#i hate that i don't make more brothers content by fear of certain people being weird on my posts

[erinelliotc]

Some people (including myself) are Eddy apologists for this exact reason too- they can understand why he acts as he acts, where do come from his anger and insatisfaction with his life, and how he often gets a pretty unfair treatmente in some episodes (To Sir with Ed, Sorry Wrong Ed, X Marks the Ed, Who let The Ed In, The Good, The Bad and The Ed). On other side other characters (the kids) act just as bad as him and (almost) always come go unpunished. There several years ago Eddy got lots of hate, he was demonished and treated like a real monster and a sociopath by the fandom, devoid of any redeeming qualities. People who feel sympathy for him for his background and some of these episodes began to come to his defende and shows how he is a great character with a lot of good moments and a heart deep down.

Edd, on other side, always had the ''elite treament'', he was a angel, a perfect princess, who can do anything wrong in certain fans's eyes. Not to mention he pretty much overshadowed every other character on fanfics and fan arts, was everything about him. Another fans (usually Eddy fans) naturally got sick of this and started to push his flaws, the moments were he acted like a jerk, and how he's not above anyone on the show. And how not all his actions are (indeed) justifyable. Summing up, people were just sick of seeing Eddy being treated like a psychotic monster and Edd as the Jesus Christ figure.

Politely, just clarifying this to you. Good afternoon.

First of all, thanks for politely telling me all this! I wasn't really aware of all this because I only joined the fandom 5 months ago. And I totally get this, that's why I made the post. I saw some posts of people talking about those people who think Double D is an innocent little angel and I started to wonder if people think that about me, if I ever sounded like that, and I started to worry that someday I would sound like that in one of my future texts and videos talking about him. I hadn't thought about it when I made the post, but I hope it didn't come off as rude or an "attack" (???), I was just afraid that people would mistake me for one of those annoying people and just wanted to clarify that I'm not, because I really like this fandom and I don't want people to think that I'm annoying or that I make superficial analyses of the characters (because I personally think that oversimplifying Double D as good and Eddy as bad is something people do when they watch the show very superficially). I tend to be that type of person who feels the need to always clarify and justify myself for fear of others hating me, and also, I'm a little traumatized by Twitter where people tend to be very aggressive and mean to you for everything and assume things about you and not explain things to you etc etc... so I was a little anxious after making my post, afraid something like this might happen, but from everything I'm seeing, people on Tumblr seem so nice and kind in general. So I want to thank you again for being so kind and actually explaining the whole thing to me :)

Eddy is a character who's very easy to be wronged and misunderstood because he has great depth, several layers, insecurities and traumas that he covers with his false confidence and "jerky" attitude that he tries to copy from his brother. Obviously not justifying people treating him like a monster, just explaining that unfortunately we live in a world full of superficial people who aren't concerned with paying attention to details and stopping to really interpret and analyze things carefully and attentively, and understand that people are complex, characters are complex, and Eddy is a highly complex character. To these people, it ends up being more comfortable and convenient to just be content and cling to the character who, if seen superficially, is the "perfect little angel" who "suffers at the hands" of the "evil Eddy". I love analyzing and reflecting on things deeply, and it really irritates and frustrates me that people don't make the effort to do the same, and that happens in real life too. People quickly judge and have difficulty understanding that people are not simple and have different reasons for acting the way they do. I know it's hard to deal with people who act like jerks, I have a hard time myself, but I just wish there was a little more empathy in the world. That's one of the things Big Picture Show teaches us, right? Don't judge people because sometimes the jerk person is actually a very broken, insecure and frustrated person who just wants and needs to feel loved and accepted and doesn't really understand that. I think it's so important to learn this because it's true, sometimes people act mean not because they're actually mean, but because of so many other reasons that they themselves don't comprehend or don't want to show, and the "mean" disguise is just the way they found to defend themselves and survive.

I think (at least I hope?) it's noticeable in some of my posts that I also love Eddy (as a Double D kinnie I think it makes sense to be in love with him xD just an EddEddy joke to lighten up, but honestly I think people like Eddy are my type), I love analyzing and reading other people's analyses of his character and story, but my sympathy for him just grew in the last 5 months in fact, when I became hyperfixated on EEnE much more intensely than before and finally started to get to know about the whole story and characters. I even made a post once talking about thinking that he was my least favorite Ed, because before he actually was, but after rewatching the entire show now as an adult (the last time I watched I was a kid who didn't even understand a lot of the things that happened) and starting to analyze and read about it, now I'm very obsessed with him, I think his character is so interesting and deep, that he has the most interesting backstory and the best character development, and I even make more edits with him than with Double D (I think I tend to be obsessed with controversial and complex characters who are full of content to analyze from a psychological point of view like Eddy. A good example is Jinx from Arcane, I just love her character so much). I also recently realized that he's a lot like my brother, no wonder our mother often misunderstands him. But I get it, they (Eddy and my brother) are just people who are very hard to deal with because they carry several issues that you need to have good maturity and emotional structure to deal with, but it's so good when you can get to know a little more about them and help them get through these things when they open up and allow themselves to be discovered and helped.

Today I came across a post (which was honestly the trigger that made me make my post) from @eddfumo saying that they think Double D wants to be like Eddy in some way, and you know what? This is so true! I'll use my own experience to relate to him and explain him again, but anyway, I'm so envious of people/characters like Eddy. Even though they tend to irritate me and I even disapprove of many of their actions and decisions, they also have this determination, confidence (even if it's false, they're still able to act like confident people), attitude, audacity, strong personality, rebelliousness, extroversion and "not giving a shit" energy that I so wish I had too. I really admire these traits and I think Double D deep down does too (I like to headcanon him doing the same as I do and secretly fantasizing imaginary and hypothetical situations and discussions in which he acts more like Eddy, and he feels so good about himself afterwards, but feels frustrated that he doesn't have the nerve to do this outside of his imagination in real-life situations). Even though they have questionable morals, this type of person is so inspiring and you can still learn so much from them. It's no wonder Double D grows so much and becomes a more confident and less people-pleasing person because of Eddy's influence.

So yeah, it sucks when people simplify characters and see them as black and white, good and bad. The EEnE fandom is unfortunately not very big, but luckily here on Tumblr, at least currently, it's full of people who do in-depth analyses and that makes me very happy!

EDIT (I'm editing to add one more thing because I forgot to mention another topic that complements what you said about the other kids acting badly too and not receiving any punishment): One of the many things I plan to do after rewatching the show a few more times to properly absorb everything (I need to rewatch things at least twice to really take it all. Plus, I rewatched it the first time with the Brazilian dub because nostalgia and now I want to rewatch it with the original lines) is count how many times the Eds do real scams. Because honestly, there are a lot of episodes where we can't really call what they're doing "scams" because they're not actually scamming anyone, they're just selling something honestly and without harming anyone, but things always go wrong even when they're not doing anything wrong (often because of the Kankers, for example) and this is frustrating as hell to Eddy.

Since I haven't rewatched everything twice yet (because I'm still in the process of subtitling the entire remastered version of the show to rewatch it properly because English isn't my first language), I don't remember all the episodes accurately and clearly. But the last one I subtitled was "In Like Ed" (season 2, episode 9), so it's the example I have freshest in mind, even if it's not the best one. I know, the Eds were inconvenient in this episode crashing Jimmy's party (even though I think it's so lame that they rarely get invited to anything because the kids exclude them), opening his presents and everything, but one thing that stuck in my mind was the fact that when Eddy opened the present in front of them and revealed the sewing machine, Jimmy just said: "I'm so misunderstood. I wanted a pony!". He didn't say anything about them ruining the surprise or anything, he just started crying and ran away because he didn't get a goddamn pony. He just complained about someone's present, despised the present right in front of the person, and all Kevin said was "There goes the birthday boy. You dorks wrecked another party!". Like?? Jimmy cried because he didn't get the present he wanted, and not because of the Eds. I could even consider the possibility of them giving him "preferential treatment" and ignoring him because he's younger, but there are times when Kevin doesn't give a shit about Jimmy being younger, like in "Know it All Ed" (season 2, episode 1) when he uses the squirt gun on him, mock him and call him "twerp". Anyway, regardless of being younger, he was so rude and no one gave a shit, and not only that but they even acted as if it was the Eds' fault that Jimmy cried and ran away.

