#it isn't even a (flirt) option either. it's literally just a statement like

[salty-an-disco]

realized I've made a grave mistake by not inviting Avery into the ghost hunt (it unlocks a scene I really want to do with Para ever since I started this playthrough) so went back to rectify that.

honestly, really like the idea of Percy going to the one person out of the loop to vent about all of this, so I'm happy with my decision

the image of Percy blurting that out immediately after being comforted made me laugh out loud, so I had to go with it aikaskskzjsjd

LMAOOOOOO

[joejhang]

neil's learned obliviousness

gearing myself up to write another essay about neil josten. the grind never stops. had to figure out why people making neil super clueless and oblivious always rubbed me the wrong way even tho it's technically canon so here it is.

ok so i have a lot of thoughts about neil and obliviousness but i'm gonna mostly condense them into this single thesis statement: neil only pays attention to and notices things he deems important.

we've been knew atp that neil has insane tunnel vision, and that often comes across in his narration. because of this, it's easy to assume that neil is just genuinely very clueless and oblivious when it comes to social interaction and also romantic relationships, flirting, etc.

i know nora herself said that neil wouldn't realise if someone is flirting with him because he's dense as a brick and while i appreciate the comedic value of socially oblivious neil i generally take this characterisation with a grain of salt because it very quickly leans into territory of neil being just generally dumb and inept, which i lowk can't stand because it sanitises and declaws neil a lot and makes him boring and stereotypical.

so i raise you this: neil's obliviousness (if you want to call it that) throughout aftg and in his narration is deliberate. mostly, i think it's all intentional. he literally intentionally refuses to notice or give attention to certain things. and because of his relentless focus on only a couple of things (exy and his survival), things like socialising and relationships get put on the backburner unless they relate to the two aforementioned things.

let's dissect it using examples.

nicky's flirting. neil's narration is pretty clear-cut when it comes to this. he doesn't demonstrate much confusion towards nicky's behaviour except that he doesn't really know why nicky's more interested in him than exy. crucially, he isn't confused about why nicky demonstrates an interest in him (which is because he thinks neil is hot), he's just confused about why nicky is investing energy into flirting with him when, in his mind, there are better things to be doing. it seems, at least in his narration, that he knows nicky is flirting, he just doesn't know why and also doesn't really care to focus on it. aside from an initial discomfort/expression of disinterest, neil doesn't linger on nicky's comments and flirtations for the rest of the series. he narrates it when it's relevant but doesn't make any additional internal comments towards it because it doesn't pertain to his two priorities: exy and survival.

marissa's flirting. i feel like there's two ways to interpret neil's response to marissa's advance "i can give you my number". neil says "what for?" and you can either take this as genuine confusion or just neil kinda being a dick. i lowk never considered the first option and just jumped straight to "neil doesn't really care about hurting this girl's feelings" lmfao. i think i'm right tho, because he elaborates and makes it clear he isn't interested in pursuing relationships outside of the foxes (see: priority no. 1, exy) and when nicky and dan comment on it, making it explicitly clear that marissa was asking neil out, neil doesn't express any confusion over what she was trying to do. people who write neil being genuinely exaggeratedly clueless when being flirted with need to remember that neil wasn't unaware of marissa's intentions during this scene, he was just so aggressively disinterested that he failed to remark on most of it. he never expresses any actual confusion or obliviousness about her flirting.

andrew. ok look. this is gonna require some explaining. first of all let's talk about andrew's attraction to neil on a purely physical level. their nothingship era, if you will. neil's dizzying whiplash during the "that doesn't mean i wouldn't blow you" scene is honestly pretty understandable. like really, who wasn't surprised during that scene? the hints in the previous books about andrew's attraction towards neil were so subtle that most of us readers had to reread a couple times to actually catch the progression and build-up. and also, andrew was high and manic for most of the first two books, so it's understandable that neil probably chalked up a lot of andrew's yapping and odd behaviours to the drugs, rather than a genuine expression of andrew's feelings. that's not to say he discounted the things andrew told him, but since he's always taken andrew at face value, he also didn't doubt andrew's "i hate you" and supposed dislike of him. i think it's actually very very understandable that neil didn't pick up on andrew's attraction to him because 1. why would you ever assume that about anyone anyway 2. neil is pretty preoccupied with being hunted down by his serial killer father and the japanese mafia 3. andrew was NOT making it easy on neil at all. this is partially because andrew himself wasn't ready to face the reality of his feelings for neil and also just his general confusing way of going about things. it makes a lot of sense that even neil, who's generally good at reading andrew and picking up on his hints, would miss whatever hints andrew was dropping about this, if any. and finally, 4. andrew wanting to fuck neil doesn't have anything to do with exy or survival, so neil instinctively filters it out and doesn't think about it a lot. next, i guess we have to talk about andrew's actual feelings for neil. again, we like to make fun of neil for never picking up on the fact that andrew is in LOVE with him during their situationship phase. but again, i think it makes a lot of sense? yes, andrew wasn't exactly subtle about it by a certain point (see: baltimore reunion) but also, neil has literally been pavloved to reject romantic relationships. one of the ways he "justifies" his nothingship with andrew is by assuring himself that andrew is only physically attracted to him. and the other justification is that he sees andrew as intertwined with the idea of his survival, because of the deal they have. keeping andrew close and being in a relationship with him is directly related to his own safety and survival. because neil's lowk manipulated his own thinking to associate andrew implicitly with survival, suddenly their relationship is a lot more prioritised in neil's mind and narration, because it pertains to priority no. 2, survival. i truly, truly believe neil's refusal or inability to see andrew's actual feelings for him is deliberate. he doesn't want to notice that andrew actually is in love with him because that is area he isn't familiar with and he doesn't want to hurt andrew when he dies. but because he obviously does want to continue this little "nothing" with andrew, and because he associates andrew with survival, he's unwilling to let go of him. so he just refuses to notice and remains deliberately oblivious to andrew's feelings for him. it's all very psychological.

