#bc we actually interact with them outside of one (1) battle

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

what would megumi’s life have been if he was actually raised by the zenin from day one? like either gojo lost the custody battle or they were able to scoop him up before gojo ever reached them. i doubt they would want to keep tsumiki with them so she’s not there for little baby megs.

i think it would be really cool to see a zenin raised megumi interacting with his fellow classmates when he attends the school, not to mention the contrast between him and gojo. like on paper they both should have gotten the same treatment-being pampered and spoiled rotten but we also know that the zenin think that hurting little kids makes them stronger so it would be super interesting to see megumi realise that the stuff that happened to him wasn’t normal and for gojo to have a guilt trip bc he wasn’t able to help megumi when he needed someone to help him the most.

So I have a fanfic that I’ve half written (no idea if I’ll ever finish it—I’d love to, it’s just hard to find the time) about EXACTLY THAT that I talked about in this post for an ask game.

That being said, that entire thing happens from Tsumiki’s perspective, and I agree with you—I don’t think the Zenin would have ever actually taken her too. They don’t want her. She’s not Zenin. She’s not a sorcerer. They only bought Megumi. For the most part, Megumi is absent from that post, and you asked about Megumi. So this is what I think would happen on Megumi's side of that post I linked.

It comes down to two things:

1. He is never, ever happy with the Zenin.

2. He never lets go of his sister.

Megumi’s old enough to remember Tsumiki when the Zenin take him away. He's old enough to love her. And I think that Megumi loves very quietly, but he also loves very violently. He wouldn't let his sister hold his hand on the walk to school, but he would sacrifice himself for her future.

I think the Zenin took him from his sister, and I think he kicked and screamed and wasn't strong enough. I think they thought he would forget her eventually.

And then I think he bit most of the Zenin Clan.

At the end of the day, what Megumi wanted was the one thing the Zenin were not willing to give him. They were never like the Gojo clan, they were never going to pamper him, but there are a great many things in this world that they would give the Ten Shadows finally returned to them. But they would not give him a non-sorcerer, non-Zenin sister who would only be a weakness to him. They refused to let him have any contact with his sister, and that was the source of a lot of what soured.

Any Megumi that was taken in by the Zenin would have been taken in to Naobito's household directly. He would be announced as the one who finally inherited their most cherished technique, and he would be declared heir, and the Zenin would call him beloved for it.

They would keep him in a room that was large and empty and almost always dark, and he wouldn't be allowed to decide when he slept or woke, and the door would always be locked from the outside. They would give him a wardrobe of expensive clothes that he hated, and he would never get to pick which of them he wore.

Megumi would hate them. He would hate all of them.

He's just not the type to be comfortable with or enjoy the adoration of others--especially when it's not backed up by genuine love. Megumi is someone who very much values sincerity and depth to emotion--it's one of the reasons why he seems to respect Yuuji so much. Yuuji is a good person who follows through with what he says. He's not just going to talk about wanting to save people--he's there making the sacrifices as he does it.

The Zenin do not actually love him. And he knows it. He's experienced love before, and this isn't it.

They love the idea of him. The fantasy of him that lives in their heads. He has no interest in being their little god prince to contend with the Gojo's own. He knows who he is, and it's not this. He wants to go home. He wants to find his sister again. He doesn't want to do this anymore.

And I think that's a feeling Megumi never escape: he just didn't want to do this anymore.

Megumi would feel like a bug pinned beneath glass in the Zenin compound. He would constantly have people managing him--when he ate, what he ate, what he wore, when he slept, when he woke, when he trained, what he did. Having to become a jujutsu sorcerer signified an inherent loss of control, but it's nothing compared to the sheer objectification that he goes through when the Zenin have exclusive control over him.

He has no power of what clothes he wears. How his hair is styled. His schedule, his diet, the people he speaks too--he's suffocating and the Zenin are just increasing pressure on him.

I don't think Gojo ever thought that would be Megumi's life.

We’re gonna just have this imagining exist in the same world as the Tsumiki centric fic described in the linked post, and in that, the reason why Gojo never took him in was because he didn’t know Megumi had a sister. He showed up, saw the divine dogs, realized Megumi had the Ten Shadows, and decided he couldn’t do this. He was a mess. He was grieving Suguru and Haibara. Megumi looked just like the man who killed Riko, and apparently inherited the fucking Ten Shadows of all the goddamn things. The Zenin would lose their shit, and Gojo didn’t have the energy to fight and told himself he didn’t need to, because if Megumi was the Ten Shadows he’d be cared for like a prince with the Zenin. He turned around and left and spent the rest of his life with Megumi in the back of his mind, always nagging him with whether he made the right decision. It wasn’t until Maki got there and made a few worrisome references to Megumi's standard of living that he started to really worry that he had made the wrong one, and it wasn't until he found out about Tsumiki that he knew it was the wrong decision.

It's like this: The Zenin hurt Megumi in every world.

It would be bad no matter what, but it really gets bad because Megumi refuses to stop trying to get back to Tsumiki. She's his sister. They didn't have anyone or anything in this world, but they had each other, and he couldn't let these people just take her away. He’s feral about it. He refuses to fit the mold they keep trying to cram him in. He’s trying to scale the walls to escape. He’s increasingly desperate and angry and the Zenin are getting more and more frustrated the longer he fights them. He’s the heir to the clan, and he can’t stop trying to leave it to get back to some random girl who isn’t his real sister and isn’t someone they’ll ever allow him to have.

It gets bad.

They put him under increasingly strict levels of control. He’s constantly being trained, which means he's constantly being hurt. He’s not allowed to speak to anyone without the clan head’s approval. He is under absolutely constant guard after he manages to get over the wall and halfway to his old neighborhood before they catch him again. Tsumiki’s name is not allowed to be said aloud, or his old name. He forgets his name used to be Fushiguro, but he doesn’t forget Tsumiki. He doesn’t let himself.

I think it escalates until it hits a breaking point. Megumi becomes increasingly self-destructive and non-responsive to everything they try. They push him to extremes that start risking permanent damage.

I think Megumi would try to hurt himself, eventually.

He wouldn't be in his right mind. He's in the most shit situation possible. He's undergoing pretty severe abuse. He'd be at the end of his rope from the lack of control over his own life, and he'd be spiteful as hell towards the Zenin. And the only thing he has to hurt them with is himself.

As a character, Megumi has always considered his own sacrifice as an acceptable means to the end of getting back at someone. Mahoraga, intrinsically, requires him killing himself as a way of killing someone else. He'd hurt himself if it was the only way he had of hurting them.

Naobito would cover it up. He'd never, ever want the rest of the clan to find out that it happened. It was already bad enough that Megumi openly hated them--he couldn't have the Zenin seeing any vulnerability in what was meant to be their most powerful member. He'd put Megumi in total lockdown until he could make it all go away.

Then they'd make a deal.

A binding vow. Megumi could never purposefully hurt himself again. He could never again try to leverage his own safety against the clan.

And in exchange, Tsumiki would be taken care of.

The last time Megumi saw his sister, she was on a sinking ship. They were running out of food, money, options--he doesn't know if she even has food anymore. He doesn't know if she lost the apartment or if there's still running water.

They're not letting him see her. But they are letting him take care of her. He can sacrifice another piece of control over himself, and she'll never have to worry about money again. They'll pay for her housing, her food, her education, for her every desire for as long as she lives. The trust the Zenin set up for her will be a generous one, and it will be managed meticulously by a trustee who can make sure she'll be provided for until she's old and grey. And Naobito will vow to never hurt her or send someone else to hurt her. She'll be safe. She'll be taken care of.

Megumi makes the deal.

In the end, the deal's what sort of breaks him.

Because he doesn't promise to stop looking for her, but the Zenin manage to make it a part of the terms anyway. When they approach Tsumiki's mother with the offer to be her family's beneficiary, they include a requirement that Tsumiki be moved to another city entirely with no forwarding address given. She needs to be somewhere that Megumi can never find her again.

The Zenin keep the old apartment. They pay the rent every month. And the next time Megumi manages to make it off compound, they let him make it all the way there before dragging him home. They let him see the empty apartment with all its empty rooms.

Naobito wants him to know that Tsumiki's gone. He wants him to know that he'll never find her again.

He tries to run a few more times after that, but he never makes it very far. He doesn't have anywhere to go.

In the linked post, Megumi finds Tsumiki, just once. She's on a class trip. He's on one of his very few and far between allowed excursions off the compound grounds, and he sees her in the crowd and recognizes her, and he ducks away from his escort before anyone can stop him.

She remembers him. He didn't think she would do that.

She tries to save him. He didn't think she would do that either.

She still loves him. And he was always too afraid to hope she would do that.

It goes the same way it did the first time. There's a car, and the Zenin shove him in it. She's on the outside, and he's trapped within, and he wishes she didn't scream so loudly when it happens. The sound never seems to leave his dreams.

His sister still loves him. Naoya hits him in the back of the head. He wakes up, and it was like she was never there at all.

But they hit him harder, after. Like they're trying to beat the memory of her out of him. He has even less freedom, when he already had next to none at all.

But he still has a sister. He has a place to go that isn't here. He just has to figure out where that is.

He wouldn't really have anyone in the Zenin clan. Most people are just... weird about him. Naoya's violently abusive. Naobito's weird and violently abusive. Everyone wants him to be someone he's not.

Maki would be his favorite.

He doesn't care about whether she's got cursed energy--his sister didn't have any. And she's obviously strong. She doesn't treat him like a divine blessing or try to force him to act a certain way. I think they would have genuinely liked each other, but kept each other at a distance. They're both trapped in an abusive situation and keep themselves safe by keeping everyone else at arm's length.

He would have been happy to see her get out, though. He would have told her that she could have his spot as heir or head or whatever when she came back if she wanted it. She would have told him that if he ever got out... well, fuck it. They could be something then. Family. Whatever the fuck they weren't allowed to be here.

She would have told him she's sorry, and she would have meant it. The only one she she regretted more than Megumi was Maki. He would have told her not to be, that if she dared to be sorry for getting out that he would never forgive her, and he would have meant that too.

I think his relationship with his own techinque would be very different in a world where the Zenin raised him. In canon, his issue is that he doesn't view himself as someone who could be powerful or win in the long run, but in this world, all he ever hears is how powerful he is. Pride of the fucking Zenin. The most powerful of them in centuries. Meant to rival Gojo fucking Satoru himself.

I think his real issue would be controlling it.

His technique would be a source of negative associations for him. It's the reason why the Zenin took him away. Most of his interactions with it have involved getting beaten and hurt by either his family or a high-level curse they shoved him in front of. I think he'd have a lot more firepower under his belt than at the start of canon, but he'd have less of a fine tuned control over it.

He lost control over his own life because of his shadows. It think that would manifest in struggling to control his own shikigami at times. he's not as in-sync with them as he is in canon.

Eventually, he'd go to Jujutsu High. He would be the only one in the first year class at the beginning, just like in canon. And he'd finally meet Gojo Satoru, the man he's supposed to topple.

He looks at Megumi really goddamn weird.

He's... enthusiastic. About. Teaching. He guesses. And constantly asking prying questions about the Zenin, but not in the sort of way he'd expect from a rival. In the sort of way he'd expect from someone concerned about him. Which is stupid. And annoying. And weird. He keeps a distance from everyone. They've all heard about the Zenin clan heir, and he has no interest in having to fit or break whatever mold they've already cast him in. He's better off on his own.

Maki's there. She's cordial where other people can see it, and in private, she takes care of him in a way that's terrifyingly close to familial. He's not sure if he likes it. He's not Mai, and she's not Tsumiki, and they both want someone they can't have.

She isn't sorry she left. She is sorry she left him. He can hate her for it all he goddamn pleases.

Of course, if this is in the same world as the linked post, Megumi finds Tsumiki again. He finds her in Sendai.

He gets to keep her, this time.

Gojo Satoru, of all the goddamn people, intervenes and becomes his sister's benefactor. It's super fucking weird. He won't stop looking at Megumi strangely. He won't stop insisting that he didn't know he had a sister, like that matters.

That would sort of be the first time in a long time that life actually gets better for Megumi.

I think he would ask to go by Fushiguro again, once he asks Tsumiki what his name used to be. He'd ask her if she minded it, him taking the name again, and he'd ask the rest of the school to call him Fushiguro instead of Zenin.

Predictably enough, Naobito loses his shit when he finds out, but it's not nearly as big of a pain in the ass as he thinks it is? Because Gojo intervenes.

Gojo keeps intervening.

It drives Megumi nuts, because if anyone was supposed to hate him, it was this guy. If anyone was supposed to be against him, it was this guy. This is the guy he was supposed to rival. This is the guy who killed his shitheel bio dad.

Gojo's just... good to him. He keeps him safe. He keeps him safe from his own goddamn family, and that's--no one's ever done that. No one's ever protected him from the Zenin.

The Zenin try to remove him from the Tokyo campus and move him to Kyoto the second they find out Tsumiki's there, and Gojo just... says no. It causes an uproar, and he doesn't fucking budge. It's treading dangerously close to him kidnapping the Zenin clan heir, his refusal to let them remove him from the Tokyo campus, and he doesn't care about whatever problems it causes him.

Megumi's his student. He doesn't want to leave. So Gojo won't let them take him.

He personally goes to Kyoto and collects him, the one time the Zenin force him into a car and move him when Gojo's off on a mission. He tells the higher ups to get fucked. He changes Megumi's student I.D. to read Fushiguro, and he causes problems for Yaga and the assistants until they start calling him Fushiguro as well.

Megumi's different with the other students once his sister is there.

