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loaksky · 2 years ago

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— 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴

the lowdown — the one where neteyam is shackled by appearances, but you couldn’t care less.

the who — neteyam x fem omatikaya!reader

the word count — 2.2k

the tags & warnings — language ,, misunderstandings (i love this trope and this is a hill i��ll die on i’m SORRY) ,, neteyam’s friends can be shitty, but mean well ,, reader just wants to love up on her boy :(

the notes — based off of this request! this is another addition to my neteyam content, but ik some of you guys are itching for some other characters, so i'm probably gonna steer in another direction & write for kiri & tsireya so if that interests you, stay tuned! <3

(not proofread well lmao)

masterlist

Neteyam is many things; a kind spirit, a fierce warrior, a loving brother, a diligent son. But Neteyam is also new to love. Not quite new to being in love, but learning the act of loving you.

He’d found so many ways to express his heart’s desire; written notes on scraps, gentle smiles, searing eyes. It was one thing in particular, though, that made his mouth dry, made his brain nearly short circuit, and it was your need to be in his space.

Even after many days that bleed into weeks and meld into months, you make his cheeks warm with every lingering pass of your fingertips, make his stomach knot with every fluttering kiss to his skin.

It’d been a pleasant surprise at first, but now it was a need, an absolute necessity to have you fused to him like a second skin. Your touch was a tacit word and he was learning to speak your language.

The two of you together was normalcy and the clan members were more than delighted to know that the olo’eyktan’s son was lucky in love. But there were teasing whispers, lilting voices in the background that made something uncomfortable pinch the back of his brain.

His skin would light up with equal parts want and embarrassment when you’d hang loosely around him during evening meals and the villagers his age would giggle and murmur behind their palms about the two of you. Didn’t help that you were an oblivious thing, or maybe you didn’t care, when you’d hold his hand in your own, occasionally bringing his fingertips to your lips during casual conversation.

And he didn’t mind loving you endlessly when you were just two souls enjoying each other, but he can’t help but tense when his eyes wander and he sees watchful gazes.

“Mighty warrior is a needy one, huh?”

His friends, comrades since childhood, surround him on a sunny afternoon. Neteyam pauses his actions, arrow in the midst of a sharpening.

His spine goes rigid and his eyes narrow.

“What are you on about?” he asks, jaw locking.

“Even in the moments you aren’t with her, you’re thinking about her,” his friend Marin says with a shiteating grin.

“Don’t even,” Neteyam warns, eyes rolling as he continues with sharpening his arrows.

“Oh, come on,” another one of his friends guffaws, twining a new bow string. “You haven’t said a word since we sat down.”

And he wishes he could form a solid argument, but you are on his mind, all-consuming as always. Can’t help it when he’s pined after you for years and only recently found the courage to act on his heart.

“Maybe I just don’t want to engage with you assholes,” Neteyam bites, fist tightening around his dagger.

“Yeah, because if you open your mouth, all you’ll be able to talk about is my girl this and my girl that,” Marin teases. “Who knew future olo’eyktan was so clingy.”

“Yeah, like it’s me who’s clingy,” he grunts, resuming the task at hand with much more fervor.

“Is it not?” Marin challenges. “Oh, ________, my love, look at these flowers I picked for you.”

The blood is rushing to his ears as his friends howl with laughter.

“Syulang, I wrote you twelve pages declaring my love even though we’ve seen each other thrice since last eclipse.” The taunting makes him seethe, makes the feeling of discomfort surface all over again and the words are spilling before he can plug the dam.

“Of course it’s not me,” Neteyam scoffs. “I keep my composure, but it’s her that insists on constantly reminding the village that we’re together. If I had it my way, nothing would have changed from when we were friends.”

It’s a lie and he knows it, his friends know it. But you, you who staggers outside of the training circle at the sound of multiple voices don’t know it.

It’s like a swift strike to the gut, one that squashes every butterfly that tickled the lining of your stomach on your way to fetch the very man who’d held your heart and crushed it all the same.

Your satchel, heavy with fruits and snacks for after your evening swim with Neteyam, weighs heavy across your front as you debate whether or not you should be listening to a conversation that is obviously not meant for your ear. But it’s like you’re rooted to the soil beneath you.

“Yeah, okay,” Marin chuffs, obviously not convinced. “If you’re so bothered by your dynamic now, there isn’t any reason why you wouldn’t say anything. She’s your second skin and you love it.”

He does, he thinks to himself.

Of course he doesn’t, you realize, horrified, the thousand and one times your hands would find his body and he’d tense or shy away replaying like a horror reel in your brain.

“I potentially hold the future of this clan in my hands,” Neteyam says. “It is my duty to endure all things whether or not I enjoy it.”

It’s like you’re doused with water so cold at the violent shiver that shakes your spine.

Just another thing to endure, you mull over in your brain as the barge of emotions brims dangerously near the surface.

You break from the edge of the clearing and you’re off.

Something is off.

And Neteyam is ashamed to admit that it takes him obnoxiously long to notice. Maybe it’s because he’s caught up in his duties, or maybe for once in his life, he isn’t worrying about meddlesome gazing, but the shift is imperceptible.

You’re still you, so aching beautiful and devastatingly radiant, but something is different. He doesn’t pinpoint it until he’s bidding you a farewell, leaning into your space to plant a kiss on your lips when you ease away to beam at him nervously instead.

His brows furrow when you wave, breaking away from him to scurry home.

He thinks it’s a one off, something he shouldn’t read too much into, but he can’t help it. Not when he’s so used to your touch, so used to feeling the pads of your fingers denting his skin and the scald of your lips.

He tries again a few nights later, after finally getting you alone. He’d been busy assisting his father in planning a raid at the end of the month and you were busy trying to put as much distance between the two of you.

“You’re awfully quiet, bug,” Neteyam observes softly, chin dipping under the water as he swims closer to where you float on the surface, eyes closed.

You only hum, pleading silently that he’ll let it pass. But when his fingers skim your navel, you’re jerking away from him, settling so that a berth of glittering blue separates the two of you.

He forces a laugh, wading closer to you as you seemingly shrink.

“What’s wrong?” he asks when he sees something like discomfort flitting over your expression, concern eclipsing his features as he reaches forward to grab you by your arm.

“Nothing…” you swallow, staring at the rounded stones beaded through the necklace you made him early on in your budding relationship.

He doesn’t buy it, tilting your chin up with deft fingers.

“Hey, hey,” he says softly, searching your face for a tell. “Talk to me.”

“Nothing,” you breathe, peeling away from him to wade back towards the embankment. “It’s nothing.”

He watches as you hoist yourself up from the river, heart in his throat.

He cracks when the others seem to notice, slowly catching onto the fact that the usually doting and loving partner of the olo’eyktan’s son is surprisingly distant. It’s during an evening meal, villagers surrounding the multiple fires, when it comes to a head.

There’s an unusual space between your bodies as you chat with Kiri and a few others and he can’t help but close the gap as something akin to desperation washes over him. His fingers brush the span of your shoulders to pull you into his chest, lips a hairsbreadth from your temple before your palm snakes between your bodies and plants on his chest to nudge him away.

He bites the inside of his cheek in annoyance as Marin and his other friends share knowing glances.

While he boils silently, you ache to tell him that you don’t mean it, that there’s nothing more you’d want than to spend every waking moment in his arms, but that day in the clearing is a humiliating reminder that Neteyam is shackled to his honor and if it means making you happy despite his discomfort, he’d endure it all.

You hate it, hate that he’d let you feel like things were alright leading up to this moment, that he’d suffer at the expense of mocking and badgering from his friends. Makes you feel embarrassed, sorry, that you’d read the two of you all wrong.

You feel his fingers inching towards yours, pinkie overlapping with yours. Your hands involuntarily close into fists and that’s all it takes for Neteyam to shoot up from his perch on the log and take you by the elbow.

There’s a hush as his friends and yours watch the two of you part ways with the group, the nearly feral look in their leader’s son suggestively mistaken.

“Why won’t you touch me?” Neteyam asks fiercely, once enough distance lies between the two of you and the rest of the clan.

His words make your cheeks warm, but he looks troubled, hurt.

“I-”

“Did I do something to disgust you? Did I…”

His words melt into the background as you watch him with teary eyes.

“You don’t have to pretend with me, Teyam,” you whisper. “You can tell me the truth. I’m a big girl.”

“What are you talking about?” he asks, frustrated. “You’re the one hiding something. These past few weeks I’ve been trying to be with you, trying to love you and you keep pushing me away.”

A twinge of annoyance erupts in the pit of your belly as you frown.

“That’s rich coming from you,” you murmur hoarsely.

“I’m so lost right now, ________,” he admits desperately. “We were fine, everything was great, and suddenly I feel like I’m losing you. Did I do something? Are you–”

“Just be honest with me!” you cry out. “Why do you have to put on this front all the time? It’s just me, Neteyam! If I overwhelm you, if I embarrass you, just say it! It hurts worse when you act like it’s nothing.”

And Christ, his friends were right. He is needy. Because you’re not a want but a lifeline. A dire necessity that he feels the need to cling to in this moment. This feels a lot like you two are splintering, and he’s about to open his mouth to ask what would compel you to say such a thing, but then it clicks.

The final piece of the puzzle that he’d been agonizing over falls into place and his eyes are widening.

“No,” he says vehemently. “That wasn’t–”

“Is it not?” you cut him off as you dash the threatening tears away.

“God, no,” he breathes. “I was– They were…”

You watch him with wet lashes and his heart aches as he takes the leap and pulls you into his chest with a shuddering breath.

“I’m so stupid.” His chest rumbles as your ear presses to his heart, arms winding tightly around your figure to buoy you to place. “Fuck.”

You hiccup and his hand cradles your head, peppering kisses against your hair as he sways your bodies like it’ll disorient the miscommunication and send it spiraling away.

“I’m sorry,” you whimper. “I didn’t mean to be embarrassing. I–”

“No, no, bug,” he swallows, hugging you so tight, you struggle to suck a breath into your lungs. “You’re not, I promise. I could never be embarrassed by you.”

You shudder so hard his grip loosens, parting with you to cup your flushed cheeks in his hands.

“They were ripping me a new one,” he says shakily. “Told me I was needy, clingy, and I was embarrassed because they’re right.”

Your throat bobs and Neteyam’s thumb brushes over the apple of your cheeks.

“You make me so weak, you don’t even understand,” he laughs humorlessly, body wracked with nerves, with want, with need. “I said it to save face because I never know what to do with myself around you.”

“You—”

“And I know it was wrong, talking out of my ass to get them to shut the fuck up,” his language is a crass reminder that he’s a former marine’s son, “but I don’t think I’ll ever get used to being yours.”

Yours.

It’s a sound declaration, one that makes you crumple like a baby because you’ve missed your person, and Neteyam hugs you close again.

“I’m sorry I’m so clueless sometimes, bug,” he whispers, cheek nuzzling the top of your head. “Love you more than anything, I mean it.”

You hiccup again.

“Love you, too, stupid” you mumble, arms wrapping around the narrow of his waist.

It’s your first meaningful touch in weeks and Neteyam melts under the heat of your body, under the heat of your warm hands.

taglist; @nao-cchi , @jkiminpark , @philiasoul @amart-e , @s-u-t , @netesbby , @tayswiftlovebot , @dumb-fawkin-bitch , @ewackmn , @fanboyluvr , @neteyamoa , @itssiaaax , @girlpostingsposts , @athenachu

#neteyam drabble #neteyam fic #neteyam x reader #neteyam sully #neteyam #avatar way of water #avatar #avatar the movie #avatar the way of water #atwow

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sshadowritestoriess · 2 years ago

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hello! could you write something with zen echo and ramattra (sorry if that's too many characters) with a human reader who kisses them even tho they don't really have a mouth, I'd like to know their reactions

Kissing robots is so good <3

Kissing Zenyatta

Kisses aren’t a display that surprises him, really!

It might have been pretty anticlimactic the first instance that you had press your lips to his faceplate, a gesture of which he gently leaned into and remained patiently still, until you pulled away

But he would still sometimes entertain you with a prized “oh!” as if he hadn’t expected it

He only apologized the first time for not being able to return the favor the same way, but he was delighted by receiving such a human affection! It pleases him immensely that you would demonstrate this kind of love as if he were human

The best he could do to reciprocate was to press his forehead against yours, lean carefully into your touch, or nudge his jaw against your cheek

He’d be ridiculously gentle doing these things, highly aware that he was of metal and that humans bruise quite easily.

