#and i dont think people consider the implications of him being a kid

[mutedeclipse]

I am poking the beehive and prompting you to rant.

If you'd like to of course-

Took me a day or two to consider if i actually want to follow through but fuck it let me rant as to why the dastardlies (in my opinion) are all adults.

Theres like. Practically a unanimous agreement that pretty, plasma and phantom are adults. If not go kick rocks or something this post isnt for you. Shoo. Go.

Magnet particularly bothers me being a short, definitely looks younger than i am freshly-an-adult guy. Maybe im projecting but its fucking annoying when short characters get treated like kids. Especially when its mainly based around a short joke in a stupid party game that accidentally made karaoke flirt with her brother* his defensiveness is childish but honestly its not unlike other people my age ive seen.

*i want to believe it was retconned since she didnt appear in sbr2 <3 ontill proven otherwise im going to cope.

Also! Do you think a game like sbr would imply the untimely demise of a kid or even young teen. Do you think of how fucked up being used as a child soldier puppet would be. This is for my own fucking sanity that he and the rest of the dastardlies died as young adults at minimum.

This being said this is pointless to post since the only character that really has confirmation of being a kid is green and thats honestly all thats needed. My opinion doesnt matter and have fun with your opinion but magnet or golem being kids are headcanons i personally hate <3

[itsclydebitches]

I think I sent an ask like this along time ago? IDK though.

The weird thing about Oz is that it feels like there was stuff they could have brought up if they wanted us to view him in a darker light that they just...dont

Like, that whole thing with Oz conquering the world with Salem and tricking people into worshipping them as gods. Yeah he eventually saw what he was doing was wrong, but that was after he and Salem had 4 kids. So for a long-ass time he was an imperialist god-king

Or the part where he nearly attacked Ruby once she asked Jinn the question.

It just...feels like those are totally things that should be discussed more. But instead they focus on a bunch of other things that are really weird to hold against Oz.

Like why focus on this you have way better things to hold against Oz right there.

That's very possible, anon! I don't know how many unanswered asks are sitting in this inbox now, but it's not a small number...

Totally agree. I think Oz gets criticized to an unfair degree by the canon and fandom alike (no one is shocked to hear this lol) but part of my issue is what he's criticized for, not just the extent. The show tends to take incredibly weird perspectives like, "How dare you give our uncle cool bird powers with no downside" and "How dare you save group members from a deadly airship crash." The fandom takes stances with larger political implications like, "How dare an abused man 'steal' his daughters away from the mother who wants to use them for a magical form of genocide" or issues that fundamentally break the core concept of the show: "How dare you let teenagers fight dangerous battles / How dare you reincarnate - something you have no control over - into a 14yo boy." The show does engage with some of Ozpin's morally complex choices with no easy answers like, "Is it okay to keep secrets if history has shown severe downsides to revealing that information?"... but then the answer the story decides on - "No it's not" - immediately doesn't apply to half the cast, with no examination of how that changes our perception of Ozpin's choice. And, as you say, the show simultaneously introduces HUGE mistakes - "You positioned yourself as a god! Then a king!!"- that the characters could absolutely mistrust him for... but they don't. Because they're too busy focusing on all of the above.

The only thing I'd push back against here is anyone being mad at Ozpin for "nearly attacking" Ruby. I'd consider that a highly unfair criticism as well given that:

We don't know if he would have attacked. He just charges with his and out-stretched, so Ozpin could just as likely have been intending to snatch the Relic

All these characters have aura and train/hit for funsies on a regular basis. It feels like a stretch - one working to paint Ozpin in an unfair light - to act like Ruby taking a hit is suddenly some horrific event that's worthy getting up-in-arms about

In this same scene the girls pull their weapons on Qrow and Oscar - someone WITHOUT that training/fully unlocked aura - gets punched into a tree. Again, consistent morality. Why is Ozpin in the wrong for charging with an open hand (ambiguous) but the girls are justified in pulling their weapons (clear intent)? Why should Super Fighter Ruby be defended for taking a hit after forcibly stealing secrets from Ozpin, but we should shrug off the newbie farm kid taking a hit for the "sin" of being an unwitting, passive vessel?

Plus... as said above, "forcibly stealing secrets." I'm not saying Ozpin is 100% justified in attacking Ruby over this, but I think he's a HELL of a lot more justified compared to actions like threatening Qrow or attacking Oscar. Ruby ignored his requests to give the Relic back; she ignored how terrified he clearly was. She wasted a wish (which Ozpin knew would happen). She revealed his entire, traumatic history to the group PLUS a total stranger (Maria) which, again, Ozpin knew would happen. Of course he tried to stop her. We will never know what lengths he would have gone to, whether he would have truly fought Ruby or just made a last minute grab, but even if he had fought her... It think that's understandable. We can argue about whether it's right, but it's not the sort of thing the heroes should be holding against him once tempers have cooled, especially when he has stuff like playing God that they have hold as a long term grudge.

Out of everything Ozpin has done, maybe being willing to fight the prodigy fighter to keep her from making one of the stupidest decisions we've seen in the show to date is pretty low on the sin list.

[wildgoosejpg]

A Quick Analysis on Gojo's Childhood Implication

(This analysis will touch up mildly on child psychology.)

Three points to consider about his childhood: 1) Satoru is revered for his strength since he was a literal infant,

2) he was targeted by bounty hunters ever since he was born, and

3) he's shown to display a stark behavior when he was a child in contrast to his adult self.

To start this off, interpreting a manga is not just about reading the phrases. Manga is a storytelling format that combines drawn art and written words. In character design, artists put stories behind a character's expression (facial expressions, choice of clothes, environment, etc.) deliberately in attempt to express storytelling.

The language of art in this respect is all about interpreting the "show dont tell". And you can gain a lot of information from that alone, if you get the context.

In the manga, kid Gojo is drawn consistently impassive compared to adult Gojo, even as far as to actually contrast him to his adult self in a specific panel. The difference of personality is a deliberate choice to tell a story from his childhood which is in contrast to his current self.

Based on those three points, we can read that:

Gojo did not grow up normally. No normal kid grows up and is already threatened for existing. A kid cannot properly figure out why he's 'a threat', let alone have the mature mind to immediately digest why his environment is treating him a certain way (taking account the amount of fixations on his strength).

It's canon information that Gojo is spoiled as a kid. As children, the desire and need to feel loved and accepted is innate. Since his childhood, boy is fussed with people acknowledging him. However, the question remains, did the people around him accepted him for who he was, or was it for his gifted strength alone? It is fairly obvious why people were eager to meet his existence.

As kids, it's natural to look up to older people who they can trust, figuring out their place in the world, and building their own self-worth. The constant attention makes it a no wonder why Satoru developed to have an intense hyperfixation on his strength alone. It's a reflection of how the world views him, putting his strength before his very being on top of the pedestal.

Rightfully so, in the present day, Gojo grew up to be overly fixated about how strong he is, taking his entire identity. His self-interest lies deep in relation to his strength.

To reiterate, Gojo did not have a healthy and normal childhood circumstance. Take any child into what he has psychologically gone through at his formative and early age, seeing the world through an eyes of a child. The things he experienced can be considered as childhood neglection as he lacked the proper needs as a child (healthy boundaries, security). In present day, his hyperfixation on strength is deeply infrangible. His worth and being is emphasised by the filter of his Six Eyes throughout the manga.

Satoru's relationship with his strength is like a crux to his being. He copes with strength and gains pleasure from strength. Dude keeps yapping, "I'm the strongest." because that alone validates and satisfies his existence and his self-worth. In Satoru's case, him born with the Six Eyes skewed his perception of the world - from the moment he was raised and the moment he was born. Noone is there to truly understand his perspective (thus further isolating him) because noone has the Six Eyes but him. It is bound for him to live with centering his own strength and understanding himself through that.

When I hear people talk about how arrogant or boastful he is, it's because he has the right to given his unavoidable circumstance, a result of years of being validated as the strongest. That said, Satoru is very conscientious with his status which makes it interesting. It shows how layered he is as a character. Rather than questioning his own identity without his power, he seems to think more about his power and how he can live with it for his own sake despite being painfully aware of how it causes him to rift from other people.

From this line, it is implied that Satoru did yearn for other people to understand his loneliness but has come to a conclusion that he will never experience it given his status, and that he's fine with it now. Taking this into consideration of his childhood, a person who's needs are met wouldn't simply yearn to be understood at his current age unless if his needs (feeling loved and understood) aren't met at all. Drawing from this, it's safe to assume that Satoru lacked feeling truly validated as a person growing up, and that his Six Eyes, the blessing he is born with, is indeed a curse in hindsight to a 'living thing' like Satoru. Satoru understands he's not human enough to be human but he is indeed still a living thing.

[sylwanin-was-right]

I feel the film redirecting Neytiri’s anger toward Spider instead of Jake made her seem less justified since he’s a kid and def played into a lot of stereotypes (plus her relationship with Ronal adding up to her being one of the “simple angry natives” She deserves to angry due to her tramma but the way it was displayed was disappointing

I can see where youre coming from, but I funamentally dont agree:

he’s a kid

Neytiri targeted Spider strategically to intimidate Quaritch into freeing Kiri. Not only that, Neytiri knew (somehow) that the two Miles were related as father and son, so Spider being sacrificed as a "son for a son" was the trade of magnitude that Quaritch needed to realize the consequences of bluffing (disowning and discarding Spider as a human casualty that happened to be his child).

Although I doubt Quartich knew how Neteyam died in all that chaos, he probably understood the magnitude of her "son for a son" comment by inferring she'd lost her son and would risk a heavfty bloodpayment to avenge him and save the rest of her children (of whom she didnt seem to consider Spider one of) and also put him in a vulnerable position by freeing him up.

