#i’m biased because he’s my favorite character but i love him very dearly

[marstonsboy]

a lot of people are annoyed by jack, especially in rdr1— and to a degree i understand that. but at the same time, he was a kid. he had every right to be a little shit and irritate people to no end doing reckless, spiteful things, because he was a child. and it breaks my heart that he loses that sometime between john’s death and when we see him again during the epilogue.

i miss when he was able to snark at his parents. i miss seeing him interact with abigail, uncle, and charles around beecher’s hope. i miss when jack could just be a kid without having the crushing weight of grief on his shoulders at all times. we get to see him start out distant with john and very slowly get closer to him multiple times, healing their relationship after everything they’ve been through, only for that to be brutally ripped away when he’s sixteen.

when we meet jack again at nineteen, he’s much more jaded. he’s angry, and aggressive, and he’s lost everything. he’s almost unrecognizable as that little boy that made a flower necklace for his momma, or read passages from his books aloud when she asked, or sat by the campfire loudly singing along with his family— and it hurts, watching him lose that innocence and the ability to just be a kid along the way. he was so young, and he didn’t deserve any of that.

[the-descolada]

Penny and Winter as Symbolic Human Machines

So honestly, I’m really impressed by how well done the ending of RWBY Volume 8 was with regard to character arcs being fulfilled, especially for Penny and Winter. I’ve seen a lot of takes, some that I somewhat agree with, and some that I just don’t, that Penny’s death was “bad writing,” and I think that, subjectivity of what constitutes bad writing aside, this is ignoring a lot of aspects of V7/V8 that made for a very compelling narrative, and feels heavily based in just people wanting Penny to not have died.

And I get this! Penny is one of my favorite characters and I’m very sad that she died; however, I really actually loved how fitting her death was for her story and the broader story of RWBY as a whole, so I wanted to do a write-up of my whole rant on this so that people could read it and see my thought process for why this only made me love Penny’s writing more. I’m not necessarily going to ascribe value to the writing itself in this analysis, as that is highly subjective, but I am biased so that’ll shine through some.

V7 through V8 had a lot of moments that frankly I hadn’t picked up on right up until the end that worked to build a dynamic interplay between Penny and Winter’s characters. Specifically, Penny's role is of a literal robot becoming less of a machine in the thematic sense and more of a person throughout, contrasting with Winter, who, while she is helping Penny realize herself as more of a person and less of a tool, is going through the opposite experience herself. This is essentially textual - it’s explicitly said by Winter herself in less words during the Maiden power transfer scene in V8E14.

When we as the audience reconnect with Winter at the start of V7, she is firmly entrenched as Ironwood’s confidante and second-in-command, serving as a face of the Atlas military as it squeezes Mantle. It’s safe to say that not many Mantle citizens like her very much, but she is insulated from this and continues to follow orders without regard for the welfare of the people. Ironwood at this point is already extremely authoritarian, even though he hasn’t graduated to full on dictatorship and declared martial law yet, and his will is also imposed on her through bringing her into the fold with the chief purpose of grooming (god this word feels grossly fitting given their dynamic) her to become the next Winter Maiden.

Winter, despite holding a a significant level of power and authority due to her military rank, has very little agency in this decision. She insists that her choice to take up the duty as Ironwood ordered is something she’s grown into and chosen, but it’s alarmingly clear that this is not the case; nearly every action she takes in V7 is still fully in the purview of Atlas (read: Ironwood)’s goals. I would go so far as to suggest that Ironwood giving her this position within the military after she escapes her father’s influence is intentionally conditioning her to view him as the sole way out of an abusive situation, and to disguise the fact that this new situation is just as abusive as the first below the surface.

Penny’s role in V7 is completely in opposition to this; while she is still theoretically under the control of the Atlas military, she is presented as the Protector of Mantle and seems to be beloved by the people. Our immediate image of her in Atlas is one of emotion and caring; she is overjoyed to see her friends from Beacon again, and this continues throughout the volume as she talks about what it means to be a person with them, Ruby and Winter especially. When things start going wrong and she is accused of killing people through the doctored footage from the rally, she is horrified at the prospect of being seen as a monster and continues to make every decision with the aim of protecting everyone around her, even at the expense of what her “duty” to Atlas might be. It’s clear that she is growing into her own agency, rather than being beholden to what Ironwood wants for her, and this helps prove to herself that she is her own person, not simply a tool of the military, not a machine.

The climactic scene of V7 takes these two character arcs running in strained parallel and drives a wedge between them, even as they battle a common enemy side by side. Winter’s devotion to Atlas (read: Ironwood) results in self-destructive tendencies, uncaring for her personal survival if it would further a goal that she ultimately and ironically does not truly believe in. Penny, however, begins to entirely shake this duty, risking even the Maiden power going to Cinder if it means saving Winter from dying. To her, personal feelings (ding ding ding!) and personal friendships mean more than duty to a state, or even (as we see later) her own well-being. Self destructive tendencies aside, this loyalty to people she earnestly cares about, who earnestly care about her, is loaded with symbolism that separates her from the metaphor of machine.

The result of the V7 finale reinforces the track the two of them are on; Winter, having been molded into a machine of the military, fails in her duty, while Penny, who has begun to recognize herself more and more as a person, succeeds at keeping the power from Cinder. She still has a massive amount of self-doubt and deep-seated fear that she doesn’t count as a person, but the Maiden power, being the perfect thematic symbol of “maidenhood”, goes to her, proving her to be a “real girl” and reinforcing the ongoing narrative. Winter, battling her own mixed feelings over being chosen for the power, never questions this; it’s clear that she, too, recognizes that Penny “was always the real Maiden, while [she] was the machine.” This also reinforces Penny’s narrative being heavily trans-coded, but I think that’s pretty obvious and doesn’t need to be reiterated. The two of them part sides here, one remaining with the Atlas military and one actively rebelling against it.

As Ironwood starts going off the deep end at the end of V7 and throughout V8 and starts sacrificing everyone around him to fuel his own narrow and tyrannical view of how to save Atlas, Winter simply...falls in line. She is continually forced to follow harsher and harsher orders, and any choices she makes as part of that, with only two exceptions, still are entirely in service to Ironwood. She has become, in essence, a machine locked into a set path, a path she, conflicted as she may be, follows all the way up to a choice she cannot abide - mass murder. Even orders that would result in her sister’s closest friends’ deaths she follows unquestioningly - it’s unclear whether she would have actually gone through with it, since the option is taken off the table by forces outside her control, but she certainly says as much in her conversation with Marrow. Only the prospect of annihilating the entire city of Mantle finally snaps her off the track Ironwood has set her on, making her recognize that all of this has never been for Atlas at all, but for Ironwood’s own ego. Fittingly, finally seeing Ironwood as her enemy and not a savior, she is tasked with taking him down herself.

Contrasting this, Penny’s role in V8 is entirely one of rebellion. The entire volume is her building her agency more and more, making decisions based on what she thinks is right and what she values. She rarely listens to any one person telling her what to do; even her father, who she loves dearly, isn’t able to make her do something when her sense of justice is on the line. Ironwood no longer has his hold on her for the most part; any attempt at manipulating her into doing something against her own morals is met with defiance, supported by her friends’ love for her. She has to be outright hacked to be forced into doing his bidding, and she fights this all the way down, her own inherent personhood pushing back against this attempt to dehumanize her. In this sense, even her becoming organic symbolizes this; she and the people she cares about defy this dehumanization of her, finding a way to free her from the last remaining vestiges of Atlesian influence and further reclaiming her own agency.

And what does she do with that agency when she is faced with oblivion? She simultaneously affirms it by making her final choice in a desperate situation, defying Cinder’s attempt to rip her power away, and also gifts it in the form of the Maiden power to the woman who she is watching attempting to also shake the shackles of Atlas, symbolically showing Winter her own inherent humanity. This decision, though dire, is in recognition of what is most important to her: her friends. Even believing half of them are dead, she gives up her life to ensure the rest survive. In the final moment she has with Winter, she reassures her that she won’t be really gone: the memory of her choice and who she is as a person will live on through Winter’s continued choices, through her agency.

