15 before. That would have been his age before turning human to go to NRC, but that might have been confusing and seemed inaccurate. Thanks to the person who pointed that out! The rest of the statement remains the same.)

6: Vil Schoenheit—Hates being typecast and treated like number two. Bro’s real crime is checking his socials too much and letting it get to him. I feel nothing for Vil and he’s only above Azul because his situation is a little less common as a one in a million super celebrity which can come with outlandish amounts of stress I can't comprehend. Again, the tragedy is his inability to be satisfied with his current state of his career and acknowledge his success because someone’s always above him. YOU ARE 18! YOU HAVE YOUR WHOLE CAREER AHEAD OF YOU! Give yourself some space to breath. He’s the one character you’d think would know and see a therapist. He’s so perfectly managed about every other element of his life it seems almost out of character for him not to be considering his mental health. If you consider he's even taking time away from his career to go to school and have "normal teen experiences" I don't know why I should feel bad. (0/10 Attempted murder. Jealous biotch. Probably, less sympathetic than Azul actually.)

5: Leona Kingscholar—Also hates his life situation and being treated like second fiddle. Leona is above Vil because he DOESN’T have a way out of being “typecast.” Time and talent can't save him. He was born into a situation where he can’t be anything other than the second prince and when he finally got a chance to be number one at something (Spelldrive at NRC) Malleus shows up to put him back down to second place again. Life seems to have a karmic way of making Leona nothing more and I feel that. Honestly, Leona’s state makes me cry but I can’t rank him higher because the canon content for his character is sparse. Most of the elements about Leona are things you have to look into and read out of his actions and backstory and while that’s not bad, it’s frustrating that a lot of people overlook them because they aren’t as explicit as the other characters. Leona’s depression is very real, but because the symptoms manifest as less sad-boy and more tired jackass a lot of people overlook his failing mental health. He’s badly written and I feel like the first iteration of his backstory (Book 2 in game) does the worst job about making you feel anything for him considering his actions. (4/10 Smart character with lots of potential but written like an idiot where it counted. Also attempted murder.)

4: Malleus Draconia (TENTATIVE)—Doesn’t want to be alone. After all, what’s the point of being so powerful when it’s so lonely? Loneliness is a feeling that I think doesn’t get explored enough in the media I consume (maybe I need to look harder), so Malleus can be a little higher for what I currently perceive as his reasons for overblotting. He’s an immortal being constantly ostracized by the position he was born into and suffers from the classic conundrum of having to watch everyone he cares about go before him. For all intents and purposes he’s an orphan. He doesn’t have a lot of people he’s related to and can really consider close, so it hits him extra hard when they can’t be around anymore, and for all of his age, as a fae he’s really very young, immature, and inexperienced. The game is doing its darndest to make sure that he gets as thorough an explanation as possible and actively wants you to understand where he’s coming from and feel bad. So he gets the halfway point because as much as I love this kind of thing, favoritism and getting the longest time to explore his feelings only gets him so high. (6/10 I like that the MC has a personal stake in this one, and he's not actively trying to kill anyone.) (Since Book 8 isn’t over yet, his position is subject to change later.)

3: Riddle Rosehearts—Anal retentive to the extreme. Riddle’s mom is so hated by the fandom she is never getting a face reveal. Is now the time to express how bad I feel about Riddle being traumatized by strictness and rules to the point where he honestly believes that bending the most absurd rules will result in disastrous consequences? Maybe. I appreciate that we saw exactly the inciting incident that made Riddle the way he is now. So much of his character falls back on that one time he broke the rules as a kid, and it HAS SO MUCH IMPACT. He gets a lot of props for being one of the few overblotters to actually have character growth post-featured book. Riddle is a contender for second place, but his potential ability to grow beyond his circumstances makes him less tragic. (7/10 Riddle is a surprisingly strong first antagonist in the main story. Almost killed someone, but that was notably AFTER he broke down and turned into a rampaging monster.)

2: Jamil Viper—Can never be his true self. Jamil is another guy who was born into his lifestyle and has no feasible way out of what’s driving him up the wall. It’s not just about Kalim being naïve and sheltered, it’s about how Jamil himself can’t ever use the gifts he has or escape from that fate. He is better than Kalim at a lot of things, but has to act like an amateur so he doesn’t outshine the guy he’s been sworn to protect and serve. He has expectations set on him, and duties to fulfill, and his best route in life as presented to him is just to be as average and boring as possible despite his innate talent and potential. I don’t know if there’s supposed to be a way for Jamil to get out of his family’s servitude to the Al-Asims that causes him to be so bitter, so at this point I kind of assume he’s stuck and that makes it extra sad. The fact that he really just wants to go on vacation makes it hit harder that he’s not even that bad for a guy at a villains’ school. Book 5 giving him a chance to break out of that shadow is great, honestly. (8/10 I can't hate him. He just wants a break, man. He wasn't even trying to hurt anyone, but loses a point for dragging Yuu/MC into his scheme. [Don't y'all dare throw Kalim hate in here. That's not what this is about. I will fight you.])

1: Idia Shroud—Survivor’s Guilt. Book 6 really went there and we are going to talk about it. He did something he shouldn’t have as a kid and now he has to live with the fact that his kid brother is dead. He wanted so badly to undo what he did that he built a new version of him even though he knew deep down he could never replace Ortho. No. I’m sorry. You’re not beating that. That’s not event including the fact that he’s also stuck as a fracking guardian of the underworld in a family that is supposed to be incapable of overblotting in the first place. Idia has textbook depression, and that’s not a bad thing. He feels just as trapped as everyone else and doesn’t see a point to doing anything the conventional way if he doesn’t have to. Idia is NOT a perfect person or character, but as far as his writing for why he ends up doing what he does, I think he easily takes the cake. (10/10 Will weep again. Character writing, with a little dash of hope that he can find some bright spots in life. Extra points for Ortho telling him to keep living. Also, he has the coolest Overblot design. 100/10 for Technopunk Hades.)

This is a super abridged version of what I have to say regarding each of these characters, so I may have to write out actual essays and character analysis for them eventually. I tried to get out the gist of my rankings in as short a form as possible, but that might not be good enough for some people. Feel free to tell me how I misunderstand and mischaracterize your fave.

[gffa]

One of the biggest hurdles with the Lockwood and Co. books is that they're set entirely from Lucy Carlyle's point of view and there is a whole lot of body shaming that really set my teeth on edge when I first read it. Some of it is still just awful, but I've come around on that I can read a lot of it as Lucy's unexamined issues from childhood rearing their heads in some nasty ways.

Her relationships with all the characters around her are contentious and full of conflict even just in her thoughts, she's so nasty to George, to Holly, to the Skull, to Kipps, to Barnes, etc. It most especially comes out with Holly (and Kat Godwin before her, then Flo Bones as well) and it's very easy to read Lucy as reacting badly to her own attraction to women, her envy of them and her inability to let herself be attracted to them, because she's closed off so tightly.

But it's also her relationship with the Skull, who she constantly argues with and says she hates, she has nothing but poison for it in her thoughts, but as soon as it goes missing, she's desperate to get it back.

It's also in her relationship with George, who she constantly nettles and thinks mean thoughts about, but it's obvious that she cares about him deeply and has grown to love him as a friend, even if she can't necessarily admit that to herself.

Her entire dynamic with Holly is centered around how feminine Holly is, how pretty she is, how Lucy just cannot stop thinking about how Holly dresses, how she does her hair, how soft her skin looks, how her little hand motions are so delicate and proper. And, yeah, some of it is envy and feeling insecure, that other people will like Holly more than her, but it's also just so much attention on all the little details that it comes off as unrealized physical attraction.