Spider is a kid yes but so was Kiri, Tuk'tirey, and Neteyam, all of whom were targeted as prisoners of war, and the last of whom died as a casualty of war. War causes excessive suffering, trauma, and death, but fire begets fire and sometimes sacrifices have to be made. To Neytiri, sacrificing Spider was something she was willing to pay for the price of not losing Kiri or anyone else and having Jake in better position to capture him so she could escape with the kids. She knew how much it would take for Quaritch to let Kiri go, so she got equal with the stakes of the tradeoff.

Also, Neytiri is a warrior who is probably trained and used to the cruelties of war at this point, but shes still a person, so shes complex. We saw how happy she was until the humans returned, we saw how much grief and agony she was put through, and we saw her grapple with the war refugee status she and her family were in, again. She had to be convinced by Jake to leave Neteyam's body to finish the RDA off because she is a loving person and mother as much as she is a ruthless and dedicated warrior and she had to internally struggle with those parts of herself. But I feel that Neytiri was constantly dragged along by events that led to enormous personal losses, so we saw her take her own course of action when the buildup of her trauma required her to make a morally grey descision. We got to see Neytiri be complex in a way thats morally grey.

She did not target Spider because he was a vulnerable child anymore than her enemy did to intimidate a surrender. But I personally believe her "son for a son" comment made the ultimatum she directed very personal as she felt need to not only save her living children but avenge her dead child in the form of sacrifice. Neytiri made a descision that made her complex and just made sense for what shes been through and what she stands for.

[...] and def played into a lot of stereotypes (plus her relationship with Ronal adding up to her being one of the “simple angry natives” She deserves to angry due to her tramma but the way it was displayed was disappointing

I agree that the immediate feud between her and Ronal was a very poor writing choice by white people (mostly white men) who seem to think portraying two Indigenous-coded women literally catfighting upon meeting had zero implications about Indigenous people and women in general lol. But I disagree (as a Black person, tho not Indigenous, so keep that in mind) that Neytiri's character arc exhibited stereotypes of a "simple angry native" because the rage that led her to sacrifice Spider was not just simple anger at all and actually very complex decision making from complex motivations.

We saw Neytiri endure major, consequtive traumas throughout A1 and A2. She watched it all happen before her eyes and she had little to no onscreen time to process any of it. It seemed she was dragged along by the plot and passive to the decisions it required from her. We finally got to see her fury and rage unleashed in a slaughtering at the sinking ship battle, and while she had blood on her mind in vengence, it was not senseless and random; she was doing what any warrior, mother, and would-be Tsahìk would to "protect the people", this time NOT from anyones swaying or orders, or by the demands of plot progression.

I think the worst anti-indigenous stereotype of the movie, had Neytiri not been shown to sacrifice Spider, would be that Indigenous ppl are never justified in their expressions of trauma against their oppressors. We saw no full blooded Na'vi character make descisions of their own voalition in expression against RDA plundering because Jake was always there to be the more "level headed" mediator and reorient their "reactions". It was frustrating to see the known white savior character seem to have just as much unearned authority as before even if it was in a mediating position. So when Neytiri made a strategic descision to use Spider as bait against Quaritch to free his hold on Kiri—something Jake would have likely never done nor fully accepted—we saw a Na'vi woman use her own voalition to express her rage against her oppressors and those in debt to her people in a strategic way that furthered their self defense as a people, which beings me to my next point:

I'd argue that Neytiri's descision to use Spider as bait and sacrifice wasnt just about her own vengence. The magnitude of her losses and who she is as an Omatikaya warrior woman meant Soider's sacrifice would be a collective a loss against the RDA since Neteyam's death was a collective loss against her family, the Omatikaya, and even Eywa (after the Collective losses of A1 and the events prior, like Sylwanin's murder).

Its as likely as not that Neytiri knew Quaritich killed Neteyam. She decided that, regardless, he has to pay as the leader of the RDA force that was directly responsible for the war and assassin fleets brought to all her families multiple times. The fact that a sprayed RDA bullet killed Neteyam and not directly Quaritch meant that there was a collective blame to be placed on the entire RDA for his death and the continued assault and massacres of Na'vi peoples and Eywa. Spider's sacrifice would have reverberated across the RDA as a collective attack since he served as both a valuable resource and a legal liability to the RDA (think of negative PR they would have if news got back to Earth that a human childs death occured on a Colonal's watch), as well as a personal attack on Quaritch whom likely would have made his son's loss personal to the RDA, too (whether in allegience to them or not. We'll see!).

Ofc it would look bad to the humans for a Na'vi to kill their kin, and could easily be spun against them since its not wrong to put ur species first, nor wrong to find child death irredeemable. But the stereotype of the "simple angry native" comes from their propaganda and privileges since they benefit from Na'vi oppression, not from the actions of the Na'vi in response to their oppression in the context of it. One human child sacrificed in a hostage standoff in lieu of a genocide of thousands of Na'vi children, their families (familial flora and fauna too), and their sacred sites is not comparable to a corperation's military forces using genocide and war to protect plundered assets for money and market domination because the collective messages against the people affected by the losses are completely different. Neytiri's sacrifice of Spider is a message of collective and spiritual venegence and self defense, and the RDA and RECOM fleet's massacring and plundering are messages of of violent supremacy and greed. Total opposites between the oppressor and the oppressed.

TLDR: Neytiri is a complex character saturated with trauma and, at her breaking point, was fueled by vengence into morally grey territory. Her on-screen slaughtering of RDA forces was an extention of the rage and vengence she felt when she used Spider as bait and sacrifice. She was only morally "questionable" to the extent of what sacrifices could be "allowed" in war/defense, and IMO, it made sense for her to use Spider in the heat of the moment as bait to call Quaritch on his bluff to release Kiri and get better position to defeat him and get the kids to safety.

It was important to see an Indigenous-coded character use her own voalition against the white savior's sway to express anger at oppessors and add layers to her character. In avenging the death of her firstborn and the protection of her family, her people, her home, and Eywa against settler colonial genocide, morally depraved, capitalist destruction, and assault on the spiritual harmony and autonomy of Na'vi nations, Neytiri targeted the human boy she felt little kin with in a strategic way. Quartich's son proved to be a liability anyway and Neytiri knew she could exploit that liability through his sacrifice, which proved to expose the vulnerabilities of the oppressor enough to free her family and ring a message to the RDA that the losses she endured were personal and collectively felt.

I feel that Neytiri as a warrior, a mother, and an indigenous woman (in her own universe at least) was justified in her actions toward Spider, and her abscence from the film in dialouge and emotional expression (other than crying and screaming in agony from direct assaults) are what contribute to anti-indigenous sterotypes about Native Women's lack of complexity and Indigenous ppl's automous decisions against their oppressors, NOT her descision to act on her trauma.

[sporesgalaxy]

since i dont want an entire "zim age debate" on your blog im keeping this off anon so you can answer this privately if you want

im ALSO not trying to "convince you" to change your interpretation of zim because thats stupid and completely defeats my entire point that its up in the air. thatd also be pretty mean of me!

but my main point is that i think different writers on the show have different ideas for how they see him, considering jhonen is not the sole opinion-haver there and his favorite thing to do is make shit up. like richard and andy((zim and dibs voice actors, respectively)) im pretty sure dont think hes an old man otherwise the puppet kiss incident or the "i love you zim" wouldnt have happened. ((not that i want this to be About shipping but thats a big example)) and then theres advertisements calling zim an "alien kid" or jhonen himself calling zim a child in the old pilot bible

i understand what you mean with tak the hideous new girl however thats also the episode where he tries to Date tak under the impression that shes a human child and id rather not see my funny greenboy as a predator. i just always thought that the 60 years joke was "haha isnt it funny that were using ridiculously long periods of time and theyre still children"

not to mention mopiness of doom where it shows that zim and dib are grossly codependent enemies and i just dont really want to imagine a 60+ year old man and a child depending on eachother like that,,,,,

theres more "evidence" but i think this ask has gone on long enough

ALL OF THAT BEING SAID!!!!! theres no definitive proof either way and i find that unless youre shipping or really want to dig into the child soldier angle((which i personally find interesting)) it doesnt really matter. again this isnt supposed to be a persuasive essay just like,, idek. i like discussing this show and the characters in it! theres story benefits to either interpretation of zim and i like your art either way

uhh,, cheers and also sorry i think!!

eh. I had to write so much to respond to all this, it seems wasteful not to post.

TL; DR

There is no way for me to 100% guarantee that zadr will be read the same way by everyone, because it won't be, as is the nature of all media. That is exactly why I don't think that everyone who interprets Zim as a child necessarily has ill or manipulative intentions.

But I can provide arguments like the following for why I think zadr and kids who ship it would be a likely target for groomers, and therefore why I feel it is a good idea to discourage this ship.

As I mentioned in the previous ask, I think that said discouragement should be approached with the mindset that not everyone involved is malicious or arguing in bad faith. It is necessary to determine how best to act depending on the situation.

Personally, I'm going to continue pointing out the problems I see with the ship as much as I can in hopes of changing peoples' minds, whenever I have the time and energy to do so.

re: the VAs: This does not refute my point about Zim being easily read as an adult bc of the 50 years comment/ many other contextual implications made by the show. If anything the vagueness about Zim's age because of his alien society could make this a more useful grooming tool. I feel the same way about Bill Cipher x Dipper. Bill has just as much childish adult coding and just as little certainty about his age within the context of his alien species.

•••

re: the pilot bible: the show changes lots of things from the pilot bible so this is no more reliable than any other "word of god" (input from creators of the show rather than material within the show) from Jhonen.

That said, I think the VAs were joking around and did not put much thought into it. Joking around by making characters act the opposite of normal (hating each other -> liking each other) is common.

