#he doesn’t really have any motivation other than someone i aspire to be has to succeed

[tsururoach]

Hi guys. so about the idol cadets.

[halogenwarrior]

All of the Animorphs main characters’ stories are very influenced by the dissonance between how they are perceived by the others from their perspectives, and the resulting roles they are fit into vs. their actual complexity, and I think it’s worth talking about Rachel from that perspective for a bit. The read the others tend to have on her character is that she’s ambitious; this incredibly confident, driven person who is dissatisfied with a normal life and just waiting for something better, which the war gives her. Cassie explicitly narrates as much in Megamorphs #4, while Jake says in #22 that she’s found her purpose in the war and he doesn’t know what she would do with a normal life anymore. Though I can’t remember the exact passages, I think the others think similar things of her. But when you actually look into Rachel’s character, you find that what they are misinterpreting as ambition/dissatisfaction with normal life/a desire to change the world and be a hero is actually two separate traits that, when put together in the same person, look a lot like that but aren’t.

First is that she fundamentally is a compassionate, morally dutiful person who feels she has an obligation to sacrifice and avoid the easy route to be good to other people. She doesn’t seek out situations where she will be responsible for many people’s well-being, but once she is there she goes all-in on it. When you compare situations in the book where one of the main characters has made an effort to be kind and do the right thing on a personal level rather than a “well if we save everyone on Earth from being enslaved that helps people by definition” level, she’s really only behind Cassie on this – feeling guilty about letting down Melissa as a friend and then risking her life on a mission to go out of the way to comfort her about her parents in #2, or in #1 when she says she cares about Tobias when he thinks nobody cares about him, even though they barely know each other. 

In comparison, the most Jake has is a vague idea that his goal in life should be to live an average life and “not be a jerk” without any real self-examination of how to do that, Marco is often rude on an interpersonal level and doesn’t seem to care much about being a good friend or giving kindness to someone who needs it, Tobias is more of a loner who is very morally passionate about the greater cause but doesn’t extend it to really being there for other people (this isn’t because he is inherently cruel so much as, when we first are introduced to him, he is barely getting by in life and doesn’t have the energy to try to be a kind, beneficent person on top of that, it’s only the revelation of a greater cause that gives him the motivation to care about something), and Ax, the only one who was in an official military, initially largely outsources his sense of duty to that system and its ethics and doesn’t make much of an effort to be a good person outside of that. 

I get the sense that Cassie and Rachel mutually recognize this quality in each other, and this is the reason for their friendship despite the narrative emphasizing how different they are and how weird it is that they are friends. As mentioned above, Cassie does interpret her as ambitious and “waiting for something else in life”, but she still sees that ambition as being prompted by a kindness and unshakeable desire to do good, as someone who doesn’t fall into the “mean popular kid stereotype” despite her looks and confidence. Meanwhile Rachel, when we see her thoughts about Cassie, similarly appreciates Cassie’s interpersonal kindness and steely resolve to enact it. Each recognizes, despite their many differences, the moral and aspirational idea they aim for in life in each other. Rachel’s manifestation of this trait looks different than Cassie’s. 

The second quality is that Rachel loves, in the moment, the rush of being confident and powerful. It’s something she gets in shopping for clothing and being able to pick out the right deals like a successful predator, and it’s also something she gets in war, in the heat of battle and crushing the enemy. It’s not about adulation (#3 notes with her gymnastics performances that she hates performing in front of a crowd), just the personal feeling of power. The others aren’t wrong that she enjoys battle in a terrifying way they do not, but it’s ultimately driven by a feeling in the moment, not an inborn sense that life is purposeless that leads to seeking out war in the long term. 

These two qualities combine to form a dynamic, a vicious cycle, with the rest of the group. When Rachel encounters something in life she believes is her duty to be a good person and help others, even though she doesn’t seek out such situations to feel special, she throws herself into it wholeheartedly (like as soon as she realizes she’s in a war now, in #4 I believe she changes all the inspirational quotations in her room to things like the Art of War). Combined with her general confidence, this leads to her throwing herself into danger bravely, which the others admire her for, and come to really need her in the role to give them the inspiration to risk their lives and untold horrors, which makes her play even harder into it to fulfill their need (even if she feels it is just a persona, as in #7 with her being “not brave, just blind”). This gets to the point where they, particularly Jake whose job it is to lead, use the others for their roles, and encourage them to keep those necessary roles, will outright discourage her from being anything else or showing any nuance or vulnerability (wee see this in #7 and #27). But the more she throws herself into danger and plays up her fearlessness and love of the fight, the more it triggers her love for the thrill and feeling of power of it which she recognizes is making her into her worst, cruelest version of herself. And the tragedy of it is that normally if she was recognizing she was a bad person in some way, she would stop everything to rectify that (like in #2 when she realizes she hasn’t been there for Melissa and immediately pivots to go as far as to risk torture and death to be there for her). But it’s precisely her commitment to goodness and duty that means she can’t this time, even if she knows the path is turning her into a monster, her friends and humanity as a whole still need her like this.  She is the type of character whose greatest strength is her downfall. This is particularly symbolized with her relationship with Tobias, who due to being a hawk is entirely enveloped in the Animorph life and can’t live “normally”. Every time Rachel goes out of her way to be there for him, she’s separating herself from the life she would want and reinforcing her worst impulses, and sometimes her narration expresses frustration with this, but she can’t turn away because he still needs her. 

And the others, even as they (particularly Jake) are parties to cajoling her into her role… as mentioned before, they don’t quite pick up on this. They mistake the long-term duty to do what’s right even if she absolutely doesn’t want it combined with the short-term thrill once she puts herself into a violent situation as one trait, a pride and ambition to be something greater than her normal life for the sake of glory. And while that combination of traits can look very similar (i.e her identification with hubristic classical heroes in #37), it’s fundamentally not the same, she expresses many times that she wants a normal life in the long term even if she enjoys fighting in the moment. She’s not constantly thinking about changing the world for the better unless the situation forces her into it (look at how she cares so little about politics that she doesn’t even know who her state’s governor is in #51, despite Marco expecting that she absolutely does and will chew him out for not knowing!) In fact, the whole point of #32 is that these are two separate traits, and when they aren’t put together she isn’t capable of the driven nature she normally exhibits, This misunderstanding leads to the others thinking she fully and uncomplicatedly wants all of this. 

It also leads to them underrating her compassion, often acting surprised or disbelieving when she shows it even when it’s not actually all that uncommon. For example, her statement that she cares for Tobias in #1 being followed by Jake’s narration saying that this is unusual for her. There’s also one quote about this I particularly like in #25, near the end when the Venber are killed. Marco’s narration goes  ‘ “Rest in peace”, someone said. It turned out to be Rachel ‘. It’s just one little line, but I find it fascinating how, even though the narrator Marco is attributing the rest of the dialogue completely normally, the idea that Rachel is capable of this solemn compassion is so against the image he has of her in her mind that he isn’t initially able to realize who said this, and that is really telling to Rachel’s dynamic with the rest of the group and how they view her.

Cassie and Rachel’s types of compassion are not the same, and that’s part of why the latter’s isn’t recognizes. Cassie is not just kind but diplomatic and able to keep calm in interpersonal situations, emphatic about the things she cares for most but willing to humble herself to get others on the same page. Rachel, on the other hand, comes from a place of confidence, willing to care but not to bend for others, and also a lot of anger deriving from that duty and compassion – towards those who harm others, like the Yeerks, for example, like in #38 when, realizing the Andalites aren’t coming and there’s no hope, she wants to at least take as many Yeerks down with her as she can and avenge humanity. Cassie, meanwhile, doesn’t let this passion for morality and justice lead her to revenge and instead goes in the opposite direction, seeing no point in killing if there can’t be a direct benefit of saving someone from it. And Rachel can just be plain angry and grumpy for reasons that aren’t about noble compassion, like when she is physically hurt (like #11 when she goes on a rant about the rainforest due to almost being eaten alive by ants). And most ironically, her anger and bitterness grows precisely when she is put in a trap where she can’t be a good person no matter what she chooses, where leaving makes her be uncaring and not doing her duty but staying will gradually turn her into a monster. This can be seen in #27 where her frustration at having to turn down T.T, both for himself and the normal life and escape from her darkest impulses he represents, because she owes it to Tobias, leads to her snapping at him and rejecting him in an especially cruel way, even though internally she feels compassion for him and doesn’t believe what she says. 

And that’s really the core of Rachel’s nightmares and breakdown in #48, and the rage and defiance she feels at Jake in her dreams. It’s not just the surface level of paranoia that her friends see her as a villain and hate her and anger at being controlled when she runs wild. It’s rage at being used as a soldier to fulfill a role, being outright criticized and belittled when she is anything else, and doing so willingly because it’s the right thing to do, only for them to turn around and hate her for the very thing they wanted from her and see her as the ”bad guy of the group” for whom they can separate out all of their criticism of the dirty and immoral parts of war while never questioning their own role in it. It’s a rage she can’t let herself express in waking life because she knows her duty is to follow Jake, but she can definitely have subliminally in a way that shows up in her dreams. And it’s also a fear that whatever her excuses, whatever her intentions, it doesn’t matter because she really is a monster, she really is morally worse than the others, and it’s just pathetic to insist otherwise.

This particularly hurts her with regards to her relationship to Cassie. The thrust of their arc is that, as I said earlier, they start out despite their differences, recognizing the same kindness and unflinching moral conviction in each other as in themselves, but that same conviction leads them on entirely opposite paths. In #19 Rachel expresses frustration with Cassie quitting the team because it shows her worst fear is becoming like Rachel herself – how can Cassie care so much more about feeling for her own sake like she’s a good person than actually doing good in the world, when Rachel would very much want to do the same but is making a huge sacrifice not to, and then look at Rachel like there never was a similarity between them, Cassie was always the only good person and Rachel is revolting? In #48 she keeps telling herself it’s just paranoia, just a dream, just reading too much into it and her friends don’t really hate her, but then in #52 Cassie snapping at her, in Rachel’s mind, shows her worst fears to be true. And I think it’s one of the underrated tragic moments of the series how, when we see Rachel’s perspective facing her death at the beginning of #54, she believes only Tobias will object to Jake sacrificing her because he cares about Rachel. Cassie, she believes, will only be upset because of the emotional impact it will have on Jake having to make such a hard decision. We as readers know this isn’t true; in #53 Cassie’s reaction to finding out what is happening is to be furious at Jake and upset purely about Rachel, and when we see her point of view in #54 she is very much grieving for her. But since Rachel’s last interaction with Cassie was her telling her she’s a horrible person and confirming her fears, that’s what she believes, and Cassie never had a chance to tell her otherwise. Never knowing that the best friend she ever had still cared, had never truly written her off as a lost cause.

[magnorious]

Can somebody explain Jon Snow to me?

Not that this fandom is dead or anything. I went down a rabbit hole of the last ten years or so of filmmaking where the general motive for story decisions seems to be “if the fan theories correctly anticipate the direction of the plot, change it at all costs to keep the suspense”. It was about Star Wars, but reminded me of Game of Thrones.

I didn’t watch seasons 7 and 8, only saw clips here and there and watched the whole thing for the first time earlier this year. I’m well aware of the fans’ loudest complaints but one just doesn’t make sense to me: Being pissed that Jon Snow didn’t end up on the iron throne.

From a storytelling perspective, I can understand the frustrations. He fits the archetype of the long lost heir, thus is story should end with him assuming his birthright as the ruler of the land. That checks out.

Problem is, Jon Snow as a person independent of this archetype never once gave any indication that he has aspirations of royalty. So everyone mocking his “she’s muh queen/I don’t want the throne” is, again, understandably frustrating for the meta reasonings, but… Jon isn’t exactly being out of character here, from what I saw when I watched the show over the course of two weeks or so.

This dude is humble to a fault and just keeps bad-lucking into critical plot beats that demand he flex his nobility and loyalty to his friends and his own beliefs, to a point where they get him killed. I don’t recall a single conversation Jon has where he longs for a station of power and endless riches and the respect of kingship, and the mortality rate of the leaders of Westeros don’t make it that appealing to someone like him anyway.

He never talks about how he would change Westeros or what about him he thinks would make a better leader than the inbreds. No other characters talk about how he’s really going places beyond the Night’s Watch and that he’d make a great king. Why?

Because for 90% of the story, Jon has no idea he’s the long lost heir. Since this IP is constantly compared to Lord of the Rings, let’s compare him to Aragon on only a “long lost heir” basis, and I’ll use Movie Aragorn, who’s much less gung-ho about his birthright, for familiarity’s sake.

When we meet him, which isn’t until almost an hour into the first movie, we have no idea who he is other than a competent Ranger who knows stuff the heroes need to survive, and that his name is Strider. Then without much fanfare, the revelations of who he actually is comes in waves. Arwen has an unremarkably dramatic conversation about how Aragorn hates being in Isildur’s shadow and how it gives him imposter syndrome—as in, there’s no dramatic pause for the audience’s sake for gasps of shock and awe. It’s just played straight. Then you get the big dramatic reveal for the rest of the cast during the Council of Elrond for a more concrete establishing of this long lost heir and what role we can expect to see from him.

Because we know from very early on in the story, and Aragorn and everybody he meets knows, too, his arc is constantly framed around how competent he is on a leadership level, and as a friend. He’s given spotlight after spotlight to show his prowess in battle and leading large numbers of troops in infantry and cavalry, is a solid tactician and strategist, and is the first boots on and last boots off the ground whenever he can be.

Skill wise, he’s shown to be an excellent swordsman and archer, or whatever weapon he can get his hands on in an emergency—but not OP. In the fight in the Mines of Moria with the troll, he gets knocked out by the troll.

He’s humble and friendly and always looking out for the little guy, always makes sure to act with the utmost respect to everyone he meets, even when they don’t deserve it, and is a leader who leads by example, on the battlefield in the mud on the front lines.

His entire arc is growing into these massive shoes he has to fill and accepting that he is the one true king. He goes from his scruffy Ranger outfit to the livery of Gondor for the final battle in all his shiny armor and velvet and gives his first real big speech to his troops—a true king to rally behind.

—

I did enjoy following Jon Snow as a character. He had a ton of depth and nuance and was constantly put in harrowing situations that kept testing his morals and beliefs and he has a lot of the same traits as Aragorn: Humble, respectful, charismatic, a bit of imposter syndrome, etc.

But since we spend more than six out of eight total seasons with the entire cast of characters, including Jon, completely unaware that he’s the long lost heir, there is zero development on that front. Personality wise, Jon is amazing, they pulled out all the stops, but his arc is just one long chain of act-and-react to the next obstacle in his way without much agency from him on what those actions are.

He doesn’t start his story on page one with a clear goal or aspiration in mind beyond to survive another day. A problem I found with a lot of GoT characters—they’re all just waiting around going on their side quests in the interim until the writers want to pull the trigger on huge plot set pieces, like the White Walkers.

By not having the understanding on page one that there is in fact a long lost heir (that wouldn’t just get murdered by these bloodthirsty savages), Jon is aimless, going wherever the plot demands because we don’t know where he wants to end up. Or at least, I don’t know.

He’s voluntold to campaign as the lord commander of the Knights Watch, he doesn’t actually want to do the job until he has no choice. He doesn’t want to be crowned King in the North after liberating Winterfell, it just happens to him and he has no choice.

