#I wish he was talked about more especially in regards to his connections with other characters

[tomialtooth]

Insane to me how there is an Ace Combat character that can more or less be described as nuclear Jerma that also looks like him

[lesbianfakir]

I like to think a lot of how Fakir reacts to Mytho (and to a lesser extent Duck) is colored by his relationship to his parents.

The only time he willingly references his parents directly to another person is in episode 25 to Duck.

[ID: Two screencaps. In the first Fakir looks down at Duck off camera and says "In the end, the real me has done nothing but BE protected ever since I was a kid." In the second screencap, we see a flashback to his mother protecting him from the ravens as he continues "I can't protect anyone." End ID]

At the turning point of his life, Fakir was small, weak, and unable to defend himself. But Fakir's parents loved him so much they defended him until their dying breaths. Protecting vulnerable baby Fakir was more important than their very lives. Do these words sound familiar?

[ID: 3 screencaps of Fakir talking to Duck, all using the same frame. He says "to protect someone, those who are small and weak... that's Mytho's greatest wish. And to do that, he'll have no regard for himself. End ID]

In Fakir's mind, there are two classes of people: those who protect others and those who need to be protected. He desperately wants to be in the first class, though in episode 25 he admits he belongs to the latter. This classification system may very have come about and been reinforced through the extreme trauma he endured.

We know Fakir both loves and hates Mytho in equal measure for his selfless drive to protect others. Even as a child, he idolizes the idea of disregarding one's own safety to protect people:

[ID: two screencaps from episode 8 for Fakir as a child reading The Prince and the Raven and saying "'If it was to protect the people, the prince never feared being injured himself.' Wow, that's so great!" End ID]

My theory here hinges on the idea that this admiration was born of a subconscious connection to his parents. They fit firmly into his mental schema as brave people who sacrificed themselves to save someone defenseless. Fakir sees Mytho and his parents in a similar light--that much is implicit--but we can extrapolate this further and speculate Fakir perhaps resents both himself and his parents for their deaths.

If his parents had chosen to abandon baby Fakir, they would still be alive. If baby Fakir had not required defending, they would likewise still be alive. The turning point in Fakir's relationship with Mytho is upon almost losing him after Mytho jumps out of a burning building to save a trapped bird. Fakir realizes that he cannot stand to lose someone he loves a second time, especially not in the same way, and he becomes bitter towards the idea of protecting the helpless--even if that admiration is what drew him to Mytho in the first place.

Could Fakir see himself in the trapped bird? The helpless victim who is somehow half to blame for the impending tragedy? Does he resent his parents for their decision to save him at the cost of their own lives? The way he resents Mytho for constantly putting his life on the line to protect others that, in Fakir's eyes, are not worth the risk? Was Fakir worth the risk?

[lilyginnyblackv2]

A Japanese video talking about Riku - Mentions the "Love Triangle."

I just found a video talking about Riku (in a sort of "10 Things You Didn't Know About This Character" kinda way). The creator of the video is Japanese and the video itself is in Japanese. Here is the full video:

They talk about 10 different things in regards to Riku, the full list of things they talk about can be seen in this image:

But the point I'm mostly going to be focusing on is #4 - 恋愛事情 or "The Romance Situation."

When the creator gets to point #4, they call it "The Sora and Kairi Love Triangle" (三角関係).

Then bring up the whole "eating (sharing) a paopu fruit with Kairi" stuff. But before jumping right into that, the creator compares Sora, Riku, and Kairi to other popular shonen trios of the time:

First mentioning Naruto with Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

Then Ash, Misty, and Brock. The creator notes that this kind group setup (a trio with two guys and one girl) was really popular around this time.

And that such a dynamic (two guys and one girl) has a lot of potential interest for a romance/romantic situation to come about. Which then brings up back to the whole "sharing a paopu fruit" with Kairi situation.

Specifically the scene in KH1 when Riku races Sora and says:

That whoever wins gets to eat (share) a paopu fruit with Kairi. But, then the creator of this video notes that the reading of this scene isn't necessarily clean cut:

Rather that it is unclear if this moment is just a moment meant to tease and embarrass Sora or if Riku was speaking honestly. Then they mention what Nomura says about Riku and his motives in KH1:

"Riku trying to return Kairi's heart to her wasn't about his feelings for her [Kairi], but rather his strong need to repent for the sins he committed." The Japanese word 罪 (tsumi) can also mean "wrongdoing," but I feel like Nomura is talking specifically about "sin" here, since he used the word 懴悔 (sange) as well. That word is shown to have strong connections to Christianity and Christ. The Japanese Wikipedia page for the word is specifically talking about the idea of repentance and sin in regards to Christ and the like.

(Personal little sidenote here, but this bit of info adds an extra layer to the conversation between Riku and Esmerelda in DDD, since that movie is steeped in Christianity).

Bringing this back to the video and what the creator had to say about this quote:

First, they note how there was no reference to Riku having romantic feelings for Kairi.

So, while knowing about Sora's feelings for Kairi,

It's reasonable to assume that Riku was simply teasing Sora in that scene.

Now, for most Soriku fans, this is old news. Many Soriku fans are aware of this quote in some way, shape, or form, and that interpretation is how we've viewed that scene for ages. But, I think it is important to have someone who is Japanese, speaking in Japanese, and talking about Nomura's quote in Japanese actually bringing up this line as well.

This is even more important, because this Japanese creator doesn't appear to be a Soriku shipper (he might agree with the idea of Riku having feelings for Sora, but he doesn't seem to ship Sora x Riku). After all, he does specifically note that, in KH3, Sora and Kairi are "completely in love with each other" (完全に両想い). So, to this Japanese individual, that paopu sharing scene is meant to be romantic.

The creator of this video also points out that "Riku picks up on that" with the "that" being "Sora and Kairi are completely in love with each other," and shows the scene of Riku on the beach not looking bothered by this. (In Japanese, they state that Riku is 空気が読む - reading the room).

Then they end the video by stating that they "wish people would stop saying that Riku might like Kairi."

I wanted to share this video, because while I do think that there are a number of poorly translated moments in KH (especially in KH3), which either just do the character dirty or causes certain parallels and context to be missed or miss placed in the English version...I don't necessarily agree that the Japanese text makes Soriku or Riku having romantic feelings for Sora more obvious nor do I think that it makes Sokai come off as less romantic than it is intended to be.

When I first played KH3, it was in Japanese when I was living in Japan. The Sokai stuff came off as romantic, poorly written and on the same level as the usual battle shonen stuff (of which this creator made a parallel/connection to with the trio dynamic in a way), but still meant to be read as romantic. Riku and Sora moments still made my eyebrows rise though, as per usual. (Edit: Also, to clarify, I do still think that there were aspects of drifting apart or feeling left behind, especially on Kairi's end, and there was still a lot of queer subtext in KH3, but whether Nomura actually ever does anything with that...).

But, yeah, I think there has been some misconceptions spread about Soriku and Japanese KH fans in general. There seems to be this feeling that like every KH fan in Japan ships Soriku or what have you...but that really is not the case. Soriku fans in Japan ship them, they likely also have queer readings of their bond and the text, but the regular, run-of-the-mill KH fan in Japan will see Sokai as romantic and the official/canon pairing, and view Sora and Riku's bond as friendship.

Though, Soriku is still an extremely popular pairing and I do think that, like in English speaking spaces of the fandom, there might be more of a general acceptance that Riku has feelings for Sora. But, not everyone in Japan holds these views, just like in English speaking KH spaces.

Let's just take a quick look at the comments:

One of the comments that has 14 upvotes notes the heartwarming nature of seeing Sora and Riku go from enemies in KH1 to fighting together "as friends" in KH2. Another comment notes how Sora and Riku are childhood friends. One commentator states that "Riku has Namine, so he'll be okay." Meanwhile, another comment talks about how they think that "Riku is definitely in love with Sora" they use 恋 (koi, which is used when talking about romantic love specifically). One of the replies to that comment notes how they find Soriku to be "hotter and more emotional" than Sokai. The creator responded with a laugh and a general sort of "no doubt (lol)" statement.

I'm going to check and see if there are any other Japanese videos talking about Riku in general. This video was a great little insight into a Japanese POV on Riku and general Japanese fandoms thoughts on Riku. Like with any fandom space, it's a mixed bag.

If you do decide to check out the video above or leave a comment, please be nice and kind. I just thought this was interesting and a good reference / source to point out when it comes to that Nomura comment about KH1 Riku and his motives and Riku's feelings (or lack there of) for Kairi.

[extensionallydefined]

It's time for a sequel! My last essay post was about the thematic relationship between standard Persona 5 and the added Royal content, and there I said that I'd do another little writeup on individuality in that context. I'm going to assess it especially regarding the Royal Trio. So here it is! As always, spoilers, you've been warned.

(This is post-finishing-the-writeup extensionallydefined here - this one's a long one, get ready! It gets into character study territory, yay!)

So, I wanna approach this topic from the lens of the characters of Akechi and Sumire. They're two characters whose individuality and autonomy are heavily put into question in Maruki's desired reality. But before we discuss them.

In Maruki's reality: 1. Your suffering is eliminated. 2. Your wishes are granted.

