#Should be the norm and he thinks it's somehow comparable to that of a very normal nuclear family with a mom and dad and kids and a retrieve

[ghoulishtomato]

Hilarious how lots of conservatives think resistance against change is actual resistance and not just them clinging to the status quo.

[transmutationisms]

from a non-academic, i find parts of comphet to be useful (heterosexuality becomes compulsory when you’re raised in a heterosexual society) but the foundations . suck. what do we do with theories like this, that have touched on a truth but also carry a lot of garbage? can we separate the truth from the founder?

i have to be slightly pedantic and say that i don't think rich's essay is an example of this phenomenon. my central issue with her formulation is its bioessentialist assumptions about human sex and therefore also sexuality. if i say "capitalism includes economic mechanisms that enforce heterosexual behaviour and exclude other possibilities", then what i mean by "heterosexual" is plainly not the same as what rich means—and for this reason i would seldom formulate the statement this way, without clarifying that i am talking about the enforcement of heterosexuality as a part of the creation and defence of sex/gender categories themselves. so rich and i do not actually agree on the very fundamental premises of this paper! rich was not the first or only person to point out that economic mechanisms as well as resultant social norms enforce heterosexual pairings; i actually don't even think the essay does a very clear job of interrogating the relationship between labour, economy, and the creation of sex/gender; she means something different and essentialist to what i mean by sex and sexuality; and i think her proposed responses to the phenomenon she identifies as 'compulsory heterosexuality' are uninteresting because they mainly propose psychological answers to a problem arising from conditions of political economy. so, in regards to this specific paper, i am actually totally comfortable just saying that it's not a useful formulation, and i don't feel a need to rescue elements of it.

in general, i do know what you're talking about, and i think there's a false dichotomy here: as though we must either discard an idea entirely if it has elements we dislike, or we accept it on the condition that we can plausibly claim these elements and their author are irrelevant. these are not comprehensive options. instead, i would posit that every theory, hypothesis, or idea is laden with context, including values held and assumptions made by their progenitors. the point is not to find a mythical 'objective' truth unburdened by human bias or mistakes; this is impossible. instead, i think we need to take seriously the elements of an idea that we object to. why are they there? what sorts of assumptions or arguments motivate them, and are those actually separable from whatever we like in the idea? if so, can we be clear about which aspects of the theory are still useful or applicable, and where it is that the objectionable elements arise? and if we can identify these points, then what might we propose instead? this is all much more useful, imo, than either waiting for a perfect morally unimpeachable theory or trying to 'accept' a theory without grappling with its origins (political, social, intellectual).

a recent example that you might find interesting as a kind of case study is j lorand matory's book the fetish revisited, which argues that the 'fetish' concept in freud's and marx's work drew from their respective understandings of afro-atlantic gods. in other words, when marx said capitalists "fetishise" commodities or freud spoke about sexual "fetishism", they were each claiming that viewing an object as agentive, meaning-laden in itself (ie, devoid of the context of human meaning-making as a social and political activity) was comparable to 'primitive' and delusory religious practices.

matory's point here isn't that we should reject marx's entire contribution to political economy because he was racist, nor is it that we can somehow accept parts of what marx said by just excising any racist bits. rather, matory asks us to grapple seriously with the role that marx's anthropologically inflected racism plays in his ideas, and what limitations it imposes on them. why is it that marx could identify the commodity as being discursively abstracted and 'fetishised', but did not apply this understanding to other ideas and objects in a consistent way? and how is his understanding of this process of 'fetishisation' shaped by his beliefs about afro-atlantic peoples, and their 'intelligence' or civilisational achievements in comparison to northwestern europeans'? by this critique matory is able to nuance the fetish concept, and to argue that marx's formulation of it was both reductive and inconsistently applied (analogously to how freud viewed only some sexuality as 'fetishistic'). it is true in some sense that capital and the commodity are reified and abstracted in a manner comparable to the creation of a metaphysical entity, but what we get from matory is both a better, more nuanced understanding of this process of meaning-making (incl. a challenge to the racist idea of afro-atlantic gods as simply a result of inferior intelligence or cultural development), and the critical point that if this is fetishism, then we must understand a lot more human discourse and activity as hinging on fetishisation.

the answer of what we do with the shitty or poorly formulated parts of a theory won't always be the same, obviously; this is a dialogue we probably need to have (and then have again) every time we evaluate an idea or theory. but i hope this gives you some jumping-off points to consider, and an idea of what it might look like to grapple with ideas as things inherently shaped by people—and our biases and assumptions and failings—without assuming that means we can or should just discard them any time those failings show through. the point is not to waste time trying to find something objective, but to understand the subjective in its context and with its strengths and limitations, and then to decide from there what use we can or should make of it.

[crossovershipstournament]

SEMIFINALS: Megaman (Megaman)/Pit (Kid Icarus) VS Huey Duck (Ducktales 2017)/Wakko Warner (Animaniacs)

Propaganda for Megaman/Pit:

This ask, which includes the art used in the bracket image!

Oh my god. This one came immediately to mind. Idk how big the ship is now, but I remember like seeing it everywhere back when Super Smash Bros Ultimate was like popular on Tumblr/Twitter. I think it was originally a crackship cause both of them were in Captain N (a cartoon), but it’s like a serious thing now. Literally all it took was one interaction between them (there’s like dialogue you can get if you do some combination when you play as Pit) which is just Pit gushing about Mega Man. It’s cute. And honestly kind of iconic

#MEGAPIT ?? good for them #go back in time and tell kid me the ship he came up with on a whim would be in a tumblr bracket :'3

#megapit sweep!

#megapit nation let's pokémon go to the polls #let's give it for a wholesome and iconic crackship

#MEGAPIT NATION RISE. RISE. RISE #MEGAPIT

#MEGAPIT!!!1!

#MEGAPIT NATION RISE UP

#c'mon megapit nation #sure they may lose but let's get them some votes anyways!

#vote for the boys people!!! #let's get them as far as possible

This art!

#Hits u with my megapit blast

#but let's do our best for our artificial and flying (kinda) boys!!!

#be on the megapit side of history

#c'mon c'mon c'mon!!! #should it have to go down #then megapit won't go down easily!

#megapit #MY BOYSSSSSS

#MEGAPIT NATION WE NEED YOU #AND EVERYONE ELSE#HELP THEM WIN!!!

#MEGAPIT NATION STAND STRONG

#they might get annihilated but we're not going down without a FIGHT #come on boys. smash bros is nothing without either of u #manifesting megapit sweep

#MEGAPIT I BELIEVE IN YOU

#VOTE MEGAPIT #MEGAPIT NATION WE NEED YOU #RISE #RISE RISE RISE

#probably the end of the line for the robot and the angel #but that's no reason to give up so easily! #get the boys some votes!

More art! With an unwanted visitor.

Propaganda for Huey Duck/Wakko Warner:

Huey and Wakko are classic opposite attrack characters, while also touches of "you're drawn to people who remind you of your family" thrown in. They're both very autistic coded characters (because their shows are cowards and refuse to say the word) but in opposite ways. Wakko is very outside of the norm where as Huey holds himself to a strict set of rules. While Huey adds a bit of routine to Wakko's life, Wakko encourages Huey to cut back, go outside of his comfort zone at his own pace and also relax a little. Wakko reminds Huey of both his siblings, excitable and dramatic like Dewey, and laid back (compared to his siblings) and mischevious like Louie, where as Huey reminds Wakko of his own siblings. A bit more uptight and bratty like Dot, and intelligent and encouraging like Yakko. They also bring out different sides of each other, Wakko can be gross and messy and Huey somehow finds it charming, and Huey can help Wakko see that he's intelligent and creative in his own ways rather than being outshined by his own siblings. They both also have anger issues, and Wakko would be great at helping Huey to feel his anger rather than always keeping it hidden away. He makes Huey feel seen and heard and taken care of because Huey doesn't have to be the Older BrotherTM around Wakko. Basically just opposites attract autistic kids who help each other come into one another.

#yall need to vote for my baby angels #wakko/huey sweep #please #they deserve it #their shows treated them awfully

#MY BABIES VOTE WAKKO/HUEY YOU LEGALLY HAVE TO ITS MY BIRTHDAY

#HUEY WAKKO SWEEP YOU LITERALLY HAVE TO VOTE THE BABIES

Art Credit: Megaman/Pit art by @/farraigeart Huey/Wakko art by @/justadoll and @/krillconnessieur

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Hii I'm the annie_vi anon. I'm here just to say that it's funny because the exact same reasons why you, not dislike, but not enjoy as much?? (idk how to express it, but I hope you get me) her fanfics is the very reason why I do. Maybe I should have specified that I love that rom-com-esque style of writing and that, of course, it's not for everyone. I guess that what you enjoy in a fanfic is also determined by why you read it in the first place, and in my case, her writing adjusts to what i look for in the media I consume day-to-day.

