#hated that he finally learned who he was without being a hero

[mx-legend-of-faye]

Guys do you ever stop to think about how hard Wild must’ve struggled to find his sense of self?

His Hyrule was full of people telling him he’s a hero and he needs to save them, or alternatively that he doesn’t exist at all anymore since he was told he was the hero but then everyone knows the hero is gone?

So Wild, with no memories of who he was before, but all his kindness and readiness to help still in tact, goes on to become the hero of his Hyrule once again. At that point, a hero is all he really knows he is, and it’s all he’s told he’s allowed to be. Hyrule needs a hero, so that’s what Wild is.

Sure, he learned some things he really enjoys, and makes the best of them …but remind me how he came to learn them? Because even on his way to save Zelda and Hyrule, he stops to help others with smaller tasks? And those people teach him things in return? Because he helped them? Because with no memories, Wild woke up, and was told he needed to be helpful?

And when Zelda was safe and Hyrule was no longer under threat from the Calamity, where does that leave Wild, a hero with nothing to save his people from?

When your job that made you who you are is completed, and you can no longer remember the feel of your mother’s hugs or the sound of your father’s voice, where does that leave you? Who are you after that?

Wild had to relearn a lot more than you first might think. Wild had to relearn how to be a person. He had to relearn who he was as a person.

And he will never again be the same person as who Zelda remembers him being. He will never again be the child his parents raised.

He’s someone new, and it’s great and it’s exciting and he gets to exist now without expectations, but there was a period of time where he was a shell of person with no sense of self until he was told by all around him that his purpose was to help and to save.

So he didn’t get to start from a blank slate and become who he wanted. He had to have his purpose become an almost null point once he beat the Calamity. He had to start discovering who he is, not from the ground up, but from the ruins of who he thought he was, who everyone needed him to be.

My train of thought has left its tracks and so I’ll bring this to an end here. I hope what I was saying was coherent, I am very tired right now so—

[the-faceless-bride]

Chapter one: Childhood

you came from an ok family, you’re parents had you young and struggled to keep you off the streets but they managed; and after sleepless nights and lots of hard work they had finally been able to move to Japan, a nice small house in a nice little neighborhood. 

You were excited, new home, new people, a new school! All the new friends you could make! It excited to no end. You were practically vibrating in the back of your parent’s small car, hands and face pressed to the window, smearing the glass as you waved to anyone who looked in your direction as you passed by. Including a bright faced green haired boy and a rowdy blonde who was excitedly punching the air while talking. 

When you finally arrived you excitedly grabbed as many of bags your little arms could carry before rushing into your new room and getting started on putting everything you could away.

—

after putting a few of your things away, you heard your parents call out for you. “[Name!] Our Neighbors are here to say hi! They have a few new friends for you!” 

you run as fast as your little legs could take you to the kitchen, and there you find two women with their son. You assume he’s about your age he though he is a bit bigger than you and other boys your age; he had dark hair that reached past his ears, bright red eyes, and a big sharp smile. “Hi! I’m Kirishima Ejiro!!” He excitedly yell to you not giving you a chance to speak before he threw himself onto you in a tight hug making you wheeze. 

“Ejiro, let her breathe.” One of the women said placing a hand on his shoulder making him step back his smile never leaving, you smiled back. 

Your friendship grew stronger and stronger, until the day he got his quirk. He didn’t like his quirk; it wasn’t cool, it wasn’t strong, it just wasn’t a ‘hero’s quirk’ and it broke his little heart; you tried to cheer him up the best you could about how you hadn’t even gotten yours yet but once you did no matter how uncool or flashy it was you’d still be his best friend and you would both become hero’s some day. But as time past and your quirk never came and Ejiro’s insecurities grew, days became darker and darker. 

Ejiro barely smiled anymore, his insecurities and jealousy grew and you were slowly being forgotten to the world. Quirkless. 

A nobody, that’s what you were to the world now. Even your parents started to treat you oddly; a Quirkless kid, the one thing a parent never wanted to have. But you tried not to let it get to you, you had a job to do. Being a hero, maybe not to the world… but you would be one to Ejiro. You listened to his pains and woes, where there when he fell and always lifted him back on his feet, you were “so manly” as Ejiro put it and he was going to be too. 

The two of you had each other, until you didn’t. As you entered middle school things changed, Ejiro and his Family were moving. His mothers had to move for work, and you had no idea if or when you would see him again. In all of your 11 years of living you’d never been so sad, letting him go. Saying goodbye;  frowning as one of his moms call to him to “get in the car.” Your best friend in the whole world was leaving, his sad eyes bore into you as his frown sinks even lower… you can’t remember the last time he smiled as bright as the day you two first met, and you couldn’t do anything about it.

And the days only grew darker. As you entered middle school the bullying became relentless… the words Quirkless was all you ever heard anymore. Worthless, Quirkless, loser. That seemed to be what everyone knew you as and when your parents split you had hit your lowest. 

Now living with your dad, he wasn’t really around. You’d learned how to live on your own, how to make pasta, how to pay rent, you learn the world doesn’t owe you anything. And you began to hate. No longer were you a happy little kid. You were tired, you were restless, and you longed for the light again. But without anyone you’d found it hard to do anything other than hate.

until you met someone like you, a green hair boy with doe eyes and a big heart. 

[rockpaperimpala]

So about Netflix's the Last Airbender....

I am literally so confused you guys. You made me think I would HATE this show. And I LOVED it. Me. Known perfectionist and hater.

Katara was lovely. Yes, she started as a more soft spoken character than her cartoon version, but she was still passionate and hopeful throughout, just visibly unsure of herself. I think people were thrown off by this actress' natural way of expressing herself, which is Different from animated katara for sure, but not bad. Then she spends the whole season growing in Confidence and Fire. I Adored her fight with Paku, it really did feel like a payout of the whole season's development, and the bending kicked ass!

The Bending Kicked ass!!! The martial arts was fun and fast and creative and exciting! It looked SO good. That alone would be enough reason for me to watch and enjoy any show.

Zuko's actor was fantastic. He really captured the rage and confusion of this 16 year old banished prince. And there were so many Added moments between him and Iroh wich to me enriched their relationship. Like YES! This is why I'm watching, to see more of them, to see things done a little differently.

Iroh facing the consequences of his actions at Ba Sing Se!! That's what I'm here for!

Zuko's relationship with the men on his ship! That's what I'm here for!

The Extra layers we get to Ozai manipulating his children!

Also no one is talking about Admiral Zhao, who I had SO much fun with. I feel like they slightly fleshed out his character in a really dramatic way, really developing the hubris and frankly insane grasping ambition of someone who would kill the moon. I completely enjoyed this wilder, less controlled version of him, who comes up through the season from basically nothing and no one!

I am OBSESSED with King BUMI and his anger and disillusionment with the world! Like this was SO real. Living a hundred years of futile war would do that!!!! It is one of my favorite changes to the whole series. This new layer of emotion and character depth is what I'm here for!

Sokka was SO funny. He literally had me laughing out loud so often. That actor GETs Sokka, and GETS the way his humor is delivered. And is also able to tap into the more vulnerable side of him. People said he was "obsessed" with leadership. WHAT? That is a young person trying desperately to do his best and to try and find his place in the world, to figure what he has to offer. I loved his pride at hearing the Mechanist say that he would make a good engineer, and the sweetness of the moment that Yue's father says that he can be a hero without being a warrior. Sokka does so much growth in this series, in understanding himself and life.

And his chemistry with Suki was adorable!! I even like him and Yue (who was a totally unexpected sweetheart, despite her terrible wig)!! Like he has that same ability that Sokka has in the original to Connect with people.

Aang was great! He WAS fun loving and sweet and funny. I don't know what you guys wanted. Cartoons are always bigger and more exaggerated than live action. People's eyes swell up an, birds fly around their heads, and there are funny sound effects. That larger than life quality is the strength of animation! You have to look for different strength in live action. Like the SUBTLETIES of the acting choices. This little actor brought so much kindness, innocence, and strength to Aang.

And I FELT his frustration at being asked to do this at 12, his fresh hope anytime it looked like someone more experienced would be able to help him and no one did, and that's why he didn't learn waterbending this season, because he kept waiting for an freaking ADULT to show him the way, to help him carry this immense burden, but every adult he meets asks him for help instead, asks him to carry it himself, and then the finale hits and he realizes that there won't be any adults helping, he does have figure this out himself, and he makes the hard choice, takes on responsibility more than his years and offers himself to the ocean spirit, and he might have been lost entirely if not for Katara!

And that counter running theme to the show pays off: that he doesn't have to do it alone. He may not have more experienced guidance, because the adults have let him down again and again, but his friends will be with him, and they will figure it out together!

This is there throughout the series! Katara tells him this about learning waterbending, when he says he still wants to wait. Bumi tells him this in the palace at Omashu, and Aang sees the faith he has in his friends repaid!

I like these changes! And the show still found time for silly fun adventures and character building moments.

The show was never going to be the animated original. That is already a Masterpiece, and it frankly did NOT need to be adapted at all. I did not WANT a live action adaptation. I was adamantly convinced I would hate it. But the changes that they netflix show gave are what I Iike most about it. If I want to see Zuko say "you rise with the moon, I rise with the sun," I will go watch the animated original, because that version is perfect. And now, if i want to see Zuko say "Lu ten would have been proud to have you as a father," and see iroh pull him into a tight hug, I can watch this live action version, which is very good too. I'm going to disagree with most of the people on here and say that the Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender, DOES capture the heart of what we liked about the original show. It's spirit, fun, excitement, and characters. And the changes made are the reason we should be watching.

[salmalin]

My sincerest apologies and warmest welcome to my rant about FF7: Crisis Core. Or, as I like to call it,

Propaganda: The Video Game

I say this with the utmost affection. Crisis Core ranks really high up there in my favorite Final Fantasy 7 installments. I played it when it first came out, borrowing it from a friend to play on a borrowed PSP. And, the more I learn about the game and the more I replay it, the more everything lines up.

