#but as i said. i am not good at analyzing especially...when the character doesn't act similar to me in any way

[this-is-a-username124]

I love Franziska so much but I'm not really a character analysis person?? If a character similar to me then it's obviously easier but like. Even when I find a character extremely interesting, I just kinda go read long ass posts about them and go "YEAH. I agree with this" lmao

[genericpuff]

Hello, i saw your post about Perse being a menace to the nymphs and I agree and the majority of what you said buuut

not to defend Persephone or anything, but didn't Minthe send her to the wrong place on purpose? I haven't read LO in a long time so i don' t remember the details but since she works there, she knows that THAT place is dangerous, and I'm not saying blackmail is ok but in perse's place i would be angry too, so while yes, the author makes Persephone and all the other characters treat nymphs poorly and that's one of the main reasons I dropped LO, that specific event (without taking in account the context of all, because yes in that moment Hades is basically cheating on Minthe with Persephone and she doesn't even felt guilty) but Minthe was so wrong for sending Perse there in the first place

English is not my first language so i apologize if i sound rude or if it's difficult to understand my idea.

But i really like this kind of posts because there are soo many scenes that i used to romanticize when i first read it while in school, like all those scenes with Tori and now i realize why LO is sooo messed up

So it's funny you bring that up because yes, Minthe did send her to the wrong place on purpose, however what DOESN'T get remembered often is that Minthe felt remorse over it.

And we see her feel remorse in this way on several occasions, including during the slap scene.

The fact that Minthe keeps getting pigeonholed into the "petty bitch" archetype by the narrative feels more of a consequence of Rachel trying to make the audience hate her no matter what (because she's the "other woman" in the H x P ship), and yet she shows more self-awareness and capability for growth than Hades and Persephone ever have, which is what makes her so endearing for the fanbase. She doesn't understand why she acts the way she does but she knows it's not okay. It's just that change is hard, especially when that change is dependent on you analyzing yourself and being willing to accept your faults and mistakes.

Unlike Hades and Persephone, who not only continuously act like brats to the people around them (especially Persephone as of late) but only take the kind of 'accountability' that makes them look good (ex. Therapy Speak), without showing any genuine remorse or willingness to change. It makes it feel like the nymphs are only mistreated because the narrative constantly gives them characterizations to justify their mistreatment.

Yes, Minthe's done terrible things, things that ultimately led to her downfall in a lot of ways - but I'm sure as shit more interested in where she has to go as a character than I am in Hades and Persephone, who have nowhere to go because they're clearly content with who they are.

Eughghgh.

[whyisstarkidfollowingmeshoo]

I'm reading a lot of things about Hidge's sexuality canon wise. So taking account on what Nick and Matt Lang said (as much as I remember it without rewatching the video proof lol) my argument on why the canon sexuality of Prof. Henry Hidgens is that he is bisexual and Objectumsexual.

Well I think canon wise he is not polyamorous. I can accept that (i have no problem with him being poly canon wise. I am not anti-poly, just faithful with canon) but I remember Nick Lang or even Matt did not specify it. They said, within along the lines/paraphrasing: Henry loves his six boy friends, they are special to him, but Chad IS the apple of his eye. The last sentence they meant romantically.

So why bisexual and not gay? To make it clear, I have no problem with him being gay. I'm willing to be corrected. But since I'm arguing that he's bisexual, well let me start. Of course we haven't seen Hidge talk about or falling in love with specific women characters in the saga so far, however he did say in TGWDLM " Alexa, I love you like every woman flesh and bone", so there ya go. If he can find a woman that is subordinate to him like Alexa and Siri, then he can have a relationship with a woman. Come to think of it, i think he loves Chad the most because I hypothesize Chad always goes along with his plans/ideas. Yes I believe if I were to analyze his relationship personality, he wants to be the dominant in the relationship. He's very controlling and spirals when he doesn't get his way. Which why this is a good segway to...

And with the mention of two famous AI virtual assistants, I think it's enough to say that Hidge has objectophilia. More so in NMT episode Time Bastard where he shared his sexual rendezvous with either one of them to Ted and implied how he did it (some imagination and a little elbow grease or any lube lol). Not to mention that he talks to Alexa and Siri like they're humans. Fun fact, I read somewhere that people who have this sexual orientation cant handle keeping a relationship with another human because they're too controlling hence having a relationship with an object is easier because it has no thoughts, no opinions to consider. Also, this can also be a result of a trauma. Him losing his friends, especially Chad, during a lightning strike attack did not just lead him to isolation and practicing survival instincts, but also drove him to loving objects instead cause at least they won't experience terrible human deaths. Here is the source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/sex-and-relationships/decoding-objectophilia-5-reasons-why-people-fall-in-love-with-objects/story-LMvWWzhs257dD47yxNGC9H.html UPDATE: these facts are more connected to the character that is Prof Henry Hidgens whose personality reflects the generalizing views of the orientation better. Real life Objectums are a lot more complicated than that and can act against stereotypes/generalization. Thanks @fork-bork for reminding me.

Also further explanation:  ur friends can be ur life partners (hence there are old people living with friends in their twilight years) and some people like calling their friends as boyfriends or girlfriends. Hidge is just comfortable with his sexuality and closeness with his friends that he can call his male friends as his boyfriends. I think that's just Jeff's word play and humor going on as he wrote the song. And according to the song "it takes balls": Steve was a priest, Leighton was in a relationship with a person named Gary, and Greg was seeing/dating Steve's mom. Plus all of the boys, sans Chad and Henry, were attracted to females while at college based on their locker room talk acted by the Workin Girls cast.

I'm not like Unhidge Hidge, so tell me about ur thoughts/opinions/rebuttals as long as ur taking account of what I wrote here. Especially proof from the Langs with ur rebuttal. Of course in head canon or fan fic world, anything is free reins and you can experiment with Hidge's sexuality there. Just make sure to specify if it's canon or head canon so to avoid confusion and arguments.

Update:

I have the urge to check my HHP Working Boys screen recordings where Nick and Matt discussed Henry's relationship with the boys if it's poly or not. Update 2: Okay I watched it and Nick just says that Chad is his favorite so get out of that as you wish. But since the boys did their locker room talk about girls without Henry and Chad, I don't think the boys were making out with each other unless maybe just Henry and Chad if it's not unreciprocated from Henry's side.

I can understand if most fans think Henry is gay and not bi since Nick and Matt have not given more concrete proof of his attraction to human females. My only arguments with him being bi is that he loves and has done sexual acts with Alexa and Siri, AI virtual assistants with female names and voices. (NMT episode: Time Bastard).

[a-student-out-of-time]

// If Mod wants to take a temporary hiatus, *now* might be a good time to do so (because all everyone is gonna talk about for a while is the Danganronpa: Despair Time hype!)

//Yeah, I'm gonna be really clear this time around:

I like to wait until the episode is out in full, so I can pause and analyze on my own time. Timeline Anon and I watch these together, so there's always a lot of discussion that goes on between us as well, so that can go on for a couple hours at least. Which is why...

I will not be on Tumblr while we watch, but I know there's gonna be a TON of asks once I check back in. Please see point 1 for why I won't answer immediately.

I know I have supporters and I have doubters, but regardless, I'm going to ask politely that we NOT immediately start deciding the theory is true or false based on new details. I expected there to be things brought up that we have not been privy to yet, so my biggest concerns are the questions I want addressed:

Why did we bring up Teruko's prosopagnosia?

Why have J and Arei not been a major focus until now?

Why is J acting so different in Deadly Life and the Trial?

Why does Arei's hair look different compared to when she was alive?

What did Charles and Whit learn during their hackerman adventures?

What role did the wigs and dressing rooms' soundproofing have?

What connection do Nico and Hu have with David concerning this chapter?

Was Rose refusing to see the body simply due to her not wanting more nightmares or a sign that there's more to all this?

Most importantly, what did Teruko remember when Arei was crying?

//I know it's tempting to point to anything small and say "This proves/disproves the idea," but let's lay off the gas until we get some hard evidence. New evidence doesn't necessarily immediately prove or disprove anything, and the puzzle pieces will probably not come together until we get to the end.

//People keep saying this episode will prove/disprove what I'm saying, but even I as the originator of this theory will withhold any judgement until the end. I am prepared to adjust my theory accordingly as we learn more, but I'm not gonna decide I'm right or wrong until it's proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

//Plus, guys, this is just episode 12. We've got plenty of time to consider the evidence before Chapter 2 is over : P

4. Most importantly, let's not be hostile here. This is just a fangan series and we're all here to have fun. I have no ill will toward people who disagree with my theory, nor will I have any toward anyone if it's definitively disproven. This is, after all, just one guy's crazy theory.

So let's not have any hate mail spammed in anyone's direction or anyone made to feel bad about anything they believe now or used to believe. This is all just in good fun, alright?

5. I understand it's tempting, but a character dismissing an idea isn't evidence of anything, especially when they have every reason to lie about it. We need only to look at Leon's "stupidstupidstupid" rant as proof of that.