That said, I think the unprovable nature of the intentions behind the VAs comments is a good argument for excluding word of god from the Zim age conversation entirely. I think that zadr is still Not Good and should be Discouraged even if you only look at the show with no additional outside input, for all the reasons I explained in the first ask and have added here.

re: advertisements calling Zim an alien kid: a bunch of characters in the show call him a kid because they are genuinely convinced he is one, so it doesnt surprise me that advertisement/bumper writers who arent really paying attention would call him that.

re: trying to date Tak: in that episode it is made VERY clear that Zim does not understand romance at all, and does not care to beyond what's necessary to blend in. He clearly does not genuinely want to date her and only wants to use it to seem more socially normal. The Keef episode established a precedent for how Zim treats human relationships he's unfamiliar with, and it's by doing the bare minimum and then ditching them immediately. It's not GOOD behavior by any stretch, but he isn't acting with genuine predatory intentions.

re: 60 years joke: yeah sure that is a joke the show might make. But the additional cultural context we have for Zim's life (that he has been a soldier for a long time + that he trained to become a soldier for a long time, as we see in The Trial) gives Tak being a janitor for 50 years more potential to be taken literally.

re: mopiness of doom: yeah honestly I just personally don't like that episode script. But also, as codependant as they are and as weird as that is, nothing about it is inherently romantic. My frenemies argument from the end of the original post still stands, as do all of my arguments about the ship being potentially useful for grooming because of the lack of clarity.

re: your conclusion: The fact that Irkens HAVE child soldiers IS interesting, yes, and we see in The Trial that Zim has been trained to be a soldier basically since birth, which is also interesting to consider for Zim's character.

However, I explained in the previous ask how I think reading Zim as a child during the current events of the show weakens some of the show's core themes about incompetent, unquestioning adults. I think the whole show just makes more sense if it is centered around a socially shunned child and socially shunned adult fighting against each other. The fact that Zim is old and still a loser further highlights how futile both his and Dib's aspirations to greatness are within their respective societies-- and they are CLEARLY meant to be seen as futile.

I cannot think of a theme or character arc that would be served by Zim's age being unclear, so I do not think it comes across as intentional, even if you rule out word of god. But still, even if nothing I've read into here was intentional, what matters is that it is lends itself to being interpreted as an adult/child ship, or being interpreted as an age gap that "doesnt count" for superficial reasons. And NO I am not claiming that there is any way to conclusively determine that a ship with an unclear age gap has crossed the line into potentially harmful territory. It HAS to be considered on a case-by-case basis. And you've made it clear that there are muddling factors to sift through for this one in particular!

But I feel very strongly that these muddling factors are more circumstantial than, less intuitive than, and ultimately outweighed by, the parts of the text which contextually place Zim as an adult, and will continue providing examples supporting this conclusionc whenever I am able to.

[miiilowo]

Ough tell us abt William and gender

bc Funtime Foxy and Springbonnie are both characters Will had a very strong influence in making. I've personally always seen it as (likely unconscious) projecting on his part. I have Many Thoughts on Funtime Foxy being feminine presenting with a masc voice and passionate entertainer like William. And Springbonnie being William's absolute favorite; and Sb can very much be interpreted as not caring about gender and using any pronouns from the fnaf world screens

How do you think William's life wouldn't turned out if there were no murders and nothing bad happened? Would he have stayed with Henry and Fredbear's or pursued different passions? What would he be like as an old man and potential grandfather, theres not too much in canon you can base on so it's fun to ask and seeing all the different answers you can get

Would do you think about William's apparent fondness for the circus and the like? (Based on the SL designs and ar springtrap having a clown skin) I think it makes the random "1810 circus pipe organ" audio in fnaf 1 real fun. Like. the implications of it or something

I LOVE HOW FUCKING QUEERCODED HE IS 💥💥💥💥IT GENUINELY MAKES ME SO HAPPY TO THINK ABOUT. i 100% would not be surprised if scott did it on purpose, especially when you take the spring bonnie gender thing into account. he is bisexual & aro To Me and while i do generally perceive him as a cis guy, that doesnt mean he cant get a little silly with gender stuff :3c id never thought it about funtime foxy being projection, but it absolutely makes sense, especially considering the tie-in with him being an entertainer. using spring bonnie probably wouldve been bad rep at that point in the timeline, so having using funtime foxy instead is delightful and im incorporating that into how i view him now. i love effeminate queer coded villains. they r everything to me. no way this dude wasnt spotted as being queer by the general population. type of motherfucker to have a musical number if i am being honest. like if there was an animated fnaf movie i wholeheartedly believe he would have some over the top song and performance about his Evil Plans. he loves that shit. hes soooooo FUCKING SILLY im going to eat him alive. anyways

he probably wouldve just kept doin what he loved if everything went well. its his passion ! god knows the two of them would be well off enough to retire. i dont think theyd be anything too extraordinary, though if william went down the path of wanting to be Better than henry still, murders aside, then i can see him achieving some pretty cool shit. i think he'd eternally have like, weird uncle or embarrassing dad energy for the rest of his life. this is because he is autistic

aaaaaaaand as for the circus thing, i think it just makes sense given his adoration for entertaining. being a clown isnt really too far off what he already did- both of em dress up as characters to perform for people, especially kids, and are known for doing silly little tricks. e.g. juggling. which he can do, canonically. im not sure he has too much interest in clowns, just likes them, and it makes a lot of sense thematically :o)

[kingsthunder]

ok but since rex mentioned it, im just going to lay out my thoughts about RR

so, it's like... i see what they were trying to do but it was executed REALLY BAD. it's interesting to think about what it would be like to have worlds where the antagonists win, but the implications of that then being translated to another universe ... doesn't negate the fact that the antagonists have proven the fact that they can DEFEAT THE PROTAGONISTS and now it's all up to Plot Armor to save the day! as a writer, i sorta hate that. actually, i really hate that.

i've mentioned before my thoughts about how the circumstances of defeating the leader of the villain team has to be like ... all the stars align in a super specific way and ALSo plot armor is involved, because let's see what we're working with:

the yakuza (dont fuck with the yakuza)

bio-ecoterrorists (don't fuck with those dudes either)

idk how to describe cyrus aside from emotionally dead inside prodigy who also has a lot of resources (and also a god-binding rope, are you going to actually win that lmao no)

an unnaturally charismatic guy who has a group of people coded like the knights templar backing him (he has a military force my dudes have you ever considered that, you can't win against a military force as a single person)

the same dude after a massive mental break and now he's ignoring the law entirely and also has a new god dragon and also he's veered into the ecoterrorism lane (he tries to KILL you for real)

genius billionaire eugenicist with a death weapon (nah you'll probably lose)

genius science girlboss with alien things at her disposal and also she gets to mutate into a monster lady (really? you think you're going to win this one?)

USUM says "ok let's take all of these except lusamine and make some kid fight and win against them, and also let's undo all of the establishment of lusamine's character and woobify her" no, bad. i'm all for a villain team up, but not like that! i'm sure with some ... proper thought behind it, the concept could be executed better, but even so??? it just doesn't bode well for storytelling for a protagonist, and i think that a concept like this is better suited for a "bad ending" sort of thing-

[gaydogmarriage]

cyno sq2 messy thoughts

cyno quest 2 was pretty alright. its got the usual genshin jank writing disease but for what it was i enjoyed it. felt pretty crammed into a shorter story than it should have been tho. theres still a lot of gaps that remain unexplored and the exposition was dumped so fast... sadly most of the parts id like to see explored more revolve around cyrus so tough shit there, i doubt he's appearing again. unless something happens off screen and cyno tells us about it we're pretty much left to speculate on things like cyrus's motives and any talks they may have about this new revelation of cyno's past. which isnt a bad thing, its just a little frustrating just how much that was put aside in the quest

im really curious about what cyrus's thoughts and feelings that led to the decisions he made were, how much cyno feels he needs to know, how much cyrus is willing to tell.. hes one mysterious bastard

its worth noting that cyno refers to his spirit indwelling as the result of a deal he made willingly, despite him being a small child when it happened, definitely not fit to be making thise kinds of decisions. i already thought that was something to pick apart before, but now with this quest it gets so much more curious. his memory of that time is so hazy he didnt even remember the temple of silence and the other kid who went through the same thing he did. he was sold by his parents for the sole purpose of being a vessel which i doubt was something a small kid would just volunteer for, and then he had the fragment implanted into him. yet even as he's standing tgere in the temple, he refers to it as a deal he made willingly. he says it like its the only thing he knows and remembers about it. is it something he tells himself? is that how he copes, by retroactively trying to grant himself agency in a situation out of his childhood self's control? when he calls it a deal, is he referring to the people who put the spirit in him, or does he consider it a deal with the spirit itself? theres just so much to dissect here

and furthermore, cyno seems to completely forgive cyrus for the role he played in this. it really recontextualizes their whole familial relationship. we know how lowly cyno thinks of scholars who pull stunts like this, toying with life and death and god knows what else. he personally participated in putting a stop to the artificial god experiment, which reflects his own past more than he even realized at the time. yet he seems to barely even feel conflicted when it comes to cyrus. maybe he's just matured and become content with his life beyond the point of that truly shaking him up, but he should still have some issue with it on principle. but he's also known cyrus for seemingly all of his life that he remembers, and ultimately he did put a stop to it and get him out of there, and then proceed to keep him safe from the akademiya treating him the same. as a test subject, not his own person. he knows cyrus is no longer willing to be complicit in something like that, so he has no concerns. i don't know. there's just so much

on a completely unrelated note... tighnarians, huh? im still not completely clear on whether valuka shuna and tighnarian are synonyms, or whether one is an umbrella term including the other or what. the implication seems to be that the headdress cyno wears seems to actually be based on fox folk, rather than a jackal or a wolf? which... doesn't really make sense. technically it's never been mentioned in actual dialogue or lore as being either, but it still doesnt quite sit right. hermanubis already seemingly wore the headdress, but he was a tighnarian himself? meaning he had fox traits? but the helmet does not look foxlike? are all tighnarians foxlike? are there some that were of other canine nature? im so confused. what does this mean for my dog coding enjoyment. i need to refresh my lore knowledge

and. hm. that 4ggravate friendship and cynari huh. i rly dont like how hard hoyo seems to be trying to retcon their backstories to instead pretend theyve always been besties. we could have gotten a bit of elaboration on how it was for them when they actually met, with tighnari as student and cyno already as mahamatra investigating him, but the quest dialogue acts like they were just classmates. if the implication was meant to be that cyno was both mahamatra and student at the same time, thats fucking stupid and im ignoring it. the cnnri in this quest was both incredible and a disaster for the fanon

oh and i like sethos. hes got a lot going on

and i like how cyno's maturity is portrayed in this quest, while still showing his shortcomings. we've had a lot of silly cyno since the archon and first story quests, and im really glad to see the serious mature side of him in a story thats more about him personally. and when he stands there right next to sethos you can really see how much he has his shit together in comparison, through his own efforts and the support of his loved ones. go go cyno we love that for you cyno

anyway quest gave me fun ingredience for my hc's and interpretations, but also Problems to solve. welp, the genshin giveth and it taketh away, thats just how it is

