#but in a way that comes off as ends justifies the means. His personality hasn't changed as much as it seems at first glance

[muninnhuginn]

Glancing at the Qian Jin-Xiao Li duo then at the Lu Guang-Cheng Xiaoshi one and realising that from what we know Qian Jin was originally the by-the-book type and even now is incredibly careful and thorough. Meanwhile, Xiao Li went along with the photo shop trio despite knowing how unbelievable it all seemed and was willing to arrange Lu Guang's safety in a less traditional way

Qian Jin especially in the past is much more aligned with Lu Guang personality-wise whilst the more flexible and intuition-based Xiao Li is more aligned with Cheng Xiaoshi

[blitzwhore]

Stolas just standing there and letting blitz hug him in the end is all good, right? He is just sad because of octavia and accepting that blitz is there with him right?? It's not that he regrets chosing him, right??? (I just need affirmation)

You know what? I've found myself needing reassurance about this too. So let's take a moment to look at the facts together, shall we?

(This reply turned out way longer than I expected it to 😅 sorry!)

Fact #1 - Stolas is still coming to terms with the consequences of his actions. He spends the whole episode finding out just how much his life has changed. Learning how to navigate groceries, and laundry, and meals, and having a job, and worrying about money.

Mid-episode, he has a breakdown where he truly questions if everything he gave up was worth it just for a fantasy. At this point in the episode, he still hasn't realised how much he means to Blitz. As far as he's concerned, he did all of this for someone who doesn't reciprocate his feelings. By the end of the episode, though, his feelings have settled enough for him to express what he has known to be true all along: that saving Blitz was the right thing to do.

What Stolas regrets isn't saving Blitz's life, or even loving Blitz in the first place.

What he regrets are the choices he made that led them to this. He feels guilty for selfishly (or, rather, naively) playing out his fantasies. He's the one who established the deal, who let Blitz illegally use the book for many months, who wasn't always sensible about how he expressed his love for Blitz publicly and despite being married, and who allowed himself to ignore the reality of his situation so he could live in his own, personal romcom—all of which ultimately led to the events of Mastermind and the loss of Via.

And all the guilt and regret he's grappling with (however justified it might be) is exacerbated by fact #2, which is:

Fact #2 - Stolas is off his medication. He's been off it for a month now. Symptoms of depression (especially untreated depression) include mood swings, irritability, self-hatred and low self-esteem, passive/active suicidal ideation, pessimism and hopelessness about the future, catastrophising, black-and-white thinking, and anhedonia (inability to feel pleasure and to find joy in things—and people—who used to bring you it). All symptoms Stolas exhibits throughout this episode.

So, even if he shows a lack of emotion toward Blitz at times, or irritation to seemingly minor things like low doors or "secretating" or Karen's behaviour, even if he acts regretful and angry and desolate... a lot of these emotions and behaviours are a result of his depression, and not of actually hating the life he chose.

Fact #3 - Stolas loves Blitz. He always has, and always will. I could point at a thousand different moments in the show when Stolas' love for Blitz has transpired, but I'm going to leave it at his line from Mastermind: "I would rather be dead than live life without you by my side."

Even after everything they've gone through, even now that he's taken Blitz off his pedestal and can acknowledge that Blitz can be a fucking idiot... Stolas simply does not want to live a life without Blitz. It has always been Blitz. It will always be Blitz.

Stolas loves Blitz.

Fact #4 - Stolas kissed Blitz. Before he truly hits rock bottom as a result of Octavia cutting him out, Stolas is so ecstatic that Blitz cares, that Blitz was willing to go to such lengths to save his life, that he can't hold back the need to kiss Blitz mid-air. Suddenly, none of his earlier frustration matters. Nothing matters expect for how elated he is that Blitz loves him back. So he smiles and he pulls Blitz into a kiss because he can't bear not to kiss Blitz for a moment longer.

Look at this man. Look at how happy he is. Because it's always been Blitz, and maybe it was a fantasy for a long time, but it doesn't have to be anymore. Maybe this can be real now. He's so happy he (and I) could cry.

Fact #5 - Stolas didn't deny loving Blitz. When Via said "You don't love me, you love him," the script very purposefully did not have Stolas go "no, no, Via, that's not true—" or say anything else that might make Blitz doubt, even for a moment, that Stolas loves him. Because that much is true. He does love Blitz. He just also loves Via. Which brings me to:

Fact #6 - Blitz knows Stolas loves him. At no point throughout the episode does Blitz doubt, even for a second, that Stolas loves him. And we know this because Blitz's walls remain down at all times. If Blitz doubted he was loved, if he had even the slightest of reservations, those walls would come crawling back up whether he wanted them to or not. It's what he's been trained and conditioned to do—it's how he's kept his heart safe ever since the accident.

But now, he knows his heart is safe with Stolas. He believes it enough to not depend on his walls to feel at ease. He believes it enough to let himself take care of Stolas and be soft with Stolas without the slightest trace of hesitation.

Look at Blitz's face. This is the face of a man who knows that even if Stolas isn't okay right now, things will get better. And when they do, they'll both still be in love with each other. This is the face of a man who can't wait for something beautiful to flourish between them, but who is in no rush to get there. He knows the road ahead is hard and painful, but he has faith in Stolas. In both of them.

Fact #6 - Stolas was happy to share a private, romantic dance with Blitz. Despite everything going through his mind, he found comfort and happiness in dancing with Blitz; in getting to have this little moment with him.

He found relief in the fact that Blitz stayed with him this time, even after Stolas told him, once again, that he didn't have to stay.

His reaction to Blitz initiating a dance between them is genuine surprise, immediately followed by an enamoured little smile at the mere notion that he gets to have this, now.

And, as they dance, he keeps smiling and leaning into Blitz, going as far as to manage a deep, heartfelt laugh at Blitz's words. This, for an unmedicated, depressed person going through one of the worst days of his life, is huge in itself. It shows that, even in the worst of times, he finds undeniable comfort and happiness in Blitz.

And, after their dance, Stolas looks at Blitz with a sobriety and soft sort of realisation that shows he's finally coming to terms with the fact that this is real. After everything he's lost, after all the fantasies he hoped for for so long and believed he'd never have, he finally gets to have this.

Despite the pain he's going through, Stolas looks at Blitz and sees the man he loves.

Notice how Blitz's eyes trail down to Stolas' mouth. And Stolas realises. And doesn't move away. Waiting, expectantly, for Blitz's next move, fully expecting it to be a kiss.

But then Blitz hugs him instead, and Stolas doesn't hug back.

And it's not because he doesn't want to be hugged by Blitz. It's not because his feelings for Blitz have changed, or dimmed, or disappeared. It's not because he regrets loving Blitz, or saving him. It's not because he doesn't want to have a close, healthy, loving romantic relationship with Blitz.

It's because of facts #1 (he's grappling with so much guilt and coming to terms with the consequences of his actions) and #2 (he's experiencing symptoms of unmedicated depression). And, above all, it's because of fact #7, which is...

Fact #7 - Stolas doesn't know how to be loved. Stolas has never had support. He has never had a shoulder to cry on, or someone to hold him when he needed it. When he's feeling vulnerable and broken, he defaults to hugging himself as a way to self-soothe, because that's the only comfort he's ever known.