And then suddenly, I'm looking at all of the relationships Lucy has with people, where almost all the people she likes and respects are ones she's nasty to. Which clicked into place for me when she went back to visit her home town and was miserable there, the poor relationship she had with her family suddenly making so much sense in the way she rejects people before they can reject her, that she's so terrified of being vulnerable that she schools her thoughts and actions and words into prickly meanness so that she doesn't get hurt when they don't want her.

Lockwood is the exception to this, because he's the one who took all her nastiness and kept being mostly kind to her, he allowed a certain amount of vulnerability to himself and Lucy slowly started to come around on him and thought nicer of him. Sure, part of it is that she has feelings for him and so her thoughts are kinder, but I think it goes hand in hand with the way Lockwood is the one that never really sniped back at her or egged her on in any way, he started to feel safe to her, he started to feel secure to her.

And then she breaks his trust! She sneaks into the locked room to find out about his history, in a moment of anger and frustration, she breaks the thing that he asked them not to poke into, and she knows he would have every right to be angry enough at her to kick her out! But he's nice to her about it! He says, no, it was time to tell you guys about it anyway. He's open and vulnerable about something that she desperately feared rejection over!

Which is of course why her feelings reach a certain point and she has to acknowledge them, she can't deny them anymore, so the slightest push (the ghost wearing Lockwood's face, saying that she would do this to him, get him killed) has her running off from the agency and going independent, because she's terrified that she'll get Lockwood killed/terrified of actually stepping across that line into having feelings that could really hurt her if she's not accepted.

She's complicated and messy and I love her, she's a great character with a great, dynamic arc--but it does require reading into some of the more problematic elements of the character and taking a more generous view of them, even when I know much of the real answer is that the author probably didn't see the problem with the way he would have her describe characters (especially anyone that was overweight) and you have to find the mental line you're willing to walk with that. But if you're okay with wincing through some of the earliest stuff, I think there's a really cool Hot Mess Lady character waiting on the other side.

[lurkingshan]

Hi! I love reading your opinions and I have just started The Sign. What are your opinions on the show and what route are you hoping it would take for the second half of the show? Take care and happy new year!

Hello anon! You picked such an interesting moment to send this ask. We’re halfway through the show and I think its strengths and weaknesses have become fairly clear. Let's talk about it!

Strength: The Chemistry

I think this is the thing that had all the girlies losing it right out of the gate: Phaya and Tharn are hot and their interactions are hotter. The pull and chemistry between them is palpable and the set up for their romance is compelling. Kudos to whoever found Babe and decided to pair him with Billy: you, sir or madam, are incredible at your job and deserve a fruit basket. We are all dying for these two to finally fuck.

Weakness: The Pacing

Which is why it's kind of frustrating that the show is dragging its feet on letting their relationship advance. The first four eps were delicious tension-building, but as the show starts to stall and use dream sequence fakeouts to provide smut without actual relationship development, the audience is clearly getting antsy. The show's pacing is all over the place in general, with wildly varied episode lengths and inconsistent action and plot advancement from week to week. And the desire to drag out the romance without a compelling alternative plot to fill the show in its absence is causing some damage to the characters, most notably Tharn, who is just starting to seem unreasonably antagonistic to a person we know he likes, not to mention unperceptive in his continued inability to notice what is going on around him.

Strength: Production Values

This show is absolutely gorgeous; you can tell most of the money went into making every frame of it beautiful. The strength of the production values and hard work of the crew to create the look and feel of the world was evident from the first episode with all those beautiful training sequences on the beach. And this is used to particularly strong effect whenever we visit Phaya and Tharn's past lives and see the magical world that exists around them come to life.

Strength: The Supporting Cast

The show also has a great ensemble, with Yai especially a standout character who brings a lot of fun to the show, along with his girlfriend Sand and the police squad bros. This is not surprising, as big, messy, chaotic, endearing queer friend groups are an IdolFactory staple. As of last week, we officially have a lesbian side pairing! Tharn and Phaya also have interesting family histories with sweet grandmas and loved ones who lend depth to their characterization.

Weakness: The Copaganda

It was perhaps too much to expect that this bl about cops would have a more sophisticated perspective on law enforcement, institutional corruption, and the so-called "justice" system, but that does not stop me from groaning out loud every time they pause the story to let these characters wax poetic about the nobility of their jobs.

Strength: Thai Folklore

This show is teaching all of us some things about real Thai folklore about the garuda and nara, including local customs associated with celebrating these tales, and the depiction of these stories in the show is just beautiful. Despite it basically being a tourism advert (complete with couple shirts for no reason??), I really enjoyed the episode that took us to Nong Khai and the Mekong River to see how modern Thai folks interpret and celebrate the myths at the center of this show’s story and ground us in something real.

Weakness: An Underdeveloped Take on Toxic Masculinity

This show uses violence quite a lot in its story, including violence in interpersonal dynamics, and it sometimes seems to want us to be alarmed by uncontrolled male anger, and sometimes impressed by it. At this point, Tharn and Phaya have both struck each other in anger during personal disagreements, and there hasn't been any real reckoning with the fallout of that. On top of that, the show has given us some crime cases that highlight the harm of toxic masculinity while also seeming to glorify and revel in it, most notably in the framing of a man who kidnapped and retraumatized sexual assault victims as a hunky folk hero. It's a confused take, to say the least, and I'm not sure the show has the depth and precision necessary in the writing to take on some of what it's throwing at the wall.

Strength: Villains

All I can say is Heng was born to play an evil snake god. The show has done a good job at making him feel like a real threat and building the antagonism between him and Phaya to the point where Phaya has been isolated from support and made to look crazy in front of Tharn. Dr. Slow Motion is very good at this.

So, what's the TL; DR? This show is a lot of fun, but has some obvious weaknesses in the writing, so do your best not to take it too seriously if you can. I am ready to see Phaya and Tharn get together and finally start working as a team, for the full backstory and epic battle they are waging to come out, and for the motivations of the rest of the cast of characters to become clear (I just know there are some additional past life reincarnations waiting to be revealed). It's a great time if you don't think about it too hard, and I really hope the back half will pick up the pace so that we can all just enjoy the ride.

[honeycreammilkshake]

hello again honey please don't rush to answer if you're busy ♡

With the last chapter of jjk coming up I've kinda been trying to avoid thinking too much about it because I'm expecting to be disappointed but sadly I'm still thinking about it. Have you seen the dream theory? I read it and some things, like Yuji's domain being connected to Kenjakus powers make sense to me, same to how we're following megumi around as if he's the mc and hes the only one "awake" even though I don't think if this was Yuji's work he'd do it for Megumis sake as that post implied. I'm actually very frustrated with how even at the end we don't focus at all on Yuji, Megumi gets closure for his dad, gojo, his sister, even hana, but we don't know anything about what Yuji is feeling???? Nothing about his family is addressed, he doesn't say anything about Sukuna, nothing about his guilt, nothing about "living a life I won't regret" is he regretting anything?? Is he happy?? Let alone how unsatisfying and anticlimactic Sukuna's "death" was, every character that died has gotten a flashback, a moment to self reflect, some sort of peace in the end but we got nothing from him same exact way we're not getting anything with Yuji its insane to me. I'd rather this all be a dream conjured up by Yuji but as some people say it's a cope because genuinely this is the worst Yuji has been treated as a character and if the last chapter is wasted on introducing some new mc for jujutsu kaisen 2 then I don't even know what to say. But also the dream theory doesn't fully hold up imo, there's some things that are too specific or complicated for Yuji to have come up with if it was his domain. What are your thoughts? Any other theories? Atp I just want this manga to be over so I can focus on writing something for these two characters that their author seems to hate writing so much even though the whole story falls apart and feels so bad when we're not focusing on them because they're the damn main characters 😭

hi, jenjen!! it's great to hear from you and i'll do my best to answer this ask in full.

i've also been thinking about the last chapter still and i've had some more ideas about it. i read the dream theory and though a lot of it makes sense, i'm personally hoping that this chapter was in fact telling us that takaba is behind the "cursed fiancee" subplot because, as another user pointed out to me, it seems like something he would do. if that's the case, maybe kenjaku really is alive and we can finally get some meaningful conversation and focus on yuuji's strange family situation and maybe even learn how he felt about sukuna's death.