When you would kiss him where he would have a mouth, he liked to respond with a verbal “mwah!” or other kiss sound

You both would also have a habit of blowing kisses to one another as well. He loves pretending to catch yours, and would feign placing it on his cheek before signing “I love you” with his hand

But he also liked to take your hands in his and press your knuckles to the nine lights of his forehead, feeling the warmth of his glow against your hands in his own means of returning the gesture

Sometimes he even asks for kisses, very politely. It’s hard to refuse (but why would you?)

Kissing Echo

Considering her face is just a hologram, you both occasionally forget that and share an amused moment when trying to kiss each other

Sometimes it’s definitely on purpose though! Feigning a kiss upon one another’s mouth with sweet smiles, and an especially elated giggle from Echo

Your one-sided kisses always make her gasp, an expressive look of joyous surprise on her face that leaves her mouth agape

She finds it so interesting, curious, and will lift to you her hands and turn her head from side to side asking “Can you do that here? And what about from here?”

So it’s not really a one-and-done— if you kiss her, you’re gonna end up doing quite a couple. She loves it very much

She doesn’t seem bothered that she can’t truly kiss you back, and if asked she’ll tell you “I think there’s something just as special about pretending!”

And it’s true. The make-believe gestures of affection are something very unique to her that may as well be real in its own way

Just because she couldn’t kiss you doesn’t mean she wasn’t. It may not be the same, but it felt no different than if she could. And it was fun, and worth her reactions

She could never bore of your kisses, nor tire of returning them.

Kissing Ramattra

Ramattra, on the other hand, would somehow end up shocked by your kisses every single time without fail. Subtly flinching as if you’d accidentally surprised him

He’d make a disgruntled noise after your display, but he’d never ask you to stop. He would, however, make sure now and again that you didn’t think he was going to be able to suddenly kiss you back one day

Sometimes he’d mutter something about “human gestures”, but it was hard to discern if it was bringing him offense or not. But again, he never told you he didn’t like it— and he was pretty open about telling you the things that brought him unease

It was more like he was just tolerating it for a while, but he’d eventually begin appreciating it

While he can’t kiss you, he does have a similar gesture that brings him a lot more satisfaction when you attempt to do the same

His specific model can summon a very brief vibration from behind the “mouth” of his faceplate, an old discreet means of communicating that uses the gentle buzz as something similar to Morse code. The pulses produce no sound, but emits a small encoded wave between omnics— like sending a text directly into someone’s mind

It wasn’t a language any human could decipher, but he’d press his ‘mouth’ to your neck or cheek and speak a quick note of affection there, anyway.

You seemed to understand it was loving. And when one day he’d tucked his face into your shoulder and his faceplate pulses ticklishly against your skin again, he was suddenly ecstatic when you leaned your throat against his head and hummed quickly, in the same rhythm he did, mocking his gesture

So, technically, you were telling him you loved him back by repeating his ‘message’, and you had no idea.

He wouldn’t admit a thing to you, but you could tell it made him pretty happy.

And while he preferred his version of “kisses” to yours, he would never turn down your ways of showing him that you loved him

#overwatch #overwatch2 #headcanons #fluff #kisses #ramattra overwatch #ramattra #reader insert #zenyatta #echo overwatch #echo #echo x reader #Ramattra x reader #Zenyatta x reader

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mullermilkshake · 1 month ago

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Meet the cast

Readers of the JJKYakuza! AU

EDIT: Forgot to say, this song has absolutely nothing to do with that time period but I love it and I think it suits the post :3

Yakuza!JJK men x Fem!readers.

Sukuna, Satoru, Suguru, Kento, Toji, Choso

Though each piece of writing I do is how the reader would like to read it, each one I write has naturally written themselves personalities though I’ve tried to be a little vague to keep immersion as linear as possible. I also keep it as second person because I just prefer writing that way.

Each reader is Fem!reader, but some shorts/ fics could be read as Afab! I will indicate where the reader is definitely Fem! The pronouns I use most of the time are She/Her. I purposely try and leave certain details to be as inclusive as I can.

I'll update as the characters write themselves and if there are any new non- platonic/platonic interests reveal themselves.

So, without further ado, I'm pleased to introduce to you properly, the readers of my JJK Yakuza AU.

Enjoy!

Sukuna's wife

You are determined, self assured and despite what Sukuna puts on display for the clan to see, you most definitely wear the pants in this marriage.

Sukuna just hates to admit it.

You have him inadvertently wrapped around your little finger. Your adaptability proves useful in the world of the Yakuza and took well to stepping up and being the Chairman’s wife after an impromptu marriage proposal.

It slipped from Sukuna's lips and he's never regretted asking you the way he did. He was almost speechless when you gave Nanami the answer to pass along and he was married to you within the month.

Determined is one way to put it. You aren’t indecisive and you know what you want in life to reach out and grab it.

One thing that turns Sukuna on every time is that glare you have when you are angry. Though you don't show it, it's an expression that verges on lustrous.

And Sukuna is addicted to it.

Satoru's girlfriend

You are timid at times but you're coming out of your shell each and every day. You make Satoru want to be a better man after all the fucked up shit he's done and continues to do.

So kind spirited, humble and charitable.

You care deeply for Satoru and it's sometimes hard for him to see that. He knows he's difficult to be with sometimes yet you never point his flaws out or put him down.

It's one of your perfect traits. Loving him unconditionally.

Yakuza life irks you at times and Satoru see's the worry that builds up behind your eyes, but again, you don't forbid him from his family or ask him to cut that part of him off.

Not many people would put up with the tomfoolery he brings to your front door.

But you do.

Suguru's wife.

'Behind each successful man, theres a woman holding him up.' This is something Suguru stands by and believes wholeheartedly.

You are fully aware of Suguru's involvement with the Yakuza and at times, you even actively encourage it. Being the person you are and how long you've known Suguru, you allow him to take care of what's needed to be done. Even hurting bad people so long there's a reason to do so.

Suguru's conscience is something you hold dear to your heart and have always made it clear that you don't want him losing his way.

That being said, you are one hell of a mama bear to the girls. Whenever, albeit on rare occasions when the girls are threatened, you don't wait for Suguru to deal with it.

You'd happily take on the entire Yakuza to keep his girls safe and Suguru is certain you'd win hands down too.

It's a dominant trait and at times it’s something that Suguru is scared of. Because you really are the one in charge and he loves that about you.

Kento's single (currently)

Though single, you have caught his eye and Kento wishes to speak to you in person. As someone who's bubbly and charming, you are incredibly elusive whenever Kento does his best to converse with you in person.

You have no idea he exists and how many times he's tried to speak with you. Something always gets in the way.

There's still so much of you that Kento wants to learn about and the only way he'll do that is to build up the courage and speak to you.

Kindness is something common in your vocabulary and you do it everyday with a smile.

What's your favourite movie, weather or season? How much do you enjoy to read that same book you have stuffed into your purse whenever he sees you reading in that coffee shop?

These are all things he wants to know, and eventually he'll get his wish just to hear your voice with his own hears again instead of on a monitor screen in his office.

Toji's girlfriend

Wow. You were more than everything Toji could have actually anticipated when he first met you.

You grew comfortable around him around the six month mark and now, Toji lives with you and watches you walk around the apartment naked just because you can.

Toji admires your confidence and the fact you don't question him wherever he goes. Clinginess is something he avoids and your independence is attractive.

Your personality is still yet to be fully developed with him, and that's because he isn't sure how you'll react when you eventually find out that he is involved with the Yakuza.

He has an suspicion that you might join the pieces together, but your independence stops you badgering him. So for now it's manageable.

Still, you'll find out sooner or later and Toji has no idea if you'll see him differently after learning his past and present.

Until then, he’ll have faith in your kindness.

Choso's dating

While everything is still new for Choso, you are still a breath of fresh air for him.

It's early days and there's much healing to be had with how your ex died. (Another Yakuza guy who was a massive dick.)

You love animals and seem to be the least judgemental person he's ever met. You never look at the scar across his face and look at him like he's an actual human being.

Unlike how Sukuna glares at him.

Your voice is soothing to his ears, someone who makes him feel safe as he finds his own identity in the Yakuza. You don't know he's Yakuza yet but Choso plans to come clean soon.

He's not sure how you'll react when he's sure you didn't know your ex was Yakuza either. Though based off of the pleasant warm aura you emit to brighten up any room, he prays you'll see that he's more than just someone involved in crime when he tries to actively avoid it.

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thatsatricky1 · 2 months ago

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𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐬

There are many things in life that others enjoy at a younger age much more than when they grow up. One of those things was seasonal holidays. Of course there are the most obvious ones that come to mind. New years, Easter, Halloween and Christmas.

Halloween was the time for little ones to explore creativity, dressing up as their favourite characters for the most part. They got to traverse the streets way past their scheduled bedtimes to go door to door in hopes of sweet treats getting dropped into their filling candy bags/buckets. Their parents rushing to get costumes or make homemade passable ones, watching their kids from the sidelines knocking on trusted neighbours doors and already thinking of the headaches they’d receive off their sugar high kids for the next couple of weeks.

Though as children start to grow up experiencing hardships and gruelling puberty Halloween turns into parties and hang outs. Costumes became more elaborate as their taste in media changed, no longer needing the help of their parents. For some Halloween has already become trivial and a past seasonal holiday they no longer participate in preferring to go about their mundane day or just putting on a quick horror flick.

Young adults indulging in the seasonal holiday, not for the childlike wonder it used to cause but as an excuse to party or celebrate only with the difference of wearing an outfit, a rare gem here and there but the main focus for most was to dress as elaborate as possible to catch the eye of others. Whether that be a goofy costume to get a laugh out of friends, or a sexy outfit to attract that one person they wanted most. Though for many, Halloween in that age range was already a long forgotten concept and not of importance with many other things in mind.

But just because you may not be indulging in Halloween it doesn’t mean Halloween won’t worm its way back into your life whether you want it to or not. Maybe just maybe you really should have paid attention to the rules of Halloween a little better, don’t you agree?

Y/n was no exception to time, growing up and growing out of her childlike wonder. Why focus on something like Halloween when she had deadlines to meet? A part time job that was really trying to push her boundaries on the ‘flexible shift times’ and going to university in an attempt of getting that one slip of paper that held hope for possible good jobs in the future.

She’d made it clear this year to each and every friend she wasn’t interested in being dragged to a Halloween frat party that was just another excuse for young adults to get drunk, high and forget about those stacking student loan debts and responsibilities looming. The closest thing she’d entertain was a quiet day in, a quick horror movie and then a well deserved nap.

So which one of her friends had decided to trick her on Halloween? She stared down at eight envelopes, each laying flat on her bedroom dresser in various colours. Each letter looked just as inviting to open, yet she picked the one closest that happened to be a crisp mundane white colour.

Grabbing her knife letter opener and slicing the top of the envelope clean open before dipping her index finger and thumb inwards, tugging out the lettered content inside.

Flicking it open and scanning the page she was met with very confusing context.

𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝,

After all this time we were certain our intentions would have been clear to you by now, yet I think we must have overestimated ourselves in terms of how well we fitted in with your mundane life. Or to reword it a bit more bluntly, we toned down our true selves to be able to be near you.

However our patience only extends so far, we aren’t exactly known or fond of it. So in some maybe even sick way, why not do this around the time of year people decide to self indulge in the more thrilling seasonal event, Halloween. Quite ironic with the needed context.

Laid out on your desk are seven more envelopes, each varying in size and colour belonging to different individuals. All you need to do is pick one. Just one. And that in itself will give us our answer.

𝐒𝐃𝐒

Her hands were quick to close the letter, eyebrows furrowed in pure confusion. It lacked all and any context needed. Just words printed down on a clean sheet of paper. With a flick of her wrist, the letter was discarded, landing just an inch from the trash can below her desk.

Her eyes shifted now over to the seven unopened envelopes on her desk. Many questions flicking through her mind all at once. How had the anonymous sender known she’d pick up the white envelope to begin with? What would have happened if she’d opened up a coloured one? What will happen when she picks one envelope to open and read? Why only pick one?