And because he's never known comfort from others—because it was never allowed or safe for him to need or ask for comfort from others—all Stolas knows to do with his vulnerability is hide it. So much so that, the two times we see him begin to break down in front of Blitz before this episode, he either portals Blitz away or masks his tears and pain immediately. Even as he drunkenly rambles about wanting to be held, he still makes sure not to appear like he actually needs a hug.

So when he finds himself being held by Blitz in a warm, comforting hug, Stolas doesn't know how to respond. Because he's never had this. He's never had an opportunity to learn how to exist in someone's comforting embrace, how to interact with this kind of physical contact. He still has to learn how to feel safe between arms that aren't his own.

Simply put, Stolas still doesn't know how to hold Blitz back.

That doesn't mean Stolas doesn't want or need physical comfort. He needs it desperately—everyone does. But wanting something and knowing how to actually have it are two very different things, and Blitz knows that better than anyone, because he's wanted Stolas for a very long time, but didn't, until very recently, know how to feel safe accepting Stolas' love.

And that's why Blitz is completely understanding of the fact that all Stolas can do, all Stolas has the ability to do, is stand there and let himself be held, and let his emotions go through him. In, and out, with every breath, with every second. And get slowly acquainted with what being comforted by the person he loves feels like.

Thirty-something years of trauma can't be undone in a single hug, or a single conversation, and it's going to take time for Stolas to learn how to be present while in Blitz's arms, and how to return that emotional closeness.

But Blitz has faith in him. Blitz is willing to be patient and soft with him while he gets better. Blitz is ready to meet Stolas where he's at, because he knows, beyond a trace of doubt, that they love one another, and they're going to be okay. Even if Stolas doesn't know it yet—even if we, the audience don't know it yet—Blitz knows.

And that's just going to have to be enough for now.

And because this post got completely away from me, I shall conclude by quoting their song, because it summarises their story better than I ever could:

Truer love is hard to find. ❤️

[fenrysmoonbeamswife]

"Nesta is a bitch but I love her" "Nesta is cruel" "Nesta's actions shouldn't be justified" "Nesta needs to make up for what she did" "Trauma doesn't excuse her shitty behaviour" "Nesta is so mean" "Nesta is morally grey" "I hate Nesta for what she did" "Nesta made mistakes" "Nesta needs to be held accountable for the things she did"

Where????????? What things???????

I feel like people latch on to these narratives without any thought to them. Anytime someone says something along the lines of this^ shite they can only back it up with the same crap that they all spout. Like the words people use are so over the top, please give me an example of actual full blown cruelty from Nesta? Because I can write a fucking bible on each and every person in Feysand's little circle but no one seems to care about that. So why is it okay for the rest of them but not Nesta when they are all 100x worse. And if you want to go there with hOw ShE tReAtEd FeYrE, they were both as bad as each other so get t'fuck. And the way the Inner Circle treat people? There's a reason the only ones who seem to like them are each other.

Nesta isn't a bitch, she sets boundaries

Nesta is not cruel, she can be cold

What fucking actions? What did she do? Saving everyone? Multiple times? Setting aside her own trauma for her sister for months? Going to find Feyre? Helping them win the war? And make up for her actions? Hasn't this woman done enough? When does it end??

What shitty behaviour? Saying no? Not acting like the IC are gods?

Nesta is mean when provoked. One of these days I will force myself to get through a reread this stupid series and highlight every time she is mean and oh look you'll see someone else fucking started it. She is not mean for defending herself or for being better at it

Nesta is not morally grey, this girl could not have more set morals if she tried. That is literally one of the biggest reasons she doesn't get on with Rhysand

Again what did she do????

What mistakes???? Oh she didn't parent her sister??? She didn't accept Papa Archerons neglect?? She didn't drag Feyre back kicking and screaming from the woods?? She didn't get herself killed hunting?? She wasn't interested in a man who treated her like prey?? She doesn't give a fuck about your high lord?? She doesn't like Mor's dress?? Oh, prison immediately then

She has been held accountable 100 times over. She has been held accountable for things she did, things she didn't do, things other people did. She is literally held accountable for just sitting there so when the fuck does she get a break?? Even a crumb of the amount that the rest of them do? Why is this woman in her 20s who is suffering who is thrown into a new shitty life TWICE against her will and literally just doing the best she can, why is she the one that everyone decides is the devil incarnate?? No no not the guy who slaughtered an entire village and stalked, harassed and abused a young traumatized girl. No not the guy who did despicable things for the villain (I don't give two flying fucks about his mask because at what time is this supposed mask coming off exactly??), sexually assaulted a young traumatized girl and then sexually assaulted her again and hid life threatening information from her. Not the guy who literally tortures people for a living, granted I give him leeway because he doesn't seem to actually enjoy it and I more blame Rhys for this but still. Not the woman who said a girl at her worst was a "pathetic waste of life" and is a nasty piece of shit every time she opens her mouth. Not the woman who acts like she's the only victim to ever exist and uses absolutely none of the power she holds to help anyone else. Not the girl who abandoned and berated the sister who helped her through her trauma, setting aside her own I might add, and protected her for her entire life, for the other sister as soon as she got rich. Not the girl who created thousands of refugees by taking down an entire court to get back at her ex, who locked her own sister up after talking about how traumatizing that was for her. And I could go ON.

No we will hate on the one that SJM tells us to hate because we can't think for ourselves, clearly. The IC stans share one braincell collectively between them all istg

[sunriseabram]

Yes. Riko was an abuser. Nobody can deny that he hurt, sexually abused and tormented people physically and emotionally.

Yes. Riko was abused. He was hit by Tetsuji when he got things wrong, conditioned to believe that he had to be the best or his life wasn't worth living. He was abandoned by his father because he was second born, ignored by his big brother, and not even congratulated after he tried everything to gain their approval.

Yes. He hurt Jean out of anger. He used Jean as an object because that is all he had ever been to his father and family. He was a way to make money, but his father never saw him as anything more than that. It allowed him to feel powerful and in control of someone when everything else in his life was out of his control.

Yes. He flips after his father dies. Of course, he does. When you've worked your entire life to be acknowledged, spending thousands upon thousands of hours training to win, winning trophies, doing sponsorships, raising great chunks of money for the family, only for your father to die before even showing an ounce of pride for you? Of course, he flips. Jean just happens to be there, someone he knows he can hurt and get away with. Someone less than him at the bottom of the food chain. Perhaps the only person who sees the anger for what it truly is: failure. And Riko doesn't like that.

Yes. He hurt Kevin out of jealousy. Riko grew up in a world where failure was unacceptable. Failure meant pain, death and suffering. Exy was all Riko had and all he ever had. He couldn't stand to be second best because second best is all he had ever been. He would not be second in the one thing he was meant to be the king of. He hurt Kevin out of jealousy, and was beaten to an inch of his life for it.

Yes. He grew up sheltered. Riko was groomed to be a star by Tetsuji. He was groomed and exploited for money by the only person who had ever looked at him and seen something. He lost his mother. His father didn't care about him. He had nobody. He lived underground in the nest for most of his life and played exy every single day for most of his childhood. He probably had no friends his own age until Kevin came along. There was nobody who understood what Riko was going through.