[forthedancingandthethriving]

After a few rounds Pinky'd gotten too tired to play, which was understandable given the...Everything. In fact, she'd been tired enough that a few minutes after they decided to take a break she'd drifted off to...well, Ecolo isn't sure if Programs properly sleep, but it's close enough. So, he pulls a first aid kid from Somewhere Else (he'll try to remember to restock it and put it back later. Not that whoever owned it would ever know what happened if he didn't, but not giving back stuff he "borrowed" disappointed that voice in his head that sounded like Ringo) and got to work.

Honestly, her injuries were the first thing he noticed when he first stumbled across her. Some of them looked like they hadn't been treated in days, and far too many of them, those poor ragged wings especially, looked entirely too self-inflicted for his liking. But she clearly had issues being touched, so he'd resolved to wait until she wouldn't notice to do something about it.

He works slowly, quietly, cleaning off the black pixels that make up her "blood" (and boy isn't it lucky that hers isn't the same color as her model like most Programs or this would be way harder) and wrapping them as best he can with his...admittedly limited medical knowledge (being designed as a goopy space-time anomaly with the mind of a child had its drawbacks, who knew? he said sarcastically), saving the likely sensitive wings for last.

After several minutes, he's as done as he can be, so he heads back to his "side" of their little dimensional bubble and retreats into his core to get some rest himself, making sure to stay aware enough of his surroundings that he can tell if something changes.

He wishes he could do more to help, preferably by getting someone who'd be better at helping than him, but between Pinky clearly being uncomfortable around other people (Maguro'd probably call that an understatement) and most people not being able to remember him after he leaves, going out to find someone would probably cause more problems than it solved.

Besides, she really shouldn't be alone in her state.

(if you're wondering about why Ecolo thinks Abyssal wouldn't remember him if he left: because he's a living space-time anomaly, and because of how interdimensional travel works in the Puyo Puyo series, most people are incapable of remembering he exists when he's not in the same room as them. The few canonical exceptions are Satan(because he's Satan), a man named Ex who's the guardian of Space-Time, a few local deities, an interdimensional detective agency who consider him a major threat(which he admittedly is sometimes), and Ringo Ando who manages to remember him seemingly through sheer force of will because she thought he needed a friend when they first met. The implication here is that most Programs are not exempt from this effect. He doesn't know it yet, but Abyssal is very much not "most Programs.")

HEY YOU WANNA SEE HOW HARD I CAN CRY?? YOU WANNA??? BECAUSE I'LL FLOOD THIS ROOM DONT TEST ME /VVVPOS

God I care for this duo so much,, Ecolo respecting Abyssal's boundaries, even after she falls asleep,, him know that she definitely has issues but knowing not to push them when she clearly isn't ready,,

And yeah, Abyssal not being like "most Programs" ehejahsha- he'll probably be surprised whenever he does end up leaving at least once, returning, and she remembers him

[loopy777]

I have many issues with the final chapter, big and small, but Izuku himself isnt one of them. In fact he reminded me why i loved the guy so much, a lot in this chapter.

Mostly my problems is how Hori very obviously did not consider how incredibly easy it is to read the rest of the cast in a ludicrously uncharitable light.

I know you make the joke/point that there isnt actually any evidence Katara hadn't divorced aang at some point by Korra. Because the creators didnt really consider the unintended ways you could read what they wrote.

And thats basically the same main problem with the rest of the cast.

Yeah they come through for izuku in the end... But its fully possible to read them as having let their relationship with izuku go anywhere from cooled down a bit, to full on abandoned for the five year period and Izuku is just too nice to complain about it.

Obviously not the creators intended message, but the way he wrote it, did not focus on the strength of Izuku's relationships at all and instead seemed to imply Izuku didnt have any outstanding relationships left with any of the class(Be it iida, uraraka, bakugo, or anyone else.) Was... Not the best choice.

The worst part is that they keep izuku in the dark for 5 freaking years, seemingly just so they can have a massive surprise for him. What if he'd moved away by the time it happened, emigrating to the usa or something? Or gotten married with a kid, and based his entire family plan foreward with the idea that he would have a nice, stable teaching job, where he didnt move around much? Not to mention the school will suddenly and unexpectedly find itself down a teacher if he's actually gonna become a fulltime hero. So there was actual, tangible real problems that came about not telling izuku so he could plan accordingly.

Again, you can easily read this as not as bad as worst case scenario, but you can very easily read it as class 1-A letting their relationship with Izuku be almost abandoned over the five year period, with the idea that they would catch back up again when he could be a full time hero again.

Which is... A rather unfortunate reading, as it would basically mean that 1-A left one of their own alone and withouth support in one of the most trying period of his life when he truly needed them.

Honestly i dont for a second believe thats what Hori intended, but i fully understand why so many people are pissed at the ending.

Its too vague about the stuff that matters, while peeling back the curtain on stuff that we didnt really need to see(Izuku's endless monologues could have been trimmed down to him at least having some thoughts singling out the friends that is his closest form of support).

The fact that you can very easily read the flow of events presented as Izuku being mostly abandoned by his friends for 5 years, is an objective flaw in the writing. Especially when the last chapter was all about the importance of seeking support and giving it to your friends.

I have no problems with izuku himself though beyond maybe being too in denial that he isnt doing so fine. He is still MHA's best boy, easily.

It may be an 'objective flaw.'

But does anyone care? :P

I mean, objectively, it is impossible to nitpick-proof a story against people who want to read against the obvious intent of the text. This is especially true for a comic book, where the storytelling has limited flexibility. (A picture may be worth a thousand words, but those words tend to cluster. When you're writing the words yourself, you can spread 'em out and cover a lot more ground. Especially if you use parentheses.) And I think we can all agree what the intent of the story is supposed to be, here. There is no implication that all of the class completely ghosts Deku for more than half a decade. Sure, nothing in the story may be standing out and saying, "By the way, they have monthly lunches where at least 80% of the class is always present and Deku not only attends every one, but he never has to pay for his meal." But does it need to? Especially when the final beat in the story is that these people went to extraordinary lengths to continue to include him in their adventures?

This is a lot different from my Kataang Divorce Theory, because I'm not just having fun with some missing bits in the storytelling, nor am I trying to criticize the storytellers for being a little sloppy or not nitpick-proofing their story. I'm using it to criticize the treatment of Katara specifically, drawing attention to an unequal depiction of her character compared to other major legacy cast members and in doing so questioning how feminist the work really is compared to what its creators are claiming. That feels like something a lot more legitimate to me than saying, "Well, the ending isn't as bulletproof as I want it to be."

What does this criticism say about MHA? Are we arguing that Deku's character hasn't gotten the attention it deserves? Is the storyteller making claims that the story isn't backing up?

To be generous, maybe there are people out there claiming that MHA is full of rock-solid storytelling and is immune to criticism of its structure. If so, I would not be one of those people. But if they do exist, rather than hitting them with weird bad-faith readings, why don't we just wait for them to hit puberty and discover stories for adults?

Moreover, I don't see anything in the story that claims Deku's Iron Man suit took 5-8 solid years to develop or fund. All Might just says that the data from the big fight created new possibilities, and they want even more data. Knowing Hatsume (and leaning on the consistent humorous tone of MHA), the suit could have been thrown together in a week after a new breakthrough.

So, yes, what you describe is an interpretation that one can make from the given story.

But by All Might's firm buttocks, why would anyone want to do so besides weird trouble-making?