I'm actually very frustrated with how even at the end we don't focus at all on Yuji, Megumi gets closure for his dad, gojo, his sister, even hana, but we don't know anything about what Yuji is feeling???? Nothing about his family is addressed, he doesn't say anything about Sukuna, nothing about his guilt, nothing about "living a life I won't regret" is he regretting anything?? Is he happy??

i really feel you on this one, jenjen. not only is gege still (deliberately) putting more focus on literally almost everyone other than yuuji, but there's still no explanation about yuuji's family or how he's feeling after all this.

i have this delusional wish theory that the reason why we haven't gotten yuuji and his thoughts alone yet is because there's still a chance that he's hiding that sukuna is actually alive. i still find it really suspicious that yuuji hasn't been focused on ever since that final scene of him with sukuna, and while i think this is mostly because of gege's inability to maintain yuuji's mc status, i also question if yuuji really might have saved sukuna regardless.

i think he does regret the way his last moment with sukuna went. it's clear to me that his expression was one of disappointment and even despair that sukuna chose to die over come back to yuuji and live with him. but since we haven't gotten to see his feelings on it, and because yuuji still hasn't openly talked about sukuna's death with the others, i'm thinking it's because there's more we're not seeing yet here.

his happiness seems a little bit forced and not entirely honest, so i have to say i don't really think he's "living without regret" right now, but whether or not we'll finally get a confirmation on his true feelings is up to whatever comes with the last chapter.

Let alone how unsatisfying and anticlimactic Sukuna's "death" was, every character that died has gotten a flashback, a moment to self reflect, some sort of peace in the end but we got nothing from him same exact way we're not getting anything with Yuji its insane to me.

i can't lie, i've been seething about that, too. though i accept most of that final interaction between them and find it was completely in character, i still don't like how rushed it was. though i have some hope that sukuna did in fact have a moment of self-reflection because i do believe in the original japanese he referred to himself as a "curse" with quotation marks, which is the closest he's gotten to saying he's not fully inhuman. since yuuji has been treating sukuna more like a real person than anyone else in the last few chapters, i'd like to think it did touch sukuna in a way, which is why he not only called yuuji by his full name but also called himself a curse despite the fact that he technically isn't.

it's kind of like admitting he lost to both yuuji and his ideals because he has no other ground to stand on but remaining to the monster till the very end. and i feel like yuuji's disappointment with this decision is because he knows sukuna is still shutting out any possibility of fulfillment just because it doesn't suit his "nature."

I'd rather this all be a dream conjured up by Yuji but as some people say it's a cope because genuinely this is the worst Yuji has been treated as a character and if the last chapter is wasted on introducing some new mc for jujutsu kaisen 2 then I don't even know what to say. But also the dream theory doesn't fully hold up imo, there's some things that are too specific or complicated for Yuji to have come up with if it was his domain.

my worst fear is also that this last chapter is simply a way to introduce someone new who will take up the sequel series, and i'd be disappointed in that infinitely more than i was when gege kept inserting so much yuuta worship and focus into everything.

though i also feel like the dream theory did explain why yuuji isn't being focused on, i personally feel a bit unsettled by it because not only does it not quite line up yuuji's abilities or all of the plot given to us so far, but it also makes yuuji's story so much more tragic and, depending on how far back this "dream" started, it could have also potentially erased that last interaction between sukuna and yuuji. perhaps this is because i didn't read it fully enough, but i don't believe that the dream theory explains when exactly yuuji's fantasy might have started.

i personally think it would be more interesting if takaba was behind this latest development, since it seems comical and harmless enough to be his style. if that's true then it might also indicate that kenjaku is alive and wants to speak to yuuji, would could help provide a little more closure about yuuji's family and his feelings. meanwhile the dream ending would only be more tragic and potentially ruin any positive ending for yuuji, who i feel deserves something happier more than anyone.

but this is just my personal belief/theory.

Atp I just want this manga to be over so I can focus on writing something for these two characters that their author seems to hate writing so much even though the whole story falls apart and feels so bad when we're not focusing on them because they're the damn main characters

as for this, i also want to everything to be over so i can just go back to the parts that i did like or come up with my own headcanons for fun. (if you do end up writing, i'd love to read it please!)

i think my biggest problem with the current chapters of jjk is that they have been so rushed (mostly not gege's fault) and that the sukuna/yuuji interaction we've been getting has been so sidelined or out of focus that it doesn't really explore what is really going on between each character. we hear so little of yuuji's thoughts or reasons for suddenly wanting to extend mercy to sukuna when before he hated sukuna with all his heart and thought that "these guys will always be curses." i have so many theories about it but i feel like i've been ranting enough lately, but i just can't accept that those interactions meant nothing deeper to either of them than most fans are making it out to be.

i really hope the last chapter doesn't disappoint either of us again. tysm for the ask and take care <3

[padme-amitabha]

I just saw a post calling ahoska and obi wan anakins truest loves and uh what? It brought up the mortis arc of tcw and essentially minimizing the anidala love for one another as some form of escapism and how its poison ( even tho vader literally gets saved bc of luke - padmes son🙄) Its so strange how ahsoka fans want to make her a more prominent character than she really is. Also a recurring opinion that gets brought up is ahsoka knowing/understanding anakin better than padme and obi wan when she didn’t even know things about him (like he was a slave) and we consistently see anakin confide in padme its just so odd how alot of star wars fans diminish her

That doesn't surprise me at all since Star Wars is Ahsoka Wars at this point. And even if it wasn't, you have to give the Skywalkers at least some rest uk? The constant retconning and addition of new stuff most people didn't even ask for is tiresome. Ahsoka from the start felt very OC-ish to me because she was constantly hyped and favored in a way not even Anakin was. She felt like a self-insert jedi character so her place is canon is just weird. And forcing her to be important in places where she's not needed just shows Filoni's favoritism. At least GL wasn't ever really biased towards Anakin and Luke. Anakin mainly suffered through so much and had enough flaws and complexies which Ahsoka never had. She's constantly in a plot armor and just overpowered imo. But ofc she's a badass Jedi so she is more popular than Padme. I cant even.. I just hate the way TCW and Filoni wrote her. I don't see Anakin as being a big brother to anyone. Or being a teacher. The only other natural interaction he has except Padme and his mother is with Obi-Wan and even that took time. They didn't get along well in the first two movies and although he does joke around with Obi Wan in ROTS, he has his own slightly awkward and shy way of doing it. And I imagine he's semi reserved and shy with other Jedi. Or when we see him interacting with Padme's family. But to make him a responsible master is strange because even in ROTS he was too young and not mature enough to be level-headed and responsible all the time. And I like that because he has flaws but he was trying to learn and wanted to be a good father. And I do believe he really gained that maturity (which was stunted due to obvious trauma) and fatherly affection for Luke after ESB and not before. I think he would have had trouble connecting with Leia as well post ROTJ because he wasn't prepared to and had no experience being a role model for anyone. Meanwhile, 22 year old TCW Anakin with Ahsoka acts like a 30 year old man with anger issues...