Yes. Riko hurt Andrew. He had Andrew hurt as another power trip. It was to show he had great power and could do what he wanted with it. He had no boundaries. Throughout the series, Riko is shown to be insecure. He craves power and acknowledgement and wants to prove he has a place in the mafia family next to his brother.

Yes. Riko is more complex than a simple villain. He is self-destructive and works to the bone to try and be worth something. He uses anger to cover up his blatant abandonment issues. He is never and will never be enough. And if he can't be enough, then nobody else can. Nobody can take his place.

He is scared of Kevin, frightened of Neil, terrified of Andrew. He is constantly trying to stop his precarious tower from tumbling in the only way he knows how.

If all his mistakes were punished with pain, disappointment and anger, how can he know any different? He doesn't know the world really and hasn't experienced it outside his little box of stardom. He doesn't know what is 'normal.' For him, failing means getting beaten. Failure means losing his status. Failing means falling from power. It always has.

No. Just because Riko was abused and groomed does not mean that his abusive behaviours were justified. He chose to become an abuser, despite everything he had suffered.

No. He wasn't born evil. He is horrible - don't get me wrong - but he shouldn't just be cast off as coming out of the womb with horns and a tail. He was shaped by his experiences, negative and positive. We all are.

Riko thought beating people into submission would show his power and prove his worth to his family. In the end, it resulted in his downfall.

[morganski-19]

The Buck and Tommy break up scene

I think this scene was telling in a lot of ways, specifically about Tommy's character. This is just one part of my thoughts, mainly analyzing what Tommy said in the conversation and how that hurt Buck. I'll be doing another post about what Buck said in the conversation, and what that means for him.

Tommy knew that this relationship with Buck had an end date. He knew that this relationship wasn't going to go anywhere other than heartbreak, so why go into it at all? In that speech he gave Buck, it sounded like he knew, no matter what, there was no way he was going to be what Buck wanted. What Buck was going to choose to be with forever. And I think in that moment, when Buck asked him to move in with him, he knew that he had to take the mask off.

I think this is really complicated, and shows that both Tommy and Buck were kind of deluding themselves that this could work. In that scene at the restaurant, we see how little they know each other. Tommy gets Buck Lakers tickets, a sport that Buck doesn't even like. And Buck doesn't get Tommy anything, because he wasn't expecting anything either. It just shows how they were on different pages, and highlights their incompatibility.

Then there was the Abby reveal, which brings back a lot of feeling for Buck, making him spiral. Making him do something big and impulsive. And making Tommy realize that he can't keep going in a relationship he knows is going to end.

He decides to hurt Buck before Buck could hurt him. But, in doing that, he never gave Buck the chance to prove him wrong.

It's also very telling in the way Tommy addresses Buck. He has exclusively used Evan in reference to Buck, even though the audience knows that Buck does not identify with that name. There are only select people that can use that name, and even they use it sparingly. So, in his final goodbye, Tommy addresses Buck as Buck. He finally recognizes who Buck is, and that he isn't this image he had in his mind.

However, it further shows just how much Tommy doesn't know Buck. He thinks that Buck is in this because it's new and exciting. And while that is true, it's not the whole of it. Buck has admitted to caring about Tommy, about being attracted to him, and about wanting to make this work. He's doing what he thinks he needs to in order to make it work, and instead of recognizing that and talking about it with Buck, Tommy leaves.

It mirrors how Abby left so much. Abby left Buck with the promise that she was coming back. Tommy stayed even knowing that it had an expiration date. They strung him along until they could make him the bad guy. Him the reason it didn't work out.

If Tommy had even a little faith that this relationship with Buck could work out, he would have went about it in a very different way. He would have still declined the invitation to move in, because it was way too soon, and have a mature conversation about his fears. About Buck's fears. They would talk about it, and move on together.

But instead, he got insecure and left without giving Buck the chance to explain himself. To defend himself.

It further shows just how incompatible this relationship was, and why it needed to end.

(Also, that comment he made at Abby was super misogynistic, and in turn further proves that he hasn't changed that much as a person. I think a lot of people are mad that Buck wasn't the one to break up with Tommy, especially after this comment, is justified. However, a point to consider, Buck is the living breathing walking definition of wearing rose-colored glasses. He's ignored many red flags in his dating history.)

[viktoreznovs]

a little reznov rant i sent in a server i'm in

i love viktor reznov no one understands him like i do ( because i am him but thats beside the point ) ( will be referring to myself in the 3rd person so people dont get confused )

i love his characterization i feel like treyarch did an amazing work but i also feel like his mental issues are often overlooked . and it's so ironic because people always talk about reznov being some strong cold alpha hero or smth who doesnt need coddling and doesnt have any trauma and it's just . you fell for the character's facade meant to be dismantled by the player / viewer ! ! ! plus, their depiction of him is often way over exaggerated . like yes he is strong and sometimes cold towards his allies but he does care . he is most likely the most progressive person in the game i'd say ( these are my thoughts ) . deep down he is still a broken person just like the other characters , yet people don't acknowledge it because they can't see through his facade . they're at war , of course he isn't going to break down crying about his issues , but that doesn't mean he doesn't have issues .

think about it , he's been in that prison for 18 YEARS . there is not doubt he developed a lot of mental issues during that time period . we can already see this when mason writes about reznov and dimitri in his journal . mason knew in detail about the battles and journeys reznov had gone through with dimitri . mason says reznov often told him he saw dimitri in him . this man has been in prison for eighteen years yet he still has a perfect memory when it comes to his dead " best friend . " this attachment grows so unhealthy he starts seeing dimitri in other people . this delusion of his grows so strong he constantly puts himself in danger just to protect mason . where have we seen that behaviour before ? oh , right , with dimitri . ( he already shouldn't be putting his life on the line for one man but i digress ) . an example of this is the beginning of their vorkuta escape plan where reznov PLANNED to get beaten up by that guard just so mason could kill the guard and take the keys . plus , he quite literally admits just a step later ( step 2 : ascend from the darkness , on the elevator ) that he trusts mason with his life .

he takes the whole " victory cannot be achieved without sacrifice " saying way too seriously , but he has always been like that ( the most obvious example being mason's reprogramming done by his hand ) . another example would be when he sacrificed himself ( even though he ended up surviving ) just to get the guards off mason's back so mason could escape

also , in a cut content scene from waw , chernov wasn't supposed to die immediately by the burns and instead was meant to get shot by reznov / dimitri . reznov tells dimitri that chernov is suffering and that " he knows what to do " . if dimitri waits too long , reznov outright puts chernov out of his misery himself . in his eyes , he was giving chernov a quick and less painful way out , instead of trying to treat his wounds . it is shown so many times he believes death to be merciful .

all of this is not the mindset a " normal " or mentally stable man would have , but of course most fans will never acknowledge it because they can't even see past his whole hero facade that he puts on .

obviously this isn't to say that he hasn't done bad shit and that his trauma justifies what he has done to mason , but he wasn't some normal man who knew EXACTLY what he was doing . he was blinded by his need for vengeance . he always has been , and this behaviour most likely rose from his father's death : the undying loyalty to his motherland and the self - destructing need for vengeance .

he most likely regrets what he did to mason . will mason ever forgive him ? probably not . does mason owe him forgiveness ? fuck no . i like to think that's why reznov went along with the whole death thing after vorkuta . in his eyes it was better for mason to move on without him than for him to be a constant reminder of his trauma . did that help at all ? according to bo2 woods : not a goddamn bit .

