#its also kind of ironic when people act like any of the characters are either kicked puppies who have never done anything ever

[eyeexe]

i agree with this post to an extent, but i feel the need to mention that acting as though patton is canonically ‘unsympathetic’ is doing the exact same thing that people who infantilize patton are doing; watering down his character. patton made a bunch of mistakes and hurt people with his actions, and so has every other character in the series. it does not mean he or any of them are completely irredeemable. youre right in saying that treating patton as an angel who can do no wrong is uncreative and boring, but so is completely characterizing him as evil. patton is a very interesting character, one that i don’t particularly like personality wise, but he is interesting and well written none the less, and it is very disappointing to see him being so mischaracterized on both aspects of his character, the good and the bad.

i strongly believe that patton sanders, fans of patton sanders, and the general attitude towards patton sanders says A LOT about modern fandom “culture” and how toxic and uncreative it is becoming.

just to preface this post is absolutely no hate to thomas sanders. he’s an amazing creator and he can’t control how his fans interpret his work. moving right along!

in many fandoms, there are archetypes (typical roles that characters in media play), and there is nothing wrong with an archetype until the fandom prioritizes archetypes over characterization. a surface level example would be something like “prince charming from cinderella is a kind, sensitive man who doesn’t have the most common sense, but he’s got a big heart and a lot of love to share. but instead of creating fan work or headcanons or “kinning” that character with/because of those traits, the fandom just sees him as the one who saves cinderella. the savior. and that’s it.”

the big, number one archetype that modern fandoms have developed is “the uwu, smol, soft bean who is so innocent and can do no wrong.” an amplified and much more annoying version of the professional term “ingenue”. an ingenue (or ingenu) is a character in media who is very young and innocent, and tends to make big mistakes as a result of their youth and innocence. romeo and juliet are ingénus. anne shirley cuthburt is an ingénue. i like to argue that roman sanders is an ingenu but that’s a story for another time.

the difference between the “smol soft bean” and the ingenue is that it is clearly established in media that the ingenues are in the wrong, and despite their youth and innocence, their mistakes are present, front and center, and it is obvious to all that they’re in the wrong. of course, it isn’t always black and white. ingenues have been coerced by outside forces, or they’ve had turbulent pasts that have caused them to not know any better, but it is generally understood that these things are explanations. not excuses.

when fans talk about their “smol soft beans”, there is generally an attitude of superiority when it comes to them. “no no, that’s my wittle cinnamon role, they could never be a bully/abuser! they’re so clearly innocent and sweet!” when that character has indeed said and done awful things to others repeatedly. “my smol soft bean is always the victim and everyone else is always mean to them!” when that character clearly is not always the victim and is being mistreated by other characters as a form of retaliation or breach of trust. oftentimes, the modern fandom’s perception of a character overrides the actual actions of the character in the canon and i will explain why that’s problematic in the next paragraph.

this worlds generation has a huge, giant, collective victim complex. but it’s only natural. that’s just what happens when people go on the internet and see all of these “smol soft beans” being protected and adored, and their mistakes are being ignored. everybody wants that. deep down, everybody wants their mistakes to be erased, and for only the very best parts of them to be on display at all times. so they infantilize themselves, trying to make themselves act and look sweet and innocent and cute, so that way, they can never admit to being wrong. it’s a very imitatable behavior. one that people can emulate easily. and people do.

by now, you all may be like “but ez, what does this have to do with patton?” well, everything. patton is generally seen as the “smol soft bean” archetype in the sanders sides fandom, even though he has done an array of terrible things. here are just a few:

- he regularly ignores and teases logan, endlessly taunting the one singular vocabulary mistake logan made because he thinks it’s funny to make logan look stupid when intelligence is his entire livelihood.

- he guilt trips roman relentlessly and coerced him into making a huge mistake (choosing the wedding), and then when they all faced the consequences of roman’s mistake, patton distanced himself from it, and pretended like it was all roman’s fault that it even happened.

- he was one of remus’ biggest haters, insisting constantly on pressing him down and pretending he doesn’t exist. while all the sides essentially were remus haters (except eventually logan), patton was clearly the most prominent one.

- he infantilized virgil, even when virgil told him he was uncomfortable. he gave a false apology that he didn’t actually act upon, and he made virgil feel small.

again, that’s only a few, but those are some of the biggest ones. oftentimes, the fandom just IGNORES that these things ever happened, or gloss over them, even though they’re some of the most important lessons in the entire sanders sides storyline. people refuse to acknowledge such important truths because they want patton to be a “smol soft bean who does no wrong and is so innocent”.

and patton kinnies tend to take it a whole new level because they’re seeing this character that is being infantilized and reduced to nothing but the sweetest little gumdrop and deciding “i want to be that.” so they say that they kin patton without accepting the mistakes he’s made, or his controlling and abusive tendencies. they want to distance themselves from his mistakes, but capitalize on his innocence, which is an unhealthy way to look at things.

everyone makes mistakes. everyone is in the wrong. nobody is perfectly innocent.

and that’s why i hate patton sanders, the fandom’s attitude towards patton sanders, and pretty much all patton kinnies (unless they’re open about the completeness of pattons character).

please don’t dox me. thanks.

[invinciblerodent]

While I'm on the topic of being hopelessly in my feelings about these characters, I just finished the last part of the Gloom Howler quest, and I'm thinking about Davrin and names at the moment.

I really, really love how, once we learn the truth about her, Davrin seems to make a point of always referring to Isseya by her name (mostly on its own, but sometimes in conjunction with calling her "The Gloom Howler" when necessary), and even correcting others who would refer to her only by the latter name. (Which, honestly, both Solas and the Inquisitor could also talk at length about a title that all but replaces your name- it definitely feels significant that Davrin would pointedly reject the thought of doing that to someone, but I digress.)

And that reminded me of how I previously made an idle, kind of shitposty little post about how nice I found that during his recruitment mission, Davrin calls out the specific names of each griffon if you interact with their cages, and he attempts to comfort them like that- by reminding them who they are, that he's there, and promising that he'll be back for them.

In retrospect, I think that's so interesting, how his core story seems to boil in part down to... well, in part to the burden of duty, the questioning of tradition and authority (he questions both Dalish- and Warden traditions from very early on, one by joining the Wardens and the other by joining Rook) and, yes, living past what one thought to be their purpose, but also... to these moments, that invite some contrasting of his elven-, and his Grey Warden identities.

Isseya being an elven Warden is a very direct parallel, and a very clear image- it, I think, is meant to show what happens when authority goes unquestioned, and one side (the Warden) triumphs over the other (the person). His uncle then acts as a counterpoint and a thread of connection to the past- he shows what happens when tradition goes unquestioned, and while peaceful, how that existence is not one Davrin wishes for himself.