So yeah! The kids (especially Kevin) always blame the Eds (especially Eddy) for everything that goes wrong, even when it's not really their fault. And as you said, they also act badly, but nothing happens to them.

[hsr-texts]

I made another HSR oc so I hope you don't mind me putting his mini lore here. I just made him a couple minutes cuz I remembered that HSR canonically has social media (probably) sooo-

Social Media Influencer OC anyone?

~~~

Name: Yuhang

Pronouns: He/Him

Path: Destruction

Element: Quantum

~~~

Yuhang is a famous Social Media Influencer. Even outside the Loufu he is popular and talked about sometimes. As all social media influencers are, it took him awhile to rise up to where he is now, but as a long life species he had plenty of time. Some people enjoy what he does, the content he posts aren’t much. Some photos of himself, some of him promoting something, saying something inspiration (and other things, tbh idk what a social media influencer does in full-) However others think he’s let the popularity get to his head, while his fans thinks he’s just your average influencer that just so happens to have a big following

(But of course no OC is complete without trauma y’know)

Both are incorrect, to some degree (mainly his haters) Yuhang honestly hates attention, having eyes on him and having people treat him differently due to his “status”

So why did he become an influencer if he knew there was a chance this would happen? His younger sister. During an attack where many mara stuck monsters invaded, he was desperate to find his sister to take her to safety, if only he was fast enough then he wouldn’t have to have seen his sister dead.

A funeral was held and after it, he was allowed to look through some of his sister's items to keep as a memory. As he looked around, a diary fell out of a bookshelf (her room was preserved until this day) and landed on a certain page. One of the passages caught his eye.

“When I’m older. I want to be famis, to bring peeple motivation to continu on. To show everyone life is worth it and to follow there dreams. Is that cheesy? Maybee, but I want to help my broter to be more confident, so we can be famis togeter”

Despite her obvious spelling mistakes as she is young, Yuhang was able to comprehend what she wrote. He didn’t think he’d ever get over his fear of being looked at. But…

And that’s how it started, although it wasn’t his sisters final wish, it was a fish she had, a wish she wanted to do to in hopes to make others happy. And if she was going to be happy if she saw her brother cracking out of his shell? He was willing to put away his fears.

He never expected to be popular but he continued, and deep down he hoped that wherever his sister was watching him. That she was proud.

He never got over his fear, but he hides it well when he’s out and about. At home though he’s more like his usual quiet self as he writes stories and poetry.

His “online” personality is an energetic yet laid-back man. Always willing to help and wants to look on the bright side of things. His content shows this as well usually.