[gnomewithalaptop]

I am once again thinking about my Reverse Falls plot bunny where Canon!Dipper switches places with his Rev Falls counterpart

Just hear me out! Like -- the dynamics would be so good. Because in either universe, the twins know each other better than anybody else, right? They've known each other their entire lives! So they'd obviously realize something was up pretty quickly, but the way that goes down would vary wildly depending on the combo you've got going on

That's why I really want Canon!Dipper in the Reverse universe -- out of the two of them, I definitely think he could "fake it til you make it" a bit longer than Mabel, but I also think the potential dynamics between him and Rev!Pacifica and Rev!Gideon would be fascinating to see play out. Cause like, let's be real: that kid can hold some grudges, and he's pretty pessimistic when it comes to people and second chances (at least compared to Mabel). I can see him having a really hard time wrapping his head around the personality shifts and trusting Pacifica and Gideon with anything -- which would only make things harder, since they'd already be predisposed to hating his guts. But also, just the idea of Dipper trying to navigate a strange world where his family is full of manipulative bastards and the entire town seems terrified of him makes my inner ten-year-old extremely happy

And then the dynamics with Rev!Dipper and Canon!Mabel would be playing out in tandem with all of this. And the script is completely flipped from Canon!Dipper's, because Mabel doesn't go into this knowing something's wrong. She has to figure that out for herself from context cues, and like. I doubt "evil mirrorverse version of my brother" is going to be her first guess right off the bat. So you get extra wiggle room for Rev!Dipper to get situated as a quasi-antagonist and start screwing things up, and you get fun hijinks while Mabel and the gang make several very wrong choices about what's going on with Dipper

And like. Okay, so: I've always interpreted Reverse!Dipper as somebody who's very pragmatic -- he's very much an "ends justify the means" sort of guy. Don't get me wrong, he's not as vindictive as Canon!Gideon, but he also isn't particularly sentimental either. He's lived his whole life in "every man for himself" mode (with some small exceptions for his sister).

And then I think about combining that kind of mindset with Mabel's unstoppable wave of optimism and endless harebrained schemes where she tries to make things better for a person she doesn't even know that well. And I think about Reverse!Dipper being faced with this realization that his world is dark and cold and uncaring because that's how he relates to the world.

Let's be real: at the end of the day, both sets of twins love each other so fiercely. It's just that the Rev Falls kids have gotten caught up in all these manipulation games and power plays, and once you get caught up in that kind of cycle, it becomes harder and harder to get out again. So I can see this swap having a positive shift on both the Rev Falls kids -- taking them away from their lives and showing them that they don't have to interact with the world this way

I'm thinking about Canon!Dipper seeing the humanity in Rev!Mabel and talking to her straight the way he did to Pacifica in Northwest Mansion Mystery. I think about how she hasn't gotten to be a kid because of the Tent of Telepathy's whole Dance Mom schtick, and finally getting it impressed upon her that that isn't normal. I'm thinking about Canon!Mabel showing Rev!Dipper it's okay to trust people and let them in. That he doesn't have to treat the entire world like it's out to hurt him, doesn't need to strike first to make sure the other guy never gets a chance to

Anyway. This got so long but -- yeah. I yearn for the Gravity Falls Mirror Mirror episode that exists only in my mind

[sapphire-weapon]

Seeing as how I just got two asks back to back trying to claim that I'm being unfair to Leon and that his behavior towards Ada in RE4make is "justified," I figured I'd just make an independent post about it instead of answering two questions that'll have overlapping answers. (And a third one came in as I was writing, even.)

No, I'm not being unfair to Leon, and no, his behavior isn't justified. Leon's being immature in RE4make, straight up.

The way that people talk about this, and the way that Leon acts towards her -- you would think that Ada had been a childhood friend that Leon had known for years, and that she betrayed him at the zero hour and destroyed a lifetime of trust between them.

Ada is some chick that Leon knew for a total of, like, six hours, years ago. And in Remake canon, she makes it very clear to him at the end of RE2make that her lying to him wasn't personal; it was just business.

He's had six years to think about this and compartmentalize it, but he's still taking it so intensely personally that he's being petty. He spends all of RE4make trying to ensure that Ada knows how personal it is, and he digs at her in such a way that it's like he wants her to feel personally hurt in return.

He's being fucking childish.

Especially when you consider that, even if Ada had wanted to reach out to him and let him know she's not dead -- how, exactly, do you propose she do that? Just saunter right on through CIA security and surveillance? Call Leon on a phone that's definitely being tapped and traced? Come the fuck on, man.

It's also not an either/or situation. It's not like the only two options for his attitude towards her are "overtly romantic" or "total cunt." OG RE4 had him be wary of her intentions and suspicious of her motives without being a complete and total asshole about it.

Think about this honestly. If the "she's like a part of me I can't let go" line didn't exist in OG, would you think that his feelings towards her were romantic at all in that game? Because I wouldn't. Half of their interactions are him questioning her or blowing her off.

And this was done with OG Leon knowing that Ada was explicitly working for Wesker. He knows that she's working for Albert Fucking Wesker, and he's still able to pull off being suspicious without being a cunt.

Remake Leon has no idea who she's working for and never, ever has. For all he knows, she could be working for someone who's in the fight against bioterrorism. The last thing he knew about her was that she was a fellow adversary of Umbrella who was getting shot at by Annette Birkin. He has no reason to treat her like a villain outside of his own personal butthurt.

He's just being petty because she hurt his feelings six years ago, and he's refused to grow up and move on since then and, at the very least, treat her with the bare minimum of cold professionalism that she actually deserves. They both establish in their first conversation that they're both here for work. They're doing a job. And he can't get over his personal butthurt enough to be a professional about it.

She makes him look terrible by comparison, because she very clearly does still have feelings for him in RE4make, but she's able to still be an adult and recognize the reality of the situation they're in.

I'm so tired of these takes where people treat Leon like he's a perfect innocent angel baby who did nothing wrong and is right to be mean to the bad lady who hurt him. Leon was a dumbass who got played and hasn't been able to gracefully take the L and move forward in life. That's what actually happened.

Like, damn, man. I know we all love Leon, but he's not always right. He has flaws. And this is one of them. Let him be flawed. And maybe examine things a bit further the next time you want to fully lay the blame for a male character being butthurt at a female character's feet.