Also, to add to what the last anon said, one thing that I really enjoy about your blog is that you don't shy away from saying what you think. You are blunt, but not disrespectful, and that's something that I appreciate a lot. I think that the inability to distinguish criticism from hate is not only a problem with fanfics, but a more general one, even outside of social media, so finding a blog like yours is a breath of fresh air

Hello anon and thank you for coming back to share more of your thoughts. The reasons why you like the author are a great example of how there's a fanfic for everyone and each can find their niche because there's so much out there. And you're right, the writing fits the rom-com genre (which I like too, by the way), so it's important to know what our expectations are.

As to the difference between hate and criticism, I think I wrote about this before, it might actually be in some of my pinned posts. I think a clear example is when people allow their hate/dislike of someone influence their judgement of absolutely everything related to that person, even when it's completely unwarranted. I know I'm responsible for this as well, but when I express my criticism towards V (and sometimes mean commments, I admit that), a lot of those reading this blog believe that it's an open invitation to hate. Not all of them, but enough that it's noticeable. Which means, that I receive absurd complaints about this guy which are ridiculous, but when you hate someone, then absolutely everything they do is wrong. Case in point was when I received that ask about how this new collab is too close to Jimin's fan song release. An "issue" that had nothing to do with V, he was the feature. Now, should I have went on and said "yeah, fuck the guy, it's obviously his fault because it is always his fault" or using more foul language. But I can't do that because it would make no sense. I don't have my judgement clouded by hate.

It is unfortunate how this is something that slowly becomes the norm, at least in this particular fandom that I had the chance to observe more and actively participate in. It's frustrating as well because I find it more and more difficult to find bloggers who do not fall into the trap. I know how this makes me sound, as if I'm somehow better, but this is far from it. I've made my preferences clear about who I'm interested in which makes it evrn harder to find perspectives in which JM or JK are not completely described as some of the most horrible people ever, as compared to the other. Every action and every word is deemed as bad, without leaving any room for common sense.

[pretentious-art-love]

Show Reviews #7 - American Dad (2005-2009)

I have been watching American Dad as an offline alternative to You Tube when I am outside and need a distraction (mobile data is always so bad for videos) and I want to keep a journal of what I have seen so far, the first five seasons... or four, the way they count seasons seems to change at times, but well whatever, I am reviewing stuff from the Pilot, to "Stan's Night Out."

This show is... quite alright actually. Family Guy had this issue to rely in cutaway gags right? It is basically a shorts show with a thin wrap of a sitcom. So how does American Dad compare?

I do like the concept a lot, you have a conservative man, an American dad, and he is all stupid and he learns that not everything is as he think it is, so he learns on the process and messes up a lot.

The show can be nice at times with its messages, Stan is homophobic one episode, but he tries to be gay for political points and then learns that being gay isn't a choice, he thinks that you should always follow the law one episode and being disruptive is bad, but then when the president of the home owner's association does things he doesn't like, he learns that being disruptive is a necessity for some groups to make themselves heard, or that sometimes you can't always trust the law (like when trans fats are banned and he has to sneak them to his home), the messages sometimes feel a bit dry, as it feels the writers said "hey we all like mean jokes, but let's be nice to people, alright?" which is good enough, sometimes they get too shy with their message, like in an episode where Hayley advocates for gun control and Stan gets paralyzed, he then recovers his mobility by another bullet and the episode ends like "well guns might hurt you but also might help you... somehow! probably!" but well it doesn't matter, gun control is a cultural issue that is still very real in the United States, so the result for that episode was somewhat predictable.

All shows are a product of their time, right? But what it is interesting to see is how well they subvert or conform to that time, that environment it is on. There is a lot of progressive thinking in American Dad, but also at the same time a lot of the jokes consist in pointing out someone is gay, it is still in that "gay humor is the highest form of comedy imaginable" and it doesn't make the show always jarring but it can get a bit boring when it leans in this. There also have been three transgender jokes, three. The first one was actually good (I think on the pilot it was, featuring Jackson), the second one was terrible (on the Looking for Mr. Pibb episode) and the last one, in Stan's Night Out, also featuring Jackson, which was meh, I mean, again, it is one of those moments where you can say hey this is a heartwarming moment, until you realize they are being ironic, so what gives?

But well it doesn't matter anymore, a lot of these episodes do not hold up maybe as well anymore (compared to 90s Simpsons which I think a lot are still fun, even if somewhat overplayed) but what about the rest of the show? Family Guy used the cutaway gags but what does American Dad do? Simple, American Dad does the gag.... on the same scene, so the gag becomes into something wacky a character says or does along in the plot. Sometimes less is more and here it clearly is, if you don't do a cutaway and make the person say the joke, you can use that for characterization. The worst jokes are when someone just does a pop culture reference, but the best ones are when they use that to show more about how characters think or react with certain things.

Klaus used to have this role in some of the episodes, he would say something funny, even if unrelated to anything, and with that you knew they were filling runtime, but the role has been taken more and more by Roger, who has become my favorite character in the show.

Roger is an alien, it is a blank slate for someone who might not fit the norm, and they use him very well, he can ramble about stuff when the runtime needs to be filled but since he can walk, unlike Klaus, his presence is a lot bigger in the show. He is not just a runtime filler, but an actual and interesting character, Roger takes probably some inspiration from Pleakey of Lilo and Stich, an alien that liked to do crossdressing, and they use him not just to crossdress but to do everything, Roger spends most of the first season isolated at home since he is still being looked for the CIA but then he learns to dress up and he takes all sorts of identities with all sorts of professions, Roger is my spirit animal, I love his motto for "pretend" because what feels as something comedic for the show it can translate to stuff like plurality in my own world where I like to explore not just different selves but also different versions of my same self. His attention span and interests relate to my ADHD symptoms and his sexuality is not something that feels used for a joke (like with the reporters, whose character is mostly just being gay), it feels he is bisexual because that's part what he is, not just his whole self. Roger is a troll, a constant motor for the shenanigans of a lot of plots and really the heart of the show, if there isn't an episode with a plot thread focused on him, he will always be filling in the runtime with the goofiest stuff coming out of his mouth. He is the best.

There have been a few times when they resorted to do a cutaway gag, like when someone picked up Roger's gold poo, when an agent Koala was presented, or when a hare is killed by a car and a turtle has to carry him over the road to finish the line. In the 5 (or four seasons) I have seen of the show, they haven't done this more than 10 times, probably less than 5 if we don't count the cutaways that are related to the episode's plot, so I'm satisfied. What I really don't like though is when they use music numbers to fill in time, there was a double episode called Stan of Saudi Arabia which was conceived as a two part episode, but in the second episode they probably realized they had too much time left and added a rather bad music number sung by Francince, I don't know, I just didn't think it was funny, and that was the worst episode of them all so far because of that.

Hailey is a bit of an updated version of Lisa, she is left leaning but as a college student she has a good dynamic with her dad opposing him a lot of the times, her dialogues are never as smart as Lisa's though and she can be used as the butt of the joke a lot more frequently compared her brother. When Stan started a summer camp in Africa, she spent the whole time eating, which kinda destroyed the seriousness of her character for me, I feel the writers are also a lot meaner to her compared Steve, in times of crisis, Hayley has gone through cancer and even prostitution, what has Steve gone through? Losing his girlfriend? I don't know, I guess it can be because he is younger, but still, you know what I mean? I also don't like when the writers give too much importance to Stan compared Francine, like the time she lied about finding the giant squid because Stan wanted to be with her or Stan alone was the one who decided if she would see her biological parents or not, and not her. It's petty stuff that maybe only a few notice but still, it bothers me the same anyway lol.

Overall, this show is okay, some said it picks up after this, others say it doesn't, its very of its time sure, but Roger is so damn awesome that I want to keep watching just because of him, lol.

6/10

[ducknotinarow]

07 Summer Casey - Stumble

| Send "Stumble" for your severely injured muse to fall into my muse's arms. send "Catch" for the reverse

Summer knows she was dumb when it came to meeting with her so called mother. But, it was something she had to do! She had to do it that very moment as well. That was her issue she was too impulsive at times. Wonder who she learned that bad habit from, but now she was sort of paying for that streak of impatience. Summer should have just spoken to her Dad's, turned around and head back to them. She could have asked Casey about meeting up with Gabes and maybe it would have been a different outcome? Of course long after everything had happened did Summer start to think. And use her brain finally. Not like it mattered in the moment.

Huddled up in some holding cell, wasn't the first time she came across dragons. They tend to be on the streets often. So running into them wasn't out of the norm. Being targeted by them however? that wasn't as common. Sure they pick on any sorry soul off the sidewalk just to throw around their weight. At best the dragons were just a bunch of punks, more bark than bite. Unless they were given orders like the dogs they were from their master. And it seemed Summer little meet up with her 'mother' was fully unseen.

"Fuck" was all she could even say about this whole situation. She tried her best to rack her brain on what to do. Thibking of what she had learned from her uncle Leo. But they took her phone, hockey stick he'll even the shoe laces from her sneakers! Not that she was to sure what she could have done with those outside using them to get her bindings undone. She was stuck! Like a sitting fish in the barrel! Worse she knew this was all meant to be a set up. She at least had that going for herself. They needed her as bait.

