#he's just not the character a lot of his fans think he is

[bright-hope-spot-19]

I love this so much. Not just because this silly fanart managed to reduce Kankuro to his most basic, essential traits, but because it shows how memorable his design is. Despite not remembering much about him, OP still managed to draw his most basic features, and lots of people in the reblogs remember him as well. He has a design that leaves a lasting impact for a side character. That's good character design. It's when a character's physical features are so memorable that they stick in the collective memories of the fans, even if the character's name doesn't. Kankuro achieves that. You could show his blurry silhouette to anyone who's watched at least the chunin exams and the Sasuke retrieval arc, and most people would be able to identify him as either: "the puppet dude" or "Gaara's brother".

He is memorable, and not easily forgotten and I think that's great.

i dont remember much abt my naruto phase but i liked that one dude who looked like this

[booksooks]

i havent even met sylus in game but some of yall seem to have him confused for your own oc because he would Not act Like That

typing using voice to text so I'm sorry if the formatting is weird, but from what my friend who has met sylus has told me: this man would not act the way some of you guys are insisting. like he would not be jealous to the point of being entirely unable to communicate. he would not try to kiss you as a way of making up, or as a way to stop you from being angry with him. that's just not something i see as feasibly anywhere near sylus as a character.

if you want to write a big daddy dom character who completely bulldozes over your feelings in lieu of 'fucking the jealousy out of you', then by all means go for it. but at that point, you are writing for an original character because that is wildly mischaracterizing someone who (again, according to my friend because i havent even come close to meeting sylus in the storyline) specifically makes room for you to be angry, to feel big emotions in a safe space and to be there for you.

the amount of fanfics i've seen that have sylus act in a way that is completely off base is insane. i'm aware that this is fanfiction, that people can write whatever they want and it's not harmful because at the end of the day: it's FAN FICTION and if you can't separate reality from fiction or whatever, you're not mature enough to be reading mature works or you simply don't have the media literacy skills to do so. but i've had a very long and emotionally draining week, and my temper is hanging on by a thread, and i'm allowed to be angry about a completely bullshit take on one of my favorite characters lmfao.

let me be clear, i'm not saying sylus cannot, will not, and has never been domineering, or protective, or that he doesn't have a fucking daddy kink or whatever. what i AM saying, is that the amount of fanfictions of sylus blowing the reader off or ghosting them or just simply not communicating and then expecting the reader to fall back into his arms after a kiss and a few well placed 'kitten's is astounding. even if he made the bad choice of being distant without explanation, he wouldn't expect the reader to instantly forgive him without an ELABORATE apology and an explanation. and honestly, i'm willing to put that bullshit of 'she forgives him because he's hot and he pulled her in close with his strong arms and hes so big daddy alpha dom' into the category of misogyny. because in what world does someone go from angry and hurt to forgiving and pliant just because he's a man and he kissed you. it is blatantly misogynistic to expect that.

i'm aware there is a lot of nuance within relationships, and that not everyone can be expected to be perfect at all times, HOWEVER this is fanfiction, and the authors i'm talking about have either explicitly stated that the reader and sylus have an established romantic relationship, or that they at the very least get along well and enjoy each other's company. so for sylus to then go ghost on the reader and expect them to instantly fall back into his arms at the end of the day then puts me in the position of 'simpering woman with no spine'. again, misogynistic.

at the end of the day, i'm aware this isn't an important issue and i'm aware that the misogyny in fanfiction doesn't necessarily have to transfer over to real life, especially because i do have critical thinking. but i have been ghosted before by an at-the-time boyfriend, and it sucked, so it's more of a personal issue from me.

i'm aware people can write whatever they want, and i have no obligation to read something i don't like. but that then eliminates what seems to be 50% of the fanfiction of sylus. i'm just saying please... consider writing literally anything else for sylus. for a man who has been made to love you specifically... y'all sure don't make him act like it.

if anyone wants me to elaborate or clarify some things, please send me an ask because the comments are not easy to navigate especially with multiple replies.

last but not least: i'm aware these are my personal feelings, and that i can write to make up for it should i so choose. but i hate having to scroll past 5 fics in a row with quite frankly stupid miscommunication issues from a man who is 28 and should damn well know better. thank you.

[unusualtfs]

Ascended Fanboy

inspired by a suggestion from @innermostthoughtsartappreciation

James stood in front of the mirror, disappointed with what he saw. He looked just like he always did — same greasy brown mullet, same patchy neckbeard, same unhealthily pale skin, same flabby body. The only part of him that had changed since he'd last gazed upon his reflection was his brand-new tattoo.

It was a simple drawing of his favorite character from his favorite anime. He'd gotten it in an attempt to stand out — and while it did stand out, it was mostly in a negative way. Evidently, many people found it "distasteful" and "unfit for a member of polite society." It didn't even help him connect with other fans of the anime!

But that wasn't even the biggest issue with the tattoo. No, the real reason James was standing shirtless in front of his bedroom mirror was that the skin around the ill-advised tattoo was rapidly becoming discolored. Starting a few inches from the borders of the tattoo, his vanilla-white skin abruptly transitioned to dark chocolate. Strangely, the tattoo itself also seemed to be affected, the anime girl's blue hair and bulging eyes dissolving into swirling black lines.

"Ugh, I knew there was something funky about that tattoo parlor," James sneered to his extensive collection of cartoon memorabilia, Funko pops, and body pillows.

They, of course, did not respond. They wouldn't have done so normally, because they were inanimate objects, but right now they were slowly but surely fading out of existence, which made things a lot harder for them.

But James didn't notice that tiny little detail, because right before his eyes, the discoloration was starting to spread. Inch by inch, his white skin was darkening, darkening. He rubbed a hand over the changed skin, but it didn't feel any different from regular skin. That probably ruled out skin cancer, at least. Small mercies. Although, come to think of it, he did feel a little tingling at the tattoo site...

That small sensation was all the warning he had before his entire body erupted. He could feel every muscle, every bone in his body rippling and reshaping, from his masculinizing head to his rapidly growing toes. It felt like a swarm of bees had taken up residence inside him, but it was the most pleasurable feeling he'd ever experienced.

He rose in height and shrank in width — but not by too much, because his rolls of fat were being converted into mounds of muscle: Bulging biceps, wide lats, meaty quads... His stomach collapsed in on itself, melting away into a perfect inverted triangle garnished with six cobblestone abs. He still had tits, but now they were pecs instead of moobs.

The changes had mostly avoided James' face, but that would soon be corrected. There was no reason for the Black Adonis he was becoming to have the head of a white geek, after all. Melanating skin and masculinizing muscle converged around his neck and spread up from there. His Adam's apple became more prominent, deepening his voice to a sensual baritone. His lips plumpened up, and his nose flattened out, and a thick black mustache emerged between them. His neckbeard tamed itself into a short, tasteful beard. His hair was undergoing rapid improvements as well — coiling up and receding into his skin until his mullet had been replaced by a textured fade.

Comparatively, the final changes were tame. Stained sweatpants shifted into gym shorts that left nothing to the imagination. A gold chain appeared around his neck, not hanging but resting comfortably in the groove between his pecs. He blinked, and suddenly he had piercings in his ears and nose.

James stared at himself in the mirror, dumbfounded. Where a dumpy, overweight white man had once stood, in his place was a prime specimen of Black manliness. He blinked rapidly, trying to understand what had just happened, but when he opened his eyes again, he was Jamari.

