#in a way that his arc really deserved to
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noctis lucis caelum wants what garnet til alexandros has
#ffxv#ffix#garnet til alexandros#noctis lucis caelum#i just think her character arc is flawless and beautiful and contends with the difficulty of taking on a leadership position at a young age#in a time of incredible trauma#in a way that his arc really deserved to#but did not
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I've been following you for years, and I love your art. Seeing you repost your older art pieces reminded me how much I loved the angry, bitter, miserable Machete art and how it resonated with me... but a part of me is also so happy to see the current art of him being happy. Cute art of him as a unicorn, or chilling in a bathtub with Vasco. Like, we're all growing and healing :')
#thank you!#he's been angry and bitter and miserable for so long it feels nice to give him an ounce of happiness for a change#some reasons to live besides spite and sense of duty#answered#anonymous#I always saw him as a character who's unsalvageable corrupted and doomed by narrative#and that the only way out of his miserable existence was a well deserved death#it sounds extremely cliche but I genuinely had no idea it would be so cathartic to view him through a lens of like#hope and healing and being worthy of love and saving despite your evident flaws and failings#unplanned redemption arc kapow#Vasco really just sauntered in and flipped the whole situation on it's head#sorry folks he has a boyfriend and gets regular pets and hugs and kisses now
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the little mermaid also KILLED by making it caribbean themed like so true actually eric IS the only white guy who washed up on their shores + survived only bc a mother loved him, and then bc a mermaid did. the dancing + music + colors r all sm better + also makes way more sense rip to everyone who hated black ariel ur ken doll prince is the outsider (+ knows it), not miss bailey
#also makes way more sense 4 his arc. in the og hes like ohhhh i dont wanna b in the castle#yeah bc now hes fucking adopted bc he feels like be didn't deserve any of this really bc he got lucky bc he wants to see the world.#obsessed#halle bailey#jonah hauer king#the little mermaid#disney#k
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thinking abt kon getting hurt/upset about something big and clark bundling him up in his cape... ouuhhhhh souperfam save me...
#rimi talks#kon is clark's little guy. and when i stop being sleepy i will have further things to say about this#specifically i just think often abt kon's independence vs clark's protectiveness#and kon and the arc of having to accept that he can ask for help sometimes actually#like the post sb94 no. 100 fic that lives in my head#where clark is like WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME YOU WERE HOMELESS YOU ARE LITTLE AND SMALL I WOULDVE HELPED SOONER#and kon is like uhhh wdym. i didnt want to burden you and anyways i can handle myself??#and clark is like You Are Sixteen And You Were Homeless And Then Getting Majorly Exploited--#but kon is sixteen and doesn't even understand that he was getting exploited for housing. because he is sixteen.#and clark just wants to wrap him in his cape and protect him forever. but he can't bc kon would hate that.#but also kon's constant need to prove himself as worthy of the S...#the way he strives to prove he ''deserves'' superman's respect + care...#mae ripping off his s-shields and telling him he wasn't worthy of them really did a number on him 💀#like clark doesnt even know kon tried to kill himself to ''prove'' his worth. oh my god#okay i need to take a nap but my god. you guys. souperfam...#kon#clark#superfam
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End of Empathy (time for violence)
[First] Prev <–-> Next
#poorly drawn mdzs#mdzs#wei wuxian#lan jingyi#jin ling#lan sizhui#We are back to the present! Honestly I think I'm going to try and truncate the rest of this arc.#I LOVE yi-city and I really appreciate all of the support the yi-city lovers have given me. And the patience of those who aren't.#But it's been two months. And I need to move this along </3#Anyways; I love the start of ep 3 so much. The worried concern of the juniors is so cute#but the crown jewel by far is wwx responding like a parent that's very hungover but trying so hard to be nice about it#like 'shhh shhhh guys hi I'm up now. Can you keep the volume down. Can you get me some water and my sunglasses from the glovebox.'#and of course the incredible wham line of 'Xue Yang Must Die.'#'Is YX irredeemable? I'm pro 'everyone is capable of change and deserves a chance.' So Im of the camp of 'if he had the opportunity...maybe#The issue is that this setting has no structure to provide those opportunities. You are perceived as a threat therefor you must die#XY is a very interesting parallel to the YLLZ because they both meet the same fate: outsiders determining that they need to be killed#plus both did war crimes. I know it's easy to forget the YLLZ actually did do some of the things he was accused of (most wrong)#but wwx also has blood on his hands. He also sought revenge in pretty twisted ways. Both were given opportunities to step away and refused#The difference is that we empathize with and like XXC & SL and A-Qing. The Narrative says they were wronged and that is an injustice.'