In the end, neither of them were machines; just two hurt people fighting back against a brutal world that sought to strip their agency away. The tragedy in this conclusion, that that brutal world took one of their lives away, is fought just as defiantly. Penny knows that gifting the power in her soul to Winter means that her death won’t be meaningless, that her agency will last beyond her mortality and might result in the world finally being freed from the threat of destruction. It’s because of hope, not despair, that she makes her final choice.

[purplepenntapus]

Rating Versions of Harry Osborn: Updated

Wanted to redo this post with a more comprehensive and inclusive list of Harrys

616 Comics: 

Just such a good and complex character. The OG Harry. His relationship with Peter just adds so much depth to every Green Goblin arc because of the inherent conflict of Peter knowing he needs to take down Norman Osborn, but not wanting to hurt or lose his best friend. (If you’ve read Kindred no you haven’t.) He’s still... ugly... I’m sorry 616 Harry... I love you so much but they did you dirty... Some artists do their best with what they have but... I’m not a big fan of western comic style in general so that doesn’t help. Has three failed marriages by the time he’s 30 because he’s gay and deeply closeted.  8/10

Spider-Man the Animated Series (1994):

The Harry plotline in this show reeeeally doesn’t feel earned, because the first time we see Harry having an active role in the show, he asks Peter to move in with him because Norman wants him to have a responsible studious roommate  (a detail from the comics I was EXTREMELY excited to see play out), and Peter comments that they barely know each other. Ultimately they live together for all of one day before Peter decides to move back in with Aunt May. The next time we see Harry, MJ calls him Peter’s best friend, despite the fact that we haven’t seen Peter hanging out with—or even MENTIONING—Harry since the last episode when they were basically strangers. Really it feels like he’s just there to cause romantic drama as the guy MJ graciously settles for when she gives up on Peter. I found the whole goblin plotline kind of boring and lacking in depth.  3/10

Raimi Trilogy:

I was never interested in Raimi Harry until after I started liking and exploring other versions of Harry, because I just thought he was kinda a shit friend. He’s a pretty strong character overall, but his motivations aren’t as obvious. He’s torn between his love of Peter as his best friend, and his bitterness towards Peter for being the man his father wished he was. I don’t think Raimi Harry really wanted MJ, he just wanted to get back at Peter in a way by taking someone that HE loved. However I feel like his characterization kind of sways back and forth between sympathetic and not depending on how he’s written in the scene, and it disappoints me that the thing that gets him to stop tormenting Peter is the butler telling him out of nowhere that Norman died from his own blade, rather than any real character development on his part. 6/10

Spectacular Spider-Man:

I still haven’t watched all of this show because I... can’t STAND this version of Peter... but I’ve watched many clips with this boy and he’s just... so sweet... He only wants to be loved and keeps getting his heart broken. Deserves better. On everything. He deserves a better father, a better best friend, better love interests, everything. I do really enjoy the way they incorporated 616 Harry’s drug abuse into this show with the Globulin Green, it was a very clever way to incorporate that aspect of his character, but tone it down for younger viewers. I’ve watched the scene of him getting “unmasked” as the Green Goblin about a million times it’s very good. 8/10 

Ultimate Spider-Man:

I love him. Most people fear drifting apart from those close to us, so watching Harry struggle with the new and increasing distance between him and Peter as Peter seemingly makes new, “better” friends is downright heartbreaking. Especially when he overhears Sam implying that Peter only hangs out with him for his money which is something he’s clearly experienced a lot. (Seriously Sam what the fuck.) I also love his struggle with Venom throughout the series as a metaphor for his anger and bitterness, it’s never truly gone even when they work hard to remove it. It’s always there to bubble back up under extreme amounts of stress, especially when Norman is involved. (Also this isn’t a Norman review, but USM Norman is the only version of Norman Osborn that has rights and he works hard to be the father Harry deserves.) Had an honest to God meet-cute with Peter like come on???? Its unfortunate how much they cut back Harry’s role in the third and fourth season, I really would have loved to see more of him. Threw a party specifically so he could ignore Peter to his face because he was jealous and I respect that level of pettiness. 9/10

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series

I didn’t think it was possible to create an uglier Harry than 90s Harry but this blonde, fuck-boy lookin creepass came and proved me wrong. Who the FUCK is this?? Doesn’t have any recognizable characteristics of Harry Osborn besides being rich and hating Spider-Man. Also just... look at him. I wouldn’t trust this man anywhere NEAR my drink at a party. #NotMySon -3/10

The Amazing Spider-Man:

He’s okay. I think he has some very emotional scenes and good chemistry with Peter, but it’s dampened by the fact that he wasn’t present in the first film and had to share the second with like two other main plot lines. Ultimately ends up being the least sympathetic version of Harry Osborn because he became the original Green Goblin and killed Gwen, rather than following in his father’s footsteps. That’s not to say he’s a completely unsympathetic character. He has a strong motivator in his fear of death, and I do think the choice they made for his character were interesting and could have developed really well, but they didn’t get the chance since the franchise was dropped. 5/10

PS4 Spider-Man:

ABSOLUTELY ADORE HIM. WISH WE GOT MORE OF HIM. HAVING YOUR EXPECTATIONS OF HARRY OSBORN BROKEN AS YOU SNEAK AROUND NORMAN’S PENTHOUSE AND LEARN THAT HE’S BEEN SECRETLY STRUGGLING WITH A GENETIC DISEASE HE’S BEEN HIDING FROM HIS BEST FRIENDS FOR YEARS WAS -chef’s kiss- GENIUS. PLEASE GIVE US A SECOND GAME WITH VENOM HARRY. 10/10

Marvel’s Spider-Man (2017):

Still easily my favorite version of Harry Osborn. When I first began watching the show I was startled by their decision to make Harry a science genius like Peter because it was so different from their usual dynamic, and many people who aren’t fans of the show point to this as something they dislike. But I actually ended up really loving the decision. It gives a different flavor to Harry in how he reacts to the events of the show and how we interpret his character traits, while still being very inherently Harry Osborn. Harry is jealous of Peter, he loves him dearly, but there’s always this ember of bitter envy ready to burst into anger whenever the plot creates friction between them. This is one of the defining traits of their relationship and in most versions it’s not hard to understand why. Peter has what Harry wants. He’s intelligent, he has potential, and most importantly he’s loved. Peter is the son Harry knows Norman wishes he had, and that creates a wedge between them. Marvel’s Spider-Man changes this dynamic. Harry can easily stand toe-to-toe with Peter in terms of intelligence, and in fact they often work together to create things or solutions Peter couldn’t have come up with on his own. That initial wedge between them isn’t there, creating a very endearing and loving friendship that we know is doomed to sour because it isn’t enough. MSM Harry could be the person Norman wants him to be, and that places the full weight of his father’s impossibly high expectations on his shoulders, always within reach but never quite achievable. So it makes a lot more sense why Peter initially has a low guard towards Norman (as opposed to some other series where Peter seems oddly dismissive of Harry’s justified complaints) and Harry’s own steadfast loyalty to his father. On the surface Norman seems like a perfectly loving parent, he encourages his son, he created an entire school for him when he was wrongfully accused of sabotage, it’s only when you start to dig deeper into their relationship that you see the subtle manipulations and the issues Harry has from constantly chasing his father’s approval. This creates a Harry who is desperate for validation and extremely sensitive to rejection, which colors his relationship with Peter throughout the show. I’m still mad he got nerfed in the second and third seasons because Disney is homophobic. TLDR: I may be biased ... Infinity/10

MCU:

Where is he? Who knows? Man missing in action.  ?????/10

[demigoddreamer]

Addressing Batman’s Abuse

Damian: I killed someone

Bruce(and the rest of the batfamily but mostly bruce): It’s ok it’s because of your childhood, you were raised to be an assassin as long as you didn’t murder anyone innocent and do better next time

Dick: I killed someone

Bruce: well i saved them didn’t count bye

Tim: I killed someone

Bruce: Seriously Tim? ok I’m kinda disappointed but i’ll be ok in a little bit(actually idk cause I can’t recall if tim ever killed someone)