//With all that having been said, I sincerely hope everyone has a good time! Ultimately, I'm glad we have some new things to discuss in depth ^^

[pasteloctoz]

I needed to make a post about biting and the significance with vampires (specifically our cowboy and prince). Also (kind of) comparing Darlin' and Lovely and their trauma with biting.

FULL DISCLAIMER: I am analyzing this from a writer's point of view, I have never had to deal with trauma in the way these characters have. If I seem to get anything wrong PLEASE TELL ME. In many cases I am not as educated as I'd like to be. Also Quinn audio spoilers ahead.

From what we know about vampire culture, biting is supposed to be a sort of "right of passage" between a vampire and their partner (vamp or not), as well as turning (unless its in situations like Fred or Vinnie). It shows that the two trust each other enough for one to feed on the other. Vincent describes it as an intimate act (specifically in the neck), which tells me that it is somewhere in the same category as bridging. Of course there are many acceptations to this but that's pretty much the gist of it.

I find it interesting that the incident with Adam happened with Lovely and literally five audios later he bites them for the first time. Obviously, Lovely can't have gotten over their trauma that quickly. Especially since it's been 2 years (about) since Darlin' and Quinn stopped being a thing and Darlin' is obviously still bothered by the things Quinn did to them.

Now, here's where things get interesting. I think why Lovely was able to "get over" everything that happened was because they knew what was happening to them was bad. They hadn't trusted Adam from the start. Hell- when they first met Adam was about to drain them right then and there. While Darlin' was under the impression that Quinn was doing it because he loved them (idk how else to phrase it, definitely coulda said that better).

Lovely knows Vinnie would never hurt them on purpose and trusts him 100 times more than they would ever trust Adam. After realizing that Quinn wasn't good for them, Darlin' might not trust Sam as much and earlier in their relationship would've let Sam know that. Now, later into their relationship, even though Darlin' trusts Sam a lot more then before Sam won't bite them. He doesn't want to make them feel like he's just another Quinn. That's why he can never follow through with biting them despite Darlin' asking for it. He doesn't want to abuse Darlin's trust like Quinn did.

He doesn't want to abuse Darlin's trust like Alexis did to him. And that's where you realize- they both have a past with biting and as a result have trust issues. Neither of them have a good idea of what biting is supposed to be.

ALSO I think Darlin's reasoning for wanting to be bitten are completely different now than back with Quinn. Back then, Darlin' (I headcanon) genuinely wanted Quinn to hurt them. They felt useless being apart of a pack and at the same time feeling so lonely. So they wanted him to be the disgusting sadist he is and really bring out the worst in them. Though, now, Darlin' really does trust Sam a lot, and wants to show that to him. Darlin' wants to do their best to get over the shit with Quinn and be in the moment with Sam.

That's how you know Darlin' really won the boyfriend lottery <3

[cherubchoirs]

Yo :3

So uh, I’ve been looking through your art and I am absolutely in love with it. I love your use of colors and lineart (ESPECIALLY v1 but I’ll get to them). This will mostly just be me rambling about it cause :]

Dude how the fuck do you get emotion so well done. V1 is immaculate, like look at this shit

You can feel that it’s alien to non robots, but is genuinely curious. I absolutely love how you draw poses. Especially since the characters don’t have faces, body language is key. They feel like they have a personality with each drawing. Always hunched down and extended with no regards to social norms. The attention to detail is what really makes it, the thicker outlines on the character make them pop more, and your take on V1 is clearly thought out well, along with your ultrakill characters.

LIKE LOOK AT IT‼️

IT GENUINELY LOOKS 3D‼️‼️

While my favorite is v1, Micheal in your aus is especially well written and drawn. His design reminds me a lot of the corpse of king Minos / Minos prime. which I like! It highlights their contrast, how Minos tried to reason with a higher being on an equal level. Micheal acted instead, deeming himself unworthy of said higher being. Both genuinely cared for their citizens, both were royalty. Minos spoke out, Micheal stayed isolated, which only further deteriorated him, unlike Minos, who instead was proactive, reaching out to other layers and kings like Sisyphus. Sometimes you need to know what it’s like to feel consequence in order to succeed. But in the end, both of their bodies are left to rot, unable to succeed.

Also I really like this one of v1. Their silhouette is distinctive and you’re good at posing :3

Sry. Idk if this is weird or creepy, but I thought I’d share my thoughts with you since I like analyzing stuff.

THE WAY THIS MADE ME SO EMOTIONAL THO....WTF THANK YOU SO MUCH......it's absolutely mind-blowing to me that you pay attention to these little details because i absolutely try to add all of these things intentionally, but i find myself thinking like 'will anyone even care??? about these tiny things???' so it means more than i can say to see that someone does!!!!! like i'm so happy to know that my characterization of v1 comes through, because i really do have a very clear idea in my mind of its behavior and personality that i'm trying to convey through still images. v1's movements are bird/raptor-like and while i give it a very sophisticated, sentient mind, its intelligence is nonhuman and it is a being that absolutely doesn't conform to our standards. v1 is something new, and i want it to be something that clearly has an internal life and a bright mind, yet exhibits very little corresponding human behaviors. plus, it's a bit odd because of its somewhat corrupted software, and so i wanted too for its little hunched posture to show it's sort of a machine gone feral (in the traditional, once was domesticated but is now on its own sense lol) - it was made with a humanoid body shape and so SHOULD stand up straight, but it doesn't anymore. because it doesn't want to. and so!!! i really do draw v1 with a LOT of intention and i put plenty of thought into posing it correctly to both convey its character and its emotion in the piece...and since it's my favorite, i'm so glad i'm doing it justice!!

AND YEA!!! michael definitely has parallels to minos (which i started to think on when i realized their head shape is....kinda similar lol i swear i was just going for crown + blindfold for mike's helmet but oops!!) and i do like their throughlines as fallen rulers, plus their sort of opposing yet ultimately disastrous relationships to their own corpse - minos is separated from his and must watch as it mindlessly tears his city apart while michael is trapped in a flesh prison of his own body, forced to stay within it as it rots away. they are two rulers that would have done anything for their people, and yet both failed them despite again taking opposite paths. minos really had no hope, the external forces of heaven coming down on him in their full authority, though he will forever blame himself. michael departed despite, with god's disappearance, being essentially the highest in heaven - he believed only god could save them though, that he could never become a king from a prince (again, due to heaven's own hierarchy). their meeting would be nothing but utter disaster, but it does make me consider their interactions a little more closely when michael decides to test minos prime's strength (because while michael would have a lot to say about how minos failed his people by defying god, minos would have much to say in turn about a prince abandoning his people at their weakest)

BUT FOR REAL....this message was so amazingly kind and i want to thank you again for sending it my way. it just made me!!!! feel so happy to see that my art is loved and that the work i put into it really means something. honestly it's the best thing i could ask for <3

[morangoowada]

moot i am so sorry i keep sending you asks but i so desperately wish to yap about thh with someone 😭 with that being said, what are your opinions on leon and sayaka (especially leon) and kinda how they’re unfortunately treated by the fandom :(

I REALLY LIKE SAYAKA AND LEON, I wasn't a huge fan of Sayaka at first but one of my friends one time talked to me about their analysis from her character and after that conversation I started to really like her and also get how horrible the hate she goes through is, and also how misogyny is tied into it, because most of the hate comments about her sound VERY misogynistic. Sayaka is a really good character and her actions MAKE SENSE, it makes a lot of sense for her to panic while she was in a killing game with the threat of her friends, the people she most cared about, and also her dream that she worked so hard to achieve were all in danger, the way she acts is very human and even if it doesn't justify her actions, it gives an explanation on WHY she did it, it shows us that she's also flawed and not a perfect innocent idol!! I really like Sayaka and I wish people would stop with the "snake" jokes about her, because a lot of characters who did worse things don't get half of the treatment she gets... She deserves better

I also really like Leon, you probably have a better analysis of him because you're a bigger fan of his than I am. (yes this is a invite for you to analyze him so I can understand him even better) I feel like half the fanbase doesn't really get Leon and only talks about him when it's about jokes like 11037 instead of actually getting into his character. Plus there's also the demonizing of him because of the chapter 1 trial, but let's be real, both Leon and Sayaka are flawed in that trial, they were in a killing game of course they wouldn't act normally!!! But talking about things I like in him, I find it interesting how Leon is a punk and a lot of his character revolves around rebellion, he doesn't like being told what to do and seems to like the idea of being free, but he also has an issue of doing things just to impress people, it looks like he kinda just does and acts some way just because he thinks it's cool instead of acting like himself, at least that's what I get from him

[logically-asexual]

it's been 3 years since putting others first. Thomas keeps teasing the finale but that's about it, I think he's trying to do more Sanders Sides now since he's (finally!) realize that he can't give us nothing forever and we'll be happy about it.

My guess is that the fandom will resurrect for a bit before going back to other stuff since it'll probably be forever until the part 2 of the finale comes out.

What Thomas NEEDS to do, probably when posting the first part, is to establish a clear timeline of when stuff will happen.

like in the end credits show off a schedule like "part 2 will be posted in October, part three around January and part four in March" or something like that with approximate estimations of when we'll get the parts.

