#She doesn't /turn/ on him. She addresses his flaws and tells him that it's not okay?

[glindyupland]

I just think it’s silly that so many people complain about Villain Amaya as “wasted potential” and that “we were robbed” like-

My pals, post canon fan fiction is right there. The desire to free her husband is right there. Either by touching an evil book while being too eager to remember the obsidian oil, or being possessed by contact (ie what she believes is true loves kiss) when trying to reason with him in the dungeon.

We don’t need a rewrite, we can have a continuation. Both can be true. Amaya is a complex character, she can handle it.

[keepingeahalive]

Miss Rosabella Beauty: The Queen of Wasted Potential

Okay, I'll admit it. I do ship her and Daring. I'm a sucker for Beauty and the Beast, and I couldn't help myself. That said, objectively, this ship and Rosabella's character.... yeah, it kinda sucks.

Maybe I didn't want to admit it because Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairytale. But the more I look into her character, the more I realize she embodies virtues that contradict her own story. Epic Winter was more about "fixing" Daring's supposed selfishness than addressing the real elephant in the room, and Rosabella was a plot device to push that narrative. I think she could have been an interesting character with flaws and a lot of depth. But she wasn't, and I am very very disappointed.

Her Character

The first time I saw her, I was really rooting for her. She's an animal rights and monster activist. She could have been great friends with Cerise for that reason. She could have even had interactions with Ramona in the past. But she comes off as self-righteous and preachy.

I get she's an activist and that's the joke; activists are inherently self-righteous. But this is Ever After High. Where's the nuance? She could be an animal and monster activist because she's experienced prejudice herself. She's the daughter of Beauty and The Beast. Look me in the eye and tell me she doesn't have any Beast genes. I dare you!

It's canon that Beauty and the Beast is considered a bad destiny story, with the stigma of the heroine falling in love with a creature most fairytales would pin as the villain, and a handsome prince carrying the stigma of being of being a beast even after the curse is gone. She should understand that better than anyone. And yet, this kindness and compassion she tries to convey comes off as condescending. She inserts herself into situations because she feels she's needed when nobody has asked for her help.

2. DARABELLA

Rosabella was only introduced in one minisode and suddenly gets a big role in Epic Winter? She and Daring hadn't had a meaningful conversation up until that point. Really, she barely knows Daring.

For the daughter of Beauty and the Beast, she's so .... judgmental. She's supposed to have the ability to see people's true intentions, but why does she get it so wrong? She immediately assumes Daring is self-centered and narcissistic. On the surface, I can see where she's coming from. But, that's only on the surface.

Daring is more complex than she made him out to be, and Epic Winter wanted the audience to think she was in the right. We know this isn't true. Daring loves being a hero and saving people. He loves his siblings and does what he thinks is best for them. He certainly cared about Lizzie enough to respect her wishes. He's chivalrous to a fault!

Daring is clearly going through some things, and it doesn't seem like anyone's paying attention to what's really bothering him: He has no purpose anymore. He's been brought up his whole life thinking he would be King of Ever After, and now his world is shattered. He's not coping well. And Rosabella thinks he's full of himself when she's barely met this guy.

Having him become the Beast from Beauty and the Beast felt natural to me in the story progression, but Rosabella's inclusion felt forced. She gives him the same old advice from her original story when she should be hinting at something greater. This should be the turning point in Daring that destiny is malarky, and he can break away from the expectations his family and peers put on him. But she doesn't understand that. She only sees that he's obsessed with his looks because his main form of coping is gone.

He's not really upset about his looks. He's upset that his destiny is gone, and either that's not as important to her as him getting over his looks or she doesn't know him well enough to know what's been put on him. Assuming it's the latter, why wouldn't she try to find the root of the problem instead of fixing what she thinks needs fixing?

Daring is the victim here, even if he has issues to work out. And it doesn't seem like she's really listening to him.

3. The Cousins No One Talks About

Yeah. Rosabella and Briar are cousins. And there is very. little. BACKSTORY!!

We know their dads don't get along. Briar's is a monster hunter. Rosa's is The Beast. Their moms are sisters. That's all we know. What's her relationship with Briar? Is it a tragic sisterly bond? Or did the two drift apart/fall out because of their family conflict? Rosa's mom is likely the black sheep of the family, so do she and Sleeping Beauty still talk anymore?

How does Briar feel about all this? Does she have time to feel anything about it at all? She has her own family and her own destiny to worry about. What kind of influence did Briar's parents have on her views on beasts? She hadn't even been to Rosa's home until they were both well into high school. How much do they even know about each other?

We know so little about their dynamic. Family conflict shapes a child, and both of them probably have some deep-seated trauma relating to their families. But did the writers forget that they're cousins?

4. How I Would Write Rosabella (and maybe Daring)

First, give her the ability to transform into a beast. It's not hard.

She's advocating for people like her to exist. She wants people to see both sides of her and those like her to be seen as more than monsters. But she's had her fair share of prejudice, even within her own family. Her uncle is a monster hunter, so a half-beast niece would be considered an abomination. Because of this, she suppresses her anger to better the image of beasts. She doesn't want to, but she feels like she has to, for her own safety and to make herself more palatable in society. However, the more anger she holds in, the less control she has over herself. Her judgment becomes clouded, and this makes her jump to conclusions about people's behavior. She wants things to be fair so much that she gets in trouble for it. She wants to be understanding and patient, but having a hair-trigger temper gets in the way of her goals.

Give her a backstory with Cerise and the Hood-Badwolf family. Her family would know more than anyone the hardships that a human-beast family goes through, and they should be very good friends because of that. Her growing up around Cerise and Ramona would give her more of a reason to protect the beast population.

If any sort of relationship with Daring were to work, they would both have to learn from each other. Daring would learn to let go of people's expectations of him, and Rosabella would learn to let her anger out in a healthy way and pick her battles. Daring can't be the only one learning from her, and Rosa shouldn't see anything to fix in him. She needs to accept him for who he really is, not just preaching about appearances.

She should be embodying both Beauty and the Beast, all the kindness and grief that comes with it. She's not meant to be a paragon, and the writers should not have portrayed her as such. She needed to be a character with her own development. She needed to be portrayed just as in the wrong as Daring was when they met, not about appearance but about each other. She needs to admit her mistakes and acknowledge she is not always right about everyone. Or, at the very least, have her see right through Daring's facade about looks and realize there's something deeper going on.

The writer's dropped the ball on this ship, and they did Daring so dirty here. But they also did Rosabella a disservice by making her so two-dimensional and preachy, almost not even her own character. There are so many routes they could have taken with her. She could have been great, but she wasn't.

[things-stankyle-probably-said]

yay your free from tumblr jail!!

what is your LEAST favorite stan/kyle headcannons?

this turned into me bitching about things I don't like in fanfic lmao these are just things I personally don't vibe with

bonus!!! I don't like that the fandom calls it stanky that sounds horrible the ship name should always be style or sp style to make it easy to find in the tags its also a cooler word

1. tall jock stan, short nerd kyle, it's the other way around!!! kyle is a tall jock, and stan is the short nerd!!!!

2. anything with internalized homophobia. like. do you even watch the show tamar? that's a reference it's not addressed to you personally. like homophobia internalized or not isn't something that these boys have and you can find different ways to give them angst that isn't OOC

3. kyle pining for stan when it's obviously the other way around (source? the whole show but especially cupid ye)

4. when people either demonize wendy as a heinous bitch trying to get in the way of stan x kyle, or put her on a pedestal to where she is incapable of any flaws or ignore her character entirely

5. I've read way too many style fics that have stan treating kyle horribly by stringing him along while he's obsessed with wendy, refusing to admit his real feelings for kyle until it's too late, using kyle for physical affection basically cheating on both kyle and wendy with each other instead of making a commitment, and kyle suffering through all of that, those kinds of style angst fics make my skin itch and I hate them

6. making kyle completely careless thoughtless and mean towards stan like characterizing him as someone who barely tolerates stan's existence. again. OOC portrayal, makes no sense

7. freckles. hate them. not a fan, personally I don't like them I don't see the vision, it's not for me

8. making stan's only interest football and nothing else

9. ignoring that stan and kyle are best friends and like each other and have fun together, a lot of fics I used to read forget that element when writing them going from friends to lovers instead of making them best friends who are lovers. it's a subtle difference but I can tell when it doesn't happen

10. the idea that either of them would use their worst habits and insecurities against each other in a fight, that's hitting below the belt and they wouldn't do that

[pokenoire]

Continuing my post from yesterday to break down why Serena was disrespected by Ash in this scene

Because of the image limit and because the image limit has been reached

1

Still breaking down the whole situation of this sentence being disrespectful to all the help Serena offered him on the journey.

She was the one who lifted you up and gave you advice to get out of your shit when you were bad at the gym.