These are its two basic precepts. In the case of people like Akechi and Joker, it's stated that reality has been rewritten in such a way that they didn't commit any crimes. If we follow Morgana's logic of the world being a product of cognition only, then we can assume that this was done by altering everyone's memory to remember a world where the mental shutdowns and changes of heart never happened.

This means that people's prior actions and lives can be altered via perception, and we can see that this can happen to the individual themselves too - It follows that if Futaba fully believes her mother to be alive, she does not remember anything that happened during, at the very least, her Palace arc during the game - including the choices she made during it.

This means that Maruki's reality fundamentally alters people's perception of their own identity. It's no secret that people's memories are one of if not the most constitutive part of their identities, so if Maruki can change someone's memories, he can change their identity itself.

I wonder, if Maruki deems that someone's identity causes them too much pain and suffering in relation to their desires, is he willing to change it? And if someone desires their identity to be overwritten, will he do it? The answer is yes to both: Akechi is the first case, and Sumire corresponds to the second question. Oh hey! It's like the Royal Trio have very relevant thematic connections!

Let's do Akechi first, since my posts here are thinly-veiled Akechi propaganda in the end. Akechi's whole "thing" is that he's been under others' control his whole life, and he's been putting on different kinds of masks to achieve his goals. Personally, I believe both "Detective Prince Akechi" and "Black Mask Akechi" are not "the real Akechi".

Detective Prince Akechi corresponds to his public persona - the Ace Detective, the celebrity. He goes on talk shows and acts nice, he's a hero of justice, and his sole purpose is uncovering the truth.

This is a mask, of course - He doesn't have that much regard for the truth, and although he does seek his justice in a way, it is not the one he preaches online. His Detective Prince mask is the one that, as he says himself, he uses so that someone will want him around.

On the other hand, we have the Black Mask persona (Holy shit Persona reference?) he utilizes. This one is definitely more genuine than the regular Akechi, but I think his ruthlessness when acting as Black Mask, especially before 3rd semester, is forced as well. I think too many people forget what Ryuji says before his fight:

I actually agree with Ryuji's theory here. I think Akechi needed to force himself to go psychotic to fight the Phantom Thieves after losing the first time. His Black Mask persona is one where he lets himself be controlled by his anger and his thirst for revenge, it's his mask of *Spite*. It's the one that pretends to hate Joker (which is partly why Morgana telling him that he doesn't hate Joker is one of the things that prompts him to use Loki on the PTs). Maybe I'll write more about this if I ever do a deep dive on him, but for now, know this: Akechi's Black Mask is what it says on the tin, a Mask.

The real Akechi is somewhere in between, and somewhere else entirely at the same time. I think the fully genuine Akechi is the one we see in Joker and Akechi's interactions during the Third Semester. He's more than just Robin Hood and Loki. He's the Akechi that can awaken to Hereward.

The thing is - the real Akechi is the way he is because of what led him to develop those masks. Even if they are his "personas", they're still parts of him, born of his pain and suffering and his struggle to get what he thinks he wants.

And that's the thing, isn't it? Maruki denies him that. He takes away his crimes - So he at least takes away Black Mask Akechi. During 3rd Sem, Akechi is aware of this, but in the "accept Maruki's reality ending", the PTs and Akechi are totally chill, described as friends - like nothing bad ever happened.

That's not our Akechi.

That's a sanitized, perfect little version of Akechi that Maruki thinks is the best one for Akechi. But in a way, he's taking away the life and identity that Akechi built for himself - He doesn't think that the flawed Akechi deserves to live. And if you, Joker, decide to take Maruki's reality? That's the ultimate betrayal. You tell Akechi to his face that you prefer the perfect version of him. You're just like the foolish masses that rally behind the Detective Prince - you want the version of him that's happy all the time and can do no wrong. Choosing Maruki's reality is an affront to Akechi's agency, that much is obvious - but it's also a betrayal of his wishes and a violent attack against his very sense of identity.

It's ironic, isn't it? Even if Maruki presents his reality as the one where Akechi lives, that's not our Akechi... So he dies either way. Except if we fight Maruki, he maintains his autonomy til the end, and if you ranked him up to rank 10... his death is still ambiguous.

(And if you're a Shuake enjoyer like me, be it for their platonic, romantic or whatever-they-got-going-on-over-there dynamic... This is just perfect angst material. Chef's kiss.)

After this whole Akechi rant (Goodness me this is turning out Really long I hope I can keep people's attention sksks), let's take a look at Sumire.

Sumire is someone who wants her personality to be overwritten. She does not want to live as someone who led her own sister to die. She wants to be the vessel through which Kasumi's goals are fulfilled. She wants to be Kasumi.

But what does it mean for Sumire to be Kasumi? If we follow our logic, it means that Sumire has to die. She disappears. Her self-perception has to be altered to such an extent that she will not exist anymore, but rather an amalgamation of what Sumire thinks Kasumi is like, what Maruki thinks Sumire wants and Sumire would be born out of the actualization of her wishes. In a way, what Sumire is saying is... she wishes she was the one who died that day instead of her sister. But she still wants to help her sister fulfill her wish. So, instead of just telling Maruki "I want my life exchanged for my sister's" she says she wants to become Kasumi altogether. Kasumi can live through her, bringing the sisters together.

Sumire wants to lose her individuality. Akechi does not. This makes them clash directly. But in the end, Sumire accepts that 1. Her sister was more flawed than how she saw her. 2. She should carry on her sister's wish because it was their collective wish. 3. She should do it as herself, because she has as much worth as Kasumi. So, she ends up carrying on Kasumi's wish, but without losing her identity and creating the "Kasumire" that we meet during the base game. "Beauty in devotion", as they say.

So, in conclusion, what does Maruki's reality do for individuality? It prioritizes the reduction of suffering and the fulfillment of wishes above the subject's self-perception. In the end, Maruki's actualization works through changing cognition - And if cognition is a part of ourselves, well... In a way, we could say that the person whose wishes Maruki grants disappears in favour of a version of themselves whose wishes have been granted. Autonomy-wise, even if Maruki grants people's conscious wishes, it's not like he asked: "Hey, would you wanna live in a new reality with all these philosophical implications?" I think he realizes this to an extent, which is why he allows the Phantom Thieves and Akechi to challenge him.

First, he prioritizes dialogue, but he knows conflict may be unavoidable. "May the strongest will decide our fate" - something like that.

Maybe my point of view is very anti-Maruki, and I'm not trying to hide it. I was against Maruki from day 1, just like Akechi. (To be clear, I don't hate the guy, I love him as a character, but we have vastly different worldviews). I highly value individuality and autonomy and I don't subscribe to Maruki's brand of utilitarianism/hedonism. But I think these rough kinds of trains of thought are the ones that P5R demands from us, and I love it for that. I think my next essay will be about Maruki and death, relating P5 to P3 and Maruki's utilitarianism to Nietzschean ideas of life-denying slave-morality. Yeah, we're going deep into the philosophy sauce in the next one. I hope you'll stick with me for that!

(Btw I added images by popular demand - I hope they help with reading!)

[attex]

I love your UI design. Any thoughts on them like their interaction with others?

that innocence is pretty paralleled if we are being honest...

My interpretation of UI is based on the idea of them just being attention and stimulation addicted... They were made like this on purpose, by the same group of engineers (not exactly the same persons though) as NSH, due to the seeming work efficiency in a more active and stimulation seeking personality. This is also why they are named ironically too, along with having a fake mouth! However, such a personality tends to give diminishing returns, especially when there isn't things to focus on constantly. Which is why UI leaned towards gossiping and messing around.

They don't do things out of malice, (the ordeal with 5P was not malicious lol) it's all just another little thing to pass the time. But they do feel guilty and awkward if pushed around a bit. They're more honest than they seem, they won't lie about their mean thoughts or opinions. They will lie if it causes more attention to be given to them or they dislike the way they're treated from their honesty; but this is all hard to achieve as they can get VERY stubborn. They're naturally curious in a gawking at things and not shutting up kinda way. If they see something weird, they will point it out and keep bringing it up to talk about it.

I interpret them to be the youngest, being built a short while after 5P. This is why they look the way they do, but they still have discerning traits due to the engineers that built them. Their design for the puppet should be obvious in the ways it's similar to how NSH's puppet is designed, at least I hope I managed to show that... I also imagine their structures have much bigger bio-engineering lab sections, not for actual production of purposed organisms but rather for experimenting with them and the like. Those two would be occupied with that often, along with their other duties. The small cloak, a lot of parts that light up to indicate status, fake mouth, more angular parts, focus on strip patterns, sturdier legs... Their cloak has patterns resembling rod cells in eyes, also!

As for their relationships with others in their group...

LttM gets along well with them, which usually surprises outsiders. She knows they just need things to do but does get disappointed at their more reckless behavior. UI likes LttM for being a bit too lenient regarding things they do that they probably shouldn't, but besides that they do see her as a trustable friend albeit not taking her senior status too solidly.

5P definitely doesn't enjoy having to interact with them at all after getting humiliated by them. He doesn't hate them or anything, he never did. While he wasn't surprised about them doing what they did, it still soured his view of them by a lot and feeling that many heavy emotions in one moment didn't help. Otherwise, he can't be bothered with them in general. UI sees 5P as an extremely difficult peer to mess with in any way, he is impatient and easily annoyed but his tendency to just cut things off makes anything silly near impossible. While they do find his issues interesting in a shallow way, a part of them secretly wishes to know more of him on a personal level... Most likely because he is the only one they've never gotten to engage with closely, their nosy interest in him got more blatant as time went on too.

