#and i think it's completely in character for him to say it's all stan's fault

[npdclaraoswald]

I know literally the whole point of A Tale of Two Stans is that they're both wrong and have both hurt each other and they've destroyed both of their lives by not communicating, but. It is wild that not only both of the Stans but also parts of the fandom act like Ford falling through the portal was primarily Stan's fault when

1. Ford is the one who made the fight physical

2. Ford is the one who knows what all the buttons and levers do. Stan had no idea what was happening

[anyydidi]

WRITING THIS POST BECAUSE I'M SO SICK OF PEOPLE MISCHARACTERIZING FORD!!!!!!!!!

Before we begin, everyone is entitled to their opinion. If you really think Ford wouldn't truly care, you do you.

That being said, I feel like people who claim that Ford wouldn't do a single thing to bring Stan back if their places were switched do not understand his character at all.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think that he would open the portal. At least not right away. The one thing I agree with is that Ford wouldn't put the life of his brother above the whole planet like Stan did. He realizes the threat of the portal and Bill too much to do that.

But have people forgotten that Ford also loves his brother? Yeah, he was angry, bitter and resentful, but he wouldn't have just let Stan die in the multiverse. Especially since that would be entirely his fault he got stuck there in the first place.

For people thinking, "But Ford was too blinded by rage! He didn't care for Stan until after Weirdmaggedon!", have you seen the show? Have you read the journal? Through everything that happened, Ford kept a photo (tattered and worn, obviously taken out a lot) of him and his brother in his left, inner breast pocket which is the one closest to the heart. If that wasn't enough, for those who haven't read the journal, Ford kept reminiscing about and mentioning his brother before the portal incident. Even though those lines were often crossed out, it was obvious that at least unconsiously he had Stan in mind a lot. And at the end of the journal, it is written that he worked day and night, to the point of passing out, to bring Stan's memories (and essencially Stan himself) back. (Oh and have we forgotten about the absolutely shattered expression he had when he erased Stan's memories? You don't look like that for a person you don't deeply care about).

Still not enough to believe that Ford cared about Stan before Stan's sacrifice?

Let's talk about the fact that when Ford was at his lowest, that being paranoid, sleep deprived, tortured by Bill, drowned in guilt, and completely alone, he reached out to Stan? He says it himself, "I needed help, someone I could trust." After everything, he still trusted Stan to an extent and believed him to be his last hope. You don't give trust like that to people you truly hate.

Ford was self-absorbed and egocentric, but also hurt and betrayed. That feeling came from a misconception, but that doesn't make it any less valid. It is understandable that he acted towards Stan the way he did, with venom and bitterness. But we can be angry at people we love and still care for their well-being.

How I said earlier, I don't think Ford would really open the portal. He wouldn't risk the entire world for Stanley. But I do think he would do anything in his power to be able to bring Stan back safely. You cannot be telling me that he'd be able to live with the guilt and not do anything about it if he could. After all, in his head, it would be his fault. He got tricked by Bill, he built the portal, he made Stan come to him and showed him the portal and he wasn't able to let go of the journal and fought Stan for it. I'm convinced he'd still throw some blame at Stan for some of the fight to make himself feel better at first, but after some time he would just blame himself completely (the same way I think Stan did with the science fair incident). The guilt for all of that would eat him alive.

Let's not forget, Stanley worked for 30 years, basically half his life to bring Stanford home and I believe Ford would be willing to do the same. He would just go about it differently. He would either try to get rid of the threat of Bill and then be willing to upgrade the portal and turn it on again, or maybe try to find a completely different way to get Stan back from the multiverse, or in the end something entirely different, I'm not fully sure.

What I am sure of is that Ford wouldn't just let Stan be stranded in the multiverse without doing absolutely nothing. Maybe he wouldn't succeed, maybe Stan would actually have to find his own way back home because Stanford wouldn't be able to find a solution without risking their entire universe. But Ford would at least try, give it his all, because despite everything, he still loves his brother. Differently than Stan loves him, because Ford is a different person than Stan, but he still does.

So I beg you, people. Stop taking Ford's complex character from him. He can be a selfish, self-centered asshole, but he's not heartless.

[hainethehero]

Steve Rogers Trauma: A TED TALK

Why is it that any kind of commentary/analysis on Steve Roger's trauma has to be met with comparisons to Bucky or Tony's trauma? Or most of the fanfics I read completely gloss over Steve's trauma?

Some of y'all legit do not care or are blind to Steve Roger's trauma throughout the Captain America & Avengers films and it shows. And this isn't hate to any fanfic writers but rather an observation of most stucky and stony fanfics which seem to minimize Steve's character & trauma in favour of highlighting their fave's. And of course it's fine that people want to write about Bucky or Tony or even Nat's trauma, but MOST TIMES* I've read these fics and they all have an intentional disregard for Steve's traumas.

And this speaks to the wider discourse around Tony, Bucky & Steve- the three characters most written about in mcu fanfics.

Because why is it that anytime I bring up Steve's PTSD or his illnesses or the hell he would've gone through pre-serum, people always HAVE to add in their 2cents about, "well yeah & Bucky went through worse." Like.???? No, I'm not talking about him.

I absolutely love Bucky and he's one of my favourite characters in both the comics and the MCU but, respectfully, this ain't about him.

I'm talking about Steve and his life. The crap he would've had to deal with both in public and at home. Especially the horrors both he and Sarah would've gone through because of Joseph Rogers who was a terrible person and an alcoholic who beat up on his wife and sickly kid.

And even post-serum when he's completely healthy and living in the future now, I'm still seeing popular narratives about "Yeah he's alive now & hasn't gone through half of what Bucky's endured over the past 70yrs." OR "He's had it easy compared to Bucky who was being tortured by HYDRA."

Um, no one's saying Bucky's treatment under HYDRA was a good thing??? But we're talking about Steve here, not Bucky?

And how he was literally frozen in a state of purgatory & how traumatic it would feel to be ripped out of it and then basically thrown to the new world on your ass without any kind of therapy or help. Most people make it seem like Steve was in a Sleeping Beauty kind of sleep and then woke up completely fine. And I will admit the MCU has been the main culprit of that narrative because they deleted so many scenes that humanized Steve Rogers, that now the gen pop thinks:

he's perfectly fine

has zero trauma

should complain about nothing

hasn't had it hard like Bucky or Tony

is a lesser hero because of all of the above

I recently had a convo with a friend & we were talking abt the scene in Avengers 1 when they were all at each other's throats. And they said that Tony was right about Steve being a laboratory experiment & everything special about him came out of a bottle. And I'm like... yeah nah, that's the lazy ass writing that Whedon perpetuated that now makes Steve one of the most misunderstood heroes & people in the MCU. Because he was special before the serum because of his consideration of others. He was special because not only did he hate bullies, but he also went out of his way to protect those that couldn't protect themselves KNOWING what that confrontation might cost him as a chronically sick person. Tony needed a whole ass arc about literally witnessing & living first hand what his weapons were doing to innocents like Yinsen & his people, to change his ways. Steve didn't have, nor did he need any of that to make him special. (AND BEFORE THE TONY STANS COME FOR ME, I LOVE TONY, HE'S LITERALLY ONE OF MY FAVES IN THE MARVEL COMICS & MCU) But this hatred for Steve is ridiculous.