THAT'S what she gets? DAMN

They call my girl submissive the whole anime and when she can't handle Ash disrespecting her and yelling at her

THEY GO CRAZY LMAO

You can't just throw that PHRASE out there and expect no one to get mad about it

No one can yell at Ash or react

No one can hit him or call him out

No one can get mad at him over some triviality.

No one can get mad at him if they're a female character

If it's a man, you can

I'll tell you what it is, midnight...

Parallels, this scene is totally a situation from the first gym where Ash found trying to improve from a loss and in an attempt Serena calls him back to his best and to try again after hards loses (remembering that BW was a sequence of XY here)

"It's so disappointing to lose

I'm trembling, but,

My clenched fist loosens

I wipe the sweat on my jeans, so let's shake hands!

Isn't the flow of time mysterious?

"Do you remember who won?"

Now look!

I can laugh as I talk with you

"I forgot!" said while playing dumb

Those are my rivals' - Rivals' OP (OS)

The show is always talking about thanking her for everything she does for her friends in that sense and not just for him. The show does nothing to fix the flaws in Ash's optimism, only to reinforce it (not new, by the way).

"I have to go, I have to do it

I can't lose, I can't stop, not until the end

I'm not alone, I'm not lonely, still a way to go

This exciting adventure isn't over" - Challenger

have to go, I have to do it

I can't lose, I can't stop, at any time

I want to help, I want to protect you during painful times

I can't turn around, I can't lie down

I can't get depressed, I can't give up, I believe

I won't rush, I won't get confused

I always aim for that distant dream..." Challenger

But he's being unreasonable here, and Ash's depression is no excuse for him to throw away all the help he got from her

He makes up with Greninja,he talks to Pikachu,but he doesn't apologize for saying that to her

She blamed herself and said "I said horrible things" but so did hesame in his angry state and the show doesn't address it.

Even if you are angry, you can't just hurt people's feelings.

He thanked but did not apologize.

She helped you remember your own self, as the words themselves describe, they may not be talking about Serena herself, but they may have been used as inspiration for these scenes in her character.

That's what the Snowbelle arc is about, it's about Satoshi and Serena themselves. People say Ash is out of character here when everything says otherwise in his own characterization.

SHE STILL DOESN'T DESERVE WHAT HE SAID

💖🫶

Thank you for reading this again, anyway. The show builds Ash's character like this from the beginning and Serena's character has supported him through everything in the same way.

She deserves more recognition than just being called "submissive" that's pure misogyny really.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Would you call Adrien “Gary Stu”?

Overuse of the terms "Gary Stu", "Gary Sue", and "Mary Sue" has created a bit of a semantic shift, turning a very specific concept into a catch-all pejorative for characters people don't like, but that the source property portrays positively. Because of this, let's start by going over the the actual definition of what it means to be a Gary/Mary Sue:

The Mary Sue is a character archetype in fiction, usually a young woman, who is often portrayed as inexplicably competent across all domains, gifted with unique talents or powers, liked or respected by most other characters, unrealistically free of weaknesses, extremely attractive, innately virtuous, and generally lacking meaningful character flaws. Usually female and almost always the main character, a Mary Sue is often an author's idealized self-insertion, and may serve as a form of wish fulfillment. Mary Sue stories are often written by adolescent authors. Originating from fan fiction, the term Mary Sue was coined by Paula Smith in the 1973 parody short story "A Trekkie's Tale", as the name of a character standing in for idealized female characters widespread in Star Trek fan fiction.

Zoe is the only character in Miraculous that fits the archetype of a Mary/Gary Sue. Adrien and Marinette are just poorly written non-sueish characters who get slapped with these labels under that general pejorative issue I was talking about before.

Adrien is talented in many areas, but he's implied to have been training in them since he was a child, so those talents are earned. Same goes for Marinette. Her skills may be overblown for her age, but that's normal for shows aimed at kids and it's not like she just started sewing yesterday.

Whether or not the story wants to address them, Adrien has legitimate character flaws and he's certainly not portrayed an "inexplicable competent." The show has gone out of its way to portray Adrien as weak and incapable of facing his father, things that would never happen for a Gary Sue. I don't think anyone looks at Adrien and wants to be him, but that's basically a defining trait of the Gary/Mary Sue!

If you want my two cents as to why we've seen a semantic shift in these terms, it's because of the feelings evoked by the characters. When a character has flaws that aren't addressed (Adrien) or gets roles that really should go to other characters because the writers are obsessed with them for some reason (Marinette), that can be extremely aggravating in the same way idealized self-inserts can be aggravating when you're looking for a more realistic character. However, the feelings being the same doesn't mean that the issue is the same. Adrien and Marinette are well designed characters that could be used to tell a story without any major changes. If you want to tell a story with Zoe where she reads as something other than an idealized self-insert fantasy, then you have to change her character. You can't work with the core version because Zoe is just a collection of cool skills with no flaws or depth.

(Quick reminder that Mary/Gary Sues are FINE!!! They have real value and are popular in many genres. I will defend them even though I rarely enjoy stories that feature them. Zoe being a Mary Sue is only a problem because Miraculous' story is ill suited to a Mary Sue.)

[struggling-jpg]

Yanqing and Yunli Appreciation Post

Keep Reading cut due to 2.4 spoilers~ (also relatively long-ish post)

These two bounce off each other so well! As a writer, it feels so satisfying to see their characters shine through the quest and the event in the way their interactions highlight them. So I'm gonna use this space to ramble about it!

My previous post pretty much talked about it already, but Yanqing!!! My son!!! I was quite worried that any potential arc for him would be shoved down the road or to the side due to the scale HSR has, but the game's been actually holding up to his ongoing arc. As a result, at least to me, he's come through as one of the best written/developed characters on the Xianzhou so far.

The nature of the length of the updates lets what we get in previous quests settle in for a long while, and considering the mentioned of flow of time in-game, Yanqing's had the time to think and develop as a person. The fact that so many players have had their view and opinion of him finally turn around in this quest is a testament to that. We get to see more facets of him, as in, doing his job and the responsibilities of doing so, and how his insecurities are mentioned in a main quest for all to see. He's constantly referencing others and his past encounters. You can tell that Jing Yuan raised him with his manner and approach to things, which is highlighted by the contrast to Yunli (will get to that soon).

His position as a child soldier has made him mature faster, be quiet even when he's been wronged (filial piety/saving face (aka thank you person on Reddit who makes the banger character Yanqing (and other characters in general) appreciation posts)), take a step back and have to be able to read the room (though, reasonably, he doesn't catch on all the time), and much, much more. The fact that other official content has described him as being more worried about diplomacy and all that. He doesn't have the luxury to be as carefree or brash for someone his age.

There's a lot to unpack there still, even with the development he's had now and that's good! If the Hoyo writing team was wild enough, it'd be cool to see them address the grayness of his role and Jing Yuan's mindset in raising him as he did (We love Dad-Yuan and he loves his son dearly no question, but it'd be so interesting to explore his flaws/mistakes in this perspective!).

Now onto Yunli.

I'm saying straight off the bat, I'm irritated by her!

And that's a good thing!

Her being annoying or bratty or irritating doesn't automatically make her a badly written character! She only would become one if they don't do anything with her, and HSR most probably will, and she should be given the same room to develop in her own arc.

She acts like her age, and she doesn't have the same pressures as Yanqing does. Just like how you can see Jing Yuan in Yanqing, you can see Huaiyan in Yunli, if anything he says is to go by. She's tempremental and outspoken to a fault, and based on the way how quickly Huaiyan relented when she talked back, you can tell that Huaiyan isn't as strict/stern with her to give her a sense of being humble.

I had this thought that she's technically what the general fandom viewed Yanqing as initially, and I'm not saying that as a 100% thing, by the way. But like by some traits and the vibes. She, of course, has a lot more nuance that will be explored at one point or another.

But back on topic, she's a foil. They represent two different approaches and lifestyles and can clearly learn from each other. Her inconsideration of the fact that she's on the Luofu but enforcing Zhuming practices (which I noticed people were upset by, and same; which I imagine is the point), her bluntness to no matter who she's talking to—there's a lot to work with here.

Just like with their swordplay, Yanqing could learn from her mental strength while Yunli can learn from his focused speed and defense. He can learn to regain a more firm grasp of his recently found purpose while she can learn to mature and take in her surroundings and be more thoughtful in that front.

Another interesting note is that where we are with Yanqing currently is in the middle of his arc, we've had the time to see him take a long route of struggle to get to this point, exacerbated by irl players views of him. He's in the middle of his growth and we've had since 1.0 to get to know him. But with Yunli, she was introduced very recently, so we're technically at the "beginning" of her character arc. In a way, Yunli now highlights how far Yanqing has come and changed, and in a way Yanqing now is a potential show for the arc that Yunli can have (not being the exact same as him of course).

I think the idea with these two is that they develop to be more balanced. Balance is such an important thing, especially in Chinese culture (Daoism (Yin-Yang), etc.), and 2.4 has shown how much potential they have to make for amazing character arcs.