Jason: I killed someone

Bruce: HOW DARE YOU BREAK THE NO KILL RULE YOU LITTLE PIECE OF **** WE HAVE MORALS YOU’RE JUST ANOTHER CRIMINAL, A MURDERER, A MONSTER YOU LET THEM WIN IF YOU KILL

Alright enough with the jokes let’s get serious, let’s talk about the abuse. I have a lot to unpack and if you’re like me who doesn’t have the patience to read long things if they don’t matter then i’m sorry . I can read school stuff but fanfiction more than like 30 chapters irritates me which is stupid because I love to read but the human brain is A FUCKING ANNOYING HYPOCRITE. I love the batbros with all my heart and we hate to see bad stuff happen to them. but Bruce...he can get away with hurting the people who he should see as sons and who in turn consider him a father figure. He is essentially taking advantage of their love for his cause. Because the most important thing is batman and the mission which he will hold above his own children, the people in his life who care about him and support him in his insane crusade. Batman is someone who is consumed by this darkness that causes him to sacrifice everything for the mission. It is stated multiple times that his Robins are supposed to be better than him, they’re not needed as assistants in the battlefield but rather emotional support as they bring a little light to Bruce's pain and vengeful darkness. The Robins become better people than Bruce. 

There are obvious examples of Bruce’s abuse such as his second Robin now Red Hood Jason Todd. Now I may be biased as he is my favorite but I love all the robins dearly so FREAKING much. Jason is constantly remembered as Batman’s greatest failure. Why is that? we are led to believe it’s because Bruce didn’t save him but really it’s because Jason didn’t fall in line with Batman’s code which is where we see the flaws in Batman’s philosophy. Why doesn’t Batman just kill the Joker? Jason makes some very valid points saying that all Joker does is cause pain and he keeps breaking out of prison and causing more pain and it’s a vicious cycle, a revolving door that Batman refuses to end. Joker and Batman are almost obsessed with each other. But Batman refuses to kill Joker saying if he does he can’t come back and Joker will win. It’s a war between numbers and moral high ground. But in reality who cares if Joker wins? It’s vague what does it even mean? Joker keeps on killing and if he was gone the world would be safer? It doesn’t matter if he wins as long as people live. Jason Todd is someone who is constantly hurt by the people who are supposed to love him. An example of this is Batman choosing to save Joker rather than his own son in the Under the Red Hood storyline. Jason is clearly heartbroken over the fact that Bruce refuses to kill the person who MURDERED HIM saying “I thought I’d be the last person you ever let him hurt” Jason obviously has lots of trauma PTSD depression and he probably just wants to feel safe pleading with Bruce to just kill Joker that’s it saying “doing it because he took me away from you” which Batman refuses just saying I can’t. 

Now there’s other instances that make my blood boil such as Batman and Robin #20. Damian died in Batman Inc. and obviously since Bruce can’t ever deal with pain in a healthy constructive way, he goes full dark and rage and sadness. He becomes desperate to bring Damian back, being abusive to Tim even when Batman tried to experiment on Frankenstein to bring Damian back and Tim blew the lab up. But Jason...oh god...Bruce wants Jason on a mission in Ethiopia to bring the people who tried to kill Damian justice . (Talia put a bounty on his head) and then Jason agreed, excited at the chance of working with someone he considers a father again. Jason has ceased his killing he has calmed down from when he tried to hurt them all, his mind was damaged by the lazarus pit and he went insane with pain and rage. From my pseudo psychologist perspective I think he thought hurting them would make his pain cease if he tried to hurt the things that caused his pain it would fix him. Anyway Jason is on kinder terms with them but it’s still rough. They’re not all that kind with him sure he’s made mistakes but they all have and he’s really sorry about it. Anyway after taking those bad guys down they talk about family and trust and faith. Then...Bruce does it and reveals the real reason why they came to Ethiopia. Bruce wanted to bring Jason to the place he DIED. WHERE THERE IS A BUTT TON OF TRAUMA. Jason is just so shocked at first he stands there looking numb. He isn't even angry yet. He stands there feeling the pain of that horrible day saying”You lied to me. this wasn't about taking down those mercenaries. You wanted to bring me here..to the worst place in the world...and here I was starting to believe all your crap about trust and faith” He sounds broken which he is he’s been broken by so many people and now Bruce who isn’t supposed to break him just did by taking advantage of him and bringing him to somewhere of horrible trauma. Bruce reveals that he brought Jason here so he could figure out how to bring Damian back to life explaining “Those killers were the mission but this was something else something I couldn’t ignore I thought bringing you here could jog your memory-maybe retrieve a buried buried deep in your subconscious that could help piece together how you came to life so I” and Jason finishes this saying “-could apply it to getting Damian back. Yeah I get it. Did it ever occur to you I might like keeping whatever the hell happened to me buried deep?”Obviously, Jason doesn’t want to relieve his trauma, he doesn’t want to deal with what happened to him a second time. He just wants to move on but Bruce won’t let him. Bruce doesn’t seem to acknowledge Jason’s trauma nor does he seem to care for his well being. “If you cared about me, you wouldn’t want me to dredge up the one thing I've been trying to forget. I don’t want to remember the most horrific day of my life, all right? You may like wallowing in your tragedies but I’m done looking back” which is true all Batman does is sit in the pain of his parents death and he can’t heal like and he spreads pain to others at this rate the dead parents excuse gets a little old. BUT THEN BRUCE HAS THE AUDACITY TO SAY “If you cared about me and what I’ve lost, you’d want to dredge this up! Don’t you see-there’s a chance you can help me erase one of the worst days of my life. You can give me the greatest gift of all and help me figure out how to bring my son back!” Here he uses a lot of pronouns referring to himself, CARED ABOUT ME, I’VE LOST, HELP ME, MY LIFE, GIVE ME, HELP ME, MY SON. Yes Bruce, make it all about you, cause we definitely want you too. You’re a grown ass man and Jason is the more mature person here, honestly all the Robins learn to process grief and heal and grow and they’re just generally better people. Bruce is basically saying I care more about Damian than I care about you and my needs are greater than yours so screw your feelings, your feelings don’t matter. He really only seems to care about himself and he wants to erase his own pain. He doesn’t even seem to consider what Damian would want and what being brought back to life would do to him. Jason knows what it’s like, the pain of it, he’s probably the only person who would understand why someone wouldn’t want to come back. After All of this Bruce doesn’t even apologize and makes some half assed promise for unconditional truth but Jason still accepts this and helps Bruce get Damian’s body back from Darkseid even though he didn’t have to. 

Also there’s battle of the cowl which I desperately try to ignore but what I can tell Bruce *cough* died *cough* at this rate whenever Bruce dies or some crap I’m like ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT??? But sorry back to the topic. Bruce had a message for Jason for everyone else was just like I hope you’re doing well I love y’all live your life for JASON HOWEVER. He was all like you’re a failure not because I didn’t save you but because I don’t like how you turned out. Also you have problems, you’re mentally ill(I know but don’t have to be so awful about it)and there’s a secret I shouldn’t have kept and bye. And he suggests help but WHY DIDN’T HE GET JASON HELP WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER HMMMMM? It’s so obvious Jason’s childhood is full of abuse of course he has bad mental health and all that jazz. Also he puts Jason in Arkham where the Joker is 5 DOORS DOWN. I don’t think I have to say anything but they could literally put him in ANY OTHER PRISON. Why this one idk?

Bruce beat Jason and was probably about to kill Jason in RHATO #25. All beacuse Jason shot penguin and since Red Hood is a criminal blah blah blah Bruce has to do something. Actually he doesn’t as he just assumes Jason killed him which he didn’t also he didn’t seem to consider mind control or clones or whatever and he thought it was a good idea to beat the crap out of his sons. Jason even points this out”You are a character, I’ve never seen you beat Joker that hard and you hate him”...Bruce is beating him harder than the Joker. BRUCE IS BEATING HIS GODDAMN SON, SO HE HATES HIS SON MORE THAN JOKER??? Here we see how Bruce constantly chooses Joker over Jason.