This game is not about Zack Fair.

This game is about how Capitalistic Propaganda can sink into every aspect of life to the point where it is entirely indistinguishable from reality. And it’s very overt about it. So…

Here we go.

My treatise on Propaganda’s starring role in Crisis Core.

Part One: The Timeline

Something that a lot of people gloss over due to decades of Child Heroes in media—Japanese Shonen and Shoujo series in particular—is how young these protagonists are. We’ll hand-wave a lot of stuff in non-live-action series with just a little bit of suspension of disbelief. And that’s honestly just accepted these days. But here’s the thing about those hand-waves.

Final Fantasy 7 doesn’t do that.

Now, FF7 hand-waves a lot of stuff. For example, how far you can travel in a day by foot, the distance a man weighing approximately 165lbs can jump after being genetically fused with what might as well be a cocaine demon (Jenova), and how much hairspray one can reasonably carry on a cross-country journey while on the run from the feds.

Age is not one of them.

Exhibit A: Yuffie Kisaragi.

Do I really need to say more? She acts her age. So does Zack. And Aerith, even. Most of the characters in the original lineup were over twenty for a good reason. We see several kids in the series, and they all act their age, too—both the OG and the remake. Age is not a thing that FF7 really grapples with. It’s something they take relatively seriously.

Now, to the point.

Zack is 16 when Crisis Core starts…

… and he was 13 when he ran away from home without his parents’ knowledge to join the military.

Which accepted him.

At 13.

Without a parental permission slip.

Think about that for a second.

… Or for the next several parts of this breakdown.

Part Two: The Main Character

As I mentioned in the introduction, Zack is not the main character of the events of Crisis Core. Instead, he is the focal point of the second person POV. This is not the first time Square has done this. It was done most notably with FF9, FF10, and FF12. (I’m not going to go on an Akira Kurosawa rant right now, but please check out his film “The Hidden Fortress”. FF12 and Star Wars episodes 4-6 borrow heavily from this film.) The purpose and position of this character is such that they might best witness the effects the other characters make on the world as their stories unfold, usually in the role of a love interest. For Akira Kurosawa, it may have been told this way because these people are most effected by the decisions being made.

“Well, then, Sal,” you may be asking, “who would you say is the main character? Would that be Aerith, since she’s the love interest, like in the other games?”

No, actually.

It’s the antagonist.

And by that, I mean Genesis.

Hear me out. I used to hate Genesis, for I was once young, full of judgement for flamboyancy (thanks, internalized homophobia), and was led by the narrative to believe he was mean to his friends. Then I met my Lovely beta who loved him, so I wrote a fic for her as a gift. So for that I kinda just… read stuff. Because that’s the thing about Propaganda—you gotta read stuff to navigate it. I read the in-game emails. I re-watched all the scenes I could get my hands on with him. I read his wiki and tried to track down more information about him. Then I watched the scenes in Japanese and gained a better understanding of not just Genesis, but Sephiroth’s character. And I realized that Genesis was put on this road from the start. In fact, a big part of the fact that he’s seen the way he is in Canon—only at his most hostile and lowest points—is because the story is told through Zack’s point of view.

So before we get into the breakdown, here’s the hard facts about Genesis.

1. He was a test tube baby who may or may not technically be Angeal’s fraternal twin brother, which we are not going to unpack right now.

2. He was adopted by a relatively rich family.

3. He was a child genius (which requires not only resources, but drive to achieve), and at a tender young age of like… ten or something? He decided to mess around and literally invented pasteurization. Which is incredible, and really speaks to his knowledge of the world and ability to grasp complex concepts even at a young age. But, again, this is not the time or place to unpack that.

4. He was best friends with Angeal, who might as well have been the sweetest, kindest boy to ever walk the Planet. (I’m biased. I love him.)

5. As a teenager, he became fixated on Sephiroth, who had gained national acclaim as a SOLDIER despite them being the same age. (Please see part 1 and think about that for a second.) He then goes to join SOLDIER and brings Angeal with him. And Angeal brings his step-father’s puritanical “hard work is honorable” mindset with him. (On that note, Angeal and his father’s arc really are a wonderfully scathing letter to companies that overwork their employees and how toxic/unhealthy that line of thinking is. But. Again. We are not unpacking that right now.)

6. At one point he became consumed with LOVELESS, a series of poems with heavy prose and symbolism thicker than syrup. It got to the point where he was so well known for it that there was an entire fanclub dedicated to both him and analyzing the text.

7. While he was in SOLDIER, he repeatedly had his achievements publicly accredited… to Sephiroth.

Over and over and over again.

Everyone did, really. They mention it in the beginning of the game. Sephiroth even got public credit for Zack’s raid on the castle when he wasn’t even there. How much of his legacy is real? How much of it is made up? How much of it was faked? We don’t know. No one knows. But he keeps getting credit, anyways. And when Genesis confronts him about it, Sephiroth doesn’t care. In the Japanese version of their fight scene, you could even say he indirectly implies that he wants Genesis to take his place as the “hero”. In the English, Sephiroth’s line is, “Come and try.” But in the Japanese the line is closer to, “Wouldn’t that be nice?” Which, depending on how you take his tone, can mean wildly different things—from mocking, to earnest, or even admiration—which is especially to tell because he might be annoyed with Genesis at the moment.

Fun Fact: In Ever Crisis, Sephiroth explicitly says they are making up his achievements in the press to target boys his age for recruitment. (Thus why they accepted Zack at age 13.)

My theory on this line is that he is being cynical; that Genesis doesn't understand just how harrowing and even humiliating his experience has been. This only enforces my theory that the "come and try" translation in the English not only does a disservice to a line as wonderfully heavy as, "Wouldn't that be nice?", but fundamentally misunderstands Sephiroth as a character.

8. Genesis then took the fight to Shin-Ra. Inspiring a good chunk of their staff to leave the company, he then staged multiple attacks on facilities, staff, and the main building—which also spilled out into the city of Midgar. He murdered his parents, buried them, killed everyone in town, and… Yeah. It wasn’t pretty. A lot of innocent people died simply because they were vaguely associated with Shin-Ra. These are the actions of a villain. What’s more, this is clearly a sign that he has been acclimatized to death and violence by Shin-Ra to the point where he doesn’t even consider taking hostages.

Except.

Except the entire town was a Shin-Ra town.

Banora, canonically, was a Shin-Ra built town, which means everyone there was basically an employee of the company. No one was safe. Everyone was a threat. And that…

That was how he was raised. And he finally knew the truth—that every moment of his life was touched, controlled by Shin-Ra, all the way down to his very conception. He has never known freedom. He has never known his own identity. And now that very cage was killing him, slowly and painfully, and turning him into something that couldn’t even be recognized as human. He was watching himself rot in the mirror, and it was all because of Shin-Ra’s greed. And as he searched for salvation, he sunk into LOVELESS as he always had, hinging his entire life on Minerva’s Gift because he knew he was dying and that was all he had.

9. And then he died…

10. … but then it turned out LOVELESS was actually kind of a blueprint, and he did meet the Goddess, and he did get reborn without his degradation so he was rewarded for his journey in the end.

So why wasn’t Genesis the main character of the game?

Simple.

His actions challenge the status quo without being about the status quo. It’s a story about revenge. It’s a story about retribution. It’s a story about answering mass violence with mass violence and ultimately being rewarded by it. And while, yes, the series is an action-based violence simulator, the violence in the original FF7 was a guided, tactical effort. (For all that the characters aren’t the brightest bulbs in the sun lamps.) But the biggest, most obvious shift in the narrative happened when they realized their role as terrorists—bringing mass violence to the company via bombing and open aggression—was just resulting in increasing levels of retaliation against uninvolved people. They might as well have been a child beating the ankles of a giant. The goals and themes of the game fundamentally change when they realize that answering mass-scale societal violence with mass-scale physical violence was not only unsustainable, but also wasn’t going to solve their problem.

FF7 is about change and learning when violence—and what kind of violence—is appropriate in the face of different threats.

Genesis’ arc undermines all of that, and making him the main character would contradict the very heart of the OG game.

So, instead, we are positioned as Zack, connected to him through a mutual friend. From there we see all the damage and horror this vengeance brings to those living under the status quo.

But also, that plotline’s a major downer in a lot of ways, so they needed to lighten things up a bit to keep audience involved. And that’s why Zack is, well…

Part Three: Zack is a Himbo

Please, for the love of all that is holy, keep in mind that everything I say here is with the utmost affection.

Zack is dumb as a rock.

He is a charismatic, enthusiastic sixteen year old jock who ran away from home at thirteen years old to join the military. Which, please know, why I say “military” I mean “private security guard force with a standard-issue Death Baton and a license to kill”. The first scene in the game is him being excited that he gets to murder a bunch of people in a simulation, which he is immediately scolded for by his mentor. He is a glorified, souped up private security guard who is canonically only in it for the glory at first. He wants to be a “hero”, but doesn’t seem to fundamentally know what that means. And, over the course of the story, the definition of that clearly changes for him.

Which tracks, because the story takes place over a period of time with high stress.

Occasionally I see people saying they wish that Zack had more complexity to him, and honestly? The game. Would be. SO. BAD.

Full Disclosure: I am not the biggest fan of Zack specifically because he lacks a lot of nuance. I wish he was a bit more complex, too. But I also know that would break the game. What’s worse, if he was still on Shin-Ra’s side because he understood Shin-Ra’s mission… Well… That would make him a villain, or a cog at best. That’s not main character material. It would make the ending more messed up, though.

Anywho, Zack was thirteen when he left home. He had no formal education. He didn’t tell anyone what he was doing. He even joined without a permission slip from his parents. This means that Shin-Ra was accepting thirteen, possibly fourteen year olds into the military. (Some people will say this tracks because you can get a job at fourteen in many parts of Japan. But, and this is important, you aren’t allowed to be a security guard until you’re quite a bit older, and you need a specific license for it, much like in the US.) Clearly they didn’t teach this boy critical thinking skills. Not because he’s a himbo, but because having their Super-Powered Private Security Force With A License To Kill think independently would explicitly go against their interests. (EX: Genesis.)