It's cool that while they have such similar base traits, they're so different from each other. Calling Yunli a female Yanqing or Yanqing a male Yunli is simply outright incorrect. Their backgrounds, upbringings, ideals, swordstyles, perspectives, and positions in life are so distinct. I'm looking forward to their futures!

[liobi]

I've been seeing a weirdly high level of Dungeon Meshi discourse that just. Completely misses the point lately and I'm honestly kinda frustrated about it. So.

First point of address. Laios isn't canonically autistic. He is written in a way that lends itself to the reading of him being neuro divergent, and I think if he was a real person he would be on the spectrum, but the world of Dunmeshi itself does not have the concept of autism (yet). If it did you can bet the human enthusiast Kabru would have immediately pegged Laios as such. As for Falin, she'd also likely be ND but closer to ADHD judging by the relatively small amount we get to actually see her existing as a character.

NOW THAT THAT'S OUT OF THE WAY. Toshiro isn't being ableist with his expectations of Laios picking up on social queues and being angry that he doesn't get it! Laios is legitimately rude to him! In terms of micro-aggressions, he does it constantly and unintentionally. He straight up calls Toshiro strange looking and fucks up his name! But the thing is, Toshiro's biggest flaw is that he applies his cultural norms to his interactions with everyone, regardless of culture. Chilchuck and Mick have a small talk about how Toshiro, with zero indication of feelings beforehand or any romantic involvement, just asks Falin to marry him and expects it to go well, all because she looked at a bug and he thought she was the most unique and different woman he had ever met (small aside, almost all the women he had met at this point are either family, his dad's mistress that is more of a mom to him than his own mom, his retainers, and his uhhh indentured servants/Literal Slaves)(Itsuzumi is a whole ass other conversation that I'm not even remotely qualified to talk about). He's a man of high social status that's never had to think about that fact before, never had to examine the power and privilege he has at his disposal. As a result, his expectations of people to learn his cultural norms, something he's been used to in his homeland, go unmet and are a source of friction.

Here's a real life example. In the US Midwest, if a person slaps their knees and/or stands up, sometimes saying some combination of "Welp/it's getting late..." They're politely telling their guests "get the fuck out of my house." It's impolite to ask people to leave, even politely. This is absolutely arcane and insane, why would anyone do this? Society!

Toshiro has grown up in a place where he's had to be hyper-aware of these things, where he can't verbally state what he literally wants or means. And he's conformed! He's decided to do what's expected of him. Laios, on the other hand, instead chafed against the expectations put on him as the child of the village elder and against the way people treated Falin for being different. He gave up his privilege (assured house, home, fiancee, position and responsibility within their town) in order to pursue a freedom beyond the society he saw as wrong. Laios is fundamentally uninterested in people (as opposed to monsters and demi-humans which is why he's uniquely suited to dealing with the multicultural aftermath of The Whole Thing), but he values his loved ones and personal code of honor enough to do what he needs to protect those things, even if it means going against society.

Anyways this is a long winded way of saying Toshiro and Laios are complex characters and narrative foils of each other in the early narrative and shouldn't be turned into one dimensional parodies of themselves for the purpose of Hot Takes. Thanks.

[a-x-ce]

Worst part of the end of Enies Lobby is Zoro's bullshit pride take on what Usopp and Luffy's fight was about. I need to go and look at the translation used in the manga but in the anime they have him say ''we also can't keep trusting a guy who started all of this on a whim'' like bitch WHAT?!

The fuck did he witness throughout Water 7 that would make him say something so dismissive of the heart of what that fight was about? 'Whim' completely trivializes everything that happened, every single word Usopp said, it dismisses Merry and everything she did. It pisses me off so much.

Also makes me mad how rude he was to everyone else, especially Nami, during that whole scene. Telling her to shut up as if her opinion doesn't matter when truly her opinion should matter the most, like aside from Luffy being the captain, she's the real reason they can sail the sea at all!

Usopp's the whole reason Merry could save them at all (aside from Iceburg patching her up during Aqua Laguna) getting off Enies Lobby, AND he was the person who motivated Luffy to get up and finish Lucci off. 'Cause up until that point Luffy's heart was still broken from losing him in the first place, like Luffy knew his crew wasn't complete without Usopp and he regretted not being able to keep him from leaving.

Why Zoro felt the need to talk over Luffy and decide things for him, a direct display of disrespecting the captain he's holding against Usopp, while Luffy just goes along with it versus make a decision himself. Luffy SHOULD have gone to talk to him, BOTH of them should have had a deeper, more meaningful conversation about the fight, Usopp got to say goodbye to Merry in a way that satisfied him AND Luffy at that point, all they needed was an apology. And Usopp was not the only one who needed to give one, Luffy handled that abysmally from the start, it could have been settled way better than Zoro's method of needing Usopp to grovel and beg while letting Luffy get away with not giving a fuck about how he handled everything to begin with.

I mean thankfully Luffy learned from that experience, as we see when Sanji left during Whole Cake Island, but it came after having completely ignored Usopp's core issues, never addressing them directly, hence why he then goes into Thriller Bark not any different except now he's OPENLY bragging about being negative and self-loathing. Like very cool, very well handled guys...

It's almost like Oda couldn't have that happen then because Usopp still needed to have his core issues (recognizing he IS brave, he IS strong, he IS smart and useful and needed!!!) and that the best place to do that wasn't until Elbaf. Like he left his character on pause for hundreds of chapters and many MANY years and it's only in the next few that we might get the full payoff as we finally enter the Elbaf arc. (Which is interestingly also turning into a Robin-centric arc so Oda does seem to be cooking with that one already.)

Anyway, had to vent about that again, 'cause it's the only time I ever got mad at any of the crew and it was never addressed again. As soon as Usopp does say sorry he's accepted right away and they all go back to acting like nothing ever happened (which is how Luffy was operating anyway the moment he woke up back at Water 7...). Zoro's prideful way of doing shit is often not the best way to handle things and thankfully that's been pointed out before (Punk Hazard by Tashigi) but I genuinely wonder if Oda has any plans to tackle that as a character flaw in any later arcs.

[mdhwrites]

Andrias vs. Collector: Who Was Redeemed Better?

Andrias hands down. Not only is it helped IMMENSELY by character consistency with him but it actually functions with what we know of him. Despite literally only ever getting half an episode dedicated to him (he doesn't actually get a lot more screentime than The Collector, especially while as a villain) we understand his motivations, the reasons for his cruelty, why Marcy made him cold and annoyed every time she was even mentioned post True Colors (he did not enjoy torturing Marcy. The literal only claim there is one line from True Colors where he blames her but otherwise, Marcy is fridged SPECIFICALLY to give someone for Andrias to show regret about) and then when shown how far he had fallen from the good man he was, he goes ahead and tries to fix that. First a final act of heroism but then not asking for forgiveness or the like. He is too guilty to need, or perhaps even want, such things and he instead can try to put things right on his own. In the end, we are left with the impression that Andrias WILL continue to tend to Amphibia now until the day he finally dies. It's actually done pretty well for the fact that it's given such little direct attention, especially by the time he's supposed to start being redeemed.

Meanwhile, the Collector's arc only works if you ignore large swaths of the show. His redemption mostly comes down to the idea that he needs to learn morality and that other people can be hurt by his actions but... He already did. In Watching and Dreaming, he yells at Belos controlled Raine specifically about how King will hate him for the nightmares, showing that he understands that his actions can upset people. In S2B, he talked about wanting to play with bones and criticized Belos for potentially murdering the Grimmwalkers, kind of opening up a moral conversation about the nature of Belos' treatment of them while showing his knowledge of death.

Even if we believe he didn't know these things and try to say he was manipulated, we can't. Belos' goal was extremely explicit and back when he was Philip, he had no reason to lie to the Collector. A spell to kill all witches in return for your freedom was the deal. That's pretty damn evil and the Collector could have always said no but instead he's EXCITED for them to be dead in Hollow Mind. All that matters to him then is his freedom, screw anyone else. Then when he is freed, he has neither the archivists or Belos to push him around and tell him what to do. As such: Why the fuck did he make the hunting stars? You know, the roaming stars that turn people automatically into puppets, rendering them to a fate worse than death as they are conscious and aware of what's going on, even as they are entirely incapable of doing anything about it. They are still around MONTHS later. Hexside literally keeps watch for them. If he is just a little guy, why the fuck did he make those in the first place and why are they still around?

None of this is ever addressed though. Instead, the show spends a quarter of its finale, and a decent chunk of the special before it, focusing on trying to redeem him and show him off as a good guy while not having him actually acknowledge the awful, terrible things he did. There's no taking of responsibility like with Andrias. There is no proper refusal of his morality or change in his thinking. Even his attempt to make peace with Belos is flawed because it's still the same all or nothing thinking that we've seen up until now for the Collector. "I do X, I get friend." It's not actually an acknowledgement that other people are complex and have their own free will, it's just a new form of trying to easily get what he wants. Then after her turns people back, which is good, he just leaves. He doesn't do anything to actually make up for what he did or allow him to face a world that he has irrevocably damaged. Instead, he abandons it all. All that responsibility and guilt can just be left behind instead of actually worked on. How is that a show of what he learned? Of him rejecting how he was before? Of him being REDEEMED?