It's also frustrating to see Padme being reduced to a love interest when she was a main character and part of the trio. She, like Han, didn't need to be a Jedi to be one of the main characters and it's boring to see a trio of Jedi only. I don't really blame Ahsoka fans - only Filoni for constantly dragging her into everything and I'm glad it's backfiring because I see fans who previously liked her are beginning to get tired of her being shoehorned into every single SW thing and acting all Mary Sue. Also, see the amount of concept arts and storylines they wrote for Padme during the prequels. She had more arts than Anakin and Obi-Wan. GL clearly wanted her to be important even more than Leia in ANH because we see much more of Padme and the first movie directly involves her and her planet with Anakin's discovery being a sideplot. It's disrespectful to reduce her to a love interest.

This video puts it really well (although he isn't a fan of the prequels as far as I can remember): "Dave Filoni's biggest problem as a writer apart from his complete inability to write interesting dialogue or craft stories that are more than just fetch quest for Magical McGuffin or create people who actually make smart decisions or his borderline fetish for the boring mediocre character he's trying so hard to insert as the driving force behind the entire Star Wars narrative is his constant [ __ ] around and reconning of past events and World building to suit the needs of his own narrow story. It's like he's staying in a hotel room for a couple of days and decided that he now has the right to completely remodel the place because he feels like it. This isn't your job Dave you're supposed to work within the rules of the world that George created not write a whole bunch of new ones just to suit yourself that now affect everyone else."

Lol applause for saying that out loud

[kimbureh]

Teamplay explosive as Ipsium, TBB S2E9&10

So far I managed to evade spoilers for season 2, but I picked up on fandom being sort of frustrated with the lack of Crosshair's appearances. Which, yes, it's factually true as of S2E10 Crosshair appeared in only one episode. But on the other hand, episodes 9 and especially 10 are direct metaphors for Crosshair's arc, the text itself all but says so.

But one thing at a time.

It's fascinating to see the Batch slowly disintegrate, because the conflict further reveals every Batcher's ideals and coping mechanisms. Wrecker is the sensitive one of the group, and when he tells Omega she will get used to Echo's absence, he's assuring himself with that just as much. He also begins messing up during the missions. Think of Wrecker in Clone Wars: his unpredictability is integral part of the team's successful exploits. Once Crosshair and the amicable rivalry with him is gone, Wrecker lacks focus during missions, even if Echo explains the plan to him over and over again. With Echo gone as well, his stabilizing influence is sorely missed, with grave consequences. When the stampede in S2E9 hits them, and they have to leave behind the ipsium, Wrecker chooses to save his friend instead of going for the riches, and is criticized by Tech.

Tech's coping mechanism is to cling to facts. They needed the ipsium, and Wrecker lost it. They end up being trapped in another mine. These are all facts, and under duress, more and more facts pour out of Tech. Their ship is gone, they're unable to track it, Echo can't be reached for help. All these things are facts to Tech, and he sees no harm in asserting those, even though this gravely upsets Omega. Omega's coping mechanism is to be and feel useful. Her ideals lie in seeing the Batch as a family, and she suffers because they don't act accordingly. Tech shares her family ideals, but voices an inability to act on them, as well as the need to stay pragmatic in order to not further destabilize the squad; Tech holds onto facts so desperately, he is unwilling to allow the emotional impact of the change to come to the surface, instead opting to compartmentalize the issue for a nebulous 'later'.

Hunter, I honestly have no thoughts about. At this point he is a pure plot device to me that will re-activate itself once Crosshair comes into play again. Until then, his sole narrative purpose lies in being an ineffective leader and well-meaning but ill-equipped father. His coping mechanisms? Sucking everything up, I guess. His ideals? Hell if he knows himself. His whole identity is arranged around Omega's existence, but not exactly in a familial kind of way, it's a rather desperate act and Omega seems to serve as a substitute for Crosshair.

Speaking of Crosshair. As I said, he doesn't appear in S2E9&10, but the story is definitively about him. Mokko and his exploitative mining operation is directly compared to the Empire twice, and Benni serves as a stand-in for Crosshair. Benni's arc affords him to reject being a willing part of his own enslavement; the great obstacle for him to overcome is personified in the slaver Mokko and his lies.

Transferred to Crosshair, this means he too can leave behind the Empire, if only he can overcome the obstacles. Which bears the question, who is Crosshair's Mokko? And the answer is, he himself is. Crosshair convinced himself that he has got no choice anymore, that he can't return to the Batch, that being a willing tool to the Empire is what he wants or at least what keeps him alive. The way for him to see through his own lies isn't by acquiring new facts, like Benni had to do by learning about Mokko's exploitative profit margins. But Crosshair needs to learn something still, which is (not incidentally) something Omega had to learn in the opening story of season 2: which is the ability to overcome one's shame (I've already written about this at length). Omega can be interpreted as Crosshair's inner child, and as such her character development prepares the path for Crosshair's development.

(pls not season 2 spoilers, I haven't fully watched it yet)

[edwarddominicemilio]

"HESITATION IS DEFEAT": PERSEVERANCE, DISCIPLINE, AND THE ONE-ARMED WOLF

After almost three years since my initial playthrough of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, I finally beat Sword Saint Isshin. It took me that long because I had been uninstalling and re-installing the game many times, often out of frustration.

I first played Sekiro on the second half of 2021. Back then, I was still in law school so I just wanted to have fun with what I thought was a button-masher. Oh, how wrong I was.

I barely got past the first miniboss, General Naomori Kawarada. When I beat him, I jumped out of excitement and exhilaration.

However, I did not know how or why I beat him. I was mashing deflect like a madman, causing my character to flail his sword every which way. It was totally uncharacteristic of the graceful shinobi Wolf was supposed to be.

Unsurprisingly, my inability to learn why I succeeded (or failed) hindered me. I could not get past the Chained Ogre. I was angry. "This is not why I play video games," I told myself, "it's just stressing me out."

I quit playing Sekiro the first time.

I tried Sekiro again after I graduated from law school. This was around early 2023. I just took the Bar Exams and I had been waiting for the results. The discipline I developed throughout the Bar Review season taught me to persevere. I treated the game like a personal challenge.

I also learned how to strategize and to "play the game the way it is meant to be played". This meant abiding by that humorous description of Sekiro: "Sekiro is not an action game, it is a rhythm game with swords." How witty!

So, I practiced timing my deflects properly. I treated each fight like a dance. The opponents swings and I deflect. Then, I listen to that glorious CLANG! that everyone who plays this game knows and loves. Once I hear it, I swing my own sword. CLING! CLANG! CLING! CLANG! Deathblow!

Heavenly.

But there is a final roadblock just before the end. Sword Saint Isshin Ashina, back from the dead upon necromancy of his grandson Genichiro Ashina, killed me more times than I can count.

In fact, I became so disheartened. Was I not playing the game correctly? That can't be. In fact, I can see my improvement! Genichiro was impossible to beat in the beginning, he was a challenge in the middle, and a pushover by the end. I was improving, was I not? Why don't deflects work?!

I quit playing Sekiro for the second time.

After a year, I started playing Sekiro again on March 2024. It was a new save file. Unsurprisingly, everything before Sword Saint Isshin was a breeze. It was objective proof that I was improving.

But when I reached him, I was still at a loss. What was I doing wrong?

Then, I took to heart what he said every time he killed me, his ubiquitous boss dialogue: "Hesitation is defeat". This is not him mocking me, this is him genuinely trying to give me advice. "Remember Sekiro," he says, "hesitate and you lose."

So, I changed my ways. I stopped being a passive partner in this magnificent sword dance. I became aggressive, I chased him, I did not allow him any chance to breathe. He swings, I deflect. He prepares a big wind-up attack, I dodge. He thrusts, I Mikiri. But after each move, I swing back.