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So I remember talking to this person and she was basically saying “If it takes Bakugou dying to redeem himself then he’s done too much.” But it doesn’t take Bakugou dying this is just who he is… am I wrong?
i wouldn't take any bakugou anti's argument to heart. the fact of the matter is that bakugou was a childhood bully who grew up and bettered himself. it's like, one of the tamest, most normal redemption arcs ever. he didn't even have to die to complete it, he's just that devoted to deku. which in itself should say enough about his development
#'bakugou being a dipshit asshole bully from ages 5 to 14' is not nearly 'doing too much'. and certainly does not deserve death#the truth of the matter is. people overhate bkg bc his 'crimes' are the most tangible and relatable to the audience#objectively speaking there are way more characters in mha who have done far worse than him#but most people can't relate to more heinous crimes - they probably haven't lost someone to a mass murderer for example#but they CAN relate to knowing a dumb idiot kid from middle school#a lot of bkg antis project onto deku so it's likely due to a personal grudge they have against their own childhood bully#that they haven't gotten over and so they can't accept deku getting over it. bc they can't accept deku not acting like them#ppl just really don't like seeing bkdk as characters with their own arcs. to them bkdk are self-inserts#the self-insertification of midoriya izuku by dudebros must be studied... the revenge fantasies they cook up... it's fascinating#anyway i wouldn't worry about it too much#asks for becki
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thinking about just how likely it is that Batman was the only person Harley told about having suicidal thoughts whilst in Arkham in Detective Comics #831
"I was seriously considering hanging sheets from the light in my cell and doing the maximum checkout when I heard this voice..."
Detective Comics #831
and how he knew when she strapped that bomb to herself in Batman (2016) #100 that he had to go after her because she was going let herself die in an attempt to end Joker's rampage for good but that she refused to physically do it because he didn't want to her Kill him and he told her that so she's found a middle ground
"We don't need to end it this way. He needs to be locked back up."
that she'd rather die than keep living with his presence in the world haunting her, haunting Them.
That if he did choose Joker, she wasn't going to disarm the bomb herself.
"Honey. You're talking to the wrong girl if you think he's not dangerous locked up in Arkham. It's like I said. That's not good enough for me. Not anymore."
the way he yells for her as she leaves.
"You're only going to get to one of us in time, Bats. Who's it going to be?"
"Harley!"
the way the two men stare at each other in the way they have so many times before, in those moments when Joker stayed or prioritized their fight over her. the way he knew Joker loved the thrill of it all and thought it was funny, thought there was No way Batman would leave him and that this game had to end as according to the rules. And that Batman would do so, he would follow the rules and save him. The way he immediately assumed Batman would choose him, choose his life and choose to stay and disarm the bomb.
And how Batman didn't do that. How Batman walked away from him, leaving him to die or escape or whatever, because He was choosing Harley and her safety and prioritizing her life over him.
The way he stared him in the eyes before choosing the woman Joker had always left to die over him. The way that it was always Him, it was never a question if he would choose Batman over her, but when faced with that type of scenario, Joker is the one that gets left behind to die.
The way she literally woke up in the hospital instead of them having a scene just outside after he removed it. because she didn't intend to live in one of the two options. the way the bomb probably did go off to some capacity because you don't just end up in the hospital knocked out for a week.
Him saying that he's glad she's okay, after everything they've been through, this war and Everything else. and the way he didn't brush off her concern
"I'm glad you're okay."
"Are you?"
"I had to bury my father again today. I did it with my family."
