#imo he still has a lot of baggage from his previous relationship

[chelleisamazing]

So, update on the long distance situationship-- I'm so confused and frustrated about it.

Things we did:

Make out

Dance closely and suggestively

Speak about our feelings and other deep subjects at 3 am under the stars in front of the ocean

Let each other know we wanted to hook up

Swim and smoke weed in the ocean on our underwear at the crack of dawn

Things we did not do:

Spend more than 10 minutes completely on our own

Have sex

[yudrein-aile]

I have reached ch 400 of turning. Kinda obsessed with the difference between the two timelines Kishiyu... Yudrain is like. Young! And doesn't understand politics that well. And there's so much baggage. And meanwhile Yuder is like. 30. He's constantly like "ah these young kids". There's still baggage but he is so much older and experienced and Kishiar responds to that differently than he did + different circumstances (like. Ch 400. Full info not yet revealed). Anyway I came to !!! Because idk who else to !!! At about this

Please !!! here any time, I love hearing your thoughts! sorry you're getting a whole god damn essay reply i had to put a read more.

Yuder is, and continues to be, incredibly harsh on his younger self, especially at the start, some of it is deserved - calling his younger self arrogant and quick to anger - but a lot of it, I think, is also just colored by how much was asked of him vs. how much he could do.

Yuder judges immediately in the first chapter that joining the Cavalry seemed "like a chance for dazzling success and thrilling adventures" as he had not "outgrown his boyishness". In the same paragraph he also judges that he didn't know anything about the intrigues and politics he'd find himself in, "that everything comes with a price, and that he was not well-suited for such pursuits".

In chapter 3 he straight up calls his twenty-year-old self "a poor country bumpkin with a gloomy expression".

So like, the impression we get of twenty-year-old Yuder, to me, is that of a 20 year old kid, who's not really socialized because his grandfather died seven years ago and he's been on his own ever since, and thinks that maybe getting to meet others like him, measuring his powers against them, would be fun.

Generally spekaing, the vibes I got from Yuder is that if he could, he would've done nothing but train all day. He's not interested in leadership, but then he's made Cavalry Commander. In chapter 2, he points out this rise in status himself:

"The previous Yuder had held a great deal of power and influence as the Cavalry commander of the Empire, but now he was nothing more than a young newcomer from the countryside. Who would actually listen to someone like that?"

Think back on the literary lessons - most Cavalry members couldn't even read or write when they joined the Cavalry. Yuder could read, but not really write well. Imagine that, he's twenty, he just learned how to write properly, Kishiar manages to mcfuck himself up during the Red Stone Retrieval Mission and decides "yes, that one will be my successor".

Like to Yuder, even ten years later, it seemed like Kishiar pretty quickly and decisively decided to make Yuder his successor.

Why did Kishiar La Orr pass the position of leader to Yuder at that time? And without any hesitation, as if it had been planned from the beginning.

And it's mentioned at times - a lot more later when Yuder knows what's up - we learn also that Yuder received proper lessons from Kishiar (and Nathan) and probably a whole bunch of other people to prep him for his work as Commander. Because Yuder does do well. The Cavalry is thriving, outpacing every other organization withing years. Sure, he's an interpersonal nightmare, but he did also pay for like parties if it was requested or so. And again, he went from semi literate commoner to Count and, argueably, one of the Emperor's most trusted men. That's insane.

And now in the second timeline, Yuder takes that knowledge with him. He knows what to expect, what he learned by trial and error. Just think about the second gender manifestations that go well. Heck, his own, I'd argue, is his turning (ha) point. The first 150ish chapters really do feel like Yuder's only in survival mode, but after his own second gender manifestation, the thing that IMO definitely fucked up his and Kishiar's relationship in the first timeline (mutual non-con my beloved trope <3), it's like an awakening (sorry full of bad puns today).

And for their relationship in the 2nd timeline!! Kishiar and Nathan both pick up that Yuder's more skilled than he should be. In chapter 17 we have this exchange:

"Nathan." "Yes." After Yuder left, Kishiar, staring at the chilled teacup on the opposite side, opened his mouth. Kishiar's cup was empty, but the one on the other side remained untouched, just as it had been from the start. "What do you think of that guy?" It was an unusual question. Nathan pondered for a moment before answering. "If I hadn't heard of his background beforehand, I would never have guessed he was a commoner." He was unmistakably a commoner, an orphan, barely twenty, yet he did not falter in front of Nathan, let alone in front of the noble duke who was as esteemed as the heavens.

