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#can we please acknowledge character flaws <3
chaosxcrushed · 6 months
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There's a certain CCCC summary video that we really, really like. We think it is a great video for people if they want to grasp the story more clearly, if they're confused, or if they're listening to the album for the first time.
That video being Chonny Jash and the Weight of the Mind on Youtube by W3tBl@nk3t. We think they cover it really well.
However, I'm sharing this for a different reason; they say few certain things that really struck with us until now, that I'd like to share with the fandom. Sometimes, we see people really just.. Miss the point of CCCC entirely, and I'd like to shine a light on what was said here. If you'd like to hear this for yourself on video, the timestamp is 35:57-36:45.
“..I bet we all could relate to that, they are the prime example of the side of you that suffers and the side of you that hates yourself for suffering:
The side of you that just wants to slow down and feel everything even to the unhealthy extent of not being able to do anything else(1), but also the side of you that so desperately wants you to get over it(2).
Sure, laying in bed all day every day to rot isn't healthy, but neither is boiling things down and invalidating your own emotions. Both are paths to inevitable disaster, and that's what Chonny is doing here. Keep in mind that the idea behind this album is being whole, and that means neither of these sides are entirely in the right or the wrong; this album is about inner compromise and acceptance(3).”
1.) The side of you that suffers; Heart. He is representative of Whole's emotions, he holds them. Your emotions can go haywire, especially when one's mentally ill and has no way of their feelings being validated. An emotional person like Heart suffers under the weight of crushing, devastating feelings. He wants to feel things out, have time to just process everything, even if it takes them days or weeks to get over it. It's not healthy, but feeling is what he does, and he wants to help because he knows he has importance. Solely focusing on just your emotions isn't the best thing to do, however.
2.) The side of you that so desperately wants you to get over it; Mind. Many people have been there, have wanted themselves to stop wallowing in their own emotions and just do something else, even to the point where you think feeling things out is unnecessary. This is also unhealthy, but not intentionally. Like Heart, Mind just wants to help, everything he does is in best interest. This is what he thinks will get them to move on the quickest; to leave behind emotions and focus on anything BUT that. Also not the best thing to do.
3.) This album is about inner compromise and acceptance; About being whole. Neither of Heart and Mind are right nor wrong. They have their own ways of doing things, of what they think will help their whole self out the most, but both are unhealthy despite the good intentions. They fight over who's wrong or right, when they shouldn't even be doing so in the first place. It's your thoughts against your emotions, basically; your feelings contradict your thoughts, and it leads to an inner war of sorts. This won't make things better, which is why you can't have Mind over Heart or vice versa; you'll need both of them. In the album, they are only able to be whole when they get along. They harmonize, they 'combine', they see eye to eye with each other and work together instead of fighting over and over. Inner compromise is achieved with this, and acceptance can lead them away from any disaster that there's to come.
What we're trying to say is that mental health is a large thing tackled within CCCC, and yet we see a lot of people who overlook it; thus, end up missing the point of the whole album. We see a lot of people believe Mind's perspective a little too much and treat Heart quite harshly, or the other way where people demonize Mind and say that Heart is perfect, when it's not really that in the slightest.
This is not a hate post towards people's interpretations of CCCC or how they view characters, I'm just saying that people can tend to overlook what's in the very narrative, and we see a concerning amount of people do such.
Anyways. Stream CCCC and put your Hearts and Minds in the get along shirt. Have a nice day.
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sunbunnyyy · 11 days
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i know i just got here, but seeing all of the laughably bad takes from both sides of the spectrum is convincing me that no, i don’t actually need to be on social media again.
#this is about mdzs fandom discourse#this is a jc/jiggy support blog#but#they did bad things and made bad choices and i love that about them#i can acknowledge their bad choices and their flaws and still like them#but hooooooly fuck#the jc/jiggy/XICHEN antis drive me fucking banana nut bonkers#there are valid reasons to dislike all 3 of those characters and somehow you have created ones that are so far from reality i cannot believe#that we read the same book#or watched the same shows#1. get some reading comprehension i beg you#2. for the love of fucking god please like. find some god damn joy in your lives and stop giving a fuck about characters you don’t like#2.5 and people who like characters you don’t like#2.75 and i know that’s kind of blasse of me to say in the tags of a post griping abt people griping abt characters they don’t like#3. just??? go find joy? touch grass?? not everything is about you and your terrible reading comprehension#4. stop assuming that your way is the right way#5. the puritanical bullshit of protagonist inherently good is really getting old#i am begging you to do any modicum of research into the concept of antiheroes#it will broaden your horizons i prommy#not everything is about blorbos being all good all the time#your blorbo is not free of sin#(unless it’s sizhui. sizhui is always free of sin)#anyway i think imma delete tumblr. the algorithm keeps showing me anti posts and im old and tired#no discourse here pls and thanks#moots dm for discord if u wanna
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evilbihan · 7 months
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Bi-Han is an honorable man
I can't believe that I'm making yet another post pointing out the obvious but every time I go into a Youtube comment section I'm starting to question whether me and the rest of the Mortal Kombat fandom have even played the same game.
1. He shows opponents mercy
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Sub-Zero: You want peace? Let us be. Liu Kang: The Lin Kuei's sins aren't easily forgiven.
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Sub-Zero: Surrender and Shao will show mercy. Mileena: If you believe that, you're a fool.
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Sub-Zero: Walk away while you can. Raiden: I'll never give up, never surrender.
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Sub-Zero: I won't hold back, Brother. Scorpion: Do your worst.
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Sub-Zero: We have no cause for dispute. Kitana: You aided Shao's attempt to steal the throne!
These dialogues honestly speak for themselves already, they don't even need explaining. Compare that to actual villains like General Shao who sends Reiko after Bi-Han to kill him simply because he "doesn't like loose ends" even after Bi-Han saved him or Shang Tsung who killed Reptile's family out of nothing but sheer cruelty.
The fact that Bi-Han is willing to let people walk away from a fight, that he gives them a chance to walk away alive, speaks volumes about his personality. He warns his opponents in his intros and even during his end of round taunts ("Flee now and live."), he tries to solve things peacefully and without violence if possible. He's not bloodthirsty, malicious or eager to kill anyone, but will do so if given no other choice.
Despite Bi-Han's flaws, a man willing to show an opponent mercy is an honorable man. SPOILERS AHEAD: May I again remind you that Kuai Liang is not willing to show a defeated and dying Bi-Han mercy when he gets turned into Noob against his will? Not only that, but Kuai Liang wouldn't have hesitated to kill Frost who is probably around Hanzo's age at his own wedding if Harumi hadn't stepped in to save her. Harumi had to beg Kuai Liang to show someone mercy, while Bi-Han grants it without a second thought. Like it or not, at least in that one aspect, Bi-Han is the better man.
I don't know why some people think of him as this aggressive guy going around trying to pick fights with everyone when all he wants is to be left alone? It's wild to me how people think he's the problem here.
2. He respects/admires their fighting skills
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Sub-Zero: You will surely test my might. Ashrah: I will overwhelm it, Sub-Zero.
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Sub-Zero: This fight I will long remember. General Shao: Who says you will survive it?
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Sub-Zero: I'm pleased to fight Outworld's foremost mage. Rain: Will it also please you to lose?
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Sub-Zero: I hear your skills are formidable. Li Mei: As are those of all who have been Umgadi.
Can we also talk about how respectful Bi-Han is towards his opponents? He compliments them on their skills as opposed to Kuai Liang who even talks down to his own allies. Yes, Bi-Han is arrogant, but he can still acknowledge other people's strengths and respect them, even if they are his foes.
3. He admits when he's wrong
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Sub-Zero: I was wrong to trust you. General Shao: Yes, Earthrealmer. You were.
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Sub-Zero: I wasn't aware of Shang Tsung's experiments. Liu Kang: Had you known, would your choice have been different?
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Sub-Zero: Your mother's death is regrettable. Kitana: I consider you complicit, Bi-Han.
You can say what you want about him, but he certainly takes responsibility for his actions and even shows regret over some of them. Bi-Han might not be the most compassionate character, but he does express some sympathy towards others. Compare that to Kuai Liang who tells Havik it's his own fault that his face was burned off as if he had nothing to do with it. Yes, Bi-Han doesn't show much sympathy towards Baraka for his condition, but neither does Kuai Liang. Why Kuai Liang is still considered the more honorable brother regardless of that and his very obvious ableism, is beyond me.
Bi-Han's good traits are all too often overlooked. I don't know if it's because people don't pay attention to intros, but it's so easy to see he's not a bad person deep down. It's just the media comprehension skills of most MK fans that are seriously lacking.
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intrulogical · 9 months
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🍊: The Semantics of The Orange Side
Explaining his function, understanding his role in the narrative, and debunking/dissecting common notions about the Orange Side.
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To be honest, this essay was inevitable. I've had thoughts about Orange brewing since 2020, but only recently has it developed into something more concrete. For the longest time, most meta surrounding Orange began with theories about his role as a side, then extended towards narrative and side mechanics later on. I, for one, have been a victim of this pattern. 
Then, I realized that asking who Orange is is a terrible opener for theories.
There are many important questions glossed over if we start that way. For example, what is Orange's role in the overarching theme of combating black-and-white thinking? What does it mean for Orange to be a side? Who is he in the context of the Dark Sides? There are many crucial things to consider when it comes to predicting who Orange is, and I feel like concrete theories can only be made if we can establish the semantics of how Orange works.
This essay definitely won't be perfect— this is literally my second draft— but I will try my best making it in a way that flows, somehow. Some sections will discuss general ideas I have, some will try to dissec popular preconceived notions to reorient our logic surrounding Orange. As always, I'm open to discussion! My words aren't gospel.
Important notes: All mentions of Thomas refer to him as a character. Moreover, I acknowledge that Remus is a flawed depiction of intrusive thoughts. Technically, he acts more of a mix of intrusive thoughts, forbidden creativity, and impulsive thoughts. Because of this, when I talk about Remus in the context of his role, please be assured that I am talking about all his functions at once, not just intrusive thoughts. 
(Full essay under the cut! I worked hard on this, so I'd definitely appreciate the read. <3)
i. Orange as a Dark Side
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The ways fans have characterized and defined Orange has always seemed to be rooted in their perception of what being a “Dark” Side is. That is— they are edgy, and somewhat suppressed. They are more “morally questionable” compared to the rest. More fics would even go as far as depicting Orange as morally black, in that he has no role in the narrative other than being a stirring force of conflict; a villain that needs to be defeated.
It is unfortunate to see such a surface level perspective on who the “Dark” Sides are and what they mean as an oppositional force to the “Light” Sides.
My stance on the “Dark” and “Light” sides has always been the same (if you read my past essays, you'll know). Like what Logan said in CLBG, the labels are arbitrary because no side can be argued to be “good” or “bad”. Although, it would be a complete lie for me to say there's no distinction. Rather, Thomas’ black-and-white thinking literally created one. But the distinction does not lie within the sides’ morals, rather it lies in how big their influence is on Thomas. Because the “Light” Sides are welcomed, Thomas will entertain their contributions more than the sides Thomas considers as “bad” or “taboo”.
In my opinion, Orange being morally black makes no sense in a series that is a.) thematically focused on dismantling black-and-white thinking, and b.) a man vs. self conflict. The villain is the problem of Thomas not being able to cope with his mental struggles properly. It would be odd to blame a portion of his brain as the evil of all evils. Although, I'd like to clarify that while Orange most likely wouldn't be morally black, it wouldn't be a surprise to me if he is just as dubious and mischievous as the other “Dark” Sides. After all, if they are the most suppressed sides, they would have to stick to unconventional tactics (aka looking scary) to get Thomas’ attention.
I'll explain more later when I get into what I think Orange actually does as a side. For now, I want to focus on Orange in the context of the “Dark” Sides, because I genuinely think it's an overlooked idea! While nothing is explicitly confirmed, the “Dark” Sides are implied to know something the other characters and we, the audience, don't know about. 