He liked being Jamari a lot better, he realized. Not only was he a rich and famous athlete, but he also had much better taste in tattoos. Better taste in general, Jamari conceded, nodding in approval at his surroundings, which had transformed from a nerd's wet dream to an expensive private gym. His previous body had been optimized for pirating anime and playing Paradox games, but this new one was optimized for working out, winning national championships, and posting thirst traps for his millions of horny followers.

Raising his bicep up to his head, Jamari attempted to find the tattoo that had started it all. But there was no sign of the anime girl, just tasteful calligraphy in the same style as the art engraved in the rest of his body. What was the character's name again? What had she even looked like? He couldn't remember. All his previous nerdy fandom knowledge was fading away, but it had been replaced by expertise in sports, exercise, and celebrity culture — more than a fair trade.

Jamari gave the mirror one last smirk. Damn, he looked fine today. His adoring fans would not be disappointed with what they saw.

[raycatz]

Hi Ray!! Hope you're doing fine ^^

Kinda random question, but I guess Wind is your favourite Link so, do you have headcanons for him?!

And if not, who's your favourite blorbo? >:·3

(no pressure to answer this ask tho hehe!)

Hiya Perry!

My favorites go like this! >:D

(Hyrule and Wild are fighting for 4th with Hyrule at a lead lol. He's grown on me since getting to know Zola! xD )

I can share some headcanons for the top three! (I got excited getting an ask from you so I drew a couple things and wrote a lot ashgfjsdfs. The post got long so I'll thrown in a read more somewhere.)

Four

Reading buddies with Twi. They tell each other about what they're reading. Sky and Wind like to listen and ask questions.

Pegasus boots + Roc's cape = some pretty impressive jumps (eight-foot vertical leap Griffin McElroy meme.) He's only outmatched by Rulie. Four and Legend should compete to see who has the greater horizonal distance.

Four loves purple sweet potatoes! It's sweet, umami, filling, and how often do you get to eat something that's purple? It's kind of an expansion of/inspired by a hc + art by w1lmutt. (imo Four's a fan of purple food in general. Four and that one girl from Tarrey Town are the biggest fans of Wild's monster cake recipe.) Set Four up with a purple potato right off of the fire and he's doing great. (Do you think he could have a potato cooking on the side while working at the forge? in like a dutch oven? put the potato in the forge!!!)

The name of the forge is the Four Element Forge (which I first read in blueskullcandy's fics! ("Alone Together" I think?))

Four has a cat! Tongs the Benevolent has my whole heart. (Tongs is also the creation of blueskullcandy @fuckit-hero-of-trains. Hi Train! Here's a little fic of them meeting x. here's art I made of her x. here's Train's tag for her x! More!)

Four with headaches / migraines. There has to be some trope about inflicting the clever/thinker character with head hurty and I'm here for it with Four. Any pain can make it difficult to think, but having that pain be concentrated to the head is more poignant, idk xD something to impede a strength of his. I also think that Four having migraines that are worsened by light is poetic, as being hurt by light gives him something in common with Shadow.

(Four with a headache with Tongs and Twi helping <3 )

Thoughts on the Four Sword's abilities: Can the elemental magic infused into the sword be tapped into and does it still have the ability to make ghost / prism refraction copies?

(img from IGN)

cont. In Minish Cap, as you power up the White Sword with the elemental stones, you're able to summon copies of Link. However, Link can only do this over specific tiles, the prisms run on a timed meter, and if they're hit they vanish. It's like a magic meter! I headcanon that Four isn't great with magic himself. However, if the prisms are summoned by magic, then what if it's Four channeling his magic into the White Sword to get that to happen. (also, maybe he's been relying on help from the tiles or Ezlo.) At the end of Minish Cap, he put the sword back and that was that. At the start of FS/FSA however, something changed when he pulled the sword, causing him to split fully. Maybe the sword needed something different from him. Maybe he was so frantic about Zelda being kidnapped and needing to defend himself from Shadow that he poured too much magic into the sword and it changed him. Maybe the sword's power upgraded. Whatever happened, he no longer has access to the prism ability of the Four Sword and instead splits, with splitting not being a drain on his magic. Four has just assumed that the prisms is an ability the Four Sword no longer has. Put the Four Sword into the hands of someone else with magic, though, and this isn't the case! (or maybe it's a scenario with an earlier iteration of the sword.) I have a scenario in my head where Four is separated from it in battle and Wind picks it up. Wind channels some magic into it on reflex for a spin attack or something and the prism copies pop up much to EVERYONE'S SURPRISE. Wind would think it's So Cool. Why haven't you shown us this before??!! Meanwhile Four just, honestly didn't know it could do that anymore. Cue Four Sword show-and-tell because what could be the harm (Four doesn't have to tell about the splitting thing and maybe the chain can help him learn about the copies) Wind, Legend, Time, and Hyrule can pull them up with ease. Put the sword into the hands of Hyrule or Legend who are more familiar with magic, however, and I think they could tap into the elements infused into the blade. Each of the copies channel a different element: being wind, fire, ice, and stone (with the Four Sword itself being Light.) Hyrule's able to move the copies around independently of each other but it takes a lot of focus. Legend on the other hand is better with the elemental stuff but he can feel there's something more to the Four Sword. Like, "Four, the magic well in this item is pretty deep / unstable. I don't want to tell you how to use your items, but careful not to put too much into this." Four: *wtf wtf wtf.* Or Legend would try pushing the boundaries of the sword, start going weird and flickery, and would be hastily stopped by Four.

Wind

He and Aryll meow at each other! >:3c He meows during a side-quest and I want an excuse for him to do it more often. I think he and Aryll are very much the type to make weird noises in greeting.

Cartography and navigation buff! Phantom Hourglass has you marking up the map so I think it's something Wind's good at and enjoys. Celestial navigation is in there too. Beyond using the stars to navigate, I think he's into star stories. Each constellation has a story that Wind is happy to retell. He wants to collect as many and their variations between eras as possible.

Wind has to admit that Twi, Sky, and Wild's pumpkin soup is pretty good (not as good as Grandma's, but still pretty dang good.) He got a pumpkin sprout in Sky's era and it lives in one of his bottles. Its name is Soup!

Fandom headcanons I've picked up that I'm fond of: Wind can see ghosts, Wind needs new shoes and isn't super jazzed about all this walking, Wind's family shield is passed down from Four, Wind is scared of / intimidated by large birds which opens up storytelling opportunities with Sky's loftwing, (honorable mention to the WW headcanon that Link's nearsighted due to him squinting in cutscenes. I don't hc it for LU Wind but it's neat to see it picked up! (ex: Wind from Linked Maze!))

Legend

I love Sister_Dear's writing (@sister-dear hi Sister 😳) and my interpretation of Legend reflects that. (here's Sister's list of Legend headcanons lol) (Keso's art is a big influence as well.)

Legend with arthritis / chronic pain in his hands/knees. It's just nice to see nods to it. Legend massaging his hands, or using a cane (louieeeee!), or grumbling about the weather. There's a headcanon that goes along with it that he has rings which lessen the symptoms.

Legend as poly and bi for Marin and Ravio. Courtesy of Wolfy (@wolfy1298) and this comic.

Genderfluid Legend. I like Sister's bullet-point, "Goes by ‘he’ but feels fairly ambivalent about the pronoun. Doesn't like to present as overly masculine. (Either a case of Legend being all ‘fuck gender roles’ or his Hyrule just having different gender norms.) Likes putting on dresses and makeup when the opportunity arises, doesn't like to do his hair." That! But I like to add that Legend will swap pronouns as well on what feels best. Hand-Me-Downs by That_G3_Obsessive (@that-g3-artist 👋) is a favorite of mine and has beautiful representation of genderfluid/queer Legend. Legend figures Wind could use some better fitting clothes, and shifting through Legend's wardrobe leads Wind to ask about the dresses there.