That'll help keep the fandom and momentum going. Not all the waiting with the tiniest little hints that don't tell us anything. Like it's been 3 years, before that wasn't there like a year between that and the episode before? The waits are getting longer, and people are sick of it. What's the point in seeing the first part of the finale when it'll take years to see the next part, especially if it's four parts. That's a long ass time.

Thomas has also said that once part 1 is done that the rest will be easier, ig he's writing all the scripts now. But there'll still be a wait, so to me I think there's 2 options Thomas could go with.

the timeline of approximately when all the parts will come out

or, make the 4 parts into one, or 2 parts. More content means that people will probably be more forgiving of a long wait for the next part. A big part of this fandom is analyzing EVERYTHING after all, more content = more stuff to analyze

either way his current method of "teasers" and "I'm working on it I swear!" then making a lot of new series that take up a lot of time and energy while not mentioning Sanders Sides at all isn't working.

So many people are pointing out that they where [age] when [episode] came out and how much older they are now.

Sanders Sides started 6 years ago, at this rate I doubt there'll be a season 2, if there is, I hope that Thomas realizes he doesn't need something like another Forbidden Fruit for every episode. The production value can go down, that'd be preferable to these long ass waits.

that's why Asides was created and it's suffered the same fate of production value being super high when it just doesn't have to be to be a good episode. Writing > production value every time.

At this point I'd absolutly encourage Thomas to finish the finale and move on and do other things that he's passionate about and grow that new audience or maybe even step back from youtube all together, he's been online a long time after all.

i think there’s problems at both the writing and the production stages. and yes both are probably because they’ve set this standard, like you said, with Forbidden Fruit

in terms of writing this high standard won’t let them do anything other than tackle huge issues that need a lot of research and that have a lot of points to address, of which they don’t want to leave anything out in fear that it will leave way for inaccurate interpretations of the issue they’re discussing.

and in terms of production well it’s obvious that they just keep making the videos more and more complicated even when it’s not necessary, since what charmed us back in 2017 was thomas’s incredible acting and editing skills that made everything seem so effortless, how relatable the videos were, and how clever the jokes and little hints for analyzing were.

thomas wants to explore what he can do and try bigger things and i support that, but that doesn’t mean that he has to make huge things every single time. it’s like he learned nothing from Am I Original. and also if that’s just not what the fans want and he cares enough about that to affect the writing of the characters this much, then he should also listen in that aspect. and he could try the cool special effects more often somewhere else.

and about setting a timeline i don’t know. that’s a whole mess with thomas’s personal feelings that i don’t enough about and i also wouldn’t have any idea how to fix anyway. at first he would say “new video this friday!” and no video would come and he would say that he needed more days and then it would end up taking a couple more weeks. and we would tell him over and over that we didn’t mind but he and joan still felt bad. and then they decided no more posting deadlines, but they still had deadlines that they set for themselves or for sponsors and they still couldn’t stick to them even when they worked through days and nights. i could just go “well it’s clear that the issue isn’t the deadline and you should just find a more efficient way of working” but that’s so easy to say and what does it even mean? who am i to say that kind of thing, i know nothing about them and what they have and haven’t tried to do. so idk.

i do think the best case scenario is if they were able to say “next part will come out on [date]!” and then somehow for that to actually happen because it would guarantee constant fandom activity between videos. which we all would love. but i just don’t know if that’s possible.

[searchingforatrail]

I am the anon from before, the one who got mad at you and I apologize if it came off as rude. I initially thought you were getting mad at Starscream for talking about his abuse with Bumblebee but now I understand what you mean. Yes, in that instant and many other instances he doesn't take accountability and it is extremely easy for him to just throw it all on Megatron without actually taking any form of accountability. Starscream himself like you said is also extremely awful to other people like Knockout and Megatron. I was just looking at your other posts especially about Megatron and saw the love and care you give him, in comparison to Starscream where it seems you tend to be critical toward him. That might just be because I am a fan of Starscream, but I apologize for coming into your space and making you feel bad, I agree with you and Starscream is a character that gets off the hook very easily especially by his fans. I think you have every right to have complex feelings over him or simply dislike him and or how fandom treats him. Again, I apologize and didn't mean to make it seem like you can't talk about him. I'm so used to him getting hate almost everywhere that I just jumped to conclusions but I apologize. He is not a good person and I don't want to amke it seem like he is, especially with how you brought up Knockout and even how he treats Megatron

Thank you anon for apologizing. You're correct, I was never saying that Starscream couldn't talk about his abuse with Bumblebee or that he didn't go through it, I even said that Megatron was somewhat to blame. I was just saying that in general I think Starscream's loneliness has a lot to do with how he treats people.

I'm not sure if you've seen the other post I've written about him and Megatron, in which I highlight just how badly Megatron treated him. And like I've said before, I think it's important for Megatron fans to talk about what Megatron did to Starscream.

I'm usually more critical of him in my post referring to his relationship with Knockout, because he treated Knockout like shit. But in my posts with Megatron, with the exception of maybe one where I analyze Megatron's actions, I'm always acknowledging how bad he treated him. I just don't oogle over Starscream , but I also don't ever deny what's been done to him.

I even think if he treats Megatron questionable, nothing changes the fact that Megatron never should have treated Starscream the way he did.

And my point isn't that he throws it all on Megatron. My point is that one of his character flaws is blaming others for his mistakes, not just Megatron. And with Megatron, its arguably justifiable. Megatron has harmed Starscream in ways that impact how he acts around other people. To an extent.

But Knockout hasn't. Others haven't.

My post wasn't a Starscream vs. Megatron post, it was a Starscream vs. Everyone else post.

Thank you for apologizing. I'm sorry if I came off rude in my response, but sometimes it's difficult when you try to be passionate about a character, especially to reignite your spark for them, only to be told to be quiet. In the future i'll try and talk about him in a way that doesn't seem like i'm outwardly hating him, which I didn't think my post came off as, but if you thought so maybe others did too

[captnjacksparrow]

I wish people would stop caring about the canon pairings and marriages in Naruto/Boruto because they should have absolutely no relevance for SNS shippers in terms of validating said ship. Those who say we are delusional because “Well, Naruto married Hinata so she is THE one he loves!” (I'll focus more on Naruto's marriage here... Is Sasuke's even a marriage?) simply don’t get that it just doesn't really matter who Naruto and Sasuke married because that in no way diminishes their feelings for each other. The main plot of the series revolves around the bond between Naruto and Sasuke. It is their story. They are each other's most important people and this was established back in Land of Waves arc even before the dramatic events that take place on the bridge - the whole point of that very first arc was making this a fact right from the beginning, because the story has always been and was always supposed to be about the two of them and the profound love and understanding that grows between them ever since they exchanged glances, smiles and pouts as lonely little broken kids. No reason to list all proof of their feelings and bond here, it has been done extensively, and if somebody watched the show/read the manga and missed it, they are missing half a brain. That these boys love each other more than anyone else is absolutely obvious.

So what about the canon pairings? Kishimoto stated time and time again that his focus was never romance, and that is not because he can't write romance as we know it (he clearly did), but it’s a matter of concept: what HE considers romance is the attraction that unites people with the purpose of marriage (confessing your romantic love for japanese people is the same as saying you want to be in a relationship, because feelings shouldn’t be voiced without an intention), and that, to him, is NOT the greatest expression of love, nor does it represent the most special bond two people can share.

It is understandable that westerners put so much weight into marriage because we consider it the epitome of love. Well, the truth is marriage in Japanese culture is mainly the only socially admissible means to have children and has very little to do with romantic love. In fact, in Japanese literature, it is much more common for unmarried couples to love each other than married ones. Obviously, there is no absolute truth when it comes to feelings and human relationships, what I'm doing here is generalising social norms and expectations (not exposing my opinion on them - that would turn this rant into something else entirely). A large number of Japanese marriages are loveless (and arranged, but no point getting into that either) and what motivates choosing a spouse is their ability to fulfill familial duties, meaning: is the woman good mother and consequently wife material? Is she going to devote her life to taking care of her children, house and husband, the noblest of acts for a female? Is the man willing and capable of putting his occupation above everything else, working extremely hard and for long hours, with total dedication and diligence for his job, to the point of not even seeing his family most of the time, as an honorable man should do as a provider? That's what makes a GOOD married couple: two people following their expected and strict gender-roles in a nuclear child-centered family (again, please, this is not MY opinion!). What a Japanese man should want in a woman is for her to be a dedicated housewife and mother, since having children outside of marriage is not only frowned upon, it is not acceptable at all, and not being married with children is not respectable enough (same with being divorced). Marriage is, therefore, NOT a symbol of undying love and a deep and special connection between two people, rather, it’s a partnership established with the goal of having and raising children.

Do these descriptions ring any bells?