And you’re telling me that somewhere in these unfilmed script pages is eight seasons’ worth of desire to be King Of The Whole World left on the cutting room floor?

So is everybody just mad that Jon didn’t fulfill his destiny as is written by the archetype taped to his forehead? Because wanting the iron throne was never anywhere as part of his aspirations. I’m mad he didn’t get it because it seemed they were doing so just to “subvert expectations” and not to provide a satisfying, unique end for his arc, not because I thought Jon got snubbed at the Westeros Oscars.

And if the answer is “it was in the books,” not good enough. HBO spent millions producing this show and for the first four seasons, it had incredible writing. They could have fit an explanation somewhere in there.

With the way they show ended, and I’ve only seen bits of 7 and 8, they could have still done so much with this character even with the late reveal of his true parentage. They could have had Jon reframe his entire worldview on whether or not he wants to risk his neck by going public with his claim to the throne, but he never did, all we have is what was written. There was still time to save this long lost heir arc.

So, yeah, somebody explain Jon Snow to me. I love him but he’d get eaten alive by Westeros politics and nothing can convince me any of these honorless backstabbers wouldn’t just poison him and call it an accident. There is no competent justice system of checks and balances in place. He’d just die in this cynical parade of grimdark misery.

[joycrispy]

Y’know what? Instead of a prediction post, I want to make an appreciation post.

So, in no particular order, here are the things I PERSONALLY love best about each player at the Critical Role table.

Sam -- Sam’s ability and willingness to GO THERE. He takes creative risks, in the sense that he well and truly lets the dice get final say, but also in being true to his character in ways he MUST know will be controversial. Scanlan chewing everyone out and leaving the party was ballsy as hell; it is also, now, one of the most iconic moments in CR1. And Veth was such a dark, complex, rich character because she was allowed to be a woman who wasn’t always aspirational; her feelings were allowed to be selfish, allowed to be messy, allowed to be gross. He is absolutely fearless as a storyteller, and we get some of the best plotlines for it.

Laura -- Everyone knows what I’m going to say here, because everyone and their dog has sung this particular praise for Laura Bailey already, but; the woman is a MASTER of improv. To use Travis’ wording, she catches the ball and throws it back harder and better than anyone else at that table. A lot of the time it’s hilarious. Some of the time it’s heartbreaking. All of the time it adds something so lively and dynamic that I actually can’t watch dnd shows that don’t have a bit of this quality. They need at least a fraction of what Laura brings in spades, to be worth the time. Like. It’s amazing that she can just do that. (also I’m going to miss Jester so much I can’t stand it).

Travis -- Travis is a. TEAM. PLAYER. In-game and out, and you know what? THAT’S IMPORTANT. He goes out of his way to make sure everyone is getting their moment in the spotlight, and even beyond that, he keeps things calm on the game side of things. It was SO SWEET in the M9 finale when he told everyone else to take their time, to not get overwhelmed, because the stakes were so high and they were starting to freak out. Not Travis. He was their rock. He is always their rock.

Ashley -- Ashley is go-hard-or-go-home for the aesthetic of her characters, which is GREAT because her particular sense of the beautiful is unusually rich. Yasha and Fearne were both such a careful balancing of elements to achieve particular (and distinct!) effects, but she threads that needle with such precision. Complete control and poise. But then also she busts out hot nonsense like “I smell like a crayon” and somehow it doesn’t contradict any of the rest of it. That is some impressive character-work.

Liam -- Have you ever noticed that, almost no matter what game they’re playing or who the other players are, Liam will always construct his characters in relation to another? The sibling relationship with Vex. The best-friendship with Nott. Hell, even in the Darrington Brigade or Honey Heist, he did this -- when he was Macaroni’s “Buddy,” or when he and Taliesin played a pair of brother bears. It’s a great instinct to have; it gets us some more complex social scenes right out of the box, it’s free motivation for everyone involved, and it’s a way of reaching out to one of your friends to play together all in one. I love it. (can’t wait to see who he’s picked out to be his buddy this go around :3)

Taliesin -- Oh, boy, Taliesin is a man after my own heart. He approaches this game with a writer’s sensibility, you can tell from the quality of the dialogue that just drops out of his mouth sometimes, but that’s not my favorite thing. My favorite thing is how generous a player he really is. He is on the lookout not just for his own character beats and moments, but everyone else’s too, and he is always willing to give up looking cool or competent if it would be more meaningful/story-rich for someone else. THIS IS A QUALITY EVERYONE SHOULD EMULATE, IMO. DND is a collaborative storytelling game, not a competition to make the bestest most awesome guy ever, and you can tell he’s really internalized this fact. Also. He said he made Cad to be an OP healer specifically so that everyone else could still have fun and not be gun-shy after what happened to Molly. A little ‘don’t worry, it’s going to be all right’ but in the form of his entire character. That’s...that’s so good you guys. Dang.

Marisha -- On a really bone-deep level, Marisha clearly understands her characters and why they are the way they are, and then she takes that understanding and just lets it go wild. Her roleplay feels GENUINE in a really rare and wonderful way --it’s easy to watch her play Beau and forget that that’s not actually Marisha’s speaking voice, not actually Marisha’s body language...until you turn on CR1 and witness firsthand how she embodies Keyleth so completely differently. Like...Gif of Patrick Stewart saying ‘acting.’ She’s amazing.

And Matt probably would need a whole post to himself lmao. Feel free to reblog with additions about him or anyone else.

[winns-stuff]

LO RANT:

Each time I hear about the chapters they continue to prove my point each time. Hades really is a fucked up person, you mistreat and abuse your employees who you’ve known for a long long time.. those who’ve worked under you and have obviously formed some kind of understanding with you since they have to live in your realm and work in your corporation, along with your citizens who also deal with you on a daily basis and help keep your realm financially and physically stabilized. All of those people who’ve been there longer than punk ass Persephone and you only give her respect, compassion, understanding, and respect. You’re a fucking asshole, there’s literally no redemption with Hades and that’s exactly why I absolutely despise his ass.

See, I knew I was on to something when I said that Hades is nowhere near a morally grey character, he’s literally the worst person ever. He has no redeeming traits at least that he chooses to display, he never tries to actually fix his problems instead he gets someone else to, and whenever he’s confronted on his shitty behavior he gaslights and manipulates the person confronting him. He’s so fucking evil like I have such a deep hatred for him, he’s not even that fucking nice to Persephone literally he’s becoming borderline controlling and condescending. You can’t say you respect Persephone and then spoon feed her information like she’s an idiot, you can’t say she’s mature or an adult when you baby her like she’s 4, you can’t say that she should be the queen of the underworld if you won’t even let her help with actual situations that need to be dealt with in her realm. I mean… it’s almost as if.. We knew that Persephone was nowhere near capable or even showed any sort of leadership traits when it came to actually being a ruler.

Genuinely I never saw Persephone as an actual queen or adequate ruler of the underworld. Hell, Hades isn’t even cutting it either with his terrible communication and behavioral issues that he keeps projecting onto people he believes is less than. But the problem I have with Persephone is that there’s no record in the comic of Persephone actually trying to improve her understanding of the underworld or trying to come up with any solutions to its problems either. Like she literally just came back from the damn mortal realm after being there for 10 years and even before she got banned she’s never even had any motivation to learn about the underworld. The only motivation she’s ever had was flirting with Hades, she never asked about the realm, how things worked, what the citizens’ concerns, what additions they need to add, nothing. It’s always been about Hades and she’s only had one panel where she was actually interested in taking the realm but of course it was cut off because you can’t have romance and the female lead to have actual aspirations not revolving around flirting and being with the male lead.

This whole situation is irking to me, so many people time and time again always excuse Hades’ shitty behavior and instead try and punish the other characters for doing either the exact same thing or nothing at all. I’m so tired of this bullshit, Thanatos does not deserve to be so disrespected and unappreciated that he gets so jealous at the sight of Hades treating Persephone like a normal person to the point of actively trying to ruin her life. That speaks volumes on how badly Hades always treats him, he got desperate at the opportunity to actually be respected and noticed by his father figure Hades. The fact that this motherfucker brought Thanatos into his damn office just to talk about Persephone who was around the time still A FUCKING EMPLOYEE being queen is just so creepy to me. Like Persephone was still there to work and yet she’s effortlessly rewarded straight to the crown even though this bitch doesn’t do shit. Show me any scene or panel that Persephone actually deserves the crown because genuinely there is none, it’s creepy and weird how obsessive Hades is and how he wants Persephone so badly that he continues to call her his wife and address her like she’s basically his even though she’s already said that she wants to take things slowly. The man obviously just wants a wife he does not care about Persephone’s feeling or anything, he believes that her kindness is an invitation for him to court her and it’s really weird that no one’s thoughts of that.

Anyways that’s the end of the rant on both Persephone and Hades because they genuinely get on my nerves. Persephone is just as much to blame for Hades’ behavior too, I know there’s a few time she’s tried to correct his behavior but it seems like she really brushes it off unless it affects her in some way. Like she never sticks up for anyone else that Hades berates and insults or even try and get him to change. She just allows him to be absolutely unbearable without checking it so yeah it is partially her fault as well because as his only development the more time he spends with her the less of an asshole but instead it seems like Hades is now acting aggressively to “defend” Persephone which is really making things worse. But like I always say this is just a meaningless rant and whether or not you agree or disagree is fine with me, none of these rants hold a lot of weight since I come up with them on the spot so don’t take any of these as fact or importance, also don’t use this as fuel to go after any Hades or Lore Olympus stans, people are allowed to enjoy their characters.

[nightskywonderer]

Superman & Wonder Woman: Being True

There seems to be this notion that when Superman and Wonder Woman are together, they see themselves as above humans or they lose their humanity is utter bullshit. There has been zero evidence of this in canon comics. Using goofy alternate shit like Injustice doesn’t make the argument either.

It was also said that they bring out uncomfortableness. Why? Because it’s acknowledged that they are different and not conforming to what’s acceptable as the norm? Well so be it. In the real world, no one lives for someone else’s comfort. You can miss me with that selfish entitled bullshit.

There are claims Superman and Wonder Woman needing to be anchored to human love interests to be relatable or lower themselves to be “normal”. No, no, hell, no. Lois Lane and Steve Trevor are not why Clark and Diana are the heroes they are. Clark and Diana were heroes, had their purpose way before them. Lois and Steve aren’t and should never be their motivation to do what’s right and what they were meant to do and be. Clark and Diana are far more “human” than any normal human any damn way. They selflessly make shit ton of sacrifices without any hesitation. What they do as individuals or a couple is on extraordinary levels and there’s nothing wrong with that. Flying across the skies like free birds is such a beautiful thing. Trying to cage these birds, ground and limit them is unnecessary and a shame.

As best friends with unresolved, underlying feelings or the Power Couple, it has always been established, their duty as heroes come first. They have been each other’s moral compasses, written to have complexed conversations about their purposes, the view of the world, open to each other about their deepest feelings etc.

To reiterate this again, Kal-El is from a different planet entirely. He is an alien. He may look human in appearance but he is not. He was raised to pretend to be normal but he is not normal. Yes, the Kents raised him with good morals and values but that sure as hell does not mean, he had to grow up to reject his heritage, and keep pretending to fit in and the mental gymnastics. Pre-Crisis and New52 Superman understood this assignment. Post crisis Superman, not so much. Superman was once the Champion of the Oppressed. He was to aspire and lead to better. To make a difference in a world of corruption. What happened to that? Now he is just stagnant, stuck in a comfort zone of pretending, romanticizing lies and being unethical at times. Protector of an outdated view and status quo. As well the obnoxious problematic depiction from the beginning of Rebirth of perfect privileged spoon-fed all American family that basically screwed up DC continuity even more so to force it as the “truth” or “real”. Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent should be one in the same. Not choosing one over the other as one is fake/disguise. Ironically, in the animated adaption of “Throne of Atlantis”, Clark himself said to not be “one of them, but to blend in.” This was before the asspulled contrived asinine 180 of his character for Death of Superman adaption.

Diana of Themyscira is a Princess from a secluded island that was separated from man’s world for its chaotic bullshit. Yet, she wanted to explore the world, learn and teach, bring peace and people together. She celebrates life and love, stands for truth with one self and others. Motivate and fight for equality and the protection of women and children. Majority of Diana’s iterations have been consistent with this attitude. Except rebirth, who had to be thrown into a mental institution and losing herself because spiteful writer’s bias. You really expect me to believe homegirl was living a lie and in some kind of illusion within her mind or whatever for 10 years? LOL no. Although, she is a DemiGoddess, Diana is still very much an earth woman. And I mean that literally if we go with the clay origin.

What I loved about new52 Superman was his motivation to be Superman was the PEOPLE

Diana is the Goddess of Truth after all. To hide who you are, what you love and enjoy is a disservice to oneself.

The two together bring something unique and challenging. They have their similarities and differences that compliment.

But they don’t change who they are for one or the other. They learn from each other, accept even more of each other, and grow together as a couple.

In this day and age, we celebrate what makes us stand out and be our unique selves. Superman and Wonder Woman are suppose to THE epitome of this!

[beevean]

I always used the Media Factory manga to talk about Hector and Isaac, because it goes much more in depth (and it’s far easier to read), but that doesn’t mean I don’t like the Prelude to Revenge manga! It’s much, much denser, but it has its interesting moments too.

I like this exchange a lot, for example:

I’m glad that it’s been confirmed: Hector did try to reason with Isaac, asking him the very obvious question “how can you, a human, be okay with Dracula’s genocide?”... and he was rejected without any hope for conversation. It says a lot about both of them.

I talked a lot about Hector affirming his own humanity in the face of Dracula and the people who shunned him, but Isaac’s non-response is just as interesting.

Just to double check, in Japanese he uses the word 賢くない, the negative of 賢い, which means “wise, clever, smart​”. So Isaac is saying that he’s not as smart as Hector... And clearly he’s not talking seriously, because no way this guy would honestly admit to be inferior to Hector in any way :P

No, he’s dodging the question, and I think the English translation nails the point. Isaac is smart, his plan in CoD is well thought out, but he doesn’t want to think for himself.

Isaac is clearly happy to be nothing more than Dracula’s servant. No higher aspirations on his part, other than probably being his favorite instead of Hector. He doesn’t care about what he’s doing, really: he waves the deep question away with “if you have a good weapon, shouldn’t you use it?”. Question is, what is this “weapon” he’s talking about? Hector and Isaac’s powers, which should be used at their fullest demonic potential because, well, they have them for a reason? ... or Hector and Isaac themselves, for Dracula...? If Dracula has two talented Devil Forgemasters at his beck and call, why shouldn’t he use them to spread his reign of terror? And really, what does it matter what they personally think of it? It’s not like they can do anything about their situation. At least, from Isaac’s point of view, who likely finds unconceivable that someone could just leave.

Another point. Unlike his Netflix counterpart, who wouldn’t shut up for a whole season about how much he hates humans, Isaac rarely mentions his resentment against humankind.

And these pages depict the same moment: Isaac directly confronting Hector after he ran away. In this context, this is more of a way to convince Hector to give up. And of course, he doesn’t make a mention of it in CoD itself, when he was at the peak of his hatred and insanity.