His more real self is, as I said. A quiet person, he’s more soft spoken and enjoys his alone time.

~~~

Honestly I love him alr despite me creating him just today. I should probably work on him and Aniya more before creating another one shouldn't I...

-🫧

Aww how lovely! He reminds me of the oc I'm working on actually!

Except she's not from Xianzhou and is from Perlas, a sea planet based off of the Philippines.

I'm still working out the specifics but I have a general idea now thanks to everyone's posts :D

[bluecoolr]

Best part about dms is I get to make you write Nathan as a character, ooo~

Anyway I'm formally requesting an info dump on Nathan please n thankies because I need him for... ya know. Sin.

Don't wanna be ooc for my silly goofy ideas

For you, Plant? Of course.

(Hope you feel better soon catboy 😚 am platonically smooching you)

Nathan Aaron Todd

Info Dump

Fair warning, there's hardly any structure to this. I literally dumped it all.

From Nathan meaning "God has given"/"gift of God" and Aaron meaning "mountain of strength". In the Bible, Aaron was the brother of Moses and helped make a false god for the people to worship. 👀

Two years younger than Darrell, born on the coldest day of January in the Todd farmhouse

He's very close with Susannah and Darrell. Although, he doesn't like how pushy Sussy (she hates that name) gets.

He and Darrell are inseparable and are each other's best friends.

Growing up, they shared a room. At first, they shared a bed. Most nights they lost sleep over talking about the most mundane things. They would pretend to be asleep when their mother or father came to check on them.

In a house like theirs, you learned to memorize footsteps.

When they got too big to share (Nathan tended to hog the bed and their parents didn't approve of spooning), they were given separate beds. When Darrell went through puberty, he was moved to his own room and his bed was given to Judah.

Nathan hated being separated and hated being saddled with Judah. Judah was too nosy, too loud, and demanding. He sucked up too much to their parents.

He loves the outdoors. Tends to go around barefoot. Has a green thumb.

Granted, he's always a tad bit dirty.

Pastor Todd and his wife had a tendency to spot a child's talent and build their future around it: Nathan's was farmwork.

He was taught how to farm, to raise crops, to tend livestock, hunt, track, trap, and - most importantly - butcher.

Has no qualms about ending a life. Butchering gives him a rush, a high.

He's not squeamish at all about blood. In fact, he likes to have it on his hands; likes to know he's taken the life force of something.

Pretty decent singer. He, Darrell, and Susannah sang together for church. He sings softly while he works.

Would have loved to draw, but found he's better with woodwork. He made silly little toys for himself and other kids. His favorite was a little wooden rifle.

He's the most cheerful out of the Todd children. He's quick with a joke and is very affectionate.

Basically if you put pre-war Tristan from Legends of the Fall, Hareton Earnshaw from Wuthering Heights, and Thomas Hewitt from Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning in a blender, you'd get Nathan.

Charming, overworked, loyal to his family, and ruthless

You know that quote "Suffering can be religious if you do it right."? That's his schtick.

Speaking of kids, he loves them. The town kids see him as the cool older brother they always wanted.

He and Darrell look extremely alike. You'd mistake them for twins if it weren't for the difference in hair and eye color; Nathan's eyes are a cold blue (sometimes described like a shark's) (I suppose they mean that in the emotionless predatory haze sort of way but they could also be saying Nathan looks like he's dumb as bricks.)

I mean if that ain't Nathan after a night of drinking idk what that is.

Would have followed Darrell to the ends of the earth.

Never felt like he was second to him or overshadowed - well until Nex came around.

Man's strong as an ox. His physique betrays him.

Notorious fornicator

Women love him, cattle fear him, the men want him dead.

Darrell never punishes him however. Like I said you can't get away with anything in Zak unless you're Nathan.

Like Darrell he will fuck when the opportunity arises.

Might have caught feelings for a certain someone ehem ehem

I want to make more content of him, he's just ridiculously interesting.

I can't think of anything else rn but that's what I got for this country fool. Give me follow up questions and I'd gladly oblige 😌😌

[quinnick]

hi. if you would like. infodump. about literally anything. games, books, hc's, etc. ramble to your hearts content. if you don't want to, have these funky guys as an offering of peace

I read the worry worm and it made me so happy. Kind of having an anxiety moment(tm) so sorry if this is wild

Time to info dump on my blog about IT. I love everything about IT but IT. I think the concept of a monster that attacks people using their imagination and can therefore also only be defeated by imagination is ingenious. The idea that it feeds off of hate because hate creates fear and the way someone could use this to explore the fear minorities faced during certain time periods and how we should be working together to make everyone feel safer otherwise we are the real monsters? Peak horror

The idea that Pennywise is more of an allegory for the monsters that is bigotry and hate????? Using the outcasts as one of the ones to defeat the monster???? yes please!!

Sadly, Stephen fucking King wrote the book and no movie adaption has been able to do the concept justice. Stephen King is my enemy must I explain why his delivery is terrible??? The movies only feed on this more by not explaining the monster and not delving into the themes. Also, ironically, the bigotry of everyone gets in the way of fully exploring the story and it's themes.

Not to mention a million things that could have been cut. Using Native American culture as a plot device???? No thanks ! The kids winning by... bullying... the monster????? Delete from my mind.

The scary moments are also awfullllll. Mostly discussing 2017/2019 because I am more familiar with them. Eddie's nightmare????? Delete delete delete. I need something new. Fresh. Not this weird zombie rip off?????? What???? Also, if we are going with the being gay in the 80s angle along with also having a fear of being sick, there are so many ways we could go !! Oh, and Richie ! I love him but he also needed a better fear. They actually went with the clown thing which is hilarious. The fear of death could have been a good way to go too but they barely delve into that. Oh, also, I think in the movies they should have explored more of his fear of losing his sight. That could be good. And all these fears can be tied into the marginalization of the characters in a way to tie by to the themes

Also Mike, Mike my main man is the only one with a scary fear scene. Only complaint is there wasn't more of them !! Also they took Mikes thing away from him and gave it to Ben only to give it back to him in chapter 2????? Weird but go off I guess. I think the movie could also delve more into his trauma and more so to tie back to the.... ✨theme✨

Ben does not have a scary scene until chapter 2. This is also a good scary scene. 10/10. Just I needed more ! Also, Ben should not become... "super hot" Ben deserving of love if he is conventually attractive or not

Bill... Work yourself out Bill. Love Bill. Don't know what's wrong with him but love him. Play more into his guilt. Stop showing the fucking clown. Oooo, a good idea could be that maybe Bill hears Georgie's voice sometimes. The idea that Georgie is still out there and he is doing nothing constantly haunts him as he feels as if he continues to fail his brother.

Bev... Bev my beloved. She's perfect. The movie did the best with her trauma (best for the movie that is) by adding the hair cutting. Still don't know why Stephen Kings only plot for women is periods. He should get that checked out or smth idk. I would just explore more her pain of getting bullied. It can't be easy on her to have the constant weight of society's views of her.

Also, cut the weird copaganda shit out of the movie. No, I will not sympathize with Henry but I also don't think the movie should want me to cheer on cops beating the shit out of him??? Jesus.

I could go on my I shall not. End of story, someone hire me to direct IT pls pls pls. I swear I will let the gays kiss. I swear it

[khoicesbyk]

The Royal Romance.

A/N: I’ve decided to go into my own little TRR world and create an AU. This will be fun! So; Talley Ho! *in my Sherlock Holmes voice*

Rated: Explicit. | Contains sexual content and strong language. (You know? The usual from me. 😁) | Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters. | Main Characters: King Marquise Rys (LI) and Queen Shanelle Dawkins (MC) | All Characters and names: (except MC and certain original characters, created by me) are property of Pixelberry.

Current Word Count: 1,980 words.

I made a Drabble! Woooooohoooooo! Go me!

Prompt Time! Today I’m using @wackydrabbles Prompt #73 “Why Did You Do It?” It’ll be in bold in black.

Tag List: @lifeaskim @choiceslady @texaskitten30 @bebepac @glaimtruelovealways @kingliam2019 @txemrn @pixie88 @lucy-268 @hopelessromanticmonie @secretaryunpaid @shanzay44 @choicesfannatalie @wackydrabbles @choicesficwriterscreations

I AM UNAPOLOGETICALLY NSFW! READER DISCRETION IS STRONGLY ADVISED!

As always if you’d like to be added to my tag list. Just reblog or DM me and I will gladly add you! 😁😘

Chapter 18.) The Declaration.

(Italicized words are King Marquise’s POV)

I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. Tariq SaVion, someone I once considered a good friend, had just announced his intention to take the crown. On the day of my father’s funeral, no less.

“Now I’m sure many of you think that I’m being insensitive to his majesty and The Royal Family. I assure you that is not the case. I too mourn the death of King Father. He was a great man. An impeccable leader. Someone who gave his all for and to Cordonia and her people. May he rest in eternal peace. And I do sincerely extend my heartfelt condolences to them in their time of grief.”

“Unbelievable.” I heard my brother say. I stayed silent, holding Shanelle close to me as I listened.