And once again, it's the MCUs fault because they made Tony the ultimate hero of the Avengers at the expense of Steve Rogers' character. Him being able to prove he was "worthy" all along by lifting Thor's hammer was a cheap payoff in the end, much like the entirety of Endgame was. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

[harukamitsuki]

I need Bakugou stans to realise that it's not that I hate him as a person. It's that I hate him as a character.

A lot of my favourite characters are unrepentant assholes, or assholes who are set to or have already been redeemed. Vegeta from DBZ, Ouma Kokichi from DGR: V3, Dio from JoJo, Laxus from Fairy Tail, Greed from FMA: B, Bill from Gravity Falls, and the list that goes on.

If a character is a terrible person, that's fine by me. But if the author tries and fails to redeem them, yet still acts as though they are suddenly this amazing person, that's when I have an issue with it.

Bakugou was originally written to be a minor antagonist, and that would have been fine, if Horikoshi didn't suddenly go "I drew him crying so imma fix him".

Redemption is such a complex yet simple thing to do. So when you try to do it and fail spectacularly, um, yeah, I do not enjoy that character or your writing.

That is my main issue with Bakugou. I do not think he deserved any redemption, not because he's a bad person, but because there is nothing to convince me that he could change.

He gets one scene where he goes, "boohoo I lost and everyone is stronger than me" then cries, and that's supposed to be enough for him to become a better person? That is nowhere near enough.

There was no moment that made me believe he genuinely regretted and took accountability for the abuse he put Izuku through in middle school.

"He changed!" That's not my issue. I don't care that he's changed. I care that I don't believe in it. If there was a plausible reason as to why he changed, then I would be fine with it. Maybe I'd even enjoy him!

The fact that he's changed doesn't mean shit if it's not believable.

"That was in middle school!" Okay. This one pisses me off the most. That was a year pre-canon? Oh, wow, I guess that's completely fine! It's not as if characters are the way they are based on their past. Oh, Itachi killed the Uchiha clan before canon! Okay, maybe comparing a massacre to bullying is a bit unfair. Still, just because it happened a year ago, it doesn't mean it never happened. It doesn't mean that he's changed considerably.

"Izuku doesn't have any lasting damage and forgave him!" And? Just because your friend forgives their bully, it doesn't mean you have to forgive them. And, again, I do not believe Bakugou's apology was good in anyway. He was trash-talking Izuku, blaming All Might for Izuku's behaviour, and didn't accept any culpability for what he did to him. He didn't tell anyone else what he did to Izuku. Also, if Izuku really didn't have any lasting damage from the bullying, then why did Bakugou's apology make him calm down? If he didn't care about the bullying, then why is he so relieved by the apology? BECAUSE HE WAS AFFECTED.

"Bakugou was being abused!" ... NO HE WASN'T!! Mitsuki is not abusive. Yes, she hit him round the back of his head. After he threatened her. Anyone with Asian parents can tell you that her hit does not hurt. Not only is it somewhat normal in Asian families, but it also doesn't hurt. We have no evidence that she is abusive. Horikoshi knows how to set up abusive families, as seen with the Todorokis. This not that. Either way, even if she was, being abused doesn't mean it's okay to abuse others. You can hurt without hurting others.

"It's the school and teacher's fault!" No, it's not. Part of the fault lies with them enabling him, but Bakugou is already fifteen when the series starts. His mother clearly doesn't agree with his attitude. The school is only partially to blame. Bakugou should have learned by himself what is right and what is not. In fact, he clearly does know considering he doesn't want any of that stuff on his records in case U.A. rejects him.

Again. I don't care if he's a terrible person. I care that he's a terrible character.

So the next time someone says that I'm stuck in Season One, take a moment and think about what you're saying. Bad people in fiction are entertaining. Bad characters are not.

[evilbihan]

Congratulations, OP, on making the most factually incorrect post I've ever seen on this hellsite.

Let's take this trainwreck of an "analysis" apart step by step, shall we?

Oh, good lord, now I'm seeing Bi-Han stans say his father was abusive. There is literally nothing in MK1 implying that.

In the previous timeline, Bi-Han's and Kuai Liang's father literally kidnapped them and killed their mother and sister, then raised them to become assassins against their will, but now we're supposed to believe that man's a saint?

I've said this in a different post before and I'll repeat it here too: The core essence of every character in MK1 is basically still the same as it was in the old timeline. Geras is still loyal to his creator (previously Kronika, now Liu Kang), Scorpion might be a different person now but he's still vengeful, Sindel is good now, but she's still a merciless ruler, Kung Lao is still ambitious, etc. Not a single one of these characters is a completely new and different person. Following that logic, the same thing would apply to the old grandmaster.

At first glance, it may seem like nothing implies that Bi-Han's and Kuai Liang's father was abusive, but that's only if you ignore anything outside of the main story.

I made an entire post about it here, but I'll give you the short version:

Additionally, there was a node in the previous season of invasions mode that involved another fight with Bi-Han, titled "second best". Second best at what? We know that in the old timeline, Bi-Han was the Lin Kuei's best assassin. Therefore, this could have only been referring to the new era's Bi-Han, again confirming that their father had a favorite son, Kuai Liang, not Bi-Han.

Believe it or not, this is a form of emotional abuse.

Y'all (thirsty fandom bitches) are so obsessed with your villain faves being victims of parental abuse, even when canon doesn't imply that or literally says otherwise. I've seen it in the Scream fandom, now it's in the MK fandom, too.

Still not convinced? How about we change perspectives from my favorite character to my least favorite one then? Everyone who's been following this blog knows I can't stand Kuai Liang, but I even believe him to be a victim of abuse at his own father's hand, albeit in a different way than Bi-Han.

Nitara: Had you ever known hunger, you wouldn't judge us. Scorpion: I have, and I will.

So, what does this intro tell us?

Kuai Liang has known hunger, so there must have been a period in his life where he has been starving, but why? Poverty seems highly unlikely. The Lin Kuei seem well organized and in his tower ending, Bi-Han talks about how many of their resources were spent on the cyber initiative, so I doubt the Lin Kuei were ever poor or he wouldn't have been able to afford all that technology at all. The brothers also come across as quite arrogant. Growing up poor would have probably made them more humble.

So, why was Kuai Liang starving? Would loving parents let their children starve? Was it perhaps part of their training or a way to punish them for disobedience? And if so, why does Kuai Liang still think and speak so highly of his father? Stockholm syndrome maybe.