[cleradinel]

I'm really live and let live with hcs and theories, but i think i just really don't get the bi Mike thing. Because i keep seeing people say Mike is bi but when i actually see the posts explaining why (which is Really rare too, it's usually just treated as 'clearly obvious' which is also interesting) there's always scenes getting ignored. Things like Mike kissing El and obviously caring about her immensely get mentioned, but then the sibling and cousin coding (even right before their first kiss) just gets ignored. "Boys only" isn't worth analyzing, it's just wording (but Will saying "a day free of girls" is still obviously gay coding). Mike not kissing El back in s3 gets acknowledged but him pulling her hands off his face at the beginning of the season doesn't get mentioned. Everyone having posters of people they're attracted to (Nancy, Steve, etc) on their walls is just accepted as fact but Mike only having posters of buff guys still means he's into girls. And so on

What's even wilder is that I've seen multiple people claim they Don't think Mike was ever into El but still think he's bi which is just. ?. I don't get it. Because outside of El he hasn't shown anything you could even Pretend is attraction to girls. Canonically he's had little contact with girls because they "think he's gross", didn't care for Max when she showed up, didn't care for the dragonslayer princess or Phoebe Cates, doesn't have any female fictional characters he admires, AND didn't get Argyle falling for pretty girl Eden. El is really the only thing you could sort of try to justify any attraction to girls in any capacity (and even that's rocks in canon)

Bi Mike just confuses me because all posts arguing in favour of it always ignore certain scenes. And yeah obviously, they have to it's because you just can't explain them from the bi angle. It's just odd to me that so many people argue it's equally as canon supported as gay Mike when there's multiple instances that have to be overlooked for the theory to hold up. Not trying to sound rude, hcs are obviously cool, i just don't get why bi Mike is argued to be canon so much when the show contradicts it multiple times (coming from a bi person btw)

i'm a live and let live too ! i'm no headcanon police and i am nobody to tell you what to do or how to think. i like pointing stuff out i find interesting and if those things i'm pointing out (and many others have pointed out) leads me to believe wholeheartedly mike is gay, i'll allow myself to be passionate about that. (get heated ? sometimes i admit) (because i think it's an important thing to take into account when discussing him/elmike/byler/the narrative/where we've been and where we're going yadda yadda yadda)

i've seen bi mike posts that are more on the analysis side, but then those posts go on to say something like mike wasn't regretting telling will to dance with the girl (i don't think mike was like "no come back i am so consciously in love with you" at all, but more so "well this has me feeling In Ways i don't want to describe or think about) at the snowball, or that the ending of s3 is just solely about him being sad to see el and will go (i agree he is obviously sad about that, but literally what were those two back to back byler and elmike scenes about, considering their nature and content, if not mike getting confirmation he wants to date his dude bestie ? which i really, really think is the conclusion to his "i have an idea, boys only" moment) so again, even if we're both analyzing, we're truly not analyzing in the same way. i can't take those things as proof coming from a show that keeps hammering it over our heads that we have to think deeper and pull back the curtain. they don't want you to think of these scenes as nothing more than they appear on surface level. these are ga kinds of interpretations of these scenes. most of them saw a mike sad to be bidding his friends goodbye, you on the other hand, if you're trying to decipher what mike is thinking and what he's about, should probably be seeing something else.

everything you listed applying to both mike and will and definitely not to lucas and dustin (these two especially as way closer in age than like. steve and have way more scenes together) is something you should notice but alas- pretty girl eden was there to mock love at first though. even jonathan doesn't care for that haha i'll have to disagree on that being gay mike proof. if anything it's mike is a dirty little liar monologuing a lie proof.

i'll leave you with this : headcanons are cool, i don't care what you do with them. i hope you're having fun (i truly am) but *i* disagree it's as supported by canon as the gay hc. i, as in me myself and i, and if you disagree with me that is completely fine. you should be and feel free to do whatever you want with mike when you spin him around in your head for fun trying to understand who he is. but i will never not be confused by bi mike, as i think it is quite obvious he is gay.

[khyann]

i think you’re missing the fundamental fact that scott KNEW about the content ecto posted about.

if you read the doc from ecto, he was given a list of warnings before he followed and supported ectos blog, to which he AGREED

he absolutely was saving face by taking back his support and pretending like he didn’t know

also ecto literally got doxxed directly following the clip of scott retracting support and then when he was told what happened to ecto, told them to get over it as if it was just a bit of normal internet hate

being for/against proship doesn’t matter at this point, it’s basic human decency NOT to dox people. if anyone really cared about it they would have called the bloody police instead rather than putting on such a performance to ruin someone’s career

sorry, i know the original point of your post was about the scott hate and i kind of got off topic, but i have a lot of strong feelings about the situation lol

I perfectly understand having strong feelings on this situation because, yeah, it was a very fucked up mess and thank you for talking about this in a civilized manner. The point on Scott telling Ecto this was just normal internet hate being a bad move on his end and that is basic human decency to not dox someone are actually points that I agree with, and like I've said yeah he should have at least told his audience to not harass Ecto.

But Ecto was already getting doxxed before Scott addressed the situation. Scott addressed the situation on October 9 (even if he doesn't adress who "the artist" is by name, he should had asked his audience to not harass them, even the original account to out Ecto said to not harass them) while Ecto on their document mentions the account ectothrowaway2 on twitter was attempting to find their personal info on the night of the 7th and already getting doxxed on the 8th. (if you meant that the doxxing intensified after Scott's statement then that's a fair point of criticism towards him).

Posting dead dove/don't eat and being a proshipper can overlap on the aspect of dealing with problematic content but they aren't strictly the same. I know people who produce dead dove too might get hate for "condoning problematic content" even when is done from their own trauma or depicting said problematic content in the negative light it deserves. And I agree with the sentiment of not harassing someone of the ships they indulge, but there does come a point where things are not as acceptable (I don't mean by this that past some point is okay to harass someone, just that at some point it becomes something not as justifiable under the lenses of fiction being fiction). Proshipping saddly is a term often used by those who are actually fine with shipping stuff such as underage characters and adults, incest and other problematic dynamics (I myself was not aware of the non-harassing part of the proshipping stance until this situation). What I mean is that they are not 100% mutually inclusive, you can make dead dove content and still think shipping problematic stuff the same way you ship non-problematic stuff is wrong.

Had Ecto mentioned right away they are a proshipper and Scott shown to have no problem with that until this whole situation then he would have absolutely been trying to save face. Ecto themselves mention the user who called them out found their NSFW account through Scott's following list so is not like he kept it a secret that he was following a NSFW artist, especially given the fact Ecto themself would put screenshots of his and Sausage's interactions with their art.

My point on Scott getting so much criticism when he did originally mean to help while Sausage, who was way closer to Ecto than Scott, did nothing yet he hasn't received as much criticism still stands. Sausage has been shouting out Ecto ever since Empires S2 if i recall correctly, they are as known in his community as E. Yet we had no word from him in this whole situation.

Scott deserves criticism for how he acted in this situation, yes, especially when talking to Ecto he should have been more tactful when talking with them in private too. But I don't think the situation is as black and white as him retracting his support for Ecto because it was inconvenient to him. I was disappointed in him too when this first started, him and Sausage, and only retracted my support after actually leaving Ecto messages and comments of support about 2 weeks later when I found out they are a proshipper, and tho I agree (hell even the user who originally called them out agreed this got out of hand) this was too much, I didn't feel comfortable supporting someone who stood for something I don't agree with.

EDIT cuz i realize i got off topic too

Yes, Ecto didnt deserve all this hate and frankly dangerous treatment towards them. Harassing someone to the point to have to be put on a suicide watch and their carreer ruined this way just because on an opinion on how to deal with media is like deciding the best way to deal with a mosquito is launching a nuke at it. If you find out someone indulges in something you don't approve of the best action to take is to block them and, if necessary, report them. Not harassing, not sending death threats, not trying to find where they live, not NOTHING that happened here

Even the person who called Ecto out apologized despite not liking them because this situation was got out of hand. Harassment wasn't justified IN THE SLIGHTLESS AND SHAME ON ANYONE WHO ACTIVELY PARTICIPATED ON THAT BULLSHIT INSTEAD OF BEING MATURE AND SIMPLY BLOCKING THEM

[phantom-of-the-501st]

Thoughts on Joel's Decision

Okay... so the last episode of TLOU was... a lot. And obviously, one of the biggest questions to come out of it is did Joel do the right thing?