In conclusion: the pairings were, in fact, created for the sole purpose of bringing forth the next generation, and that was made CANONICALLY true. Would it have been better if they hadn’t gone down that "safe" route? Hell, yeah! It would have been fucking amazing and could even have been groundbraking, for several reasons. BUT as unsatisfying as it may be, the fact is they chose a very TRADITIONAL depiction of marriage that has little to do with feelings, and that in itself shouldn’t be taken lightly, since it leaves the strongest bond, which is grounded on genuine love, untouched. In this scenario, justifying romantic love through marriage alone won’t cut it, and trying to discredit the obvious unmatched connection and feelings between two characters because they never got married to each other or married someone else is ludicrous. Yeah, a married couple can love each other deeply and above anyone else, but that is just not what marriage is ABOUT in Japanese culture and definitely not what Kishimoto wanted us to believe was the case here after dedicating 699 chapters to a story about the special bond between two boys that didn’t culminate in marriage. 

You know what IS a symbol of romantic love in Japan? Being willing to die together when the love you feel goes against your moral obligations, holding on to the belief that you will be reunited in the afterlife, where you will be free of any burden and able to love freely.

Are more bells being rung?! 

Oh, some bonus info: We also tend to associate sex with romantic love. Well, Japanese married couples with children rarely have sex, if at all. After a woman becomes a mother, she is no longer considered sexually desirable and becomes a mother figure to her husband as well (what happened to Hinata’s big "attributes" in Boruto? Huh). This is especially true when couples sleep in separate rooms and the mother shares a bed with her children. (Hinata co-sleeps with Himawari and we know Naruto sleeps in a separate room. Just saying.)

What's your say?

Is Sasuke's even a marriage?

Geezz!!!! LoLLLLL!!!! This sentence just made me cackle so hard for a good 5 minutes, Anon!!!!!

Hmmm.... So let's get back to your ask.

Well, I don't know how to react to this ask, Anon. Because, I don't know whether you are from Japan or you have a very close Japanese friend who might've told you all these cultural thing about marriage and relationships.

So, what I am going to do is to analyze from the facts you have provided , combine with my own cultural relevance and provide my answer. If there is any Japanese readers who are reading this, you can confirm or dispel this by sending me an ask. But again, I don't want exceptional case like, 'No, my family is different'. I want to know about the general lifestyle of a common citizen and their married life.

Having said that, this ask made me just yell at myself, 'Goshh!!!! Seriously???'

Because whatever you said, It fucking exist in my country too and is still followed by almost 70% of people in my country and I absolutely detest it. That is,

Most of the marriages here are loveless nd arranged - Check

Is the woman good mother and consequently wife material? Is she going to devote her life to taking care of her children, house and husband, the noblest of acts for a female? - Check

People following their expected and strict gender-roles in a nuclear child-centered family - Check Check

What a man should want in a woman is for her to be a dedicated housewife and mother, since having children outside of marriage is not only frowned upon, it is not acceptable at all, and not being married with children is not respectable enough (same with being divorced). - Check Check

Marriage is, therefore, NOT a symbol of undying love and a deep and special connection between two people, rather, it’s a partnership established with the goal of having and raising children. - Awww!!! A million Check.

That's why I was envious of Western people in this aspect, because they have a freedom to choose their own partner without any time constraints and when they do, their marriage can be said to be 'The Epitome of Love'.

My parents marriage is also an arranged one. And whenever they have disagreement and that leads to verbal war, they let out this words, 'I'm here with you because of my 2 daughters otherwise I would've left you long back'. So... Yeah. Here, most of the marriages are child-centered. Again, it's not just my opinion. Majority of the arranged marriage based family revolve around their child.

And I was born, a year after my parents' marriage, and If I hadn't been born, then people will question my parent's fertility factor and start to discriminate them. So, I can boldly claim that, I was not born out of Love or something. I was born because of social obligations.

But it doesn't mean, my parents don't love each other now. How should I say???? It's like a Stockholm Syndrome??!!!! Like when you stay with a person for a long time, you will eventually start to develop some feelings over the course of the time. It took them 15 years to come to a complete understanding of each other. It's the same case with many couples here.

Considering all these, Sasuke never even stayed with Sakura enough to make her understand him, So I wonder what kind of couple are they????? Weird!!!!!

In conclusion: the pairings were, in fact, created for the sole purpose of bringing forth the next generation, and that was made CANONICALLY true.

Awww!!!! Man, Seriously???? I made this claim long back in this post where I said, these women were used as a tool to bring out Next Generation Kids. My claim was based on Analytical Perspective.

And then one of the rabid SS stan reblogged my post and pulled out a hetero card stating, 'They are married and blah blahh...' when in reality, I never discussed about their sexuality in that post. That post was purely based on the number of pages each hetero couples shared with each other against the number of pages Sasuke & Naruto shared together.

Now, you have provided a cultural perspective for those shitty canon pairings.

On one side, I feel the need to smirk, because I am right.

But on the other side, I feel bad like, 'Is this how, this show must go on?? What are you trying to convey from this?'.

You know what IS a symbol of romantic love in Japan? Being willing to die together when the love you feel goes against your moral obligations, holding on to the belief that you will be reunited in the afterlife, where you will be free of any burden and able to love freely.

Hmmm.... It's interesting to know this. Anon.

This is where it differs slightly in my country.

Romantic love here is,

No matter what happens, I'll stand with you, You are just not alone. I will leave my fucking clan, parents, relatives if they don't approve you and we will start a new life somewhere.

[[Here, marriages happen mostly between their clan members. If you love a person from another clan, you will be ostracized or tortured or honour killed by your very parents. It just differs from clan to clan. I was subjected to this same problem and that's why I hate my Clan and left my parents. And this is also one of the reason why I love Itachi. Because we share similar Ideals. That is, Not to be obsessed over your clan and think beyond this restriction.

Also, here in Asian Culture if someone is willing to leave their family (when they don’t approve you) and prefer you over everything.... It means.... that's some Love beyond Comprehension. Just like how Naruto was willing to leave his Family (like Sakura and Kakashi) and like to stand with Sasuke... Just like how Naruto was willing to leave his own family and go on a long mission with Sasuke]]

So does it remind you of anything?????

It's the whole SNS dynamics starting from their childhood to VoTE2. That's why I started to ship SNS, because it represents the true love we always wish for.

Would it have been better if they hadn’t gone down that "safe" route? Hell, yeah! It would have been fucking amazing and could even have been groundbraking, for several reasons. BUT as unsatisfying as it may be, the fact is they chose a very TRADITIONAL depiction of marriage that has little to do with feelings, and that in itself shouldn’t be taken lightly, since it leaves the strongest bond, which is grounded on genuine love, untouched. In this scenario, justifying romantic love through marriage alone won’t cut it

This is very true, Anon.

I mean, they don’t even have to take a groundbreaking route. 

They should have given everyone an open ending, just like Kishi left at chapter 699. What is the need of a marriage, if Naruto is going to adopt Kawaki??? If Orochimaru was going to create a Baby Artificially?? If Rock Lee is going to have a child out of nowhere???

But I am happy that SNS bond is the only one that wasn’t diminished in this hot mess called Burrito. So, atleast we should be happy about that.

When someone pulls the marriage card, I just block them immediately because they are not even worth having a good conversation. NH will pull out the Last movie and SS will pull out, ‘Sasuke called Sakura ‘My Wife’.... So, it’s just pointless.

So, to conclude

Considering my Analytical perspective, I already made earlier in other post and your ask which provides some insight about Japanese culture which eerily resembles the culture I belong to, It all makes sense that this whole pairings and trash is just for the sake of bringing out Next Generation series and those boys never loved those girls whole heartedly. And I agree with you on this.

[fireemblems24]

Hey! It's the anon who sent the ask about the imperialism thing.

I guess it's kinda ironic because uh, the country that did the whole imperialism shtick to my country is the US. The saddest part is that it's barely acknowledged and I'm pretty sure it's not even studied in your history either. If you're curious, look up Benevolent Assimilation. Yup. That's what they called it.

Anyway I had a realization when you mentioend about why not Edelgard try to enact the changes on her Empire first? And I realised... Yeah, why not???

A possible thing she could've done that's less bloody than a war is to change her Empire first. And then befriend the future leaders of the Kingdom and Alliance while they were in school. That would've made things fairly peaceful between them and also if the changes in the Empire are working out well, she could've promoted the same methods to Dimitri and Claude for them to establish in their own countries. She doesn't need to conquer them. I mean, yeah this is a very easier said than done situation (especially since there's still TWSITD) but again, less bloody alternatives.

To be fair, Edelgard handling this entire affair in a flawed manner such as a war is also fine by me. Seeing imperialism in media is fine especially if it highlights the flaws of it because yes, it and its long term effects need to be acknowledged. But the game just feels like it's condoning her... And there's also the ton of people who agree with her who just make me uncomfortable really because it feels so close to real life. Not only that seeing as this is a Japanese game and the Japanese have a... history with imperialism (in which they also occupied my country... we don't really get a break) it's just uncomfortable.