(btw, while sadly we never see a full flashback of Isaac’s childhood, it’s implied that it was nearly identical to Hector’s, and ngl I buy “the whole village hated me and hurt me, including my own parents” over “my master abused me” as a motivation to become misanthropic. As a child he was already bragging over turning his back on God, so I think he has suffered something even worse than what Hector went through and I wish I knew what :( )

My point being, Isaac isn’t mainly motivated by misanthropy. It’s there, but it’s just... there. This is just a corollary to his principal motivation: serving Dracula. That’s all he cares about. Look at the MF version: he puts “they turned their back on Lord Dracula” before “they chased us away”. I could even say that he’s just repeating words that Dracula put in his head, and there is nothing in canon that contraddicts it.

I also want to bring back this great scene from the MF manga, that I analyzed at the bottom of my long rant against Netflix!Isaac and Hector :P Isaac is more than capable of disobeying Dracula to get what he wants, but even after going all the trouble to kill his own underlings to get his way, he’s still convinced he’s 100% loyal. He’s deep in denial. His identity is wholly wrapped around being “Dracula’s servant”.

I also think that Hector being the “favorite” influenced how they diverged. Isaac was most likely single-mindedly focused on keeping up with Hector, which frustrated him and made him double down to be as perfect as he could be for Dracula. Hector, from his “privileged” position, could step back, look at the situation, and think “what am I even doing? All this effort for this?”.

Also, also. I am just so fascinated by those three years Isaac spent alone after the fall of Castlevania. What did he do in the meantime, how did he survive? The PoR manga... doesn’t give us the best picture:

Pictured: Isaac Not Doing Well Alone.

And I recently noticed another detail. Look at that. Look at where he’s sitting.

Ruins.

He never left Dracula’s fallen castle.

If we take Kojima’s words (art) for it, Isaac rotted three years in what was left of Dracula’s and his old home.

This is just a complete refusal, if not inability, to move on.

He had the freedom to go as he pleased, to do as he pleased. He was free from Dracula’s orders, free from being under Hector’s shadow. He could have travelled outside of Wallachia, where he wasn’t known, and started over. In fact, had he had done that, he would have not died so young.

(this is not confirmed anywhere, but I suspect that this is where his misanthropy comes into play: why would he completely avoid human civilization, were he not still suffering from the trauma of being chased away? Hector embraced his humanity despite all. Isaac rejected it a long time ago.)

But freedom is so, so terrifying, for someone who doesn’t want to be his own person.

I just... really like the idea of Isaac being utterly alienated by freedom, a concept too vast to analyze and that would force him to reflect on how much of his life he has wasted, and retreating into his comfort zone, which is acting on behalf of Dracula. No thinking. He’s just a weapon, and he’ll be the best one he can be. Even if it means going insane for three years. Even if it means being used and discarded without any dignity.

In this, he’s both a great counterpart to Hector, who finds pride in his independence, and to Trevor, a natural born leader.

Isaac is a tragic, pitiful villain, and this is the hill I will die on.

[chaeinedup]

WEi members as your boyfriend

Daehyeon:

He’s very very sweet;

He’s also very supportive so not only he’s gonna back you up in everything you want to do he’s also going to motivate you to do even more;

I think that if you’re the type of person to like being taken care of than he’s perfect for you;

It’s not like he’s going to baby you (at least not always) he’s very straight forward and as much as he loves you he will always be as authentic to himself as possible;

His love languages are quality time and physical touch im pretty sure;

So i think he’d invite you over a lot and try to fit you in his routine as best as he can;

He can be a cheesy man too, expect some romantic dates like stargazing.

Donghan:

He is the epitome of dating your best friend;

New game dropped, he’s going to ask you to play with him. New movie came out, clear your schedule on the day of the first screening;

Donghan makes a relationship feel casual and effortless but also very special;

He doesn’t hold back in telling you or showing you how much he loves you;

There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for you;

He’s also a great safe place for when you’re feeling more emotional and sensitive he’s going to do his best to comfort you;

The ammount of trust and love within the relationship, it would make others envious!!!

Yongha:

You know those people that want or aspire to marry their first love?

Yeah that’s kinda how I view Yongha;

He takes pride in being like that, just the thought of having someone he loves that much for as long as he’s alive there’s something very meaningful and special about it;

So you you really don’t need to worry, he’s going to go above and beyond so you always feel like a princess;

He really is what we call a simp, he’s going to buy you flowers, make dinner on the days you don’t have time to or just because he wants to surprise you, calls you a lot to check on you;

If he knows you’re not feeling well and he’s not able to take care of you physically he’s still going to order food for you so you don’t skip meals.

Sweet sweet yongha <3

Yohan:

Prepare to be teased for eternity;

He’s the typical “annoys you cause he thinks you’re cute when mad” kind of guy;

So every opportunity he gets he’s making the most out of it;

If you do get overly annoyed and you give signs of any discomfort he might just jump on top of you and shower you with kisses while saying “you can’t resist me”, “i have such a cute s/o”;

He will give you a lot of headaches but the good kind;

He’s going to ask you if you ate, what you ate, at what time, with who, where and if it was good;

This is his way of caring and taking care of you at the same time;

And of course because shoes always come in 2, yohan comes with a little of possessiveness on the side;

Seokhwa:

As much as people don’t perceive him this way, he is amazing at making hearts flutter;

And he doesn’t even need to try;

I truly believe this boy has natural charm to him;

There’s going to be random times he’s going to catch you by surprise and make you blush;

He’s also a very fun, spontaneous and adventurous person so if one day he wakes you up and tells you he booked a flight for both of you to go to paris next week, don’t be surprised;

Travelling together is probably something he really likes;

He’s not only gaining knowledge and having fun but he’s also expiriencing all of that with the person he loves most.

Junseo:

Truly a gentleman;

He’s the perfect ammount of shy and bold;

That makes your heart skip beats, run laps and probably do some accrobatics;

He’s going to open doors for you, help you get up if you trip, become your personal photographer, surprise you at work or school, etc;

He’s always going to find ways to make you fall harder;

I truly believe it would be the “he fell first but you feel harder” dynamic;

He’s very caring and won’t hesitate in showing it physically;

Not the biggest fan of too much PDA but trust you’ll never feel unloved as long as you’re with him.

masterlist

[imagines-mha]

⭒ haikyuu x exam season ⭒

Daichi- when i say he is the MOODIEST person when studying. It’s all fun and games until you interrupt him one too many times and he fucking explodes. Needs 2 chill

Suga- his goal in life is to be an aesthetic studyblr like this man will go and get iced coffee, order the prettiest stationary and then spend 20 minutes organising it for his instagram. As for ACTUALLY studying? He’s amazing at it. Literally the person we all aspire to be

Asahi- anxiety crams before tests. He does more than like 70% of his classmates but is always convinced he’s fallen behind on everything. Cries a LOT when he doesnt understand smth

Noya- another one who cries only he does it SO easily. Personally victimised by anything past question 1. Gets literally everyone to do his work for him

Tanaka- tries so hard he really really does. His handwriting is a mess and his notes look like something a 7 year old would do. Gets everything wrong but doesnt let it stop him

Ennoshita- did someone say pretentious straight A student??? Offers to help his friends just so he can flex his pretty notes and intelligence. Seems like he has everything under control but really? He cries like once a night in the lead up to exams

Kageyama- he doesnt have any room for anything in his head that isnt volleyball. Hes hopeless

Hinata- LACKS COMMON SENSE SO BAD. He’ll finally understand EVERYTHING but write the answer in the wrong place or leave out a decimal place in the exam. Stupidest mistakes

Tsukishima- he sticks to a study schedule like what? Who tf sticks to a schedule? Doesnt like to flaunt his grades around anyone who isnt hinata and kageyama, but akiteru and his mom are 100% the type to post his grades all over facebook like “so proud of my son !!!!!!”

Yamaguchi- the king of saying he hasn’t done much for exams, but then stays up every night til 2am studying. He HATES people having any expectations of him so keeps all his preparation secret lmao.

Kuroo- hes smart and he flaunts it so bad. 100% a teacher's pet, especially for science. Around exam season he lives in the library. Motivates kenma to study with him too tho hes so supportive

Kenma- hes naturally smart, which is like 70% of the reason his grades are good bc he does NOT study. Leaves it all to the night before/ when hes with his friends in the library but other than that nope he doesnt have energy

Lev- doesn't fully register he’s taking a test until he’s 3 questions in and hasn’t written a single word. Then he starts panicking.

Bokuto- he goes through the 5 stages of grief every single time he has to study. Gets frustrated as hell when he cant understand something, gets distracted by everything, a mess. Always leads to him slamming his textbook shut and sulking for an hour

Akaashi- the only one in fukurodani who actually spreads his studying out over the year so he doesnt have to cram. He has pretty notes and diagrams but still gets so stressed smh

Konoha- “yeah ill study in ten minutes” *cue him 6 hours later only starting* studies mostly at night and doesnt care about grades , yet still manages to score really good on every test

Oikawa- if this man is anything he’s dedicated. Actually finds balance between volleyball and studying when exam season’s in full swing, but that doesnt mean he still doesnt overwork himself. Surviving on 40 minutes of sleep and coffee lmao

Mattsun- doesn’t take school seriously at all. Hes like “who cares im gonna die one day” “if i dont know it now ill never know it”. So fucking chill

Makki- tries to be like issei so bad but it fails every time. He’s like “yeah who cares about biology anyway lmao”. He is a liar. He cried for 2 hours over biology last night smh. Biology is actually his number one care.

Iwa- naturally smart and follows a routine. The only healthy studier in seijoh tbh. Motivates his friends so much though hes the only reason mattsun and makki pass smh

Ushijima- sounds pretentious but he doesnt mean it. The worst person to study with because hes so naturally smart and makes everyone feel stupid. Hes like “how do you not understand this? Its easy?”

Tendou- hes so average when it comes to studying i cant even explain it. He goes home and studies, has dinner, watches some anime and studies a little more, then just goes to bed? Never overly concerned about it but hes the best for calming nerves. Makes you really believe things will be okay

Goshiki- CHRONIC WORRIER OH MY GOD. definitely gets the shakes before an exam and almost has a fuckin panic attack every single time, never feels prepared but he really is. Needs tendou for emotional support

Atsumu- too confident in his abilities lmao. He’s like “yeah ive got this i totally know it” then acts shocked and appalled when he fails. Thinks he’s the main character, therefore he HAS to pass. He’s not. And he never learns.

Osamu- the slightly smarter twin yet still not exceptional in any way. Doesnt really care about grades, he knows there’s more to life but still studies enough to pass

Kita- hello mr “whats a failing grade”. Never stresses and never fails. Actually the top of his class in basically everything. Manages to study and still find time for hobbies.

Aone- i am convinced a hug from him would get me through exam season every single year. Another person who just? Doesnt stress? Follows a routine and doesnt mind if he doesnt know something in the test. wow

Futakuchi- “i dont care about exams at all fuck them” *gets 53% and cries*. He doesnt have the patience to study and feels betrayed when all his friends actually do the work

Koganegawa- hes like hinata only he actually passes most of the time. Works SO hard and gets so happy when it pays off!! Always treats himself to mcdonalds after an exam thats self love babie

Terushima- you need to be cautious around this man. He’ll spend every night of exam season partying and ignoring any responsibility, yet still come out with 100% in everything. Where does he find the time? How does that work? What the fuck?

[irenedubrovna]

A post regarding Euphoria for the benefit of myself and basically no one else

So, it really bothers me when people say Euphoria is groundbreaking, progressive media. Here’s a dissection of why I don’t think it is, because this is what I feel like doing at work:

The character of Rue is objectively great. She by far receives the least overt sexualization, and is treated neutrally in terms of active sexuality. She’s treated like a normal teenage girl with mental issues and an addiction to drugs. She falls in love with a girl who she pines for and places on a pedestal. The reason I think she is written this way is because she is a Sam Levinson proxy. She written with gender ambiguity and with little regard to the experiences she’d go through as a black gay female, probably because Sam Levinson has no insight to that aspect of life. Her performance is heightened of course by Zendaya, who breathes unique life to the Sam Levinson’s artistic extension, and without her performance this show would not get even half the acclaim it gets. Attribute that to Zendaya of course, because the director has done little to deserve this acclaim.

The rest of the females, sans Lexi, are pornified to a disgusting extent, not only due to the fact that they are supposed to be underage, but also because their existence as people is treated as being absolutely secondary to their sexual appeal. They are foremost presented in terms of their relation to sex. Cassie, Maddy, Jules, and Kat cannot be removed from their sexuality without disrupting the plot or their journeys in relation to the plot. Why are the females so intrinsically linked to uber fetishized versions of female sexuality, or uber fetishized versions of blossoming female sexual identity?

Maddy is presented not only scantily clad 90 percent of the time, but also dressed in a precariously unattainable sexual fashion. At any given time she is styled to look straight out of, simultaneously, a high fashion editorial, and a “barely legal” porno. She is airheaded and profane, and promiscuous, her mannerisms dictated by the adult films she’s “studied” in order to project an image of perfect hyper sexual femininity. She’s complacent in becoming a prototypical housewife because it will earn her a comfortable place as a trophy wife. She has no aspirations beyond that. So, let’s unpack all of that. Maddy’s role in the show is mostly passive. The most active thing she does in the plot is revenge fuck a man in the pool of a party. Nearly everything else she does in the show that is plot relevant is of someone else’s volition. Even less of what she in the show is related to anything other than a man. She is abused and then pressured into framing another man for said abuse. She has no agency as a character. The only notable difference to this rule is when she takes drugs at a carnival, knocks a pot of chili over, and calls her ex’s mom a cunt. Removed from her active sexual life and carefully cultivated aesthetic, she’s a trite stereotype of an unambitious girlfriend who gets treated poorly. I see people call Maddy iconic, but if she wasn’t gorgeous and well dressed, I doubt anyone would even think twice about her, let alone create fancams and Instagram pages dedicated to her. She exists as a plot device, and as pretty set dressing to build up the shows aesthetic. Her emotions are not well explored, her motivations are sexist, and she is often there to be demeaned, objectified, or to say a bad word. The most damning part of her involvement in this show is her episode where it is stated that she, as a fourteen year old girl, lost her virginity to an adult man, and it is stated she was in control of the situation. This is a dangerous thing to say about a character, to any audience, but especially a young one. To imply that a precocious young girl was in control during her first sexual encounter with a much much older man implies things that frankly border on rape apologist ideology. This show states this unflinchingly and with no further elaboration. If there’s one thing that tells you that Euphoria is a bad show, let it be that. Also, if there’s one thing that tells you about Sam Levinson as a person, and the way he views girls and women, let it fucking be that.