He's more connected with them. He becomes best friends with Kugisaki and Itadori. He gets closer with the second years. He's visibly happier, and it sort of casts in sharp contrast how unhappy he was before this.

And Gojo? Gojo's so goddamn sorry. He didn't know megumi had a sister.

The thing is that now that both Tsumiki and Megumi are on campus, it sort of haunts Gojo with what could have been. They're both fantastic kids--funny, smart, resourceful. And it's painful watching them try to rebuild what was taken from them. And it could have just. never happened. Because he could have saved them both. He could have been their family.

It's sort of painfully obvious the Zenin abused Megumi, and it fucking haunts him. He doesn't even have to read into Megumi's behavior--he sees it happen, right in front of him, with how they try to control him and push him around. He wants to kill them for it. He wants to hate himself for it. He could have saved Megumi and he just. He didn't.

He wishes he did.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I really live the idea of the twst anime just showing random things that happen with the characters that we don't see in the main story, the obey me anime did that too and I think it was for the best! I would also like to see some events played put in the anime bc I think it would be fun to see some of them in a form other than the game! that would give us a chance to maybe see some different places other than nrc too! I think the masquerade event might be too big for one episode of the anime but it would be really cool to see it animated. I also want to see najma, cheka and some other family/friends that we either have seen little of or haven't met before (deuces mom and malleus grandma! the leech parents! azuls family??? SEBEKS MOM AND DAD??) they don't have to play a big part in it, just little bits with them if the anime is focusing on certain characters each episode

[Referencing this post!]

In talks of the TWST anime (which we still don't have a lot of details about), I do often hear comparisons made to Obey Me, which got an anime adaptation that focused not on the main story but on the daily lives and stupid shenanigans of the characters. As I mentioned before, I would prefer if TWST went this route for its anime rather than repeating the main story for (what is it now?) a 4th time (game, manga, light novel, now anime).

The main story is fine and all, but to me each retelling barely adds anything new to the actual plot (even if the Yuu is changed up), and I'm personally not all that invested in them when they don't play an active role for half of the story. I feel like the art form of animation could be much better utilized to explore things not tackled in the manga or the light novel: new locations, new characters, new lore. It could even be adaptations of the less serious conflicts in events or vignettes! This would get newcomers introduced to TWST without spoiling the main story while also providing fanservice to preexisting fans. There's just so much of TWST not touched upon outside of the game, and I think that's a real shame because Twisted Wonderland has very interesting places, cultures, and people! I personally want to see more of the characters interacting and more of the world in the anime rather than the episodes trying to shoehorn Yuu into scenes they don't necessarily have anything to do in. (That's honestly a lot of the gripes I have with Yuu; their presence oftentimes feels contrived and lacking 💦 and I feel like this issue will become extremely apparent in animation unless Yuu is changed significantly and actually given things to do where game!Yuu did not (ie during battles, in book 5, etc.)) I definitely feel like my interests are more aligned with learning more about the 22 boys in the main cast and their relationships and families. Maybe we could have an episode or two dedicated to just how their friends/families reacted to them being accepted into THE Night Raven College! The anime certainly sounds like a faster way to see the family members of the boys over waiting for them to be introduced to us one by one in randomly placed hometown events 😅 I just want something more slow-paced and character focused, time to take in the scenery and how the characters act around each other... not, "Oh gee. Fancy that, starting with Heartslabyul all over again."

In regards to Glorious Masquerade, I do think it would be possible to cram everything into one episode's run time (especially if you condense the boys exploring the City of Flowers into a quick montage), but I don't think it would be paced too well. To be safe, it could take place over the span of a few episodes, maybe 2 (with part 1 being the pre-crimson flower phase and part 2 being the post-crimson flower phase).

[broodwolf221]

this isn't so much my theory abt DA4 as it is my delicate little hope for DA4 but

I'm p confident Solas will manage to tear down the veil, and I'm p confident that the voice at the end of the new trailer was Elgar'nan

I'm also p confident that Mythal is still alive - she's in Solas to some degree, and may or may not be exerting a level of control. idk if he genuinely thinks he killed her or if he knows that he took her in instead, but possibly the latter with her implication that this kind of transference can't be done without consent

I think there's a good but not absolute chance that Solas will end up back on the protag's side partway thru the game - my hope here is that we're not actually allowed to kill him bc he's a necessary character, but we shall see!

now for the less certain stuff, with some headcanons to contextualize it:

1. I think Mythal and Solas were very close in Arlathan and very possibly were lovers - the description of the lyrium idol and their interaction at the end of the base game both imply a certain intimacy

2. I believe that Mythal was a good person in Arlathan, that Solas' description of her being the best of them was based in reality

3. It feels likely that Mythal was a victim of domestic abuse from Elgar'nan, given descriptions of his character and her being said to be the only one who could calm his fury

4. Very possibly Flemeth's story parallels Mythal's story, in that both had a meaningful lover outside of their marriage and both were condemned for it - this similarity may be what drew Mythal to Flemeth

5. Considering that the Evanuris, the strongest mages in the world, tried and failed to kill her - then the HOF couldn't kill her - then Solas either didn't or couldn't kill her... she may not be indestructible but the Evanuris are damn near impossible to kill. She may be uniquely survivable, and her having aspects stored in other people and possibly the lyrium idol may be part of that, but either way, I don't think she's any kind of dead. She might have been weakened by the attempted murder, but that's all, weakened

6. See also: Solas was implied to be one of the Evanuris (and one of the Forgotten Ones), which also implies that his strength in Arlathan was comparable enough to be considered among their number - and he couldn't kill them. The best he could do at the time was imprison them. Given this, I don't see Mythal dying in DA4 being inevitable or appropriate.

so with all that said: my aforementioned delicate hope is that Mythal ends up joining the protag, maybe directly, maybe indirectly, idk, but I want to see her in her own skin as a standalone entity. and I want her to be a big part of how Elgar'nan is defeated. and then I want her to live - I really don't want her destroying herself to save the world or anything, bc even tho that'd be powerful in its way, I don't want to see someone who's written as a very plausible domestic abuse victim having to die to stop her abuser. no matter how carefully and well done it is, I'd find that cheap and belittling

I think she and Solas need to work some shit out, and I think both of them should be part of the final battle, and I think both of them should live afterwards. I want Solas going off with a romanced Lavellan if that's imported and keeping in touch with the friends he's made - Mythal could either go off mysteriously as is her way, or possibly lead the released Evanuris towards a different kind of society and culture, one that's more in line with how she was trying to shape them back in Arlathan

I just really don't want either of them to die

[crimson-mayhem-archive]

【30 Questions of CP, OC & Fandom】

[ credits to ⇨ @mukami-kuron-mrsadisticcat || whin: IMMA HOP IN AND BE COOL LIKE EVERYONE ELSE 💃]

1.How long have you been in this fandom?

not that long, actually! while i’ve known about the series since like?? middle school?? I never actually started participating in the fandom space until around October of 2021! and even now i’m still like? tip toeing around bc im scared.

2. Who's your fictional boyfriend/husband?

I’ll be so honest with y’all rn. I don’t actually have a DL character that I like that much— I really just kinda cycle through them in terms of how much I like them. As of right now though?? Probably Ruki or Richter. (lol bitches with R names)

3. Why do you like them?

richter?? well I actually hated his guts more than any other character until recently. idk what changed to be perfectly honest with you. just kinda woke up one day and was like “mmm i’ll give him a chance.” i do like the potential for angsty scenarios though!

as for ruki, he’s also one i wasnt fanning over until recently. i didn’t hate him ofc, but the only content of him i really indulged in on up until now was the anime. and when i saw him in the show i was like “okay” then moved on. after reading his routes though? i started to like him a lot more 😞 and ofc Jas ( @ruki--mukami ) has a flawless portrayal of him that i feel in love with so 💃

4. Have you make acquaintance with anyone that ships themselves with the same character?

I have no idea if they ship themselves with the characters I listed, or if they’re just one of their favourites. But Ava ( @fruit-of-infidelity ) and Jas ( @ruki--mukami ) are two people i’m fortunate enough to be mutuals with :’).

5. How do you feel about it?

i feel pretty great about it actually. it’s nice to find people who have the same amount of love for a character that you do 💃

6. Do you feel any negativity towards them?

ofc not!

7. Do you like seeing their oc(s) interact with your man/woman?

honestly yeah. seeing different characters combinations go in different directions is always a treat! i really enjoy scrolling through the threads.

8. Do you feel competitive against them?

yeah for sure we’re battling in a boxing ring rn 🤼‍♂️

i’m joking but no i don’t feel competitive at all!!

9. Confident, or pessimistic?

both at different times. and while i wouldn’t say i’m pessimistic, most of the time i’m definitely not confident.

10. Would you like more to get to know about your ship, or would you rather it being lowkey?

as for a ship with myself? i don’t post much selfship content (even though i do have a blog for it). but i wouldn’t really mind whether people know abt it or not!

as for a ship with my oc(s)— Virek is relatively new. so i haven’t developed deep enough relationships to have a solid ship with him yet. HOWEVER! gwen, my old oc, had a few ships that i adored.

the top to being Ryuwen ( @fruit-of-infidelity ) and Myswen ( @mino-diabolik) ((did we ever come up with a ship name for them?? idk 🏃💨))

the dynamics in those two ships were to die for honestly. vv enjoyable! but i also can’t wait to build up relationships with this character as well 💃

11. Do you follow any of those people (them whom ship themselves with your fictional lover)

well aside from those already tagged, no.

12. Are you friends with them?

i’d like to say yes, even though we don’t talk very much outside of Tumblr T-T. I do adore them though ^^ so hopefully we can talk more.

13. What do you think about the 'stans' ?

i’m only a part of a tiny corner of the fandom. but the people around here are cool, so.

14. Are you worried about plagiarism or copying of your oc(s) by others?

lol, NO sjjsnd. i doubt someone would even try to copy my characters, given how complex and messy they tend to be

15. How do you handle such a situation if it happens?

i have no idea. so we’ll cross that road when we get there.

16. Is your cp public or only between a particular circle of friends?

generally all of them are public. but a lot of the relationship building with @simpemone ‘s characters are done in private. we do post a lot about our ocs publicly though— but if you’re wondering why those dynamics are much more developed than others jsns.

17. Do you like a specific cp ship, whats the reason? (I dare you to tag them~!)

i like a lot of ships actually, both with my own ocs and some ships my mutuals have with their’s!! i don’t have the guts to tag any of them though so 💃

18. What kind of behaviors do you suppose is pretentious to you?

i hope i don’t have any pretentious behaviours?? if i do and just don’t notice feel free to scream at me!!

as for others? ig the behaviour i hate most is ‘claiming’ a character for yourself. getting insanely jealous when they interact with others, things like that.

19. What kind of comments do you dislike the most when it comes cp feedbacks of your oc(s)?

i’ll accept any feedback about my oc as long as it isn’t malicious or obviously not meant to help and instead to complain.

20. Have you receive hates about your oc(s) before?

i haven’t!

21. Do you have a complete love story of your cp?

i don’t. but i, hopefully if i can find the energy, in the future hope to write routes for virek/a diaboy and virek/yui. or if i end up feeling too ambitious, have virek get his own route with each boy. but those are just plans that i don’t plan on executing for a while!

22. Do you allow joint of alternate universe with the canon version of your cp story?

well virek doesn’t have a canon story atm but ofc!!

23. Are you okay with people shipping their oc(s) with yours?

yes yes yes!! i adore it when people wanna ship their ocs with mine T-T

24. Ever gone through a bad experience in the fandom?

i havent been here for very long so no.

25. The ocs that you admire in this fandom are? (Tag them~)

all of @princesscrownprince ‘s OCs. Ryuuto ( @fruit-of-infidelity ) Scarlett ( @kindan-no-kanojo ) Sumire ( @sumire-bride ) literally all of @simpemone ‘s OCs. ALL OF @cursed--requiem ‘s OCs. Irina ( @iricathel ) Amani ( @ayamexe ) Simone ( @smonie )

26. What is the moment that caused you to feel most disappointed or excited?

disappointed?? i dont really have any specific moment where i feel disappointed. but it is annoying that a chunk of this fandom will not hesitate to jump down someone’s throat, instead of having civilised discussions.

the most excited? literally any blog that could be considered ‘popular’ or ‘big’ popping up in my notifs. like ik a few of my mutuals have bigger blogs, but when i first saw y’all in my notifs i was like “?!?!”

it catches me off guard knowing that some of the more popular blogs took a peek at my tiny lil corner and went “this? i like this.” LIKE Y’ALL SEE ME?