SRS actually enjoys talking to them a decent amount, though they can't help but feel like there is always a barrier of sorts in fully understanding and connecting with UI. UI finds SRS very amusing. Definitely their "favorite" in the group due to SRS' extrovertedness combined with that iconic tinge of obliviousness. UI has always enjoyed snooping in on SRS, especially when they talk to outsiders. SRS isn't fully aware of the extent of UI observing them like a weird animal, though...

NSH is neutral, yet wary regarding UI. They both know how either one can behave pretty well. He still sees them as a friend though. He's the second person that tells UI to "behave" the most- but it isn't like UI can't snap back at him for being overly playful as well. UI is nearly the same way towards him. Both of them know of each other's mischievous attitude and that makes it difficult for them to mess with one another. They can get a bit too caught up in being silly if he eggs them on and vice versa… even if they don't fully notice NSH views them as acting more childish by a lot. CGW… I haven't thought of and characterized CGW well enough to say anything regarding them honestly… But the things I'm certain of are UI seeing CGW as being way too "put together" and unfun, because they act very proper in comparison to everyone else. That's more incentive to mess with them, though. CGW doesn't dislike UI or anything, but they see being closer friends with them as not entirely possible.

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Stranger Things S5 Title Theories

Alright guys, I know that we were all expecting (and hoping for) a teaser. Believe, I wish we got one as well and we've been very patient. That being said, the episode titles do offer us some information about what could happen. Let's break it down (to the best of our abilities)!

The Crawl: Based on the script tease from the Duffers, I imagine we open with Will in the Upside Down and we learn more about how he survived. I can also see the episode focusing on much of the fallout from the ending of S4 and what Hawkins post Vecna looks like. Similar to the final season of the Bad Batch from Star Wars, we could see a time skip half way through this episode, showing just how much as changed since Vecna.

The Vanishing of ******: Holly Wheeler is the top contender for the blurred out name. Whether or not it's her, I have two theories. Theory number 1 is that the missing person is taken by Vecna into the Upside Down. Vecna does tell Nancy that he will kill her family and I can see him kidnapping someone close to her in order to mess with her. My other theory is that maybe they're still testing kids in a place like the lab. This one is more of a stretch. But we don't know what Linda Hamilton's role is yet.

The Turnbow Trap: While I'm not sure about this one, I do think this will be a mostly planning and action heavy episode. The kids do like setting traps and if they can get Vecna (or any other monster) in it, then it could be considered successful. Turnbow does sound like the name of something, family or company, so the trap is definitely connected to it somehow.

Sorcerer: My first thought was a Will-centric episode because Will dressed up as a wizard when he used his DnD alias "Will the Wise." It would be nice to explore his connection to the Upside Down more, especially now that Vecna is involved. Vecna and Will never met, but they do have some similarities with the biggest one being the Mindflayer. The First Shadow reveals that Henry was influenced by the Mindflayer, turning him into the evil man we know today. Will similarly was controlled by the Mindflayer. My other theory is that this episode is about Eleven. El is dubbed at the Party's mage, which is a spellcaster. It's highly possible we could see her try and go up against Vecna again only to disastrous results. What do you guys think?

Shock Jock: A shock jock is "a disc jockey on a talk-radio show who expresses opinions in a deliberately offensive or provocative way." Throughout the photos we'v been given, there's been a recurrent theme of the kids going to a radio building (?). I definitely think that the episode could be centered around the town, similar to what happened with Jason in S4.

Escape from Camazotz: This is the episode I'm probably most excited for. There are two theories I have regarding Camazotz. Camazotz refers to a "death bat" in Maya mythology. It symbolizes sacrifice so we could see someone dying to Vecna or another monster of the upside down. However, I personally think that this is episode where Max comes back. Max is currently in a coma right now and there are speculations that her mind is stuck in Vecna's mind lair. Camazotz is the name of the planet home to the malevolent entity the IT in "A Wrinkle in Time." Now, I've only seen the movie, but from what I remember, Camazotz is a strange place with strange people. It doesn't present as this evil looking place. Throughout the story, Meg and her brother Charles Wallace try to find their lost dad, who was imprisoned on Camazotz by the IT. The IT, an incredibly manipulative being, tries to stop our heroes and make them succumb to its will. Swinging back to Stranger Things, what if we see Max escaping from Vecna's mind lair. Vecna is like the IT and his lair is Camazotz. We could see El trying to go into her mind again and pulling her to safety. Or... it could just be the heroes fighting off some bat creature from the Upside Down, but I prefer the Max theory.

The Bridge: My first thought outside a literal bridge is a bridge between worlds. Maybe the heroes try and close the gap that currently connects the Upside Down to our world. And by doing so, traps Vecna here. If he can't go back and hide in the Upside Down, then maybe the heroes have a chance at beating him.

Rightside Up: The final battle between good and evil for our heroes of Hawkins. Everything is tested and there will be casualties. However, our heroes will come out triumphant in the end, with the threat of the Upside Down being gone permanently.

Anyways, those are my thoughts. What do you think will happen? I'd love to hear your theories and ideas!

[bisexualmultifandommess]

I’ve been updating my Charles Xavier Spotify Playlist and I’ve found songs for my three favourite Charles relationship dynamics that makes me sad 😭 these are going to include headcanons probably but most are close to what Charles really goes through

My Only Friend by Amy Shark (Ft. Tom DeLonge) - I feel like this song really fits Hank and Charles’ relationship before and during Days of Future Past. They’re my favourite friendship and I love seeing their dynamic explored in fics because it’s such a complicated relationship but for the longest time they were definitely each other’s person.

Dorothea by Taylor Swift - This song really made me imagine it as Charles talking to Raven or thinking about Raven when he misses her. He wishes he still had his sister and reminisces about their youth and the way things used to be. It really fits the sad feeling over her leaving as well as the hope of reconciliation one day.

Now with Erik I have so many that could fit different aspects of his relationship with Charles and how Charles feels about him so I’m going to list songs that I think fit the different emotions Charles may feel in regards to their relationship and especially the events in FC and DoFP.

The Grudge by Olivia Rodrigo and First Burn from Hamilton - These two songs definitely fits the anger Charles feels in regard to his relationship with Erik. He obviously loves Erik a lot but I believe that at least in the early years he felt so much anger and sadness over the miscommunication and his sister leaving that he must’ve occasionally had angry thoughts that he usually wouldn’t have. It’s an anger that he would later move on but I think it’s definitely shown in DoFP and I headcanon anyway that he felt so angry at times at Erik. The Grudge definitely feels more like Charles getting upset at Erik but saying these things to himself about what happened to him and trying to come to terms with what happened and First Burn feels more like he’s actually talking to Erik.

I miss you, I’m sorry by Gracie Abrams and The Moon Will Sing by The Crane Wives - These are definitely the sad aspect which I always love looking into because I love angst. I miss you, I’m sorry is more of a mourning the relationship song where Charles thinks back on before everything went wrong and how happy he was with him and how upset he is over the separation. The lyrics “I don’t wanna go, think I make it worse. Everything I know brings me back to us” to me show how dependent they are on each other and that they’re always going to be a part of each other no matter how many years go by. He’s always going to be connected to Erik and miss him even if things originally ended badly. The Moon Will Sing feels like it’s fits the trope of a character helping another find their spark but losing their own in the process. Charles loves Erik and Erik loves Charles but their relationship has made things difficult and Charles kind of lost himself for a bit after everything but he did eventually find his way back.

[rogue205]

Anyone else get the feeling that Teen will overcome the sigil and trigger his powers in the season finale of the show, leading to some cliffhanger like ending? The others won't know his true identity right away of course(except maaaaaaybe Lilia and I get the feeling that Rio also knows who he is) but *something* will happen.

As much as I want to see him all powerful and kicking ass with his magic like in the comics, 'Agatha All Along' is also kind of his backstory, so we're likely to get a Wanda-type build with him learning as he goes. It took her 10 years after all to reach her full potential and to gain the alias of Scarlet Witch. So he’s got some heavy lifting to do before he gets his name.

There is a very interesting theory going around regarding the sigil that's been placed on him, which hides his identity from witchfolk. He asks Agatha if she did it and she denies it at first, before mentioning that she wouldn't know anyway given that it also works on the witch who cast it.

Soooooo... what if TEEN cast it on himself? As per what Agatha said, he wouldn't know anyway and that would give the reason that he doesn't want anyone to know who he is and went to extremes to keep it hidden. I mean he clearly has magic seeing as he was able to break the hexs hold over Agatha and she mentions he must be pretty powerful in order to accomplish that.... hmmmmm.... 🤔 He also doesn't need more power, but his reasons for going on the Road are pretty murky too.