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Janus and Remus share this sense of meticulousness. They always feel like they're scheming something. Janus, for example, took his time from CLBG to SVS.R to successfully impart to Thomas that acting out of self-interest isn't the worst thing in the world, especially if your mental health is crumbling. Remus is even in on this plan, although his motivations for assisting Janus aren’t actually explicitly expressed yet. Even if Remus wanted to challenge Logan's self-restraint in WTIT to prove how much it was harming Thomas’ long-term mental health, we still don't know if Remus is doing it out of care for Thomas, or just… ‘cus. Either way, it's important to know that whatever Remus is doing seems to point to the same direction Janus is going, which is to break Thomas’ black-and-white thinking.
Assuming Orange is another “Dark” Side, it feels crucial to understand who Orange is in the context of this undisclosed plan. More than anything, because the “Dark” Sides want to be heard, it would make sense if they unionize to achieve that goal together. If they dismantle Thomas’ horrid perception of them, then all three of them would benefit. Thus, it would make no sense for Orange, if he were not morally black, to act solely out of individual interest. Yes, the “Dark” Sides seem to be introducing themselves one by one, but I feel like that's because a.) narratively, it's to pace, b.) it would scare Thomas for three strangers to pop up to him only for them to be shunned as a collective by the “Light” Sides, and c.) Janus and Remus seem to be performing specific roles in this overarching plan, so while they work separately, it's mostly for the same cause.
So, what does that mean, exactly? Like I said, the “Dark” Sides have an overall goal of being heard, strengthening Thomas’ mental wellbeing, and breaking his black-and-white thinking. If my theory is correct in assuming each “Dark” Side has a specific role for this plan, then pinpointing Janus and Remus’ roles may help us factor out Orange's role.
Here's what I deduced: Janus is there as some kind of soft launch, to set the principle. Janus mirrors Patton in that sense, although in the opposite direction. He breaks apart Thomas’ preconceived notions of the world and bandages it with better, more nuanced foundations. On the other hand, Remus somewhat acts like an alarm clock. While not all his contributions are worthwhile, his mere presence is a reminder that something has to be done. In the series, it's to cater to his deteriorating mental health. He checks if the principles Janus provides aren't being followed, and makes a good fucking clamor about it if it doesn't.
Orange, I'd argue, serves as a means for Thomas to externalize these principles. It would make sense that the last thing Thomas would need to do is to put everything into action. Janus points out how one can be disenfranchised, Remus points out when he is being disenfranchised, and Orange ensures Thomas can express his discomfort when he is disenfranchised. Makes sense, right?
Speaking of externalization.
ii. Personal and Narrative Purpose
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If you’re a fan that pre-dates the release of WTIT, you're well-acquainted with the idea that Orange represents Rage or Wrath. This theory came about in cahoots with an old notion that each “Dark” Side needs to have a “Light” Side counterpart, especially if you share complementary colors. Thus, many people assumed that Orange is Logan’s foil. Consequently, most interpretations of Orange depict him as emotion-centric, specifically Rage, as that’s what most people assume is an oppositional force against logic. Moreover, because a portion of Logan’s arc revolves around accepting one’s emotions, it would make sense if Orange, as an emotion-centric side, would be part of that. We’ve gotten two hints from the series itself that confirms this: 1.) a fight sequence in SVS.R showing “Blinding Rage” as one of Thomas’ attacking options, and 2.) the infamous orange eyes in WTIT that appeared when both Thomas and Logan felt angry simultaneously. 
What’s funny is, if you really think about it, we literally only have two pieces of evidence that point to this widely accepted fan theory. Although, unlike the previous section, I’m more inclined to actually believe these theories because it… does make sense! Especially narrative-wise. At the moment, miscommunication amongst the sides are at an all-time high. This is mostly because each side refuses to express their thoughts, especially since they’re at the midst of a complete paradigm shift in terms of morality and principles. Everything’s just a little too fragile, and it does not help that Thomas’ mental health is also at the brink. After SVS.R, the sides have acknowledged Thomas is on edge, but they’re still doing nothing concrete to actually fix it.
WTIT is my favorite episode of the series because it encapsulates the entire conflict so well. While Logan isn’t perfect, much of the useful suggestions he provided since DWIT never last past the moment he suggested them. Did Thomas ever see a therapist? Not really. Did Thomas find someone to talk about his issues with? Doesn't seem like it. Is Thomas taking his time with his mental health recovery? Nope. More than anything, the “Light” Sides and Thomas are very reactionary towards their problems. It’s even worse when you consider that Thomas is opting to pursue a relationship in the middle of this mess. WTIT showing us Thomas getting irrationally angry at Nico for not replying to his texts is… an interesting Chekhov’s Gun for future episodes, lemme tell you that.
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Now, why am I relaying all this? It’s mostly to prove that something, or someone, needs to snap. There are grievances between the sides and Thomas that they are consciously suppressing that need out. Roman, Logan, and Thomas, specifically, need some sort of outlet for their frustrations— a way to justify them, in a sense. Logan’s eyes glowing orange while he snapped at Remus speaks so loudly of what Orange may offer. Externalization, justice, “cathartic release,” as my friend Orb (@orbmanson7) put it. Presently, Orange as an externalizing force is needed so they can actually do something about this damn issue! 
And if not, I also see Orange’s role similarly to Remus’. As I’ve explained earlier, Remus’ presence acts as an alarm clock for Thomas to be aware of his deteriorating mental health. If Orange isn’t there to assist in an all-encompassing externalization of a side or Thomas’ deepest grievances, the mere presence of Orange as an emotional force can act as another kind of alarm clock. What I mean is, if we’re feeling mentally low, for example, we don’t need to express our grievances in the most eloquent way possible. Sometimes we just need to get angry. To cry, to shout nonsense. And that alone would be enough to prove that we need help. We need to do something about this. 
To summarize, I think most depictions connecting Orange to emotional externalization are not off. There’s a lot of objectivity surrounding it, both when it comes to the narrative and his semantics as a side. We need a driving force that can topple the sides and Thomas over the edge to fully process the depth of Thomas’ mental health issues. 
But, how does he, a supposedly, emotion-centric side, differ from Patton?
iii. Orange’s True Identity
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Now that we laid our foundations, I think it would be a good time to entertain the question of: well, who is Orange?
Truth is, I have my own guess on what I believe Orange to be, but I cannot say my opinion is conclusive. My theories on Orange literally change every two months. So what I'll do, I suppose, is first, explain what makes a side a side. Then, I'll explain my own current predictions about Orange. Lastly, I'll list some popular fan theories I've heard about Orange and give you my thoughts.
a. What is a Side?
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First— what constitutes a side? To me, there is no real basis in the conception of a side. Like what my friend Orb once explained to me, the interactions between sides are mental processes personified. This doesn't mean we should simply view the sides as metaphors, by the way. They're a hundred percent characters in their own right. But what I mean by “process personified” is that if we view one of Thomas' conflicts on its own— as in, without the sides— can we imagine the mental processes he's undergoing? To make it clearer, let's use an example. In WTIT, we see Remus and Logan battle out on who gets to influence Thomas more. If we saw this without the sides, we can think of it like— imagine you're having a bad mental health day. You wanted to do a list of chores but your mind is in the gutters right now. You feel guilty because of your demotivation. You try doing what you planned, but you still suck at it, and now you're spiraling, thinking about every insecurity you have, but you're also trying to combat that by rationalizing it.
I'm not gonna say that this definition solves who Orange truly is, but it does help when it comes to understanding how the sides work. Another characteristic of a side would be their multifacetedness. No side embodies one thing alone. They can have roles that are adjacent to each other, but not the same thing. For example, Roman embodies both the ego and creativity. Not the same thing, but it works in tandem in Thomas’ context. Same goes for Remus with intrusive thoughts and dark creativity. It is important to entertain the idea that Orange can encompass more than one role. 
The last thing to consider would be the technical difference between a “Light” Side and a “Dark” Side. The division was created for Thomas to compartmentalize and suppress sides of himself that his Catholic upbringing taught him to believe is bad. If we assume Orange is a “Dark” Side, he must be embodying something typically thought of as taboo. 
b. Who is Orange?
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This brings us to our earlier question of, how does Patton differ from Orange if they both embody emotions? In DWIT, Logan confirms Remus was born from the categorization of certain thoughts as good or bad. I think it wouldn't be farfetched to suggest the same happened to Orange if he did embody emotions at a certain capacity. One of the biggest arguments I hear against this suggestion would be, if Patton already represents Thomas’ emotions, why do we need another side who does? The answer, again, lies in the themes of black-and-white thinking and compartmentalization. If Remus embodies the thought of committing a “sin”, Orange could possibly embody the actual emotions of wanting to do so. Anger is merely one possibility in Orange's roster of emotions. There are other emotions as well deemed “sinful” by Catholicism— pride, jealousy, hatred, greed, grief, etc. It would make sense that Patton would try omitting these out of himself when he was younger because he viewed them lowly.
So, what is my actual guess on who Orange is meant to embody? Well, I mean, I think my stance is pretty clear from the past 2500 words written literally before this. Simply put, if Remus is meant to embody forbidden thoughts, then Orange embodies forbidden emotions. Anger is merely one of many. He aids both Thomas and the other sides in externalizing strong emotions that seep past their efforts of suppression.
This is, of course, under the assumption that Orange is his own separate entity. I'm more inclined to believe this because Virgil confirms in CLBG that Janus has “Dark” Side friends (as in, plural). It also just feels more balanced this way if we consider the forbidden thoughts vis-a-vis forbidden emotions parallel to be true.
c. How could Logan be Orange?
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But, of course, I've also considered the possibility of Logan being Orange. It's not my theory of choice but as someone who was balls deep in this theory a few months ago, there's definitely some merit to it. Here's the link to the post if you want to read my theory in full. It's pretty lengthy, but to summarize: This theory operates under the assumption that Thomas’ suppression of certain sides (ie. making them a “Dark” Side) makes them develop an additional role— the role Thomas perceives them as. 
To explain better, let's use Remus as an example. Logan explained that, originally, Remus separated from Roman as Dark Creativity. Because Thomas refuses to entertain any creative thought he deemed bad, any suggestion provided by Remus was immediately labeled as intrusive. Thus, he became intrusive thoughts via Thomas’ low perception of him. Same goes for Janus, but to a lesser degree. As a side, he mostly acts out of the interest of Thomas, somewhat like self-preservation. But, because Catholic upbringing teaches that selfishness equates to evil, Thomas perceives Janus’ role of keeping things hidden as deceitful.
Thus, if Logan is Orange, then that means Logan’s role as logic is warping due to Thomas’ low perception of him. It’s no secret that Thomas views Logan as a “strict” side. In this scenario, I wouldn’t exactly say his additional role has something to do with externalization. Moreso, it has to do something with assertion or strict discipline. Think of an authoritative figure, like a teacher. Usually, when an authoritative teacher isn’t being respected in a class, they resort to meaner tactics like passive aggression, manipulation, etc. to impose their power. Logan doesn’t really transform into anything opposite to who he is as Logic. Rather, he has an additional role that coincides with Thomas’ perverted perception of logic. I’m not actually sure what this role is, but if I were to guess, it has something to do with restriction, discipline, or conformity. 
Narratively, Logan becoming a “Dark” Side makes sense when you realize that his entire character arc is about him losing his sense of self-assertion. I made an essay last year that explores this if you want something to read later. To explain, WDWGOOBITM establishes how it’s important for Thomas to balance his practicality (needs) and aspirational desires (wants) for him to function as a human being. At the same time, we get LNTAO where Logan realizes that he failed to contribute to the discussion as usefully as the other sides. This creates a scenario where Logan concedes a lot of the decision-making to Patton and Roman’s hands. The result: Logan’s presence is minimized. Even in the episodes where he “saves the day” (DWIT and the Frozen episode), Thomas refused to consider his suggestions until the latter halves of the episodes. WTIT emphasizes this even more when we see Thomas prioritize his date with Nico to keep himself happy instead of focusing on the chores he promised to do. Even if we don’t know if Roman had anything to do with this, it’s obvious Thomas is naturally more inclined to do things Patton and Roman would prefer than something Logan does.