This all comes to a head in the final choice concerning the griffons... which, I can't say what a "correct" choice is, but I find it really cool how one option embraces a more rigid tradition and acts as a vow for reforms within them, honoring them, while the other embraces a different tradition, one born of fluidity, choice, and change- a more personal freedom.

Purpose and nature, respect for the past and hope for the future, all strain against each other sometimes (in multiple companions' stories, I feel), and it's often a name that represents the complicated harmony between two halves.

Be that Assan, noble descendant of a hero Warden's griffon wearing an Elvish name, Isseya, the monster and mage brought to peace, the idea of "turlum", harmony and understanding forged between vastly different minds, or just... Davrin, the Dalish Grey Warden, who is not more one than the other.

Maybe that's why calling people (and animals, and feelings) by their proper names seems so casually important to him. Because if you give something complex, messy, and muddled up a name, it's easier to just live it.

(.......... and yeah, that makes it a bit ironic how so far he's been calling Rook, "Rook", but, yknow, technological limitations. I've a feeling I've at least one important scene to go still, but honestly, the name "Rook" does also kind of represent a similarly complex matrix of ideas condensed into a person. It could be that "Rook" feels more accurate than any "friend", or "love", or "boss", or even "vhenan", for what they are to him, or it could be that he's still looking for the right name, but either way, I'm looking forward to seeing how it all ends.)

[itgr]

ITGR and the Aromantic and Asexual Spectrum

aka a long, pretentious, non coherent, semi analytical ramble I took a month to make about ITGR and how aspec coded it feels to me. Brought to you by someone who re read the series three times in the last nine months

I was originally going to write about how aspec coded every character feels individually in reference to this post but then I realised, I've always found that ITGR as a general narrative and comic had aspec vibes and I couldn't pin point why until recently. So I wrote this analysis (?) dissecting different patterns I noticed with characters and the general narrative themes and why it just feels aspec to me.

Obligatory disclaimers and preface: I will be using "aspec" as a shorthand term for both the aromantic and asexual spectrums (I will use "acespec" when talking about the asexual spectrum and "arospec" when talking about the aromantic spectrum specifically). I'm not trying to claim any of this was intentional on the part of Grave or trying to speculate that Grave is secretly aspec. I know a lot of the things I view as aspec coding could be explained away by a character's trauma or implied mental illness but I'm going to be largely viewing things through an aspec specific lens for the sake of this specific analysis (also aspec people can have mental illnesses or trauma that can feed into eachother and that doesn't take away from the fact they're aspec or vice versa).

This is all just a very aspec centered interpretation of ITGR and I'm not trying to claim it's the "correct" or "only" way to interpret the comic (also i will be sprinkling in aspec headcanons here and there and you will just have to deal with that, sorry <- some characters dont have specific orientations that come to mind for me. they're just somewhere on the ace/aro spectrums/hj). Some of this is based on 'evidence' in the text or like narrative implications and framing and the other half is based on vibes/hj and, I can not stress this enough, just because I headcanon a character with a specific label doesn't mean I think the character would ever use that label or even know what that label is. It's more about finding a term I think generally describes how I interpret that character as experiencing attraction

Word count: 4869

Part 1 : ITGR and the Performative Nature of Love and Attraction

Idk, there's just something about the way love and attraction are represented in this comic that feels aspec? Unlike a lot of other stories, I've read, ITGR kind of portrays love and attraction in such a detached manner I can't quite describe, especially early on. Love's ironically not romanticised and is either portrayed as something fucked up or as something performative with some exceptions (more on those later). Let's start with the examples in which attraction is portrayed as performative, starting with the most obvious example: Satan.

Satan spends most of his time, taunting and toying with his reapers in a number of ways with various levels of flirtation, with Scarlet being the one he flirts with the most. He makes a lot of passes and allusions to love with her because he likes toying with her and is really possessive over her. In some scenes, especially early on, he comes across more like a jealous ex-boyfriend than he does a boss. The way Satan acts around Scarlet and Brook is so interesting because I honestly dont believe Satan actually wants to be worshipped or that he has any attraction to Scarlet. He's just a bored million year old being who's trying to have fun, and he's doing whatever he thinks will make them uncomfortable because that's fun to him. This becomes more apparent with the fact that the only time we ever see him be uncomfortable is in Episode 94 when he's meeting with Ashe. Ashe (at this point) is someone who practically worships him and treats Satan how he implies he wants Scarlet or Brook to treat him. And he hates it.

Its so interesting that when Satan's given something he has been implied to "want" this whole time, he absolutely hates it and is uncomfortable. Which signals to me that he doesn’t flirt with Scarlet or mess around with Brook because he genuinely wants them to submit or because he actually wants Scarlet to fall for him. He does it because he enjoys the fun of getting reactions out of people and he likes being entertained. He likes the chase but I don't think he'd be happy long term if they ever actually completely submitted and did everything he claims he wanted. Something about the way Satan does sexual and romantic coded things in a performative way without actually wanting anything feels so aspec coded to me (diversity loses! the worst person you know is acespec and aromantic coded!).

The other most obvious example to me is Azrael (I have a separate already semi written ramble about the general queer coding in Azrael's character, but that's for another day). He's probably the other only character in ITGR that is as openly flirty as Satan and despite that, all of his scenes flirting with people just convinces me he's not interested in the people he flirts with😭. All his scenes flirting with Celeste and Bernadette feel performative and hollow because of the fact that he doesn't seem to be genuinely interested in them romantically or sexually. He knows how and when Celeste and Bernadette are going to die and I think flirting with them is either a way for him to either please them and make them happy before they die or a way for him to entertain himself or both. Like his interactions don't read to me as "Oh guy flirting with women because he wants to date them/have sex with them because he thinks they're hot." They read to me as "guy who wants to have such much fun as he can and explore as many possibilities as he can with people he knows are going to die." His entire date with Celeste was essentially a way for him to learn more about her and almost 'test' the extent of her loyalty to God because he was curious. When Bernadette dies, there's no romantic element to him comforting her at all, despite the fact he spent so much of their interactions flirting with her.

The only other person we ever see him 'flirt' with is the princess from his time being alive and even there, at no point do we get any narration of how he feels about her or any comments about having feelings for her. It's heavily implied he was only being romantic with her by agreeing to marry her because he wanted her to have one good thing before she died so her death wouldn't be as painful. I have a theory/interpretation that to Azrael, there's an inherent relation between flirting and death and that he only flirts with people if he knows when they'll die (even if the flirting isn't genuine on his part). This idea is supported by the fact that post season 4 and Nyra destroying his ability to see the future and how she'll die, he doesn't flirt with her at all (which also more evidence that his interest in her was never genuine). Anyways, because of the performative nature of his flirtation with different characters, he's aspec coded to me (and he likes men but that's for another ramble).