Also, I fell for the same need at first to wish that he was Nicholas somehow but I think that all the references and connections to her son that she keeps experiencing, will ultimately set up the crux of Agatha's character development. She is developing affection for Teen/Billy because she was internally hoping that he COULD somehow be her son, returned to her. Whereas, if she knew that he was Wanda's son, she'd most definitely hurt him in retaliation for what Wanda did to her. Another aspect of the sigil could be the protection spell that Scarlet Witch cast on her children, and that could be what is preventing Agatha from hearing anything when Teen talks about his past or says his name, to keep her from harming him.

Back to the character development, I see Agatha ultimately discovering Teen's true identity as Billy Kaplan/Maximoff and either trying to steal his magic or try to sacrifice him in order to regain her powers. But she will ultimately be unable to do it, redeeming herself of her past actions and getting a form of closure for what happened to Nicholas because of her as well.

Just my thoughts.

———————

EDIT: Okay… I guess we don’t have to wait till the finale. 🫢

I was right about Lilia technically even if that sigil she cast caused her to forget too. I was right about Agatha wanting to sacrifice Billy to get her magic back but being unable to do it ultimately. Unfortunately, Billy now seems less like Wiccan and more like a whiny emo teenager only with magic. Hopefully he overcomes that soon and I can’t wait to see Tommy!

Everyone angry that Agatha never got “a happy ending” should’ve known that was coming, especially if you’ve read the comics. Rio did look pretty damn cool at the end, not gonna lie. I really did feel for Alice, WHY did they need to include that?! 😭 She deserved better!!!!

[anxiousnerdwritings]

Hello!! Happy late Christmas! I just love your writing- your soooo talented!! ❤️

I was wondering how the yandere bat boys would react to a (willing) darling being jealous of their "cannon" romantic interest? Like Dick's darling being jealous of starfire or Barbara, Damian's darling being jealous of raven, ect...

...or maybe there's a surprise twist where the romantic interests are also yandere for the darling... and maybe they're not willing to share 😉

I can’t help but imagine that fans of all the heroes ship them with other heroes/heroines (sometimes even the with some of the villains) and the batboys are no exception to this, hence the darling coming across some of the ship/OTP stuff regarding their respective batboy and feeling insecure about it. Maybe they were comfortable with the ‘love interests’ who are the most popularly shipped with whichever batboy but now feel a sense of discomfort when in their presence. Maybe they were even close to said ‘love interest’, more like friends with them but now they can’t help but feel some type of way after seeing everything they’ve seen regarding the ‘love interest’ and their batboy.

Their insecurity and jealousy get the best of them, it would especially weigh on the darling if they themself weren’t a hero or vigilante, able to be out in the field with their batboy and the ‘love interests’. Not only to be able to see the respective batboy and ‘love interest’s’ interactions outside of what they already see and to be able to pick up on what the fans take as more than what it is, but to also be able to connect with their batboy by being a part of the hero and vigilante lifestyle with them.

No matter how much the darling were to try to keep their worries and insecurities to themself, their batboy will find out. There’s not a lot you could keep from them after all.

Dick is pretty close with all his exes but his darling means the absolute world to him and he wouldn’t do anything to mess it up, especially since they are willing. He can come off pretty flirty and that could certainly fuel is darling’s worries but he would never betray them like that, not when he’s already got the bestest thing he could ever wish for (that’s you!). But when Dick picks up on his darling acting a little off, more drawn back and closed off, he knows something’s not right and he doesn’t like it. He’ll try to find out what it is without directly asking his darling, he doesn’t want to set them off or cause them to shut down with him, so he’ll see what he can come up with on his own. He’ll be paying closer attention to you and your behavior. It’s when Kory or Barbara is around that he notices you keeping more to yourself, even when you use to have no problem interacting with and getting along just fine with them before. Once he’s gotten the idea of what’s going on then Dick will sit you down and talk about it. He listens intently while you begrudgingly open up about what’s been on your mind lately. He doesn’t take his attentions off of you for anything and when you’re done talking, probably voicing how stupid you think you sound, he pulls you into a tight hug and just holds you close to him. He’s worked so hard to get you to be where you are with him to begin with, he would never forsake it for anything or anyone. There may have been a past with Kory and Barbara (along with others) but you’re his and he’s all yours now and there’s nothing that could take him away from you. He’ll shower his darling with all the love, affection and spoiling the are more than deserving of. He’ll prove his love to you, every ounce of it but you may not be able to walk for a few days, maybe even a week afterwards.

I could see Dick reaching out to Kory and Barbara for advice on what to do or how to go about talking to his darling, just overall some girl advice. Maybe Kory or Barbara hit him up to ask him about how it went or maybe they had brought it to his attention in the first place. They would particularly be worried if the darling had been on good terms with them only to have started acting a little differently when around them recently. That’s when Dick lets them in on what had been going on, maybe cracking a joke or something about being shared between them and his darling only for Kory or Barbara to joke back that it wouldn’t be him that they wanted. And that they wouldn’t be too into sharing either. Normally that wouldn’t have bothered him if it wasn’t for the the way they said it or the underlying threat to their words. Dick’s ears would perk and he would realize that he’d have to keep his darling real close otherwise Kory or Babs would steal them away from him. Like hell he would let that happen.

Jason is pretty closed off, the only real person outside of Roy, Bizarro, Kory, and maybe Artemis that he felt like he could really try and be himself with was his darling. It took a lot for him to open himself up and bring them into his life, he had been terrified of how they would react, what they would do, if they would leave him but they willingly accepted him and stayed. That was truly the happiest he ever felt. So when his darling suddenly started being withdrawn and staying to themself, Jason was scared shitless that it had finally sunk in and they were preparing to up and leave him. He’d be a little hesitant to confront them, not really wanting to hear the words he’s only ever heard in his nightmares being said for real. But he also knows he just needs to rip the bandaid off, so he confronts you all the while anxiety floods his entire being. He’s mentally and emotionally preparing himself to hear those dreaded words and have one of his worst nightmares play out right in front of him for real, only that’s not what he gets at all. Instead he’s thrown for a loop as you open up about how insecure you’ve been feeling towards Kory or Artemis and how scared you are of him deciding to be with them instead. To say he’s taken aback is an understatement, Jay is completely confused. Albeit, he is relieved that it wasn’t his worst fear but still he was at a loss. Had he done something to make you think that? What could he have possibly done to make you think Kory or Artemis was better than you? Had he not been giving you enough of the attention and love you deserved? What could he do to make this all better? What could he do to make you feel the absolute love and adoration he held for no one else but you? All Jason can do is pull you to him, crushing you to his chest and just clutching you close. God, he thought he was gonna lose you, that he would have to force you to stay but thankfully that wasn’t the case. He was going to show just how much you truly meant to him, so much so that wouldn’t ever question your worth or place in his life again.

I feel like Kory’s or Artemis’ interest/obsession would have been brought up earlier on, probably completely unknown to the darling but Jason was well aware of it. He’d pick up on how much more time and attention Kory was putting into them, how much she constantly wanted to be in their presence. While Artemis would talk about how Jason didn’t deserve the darling, how they needed someone better to take care of them, protect them and love them more than he could. She’d have no problem questioning him and whether he was capable of being what they really needed, or if it was her who should take his place instead and be what the darling could truly count on. Either way, Jason isn’t putting up with it and he will throw hands or pull the trigger. He’s not just going to lie down and let anyone take the best thing in his life away from him.

Tim would pick up on his darling’s behavior pretty quickly. He always watches them out the corner of his eye and is very aware of even the slightest change in them so he’d know something wasn’t right probably before his darling even came to the conclusion themself. Not only would he pick up on something being wrong in general but also what may be affecting them. He’d take up being more outwardly affectionate with them, giving them all his attention and just overall spending more time with them before he confronts them about how they’ve been acting and feeling lately. When you tell him that you’ve been feeling pretty jealous of Stephanie or Cassie recently he can’t help but inquire why. He’s racking his brain trying to think of what he did or when he did it to make you think he would want anything more than a work partnership with either of them. Sure, did he have a past with both girls? Yes, but he had you now and you were all he wanted or needed anymore. You had nothing to worry about regarding Stephanie or Cassie, Tim was all yours and no one could ever come between you and him. But Tim would vow to do better by you, he wouldn’t hold back on showing all his love and adoration for you. You would feel just how much he genuinely and truly loves you, so much so you’ll drown in it all, unable to feel anything other than his love for you.

Now regarding Stephanie and Cassie having their own obsession for Tim’s darling, Tim would be very on edge about it. Just the thought of anyone, let alone people as close to him as Steph and Cassie, taking his darling away from him is enough to give him more anxiety then he’s already got going on. But the thought of his darling being so much happier and better off with either of them is something that would haunt Tim to no end. He’d become insecure himself but he’d do everything in his power to keep his darling away from Stephanie and Cassie, ensuring his darling wouldn’t abandon him for them or anyone else for that matter.