(has Taako from The Adventure Zone vibes going on in presentation and snark. Love me a bunny toothed GNC gay elf wizard twin who has a secret they don't want anyone to know and who's done with this shit. Please appreciate Taako thank you yippee yahoo!)

(Tried drawing Taako to mixed results but I think Legend would dig his vibe!)

I tried to throw in a number of hcs~ideas that are more personal / that I haven't had the opportunity to show through fanwork yet. To be fair, sooo many of the headcanons I have for the chain though are an amalgamation of things picked up from the fandom (I could go on with Legend and bunny mannerisms or Four with portal sickness xD ). There's a lot of really great work put together by so many people. It's wonderful to get to be a part of it!

Thank you for the ask Perry!!! >:D

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I agree about Yuu developing magic being a weird choice but what do you think about Yuu temporarily gaining magic? It could happen with Ace's unique magic. I think it swaps his magic and whoever he casts it on. Could he theoretically give a magicless person like Yuu his own magic like a baton pass in pokemon passing on stat changes as it swaps out for a new pokemon?

[Referencing this post!]

I believe Yuu is already capable of using some magic via tools, but not all. For example, Yuu cannot fly on their own, as that would require using magic to make the broom float. A magical pen or magestone is also pointless for Yuu since they require magic input to even be of use. However, Yuu is able to use the hammer magitool, the magical projector, and magical gramophone to spruce up their Guest Room. They can also use the ghost camera, which is described as an enchanted artifact in the prologue.

Like I said in this post, we don’t know a lot about Ace’s UM now so it’s hard to say what is and isn’t possible yet.

I know that the “Ace can give Yuu his magic” theory is pretty popular right now. Prior to the book 7 chapter 12 part 3 update, there were already fans speculating that Ace would grant Yuu his own magic somehow due to a voice line he has when he reaches his max level: “Wow, I feel seriously good. Now even helping out a certain magicless someone will be a cinch.” If this becomes a reality, it would be a feasible way to give Yuu their moment to contribute to a fight while maintaining their self-insert appeal.

Personally though 😅 I’m of the opinion that this won’t be possible. The way Ace’s magic is described, it appears like he swapped his magic with his target. Would he even be able to swap with… nothing? It sounds like a bad deal to me. Like, even if it was possible, why would you want to loan your magic to someone else (someone who, mind you, has ZERO experience spellcasting and no formal training) and leave yourself defenseless? It assumes that Yuu would be a magical prodigy, instantly able to know what to do with Ace’s magic arsenal (which is average to begin with). That’s crazy to me because even skilled mages studied and practiced for years to get to their current level. The only character I can recall that was Instantly Good at magic was Malleus, who says he felt demeaned by tutors that gave him comparatively simple lessons in magic. Are we putting Yuu, the magic novice, in the same gifted category as Malleus? How do we know Yuu’s attempts at spellcasting wouldn’t spiral out of control and accidentally harm themselves or their allies? (This happened with Rollo’s younger brother; do we want a potential repeat of that incident?) It just doesn’t make sense to me. In what scenario would this be advantageous or preferable to Ace spellcasting on his own?

… Granted, book 7 has been doing many nonsensical things for the sake of fanservice within the wonky dream spaces so I won’t say the possibility of Yuu using Ace’s magic is a definite 0%. Maybe it’s possible to wish up that they can use magic expertly within the dream space but not irl (since the OB boys could magically OB in the dream space without issue)💀

[krshitsuji]

why i firmly believe o!ciel's name shouldn't be revealed

i really wanted to make my pov in this topic public in a way, which is why i'm making this post.

i see a lot of people wishing his name would be revealed sooner, or creating theories over what it is - but i personally believe us finding it out would be poor writing and also inconvenient for pretty much everyone, even for kuroshitsuji's team marketing wise.

- plot weakening

he said it himself: "Earl Ciel Phantomhive is me".

O!Ciel might not truly be Ciel Phantomhive, but he is the man Ciel was supposed to become. At the very least, that was his goal. The Earl, the Queen's Watchdog, brave, strong, respected.

In the story, Ciel Phantomhive is not just a name - it is an identity, a concept, and more specially, a ROLE, in which R!Ciel did not live to take. Him being called that name is much more symbolic than one may think. In a storytelling point of view, his name being revealed would only make sense if he no longer fulfilled said role, but his win over R!Ciel is definitely implied.

To O!Ciel, his name is more like a deadname that represents the person he left behind the day he decided to become earl and live to get his vengeance.

To reveal his true identity would more to break a beautiful, poetic and philosophically background that has been created for almost two decades now. You know what's also been happening for two decades? People calling O!Ciel... Ciel.

- From a fan POV

Ciel is our main protagonist. We have been knowing him for quite a while now and we have always called him that name. Now, imagine what it would be like if 90% of kuro related media, posts and even art became outdated because now we found out his name is, like... Bobbert.

O!Ciel is Ciel. He has been Ciel. He should keep being Ciel. A name is obviously a big part of a brand, and losing the brand of the main protagonist is not acceptable. It would honestly just be confusing and overall inconvenient for everyone. Me, personally, I will keep calling him Ciel until I can't call him anything anymore because I am dead and buried.

Your post talking about your Ciel cosplay? No babe that's wrong. That's your Bobbert costume.

That would be okay with a side character, but he's our protagonist. As I've mentioned before, it's even bad for Yana and the series marketing in general, since merchandise and official products and campaigns would also become outdated. It's not a Ciel nendoroid, it's a Bobbert nendoroid. Like, what do you mean by that? And she can't say his name without expecting people to call him that. Most moderate case scenario we have a confusing situation of him having two different names.

But like... How can we even dodge that?

Problem is, I have NO IDEA how Yana could dodge having someone, especially his family, call him by his real identity. They know he's not Ciel - the world does. Why would they ever keep calling him that?

I honestly don't think she's going to reveal his name, but I also have no idea how she's escaping that. I fear it may need a plot twist or really big event in order to happen.

I don't even know how to finish this. I don't think anyone will read. get cieled i guess

[maxdibert]

Personal view, as someone who grew up in an abusive environment and is hyper-reactive to seeing children in distress or being mistreated by adults, including in fictional depictions, I never felt the kids in Harry Potter were in any danger from Snape. He’s bitchy and snarky, yes. But no more so than other teachers in Hogwarts. And from what I’ve experienced in the fandom, a lot of Snape fans are abuse survivors in some shape or form. He’s a complex character, and unlike a lot of fictional abuse survivors, he can actually be angry and rage. It’s very cathartic for people who have had to mask and suppress their negative emotions in real life.

It's curious how most Severus fans tend to be survivors of bullying or people who see themselves reflected in him because they went through similar experiences in school, or people who have experienced violence at home. Meanwhile, the haters are simply kids who have a terrible teacher and project that onto Snape, so they hate him.

If we're going to play the "I had terrible teachers, so I know how it feels" card, then I can use that too. Not only did I have terrible teachers—so bad that what they did was absolutely reportable and punishable—but in university, I even had professors who LITERALLY made students cry with their critiques. And yes, I’m very angry with those teachers. Even though I wasn’t always a direct victim, thinking about the teachers from my old school fills me with rage. And yes, whenever I’ve run into some of them on the street, I’ve made sure to say something to them in a super passive-aggressive way.

But the thing is, I don’t see any of them in Severus. Not a single one.