final argument: people like to make fun of neil for not realising his own feelings for andrew but listen. he does realise. he never says that he doesn't feel anything for andrew. he never denies being in love with or attracted to andrew, not even in his own head. he registers, literally in trk, after his conversation with nicky, that he sees andrew differently and could be developing feelings for him, but he literally forcibly pushes the thoughts away because they would distract him from priority no. 1 (exy) and priority no. 2 (survival). he also notices in the back half of tkm that their nothingship has taken on new weight and means more than just "nothing" but he avoids acknowledging it with andrew even when he's aware of it in his own mind. so yeah. neil isn't in a state of denial. like at all.

also, neil does notice things when they pertain to his priorities. like, he picked up on jeanee the same way kevin did. he noticed literally in trk the way jean reacted differently to renee, but he only chose to acknowledge and mention it out loud when he could use it to his advantage. and it did work out in everyone's favour, because he brought it up with kevin, kevin gave renee jean's number, and that's how jean was able to escape the nest and survive the year. so, lbr, neil isn't as clueless and out-of-it as the fandom likes to make him. he can be very perceptive and socially aware when it pertains to his narrow-minded priorities.

ok at the end of the day, i can acknowledge: it is not that deep. if ppl want to make neil super oblivious and clueless and socially inept, it's not rlly a big deal. i just personally hate when they dumb neil down when he is honestly such a smart and perceptive character and his intelligence is actually such a huge part of the series. so anyway. i hope u enjoyed this essay, it's been a while so it's a little rough.

[loopy777]

Not that everyone has to have kids, but why do you think Bumi II and Kya II didnt have any kids of their own? Was it because of how Aang wasnt a great dad to them?

Psychologically, their issues with Aang might be the deep-down bedrock-level root cause, but I'm not psychologist and we're talking about cartoon characters, so let's go a few levels higher.

First of all, I want to say that I agree people don't have to have kids. I'm almost certainly never going to have kids. I say this because I don't want my next statement is be misinterpreted:

Bumi and Kya are not complete people.

Think about it. Neither one has any friends. Neither one has a home of their own. Neither one has any kind of community outside their mother and their brother (and Tenzin's family in turn, which includes Korra and her various hanger-ons). Bumi had a purpose in his life with his military career, but he gives that up before we've even heard him utter a single complete sentence, in favor of becoming a freeloader in his brother's place. Kya supposedly traveled the world, but when Aang died she came back to the South Pole to supposedly help Katara- and yet she produces no contacts or information during the story's world-spanning adventures, and Korra never met her before Book Spirits.

How could either of these people consider having kids? I'm not sure they know how to have a conversation with anyone who isn't involved with Avatar Business in some way.

Even if either one theoretically managed to acquire a kid, I don't think that would make them complete people. I can honestly see both of them dropping their kid off with Tenzin and fleeing. Or else showing up at Tenzin's doorstep for his and his family's help raising the kid.

Now, maybe their inability to form connections with literally any other human being they're not related to is because of Aang's parenting. But I don't think the story's intention is for Bumi and Kya to be that damaged by their childhood. And, as long as we're looking at things from a meta-perspective, let's admit that the real reason for this portrayal is because LoK is about Korra, and Bumi'n'Kya are in an outer orbit around her compared to the more consistent cast (and even Asami literally has no one in her life but Korra and Mako and Varrick). However, the result is that Bumi had an entire military career but no old veteran buddies, and Kya is the franchise's first confirmed lesbian but has never so much as been depicted as flirting with someone never mind actually engaging in a romance.

All we have to work with is the text of the story, and that says that neither Bumi nor Kya are outgoing enough to consider procreating. The fandom likes to imagine past relationships for them with Toph's kids or Izumi, but let's face it- those kids probably would have rather died than dated one of Aang's kids, except for Lin, who wishes she had died instead of dating Tenzin, and even she never had so much as a conversation with Bumi or Kya.

If we wanted to repair this portrayal, there are some options. We could say that Bumi preferred to focus on his career, or just have someone Korra's age show up one day and say, "Nice to meet you, Dad. Remember that cute Si Wong sandbender 20 years ago?"

For Kya, it could be even easier; just introduce her grown child as someone everyone already knows about and is familiar with (except Korra, who can serve as our audience POV) and who coincidentally has never been mentioned before now despite there being plenty of logical places where it should have happened. (It's a tried and true LoK storytelling tactic! :P) Or talk about the difficulties that a lesbian seeking to have a child would encounter in the Avatar world. Or just give her a personal reason for not having a kid while also establishing that she has friends and lovers around the world.

The possibilities are endless when you treat Bumi and Kya as actual characters.

[a-roguish-gambit]

You are literally telling Ace people how to interpret a character. You are literally talking over others people. The only thing I said in this is that different Ace people have different experiences. We are not a monolith and you don't get to describe how all these people are all I said is that there are a lot of Ace people that do act like Gambit and that I personally as an ace person relate to him. I never said he was aromantic, just that I am. Not every ace person is aromantic. Also? Rejection hurts? So what if he couldn't look at her. He didn't call her names or anything all he did was make a comment that he felt lead on (when they had been flirting for years and she was never open about her feelings for magento, not that she had to be), that he didn't think magneto was right for her and that he still cared about her and wanted to be her friend. How is that jealous ex behavior and how does ANY of that relate to him being ace? What you said was aphobic even if you generally aren't or didnt mean to be because you are acting like ace people are a monolith that can only act one way. Sure some ace people can't personally see him as ace. That's ok. But you are telling people, specifically ace people, that he can't be ace which isn't true as I've said.

And again ace people can want sex, have a libido, and sure as fuck wanna have a baby. I know many ace people that want to have a baby. And yeah an ace person wouldn't want their honeymoon interrupted either if they were spending time with the love of their fucking life. I don't like when time with my friends gets interrupted God if I had a honeymoon and I like the person enough to want to have sex with them, yeah I wouldn't want it being itnerrupted. These people are complex because they are people. Common thoughts and behaviors within the ace community are not blankets statements and can't reflect everyone. And all this is beyond the fact that someone head cannoning someone as Ace does nothing to hurt anyone you were on the attack first by acting like this person is some idiot for identifying with Gambit and head canoning him as Ace based on their experience of things. This is the same behavior that terfs on tumblr used back in 2016 to police fandoms. It's what homophobes use to police fan spaces too. It is aphobic behavior plain and simple. All you had to do was ignore the post and not bother anyone. I'm coming in here and defending my fellow Ace for wanting to exist and be happy.