Damian would be similar to Jason in that his darling was one of the few people he felt he could bring his walls down for and open himself up to them. He’s afraid of them realizing how truly damaged he is and deciding to leave him because of it, leaving him alone and heartbroken (not like he’d let that happen). So when he notices them acting unusual, becoming closed off especially towards him, Damian’s immediate thought is that they’re going to abandon him. Something must have finally sunk in or it’s hit them that he’s not worth their time and love anymore. Either way, he’s panicked for what’s about to come but he does the most to keep himself in check cause if you’re going to leave he needs to be quick to act. Damian wait until he’s got you all alone before confronting you but before you can explain yourself he’s already bombarding you with how much he loves you and what all he’s done for you along with other things. How could you think of leaving him when you’ve been the best thing he’s had for the longest time? What did he do to not be enough for you anymore? Did you ever truly love him to begin with? Do you hate him? It would have to take his darling hugging him or kissing him to get him to shut up and once he does they speak up about how they’d been feeling recently, about how insecure they’d become over Raven and his close relationship. Now it’s Damian’s turn to hug/kiss his beloved darling but he’s not doing it so much as to shut them up but out of relief and happiness at the fact that they hadn’t even thought about leaving him. He tells them that he is solely and utterly devoted to them and only them, he couldn’t want for anything more than what they already give him and their mere existence. That he would do absolutely anything for them and that there are already somethings he has done for them that they don’t know about but that’s not here or there. Raven is only a friend and that’s all. His darling is the only beloved in his life and that’s how it will always be. He’d vow to never make them feel like anything less than what they are and they are everything to him. Damian would do anything to prove his complete and utter adoration and devotion to his darling and he is extremely devoted. After everything’s calmed down and the two of you are basking in one another, he would tell you with absolute conviction that if you were to ever leave him, he wasn’t going to give up on you or getting you back. He’s completely serious and you know that but that’s what you love about him.

Damian would feel completely betrayed if he ever knew that Raven was obsessed with his darling and wanted them for herself. Like maybe there could have been some kind of agreement but that’s completely off the table now. He’s well aware of what Raven is capable of but he wasn’t lying when he said he’d do anything for his darling, even if that means putting and end to someone he once called a friend. He wouldn’t want it to come down to that but if it did his darling was of the utmost importance to him and that’s what he would fight for.

[thebirthofvenusfly]

Now that I've finished In Stars and Time, I wanted to do some writing on my thoughts and favorite detail of the game, especially regarding the relationship between the Protagonist (Siffrin) and the player:

ISAT SPOILERS BELOW

So, if you're reading this post, you've finished ISAT.

One detail I really wanted to explore was the player's experience as Siffrin. From the beginning, you're often treated as a typical player-protagonist relationship; you have one consistent character you see the story through the lens of, and interact with other characters and items in the universe through their hands and interactions.

Though at first, you as the player see chat notifications/text boxes (Memories, tutorials, etc.) that only you can see and that pertain to gameplay mechanics that wouldn't necessarily be deemed as canon-narrative things rather than just skills purely for the gameplay; it'd fourth-wall breaking and meta for the character to know what you as the player knows.

This is then immediately shattered by the character Loop, who reveals that they're the one talking to you when you see the text boxes about the Memories.

From then one, one detail I initially was iffy on but ended up loving was Siffrin developing as a character and individual separate from the player. Examples: Text options can be limited. Often at times, I found the only options there in a conversation to be things I never wanted to say, or there being no option at all other than one choice because Siffrin already knew what he as an individual wanted to say and what he was feeling at that time.

Siffrin had his own trains of thought on the loops. Can I be honest? I had caught on to the idea that perhaps Siffrin's wish and internal feelings of never wanting to separate from the party had been causing the loops far before your last run through Dormont and the House. By this point, you've seen Siffrin loop due to death, to being frozen in time, to scaring the party from wanting to travel with him by the way he killed a Sadness, to talking to the House Maiden after defeating the King and everyone declaring they'd go separate ways-- The only common denominator was every result ended in Siffrin being unable to continue on with the party for one reason or another.

Despite this, we still see him struggle to come to terms with any reasonings for the loops other than being hellbent that everyone wishing for a Savior for Dormont locked him into the cycle to begin with and because Mirabelle was dealing the killing blow on the King--not Siffrin--the defeat didn't count as his and he had to do it himself. Loop (the character) was very insistent that this wouldn't work and tried several times to get him out of this logic, but Siffrin had their mind set. You as the player cannot choose to stop Siffrin from this, at this point.

Funnily enough, despite all this marking Siffrin as an individual who is very sentient and independent of you, I found his emotional plight to be the same: I hate when games force you to lose your found family. I hate when you've spent 10-100+ hours building relationships and confiding in these people who you'd otherwise be lost without and have formed loving dynamics with, only to lose all contact or connection with them just because your journey is over. I understood his fear of change and abandonment and loneliness perfectly, and quite honestly, I felt the same every time the King was beaten--the reminder that damn, this is all just minutes from being over, if not for the loops.

So in the end, despite the writing very much turning Siffrin into his own character and individual whom we end up having minimal direct control over, he still ended up perfectly mirroring my sentiments.

And to be honest, I'm more attached to him than I have ever been to other protagonists because I've gotten to know him more individually than just use him as my marker or representation of myself in their universe.

[blacclotusss]

Like the Light by Which God Made the World Before Light

I mainly want to talk about three main things that I gravitated towards in this episode: Claudia & Madeleine, Armand & the Coven, and The Trial. 

Claudia & Madeleine

I didn't expect to be all for this companionship the way that I am, but this relationship is so sweet and as pure as it can get between a human and a vampire turned immortal love. I think their connection and their relationship represent what all these immortal relationships could be. They seem to understand one another and learned how to work with what the other was offering and I think that's the sweetest thing. I knew they would get along and probably form some sort of bond from their first interaction (absolutely loved Claudia in this scene and how she moved). I'm glad Claudia found someone who is all for her without their being any weird animosity, like with the coven, or feeling as if the most important person in her life is choosing everyone else but her. The description of the little scene of Claudia in daylight with her beautiful yellow dress being from Madeleine's mind was so, so beautiful and nearly moved me to tears. Finally, even if it was just a vision, we see Claudia happy and cheerful as she deserves to have been all her life. This woman has been through enough and it stinks that things end for her the way the way they do, at least in other versions of this story. I'm glad she was able to find a companion, even if it were just for a short period of time. Oh how I wish they would have stayed traveling the world...

Armand & The Coven

Let's start with Armand by himself and everything he has going on. Armand is a powerful, yet insecure guy that needs some structure in his life and will fall apart if he doesn't have it. My personal belief is that's the reason why he doesn't let that coven go not does he really get too physical with them, I mean he's got the whole mind thing going on so he doesn't really have to. But, as much as he is insecure and powerful, he's also manipulative. Manipulation is literally this man's day job and it was hilarious when he said "Are you asking me, Maitre?" when he and Louis was like "...okay girl we ain't doing this today." But, he knows how to work a crowd and a room, which we've seen with the dinner and in San Francisco and even in Dubai with the whole "you asked for it" thing. He likes to spin things like he's a DJ playing a set and even I had to come to the realization of just how bad he is. Again, he is a beautifully tragic individual (the third tragic beauty I have attached myself to) but that's a sneaky little thing. 

Now, in regards to him and the coven, Armand was never going to fight that coven on matters regarding Claudia. Louis? Probably. But he has the same goal of getting Claudia out of the way that Louis' previous man did. Not only does he feels she's in the way of their relationship, but she is the living embodiment of a broken immortal law. I think he probably wanted her out from the moment he figured them out, which was day one. I was also trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but there was absolutely no way he didn't hear them plotting. Maybe that's why he told Louis they should leave...O don't know! My question is if he will actually interfere with them, and I'm assuming, trying to kill Louis? Like, that's supposed to be his love, I'm hoping he does something. And, I need to know what Louis' reasoning was for staying with him after that, unless it's some more memory stuff. Did he know Lestat would be there? Also, cannot wait to see how Daniel will aid in unfolding all of this. 

The Trial

This whole thing is really a damn headache and I hope every coven member gets burned down to a crisp, especially that bleach blonde heifer parading around like he's the best actor to walk the earth. I'm glad Armand AND Louis yoked him up! Buffoon! I always knew there was something with that man, he gave too many mysterious looks for me as if he was trying to pick them apart from the inside. He even goes on to try and get close to Claudia just to put her on trial for killing her abuser. Guillotine! Go meet you maker, thesp! And speaking of abuser...it's so funny how they bring Lestat into this whole thing when he's definitely a part of the problem. Aside from all of the nonsense and abuse he's put Louis and Claudia through, he also broke one of the rules by turning Claudia at 14 years old all because his miserable self couldn't bear to be alone or without Louis. Are they going to try and kill him, too? Or is he their God just like Armand once was? This is sarcasm if you didn't catch it. It's just...very questionable that they overlook everyone else's faults to get rid of her. And why is Madeleine on trial? That girl ain't do a thing to them people. Will they torture Armand as well by making him watch? I'm just rambling my thoughts at this moment, but I can't help but notice...something about the way these people move. 

[evelynpr]

How IN LOVE are the Genshin cast with the Traveler? An ANALYSIS of the cast's affinity for them based on voice lines, events and other media!

This goes for both Aether and Lumine, and even Paimon occasionally for the friendship/family tier! If there is anyone or smth I missed please feel free to add I love studying character relationships!!! Of course you are free to interpret these differently, or see it as "something more" if you wish hehe ;)

Lowest Tier : Friendly-er

These characters are here because they are not the type to have many friends, but traveler is special to them, not romantically

Raiden Ei - I interpret their relationship as one that is trying to build a stable friendship, but still recovering from past events slowly. Ei has done a lot of harm both directly and indirectly at the traveler, but has gone through the events of the quest to re-center herself in which the Traveler helped greatly. Deeply thankful is what I'm lead to believe, but casual is still iffy because of Ei's acts of cutting off all close connections in the past.