27. The scariest era that you have come across in the fandom?

see #26

28. The most wonderful thing you have come across in this fandom?

all the love i’ve received since being here. i’ve been fortunate enough to interact and talk with lot of wonderful people, and i hope we can talk more in the future. :’) (when i say i wanna befriend all of y’all i mean it. 🤼‍♂️)

29. Say something towards those that support and admire your cp~

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. truly. its a blast knowing that even one person enjoys what i put out :’). so i really so appreciate everyone’s kinda words, the enthusiasm with your replies/comments. it’s a joy T-T

30. You've worked hard, keep up the good work! ★★★

AHHHH I FINALLY FINISHED IT. now i need a nap 😞 ALSO I AM SOOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR ALL OF THE RANDOM TAGS. FORGIVE ME 🏃

[nymph-of-books]

a list of she-ra fanfics that i would recommend

these are gonna be little at first because i only want to be sharing the ones i truly deeply love; i will be editing this post as i go along. additionally these are like... basically all catradora as a general psa !!! i will be adding my own summary of the plot w/o spoilers (if i can help it), whether it's multi-chaptered or a one-shot & complete or ongoing, and my personal reaction to it !! if you didn't notice i adore au fics more than anything note: i'm posting this w/o having completed it because i just want to get it out rn, but i've read much more & these r definitely not the only ones i'd recommend !!! i just have to sort through my history to find the fics i actually read and adored and i don't have all the time to do that all the time rn :) before season 1 in-canon timing (season 1-5) the blood in your mouth written by artemiswords - alternative season five & beyond - written before season five was aired. catradora aren't automatically together - happy ending though! - multi-chaptered, complete - this was the first multi-chaptered fic i've read since like. fanfiction.net days & it got me into multi-chaptered fics because it's just so good. honestly the author's mind >>>> i keep sitting here waiting for something (but i know nothing will happen) written by nymphofbooks. - conversation between catra and adora after the events at the battle of bright moon. they talk about some things and reach a little bit of a mutual understanding - oneshot, complete - not actually one of my favs but self-promo ha. the first of my upcoming one-shots, mostly dialogue & i am a bit rusty on it. hiraeth written by erce3 - mara and angella find each other in the portal, and together they make the eternal loneliness a little less bad. - oneshot, complete - wasn't exactly sure where to put this because technically it's both before, during, and after canon... anyway this literally made me cry & it is very beautiful :( sad face bc it made me sad :( but it's beautiful! after season 5 alternate universe as long as we stay together (if we just stay together) written by herothehardway - astrophysicists in antarctica au. catra & adora are lab partners but aren't allowed to interact outside of the lab due to extenuating circumstances. they used to be roommates (and there's tons of flashbacks) and maybe they'll become something more than lab partners, despite the rules. also, hockey!catradora - multi-chaptered, complete - god, this fiction is incredible. it's clear the author knows a lot about the subject & spent a lot of time on it & it's just great. nsfw scenes though so read w discretion!! anyway this is one of my all-time favourites & i've loved herothehardway's writing ever since. seriously, the way they incorporate the show details... yes more grown up and a better daughter written by herothehardway - multi-chaptered regency catradora au. adora's family is on the brink of financial ruin, and she has to marry someone rich. she is presented to society & on the day of her coming out ball she meets catra, an old childhood friend who mysteriously disappeared without any notice. turns out catra is pretty rich... - multi-chaptered, ongoing - very neat, definitely recommend. again, herothehardway shows they're engaged in the situations of their characters & take a lot of time on accuracy which we stan (and i don't really do myself because i am lazy) the place where we fall written by herothehardway - oneshot wizard catradora au. adora and catra were apprentices to shadow weaver & shadow weaver cursed them before they died to make sure they dueled each other every year until one of them is dead. this is the fifth year - oneshot, complete - HELP IS IT OBVIOUS I ENJOY HEROTHEHARDWAY'S WRITING??? okay i swear this is the last one rn !!! i love it & the vibes & it's generally gorgeous 10/10 recommend :) baby, i'm a house on fire (and i wanna keep burning) written by wittchers. - arranged marriage au between catra and adora, set after the horde win over bright moon. slow burn & neither of them wants it. - oneshot,

complete - fluid & natural & amazing writing, and the original summary completely drew me in. would definitely recommend! i picture it soft & i ache written by erce3 - modern au wherein ceo!catra fucks up in wording & non-profit charity founder!adora defends her in an interview. she says that she knows catra and... you know the internet. everyone believes they're dating & they agree to start fake-dating in order to boost both their public figures - one-shot, complete - i'm normally not one for fake dating but i rly liked this fic !! i rly like how erce3 handled the trope. the writing is amazing! i made myself better to love you written by fairytaleslayer - feral children catradora au wherein catra & adora escape from the horde and find their home in the whispering woods. they are healthily co-dependent & eventually join the rebellion - multi-chaptered, complete - amazing au. i love this sm & it's so accurate to their characters. it's written beautifully & the relationships are absolutely gorgeous

[leia-imogen]

aaron & the family he's found all by himself; vol. 1 // vol. 2

( ft. the first meeting & the first family game night )

okay, rundown of his first meeting w the vixens!

the vixens don't really like the foxes. they cheer at their games and all, but outside of that, they mostly stick with the football players

bcs, well, the foxes are,, intimidating and most of the vixens don't get how or why katelyn started dating one

especially one half of the terrifying duo that is the twinyards. like these tiny blonde angst goblins have absolutely zero chill, and this is the backliner one, the one that shattered the nose of a dude basically twice his size

they may be short as fuck but they're scary, and the vixens are worried that he might break katelyn's heart

but katelyn's sure about aaron minyard, and when cleo softly asks, "is he worth it?" she knows her answer is a yes

savannah and the rest of the girls aren't convinced tho, so she asks aaron if he'll meet them for one of the afterparties they have after games

he agrees after seeing the hopeful look on her face

and surprise, surprise, it isn't a complete disaster!!

see, aaron has a habit of mirroring the nature of the person he's with. in the book, we mostly see him as an asshole bcs it's from neil's pov, and neil, as much as i adore him, is an asshole

i think that when he's with nicky ( someone he loves and trusts ), he's like, nicer. it's not in his nature to be cheery or anything but he's less,, hostile? and way more relaxed

and katelyn's been nothing but sweet and polite to him, bcs katelyn's sweet and polite till you give her a reason not to be

so he's sweet and polite back, or at least, sweet and polite as aaron minyard can get.

yeah, he's definitely interesting enough, clever and quick-witted enough, respectful and loyal and insanely talented enough, that katelyn decides he's worth it. doubts he'll ever get boring

and yes, she knows this is a big risk, bcs she knows the foxes' rep, knows how fucked up he must to secure a place on the psu foxes, notices how aaron flinches when she makes any sudden movement

but you know what? fuck it

so when aaron tells her his strange, twisted little deal with his brother, katelyn's willing to fight for him

and after nearly 2 months of this, she drags him to the vixens with their fingers interlocked and a hope in her heart that they'd play nice like she's asked ( practically begged ) them to

aaron's buzzing a bit with nervous energy. it's very endearing, how his eyes had lit up at the sight of her, then how she felt her anxiety about the night melt away into excitement

sav tries, bless her, tries to engage aaron in half-hearted conversation about exy ( which she hates ) and aaron tries back, but that fizzles out bcs for someone on a full-ride exy scholarship, aaron doesn't like exy at all

thank god that marissa, who's been trying to be less of a bitch all night, bless her too, lets it slip that sav detests exy

"okay, i can't anymore. minyard, savannah actually hates exy and she hates the foxes too, but we're hoping that you're an exception."

aaron, holding back a laugh: honestly? same.

sav: oh thank fucking GOD we have something to talk about then

"yeah, the entire sport sucks, doesn't it? i literally play it at college level and i still have barely figured out the goddamn rules."

"exactly! and my entire family's fucking obsessed for some reason, it's so annoying! ugh and the foxes suck even more, they're all so goddamn rude for no reason. except maybe the cute goalie."

". . ."

"eww not your brother, i meant renee walker,, and maybe you're not too bad either, minyard."

"you flatter me."

katelyn watches their exchange with more than a little amusement. aaron's not smiling, but his features have softened and he's flushed from the alcohol he'd had and she can't rly believe that this is the boy who they all thought would break her heart

bcs later when aaron comes up to her with a cookie dough cupcake ( her favourite ) she didn't even know was served at the party, leans into her so his face is buried in her neck, whispers "thanks for taking me", when she takes in all her friends laughing and chatting and waving at her, when sav gives her a thumbs-up and nods to aaron, she's never felt more whole

like she was part of something bigger than herself

then aaron starts hanging around them more! yeah he saw the look on katelyn's face and he was going to TRY for her or so help him- usually just with katelyn, sav, and cleo

she invites him to the "family game night" sav is making them have, and he's like "sure why not."

he knocks on the door of sav and cleo's dorm and sav lets him in

"yo, minyard! glad you make it, katelyn's out on a donut run but she'll be back soon."

okay,, okay. so he'll,,, what? interact w people?? hell fucking no

then he realises that it's only cleo in the dorm, plugged into her headphones, playing mario kart, and thanks katelyn for ensuring there would only be ppl that like, he didn't mind

the other vixens were okay, but way too LOUD, and aaron wasn't rly up for spending a whole night w them

cleo hands him a controller, an invitation to play, and he takes it gratefully. he and cleo hadn't talked that much at the party, but she was perfectly tolerable so far, which was a good sign

and mario kart was a part of his childhood, one of the only few that nicky's parents had owned, so he and his cousin had spent hours curled up in front of tv trying to beat each other

even tho he beats nicky most of the time, cleo absolutely destroys him. he mentally tries to brush it off as him being rusty ( which he definitely is ) but damn, cleo's good. still, she brushes off the compliment when aaron blurts it out

okay so then katelyn comes back with like way too many donuts and they start playing monopoly gathered around the coffee table

sav insists on putting on some music. wannabe starts playing. she winks at aaron and aaron winks back, still not smiling. cleo snorts and katelyn kisses his cheek

listen, cleo is a monopoly master. soon, she owns over half the board and it's pretty clear she's gonna win, someone ( savannah riley jameson, everyone ) flips the board

"jameson, what the actual fuck."

"shut the hell up, minyard."

"come on, sav, i was winning!"

katelyn's trying to pick up all the pieces and aaron bends down to help her, shaking his head at sav, who pouts and joins them while cleo grins, headphones slung around her shoulders while she perches herself onto the arm of the settee and hums to wake me up before you go-go

next, sav begs them to play twister. cleo's great at most games, but she has a particular dislike for twister, so she's out quick

katelyn is super bendy, bcs she took gymnastics for years, and aaron holds his own surprisingly well, considering the fact that he's short as fuck

sav: katie, right hand red

katelyn, ending up right on top of a blushing aaron: okay, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you?

sav: i stopped spinning like 15 turns ago, i'm surprised you didn't notice sooner

eventually aaron collapses and katelyn is hailed as the queen of twister and they spend the next 10 minutes just calling out random spots for katelyn to try

she gets all of them, and aaron is actually smiling now and it doesn't matter that it's only a tiny quirk of his lips, it's something and katelyn cherishes it

they play some sort of surgeon simulator thingy next, and aaron "gonna be a future neurosurgeon" minyard is awesome at it, bcs duh

katelyn's not very good at this. her hands get SHAKY okay

cleo also sucks at this, bcs she keeps getting nervous and having muscle spasms. sav's just doing the dumbest shit bcs it's bringing aaron closer to the edge of cardiac arrest

aaron: jameson holy shit what are you DOING

sav, slicing open the spinal cord: okay so what if i take out the lungs through the back haha

and now sav is sulking over the fact that she hadn't absolutely murdered the others at a game

so she brings out the ultimate game. the game of bastards, one that tears families apart, sets friendships on fire, starts wars too gruesome to be started by anything other than this wretched, cursed artefact. . .

s c r a b b l e

aaron's already having war flashbacks. katelyn groans and goes to make popcorn, bcs this shit's gonna take FOREVER and she knows it. cleo, an english major, is preparing herself for battle with the force of nature that is savannah

"the fuck do you MEAN fergalicious isn't a word???"

"savannah, please."

"no, here, listen to this."

"sav, we were listening to that!" katelyn complains. sav sighs and switches the song back to her "90's bops" playlist, then changes it to "hell yeah feminism" which instantly starts playing run the world ( girls )

katelyn happily starts singing and aaron's not even reluctant to hum along

sav and cleo are still arguing. this has been going on for so long. sav looks ready to flip over the board again, so cleo does it first

katelyn: cleo what the heck

cleo, the tired mom friend: don't fucking curse

aaron is also tired, but in a good way, in kind of that soft lazy droopy way

he falls asleep leaning against the sofa and katelyn's shoulder, with god is a woman playing in the background while sav and cleo continue arguing. cleo is standing on the coffee table. it's true anarchy

he wakes up on the sofa with a blanket thrown over him and sunlight streaming in through the lacy curtains and katelyn making a complete mess of the kitchen in a futile attempt to make breakfast. sav and cleo are draped across each other on the floor

katelyn, struggling to pick up burning toast: morning babe, how did you sleep?

aaron, calmly using a pair of tongs: pretty well. who wants pancakes?

sav, instantly shooting up: DID YOU SAY PANCAKES

so he makes pancakes! nicky taught him as soon as he'd gained custody of the twins, so he's pretty much an expert. he tries to teach katelyn, but then just gives up bcs she's clearly not listening in favour of staring at him

and they all gather around the coffee table and cleo's humming along to the song on her headphones and wow these pancakes are rly good omg

while aaron is chatting to cleo about what video games they should play next, sav whispers, "kate finley, if you don't marry this boy just for his god-tier pancakes, i will."

"sav, you're a lesbian."

"not anymore, i've decided that i am pancake-sexual."

aaron hears all of this btw, bcs cleo stops when she hears them talking. he blushes, and smiles, just a little bit

( if anyone actually cares about this, tell me! shoot me an ask if there's any particular ask you want to see with these characters, or just the foxes! )

[ateezaligned]

How OnlyOneOf portrayed queer relationships and dynamics in libidO, w a hint of good ol’ yearning

(disclaimer: this strictly about the mv and in no way I’m implying these dynamics are translated to real life and their friendships if u suggest that ill kick you, don’t ship real ppl romantically pls)

The storyline of Instinct pt. 1 tell us this album is focused on self-discovery and how young people repress their “urges”, but the way all three subplots play with this concept is super fascinating!