I'd love to read more of the comics unfortunately, collecting is expensive, and finding access to free options is time consuming. Alas I work two jobs and am new in town fandom wise. But I literally know other Ace people who have been in the fandom since the 90s and do see him as Ace.

You don't have to accept the head Cannon but you can leave people alone and not be a jerk, because you are not just insulting the person who made this post you're also making the same statement about any of the other Ace people in the tags who are agreeing with them and identify with Gambit. That is the point of all of this. If you actually read and listen to any of my statements and considered my thoughts as to why your assumption that he can't be ace is kind of problematic, I wouldn't assume that you were aphobic, and just had an ignorant take, but now I am. You think it's your right to talk over another Ace person on their experiences with being ace. Even if you are Ace yourself that is fucked up.

you can have internalized aphobia too and judge people for how they live their lives. Hurt people can hurt people.

Seriously just stop policing headcanons. You are only hurting people.

This man is literally just happy to be in the same room as her

[henrysglock]

Third ramble: Byler is an open secret

Y'know...I've been thinking about all the media I've consumed and like...I don't think I've ever really seen a scenario like Byler before.

We found out that Will, the queer character, is canonically in love with Mike in the penultimate season, not the finale, and we have a plot line that can only end in him confessing his feelings. There's no option for a "one of them dies before the confession happens". The painting is inevitable, and leaving it unsettled would make no sense.

On top of this, our queer character has been abused, bullied, traumatized, assaulted, kidnapped, and even POSSESSED for fucks sake. To give him a tragic ending would be, first and foremost, terrible writing. Second, with a release date in 2024...it would be a certain brand of career suicide. Not likely to happen.

So...no outs there. Then, we have Mike, the love interest who is canonically attached to the queer character. Like...so attached. Like "he can't seem to be happy without the queer character around, and trusts the queer character alone with his true thoughts and emotions" attached. Like "there's no way he'd take a love confession badly" attached. There's no evidence to support the theory that the inevitable exposition could go badly.

So no out there, either. But THEN we have the love interest who, without saying so explicitly, reciprocates. The love interest flirts back, checks the queer character out, goes out of his way to take care of the queer character without complaint, is shown consistently initiating physical contact both for support and just...casually?

We also see the love interest put himself in mortal danger repeatedly for the queer character. We see him going batshit insane any time the queer character is missing, hurt, being spoken poorly of...or is even just frightened in any way. So it's not like we don't have clear evidence in support of reciprocation. There's no "oh, it would be out of nowhere" argument.

So...No out there, either. And THEN??? We have the love interest telling the queer character that meeting him and becoming close to him was the best thing the love interest has ever done? EXPLICITLY STATING THIS? The kind of statement you would make to the single most important person in your life, someone you adore??? All this...EXPLICITLY STATED TO THE QUEER CHARACTER'S FACE, WITH OTHER IMPORTANT CHARACTERS PRESENT?

And THEN? The queer character telling the audience (via a veiled confession to the love interest) that the way the love interest behaves around the queer character makes the queer character feel like he's BETTER for being queer? Obviously, something the love interest is doing is consistently showing the queer character that he is loved. Color theories and music patterns and microexpressions are so much fun to analyze but...the analyses really aren't necessary. Byler has been laid out in obvious actions and explicit dialogue. It's literally right in front of us, all it takes to see it is a lack of bias and a working short term memory.

I've never seen anything quite like it in a mainstream show, especially not in one where queerness isn't the center of the plot. tl;dr: Byler endgame is explicitly stated to us, but not in the press-release "They will be a couple in season 5" way. Byler is an open secret, the nature of their relationship unstated because that's the big reveal for the two in s5. If you ever doubt that, just watch the show.

[iwaqchan-archive]

-author's note: oh man this is actually the first thing i've written that wasn't requested, since like i posted the kirishima dating headcanons, but i thought i would post something that isn't a request for a change to get myself out of that weird funk i've been in for a while, so i hope you enjoy them guys! (also i rlly can't believe i've never gotten around to do headcanons for todoroki)

@amaamajiki thank you for listening to my annoying rambling about my writing (and also for telling me to be a bit self indulgent, it truly helped!!!) (also you are wonderful, just wanted to get that out there)

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ ｡ﾟ･ ───

☆.｡.:* getting together .｡.:*☆

• oh boy

• we all are very well aware of the fact that shouto is one dense baby boy. like super dense. so dense in fact, that it took him literal m o n t h s to figure out that you had been flirting with him this whole time.

• you see, he liked you, a lot. even if he wasn't exactly sure what he was feeling. and i mean who could blame him, he didn't exactly have a good (or healthy) example of how relationships or the whole courting process works. so he was kinda a bit baffled?¿ like why was his heart beating so rapidly whenever you were near him??

• super confused. it literally took, ochaco, tenya and izuku to tell him that what he was feeling, was in fact, love. or a crush at the least. this confused him even more, because what was he supposed to do now? he wasn't really good with words, so telling you at this point in time wasn't an option. so he opted to wait and see how this whole "having feelings" thing would develope.

• what he didn't know tho, was that ochaco actually went and told you about how todoroki feels about you. which made you absolutely ecstatic. but honestly you didn't want to full on confront him about it either, because you knew about his hardships and didn't want to like overburden him. instead you decided to go about this lowkey and letting him make to first move, as to not make him uncomfortable

• aka, you started subtly flirting with him, making him lunch, inviting him to study with you, etc. all with the hope of him picking up on your hints, and ask you out.

• which didn't happen....at least not for a while. you would try everything in the realm of possibility, while still wanting to make sure not to make him uncomfortable. but honestly it was getting a bit...frustrating. he wasn't picking up any of your hints, like at all.

• it even went so far that your classmates would make very obvious comments, while the two of you were conversing, and every single time they would fly straight over his head. which in turn would make you even more frustrated.

• all of this reached a tipping point, when the two of you were walking back from grabbing lunch, which you even paid for, and were talking about a training exercise you did earlier that day. you were complimenting his quirk, and his battle finess, and also making very obvious statements about how good he looked while fighting bakugou.