Shenhe - She is very protective of the traveler, because they were her earliest friends (yes Paimon too) and her story does revolve around her learning to fight for others (I find their friendship very sweet, but not romantic at all since Shenhe has a much longer way to go in understanding social relationships) (I'm kinda surprised I've never seen someone ship this romantically actually-)

Diluc - Definition of a Gentleman when it comes to the traveler. He always offers his support, gives his hand-picked grape juice to them for free, etc. He always sees them in high regard and trusts them greatly (but you could probably say he does the same for Kaeya, Jean, Adelinde, Elzer, basically anyone he sees as family)

Ningguang - She says herself that she keeps her friends few because of the dangers her enemies pose on those who are close to her, but as Liyue's protector she puts great trust in the traveler. Her hangout imo shows that she generally trusts us more than a business partner but as a friend (very wholesome, but nothing more than that and that's cool!)

Razor - Traveler is Lupical. Razor is inherently very protective of the people he cares about because of feeling like he failed to protect his lupical in the past (I believe that's the story behind his vision). So obviously it is not romantic, but his interactions with the Traveler, Paimon, his family and friends are just so special and heartwarming especially in his latest event (SO SWEET I LOVE FOUND FAMILY)

!! SPOILER FOR WANDERER'S STORY QUEST !!

Scaramouche/Wanderer/babygirl/whatever you named him - He clearly doesn't have that many companions (or even any at all), even less those who he shows any sign of vulnerability to. Personally I see it as one of the most interesting traveler relationships in the game yet because they both do not fully trust each other, nor fully accept the other as a friend, but because of him revealing his trauma and past to him, and also the traveler also revealing a part of their own mind and longing, they have an understanding of each other like no one else does. (I do not see this as romantic, but more like a camaraderie which may lead to a deeper connection in the future)

Side note: Most of the playable cast are friends with the traveler, I point out these people specifically because they don't show vulnerability often, or already have other of friends so these relationships have another level of importance to the character.

Middle Tier : Flirty~

These guys are sweet talkers, may or may not be into the traveler

Kaeya - He kinda just talks like that if you ask me. He genuinely cares for the traveler and the other Knights and his family, but his language is just one of the ways he puts on his persona (As Razor would put it, his "fake smile")

Lisa - "Hey cutie-" makes me feel things, ok. Other than that though, nothing tells me she's into the traveler any more than a flirty way? I mean she appreciates them for their skills and support but I think it ends there?

Kazuha - man is a sweet talker honestly. Of course he also cares for the traveler deeply, but his poetic and colorful language is from his own nature, and the traveler generally has a special presence (His language IS very pretty if you ask me haha) (I feel some would say its more *suggestive* than others so that's up to you already lmao)

If there's anyone else you think has a rather *flavorful* way of speaking to the traveler, please do let me know :> If you think these have deeper meaning though, that would be interesting

Above Average Tier : Very sweet, could be something more?

Pseudo-canon material (the comics and hangouts are great man)

Thoma - You give him flowers in his hangout, and in another ending he gives you his omamori which is very sentimental to him. Thoma is generally an incredibly sweet person, so interpret it as you please haha <3

Heizou - This is pretty romantic if you ask me (depending on your taste). He keeps saying how much he wants you to be his "partner" (technically in the investigation sense), and has dialogue about how he feels comfortable around you, it's very sweet and has potential. Not to mention "Traveler, you are so dreamy~" (I swear this guy is 80% fanservice but do you see people complaining?)

Noelle - Her hangout was really adorable, it had a very innocent and young long vibe throughout it and it's just cuteness overload :> (What I would call a babyship)

Childe - Chilumi (not counting Aether) is basically canon in one of the side comedy comics, but in game, it's implied they do battle for fun, traveler does still keep their guard up around him, but his story quest shows he puts great trust in the traveler despite their differences.

Highest Tier : VERY interested, in love even

These are all in game, and pretty canon events (Teapot lines may still be questioned on how canon they are, but further reinforce the mindsets and affinity for the traveler these characters have) (of course it still has headcanon and my own stupid simp heart but bear with me okay?)

Albedo - He always talks abt how interested he is in you (not just scientifically anymore lmao), and suggested for you to live (totally not with him) in Dragonspine. He also trusts them more than others quite explicitly. He is, I believe, deeply enamored by them because of their kindness, strength, intelligence and reliability because the traveler is the person he is most comfortable with. They are the reason he wants to interact with others more as well (Shadows Amidst Snowstorms +Teapot highlights this). The teapot lines are just the icing on the cake, man is making a MOVE on the traveler for REAL by asking him out and showing how he wants to spend more time with them.

Xiao - I feel like despite how common this pair is, it's quite overlooked just how much Xiao trusts and admires the traveler. Xiao is very sensitive about people calling him by his name to use it to control him (that is what his old master did to him) so the fact that he tells only the traveler (not just suggest mind you) to call him anywhere anytime using HIS NAME, are massive displays of vulnerability, trust and protectiveness. (I believe that protection is his main way of showing affection because others are currently an anomaly to him) Xiao also both literally and emotionally feels a calming presence around them because of their healing ability and kindness. He also just can't say no to them, and wants to understand the traveler more even if it means in partaking in "dumb human activities"

Ayaka - She sees so much freedom and beauty in the traveler it is so sweet, and it's quite obvious how much she wants to spend time and be closer with the traveler emotionally (maybe I am just a simp but please she is so tender and sincere) It is also mentioned repeatedly how much she talks about them in very high regard. Once again the teapot lines are just the sugary coat on top with "May I...hold your hand?" being one of them (I screamed like I just won 50/50 in one pull with that line)

!! SMALL SPOILER TO WANDERER'S STORY QUEST !!

The old lady of the Kamisato Estate also mentions how thrilled Ayaka is every time they're around, and also talked about how talented and admirable they are. She also implied that they are Ayaka's "Knight in Shining Armor" and that she talks about them all the time. Idk if you need anymore convincing at this point of how much Ayaka likes the traveler after that.

SIDE NOTE : I find it refreshing and fascinating how the genders actually seem quite mixed and what relationships characters have with the traveler are varied. I really appreciate the writing team for the amount of detail they put into them!

AND THAT'S IT FOR NOW!!! This is my longest post yet soooo THANK YOU SO MUCH IF YOU MADE IT THIS FAR AND ACTUALLY READ THIS!!

[disasterbijamietartt]

After getting a sound night of sleep I started to feel like being all “oooh, queer Roy makes so much sense! And Jamie x Roy suddenly looks like something that could happen!” was being unfair to Colin and his arc.

Like it was mean and greedy that I wanted a queer story arc with main characters.

Like I should be happy with the nice cookie they handed me and not demand the whole fucking jar.

And that now that Colin finally got his arc, I shouldn’t wish for something to happen that could potentially overshadow him.

What a daring expectation it is to get not one but actually two (or more, I see you Ted x Trent shippers) well developed and fleshed out queer story arcs in mainstream media! (ah, the trauma of growing up in the 80’s & 90’s and being lucky if you got a queer side character that wasn’t the butt of all jokes and / or didn’t die )

Until I realized, that it wouldn’t. That on the other hand, it would be so rewarding for Colin's arc, if he is the one to helps fucking legend Roy Kent and star player Jamie Tartt, two people he admires and respects (like, I'd have to check, but wasn't it Colin who asked Roy if he'd come to the bar with them in 1x3? Was Isaac, but still - like Roy calls him son in the second episode, so there is a connection) to come out of the closet.

Colin deserves so so much to fucking inspire someone, to realise that he IS a strong and capable man, that he matters (especially after he was taken off the starting eleven for Zava) and is influential.

Like, all this talk about him being a chameleon, how he never was the focus of the narrative, how Nate in the whole Holiday Inn Painting thing told him, that he is not someone who inspires, unlike Jamie and Dani, sets this up perfectly

It could also be, that he inspires one or two of the other himbos (like Dani), but it would be way more impactful if he, who always was no more than a background character, is the inspiration for main characters to address their own queerness and come out.

And while it is a great message that straight alpha males can have a soft side, the message, that you can be a dominant alpha male professional footballer AND queer is stronger. Like, Roy’s a legend and while Jamie currently isn’t the best player on the team, he is one of their star players and the narrative made it clear that he is hella talented and a big star to come. So that is another argument for it being them, since we have a whole lot of himbos to hammer the straight guys can be soft too message home.

And it would be a compelling narrative to have Colin, who is at least out to himself and in a relationship, Jamie, who is at best getting comfortable with the thought but not really at a place to actually date someone, and Roy, who — if my assessment is correct — is so deep in the closet it is surprising he hasn’t found Narnia yet.

Also because of the generational gap — though they are technically all Millenials, being a queer Millenial born in the early eighties is a whole different experience than being a mid or late nineties queer Millenial.