Again, I like Edelgard and the morally grey potential of her decisions. My problem really is in the execution. I would definitely tolerate CF much more if the BE had more prominent roles as critics? I think that's the only way they'd really fit in CF tbh. Criticise Edelgard, question her actions, make her question her own actions, make her realise the damage she caused. Stuff like that would've made CF into such a good route. Like, if AM is Dimitri's character study, why couldn't we have had Edelgard's character study in CF?

I guess in the end, the main reason why I'm really talkative about the whole Edelgard issue is because I really want to love her? I see the potential in her character — I love her design, her general personality, her voice actress, the fact that she's actually different from the usual female character in these games. But I just end up liking her and not really loving her because sometimes the games feels like it's forcing me to love her so much that I just eh. I still don't like her Byleth attachment.

But yeah I think I'm going to stop bothering you all about this since I think I'm just repeating restated points again.

I briefly looked up “Benevolent Imperialism.” Sounds exactly like the kind of phrase an Imperialist would label their conquest as. I’ll have to learn more about it because surprise, surprise, our history lessons do leave that out. 

As for your comments on Edelgard, I agree with everything you said. I cannot believe her actions are wholly benevolent and in the name of bettering society only because she never once attempts to work with other leaders. She’s either so far up her own ass she legitimately thinks killing every other major power in Fodlan except herself is really the best option for everyone or there’s more to her actions than her ideals - like killing all the dragons/forcing them into hiding forever or getting back what she thinks is rightly hers because the Empire ruled those territories hundreds of years ago. 

My issue, like yours, is that this game acts like she’s some kind of saint. She’s sacrificing her own soul by bloodying her own hands for the benefit of all. Whenever she talks about all the damage the war causes, it’s not about the victims, it’s about how sorry we should feel for her because she’s dirtying herself so everyone can live in her future utopia. 

It takes a grey, interesting perspective and makes it not only very uninteresting (and at times irritating as a player who doesn’t agree with her but it forced to act like she’s the biggest victim in all this), but problematic. To say nothing of how this glorifies war and skips over any and all negative side effects, it’s far more concerning in it’s presentation of Imperialism as a good thing, as a “liberation” of the countries who are getting violently taken over against their will. 

Like you, I don’t mind Imperialism in fiction. I don’t even mind seriously entertaining the question - but what if the conqueror really does improve things? What I do mind is this really black/white presentation where Imperialism is framed as liberation, like the Imperialist actually knows better than the countries she’s taking over. What’s super uncomfortable when analyzing things deeper is how unapologetic CF is at spinning the same propaganda used to devastate other countries, many still reeling from the effects. 

You could just write it off as fiction. It’s just a Fire Emblem video game no one should take too seriously. And I’m always torn about this argument because I don’t want to police fiction - at all - but I’m also aware of how fiction can change your worldview. You’d think people would be smart enough to separate fiction and reality but they often either don’t or use fiction to reinforce their own world views. 

I’m not surprised at all people agree with Edelgard. She’s presented as a liberator, her route presents war like its only victim is the perpetrator because she’s just oh so sad everyone else is forcing her to kill them. But I’m very alarmed if anyone wholly agrees with her and thinks she’s right to invade the Kingdom and the Alliance. You can love a character and not agree with their actions. I love a character who’s quite similar to Edelgard on the surface, Reinhard von Lohengramm, but I do not agree with his actions at all, even if I root for his victory at every turn in his own story anyways, because sometimes it’s fun to watch a magnificent bastard crush everyone under their heels. 

And yeah my main frustration with her is that I really want to like her. But her presentation is so bad that I’m struggling to enjoy her in her own route. 

[the-twewy-sequel]

TWEWY: The Animation - Episode 3 Review

Like a bolt from the blue, it’s time for the TWEWY Anime Review!

This is super late, but I've legit been busy, sorry on the off chance anyone was looking forward to this. I will try harder for future reviews T_T.

For me, this episode sort of solidified that the show is indeed its own thing and is not one of those "very-close-to-the-original" type adaptations. We've had evidence of this throughout, but this is basically where I go, this could end up having different events entirely and not just a different detailing of it or chronology, which I think is important for understanding the show and trying to enjoy it: expecting it to be something it won't will just end up in disappointment, after all.

At the same time, while it's fine to be original, I do think it should still be good, and I won't hesitate to point out when I think the dialog or execution feel lacking in general.

With that out of the way, the end-game to Shiki's week continues, and we find out that these two characters we've seen milling about have apparently died in an accident. It's interesting seeing them get what feels like a bit more "blatant" nods compared to the original game, but I sort of understand it in that the original game didn't have a lot of different non-controllable player characters appear, so giving opportunities for ones besides the main 4 to appear will likely prove important to fleshing things out.

A lot of interesting points in this episode, but one of them was the discussion on entry fees (which of course happened quite differently before), and what I think is a much more direct explanation of what Rhyme's entry fee was. Now, it's been a little since I played TWEWY, but I feel like her entry fee was actually more implied than outright stated, especially in this early game, but maybe they didn't feel it was an important detail to hold back on—perhaps it's dependent on how the 3rd week goes.

On a less important note, Kariya's characterization as he sort of teased Beat felt a little bit different here, and I wasn't sure I liked the way Beat acted after losing Rhyme. I think the execution just felt a bit less tight somehow: Hanekoma wasn't very convincing when he basically said he'll "figure something out" for Rhyme, IIRC "7 minutes before you disappear" just became "some vague amount of minutes", Beat's reaction felt slightly off-character in the nuance, etc... oh, and Hanekoma can apparently just call Neku when he wants now. Uhh, okay then, hahaha.

But re: the above pic, Uzuki TOTALLY kicked Beat in this scene, then claims she can't attack players. WHAT DO YOU CALL THAT KICK? Bruhhhh.

This scene had a little bit less impact for me too, for whatever reason. It felt... a tiny bit more forced, somehow? I'd like to hear what people in the comments felt, but this wasn't the only scene that started to feel this way. In regards to the dialog... who is "all of us", exactly? Beat's, uh... not exactly around, Rhyme is erased, and so were all the other players. Am I missing something here?

While I'm not sure what I might be missing, I can tell you what this adaptation is: an actual build-up for the game master of week 1. As I suspected, introducing him in front of Neku and Shiki basically only at the end meant that the dialog and conflict here felt... very half-baked and not compelling. He acts like he knows Shiki and it seems like he tries to get to her but it doesn't work at all because Shiki already went through her growth, and it didn't really have anything to do with Higashizawa. So, is just kind of an awkward cooking-obsessed "boss enemy" that pops up to us and, in my opinion, not someone the viewer feels especially motivated to beat, whereas at least in the game it felt a bit more like Shiki genuinely had something to prove and had sort of "overcome" his earlier provocations.

While it's the nature of this review to point out changes and things I felt could have been done better, it's not like it was a terrible episode overall. Some important things happened, there were some nice fight moments with various new psyches shown, and some good visuals and music in general. However, even to the last scene with Shiki disappearing, a lot of the bits of dialog felt a little bit awkward, and it felt like some things were missing.

For instance, Beat was missing from the final scene with the Conductor—we don't see him become a reaper here anymore, Shiki disappears crying and sad instead of smiling and saying she'll wait for him in front of Hachiko/asking if they'll still be friends (which I thought was a way better way of doing it, having a final touching moment and letting the despair sink in only after Shiki is gone), and... did Neku even get his memories back? I don't remember Kitaniji saying he gave them back, and that feels like a fairly important detail to be overlooking, so... I'm honestly a little confused.

Overall it was a decent episode, but the show is leaving me fairly disoriented with the way it is scrambling everything together, and I actually have been trying to go into this not having seen the original story recently (though I do reference it during these reviews), so I'm definitely not trying to overcompare/analyze it or anything.

At the same time though, it's a given that when you rewrite scenes a lot, you're going to have to write them about as well as the original wrote its characters, or it won't hold up as well. When the standards are high, that becomes difficult, and I worry that the show is losing a little bit of its "edge" if you will, especially as the "shininess" of the cool art style and such wears off.

[arctimon]

megan has never been resentful of anyone in canon, and characterizing her as "second fiddle" to karmi is reductive when the show has never, and likely would never, try to compare them in that way. she specializes in different areas than karmi, but that doesn't make her any less capable of understanding hiro, or any less worthy of his admiration. the fact that you need to assert so heavily that she's not on his level shows that you primarily see megan as an obstacle to your ship / an orbiter to hiro, rather than her own character - she HAS her own character that doesn't center around hiro. i don't ship either pairing, but acting as if megan must be hung up on some inability to "have" hiro (and throwing herself into work to distract herself from that) is a disservice to her, especially when you're talking like you've analyzed her deeply. "hardworking woman is ultimately unfulfilled until she finds a partner" is a sexist trope regardless.

I’m genuinely confused by what you’re saying. Yes, Megan has never shown any resentment toward Karmi in canon...because Megan hasn’t shown anything towards Karmi in canon.  They never meet each other in the show.  So saying that my thing doesn’t pertain to canon doesn’t work when your counter argument also doesn’t pertain to canon. In terms of character development, appearance time, and all that kinds of stuff...yes, Megan is second to Karmi.  Perhaps my use of the term “second fiddle” was incorrect, but that doesn’t change the fact that Megan is a secondary character in comparison to Karmi.