I think the other example of a character expressing attraction only to reveal romance/sex isn't what they're after is surprisingly Wrynn? I have less compelling case for her compared to the others but I find it interesting that it would have been very easy to just make her in love with Ashe in a conventional romantic and sexual way but no. She doesn't want to date him. She wants to go back to being one with him (something something love as consumption but we don't have time for that). Episode 182 sets them in such a specific way (by giving them a lot of romantic and sexual tension and also an almost kiss) but even then, the reason she's doing all of that is so he can eat her and they go back to sharing a body because that's probably what an ideal relationship is like to her. I guess to me, having a character have so many signifiers of conventional allo (aka not aspec) attraction only to reveal they're actually not after sex or conventional romance and more into their own unconventional form of romance (if you can call it that) feels very aspec to me.

I've just noticed this consistent pattern with characters performing acts to signify attraction only to subvert that but either implicitly or explicitly showing that sex or romance isn't what they're after and it'd be one thing if it was one character (i'd still argue that this hypothetically character would be aspec but it'd be an isolated case) but the consistent pattern is borderline fascinating to me? It just creates such an interesting narrative and almost world? In a lot of media, romance and sex are just considered normal or expected but here, in ITGR, they're really not. Characters can perform attraction but that doesn't take away from the fact that more often than not, they're usually interested in something else and I dont know, I've always found it interesting.

Part 2: ITGR and the Horror of Attraction

I feel like a lot of media treats romantic relationships and attraction as generally good things that can be fucked up but usually when it is, it's framed an isolated event and I find it interesting how ITGR highlights a lot of the more fucked up aspects in romance and relationships. ITGR doesn't frame love as something inherently good or benevolent and I think there's something about that just feels aspec to me. I'm not trying to say romance or sex are inherently bad or fucked up. I just think that, like with anything, there is a certain amount of horror that can be drawn from and created from the concepts of attraction and I feel like the potential horror of romantic relationships (not necessarily even abusive relationships. Just the horror that can be drawn from the concept of being in a romantic/sexual relationship or being in love), or the ways love can be warped and turned into something terrifying is something that stands out more to aspec people than allo people if that makes sense.

I feel like ITGR frames love and attraction as something capable of being bad and hurting people as much as anything else. Jordan, the first sinner Scarlet ever kills, uses romantic flirtation as a weapon to lure women and kill them. It highlights the darker flipside of flirting and how flirting, something very common in romantic and sexual situations which is usually seen as positive or alluring, can be used to lower someone's guard and commit harm and violence. The reversal of using something romantic/sexual that is usually used to make characters look cool or charismatic only to use it highlights how dangerous it can be in a specific context has aspec undertones to me.

Another example is how ITGR deconstructs parts of the tsundere trope in Chase's past in Episode 15 and showcases the darker aspects of being in love. Here, love isn't framed as a good and positive emotion, it's framed as something fucked up that can leave you vulnerable to abusive and harmful situations because of the ways it can make you idealise someone which can make you blind to their abusive behaviour. I find it interesting how ITGR deconstructs some parts of the tsundere trope (aka a trope where a character acts cold and hostile to their love interest but gradually opens up) by showing how someone who is constantly mean and demeaning and physically abusive to you can be harmful. I find it interesting specifically because I feel like tsundere characters' hostile actions are sometimes justified by people using the fact they're in love, which implies that just because they're in love, it justifies them hurting someone, therefore framing love as a benevolent force that can excuse certain bad actions as long as they're for the sake of love. (BTW I feel like saying: I don't think the tsundere trope is a bad character trope. I think it depends on the execution and just find the way ITGR handles it to be interesting T-T). In this episode, ITGR instead implicitly claims that love can't justify bad actions, which further its grander treatment of viewing love as an emotion as any other, instead of putting it on a pedestal or treating it with extra importance like a lot of other media.

I think the other main example of ITGR highlighting a fucked up side to the concept of love is Liam's entire character. Liam's spiral after he realises Ana is dead is both terrifying and tragic. Liam killing an innocent man so he can be with her takes something that in some contexts would be seen as romantic (the fact that someone would be willing to go to such great lengths for someone they love) and twists it to an extreme to highlight how terrifying it is that love can be so all consuming that it warps someone's values and makes them do terrible things in the name of love. I feel less strongly about this but I also feel like there's something mildly horrifying about the fact that he's willing to do this for someone might not returns his feelings. Something about him assuming they were meant to be, despite never asking her, kinda also hits that "love as something horrific" horror spot but I feel like that's a weaker point.

ITGR just consistently frames love like another other emotion that has the capacity to do harm and in contrast to the way most media places extra importance or goodness on love and relationships, ITGR views it in a very detached perspective that feels very aspec to me and I hoped I managed to express that idea with these examples.

Part 3: ITGR and OOPS! THE MAIN COUPLE'S REALLY QUEERPLATONIC AND ASPEC (coded)!

Okay so up to this point, you might be thinking "Wait, what about Scarlet and Chase? They're the main characters and they're in love and are explicitly sexually attracted to each other" and to that, I say "Well yes, but no, but yes"/lh. I'm going to preface this by saying that this is probably going to be the most incomprehensible and hard to explain part of this analysis (?). When I said there's a few exceptions to ITGR framing love as something performative or fucked up, they're one of the main examples (I WROTE THIS BEFORE VER AND EVERETTE OOPS). Chase and Scarlet's romantic and sexual feelings for eachother are framed positively and tragically, you're supposed to be rooting for these two little doomed by the narrative dorks. That being said, they're both aspec as fuck 😭 sorry, not sorry, the aspec agenda doesn't end I'm afraid. I'll start with Scarlet because my interpretation of her is a lot more based on tangible evidence (while Chase is half based on vibes tbh/hj). She reads to me as demisexual and some flavour of arospec (greyromantic or even demiromantic). I think it's largely the fact she doesnt really seem to experience sexual attraction towards anyone, including Chase, until way later on. You could argue it didn't even start appearing until after she left the 9th layer (so it took her 25+ years to start experiencing sexual attraction towards someone she has romantic (?) feelings for). I know that you could probably argue that it's a trauma thing but that doesn't take away from the interpretation (demisexual people can have trauma and still be demisexual).