Shin-Ra needs SOLDIERs to follow orders or the company would no longer be able to function. Seconds and Thirds aren’t even allowed to reject missions. (One could argue that sending certain someone on back-to-back missions would be a good way for them to eliminate undesirables within the ranks by sending them to their deaths, which… would make an incredible fic idea, actually.) We already know that First, Second, and Third Class rank assignments do not actually reflect the power of the SOLDIER. This is canon. I would instead argue that those who make the rank of First Class aren’t necessarily the most powerful, but are instead the most visible in the media, thus the easiest to market, and/or the easiest to manipulate and control. (For a great example of this, see The Umbrella Academy.)

The point is, Zack may have been elevated to his position as a first specifically because he is malleable and single-minded. Even after all he saw with Genesis, he stuck by the company to the very end, with the exception of the time Sephiroth was literally guiding him to fail a mission. Zack allowed himself to take Shin-Ra’s side every time, taking down their enemies and following their orders, preserving his “honor as SOLDIER” as he had been taught. The only thing that made him stop…

… was literally getting put in a jar.

It was when he was no longer a SOLDIER.

Part Four: Honor

There is no such thing as SOLDIER Honor.

I repeat: There is no such thing as SOLDIER Honor.

It is a fictional thing that is borne of an ideology based around hard work. It only has power because it is believed in. It is an intangible social construct similar to the law, mathematical order of operations, and gender roles. So why are Angeal and Zack obsessed with it?

Pretty simple.

Angeal’s step-father followed it.

Now, we know three things about Angeal’s step-father.

1. He was chill with the fact that Gillian was already pregnant when they started dating.

2. He was a very good father.

3. He worked himself to death trying to pay off the sword he bought Angeal.

This, of course, says a lot about Angeal considering he rarely uses the sword. He essentially sees that sword as the symbol of his step-father’s life. Everything he uses it for, he sees as more important than his step-father’s life. That thing is usually Zack.

Zack, who is the child who joined the military based on stories of heroes.

Zack, who rises against Angeal in the name of his own step-father’s ideology and tries to talk him down, even at the very end. But Zack fails because he fundamentally doesn’t understand what’s going on, partially because “Soldier Honor” is just one more aspect of this narrative he was given. It is a narrative that Angeal has had to step away from, even though he doesn’t want to leave the memory of his step-father behind. He was a good man. He was a good, hardworking man.

And that is why he died.

Corporations will use you up until there is nothing left, then honor your memory/sacrifice. Shin-Ra was doing the exact same thing the company his step-father worked for did; using up SOLDIERs until they outlived their usefulness. And Angeal was horrified to realize that his “SOLDIER Honor” wasn’t honor at all.

It was willingly submitting to control.

But, unlike Angeal, over time, this meaning changed for Zack. Partially because he didn't understand it fully in the first place. It became about acting with integrity. It became about helping people. It became about not lying down and watching the abuse Shin-Ra handed out in exchange for literal money; for maintaining the status quo.

At the very end, Zack understood what it meant to be a hero.

Part Five: The Conclusion

To sum up, Zack believed in and idolized the propaganda spread by Shin-Ra at such a young age, and was so convinced by it, that he ran away from home at thirteen to join the military.

He was their target demographic, so they happily took him into their ranks. What’s more, people think this is normal enough that we see no one opposing this, because the only people who oppose Shin-Ra are “extremists” or “violent terrorists”.

Zack then became their loyal puppy, groomed to fill his role as super-powered attack dog to sick on anyone they deemed appropriate, and he filled the role. He believed he was doing good. He didn’t think they were invading another country, because that’s not what he was told.

He went after Genesis, because that’s what he was told, and he wouldn’t let Genesis’ actions shake his faith in the company.

Then he went after Angeal, hoping to get answers, only to become more confused. Angeal taught him about SOLDIER honor. He taught him about a higher calling. He was the one who made Zack truly loyal to the company. This challenged everything Zack knew.

He went with Sephiroth, planning a small rebellion of their own (a white lie on paperwork) to get answers, only to find things he wasn’t ready for and couldn’t fully understand.

Zack is shaken by each of these events. Horribly. At times, we even watch him grieve. But time and time again, he doesn’t leave the company. He sees the damage they do first hand, and he doesn’t leave the company. The company isn’t the problem, to him. He reads their emails, does their dirty work, and “maintains his SOLDIER honor”.

Zack swallows what they give him right up until what they give him is torture.

Zack swallows what they give him until he becomes their victim.

Every step of the way, Zack is fed a story of how the world is. He was raised on it. He lived it. He became part of it. He was paid peanuts to enforce the status quo Shin-Ra installed in the world by force, and he was proud of it because it was, to him, something to be proud of.

Zack believes the propaganda whole-sale, and we get to watch, from the point of view of an outsider, as it slowly destroys his life before killing him.

Propaganda has the power to make suffering normal. Propaganda has the power to make murder righteous. Propaganda has the power to take a thirteen year old boy out of his home so they can give him a sword, and when they point him in the direction of their enemies he charges of his own volition, because they made him believe in their cause. And he believes in their cause because he believes that it makes life better for everyone.

But that’s not what’s actually happening.

That’s just what he was told.

Crisis Core is about propaganda, and the depths to which it can affect our lives. It changes our belief systems. It changes our perceptions of reality. And when it’s torn down around our eyes, it can make us go insane. It can make us violent and unreasonable as we realize just how much violence is being forced upon us—violence other people just plain do not see. It's just a a piece of paper. It's just a law. It's just a job.

It's just a war.

Final Fantasy 7 was about Fascism.

Crisis Core is about the propaganda that built it. It is told from the point of view of a boy, then a man, steeped in it. He watches until the people suffering around him—Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal—are twisted into villains by the truths and lies around them. Genesis and Angeal are tortured by truths, Sephiroth is transformed by lies, and Zack is subsequently hunted down to conceal them.

Crisis Core is Propaganda: The Video Game.

[glow-in-the-dark-death]

So here is another DPXDC crossover idea nice-ish pariah dark au pariah dark dad au pariah dark x clockwork gender-fluid Danny au ghost prince Danny au Danny x Damien Danny steeling lost artifacts from places so that they don’t get into the wrong hands and Gotham has a bunch

Danny has taken up the job of helping get lost artifacts from the zone back to the infinite realms and giving items lost the zone back to the families of those that lost them Danny is having fun evading the superheroes

Damien is having fun trying to catch the thief that was stealing supposedly cursed artifacts and is surprised when he finally corners the thief that it is a someone his own age and is even more surprised when the thief disappears the literally second he turns his back

Let's see what prompt I can come up with. ✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧

~

Chase Me, Catch Me, Will You Love Me?

When he was a child he dreamed of going to space being able to chase the vastness of stars.

After his accident that was a dream he had to give up, after that his life became too busy to really think about it.

Gaining powers

Fighting ghosts each day

Trying to do her best in school

Realizing her gender

Evading and escaping his parents

The GIW

He needed a break but not because of this

This being his parents finding out about them being Phantom and not taking it well.

Ha

'Not taking it well' was an understatement.

She fled to the Infinity Realms towards ClockWork. CW felt more like his dad than Jack had for a long while now. He was a bit suspicious when CW told him that the Zone had decided to rehabilitate Pariah Dark but so far he had been staying in line if a bit of a harsh grump and maybe a future parental figure with how he and CW seemed to look at each other when they thought the other wasn't paying attention.

But on the other hand she was thankful he was still king and not Danny, wow had that been a shock to her finding out he was almost king before he was even an adult, he was still titled prince but at least he wasn't the one in charge of everything.

Speaking of being in charge of things, they as a prince still had duties to fulfill, ClockPa had decided it was best for his growth that she return to Earth but not the same one where he would be in danger, no instead it was an Earth with multiple heroes and magic and even aliens!!!

The only thing he had to do was find haunted or ecto powered objects and either return them to their rightful owner or have it put somewhere secure.

"This is going to be so much fun!"

~

Damian had a new rogue, they called themselves Phantom and their crimes resembled greatly of Catwoman's only with seemingly spiritual centered objects.

He had already faced the teasing of all his siblings about how he was resembling father

...and as much as he hated agreeing with them, after almost a year of constantly fighting, chasing, bantering and most recently actually getting to talking he had learned that they were very close in age and had a lot of similar interest they could talk about together with for hours if given the chance.

Soon their dynamic slowly began shifting without either realizing it,

And well who knows what the future holds for them but until then,

The chase continues.

~

Fin

~

Hope you liked it Anon

~

Just an Idea

[gonetoforks]

Introducing; Yuichi Usagi-Cuddles!

There’s a slight typo in his basic character bio, (first, grey image) other than “yuich,” his family in America lives in the part of the hidden city under Jersey. He lives in Jersey. He’s a Jersian. So in terms of leosagi, it’s gonna be an enemies-to-lovers comedy-of-errors muahahahaha!!

More (a LOT more) info about him as his own guy under the cutoff :D ⬇️

Basically; He’s a silly guy! I feel like his kinda buffoonish, embarrassing personality in canon is simultaneously PERFECT for Rise’s writing style & grievously underrated in fanon depictions. So he’s this clownish type of character, haha.

Okay, time to go hyperfixation mode.

Adhd & his stubborn attitude;

He has ADHD! Executive function issues makes it hard for him to start tasks & manage himself, so he relies on his teams (the Mad Dogs when he’s training & the Rise equivalent to his canon friend group on his own time) to not only instruct him, but also hold him accountable & keep him on task. He’s body-doubling without even realizing it.

Although, he resents the things he does to accommodate his disability. He doesn’t notice that doing the things he does genuinely helps or why so he thinks he’s using them as a crutch because of incompetence. Every time he gets stubborn and ignores the things he needs to do, he crashes and burns. When he was new in town with no teacher & no friends who liked martial arts, he became a huge sad sack until the kraang invasion.