Megan is her own character.  I said that in my post.  She’s so much her own character that I plan on making stories for her in my future stories.  I wouldn’t do that if I didn’t think she was worth it. And she’s not an obstacle to Karmiro.  I’m glad we agree on that.

Also, did you not read the fact that I plan on Megan having a very successful post-show career and lifestyle?  She has great success.  She does great things.  She doesn’t “wait around for Hiro”.  She moves on.

But there’s always going to be some minute part of her brain that thinks about what could have been.

And that’s not the same as her being unfulfilled until she finds a man.  She doesn’t need a man, clearly.  She doesn’t get one for over twenty years.

And that leads to my final point:

It. Is.

My. Personal. Headcanon. Like...I shouldn’t have to say that every single time I post something.  Am I some all-seeing God that proclaims what I’m saying is canon?  No.  People are allowed, believe it or not, to have a different interpretation on events and characters.  If you want to think different about how Megan would be when she becomes an adult, by all means go for it. You’re not correct.

I’m not correct.

No one’s correct.

That’s the great part about fandom.  We all can have our own separate ideas and headcanon thoughts and be happy about it.  We’re all prejudiced for certain characters.  I’m partial to Karmi.  You’re partial to Megan.  I’m for Karmiro.  You’re for Megiro.

Even though you say you aren’t...you are. And that’s a good thing about being anonymous for these types of things.  You can attack me for being “sexist” and being prejudiced under cover of anonymity and...then you feel happy? I guess? Well, congrats, I guess.

[thatpinkbetch]

I'm going to answer it this way, because I'm actually not a fan of some of those, and I've heard this is the way to do it if you don't want it ending up in the tag or the search I think? If i censor any of the ship names it's not out of malice! I simply don't want any of this to end up in front of eyes that just want to enjoy their ships 💖💖💖 if there is anyone who doesn't want to see opinions against t*d*d*ku, k*r*b*ku, or even iz**ch*ka, please don't read any further! Oh my goodness i hope this is all legible...

Anyways, hello!! Thank you so much for the ask!! I love talking about my opinion avkvmsocnaocjsoxks it also makes me really happy you like my blog 🥺🥺🥺 (I hope this answer doesn't ruin that avskvneognsocjs)

I'll start out by confirming that I'm not a multishipper. It makes me excited to see how the act of shipping itself can make others happy, but it's just not that way for me. I actually never read fanfic until I got into bnha (bkdk is just that powerful 😁😁) I'm actually...a little serious when i ship, or when i enjoy media, i analyze pretty heavily, so also, if that doesn't sound like anyone's cup of tea, i would once again recommend to stop reading and enjoy your day please!

I love analyzing characters and storylines and dynamics, but i will admit, I'm not a fan of most of the ships - not romantically. I think all the characters have interesting relationships to each other, all of the kids are great friends, and I love bonds and friendships so much 🥺🥺🥺

Those first two are perhaps the biggest, at least they definitely were the biggest when I first entered. Once i caught up, I didn't really understand the enthusiasm, but people have fun shipping, so that's nice! I think of those two as easy ships, if that makes sense? They're pretty simple, and easy to digest.

I personally am not a fan of romantic t*d*d*ku for a very specific reason; it feels weird to me for Todo to immediately fall in love with the first person who's ever shown him kindness (since his mother of course). Todo had never had any friends, nor any want for friends, obviously because of the abuse he faced as a child. Mido was his first exploration at a life outside of his father, a life he got to make for himself, it just doesn't feel right to me that he should immediately think "oh, is this romantic love? Is this the one and only for me?" Well, perhaps a teenager might think that way, but i don't think that's actually how he feels deep down, and I'm sure that's something a lot of us have to learn as we grow (I've definitely struggled with my own understanding of romance for the past 8 years). I think he still is trying to learn how to socialize and to make friends and to be a friend (and he's doing SUCH a good job!) But to immediately plunge into romance, which can be complicated, i don't think that would be right for him. I hope that makes sense! I know they're a very cute ship, which makes for fun! But again, I can be a little serious when i ship...

K*r*b*ku kind of falls into similar territory for me? Baku definitely had friends growing up, but he's seemed to always have trouble understanding his feelings and where he stands with others, causing trust issues. Kiri is really the first person he knew where he stood with, a person for him to be comfortable with and feel on equal ground, which i think is such a huge and positive role in his life, and i don't necessarily think that it needs to be romantic - for both of these, i think these relationships are incredibly important, to everyone involved, and making them romantic doesn't make them any more important!! In fact, i feel like them as friends actually can offer a more complex, interesting, and human dynamic between these characters, as sometimes people simply default to romance and then end up pushing for the same old tropes and ignore all the intricacies Horikoshi includes in his writing.

Again, I love Mido's friendship with Todo, and I love Baku's friendship with Kiri. I think these relationships are incredibly important, and friends are incredibly important. People who ship them are having fun, which is so lovely, and i hope they continue to have fun! I hope you personally find more fics about them that make you smile and brighten your day 💖💖💖

Iz**ch*ka is a little difficult, because they certainly are cute, separately and together. I thought they were cutest before Ura was told about her potential crush on Mido, when she was simply a source of bubbly energy and positivity that helped Mido open up and feel comfortable around other people. I feel though that, romantically, it's extraordinarily one-sided, and at this point, i have to wonder if they really are "end goal." End goal for shounen, of course, is hardly ever explicit ahzovndlfjsoxo but i feel like a better storyline for Horikoshi to take would be for Ura to realize that she's been confused, and these feelings haven't really been a positive experience for her. I've definitely gone through things like that as a teenager. Now, the ship can be very cute! They're basically the same person, and they're cute and bubbly! But again, it simply isn't for me.

I think Momjirou is very cute!! Of course, as a lesbian, i sense strong lesbian vibes from Momo, and strong bi vibes from Jirou, and I also saw the ship potential ever since the USJ attack - which i think, so did everyone else ahaovndofjsojfsk they're best friends without a doubt, though i have to say, i really like Kamijirou. She just makes him so soft, and he's so in awe of her, and she thinks he's so funny, I love how supportive he is of her, especially since she can be really insecure 🥺🥺🥺

I also think Ura and Tsu are very cute but another easy ship, and i kind of really like Ochamina 🥺 they're both pink and space themed, they're bubbly and energetic and kick ass, and i think they'd be super cute...

I saved todobaku for last, because, you know what they say, best for last! 😇😇😇

I've said it before, but if there was no Mido (impossible obviously, and i would never want that) then todobaku is where my heart would lie. Baku has never really been shown chasing after anyone except for Mido...and Todo, which really gets at my heart. There's a grudging respect there - very, very grudging ahakckdkfjskdk which i find very appealing! Todo is very important to Baku and he has also been able to show Baku some things about himself that he needed to question and reevaluate. Meanwhile, Todo puts up with exactly 0% of Baku's shit, which i find absolutely hilarious. It's funny to me how Baku wishes to intimidate Todo as he does everyone else, and Todo simply does not care. And Baku wants to be mad, and ends up mad that he can't be mad since Todo is a strong and worthy opponent. They just have such an interesting chemistry, there's so much friction, so much tension, and I enjoy it, particularly since they clearly should be friends, would be great friends, want to be friends, but Baku simply won't get over it 😂😂 I do prefer them as friends, but friends that are incredibly close, two people that understand each other on almost a telepathic level, two people that give each other shit while also refusing to take the other's shit.

I do agree that many people in this fandom seem to think their ship stands on some moral high ground? It could be a disconnect from the previous generations of fandom, or it could also be the growing mentality on this site that everything needs to be a battle of moral superiority, and also that what you like is part of your personality, and if someone doesn't like what you like, then they don't like you or that they think you're factually incorrect. I personally have stopped going into the bn/ha tag simply because I don't enjoy, well, many things i find there, and I'm happy with those that i follow. I've definitely seen hatred and invalidation for both LGBT ships and m|w ships, neither of which I'm comfortable with. I definitely don't go off tumblr for fandom stuff because there's practically no acceptance for any same gender ships, or any queer headcanoning, which, I'll be honest, makes me scared, as i am a very anxious person avdkvndkfje i do think it should be noted that we should be as accepting of cishet ships as we are of queer ships - no debate on this one - but again, you are right when you say that many cishet headcanons have been used to invalidate LGBT voices, and any and all allies must always be aware of this! It is much more often that queer voices are silenced, that queer ships are ridiculed, that queer shippers aren't allowed to enjoy or see themselves. And to anybody that doesn't want to be an ally... Whelp ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ what are you doing here ajxkvmdogjdicjsicjsodj I'm gay

I haven't really read much of anything recently, let alone other ships, platonic or otherwise, because energy has been low for me for a long time. I wish i could participate more and support all my friends and other fans, but it's been a bit of a struggle 😣😣😣 I'm so sorry! Something that I can do is make posts and analyses and metas, as those are quick and make me excited, so I'm always happy to respond to asks like these! (I say as i take two hours to write this response...)