• and yet, he still didn't get it. and at that, you kind of started crying? your frustration getting the better of you. and poor shouto was bamboozled as hell, looking like a puppy caught in the rain. he didn't know what the hell was going on.

• until you basically told him how much you liked him, and that you thought he liked you too, because uraraka said so and that everything you did the past few months were dropping hints in hopes of him picking up on them.

• literal lightbulbs lit up in his head, as he gently took a hold of your hands, and apologized in that sweet, monotone voice of his. this time you were dumbfounded, not at all expecting such a bold move from him.

• but you ended up talking it out that day, and well the rest is history

☆.｡.:* finally dating .｡.:*☆

• a sweet, sweet boy, trying his absolute best.

• like i said earlier, he didn't have a good example of how a functional relationship is supposed to look like. so in the beginning he will be quite hesitant to initiate physical contact, or well, anything really.

• he really doesn't want to make you uncomfortable and to be honest, he also wasn't really sure what was appropriate and what not. so it will be up to you to show him.

• i don't think he will ever be the biggest fan of pda, at least not the 'making out in front of a bunch of people' kind of pda. he prefers a more subtle form of public affection. like hand holding, cheek kisses, and the like.

• shouto is also a very perceptive person, and while he can be quite dense at times, he somehow always finds the right words for any situation. if you were feeling insecure, he will tell you in the most sincere way possible that there is absolutely no need to doubt yourself, because you have your own unique strenghts and qualities. feeling sad? he will offer you his shoulder to cry on, and his ears to listen to your worries and concerns.

• also loves buying you expensive things (of course, with his father's money). you see a nice dress in shop window? he will drag you into the store and make you try it on, and then get it for you. also shares all of his accounts with you, like netflix and what other services endeavor pays for.

• he also pays for most of your dates, even if you tell him he rlly does not have to. and he mostly just does it to piss off his father. so, it really isn't a rarety that you two would dine at luxurious restaurants every once in a while.

• speaking of dates; mostly you two wouldn't go out a lot. you prefered to stay indoors and just bask in each other's company. often you would sit on the couch and just read a book, either together or each of you reading your own. it actually became one of your favourite activities.

• his siblings, absolutely adore you. fuyumi and natsuo are overjoyed every time shouto announces that you will be staying for dinner, or generally coming over to their house. they are incredibly grateful that their baby brother found a lovely partner that accepts him just as he is, and shows him the love and support he was devoided of as a child.

☆.｡.:* kisses .｡.:*☆

• he is such a gentle lover, and the same can be said about his kisses aswell. there rarely is a time when he uses force, except when he is jealous or extremely emotional.

• shouto is also a touchy kisser, he wasn't at first, too scared of overstepping boundaries, but after a while he starting getting bolder. usually one hand would hold your waist, or situate itself on yor lower back, and the other would either wind itself in your hair (if he is feeling particularly needy) or tenderly hold your jaw.

• needless to say, every kiss you share with this boy is incredibly special and meaningful. since he isn't the best with words, he is extra careful to show his feelings through his actions, and what better way is there than to make you absolutely breathless every time you kissed?

• your first kiss; was unexpected? in all honesty it was actually an accident, it was that cliché move of you wanting to kiss his cheek, and him turning his head a bit too early and in turn, pressing his lips to yours. you both were quite embarrassed at first, until you got your bearings back and eventually leaned in for a proper kiss this time

• (natsuo loves teasing him whenever he catches you two being all lovely dovey and sharing sweet kisses on his living room couch, much to shouto's embarrassment)

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ ｡ﾟ･ ───

requests: open

[lizzybeth1986]

Quick Thoughts on Lazy Writing, aka "Look Look, We Got You An Asian Woman LI, Now Give Us A Medal Just For Making Her Exist".

• Yep. This is not going to be about Chapter 15. I don't think Chapter 15 is worth a fucking QT post. It does not deserve it, this book doesn't deserve it, this team does not deserve it, I'm not giving it one.

• This chapter is basically part-resolution-of-Hana's-arc and part-sex-scene-on-the-balcony. I'll probably write about the balcony scene when I resume writing essays. But as of now...I'm going to write about Hana. At least that way she'll get the focus that she deserves, and that PB is so unwilling to give her 😡 So if you think I've whined too much about Hana Lee, my dear readers, let me tell you this: you ain't seen nothing yet. Leave now while you can if Hana-rants aren't your thing.

• Basically - since I'm not going to do the usual chapter walkthrough this QT - I'll summarize what happens. Xinghai and Lorelai insist on taking away Hana's belongings despite protests from Hana and the MC. There is a diamond option to help her retrieve her black embroidered cheongsam, which is more precious to her than anything else because it holds memories of her grandmother. Afterwards you get ready for the lantern festival and spend majority of the chapter trying to get Hana's parents to give a positive statement, and eventually figure out that Rashad is the key to this. You convince him to accept Xinghai's proposal, Lorelai and Xinghai openly support you and make a half assed apology to Hana, everyone is happy and telling each other their wishes, and the diamond option to scandalize the entire country (...or not. You can go to the bedroom instead lol) with your LI pops up. It ends with Maxwell getting excited about hosting your bachelorette in Las Vegas (somehow I have a feeling the TRR writers never read RoE Book 2).

• Yep that's it. There really is nothing worth writing about in this chapter, because they didn't bother to nail the most important part of it: and that is Hana's story.

• That's all I'm going to talk about today. Hana.

• Hana. Hana. Hana Hana. Hana Hana Hana. HanaHanaHanaHanaHanaHana.

• Did I mention Hana?

• Title: Light the Night. Which is straightforward, it's a festival dedicated to lanterns and takes place around nighttime. Though IMO the title should really have been: The Number of Fucks Given About Hana Lee By Her Own Writers Is Equal To The Number of Times Anton Severus Makes An Appearance In This Chapter

•

...I just had to slip that in somewhere since there is no way I can ever make this statement unironically IRL 😢

•

This is the first of many statements Hana's parents make about her inability to survive on her own. She is a "delicate flower" that requires watchful care and tending, and the MC is the "weed", the kind that doesn't fit in - but also the kind that is tough and resilient and can survive all manners of things, that depends on itself. Lorelai's argument is that without them, or without a partner that meets their approval, Hana will have very few skills to take care of herself (whose fault is that, I wonder!)