His character arc is about being able to rely on other people & accommodations. That relying on a bit more help than other people doesn’t make you incompetent, choosing to seek out the support you need so you can do your best is the true mature thing to do. I was inspired by canon Yuichi’s struggles with paying attention and Rise’s themes of cooperation. (& also my own experience with adhd and learning with executive function issues & junk)

Relationships w/ the turtles;

The Mad Dogs agree to let him like, intern with them? So he can see what it’s like to be a vigilante, they offer him advice and they occasionally go on low to mid-tier missions with his help. They take him on cause they think more heroes and allies out there, the less work they have to do haha. Also, one of the writers mentioned a season 3 would have them adjusting to being ~official heroes,~ I think this would be them trying to be “real.”

He’s closest friends with Mikey out of the whole group! (Adhd solidarity) Then it goes Donnie -> Raph -> and finally Leo (for now muahaha)

I tried to give Leosagi an interesting dynamic with constructing his character like this; They have similar insecurities from drawing self-worth from technical capabilities that they can develop past together, but Leo is clever and calculating about it vs Yuichi being rash and impulsive. So like smart x stupid but they’re the same actually.

His Family in Jersey;

He speaks english fluently because he’s visited his American family frequently his whole life, they’re very close. He has an accent though since he mainly speaks Japanese.

I haven’t fleshed out this concept enough, but I think members of his jersey/Cuddles half of the family would be spoofs of characters from the original yojimbo comics, implied to be reincarnations? Except Miyamoto ofc. (i’ll explain later..)

Reusing the ninja orphans plotline from the original show, his family utilizes their cute appearances to run an orphanage too. They wonder why this Chizu lady is constantly showing up with unhoused children, but they’re just grateful they’re safe now.

Everyone in his family HATES Mrs. Cuddles, they all think she’s in prison and are happy about it. She might’ve given him that scratch on his face.

Additional;

He is gay.

Thank you for your time.

[delusinalandpassionate]

man i was gonna type something out here but nothing came to mind

part 3 was so good its left me speechless

Thank you very much for opportunity to write my thought down, without thinking about intro.

I LOVE 7 CANTO.

It was amazing. I feel rewarded for all my love and faith toward Don.

AND THE FACT I PREDICTED A LOT OF THINGS ALSO FEELS AMAZING

I loved how Sancho abandons us walking forward, and for the first time, sinners follow her, listening. Paying attention.

I loved to see that story about that Bloodfiend family and how Bari changed everything. I loved to see how he changed his mind and how he tried to change everything around him. I love how when he sees "fruits" of his absence, he tries to bring justice himself, punishing his Family for crime and himself for allowing that to happen. (Also also the fact that while he speaks about his family, the fact that his relationship with Sancho is special. One he takes with him for adventure, one who allowed to run away from this prison, one who allowed to kill him, one who inherits his name. If I were Dulcinea, I would also hate Sancho. Imagine being so obviously second favorite for eternity.)

I loved that Don Quixote did so much to save Sancho from this prison and torture from hunger, and yet the first thing she does after getting saved is lock herself in a prison, ignoring her hunger. She did not want to be saved. She wanted to die here with him, and in some way, she did.

I love that Don that we meet in a beginning a prisoner who for a first time in two hundred years sees world and speaks with other people. Of course, she's weird. Genuinely, she could be weirder.

I love that she confronts sinners and their answer not to beat her into submission but talk with her.

Some of them I believe some of them not but it still was great. Seeing Sinclair stopping circle of violence and being first person to say "hey our friend is hurting, maybe WE WON'T BEAT THEM?!"

I love how desperately Yi Sang and Heatcliff don't want to see their new family to fall apart

I love how Hong Lu says the most correct things

I love how Outis SEES HERSLEF IN DON(not in a way I predicted BUT STILL), and I love how she doubts her.

I usually dislike timetavels in story, but there was something so beautiful in a way that Dante changed only a bit, only a few words, rejecting their fear to help Don.

I love how Don Quixote is broken, but there are still some embers of his ideals. I love dynamic between him and Sancho, I love his weak laughter in battle and how it's almost impossible for Sancho to lose. I love that so many skills Sancho learned from him, but in final action, he copies her, creating a lance.

I love how he dies in her hands, and Sancho keeps crying, explaining how, in the end, she changes. She wants to live, and she wants to be a hero. And how he dies almost happy seeing how his Sancho finally found something worth living besides him.

I LOVE THIS CANTO

But of course, there is some unsatisfying stuff.

We still don't know what's the deal with Sanson.

We still haven't learned what "Promised Timepiece" means.

I also think her sprite SHE HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO HAVE HER SANCHO HAIR

But not everything could be a win for me and that's fine.

I only hope that, at least in the next event we will see Sinners getting used to the idea that ancient vampire is traveling with them and that it's a conscious choice to keep sounding like that.

Also, I want them to use Don's voice actor range because SHES AMAZING

[morganski-19]

Chills Right to the Marrow Part 39

ao3 link| part 1 . . . part 36, part 37, part 38

It’s the last day of school. Their last day of freshman year. It’s chaotic as hell.

The day is only a half day, so it’s basically a nothing day. Not just basically, it is a nothing day. Finals were over, grades will get mailed out in a week. There’s really no reason for kids to show up. Except if you’re looking to get the perfect attendance award. Dustin was striving to actually get it this year, but then spring break happened. Everyone’s attendance being fucked up with promises of a fix, but no real hope that it would actually happen.

But that didn’t matter right now. All that mattered were the seniors sitting out in the field practicing for graduating tonight. Nancy, Robin, and Jonathan all sitting in alphabetical order, listening to the principal drag on about who knows what.

They were graduating, that’s all everyone cared about.

Not the empty chairs left for the people who were lost through the years of this crap. Or the empty chair that shouldn’t be empty, but the person who is still very much alive refuses to sit on it. Refuses to walk at all. After talking about it for years.

They’re forgiving Eddie’s grades and letting him graduate. Now that it came out that he was in fact not a murderer. That he saved some people along the way and was “just hiding thinking he would be the next target”, which wasn’t all that false, they could let him graduate. Give him believable passing grades and let him walk.

Even though they really didn’t want to. But it took Nancy giving them hell and a visit from the police chief for them to actually do it. Then another round of it to make sure he was invited to his own graduation.

Now he won’t even go to it.

Not like Dustin blames him. He still can’t walk without crutches and has just started to be able to stand for more than a minute without any aids. His joints still act up depending on the day, and the scar tissue is still bright red. Not to mention the fear that things will be thrown at him when he crosses. Forever marking him as the villain everyone thinks he is.

He hates that people can think they know all of a person just from headlines. Especially when they have no clue what they’re talking about. Eddie wasn’t a monster or a villain. He was a hero. And no one will ever know that.

The last bell rings, and everyone floods into the hallways. Out the doors and to the busses and parking lots. Home for three months with freedom to do whatever they wanted.

The party gets crammed into the back seat of either Lucas’ mom’s van or Nancy’s back seat. All heading over to Steve’s house to celebrate the end of school.

It’s been about two weeks since “the big one.” Two weeks since Dustin saw just how bad Steve’s migraines really get. And how out of the loop he’s been. But he’s better, for now. Steve insisted that he was better.

Dustin’s been staying over almost every weekend. To monitor both Steve and Eddie. See for his own eyes that everything was getting better. That he wasn’t dreaming. This was real.

Eddie’s muscles are slowly getting back to where they once were. He’s able to do a lot of things that he wasn’t before. It’s the pain that really keeps him from doing much. Still learning how to manage something that will never go away.

Steve hasn’t had another migraine. At least one large enough to make it noticeable. He hasn’t missed a shift, has been picking Dustin up from school without a problem. Has been helping Eddie with his physical therapy. Even started going out on his absurdly early morning runs again. Going back to normal.

Their normal, at least.

Nancy pulls up Steve’s driveway and parks. Everyone spilling out and heading through the open door. Right out to the back to the pool. It’s the first time Dustin’s ever seen it filled. He’s really excited.

The rest of them come a few minutes later. Lucas stopping in the kitchen to force Steve to take the money his mom gave for the pizza. Insisting that they help out with the food. It takes a little convincing, but Steve takes the money.

Everyone gets changed, some of them just wore their swimsuits under their clothes to school and heads out to the back. Dustin the last one, stopping when he hears the conversation coming from the living room.

“I can’t believe you filled in the pool again,” Nancy says. Voice filled with minor sadness. “It’s been empty since-.”

“Yeah, I know,” Steve replies, sympathetically. “But, I thought it was time.”

“Not to mention,” Robin teases. “It’s for Eddie.”

“Oh,” Nancy joins in. “For Eddie.”

Steve sighs. “You both need to stop. Nothing’s going to happen.”

“Yeah right,” Robin continues. “I see the way you two are acting around each other. Nothing is happening, really?”

“And what’s stopping you?”

“A lot of things, actually.”

Dustin hears footsteps coming. He slides open the door and heads outside. The air already way too warm for it just being June.

What were they talking about? Does he even want to know?

Cause it sounded like Steve might-. But Steve wasn’t gay. As far as Dustin knew, he really shouldn’t assume. But he’s been with so many girls. Had that whole thing with Nancy during spring break.

So he wasn’t gay. Because Dustin knew that those feelings were real. Unless. Could Steve really fake it all that time?

A beach ball makes contact with his face. Literally stopping his thoughts.

“Dude, get in here already,” Lucas yells. Having a smug look on his face. Of course he was the one to throw it, anyone else would have missed.

“Seriously,” Mike adds. “What’s taking you so long?”

Dustin rolls his eyes. “I’m coming, Jesus.”

Almost immediately as he steps into the pool, someone jumps on his back and shoves him under the water. He shoves them off, pushing his hair out of his eyes. “What they fuck?” He pushes Mike back.

Mike is laughing, not regretting anything. Lucas and Will join in. Max making a big show of laughing while sitting on the edge of the pool. Only El is trying to hide it, but even she is giggling into her palm.