Let's also talk about Dick his first son (I love my circus boi). After Jason died *sob*(i’m gonna cry) Dick is pretty darn sad and Bruce didn’t tell him shit so he’s obv like hey what’s the deal and BRUCE HAS THE AUDACITY TO BE MAD AT DICK. and he tries to kick Dick out of his life and be like leave your key get outta my face and he punched Dick LIKE BOI YOU DIDN’T TELL HIM ABOUT THE FUNERAL OR THE FACE THAT JASON DIED. We already knew it was bad because Bruce and Dick argued like my parents argue which is pretty bad. Lo and behold Bruce doesn’t apologize.

Also Nightwing #30 after Dick was outed as Nightwing and fake died on telelvision. Bruce used like WAAAAAAY excessive force. They were sparring but it got real violent real fast. And Nightwing wasn’t in the right mindset he was traumatized and Bruce totally took advantage of him by asking him to work for Spyral which Dick obv didn’t want to do but Bruce fucking FORCED that crap onto him after something as awful as that and he probably knew Dick would give in eventually that bastard. No, Bruce doesn’t apologize either.

Most recently Batman #71...now see this is Tim’s turn and I love my big brain boi Tim... and when you love a fictional character you know something bad is gonna happen. Bruce’s abuse, it’s kinda worse cause he’s a fucking KID. now Bruce be like let’s meet and shit so most of them are there and some evil villain is doing their thang and Tim is tryin be nice comforting Bruce, telling him that Tim will always be there and that Tim will help AND BRUCE FUCKING PUNCHED HIM. HE WAS JUST TRYIN BE NICE AND HELP YOU FEEL BETTER YOU POS. Now do we see Bruce apologize? NOOOOO. What did you expect? Honestly it’s not that hard it’s a simple sentences even a dumbass like you can manage it

Now I’m not totally familiar with any abuse on Damian but it’s there. Bruce is allergic to emotions, and it’s hard for him to be emotionally supportive and show any affection whatsoever. Showing any semblance of pride to Damian is like me trying to do pushups it’s FUCKING impossible for Bruce to show any compassion toward his son whatsoever (seriously though push ups are a pain in the ass I’m not athletic whatsoever why do you think I waste my time venting on tumblr the only thing I’m good for is being the smart kid in school and even then some people outshine me in that.)...sad but I’m not here to complain about that. Anyway Dick is a BAMF and openly shows Damian hey i’m proud of you and I love you. IT’S NOT THAT HARD BRUCE.

Bruce can’t ever be happy, he doesn’t let himself be happy because he can’t move on from that tragedy that happened to him. And he doesn’t allow anyone around him to be happy either. Shown as when Dick is like hey I can be in love with someone and we can be long term we can be happy together. BRUCE BE LIKE NUH HUH VIGILANTES CAN’T BE HAPPY WE HAVE TO SACRIFICE FOR THE MISSION. Let your son be FUCKING HAPPY. I know I sound like I hate him and maybe I do a bit but I don’t think he’s like completely Joker evil and irredeemable. I just can’t deal with how DC handles abusers like Bruce and having characters enable this behavior. We need to know that Bruce’s behavior is not ok and his children are completely numb to it, it’s normal to them and it’s disgusting. Bruce needs repercussions and he needs to know that he can’t do that to kids who love and trust him.

LINK TO PART 2:

https://demigoddreamer.tumblr.com/post/639314330465222656/addressing-batmans-abuse-part-2

If a loved one is hurting you reach out and seek help. You deserve the world

[killthebxy]

I apologize in this seems abrasive, I just noticed how vehemently you're against the show canon. I don't blame you one bit. But wouldn't Dany being Nissa Nissa just be another way of making her a plot device for a man? Just in a more socially acceptable way than D&D did? It has the same outcome and it's still her dying by the hands of the man she loves.

          thank you for your question, friend! before i answer, let me make a disclaimer: 1) i am writing this as someone who loves Jon Snow, and therefore someone who’s biased in his favor, and 2) i am writing this as a man talking about a man. so, while i like to believe i was raised well and i can do a rational and mostly objective analysis, i am still grounded in my own experiences and my own perspectives. and nothing of what i’ll say is “the truth” or “what’s right” — simply, my own personal opinion.

          with this said… i have to start by saying that we can look at this, as we can look at most things in life, from two perspectives: we look only at the outcome, or we look at the process and at everything that led to a certain outcome. and i think this is a case where this distinction is essencial. because if you look at the outcome only — yes, the end result is exactly the same; Dany dies at the hand of Jon, a woman dies at the hand of a man. but this would be like me looking at the season finale and thinking: well, Jon got exactly the endgame i always wanted for him, so i have nothing to complain about — i can’t do this. i can’t ignore everything that brought him to this outcome, i.e., the process. i can’t ignore that his essence as George’s character was completely destroyed to lead to this apparently perfect outcome.

          so, if we look at Dany dying in the show, what do we see? i, at least, see a narrative written for the sole purpose of stating: this woman is mad, she needs to be removed and we’ll make her be removed by the hand of the man she loves for bonus shock points. this is literally all i see. i know some people defend there was already signs of Dany going mad, how for example the throne room covered in ash like it happened in her vision in the House of the Undying in s02. and to this i ask two questions: 1) as someone who knows what D&D have been doing to this series, do you guys seriously believe they, back in like 2012 or whenever s02 happened, had the capacity to plan this far ahead for the sake of a plot that has continuity?; 2) as someone who is a researcher and a science nerd — if we look at data in retrospective, we can make this data give us literally any outcome we want, provided we apply the suitable statistical analysis. in this case, if we look back through the seasons, yes, we can definitely find arguments that Dany was going mad, if we want. BUT. we can also look back through the seasons and find arguments that Dany was someone with a good heart, who made mistakes and bad decisions but who wanted to be a kind and just ruler for her people. so, whatever we extract from this series in retrospective is whatever we want to find. this much is on us, not on D&D’s capacity to build a continuous and coherent plot because this much we all agree is non-existent.

          now, if we look at the idea of Jon being Azor Ahai reborn, and Dany being Nissa Nissa reborn… first of all, this is as much based on personal headcanons as the previous point is built on what the show gives us. i cannot judge this idea based on facts, because this never happened in the show neither in the books — everything i put together for this idea is based on my own creativity, like for example in the background i wrote for my mad king verse, or on everything i have discussed with @zcldrizes. in the first case, my verse, it is actually interesting you brought up this question because i have wondered about it myself. am i doing this in a sensible way? am i not using Dany (and everyone else included in that background) just for my own purpose? and, in a way, i am — i admit that i am, because my outcome was that Jon is crowned and slowly loses himself, and to reach this outcome i needed to build a background that supports it in a logical way. i dislike the idea that being Targaryen = inexorably being mad, therefore i tried to put together a storyline where trauma and grief bring him to this — for which i needed vital characters to die, as they are the ones he loves the most. this is why i tried to give them a purpose in that verse, and not just state that they died because they had to, so to speak. this is also why that verse is very flexible and can accommodate many different possibilities, because i wanted everyone who’s possibly interested in writing that idea with me to be able to fit their muse in, and not just be excluded because “sorry but your muse needs to die so that Jon can go mad”. which, in turn, this is why this verse in particular only works with extensive plotting with my roleplay partners.

          and now let me quickly apologize, because i know i am digressing a lot! but i need all this foundation to ultimately answer your question with the depth it requires, so please bear with me. because this is bringing me close to the core of the question — if Dany is Nissa Nissa, doesn’t this make her a plot device for Jon? for this, i have to state my perspective on what a plot device is: a character whose only (or limited) purpose in a narrative is to provoke something else of note for another character. three blatant examples when it comes to Jon: Rickon Stark, whose only purpose to be brought back was to be killed in front of Jon, for the sake of triggering Jon into that mad rage that would have resulted in losing the battle against Ramsay if it wasn’t for Sansa’s intervention; Benjen Stark, whose only purpose to be brought back was to provide a semi-rational justification for Jon to be able to return to Eastwatch; Grey Worm, who was made to attack the unarmed Golden Company after they yielded just for the sake of making Agony Targaryen look like this honorable man who’d never put up with this. and now a blatant example when it comes to Daenerys: Missandei, who had to be beheaded whilst back in chains for the sake of being the ultimate trigger for Dany going mad. arguably, Missandei and Grey Worm had a much broader purpose than Benjen and Rickon, but the logic is the same. all of them, in the end, became plot devices that had their own story and identity erased for the sake of fueling another “superior” character.