The KB/Yoojung situation (which is my favorite subplot!!): From my point of view, Yoojung and KB show a relationship that is just blossoming. The song starts with tying up Yoojung’s hands, he is being contained, and his lyrics are literally “I’m attracted for no reason”, now I looked up other translations besides the original and it also has to do with being ‘pulled’, like Yoojung is being pulled into this relationship for ‘no reason’, he thinks he needs one to fall in love with another man. Rationalizing your feelings is a way to separate yourself from them. Therefore, Yoojung plays the more hesitant part, he overthinks, his super ego policing strongly what he feels.

On the other hand, KB is seen initiating most of the physical contact between them, and he does it in a way that makes it easy for Yoojung to pull back if he doesn’t want it. KB is also always at least an arm away, inside a comfortable space for Yoojung to reach for him if he wants to. In their first scene of close contact, Yoojung is the one laying his head on KB’s shoulder, and he keeps control of their closeness throughout the whole video, despite KB breaking it with the soft touches we see, such as fixing Yoojung’s hair or putting his hand on his shoulder in the beach scene. And all this gentle-ness contrasts so well, bc we also see KB’s character initiating contact with others! He pulls Junji for a hug when both of them are shirtless and he does it so nonchalantly! It’s obvious he is okay with /more/, but he respects Yoojung’s boundaries and never pushes.

The scooter scene is great, bc we can see Yoojung hugging and pressing their thighs and putting his hands in the air, he feels more carefree, he was able to get past his own inhibitions and it’s so great to see.

So Yoojung and KB's is like a first relationship: you are stepping on eggshells, you don’t know what you’re doing or looking for. A lot of queer people start dating into adulthood, and even with previous ‘straight’ dating experience, everything is so incredibly new! And it’s great but also anxiety inducing and frustrating.

Then, there’s Rie and Junji. A thing I found incredibly interesting is that in every scene of them (except two) they’re already in contact. In the car they’re holding hands, and when they’re hugging and eating lollipops, and back to back in the basketball court, we don’t know who started it, but it doesn’t matter because Junji and Rie are equals and stand on the same ground of mutual love, respect and experience, they’re having fun and smiling at one another, even when they’re playing basketball face to face, their eyes are on each other and its playful and great. Rie has one of the best lyrics in the song that is “I trust youand I accept it”. Junji and Rie don’t need to fight their instincts, really, because they know everything is reciprocated and their libido (not as in sexual drive but as in life energy) is matched in the other, they have trust over everything else, and this can also be shown in the only scene where Rie lays his head on Junji’s back, he’s supporting himself on his partner and Junji accepts it because relationships aren’t only fun but also healing and giving someone a place to rest. And Junji does his part and bandages Rie’s wounds, which @henlex pointed out as a Achilles and Patroclus reference, being these basically the top tier of gay love and companionship, when Patroclus died (represented by Rie), Achilles dies avenging him, asking for their ashes to be mixed so they could be forever one. So yeah, let’s yearn for something like this gays.

Finally, the trio. They’re the first ones to have their solo scenes, and you can see Love in the bathtub, he is naked and exposed, playing with some rosemary leaves (yeah I went to someone and asked them if they recognised the plant leave me alone). Rosemary used to be given to Aphrodite bc it was used as an aphrodisiac. It also represents fidelity. Yeah. So Love is playing with fidelity, basically. Many thoughts were thought.

Then, Nine and Mill are a continuous contrast throughout the mv. While Nine is inside and laying on the floor, cozy and reading, Mill stands outside in the garden looking at the window. I’ve said it before but I think it’s really important the way Mill’s character portrays one of the harsher parts of queerness that is that “other-ness”. You’re just an observant, and you want in and to be yourself with your friends and participate in those rituals, but something inside you doesn’t allow you to. In here, though, is not just ‘I want to identify with my straight friends’ but ‘I want to be free like these other gays, why can’t I do it?’.

Nine and Love’s relationship doesn’t really show a lot of romantic moments, in fact, I can’t really think about something between them that was, intimate and sensual? yes, but not romantic. Which is completely okay. Sex is not something bad, and gay sex is constantly demonized. Casual sex is okay and sex with friends and whatever, as long as everyone involved is a consenting adult, sex is okay. So to me, Love and Nine are friends, the arm around the neck seemed casual and natural, they’re comfortable with each other, and they’re also comfortable with mill, as shown in the creek scene. They didn’t mind the audience (yeah this sounds kinky ik), both nine and love are pushing the boundaries, unlike kb. But pushing isn’t always wrong, per se.

Nine starts with the lyrics “leave it, libido, we’re like roots (…) mixing together with no rules”, while Love sings “don’t suppress it just accept it”. Both nine and love are clear with their intentions and instincts, their subconscious is not their enemy in any way, since both of them accept the relationship they have.

Meanwhile, Mill battles with his libido, but it’s not like Yoojung who has a partner that actually loves him, if Mill takes the chance and jumps, he doesn’t know where he is going to land. In the whole video, not even once Mill touches someone else, even if he desperately wants to (Yongsoo did a great acting work I’m still so amazed!!). The yearning and pining over Love, who pulls him in and gazes at him, is such a good concept, because even if Love is giving him all the signals that there is (he is with another boy openly, allows close contact and shows himself in front of mill), Mill will still doubt himself and what he is doing. Hesitation and all, he takes a leap of faith in that one scene where he approaches Nine and Love, and keeps eye contact.

Now here is where the controversial crotch grabbing scene comes, and both Love and Nine sing. They say they’re walking over shallow water, so it’s not risky, they’re not gonna drown, and there’s no one around and they just “keep walking”. They do their thing with no care of what others may think. But also, Nine asks “what you need?” And “why can’t you see the light over there?” now, maybe after the whole no compromises he did catch feelings for Love, but Love, playing with fidelity as previously stated, answers “I’m gonna go where I feel like going”.

And then we have Mill’s rap. He talks about how this ‘experience’ can’t be compared to anything else but it’s an experiment. Now I know a thing or two about downplaying queer experiences, it isn’t unusual for gay ppl to look at things our younger selves did and think ‘how did I even passed as straight?’. Mill, even after saying it was just this experiment, says “you’re already putting a period, that doesn’t end things”. So, my guess, since after that we don’t see them directly interacting unlike the other couples, is that it all fell apart. Love, having the upper hand in the whole dynamic, didn’t have actual romantic feelings for any of the other boys, and he left them hanging.

While a bit heartbreaking, I think it’s important to point out that queer relationships are just like straight ones, and sometimes they end up in ruins, and it’s okay and its part of growing and discovering oneself!

So yeah, that’s my interpretation. This is like 1500 words. A whole essay. Hyperfixation is a bitch. I need a girlfriend.

[kirnet]

this is just too many words of me talking about how i would write a kotor tv series carry on

Kotor 1: Most of kotor 1 is as in the game. Rev is gonna be canonically non-binary here, and ultimately will have a romance with bastila. However, instead of just force visions about the Star forge and malak, revan is also getting visions about what the audience later learns to be the mandalorian wars, from their own perspective. They start out being about rev and malak and their friendship, but slowly a woman appears more and more in them. A woman that both rev and malak are obviously close friends with, who they refer to casually as “Meetra.” Revan cannot remember who this is, but they know they know her. (I just wanna tie the exiles story into it from the beginning so that it’s not sudden. I also hate the meetra surik name but i’m gonna just use it here anyways). Continue on to beating Malak’s ass as normal. Light side ending but Rev is still more of a gray figure rather than light.

End credits epilogue. We’re on an outer rim planet, some sort of mining operation. In the mess hall, the miners are gathered around a holovid, whispering to each other. In walks a woman, her back muscular from labor, but we do not see her face. The camera stays trained on her back as she moves somewhat labored through the mess, stopping to grab a tray and some unappealing slop. She moves past the group gathered around the holovid, pauses, and then drops her tray to the ground. A few miners glance at her but quickly turn back to the vid. It’s revan and bastila on the scream, at the Jedi temple on Coruscant, waving at a crowd. Both of them are smiling. The camera turns back to the woman, and we are able to see the shock on her face. It’s the woman from the visions. This is the exile.

Season 2: the mandalorian wars. Opens with the planet of cathar being invaded many years prior (3973 BBY, I believe, 10 or 11 years before the actual start of the wars) I’d keep this pretty much the same as the comics but on a larger scale, and the Mandalorians boil the ocean. One of them try to stop it, she’s killed along with the Cathar, and her mask remains on the planet. Timeskip about 10 years to Revan and Malak, where they’ve learned about the mandalorian blockade on Taris, but no invasion has outright started (comic divergent). It’s a big deal bc so far, the Mandalorians have only been taking non-Republic planets and outposts. Taris is the first major Republic planet they’ve set their eyes on. They decide to do something abt it, start the revanchists, yada yada. Eventually, they recruit the exile (first time she explicitly shows up as herself) after she defends Rev from Atris during some council meeting or whatever. Force vision shenanigans or something, Revan learns about Cathar and goes to investigate with the council, finding and donning the mask and officially naming themselves Revan. They realize that the Jedi council was aware of what was going on outside of the Republic and they chose inaction, finalizing the revanchist split. Soon after, they receive word that the Mandalorians have officially sieged Taris I don’t have the rest entirely defined by the Revanchists lift the siege on Taris after a few years (with a baby Juhani cameo), Dxun (oof), Rev and Malak’s discovery of the star maps, battle of Serrecco, discovery of Trayus academy, and the culmination at Malachor and the exile (not necessarily in that order bur broad strokes). Really  a chance to prove Rev’s intelligence and leadership to the audience and to plant the seeds of Revan realizing a sith threat.

I also really just wanna see Rev, Malak, and the exile be friends and their relationships form. Obviously it would be jarring have just watched Rev kill Mal and then them being besties next season but I’m a fan of seeing the past vs how it ended. We also get some good Arren Kae/Kreia and revan interactions to show their relationship. I also want exile to originally struggle with believing in Revan’s cause and the expectations they face from Atris, and then break away from that and fully commit to Rev. Over time, the exile breaks further and further from Atris and Kavar, and Revan and Malak start going darker and darker.

season 3: kotor 2! already perfect so I wouldn’t change much. No one is allowed to write kreia dialogue for the show just use the stuff in the game bc I don’t trust anyone with it. I’m biased and obviously inclined towards a slowburn atton/exile romance lmao. Maybe atton only barely survives the confrontation with sion and after he’s healing at the jedi temple there’s a confession, but the exile has to leave to find Rev. At the end show a bit of the lost jedi starting to put down roots and bastila talking to exile and giving her Rev’s mask.

season 4: whatever kotor 3 is. no i will not accept the revan novel, none of that “revan was actually brainwashed all along!” bullshit. Exile and T3 go to find Revan and learn more about the sith threat. They find them and they join forces, happy to be in each other’s company again but also able to feel Malak’s absence. Things start off slow and awkward but eventually their old friendship resurfaces (revan is, after all, now a different person then the exile remembers). Maybe scourge is there, idk. The sith emperor is like actually defeated (sorry swotor), maybe revan has to sacrifice themselves in the process. Unsure. All I do know is that I want the exile to eventually return to the jedi temple, where we see the new generation of jedi.

[grians-perch]

mellohi, my beloved!!!! it is i, the clock boy. (hi, it's time :]) doing the same as you hehe :]]]. so uh. yeah. 🎈 Wilbur, Ghostbur, Quackity, Karl!! sry if that's too many,,

(HI TIME!! also some canons are gonna be different based on the person bc i may not have interacted w/ someone in one canon, but did in another if that makes sense! ranboo canons are missing because it’s my fuzziest timeline)

Wilbur:

Tommy Canon: If He Touches Me I Will Smack Him (/j). That’s my big brother!!! He helped me out with my wings when Phil was gone (in this canon), and I’m fuckin thankful for that. He was a bit weird but you know, everyone is! He was always the best brother I could ask for (techno’d stab the shit outta me if i said that in front a him though! /j)

Niki Canon 1: He was actually one of my partners in one of my canons! He and Minx constantly fought over cuddles with me, and they’d end up tiring themselves out and cuddling each other because I’d go hang out with friends when they’d argue over cuddles! I remember one time, they were trying to figure out who could cuddle with me, and Minx called Wilbur a “Twat Nugget”, and he immediately responds with (TW // NSFW language) “You Absolute Used Cumrag!”, and they both started dying laughing! I loved him a lot!

Ghostbur:

Tommy Canon: He was my best friend during exile, he helped me through a lot. Thanks, Ghostbur.

Niki Canons: I don’t wanna talk about it.

Ranboo Canon: Ghostbur was cool! He was the one who found me in the woods when I first arrived, and he gave me blue! He made a lot of people get all nostalgic-like when they talked, but he was my friend! Speaking of Friends, he had me “babysit” Friend a lot, even though he wouldn’t leave for more than five minutes because he’d worry about Friend too much!

Quackity:

Tommy Canon: BIG Q!!!!! ¡MI PADRE! This duck dude taught me Spanish! He was always my friend even during the whole Pogtopia thing, and I’d help him out when his wings hurt because at the time Phil wasn’t in L’manberg, so we were two of the only people with wings! (Wilbur had em too, but Big Q didn’t trust Wil for some reason! Same with BadBoyHalo, but Bad’s wings were... leathery? I guess) He took care of me a lot and ended up being my dad, technically!

Niki Canon 1: He was nice to me during Schlatt’s presidency, even if he wasn’t supposed to be. I respect him for that! He has a good heart, and he’s one of my friends! Sometimes after a bad battle with Pogtopia, I’d bandage him up and ask him how Wil and Tommy were, and about what was going on!