I made it a point to be the attacker and to stay as the attacker. Hell, when he hit me, I didn't heal. I just told myself, "Fuck it. He's not gonna hit me again. I can deflect the next ones. Retaining this offensive momentum is worth the risk."

Then, everything clicked.

See, the best thing about Sekiro is how much faith it has in the gamer's indomitable will. You had to beat the game straight up. No, you cannot summon other players or spirits to fight for you. No, you cannot find an exploitable grinding spot to level your character up. No, there is no easy cheese. You just had to "git gud".

And "git gud" I did.

A year ago, landing a hit against Phase 1 Isshin was a miracle. Some days ago, I got Phase 1 Isshin to almost broken posture. Yesterday, I killed Phase 1 Isshin the first time. This morning, I beat Phase 1 Isshin effortlessly. This afternoon, I reached Phase 3 for the first time after spending an entire day learning how to beat his dreaded Phase 2.

In a sense, the strategy to beat his Phase 3 is almost metaphorical. Jumping to meet the lightning and throwing it back at him is symbolic of how you should meet his aggression head-on.

When I beat him, I did not jump for joy in the same way I did when I beat General Naomori Kawarada. Instead, I just whispered, "Fuck. I did it," to myself.

I trusted the process and applied the learnings. Beating him was inevitable. I was not surprised when I did.

That's the way life works too, isn't it? One has to stand up straight and meet life head on. One has to take action.

Thank you, Kensei, for teaching me not to hesitate.

[ecargmura]

Pokemon Horizons Episode 14 Review: Helping Wattrel Fly

Wow, this episode caught me off guard. I was assuming this would be the case like that one Advanced Generation episode where May took care of Swablu and was about to catch it before its flock arrived and cucked her out of an amazing party Pokemon. The writers didn’t cuck anyone this time! They actually allowed Roy to catch the Wattrel he befriended!

It turns out that Wattrel’s inability to fly was due to its fear of heights, which is a bit ironic given it’s a bird. It’s like Ash’s Oshawott being afraid to swim as it closes its eyes every time it’s submerged in water. Roy encouraging Wattrel to fly and then succeeding made me feel good. He’s such a good boy.

Roy reminded me a lot of Ash in terms of his way of caring for Pokemon. Roy is in tune with nature due to his upbringing on the island, so he seems to be more in tune with Pokemons’ feelings, just like how he could tell Wattrel was troubled and wanted to help it. The fact that he’s a quick thinker made his personality shine. The way he saw Ludlow’s fishing rod and decided to make a wooden Wattrel to help demonstrate how to fly.

Wattrel was adorable! I didn’t really care much for it in the game, but the anime made it so adorable. It has so much personality. The way it gained confidence after it flew and then the way it wanted to come with Roy moved my heart. They’re going to be a good team. It’s also been a long time since I last saw someone catch the regional bird. I wonder what Liko’s first catch is going to be. I kind of want her to catch a Galarian Ponyta since the RVTs are going to Galar.

Another important plot point in this episode is Friede and Liko’s dealing with Spinel, albeit separately. Friede noticed Spinel’s Magnetons that he eventually follows into Levincia City. Friede deals with Spinel’s Pokemon who was leading him to an ambush. Spinel commands one of his Magneton and Beheeyem via headset to attack Friede and his Charizard. While Friede was at a disadvantage, he pulls out his secret weapon: Tera Orb! He terastalized his Charizard into a Dark-type in order to resist Beheeyem’s Psychic. After he wins, the foe’s Pokemon retreats, causing Spinel to gather enough data for his next plan.

While Friede is cool and can terastalize, I dislike the fact that his major flaw is not being specific about his actions. He didn’t tell Liko about the RVTs being her bodyguards hired by her mom until a few episodes later. He’s being vague in this episode. Orla asks what he was doing, and he just said “Stuff” in a way. It’s because of this flaw that causes Liko to run off on her own and get her pendant stolen; he didn’t warn her or any of the other RVTs about the potential danger they’re facing and how the system shut down was related to it. It’s frustrating and I hope this aspect of his character gets fixed when he gets spotlight.

Liko spends the episode happy. Murdock thanks her for being a friend to Dot and she tags along Roy’s plans with Wattrel. It’s when she gets fooled by a fake advertisement that she runs off on her own, not knowing the dangers she’s approaching (Thanks, Friede) and then gets hypnotized by Beheeyem after encountering a disguised Spinel. He steals her pendant very easily because of this.

Spinel easily overtakes Amethio as a villain. Not that Amethio is bad, but Spinel is much more calculating. He’s intelligent and uses crafty tactics to get the upper hand. He’s a very tough villain and it makes me wonder how the RVTs are going to catch him.

It seems that in the next episode preview, Liko seems to have lost her memories as well as Sprigatito because Sprigatito would never scratch Liko if she was closing in for a hug. The only time the cat had scratched her was during their first meeting when they didn’t know each other very well. I do wonder how she’s going to regain her memories and how she’s going to get the pendant back. I can’t wait for next week!

Speaking of which, San Diego Comic Con announced that there will be a Horizons dub! There will be a lot of returning and newcomers to the Pokemon scene. There’s a ten minute preview on Youtube!

[bearsbeetsbeskar]

Ah yes yes yes, I love all of that!

I'm sometimes frustrated because I didn't enjoy season three while it seems most fans did (which I'm glad for them), and it's kinda discouraging sometimes. I loved season one and two so bad and wanted to love season three, but I just couldn't :(

Ngl, unless I hear that the movie and/or season four is back to what the show once was, I'm not gonna watch it.

I'm just really happy to have the first two seasons, and if worst comes to worst, I'm more than grateful to live off those.

Yes yes yes this is exactly how I felt love!

I wanted to like season 3 so SO badly, I really tried. But after every episode I was left feeling confused, disappointed, and short changed.

Many people argued that season 3 was amazing regardless but to me it just did not follow the vibes and overall 'badassness' if you will, that season 1 and season 2 had. I think I also was so excited and hyped for season 3 cause it was the first season I would be able to enjoy after joining the fandom, and splitting from my ex (who had such an insecurity complex over my love for the show and pedro - like to the point where he told me that I ruined the show for him bc of how obsessed I became with pedro - like OK bro). And for it to go the way it did, I felt so let down.

also, this is completely an aside - but due to pedro's filming schedule with tlou, his stunt double brendan wayne was in the suit for majority of filming for s3, and I don't know what's up with that man but he has some kind of major ego trip. Especially after season 3 aired. Making all kinds of posts with subtext or slights that completely diss pedro's inability to be in the suit, calling himself the actual mandalorian. Like WHAT? you're a STUNT DOUBLE BRO. I will be genuinely surprised if Disney keeps him on, but they need someone to be in the suit when pedro can't physically be there so I doubt that will be happening anytime soon

And I just don't get how people could like a season that barely focused on the relationship between the two main characters that were the heart of the show in the first place?

But again, that is just my opinion, to each their own.

I am apprehensive about season 4 (if there will even be a season 4 at this point), and I am apprehensive about the movie. As you said, if it isn't about grogu and Din, I will be severely disappointed and continue to live in my bubble where I only acknowledge season 1 and season 2. And I'm really hoping for the wow factor of the movie that we will get a helmet less Din scene, or at least that pedro will be under the suit for majority of filming, as a final send off for Din

but THANK YOU for sharing your thoughts with me, it means a lot to know there are others who feel the same way about our beloved Din and this show. I'm always so eager to nerd out about my love for this show and that bucket head and his green son ❤️

[waheelawhisperer]

15 for the OC ask, Feilan!