Disregarding the hoard of questions, she held back a roll of her eyes considering just how dumb the whole situation was figuring she’d find out which one of her friends had done this soon enough when she read one of the letters in front of her. She reached her hand out, going off of pure instinct knowing exactly which envelope she wanted to open.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞

Why not pick the Purple card? It was the obvious choice. It laid in the centre as if calling out, the better choice, the only choice. A perfect and neatly waxed seal right in the centre with lavender tucked underneath it, wafting a calming and relaxed scent into the air overpowering any other smell nearby. This was clearly the right one to choose.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞

The Yellow card practically wanted to be opened, needed to be opened. It was meant for you and no one else. If only one could be opened it would be this one. A little too much golden wax around the seal proved that more was better. Two daisies nearly falling out of the envelope basically showed there were many more inside, all for you. The choice was already made the moment you laid eyes on the thick envelope.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞

The Pink card called out, demanding attention, the delicious smell of floral scents hitting your nose just right in its delicate small pink pouch sitting at the corner on top of it. The waxed seal was messily like raw emotion stamped by its anonymous sender, drying before it could drip any further down the envelope. Picking this one was like breathing, you had to, it was just so tempting.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞

The Green card, it should be the one you choose. None of them compared to this one, the leaves wrapping around the top so meticulously, leaves winding down to gently rest on top of the waxed seal that was perfectly circular with quite the curious choice of wording melted into it. It was supposed to be yours from the start, no one else’s.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞

The Orange card looked enticing, a single flower tapped to the front of it as if a promise of what could lay inside considering it was thick, more flowers most likely waiting to be revealed. Even the waxed seal promised more and more, slightly overflowing from where it had been pressed too much wax having been used. And who were you to deny picking something with just that more involved inside.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞

The Red card screamed, no demanded to be chosen. Rose petals flicked half hazardly underneath it, the waxed seal having been stamped with force, causing extra wax to be shoved outwards to the right side drying over the envelopes opening. A red silk bow laid on the bottom right corner whether an afterthought or meticulously placed there, it was loud and bold. Who were you not to give in to its demands, that was your card.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞

The Blue card laid out on the desk was much less noticeable than the others, less elaborate. The waxed seal having most likely been pressed with little force by the way the melted wax oozed dry on all corners and lifted too soon to completely seal the envelopes opening, two pieces of sticky tape randomly placed on each side to properly close it instead. So little thought put into it, but even with little effort it was the most preferred one. Choosing this one was as easy as blinking.

𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @rotinyzen @wonyoungmywife @snflwrhaerecs4u @thegreenlynx @serinebsblog @delululi @molensworld @morkiee @marvelahsobx @kaciebello @kgneptun @bluedbliss @haechansbbg @officiallyjaehyuns @bunnychui @audreybub @sleepyvic @winwintea

(This Taglist is used for all my nct context so if you’d like to be tagged in my nct content please comment or write to me to be added)

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: Y’all better be as excited as I am for this, I’m hoping to have this posted on time for Halloween fingers crossed.

𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭:

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goldenshrikecomic · 4 months ago

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I know this is a pretty small thing, but I think it’s cute how even though the gifts the boys got for runi aren’t the best n it’s played mostly as comedic, there actually is a good amount of merit & thought behind each one. Each one actually reflects an aspect of runi’s personality.

Kasko is easily the most similar to runi in terms of interests, so while berries are pretty simple, they actually look to be the same type of berries we see runi munching on in the rain!

Nero has been with Runi the longest, and he’s no doubt familiar with how thoughtful/sentimental she is, even if he doesn’t really understand it as shown with the pebble he finds for her.

Boneslav’s gift is actually pretty interesting despite appearing rather unimpressive. Its a flower that’s common for deerkind, no doubt being largely overlooked by many. But to boneslav it’s a completely new flora!! I think it does what Nero’s gift was trying to do (give Runi something considerate to ponder over) but better since it’s something mundane being appreciated by a new perspective.

I have to pop your bubble because you got couple of them wrong! It's sometimes hard to know who's talking when the characters aren't shown. Kasko is the one who narrates this.

The wetberries are from Nero, because he knows Runi loves to eat. You can see her munching on these exact berries before her mud bath. Kasko wants to eat Nero's gift because those berries are TASTY.

The pebble is from Kasko, who knows Runi likes to look at interesting things, like stars at night. Nobody comments on this one, because Kasko is the main commenter here.

The flowers are from Boneslav. They're new and appealing to him, and he doesn't know Runi well enough to pick something more specific. I think Boneslav is also a bit lost when it comes to what kind of plants grasslanders eat.

#ask #nero #kasko #boneslav #runi

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anxiouspotatorants · 1 year ago

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This whole «Lorelai is evil and so is Rory and Emily is the real MVP of the show» shtick is getting on my nerves.

Like don’t misunderstand me, I love Emily and Richard. They are interesting and complex characters with strengths and weaknesses and a whole lot of baggage (like almost everyone in Gilmore Girls, except maybe the Town Troubador). But they aren’t this perfect well meaning couple with an ungrateful daughter who refuses to accept help and grow up.

Lorelai is not perfect either by any stretch of the imagination. She’s presumptuous, stubborn, used to getting her way and struggles to see things from more than one angle, but she’s also kind, hard working, supportive and able to strike a balance between being open and setting boundaries. She’s a complicated, flawed person, like all good protagonists should be (as opposed to heroes). And she doesn’t fight with Emily or cut her parents out because she’s being immature, she’s doing it because they genuinely hurt her several times.

Imagine if things had gone exactly like Emily and Richard wanted things to go. A 16 year old Lorelai would be married against her will to a guy who would likely then spend the rest of his life under the thumb of his parents for the «mistake» of having Rory. Her social life, her work, her education, all of it would be heavily monitored by Emily and Richard, as they would insist she only engage with what they deem respectable work and social circles. Lorelai in the DAR, Lorelai running charity functions, Lorelai staying married to a Hayden. So much of what makes Lorelai herself would be gone: the inn, her friendships with Sookie and Michel, cooky hobbies and a band of semi-adopted misfits and Luke.

Certain people (not many but still some) seem to forget exactly what it is Emily and Richard ultimately criticize Lorelai for, because it’s not her childish remarks at Friday Night Dinner. They criticize her for her lack of university education. For her lack of a high status job even though she runs a successful inn that she co-owns herself. For her terrible pick of men - not because of how they might be as lovers but because they’re not high society and not the kind of wealthy guys who could let Lorelai retire to the life of an affluent housewife (like did we forget that one of the times Lorelai cut them out was because they refused to accept LUKE?). Hell, they usually don’t criticize Lorelai for reasonable issues with how she raised Rory, they criticize her for not controlling Rory’s love life more.

I do think Emily and Richard love Lorelai and Rory, and that at the end of the day they want them to be happy (otherwise none of these characters would fight so hard to stay in each other’s lives). But time and time again they let their love of status and fear of a bad reputation stand in the way of recognizing their daughter and granddaughter for what they love and for what make them happy. Dislike Lorelai all you want, Rory too, but don’t come here and tell me that Emily is the one in the right.

#I almost never see this take in the Tumblr circles I run in so that’s good #but there seems to be a lot of it almost everywhere else #so I felt like screaming into my personal echo chamber for a while #also I didn’t get too much into Rory or how Richard specifically does this too #because they deserve their own posts #but yeah people do this to Rory too #and Richard isn’t an innocent bystander which is why I write him in with Emily as a unit #gilmore girls #the potato rants #Gilmore girls discourse #lorelai gilmore #rory gilmore #emily gilmore #richard gilmore #not tagging anti because again I am not anti

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undeadmagick · 7 months ago

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How my Deities Appear to Me ♡

One of my very first posts was talking about how surreal it was to see my deities (or how they present themselves to me). You can find it here. So I decided to make a whole post to show what they look like to me with descriptions and some images to kinda explain what I mean. :)

Note: I haven’t meditated with Lucifer before so his appearance isn’t clear to me. Also Apollo had a blurred/unclear face to me when we met so in this post, I’ll be talking about my other deities. If this is an interesting post, I might make a pt. 2 with Apollo even though his face is somewhat unclear to me.

Extra Note: Again, these are how they appear to ME. Obviously, deities present themselves as they think is most identifiable/comfortable to each individual. :)

Deities Featured: Hades, Freyja, Jörmungandr

Hades

Hades has always been the most clear to me. I don’t know if it was because I hold onto the memory so tightly or if it’s because I feel the most connected to him. But for Hades, he presents himself as an older man (late 50s). Many lines on his face with incredibly strong features like a prominent nose. Characters like Snape or Death from Supernatural have that side profile that is similar to how he presents himself to me. Although, Death has the most accurate face to me since Hades has that prominent bump in his nose, sunken in cheeks and thin lips. He has long, sleek black hair and usually wears a black version of Ancient Greek robes that hang off of one shoulder. He also holds his bident, using it almost like a walking stick as he walks. Incredibly tall (Although that’s a feature for most of my deities. For some reason, they all appear to be like 9ft tall.)

Freyja

Freyja also appears to me as an older woman. She has lines on her face like a woman in her older 40-50s. She always keeps a stoic look on her face, cold eyes but warm demeanor in a way. Lagertha from Vikings has a similar vibe to Freyja in having an intimidating and fierce aura but I would say Michelle Pfeiffer when playing Janet van Dyne has a more accurate appearance. Michelle has those high cheeks with lines coming from her nose downward as well as a square-ish face that Freyja has. A mature, motherly appearance while having a femininity to her which perfectly encapsulates Freyja being the goddess of love & beauty but also goddess of war. Freyja also has long ash blonde hair with some small braids in it. Most notably, she wears furs over her shoulders and golden metal jewelry. Much like Hades, she is incredibly tall, towering over me.

Jörmungandr

Ohh, my only non-human deity, lol. Bit more complicated to explain but I’ll try my best. So, obviously, he doesn’t appear as large as he’s described in mythology (or else I’d be 10x smaller than his pupils). He is similar in size to his model in the GOW game, large enough to dwarf you but small enough to fit into a deep lake/ocean. Different to that game, his scales are a deep blue/black in color. But similar to that game is that his appearance is a mix of a snake and more draconic features. His head isn’t as flat as a snake’s but is more pronounced with spikes amongst his scales like a dragon would have. His nostrils aren’t as high up like the game but instead the usual snake placement of being lower and to the front. His eyes are golden sometimes but not incredibly bright. While he is incredibly intimidating, both in attitude and size—causing my heart to race, meditation sessions tend to me calm. (Funny how looking for images that resemble him are more heartracing/anxiety inducing than actually seeing him lol. He has chill vibes.) Since he doesn’t speak physically, it tends to be quiet with just the sounds of the waves of the ocean. Only his head and some of his body appears out of the water. I’ve never seen his entire being.

#deity worship #paganism #hellenic pagan #deity work #helpol #norse paganism #hellenic polytheism #pagan #hades deity #hades worship #freyja deity #freyja worship #jormungandr worship #jormundgandr #norse jormungandr #freya deity

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ave-cave · 2 months ago

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In Defense/Analysis of Mahiru and Hiyoko's Relationship

Criticisms leveled at Hiyoko’s relationship with Mahiru are varied; engaging with the fanbase for this long has led me to some pretty specific ones, many I’d never even thought about (and that’s saying something because I spend way too much time analyzing them lmao). In the interest of not making this a novel, though, I’ll be focusing on the ones I see most often: “Mahiru didn't call Hiyoko out on her bullying,” “Mahiru standing up for Hiyoko in 2-2 was hypocritical” and “Mahiru and Hiyoko's relationship is wasted potential because Hiyoko dies in 2-3.”

As can probably be inferred from the title, this write-up aims to counter these criticisms, but if I’m being honest, it doubles as an attempt to explain why I like Mahiru and Hiyoko's dynamic as much as I do. They’re my favorites in the series bar none, so there’s no guarantee my points will be 100% free of bias, but I’ll do my best to consider each argument in good faith.

A few disclaimers first:

Spoilers for basically all of Goodbye Despair are incoming (if that wasn’t obvious lol)

All pink highlighted text is a link to a relevant Imgur image

Defending a character’s writing and defending their morality are two different things, and I intend to do only the former, especially with Hiyoko

It's more than fine if you dislike Mahiru or Hiyoko – this write-up wouldn’t exist if differing opinions didn’t – but please do try to approach my points with an open mind

Cool? Cool.

Turning a Blind Eye:

First thing’s first, the aspect of Mahiru and Hiyoko's relationship that I assume most earns Mahiru the “hypocrite” title: her ignoring Hiyoko’s bullying.

At a glance, I can’t say this criticism rings untrue. During my first playthrough, I also found myself agitated (and frankly confused) by how Hiyoko’s ill treatment (of everyone, but of Mikan in particular) kept flying under the radar. That said, upon review, I wouldn’t consider it a glaring oversight on the part of the writers the way some fans seem to; I think her behavior is handled as such by the narrative for a reason – albeit a frustrating one – and that this reason is key to understanding her relationship with Mahiru.