So, now we have the WHY, onto my ideas HOW it could play out (that will probably be contradicted by the narrative by tomorrow, but I want it out in the unrealistic case I’m right 🤪)

I picture something like Michael breaking things off in a couple episodes because he is sick of pretending to be the best friend & wingman, and Trent stepping in as a gay mentor (maybe they meet at a gay bar in Amsterdam by chance, Colin slightly panics and that is the moment Trent tells him he already knew but kept it to himself since it is Colin’s decision to talk about it — it is very important to me, that the person who has the agency in regards of his coming out is Colin!) and finally Colin finding the courage to come out to the team.

Now it is nice and good, if the team reacts supportive, but the additional layer of his coming out being the thing that sparks Roy and Jamie to come clean about their feelings?

Chef’s kiss!

There are several ways this could play out (like I have a trizillion ideas how Jamie x Roy could actually work and which role Keeley would play into this and how this could culminate in Roy x Jamie x Keeley endgame), but here is one:

Colin has a speech prepared that he gives in the locker room, everyone listens attentively and then we have a sweet moment with Isaac and the other himbos being supportive.

But!

Roy is making his little upset face, grunts something and storms off the locker room.

Something that visibly upsets Colin, which is why Jamie says he's going to give Roy a piece of his mind and follows him. Of course he’ll find him in the kit room.

Jamie is set to give Roy a sermon about homophobia and how his reaction right now wasn't cool even for an old person.

But Roy is close to tears and Jamie is confused and tries to comfort him, asking what is going on, and that is when Roy kisses him, Jamie’s being a bit surprised at first, but then kisses him back and …

Cue for a shot of Will standing in the corner, looking into the camera like he is in the Office with this “Why am I always in this room at the wrong time?”-face.

And when they get back, Roy asks Colin to come to his office to talk to him privately and then Roy apologizes and explains how Colin’s speech affected him, since he could have never been so brave, but now he is inspired to try to be true to himself.

And Colin is like “OMG I did this.”

And now, that he knows that he is fully accepted by the team as the person he truly is and and someone who does inspire people, he has the confidence to actually show his potential as a player and plays a significant role in Richmond winning the whole thing in the end.

And he uses his moment in the spotlight to come out publicly, since even though this is scary and homophobic fans will give him shit, he has a team and club that has his back and that is the way he can be truly inspiring.

And that is how we get Colin Hughes, most inspiring football player in the whole fucking world. 😌

EDIT:

After 3x6 and Colin stating he doesn't want to be a spokes person, I changed my vision a bit.

So, Colin still inspires Jamie and Roy to come to terms with there feelings/queerness, yadda yadda, and essentially inspires Jamie to come out publicly and take on the mantle as the spokesperson, since this is something that fits him better than Colin, since he is more comfortable being in the limelight and actually likes being the center of attention. Colin would be able to just kiss his fella after a game, but wouldn't have to carry the burden of being the first out player in the Premier League.

Also: It would be such a great ending for Jamie's arc, if Jamie’s legacy, the thing he’ll be remembered for, wouldn’t be being best striker in the Premier League or the world or anything like that, but that he’d been known for unapologetically being his true, best self—something he’d denied himself being for so long because of his dad’s abuse. And wouldn’t that be poetic?

[guardian-angle22]

I am so upset. They could have tied this into Owen being obsessed after 9/11 and that triggering TK, especially since they were talking about the horse being triggered, but they're not connecting them at all. I started watching the show because of the relationship between Owen and TK, but they're not even in any scenes together anymore. It would be nice to see them even knowing each other, let alone being father and son.

I'm sorry you're upset! I know it's rough when a show you really enjoy doesn't delve into the aspects you find most enjoyable or doesn't focus on the the parts that drew you to it in the first place. I've certainly struggled with the things the show has chosen to focus on in the past as well. I think I've just come to a place of acceptance that this show is working with limited time for characters while balancing the emergencies of the week and will just sometimes go in directions that aren't my favorite. and the fandom spaces are where we go to further explore the parts we wished got more emphasis or exploration.

Regarding this specific plot... I just don’t think they made that connection because frankly this episode wasn’t about TK being triggered. It was about Carlos needing to realize how precious his time with TK is and how much he needed to shift his priorities because of it. It was about TK recognizing signs of addiction and obsession within Carlos' behavior and doing his best to address those things in the most supportive and loving way possible. It was about the two of them as a unit working through their problems together. and I feel like they portrayed those things pretty well.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely think the show has made some clear parallels between Carlos and Owen. In fact, I made a whole gifset about it before the episode aired that you can find here! But they also already tied those two things together... in 4.18. Carlos and Owen had a scene together and Owen said the following to him:

"Let me tell you something about obsession. You might think it's sustaining you, that it's giving you purpose. But what it's really doing is just eating alive everything that is good in your life and believe me… eventually there's nothing good left."

Carlos' arc thus far this season has essentially been the same arc he went on in 4.18 but less condensed and with more room to breathe. and while I don't love that Carlos has basically ignored Owen's advice, I do fully understand the writers' choice to not recycle the story in the exact same way and have it involve Owen again.

As far as TK and Owen, it really feels like the arc with Jonah & Enzo coming to town in eps 7-9 are going to bring Owen and TK back into the same orbit and is going to result in some great scenes between the two of them. I personally cannot wait to see the full circle of their relationship from season one when TK told Owen that he became a firefighter because he wanted his father back (and Owen just steamrolled over it to defend himself) to this final season when they finally get to address those things and I think heal from them and come out the other side with a stronger father/son bond because of it. Hopefully you get to enjoy those things too!

[tamras-shieldmaiden]

I’m taking my shipper hat off for a moment to delve into an aspect of Kuvira’s personality that I would typically overlook since, admittedly, as common knowledge for anyone who has been following my blog for a while, I don’t care much for Kuvira’s and Bataar Jr.’s relationship beyond what pertains to the facts of her story. However, since I've been recently paying a closer look to her childhood by analyzing key moments of her upbringing that Ruins of the Empire provided, I think that the way those events shaped her personality may have led her to the choices we see her taking regarding her personal life. Given the parallels between Baatar Jr.'s parents and him and Kuvira, we can joke, saying that he might have chosen Kuvira as a romantic partner because of “mommy issues," but what about Kuvira? What if Kuvira's choice of Baatar as a partner reflects her own issues, specifically regarding her relationship with her father?  Did Kuvira choose Junior to compensate for the absence of a caring and loving father? Kuvira’s insecurities have been discussed at length before, but I think this is an angle worth exploring, so let’s see if this notion holds any water. 

So I wondered if Kuvira’s traumatic experiences with her biological father may have impacted the traits she wished for in a romantic partner and if Junior fulfilled those traits. Before getting into the specifics, you may notice that I’m avoiding the term “daddy issues” because, after a quick search, I found out that there is no such psychological term but rather what she might experience could fall under attachment disorder.

So back to the topic at hand, if Kuvira’s traumatic experiences primed her to seek a partner to compensate for the absence of a healthy relationship with her father, perhaps what Junior brought to the table coincided with what she sought. It would’ve been difficult for Kuvira not to appreciate the unwavering way (to a fault) that Junior supported and believed in her, in stark contrast to the total loss of confidence her father had in her, manifested in her abandonment. This abandonment led her to crave stability, loyalty, and trust, and we can assume Baatar Jr. supplied all of these things in abundance by the way he talked about her to others and through his behavior. She wanted someone who would support and believe in her, something he had done since they left Zaofu, when he defied his mother's wishes and de facto elected Kuvira over his family. Ironically, it was Kuvira at the warehouse who ended up doing what she feared and abandoned Baatar Jr. via spirit weapon blast for her goal of uniting the EK.

In Zaofu, despite having been taken in by Suyin and her husband Baatar Sr., Kuvira lacked proper parental figures to replace the ones she lost since she never felt truly part of the family. It’s not a stretch to believe she yearned to relive the experience of feeling she belonged to a family in the proper sense, even if it was an imperfect one. Bonding with Junior could’ve been the next best thing, especially during the formative years of their adolescence, when they began noticing what Suyin did and said more closely, leading them to analyze her ideology and her actions, realizing that her words and her actions didn’t necessarily align when it didn’t suit her interests. It cannot be a coincidence that of all of Suyin’s children, the ones who wound up ideologically radicalized in the household were Junior and Kuvira, and I have my own theory as to why this happened. As the eldest children, they were allowed access to the day-to-day ins and outs of administering the city and were entrusted with important positions within the administration. They were part of Zaofu’s circle of trusted people (this can explain how they knew and were connected to the influential people who left with them when they deserted Zaofu). Baatar Jr. worked closely with his father on everything related to the city’s infrastructure. Kuvira, as guard captain, was a key component of the security forces safeguarding the city from internal and external threats. As far as we know, none of their other siblings were involved in any capacity in running the city like they did, so they had a privileged view of Suyin, not only as their mother but also as the administrator and political leader of Zaofu. 