Dustin rolls her eyes and swims to the deep end in protest. They all groan and continue to make fun of him. Lucas chasing after him to try and drag him back.

It’s probably the first time in months that Dustin’s smiled this much. His cheeks hurt and his throat is dry from yelling so much. But he doesn’t care. They were back. Different, but back.

He doesn’t know how much later it is, but they get hungry. He volunteers to go inside and see if Steve has ordered the pizza. He only makes it to the hallway before he hears voices again.

“Would you back off,” Eddie snaps. “I don’t need you hovering.”

“Sorry I was trying to help,” Steve replies. Annoyance in his tone.

“Well I don’t need it. I can do it by myself.”

“You are so fucking stubborn.”

There’s a thud. Like someone just slammed something on the counter. “And you’re such a fucking nag.”

“Fine.” There’re footsteps coming toward the door. “Hurt yourself more, just don’t blame me when you do.”

“I won’t,” Eddie yells after him.

Steve comes into the hall, seeing Dustin in the hallway. He takes a deep breath, the anger going into hiding. “Did you need something?”

The words come out stilted. Dustin knows he doesn’t mean them to, but they do.

“We were wondering when the pizza would get here.”

The bell rings. Answering his question for him.

“Tell them to get out of the pool. We have to go in an hour.”

Dustin nods, heading back outside. The conversation he overheard still replaying in his head.

tag list (closed): @the-they-who-nerded, @insteviewetrust, @croatoan-like-its-hot, @jettestar,

@tinyplanet95, @steddie-as-they-go, @slv-333, @littlecelestialmoth, @thatonebadideapanda,

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@gregre369, @n0-1-important, @different-tale-student, @spectrum-spectre, @tartarusknight,

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@papergrenade, @waelkyring, @sweetheartprincess28, @katouasobj, @astercomoasflores

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

About representation of child abuse in ML

I’m sorry if this isn’t the proper way to send it I chose it because I can actually divide paragraphs here. I am also assuming none of the abuse submissions are reblogged because of the subject.  I was neglected as a child(parents often forgot to feed me, didn’t care about my hygiene and I couldn’t go to the doctor when I should have) and emotionally abused after coming out as trans as a young teen(constantly being pressured to stop being trans, treating me as stupid and melodramatic for being trans at all, showing open disgust if I did something “too manly” etc.). I was a bully for two years in middle school before realizing the weight of what I was doing. I had to put in a lot of effort to improve, especially since guilt was feeding into already-existing self-hatred. When I first saw Miraculous Ladybug on TV I didn’t expect child abuse to come up at all since it’s a hard topic even for adults and Miraculous didn’t seem like the show to tackle a complicated topic. Looking back they shouldn’t have tried because they end up giving incredibly bad messages. As you point out Chloe is treated as irredeemable and sent off with her abusive parent as punishment while Andre is never treated as the neglectful parent he is. While children can be abusive to their parents Andre is the mayor of Paris while Chloe is a kid, he holds a lot of power here that he refuses to use at all. He also doesn’t try to get Chloe psychological help which would be the correct course of action seeing her mother despite the fact it wouldn’t even make a dent in his pocket. It would be better to either have Chloe’s redemption fail while highlighting how her parents affect her behaviour but don’t justify it or have a straightforward redemption arc, maybe one where she doesn’t get forgiven but still improves to show kids there’s a way out. “I will always be like this because of abuse” is an easy thought to fall into and ML accidentally ends up teaching it to kids, Jesus. The other thing that really bugs me is the treatment Gabriel gets, it seems to me that the show tries to use his love for his wife and son as a redeeming quality but I am not sure on how good an idea that is. It’s better than if he were to hate Adrien but loving Adrien doesn’t excuse any of the things he does. In my experience most abusive parents do love their children, they really think they are doing the best for their kids. The kicker comes in when they end up harming their children in some way but refuse to acknowledge it. If your parents always end up doing more harm than good and refuse to stop, then love alone can’t save it. I don’t think that point was there as Gabriel’s love was portrayed as a good thing because this show doesn’t do nuance. Also the plot Gabriel abusing Adrien should mainly be about how Adrien feels. Of course it will affect other characters but Adrien is the one getting abused by Gabriel. Gabriel is also an incredibly controlling parent who takes away Adrien’s agency and the show never really addresses that. Adrien is a bystander in a story-arc about him getting abused. He never learns that Gabriel is Hawk Moth(writers seem to think we forgot Chat Blanc and even then that episode was more about “Ooo hero gets akumatized”), we never learn his thoughts about the whole situation and Gabriel completely gets his way in the end, leading to a happy ending. Adrien’s contribution to the finale is giving up the agency he had left. This really left a sour taste in my mouth. If you’re not going to deal with how abuse affects Adrien, why write it in at all?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First of all, I’d like to thank you for being able to step forward and talk about your history with your parents. I’m very sorry that you had to go through that.

Second of all, you make a good point with how much the show empasizes Gabriel’s love for his family supposedly justifying his terrible actions, with or without the mask. It doesn’t help that, like you said, he doesn’t even get to confront Gabriel about their relationship himself, and ends the season believing all the delusions Gabriel had about him being a good father. 

Hell, even the movie does a better job at pointing out how much Gabriel has hurt his son over the show itself, and I’m pretty sure that’s why so many people prefer that version of Gabriel over this one. 

[loverwebs]

Still into You

Pairing: Peter Parker x Scarlet Witch!Reader

Synopsis: You and Peter didn't end things on the best terms and wind up seeing each other again at an Avengers party.

Warnings: Angst, fighting & a tiny bit of suggestive themes

Word Count: 2,300

Peter looked around, making his way into the tower, when his eyes landed on her. He felt his skin go hot and gave her a stiff wave, in an attempt to dissolve any tension. Too bad he failed miserably.

Encountering him was inevitable, Y/n knew that all too well. They were both Avengers, meaning it would happen eventually. But it didn't change the fact that she wanted nothing more than to disappear at the sight of him.

With an exasperated sigh, she trudged towards the back of the party and grabbed a drink from the stand.

After having met everyone else with a fond smile and the shake of a hand, he approached her timidly, then smirked to himself when she didn't walk away.

"You look good," he finally said.

"I'm very aware," she answered, taking a small sip from the plastic cup in her hand.

"New corset?"

"It is," she proudly looked down at it. "Made it myself, too. You know, without my powers."

The bitterness within her reply didn't go unnoticed by him, but he deserved it, is what he thought.

"Of course... How've you been, though?"

"Really great, actually. I've learned so much about work ethic with Cap," she gawked at him.

"That's good. Sam's a great teacher."

"Oh, he is!" She smiled tightly. "And a great friend, too. One who doesn't shame me for my abilities."

"That's not what that was at all." He said, recalling their breakup.

[ One Month Ago ]

Peter and Y/n's missions were very different. Since they weren't the same kinds of heroes, they often had to work separately. This time in particular, the Witch was recruited for an off-world mission, meanwhile the web-slinger had to infiltrate an illegal weapon exchange that was happening downtown.

It had been two weeks since they'd last seen each other. Those weeks were exhausting, to say the least. However, they'd been scheduled to arrive back the same day. Peter's mission was left incomplete as he wasn't able to retrieve certain weapons, but was still instructed to go back until further notice since it was no longer safe.

It wasn't a known fact to the girl since she didn't receive any reports from solo missions, but it left him in a sulky mood. And seeing as they'd planned this date in advance, he didn't want to cancel on her— despite being in the state he was in. Which was his first mistake.

"Hi, baby!" She greeted him sweetly, leaning in for a kiss.

"Hey," he said, shifting his head so she could only meet his cheek. She didn't think much of it, knowing they had the whole day to make up for lost time.

"How was the mission?" she asked as he settled himself across from her. She had chosen to meet at one of the wooden tables by the riverside of a park. Their favorite spot.

"I'd rather not talk about it. If that's okay," he sighed.

"That's more than okay," she nodded.

"I love the blinding table cover, though." He said dryly, gesturing towards the plastic. It was the silver kind, but with his heightened senses, he was sensitive to it under the shining sun.

"Oh, I forgot. Hang on." She said, changing the silver into a baby blue cloth with the flick of her wrist.

"I was in a rush when I bought it, but I can also make it green, yellow, red—"

"Okay, okay. Just stop." He tiredly said.

"Aren't you glad you have a girlfriend who can change things with her mind?" She joked, not having acknowledged his annoyance.

"It'd be nice if my girlfriend remembered I hate peppermint ice cream," he forced a smile. 

"Damnit. Okay, uhhh do you want chocolate or vanilla?" Her hands began glowing once more, "Strawberry?"

"Just do whatever you want."

"I'm asking you. You're the one who's gonna eat it." She said, acknowledging his attitude.

"Chocolate chip," he shrugged.

"Is Ben and Jerry's okay?" She asked, the bowl in front of him turning into a pint.

"Can you just…"

"What?"

"I don't know...I just thought this would be a date with no magic," was all he said.

"What's wrong with magic?"

"Nothing! But it just seems to be your only solution to things lately. No offense."

"And that's wrong because...?"

"Because, you use them for every little thing. Unnecessarily, is what I'm trying to say."

"Yeah, well, that's kind of how it works," she laughed bitterly. "That's why I got this job. It's why I'm on this team."

"No, you're here because of your work ethic."

"Are you saying I'm not an ethical worker anymore?" She asked, tilting her head.

"That's— no. That's not what I'm saying at all."

"Okay? Then I don't understand what you want from me."

"Forget I said anything." He played with his spoon. "Can you just eat your Ice Cream?"

"I just— I don't understand why you're so upset."

"I mean, are you just gonna wave your hands around and call this a date?"

She raised her eyebrows at that, "What else do you want me to do? I'm the only one making the effort here."

"You're not though!"

"Peter, when was the last time you planned our dates? How come it's always me?"

"I've been on missions! You know that."