This is something Hana is aware of, and has been highlighting on the few occasions that the people who right her remember that she is meant to be a well-rounded character (which isn't often). She has spoken about not knowing how to live without her parents (Book 2 Chapter 2), how she doesn't know if her skills will help her in the real world (Book 3 Chapter 5), how she isn't even aware who she is (Book 2 Chapter 9). Her character arc was meant to be about learning what her parents neglected to teach her in their mad rush to make her the perfect aristocratic wife, the perfect hostess. Except that, unfortunately, these narrative threads were picked up in fits and starts: implied at and alluded to but never satisfactorily explored.

I will come back to punch holes in Lorelai's arguments (echoed by Xinghai at the festival) later.

•

On the surface this looks like a nice story? It harks back to a dress we've seen before (the black-red-gold cheongsam she'd shown us in Shanghai, alongside a dress she'd made specially for us. She also wears it when she proposes to the MC in case she's the one you declare your love to), something we know she made and is important to her, and tells us more about her youth (the dress seems to have been made when she was "of age", since those measurements perfectly fit an adult Hana) and her family in China. But I have two major problems with this:

1. How many chapters has it been since this book started? 19 chapters in Book 1, another 19 in Book 2 and 15 at present. That makes it 53 whooping chapters.

FIFTY THREE CHAPTERS AND WE LEARN ABOUT HANA'S GRANDMOTHER, SOMEONE SHE WAS IMMENSELY CLOSE TO, ONLY NOW??? IT TAKES US FIFTY THREE FUCKING CHAPTERS FOR US TO GAIN ACCESS TO THIS PIECE OF PERSONAL HISTORY????

2. The second major problem lies in the scene itself. I'll get there.

• So I'll start first with the main components of this scene:

1. The MC and Hana choose an accomplice (Maxwell/Olivia).

2. The accomplice distracts Lorelai

3. Hana distracts an attendant while the MC grabs the dress, but not before almost getting caught by another attendant. They make a run for it and find themselves in a secret hideout.

4. Hana changes into her dress and is happy. If you're marrying her, this is where she and the MC kiss. But besides this there's very little distinction between how this scene plays out if you're her friend versus if you're her fiancée.

•

The Olivia option of the Lorelai-distracting-segment is perhaps my favourite moment in the scene and the only reason it could be even remotely worth playing. Not just for Olivia herself, but also as a reminder that while Hana and Olivia have made their peace with each other and know each others' strengths, they will never actually like each other...and that's okay. Olivia reverts to her bitchy Book 1 persona, hinting at Hana's failed engagement with Lord Peter and casting her in a less favourable light, and I especially love that Hana lets her emotions take over here. There's always been a palpable tension between the two (and often Olivia is the one more open about it, while Hana usually prefers to display diplomacy instead) and this is one of the few times Hana gets to be anything other than neutral or cheerful. She doesn't like what Olivia said, and she makes it clear at least to the MC.

•

Hana Lee, Queen of Awkward Flirting xD xD

• We take a turn that almost lands us in a room where Lorelai is still talking, narrowly escape the attendant chasing us to finally find ourselves in a secret passage with a hole in the wall, from where you could easy watch the sunset.

• Hana changes into her cheongsam.

Very pretty. Lots of flowers and butterflies form the patterning of this dress.

• Now this was the point where I thought we'd learn more about this dress. Or about her grandmother. Or about her life in Shanghai. SOMETHING.

• But no. We get a brief conversation about how hurt Hana is that her mother is intent on disowning her, and the MC convincing her she is stronger than she believes herself to be. Which is nice, but it sounds like a repeat of what's been said before.

• Do you remember that one diamond scene option in The Sophomore where the MC get to to grab Natasha's Loose Pins posters so she can't sabotage Kaitlyn's band? I liked it, it was funny and I liked the thrill of the chase in that scene. And that was exactly the focus of that scene: the chase. Kaitlyn had other scenes focusing on her equation with the band, her trust issues post Gutter Kittens and how she has learned from her mistakes since TF Book 3. It made sense to have a funny, silly scene that revolved not around Kaitlyn but around that chase instead.

Well, that's exactly the focus of this scene. The chase! The fact that time was running out! The wild rush to grab that cheongsam before Hana's mother could catch her! That's exactly all this scene was meant to be and that's exactly how it was written.

But there's a huge difference here. Hana is not Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn's arc about her sexuality and about her coming out was highlighted in detail. She was given subplots that made it clear how complicated a journey it was for her and she has a canon sexuality openly addressed in the books. Hell, TF Book 2 has her scream "I'M GAY" in a crowded bar to her childhood friend Arjun!

Kaitlyn is allowed to be a well-rounded, imperfect person, who trusts the wrong people and suffers the consequences in such a way that it reflects on her self-esteem in the next few books. She had plenty of scenes exploring all these aspects of her journey, so a funny, light scene like this one works in the larger context of Kaitlyn's story.

But this scene - for Hana - was supposed to be the culmination of her entire journey. You hear that? Her entire journey! It was supposed to be the point where she made it clear to both her parents that this was who she was and this was the life she preferred to live, take it or leave it. This scene was supposed to be a watershed moment for her, and this is what it comes to? A scene where Hana isn't even the focus? Where her story, her journey isn't even the focus??

• The grandmother story irks me to no end for another reason too. It was clearly not meant to be development for Hana. If it were, there would have been more in the diamond scene itself. They would have spent the secret hideout scene on a thorough exploration of Hana and her childhood, her growing up, what this woman was like. If it really were meant as development, we wouldn't be hearing about this grandmother now at the very end.

No. That little tidbit about Hana's grandmother was bait. It's fairly obvious that most of us who love her character are literally starved for information about her compared to, say, Drake and Liam (Maxwell isn't exactly treated all that well either). So they push in this little story so that her fans can buy this scene that isn't even worth two diamonds, forget fifteen.

• So now we've got Hana's cheongsam, that she can now wear to the lantern festival (for a girl who knows how to sew, and sew beautifully, Hana has remarkably few outfits of her own) it's time for us to get ready. In some glittery beaded blue number.

Is it just me or does the art team for TRR have a thing for armbands?

