#i suppose this is something to take into consideration when we talk about characters like him

[beevean]

Honestly I feel that if someone were to face Guts about all the shit he's done as the Black Swordsman he'd probably just...grimly accept it and move on

He wouldn't be consumed by guilt and begging for forgiveness, he'd just accept that he did what he did while also insisting that he has no intention of just getting stuck in his past actions or, I dunno, do jail time.

That's not necessarily because Guts feels no guilt about his past transgressions (his whole "weaklings who can't defend themselves" mentality was just a rationalization to protect his conscience from guilt, he felt awful about the priest and his daughter and about Vargas, not to mention the kids of Misty Valley), it's just that, as he tells Casca during his breakdown, he has killed so many people due to his life style that it's easy for him to just stop thinking about it after a while. Even back in Golden Age: he's traumatized after accidentally killing Adonis, a few days later however he's already gotten over it

It's both a result of Guts being accustomed to killing people since he was a child and also due to Guts' philosophy about always moving forward and living life how you want to no matter what, whose only obstacle is Griffith.

Remember: the deciding factor for him to abandon his path of revenge was just Casca being in danger, not him realizing he was ruining people's lives and needed to stop. In the end the Beast of Darkness can be viewed as a form of retribution: it was born due to the Eclipse but it only got as strong as it is due to Guts living such a hate filled bloody life as the Black Swordsman, and if he thinks he can just walk away from that with no repercussions then the Beast is there to remind him of what he used to be. It threatening to kill his new friends is Guts having to come to terms with the monster he had allowed himself to become, except now the target is not just apostles with a bunch of nameless civilians in the way that he can cause the deaths of while having a detatched attitude about it,the target is now his family, every time he dons the Armor Guts gets to experience what it feels like to have the Black Swordsman come in and kill your loved ones while in a blind rage

Now if CASCA were to confront him about what he's done during those years...I feel that would be a much different story...

I can't add much.

At the end of the day, Guts is a child soldier. He was trained to kill, and to kill for trifling reasons like money. While he has a soft spot for children, which is why the entire ordeal with Rosine was so harrowing for him (and while he stopped torturing himself over Adonis quickly, killing him still left an impact on him, not helped by hearing Griffith accidentally dismissing Guts as a friend), death as a whole has no meaning on him. He's used to being hated, which is probably why he has already forgotten about the trauma he left on Theresia.

It's interesting to think Guts and Griffith share a similar "no point in looking back, the only way is forward" mentality, but for different reasons: Griffith has tunnel vision, and he's projected towards the future (he's a pretty skilled manipulator and plotter for a reason), while Guts lives in the present, day by day.

I think his way of thinking can be seen when Farnese pledges her alliance to him, and he says "eh, I killed some of your men, we're even, do what you want", matter-of-factly... while inside he's much more tortured inside over what he has just done to Casca, which is the real reason he's even entertaining changing his lifestyle and travelling with the people he has both hurt and helped.

[xenodile]

"Shuro loves Falin for the same reasons he hates Laios" Completely and utterly wrong, could not be further off base.

I get the impression a lot of people watching Dungeon Meshi as it airs, or are a bit removed from its original manga run, have forgotten that Laios and Falin being monster freaks wasn't actually apparent until the events of the story. The only person that knew Falin loved monsters as much as Laios was Marcille because they were best friends at school.

Once Laios and Falin were in an adventuring party together, they both had public facing personas because they had both learned through their separate upbringings that being super interested in monsters and dungeons wasn't normal. Laios is the blunt but well meaning, outspoken and opinionated guy we all know, but Falin was way more withdrawn and soft-spoken, non-confrontational, easy to get along with. Everyone that interacted with Falin would say she's a sweet, gentle girl that everyone likes. Because she was, frankly, kind of a doormat.

The whole thing with Toshiro's infatuation with Falin is he doesn't actually know her. She is outwardly very polite and reserved, and that appeals to Toshiro because it meshes with his cultural sensibilities and how he was taught people are supposed to behave. Then he sees her marveling at a caterpillar in a private moment and decides on the spot that she's the ideal woman and proposes without actually talking to or getting to know her.

And his lack of understanding of Falin as a person is brought to the forefront in every action he takes after she gets eaten. He leaves the party and makes no attempt to contact the two people that Falin loves the most. Whether it's a matter of him just not knowing how much Falin cares about her brother and Marcille, or actively avoiding Laios to rescue Falin himself, he's demonstrating that he doesn't actually know what's important to her or understand how she feels.

Then when he meets Laios's party on the lower floors and they go over what happened, it's made even more blatant that Toshiro's affection is shallow and half-baked. He came into the dungeon a week too late and neglected his health the whole way down, so he was in no state to actually try and save Falin when he got there. When Laios talks about eating monsters, something Falin was thrilled about, Toshiro is disgusted. He threatens to kill Laios and turn Marcille in, which would never fly with Falin. His anger at the use of black magic is entirely based in his selfish idea of Falin being tainted and blaming Laios and Marcille for "ruining" his attempt to rescue her, as Kabru points out that Toshiro would have done the exact same thing in their shoes and that he's being a hypocrite. To say nothing of how he'd rather kill Falin after she's been transformed and "put her to rest" rather than put any effort into saving her, because that would require further involvement from Laios and Marcille and methods that Toshiro doesn't approve of.

And there's the fight he has with Laios, and Toshiro's subsequent confession that he had hoped to just take Falin home with him. He at no point gives consideration to what Falin feels or what she might want, only what he has decided about her based on the most surface level observation. Just like how his problem with Laios arises from his refusal to just talk to him about his boundaries, he has no actual connection with the woman he claims to love because he just wouldn't actually talk to her.

Like it's not a coincidence that every time his attraction to Falin is brought up, another character goes "yeah he's being weird about it".

[thebibliosphere]

Hi! How are you doing? Sorry to bother you, but i dont know many scottish people and idk who to talk to about this book I found on audible. It's called Imogène, by french author Charles Exbrayat. Do you know him /the book? I've started reading it but I had to pause because, while being sold as a "humorous spy story" I find the protagonist, a "very proudly scottish" woman, to be... an offensive caricature? Like she acts like a fool, honestly. This book contains some interesting points about sexism (it was published in 1959), and ridiculous british habits (such as employees forced to give money for princess anna's birthday or being socially scorned). I'm sure the shared dislike / distrust the protagonist and her british colleagues feel are (were?) realistic. But she is so extra, and the story keeps telling how lonely she is, even after working 20 years in london. She has No friends, most acquitances dont talk to her for various motivations, her bosses hates her ... idk I feel this book is actually mocking scottish people? Or scottish women??? I was SO there for a "strong woman protagonist who gives cutting remarks to her boss or peers", but this looks wrong. Idk. I didnt know whom ask for inputs. Maybe i'm reading too much into it. Feel free to ignore this mega rant. Have a good day!

I think cultural and historical context and time of publication-- which was almost 70 years ago --are important factors to take into consideration when we look at fiction through our current expectations.

I can’t speak to the book as I’ve never read it, but speaking as a Scots woman who worked for an English publishing house for a while, being made to feel alienated by my boss and others due to being Scottish was unfortunately still something going on in 2011.

I’d get lots of “Oh but you sound so eloquent” remarks regarding my thinned-out accent (something I did on purpose to avoid being told to “speak properly” which was also something I heard a lot in school if I ever used my native Scots language instead of “Queen’s English.”) and one time my boss referred to me as “their civilized Scot” to an American author, whose Scottish romance book I was supposed to be fixing the dialogue on.

The phrasing was along the lines of, “Don’t worry, you’ll be able to understand her. Joy is our civilized Scot.”

The author laughed and made another derogatory comment about how they just loved Scottish accents even if it was unintelligible a lot of the time. I kept my mouth shut because I didn't want to lose my first career job.

I kept my mouth shut a lot in that job.

In that regard I could very well empathize with the character being lonely and not engaging with anyone, even after 20 years.

The proud Scottish woman can be a bit of a caricature, but that doesn't necessarily mean it is intended as mocking.

Again, cultural/historical context matters.

I wasn’t alive in 1959, but I know there was a lot of Scottish media about the time that leaned into the stubbornness and pride of Scots women both for humor and to make societal commentary on the fact that women were strong and more independent than they’d ever been following two world two and a lot of men weren’t happy about it and wanted them to go back into their boxes. As a result the mouthy, proud Scots woman became a mockable caricature that turned women into shrill, over proud scolds.

Get back in your box or we’ll make fun of you, basically.

So is this book being mocking, or is it employing popular tropes of the time, knowing that audience will understand what it means and that the female protagonist is being subversive despite what others expect from her?

I can’t say. Again, haven’t read it. It could be utter dogshit and making total fun of my culture. But I do think when looking at older media we need to put our thinking caps on and think, “How would the audience of the time, 1959, have viewed and engaged with this?”

Expecting a “strong female protagonist” as we know it from media today isn’t going to work with media that’s almost 70 years old.

Hell, the “strong woman protagonist” wasn’t even something any piece of media could agree on when I was growing up in the 90s.

Times change. Literary tropes and preferences change. It helps to keep that in mind.

