#i dont want other and important plots to be erased or for characters personalities and stuff to change

[nonbinarylesbianherb]

[werlikestea]

Well i havent posted in a while well, mostly because, i forgor

BUT

wow pretty busy really said fuck you f2p players

I didnt complain untill now so i think i can get a little treat

So ok prepare cause this will be a prob long post or just very well mostly negative about my whole expierence with this game because well I AM PISSED

So I acually first played this game around the time of its release (of couse because of the Leviathan Bath card lmao) but didnt like how the game looked like that much so i quit pretty much as soon as i started

Then my friend got me into it again and well i fell in love with the characters and the plot LITERALLY DONT JUDGE THE BOOK BY ITS COVER

And why am i talking about it well its because it was around the time of christmas gabriel nightmare pass and i was new so i just kinda didnt care about it back then

But now back to the present

so the whole reason im writing this is in the first place is obvs the nightmare pass

Like gabriel one, ppyong one i could live i was like ok it sucks but what can i do i can still get all the 7 kings eventually so thats fine

AND THEN VICTORY LUCIFER NIGHTMARE PASS CAME OUT

AND OMG ok i was like ok im pissed but its probably just the victory cards that will be in the nightmare pass right ?

WELL NO NOW BATH BEEL NOT EVEN A FEW DAYS AFTER LUCIFER'S

both of my favourite characters in a row well how nice

Dont even get me started on how fucked the pricing of it is like i payed for battle passses in games before im not even a total f2p and i was acually considering doing the same here because i mean its a small company and i really like this game so i might as well support it well no. not with this price.

And not only are there no new stories, previous events are payed if u havent read them, oh and if u want to reread them well fuck you too

I honestly havent even read the belphie's event cause i just really dont feel motivated to do it

Maybe its just me but unlocking the character card stories is also a little hard because getting the BEGINNERS candies is just annoying even though it well should be the easiest out of all of them

And the story is what made me get into this game as much as i did

I think it was the first time a game was so perfect for me when it comes to story length, and amount (i tend to get very overwhelmed when theres a lot of content)(I acually quit playing genshin impact after 2 years because there was no skip button)

The 5 chapters, all the events, some of the character's stories i read were all so interesting and fun

and well now we get literally no new content

plus like thats very personal but i would have loved it if this game had some sort of a routine because i feel like everything is such a mess ?

like now we get 3 fucking nigtmare passes in a row, new characters and event are so random and the main story well it left to get milk

also when i say i play this game for the story i really mean it because the battle system is really not my cup of tea overall the game mechanics im just not that big of a fun of that

+just the fact that PB hates that we share content of payed cards with each other but also puts important lore in it just man be fucking for real

I log in everyday just to log in and get my 10 key pull from the pancake shop to feed my gambling addiction and maybe get that mammon or satan attacker cards cause they are the only ones i lack from the ones u can acually get from the standard gacha at the moment

oh and now they erased the free 10 pull from the store huh

well with how little red gems we are getting say goodbye to any gacha in a fucking gacha game

Oh and also i dont know if anyone noticed but now selling S tealeaves gives u 6 pancakes and L tealeaves gives you 9.

3 pancake diffrence. For an S character and L character.

oh and lower grades just dont give you anything really i have like around 14 milion gold and books so yea

and while i wont have that much of a problem cause i already have most cards,most artifact, almost maxxed out bloodshed beelzebub (not his skills)

But now imagine you are a new player trying to get into this game.

And you cant read events unless you pay, u can do the story but i mean u might finish it quickly or it might get hard if u cant get any characters because well doing any gacha at all just got 1000 times harder,you just see another nightmare pass thats just expensive af, oh and a new character comes out and you didnt get lucky with your one ten pull that u managed to get after weeks of working ? well u have to wait 3 months TO MAYBE get it in the standard gacha that well you might do once a week maybe

and so the low maintence game i loved in a span of a few days changed for much much worse

I will probably keep on loging in just to see if maybe anything changes but i dont have my hopes high

ngl with how it looks like rn i doubt even asmodeus for who i was waiting so much for will change my mind about this game

what i need them to do is honestly just bring back the whole previous pancake shop along with this new nightmare one i feel like for me at least selling tealeaves for the normal pancakes and then if i have a lot of it i can changee into nightmare pancakes and then maybe exchange it for some thing would be much cooler and honestly i just want my very easy ten pull back........

for the nightmare passes just make then like i dunno every 3 months even would be better and just make it so that its smth special not neccessary or just make it more affordable for players to acually afford

and i mean what im saying is just random stuff i havent even thought about it that much there might be better ideas for what to do but i honestly wish the best for this game and what is happening right now is just pretty much ruining it for not only me but most players i doubt only f2p, cause even if you pay for a game u need a reason to do it if the game doesnt provide then you might as well go to a diffrent one

Ok i think thats pretty much all there might be more i wanted to say but well i forgor and well im gonna get bubble tea as a treat prob......

[nonbinarygamzee]

what are your thoughts on gamkar (esp as it is presented in the comic) ?

ehehehehe. well. i like dem :]

ummm um to be like #thoughtful or whatever though i always struggle to put my investment to words because i simultaneously feel like a lot of what draws me to them feels self explanatory but Also every time i think that about hs i turn out to be wrong. that sounds so mean i just have autism and 0 frame of reference lol.

but anyways for me like ive basically been invested in gamzee and by extension gamkar from the beginning. at risk of being kind of nice for once i actually think homestuck did a pretty decent job wrt the introductions of the trolls in establishing the levels of importance and especially the dynamics at play through when we see them interacting, so it always felt Important that the conversation that established gamzee and karkat as good friends was so early on. in general i dont really think hs has many transitional spots that are not being used intentionally to create subconscious association between the subjects. so by extension theres the more obvious literal conversation we have between the two of them that both establishes them as close (at least in gamzees mind) and establishes a rift in that relationship, but theres also things like the conversation gamzee and terezi have about playing the game together, that while not about karkat explicitly, kind of centers him from both ends and is literally sandwiched between the introductions of these two, which to me sets up the assumptions that their dynamic is going to hole relevance, which we end up seeing later on. dare i say that gamzee/terezi conversation even kind of ends up being the earliest nod that both of these trolls are in some way vying for karkats attention. theres like plenty more of these moments of association but im not willing to go looking atm, get back to me. good way to read the comic in general though, imo.

and like so its pretty obvious from the start then that gamkar was always going to be something, right? their personalities are written in a way that both compliment and counter each other, and theres that interest then in murderstuck when it is flipped on its head but idk if you go here i think by now it is clear i dont really agree with all of that. my interest lies in the fact that gamzee is the type of person karkat resents because to him, as somebody who both has been denied entry into society and who desperately WANTS it, even to the point of internalizing and glorifying the very oppressive violence that keeps him an outsider, gamzee has Failed. shes an addict, shes stupid, shes toothless, and above all she is weird and wholly unrelatable and karkat is simply not in the position at that stage of his life to sympathize because he is still running on the assertion that the Right way to be a troll is to conform to the expectations of the empire (and prove himself as one of the Good Ones). so when gamzee has their breakdown and all of a sudden karkat is not only unable to shove all of the responsibility he insisted upon onto another person, or ignore the fact gamzee spent all of her time haunting the meteor asking Him for help..... he does it. sort of.

this is kind of the spot where i have the most trouble articulating my thoughts because i guess they are sort of contradictory. because i think the gamkar moirallegience was not only at that point in time important to the integrity of the plot, but has always been an important part of the story in terms of culminating the themes and messaging going on. and i do stand by that, i think on top of the fact we were ROBBED, to erase that without ever addressing any of it again in the retcon is like.... a major misunderstanding of the functionality of the moment in the first place! which like yeah yeah its homestuck we should be used to that. but UGH. it undermined so much of karkats character to retcon what imo was always his peak moment of personal empowerment. everyone talks about karkat as somebody who is deeply caring despite his exterior and like... i do think that is true. but the story simply is Worse from then on having stripped him of the pivitol moment that truly defined that trait as vital to him, and i think it frankly has no small part in why karkat feels like less than a character by the end. that said i dont really think it was a "good" relationship. just not for any of the reasons anyone ever seems to say. so many conversations i see wrt gamkar is people talking about loving it but not the "toxic way it went down in canon", or calling it like mutually abusive, or just in general making karkat out to be some kind of victim of his ex when like......... thats all kind of just completely made up? for starters not that i dont Get it and not that i think it means he was being entirely disingenuous, but from the very beginning karkats establishment of their quadrant was done in a way that centered the people around them, not gamzee. and i say not gamzee exclusively because i think aside from the obvious of keeping their friends safe, karkat was also centering himself; we know the Point of moirallegiance is to keep an unpredictable party "in check", and that is what he did, but i can both understand the functionality of the relationship marker in the context of the universe And understand that to be a means of subjugation of the trolls involved. and karkat, being both obsessed with romance and holding a deep feeling of inferiority, of COURSE would look at this as an opportunity to prove he can live up to that expectation of pacification. we get his side of the story when things fizzle out, gamzees religion apparently becoming such a frontal obsession she doesnt pay him any mind, but we dont get to hear anything from the party whos not only being mind controlled, but also has to approach this dynamic with the knowledge it wasnt for her and that karkat continued to covet terezi "in every quadrant" (LOL!!!!!) when he wasnt openly mocking them. and well i just think that is very interesting. karkat is in a powerful position, narratively, that gamzee is never ever granted, that gives him the benefit of the doubt from the audience that he is right and she is wrong, even though we know that hes like... literally always wrong!!! i am not about to start trusting him NOW!!!

um ok this god long sorry. basically i think they are extremely complimentary to one anothers stories and flaws; karkat desperately needs to see and understand people that vary from the expectations he has grown up chasing. he needs somebody who understands what it is like not to meet those expectations. he needs a reason to choose growth or else he fizzles into the disgusting excuse for a character we have of him by the end! gamzee by contrast needs to be seen by somebody who is both in the position to treat her like a person, who holds power in this narrative they are all trapped within to Grant her the choice of depth. where he needs a reason to grow she needs somebody willing to grow to meet her where she is! you cannot pull somebody from their abuse but you must be willing to understand their reasonings and have a hand at the ready for the day they choose to go! ive never understood the debates surrounding gamzees agency because we are shown explicitly the ways it is denied, and shown her awareness to the fact she is trapped, the fact she is a character and the narrative cannot be upheld without her roles; karkats ability to "help" her to me was never as much a question about whether he could literally get her out of that, but whether he could act as the lens through which people understand gamzees situation As one of coercion. they are utena anthy forever ok im done

[romanken]

8, 10 + 2 if you're feeling heinous 😈 24 if ur not 😇

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

well MY special little noble is actually the most inherently just and pure of heart and when they win the throne there will be a thousand years of peace. Wdym inherent violence of feudalism that's not real. And while there has been a downtrend in this belief throughout the last five years it HAS influenced a lot of other discource subtly... most people have realized that the way to start fixing westeros's problems is not thru a nice feudal monarch, but they dont understand that abandoning this framework for character/plot analysis also means abandoning a lot of other framework. In the arya v sansa wars people still use feudal patriarchal definitions of femininity to decide who is the Best Sexy Feminist (preteen girl). In debates about morality for certain actions people excuse things because it aligns with the feudal code of ethics- a deeply flawed and violent code. See: ned HAD to take theon hostage because well we live in a society. Like i think it's important not to hold characters to the same moral standards that we hold people in modern times to, because their circumstances are so wildly different, but we dont have to adhere to THEIR feudal values when analyzing them because its only a detriment to their characters. They live in a society but WE do not... cmon guys...