i just, i can't,,,,, i cant
#have i told yall how much i love batquinn because i really fuckin do#they make me miserable and emotional in all the best ways#we deserve more well written content with them FUCK#and like she COULD have killed that fuckin man when she shot in through the eye but she didn't because she knows how he feels about Murder#even tho j*ker had exposed his identity and was about to horrifically disfigure him in such a similar way to how he permanently changed her#and led her to believe he was going to do AGAIN#during the rebirth death in the family arc when she thought he was going to carve off her face#like she had such a solid reason to just kill him and she could have defended it to batman but she still didn't break that rule#that she knew meant so much to him because shes trying and she doesn't want to ruin the budding trust they've got#and just#i cant#i cannot do it y'all#AND SHE KNOWS HE'S BRUCE AND SHE DIDN'T MAKE A BIG DEAL OUT OF IT BECAUSE IT WASN'T SOMETHING BATMAN WANTED EXPOSED#BUT SHE KNEW SHE KNOWS#she heard J*ker say it right before she shot him#and like that just also something she knows he didn't want her or anyone (let alone fucking j*ker) knowing so her aiming for a non deathblo#just#tw abuse mention#tw clown boy#tw blood#tw suicide mention#harley quinn#harleen quinzel#batman#bruce wayne#dc comics#batquinn#♧ comic thoughts ♧#♢ meta & analysis ♢
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oh the dread, oh the worry! you love your sister so much and you need to know shes okay. you trust her but you cant trust the world, and more than anything else you cant trust yourself
#jrwi riptide#jrwi fanart#jrwi riptide spoilers#jrwi show#gillion tidestrider#edyn tidestrider#RAHHH IVE HAD THIS ROTTIN IN DRAFTS FOR A BIT but im finally here n ready to POST!!!!#SO THE LIL GILLION AND EDYN ARC HUH??#gillion as a character makes me so emotional. he means so well yet sucks so bad in every way he wish he didnt#HE CARES SOO MUCH ABOUT HIS SISTER. MAN HAS NEVER CRIED EXCEPT FOR THE DAY HE SAW HER AGAIN#HE WAS SOOO HAPPY TO SEE HER AND FIND OUT SHES OKAY. I ALSO REMEMBER SCREAAAAMIN WHEN SHE FIRST APPEARED#I HAD BEEN THINKIN ABOUT EDYN FOR SO LONG... ohhh older sisters where u at... u understand... only us older sisters get it#andNOW WHERE IS SHE..? WHERE IS SHE NOW.... working with the navy to 'undo' what the undersea has done to her precious baby brother#OKAY ENOUGH EMOTIONS TIME FOR ME TO TALK ABT MY ART#REAAALLY THIS IS ONE OF MY BEST DOODLE PAGES SO FAR. IM SO PROUDA THE COLORS N THE SCENES AND THE EMOTIONS#the lil scene with edyn comforting gillion after 'a day of alot of failure. that was the first we ever saw of edyn right? i love my colors#A MIRROR! edyn painted in red when shes often blue. framed by rock and coral and memory sharing bracelets and fire.#A MEMORY! a recent event! finding her at the bar and meeting her at a tavern. its cathartic to hear your older sister tell you its okay#even more cathartic to have her remind you that you are not your tragedies. you were just a kid. you didnt deserve what happened.#you really missed having her here#OH BUT THE NEXT. A NOTE LEFT BEHIND. NOTHING ELSE. i love you a million gillion#BUT THATS NOT A REASSURANCE IS IT? its a trust fall. emphasis on the fall. emphasis on the needle in your chest as wind rushes past#you anticipate the ground but you wish you could anticipate her arms. you wish you could trust. you need to trust. so why cant you?#instead you lash out. again. just like last time. just like always. you were never good at controlling your emotions#all you do in the end is break stuff. none of them can trust you. thats why she cant tell you. thats why he didnt tell you. noone trusts yo#chips got way too many damn belts btw. put some o those back boy u do NOT need all that mess jingling around ur gay hips. you FRUIT!!!!!!!!#I liked the scene with jay n chip dragging gillion around. its a comical scene ofc and i LOVE that balance here. but that sadness remains.#they care about gillion so much..... auuwuuuu.....#OKAY FINAL THOUGHTS. I RLY LIKE DRAWING DIFFERENT TEARS FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF CRYING#when the tears well up so big from uncontainable joy that you cant even see
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something something foils moving in opposite directions Goku's always happy to seek and fight stronger opponents because he spent most of his life being the strongest guy in the room and Vegeta wants to be the strongest/is always exhausted to find stronger opponents because he spent most of his life having to navigate his survival around the whims of the strongest guy in the universe room and so Goku has a foundation of safety and stability and so spends his time craving challenge and adventure and Vegeta has a foundation of challenge and adventure and spends his time craving safety and stability and the overlaid section of their venn diagram is that the only way they know how acquire and maintain those things is through battle
#thank you this has been the laziest media analysis post of my career#dbtag#media analysis#something something a game to goku is a threat to vegeta etc#there's a pinned thought here about how Vegeta also didn't learn about the dragon balls until he was ?? 30?? and so all loss is permanent#and goku has been familiar since he was ~12 and hasn't faced a permanent consequence since he was 10 years old and even then he got closure#sometimes I think about how Vegeta saw Trunks die and how Krillin was mad at him for reacting since they could fix it with the dragon balls#but Vegeta has very limited experience with the dragon so to him in that moment that was permanent and Trunks was Dead. Forever.