Karl:

Tommy Canon: We were actually really close! After my exile and... Demise/Revival, he found me laying outside the prison and took me to his house he shared with Sapnap and Big Q! They took care of me and were my family while I was recovering, as dying made me lose some of my memories. They.. Thought it best if everyone thought I was still gone in order to allow me to heal, and I’m grateful to them! Karl, Sapnap, and Big Q actually ended up taking custody of me because Phil didn’t feel he was able to properly care for me, and would rather I live with someone who could be a better caretaker!!! Karl’s my dad!!!!!

Niki Canon 2: Surprisingly enough, Karl was another one of my partners from one of my timelines! My heart was always too big to love just one person! He was so kind, and I remember the first time we met they brought flowers to my bakery to start a conversation with me! Turns out, he had wanted to talk to me months before that, but was always too nervous to until Sap told them to “buck up and do it already!” After a while of us hanging out, he introduced me to his partners, and we instantly clicked! Karl was so worried we wouldn’t get along, so they were glad we did! They really liked when I’d play with their hair! Once he fell asleep while I was doing it, and I ended up falling asleep too, and Quackers and Sap had to carry us home ^.^

[texanredrose]

I’m curious bc i’ve seen a lot of opinions and you seemed to have some great insight regarding ironwood,,,,what are your thoughts on winter’s characterization this volume(and overall ?? Also what do you think of her dynamic with weiss has evolved and her new dynamic with penny

Winter is my favorite dumbass.

I mean this with all sincerity; while most thought her introduction in V3 was some flavor of badass, I was headdesking because ‘holy shit, you stupid Private, what are you doing, this is why you need an adult, where’s your NCO?’ so I definitely have a different take on Winter overall than a lot of people. That being said, I spoke back during the V3-V4 days that Winter was a lot of things, like 1) a very young, very stupid soldier, 2) a big sister who was earnestly trying but, also, very bad at being a good big sister, and 3) still very much a product of her upbringing and hadn’t yet broken away in the same manner Weiss had. This volume has taken the next logical step on all three points.

Winter is aware of her role as a young, stupid soldier. She talks to Weiss about it, and how she’s taken the mission handed to her and made it her own. Something I’ve spoken about regarding the military in general is that, if you try to join the military without a clear reason, a driving force that ties you to your service, it’s just going to be pain and misery, or you’re going to reach a point where continuing to serve just isn’t worth it. Generally speaking, the military targets young, poor people with few avenues to escape or better their life situations. That driving force- the idea that, no matter how shitty your situation is, it’s better than where you came from- keeps a lot of people going, keeps them in line, allows them to fit the soldier mold. That’s not Winter; she has other avenues to pursue now that she’s armed with the skills and world knowledge to do so, much in the same way Weiss has. Winter initially used the military as an escape from Jacques, and that was her driving force prior to being designated for the Winter Maiden powers. Something I said last week was that, if she continues to follow orders, then she’s traded one set of chains for another, and this is what I was talking about when I said that. If Winter’s truly taking this mission as her own, making it her driving force- that is, actually becoming the Winter Maiden- then she’s going to rebel against Ironwood. It would be regression of her character to fall back in line; not only that, it just wouldn’t make sense in general, because she’s not in, say, Emerald’s position, where there’s nowhere to go back to if she breaks away. Winter has her huntress license, she has been earning some manner of money outside of Jacques’ allowances (remember her conversation from V3), and she’s well traveled, having been to/lived in at least Atlas, Mistral, and Vale. She has options and she’s about to have the powers of the Winter Maiden. The moment those powers are in her hands, she’s not a soldier any more, and I think she realizes that. It’s playing a long game, in a sense, but if temporary obedience secures her power that will ensure no one can chain her again, it really puts her behavior throughout the show in a more sensible light. Her criticism of Qrow, fighting him in public, watching over Penny- she’s proving herself constantly as someone who will safeguard whatever she’s told to... but not without keeping her own priorities in mind.

Her own priorities being: Weiss. Winter’s a big sister, but not a good one in some sense, and that’s not exactly her fault. Given the home situation for the Schnee family, Winter’s attempts to support and teach Weiss are tough love bordering on abusive, though I’m certain there’s no intent on Winter’s behalf to be anything other than a stellar role model for her younger sister. It’s just an unfortunate side effect of their upbringing. We see this characterized most clearly when Winter’s trying to offer commentary on Weiss’ differing form that continuously comes off as condescending. It isn’t until Weiss’ flippant, almost teasing replies that Winter appears to realize what she’s saying is not what she’s trying to say. Arguably, this could be a result of her interactions with Penny but could also just be that Winter’s genuinely bad at interpersonal relationships. For the former, Penny doesn’t have the baggage that Weiss and Winter have; she doesn’t have years of being subjected to thinly veiled insults and constant diatribe to shape her own inner voice. Ergo, when Penny hears something, she takes it at face value. For example: “I counted three missed strikes.” Weiss took this as a criticism, because, let’s face it, it sounded like a criticism. It was blunt, harsh, and a statement that could’ve definitely been worded to be more constructive. Penny, on the other hand, would probably be interested in which strikes were missed, because she doesn’t instinctively take criticism to be a bad thing. Winter’s extended interactions with Penny, I think, have made it easier for her to open up and explain, offering more than the clipped, blunt responses we saw in V3- understandable, as Penny would logically need more explanation, as her world knowledge is markedly less than everyone else, on account of her unique beginnings- but they didn’t reteach her how to be mindful of her words. It’s when Weiss teasingly responds that Winter’s like ‘oh, shit’ and starts paying more attention to her word choice. As I said, she’s genuinely trying to be a good big sister and role model, but she’s been bad at it in the past to varying degrees. However, Weiss has forged her own path, and Winter recognizes that, and it’s in this manner that they start repairing their relationship as sisters. I have more than one AU where Winter is Penny’s surrogate mother in one form or fashion, primarily because I realized at their introduction that Penny could be the one to help Winter realize her own faults, especially juxtaposed with Weiss. This volume’s nailed that on the head, giving enough context that we can easily fill in the blanks on Winter’s off screen character development and where it stems from.

Now, as I said, Winter and Weiss forged their own paths through life. Now, they stand as equals of a sort, pioneering their own ways forward, and choosing for themselves what to fight for and what to protect. Unfortunately, among other things, this volume has wrapped up- in a sense- Winter’s character arc. Winter was initially introduced by name only in V2, where Weiss was hesitant to talk to her even though she obviously regards Winter highly. In context, we can take this to mean that Weiss thought she hadn’t progressed enough to impress Winter at that point in time, so opted not to talk to her. In V3, we see Weiss trying desperately to earn Winter’s approval, and getting a facsimile of that just before they part. In V4 and V5, we see Weiss dealing with the concept that she can’t rely on Winter to help her and must fight her own battles. Here in V7, Weiss has grown beyond needing Winter’s approval and validation, but gaining both all the same. Winter’s gone from being a strict, harsh older sister who genuinely cares about her inexperienced younger sister while not being able to communicate that well to a more relaxed, more open older sister who sees her younger sister as an equal. I would love to see Winter take the Maiden powers, desert the Atlesian military, and go into hiding to train with her new powers while RWBY continue their hunt for the artifacts, as I think this would open up a new avenue for both Weiss and Winter- essentially, the next chapter in their evolving relationship, not only sisters overcoming trauma but allies in a global war- but I’m also not holding my breath, as I would find it especially amusing if Winter’s been using her time with the current Winter Maiden to talk about Weiss, knowing her sister would be a better candidate for the powers (which may have something to do with why she was so adamant Weiss learn how to develop her semblance on her own, so she’d know how to hone the Maiden powers) and standing ready to feign surprise when she doesn’t inherit the powers herself, thereby undermining Ironwood without him being any the wiser as to how.

Ultimately, though Winter’s character development is mostly off screen and has to be tied together using context, I think she’s come a long way as a character and as a person, and she’s an excellent example of how people who undergo trauma may make some mistakes born from that trauma but can still heal and rise above it. They just need to be called out in a way that’s going to help them realize what they’re doing, and it’s gratifying that it was Weiss who’d matured faster and to a point where she could help Winter take the last steps towards making herself a better person.

And if Winter takes the Maiden powers and then remains loyal to Ironwood, she’s literally just a dumbass soldier and I’m going to keep calling her a fucking butter bar. Would it undo a lot of her character progression? Yes and no, as soldiers are, by definition, kinda mcfucking stupid, so it wouldn’t surprise me if, in that soldier mentality, Winter makes the dumb decision instead of the right one.

[allbeendonebefore]

I was kind of under the impression that this is just a widespread thing in Alberta, especially because of the Angus Reid fractured federation survey (I cant include the link here, but you can Google it, its from January 24th 2019). When got back into Hetalia, I imagined the dynamics kinda changed to this, which would be pretty bad tbh. I hope its not that aggressive in Alberta, I will never be able to go check tho, too expensive :( I loved the bad french btw

i see you guys sending these asks super late at night and i wonder whether any of you sleep - idk where you’re writing from and i may be on the west coast but are you guys ok wherever you are? I just woke up but I have my tea and if I’m not caffeinated now I surely will be as I answer this.

I’m sure I’ve seen the survey you’re speaking of before and before I address it in any specific detail I just want to back up and re frame Why I’m Being Like This in regards to recent events and my orientation towards answering these questions in terms of Hetalia the way I do, because I think it’s the heart of how I answer.

the tldr of it is:

1. I have an opportunity to make interpretations of reality in unexpected and challenging ways, therefore widespread opinions don’t govern anything but my stupid gag comics in the simple sense that if everyone was represented by widespread opinion alone all the time, nothing would change and

2. if i can answer dozens of asks about ralph and oliver hanging out there’s absolutely no reason I can’t answer asks about ralph and jean hanging out, lol.

3. If you’d like a shorter, more concise “vision statement”, I have one on @battle-of-alberta here. (although now I notice the links don’t work on mobile so you’ll have to be on desktop for that one)

I’m assuming this will be long so cut time

(and yes, alas, the bad french is my legacy and I’m afraid it has not improved much although i swear i was an A student when i was actually taking it) (and no please don’t visit now, purely for pandemic reasons, it would be really expensive And you’d have a bad time) (and talking to me is free lmao) (I do not mean to say that you need to have feet on the ground to understand a place at all, i mean, at the moment I don’t lol)

headings because I say a lot

what even is hetalia

At the most basic level, Hetalia is a tool that can be used in a variety of ways. It can be for memorization, current politics at a glance or historical relationships in different settings. I use it for all of these things, of course, I certainly use it a lot in comics that take place in the much more distant past in @athensandspartaadventures. When I was writing that, I was in undergrad and AaSA was a tool to help me pass my exams, I didn’t think of how it might be read or interpreted by people who have lived in or experienced those places these days, or what kind of political and cultural tensions it might reveal. (Not to say that it has gotten me into sticky situations, exactly, but I am more aware of where things like that would arise now).

These days I look back on a lot of my experiences - both in IAMP/Hetalia and just as a person, and I think that if Hetalia is a tool it should be used with some awareness of intention and responsibility. Things in the fandom have changed as it became more mainstream and more well known and I think there’s a definite worry about screwing up or not representing Everything or not pleasing Everybody or not doing it Right. I have a simple, insufferably academic principle.

(That said, yes, you can still do it very wrong if you write a methodology.)

Still, it’s a comfort to me that I’m just doing the things the way I say I’m going to do them, and that is the underpinning of Inspired But Not Constrained By Hetalia. I don’t do things Himaruya’s way, I can’t do things the way IAMP would do them if it were running today because it’s not and things have changed, all I can do is do them how I would do them.

I have hurt people in the past because they sometimes couldn’t tell whether I was writing From an Albertan Perspective or not, and I’ve evoked some preeetty spicy comments over the last decade, and I realized that tone and perspective are something that really shapes how people understand and interact with my work and I’m trying to use that understanding in a conscientious way)

what even is alberta

So when you’re me and you’ve grown up in a province that is the Angriest in the country and the most Misunderstood in the country and the most Entitled in the country and nobody outside of maybe Saskatchewan has a good thing to say about you half the time and maybe you’re tired of that... you get kind of depressed thinking about how every year some kiddo comes on the internet ready to be excited about making or celebrating characters that represent themselves and No Matter Where They Go running into everyone else’s negative impressions first and foremost.

We joke about how everyone hates Toronto, though I’ve always understood it in a teasing way because I’ve never ACTUALLY met someone (outside of our current legislative assembly) who REALLY hates Toronto, but it does feel like I’ve encountered (directly or indirectly) people who do Genuinely hate Alberta and hoo boy is That a strange feeling. I mean, there’s an understanding that BC also ‘hates’ Alberta but half the people in BC are originally from Alberta so it’s a, uh, different feeling.

The story of Alberta from everywhere else is always the story of that Angus Reid article and the memes and comments and listicles that spin out around mainstream media. Alberta is giving too much. Alberta is getting too little. Alberta is too stupid to understand that equalization payments are a good thing actually, and Alberta is too dumb to understand you don’t really need EI if you make enough money in six months to own a house and multiple vehicles Just Because you own a house and multiple vehicles. Alberta is destroying the environment for everybody. Alberta has a huge concentration of white supremacists. Alberta is the Texas of Canada* and has the conservative streak and bible belt to match. Alberta should get annexed by the US. Oh, but Banff! We like Banff, though.