[boobchuy]

here is the ramble that made me hit tag limit for the first time in the entire *checks calendar* five??? years??? ive been on this hellsite??? they are doing things to my mind.

thinking abt sashanne tonight but honestly has it ever even stopped since commander anne dropped. they are sooooooo skrunklies. little losers.

like ive also been leaning into the popular characterization of anne being mad at sasha and the latter being a loser and just them being idiots and having drama in general. but like sometimes i think abt how these two genuinely care abt each other.

laugh about their first reunion in amphibia all u want, but in the lens of being a teenager/13 (more or less 15 but u get my point) even though its silly its what makes it genuine and theyre happy to see each other again and they dont try to hide that happiness at all!!! like they are literally kids. and they do care for one another!

in the future these reunions no longer have that kind of enthusiasm. theyre more. subdued. anne was suspicious as hell in the second time but the third time had her running into sashas arms once more!!! and thats what i kinda want to psychoanalyze rn like.... anne def deserves to go apeshit and she HAS multiple times and though it would have been nice and awesome to see her still hold some kind of visible grudge/anger towards sasha, theres just something very sweet to me abt how anne will literally just.forgive the people she cares about time and time again.

like, we all know it bites her back in the ass and yeah maybe its not really her intention to be so forgiving in the sense that everyone deserves a second chance and that shes ACTIVELY trying to spread kindness and love all around- to repeat what i said earlier, she is just a kid. yet shes still someone who wants whats best for everyone and would rather have everything be okay rather than dwell on the past. what shes mostly doing is just focusing on another goal in mind, like what mr matt braly said himself, that for the first time in the entire show, she actually has a mission! going back home was more so in the background and wasnt that urgent in previous seasons, and this new one, about saving her friends and defeating andrias, is whats giving her the drive to finish a job, for better or worse.

and in the end of it all, im wondering if she’s ever given herself the space to breathe and process what she’s feeling about all this. i wonder if she’s even stopped to consider that it’s something that she should do! i feel like... annes the type of person to brush off her own emotions and dwell on them by her lonesome unless someone pries, and even then, i dont think it clicks in her head that its important to talk about these things, and not in the way that they dont matter (though if u REALLY want to delve into that then yeah maybe theres a bit of her thinking it isnt important), but i guess... that everything else that is happening, should be the things that are being given attention

sorry for rambling abt annie b when i said this was about sashanne akjdhfkf let me get onto that...

SO. you know that popular surge of angst art of anne being mad at sasha (THOSE WERE SO TASTY BTW. SASHANNE WAS AT AN ALL TIME HIGH). and instead of that we just had anne instantly running to hug sasha!!!!! AND THIS PART. THIS TINY ALMOST UNNOTICEABLE PART THAT I ONLY CAUGHT ON MY REWATCH, THAT LINE. AFTER ANNE CALLS OUT HIS NAME AND HUGS HIM.

“You’re alive!”

THAT IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. this makes me go crazy. the fucking implications. how many nights has this girl spent dreading if her friends are still alive. if she thought that sasha was... in danger, and w her saying in the new normal that she knows marcy, the one she WATCHED get stabbed in front of her eyes, is alive. that she has to be. i just. just how much are you keeping to urself. keeping from EVERYONE.

to go along w me saying that she's not really processed enough about everything that's happened where she has recognized the... issues that comes w being betrayed like three times in one day, I like to believe that... w the few times she's maybe thought abt sashas betrayal, that once she saw him on wartwood that day, all pretense of negativity and hurt were swept away with the relief that he's here and safe and alive. and I think, w that massive burden on the shoulders w having to save two friends, and seeing one of them accounted for, I think she desperately wants to hold onto that bit of happiness and positivity. and why she's so quick to want to believe that sasha has changed for the better

then we go to the part where she accuses sasha of manipulating her again. and we all knew at some point that a moment like that was coming from a mile away, but what really made me lose it was when alex posted the board version. where she’s literally fucking tearing up as she’s saying these things. bc she hates having to admit them, when she missed sasha so much, worried for his well-being, and to think for a second that she was just being fooled again hurt.

so with sasha’s outburst came with another relief, to believe that sasha has changed for the better, with how much she helped wartwood and the resistance. and her to scrape away past hurt w being betrayed, and just. be friends with sasha again.

to add more onto... less serious musings and more headcanon territory lol, with me being an advocate of oblivious and dense anne, i like to think that anne just. loves to cling onto the idea of sasha, both literally and figuratively. like, she wants things to be okay again, and sometimes it just feels surreal to know that sasha’s actually here, and she doesnt have any kind of bad intentions, and that these feelings manifest into her being affectionate as hell

commander anne showed her being the one initiating all these hugs, the second one having her being so excited at the prospect of their relationship being changed for the better that she fucking squealed. this girl, i stg aksdjfhk. but yeah, i like to think that she becomes way more touchy w sasha, whether w hand-holding, hugs or just generally being near sasha’s vicinity. im thinking that these actions dont necessarily register in her head, like she just does them, bc it makes her happy and sasha hasnt told her to stop even if he does still freeze from time to time whenever she does it so... yep :)

[probably-haven]

I’ve been thinking about Childe a lot recently- because my friends slander him relentlessly and other than one person who kinda semi-likes him I’m the only one who actually likes his character.... and I know I’ve slandered him a fair amount myself but just- 

-

He was a child. 

A child - No ‘e’. No puns. No jokes. Not this time. 

He was only fourteen. 

-

His story described him as “frightened and hesitant” prior to his time in the abyss. All he wanted was an adventure of his own. To make an adventurer of himself, the likes of which he had heard so many times in the stories of his father. To be like him. He didn’t even go seeking the abyss or any kind of grave danger or incredible power, he was just a naïve little boy, running away from home with almost nothing in chase of a story of his own. 

And yet he was fated to fail, and everything went south almost immediately. Lost in the freezing cold forest environments of Snezhnaya, he was completely alone save for the wild animals on his trail. And by an unlucky roll of the dice - or perhaps because in that moment, his desire and drive to survive, to live, to get back to his family, was so strong that even the abyss itself took notice - the world he knew was stripped away. 

Scared and vulnerable with only a shortsword for protection, Ajax was torn from what already would have served to be traumatizing enough for the child, and thrust into something immeasurably worse. 

Described as “a bottomless crack in the earth’s surface,” “the endless possibilities of another ancient world,” and “the darkest corners of the universe;” the abyss is not a place that ordinary people are meant to survive.  Now I could go on about what the abyss may be or who the swordswoman might be or what might have happened to him, but the point is: it doesn’t matter what happened, his trauma is trauma nonetheless and its not in his control nor is it his fault how his brain decided to process it. Regardless, I think “endless possibilities” within the “darkest corners of the universe” speaks well enough for the severity.

Even without this however, it is important to note that for three months of what logically would have driven anyone to or past the brink, he had one consistent point of relative safety in the form of the swordswoman, a person who while training him for destruction, was also deliberately manipulating into him “the ability to stir up endless havoc.” 

Placed in an extremely traumatic situation like this and being manipulated by one he would have been forced to see as an anchor of sorts, simultaneously holding him together and molding him into the twisted version of himself that she wanted him to be; Realistically, Childe is more a victim than anything else.

And he returned - still only a fourteen year old child - to his home. 

Now an interesting point: based on the wording of his character story, it seems as though when he came out from the abyss, his new demeanor actually unnervingly reflects his hopes when he ran away, implying that the swordswoman very well could have used his own ambition as a cruel mirror to shape him based off, or used them merely as an additional manipulation tactic. “He acted as if this world revolved around him, and as if battle existed for his sake.” Almost as though he were truly the protagonist in an adventure story of his own, just like his father before- or perhaps that’s what he was made to believe. 

Regardless, Childe quickly gained a reputation for havoc, chaos, and violence, as it followed him and he spread it wherever he went, just as he had learnt to do during his time in the abyss, constantly seeking that unpredictability, the thrill of combat. 

And this continued until he went too far, and in response to this, the father that he admired so greatly sent Ajax away into the strict military environment of the Fatui. The idea was that the highly strict environment of training for the literal military, would “hone his son’s temper.” Not dampen, or control, or reduce in any way, but “hone” - to sharpen it, to refine and perfect it. And he watched “fully-armed troops getting the stuffing beaten out of them by a mere child.“

He was only a child. 

Everything he went through in the abyss and all the changes he went through himself, only to be shipped into military by the family who could no longer handle dealing with the effects of what he experienced... 

And he was just a kid. 

-

oh but they honed his temper alright. Not only was he entered in this military training like his father had planned originally, but soon after, the young child was selected and placed within the official ranks of the Fatui themselves under the guise of being a punishment.

Told to work his way up the ranks from the bottom, the Fatui “honed” his temper and penchant for combat towards the purpose of serving the Tsaritsa, encouraging these tendencies that would only continue to grow stronger and more apparent with time as a result of their actions, which was exactly their intent. These, psychologically and neurologically, were the key years for his mental development.

And once again the young Ajax found himself the victim of another’s subtle manipulation.  Until he was Ajax no more. 

-

Childe has been under the constant task of further proving himself since enlisting in the Fatui, and once he gained the recognition of the Tsaritsa, the only next possible way of doing that was by comparing his skills to others. And thus far, he has exceed in this time and time again, so with the evidence before him his arrogant confidence in his abilities is by no means unreasonable. Nor is his tendency to express friendship and varied other things through combat, it’s only natural after besting others in battle became his main source of acknowledgement throughout his younger years. 

He’s fiercely loyal as well, to the point where - were his sense of loyalty not so shrouded in his delusion of what loyalty is meant to be - it would likely border on codependency. He also doesn’t seem to have the greatest understanding of social cues, as expected with his combat-oriented upbringing, and tends to have an unnerving aura to a lot of the things he says that he doesn’t seem aware of. 

His loyalty to the Tsaritsa rings true, and seems to be his highest priority above all others, an ideology that, once again has been drilled into him since the age of 14. However, despite this, he is disliked and avoided even by his fellow harbingers, and often kept out of their true plans in a way that clearly shows what low opinions they have of his abilities in certain areas. 

And yet, through it all, he still maintains his own set of values and seeks to make genuine connections which people, which while these efforts may be unsuccessful in most cases, and these values far in between - It still firmly shows the strength of his character which, though in fragments, managed to remain as a part of who he is in spite of his circumstance. 

-

And i get that he’s memeable and slanderable and easy for a lot of people to just hate outright, i really do but sometimes it feels like a lot of people only ever see him at surface value and a lot of people dont even know his story and even fewer still actually consider the implications of that background. He was literally a child soldier - that and even more; “endless possibilities” more.

I have nothing against Childe slander, genuinely - but eventually, when it reaches a certain extent...

It’s not bad, I’m just tired.