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Thus, it makes sense that Logan becomes a “Dark” Side. But, and this is an important but, I don’t really agree with depictions of Logan suspending his role as logic to become a “Dark” Side. Logic is such an integral part of who we are as people, that even if you’re an intuition-focused person, you’d still have logical facilities in your head that connect one thing to another. Basic knowledge and all that. I can only see Logan be a completely new role if someone takes his place as Logic. Personally, I don’t like that idea, but you can make your own takeaways on this.
How “Dark” Sides are conceived would still be a mystery. The closest we’ve gotten to an explanation is Remus’ origin story, where he and Roman originally started as one creativity until they separated. In this sense, becoming a “Dark” Side didn’t really uproot Remus’ original role. He just changed a little. I’d like to assume the same for Logan, because if he is literally born as Thomas’ Logic, then he as a “Dark” Side would still have similar roles, just with minor changes.
d. Other Theories
Now with the main theories out of the way, let me speedrun through other theories I’ve heard and give my thoughts on it:
Procrastination: I feel like this is too surface-level for a side. As in, hHow would Procrastination justify itself to Thomas as a side that wants to help? Yes, Procrastination would be a good foil to Thomas, but Thomas’ inability to work doesn’t stem from Procrastination. It stems from bad solutions to his mental health crisis. Anyway, too cheap.
ADHD: This feels like… it’s prone to problematic territory. For real, ADHD is so multifaceted in itself, and is literally a disability? I think it makes more sense to have ADHD traits sprinkled amongst the sides rather than one character representing it as a whole. To make it its own guy is like suggesting the other six sides are divorced from Thomas’ ADHD characteristics, which feels wrong to me.
Hatred and any other suggestion that relates to “taboo” emotions: See my argument on Orange encapsulating forbidden emotions as a whole instead of Rage/Wrath on its own.
Justice: I actually liked this idea and sort of incorporated it with my idea of Orange as a means of externalization! To enact justice means to externalize your deepest desires— cathartic release. 
Regret: See: the last two points, since it’s very similar.
Repression: Your heart’s in the right place, but most theories that subscribe to this literally just describe Janus. Keeping things secret because you think it’s unbeneficial? That’s one of Janus’ roles. 
Insecurity: That is literally Remus’ role. While intrusive thoughts shouldn’t be viewed as meritable, intrusive thoughts base itself on a person’s sensitivities and insecurities. I also have an essay detailing how Remus is incredibly perceptive about everyone’s insecurities here.
That's about all the other theories I can recall, but if anyone else has other suggestions, send it to my inbox and I'll give you my thoughts. 
Now that we understand Orange's fundamentals and who he is as a side, the question to ask next is what is he capable of as a side?
iv. Powers and Influences
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Now we get to the part where I am! The most unsure about! As of the time I'm writing this, I literally just had a conversation with Orb trying to understand how Orange “possesses” Thomas and the sides, and nothing conclusive came out of it. Even if we are shown one instance of how Orange influences the others (ie. Logan's orange eyes), we actually do not know how that works at all. 
I suppose we can start by asking ourselves how Orange embodies forbidden emotions. I see his insistence for Thomas to perform a certain emotion similar to how Patton would do it. It's impulsive, reactionary. They undergo a situation, then they make Thomas feel an emotion they deem apt for that situation. The only reason Orange isn't utilized as much as Patton is because, of course, Patton is who Thomas is more familiar with. I'd also like to argue that the emotions Orange would possibly encapsulate aren't ones that are constantly expressed. Most of the time, we are in a state of happiness or contentment, emotions covered by Patton. If not, we experience sadness, another common emotion covered by Patton. I would imagine Orange's roster of emotions are only experienced rarely, or if put in a continuous dire situation. Immense anger, for example, would pop up if you feel continuously disenfranchised by something. See: Thomas’ mental health crisis.
Ergo, Orange allows Thomas to feel “taboo” emotions when the situation calls for it. Pretty straightforward. But we're not done yet, because we have to consider what it means that Orange also assists other sides in externalizing their own emotions. We can't use the same argument we gave to Thomas because the sides… aren't each others’ sides. They're Thomas’. If Orange assists in the externalization of the other sides’ repressed emotions, then it has to work differently.
A widely accepted theory or headcanon I see in the fandom is that Orange “possessed” Logan to make him get angry. Or, Logan made a deal with Orange, and now he has angry spurts he doesn't understand. While I appreciate the efforts to make juicy angst, I'm not fond of the idea that these theories basically imply that Logan's anger in WTIT was not his own. In reality, it was. Logan suppressed his frustrations about everyone ignoring his suggestions, and now he snaps. Making it seem like he can't achieve these emotions on his own volition implies he has no frustrations about his predicament to begin with.
The real question is, then, why did Logan's eyes glow orange if his emotions at that moment were genuine? Well, like other segments of this essay, it's hard for me to say something conclusively. We literally have nothing else to work on, guys, pardon me if I can't be a hundred percent certain on my assertions. But if I were to guess, I'm inclined to believe that Orange cannot make the sides feel emotions that they don't already have. Rather, he's responsible for enhancing it. In Logan's situation, for example, his frustration is completely his own. But when you submit to something like, let's say, blinding rage, sometimes you lose your sense of control and simply act. In this case, Orange possibly assists the flow of emotions the side in question would be experiencing.
I'll admit though, I literally have no clue how Orange does that, how he assists the other sides to feel their repressed emotions better. Again, we are working with practically nothing here. Although, one thing we can entertain is the idea that Orange has something to do with a side's state of being. Just like how Janus causes the sides to cover their mouths when expressing a lie, the sides’ eyes could possibly glow orange just because they're feeling an intense, “taboo” emotion. If you don't want to imagine Orange as its own side, you can also factor in the popular fan theory that Orange is simply a state of being the sides experience, no additional side required. Either way, while we cannot dive deep on the semantics of the glowy eyes thing, we can at least confirm there is a link between a side externalizing repressed or “taboo” emotions and Orange himself.
v. Relationships With The Sides (Especially Logan)
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Another thing I wanted to discuss is the relationships Orange shares with the other sides. The most accepted depiction of Orange shows him distanced from the “Dark” Sides, while also having a crude fascination with Logan. We've discussed enough of how I view Orange in the context of the “Dark” Sides, so I'd like to focus more on what it means for Orange to assimilate with the “Light” Sides, especially Logan.
Because Logan's first to be seen with these orange eyes, many are quick to assume this is an isolated case. Fair enough— we don't have other examples to compare this with. At the same time, I think a lot of people aren't considering the idea that, if we go by the assumption that Orange is connected to states of being, then any other side can also experience the orange eyes. I won't even be surprised if it happens to Roman in this coming season finale.
But is the much entertained idea of Logan being specifically targeted by Orange unfounded? I would say no, not necessarily. The “Dark” Sides and Logan have always had an interesting relationship. Logan in particular is shown to be the side most unbothered their presence. Again, he's the side who argued that no side can actually be categorized as “good” or “bad”. He's the most sympathetic to the “Dark” Sides, but also… isn’t. 
There's an explainable contradiction here. Even if Logan is nicer to the “Dark” Sides compared to the others, he also has the reputation of being able to easily and successfully shut down their suggestions. He completely opposed Janus’ side in SVS out of Thomas’ interest. He shut down Remus not once, but twice, to protect Thomas. But that's the thing— he does not shut down the “Dark” Sides’ contributions because he disagrees with them. Moreso, he does it because he thinks that's what Thomas’ wants. For example, he admitted in SVS that even if he wanted Thomas to attend the callback, he still preferred if Thomas attended the wedding instead because he thought that was what Thomas would have wanted.
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And, well, we saw how Janus responded to Logan's decision— he was confused. It's like he had trust Logan would vouch for his side. Let's remember the main goal of the “Dark” Sides: to be respected, to break Thomas’ black-and-white thinking, and to get him out of his mental slump. This goal can only be achieved if they restore the balance of want and need lost partially due to Logan's diminishing self-assertion. They know Logan can do something if he lets himself loose. That's why Remus and Janus teased him in the Secret Santa gift exchange about wanting to express his frustrations. That's why, after Logan's outburst in WTIT, Remus says, “Gee, Logan, now you're speaking my language.” 
They want Logan in on their plan. For that to begin, they need to make Logan in tune with his own emotional wants and needs, to make him more assertive. Thus, Orange would have to step in. There is merit when fans joke about the “Dark” Sides wanting Logan to go apeshit— it's because it's true. It's because it benefits them.
I can only provide things to consider when it comes to the other sides:
With Patton, think of the point I made earlier about Orange being “bad” emotions divorced from Patton, in a similar way Remus and Roman were created. The main difference between them would be that Patton has more faculty over principles, since Janus has that covered for the “Dark” Sides. While Patton, influenced by Catholic morality, thinks emotions and morals are intertwined, it would make sense for the more cynical sides to view them as separate.
Roman, as aforementioned, may also be susceptible to Orange's influence as the other side tends to hide his emotions from the others. With how the narrative is building up, I won't be surprised if Roman's frustrations with the whole debacle about morals heightens in the finale, especially if something Interesting happens between Thomas and Nico. You can't use Nico as a distraction forever, Thomas. Remember Thomas’ anger at Nico not responding to his messages, remember Chekhov's Gun.
Virgil is an interesting case because he would be more familiar with Orange compared to the others. That begs the question of, is he aware of the “Dark” Sides current goals and plans? My idea is, yes, but only to a certain extent. This can go down many paths. There's the possibility that Virgil was the first part of the plan, but accidentally grew closer with the “Light” Sides before he fully completed it. This explains why he hasn't disclosed the plans to the others, especially since it may incriminate him as someone who was part of that plan. There's the possibility that he knows nothing of the plan, but is familiar with the “Dark” Sides’ antics. Thus, he can't do much but stay suspicious of the sides. Either way, we still don't know enough to conclude how much Virgil knows, but I doubt he would get along with Orange.
I pondered about Janus a little because, if Orange is meant to embody externalization in some form, what does that mean for him, the embodiment of self-preservation and secrecy? I don't have the answer, but while we know the “Dark” Sides have to work with each other, we don't actually know how close Janus and Remus genuinely are with Orange. To be fair, Janus and Remus are complete opposites and they get along fine. I'd definitely prefer it if all of the “Dark” Sides were actually close because it creates such a perfect juxtaposition to the “Light” Sides’ crumbling family. 
I also thought Orange and Remus would make interesting parallels as two forbidden versions of feeling and thinking respectfully. Like I said earlier, Remus can only suggest, but he never actually embodies the emotions of wanting to do taboo things. Orange, however, could. No other points except for the ones I mentioned about the “Dark” Sides in the previous bullet.
vi. Long-Term Presence
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Originally, this essay would end here and already be posted. I even went through at least half of it for beta reading. Then, Orb started a discussion where they asked what I thought Orange's purpose was, especially since most theories (even the one you're reading right now) are more centered on Orange in the context of the current conflict. There was actually a part I wanted to write during the second segment where I disclosed what I thought Orange would contribute in the grander scheme of things, but I omitted it because it felt too out of place.
I replied to Orb what I was going to write; I thought that Orange was going to be the final push for Thomas to go to therapy, and make Thomas stand his ground more instead of asking the sides for advice every time he has an issue. I've always thought this, especially therapy, was one of the ways the series would end as a whole, because it means Thomas would stop talking to his sides. Or at least, in the way we see him do it in the show. That sounds a bit cynical, I know. Why would I suggest that Sanders Sides end by Thomas cutting ties with the sides?
Well, I'm not. Not entirely. I'm not advocating Thomas does. What I mean is, an underlying conflict to the current conflicts we have now is how Thomas internalizes his problems. This is literally how the series functions. Thomas has a problem, then consults himself about it via the sides. Even c!Joan mentions it in CLBG. This issue of the problem aversion Thomas has would be fine in the former parts of the series, as the things he consulted the sides about were small. But as the series progresses, we're facing issues that call for an entire paradigm shift in morality. Of Thomas putting himself and his friends in the infamous Trolley Problem. Of Thomas facing horrible intrusive thoughts he opts to combat alone.
I once called Sanders Sides a psychological horror because we see how a normal dude's mental health crumbles as he deals with life-changing situations alone. To find a solution for this main, underlying conflict means the show has to end— internalization IS the series’ foundation!