Severus has always reminded me of a literature teacher I had in my last years of school. He was a guy who taught classes to make some money while finishing his university doctorate—clearly, his goal was to be a researcher or teach at a university level. And you could tell from a mile away that he HATED having to teach teenagers. But hey, the school paycheck was good, right? I’m not going to blame him for that. The thing is, he had a degree in Philosophy and Literature and had a level way above that of a regular high school teacher.

I remember he was young. At the time, he seemed like an old man to me because when you're 16, anyone over 20 seems ancient, but he probably wasn’t even 35 yet. The thing is, he had no patience for nonsense. He hated childish antics in class, got annoyed by dumb questions, and if he explained something and someone asked the exact same thing two minutes later, he would clearly get irritated. I remember once a kid told him he had just read the latest Dan Brown novel, and this guy, with the most cunty smirk, said, "Well, I wouldn't know about that, Mr. X. I don't read mass-market literature." And it was like… lol why so mean? But I found it hilarious.

He was the only teacher who called us by our last names and never used informal speech, which was shocking to us because it never happened with other teachers. He rarely attended staff meetings or team dinners (a teacher who was actually abusive and spent entire classes physically humiliating 15-year-olds used to complain about that a lot). You almost never saw him interacting with other teachers because, honestly, I’ve always had the feeling that he thought his colleagues were idiots—and I don’t blame him. If I worked with that bunch today, I’d think they were idiots too.

Now, this guy was strict. Very strict. If you got a 4.9, he wasn’t giving you a 5, because you didn’t get a 5. He wasn’t going to be nice to you unless he thought it was strictly necessary. He wasn’t going to be warm, he wasn’t going to be friendly, he wasn’t going to be funny. He despised mainstream literature and bestsellers, believed certain books were absolute garbage, and thought people who only read that kind of stuff didn’t actually understand literature and lacked the braincells for it. You could agree or disagree with him, but his behavior wasn’t abusive.

Was he sometimes too blunt? Did he have incredibly sharp, sometimes unpleasant responses? Yes. And, funnily enough, this teacher was widely disliked precisely because he was one of the strictest ones. He was hated even more than the guy who groped female students or the one who called kids fat, gave them weight-loss tips, and told girls they dressed like prostitutes if they wore certain tops. But those guys used informal speech, gave you a 5 if you got a 4.6, and weren’t that strict, so people didn’t hate them as much.

That’s why Severus always reminded me of this guy. Ironically, I really liked him because I appreciated his sardonic, sharp humor, and he appreciated that I had read One Hundred Years of Solitude at 12 lol. But above all, he liked that, even though I never paid attention in his classes because I physically couldn’t focus on a lecture for more than 10 minutes, I never disrupted anything. I never got caught talking, never caused trouble—I was just drawing my stuff or reading things unrelated to the lesson, but I wasn’t bothering anyone.

And honestly, I think that’s all Severus wanted from his students: for them not to be a pain in his ass. And if he was an even bigger jerk to some, it was precisely because they got on his nerves the most.

The Weasley twins were total chaos and constantly acting like fools, yet they never have a bad word to say about Snape throughout the saga besides that he was kinda mean sometimes. Why is that? Maybe because they didn’t put the whole class in danger? Maybe because, while they were insufferable in the hallways, they knew they had to tone it down in Potions?

Only two people have a real problem with Severus as a teacher throughout the saga: one is Harry, who disrespects him from day one, constantly challenges him, talks back, breaks the rules, and does exactly the opposite of what Severus tells him. The other is Neville, who basically exists to give Severus seven consecutive nervous breakdowns in a single class.

That doesn’t make you an abuser—it makes you an adult who is sick to death of two pain-in-the-ass kids.

[spidori]

I wish I believed they were going to be brave instead of trying to pull a soulless cash-grab. Because if they were brave, I honestly believe they could do something awesome with this.

I'm serious, hear me out.

These are apex predators, and they are not mammalian. They should be scary lizards that trigger an instinctual fear response if it weren't for marketing pressures.

More importantly, I think the message of radical acceptance, of both the self and others, could actually be strengthened by the dragons not looking cute or approachable.

I have thoughts, so I'll put those below the cut for anyone interested.

If they were brave, they could acknowledge that a lot of the fans of the first movie are adults now, and that they don't have to make the dragons less threatening to avoid scaring the intended audience of young children. I would love to see them really play up the terror angle instead. They could make the dragons not just dangerous, but unsettling, disturbing, the exact opposite of cuddly/approachable. Essentially, you should want to hit them with a shovel at first. Especially since most of them are being controlled, and none of them have learned any of the body language to communicate with humans yet; they should feel other, and that should feel dangerous, at least at first.

If they did that, and added a couple of tweaks throughout the rest of the story, all of a sudden Hiccup's empathy would carry a lot more weight; he's not just befriending what is obviously just a special dog with scales, he's truly looking beyond his deep- and socially reinforced- fear response to empathize.

It would take some extra dialogue tweaks as well, but I think the seeds are all there already in the original script. Honestly, I think it's true to the ideas the original movie script was presenting. The whole message was radical acceptance of the self *and* of others as they are. It's easy to see that message in Hiccup, and how his empathy was the answer even though it was looked down on by everyone around him. It's even present in pretty much all the human characters, with them being comfortable in their own skins, and that contributing to them having or finding a place for themselves. I mean, consider, Stoick isn't framed as wrong for his desire to protect his village, or for using his strength and leadership skills to do so. No, he's framed as wrong for not accepting Hiccup, or the truth about the dragons, and his continued refusal to do so even when it will harm the things he wants to protect. Crucially, it's his acceptance of both his son and Toothless for who they are that acts as both the turning point for the story, and the redemption of his character.

More to my point though, I think that same message of acceptance, including self acceptance, is also present with respect to the dragons. I just think it's easier to take it for granted when it comes to the dragons.

There's lots of little examples, but I think the best one is the dragons' instinctual inability to disobey the Red Death (the queen). It's the mechanism behind the conflict of the first movie. It's not their fault, sure, but it is at the heart of the problem even if it's not the root cause. And it's not like it goes away either since it's also behind the villain in the second movie in basically the same way.

The instinct is not framed as wrong though, and that's key. Acknowledging the instinct is a key step in fixing the root of the problem twisting it towards destruction in the first movie, and in the second movie just acknowledging it and trying to overcome it wasn't quite enough. Toothless couldn't win by overcoming the instinct to obey an alpha, he had to fully accept that part of himself, and that it could coexist alongside the more human bits he'd chosen to incorporate into himself, to achieve self-actualization as an alpha. And Hiccup instantly accepted that part of Toothless, further reinforcing the underlying message that no one is inherently wrong because of who or what they are.

But I digress from my rambling. I think leaning into the dragons looking reptilian and predatory could absolutely work if they were brave about it. If they made them look truly scary, and actively framed that as ok, as not inherently wrong, just inherently different, I think that could slot right into the message at the heart of the story and add nuance, depth, IMPACT to it. If they do that they would earn my praise, even if it doesn't quite end up landing. I just wish I believed, at all, that the people making the decisions were brave enough to do so.

But hey, maybe I'll be proven wrong the same way I was with Wicked. I'll be ecstatic if that ends up being the case.

the live action httyd movie is an insult to us all and should never have been made. how is this slop better than beautiful stylized animation

I want to hit it with a shovel

[breadandlottery]

I think I'm going to make people upset but let's go Do you think Gi Hun has grown in terms of character development? In my opinion, what bothers me most about round 6 is the lack of significant growth in gi hun because he doesn't seem to have lost several people in the first season he remains naive I expected an improvement or development from a person who has already won the games. I would like you to answer me, I love your analyses.