And like I said, politicians use these widespread feelings to stir up the sentiments of people who can’t afford to travel, people who are naturally suspicious of mainstream news, people who have barely even left their hometowns let alone the province and have no other means of validating what they hear, but people who’s emotions are genuinely tied to real feelings of alienation that really exist and HAVE existed for generations. And when the so-called “laurentian elites” in ontario and quebec make fun of them for being uneducated red necks, well, you hit a wasps nest and expected what, exactly?

what even am i doing

And like I’m faced with this question every day I decide to pick up my stylus and badger you all with unsolicited comics: do I want this to continue? Do I want to wear the mask that fits? Do I want to stand aside and say #notallalbertans #notlikeotheralbertans and stand over here on the island** patting myself on the back for not? being? there? Do I say yes, you’re right, and stand aside and watch loud mouth white supremacists co-opt wexiters and let them lead the perception of the province I grew up in just because that is what’s currently happening? Do I acknowledge the widespread sentiment and then pick apart every other province to say Well Actually You’re Equally Problematic Hypocrites, So There?

Obviously I’ve been saying no for a while. I’m perfectly happy to acknowledge the reality and when I draw stupid gag comics like this or this you can tell (hopefully) from my style that it’s tongue and cheek. When I draw less stupid not-gag comics like this or this I am trying to explore the Real Sentiments in a way that doesn’t completely polarize the issue and spin it out of control. I’m more of the opinion that even though Current Sentiments do get in the way that as personifications they 1. have some perspective and as people they 2. have some interest in not throwing out a friendship that was a struggle to build up every time the polls change or some new radical party seizes power. I do a lot of research and I want that to be reflected in my understanding of each characters deep seated beliefs and motivations, but I don’t want to let either the history or the current realities dictate the future if I am going to try to do that myself. 

why even am i doing it for

So like really the heart of the matter is: I am writing what I write for my thirteen year old self. She was the me who moved back to Canada from the United States, who’s first introduction to living there was a hellish surge of nationalism after September 11th. Who’s defense against that was to hide behind a shield of Canada is Better, Actually and who returned to Alberta during the boom years to realize that, oh wait, the rest of the country thinks we’re assholes just like they think the United States is. Who spent her teenage years learning that, boom or bust, the widespread sentiment in and out of the province is just as narrow, shortsighted, self interested, and stubborn as her own fiction of What Canada Was Supposed to be Like. Who learned that propping up that image at the expense of her friendships was not worth it, that propping up that image at the expense of people who are suffering and dying under that image is not worth it. Who found herself rehashing the same sort of gut reaction defensiveness online because the Guilt and Apologizing on behalf of her province compared to others felt Really Heavy for a kid who didn’t have any clue what to do about it and was just there to have fun and learn some stuff.

So I’m writing for anyone else who finds themselves exhausted and saddened by coming online and seeing that the only way that people can imagine Alberta is as an antagonist. I’d like to challenge everyone to start to imagine it better. It’s my little “escape” from reality, and for me it’s much easier to talk to people here where the stakes aren’t as high and the grievances a little less personal.

I’m also writing (in a more secondary way) for everyone who’s ever looked at alberta from afar and wondered What is going On inside your Head and is it always This

(no comment at this time)

as always, I’m here to explain At The Very Least what goes on in My head because at the end of the day, that’s all I can do. And though there are some things that make me angry and emotional, I’m happy to explain why. Happy to answer asks or chat on discord or whatever, any time I have the time. :)

footnotes

*This is just a footnote to say something I didn’t want to interrupt the flow of my comments, but this is an annoyance that me and my Texas Tomodachi share lol

**You’ll notice angry Albertans online have a favourite tactic, and that’s pointing out hypocrisy. They can justify A N y T h I n G by calling another province a hypocrite “so there” (i.e. BC can’t claim to be environmentally conscious because of Victoria’s sewage problem or Site C) - and while I am interested in shattering the image of Alberta vs. the Perfect Rest of Canada a little bit, I feel like it’s a very lazy argument that is used to deflect and not to help. I think it is more useful to unpack the sentiment of Why Alberta Still Feels Taken Advantage of rather than mudslinging, and when the mud starts flying no one seems interested in addressing problems anymore.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

@seolh​ said:

3 Fix: Sailor Moon

At least one of these might be a sort of cheat but  seriously, there’s a major fix that they totally could have went with that would have had a domino effect of improved show. 

1. MAKE IT ENSEMBLE CAST. 

Like for real. This means we spend almost equal parts over the course of the show with each of our main characters. If you want Usagi to be the main main character, that’s okay. Honestly, I could handle it. But giving space for the other characters to actually effect and have bearing on the plot. I like Doc’s idea for this. Usagi is the healer. Maybe her tiara is in effect until she unlocks her healing ability or is pressed into it. That could be a nice moment of her both learning something central to her being, a way being a senshi suddenly feels right that it hadn’t before, and makes angst space for ‘how many she’s simply gutted with her tiara’ in the past. Let Rei the vehicle with which to tell when it’s not a monster. Let her be a final-blow person. Let Ami have strategic powers. Impair sight is great! Maybe give her Mei’s ice wall to block off enemy escapes/save others from a blow. Or something to that effect. Let Mako also be a final blow. Her attack can be stronger than Rei’s on a battle to battle basis since Rei has other things to do. LET MINA BE THE LEADER! Let her chain be a tool moreso than a final blow. This would increase the need for them to always be working together by the way. Like could Usagi continue to kill with her Tiara? Could Minako find a way to strangle or vaporize a monster with her whip? Sure. Why not. Give them other characters outside senshi duty to interact with more. Give them character arcs!! 

Phewph. Sorry. That got away from me. But seriously. Just by seriously considering how to make this show ensemble, it opens so much room for improvement with that one thing both for our main main protagonist and the rest! 

2. I actually really like Chibiusa (mostly in S) and would love to still see her in the show, but... could we not do time travel? I’m just not a fan. It’s not like I can’t enjoy time travel, it’s just really rare imo for it to be done in a truly compelling way. It often feels like ‘way to torment characters bc they know the future is dark angst angst’ and ‘how do we not age them up but play with their kids’ and it’s such a cop out. You can create interesting dynamics between outside characters and your protagonists without those cheap tricks. And it’s done so much to me in a way in R that I’m just... I’m not there for it. 

After Doc said her way of including Chibiusa, I’ll just add my two cents that she could awaken after Princess Serenity does as the actual Moon senshi. It could actually offer a really interesting dynamic of Usagi refusing to give up her role as a senshi and what that means for Chibiusa. Maybe that whole Chibiusa tagging along thing and everyone unsure could be the compulsion of the Silver Moon, similar to Tuxedo Max’s whole schtick. She doesn’t understand her compulsion to bond with Usagi and hates it, but also maybe she’s a desperately lonely kid. Maybe actually cousins to Usagi to add some family tie drama. And they can still have that whole arc of ‘who is she is she a plant by the enemies?’ etc 

3. HARUKA AND MICHIRU ACKNOWLEDGED EXPLICITLY AS A COUPLE YES THAT MEANS KISS AND ALSO DANCE SCENE A LA ADOLESCENCE OF UTENA

Edit: Ahahahhaa I capped the wrong ask 🤣🤣 Leave it to me

[nozomijoestar]

Transcribed and formatted for readability the master thesis between me and @wlwclem​ on the nuances to NaraTrish together and as individuals being why we love it and respect it not being CompHet- we spent way too much Big Brain Energy on it to not share 

tw: brief mention of F-Slur when giving an example on toxic masculinity being bullshit, sexuality is briefly discussed in a non sexualizing way and in no graphic detail

*insert IM TRISH KIN BUCCIARATI joke here*

epickinnienaranciaYesterday at 11:45 PM

JDDBSJDBD YES bc ofc she gotta be Reassuring but at the same time his Himboism Knows No Bounds One of the lines in EoH u can give her is “Go get me an Italian Vogue magazine too while you’re at it” and I’m like. Queen

nozomijoestarYesterday at 11:46 PM

JDHDHDF BDE Narancia whipped Narancia stands no chance

epickinnienaranciaYesterday at 11:46 PM

OH FOR REAL one of HIS victory lines is something about getting all the stuff for her lmao And this is like even if she isn’t in the battle, Always Thinking Of His Queen

nozomijoestarYesterday at 11:50 PM

Trish decides to test the limits of this and his ability to recognize them by asking for impossible or nonexistent items/feats and when he continues to try for her without question she realizes she has too much power and must restrain it fjdjjdjfjf Can't turn into Dad

epickinnienaranciaYesterday at 11:51 PM

JDBDBSJS The color palette changes while she has an inner monologue while she watches him try to make her happy

nozomijoestarYesterday at 11:53 PM

"Oh my god Bucciarati was right...he's too loyal for his own good I need to stop even if it's a little fun"   Meanwhile Narancia: growing more and more frustrated with himself for perceived failure to someone he loves

epickinnienaranciaYesterday at 11:55 PM

She stops for the most part but does it every so often bc it’s cute

nozomijoestarYesterday at 11:56 PM

Lucky to have a freak like dat I feel like the only thing that can counter this self defeatism Narancia can get (bc his younger childhood...ofc he's fucked up and anxious and paranoid abt not being enough or abandoned) is Trish having to open her own repressed self up and love the shit out of himLike those reassuring lines she has in EoH and her moments in the anime/manga Bruno fucking does it as his father figure and Narancia admits it gives him strength

December 19, 2019

epickinnienaranciaToday at 12:04 AM

Yes, he feels like he has to prove his worth and like he’s worth having around otherwise he’s useless, i def feel like he would not like talking about the stuff that happened in the past with everyone bc he would feel ashamed and stupid or st, he needs to be told You Are Enough and her to open up too so they can lean on each other

nozomijoestarToday at 12:12 AM

Honestly no jokes for a second I feel like this is also abt breaking toxic masculinity bc it's fucking Italy in the early 00s just out of the 90s...it was RIFE rifer than even now with that shit like in much of the world then too, the idea that a boy becoming a man and men in general need to strictly follow dumbass self harming rules

 especially abt not opening up and only having real priorities for earning money, honoring family, and procreating as much as possible whether it's marriage making a family or "having sexual conquests" in promiscuity, anything outside of this bullshit image can't be tolerated and you might as well be a woman or "a fag" if you don't assert some fictional narrative of trying extremely hard to have power in everything bc that's all that matters is the ridiculous idea of Alpha Males applied to humans 

Narancia being a 80s- 90s kid with the childhood he had did not give him much fighting chance at all in this context and time period  esp just bc he happened to be born with a dick and thus saddled with these harmful expectations society made that could've only further repressed his recognition of not beating himself up and his own emotional needs on top of EVERYONE ever betraying him Where was he supposed to go? He can't go anywhere unless he meets Bruno

epickinnienaranciaToday at 12:18 AM

yes i agree..... like, males being looked down upon for opening up, being societally forced to shoulder the burdens and “man up” and just deal with it and fix everything. And then already having a toxic support system with his “friend” betraying him and his dad Sucking Major Ass, all he’s been taught is deal with it but hasn’t been given the tools to know how, and if Bruno didn’t meet him he honestly would be so stuck, what person (esp in that time period) is going to go out of their way to help an uneducated young male?

nozomijoestarToday at 12:20 AM

Even if it tragically ends with his death in canon I feel like the time he spent with Bruno's bois, Giorno, and Trish was huge in making some of that crack little by littleBc he has moments where you see how sweet he actually is, his "real" personality if you will underneath all the unresolved anger when he's with ppl he sees love him and give him hope When Giorno said No One Is Going To Hurt You Anymore that just made me cry harder

epickinnienaranciaToday at 12:23 AM

Yes! Like, ofc he gets angry, has unrepressed rage and reactions to things, he hasn’t had any type of emotional support in SO long and it’s not like it’s 100% fantastic in that regard with buccigang (which don’t get me wrong they are family but they are still in an aggressive gang and go off and give each other lots of shit)-YEAH AND THE FUCKIGN PLANT GROWING TOO IM

nozomijoestarToday at 12:25 AM

Trish is legit I think the one person aside from Giorno who would treat him without even the gang's aggressiveness Narancia is my fav in VA even if Bruno is the best written VA character bc he's me, this kind of shit in my life is why I developed PTSD undiagnosed since my childhood that only kept getting worse until only this year have I gotten any true help I know exactly how he feels 

Esp when you think your whole life exists to serve others never yourself NaraGio shippers I see y'all argument even if I don't follow it tbh, Gio was again the only one besides Trish to consistently care for Nara in day to day and when he was in danger and esp during the Clash and Talking Heads fight Gio was the one dude present like No Narancia It's Ok Please Tell Me What's Wrong You're Clearly Stressed

epickinnienaranciaToday at 12:31 AM

yeah although i haven’t experienced it i can still empathize and try to understand, i think there’s so many layers of protection and walls that most people never truly look past it to see the root cause or true self YES that fight was so frustrating bc they were all like Narancia stop being an idiot when something was clearly wrong and he was obviously in distress!!