I hope people have been taking care of themselves and remember that tumblr is really good at letting you cater to your own interests! I hope if you've made it to the end of this response that you enjoyed it, and you're not mad at me ahsovjekgjsocjwodkso if you are, that's fine, I'm sorry, I probably am really bad at social/internet etiquette and such that help you filter 😣😣

To any who are curious, you cannot change my mind ahdogmdocjdidk thank you to whoever sent this ask!!! A lot of this is a bunch of rambling I've always wanted to talk about but was frankly too scared to post! I hope I made sense and answered everything you were asking!! Please have a good day/night/life!!! 💖💖💖💖💖

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

The Best Things ~ J.V. (part 8)

A/n: This part is super upsetting. Character death, graphic violence, I dare even say gore. Homophia, which I should have been warning a while back I am so sorry for that. Things are gonna get HEAVY- I am so sorry lol.

Word Count: 3800+

Playlist

Masterlist

"Nah, you're not crazy," Harleen giggled.

"Says you," Y/n teased, rolling his eyes. "You may have a doctorate, but you're also bias."

Her smile widened. "Okay that's fair." Y/n sighed, sitting back in his chair. He looked down at his hands, smile small as he got lost in thought. "What's on your mind?"

"Harleen is kind of a mouthful," Y/n told her. "Do you like the name?"

She tilted her head, as if considering. "I never did. When I was younger I had a friend who called me Lee, but with things happening-" Y/n's face scrunched up and Harleen snorted. "Exactly. Name's already taken- and it would be even weirder if I went by Dr. Lee, so I scratched it."

Y/n nodded. Then he sat forward, his elbows resting on the table. "So you've never had any other nicknames?" She shook her head and then shrugged when Y/n donned a surprise expression. "Well I have to give you one then. That's what friends do, right?" She grinned at Y/n's words and he watched the room get a little brighter. She was magic like that- as if she was made of sunshine. Her happiness was contagious, and she made the world a little better. She was accepting and also calm, making him feel safe as well as loved. She was his best friend and he was hers and they gave each other something they couldn't get with anyone else: unhindered fun with absolutely no expectations. It was an odd place to find real friendship in, but here they were anyway. "What about... Leena?" She immediately shook her head and he chuckled. "Uh... I mean, there's always Harley."

She considered that. "You know what, I like it." She crossed her arms. "Harley Quinzel." She nodded. "I'll allow it."

Y/n rolled his eyes. She was only like four years older than him, but had far too quickly fallen into a rhythm of acting like an adult talking to a child every once in a while, as a joke. Whether she was flaunting the years she had over him, or the schooling, Y/n wasn’t sure, but he refused to acknowledge it and it had become an unspoken inside joke between them. "What about you? I have to give you one now."

Y/n shrugged. "I don't like nicknames."

Harley tilted her head, the bottom of her blonde ponytail brushing her shoulder. "Why not? You like giving them."

"Well, yeah..." He bit his lip. "It's just, every bad guy has a code name, you know? Oswald Cobblepot goes by Penguin. Edward Nygma is going around as Riddler. Then there's Mr. Freeze. I just feel like if I take an alias, it'll be official you know? I'll be as crazy as the people I associate with and as evil as everyone says I am."

Harley hummed. "Okay, that's fair." She sighed, raising her hands to rest her chin in her palm. "Speaking of people you associate with. You and Jerome..."

Y/n's mood darkened. It had been a while now and Oswald was gone and Jerome still hadn't made an appearance. "I think he's mad at me." Harley tilted her head in confusion and Y/n shrugged. "I left with Alfred because Bruce needed me. Didn't give him a heads up, and then went missing for, like, months..." He shook his head. "Maybe he thinks I've gone back to my old life, or that I've left him behind. I just feel like he's avoiding me and one doesn't usually do that for no reason, so I figure-"

"What if he's just busy?" Harley proposed.

Y/n snorted. "With what? Reading a really good book series?"

Harley pursed her lips. "I guess you have a point."

"Why do you even care?" Y/n asked, raising his hands to knit his fingers behind his head.

Harley stared at him silently for a long time. She had the look on her face she always does when she'd trying to read Y/n's mind. When she's analyzing everything she learned in school and looking at the actions and words that he was currently giving as context, as well as past ones, and then somehow putting it all together to figure out the secrets sometimes even he didn't know. The same magic that made Arkham home also gave her the ability to read minds- Y/n had determined she was a proper superhero.

After she reached some kind of conclusion - she always nodded after she'd done the reading and then switched which leg was crossed over the other - a little smile teased her lips. She was trying to hide it. And failing. Y/n tried not to be curious. Usually when Harley didn't tell him something it was because he wasn't ready to hear it... but that smile. It was too late. He had to know. "What?"

Once he asked, the gate broke and she grinned. "You're in love with him."

Y/n snorted. "No. I'm not." The coy curl of Harley's lips added to her raised eyebrows to make Y/n doubt himself, even though he could feel his feelings and knew that it wasn't... he didn't... no way. "He's important to me," Y/n gave. "I care for him. But... love..." Y/n shook his head. "I don't know about that. There's been too much going on- I haven't had enough time with him."

She nodded, expression serious, as if this was a very important discovery. "I call Maid of Honor at the wedding though." They locked eyes as Y/n went to tell her off, but then a slow smile rose to her face as he realized she was joking. They both busted up into laughter.

"Whoever I marry, the position is yours." He winked at her and she flipped her hair, both of them giggling.

A timer went off. Harley stood, gathering her stuff and sighing. "That's my cue. Same time tomorrow?"Y/n nodded then stood.

He draped his arm around her shoulders. "You know, you make this place bearable. You're a real friend to me." He kissed her forehead. "What would I do without you, hm?"

She rested her head on his shoulder for a second before they began walking and it got too awkward to coordinate. "Probably the same thing I'd do without you. Be alone and miserable." She popped up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. He pretended to gag and she fell into a short fit of soft giggles. "You're an idiot."

"Ah and yet what I lack for a brain, I make up with a big-" He cut off and she groaned. "Heart," he enunciated. He smirked and she rolled her eyes. "I have quite a large heart, full of love for my favorite gal." He shook her slightly, making a point that said gal was her.

"Every lesbian deserves a best friend with as little brains and as big a heart as you," Harley joked.

"And every gay deserves a best friend with as much brain and just as much heart as you." He finally let her go as she moved to the door that would lead outside. This is where they parted- her, to home, as he was her last patient as per usual. Him, further into the Asylum where he would have dinner then return to his room to be alone and sleep. Goodbyes were the pair's least favorite part of the day. "Until we next meet, Madame," Y/n initiated, pulling away to bow deeply.

Harley grabbed her doctor's coat lightly, pulling it out as if it was a dress as she bowed back. "I shall count the seconds." They laughed one last time, waving before she turned and left. He watched her go until she disappeared. She turned back several times to wave yet again, until she couldn't see him either just by turning around.

The second she was out of sight, the world lost a little color. It was a little darker. His smile got smaller and Y/n's shoulders sagged. He shoved his hands in his pockets before turning back to the hallway that lead to his room, beginning the trek.

A hand on his shoulder stopped him. People rarely touched him. The only person that touched him like this was one that Y/n hated so much that his hands curled into fists in his pocket, his face suddenly cold and empty as he stared straight ahead, halfway through a step- his foot on the ground and extended, but not carrying him forward as it had been intended to. He took a deep breath through his nose. Unfortunately, in all the chaos and people getting booted from Arkham after beating on Y/n, the one person that meant the most hadn't been caught because everyone refused to rat him out.

The man who'd started it all.

"You and her..." The older guard mused, a nasty smirk on his ugly face. "I thought you were gay." He said it mockingly, like he'd caught a child who hadn't said they weren’t hungry sneaking food when everyone seemed to be asleep.

Y/n rolled his eyes, forcing his body to relax as he faced the man. The monster. "Not every girl in the world was born solely for men to shove a dick into them, Jameson." The older man glared and Y/n smiled, getting satisfaction. "As a matter of a fact, Harley and I are just friends."

"You're pretty affectionate for just friends," Jameson argued. Y/n still didn't know the man's first name. He didn't care enough too. He didn't want another name that tasted bitter in his mouth. He already had his fingers crossed he'd never meet a cute boy with the last name Jameson, because the name alone would ruin Y/n's chances before he'd even taken a shot. No reason to make it even harder for himself.

"We're comfortable around each other." He rolled his shoulder back once, slightly stiff from sitting so long. Jameson wouldn't attack, knowing that Y/n would report him instantly- especially in such an open space, with cameras and the chance of someone rounding the corner any second - but one could never be too safe, just in case. "She gets me like no one else does. But, as you so wonderfully pointed out, I'm GAY." Y/n enunciated the word, going the extra mile by taking a step closer to stress it even more. "Girls aren't my thing."

Jameson looked like he wanted to deck Y/n. The younger boy's lips curved into a mocking smile in response. Now the guard was the one who had to control himself. "You guys have a lot in common?"