10. Worst part of fanon

no one fucking draws these characters ugly enough. Asoiaf fandom has a plague of sameface ig model syndrome and it sucks cause george puts so much distinct personality even in minor characters and then people are like hmmmmm what if they had the same button nose and good chin that everyone else has. Brienne is ugly let her be ugly!!! Arya and jon have long plain faces u dont have to draw the teen/preteen kids as super defined and striking! Let the kids look like kids. I don't care how beautiful dany is let her be a 15 yr old. OR the instinct to make everyone best friends forever and soften the complicated dynamics btwn these characters. like modern aus where the starks are the benevolent rich people who adopted theon from his abusive trailer park family grind my gears like hes a child hostage from a powerful noble house and u cant erase such a defining part of his character bc you want everyone to be nice to each other. Also related to this is people making jaime nice/acting like asos was a redemption arc or that he didnt commit some uniquely horrific acts in agot/acok. His actions thru out the last two books are not the acts of a changed man they are the acts of a man who realized he can make choices based on empathy and reason not instinct. LAST thing which is something i dont reaaaaally see here much but i know the cunts on ao3 are doing it: the post canon thing where people want brienne and jaime to get married and have twelve kids. Fuck you eat shit and die brienne is not an incubator especially not for that lannister SLAG

2. a compelling argument for why your fave would never top or bottom

cersei is not necessarily my fave but shes a character whose sexuality i often think of. In canon the only time she's had sex with a woman she's topped and every time she fucks a dude she's disassociating so hard shes on another planet. Even when fucking jaime shes like imagining herself in his body fucking him in her body. In the bulldyke cersei universe he's stone. The pants stay on during sex and so does the shirt and probably also the shoes. Cis gay guy cersei universe he already thinks being gay is emasculating enough so obviously he's not going to let anyone penetrate him. Transmasc bi universe its like you've never been strapped until you've been strapped by a dude who's never cum once in his whole life. THANK YOU!

24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

"Daenerys is basically george bush because she uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh well its a post 9/11 metaphor and uhhh well astapor is basically iraq and uhhhhh nuclear arms" "dany has never done anything wrong in her life and criticizing her means uhhhhh you hate women and abuse victims" "dany is a RAPIST and a RACIST and wants ALL BROWN PEOPLE TO BE SUBSERVIENT TO HER" "mirri maz duur deserved to die horribly for killing (checks notes) her enslaver" "dany is a colonizer (that's not what that word means. you need to look up what that word means)" brothers. Lets all link arms and kill ourselves

Jesus Christ this is long as hell. Sorry I got a lot of beef

[ciaran]

Oh do you wanna choose violence? (ask game) 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 16, 19? 9 and 10 can be optional but this is already a lot so

01. honestly? alhaitham. people seem to think he's an asshole or unempathetic and unkind but really he's just very reserved and he has a tendency to be playful in his own way while being unwilling to truly explain himself to others. he's an autistic king and i love him.

02. hmm i'm gonna do this for diluc: i think diluc has a very intense need for control, especially when it comes to his interactions with kaeya. he can and does relax in most settings over time but i also believe that diluc had a nonzero number of unpleasant sexual interactions in his travels and it's made him averse to the loss of sexual control specifically. also, he's a bit of a masochist but he's much more of a sadist, and he finds kaeya's responses to pain enchanting. they're both very tangled by their history, by the fact that kaeya seeks often to punish himself through diluc and diluc has calcified into the role of protector/punisher over time and now needs a lot of handholding to step out of it and their sexual dynamic is in many ways a return to a rawer and more unfiltered state of being.

06. kaebedo fans have irritated me since forever. also chaeya fans. both ships are good by themselves but a lot of their shippers seem more interested in avoiding kaeluc/luckae than whatever they're actually shipping so they're also the annoying "siblings brothering fraternally" type of ragbros fans (this is how twt user @/cryovishap puts it afksdjf and i agree). i love chaeya by itself and i also enjoy albedo/kaeya but the twitter fans make me wanna put a pillow over my ears.

07. kaveh. im carefully extracting myself from every other opinion about him in order to preserve my tentative affection

08. would it be mean to say "most of them"? i dont even know what common fandom opinions on a lot of things are. i dont look at the fandom at large much if i can help it

16. oh. so many. many kinds of kidfic, revenge fantasy plots (elaborate constructions of "a character is wronged and they &or their lover Destroy Everyone about it"), shovel talks (i hate shovel talks), anything where diluc lacks his violent/sadistic/mildly crazy streak, overinvestment in monogamy or virginity (shipping that's desperate to preclude even the option of other meaningful romantic or romance-adjacent relationships, and things where characters desperately assure each other that they've saved themselves up for this like good christian kids). probably other things, but this is off the top of my head.

one thing i REALLY don't like in general is when top/dom characters aren't allowed to be shamelessly kinky in their own right. like, it's a particular thing if their character is such that they won't want to inflict pain or misery on their partner, but it's very often less a characterization thing and more. a subtle implication that this is how people think doms/tops should be in order for their sexual dealings to be Ethical, as though wanting to cause pain, or being interested in choking someone out, or having cnc fantasies about being the aggressor rather than the victim, are morally indicative desires. subs are always given leeway to want something in ways that doms aren't because victimhood is more morally pure than aggression even when that victimhood or aggression is within the space of kink (or maybe even especially so bc getting off on something makes it worse). but it's always super important to me personally that doms get to be wholeheartedly into whatever they're doing to their sub. they don't have to be shameless about it (shame and guilt are interesting!) but like. they should also be rock fuckin hard at the same time.

19. haikaveh. i know this is so vanilla but gughgjgh i would erase them from my brain if i could

i wouldn't mind doing 9 and 10 but i cant think of anything. thank you for the asks! if anyone read all of this but disagrees with me that's fine you're good i'm not judging anybody and people have complex reasons for liking things that i am not privy to.

[ap-sadistics]

Reads ur essay like the morning newspaper (it was like 6am). I hope it's ok for me to send an ask with just a few small thoughts. but first of all CONGRATS ON FINISHING IT!! 🧡 DJKFDSJF I KNOW IT WAS A LOT BUT PROUD OF U! anyway!! thoughts as I read!

Imma be real. I forgot about the oni. u know I watched that season so recently but I did not remember them which i think says it all lol. To my brain, the villain of s10 was toxic smoke. Also, I did not process Mystake actually dead. I had to check the wiki, for real I thought she would come back in a later season bcuz u know she has so many tricks up her sleeve and seemed so wise but she got the eraser for not being important anymore I fucking guess :) as always it is my fault for having hope in the show. but idk if its much hope as it is like, the normal course of action. i think its extremely weird how they keep doing that to characters they made her cool for one second and then threw her away. gurl power! There is not much to comment about the Garma thing bcuz u pretty much say it all but it bears repeating just how much of a wasted potential for real angst it was. It cOULDVE BEEN GOOD IF THE WRITERS REMEMBERED THEIR OWN SHOW Also! I agree with Jay being the most consistent btw. he also holds the most traits: inventor - has crush on nya/dating nya - Jokester - scream/whinny/kinda pessimistic and Im guess is bcuz they are kinda hard to forget since the first helps w plot, the second is their het tax, third and fourth is their comedy relief. Compared, the other ninja dont rlly have that much...Not even lil special boy Lloyd! which is so weird!! he is their protag right???? he is their main one RIGHT? THEY INSIST ON THAT and yet the screamy blue one wins in personality!!! I think these boys need hobbies. Nya and Pix also got more solid characters bcuz they got like, IDK, SOMETHING GOING ON IN THEIR LIVES? Nya has the Samurai x thing which later becomes Pix's. Nya still wishes she could go back to that, be a hero in her own way and Pixal wanting to help. is cool, is them looking for autonomy. They are still cursed by writers tho :///

AHH THIS GOT SO LONG BUT I GUESS I JUST WANTED TO ENGAGE AND SHOW THAT I APPRECIATE UR ESSAY AND UR THOUGHTS THANK YOU FOR SHARING EM ILYBYE

sorry for the delay in answering this dan!!!! thank you for the reply tho!!! one of the two!!!! people i knew would read that stupid long post,

ugh yeah they really made mystake all cool giving her an epic moment only to kill her off..... man i liked the scene where drop her weights and went apeshit. iconic really. too bad she died.