[still-a-morosexual-help]

Remember this post where I talk about the points "for" and "against" who Nightbringer could be, with the obvious choices being Barbatos and Michael (seriously read that post, so that this post will make more sense)

Ok so more points! To be honest though, this post is less about Barbatos vs Michael and more about Demon vs Angel

1.) MC actually meets and talks with Nightbringer who says he's a demon

BUT he says it like this:

• Barbatos should know by now that MC has never had a problem trusting demons. They're literally in the situation they're in now because they gave a book that could have easily stopped him to the demon that was trying to kill them 5s ago and then pledged to protect that demon & his family and keep them happy

• Angels on the other hand do think like this. We see it from what Luke & (to a lesser extent) Raphael say. From what Lucifer says when he first meets Diavolo. From the (pretty fucked up but also lore/relationship building) angel event. Even from Simeon every once in a while.

2.) It's (probably) not present Barbatos because Nightbringer says that the new path that MC is on will bring about true happiness, whereas the path MC was already on (post s4) was already steadily moving towards what Diavolo wanted (they had a human employed in a high position in the Devildom hello???), and so was also what Barbatos wanted. I'd say it's also probably not past Barbatos (and I talk about why in the post I linked up top)

3.) Nightbringer, also tries to guide MC and get them to do what he wants because he thinks that's the best path, even when they repeatedly say they don't want this. This also feels like something an angel would do? Like demons make pacts with humans and then they have to listen and do whatever the human commands them to. Angels become guardian angels for certain humans, they're not supposed to interact with the humans but they are supposed to protect them - that sounds like there's a lot less of the human's decisions/choices/free will being taken into consideration than when in a pact with demons.

4.) Adam says he heard trumpets right before he met Nightbringer. And look it's been like over a decade since I read the Bible (so please correct me if I'm wrong) but aren't trumpets very famously associated with angels?

5.) Say we take Nightbringer's name very literally, as in Night - Bringer. And Nightbringer's little slam poetry sesh after talking with MC implies it should be taken literally. He brings darkness. And um....

??????

Now I'm not placing all my bets on Nightbringer being an angel.

There's always the possibility it's a third secret Barbatos (which I think would be very funny) or a completely different character

Right now, I'm just simply laying out all the facts that we've been presented with. Eiher way I'm excited to find out who it is (and punch him in the face. I think MC deserves to break his jaw)

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9.) Presumably-Michael says that the MC allying with Nightbringer would piss the Celestial Realm off

[lasiocampa--quercus]

For all those stuck in 2019...

I have been very reluctant to share any art / writing for — oof, five years. First because it was plain awful, then because it was not good enough. It still isn't, but as the years passed I got increasingly lonely on other social media, so this is my last resort. After I've failed smashingly here, well, I guess I'll just have to stop trying altogether.

Anyway, a first time for everything. So here's one for you.

[Detail. Scroll down (I mean to say, read the whole post) to see the full artwork]

We don't choose what we love, now, do we?

For five years I've been desperately in love with the idea of putting two brilliant characters — Eggsy from Kingsman (2015, 2017) and David from Bodyguard (2018) — into the context where they could meaningfully interact and explore one another's worlds. Such a context has been established (it is not the subject of the current post but I'd be willing to tell all about it later), resulting in their taking a shine to each other almost immediately. For Eggsy this acquaintance was something excitingly in between the two class extremes he was most accustomed to, sabotaging his life-long distaste for having anything to do with coppers. For David it was a breath of fresh air. He'd been two years well into therapy after the events covered in the series, and he was still struggling to get back on track when he met Eggsy, arch and lively, and at the same time so dashingly insightful as he was. Somehow it felt like they'd known each other for years as they talked throughout afternoons and after-work hours over a pint of lager somewhere in North London. David, usually rather inhibited, smiled and laughed at Eggsy's jokes, charmed by his candour and straightforwardness, taken aback by his astute remarks often delivered in a childlike unassuming manner. To be sure, he'd never met anyone quite like him. The prospect of friendship was an enticing one despite all their differences and despite the pressures of their jobs. While at first one was suspicious of the other's occupation (David, of course, more suspicious than Eggsy, being inherently averse to secrecy of any kind), they soon grew to respect the boundaries imposed by respective lines of duty (David was inclined to believe Eggsy's agency couldn't be that bad seeing as it employed such a brilliant lad). In effect, Eggsy trusted him more than he could ever trust any of his old mates and occasionally slipped into the conversation uncanny details of his field experiences. But best of all he liked exchanging ideas, relaying to David something that Harry had told — or taught — him, expounding on his reflections that were philosophical or even biblical in essence, although he couldn't ever say whom he unwittingly quoted. David would recognise a concept or two, but he never abashed him by mentioning the fellow's name. Over time the content of their communion had got more intimate, insomuch that Eggsy took to dedicating a huge chunk of time to moaning about his relationship with Harry which had gone on for quite a while after he split up with Tilde.

One such time, fuelled by a considerable amount of drinks, Eggsy set to illustrate the supposed reasons for Harry's recent aloofness. He clamorously hurled his jeerings and complaints at David, impinging on much-cherished privacy of the pub tables. Before it started to wear on virtually everybody in their proximity, David took his noisy, fairly plastered companion outside for a breather. The cool evening air didn't seem to have the desired effect of sobering him up a bit as Eggsy nearly blacked out after a brief (but crucial) exchange between himself and David. That occurrence prompted David to call a cab and take him to his place to recuperate. He reasoned it would not be wise to let him dart off home to Harry in such a flustered state, for it appeared as if the conflict between them was merely an ember, or rather, a heap of embers waiting to be stirred. From then on David's conduct was laced with strange acts of gracious benevolence, such as taking Eggsy's trainers off before laying him down, sleepy and a tad confused, on his sofa and leaving the keys to his flat for when he woke up and presumably wished to go home, with little trim notes strewn around telling about it, as well as where to look for aspirin if his head was giving him a hard time after the other night's drunken debauchery. At the time David didn't question his actions, although they clearly ran counter to his long-conditioned circumspection and, to a lesser extent, his vague views on male intimacy. If anything, the day when he, trying not to disturb Eggsy's healing sleep, snuck away for work he couldn't shake off a quaint feeling of invigoration which seemed to permeate his otherwise dull routine of desk duty. Later that day, confident that Eggsy had left, he got back to a startle in the form of his coyly looking, supper-serving friend with unkempt hair and a crumpled white T-shirt. Eggsy stayed not only to defer having to face Harry, but to show gratitude for David's kindness the best way he knew — by doing a kindness in return. He furnished their dinner table with a bottle of wine, promising to go easy on it and proposing a toast to David's general gemness. There they were, having another quiet night of good conversation, the homely setting and their tipsiness conducing to even more warmth and unrestraint, when Eggsy accidentally tipped over his half-emptied glass and stained his T-shirt. If one could ever be sure of such things, one would say that exact moment was the point of no return, the moment of truth. A simple, ordinary incident that tore down a facade with the light tinkle of glass as it touched the floor. From lighthearted jocularity Eggsy went on to unbosom his brooding insecurity. The change in his disposition was so thunderboltingly sudden it made David somewhat uncomfortable. It made Eggsy uncomfortable too. The only suitable course of action suggested they should comfort each other, so Eggsy placed his hand in David's. A bashful kiss ensued. Once it was reciprocated, little smiles creased their flushed faces. Both hardly had an opportunity to process what was happening, but it somehow felt ridiculously, madly right. And peaceful, too.

Well, now that all the heavy lifting is done by that snippet above we can sit back and (hopefully) enjoy this little picture depicting David and Eggsy decently progressed in their ‘comforting each other’. I must point out, however, that what you've just (hopefully) read is really only a summary, a squeeze if you will, of what transpired, produced specifically for purpose of acquainting you with the context. In actual fact the story is teeming with dialogue and detail which, with your kind permission, I would like to show you some other time.

[linkspooky]

hi Spooky! I just read your meta about Gojo's motivation in the fight and you brought up interesting points.

I thought Gojo was fighting in a way that he's trying to save Megumi, because if Gojo is really trying to eliminate Sukuna for good he would go for the most fatal blow, the brain, he knows that Sukuna can still come back even without heart (lungs and liver)... so I thought Gojo is probably trying to weaken Sukuna to "make room" for Megumi. Even if his facade is "carefree", at first he already warned Sukuna that he won't hold back, he seemed worried when he realized that Megumi is the one that got hit by UV. But now I'm worried about his character growth, is it like he's decreasing? or at least he's not showing something better than the Gojo who killed Toji - teen Gojo; what happened to the Gojo that claims to protect his students' youth and who is supposed to be the "good guy" in this fight...

I still think Gojo is fighting with the belief he can revive Megumi after he takes down Sukuna, but I agree with you anon his attitude towards the fight shows his lack of growth after Toji. Not only does Gojo reference Toji a couple of times like the battle is still fresh on his mind but his emotional state resembles the way he was when he fought Toji post-awakening as the "strongest." It wasn't just a happy-go-lucky facade at that point Gojo stated in his internal narration he wasn't fighting to avenge Riko: it really was just about defeating Toji and using his newfound power to reach his full potential.

It's understandable Gojo reacted that way in the moment though. He's seventeen, and it's probably alienating to have that much power thrust on your shoulders at seventeen. However, Gojo shows a clear lack of progress since that battle. Eleven years have passed since the battle with Toji, and Gojo's kind of trapped there mentally. He's still fighting for the same reasons he fought against Toji. Those lines could be applied to how he feels via Sukuna's possession of Megumi.