I feel less strongly about her being greyromantic but I still feel like that's another possible interpretation. It's mostly because I can't really see her being attracted to anyone? I think I know why scarlets orientation is hard for me to pin down. I think it's because I can't really imagine her being interested in men or women?? Like, I'd make sapphic jokes about her but I honestly just don't think she'd be interested in women. Or men. Honestly I feel like she's not attracted to any gender. If she ever is "attracted" to someone it's because they're someone who gets close to her and she's grown an attachment to them. Like she'd still be in love with chase if he was a girl. But also, I don't think she's attracted to any specific gender or any gender in general but also has the capacity to like any gender and I feel like calling her pan just doesn't fit so. Um. Yeah, I hope you enjoyed my unlabelled Scarlet side tangent. All of that being said, her not really feeling attraction for anyone except one person and it has to be someone she's formed a pre existing strong bond with…. Yeah. Need I say more/hj. (The unlabelled demisexual arospec Scarlet agenda is real)

Now onto Chase, also known as the vibe check. I'm going to be honest, something about him screams aromantic allosexual to me in a way I can barely convey. I think it's maybe the way when he talks about his ex, he talks about how hot she is, instead of talking about what parts of her personality attracted him to her. Also, I might be projecting but something about him canonically having a lot of failed relationships also just kind of contributes to the aroallo vibes I get (I'm not saying every aroallo person is going to inherently have dysfunctional relationships but I am saying it's not an uncommon experience for aromantic people to have a lot of past relationships that didn't work out due to "something" feeling off. Gestures). There's also the fact that while Scarlet takes a while to show any overt signs of physical or sexual attraction towards him (I was gonna say, this is except for her blushing when she sees him shirtless in Episode 13 but I went back and no she doesn't so demi Scarlet is so real), he does it a lot sooner than her and I don't know, there's something about how his feelings for her derive more from the fact he sees her as his equal or even above him while he struggles with human connection and attachment with most people and how his expression of romantic love isn't really conventional which feels very aromantic and queerplatonic to me. I guess I've always interpreted Chase having queerplatonic feelings for Scarlet that are romantic adjacent (Not saying all queerplatonic relationships are the same as romantic relationships, it heavily depends on the people in the relationship and how they feel and I just think Chase seems like a romance favourable aromantic person who'd label their queerplatonic feelings as romantic <- I don't think any of these characters know what the aromantic spectrum is, much less what queerplatonic relationships are. I just feel like, if we wanted to be technically, Chase's feelings for Scarlet, to me, aren't really romantic but I think he'd feel comfortable labelling them as such. I hope that made sense). To be fair, in a comic where like, over the half the main cast is heavily coded with at least one cluster b personality disorder/hj (I might make a post of how many characters in this comic have cluster b coded traits or symptoms as someone with two cluster b disorder but that's for another day), it makes sense that a lot of the connections and attachments characters make feel unconventional because a lot of these characters have issues related to attachment but even that, I'd argue that doesn't take away from the aspec reading.

Ever since I started reading ITGR back when season one and two were coming out, I'll never forget just. Not seeing the romance between Scarlet and Chase at all and being jumpscared when it became overtly canon because there was always something about their romance that felt, for lack of a better word, empty (NOT IN A BAD WAY) to me? And I just couldn't articulate what it was about their interactions and romance that felt so off and unconventional to me until now. I think it's partially also because of the way all their romantic scenes pre the season three finale focus more on affirming how much they care about and are attached to eachother as people, rather than how "in love" they are? And also the way their main forms of affection is hugs or physical touch and there's not really any "OMG O////O ARE WE ABOUT TO KISS???/!??@?@?" moment. Even in Episode 42, when we get a bit of a kiss tease, there's not blushing on either of their ends and Chase is talking more about how much he cares about her as a person and how much he's come to respect her and how even he, someone who in a way views himself as superior to most people and tries to position himself as someone worthy of deciding what's just and what isn't, has come to view her the ultimate judgement and he respects that (THAT WAS MORE INTIMATE THAN ANY LOVE CONFESSION BUT WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT). And even when he says he wants to see her in the eyes when she kills him, it's more about wanting to see her as a person before she dies. There's love there but it feels different than romantic love to me. Like, it's so intimate and unconventional and something about how we're four seasons in and they haven't kissed yet and the way their entire relationship is written and the way they express love and attachment to eachother has major queerplatonic undertones to me.

There's just something about how the main romance in this comic has a surprising lack of emphasis on romance. Anyways, I love my little murderous aspec people in a romantic QPR/lh.

Part 4: ITGR and The Aromantic One and the One That Wasn't (aka ITGR and the Devastation of Amatanormativity)

Amatanormativity is the common belief and societal assumption that everyone desires to be in a monogamous romantic and sexual relationship and marriage and it has caused a lot of pain to a lot of people but aspec people specifically (it's similar to heteronormativity and gay people). There are two examples of ITGR critiquing amatanormativity and highlighting how much pain it can cause, one indirect and one direct. Critiques and depictions of the harm amatanormativity causes are generally hard to find in most media and are mostly confined to media explicitly centered around aspec people and that's why it's actually surprising to me that (while I don't think it was intentional at all), on top of all the aspec undertones ITGR has, it also directly and indirectly critiques a societal expectation that inherently hurts and deeply affects aspec people.

I'm actually surprised I made it this long without talking about Brook at all. That being said, there's actually one character I need to talk about before I talk about him: Ana. Despite Brook being the explicit and more blatantly canon example of an aromantic character, Ana's backstory indirectly represents a common issue aspec people face. I know it's later revealed by Liam in Episode 48 that the man Ana married was a man she hadn't met prior but I still think there's a way to interpret her backstory through an aspec lense (Misogyny definitely has a part to play in Ana's backstory but I don't think misogyny being a factor takes away from an aspec interpretation of it and vice versa). There's just something quintessentially aspec to me about Ana's horrified face in episode 11 when we see her and her fiance as she remarks that she "didn't feel anything".

Her entire life fell apart because her abusive parents pushed amatanormativity onto her. It's the way she literally tries to tell them she doesn't want to get married or have children (implying she was happy being single and pursing her writing career) and they dismiss her and call her stupid and tell her that every woman wants to get married. They dismiss the notation anyone (any woman specifically) could be happy without marriage, or a relationship. Ana decides to do what they say and I know it's never explicitly shown but I think she wanted to believe they were right and that she'd develop feelings for her husband and be happy eventually if she just conformed and did what they said. It's possible she could have felt like she was wrong (or. broken/hj) and that she wanted to believe that marriage would "fix" her and make her happy (because society and amatanormativity consistently pushes the idea that marriage = happiness) and that would explain the horror in her face when she realised she didn't feel anything. It's also further supported by her line "Where was that happiness I was promised?". Her parents, society and amatanormativity literally kept telling her that she couldn't be happy if she stayed single and childless and sold her the idea that getting married would fix her and make her happy and that destroyed her life and, regardless of if Ana was supposed to represent an aspec struggle, it still stands as indirect commentary on how amatanormativity can hurt people who don't want to be married (or in relationships) (semi related but I personally headcanon Ana as aroace or arospec asexual ^^).

