#but by bitch I mean an emotionally complex character.

[way-too-addicted-to-anime]

1. This is articulated so well and I agree with it 100%.

2. Your tags are killing me (no pun intended)

Seriously, what makes L so attractive to people? What makes him so attractive to you? Is it really just how fucking insanely intelligent he is? Like by all means he’s not that physically attractive unless you’re into that sickly-Victorian-dying-child-that-occasionally-lacks-eyebrows-in-some-panels thing (no judgement because apparently I myself am entirely into that), and he doesn’t look like he showers daily.

Is it just deadass because he’s that smart? And his unique personality? Because other than that he is most certainly not the most eligible bachelor out there.

I say this with more love towards L than anyone could ever dream of.

This is a totally valid question and I think we should talk about it, actually.

So, first things first, let’s take a second and acknowledge that the bar for romantically viable characters in Death Note is a bit low. We have Matsuda, sure, and Misa is obviously a goddess but, if we’re being honest with ourselves, Matsuda’s a cuck and Misa’s clearly red green colorblind, and unless you want to just completely disregard common sense and want to go with Light “Women are so simple” Yagami, the dating pool is shallow unless you want to add Soichiro or any of the characters outside of that main pool. Between the Wammy kids it’s an easy pick. Within the Kira task force it’s a slightly harder but still relatively easy pick.

Following up on that, he is solidly the second most relatable character in the cast from a personality perspective. He’s funny, sociable, and actually talks about embarrassing things that he’s done. He’s honest most of the time, clearly passionate about what he does (if only in regards to the Kira investigation) and is delightfully petty against someone that, if you like L and his moral ideals, you are going to hate. L, while eccentric, is still a relatively caring person who obviously can and is willing to attach himself to other people (albeit on a surface level) and doesn’t let that get in the way of things that need to be done, which is indicative of his strong work ethic and drive. Also he’s smart which makes the show less frustrating to watch.

Let’s talk brass tax here for a second. Let’s be selfish. Let’s acknowledge that the man has a stable job and an obvious sex drive and romantic desire. Let’s acknowledge the smoothness of “I could actually fall for you.” If you were to get into a permanent relationship with him, would you have to worry about your finances ever again? No, because even if you’re the main provider he is apparently so good with money that at the age of 26 he has enough savings to construct a building on his own and keep safety funds for the people around him. You never have to worry about him cheating, he’s gonna make sure you’re taken care of, and he is actually an active person which is just a wonderful thing to know.

Let’s not kid ourselves; L is hot. He is the alt boy ideal. That is the target demographic. He is so easy to dress and he looks so comfortable in his own skin and one could argue that his looking like that is a stylistic choice and not his just not washing. He is athletic to an extent and has proven his physical strength so you know he’s not just skin and bones under his clothes. He is very doll-like, which is my type and the type of a lot of the people who watch/read death note.

But why do I like L Lawliet? I like him because he’s smart and because he’s fun to write. I like him because he’s relatable and because you know that if he ever left the house long enough to actually get himself a spouse that he would treat them as well as he could manage and love them passionately. He’s fun to talk about and he’s fun to hang around and I’m a sucker for a good voice and that’s all I really need in a man. Is he eccentric? Yes. Do I think that there are aspects of his character which might impede his ability to be a 10/10 boyfriend/husband. Yes. Can I ignore those things because I like him so much? Absolutely.

[guubiiz]

heartslabyul would be named my favorite dorm if i didn’t despise riddle.

[fiapple]

every time i see jeph loeb selina i end up wanting to tear my hair out...

[murasaki-cha]

Cale and the Soos but Gen Z

(ft. Choi Han, Alberu and Rosalyn)

(Part 1) (Part 2)

Cale: when I say I have "main character energy," I mean the nerdy introvert with anxiety and a general distaste for humans - Shapeshifter: *transforms to look like Cale* Cale: Okay, are you like BLIND? You look nothing like me. First off, I'm way taller. Secondly, I DO NOT look so sleep deprived and lastly, if you could drag comb through that hair you're like a 7 on a good day and I've been told I'm a constant 10. -

Cale: Babygirl I have health problems that would make a grown man cry- yeah of course I'm still going to work what are you talking about

-

Cale: I love having trauma from an alarmingly young age because when I can't remember stuff from my childhood I get to play a game called "Is This Normal Memory Loss From Growing Up, Or Do I Have Severe Trauma-Induced Memory Repression?" Choi Jung Soo: Oh word Alberu: Preach Choi Han: Fr Eruhaben: Genuinely what in the- Sui Khan: Louder Eruhaben: YOU ARE 13 WHA-

-

Sui Khan: 'Person of interest' is almost too flattering. Sui Khan: Like, if the police were to pound on my door and go, 'A man has been murdered in your building and you are a person of interest,' I'd be like, 'Moi? Oh, do go on.' Cale pointing: You see where I got it from?

-

Rosalyn, eating cake: No wonder Marie Antoinette didn't give a fuck, this shit is good Cale: so true girl

-

Cale: when Billie Eillish said "I cant escape the way I love you" every gen z kid with attachment issues felt that Alberu: So you felt that? Cale: I felt that too much Alberu: Also who is Billie Eillish? Choi Jung Soo slamming the door open: bITC-

-

Cale: bitches b like “I'm baby” but have childhood trauma and neglect like wtf do u know about being baby u were forced to grow up from an early age anyways I’m bitches

-

Rosalyn going to her lesson with Eruhaben: Eruhaben-nim, are we cooking today or what! Eruhaben: Rosalyn, we aren’t… in the kitchen?

-

Cale: With all this tasks I'm getting from the gods sometimes I wish I was Jared 19 so I never read Birth Of A Hero...

-

Alberu: Not trying to brag or anything, but I can wake up without an alarm clock now simply due to my crippling and overwhelming anxiety, so... Cale: Mood

-

Heavenly Demon: do you guys know the meaning of patriarchy? Choi Jung Soo: I prefer Spongebob tbh Heavenly Demon: One more word from you Sword Demon and I swear-

-

Cale: Can I go outside to say a word to god? Choi Han: Yea. Rosalyn: You go outside and start yelling ‘hey what the heck are you!- then ZAP! Cale: I've questioned god before and I haven't died yet.

-

Choi Jung Soo: I so wish I had a cat personality but I have such a dog personality like I would do everything for your approval, do you want me to fetch your stick just for a lil treat , hell yeah I would with pleasure! Choi Han: Oh that's what it was!

-

Choi Jung Soo: Physically, yes, I could fight a bird. But emotionally? *Sees Sui Khan's cute 13 yo child appearance staring daggers at him* Choi Jung Soo: Imagine the toll.

-

Cale: So apparently the 'bad vibes' I’ve been feeling are actually severe psychological distress

-

Cale: A weight blanket is not enough I need to be compressed into a .zip file

-

Cale with a wine glass in hand: Existence is the enemy The group also with wine glasses in their hands: Cheers to that

-

Cale: Sometimes that sad feeling is due to low blood sugar, and sometimes it's from decades of history. Not that complex

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

yes yes yes

i need people to understand how innately queer-coded Jeeves & Bertie Wooster are. this is the sort of media where if they made a shiny new tv series, tumblr would absolutely obsess over these characters.

two men living together in unconventional domestic harmony, constantly scheming to maintain their bachelorhood. that is quite literally the plot! half the stories are about Jeeves helping Bertie escape the looming threat of matrimony. the other half are Jeeves winning arguments about Bertie's terrible fashion sense. and it's such a fun dynamic! the good-natured, happy-go-lucky himbo in constant need of rescuing! the stoic all-knowing genius who quietly masterminds mayhem in order to protect this one moron he's devoted himself to for some reason. the humor. the wacky hijinks.à the Camp. the cross-dressing!

the gay subtext is there! the gay subtext is canonical!!! this fandom is ripe and ready for picking. this sucker is locked and loaded. and the book club starts on Valentine's day of all days.

Jeeves & Wooster Book Club, let's GO!!!

i vote that next year instead of reading Dracula we do a Jeeves & Wooster Book Club. those two never got the rabid tumblr shipping fandom they deserved (disqualified for the sheer technicality of being published a century too soon). we must correct this injustice

[thenerdofthegroup]

I will be talking about AAA Episode 5 here so if you don’t want spoilers, don't read. This also is very long. So buckle in…

Right. I will put it into facts and theories and then my actual emotions on what has come out of this. Becausem god... But we will get to that.

Fact: that episode was off. What do I mean by off? I’ll tell you:

BIG ONE: the aspect ratio didn't change. First time this happened for a trial. This is a stylistic choice to tell us it’s wrong

Another big tell: the witches road is going down. Every trial they exit going DOWN. HERE THE EXIT WAS UP

Many people have pointed out how out of character they all are. And my friend gave a great sentence: “They are what Agatha fears”. Jen becomes vile. She is usually a bitch (love you girl) but she was down right horrendous. And after the whole endearing speech in her own trial. I can maybe reason at the end when she was reasoning that Agatha was the problem. But every other time she spoke it was with such viciousness when they were all laughing together mere hours ago. And LILIA AND ALICE! They have never talked like this. Agatha has helped Alice and she wants to ‘humiliate her’? Lilia immediately turned cold and dark? It felt like it was too quick. I would get it if there was build up but Rio outright said Agatha was scared. So to treat her like that isn’t right.

The trial itself. We’ll talk about the building. I’ve looked back and there is no moon engravings on the door. Yes there is the window BUT there are no other references to the moon when every trial has an abundance. And it was not complex. It was just… do ouija, talk to a ghost and leave. Which leads onto my next point

What the actual fuck was that trial?!? Every other trial has been about uplifting these witches. This trial only uplifted Billy. That's not fair. If this was agatha’s (only) trial then it was to literally punish her and leave her with her abusive mother. I know we laugh and go ‘oh yeah Evanora bad’ no. If you don’t understand abusive parents you will not understand HOW BAD that is. Its not being told ‘yeah you should have died’ over and over. I fully believe that Evanora beat her or at the very least was so emotionally abusive that even Rio (and if you know who Rio is then you’ll want to k ow I want to stress that name) literally screamed at her. Rio is most likely the only person Agatha has confided in with what happened. And that's just talking about it. So clearly Evanora is horrible on a degree greater than most parental figures we have seen in marvel.

So to have Agatha’s trial be A) The shortest B) just to punish her C) Everyone suddenly acts the way she fears

Because back to my first point: its all what she fears: everyone she is getting close to turns on her, she accidentally kills one and feels pleasure in the magic but you can see how taken aback she was (I'm not even going to because people saying she did it all on purpose and rebelled in the death needs to actually get checked by a doctor my god, if you can't understand the very obvious drugs metaphor for a morally grey character you may need to rewatch), being left with her mum because her mother was right, Billy being like Wanda, more powerful than Agatha, and punishing her. All of it was exactly what she feared

And the reveal was… well Agatha is the smartest one there. She is my girl… but it was kinda dropped.