"Right now I'm not angry for you. Nor do I feel vengeful toward anyone. Right now, it's just that everything feels right."

Word of god supports this: Gege was asked directly if Gojo matured after the battle with Toji, and Gege explained instead of maturing he left the decision making up to Geto.

This is pretty consistent with Gojo and Geto's foiling with one another. Geto tends to be a deeply self-reflective character almost to a fault. While I'd argue that while Gojo is known by the fandom as the more selfish one, he is oddly someone who doesn't self reflect at all.

We know far more about Geto's internal world and how he sees things because of his internal narration. Honestly, if you compare the short time he's a focus character in Hidden Inventory to the entire rest of the manga Gojo receives a lot less internal dialogue. When Gojo does have internal narration it's almost always just him strategizing for a fight. He doesn't have the same richly developed internal world that Geto has because he doesn't really think or reflect on those things. When he does give insight to himself and his belief it's almost always himself talking aloud to other people.

Which neatly dovetails into my next topic re: Gojo's tendency to mask his true emotions under a light-hearted facade. I think it's inarguable he does that, Gojo was acting happy-go-lucky in front of his students about five minutes after killing Geto. Geto commented in the beach scene in Okinawa that Gojo goofing around on the beach was his way of being considerate to Amanai, and that while pretending to be carefree he'd been exhausting himself keeping the limiitless active for days not even sleeping. Gojo even downplays the burden of that in front of Geto, the one person he allows himself to be vulernable with.

However, I don't think Gojo's tendency to mask his true emotions is because he's crying on the inside during his fight with Megumi and at some point he's going to have an emotional breakdown over it. That interpretation I think comes from the fandom's tendency to woobify Gojo because they want to make him a more relatable and easy to understand character when Gojo is supposed to be alienating and off-putting.

He's an exploration of what being the strongest would due to a person's mind, and how much that would alienate a person from the people around him. Gojo's defined by his inability to relate to others, especially the people he finds as weak so it only makes sense he'd process his emotions in a way that's different from most people.

If people learn and grow and change by their interaction with others, then Gojo who's very cursed technique itself makes it so nobody can ever touch him unless he wants them too does not interact with others and therefore does not change.

It's interesting if you look at things from a budhhist perspective, because there are heavy themes of budhism present in the text of JJK itself. Let's say that Gojo attained enlightenment at seventeen. If he's already enlightened then why would he need to grow any more past that point? The ultimate goal of budhism is to escape the cycle of karma entirely, so from that perspective Gojo untethering himself from the world and earthly concerns and other people is his ideal endpoint.

On the other hand Gojo is like a person living in the world - he eats takeout, goes out drinking with his friends, has a job, pays his taxes. He didn't escape life and worldly concerns, because life went on, he's still living in the world and eleven years has passed since the moment he "attained enlightenment."

If he's already enlightened then he shouldn't need to grow, but considering hes still living in the world you need to grow and change with the world and people around you otherwise you're going to be left behind.

From what we've seen in canon Gojo changed a little bit. His ideals changed in the fact he adopted Geto's sense of responsibility and judgement of good and evil. He also witnessed Geto's fall and lost his friendship which is clearly what influences his current beliefs on wanting to protect the childhood of sorcerers, and that there's something rotten about the Jujutsu Society surrounding him.

I don't mean to say that every change in Gojo's life comes from Geto, but rather Gojo's current sense of beliefs are based around what happened to him in his youth. He wants to protect children because his youth was ruined. If Geto never fell and became a curse user would Gojo see anything wrong with the current system worth rebelling over?

Put better in another better meta here.

Still, my point is that... Gojo simply never cared enough about things like ideology. [...] He tried to internalize Geto’s original values of protecting the weak since he could sense some merit to them, finding joy in entertaining Riko and later his students, but he completely missed the reasoning behind those values. This is why he spouted all those things about not saving/reaching Geto (without having attempted it in the first place) and about becoming a teacher to prevent young sorcerers from missing out on their youth (immediately going to indoctrinate young Megumi into their messed up system as a pretext of saving him from the Zenins. [...] The only way he can empathize with them is by remembering what he himself enjoyed in his youth, that being companionship with his bff and his growing power. And when some of them don’t show interest in that (like poor fucking Megumi) Gojo is simply not interested in exploring alternatives.  To him, it’s not a question of ‘why’, it never was.

Gojo is extreemly self-oriented in all the good and bad that entails. Good because it makes him an extremely strong, and self confident individual that allows him to pursue those ideals (and his ideals are still pretty good) bad because he easily loses sight of other people's feelings.

A gojo who truly changed after the fight with Toji would have reached out to Megumi in an attempt to break the cycle that started with the Zen'ins abuse of TOji. A true example of being the bigger man by going out of his way to help the son of a man who in a lot of ways caused permanent damage to his life and the people around him.

However, that's blatantly not what Gojo did. Once again we have Word of God on this.

Gojo hasn't matured past his mindset of seeing people in terms of "strong and weak" and as a natural extension of that he tends to treat the same kids he's trying to help as assets so he's not living up to his desire to be the responsible adult in their lives. Because he's not really an adult. His growth stopped in the fight with Toji.

Gojo's solution to the problem of Jujutsu Society's use of child soldiers and treating children as expendable is... to create stronger child soldiers. I don't think Gojo does this maliciously, it's just he has no self-awareness whatsoever. He is Jujutsu Society's ideal and constantly praised as such and because of that can't see the flaws in his own ideology and actions. That's also the way Gojo was raised, pushed to be the strongest and to build his entire life and self-worth around being the strongest he can be. People who lack self-awareness tend to unsconiously recreate the circumstances under which they were raised because it's familiar to them. Do unto others what was done unto you.

To return to my original topic though Gojo has a tendency to make his true emotions but I don't think it's done because he's secretly crying on the inside.

I think Gojo's complete lack of reaction to Nanami's death was his genuine reaction. He's not putting on a brave face or anything. He probably does care that Nanami died, but this is just how Gojo processes his emotions. I also think there's a couple of times where Gojo is disturbed during the fight against Megumi such as when Sukuna used Megumi as a shield for the limitless, but at the same time he's clearly having the time of his life with this fight.

I don't think he's faking that. He shouldn't really be enjoying this battle because there are simply more important things right now than whether or not Gojo finally gets to have fun in a fight and be challenged against someone who's his equal - but apparently Gojo didn't get that memo.

Gojo is probably masking his emotions to some extent, but there's a difference between text (what is stated) and subtext (what is not stated and instead relies on reader interpretation). Gojo visibly enjoying himself in the fight is direct text. Gojo announces out loud that he has no problem beating up Megumi, the narration tells us that Gojo is feeling deeply satisfied with this fight.

While characters do sometimes hide their feelings and lie, and narrators are sometimes reliable, subtext is still an interpretation and it doesn't trump what is directly stated by the work.

The text has already told us directly that number one Gojo doesn't feel any hesitation to fight Megumi, and number two Gojo's first priority is winning and his second priority is worrying about Megumi.

Anything that contradicts that is fandom interpretation of the text. I don't think Gege is trying to pull a fast one or unreliable narrator trick here. Gege has always been blatantly honest about Gojo's flaws as a character, hence why I constantly cite his responses in interviews.

I think it's Gege's intention here to show us how Gojo's priorities are eschewed. You can make an argument that Gojo has to worry about defeating Sukuna first above everything else because of utiliarian reasons. If he loses here then everyone else dies. He may have to sacrifice Megumi to stop Sukuna from killing anyone else.

However, those utilitarian reasons are in direct opposition to Gojo's ideals. Gojo wants to create a world where children aren't sacrificed for the common good. In Gojo's ideals chidlren shouldn't be sarificed for adults, but rather it's adults who should protect children so they can live out their youths. If Gojo fails to protect Megumi here he's going back on everything he supposedly stands for.

So while you can make an argument pragmatically Gojo has to worry about winning the fight first. Idealistically he should be fighting to save Megumi, not to win against Sukuna. However, he's not doing that. By having him care more about the fight itself then Megumi, it shows that Gojo's pragmatism often is in conflict with his own idealism. Which is something we've always known about his character. He wants to help kids but at the same time he's using them as tools to further his own agenda.

Again a lot of Gojo's flaws arise from his own lack of self-awareness. Gojo does conceal his own emotions a lot, but I don't think he's hiding a crying child inside. Instead it's more like he's so alienated from both the people around him and his own emotions that he can't process them or self reflect.

Gojo is blind in a lot of ways, like it's made clear by Shoko that Gojo's isolation doesn't just come from being the strongest. There are people around him actively trying to connect with him and Gojo just kind of ignores them because he's too caught up in the idea that only someone like Geto who was as strong as he was could ever understand him.

Gojo doesn't show his own emotions or make deep emotional connections with others because he probably doesn't understand those emotions himself. He's not only alienated himself from the people around him, but he's alienated himself from his own feelings to such an extent that even when he does care it's difficult for him to show it.

[friendly-stardust]

These incompetent showrunners really went in for the kill with Aegon II's character assassination

I know this has been said over and over again already but I am actually truly amazed at how far the showrunners/writers went to completely assassinate Aegon's character to make sure that he is portrayed in the worst possible way. As this has already been highlighted numerous times, he is characterised even worse than Mushroom's degenerate description of him in Fire and Blood. They really went as far as presenting us with a caricature, a monstrosity that cannot be believable to be human.