Now there's always gonna be people that don't agree and that's understandable but I'm just gonna drop where my brain is at with this show atm because oh boy is everything complicated.

Did Joel do the right thing?

To be blunt? No. But it all gets a lot more messy than this.

I think the best place to start is whether or not Joel prevented the end of the apocalypse and honestly speaking, I don't think so. Now I don't study medicine so I'm not going to claim that I'm an expert on making vaccinations, but the limited microbiology, bacteriology and virology that I've studied gives me I small idea on whether or not the Fireflies' plan was ever actually viable. And I don't think it was.

As of 2023, while there are a few in development, we do not have a single vaccination that can be used to treat fungal infections. Now seeing as we haven't been able to make one up until now, the chance of producing one during an apocalypse where technology hasn't been updated since 2003? Yeah... probably not going to happen. And even if they did have the facilities, I'm still not sure if it would even work. I don't have enough of an understanding of medicine to know if giving people specific signalling chemicals would work, but I'm a little iffy on the idea. The way that vaccinations work is by introducing the body to a pathogen (something that causes disease) in a form or dose that will not do a lot of damage, but will allow the body to learn how to fight it. But that's not the plan here. They aren't planning on creating a cure that will allow the body to fight off Cordyceps, they plan to make something that will trick the fungus into thinking that that person is already infected.

And I'm not entirely sure that that's possible.

But like I said, I'm not an expert on medicine so for the benefit of the doubt, let's say that they actually do make a cure. Hooray! This means that they can save the world right? ...right?

Errr... no. Even if the Fireflies did manage to make a cure, A) how are they planning to make enough of this cure to treat this many people? and B) how do they expect to transport this cure?

We have to remember that this is a global apocalypse. They would have to get this cure to everywhere on the planet where there are people who are at risk of being infected. Bearing I mind, medicines (especially vaccinations) have to be stored in specific conditions. Seeing as they are currently struggling to find food, I don't know how they plan to get enough equipment together to ship this cure off the right places and for it to still be in a good enough condition to be usable by the time it gets there. And then the cure has to be administered to enough people for it to prevent the outbreak from happening again. For this to happen, you need to reach herd immunity, which, depending on the thing being treated, requires between around 70-90% of the population being vaccinated.

I get that they wanted to find an end to the apocalypse, but I don't think that the Fireflies would have been able to produce a cure, make enough of it to vaccinate 70-90% of the population and then distribute it worldwide.

But even then, I still don't think that all of that justifies Joel's actions. Joel didn't go to find Ellie, guns blazing, because he had thought through the logistics of the Fireflies' plan. Someone was threatening to take his daughter away from him again and he snapped. Even if he didn't prevent the end of the apocalypse, he still killed a lot of people to protect one girl.

And the argument can't even be made that he did it for her. Sure, there would be a part of him that is rescuing her so that she doesn't have to go through those experiments and tests, but ultimately, he did it for himself. He tells Ellie earlier on in the episode that they don't need to to go through with it but she chooses to carry on. She doesn't want everything she did to be for nothing.

She made the choice to go through with the plan and Joel disobeyed her.

At the end of the day, what Joel did was selfish. Even if the plan to make a cure hadn't worked, he still went against the wishes of the person he was protecting and he did it for himself. And what's even worse, he lied to Ellie about what he had done because he knew that she wouldn't have agreed with him.

So no, I don't think Joel made the right choice.

But I don't hate him. There's a part of me that gets it. It's really hard to apply moral justification when we don't live in the world that these people do and every character in this show, including Joel is living with extreme trauma. We know how much the death of Sarah can trigger him, so it isn't surprising that this situation caused him to snap. It's understandable.

But I don't think that that makes him right.

[normal-looking-male]

So I may be coming in with either a cold take or overthinking things, or even worse, blatantly misinterpreting them, but I gotta ramble about my favourite song somewhere, so...

Okay, so, chorus one opens with the "cold breaking point" line, right when Katya gets out of the facility with Dima, they got a taste of freedom, fun times.

Chorus two opens with completely unrelated words, contemplating Dima's and/or Yura's viewpoint, but still, it's Katya deflecting from the situation, because she just can't give into the same negative mindset as Dima, she's clinging onto the hope that this will work out for her.

I can't remember where it was stated, but apparently Katya was starving in that little instrumental bit between the second and third choruses, where she was counting. I mostly just saw her sitting there, trying to calm down the bubbling constant anxiety of being found out, of her friends abandoning her if they find out about her whole mutation situation, of Dima being right.

Chorus thee goes right back to the "cold breaking point" lyrics, because just like that, with one decision Sergei made, her freedom, her chance at a normal life, was ripped away from her. How easy it would be now for her to go right back to where she started - in that exact facility that treated her like cattle. And then the second part of it just beats her down further, as if she hasn't suffered enough.

It is such a good and cruelly ironic knife twist - Dima was so insistent on avoiding humanity, justifiably distrustful, and he got a place to live, a girlfriend, an adult that protects him. And Katya, who risked her well-being, who tried so hard to establish friendly connections, had to hide out at an abandoned pool, with not really many people to rely on, besides herself, mostly taking the role of a reliable person for Yura. And she ended up in exactly the situation Dima thought they'd be in, while Dima himself is safe.

I'm very biased against Dima, honestly, but if I may add my few cents on the matter - I feel that even though he feels awful guilt for the whole situation, he wants to be as far away from it as possible. We've seen him scared, but in Convergence, at the "connection cable" line, he looks petrified. For the rest of the song he's justifiably angry at Yura for baiting him and Anya with Olya's well-being, but they don't really have any other option besides working together, and the contempt he feels for Yura is so clear in his expressions, it's great.

I reads to me as if he's not only genuinely worried about Olya's safety, but himself as well, and really wants to wipe his hands clean of this mess, even if it means Katya's pretty much screwed. And I love it! He's by no means a terrible person, neither him nor Katya should have to deal with this in the first place, but it is what it is, and I'm on the "narrator's" side here every time he's called a coward.

I got off-track, back to the song- I think it stands out in how... Heavy? It sounds? To me it reads a lot like a violently beating heart, combined with violent electricty just waiting to break out. It feels like Katya's in a constant battle to keep her emotions under control, and just barely contain her own destructive abilities, that could cost her, if not her own discovery and capture, then someone else's life. And the way the instrumental is pretty smooth and relaxed during the verses, but the snares and louder noises pick up as dread, excitement, or desperation kicks in. GOOD SONG!!