And he just has magic… and has a crown. This will be explained next episode but… no there is a bigger part to this. Think about Agatha’s, now THAT was a reveal. The drama, the build up. There were hints throughout the ENTIRE episode. This was dropped. There were hints to him being nick. That’s it. It will be explained next episode but

It was the shortest episode. Just no

There were Westview and Eastview flags above the door… for Agatha? Nah

Everyone just… got over Alices death I mean Agatha looked more upset than Lilia and Jen. I mean, I guess its the most explainable part, maybe they came to the harsh realisation but SOMETHING was wrong

And I would like to state now, Agatha is a BAD PERSON. But she is STILL A PERSON OH MY GOD. We literally saw that in WV. Jac HERSELF said that Agatha wants colleges and friends. Not above power but you could see on her face, you can see in the way she was staring at her hands and- Christ I didn't think people would be oblivious. You could see that so clearly. It was not even a ‘read into it’, she was upset. Whether it was for killing Alice OR because she couldn’t control it again is up to you but she was upset. She is a bad person, and that's why I love her. At the end, she realises that no one is on her side (but Rio but she wasn’t there) and she puts all the masks back up. She becomes horrible because she has just been reminded of EVERY BAD THING that has ever happened (her childhood and nick) and accidentally, once again, killed someone and felt good about it. But this time she knew Alice was helping her. She can be both upset and enjoyed the physical sensation, they can both exist. And that’s the complexity. She is a bad person and you should not be surprised when she does bad stuff, but she does also feel things…

It’s a drugs metaphor. If you need it spelt out, Magic is her drug. She has been put on a cold stop, she now has nothing. It's like, let's take something pg, if you loved eating incredibly sweet things and then suddenly don’t eat anything with sugar in. Losing all of her magic must feel horrible on an atomic and spiritual level. So Alice attacked her and the rush of euphoria after being left with NOTHING hit her as she was being possessed. Evanora left her body and she couldn’t come to her senses because of how euphoric it felt. After having nothing against her will she finally feels something. And then it stopped and you can see the confusion and shock. She can both have enjoyed it and regretted how it hurt Alice at the same time. Because the lesson has never been ‘Agatha is a downright terrible person’ and if you think that you're watching the wrong show. She is a dark character. At the end, she shuts off all her emotions and goes back to what everyone thinks anyway, her safety blanket: being horrible, being the villain and pushing everyone away. If you believe she truly loved that she killed Alice or that she felt no remorse, I will be nice and stop swearing. But rewatch. Because that's not what happened. And the mask only came on when she realised the one person there who was standing up for her (except Rio) now sees her the same as everyone else and realises he is connected to Wanda, I don't blame her for being a bitch! And what a great bitch she was! Kathryn, you are a goddess-

Anyway. Lets stop collapsing her character. She is a bad person but she is a person. She did want to get closer to these women and she did feel bad. Kathryn did not act her ass off there for people to strip it of any emotion.

Right, so, theories because this episode can't be this off for no reason.

Someone said it was a vision. I don’t think so. Good theory but Alice did die. Rio stayed behind (and anyone who knows who she is will know why). I think that did all happen but not the way it should have

Someone said when Lilia removed her hands it let lose a spirit. It didn’t. Agatha didn't start the ritual because she said “Mother maiden crone”. She said it out of turn to not start it

Theory 1: Evanora ruined it. So, someone said that it should have been nick to talk and I slightly agree. Or at least, it shouldn’t have gone that way. Evanora put new rules into the trial. It should have been Agatha fighting through it or something (kinda loose here) but she turned it so that Agatha had to stay with her. Don’t mind this theory but it doesn’t explain why everyone was a bit whack and that ending. Also, the of character stuff only happens after she removes her hands and its her fear. Did Evanora affect how she sees things? Hmmm

Theory 2: This was someones vision. I mean… maybe? But what happened at the end was real because we see them covered in mud later. I think there is mental trickery but not all of it.

Theory 3: kind of my theory that I'm slightly alright with. This was all warped by something. By the seven. I'll explain

They are fighting. What a brilliant scene. But then they fly through a crowd of insects left by vertigo. Alright here is the factor. The Salem seven are finally joining the story and they are just… left? They are just there and then leave them alone? We know they can go around trials because they went around Alice’s so why not wait on the other side for them? Why be so utterly pathetic. If these are the ‘worst’… fuck me because Lilia was harsher in that trial than they were.

Now here is where my autism kicks in and my dedication to knowing everything about Agatha comes in handy: Vertigo is the leader of the S7. She is the insect lady. In the comics, she has telepathy on a level that can incapacitate and make them see things. She is ‘the mind’. Now my friends comment made it click for me, this is what Agatha would perceive as her fear. And it only really kicks in when she removes her hands.

We see her flick a lot of bugs off of her. She is the first one through the bug crowd and clearly the ones most attacked by them. I mean none of the rest have them on them as they enter the trial but they are all over Agatha. So, there's my proposition

What if the bugs affected her mind slightly? What if they adjusted her mind ever so slightly to see her fears OR equally it affects all of them but her the worst. I may even stretch it to say they orchestrated the whole thing. Because its the third trial and it skips right to blood moon AND it’s about Evanora right when they come in, the leader of the coven they are daughters of? Too many coincidences.

This explains a lot. Maybe also with how Billy and Rio are the least affected. Billy was at the back so didn't get hit and Rio is… well Rio.

And everything is attached to her fears: everyone hates her after they were being nice, Billy turns on her and becomes more powerful and punishes her over her mistake, Rio isn't there when it happens, her mother being right. EVERY SINGLE WEIRD THING aligns with her deepest fears. So it has to be directed at her.

Theory 4 that attaches to this slightly: so lets ay this is true and explains the behaviour. We have now TWO options in my mind:

A) The trial wasn’t a real trial

B) The trial isn't over

For A, the Salem seven could have affected it? Maybe? Maybe made it themselves to purposely break them up. I think their whole gambit is to tear them apart to pick them of so Agatha is left alone. So a lot can be explained through that. Also explains the aspect ratio, this is a part of the road

For B, It says that the end is when it clicks goodbye. The trials aren't affected by what happens to the people, its what happens to the danger. Here, nothing was completed. Alice died… and that's it. The ghosts business wasn’t completed. They failed because nothing was done. And what was the objective?!? Every other trial was to uplift each witch or to complete something. In the first, they got poisoned. They solved the poison. Second, stuck in a room with a curse. Killed the curse. Third, ghost appears, ghost… abuses the main character and only leaves after showing Agatha she was right. There was no objective. And at the end, nothing was completed. They distracted Agatha, after a fucking poor performance by Jen and Lilia. They had ages to try and wretch Alice away or stop Agatha and they stood there. And he said it too late. The 0 hit just as he said it. And then they heard Nick’s voice. The trial was still happening. The ouiji was still open. They didn’t accomplish anything.

The door unfolds way too late too. All the others, the exit appears mere seconds after. This took too long. And after Alice dies. That wasn’t the point. And IT GOES UP. It mostly likely responded to them failing OR it wasn’t real. This whole thing is not right. So I think they didn’t do anything. I think the actual trial will continue, maybe connected to the weird morgue room we see later with purple hues. Idk but it either wasn’t agatha’s real trial or it wasn’t completed. No way this was it. I prefer B out of both

Theory 5: love this one. My friend explained it better than I can so here we are,

And to add, it was Agatha’s idea to summon people to the road. I know nothing happened with Rio but Rio is an exception (spoiler once again). The seven aren't. So the seven came on BECAUSE of Agatha, this could add to it

Because also… all of them just disregarded all the rules the entire time.

Theory 6: It wasn’t her trial. It was Billy’s. Honestly don't hate it given his spirit is from Wandas kids and blah blah idk. Kind of fits

Right so we all know that this whole thing was wack and will have an explanation later? Great! Onto my opinions. Lets start off with what I loved:

Kathryn.Fucking.Hahn. Her uncomfortability as they ‘ouija’ (not a verb, hehe), her humour at the beginning, the look of longing on the brooms, her hurt at her mother, her confusion and conflicting over Alice, and the end. THE FUCKING END OH MY GOD GET HER AN AWARD. THAT CHUCKLE. The chuckle made my bones chill. It was outstanding.

Rio this episode was the best she has been. Her defending Agatha. Ooooo you know that’s right.

I loved the broom scene. And their opinions. Agatha is more powerful than a broom. Its ‘undignified’ as she says. Lilia hates the stereotypes. Rio along for everything. Jen and Alice too. It was great

Alice. My girl… the way you could see her immediately soften when Evanora said it. She literally screamed for her to stop and tried to save her. Love you Alice. I know you coming back somehow because in the very first trailer we see a scene of her in a purple lit empty room. Can’t wait to see you again girl

The parallels between Alice and Agatha too. Alice’s discovery was that her mum was better than she thought. She was protecting her. Agatha’s is that she is worse. Even after centuries she is asking others to kill her. What a twat.

All the actors were phenomenal. That's a given

The entire thing looked beautiful

That whole talk with Evanora was heartbreaking. And clearly so much had happened and Evanora was clearly a terrible terrible person. And when someone said it mirrored homophonic religious parents my hear shattered. So good. Just so so good

I don't mind knowing rio’s spoiler now because it's an explanation on such a mysterious and… confusing episode. I like spotting the things now. One thing that makes sense 😭

What I am about to say is not a reflection on Joe. Although I did giggle because… well when Kathryn is giving an award winning evil performance and acting circles around everyone after such a devastating scene… eh I won’t make a joke. But I think he is a great actor and Billy is a good character. He's not my favourite. When you have an entire show of women I will only look at them. I will say the ‘BILLIE’ Eillish song at the end was a good touch. That aside I didn’t mind the reveal. I am excited to see what he looked up for Agatha in the flashbacks next episode. I’m just not fused about him 🤷‍♀️ not everyone has to love every character. I only care about him in relation to Agatha

Right, criticism now, and I hate criticizing this show. I have never done it properly before for this show because I haven't found anything to criticise, so the fact I'm doing this shows how weirded out I was. Most of this is based on people though:

Why the fuck was it so short. This must mean the other episodes are much longer but to have Agatha’s trial, real or not, and the centre episode the shortest? I didn't like that

These are now about the people

My own personal annoyance: we are now going to have to have a whole week of having to now focus on Billy when so much Agatha trauma was there. I knew billy would have his spotlight but now for everyone talking about the episode, that is the only thing that they will focus on, instead of everything else. But I can deal with that because I won't be focusing on it, because to me it is not the important part of the episode. My own annoyance is explainable and irrelevant.