And in chapter 59 we got:

Ever since first meeting him, Nathan Zuckerman had been continually investigating Yuder Aile's background. But just as his lord had predicted, there was nothing to find. His past was impeccably clean.

People regularly are in genuine awe of Kishiar because of the whole sun god thing, and I'd say in the first timeline, while also annoyed with Kishiar, to a degree did treat him according to station before he was made Commander and was even more annoyed with Kishiar.

And now here comes second timeline Yuder who had like. meals with the Emperor and knows Kishiar, to a degree at least.

And Kishiar very much picks up on this. He's got a prodigy on his hands who's not afraid to say what he means - not because of arrogance, but because he's straightfroward and correct. He's fascinated with Yuder to the point of propositioning him to figure out what he's on. (rip to Nathan hope you never learn of this).

Like, man if I have to put it into words, I think 2nd TL Kishiar falls in love because he's fascinated and interested by Yuder and wants to know him wholeheartedly, while for Yuder it hmm feels a lot more like hmm devotion/dedication to an ideal? Which makes Kishiar's genuine joy when he learns a small thing about Yuder a delight to read and vice versa when Yuder realizses why Kishiar acts in a certain way.

Like in 199 we got Kishiar saying , "I was merely asking out of curiosity. Isn't it a natural human tendency to want to know more about a subject of interest?"

(Also love how in 200 Yuder is like "Kishiar is so smart and skilled it's only a question of time until he manages to seduce me" babygirl what the FUCK is that thought process. can't you just say he's hot and charming and you both have a competency kink)

uuh. i think i lost the plot a little replying to your ask but like. yes. i love how the different circumstances shape their experience and attraction to each other,

[thyandrawrites]

hi! please feel no pressure to answer this ask, but as a former Dabihawks shipper I am very curious if you see any possible scenarios for their post-canon relationship? even throwing the ending out of the window, I just can't imagine what their relationship could be like after the war, which is weird with the way they were so consistently set up as close narrative foils 😅

That's valid. Honestly even tho I still ship it, this pairing has lost part of its original appeal for me too, given my preference for canon-compliant stuff and how canon went. But I think that a lot of things are possible in the realm of fanfic. All it takes is just a strong and believable enough foundation to justify why a character would make x choice instead of y, you know?

As I mentioned in previous replies, I have little to no interest in exploring any post canon scenarios that stem from the canon ending, personally. But if I were to write one, I guess my focus would be on getting Dabi and Hawks to be on speaking terms again, first. They didn't part on good terms, and there's several unsolved issues between them that I'd want to address before building up on their relationship. Here's a few off the top of my head:

Not to revive a dead horse just to beat it to death again, but Hawks... very much still thinks his actions during the war were justified. And he got a promotion out of it too, which wouldn't help him see them under a critical light, either. This poses the biggest problem to a post-canon dabihawks scenario imo because that dehumanization and Othering he does subconsciously is anthitetical to him seeing a romantic partner in Dabi. Or to being the kind of "think for yourself" person Dabi would be fond of. Unless, like. You were interested in writing a toxic relationship, I guess.

Building off point one, if Hawks doesn't think heroes did wrong in the war, then he would not have the necessary perspective to change society for the better even in his new role as the HPSC president. Ideally, I'd want to develop his character to the point where he stops thinking in such black and white terms anymore. Dabi would simply never respect him if Hawks didn't walk that mile first imo. On the other hand, if Hawks did grow from his old stances, and eventually learned to use the lesson Twice was trying to teach him before he died to make society better, I think that would make quite an impression on Dabi. It's all about overcoming that mental block Hawks seems to have against victimhood and his own complex relationship with it.

As for Dabi, he threatened Tomie and scared her so much she fled, again, leaving her son behind. And maybe Hawks didn't have much of a relationship left with his mom, but Dabi did take that chance away from him, whether Hawks was ready to cut off contact with her altogether or not. That's bound to leave some baggage, and there must be resentment there that they'd need to address and work their way past. You know... maybe reconnecting with his own family could make Dabi grow enough in turn to realize what he needs apologizing for.