And let's say it wasn't the grandmaster's fault that they were starving, then wouldn't it make Bi-Han's ambition to give the clan more wealth and power noble instead of selfish? It would mean no more starving for any of the Lin Kuei in the future.

Regardless of your takeaway from this, the end result remains the same: Bi-Han is not evil.

Bi-Han has always been an asshole. He's power-hungry and he is a bad person. Him murdering his father (whom his brothers haven't implied anything bad about) is no surprise, and trying to make up completely non-canon things to justify it because you can't handle liking a fictional villain is moronic.

Bi-Han has always been an asshole? Always as in previous timelines? Because by that logic, his father has always been an asshole too. See how you're contradicting yourself here? Secondly, Bi-Han is not a bad person. That's straight up wrong.

Ashrah said he's redeemable.

Kuai Liang said he and Bi-Han were once close.

Bi-Han shows genuine regret over Sindel's death.

Tomas, one of the nicest characters in the game, used to look up to Bi-Han.

Kitana's announcer voice when selecting Bi-Han: "You were a decent person once."

He's flawed, not evil.

The only person making up completely non-canon things is you.

Oh, and for the record, I'm a huge fan of Homelander and there's no saving grace to that man. I don't care though, I love villains.

Here's the punchline though, Bi-Han isn't a villain, he's an anti-hero/anti-villain type of character. Do some research.

It's Bi-Han. Bi-Han would sell his little brother to Shang Tsung for a single corn chip! (And I don't mean Tomas; he'd give away Tomas for free.)

Bi-Han literally refused to deliver Kuai Liang to Kronika in MK11 as Noob when Geras told him to.

Geras: Bring your brother to Kronika. Noob Saibot: The dead are my clan. Geras: Do you serve or do you not?

Bi-Han doesn't wish harm upon either of his brothers in MK1 either, he tells them multiple times to surrender and join him. Just watch their intros, it's all there. He even admitted that he wanted Kuai Liang to rule by his side. In his intros with Shang Tsung, he also mentions that he regrets ever trusting him.

The whole original post is a joke. Implying that people who are upset over mischaracterization and bad writing must be thirsting over a character is just ridiculous.

How wrong do you want to be?

OP: yes.

[sapphic-agent]

Let's Talk About Bakugou's Apology

Jfc, I swear this wasn't meant to be an MHA blog but whatever. Let's get into this.

I wanted to give Bakugou stans the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to think that they would only hype something up if it was groundbreaking. I wanted to believe that Horikoshi was a halfway decent writer and would put actual effort into such a pivotal, revered moment in the series.

I was left sorely disappointed for multiple reasons.

1) A List of Excuses To be completely fair to Bakugou, he does take some accountability which was more than I expected. He does acknowledge that what he did was wrong a few times during his little speech. I have to give him credit for that. However, it's overshadowed by the narrative making sure to stress that it was the people around Bakugou who were at fault for that behavior. Which isn't true because even before he got his quirk, he still treated Izuku like garbage. He gave him the name Deku and acted like he was above everyone way before Izuku was deemed quirkless.

(I'd also like to add that the only thing that literal pre-school teacher said was that Bakugou's quirk could make for a fine hero. He was the one who ran with it and decided that it made him better than everyone and that he would be the best)

There's also the fact that every time he does point out what he did was wrong, there's always some kind of justification behind it. "I did... because I felt..." It undermines what's supposed to be a genuine apology because it's not about Bakugou's feelings, he wasn't the one hurt (more on this later).

2) Timing

So many people have brought this up and they're absolutely right; that was the worst possible time for this to happen. Izuku was injured, starving, and dirty. Not to mention his mental state is practically in shambles. He's been isolating himself for weeks in his attempts to walk a selfless, lonely path. The absolute last thing he needed was this shitty apology.

This was supposed to be an effort for Class 1A to show Izuku that they care about him and to convince him to share his burden and come back to UA with them and rest and heal. Instead that genuine effort is highjacked by Bakugou rambling on about something entirely unrelated. He could have done this during the bath scene or even right after that. Instead, it's shoehorned into Izuku's actual friends trying their best to help him.

Iida's words should have been the final ones. They had enough impact and were way more powerful. There was no reason for Bakugou's apology to be the finishing lines.

3) The Insults

It's wild to me that Bakugou apologized for insulting Izuku... right after purposely insulting Izuku.

This is something that has been detrimental to Bakugou's entire character "redemption". "Oh, he's changing!" Except he's still doing the same shit he's always done. It undermines the entire point of redeeming him.

(I hate to be pro Endeavor in any way, but at least when he decided to change he made the genuine effort to stay that way and didn't relapse into old habits)

Not only did him mocking Izuku do absolutely nothing to change his mind, it's just so shitty to do to someone who's clearly struggling. If you are incapable of showing empathy and kindness at a time like this, shut up and sit down because there's no reason for you to open your mouth. You're not helping, you're only making things worse.

And then he says, "I don't expect this to change things between us." Like bro, that's completely on you. All you have to do is not be a dick and act like your apology actually meant something by refraining from hurling insults at someone who did nothing to deserve it. But even after this apology, he continues to yell at and insult Izuku. Sato and Tokoyami even call him out on this, only it's just played for laughs.

Word to the wise kids, an apology means nothing if just keep repeating your bad behavior.

4) No Autonomy for the Victim

Not once do we get to see what Izuku's thinking. Not once do we ever see things from his point of view.

This moment is entirely about Bakugou. It's only a plot device to develop his character and make him come off better. And Izuku who was the victim gets no attention. He doesn't even get to respond, he just faints by the end of it.

In fact, the closest thing we ever get to an insight into Izuku's feelings is All Might saying that he wouldn't hold what Bakugou did against him. That's such a copout considering a) nothing Izuku did ever indicated he felt that way and b) another person is speaking for him. He doesn't even get to say this himself.

Horikoshi does this consistently. Izuku is never allowed to voice how he feels. We never get to see how things are affecting him. The only time he's ever permitted to show strong emotions is when it's in favor of someone else. You would think that by this point in the story that would be rectified. But no, everything has to be about Bakugou. Not even in his own rescue story can Izuku ever be the center of attention. No, it's all about making Bakugou better.

(Again I hate to be pro Endeavor, but at least Shoto, Fuyumi, and Natsu get to respond to Endeavor's attempts at atonement on their own terms. Natsu is allowed to be angry. Fuyumi gets to make the choice to forgive him. Shoto is allowed to ponder the decision. Both cases are terrible abuse narratives, but at least the Todoroki kids have a say in how they feel and are allowed to express it. Izuku doesn't even get that)

It feels like Izuku isn't even allowed to be a victim in any way, shape, or form. He's just there to prop Bakugou

[atqh16]

Ok no seriously why does no one talk about the trauma Wei Wuxian dealt with at being forced to live in isolation for 3 whole months in the burial mounds? Not even talking about how its a place thats infested with resentful energy. Realistically speaking the effects of isolation is a very well documented issue and from the way Wei Wuxian acts when he comes back he displays very classic symptoms. Heightened irritability, poor impulse control, aggression, general struggles to reassimilate into society and a LOT more. Yeah Wei Wuxian has always been rather reckless and impulsive. As a teenager. But afterwards it's shown to be a lot worse. He drinks a lot more. He isolates himself and avoids his duties as Jiang Chengs second in command. He's much more hostile towards those he deems to have done wrong. He becomes more defensive. Easier to anger.