AND YOURE RIGHT. THEY DID GIVE JAY THE MOST AMOUNT OF DISTINCT CHARACTERISTICS... im not blinded by bias pog!!!!!!

i honestly cannot like..... define lloyds characteristics..... beyond anything thats tied to being a leader. he has the exact same problem as cole i feel.... personality wise. theyre just guys

at the least the girls have something. if only there was no misogyny. truly.

anyways i appreciate you appreciating my essay dan sdhkjfhtlk. so much time went into that thing asduihglsk. even if its just for me its nice to have friends agree with me. BECAUSE I AM RIGHT

[isaacathom]

ds9 time :) s2e6

'i havent seen one of these in 300 years' i- okay hang on. there was a character IN tng who used a wheelchair. the old guy. the one in the absolutely horrifically bad 'old man' prosthetics who took some fucking drug so he'd regain his youth. i remember this episode. he HAD a fucking wheelchair. you HAVE them. theyre IN THE SETTING. what are you talking about Dax. ? i hate scifi when its like 'oh yea we wont need wheelchairs in the future' bullshit man. anyway

'once her basic needs are met she refuses all special assistance' i would not say 'being able to get around' is special assistance but like. ugh. UGH. we're doing this then are we. we're doing this?

the way everyones reacting to meloras stubbornness doesnt sit quite right with me, especially considering that bashir moments prior spoke glowingly of that stubborness. but also why the fuck did you modify the design? without telling her? like dude what the fuck. she sent you a design, you shouldve just made that, and then maybe as the chief medical officer suggested alterations and improvements and so on once it saw on-the-ground action in its intended environment BY its intended user, which is not you. euggggh.

im not sure i like where i feel like this is going to go? i dont know what i think that is but my vibe is poor.

okay so plot a) melora tries to just do her fucking job and b) quark gets murdered. i understand (i do not)

my problem isn't with melora as a character, i think its with a sort of exhaustion with the fact that scifi tends to erase disabilities because ~in the future we can "fix" them~ and then their rare disabled characters tend to be a very specific way. an aspirational disabled person, i suppose. one who doesnt ask for help, who doesnt "let their handicap stop them", you know the vibe. so its not that she's a bad character, per se, but that shes part of a trope thats just sorta annoying. this all comes with the caveat that im not disabled though so ? basically dont listen to anything i say

"its like slipping into a bathtub at the end of a long day" "really... im a shower man myself" bashir buddy what

BASHIR BUDDY WHAT ARE YOU DOING. what the fuck is this. oh i hate this. like to be clear its a significant improvement from bashir being cringe flirty back in s1 with dax (something that seems to have been dropped like a hot rock) but JESUS. BASHIR.

okay yea sure (skips scene) ill just read the transcript man im good. good for bashir making friends i guess.

yknow again melora has a point, who the fuck puts raised rims everywhere like this. its a trip hazard for anybody!

do not make out on your peril do not make out okay wait okay so she realises hes hesitating, goes 'oh dont worry thats my brother' and then they immediately make out, god thats a fucking awkward chain. that said, lol. the shot of them drifting up was fun.

i am not invested in this relationship at all but i guess its nice to see Dax interacting with other people and sharing some of her knowledge. i like her a bit more than s1.

well thats not exactly where i thought her plot was going but of course, mago-scientifically curing her of her disability, a fucking hallmark. god i hate scifi sometimes. like yea whatever it makes sense in the isolated incident that its the sort of thing she WOULD want, because her bullish independence is very important to her, and whatever, but as part of a trend you just. groan.

"you people sell pieces of yourself after you die, don't you? i'll buy one" odo and quark remain exceptional

"you let me fly, i let you walk, we're even" disability politics aside, cute sentiment.

bashir's complete forgetting that she has a family back home, incredible fucking work sir, truly the empath

this episode is not especially well written, is it

wow these plots collide like a sledgehammer

oh thank GOD she doesn't actually commit oto the treatment, thank GOD!!! THANK GOD!!! oh thank god. genuinely a good choice, like im so glad, from the meta perspective, that she decided being able to see her family and all that was more important. does that make sense? i just like that she made the choice, was empowered to make it, and knows whats up. that rules. thats a good ending for her i think.

that said that episode kinda sucks? its fine i guess.

[arodabi]

I kno all this ship talk is getting annoying but i just wanted to make a post explaining why the way alloros treat aro characters bugs me specifically. And then I’ll shut up, maybe

I want to make it clear that i do not care if a couple assholes online write fanfic where aro character kisses ppl or is in romantic relationships. Y’all are right, some fanfics here and headcanons there don’t matter. I’ve been in fandoms where small groups of fans got mad that a character was a lesbian and started blogs just to post about how actually she was 100% straight. That’s still bad and I’m not here excusing those ppls homophobia, but it was also like a small drop in the bucket compared to how much fan content existed portraying her as a lesbian and canon enforcing it as well. At the end of the day it didn’t change her identity.

And i haven’t seen this as much but i have seen some ppl declare Todd bojackhorseman (one of the most prominent asexual characters) to actually be allosexual bc they hate ace ppl or something. I also honestly don’t give a shit about that. Not only do most people know that Todd is canonically ace, he has multiple plot lines in the show about being ace. Saying he’s not is just factually untrue.

But when a character doesn’t have those plotlines, when they never say asexual or aromantic, when all the in canon confirmation we have is “it’s just not my thing” or “I’d rather have a dog than children” or “I’m not x identity I’m nothing” or even just an external tweet from the creative team confirming it, it’s a lot easier to erase their identity. Fuck, I’ve seen a character say “i am incapable of feeling romantic attraction, i never have and i never will” and ppl still not only deny that they’re aro, it’s not even questioned that they’re alloromantic. Every time i post offhandedly about peridot from Steven universe being canonically aroace, i still have aspec ppl every time comment about how they never knew she was canonically aro bc the entire fandom continues to deny and erase her canon identity.

Ppl say “uhhh one fanfic isn’t gonna change a characters canon identity sweaty :)” “one persons headcanons don’t negate canon :))))” but when Everyone does that it does erase their identity! When nobody acknowledges it then a bunch of aspec ppl don’t even know they’re being represented! Fandoms will take scraps of tweets or one line references to enforce and prove their ship or head canon is actually canon, but when writers say “this character has never been in love” or “this character cares deeply about others but would never dream of dating or marrying anyone” then it’s “uwu but that doesn’t prove anything! U don’t have to be a heartless aro to not be a fan of dating uwu”

When the only confirmation we have is a line or two and everyone wants to steamroll over that bc their ship is more important to the point where PEOPLE LITERALLY DONT EVEN KNOW THAT CHARACTER IS SUPPOSED TO BE AROMANTIC then i have a problem! That is erasure! You are taking away our representation! You literally are doing that! And not to get into speculation but if a bunch of creators see that people fucking hate when a character is canonically aspec, they might not want to give us rep if the whole fandom turns and says “fuck you for doing that, you’re ruining my experience” i’ve seen at least one creator say “I’m not gonna confirm this characters identity because it will piss people off” when that character was previously known to be aromantic. So thanks for that i guess. I’m glad at least that there was backlash to ppl erasing yelenas identity, enough backlash to get aromantic to #2 trending which i have never seen before. At least now people are aware of her identity, at least aspec people know that she shares our identity, and when it inevitably gets erased in the MCU, at least we’ll know to be pissed about it. But for many others, ppl just don’t know, because everyone chooses knowingly or unknowingly to cut that characters identity away from them, bc idk they think someone being aspec is boring or smthn

My final conclusion i suppose is just, if a aspec representation falls in the forest and nobody ever acknowledges it, does it benefit the people it’s representing

[yellowbluemoonshine]

(Re)writing Fruits Basket

Thanks for the ask, anon, this was something i would like to talk about before so i am glad you did :)).

There are things that definitely should’ve changed/never happenned in Fruits Basket. Also there are things that could’ve been better and the things i personally would like to change so here we go.

I think we should’ve seen more insight of Tohru. After all, she is the main character. I wish she take the control of her own story and become the narative of it, instead of hearing everything from other characters. We also should explore the side of her that she saw dirty, that she would do anything to feel secure because i think showing characters capable of being dark makes them more real and human. It should’ve happenned with Tohru too. This side of her should’ve been more explored.

Tohru should’ve treated more realistic, not everyone realize her pain and kindness and they shouldnt keep narrate her as if she is angel, its unrealistic. Because not everyone can love everyone, no matter how good you act, most people wont realize it and its okay. So basically that ‘main character’ and ‘shoujo’ power shouldnt happen. She is just a normal girl and she should’ve been treated that way. Tohru’s unhealthy behaours such as toxic positivity and people pleasure should’ve been adressed and she should learn to deal with her feelings better. That she stop smilling always and let her feelings be free.

And i think her parallels with Akito should be one of the biggest focus in story than romance.

Before continue, i would like to erase or at least adress every toxic and exist ideas in story. Just imagine that they all gone. Its a story about invidual’s importance than sacrificing their happiness for everyone, that its both important. Just imagine that they all adressed one by one and characters find the right ways. Because being ‘good’ person doesnt make you less toxic or justifiable. Its about challenging yourself every day so characters also should face consequences of their actions, not just one character.

Tohru’s besties Hana and Uo are still protective of her cause she make them worry but they are not overprotective or at least, later they should realize that they made Tohru more fragile by constantly trying to protect her.

The rivalry between Kyo and Yuki was more dramatic and brutal than comedy relief. Because the tension between them would be more than just comedy and simple fight.

I think Momiji is really cute little boy (kinda reminds me of Misha from Vnc). Foolish traveler story doesnt exist, he just mentions that Tohru’s kindness is not her being stupid to others and he wants them to realize her because in this story, not everyone realize her. He relates Tohru about this cause others dont realize him either in a way.

He is very fond of her and projects her mother issues on her, thats why he feels jeolous of Kyo, he doesnt want to loose his mother figure. He never view her as romantic interest. + Momiji doesnt really change when he become teenager like that.

Kana didnt loose her mind cause of what Akito said because thats ridicilous. Who would care random teenager’s words and loose their minds? Some maids blame on Kana for it, all the pressure around Kana made her give up and lead her to blame herself. Which is the side of story not many zodiac members know about.

Akito didnt try to kill Rin twice, the reason is its simply unnecessary. One time was enough for the plot. And it didnt happen with pushing from the window. (and its also pointless to get Rin hurt pyshically so its unnecessary). When Akito learnt Rin was going out with Haru, she put her to cat house and cut her hair. She put her there as punishment, later she let her go by thinking she understood her lesson. Its obviously traumatized Rin. Later, we met Rin with short hair at the first time. Later in story, we find out why her hair become like that even though it was shown as long in Haru and other zodiac members’s memories.

Kyo rejects Kagura and talk about how much uncomfortable he felt around her, that he doesnt love her cause she never give him a break, that she doesnt respect him as person, calling her out for her abuse. + Arisa never beats Kyo but just tease him as joke.

Ritsu was shown with his boy clothes when he was introcuded. He was seen as shy boy and at the end of story, he was shown in girl clothes as growth cause thats what who he really wants to be, that its okay to be himself, that he can enjoy with what he likes.

Haru had a love triangle type of relationship betwen Yuki and Rin and it actually adressed, instead of treating it as joke.

Rin and Haru never slept but they just kissed each others when they started going out. And actually they were more than just lovers, they were besties who supported each others. Also Rin never saw her body as something she can offer to others.

Ayame had a thing for Hatori and he is just besties with Mine.

Not every zodiac members like each others and they dont do that banquet meeting anymore cause they dont need it, they are free. Story also should’ve adressed other character’s flaws too, not just certain ones. And it shouldnt been treated as comedy relief.