“I’m not saying that his majesty is or has been a terrible person or monarch. But what I am saying is that his choice in queen has left much to be desired. The court doesn’t approve of nor do they trust her. And with good reason. And if they can’t, then my fellow Cordonians neither can you.”

“Excuse me?! Who the fuck does he is?!” I hear my love say out loud. I love her passion and especially her anger.

“I understand that many of you must be saying the same of me as I am of her. Duchess Shanelle wasn’t the only one involved with the scandal. I was as well. It ruined me. And you have every right to question me. But I can at least say this for myself. I’m a fellow Cordonian. She’s not.”

My grip on Shanelle’s hip tightens ever so slightly. No one talks about my future queen like that.

“Duchess Shanelle is not only not a noble but she’s an American. An absolute outsider! One who thinks that, she can just waltz in and take the monarchy for herself! She knows nothing about Cordonia, her customs or her people. For all we know, she’s a devil in a ball gown.”

“Nuh uh! Compared to him, Shanelle’s an absolute angel!” Maxwell quips. He’s right. My love is an angel.

“We as Cordonians can’t trust her. She’ll lead us to ruin! We must stand up! We must revolt! We must throw her out! Because I can guarantee you that his majesty won’t. He’s too blinded by love to get rid of her. Which is why I am challenging for the throne. Per Legitima successione nobilium, I challenge for the crown. Again, I have no ill will towards King Marquise. This has to do with what is in the best interest of the crown, the people and the country.”

“He can’t do that!” I hear Hana blurt out. She’s standing next to my brother who has a weary look on his face.

“As many of you know I am not a noble. But my future queen is.”

“Future queen?! Who’d be dumb enough to marry him?” Drake asks.

He’s a good man that one. Always loyal. Even to a fault. But Drake was right about one thing. No woman would be stupid enough to marry Tariq. Even if it was for political reasons. Or so I thought. Because a woman did take his side.

“Ladies and gentlemen, my future queen: Duchess Kaitlyn Winslow of House Fierro. Because of her noble house being one of the Great Houses, we will be your next king and queen.”

To say I was shocked is an understatement. I’ve always known that Duchess Kaitlyn was always ambitious but, never in a million years did I think she’d align herself with someone the likes of him. He was always someone I figured that she’d consider beneath her. Joke was clearly on me.

We watched as he turned to her and asked, “my dear would you like to say a few words?”

My jaw clenched as I watched her take to the podium.

“Thank you, my future king. As Tariq mentioned we are challenging for the throne and the crown. And I would like to reiterate that this is not a personal attack on his majesty or The Royal Family. This is a battle for you Cordonia. We can’t have some common foreigner ruling our country. It would put us at great risk as a nation. Our enemies will continue to consider us weak! We can’t have that! So when Tariq reached out to me about a mutually beneficial relationship between us, I instantly agreed. I love our country and her people and I, like my future king would do anything to protect it. Which is why we are calling on all of the great houses to hold a parliamentary election, as they did when King Fabian was crowned.”

“Ohhh you gotta be fucking kidding me! That law hasn’t been used or thought of in 500 years!” Leo said with clear anger and aggravation in his voice.

Although my brother was right, the law no matter how outdated, is still on the books and sadly is still valid. And as king there was nothing I could do to stop them from using it.

“My future king and I will be hosting our own debut at my family’s estate. And we cordially invite all nobles, including his majesty and friends to attend. I can promise that it will be a night that no one will forget.”

I felt Shanelle nuzzling my neck. I could tell that she was extremely upset.

“My future queen and I want to thank each of you in the press for attending our joint press conference and we’d especially like to thank our fellow Cordonians for watching. And to his majesty, may the best man win! Even though I already know that the best man is me.”

After turning off the TV and throwing the remote down, it was over. I couldn’t believe it. I just couldn’t believe it. How dare they challenge me? What’s more, how dare they speak that way about Shanelle?! My angel?! My Goddess?! My Queen?! To say that I’m angry is an understatement. My love still hadn’t said anything about what we just saw and I was beginning to feel concerned.

“Will you all give us a moment?” I ask my friends. With nods they walk out of my study, leaving just me and my queen.

“You’re quiet, my queen.” I say to her.

I could feel her trembling body against my chest. I knew then that she was beyond upset.

“Talk to me, Shanelle.”

She shook her head no.

“Please say something, my love. Don’t let what they said about you, get to you.”

That’s when I felt tears on my left shoulder.

“My queen please don’t cry!” I say as I try to soothe her.

“But they’re right about me.” She says as her voice breaks.

When I tilt her chin up to look into her eyes, I see those beautiful brown eyes filled with tears. I���m both hurt and enraged at that point.

“No they aren’t! They don’t know you like I do. They don’t know your passion, your fire, your drive, your willingness to do and be better than before. They certainly don’t know your incredibly large heart. They don’t know your intelligence. They don’t know your adaptability to changing situations. They don’t know your determination. They don’t know your compassion. My love, there’s more to bring a queen than just ruling.”

“But Marquise the court…the court hates me! They don’t want me here! Your mother said it herself, if they can’t and don’t trust or like me, they won’t be compelled to get their people to like me!” She says as she cries in my arms.

“The court is a fickle thing. One minute they love and embrace you and the next, they hate you with the fury and power of 1,000 suns. That shouldn’t stop you my love.”

I rub her back in an attempt to soothe her cries.

“I don't want to be the reason why you lose everything you have worked for!” She cries to me.

“Shanelle look at me! I want you to know and hear me when I say this, you are not the reason why I could or would possibly lose everything! They are! This is solely on them! Not you! Do you understand?” I ask her.

Irrational as her fears may be to me, they were real to her. And that’s all that matters.

“Yes I understand.” She whispered to me.

“Good. Now we have to go on the offensive. Because unfortunately I can’t stop them from calling on that law.”

“Even though you’re the king?” She asks.

“It may be an ancient and decrepit bylaw but it’s a law. And I as king am forbidden to use my power to go against it.” I reply to her.

I see her cries start to dissipate then eventually they stop. I kiss the remaining tears that fall away.

“Why did you do it?” She asks me. I’m a little confused.

“Do what, my queen?” I ask her.

“Stand here and comfort me, knowing that someone wants to take your crown.”

Damn she’s good.

“Because that’s what a king does. He gives comfort and protection even in his own pain, anger and misery. My father taught me that.”

She smiled at me. God that damn smile. I would do anything just to see it.

“Do you feel better, mon amour?” I ask her.

“Yes or at least I’m trying to be.” She replies.

“That’s all I ask. Listen to me. We will fight this. I promise you that. I will not just lay down and let someone take everything I have earned. This is nothing more than a power grab. They don’t care about the country or its people. The crown and the throne are more than just a birthright to me. They are my responsibility to my family, to my people, to my country, to my own honor and duty and especially to you, my love.”

“I don’t understand. What do you mean to me?” She asks.

“As a king, I have a responsibility to my queen. I am your servant before I am a servant of the people. It is up to me to make sure that you are always fulfilled in every way.” I tell her.

She smiled softly at me. Saints give me the strength to not take her on this desk right here right now.

“I’d say that you’re off to a good start, my king.”

There she is. There’s my queen.

“Good. I’d hate to think I’ve been failing in my duties to you, my queen.”

She had this thoughtful look on her face.

“I wouldn't say that you’ve been failing in your duties. Buuuuuuut you have been slacking.”

“Who?! Me?! What?! How?! When?! Where?!” I ask her.

There it is again. That smile that makes me want to scale an erupting volcano. Okay that’s it, dear God if you’re listening: Help! Me! Before! She! Winds! Up! Being! The! Reason! That! I! Don’t! Make! It! Into! Heaven!

“You never finished kissing me.” She replied.

Phew! Crisis of biblical proportions averted.

“Ohhh my! You’re right my queen! Allow me to rectify this egregious oversight on my part at once!”

God I love the taste of her lips! They much like the rest of her, are always soft, supple and decadent. And that kiss…God forgive my sinful thoughts!

“Much better, my king.”

“Good. Now I have to ask you my queen: are you ready to go to war?” I ask her.

“For you? For us? For our people? For our kingdom and country? Hell yeah!” She replied.

“Excellent! Now I believe we’ve been invited to a farce of a debut. And you know how I just love a good party.”

“Well then it’s settled my king. We have a debut to crash.” She said to me with a sly wink.

God I love this woman!

[takaraphoenix]

This may or may not be a touchy question (I guess it depends?), but how do you deal with hate with people who don't particularly like your work or the pairings you like? Because I've seen a fair amount of people stop creating content they want to make because of the backlash or hate they get simply for shipping something, so I do wonder... How do you do it? After all these years, how are you still standing, head held up high? – Much love! <3

I suppose a huge part in that is... personality? I mean, what type of person one is. Some people are very sensitive and negativity gets to them heavily.

Which, is ironic, because I am normally that type of person. I always overthink what other people may think of me and in real life I am easily deterred.