Y/n shrugged, too caught up in his casual gloating that Jameson couldn't act out like he wanted to- like he used to be able to. "Enough. We talk a lot. She's cool." He relaxed thinking about Harley. "She doesn't think I'm crazy. It's nice." He cleared his throat, focusing back on the enemy in front of him... only to immediately be confused by the very odd expression on Jameson's face. "What?"

"Nothing," the man dismissed, moving to leave. "I've heard enough. You're both a waste." He shook his head as he left and Y/n glared at his back until he was gone. Then the boy turned back toward the cell and finally made his way.

Man, why did he have to be surrounded by such assholes? Why couldn't Harley be around all the time? Why couldn't he be free? They could get an apartment and talk all the time. Help each other get through life and protect each other from unwanted attention. Be themselves all the time. Make jokes and exchange irritated expressions when idiots like Jameson said stupid shit like he always tended to.

Tomorrow. He'd see her tomorrow. That wasn't too far away.

He could wait until then.

-

Y/n's knees gave out from under him and he fell, cracking them on the cement. He didn't even feel it. His attention was being completely held by the TV, which was turned onto the news. It was a small screen that had been installed in one of the Day Rooms recently. They were rarely ever allowed to watch the news, though. In places like Gotham, far too often the news held very upsetting content that set inmates off- either into panics, or into violent rages. Y/n had stood to turn it off when he'd realized what news was being shared. Someone had been murdered. Old news. This was Gotham. Then he'd heard the name.

"23-year-old Harleen Quinzel was found dead earlier today. Her body was badly beaten, with words carved into her stomach. It was the cuts on her wrist that were the cause of death, though it's been determined that none of this was self inflicted. We received a photo of the body recently. Beware: what you're about to see is not for the faint of heart."

Suddenly the screen was showing the broken body of Y/n's best friend. The sunshine girl with the bright smile and the contagious laugh. The girl who was going to be Y/n's Maid of Honor. Y/n's better half. She was limp and unmoving, her eyes wide and empty. Her skin was pale, nearly white, except for where dark, huge bruises and blood discolored it. Her hair had been cut off, the blonde locks left next to her head but clearly detached. Her shirt had been rolled up to letters on her stomach- carved as promised.

There was an L next to a G, in a circle and crossed through once. Underneath the symbol read: Sinner.

Someone was talking, but Y/n couldn't make out what they were saying. A hand in his shoulder and he looked over to see a concerned guard. A woman. She knelt next to Y/n, but she wasn't the one touching him. No, that hand belonged to Jameson, who had a sick expression on his face- a cross between smugness and victory, muted as if he was trying to hide it, badly masked by some version of concern that was so unconvincing that Y/n ripped his shoulder out of the older man's hand.

He was on his feet again and running. Out of the room and to his cell- despite all the people who kept asking him what was going on, and someone in the very back changing the channel as the news reporter announced, "If you have any information, please contact-" Y/n ignored the rules. He ignored the people yelling at him. He ignored the people trying to stop him. He just started running and he didn't stop until he was in his room, where he opened the door and closed it behind him. His heart was ramming against his chest and all he could hear was the rushing of his blood in his ears. He saw black spots and felt an emotion bubble up that he couldn't even begin to put name to. All he knew was that it was dark and twisting and it was very quickly consuming everything good.

Something in him broke. It snapped off. Something vital. Y/n was aching, but he didn't know what it was or where it had fallen to as he lost it. He just knew there was suddenly a gaping hole where something very important used to be, and he felt absolutely terrible with it gone.

On the upside, he could finally breathe. His chest loosened and his body relaxed and as the door opened behind him, he turned to see the person with complete calm.

"Jameson." The word was not a greeting, but more of an observation. No. It was an accusation. The older man smiled and Y/n's insides began to twist and boil- less like a tightening of anxiety and more like a snake, seconds from attacking. "Why?" He stepped forward. "She was innocent."

Jameson scoffed. "You think you two are subtle? You two act like you're together and then talk about how you're not- you just 'get' each other." Jameson shook his head, cracking his knuckles. "You're spreading your sickness, Y/n." The snake coiled tighter, hissing and spitting. Y/n felt his calmness very quickly drop, perfectly placed with rage. His body didn't move, he just suddenly had a bunch of energy and he was waiting for the perfect moment to use it. "You two aren't quiet either. Strutting around here acting so out of line, in front of me. Acting like you're not being evil." Jameson scoffed. "You're evil, Y/n. And if they wouldn't let me punish you here, I'd have to get more creative. Even if you don't see it, you're in love with her. What you think you are is unnatural, and I knew if you could see how you really feel-"

Y/n's hand was around the man's throat. Jameson tried to push the younger boy away or claw his hand off, but Y/n just rammed him into the wall behind him. Jameson's head cracked against the grey wall, his efforts suddenly becoming useless. "You think I'm dangerous as a disease? You're so desperate to cure me. You're about to find just how very dangerous I am, Jameson. All on my own, with just my two hands." And then he began to squeeze. Jameson writhed and fought and clawed but when he started to get strong, Y/n would smash his head again or ram his knee into the man's junk and the efforts died down once again.

It took longer than Y/n thought. Jameson started to change color, his eyes bulging and his lips moving desperately but nothing coming in or out. Just when the man seemed about ready to pass out, Y/n let him drop to the floor. He gasped, clawing to try and get away. Y/n smiled, toeing the door gently closed. Jameson squirmed away, features taken over completely with terror. Y/n felt amazing.

"You will never hurt another person, ever again." Y/n squatted down, taking the man's thin hair in his hands. "Me however?" Y/n giggled. "You've helped create a monster. Know that every person I kill in the future is on your hands. Every injury is your fault. I'm not a violent person, Jameson." He snorted. "Well, I wasn't. But it seems you fuckwads only answer to violence, so..." Y/n shrugged casually. Jameson shook his head, choking out pleads for his life. Y/n snapped the man's neck and he stopped begging. It was so easy... The silence was wonderful. Y/n felt a weight lift off of his shoulders. "I'm done sitting idly while assholes run Gotham." Y/n stood, not even bothering to do anything but leave the door wide open as he walked calmly away, grinning like an idiot.

Something had been broken and lost indeed. It was Y/n's self control. His moral compass that kept him grounded and toeing the line between good and bad. It was the thing that kept reminding him he was a Wayne. That he was a good person. That he had a family that depended on him, in some way or another. That he had Alfred and Bruce, who he did want to visit even if he also wanted a life outside of them. That he had Oswald, who most often found solace in Y/n's sanity and depended on his restraint to reel him in when people were trying to set him off; Oswald needed Y/n's sense to balance his emotions. And, overall, Y/n was driven by pure spite not to let those damn reporters be right. He would be good and successful and he would show all of them that he could be more than the black sheep of the Wayne family. The disappointment of Gotham. The failure, always in the shadow of the Golden Boy younger brother Bruce Wayne.

But those people who Y/n cared about so much had let people like Jameson walk around, unhindered and unchecked. They had let him get beat up for a very long time before he was nearly killed and their hand was forced. They had let evil people run around and control things while they locked up Y/n for being gay. For being attracted to a man even though he wasn't a woman. There were murderers running wild, with super powers and incredible genius, but the problem people were deciding to focus on was that Y/n was gay.

Well, he was done with the lot of them. He was going to get out and prove to all of them that he was more than a Wayne. More than a mistake. More than a shadow. More than evil or good. More than Bruce's older brother. More than the one dude who had feelings for Jerome Valeska. More than one more gay plague on the face of the planet.

They wanted a monster? They would get one. And Y/n wasn't going to stop until he was satisfied, even if it meant all of Gotham had to die.

-

"Knock knock."

The door opened and Y/n looked over, his face finally showing emotion as his surprise rose. "Jerome?"

The redhead smiled, striding toward Y/n as if he has a tasty treat to share. "My little lover boy." Jerome hooked his finger under Y/n's chin. Y/n yanked his face away. Jerome frowned. "Are you mad at me, pretty boy?" Y/n glared at him. "I'll take that as a yes." He leaned backward. "What have I done, My Darling?"

"You've been avoiding me. We haven't talked in, like, months Jerome. What the fuck?"

"A tad dramatic," Jerome hushed. "And not totally fault." Y/n opened his mouth to argue but Jerome gently grabbed Y/n's throat, pressing his fingers gently into the skin. Their faces were suddenly very close and despite himself, Y/n suddenly felt a thrill to finally feel their skin touch as cheek brushed cheek. "I've been busy planning our escape, if you hadn't noticed." Y/n's eyes drifted to see a nervous Jonathan Crane and Jervis Tetch. "Come with me, won't you? I think we've been apart long enough."

Y/n suddenly began to relax. He didn't manage to smile, but he did get excited. "Well... lead the way."

Jerome left an excited kiss on Y/n's cheek, letting his hand fall away from Y/n's throat in favor of shooting into the air in victory as he giggled, turning to his two partners. "And so we all escape! Come now, we don't have much time." Y/n stood as Jerome lead the way, all four of the men finding their way out of Arkham Asylum finally.

The fun was about to begin.