It makes it much less an arc and more something we're told. At least when Andrias powers down to make Anne's final punch on him more effective, we have seen his regret. We have seen his motivations. We have seen as one is pushed into his face and the other torn down. Then we get to see him act on it, allow his conquest to fail, as a willful decision to back down from that evil rather than double down. Then we see follow through with him in the timeskip where he is still simply trying to make up for his sins, even if no one will ever tell him his work is done.

We don't get anything like that with the Collector and that's why he will always be easily worse to me.

======+++++======

Someone shared a Reddit post on this topic in my Discord and I almost posted 95% of this as a comment there. I... I know better than to do that on Reddit though so I decided to just let it be a blog over here.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[suzannahnatters]

Till the End of the Moon: Unconventional Enemies to Lovers

A few months ago I posted my own personal thoughts on enemies-to-lovers that don't cross my own personal red lines. Since then, I enjoyed watching the absolutely next-level cdrama TILL THE END OF THE MOON, which is a uniquely complex and delicious take on the enemies to lovers trope which goes way harder than any other ETL I've ever seen. In this post I'd like to break down how TTEOTM addresses each of my points in turn, and I think this will highlight two unique features of this story: the wonderful complexity of the characters' alignment between good and evil, and the way that the ending, while flawed, unconventional and not completely satisfying, nevertheless makes a certain amount of dramatic sense.

In case that wasn't obvious right away, SPOILERS AHEAD.

Remember that evil is not misunderstood.

This point is about keeping your moral categories straight and not treating something genuinely problematic as though it's just a misunderstanding. One of the really fascinating things about TILL THE END OF THE MOON is that you couldn't quite call Tantai Jin either evil OR misunderstood. Instead, he's a complex mixture of both - a man who uses demon magic, wears black, and tends towards vengeance and mayhem when he feels attacked, yes, but who deep down very profoundly just needs to be loved. The show proves this over and over. Tantai Jin only acts out when he feels threatened or betrayed, when his belief that no one will ever love him is validated by the actions of those around him. On the other hand, when people show love towards him, he responds with wary but genuine trust, affection, and self-sacrifice. Our heroine Li Susu and others are quick to misunderstand Tantai Jin, but this is mainly because of the sinister vibes that surround him on account of him being picked out as the Devil God's future vessel. So, is he evil or misunderstood? He's a bit of both, and the really delightful thing about this show is that it does a beautiful job of keeping its categories straight, resolving misunderstandings quickly but doing the hard yards when it comes to addressing Tantai Jin's propensities towards vengeance.

Enemies doesn't need to mean hatred or toxicity.

Every romance needs reasons for the characters to love and trust each other, despite the things that are keeping them apart. TILL THE END OF THE MOON, again, takes a super complex approach to this point as well. Both Li Susu and Tantai Jin have incredibly mixed feelings towards each other. Li Susu deeply hates the Devil God and throughout the show, the major obstacle standing in the way of her learning to love Tantai Jin is her hatred of what she believes he will one day become. This provokes her to whip him, betray him, and plan his death. But she also sees very clearly that Tantai Jin is a pitiable outcast who has only ever known hatred and suffering. When she defends him, he quickly warms up to her. Tantai Jin, meanwhile, has heard Li Susu's vows of undying hatred and hostility, but has no defences against her practical acts of kindness and self-sacrifice. When she starts telling him that she loves him, he believes it because he so desperately wants to. Then, when she betrays him, his hostility is born of desperation: he thinks her cruel and heartless for toying with him. And when she comes back to him, he's so desperate for her love that he accepts her without reservation, making himself wholly vulnerable. Is there hatred between these two? Undoubtedly. But it's allied with an equally irresistible love and compassion. Like all the best enemies-to-lovers stories, and more than most, TILL THE END OF THE MOON gives the characters a choice between a hatred that will destroy them and a love that can heal them.

Remember that ETL is a fundamentally transformative relationship.

Normally what I mean by this is that enemies-to-lovers will usually involve a profound character arc for at least one of the characters, often from evil to good. TILL THE END OF THE MOON tackles this particular element with incredible complexity. When Li Susu gets to know Tantai Jin, he's cunning and manipulative, but just trying to survive. The two of them embark on a deeply transformative journey, but it is nothing so clear-cut as a journey from villainy to goodness or vice versa. Tantai Jin flirts with villainy before ultimately drawing away from it. By the time he actually does ascend to become the Devil God in the final quarter, it isn't because he's become evil - rather, he's playing the long game, positioning himself and Li Susu to destroy the Devil God once and for all. The important part of Tantai Jin's character arc is learning to accept love from himself and from people around him, to the point that he no longer responds to perceived rejection with vengeful rage. Similarly, the show also brings Susu to a point where she is able to let go of her deap-seated fear of the Devil God. By the end, she has become able to trust her beloved and make herself vulnerable to him even AFTER he's become the Devil God - a truly incredible arc.

I've heard a lot of people saying that the show TTEOTM differs from the book TTEOTM sharply in that Show!Tantai Jin is much less of a villain than Book!Tantai Jin. Normally, this would impair my enjoyment - I'm usually the one shouting at the screen to LET your baddie be a baddie, for heaven's sake. Not having read the book, I can't actually compare the two, but I CAN say that I'm so impressed by how the show revels in shades of grey. Instead of simplifying the male lead's morality, the story allows it to be messy and complex. Neither Li Susu nor Tantai Jin can fit easily into good and evil categories. I appreciate this immensely.

The characters should be a match for each other, especially when it comes to power and to morals.

Similarly, I'm fascinated by how TILL THE END OF THE MOON treats Li Susu, our token "good" half of the couple. She's the Lady of Light, but in the midst of her crusade she's stubborn. She's cruel. She's vengeful. She spends SO MUCH of the story refusing to believe that Tantai Jin can defy fate, and when she meets him again after undergoing 500 years of suffering to find her, she still refuses to acknowledge that she is the woman who loved him, because she fears it will give the Devil God a new foothold in the world. Throughout the story she lies to him, betrays him, and wields or withholds her affection like a weapon. (This, combined with the long stretches of the show in which she is far more powerful than Tantai Jin, reverses a lot of common gender tropes in some really fun ways). In fact Li Susu is kind of terrible, and I love that for her and for the show because now it's not about a pure and good person suffering for the love of a villain - it's about two dark and deeply flawed people hurting each other equally. Similarly, Tantai Jin just isn't a villain, despite the aesthetics.

There doesn't need to be a HEA.

I don't think that every romance needs a happy ending - look at WUTHERING HEIGHTS. While it's imperfect, I don't think that TTEOTM has an unhappy ending per se. I trust that our boy is going to cultivate himself right out of that Heart-Guarding Scale. Tantai Jin and Li Susu definitely deserve their happy ending if any couple does - they've worked through their differences and are now totally vulnerable with and accepting of each other. However, it's fascinating that they don't quite get a HEA - or need to wait a long time for it - for reasons that actually sit pretty well with me. Namely, it was Tantai Jin's fatal flaw all along that he pinned all his sense of self-worth to Li Susu and couldn't face the thought of a life without her. This is that oddest of all things: a love story which cannot end happily until the hero is able to find love and security in people who are NOT the heroine. His feelings for Li Susu are not enough to cure him, because on the deepest level Tantai Jin still doesn't consider himself worthy of love and is willing to settle for whatever crumbs he can pick up off the floor. It takes the love of his shifu and sect brothers showing him that he is worthy APART from Li Susu, before he can learn to be healthily in love WITH her. By the end, it is this acceptance of himself and all the love shown by people who are NOT Li Susu, which enables Tantai Jin to consume the Devil God rather than to be consumed BY him. It is this which gives him the strength to accept death at Li Susu's hands without seeking to avenge or defend himself, and Li Susu the ability to trust him enough to follow through with it. Again, this is an incredibly complex take on a standard romantic scenario.

Love should be what the villain needs - but not what he wants.

What I mean by this is that if the villain is driven to villainy primarily in order to possess the heroine romantically or sexually, he ought not to get her. But TTEOTM is much more complex than, say, LOVE BETWEEN FAIRY AND DEVIL*, in which Orchid represents the moral growth the Evil Overlord needs rather than the world domination he wants. For one thing, Tantai Jin is not a villain when he first meets Li Susu, he never quite becomes one, and many of his most villainous actions are are direct response to her perceived enmity. They are self-preservation or revenge. Also, for much of the story, there is nothing Tantai Jin wants as much as Li Susu, and all his actions, good and bad, are either attempts to win her favour or retaliation for perceived or actual betrayal.