Metal squeaked, and Summers head shot up right away. Blue eyes firce she might be stuck in this situation but thar didn't mean she make it easy! When she seems Hun her body does tense for a moment, but she just doubled down and mimicked the way she saw her dad and uncles crouch down to be ready for anything. Summer had to try her best if he grabbed her then it was basically being part of his plan. She watched him laugh and gesture to the guy beside him to unlock the gate of the cell.

Summer took a few steps back, to try and put distance between herself and the purple Mohawk man. When Hun mentioned having company though? Summer stood stright eyes blew wide. "What?!" Who! Who got caught? She didn't have to wait long to see Casey be pushes in to the cell. "Dad!" Summer yelled out.

Normally, she would feel relief at the sight of her Dad because it would mean she was safe. But the sight made her blood run cold as she felt her feet move all on their own. As she dashed over to try and help her Dad stand upright after being pushed into the small cell with her. Stumbling back because her Dad weighed like three horses compared to herself. Having to ground her heels thankfully it seemed like Casey could in the least support his own weight once he had some clue what was going on. It gave Summer a chance to look her poor dad over. He looked like he fought tooth and anil and knowing him? He likely did fight till he physically couldn't anymore. Her soft worried stare turn burning hot as she looked up at Hun. Nothing but pure disdain in her vines as she focused her eyes on to him. As if Summer could somehow protect her Dad she tighten her hold around Casey.

"What did you do to him!" She nearly growled when she demanded an answer. Only for Hun to taunt back about talking back to her ‘dad’ grinning as he said it with such a cold tone said with it. “You ain’t my Dad!” Was the best Summer could fight back with. Only for Hun to laugh over some sick enjoyment he was getting out of everything going on.

She only wanted to face her ‘mother’. To see the face of the women who gave her up, not once had she ever wanted to or felt a need to sastified some reason to see her ‘bio father’. Ever since knowing who that was he never wanted to see him. Only the one who gave her away so she could say thank you. If she hadn’t Summer wouldn’t be Summer Jones. And even more she was grateful for that. Seeing what Hun did to her real father But because she acted on her own in the first place? She ended up coming face to face with the guy in the end and worse dragged her Dad into it because of it. This is why she shouldn’t be so impulsive this was her doing hr fault. Knees giving out under her Dad’s weight as she slowly moved with Casey to rest on the floor. Still thought she stared up at Hun daring him to even try and touch her Dad right now. If Casey fought tooth and nail to get to her she would do the same to keep her Dad form Hun. Habit maybe from watching her papa Raph do it for years she bared her teeth and snarled at him. Hun only laughed and walked away. For now.

Summer attention snapped back down to Casey, “Dad? Dad you awake? Dad I’m- I’m so sorry I didn’t know this would.” Summer tried to for a single thought through her cries but here tears were building up in her eyes drying out her throat as she tried her best not to cry. Burying her face in her Dad’s hair a moment. “I’m sorry I really ‘m sorry DadI didn’ think this happen I shouldn’t done it I know!” As if saying she was sorry would fix it all. Somehow take her back and fix her mistake.

[subtle-carrot]

Queer Defusal in Bridgerton Season 2

Ah, Bridgerton. I really like that show. Or maybe I just hope it delivers a lot and I’m doomed to be disappointed. But I like how it is a show very much centred around romance and everything else is secondary. Usually in other romantic shows, I feel like it’s somehow the other way around.

Buuut... There’s just something that vexes my queer self about the second season. So, let’s talk about how season 2 of Bridgerton is so very hetero.

Back when season 1 had come out, I had actually planned on making a video on it, comparing Eloise’s search for Lady Whistledown to Marlowe’s homoerotic obsession with Kurtz in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. The video didn’t materialize, but I was eagerly waiting for Eloise’s search to continue next time.

In season 2, Eloise’s feelings toward Whistledown are... mixed. I’d say it’s character development but really, it just came across really confused. And there’s nothing wrong with a character being confused or their actions being confusing. But the show needs to communicate to the viewer that this is intentional and there’s a point to this. And I didn’t really feel like that was done too well. Instead, to me it just felt like Eloise’s obsession with Whistledown was mitigated, perhaps because it bordered on the homoerotic.

But of course, making her interest in Lady Whistledown more confused wasn’t enough. The show also had to give her an... “intellectual interest” of a different kind. A man who is also a big thinker in the women’s lib movement. Which... okay. Seems a bit weird that their representative for the women’s lib movement wasn’t, you know, a woman and that Eloise doesn’t think much of it. But I guess the point was to get as far as possible from anything homoerotic.

Another mitigator is, of course, Penelope and Eloise’s falling out. Which you could read as a third act break up, if you were really hopeful. But combined with all this other defusing, I wouldn’t bet on it.The original reveal of Penelope as Lady Whistledown actually worked well for the homoerotic angle. The person you’ve been obsessing about being close to you all along, and all that. But alas, that seems a bit down the drain as well.

Homoeroticism is actually something I want to discuss in a video properly because I think a lot of people have the image that it’s a way of saying that a character is gay without outright saying it. It can be that but I find it far more interesting to use it to discuss how seemingly straight parts of media or culture in fact have aspects that fall through the cracks of heteronormativity. This way, I think it can be useful to show how heteronormativity only pretends to be an all-encompassing system and actually can’t even contain itself.

But before I digress further, let’s talk about the other queer defused aspect of Bridgerton, Benedict Bridgerton.

So, Benedict isn’t queer... but in season 1, he’s basically the only main character who knowingly has any connection to queer people. However, in season 2, his experiences were very het.

It almost feels like, again, the show makers wanted to wash away the stain of queerness from Benedict. Instead of wild sex parties with some salacious queerness, we get a very hetero, monogamous relationship. Which isn’t baaad... But you know, contrasts. And don’t tell me art school is just too straight for anything to happen. My roommate has told me stories.

It seems that the series has defused as much of its queer potential as possible, and I do have to wonder why. I think that doing queerness in vaguely historic settings is fairly in vogue, since it's an easy way to seem like you’re transgressing norms set by earlier stories and you can create tension easily as well.

It’s of course possible that the queerness in the first season was, like the amount of butts, a way of roping a particular audience in. Classic queer baiting where you give a tiny taste and then fade it all away, with the unsaid implication that there could be more.

Of course, a queerbaiter knows that you should never give anything to the audience, just make them think they’ll get something.

[tempenensis]

philosophy of “moving forward”

Human civilization as a whole is something that always changing. Culture as part of civilization construct adapts and evolves together with human who creates it. In the evolution of ancient to modern culture, believe in myth and words of mouth on the nature of unknown things changes gradually to studying them using science; in this science is the driving force of culture change and the old believe is the opposing force.   

A subtle theme that slowly surfacing is the clash of old tradition to the new, more progressive thinking. Old tradition and rules are opposed and changes are happening gradually - and while it’s been bubbling for long, it's now culminated in one controversial life of Itadori Yuuji. 

the old and rotting : the Great Three Families

One of main undertones during student fights in the Kyoto exchange goodwill arc is how old jujutsu tradition underlined to be contrasting with the more modern principles most Tokyo students follows. This especially prominent in the fights of Momo vs Kugisaki and Fushiguro vs Kamo, and secondary drive in Maki vs Mai.      

In one of elite jujutsushi bloodline, the Zen’in family, perfection is a must.  “Possessing inherited curse technique of Zen’in family”. Other than that, they are failure in starting life as jutsushi. Even among them, women are not allowed to stand in the starting line. 

Looking at these alone, it implies on how old tradition put manifesting inherited technique among anything else and especially the discrimination towards women. It reflects the view in our real history, where women used to be banned from doing works and jobs considered masculine -- a view that has largely abandoned since women rights to be in the same level with men gained approval worldwide. 

Momo’s saying this to Kugisaki is not wrong per se, since she herself probably experiences this; emphasizing Kugisaki’s naivety to old tradition that a lot of jujutsushi still largely follow. Kugisaki herself is also not in the wrong; she’s someone who puts her ego over everything - she has her own individualistic view that keeps her apart as her own person.

Another view of old tradition is the bloodline over everything else. It’s understandable if you consider the way they prized inherited technique over everything. To ensure that the inherited technique can manifest along the bloodline, one of the way is to keep the bloodline ‘pure’, to say. That’s why marriage among blood relation is probably the norm, even though the only clue of this is Naoya in the latest chapter, who considers which one of the twin is “good”, further emphasizing how little women is respected in this household. 

Ironically in bloodline with a lot of inbreeding, it’s not the strength that is accumulated, but rather the weakness. For example, in Habsburg dynasty who used to rule Europe in the past, their long history of inbreeding caused their offspring to manifest a lot of genetic disorder - one of which is a physical disability named as their own, Habsburg jaw. Charles II of Spain was the most famous example of this. As a result of inbreeding along the Habsburg bloodline, Charles II inherited a lot of genetic disorders including the Habsburg jaw. He was even know as “the Bewitched” because of his appearance. 

In line with this are Kamo Noritoshi and Fushiguro Megumi, who were born not out of inbreeding, but possessing the inherited technique of their respective clan. Noritoshi manifests Blood manipulation technique despite being a mistress’s son. While we don’t know Megumi’s mom, it is implied that she was a normal person since Touji had left the Zen’in and would be hard-pressed if he was to marry a woman from the same bloodline since he hated the clan. And I would not be surprised if Satoru is revealed actually to be a mistress son too in the future.