My dear anon, apologies in advance for what is sure to be a very lengthy response…

I would like to say first that this is a tough question for me to answer with confidence since we haven’t seen season 3 and because it feels a little like a season 2A and season 2B situation. 

I’ve been working through scenes that I’m flagging in my mind for moments that should have raised red flags for Gihun but, from what we’re shown, didn’t. As I often tag ramble about, I do hold out some hope that he had legitimate suspicions of 001 and a loose backup plan. I have also noted that, interestingly, s2 does not have any of the flashback/realization scenes we were given several times in s1 and honestly, that feels very intentional? Like we’re supposed to notice it’s missing (I also have thoughts about ADHD Gihun, but that may just be me projecting because I’m real familiar with the exact kind of lightbulb moments he has, lol). My hunch/hope is that the show has been misdirecting us to make us believe everything you just said about the apparent lack of character development.

Now, I do think there has absolutely been character evolution. I can understand fans not seeing it as “development”, because I think we tend to think of character development as positive growth, but honestly, it doesn’t have to be… like a villain arc is still character development (just an example, I do not think this is a villain arc situation). I think instead of a lack of character development, I’d be more apt to call it a lack of “learning his lesson” or a lack of apotheosis (the point of realization/epiphany).

If we view squid game as monomyth/hero’s journey, he’s kind of not to the point yet where that would have happened (because the end of S2 would be the abyss?). Now, am I certain that the story being told is a hero’s journey? No, although I am somewhat confident.

So— I'm working under the assumption that we have a hero’s journey told in trilogy format. We have a LOT of comparison media out there… the Matrix, Star Wars, LOTR, among the most popular. What does the end of the middle installment of all of these have in common? They’re bleak af. 

Matrix: Neo unconscious, Agent Smith breaking into the real world

Star wars: Luke battles  Vader and loses his hand/almost dies, Han encased in carbonite

LOTR: Gollum’s betrayal, battle of Helm’s Deep (a win but with an ominous warning accompanying it)

The psuedo trilogy structure is where I do feel slightly perturbed at netflix for passing off a split season as 2 separate seasons. With a “real” trilogy, each component should be able to stand alone (like with 3 act structure-- set up-> conflict -> resolution) which is true of the examples above because the primary narrative conflict is actually resolved but super not true of squid game s2. Which means s2 and 3 combined could be the middle of the trilogy, with the mystery future season being the final part, but I don’t know that that’s in the cards. 

As an aside, we could just be totally wrong about the direction this is going in. Narrative arcs that involve the protagonist “learning a lesson” isn’t a universal concept. I always think of James Bond movies (especially the older ones) as an example of a “flat arc” character, because like, if you sleep with her she’s probably gonna die James, didn’t you learn this last time? If you’re too reckless there will be consequences, didn’t you learn this last time James? Like. That guy never learns. Not every character learns from their mistakes. Do I think Gihun is ultimately gonna be a flat arc character? No. Is it possible? I guess, man, look at the world, anything’s possible!!

So, ugh, sorry that’s a ton of speculation and uncertainty that isn’t directly answering your ask, but I do think that any of these possibilities can explain what we’re calling a lack of character development because we’re just not at that point in the story yet.

NOW.

Personally, I do think that Gihun is very perceptive, and I hold out hope that he wasn’t as trusting and oblivious as we’re made to think. I also believe that even if that is the case, he’d still have further to go/more development needed before he could actually reach the end of his journey. The reason for this (and I think one of the reasons people sometimes think of him as not smart) is the narrowness of his worldview. Not narrowmindedness, just literally not having broad knowledge about the world. Like not knowing where Pakistan was. Or not really getting that neither he nor the Frontman have the power to end what's happening because it is a symptom of a much larger, systemic problem. And in complete fairness to this sweet man, lack of perspective and a narrow worldview is an incredibly common flaw in people. 

So a few things that can be interpreted as Stagnation or Lack of Development:

Still a gambler: as seen in Russian Roulette and in going back into the game. Definitely risky, definitely reckless. He is like kinda suicidal though, so I don’t know that the underlying cause of this behavior is the same as it was in s1.

Still just out here trusting everyone: Yeah. That’s what he does, though. He came right out and said it, he doesn’t do it because he thinks people are trustworthy, he does it because what else is he gonna do? Is this a dumb-as-shit approach that should be “character-developed” out of him? Or is it a very important key defining feature of who he is as the hero of the story? I could go either way on that, tbh.

Naïve/easy to fool: I don’t think he ever was all that easy to fool, I think he consciously chose to let a lot of things slide and/or second-guessed his intuition because people called him stupid and slow all the time. 

Things that I think are Character Development

Ability to Focus: Maybe I’m ADHD projecting again, but this guy was all over the place in the beginning of s1, now he’s running a whole ass operation (maybe the medicine Mr Kim brought over was secretly adderall lol).

Leadership: I’ve said all along he just naturally exudes leadership, but he wasn’t really aware of it or comfortable with it in s1. In s2 he’s really embracing decision-making (even if they’re bad decisions) and seems comfortable being the one planning and leading, which is impressive.

So. To sum up a very very long answer:

I do see character development, if not the “hero finally learned his lesson” kind

I do still think it’s possible that Gihun wasn’t quite as clueless as we’re shown, and I’ll cling to this delusion until at least June 27th lol

I think it’s possibly too early in the narrative for his full revelation, anyway, but-

Part of why that feels “off” is because s2 is missing the “last Act” of the story it was telling (like don’t split a sequel in 2 and try to shoehorn it into a trilogy if it’s not an actual trilogy please for the love of god it throws off the balance)

[caffinated-squid]

i really liked your eltingville club character analysis’s!!! in the bill one you mentioned how bill was showing vulnerability in the intervention, do you think he was also showing vulnerability at the beginning of this fan this monster? considering how his friends weren’t around for him to belittle or reinforce his power to, i’d love to see an analysis from you for bills behavior in this fan this monster and how joe influenced bill. ty and keep up the good work!! <3

Thank you, happy that you enjoyed them! Regarding Bill in This Fan This Monster, I think it could be argued that it shows up a little bit in the beginning considering that Joe is probably the closest thing that Bill has had to a consistent father figure in his life. Focusing on this comic by itself, (the inclusion of the first comic makes it a bit more confusing) its mentioned in the hospital that his parents are divorced and while when it specifically happened is unclear, his presence is also absent in other Eltingville comics. (excluding the first) 

Bill’s mom probably did not play much of a role in his life as well, considering how much resentment they both have for each other, which can be seen though Bill’s mom preferring to get people to tie him up in a chair for hours to fix his comic obsession rather than just talking to him herself in The Intervention and accusing him of blaming her for the divorce in This Fan This Monster.

In summary, Bill is not on good terms with either of his parents and probably latched onto Joe because he appeared to care about similar interests. (though he just sees Bill more as a source of money rather than an actual person)

** From this, Joe probably influenced Bill's behavior the most since a lot of Joe's behavior seen in This Fan This Monster (saying customers have to be treated like idiots, that women don't actually like comics) reflected in Bill once Joe needs to leave for an emergency and in the Epilogue. (especially in his rant to Mandi)

** Though I don't think that Joe was someone that Bill would ever open up to regarding his personal life and issues, its idolization rather than an actual familial relationship at most

I would say that the beginning of the comic has a mixture of two things, Bill trying to appease and learn from Joe while looking up to him as somewhat of a father figure, but also constantly testing to see how much he can get away with, he is still just as willing to break rules if it means he has easier access to the things he wants. Though that appeasement definitely comes back in when he attempts to blame his friends for the destruction of the comic shop in order to still cling onto the power he just obtained.