Jules is a young trans girl. She also likes to have sex with men as a means to “conquer femininity”. Scratch that, she likes to have degrading sex with older men in order to “conquer femininity”. This mindset is shown to be toxic, of course, but I think the problem with this idea in general is that there’s no deeper exploration for what this mindset means. It implies that she believes women are the sum of their intrigue and degradations. This mindset I can only assume would be a cultivation of dysphoria and internalized misogyny, which this series is absolutely not prepared to address in a tactful manner. Jules is a teenager with mental illness, trauma, and is undergoing an identity crisis. There’s something powerful in her character, something worth saying, however we only get trimmings of those meaningful things, and are ultimately left with a hurtful depiction of a trans girl because all of her musings on womanhood and identity are incomplete, and they fail to reach beyond the surface of their thesis statement. She wears colorful clothing, is overtly feminine and artistic in her presentation. Everything about her screams insecurity over her own womanhood. That is the crux of her character. Now, I think we should ask ourselves, is trans person who is insecure about their identity peak representation? Is this what trans people deserve? Is it “groundbreaking “? If this show was run by someone else, I might be inclined to say that there’s nothing insidious about this, but this is the guy that made Assassination Nation, so I think we know what he thinks of young women, the way they should be portrayed (that is, for the capitulation of a man) and realize his inclusion of a trans woman in his cast is no more meaningful than the inclusion of any other woman. Women to him are made to be categorized and should, at the end of the day, be easily palatable for the capitulation of a man. The device of having Jules being interested in older men and rough sex for identity reasons is transparent. Trans women are exploited and objectified with a similar fervor to cis women, the caveat being that they are “a forbidden fruit” of sorts to straight men. Jules is sissified, her presentation fetishistic. Her role in the plot is more involved. Her relationship with Rue is sweet, though toxic on both sides. She is ultimately betrayed, blackmailed, and snowballs into something of a manic episode, all well portrayed by Hunter Schafer, but I don’t think her inclusion in the show absolves it of any of its many sins.

Let’s talk about Cassie. Cassie is the Eurocentric beauty standard exemplified. She is the blonde haired blue eyed girl next store, and her boobs are of course always on display. She is notably promiscuous, something I say right off the bat because that’s how she’s introduced, as a so called slut through the words of the devil (Nate Jacobs). She is a girl with daddy issues, which we are all familiar with at this point. Her sexual boundaries begin and end at the whim of her partner. The terms of her consent are much like the terms of consent of many young girls brainwashed by society and the rising tide of degradation porn: everything is alright as long as you provide them comfort and affirmation afterward. You can touch them roughly without asking, you can use them as a tool to affirm your masculinity. This is the way men prefer their women now: just broken enough to say yes to anything they want. It’s become a joke at this point. Men like girls with issues, but only the ones that will feed their own desires. Cassie Howard is meek. Her inclusion in the plot I suppose ties to themes of drug addiction and how it divides and destroys the people you love. It doesn’t show what it does to her beyond shaping her sexual encounters, which is no surprise. Overall I’d say Cassie is in this roster of females as the most traditional categorically, in relation to how men view women and further how they sexualize them. She has a relationship with someone who doesn’t really love her. That mostly what she does here. Gets used. Doesn’t drive the plot or conflict much. More pretty set dressing. More aesthetics. How this show consists of so many women but is driven so much by men is unsurprising, and, again, very enlightening in the grand scheme of things.

Lastly we touch on Kat. I’d like to begin with the fact that self actualization through sexual exploration, in a show run by a man, is just a cloak for a woman to gratify the audience with her sexuality. Regardless of whether or not she is plus sized, this is overt objectification. She is on this show to be sexy. Beyond that, the fact that a minor using sex work as a form of liberation is disgusting. Whether or not she is portrayed as “owning” her sexuality is negligible, and speaks to the same mindset discussed with Maddy. Minors cannot fucking consent to sex, sexual acts, or anything within the confines of such. It’s crazy that this occurs with two different characters in such a similar way. It has echoes of “Well, she looked older..” and “Well, she wanted it..” or “She’s advanced for her age”. Never, not once in the events of the series is there meaningful introspection on what doing this kind of thing does to a minor. Moreover, these acts are explicit, and made clearly for sexual gratification. None of these things are absolved by the fact that she’s plus sized. If anything, her body type is fetishized in this context. It’s also another case of a “good girl to bad girl” transformation, which are archaic and, of course, sexist. With the rise of adult websites targeting minors for explicit content, this is even more reprehensible. Once again, in terms of representation, is this really what speaks to you as progressive? Groundbreaking? A girl gains control of her own narrative by having sex with lots of men. She gains control by being sexy. She gains control by dehumanizing and objectifying herself. No she doesn’t. Media controlled by men will tell this story to you thousands of times, don’t listen because she’s bigger than a size four.

ALL OF THESE CHARACTERS ARE UNDERAGE. ALL OF THEM HAVE EXPLICIT SEX SCENES, EVEN THE SEXUAL ASSAULT IS MADE CINEMATICALLY PORNIFIED. THESE SHOTS ARE MADE TO BE OBJECTIVELY SEXY. THIS IS NOT A CASE OF SOMEONE CREATING SOMETHING FOR THE SAKE OF REALISM. IT IS ABOUT MAKING SCENES THAT SPEAK TO A MALE AUDIENCE. THAT CATER TO THE MALE GAZE. ARGUE WITH THE WALL.

I won’t go further into the plot, other characters, or the structure or the episodes for sake of brevity, but I felt compelled to air my thoughts on this to the void. I can only hope I was critical enough that Sam Levinson will one day see this and cry because another bad feminist thinks something that he made sucks

[linkspooky]

Yuta vs Yuji

(They are both Good Boys ™ and that’s the Problem ™ )

As this week the boys are still fighting, I thought it would be interesting to take a more in depth look at both of their characters and how they compare and contrast with each other. Yuta and Yuji are both protagonists who have protagonistic motivations. Their central conflict, Itadori’s struggle to find a good death surrounded by people he loves, and Yuta’s struggle to be surrounded by people he loves and protects them, relates to protecting the people they love and the world around them. However, that’s also what drives them into conflict with each other. They both view themselves as “the hero” even in conflicts such as the fight against each other, where there is really no good guy. 

1. I want to live / I want to die

Yuta and Yuji are opposites in their stated motivation. Yuta’s goal is to find a way to live a happy life, surrounded by the people he loves. Yuji’s goal is to find a way to die surrounded by people he’s helped in life. 

Not only are their stated motivations opposites however, on the outside they are both the opposite in several ways. Yuji is someone who is known for his strength whereas Yuta is immediately remarked upon as the type to get bullied.  Yuji is immediately remarked upon for his cheerful disposition, whereas everyone who knows Yuta picks on him at first and notices how gloomy he is. 

Yuji is someone who seems to make friends and connect with people almost immediately, whereas Yuta is someone who it probably took him a long time to start getting along with Maki and Inumaki based on what we see in the prequel. Maki challenges him at first, and Yuta doesn’t understand Inumaki at first. 

Yuta is passive, and Yuji is active. Yuji is known for running after people to save them. Yuta’s actually not as motivated to save random strangers as Yuji is, he’s simply going along with becoming a Jujutsu Sorcerer because that will help his goals, 1) to make new friends and find a reason to live 2) to release Rika.

The difference between them even manifests in the way they became cursed. Yuji actively chose to swallow a curse, because he wanted to help Megumi and needed the power to do so. It was a decision he made. Yuta was the one who cursed Rika yes, but not only was it a jujutsu technique he used unconsciously, he also forgot about it and blamed Rika for cursing him instead.  

Which is also something that reflects in the central flaws of both characters. Yuta is someone with a victim complex. He tends to avoid taking direct responsibility for his actions and blaming it on someone else. He acts passive in almost every situation, and doesn’t accept that it may be his fault. Which is why he misremembered what happened to Rika. Yuta could not accept the idea that he was to blame for cursing Rika, so he blamed Rika in his memories instead for cursing him.

It’s been outlined by Maki before Yuta’s victim complex, but basically he reads as a nice person on the surface by pretending to be innocent when he’s not. Which is why she says his goodness feels fake, and he himself feels gross. Yuta kind of just, represses and ignores the bad parts of his personality, to seem like a hapless victim. Of course Yuta is not good or bad, he’s just a dude. But, Maki even goes further to point out Yuta himself doesn’t even seem to know who he wants to be. 

Yuta’s central character flaw is that he never accepts responsibility for his own actions. He has no self confidence and because of that he has a really tough time standing up as an individual. 

When he can learn to control his power, and stand on his own two feet rather than just avoiding responsibility and acting like a victim with no control over his situation. Yuta begins to change, but I think he also elevates his friends far beyond himself. 

He aspires to be like his friends, but he also feels like they’re already better than him and he’s unworthy. Which is why he’s constantly insecure about the relationship and needs to protect them. Yuta believes himself to be weak, he sees himself as a weak person, and so in every situation he tends to assume he’s the weak one or a weak victim which makes it hard for him to see what he’s responsible in those situation. 

On the other hand Yuji takes almost too much repsonsibility. Rather than trying to depend on others, Yuji is always, running ahead on his own and that’s where he makes his mistakes.

He thought he was strong enough to take down Choso on his own. He wasn’t. He thought he was strong enough mentally to prevent Sukuna from rampaging, he wasn’t. Yuji’s mistakes always come from taking on more responsibility than he can handle, and then letting things fall out of his control. 

Yuta’s irresponsible because he sees himself as a victim and doesn’t understand how strong he is, Yuji’s irresponsible because he constantly overestimates what he himself can handle.

If you take the scene after Yuji dies the first time into account. Sukuna outlines several facts. One, that Yuji is not actually strong enough to suppress him. Two, that he rampaged against Megumi specifically because Yuji got cocky and tried to use his power without using a binding vow and think it through. Three, that Yuji overestimates himself and his capability to keep Sukuna down and because of it, he agrees to a simple terms of “If I defeat you inside my own body you revive me with no conditions” and then just immediately dies. 

All of this of course being foreshadowing for what happens after the Choso fight. Once again, Yuji overestimates himself and how he can win the fight fighting alone. Halfway through Yuji gets overwhelmed and Sukuna surfaces. When Sukuna surfaces he rampages, because Yuji did not even think of the possibility that Sukuna might rampage if he died or lost consciousness, and therefore there was no binding vow in place to stop him. It’s not because Yuji is a bad kid, but because he is a kid, and doesn’t know better. He acts like any fifteen year old would dealing with a 1000 year old spirit that’s much smarter than him. But it’s also a case of Yuji thinking everything comes down to strength and he can beat Sukuna just by being stronger, when Yuji actually solves none of his problems by fighting alone, and all of his major victories come from fighting together with others. 

Yuji and Yuta are even opposites in regards to their curses. Rika loves Yuta and wants to protect him. He loses control of her because he’s too scared to face her, and has no idea how to begin controlling his power, which is once again this flaw that Yuta’s fear is a fear of taking responsibility. Yuji on the other hand his curse Sukuna loathes his guts, and is constantly trying to undermine him. Yuji’s problem is again and again he’s proven to underestimate Sukuna, he’s not afraid enough of Sukuna because Yuji himself considers himself a strong person and overestimates what he can be responsible for. Rika is an ally outside of Yuta, and Sukuna is an enemy within Yuji. 

However, after going to such length to establish them as opposites they have one central similiarity. Both of them are incredibly lonely people. They can’t really make friends or connections normally. 

Yuta has this fear of living alone, and Yuji this fear of dying alone. 

They both only form relationships on the basis that they’re needed. Which is why Yuta goes so insane about protecting his friends. Which is why Yuji keeps focusing on death above all else, because that’s their true “purpose” that underlies their stated motivations. They’re both doing this because they are afraid of being alone.

However, they both need to prove that they are “worthy” of love. In order to do that, they need to be good, useful people. Thus they are heroes, thus they are good guys, thus they are protagonists. 

Yuji becomes so insanely motivated to fight after Sukuna’s rampage, because if he doesn’t help someone, if he doesn’t justify his decision to keep on living somehow they’re just a murderer. Both Yuta and Yuji don’t really care about the world or circumstances around them, they just want to be validated by the people around them.

Yuta is a deeply selfish person, because he just wants other people around him to tell him it’s okay to live. However, he’s also just a suicidal fifteen year old kid in the first place, any kid his age would feel that way, would need that support and he shouldn’t need to earn it. That’s what he misunderstands. However, Yuji and Yuta keep trying to seek external validation. They keep trying to earn love rather than having it given to them.

It’s what Yuta completely fails to internalize after his fight with Geto. The lesson he needed to learn was that there was more to the world around him than just protecting the people he loved, but it seems coming back to both of those people he loved being hurt has caused him to double down on “protecting the ones he loved” vs “thinking about what is justice”.Yuta’s still stuck in this mode where he has to earn love, and that becomes his first priority in everything.

The problem with making the decision to ignore justice is that you can end up at the wrong side of the equation. Yuji is Yuta. He’s another victim who allowed a curse to rampage because he was cursed as a teenager and could not control his own power and people ended up dying for it. 

However, because Yuta only understands that his friends have been hurt, and refuses to understand Yuji as both a victim and a person outside of himself he accepts his role of executioner.

Yuta was the person who was going to be executed a year ago. The only reason he didn’t was because Gojo gave him a chance and extended a helping hand. However we’re now seeing Yuta take the opposite path. he’s made the decision to become executioner, to not save when he himself was saved. Which is just sad because Yuta and Yuji are character foils.

 A conflict against Yuji, the other main character, is really just Yuta fighting himself. Yuta cannot forgive himself for the crime of being weak, and therefore he blames Yuji for being like he was a year ago. Yuta still doesn’t know how to stand strong on his own, to accept that his friends love him for who he is, so he’s still trying to earn love by avenging them and acting overprotective against Yuji, when we know Inumaki was friends with Yuji and probably would not want him to be hunted down and killed. 

Yuta and Yuji are both seemingly completely selfless people who can come off as rather self centered when you examine their deeper motivations (they do what they do, because they want to be loved and needed) but it doesn’t come from a place of ego, it’s just that they’re lonely. They can’t feel accepted for who they are so they both try to be heroes instead. 

[pet-genius]

The Death Eaters as a Cult - Part 1

This is a very lightly edited old Reddit post, that I'll publish in parts because the whole thing is like 7000 words. Analyzing Voldemort, the DE and their dynamics, Dumbledore and Harry in comparison, and individual Death Eaters. Hope you like it!

Some say Voldemort is a cartoon villain, or wizard Hitler. I think he is very realistic, and that the focus on his political aspirations ignores interesting aspects of him. I cannot prove that JKR had cults in mind when she wrote Voldemort and his followers, but this is how I read them. It’s nearly impossible to define a cult, so, for the purpose hereof, I’m going with “a group dedicated to the worship of a person”. Many cult leaders in real life present themselves merely as “god’s voice” or “the messiah”, but Voldemort specifically didn’t bother to hide behind a power higher than himself.

Tom Riddle comes from humble beginnings, like many cult leaders - he’s raised in an orphanage. He already has delusions of grandeur, only in this case they’re not delusions, because he really is magic, which makes it all the more dangerous. Look how he reacted to discovering he was a wizard, and how Harry did.

Immediately following the revelation that Lily and James did not die in a car crash, and that Harry is famous, and that he survived an attempt at his life by the worst wizard in history:

Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He’d spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn’t they been turned into warty toads every time they’d tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he’d once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?

“Hagrid,” he said quietly, “I think you must have made a mistake. I don’t think I can be a wizard.”

Heart-breaking. Harry doesn’t believe he can be special, he blames himself for the way he’s treated.

This is Tom Riddle:

“I know that you are not mad. Hogwarts is not a school for mad people. It is a school of magic.”

There was silence. Riddle had frozen, his face expressionless, but his eyes were flickering back and forth between each of Dumbledore’s, as though trying to catch one of them lying. “Magic?” he repeated in a whisper.

“That’s right,” said Dumbledore.