Some fans (especially Jiang Cheng stans) argue that Wei Wuxian should have said something but anyone who's ever dealt with trauma indirectly or not know how borderline impossible that is. Especially considering the type of relationship the brothers had before. Their rough and tumble was always done jokingly but afterwards Wei Weuxian would have seen his trauma as a point of shame. ESPECIALLY in the culture and childhood he was brought up in. Especially after being accused of triggering the Lotus Pier massacre (which was not his fault in the slightest. The fault of genocide will always lie solely on the perpetrators. No one else). He's been subconsciously told his whole that he owed the Jiangs everything. As close as he might have been to his siblings they still weren't related by blood. If his issue with Jiang Cheng was shame then his issue with Yan Li was that he wanted to protect her from his own pain. Him thinking Lan Zhan hated him and simply wanted him back in Gusu to be punished was a very understandable conclusion.

To say that Wei Wuxian was dealing with a trauma conga line would be an understatement and I hate how so many stans trying to defend their fav completely ignore that. I'm not frustrated with Jiang Cheng for being angry with his brother for the choices he made. I'm angry at him for not trying harder to understand his brother. I'm annoyed at how easily he decides to abandon him. I'm angry at how he insists that their childhood promise was worth more than the lives of the women, children and elderly living in destitute and surviving solely because Wei Ying stands as their defender. I'm frustrated that he doesn't try harder to give his brother the benefit of the doubt and is so easily swayed by the accusations against him. Even Mian Mian, someone who barely knows Wei Ying and is basically a nobody, had the strength and integrity to stand up for Wei Yings actions s and Jiang Cheng couldn't even do that? The fact that Lan Zhan is the only one who acknowledges and thanks Mian Mian for what she did says something.

Politics will NEVER be a good excuse to ignore the atrocities and wrong doings that are being done clear as day in front of you. Jiang Cheng saw with his very own eyes that the Wen Remnants were harmless and still insisted that Wei Ying abandon them. Wtf?

Even if you did want to go into the politics of it let's be real, Wei Ying was an incredibly powerful 'weapon' that was feared by all because of his reputation alone. If Jiang Cheng had stood by him no one would have dared to openly object to him. If you're talking about allies; Lan Xichen would have been reasonable enough to provide whatever aid and support he could and with the reputation the Lans had of their integrity it would have rooted the Jiang clans status even more.

The problem will always be that Jiang Cheng never even TRIED. Mxtx has always put emphasis on her details and there were none for this and that says something. I love Jiang Cheng as a character but I will forever hate him as a person.

As for culture don't even start. I'm Asian, living in an Asian countrh who grew up with Asian traditions. I vehemently disapprove of a the actions the rest of the characters made because culture might make it understandable but NEVER excusable.

If you're not one of the people who thinks these things then this post is very obviously not about you.

[moonlightdancer26]

I will never in my life be able to understand the people who say “well okay Sirius wanted to kill someone but it’s Snape’s fault for going into the Willow.” I find it so insane because… Sirius, at the mere age of 16, had just proven that he had no regard for human life and was willing to have someone else’s blood on his hands… and all you have to say on the matter is the fact that the victim went down there in the first place? It’s just such blatant victim-blaming and I can’t even fathom how on earth they deem their argument reasonable.

What also really bugs me about their claim is that it was so normal for Snape—a teenage boy—to do. Of course a teenager would hear about/suspect something “spooky” and then would want to go to the area to check it out. Of course his curiosity would get the best of him. He’s a teenage boy, just because he made a risky mistake does not mean attempted murder is justified. It’s like kids or teens hearing about haunted houses and wanting to go there; it’s a pretty stupid idea but it’s a normal one for them to have. So many Marauder stans use “oh but they just made a mistake when they were teens” as a response to SA and waterboarding, but when the character they dislike does something that has actually been done by many teenagers and kids, they can’t feel any sympathy whatsoever? Sirius, unlike Severus, has no excuse for what he did. It wasn’t normal for his age, there’s no somewhat logical reason, and it was downright inhuman. And no, saying “but Snape followed Remus around and tried to get the Marauders expelled!” just goes right back to the fact that, had Sirius and James not started bullying Snape years prior, Severus would have had no reason to want them to get in trouble/expelled.

Another seriously messed up fact involving the prank is when you remember that if the prank had succeeded (= Snape ending up dead/mauled/infected), that meant that Remus—who would’ve been in no control of his actions and completely unable to stop it—would have been used as a murder weapon and would’ve faced dangerous consequences for Sirius’s doing. A known trait of Remus is his extreme self-loathing, which is derived from his hatred of being a “monster.” To think about how one of his best friends was willing to freely exploit his condition and use it to harm someone else “just for fun” when he knows what Remus would do to himself when he finds out is sickening. You can hate Severus all you want, but you absolutely cannot try to pin this on him when it was the most vile act Sirius had ever done in his life and an extremely important aspect of his character.

[breached-containment-script]

So the scarring discourse is still going.

No, characters keeping scars does not automatically equate to that being torture porn. In this context, fans clearly intend it in a way that says "even if you end up with physical marks, it doesn't diminish you". Or is Aang getting scarred torture porn too? Or do you think things like Mortal Engines movie shrinking the female lead's facial damage to a minimum "spared her of physical trauma"? No, it was afraid of depicting something deemed "ugly" and it's a huge disservice to real people who look like she was described in the book.

The topic was not handled super well in ATLA. Katara's wounds got healed leaving no trace on her, on her psyche nor on how she views Aang which is not just unrealistic, but you can literally feel in the show Katara having to go "no Aang it's ok, I'm fine, you don't have to beat yourself up over it, I'm healed, let it go Aang, it's not your fault," it is too much. It would have been much stronger had the burns left some mark, even a tiny one, because then Aang's reluctance to practice firebending would have made more sense and all characters would have gotten a more solid demonstration that the Avatar can be dangerous too. It would have been a wakeup call to Katara that Aang isn't a completely harmless kid she can always shield and protect. That's character development! This would have been a more powerful moment in the progression of their relationship, especially after they sort it out and Aang learns safe firebending later on, because they'd have a more real problem to overcome rather than just Aang's guilt.

Again, show didn't frame things too cleverly - there's no heightened moment of perhaps Katara being extremely happy that she discovered a part of her lost Southern waterbending heritage (just remember her behaviour with Hama, there's none of that here). The show just removes her wounds, she's confused about the ability, and this leads to Jeong Jeong making a point about how fire is wild and destructive. The whole segment ends with removing the source of the problem (wounds) and is about how evil fire is. Aang ends up being traumatized anyway, he isn't less traumatized because Katara's wounds didn't scar.