#And we talked before in a 2am post about Vegeta having never experienced grief born of love and I stand by it because his feelings then wer#still very new and very odd and not something he'd accepted until that moment so it was raw power but not as powerful as it could've been#all this to say in my heart of hearts I think Vegeta deserves to retire at the end of super (if super continues) -- not as a warrior#but as an infantryman. he's a prince and now he's got his domain and his family and his planet to look after and I think he deserves#to go home and stay home and help piccolo bully gohan into training more often when goku inevitably leaves to hop the multiverse#geets wanted to take a sabbatical when Bulla was born but didn't get the chance because Freeza coming back freaked him out too much#but whether freeza gets a redemption arc or gets defeated -- Granolah's arc seemed to shift his perspective on being the strongest#and I just grips fist I just think it would be a really nice full circle for Vegeta to inherit his throne in a way he never expected and#finally get his kingdom to look after and protect in the way that he was looking forward to being king of his own planet all those years ag#Goku's got Broly and Jiren and Hit and all the others to keep him busy and happy now -- and if Freeza gets a redemption arc he'll probably#continue playing slap-ass with Goku for the rest of his life -- and Vegeta's got Gohan and Piccolo and Goten and Trunks#I just think them getting a nice bittersweet 'This is where we part ways' would be really nice for both of them because !!#They couldn't have done this without each other. They couldn't have known this kind of life was possible without each other.#So they swap lots and live happier than they ever imagined they could be#especially since Vegeta has proved to himself that he can close any gap Goku creates in progress that's not a concern anymore#And obvs the door's always open!! There's no point closing it Vegeta's tried the locks they don't work on Goku#anyway here's me putting the whole essay in the tags again#this isn't an essay as much as it is stream of consciousness tag blogging#anyway i'm too lazy to write fic or draw comics so we get ramblings instead
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still haven't moved on from zane in this episode (aka I hit tag limit again and am unhappy about it)
#alek insanity#not gonna main tag this but prepare for a tiny rant#home is actually really good zane characterization and its super cool to me how it holds up to this day#s1 characterization is very specific to me because the behaviors displayed by the ninja there (mostly) isnt bc thats how they really are but#its due to societal pressure. cole originally being more 'stone faced tough guy' -> 'down to earth' -> 'really sensible easy to talk to guy'#is because hes always been a sensitive guy... but he felt he couldnt express that true version of himself. thats the whole thing behind his#true potential. jay going from s1 -> s6 -> now is less of societal pressure and more teenager figuring himself out but it still applies. ish#seeing how much the ninja have changed or grown from then to now is amazing because back then they all wore masks. they didnt know each#other all that well. but theyve gained that comfortability with each other and also have grown and matured as people#some seasons / eps characterization for certain people im not a fan of (lloyds random misogyny arc in s13) but i mean the overall trend here#and then there is zane. zane in home was pretty dead on to how he behaves now (at least... when it comes to his faults?) and i dont want to#say people skim over that but i am the sf proclaimed n1 s1e2 fan and overthink every scene. zane's early characterization is some of my fav#for him period. he also goes through a ton of traumatic stuff and a ton of bad writing bouts but why he acts so 'weird' or 'distant' has#always been a thread sewn in. he changed so much he stayed the same in a way... if that makes sense. -> ohhh the ninja get mail and he#doesnt? oh he has no family? he quite literally walks away from that situation. oh the ninja are yelling in his face and asking whats wrong#with him? he literally walks away from that situation. he says its to follow the falcon but seeing how he apologized to them by not only#baking a ton of pies (cough... the food fight is what led to him leaving at first) but he also found them a whole entire new house.#zane is unable to truly value what he does for others. insert him in s11 saying he 'tried' to fufill his goal of protecting others.#everything he has ever done still isnt good enough. then the ninja tried to apologize and he didnt really... let them.#that one post about characters putting on facades and that facade being how people really see them. even in fandom. thats zane to me#the guy who lies about being upset and avoids his problems ran away after being yelled at? and he said he wasnt really mad? that is a lie!!#him being a ~360 when it comes to his character development is neat to me because he never hid behind a mask in the same way the others did#cole wanting to seem tough vs being really soft? kai wanting approval so bad he starts being selfish? kai isnt selfish usually!#he is self centered but that is a whole different thing. just wanting to fit in and breaking free of that. zane's true potential came in the#form of 'i finally know why i am not normal' instead of 'i will be my true self'. zane never pretended to not be weird#(instert book) states he literally didnt know why people got mad at him. he just existed and it was 'wrong'. the mask he hid behind was#avoidance. he was pretty open about how he actually was (most of the time). when he was upset he would audibly sigh and walk away lol#but for him saying he wasnt upset / saddened by the ninja... it felt like a moment of selflessness. if that makes sense. he blamed himself#for the monestary burning down. so he didnt deserve the apologies (ish) in the virtues of spinjitzu zane is shown as the generous one iirc#he puts the needs of others over his own. he will bear whatever burden he needs if others are happy. at that same time he doesnt allow
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idk man but i think theres such a connection between will being possessed in s2 and like 'what happens when my boy is gone' and will giving the painting to mike under el's name. just like... will being replaced and then replacing himself. and like his entire person was being replaced by the mf, but also everything that he said was from el with the painting and speech was intrinsically his and his alone. and how his arc since s1 has been about hiding but also being right there. and how its all tied to his queerness. and how ideally in s5 this should lead to will not hiding/moving on from his identity and his feelings, but instead embracing them.