15) How do they speak? Is what they say usually thought of on the spot, or do they rehearse it in their mind first?

Perhaps the first thing I should clarify is that I have 4 different Feilan stories with 4 different iterations on the same core character, so answers to any of these questions will change based on which version of him I'm talking about.

Feilan is a bit of a nerd and likes to read, so he tends to speak like someone who's reasonably well-read/well-educated. He's not pompous or overly formal, but if you listen to him long enough, you can tell he's been to school and done well there (high INT, low WIS character).

Feilan swears a lot, which is a frequent point of contention between him and Yang, who doesn't like people cussing in earshot of her sister (yeah, Yang's done it herself, but her swears have been both mild and uttered under extreme emotional duress). Sometimes Yang gets her way, sometimes she doesn't. She's socially dominant over Feilan by a fair margin, so she tends to win whatever battles she wants when they're on a level playing field or one that favors her (stories 2 and 3), but Feilan 1 manages to blunder into a position that places him high enough in the social hierarchy that his structural authority can counteract her natural dominance well enough to balance things out and then gets punted violently upstairs into a role where he has significant power over her, forcing her to pick her battles more carefully. She still runs roughshod over him when she thinks a fight's worth taking, though. She and her teammates have precisely 0 trouble standing up to him when they want to (Blake in particular is an absolute shit about defying his authority).

Feilan 4, meanwhile, is forced to keep Yang guessing about their relative social standing as a survival strategy.

As for how they speak, every version of Feilan tends to be somewhat guarded about what they reveal for one reason or another. He's always got at least one dangerous secret he doesn't want getting out, so he tends to phrase things carefully when he senses danger. Feilan 1 ends up having to match wits with some very dangerous people, including his own nominal allies, with the price of failure being imprisonment or death, so he's very careful about what he says and how he says it. He ends up becoming very good at leading people to the conclusions he wants them to come to, often without ever outright lying.

Feilan 2 was raised in extreme isolation and has limited interaction with people outside his immediate family and their retainers, to the point where Ren is quite literally the first man near his age he's ever met and also his first and closest male friend. He's had the necessity of keeping certain secrets drilled into his head since he was a child, but otherwise he tends to say whatever comes to mind very openly and honestly (he throws Yang for a loop by telling her she's beautiful with no ulterior motives and earns Weiss's wrath by asking why she's so tiny (he and his siblings have tall Viking genes)). Between this plus a serious inability to read social cues, most people don't quite know what to do with him and he tends to Say The Wrong Thing and invite scrutiny a lot, which becomes a source of intense frustration for his loyal ("loyal") guardian and mentor. This version of Feilan loves to talk to and be around people, and will chat for hours about the weirdest subjects. His understanding of slang, euphemisms, and other such things is... not the best, which leads to some interesting misunderstandings.

Feilan 3 is much more reticent and tends to fade into the background. The price for his training and admission into Beacon was the directive that he serve as a meatshield for certain people deemed more important than him, and he's internalized that in very unhealthy ways. He tries to avoid drawing attention if he can avoid it, and his training has left psychological scars that make it hard for him to trust or open up to people. Once he does trust someone, though, he's almost totally unguarded and doesn't really think much about what he's saying.

Feilan 4 spends the first arc of his story in an environment where even the slightest misstep will result in death or worse and learns to be very careful about what he says and does as a result. He's very closed off outside his circle of friends and allies and considers every word and action carefully.

Feilan has a very deep, commanding voice that is frequently noted as attractive (I'm shamelessly putting a little bit of myself in him with this one), but he tends to speak quietly and softly under normal circumstances. He's typically a bit naturally shy and not very confident and has trouble asserting himself before character development, so early Feilan in particular often speaks and expresses himself like he expects to be ignored or talked over. Once he grows into positions of authority or simply learns the necessity of communicating effectively on the battlefield, his voice becomes more confident and assertive.

If I were to cast a VA for Feilan, I typically imagine him as being voiced by Matt Mercer or Daisuke Ono.

I think I might've gone on a tangent or two here, but I hope this answers the question

[alicentsgf]

I feel its so interesting how people hate Alicent so much, like a disproportionate amount for how she’s been presented. Especially since I think we can all agree Daemon is objectively a worse person from a moral standpoint, but he still kinda garners this admiration and I feel it’s because he is admittedly charismatic. And then there’s Aemond whose a green still gets a lot of love because he has that similar charismatic air. Even Rhaenyra and Rhaenys have a similar way about them, an obvious confidence, even if its slightly feigned. Alicent just doesn’t have these qualities.

Alicent is not the kind of antagonist you can love to hate, like Cersei for example, because she has very little agency or self-assurance, as a child she was particularly naive and she’s always been very neurotic. She doesn’t have the qualities that make someone an admirable character. She not a fighter, she doesn’t get any #girlboss moments, she’s not presented as being as good of a mother as the other women in the show, and she doesn’t wield any real political power, at least prior to Viserys death. Ultimately I think people are frustrated by her and her inability to, at least momentarily, throw off her oppression like the other women in the show do. But the other women in the show have advantages Alicent doesn’t; a big one is their dragons. Rhaenys and Rhaenyra are Targaryens and they play by different rules. They have wielded a power Alicent could only dream of since they were children, and more than that they’ve had steadfast support too. Alicent has Criston at best and he lacks any political sway. Her father only cares for power and legacy, for what his daughters body can buy him, and Viserys is neglectful of her to such an extent she was all but a teenage single mother, struggling to raise children who were being actively harmed by her husbands lack of interest.

She’s essentially watching from her prison as the Targaryen women in the adjoining cells, especially Rhaenyra, seem to summon keys to release themselves and sneak out every so often when she has no key. She could rattle the door for eternity but it still wouldn’t open, and she knows this, but it’s frustrating for us as the viewers to see her for the most part not even try. Then, the few times she does rattle her cage, she fails to gain anything from it. Totally alone in fighting for justice for Aemond, for the other children to at least be reprimanded for ambushing him (and yes it was an ambush 4 on 1 and they attacked Aemond first). But her husband chooses Rhaenyra over her and her children yet again, and so Alicents emotions explode out of her. Her fear that she and her children will be easily cast aside, is realised in that moment. She’s painted with this brush of madness, even by the fandom, but she’s been defiled and gaslighted and abused for 15 yrs, so wouldn’t anyone lash out eventually? Alicent is a victim, and I don’t say that to excuse all her actions because she is still responsible for the choices she does make, I say that to point out that it’s why people dislike her in such an unforgiving way. I think people find it uncomfortable to admit its possible to be trapped like Alicent is, that some people are just doomed by their circumstances, and to watch it is off-putting. People every time say 'she could have done *this*, she could have done *that*' and every time i find myself thinking 'could she....? without dire consequences...? probably not.'

It’s a big reason why people hated Sansa so much and scornfully compared her to Arya (who was a fan favourite), as if they weren’t faced with wildly different circumstances, as if Sansa wasn’t a prisoner. She couldn’t have fought her way out of that situation with a sword. She didn’t have the resources to escape alone, she needed help. And no one ever helped Alicent. And unlike Sansa she also never had anyone to tutor her in 'playing the game'.

She and Sansa both lack typically masculine traits, and it’s only when Sansa gained some and became an active player that she began to command the respect of a lot of the fans that had previously disliked her. Likewise, I’ve seen people say the first time they respected Alicent was when she stood up for Rhaenyra against the lords of the council. In short, misogyny has a big part to play in this. It really feels like victim blaming to scorn Alicent for not fighting back "hard enough" against her abusers, for not being somehow smart enough to overcome a system she is surrounded by on all sides, for not recognising sooner she was a pawn. Because how dare women and girls be victims in a world that so heavily victimises them. And we are also forced to admit an uncomfortable truth in Alicent; that sometimes people have almost no way of saving themselves

[note-boom]

I was thinking about BSD's female characters again (as one does) and being mildly frustrated that a lot of their trauma comes from being controlled by an outside male source....and then it hit me.