The wings... I haven't read the fight with AFO so I'm not sure how Hawks ended up losing the stubs too, but Dabi did begin the process, and it left Hawks quirkless. Again, that's bound to have more consequences than him being immediately fine with it. Hawks' entire life was shaped by his wings' usefulness to those around him, and suddenly he lost the very thing he centered his entire identity around. If I was writing their reconciliation, I'd probably address the mixed feeling he must hold for Dabi, the person who did that to him, but also Touya, the son of possibly the only person Hawks has ever fully respected.

I'm sorry if you were looking for specific scenarios as in fic ideas, but even if I wasn't writer blocked right now I doubt I would want to delve that deep into this. Hope this answer somewhat sates your curiosity tho!

[reversemoon255]

Digimon Adventure:

Honestly, when this series was announced, I wasn’t looking forward to it. While the final product always varies, I’m not a big fan of the concept of reboots, especially in shows like Digimon that live off refreshing themselves every season. Yes, we’ve had continuations of specific continuities a few times, but never a redo of an existing story. I understand it was likely due to ratings, but I’d rather they do a new team in the existing Adventure universe than go back and do the story again.

But, thankfully, I did enjoy it. It had its lows, but a lot of highs, too. I feel like the overall product on an episode-to-episode basis was superior to the original. That’s not to discount the original, as the overall plots there are stronger, and we get character backstories that, while they carry over, are only fleshed out in the original.

The Good: As I said, episode-to-episode, this show is really good, and definitely has the best filler episodes in Digimon so far. While it pops up here and there, there’s a lot less stock footage used in comparison to the previous seasons, and apart from Agumon and Gabumon’s evolution sequences are very short. It also has the best non-movie animation in the show’s run. Fight scenes are no longer stock footage finishers being thrown at each other; there’s actual impact and interaction between Digimon, and a lot less standing around with lip flaps. The battle against Millenniumon in particular was outstanding to watch, and many of the scenes during the fight against Abbadomon were great as well.

Diving into more detail, I like that Taichi was used as a framing character for most episodes. This is a cast of 16 main characters, even if the Digimon don’t get a lot of development, and having a central character, as well as the show’s decision to slowly introduce everyone rather than all at once, makes things easier to digest.

I had heard some complaints early on about how early Omegamon showed up, but when hearing from people who were watching Digimon for the first time it was an exciting mystery and pull to continue watching. And I have to agree with the decision. While I too felt it was a little early, I also thought he was well utilized, and if he helped bring in more fans, then I have to applaud the idea.

While the basic characterizations and backstories are still there, everyone’s personalities have changed ever so slightly. Taichi is less childish than before, Yamato is a better representation of friendship than the original (IMO), Sora lacks a lot of her baggage, Izumi has some self-esteem issues, Mimi is a lot more caring, Joe more confident, Takeru more competent, and Hikari… well, Hikari feels like she’s written as if she’s on the spectrum (which isn’t a bad thing, as it felt somewhat competently done, if maybe a bit subtle and less obvious as the series continued). I actually prefer some of this show’s versions of the characters to their counterparts. Mimi in particular is a far better and more interesting character, and I think the writers thought that too, as she got some of the best solo episodes.

The Bad: While individual episodes are typically good, Adventure: does drag when it comes to overarching plots. It takes them twice as long as the original to fight Devimon, but he isn’t nearly as built up or developed a character until over 10 episodes after they defeated him. Then there’s Millenniummon, who is talked about a lot, but has no personality and is just a force of nature. Granted he has the best fight scene in the series, but that only goes so far. And Negamon is done slightly better? But is pushed aside when it comes to everyone’s individual final character episodes.

A similar issue is that the opening chunk of episodes feel very formulaic. Introduce a new character and have their partner evolve to Adult, then it’s the same with Perfect. Part of this may be because there was a push to get to WarGreymon for promotional purposes, and the several week delay caused by Covid meant they had to get to it sooner to meet deadlines. This show hits its stride after WarGreymon, but it’s more hit-or-miss before he shows up.