[everythingsinred]

Hello! I’ve been reading your character-relationship analysis’ of Natsume and Natsume/Mikan’s, and was curious about your take on Hotaru’s relationship with Mikan (rereading GA has had me bawling, as well as now being in the LGBTQ+ community noticing the subtle/heavy implications of Hotaru’s sexuality and Higuchi’s consideration of Hotaru even being one of Mikan’s love interests) as well as Narumi’s character development from when he had met Yuka, leading to his relationship with his students throughout the story (in flashbacks he’s very cold to smol Subaru and Sakurano after Yuka’s departure, but the earliest memory after that would probably be him scouting Ruka, Aoi, and Natsume). By then, he appears to be similar to the Narumi we usually knew—cheerful, enthusiastic, but above all showing genuine concern over his students. In fact, I’d even argue he seemed a bit more genuine with the children at that time than compared to when Mikan first meets him. He just felt oddly less involved with the ESP and the ESP’s plans when he scouted the trio (upset and angry that Persona had resorted to such dirty means even under the principal’s orders to the point he even slapped him, whereas it’s hard to imagine him lashing against a direct order from the ESP by the time he met Mikan.

Comically though, a small comment on Koko’s character in the story would be cool, too. He’s often played as comic relief, but it’s reinforced time and time again that he knows knows practically everything. His character is interesting when you put into perspective he’d be aware of all of the sacrifices Natsume had been making as well as his abuse, the darkness within the elementary school, everything that Mikan and co. had to go through throughout the story and etc. A small part of me wishes the kids in Class B had bigger roles in the latter half of the story, though I’m satisfied with their relationship with/to Mikan at the end (after all, I still sobbed at her graduation scene and their ‘memories of Mikan’ classes).

thanks for the message! im glad you read my analysis!

for hotaru, im probably not the right person to ask about this b/c i dont have particularly strong feelings about hotaru/mikan as a relationship. i do see hotaru as being queer in some way but im not really that interested in her having a romantic relationship with mikan, and even their canon friendship (as opposed to in fanfic) leaves me a bit... idk the perfect word to put here but like?? lukewarm ig? i think thats sacrilegious or controversial to say but its just a feeling that disappoints me as well. i have cried hard for them and i like their general dynamic, but theres something lacking abt them that i cant rly put into words. i would like to have felt more strongly about them, if that makes sense. its not hatred or even dislike or apathy. just more mild feelings than i would like. their friendship has potential, imo, but i just never considered it to be fully realized. but in regards to a romantic ship, then as a staunch natsumikan shipper, its hard for me to enjoy imagining them with other people, personally. but you have a lot of cool thoughts of your own and thats great! <3

like im pretty sure anybody who ships other ppl with natsumikan will end up being disappointed in my mikan pov natsumikan analysis bc my biases will be made pretty clear in that regard lol ;) but thats bc i dont write about things i dont like or that im not as interested in

i think i mentioned in my essay that i find narumi confusing as a character. his motivations and actions are really weird and sometimes hard to pin down. really i think hes the most mysterious character in the whole manga and any attempt to analyze him would probably lead to more questions than answers. hes a paradox lol. i cant really give u a "take" bc my take is just... who knows with him lol?? hes an enigma

i dont think koko is always using his alice though. he seems to have a large amount of control over it and only uses it for pranks and jokes. otherwise his character seems malicious, implying that he would know things about luna/persona/esp without letting any of the other kids know. but i think theres some evidence in the manga that hes not always using it, like when other characters tell him to use it (mostly natsume re:mikan like when she first transfers into class b or after the labyrinth). koko likes teasing mikan about who she likes, for example, bc he likes pranking ppl, but he wouldnt out somebody for something serious or keep something dangerous to himself. he says a few times something about "accidentally reading" somebodys mind. so i think he has some control over it, and isnt always reading ppl's minds 24/7, if that makes sense. im sure he knows some important/sensitive info particularly abt natsume, but probably on accident. but there isnt much he can do as a powerless kid so he keeps it to himself bc its all he CAN do for natsume.

i really liked the graduation/memory classes as well but tbh the ending could have perfectly utilized the smaller roles in class b if it had been longer and gone on for one last arc. i mean imagine the quest to find hotaru! natsume not using his alice so as to keep his life span longer and mikan having very little alice left means that other characters can finally have a bit of focus, like ruka as well as other class b characters! i like to think about this idea a lot lol. idk in general class b deserves more attention and love

sorry if these answers are disappointing. i have opinions on all these things but i dont wanna prattle on too much. thank u for sending me this ask! <3 have a lovely day or night depending on ur time zone!

[whomst-art-thou-whomst-whomst]

Texts from the Lost Tomb, part 5.2

Also yes this is a 5 part story arc, why do you ask, no I’m not “avoiding real life work”

Main Chat

Wang Pangzi: YOU KNOW THERE ARE THOSE WHO WOULD COMPLAIN ABOUT BEING DRAGGED OUT OF BED AT AN UNGODLY HOUR FOR THE SAKE OF SOME JEWELRY AND FORCED INTO AN ADVENTURE

Wu Xie: And we are just so grateful you are above all that.

Zhang Qiling: You were fully awake and insisted we pack and go as soon as possible in case there was, and I quote, “more weird shit happening we can cash in on.”

Wu Xie: I mean it’s kind of interesting that the Zhang family sent a car for us. We could have driven. So what is going on there, I wonder?

Wang Pangzi: YOU KNOW FOR A PARANOID AND CONNIVING LITTLE SHIT YOU STILL RADIATE OBLIVIOUS BAMBI ENERGY

HATE TO BE THE ADMIRAL ACKBAR HERE BUT ITS DEF A TRAP MY BOY

WHY DO U THINK WE ARE MESSAGING AND NOT TALKING DUMMY

WERE YOU IN A TOMB ON THE DAY THEY TAUGHT PPL STRANGER DANGER

BUT NO NO YOU WERE ALL “LETS GET IN THE VAN WITH THE FREE CANDY AND PUPPIES I BET WE’RE GOING TO THE CIRCUS”

THIS IS THE LAST STRAW IM LOJACKING YOU FOR REAL THIS TIME, SHOULDVE DONE THIS YEARS AGO

Zhang Qiling: I agree, in this particular case, with Pangzi. You should not have gotten in their vehicle while we were still inside the house. It forced us to follow you into the van to prevent separation, and they seemed to be expecting that. I don’t know whether Zhang Rishan intended this, but I don’t trust him.

Wu Xie: :( I got excited and didn’t think it through. I’m sorry.

Wang Pangzi: DONT YOU GIVE US THE BIG EYES WE ARE IMMUNE

MOSTLY

SPEAKING OF IMMUNE ITS REALLY FUCKIN COLD IN HERE AND UR STILL SICK, PUT YOUR JACKET ON STUPID

Wu Xie: oh relax, I’m fine. No fever at all today, remember? I feel a lot better, too.

Wang Pangzi: YOU LEAVE ME NO CHOICE BUT TO HAVE XIAO GE INTERVENE

Zhang Qiling: It is odd to say this, but Pangzi is right again. You are barely back on your feet and could easily get worse again. Wu Xie. Jacket. Now.

Wu Xie: Oh fine. Teaming up on me, I see. Happy now?

Wang Pangzi: FUCKING ECSTATIC. NOW BACK TO HOW WE MAY BE PULLING A LI CU

Wu Xie: If it is an abduction, it wouldn’t be them moving against the whole Wu family—not with Uncle Erbai in charge. Zhang Rishan strikes me as someone who doesn’t make a move unless he is sure of his plan, and this is all a bit last-minute to be a big shift. Besides, they let Xiao Ge keep his sword and we still have all our phones.

Wang Pangzi: TOOK AWAY MY EXPLOSIVES THO THE BASTARDS

Zhang Qiling: In fairness, you were waving them around and yelling that if they tried anything it was going to be “yippeekiyay motherfucker all up in this bitch.”

Wang Pangzi: IT SOUNDS LESS COOL COMING FROM YOU. I THINK I SEE THE TEAHOUSE?

Wu Xie: me too. That’s Zhang Rishan on the steps. This must be urgent. Everybody stay shiny.

Zhang Qiling: I will be getting out first. Wu Xie in the middle, Pangzi at the rear.

Wang Pangzi: AND WHAT A VIEW;)

An hour later…

Main Chat

Wu Xie: Is everyone okay? I tried knocking but nothing is getting through, these are some solid walls.

Wu Xie: guys???

Wang Pangzi: OOPS PHONE WAS ON SILENT AND I WAS BUSY YELLING AT THE CEILING

IM PRESENT AND PISSED OFF

Zhang Qiling: Apologies, I was trying to break down the door.

Wang Pangzi: SO THIS MAY NOT BE THE TIME TO SAY I TOLD YOU SO BUT WHILE WE’RE HERE

Wu Xie: fuck Pangzi, I know, okay??

I’m an idiot, I’m so fucking stupid. It’s not like it’s the first or fiftieth time I’ve put you two in danger, either.

Wang Pangzi: HEY HEY WHOA NOW

STOP SAYING RUDE SHIT ABOUT MY FRIEND

ITS GONNA BE OKAY

DESPITE KNOWING THIS WAS A BAD IDEA I STILL COULDNT PREDICT HOW MUCH CHAOTIC LUCK THIS FAMILY HAS

DAMN IT I HATE WHEN HEI XIAZI IS RIGHT ABOUT THINGS

Zhang Qiling: I’m sorry. This is my fault. My line has a ruthlessly pragmatic streak and they’ve clearly wanted to test us separately to see why the necklace reacted to our arrival like that. It does not excuse Zhang Rishan trapping us in these separate rooms.