Rin also gets friends outside of Tohru at school and after Tohru and Kyo talk, Rin and Kagura understand each others more and gets closed, like sisters.

And when Haru learnt that what Akito did, thats when he got mad. Also other zodiac members learn it later and feeling bad for not realizing sooner. Not just them, it even make Tohru uncomfortable so her lack of empathy towards Akito increase too.

Kureno always saw Akito as cute younger sister or even like his own daughter so naturally, he never had romantic or sexual desire for her. He witnessed her suffering and he decided that he had to protect her, even it means ignoring other people’s suffering. Because to him, his younger sister’s happiness was more important than anything. He also felt responsible for her.

And Kureno and Uo didnt have some kind of love story. Arisa had one sided crush/interest cause he was looking like male version of Tohru but Kureno never see her that way. Tohru wanted to see him cause she thought he needed to be saved too. The reason why Kureno decided to talk with Tohru because he saw her positive effect on zodiac members and decide to talk about his and Akito’s side of story. At the end, Kureno had a last talk with Akito at hospital. They talked about their feelings and suffering. And Kureno decided to leave for a while. They both wished happiness for each others.

Shigure, just like Kureno never really had romantic or sexual feelings for Akito but he was obsessive with her. At first, it was shown as he was obsessed with Akito, this is why he got jeolous of his secretive relationship with Kureno. He didnt sleep with Ren but he helped her in some authority cases, this is why Akito told him to leave from here. Then Shigure to decide to use zodiacs for his goal and after some time pass in story, we learn that what he was truly obsessive about was the connection between god and zodiac members.

Because of his neglective family and his position as zodiac in Sohma Place made him search a reason to live. He thought that he could achieve it by being the ‘special one’ for god so he used everyone for the sake of it. He is still the same jerk. But at the end, after the curse, he felt empty. At the end, he realized that what truly gave meaning to his life was his connection with zodiac members, not the ‘bond’ but it was too late because he used them as tool and in the end, most of them left him too. After all, actions have consequences. He also gets punched.

Katsuya was a few years older than Kyoko, they were in same high school. Katsuya’s father realized that Kyoko needed help so he let her live in their house to become family which lead Katsuya and Kyoko’s falling in love with each others. Then years later, they get married and have Tohru.

Akito never really fall in love with anyone, she was just really confused with her relationship with parents, maids and zodiac. She was acting flirty unconciously cause of Ren. She unciously imitate her mother’s seductive behavours sometimes.

Hana never had any interest on Kyo’s father even as joke but she casually tease him about Tohru. But when she randomly saw Akito at school, she found her hot without knowing who she is.

Kyo never witness Kyoko’s death. We dont need two death story to make it tragic. Its also cliche. Kyo met with Kyoko when he ws young but he never saw her death. When he found out that Tohru was her daughter and she id dead, she felt regret without ever telling her to goodbye.

(Honestly, maybe it would’ve been better if Tohru didnt end up with Kyo, instead they are just very close friends/they just became like that in the end).

EDIT; Ok, i think i would make AkiTohru canon, thats far better than this. Also, i would make KyoYuki canon too cause Tom and Jerry are belong to each others and should be together and Tohru would be the one of the biggest ship of it. Yep this way, its better. And the idea of ‘eternity’ with Akito should happen just like Ei’s story in Genshin Impact too. Yep, yep, this way better.

I also think there should be another character besides Tohru who can be actually parental figure for zodiac members. Tohru’s taking mother role at young age is unhealthy and it would be very limited so there should be one more character besides her to help them. Maybe Kazuma can be one or another person who can fulfill that role.

Rin should’ve meet with Akito after Akito’s change and Rin lash out and scream about her pain and how she will not forgive Akito. I think they both need this talking at least. Akito also cries too by hearing, it lead her to understand the suffering her actions caused to others. Akito’s crying made Rin surprised. She doesnt forgive her there but now, she understands her change and why others are open minded about Akito. And they both just leave.

Story was longer than it actually was. We saw about the Sohma place people more and Tohru met with them and it actualy broke her, even lead her to act angry sometimes. And actually seeing parents like that made her feel so sad and frustrated.

Also story focus on more actual villains of story, abusive parents and how much it hurts their children. This part of story should’ve been adressed more. And their children should realize this too, that they also dont have to forgive them and they can have life without them too.

We should get more side of Akito. Since she was a character who will eventualy get redemption and the real curse is not just zodiac’s, its also her side, it is important. We get backstory of how she was groomed since her young age, as the lead of that place, as god, as ‘special one’ and how maids take advantage of her. Even after her encounter with Tohru, we get see her struggling and suffering more. Story doesnt end there.

After reaching out to Akito, Tohru request Akito to end the curse and Akito says she doesnt know how. Eventually they all become free, when they let go including Akito herself. It happens later.

At the hospital scene, when Akito asks ‘Why they they help me? Why are they kind to me? Why are you kind to me?’ to Momiji and he answers with ‘Well, you needed help so....isnt it only natural?’ with a smile on his face.

We see how sohma people start blaming on Akito for not being ‘proper’ leader. Even Ren tried to kill her. Which eventually made zodiac members realized that curse wasnt just on them, it also hers too as ‘god’. Because of Ren attempting to kill Akito, they realize that Akito cant stay here cause she cant even protect herself cause of guilt. She stays in mental hospital, gets help and Tohru and Hanajima often visits her. Later, Akito having a normal life with her friends at outside.

Since Tohru meets with Akito a lot, Kyo and Akito see each others a lot, (since they are friends), they even become actually friends. Sometimes Kyo tease her by calling her god and her change. It also kinda make Akito embrass about it and smile. After all, cat and god was supposed to be close but Akito and Kyo only become friends after they stopped being cat and god so it was funny too.

Tohru and we audience learn more about the old zodiacs and how much brutal it was even in past. Past gods were even more cruel since it was old times. Tohru doesnt just stay in house and coincidently meeting with zodiacs, she also takes action to look for them and learn more about the curse and of course, she is really curious of them too.

Everyone eventually get to learn actual curse of story.

And maybe this is just me but i would like this story to happenned in fantasy world, idk i think it would be more interesting. With a little more magic, more drama and action, it would be really amazing, i think.

Well, i could write more and more but you get the point. This is my version of it. Its a lot more fun. I imagine something like this, its a lot better, i think. There might be things i forgot to say but for now thats it.

[papers4me]

Fruits Basket Manga Review , ch 111

sigh~~~ I feel that my recent posts are a bit negative towards the anime, but thats cuz the chapters I’ve read so far are either unbelievably important character depth content cut for no valid reason or content in the anime but packed with million other things that it lost its purpose or importance. Basically tohu’s ep 6 which consists of 4 chapters & now ep 5 which is a momiji ep & yup, packed with 4 chapters as well... so, I apologize for any negativity, my intention is just analyzing artistic & story-telling aspects, I love se03, but yeah it screwed up lots of important characters due to its not so thorough plot decisions & harmful character insight choices.

today.. we explore Momiji... but only before his curse breaks.

Furuba anime struggling to know how to design an episode based on various plot-heavy chapters?

so, they decided 13 eps, & decided one ep for momiji cuz motoko’s graduation & the fanclub is the core of the furuba & have already cut tons of tohru, cuz who cares? she’s kind. be like her. end of lesson. No. really, jokes aside, how to do this?

How to combine several chapters in one ep? collect small snippets from chosen chapters/content like a bee does flowers? you gotta skip some content, you gotta highlight others. The ep is only 20 min after all & you got an op & Ed that you cant always skip.... so.. furuba team decide that momoji’s ep should be true to his zodiac animal, this is the rabbits last appearance in spirit. so, they went with quick hopping from one chapter to the other like a rabbit?

No really, ep 5 is really like a rabbit in its flow, you can’t savior a moment enough before jumping to the other: we learned momiji grew up!! loves toheu romantically, challenged kyo, really meant it, wanted a fair love game, got freed, lost tohru romantically & faced momiji! but that’s not all? we still have space!! quick add akito’s moodiness & love triangle with her dog & her submissive bed partner, add a happy comedy for no reason whatever & make shigue kiss tohru & wish shes 'was his lover instead!!!!!!!!! Mind you all this happened in the anime before shigure hurt tohru with his “the truth of the zodiacs talk & them accepting & feeling consolance that kyo is doomed”talk. 

-Gets whats my biggest surprise after reading this chapter ?????????

Shigure is consistent!! He isnt a rabbit hopping here & there. The dog is loyal & is tired for good reason! Him being depressed & his weird talk with thoru makes so much sense given the manga’s order.

Kyo is consistent!! In the anime, momiji surprise him with confession he loves tohru & challenge him, then kyo la~la~la~joins them downstairs for curry. Not a single expression on his face, where is the expression? it will appear when the plot is forced to address it: by the end of the ep when momiji face hin again. Then we get kyo’s reaction.

I need someone to tell the anime that actions require a reaction. You can refrain from showing a certain reaction if you can’t address it now, but you can’t erase it, negate it, then make it appear when have to!!!! couldn’t they make kyo refuse to join them & eat together? the     other characters wont be surprised they think he’s needlessly moody. The audience will know that kyo is troubled with momiji’s challenged & it will excite them!!! having kyo just go eat & watch the momiji/hiro/haru/yuki comedy skit is weird.

The manga’s author wanted kyo to join the dinner, like the anime did. but huge difference. the author actually cares for logic reaction & understands that the audience aren’t dumb little kids that will sit & wait for kyo’s turn to...react! nope! she did this: (a) & (b) below.

-Lost Small Bits/ Panels from the chapter.. But Sadly Big Huge Chunks for Characters buildup & Growth:

(a) addressed the fact the hiro noticed kyoru is in love & dressed that shigure was right!! the cat being in love is a weird concept to the zodiacs! hiro reacted naturally & the author used hiro to flesh yuki’s (the rat), momiji’s (the rabbit) & haru’s (the cow) decision to silently watch the kyo (the cat) makes his own decisions to live!!! They won’t interfere or tell akito or remind him of his state as the doomed caged cat. So sad this moment is cut from yuki. Why must yuki only interact with kyo to beat him (all seasons)? why must yuki only think of kyo to envy him (all seasons) ? Here, yuki’s growth towards kyo as a person & his relationship with tohru is 1000 times better than all tohru is my mom’s sh!t & I envy kyo’s Sh!t we saw in the anime over & over till we memorized it.