And so Orb suggested the most batshit idea— what if Orange was Thomas’ foil? Not in a sense that confirms the Opposite Sides theory. Rather, Orange, if his role is externalization, is literally the antithesis of how the sides work. As Orb put it, Orange is there to “completely wreck the format”, making Thomas realize that consulting the sides for help has its limits. He has to literally go out and touch grass, talk to his friends about his moral dilemmas, consult a damn therapist. That is what I think Orange's true purpose as a side is.
vii. Closing Statements
In the end, I can't say that everything I've stated in this essay is pure fact, but this is the most educated guess I can give considering what we're given and what we can expect to happen in canon. While most theories I've seen easily pinpoint different issues the sides and Thomas are facing in the series, these theories would then guess that Orange would be the cause of these issues. That's where theories like Procrastination, Repression, Regret, etc. come from. More than anything, I want you to see that Orange acts in response to these issues rather than in tandem with it. 
The best advice I can give you when theorizing about Orange is: ask yourself what needs to be seen in the series. Remember, Sanders Sides is a narrative. Episodes will continue to happen past Orange's inevitable reveal. Think of Orange in this context, as his own character with motivations and wants for Thomas. Only then you can make educated guesses about him.
Anyway, thank you for reading my incredibly extensive essay on Orange! Again, my words are not gospel, so if you want to discuss anything further, add onto this post or send me an ask! Please read this post though before you send me anything. And If you enjoyed this, PLEASE reblog, I'd definitely appreciate it! If you want to read more stuff from me, here's a carrd masterlist of Sanders Sides meta I've done. Happy reading!
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bestjaydee · 2 months
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Things I don't understand
So, I get Sam’s attractiveness. He’s very good looking by most standards, plays a lovable character in a show with an invested fan base, and is nice to fans who meet him in person. Add to that the money he’s raised through MPC and other endeavours, and his approachability, yeah, I get it.
But do these things erase all other aspects of who he is and the work he does to the point where they don’t matter at all? Is he worthy of admiration outside of his outer shell? For me, the answer is no, because I believe that true beauty is more than skin deep and that being paid to be nice doesn’t really count as a good measure of character.
That being said, I could admire an actor's craft despite his physical appearance or his character if he excels at it. But those who have eyes to see know Sam has not excelled as an actor since the first half of OL Season 3 if I’m being generous, and in none of his other acting projects since.
What I don’t understand is why some people refuse to acknowledge that and some of the things he does, like him being a player and “dating” woman after woman, probably with overlapping, hiring an escort when no other option could be secured, being petty and throwing tantrums or unfollowing people close to him or their business, when feeling challenged.
These aspects of Sam’s are there for everyone to see. You don’t have to judge him for them; he’s his own man and can do whatever he wants, and we all have character flaws after all. You can still like him (I do), or even admire him (sorry, that I can’t) despite them if that’s what you want to do, I don’t care.
But to just refuse to acknowledge these aspects exist despite all the evidence? I don’t understand that. (Please note that I’m not talking about shippers here; they’re an entirely different story.)
It makes me wonder about the motivations of those who see but refuse to acknowledge. Some refuse to see, actually avoid seeing at all costs, but I put those in the same basket as shippers.
I'm talking about those who see but find excuses, or say we can't know for sure. At what point does 1+1=2 for these people? Are they afraid to destroy the house of cards they’ve built? Sometimes I think they’re afraid of how they’ll view themselves once their goggles are off.
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firegiftlouis · 3 months
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Actually fuck it, I got that person blocked now anyways lol.
Anyways, what the ever loving FUCK did Louis do to Armand last season that justifies all the things Armand did to him, which included but is not limited to; Gaslighting Louis on multiple occasions, letting him convalesce in agony post suicide attempt for nearly a week, threatened to give his former abuser his location while in an incapacitated state, non consensual memory alteration (we have literally no reason to believe Louis asked for it 3 days later in my opinion idc), and literally EVERYTHING that happened during the Trial, the Trial he directed btw and was perfectly ok with letting Louis DIE in.
Like please, explain to me like I’m 5 years old what Louis did to Armand over the course of this season that was so fucking “vile” that he deserved even half of that shit??
And stop me if I’m wrong but is anyone framing Armand as the “Uber bad guy” out here? Or are people just acknowledging that while Armand is a deeply flawed and traumatized character, that doesn’t suddenly absolve him from continuing the cycle of abuse over his partner who, in almost every conceivable way, has significantly less power than him (Armand is older and outside of the human implications of that, that means he’s literally significantly more powerful Vampire powers wise, Armand has more money in Paris, he’s literally in charge of the Coven which means societally he is also more powerful, and while they both aren’t white that didn’t stop Armand from weaponizing the audiences Antiblack racism against Louis and Claudia during the Trial).
Not sure why they even brought up “feminizing” Louis as one of the ways people supposedly try to absolve him of all wrongdoing because if anything that’s what people do with Lestat and Armand, meanwhile analysis of the show acknowledging the gendered roles Louis serves both during the Rue Royale era and later on in Dubai only serve to meet the narrative where it’s at. Season one didn’t go out of its way to call Louis a housewife on multiple occasions and Armand didn’t spend all this season treating Louis in Dubai like his hysterical wife he’s .5 seconds away from shoving back in the attic just for us to ignore these aspects of the show because it makes some of y’all uncomfortable or lack the nuance to understand that a feminized character can still do bad things (and again, the worst things Louis does this season are towards Claudia but despite the lio service at the end, y’all don’t actually fucking care about her.)
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majachee · 1 year
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One criticism of LMK I don't agree with whatsoever is that "LMK villainizes Wukong."
It doesn't. It really doesn't. The show's portrayal of Wukong is meant to be a flawed individual with good intentions, and the main themes of the show center around not letting the past define you and growing past your mistakes. While not every villain is redeemed, the clear message of growth is there within the main cast, especially with them being reincarnations/descendents of the Pilgrims. And Wukong's major character flaw is closing himself off, and this is very much connected to these themes.
MK, at the beginning of the series, idolizes Wukong. While he does acknowledge that Wukong was a troublemaker in the past, it's not elaborated on nor does MK really think about it. MK is excited about his new powers and meeting his hero for the entire first season!
It isn't until season 2 that doubt really starts to creep in, where this idea that Wukong is a perfect hero starts to fracture in MK's eyes. We, as the audience, know that Wukong is investigating LBD and trying to keep MK safe by leaving him behind; but to MK and the characters in the show, they take Wukong's word at face value. If Wukong says he's going on vacation, then he's going on vacation. While they're not pleased about it, they don't have a reason to believe Wukong is doing anything else. And that's what Wukong wanted, nobody following him and putting themselves in danger. He's the immortal monkey, he can handle this himself, in his opinion that is.
And then LBD gets the staff, and they finally learn where Wukong truly was all this time. The main group rightfully feels a bit hurt, they trust Wukong but Wukong didn't trust them. We know his reasons, but we can still empathize with the others' hurt and confusion. This doesn't make Wukong the villain or a terrible person, though. He wasn't plotting behind their backs, he was trying to handle the threat by himself.
In season 3, the most vocal person regarding their distrust of Wukong is Pigsy. Even before Amnesia Rules, Pigsy scrutinized Wukong's meditation and even the validity of the map to the Rings. And then Amnesia Rules happens, where Wuking reveals that there aren't just 3 Rings of Samadhi but 4.
Pigsy is rightfully suspicious, and its meant to give suspense to the audience as well. Why didn't Wukong tell them about the 4th Ring?
And then we learn the whole story: Wukong slipped during the ritual, and one of the Rings ended up forming inside Ao Lie. Mei, as a descendent of Ao Lie, now carries the fourth Ring. When it's revealed, Nezha specifically mentions the fire possibly burning Mei to a crisp. This is also when we learn that Wukong's plan was to extract the Ring from Mei and harness the power of the Samadhi Fire hinself.
Wukong's main fault in this entire scenario was his tendency to push people away and keep things to himself. His desperation when they begin the ritual without him also points to him not wanting Mei to get hurt. He also feels responsible for the Ring being in Mei in the first place.
His plan was flawed from the get-go, not because he's an evil villain, but because in trying to handle things by himself he pushed his new friends away from him, and created a situation where they couldn't trust him. We see this trait of his again when he goes to fight LBD alone, he feels responsible and wants to handle it by himself. His mindset is constantly looping between "I'm responsible for this" and "Don't get the kid and his friends involved." And what the show is trying to tell us is that he should reach out for help, and that this isn't a healthy mindset.
In season 4, Wukong's past mistakes are exposed for everyone in the main cast and the audience to see. And his past with the Brotherhood explains so much.
We don't know much about the pligrimage other than the fact that it was mentally and emotionally beneficial to Wukong after he got locked up, so for now I'm going to focus on the Brotherhood.
The Brotherhood assembled to fight against the Jade Emperor, as Wukong was openly rebellious during this stage of his life. After the battle, he had to lock his former friends away because they clearly hung onto this goal of rebellion. We also see in the memory scroll that Azure Lion's "paradise" caused environmental devastation to the surrounding areas, and that after Wukong was imprisoned he lashed out at Macaque. He feels responsible for Azure's ideas of grandeur to some extent, in his eyes he was the one who fed into these ideas and lead their first attempt at rebellion. He was so caught up in his journey towards immortality and strength for the sole purpose of protecting his loved ones, that he ended up pushing them all away and hurting them. He even says at the beginning of season 4 that most of the bad guys MK faced were people he has history with, specifally that he crossed them at some point.
Based on Wukong's self-destructive behavior that's been previously established, season 4 brings a lot of light onto Wukong's behaviors. Once again, he left some things unsaid because he felt solely responsible. When MK and Macaque rescue Wukong from the scroll, it takes MK reassuring Wukong that he can still correct and grow past these mistakes that haunt him — with Macaque offering him a small, forgiving smile to really motivate him.
Wukong's character in this series is that he's a flawed individual who has made mistakes and will continue making mistakes, even with the best of intentions in mind, but that he can grow from them. And that he is going to grow from them with his newfound family. LMK made it's message of growth so painfully obvious here lmao
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antianakin · 7 months
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So I was recommended Out With Lanterns by SkyBean in this post about other potential masters for Ahsoka back in October, and I've finally gotten around to finishing it (as well as most of the other fics in the series) and I HAVE to say something about it because I feel like this fic has changed my brain chemistry just a little.
For reference, Out With Lanterns is a fic where Ahsoka is chosen by Mace to be his Padawan about a year or so prior to AOTC and follows her life and training with him through the clone wars.
Since this is a fic rec, I'm going to put a few warnings out front. There's absolutely going to be spoilers for this fic because I have a lot to say about it, so if you are interested in the basic premise and don't want to know any of the details so you can experience it for yourself, please don't read past this paragraph. This fic is NOT Anakin friendly, in any way shape or form. It isn't what I would consider a character bashing and he only shows up like 3-4 times total in a fic that's 300k words long, but it doesn't try to be particularly kind to Anakin when he is there. It's also not super kind to Padme or Anidala, unsurprisingly. The fic is completed, but the series is still ongoing. This fic takes the war a LOT more seriously than the show did and it doesn't shy away from some of the darker things that can happen in a war or the violence that the characters might have to go through as a result of fighting in it. Some of the other fics in the series continue past Order 66 and look more in detail at what life might be like for Jedi who have to go on the run and constantly fear persecution. It's dark, it's painful, it's harrowing, but it's VERY very good. This fic is also INCREDIBLY pro Jedi and Jedi friendly.
On to the spoilery bits.
I've been sort-of on the fence about Ahsoka since her show came out last year and it's embittered me towards her character quite a bit, which is sort-of sad because I HAVE really enjoyed her in the past, but nothing about her current trajectory is anything I like or find interesting and in fact it feels like it's leading that branch of Star Wars in a direction I find actively distasteful. And it's hard to look at her character and not REMEMBER where she's ended up, it's hard to look at her in TCW and Rebels and not see all the things that were signs of where she was heading.