#like what happens when will has given away/up everything that he is. hes already Come Back Wrong and he just like. keeps removing himself#from things. even after it was done To him by the mf/vecna. and like the only people who can 'bring him back' are jonathan mike and joyce#ship of theseus moment (not really)#but also really. i mean idk about actual philosophy but will is the heart of the show like its literally about how people love him so much#and like. his identity and queerness is to integral to it all. and like okay some of his parts were replaced but the love brought him back#time and time again and it will in s5 too.#or whatever that means idk#which is also why will should kiss mike. not the other way round. and i will die on this hill even after it doesnt happen#and also why will just moving on and 'accepting' his feelings are unrequited would be a dogshit resolution to his arc with mike but wtv...#what im trying to say is in s5 will not hiding and being loved and not replacing himself with anything else and kissing boys is not just#smth that should happen bc he deserves happiness. but smth necessary to complete his arc. okay? okay#will byers#byler#i feel like ive made this post 5 times before but its just smth i feel very strongly about sorry#wheww... category 5 will byers moment.#me vs being coherent and concise#mine
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NOBODY MOVE I'M HAVING POSITIVE THOUGHTS ABOUT MORDRED AND ATLAS.
#they finally talk. mordred tells his big brother that 'once upon a time i was supposed to stop breathing before i hit my teens.'#he tells him everything about knowing when his death day passed about the nightmares and the confusion and the agoraphobia#he tells him about his insecurities and his self-hatred -- how terribly must he have fucked up to not even be worthy of dying?#he tells him he's scared and he doesn't know what he's supposed to do with all this....life.#and atlas is THERE and he hugs him and he's so fucking relieved that - whatever his brother was meant for - he survived.#he hugs his little brother and tells him its okay to be scared because no one really knows what theyre doing with their lives#he holds his face between his hands and god when did mordred get so big?#''all you have to do is KEEP living okay? that's what you do with life: you live it.''#its not exactly poetry but it IS what mordred needs to hear#ive been thinking A Lot about mordred making an appearance in the searching but idk for sure yet#i just need to figure out WHEN this conversation happens so i can wrap up mordreds arc the way he deserves#i think im gonna try patching his and atlas's relationship across the second and third book#like atlas is HOME and then he's not and mordred is bitter but then- a letter. atlas has written to him.#and he keeps writing. bc he knows now what it is to lose someone and he doesnt want to lose his brother#so they're pen pals!! and it's stiff and formal and awkward and slow going but eventually they're exchanging gossip and venting and.#aaaa#happy lavore content wow look at me go#lavore brothers#mordred lavore#atlas lavore
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Hi! I just read your post about Mateo recently. If I may, can you give me any specific instances in the narrative of the show where Mateo isn’t called out as heavily as they should have? I’m just curious?
During the Shuriki returns arc in particular, Mateo makes some pretty glaring mistakes that I feel like he should've gotten much more flack for (and based on what we see elsewhere in canon, I feel pretty confident that if Gabe, Naomi, Isa, or Esteban at least --and possibly even Elena-- had made these mistakes, they wouldn't have been swept under the rug nearly as quickly as they were for Mateo).
While it's unfair to completely blame Mateo for Carla's manipulating him during the "Rita" arc, I feel like it's reasonable to hold him a *bit* accountable. He did after all blab highly confidential information (on more than one occasion) to try and impress a pretty girl with how clever and important he was. (Something tells me that if any of the others had done likewise, they would've been called out for it. But because it's "beloved" Mateo, we don't even get "wait, you told Rita how to get into your workshop? And you've known her for only a few weeks? What were you thinking, Mateo?") Moreover, he never even apologizes for this or promises to do better/be more careful with such important, sensitive information in the future.
Even more aggravating is his behavior in "The Scepter of Night." Mateo is so eager to play the hero and claim all the glory for himself that he twice (!) disobeys a direct order/abandons the plan and goes looking for the scepter piece on his own. This directly leads to Fiero and Victor finding the scepter piece and (temporarily) stealing it. And it's really only due to luck and very conveniently-timed infighting amongst Shuriki's allies that Elena and co. are able to get the scepter piece back. While Mateo does receive some (brief) criticism, it's nowhere near the level that it should be.
Also noteworthy Elena doesn't really get particularly "mad" at him (especially considering how angry we see her get at other characters even for more minor things) . She's not truly, actually angry at Mateo (and Gabe and Naomi are only a bit angrier); she's just a little frustrated and disappointed at him in the moment. And apart from a (very short) little "do better next time" speech, Mateo doesn't face any real consequences or lingering resentment unlike other characters who do.