When it comes to the class as a whole, the most straightforward reason is that it’s rendered trivial by the killing game. In the midst of life or death, a pipsqueak tossing around juvenile insults is lucky to register as any kind of concern, let alone an urgent one – this made all the more apparent when you comb through her insult scenes and realize that most of them follow the same formula: jab → target’s reaction → another character rerouting the conversation to focus on the dangers at hand. Something similar can be said for why Teruteru’s sexual harassment and Kazuichi’s overstepping of Sonia’s boundaries are ignored in favor of continuing class-wide discussions (and on a more inoffensive note why comic relief moments, courtesy of Ibuki or Gundham, are so fleeting): the threat of the killing game overshadows all else. Only when a threat within the group becomes synonymous with the killing game is it addressed with nearly the same exigency (think Nagito post-chapter 1), otherwise, it might as well be nonexistent.

So basically, when forced to pick and choose what harm they respond to, more often than not the class opts for the harm that jumps out at them screaming “I’M HARMFUL.” If Hiyoko’s insults were the long and short of it, her conduct would be essentially harmless; rude at best and borderline malicious at worst, but overall inconsequential. Except that’s not the case. Why? Because two characters in particular – Mikan and Kazuichi – lack the self-esteem to brush them off as childish drivel. Through this, they become prime targets, and general unpleasantness gives way to full-on bullying…

… whiiich brings us to pitfall #2: while the other characters aren’t oblivious to Mikan and Kazuichi’s sensitivity per se, they aren’t actively mindful of it, either – especially not Mikan’s. They treat them either like any other classmate or – when their talents come in handy – like competent Ultimates. In most instances where Mikan breaks down (pre-trial 3 anyway), Hajime’s internal dialogue is something along the lines of, “She doesn’t need to cry and apologize so much” rather than, “Oh no, is she okay?” He’s concerned, just not enough to adjust his approach. The same goes for Kazuichi, particularly when his sensitivity causes him to freak out, giving the impression of cowardice. Ironically, by choosing those two as her main targets, Hiyoko may be the only person who “acknowledges” their low self-esteem as anything worth treating them differently over (though that’s obviously not to her credit since it’s in the most twisted way possible).

Of course, just off the top of my head, I can recall more instances of the perverted characters’ comments being called out than I can Hiyoko's, but I wouldn’t consider that an oversight, either. I’ve seen it argued that simply being childish is what gives Hiyoko a “pass” behavior-wise, and while I don’t think this is incorrect, I think it underestimates just how aware she is of the way she’s perceived, i.e., as younger (both physically and mentally) than her classmates. She doesn’t act the way she does and then expect her childlike image to compensate for it automatically; she’s in a constant, deliberate flip-flop between unapproachable and childish, because – while she is a paranoid individual who puts forth her assholish personality to avoid forming connections and facing betrayal – she’s also someone who likes to have her cake and eat it, too.

In her mind, so long as she can be simultaneously unlikable and unthreatening, she needn't fear going too far and making enemies (as opposed to just, y’know, not making friends), and to that end, she turns to her immature looks as a sort of “back-up” – a way of being avoided without being antagonized. This tactic, hinted at a few times in DR2 as well as other canon material, backfires, however, highlighting its fundamental flaw: sure, no one takes her seriously enough to get mad at her insults, but by the same token, no one takes her seriously in general – not even when she wants them to.

That’s not to say this concept is executed perfectly, mind you. As interesting as it may be on paper, even I have trouble suspending my disbelief in scenes where she’s downright cruel and yet no one bats an eye. I think there’s just enough (both in text and subtext) to justify her in-universe perception being what it is, so I can get past this, but I understand why some fans can’t – especially since Mikan and Kazuichi get the short end of the stick regardless.

Again, though, that’s the class as a whole. What about Mahiru specifically? From what I've seen, she’s frequently singled out by the fandom as the character most to blame for Hiyoko’s behavior going unchecked, and this is probably due to a few things:

Her emphasis on good manners and civility

Her friendship with Hiyoko making her a more responsible party for correcting the latter’s behavior

The opening scene of 2-2 in which she defends Hiyoko (I call it “the restaurant scene” for short because it takes place at the restaurant and I’m uncreative)

The second and third reasons go hand-in-hand, but I have a fair amount to say about the third, so I'll save it for the next section. The first and second I'll talk about here.

Hypocrisy is defined as not practicing what one preaches. One could argue that Mahiru employs hypocrisy when she preaches good manners and civility but a) doesn’t call Hiyoko out for being a bully, and b) becomes her friend. Do these arguments hold water? In my opinion, yes and no. Let me explain.

First, how does Hiyoko’s in-universe perception carry over to her relationship with Mahiru? Simply put, Mahiru isn’t immune to it. Like everyone else, she views Hiyoko as too childish to take seriously and dismisses her accordingly. This might seem like a non-starter for their relationship, but I actually think it’s what allows said relationship to work at all.

In terms of personality and values, Mahiru and Hiyoko are polar opposites. You don’t have to search far for evidence of this – it’s right there in their profiles, with Mahiru’s stating that she dislikes bad manners and Hiyoko’s that she dislikes being lectured. This contrast isn’t arbitrary. Far from it; it’s deliberate groundwork for a foil. Unlike most foil characters in the series, though, Mahiru and Hiyoko get along swimmingly. Why? Well, I’ll get more into the nitty-gritty of that later, but in short, it’s because – while Mahiru may not be immune to Hiyoko’s flip-flopping – her perception isn’t quite as limited by it as her peers’.

I've seen a few people claim that Hiyoko is “fawned over” by her classmates, but IMO, that's not really true. Instances of the others offering Hiyoko comfort/sympathy are pretty much exclusive to the second trial (after her name is cleared; before that they're slinging accusations at her left and right) and the scene where they discover her shrine (after Chiaki sheds light on its true purpose; before that they're rallying to burn it). In both, I think it's made fairly clear that they're doing it out of a sense of, “Wow, this killing game sucks and Hiyoko is kind of bearing the brunt of its terribleness right now,” not, “Wow, Hiyoko is so cute and precious.” That's nothing particular to her; every character who loses a loved one to the killing game is treated with some amount of tenderness afterwards, regardless of who they are or whether the loss is the result of their own actions. Where her Mahiru-related suffering isn't concerned, though, Hiyoko’s classmates more or less just tolerate her existence. They go, “Hey, there's the rude little girl we for some reason share a grade with” and continue about the island.

Of course, it’s no one's responsibility to parent their peer, and Hiyoko's other classmates aren't wrong for taking her at face value. But Mahiru is different; she takes responsibility for those around her whether they want her to or not. Her desire to bring out the best in others is what allows her to perceive Hiyoko as a child not just in temperament, but in impressionability, too. In other words, she’s the only one who sees potential in Hiyoko – with a nudge in the right direction – to mature and improve as a person. This is demonstrated when Hiyoko admits the reason behind her smell at the start of 2-2. Here, Mahiru doesn't join her peers in asking why a high schooler can't do something as simple as bathe, nor does she slap a band-aid on the problem and offer to tie Hiyoko’s kimono for her; she offers to teach her how to do it herself. If Hiyoko were a plain bully with zero (for lack of a better word) embellishments – if there was nothing to bridge the gap between her and Mahiru, like, say, a need for a role model – Mahiru would be more inclined to call her out, yes, but she’d also be less inclined to help her here. And in my opinion? This would hurt both of their characters in the long run. I’ll get to why in the last section.

Granted, this then begs the question: if Mahiru is the only one generous enough to believe Hiyoko can change for the better, why does she demonstrate this generosity only once, in a situation where Hiyoko is vulnerable rather than on the offense no less? Well, I don't think that's an arbitrary decision, either.

See, while it might not be a stretch to call Mahiru and Hiyoko “friends” from the POV of the entire Class 77B saga, in DR2 alone, it kind of is. Hiyoko’s quick and fervent attachment to Mahiru beginning with the restaurant scene can make it easy to forget that, all told, their relationship on the island spanned only three days. Moreover, the attachment was one-sided; Mahiru was surprised and somewhat exasperated by Hiyoko's clinginess, and while she didn’t outright reject her affections, reciprocating them came very much second to unraveling the secrets of the island – especially once the second motive was introduced.

Hell, eliminate the restaurant scene altogether and only two interactions between them remain: first an optional dialogue in which Mahiru lets Hiyoko drag her to the supermarket but warns that she’s busy and can’t spend too much time with her, then the off-screen meeting that we piece together in 2-2’s Closing Argument. But even following the restaurant scene – arguably the only one in which Mahiru is focused exclusively on Hiyoko – she shows reluctance to help Hiyoko shower and redress right away, considering the upcoming investigation a bigger priority. The morning after, although Hiyoko is still clinging to her, Mahiru doesn't acknowledge her at any point, focused instead on forcing Nekomaru and Kazuichi to give up Nagito’s location. Starting to notice a pattern?

Additionally, in the prologue, Mahiru joins the beach party while Hiyoko doesn’t. The first morning of the killing game (also Hiyoko’s first Mikan-bullying scene), Mahiru is away almost the entire time fetching Kazuichi. During the first investigation, Mahiru stays by the Imposter’s body while Hiyoko goes to the supermarket. A couple mornings later, Mahiru doesn’t come to breakfast at all while Hiyoko does. This leaves only a handful of Monokuma announcements, two investigations, a trial (that is, killing game-related things that everyone has to gather in one place for anyway) and a few other misc. scenes, most of which are devoid of interactions between the two. So in other words, the amount of time they spend in each other’s presence is just as scant as their “bonding” moments.

None of this is to diminish the ultimate impact of their relationship (I’m working up to that slowly if you couldn’t tell lol), but it is to say that describing them as “friends” within the confines of DR2 is maybe pushing it. I may refer to them as such in write-ups (half for the sake of brevity and half because Danganronpa presents friend as a generic term for harmony within the group), but in fact, the only time Mahiru or Hiyoko is called the other’s friend is in 2-3, when Chiaki prompts Hiyoko to consider what Mahiru would say about Fuyuhiko’s seppuku. Chiaki is well-meaning, and while her observations about her classmates aren't off the mark per se, they're sometimes lacking in nuance – likely by virtue of her being an AI with a limited framework for understanding people. We as players, on the other hand, can be a bit more discerning: there was a single scene in which Mahiru was focused on Hiyoko and Hiyoko only, and by the time it was over, she’d already shifted her attention back to the killing game. Two days later, she died. I’d be concerned if anyone besides Chiaki called that friendship.

Consider Fuyuhiko for a moment. The fact that Mahiru has basically double the interactions with him than she does Hiyoko, even prior to the events of the second case, is an immediate tip-off that Hiyoko isn't her prime concern. She’s on positive terms with Hiyoko, whereas she and Fuyuhiko butt heads constantly, so it should be the other way around, right? Nope. Fuyuhiko represents a threat synonymous with the killing game due to his threats of continuing it (plus his overall lack of cooperation), and so reining him in is automatically higher on her list of priorities.

And that's the thing: despite being a grade-a cunt, Hiyoko is cooperative. She doesn’t create rifts within the group the way Fuyuhiko does pre-trial 2, let alone entertain the idea of the killing game. She doesn’t try to distance herself from her peers, and while she might not be very useful in investigations, she doesn’t outright refuse to partake in them (she goes to the supermarket for snacks instead of investigating, but she's willing to help Hajime confirm important items are missing from the shelves.) Working against the killing game in any way – including just by cooperating – is an immediate incentive for Mahiru to go easier on anyone (yes, even boys). This, coupled with the aforementioned flip-flopping effect, makes it so Hiyoko only shows up on her radar when she starts crying over her kimono in 2-2, whereas Fuyuhiko shows up the moment he starts threatening to kill someone.

Due to her early death and the fact that – again – she shares so few scenes with Hiyoko to begin with, the number of times Mahiru witnesses the latter bullying Mikan is a comparatively small five: three times in the first trial (one of which is during a Nonstop Debate), once the morning after the trial and once while investigating the abandoned ruins.

During the first trial, Mahiru is among the students most focused on solving the murder, and only when liabilities to the group’s cooperation (i.e., Fuyuhiko still threatening people, Kazuichi and Nekomaru embarrassing Peko and derailing the discussion about her alibi) does she feel the need to police anyone's behavior. Hiyoko is a complete and utter bitch to Mikan here, but given her remarks don't noticeably hamper the discussion, it's unfortunately not hard to see why everyone – Mahiru included – dismisses them as playground nonsense.

Likewise, during the second island investigation, Mahiru is fully immersed in the conversation about the ruins and pays no attention to anything besides it, not even Hiyoko mentioning that they bathed together (something she'd previously expressed embarrassment over). The morning after the trial is definitely the odd one out; Mahiru is distraught over the Imposter and Teruteru, but there’s nothing more pressing to attend to, and reprimanding Hiyoko would cost her little in the focus department. Like the others, she just doesn't take it seriously. Is her lack of intervention here unjustified? For sure. Is she more at fault for not stepping in than anyone else? I'd argue no.