I theorise on what I like. I will not be focusing on Billy unless it relates to Agatha. So I am not mad about that, it just ticks me off it happens in the episode they finally show a bit more of Agatha’s backstory

Right, my complaint about people. Fuck all of you saying that ‘this show has finally gotten good’ because billy has been revealed. Genuinely fuck you. Because once again, and I'm shockingly surprised because a LOT of these people saying billy is the only good part are coming from Wanda stans on twitter. But whatever. People are allowed to be a bit annoyed that, from surface level, 1) ‘Agatha’s trial’ episode was the shortest and then revolved around Billy in the end 2) people are allowed to criticise what happens. They should never hate on Joe, but I have seen people send threats over some people saying they don’t like billy. It is a fair criticism for some people to say that they don’t like that the one man that is is now going to get the attention of this episode

Also very mild proof that this is happening:

Right, point two about how people have reacted and this is real. This is Stan feud, I’m not a child. I like hoes acting. I liked heartstopper and I think he’s doing great. This is about real life consequences: that fucking article. If you have been on Twitter you most likely know what I'm talking about. But a magazine article published an article saying “Billy has made MCU history” and the only article about Agatha, you know the MAIN CHARACTER with a ROMANTIC STORY WITH ANOTHER WOMAN, was basically saying “Are they gay? Hm I don't know”. And then, they released ‘all the gay characters in MCU’ and LEFT OUT AGATHA. FUCK YOU SINCERELY. This is why so many women struggle with coming out. Because no one takes us seriously. His boyfriend had been mentioned ONCE ON A FUCKING PHONE and he’s making history when the entire C plot of this show is about Agatha and her ex-wife and her relationships with them all. Fuck you. People in my life ask me why it took me so long to figure out I was gay. It's because of this. People don't take us seriously and this is EXACTLY what a lot of us feared. Billy, yay, amazing. I like that they are showing him a bit more. I want all of these characters fleshed out. But now, everyone's reactions to it are reinforcing that we are not taken seriously by the wider world, including some of the queer community. Agatha’s whole B plot is about her and Rio. And it was so beautiful in this episode. And even if you aren't interested in the romance, Agatha’s story was amazing! Painfully short but amazing! But now people only want to focus on the man. It's one thing to fear it because originally I dismissed it. But everything that has come out since then has reaffirmed this fear queer women hold. That sapphic relationships will NEVER be taken as seriously and will always be secondary to men. So fuck all of you contributing to that. Truly fuck you

Breathes in, breathes out okay. Rant over. I can just ignore these things. And I am. Its just infuriating to be reminded.

But in the wait, this feeling for many will get worse especially because some of you stans are reinforcing it. I think Billy is fine. I think his backstory will be interesting. But I saw someone try to theorise and someone said ‘Who the fuck cares. Billy is finally here to save the show’. It’s one thing to have a favourite character, it's another to do all of this

On the other side, people who are attacking Joe, that is not fair. Every character will have their spotlight. My critique is that it takes away from Agatha’s trauma this episode a lot but it is not his fault. So let’s never attack the real people

Also if you like his character, amazing. I like that every character is full rounded. But if people have genuine critiques, don’t be mad. People can have opinions. Just as don’t attack people for like him.

Let’s just be nice. Some of you need to go back to preschool “lets treat others how we want to be treated” my god

Rant over. Yay

Thank you to anyone who is still reading. I hope this bring to light a lot of the ‘off things’ with it and maybe show some opinions. I needed to rant because my god some of the things I've seen… But conclusion: everything is wrong. Its one thing for people to be out of character. Its another for the whole trial system to be fucked, the S7 sidelined again, Billy etc. Its wrong on purpose.

I think I will only form an actually feeling in this episode when I see the next one that will explain everything. I need an explanation to say whether I like it or not. But I will say, the other 4 are to me some of the best things ever produced ever. I want to desperately love it but I need to wait.

Anyway, hopefully now that the emotions have died down we can all start theorizing based on that. Here is my attempt haha

I would love to hear any ideas or thoughts! Just please be nice. I'm fragile haha

Your reward for reading to the end: Agatha and Rio being gay

[robynrocksforbrains]

Mike Wheeler is important and there's nothing wrong with analyzing him

Since y'all wanna be insufferable bitches about it I'm gonna explain to you why he's important, why Will loves him, why his struggles should be acknowledged, and why his character depth is pivotal to byler endgame being a satisfying conclusion for both Mike AND Will. Deal with it!

We are not seeing smoke where there isn't a flame. We are seeing smoke where there is a literal fucking forest fire.

Starting off with something a lot of people aren't ready for but I've seen more people talking about: Mike is the main character of s1 at the very least. He is the character that brings us into the world of stranger things. He is the character that the writers chose for this. Mike is the main character of s1 and it was an instant hit. The writers love Mike. Contrary to popular belief, giving a character an arc where they are struggling and their behavior changes from what is normal for the character we know and love does NOT mean the writers hate that character. It means they deliberately chose to give that character complexity and depth. Your inability to like characters that do anything wrong ever is not the fault of the writers. Your decision to act as if a character is not important is not reflective of the actual narrative because it in fact is in direct opposition to the narrative. So just to be clear, if you genuinely believe that Mike isn't important, or that the writers hate him, or don't care about him, or that his story "takes away" from any other character's - ESPECIALLY WILL'S - you are simply wrong.

In s1 and s2 Mike is established as an extremely caring person. He's loving, loyal, brave, intelligent, and trying his best. He is also established to be hot headed, someone who speaks without thinking quite often, someone who is capable of hurting his friends despite that being the last thing he wants to do. He is all of these things and more. He is a human. He is a kid. So in s3, when suddenly he is entirely different, it is completely logical to assume that there is a reason for that. He did not just wake up one day and decide he wanted to be an asshole, push Will away, make his friends feel abandoned, and echo the same sentiments their bullies held. Something is happening with him. He has so much going on in his head and it is painfully obvious. He's holding something in, he's hiding from everyone and from himself. We see glimpses of what he's trying to hide after Will calls him out on his behavior. Will gets through to him. Mike is usually unresponsive to tough love, except for when it's coming from Will. After their fight, it is obvious that he's trying to be better. But he still doesn't wanna face certain things, and he doesn't know how to navigate that. Because he's 13 years old.

There is a reason for all of that internal conflict. There is a reason it comes pouring out of him at certain times. He's crumbling. He is quite literally falling apart because he's holding on to too much. It's not a stretch to assume that, it just takes basic media literacy. Why would the writers have Mike act this way if he was just supposed to be a one dimensional character? Why would Finn be directed to portray Mike the way he does if there was nothing more going on? There are times where Mike looks like he's in physical pain because of his internal conflict. There is a reason for that. And acknowledging that DOES NOT mean people are taking away from Will. That's the most idiotic thing I have ever heard. Do y'all seriously not understand that more than one character can have emotionally complex storylines? Genuinely asking, is this a new concept for you?

Will's love for Mike

Will is head over heels in love with Mike. That is very much established. So when you're dismissing the emotional depth of Mike's individual arc because you think acknowledging it "takes away from Will" you are actually diminishing the significance of a huge aspect of Will's emotional arc. By taking away the significance of Mike, you take away from the significance of Will.

Let's do a quick recap of the very significant role Mike has played in Will's entire life:

Mike is Will's first friend.

They have grown up together and it can be assumed that they've reached important milestones together.

Mike has always been a safe person for Will. He's been a constant in Will's very chaotic and unfair life. Until the summer of '85, Mike had always been something good in Will's life. (That's not to say he is no longer something good, but it can be assumed that the summer of '85 is the first time Mike has been a causal factor in Will's unhappiness)

When Will went missing, Mike did not hesitate to search for him. It wasn't even a question of if. The moment he knew Will was missing he knew exactly what he'd be doing that night. He spearheaded the search amongst the party. He was the leader.

When Will came back, Mike was the only person that didn't treat him like he was gonna break. He cared for him, and he was there for him, but he didn't treat him differently; Will tells us as much. Which means we can infer that the way Mike was with Will in s2 - how gentle and loving he was - was nothing new. He had just always been like that.

When Will was possessed, Mike stayed by his side. Even when it was scary, even when it could've gotten him killed, he stayed. Because once again, for him, it wasn't even a question. That's just where he knew he needed to be. He was in the shed when they were trying to get through to Will. He was set apart from Lucas and Dustin, but he also wasn't equated to family. And his retelling of the story of the day they first met was the final push Will needed to find a way to communicate.

After a year of things being "weird" between them, Mike tells Will that he didn't deserve to be treated the way he had been. Mike tells him that he wants them to be okay again, and for the rest of the season he puts in the work.

Things get rough in s3, and at the beginning of s4, and despite all of that, Will confesses his love (albeit veiled). In a moment where Mike is feeling awful about himself, he tells him that he loves him and needs him, and he tells him why. And to him it doesn't matter that he's breaking his own heart to do it, because it's Mike. Mike, who makes him feel like he's not a mistake at all, and that he's better for being different. For Will, there was no other option. The person he loves was hurting and he knew how to help, and so he did.

Mike is the first person Will tells about Vecna still being alive. Because they're back to being a team. He knows he can trust Mike, and Mike seems to be very determined to prove him right.

SO.

These are all real and canon aspects of Mike's presence in Will's life. Will falling in love with Mike isn't something that just happened for no reason. Will fell in love with Mike because of who Mike is. When you acknowledge that, and when you acknowledge the reasons they've set out for why Will loves him - the reasons Will literally told us - you can better understand Will. But when you dismiss all of these things about Mike, you are dismissing a large portion of Will's emotional and romantic arc. You aren't being a Will Warrior. You are erasing so much of him and his feelings and his lived experience. That is not the hill you wanna die on.

Will loves a person. Not a feeling. Yes, he says that Mike makes him feel like he's not a mistake and that he's better for being different. But that's not why he loves him. He feels that way because he loves him.

Mike is a fully fleshed out character with his own feelings and struggles and fears and traumas and motivations. He's not a plot device. He's not just an accessory to Will's arc. He's not a character that was written only to be Will's love interest. He's Will's love interest because he's Mike.

If Mike didn't matter, and if Mike didn't play a significant role in byler, then they would be able to write in a love interest for Will in s5 and have it be somewhat satisfying. But they can't do that. Will's love for Mike has so much depth because Mike has so much depth. It is genuinely crazy that this has to be stated and that I have to back up this claim because it is simply a canon fact.