In retrospect, perhaps this was always an indication of how the story was going to end. Tantai Jin WANTS Li Susu to love him from very early on. But his need is quite different. He NEEDS to accept love and esteem from himself and from others, because so long as he pins all his sense of self-worth to the murder wifey he will never be stable or sane. One of the really beautiful things about the final quarter of the story, despite its messiness, is seeing Tantai Jin flower into someone who is finally able to accept his own worthiness. After so many episodes in which he's been suffering, paranoid and hurting, he's finally able to achieve an even keel - not through the Heartless Way, but through experiencing love. This time, when he feels threatened by the rejection of one person, he has the love of others to fall back on. Thus, the ending of this show was never going to be about whether Tantai Jin could love Li Susu: he has from the beginning. It was going to be about whether he could learn to see himself as worthy of love.

For Tantai Jin, additionally, getting what he needs doesn't mean that he can't also get what he wants. Tantai Jin has never been SO villainous - so cruel, selfish, and obdurate - that getting what he wants would be a grave injustice. And, getting what he needs - the love of others - is not incompatible with what he wants - the love of Li Susu. Indeed it's the only condition upon which he CAN have a healthy relationship with Li Susu. I think this is why the ending, as messy and flawed as it is, is not a dealbreaker and even makes a weird amount of sense. The fact that Tantai Jin clearly gets what he Needs prevents it all from feeling as utterly wasteful and stupid as, say, TROS did. And then the door is left just a crack ajar for him one to day to get what he Wants, too.

In conclusion, then, TTEOTM is an incredibly ambitious, complex story which goes harder than just about any other enemies-to-lovers story I can think of and sets itself up for an unconventional ending in making the core of its story about whether the hero can learn to love himself. While it's not perfect, I feel like it's an enemies-to-lovers masterclass which I'll be revisiting early and often.

* As a footnote, when I say that TTEOTM is less complex than LBFAD, this isn't meant as a ding. LBFAD is simpler and less ambitious, but also more successful. It's often the way.

[balanceoflightanddark]

Avatar the Last Airbender Netflix Episode 2- "Warriors"

Well, things took a bit of a downward turn.

It started off reasonably well enough. Aang buries Monk Gyatso and gives him a proper send-off. Again, I do like that his bond with Gyatso is a driving force for his character. Even introduces new stuff like his initial problems with training with Katara since he never trained with anyone outside of Gyatso before. Particularly since an ongoing subplot is his inability to control his bending abilities sort of caused him to latch onto his father figure. While I'm not exactly on board with "other kids being afraid of Aang" before he was revealed to be the Avatar, I do think it feels like an extension. Like maybe once he gained control, he made friends again like in the cartoon.

Thus, without Gyatso there to guide him, he feels more lost. Particularly with his duties as the Avatar. So he has a good solid foundation to go to Kyoshi Island this time around since he feels he needs the wisdom of a previous Avatar in order to find his place in the world and whatnot.

...we'll get to Kyoshi's "wisdom" in a moment, but for now, just know that I'm not a fan of how she was handled.

Now on to the Kyoshi Warriors, who are fan (Azula snickers) favorites for obvious reasons. On the one hand, I do like that they addressed how their isolationism has caused problems for Suki and the island. That lack of contact with the outside world has left them with little options other than keeping their heads down while the Fire Nation basically stomps everywhere else. Again, this feels true to the original series. The Fire Nation preyed on that disunity between the Nations to get such a huge advantage. Divide and conquer so to say. Hell, we see that in action with Zhao pushing Zuko to work with him to capture the Avatar instead of being a lone wolf and chasing after glory like Zuko has been doing (only thing done well with Zhao in this episode if I might add). This is in contrast with Suki's mother being reluctant to harbor Aang, Sokka, and Katara, wanting them to leave as soon as possible. You get why wanting them to leave is a priority, but you also know that you can't exactly run forever and keep your heads to the ground without fighting.

...and here's where I start to run into problems.

Let's start with Sokka and Suki for starters. I know a lot of people were angry about Sokka not being sexist this time around. I was not, but probably for different reasons than most. The idea of sexism in the Water Tribes is based on Native American stereotypes. For a series that's supposed to be about anti-colonialism and breaking those very stereotypes, that's a big red flag. With that in mind, I'm not against Sokka not having it.

I will get to the sexism thing later though, around when we get to Pakku and the North, but toning it down here was not the issue.

What IS is how Sokka's struggle with leadership is portrayed here. Again, this is a reasonable extension of the original series and I have no problems with it. Hell, I could see it as a pretty good developing point for Sokka. Problem is...I don't think it went far enough. Sokka is presented here as being aware of his inadequacies as a leader and a warrior. Yet, he's not really challenged either. Suki doesn't really do a whole lot aside from ogle him and tell him he's better than he think he is. Which sort of falls into the trap of Suki being reduced to Sokka's girlfriend in my opinion. I know she has that subplot of wanting to see the outside more and all, but then we have scenes where it's implied that she's too hard on Sokka for beating him?

Okay, let's take a step back for a moment. Removing the sexism angle, part of Sokka's flaws in the original was his pride. He thought he could take Zuko when he obviously couldn't. He demeaned the Kyoshi Warrior despite them beating him. The whole purpose was that he was using his pride to cover up his insecurities about being a nonbender and his doubts about being a leader. Yet at the same time, it was that pride that prevented him from actually confronting his flaws and growing as a person. Suki's purpose in the original was to help him swallow his pride, and thus allow him to grow to become a better warrior. He adopted her customs with humility, and he became a better fighter as a result.

Here? Nothing. He doesn't even adopt the Kyoshi Warrior uniform (which considering one of the problems plaguing the world is division amongst allies is a HUGE missed opportunity), nor do we learn of their values outside of protecting people. Which in a 45 minute episode, boggles the mind about how they couldn't fit that in. Instead we just get a more generic "you're better than you think you are" without deconstructing why Sokka needs that message. He doesn't really learn humility here, just that he needs to be better. That doesn't really address his problems outside of slapping a band aid on it.

Speaking of bad advice...Kyoshi.

I HATED what they did with Kyoshi. I understand that she's not the most compassionate Avatar, but it feels like they ran with her "murder" portrayal the fandom gave her. Her advice to Aang about being a warrior was accepting that things will get bloody, but he shouldn't run from his duty. Yeah. Right. Apparently the only way to fight fire is with fire I guess. Her message of "being merciless" is the exact same doctrine the Fire Nation runs on. Something that is highlighted when Zhao threatens to burn civilians. And it doesn't even make sense from her perspective since she takes down Zhao's soldiers without killing any of them.

Forgive me, but while Kyoshi is somewhat correct that things will get worse, the answer isn't to get meaner and more ruthless as a result. Which honestly comes as a surprise since they bothered to include her backstory from her novels, but forgot that part of her journey was realizing that she needed to be more than some ruthless thug and instilling fear lest she run the risk of becoming like Jianzhu. And she should've known that tearing down a scared kid for running away won't do any good since SHE was a scared kid who initially ran from her duty as the Avatar. It just made her look like a colossal hypocrite.

sighs

Sorry. Kyoshi in the original and in the novels was one of my favorite past Avatars. I'm just insulted they basically made her fanon self canon when she's more than that.

Finally...Zhao. I'm not a fan of how he's the one to burn down Kyoshi Island instead of Zuko. Mainly because it made him look like a colossal idiot. He knows there's an Avatar running around and he only brings A SINGLE SHIP? What's more, he knows about what Kyoshi Island was doing and presumably knows how formidable the Warriors are. Why wouldn't he bring back up in case things heat up? His men don't even outnumber Suki's!

What's worse is that they got some of him down okay. He was wily enough to figure out that Zuko was looking for the Avatar and where Aang was on few clues. So why's he that incompetent here since by all accounts, he should know better? Was the message here that the Fire Nation aren't as powerful as they appear, so Sokka and Aang just need to man up and fight? Then how the hell did the Fire Nation get so close to winning the war in the first place?

...yeah, this episode was a bit of a step down. The kid playing Aang continues to help carry this thing, but honestly, if they can't even get one of the past Avatars right and deconstruct the ruthless attitude of the Fire Nation where it should be needed in this case, I'm not feeling confident for the third episode.