This claim of wanting to make a grey character out of this mustache-twirling villain stereotype they have created to put up against a heroic Disney princess, is just an insult to audiences who came in to watch an actual intelligent and well-written show.

I have never seen such blatant character assassination disguised as some profound creation of a grey character.

In this inconsistent fanfiction seemingly made for the glorification of Saint Perfect Girlboss Rhaenyra, her direct foil and opponent Aegon II is made to be:

A sexual deviant, masturbating out of a widow in his teenage years, and maybe a pedophile (with that ridiculous sentence from the Brothel Madam in the horrendous episode 9).

A bully, mercilessly bullying his younger brother  Aemond.

A rapist, of course! How best to destroy a male character in this day and age if not by making him an obvious rapist! And then they want to talk about complex characterisation? LOL! Sara Hess knew what she was doing here.

Of course, a sadist who enjoys watching brutal children's fights (also including his own bastards) in a pit - the epitome of a laughingly cringe tentative to paint a character as the ultimate villain.  

An abusive husband to his sister-wife, obviously! let's just pile on, shall we, even when nothing in the text in F&B suggests or supports any such claim.

A coward, willing to abandon his family and his dragon (his pride) to sail away and hide, leaving them at the mercy of Daemon and Rhaenyra's whims and wishes - the complete opposite of his character in F&B!

A great work of destruction indeed!  All of these are just blatant and obvious willingness from these showrunners/writers to obliterate his characterisation in order to prop up Saint Girlboss Rhaenyra, but nothing makes my blood boil more than the multiple sexual deviances (the abject rapist characterisation being the worst offender), and the implied abusive relationship with Haleana they completely created in order to drive home how awful Aegon is supposed to be seen as opposed to the complete whitewashed version of their favorite girlboss. Maybe next season, Aegon will be shown to be someone who loves torturing puppies, who knows?

And even when the actor TGC made his concern well known, those amateurish writers just brushed it aside, while someone who is on record for saying that she has not even bothered to watch Game of Thrones (the incompetent Sara Hess) decided to tarnish and destroy his character even more by claiming to want to make it more like GoT. Absolute joke this one!

I just recently read something about how Jesse Amstrong (Succession) listened to Arian Moayed (playing Stewy Hosseini) and respected his decision to not be depicted as a typical bad representation of Iranians in Western media and this just made me realise even more how inept HotD showrunners/writers are at taking into consideration valid concerns from one of their own actors.

Overall, HotD has just been a massive disappointment on the writing side. The writing is cringe and horrendous, making it just an expensive CW-level show with a bigger budget. A huge letdown and an absolute travesty of the book characters.

[travelingtwentysomething]

NYONG’O: Yes. I remember when we were shooting, you whispered to me that you were up for this thing. I loved how honest you were about wanting it. And then you got it!

QUINN: Yes. Well, it was a very quick process. I was up for it for a week, and then within two weeks I had it. But that’s the thing, sometimes you’re wanting to be a part of an experience, and there’s something about it that you just want to–I hate using the word “explore,” but explore.

NYONG’O: Why do you hate using the word?

QUINN: I think it’s a little pompous. 

NYONG’O: Interesting. You’re allergic to grandiosity.

QUINN: Can’t do it. Well, because with acting, the medium is insular. With music, you’re playing an instrument. With art, you’re painting or you are sculpting something. The thing you’re being creative with when you’re acting is yourself, so it’s inherently self-indulgent. You must indulge yourself to express yourself. But if you’re kind of shining a light on it and saying, “Look at all the work I’ve done,” that just distracts me. I find it very hard to talk about it myself.

NYONG’O: I feel the same way with talking about my process. In fact, I’ve made some mistakes and talked about it more than I should have, and I’ve regretted it. It takes away the magic. Do you feel that way about your process?

QUINN: I don’t have one.

NYONG’O: What do you mean? You don’t have a process? Liar.

QUINN: I don’t have one.

NYONG’O: Are you serious?

QUINN: I don’t have a thing that I do, no.

NYONG’O: What are you talking about?

QUINN: What am I talking about? I don’t have a list of things that I have to do to access a character. It’s just consideration. It’s reading it a few times. Every role requires a different route in, but I don’t have a process.

NYONG’O: You don’t have some touch points that you find yourself getting to?

QUINN: There are stages, definitely. I suppose that is a good way of referring to it. It feels like it’s cooking, like it’s in a place where I can present it and not feel overwhelmed by insecurity. But I don’t have a process or a way of approaching characters.

NYONG’O: I am fascinated by this response.

QUINN: Why?

[odusseus-xvi]

Wanted to talk about q!Forever and his presidency seen from the pov of someone who mostly experience it from outside percepctive as I'm incapable of understanding Brazilian. SAYING IT RIGHT NOW I'm not here to say q!Forever is wrong or evil (as I'm convinced he is not, no need to come and tell me), this is not what's it's about, this is about how lost he seems when you are looking from the exterior.

So I know drama is brewing because people are fighting over who's right and who's an evil virus of satan, and I don't care, I'm not interested in this. I want to talk about the characters I love, because I love q!Forever, and his story makes me so sad.

I want to explain to those who wouldn't know, I'm a mostly french viewers, I follow Etoiles, Baghz, Antoine, Aypierre and Phil (mostly, I try to follow everyone's storyline and povs), the last two are not important here as Philza doesn't interact with the president storyline at all and Aypierre's involvement can be resumed to "I don't care who's in power and what they do, I'll be nice to them because I want power". But basically what the Forever Presidency feels like is not evil, or corrupted, it feels WEIRD :

Because obviously he is kindhearted, he has saved the eggs multiple times, he has done a lot for the island, and has said multiple times he wants to help everyone, and I believe that. But then in some of his actions and speeches, there is so much stuff that we are weirded out about. First how he told Baghera how he wanted to make everyone vote etc. That's okay, but like she said herself "Well that was my campaign idea..." And that's true, and that was also a thing Him and Cellbit used as way to descend her campaign, so that felt like a light knife in the back. But that's the least worrying thing.

There was then the whole deal where from what I understood he felt betrayed by Baghera and Bad as they didn't share everything and witheld information. And from Baghz pov that felt like it came out of nowhere because... Well she didn't ! That was simply miscommunication. And ensued the whole deal where he talked about how he felt about the arrival of the new people, and how he didn't trust them and didn't want to help them unless they had an egg. That was a weird thing in itself, he is supposed to be the president of the island and he is the one least willing to welcome new people.

There was also the nerfing armor stuff. At first we thought he said that as a joke you know, he is just not saying no to Quackity because that'd be rude. But who in their right mind would do that right ? Right... ? And then yestedray he asks Etoiles to do a debate with Quackity to discuss it and everyone went "Wait, he's actually considering it ?" And that was weird because... Well Forever spends most of his time in his base. Isolated. And when you watch Etoiles you know that even with the strongest suit of armor in the game you CAN die everyday. Is... Is Forever asking for a death sentence ? Has he been living under a rock ?

The last thing was yesterday, when Etoiles wanted to ask him a few things, he arrived when Forever was having a secret discussion with Cucurucho, and he ordered the construction of a prison he would have access to. And THAT was so WEIRD, everyone in chat and in reaction were like "WHAT !!??? WH... WHY ??", and then followed by "could I have a gun to defend myself ?" and everyone went "Oh. He... He doesn't trust us !!!", Etoiles himself went *raises eyebrow*. There is something REALLY going bad with q!Forever. And then he immediatly follows by taking in consideration Etoiles' request to allow Dark Metal for his fight against the code, so he's not evil, he's not corrupted... And that's where I realised what it felt like, it feels like he is lost.

It seems he want to do good, but takes weird unnecessary decisions after weird unnecessary decisions that in most cases fucks over other islanders more than it helps, and the important thing to remember is that he is not doing that purposefully, again it seems he is lost, it feels like he doesn't know what he is doing, because of that people are more wary of him, and it leads him to become more paranoïd and he makes even more bad decisions, wich leads to more people being wary of him and it creates a vicious feedback loop that constantly raises the tension. (also having the big PRESIDENT sign next to his name creates an epidermic reaction in every french that makes us want a revolution /j) And it's so sad because the only exit I can see is for the tension to be released in an explosion, a revolution, and THAT could be interesting because for once neither side is truly evil per say. They can be misguided, but not outright evil. Like Baghera said herself "I... I don't understand where he is going."

What's terrifying is what we foresaw with the election is happening, the islanders are driving themselves apart and turning against each other. I don't think the Federation wants to avoid a revolution, I'm pretty sure they would be rooting for it.

(HOWEVER next time I see someone saying q!Forever is this perfect little guy that did nothing wrong... PLEASE. The guy was vicious during the election arc. With how much misinformation he spread on Etoiles most notably.)

[awinterrosesstuff]

Hiruzen Sarutobi... or the character that confuses me the most. I don't know what to make of him. Let me explay you why.