When Isa obeys direct orders in "Sister of Invention," she has to face consequences (Elena grounding her). Similarly, Elena holds a grudge against Esteban for days (if not weeks) after he interfered with the Feast of Friendship (a much lower stakes mistake than Mateo's imo). Moreover, it's possible to interpret Esteban's staying behind in Avalor when the others go to see the Norberg Lights as a punishment (either self-inflicted or imposed by Elena) for his actions in the previous episode.
In contrast, Mateo just gets a brief "I expected better from you" speech from Elena and Gabe jokingly assigning him push-ups as punishment (which he immediately takes back when Mateo tries to do them). I'll give Mateo a little bit of credit for actually apologizing this time (which he doesn't always do). But it's still frustrating that everyone is so ready to forgive and forget Mateo's missteps immediately while this same courtesy is seldom shown to others.
I think it's worth directly comparing a few Mateo-centric episodes with a few more similar ones that focus on other characters so that we can see how there does seem to be a noted narrative bias in his favor compared to the others.
Let's start with two "feeling kind of insecure" episodes: "Spellbound" for Mateo vs. "Naomi Knows Best" for Naomi. In the former, Mateo expresses doubt that he's capable of rising to the occasion as royal wizard. No one (except Gabe and he gets over it by the end of the episode) blames him for not having reached his full level of confidence and potential right away and not being able to immediately solve the problem. And Elena in particular (and by extension the narrative) gives him so much validation and support. Whereas in "Naomi Knows Best" (and to a lesser extent "Finders Leapers" and the "Carla-as-Rita" arc as well) the narrative "punishes" Naomi for her feelings of self-doubt. We're told that *if only* Naomi had trusted her gut instincts and stood her ground right away, Elena and co would not fallen right into the trap and that Naomi needs to screw her head back on straight and embrace confidence ASAP to fix her mistake.
When Mateo feels insecure, the narrative gives him every reassurance about how capable and special he is, that he can learn at his own pace, and his insecurity isn't really such a problem after all. When Naomi feels insecure, the narrative encourages her to get over her doubts as quickly as possible because unlike with Mateo, there's "no time" for her to wallow in self-doubt and actually the fact that she even had said doubt in the first place is what "caused" the disaster.
On a slightly different note, Naomi is also called out for taking a little free, fun time for herself in "The Last Laugh" when the group needs her, and yet somehow I have a feeling that Mateo would've been allowed to take a day off if he wanted without any protest. He complains about long hours in "Movin' on Up" and Elena gives him the big royal wizard's chambers for him to relax and unwind in. Naomi asks for one (1) day off to spend with her childhood friend for her birthday , and suddenly it's big drama. (And at the time, Naomi asked for said day off, all Elena needed from her was help doing paperwork. The Team Ash stuff came up unexpectedly.)
Similarly whenever Gabe and Mateo get their little rivalry on ("Spellbound," "Party of a Lifetime," "Captain Mateo" and a few other examples) , the narrative either presents them as equally at fault or Mateo as the only one in the right.
When Gabe brings in Bronzino to train the Royal Guards in magic, it's specifically because Mateo failed to explain how and why he was training the guards in the way he was. If he'd just explained how they were going apply the seemingly basic exercise they were doing to real magic, Gabe likely would've allowed Mateo to continue the training at his own pace.
(Also like. it's super hypocritical imo for Mateo to get annoyed at Gabe feeling impatient/impulsive about their apparent-lack-of progress when Mateo himself is easily the second most impulsive character in the show after Elena.) Mateo feels entitled to keep important information to himself (or blab it to a cute girl he barely knows) even when its no one else's best interest. He's only okay with being "cautious and patient" when he specifically is the one setting the pace. And yet, Gabe is the only one who is called out for his behavior in this episode--even though he might not have acted as he did if only Mateo had trusted him and the guards with an explanation in the first place.
And then there's just a few other "dude not cool" little moments that never really get acknowledged/Mateo never apologizes for. For instance, there a two low-key terrifying Mateo moments in "Captain Mateo" that are not only not acknowledged but are also framed in context as Mateo being just "so funny and quirky". Near the end of "Should be in Charge," Mateo magically gags Gabe so he can't protest anymore about Mateo taking over as leader of the mission. And this is after having already enchanted one of the stationary suits of armor to come to life and fight Gabe. (Gabe admittedly does lightly shove Mateo out of the way during his parts of the song, but that's still a far cry from literally drawing a sword on Mateo as Mateo does via magic to Gabe.)