(b) kyo didnt just go la~la~eat with momiji after knowing he loves tohru. Nope, there’s small bits missing: called logical emotional reaction. He was surprised he’s caught pining over tohru! cuz yuki, the audience representative, has told us in the previous chapter that ppl in love dont notice anything around them. Kyo thinks him being cold hid his feelings. the dummy’s feelings are as bright as the sun in the Sahara, tohru too. a child read her! such small thing that wont take much space from the ep but was cut cuz kyo only needs to be responsive at the ep’s end. & this scene of kyo & tohru looking awkwardly at each other is minor in space but so important cuz kyo is determined to let go but his decision is challenged by not only momiji, but his natural attraction to tohru. Here he knows he’s caught & exposed... here he knows momiji is a better choice for tohru cuz he wont didn’t hurt her mom... here he knows that even yuki is better cuz never had to pretend to be cold to her... here he knows the world is better than him... & here he just cant help by smile & walks towards her... T_T ... another lesson in writing slow burns by Takaya-san.

-Why would the anime team pass on this?? drawing kyoru closer after the epic tear in Cinderella ep, cuz they want empty suspense~! The anime team thinks that if kyo & tohru stand next to each other, then it means all their issues are solved & the audience are so stupid as to forget tohru’s mom, kyo’s imprisonment, kyo not confessing his sins to tohru & tohru’s need to make a choice wether to fogive hom or not.. nope! you see, they think, ppl who read mangas are smart, so the author can give this epic symbolism & pp would still be not sure kyoru is end game & tohru will forgive him or kyo even fogive himself, but ppl who watch, oh no, gotta cut all the plot worthy content, produce a graduation song for a minor character, cut all kyo/tohru interaction cuz it only means romance & not at all character depth & oh if we show yuki actually formulating deep thoughts that aren’t centered around him, the audience might forget his se02 struggles! or that might ruin yuki’s upcoming growth moment in the finale where he .. you guessed it hits kyo.. as he always do & sulk &  think abt himself cuz yuki can only do monologues when he’s directly involved.... man~it is so sad how the anime is dumped down.. Who is the target audience again? not kids as young as hiro cuz even hiro is smart!

-just look:

 Momiji talks abt kyo shouldn't give up loving tohru & the authr shows this this ghost!!! his mom! The author reminds us that kyo isnt da~~~~ forgetting anything. He’s a deeply troubled soul & hos mom wants him locked cuz she too was locked in a cage & thinks that’s safer...why oh why you dump ur own story! sh!t~

Side Notes:

I like the closeups on Kisa’s face as she interacted with kyo. It’s very rare for kisa to have a world beside the endearing parental/big protective bro/big doting sister love she has with tohru & haru & off course the romantic love with hiro which was perhaps since their birth or sth. lol.  Kisa & kyo arent much on the brotherly side as they rarely interact, but its one of those  refreshing  interactions she has that helps cast a new light on her as tiny as it is,  but its sth out of the norm around her. She sees him  around tohru & gets to perceive his true unprovoked character. “He is  nice guy”.

I really wanted to punch kureno this chapter.. like Shigure is a jerk shitty dog for sleeping with akito’s mom but kureno... dude.. you submissively sleep with the guy’s eternal love interest & still walks in on him talking to her!!! lol. you’re mentally, emotionally & physically weaker than him & yet, she puts you on her bed, not him & you, tho not wanting her at all, dont walk away. No wonder shigure is defeated & wishing for someone like tohru, lol! Even if shigure met an older tohru-like person, it wont work. shigure deserve someone like him mean, schemer & loves playing power games. Tohru is someone who values honesty & commutation, not saying she’s an angel on earth, but tohru knows who suits her.. except fate is saying: NO. .... currently. lol.

I know kureno’s weakness is part of his character & I love that such characters exits. There are ppl ike that in real life. It’s just this chapter, I felt shigure’s frustration. XD

Yuki in this ep is the best yuki. no exaggeration here, I love when yuki is calmly thoughtful of others & here its kyo of all ppl !!!! cutting this scene is sad.. without it, kyo & yuki remain a cat & rat in the anime. Only ever thinking abt each other thro envious binoculars or hateful words or yuki giving kyo comedic hitting or life’s problem-solving hitting. Why can’t anime yuki be interactive outside his self-centered issues is beyond me.

Momiji & kyo’s interactions are always the best! whether comedy or drama.

I hated the curry cooking scene in the anime... so weirdly out of the ep’s flow.. very forced comedy... in the manga it had a purpose! not just quick add comedy cuz next shot momiji curse breaks & drama & we’ll close the ep with tears & sadness & glimpses of hope...

I love haru’s answer to hiro... so him.. “a guy can’t fall in love?”so chill.. so..simple.

[alroma1]

Everything that... not exactly right with Uraraka Ochako.

This is my first really long post about bnha. I felt out of fandom somewhere during Ovarhaul arc and return around year ago. Upon returning some things about Ochako really stroke me and not really in good way. So heres my rambling about... what I think is strange about her. And yeah this also going to be why I feel like she is despite everything solid candidate for traitor role. I am not insist on it in any way though. Just want to pour some thoughts. 

Lets start with a look at general development of this character. 

Uraraka started as a bit over cheerful pretty girl with good heart. With great design and really unique quirk. And also a twist - wanting to be a hero for money. What I am trying to say here is that this all is already enough for write really good character. What buffles me is that despite all this somehow her character development becomes...  surprising. And I dont mean in a good way,

Lets start with original setup - lovely girl with not so noble motive for  being hero. But wait a sec... isnt it still noble? That probably was my first small burn with Ochako character. Giving her that motive was great way to deepen her character, giving her more backbone if you ask me. But maybe out of fear of making readers dislike her or because of other reasons its still came out... as something nice. Because Ochako says she is  doing it for someone else. Even Iida wasnt against the motive of wanting better life but it feels like she tries erase herself from that part. Why dont say “I want better life for our family”?

Yes, from Ochako flashback its sorta hinted that she wanted to be hero herself. But she also wanted to help her family so she decided to go with both. But the part about money is way more important to her than to others in class A I think. And while its not that prominent in the series, question how can heroes work for money does emerge from time to time. So it would be decent reason for giving her solid development. But guess what? After Sport festival this point was never mentioned again. Her motive about being hero for money has completely disappeared from the plot. 

After Sport Festival and until Overhaul arc we hit what I consider second stage of her character - young maiden in love.

Of course its not like it started there. Ochako started shown signs of this at very early phase of story. Too early if you ask me.

This is probably the earliest sign that Ochako think about Deku not only as about friend. And first it manifested in form of jealousy. Which is kinda unusual in... shonen manga I suppose? Love jealousy doesnt have that strong representation there. Though I might be wrong. 

Anyway her feeling to Deku is lowkey is the most consistent part about her character development. Consistent but not that understandable.

I know most people interpretate this as she didnt want her feeling get in the way of her becoming a hero but... it wasnt phased that way. But anyway this decision feels out of place for so many reasons. At least to me. 

For once its normal for person of her age to fall in love. Its part of youth. But those feelings never made her even a bit happy. She is happy hanging out with Deku (and Iida) as a friend but whent it starts go romantique road she practically always nervous and... sad I suppose? And that while being jealous. She doesnt like someone other take Deku but also doesnt will to try to do it herself. Even though she has good chances of being successful. What is this attitude? 

So for whatever reason she considers those feelings nuisance. Her decision when she couldn lie to herself anymore? Shut them down, hide them. She didnt think twice about this. Is she used to deal this way with emotions she finds unsavory? 

Right after Overhaul arc we were given third (and final for now) version of her character. Brave hero who wants save people.

The only reaction I had upon reading this was “What?!” Where is this coming from? Yes, Ochako is a kind girl and yes she was hurt by Sirs death but really? What happened to motive about money? Or more precisely - wheres transition from one to another? Its not character development if you just answer something with A and some time later says B. You have to show why A become B. 

 I know people in fandom often complain about lack for spotlight for secondary characters. I get that. Personally I think Kohei did decent job in fleshing class A though it could be better.But then again it could be way worse. But the thing is that lack of development doesnt equal inconsistent development. And I think Bnha is good in that aspect. I cant think about single character with inconsistent character development. Except one. And thats Ochako. But since she is surrounded by characters whose writing is stable its not that noticeable. But if you single out her character - the problem is here...

However after Overhaul arc we didnt have any radical changes in her. She remains someone trying hard at becoming hero who saves people while hiding ( suffocating?) her feelings for Deku. And indeed she tries her hardest. It clearly seen in 296. This proves its her own genuine feelings... though wait..

Could it be that her quite sudden drive to save people is actually her trying to be even more like Deku? Maybe being inspired by him to try hardest for her parents wasnt enough and she ended up taking his reason as well?

But this is more or less just speculation. And besides messy writing by itself isnt enough to prove her being traitor makes sense. So in next post I am going to write about what I think hints it might be Ochako after all. And yeah its gonna be long too. 

[botwstoriesandsuch]

hey Kip! I’m sending asks into different writer’s askboxes, inquiring about cool themes/development facts/stuff the author wants to share about their personal favorite work of their own. What’s yours? :)

Ok so this ask is old and when I first got it I was like “dang I don’t really have a lot to talk about, what should I talk about I could those revalink headcanons the Kip Cut that turned into a working fic uhh hmm maybe I’ll just make something new to talk about real quick” and then I did and now there is a 12+ chapter Revalink fic in my drafts and I’m gonna talk about that now, whoopsie doopsie [click "j" to skip]

aHEM, OK so allow me to break out the primary school white board because yeah, I have a lot of thoughts and the oxford comma has not yet made it’s home into my brain. oh and spoilers for paraphrase. for both all of Chapter one and future events in later chapters, but it’s really nothing you couldn’t surmise from the AO3 tags

so I really wanted to tell the story of Revali and Link learning and struggling to love again after the less-than-fortunate events of Botw, but I wanted a...how you say...fresher, approach on the subject? Like I know we always say that fanfic writers writing the same tropes and stories time and time again is good because we eat that shit up--but at the same time I had asian parenting as was told never to half ass anything ever, no matter what. So now I'm gay and extra and have depression maybe and oh would you look at that @motherhyrule has dropped a beautiful revalink prompt right into my lap

Great so now that we have, that, I shall take you on the step by step process on how to make a :sparkles: story. So step one is to spend at least five to eleven business days for your white board to dismantle your genre and themes and work them around your character arcs. Luckily I have prepared one ahead of time

s*breaks out those laser pointers that uni professors use* So let's start with defining genre. As define because I HATE you, fuck you. I want you to suffer and writhe on the ground, motherfucker. How dare you think that I would give you nothing but pure predictable fluff, fuck you and yours

is the set of expectations that your audience has when consuming a piece of media

And the great thing about fanfiction is that unlike movies or book where the genres are more vague like, "oh it's a noir mystery genre. so there's a crime, maybe a murder, and a detective and a criminal." or "oh it's a teen romance. so there's some white people and a morally questionable six-pack 18 year old love interest that will be painted as desirable for some reason" BUT with fanfiction HALF of the work out the window, because as soon as you see those #revalink #aro sidon #zelpha #revali is an idiot and #found family tags you already know what's up.