Kazuichi is a similar case. Mahiru is there for four of the scenes in which he’s bullied: once before the Imposter’s first meeting, twice while investigating the park’s giant timer and once during the first trial. Everything I said about Mikan applies here as well, but there’s the added layer that Mahiru is harder on boys, and so when Hiyoko calls Kazuichi a coward for trying to run away or a loser for insulting others to gain Sonia’s favor, Mahiru may not agree with the form, but she might as well agree with the content. Again, does that make her silence right? No. Just explainable.

All in all, what I’m getting at is that Mahiru’s role modeling (in DR2’s main story anyway) isn’t supposed to extend beyond the restaurant scene. At no point in 2-2 is correcting Hiyoko’s behavior a consistent goal for her, and while I think it's 100% fair to argue that it should've been, I only half-agree – again, for reasons I'll get to in section three. Since I’m not sure I can explain the purpose of Mahiru's guidance in DR2 without repeating myself in the future, for now I’ll just highlight what it aims to achieve in other installments.

Granted, most spin-off interactions are one-on-one, meaning only the TSMC and DRS exist to show how Mahiru responds to Hiyoko’s bullying in a non-killing game setting. I’d argue that neither disappoints, however; she’s shown more than once to instruct Hiyoko on how to act in both. What I like about this portrayal is that Mahiru’s gentle approach stays the same; only the sense of urgency with which she addresses Hiyoko’s behavior changes. As far as she's concerned, Hiyoko is still a child in need of teaching, but now – with the stakes that much lower – she’s also evidently a bully in need of reining in.

These scenes make Mahiru one of few characters to try to temper Hiyoko’s cruelty at any point in the series. You know who doesn’t ever try, not even outside of the killing game? Most of the DR2 cast, who end up witnessing far more frequent and targeted bullying than Mahiru does simply by virtue of outliving her. These characters include:

the self-appointed leader of the group who either ignores Hiyoko’s comments or finds the ones directed at him funny

the protagonist of the game whose inner monologue consistently acknowledges how terrible Hiyoko’s behavior is, but never calls it out

the Ultimate Team Manager (who also plays along with insults directed at him) and Princess, whose talents center around order and unity

the Observer AI whose #1 objective is ensuring that everyone gets along no matter what

Of course, how much incentive and/or know-how someone has for stopping a bully is unimportant when a simple “cut it out” would suffice. At the end of the day, the fact remains that everyone – Mahiru included – turned a blind eye to bullying during the killing game, and there’s no good excuse for that. My aim in pointing this out is not to absolve Mahiru altogether, rather, to put into perspective why it may be unfair to saddle her with all, let alone most of the blame.

So at last, with all of that explanation out of the way, is Mahiru a hypocrite when it comes to her handling of Hiyoko vs. others? Well, sure. She’s hypocritical in the sense that she exercises a double standard, i.e., cuts Hiyoko more slack than she does the rest of the class. But is that double standard exclusive to her? Not really. If anything, by not dismissing her as a child through and through, she holds Hiyoko to a higher standard than most of her classmates do, and this gets its proper chance to shine outside of the killing game. Moreover, her double standard isn’t the product of favoritism; on the contrary, if guiding Hiyoko took precedence over the killing game in her mind, their interactions wouldn’t be so few and far between. Calling Hiyoko out isn’t one of her priorities, but neither is being her friend.

In light of this, I think a better question is whether Mahiru’s hypocrisy is conscious or not. Conscious hypocrisy applies when someone regards two or more things as being on the same level but treats one differently anyway. That isn’t the case with Mahiru, who – alongside her peers – treats Hiyoko’s behavior differently (i.e., more leniently) because she genuinely regards it as nickel-and-dime. If you’d still consider that unconscious hypocrisy, that’s fair. Again, I just don’t think there’s any point in singling her out.

Speaking of singling out…

The Restaurant Scene:

The opening scene of 2-2 wherein Mahiru and Hiyoko become “friends” is where I’ve noticed a lot of fans’ ire with their relationship comes from. It’s a fairly popular opinion (as far as I’m aware) to consider Mahiru’s defense of Hiyoko here hypocritical, and honestly? While I disagree, I don’t really blame people for seeing it that way. I had to give her actions some extra thought before they started making sense to me, and I think the scene as a whole requires a lot of reading in between the lines + background knowledge to make heads or tails of. Here’s my personal reading of it and why I’d consider it misunderstood.

Immediately upon entering the restaurant, the brooding atmosphere hits hard; everyone* is in silent mourning of the Imposter and Teruteru, too overwhelmed by the events of the night prior to make conversation. Mahiru is no exception; she can hardly muster a “good morning” to Hajime…

… *everyone besides Hiyoko, that is. Just as immediately, she starts badmouthing Teruteru, claiming he deserved to die for his crime and therefore shouldn't be mourned. Cue record scratch.

What does Mahiru say in response to this? Nothing. But her silence isn’t for lack of caring – quite the opposite.

See, the crucial thing to understand about Mahiru (and probably her most glaring flaw) is that, despite her headstrong attitude and emphasis on “doing the right thing,” she doesn’t always know what the right thing is. She lacks the confidence necessary to support her levelheadedness, and so she agonizes and deliberates. This is the driving force behind most of her actions, and I think the restaurant scene serves to foreshadow its role in her final confrontation with Fuyuhiko.

Think about the things Mahiru jumps down her peers’ throats about: all relatively “simple” moral dilemmas concerning impropriety, threats, reckless decision-making, etc. Then compare all of that to the dilemma Hiyoko brings into question here. Do the ends justify the means when it comes to reuniting with family? Is trading the lives of 15 strangers for one important person right? Mahiru doesn’t know; she’s never had to think about it before. Even if she disagrees on principle, who is she to tell this girl she barely knows that she shouldn’t feel relief over the death of someone who tried to get them all executed? Only later, after having given it ample thought, does she come to terms with this dilemma – and in the meantime, Peko steps in, possibly also foreshadowing her familiarity with topics like execution.

Soon thereafter, Hiyoko is identified as the source of a bad smell, and while most of the comments that follow are born of genuine concern for her hygiene, Gundham and Kazuichi’s are a wee bit insensitive. Mahiru says as much in a single line, and here’s where I think some interpretations of the restaurant scene miss the point. Nowhere during this exchange does Mahiru accuse anyone of bullying Hiyoko. The reason she intervenes has everything to do with her flaw regarding moral dilemmas, and – up until her offer to help Hiyoko with her kimono – almost nothing to do with Hiyoko herself. “Is it rude to harp on a sensitive hygiene issue outside of one’s control” is already a dilemma far simpler than “should a murderer be mourned," but the added layer of disregarding a lecture and doing the same thing the next morning makes it a no-brainer. Mahiru doesn’t care that Hiyoko is the target of a few obtuse comments, she cares that the guys didn’t listen to her the night before – something she makes clear by opening her sentence with, “I’ve said it before, but…”

After this is when her intervention starts being about Hiyoko. She says she’ll teach Hiyoko a simple obi knot, and only then does the latter stop crying. Here’s where background knowledge factors in.

Basically, a few in-game clues – combined with her FTEs and Island Mode – reveal that Hiyoko was forced at a young age to leave her parents’ home and move in with her grandmother, who then put her to work studying the traditional dance for which the Saionji Clan is famous. Hiyoko's status as the next head of the family made her subject to great cruelty at the hands of jealous rivals, and as a result, she grew to resent it. Her grandmother became aware of this resentment, and to prevent Hiyoko from shirking her responsibilities, she spoiled her into total dependence, neglecting to teach her basic life skills – including though not limited to dressing herself – and ensuring that dance was her only area of proficiency. This led to Hiyoko forming an inferiority complex around her lack of self-sustainability.

Said inferiority complex contextualizes how Mahiru’s offer registered to Hiyoko: not as a basic gesture of compassion, but as something far greater. Instead of offering to take care of it for her, Mahiru offered to teach her how to take care of it herself, and this meant that Hiyoko not only automatically trusted her, but had every reason to see her as a role model; as someone whose example could be followed. This childlike admiration becomes all the more relevant later.

Honestly, as much as I understand criticisms of the restaurant scene from a, “Mahiru should have also defended Mikan/Kazuichi” standpoint, I do less from a, “She shouldn’t have helped Hiyoko” one. I already outlined where I think her blindspots lie in terms of calling Hiyoko out (and how said blindspots aren't unique to her), but of the characters most consistently mindful of Mikan/Kazuichi otherwise, I’d argue she’s up there (although, again, no one is nearly as mindful of them as they should be).

She’s the only person to insist on helping Mikan up after she falls for the first time; she expresses concern over the floorboards in the abandoned building being a tripping hazard for her; she firmly refuses Ibuki’s suggestion of taking pictures after she falls for the second time; she reprimands Fuyuhiko for threatening to sell her to a whorehouse in the first trial; and when Monokuma pressures the class into playing the TSMC arcade game, she warns Mikan against it. Granted, there aren't as many instances of her sticking up for Kazuichi, but it's worth noting that – despite her prior insistence that he needed to “man up” – she defends him when Fuyuhiko taunts him over his fear of the Monobeasts.

Don’t get me wrong, I do wish that she did the additional service of holding Hiyoko accountable for her bullying, but the fact that she didn't doesn't render her intervention here hypocritical, IMO. Again, her defense of Hiyoko was prompted by frustration over the guys embarrassing her after they'd already done the same to Peko; it's something she would have defended any of the girls for, and as highlighted above, she arguably did defend Mikan on the embarrassment front both times she fell.

As for offering Hiyoko help, I don't see how that's hypocritical, either. If this scene is indicative of anything, it's that Hiyoko – while a rotten bully – is still human at the end of the day. The fact that she's a little shit and the fact that she's so helpless she can't get dressed by herself can coexist; offering her the bare minimum compassion for the latter isn't giving her a free ticket to continue being the former – it's just that: the bare minimum compassion. She needed help, and if Mahiru wouldn't give it to her, who would? Maybe it'd be karmic to let her go around the island smelling like sewage, but it sure as hell wouldn't be sustainable.

More than once in her screentime is Mahiru shown to extend compassion to someone who isn’t an unambiguously good person, something else that becomes all the more relevant later. She makes a genuine effort to sympathize with Teruteru’s motive despite not agreeing with his actions; she brings food to a tied-up Nagito (twice, for that matter) despite the chaos he’d sown the previous chapter; and she laments Natsumi’s murder despite knowing how badly the latter treated others, herself included. In view of this, helping a bully dress herself is not only in-character for Mahiru, but by far the least “extreme” of her acts of compassion. I’d also argue that it pays off in a few different ways.

Why I Think it Works:

So far, I’ve offered explanations as to why nothing holds Mahiru and Hiyoko’s relationship back, but I’ve yet to explain what I think pushes it forward. Let me rectify that.

Following the second trial, Hiyoko’s hostility toward those around her is amped up to 11. The third island investigation has her intentionally manipulate Akane into exploring the motel on her behalf, and when Hajime talks to her, not only does she insult him right off the bat, she's openly classist toward him, equating the unsanitary, rundown motel to his house. This is low, even for her, and considering the events of the previous chapter, it’s not exactly a mystery why.

See, Mahiru's death sets itself apart from others in the series in that it isn't an immediate incentive for the person closest to her to change. Hiyoko doesn't get the tried and true “character loses a friend and is motivated to better themselves as a result” type arc – not toot sweet, anyway – because, unlike, say, Sakura, Peko or Tenko, Mahiru had no last words, no last message of strength or wisdom for her. Her murder was a source of conflict and animosity – nothing more, nothing less.

As is first established following Teruteru’s execution, Hiyoko has a retribution-oriented mindset not too far off from Fuyuhiko’s “an eye for an eye.” She doesn't believe in redemption; she holds onto grudges indefinitely; and most of all, she believes killers deserve to die themselves. This mindset is yet another manifestation of her paranoia – of being conditioned all her life to believe that everyone is out to get her. Unlike Fuyuhiko, whose terrible attitude was a mask he wore to compensate for his insecurities about leading his clan, Hiyoko’s is an extension of her paranoid worldview; an ingrained trait.

And that’s honestly why I only half-agree with the argument that Mahiru should have reprimanded her in DR2. Would it have worked to give Mikan/Kazuichi some peace of mind? Absolutely, and that’s reason enough. But to change Hiyoko’s behavior in the long run? I doubt it. It would address the bullying in the moment, but it wouldn’t get to the root of the problem, i.e. the backwards defense mechanism from which said bullying stems. The only reason Mahiru’s guidance outside of DR2 (as underscored earlier) has any effect is that Hiyoko is already in a safe environment with friends whom she trusts, far away from her family and their perilous traditions. Though her lizard brain instinct is still to be as nasty as possible, the proper groundwork is there for her to integrate Mahiru’s guidance and improve her behavior over time… groundwork that's practically nonexistent in DR2’s killing game.