• So the main problem now is to reach out to, and convince, Hana's parents before they make their final statements to the press.

• Penelope and Kiara love the festival, Olivia and Madeleine don't altogether hate it. Yay?

• Kiara is the only one among the court ladies whose wishes we hear, which is a nice touch considering she's always been the one given the least attention in the books. The lantern rituals are apparently both about letting go of things that are holding you back in your life, and making wishes for the future. Kiara is letting go of her doubts and her fears for this tour, and wishing speed in her learning of Icelandic. Hakim uses his wish to speak about work, and he's not the only one. Rashad needs help with getting a deal finalized for the Sloan firm too!

• We now move to Xinghai and try to convince him, but it only leads to a realization that Hana's parents still want to secure a match for her with the two men she'd firmly stated she had no interest in. This is nothing new, but this argument of Xinghai - also something Lorelai stated earlier - is something I want to expand on:

1. I'm incredibly familiar with the first argument. I've had a largely restrictive childhood under a very traditional Indian family dynamic (your parents are close to God so obey them), and didn't have much opportunity to mingle outside my home. As I grew older my father began to get increasingly frustrated that I was "glued to your mother's dupatta" (scarf) and not independent enough. And he said this genuinely, unironically. It never occurred to either of my parents that they'd created an environment that made it hard for me to actually make my own decisions without feeling like I was doing something wrong.

Xinghai and Lorelai are right to some extent: I mean, Hana herself on certain occasions has questioned how useful her skills are in the real world, in a Cordonia that needs her to be decisive and firm. But that didn't happen in a vacuum, did it? Both of them leave out (or in fact, don't even recognize) a significant truth about Hana's lack of independence - they were, to a large extent, responsible for it. She is dependent because they brought her up that way. Because they never gave her space to work things out on her own and the one time she demanded that space, they viewed it as an insult rather than actually give her that chance. The moment you place that much pressure and those many restrictions on a child, you've lost the right to talk about her lack of independence as if it's something that is a part of her. It isn't. You put her in that position. Tbh, it irks me that Xinghai and Lorelai genuinely don't see the irony in their statements.

What Hana had was an immensely restrictive childhood, and perhaps if she didn't have the friend circle in Cordonia that she did, she would have struggled. Her kind of upbringing doesn't allow for real world skills (something Lorelai views as a negative when she says "people wouldn't have to be resilient if they stayed in their place to begin with") and she's never been allowed to view even her own personal feelings as a good thing! This goes beyond "taking responsibility for one's past and future". She's never been allowed a responsibility that doesn't involve her being forced into matches she has had zero interest in, and that seem to have higher benefits for her family than they do for her.

All in all, Hana's skills do not fully equip her for independent living, sure, but they both overlook their own role in her eventual inability to adjust if it comes to that.

2. What Xinghai says about trust going both ways. He misses the fact that she already did. She trusted them completely and did everything they told her to, often to her own detriment. The engagement to Lord Peter? That's the perfect example of this. It wasn't her fault that the match broke: she followed through with it no matter how uninterested she was in the man, to the point where when he asked her if she really loved him she couldn't open up and tell him how she really felt. Yet she was viewed as responsible for the breaking of that match - for doing everything she was expected to do - and left Shanghai viewing herself as a failure.

She's spent years trusting them, spent most of her young life perceiving their worldview as correct and wanting to do right by them! She's gone above and beyond when it comes to trusting and respecting her parents' judgement! Even at the cost of her own happiness! There is only so much any human being can take before they realize how messed up this manner of bringing a child up is.

But guess what. None of this is actually addressed properly in the book, because we never get a real insight into Hana's upbringing and the effect it has had on his with any kind of nuance.

• After Xinghai and Lorelai tell us that what they're planning for Hana is for her own good, and imply that either Neville (the man is still around, yes) or Rashad can prove to be advantageous for her and moreso for their family and business. Hana and the MC briefly agonize over this, and if the MC correctly names the firm that Rashad wants as a client (IDK what happens if she doesn't - TBH I was sleepwalking through this chapter and wasn't interested in seeing what the alternative was this time. Sorry guys) they work on convincing him to work with Xinghai in exchange for introducing him to a contact in this firm.

• The MC first gets to choose what she will let go of, then chooses what she wishes for. Once this is done, Hana's mother makes a statement in support of the MC, having spoken to Rashad and suddenly realizing that their daughter can thrive without their handholding. Emotional family reunion. Everyone is happy. Lorelai apologizes and Xinghai reveals his wish for Hana to be happy. The end.

• There you go guys. This is how it ends. That's the conclusion of Hana's entire character arc. The culmination of a journey that lasted three whole books involving Hana fighting to create an identity for herself...ends in her parents realizing she's useful on her own after all. After all this time, after so much conflict and stress and confusion...it all boils down to her parents still seeing her more as an asset than as a daughter.

Awesome message, TRR, awesome message. Now give me a moment while I vomit.

Allow me to elaborate. She is still worthy only if she facilitates Xinghai's deal with Rashad's firm, if they manage to gain an advantage even minus her alliance with a titled man. There is no real change. Not in Hana, not in her parents, not in their relationship. This conclusion is superficial and is a horrifically weak way to end Hana's overall arc.

• To sum up the rest of the chapter before I give you a broader insight into why this chapter pissed me off so much...there is an LI diamond scene and then Maxwell announces a bachelorette party in Vegas (why aren't they doing that in Cordonia? Cordonia clearly has a gambling hub and a pretty famous casino if one were to recall RoE).

• The LI diamond scenes are quite sweet - all the LIs get to speak about family and having children - and there is a lot of sweetness and tenderness in all of them from what I've seen of the screenshots. Had this chapter not ruined this book for me, I would probably appreciate it better? In any case, I might do a four-LI-breakdown-essay of this scene once I feel up to it. I'll be doing the same for the LI scenes at the Capitol, Lythikos and Valtoria. Eventually.