Now what's so great about genre and expectation? Well the fun thing about it is that

I will use it to fucking break you.

... ... ...

<3 For example! <3

In Chapter 1: Holes, you already expect there to be revalink, you already expect them to be soulmates with the soulmarks and there's angst and yadayada ya. Revali and Link have to match because thatttss what this is all about, this is about them! This is about cute, little soulmarks and romantic words!

But whoooopsie doopsie [disney channel laugh track plays] they DON'T match anymore! Link's got a different mark! The number one rule of this entire genre has been broken whoooooooooooooooops. *ba dum tiss*

You might notice with a lot of my writing that I do this a lot, this whole..."oop but there's one little thing that's different." TebaSaki sick fic? Ok cool, but what if Teba burns an irreplaceable relic of the Rito champion to fight a wizzrobe first to characterize why his dumbass clicks with Saki. Mipha deciding to persue Link? Ok what if she chases after a dragon to externalize this conflict as she pierces it's flesh for a scale. Link fighting a Lynel? Ok but what if it's actually a sidlink angst fic in disguise and it's also world building on how Link deals with the bloodmoon that erases all of his efforts which is sort of similar to how his existence was erased from Hyrule 100 years ago mwaahahaha! Ok now that I say this outloud I think I just have a pattern of using fight scenes to externalize character growth. I like fight scenes...anyways.

I think another great thing about the realm of fanfiction is that with the tagging system, I can basically use a chekhov's gun sort of deal, without doing any writing. You know I'm gonna use that gun marked "soulmates" but you don't know when I'm gonna shoot it, and you SURE as hell don't know how.

And huzzah! One of the main points of conflict both drives the tension between Revali and Link, solidifies the unique genre and setting of this world, while also creating a new mystery that will carry over for the next few chapters.

Is Revali right in that Link's rebirth makes him destined for someone new now? What will Link do with the information that his soulmark has changed? Why did it change? Did Revali's change as well? How does anything fucking work right now?

And sure, you might be able to tell where things will end with them, but you sure as fuck will not know how because I HATE you. Fuck you. I want you to suffer and writhe on the ground, motherfucker. How dare you think that I would give you nothing but pure predictable fluff. I am not your goddamn fairy godmother, I will do as I fucking please. You will suffer as you fucking deserve, fuck you and your little tiny--

/j

Oh! But you might have noticed on my little planning whiteboard thing that there was a little T-Chart! For Revali and Link! That's because the next important thing besides plot (and in a lot of cases, including this one, it's argued to be even MORE important than plot) is

~CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT~

[to the tune of that history of the world video on youtube]

So yes, it's a little T-Chart outlining their character views in relation to the themes. And the great thing about themes is that they're not something you can necessarily predict in the same way you can with the genre and plot.

But now see, I'm very lazy so I'm just gonna plagiarize @hyrule-kingdom-updates thingy [that you should read btw] because they said my point quite clear enough

Now I don't really need to care about those points about bond and relationships and being understood, because I'm dealing with already established canon characters. I'm not some NERD who dabbles with entire casts of ocs who even cares about ocs not me that's for sure ahaahahaahahahahahaahahahahahAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH *cries in my orphaned WTTU fic* AHAHAHA*sobs*DONT FUCKING LOOK AT ME THAT WAY I SWEAR--

/j I love ocs

But the points I do wanna focus on is the idea that characters provide new perspectives on the theme, and that characters growth can be tracked based on their wants, lies, and needs.

So see, themes can be predicted the same as genre/plot because while you can have the same fanfic plots and tropes, theme will always vary!

Sometimes it's a journey of selfworth with Revali! Sometimes it's an exploration of trauma with Link. Sometimes it's about how you deal with the vulnerabilities of love with Mipha. Sometimes there's straight up NOOOO theme, and people just be fucking, and kissing, and baking, and having a good time. And that is totally fine too!

But I'm not a fucking coward.

I'm gonna weave in themes with my plot, because I fucking can.

I'm not a weakling like you.

Do you hear me, 2019 Kip? Do you hear me Demmers? Do you hear me Quill? I'm coming for your ass. You think you're so great, but I'm coming for you. Rest assured that your graves will be as deep as your sculptured pride--

Heeeere is that T-Chart again, plus more!

yyyyyYou might notice that Revali and Link are quite parallel, to paraphrase. Ayoooo, see what I did there? *dabs* I'm a genius. Anywho

They both start off the same way: 100 years ago they were in love and happy. Basically the equivalent of childish naivety. For the first time in their lives, life is whimsical and charming, and they make each other happy. In fact, it's almost a flaw with how they perceive this happiness. But don't worry! It doesn't last long!

You know what happens.

I think the chart is pretty self explanatory. Revali builds walls fast enough to give a republican a wet dream. Meanwhile Link makes every aromantic in the chat groan with his doubled down sentiments in the idea that his chances of being truly happy again are gone.

Now, I can't exactly describe the full on process of the inbetweens, and where Revali and Link are gonna go from here, because...you have to read it for yourself! Heehee...but something I did think was fun was how these character views on the themes are revealed. Because you'll notice that, I never give exposition. Ever.

Ok well, let me rephrase that. I never give exposition scenes. I will never give you a big LOTR fancy wizard scene explaining the ins and outs of a character's question or the world's magic or whatever. I'm a very impatient Kip, and I value efficiency. Nonono, it's all about multi tasking, baby!

Chapter 1: Holes is divided into three parts.

Post 100 Years - Medoh (Establishes Ghost Rev/Bonk Head Link's view)

100 Years Ago - Flight Range (Establishes old Revalink views)

Post 100 years - Mark (Develops Ghost Rev/Bonk Head Link's view in contrast to who they once were)

I think the way that you structure flashbacks is incredible vital, as it's a very quick way to characterize people without having them say stuff like "I used to be like you, until I took an arrow to the knee" or whatever.

And with the main structure of the chapters and the fic as a whole is focus on their characters, that means I can hide whatever other stuff I want in those scenes, becuase you're too busy absorbing the fun character stuff to realizing I'm giving you boring exposition. Like for example:

Post 100 Years - Medoh and Mark

Foreshadowing for the end of the fic

Set up connection to Medoh with Revali

Link has defeated Windblight

Link has been visiting Revali every night for the past few days

Link has already met Kass and presumably Teba

Link doesn't have the Mastersword

Revali's Gale is still an ability that needs master and practice on Link's end

And that's just some of the stuff.

And see, the only reason I can efficiently give all of this information regarding character, and even exposition, is because of the theme. The themes make everything relevant, and everything circles and encompasses one another, so there's absolutely no wasted space. I mean don't even get me started on how it's gonna be to characterize the other characters around this

I don't wanna talk about the other characters too much either because that's spoilers, but you can probably take a gandar based on my notes.

And oh my god this is just on the theme of the faults that come with "soulmates" and "true love" and all that, and how even magical destined relationships still require work and effort, and that no one thing or person solves all your problems. And that's not even TOUCHING the shit on trauma and scars. I didn't think it was even possible for me to talk about botw without touching on that, ha. Ah well, I've been talking for too long.

Revalink has a lot o' writing potential so das pretty cool yeah, I am excite

[sunshine-tattoo]

just finished watching the new netflix anime BNA (brand new animal).

wanna give it a review. SPOILERS AHEAD. (also im bad at spelling Japanese names because of my dyslexia so ill be referring to their characters mainly by their titles)

things i liked:

lesbian undertones

dont trust pharmaceutical companies

the real evil in this world are rich white guys

wolf guy had big dad energy

animation was charming

nina was adorable

some cool biopunk elements

themes of erasing identities for the sake of calm

athletic female protagonist was not sexualized

equality should not mean sameness

cute furries

things that could have been improved:

the ending made no sense at all

it was obvious that alan was the villain all along but the pureblood wolf thing came literally out of left field. there was no buildup at all. no mention of beastman species only marrying each other and the politics therein.

and the solution to this plothole could have been sooooo easy.

have “pureblood” beastmen be high members of society or something. like the malfoy family in harry potter. have it be an actual plotpoint. instead of the entire series being beastmen vs humans up until the final episode.

or have pureblood beastmen be ones with no human ancestry. the same themes apply.

also if alan really was immortal, then a better story would have him as the actual general of the army that wolf boy fought. that would have really clinched the dynamic between them.

the biopunk elements needed to take center stage

some of this may just be my personal taste towards scifi vs fantasy, but i felt like their was a lot of buildup towards a story about genetics and equality that never really went anywhere.

take the scene where rhino guy goes completely bonkers. i thought for sure that it was from him being injected with something by the masked snake guy. that maybe it was some kind of drug to make beastman DNA go completely haywire. i was actually digging his crazy transformation a lot.

but then they go and explain that its some kind of syndrome that beastmen get by being in close quarters?

that felt both like weak writing and a bit ableist.

a better solution would be to have it be an experimental drug that the pharmaceutical company developed and was using the beastman city as a testing ground.

or if it needs to stay connected to the past, perhaps the compound that causes the reaction was found in the environment of wolf boy’s ancient european city. the human army witnessed the beastman transformations and recorded it. eventually alan’s family found why it happened via science and made it into a drug.  

the role of women in the city

the episode with the orphaned kids and grand grandma honestly was a bit of a waste for two reasons.

the first is the very human-centered idea that animals are sexist the way humans are. this is incorrect.

quite a few species are matriarchal. like elephants. or they have no hierarchy at all.

the fact that a lioness was being told she was weak for being female fucking blew my mind. have you ever seen a lion pride? females bring home the food and the males look after the cubs.

the second reason is that, even if you ignore the lack of basic understanding about animal societies, the sexism trope didn’t go anywhere.

we never see any other cases of women being treated badly outside of that episode.

the mayor is never belittled and one of the strongest baseball teams in the city is made of female pink flamingos.

don’t spend a whole episode trying to establish something in the world-building and then don’t use it again.

the mayor’s past as a holocaust survivor should have had more plot importance

maybe this is just me speaking as both a jew and a gay, but i really didn't like that the holocaust was used as just a backstory for how the mayor and wolf boy met.