And with that said, let's move onto the only actually canonically aspec character in this comic: Brook, who's canonically aromantic. Also Brook being aromantic is canon regardless of it's explicitly said or not. I could go on a whole tangent about queer representation and the double standards between other queer rep and aspec rep when it comes to needing authorial intent to be seen as "real" rep but the short of it is that Brook's aromantic, not only because he said he's not interested in romantic relationships but because, on a fundamental level, he doesn't understand what romantic feelings are like and how they work. He's confused by the concept of romantic feelings, because he doesn't feel them. I don't think there's another way to interpret that. He's literally textbook aromantic. I'm not saying that trauma hasn't maybe influenced that and vice versa but you can be aromantic and have cptsd. I also feel the need to debunk the idea that Brook's time as reaper "made him detached from romantic love so he's not really aromantic" because that doesn't make sense. Yes, Brook's time as a reaper probably made him even more detached from human connections than he already was but there is no indication that he felt romantic feelings before being a reaper. He quite literally shows no interest in romance at any point in the comic, even before he died (also, again, while his lack of general ambition in anything could be interpreted as the product of some kind of neurodivergency or mental disorder, but that doesn't mean he can't also be aromantic). The fact he doesn't understand romance to begin with heavily implies he's never experienced it and doesn't experience romantic feelings in general, hence that he's aromantic.

Now that that's established, I want to talk about how ITGR depicts the feeling of isolation that can sometimes come with being aromantic, which in itself is kind of caused by amatanormativity. There's several scenes in the comic (Episode 176 being the most obvious example) where Brook laments getting attached to Chase and Scarlet because they're in love (well. Wellllllll, adajcent anyway/hj) and he feels like he'll never mean as much to them as they mean to eachother. He feels like because he's not romantically with either of them, he'll never the first priority to them (I personally headcanon as Brook having mild queerplatonic feelings for Scarlet but its not relevant right now and we don't have time for that). I feel like it's very common for aromantic people to feel isolated as a lot of their friends gets into relationships and because of how romantic relationships are seen as "superior" and it's nice of ITGR to represent that in a way. I feel like we do sometimes get canonically aspec characters in media but usually, if they're not the main main character, we don't really get much about how being aspec affects their lives and relationships? Or what their specific relationship to being aspec is? I feel like a lot of media ignores the complexities of being aspec which is why I really love Brook as a canonically aromantic character. While in most media, the aspecness of a character is more of a footnote and is usually treated as a label that's simply slapped onto a character, Brook's aromanticism doesn't exist in isolation and it directly ties back to several parts of his characters. It informs some of his feelings and thoughts. It feels like something tangible. I think it says a lot about how the writing that Brook is written so much like an aromantic character and his struggles with not feeling romantic attraction are treated with complexity that I genuinely forgot it's not explicitly ever said he is aromantic. I don't know, I really like him as aromantic rep.

Part 5: Bonus Headcanons + Conclusion

I didn't have any specific sections to put these headcanons in so I'm just going to through a bunch out there. Ashe is so greyromantic and greysexual to me. Like he definitely had feelings for the wife he's implied to have had when he was alive but I like to think he doesn't really feel attraction outside of that one specific person. Nyra screams arospec asexual lesbian to me. That's it. Send post. Need I say more? (I'm never getting over how her date with Azrael just convinced me that neither of them are attracted to the other's gender/lh). Oddly enough, I don't have that many headcanons about Bernadette. I'd say she could be ace? Vibes anyway. Scarlet's unnamed childhood best friend is so aroallo to me (vibe checked). I wrote a lot of this before Ver and Everette's interactions were revealed so you can either interpret them as the token allos or they can be acespec as a treat/hj.

With all of that done, thank you to anyone who actually read this whole thing. I am so sorry I'm insane/lh. I hope you enjoyed hearing out this interpretation. I feel like this analysis (?) has finally allowed me to be able to articulate why ITGR has always read to me as an aspec heavy piece of media despite only one character being canonically aspec, it's a combination of several things but mostly just the way the comic views love in such a detached and unglamourised way compared to a lot of other media. Love and attraction are still in the comic but the forms of love we see are unconventional. It kind of creates a world where genuine love and attraction aren't really the default, like out of the most openly flirty characters in the comic, most of them have ulterior motive and their flirty is performative and I find that so interesting. I don't think this is necessarily the only way to interpret a lot of the characters and themes but I hope I've opened your eyes to the aspec ITGR reading ^^

[tamelee]

Hi… what do you think about people hating on naruto and saying that sasuke deserves better than naruto and that he doesn't love sasuke as deeply as sasuke does. And the way he talks in ch 698 like he doesn't want to come out. And he marries the first girl who chases after him to hide his sexuality like a closet gay behavior and live up to society's expectations (following according to his mother's word). Sasuke looked soo sad in Gaiden because Naruto had rejected his love for him. Some SNS shippers say that's why they hate Naruto.

I highly doubt you’re talking about SNS shippers/fans though. I have a feeling I know exactly what kind of stans these are because they’ll take every opportunity to hate on Naruto (and other characters as well). And if such people do claim they are then I’m pretty sure that the ‘🍥’ joining the ‘🍅’ is just in the bio for show. As if to say, ‘I ship SNS, therefore my unsolicited and biased criticism against Naruto is extra valid :)’ when it’s really not, (and vice versa) but I‘ll spare you the rant.

Using secondary source material (anything ’Boruto’) in order to invalidate main source material (’Naruto’ Manga) to then try and rationalize secondary source material-outcomes (the sequel) with assumptions to fill the gap in between these two (blank period) when it’s completely void of all previous logic in the first place, makes a well grounded argument in what way exactly?

In other words; why the hell would you look at the sequel and willing let that change your perspective as if it holds any merit to what we’ve already come to learn?

There is nothing wrong with a good hypothesizing session. I know from experience it can be somewhat soothing to rationalize a way towards something unwanted. In this case, it’s the sequel. ‘Gaiden’ is interesting for its own reasons. It’s sort of like, trying to come up with an explanation that makes an outcome seem a little less… bad. Which becomes easier because Naruto and Sasuke’s misery is fully on display. In the case of these haters though, they make it worse and just blame a character for a company’s money-grabbing decision. To let that be the deciding factor for them that fuels these unhinged claims about him being a bootlicker that acts through hatred or whatever strange mumbo-jumbo they also come up with. But anytime someone tries to make an argument about ‘Naruto’ and uses “because in ‘Boruto’…” you can already cast it aside as invalid.