“It’s... it’s magic, what I can do?”

“What is it that you can do?”

“All sorts,” breathed Riddle. A flush of excitement was rising up his neck into his hollow cheeks; he looked fevered. “I can make things move without touching them. I can make animals do what I want them to do, without training them. I can make bad things happen to people who annoy me. I can make them hurt if I want to.”

His legs were trembling. He stumbled forward and sat down on the bed again, staring at his hands, his head bowed as though in prayer.

“I knew I was different,” he whispered to his own quivering fingers. “I knew I was special. Always, I knew there was something.”

His megalomania and violent nature are already apparent, as is his preternatural control of his magic. It also hints at rudimentary legilimency.

Dumbledore spells out that young Tom Riddle equated magic with immortality and liked to collect trophies, and that Tom Riddle liked being special, as he resents the name Tom for being too common; he already lives behind a mask and only shows his true face in shock. This, and not Dumbledore’s magical prowess, is what always scared Tom. Voldemort knew Dumbledore knew what he was. That was the only tactical advantage Dumbledore had.

It’s also one of JKR’s strokes of brilliance: Dumbledore saw Tom for what Tom was, and others never did until it was too late, not because he was that clever, but because he knew from experience. Dumbledore had allowed himself to fall for a charismatic but heartless man before, and it took Ariana dying to slap him awake. Dumbledore knows good people can be led astray: It happened to him. It has nothing to do with intelligence or “goodness”. Gellert was able to give Albus exactly what Albus lacked, stuck at home taking care of Ariana: the promise of freedom and a bright future, and the companionship of an equal. Albus fell for it, despite warning signs that should have been obvious.

Later, we know Tom is chosen by a wand of yew and phoenix feather. Both yew and phoenix are associated with immortality; yew trees are very long-lived. Compare this to Harry’s wand, holly and phoenix feather: both these characters will experience death and rebirth, except Tom Riddle’s wand tree is yew, and Harry’s is holly.

From Wikipedia: “The Christian church commonly found it expedient to take over existing pre-Christian sacred sites for churches. It has also been suggested that yews were planted at religious sites as their long life was suggestive of eternity, or because, being toxic when ingested, they were seen as trees of death.” Also from Wikipedia: “Christians have identified a wealth of symbolism in the holly tree’s form. The sharpness of the leaves help to recall the crown of thorns worn by Jesus; the red berries serve as a reminder of the drops of blood that were shed for salvation; and the shape of the leaves, which resemble flames, can serve to reveal God's burning love for His people.”

The two orphans’ wildly different views of death are also apparent in their wand trees. Voldemort will murder to attain his goals; Harry will sacrifice himself. That the phoenix feather came from Fawkes is also meaningful - Dumbledore taught both magic in some capacity, but he never could defeat Voldemort, because they’re too alike. One of Harry’s advantages in this battle is the integrity of his soul, which cannot be compromised.

Next, Tom Riddle is sorted into Slytherin. For a child who is already prone to megalomania, the house values bring out the worst in him, and under Slughorn, he grows into a manipulative, cunning, ruthless young man. I’m not blaming Horace for Tom being a psychopath, but some of the particular ways his psychopathy manifested in seem to have been directly due to Slughorn’s influence. Slughorn is a blood-supremacist, who was convinced Tom must come from fine stock. Slughorn tests drinks for poison using house elves; Tom Riddle tests the effectiveness of his Horcrux’s protection on Kreacher. Slughorn emphasizes the importance of connections and outright praises Tom for knowing more than he needs to, and encourages an attitude of “it’s only wrong if you get caught.” But Slughorn, prejudiced and cunning as he is, is not violent - he is academically curious about Horcruxes, but he finds them repugnant. Tom’s heart is not so faint - at the point of asking Slughorn about Horcruxes, the diary is already a horcrux, and Tom has already murdered his father. This is how Dumbledore describes Tom’s original gang, who were the proto-Death Eaters:

As he moved up the school, he gathered about him a group of dedicated friends; I call them that, for want of a better term, although as I have already indicated, Riddle undoubtedly felt no affection for any of them. This group had a kind of dark glamour within the castle. They were a motley collection; a mixture of the weak seeking protection, the ambitious seeking some shared glory, and the thuggish gravitating toward a leader who could show them more refined forms of cruelty. In other words, they were the forerunners of the Death Eaters, and indeed some of them became the first Death Eaters after leaving Hogwarts. Rigidly controlled by Riddle, they were never detected in open wrongdoing, although their seven years at Hogwarts were marked by a number of nasty incidents to which they were never satisfactorily linked, the most serious of which was, of course, the opening of the Chamber of Secrets, which resulted in the death of a girl. As you know, Hagrid was wrongly accused of that crime.

Dumbledore explains what motivated people to join Tom: some were afraid, some ambitious, some cruel. He controlled his so-called friends, and already started framing others for his own crimes (Hagrid’s framing was followed by Morfin’s and Hokey the house elf’s).

This is followed by Tom’s attempt to become a teacher (Dumbledore spells out his motivations: He is attached to the school, he wants to study its magic, and he already wants to build himself an army). He is denied, oddly chooses to work for Borgin and Burkes, a choice fueled by the desire to trace down more items to make into Horcruxes. Through the memory of the meeting with Heptzibah Smith, we see that Tom was definitely charming when he needed to be, and knew how to make people feel good. He did not use magic to trick her into showing him her precious locket and cup: he used muggle manipulation - flattery, making an old and forlorn lady feel valuable, perhaps even flirting with her (she’s certainly flirting with him). He was pleasant enough that Ms. Smith eagerly looked forward to his visits - but as she showed him her treasures, he was caught off guard by hearing about his mother and how she sold the locket, and she saw him for what he was, although she quickly fell into denial. Sadly, she was murdered two days later.

Why rely on Horcruxes to gain immortality? Tom must have known about Nicholas Flamel and the Philosopher’s Stone, and the Horcruxes require someone else to perform the resurrection ritual. Either making the Stone is so hard that it would deter Tom (unlikely), or he already expected to rely on followers who would find him and revive him - he certainly seems to have expected his followers to have searched for him earlier. Maybe Horcruxes were appealing because they require murder. In any case, this is followed by the memory of Tom asking Dumbledore for the DADA job again, a decade later. Tom has spent a decade gathering followers, and he has already changed his name to Lord Voldemort. This is reminiscent of real life cult leader David Koresh, and the leaders of the Children of God, Aum Shinrikyo, etc. The meeting between Voldemort and Albus is interesting, because it’s clear that Dumbledore had tried to teach Tom about the power of love:

“The old argument,” he said softly. “But nothing I have seen in the world has supported your famous pronouncements that love is more powerful than my kind of magic, Dumbledore.”

“Perhaps you have been looking in the wrong places,” suggested Dumbledore.

This did not help. Tom never learned - how could he? At 16, he was already a murderer - who could love him now for who he was? He could never be truly loved, and he could never truly love another, and he underestimated the power of love for his entire life, leading to his downfall - twice (were that it was so simple in real life).

Voldemort is trying to obfuscate the nature of the relationship, like all cults - they never admit this is what they are.

“I am glad to hear that you consider them friends,” said Dumbledore. “I was under the impression that they are more in the order of servants.”

“You are mistaken,” said Voldemort.

But LV can’t lie to Dumbledore, who changes the subject. He denies him the DADA job again, and the curse is placed on the job. LV’s ascent is due to begin in a few years. Hagrid tells the story:

Anyway, this — this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin’ fer followers. Got ’em, too — some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o’ his power, ’cause he was gettin’ himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn’t know who ter trust, didn’t dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches...

Voldemort isn’t just interested in immortality. He wants complete control. He wants everyone fearing him - even fearing his name. He has people isolated and distrustful, fearing for their lives.

But we know his reign of terror was dreadful - what I’m interested in is the way he treated his own followers. We know little about how he treated them in the first war, but we do have what Sirius had to say about Regulus’s fate:

From what I found out after he died, he got in so far, then panicked about what he was being asked to do and tried to back out. Well, you don’t just hand in your resignation to Voldemort. It’s a lifetime of service or death.

We know the real story of Regulus’s disappearance, and it’s different. Kreacher tells us that Regulus died in the Horcrux cave - but more telling is that Regulus forbade Kreacher from telling his parents what had happened to him. Why did he feel the need to do that? This suggests that Regulus knew LV destroyed traitors’ families, which is a tactic used in cults and other abusive dynamics. We know LV would leverage Draco’s welfare against Lucius for his failure in the Department of Mysteries, too. We know also that instead of going to Dumbledore, or to his own brother, Regulus chose death – unless he was really dumb, and I don’t think he was, he must have been manipulated into believing that was his only option, or his world made no sense after his faith had shattered. So many people never readjust to life outside the cult.

Voldemort “dies” about two years after that, having successfully recruited about 400 followers (“the death eaters outnumbered us the Order 20:1” - Lupin). We can’t say if all these people were genuine Death Eaters or people who had been Imperiused or otherwise coerced, or allies like Narcissa, but that coercion is used to recruit shows that Voldemort did not take his own followers’ ambitions and wishes into account. People who use outright coercion don't suddenly draw the line at manipulation.

[seyaryminamoto]

Do you think canon Zuko has any understanding of the idea of duty? That he, especially given that he aspires to political power, should act like his status as Prince gives him certain responsibilities? That doing what's best for the for Fire Nation or the world might require him to do things which make him unhappy or uncomfortable or require him to make grave personal sacrifices? Does he even understand duty as a concept?

Oof. Complicated questions, thus, this sat in my inbox for a veeeery long time.

I honestly, seriously, genuinely... don't think Zuko truly understood, at any point in canon, what it really meant to be a leader. I know many of us (and I think you, too?) don't particularly like the comics, but in my opinion, The Promise did a surprisingly decent job at highlighting several problems left in the wake of the end of the war, and perhaps unintentionally, this is one of the problems: upon becoming Fire Lord, Zuko is remarkably erratic, unsure of his choices, even seeking advice from his FATHER, of all people, because he has no idea what he's doing.

In the most favorable possible view of Iroh, he taught Zuko to be a better person. I don't entirely adscribe to this belief, but fine, let's concede that he did, or else this answer would never end: not just because you're a good person, however, are you guaranteed to be a good leader. Zuko, as we both know, is far from the best person in the world, and he is prone to making impulsive, emotional mistakes that can cause harm and trouble, and typically, Zuko doesn't face the consequences of most his actions, or the narrative just pins the blame on someone else. When we see this sort of behavior in a real-life politician, the immediate reaction we would have is "this guy is awful at his job", and sadly, I find myself thinking that quite often when it comes to Zuko's canon tenure as Fire Lord.

So... what is Zuko's concept of duty? Going by his pursuit of Aang in the first two seasons, duty is a task given to him by someone whose approval he seeks (in this case, Ozai) and he must pull it off, no matter what, to gain said approval. By Book 3, this logic still applies fairly easily to how Zuko acts over Iroh: I've highlighted in the past that the main motivation for Zuko's redemption is Iroh, doing right by Iroh, making amends to Iroh, regretting how he treated Iroh. He points that out explicitly in Ember Island Players, he does it as well indirectly by bringing up Iroh first of all, when confronting Ozai: this is his main priority. Ergo... I'd honestly say it's safe to judge that this is what Zuko regards as duty, as what he has to do. Iroh wants him to be Fire Lord? That's exactly what he becomes. The difficulties and complications in this particular line of work are taken for granted, and so, we have an outcome that was remarkably well depicted in The Promise, despite that comic's many glaring flaws: Zuko gets swept back and forth, twisted left and right by all the pressures and responsibilities, because he has no idea what he's doing as Fire Lord, and no idea/experience in how to be a real leader.

As far as I can tell, the core of the matter is that nobody really seems to have taken Zuko all that seriously as future Fire Lord. Ozai, evidently, wasn't training Zuko to be his personal heir. Ozai himself is a questionable source of information regarding learning what it means to be Fire Lord, considering he, as well, wasn't raised to take that role, just as he didn't raise Zuko for it. Yet Iroh didn't exactly teach Zuko how to lead anyone either, as far as I can tell: his lessons were meant to be of a more personal nature, and even then, Zuko had lots of trouble accepting most of them. Iroh's firebending lessons to Zuko were typically stunted in the basics because he was hot-headed and rash about getting to the intense and interesting stuff...

So: neither Ozai nor Iroh gave Zuko actual responsibilities. Ozai gave him a punishment Zuko was trying to endure however possible, a punishment he wanted to prove himself unworthy of by finding the Avatar and "regaining his honor". Then, Iroh punished Zuko as well by giving him the cold shoulder in Book 3, then he escaped and Zuko did everything he did, after betraying Ozai, to prove himself worthy of Iroh's kindness once again. It's not actual duty, the way it is in Azula's case: no doubt, Azula wants Ozai's approval too, but she has the madman's trust when it comes to finding her brother and uncle, to taking down the Avatar, and to conquering Ba Sing Se, as far as anyone can tell. I do doubt Ozai gave her all these missions at once, but he gave her the resources through which she pulled off ALL of them: she had the firebending procession, she had a ship, she had a train-tank, she had mounts... Zuko had a rundown ship that looked like a 1:10 scale version of every other ship in the harbor back in the very third episode: he was being punished. In contrast, Azula is entrusted with a mission, with LEADERSHIP, while Zuko has no visible, tangible, objective experience with the latter (consider how Azula steals the Dai Li's loyalty from under Long Feng: when did we see Zuko pulling off something like this? Even with Jet, Zuko was more of an associate to the Freedom Fighters, and Jet was still the leader).

I've always thought Zuko wasn't prepared to be Fire Lord, and the main reasons are the ones you indirectly point out through this ask: Zuko doesn't seem to treat the throne as a responsibility, but as his right. I won't get tired of pointing out that this was NOT Zuko's birthright, he was NOT born thinking he'd be Fire Lord: he was born to the second branch in the Fire Nation family. We literally SEE the day in which Lu Ten's death is revealed to him. According to somewhat official sources? He's ELEVEN in Zuko Alone's flashbacks. I, personally, think he looks a little younger than that, but I think that's the official wikia age, no idea where they got that info but that's what it says. Meaning...

Zuko, objectively, only had been crown prince for FIVE YEARS.

Zuko was NOT raised, not by his mother, not by his father, with the belief that the throne would one day be his (Ursa is gone before Ozai is crowned and Ozai clearly wanted Azula for the job rather than Zuko).

And yet, when you backtrack to the show? It seriously looks like that was the case. He clings to the throne in Books 1 and 2 as though he had no other purpose in life, as though this was everything that was promised to him (in contrast, Azula only ever indicates wanting the throne in Sozin's Comet: Part One). Even when he's an outlaw, discarded and cast out, he STILL talks about the throne, as though most his identity were built upon the notion that he must become Fire Lord: why? How come? Within five years, he's crafted his entire existence around being the heir to the throne? That's... a bit weird.