But something about the internet changes the dynamic for me.

If it’s in person? If someone looks me in the eye and criticizes the things I like? That has me fuming. But ain’t nothing more unpersonal than getting an anon and having this round fella with the sunglasses stare at you, or having a “guest” on AO3 comment something nasty.

Because they’re cowards. And the cowardice of the other party tells me that, so a certain degree, they themselves know they’re full of shit. Because if they were confident in what they’re saying, if they knew they were right with whatever they’re claiming, there’s no need to go anon. They could tell me “to my face” - as much as the internet allows that; by being logged in and starting a dialogue.

But someone who hides behind the grey round fella with the sunglasses to tell me I’m morally wrong? Makes me  genuinely laugh. Because if I were, you had no reason to hide.

(At this point, I’d like to add, since you’re on anon too, that there’s different reasons for going on anon. Sometimes, it’s shyness. But if you think yourself morally superior to someone and want to ring the bell of shame behind them, you can’t hide behind anonymity. That’s different.)

I just really can’t take people seriously who hide in the shadows of anonymity to scream at me about how wrong I am. You’d do that with confidence if you knew you were right. But they’re wrong and full of shit. Because they are.

There is no “right” or “wrong” about taste. A ship ain’t only valid for being morally upstanding, pure, canon, whatever. And a person ain’t inherently vile for shipping something that’s unleathy, or toxic, or whatever buzzword they throw around.

Which is another part. I just... absolutely can not take anyone seriously who throws buzzwords around wildly and with no foundation, because they lack any common sense.

Yeah, they’re brothers and it’s incest, what do I care, they’re also fictional characters, I ain’t telling two real life brothers to bang and get married, what’s wrong with the people who can’t tell fiction apart from reality. That’s just pitiful.

I’ve also seen the other side of that. I’ve seen antis ship the exact thing that they’re judging, insulting and harrassing other shippers for. From incest to abuse apologism to just plain toxic canon dynamics. All the things they find a justification to harrass others about, but they ship things of that kind themselves. But their ships are ““different”“ from the ones they hate.

It all boils down to taste and it boils down to a bunch of morons who can’t grasp the concept of “taste” and the fact that... you can like something without it being pure and you can dislike something without it being every shade of morally corrupt.

They bend over backward to find justifications for why the ships they dislike are inherently bad, while they also bend over backward to justify why the exact same things they judge other ships for are actually wholesome and pure in the ships they like.

And at that point, I just genuinely feel bad for those people and am terrified for them. Because I am fully aware of what I ship. I know every deprived nook and cranny of my ships. I know the exact level of toxicity of the canon dynamics. I’m just also aware that they’re fictional characters. But the moment you start reaching to justify why abuse isn’t technically abuse, that’s when it becomes worrisome. And that’s what they do, to justify their own ships.

Now, I’m not gonna lie, this isn’t an attitude I always had and it’s not something I just woke up with one day.

I’ve been in fandom for 15 years now. I’ve seen a lot and I’ve dealt with a lot. I’ve seen when shipwars were primarily reserved to the canon straight love triangles. I’ve seen it devolve into “your ship isn’t valid the gays are getting in the way of the CANON STRAIGHTS”. I’ve seen the number of canon gays grow in media and how it affected these ship wars, invalidating ships where a canon gay ship was split up. And now this shit-show of antis.

My attitude grew out of seeing and experiencing a lot. I was lucky to be “raised” in a safe fandom environment, where the fandom olds took us youngsters under their wings and guided us, taught us how to improve our writing, helped us establish connections in a community.

And that last part, that’s important. Important in dealing with hate. Maybe the most important part, really. You have to find your community. Don’t let yourself be sucked into a circle of hate. Find the people who love the same things as you - the same show, the same characters, the same ships. Form friendships, find that community of positivity.

Fandom is what you make it. Even when other people try to make it something else, try to turn it into a hateful, gross place filled with harrassment and fear and moral policing. Regardless of how hard they try; your fandom is up to you.

Find the people who bring the positivity, who will come into your fics and leave reviews of love and positivity. And weed out the bad. Block them. Block the antis in your fandom, avoid them. Sometimes, preemtively going into an anti tag and just going on a block-spree can be really helpful already. You can block anons on tumblr too! Granted, only their ID, but at one point they’re gonna run out of devices to post anon hate from.

That much to my personal attitude toward it. Now to the act of actually dealing with it.

Many adivse, rightfully so, to ignore it. AO3 allows you to delete comments. On tumlr, you can just delete an anon and not answer it. Especially when you’re the type who is affected by it, not engaging is the best solution.

Personally, I like arguing with people. Everyone who ever talked to me might have noticed that. I live for a good argument. And I’m really bad at letting something just stand. So I usually argue back. I do that, because I am very bad at keeping my mouth shut, but also because it brings me a certain amount of glee to mock their nonsense.

I do it here. I have my “Dear Anonymous Shithead” tag where I address anon bullshit and anon hate from FFNet and AO3 - because FFNet doesn’t let you answer to anons. And then I delete the original comments on my fics, because I don’t like shitstains on my fics.

I call that approach meeting them on your own terms. Because they think they are doing something grand somehow by publicly leaving their vile comments on your fics. Delete them, take their voice away. Put it somewhere else to argue their nonsense on your own terms, mock them if you want, it’s fun. Fight your battle, the way you want to fight it - and that does include just deleting them and not engaging at all; that’s not running away, that’s self-care.

Like I said, my attitude’s not always been like that. It got me before too. Way, way back - and I really do mean way back, it’s been surely over five years ago - there was a tumblr account on here that spent an unreasonable amount of time openly hating on me. It’s the reason I avoided getting a tumblr, because back then I was not in a mental state to openly engage with such a hateful place.

And it’s still a hateful place; all those anti communities here. People proudly proclaiming they’re antis in their biography. People taking screenshots of other tumblrs or artists to mock them and make fun of them. The thing that changed isn’t tumblr, it’s me. I waited to engage with this place until I was ready to engage with it. I got my tumblr account when I already had the attitude of scoffing at anon hate.

I do think that only getting actively involved in a website when you are ready for it is another important part. The thing you mention in your ask, the people who stopped creating because of anon hate. It breaks my heart, it absolutely does, and I hate losing creators to it, but I do think that if those creators made that judgment call for themselves and their own mental health because they knew they couldn’t handle the harrassment, then they did the right thing. Even if they themselves may hate it, because they want to create. But sometimes, taking a step back is the right thing to do. I do hope that they will find it in themselves to overcome this and come back stronger, but constant harrassment and bullying can have severe consequences on a person and removing yourself from that kind of environment can sometimes be a last resort that needs to be taken.

I’ll also admit that I’ve been calculating what fandom to interact with to what degree ever since I got a tumblr account and started to see just how deep the hatred goes. Some things I might have created for, but I saw just how nasty the antis in the fandom were and... it wasn’t worth the fight for me.

Percy Jackson and Shadowhunters are my loves. My ride-or-die fandoms. I can, and will, fight for them. No one will chase me out of these fandoms, regardless of what kinds of insults and bullshit they throw at me. I’ve been here years longer than most of these newbie antis and I will be here long after they moved on to other things.

New things that I don’t have attachment to, I will weight if my level of interest in the thing will be worth engaging with the fandom nonsense with. Sometimes, it’s not, sometimes I make the judgment call for myself to step a way from a thing.

I admit, that happend with Teen Wolf too. Back when I did my last rewatch and enthusiastically engaged with it on here on tumblr, live posting about my rewatch and it... showed me startling, ugly sides of this fandom that I hadn’t known before, back when all my engagement had been to read fics and to write that one fic I had. That rewatch could have dragged me back into the deep end - but the brand of hate I encountered here... genuinely got to me. It really messed with my head, a lot, I’ve never been threatened before, I’ve never been insulted and constantly harrassed to such a degree. It was the first time I ever turned off anon on here, it put me into a sense of dread for just coming online for a while. I didn’t expect that, neither that it’d happen nor the extend of it or that it’d get to me like this. I still love Sterek to bits and pieces, it’ll be one of those ships I will always be attached to, but that experience with the bad side of the fandom made me recoil from getting involved with Teen Wolf again.