nozomijoestarToday at 12:32 AM

Also Gio was the only one who first asserted that No, Narancia did the right thing in fighting Formaggio

epickinnienaranciaToday at 12:33 AM

Yes and with that whole interaction the gang often uses Narancia as the scapegoat essentially and just give him shit for every little thing without trying to understand his POV

nozomijoestarToday at 12:33 AM

The Clash fight tbh I feel was an ass pull set up to give Narancia his big bad ass loyalty proving moment even if it's a great fight that beginning part is...only the Trish and Gio interactions rly make sense fjdjdjI wish him and Giorno hung out more or I guess more like talked more bc you can't rly hang out when you're getting assassinated every day hfgdg

epickinnienaranciaToday at 12:36 AM

Yeah hdkdb, even with Fugo, even tho he found him and brought him to Bruno, he still calls him a dumbass, stabs him with a fork and shit, and then with Mista even tho I feel like they are Like Bros, he destroys Narancia’s radio for no fucking reason and also has a pattern of taking shit Narancia paid for without paying him backI def agree with that, I feel like Giorno interactions were lacking in that there really weren’t many one on one meaningful things so it’s hard for me to grasp his personal headspace and relationships a lot of the time

nozomijoestarToday at 12:37 AM

However to be a little more fair to the Bucci gang the manga version has Narancia trying a lot lot more to get their attention in logical ways that unfortunately Talking Heads completely ruins, he tried writing to let them know what was happening and TH warped the text into him saying vulgar things bragging abt his dick being a powerful Stand

epickinnienaranciaToday at 12:38 AM

Yeah I was gonna add I wasn’t sure if the manga had other stuff, tbf

nozomijoestarToday at 12:38 AM

I think this is also Shounen Tropes of the 90s at play too the "child" character was often written as the comic relief dumbass Narancia suffers it so it does add a layer of Not Good to his relationships The trope still exists tbh Anime cut out him writing I assume bc it's too sexual It's already pushing it having him whip it out and piss in front of everyone jfhdhd

epickinnienaranciaToday at 12:41 AM

Yeah you right, it’s like the i want it to be that deep meme, like Araki obvi doesn’t have him only as comic relief but if he delved into his character more there would’ve been so much more that could’ve been done and shown YEAH DJDBDJDJF I WAS SURPRISED THT WAS ANIMATED

------------------------[ CUT INTERMISSION ]-----------------------------

nozomijoestarToday at 12:51 AM

Ok but to get back on track with where I was trying to go even opening this all up is how it's critical to NaraTrish in a mutually beneficial way

nozomijoestarToday at 1:01 AM

Nara is no incel he's a King obvs but he is also at heart a confused scared kid uncertain of anything in the world beyond what's closest in his grasp and without someone actively believing in and validating him he can't fully achieve awareness of healthy dynamics and even the problems within the ones he already has with his gang and Bruno- Trish doesn't have to babysit him and be the stereotypical The Woman Only Supports And Gives Up Her Body bc thats never her and couldn't be her and Narancia wouldn't make her that way bc even when he kinda touches on that (giving in a bit to the idea that men are the main protectors of women) when he gets too fixated on wanting what he thinks is for her wellbeing he does snap out and acknowledge he's wrong bc 

Trish by her independent nature and tremendous Will proves those stereotypes are bullshit, not even factoring in their first meeting as already making a huge impression on his beliefs of what girls can do- Trish knowing how to challenge him by staying true to herself yet having the compassion to help someone suffering and with fewer chances from birth than she had would not only win him over but give him something even Bruno can't, self sustaining confidence, bc Trish isn't part of a chain of command, she's just a girl in love with a boy who wants him to be happy and that concept while foreign to him for so long once it kicks in he could actually learn to build himself For himself and For someone who wouldn't use him for some greater schemes or dirty work, 

I love Bruno ok he's one of the best characters in anything ever but his flaw in his ability to help motivate ppl is tied to that fact that he's bringing them into a dangerous strict order of command to Serve not entirely in a place/way that lets them just be themselves and realize organic loving relationships with anyone and themselves SO

epickinnienaranciaToday at 1:05 AM

they’re healing...... being shown love without a position of authority or any obligations is so powerful for his growth

nozomijoestarToday at 1:25 AM

That all being said, Everything Trish does he's paying attention to, she keeps him alive during the Grateful Dead fight not because she needs him to serve for a cause ( a cause might I add even Bruno the near saint he is was ready to let Nara go right then and there for bc death is in the job description) but because she doesn't know him well yet and shit he even swung a knife at her when they first met over who was in the bathroom, but he's a person suffering and in pain and to let him die even if it's Expected Of The Mission is garbage to her even if she respects Bruno down the line as a father compared to fucking evil Diavolo,

 Trish constantly goes out her way to do these things for Nara bc Trish instinctively knows he's the most vulnerable mentally and her sense of compassion and justice (likely something Donatella made sure to instill in her before her death by cherishing Trish and spoiling her even as a single mother) will not stand to not help someone when she could've- and he reciprocates it even if in disbelief bc he can tell This Person Is Safety, This Person Is Like Me Yet Not, A Better Me I Want To Be, by the time he's about to die someone with his fragile mind was actually gaining conviction about taking control for himself on his own terms and he would risk even those chances to defend the person who actually helped him arrive there (along with Gio) in the first place, 

I think by the end of his life he rly did love her or start to, it being romantic or not is up to individual interpretation to which you know I'm in the romance camp, point is he found someone who truly taught him strength without him fully realizing it and did so without belittling him, if anything instead treating him only with love and kindness and patience (not being a door mat for him, but like, not treating him like ass like everyone else has their moments of either), I think anything Trish asks of him, this is all why he's so willing to do it on top of feeling deep  empathy, I've written in my character notes as well that like this goes even further to sex being one of the most intimate things there is, like I kno we jest and jape abt Teens Doing Dumb Shit bc we're clowns 

but the sheer vulnerability you have to have esp in a first love situation to be willing to go through with that for the first time ever takes a lot of trust and courage, aspects I think Trish was able to give him and would solidify in asking something seen as so important for many people from him, the headstrong Trish wants to be vulnerable for him and the slowly confidence boosted Narancia wants to accept that faith and trust and love and exchange it with his own of the same for her, it's not horny teens 100% it's two hurt but hopeful kids on the verge of having to be adults wanting to find another piece of identity in how they are with someone else, obvs it will forever be offscreen bc pedos deserve to be skinned alive 

I just feel that the components that would fuel them to do something teens try to do to feel more adult and bc hormones are a lot more based in growing maturity than pure lust, I think this is what I fully mean by Writing About Teens Exploring Love And Sexuality; Not Fetishizing And Reveling In Showing The Act Itself Especially For Disgusting Titillation, I think this and not explicitly writing the sex are the difference between child porn and creating realistic characters

epickinnienaranciaToday at 1:36 AM

Yeah, it is going to sound like a dumb take but the topic of sex and sexuality itself is not inherently sexual, by which I meant it isn’t the focus — there’s SO much more to it and in this case especially it can be like the ultimate sign of love, trust, intimacy, compassion, trying to make your way as a teen through a harsh world, like I can go on. Nasties Dont Interact but the shying away from the mere mention of it in a non-sexualized context is unrealistic. 

 Yes The Grateful Dead fight i 1000% agree is so important in both his personal growth and the development of their relationship, I think it’s an important parallel that he is dumbfounded about her going to such lengths to keep him alive without the sense of duty/obligation versus Trish’s feelings and outbursts of confusion on why Bucciarati and his gang even cared about her, protecting her to the point of death being on the line.(edited)

epickinnienaranciaToday at 1:44 AM

all these elements of complication and similarities between their characters is why ive gotten so passionate about both them and their relationship (whether romantic or platonic it’s really fucking strong and good), the story of two kids making it through adversity, learning to unshoulder their burdens and lean on others, the Found Family™️, and learning and growing together is just so much more fucking deep and complex than the mainstream bs that exists. 

now im not any type of elitist hipster but esp in male and female relationships portrayed in what feels like basically fucking everything are just like CompHet Bullshit and they’re together bc They Are Just Supposed To Be (not to mention the toxic masculinity culture within that where the women barely have character arcs and are just seen as objects anyways) But what I’m trying to say is that in this the relationship is real and it feels earned in a way that just isn’t there in so much other media out there(edited)

nozomijoestarToday at 1:48 AM

Honestly if we tweak this just a lil more this is basically Guts and Casca One of the greatest and saddest romances ever written

epickinnienaranciaToday at 1:48 AM

i still have berserk bookmarked just haven’t gotten around to reading yet

nozomijoestarToday at 1:48 AM

If VA was a Seinen it's p much Berserk In Italy Also big brain...galaxy brain...everything you said was a fact signed sealed and delivered(edited)

epickinnienaranciaToday at 1:51 AM

Wow we’re actually in sync and using the brain cell to its fullest extent tonight

nozomijoestarToday at 1:51 AM

When I say she's his world and he's hers this is what I mean, not comphet hdhdhfhYEAH HFHDG

epickinnienaranciaToday at 1:52 AM

(also my phone autocorrected “and” to “ANF” bc of twdg..... it also sometimes changes it to “AMD” bc I work in technology. My Phone Knows My Interests Are More Important To Me Than One Of The Main Parts Of Speech. Iconic)YESSSS they’re just SO GOOD there’s so much to articulate!

nozomijoestarToday at 1:55 AM

She was his Queen, and god help anyone who disrespected his Queen

epickinnienaranciaToday at 1:55 AM

JDBDHE SHIT THE FUCK IP DKDBEBDJFBBD

nozomijoestarToday at 1:56 AM

Buy my silence $8000 a month

[lingeringscars]

disclaimer: i wrote this at 3am when i should have been sleeping and i have no desire to read back through it so if u see misplaced colons.....don’t @ me. just the usual me being back on my bs !

One of the more fascinating things about spacekru is that....most of the characters have very objective character growth. And im not about to dispute the fact that it has happened but i find it really interesting that....bellamy and raven haven't had it in a way. ( murphy’s going backward rather than forward in a way, at first, is also really important to me !!! )

@loveisaviolence and i have talked briefly about this with raven and how interesting it is but mostly the fact that it doesnt seem like raven has really processed any of her trauma and how instead probably threw herself into trying to get them home. This is as much as I'm going to talk on raven as i do not write her.

But bellamy on face value....seems to have changed a lot. Hes forgiven echo and formed a deep bond with her. Hes more rational in his actions than he typically used to be ( although i have talked ad nauseam about the fact that he always used both his head and his heart in tandem and it always being really fascinating to me. This shift in bellamy and clarke isnt bellamy becoming more head and clarke more heart....its them changing the motivation. Bellamy always used his head to think through what his heart was telling him. Everything with mount weather. Him dressing in azgeda gear to get to clarke. He was guided by his heart but used his head to do it. Clarke is the opposite-- shes guided by what is best for the whole. She uses her head but...her actions are very much her heart...not shooting bellamy when he opened the door or injecting herself with nightblood for instance. )

ANYWAY that tangent aside...bellamy was always very outwardly stressed / anxious. Every emotion would play out on his features and he was prone to outbursts pre space. After space...its become internalized. Like raven, he had a task: uniting them, leading them, survival. He, as always, gives his all to whatever the task is. That leaves little time to focus on himself.

While i do believe he came to terms with his actions, i do not think he ever processed them fully and instead pushed them aside. HOWEVER. Space is also the only time hes actually allowed to be angry. Bellamy doesnt allow himself these emotions when they have a war to fight. It’s also why him being so mad at Clarke in s3 is so important because....for the first time ( since first half of s1 )with her he was able to be !! He forgives because it is necessary. HIM TAKING 3 YEARS TO FORGIVE ECHO IS ACTUALLY PROGRESS. Instead of pushing his feelings down ( which lol he does w/ octavia in s5 and s6 hence the pretty violent emotional outbursts towards her ), he allows himself that time to hate her. He allows himself to be angry bc it doesnt directly impact their survival. They need to work together but that doesnt mean they have to like each other.

Flash forward to the ground and why i really dont think bellamy processed his trauma at all and instead just got better at hiding it. He did get that break from violence and going back to the ground throws him right back into the thick of it....but i also cannot fathom how people dont see how aggressively s1-4 bellamy is still present in his interactions, if more subdued. The most pressing relationships we see this: clarke and octavia.

Im not going to talk about clarke here bc quite frankly i dont remember enough to form coherent thoughts about his attitude towards Clarke in relation to finding out shes alive. Her "death" clearly had a major impact though. and despite them being out of sync...the do both fall back into coleaders with each other quickly.  

But the first thing bellamy does when he gets back....his primary motivation to return: Octavia. He thinks shes in danger so they need to go back down...immediately. more moments of everything being very internalized now is that very first bellamy & echo interaction where she reels him back in when he begins to spiral at the possibility that o isnt alive. He returns to the ground for her and then fights to get down to the bunker to rescue her.

Rescue. He still has the mentality that she is his responsibility. He should have been down there with her. He should have helped her. He is still taking the world onto his shoulders---- so did he really grow at all? Did he learn that everything is not his responsibility? Did he confront his upbringing and the consequences of it? No.

Come season 6 and he says that he has too many sins to release a lantern because he really hasnt forgiven himself at all. He thinks about it every day. He sees the faces in his dreams every night. He has not processed or moved forward at all.

And when we get the BIGGEST step of growth in the history of his character....."you are my sister. But you are not my responsibility. Not anymore." Not anymore. It is SO IMPORTANT that he is starting to FINALLY accept that octavia needs to take responsibility of her own actions..can no longer blame himself for not being able to stop her / help her....but...

Not anymore.

I dont know how to word this in a way that will sound eloquent so bear with me.... not anymore. Meaning it once was. Meaning....he thinks that up until she burned the farm he is to blame for her actions. Up until she burned the farm, she was his responsibility. He didnt confront what their mom said to him when he was six years old. He did not acknowledge the burden that was placed on him because he doesnt see it that way. He doesnt see it as something that was unfair or unreasonable because to go back to season 1....his life both ended the day she was born and started then too. He had a purpose taking care of octavia....he almost idolizes his mother [ the girl under the stairs like mom taught us...she raised me to be better than this. To be good ]. The thing space did allow him was the time to really, truly find a family outside of Octavia for the first time ever. Space allowed him the chance to have and love people FOR HIMSELF. And that made it a lot easier for him to break away and out of this stranglehold of a relationship where, in so many ways, he had been programmed to believe that everything was on him and any mistake was his fault. In space, he was able to see that there is life outside of octavia....but that doesnt mean he has processed the life he had with her...because he didn't.