The point is - Katara gets nothing character-building out of this event, even though it made her cry and cradle her arms for several minutes on screen. Because of this her burns could be considered torture-porn (slightly). Her discovering healing abilities is not a reward she got exclusively because she suffered the burns, she could have discovered it by accidentally hurting herself, or healing someone else. Imagine if Aang hurt himself by being reckless and Katara discovering she could heal him? What she should have gotten out of specifically being burned by Aang, is a changed view of him. I don't mean her viewing him negatively, but taking a step back and both learning they should be more careful. Who said zutara stans want Katara getting scarred by Aang in order to make Aang a villain in this? He literally cannot be a villain here, he made a big mistake by being careless. It's got nothing to do with zutara. It's not helpful to misinterpret some storytelling tools that have nothing to do with shipping, just to prevent them from creating some later story hooks which could potentially be used in shipping a NOTP. Heck, Katara getting scarred could even be used (with skilled writing) in shipping her with Aang - like zutara fans use Katara being angry at Zuko and expecting him to demonstrate that he wouldn't betray or hurt them again.

And if you have a distaste for two happy friendly characters hurting each other on accident, that's fine, but well I have a scar on my arm from my brother's scratch that happened on accident. These things happen and stories shouldn't be scared of portraying it, especially if later on they show how to make ammends and overcome the problem. I'm not saying "Katara should definitely have kept her scars!!!" I am showing narrative weak points and suggestions how things could have been done differently, what benefits it could have had character-wise and what that might have changed.

[andreal831]

stop hating women for having emotions

A trend throughout a lot of fandoms, and particularly TVDU, is to celebrate men for showing the bare minimum in emotional maturity and then hating women for trying to work through their own emotions. I've seen this so much recently with Hayley. She gets hate from all sides of the fandom because of the men people stan.

Now don't get me wrong, there are legitimate reasons to not like her in certain aspects, but if you have to mention a man's name to try and explain it to me, you've already lost me. Every man she comes in contact with has done equal if not worse. You don't need to hate a character simply because you like another character.

I've seen it from Klaus stans, Elijah stans, Jackson stans, etc. People use any excuse to hate her because she isn't as devoted to their fav toxic man as they are.

Personally, Hayley is one of my favorite characters in TVDU. And everyone knows my top favorite character is Elijah. Sure, I wish the writers would have given us more haylijah, but blaming Hayley solely for that is ridiculous. Elijah spent all of season 1 putting up barriers and still the only reason she turns to someone else is because she wants to protect her daughter. She then sacrifices nearly her entire life for the Mikaelson family. Jackson stans hate her because she doesn't love him like they think he deserves, but again, she never breaks her promise to him. The marriage was always political. Jackson knew this but caught feelings anyway, this is not Hayley's fault that he wanted to make it more. Klaus stans hate Hayley for so many reasons I can't even list them, but they are all utterly ridiculous. One thing Hayley will always do is put Hope first, not Klaus, as any mother would do. Maybe if the other mothers in the show had done this, we wouldn't have such toxic men (also this is not shifting blame onto women just pointing out the cycle of trauma).

Hayley, unlike many of the men, had good intentions most of the time and actually had character growth. She went from being a selfish, reckless young woman to a completely selfless, caring mother and alpha.

We see the same trends with Rebekah, Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, etc. All of the women are condemned whenever they try to process their emotions or put themselves first for once in their lives. I know the cast is made up of some attractive men, but we need to stop being so blinded by their appearance that we cannot recognize the importance of women fighting for their own happiness. Even if that happiness isn't from an attractive man. As Christina Yang would say, "He's not the sun, you are."

[hyperactivewhore]

Answer if you have the balls and you're woman enough to do so, but I know you're not. Anyway, here goes.

So, you and your little cult of pick-mes are at it again, huh? Slandering Caroline for no real reason other than because she existed. Man, you guys are relentless. You just can't help yourselves, can you? And you say it's Caroline fans/Klaroline shippers who are the ones who start and harass you. And I know that's bullshit, because I don't see Caroline fans or Klaroline shippers doing anything except minding their own business, not bothering anyone whatsoever and keeping to themselves, and enjoying what they like just like everyone else does. It's you and every other Bonnie fan that's the problem. You're the ones that always look to start a problem or cause some kind of drama, all because you can't stand Caroline is more loved and liked by the fans than your faves. But oh well, that's just how it is.

And it's funny you say Bonnie was justified in acting the way she did when Caroline turned, when it's basically her fault that Caroline ever became a vampire in the first place. Quite frankly, Bonnie deserved way more heat and should've faced deeper consequences for her role in the S1 finale. And don't even get me started on the lame, half-assed bullshit excuse she gave, that "she couldn't do it, because her Grams wouldn't have." Really??? But then she has the nerve to treat her best friend like shit for something that was her own fault and that Caroline didn't ask for whatsoever, that was completely out of Caroline's hands? Fuck out of here, give me a fucking break!

But anything to hate Caroline for, right? Anything to basically make her out to be the devil incarnate. Yeah, Caroline wasn't perfect, but guess what? Neither were any of your shitty ass faves. Get the fuck over yourselves.

Also, gotta love how you only think Tyler deserved better where it concerns Caroline, but you say nothing whatsoever about what Hayley did to him in S4, which in my opinion was 1000x worse than Caroline sleeping with Klaus. But I guess since it didn't involve Caroline, it doesn't matter as much and only then, does Tyler not deserve better, huh? And what about his pack of hybrids? They didn't deserve better than what Hayley did to them? No, I guess not.

Lastly, I'm by no means a Klaroline shipper, but I give no fucks about Caroline having slept with Klaus, simply because that's the big fuck you that everyone in the Mystic Falls Gang deserved. Especially Elena, who knowingly and shamelessly was sleeping with Caroline's abuser/rapist and gave no fucks about it 🙂 But this is who you deem the most "compassionate" and "selfless" girl? Yeah, more like the most selfish and self-centered. And that's exactly why she was the most hated character. And justifiably and deservedly so. Caroline is 10000x better than Elena ever was, and I know it that bothers you and burns you deep down inside. Because you know it's a fact and the truth. Oh well, die mad about it, hun.

Then people wonder why most of the fandom eventually comes to hate klaroline and/or Caroline. This are the same people who got a woman fired off her job and who had their favorite white woman be getting all the plots who belonged to Bonnie or shamelessy self-inserted into everything 💀

"My little cult" I'm fucking dying with laughter, your pretty little sunshine vampire wouldn't be alive without Bonnie, actually no one in Mystic Falls would be alive if not for Bonnie. If people are getting harassed again by the same crazy Caroline stan, all my prayers. Just ignore this cunt 💞

[logansgaar]

So I've seen a couple people now say they're not sure why fans are against Bucky being in the senate or think he must be being forced to somehow, considering we've already seen him as the Secretary of State in What If...? and I wanted to explain why I personally would find it extremely out of character if he's willingly a senator in Thunderbolts*

For the sake of ease I'm going to refer to Earth-82111 Bucky as Secretary Bucky and Earth-19999 Bucky as Primary Bucky.