But in the Percy Jackson fandom? I’ve stood here for ten years now. I’ve gotten shit thrown at me about pretty much anything. I’ve also created over five hundred works for this fandom. I have received love and excitement in comments. I have received fanarts. I have received fanfiction to my fics. I’ve gotten fics dedicated to me by people who liked my work and wanted to write something nice for me. I’ve met one of my best friends and I’ve met my girlfriend in this fandom. Sure, I’ve been called names and been mocked, but I also know what I have.

I know I’m a damn good writer. I may not have much self-esteem, but what little self-esteem I have is located here, in the very thing they think they can attack. The thing is, I have no insecurities in this. This is the one area where you can’t attack me. And on top of that, I have that community of amazing people who love the same things as I do. I have the support, the friends, the shared hype. What do I care about some pitiful little fool hiding behind anonymity to whine about how wrong and gross I am? Their opinion weights nothing compared to that of the people who leave me anon love, who leave me squealy and excited comments.

To sum it all up:

Someone who has to hide behind anonymity is aware they don’t have the moral high ground.

Their definition of the “moral high ground” is so pitiful that it makes me feel bad for them.

I know the difference between fiction and reality and I pity the fools who don’t.

Find a positive fandom space for yourself and claim it.

Either delete anon hate, or meet it on your own terms.

Sometimes, I don’t. Sometimes, I lose and the hate does get to me.

You need to make the judgment call for yourself, if you can mentally handle a situation or not, and do what is best for you.

[jinxofthedesert]

Hi there!!! It is the same anon that requested some fic recs ☺ Thank you so much! I may give them a read! They look very interesting! But tbh I'm looking for fics that deal with some more in-depth approach to the twins' psychology and character (I don't mind the romance. In fact, I think it's a really interesting plus to the story when handled well).

(Below this is the rest of the messages, put together. Farther down, below the line, are my responses)  

 I’ve usually seen that the twins are portrayed as soft, loving and caring guys with their partners without real motives for such drastic change of dynamics in their twisted personalities. I mean, the usual Valeska centered fic goes like this: they meet the OC in Arkham or during their childhood in the circus and for some reason they reunite in the present, and then it is just the twins somehow falling for them, changing their whole way of being and only wanting to bang the OC the whole time (without taking into account the lack of the OC's inner conflict about loving such twisted men, because these OCs usually are "sane" and good people that somehow are dragged into the twins' world and for some reason they just fall in love with them without questioning it). But for me the least realistic thing about these fics is that the twins become super nice guys all of a sudden. I mean of course there can be character develoment and growth (up to a certain point), but I haven't really found a story that contains such deep explanation. Let's face it, they're still psychos no matter what, even if they have a partner.  In the last season we get a glimpse of how Jeremiah treats Ecco, someone that he used to appreciate and care for deeply, and she still meant little to him. So it doesn't add up to me when the twins are magically turned into these super sweet caring guys while their twisted, evil and manipulative side is completely ignored. I am not saying they can't love, I am just saying that they surely have their own twisted perception of what love is 🤔 Sorry for my rambling, damn, it took soooooo many comments hahaha!!! OMG, Sorry!😂😂 I had a LOT to say 😂😂😂 But I just find these characters very interesting and I would love to read a story with a more realistic approach to the construction of their personalities (and their twisted way of loving too!). Let me know, please, if you happen to know about some fics/authors 😘 thanks again! 

- - - - - - - - -  Hi again, anon! I’m sorry my list of content in the previous ask wasn’t exactly what you were looking/hoping for. As of right now, besides the ones I sent you that may delve a little bit below the surface, I can’t think of a true ‘character study’ type story that I have read so far. But, again, I usually stay in the area of romance so I wouldn’t be surprised if there are such fics out there under a different genre.

I’ll be quite honest, it’s been a very long time since I’ve read any oc/(input character here), including ones with the twins. Normally, I forget they exist until someone brings it up or I stumble across one on Tumblr accidentally. I do agree, the twins suddenly changing for an OC (or anyone) can be a bit unrealistic but from my years of reading and writing, creating stories with such things is a bit of ‘wish fulfillment’ which, to be honest, isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes a reader just needs content that is kind of good-feeling type fic (though not in a sense of how murderous the twins can be but in them getting some kind of positivity in their lives, whether it be through an OC or another character in the universe). When I wrote Oc’s at the beginning, it was either wish fulfillment for me or simply just wanting these characters I adored to finally have some kind of happy ending which they probably did not deserve, at all. 

A reason you might not find such content is also because, character studies are hard. Especially if you don’t have a complete picture of the character. With the twins, a lot is just coming up with stuff, imaging their past and how it still affects them, even if, on the upper layer we’re shown, doesn’t portray those scars left behind. 

With Oc’s, they can usually be pretty hit or miss. It’s not like you’re taking an already known character with known flaws and putting them in your story. Those characters have a foundation already built. For an Oc, the writer has to literally make someone from the ground up, which is equally as hard without making them seem too whiny, too mary-sue like, or just too problematic. This can leave a lot to be desired which can create something unrealistic as well. That’s why I usually only look for content centered around characters from the show, instead of Oc’s; like with Bruce and the twins because canon-wise there is already something there (depending on how you look at it and write it). 

In regard to Ecco: firstly, I think it’s arguable what type of relationship she even has with Jeremiah when we first are introduced to them. We’re shown some concern on his end when she’s clearly been hypnotized but this can be seen as a boss concerned for an employee, an employee who he’s probably had for awhile now and is one of the very rare few who he trusts to an extent. However, we just don’t know much of anything about their relationship or past together. She might have hardly seen him, only contacting him through phone calls and text messages; she may have only brought him supplies through the maze and never was in his inner personal areas. This treatment is all possible given how Jeremiah is quite literally a paranoid mess before the spray, no matter how well put-together he appears. And, if we’re to compare this to his eventual obsession with Bruce Wayne, we can take a guess that Jeremiah and Ecco probably didn’t get very deep with this connection they had. Mainly because with just a few compliments, Jeremiah is invested in Bruce, something we don’t see with Ecco before or after the spray. So we have Bruce enter the picture (someone who has run into his twin on multiple occasions, a fact Jeremiah must know to some extent with his paranoia probably leading him to constantly check newspapers and the news for info on Jerome) and, if you look at things from Jeremiah’s perspective, besides complimenting him, Bruce looks at him and only sees Jeremiah. And this would be baffling to Jeremiah if he knows the affect Jerome has had on Bruce, for him to look at Jeremiah and not see his twin after everything would be just as big a compliment as anything because it’s differentiating him from his twin. Someone who has probably feared being compared to his brother, for people to look at him and only see Jerome (such as what occurs with Jim and Harvey only hours prior). Because of this, when compared to Ecco, we can deduce that either their conversations never went in such a direction, or she hardly had the extended physical contact to ever bring up Jerome or compare or compliment. If so, it’s possible with how Jeremiah is that something similar could have happened with Ecco. And this eventually leads into the spray where his only true attachment is not Ecco but with Bruce, especially, after his initial spray, Jeremiah’s hatred for Jerome is far worse than it had been before, making Bruce’s assessment of Jeremiah simply being himself and not his brother, far more endearing as well. So, in comparison to Bruce, Ecco means absolutely nothing to him, a means to an end. 

I’ll admit, reading content where the twins are somehow in a relationship (with an oc or canon character) while still being rather insane, are quite interesting. However, for stuff like that to work in a compelling and ‘actual’ way, characters like that have to be bent because these characters logistically working in that kind of environment may never be realistic anyways. This can be worked around of course, but it takes so much time and effort; even now, as I write my stories for Gotham, I’m still trying to work around how to make these ships work for the twins because they’re stubborn and although they have obsessions they, at their cores are not good people and while they may try, seriously try to better themselves, there will always be slip-ups.

I do agree, they can love but it would always be twisted in some way or another (look no further than Jeremiah with Bruce). They’re also a lot of fun to take apart and analyze or try and come up with a type of background that works with all the hints we’ve been given. Background-wise, the twins are really something a writer can make their own which is an interesting concept.