On his friends not being around, I don’t think that Bill got better without them present. Although he is the leader of the Eltingville Club, Josh and Pete are there to constantly challenge his opinions which prevents his ego from going completely unchecked. With their absence, you can see Bill’s ego gradually become more inflated the more he is around Joe, getting worse when Joe temporarily puts him in charge. Joe ignores Bill a majority of the time aside from making fun of him for doing grunt work, which allows Bill to believe that he can get away with being an asshole because he now has a higher status, and with this higher status, he doesn’t need a friend group to control.

**I tend to see This Fan This Monster as Bills Icarus moment, in the sense that his ego rises over the comic only for it to come crashing down when he sets the comic shop on fire out of spite.

(Hopefully this answered your question/request! I have 2 other analysis essays I am going to write related to Eltingville, then I'll probably be done and focus on another topic of interest)

[akajustmerry]

Can you tell us more about queercoding in relation to robes? I'm so intrigued by that, especially when I've heard so many people say that Dale's queerness got sidelined this season

okay I'm gonna address the last thing you mention in this ask first ie Dale's queerness being "sidelined" because I've also seen this being said and from the bottom of my heart I want to say that if you (not you anon) watched season 3 of the Newsreader and thought that that Dale's queerness was sidelined, you do not have the reading comprehension skills or maturity necessary to appreciate the show. So just quickly wrt to the sideline claim:

Dale's bisexuality and his fear of it being discovered drives the great majority of his decisions - from how he dresses to who he spends time with to what he spends money on. So much so he has a literal mental breakdown over the constant pressure. Something that's a character's main motivation is by definition not sidelined.

I find what people usually mean when they say this, especially about bisexual characters but generally about LGB characters is that they view queer representation as almost exclusively queer intimacy. It should go without saying but being queer is about who you want to be intimate with as much as it is about actually being intimate. Dale doesn't experience a lot of queer intimacy and that is by design because of his fears of being discovered. Again the fact he isn't intimate with men is driven by his understanding of his queerness.

Finally, I really need Sam Reid fans from the Iwtv fandom to understand that Dale is the secondary protagonist of the Newsreader. Helen is the protagonist. And more generally, this is an ensemble show. If Dale feels off to the side it's because he is not the main character and not the focus of the show. At best he's the second main character behind Helen. This show is actually about Helen.

Okay that rant is done, onto the robe stuff:

Forgive me, I can't credit exactly where this was first discussed, historically, (I believe maybe in the documentary The Celluloid Closet but if anyone has a better reference lmk), but elaborate robes/dressing gowns have often been used in queer coding. This is in part because fancy robes on men signify significant disposable income via being a bachelor and having no wife or kids. They're luxury items.

This coding through costume goes as far back as Sam's uncle in Bewitched who was very queer coded and often wore elaborate dressing gowns. There's even a joke in The Nanny where Fran isn't surprised people think Max is gay and she lists off his bachelor status, grooming habits and robes. More recently, you can see this kind of coding through robes in costume design in Ripley where it's made a point that Tom takes and wears Dickey's robes, and in Queer 2024. This kind of design choice is even in Interview With The Vampire. Lestat and Louis both wear very fancy robes throughout the series (Lestat's far more opulent ofc), literally the morning after they first have sex there's that shot of Lestat seeing Louis out the door wearing a very snazzy dressing gown.

I think there's also a gendered element too in that dressing gowns/robes are seen as items of clothing a traditionally masculine man would not wear. This is also why male villains wearing dress robes is a trope because it's kind of a way to code deviancy by way of male femininity which has often had crossover with coding queerness. Not the most sophisticated or good faith example, I know, but the most recent fast and furious movie has a whole sequence where Jason Mamoa (bad guy) has a pamper session surrounded by dead bodies while he paints his nails and wears a purple fluffy robe. The very old homophobic signification of using a robe to indicate male femininity, therefore queerness and therefore deviancy is so clear in that movie that I was kinda shocked to see it in one made so recently.

Of course I'm not saying that Dale wearing a robe is homophobic. It's not, but it does align with a very rich history of using snazzy dressing gowns to signify being a bachelor, being wealthy and being queer. All things Dale is grappling with in season 3 and I really enjoyed it as a detail, as you can see. Thanks for asking 🥰

[fearcutsdeeper]

Hi, I’ve really been enjoying your Temeraire posting! I saw in the tags of one of your posts recently (I think the one about the Laurence+Rankin friendship era in book one) that you read Laurence as autistic and the idea really tickled my brain! I’m a new fan of the series and I haven’t thought of him that way before, but now that you pointed it out it makes so much sense. I was wondering if you’d be willing to elaborate a bit on that reading of his character? It’s a super interesting idea and I’d love to hear more of your thoughts if you feel like sharing!

Absolutely!!! The first time I read the books I was really flying through them and too caught up in the character arc I could feel taking shape before my eyes to really dwell on the character as he is, if that makes sense. I'm reading more slowly this time and really considering his thoughts and actions in context, and they feel... like, very relatable to me in a specific way.

(Disclaimer: this is a personal reading, not trying to claim this is an objective truth about the character or anything, etc)

One thing about the way a lot of people discuss autistic or perceived-as-autistic characters is that they'll recognize them as autistic based on straightforward expression of symptoms/traits that you might read off a list. This isn't doing it wrong or anything, and the characters in question can easily be read as autistic! But those aren't usually the characters I see myself in.

I'll pretty often start seeing a character as autistic not because they're outwardly showing symptoms, but because their behavior strikes me as learned compensation for symptoms. Data from Star Trek is very frequently seen as autistic coded not just because of his frequently expressed lack of understanding for social conventions but also because he then explicitly writes himself new subroutines to account for what he learns. A lot of autistic people (including myself) go through their lives kind of accumulating "scripts" – like, oh, I seem to have missed that X was a signal, but the person's reaction tells me that the appropriate response would have been Y. Next time I encounter X, I will do Y.

Now, Will Laurence builds his ENTIRE LIFE around the elaborate rules of British propriety and honor and duty. He tells us that he enjoys Society – "conversation, dancing, and friendly whist were his favorite pursuits". All three things listed are, in Georgian wealthy society, things with a strict and learnable structure and rules – he likes when what he's supposed to do is clearly laid out for him! He's in I think his late thirties when the series starts. I'm basically reading him as an autistic man who realized that people didn't make sense to him the way they did to other children and then spent his entire life Learning The Rules so no one would notice.

Every time he's engaging with propriety and Proper Behavior, he's thinking very consciously about it. And when someone else violates his understanding of the rules, he's internally scrambling for the proper response, because his script has been disrupted. (My personal favorite it when he'll go "the only satisfactory response would be a challenge to duel but I'm not allowed anymore")

So, he's been doing this all his life, he's learned all the rules for the life track he's put himself on (which is a highly structured one!), and then, boom, the plot hits.

The Rules of aviator society are totally different. Laurence is affronted and scrambling. I find it notable that Berkley basically plows right through Laurence's attempts at propriety and immediately starts talking to him like he would any other aviator, and it WORKS. Laurence is kind of taken aback, because his rules would interpret the way he's being spoken to as an insult, but Berkley certainly isn't acting like he means to give insult, so Laurence doesn't respond like he's received one. There's also the bit where he notes that the woman serving him has violated protocol by greeting him instead of being silent – but he returns the greeting and isn't offended.