And a bit wishful, too. Which is why I commend that the comics show him struggling as Fire Lord, if anything they should've had him struggling MORE than that, because Zuko is simply NOT prepared for these responsibilities. He never gave any indication, any sign, of seeing it as such. He sees it as his right, his birthRIGHT. Why? Why more people don't ponder how utterly strange this behavior is, beats me. But it really does bother me that Zuko built his entire existence around being Fire Lord in a very similar way to how Korra built her own about being the Avatar. I have very little praise to give LOK in general, but the premise of Korra learning she was a person, a human, and not just the Avatar felt like the perfect parallel to Aang's story, where he was very much anchored in his humility and belief that he was just "one kid", and his rejection of his duties as the Avatar was meant to change gradually as he learned to accept himself as he was. Korra, however, never fully hit the mark with this subject, in my personal opinion... much as Zuko doesn't hit the mark either, since the show's only direct attempt to "deconstrue" Zuko's clinging to the throne happens in one dialogue, and his attachment to the idea is built up again, right afterwards:

Zuko: And then ... then you would come and take your rightful place on the throne? Iroh: No. Someone new must take the throne. An idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor. It has to be you, Prince Zuko. Zuko: Unquestionable honor? But I've made so many mistakes. Iroh: Yes, you have. You've struggled; you've suffered, but you have always followed your own path. You restored your own honor, and only you can restore the honor of the Fire Nation. Zuko: I'll try, Uncle.

And there we have it. The only point in the show (that I can remember) where Zuko seemed to not feel worthy of the throne and questioned he should be the one sitting on it (RIGHTFULLY!), buuuuuuuut he goes right back to wanting it, right afterwards, based on how this single exchange was enough for him to be 100% determined to take down his sister, merely a few lines later.

As for his willingness to make personal sacrifices... some might say he was outright willing to die for Katara in the finale -- though I'll point out he was trying to redirect the lightning anyway, didn't do it as well as he should have, but he wasn't exactly, consciously, trying to DIE for her... --, some might say that he left Mai behind in the FIre Nation, and that as well was a sacrifice... but was it? We don't see him missing her, or suffering about her fate, at any point in time after SHE sacrifices herself for him in the Boiling Rock (my biggest gripe over this particular canon couple is this, tbh). I feel like the show generally presents Zuko's situation as somewhat... self-sacrificial? Especially in Books 1 and 2, and yet that's really not the case: it isn't Zuko himself who makes the choice of traveling to find Aang, it's a punishment inflicted upon him.

This particular view upon his circumstances makes it so Zuko is never responsible for... well, any of his choices? It's always someone else's fault, therefore, whatever he suffers through, there's always someone he can (and usually does) resent for it. Therefore... I can't genuinely think of anything Zuko sacrificed in order to come as far as he did. He was forced to let go of things by his father, typically, by Zhao as well, maybe, but even then, it's not like we saw that he has a super healthy and happy relationship with, I don't know, Earth Kingdom people (his only meaningful positive EK bond was with Jin, which went nowhere and goes forgotten after a single mini episode)? The Palace staff? The commoners of the Fire Nation (they just treat him like a hero and he seems awkward and distant about it anyway, like he can really just do without their worship)? He doesn't have other friends beyond Azula's own friends... thus, he doesn't sacrifice anything that really matters. And in a sense, some people might say he doesn't have to sacrifice anything at all: he already went through so much strife and struggle that why would he need to sacrifice anything else? But the thing is... you DO have to learn to make such sacrifices if you're going to be a good king.

So often, people who devote themselves to their jobs have to consciously neglect their families, to name one thing: Zuko neglects Mai and she explodes at him for it in The Promise, then he just tries to get her back at all costs in Smoke & Shadow, with no thoughts given to the fact that maybe he isn't ready to juggle both a relationship and the throne, that maybe Mai could be happier with someone other than him, someone who can give her the attention and relationship she's looking for... THOSE are the sacrifices I'd be referring to, personally, sacrifices where his happiness and peace of mind have to be set aside for the sake of something much more important than himself, and I expect that's the kind of sacrifices you're referring to, too. I seriously don't think he's ready to make them, and with the comics as reference, there's seriously no evidence to suggest he's prepared to accept these burdens that come with the heavy mantle of leadership and ruling. I've never seen any signs of him being ready for it, myself. Maybe I need to reexamine the show and see if maybe I'm missing something... but I don't really think I am.

The worst part, for me, is that Zuko isn't even doing the bulk of the things he's doing in pursuit of genuine happiness: he's doing it over a sense of destiny. He never stops to reason with that destiny, to wonder if maybe he doesn't need to be Fire Lord, if maybe he could have a life beyond that role. Book 2 veeeery briefly suggests he MIGHT be on his way to questioning that destiny, but as I've said before, I don't see the sense in Zuko's big change of heart after the Appa incident considering we don't really understand what he's learned, other than how to be the perfect nephew for Iroh, apparently. Zuko never really is happy, as he says in the show: his happiest moments are with Mai and they're only like a 25% of his relationship with her, everything else is a mess (and his relationship with her isn't exactly the core of his character, either). So, the way I see it... Zuko is even worse off than it looks at first glance. He's out to fulfill a destiny he has never stopped to reason with, a destiny he's 100% sure is his, despite he has only been on that path, objectively, for five years? Despite he wasn't raised all along under the belief that this was what he was supposed to be? If given a chance to be genuinely happy, what on earth would he even do? A lot of the growth I gave him in Gladiator was based on that particular question: is the throne really what Zuko needs to be happy? It doesn't look like it, even in canon. If it's not... then it's not happiness he seeks, it's some sort of sense of assurance that he's doing the right thing, according to the figure of authority he follows at a set point in time: by Book 3, said authority is Iroh, and Iroh wants him on the throne. His motivation, as far as I can see it, is as simple as that.

Long story short... I don't think Zuko really has a strong grasp on many concepts that he absolutely should have reasoned with and worked out in order to become Fire Lord. In a sense, he's way too young for the role he's given, for the heavy burdens he has to deal with, and I'll NEVER see the sense in not having Iroh taking the throne (beyond how "poetic" the creators and writers found it to crown Zuko to finish his story, of course), at least for a short time, before Zuko can be ready. This is exactly why I wrote things that way in my oneshot where Azula takes Zuko's role, more or less: Iroh serves as regent while Azula prepares for taking the full role of Fire Lord when she's ready. I love her, she's awesome, I absolutely adore her character... but I don't think an Azula who was sidelined and sent on a long voyage with her uncle for YEARS could possibly be ready for the responsibilities of being Fire Lord right away.

Meanwhile? Iroh was given leadership of military missions enough times that he became a general in the Fire Nation forces. By all evidence, he was Fire Lord Azulon's pampered and spoiled son, whom he DID prepare for the duties of a Fire Lord for as long as Iroh was born: Iroh literally had fifty-ish years of preparation, as far as I can tell? How is he NOT the better suited person to take the throne, if just temporarily, while his nephew learns what it really means to rule by watching him, or by maybe learning leadership by managing smaller duties first, a specific town or city, and then putting his knowledge to good use by becoming Fire Lord properly?

Eh... because it wouldn't be an epic enough finale for the show, I suppose. That's the only answer I can find for this particular question.

So... yeah. That got long :'D but in short... I don't think Zuko has a strong grasp on responsibility and duty, let alone on the burdens inherent to these concepts. Yet more reasons why his character's arc can't hit all the marks it should, imo, to make it as great as the whole fandom is already convinced it is.

[qqueenofhades]

Hi, I’ve been tasked with researching Richard Plantagenet for a paper and thus far found extremely negative accounts of the king, his religious bigotry being a reoccurring theme (his treatment of Jewish dignitaries attending his coronation and his reasoning to join the third crusade etc)

I stumbled across your wonderful tag for Richard at the weekend and wondered if you wouldn’t mind sharing your informed opinion of Richard and his views on religions ? Your writing seems very well balanced regarding his attributes and flaws. Thanks :)

Oof. Okay. So, a short and simple question, then?

Quick note: when I was first reading your ask and saw "Richard Plantagenet," I briefly assumed that you meant Richard Plantagenet, father of Edward IV, or perhaps Richard III, both from the Wars of the Roses in the fifteenth century, before seeing from context that you meant Richard I. While "Plantagenet" was first used as an informal appellation by Richard I's grandfather, Geoffrey of Anjou, it wasn't until several centuries later that the English royal house started to use it consistently as a surname. So it's not something that Richard I would have been really called or known by, even if historians tend to use it as a convenient labeling conceit. (See: the one thousand popular histories on "The Plantagenets" that have been published recently.)

As for Richard I, he is obviously an extremely complex and controversial figure for many reasons, though one of the first things that you have to understand is that he has been mythologized and reinvented and reinterpreted down the centuries for many reasons, especially his crusade participation and involvement in the Robin Hood legends. When you're researching about Richard, you're often reading reactions/interpretations of that material more than anything specifically rooted in the primary sources. And while I am glad that you asked me about this and want to encourage you to do so, I will gently enquire to start off: when you say "research," what kind of materials are you looking at, exactly? Are these actual published books/papers/academic material, or unsourced stuff on the internet written from various amateur/ideological perspectives and by people who have particular agendas for depicting Richard as the best (or as is more often the case, worst) ever? Because history, to nobody's surprise, is complicated. Richard did good things and he also did quite bad things, and it's difficult to reduce him to one or the other.

Briefly (ha): I'll say just that if a student handed me a paper stating that Richard was a religious bigot because a) there were anti-Jewish riots during his coronation and b) he signed up for the Third Crusade, I would seriously question it. Medieval violence against the Jews was an unfortunately endemic part of crusade preparations, and all we know about Richard's own reaction is that he fined the perpetrators harshly (repeated after a similar March 1190 incident in York) and ordered for them to be punished. Therefore, while there famously was significant anti-Semitic violence at his coronation, Richard himself was not the one who instigated it, and he ordered for the Londoners who did take part in it to be punished for breaking the king's peace.

This, however, also doesn't mean that Richard was a great person or that he was personally religiously tolerant. We don't know that and we often can't know that, whether for him or anyone else. This is the difficulty of inferring private thoughts or beliefs from formal records. This is why historians, at least good historians, mostly refrain from speculating on how a premodern private individual actually thought or felt or identified. We do know that Richard likewise also made a law in 1194 to protect the Jews residing in his domains, known as Capitula Judaeis. This followed in the realpolitik tradition of Pope Calixtus II, who had issued Sicut Judaeis in c. 1120 ordering European Christians not to harass Jews or forcibly convert them. This doesn't mean that either Calixtus or Richard thought Jews were great, but they did choose a different and more pragmatic/economic way of dealing with them than their peers. This does not prove "religious bigotry" and would need a lot more attention as an analytical concept.

As for saying that the crusades were motivated sheerly by medieval religious bigotry, I'm gonna have to say, hmm, no. Speaking as someone with a PhD in medieval history who specialised in crusade studies, there is an enormous literature around the question of why the crusades happened and why they continue to hold such troubling attraction as a pattern of behavior for the modern world. Yes, Richard went on crusade (as did the entire Western Latin world, pretty much, since 1187 and the fall of Jerusalem was the twelfth century's 9/11). But there also exists material around him that doesn't exist around any other crusade leader, including his extensive diplomatic relations with the Muslims, their personal admiration for him, his friendship with Saladin and Saladin's brother Saif al-Din, the fact that Arabic and Islamic sources can be more complimentary about Richard than the Christian records of his supposed allies, and so forth. I think Frederick II of Sicily, also famous for his friendly relationships with Muslims, is the only other crusade leader who has this kind of material. So however he did act on crusade, and for whatever reasons he went, Richard likewise chose the pragmatic path in his interactions with Muslims, or at least the Muslim military elite, than just considering them all as religious barbarians unworthy of his time or attention.

The question of how the crusades functioned as a pattern of expected behavior for the European Christian male aristocrat, sometimes entirely divorced from any notion of his private religious beliefs, is much longer and technical than we can possibly get into. (As again, I am roughly summarising a vast and contentious field of academic work for you here, so... yes.) Saying that the crusades happened only because medieval people were all religious zealots is a wild oversimplification of the type that my colleague @oldshrewsburyian and I have to deal with in our classrooms, and likewise obscures the dangerous ways in which the modern world is, in some ways, more devoted to replicating this pattern than ever. It puts it beyond the remit of analysis and into the foggy "Dark Ages hurr durr bad" stereotype that drives me batty.

Weighted against this is the fact that Richard obviously killed many Muslims while on crusade, and that this was motivated by religious and ideological convictions that were fairly standard for his day but less admirable in ours. The question of how that violence has been glorified by the alt-right people who think there was nothing wrong with it at all and he should have done more must also be taken into account. Richard's rise to prominence as a quintessentially English chivalrous hero in the nineteenth century, right when Britain was building its empire and needed to present the crusades as humane and civilizing missions abroad rather than violent and generally failed attempts at forced conversion and conquest, also problematized this. As noted, Richard was many things, but... not that, and when the crusades fell out of fashion again in the twentieth century, he was accordingly drastically villainized. Neither the superhero or the supervillain images of him are accurate, even if they're cheap and easy.

The English nationalists have a complicated relationship with Richard: he represents the ideal they aspire to, aesthetically speaking, and the kind of anti-immigrant sentiment they like to put in his mouth, which is far more than the historical Richard actually displayed toward his Muslim counterparts. (At least, again, so far as we can know anything about his private beliefs, but this is what we can infer from his actions in regard to Saladin, who he deeply respected, and Saladin's brother.) But he was also thoroughly a French knight raised and trained in the twelfth-century martial tradition, his concern for England was only as a minor part of the sprawling 'Angevin empire' he inherited from his father Henry II (which is heresy for the Brexit types who think England should always be the center of the world), and his likely inability to speak English became painted as a huge character flaw. (Notwithstanding that after the Norman Conquest in 1066, England did not have a king who spoke English natively until Henry IV in 1399, but somehow all those others don't get blamed as much as Richard.)

Anyway. I feel as if it's best to stop here. Hopefully this points you toward the complexity of the subject and gives you some guidelines in doing your own research from here. :)

[captainkurosolaire]

I challenge you to pick five Tumblrs in your social circle and tell them something you admire about their blog!

Only 5? I could probably do 500. However, that's determined by what's considered my social circle. I'm often in my head being incredibly social continuously is really a challenge of mine. I'm always actively marching to something, my flame of passion when I have it, I can do some crazy stuff but it diminishes relatively quickly, so I try to cling. But I'll up your thing and list 25 of my fave people. Ask me this same thing in a Month, I'll keep doing 25, until I do all the people. How about that? (If anyone wants to be taken off mention let me know.)

@eligos-venator

- Has one of the most intelligent and sophisticated minds, I've had the pleasure to know. Literally admire all his aesthetics, work, head-cannons, ideas. It's only a benefit that the dude shares some OC characteristics to my own (Winning features). I really enjoyed the short-thread we did. It was incomplete, mainly because of my faults. I want to actually be better to give him a proper delivery and RP worth his time, but he's incredibly worth the investment of eyes.

@mischiefandmystics

- If there was a Mount Rushmoore of writers who kept me in this endeavor, encouraged me. Sun'ra is one of them. His characterization skills, writing, the delivery and how believable his character is, they're masterful acts.

@mishivymendi

- I wouldn't be nearly tamed or as creatively freed if it wasn't for this gem. She broke my shell, I really didn't at a time ever see myself being anything really beyond a smut writer, but Mishi not only saw potential in me, but brought it out. Her stories and world's she brings to life are so majestically colorful.

@asymphonyofash

- My go-to. He's another pillar individual who saw things in me past just the obvious perception, (Probably second longest XIV RPer I know.) Taught me a lot of the lore, I shot him up and he's sort of become my stapled rock. He's right aside Sun'ra met them about the same, both took me under their wing's as I quietly observed and absorbed.