[playingpretender]

story time under the cut

today i tried to improv mormor with someone, and i started out by sending them a copy/paste prompt. the other person's responses were pretty aggressive, ('get fucked', 'I won't listen to you', 'don't be a nag') which threw me off a little - but i figured it was a narratively cogent response to jim's fear of emotional vulnerability - and that if we escalated the conflict between him and sebastian, we would come to an interesting scene (my intention is usually to move from texts to paragraphs).

i say that but i also got this feeling multiple times throughout the text-based roleplaying that they weren't engaging with me in the same way i was with them. for example, right at the beginning, they accused my character of acting this way due to wanting a relationship - which struck me as kind of meta and 4th wall breaking, since we were both on the tag for this pairing and both knew, as the writers, that the big picture story is our characters' relationship, their romance. me personally, i don't like to draw back the curtain that way. maybe they just wanted to have sebastian be perceptive and accustomed to jim's behavior, but even then, dropping that in the first couple messages puts me in an awkward position. now, the subtlety of my character's romantic attraction is no longer mine to decide. it has to be obvious enough that sebastian picked up on it, and picked up on it before they started talking.

so i decided to take kind of an overbearing/possessive/authoritative approach in response, to justify an employer having a very vocal attraction to one of his employees (for those not in the know of my millions of readers, mormor is the relationship between the villain Moriarty and his henchman Moran, Jim and Sebastian respectively) this was also in the hopes of forcing resolution through conflict.

we arrived at the zenith of the argument, and i asked them ooc if they wanted to continue and they just disconnected. which isn't bad inherently whatsoever. it is good to leave when you want to. but, it left me with this really bad feeling - i guess because we'd been writing for almost half an hour and during that time, i never knew how they felt about it, but i was sensing rejection (adhd king here) . so when they disconnected it was like that rejection was made real....

i think that my response here was impacted by my mental illness, but i want to also consider that it was still a tangible rejection. we had sketched out the dynamic between our characters, and neither of us enjoyed it, so it ended. this is something i've been on both sides of many, many times. i mean, who hasn't gotten weirdly bitchy with a stranger on omegle or rolechat once in their lifetime. or tried a roleplay that didn't work out. or had to suddenly tap out of a scene unexpectedly. it's life

[navree]

Have you seen the theories that jace will support b&c theirs not point putting actual stock in fandom theories but it'd be a intresting way to give him a actual personality also out of all of rhaenyra's kids he's the most intresting choice to make into a asshole

I haven't seen it but to be entirely honest I'd be surprised if they do that. There has been a lot of effort put into trying to make Jace seem like this good, honorable, just king to be, a proto-Robb, a "oh isn't it so tragic that he never got to sit the Iron Throne" figure. It doesn't work because the writing is bad and doesn't work, but there's clearly an attempt. He's a protective older brother (allegedly), he's a defender of innocents to the point where even cousins he's never met before go to him for help (you know, so he can start a fight against someone who did nothing wrong and escalate it into violence and then be surprised when he and his dumbass little brother nearly killed someone due to their stupidity, at least Baela and Rhaena are allowed to be irrational due to grief, what's this moron's excuse for his actions on Driftmark?), he's studious and dutiful as seen in the way he's trying to learn High Valyrian (and still hasn't gotten it despite being a full adult by the standards of his time, those Strong genes gave him his hair but certainly not a brain), he's an honorable and kind person because he danced with Helaena that one time (as part of a pissing match with another dude and shows no care or concern for her and NO dumbass fans I'm sorry but Jace marrying Helaena wouldn't have solved anything she still would have ended up in danger and probably still suffered just as badly, just a bit later in life), he's a good leader because he came up with the idea to have the dragonriders fly to deliver Rhaenyra's terms to the realm (so am I allowed to say that he killed Lucerys? cuz I can say it if I'm feeling mean enough), he doesn't cheat on Baela with Sara Snow or even Cregan, he's all upsetti-spaghetti that his boring ass cardboard cut out of a brother got made a meal out of (can't imagine why considering that we saw one (1) single solitary scene together that wasn't even about them but about re-introducing Aemond and also Luke was such a nothing character that I remain impressed anyone feels anything about his absence). So him being on board with Blood and Cheese doesn't really fit into the characterization they've tried to give him and the version of him they're trying to impart on the audience.

What I'd honestly expect would potentially be the opposite. Rhaenyra, after some initial horror, likely trying to justify Blood and Cheese to herself, saying it's the cost of war, the Greens brought it on themselves, Daemon and Mysaria went rogue, the assassins clearly went off the rails so it's not really on her anyway, and Jace being the one firmly against it. Jace, who actually does know Alicent's kids better because they're of an age, Jace who remembers growing up with Helaena, Jace who used to hang out with and like Aegon, who looked to him for reassurance and guidance almost the way one might an older brother. And Jace is absolutely disgusted with what happened, and given that we saw some Looks he gave Daemon season 1, pushing very hard for Daemon to be brought to task for what he's wrought, only for Rhaenyra to say no (either due to legitimately not considering it a big enough deal or not wanting to turn her strongest military asset against her). And therein comes any rift, Jace doing his "honorable heir" thing and being appalled that nobody is seeing this for the crime that it is, and also completely unjustifiable considering how it has nothing to do with what happened to Luke anyway and coming into conflict over Rhaenyra essentially endorsing this and becoming complicit in her silence. I had an anon theorize about this a while back (like, November 2022 while back), but that could also create the opportunity for a wider rift with Rhaenyra in general, with Jace feeling like Rhaenyra's created a lot of problems that have had material consequences for him, like the loss of his boring ass brother, and trying to take her to task for it and this creating conflict (with an extra helping of Pain if they never resolve it before he gets punctured like a porcupine).

Now, do I think any of this is gonna happen the way I've lined out? Honestly no, after last week I do not trust these writers for shit and I do not believe that anything that comes out of this show is going to be good. There's a reason why it's Superman Summer for me and I'm gearing up to watch MAWS today rather than 2x02 (tho I will be on the lookout for grieving Aegon clips, I'm down for that). But I think my interpretation is a bit more likely than Jace being on board with Blood and Cheese.

[theamazingmaddyas]

But I gave you evidence of more symptoms present in Nico's character? Like, yes, flashbacks and nightmares are the most prevelant in the narrative, but I didn't really stretch the narrative to find the other criterium, they're very strongly alluded to. And I think you're forgetting the story is from Apollo's POV, not Nico's, so how in depth we can go is depended solely on Apollo's knowledge. Like, I said, I will not be speaking on how accurate the rep is, but I've given you all the criterium and where he's met it, and I wouldn't say I extrapolated most of it. Much of it just comes from common subtext, ie, the irrirability is extremely present throughout TON but especially in the scene following where you quoted (ie, his apple rotting unintentionally) Also note, I'm not talking about Nico's anger at Will for leaving out a line of the prophesy, that was justified, and something that they had to work out (off page, because if I'm being honest, I would not want to read a scene of them getting over their miscommunication from the POV of one of the character's fathers.) But, I'll admit Will was definitely in the wrong for that.

And yes, I know he's not a toddler, but he's still a kid? He's fifteen, sixteen at most. And repetitively being placed in trauma does grow you up prematuraly but rarely is that in a healthy way. Maybe Will is a jerk, as you eloquently put it, maybe he's not, but his age, and everyone's age, should still be noted. Not everyone has healthy outlets for trauma, and Will's, based on context, is taking control of situations (especially under medical juristicion) to the point where he seems mean. Is that healthy? No. But I don't think that makes him a bad person (character) but rather a realistic teen that has character growth to do. Like you said, the narrative mentions Will to be kind (my first thought is him buying Apollo clothes in TON), and I think that he tries to be but stress makes it hard. Having to do it constantly doesn't negate that fact.