When we're introduced to him, he's pretty old, wise and powerful. He even seens nice. He is amused by Naruto's antics. You want to sympathise with him. And honestly why not ? There are things that infuriate me during the chunin exams (the fact it even exists). Then you have his ending. It's executed very well. I did find it badass. You see his regrets, his weaknesses (with Orochimaru), his summon clearly tells him he's weak or pathetic (I can't remember the word) but he does the sacrifice. You can see it's very difficult for him, he struggles a lot. During the chunin exams, we get to see how scary Orochimaru is. Everything is made to show that Hiruzen was very powerful in his days and became weak with getting old. But still, he does his best and makes the sacrifice with the hope of a better future. Plus the fight between Gaara and Naruto does a great work as a parallel of this one.

It's actually interesting to see that even if Hiruzen can be powerful and brave, he can be very weak and a coward in so many ways. You do see it with Orochimaru, but also with how he let Danzo do whatever he wants, and how he let the villagers and everyone in Konoha treats Naruto like shit. It doesn't show him in a positive way obviously, but it makes him interesting, even human I'd say. But I have a main beef with him or the way he's written.

I think his role is never properly adressed in everything that went wrong in Konoha. Danzo and Orochimaru are treated as the villains they are. The narrative put the blame on Danzo for the Uchiha massacre - as it needed. But it kind of forgets Hiruzen in the process.

Sasuke, when he ressurects the kages with Orochimaru's help, questions him. And he's fucking right to do it. Why did the hokage let the massacre happen ? We're said that Danzo ordered the massacre and manipulated Itachi in doing it. But what about Hiruzen ? We get to learn that he wanted a diplomatic solution, but never had the occasion to find it. Is it because he didn't really bother or because Danzo didn't take his decision in consideration ? Probably a bit of both. But why did Danzo have such power in the first place ? Because Hiruzen is a coward. That's it. But the narrative doesn't really blame him, as if he's supposed to be the good "guy". We even have Minato put the blame on himself. And I was like "what ?". Minato has faults, that's not the subject. But the massacre happened because Hiruzen didn't do his job (protecting his villagers). I would have prefered if Hiruzen was clearly blamed for it. And it's actually insulting for Sasuke who is just there to be honest.

I'd like to add Hiruzen letting Danzo do everything he wanted (like having his fucking army) did cause problems to other problems. Kabuto and Sai come to mind.

I want to talk about Naruto. It's never (but really never) adressed that Hiruzen failed Naruto. The boy was ostracised because he was the host of Kurama... and what did Hiruzen do ? I'm not saying he should have adopted him... but he could have done more (like finding him a family). And the secret was obviously revealed, or no adult would know Naruto had Kurama sealed in him. Hiruzen was the one with the power there, he could have done something more. Well, what really bothers me is the fact that it's not said that Hiruzen failed to keep his promise and to protect Naruto, the jinchuriki of his village. Naruto never had the opportunity to do. He's angry against the villagers, but never the hokage. And I do find it weird. The narrative could have so easily done it. It would have even been better for Naruto's dream.

He wants to be hokage to protect his friends, and his village. That's great. But imagine if Naruto said something like "I will find ways to be better than Hiruzen. I don't want the children to be treated like they were during his time". It could have been a parallel to his resolve at the ending of Zabuza arc when he says he wants to find his nindo and be the ninja he wants (not the other way around). It's badly written, but do you get the message ?

Anyway... I do believe Hiruzen could be a great character if he wasn't praised so much in the manga. And I hope I made my opinion clear with this post.

[ilikekidsshows]

Ok. So. Maybe you can clarify something for me?

I've always had a hard time understanding Ladybug's level of self-confidence (or lack there-of), especially in Season 1. It borders on cocky at times (for example, the whole "I'm better than both of you" thing in Copycat, whistling her theme song confidently to herself in Puppeteer, generally the smug looks whenever she succeeds, etc) and I guess I have a hard time reconciling it with the Marinette who apparently doubts herself all the time (and constantly needs pep talks from Tikki, Chat Noir, Alya, Luka and etc. to function). If we especially take the movie songs into consideration, I understand her story is supposed to be about believing in oneself. But most the time this doesn't seem to be something she (at least as Ladybug) genuinely struggles with? Honestly I find her borderline arrogant at times.

....notable exceptions being the times she makes a mistake, does a complete 180 and calls herself the "worst" and requires a pep talk reaffirming her that she's the "best ladybug ever" or something similar to get going again. I guess this is where the whole "believe in yourself!" message is supposed to fit in.

So, why then, is she so self-assured otherwise? Is she confident in herself or not? Am I supposed to interpret that she's...faking the confidence? She doesn't really give me false bravado vibes, so I find this angle difficult to accept. It seems like she's genuinely impressed with herself and self-congratulatory a good chunk of the time.

The self-doubt just often feels forced to me. Like, in Stormy Weather: she's smirking confidently as she tells Chat Noir to "just follow my lead". Chronologically this is right after Origins, wherein she was apparently near crippled in fear that she couldn't do it. She just...gets over her self-doubt, near instantly, apparently? And is now a borderline arrogant girlboss?

What am I missing? I'm trying to find a better faith interpretation than just...bad writing, but I'm struggling.

---

I’m trying to remember how I interpreted this aspect of the character before the retool, and I think I saw it as another aspect of her being a coddled child. Her self-image is incredibly fragile, but she’s also getting constant consolation, support and praise so that her failures don’t really register long-term. This is why, when she messes up, she feels like it’s the first time every single time and she’s embarrassed and scared of what everyone will think of her, but, once she gets the reassurance that no one thinks badly of her, she can just brush it off like it didn’t happen, until it happens again. Children with coddling parents are very focused on what others think of them, because they’ve been raised to rely on external validation. Seeing the results of a working plan also grants her that external feedback.

The lack of confidence is also something that’s more closely tied to her life as Marinette. She never makes nightmare scenarios where she embarrasses herself in front of Adrien and has to move countries as Ladybug. This is the Spider-Man effect. As a superhero, she is anonymous, so anything she does doesn’t come to embarrass her as Marinette, which is where that smugness comes from. In the original show, Marinette barely acknowledges that she’s a superhero on the side as Marinette, because she’s separated everything about it from her day-to-day self. She feels untouchable, because she can always retreat back to being Marinette if she looks embarrassing. There’s also the fact that the Miraculous increases her physical capabilities so that she isn’t an embarrassing clutz as a hero.

There’s also another meta reason for it, however. Here’s where I remind people that Miraculous’ narrative structure is copied from elsewhere. In Miraculous, anything fantastical that happens is only relevant in how it affects the mundane aspects of our protagonist’s life, like her status in school and what the boy she likes thinks about her. This is why Gabriel can destroy the world but it’s a happy ending because Marinette gets to kiss Adrien in the end. This is actually a common aspect of the “my dear diary” sub genre of the school drama genre (like Dork Diaries). In the original book of the Princess Diary, the protagonist being a princess was only important in how it complicated her school life, with the actual princess side of things getting a lot less attention. This is also why Marinette doesn’t worry about consequences as Ladybug; it’s not narratively relevant. There’s even a writing tip about not including unnecessary details that’ll bog things down.

Here’s where my salt side comes in some more. I have repeatedly said that the Miraculous writers kind of want to have their cake and eat it too in terms of Marinette’s character. They want her simultaneously to be the greatest girlboss ever who needs no help ever, but also vulnerable so that she can win the audience’s sympathy. This is why Marinette can be downright arrogant in one moment, and a complete emotional wreck that constantly needs and gets validation in another. They want Marinette to be an admirable, competent hero, like the pop culture image of Batman, who the girls watching the show can look up to and want to roleplay as, because that’s how you sell a superhero character. However, they also want Marinette to be that pitiful social loser who never gets her way that school drama genre audiences always root for to just get a break, because that sells the protagonist in that genre. This creates a Frankenstein’s Monster of a protagonist, cobbled together from parts that don’t fit together when used this clumsily.

Astruc is a simple writing guy, he insists Miraculous as a simple show, but combining two completely different protagonists into one isn’t simple and it shows in how sloppy the result is. Because, here’s the thing: the show only has characters say things that lean into either of these presentations of Marinette, while never actually committing to them properly in what happens in the story. Marinette can say she’s better than Cat Noir and everyone can say she’s the best Ladybug ever all they want, but she’s still a complete nervous wreck when the chips are down who got the world destroyed through her incompetence. Ladybug doesn’t have many impressive accomplishments under her belt that would make her a competent hero. Similarly, the characters can act like she’s the perpetual bully victim, but that doesn’t change the fact that Marinette easily beats Chloé every single time outside of a single flashback. Marinette complains about every minor grievance she has, but almost every single character around her has worse problems and makes her look like a privileged whiner instead of someone actively suffering. Marinette doesn’t have real problems that would make her a “loser” as a character archetype.

The thing is, this type of protagonist combination can be worked with, and it is, in fact, one of the more common teen superhero archetypes. Look no further than Danny Phantom to find the perfect combination of a cool superhero and teen loser. Danny is a superhero who, while occasionally needing help, never makes the audience question his morals or competence. He's also a normal guy struggling through school life as one of the less popular kids in school who can’t seem to get the girl he likes to notice him and who never manages to improve his social standing long term, all culminating to him learning that he doesn’t have to be the most popular kid in school as long as he has real friends. He has actual fights with his friends that they need to discuss and work through instead of every conflict being resolved by him crying and being instantly forgiven. His parents are also loving but clearly don’t understand him, explaining him keeping his double life a secret from them and they often cause complications with their expectations, instead of catering to Danny's wants all the time. The only time Danny wanted to quit on something was in the grand finale, as the darkest hour moment. Danny's life is hard, but he'll still save the day.