Connecting two unrelated idea’s doesn’t say nor prove anything. You can’t even disprove it either because the argument doesn’t make any sense.

So it’s also ironic to hate on Naruto using Ch. 698 as an excuse to say he ‘doesn’t love Sasuke as deeply as Sasuke does’, when it’s primarily Naruto trying to explain how deeply he loves Sasuke as best as he can lol. I’m not sure if I’m impressed by the creativity or just dumbfounded that someone can read Ch. 698 and then come to such an irrelevant conclusion as if it has anything to do with ‘coming out’. It’s like having a conversation with someone about a very specific type of bird when another person barges in to ask why they’re discussing how to create your own carrousel. And besides, Naruto may exaggerate his denial profusely when someone brings it up (which is by itself very telling), but he never was good at hiding how he felt about Sasuke or how far he’d go (literally the entire story), even threatening war on behalf of Sasuke, dragging Konoha in it, indicating revenge for Sasuke if he’s harmed when really it was just a matter of his own personal feelings. As… obviously Konoha couldn’t care less and in fact would most likely side against Naruto anyway. He’s already boldly shared his intimate thoughts with the entire world during the war though, didn’t he. He literally connected his Chakra with everyone and spilled his brainrot about him freely.

You can create your very own narrative towards the outcome that is ‘Boruto’ and make it as crazy as you want, but it will still be based on assumptions. In fact, go ahead and write that story if you must, they tried and failed with Hinata’s movie for a reason. I'm sure an SNS-fan can do a better job, in fact, they have.

The idea that Naruto would probably struggle to accept how he feels and what it means, could very well be true. It would definitely be conflicting with the role he is expected to play as Hokage and it’s also something I’m exploring in the story I’m writing. But, so would it be possible that Sasuke will struggle, because we haven’t forgotten that love caused him to experience the most horrible pain through betrayal, yes? Naruto does care about how he’s perceived and he is a people-pleaser that was on a journey to realize that there is a difference between the conditions he must meet in order to soothe his sense of feeling unworthy of love and the unconditional love Sasuke proved to hold for him, regardless of anything else. “Because I feel relieved just looking at you as it reminds me of the love I’ve lost”.

Acknowledging is one thing, accepting is a whole other and then taking the action-steps to pursue it freely would imo require another story which would’ve been a fitting follow-up after Ch. 699 if that was even possible in the first place for Kishimoto to do. But it’s not.

Stop for one second and think about the amount of value you put onto the money-grabbing shit-stain on the franchise that is ‘Boruto’ and whether you want that bullshit, no matter the label, to invalidate everything you’ve loved about it in the first place. Rationalizing something when the bridge toward it is missing completely and where the outcome isn’t followed by logic is just people inventing an explanation to justify their own unhappiness with something. Aka; their hatred for Naruto.

[darkwitch1999]

🦋😱Akuma Idea: Horror Themed Akuma😱🦋

Okay, here's another akumatized villain concept that I have been thinking over for a while. Now hear me out. I know that the Miraculous Ladybug franchise has already featured a few horror-themed akumatized villains......

Or three? Huh....I thought there'd be more. Anyway, that's not important. For this akumatized villain, I thought that this villain would have powers, weapons, and design elements based on characters from horror movies.

For the character design, I was thinking that the villain would have pale skin and long black hair that gets in her face like the girl from "The Ring". They will also have stitches along the corners of their mouth and wear black mascara around their eyes.

As for her outfit, she would wear a straight jacket, which I'm either thinking could have a mess of different dark colors on it or have scarlet blood splatters all over it. Or it could just be a plain yet worn-out straightjacket. Honestly, I had the villain "Terminal" from Batman Beyond in mind when I decided to give them a straight jacket as part of their costume. I am also planning on giving the black pants with holes in them and black combat boots as part of their design.

As for the villain's eye color, I'm still deciding on whether I want to give them all red eyes or do multiple colors. I do plan on giving them three eyes, with the third eye being located on the base of their forehead. Kind of like Garnet or Hiei, but this third eye is more than just for show. It actually ties into one of her powers that I will get into more detail about later.

Powers:

So the thing about this villain, is that some of their powers are connected to certain horror artifacts and/or characters. Though not every power can be used at once and a few of the powers are activated when the villain is using specific items. For example:

Jason Hockey Mask:

This akuma will have something akin to Captain America's shield, except smaller and shaped like Jason's Hockey Mask. The shield/mask is indestructible and can repel and deflect the attacks from the Miraculous superheroes with ease. It also has an additional use for allowing the akuma to breathe underwater when they are wearing the mask on their face (ironic, huh?).

Freddy Kruger Gloves:

On their own, they are just ordinary leather gloves. However once this akuma puts the gloves on their hands, they can grow metal claws like Freddy Kruger that can also retract at will like Wolverine's metal claws.

A Ring:

Okay, I know there wasn't a literal jewelry ring in the movie "The Ring", but I thought this would be a cool concept nonetheless. Basically, when the akuma is wearing this ring, they will able to possess and pass through any electronics that have a screen of their choosing (TVs, computers, iPads, phones, etc.).

Wrist Corsage

Every rose has its thorns and this beautiful bracelet is no exception. Like Carrie from the movie of the same name, wearing this corsage gives the akuma the power of telekinesis, which allows them to move objects or people or set stuff on fire with their mind.

Now for her final power (yes, I know I have already given her a lot. Shadow Moth was feeling very generous this time when he made this akuma. Like I said though, she can't use all of these powers at once, well except for this power.). This last power involves the akuma's eyes, especially the third eye. Her strongest and most horrifying power that this akuma possesses is the power to make anyone who looks into her eyes hallucinate their worst fears/nightmares, causing them both severe psychological and emotional trauma that incapacitate them by paralyzing them with fear, giving them panic attacks, or causing them to have a mental breakdown as their intense screams and feelings of terror fuel the akuma's power. The third eye acts as an amplifier for the fear-induced hallucinations, meaning that the more people that the akuma terrorizes, the stronger the hallucinations and the akuma become. Now I bet you can imagine all the different types of fear-induced hallucinations each one of the Miraculous heroes could face when fighting against this akumatized villain, who's civilian identity is none other than:

Noelle Odeja!

The details regarding how she got akumatized are still in the works with the story, but let's just say that someone messed with the wrong girl! Time for her to show the world how much of a "horror freak" she truly is. I'm thinking about making the akumatized object her backpack or something, will also carry her power items in it when they are not in use (though that idea is subject to be scrapped if I think of any better ideas).