"So have I! That's no excuse!"

"In that case, why aren't you being more understanding?!"

"That's so funny coming from you." She laughed in disbelief. 

"Oh my God, this is the last thing I needed today." He mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "I really don't know how I thought we could make this work."

"What?" She asked sadly, the fatigued boy not yet realizing what he implied.

"It's just—"

"Are you breaking up with me or something?" She asked, biting her tongue out of fear. 

"I don't know!"

"You don't know if you're breaking up with me?!"

He stayed still, quietly assessing the situation, and avoided looking at her, knowing he was way too defeated to say more. Little did he know, his silence did more damage.

"Holy shit, you are." She stood up with glossy eyes, collecting her belongings.

"We're both just really busy lately and being together isn't helping—" 

"And you're just not gonna try anymore?" She asked helplessly, but was met with more silence.

"Wow," she said weakly. "You could have done this weeks ago, you know that?"

"Hang on, Y/n/n. I don't even— I wasn't trying to be mean—"

"Fuck off, Peter."

[ Present Time ]

Before either of them could say anything else, Bruce walked towards the front of the room, the microphone in his hands looking tiny in his firm grip. "Hey, everybody." He started, pausing briefly when it made a loud hiss.

"You might notice that there's a few robots walking around...the ones taking your plates, drinks, and all that. Just so you know, I designed them myself." He smiled, earning a small applause.

"Now, I've tested them. And their main goal is to help repair cities after any destruction we may cause while fighting. These guys will be cleaning up towns and rescuing civilians in no time. But they're starting off small tonight by helping us clean the tables and floors— because I know how lazy you all get after too many drinks." He joked.

His next words were barely audible when one of the robots crashed through a window, shooting recklessly from its hands along the way, which caused the rest of the machines to do the same.

"Oh my God!" Kate screamed, launching herself over a table.

The team immediately did what they could, covering their family members and safely escorting them out of the building.

Peter didn't have his suit on but began webbing them, in an attempt to pull them apart and used his strength to throw their metallic pieces against each other.

It was going well, when a multitude began surrounding him, starting to shoot at him. He dodged them as best as he could until one began to glow. A huge beam grew from its chest as it prepared to blast the boy.

Before it could happen, Y/n quickly landed by his side, creating a red field around him with her powers and held her hands up so their shooting would stop.

"There's so many of them!" Peter yelled.

She rolled her eyes at his commentary, "Really? I didn't realize!"

Stressfully, she decapitated the bots ahead of her, causing them to collapse onto the ground.

"Fuck, I forgot you could do that," he gulped, utterly dumbfounded. "It's been a while since we've worked together."

"Whose fault is that?!"

"I'm sorry!" He panted. "I really am! I tried calling—"

"We're not doing this here," she said while lifting the machines into the air, adding pressure so that they'd dent into themselves. "Also, I saved your ass. That doesn't mean we're working together."

"What do you mean? I had them!" Peter replied, swinging a bot against another.

"Yeah! You totally weren't being shot at!"

"Will you two focus?!" Sam landed between the pair.

"I am focused! Look at those bitches," said the girl, motioning towards the broken pieces in front of her. "That was all me!"

"Damn, nice job," he high-fived her. "Okay, on my signal I'm gonna need you to go left. Guard that entrance." He pointed at the door Kate and Bucky were running towards.

"Got it, Cap." She nodded.

"Peter and I will go right. They're already on their way to disconnect the power from Bruce's lab. That's all we have to do in order for them to shut down."

"What if that doesn't work?" Y/n asked.

"It will work. Their only source of energy is the power coming from the lab." He explained.

"Okay," she gave him an unconvinced look.

"Alright...now!" instructed Sam.

"Y/n/n, be careful," said Peter.

"You too, Petey," she replied, then grimaced in realization that her old nickname for him slipped out.

The three heroes were in their rightful positions ensuring that the robots wouldn't escape or get through to the lab. After minutes that felt like hours, the majority of the robots suddenly dropped to the floor. Some continued to leisurely move around, despite not having an energy source, but were immediately handled by the group since there weren't as many left.

It was a relief that no one was seriously injured, but the team consistently trained for unexpected moments like these and seemed to show remarkable growth.

"I'll go turn the power back on so that they can help us clean," Bruce chuckled, earning a pointed look from the team.

"That was a bad joke. Sorry."

- x -

The compound was as clean as it could be by the time it was midnight. Most of the heroes were either in their rooms or went back to their families for the weekend. But Peter wasn't able to sleep, so he headed to the kitchen.

"Hi," he said sheepishly, noticing Y/n was there too.

"Hey," she glanced at him.

"Um, are you okay? I didn't get a chance to ask back there."

"I'm fine."

"Okay, well, thanks for your help. I owe you one," he toyed with the string of his pajama pants.

"Don't worry about it. You'd do the same for me."

"Yeah," he mumbled. "Listen, Y/n. I wanted to apologize for—"

"You don't have to," she said, shifting uncomfortably.

"Yeah, I do." He replied shamefully. "I shouldn't have gotten on you for using your powers that day. It was stupid of me…and my anger wasn't even related to what you were doing. I was really tired and I totally took out my frustration from the mission on you. It wasn't fair."

"That's true, but you weren't wrong about me using my powers for everything." She admitted. "I definitely could have put in more effort. You're worth all the time in the world.. I didn't do my best at making you see that."

"Your powers aren't the issue, sweetheart. You're the coolest, most strategic girl I know. You tried your best with me and I was being unreasonable because I was in a shitty mood. You didn't deserve that."

"You're sure?" she asked skeptically. "What you said that day wasn't already building up?"

"I'm sure. I know I hurt you, but if you let me, I promise I'll do better. It's not gonna be easy when it comes to us, but I'm not ready to give up. I'm sorry that I made it seem like I was."

"I appreciate that," she smiled coyly. "I don't wanna give up either."

"And I do have a few ideas for future dates...if you're interested," he approached her slowly.

"That doesn't sound bad."

"So, are we okay?" He asked hopefully, resting his arms on either side of the wall she was leaning on.

"Let me think about it," she said, tilting his chin with her fingers so his lips could meet hers. He gratefully accepted, trying his best not to smile into the kiss.

It was slow and passionate, both of them savoring every second of each other after not having done so in over a month.

Without breaking the kiss, she switched their positions so that his back was against the wall. He kept his hands on her waist as she placed slow and steady kisses down his neck that left him breathless.

She smiled at the little sounds he made when she lightly nipped at his sensitive skin. He was always so easy. 

"I really missed this." He panted, cupping her face to plant kisses on her jaw.

"I can tell," she tugged at his hair. They made out for a little longer until she broke the heated kiss, which made a loud smack.

"Wanna take this to my room?"

"God, yes," he responded eagerly.

[class1akids]

I’m pretty sure you’ve said this all before, but the savior trio split bugs me, esp when people say ura did the best out of all of them when she did not. it’s like a domino effect of how bad this plot went from separating the group because of shipping.

Hori, before everyone’s final fight, split up the savior trio with Midoriya and Uraraka confiding in each other about being weirdos and the destruction the villains have caused but don’t talk to Todoroki about his very much public connection with Touya. They may have had more visuals about seeing the child selves, but they didn’t have the same empathy Todoroki had with his villain. You don’t need empathy to be a good person, but it helped Todoroki by pushing him to make a plan and a move set to stop Touya from hurting everyone including himself, he even mentioned how Touya was hurting himself before the final fight.

Uraraka only focuses on wanting to talk about romance with Toga (which of course ties back to Midoriya but oh well) and say nice things about her appearance, but she doesn’t say anything to reassure her that the heroes aren’t going to kill her like they did with someone she obviously knew. Midoriya doesn’t reassure Shigaraki that it wasn’t his fault that he, a small child, had accidentally killed his family with a quirk unknowingly given to him by the Worst Guy. In the end, both of them are killed and we spend a good majority of the manga dealing with their Uraraka’s emotions.

Touya didn’t reach out to Todoroki as much the other 2 did with their hero counterpart, but Todoroki was still able to reach him by the end despite how stubbornly suicidal he was. One thing that comes from Touya’s declaration is that Todoroki doesn’t have to share his story since it’s already been told, but Midoriya and Uraraka knows things about their villain counterparts that would have changed the perception of said villains (especially if THEY told it) that, from the looks of it, hasn’t been told to the rest of the world. How are they the ones who are supposed to learn to not keep stuff to themselves but don’t speak up about this?? Todoroki had to bear the pain of his family name, so I don’t see why they can’t talk. They even got to cry about not being able to save their villain while Todoroki didn’t get to. Shigaraki and Toga could show up for ghosts/dreams for them, but nothing from Touya who had a ghost-like design??

Yeah, precisely.

I honestly hated ever since Ch 305 how Hori used the child Tenko vestige image for Deku's conviction to save the "crying child". I always felt that it was a shortcut and it meant that Deku never really had to engage with the valid points Tomura had.

For the Toga-Ochako fight, the copious amount of child images prop up emotionally their dialogue, which if you read without looking at the cute girls is pretty shallow.

While I'm absolutely dying for some cute soba-brothers illustrations, I do appreciate that Shouto engaged with Touya/Dabi in his hateful self, saw himself in that raging mad adult and decided to save him. Not an idealized version of him, but the sad reality of who Todoroki Touya has become.

And yes, your point about Touya already telling the truth is valid and may be part of the reason why Shouto is not trying to walk around as domestic violence poster boy with some charity program. Touya said what he said, Endeavor publicly admitted that it was the truth, and Shouto is just not the type of person who would re-litigate that in front of the public or expose more of his father or his mother and siblings than they already were exposed. Remember also Natsuo's wish to just get some fucking life away from the family drama.

So Shouto's way of working for the public good and become someone that make people forget about Endeavor is totally valid and like I said, it can be absolutely an inspiration for others who live in toxic families.

I'm absolutely, 100% convinced that Touya is also a presence in Shouto's head / heart whether a ghost or not.