It's played for laughs (The Grand Council is just smiling happily in the background throughout the scene which is so yikes), so it's easy to overlook what's actually happening. Frankly, it's pretty horrifying that Mateo's natural instinct upon his experience/authority being questioned is to literally attack and then silence. (And attack and silence someone who is supposed to be one of his best friends and closest allies at that!)
Rather than the narrative acknowledging that maybe it's a bad idea to immediately grant power to someone to someone who is so retaliatory against fairly minor criticism, the Grand Council just gives Mateo exactly what he wants and doesn't even offer a "maybe next time, let's not gag or attack our friends, okay?" alongside it. I mean sure Mateo does step down as captain at the end of the episode, but it's very specifically presented as his and Gabe's voluntary choice and not an order from Elena/the Council.
#elena of avalor#eoa salt#it's not mateo that bothers me so much; it's the double standard that nearly every other character is held to while he is not#gabe is the only one who ever seems to call mateo out on his shit regularly#and most of the time; it's framed as petty jealousy and/or gabe being unreasonable#even when gabe is the one talking sense#i feel like i've heard that mateo is one of the writers' faves and dang does it SHOW!#we were owed a dark mateo arc tbh#mateo thinks he's the next alacazar but I don' think it would be all that hard to turn him into the next fiero instead#it writes itself and honestly i would've liked him more that way#instead of just presenting him is as the specialest; cutest; quirkiest magical boy instead#let him go dark for a short time before realizing his mistakes and then have to work hard for everyone's forgiveness#esteban has to sacrifice his life in order to earn forgiveness for an (admittedly huge) mistake he made 40+ years ago#yet it's apparently too much for mateo to get more than the mildest rebuke over a (also big) mistake he made less than an hour ago?#also like whenever esteban or gabe are really proud/cocky or naomi gets single-episode acquired situational narcissism in “my fair naomi”#the narrative absolutely punishes them for it#whereas mateo is free to be as over-confident and braggy and vain as he wants and seldom gets called out on it#because i guess he's genuinely as 'cool and special' as he claims so he deserves the right to brag?#whereas the others' apparently aren't and don't?#anti mateo de alva
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Bestie Deficiency
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#poorly drawn mdzs#mdzs#a-qing#xue yang#xiao xingchen#Xue yang is cold because cold blooded creatures can't generate their own body heat#I am skipping over drawing the stories they tell due to the fact this arc is already really dragging#but I think they are very key in understanding the yi-city characters#Even if they are stories that really bring down the slumber party vibes A-Qing was hoping for.#I mentioned some of my thoughts in the tags of no. 76 but to continue on a bit more#I think xxc and xue yangs stories inversely mirror each other on the meaning of sacrifice and what it means to 'deserve' something#to xue yang he has only ever sacrificed - therefore he is in his right to 'deserve' what he wants. And he wants everything.#xxc leaves song lan thinking its the best course of action to atone but my god. No it wasn't. Poor communication crown actually goes to xxc#but it's what xxc he feels he deserves - continued sacrifice to atone. He wants to want nothing.#both are very stuck in the past in ways that are not actually accounting for their actions#It's easy to look at xue yang and go 'dang you need to get over your childhood trauma'#but that very much ignores that fact that we - real human beings - define so much by our childhood pains.#Growth is having to come to terms with it and trying to move past it...and not everyone is ready for that.#I have a lot of thoughts on that matter but I'll let it be for now.#Anyways. Amiguito appears to be one of those words whos meaning change depending on speaker and contextual factors#So as far as I can tell it slides around on the scale on romantic and platonic. Which works for this dynamic. I think.#Native Spanish speakers I am so sorry.
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rereading cheese in the trap (as one does) and genuinely taken aback at how scary jung is in the beginning (and how little i think the story actually manages to 'rehabilitate' him in my eyes by the end)
#cheese in the trap#webcomics#listen this is a me thing maybe but i still think jung should have been way more challenged for his behavior than he ended up being#it's not that i think he's irredeemable or that he deserved more 'punishment' for his actions (i'm not really into the retribution business#but i still come away from cheese in the trap thinking that he didn't learn a whole lot#he ends the series repeating the same patterns#he's still punitive. still manipulative. still incredibly sensitive and self-victimizing. he still shrugs off accountability.#and when you contrast that to seol's and inho's phenomenal personal arcs jung's just seems very lacking in comparison#mine
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ah yes, home at last... ON TONIGHT'S SPECIAL: What The Hell Is Tumblr User Thawthebeez Going Crazy Insane About Today?
The winning point Karasuno scored against Inarizaki.
Let's discuss this real fast, because this is once again another VERY IMPORTANT MOMENT that is overshadowed because "omg kagehina touched hands for like 2 frames."