• The Hana-specific scenes in this book, however...I think I'll pass. We have had just three so far: Polo Playing at Portavira, Snow Angel Making at Lythikos and Hana's Cheongsam here at Valtoria. None of these scenes possess any depth or nuance, none of them say much about Hana that hasn't already been said, each of them are pale echoes of the scenes we have seen Liam and Drake getting. If you're going to give an LI three individual scenes in 15 chapters of a book, those scenes had better be excellent, detailed and nuanced in their characterization. If you're not ready to give us that...then what's the point, team TRR??? You could have either given us more scenes with tiny but substantial tidbits, or less scenes but with bigger opportunities to know her better. But something tells me that you don't care enough about this character or your LGBTQ audience enough to actually do the work.

• And this problem isn't restricted to Book 3 alone. Hana has been subject to lazy writing since Book 2. The groundwork laid for Hana in Book 1 was really good...but that's all it was: basic groundwork. No Hana stan should have to pat you in the back for laying a good foundation for that character, not when the other two established LIs had just as solid a foundation PLUS excellent buildup in subsequent books. And no Hana stan should have to thank you now for throwing only scraps their way.

• Hana's foundations in Book 1 lay in two areas: her sexuality and her complicated relationship with her family. Hers was the classic coming-out-of-the-closet story, and it was heavily implied that she was never really given the space to view herself as anything but "straight", that she'd been pressurized into pursuing men, that the experience of falling for the MC itself was immensely confusing for her (in her first confession scene, she couldn't even articulate her feelings - that was how confusing this experience was).

But her sexuality is hardly ever directly touched upon in the books beyond that (beyond a botched Facebook response from a Pixelberry employee who dubbed her as "bi if she is pursuing you and straight if she is pursuing the Prince" like WTF - and a post from one of the writers stating that the team sees her as "bisexual...but that is something she is still figuring out". However the books never really touches on this the way they did for Kaitlyn, and they really, really should have. They should have established her sexuality in no uncertain terms within canon).

However she identifies herself, Hana's struggles would still be important and valid, and she would still have major issues coming out to herself and her family. In this recent chapter, Lorelai's issues are aired as a class issue rather than on the level of sexuality, which is contradicted by the very fact that Hana was pushed to pursue men, make herself desirable to eligible men, assumed by her parents to only have an interest in men. Not only does canon tell us very little about her parents' views on her sexuality, they don't openly voice what she identifies as!

• Book 1, in fact, is the only book they seemed to have put in some effort, but as I have maintained earlier, I refuse to give them credit for that because what you give in the first book is the foundation of the character. It can only come to life if you build on that foundation in the next book, and the next. But Book 2? Lazy writing from the start. The revelation that Liam - not Madeleine - was responsible for Hana's return came from Drake's scene, not hers. In Italy when Liam and Drake had amazing character and background building scenes, Hana was stuck with scenes that were barely about her. At the beginning of the Paris chapters, she got one of the most lackluster scenes in the entire book (the fashion runway with Penelope). I suppose there must have been some backlash because they brought out two good scenes in the Paris section - the Patisserie scene and the Library scene, only to treat her later like a persona non grata in Shanghai. SHANGHAI. HANA'S OWN HOME.

• This point is incredibly important, because Shanghai was the only place that was home to an LI. The narrative at this place should have been centered around her. The stories and love legends should have been told by her. Her background should have been receiving focus like never before but it didn't. Shanghai only lasted two chapters (as opposed to Capri's 3 and Paris' 4) and neither of those chapters gave her enough focus besides the confrontation with Xinghai. The panda reserve scene revolved around Liam. The night market scene focused on the mending of Drake and Maxwell's relationship with Hana functioning as a mere mediator. Liam was the one who got to give us the lovely dragon koi legend, not Hana who actually lived in China. Hana's only diamond scene in Shanghai focused less on her and more on the trip to NY - and she didn't even appear in the first chapter in that city!! (the writers later came up with the excuse that Hana was emotionally drained after her confrontation with her parents...except that NOBODY in the story - not even the MC - gave a flying fuck about where or how she was or why she wasn't there).

• I bring up Book 2 mainly because it's important for us to understand that what the writers have been doing with Hana isn't just restricted to this book or this post hiatus period. It's been ongoing. She's been given lazy, half-baked writing for a majority of the series, and I cannot even count the "development" she got in Book 1 because those are only building blocks. If you don't develop a character beyond that, all that's really there is a hollow shell. Hana had the promise and the potential to be a truly well-developed character, and they made a shell out of her instead.

• And it's not like the TRR team is unable to write women. Case in point: Olivia Nevrakis. Olivia's character development has been consistent and well-written throughout the entire series. Not only are her background, motivations and emotional state constantly given attention, the narrative somehow ensures she gets good development even when the focus isn't on her.

For instance, Olivia takes a definite backseat in Book 2, and she's mostly relegated to either investigation work or slowly becoming part of the MC's inner circle. She doesn't have a presence in group scenes where Liam appears, and she doesn't have a single individual scene the way she did in Books 1 and 3. Still, she is given enough material to facilitate her growing relationship with the MC (if she so chooses) and the group. As Liam's alternate LI, parallels have been consistently drawn between her and the MC especially in Book 3. Her faith and belief in Liam is constantly highlighted as unwavering, and her trust in the MC takes a while but culminates eventually in Olivia sharing an important part of her family history with her first.

Olivia's growth from a wary cactus to someone who trusts you if you reach out to her enough, wouldn't have been half as convincing if she wasn't given that kind of development. But perhaps this is because Olivia - like Liam - is so involved in the larger plot of the books, whereas Hana exists mostly outside of the main plot.

• But you know WHO isn't exactly all that central to the main plot of the series but still gets great character development? DRAKE. It started slow, with Drake's first individual diamond scene coming in as late as Chapter 7 (which IMO makes sense, since they needed the MC to warm up to him first), but he was given a solid foundation in Book 1 that was built on in Book 2, and furnished with detailing in Book 3. His diamond scenes were mostly rich in character development and the book was consistent in their focus of him as well.

In Book 3, there is a marked difference between how he is written as an LI versus as a friend. While his overall arc was frustrating to some readers, it was built up pretty well and the conclusion to it (the duel) was written in such a way that it really felt like a vindication of sorts. The duel in fact had an added significance if the MC was his fiancée, because both are commoners who are being targeted by Neville for "rising above their station". There isn't a single scene of Drake's in Book 3 that doesn't explore his character in a detailed manner, or have two diametrically different scenes highlighting his LI/non-LI status.