Wang Pangzi: UHH BITCH I SAID THIS FAMILY NOT YOUR FAMILY

THIS AINT ABOUT THEM

YOUR FAMILY IS ON MY SHIT LIST EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY

THIS FAMILY MEANT US OBVS

UGH ANY SIGN OF THE BASTARDS?

Zhang Qiling: no. Wu Xie?

Zhang Qiling: Wu Xie, answer me.

Wang Pangzi: WU XIE

TIANZHEN

PICK UP YOUR FUCKING PHONE DAMNIT YOU'RE SCARING XIAOGE

Zhang Qiling: I’m going to try breaking down the door again.

Wu Xie: Hello, Wang Pangzi and Zhang Qiling. My apologies for the rather inhospitable circumstances, but this seemed expedient considering the unknown qualities of the necklace. I could not be sure who was causing what, or what could happen next, and thus have temporarily set you in separate rooms for the sake of everyone’s safety.

Wang Pangzi: WTF GIVE HIM BACK HIS FUCKIN PHONE ZHANG RISHAN I KNOW ITS YOU YOU PRETENTIOUS ANTIQUE

WE DESTROYED THIS PLACE BEFORE AND WE CAN DO IT AGAIN

Zhang Qiling: Your concerns for everyone’s safety are noted. Thank you for whatever you believe you’ve done right here.

Now. If you release us immediately and return Wu Xie to us, we will consider leaving without direct personal retribution.

Wang Pangzi: WHAT HE SAID AND ALSO YOU SUCK

Wu Xie: I regret that this has happened, I hope to make it up to you in the future. For the purpose of today’s needs, however—I will have my men escort the two of you out if you so desire, but unfortunately Wu Xie will need to stay until we have finished examining him.

Wang Pangzi: EXAMINING??? YOU FUCKING PERV HANDS OFF HE MAY BE THE BELLE OF THE BALL BUT HIS DANCE CARD IS SPOKEN FOR

I SWEAR I DID NOT GO THROUGH TEN YEARS OF THIS STARCROSSED CLUSTERFUCK FOR YOU TO SWOOP IN AND STEAL MY FRIENDS BF

Wu Xie: There is no call for rudeness. He will not be harmed. The artifact was responding to him directly. It has not lit up like this in over 200 years, and I need to understand why it is responding, and responding to someone who is not our kin, which it has never done before. This could have implications for everyone in my family if it could protect someone at the right moment.

Wang Pangzi: OKAY BUT CONSIDERING OUR TRACK RECORD IN THIS BUILDING AND THE SITUATION AT HAND Y’ALL ARE ABOUT TO NEED PROTECTION

Wu Xie: The testing would be going better if Wu Xie wasn’t worrying himself unnecessarily over where you both are, it’s making our readings difficult.

Wang Pangzi: OH GEE SO SORRY YOUR KIDNAPPING VICTIMS ARENT THRILLED TO BE HERE TO SAMPLE YOUR CREEPY JEWELRY BOX BUT THAT SOUNDS LIKE A YOU PROBLEM

Zhang Qiling: Zhang Rishan. I appreciate that you must think of our family first in your decisions. As must I. I hope you can appreciate what that means for decisions I make.

Wang Pangzi: HEHEHE SO TRUE BESTIE

YOU PISSED OFF THE WRONG GOTH TODAY BUDDY BOY

Zhang Qiling: A compromise: we stay with him as you run your tests. That will calm him and assuage Pangzi’s concerns and prevent me from…testing the limits of your lifespan.

Wu Xie: I accept that this may temporarily impact our relations, but am hopeful that you will come to understand that sometimes I need to make certain choices for this family that are…difficult. I will come to let you—One moment. Something seems to be happening.

Babysitters Club Chat

Wang Pangzi: OH SO WE ARE GONNA JUST POLITELY SIT WITH WU XIE AS STRANGERS POKE HIM WITH NEEDLES ARE WE HUH WELL LOOK WHOS BEING A HELPFUL LITTLE LAB ASSISTANT

Zhang Qiling: I’m attempting to convince him to let us out. Of course we will not simply sit there. Some lying to gain trust is necessary here.

Wang Pangzi: UR BEIN A SHADY BITCH XIAOGE AND ITS HOT

THATS WHY YOUR TATTOO IS SO BIG ITS FULL OF SECRETS

ALWAYS KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU TO—WAIT WHAT WAS THAT SOUND??

At the same time…

Bonnie and Clyde Chat

Xie Yuchen: …so, this is not what I expected to find.

Hei Yangjing: yeah kiddo is a bit freaked out:/ this sucks. I mean I get that they are concerned blah blah blah necklace goes brightbright but maybe we should go find the other two

or at least find a way to let Wu Xie know we are here, that room he’s in looks like a dungeon and not in a good way

Xie Yuchen: Does it look like I’m able to do anything right now? Also, I’m fairly certain they won’t be harmed. Zhang Rishan may be callous, but he isn’t stupid.

Hei Yangjing: r u kidding

he split up Romeo and Juliet, then left Romeo with a sword—seems pretty stupid to me

Xie Yuchen: Yeah I’m not going near that. He made his bed with that choice. What can you see? These Neanderthal guards are blocking my view.

Hei Yangjing: uh so there’s like a lab table situation

Wu Xie isn’t tied up, a good sign in this context

I can’t see what those people are holding, they’re talking a lot and some asshole just grabbed Wu Xie’s arm, looks like maybe they are putting in an IV?

The necklace is—oh. Oh shit.

[coweggomelet]

i apparently enjoy putting down my thoughts on the off chance someone will read it and enjoy it so here’s rwby rewatch vol 3. i’m ready to be sad!!

(note: it’s long i’m sorry, i have many thoughts and i tried to narrow it down but oh boy do i think im funny)

- the SOUND DESIGN. AGAIN

- ruby you’re so precious. so sweet. so eager. so earnest. c’mere and i’ll protect you from all the bad shit that happens to you later

- hi cardboard cutout tai

- i keep getting an ad for a rooster teeth show called camp betrayal and the way this man says “hoo hoo hoo” will haunt me for the rest of time

- oh shit the fact that it’s called amity has such insane implications for what it’s used for later. jesus.

- “bffs!” “No.” “…/yessss/” love them

- yeet the yang

- god ruby’s admiration of emerald is so sad in retrospect like… oh boy ruby you’re in for it

- PYRRHAAAAA I LOVE YOU DONT LEAVE ME

- “even if you know how a story ends, that doesn’t make it any less fun to watch” wow cinder are you psychic

- ummmm they’re having a talk can you please respect their privacy

- thor whomst??? i only know nora valkyrie

- BROODY MAN

- hiiiii gavin

- so much mid battle banter. in the middle of a big important fight they just have to make jokes and argue. i love teenagers

- SILENCE YOU BOOB

- awww winter you’re a disaster and you’re horribly emotionally repressed because of your bitch ass dad but jesus christ you care about your little sister and you wanna know she’s doing okay and i’m emotional about it

- PENNYYYYY my love just keep being you

- jeez i forgot how early on ironwood was talking his shit about being “someone who will act”, the “only person” who will do what needs to be done, as if his course of action is what needs to be done

- every single person who underestimates emerald and mercury gets so fucked up. like so many people look at these youngerish teenagers with some funny one liners and banter and go “oh they seem capable and they’re confident and funny so i like em but i can take em” and then absolutely get the shit kicked out of them. and i think that’s why they’ve been so successful, cause nobody takes them seriously enough to consider them a threat.

- see this is why i love rwby. coco just turned her handbag into a gatling gun and cut down a field of grass with it

- god the way they hint at emerald’s semblance before fully showing what it is. *chef’s kiss*

- winter marry me

- we love an uncle who absolutely destroys his nieces at video games

- “they do and they’re called silver!” ruby i love you

- top heavy. heheh

- this dude’s weapon is a trumpet!! she’s got glowing nunchucks!! i love this show!!

- this battle music is AMAZING what the FUCK they’re fighting to JAZZ

- cinder if you keep having vague ominous dialogue people are gonna get the wrong idea

- oh yeah great idea asking a child to take on immense power which sends her into a stressed out panicky spiral and alienates her from the people she finally feels legitimately connected to and for once didn’t feel alienated from

- oh fuck. oh fuck the finals. oh god. oh no.

- she’s so happy. she’s so ready to have a good fight. i’m gonna cry

- FUCK

- and with one moment, the entire show flipped on its head

- god when i watched that the first time i fuckin freaked. i was not prepared man. i was warned. but i was not prepared for this much of a fucking tone change man. that quickly. like tone changes (in my experience) normally happen gradually, but this one happened in, what? 30 seconds?

- fuck

- god this is so bad

- and it GETS WORSE i can’t do this

- love that we can see yang’s distraught eyebrows through her bangs

- after this episode was the first time my friend asked me “how we doing buddy?” and i’ve only wanted to kill her more since then

- oh god emerald’s backstory. this poor child. she was so alone and cinder was there and said i can give you a place i can give you a purpose i can give you security and emerald latched on so hard.

- hiiiii laura bailey i wish you had more than a lil baby line and some sounds of effort

- god that little anklet

- god what a fuckin backstory episode man. backstory? evil plan explanation? idk but it was good

- great parent move. telling your kid you’ll only save them once.

- jaune you sweet good boy. what a good boy. i love him

- god this poor child. she doesn’t deserve this. FUCK i’m so sad. is that the last conversation they have?