Almost EVERY BSD character has a past and trauma rooted in being controlled or having a lack of control.

Atsushi under the orphanage headmaster. Akutagawa under Dazai. Kyouka under Akutagawa (and keep in mind Koyou helped get her out in the end). Yosano under Mori. Kenji losing control after his best friend dying. Chuuya under the government and then the Port Mafia. Koyou losing control over her freedom thanks to the old boss. Ranpo having no control over his own self and having been isolated from the world. The Hunting Dogs under the government. Sigma under the DoA and the Book. Even Dazai a little (more on that later).....just this persistent theme of people not getting control over their lives.

And you know what that sounds like? Characters in a story being manipulated by an author.

We have this persistent theme of literature and writing and books throughout BSD, after all. And this incessant use of a character having a tragic past rooted in lack of control or losing control and being manipulated by some superior force screams (to me at least) literary imagery. And what's most interesting is that Dazai both is a character and a manipulator.

Of course he's not the only one pulling the strings, as we know. But he does eat up a BIG part of the narrative, I think...a character who previously had no will to seek out anything to do (and thus adopted the values or reasons of the people around him) trying to craft a narrative of his own after the death of his friend. A character essentially trying to become the author (the light novel Beast just makes me wonder more about this, tbh). But also one whose story is told through the stories of other characters.

And what I find interesting about that AND Beast with regards to Dazai is this page from Vol 17...

People writing. The writer including their own self into the story. Being both a character AND an author and in that sense taking control of your own life and your circumstances....

I'm not sure where I'm going with all this, but I just wanted to really point out that part of a lot of the BSD characters' narratives have to do with this lack of control over their own lives....and we see the ADA full of people trying to take back control. Kunikida and his ideals, Yosano and her healing, Ranpo being the agency's core, Atsushi trying to save people, and Dazai trying to become the author in other people's lives if he can't be the author of his own (his inability to die, you know?).

So my question honestly is just what's the deal with that? Am I making mountains out of molehills or seeing themes and motifs that aren't there? And if not, what does the existence of the Book say about these characters struggling to write their own narratives? (Or the narratives of others, in Dazai's case). Just....literary imagery in BSD and the "toxic" relationship between the author and the character....

[allthebleus]

Why didn't Woong say he loved Yeonsu, even once (as she suggests) throughout their relationship?

The part of Our Beloved Summer fandom that keeps repeating and expressing disappointment at Woong's inability to verbally support Yeonsu is funny and lighthearted only to an extent. Just like a lot of people missed Yeonsu's side in the first half, I feel like people might miss his in the second because we focus much more on the emotional turmoil than the underlying factors contributing to it.

As maddening as it is that Woong did not say, 'I love you", perhaps through the course of their rs in the way Yeonsu wanted to hear. And as frustrating as it is that he several times missed the cue to reassure her by giving her verbal confirmation, a lot of us need to understand that it is not, like Yeonsu brushes it off superficially, caused by his obliviousness. He might have been ignorant to how much of an impact withholding that had, but I have a feeling that there is much more to it than just him not realizing.

Woong resists being vulnerable, he doesn't let people watch him work. He doesn't react to anything harsh in the way other people do. He takes a passive, less confrontational course of action. The only time he has been confrontational is when he got mad at Yeonsu, and even then, he is never able to say things as he wants to. An example being that as desperately as he wants her to stay with him, like when she went to his room during the trip, he never manages to say it. Would Yeonsu have stayed had he asked? We don't know, maybe she would have panicked. But Yeonsu is never given the choice, Woong reaches out, he is awake, he silently begs her to stay. To be able to hold on. But he doesn't express it in a way that she can be sure.

Often verbal confirmation brings vulnerability, you must put the guard of playful annoyance, or nonchalance, or lightheartedness down. You have to look a person in the eye and remind them, that you see them, and for you to do that, you must admit the power that they hold over you to yourself. I think Woong's character has a hard time being vulnerable in that sense, which is why he brushes off anything that may suggest that the other person can affect him as severely as people around him might think.

(They also revisit this detail in the flashbacks of Woong running away, as a kid, when asked to 'talk' about his family. Woong chooses to hide and flee the situation. A few people pointed out it was going to be an interesting backstory, and I think they're right. I also think that that links again, to his inability to verbally express things that might make him vulnerable.)

This is very important, because this why Woong's character is more than just a fool in love.

The only person Woong expresses more than just his obvious annoyance to, is Yeonsu. The scene during their relationship, when Woong says, "You are not allowed to leave me," is a moment of vulnerability. He is telling Yeonsu that her absence will leave a deep mark on him, one he might not be able to bear. In the scene of her confession, he is having a hard time looking at her when he says, 'No, I don't know, so remind me over and over.'

In both the scenes, Woong has a hard time looking right at her and expressing it openly that he likes her, loves her even, and cannot handle her leaving him. He refuses to openly express how much he loves her, because he is afraid perhaps, that if he gives it his all and is abandoned, he will not be able to continue living life the way he had been.

"Being lonely from the start is okay, being lonely once you've been with someone. I don't want to experience that ever again."

Yeonsu was not the only person who put a lot on the line when it came to their relationship, so was he. But he also held a lot back. His struggle to control himself, and keep himself passive around her is proven every time he says something that exposes directly how much pain he's been through. "That's not the only thing you ruined", " The one who always ruins me, is you", "I'm so sick of this" etc etc. are all situations where Woong's walls have crumbled and he's openly admitting hurt and pain. And almost immediately, he recoils back and scolds himself for saying anything that may have shown him as a "fool". This is very interesting, because like Yeonsu had her reasons for being the one to call things off, Woong might not have wanted to continue their rs like that either.

During their breakup scene, Yeonsu is barely holding herself together. Woong asks her whether he's the one thing she can throw away so easily, Yeonsu answers that he's the only thing. To Woong, her words mean he is the only disposable thing. To her, they mean he's all she has.

In the entire scene sequence, he keeps asking her questions as she walks away. He's hurt. But he doesn't try to ask her to stay, because what would he do if she still walked away? How much would that hurt? How could offer his heart to her like this, only for her to abandon him?

Yeonsu isn't the only one who had pride.

This repeats itself every time Woong confronts her, or wants her to stay. The parallels of them learning to put their walls down by confrontation are very interesting. Because yesterday's episode shows Yeonsu doing what Woong has already done. She confronts him about his inability to tell her to stay, that he loves her, and that he wants her still. Woong did the same in the episode where he waited before her house, he was in overwhelming pain when he asked her why they could not ask each other how they've been, or how its been for them.

He puts down his walls and asks a question, one that requires them to sit and talk. He is admittedly putting himself out there, and funnily, Yeonsu runs away. Yeonsu is not prepared to face him, not then, nor is she ready to listen to him or tell him how she has felt and been. And this is proven when she stays while he is half unconscious, despite the fact that his confession to having a very painful time after she left hurts her.

All of this puts the breakup in new perspective, and both the actors are phenomenal at their jobs that just their body languages alone convey all this without words. As Yeonsu is walking away, Woong looks hurt but resigned, as if he has known that this was coming. As if he no longer has the energy to fight for them, as if the relationship took as much toll on him as it did on her. He knows they don't work, and his downward spiral may be caused by the push of their breakup, but it is never the sole cause.