So yes, the rain fight affects Mike's character development and his involvement in it is important. Yes, the van scene literally could not exist without Mike and therefore his involvement in it is incredibly important. Yes, every single byler moment has an impact on Mike, and Mike has an impact on it because they are BYLER moments. Yes, Mike will have a lot of significant moments - with Will AND on his own - in s5 because his arc deserves and needs as much attention as Will's in order to execute byler endgame in a satisfying way.

No, none of these facts negate Will's importance or take away from his story. If anything, they add to it because Mike and Will's arcs are corresponding and intertwined.

Mike's struggles

To name a few

Dysfunctional family

Has been bullied his entire life

Extreme self worth issues

Inferiority complex

Hero complex

Lack of self preservation

Suicidal ideation (has been on display since SEASON ONE)

Internalized homophobia

To get this out of the way: Mike's internalized homophobia is allowed to be discussed. Discussion of it is not the dismissal of Will's internalized homophobia. Surprise surprise, two queer kids in the 80s have internalized homophobia! Who'd'a thunk it?! Their internalized homophobia presents in different ways but it is there for both of them. I personally relate to the way Mike's is portrayed way more than I relate to Will's. So why is it that we can't discuss it without being accused of erasing Will's experience? Or without people saying that we're "copy and pasting" Will's story? Because quite frankly, that feels dismissive of my - and likely many others' - real and lived experience. So please for the love of all things that are good just stop with this talking point because it will never hold up.

Moving on

I'm not gonna do a full breakdown of all of Mike's issues. Because contrary to popular belief, there are a lot. And that would be exhausting and I'd get carried away and it's not the point of this post. The point of this post is to defend the acknowledgement and mere existence of them.

If you're a byler that for some reason thinks Mike only exists to be Will's love interest and his trophy as compensation for his trauma, let me ask you this: Have you considered how awful it would be to have a queer character's individuality and emotional depth completely ignored for the sake of focusing on the queer character that "really matters"?

If Mike's own issues, with his queer identity and otherwise, aren't thoroughly explored... What's the point of all this? If Mike really is insignificant in this storyline and his individuality has no effect on it.. where's the emotional payoff? If his perspective doesn't matter... Why have the writers gone to such great lengths to ensure we don't have that piece of the puzzle yet?

Analyzing Mike and understanding Mike is very important to understanding byler. Once again, I think it's crazy that this needs to be said.

I also think it's important to note that characters can have similar struggles. There's no rule against that. Just like real life. Characters having similar struggles is not a bad thing, and acknowledging that their struggles are similar is not dismissive of either character. We're talking about STRANGER THINGS. Jonathan and Nancy's thing is "we've got shared trauma". They have literal matching scars. Shared experiences are some of the main building blocks for this show's romances. Byler has a TON of shared experience, basically their entire lives. We already know that. So wouldn't it be so beautiful for them to learn that they've been struggling with the same thing this whole time? That the entire time they felt alone in what they were going through when really they had each other and they never even knew it? Wouldn't it be so beautiful for Mike's acceptance of Will and Will's love for him was also a step toward accepting himself? Wouldn't it be beautiful for Will to learn that his love makes Mike feel like he's not a mistake? None of that would be in the realm of possibility if Mike didn't have emotional depth and if his individuality wasn't important.

And that leads me to my concluding point...

A satisfying execution of byler endgame hinges on Mike's individual emotional arc being handled well

God I hope this isn't controversial to say. I sincerely hope most people haven't forgotten that.

Here's a hypothetical:

Imagine season five has been released. You're watching it, and you notice that Mike has been relegated to just a supporting character for Will. We don't get any of his perspective. We don't get any explanation for his s3 and early s4 behavior. His breakup with El doesn't have any real tangible effect on him, it's really just used for El's character development. We never see him pining for Will like we saw Will pining for him. And then suddenly Mike is learning about the painting and then suddenly he's confessing his love and then suddenly byler is canon and official.

Now wouldn't that just be awful? Wouldn't that be unfair to the audience, to Mike, and to Will? For us to never learn just how much Mike had to go through to even be able to say it out loud? For Mike to never get the chance to prove to himself through word and action that he is the heart? For Will to never get an explanation for why things did get so "weird" between them? It would leave us with one big, nagging question: What was the point of everything Mike has said and done throughout the entire show if his conclusion is that lackluster?

Disregarding Mike for a moment (I know that's incredibly ironic given what the entire point of this is but just bear with me) - how would that be a satisfying conclusion for Will? I mean, Will's s4 arc was basically dedicated to showcasing his struggle with his sexuality and with his love for Mike. We were shown just how deep that love is. We were shown how patient, unselfish, unwavering, and beautiful that love is. So how would it be satisfying for Mike's love for him to not be shown with just as much depth? How would it be satisfying for Mike to just be a one dimensional character whose s5 arc is essentially "break up with girlfriend, wait to find out best friend is in love with him, say he loves him back, then they live happily ever after"? I think Will deserves for his love to be returned with the same intensity at which he gives it. And I think it should be clear to the audience and to Will himself.

Back to Mike!

Mike has been through so much shit. I don't think anyone that is denying that actually believes he hasn't been through shit. Because you'd actually have to watch the show on mute and with your eyes closed to think this kid hasn't had just the worst time. It's so ignorant to act as if this stuff hasn't affected him. There's stuff we've seen but there's stuff we also haven't seen. There are issues he has that date back to his childhood pre-canon. Just like Will, Mike has been a queer kid growing up in 80s smalltown conservative america. Acknowledging the pain he 100% carries because of that is so important. His perspective has been withheld from us, not because it's unimportant, but because it's the final puzzle piece. If we had Mike's perspective in s4, byler wouldn't be a "will they won't they" (even though we all know they will). If we got his perspective in s4, byler would be a "100% certain without a doubt they will". But the thing about his perspective is that it's so much more than just loving Will. It's fear. It's pain. It's insecurity. It's doubt. It's the belief that his happiness just doesn't matter all that much. All of that has to be explored. All of that has to be laid out in the open for us in order for byler endgame to feel earned. Mike's emotional payoff will lead to byler's emotional payoff.

Mike has known he loves Will. In s5 we will see him make a deliberate and active effort to overcome the things keeping him from doing something about it. And then he will do something about it.

And so when it finally happens. When both Mike and Will finally know that their feelings are requited, and when their arcs end with us knowing that they will face whatever life has in store for them together, that will feel earned. That will feel like the logical conclusion for both of them. Not just for Mike. Not just for Will. For both.

And Mike is just as important to that conclusion as Will is.

And one last thing...

Some people are going to talk about Mike more. Some people are going to talk about Will more. Because newsflash, people have preferences. Some people just relate to Mike more, or they find his emotional arc extremely compelling, or they just like him. It isn't an attack on Will or any other character. No one is saying Mike is more important than any other character (I'm sure there are people that say that but they are a vocal minority and they are simply wrong). We are just saying that he is important. If you wanna engage in media analysis, please understand that "main character" or "central character" does not mean "only important character" and "only character that should be analyzed". If you wanna talk about Will and only Will, that's fine. But you don't get to act like people that talk about other characters are doing a disservice to your fave, because that's not how any of this works.

[beanghostprincess]

I don’t have many Op friends I can talk about this with but one of my top ship tropes is when it’s established that Luffy is slow on the uptake regarding people’s relationships and even HE knows someone is in love and pining. Like, to make a point at how utterly obvious it is. Sanji cuts food for Usopp into little bite sized pieces? Luffy just asks him something that indicates Sanji and Usopp are in a relationship and the cook almost chokes. Nami tries to write a letter and is getting visibly frustrated at not finding the right words and he just looks over her shoulder like „Say Vivi I said hi!“. He witnessed Shank and Buggy finally meeting at laughtale and there is just a bunch of „I WOULD HAVE FOLLOWED YOU!“ „I never wanted you to leave!“ „YOU WERE A COWARD!“ „Why does that matter now?!“ „BECAUSE I ALMOST GAVE UP MY DREAM FOR YOU!“ and Luffy just looks at this insane display in front of him while his idol does a homoerotic sword vs dagger fight with a clown and just „Are you seeing this shit Zoro?“ like… congrats . You’re being such a lovesick idiot even Luffy is like „Damn bitch you got it bad“

Honestly, this is extremely in character and pretty much not far from the truth. Luffy, despite being a dumbass, is a very perceptive person when it comes to people's feelings. One of his best traits as a main character is that he's empathetic to the point of knowing how people feel or what they want without needing to know the background or the rest of the story. I actually hate when the fanon perception of Luffy gets simplified to "he's an idiot" because yeah, he might be reckless and stupid and he's very silly, but he's emotionally mature to a sickening extent. Savior complex much? (Not that he wants to be a hero, god forbid, he would hate that. I just mean that his constant need to save everyone so nobody he cares about dies on him or gets hurt again has made him really aware of his surroundings and people's feelings). And, well, tbh he has always been like that. Very honest and perceptive, I mean. He might be a bit slow when catching up to some things and he might not know why people feel what they feel sometimes, but he knows what they're feeling. Get me? Like he might be aware of Nami being mad at him, for example, and not knowing why, but being aware that he has to do something to change that.

What I want to say with all of this is that Luffy noticing romance within the crew is extremely canon because he knows how his friends act, and if he notices changes in a person towards someone else, he might be stupid but he's not that oblivious. Like, he knows something's up. And to him the whole concept of pining is so stupid because if you feel something, just let the other person know! But then again, his relationship with Zoro is just different from that, and not everyone can have a devoted long-term marriage without saying a word.

And his reaction towards people pining would be hilarious because the guy would be exhausted from the crew having crushes and not doing anything. A Sanuso trope I love is Luffy going to Usopp like "Hey, confess already because Sanji has been distracted lately, and if he stops cooking because he is sad and pining for you I will be very mad" and he says shit like this and goes away and leaves Usopp alone with that information as if it was the most obvious and normal thing to do. But, you know, Luffy gets things done around here, at least.

[grif-hawaiian-rolls]

@leonardalphachurch ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE (in reference to this post)

Donut thinks his fursona is a red wolf, all handsome charm and roguish double’o’donut vibe but NO he’s a collie to me, specifically a rough/scots collie— he’s pretty he’s fluffy, he does good work but theres nothing behind those eyes affectionately. Also he likes to be told when he’s a good boy DOING A GOOD JOB

Grif… would not make a fursona for himself, but I think Kai makes one for him a-la garfield (fat orange cat) and he appreciates the Iconic humor of it at least and u know what i do think kai is right in the cat aspect but more maine coon less garfield (still fat tho /pos)- the kind of big lazy cat that make you do a double take bc like is that a big house cat or a bobcat, ya know?