As if to condemn this believe, Heavenly Restriction sometimes manifest in these clan. Touji and Maki are bound with restriction of having reduced curse energy in exchange of superhuman strength. If you think about it, superhuman strength is actually way more effective weapon to be used in exorcising curse than innate curse technique that is usually simpler and weaker. All they need is some cursed tools to use. But of course, old tradition condemns them since barehanded, both Touji and Maki can’t exorcise curses.

Women being lesser than men, bloodline purity and inherited technique obsession, twins being bad omen, and the heavenly restriction being a viewed as a curse rather than a gift -- all of the believe that composed the old tradition is actually more harmful for the jujutsushi society as a whole. Theirs is an industry who is always chronically short-handed, so you would think that if there are more people available to do the job is better. But they don’t think so just because of outdated tradition. And Zenin Naoya is created as the poster child of it. He embodies everything old that Gojo Satoru discards and loathes. 

education as driving force : Kyoto vs Tokyo

Back in vol 0, Getou calls Kyoto to be holy land of jujutsu and Shinjuku, Tokyo to be crucible of curses, where large number of curses can be found.

If we look over the history of these two places, it’s quite reasonable. Kyoto used to be the old capital of Japan, used to be named Heian. As we know, Heian period when Kyoto was designated as Japan capital is known as jujutsu golden age, when jujutsu developed rapidly, curses ran amok, and Sukuna trumped over everyone as the King of curses. We still don’t know where each of Great Families (Osanke) designated locations, but as the remaining of old capital, it is actually not surprising if the Osanke is located mainly in Kyoto, especially the Zen’in and Kamo. This also implies in Naoya speaking Kansai dialect and how Kyoto school shaped.   

The influence of old tradition is prominent in Kyoto Jujutsu school. First, most of the students are somehow connected to jujutsu families. Noritoshi is Kamo clan’s heir. Mai is one of the Zen’in. Momo with her way of speaking seems also to be raised in a jujutsu family. Kokichi has Heavenly restriction which we know is inherited among children of jujutsu clan. Other than them, Toudou and Miwa seem to be not from jujutsu clan, but they are probably admitted because of influence of their mentors - and the two of them have different mindset compared to the rest of the students. 

Second, when the Kyoto principal asked the students to kill Yuuji during exchange meetings, the four agreed to it readily since that’s how their custom dictates. Todo did not like that idea and Miwa is reluctant, but she still goes along. However she then apologizes to Tokyo students via Maki.  

Contrasting to Kyoto school, the Tokyo school is a bit departed from old jujutsu custom. Most of the students are not affiliated with jujutsu families. Maki and Megumi does have Zen’in blood, but the two of them hate the clan and everything it represents. We still have not much information on Toge and Inumaki clan in general. This also applies to students in previous generation too. Nanami, Haibara, Getou; the three of them are not from jujutsu families. Gojou is from one of the Osanke, but he loathes their custom and tradition, which might  be his main motivation to go to Tokyo school. Other than them, we still don’t know about Mei Mei, Shoko, and Utahime.

If I have to name one main characteristics that drive Tokyo school foundation is that they learn. Different from Kyoto whose philosophy influenced largely by traditional value set in stone, Tokyo school learns from mistake, learns how the era changes, learns how jujutsu changes so that they can be more humane, then develops to be an unique entity. This is largely due to Yaga’s influence.

But because of him (Itadori), there are certainly lives that was saved. In fact this time he cooperates with Todo to drive away the special-grade (curse spirit). This is not limited on the students, but after this they will accumulate a lot of regrets. Aah, I should have done that, I wanted it to be like this. Aah, I should have said it, I wanted to say it. 

Whether the decision regarding Itadori is correct, truthfully I don’t know. But for now, how about we watch over him?

Yaga Masamichi is one great educator. Rather than binding them to the existing tradition, he let the students have their own view and act responsibly. This is the wisdom that build the foundation and general philosophy of Tokyo school. And his view influence Gojo, who used to be his student, in teaching the new generation. For example this; when he asks of  Megumi’s opinion of what they should do with Yuuji. And because of it, they bends an existing law to let Yuuji alive; a very blatant opposition to old custom. 

In addition, Gojo rather tends and teaches the new generation despite wants to kill the upper management; this might also largely because of Yaga’s influence. The two of them accumulate the same regret from the incident that makes Getou to stray and learn from it -- and that regret is what shapes the learning and teaching in Tokyo school in the current time.

While the two seemingly cut from the same clothes, Tokyo school can afford to be different from their Kyoto counterpart in their teaching because of several things. First is their location. As the capital was moved from Kyoto to Tokyo, Tokyo’s population grows. More human means more negative emotion, meaning the curses also evolved to be stronger. The reason why Getou called Shinjuku the crucible of curses is because Shinjuku is red-light district, where negative emotion is probably the strongest, making curses found there also stronger than any other place. As their enemy grows stronger, jujutsushi themselves also needs to be stronger than them to be able to exorcise them. In addition, the school is where Master Tengen planted his root so to speak, and they also need the strength to protect him too. They can’t afford old tradition to weaken and hold them back, so the Tokyo jujutsushi’s thinking start to depart from old custom. The second reason is because of Gojo; that in itself is self-explanatory. 

All in all, education as a whole system is not only designed to merely giving knowledge, but also to give the young the necessities so they can develop into a proper member of society. Good education system adapts to the current era and relevant view on the development of society. In the real world, modern society aligns largely with science, so science and its philosophy are integrated as fundamental parts of modern education system. And character building is also important as part of the system -- for example being critical, to be curious and question things, is an important traits to have because human curiosity is what makes us study things we don’t understand and makes science develops in the first place -- subsequently modernize human society as a whole. 

But of course, it’s all not without repercussion. Since old tradition still prevails and holds tightly by the authority, it’s no wonder that Tokyo school is now facing difficulty after the chaos that is Shibuya. 

[brockachu]

actually, shane wright being a bit of a dick and also expressing a normal human emotion makes me more invested in him and the Seattle Kraken!

the expectations and responsibilities placed on him as privileged white kid who will probably end up making more money than I can really conceive off may not be comparable to players of color’s experiences or my own but expressing frustration with them is a normal human reaction he should not be punished for.

lmaaooo so the thing is … if you have followed me long enough, you will know that i am a right ol bitch who in turn likes hockeys who are a little obstinate, a little rough spoken, or also just right ol bitches. not gonna delve into all of that bc that’s a can of worms about my psychology & imprinting behaviors. but point is — i feel that, anon. i could be convinced to be interested in whatever it is lil mr wright gets going over in seattle. of course, as a canucks fan, i also think it’d be fun for the VAN-SEA rivalry to take off. so i might have to make wright my gleeful lil enemy (i am also still waiting for mccann to declare his vendetta against VAN as the team that drafted him & cast him aside. i think narratively it would be very funny if we made our own worst nightmare. i also hated that he was traded so i think he deserves to be mean to us.) ANYWAY

look, yeah, i frankly think it is a Weird argument to be asking whether or not we can or should empathize with a privileged white kid just bc disadvantaged kids of color exist. like to begin with, that’s a fucked up framework that automatically puts people of color in a category that pities us instead of treating us with dignity & believing in our agency. like we should care about kids of color getting equal opportunity & equitable treatment bc they are ppl who we value, not bc we feel bad about them vs white kids (does that make sense? idk i should prolly be sleeping instead of drafting this answer). More Over, emphasizing again the things i said in my original post & the other answer — you don’t have to believe this guy (or anyone in a similar situation) is the best person or that he’s ‘not privileged’ (another not great framework) to just understand that hyper-criticizing behavior only reinforces a norm. a norm which many of us have expressed mild to complete disdain for — so why are we helping to reinforce it? and again, how strict we are about respectability on the most privileged in a group is Always enforced harshest on whoever is deemed expendable/not wanted by the hegemonic norm.

so yeah, i find it weird that y’all wanna get mad at this one white boy for saying a pretty lackluster thing to express his disappointment. and i think trying to police that reinforces a culture that doesn’t let anyone express themself, which tends to get enforced to the most extreme on players of color. and even if this were somehow just about him (which for the record, the culture we enforce on any individual is never in a vacuum), as stated here by this anon — expressing frustration or disappointment or just any emotion at all, just bc it’s not a ‘pleasant’ emotion, isn’t something i’m interested in villainizing.

[ghostietea]

Furuba autistic headcanons

With it being April, or autism acceptance month, I wanted to finally drop my list of characters from Fruits Basket that I read as autistic! This is based a lot on my own experience, as well as that of other autistics I know or have seen talk online. I hope some people can get something out of it, feel free to tell me what you think 😊, though please refrain from getting upset that I would dare suggest your fave is autistic.

Hanajima

Before becoming able to better control her powers, she would be constantly overwhelmed by the things she heard to the point that she couldn't even really go out in public. This reads a lot like sensory overload.

Constantly picked on in school because other kids thought she was weird. Eventually reclaimed this weirdness and turned it into a whole persona.

Seems to talk usually in a relatively flat tone.