@lavender-hemlock

- We're always up and front with each other, never feeling like I couldn't say anything around, extremely rare to share that these days. Her gif's are legendary, something on my own terms I want to soar in quality. The writing she does is astounding. Character has so many mysterious pages that are quite addictive to want to explore and learn them. (Encore 20 below-cut)

@under-the-blood-moonlight - Her sweetness and artwork and overall is just a friendly presence to be around. I cherish them so much. One I can jive with more darker undertones with. She's one the most hardworking and ambitiously creative people. I'd mail them infinite hugs if could. Thanks for being you! @roxinova - I owe a lot of credit to her. She's constantly OOC and everything was nudging me too be more inclusive to things and involved heavenly. It's rare for me. I'm really horrible about that my autism sets me back socially, I constantly will be drowned by the next day and be reverted back to better off alone, that's my major crux and weakness. But her thoughtfulness, these things, aren't ever foreign to me, I do pay attention probably better than any would ever give me credit. She's a beacon model to have as a friend. @corpse-dancer - Haven't ran into many words with them, but her character, screenshot game, expressiveness, they're all a marvel to constantly see, alongside her attitude and bringing life character. I do think if I were better, we would click quite splendidly. They've recently reminded and motivated me to pick-up my daily-practice, or try too. Keep being a rockstar. @fair-fae - Few who wouldn't know who she is in this community. She's been in my opinion a huge core. I'm certain she's inspired many who weren't even RPers too try it by seeing her at the Quicksands or elsewhere, a tyme ago. Making no exception, I was even one of those. I used to be in QS every-single day and was often doing my shameless stuff. Though her presence first did show me there's a lot more. I admire her in all fields. Also appreciate her adopting me to the FC and her always thinking of others and giving events, or her aesthetics and portrayal, its the epitome of swan elegance. @thorcat - One of my most treasured friends. Been RPing with them for a longtime. There's never anything complicated between us or a rift of drama, it's just let's go and have fun. We really mesh well, I've welcomed nearly ever character and got the privilege to RP with nearly all them. They always open up envelope and help me, settle on back and just laugh. Whether used to be waking up to their characters humping my afk one or use randomly having a hardcore banter between Ufah and Captain and capturing them as a voidal pet. Memories with them isn't something I'd ever want to lose. I love ya! Never stop enjoying life for anything. @lukawarrioroflight - I get in the gutter find myself lacking motivation or writing, discouraged even... But I never have felt, I could ever do any wrong with this person, they bring the light out of me. So no matter what, how many hospital-beds I yearly visit, it's because of this rare nature, that I come back, even if they're the only one's ever to read my stuff. I would do it for them alone. @scholarlybreadbun - I've only been back recently and they've so much warmth. Their presence is the sun of inviting. The couple and posing all the shipping that stuff makes me even melt. I'm not particularly talented in regards to posing couples, but I took notice of them along time ago and set on quietly improving. Really like them for them, wouldn't ever want them to change that. Ideally look forward to be in their orbit longer so I can bask in them. @seascrapes - Been mutual with them for a while. Their aesthetics and character is all S+ level. I appreciate throwing back tagged prompts with them, one of many people I really think would be enjoyable to collab with any other seafarers. The artwork and pieces of Tal Brook, are breathtaking as ever exceptionally too, not to mention. Love your stuff matey, you're a king. @mai-takeda - Is a myth. Her absolutely sheer friendliness and her attitude, are so positive influencing, I was so thrilled to be welcomed with her and boosted by them early on. I couldn't see myself, wanting to exist where they didn't have happiness like the same she always delivers by just doing so many soft-things. Not to mention her writing... She's a whole world to throw yourself gazes

under. @zhauric - It doesn't go far either without the same breath of Mai, I could say about Zhauric. He's someone worthy to look-up and also recognize they're passionate and inviting, hoisting up literally everything. Could easily find any of their characters comrades with my own, or jiving alongside. Not to mention last XIVWrite, they slaughtered it. So enjoyable to read them all. I like how organized their blog is too, motivated me recently to redux my entire thing. @cadrenebula - They have so many diverse characters and their entire roster is vibrant and is imbued with a massive flux of life. They are able to encapsulate so many character's voices and portray them so effectively too, I really admire that greatly. They've made me think bigger and try myself recently at actually undertaking a huge roster of characters too. I've taken many breaks, but I always am so graciously returned often with them close-by and that's so incredibly sacred. I've seen a lot of people get discouraged or quit, leave, departure, etc. But they always seem to have a bigger house then they had last I took a break and I enjoy peaking in. @silvernsteel - Her artist and gif-work are awe-aspiring, there's little unrecognizable by her photo-sets and edits. They helped me even tip-toe into uncharted with giving me the recipes to try incorporating gifs into my arsenal. Plus so delightfully pleasant to actually talk with and just chill. I want nothing less in life, than the beauty they give, to be returned to them for eternity in all their glorious air. If ever needed anything of me, they've got me. @spotofmummery - We talk about passion or friendliness or overall a person to even remotely try to be, I got to include them. Their web-series and writing, screen-work, everything they do is fantastic. And that's furthered back nearly any I've met showcase or immortalize how just genuine of stellar person they are. I wish them always the energy to create and sparks. @snow-covered-moon - They've never been anything less but absolutely a diamond to know. I enjoy their character, their almost always abundant of energy that's very rub inducing. Their WoL character stories, writing, screen-shots, everyday they open up a new pandora box of joy, there's no mistaken love behind their character and that's infectiously easy to also enjoy something when the author does too. Always healthy to be around, I never feel short of vitality when they're close-by. @letheofthelost - Always cheerful or least encapsulates with me, they're a carnival ride. Just pure epic story-telling and engaging equally as passionate, constantly writing characters, not looking for anything outside of RP or anything really just being their selves, they fade all others. I love their presence, them as a person. Enjoy any character they'll ever come and throw under me, or a change of pace. Always feels easily understandable between one another. @crow-iv - Together we're an unfiltered, unstoppable wake of pure passionate writers and art. But I would say they're far ahead of me, in every regard. Already able to portray multiple characters in a scene and do such in-depth thinking, alongside even sketch or draw right afterwards or a scene. They're so talented, huge reason I set-out on giving them a Crew of cast and actual stories to-tell when I'm actually caught up and if they interested and we both have the room, I really think if further myself, I can be better and supply more for them to draw and I want to see them soar. I want to give them all my improvements and effectiveness. @trishelle - They've such a reinforcing personality and aura around them that easily bolsters anything that dares thinking they're about to be depleted so energizing. Aesthetics, characters, all them are so lively that further compliment their own mun's great welcoming presence. Worth hundreds of smiles and stars, keep high. Wish I had more time to dedicate to learning you! But I do notice and appreciate you. @fracturedfantasia - One of my people, I like to retreat and just talk my full

head-cannons with or learn, share insightful and inquisitive thoughts about philosophies and multi-culture things. Or plotting and in-general, they're a well of information and brimming ideas, they are every making of what makes a quality friend. When you can generally be open-about-all that's a real one right there. Their characters and tarot readings, I always would implore if they're offering. Thanks for giving me any-time. You're truly a treasure. @violet-warder - Never have even came to words with them yet unfortunately but didn't mean as a mutual, I haven't admired all their screenies, writing, or the aesthetics they bring of their character. Glamours is real end-game, I like all what you've done and put together. I care strictly about what represent and give, I don't want to see them ever think anyone want's them gone, they are abundantly so talented and possess things only they can deliver. I think recently came back too, and I'm glad to share, hopefully, overtime I can build you better up. Or eventually even talk, but I'm certain you are a busy-body person too, so we're relatable. @layla-grey - I have a lot of underline issues that set me back as a flawed person, but I've never not been anything but someone who's open, it's why I always do include my f-list in anything or etc. I'm not here to present this facade, and really don't care to be an image crafted by another. No one as of recently or now, am I close with as an RP partner or friend with then this stunning masterpiece. I never let-up on story-telling or anything so I can eventually use my Crew or other Characters, to give them anytime a master entertaining day, they push me to not be short-changed. IC and OOC I would devote my full attention too cause they've never shed from me. Didn't ever matter how much silence or anything, they're always around. And don't expect anything out of me or pressure. Just accept me and I equally share that sentiment, I want you to have everything in this world has to offer. ----- This is just a fraction of people, I've paid attention, noticed or know. I've been around in this Community for many years. There's a lot of things I could say about it, more probably then anyone else. But what matters to me, is recognizing the people who are here, that work hard, build others up, support, constantly are a beam. I don't need to interact with everyone, to know when someone is generally out for good. Or they're out for bad I've learned inquisitiveness longtime ago, I had to survive and remain afloat. I just go out and be me, and along the way, I get to find people like these, who help bring out the best me. I am nothing without these people, creators, writers, artist. I'm a terrible friend, horrible person, I don't have the energy to interact NEARLY with as much as I'd like with you all, If I could clone myself, or if things were different, I would drop it all to be in your orbits more if could. But, do know I appreciate you. And even if you ever do depart from this whole community or anything, know that anything you share, or give, that stuff does matter, somewhere, someone was aspired, if nothing else, by me. ONLY you can give the worlds you see and I am thankful. Do love yourself.

[life-rewritten]

LOVELY WRITER EP 2; THE PRICE OF AMBITION; SACRIFICE OF AUTHENTICITY, TRUTH AND IDENTITY

Okay Let's crack on. I'm annoyed at myself that it took me this long to finally calm down and just write this analysis out. Basically, because real life can be a b*tch and get in the way. But this episode also showcases how the reality of life can get in the way and make us lose our values, self and ideals. Lovely Writer has been this amazing experience so far; each episode I just want to shout out, at how real, meta, and deep this show is. It makes me so happy to see a BL show that has so much depth even it is not meaning to be, what I see from this show is incredible and I’m in love with it so far. If Episode 1 focused on putting on masks to get to achieving your aspirations and hiding yourself; Episode 2 hones down on that message and also shows our characters making sacrifices of their truths, authenticity, and identity in order to survive the environment that they’re in to make their dreams come true. This theme is both as painful as illuminating, it really exposes and brings up questions about a lot of truths about our characters, it makes them so much more real and human but also foreshadows and leaves hints about the obstacles that our couple will have to face. Also, it tackles this sinister feeling that the show has when focusing on the love story brewing, is the love real, is it toxic, should we be worried? Why is Nubsib so secretive and eery? But actually, just a full exposure to the message of the show? So, Let’s analyse episode 2 and the theme of sacrifice of Authenticity, Identity and Truth, and why this is a foreshadowing to the rest of the show up ahead.

Gene: Sacrifice of Connectivity and Relationships

This episode of Lovely Writer aka Nubsib was just as great as episode 1. Maybe even more disconcerting and layered. One because on the surface we see the love story of Gene and Nubsib brewing, Gene is being forced out of his comfort zone with a struggle, and Nubsib has laid out his plans to finally get his attention. On the surface we immediately start of with a typical contract living trope in the storyline, Gene finding ways to still have his personal space and focus on what he has to write that day but finding himself becoming more open and convinced to let Nubsib in and break down some barriers he has always had with the outside world. Especially with how his home is  so dear to him; is a safe space, that he doesn’t really want any intruder, or distraction wading in and making it uncomfortable for him. In a way Gene is so relatable; this what an introvert does, he protects his space and where he feels the freest from the clutches of people. He protects himself where he feels the most vulnerable because he’s afraid of being corrupted, used or hurt. It’s a metaphor, or well the house represents him because Gene is someone who for some reason does not like letting people in, you could say it’s his introvert nature, but it seems more than that, he doesn’t even let his own brother into his space, he doesn’t bother to really interact with people in any way shape or form, and each time he has to do so it’s full of anger and resentment at whoever is causing him to leave his space. Maybe he views people as obstacles to distracting or taking away his focus on writing, maybe he thinks interacting with people would cause a flood of insecurities to make him slow down with his writing, and ambition. We know he has distant friends especially like looking at Tum, there’s a friendly history with Tum from college bu even still with that, he’s truly okay with being alone and being without people. All he cares about is writing, all he puts his effort in is writing.  And that’s where this theme of sacrifice already starts to play in this episode and show in general. The reality of sacrificing things of importance in order to make it in the industry or to make your dreams a reality.

 For Gene, everything he puts his effort into is writing, it seeps everything from him: his focus, his time, his self-care, his sleep etc. He’s someone who’s just content creating and writing, it’s like that’s how he escapes the world and finds his own comfort, where he can be his true self. The house is a metaphor of Gene, because Nubsib has to find a way to enter into it, this isn’t easy to do but also we start to see him help make it even better, even more accommodating, even less chaotic. Nubsib entering ends up actually although forceful and uncomfortable; improving the living condition of Gene, he offers him back everything that his focus on writing and ambition lost him. He offers him the self-care, the food, the cleanliness, the time to do something else instead of always just focusing on his laptop, he helps Gene find a healthier way of doing what he’s already being doing. But also, he changes Gene’s perspective and knocks down a few walls, because he starts to realise that living with someone isn’t as bad as he feared: it’s actually the opposite.

So Nubsib does this thing where his actions lead to Gene coming of his comfort zone and discovering about life and people which in return helps him discover more about the authenticity of the story he wants to write. This is why it’s so easy for Gene, each time he’s challenged by Nubsib’s actions to get inspiration and have a clearer answer to what he wants to do with his story. Because that’s all he cares about even if he’s uncomfortable with writing a BL genre, he just loves to write. Because he’s always had this shallow mindset towards the genre, he never really focused on finding inspiration in the truths about the genre, in seeing where there could be more to the genre than what he thought it was on the surface, (a theme of this show) but once he meets Sib, his attitude towards writing becomes different because he’s starting to see that authenticity and see the other truths to creating a romantic love story.It also probably shows how inexperienced he is with relationships, I mean for someone who truly doesn’t want anyone near him, it would make sense again that that’s an aspect of things he chose to sacrifice to focus on writing before Sib no one’s really caught his attention and he’s probably not seen the point to it.  So, it is a fascinating look into these two’s love story already, although there’s a sinister feeling about Sib and his character motivations, we can already see how he’s affecting Gene even in his flawed, messed up ways. It’s nice to see that there’s a positive impact on the writer and it explores why it’s so easy for Gene to slowly let his inhibitions go and trust Sib and give his heart to him later.

 Nubsib knows how to get Gene to truly look deeper into himself and question his desires and needs and wants, even as he manipulates the situation in which he gets a kiss from the script reading, it’s more about how he does it. Although it’s manipulative it’s the question he asks Gene that ends exposing Gene’s question about the truth and authenticity and his own feelings that he actually puts into his writing when it comes to BL. As writers it’s only when you are using your honest voice and feeling truly passionate and connected to the story, is when you see that inspiration and words pour out. And for Gene that’s the issue, he’d prevented himself from being truly connected with the genre he was writing, he followed typical rules and ideas that he saw as basic and shallow but he never thought to embrace the writing process and truly relay his own opinions and ideas into a story. Once Nubsib asks him that question of how he felt when he wrote his scenes, Gene realises that the key to unlocking his story is being authentic and focusing on the feelings and not the tropes/rules in the story (another similarity with the show itself). I think that’s telling, again how Nubsib affects him even though he uses probably problematic methods to do so. In a way Nubsib just being his flawed self, is what Gene needed to grow and unlock more to understanding his self and his truth. The show also uses that to showcase again the theme of authenticity vs pretence or fakery,  because seeing their story unfold on the surface is tropey and forced/cheesy at times, but really there is a depth there to how they’re both affecting each other, although they’re pretending to kiss in the scene, there’s real feelings that have been unlocked since the first moment they locked eyes with each other, and although there’s a questionable part about the authenticity of some of the aspects of the relationship (Nubsib), the show isn’t running away from showing what these two have is real, automatic and in a way needed. So, it’s just layers upon layers of this idea of reality vs pretence in this show.