Simmons does not Want a Fursona thank you very much he’s not Weird (tm) I'm telling you, he is a chihuahua. Puntsized ball of anxiety that bites and thinks its meaner than he is(but still pretty capable of being a mean little bastard, just,, not as big of one as he thinks)

Sarge Knows his fursona is a bald eagle. Bc its American. Patriotic! Sounds like a red hawk! Even better! He’s a pitbull— big brick of a head, mean reputation, but he’s a protective kind of caring at heart and u know he’s got that Iconic pittie grin

Lopez is hard, honestly, and if you asked him youd either get No Answer, or something thrown at you i think but like his fursona is like transformer mech bullshit that no one ever wants to draw and if you commissioned it you get like 20+ complex design additional charges because the rivets have to be 100% accurate and if they arent he would Know, its not even a fursona really at this point its just a cool mech body he wont ever build bc he doesnt trust anyone else to not fucking break it but emotionally its his fursona - the fursona I assign him is a remote control warthog, bc im sorry dude but i cannot give you a proper fursona to save my life my brain just refuses to do it so, goofy shit it is

SHEILA is, wonderfully, a sea turtle. Specifically i’m partial to a leatherback for her just for the scale factor alone but just the vibe in general of just,, seat turtle fits her idk how to describe it. In character, i do think she would misunderstand the assignment and just be like “oh! Im a Scorpion” bc thats the casual term for the M808B main battle tank in halo

Church(A), like simmons, REFUSES to even Consider it (epsilon considers it a Lot okay, theta’s got some cool design concepts but keep it on the dl bud) but i think he’s gotta be idog from the early 2000s. But like an edgy one the kind that were born of 12 yearolds traced over google images of the normal ones and recolored into Original Characters (i think their shape is based on beagles iirc??? Or labs), but yeah those things. If pressed, epsilon auto answers wolf but in that asshole way that sounds like he’s being a dick about it but no thats his actual answer

Caboose is a great dane. He’s just Great like that!! Yay! Friend shaped, really not used to being uhh mindful of his size and strength but loyal and protective ya know?? He's the only one who i think would correctly clock his own fursona on the first try

Tex would claim something badass like a tiger or something, but she’s like,,, a mockingbird :) i mean it IS the state bird of texas, and well... shes not a mockery of anything but she isnt the og either, ya know

Tucker claims a fox, because he’s sly and bitches Love foxes but to me?? Bluejay. Brightly colored, loud, mean little corvid asshole. Too damn clever for his own good- i would also maybe give him peacock or kingfisher if feeling more like,, flamboyant but he just feels very jay to me. maybe its the corvid bastard thing, or the bluejay in my backyard choosing the tree by my window as prime screaming spot for 6 am yelling for like a month but the vibe is there

Kai has so many furry characters. With the worst application of color theory known to man but somehow it works for her brand??? Sparkle dogs man, the woman is made for making sparkle dogs!! If i assign her cat to match grif, it'd specifically the kind of like bengal, this cat climbs walls kind of cat you know?? Zoomies all day every day! BUt i think more accurately to Kai as a person? Raccoon. Mischief and little grabby bastard hands and she would love it

Washington, if asked would shrug and say probably a cat bc u know, nine lives and all that- no. Im sorry cat wash truthers I respect cat wash, but nah Washington is a dog boy to me im sorry and specifically he’s a little Jack Russell terrier thats fast and vicious but man sometimes u gotta remember he’s like,,, he’s smaller than a cat man you gotta give him some help ya know?? Dont make him do it alone!!!

.......Or a horse i dont know how to elaborate on that one just,,, trust me

Carolina is oblivious to the concept of fursonas almost entirely, but she’s a greyhound and you know im right

Locus is genuinely the hardest one to place and i dont think he’d come up with a fursona for himself, but he gets assigned wolf by Donut i feel it, the whole lone wolf thing he has going and all during his redemption! Which honestly???? Maybe yeah? An argument could be made for another working dog (HELLO German Shepards my god) (context here: i had a german shepard/corgi mix, he was my lil guy, he was too damn smart for his own good and patrolled the back yard fence up until he couldnt keep his hips underneath himself anymore and then! He! kept! trying! So yes that does influence my input on german shepard locus) i just struggle to see locus as a dog???? Dogs are very high energy which -gestures to red team- but locus rarely has that same baseline energy i associate with dogs??? He’s hard to pin down and i’ve yet to manage it but im partial to something arboreal,,, the first thing that comes to mind on that train of thought is a binturong and i lost it imagining that so sure we'll go with that i have a lot of thoughts about locus

Felix wouldve loved the energy of being like the lucky cat with nine lives. I personally dont care for felix, but he would be that guy with like, its not a proper fursona bc he wouldnt b caught dead calling it that, but he has a fursona for scamming people and driving up the prices on auctions for no reason other than to fuck with people when he's bored. I subscribe to weasel/ferret Felix personally, specifically a yellow bellied weasel bc theres just,, honestly the name amuses me with the implications. He’s difficult to catch and handle, energetic and gets into shit no one wants him getting to. It fits

Doyle is a mouse, maybe MAYBE a rabbit, he doesnt know what fursonas are either but he just checks the mouse box for me personally,, very holdable, but skittish and might still bite you if u scare him bad enough

Dr Emily Grey does not have a fursona but she does think theyre neat and has let her patients all give her one, tho none of them agree on what she is. I think she's a shrike, specifically a great grey shrike! they're VICIOUS little birds, who dont look like much but they regularly hunt shit twice their size and are also known for impaling bugs on thorns and like, barbed wire?? theyre neat, and technically i think they count as corvids? clever little hunting machines

Kimball is definitely a german shepard tho like while im on the fence about it for Locus, there is no question about it for her she checks the boxes fits the vibe right down to the way she guards the new republic and chorus with her heart just under her sleeve

Sharkface. Shark. I mean….really. SPECIFICALLY THO a tiger shark tho, and he would absolutely be a dick if you implied a great white or a megalodon would be “better” bc no tiger sharks are exactly the kind of shark he should be thank you VERY much

thats everyone i have STRONG fursona assignment feelings for, and some are more flexible than others or more solid in some cases but YEAH! i think about this shit. a lot sidebar: i think the chorusans who know and are open about fursonas would probably use weird alien animals from chorus when picking them which makes this harder for them specifically bc the ones who would have fursonas arent limited to earth animals

all images are from the wiki pages for the animals! except for lopez. thats from the amazon page for the warthog

[sokkastyles]

Ok um, I need to rant about Katara for a second. This might sound incoherent, but hopefully it makes sense. When it comes to Katara's interests in romance or aspects of her life that aren't directly related to Aang, Bryke don't really always do a good job at treating her like an actual person. Legend of Korra is the biggest example of this of course, because I really don't think there is any way that Katara, being as righteous and morally courageous as she is, would ever choose to make decisions about her life that prioritize Aang more than herself (yes I know she wanted to fall in love and have a big family, but she would never give up her ambitions to do so). But ATLA also has a few egregious examples of this, such as not allowing Katara to have any complex emotions without demonizing her for it (I will never get over Katara being compared to Jet in TSR). I really feel like season 3 really indicates the gap in maturity between Katara and Aang when it comes to how they make decisions. Aang avoids facing his issues because he's scared, which makes sense as a character trait. But, the narrative never really addresses this as a detriment or a flaw that could have major consequences all the time. Katara on the other hand, by her own admission, "will never turn her back on people who need her" and is much more willing to reflect on her own emotions and internal conflicts. As shown in TSR, she's also not very likely to agree with Aang all the time, especially when matters are emotionally complicated. I wish the narrative had actually explored the implications of what this would mean for Katara and Aang's relationship, because they clearly probably wouldn't be able to deal with heavier, more complicated emotional problems together. This isn't a bad thing, it just means the characters probably shouldn't be a romantic pairing. But in order for the narrative to acknowledge this, Bryke would have to actually treat Katara like a person and not a wish fulfillment fantasy who has to end up with Aang no matter what and is bad for being interested in other guys. Even Zuko isn't treated this badly by Bryke for having briefly dated Jin and then dating Mai, and I don't think Bryke like him that much either. What do you think?

The joke about Mai getting angry at Zuko for briefly dating Jin is "girls are irrational bitches lol"

The joke about Katara maybe kinda sorta being attracted to Jet is "girls are irrational bitches lol"

Both come from the same misogynistic place. With a side of "Zuko has to put up with it as punishment for being the bad guy once" while Aang gets rewarded by getting Katara's affection for being the hero all along.

[willothewispwisteriadawn]

Reddit is going up in flames about Emily’s bio. Is it just me or is this not contradicting anything in game? It’s perhaps too unflattering compared to other profiles, but it’s not saying anything that’s just not true. The one part that’s a little weird is that it implies she didn’t come to the mountain for Josh?

I feel like Reddit became an echo chamber about how Emily is actually not a bitch character when she always was, and that was clear. Like I’ve seen people saying her mean face at Sam in the new prologue is ruining Samily. But Samily has always been fanon. And only started in the last like year. Emily is mean. That’s the point.

But another point is that she has an arc. Ppl want their cake and to eat it too. We agree that it shows an arc for Emily to call herself a bitch and admit she was a horrid girlfriend, we can’t over defend everything she does. She was a bitch to her boyfriend.

I’m actually open to other POVs on this. I’ve seen people agree she was a bad girlfriend but that her motives seemed more emotionally complex than getting with Mike. What do you think?

[frankie-bell]

An Essay Exploring Psycho-Pass's Most Controversial Character

I know I’m opening a huge, slimy can of worms and potentially incurring the wrath of half the Psycho-Pass fandom, but I feel compelled to share my feelings on Mika Shimotsuki and how I believe she serves as a lightning rod for fan culture misogyny. Now, before I start, let me just say that this essay isn’t targeted at any one individual, and it’s just my personal opinion, which you are more than welcome to disagree with. I’d also like to stress that, despite my love for Mika’s character, I’m going to try my very best to approach this topic from an academic standpoint rather than an emotional one. I recently picked Parasocial Relationships and their effect on female celebrities and fictional characters as a thesis for my Gender and Media course, and it really got me thinking about this anime in particular, so here we go…

Let’s tackle the female side of things first, because it’s the one that shocks and disappoints me the most. Don’t get me wrong -- I think fandoms with a strong female presence are awesome, complex, uplifting, and oftentimes incredibly positive and inclusive spaces. I love being a female genre fan and interacting with other female genre fans. That said, I’ve noticed female fandom can sometimes fall prey to online bullying and misogynistic groupthink when it comes to (a) female characters they find arrogant, bossy, mean, etc. and (b) female characters who are positioned as potential love interests for their collective male "blorbos," "husbandos," "faves," whatever the term may be. These two things very often overlap, which I’ll touch on later, but for now, let’s talk about the first point.