As I said, the big problem is that the writers don’t commit to Marinette actually having a bad life that would make her a social loser as a civilian. She’s the most popular girl in school, she’s a rising star designer, she beats her bullies with ease every time, she has supportive parents who cater to her every whim, she has a great relationship with all the boys she likes and none of her friends ever get mad at her for anything. Marinette’s life is practically perfect once you actually stop to think about it instead of implanting the typical school drama mold onto her that she’s a miserable wretch who never gets enough support. You can’t even say she’s a loser as Ladybug because everyone is constantly giving her unearned praise, including herself. Every time she has a nervous breakdown, there’s people practically lining up to console her and make her feel good about her failure so that she never has to actually own up to it and grow from it.

The only thing about Marinette that makes her a “loser” is her incapability to accomplish her main goals as a protagonist, but no one in universe is meta enough to point that out. In-universe, Marinette isn’t a loser at all, even though, by all rights, she should be, because the writers are shielding her from having anything too bad happen to her. She always lies to and ghosts her friends and they are never even mildly offended. She hurts people every other episode, only to be instantly forgiven. She messes up important tasks but the people around her planned for that or coddle her through her failure. Every time she’s miserable, it’s a self-caused misery of thinking everyone will hate her and how bad she has it, and every time it gets resolved by some more consoling, validation and unearned praise.

I’ve never seen a fictional character get treated as gently as Marinette, and it’s so weird, because that’s not a trait of superhero or school drama protagonists. If anything, these two arc types both tend to have the worst of luck to get the conflict ball rolling. That’s what you get when you make the protagonist the child you thought you’d have one day; you get invested in her comfort over what makes sense as a story.

[cleromancy]

still thinking about (always fucking thinking about) what i posted here, on mia's explicit on-page murder vs. jason and felipe and how it's treated both by ollie and bruce respectively, and also by their respective *narratives*.

one of the things i loved about winicks ga/ga&bc run in general was like. it was so uninterested in punishment. when someone did something harmful the emphasis was on the consequences--material and emotional--rather than issues of Right vs Wrong. it focused on who was hurt, where to go from there, how to fix it, and i found that especially 🥺 when it came to mia killing.

because the reaction is so compassionate to her. like, no one is like shaking their finger at mia like You Did A Bad Thing, it's like ollie and dinah *both* immediately are horrified by the fact that she's going to have to live with this for the rest of her life and moreover that ollie put her in that position in the first place.

i already posted these panels but. look again.

and mia and jason as characters were in conversation with each other from the instant mia started being built up to be the 2nd speedy--the same way roy and dick were always in conversation with each other (because everyone knows the REAL second robin was the first speedy). and doubly so when winick took over and tweaked her backstory so she was also homeless. (gonna make a post on the HIV development at some point and how starlin openly talked about wanting to give robin AIDS...)

but like. look

vs

*Jason* couldn't handle it so now *i* can't keep him as my partner compared to. the blame falling directly, and rightly, on ollie for putting mia in that position in the first place... *and* this is the arc preceding the one where mia actually takes the speedy mantle! she wasn't speedy yet! she killed someone on her test run! and she still becomes speedy! and she does a fucking phenomenal job as speedy! tied for first fucking place if you ask me and roys my most favoritest and specialest guy!

and like. god. they don't linger on whether or not mia was wrong to kill that man. ollie clearly thinks there was another way, but he's not going to drill that into mias head, unlike someone else we could name, *bruce.*

"consequences, robin, such as me accidentally crushing a man to death by climbing a teetering stack of cars like a moron. for some reason i am heavily implying that this is your fault."

like ... come *on.*

and yknow. a lot of this is just that starlin was a fucking hack. but what we have here is still that bruce would rather bash jason over the head with moral lessons than ever give more than a cursory consideration to how hes fucking feeling.

(which is also, btw, such a stark change from how bruce still was in the contemporaneous tec run or even the batman run directly preceding it where when bruce screws up by not telling jason willis was (probably) dead, he admits he screwed up and apologizes. like, its such a tangible, jarring shift from bruce being a flawed but loving dad into whatever the hell this is. --lets not start on wolfman here because he did a better job than starlin, not that thats a high bar. im not opposed to the bad mentor/dad bruce character development *in principle*, its about the execution.)

but yeah, like, just the way like... its about who put mia in that situation. its about how jason just wasn't good enough. its about how mia gets to keep trying to be a hero. its about how jason is benched (<- he was supposed to stay home in 425; officially benched in 426). its about how it didn't matter whether or not jason killed felipe, because jason "couldn't handle it." its about how it mattered that mia killed someone, because she shouldn't have ever been put in a situation where she felt like she had to.

the discourse about ga 69-72 is always so tedious and always so thoroughly misses the damb point. but putting aside the whole like yes yes naughty jason he shouldn't have done it or at least shouldn't have done it like he did it--namely scaring the ever-loving crap out of her--what happened was jason came to her while she was in uniform (<- NOT EVEN KNOWING ABOUT THE MURDER!! HE DIDNT EVEN KNOW!!!) and among other things that was him going, i'm like you, what happened to me could happen to you, and she said i'm nothing like you and it won't, and he said, are you sure.

but when it comes down to it if mia died and came back and set up an elaborate murderous rube goldberg machine scheme to get to ollie it wouldn't work because the first damn thing ollie would do when he saw her would be to give her a famous arrowfam hug and blubber all over her. and. i mean. come on, the jokers ass would be grass, you know it i know it, ollie would have rather caused a diplomatic incident or whatever the fuck than let the man who killed his kid live. (<- i say kid over daughter deliberately btw. genuinely don't think mia was in the market for another dad after the first one. ollies still her family, shes still his kid, thats how it is. i probably wouldn't be so inflexible about this if fandom wasnt fucking obnoxious about insisting that she *is* and *must be* his daughter, but they are so i am.)

anywayyyyyyyy speedy sweep! wahoo

[leonawriter]

Maybe a hot take or whatever but I see a fair few people saying how they hate Ohya and... I guess we read into her differently?

Like, the very first time we see her she's still trying to do legit reporting. In Royal, she's there in the station on Akira's very first day trying to find his way through the trains to Shujin, and then later when they're investigating Madarame. It's only really once you hit Kaneshiro that she's the drunkard in Crossroads that we know.

I went into my (watched)playthrough knowing that she was, technically, a romance option. Just like several other adult women in the game. And just like them, I think that the whole thing of "you can romance them if you want" has corrupted peoples' view of who they actually ARE.

If you remove the skeevy choices the devs put on these women, you get Kawakami as someone who just wants to support her students but is being financially extorted, Takemi who wants to help people as a doctor but rumours about her reputation precede her everywhere much like Akira's does, and Ohya, who wants to be a decent reporter but is being held back by the loss of her partner, and her strict boss.

Ohya also gets flak for things that happen during the confidant; she outright asks the protagonist, a 16-17 year old boy, to pose as her boyfriend, when she's in her mid-20's (according to the wiki). If this was played straight, and we took the romance route into consideration, that sure would squick me out! But... if we ignore that the romance route exists?

First we need to look at CONTEXT. She's not asking Akira to pose as her boyfriend for shits and giggles. She's doing this because she wants to be able to investigate the mental shutdown of her partner, Kayo, who she was very close to. Her boss won't let her, and has relegated her to "writing entertainment articles about the latest fads" - basically, fluff pieces that'll sell, but won't require the truth, or any talent.

Her asking Akira to play along means that she's able to tell her boss "I have an excuse for the reason I'm seen talking to this person. No, I am not using him as an informant, or trying to investigate something I've been ordered to leave well alone." She's well aware the relationship would be illicit. Part of the point of her story at this point - and the fact that there's a heart she needs changed, just like most of the other confidants - is that her boss would rather her be doing something illegal like this, than honest investigative work. She's also very cynical for these same reasons at the start of the confidant.

There's also something to be said about how she's the Devil Arcana of the game. Devil Arcana characters, according to the wiki:

These characters have given in to temptation at an earlier point in their life, and as a result this has twisted their actions and way of thinking. Preferably a brutal mix involving the little good they still have in themselves. The Social Link establishes their building their way back up to their path of benevolence. It is not necessarily an easy recovery, as these individuals need to reflect on not only what they believed in, but why they went on the wrong track in the first place.

So, yeah. She's not supposed to read as a good, upstanding and moral person when you first meet her, and P5R tends to open the links with characters in rather reversed reads of their Arcana regardless!

What I see in Ohya is a journalist who winds up finding something to believe in again, who decides to start doing investigative journalism again regardless of whether her bosses agree with it, and who'd probably be a cool older sister type... even if she would encourage Akira to get the actual booze or any number of things he shouldn't really be doing.

I... also see her as, if not lesbian then at least bisexual, and still very hung up over Kayo. SO. Yeah, no, I can't see her actually having an interest in a kid so soon after all that. In my eyes she's just "kid, no."