[the-badger-mole]

There's A Difference

I think I've said this before- in fact, I'm almost certain I've said this within the last few months- but the reason I can't let Aang's actions be dismissed by his age is because his worst traits are never addressed in canon. The reason why I personally find him very incel-ish is because the grown men who created him and project onto him strike me as incel-ish (and yes, I'm aware that at least one of them is/has been married. Incel is more of a frame of mind than an actual state of being). Aang could have had a growth arc, but instead Bryke chose to either ignore his flaws or make them out to be virtues. I'm judging Aang as a character, not a child. Because Aang is not an actual child. An actual child might have been confronted on the things Aang did. Aang is a character whose creators want fans to think is perfect, even when they themselves introduce the idea he might not be (Aang's being a terrible father is not that surprising to me, but even then Bryke had to scramble to tell us he wasn't actually that bad 🙄)

I am a lot less harsh with Zuko because he actually faced the consequences of his poor decisions. He worked to make amends not only for himself, but for his family. I empathize with his losses and his personal tragedies because the narrative actually cared about how those things affected him in just about every episode, unlike Aang, whose devastating losses are only touched on when they're convenient to that episode's plot. Otherwise, he is the picture of unbothered to the point that I question if he even knew most of the time that he was in a war (the answer, it would turn out in the penultimate episode, was no, apparently not). There's not much I can criticize Zuko on that wasn't already touched on within the show. Why would I judge Book 3 Zuko based on Book 1 Zuko (who btw, I still think was a much better rounded character than Aang in any of the series)?

When it comes to Katara and the misogyny inherent in how she was treated in her canon ship? Well, I can only point to canon and aks to be proven wrong. Katara had very little to do with the development of Kataang during the series, and that little was usually prompted by someone or something outside of her own thoughts and feelings bringing the idea up. Meanwhile, we know from the beginning that Aang likes Katara (well, he likes how she looks anyway). His feelings matter to the narrative: Katara's not so much. Then the disastrous comics where Katara's character from the show is completely stripped from her and she ends up being the cheerleader girlfriend of the Avatar. I know some of that is walked back in the more recent comics, but we already know how it ends for Katara and her kids. Also, the post LoK scramble to give Katara more agency honestly just makes me think that my original assessment of her relationship with Aang was spot on.

Zutara, in my opinion, would have been a great relationship for them both. They would've been just about perfect together, because as hot tempered as they can both be, they also both get really good at communicating with each other, which is something that Katara never really has with Aang. That's why it doesn't surprise me to find out how dysfunctional their family is. Katara and Zuko know how to work together as a team. In a relatively short time, they got comfortable opening up to each other. They are both passionate to the point that they can be really hot-headed, but they are both also extremely empathetic and compassionate. They are a couple that would've helped each other grow, and would have been so much more interesting than anything that happened with their actual canon relationships.

I get that there are people who would rather believe that Aang could outgrow his selfishness. That's totally valid, and has made for some great stories. However, I don't think saying the way he was written in canon has shades of incel is wrong. Especially by Book 3. I could see that guy growing up to be a viciously obnoxious narcissist. I bet those of us who know an "Aang" IRL can picture that, too.

[shallowseeker]

I was thinking about yours and somnatime's comments about The Trap being one-sided in terms of only addressing Cas's renegotiations, and then I thought about Sam and Dean going to Alaska and I wondered if Dean is being passive-aggressive. Leaving without telling anyone where he's going is a Cas thing, and maybe he wants him to have a taste of his own medicine.

I feel like I've pondered that before but not too deeply. You're talking about 15x11 The Gamblers, I presume.

In this episode, we see Sam awkwardly leave a sticky note for Cas, and then text to Eileen very actively in the episode.

INTERIOR – BUNKER LIBRARY – NIGHT [CAS turns the paper around and sees the note written by SAM. “Cas, we’ve gone to Alaska. Sam.”]

&

INTERIOR – IMPALA – NIGHT [SAM is checking the messages on his phone as it continues to chime. DEAN glares at the phone.] DEAN: Silent mode’s always an option. SAM: Yeah. Right. Sorry. DEAN: And how’s Eileen doing? SAM: She’s hanging in there. She thinks our plan sounds a little too good to be true. You know, maybe she’s right.

Dean gets irritated at the PING PING PING of Sam's phone. I think he's feeling some frustration in general not just because he's got IBS/heart burn and everything's going wrong but because, yeah, in 15x09 The Trap, his needs were not really expressed.

...which would probably center around Cas's lone wolf, unilateral decisions, secret-keeping, and going dark and etc etc, so yea. Sure, sometimes Cas's ghosting is justified, but then sometimes Dean's anger is justified, too. The point is he didn't really get to talk about his side, like, at all. (He mostly just laid his own mistakes and flaws but wasn't given the chance to talk about how the behaviors of his loved ones contribute to his frustration. No matter how extenuating and well-meaning their actions were, Dean is swallowing that kinda thing over and over again just to entice people to stay and it probably feels very...difficult.)

That in mind, I think you're onto something. It's not a stretch to assume going to Alaska could be something of passive-aggressive "taste of your own medicine" thing re:Cas. Here it definitely seems he's purposely being "dark," -- you could even call it Silent Mode.

And the worst thing is Cas doesn't even seem to react, haha. He doesn't actively wring his hands over check-ins and daily case safety in quite the same way Dean does. And Cas's comms-style is not nearly so clingy either, leaving Dean a little...hmm probably feeling like he needs Cas more than Cas needs him. Very frustrating indeed. (Add to the mix the previous fight, "You've been to Hell before," and it gets...messy and complex.)

We could suppose that even after everything, after their big fight that culminated in Cas leaving, Dean is still trying to goad a reaction out of Cas. (And more often than not, trying to get a reaction out of Cas is a losing game.) I think you're right that part of the reason Dean is pushing is because he was cut off before voicing his needs and feelings in The Trap.

CC @somnatine Because you were mentioned.

[kitkatopinions]

Do you ever look at a rwby character that's training to be or already is a badge carrying law enforcement officer in canon and think to yourself "damn, I wouldn't trust this person to be a waterpark attendant, I wouldn't trust this person to hold my place in a line so I could use the bathroom, if this person offered me a car ride home so I didn't have to walk I would turn them down because I don't trust them to do that."

Because I do. And somehow the fact that they might not make the best hunters is something that's not ever even really talked about in the show, at all.

Yang? Joined the Hunter academies for the thrills, had a wildly out of control temper and tbh still does, showed some anti-faunus discrimination leading Blake around with a laser pointer, and these days responds to conflicts by launching into fight mode and wanting to solve things through violence, plus doesn't seem interested in working if it's boring if her reaction to Jaune's to-do list and her exasperation through V9 is anything to go by. And she's completely rejecting any and all opportunity to recognize flaws and grow as a person atm, and seems to think admitting flaws or rethinking your past choices is villainous behavior based on her 'that's what Ironwood thought' shut down when Ruby started questioning herself and her treatment of Ren.

Weiss? Starts out as a raging anti-faunus bigot suggesting they call the police on Blake and comparing Faunus to trash cans, idolizes her 'hero' grandfather despite the fact that he was a capitalistic billionare who (iirc) tried to strip Vacuo of its resources and built the SDC into the fabric of society. Recently, she pointed what was essentially a loaded gun in the face of an underage auraless civilian because he didn't immediately spring out of the way and let her enter his house - and no, him being her brother doesn't mean that was okay. She also doesn't actually seem concerned with doing actual work if it isn't super big and important and flashy.

Jaune? He wasn't even sort of ready to enter Beacon when he did. He cheated his way in when he didn't even know what aura was, and the only reason he didn't die was because of Pyrrha saving his ass and trying to train him, and even then, he was leagues behind the others and the only reason Cinder didn't murder him at Haven was author-plot armor. But now that he's got twenty some years of work under his belt (which I still really resent) he's also doing things like calling clearly sentient people stupid and treating them like five year olds, and yelling in the face of a seventeen year old that she's responsible for plans he had just as much of a hand in as she did and victim blaming her for being attacked by an evil villain who was trying to murder her.

(To be clear, for the above three characters, I'm not saying 'they point blank should not ever have been hunters because of their traits and/or flaws and/or flawed motivations, I'm just saying that I would've wanted there to be more of themselves and others questioning it and them working on their flaws specifically and squaring away some of their more selfish motivations before becoming law enforcement officers with badges.)

COCO? She likes being feared, her friends lovingly describe her as sadistic, she thinks letting teammates have a say is a sign of a weak leader, she's judgmental towards people from Vacuo, she gives strong anti-Faunus vibes and it's treated like it's okay because she's friends with Velvet, she tells Velvet NOT to fight when Grimm are bursting into Vale in V2 and then leisurely takes her time fighting one Grimm because she apparently can't be bothered to care when civilian's lives are on the line, she makes snap judgements about people for no reason, and also she's a big old hypocrite, and defies authority carelessly.

CARDIN?!?! You would think they would've at least addressed CARDIN properly, as a real actual significant problem, since he was a future badge carrying law enforcement officer who also targeted minorities, and tried to blackmail people, and gave off strong misogynist vibes, and liked knocking around his own teammates when they got in his way. Like???? The only thing we know changed in Cardin's behavior was that he was leaving Jaune and Jaune's friends alone because Jaune had 'stood up to him.' The writers didn't think that it was important that we as an audience got to see him either get hardcore checked and start being not that way, or get expelled and restricted from continuing on as a Hunter due to his behavior? We're just supposed to be like 'oh well, there's Cardin the anti-faunus power play loving blackmailer training to be a hunter, but that doesn't matter because the writers only cared about him to bully Jaune so who cares about him now?'