But anyway, back to 2-3. Speaking of Fuyuhiko, Hiyoko applies her rigid point of view to him in this chapter. The fact that she considers him an irredeemable killer is only a sliver of the real issue, however; more relevant is that clear indications of his wanting to turn over a new leaf register to her as a way of dodging responsibility. No matter how sincere in his resolve he may be, she sees only the worst in him. She is, after all, paranoid.

Hiyoko’s shrine, while testament to her love for Mahiru, is kind of a… development red herring so to speak. Setting aside her insecurities to perform a task outside her (forced) field of expertise is a feat for her – don't get me wrong – but it isn't really a change; she’d never hesitated before to show vulnerability when it came to Mahiru, whether by saying to her face that she loved her or expressing how much she missed her when she was gone. It's only when she confronts Fuyuhiko about Mahiru and Peko’s deaths, and he responds by committing seppuku, that we see dynamics start to shift.

Here, Hiyoko is stunned into horrified silence, and that in and of itself speaks volumes. She believes strongly that all killers deserve to die, doesn't she? So then why does she go quiet? Why doesn't she take advantage of Fuyuhiko’s clear instability to get him to finish the job? It’s not because she doesn’t want to die herself; the last trial established beyond a shadow of a doubt that only the person to deliver the killing blow is punished. It's because she realizes something: that isn't what Mahiru would want.

In contrast to both Hiyoko and Fuyuhiko, retribution was never Mahiru's MO. She wished zero harm upon anyone no matter what they'd done; she extended compassion to everyone, even killers; she disapproved of cruel and unusual punishment; and she showed particular distaste for acts of revenge. Of course, in keeping with her fatal flaw, she didn't always go about these ideals in the right way. She covered up a murder in a desperate bid to protect her friend from the yakuza’s twisted “justice,” and she scolded an enraged Fuyuhiko for continuing the cycle of revenge while he was interrogating her about his sister – both shortsighted actions that she paid the ultimate price for.

But by the same token, she kept thinking about Teruteru's actions after the restaurant scene and concluded that he didn’t, in fact, deserve to die for his crime. She forced Nekomaru and Kazuichi to give up Nagito’s location, chastised them for hogtying and starving him and brought him breakfast when nobody else would. She spent days deliberating over how best to make amends with Fuyuhiko, even though his threatening letter – combined with the knowledge of the game’s true ending – would have been more than enough to convince the others to restrain him like Kazuichi wanted (not to mention the most obvious thing to do for her own protection). If she had thought more like Hiyoko and dismissed Fuyuhiko as an irredeemable murderer from the get-go, the opportunity to lure her to the beach house would have never existed.

The ideals driving these actions, made explicit in her final words to Fuyuhiko, all contributed to a lasting legacy, and Hiyoko considering that legacy in order to forgive Fuyuhiko is what makes her arc so powerful to me. Losing the only person on the island whom she trusted – hell, having that trust taken advantage of by the ones responsible – could have foreclosed on all progress right then and there. Mahiru's guidance was limited to a single act of compassion that had (seemingly) nothing to do with what she stood for. Being framed for her murder put Hiyoko in a vulnerable position from which she believed she could only recover by becoming meaner. And as the only one left still personally affected by Fuyuhiko’s actions, she had to watch as everyone else welcomed him back with open arms, causing her to lose last resource: her footing within the group as the rude but cooperative one. But because Mahiru’s compassion reached her in a fundamental way – because she valued her enough to consider her unspoken ideals – she managed to defy the odds and change anyway. Not because Mahiru told her to, but because she wanted to.

And so at last, that's why I think the way their relationship was written – with a brief but meaningful role model dynamic, limited intervention on Mahiru's side and childlike admiration on Hiyoko's – ultimately worked in both of their favors. It allowed Mahiru's impact to carry on past 2-2 (more extensively anyway, as it would have played into Fuyuhiko’s arc regardless; his desire to make amends using the second chance given to him by Peko was no coincidence), and it made it so the sincerity other arcs work hard to convey is there by default with Hiyoko’s – just by virtue of it happening at all. Do I still wish Mahiru called Hiyoko out on her bullying for Mikan and Kazuich’s sakes? Yep. I just wouldn't change her lack of involvement otherwise.

As a side note, it’s also why I can’t get behind the idea that Mahiru ever “enabled” Hiyoko. An enabler is someone who, well, enables something – usually a behavior, right? Remove the enabler from the equation, and the enabled behavior should become harder to maintain. So what would become of Hiyoko if she never “befriended” Mahiru? Well… she’d smell worse. She’d like one fewer person. That’s about it. Not receiving Mahiru’s compassion wouldn’t have done much of anything, but receiving it made a world of difference.

Hell, even if we strip away Mahiru's primary impact on Hiyoko, i.e. jumpstarting her development in 2-3, I’d argue that what we’re left with in 2-2 is still unequivocally positive. Helping Hiyoko shower and tie her kimono were both good things that improved the lives of everyone on the island. Nobody had to deal with Hiyoko’s stench anymore, but on top of that, given the option, Hiyoko spent her time clinging to Mahiru instead of going around bullying others. Keep in mind, Hiyoko is someone who believes she doesn't need friends or close contacts. Before Mahiru, she reasoned that, as long as she could learn to be self-sustaining, she’d never have to rely on anyone who might betray her; she could eschew human connection and ensure her safety forevermore. But then Mahiru earned her trust in one fell swoop, and suddenly she was prioritizing the pursuit of friendship over the prevention of betrayal, if with just one person. I don't think that should be understated.

Sorry, I keep getting sidetracked. Back to 2-3.

True to the killing game, though, just because a character experiences a breakthrough doesn't mean it’s all sunshine and rainbows from that point forward. The objective of the first half of Hiyoko’s arc, i.e., forgiving Fuyuhiko, is complete. She’s already well on her way to vanquishing her paranoia – to having her worldview reformed by Mahiru’s ideals and doing away with her ugly defense mechanism in the process. Nothing can stop her from improving further…

… is what we're led to believe. But then comes Nekomaru’s sacrifice. That’s when things take a nosedive.

Witnessing Nekomaru – essentially the pinnacle of strength – try to save his friend and get demolished as a result reinforces the very paranoia Hiyoko was striving to overcome. It reminds her of her own fragile mortality within the killing game and serves as irrefutable proof – in her mind, anyway – that connection leads only to death. Based on two lines, one from the second trial and the other from Hiyoko’s Island Mode ending, I think it can also be inferred that she projects herself onto Nekomaru here; she wishes she could have protected Mahiru the way Nekomaru tried to do Akane, but the fact that Mahiru is gone, and – as far as she’s aware – Nekomaru is now, too, only further cements her paranoid outlook.

Something else I think is notable about this scene, albeit a minor detail, is how Hiyoko addresses Akane. She singles Akane out, asking if she understands that Nekomaru died on account of their friendship. And while she's obviously rude about it, interestingly enough, she's not condescending. As mentioned earlier, one of this chapter’s first indications that Hiyoko was trying to shore up her bully persona (after the blow that was Mahiru's trial) was her bragging about manipulating Akane. There, she went out of her way to call Akane a useful idiot who's only good for dirty work. And yet, in this scene, not only does she ask with full candor if Akane understands the gravity of the situation, she’s disappointed when she doesn't. Disappointment implies there were expectations to begin with. I don't point this out to say this scene isn't a relapse on Hiyoko's part – it 100% is. If anything, I think it goes to show the extent of her breakdown: she's so distraught, she doesn't care anymore if she has to contradict her own malice to drive her point home.

Hiyoko’s relapse (and subsequent death) is why I assume her relationship with Mahiru is so often considered a waste. I may be something of an outlier in that I’ve never minded Hiyoko’s send-off from a writing standpoint and think only its incorporation into the case/deadly life is shoddy – but staying with the topic of this write-up, I’ll focus less on why I wouldn’t consider Hiyoko’s character as a whole wasted and more on why I wouldn’t consider her relationship with Mahiru wasted (even if the two go hand-in-hand to some degree).

The morning after Nekomaru's sacrifice, Hiyoko is seen mourning at Mahiru’s shrine. Choosing to talk to her triggers a rant about Nagito and how he pissed her off by lying about seeing Mahiru alive. She tearfully proclaims that she hates being lied to and won’t be satisfied until Nagito is brutalized as punishment, this clearly alluding to her heightened paranoia. It wouldn't even be the first time Nagito has lied to her, but comparing her reaction then vs. now, it becomes clear just how badly she's spiraling.

After this, the Despair Disease motive is officially introduced by Monokuma, and the afflicted students are brought to the hospital. Those remaining (minus Mikan, who’s tending to the patients) convene in the hospital lobby to discuss a plan of action, and that's when Hiyoko begins to insist on a quarantine.

I was honestly kind of surprised by how satisfied this scene's handling of Hiyoko left me feeling, and the more I analyze why, the more it all ties back to Mahiru.

Perhaps most obvious is her behavior. While she’s still not exactly a joy to be around, she's noticeably mellowed out. Upon review, I can count on one hand the number of times she says something rude:

When Gundham and Kazuichi debate the ethics of Mikan changing Nagito’s clothes (prompting this hilarious line), Hiyoko calls their conversation stupid and tells them to focus

When Hajime questions what she means by “isolate the patients,” she condescendingly asks him why he doesn’t get it

When explaining the purpose of the quarantine, she remarks (to no one in particular) that “even a preschooler knows” the only option when a disease is incurable is to stop it from spreading

When Gundham insists that everyone else station at the motel, she acquiesces with a, “Jeez, how annoying…”

Her nastiest remark by far is “I want them [the patients] to at least have the decency to consider committing suicide before they start bothering us.” Now, don’t get me wrong, this is a hideous thing to say under any circumstances, and there's no excuse for it. It puts a bad taste in my mouth. That said, with how unusually tame the rest of her dialogue is (hell, she refers to Mikan twice without so much as an insult to boot), I don’t think such an extreme comment is included arbitrarily. I think it's part of a deliberate pattern.

The bulk of Hiyoko’s arc this chapter – both positive and negative – has operated on the principle of “show, don’t tell.” This made sense before, but it makes extra sense now: because she’s too afraid to showcase vulnerability outright, the story has to find roundabout ways to convey that she isn’t as heartless as she would prefer to be seen.

Exhibit A: she claimed to believe that all killers deserve death, but when given the chance to coerce a killer into suicide, she faltered.

Exhibit B: she callously remarked that Fuyuhiko deserved his injuries, but when given the chance not to attend his recovery party, she did anyway. She tried to pass it off as an interest in the party itself, but never before had she established herself as a party-lover – quite the opposite; she called the Imposter’s party “lame” in 2-1 – making this an obvious bluff. So obvious, in fact, that Hajime “I know Nagito has the Liar Disease but I’ll take his words literally” Hinata immediately sees through it.

Exhibit C: at the party, she insisted that Fuyuhiko wasn’t forgiven yet and promised that, if push came to shove, he’d bear the brunt of any dangerous situation. But when given the chance to make good on this promise and force him to stay at the hospital, the idea didn’t even cross her mind. It was Fuyuhiko who rose to the occasion.

And finally, Exhibit D: she claims to wish the Despair Disease patients would kill themselves, but when given a chance to ditch – to give into her paranoia right away – she takes on a de-facto leader role in forming the plan to keep the patients safe. She doesn’t just come up with the idea, she spearheads the whole thing, from assigning her classmates roles to prompting Kazuichi to design a communication method between the hospital and motel. The player can’t progress to the next scene without speaking specifically to her.

So then… how does this all tie back to Mahiru? Well, I like to think of it in terms of before vs. after Nekomaru's sacrifice.

Before Nekomaru's sacrifice, it was Mahiru’s ideals of restoration that allowed Hiyoko to forgive Fuyuhiko, thereby doing away with some of her paranoia. After, it’s Mahiru’s ideals of teamwork that allow her to help combat the Despair Disease. Recall that, in the aftermath of the sacrifice, Hiyoko claimed there was no value in working together and that she didn’t want to be involved in any team efforts. Then why, pray tell, does she work together with her peers in this scene? Because it’s a last-ditch effort at honoring Mahiru – at doing what Mahiru would’ve done.

Of course, I say “last-ditch” because, no matter which way you slice it, the damage is already done. Hiyoko can work with her classmates to prevent another killing, but she can’t trust them – can’t get close to them. Mahiru’s ideals are strong, but in the face of overwhelming paranoia, they’re only enough to allow Hiyoko one final bow before she sequesters herself in her room.