As far as the name of this akuma, I still haven't decided on one yet. I was thinking of something like "Frightmare", "Freak Show", or maybe even "Horror Show". IDK. I'm not that great with naming villains or heroes. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open to them.

Anyway, let me know what y'all think about this akumatized villain. Feel free to voice your opinions, thoughts, theories, or any suggestions you might have on how this villain could be improved upon (I might have made her too OP. Let me know if I need to tone the powers down a bit).

@nerd-chocolate @andromeda612 @princessbutterflysposts @artzychic27 @arny20252 @imsparky2002 @msweebyness

[mbslost]

hi. yes i came back for another yapping session, ironic.

i would like to express some of my feelings towards... some interesting things.

1. The Strade nazi drawing

i talked about his before, i am aware, but later (while reading other opinions as well) i got reminded about EP (Electricpuke for those who dont know him). did we all forgot HOW MANY nazi drawings he made? dont you believe that's an influence as well? if i remember correctly, Gato cut ties with him because of his abusive behaviour (there arent many people talking about this but some user are aware about his actions. sadly i wasnt in the community when that happened)

literally there are people calling Gato a nazi when she doesn't support the ideology. why did no one act the same with EP? different standards? the fact he left (probably) for good? still its not an excuse to call Gato a nazi. also she apologised multiple times. again MULTIPLE TIMES. even in the callout post in twt you can see the fact she IS sorry for drawing that. that she REGRETS it

edit: kay found a ss on tt from the user @/gorturic where Gato said this as well

again, she doesn't support any nazi shit :/

2. The way others silence opinions that they dont like

im not saying you should be forced to agree with it, but when you make a callout account, normally, you let multiple people say their opinions over that thing. you can even show proof when you see someone is wrong. thats how argument work, crazy ik.

i start to see that if you defend Gato or just leave the community because the fandom its on thin ice, you'll be harassed and bullied for your choices. first of all, HOW ABOUT WE LEAVE PEOPLE THAT DONT WANT TO ASSOCIATE WITH BTD/TPOF ANYMORE ALONE. good? literally saw multiple users being harassed by this. its THEIR decision, suck it up. also can we stop SENDING DEATH THREATS???

or the fact that if you do have a point, they'll immediately cancel it with the "oh but its not important". it can be if you have some proofs for their misinformation (just like i proved the variety of poc characters Gato CREATED. didnt talk about Ren since he's another story)

3. Lack of proof for the side allegations.

if people noticed mods harassing people sm, why didnt they talk? why arent there ss of their conversations? we dont even know (most of us) what they even commented about (aside of Pussyspieler drawing). or the twt user that was wronged. that situation was like.. kind of a "im more autistic so you should shut up" (i have to add that i asked people on the spectrum about this and that was their point of view) of course the mod shouldn't have said it like that but.. its more of a misunderstanding really.. that doesnt mean you cant be upset. you absolutely can. everyone can react differently so dont harass them for feeling down or for being frustrated.

also the spanish (or mexican idk) users that just copied and translated @/renhanasgf posts with little to no new information. just the same thing. (although they said something of Gato not sending merch to latin America. probably because of the laws back then or the fact that the transport fee would be high af. im still searching for the reason tho so ill need some time for that one).

4. This fandom is messed up

people when fans of horror porn games are problematic ��. i agree that some people are being like extreme with their reactions, but no one is perfect here. just like i approached the situation completely wrong, they did the same. of course, now if you go around and be a racist piece of shit, you shoudl just stay off the internet for a while. luckily more approach the "like the art not the artist" thing.

look. you can always block users that you dont like (just like i do to those who are either into csam,thanks for telling me ab this term anon!, or incest). i know. shocking that people can block others.

after all these fandoms are not for the weak. there may be some safe spaces in it as well but... lets be real... its still going to be problematic. if you cant handle the community or how others act around here, then id suggest for you to not have a close interaction with others. like uhm, just, appreciate the content, not every person around here. just be aware of the users, stau safe okay?

5. Will i stop yapping?

not until i will see an agreement in the fandom. Gato is a human, of course she will do mistakes. especially if she's anxious or tired. having hundreds of people around you its hard and i can imagine it. having supoortive people only to wake up with people hating you. i hope she's safe and that she wont have to go to the hospital again. i pray for her well being, and to others that got spammed with those disgusting comments.

im not saying we should forget about this like.. her poor management and emotional way of responding to things, but is it truly worth it? to force a person to apologise just because they tried to fix things?

i also dont think ill stop because i just feel like im the only one that does talk here (trying to even prove wrong on some things). if others do it as well, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TAG ME I WANNA SEE THEM😭 also because most people are still so confused about EVERYTHING. for some reason this drama its only getting more popular on tt for some reason.. which is a big no no since there are a lot of YOUNG people. i believe this should be talked here, and on twitter. (idk what to say about telegram)

ill stop here since my sickness got me. i will edit it later to add or correct myself but *sighs*

please stay safe and try to view more opinions over this. DONT SPAM OR HARASS ANYONE WHO ONLY WANTED TO EXPRESS THEIR FEELINGS. we'll see on Sunday how things will turn out.

(if i missed something out or said something wrong please correct me)

[house-of-tykayl]

Is there a mandate in Teen Titans Go where they say Robin and Starfire are never allowed to be an actual couple in the show?

I don't understand why they don't want them to be together they make Starfire reject Robin.

I don't think it would cause any problem if they become a thing, they can still make comedy jokes in the show while being in a relationship at the same time.

i think TTG is a low effort parody show, so to change something fundamental to the original concept (having TTG robin chase TTG starfire) would take too much effort. the show would have to replace the conflict of unrequited(?) love with another conflict funny enough to move an episodic story forward for an infinite number of seasons.

so yeah, there probably is a mandate/rule (in the show bible or something) to prevent TTG robstar from becoming "official"