Had trouble socializing with no friends outside her family until middleschool.

Has a very funny, dry sense of humor that I find very similar to a bunch of autistics I know, including myself.

Hatsuharu

Listen. You have seen the funky little man, you have seen the way he talks, the way he acts around others. He is, and I mean this in the best way, a weirdo. I do not know how you could look at him and see a neurotypical.

Once again, like Hana, Haru is funny in a way that feels very autistic.

Very flat, dry, tone delivery. Sometimes just Says Things that make everyone else go huh??? Suuuuper blunt. Doesn't emote facially a lot of the time.

When this man sees a social norm he doesn't get he WILL NOT follow it. Pierces his ears just because his hair got flak, defends Momiji wearing whatever he wants because sometimes y'know the social rules are just dumb and don't make sense. Especially dress codes.

Sometimes says things not befitting the current tone of the situation.

Represses (masks) a lot of his emotions, leading to outbursts that seem uncharacteristic.

His main childhood trauma revolves around adults branding him as "dumb" and ridiculing him. Haru, however, is super smart and wise!! Just in an offbeat way that not everyone may get.

Machi

Reads as very "flat" emotionally to the point that others would call her boring. Also has a flat vocal delivery.

Relies on specific habits or ways of doing things or else she gets super upset (her hatred of imperfection.

Has trauma surrounding adults completely misconstruing her intentions and thinking she's doing something malicious when she's not.

Generally behaves in a way that's hard for others to understand, one of her formative moments with Yuki was him saying he wanted to "see how the world looks" through her eyes.

Once again, trouble socializing.

Tries super hard to please her parents but in the end they still see her as somehow inherently "defective."

Listen. A lot of this one and the last two are mostly vibes, hard to verbally define. You just have to look at them and trust me.

Tohru

Displays behavior very reminiscent of masking throughout the story, a huge part of her arc is about how she hides a lot of herself and has a very controlled persona. I think it would fit very well if she had other autistic behaviors that she suppresed also it helps explain why she is relatively socially adept, it's learned behavior to make people like her more.

Yes she is very good at saying what others need to hear, but especially early on she is pretty blatantly imitating her mother's words. She only gets better at getting through on a more personal level later on (see her with Rin and Akito v. early series Tohru). She does this by relating her own experiences, a very autistic way of showing empathy that often gets us written off as self centered. The way she relays things her mom said could also be seen as this, and she even worries at a few points that she's being insensitive for going on about things like that.

While emotionally repressed she is hyper empathetic and feels other's emotions so strongly she cries.

Her speech patterns are all imitated from her father and she often copies verbal things from others (see Ritchan-san). Noted in canon that people think her way of speaking is slightly off/not befitting of someone her age. Additionally, her father was polite more sarcastically, while she plays it straight and sometimes takes things very literally or fails to get the message, indicating trouble with reading tone. Has numerous strange verbal tics, including saying parts of her internal monologue out loud without context.

Very expressive with her hands including waving them around and flapping them up and down.

Does have a bit of trouble with accidental insensitivity in social interactions, like how she constantly fixates on her mom and realizes that might bug the Sohma.

Has trouble paying attention in school since it doesn't have much to do with her interests

Her only friend until she was a middle schooler was her mom

Has a pretty unique outlook on things compared to others, people seem to think she's pretty eccentric. There's always a "this girl is nice but in an odd way, she's our weirdo and we love her" vibe.

Sometimes has an "inappropriate" emotional response to situations

Has a lot of trouble with change, similar to Akito. Which oh, look at the time, next hc coming up.

But first, a disclaimer. It is cathartic for me to read Akito this way, but with that reading comes the baggage that she would, mayhaps, be showing a more negative side of things... It doesn't bother me since it's a joint hc with other characters and she does develop at the end but yeah, general villain hc baggage. This is in no way me trying to excuse her being The Worst being autistic doesn't absolve you of being able to do wrong . Also, a lot of these points can and do have other explanations related to her upbringing, but things can be for more than 1 reason. With that said, she really strongly comes off as autistic to me, in a way that's sorta hard to explain. I wrote a lot more for her than the other, both because I felt I needed more to convince people and that this headcanon was more sensitive and I needed to be careful in my explanation. Also hey! She's my special interest within a special interest.

Akito

Shown to have a dislike of summer weather due to heat and brightness, could be due to sensory issues in tandem with sickness things. Also covers her ears when people raise their voice sometimes which is partially her trying to shut down opposition but also 🤔 can read a different way. She'd also avoids louder Juuni like Ritsu and Ayame because she can't handle them.

Wears pretty much the same outfit every single day. Said outfit is also pretty loose fitting.

Always seen sitting in a pretty unconventional way. Evidence:

Of course this is also the isolated in a cult thing and there is a level of her purposefully doing things to intimidate but: doesn't follow a lot of social rules (overly touchy with strangers, legit doesn't get that what she's doing is wrong, ect.). Repeatedly confused when people indicate she should act otherwise without explanation. Has a breakdown when this comes to a head and approximately says that "they" shouldn't expect her to know "common sense" if "they" never explained it to her, that the way that she was was her "common sense."

Often talks in a way uncharacteristic of her age when shown as a child in a more faux mature/pretentious way. Might just be the translation and idk how to explain it but her speech as an adult also seems off from what one would normally use in conversation. Additionally, when she tries to fake being friendly in her intro chapter, it comes of as extremely stiff and unconvincing.

Generally displays behavior that could be thought of as childish as an adult, but a lot of this behavior could also read as autistic (covering ears, emotional deregulation and meltdowns, ignorance of basic social norms, ect.). It's also important to note that she knows that this behavior makes her seem younger and more helpless to the older zodiac and uses it as a manipulation tactic. Has issues regarding people treating her like a child or only hanging out with her because of pity. While she does weaponize it, we can tell that this grates on her, as seen with her finally blowing up on Kureno, which is partially triggered by the maids saying some sorta infantalizing stuff about her. Irl, a lot of autistic adults and teens struggle with being infantalized for our behavior generally or treated as little babies that can do no wrong. Even in fandom, you see people doing stuff like jumping to call autistic adult characters, such as Entrapta from Shera, "minor coded." It is also common for us to have at least one bad experience with someone hanging around us out of pity. This is something that really gave me a similar feeling in Akito's arc. She's not a baby and she can understand and do better if she is given the chance to learn and break from all the freaky cult indoctrination she's been subjected to instead of just being constantly enabled. In the end, a lot of her growth is represented by her showing that she is capable of changing and being independent.

Shows particular difficulty with socialization, often sits by herself spacing out at social events. A lot of her fear is rooted in the fact that she doesn't know how normal relationships work, becoming overly reliant on the curse because she doesn't know how to make friends.

Clings desperately onto the notion of being "special" and in some way superior to others to be worthy and to make up for perceived inherent "flaws." It's the nd gifted kid burnout vibes for me.

Easily bothered by things that don't bother others. Feels emotions very strongly to the point of getting physically ill and has bad emotional regulation.

Relatively good at reading others in an analytical sense (though has more trouble when it comes to seeing how they feel about her since she's wildly delusional) but brings up her observations in a very cold, detached way and hurts people even on the rare occasion she didn't mean to. Has extreme trouble connecting to others and understanding their point of view. This makes her come off as pretty unempathetic even though that might not fully be the case. Also thinks that people like Momiji are trying to look down on her when they try to empathize with her. A lot of why Tohru can get through to her is that she manages to convince Akito that she's not condescending by relating shared traits and experiences. As I said earlier, autistics often empathize by sharing their own experiences with someone, and I know I often have an easier time confiding in other autistics because of a fear of being seen as lesser by those that don't understand me. I think the connection between these charachters and the way that Tohru manages to reach Akito like that while others couldn't makes a lot of sense through an autistic lense!

Additionally, when Akito herself gets around to trying to help others instead of just projecting trauma, she tries to reach out to the old maid by relating back to her own experiences. This however, doesn't work.

Has "cold" emotional reactions sometimes even to things that do make her upset. For example, how sort of calm and detached she acted after her father's death can make her seem uncaring. However, we know that this event did mess her up a lot and she is still (poorly) dealing with a lot of grief from the death of her father years later.

Copies mannerisms from others, the most blatant example is with Ren, who she directly parrots lines from as a child to Yuki.

Partly just her posturing, but gestures a lot with her hands when she talks. Also seen several times clutching her hands in her hair.

Deals extremely poorly with the idea of things changing to the point that it is a driving force of the story.

Does not understand when people tease her.

Ect. Ect. Ect. Listen, I could go on for ages but just trust me, the mean gremlin lady is autistic.

[beautifulhigh]

Ben wants to hide from the world, but he doesn't want to hide from Callum. He doesn't want to not be with him, he doesn't want to not have a husband who he loves more than anything. He wants to keep that husband with him for the rest of their lives together and so he will do anything, literally anything, for Callum. For him and for their marriage.

And all he can think of right now, with the constant stream of hate and anger and microaggressions that he's experienced since coming out? "How do I keep Callum safe? How do I protect us from everything?"

The only way you can protect yourself from everything is to hide away from everything. So that's what he will do. He will lock them away, he will hide away and build a closet in their outside world where they won't be (openly) them.