We're given the impression that this withdrawal is just another act of selfishness – that Hiyoko is just trying to avoid the Despair Disease – but that turns out to be only part of the reason. Flash forward to the investigation, we learn that it was yet another last-ditch effort, this time to honor Mahiru by bathing and then tying her kimono the way she was taught. In her now empty motel room, Sonia expresses a regret: she didn’t understand what Hiyoko was going through – not really – and so she gave her some advice about a mirror then left her alone. It all comes together thematically from there.

Because of Hiyoko’s takeaway from Nekomaru’s sacrifice, she closed herself off from her peers (both literally and figuratively), and this furthered the divide between her and Fuyuhiko’s arcs. Nekomaru’s words caused Fuyuhiko to realize that this new life of his wasn’t a spare; it was precious. Nekomaru’s actions, on the other hand, caused Hiyoko to realize that her life was a fragile thing, and instead of becoming self-preserving like Fuyuhiko, she became self-isolating. She believed the only way to avoid a meaningless death was to go it alone, but going it alone – that is, isolating herself to the point where no one could understand her enough to help her – became her undoing.

But was that undoing meaningless? From an overarching narrative standpoint, maybe. Her death has no lasting impact on the rest of the story (she comes up again only when her grown-up picture is discovered in 2-6), and the way it’s incorporated into the trial is downright sloppy. But when it comes to her death by itself – to the individual story it tells – boy oh boy does it have meaning, and the character most to thank for that is undoubtedly Mahiru.

Mahiru is what allows Hiyoko’s death to feel like something built up to, like something character-driven, as opposed to a shoehorned-in, hollow chapter 3 death. She makes it so that Hiyoko’s “wrong place, wrong time” scenario – while unlucky – is anything but random. The reason Hiyoko finds herself in that wrong place at the wrong time isn't sporadic misfortune; it’s the result of her grief, paranoia, lack of self-sustainability – and even to some extent even DR2’s theme of the burden of talent. It’s the tragedy to Fuyuhiko’s triumph and a poignant subversion of the usual Danganronpa formula, with Mahiru at the heart of it.

Mikan being the one to kill Hiyoko only works as well as it does because of Mahiru, too. She didn't do it out of spite, didn't hunt Hiyoko down or kidnap her. Hiyoko just happened to walk in on her killing Ibuki. But again, while this may be unlucky, it’s not at all random – not from a storytelling angle. Hiyoko heads to the music venue in the first place in a bid to prove her independence, yes, but it’s only because Mahiru has become so enmeshed with her idea of independence that this is the case. If being independent were the only thing driving her, she wouldn’t have found herself struggling with her kimono to begin with. She would have weathered the storm and gone without bathing until the Despair Disease passed. She’d done it before, after all. But she was desperate to honor Mahiru, to prove that Mahiru’s death wasn’t in vain because – hey, look – she’s self-sustaining now. Honoring Mahiru became her way of regaining control over not just her hygiene, but her life as well.

Speaking of control, bullying Mikan was one of the few things – squishing ants included – that served to give Hiyoko the sense of control over things for which she longed. Even at Fuyuhiko's recovery party, she used Mikan as an emotional scapegoat to avoid coming across as vulnerable, insulting her to distract from the fact that she’d just forgiven Mahiru’s killer. And yet, here, in her last-ditch effort to prove her independence – to prove her control – Mikan becomes that final, uncontrollable variable. She uses Hiyoko to regain control over things, and Hiyoko is helpless to stop it. This subtle role reversal is a refreshing instance of nuance in an otherwise very heavy-handed case; I’d take it over a cliché revenge plotline anyday.

And as if the irony of the situation weren't already there in spades, consider this: Hiyoko believed that human connection was a death sentence, and while she was mistaken when it came to everyone else, she was right when it came to Mahiru. Her inability to let Mahiru go is what led her to her own demise. The story doesn't say one way or another if her outlook is right or wrong; it lays the facts out on the table and lets the player decide for themselves. Although I do think some interpretations of her character are more correct than others, Hiyoko is ultimately up in the air to discuss, and that’s something I can appreciate about any character.

All in all, if a death symbolic of Hiyoko's lifelong demons is what her journey in 2-3 was building to from the start (which I firmly believe it was), then in order for Mahiru's impact to not be wasted, she just had to remain instrumental to that journey until the very end. In that sense, I'd say she succeeded.

Conclusion:

Hear that? That's the sound of my fingers dying.

Well then, it seems we’ve reached the end. Yay. :)

This took me over a month to complete, and I’m honestly happy with how it came out. I wish I’d discovered how fun it is to write argumentative pieces like this sooner – though, then again, having posted this means I won’t be beating the “obsessed with Mahiru and Hiyoko” allegations anytime soon lol. Hopefully you found some of my points compelling, regardless of what you personally think of either of them.

Thanks for reading!

#danganronpa #danganronpa 2 #danganronpa 2 goodbye despair #sdr2 #mahiru koizumi #hiyoko saionji

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sammydean0 · 7 months ago

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Yandere twilight x reader

Honestly I haven't been seeing many of these and I wanted more of yandere twilight characters and their obsession with the reader.

I’m a very new writer so please understand and I would appreciate some criticism on my writing. Thank you for reading!

Warning: yandere behavior, obsession, stalking, violence.

Edward Cullen

Edward would be exactly how he was with Bella but with you instead. Unlike with Bella he could read your mind and the lack of care you had for the Cullen family and that would fuel his interest he has for you at first.

He would find where you live and watch you sleep at night and he would deliberately change his classes to all of yours to sit with you. He would start the conversation off normally but now he’s walking you to your classes and to your car. His family notices and Alice has a vision of your life together and fully supports Edward’s unusual behavior.

Edward would never let you meet the wolf pack and keep you from talking to any of them even if you were friends with them. This would be before you guys start dating but once you start dating you aren’t allowed to talk to anyone.

Edward would give you many small things that you like and even would leave it in your room for you to wake up to.

He would never let you know that he can read your mind he would tell you he had good intuition

One night Edward snaps and you wake up in his bedroom in the Cullen home…

(sorry I can't say much for Edward because he's hard to write for me)

Alice Cullen

I think Alice and Jasper would be in on it together instead of separate because they both love each other so much (same with the other couples)

Alice would have a vision of you one day before you show up as the new student. She would imminently fall in love with you and tell Jasper all about you.

Alice already set everything up, putting herself in the same classes, same lunch, and even the same way home all just to talk to you and get to know more about you.

Her bubbly persona would cover up her scheme of getting you to join her and Jasper back at their home with the family.

You and Alice would become good friends and she would even become good friends with your parents (like she did with Bella's dad)

When you finally go to her house she doesn't let you leave and Jasper uses his emotion's power on you to calm you down even though you know that's not how you're truly feeling.

I think Alice and Jasper would be in on it together instead of separate because they both love each other so much (same with the other couples)

Alice already set everything up, putting herself in the same classes, same lunch, and even the same way home all just to talk to you and get to know more about you.

Her bubbly persona would cover up her scheme of getting you to join her and Jasper back at their home with the family.

You and Alice would become good friends and she would even become good friends with your parents (like she did with Bella's dad)

When you finally go to her house she doesn't let you leave and Jasper uses his emotion's power on you to calm you down even though you know that's not how you're truly feeling.

I think Alice and Jasper would be in on it together instead of separate because they both love each other so much (same with the other couples)

Jasper Cullen

Jasper would get to know you before you even meet because of Alice and how much she would talk about you from her vision.

You'll show up to school after moving to Forks and end up in a class with him. He would immediately know who you were because of how much Alice told him about how you looked and how beautiful you are.

He wouldn't come up to you but make Alice come up to you because how much he makes you uncomfortable by his staring and he knew that. Alice would make quick friends with you and force you to meet Jasper.

You and Jasper would hit it off more than you and him thought you would.

Both Jasper and Alice would make you hang out together and sit together at lunch. When the days they are gone, you finally got the freedom to hang out with your other friends but once they are back Alice is wrapped around your arm and Jasper is standing next to you like a protector.

Alice wouldn't watch you sleep at night but Jasper I feel would 100% watch you sleep at night like Edward. Alice would give Jasper things to drop off in your room and you would wake up to new things every morning.

Alice would also get your favorite drink every morning and Jasper would hand you whatever your favorite food is.

Once you finally go over to their house you're not coming back out. Alice would hold you while Jasper would use his powers to comfort you even though you knew something was very wrong.

Rosalie Cullen

Rosalie wouldn't have noticed you until she saw you in a class one day and saw how beautiful you were.

She would be angry with you at first because she was jealous, her thoughts would be consumed by you. This would take a couple of days or a week she would finally realize it wasn't jealousy but love.

She would tell Emmett all about you and how pretty you are and he would grin the entire time she spoke about you because this is a first for her and him.

She would make friends with you and hopefully you would get over her rude comments about you at first because you know she wouldn't hold her tongue with you the first time you met.

She obviously apologizes for her behavior through luxurious gifts and food because she doesn't know how else to apologize.

Emmett Cullen

Emmett would fall in love seeing you practicing a sport you love or if you don't do sports he would see you drawing or reading a book in the corner of the lunch room.

Emmett is a simple minded man and he would tell Rosalie about you right away. Of course she isn't happy at first but once she sees you she understands the obsession he has for you.

Emmett is a social butterfly so he would 100% come up to you and start talking to you out of nowhere and would compliment you multiple times in one sentence.

Emmett wouldn't stalk you or watch you sleep but he would bring you food or some sort of jewelry for you

(I can't say much for Emmett I'm sorry)

Carlisle Cullen

Carlisle would be your doctor at the hospital after you had some sort of accident to end up there.

His unbeating heart would skip for a second seeing you hurt, he would set everything aside at his job just to help fix you up

Carlisle would tell Esme all about you when he gets home, telling her that they both might have a third in the relationship

If you're prone to getting hurt then Carlisle would just kidnap you right away to save you from yourself

But if you're not prone to getting hurt he would have Esme watch over you while he's at work and for whatever reason she ends up kidnapping you

Esme has totally already set up a room for you and puts you in there to stay with them for the rest of your lives.

(I won't be doing Esme because I don't really know what to write for her, sorry!)

#twilight #yanderetwilight #twilight saga #edward cullen #alicecullen #jasper cullen #rosalie cullen #emmett cullen #carlisle cullen #yandere #yanderecullens

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thelovelydoggycatmadi · 2 months ago

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Soul and Maka in my original story (Zanebie)

I couldn’t come up with a better title.

Q&A

?: why do they look different?

A: says in the title they’re not in the SE universe but in my own series Zanebie. Which started off as an Aphmau fanfic and I’m trying to branch off into original content. Thats probably a combo you’ve only seen maybe once because there’s like one piece of fanart for that crossover but you’d probably have to be deep in the Aphmau fandom like me. The other 65% of you probably only know Aphmau for brain rot or just haven’t heard of her.

?: what inspired some of these changes?

A: I feel like I have to state this preemptively but these aren’t redesigns or critiques just designs to make them fit in my universe. I also changed there’s powers and what they are in terms of magic capability.

?: why is Soul and Maka a zombie and a witch respectively?

A: witches aren’t evil in Zanebie. They’re actually quite common and don’t operate the same way as soul eaters. Same with zombies, they’re basically the same person mentally with only one visual change. Being their eyes. Soul would’ve died due to blood loss when they first met Crona. And brought back by Blair, who they haven’t met and is also no longer a magic cat but another magical species entirely. But that’s spoilers so.

?: why would you do this? Your story is not very big and people barely talk about it.

A: funny.

?: can I do something like this?

A: you don’t need my permission be cringe and free little bird.

Steins notes: (character backgrounds and other small changes let me indulge)

Soul Evan’s: a rare and sad sight to see such a young boy being a zombie. I’ll send her to the demon ladies house. She should be able to keep him safe. I’m sure I’ll get an earful from her though, since she already has so many in that house. But it should be fine. It’s so interesting though, how souls start to overflow and burst with even more magic after death. Like our living bodies are a shell that keeps all our potential inside. I should do some testing.

Maka Albarn: A talented young witch. But she feels a large amount of guilt for what happened poor girl. She probably didn’t think dragging him out to that church to practice magic would’ve led to all this. And finding out her parents are hunters would also be quite a shock. Well I’ll send her over with him. They need each other right now.

#Zanebie #aphamu #soul eater #soul eater au #digitalart #artist of tumblr #anime #soul eater evans #maka albarn #art #digital art #digital drawing

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nikethestatue · 3 months ago

Note

Hello there!