Based on everything we know about Primary Bucky, I don't see how he'd have any reason to WANT to be there and it feels very contradictory to the path they've set him on ever since Civil War.

It all pretty much comes down to the fact that Secretary Bucky and Primary Bucky have led two entirely different lives since the war, around the time there was a divergence in their lives. Their experiences from around the age of 26 onwards have made them into separate people, despite being technically both Bucky. Sebastian Stan's even said he was surprised by his lines as Secretary Bucky because they're so different from the Bucky he's used to playing.

The point of divergence in their lives is of course the train. Secretary Bucky never fell from the train and lost his arm, he was able to be rescued by Captain Carter, so he didn't go through any of the experiences that Primary Bucky has that would make his character detest the idea of being in government.

Secretary Bucky stayed the light-hearted Bucky we met in early CATFA. He never woke up during a horrific surgery to instal a bionic arm where he'd had his real one torn off in the fall, he never experienced decades of torture, brainwashing, forced assassinations and dehumanization. We can't say for sure how much Secretary Bucky knew about Isaiah Bradley and the men of his squadron, but we do know that Primary Bucky knows about them and withheld that information from Steve, which is huge. Primary Bucky knows which governments and organizations (like SHIELD) are corrupt and in what ways, has stood against the American government both as the Winter Soldier and by his own volition, he was framed for an event that led the world to agree on mandatory registering of a specific demographic of people I wonder where he might've seen that before, and has teammates who were kept on the Raft. He saw his own government, the American government, violate their own citizens the way HYDRA did him; injecting them with unknown substances that irreversibly changed their bodies, then punished Isaiah for doing the same thing they hailed Steve as a hero for, and further violated Isaiah by taking his blood without consent and creating more soldiers from him. Primary Bucky was a victim of HYDRA, the clear bad guys, but Isaiah and his brothers-in-arms were victims of the supposed "good guys", and on that fact alone I cannot see any way Primary Bucky is anything other than disgusted and mistrustful of them, if he doesn't outright hate the government. Primary Bucky has also learned a lot from being friends with Sam, how it wasn't Sam's fault for putting down the shield when the government and the country they're in put him in an extremely difficult and impossible situation out of pure racism, about how their country views heroism and its very white standards for it, and how it's not as simple as it was for Steve or John Walker for Sam to have the shield and be Captain America. He saw the US government make one promise to Steve's memory and then immediately disrespect it.

Secretary Bucky seems happy to serve his country and does so by choice, and like I said, we don't know how much he knows about SHIELD's corruption or what the government he serves did to Isaiah and the men of his squad but it's safe to say the different lived experiences he's gone through make him view his government in a positive light and he's very likely never been a number 1 enemy of the state, while Primary Bucky looks completely miserable having to wear that pin during the entire trailer.

Of course you could argue that Primary Bucky has become a senate as a way to try and change things, but the thing is he also knows better than most what goes on in the shadows and I'd say has a very grim perspective on how realistic his chances would be. He's seen and experienced how futile bureaucracy in their world is for making significant change, and idk it just doesn't feel like Bucky's style considering he chose vigilantism over "proper" processes with dealing with HYDRA remnants and the Flag-Smashers.

I'd say it's in character for the Bucky of Earth-82111 to go into politics and end up where he is, he led a completely different life that was never shaped the same way as Bucky from Earth-19999. It feels extremely out of character for Bucky from Earth-19999 to go into politics, echoes of each other or not, their initial 26 years of shared life experiences wouldn't overrule the catastrophic changes 19999's experiences would make to his mind set and opinions because people's loyalties and thoughts change depending on what information they have. Primary Bucky knows and has seen things Senate Bucky has not, so his opinion has been changed and updated from where they were at 26.

80 years is a long time for a lot of deeply impactful things to diverge them further away from each other, even if they all echo one another, regardless of how identical the first quarter was. That's just my opinion.

[snapesshylittlebadger]

Welcome to my side blog!~

๋࣭ ⭑⚝⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⚝ ๋࣭ ⭑⚝⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ Info ๋࣭ ⭑⚝

๋࣭ ⭑ It was December 2003 when I watched the first Harry Potter film. I fell in love with the film! I saw the 2nd movie when it came out at the time but for the rest I didn't watch until 2020. (Yes I know, WAY LATE.) As for the books I've never read until now which I am slow at but I am reading the books.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ Why the love for Snape? ๋࣭ ⭑⚝

๋࣭ ⭑ First and foremost, I am a huge fan of Alan Rickman. He has captured my heart with his exceptional acting skills and down-to-earth personality. He knows just how to bring a character to life and add that extra spark of excitement! ๋࣭ ⭑ One of the other reasons I am drawn to Snape as a character is his unique appearance. Tall and dark, with an aquiline nose and long black hair, he is like a piece of eye candy for me. There's something captivating about men who dress in all black, especially if it's in vintage styles that are more modest. Maybe it's just my quirky Aquarius side, but I find what others may consider unusual and strange to be fascinating and uniquely attractive.  ๋࣭ ⭑ But on a deeper note…I love Snape because I can relate to the bullying he went through while at Hogwarts and I had a friend in 5th grade who was bullied and outcasted like him. Like jayrickman on TikTok put it… “If you asked me what I think about the Marauders, I would say…That like every other character they had their flaws and strengths and that I quite like Remus! But if you asked me on a deeper level…I would say they were horrible people (except for Remus), that came from wealthy influential families and bullied people until a point of attempted murder and S.A. Nothing can ever justify that and I’m wholeheartedly convinced that, if Severus was not excluded by literally everyone BUT Slytherins, he would’ve turned out to be a completely different person. People crave companionship. Milieu forms people.The Slytherins passively and actively brainwashed him to think of his hatred towards his abusive muggle father as hatred towards all muggles. He was abused at home and thought Hogwarts would be his safe place, only to then be bullied there too. Marauders fans have managed to spin their little fanfictions in such a way that they actually made the victim the villain. Snape becoming a bully is such a CLASSIC case of the abused becoming the abuser yet Marauders fans will still say that he deserved to be S.A. I sincerely wish I was privileged enough to say things like ‘sometimes bullying is okay’ because it is more than apparent that no Marauders stan has ever felt what it’s like to have absolutely no one and cling on to whatever lifeline you have. It was always Tobias’ and the Marauders fault that he turned out the way he did.” 