As for Will telling Apollo without a scene of Nico giving explicit permission, I have always read that scene as Will having prior permission to tell Apollo from Nico off screen, though I may be off base with that. It makes sense to me that Nico and Will would have had a conversation about telling Apollo since Apollo is heavily involved, but I get that could be interpreted otherwise. HIPPA is very important, and maybe we should've gotten a scene where Nico says it's okay, but Apollo hasn't seen Nico since he ran away when Jason's death was confirmed when this scene takes place because Apollo passes out right away and the next day Nico is eating breakfast with Mr. D, so there really isn't a time for Will to have asked Nico on page as the novel is now.

Also, it's not too out there to think that Nico and Will would have talked about it when they talked about the poem prophecy, especially since at no point in TON Nico seems surprised that Apollo seems to know about his PTSD.

Though, I must admit doing it at breakfast where Kayla cam listen in (and, Austin, Jerry, Yan, and Gracie) isn't the best move on Will's part unless we assume they already know, but I have no evidence that sways either way in that case.

And I like doing this research and deep dive into their characters. I wouldn't have studied psych and english if I didn't, so I'm not wasting my time. I'm having a great time looking into deeper motives and examining their personalities. But, at the end of the day, we both can be right, because both Nico and Will are fictional characters whom we are just dissecting through reader response theory and psychoanalytic theory (both of which I am mostly using to dissect my argument) if I know one thing about Critical Methods and the study of analysing literature is that every person has a different view, and comprehend things differently.

That being said, I have been enjoying learning about your point of view and how your comprehending the media, even if it differs from my own. I believe I am picking up the subtext that you are getting annoyed at wasting your time with me, and for that I am sorry, but if you are willing, I can continue talking about this. I sort of do this type of analyses and research for fun, even if I usually don't post them.

@reblogdumpforme

I'm prolly going to get flamed for this, but I'm actually sick and tired of people defending Rick's tokenist queer rep. I feel it is insulting to authors who genuinely write good LGBTQ+ characters.

Now let's take Nico, for eg. People pull out wildest mental gymnastics to make sense of his implied,small PJO crushes on Juniper and Annabeth. Rick retconned it later (nvm the fact that he forcibly and violently outed his first gay character, and basically treated the said outing as a plot point to convey that he's gay...)

But anyways, whenever you try to explain it's tokenist, people say "oh he was blushing around Juniper because Percy was right there!"....yeah, like totally...his so-called crush invited him to his (Percy's) birthday, and Nico didn't even bat an eyelash, yet I'm supposed to believe he's blushing around a random girl because Percy's standing there? Like how does that even make sense...?

Personally, I also feel so miffed that he turned Nico's deep, beautiful platonic love into a crush. (Call me biased if you like; I'm aspec so I always feel put-off when people pretend that platonic love can't be as deep as romantic love).

Also, If that interaction with Annabeth in BotL is brought up, arguments are "oh, he misses his sister"... honestly, it was written like a crush:

Anyways, I'm sorry if this came across as offensive; I'm willing to hear your constructive criticism. This is just an opinion.

Lastly, I'd like to add that Bi and bispec people exist, and Rick could've considered that.

[bossferatu]

the characterization in this episode was off the charts.

we saw a lot of how each of the party views violence, what lines they have in regards to that.

to Rey it is a release. His beast is like a visceral itch under his skin, and so far we've only seen it scratched by violence. As much as he doesn't seem the typical Gangrel, his impulsive tendency to violence is about as aligned with his clan as he ever gets.

What's interesting about this is how he CANNOT handle the consequences of his violence. He can't deal with the aftermath of satisfying his basest urges. We saw this with Shaun (Sean?) and how he now mistrusts Fuego, despite how eagerly and without hesitation he satisfied his hunger.

Rey hasn't yet comes to terms with the violence he so craves, and he puts no forethought into what the consequences to his actions might be.

to Fuego it is power over a situation. We've seen before how she envies Rey's physical strength. She sees that as power. As ability to impose her will over others, much like her ability to Mesmerize.

She still sees herself as a superhero, as someone good, someone defending her home. She thinks she is right, that her choices and wants are more noble or better than others. But that's not why she does it, that's just her own excuse to herself. From what I've seen, she uses her 'morality' as an excuse to exert power without feeling bad. She hates being called a 'landlord' but doesn't hesitate to use Lingering Kiss on Shye, essentially getting them addicted to her kiss, just so she can keep feeding.

She doesn't think of consequences, only reacting according to her righteous impulse. She is classic Ventrue, seeking to push her power on others. She, unlike most Ventrue, seeks to protect what's important to her, but that doesn't make what she does good.

Fuego is one of the most complex vampires I've ever seen, and endlessly compelling, but she isn't a hero. She's ignorant to what danger she's constantly putting herself and all those closest to her in. And that makes her incredibly interesting and possibly my favorite character of this chronicle.

Serif is a little more difficult to gauge, from this episode, but it's clear to see that she has clear boundaries. She hasn't directly engaged in much violence this chronicle, standing by while the others take the more physical approach.

however, what we do get to see from her is her boundaries when it comes to ghouls. We already knew she was sensitive about the admittedly incredibly morally (dark) grey area in which ghouls operate. She doesn't seem to care much whether or not the coterie kills one of the security guards, but the second Rey wants to use his Vitae to save the other, she has a big reaction.

something that this implies, to me, is that she's not particularly concerned with the morality of it, or she wouldn't be, if not for her personal experience with ghouls. When Angela expresses contentment with her life, her choice, and with Isaac as her 'employer', Serif is upset. In fact, she's the same level of upset as she is when Rey gives the security guard NO CHOICE. This, to me shows that it's just the principle, the existence of ghouls which upsets her, not the actual morality of the situation surrounding creating one.

like Fuego, she uses morality to justify her own impulse and reactions, not the other way around. As much as she likes to believe it is a moral code that rules her actions, she is using it as an excuse.

this is not to say that these two are not some of the most (seemingly) moral kindred we will likely see. They both contain great capacity for kindness and humanity, but they are not as morally pure as they'd like to think.

to Isaac, I think it's clear that violence is a means to an end. He's pragmatic to a fault, and wouldn't needlessly endanger him and his in order to enact violence. He's the most reasonable of the group in that aspect thus far, and that's unsurprising, considering the situation he finds himself in.

he knows what dangers lurk for Kindred, and as a Tzimisce in Anarch territory very close to the Camarilla, he's in an even more precarious position than any of the other members of the Coterie. It occurs to me that while he's mentioned Shrecknet and how humans took it down, the others have no idea what danger the Second Inquisition poses. They haven't even really been informed about the Masquerade and WHY it exists.

he is now affiliated with this Coterie, partially in charge of the area they're in, and will be held EXTREMELY responsible for any breaks in the Masquerade. Already distrusted by the Anarchs, Isaac has no room for messy violence, even if it happened to be in his nature.

unlike the others, it doesn't seem like he's ruled by impulse, nor by morality. He is logical and pragmatic, or so he seems so far. It makes perfect sense that he should be furious or annoyed at the rest of the Coterie. He's the only one who understands the gravity of the situation in its fullness (or so it seems). And now, he has to clean up a big mess.

we'll see in future episodes, but here are my two cents about what the violence in this episode tells us about our new lil baby coterie. I for one was surprised that the shoe dropped so early, though I shouldn't have been, the tension has been piling up so quickly.