[thedemises]

. . .  LONGING! featuring bennett!

contains! . . . genshin impact, BENNETT!!!, possibly ooc bennett, awkward bennett, eula lawrence mention :O, kinda angst kinda fluff, one-sided love, unrequited love, idk romance properly 😃, gn! reader, second person pov, reader is not the traveller but implied to be the traveller's other companion besides paimon, reader is mentioned to not be the most expressive (though is mentioned to be kinda overprotective at one point??), reader likes someone else but that someone else isn't really hinted to be anyone but feel free to imagine that character as someone ig, reader is quite reasonable and considerate as they decline and let down bennett's confession and they stay friends with him (bennett still likes them romantically tho even when his feelings are never gonna mutually reciprocated). notes! . . .  (this was supposed to be a drabble but got carried away 💀 this idea just randomly popped up at 3:19 AM of 4/15/24-) can we just have readers who aren't like too expressive?? I know there are some works that have the reader whose personality is more introverted, but there's kind of barely any :// and im talking about where the reader is not very expressive here but not to be mistaken or considered as cold or aloof 😧 kinda like albedo or smth-

“if only they'd look at me like they look at them...”

amongst the many people who reside around and about, bennett obviously isn't the most luckiest person to walk on teyvat since fate had other plans and gifted him the curse of bad luck for the entirety of his life.

though at least he had some luck to have some friends there for him—especially having you around. you weren't the most expressive, quite like miss eula, yet did what you can to show your appreciation for the friendship others have made with you throughout your journey. sure, your expressions (or, therefore lack of) were difficult to read but bennett couldn't care less—he knows you care.

and he kind of likes that aspect of you.

bennett knew you wouldn't be here on mondstat for long since you and the traveller have a long way to go until the traveller has found their long sibling, yet he secretly wishes to have you stay here for a little longer than the intended time.

though he isn't good with it, but he tries to. however yet clearly, love wasn't within his reach as lady luck never seems to stick around him.

staring

you love somebody else.

you likesomeone else.

not him—of course—some person has already taken your main interest, so it's evident that bennett doesn't have much of a chance to confess.

you already have somebody in mind that you feel attracted to; and bennett's heart aches with an ugly feeling blooming in his chest, but he doesn't have anything to do something about it.

sitting nearby with his elbows rested atop his knees as bennett's cheek is pressed against his balled up fist that he leans against ever so slightly, the boy quietly chews his bottom lip as he stares at your direction with a look in his green apple-eyed gaze. longing. longing for every action you take.

he longs for the way you give subtle feather light touches to person you're fond of. he longs the extra quick glances you give the oblivious individual when they're not focusing on you. he longs for your careful and gentle words of affirmation and reassurement. he longs the softened gaze you fixate on the person beside you, seated slightly a bit closer than intended yet making no movement to shuffle away. he longs for that expression you don, your checks lightly flushed and batting your lashes as you glance to the side a few times but not too obvious to be pointed out so quickly by your crush.

bennett longs for the way you look at them like that—he dreams that one day, you'll stare at him the same way you gaze at them.

however, when will that day ever come?

...

“uh.. can i tell you something..?”

a vibrated hum coming from you was what bennett got as a response, signalling him to continue whatever he'll tell you while as you efficiently work on a report that is needed to be done soon—of course, you don't waste time to do your paperwork almost immediately.

behind you awkwardly stood bennett, ears and checks flushing in such shade of pinkish red that one would assume he might be ill from travelling through dragonspine just to get to your current location, where'd you be inside your work quarters. y'know, working. but fortunately, the boy luckily wasn't sick with a cold he could've accidentally caught.

“err...” bennett starts uneasy and not sure with whether if he should say it or should he not, nervous with uncertainty of how you'd reply and possibly express about—you're quite unpredictable, after all.

“... ithinkireallylikeyou.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“..?”

for once you blink almost dumbfoundedly and halted the movements of your hand that firmly grasps the quill pen, an inch away from creating another black stroke against the paper's flat surface. with how he spoke with such haste, you didn't quite catch what he nervously chirped out loud, but yet you still managed to piece together what he'd been attempting to say. he doesn't notice the way you nonchalantly stare at the almost finished report before you, considering your back is faced towards him.

“... you like me?”

“yeah,” bennett shuffles nervously, his body swaying a little as he glances down at the floor, “i like you. I really do.” he repeats it again, voice trailed off at the end like he's mumbling instead and you quietly blink at one random spot on the paper that you were staring at, the pause in the conversation stretching too long to be even considered comfortable.

“hm.”

... hm.

hm, huh? ... wait, just ‘hm’? is that all? bennett's questions all were left unanswered because, well, he was internally monologuing after all. who would even hear him and his scattered thoughts besides a mind reader? not that there is one that he knows of.

“well,” you begin after clearing your throat, just to break the silence yet you still don't turn your back to even glance at him, “it must've ache to have feelings for me while having the knowledge of my romantic interest focused on a different individual.”

yeah, it did. “uhm, yeah. i do know that you have feelings for someone else..-”

“yet you still decided to tell? knowing of the expected rejection either way?”

after finishing the last words of your report, you stop writing and change your position in your seat to where you can face bennett so you can confront him properly.

“look at me,” you state to the boy with a head of short pale hair whose eyes were directed downwards at his feet, as if too embarrassed to look at you with a proper gaze—or perhaps he didn't listen to your words at all as he probably was too focused on his scrambled thoughts circulating crazily in his head.

your own eyes squint at this, facial expression staying unchanged but you seem to appear a bit impatient as you lowly utter to him, “look at me properly, bennett.”

said boy's head shoots up at his name being called out, looking alarmed at the tone you used and you, unfazed, took this as a sign to continue.

“i don't reciprocate your feelings—” well, he already expected that kind of response. “—and I consider that it is good that you've told me, about your interest in me that were previously contained but now let out to someone who can be trusted with whatever you were hiding.”

...???

“it's good to not bottle up your own emotions, and I'd feel guilty if it took you some lasting time till you had the courage to inform me of your romantic feelings. i hope you'd seek for someone else who'll appreciate you as much i do.” with a ghost of a sincere smile on your face, bennett goes quiet. he takes in all of your words into some deep thoughts and consideration. you're reasonable with your words and quite considerate, you're like that with most people you'd come across—depending on your overall mood.

(as your friend, bennett also knows about the... (over)protective trait that you possess; and there wasn't a time he could recount of you showing even the slightest ounce of hesitancy whenever a friend of yours is in anything that could and would be considered a sign of danger.

he still recalls the day he'd been verbally insulted by a guy who wasn't content with what bennett unintentionally had done this time caused by his own bad luck—only for said guy to abruptly stop the moment he saw you standing from behind bennett and glaring at his direction with a look in your eye that silently indicates, “shut the fuck up,” while holding what seems to be a bowl containing mysterious and possibly not-so harmless glowing thick liquid that had bubbles forming and popping at the surface. the smell was toxic, even from a mile away one could still sense the scent of the smell—that was how bennett knew you were right behind him when he saw the guy suddenly freeze up on the spot).

bennett understands why you'd prefer not to be with some boy given the burdening gift of bad luck (even if that actually wasn't the case—you're mostly unfazed), he still is upset but at least you politely turned him down than outrightly declining him on the spot.

“I do have my hopes up of being your friend still,” you added, to which bennett briefly nods at before lightly shaking his head and waving hand side-to-side as if to decline such thing.

“no no- of course we'll stay as friends! i'm glad that you let me down that lightly there and didn't feel disgusted when I told you that.”

you shake your own head as well, “nonsense. why would i ever act irrationally? to something such as that? i have encountered few people throughout my travels where they'd attempt to do the same thing as you did, but i would always be certain and straightforward when refusing to reciprocate their attraction towards me. making immoral decisions is not my cup of tea.”

his hands subconsciously fidget with his glove's fingertips as he dons a small smile featuring on his lips, a short chuckle almost coming out of him if he weren't trying to stop it while he listens to every word you speak from you heart. gazing up, bennett turns to you, “yeah, thanks.. i'll be going off now, see you later.”

in response, you pay him one last nod before turning your back to give attention to your work once again as you utter a “shut the door as you go.” under your breath. the boy does what you asked; he left the room and closed the door in the process, the steps of his boots are muffled and grow quieter the further away he is from your door.

...

... yeah, perhaps only in his fantasies will that ever appear to exist, he supposes. he still likes you, even after accepting the fact that you'll never see him in that perspective.

© thedemises 2024. all rights reserved. please do not repost, copy, or claim as your own. ━━  word count: 1,736.

[twilightmalachite]

VS★PRINCESS - Battle Royale 10

Characters: Mao, Leo, Subaru, Tsukasa, Esu, Fuyume

Translator: Mika Enstars

JP Proofreader: 310mc

"You think? Maybe we’re long lost brothers or something? You can call me “onii-chan” then, Orange-hair!"

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Season: Spring

Location: Prince Castle (Hall)

Several minutes later, after a general explanation about 4piece…

Leo: Hey-yo~! ♪

Wahaha! It’s not often that Suo~ gets along with other kids, so I was considerate and didn’t call out to him! But…

I couldn’t do it in the end! I got lonely! Include me in too!

Tsukasa: Leo-san?!

I-I heard you were placed here at the first venue as well, where were you and what have you been doing all this time?! I’ve been looking for you!

Leo: For me? Why? 4piece is a competition between individuals, isn’t it?

Tsukasa: I-I know, but we are typically comrades, so I figured it’d be reassuring for us to be together—

Leo: But we’ll be killing each other soon, wouldn’t that familiarity just make things worse?