It's regressive but it's also the lives many LQBTQIA+ people lead, even today. That phrase - "even today" - like it's somehow all magically wonderful and fixed.

We have come a long way since the sodomy laws and Section 28 but we have a way to go yet. And, linking fact to fiction, Ben knows that. He's seen it, lived it, suffered from it more than most. Callum struggled with himself but he came out to love and acceptance and support and to a man who wanted him. He had, comparatively, a very gentle time of it. We were reminded today that Paul had the best experience - the one that should be the norm but isn't.

Ben's seen a very different side of what it means to be open and true and proud and to be himself. God, even on his wedding day he told Lexi that he'd had to fight to love the man he loves. He has been fighting for so long and now he needs to rest. I get that. I also get why he shouldn't, why Callum can't.

This is so big and so important and I love that our boys are getting to explore this. I am excited to see this play out and I hope it's not all over by February as other plots of theirs seem to be.

[year2000electronics]

Siblings, Origami, and Slightly Wasted Potential

Hi. Me again. I have some thoughts on Origami King and the ideal future we could have had.

(Spoilers for Origami King!)

(image recreation)

Last time on the analysis show, I took a look at the characterization of Paper Luigi (which is a pretty good read, I’ve been told). This time, I’d like to build on that a little more by addressing Paper Mario’s other pair of iconic siblings- Olly and Olivia. 

Specifically, the way I believe they have the ability to parallel Paper Mario and Paper Luigi.

So, to lay out some basic facts (as is usually necessary to make a strong foundation), I’d like to talk a bit about Mario and Luigi’s relationship with one another. 

Thanks to Luigi gaining importance in the Mario series as a whole, he’s been equipped with some new abilities and stories of his own. However, thanks to Mario encompassing everything heroic under the sun, a lot of the time, Luigi tends to need to take the ‘road less traveled’ of abilities and stories. This may just be an out-of-character thing, but over time, it’s given Luigi this sort of niche that he fills compared to Mario. 

Me, personally, I like to call Mario a ‘sun sibling’ and Luigi a ‘moon sibling’. 

The sun is associated with brightness, happiness, daytime- the time that most people use to the fullest. A sunny day will bring a smile to anyone. Mario has the same happy aesthetics as the daytime, his adventures always triumphant and basking in the spotlight. 

... (And sometimes, they’re quite literally ‘sunny’ adventures.)

Compare this to the moon- the nighttime. In popular culture, the night, darkness and even the moon have been used to signify darkness, mystery. The night in and of itself is something that’s only designated to ‘night owls’- it takes a lot of active planning to stay up for a lot of the night. However, the moon itself isn’t inherently dark- people still need it to get their eight hours. Even though the night’s job isn’t the same as the day’s, it’s still important...

...when the sun is hiding away. 

That little bit of poetry aside, Luigi’s ‘dark’ and ‘against the norm’ aesthetic can be seen pretty much everywhere you look, even if you’re not much for my metaphors.

Luigi’s flagship series being all about ghost-hunting in a spooky, dark mansion...

(Which, by the way, in Mario Super Sluggers, can only be accessed at NIGHT!!! !!!) 

Luigi being the one who has access to the mysterious and vague dream world powers, 

Whatever this was,

This fucking guy,

You get the point. 

Which leads me to my next point: Olivia and Olly are also Sun Sibling and Moon Sibling.

I’m sure this is fairly obvious to anyone who looks. Olivia is bubbly, excitable, friendly, and kind.

Olly is, um.

Not that. 

(Oh also, their colour schemes the ‘night’ and ‘day’ colour schemes of Scorching Sandpaper Desert. So there’s that.)

So now we’ve established that 

But here’s the thing. Siblings is not the same. See, there’s something different about Olly and Olivia compared to Mario and Luigi.

Olly is the older sibling. And just like that... Luigi’s primary reason for being a ‘moon’ sibling is just straight-up not available to Olly. Luigi got his quirks from being in Mario’s shadow, but Olly is new... fresh. He just is this way. It’s not a phase, CRAFTSMAN. 

This poses some... interesting ideas when it’s presented next to the Mario brothers, though. Olivia is the younger sibling, who seems to look up to Olly just as much as Luigi looks up to Mario. Or at least... she’d like to. 

Despite having LITERALLY NO EVIDENCE to believe this, Olivia spends the entire game saying that she believes Olly can be talked down from this. She almost treats Olly and his entire evil plan as two separate entities, almost like Olly is a damsel she has to rescue. Don’t get me wrong, she never shies away from saying her brother needs to be stopped, but considering what seemingly little reason Olly gives for her to believe he’s worth saving... (sorry Olly. You lived then you put your dad in a wall. Life’s tough like that. Also you put a rock on her.) She’s persistent. 

Imagine how that must feel to Mario, seeing someone- seeing a Luigi who’s not the meek, mysterious one, but just as bright and bubbly as him. They grow so close throughout all this, but... Mario isn’t HER brother. And Olivia isn’t HIS sibling. 

And neither of them forget that. Even for one second. 

It makes us almost sigh in relief that Mario is such a good role model to both Olivia and Luigi, because Olivia shows us this idea of the underdog sibling not HAVING a forever-kind older brother. It’s... kinda sad. No, really sad. Olivia and Olly WANT to be a pair, but neither of them agree. They both want to ‘save’ each other, but they must keep battling if they want their side to win. 

This on its own is pretty interesting, but I want to cover the ‘slightly missed potential’ part. If you think Olivia and Mario’s parallels are a good story bit... can you IMAGINE what Olly and Luigi would be like? 

Referencing my Luigi analysis again, I concluded that Luigi has a bit of an inferiority superiority complex- a TV trope where someone’s feelings of inadequacy are often masked by an overconfidence, trying to hide that horrible blemish. 

(Don’t worry. He gets better.) 

Now, I wouldn’t say Olly is secretly insecure or anything- far from it. He is, however, EXCEEDINGLY confident, in both his abilities and his beliefs. He truly seems to believe that the ways of origami are glorious and that folding the kingdom will be a sort of ‘rebirth’. The only thing that is motivated entirely by his rage (not that those other parts aren’t, this one is just really personal) is his wish to turn every Toad into blank paper. And why is that? 

Because the Origami Craftsman scribbled on him. It’s a blemish, and one that he keeps hidden VERY easily. (I mean, you don’t see it here, do you?) 

...Interestingly, Olly has this line here: 

He says he made Olivia ‘too perfect’. It’s backhanded, sure, but... it’s still a compliment. He thinks his sister is perfect. She is perfect. He is blemished.

The sun sibling is perfect...

The moon sibling isn’t. 

This is why I think Olly and Luigi should have had some form of interaction. Luigi is this perfect mentor figure for the young king. Even though he wouldn’t be able to make a dent in Olly’s ideology or Toad-hating, there is one thing... one thing Olly might still be able to turn to the good side for. 

His sister.

Despite the fact that Origami Castle gets folded to life before Mario’s very eyes, which is when Olly has asked time and time again for Olivia to join him, and she’s still refused, the castle is still LITTERED with decorations of BOTH OF THEM. 

Olly still loves his sister. And he doesn’t want to lose her- even if he is blinded by rage. I think if Luigi was around Olly somehow, for most of the game (my personal idea would be that Luigi just can’t be folded somehow and Olly has no choice but to keep him in Peach’s Castle because he might help Mario otherwise), then he could say, from personal experience, how blind rage doesn’t solve anything... how your relationship with your sibling is the most precious thing in the world, should you keep it correctly. 

How... he KNOWS Olivia really looks up to him and looks to him for guidance, because he’s the exact same way. And how Olivia needs her big brother. 

Maybe Olly has some second thoughts, but convinces himself it’ll all be for the greater good. He just needs to defeat that red plumber. 

That green plumber’s... big brother. 

All in all, I think it could really have made Olly and Olivia even more impactful than they already are. At least they finally get reunited...

Even if it’s only for a brief moment. 

[shiroandblack]

Betty and Veronica: AKA Dominique and Veronica

[SPOILERS BELOW!]

Vanitas no Carte is honestly full of fascinating relationships between characters. From Vanitas to Luna, Jeanne and Ruthven, Chloé and Jean-Jacques, and as of chapter 55 which fucked me up presumably Teacher and Luna - this manga is honestly filled to the brim with both complex relationships and fucked up ones.

Dominique and Veronica's relationship to me is interesting because Veronica was the first glimpse into Dominique's family without the inherent bias of Noé's perspective and from the start it doesn't paint a pretty picture to what kind of environment Dominique possibly grew up in. Based on what we've seen so far, and Domi's confession to Louis how she was jealous that he could grow up in Teacher's place without the pressure to excel, it's pretty much implied that she probably grew up in an environment with high expectations and most probably suffered verbal and emotional abuse.