He's mirroring like hell! (This is a common autistic trait.) He's working out what the expected behavior is and returning it as much as he can manage. And when he's with Rankin, he reverts to his society scripts, with so much relief that he ignores some warning signs.

And this makes his whole arc of disillusionment with the British Government SO interesting, because Laurence, I think anyone would agree, takes the honor that the government pays lip service to dramatically more seriously than most members of the government and Admiralty. And, until he gets the truth shoved in his face, he has enormous trouble conceiving of that. It really reads as autistic to me – like, what do you MEAN the elaborate system of morals you told me to structure my personality around is only window dressing to you? It's sure as hell not window dressing to me!

In this reading, in addition to all the other incredible things that his story is about, it's also about an autistic guy becoming increasingly uncomfortably aware that the systems of rules and parameters which he painstakingly learned and have successfully guided him through most of his life are fundamentally in conflict with each other, and eventually being forced at gunpoint to decide which of those rules really truly matter, throw out the rest, and rebuild from scratch.

Which is to say: my man is in hell. At least he has a dragon?

[kishiar-la-orr]

not incredibly well-thought because i'm just typing down thoughts briefly but

to me, the first timeline is the slightly less fairy tale-like version. the second timeline can be called a fix-it, an everything-goes-right, a best case scenario, which needed a grand plot device in the form of yuder regressing in order to happen at all. there must be tons and tons of different versions of first timeline where some things go right, some things also go wrong, in different ways whether miniscule or catastrophic. its not the worst though. things could go even worse, im sure.

there's a lot of takes surrounding first timeline kishiar with differing points. (also, as you know, im a glazer). and after running through a lot of them, it just makes me think that personally, a novel so nuanced and with a lot of complex interpersonal and intrapersonal happenings like turning needs to be approached with good faith and compassion. in my experience, doing that helps maximize my enjoyment of it.

second timeline kishiar is a 'green flag ML', yes, but he can only run because first timeline kishiar walked. what is turning if not about love and humanity? and the thing about loving while being human is, love doesnt stay pure all the time. sometimes its twisted, sometimes its murky. sometimes even when the love is pure, the communication gets lost in the middle. love happens even when people have a lot of difficult situations in their lives or even when they think they're not in a good place to be loving other people. first timeline yuder was also still green and less mature than second timeline yuder, a lot less equipped in many ways. second timeline yuder himself also needed to mature a lot before he could properly begin a relationship with second timeline kishiar that's grounded in trust and the expression of genuine care.

so many factors are being taken into consideration when writing turning, i think. thats why it becomes such a beautiful piece of work that can touch the hearts of many people, with characters and storylines that resonate with a lot of the fans. i find that it's turning's biggest charm. first timeline kishiar isn't a perfect victim nor a perfect 'toxic ex-boyfriend'. he tried his best and his best still had repercussions that are less than ideal for the people he loved whom he left behind. of course, there's also the fact that the story is mostly written through the main character yuder's perspective. i think i enjoy turning the most when i can see it through this type of lens, trying to keep in mind where the characters are coming from and empathize with them and taking the novel (as all fictions are) as a lesson in humanity.

[jules-ln]

Tbh I find it very funny that people are doing the whole "let men characters be manly" with Viktor in JayVik fanart

Like

There's a fair criticism about fandom taking two characters in a ship that canonically have similar body types and making one of them very feminine and tiny and the other big with lots of muscles

But Jayce and Viktor... They just look like that in canon lmao

I mean look at Viktor when he's in his jesus form. he let his hair grow, he literally uses something very similar to a dress, his puppets and his Herald form all have body types that emphasized their hips and shoulder making their waist look very tiny and

Ok, queer men don't need to present feminine but Viktor IS choosing to present more traditionally feminine than masculine; that's a decision the character is doing in the text

It's not something made up by the fans

So this whole "stop making Viktor feminine" is weird to me because, buddy, pal, friend, Viktor is the one making himself look more feminine?

And I think this is part of like a more recent trend in fandom where people are tying to fit characters back into the hetero normative roles of their gender; because it's definitely not the first time I've seen it happen

Like chill guys, men can be feminine and that's ok?

And If you want to see it in a more within the text kind of way

It's curious that he only started presenting more feminine after the hexcore changed his body

Because Viktor it's a character that has internalized ableism (this probably comes from the fact that the writers had a subconscious bias, though I think this is a waaay more complex subject than for just a tumblr post lmao) and he sees his disabilities as something to fix, so he probably didn't feel comfortable in his old body

So as soon as he was in a body he found himself more comfortable in, he started to change his gender expression from fairly traditionally masculine to more feminine; honestly it is very possible that Viktor always wanted to express himself in a more feminine way to begin with, but never felt safe to do so

Mind you, like I know that queerphobia isn't supposed to exist in this universe (and I have a lot of thoughts about that), but I can't help but also think that maybe the fact that he's a disabled Zaunite in Piltover contributed to him wanted to blend in with society around him, so he avoided calling attention as much as he could that included not bending the gender norms (mind you this is me pulling a death of the author and creating my own meaning, I don't know if the characters designers actually thought about that)

Anyway, Have I mentioned that I love the headcanon of Viktor being trans? Lmao

[kingmaxstatic]

Goodmorning, Goodbye and Goodnight: A Post About Farewells.

... How do you break away from something or a piece of yourself for so long? Or at the very least, do so in the public eye?

Let's not beat around the bush.

I'm not happy in the Sonic fandom at the moment.

(More below the post)

So let me make this PERFECTLY CLEAR I have not fallen out of love for Sonic. I still adore Sonic and I will more than continue to enjoy it!

But I'm unsure if that enjoyment can really be.. public.. for the time being.

For a while I've always couldn't help but notice that the fandom is a bundle of bickerers. Makes sense. Most of us here are ND and VERY opinionated!

But this all came to ahead when I was watching a video about Amy Rose. And as I watched, as interested as I was. A video dissecting her current writing I realized something...

I was fucking miserable!

Why do I CARE so much about other people's opinions about something I enjoy? Even if I cringe at that one bumblecast clip of Ian saying "he wishes he could redesign Amy".

Even IF I understand the concern.

I still LOVE Modern Amy! I was letting this video give me insight, yes but it also made me feel guilt for even LIKING IDW's take on Amy (and IDW in general).

Infact guilt is something I've felt A LOT in the fandom.

Shit man, Starline is my FAVORITE character in sonic, period. But it feels like both the fandom (and the writers, to an extent) want to guilt you into not liking him.

That liking him is some moral failing on YOUR part? (Literally Ignoring the fact we've literally had a few years to grow attached pre-imposter syndrome and that he didn't just magically appear post-Chao Race Arc)

Yes, Starline sucks. Yes, he (in canon) used two random mobians for cyborg stuff. I know this. He's still an enjoyable character and I don't excuse his canon actions. It's even why in my own canon of him Imposter syndrome isn't canon.

I'm tired of the stress, man. I'm tired of not enjoying Starline. I haven't been able to properly enjoy him in a wile.

For my birthday I actually bought a Bad Guys physical copy!

And I have not touched it at all.

The stress of keeping up with this fandom has actually caused me literal anxiety shivers. I don't have fun any more. There's just.. too much discourse.

And I think it's best for me if I take a step back from it. At least.

So.. What Happens Now?

Well! What happens now is that I take a public step back from the fandom! Like I said I still very much enjoy Sonic.. I just don't think that enjoyment will be AS public any more. Gush about it with friends! Play the games! Draw art.. For Myself!