          and this is why i personally don’t see Dany = Nissa Nissa as being at the same level, or as a plot device. a plot turning point? yes, definitely. a plot device, no, because i personally don’t think this erases her story and identity and purpose. again, let me reiterate that this is based on what Artie and i have plotted — i cannot talk for what might have happened in the show, or what may happen in the books — because it will depend on the process they follow to lead to this potential outcome. Artie and i have a very long, very complex plot when it comes to shipping Jon and Dany. we consider every single detail, and we’re always mindful of not erasing anything from the other’s muse. and, in our case, Dany would be a sacrifice, yes, but never a plot device. she would give her life for the purpose of forging the only weapon able to destroy the Night King and ending the Long Night — NEVER for the purpose of glorifying Jon and make him emerge from this tale as the hero who saved us all. if anything, i think no one will disagree if i say that staying alive after killing your lover by your own hand is far from being a happier ending when compared to said lover who died. it is a sacrifice for Dany, who loses her life, and it is a sacrifice for Jon, who stays alive but loses literally everything else that gave meaning to his life. and this is why i love the prophecy/legend of Lightbringer, actually, because it is based on a meaningful tragedy. it’s mutual sacrifice, it’s having a bond so strong that it is the catalyst to save this world.

          just to conclude now, if you ask me: are more female characters, compared to male characters, used as plot devices? i have no doubt of this. are more female characters used with the single purpose of fueling male characters’ pain? i have no doubt of this. are more female characters erased and belittled for the sake of glorifying male characters and put them under a positive light? i have no doubt of this. trust me, nonnie, no one in this world hates Agony Targaryen more than i do. no one in this world hates more the way in which my favorite character was portrayed as someone who’s only good and honorable when a character like Daenerys has to be ruined and removed. and i will say this to my dying breath: this thing is NOT Jon Snow and it makes me genuinely sad that people may for even a second believe this thing is anything resembling Jon Snow. i am the first one being here to vehemently (to use your word) criticize all of this, which is exactly why i have gone majorly show divergent — even during s07 i was already stating i would never acknowledge the annulment, exactly because i would never want Elia Martell to be a plot device in this regard. and please note: i’m not saying any of this to make myself look good — look at me i’m such a great guy i respect women! — i respect women, and female characters, because they DESERVE to be respected. and everything i have ditched from show!canon, i did because these amazing characters deserve so much better, and my amazing roleplay buddies who write these amazing characters deserve so much better, AND Jon Snow, my favorite character whom i love dearly, deserves so much better than to be turned into D&D’s sad puppet.

          i really hope i answered your question, friend? tl;dr — i am vehemently against Agony killing Dany in the show the way it was done, because it reduces Daenerys to a plot device and reduces Jon to someone who can only have merit if other characters become plot devices in his favor. on the other hand, in the scenario where Jon is Azor Ahai reborn and Dany is Nissa Nissa reborn, i personally see it at a completely different level, even if the outcome is technically the same — because it is a scenario highly plotted and developed by myself and Artie, and because exactly we are always very mindful to never do this to these characters whom we both love. obviously she loves Dany more and understands her better, and i love Jon more and i understand him better, but this is why we team up to salvage this ship we love and that was utterly ruined by the show. and this is why the only context where we accept Jon killing Daenerys is for the ultimate purpose of tempering Lightbringer — where Dany chooses her fate, and Jon endures the consequences of his actions.

BONUS POINTS:

          so, because we are a partnership, i shared this ask and my own response with Artie — to get her opinion as someone who writes Daenerys and understands her better than i do, as i mentioned above, and also to have her perspective as a woman. the next points, therefore, are credited to @zcldrizes to complement my own:

          Firstly, on being a plot device. I think the important thing about this is that we as the viewers are wired to look through the lense of Dany to see her as a hero, with an ultimate purpose. We have the entirety of her journey, with a backstory about her struggle for home, the fact she has suffered hardship after hardship. In my opinion, she was born “meant for something more” - and the very existence of her dragons, the fact she’s somewhat fire insensitive, all proves that she is not quite normal, compared to everyone around her. Her own journey and arc have been not just about finding home, but restoring and living up to her family’s name, and making a difference in the world through whatever ways she chooses, whether that be liberation, or saving innocent people. Her death in Season 8 served no purpose for her arc, other than to neatly line up what they needed for Jon’s storyline. Her madness in Season 8 served no purpose, other than allowing a mostly male council to choose their new male overlord, after condemning her as mad when overrun with grief. But if she was Nissa Nissa, and sacrificed her life not for Jon’s manpain, but to save the entire world, and in a way that leaves her the true hero of the story, then I think that means she’s not just a plot device. She’s a hero. And no, I don’t think she’s just driving that plot; I think the point is she made a difference to the world.

          Secondly, and the more important part of this - show canon removes her female autonomy, assuming she’s not in a rational state of mind, and then villainises her for emotion and grief. For it then to have her killed in a moment where she so very clearly places her trust in the man kissing her, a man she clearly loves, removes all autonomy because she didn’t consent to what was coming, and didn’t know it would happen. All of her ability to predict that behaviour is gone, which means she had no knowledge of her death, and thus, the scene occurs in a way that leaves those rules particularly unbalanced. A Nissa Nissa scenario is something she consents to; something she wants because it’s right, and it’ll save the world, and this is the most important thing. Daenerys gets to choose to die saving the world she wanted to build. 

          Finally, on the outcome and whether or not this is just to be more feminist friendly and socially acceptable. The first thing to note is that the outcome isn’t the same. In one, she dies after going mad because her male counterpart has deemed her unsafe to live with how insane she is. In the other, she dies to save the world - and importantly, consents to doing so. And depending on the way the rest of the thread runs, I suspect it would be very well known what she gave up in order to keep the people of the Seven Kingdoms safe. So rather than this being to get the traction of anyone saying this isn’t a sexist ending, consider: yes, it’s a socially acceptable ending, but only because it acknowledges the strength of women in whatever they do to contribute to the world. Daenerys deserved better than to die as a rabid dog for the slaughter; but in saying that, an extraordinary woman deserved an extraordinary death, and what better way than dying saving the world?

          Finally, feminism celebrates choice in all forms - Dany would have chosen to die as Nissa Nissa, and if that empowered her, we shouldn’t condemn that.

[benperorsolo]

Story structure anon here, yeah the part I’m confused about is why these otherwise very successful and skilled writers ‘can’t read suddenly, don’t know’ when it comes to TLJ’s ending. Like even when I was crazy biased against something I could still see that the Something existed in canon. But there are award-winning writers and verified Twitter people all talking about the ST like the status quo can’t change now, Rey hates Kylo forever K Thx bye

Oh believe me, I get it. Even one of my favorite writers has espoused these garbage takes on twitter, and I wonder every day how the heck someone who writes books which I love so dearly and whom I consider so talented could possibly have such bad takes.

There is some weird sociological phenomenon that accompanies Ben and his bad takes, and I wish I more fully grasped wtf it was. I can only imagine it must in part be with SW having become such a cultural phenomenon that people feel like they have ownership of it, and have the ability or the right to change it to reflect what they want, instead of analyzing it according to its own terms. People shove their social ills onto Ben because SW is one of the current mythologies of secular society and he’s currently the bad guy. Not because it makes any sense for the character or what the story is saying about him. 

[share-the-damn-bed-main]

Things I absolutely loved in KH3

MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW!!!! {you’ve been warned}

Many (and I mean many) people who have completed the game have aired their grievances with the story, gameplay, etc. And honestly, for the most part, I share your heartbreak, disappointment, and general uneasiness. But today I wanted to focus on things I absolutely loved about the game instead of the moments that made me roll my eyes or upset me. 