I'd like to actually engage with this story! I'd like to actually have the story of rwby discuss what being a hunter means and how some of these characters aren't well suited currently to be hunters. The writers have no interest in actually making their characters good Hunters or figuring out what being a 'good hunter' even means (case in point, V9,) and instead just expect everyone to be on board with absolutely no reflection. Why should I think Weiss deserves her hunter badge again? Why should I think Jaune deserves his hunter badge? I don't currently think they should be hunters because I feel like they haven't even thought about if they really want it or would be good at it. Because ever since V2, it's just been a foregone conclusion to the writers that the mains (all dropouts in their first year) are Hunters and deserve it and will be great at it, but they've never actually bothered to convince me of it with some of these characters. They expected their audience to just think it too, and shrug and accept it, and they now refuse to engage with the flaws their characters have either or whether or not their traits are well suited to the task of being a badge carrying law enforcement officer, so... Yeah. I wish that the show challenged the 'of course they're all destined to be hunters' thing.

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: You get one fluffy chapter after reading that piece of emotional damage -Danny Words: 1,949 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Daylight' -by Taylor Swift

XXXIX: The Loneliness is Coming From Inside the House

Nico manages to take them directly to Ara's cabin, he closes the door so no one knows they're here yet, then closes the little curtain Leo installed on her porthole so the light doesn't worsen the pounding in her head.

The boys work as a team, tucking her in and checking her wounds. Nico convinces her to take off her shirt so he can examine where the arrows hit her, and Jason turns around to give her privacy. She doesn't know if he caught up to Nico's secret, but that isn't her business, so she will keep her mouth shut.

Ara stays still while Nico heals her, there aren't many injuries, just bruises where the arrows struck, but she's perfectly healthy, only heartbroken and drowning in grief, and the only way to heal from that is by letting it happen.

Nico places the first-aid kit under her bed and sighs. "She's fine."

Jason scans her frame, nodding approvingly. "I'll tell the others we're back."

Ara points vaguely at the scepter leaning on her bedroom wall. That thing better work as they think it should, otherwise she sacrificed a big part of herself for nothing. She glares at it, but for the first time, she's got no cynic or sarcastic comments to send Jason off.

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll rest—but take that thing with you."

Jason's blue eyes look relieved as if Ara deciding to take a break is a sign of better times coming. "Yeah, I'll do that. C'mon, Nico..."

"I'll stay."

Ara groans. "I'm not going anywhere, seriously..."

"You can scold her later, man," Jason insists politely. "Leave her alone."

"Take the scepter," she mumbles, rubbing her eyes. "I don't want it near me."

"Later."

Ara turns her head towards him scowling. "You're not doing anything right now."

"I want to make sure you're okay," Nico admits with frustration.

Ara's face gets very hot, the boy had never offered to look after her before this moment. "Oh."

Jason's smile grows. "Cool, then. Take care of our General."

When Jason leaves, Ara and Nico stay silent for about five seconds, then Nico pulls her vanity bench closer and sits, eyes fixed on the door while he fidgets with the skull ring on his finger.

"I don't think Eros is coming to finish the job," she jokes. "He and Nemesis will leave me alone after this."

Nico watches her intently. "You saw yourself in Nemesis, didn't you?"

Ara doesn't deny it, her puffy eyes are staring at the ceiling. "I've been cruel to myself, and no doubt I'll be cruel again. My fatal flaw is ambition so I'll be tempted..."

"Tempted to what?"

"To mistreat those who care for me," she sighs. "I hope I can control it before it gets this bad a second time. Eros said the only way is to let love take over."

"You'll be okay," Nico pauses a moment, but in the end, he forces himself to finish his thought. "You're not a weaker version of me, you're built differently. No matter how angry and frustrated you get, you always choose to be good."

Ara's eyes lighten up a bit, but they also get teary once more. "That's just like you too, Ghost King."

Nico makes a face. "Don't start."

The door opens abruptly and Leo storms into the room. Nico stands in alarm and reaches for the scepter, but then he recognizes the boy and relaxes. "About time," he grins. "What took you so long? I thought you and Ara could sense each other from a mile radius."

Leo blinks, confused by Nico's expression, but he doesn't reply to him. He addresses Ara directly. "You okay? Jason told me—"

Ara moves so fast that Leo stumbles and crashes against the doorframe when she tackles him into a hug, tightly wrapping her arms around him in a way that forces him to stand on his tiptoes. Her entire body screams when she does this, and she starts crying again. Leo tightens his grip on her, scared and anxious.

"Please, tell me the stain in her shirt isn't..."

"She'll be okay now," Nico responds, grabbing the scepter and circling the pair to exit the cabin. "But you two should talk, so... I'll leave you alone." He closes the door behind him. 

Leo guides her back to the bed and sits with her, leaning against the headboard with one leg hanging off the mattress while he cradles Ara in his arms. His fingers brush through her choppy hair while she calms herself enough to speak.

"Jason said your brother Eros came to fight y'all, not that other guy..."

"It wasn't a fight," she dries her tears. "Not even close. Eros had us in the palm of his hand and..."

She sobs and Leo squeezes her, kissing her hair. "Ara, you have to calm down. Jason already told me everything..."

The girl freezes. "Everything?"

He examines the dark stain on her clothing. "The important bit. Couldn't've been easy, huh? Talking about the curse in front of them, especially in front of Nico..."

Ara shakes her head, cleaning her nose. "Nico was kind. Whatever was wrong between us... I think it'll get better from now on."

She doesn't want to jinx it, but part of the problem is being afraid to utter thoughts believing it taints them. When she was a kid, she enjoyed talking about what she wished for, it was the main reason why people liked her, she wasn't afraid to speak her dreams into reality.

"You were brave." Leo kisses her temple. "I'm proud of you. "

Ara closes her eyes and leans against his shoulder. "I know what's missing with the others, but I didn't understand it until now."

"Whatcha mean?" Leo frowns.

"Since the moment we met, I told you everything you wanted to know. Everything. I said things I hadn't told to anyone, and you fell in love with all of me because of it. That's why you stay by my side even though you know I could hurt you, because you know it's not my intention."

She sits upright to face him better.

"I have to tell them about my prophecy. And your curse."

Leo looks slightly concerned. "Are you sure? I mean, I don't care—they'll give me those pitiful looks terminally ill people get from their loved ones, and I'm definitely not looking forward to that, but if you think it'll help..."

"If it doesn't, at least we'll feel lighter," she replies. "I can bear my grief and my duties, but I can't do it alone."

Leo reaches for her hand and kisses the back of it. "Then we'll do that. When?"

Looking at it from a sober point of view, she knows the crew will get paranoid once they find out, probably try to keep Leo from fighting too much, and that can backfire. They're missing two of their most powerful and clever demigods, they need to be a unified team or the giants will run through them in a heartbeat.

"Let's wait until we get Percy and Annabeth back—because they will come back," she says with certainty. "Love will keep them safe until they find their way back. Once we rescue them everyone will be... hopefully in a good enough mood to give them bad news without crushing their spirits."

Leo nods. "Yeah, despair is not exactly on brand for me."

She intertwines their fingers and stares at them, deep in thought. "There is something I've been wanting to tell you... it doesn't change anything, I just want you to know."

"A'ight," Leo reaches up with his free hand and runs it through her hair. "I'm listening."

"Eros said I treat love like a curse, and I had that problem even before I met you." She presses her forehead on his shoulder again. "I was in love with Michael Yew. Though saying 'with' is a stretch. Michael was fond of me, which is not the same thing."

Her free hand reaches up and absently draws patterns over Leo's chest.

"I never did anything with that love because I was scared of it—might as well have been the reason why he died. I never allowed myself to love him enough to stop him from making rash oaths."

She closes her eyes, feeling extremely worn out after all the crying and talking about feelings.

"Hestia talked to me about him, said he was like me and there was only one way I could learn from him. The way he died... that is my lesson." She waits for Leo to say something, but when that doesn't happen, she moves and locks eyes with him. The boy is smiling a little, and Ara scowls at the sight. "You got nothing to say?"

He scratches the back of his neck. "I figured it out months into dating you. You wouldn't talk about him, but when you did I got jealous. I could tell you had liked him as more than just a friend."

Ara blushes. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad, I just—"

"It wasn't your fault. And I don't need to know how it happened, or who was it, to know it's not your fault anyone dies in the line of duty." Leo fixes his posture and tries hard to find the right words. "I understand why you fell for him, though your crush on Nico did catch me off-guard—"

Ara moves away again. "My what on whom?"