How does the duel act as a game changer for Drake? He tells it to us himself: the duel was not just for his honour alone, but for every commoner a noble has slighted. For his family, for his sister, for his fiancée (if he is marrying the MC) or friend. It's poignant, dramatic, powerful as a culmination of Drake's journey. The conflict resolution of an arc should end with a bang, and Drake's really did.

• Hana on the other hand is a different story altogether. No matter what her relationship is with the MC in Book 3, she is mostly relegated to "best friend" status regardless. Her initial conflicts as a fiancée seemed to indicate she feared turning into her parents (Chapters 1 and 2) and it sounded really promising, but that characterization was dropped as soon as the Unity Tour kicked off. She is depicted worrying about how she will survive and contribute to Cordonia and whether her skills really equipped her for the outside world, but it is explored only in one character scene of hers, and very very superficially.

Unlike the duel scene for Drake, Hana's conflict-resolution scene this chapter falls flat and doesn't really mark much of a change. The only difference in her relationship with her parents' is that they see her as useful minus a man by her side now. Emphasis on useful. What kind of resolution is that? Does it have a great impact? Does it have any impact?

• Hana's treatment is marginally better only when you compare it to Maxwell's, who has had just one character scene so far, and who hasn't seen much significant development since the beginning of Book 3. Even though the team has mentioned that he was meant to be an LI from the beginning, the way he was written in the beginning and the way they write him now tells me otherwise.

But they don't have that excuse for Hana. Hana WAS a confirmed LI from the beginning. She WAS part of the original lineup. Which means they should have been working as hard on her as they did Liam and Drake. What excuse does the team have for not developing her properly??

• The problem here is clear: both Drake and Olivia are centered within the narratives that focus on their stories. When the focus comes to Paris in Book 2, or Lythikos in Book 3, they are front and center. Compared to that, how is Hana going to compete? At the points that the narrative should be focusing on her, she is given garbage in place of content and story. Even when the narrative is supposed to be about her relationship with her parents and her growth outside their influence, she is the least important person. She was the least important person in Shanghai, and she's now the least important person in this chapter that was supposed to showcase how far she has come from the nervous, underconfident girl we met in Book 1. It's even more infuriating when you take into account that she was meant to be the only female LI, that they

1. never planned to give people who wanted to romance a woman in TRR more than just this option, and

2. couldn't be bothered to follow through and do a decent job of the one option they had.

• I hate calling Hana a Mary Sue, because that wasn't at all what she originally was. She was indecisive, had low self esteem, didn't always enjoy the activities and skulls she was pressurized into learning. There was at least one occasion where she spoke of getting her way by failing...and now the same character is labelled a Mary Sue.

But you know what? There's a reason why she is addressed as such. A Mary Sue is a mark of lazy writing and poor characterization, used on characters that are made to appear perfect in lieu of real development. And while Hana started out a little flawed and confused and in need of guidance, she soon turned into this Ms Perfect who was talented in everything and received praises from everyone instead of an actual insight into her character.

• Hana is at a disadvantage on her own. She is the only LI among the four who was brought up elsewhere (in China), and who wasn't from familiar ground (America)/fictional places (Cordonia) for the writers. Her issues are very culture-specific, they rise out of a context. Not many people may relate to that straightaway so it is essential that her story is handled with a lot more care and nuance. She is a woman of colour who is in the closet, brought up (as is hinted) in a family that doesn't exactly view her sexuality as normal. This is how the Hana of Book 1 was written.

Then Book 2 happened, and the writers either realised they didn't know enough to write this story convincingly, or didn't care enough to do the research. I suspect it's a mix of both. Even so, they should have done some reading up, done some homework, tried to at least center this character around her own narrative. No one is asking for a thesis on society and norms in Shanghai - they're asking for some good background, some basic research, legends and stories that she must have grown up with, if that's what it takes to do justice to this character. If you're going to create a character so unfamiliar to this world and make her a love interest, you had better put in the work that story requires.

Otherwise stop. Stop branding yourself as LGBTQ friendly when most of your female LI fans have to make do with mere scraps, stop patting yourselves on the back for including women of colour in your books when you view them as nothing but tokens.

• I'm sure Liam and Drake sound more lucrative...popular...whatever...and that factors into the way they're being writen, but when the lone female LI consistently gets the short end of the stick, what do you expect? They write Hana (and many other female LIs) in such a way that they're almost set up to fail. At least a few players I have spoken to have highlighted how they went from liking Hana in Book 1 to hardly interested in her presence in Book 2. That change didn't occur out of nowhere: when the writers themselves don't write her with any amount of conviction, how do you expect the readers NOT to lose interest?

There have been a lot of improvements made in terms of readers' demands. Whether it involved the way LI scenes were written, or Liam's initial lack of romantic interactions in Book 3, or even how Kiara's PTSD was addressed. The one thing neglected every. single. time. was Hana. And I'm saying this because I've spoken and spoken and spoken about how little Hana is given and how much more she deserves, and things still haven't changed. I highly doubt they will at this point. It's too late now. Hana's arc is largely over, and her ending makes absolutely no sense when you compare it to the way her story was initially written. Had she had the kind of focus that, say, Drake has been having, we wouldn't have this rushed mess of a conclusion for her story.

• Tldr: Hana could reached her potential as a character. She could have been interesting, imperfect, inspiring. If her writers were actually bothered. But they aren't, so those of us who do love her are left wondering if we care about her more than the people who created her (yes we do). I'm tired, fam. I give up. I think I'm done with this book, and I don't think I can ever get back to loving it the way I used to.

[birdmitosis]

#it isn't even a (flirt) option either. it's literally just a statement like #yeah. Avery's hot. we're all been know this 😭 #and yeah. they're right

realized I've made a grave mistake by not inviting Avery into the ghost hunt (it unlocks a scene I really want to do with Para ever since I started this playthrough) so went back to rectify that.

honestly, really like the idea of Percy going to the one person out of the loop to vent about all of this, so I'm happy with my decision

the image of Percy blurting that out immediately after being comforted made me laugh out loud, so I had to go with it aikaskskzjsjd

LMAOOOOOO