There was a big movement online several years ago urging creators to “let women be mean. Let them be angry. Let them be petty and complex and difficult. Let them be messy.” I fully support this idea in both theory and practice and wish it were that simple, but unfortunately, it’s not, because uncomfortably large swaths of fandom don’t like/appreciate unapologetically mean female characters the way they do male characters. Men in fiction are allowed to be cutthroat, selfish, cruel, narcissistic, arrogant, and even evil without garnering even a fraction of the judgement that female characters receive for simply being “difficult” or “unlikable.”

Take, for instance, Shougo Makishima. The Psycho-Pass fandom at large adores this character (myself included), despite the fact that he’s a remorseless sociopath who touts the importance of free will as a wholesale excuse for murder. He is a bad person, full-stop, and yet he garners love -- even sympathy -- in abundance. He’s the subject of fawning fan fiction, chibi art, thirst tweets, and endless Reddit analysis. Fans are capable of seeing him, murderous warts and all, as a product of the warped dystopian society Sibyl has created. But Mika? Nope. Just “a bitch, a whiner, an arrogant little girl who deserves to get slapped in the mouth.” (I am not making this up. These are the type of comments I see *female* fans making left and right about her character). She receives far more hate for giving up the location of Akane’s grandmother as a blackmailed, frightened teenager than Makishima does for slashing Yuki’s throat or blowing up Masaoka. Hell, she catches more heat for Akane’s grandmother than Sakuya Togane, the woman’s actual murderer and -- I can’t stress this enough -- a 41-year-old adult man.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking -- Makishima and Togane are villains, so their personality flaws (putting it lightly) and horrible actions are essential to the narrative and indicative of good storytelling. We’re meant to “love to hate them.” All correct, and yet this doesn’t change or excuse the fact that their standing in the fandom, when compared to the equally complex and emotionally fractured Mika, is textbook pernicious misogyny. But, for the sake of argument, let’s compare Mika to another character ostensibly on the side of good -- Nobuchika Ginoza. [Note: Ginoza is my favorite character in Psycho-Pass, and any commentary regarding his PP1 shittiness is made with pure love and appreciation for him and nuanced character growth in general.]

When we first meet Ginoza, he is rude, terse, unyielding, intellectually smug, and totally unforgiving of those closest to him. He’s a brilliant character, and his behavior, no matter how insufferable and seemingly cruel, is the result of compounded trauma -- the trauma of having his father ripped away when he was only nine, the trauma of being unfairly judged for the “sins” of said latent criminal father, the trauma of his mother numbing her pain with medication and eventually becoming something akin to a human corpse, the trauma of finding a new support system and best friend in Kougami only to once again be “abandoned” for the other side of the law. In many ways, he’s still a hurt child lashing out at the world, unwilling to see it for the complicated, morally gray place that it is, because being mad is easier. Telling himself that Enforcers are nothing more than dogs for him to guide and use as shields is easier. Blindly trusting the judgements handed down by Sibyl is easier.

In this way, he and Mika are remarkably similar. When she first joins the MWPSB, she’s a 17-year-old minor whose best friend (and probably first love) was dismembered by a latent criminal under the direction of a serial killer disguising himself as a teacher -- a trusted authority figure. She’s filled with guilt and self-loathing over her failure to act, and the easiest way for her to sort out her feelings and ensure the same thing doesn’t happen again is to harden herself to all latent criminals. Distrusting them, treating them as “other,” is her form of self-preservation. Yes, it makes her come across as mean, as closed-minded, as unlikable, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s good storytelling, and it presents her with plenty of potential for growth, which she is certainly given.

[Upon discovering that her best friend, fellow Oso Academy student Kagami Kawarazaki, has been murdered by Rikako Oryo, Mika breaks down in tears, blaming herself for the tragedy. This is the moment her distrust of latent criminals is solidified.]

But, unlike Ginoza (a 28-year-old adult man), over half the fandom decided that Mika was so awful, so totally unforgivable, such a “heinous cunt,” that they were unwilling to allow her the time and space to grow beyond her trauma and immaturity. But why? Is it because we’ve been taught to judge women, even fictional ones, based on a different set of criteria than men? I think the answer is obvious, and I urge fans who dislike Mika’s character with such intensity to seriously examine their reasoning. I don’t mean to say that she’s infallible (hardly) or that it’s wrong to dislike her. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and no one person’s take is more valid than another’s, but it’s definitely something to think about in the larger conversation that is media analysis.

Which brings me to Akane Tsunemori, someone who fits all the abovementioned criteria for a “likeable” female character. [Another note: I love Akane, and none of this is meant to disparage her. I am simply trying to point out that she’s a more easily digestible female when viewed through the patriarchal lens of pop culture.] She’s smart but not arrogant about it, strong-willed but never disagreeable, empathetic but not easily led by her emotions, and most importantly, she’s always kind to the fandom’s male faves. She is, in almost every way, trademark "Best Girl" material, and Mika is her foil (at least in PP2). She’s set up to be the anti-Akane, both in personality and narrative function. If Akane trusts someone, Mika doesn’t. If Akane wants to bend the rules, Mika is rigid in upholding them. If Akane isn’t afraid of clouding her Hue, Mika is downright terrified.

Though it’s never stated outright, she probably hoped her senior Inspector would serve as a mentor figure, yet we see none of that from Akane, who often abandons Mika to chase down seemingly wild leads and appears to be stuck in the past, yearning for the original Division 01. (Mika even says as much to Ginoza in a novelization of the first film.) On top of that, I think it’s important to remember that we’re predisposed to side with Akane, as she is both our POV protagonist *and* the hero of the narrative. We have unprecedented access to her private moments, motivations, and methodology. We know she means well and trust that her unconventional strategy will pay off in the end. Mika does not. All she knows is that her direct superior is habitually breaking the rules, overloading her team with what feels like excessive busywork, and ignoring the more bureaucratic side of the job in favor of unconventional/unsanctioned detective work. If I’m being perfectly honest, I would also be submitting concerned reports to my boss.

[When Akane blatantly disregards Sibyl's judgement of bomber Akira Kitazawa, talking him down from a Crime Coefficient of 302 to 299, Mika confronts her for putting both their colleagues and nearby civilians in danger. This later proves to be the right call, as Kitazawa attacks Inspector Risa Aoyanagi and escapes police custody.]

[While investigating Kirito Kamui, Akane keeps her suspicions/theories close to the chest, leaving Mika and the rest of Division 01 in the dark as to her game plan.]

[Although Akane's decision to entrust Hinakawa with all 185 Halos proves to be the right one, it's understandable why Mika is taken aback by her placing so much responsibility on a single subordinate -- especially one with Hinakawa's history.]

Now, that’s not to say Mika’s feelings about Akane are purely altruistic. She’s definitely jealous of her senior Inspector and resents her standing within the Bureau, which makes her behave in ways both petty and vindictive. But I’d argue that this, too, is understandable, if not wholly forgivable, when viewed through Mika’s eyes. Picture this: You’re the youngest-ever recruit to a highly coveted position. You follow protocol to a T, are deferential to your superiors, and show a genuine aptitude for the job. Even your callousness toward the Enforcers (again, your childhood best friend was butchered by a latent criminal) is in accordance with Sybil’s will. Shitty, yes, but standard for someone raised within the Orwellian hellscape of 2100s Japan. And yet, everyone around you prefers your senior Inspector. Your subordinates defer to her when you’re the officer in charge (Hinakawa) and even help her game the system (Ginoza). The Chief tells you you’re boring, but displays obvious favoritism toward her. This severely harms your self-esteem and colors the way you interact with everyone around you. After all, it’s hard to feel like a valued member of the team when you’re being undermined and lectured at every turn. This doesn’t excuse Mika’s behavior, and if she didn’t evolve, I might understand some of the hate, but she does evolve. Spectacularly. She’s just not Akane, and that’s okay.

[While dealing with the hostage situation in PP2, Mika notices Hinakawa working on something off to the side. When she confronts him about it, he admits that he's acting on Akane's orders, even though Mika is technically the officer in charge.]

[A similar incident occurs in Sinners of the System: Case. 1, when Ginoza shoots down Mika's (admittedly ridiculous) plan, which she interprets as him once again siding with Akane over her.]

Again, this is good storytelling at work, and you can acknowledge that these two women are diametrically opposed and still appreciate -- hell, even like -- both of them for the well-written characters they are. After all, most Psycho-Pass fans like both Kougami and Ginoza in PP1 despite their many differences, not to mention the fact that Ginoza is (and I say this with love) a giant asshole. Let’s not forget, he was *this close* to microwaving Kougami at Chief Kasei’s behest. You can tell yourself he wouldn’t have, but are you sure? Are you really sure? But we forgive him, because he’s a man. Anyway, back to Akane and Mika. For reasons I’ll never understand, many fans find it borderline impossible to love two women with beef, whether it’s one-sided or mutual. There can only be one Best Girl, and everyone better be on her team. It reminds me of the Sansa vs. Daenerys discourse that gripped the Game of Thrones fandom in its last few seasons. This is doubly ridiculous in Psycho-Pass’s case, because Akane and Mika come to trust, respect, and depend on each other. But people decided to hate this 19-year-old forever, so none of that matters.

[Notice how Ginoza's gaze narrows ominously in the last frame, suggesting he might actually have pulled the trigger, thereby killing his best friend, had Akane not intervened.]

Now, let’s return to my earlier point about certain fans irrationally hating any female character they deem unworthy of their blorbo, husbando, etc. This is where Parasocial Relationships become extremely interesting. As mentioned above, Ginoza is my favorite character in Psycho-Pass, which I think is pretty common. While I myself have never been one for self-insertion or creating OCs to pair with my favorite characters, I understand that it’s a popular trend, and if you enjoy it, more power to you. It becomes problematic, however, when those who engage in self-shipping/OC-shipping decide to collectively gang up on the female character creators have paired (or hinted at pairing) with the object of their affection. Enter GinoMika. Now, I know what you’re thinking -- “But Mika’s a lesbian!” I don’t necessarily agree. Do I think she was in love with her best friend at Oso Academy? Yes. Do I think she had a crush on Yayoi at the beginning of PP2? Yes. Do I also think it’s obvious she currently has feelings for Ginoza, which have been steadily growing since Sinners of the System? Absolutely. For this reason, I interpret her as being both bisexual and demisexual. But that’s beside the point --

The point is that many Ginoza fans who ship him with themselves, their OCs, or Akane (remember, she’s Best Girl) seem to enjoy trashing on Mika like it’s an Olympic sport. And when I say “trashing,” I don’t mean your normal yet still disappointing level of ship nonsense; I mean unhinged, violent rhetoric that makes me feel like the Internet is a place where women can never win. And why? Because she was mean to him when she first started working for the MWPSB? As if he was oh-so-kind to the Enforcers who worked under him. I seem to recall him screaming at his father and threatening to “make him pay” for visiting his sick wife without permission. Oh, and then there was the time he introduced Akane to her new colleagues by telling her, “Don’t think that the guys you’re about to meet are humans like us.” But yes, Mika once told him that she didn’t want his opinion as a latent criminal, which is so much worse. And before you can say that she’s still a bitch to him, let me point out that she is a textbook tsundere. That’s how she flirts, shows affection, etc. She can never come right out and say what she means, because that would make her vulnerable. But she can surreptitiously tell Ginoza he better come back alive by insisting he return her special Dominator. You know, because it would be a real hassle if she had to replace that thing.