Sora - I love this boy. I love him so much and KH3 strengthened my love for him. I love how sassy he is. I love how even though he is still his happy-go-lucky self, he shows a range of emotions and has seemed to mature a bit. I also love that he doesn’t seem as dumb as he was in previous titles (especially DDD). He is so soft and kind and loving and strong and just... KH3 really solidified him as not only my favorite KH character but one of my favorite fictional characters of all time. 

The Trio - Sora Donald and Goofy have always been my favorite trio in the series and I felt that this game had some of their best moments together. Like, I’m crying just thinking about how when Sora went off to fight Xehanort in Scala,  Donald and Goofy walk beside him without hesitation. 

Having the Disney Characters in your Party - I know it was always an option, but you’d have to sacrifice Donald or Goofy’s spot. I loved being able to have the world characters in my party with my OG trio. It made me feel more connected to each world’s plot.

Fun. Genuinely Fun. - Playing this game is pure joy. Granted, during my first play through, I was rushing to get through the story and didn’t have time to explore the worlds. But I love the camera, lucky emblems, treasure chests, the mini games and all of the parts I’ve yet to explore. After completing the game (and crying my eyes out for a solid hour or so), my first thought was “oh boy, I can’t wait to go back and play the cooking mini game, find all the chests, collect the secret reports, and work on getting the trophies!” I had so much fun playing this game and can’t wait to start my proud mode play through so I can enjoy everything along the way without feeling rushed. 

The music - it’s always the best part of every KH game but KH3 really knocked it out of the park and really made the emotional scenes that much better. I was so excited that Destati returned and the use of Friends in My Heart at the end. Also, I loved the Pirate’s music which was epic and (imho) was a better fit than the usual theme. 

Dearly Beloved - I know I just mentioned music, but this deserved its own praise. This version fit this game perfectly. The moment it started playing on the title screen, I was overcome with emotion. It sounds like how playing KH3 feels like: exciting, fun, fresh, nostalgic, bittersweet. 

Disney Writing and Character Interactions - Generally speaking, the interactions between the characters and the writing in the Disney worlds felt fresh and on point. I loved the interactions between the Trio, Rapunzel, and Eugene in Kingdom of Corona especially. Also, Mt. Olympus was fantastic as well but I may be biased due to my pure excitement about playing the game.

How beautiful everything looked - I don’t think I even have to explain this one. Just look at the game. Everything is so pretty and blows previous games out of the water. During the platform of awakening at the very beginning, I stared at the stained glass for a solid 5 minutes before doing anything else because I was just blown away by how amazing it looked. 

Sora saving Aqua - queue tears

Playing as Aqua against Vanitas - This just felt right and I was very excited to play as Aqua again. 

Every time Sora shoved his keyblade between and enemy and a friend - He did it between Aqua and Riku. He did it between Axel and Xion. And both times my heart exploded. He may have done this another time, but these moments stuck out to me. 

Sora comforting Xion - Um, I broke here completely and was not expecting to. Like, I love Xion and was excited for the SeaSalt Trio’s reunion, but Sora’s words and tone and the fact that he was crying just destroyed me completely. Honestly, it’s my favorite scene in the game. I really love Sora. 

Roxas’ return - Props to Jesse McCartney for having two distinctive voices for Roxas and Ven. When Ven returned I was happy and I shed a few tears. But when I heard Roxas’ voice, without even seeing his face, I started sobbing because I missed him so much and was so happy that he was finally there and sassy as ever. 

The reunions- I loved the hugging and the crying for Axel, Roxas, and Xion as well as Terra, Aqua, and Ven. It made me feel overcome with relief. Like finally let these people be happy. 

Sora talking to Namine in the Last World - it’s a shame that this scene doesn’t appear in Theater Mode once you finish the game because it’s cute and sad and ties up some loose ends between the two characters. 

Everyone interacting together on the Play Island and having fun at the end - It’s everything I ever wanted from KH3. All the groups interacting and having fun like they deserve! Let’s just forget the last 5 or so seconds...

[coyoteeugly]

✨ LOVELY OOC MEME ✨

✨ TAGGED BY: @icantlose   ✨ TAGGING: anyone

NAME: Coyote NICKNAME: Coyote / Ghost AGE: 20 FACE CLAIM: One of my many muses or personas PRONOUNS: he / him HEIGHT: 5′11 BIRTHDAY: November 21st

AESTHETIC: V a p o r w a v e, cryptid-esc things, abandoned areas, 80s / 90s aesthetic, ominous animals or places, ghost aesthetic, forest-monster aesthetic.

LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO:  Jack Stauber - Two Time

FAVORITE MUSE ( S ) YOU’VE WRITTEN: Lucifer from Supernatural is my longest existing muse blog, and I love him, I also love my Leon though his blog is relatively new compared to Lucifers. Honestly I love all of my muses very dearly, they all have a special place in my heart. I just kinda go through bouts of not using some and hopping from blog to blog depending on my mood and interest at the time.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO TAKE ON YOUR CURRENT MUSE ( THAT YOU ARE POSTING THIS ON ): I tend to build self-inserts for nearly every fandom I’m in, and I had been sitting on my persona’s backstory, personality and design for a while. It wasn’t long before I caved and just made the blog, I’m really sick of the fucking “cringe lololol” view on self-insert muses, or self-ships bc I think they can be done right. Also I have like no impulse control to stop me from making blog after blog after blog.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE ASPECTS OF YOUR CURRENT MUSE:  Being able to explore the realistic reactions of Coyote in certain situations, how they would alter him, and how he could interact with other characters from differing universes. I tend to try and keep all of the views and responses that Coyote has as realistic for myself as possible, hence why he started out terrified of Star Wolf and why he hates the living shit out of Andross, and why he treats threats seriously rather than pulling that whole “>:)) im not scared of u, u cant take me” stance that a lot of info-modding self inserts tend to do.

WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST INSPIRATION WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING: Music, movies, aesthetics, audio adventures, WORLD BUILDING LIKE A MF, and ambiance.

FAVORITE TYPES OF THREADS: Angst, fluff and smut to be honest. I like looking at the ways trauma changes my muses based on their behavior, views and personality, and I love fluff afterwords because I’m weak and I need to have my dumb happy endings always.

BIGGEST STRUGGLE IN REGARDS TO YOUR CURRENT MUSE: I’m often really nervous about following or asking anyone to roleplay, because I expect a lot of people to instantly assume the worst of my muse just because it is a self insert. I really want to put Coyote in different situations but a large part of me feels embarrassed asking because I fear a lot of people will expect that I’ll be butthurt about their muse attacking, insulting, or killing mine. Or that they’ll assume my muse will info mod and be without flaw which is not the kind of thing I aim for ever. I always aim for realistic accuracy and tailor my muses reactions realistically to my own (i.e: how would I feel if this was my universe and I saw that on the news all the time, what would be my hidden biases? etc.) 

TL;DR I put a lot of effort into my persona’s backstory, characterization, and positions in life and to feel like all of that is void because of the cringe culture view of self-inserts sucks sometimes. Though I’ve been lucky to never have someone be aggressive or make fun of me for it, I still worry!

[tubbotums]

I want you to imagine a situation for a sec, so close your eyes and imagine

It’s late March, two months away from your high school graduation. You’ve been a part of a friend group in high school that you’ve cherished for three years, and now you’re faced with the fact that you’re all going to pretty much be going your separate ways. You’ll see each other, but it’ll never be the daily after school hang outs again. Not only that, your relationship with a girl who had basically been by your side for your hardest moments in the past year, someone who defended you and loved you, just ended, and now that relationship along with various others have just ended in the rockiest fashion possible despite you trying your best. Along with all of that, you got yourself with a fandom that’s basically spit you out and kicked you around, called your ideas garbage and basically made you feel like shit because of your race, gender and sexuality. All of this you have to deal with as you also face the possibility of moving out of your apartment, the place you’ve called home for 17 and a half years because your mom wants a change of scenery and onset depression that’s quickly becoming more and more severe by the day.