Nubsib: Sacrifice of Authenticity and Identity

Let’s talk about Sib because he’s such an interesting character when it comes to this theme of sacrifice. One because he’s someone who we are not sure we truly know, he’s hidden, he’s manipulative, two-faced, and secretive. It’s such a weird experience to see that what Gene is feeling is real and is helpful and needed, when it comes to Sib but it’s also scary because it leads to the question: is Sib a good person, does he have good motivation or is he just creepy? And in terms of sacrifice, it seems like he’s not losing anything to get his way and to be with Gene. But the thing I love about this show is again, the book/show is actually named after him (Its second name), Sib is actually the most important metaphor and message that is connected to the theme of authenticity vs fakery in this show. On the surface he’s someone who looks like he has everything, I mean it’s pretty obvious he has power and privilege over certain things (including wealth, the car he lies to Gene about is probably his) , the way he carries himself, and the way others bend to his will is hidden but it is hinted throughout the show. Tum has no choice but to listen to Sib and be ordered by him even though he’s the one who’s meant to oversee him as his manager. And Sib already had an audition prior to even meeting Gene in the other one, it was just for show, he had already been accepted into the role of Khin.

And it’s telling because he’s also good at playing this role of Khin who’s possessive and orders his lover around and tries to get what he wants with anger and power. Gene doesn’t think Sib would be good for this role because on the surface he sees Sib as someone gentle and naïve and slow, but ironically Sib is like Khin maybe without the problematic anger but from what we see or hear when he’s without Gene, he does order people around, he’s prone to disliking everything and having a sour face each time he’s in a situation with others. It’s only when Gene appears does his mask go on and he becomes this soft hearted, lost actor needing direction personality. So, the first sacrifice, if you can call it that about him is definitely his identity and authenticity to get to Gene. And at first, I wondered why this is a sacrifice because to me it seems like a great thing to get rid of if his character is anyway close to the character, he plays on screen Khin, but actually he’s sacrificing his power and control when it comes to Gene. There’s something about Gene that makes him want to be different. Something that exposes how he views himself. The reason why he becomes this act, is because he’s trying to be perfect for Gene, this exposes so many insecurities about what he thinks about himself, although it seems like he gets his way all the time, and his fans worship the ground he walks on, people let him do whatever he wants but it exposes that there’s something missing, something he had to lose to become this way. And the first one is identity/character, we’ve seen already the hints that this industry leads people to having to make sacrifices about who they are, to put on masks to get to where they want to go, to be put in a state of self-hate, insecurity about needing to change themselves for the worse to become successful. And although we’re watching him gain the success now, I think Nubsib is a product of that sacrifice of character/identity.

Perhaps the reason why he’s so cold and cruel is because he’s someone who was nurtured in a toxic environment that showed him how to get power by being that way, the reason why he’s calculating and manipulative on the surface is maybe because he had to always be this way to get what he wants. Whatever Gene is to Sib is opposite of whatever he’s had to go through, it’s clear he knows who he is, he’s determined to be helpful to him and show him he cares about him and needs him if we take his first words to Gene in the audition as foreshadowing how he truly feels about Gene. But whatever Gene did to make him want to sacrifice his riches, privilege, power, and control must have been something he desperately wanted to cling to, to grow and become who he was. Because for me it looks like Sib has always had to deal with the ‘pressures’ of being in the spotlight already, he’s already constantly followed by fans, (sacrificing his privacy, something that will end up becoming his biggest obstacle later in the story when he’s with Gene), he’s already prone to being objectified and pressured because of the effect this show will have on his fanbase and prior to the show

. His sacrifices point to the same ideas of rich privilege/pretty privilege where he’s probably been neglected, misunderstood, unloved although he comes from a great/privileged situation in others eyes and the way he’s had to get what he wants is to put on this façade of coldness and indifference, and also maybe that’s what he’s to attracted to in Gene is the authenticity that he can’t find anymore around him especially looking at how he interacts with Aey. It’s clear he sees him as someone who’s inauthentic, it’s clear he’s used to how the acting industry works and what they expect of him, so I can see him feeling like he’s surrounded by fakery and shallowness (like Gene thinks he’s also being forced to create and surround himself with, in his writing) and being so pulled to the fact that Gene feels real, and probably from their past, that’s what Gene always represented to him. Like maybe safety, maybe care, maybe authenticity. So that’s what I mean by him having to sacrifice his authenticity and identity for his own ambitions. But this is just my first theory about why he’s the way he is. Because what he’s had to sacrifice will come back to get him, it’s because of his lack of authenticity/truth to Gene that will cause him to lose him, it’s because of his lack of privacy that will cause him to lose Gene, it’s because of his pressures faced in the acting industry that will cause him to lose Gene. So yeh he’s an interesting character to keep an eye on because he’s not just a one-dimensional puppy that gets his way, he’s going to be a victim, he seems very intriguing and important to notice, especially since the novel/show is named after him.

 Hin: Sacrifice of Morality and Self

The theme of sacrifice starts being truly shown in episode 2 when we see Hin and Aey/Mhok. It’s an interesting switch from the tone of the show, where everything is loud, cheesy and full of sound effects (which are done on purpose because it’s to emphasise the comedy effect that the show is trying to use to hide its message), to immediately showcasing characters that are clearly not okay, struggling and dealing with the truth of their hurts and desires. We first are exposed to this by seeing Hin. The more we get to know his character, the more I am truly afraid of what they’re trying to lay out for him, because if it was me, Hin is going down a secret villain arc, mostly because I already mentioned he’s someone with a mask, he’s peppy and happy on the surface and eager to follow and be inspired by Gene and his success (which Hin sees it as), when he him self is struggling to be taken seriously with his writing. We see in episode 2, the sacrifice he has made to make this dream a reality, first of all he’s had to sacrifice financially living well, he’s not making money because he’s not being noticed, compared to Gene who is completely serene and well of because of the results of his own writing and creativity. Hin is struggling to keep up with the demands of reality vs his want to follow his dreams and ambition.

Another thing he’s sacrificing is also his family/ relationships, I mean by distance and choosing to follow his path, it’s clear he misses being with them and he misses having someone who is close to him, but he’s had to move to come to this situation to make his dreams as a writer come through. It’s all he wants, and it’s what gets him up from his mini depression in the episode, it’s what makes him gather his strength and proceed to write. And I know this feeling, the feeling of constant worry, anxiety, and depression that you’re not making your dreams happen, but the constant push to want to strive to make it happen because it’s all you want. The thing is, it would be great if Hin is just going to learn a different way in making his dreams a reality but this is a show that’s with the message that this industry corrupts and makes people sacrifice themselves in order to make it and get their ambitions, and as much as Gene and Hin could be close, I sense a brewing hostile thing forming between them, really in reality Gene is Hin’s rival, someone who clearly doesn’t appreciate how lucky he is to get to create these big BL stories that get hit after hit, someone who has his books being turned into a show, someone who’s being noticed but pushes every thing to not be noticed. In my opinion Hin would see Gene as someone who takes what he has for granted, coupled with the snark remarks, and cold closed of energy Gene seems to have sometimes with Hin? It just seems like it’s enough for him to react if worse comes to worse, if desperation reaches it’s limits, I just see Hin’s character choosing to become one of the sad realities of life and ambition in these stories, where he has to find a way to make it to the top no matter what.

It just seems like with the desperation growing and growing to be noticed, to be making money to survive, to prove to his family that he chose the right path, that Hin could snap. But maybe the show is just showcasing the reality of what people like Hin, Me, others have to go through when you chase after your ambitions, maybe it’s just a relatable plot that may end up having a good ending/ character growth, but just because of where the themes of the show seem to really be heavy on, I am going to keep an eye on Hin’s character. If I know Tee, he’s someone who has directed before a show where a character makes us love and trust him and seems happy on the surface only for him to be very warped because of the choices he chose to get what he wants (Lhong from TharnType) it won’t be surprising if Hin ends up becoming a plot twist villain. Sad but not surprising and would match with the reality/meta of the show’s message. 

 Aey; Sacrifice of Truth and Trust

Let’s put Hin out of the equation and actually focus on our ‘hinted’ main villain Aey. I keep saying he’s probably not a villain, but it is odd to hear Mhok say this episode Aey used to do bad things when he was younger and it’s nice to see him grow from that. With Aey, the spotlight on his character’s mask and actions is very telling, he’s someone who feels abandoned, hurt and betrayed. He’s resentful and he’s determined to make it. From episode 1 knowing the number of hardships he’s had to deal with to be an actor (like his queerness, his insecurities, lack of charisma etc) who’s as known as Nubsib is really fascinating and important to see. Episode 2 emphasises this determination again, he’s had to brave it and defy his family rules to choose to become an actor. He’s had to sacrifice his relationship with his family to try and make his dreams a reality. He’s had to put on a mask and become someone else on the surface to make his dreams a reality. And he’s had to sacrifice his own confidence, his own idea of self to please the fans and become an actor that’s successful. He’s even had to hide his queerness to fit into the industry, to be chosen. It’s through his determination that he overhears Sib talk about the audition and shows up, unlike Sib who’s asked to be placed in the audition easily, Aey has to fight to be seen and noticed.

You start to see this pattern with both Hin and Aey how they mirror and expose the privilege that Gene and Sib actually have in the industry though they don’t see it as that, well Gene doesn’t, I have a theory Sib also doesn’t but it’s ironic because from Hin and Aey’s perspective Gene and Sib are in amazing positions, are lucky and have it easy but they have to literally crawl and struggle their way out to make this dream they have a reality: to become noticed, to be taken seriously, to be successful in what they want to do. And Aey is 100% just like Hin is to Gene; a mirror character to Sib, he’s just as manipulative, just also sacrificing his authenticity, and identity to become better, to get what he wants, he’s choosing to become a wolf in sheep’s clothing just like Sib. And that’s why I like this show, the character’s mirror each other to showcase the hypocrisy, flaws and mistakes each character has. No one is a villain or a bad person per say, they just all have issues and are all humans but mostly are all victims in this industry.

Again, it’s the industry that is the main villain of the show. That’s incredible, and meta, and real. So Aey is someone who has this energy of someone who also feels unloved, neglected, and abandoned because he clearly feels hurt by whoever Earn is. I don’t know why people think she’s his girlfriend, he’s apparently gay so I don’t think so, but she gives me maternal vibes, she gives me older sibling vibes. Her story is that she also sacrificed her dreams in order to fit the mould of the family’s values and wants to survive. So she represents the opposite of Aey, she’s a reflection to his failures in his head if he doesn’t make it, she’s probably daddy’s favourite, or responsible, always doing the right thing whilst Aey is seen as a nuisance and her presence probably reminds him of that hurt and abandonment that heHi’s felt because of choosing to be who he is. For me the reason for why he’s not speaking to her is because he’s the one who’s been hurt or neglected by her, she’s trying to make amends because she knows she’s the one in the wrong and judging from her character introduction she either tried to make him stifle his wants and needs or she hurt him by betraying him in order to seem responsible and survive in life. So she’s also connected to the reality of the sacrifices people make to survive in the world and get their ambitions; the theme of the episode.

 it's interlinking to relatability of ambition, but it's also connected to the struggle and why people become who they become; flawed in the industry. And that’s why Mhok is so fascinating to this story, I think he’s a love interest to Aey, and mostly because the rules of this show is that the person who’s connected to exposing authenticity and making the other confront the truth about their selves is the reason for why love is needed and valued. Mhok is someone who knows Aey without the mask, he clearly cares and wants to do what’s right, he’s here to ensure that Aey is fine and doing well. Mhok is someone who is connected to Aey’s real self, past and hurts and he’s someone who is able to stop or call out Aey whenever he goes too far. So the question is what is Mhok’s actual ambitions, why is he doing all this for Aey/Earn, what is his goal? Right now I think he’s screaming jilted lover or he has feelings for Aey and this is how he protects him, there’s little hints he does care, he gets a little weird when Aey is flirting with Nubsib in episode 1, so he clearly doesn’t like Aey pretending or being close to Nubsib in that way. Either way he’s going to be playing the role of Aey’s calming influence/moral compass, the person who grounds him. For Aey to be so three dimensional already as a character, and maybe as a villain is again why this show is good, it’s deeper, it’s real and all the characters are fleshed out, and the plot is structured, planned and good.

The Price of Ambition

So we have this idea of characters who are making sacrifices;  very sad and unfortunately realistic sacrifices to get to their goals and ambitions, not only have they all sacrificed a piece of their authenticity to fit into this harsh environment, but they’ve had to regress their characters, their self, and mute their own voices to survive and reach the end where their dreams become real. Ambition is a real thing, we all want to get to where we goanna go, achieve our purpose, or fulfil our dreams, the reality this show portrays is true, it’s so difficult in this world to be successful and get to where you want to go, without losing your voice, without becoming full of insecurity and without feeling cold and vicious due to the abandonment, neglect and betrayals experienced during the journey. Life is never easy but at the same time, this show places a huge focus on being authentic, on still following your heart and fighting your voice to be heard, it also showcases the facets of humanity; how yes we can be flawed, we can be lost and we can become different to our values, but real self-love, genuine romantic love and hope can help us fix those things, find a way back to who we’re meant to be, but also succeed after all the effort and tries. There’s still positivity and a chance to make things right by confronting the reality of the situation, by finding our selves and knowing what we stand for. 

So, I’m not worried about Lovely writer being this toxic message of Nubsib manipulating his way and getting away with it, it’s more than just this surface BL love story, it really about watching these humane characters grow and learn. Nubsib is going to have to learn and grow and deal with truth of the industry before him and Gene can actually settle and get that happy ending, and they have a lot of trials and obstacles to deal with that will transform him, grow him and expose him to wanting to do better and wanting to take of his mask. Gene is someone who doesn’t like the shallowness and corruption of the industry and so he’s someone who’s going to go through his own journey and learn about how maybe it’s not just only the truth about the genre, I also think with a little bit self-discovery of knowing his truth and doing what he wants to do at the end. And I know this is really deep for me to be analysing this show, but I always knew Lovely writer would be relatable, and to be honest I’m shocked at how real it is, even though it’s still being disguised as a romantic comedy BL. Tee clearly had a goal of exposing and being as real as possible whilst still offering the joys and entertainment of a love story. This is all I could ever ask for in a show and a BL, I think it’s incredible where this show is going, and I can’t wait to see where things play out. Even if like the show didn’t mean to be this deep, and Nubsib ends up being like the devil or something, or this ends up truly being toxic, it was fun to see this show for now as a media piece that means something, that reflects something and makes you think about yourself, and your dreams, ambitions, and goals. And that’s something I’m grateful for.