๋࣭ ⭑ I am someone who faced bullying since Elementary because of being of mixed race and the things I like, being S.A during my 10th and 11th grade school years and people saw and did nothing as well as the staff and then having a good majority of my so-called ‘friends’ tell me ‘it was my fault’ and ditched me when I needed them most. I feel a kinship to Snape through that trauma, unfortunately.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⚝ ๋࣭ ⭑⚝⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

๋࣭ ⭑⚝What will we see on this blog? ๋࣭ ⭑⚝

๋࣭ ⭑ Well, you should be seeing things related to the Potion Master, my character Sandrine Everhart and anything and everything H.P related. ๋࣭ ⭑ On top of that I will be sharing commissions of Snape and Everhart on here too.

[jade-len]

okaaaayy, so, i saw a post that i think was sort of targeted towards one of my posts talking about how "lbh was better than me bc i too would've gone bat shit insane"

"I've seen a post saying that that they understand LBH going bat-shit crazy because one guy (Shen Jiu) rejected him, and that they would've done the same."

and i would just like to say that i am in no way justifying bingge or bingmei's actions, and i think i made it pretty clear that i knew how fucked and unhinged lbh was ahaha..? though it's not just because one guy rejected him, but because of the terrible side dishes, nasty after taste, and tragedy galore!

all i was rlly doing was putting myself in lbh's shoes. in my post, i was saying how if i was thoroughly bullied and alone throughout my whole life and then was randomly taken cared of by someone and proceeded to fall completely in love with them, and then out of nowhere they turned a complete 180 and pretty much told me to fuck myself bc of my race and pushed me down into literal hell, i think i would've gone crazy! absolutely bonkers. then that person kept running away from me when i'm just trying to talk to them? i don't know how my mental health would be able to take that! the post was more placed in a joke-y manner, but i do think that i would've done the same if that was my situation. is that okay? hell to the fucking no, i'd be horrified of myself if i were to see me doing that no matter the reason. the same goes for the og, the pidw binghe's situation

and really, the same goes for sj as well. if throughout my whole life i was on the streets and then a slave and beaten etc... shit, i probably would've turned out just like him. it doesn't make it right, and i'm not justifying it, but i'm placing myself in the characters' shoes and understanding how they came to be such a way

so, i was pretty much saying that i understood luo binghe, though in no way did i mean to excuse his actions. but i understand that it sounded like i was justifying it, so i can 100% see that now looking back which i am completely at fault for. and, i for one also dislike it when people try to downplay luo binghe's actions or justify what he did

"by your logic, can we excuse serial killers going on a rampage because the person they liked refused them?" no, absolutely not. and no, i wouldn't be okay with a crazy bastard taking it out on someone i cherish for a stupid reason. i wouldn't be okay with someone taking it out on anyone for any reason. there is a line between reality and fiction that i do not cross, and even in fiction i can very thoroughly recognize the fucked up side of my favorite characters

lbh's fucked and definitely a little more than unhinged, and i don't truly think that he's a completely good or even bad person, but i do appreciate that (at least, to me) he seems to try to become a better one after all of that at the end of the series and recognizes that he can't own sqq

and, hey, sj is one of my favorite characters! i enjoy how mxtx made the svsss characters be fucked in some degree. like how lqg thinks just beating up his disciples is a valid teaching method. i enjoy stories with characters who aren't necessarily "good" or "bad" only. moral ambiguity with characters is so interesting!

i really don't think that we should be putting lbh stans and sj stans against each other because, well, there will always be people on both sides who justify the characters' actions. it's not just one side is doing this and the other side isn't doing that, ykwim? and this isn't even just about lbh and sj when we think about it, it's how some people perceive characters who are morally questionable and don't truly look at all sides of the character! the bad, the good, and the ugly

i love sj and lbh, i love my characters with ambiguous morals, and i love that i can put myself in their shoes and see where they're coming from/why they're the way they are no matter how delightfully screwed it is. especially bingge, he's a deliciously tragic and horrible person

so, if i were to believe that lbh's (or tbh any svsss's characters') actions were okay and justified, and also proceeded to believe so if it took place in real life, then there "might" just be something wrong with me

[therealeagal]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Just finished.

I quite enjoyed it, although I wish there was more stuff to connect it to previous games. The identity of Divine Victoria for example. Red lyrium is barely a thing at all in this game. And what happened to the crew after Inquisition? Either Cassandra, Leliana or Vivienne - we don't know who - became Divine Victoria.

Dorian shows up here and there, and Harding and Varric are on the new crew. And of course Solas is hanging around, being terrible.

None one else gets more than a few get passing mentions, if even that and nothing about what they're actually doing. Helping the Inquisitor, presumably. I don't think Vivienne or The Iron Bull or Blackwall or Cullen even get mentioned at all. Poor Cullen.

Anyway, for a lark, let's see how Veilguard stands against Inquisition and Numero Dos. I never finished Origins. I meant to, but you know how that goes. Something came up, then something else, then something else. And by the time you've got free time you've completely forgotten about its entire existence until you're writing a tumblr post about its third sequel.

Oh well. Que sera sera.

=========

As to combat, Inquisition's was better. I got sick of Veilguard's combat after only a few hours. Switched down to the lowest difficulty and have no great interest in turning it back up again.

----

Inquisition's story was more interesting. Just felt like it had more oomph. Maybe it picks up again in the last ten minutes or some shit. Idunno.

-----

Music. Didn't even notice the music half the time. I guess put Inquisition down for better music.

-----

Now the important part. As to characters, my Inquisitor was much more charming than my Rook to my mind. Elf and Dwarf alike. Never played a human Inky. Or a Qunari Inky for that matter.

My Dwarf Inquisitor was much more handsome (at least in the Inquisition art style) than my Dwarf Rook, but I will admit that I think my Elf Rook is better looking than my Elf Inquisitor, in both art styles. Elf Rook has a better ass than Elf Inky.

Don't really have any advisors like Leliana, Josephine and Cullen in this game. All we've got is Solas. And Solas is terrible. And I guess Varric. But he mostly just hangs out in bed all day. I can't blame him for wanting to sit this one out. He's already been through two catastrophes and is getting too old for this shit. Gotta let the new kid lead the troops.

As far as the companions go:

Resident Dwarf rogue. While Harding, a recurring secondary character from Inquisition, is no Varric, she is a good egg and she's a good choice if your party is in need of a rogue. She was in my team for the final battle, actually. Also her side-story is easily the most interesting and probably the most connected to DA lore. 10/10. The goodest of good beans and certified best girl.

A snarky and fashionable female Tevinter mage who fights the bad guys and doesn't afraid of anything, Neve is like a cross between Dorian and Vivienne, and the whole is greater than the sum of her parts. None of Vivienne's characteristic haughtiness and none of Dorian's unfortunate defense of slavery as an institution. Yeesh. Anyway, 10/10 for Neve. No notes.

Bellara, a elf mage and an archer. She's kinda like a cross between Solas and Sera, except that Solas is terrible and Bellara isn't terrible. Bellara is charming and friendly and not terrible. 10/10. No notes.