That was me a year ago, and truth be told I had never felt more alone and lower than at time. I had come to this site to try and escape that, and it worked for the most part, but really it was just something that was always nagging and there, and no matter what I did I just couldn’t escape it. I didn’t wanna get out of bed, my personal health and hygiene dropped, and I was really a shell of myself. I couldn’t do anything right it felt like, and I felt like there was no one to really help me. I started escaping more to anime, music and video games as a result, and a lot of old insecurities popped up and just left me a mess.

Then, one day after school with my friends I accidentally dug up my old PS Vita, the white one that you got if you got the Assassin’s Creed bundle. I made a remark that I hadn’t played it in years, and a friend of mine who had graduated the year before said he knew some good games, and literally the first thing that came out of his mouth was Persona 4 Golden. I had heard of Persona, but I never actually knew what it was or anything. It seemed so foreign and just out there that it had never came up on my radar, so he immediately dragged me on a 15 minute walk to the nearest GameStop and grabbed the one copy of P4 Golden that they had in stock. He even went out of his way to buy it for me, a $40 game for a dead console. Now I wouldn’t really make a big deal out of this stuff, but this was one of my friends who never really had a lot of money on him. He was always saving his money up, so the fact that he was willing to shell out the money for me like that meant he was serious. So, we went back to my place, and I put in the game.

The opening title played, Shadow World, and that colorful opening played. I always make it a thing to watch the opening on my first playthrough when I play a game, and this game was no exception. I remember liking the visuals, but there was one person that caught my interest right off the bat. There was a person who was doing a little dance with a trash can, and at the time I thought that was really funny. I read his name, and it just said Yosuke. I looked on the cover for him, and I said to my friend “He kinda looks like me”, and that ensued a bunch of jokes and a short nickname for a while. Anyways, I remember because of this I was really interested to learn more about him, and going into this game knowing nothing I didn’t know when I’d meet him. Luckily for me, he was the first person I met in the game (or at least one of the first). I remember him crashing into that trash can and just Yu not helping, and him getting kicked in the balls by Chie after not returning her ‘Trial of the Dragon’  in one piece. I thought this was really funny, since the dude was kind of a down on his luck dork who meant well, and it was something I could really relate to.

However, as I got further into those first few hours of the tutorial and everything, I learned more about him. His full name was Yosuke Hanamura, and he was the son of the man who owned the big chain mall in town, Junes, the one the MC’s character sings the jingle to whenever it’s on T.V. He was voiced by Yuri Lowenthal, the same VA who voiced Simon the Digger in Gurren Lagann, a favorite of mine, and he had a crush on a cute girl named Saki. However, his crush ended up being the first victim in what would become a string of murders in Inaba, and he wanted to find out the truth of what happened to his dearly beloved. So into the TV World they go, and there Yosuke finds out that not only did Saki not like him back, but she outright hated him and resented him since his father’s business stole business away from her own family’s. He hears her talk about her hatred toward him, and also has to come face to face with his Shadow, his true self. We find out that he’s actually depressed and hates life for the most part. He moved to Inaba not too long ago, and he felt alone and isolated because he was from the city. He wanted people to like him, and he tried his damnest to feel like an equal to people, including the person who would become his best friend in the MC. But, there he was, hating life and always feeling like a burden to those around him and wanting to isolate himself from others because he didn’t feel like an equal.

I’m not a man of god or anything really, but this felt like a sign or something. I never had related so hard to a character in my life before, and it was enough that I actually found myself crying at the end of learning about him and the two of you agreeing to solve the murders.

So I went on and played the rest of the game, with Yosuke being the first social link that I finished in the game. I saw him try and come to terms with his depression, realize that he now had a group of friends around him who accepted him, and that he’d always be considered an equal with his bro and partner. As I’m writing this, I’m still thinking about the raw emotion I felt seeing all of this for the first time and just tearing up about it. For a long time I changed my profile pic on Facebook to a picture of him, he was the character that really made me want to cosplay, something I had never even thought of before, and I ended up deciding to make him my face claim, something I still keep up to this very day. I remember I tried to get my hands on any type of merch for him, though I didn’t really find much until later on (like a partial yaoi manga with him and Yu, something I’ve read time and time again with no regrets~). Despite all of that, my love for Yosuke had ran deep at that point, so when I finished the game in the middle of August I cried once more. My time with him was done, and I would never really get that same feeling back like the first time I met him.

That now meant I had two weeks to play Persona 5, the first game I got on my PS4 after I rebought it due to selling it to get the Switch. I went into this game with high expectations, since everyone told me it was amazing. However, I still had my biases, like the fact that there wasn’t Yosuke in this game. So I sat down and decided that I was going to basically speed run this game for two weeks, trying my best to finish it before I went off to college. I worked basically from 7 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon, and the second I got home I’d basically play it until 2 in the morning. For two weeks, I went to work at a summer camp with five year olds in the blazing hot sun on five hours of sleep a night. It was an experience to say the least, one that kinda made me realize too how much I didn’t want to work there again, but I digress.

So I sat down and played this game for two weeks, got about 72 or so hours in and had to stop right at the final palace before I went to college. That being said, once more I was blown away by this game and it’s characters, but again someone had captured my heart, this time the lovely model Ann Takamaki. I could go on about how much I love her, but I’ve done that enough on here so you guys get the point. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts felt like a group of friends that I was a part of, and it just made me feel... so special. I can’t explain that feeling, but I felt like they were there with me all the time, and that no matter where I went or what I did they were going to support me with all their hearts, just like they had done for all of their friends in game too. It was a shame that my journey with them had to be on pause for four months, but regardless that feeling of belonging helped me fit into a new friend group at my university, ones that shared similar interests, treated me like an equal, and yes, even loved Persona as much as I did.

When December came and I was home for winter recess, I immediately picked back up Persona 5 to finish it. By now, I had gained new friends, especially a ton on here that had helped me a lot more with my own issues, and that meant I was ready to pick up and catch up with my other friends in Persona 5. I spent another 30 or so hours finishing up the game, and I remember finishing the game at 1 in the morning a few days after New Years Day. As I watched the credits role, I ended up crying even harder than I did with Persona 4. The entire journey was over, and it felt like I was saying goodbye to all of these friends I had made over the past few months, and that I wouldn’t see them again. Of course I would, but much like with Yosuke I wouldn’t have that same feeling. I sobbed in the middle of the night over nine characters and their friends leaving me, and I felt a pain in my heart that I seriously don’t feel all that much. It was so surreal to feel that type of way about pixels on a screen, but I felt it nonetheless.

And now, as I listen to the soundtracks of the two games that I played for days on end, I find myself thinking back on all of this. I can’t express what this series has meant to me, and how much it has contributed to me making friends, improving as a person and just really getting my life back on track. I know people probably don’t wanna read this, but I wanted to share it with all of you, because really I think it’s important. I hope you guys have something you all can gush about like I do, because it’s just super wonderful. Thanks to this series for just... everything. I seriously can’t express how much it’s played a part of my life for the past year.

Now, sad boy hours are over, and I’m going to grab a snack. I hope everyone’s having a wonderful night and are happy right now. I’m spreading some of my positive vibes toward all of you~ <3

[motherlcss-a]

let’s root for each other and watch each other grow ( favorite portrayal of a character in your fandom ) 

let’s hear it for the boys and girls !!

- lethalintelligence / torie : honestly torie is such a wonderful gem that i’m so lucky to have on my dash , that we’re all lucky to have on our dash . she’s such a truly gifted writer that explores raven’s depths and all the facets of her personality in a way that is nothing short of inspirational . just reading torie’s writing always pushes me to be better and i’m so thankful for her existence . 

- rainkilled / rachel : wow peter colton is just a freaking delight . i might be hella biased but i have such a soft spot for the soft hearts ( elena gilbert , scott mccall , clary fray , caroline forbes , angus macgyver , barry allen  ) but i think what makes soft characters all the more interesting is that they aren’t blind to the darkness of the world or their own tragedies but they’ve faced them , they’ve turned them into strengths and refused to let them dim their lights and peter is a shining example of this because peter as gentle and full of light as he is has been through a time i mean honestly this poor bean like i wish i was as strong as peter colton because peter still manages to retain this light about yes he’s a little bit wiser , a little more weathered but , he’s not beaten and this all comes from the extremely layered way rachel has written him , the care she has put into his character . peter is honestly someone we should all strive to be more like , rachel is someone we should all strive to be more like and i love them both dearly so much . 