I'd first like to discuss the pressuring environment Domi grew up in. This sort of environment seems to be the norm for nobles. We see some sort of pressure even with Luca, who has this expectation put upon him because he is theoretically the most powerful political player besides Queen Faustina herself. He is a child expected to compete with adults with hundreds of years of experience on him (considering these guys are vampires) and somehow survive the viper's pit. Bearing this in mind, I think that both Veronica and Antoine had pressure put upon them as well. Antoine as heir to the De Sade family and Veronica to be an excellent noblewoman or maybe she was even trained to be a Beastia from an early age. Considering how powerful Beastias seem to be compared to the average vamp, no matter how talented someone is, that would take a lot of work.

The thing with Antoine and Veronica is that while they most likely had to succeed, they probably didn't have the extra pressure Dominique had. Why did Dominique have extra pressure compared to her brother and sister? Well, that's because her brother and sister excelled at their respective fields and this creates a sort of shadow on Dominique and she might have had the good ol' comparison phrase uttered to her "your sister/brother could do this in (insert low amount of time), what's taking you so long?" Or the whatever Dominique can do, they do better scenario. This tends to destroy a child's self-esteem, and paired with the fact that Dominique is trauma buddies with Noé with regards to Louis and also has a very low sense of self-worth since she thinks she should have died instead of Louis - you get someone with very low self-esteem and self-worth.

(Kudos to Jun Mochizuki honestly. When Dominique first debuted as a character, based solely on her air of confidence, I would not have expected her to be someone with such low self-worth that she very much contemplates suicide. It was fun getting to know the real Dominique under all that bravado and for her to begin overcoming her issues, because years of depression, survivor's guilt, and low self-esteem ain't gonna disappear overnight. But she's made peace with herself and can now move forward. Domi, I love you bby)

Now moving onto the abuse. The only one who openly does it seems to be Veronica and what's curious about it is that Veronica seems to actively go out of her way to verbally degrade Domi and/or humiliate her. I mean, she says Domi is "dull" because Domi doesn't want to know what she and Machina are up to (ever heard of tmi, Veronica?) and during the Bal Masque she wanted to kill Vanitas and Noé (?) in front of Domi, presumably just to get a reaction out of her. Let's not forget that she tied Domi up in a compromising position and hung her on a fucking chandelier where everybody could fucking see her and that's presumably why Domi got summoned by her family later on. Because for a family that seems to care about image as much as the De Sades, having a member of your family hung like that in public is embarrassing.

Oh and, that fucking brutal speech she gave to Domi after Louis died. Yeah, okay, be callous about your brother dying but of course she has to tack in the fact that Domi was chosen to live out of a fucking whim, their dad just didn't give a shit. Oh and maybe if Domi had been chosen to die instead of Louis, Louis wouldn't be as much as a dissapointment.

But the thing that I wonder about is, why is Domi considered a 'dissapointment'? Probably because her position as a palace guard isn't as glamorous as Veronica being a Beastia and Antoine as a Senate member? Oh, and her formula rewrite is not as powerful as theirs? I honestly don't understand it because based on Luca's remark Domi's ice is probably just as powerful but manifests in a different way than Antoine or Veronica's which is presumably violent. Or maybe because as a result of her trauma and abuse, she's been sort of repressing her abilities? I'd welcome anyone's thoughts on this.

Going back to Veronica. Despite her abuse of Dominique and frankly viewing her sister as trash, she seems to care for her in a fucked up way? I mean, Domi herself said that Veronica was overprotective of her that's why she didn't interact much with men. This is probably an extension of Veronica's misandry, but she'd have to consider Domi as 'hers' in some form of way to sort of want to shield her in that manner. This inconsistency with Veronica is interesting because she's an emotionally abusive ass to her sister but at the same time protects her from outsiders?

Personally, I'm also very curious where Veronica's misandry originates from. I mean, people aren't born a misandrist. And also despite this misandry, she's alright with having a sexual relationship with Marquis Machina. I find it interesting that it seems to be strictly sexual in a way. She's alright with being with men to fulfill her sexual needs, but anything other than that seems to be a 'no'.

(Also Marquis Machina is probably a hottie underneath that suit. I mean come on, Veronica lives with Antoine and worked with Loki, she's also damn gorgeous and a girl's gotta have a certain standard)

I wonder if her misandry emerged from the fact that her father is well, a womaniser. I mean, growing up and seeing your father hook up with a lot of different ladies who are not your mother tends to do something to your mindset. Antoine and Dominique so far seems to ignore this (I say so far because we haven't seen the De Sade kids around their dad), but it could be possible that Veronica was exposed more to this side of Count De Sade than the rest of her siblings. AND NO, I AM NOT SAYING THEY DID INCESTUOUS FATHER-DAUGHTER SHIT. WHAT I MEAN IS THAT - the real life Marquis de Sade had a thing for, well surrounding himself with women whenever he visited a brothel (did he die from an STD? I can't remember. But if he didn't then wow man) and considering the word 'sadist' originates from his name, maybe Veronica just saw their father pulling this kind of shit and her opinions for men just:

But I find it curious as well that she hates humans as much as she does. I had expected a casual disdain and arrogance, but the hatred with which she hates humans is brutal. She practically suggested hunting Vanitas like an animal during the Bal Masque. And yes, Veronica is a sadistic person, but this hunt she tried to incite felt almost savage in a way that I didn't think was her kind of thing especially since a Bal Masque is a luxurious and very social event, not one for wrecking Marquis Machina's estate just to hunt down a single human.

This makes me wonder if - and this is based on the speculation that Veronica's misandry is rooted in the excessive exposure to her father's proclivities - perhaps Count De Sade's inclinations was not only vampire women, but human women as well.

Again this is only one speculation, as we know next to nothing about Count De Sade, it would be unfair to 100% blame him for how screwed up his kids ended up being. Except for Louis. That was a dick move.

Another speculation is that Veronica once had something inappropriate done to her by a human male. But that would lead to the question; where would this happen? Veronica is a noblewoman and I don't think she goes traipsing out into the human world often nor do I think humans waltz into Altus every day as they seem to require a vampire acquaintance to do so.

With regards to Veronica, I'm kind of hoping Mochizuki shows us another side of her beyond well, verbally abusive asshat. However, Mochizuki did mention that in Vanitas she'd like to give characters 'meaningless deaths' i.e characters who do not get to achieve their goals or have their character arcs resolved before dying. Now, I'm not saying Veronica is going to die but based on this it's possible that we will not get a complete character insight with Veronica.

I guess that's all I have to say so far. Do you have any thoughts? I'd love to hear them since I love discussing meta/theories with people <3

[br4inr0tx]

I'm your bestie so give me an MHA and musical matchup or the toes get it 🔫

yep bestie ily /p

your Boku No Hero Academia matchup is..Denki Kaminari !!

• I’ll be honest, until you mentioned it I was going to match you with Midoriya. You might hate him, but let’s be real.. you two would get along really well. However, I had to roll with this guy.

• You’re so fucking small compared to him, and with how much he can be a tease there’s no way he’s not going to bully you for it. Mostly with using you as an arm rest or putting things on high shelves. Classic.

• He enjoys listening to your interest rambles, as being the chatter box he is it gives both of your neurodivergent asses something to talk about. He also streams shows with you; as thats most likely the ideal date for the two of you.

• From the amount of times you’ll talk about theater, you’ve turned him into a theater geek. Congrats. The two of you go to a show every other week now. (Bring me too 😡)

• Typically he’s always there to listen to you rant about random stuff, people you hate, or the latest documentary or magazine you read. He also talks back on it, gives what he thinks about the matter (if you’re okay with that) or deals with the problem himself if it’s that bad.

• He electrocuted Aiden. He did. I promise you.

• To be fair I think the two of you would be a very chaotic duo. Trio even if you invited Mina into the mix. Wholesome and lovable goofballs.

your Musical matchup is..Michael Mell !!

• Girl. You and Michael would soooo get along, especially sense the two of you can relate to a lot of the hardships you go though. You two are each other’s cheerleader, and I’m sure Michael himself wouldn’t have it any other way.

• He’s on the smaller side of the height spectrum, and he’s not to picky about appearances or height for that matter. Unless you mention it, he won’t. Still, I do think he’s taller then you lmao.

• The two of you both endured harsh bullying, which is something no one should ever experience. The two of you are each other’s anchor, or even light in the dark. If you ever need to talk, he’s there.

• Speaking of which, he likes to talk about anything and everything, so anything you say will be interesting to him. He’d also love you forever if you sit through his rambles.

• While he’s not into theater as much as Jeremy or Christine, he gives HARSH tech crew vibes. He’s always up for helping you out with line troubles and confidence. He somehow always gets the front row seat too- always.

• Has a really fun time ranting about anything to you too! Sense the two of you are underdogs and aren’t really considered “the norm”, you love to talk shit about the prim and proper of the school.

• You two are the couple that never seem to fight all to much, and are the dorks of the school. You own it though, as if no one will fill the role, why not let it be the coolest people to walk the Earth?