So, all the people who dislike episode 9. Just a reminder that relationships are never isolated experiences, and that when breakups like these happen, there is a much bigger picture than merely the factors that contributed to it directly. Those issues need to be addressed independent of the relationships first, before reconciliation can happen. And that's why Woong did not say he loved her still, and wanted to date her still despite everything. Because if the writer played into the hands of a quick happy ending, it would not be realistic and they wouldn't work, and we'd be back to square one.

It's very important that we, as the audience, acknowledge these little things for more than surface value. Because otherwise the conclusion and confrontations will not make sense. And I'd hate to see this show end with people hating on it just because it did not end or conclude in the way they wanted it to.

[kazuwhora]

hello hello, i see your requests are open now and can i request izana, wakasa, chifuyu and kazutora with an akutagawa!s/o? hope you have a great day/noon/night! ✨🤗

hi anon! sure! I will try my best with izana and wakasa since there's not tons to work with personality wise so forgive me if theirs are a little shorter heh. im gonna include a little blurb from the bsd fandom wiki for anyone not familiar with his character! I like these kinds of headcanon requests so if anyone wants to see more please feel free to request!

"Akutagawa has a black and white "survival of the fittest" view of the world, claiming that weak people should die and give way to the stronger ones. He is not afraid of pain and defeat His ruthless, vicious nature makes him one of the Port Mafia's most dangerous members, feared by both ally and foe. As violent as he is, Akutagawa maintains a generally composed and detached approach. Towards subordinates and superiors alike, he acts aloof, distancing himself from social interactions however possible. Nonetheless, his composure is fragile. Akutagawa is quick to lash out, ridiculing him for risking the bounty by acting recklessly. This quick temper often gets in his way, fuelling his actions to the core of his very being."

SUMMARY: izana, wakasa, chifuyu, && kazutora with an akutagawa!so

CW: hints of toxicity and violence, mentions of sex but not really all that nsfw-ish so otherwise not much else!

IZANA

- this is an interesting one because from what we know about izana, he is very similar in personality to akutagawa in terms of ruthlessness that stems from childhood trauma and isolation.

- in the case of a s/o with this personality, I think it would be a troubling relationship. lots of bitter fights fuelled by nothing but an inability to express vulnerability, while leaving both of you torn up inside and begging for someone to nurture the trauma and allow space for emotions.

- that being said, with toxicity and trauma also comes intense passion and desire. this relationship brings a lot of fire both in the bedroom and outside of the bedroom, with simple arguments often spawning into intense desperate (and lengthy might I add) sex. like, intense. it's almost like sex is the only safe outlet of these pent up emotions, providing a sort of comfort and also distraction for both parties.

- however as I said in general, this is definitely a toxic relationship. one where neither can help the other when it comes to growth and improvement on a personal level. it's unhealthy and enabling, but for a short lived fling it is hot as fuck im not even gonna lie. lots of hate sex too.

WAKASA

- so wakasa is another interesting one alongside izana given the lack of information and content we have about his character so please excuse the slight kc fanon version I have in my head of wakasa lol

- wakasa has a "don't fuck with me because I do not fucking care" type of vibe to him. I definitely think he's the type to completely disengage from the type of behaviours an akutagawa-type s/o might display. this leads to sort of a sense of competitiveness in trying to get some kind of reaction from him, and it has the potential (much like izana) to become toxic in nature

- any attempts to get under his skin are failed attempts, and the way he looks at you with that half bored expression is something that only triggers more of a somewhat emotional response from you.

- with that being said, my fanon version of wakasa is someone who while cold and aloof, is also quite a rational person. he's been typed by the fandom as INTJ which is quite a quick thinker, and I think he probably (despite not showing it very well) has a soft spot for you. but your passion and intensity (as well as your easily triggered dynamic) keeps him from completely being able to express this care in any way other than not engaging with your antics

- as much as there are some similarities with the type of toxicity in this relationship with both wakasa and izana, the intense passion isn't quite the same as it is with izana. instead, feelings of passion are more to the point and driven by pure instinct and desire rather than toxic passion. wakasa seeming like a very literal person, is actually quite mysterious deep down and has a lot (I mean a lot) of hidden desires and kinks that begin to emerge with time. it's rarely a conversation, and more often just something that happens that surprises you. you just have to go with the flow here, and let him take the reigns for once. it might actually be a good opportunity to allow for vulnerability to take the spotlight for once, which is something wakasa is surprisingly in tune with and quite to the point about.

CHIFUYU

- this is something much healthier than the last two. chifuyu, being an enfp is someone that's able to handle this level of intensity in a person while still being able to understand what's really going on.

- call him the trauma counsellor king. he values each and every response to a trigger that you might have. he notices patterns, he makes mental notes of things, and he does this all without making it seem like he's analyzing.

- to be honest he actually loves the spunk you bring on a day to day level. even though most of the time it's driven by bitterness or hate (not always towards him just in general) he is still able to see beyond that and appreciate you for what you are.

- with that being said, chifuyu will not stand for any toxic behaviour towards him. no sir he will not. threats and pushes for fights wont be tolerated, and he will either disengage or try to expose your vulnerabilities in an attempt at forced submission. this can be hard to get used to, especially with having a personality characterized by the inability to accept being vulnerable. but with time chifuyu is one to create a safe space for you to allow yourself to feel emotions beyond anger and resentment, and he encourages this.

- because of this very feelings based approach, intimacy with chifuyu is just that: intimate. he's extremely loving and doting, hoping that his sweetness can rub off on you a little bit. however he's also very accepting of your need for power over him (especially during sex) and will absolutely submit to your needs in order to please you.

- he really likes to put you in a place of pleasure though, so however that may come to you chifuyu is the one to deliver it.

KAZUTORA

- oh boy. this one is a doozy. listen. if we're talking about timeskip kazutora (as is the case with all characters i write about but I feel it especially important to remind ppl of here given his history), we're talking about someone who is quite literally walking on eggshells in terms of his trauma and emotional vulnerability.

- he's pretty good at being emotionally aware of his needs and struggles as well as the needs and struggles of those around him, but that doesn't mean that he's entirely healed or capable of managing toxicity or his triggers. he still slips up from time to time especially when things get hard, and sometimes finds himself falling into his old patterns. after all, he's only human. but this is where things could get messy in a relationship.

- for the most part, like I said, he's pretty good. so let's focus on that part first since I want to give him credit where it's due. he is very desperate for love and dedicated to providing something to his partner. in this case, he will seek to tap into his emotional vulnerability to provide some sort of comfort for you. he wants to see you happy, and calm, because he sees so much of his old self in you that it gets to him sometimes. but at the same time, he struggles with your relentlessness and can become emotionally drained when things get tough. he'll beat himself up for not being good enough to help you, and this is when he'll isolate and fall into old patterns.

- however, akutagawa's personality type isn't all bad. with a s/o like akutagawa, comes an immense amount of protection and loyalty for their loved ones no matter how tough things might be. in this case it might be hard to communicate this, but there will be times when it's needed in order for kazutora to restrain from old habits and ways of dealing with hardships. but he wants to share his healing with you, he wants you to be happy, and more than anything he understands the struggle of wanting to be happy and healthy but being afraid of losing the one thing that makes you you: your attitude and relentlessness. nobody understands this better than kazutora, which is why things between you can get frustrating and very personal for him.

- much like chifuyu, sex is driven towards pleasing you and only you. chifuyu leans more into switch territory however, while kazutora is 100% submissive. in this case it works out well, however he has a lot of boundaries and limitations when it comes to the way in which you function. he doesn't like degradation. instead, he thrives from praise and any sign of love and care. this might be tough for you to execute 100% of the time, but when it comes down to it the way his eyes twinkle for you is enough to make the ice around your heart melt just a little more each time.