This doesn't mean I won't be keeping a close eye on my sonic moots (you haven't gotten rid of me JUST yet!) but it does mean I'll probably start blocking tags. Taking some breathing room. Finding that love for Sonic again on my OWN time. Be a lil selfish with it!

I still love and adore my ocs (and they'll still be around on Toyhouse and Art Fight!) But their stories are mine to share.. and sometimes I can just.. not share them!

What happens to this Blog?

SHIT MAN! I'll still be around! I probably just won't be posting in the sonic tag any time soon. I'm in OTHER fandoms right now (Nicktoons, Crash, Etc) If you like my writing and my art In THIS fandom surely you'll enjoy it in others!/pos

Even if those fandoms are more.. obscure to say the least? This Blog, at it's core, has always been ABOUT multifandom stuff and It feels like it's finally returning to that!

Nature is healing! KingMaxStatic is finally posting about WEIRD fandoms only 3 people know about again!!

What Happens To Starvoltz?

Though not an as.. urgent question. It's one I feel has held a lot of weight, at least to me. I know people are GENUINELY such big fans of Starvoltz and I think it's been the ONE BIG THING keeping me back from making me step back from the fandom...

So... I'm killing both Starline and Voltz off..../j (I would never)

I still LOVE and ADORE Starline and Voltz! They mean the world to me (and even the MOON to me!) But over the course of the past few months I've felt a nagging GUILT about them.. and I don't want to feel that anymore. I want to ADORE Starvoltz like I used to...

and In order for me to do that I GOTTA step back.

If you wanna get a lil cute about it, you can think about it like the two going on a honey moon or a vacation!

If you've made it thus far.. thank you. Genuinely. Thank you for understanding! I hope you understand. I love sonic, I will always love sonic. But I need my own space to love Sonic.

I suppose maybe like the main character I need to be free.

Free like the wind.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I saw your one post about Yuu getting super powers. I don't think it's very likely as well. I think it's largely thanks to western storytelling expectations and tropes for the western audience.

In a lot of western YA or Middle Grade books, the protagonist in a fantasy series will start off as ordinary, standing out and never fitting in. It turns out that they are indeed special and powerful in their own right. Think Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Clary Fray, and the list goes on and on.

There are also times when the protagonist is forced to change forms literally to become more powerful. For example, Feyre from ACOTAR starts out as a simple human. But then, she is killed off, and then is brought back to life as a High Fae. Same goes for Bella from Twilight where she dies during childbirth to a demon spawn, and then she is transformed into a vampire.

Western audiences are expecting something similar to happen. But, it's not very likely due to "main character" and individualism not being as much of a thing in East Asia. I've never seen as many stories like that from Japan as I have from the west out of all of my years of being a manga/anime fan.

Although, having said that, Yuu is still something to be desired writing wise. I still wish that Yuu had more of an impact on the plot and had more personality than a tuna can. I don't expect them to be a fully fledged character on par with the rest of the cast. Even other otome and JRPG self inserts like Persona 5 I feel are better written than them, because they matter more and the dialogue choices impact the game more. They are the main character. Act like it!

[Referencing this post!]

There's certain genres of animanga that have those power fantasy/wish fulfillment tropes that we see in western media. A big one that comes to mind are fantasy isekais where the main character tends to be a weirdo or a loner that's actually super powerful/smart and quickly amasses a group of doting anime girls to fawn over him (although now isekai is much more diversified as a genre). It's definitely not just something exclusive to western media, although I will say maybe it's more prevalent in the west (again, due to differences in cultural values).

I feel like we need to remember that Twst is ultimately Japanese media, so it will most likely default to Japanese storytelling conventions and trends, not western ones. While it's fine to wish for a different version of events or to dislike the current version, we should be careful to not let personal frustrations turn into demands to cater to those wishes.

I will say that I've noticed the localization attempts to give Yuu more... character? Many of Yuu's dialogue options are written to be more sarcastic than they originally were. The JP dialogue options are much more neutral. Here are some examples from book 1 alone:

After fighting some mob students in the cafeteria, Yuu has "Even though we were just told to not get into fights" and "I thought we were done for..." as options. In EN, Yuu's options are, "What happened to 'no more incidents'?" and "I guess this is my life now. *Sigh*". You can see how Yuu reads as sassier or more fed up in the latter, even if the same overall message is conveyed.

When seeing Jack for the first time, Yuu's Japanese options are "He has dog ears!?" and "A muscular guy with dog ears is a new sight". In EN, the top option is basically the same, but the second option becomes "Muscly dog man, sure why not."

Other dialogue options change entirely. For example, when Leona threatens to claim a tooth as retribution for Yuu stepping on his tail, our options are, "EEEEEH!!" and "H-He's going to hit us!" EN's options become much more humorous, with Yuu either claiming "Please! I don't have dental insurance!" or "I can't afford to pay anything!"

These are just a few examples, and not even all of the dialogue options in book 1 that exemplify what I’m talking about. I hope that this helps illustrate what I mean!

I think it can be argued that Yuu does have an impact on the plot, but the way the story is written doesn’t grant them much agency. There are points where Yuu makes decisions of their own volition but then the story never commits to letting them be entirely independent. For example, a lot of players like book 3 because they feel it is when Yuu is the most involved in the story. They make the decision to make a deal with Azul, and then they contribute to figuring out a way to outwit him—but then in later books, Yuu basically stands there doing nothing (lookin’ at you specifically, book 5). Yuu also doesn’t get to spend a lot of alone time with the characters to actually… I don’t know, influence their change and growth? Their activity and involvement is just wildly inconsistent. I have my own gripes with how Yuu is written and proposed my own ideas for how I would change them. If you’re interested in reading that, the post is here.

It might not be the best to compare Yuu to otome and JRPG self inserts 💦 In otomes (or general dating sims; I’d like to be inclusive of my non-women audience), romance is the primary objective. Of course the self-insert player character will be the center of the story and the one that the other characters will revolve around. JRPGs are typically console games; they have more bandwidth to go bigger and be more ambitious with their stories + gameplay than your average visual novel style mobile gacha game. (I specify “average” because I know there are now open world and 3D style gacha games.) The story of every game is also different and might call for different kinds of main characters to most effectively tell us its tale. Having an active main character isn’t needed for every story, and nor does having an active character automatically make a story better.

I’ve noticed that we commonly conflate the terms “main character” and “protagonist”, especially when it comes to Yuu. To clarify, the “main character” is the one whose perspective the story is primarily told (ie our POV character). A “protagonist” is who the story is actually about, the person who drives the story forward. “Protagonists” are the ones facing challenges and undergoing significant change in the story. A “main character” and a “protagonist” may be the same person, but they could also be separate people.

Yuu may be the “main character” in the sense that we see the story mainly through them (as someone who is brand new to Twisted Wonderland, much like the player is). This makes Yuu an excellent sponge and prompter for lore and explanations to be dropped on us. However, I don’t think that Yuu is also a “protagonist” for most of the game. I would say that the protagonists are the main cast of NRC students, especially the OB boys. These are the characters the story truly centers on, and this is reflected across events and vignettes as well. Yuu appears in very few vignettes and is often a footnote conveniently dragged along on events. So much of Twst’s content revolves around the boys, their relationships to one another, and how they develop and better themselves. Does Yuu play a part in that, no matter how minor? Yes. Does Yuu also form friendships with these boys? Also yes. But this is not the bulk of game content, nor what most of the conflicts or solutions focus on. So 💦 Yuu definitely “acts like a main character” (ie being the lens we view the story through), but doesn’t “act like a protagonist” (ie is active in the story and pushes it forward, is the one that significantly changes, etc).