But yeah, I've been kind of pissed off about the lack of Saviour Trio scenes. Mostly because Shouto and Izuku are close friends so it felt very artificial to keep them apart. But also Shouto and Ochako could have had some meaningful interaction, especially Ochako could have told him how Toga thought of Touya and how Touya burnt down her house as an act of caring. And Touya could have asked about Toga if more interactions were shown.

[sneaky-eel]

Sense Ubisoft decided to give us jack shit on Desmond's mother I wanted to do my own little head-canon of her.

Desmond's mother is a cold, no-nonsense woman. A prodigy in her own right who was probably one of the options for the next mentor, but preferred field work. Her acts of love are through services and what is a better service to those she loves then ridding the world of templars. The longest she probably went without being out in the field was when Desmond was born and it isn't till he is 5 or 6 that she goes back out. Now she is working twice as hard. Not just for her fellow assassins, but now she has a son. A son who will be forced to do this same exact thing if she doesn't do something.

So she is around less and less. One day here, two days there. And maybe she thinks she is doing her family a favor. She deludes herself into thinking this will push Bill and Desmond closer together. Desmond will love Bill more because he is there and she is not. But it has the opposite effect. As he gets older Desmond starts to resent Bill. He can never be good enough. Never strong enough or fast enough. He is subjected to a constant stream of belittlement from his father. Bill works all the time and Desmond hates that he is forced to have dinners at an empty table all alone while Bill is in his office. So close but still too far.

But his mother? Oh his mother is his hero because all this time he has been building in his head the idea of what his mother is. An ideal mother. "Yeah she isn't here cause she is keeping us safe. Everyone says how great she is. The best of the best." He tells himself. Then as he gets older he starts to compare Bill to this idea of his mother. "If mom was here she'd be able to explain this better to me. She is really smart.", "When mom gets back I'm sure she can help me with this move. She's the best.", "Once mom gets here we can have dinner like a family, maybe we can cook together." on and on.

Finally, at 16, his mother is home for the first time for a longer than a day. Two whole weeks in fact. And he is so excited only for that reunion to be awkward and kind of cold. He doesn't get those meals together like he hoped. Training with her is worse than his father. With Bill he had learned when the man is actually paying attention and where, which allowed Desmond to slack in other areas, but with his mother she is always watching. She nitpicks every movement and doesn't seem to understand why he can't get something on the first try. She pushes Desmond well past exhaustion and makes him train even past that. Desmond's carefully crafted view of his mother is destroyed in just a few days leaving him empty and convinced that neither of his parents actually love him.

From Desmond's mother's point of view the reunion is "cold" because she doesn't know what to say to her son. She has been gone for so much of his life and the only things she really knows about him are through Bill. She knows he has potential, but he is "disinterested" and "never takes anything seriously" so in training she pushes him. She has been a field agent this whole time. She knows that a single misstep can mean death and Desmond is already 16. In a few more years they will send him on his first mission and she will be damned if she lets him die. Those missed meals together? She is with Bill in his office helping with his work and on occasion they will sit there with a bottle of scotch between them, talking about life before. Before he had to be mentor, when they had at least a little time to themselves. A little time for each other. She doesn't see what she is doing to Desmond.

When it's time for her to leave again she doesn't question Desmond's lack of smile or how he says he is going to go "train", she only thinks 'Good. He is going to start taking things more seriously.' She doesn't think anything is wrong when she gets off the plane and she drives to the safe-house. She doesn't know that Desmond has snuck out. Ran away from the home he believes never even cared about him. Nothing is wrong until Bill calls her and says the three words the shatters her world.

"Desmond is gone."

[watermelon-jooce]

saikai HEADCANONS💜

ignore if theres spelling mistakes im eating

the finest parmasan cheese this house has to offer.

yummy

ANYWAY heres saikai headcanons

Shun LOVES to sing, and he does! He sings to Kusuo sometimes, whether while playing with his hair or cuddling.

It took Shun and Kusuo a little long to fully hold hands, mostly because the both of them are shy to physical touch for a little while.

Kusuo doesn't refer to Shun as his 'boyfriend', just his 'ultra aqquantince' (thank you @to0manynames for that idea)

They take a REALLY long time to tell the rest of the group that they're dating. Shun would've liked to tell them earlier, but Kusuo was worries about the attention it would gain.

Kusuo fell in love with Shun even more after being forced to show his powers to Shun, and instead of being scared, called them cool, and still treated him the same afterwards.

Shun barely noticed his crush on Kusuo at first, while Kusuo was head over heels. Kusuo made it worse because he was trying to act as normal as possible, in turn acting really weird around Shun.

Shun is stupid, and fairly oblivious. He displays PDA often infront of the group without realising that they aren't out yet. Ie. Leaning on him at restaurants, holding his hand in public, etc.

Nendo knows. ("Buddy and Chibi are together?! thats awesome!")

Shun's chūnibyō-syndrome dies down a bit after they get together, as in the manga its stated that he only really crafted the personality of chūnibyō as an attempt to make friends. Once he's together with Kusuo, he finally starts to act more like himself because he realises Kusuo loves him for who he is, and not the personality he crafted specifically to be friends with Kusuo.

Shun often has to avoid Kuusuke once he figures out that he and Kusuo are together.

Kusuo likes to mess around with the remaining bits of Shun's chūnibyō, getting Shun riled up before sending him off to go be a 'hero'. ("i think thats something the Jet-black Wings can fix." "that IS something the Jet-black Wings can fix!" "I think the Jet-black Wings should go fix it." "I THINK THAT TOO.")

Kusuo really wants to feel Shun's hair without his ultra-thin gloves on. Shun gives him permission, knowing about his powers and Kusuo can't get enough of the feel of his hair on his palms, and even though all of Shun's senses are his own, he loves it.

Kusuo's hands are a lot more calloused than Shun's. His hands are calloused from constantly practicing at his training grounds. Despite Shun always 'fighting the Dark Reunion', his hands are usually soft.

Pecks are more embarassing than actual kissing for the both of them.

Shun will often come over to Kusuo's house to just be. The two won't speak, and Shun will usually fall asleep ontop of Kusuo, while Kusuo gets to enjoy a book or staring at a ceiling. Its their non-overwhelming-or-social-battery-draining-hang-out-time

Kusuo was a little worried about cuddling at first, he was scared that he'd fall asleep and explode something due to his powers. Shun reassured him that even if he did, he'd be okay, and he'd still love him. Kusuo eventually got more comfortable, and even after a long while stopped sleeping with his glasses on around Shun.

Shun said to Kusuo that "Just because you have powers doesn't make you any different than the rest of us, you were born with them. I wouldn't hate someone for being born with blue eyes." and Kusuo didn't want to admit it, but he was really touched.

Shun is gay and graysexual, Kusuo is bi aroace.

Kusuo is autistic, Shun has ADHD and psychosis (ie. The reason why he believes in Dark Reunion)

Sometimes Kusuo will just lay on Shun and sleep, Shun finds it silly and it reminds him of a cat. Sometimes before Kusuo falls asleep, Shun will sing softly and pet his hair until he does.

Kusuo loves Coffee Jelly as we all know, Shun loves Strawberry Shortcake, or Tiramisu

Shun specifically learned how to make Coffee Jelly for Kusuo. After nights and nights of pain he finally crafted it: the perfect coffee jelly. Kusuo doesn't know how, but Shun's home-made coffee jelly beats the regular stuff.

Shun always steals clothing from Kusuo, his outfits range from emo to 'thats definetely Saiki's'

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

THATS ALL the headcanons i have for now thanj you for reading yippeeeee!!

(also tagging @foxbinnstuff i thought youd like this sorry for the tag NSBAJDVSJBD)

((also extra shoutout to my brothersistersibling @to0manynames for some of these we rp saikai a lot and they also have the cutest ideas for them so go say thann you to her))

[modernmessydisaster]

Pre-Arcane S2 Act 2 Thoughts

With hours away until it drops, gonna list all my predictions & wishes. Hopefully, I get at least one or two right.

Ep 4, Obviously, a Jinx centered episode. But it's more so the effects of what Jinx did in Ep 3. The people of Zaun rallying behind her, wearing her colors & fighting back.

Jinx has been absent since the attack, probably watching after Vi and trying to figure out where she goes from here. How to finish herself off or something similar :(

It isn't until Sevika convinces her, especially finding out Isha got arrested & taken to Stillwater with the rest of her "followers". That Jinx finally takes up the role she's been given by Zaun, their hero.

Probably other parts of the episode, back n forth. How Cait is doing as Commander, the people of Piltover looking to her as guidance. Strict curfews, large number of enforcers & noxus soldiers patrolling. The once shiny Piltover looks empty of life and dreary. Muted, darker colors. Maybe at some points, Cait sees reason and slowly letting go of her anger/grief BUT Ambessa stops that and fuels Cait's vengeance again.

Leading to the mass arrest of Jinx's followers, probably calling Jinx a hero sent Cait over the edge a bit without Ambessa in her ear. Either way, Jinx comes and saves them. It's a whole big show! Which in the eyes of Piltover, a huge failure on Cait. Which probably shakes their trust in her, until Ambessa smooths it over. By declaring that an army of enforcers & noxus soldiers will march down into Zaun and finally bring it's people to justice. Maybe this is the start of Cait realizing she's wrong, Ambessa is using her, but it's too late.

Her mother & Vi's words haunt her now, at the choices she's made.

□□□

Ep 5, hmmm I wanna say a Vi centered episode. What she was doing in the timeskip. Underground fighting, her trauma & grief. Girl is going through it. Maybe we will see flashbacks to her time with Vander & her parents.

Honestly, don't know where this episode would go. Maybe more hints & build up of Viktor's cult in the background. Some Zaun people hating her for being an ex-Enforcer and her part in unleashing the Grey. I wanna say this is the episode where the Warwick/Vander fight happens. Perhaps this episode near the end lines up with Ep 4, timeline wise.