[thewildwaffle]

Allergies

Requested by mytasteinmusic on Ao3

The humans were throwing food. Why? Well, Kahpi sighed, it was anyone’s guess really. For whatever reason, they were making some sort of game out of it. One human would grab a small piece of food and toss it high up into the air and another human would attempt to catch it in their mouths and eat it. For the cleaning team’s sake, she was glad all the foods that were being thrown seemed to be fairly self-contained and held together well even after being thrown. The foods in question started out as colorful candies the humans had brought along with them from Earth. They had been searched and scanned for possible allergens and dangers they could pose to other races that would be on the ship. Kahpi, as head Food Safety Inspector, had overseen the process herself. Some human food could, after all, cause anything from slight to severe damage and trauma to digestive and respiratory tracts of different species that also worked on the ship. This meant that foods that were only safe for human consumption had to be stored and prepared separately from other food supplies, or if they were exceptionally dangerous, banned altogether. The colorful candies being thrown around now, for instance, were safe to be on the ship, but under the multi-colored exteriors was a concoction that contained theobromine and caffeine. The humans called it chocolate. They loved the stuff and used it in a wide array of foods. It was safe for them in modest amounts, and as long as they kept it to themselves, they were allowed to have it. Once the colorful candies were all consumed, and dropped pieces taken care of, the humans moved on to throwing other foods. Pretty much whatever they had in their meal: diced fruit, ripped bits of bread crusts, chunks of vegetables, etc.

Kahpi kept her eyes on their antics as she also made her rounds in the ship’s cafeteria. As boisterous as they could be, their games were no reason for her to fall behind in her own duties. It was, as the saying goes, not her spilled bucket of eesaling to guard. If they wanted to goof off on their own time, that wasn’t her business. As long as it didn’t cause harm to anyone else. Usually by sharing their food with other races without clearance or supervision, they were fine. In any case, it seemed that their food throwing gag was starting to die down. They returned to eating their meals normally, laughing and joking around loudly with each other as was the norm. Kahpi was thankful that few of the crewmembers that regularly spent their time with the humans were not of races that could boast similar skill of great aim and power while throwing. That would help deter others to pick up the food-throwing in the future. Just as Kahpi was wrapping up and about to leave, she overheard a disturbance from the humans. They all started speaking or shouting at once. “Dude! What the- what’s happening to your face?” “Oh my gosh!“ "What’s going on? I think I’m going to throw up!” “Carlton, you’re breaking out!” Kahpi looked over to the humans were now starting to rise from their seats, onsets of panic starting to creep into their body language. “Are you allergic to something?” “I don’t think so?” “What is it? What have you eaten?” “I don’t know, I’ve never had allergies before!” “Oh frewan, some of the m&ms had peanuts! Are you allergic to nuts?” “I don’t know! I used to eat peanut butter all the time as a kid!” “Could it be the nuts?” “I don’t know, I don’t know what else it could have been!” “Chris, you have allergies, right? What do we do?!” Alarmed by the humans’ reaction, Kahpi, as well as several others that were in the cafeteria, approached cautiously to see if any aid could be given. Whatever could spook a group of humans so badly must be dealt with quickly and conclusively. As she approached, one of the humans, Chris, ran off and disappeared down a nearby corridor. She paused. Was he fleeing? And if so, what from? Should she flee as well? The other humans weren’t running, at least not yet. Instead, they were gathering around Human Carlton, who, now that Kahpi had gotten closer and could see more clearly, did not look like he was well. His skin, usually the color of a richly tanned deygbah hide, looked splotchy and red. His eyes were unusually watery and swollen. In fact, everything about him was starting to look just a little bit swollen in parts. Kahpi’s second stomach dropped. Carlton was going to die! “Come on guys, back up a bit, give him some room!” Human Macy, the newest human to the crew, had everyone shuffle back so Carlton could lie down. Kahpi was just about to bolt down one of the corridors nearby that she knew would lead her to the med bay, in her panic forgetting that she had her comm device, when Chris returned from where he’d run off to, carrying a short cylindrical container tightly in his fist. Everyone parted in the small gathering crowd to let him in. He slid on his knees and stopped right next to Carlton who was now lying on his back. With a pull at the wider, blue-colored end, Chris plunged the device into his companion’s thigh. Kahpi could hear a small click and Chris held the device firmly in place for a few tiks. As he pulled the device away, Chris looked up and his eyes met with Kahpi’s. “Get a medic here now,” He said calmly but with an intensity that snapped Kaphi out of her trance. Within a few moortiks, Medics Jeebarul and Minti were loading Carlton onto a stretcher and taking him back to the med bay, Chris and Kahpi were allowed to follow. Later, after a discussion with the humans, medics, and the captain, Kahpi learned that it was indeed a food allergy that had caused this whole mess. The colorful candies that had been okayed for human consumption were to blame, particularly the ones that contained an Earth food called “peanuts.” Alarmed at the news, Kahpi pulled up the files she had access to on the humans. Compared to other species on the ship, and throughout the entire galaxy for that matter, humans had a relatively short list of known allergens. Of the humans on the ship, her records only stated that Humans Chris and Ricardo had allergies. Shellfish and animal dander, respectively. Worried that she had failed in her duty of food safety, she scanned Carlton’s files over and over. “I don’t understand,” her voice trembled slightly as the captain frowned at her, “There’s nothing here. No known allergens.” The captain’s fins pulled back tightly against his face. “Then what happened? What was all that?” Chris, who had returned from helping the medics get Carlton settled, responded, “We’re pretty sure it was the peanuts. It’s the only thing that makes sense.” “But my records-” “Say that he doesn’t have a peanut allergy, yeah,” Chris interrupted, “but that just means he hasn’t been tested for it. He’s had no need to. He didn’t know. He didn’t use to be allergic to peanuts, but now as an adult, he is. Somehow, he hasn’t eaten anything with peanuts or peanut oil or whatever for years, so unluckily, he had no idea he was allergic.” He paused. “Or maybe it was lucky? I mean, we had an epipen on hand and he’s okay now, and now he knows so… I guess it was kind of lucky?” “What do you mean he wasn’t allergic before?” Kahpi sputtered. “That doesn’t make sense! How is he allergic now?” Chris shrugged. “It happens sometimes. You can develop an allergy to something later in life that used to be okay. No one really knows why.” Both Kahpi and the captain stared at him for a moment. The captain was the first to regain composure. “Well, I suppose it was fortunate that the medics had a supply of these… ‘epi-pens’ stocked.” He hesitated a moment in thought and then nodded to the cylinder that was still in Chris’ hand. “I suppose we better request more of those, just in case. What exactly do they do?” Chris lifted the ‘epipen’ up for better observation. “It’s got a dose of epinephrine in it. It’s adrenaline, so it constricts blood vessels and speeds up the heart so blood pressure rises and it helps relax muscles in your airway so you can breathe again.” They both stared at him. After an uncomfortable silence, Chris added, “It’s not very fun. But it keeps you alive until doctors can help.” The captain had a few more questions, both for Chris and for the medics when they came back out. All the while, Kahpi had time to try to ponder on and digest all the new information and implications this would bring to her job. Allergens were a thing among many species, yes. That’s why she had the job she had. However, few, if any that she could think of right now, had allergies that were caused by foods FROM THEIR OWN PLANET OF ORIGIN! Not only that, but some allergens were safe to eat for one human, but not another?! Where is the reason for that? What evolutionary purpose could that possibly serve for a species? Or was it just some weird fluke, one of so so many, that humans just came with? She buried her face in her hands. Well, this whole thing was going to throw a bit more complications to her job now. Apparently even human food wasn’t always safe for humans. Go. Flargin’. Figure.

[nahimjustfeelingit-writes]

To the anon I feel you. It’s the same with plus sized women. The public can try and act as inclusive as they want and while for some I do believe it’s genuine but I know a lot are gaslighting us to make us feel better. At the end of the day plus size women are still not the top pick or really even in ppls line of sight. Lots of guys would still pick a Lori over a lizzo. I guarantee some of these pro plus size ppl laugh at us behind our backs. I’ve seen and heard it before. I’ve been single for 26 yrs no boyfriend ever and the only guys who’ve approached me have been guys I wasn’t attracted to or guys who were not on the same life path as me. I asked a guy friend why men don’t approach me and told him to be honest. He said it was bc of my weight/looks and how dominant I was. I don’t give off natural feminine energy bc I’m a brown skin cubby girl who isn’t really girly and I’m very blunt. My reaction was to get mad at him for not sparing my feelings and telling me what I hoped I’d hear (basically that it’s them not me) but I asked for him to be honest. I can’t tell a man what a man thinks. Then I started to think about how my refusal to fall under traditional gender norms has also taken away the inherent desirability from men that comes with them. They see me as one of the guys or bc I can be quick to be defensive or short I can come across as an angry black women. (I’m guilty asf sometimes) I also use to think that unless it came from my own thoughts I don’t have to fix anything about myself internally or physically. Like somehow that’s not staying true to myself when really it was an excuse to not care and then get mad when those flaws were pointed out. I think as much as it sucks we have to accept society hasn’t and probably won’t within our lifetime grow to where it should be. We must love those who love us. Accept that there is always room for improvement in all facets. We aren’t always right. We won’t always have a Disney movie fairytale. We can have a fulfilling life if we stop focusing on the lack of what is and focus on the promises of what can be.

Very well said yes society won’t change and we have to love the people who genuinely love us for who we are. Also we have to stop comparing ourselves to the women out there because it’s doing nothing but damaging our minds. Focus on what you can be and stop tearing yourself down.