Hey, don’tcha agree, Trickstar?

Mao: Uh, umm, you must’ve been working hard today, Tsukinaga-senpai…?

Leo: We haven’t even done anything that’d count as hard work yet, though? Kinda a weird thing to say, isn’t it?

Well, it was hard work for me just listenin’ to somethin’ so long and incomprehensible! Wahaha! ☆

Subaru: Right~? I’ve finally graduated high school, and here I am feeling like I’m made to study again!

Leo: Ooh, Orange-hair! So you’re here too! Is “Yuu-kun” here? I don’t really do good with him, so I’d hate to be in the same venue!

Subaru: Ukki~ and Hokke~ aren’t participating~! And what do you mean “Orange-hair”, don’t we have the same hair color?

Tsukasa: Indeed you do. That’s how I mistook you to be Leo-san in the first place and ended up approaching Trickstar of all people.

Mao: Actually, they both sorta have a similar vibe, don’t they? Kinda like the genius-type?

Leo: You think? Maybe we’re long lost brothers or something? You can call me “onii-chan” then, Orange-hair!

Subaru: Maybe I will! If you’d be so kind as to call me by my name, that is~!

Mao: It sure is weird seeing Subaru talk so politely… I think it was the same case for Sakuma-senpai and the others, so maybe this means that he recognizes Tsukinaga-senpai’s ability?

Subaru: Nah, I just tend to be like this when it comes to people I don’t know all too well, y’know?

Tsukasa: Now that you mention it, ever since Leo-san returned to Knights, we haven’t had too many skirmishes with Trickstar, have we?

Leo: Personally, I’ve had plenty of them happen with me, like “Yuu-kun” and “Yuu-kun”.

Movin’ on from that though. Guys, you gotta drop playin’ make-believe with that “good friends club” of yours.

4piece will be starting now. The more friendly you guys get with each other, the harder it’ll be for you guys to crush each other later on.

As someone who had to do that sort of thing a lot during the time of conflict, I’m used to it. But just because I’m used to it doesn’t mean I don’t hate it.

You guys have always generally got along well though, so you’re not all too used to it, are you?

Tsukasa: Are Knights and Trickstar not sworn Rivals of each other?

Leo: We were only rivals when it came to DreamFes competitions, we never truly tried to kill each other. It’s like the difference felt between usin’ a bamboo sword and a sharpened one.

Well, 4piece does also appear to be a surprisingly peaceful event. So I guess there’s no need to take what I’m sayin’ too seriously.

Mao: I suppose so, huh. Well, that NiceP guy, who looks to be the head of the judges’ seats, was talking about love and peace and all, but…

Doesn’t ES also do the same, always laying on the lip service like that?

Leo: Though, I do think that strangely-dressed old man was actually serious about what he said. With the stuff about love and peace…

I dunno, though. It was all through a screen after all, he might’ve just been reading off a script that was prepared in advance for him.

But it doesn’t matter which one it actually is, y’know. It won’t change what we do.

We will fight and we will win; in typical Knights fashion!

Ain’t that right, Suo~?

Tsukasa: Indeed. Even though it is hard that I have to fight against such a beloved compatriot, as well as fellow members of Knights.

Leo: Hm? But the only other Knights member at this venue is me. You’ll be fine with that, won’t you?

Aren’t you always flaring up at me? What makes this time all that different?

It’s no different than Knight’s specialty, Judgement.

Knights can win even when it comes to competitions as individuals. That’s what we’re provin’ by entering 4piece. Isn’t that what you had in mind, Suo~?

Tsukasa: That is true, but… I do feel a bit hesitant crushing newbies who don’t know anything.

Leo: Hm? Like who?

Tsukasa: Here, Sagiri-san, how about you come over and say hello? While you are from a different group, you are still within the same context as Knights—

If you wish to learn how to act like a king, perhaps you could learn a thing or two from our first king, Leo-san?

No, I told you, I’ve nothing do with being king—

Huh?

Whoa, it’s Tsukinaga Leo! The real one!

Leo: Hm? Is there a fake of me out there?

Esu: Oh no, sorry… It’s just, I used to fly all around the world, prior to my time shut away…

I’d often hear of your name, Tsukinaga-senpai!

I really like it, the music you make.

Leo: Really? I’m glad! But that doesn’t mean I’ll be goin’ easy on you, you know!

It’d be disrespectful to the person you’re fighting against. If you’re gonna crush them, you gotta give it all you got!

Esu: Don't go too hard on me… Come on, Fuyume, don’t be intimidating.

Fuyume: Grrrrr.

Leo: Wahaha! You guys are all weird! They say birds of a feather flock together!

Tsukasa: What are you implying with that?

However, I see now that Sagiri-san truly has no interest in being king. He didn’t even seem to know that you were a member of Knights, Leo-san.

Leo: Sagiri? Your name’s Sagiri?

Esu: Huh… Ah, yes, my name’s Sagiri Esu.

Leo: The famous adventurer? I remember seeing somethin’ about you on TV overseas!

Tsukasa: What do you mean by adventurer…?

Esu: Ah, adventuring is my pursuit, my purpose in life. I don’t really like to call it my career or anything like that, since I don’t get paid for it.

Tsukasa: W-Why is someone like you in an Audition for Idols?

Esu: I don’t know why, either. How did this happen…

Fuyume: Fate—That’s what it must be. ♪ Ufufu! ♪

[ ☆ ]

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[goodboyaudios]

Hello! My name is Grim, and I fancy myself a bit of a researcher. Now, this is not for anything important or extremely serious. Instead, this is mostly for my own pure enjoyment and something I have in the works that is to be posted on Tumblr. You are not obligated to answer any or all of these questions I have posed. I know it’s a bit much. Take your time, but don’t feel obligated to do anything. Feel free to add any additional input! Thanks for your consideration!

1. How different do you think your work would be, in terms of getting across a point, in a different medium thats not Audio RP?

2. How do you think your work would be different if it more reflected main stream industry forms of storytelling where you as a creator would be more separate? (ex. movies, tv shows, games, etc.)

3. How important do you find the voice acting in your work?

4. You are the primary voice of your works. Would you consider taking a step back from voice acting in your work to focus on narrative work?

5. Do you believe your own individual ability to voice characters enhances the story overall?

6. Do you enjoy the idea of a “Listener character” or would you better prefer to not have one?

7. As a writer, how does the writing of the Listener take you out of your comfort zone? (ie their effect in relationships, plot movements, etc.)

8. Is Audio RP your favored form of art?

9. How do you believe Audio RP differs from main stream forms of art/entertainment?

10. Do you believe that your work has over arching themes that relate to you personally? (very optional)

Sure! I'm happy to answer some questions!

I think with the addition of a visual medium it would most definitely be significantly easier, yes.

Well, I can't say for sure. I could explain for hours about how mainstream media forces a creative to conform their work within often-times hostile parameters. Nevertheless, I'd be blessed with the opportunity to try. That being said, I have a lot more creative freedom here on Youtube than anywhere else, at least by my standards.

I think it's very important. Conveying enough emotion without the added visuals means that it is ALL DOWN to vocal performance.

I am typically the primary voice, yes, but I must admit this is a very difficult question. I love to write stories of scifi and fantasy, I love to take concepts and ideas, pieces of dialogue and conveyed emotion and put them into an all expansive list of things to try, but I personally love bringing those emotions and ideas out myself. I find it fun! I suppose...I wouldn't! Writing is fun, don't get me wrong, but being able to perform it is part of my joy in creating what I make. If I stopped doing one, I'd have to find it elsewhere and that would take me away from doing the other thing.

I like to believe that, yes. It only makes sense that the writer knows the exact feeling to convey in a script, but you could call me vain for that if you like lol!

Listener characters are the bane of my existence lol! Okay, that was too dramatic. It's very difficult to write a character that doesn't talk, but represents...basically everyone! How do you compensate for that? And echoing dialogue is not something people do on a regular basis. No one talks like that, but we need to in order to get across what the listener is thinking at any given time, because if you don't, everyone is confused. It's quite frustrating and a hell of a dilemma in the scripting process.

Well, like I said earlier, I have to try and accommodate for everyone which is a challenge all on its own. It's VERY easy for the listener to become a talking head and I try my best to avoid it. Alas, I imagine even the greatest xlistener writer has fallen into that trap lol

No, it is not. I like 2D animation and RPGs.

Money? Budget? A lot more emphasis on visuals? When you start out as a content creator, you start with nothing and are tasked with making something, but with mainstream media, the network hands you a budget to make something. Granted those things might not be great given the parameters of the network, but hey! At least you can say you made something!

Very much so, yes. Zed is directly related to my insecurities and fears of not being enough as a person. Makkaro is related to my need for a work/life balance so that I might enjoy the little things while still giving my all. Albus is a toxic form of what I wanted to be when I grew up, a man who can fight through anything, but inside is deeply broken. Yargwynn is my running away from my problems in hopes that it'll all just go away. Mortallous is those problems always chasing me, always catching up. One day, I will tell a story of Zed realizing who he wants to be. That story will show that the man I really want to be, is myself. I will no longer be Good Boy Audios, but Good Man Audios. Yeah, it's cheesy as fuck, but hey, I like cheese.

Thank you for your questions. I really appreciate the time you took to ask me them. And I hope you enjoy my stories moving forward too!