i was really hoping to find out that there was connection to the pharmaceutical company and the cruel medical experiments that were done in the camps. as many scientific breakthroughs can trace their origins to horrible human experimentation done at the hands of fascist governments.

it also would have cemented alan as personal villain to both wolf boy and the mayor.

how magic works

they did not need to explain everything, but maybe a little explanation here and there could have really made the story clearer.

for example, when tanuki girl arrives in the city she learns about how magic is something that can be found in beastmen blood but it is very rare and species dependent. so tanukis and foxes have a much higher chance to do magic than other species (like japanese folklore). they can change their tails to do basic shape-shifting.

it also would explain how wolf boy became immmortal. since he bathed in the blood of his fallen clan and absorbed all their magic.

alan’s identity as a beastman

honestly i could write a whole post about him but ill just keep it to the basics.

alan should not have been a beastman. he should have been a human.

because making him a beastman took away the themes of oppression in the story.

alan was a rich, white human man who did not care for the lives of others (human or beastman) and was happy to use them as pawns and test subjects. not to mention his family most likely had ties to the nazis.  

his particular hatred for beastmen could have come from the killing of his ancestor’s army by wolf boy. leading the family to want revenge on all beastmen and the silver wolf in particular.

that is a realistic villain and one that the audience is happy to see defeated.

how fox girl and tanuki girl becam beastmen

i think that them changing into beastmen should have been intentionally done by the pharmaceutical company, not as an accident via hospital embezzlement

two girls badly hurt in a bus crash would have been easy targets to inject an experimental serum. one that was designed to change a human into a beastman so that the company could learn how to reverse it and make all beastmen into humans.

fox girl exhibited symptoms first and was grabbed by big pharma to use as a pawn.

tanuki girl was a spare who eventually disappeared from their radar and then reappeared in the beastman city.

i think that the embezzlement story could still have happened, but the effects were worse. beastman blood sold to the highest bidder, which turned out to be the pharmaceutical company itself and its illegal experiments.

tanuki and fox beastman blood could have been chosen specifically because of their ties to magic as well. which allows for their shape-shifting.

snake guy and his mask

i think that snake guy should have been one of the first beastmen experimented on by the company.

the results left him scarred and stuck between his two forms. but because he was brainwashed by the company, he gladly serves them.

[luckycheesefoodie321]

Soooooo... Couples therapy didn’t go well for SamBucky... TFATWS THOUGHTS (long post + spoilers)

Ok. Ok some depth to dude in a suit.

Not a bad guy. But the good guy Erskine always hoped for???

Mmmmmm some parallels between Sam and dude in a suit. Nervous to fill that suit.

“You’re not Captain America”

Aww they referenced his song

“Punch your way out of problems” hmm

Well yknow this is very early Captain America when Erskine gets killed and all Steve could do was be a figurehead of the war and put on shows...so interesting parallels

Bucky finds outtttt and he’s probably gonna deck Sam for giving up the shield

Ahhhhhh I knew it. Boi believed in what Steve believed. And seeing the shield being touted by some other guy gotta hurt.

Wait. But how did Bucky know Sam was gonna be there. Is he even allowed on this base??? Who gave him access???

Bucky my love you can’t help but latch onto the only friend you have huh? Wanna protect the dude that Steve believed could take up the mantle.

Instant chemistry on screen I adore this.

Dear god the sexual tension

Awwww “DONT call me Buck. Only Steve can call me Buck” WHATS THE BET BY THE END HES CALLING HIM BUCK OR THERES A CALL BACK WHERE SAM CALLS HIM BUCK AND BUCKY SAYS STILL CANT CALL ME THAT

Ahahahhahha what happened to the cool guy who caught Caps shield??

Cant even jump out of plane with no parachute. No wonder you didn’t get chosen to be Captain America XD (I kid. Don’t come for me)

Yknow what glad they showed them putting in those ear pieces. Every time they do that, the nonsense of every single Avengers movie and Civil War gets whittled down a little bit more

Sam we need a brooding non blinking dude or else who else will be your comedy prop

That was a flirty smile. Stop flirting Sam you’re on a mission.

Also love that Bucky is kinda caught up in saying all the cheesy sort of “casual” mission banter lines

Wait is that his new hero name orrrr? Bc he’s trying not to be the Winter Soldier anymore..

Their ongoing banter is really refreshing when before in other MCU movies (and this is very back to classics) there was time for maybe one quirky line mid action and the rest is just serious on a mission mode unless Tony was around

Bucky running oh my god I forgot

We had the whole running scene in Civil War too XD

Oop she’s not a hostage

Bucky has to love redwing in future right? (Sike they kill Redwing)

Oooh Sam got the hero music playing!!!

I was wrong. Dude in a suit got CAPS MUSIC????

Oh damn roll through the grass guys take it easy XD

I’m sorry subtitler what are you doing. “Captain America”???

Ok but that tracking shot of them just walking and bantering is great

This is a fun shot oh my god

BIG THREE

Baby there is a bit of difference to Steve jumping on a grenade pre-serum no protective gear of any kind using HIMSELF as a shield and expecting to blow up but hoping to save everyone else in the process... vs you knowing you can get out of it unscathed despite intentions being similar

Not a bad guy but not the “good man” just yet. But hey am appreciating his character depth.

Wow love that they’ve pointed out Bucky’s staring XD

But also this guy was raised up by the government. Steve was the embodiment of freedom.

“Battlestar??? Fuck yo nickname!” Hahahahaha

Oof John really just said they were his wingmen huh

Sam was right tho. I can get behind what dude in a suit is going for but he just has to end it poorly

So Super Soldiers came back as a plot point after the tease that was Civil War huh?

Wait wait so Sharon is still an enemy of state???

Nice. (I don’t remember what this was for)

Wow. And now we see the reality. Bucky, albeit pardoned, was considered a war criminal.

But they still think Sam is the aggressor in a situation where, I think, he would be justifiably upset. A hero, a black hero, was erased from the history books, effectively.

Racial profiling doesn’t stop. They see colour first and person second. And it was only after they realised who Sam was that they apologised. Actually even worse, it took Bucky reminding him to realise who they were.

How goddamn messed up.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmn ok dude in a suit you are overstepping boundaries here.

Bucky definitely needs the therapy, and while I would like him to have more freedom, it should not be on your authority????

Oooh tell em Doctor Raynor.

COUPLES THERAPY TIME

Ooooooh gazing hell yeah time to fall in love lads

Hahahhahahah their legs oh my god

Bucky’s “ha I won” look

Awww no Bucky really believed in Sam because it meant hope for him too I cant

I was rooting for this guy but he is getting on my nerves SNATCH THAT SHIELD OFFA HIS BACK

Yo but I feel bad for the Flag Smashers a lil? Their cause isn’t bad. Their target is governments, corruption etc. but idk we’ll see how things play out.

Jfc Zeno chill out. This music tf.

SHUT THE FUCK UP HOE THATS IT

—-

So we finally have some Falcon and The Winter Soldier bonding action, we love to see it.

Clearly they’re not best of pals, nor do they have Steve as their mediator... gotta navigate their relationship together, and once they nab a bad guy together for the first time, they’ll have better bond and it’ll be nice.

That said, gotta appreciate Bucky was actually more honest with Sam present. So that was some progress.

I am still neutral about Dude in a Suit... he’s not Captain America but idk if he’s earned me calling him just John and he’s not the USAgent yet?? Is that his name??

I can see where his motivations are coming from but he is really buying into this government mandated position that was only possible because Sam gave up the shield, when we’ve looked at him by himself wanting to live up to expectations... but dude is just coming off as a leech??? And I do hope he has a moment where he realises that, despite being the perfect soldier, there is someone who is more of a “good man” that Steve was, that Erskine wanted to take on the power...

And yknow the meeting with Isaiah does set up the very real concept that POC figures of significance are forced to remain in the shadows, or are straight up erased by a white-dominant society that wants to present a specific type of person as a hero for the masses to look up to...

Which is why I found the convo with that kid calling Sam “Black Falcon” interesting. The dad, who told the kid to call him that, might’ve wanted that distinction. In a society that continues to vilify and destroy their “racial minorities”, having a black hero like Falcon (and Black Panther and War Marchine) is important... and that idea leads into Sam’s outrage about Isaiah being unknown for so long... (as a non-American, non-black but POC woman, these are just some thoughts I have)

But yeah. Behind this very MCU veneer, we have some real character-led drama coming through and I’m all for it!

[zenosanalytic]

what makes u think muir won't kill gideon off? in various interviews/AMAs she's seemed to imply that it's her plan (talking about the burying of gays, 'not promising' gideon will appear in alecto even!). I also feel narratively like gs full permadeath is not an inevitability but possibly ud be able to articulate that better

Well I intentionally don’t read interviews and AMAs, but I appreciate the Confidence ^v^

Obvsl I could be wrong on all this but here are my reasons for thinking 1)we’ll see Gideon again 2)Gideon’ll make it through the end of the story in some sense

1)As with her death in Gideon the Ninth, I don’t think the last scene we see her in in Harrow is a particularly “good” or “satisfying” end for the character. That doesnt guarantee anything, obvsl, but so far Muir’s sense of what makes a good story has meshed pretty well with my own, so I’m narcissisticly betting that agreement continues u_u Of course, I made the same bet with Homestuck and it didn’t pan out so...(I’ll address this later)

2)I feel like Muir likes Gideon too much as a character? Like: I believe Muir likes writing Gideon’s voice, and likes having Gideon’s pov in and on her story, and based on that assessment I think she’ll keep her around

3)similar to 1), I don’t think Gideon’s final scene in Harrow is a particularly satisfying conclusion to Gideon’s plot. Her Deal was REVEALED in the (hilarious)confrontation scene with the Emperor, but that was merely ESTABLISHING what was going on, it wasn’t resolving any of it; I feel like Muir’s the type of writer who would want to play that all out and resolve it satisfyingly, so I don’t think she’s going to end Gideon here.

4)This Post. Specifically the lines: “Alecto will be about girls being annoyed that it is legal for their exes to talk to each other.  The tomb is open. The get-along shirt is empty.” There are only so many viable “central” characters in the story, only so many romantic interests, and Gideon is the primary one who is both, so I think a narrative humorously described in the manner would likely have Gideon in it in some capacity.