While Characters like Mimi became better during the Reboot, characters like Izumi suffered a little, and Sora suffered a lot. It’s heavily hinted that all the character backstories and parent relationships are the same, but they don’t utilize them or bring them up more than once apart from with Takeru. And since Sora’s character development was heavily related to her mom, and her mom was omitted from the series, her development is extremely basic in comparison to the original. Izumi does grow in confidence over the series, but also loses his relationship with his parents and learning that he was adopted. The show weirdly feels like a sequel to the original in this way. There are a few things in addition to parents that carry over from the original, like the crests, that aren’t delved into here, but are hinted at being the same.

Another noticeable change in the characters is that everyone acts quite a bit older than they actually are. Joe is the oldest at 5th Grade, and Takeru and Hikari are, like, 6.The bizarre level or understanding and clear-headed-ness displayed by these children in some of these situations is above what they should probably be capable of, at least near the beginnings of the show. Most of the seasons where the characters are younger do a good job of somewhat realistically portraying their ages, but this season forgoes that. Not a deal breaker, but I would have liked to have seen act their ages a bit more.

Ghost Game: I’m very excited for Ghost Game. Even with the very little I’ve seen of it, it has several things that I’ve enjoyed in previous seasons, like taking place in the real world (something lacking from this season), a smaller cast, and new Digimon. It’s also doing a few new things that have me curious. While having a female Tamer and male Digimon isn’t too uncommon, Angoramon is a more Typically masculine Digimon than we normally see as a partner in these situations, and this is the first time to my recollection that we’ve gotten a male Tamer with a femanine Digimon. Also, Gammamon is the first MC partner Digimon that isn’t a primary color (yellow, blue, or red), which seems to be going around lately (as Zenkaiser and Cure Summer are both white team leaders usually filled by red or pink characters). There’s just a lot of things about the team comp that stand out compared to everything that’s come before if you give it a second glance.

Overall, I enjoyed this season, which I wasn’t sure I would going in. The first half of the show has a few misses, but plenty of hits, and they only increase in number as the show continues. It can easily be viewed if you’re new to Digimon, but there’re also some things you might only pick up if you’ve seen the original. There are also plenty of good individual episodes if you like the original and just want to spend a little more time with these characters.

[alewyren]

it’s 2 am and I need to rant at length about the romance in bravely default/bravely second

Okay, so, I like the Bravely series overall. I just really, really fucking hate every single one of its three main ships. In descending order of hostility:

Edea/Ringabel

This pairing hurts my soul. Edea is my all-time fave and I quite like Ringabel as well, yet somehow it’s managed to become my bar-none NOTP for the franchise. Which is ironic, since I actually ship Alternis/Edea pretty hard. But honestly, it’s precisely because I love Edea and her complicated relationship with Alternis so much that RinDea makes me want to go on a stabbing spree.

Let me explain.

I don’t inherently object to the idea of Edea and Ringabel being together. What I hate is how their relationship is written. On paper, their relationship is actually super interesting. What with Ringabel’s previous life as Alternis, having lost his own Edea, and loving her much more deeply than he lets on. The problems are twofold: this only covers half the pairing, ignoring Edea’s feelings for the two men altogether, and this aspect of their relationship is never capitalized on. Instead, 99% of their interactions are generic slap-slap-kiss bullshit, with Ringabel’s advances being shot down every single time. Except of course she totally secretly loves him. And to make matters worse, she’s 15. He’s 20. Yeah, totally not creepy at all. I have no idea what Squeenix was thinking here.

Like, you’d think Edea would have a lot of conflicted feelings over the whole Alternis revelation, but it never even gets addressed! Because her feelings don’t matter, apparently? Like, why pair Edea with another incarnation of Alternis and not acknowledge her strained relationship with her Alternis?! Or maybe have Ringabel actually respect Edea’s feelings to lay off the creepy flirting if he really loves her so much? Seriously, how did Alternis’s personality do a complete 180 like that anyway? That still bothers me. You could say you like the relationship for the potential but IMO the damage is already irreparable. The most I can hope for is that they can never be together for plot reasons and Edea ultimately ends up working things out with her Alternis and they marry down the line--something that also desperately needs to happen with Ringabel since he still carries the emotional baggage associated with being Alternis but nope, never addressed, all you need for a stable and happy relationship is a perv who doesn’t know the meaning of no and an UNDERAGE girl who turns him down but secretly likes it because no always means yes, amiright? Fuck this pairing and fuck Squeenix for writing them like this.