I've posited before that either by conscious or unconscious choice, Kuvira emulated Suyin, and one of the ways she manifested this pattern was in the choice of Baatar Jr. as her romantic partner. He brought the built-in advantages of his knowledge and skills as an inventor and engineer to her grand plan, similar to Suyin and the skills that Baatar Sr. had, which allowed Zaofu to be the city Suyin envisioned. Kuvira wanted the same unwavering support Suyin had with her husband and also the ability to wield power without questioning as Su did, and Baatar Jr. provided this to Kuvira. This is not to say she didn't love him because I think she did, or at least she believed she did, since besides their bond growing up in Zaofu and developing similar ideologies, he provided the validation to counter the insecurity borne of her parental trauma, so it made it easier for her to develop feelings for him. She loved the way he validated her and her choices, and probably it was something she reciprocated since he had his own insecurities to deal with, so they became each other’s supporters, cheerleaders, and enablers. These aren't the things she might've actually needed from a partner, because we can assume that part of the unequivocal support he provided meant shielding her from accountability and from confronting her with the harsh truths of the dictatorship they led, something that in the end became a fatal flaw that affected both their relationship and their rule over the Earth Kingdom.

So, does this answer the original question? Kuvira’s trauma left an indelible mark on her psyche, so I think this could have predisposed her to seek and develop romantic feelings and attachment to someone who could make her feel validated and secure, and to me, Baatar Jr. fulfilled these needs for her. I’m not saying she didn’t have genuine romantic feelings towards him, but I do believe these factors weighed heavily on her choice because, for once in her life, she finally had someone who made her feel loved and cared for.

[hopefull-mindset]

do you believe mori is a pedo or a lolic0n? I don't! but I just wanted to ask you about what you thought about it ><

Oh dear, this is the type of discussion I was thinking about but was too much of a shitfest to really dip my foot in. It's an incredibly loaded discussion to have, so I'll talk about this to the best of my abilities.

Let’s start with me saying that there is no good answer to this and it’s not as easy as “the grass is green”. There is no “I'm right” and “you're wrong”. I know the answer looks obvious at first glance, especially if you choose to primarily look at his relationship with Elise that way, but Asagiri makes some decisions that put this belief into question.

However, we can’t blame anyone for seeing Mori a certain way due to Asagiri’s choices in a poor tasted gag, so I don’t think I can ever say someone completely misunderstood Mori’s character (at least, in this regard) when we ask this question. We cannot chalk up this belief about Mori to be the fault of the audience misunderstanding him because of some “translation error” because it blatantly ignores the fact this is a joke Asagiri chooses to make a lot.

I am also not defending Asagiri when I call it a joke because it's obvious to me that's all he sees it as: a joke. Not a great one, but it's there. It's as serious as the Tanizaki siblings should be taken (kinda wish people knew that there's implications about them not being siblings more though, even if it won't make it much better for them).

Just needed to lay that out before I started talking so I'm not misunderstood when I talk about the questionability of labeling him this. I do think we need to talk more about Asagiri’s position in this when this is brought up, so I will be doing that as well.

Firstly, Elise is not the product of sexual desire came to life. That's something people understand the least if they keep looking at her in this point of view. I've seen many frame the connection between her and Yosano to be one where Mori “finds out his type to be younger”, which yuck! Thankfully, I can debunk this by just bringing in Beast Mori.

It's a little comical that people are insistent that they have nothing to do with each other when they have no problem doing so with any other character from Beast. As of canon right now, we have no idea about any specification on how this ability works or how he controls it. My assumption is that it has to partially do with Mori’s need for a companion while not needing to give himself up and be vulnerable with others. He tends to have that problem of looking over his shoulder, like with Dazai and presumably kicking him out because of the typical human fear of death.

I also tended to notice that in the three ways Elise shows up, she forms into someone that Mori might need at the moment and reflective of his mindset. During the Great War, she is at her most subservient and robotic when Mori’s mind was only on gaining the most optimal solution with no consideration for anyone’s feelings.

Post-Great War to the present day, she has been a bratty child and a lot like 11-year-old Yosano with a bow in the same place her butterfly was. She is human and expressive when he can't afford to be and a living reminder of the child he had broken down for the price of an optimal solution. If you were to ask me, Mori has grown in his mindset with the help of Fukuzawa. To consider more heart and comradery than he used to when navigating the Port Mafia. Like how he saw worth in learning about dead subordinates when Ango was insistent on filing them.

In BSD Beast, he is able to roam without considering the need for the optimal solution and Elise appears as a 20-year-old adult bratty as ever. He needs a fellow caretaker to take care of the orphanage he was put in charge of, and has let himself come back into touch with his humanity when caring for these children.

I can’t give you any personal answer for why Asagiri chose to name it “Vita Sexualis” or why her age changes like that. I don’t know what goes on in his mind and we haven’t been given any specifics. We should remember that Asagiri was actually hiding that she was his Ability up until Cannibalism arc, and that this name might not mean anything you think it does.

Why? I have no idea why Asagiri did this. I think he was having fun tormenting us with what this ability name could mean from.

I also hadn’t finished Vita Sexualis because I have a lot on my reading list, but even if it’s described as an “erotica” by public sources, your expectations of what that means might not actually be lived up to. I think one of the most creative answers to her age and this chosen name instead of “Dancing Girl” (the book of which she’s based on) have to do with the real Mori’s love of children as a father and the act of intercourse being what gives life.

But even without those bits of speculation, I have already made it clear why she has nothing to do with sexual influence and I wish people talked about her out of that type of context. She has not been sexualized by the narrative or by Mori himself. If you saw the scene where she was undressed and Mori was begging her to put on some clothes as it it was creepy, that was your choice. She has also never been put in a genuine romantic light by him ever in this story.

The omake where he calls Elise his wife is not definite evidence of some belief he genuinely has of her. If you actually read it and don't look at our context panels, it's obvious that he's doing it to ruffle Fukuzawa’s feathers and get a reaction out of him. Besides poking at his integrity, I would also assume he would do so because he can't just call her his daughter as he'd usually would in these situations since he doesn't tend to reveal it publically. King-in-Yellow made a good contribution in context to why Kafka Asagiri would make this joke with Mori and Elise.

Please note that Elise is also not a real child or his daughter, but another piece of him like all abilities are. Do not separate them in a conversation and act as if she's her own person. Abilities have shown to be able to act on their own and take over their user (Shibusawa, Fukuchi potentially, Gab from 55 Minutes), but that does not mean they have become their own being. They are still restricted by the humanity of their user and these cases only happen when the user is dead or is facing backlash against their own ability’s power.

Moving on, I need to talk about Asagiri and the way he chooses to frame Mori’s fondness for cute little girls because there is no way else to talk about these jokes and not sound like an ass unless I speak about it like this.

Now, Mori has not done anything in his actions to be pedophilic currently except these very vague “maybe, maybe not” jokes. No sexualization of Elise, no praying on Yosano, and especially nothing with Dazai???? Where did that come from???

Cases of these jokes in manga:

Ending of the guild arc where he says about how he only deals with young girls under 12 in repknss to Kouyou (do not bring up the dub, I will stare at you frowning for not acknowledging the fact that Dubs tend to be very off to fit the mouth flaps)

Fukuzawa commenting how he still has his dumb facination with cute girls

Omake (already talked about that)

The first example is where he responds to Kouyou’s words of sticking around to help and protect him in the organization. This is not a joke about sexual attraction, this is a questionable joke about her age as most media does about women at times. The “lolicon” -ness of it is still there of course, but please understand the point of it. The other implies she's flirting with him, and for him to make a joke that pokes at her for somehow flirting would be incorrect. To emphasize this, the manga chooses to translate this as “I only protect young girls”.

To explain the second example, we need to talk about the disconnect between us as an audience and Asagiri’s way of using Lolicon. On a trope basis, lolicon is when the creator presents a prepubescent-looking girl of varying “ages”, but still acts like a child and is continuously sexualized by the creator to cater to the male character’s gaze. Mori… is not written like that or is Elise for the matter like I brought up earlier, but then why does Asagiri joke about it even outside the text?

If you've ever been around this crowd in anime spaces, you would know one of the first things people say to explain it is not what I said. They’d say it's a trope about “cute little girls and fawning over them”, and then everything else is left for you to figure out. I have no idea what Asagiri actually thinks about this (probably pretty indifferent), but I'm baffled by his very surface-level take on Lolicon being presented into his own work.

This is one of those times where you have to think of Asagiri as another anime fan first rather than a creator in that space. Asagiri is just a guy who became internet famous briefly for his Touhou Cthulhu TRPG series and got signed into making his own nerdy manga about literature.

For Asagiri to narratively compare it to Fukuzawa’s love for cats, it's telling to me how this supposed “lolicon” joke is supposed to be seen. I don't think Asagiri would willingly put him in charge of an orphanage of all things and then expect us to actually think of him as a Pedo.

This has had me boggled for a while on what to think, but in the end, thinking of him as one would leave me more baffled than if he wasn't. Authorial intent can't always stop us from actually seeing what looks like, but on top of everything else… well? What am I supposed to think?

So no, I don't believe that he's a pedophile and I hope it stays that way. Sorry this took a bit to write, I needed to build some semblance of my thoughts without gaining a headache. I wish this fandom had a better discussion about him half the time and created their own opinions instead of falling back on “Oh he abused Dazai” or “that he's a nasty pedophile who should be locked up for his crimes”.

Lolicon and Pedophilia are interlocked when you speak about them, so it'd be wrong of me to completely disregard these ideas on Mori. I just thought we needed to have a better conversation on this than some accusations thrown around about who's correct. This topic deserves a bit more maturity and care than I've seen some talk about.