This turned more so into a long ramble of writing and Ocs and lots of Gotham lol but anyways, I wish I could give you a story to fit your needs. I quite hate when I have an itch for certain fics and I either can’t find them or the number of fics is so daunting that I don’t dare even try. I would recommend just going through them, possibly looking for complete content first, or ones with high hits or kudos (depending on the site you’re searching on) because I don’t have any at the moment I can suggest. 

(Honestly the ideas for the twins never stop coming lol, perks of their backgrounds and everything else being so hazy.)

I hope some of this message was at least interesting lol and I do wish you luck in finding good twin content that delves into their character or, maybe you’ll get lucky and someone will publish something like that soon! Either way, I hope you find something 😘

[dengchansaysmoo]

How has it been, Jodi?

It has been peaceful so far. Everything that I used to dread is now turning into the total opposite. The activities and material things that I didn't get to do or have before are now slowly becoming possible for me. That is all because of my hardworking parents who are constantly pushing all their efforts into boosting my self-confidence back to where it used to. It's tough to see them compensate for what they were unable to do before - why? Because I feel a lot of guilt for it. I never wanted to be someone else's burden. Remember how I used to want to die so that everyone else's problem about me can simply just go away? Yeah, I am that guilty to occupy space and harbour a fuck ton of oxygen or to even imbibe negative energy into someone else's life.

The very first reality that I have to come in terms with in life is that almost every person that I have encountered when I was a child had disliked me (except for my parents, of course). My brothers didn't welcome the fact that they have another younger sibling and that she is the new center of attention of the family. My cousins were annoyed because I learned a lot of new skills in a short period of time. The elders would compliment me of what I can do with my spare time and my cousins have resented me for this. In my mind, as a child, I thought I was not cool for being a progressive learner. I thought everybody just wanted to get rid of me hence I always wanted to pack my bags and just leave. I remember being angry at my mom for stopping me while I put all my clothes in a box. I shouted at her and she would slap me. Again, in my mind, as a child, it was easy to interpret that everyone disliked me for simply existing or being brought upon the world we live in.

Now that I have grown older and is capable of recounting those memories, I don't know how to make peace with the constant fear or anxiety that everybody hates me. Or that every person that I encounter in life will end up becoming my enemy. I used to cope well with this. Back in grade school, I've had my fair share of haters (perhaps that was what I thought) and I saw the burn book they've made with my name in it along with my bestfriend's. I would just brush it off and continue studying hard and enjoy the lessons in class. I never thought about how good I would look or what was the latest trend about clothes. I was stuck in this bubble and I made myself happy, content in that space. Even until now, I feel the same contentment when I am alone and is able to express myself.

There is a sense of akin to Vincent Van Gogh's life story but it's just that his life was much tragic than mine. In fact, I would feel as if I've disrespected Vincent to even think that my life was any closer to his sufferings. But the fact that he felt unwanted, I feel a sense of security in the thought that someone felt the same way and had lived long enough at the age of 37. But then again, the man had suffered a lot of tragedies and had panned back and forth into different jobs, not knowing what was his purpose of existence. Perhaps if I were alive that time, we could've been friends and we could've wrote a beautiful story together - because I too wouldn't want any person to feel unwanted this bad.

I'm not sure why I made that association but I just wish that Vincent Van Gogh knew how much impact he's made with his paintings. I look at his sketches and would constantly be in awe at how uniquely done it was. I think there was a time in his life where he felt very proud that he sold 1 painting. He ordered more painting supplies and set-off to work tirelessly to the point of just having coffee and cigarettes as his meals. Who would have thought that with just one encouragement he would be able to make hundreds of paintings and sketches? What more if he was showered with acceptance and love? I bet the paintings would have been more ecstatic. "Impressionism" was more about the artist's own perception of an image. Most impressionists in his time attended art school but has formed its own group of rebel students who didn't want to follow rules on sketching or capturing how a certain image should be made. Despite all that, I think it still gave Vincent an edge into making a structured portrait. I'm sure that he learned a lot, most especially from Gaugin. They had the same beliefs in life but it's just that Vincent leaned toward the radical side of things - ignoring how other people would think about his notions. That was the annoying part about Vincent, and fuck yeah I relate to you. Whatever. Let the world move on its own and we'll follow its course.

Thank you, Vincent. For sharing your life's work and putting your all into it. You will never be forgotten.

[soul-dwelling]

Death in 'Soul Eater' and 'Fire Force'

None of this is making sense to me, and it is hindering what enjoyment I got out of Soul Eater–and contradicts the initial moral message of Fire Force.

The following is less polished and organized than I would like, but I hope I can at least clarify why I really did not like what I read and don’t look forward to how this plays out for the rest of the Fire Force anime (and, God help us, if this shit somehow taints any Soul Eater anime reboot certain fans are asking for without realizing that monkey’s paw problem they are going to get…).

Oh, and obviously, spoilers below (as well as for Attack on Titan). Content warnings for discussions about death, child abuse, rape, and misogyny.

I feel like Ohkubo is trying to sweep this problem about how death has been changed in Fire Force and Soul Eater under the rug, like he did with having us ignore inconsistencies about Arthur’s abilities and his family’s nonsense by having Yu express what readers thought, only to dismiss those worries, or everyone ignoring that Karen who criticized Tamaki so that we ignore that none of that fight made sense for her character, her personality, her desires, or anything that we could call anti-misogyny or feminism or just respecting people and not slut-shaming them. (More on the really messed-up onanism in Ohkubo’s works later.)

If the idea of death is treated as overwhelming people with despair, and now is less of a big deal, and if Fire Force is assumed to be a prequel to Soul Eater, then why should we care about any deaths that happen at all in Soul Eater? It’s not a big deal, right, so why the hell are these characters crying over someone dying? Why should we care that Maka’s entire character arc is built around her desire to protect Soul from dying and rescue Crona despite how many people, willingly or not, they killed?

“Well, death isn’t impossible, just also harder to accomplish, so in those rare cases when it does happen, then you can feel badly about it. But everyday death isn’t a big deal.”

So, you don’t get to feel badly about death unless it is really, really hard to kill someone? If someone died of natural causes, that is just "normal"? If someone died of a long-term illness, or an unexpected car crash, we should just act like that's not a big deal? I may be blowing this out of proportion, but again, if you're acting like "death is no big deal" in Fire Force, then reading that forward to Soul Eater as its supposed sequel, then I don't get how you somehow act like some forms of dying are more impossible than others.

There was nothing in Soul Eater to suggest death was somehow harder to accomplish, not without reasonable explanations.

I mean, sure, Maka, Marie, Lord Death, and even Sid bashed in enough heads with various head-chops, but that is so cartoony that you can treat it as just as comical and as pointless a question such as “Why is the Sun laughing?” (Oh, wait, this series somehow decided _that_ needed some origin story, too. -_-# I can’t wait for someone to somehow tie Vulcan’s cow skull mask to Tezca Tlipoca’s mask obsession. Sure looking forward to Vulcan somehow being Tezca’s father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate.)

And sure, you could say, “Hey, the Black Blood on the Moon was heading for Spirit et al, so of course Maka would be freaking out and crying! She was crying because they would be trapped forever on the Moon! So that’s not death, that’s just literally never seeing someone again.”

Okay, first off, Maka did not cry that much seeing Crona sacrifice themselves to stay on the Moon, and I don’t think she was crying because Spirit looked calm about the whole thing or that Spirit would be involuntarily stuck on the Moon while Crona willingly stayed a prisoner there: Maka was afraid he was going to die. Hell, Maka believed she would one day be able to rescue Crona, yet she was crying harder over the man she presumably hated. That was fear he was going to die, not fear of something else. (Just makes me more bitter how any Spirit and Maka reconciling got sacrificed for another dumb “boobs” gag.)

And sure, I guess that meisters and weapons are just that much more empowered than the typical human (or animal, given Enrique, or forces of nature, given Fire and Thunder) that getting sliced by Black Blood or kicked around by a werewolf on London Bridge or smashed face-first into columns underground Death City won’t kill you.