In conclusion: bellamy really hasnt processed his trauma at all...just got better at directing it and hiding it. His anxiety became more internal: wringing his hands versus running into battle. He wants to move forward. He wants to do better. But he hasnt confronted the past--- not fully. And as long as there is a task to be completed, he never will. It isnt how he is programmed. He will run himself into the ground before taking a moment for himself because a leader gives everything that they are to their people. Space gave him a FAMILY. a place outside of octavia. something that is more balanced, with mutual respect and care....but when it comes to processing trauma? becoming more whole w/ himself in a way other members of spesikru have? not so much..........

[langernameohnebedeutung]

suzuwarahikaru replied to your post “what happens at 5 am?”

where is the essay, OP!?

@suzuwarahikaru​ Honestly, it’s drivel and I didn’t feel like it particularly went anywhere and it was just me monologuing about one aspect of a bigger question so that’s why I didn’t post it. But ok, just for some context: You probably know how the MCU was often criticised for having “bland one off villains” and that’s true especially in their early films - and that was time when Heath Ledger’s Joker loomed very large and Ian McKellen was famous for his performance of Magneto and the idea for a Magneto solo film had just been scrapped in favour of XM First Class. At that point apparently the MCU guys walked up with the demand that Thor 1 only has to give them 1 thing: A villain as good as Magneto which they could use in Avengers. Now, obviously it had to be Loki, because Loki is Thor’s most famous antagonist and he was the first guy the Avengers ever fought in the comics, and Loki in Thor 1 is satisfyingly complex - but now that Loki’s dead and has a solo show coming out in a while, people dug up that old quote and started arguing about whether Loki actually became a villain “as good as Magneto” - which I honestly wouldn’t care about, except this argument spilled a few  “But Loki is great and Magneto is boring”-posts into the Magneto tag a while ago (which mixes with a lot of: Why did Cherik get a happy end but Stucky didn’t that’s so unfair!!!! posts) and then some comments started lowkey implying that Loki is a character who’s more attractive to sophisticated fans and that Magneto fans are usually men and Loki fans women (with the not so subtle implication being that Magneto fans are comic dude bros who like him for his cool powers and because he’s a Bad Guy(TM) I don’t really care about that, but over the course of this argument someone made a rather interesting post, wondering about what “went wrong” with Loki and while I love Loki as a character and as a villain, it made me ponder what could have been done to make Loki (even) better and to help him stand on his own 2 feet as a character and this was their post:

Now and this was going to be my response: Personally, I don’t think that having spectacular powers or anything make a villain good (they make good visuals though) but whether the hero learns something from fighting them, whether their motivation maybe reflects something that we experience as well and that maybe they unmask something that we usually don’t feel comfortable to address. And Loki has all these qualities.

I’m not going to try to objectively pinpoint where it ‘went wrong’ but it’s actually interesting to look at the XMCU and the MCU and to compare notes. The XMCU is often criticised for being too wordy, too slow-paced and “what’s with the constant time jumps and decade-hopping?” But I think that’s something the Thor franchise could actually have profited from, because…these guys are immortals and it just feels rushed in my opinion to watch their world fall apart in what is for them a matter of a long weekend. 

For example, a bigger distance between the events of Thor 1 and Avengers would have lent more weight to Loki’s disappearance and Thanos torturing and brainwashing him, Thor’s and Jane’s relationship would have been given more time to develop (making their reunion in Thor 2 more meaningful). They could also have given her more time exploring Asgard/battling the Ether. We could have learnt more about the Dark Elves, the Frost Giants, the Nine Realms in general. 

And that’s at least part of the problem, in my opinion: We don’t know enough about Asgard. You can’t just throw in an alien word without world-building and you can’t introduce characters who are millennia old by showing us 6 years of their lives and maybe 1 flashback. There is a reason why a show like Good Omens spent basically an entire episode on Crowley and Aziraphale’s lives through the millennia. Captain America got a film set in the WW2, Wolverine Origins covers over a century of Logan’s story. Magneto isn’t a better (or worse) villain than Loki, because as you said, the writing makes the character and both get pretty good and pretty bad writing at times. But a big difference is: We know a lot more about Magneto than we know about Loki. 

One example of this is personal relationships. Something I never realised before I started typing this is how little space Loki is given to let him form/have/maintain/test/strengthen meaningful relationships. 

Basically, all his meaningful interactions are inside his family. Magneto (to be clear, I’m bringing up so often bc the MCU apparently insisted on being rude af and asking Kenneth Branagh on drawing inspiration from a character who’s basically the opposite of Loki in every regard) gets a lot more screen time to develop his relationships with other characters, even if it means less CGI action scenes. 

In fact, I’m currently tempted to find out how many 1 on 1 dialogue scenes Loki gets per hour of film vs. how many Magneto gets. Loki enters the picture with a family, ‘friends’, a biological father, servants, an entire kingdom of people who know him, but he barely gets to have any meaningful interactions outside of his family environment. Seeing him interact with a friend or even someone who hates him for reasons unrelated to his relationship with Thor or someone who supports him would in turn show us a lot about how he sees other people, how he sees himself, how he treats them, what he values in a person, what kind of people trusts (if he trusts) – that’s a lot of potential that was left pretty much wasted in my opinion. 

One of the first things Agent of Asgard did was add Verity Willis to its main-cast so have a character for Loki to interact with, to serve as a moral anchor, and to call him out on his bullshit. Having relationships is powerful. In the MCU, Loki’s relationship with his mother is such an important, humanising element to his character. Also a lot of headcanons and metas and thoughts about Loki are inspired by those few scenes where we see him interact with the Warrior’s Three and Sif before Loki finds out about his parentage. 

And even when encounters the Avengers, they meet once, they talk once, then Loki he returns to Asgard and they never meet again, except Bruce - and even then there’s barely any time to talk about what happened in Avengers 1. He doesn’t get to form any meaningful relationships with his adversaries when he talks to them in Av1, these scenes just exist to present the Avengers in a certain light. And in the end it’s canonised that Loki was brainwashed so it’s all pointless anyway. (pls (don’t) make me write an essay on agency and the MCU, because honestly, between Bucky, Gamora, Nebula, Loki and everyone else was brainwashed it’s actually worth a conversation)

Even in Thor 1 Loki never meets Jane or Darcy, one of the main-characters. And we never see a single frost giant after the first film. Erik Solveig is the only Earth character from Thor 1 Loki actually meets and he’s brainwashed for most of that and in Thor 2, they don’t get to meet again. 

Imagine if Loki had had someone he trusted in Thor 1 and told them about finding out he’s a Frost Giant and they reject him and treat him like a monster. This could be three or four scenes that don’t throw off the film but would have been very powerful. Or imagine if Loki keeps his heritage a secret from that friend/trusted person and they find out in Thor 2 and confront him about it. Valkyrie and Loki never talk about him invading her mind or the things he saw. 

We never get to see him alone on Sakaar to deal with what he presumes is the end of his home world and the death of everyone he knows and we never see him interact ‘win the Grandmaster’s trust’. 

We never see him interact with the Hulk before they’re suddenly fighting side by side in Infinity War. We never find out exactly what the Aesir’s sentiments towards him are, what kind of prince he was in the past, how present he is in public, what reputation he has beyond silver-tongue mischief guy and which specific events shaped it.

If the MCU wants a villain “as good as Magneto” (which is already annoying bc they imply that Loki is not as good a villain which is such a subjective measure – Magneto done wrong is a horrible and downright offensive villain and trickster characters done right are amazing for revealing the flaws of a hero.*) then they have to give writers and actors the same means to do that with. The X-Men franchise, for all it flaws, always gave Magneto screen-time (so much that people criticised it). 

There’s a Charles-and-Erik dialogue in pretty much every film, allowing us to follow the state of their eternal argument at every step. We see his friendship with Mystique grow and fall, we see Wolverine call him out on his bullshit, his attempt to make young Hank and Mystique feel better about their visible mutations, we know how he treats his followers, his new recruits, his enemies, his students, his wife and his daughter, (daughters, if we count The Gifted and his legacy), his colleagues, his lovers, his ex-lovers, allies and former allies, politicians, police, prison guards, Nazis, soldiers, insane Egyptian gods – and we get to learn his feelings and thoughts about all of these through personal interactions, decisions and gestures. And in turn we know how they feel about Magneto. What do we know about Loki’s feelings about people outside his family? How does he feel about Fandral? What are his thoughts on the Valkyrior? How did his views on Frost Giants change and when? Did he challenge them at all or did he just become cynical about them? 

As I said, Loki is a formidable villain but I think that he suffers from the same problem as many MCU characters: We hardly know them. Think about Natascha whose been part of the franchise since Iron Man 2 but we hardly know anything about her. How much do we know about the family Drax lost? Or about Wanda’s family? About Pepper’s private life? We hardly know anything about them and especially when characters are thousands of years old and we know nothing about their past, it really creates a gaping hole in their biography and that really leads back to my original point: If we could spend more time with them, we would know them better and care more. One of the reason Dark Phoenix is a bit under-whelming is because we know very little about Jean and Scott in this time line. 

There are two DCEU films I actually own and watched more than once: Wonder Woman and Aqua Man. And while I personally didn’t find Aqua Man that good, this film actually tells us a lot about him and despite my lack of knowledge about the DCEU and me being a giant Marvel nerd, I preferred Wonder Woman over Captain Marvel and that is because I felt closer to her character. It really boils down to a “show don’t tell issue” and for me, that would mean: Maybe fewer giant CGI battles. more people living their lives. *(which should also highlight why setting Magneto as a mark for K.B. is so off-mark. Loki is about unmasking hypocrisy, Magneto himself is a hypocrite who regards himself as a hero but often does immoral things and that for example gets unmasked by Wolverine, another social outsider with littl care for social conventions)

[themikewheelers]

Will and El seriously go through all of season 3 without exchanging a direct word, huh? The Duffer Brother’s are really gonna do that to us huh? Like they freaking adopt her at the end of the season but can’t be bothered to give them one (1) interaction all season? Like not even just Will, the show completely forgot El has significant relationships outside of Mike and Hopper. Like I know a cornerstone in the story this season was that Mike and El spend too much time together but really???

I mean, I disagree that they forgot El has significant relationships outside of Mike and Hopper?? She spent more time with Max this season than Mike and Hop combined?? And obviously it wasnt as spotlighted, but her relationships with Lucas and Dustin definitely had their moments to shine as well. And to be fair, outside of the characters I just listed, El doesn’t rlly have a relationship with anyone else?

Which kinda connects to what i wanna say now, which is that yes Im disappointed we didnt see more of El with Will/the Byers in general, but the more I think about it, I think its a good thing. For El and Will specifically, I think its in character. Bc Will didnt rlly seem to have the greatest feelings about El, and that makes sense! I know everyone kinda wanted them to be bffs from the moment they met, but its realistic it didnt go that way, especially from Will’s perspective. I do think Will is jealous of El (and Max to an extent) and that makes sense. Think about how El even joined the party. Will was in the midst of the most traumatic week of his life, and when he came back of course his friends were super supportive and caring and they were always there for him, but he also knew that while he was gone they made this new friend and they missed her v much. Will feels nothing bad towards El of course over that, and jealousy probably isn’t even the right word, but he feels weird. This girl joined his friend group and he doesn’t even know her but now sees his friends upset that she’s gone. I do think to an extent he felt replaced. The same way El felt replaced by Max when she first came back in s2. The boys never did anything to specifically make Will feel replaced, its just the circumstances of how everything happened that just made things weird for him.

Then flash forward to s3. Things are finally normal. For once, the whole party is together, and Will rlly has his chance to get to know El. But there are other things he’s concerned about. First off, after spending the last year of his life battling constant trauma, he’s finally in a position where he can start to move on, but he feels like in that year so much of his childhood has been taken from him. So he clings to stuff like D&D, which his friends are moving on from, but he still feels like is an important part of his childhood and he wants to hold onto that. Also, his friends have changed so much since before everything happened, and I wont say they’re genuinely more mature than Will, but in a very superficial definition of the word, they are. They’ve got girlfriends. They don’t care about playing games. They dont wanna be kids, they wanna be teenagers. So I do think Will feels threatened by that and he hates feeling like his friends are growing up at a different speed than him, and the girls kinda become a symbol of that for him. He wants to go back to how things were before everything, and that includes not wanting the girls to be a part of the group. He doesn’t rlly understand Mike and Lucas’s relationships, he sees it as just them wanting to “swap spit” with “stupid girls.”

And I don’t think Will holds any bad feelings towards El or Max directly. Especially El, cause I do think he has very positive feelings for her. He knows she’s the girl who saved his life, who helped his friends, who’s genuinely a rlly good person. He knows that, and I think he does rlly like El as a person. He just hasn’t rlly had any interest in forming a relationship of his own with her bc he still feels awkward just having her a part of the group. So now going into s4, we can see that after everything with the Mind Flayer coming back Will acknowledges how silly his feelings before were. He realizes whats important and lets go of his anger towards the other boys for not caring about D&D anymore and all that stuff. And also, obviously now he has a real reason for why he should try to bond with El. Bc she’s not only is she living with him, she’s one of the only people he has left. So I’m looking forward to actually getting to see their relationship grow, and not just suddenly have them be BFFs as soon as El came back in s2. I never rlly thought about Will’s feelings with this stuff before, but the more I do, the more I realize how kinda ridiculous it was to assume he’d just be automatically completely accepting of the girls to the group without feeling any weirdness about it himself