[The language Ginoza uses when introducing Akane to the Enforcers, including his own best friend and father, is deeply dehumanizing.]

[When Aoyanagi takes Masaoka to visit his estranged wife, Ginoza reacts with explosive anger, reprimanding his father in front of their colleagues and threatening to retaliate should he do it again.]

Which brings us, at long last, to the male portion of the fandom. While many female fans like to call Mika out for her more negative character traits, completely ignoring any and all growth she’s experienced since PP2, male fans tend to direct their anger, dislike, etc. in a much more aggressive manner. I wish I was exaggerating when I say that I’ve seen multiple posts praying for Mika’s rape and subsequent murder. You can’t dive into a single “Season 4 Wish List” thread without finding at least one person wishing extreme ill on Mika Shimotsuki. It's pure misogyny, classic “I’ll fuck the bitch right out of her” rhetoric, and it has no place in this fandom or any other. You would never see a male character being talked about in these terms. Consider this: There’s more fan fiction featuring Mika being raped or coerced into sex by her tormentor, Sakuya Togane, than her having a positive, consensual experience with any other character. Love her or hate her, that is extremely fucked up. We as a fandom need to do better, because once this type of misogyny can be weaponized against fictional characters, it becomes much easier to use against real people. Fan culture, though it might seem trivial, says a lot about us and our values.

[This is just a sampling of the comments you'll find on Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, and other social media sites.]

That said, I’d like to end this essay on a more positive note, so let’s take a look at all the ways in which Mika has become a better, more compassionate human being over the course of the series...

By PP3, she shows obvious concern for her Enforcers, values their opinions, and treats them like integral members of her team. In an especially cute scene, she even fist-bumps Tenma Todoroki after they work seamlessly to defeat Koichi Azusawa’s henchmen. She also makes a point to attend the party thrown in the Enforcers’ quarters, as she now longs to be part of the gang -- a gang she would have actively shunned in PP2. 

[During First Inspector, Mika shows time and again that she's willing to work with and for her Enforcers.]

[As Chief, Mika realizes that Enforcers deserve respect and gratitude from their superiors. They are no longer dogs to her.]

[In PP2, Mika tells Ginoza she doesn't care what the Enforcers think of her. By PP3, however, we see her display concern that her team might find her dull. She wants to be liked and accepted by them.]

She becomes far more flexible with her co-workers, allowing Inspectors Arata Shindo and Kei Mikhail Ignatov plenty of freedom to conduct investigations as they see fit. Yes, she consistently scolds them (textbook tsundere behavior), but this is done in a manner far more humorous than anything else. We know she actually trusts them and has their best interests at heart; she just can’t bring herself to say it aloud. She also repeatedly takes heat from Chief Hosorogi on their behalf and is genuinely worried for Arata when it seems like Sibyl might “eliminate” him. The palpable relief on her face when she finds out he’s allowed to remain an Inspector speaks volumes.

[Throughout PP3, Mika allows Kei and Arata to play to their individual strengths, even if it means bending the rules -- something she would never have done in PP2 or the first film.]

[Just look at that excited face. No caption necessary.]

She goes out of her way to make sure the immigrant prostitutes saved by religious leader Joseph Auma are protected following his death. This is an especially big deal, since many of these individuals are latent criminals, and Mika is forced to ask her newfound nemesis, Frederica Hanashiro, for a favor in order to secure their safety. When she tries to pretend it’s no big deal, Frederica calls her bluff by pointing out that no one would stoop to asking someone they hate for help in order to protect people whose fates they don’t care about.

[Even though Mika detests Frederica, she puts the well-being of the immigrants before her own pride.]

In Sinners of the System: Case. 1, her distrust of latent criminals is permanently altered after dealing with Izumi Yasaka, whom she works tirelessly to rescue and comes to view as brave, capable, and worthy of reintegration into society. She also displays genuine concern for and lack of discrimination toward Takeya Kukuri, the young son of a latent criminal, and is horrified to discover that the latent criminal inmates at Sanctuary are being used as disposable tools to move nuclear waste canisters.

[Sinners of the System: Case. 1 marks a decided shift in the way Mika views latent criminals. Instead of lumping them all together, she begins to see them as individuals who deserve basic human rights.]

[Even though Mika is unable to save all the latent criminals at Sanctuary, she does everything in her power to ensure Yasaka and Takeya walk away clean.]

When Enforcer Mao Kisaragi turns out to be the “fox within the CID,” Mika and the rest of Division 01 are united in supporting her claim of innocence. Mika trusts (without concrete proof, mind you) that she’s telling the truth about being an unwitting accomplice, something she never would have done in PP2 or even the first film.  

[While the old Mika would have been the first person to distrust Kisaragi, here we see her standing up for the beleaguered Enforcer.]

She comes to respect Division 01 (Akane, Ginoza, Sugo, Hinakawa, Kunizuka, and Shion), views them as a surrogate family, and misses them once their unit is disbanded. In Sinners of the System: Case. 3, Frederica Hanashiro, who temporarily worked as part of their unit, says, “CID Division 01… They’re not just capable; they have a rare teamwork that overcomes the barrier between Inspectors and Enforcers.” Yes, this is mostly due to Akane’s guiding influence, but it’s clear Frederica is talking about the whole team. It’s taken Mika years to get there, but she is now definitely part of the group, not a jealous outsider looking in. In fact, even Mika’s obvious dislike of Frederica in PP3 is a clear result of this affection. After finally finding a place to belong, she feels as though Frederica swooped in and stole her found family, leaving her right back where she started -- on the outside.

[Though she'll never admit it, Mika views Ginoza as both a mentor and a friend. When he leaves the PSB to join SAD/MOFA, she misses having him around.]

[During her lowest moment in PP2, a jealous Mika actually hopes that Akane's Hue will darken. In Sinners of the System: Case. 2, she pleads with her to take her own safety more seriously. It's clear a big change has occurred in the intervening years.]

[Instead of feeling constant competition with Akane, by PP3, Mika is finally able to give her her due. It's clear they trust and respect each other despite their many differences.]

She’s grown from an immature young woman who couldn’t bring herself to take responsibility for her failures -- most notably her involvement in Akane’s grandmother’s murder -- to a responsible PSB Chief who holds herself accountable for anything that goes wrong with her Inspectors and Enforcers. This is most evident in her reaction to Koichi Azusawa taking control of Nona Tower and subsequently endangering the lives of MWPSB faculty and agents. We first see inklings of this change near the end of PP2, when Kunizuka tells Mika she’ll never forgive the person who gave up Aoi Tsunemori’s location, and Mika responds in kind. It’s clear that she’s not merely parroting a response to save her own skin but is deeply troubled and filled with regret over her own actions.

[In PP2, Mika is constantly blaming others for her mistakes. By First Inspector, she's owning mistakes she didn't even make.]

[Mika trusts her team so much, she's willing to put her job on the line.]

[Although Mika doesn't come clean to Kunizuka about her role in Aoi Tsunemori's death, it's clear she’s haunted by it. Later, when she confesses the truth to Ginoza, he admits to feeling a similar guilt over the way he treated his late father, telling Mika they'll have to bear their respective shame silently for the rest of their lives.]

And lastly, I believe the biggest example of Mika's growth can be found in what is arguably her most important relationship -- the one she shares with Ginoza. Whether you view them as mentor/mentee, begrudging friends, potential love interests, or all three, you can't deny that they have one of the most interesting and entertaining dynamics in the series. As mentioned above, when Mika first meets Ginoza, she views him as a cautionary tale. His demotion from Inspector to Enforcer is her worst nightmare, something that could conceivably happen to her, though she'll never admit it. Because of this, she treats him with hostility, disregarding his opinions and shunning his advice. But the longer they work together, the more we realize that Ginoza brings out the best in Mika -- and vice-versa. His calm, cool demeanor tempers her fiery spirit, and her enthusiasm makes him feel like he still has a purpose. By the time PP3 rolls around, he's become her #1 confidant, the person she calls whenever she has intel to share, grievances to air, etc. And you can't deny that Mika is the one person who makes Ginoza funny. Their flirtatious banter is genuinely charming and shows the softer, more human side of both their characters.

[Given her history with latent criminals, Mika refuses to listen to Ginoza, even when he's coming from a place of experience and genuinely trying to help her.]

[After working together for several years, Mika learns to value Ginoza's opinion and even feels proud when he compliments her.]

[During the Sanctuary case, Ginoza admits to both Akane and himself that being an Enforcer isn't so bad, as long as Mika is the one calling the shots. He knows she has a good heart, and working for her reminds him why he joined the MWPSB in the first place.]

[Notice how Mika's body language changes from PP2 to Sinners of the System. She now looks at Ginoza with appreciation and, in certain instances, affection. The fact that he views her the same way speaks volumes about how far their relationship has come.]

If you made it to the end of this mammoth post, thank you for sticking with me. Hopefully, we can all treat Mika with a little more patience, kindness, and respect when PP4 arrives.

[cloned-eyes]

Bad Batch Tattoo HC

Okay, I admit that this is me fully self indulging in my need to make every character that hasn't shown skin on screen a heavily tattoed menace. Enjoy

Hunter

I refuse to be believe that he only has a face tattoo

This man is committed to the bad bitch lifestyle 100%

Otherwise he wouldn't had blacked out 50% of his face

For body tattoos I really like the idea that he kept it symmetrical with the rest of his body head to toe

We talking simplified, heavy, blacked out motives mirroring his anatomical insides

Hunter got balls and I tip my hat at that

For the right side of his body I think he has some well placed tattos in an "etching style", basically what would be considered medieval motives but make them star wars.