As in Vi, fighting for Zaun again. Going to help the breakout at Stillwater. Probably wanting to make it her final stance, her grave. But Singed unleashed Warwick/Vander at Stillwater. Vi goes to fight him, with help from Jinx later. OR Jinx was almost going to die going against Warwick/Vander and Vi jumps into the fight to save her/die doing what Vander told her, "protect/take care of Powder."

Basically Vi pouring out all her emotions into this fight. Flashbacks with "Remember Me" playing and Warwick/Vander seeing Vi's familiar fight style, Jinx's yells. He starts remembering, just the faces of his children. His own flashbacks with each kid, Vi being the last. Her child version overlapping who she is bow as an adult. Warwick/Vander letting out an anguish howl and trying to say Vi's name in a distorted voice.

Alternative thought, just struck me.

Ep 4, is about Jinx & Vi, combining what I wrote about each. I'm not about to rewrite this whole thing

Ep 5, being about Jayce/Ekko/Viktor/Mel. More so Mel & the Black Roses. Her journey in whatever maguc prison they put her into paralleling Jayce's own journey in the Hexcore/Arcane Time/Dimension Magic? Ekko, idk if he got separated from Jayce. Instead having his own journey in that Time Magic Fuckery with Heimerdinger.

Probably both groups seeing the danger of this Arcane corruption, one in the past, and one in the future.

Either way, all three groups break out. Mel goes to stop & get answers from her Mother. After learning everything she could from the Black Roses after defeating whoever was holding her. Awakening her own powers. Ekko going to save Zaun, and Jayce going to stop & save Viktor.

□□□

Ep 6, I feel like the episode will start with Viktor & his cult. Seeing how much it's grown during the time skip. Long haired Viktor, but while he should be happy. Idk maybe there is an unease brewing in Viktor, especially how weird his followers/hexcore Sky hallucination act. With tales of his miracles spreading, wouldn't be surprised if Ambessa tried making a deal with Viktor or something similar to have that magic on her side.

Viktor's cult has been in the background for Ep 4 & 5. So yeah, finally seeing what is going on with him. Probably eldritch horrors he can't comprehend and that disguise themselves as Sky, but can't or won't anyone. Since their influence & power is growing. Probably soon, they are going to do a ritual, maybe sacrifice of the followers to unleash something.

Viktor slowly realizing this. Adding in that with Ambessa's ruthless attacks on Zaun. Almost everyone has migrated to the lower levels where Viktor & his cult are. So when Ambessa attacks as we see in the trailer. Viktor & his followers are gonna be caught up in it.

Maybe Viktor & his followers will join the fight for Zaun, maybe the Hexcore/Void? Uses this opposite to do something? Honestly do not know, again all speculation.

Probably WRONG on everything here, but it was fun to theorize.

Lastly, quick things I want to happen in Act 2.

JINX & VIKTOR MEETING, they gotta at least have a conversation! Something something of Jinx commenting that Viktor isn't the only one who has hallucinations & hears voice. OR at least a long glance at each other

ISHA NOT DYING, I refuse to believe she's gonna die. Maybe almost dying, but Jinx saving her, thus how she lost her braids.

Slico hallucinations & voices being supportive

Jinx kicking Noxus soldiers ass especially with her own hextech/magic.

Mel having magic because she was touch/blessed by Kindred in the womb. Which unknown to her, is how she kept escaping death. Essentially, Mel is the lamb, fox, snd wolf. Death's champion.

Viktor & Singed meeting again.

Probably Maddie dying or her being horrified by her actions OR Maddie isn't horrified by her actions but CAIT IS

Steb, quitting the enforcers, starts a chain event of other enforcers quitting cause this is all going too far. Probably later, Cait asking him & others for help to stop Ambessa

Now to prepare myself to what an emotional mess I'll be in a few hours:

[achaotichuman]

*Laughs maniacally as I crack my knuckles*

Y'all mfing know what time it is.

Acotar rant time

And thank you @hieragalbatorixdottir for the suggestion of dicussion.

So straight off the bat, Feyre x Amarantha is better because it's sapphic, which automatically makes it 1000% better than feysand. But for the sake of discourse, we will continue.

Lets discuss Rhysand vs Amarantha's relationship with Feyre.

When Feyre learns of Amarantha in Acotar, she has freshly returned to Prythian, and is shocked to find her lover has been kidnapped and the place she now calls home has been raided and destroyed. Looking like a graveyard.

She is told of Amarantha through Alis who finally reveals everything to her. Along with Amarantha's story, that being of her sister and alluds to Amarantha falling into some kind of insanity from grief.

And Feyre extends empathy towards that. She acknowledges Amarantha's torment for losing someone so close to her. Feyre has sisters and can relate to the kind of pain of wanting to protect them.

When Amarantha and Feyre meet for the first time, there are no shields on their personalities. Feyre sees Amarantha truly and wholly, her whole person on her own terf. Feyre is showing her rawest, most vulnerable self, and is standing right up to her and not backing down. Taking no shit from her.

Amarantha is morally grey and content with her wickedness. She doesn't apologize for the things she does, nor does she try to justify them. She is there for her business and her business alone without any regard for others.

Now lets flip this around. Feyre met Rhysand in very dire circumstances too. She was in a vulnerable, raw environment, in a land she did not know, being threatened to be SAed by three men.

Rhysand came in and saved her, except unlike the meeting with Amarantha he hiding his true self, whereas Feyre is completely on display, shocked and no doubt in some emotional pain from the encounter. So already there is a power struggle right off the bat, except it lacks any real emotion from Rhysand's end.

Rhysand has the similar experience of losing his sister, but he never really shows any real grief for losing his sister, she is more or less a past unfortunate tragedy.

Rhysand is morally grey, but not really because he actually hates it, he was the secret hero all along and whilst he continues to do horrible things unforgivingly, its actually morally right because it's for the 'greater good.'

Comparing Rhysand to Amarantha, and the story Feysand attempts to convey, Amarantha is the better choice.

She is everything Rhysand attempts to be but pulling it off better and with a much hotter attitude.

Even Rhysand steals Amarantha's line 'Feyre darling'. Amarantha also succeeds in her conquests, whereas Rhysand routinely falls flat. Amarantha dreams big whereas Rhysand doesn't seem to have any kind of future really in plan. We see them going from 'we're going to be High King' to 'We'll only show favor to Velaris, and not even the rest of our lands'

Plus Amarantha and Feyre have much better banter, with Feyre being in an incredibly emotional environment and routinely going off at Amarantha, whilst Amarantha takes it all in stride, extremely curious towards Feyre's behavior. Aka, they have good tension throughout the entirety of their interactions.

Amarantha see Feyre go through victory and loss, and keeps throwing challenges at her to push her forward and Feyre throws it right back.

They have a push and pull dynamic that is lacking with Feysand, because Rhysand doesn't push nor pull, he merely exists and Feyre is drawn to him regardless of his actions.

Therefore, Feyantha, is better than Feysand.

[twenty-qs]

Megumi and Tsumiki do not have a good relationship.

Jujutsu Kaisen is a Greek tragedy. Our heroes are flawed and those flaws bring about their doom. Plenty of people have given great analyses about how this relates to Megumi’s and Yuuji’s relationship, but today I want to talk about the Fushiguro siblings.

Initially, we only know about Tsumiki from Megumi’s POV. She’s sleeping beauty, the archetypical absent female character whose tragic fate propels the male hero forward. He clearly holds her as the ideal of a ‘good person’ in his mind.

So I was quite shocked when we finally see what their relationship was actually like.

First of all, Megumi visibly resents her. He rejects all of her attempts at caretaking, and he’s blunt and cruel about it. And Tsumiki is not the perfect patient princess we’ve been led to believe. She lashes out, kind of violently—she doesn’t regret throwing the carton at him, only that it still had milk in it. (Lol.) She didn’t throw it because Megumi got in a fight, she threw it because Megumi said he hated her. Megumi says Tsumiki was kind to him and supported him, but the only thing we’re shown is this really acrimonious exchange. It creates an uneasy feeling. Can we trust Megumi’s perspective? Is he misremembering something?

Clearly, these two did not get along. They’re both traumatized children who were abandoned by their parents, and Tsumiki coped by trying to play house, while Megumi coped by being distant and angry. They can’t understand each other or communicate properly. They must have constantly fought as kids. All they have in the world is each other, and they resent each other for it.

Immediately after this scene, Tsumiki does the test of courage and gets cursed—so this might be the last time they saw each other before Tsumiki fell into a coma. (I’m not super clear on the timeline, but it would make sense.) Megumi, like a child who only appreciates something’s value after it’s gone, finally realizes Tsumiki’s true strength of character.

And you would THINK that he’s learned something. You would THINK that their relationship would be different now that Tsumiki’s finally awake again.

But once they reunited, did he apologize? Did he say “Hey sis, sorry for being such a brat”? Did he say “I’m glad you’re awake again, I love you”?

No! Basically the first thing he says, after a brief mention of the culling game, is “You can go back to sleep.” After she’s been asleep for over a year and a half. After he’s been waiting faithfully for her to wake up for a YEAR AND A HALF.

Imagine Sleeping Beauty suddenly waking up by herself, and then Prince Charming going, wait, actually, nevermind. I don’t need you. Nobody needs you. I haven't killed the dragon yet, you're not supposed to be awake. GO BACK TO SLEEP.

That’s cruel. Tsumiki, and the curse possessing her, know that’s cruel. Nothing has changed in their relationship since before she was cursed. Megumi is still too wrapped up in himself to think about her perspective, too busy going off on his own sacrificial missions without once stopping to ask her what she wants. And in response, Tsumiki is still smiling at him with daggers in her heart.

If Megumi had paid more attention to Tsumiki, if he had bothered to try to talk to her and cultivate a real connection once she woke up, maybe he would have noticed something was off. Maybe Tsumiki would have been able to fight off the curse somewhat. Maybe Megumi would have been able to tell the difference between his beloved sister and a monster.

But he didn’t. And he couldn’t. And that’s nobody’s fault but his own.