But this fic has done a lot to make me like her again. This fic is written by someone who so clearly understands what made Ahsoka a really compelling character initially and focuses in on that in such a way that it makes me remember what I HAVE liked about Ahsoka. It allows Ahsoka to be incredibly flawed, even as she grows and develops and matures, she still makes mistakes and struggles and needs guidance from her master. But those flaws don't make her incompetent or a bad person, quite the opposite. Ahsoka, by virtue of having a real Jedi Master instead of Anakin, ends up capable of acknowledging her own flaws and learning from them. She knows where her strengths and weaknesses are and is able to make decisions with that in mind, and when she makes mistakes she doesn't sit there and dwell on them, but she DOES let herself learn from them. Ahsoka in this fic does not feel like a mouthpiece, she feels like a real distinct character and I LOVE THAT about her.
I love the ways we see her become the Jedi she can't be in canon due to Anakin's influence, the ways she retains so much more of her Jedi heritage as a result of not learning from him, and how that helps her SO MUCH MORE than anything Anakin's training does for her in canon. I also love seeing how much of MACE gets reflected in Ahsoka, the things she specifically picks up from him, both good and bad.
I love the complexities of Ahsoka's relationship with the clones and how it develops from the first initial overtures to the deep friendships she has with them by the end to the complicated feelings she has after Order 66 and after discovering the chips. Her relationships with the various clone characters she interacts with don't feel like they're all the same, they're distinct from each other the way they should be because the CLONES are distinct from each other. I like the balance she has to manage between being their commanding officer and their friend. I like that she can love them and recognize that there are things about the clones that she doesn't want to replicate in herself because it would make her a worse Jedi. In particular, she understands that there's a REASON the war feels very "normal" for the clones and so their reaction to the horrors of it are very different than hers, but she doesn't want to end up becoming numb to the horrors to the point that war starts feeling normal to her because she feels like it would end up making her a worse Jedi down the line. I love the complexity of that, the lack of judgment towards the clones but the recognition that their experiences are very different from hers and she cannot and does not want to be like them in this.
I also love that there's equal attention paid to Ahsoka's relationships with other Jedi and how distinct THOSE feel from each other because the Jedi are also individual people and not a monolith. Her relationship with Adi Gallia is very different from her relationship with Obi-Wan or Agen Kolar or Kit Fisto and Nahdar Vebb. She learns different things from each of them, intentionally or not, and she likes some of them better than others. I love how much Ahsoka loves her own culture and the different ways we see that expressed, from needing to meditate every day to the many times we hear about her interacting with younglings when she's at the Temple. Ahsoka finally FEELS like a Jedi again here and that identity actually means something to her in a way I think canon has sort-of forgotten or intentionally dismissed.
One of the things I think this fic REALLY does well is taking Ahsoka's general irrelevance to the Skywalker Saga and making that a GOOD THING. Ahsoka being Mace's padawan changes nothing. The people who die in canon still die. The war still happens. In general, the missions we know about from TCW still happen and happen almost exactly the same way. Anakin still marries Padme and still joins Palpatine to save her and murders the Jedi. Ahsoka's addition to Anakin's story changes exactly nothing about it because it CAN'T. She isn't the reason he falls, she doesn't save him and never could have, everything he does happens with or without her. So removing her from his story changes exactly nothing about it. But the change in her position within the narrative does change HER. SHE'S impacted by the narrative far more than it can ever be impacted by her. And her irrelevance to the Skywalker Saga doesn't mean she isn't a compelling character anymore, she's almost MORE compelling now than she's ever been before specifically because she's more outside of it and can see it from that perspective. Ahsoka is compelling because she's AHSOKA, not because she's Anakin's padawan the way Felony seems to think. She can be compelling WITHOUT HIM if they would just believe in her ability to tell her own story. And she doesn't need to be relevant to the Skywalker Saga in order for her story to be important simply for being HERS. She has a story to tell and it's a good one, even if nothing major changes because of it.
I love the way that that is woven into the fic because I kept EXPECTING things to change due to Ahsoka not being Mace's padawan. I kept expecting her presence to save some of the people who die during TCW, I kept expecting endings to change somehow, and they just... don't. And even when it DOES, right at the end, when she escapes with some younglings and an injured Mace, and they apparently go on to create an underground Jedi Order, it doesn't change the end of the story in the OT. Luke and Leia still go to Tatooine and Alderaan, they still end up fighting on and over Endor as the final battle, Luke still goes off alone to face Anakin and Palpatine and that confrontation goes exactly the way it did in canon. Ahsoka's presence and the things her new backstory have changed in the background of the narrative have no actual bearing on the major Skywalker Saga. But there are more Jedi survivors in this AU than there are in canon, an entire Order that has been slowly piecing itself together in secrecy for the last 20 years, and even though that doesn't change the actual story, it's not nothing. It's not insignificant that they survived and they're there.
And I think the last thing I will discuss that I absolutely adore about this fic is Anakin's padawan. This character is an OC created seemingly to be a foil for Ahsoka, a mirror into the person she could've been had she ended up with Anakin instead of Mace, a reflection of her canon self even though neither Ahsoka nor this new padawan would ever be able to know that. I love the way that this allows the author to make that comparison for the readers without it being super in your face about it. Ahsoka isn't facing a literal reflection of herself and the new padawan IS her own person with her own personality and struggles, but she still definitely feels like "who Ahsoka would've become if she hadn't been saved by Mace."
The new padawan isn't supported by Anakin, but she's really close with Rex. She ends up feeling almost DEFINED by her years with Anakin and can't really connect to her Jedi upbringing anymore after Order 66 even though she spent far longer without Anakin than she did with him. She's young enough that she can't see the truth about his darkness and defends him to others no matter what, even though she admits after Order 66 that there were signs she can see now and blames herself for not being able to see the truth of them then. She succumbs to her own darkness because it's the path Anakin guided her down and she can't quite figure out how to get back onto the path of a Jedi, no matter how much Ahsoka and Mace try to help her. She's lost, floundering in her own darkness because the person who was supposed to guide her towards balance ended up isolating her from the rest of the Jedi and making her feel dependent on him and then he discarded her like she never mattered to him at all.
And I LOVE how broken and shattered she is, I love how consumed she is by her pain and grief and anger because she's known little else for like two years, I love the way she lashes out because she doesn't know how to control it, I love how difficult she finds it to act like a Jedi anymore, I love how much she feels like she doesn't know who she is anymore. THIS is what I wanted to see Ahsoka struggling with in the aftermath of her revelation about Anakin. THIS is the kind of person I wanted Ahsoka to be in the Ahsoka show. THIS is why I can't agree with anybody saying that she came across as particularly unkind or prickly or broken at the beginning of that show because she really isn't. She's BARELY upset every so often, she's SO calm and in control at all times. I wanted to see her ANGRY, I wanted to see her LOSE CONTROL, I wanted to see her lashing out at people who are just trying to help her because she's lost all sense of who she is in the wake of realizing the person who had guided her on her current path became a monster and she has no idea how much of that has impacted the person she's become and how much it will CONTINUE to impact her going forward. I wanted to see Ahsoka GENUINELY STRUGGLE with the things that have happened to her and see her REALLY changed by it all before being able to come back to herself in the end. And that's not what I was given. Not until this series entered my life, anyway, and it's not even technically happening to Ahsoka herself.
(I'll also point out here that at no point does the padawan ever say anything Jedi critical. Even as an Ahsoka foil who is partially representative of canon Ahsoka, she never falls so far that she blames the Jedi for their own genocide. So despite how much more she's struggling than canon Ahsoka does, she's still a better person than canon Ahsoka has become.)
So if you hated the Ahsoka show, loved the Kenobi show, and want something that's immensely Jedi friendly and Anakin critical that takes things like the war and Order 66 and the ensuing Purge VERY seriously, give this series a whirl. It's definitely an epic (and it's not done yet) and I had to take breaks every so often by reading something a little more light-hearted, but it's SO worth it.
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areislol · 2 years
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nsfw hcs | MINORS DNI !
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ft— neteyam x fem. human! reader warnings— (^) mdni, praises, aged up characters, neteyam being the soft boy we know, soft sex, consent king!! slight breast/nipple play, as i said before, minors PLEASE do not interact but then again, read what you want, size + breeding kink, vanilla(?) sex, p in v, fingering, marking, riding but no pen. long like reeaaally long, first smut hc ever so if there's any mistake pls ignore them a/n— im just feeling it today i don't know why... image layout ib by @luvsellie also, isn't neteyam so pretty?
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he is so, so sweet. so expect many praises when you're being stuffed <3
service soft dom!!!
loves hearing you plead so he can fulfill your wishes, doesn't like the idea of denying your wishes.
he acknowledges how you're much smaller than him but that just fuels his size kink even more..
neteyam is the sweetheart king, so he always resists his animalistic urge to just pound you but can't since his dick is well.. too big, way too big for you and it'd probably hurt you. the idea of hurting you during a special time pains him so he takes it slow.
he asks you if you're okay with just the tip and if you want more he will of course oblige, and when he does he makes sure to put it in (painfully for him) slow.
speaking of asking, he is the consent king!! always asks if you're okay with this and that, making sure that you're not hurting or that you aren't uncomfortable.
so many kisses/open-mouthed kisses, whether it be on your forehead, lips, cheeks, stomach, pussy, thighs, he just loves giving you kisses.
he worships your body... like.. a lot... since you're (obviously) different to him he takes his time to observe every part of your body, your moles, birthmarks, (stretchmarks if you have any), and any "flaw" you say you have he will kiss them and reassure you that you're beautiful <3
foreplay!! he loves it, kissing you while he presses his knee to your sex as you grind against it
he also loves it because you told him that it gets the person more aroused and wet—meaning it would hurt less when entering you and that's the reason why he always does foreplay.
the first time you two had sex he's slow and sensual but after a few times he gets more bolder and confident and might just go slightly quicker than usual.
when he gets jealous you best believe he's going to be fucking you all night long.
he will never admit it to you but he has multiple wet dreams of you, so when his dream comes true, the sight of you naked, laying down on the grass makes him drool and thank eywa.
when you touch his tail or accidentally brush up against it he whimpers.. and groans
he knows all of your sensitive spots, inside and on the outside.
tickles you softly when he sees that you're uncomfortable that you're naked. even though when having sex with you it's special and intimate, he won't hesitate to make you laugh/giggle when he sees that you're uncomfortable.
!! loves giving you oral, hearing your soft moans when he's licking your slit makes him excited and you know it when you see his tail swaying.
talking about oral, he loves the taste of you while he's lapping your folds, when your thighs start to close he lightly pushes your legs away with a firm but not too tight grip on your thighs.
sometimes he wishes you could suck him off but considering the size.. no way. but he doesn't mind, as long as you're (moaning) in pleasure and enjoying it.
he's needy but he can be patient. if he's jealous though.. it's quite the opposite, making up an excuse to why both of you have to leave and once you two are alone he makes sure that you're full of his cum, full of his children so that everybody knows that your his.
loves to mark you with his fangs, leaving little imprints on your shoulder, thighs and neck (if you're comfortable with that)
since he is na'vi and you're human, you two couldn't really bond. he doesn't know any other way of bonding or be intimate with each other, other than tsaheylu, so when you introduce him to sex he doesn't know what to do.. at first anyways
when you had your first orgasm with him he was confused and worried.
"are you okay? why are you shaking?" "i didn't hurt you did i?"
it was a bit awkward when you had to explain to him what an "orgasm" was, not before you calmed down though but ever since you explained what an orgasm was he started teasing you.