5)This one’s a bit meta. Obvsl I dont know Muir personally, and I Do Not Profess To Be A Mind Reader but, judging from her HS fic and what I’ve read of her writing, and what exceedingly little I know of her life from sharing a fandom half a decade ago, I think something that really interests her is Relationships and the wide variety of how they are expressed and, specifically, the wildly vast and often seeming-contradictory collection of emotions and connections which the english language laughingly collapses within the single word of “Love”. I feel like this (idk?)“theme”(I guess??) is PARTICULARLY relevant in The Locked Tomb Series. And I also feel the various formations of “Love” presented in Homestuck via Troll Romance are equally interesting/important to her as a framework for engaging with the idea of “Love”. To an old Homestuck like myself, it is Clear As Day that Harrow/Gideon is a Textbook rendering of a healthy Kismessitude(Gideon hates Harrow but she’s HER person to hate, and vice versa; No One Will Kick Their Asses but Themselves :p). It is also the ONLY extant kismessitude(the other being the extremely unhealthy Mercy/Augustine obvsl) in the series. Therefore, I don’t think she’d write Gideon(or Harrow) out of the story just yet cuz I don’t think she’s done exploring that idea of “romantic hate”(or, more accurately, “love complicated by mutual trauma, need, resentment, and opposition”) through their relationship.

6)As Others Have Eloquently Written, I believe Harrow the Ninth can be read as a response to post-Hiatus Homestuck. Yes this reason is fanwank :| :| I cannot remember Muir ever expressing disappointment with how Homestuck shook out in Act 6 and beyond, BUT, while she remained active in the fandom during that period, her writing always remained firmly in the Pre-Hiatus and Hiatus era milieu. There are plenty of explanations for that OTHER THAN not liking where canon went, but these facts --combined with how easily it is to read HtN as intentionally avoiding/responding to what are often identified as the “mistakes” and “bad choices” of post-hiatus HS-- leads me to the assumption that what appears to be happening is happening. SO: I dont think she’d unceremoniously write out a beloved character because unceremoniously writing out beloved characters was one of the big sources of angst post-Hiatus. If she WAS going to nix Gideon from the storyline, I feel like she’d do it in a narratively satisfying way. WHICH ISN’T TO SAY that last sequence with her in Harrow wasn’t good, it was VERY good, but it felt less satisfying as an End for a character than as a mid-point cliffhanger for a character(and espcl for Gideon what with all the unresolved Stuff).

For obvious reasons I would have liked to have 8, or possibly even Nine!, reasons for my position, but this is all I can come up with right now. Maybe later I’ll edit them in and erase this apology along with my shameful numerological failure :p :p :p Anyway, Dear Readers: I hope you find these Logics both “Articulate” and Pristine :> :>

[idk-my-aesthetic]

a concept

U know how in the comics Aang starts rebuilding the air nation with ppl who are basically converts to their religion? By like teaching them about the air nomad’s ways and stuff?

What if he gave some of them air bending using energy bending? And they could start re-building the air nation and it’s culture by teaching them everything!! They could even start moving back into the temples now that they could fly and rebuilding

They’d even have the bison!! According to the wiki aang found a living herd after the war !!

Idk just. As a Jewish person genocide stories are really really personal to me. And the thought of being the last of my people is terrifying

I just really want the air nation to have a chance to rebuild in a natural way. And I think that like letting ppl choose to convert and gifting them with air bending would probably be the best way

Ik aang’s kids and grandkids have air bending but trying to rebuild an entire nation from one bloodline is.... not the best idea

And I also know that in lok a bunch of ppl are given air bending, but that whole story really rubs me the wrong way (no hate to lok though!! There are parts I like!!)

Under the cut is basically an explanation as to why I take issue w/ it and find it mildly offensive/an essay about cultural appropriation in general lol. but i don’t wanna kill ppl’s dashes so if you wanna see the explanation check there 

but i really think that aang like.... allowing ppl to convert, and teaching them, and gifting them w/ airbending in the most natural/best way for that story to go and i wanted to share that!! :) 

anyway time for a whole essay because i.... apparently need to explain and justify every single one of my opinions. i’ma blame the adhd. 

I have 2 main issues w/ the new air bender plot. a) the air Nomad religion/culture is pretty explicitly seen as a closed one and b) it’s sort of a cop-out.....

so... first:

 Air bending is pretty explicitly a huge part of the air nomad culture and religion and is extremely spiritual. bc of how religious and spiritual it is the idea of ppl just.... randomly being given it really rubs me the wrong way.

It’s really really hard for me to explain this or come up with an irl example, bc these ppl didn’t ask for air bending, or try to gain it in anyway. So it’s not really their fault. But to me it feels almost like accidental cultural appropriation? If that makes sense

Which like. cultural appropriation is obviously bad. Even in the comic I originally referenced (the promise) Aang is initally really really offended by the people practicing the air Nomad religion when he first finds out!!! Which he should be!!!

There’s a difference between cultural appropriation, culture appreciation, and sharing culture. The first is bad, and the second 2 are good when done correctly.

Ima use an irl example w/ Judaism just bc using this personal experiences is apparently the only way my brain knows how to explain things

Scenario 1: Amanda (who is xtian) decides to research the Jewish holiday of Passover and the traditions behind it just bc she’s interested in it

This is cultural appreciation! She’s just learning about smthn she finds interesting. This is generally ok! although in some cultures there is knowledge that you are not supposed to know or discuss if you are not part of that culture and you should 100% respect that if it is the case 

Scenario 2: Amanda learns about the Passover seder and decides to throw one herself

Dont fucking do this omfg. This is cultural appropriation. Passover is a super important and religions holiday! It’s one of the high holy days and celebrating it on her own isn’t ok! 

Scenario 3: Amanda asks her Jewish freind Alex if she can come to his Passover seder

This is cultural appreciation and cultural sharing!! It’s totally valid!! She respectfully asks to join in and be included! 

it’s diffrent from cultural apropriation for one huge reason. she is joining in, rather than celebrating it on her own with no jewish ppl present 

Scenario 4: Amanda eats gefitlefish just bc she likes it 

this is appreciation! even though there are no jewish ppl involved! bc gefiltefish isn’t a holy/religious/spiritual thing. 

different aspects of different cultures have different levels of importance. as a general rule, if smthn is holy/religious, you should not do anything with it, unless invited by someone of that culture. if it’s not then you can generally do it on ur own (though there is some grey area there. ie, moccasins are smthn that aren’t religious to native americans, but if ur not native you shouldn’t be producing and selling them. if you want moccasins by them from actual natives) 

scenario 5: amanda contacts a rabbi and starts the conversion process 

this is...... just conversion lol. when she is finished with the process (which can take months/years) she’ll no longer be xtian and be jewish!! just as much as anyone who was born into judiasm. she’ll be able to host her own seders and any of her children will be jewish as well :) 

sorry for the really long thing!!  but i felt it was necessary to show the difference between some concepts that seem similar but are actually vastly different!! 

anyway, i hope y’all understand the difference between cultural appropriation/appreciation/sharing. if ur asking urself “ok why does it matter tho” friendly reminder that alot of irl ppl have been murdered for trying to peacefully observe their cultures/religions :) 

including the air nomads! (hey segway...) 

they are literally hunted to extension because they are part of one culture/religion. you could argue it’s a racism thing (which it is) but race, culture, ethnicity and religion are all inherently tied. see: almost every non-xtian religion worldwide 

SO. when you consider that a) the nomads were killed for their religion b) airbending was incredibly significant part of that religion, isn’t it weird that random people who have 0 connection or interest in that religion suddenly have airbending?? 

again it becomes like accidental cultural appropriation. which you can’t really blame the characters for in-world

but, these aren’t real ppl. they’re characters in a situation that was written by real ppl, real ppl who can and should be criticized 

not that i’m trying to call the creators bigoted in anyway! this dosn’t seem like anything that was meant to be offensive. and it’s not really that offensive unless you think about it. to me it just seems like a plot point that wasn’t fully thought through. i don’t bring it up to shame the creators, just as a way to show others why it’s smthn not to be repeated 

and, to show a better way to do a similar story 

the reason i went so in depth w/ the explanation of cultural appropriation vs appreciation vs conversion is bc i wanna show why a different way of approaching a similar story would have been better

the reason i think my whole idea (of ppl basically contacting aang or the air nomads, converting to the religion, and then being gifted air bending through energy bending) is better than ppl being randomly gifted it is bc conversion takes work 

to convert to any culture or religion you a) need a connection to someone in that culture (usually made by reaching out to a religious leader) and b) need to actually be accepted by that group in order to be considered one of them. it takes work and dedication. it’s a literal transfer of culture!! it’s just... ack i’m not good at explaining it 

but dosn’t it make so much more sense that ppl who actually worked to integrate themselves into the culture and become one of them are givin airbending? not because it’s a privilege but bc they need to first become part of the culture in order to have any right or claim to it 

but by just giving it to random non-benders it’s basically the reverse!! yes they later learn the culture and religon, but???? thats not how that works??? wtf??? 

i feel like i’ve been talking in circles and i’m sorry if i’ve bored everyone to death but i hope u understand my point. 

anyway! next thing! (i swear this part will be way shorter) 

by just making a bunch of random ppl airbenders it basically retcons one of the longlasting effects of the 100 yr war and almost just... erases the impact of the air nomad’s genocide 

which. is gross and uncomfortable. genocide stories are touchy subjects and smthn that need to be treated with respect 

just giving random ppl airbending it’s almost like the genocide didn’t matter at all. which i take a huge fucking issue w/ ok and i don’t feel like i need to explain why 

instead of a natural rebuilding of the air nomads it’s just fixed with spirit magic. it’s just... an insult to the really compelling and well written genocide story that was in atla and an insult to the irl ppl who related to that story 

so. yeah.... again i’m not trying to call out the creators, i again think this plotline was more accidentally insulting than purposefully 

i already propsed a better way to do it by allowing converts to gain the ability to airbend. (hell it dosn’t even need to come from energy bending or aang. the air nomads were incredibly spiritual, maybe a spirit gifted it to the ppl who earned it instead of random fucking ppl) 

but the other reason that converts instead of just.... random ppl gaining the ability is better is bc there aren’t gonna be that many ppl to convert!! there’s not gonna be some sudden boom in the airbending population!! theres would still be a story of the nation slowly healing and rebuilfing itself instead of the insulting sudden magic fix

oof. sorry for the long freaking thing. i literally went into this just wanting to share an idea and instead spent over an hour analyzing this stuff lol.... 

i hope this was coherent but if anyone’s got questions about anything i said feel free to @ me or shoot me an ask :) as long as ur polite and stuff i’ll answer to the best of my ability