For those who have NO IDEA what the hell I'm talking about and care for a summary: Karasuno is at match point against Inarizaki, a powerhouse school that's favoured to win the Spring Tournament. Stakes are high and the tension in palpable. The ball is on Inarizaki's side, and they're about to send it over. Now, what attack do they choose? Well, it's none other than the Miya twins with their minus-tempo attack. You know, the same one that Kageyama and Hinata do.
This attack is fast. Like, very fast. It literally occurs within the blink of an eye. This isn't an attack that can break through blocks. Speed is its main weapon. It's also an attack that relies on trust. You know, a certain bond between the two players. Because of its speed, the setter and the spiker need to have absolute faith in one another.
All throughout the series we see Kageyama and Hinata figure this out. Hinata isn't a heavy hitter, but he is fast, making this kind of attack perfect for him. And it works for a good long while. It's faster than all the other fast attacks and can evade blocks pretty well. Until it doesn't. And that's when they regroup, developing this attack so Hinata can have some more freedom.
Essentially, Hinata and Kageyama learn that while this freak quick they do is strong, it's not invincible. It's fast, but not unstoppable.
Now what gets me is the fact that the only characters in the ENTIRE SERIES to pull off the minus-tempo attack are Hinata & Kageyama, and the Miya twins.
Just two guys, and twins.
Atsumu and Osamu have known each other their entire lives. That's sixteen years of bonding for you. Not to mention the fact that they're bounded by blood, too. Of course the chemistry they're going to have on the court is going to be insane. They literally have, like, twin-telepathy. Of course they can pull off an attack that happens within the blink of an eye. Of fucking course. The faith that's needed between the setter and spiker has been established since the dawn of time for them.
Kageyama and Hinata met for the first time in Junior High. Their third year of Junior High, by the way. They were also on separate teams, and they played a whopping 31 minute game against each other. They were reunited again at Karasuno, but were immediately at each other's throats. They saw the other as a rival (and they still do now, but it's more of a friendly rivalry as opposed to "I need to utterly destroy this guy"). They weren't even officially on the same team until after they pulled off their freak attack. At the point in which Karasuno plays against Inarizaki, Kageyama and Hinata have only been playing on the same team for less than a year.
The freak quick was developed in a single day. By this point, they don't even have faith in one another, just the point, the "I trust that the ball will come my way" and "I trust that he'll score," and even then, the trust Kageyama put into Hinata was iffy.
Allow me to state this again: the only people to have pulled off the minus-tempo quick attack in the entirety of the Haikyuu series are the Miya twins, and Kageyama and Hinata.
To put this into absolutely utterly batshit insane speak: HINATA AND KAGEYAMA HAVE A BOND AS STRONG AS BLOOD, DARE I SAY STRONGER, BECAUSE IN A SINGLE DAY THEY WERE ABLE TO PULL OFF THE SAME ATTACK THAT LITERAL BIOLOGICAL TWINS CAN. THE ATTACK IS BUILT ON TRUST, AND WHILE THEY MAY NOT HAVE PUT IT INTO EACH OTHER AT THE TIME, THEY WERE STILL WILLING TO GIVE FAITH TO ONE ANOTHER. WHY? SOULMATE SHIT, MAN, IDK.
Like, if we're going back to the first ever quick attack, we're dealing with a Hinata that has been told all his life that a guy like him playing volleyball is a waste, and we've got a Kageyama that's still coping with the events of Junior High. They have absolutely ZERO REASON to trust one another, even if it's just for the single point, but they do anyway because there's at least a subconscious voice- an instinct, maybe, knowing how much these two rely on instinct- that this one, for whatever fucking reason, is okay to trust.
And I think that Tsukishima sums it up perfectly when he mentions that only Hinata and Kageyama could have blocked that attack- that out of anyone, they were the only ones who truly understand that while the attack is strong- while the speed of it is an absolute weapon- it's not invincible.
(the fact that it was both of them, too- the fact that both of their hands were on the ball in that moment- the fact that after everything was said and done they still bickered about who scored that point because that's just who they are, and the fact that in the reality it was both of them who scored. ugh. they just. you get it. you understand)
#last long post of the day i promise#i just have a lot of thoughts and feeling about them#the whole karasuno vs. inarizaki match was just crazy to me#i feel like it was really important for every character. not just kagehina#because yes they both got a lot of development. hinata had his Moment. and then there was the entire Birth of the Serene King episode#but tanaka also underwent a well-deserved mini arc of his own#and i like how that match also sets up timeskip#BECAUSE AGAIN HAIKYUU AND THESE FUCKING PROMISES#“one day i'll set to you” FURUDATE I SWEAR--#i just wish i could write about kagehina the way furudate does because they are so very perfect the way they are#volleyball guys#we'll be back to my regularly scheduled minecraft posting soon just give me a minute to. you know... grieve
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