"so i made you feel good? am i that good?"
after you two had sex he's starved for you a whole lot, he wants your touches and love + obsessed but not obsessed obsessed, but there were times where he wants you out of nowhere.
his favourite places to have sex with you is in his room or somewhere private. he isn't a fan of public sex, rather, a place where it's only you and him—somewhere secluded.
he definenetly encourages you to not cover your noises, when he sees you covering your mouth he grabs onto your hand to take it off "don't be afraid, i want to.. hear you", your moans and whining are like music to his ears, it makes him harder when he hears you moaning, also makes him want to please you even harder.
he loveees it when you moan his name, he (sometimes) whimpers when he hears his name coming from your mouth.
no matter what your kinks are he will NOT hurt you, never. small bites (using his fangs) are okay but nothing where he scratches you, uses a knife or a sharp object on you.
when he's impatient he rips off your clothes, he doesn't break it, but he immediately removes your buttons quickly (he's good with his hands) while hurriedly kissing you, sliding you panties off.
but when he's really impatient and just wants to eat you out or when he's hungry for you he might actually rip your clothes off
he's a boob man, no matter what size he will literally lay on your chest and litter it with kisses, leaving open mouthed kisses on your nipples <3
he nips and sucks your nipples, cupping your breasts as he keeps on suckling on your breasts. your nipples are probably and most likely sensitive from all his licking and sucking.
so now he teases you. for eg. he places his finger on your nipple you shiver to which neteyam chuckles at, "sensitive there, hm?" he continues to circle your nipple before you feel his warm and soft tongue on your nipple, soft moans escaping your mouth.
loves seeing you in a mess while you're a babbling mess, mumbling incoherent words, finds you so adorable <3
when you squirt for the first time he's confused at first but he doesn't mind as it probably meant you were enjoying it.
his fingers are long and slim (his man is literally 9-10ft of course his fingers are gonna be long c'mon), he watches as his fingers slide in and out of your vagina, how your juices slide down from your pussy as he picks up his pace.
your whimpers, cries and whimpering could and can make him cum, your noises make him so horny my lord.
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fingers you while licking your bud/his thumbs pressing on it as he traced little circles on it, he KNOWS how to make you feel good even though he has never done it before (until you came)
enjoys the sight of watching you squirm as he slowly pumps in and out of your sex while sucking and licking your now sensitive bud.
he's literally making out with your pussy, his nose hitting his bud which never fails to make you shiver.
when you introduce neteyam to new positions he's all for it
once of his favourite positions is when you sit on his face, he LOVES it and looks forward to you sitting on his face <3 doesn't care if you suffocate him, he will die happy.
^ loves riding without penetration as your wet pussy lubes his dick, it makes him and you moan in pleasure
his aftercare is *chefs kiss*
he loves doing it, he doesn't understand how anyone could not do aftercare!! like you can't just leave your partner in bed after having sex and not do anything.. right? when you tell him that people do do that he's in shock and assures that he is not like them.
gives you massages on the places where you say it hurts, loves it when you return the favor.
he gives you forehead kisses while tracing circles on your thighs, your head on his chest as he's by your side. he mutters small praises to you and gets you cleaned up before dressing you and letting you sleep on his chest as he continues to whisper loving and caring words, running his fingers through your hair.
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note: if you would like to be added to the avatar taglist pls just ask me!! dont be shy
taglist: @tomansimp, @howlandhaku, @luciphyls, @vizkiz869, @aonungobsession,
liking + following + reblogs are very much appreciated!!
another note: tumblr and it's 4000+ block limit whatever it's called, i hate it so much because there are so many writers on tumblr and we do tend to write a lot!!! i hope tumblr will fix this problem. i feel like i have many more nsfw hcs for him but i just can't get it out idk why. ALSO I HAD SO MANY PROBLEMS W THIS FIC BC TUMBLR WASN'T WORKIIINNGG
REQUESTS ARE OPEN!!
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Note
I have been in the wof fandom for a while, since at least 2016, and I absolutely adore the creators in the fandom. I love getting to see how people view the books and making good critiques of the book series.
However, it annoys me how some people try to make claims that either don’t hold up or may have some validity at first, but falls apart when you put it in context of story of the books, or the world, or when you even just think a bit further about the point.
One of the things I have seen include Tui using Native American stereotypes in a tumblr post and using the fact that the characters (specifically the humans during the scorching) used feathers as accessories and were people of color. At face value, it seems like a valid claim, until you realize that all of the human characters are people of color and their societies don’t try to resemble that of Native American people in the books. Or the fact that the humans were the ones that stole dragon eggs and tried to use them as weapons of war. In total, I think there was one white person ever mentioned in the books (Axolotl).
Additionally, if you are going to talk about an issue in the fandom on a YouTube video, make it an actual video! By that, I mean if you intend to make a point about something, you don’t make a video that has no relevance to the topic at hand and then put the discourse in the description!
If you know the video I am referring to, the creator made a PMV for the fandom then put in their description why they aren’t making wof content anymore and that people should stop reading the books because of “Tui’s dangerous and bigoted writing.” I’m not saying that the person shouldn’t talk about issues in the fandom, but at least if you are going to do that make it its own video so people can actually SEE IT. Not everyone who clicks on a video will read the description, and when people go to read the comments, they are bound to get confused! (For context, the biggest thing being fought over was the freaking Glorybringer ship and how it is/isn’t pedophilia with op arguing it is).
I also watched the video they added in the link that was critiquing the “complacency in fantasy” (but mostly talking about wof) and it had some good points, until it went into saying that the Nightwings mirrored the Nazis and represented Jewish stereotypes at the same time and how it was “trauma porn.”
As I said before, some good points in the critique such as the treatment of Winter and the false DoD, and I get some of the points that the person was trying to make with how some subjects should be handled with more care such as arc 3’s slavery and the racism between tribes in wof, but other things such as comparing the Sandwings to Arab stereotypes without ya know, acknowledging how people that read the series treat the characters outside the books and how the books themselves handle their own characters (Such as Qibli and the whole Deserter winglet) is frustrating.
TLDR; if you are going to make a statement on fandom discourse or want to make an in depth critique about the series and want to make your point known, don’t relegate it to what basically equates to an optional footnote. And if you are going to make claims that relate to the real world, please back it up with evidence of both the in-text and information about the real-world facts (plus acknowledge at least some of the context around a series such as arc 1 and the fact that Tui is flawed but doesn’t mean that it can’t be enjoyed).
Sorry for the rant/long post, the way that some people handle criticizing the books and try to paint them like the worst thing ever just infuriates me because there is good and bad things about this series as all series are bound to have. Crafting a perfect story is hard to do and there will always be shortcomings in some authors stories, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy them or be inspired to create something that may improve or even tackle the issues within the books with more care.
I definitely understand what you are saying. As a Jew (Bar Mitzvah'd so I am connected to my community), the comparison to NightWings is pretty far-fetched and actually pretty offensive.
It's just like how people called Tigerstar a cat Nazi back in the day, when he was more like a racial purist, and even then he somehow was pro-race blending.
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bloggingboutburgers · 5 months
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Hi, I know it's been a while but it's allo (autistic? unsure what tag to use) anon here again. I just wanted to say congratulations on the project! I showed it to my girlfriend and she was really happy, when it comes out we will definitely read it together. I am proud to see you doing new and exciting things, and I wish you nothing but the best in your future endeavors! You're doing amazing already and I look forward to seeing you continue on whatever path you want to take with your creative work :)
Sorry I didn't message again sooner, things in real life have been... a lot. I still try to check this blog when I can. Your art is still adorable, and I also wanted to say thank you for your comics about fandom and the stuff that people say to aro/ace people. As someone who is very invested in media analysis(TM) and fandoms, I have noticed some behaviour that is really weird and uncomfortable, and it's good to see other people speaking out about it.
Also, not to decenter your experience, but the comic about labels really hit home for me. When I first got diagnosed it explained so much about my struggles and why I felt the way I did. It was groundbreaking to understand that I wasn't just a broken person or full of character flaws, but that things like sensory issues were just part of being who I am. I don't know if you meant it this way, but I really love the yellow colour of the thought bubbles and the little flowers. I know some people say it's pathologizing or too restrictive to cling to labels so much, but it really is a relief to be given something that helps you understand yourself and feel so much less alone. I am glad you were able to find your identity and community. It's so cool that now you get to make those posts, and probably reach others!
I just wanted to pop in again and say I love your stuff, and it's so cool to see other people loving and engaging with it too. I hope you have a wonderful day/night, passe une bonne journée/nuit <3
P. S. I hope that's how you say it, I'm using google translate.
Heyyyy!!^^ Thank you so much for reaching out again and for all the encouragement and support! I hope you and your girlfriend are doing OK^^ And please don't apologize for not reaching out for a while, I'm happy whenever you do at all but it's very fair to have a lot going on otherwise! If anything I hope things are a bit easier now, so to speak.
Also don't worry about decentering my experience by sharing yours when you relate! I'm a big believer in intersectional discussion, I think people from marginalised groups could benefit a great deal from standing together to defend common interests, and if we can relate to each other's experiences in some way even just a little, although we know and acknowledge they're all different, I'm sure we can go a long way. So I sincerely appreciate you sharing, honestly!! (I'm also really grateful you liked the way I graphically conveyed it, that is a challenge in and of itself^^)
Again, thank you so much for all the positive feedback and support, and thanks for taking the time to add some French in as well, very kind of you^^
Hope you have a great day ahead!
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thewigsnatcher764 · 5 months
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This Post is about Fuu.
(Because he's been rotting in my brain for the last few days and he's one of my favourite characters.)
~INTRO~
This post is mainly about questions and general thoughts surrounding Fuu. This is mainly self-indulgence since this creature has been invading my thoughts non-stop for the last few days. If some parts are kinda cooky or out of place or smt please just ignore them😭
[The research mainly came from The Cleaveland Clinic:]
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Ok, so you guys remember when the trash beast was falling apart and everyone was sorta freaking out? Noerde got YEETED out the beast and presumably died or at the least very injured. The cleaners escaped thanks to Guita's jinki and the Vandals thanks to that girl's manhole. But what about Fuu?
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It is VERY CLEAR that the vandals abandoned him, and yet the next time we see him, he's seemingly completely unscathed from the prior events of the story.
(I mean the title of the chapter didn't even bother saying "the people left behind" instead of "the woman left behind" but that's prob bc Noerde was the main subject) he doesn't have any means of escape, and let's be honest,
He is not able to do anything alone.
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His whole character seems to be centured around his absolute dependency on someone else. Especially when it comes to leading and making decisions. The minute he has to act independently, Fuu completely breaks down and spirals into panic extremely fast.
Also, in this panel, Fuu talks about a "flaw" he has to fix. This could be just a natural flaw someone could be born with and that he was born with these extremely negative traits.
But in this case, his main flaw is dependency. Something like this is usually grown out of. Obviously, this can very easily be different for everyone. But, for this trait to be so present and strong in someone they legitimately collapse and completely break down the way Fuu does.
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There can be many reasons, but in this context, I'm theorizing that Fuu has Dependant Personality Disorder.
But first, what is DPD?
"Dependent personality disorder (DPD) is a mental health condition that involves an excessive need to be taken care of by others. A person with DPD relies on people close to them for their emotional or physical needs. Others may describe them as needy or clingy.
People with DPD believe they can’t take care of themselves. They may have trouble making everyday decisions, like what to wear or what food to eat, without others’ reassurance. They usually don’t realize that their thoughts and behaviours are problematic."-Cleveland Clinic
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This paragraph describes Fuu's behaviour pretty darn well. Even when he was supposed to fight Enjin. Fuu essentially just begged Enjin to begin the battle. This could tie in with his jinki tho...
This theory can explain why Fuu doesn't really seem to acknowledge his way of acting. I could be wrong but it seems as if Fuu isn't aware that his way of behaving is off-putting.
(I mean the amount of lack of awareness you need to pull up on the guy you were supposed to fight and lost to pitifully, calling him master'n sir...)
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People with DPD typically don't realize their actions are weird or problematic. This disorder can easily explain his weird clinginess to Enjin given he sees him as a role model and someone he can depend on.
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There are a few causes for this disorder to come up,
Experiencing abuse: People who have a history of abusive relationships have a higher risk of a DPD diagnosis.
2. Childhood trauma: Children who have experienced child abuse (including verbal abuse) or neglect may develop DPD. It may also affect people who experienced a life-threatening illness during childhood.
3. Genetics: Someone with a biological family member who has DPD or another anxiety disorder may be more likely to have a DPD diagnosis.
(I'm leaning more toward the first and second, because of smt we'll talk about a little later...)
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Ok, let's get back to the trash beast thing...
It's clear that Fuu used his jinki to escape the trash thing. But his jinki is weird...
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His jinki seems to have some conscience. It can speak and is aware of its surroundings and situation. Since Urana hasn't shown us all the world, I'm just gonna assume jinkis aren't "alive" and that Fuu is a special case. In fact, his jinki seems waaaayy more in control and in charge than Fuu himself.