- holiistichcro : okay but people who play bellamy blake always have a special place in my heart because people who love bellamy blake automatically have a special place in my heart . since the pilot bellamy has been changing and growing , since before he’s been changing and growing into this strong and kind and protective and smart and thoughtful and sometimes very tragic hero and people who can not only appreciate and respect but capture in a way that leaves me freaking breathless will forever go down on my list of people that deserve the roleplay equivalent of an oscar or emmy or kids choice award and this babe right here deserves all of them . nina already is proudly a founding member of the bellamy blake fanclub and so am i and we will forever be and will forever be loving and promoting the hell out of this cute little red velvet cupcake . 

- jobikilled : okay let’s see how far i can get through this before i start crying about jasper jordan and about his sweet brown eyes and his excited smile and his googles and his young little face and how he deserved so much better , deserved and to be happy and to live a life that wasn’t shattered by war and grief and anger . wow didn’t even last thirty seconds and i usually don’t when it comes to spencer’s writing . spencer has a way of writing things that make me so happy and smile-y and then simaltaneously breaking me by talking about things like clarke finding jasper’s goggles and i never fully recover . i’ve said it before and i’ll say it spencer is the jasper that jasper deserves always . 

- mcntyre : MY NEW BEST FRIEND LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY BEST FRIEND CAUSE THEY FLIPPING KICK ASS . harper is one of those characters that is both underappreciated and easily misunderstood . harper is not just your sweet little flower girl and she is not just your tough as nails gunner she is both , she is this deep combination of softness and edge and that is something few people who actually take the time to get to know harper seem to understand but , my babe gets it and as i’ve told them before finding someone who appreciates harper and takes the time to flesh her out so much and put explanation and thought behind her thoughts and actions behind what she’s actually feeling and who she wants to be in light of everything they’ve been through is a blessing and i will never be able to find the words to express how grateful i truly am . 

- gonatombom : man i have such a complicated love / hate relationship with octavia blake but i think that’s because i’ve never truly been able to connect with her character since season one but , when talented as feathers writers come onto the scene i can feel that connection between the young girl in season one who just wanted to experience life and freedom that had been stripped away from her and the angry and hurting and strong warrior that she is now and that’s something that i am so lucky to be able to witness and someone both me and my muse are so grateful to interact with . 

- foxofthe100 : this sweet little gumdrop here is someone special because she’s taken a character we unfortunately never really got a chance to learn much about and that is a tragedy in my opinion because the world needs more characters like fox . characters whose loyalty are their defining traits , characters who are fragile and not afraid to admit it , characters who strive to be strong especially to protect others , the world has always needed more fox and honestly so do both me and my muse . we’re co - founders of the bellamy blake fanclub with our weekly meetings and matching shirts and honeslly it’s one of the best things ever and so are they . 

[gameposting]

(P5 spoilers ahead dudes, p3 spoilers a bit later in the post) Man like I'm too old and gay to be blabbering about shit on the internet but while I loved persona 5 a FUCKIN lot I really feel like Akechi's death was handled terribly. Well, not his actual death, but what came after. Like the player - the player is given full opportunity to be nice to him, to genuinely respond to him as if they care about him even to the bitter end. You CAN be an ass to him, but you can also react favorably to him, every time. It's implied/stated that Akechi seemed to truly want to be friends with the team, and with Joker, and Joker was allowed by the dialogue to be friendly in kind. Why would he just be forgotten after? They basically say "well that was sad and pretty much sucked" and move on. No one asks the protag if he's feeling ok about it. (Except maybe June in a short text after? I can't remember - but certainly nothing remotely substantial) No one mentions that it's fucked up how he lived and died. There's no funeral, there's no commotion from his place of work (the only mention at all is Sae basically goes "well he's still missing I guess" - they didn't even have the decency to tell Sae how her former friend died? Wtf?) - he's just up and forgotten. I know the p5 kids seem to have some major issues talking to each other about things (which I usually see as a trait that can garner character development in them I guess) but they tend to at least somewhat supportive and try to make sure each other is ok. They ask if any of the others are ok every time something about their fucked up life comes up, but like.. never ask the protag "hey, you seemed to really want to be Akechi's friend even after what he did to you, you clearly liked him to some degree, are you going to be ok?" Like this dude was a social link! A fully maxed one! And he doesn't even get a damn funeral, or any sort of attempt to damage control his disappearance/death. He was a celebrity to people, and they just never even mention him again? Barely mention that he exists? There are some anons on the website who mention him and there are some random thought bubbles but none even mention he's missing or anything. Mind you - I think I may just be upset about this because Persona 3 is one of my favorite games. And when one of the characters dies in that game - he gets a funeral. His friends mourn him. His death is legitimately important to the character development of another character, and his spirit returns to give the player a final well wishing when battling the final boss. The tone of 3 is different, yes - but I would have liked the protag of 5 to at least be able to -act- like Akechi's death had any impact on his personality or his character. Or for any of the others to have had any change because of it. I just felt it was really weird. The death was emotional, I cried a lot. But ultimately it had a very weak impact on the plot other than to stop Akechi from being a villain - which could have been achieved by adding him back to the team, having him disappear and promise to turn himself in, or for him to lose his memory or really anything. The fact the player -can't- save him just feels strange to me, strange to the theme of the game - that shitty adults have been hurting children and the world, and that these children hurt each other as a result of their abuse, but when they form a support group they can rise above that and change the world. The fact that the Phantom Thieves failed to help this suffering, angry, jaded person - someone who acted like a child and threw a tantrum out of jealousy and anger and as response to the way he'd been used - he became a victim without retribution. That he existed as a pawn of Yaldabaoth and yet the Trickster could not break him free from his chains and take him to battle the force which had enslaved them both made the ending feel a bit empty. The Trickster's fate was to defy the biased game he'd been forced into; clearly Akechi and Akira were meant to kill each other, one to be the victor, as part of the Game, and he failed to defy that fate. Something about that just feels wrong to me. Akechi is surely not innocent; but he is not mercilessly evil. He is ill and he's suffered abuse, and he has been manipulated. He cannot take back the things he had done, but what better change of heart than to transform a killer born from a twisted, abused person who exacted fear onto the masses into a teenager who had a circle of those who could support him and help him face himself and the fate he'd been so unfairly sewn? What better heart to steal and change than that of a perpetrator of terrible crimes into someone seeking to fight that fate so that no one else ever has to suffer the same way? Had he done this and died at the end to assist in the toppling of fate - or after it was all over turn himself in - or in some other way accept punishment for his actions in the end - that would have made more sense and felt more natural. "He was a twisted person whose heart changed and who was able to die to help alter the fate of humanity and to protect those he once had damned and hunted" would have been way better than "he was a twisted person whose heart changed too late and who was killed before his changed heart could battle against the fate it had been dealt". Hypotheticals, I suppose. Nothing which ever will change; what's done is done. And perhaps I simply like him too much, perhaps I shouldn't sympathize with him. But I do; I cannot ignore those characters who do terrible things and suffer as a result of emotional pain, mental illness, manipulation, and misguided action, because I like to think some part of everyone can be redeemed even if they've done terrible things. Perhaps because I can relate to that desire to redeem oneself, or the guilt and suffering characters like this endure. I guess ultimately: Goro Akechi deserved better. At the very least, he deserved a better end. He was built up and built up - only for him to be forgotten once his time came and went. And while perhaps one could argue he got his just desserts in the way he died - I feel his character, and the writing surrounding how he affected the plot and the theme of the game - fell short. Persona 5 is still an excellent game and I love it dearly. I just wish Akechi could have had some redemption, or at least... a funeral, or some final recognition of what he'd meant to the protagonist or the story. I wish his death had meant more than the way it felt like it was just the removal of a villain from the conflict at hand. But I guess I'll just have to fight the chains of fate myself and keep him alive and help him heal in my heart.