A bit new to fandom and I do apologize in advance if this has already been addressed in a previous post but what are your thoughts on when Elucien fans say that both Lucien and Elain are very similar? Personally, I think Elain and Azriel are more similar but my bigger issue with this is that it does not matter how similar two people are. If they aren’t into each other romantically, you should take it at face value versus trying to force them together. It’s a bit frustrating to see this so often-their personalities match, they are mates, she needs to give him a chance because he is a good male who deserves happiness, etc. I truly do not understand this fandom, tbh.

Thanks in advance for your much appreciated insight.

Hi Anon,

I think the mistake in this whole 'these two characters are similar' discussions is that it's not the similarity that's important, it's compatibility.

You don't have to be similar to be happy and to have a great relationship (one of the big problems with dating apps I think is that it's doing exactly that--looking for similarities between people, assuming that if both like sports and sushi, they'll make a great match), but you have to be compatible.

Yeah, on the surface, Elain and Lucien might have some commonalities--kind of the ignored and forgotten children in their families. Both at ease in social situations. Both polite and gracious (most of the time). But the funny thing is, exactly the same thing could be said about Elain and Azriel. In fact, the same WAS said about them--Elain and Azriel, the only polite ones. Azriel, graceful as any courtier. "Rhys could make Azriel a Prince of Velaris...' "No, Elain was his princess'.

But that's not the most important thing, even though of course SJM put all of it in the books for a reason. Note how Feyre never said that Elain would cling to Lucien...

But I think the important thing to remember is that compatibility isn't based on mutual likeness. Cassian and Nesta have NO similarities, but they are compatible. Lorcan and Elide have even fewer similarities, but they are drawn to each other and are compatible.

Lucien was in love with Jesminda. Thought even that they might be mates --they were very different in many ways, but obviously he found her vivacious nature very appealing.

At the same time, Azriel, for example, seemed to have loved Mor, but they are incredibly incompatible. Whether it's when she had to MAKE him, BEG him, CAJOLE him into things, or her being part of the group that gives him headaches, or them just being completely different temperament-wise and having almost nothing to say to each other, despite both being warriors, both being in the IC, having knowing each other for literal ages, etc. It interesting that it translates to friendships as well--Rhys and Azriel seemed to be fairly similar in many ways, yet they are not compatible. Azriel loves him as a brother, but I don't get the sense that they just adore each other. Whereas Cassian, who seems to be very different from Azriel has a much, much closer relationship to him, and Rhys as well.

It's a fallacy which is pretty popular in this fandom --they are so similar, they must be a romantic pairing! Look, Gwyn and Az are both Carynthians! They are so similar. Whereas Azriel kept thinking to himself how he can escape the interaction with her. Whereas with Elain, who certainly isn't a Carynthian, he could sit for hours, listening to her garden plans.

I think all we need to know is that Elriel have a mutual understanding that doesn't even require words. That's a high level of emotional connection. Pretty much the highest--to be able to understand the other person just by sensing subtle changes in them. And Elriel already have that.

#elriel #pro elriel

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jedimasterbailey · 1 year ago

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WARNING! AHSOKA SHOW RANT DOWN BELOW! SPOILERS!

Furthermore, I’m going to be completely honest in this review so if you’re someone who truly enjoyed the show, you’re a Rebels stan, etc. then this post isn’t for you. Haters will be blocked immediately so take your negative energy elsewhere. You have been warned!

For everyone else, buckle up because I’ve got a lot to say and I’d love to hear your thoughts on this as well. All comments are welcome so long as they are respectful to everyone.

Okay, so now that the show is done for now. I’m going to be listing some major talking points. We’re there some aspects of the show that I enjoyed/appreciated? Absolutely! But overall, I’m leaving this show very disappointed, confused, and frustrated. The finale left me feeling empty and never have I personally been more silent after a Star Wars show. Now mind you I think this has a lot to do with the fact that I love Ahsoka’s character dearly as well as the Clone Wars and the prequels so there is bias here. Furthermore I am pretty indifferent with Rebels so going in knowing that the Ahsoka show wasn’t going to be…well about Ahsoka but rather a Rebels sequel, that already put a bad taste in my mouth and I was very nervous how this show was going to go and well…it was exactly what I expected from a Filoni/cheap Disney production. Without further ado, here’s a list of all my beef.

1.) Lack of a Coherent and Cohesive Story

So I’ve mentioned this in a previous post, but my main issue with Dave Feloni productions is that the story seems to be going all over the place and there’s a lot of moving parts that don’t necessarily meld well together. I often think to myself that Ahsoka is an example of a poorly written fanfiction brought to the screen. So the plot of the show initally was focused on Ahsoka bringing Ezra home. Okay, that’s simple, there’s many different ways we can make that cool and interesting but that’s not what happened here. We’re just filled with a ton of confusing information and we’re in for a very boring journey heading for a very anticlimactic and unsatisfying ending.

For starters, we the audience are informed that Ahsoka and Sabine had started an apprenticeship (which I have ALOT of issues with but that’s for another talking point) but they got into a tiff (which we never find out about and/or see) and now things are just depressing and weird between them. First of all, anyone who has seen Rebels KNOWS that Ahsoka and Sabine literally had very little to do with each other; I can’t recall a single conversation those two have had in the past, nor was it ever eluded to us that Sabine is Force sensitive.

Second we see that Hera and Sabine don’t have anything to do with each other for some reason? Which is weird considering all that’s happened and their history but okay suddenly Sabine, a grown ass 30+ year old woman is Ahsoka’s responsibility, which again why? We don’t get any background information, we’re just expected to accept and go with it.

Third, Ahsoka and Hyuang are reunited and working together immediately but again do we know how that became to be? No. We see none of that.

Fourth we are told that Morgan Elsbeth, a one off antagonist from the Mandalorian that Ahsoka fought is suddenly a Dathormirian woman even though she looks nothing like one besides her outfits in the show nor was that eluded to previously.

Fifth, we are introduced to these two new…I don’t even know what to call them “dark siders” “non Jedi” Shin and Baylan (who is apparently a former Jedi from the Clone Wars but did we see that or see how he knew Ahsoka and Anakin? No.) but we aren’t given any reason to care about them other than they’re in Ahsoka’s way of completing her mission. They end up being more like time fillers that anything else and end up walking away from the big conclusion. Like…why are they even in this show and why should we care?

Perhaps Dave Feloni has this big grand story in his mind but he’s so far up his own ass that none of us get to see this story. It’s like seeing a little kid play with their action figures and they’re super passionate about it but as a outsider you have no idea what’s going on. Now this isn’t good not only for the sake of good storytelling but it’s bad for business too.

Disney wants to make as much money off of Star Wars as they can. That’s extremely obvious. However here you have a show that isn’t going to pull in a casual Star Wars viewers (they would have to watch so much content to catch up on whose who and what is going on) nor is it really going to pull in fans of Clone Wars and Rebels because while they overlap, the fandoms are different and Feloni hasn’t done a good job melding those worlds together thus the divisive opinions on this show. This leaves for an incredibly small niche of people and honestly I think whatever toy sells they make from this show will do better than the actual ratings. I would be shocked if they greenlit for another season because I’m pretty done with this story as is many of the people who would be willing to watch.

All in all this is embarrassing how Feloni and the gang with all the money and resources can’t pull off a simple and epic show when there are thousands of unpaid fanfic writers that could pull off a much better story and build these beloved up characters, which leads into my next point.

2. The Characterizations of Ahsoka, Sabine, and Hera Are Bad

Now I have mentioned previously how much I love Ahsoka but damn it upon watching this show, she may as well be dead. Ahsoka has been given the Luke Skywalker treatment in that Ahsoka has been stripped of everything that made her lovable in Clone Wars and Rebels and is left as a sorry shell of who she once was. Her dialouge is hollow and lifeless not like the lively Ashley counterpart that made us all love Ahsoka in the first place. And no don’t give this “well she’s older now” bullshti excuse because Obi Wan Kenobi never lost his cheekiness and charisma as an old man, neither did Yoda, or Leia, etc. Just because you age doesn’t mean you have to be lifeless. Maturity does not equate to emotionless. Secondly for a woman whose well into her fifties and still acts very much like a Jedi Ahsoka’s views on the Jedi and their philosophy seem very warped and the audience is again left confused as to where she stands on the Jedi. I mentioned in a previous post how I couldn’t stand Ahsoka’s negativity towards the Jedi and how nobody seems to matter but Anakin (even though he’s put her through a ton of trauma and has tried to kill her as Vader) because it’s just so distasteful to the people who raised her and loved her that died by genocide no thanks to Anakin. Ahsoka has zero character development other than she seems to forgive Anakin for his wrongdoings despite the nonexistent apology. For a show that has her name on it, she sure is boring. Makes me miss Ashley and old Ahsoka even more.

As for Sabine I probably could write a whole thesis on how unlikeable she is but I’ll keep it short. One, I find it sick on Feloni’s part that he’s having a grown 30+ year old woman act like a teenager and be snarky with just about everyone. Ezra, who annoyed me immensely in Rebels, was WAY more mature and grounded. And again I’m sick and tired of the Mandalorian excuse of you getting to be an asshole because youre Mandalorian. Shut up. No one is above manners and decency. Sabine’s actions in this show have been far from Jedi like and thanks to her immaturity, she left Ahsoka for dead once and is indirectly responsible for the death of New Republic officers who were trying to stop this very dangerous mission that could possibly bring Thrawn and the Empire back ensuing more death and destruction of innocents. Ahsoka deserves to be angry with her for her words and actions, but of course Sabine gets a free pass and her bad behavior will continue to be enabled.

As for Hera…when did she become such a Karen? Just because you’re an officer doesn’t mean you get to abuse your power for your own personal agenda. That Senator was right about her. Finding Thrawn is a threat to the galaxy and using resources and putting lives at risk for it is a big deal. Hera was depicted as honorable and responsible in the Rebels series and I swear I was watching a different person on screen. Also she is a major Sabine enabler and that needs to stop. Sabine is grown and needs to grow up and fix her attitude.

3.) Anakin’s Role In the Show

Now don’t get me wrong, I love Hayden and I love Anakin, I have the dude tattooed on me for Force sake so don’t come at me for that, but I had some issues on how his character was used here. First, I’m tired of Ahsoka’s relevance to Anakin being the only defining trait about her. Second, I’m continuously annoyed by Anakin’s lack of accountability in these shows; he never once apologizes to Ahsoka for all that’s happened, he never once’s has a meaningful conversation with her; he just basically beats her down until she finally lets go of her past. Did I love the Clone Wars flashbacks! YES! They were my favorite part of the entire show and I want MORE of that; but I so wish Anakin could have been reflecting on his own actions with Ahsoka instead of being like “Is ThAt WhAt ThIs Is AbOuT?” Like come on 🙄

4.) Ahsoka’s “It’s Time To Move On” Line

Are you kidding me Ahsoka? There is still so much more to unpack with her past such as all the other relationships she’s had that completely changed her trajectory like BARRISS and REX and she could also be a mentor figure to Luke and Leia, etc. But nope the only thing that matters is getting over Anakin and all is well despite being stranded in another galaxy and Thrawn being unleashed back home. Like THIS IS NOT OKAY!

5.) The Cheap Ass Production of this Show

I’m not normally one to comment on production but it was so obvious in this show how many corners were cut. For one characters like Thrawn look god awful. Dude looking like a blue Elon Musk instead of an intimidating villain. The use of fog and the volume were very obvious and the places we went to were so boring minus the red leaves forest. The worlds of Star Wars used to be so cool and otherworldly but that’s not the case nowadays and it’s sad. Also why does Force ghost Anakin look better in the 2000’s than it does now? I prefer quality over quantity so I really wish Disney would quit churning out these cheaply made productions and have the audacity to rise their Disney plus subscriptions and not pay their people well.

6.) THE RACISM

I’m so fucking tired of this y’all! 🤬 of course make the Jewish actor in the shipyard be greedy and power hungry. Of course make the Asian Senator the asshole and not any of the white protagonists. The antisemitism and racism against POC is unacceptable to me and it should be unacceptable to you too.

Conclusion

I’m sure I’m missing some talking points but these are my biggest grips and as an Ahsoka fan I’m disappointed. Being a miserable Jedi not Jedi responsible for bringing a new evil into the galaxy but being content being stranded in another galaxy is not the future I believe Ahsoka deserves and I sincerely hope they don’t continue this story. It’s just bad all around. Except for the Loth cats… the Loth cats can stay. And Clone Wars flashbacks.

#ahsoka #ahsoka show critical #darth felonious #anti dave feloni #ahsoka critical #ahsoka tano #anakin skywalker #barriss offee #the clone wars #star wars #star wars meta #anti sabine wren #hera syndulla #sabine wren #captain rex #ezra bridger

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