The way I see it, Fuu is the battery that supplements Hii, given that jinkis need to be taken good care of and be loved. Fuu is the perfect candidate due to his possible disorder. Hii is the leader, the one in charge whenever Fuu needs it, (which is essentially all the time)
The word that describes their relationship best is DEPENDENCY, A TOXIC ONE:
Fuu needs Hii to take charge and Hii needs Fuu to give him love and attention to stay alive.
Fuu's entire character is surrounded by DEPENDANCY.
On top of Hii's intelligence, he is surely a very strong jinki. I mean think about it, if my theory is right, a person with DPD would have a lot of love and dependence on their jinki, which would increase its power. Also, to be handpicked by Zodyl means you're a special case.
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Hii's independence could explain why Zodyl showed interest in Fuu even with his cowardliness and lack of combat experience.
Perhaps Zodyl wanted to test to see what would happen during a fight:
Is Fuu the one in charge during fights? If so, how does he manage it?
Or is it Hii? If so, how does he operate? Do they work together or one at a time?
When does Hii come out? When Fuu needs help/is in danger or just whenever he feels like it?
What is his limit? Does he have any true potential?
HOW STRONG IS FUU IN REALITY?
Obviously, Fuu did NOT pass the vibe check and is abandoned.
But I think that's gonna bite Zodyl in the ass later for one reason:
He didn't think Fuu would switch teams,
the fucking cleaners no less.
AND FINALLY...
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HII'S CREATION
Remember in the middle of this essay I said I would why I think causes 1&2 of DPD have smt to do with Hii? Well, here it is...
I think Hii is Fuu's abuser
Well, specifically, I think he is supposed to be Fuu's abuser, almost to replace or incarnate his former abuser.
Let me explain...
See how one of the causes of DPD is an abusive relationship or a traumatic childhood?
"People who have a history of abusive relationships have a higher risk of a DPD diagnosis."-Cleveland Clinic
"Children who have experienced child abuse (including verbal abuse) or neglect may develop DPD."-Cleveland Clinic
WELL...I think Fuu had an abuser, whether it was a parent, friend or even lover, and it was BAD. But Fuu endured it either because he had nowhere else to go or was deluded into thinking that the person loved him (which I think fits him best...)
Eventually, the abuser abandoned Fuu and my man was crushed. The abuser had made him so dependent on them that once they left, he didn't know what to do. Something was missing... so he found Hii.
He basically used him the way a kid uses eany meany miney mo. Whenever he had to make a decision, he would use his imagination and wonder: "what would [ ] do?"
As you can imagine, the love and care Fuu gave Hii made him go back to life. And that's how I think Hii came to life.
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~OUTROOOO~
Fuuuuuuuuucccckkk this was longer than I thought it was gonna be😭😭😭
Welllll those are basically my general thoughts and theories in a nutshell. I'll prob make a part 2 when we get more info on him.
*SIGH*
Can you tell I like Fuu a lot? Like a lot a lot?
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romanticatheartt · 5 months
Text
Rereading ACOTAR
Note: Before I start, this is not an anti post (well... maybe for Tam/in... definitely for him!) and if you think talking about the literal canon and call these unreal characters out on their flaws means that I hate these characters (which I do but that's my personal beef with Tamtam), then idk what to tell you lol
So 3 months ago after I read hofas I decided to reread acotar for the first time because I miss Feyre (and Rhysand... and the whole IC) like crazy. And I thought it be a good idea to read the original trilogy but since I'm a very mood reader I only read the first book lol. I had this post on my draft for 3 months now and I think I was scared to share them but now I don't really care.
I normally don't do rereads at all, my mind gets bored (I read my favorite scenes but never the whole book) so I decided to try something else and listen to the audiobook instead. And now I have thoughts!
This became longer than I intended but also I'm not going to add anything crazy that someone hadn't already pointed out so I'm just sharing some of my random notes (50 to be exact... it's long post) and thoughts of mine while reading this time around :)
This is definitely NOT a friendly-Tam/in post. If stating fact is considered as not friendly that is...
anyway ->
1. We have 2 chapter of the sisters in the beginning of the book and jeez both Nesta and Elain are the worst and as older sisters it pained me to read it for the first time. 2. I don't understand Elain, so I rather not talk about her and wait till her book comes out but she acts as a damsel in distress or be ignorant to the point Feyre questioning if she understand they're poor 💀 3. Although I have to admit, knowing Nesta now it was easier to go through it this time and not curse her in every page lol. But while reading the book I noticed that every time Feyre is thinking negatively of herself the voice in her head is the voice of Nesta. or whenever she wants to scolds herself, she call herself the names Nesta had called her. and it breaks my heart:
"and the part of me that spoke with Nesta’s voice had laughed at the idea of an ignorant human trying to admire faerie art."
"A half-wild beast, Nesta had called me." (2 times)
"Illiterate, ignorant, unremarkable, proud, cold—all spoken from Nesta’s mouth, all echoing in my head with her sneering voice."
4. Later on we see her actually coming after Feyre to saves her but this doesn't changes the fact that she verbally abused Feyre (and she acknowledge it!! trauma or not she abused Feyre to the point it left a mark on her so please don't turn her into a saint after one act of kindness lol) 5. There isn't much to say about papa Archeron except that he wasn't a great father. I understand depression have different effects on different people, but trauma is no excuse for how he was as a father (I genuinely believe a true parent would do anything for their children but some people are not cut out to be one and it's alright. but once you bring them into this world you have to guarantee that you can provide for them because they didn't choose to be in this life) 6. I know for a fact that if Feyre hadn't promised her mother to protect her family and didn't have a purpose to live her life, she would've been worse than Nesta. Because when she was in Spring Court, for at least 5 times she was guilt-ridden, thinking her family doesn't care about her at all (specially Nesta) or thinking about her shortcomings… (and like I said Nesta had a big role in these kind of thinking) 7. The first Feysand foreshadow was her painting night sky on her drawer<3 8. Lucien and Tam/in (specially Lucien) were so dramatic on their hate toward Feyre? she triggered a 48 years curse. It was always suppose to be this way. Andres knew what he was doing and accepted the fact that he might die. yes you can grieve but It's not really her fault now is it?
9. “You go somewhere new—and you make a name for yourself.”
^: well she definitely did that… 10. One of the things I noticed is that Tam/in was never NEVER Lucien's friend. he was Lucien's High Lord first then his friend and it's obvious from their very first scenes.
11. “We’re not going to bite.” Lucien’s white teeth gleamed in a way that suggested otherwise.
^: him and Cassian will get along well... 12. Feyre hates hunting... she says that to both Lucien and Tam/in. she does that out of necessity, if it's provoked. and not for the first time I realized Feyre is a mix of both Nesta and Elain. 13. Did we all got the vibe that Timtam was mad at Lucien spending time with Feyre because he knew he didn't have a chance once Lucien opens his mouth? 14. Feyre had real fear for Tam/in. in so many occasion we have her being genuinely scared of him. he even said it himself:
"But I could smell the fear on you, more than anything."
And in acomaf we have Rhysand saying he never felt fear of him from Feyre. and when they were UTM Feyre question herself that why she was always so quiet and submissive (not excatly the word she uses) toward Tam/in but with Rhysand she doesn't have that instinct. 15. This ship is the definition of Someone who doesn't know how to love x Someone who has never been loved and that's never a good pairing in any world. it takes one to be in a relationship with someone like Tam/in to understand that... 16. She always felt little, weak, stupid and so very human with Tam/in and Lucien and they never hide their feeling on the matter. 17. Feyre is such baddie istg... she killed a faerie, then went for a stroll and captured a suriel, THEN killed 2 nagas and a fkn wyrm while being a human... GURL- 18. Okay apparently every one says mature age in acotar world was retcon but Alis was talking about lesser fae not high fae? or specially their kind? idk I read that scene and all she was talking about was their kind and not high fae. 19. Timtam was never in control of his power... his power and anger had him on a leash not the other way around. 20. Feyre is always honry (LMAO)... but the sad part is Tam/in never matched her passion. he was always afraid that he's going to hurt her with his claws and bla bla bla BUT MY GIRL wanted him to claw at her💀 savage lol. all I'm saying is that he never gave all of himself to Feyre. 21. It always piss me off that Tam/in never taught her how to write and read. (and ig we all know why) 22. In chapter 19 we have Feyre asking if Fae can be mated to humans and in the next chapter we have Calamnai and something in her chest was pulling her to go and see and next thing we know she met Rhysand (aka her mate)
23. "There you are. I've been looking for you,"
^: PEOPLE DIED! 24. Imagine reading Feyre saying before her was the most beautiful man she has ever seen and not to think that it's fkn over for Tam/in lmao (point to this post of mine) It's also hilarious when she saw Tam/in after his mask was removed, she was like "handsome👍🏼" 25. Rhysand is such Theater kid istg (specially after hofas, the way he was just showing off)... he's like let me show her some tricks *walk around her and stars ripple from him* *blinking to show off the stars in his eye* *PURR* OK PEACOCK! 26. May I ask why on earth we never had a sex party like Calamnai in Night Court? I'm actually so mad because we lost the greatest opportunity WTF? Feyre was so hot and bothered about it and the reason they told her to stay at the manor was because Tam/in knew he will choose her and Feyre was like "oMg hE wOuLd chOoHe mE?" *tuck her hair behind her ear* girl- IT WOULD'VE FIT FEYSAND SO FKN WELL... maybe not on acomaf (even if it could be so healing) or acowar... BUT ACOFAS WAS RIGHT THERE!!! 27. One of the things I hate about the events after Calamnai is Lucien and Tam/in laughing at Feyre... ok... you weren't yourself, but the least you could do was to apologize for hurting and scaring her. it give off the vibe when people say "why was she out so late at night? what was she wearing?" it genuinely made me uncomfortable like the first time. 27. Something I noticed when I read the book for the first and I went 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩:
“No, I don’t want you to live somewhere else. I want you here, where I can look after you—where I can come home and know you’re here, painting and safe.”
"But his glamour had been ripped away. His auburn hair burned like hot metal, and his russet eye smoldered like a bottomless forge."
Damn I was right... 28. Tam/in always kept the truth from her, even the truth that wasn't a part of the curse :) 29. When Feyre drank that faerie wine she saw through Lucien's glamour... does he always have that glamour?:
interesting... 30. Tam/in is fkn coward! in more than 2 occasions Feyre was like why he's not attacking Rhys? why he's not kicking him out? and mf never once tried to stop Rhysand. NOT ONCE. yknow... sometimes in romance novels when you see your loved one in danger you don't care if he's the most powerful being in the world you just act and try to save the ones you love even if you don't win (and we know someone does exactly that at the end of the book)... it's effort that matters!!! and this doesn't stop here either it's even worse at UTM... 31. it's funny that Feyre is "in love" with Tam/in but doesn't stop to appreciate the beauty (Rhysand), even if he's in his villain era and making the love of her life beg on his knee and breaching her own mind... 32. Why Rhysand never called Feyre "love" anymore? the first time I read it I had put away my phone and take a deep breath lol. just like that "good girl" he called her at UTM... sjm knew I would've died if she used it more. 33. Never say never... Lucien:
“Those clothes are enough to convince me I never want to enter the human realm.”
The Mother humbled him real quick lmao. 34. ELAIN IS NOT AN INTROVERT FFS I'm so tried at everyone calling Elain an introvert while she's a social butterfly and we see that in this book!! and it pains me to see Elain stans are like "I'm a introvert myself so I understand Elain..." no you don't. she's traumatized, she's at her lowest in acosf. just because, like Nesta, she doesn't throw tantrums and drown herself in alcohol and sex means she's fine? you should be more worried for the person who looks fine!! 35. I adored the scene where Feyre teaches Nesta how to paint🥹 it just warms my heart<3 and now that Feyre has a art studio I want to see them paint together again or read Nesta's smutty books together at HoW!! (I read a fanfic that Nesta teaches Feyre how to read with a stick on the snow pre-canon and it just warmed my heart<3 don't get me wrong I love how Rhys taught her lol but there's something else in sisterhood...)
36. “There is a better world, Nesta. There is a better world out there, waiting for you to find it. And if I ever get the chance, if things are ever better, safer … I will find you again.”