Leo blushes. "I uh... I was coming one night to see if you'd let me stay over, and I heard Percy talking about it with you. I freaked out and went back to my room, but I was too unsettled to ask—"

"That was all a misunderstanding!" Ara exclaims in embarrassment. "Gods, stupid Percy! He overheard Lily teasing me about my crush on Mike and he thought she was talking about Nico!"

"Oh. Oh, that makes so much sense." Leo pauses a moment, then grins and pecks her lips. "Then I'm alright."

Ara looks at him with amusement and disbelief. "So that's why you've been weird to Nico this whole time?"

"I mean Nico is pretty dang creepy in general, I don't need a reason to be freaked out. Wish I'd known him when he was all cute and hyper like you," he smirks.

Ara heaves a sigh, lowering her gaze. "I wish we both were that way still... it was better."

Leo's expression softens and he leans his forehead against hers. "I wish I could make the present better, but that's not the point of this, right?"

"I adore you..." she speaks gently. "I value you, so I'm sharing all of me. Even the love I had for the boy that came before you."

Leo's eyes are full of mirth. "He got to meet you when you were all cute and easy to impress. I wish I'd had that advantage..."

Ara laughs a bit, it feels wrong to laugh, but also necessary. "If I'd met you then, I don't know if I would've fallen for you, or hated you for being so good at what I wanted."

Leo seems very pleased with her answer. "I know you're lying to make me feel better."

"I swear I'm not," she tilts her head to brush his nose. "Aphrodite was in the right when she chose Paris for Helen, you balance me out... and sometimes that can be irritating."

"Yep, I'm a real bother," he mumbles and cups her face. "I'm just an annoying joke."

"You're perfect." Leo's been called evil, troubled, stupid, scrawny, and all the variations of ugly you can think of—but perfect? It doesn't compute in his mind at all, yet the way Ara holds him close leaves him with no room for doubt. The girl mumbles the rest of her sentence against his lips. "And you shine like daylight..."

The boy's nose and ears start to heat up at her words and he decides to shut her up for good by deepening the kiss. Ara doesn't fight it and instead melts into it, she's decided to build her life around love, and Leo is the blueprint.

Next Chapter –>

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[isfjmel-phleg]

The Secret Garden on 81st Street has lovely art and a lot of good intentions. But one reason I don't find myself revisiting this one for personal enjoyment is how it handles the story and characters. While the broad plot remains and the same roles are all filled (except for the notable absence of Mrs. Sowerby), the point of the narrative is now to impart Lessons on anxiety and grief, and to serve this centralization of an issue to address, the characterization is altered. This results in not merely a less effective adaptation but a less effective plot and characters.

To illustrate this, let's start by looking at how Frances Hodgson Burnett handles Mary and Colin's argument that leads to the tantrum scene in The Secret Garden (Chapters 16-17).

Mary has been spending a lot of time with Colin after meeting him. But when the rain that has kept her indoors finally ends, she spends the whole day out in the garden with Dickon. When she returns to the house, she gets into an argument with Colin, who is angry that she didn't come to see him. The two exchange insults, Colin plays the I'm-going-to-die card, Mary questions this, he is so angry that he throws a pillow at her, and she leaves. Late that night, she is awakened by his having a tantrum, and Colin's nurse asks her to try to get through to him. A furious Mary yells right back at him, orders him to stop, tell him that she and everyone else hate him, and contests his insistence that he has a lump on his back. She examines his back and confirms that there is nothing wrong with it. This upends Colin's entire worldview, and he is able to calm down and process the notion that he is not really doomed to die. His arc has reached a major turning point, and from here on, he is open to going outdoors, which leads to further progress.

In The Secret Garden on 81st Street, this plays out completely differently (pp. 156-168).

This version's Colin has anxiety/panic disorder and is portrayed as very emotionally fragile and self-doubting. Burnett's Colin has those qualities too, but 81st Street leaves out any of his negative traits. He is not ridiculously spoiled. He does not have an uncontrolled temper. He is not demanding, possessive, and entitled. He's just super, super anxious, which is a struggle rather than a flaw. He has no apparent flaws.

81st Street's Mary doesn't just devote a day to work in the garden without seeing Colin; she ignores him for an entire week. This sets her up from the beginning as in the wrong and makes his being upset with her more sympathetic--which is the opposite of what Burnett presents. When this Mary finally comes to see Colin, excitedly telling him about what she's been doing in the garden, he points out how long she's ignored him and how she knows he can't see the garden. She asks him why he's being like this, and he proceeds to guilt-trip her: "Because you forgot about me! You're going to leave me, too! You'd rather spend time with normal people, like Dickon. And this is all my fault. If I could just be normal and not be broken, I could be your real friend, not just someone you visit when you have time." He starts to cry.

I would consider this emotionally manipulative behavior, not unlike what Burnett's Colin does in the equivalent scene, but it's clear that this narrative wants us to fully side with him by portraying Mary's responses to him as lacking in understanding of his condition. Mary tells him he's being ridiculous and insists she didn't forget about him. He escalates into a panic attack. Mary, like her counterpart in the original, tells him that he's not dying and there's nothing wrong with him. His attack continues, she says he's overreacting, and the adults come running in to tend to him and shoo her out.

Later, Colin's therapist has a long talk with Mary about the nature of Colin's panic disorder and how to properly respond to it. Mary is abashed at not having understood but says she doesn't know why Colin is still upset about losing a parent, because she doesn't feel that way about her similar situation. The therapist talks to her about how grieving is different for everyone. This is followed by Medlock telling Mary to "please be aware of [Colin's] condition" and to apologize to him.

Mary apologizes, Colin berates himself for not being able to control the panic, and she repeatedly affirms that it's hard and she knows he's trying. She then apologizes for having to leave to tend to the garden and asks if it's okay with him if she does. He grants permission. Shortly after this, he decides for some reason that he's ready to go outside now.

In Burnett's story, the purpose of Chapters 16-17 is to establish conflict between the two deeply flawed protagonists which will build to a climax that furthers both the plot and Colin's arc. The argument is the natural outcome of a clash of interests between two characters who are self-absorbed and not used to being told no. Mary reacts with obstinacy and aggression, Colin with entitlement and self-pity, and these characteristic behaviors emerging their interactions move the plot forward. Going outdoors would be good for Colin, but he has always been vehemently opposed to it--so what would it take to get him past what's holding him back (i.e. his belief that he is destined to die young)? Mary returns to her renovation of the garden -> Colin is angry at being left alone and tries to control her -> she attacks his worldview -> he can't handle this and has a tantrum -> she lashes out at him and supplies concrete evidence that he's not going to die -> he has to reconsider his worldview and can thus start on the path toward growth. It's a logical progression of actions consistent with the characters as established, and they respond like humans, not plot devices.

In 81st Street, the purpose of these scenes is to deliver a lesson about responding to people who have panic disorder. It accomplishes what it sets out to do, but from a narrative standpoint, it does much less than Burnett's version. This Mary and Colin do not function so much as individual characters here as they do roles in the lesson being taught.

Mary is a stand-in for a hypothetical audience who is ignorant of panic disorder and liable to be dismissive. It is her job to be wrong, to be called out by an authoritative adult who imparts instruction, to meekly accept this rebuke, and to apologize and be accommodating, because this is what the narrative is teaching the audience to emulate. Whether any of this behavior is strictly in character for her is less important than the example that needs to be modeled.

Colin, meanwhile, embodies panic disorder. Since he is defined by this condition, he cannot have flaws or be wrong in any way lest anything disparaging be suggested about the condition. He is an Issue for other people to correctly react to. So nothing that he does in these scenes is affected by his personality or flaws, and he does not need to learn anything from other people. Other people have to accommodate him. (There should be mutual accommodation and understanding, with her learning to understand his condition and him learning to take ownership of his own feelings without expecting the world to walk on eggshells around him just because he has anxiety, but that's not what's being portrayed here.) Instead of external factors leading to growth, he just...changes his mind one day.

This Colin could have panic disorder and still have significant character flaws like his counterpart in Burnett's story, because these two factors (a psychological condition and one's personal character) really have nothing to do with each other. It would have made him more complexly human to allow him some negative traits, as well as moving the plot forward by allowing his and Mary's flaws to clash and giving him an opportunity to grow as a person, not just learn to manage his condition better (important, yes, but the heart of a story is not in a character's increasing in skill or knowledge but in how they personally develop).

What the graphic novel presents isn't an effective arc for either protagonist. Mary doesn't have any agency in her change; she must be instructed by an all-knowing adult instead of learning things for herself. Colin's change of heart is utterly arbitrary because he hasn't had to learn anything and hasn't had his misconceptions about himself and the world meaningfully challenged. It's just: Mary reacts incorrectly to Colin's condition -> she is corrected and instructed in what to do in the future -> she apologizes and corrects her behavior -> Colin decides he's ready to go to the garden. This isn't a plot; it's a PSA. Instead of letting the characters drive the action, they are there to be vehicles for the Lesson. And that may be instructive, but as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't make for a very compelling story or characters.