You can't convince me that Hunter hadn't had a (jedi)knight/Mandolorian warrior obsession phase when he was a kid. Enticed by the noble ideals of knighthood and the honourable ways of living of his donors culture, he had always wished to be more than just a soldier

I think symbols of traditional weapons and Mandolorian incography

Hunter does pretty good in sessions but likes/needs to take a lot of breaks to avoid severe sensory overloads

Doesn't bring snacks but sips away liters of soda during and directly after getting a tattoo

Aftercare 7/10 in the first month after that his tattoos are on their own

Please sir put some sunscreen on your face and some lotion on your body at least once a week

Crosshair

Equally committed to the bad bitch lifestyle as Hunter but prefers finer lines

I picture Crosshair as someone who uses tattoos as an emotional outlet

Being a certainly a rather reserved individual who keeps emotions and feelings in check and exclusively to himself, he expresses everything freely by etching it into his skin.

Crosshairs body is littered in a mix of Ignorant and cyber tribal. Lots and lots of words, small and big symbols that hold all kinds of meanings to him. Reminders of certain situation in his life, reassurances, impressions of feelings he had, you name it.

Likes to cover them up since they're basically his deepest inside spilled out all over his skin.

Likes to look at and appreciate them whenever he's alone. Could stare at them for hours on end, lost in reminiscing each one of them and what meaning they hold.

Definitely takes care of them the most out of the batch. He wants them looking as nice as possible for as long as possible. Basically his way of taking care of himself emotionally too.

Sits really well in sessions since size and complexity of the motives are rather manageable

He keeps himself distracted by toying with his toothpick or studying the wall art in the studio, already planing his next tattoo.

Always treats himself with with space McDonald's and a nap afterwards.

Tech

Boy looks like a soft polite nugget from the outside but he is packing heat

Loves heavy black work and cyber motives. Tattooed his thighs/legs himself. Also tattooed Crosshairs eye and Hunters left body side since getting a tattoo done this big gets tricky scheduling with a studio between missions.

Knows what he's doing.

For his own motives he has a good mixture of scientific based ones. Star maps, equations, visualized audio track of his favourite sound recording you name it.

Also has some well placed ones for aesthetic reasons. Serves him as creative outlet

Wants hand tattoos really bad but hesitates since he could be 'out of service' for a few days due to swelling.

Tech keeps his tattoes in rather good condition but since he doesn't hold as much emotional attachment to them as Crosshair he restricts himself to basic care.

Sits like a champ. It's all or nothing with him when it comes to tattooing so strap in. Brings snacks and soda to the session and likes to keep himself occupied on his holopad during it.

Wrecker

As much as I would like this big boy to be coverd in ink from head to toe he's the lightest tattooed member of the Batch.

Doesn't like needles, sucks at aftercare and needs Tech to constantly disrupt him from scratching his tattoos in the itchy stage.

He still has a few, most of them rather small and one big chest one, an explosive hazard warning, to testify his love for blowing things up.

Tech did all of them because there is no Tattoo artist in the whole galaxy patient enough to put up with his squeamish butt.

Due to his reckless behaviour and with that corresponding obtainance of injures some if his tattoos got a bit roughed up.

They still look pretty and surprisingly good giving the environment they have to obtain themselves in. Strong and resilient as there owner

Sits bad in sessions, even though he has a good pain tolerance. Ignores all kinds of aftercare and still somehow manages to get them not infected. Please sir, your skin is begging for some moisturizer.

[bengiyo]

Our Skyy 2 x The Eclipse Characterization and Loving Queer Men

Folks have been posting some excellent rebuttals about Akk and Ayan in response to the question: Are they acting out of character. I enjoyed @respectthepetty reminding us that they’ve always been this way. My fandom soulmate @shortpplfedup has been going off this morning about Akk, Ayan, Kan, and Thua. Fellow clown @lurkingshan has also posted about the lines between actors and their characters. What I want to talk about today is the misuse and abuse of the tools of criticism to just say the vibes were off for you.

I want to get this post out before I watch episode 2: I will say this clearly as we begin: It is completely okay to say that you had hoped for one thing to happen and are disappointed that it didn’t turn out that way. Xiao Zhan gave us the best way to express this:

What bothers me so much about the instinct to deconstruct the characters and accuse them of being out of character for me is that it can be disingenuous to the characters, the actors, and the creative team. With The Eclipse in particular, you can’t watch this show without accounting for the violent response to the Thai student protests or the fact that Golf was unceremoniously ejected from their role in government. Gold has been using their characters as a mouthpiece for their ideas about the intersection of the personal and the political, as well as the role social media plays in protesting and fighting for change.

I was saving some of this for when A Boss and A Babe ended, but I want to also get this off of my chest. I see the debates about whether something is Queer Cinema or Boys Love cycle through once a season, and for me the conversation doesn’t matter. They’re all queer cinema, but they’re not always romances, and sometimes they pull from different film and cultural traditions. The real distinction for me is in the viewers. Ask yourself if you also love queer men (and other folks) when they aren’t being sexy, titillating, funny, or entertaining? Do you love us when we’re ugly, when we’re sick, when we’re old, when we’re being mean or catty? Oliver Sim of the xx recently revealed that he’s been living with HIV since he was 17. He’s “ugly.” Do you love him less now?

I often see viewers recoil from emotionally difficult themes and plotlines in these shows. I don’t begrudge people their needs to engage with content in a healthy way, but I find myself particularly defensive of the pain queer men feel as a queer man. I personally hate being told to smile all the time and present a personable face so that other people will like us more. I don’t want to put the kids through that. They can have messy plotlines that require you to embrace someone else’s complex humanity.

With the Suppalo boys in particular, folks have joked that they’re “my favorite war criminal” and “his rat bastard boyfriend.” These are not necessarily kind people. I call Akk and Ayan “Captain Repressed” and “Mr. Bad Bitch Walk.” These queer boys are messed up, and they won’t be the best communicators for quite some time. They are sorting out themselves and what their relationship will be, and this is the crux of Golf’s messaging.

It’s okay to be frustrated with a plotline, truly. I just ask that you consider if the feeling the show is bringing out in you is an intentional part of the viewing experience before questioning the characterization.

[bibluebutterfly]

Y'know I honestly like Stella, first of all I love her character design, she's so pretty

But I wouldn't say she has a great personality

Still though I kinda wish she has better characterisation, it's not that I think her characterisation right now is bad writing,but I feel like she's wasted potential

I mean Stolas possibly went from a main antagonist into a fan favourite,hence he became another protag lead. Technically him being a villain is literally in the pilot,it was also my first impression of him

I feel like Stella being an evil wife is good, it's fitting lore wise,but there could've been something more to it,sure Stella doesn't have to be so complex and she can be a simple bitch,but that just feels too easy as if she's just a cannon fodder,a sacrifice just so Stolas and Blitz can be together

Maybe my brain is trying to over analyse stuff. I mean I saw a vid of someone talking about Stella and if her character is ruined or if the story is going well and it just kinda hit a nerve in me. That video also pointed out how Octavia and Stella are only relevant if it involves Stolas, it's worth thinking about

Actually, I must say I agree, however, I do believe that the characterization for Stella is masterful and is worth exploring.

Like from what we know, Stolas was forced to marry her at oldest, 19. BUT that means that Stella was likely around that same age (I would even argue that she may even be a year or so younger than Stolas). She too was a teenager forced into marriage but whereas Stolas coped by just antidepressants and trying to make the best of the bad situation, Stella coped by the only way she knew how: anger and abuse. She's been like this since she was a child and was obviously never taught better.

In Western Energy we've even seen how emotionally immature she is, and that can all be traced back to her childhood.

I also find it interesting on how much the show focuses on her looks, with everybody basically saying her best trait is that she's attractive. This seems to imply that her whole life, she's been taught that appearances (both physical and status wise) were the most valuable thing she could have. Which... yikes.

So in the end, I believe that her being an abusive wife isn't the problem, but if we go more in depth of why she is the way she is instead of letting people just assume she's a two dimensional villian, we can fix the Stella Problem.

But that's just me. What do you think?

[misrepresentedmorallygrey]

PROPAGANDA

Katara Propaganda

"She's smart. She's powerful. She an eco-terrorist. She's got the ability to grow as a person. She's a victim of misogynistic fans who codify her as an annoying bitch (sadly not affectionate) cause she's the "mom character." And that's all she will ever be is "The mom character." She bested Azula and could blood bend your ass but won't cause she's chosen not to be a monster! But she's the annoying mom instead."

"if i have to hear ONE MORE *touches necklace* joke i’m gonna mcfreaking lose it"

"despite being one of the most well-written feminist characters of children’s TV, the fandom decides to define her based on her very realistic 14-year-old girl flaws. Ignoring her complex independent arcs and motivations, people love justifying their hatred towards her based on her one line directed at Sokka that he didn’t love his mother as much as she did. Which, if we’re being nitpicky, isn’t so harsh given that it was Katara who shouldered most of the burden of her death, as well as Sokka’s admittance that he doesn’t even remember his mother. Not to mention that ALL the characters make selfish mistakes given the fact that they’re all aged 12-15??? (Aang hiding Katara and Sokka’s father’s letter, anyone???) She really is an elegant breakthrough of the typical female character molds of “girl who is badass” and “girl with a crush on the mc who sits on the sidelines” and it’s so frustrating to see her get the most hate out of the Gaang"

Yukari Propaganda

"YUKARI PROPAGANDA: SHE IS LITERALLY SO CORRECT ABOUT EVERYTHING. People call her a bitch for uhh [checks notes] having a a brief freak out after she's shown live footage of her father's gruesome death? For [checks notes] accusing Mitsuru of lying to them about important information (which turned out to be COMPLETELY TRUE, by the way, but fans still mock her for this)? For [checks notes one last time] being mean to Junpei, who gives as good as he gets with rude and sometimes sexist comments in response? And even then, several times she apologizes or reassures him that she was just kidding when he seems genuinely upset by her words, so it's not like she isn't compassionate towards him. She is also routinely mocked and villainized for (huge spoilers) wanting to risk it all to attempt to save the protagonist after he passes away saving the world. To be fair, this turns out to have been the wrong choice, but let's be real -- she was a grieving teenager trying to save her friend slash crush. Yes, she was emotionally all over the place during The Answer. Of course she was! THE WORLD ALMOST ENDED AND HER FIRST LOVE HAD TO DIE TO SAVE EVERYONE. LIKE, THAT JUST HAPPENED TO HER. And everyone somehow just expects her to behave perfectly rationally when she's a 17 year old girl who just lost someone important to her and also almost died with the rest of humanity. Girl is traumatized and grieving and all people can do is call her a hysterical bitch or whatever other shit they wanna come up with." (by @ragecndybars)

"she's NOT a bitch she has a hard time opening up to people + she's a 17 year old dealing with grief after one of those people dies leave her alone!!"