^: Stop...😭
37. “Amarantha is High Queen of this land. The High Queen of Prythian,” Alis breathed, her eyes wide with some memory of horror.
^: That's why the whole high king and high queen will never work. people will never accept one even if they're a just person. they had the worst experience for 49 years. they can never trust a person to rule for all like that again. and honestly I hate the whole thing bye... 38. To me Amarantha and Tam/in are mates... for obvious reasons and it's fitting! idc what anyone else says 39. The whole chapter where she kills that wyrm is so hot!! and the fact that she's human and she's so calculated and plans in the span of few minutes to kill it and doesn't just attack and uses her brain instead is so hot!! I understand why Rhys fell in love!! *HOFAS spoiler* and it's funny to me how an Illyrian, a Starborn and a Valkyrie with a deadly mask struggled to kill the wyrm 😭💀 40. The only person, THE ONLY ONE who bet on her that she'll survive? who would that be? THE LOVE HER LIFE? no... and that's not something to just move on from! there's only two assumption we can make. one, he never believed in her to begin with, two, he's a fkn coward... which I think it's both. Rhysand was r*ped and tortured for 49 years and he never stopped helping Feyre and believing in her. and knowing Amarantha wouldn't be pleased with betting on Feyre, he still did it... 41. UTM Rhys supremacy... That's it. don't ask me anything... 42. How Feyre remembered the riddle for 2.5 months is beyond me... 43. Feyre appreciating Rhysand's beauty so randomly like... GIRL FOCUS!! 44. When Feyre questions her reason for why she's doing all these, for "just a few decades", should've been the sign... 45. How Tam/in finding a way to get Feyre alone right before the night of her last trial pissed me off the first time I read it… the fact that this was a goodbye to him. That in the past 3 months he didn't try to even react to her but the night before her last trial decided to fuck her instead of helping her to get out… he can find a way now, he can get out of Amarantha sight for more than 5 minutes to fuck her, but he couldn't have done that in the past 2.5 months… yeah sure this is true love. like I said it's the effort that matters not whether you succeeded in it... Tam/in disgusts me for a better word. 46. no note... *sound of my heart breaking*:
“When you healed my arm … You didn’t need to bargain with me. You could have demanded every single week of the year. Every single week, and I would have said yes.”
"And if you had any stomach for cruelty, you’d go to Amarantha and tell her the truth about her whore. Perhaps she’d give you Tamlin for it.”
“I know,”
47. This MF sat there until he got healed while every bone in Feyre's body was breaking and when he somewhat healed he began kneeling and begging?... KNEELING AND BEGGING!! JUST FKN KILL HER! (the way Feyre kept saying that) I don't want to hear one single word about how he was injured, bla bla bla he's a fkn high lord and a warrior I'm sure he experienced worse. the least he could do, was his fkn best to stop Amarantha. and this time around reading it piss me off so bad that I wanted to throw my phone out of the window... but you know who got up even when he didn't have his full powers? to save her, to kill Amarantha, to die with her because he didn't want her to be alone while she died? yeah... The fact that the first time I read it I thought this was the reason Feyre was going to leave him and what did she do?... my girl has no self-respect istg... Love blinds people I suppose... 48. Whenever Tam/in touched Feyre after this whole thing I wanted to throw up... when he cradled her dead body? oh I wanted Rhysand to mist him so fkn bad. he doesn't deserve to touch her, he didn't deserved Feyre's love, not once... 49. In my language we have an expression "whoever does the final task, they are the one who finished the job" obviously in my language it has more rhyme to it lol but it's a silly idiom and a stupid one at that; and When people start thanking Tam/in I was like: FOR WHAT EXACTLY? he just killed Amarantha at the last minute while he watch Feyre getting tortured? he just sat for 2.5 months while Feyre and Rhysand (and Lucien) do the works to free not just him but the whole Prythian... all the while he was in his home and you lot were imprisoned UTM, away from your home... who are you thanking to? (at least they thanked Feyre as well...) 50. Feysand's balcony scene has a special place in my heart:
“Why?”
“Because when the legends get written, I didn’t want to be remembered for standing on the sidelines. I want my future offspring to know that I was there, and that I fought against her at the end, even if I couldn’t do anything useful.”
“Because, I didn’t want you to fight alone. Or die alone.”
“Thank you,”
“You never told me you loved the wings—or the flying.”
“Everything I love has always had a tendency to be taken from me. I tell very few about the wings. Or the flying.”
“Be glad of your human heart, Feyre. Pity those who don’t feel anything at all.”
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whew... sorry this is so long! if you read this till the end I LOVE YOU. anyway I might do one for acomaf as well whenever I reread it. and I'm pretty sure Tam/in is going to make me see red even more than the first time!!
And I'm glad I was one of those few who saw the red flags in Tam/in even for the first time...
first time read: ⭐⭐⭐
second time read: ⭐⭐⭐.5
I noticed so many foreshadow in this book! and so many other 🚩that I didn't noticed for the first time! for some reason I can't give this book 4 stars because I tired to go easy on Tam/in but it got worse lmao💀
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Major spoilers for Love Lies Bleeding!
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Guess who watched Love Lies Bleeding two night ago! It was one of those films I wanted to watch but kept forgetting to because my long-term memory is not what it should be.
Something that I've found seemingly difficult for writers is how to write queer people as people. How do we ensure their identity isn't ignored and is validated without making it their whole character, while also acknowledging the complexities within their queer identity and how that affects them both internally and externally.
Not all writers are like this of course, and to give those who've struggled with this some grace, it's difficult to do! But there's a difference between doing your utmost hardest to ensure you've represented queer people sensitively, and not even bothering because they don't understand it and don't want to.
I'm sure no one's surprised I prefer dark media, and despite it often being more relatable than sweeter media (no shame to those or those who like it, there's something for everyone <3) I tend to like those because they'll show queer identities in a more human way, flawed.
Not all shows and movies do this of course, and there are plenty of healthier media that do this well (props to them!) it's just a preference. All this to say, I love the way Love Lies Bleeding handled its story. Now I'm not sapphic so please take everything I say with a pot of salt and if anything I say is offensive or misguided please don't hesitate to tell me!
This is just my interpretation that is shared by others I've seen online. No thought is original, and all that, that the ending is symbolic of Lou once again falling into a toxic relationship. Jackie isn't..the safest person to be with, showing a penchant for murder and I imagine the ending of her helping Lou kill her father is meant to show Jackie taking his place.
I have no clue if this was intentional but I don't feel like researching if it was. Love Lies Bleeding is a non-toxic flower that becomes toxic when it absorbs nitrates from nitrogen-rich soil, potentially causing organ damage. In the Victorian Era, it symbolized hopeless love or hopelessness.
I think sapphic and or lesbian media is unfortunately unable to really be human, exceptions of course. It's not a new sentiment to say it has to be palatable to straight men, straight people in general because god forbid they have to witness someone different from them. It's either overly sexualized or watered down to the point all sapphics can be is a lesbian or everything but. It's obnoxious.
Now I'm not saying that all queer films should become toxic depictions of love (all forms) no no, even I don't want that. But I want to hope that films are writing queer women and afab people as humans with all the complexities and flaws they have.
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haliespages · 2 months
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🩸~ review of immortal dark by tigest girma
3✨️
i want to preface this by saying the only true flaw with this is more of a personal issue, versus a craft issue, so please take that and my rating/review with a grain of salt if you think our feelings will vary on this topic.
this was a book i had been following before the author was even agented, following videos on tiktok and eagerly putting it on goodreads long before the cover reveal, so to be writing anything besides a rave review pains me. black vampires, dark academia, ethiopian mythos, all sounded amazing and i was extremely excited when the arc arrived at work so i feel terrible it wasn't the 4-5 stars i desired.
let's start with the good. the characterization is done very well, kidan is extremely complex and well-written, and the world and magic based on ethiopian mythos is so rich and easy to enjoy. the mystery is done well, even if i think the pacing was maybe a bit slow at times, it wasn't for increasingly long periods. the truly morally gray characters and philosophy was also well-crafted and i did enjoy seeing the story play out from these povs. the dark academia bits are also very atmospheric yet also carries that grit and commentary i love and expect. if we removed the area i took issue with, this would be a great 4 star read and even with that area, i still heavily recommend it for those who are still interested.
now my vice; the romance. i am all for complex, imperfect relationships especially in enemies to lovers like this, what i can not get behind are toxic/abusive relationships with no addressing of this toxicity. without much spoilers, the male li purposefully attacks our mc, causing harm, pranks her by praying on her trauma (minor spoilers, he drenches the mc in red food dye in her sleep and when she wakes up rightfully panicked, tells her its her missing sisters blood and finds its funny), causing panic attacks and overall extreme emotional distress as well as physical distress (he breaks her arm). while this is done before the romance blooms, this is never truly addressed as an issue, nor the actual pain this causes the mc ever acknowledged by this character, or at least acknowledged enough in my mind. i get these characters are supposed to be messy and dark and that is great and something i do like usually, but i personally can't enjoy or connect to romances when they get their start in extreme abuse. even if later on the love interest changes behavior, i just can't understand a romance built on such terrible actions. as mentioned, this is just me and what i like/dislike in books, if you think this won't bother you, then i do heavily recommended this, but in good conscious, i also can't leave this part out of my review as this romance did lower my rating of the book due to me being a bit uncomfortable with it.
as another side note, by no means am i saying this romance is problematic, romance that isn't always perfect is something needed in fiction, it's just a concept that i don't always find enjoyable and as these reviews are based off my own opinions, i wanted to mention it. like i said before, every other piece of this was decently well-done and easy to enjoy but the romance ruined it for me sadly.
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rainnybear · 11 months
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TW: Opinion
I don’t like people who instantly hate people just because they don’t like 2012 April
I personally don’t like 2012 April, I don’t mind if others like her, I just don’t
I understand it’s annoying considering a lot of people hate her just because of Casey and/or Donnie but I find a lot of people assume that everyone who doesn’t like her doesn’t like her for those reasons
I dislike her for many reasons not involving Casey and/or Donnie and Donnie is my favourite character
I don’t like her because she was written terribly by men, I find she’s rude a lot of the time (Ex: When Splinter couldn’t help the turtles because he couldn’t go above ground due to the foot clan, When Leo tried to stop her from going on a dangerous mission by herself with literally no training, etc) and she gives me so much second hand embarrassment in a lot of scenes, mainly season 3 but of course season 3s kinda weird on all the characters..
I hate how she always argues with everyone who tries to help her and shuts out people during fights without letting them even explain what happened
I understand why she would be angry and act out more due to all the stuff with her dad but I find her behaviour doesn’t change once she gets him back and she doesn’t even really make an effort to be nicer
It’s not like I try to ignore the flaws on Donnie either, I just find I like his other characteristics and other than those flaws he’s a good character, even if he’s problematic, I still acknowledge those flaws
With April, her terrible writing makes it hard to look past her flaws so I don’t enjoy her as a character
Another issue I saw was people hating on people who like 2012 Donnie
As Donnie being a main character in every episode, we see many different aspects of his personality
His anxiousness, his kindness, his gentle nature, him being excitable, him being easily annoyed and of course the stalker stuff
Of course making sure to acknowledge the fact he is also problematic by his stalker side, we also see other aspects of his personality which is why I enjoy his character
“Oh so you prefer a stalker?”
Like April, there’s many other characteristics other than the negative ones, sure the negative ones are easier to focus on and are more noticeable but people can still enjoy the character for aspects other than the negative ones.
I hate that he’s a stalker but I enjoy his other characteristics, especially since I kin him (Dw I don’t kin the stalker stuff)
With April, I find her personalities always the same, and though she’s in most episodes, there’s not as much attention on her as the others which shows us less of her characteristics
We see that she’s determined, smart and stubborn
I find we don’t see much more than that but that may just be because I don’t like her so I don’t pay enough attention to her to be able to describe her
I find most of the fandom agrees that April’s writing is terrible and I have a feeling that’s a huge reason most people dislike her
Of course, this is just my opinion
I’m not saying you can’t like April or you have to like Donnie or anything, I’m just saying stop hating on people based on what characters they like or dislike
If you disagree please just scroll and don’t attack me
Thank you for reading
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