And yeah the age difference gripe applies to Alternis as well but he’s much less aggressive when coming onto her, and when he is, it’s treated as a character flaw. Besides, I only see the two of them getting together way in the future after they’ve both matured. Also, can I just point out that Edea’s bravely second outfit, apparently meant to signify her lingering feelings for Ringabel, looked awful? Blue is not remotely her color, and being lovelorn for Ringabel does not suit her at all. Why does she love him? What draws her to him? Clearly she doesn’t love him for being Alternis, though it’s not even clear if it’s in spite of that. It’s never even explained, it’s just assumed that she must love him because he loves her. it’s gross as fuck smh

And like the entire fandom ships it and doesn’t even stop to think about how gross their relationship really is and I WANT TO FUCKING KILL MYSELF

Oh, and another thing! Why was Edea’s ONLY personal damage, according to Yoko, just being tfw no bf? God forbid a woman have a character or struggles independent of her totally shoehorned feelings for a guy. Nothing about the stress of ruling Eternia, nothing about how she still clings to childhood despite her character development in the first game, literally just being lonely because no Ringabel. She’s my darling daughter and she deserves so much better than this utter and complete shit.

Yew/Magnolia

What grinds my gears about this pairing is that while it was indeed a totally forced romantic plot tumor that would have changed absolutely nothing about the narrative had it not been a thing, Yew’s character did not suffer from it at all while Magnolia’s was completely consumed. Yew was actually a really good character, why did Magnolia completely lack any substance whatsoever? MAXIMUM THENKING

For that matter, Altair and Vega could have been a lot more interesting, too, and it’s not like the parallels between them and Yew/Magnolia had any impact on the characters or narrative. It was just kind of a thing, y’know? It could have been interesting if it foreshadowed Yew and Magnolia becoming star-crossed lovers themselves, or even Yew tearing down the sky to save Magnolia. But no. Seriously, what was the point of this relationship? It added nothing to the narrative or either of their characters, and their interactions were just so forced and painful to watch.

Come to think of it, during my first playthrough of Bravely Second, though, I’d actually thought the narrator who turned out to be Deneb was Vega, and I still think that would have been a more interesting route to take with Vega. Actually give her some agency and presence in the narrative beyond being the damsel in distress and whatnot.

Tiz/Agnes

I’m less openly hostile towards this pairing so much as I am immensely bored by it and saddened by its wasted potential to be something interesting. There was actually very little buildup to them being any more than just friends, for starters. No, writers, just because a man and woman are single and interact does not mean the audience automatically assumes they want to bang, and neither should you. Tiz not really having any sort of personality doesn’t help matters, though. Agnes in general has kind of lowkey born sexy yesterday vibes that make me a bit uncomfortable, what with how naive she is about worldly matters and how sexed up she is in official art of her vestal garb. And with Tiz being a literal player insert it comes off a little fetishy, like she’s supposed to be your waifu rather than a substantial and believable relationship forming between two actual characters. Oh Tiz, why did you have to be such a flat character?

I actually think it would have been a lot more interesting if Yew/Magnolia had been scrapped altogether, and it was Tiz/Agnes that had the parallels drawn with Altair and Vega. Especially if they actually went somewhere narratively, like I mentioned earlier with the two of them becoming star-crossed lovers or Tiz tearing down the sky for Agnes like Altair did for Vega. Maybe even to the point of his love for her leading to catastrophe. Cliche? Maybe, but at least there would be some actual substance to their relationship rather than coming off like they’re just pairing them because they’re the hero and heroine and it’s the rule for them to get together. And since their relationship was established in the first game and we have some attachment to them as characters, as opposed to Yew and Magnolia, it’d wind up being a lot more emotionally engaging. Not to mention it’d add a lot more emotional weight to Altair and Vega’s story, too.

Shit, Altair was even possessing Tiz for a while, wasn’t he? This shit literally writes itself! What a wasted opportunity.

I dunno, my thoughts on these two are a lot more scattered. They just make me bored and depressed.