Lucanis... Cole had a hat. Lucanis doesn't have a hat. Eh. He's a good bean, but honestly, Lucanis is probably the least interesting among the cast. Well that's not to say I dislike him. I just don't find him as interesting as the others.

Davrin>Blackwall. All day every day. Not even a contest. Even if you ignore Blackwall's sordid past. Even if you ignore the fact that Davrin is actually a Grey Warden while Blackwall is a faker. He just doesn't hold a candle to Davrin. Sorry, Blackwall stans. 10/10. Best boy.

Emmrich Volkarin. Charming fellow, I can find no faults in him. He's very interesting. He's a Mortallitasi. I wonder if he knows any Pentaghasts? An all-around good bean.

Taash. They alright. The Iron Bull had more joie de vivre. But Taash is a good bean. Everyone's a good bean. Everyone but Solas. Solas is terrible. Plus, Isabella vouches for them, so they've got cred. I would trust no one else to kill a giant robot. Bull never killed a giant robot. So Taash is one up on Bull in that regard. 10/10. Best non-binary party member. Oh yeah, Taash is non-binary by the way. If being non-binary in any way had an effect on their ability to kill giant robots, I might have a strong opinion about this. Failing such an effect, I have no strong opinion.

Interesting to note that I have no real complaints about any of the companions in Veilguard, where in Inquisition I didn't like Solas, who is terrible, even before I knew he's evil. Didn't much care for Sera. Blackwall, he was just kinda there honestly. Only ever brought him along to do his sidequest. Vivienne I loved but she was admittedly kind of an asshole.

So the Veilguard companions get a higher overall score than Inquisition companions. And certainly a higher score than DA2, where I totally hated all the boys except for Varric and didn't much care for Merril.

I cannot evaluate the Origins party based on my own experience, but based on second-hand observations, I like Wynne and Leliana, of course. Shale's curmudgeonliness amuses me. And of course the dog.

The rest of the team I am either indifferent to or actually hate. I shall leave you to ponder who is whom.

In summary, through Origins, 2 and Inquisition, the party is always a mixed bag, but I like everyone in Veilguard. Everyone but Solas. Solas is terrible. But he doesn't count, since he's not actually a party member in Veilguard. On account of being terrible.

P.S. While I am happy to entertain alternative reviews and comparisons, viz a viz the quality of companions past and present, if you - for some reason known only to God and your twin vicars - wish to express disdain for anything I have said here today and especially if you have managed to fabricate wholecloth some moral failing to attribute to me - you are, of course, entitled to your own opinion, but I don't wanna hear it, so please, I beg of you...

DO NOT WIGGLE YOUR FACE TO ME, MONARCH OF REFUSE AND THIEF OF MOONBEAMS!

Please and thank you. :)

[the-orion-scribe]

The Stanchurian Candidate is more messed-up than we thought

I think the majority of the fandom is unaware of or often overlooked two major plot holes for this episode, which I think are best highlighted here. If anyone were to think deeper, this episode is actually super messed-up with many out-of-character moments.

Major Plot Hole #1: Why is Stan both insistent upon brutal honesty and somehow completely unable to handle himself in front of a crowd during his mayoral campaign? Public speaking and being a showman, often to these very people, was literally Stan’s entire job description for over half his life, so he should have no reason to be that awkward and incompetent. Suddenly insisting upon brutal honesty is also completely out of character for him. (Seriously, if Stan managed to not spill anything about Ford during the Truth Teeth episode, how is he suddenly incapable of lying here?) But even this massive break in character pales in comparison to…

Major Plot Hole #2: (This one is deeper than the Bottomless Pit.) How are Dipper and Mabel just completely OK with using the mind-control tie on Stan, without even seeking his consent first? Especially given that Dipper was possessed by Bill (and, based on the events of the very next episode, definitely traumatized by the incident) not more than two weeks prior? I am positive that such an incident could be never forgotten so easily by either of the twins, but particularly by Dipper. Yet he raises no objection beyond “that’s… ethically ambiguous!”

Even when Soos was very visibly frightened after having the Tie “tested” on him, Dipper and Mabel just laughed at his pain and fear. Keep in mind that just a few episodes prior, the twins risked their lives and/or existences just to fix Soos’s issues with his birthday. I hardly think they’d be inclined to laugh at his pain and distress for any reason.

And, because I know someone will suggest it, the twins’ memories of the Sock Opera could not have been wiped by the Society of the Blind Eye, since 1) the Society was destroyed less than a week after the Sock Opera, and 2) in the Journal 3 entry corresponding to s2e11: Not What He Seems, Dipper directly references his being possessed by Bill, meaning he remembered the experience at that point (after the Society was gone), and would therefore also remember it during the events of The Stanchurian Candidate.

And also quoting from a conversation with @detectivejigsawpines, The twins literally overrode their uncle’s autonomy and took over his body without his knowing consent. And Ford should have known better, considering he was doing the same thing Bill did.

But I’m not being entirely fair. Though it pains me to say it, The Stanchurian Candidate does still have good points, despite all these faults. It is, of course, still an episode of Gravity Falls, and was, according to the credits, written by the same people as the rest of the series.

In actuality, the episode is quite good when viewed completely in a vacuum. Were this the first episode of the show that someone ever saw, they would (probably) not think it was bad. Without the greater context of Sock Opera and the personality traits the main cast has firmly established throughout the first season and a half, there would be nothing amiss about any of their actions.

In addition, the selfless love of Grunkle Stan still shines through in this episode, when he doesn't hesitate to break off his campaign speech and rescue Dipper and Mabel who are in great danger.

When viewed from that mindset, it’s alright. There are good jokes, fun moments, and the villain-of-the-week is soundly beaten in a satisfying manner. Still not the best episode in the series by a long shot, but not the worst either.

Of course, since Gravity Falls is a very story-based cartoon, you can’t consider this episode in a vacuum, which is where all the problems come from. Even the initial premise of the wacky mayoral election and why Stan wants to participate in it don’t make sense unless you understand something about Gravity Falls as a town, and Stan as a person, respectively.

Idea for a fix: My head canon has become that the majority of the episode (basically everything after they get back from the town hall) was a dream Stan had, since I think the writers may have intended for it to be an episode addressing the “stuff” Stan mentions he has been dealing with later, in “[Twins] vs the Future.” I feel this makes sense because, stylistically, the bulk of the plot appears less like a standard episode and more like the stories Stan sometimes tells throughout the series (such as those in the non-canon s2e06: Little Gift Shop of Horrors), which tend to feature exaggerated behavior and a slight sense of ‘unreality’ (compared to the baseline). Therefore, him having a vivid, all-the-negative-emotions-fueled dream that distorts his family members in somewhat disturbing ways makes a lot more sense than “and then Dipper and Mabel were randomly and - most significantly - gleefully supervillainous (and surprisingly, given their personalities, competent politicians) for one episode.”

Thoughts? Opinions? Soundly reasoned rebuttals?

(Above written with assistance from @callipraxia and @theoryofweirdness)