- oooooh shit this song is so good. what the fuck i have chills it’s so fitting

- god everyone else is so happy and excited and then there’s ruby who is one of the very few people who knows how bad a fight between penny and pyrrha could be and pyrrha who’s got to decide if she wants someone else’s aura smushed with hers, which could turn her into a different person. FUCK

- peeeennyyyyy “salutations!! it’s an honor to meet you!” it huuuurts

- it makes me so sad but damn was this a good diabolical plan

- god im so sad. penny is so good. and pyrrha’s fuckin eyes. and ruby just collapsing. jesus christ. it’s all fuckin falling apart

- oh fuck here we go. those klaxons are so terrifying

- it makes me so happy that torchwick gets rescued and then like maybe a couple episodes later just gets swallowed

- the fuckin adam fight is coming up too. jesus. really piling on here

- RUBY IS USING ONE OF PENNY’S SWORDS IM GONNA CRYYY

- and she doesn’t even hesitate to save pyrrha

- the one and only time (to my memory) that ironwood is gentle is when he says no one would blame the students if they left. that might be the last time he actually remembers that they’re all teenagers and feels sympathy for these children with all this pressure on them

- oh yeah the big boy

- the first time i watched this i was LOSING MY MIND this whole time. like yang attacked mercury and from then on man. just freaking out.

- eurgh grimm juice

- c’mon blake you got this. i mean. technically you don’t. the fight goes poorly. but you fuckin try and you’re so brave about it and i love youuu

- shut the FUCK up adam you GROOMED her you ASSHOLE

- aahhhh i love velvet!!! her semblance and her whole fighting style is so goddamn cool and has such interesting implications for using weapons and powers of people who are dead

- OH SHIT SHE DOES SUMMON HERE DOESNT SHE. partly but still

- get fucked, torchwick. GET FUCKED. get fuckin chomped

- a backhanded slap feels so much more violent than any fighting with weapons

- uh oh evil katniss

- god. the fucking blood splatter turning the whole shot red. just their silhouettes. the slow motion. the arm slowly separating.

- my friend was also a big fan of “how we feeling?”

- bad. the answer is bad you fuckin sadist

- oz is… a lot of things, and one of them is a goddamn good fighter

- oh god oh noooo she’s gonna kiss & yeet AWWWW FUCK this is heartbreaking

- pyrrha i love you

- if i don’t look it’s not real

- oh pyrrha my love

- awww hey tai. what a good dad. love tai

- i’m so sad. everyone’s so sad. and then salem just has to do an ominous lil monologue where she lays out her whole plan to divide them and makes a fuckin semblance pun. she’s such a good villain

- jacque you stiff bitch

- they’re all fuckin scattered and depressed

- love team rnjr tho

- there she is. god what an ending

[arkannis]

Hello,

I just recently got into the Old Republic Fandom, and the Eternal Empire is my favorite arc. I do wish there was more story content to give more development to the characters, particularly in Arcann's case. While I love his romance scenes, I wish there were more scenes about his redemption and relationship with the Outlander or a dark side ending where the Outlander or Arcann takes the throne with the other as a consort. I found your blog while trying to find content further developing his character. Thank you so much for posting all your headcanons and musings!

With that being said, what are your headcanons for Zakuul culture? And could you post a masterpost compilation of your Arcann headcanons? I am trying to find the post where the romance novels headcanon originated in the tags and not having much luck.

Hope you have a nice day!

Hi anon!! Sorry for a late reply. First I’ll answer the second part of your message. The romance holonovels headcanon originated from the this post ; the post doesn’t outright say it, but some people in the tags (when they reblogged it) mentioned that Arcann probably seemed like the type to read romance in his free time. As of what I can remember the tags were from this reblog and this other reblog and both say that Arcann reads romance holonovels. The continuation of this headcanon were in replies or tags, so it’s hard to track them all down! Secondly, my Arcann tag is a mess, and I probably threw in multiple headcanons in reblogs or tags so it would be hard to find them all... I’ll think about making a masterpost, but I don’t think I have time for something like that right now. Ok, now that’s over with... I 100% agree with you, anon! I HAVE so many things to say about the possibility about that dark side ending. I don’t think devs were planning to make Arcann a possible romance option in the beginning, so it wouldn’t have been possible to be his LI and rule as emperor/empress. I also agree with the development of the characters... however, Arcann’s redemption and relationship with the Outlander was definitely rushed, because the plans to make a third expansion was apparently cancelled due to the backlash from fans who wanted pub vs. imp back. I made a whole post complaining about that... Otherwise, I definitely think they would have had more time to flesh out his characters and the other Zakuulan characters as well (Vaylin, Senya, Koth, etc.). I’m like pretty much sure content was cut out from KOTFE/KOTET to make them shorter. Due to such lost content, I have to create my headcanons from extrapolation based on the Sacrifice trailer, available codex entries, existing dialogue, and implications of existing issues. As well as other people’s hcs and commentary!! WARNING: SUPER LONG BULLET POINTS for Zakuulan culture headcanons.

The reason why I don’t have that many Zakuulan culture headcanons is because.... I feel like it’s so weirdly explored in the expansions.

I think the arts is a big thing in Zakuul! The Dragon’s Maw chapter gave me that kind of vibe. I also discussed this mildly (not) with Arcann. Most specifically THEATRE, PERFORMANCE AND SINGING. 

Evidence: Senya sings and composes and there’s the famous Zakuulan holoperformer, Malita Tal. No, I don’t have evidence for theatre, but honestly? Zakuulans are so goddamn dramatic, they most definitely have reality TV series or drama series... 

arcann be like oh you listen to malita tal? name all of her albums in alphabetical order or you get exiled

Zakuulan culture most definitely has idol culture, based on Malita Tal (and reportedly her performances were watched by millions). And those fans apparently also protested against Arcann’s rule. personally i think if they had twitter the u.s. gov*rnment would be wiped out.

I just think singing is a big thing in Zakuulan culture. I mean, even Valkorion sings (if you decide to kill Senya, his force ghost appears. They both have an exchange and it’s actually sweet for like 0.1 second). 

I also think there would be typical Zakuulan fairytales embedded in the culture. Hear me out. Most specifically those type of royal fairytales with the princes and princesses. This can be heavily contributed to the fact that a royal family is essentially in power. 

You cannot expect me to believe not a single person in Zakuul has written a Prince Arcann x reader holofic. You just can’t. Or Prince Thexan. Actually, I think Thexan would be more common, I think he was perceived to be more compassionate and kind compared to Arcann by the common folk? Since I know there’s that NPC dialogue where one of them goes how different it would be if Thexan took the throne instead. 

The fairytales would probably involve a lot of references to the Old Gods. I kinda imagine that the enemy would be some sort of serpent, that is, Zildrog, because apparently he’s just a bedtime story to scare children away. 

I think these Zakuulan fairy tales would contribute to the theatre and performance, acting culture that Zakuul has. 

Furthermore, I just think the Tirall kids probably read these fairytales as well. francis dont talk about arcann reading again

I want to talk about the Old Gods and that religion, which is one of my favorite things ever... probably because the Gods are machines. Superweapon machines... ok ill shut up

Even if Valkorion basically got rid of the religion, it’s clear that the religion is still incorporated into heavy talk in Zakuulan culture (e.g. eyes of Esne, heart of Scyva). 

My headcanon is that there are sanctuaries or small secret churches (?) for those who want to worship the Old Gods. Obviously the Herald of Zildrogs who believe in the Old Way are a cult, so I think people would look for an alternative. 

I think there would be great effort to hide these places, as it can get you exiled. Thus these would probably be located in the Old World, rather than in a more obvious position like the Spire. 

The beliefs of the Old Ways isn’t exactly clear, they aren’t exactly touched upon, which is a shame. I think people would ask for help from each of these gods depending on what they want.

Those who ask for Izax’ guidance want to seek success, accomplishments, power, and glory.

Those who ask for Scyva’s guidance ask for her to guide souls peacefully to death (she is described as someone who weeps beside Zakuulans as they march towards Izax - basically death) , or ask for help/compassion from her. Maybe maternity as well? Or parental love?

Those who ask for Aivela (goddess of passion) want her to guide them with her passion (Aivela accompanies Tyth, who is kind of a god of war/warrior). I think there would also be romance related stuff as well. If someone asked for help regarding their love related issues, it would probably be from Aivela!

I’m not sure about Esne - but maybe in a similar sense, if someone is suffering with jealousy - in any situation, they would ask guidance from her. I don’t know where I read this but I think the “eyes of Esne” expression meant like having eyes of jealousy.

Nahut? I don’t think he was worshipped.  “Nahut was considered to be gray, formless and cold, and was denied worship by all except his mother Scyva.” But regardless, I think he still had a role to play. 

After the Outlander takes the throne, and Zakuul renounces their membership from the Eternal Alliance, I think people would be allowed to openly express their religious beliefs, that is, the Old Ways. Oh, personally I headcanon that they would build beautiful places of worship in the Spire with similar geometrical pyramid designs...!! 

Yeah...I think that’s all I got! I’ll need to see how I can somehow make this post easily found, lol. This is quite a long list, and I have to emphasize that these are my headcanons! They are based on what I see and I just kind of fill in the gaps to fit my own stories. This took a while to write because I KNEW I had these headcanons, but they just didn’t appear at the time I saw this anon ask. Anyways, I’ll probably create more headcanons in the future. Also:

a dark side ending where the Outlander or Arcann takes the throne with the other as a consort

I have so many things to say about this. I know the game won’t permit it, because if you think about it, both the light side choice (Eternal Alliance) and the dark side choice (Eternal Empire) are happy endings for your characters anyways. They can continue as the “hero” or the “protagonist”, so I don’t think this route could ever be implemented. However, I think it would be absolutely interesting if throughout the gameplay, players are given a choice to flirt with Arcann. The Outlander and Arcann agree to get rid of Valkorion, but thats if the Outlander decides to betray the Alliance and joins Arcann instead. And should they join him, they have the choice to romance him... and I guess it’s a happy ending for you both :P Obviously this won’t happen, but maybe it will. I wouldn’t mind being the prince consort of Arcann lol idk! me and vaylin are gonna be besties and we’ll paint each others nails or something Oh and have a nice day too anon...!!