But death still happened, and it sucked for characters. It even happened to Tsugumi’s dog, for crying out loud, and that devastated Tsugumi, and it was Ohkubo’s (admittedly saccharine) way to set up Tsugumi’s argument with Meme and how she had to process and accept that death is real. It meant something, as corny as it may feel, but definitely as legitimate as it is, especially for people who have lost a pet. And as I just said, Maka thought Spirit and others were going to die in Chapter 112, and she was sobbing. Hell, even Mosquito was able to get killed, and Giriko’s bloodlust killed them, and Marie cried over Joe dying, and Arachne got killed, and so did all those people Maka and Soul killed to turn him into a Death Scythe. Even Al Capone freaking died. Regardless what Shinra said, and regardless what people who really want to believe Fire Force is a prequel to Soul Eater think, death in Soul Eater wasn’t somehow less real or less likely: it was a reality, it happened, and it sucked.

“But this explains why no one was really surprised that a zombie like Sid was walking around! Death is such not a big deal that even Sid can just be the living dead!”

…Put a pin in this, because I’m coming back to why Lord Death allowed that, because holy crap, that still makes no sense.

Fine–Sid came back to life, that supposedly shows death is no big deal…

….Except Maka and others seemed pretty surprised to hear someone was able to bring Sid back as a zombie. And he’s the only zombie we ever saw, and while it’s possible there are more running around, it was treated as a big deal and a rarity. (Maybe it was treated as a big deal because of early-installment weirdness or to explain what zombies are in this setting, but that’s a metatextual explanation, not an in-story justification.)

And Clay was devastated about Sid dying, and used that to guilt Anya. And Sid was such a powerful meister yet was done in by getting the Statue of Liberty impaled into his head–and didn’t come out of that walking around like Akitaru did. (If the Fire Force anime shows Akitaru with blue zombie skin, I’ll retract this complaint.) So, if Sid and Anya could die, then how exactly is dying harder to accomplish? That’s what Fire Force is trying to say–dying is harder to accomplish, I’m just following that conclusion to its supposed sequel.

I get that the very last chapter could very well explain this (“as generations go on, resistance to death is harder, so it is more likely to happen”). But that gets into timeline problems (seriously, how can Excalibur talk about the 12th century and how can Asura be buried for 800 years if Fire Force is definitely _not_ in the 12th century and things look just about exactly the same as Soul Eater which is supposedly 800 years later?), but I’ll get to that in another post.

Lord Death had a kill list, too. Death obviously still happens here, and I get that, if Shinra created Lord Death, and Lord Death took Shinra’s power, then he has enough power from Shinra’s previous godhood to enact death onto anyone whenever he feels like it…which then makes it bizarre that he would need to farm out that work to his seven collaborators (Excalibur, Asura, Eibon, etc), even before he was unable to leave Nevada and had kids with pots and lanterns and mirrors doing it for him.

Like, Soul Eater never clearly explained how Lord Death decides gets to live and die. (Obviously, only Crow T. Robot should be given that power.) It seemed like it was people who didn’t value the lives of others, hence risked becoming Kishins or were witches bent on spreading chaos–but we also know he had sent Black Star and Tsubaki to kill Angela, who was not a threat at that time. (I know, I know–”Lord Death did that to test Black Star,” I get it, I agree with that interpretation.) But I would think, if “death isn’t such a big deal,” then you wouldn’t have people fearing ending up on Lord Death’s kill list and avoiding getting killed by his hired assassins.

“But you wouldn’t want to get killed by Lord Death either, would you?” No, because that means I’m not doing a lot of other things–and that is enough believable motivation for characters in this series that I don’t get why Fire Force comes along trying to complicate things with “death is harder to stick now.” Capone wants to keep making money, presumably Jack the Ripper wants to keep killing, and Medusa isn’t ready yet to die until she finishes her grand experiment. Making death less of a big deal didn’t somehow change what the people wanted to do: they didn’t want to die because they still wanted to profit, spread misery, and pursue unfinished business–not all admirable goals, but realistic ones. You didn’t need to make death harder to take place; you can just say, death still happens, people have many reasons why they don’t want to die, don’t worry about another Great Fiery Cataclysm, just live your life. (That oversimplifies what Haumea was saying, but I’m tired and trying to wrap this up…)

And I would imagine people like Sid that can just be brought back as zombies would be a big deal and something Lord Death would put on his kill list: “Too many people refusing to die and coming back as zombies–cut that shit out!”

(I’ll probably never write the fanfic, so if someone wants to take it up, go for it, but I always thought Sid actually planned on becoming a zombie. He wanted to protect Black Star, even beyond the grave, and pulled some strings with Lord Death and Stein instructing them to bring him back, because that would be disorienting to just get brought back to life against your will…Kind of like how I still think someone around Shinra has to be pissed at him for taking away their pyrokinetic abilities, because you know there has to be someone out there who was at zero risk of turning into an Infernal and wasn’t trying to endanger anyone and probably would not be a significant danger to the lives and property of anyone else and just really liked being able to heat stuff up. “I used to be able to fry an egg on my stomach while lying down to watch TV, but now I can’t do that–thanks, Shinra, you dick!”)

Look, I recently lost a parent, so I’m not acting like that loss and my ongoing mourning over it doesn’t influence my point of view here: how I looked at the idea of death in Soul Eater when I first saw it is going to be different than how I look at that idea right now after I lost a parent.

It just feels like a slap in the face to have Fire Force treat death as no big deal, when the entire point of the series was what Akitaru told Shinra and Arthur early on, that their role as firefighters is to protect life, and that sometimes means some people aren’t going to survive it, and you need to make sure you don’t die out there or else you can’t keep saving others. It’s great that Shinra takes that to heart and decides to revive all people who died (and all “property,” too, in terms of restoring the Earth). But that choice contradicts any message I took from Fire Force, initially, that this series would take death seriously. That may be my fault for not appreciating the message that ends this series–but it comes across as a crappy message that is poorly executed, too.

(I’ll try to avoid complaining about who exactly Shinra brought back: I think bringing back Rekka after the shit he did to Tamaki and Nataku among others, and that one serial killer, and that one fucker who raped Joker is some bullshit. I get that the story doesn’t want to make it seem like Shinra is playing god and only bringing back who he considers “good”--but fuck, man, you brought back those three awful people, seriously? You are playing god. Now we get to have a child abuser like Rekka being Black Star’s ancestor: great job, everyone, this all got worse somehow.)

It feels like a betrayal to seeing Maka terrified that she almost let Soul die, that Tsubaki had to kill her own brother, that Black Star killed Mifune and practically left Angela an orphan, that Crona killed so many people that Lord Death was going to execute them. There were actual stakes: these people could die. And when they didn’t, that made it feel like something was accomplished: Maka survived death, Black Star literally vomited back a laser–

(AND HOW BLACK STAR WAS ABLE TO DO THAT DIDN’T NEED SOME EXPLANATION, LIKE “A 17-YEAR-OLD 800 YEARS AGO DID SOMETHING IN THE PAST TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN!” IT WAS AWESOME ON ITS OWN, IT WAS CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE FINAL CHAPTER SO WE DIDN’T CARE THAT THINGS WERE GETTING MORE EPIC IN SCALE, IT’S NOT LIKE BLACK STAR DIDN’T DO INCREDIBLE STUFF LIKE THIS BEFORE THAT IT DIDN’T MAKE SENSE–IT DIDN’T NEED AN EXPLANATION BECAUSE NOT EVERYTHING NEEDS A FREAKING EXPLANATION! GOD, WHY THE HELL DID SOME GUY KICKING THE MOON TURN IT INTO THAT MOON, I CAN’T EVEN WITH THIS CRAP…)

--these characters faced a super-lethal threat, not just something typical like Tsugumi’s dog getting hit by a car, and it made that survival all the more impressive.

But to wrap this up, if we’re now to assume Fire Force is a prequel and made death less of a big deal, then why should I care that Maka cried over Soul when Crona sliced him and how relieved she was when Stein managed to save him, but still traumatized and needing the entire series to deal with that fear of letting her weapon almost die? Any interpretation that says Fire Force is a prequel to Soul Eater does damage to how I have enjoyed Soul Eater, and it makes it hard not to re-watch the anime or re-read the manga and think, “Yeah, but this doesn’t matter, because a 17-year-old Rin Okumura ripoff said it was okay to die like this.”

Addendum 1: I know I just spent this post repeating that Shinra is 17, as if that somehow makes his actions immature, and that’s not fair for me to suggest that. While it is believable a 17-year-old would do this, it is also believable a 17-year-old would not do this and would have done something better. Or, it’s believable a 4-year-old would do this, or a 30-year-old, or a 50-year-old, or someone who is 108. It somehow feels like this story underestimated the ability for someone who faced the supposed death of his brother and mother, and saw that firefighters can’t save everyone, and somehow gains the power, knowledge, and compassion of a good god, would not screw up this badly, regardless their good intentions. This feels like the inverse of Attack on Titan, where Fire Force wants to act like this is all good and won't have devastating outcomes later.

Addendum 2: “But if he’s a god, he has logic beyond your understanding–” No. We just spent more than 300 chapters of a story showing that religions are built by people, creating this cynical take about religion, and yet somehow this story by a person, writing a literal god like Shinra’s empowered form, just did the exact same things he railed against religion for doing.