(also if you dont find the idea of TTG robstar being unrequited funny, then tbh i feel like TTG's kind of humor and even the original concept of TTG just isnt for u... it's not the 2003 cartoon v2, it's a parody and always was. by this point i feel like it (TTG's parody elements at least) are such a specific kind of humor that 89% of people won't enjoy it, and thats fine)

anyway there's also how TTG had more sincerity in season 1 when it was more like a really weird sitcom, where the titans' relationships (while still subversions of the 2003 cartoon) were mostly genuine bonds even if they acted like lobotomy patients sometimes. the comedy had limits and the characters had empathy. so if TTG robstar would ever have a chance at becoming anything near canon, it would have been back in s1, though still unlikely

but later seasons of TTG can be very mean spirited, overly cynical and deconstructive, depending on who is writing the episode (assuming the episode is even character focused at all, which became less common over time). the show went from a parody of the 2003 cartoon to a parody of everything besides the 2003 cartoon lol. sometimes i feel like post season 1 some of TTGs writers took the mob hate to heart and let negativity poison the original sitcom premise before slowly selling out

so i dont think genuine relationships between the TTG titans can happen anymore, some of the writers hate the characters enough to have broken up their friendships (someone even messed with cyborg & BB once omg), let alone the romantic relationships. except maybe that doesn't matter either because TTG resets most of its continuity every episode?? ironically TTG could still turn the ship around in terms of the series' tone and direction, though i doubt they will if the current direction makes more money

weirdly enough whenever TTG shits out another AU thing, like the big 2018 movie or the night begins to shine universe, suddenly theres unironic robstar shipping/hints in it that are soooooooo cute. besides being shipper bait this is probably because those TTG AUs feel removed from the main TTG series, so their stories feel more free like they're allowed to be sincere again, like the main show's original season 1.

unless the romance is supposed to be a joke, it needs sincerity in order to work. and its impossible to write sincerely when youre a contractual writer buried under 300 layers of irony and cynicism who doesn't even like the show youre writing for... and thats what i feel happened to the main TTG show ,compared to some of its AU stuff

tl;dr i just cope and pretend like TTG is still the goofy sitcom it used to be, partially coz season 1 TTG robstar had the (admittedly very low) potential to be real, and even if it didnt happen at least their friendship was consistently sincere. and very cute

[originalwinnercheesecake]

What if the KND were also pokemon trainers?

    Here we go again. So I have been getting back into Pokemon lately. One of my favorite things to do now is take cartoons that was a big fan of, and build pokemon teams that I think the character would have, if pokemon existed in their world and if they were trainers. I did several for Disney’s Isekial cartoons, and those were pretty well recived. But when I did Steven universe for Cartoonetwork or “The CN” no one cared. I am not sure if this one will get many likes either. It’s been such a long time since KND ended. But this was one of my favorite shows as a child, and I still consider it one of Cartoonetworks best shows ever. I love Kids Next Door. It was pretty easy to imagine the characters as pokemon trainers, and even if it gets no likes I still really wanted to do this post.

Also since sector V is so close, both a team and friend group, I decided that their group needed a mascot pokemon to show their team connection. Since there is only 2 pokemon that have at least 5 evolutions (only 1 of which is actually cool) I decided to use the Eevee line again. I used it for The Pines family in Gravity Falls, where I matched 7 of its evolutions to the 4 bio Pines family members, and three family friends who were pretty much family. For Sector V since there is 5 of them I am only using Eevee’s first 5 evolutions: Flareon, Jolteon, Vaporeon, Espeon, and Umbreon. Teams are below

Nigel Uno a.k.a Numbuh 1

Espeon: So you are probably expecting me to give Espeon to Numbuh 3 because of its pink coloring right? Nope. Espeon is a psychic type pokemon. With how focused and strong willed Numbuh 1 was, I could see psychis being his favorite pokemon type, and Espeon being a great partner for him.

Hypno and Lunatone: Continuing on my theory of Numbuh 1 and psychic pokemon I am also going to give him a Hypno and a Lunatone. Hypno because it’s level of focus kinda reminds me of Nigel’s. Also it can help people with insomnia, which if I remember Numbah 1 either had or beginning to develop. Lunatone because not only did he love the moonbase but he also really enjoyed space travel missions, *alludes to the series Finale*.

Torchic: At this point I have to stop using just psychics and give Numbuh 1 a more balanced team. He was honestly the hardest one to think up a team for, since so many pokemon are animal based, and if you remember Nigel was kind of an animal hater. Or more specifically he saw pets as “in the way” and would generally be slower to warm up to animals then his teamates. But he grew to love anything that could assist in missions. One such occasion was with the baby chicks that followed them on that one cake stealing mission, and wanted to act as Numbuh 1′s troops. Becuase he bonded so well with them I had to give him a Torchic.

Warturtle: Shades are an important part of numbuh 1′s character. He and his team consider them a symbol for him being a leader (even though to the best of my knowledge none of the other sector leaders were shades). I went to google and typed “pokemon that like to wear sunglasses” and Squirtle came right up. I could see Squirtle’s move pool coming in handy on missions, and Numbah 1 being able to bond very well with the brave and ready to go turtle. But while I wanted to keep his torchic as a cute little chick. I do believe Numbah 1 would be able to evolve a Squirtle at least into a warturtle.

Sceptile: Numbah 1′s team Ace. At this point I noticed I was giving him different starter evolutions and I decided to role with it and give a him a fully evolved grass type as sixth pokemon. Now if we go by rejoins I should give him a Meganium, since chikorita is the Johoto grass starter and Johoto is in between Kanto and Hoenn. But let’s be real Nigel and any version of chikorita’s line would be a disaster together. (Ironically though that would be a pretty good pokemon for his girlfriend Lizzy to use in contests).Also I want him to have the potential to find a mega stone and train a mega evolution. Looking at Grass starters I think it would be the quick, agile, and composed treecko line that would be best suited for our leader here. So Sceptile rounds out his team.

Nigel/Numbah 1′s pokemon team: Espeon, Hypno, Lunatone, Torchic, Warturtle, and Sceptile.

Hogarth (Hoagie) Pennywhistle (P) Gilligan Jr. a.k.a Numbuh 2

Jolteon and Dedenne: Jolteon is gonna be Hoagie’s eevelution. It’s an electric one and he is a mad scientist characters. And while I am getting a bit tired of electric types and mad scientists on my lists I have to acknowledge Jolteon is the best fit for Numbuh 2 out of Eevee’s original 5 starters. Dedenne joins his team too. (It at least is duel electric/fairy type) I am giving him this to represent Joaquin, the little leader hamster that Helps Numbuh 2 test experiments

Scarmory and Yanma: Numbuh 2 is more than just the teams 2x4 technology expert though. He is also the teams pilot, and loves spending time in the air. So he would have to have at least a couple flying pokemon. For Skarmory I wanted hm to have something big enough to fly him and his teammates around. I thought about maybe doing Arodactyle, but honestly a giant scrap metal chicken suits Numbuh 2 and the KND much more than a prehistoric dinosuar. Yanma is similar to his fly-themed jet pack and is used to fly him around personally (Jessie’s was able to lift her, and even if Hoagie is chubby I doubt he weighs more than a full grown women).

An Alolan Grimer: Grimer and Muk (who Hoagie is not ready for yet) are another pokemon I like giving scientist characters (might have something to do with me being an owl house fan), because they are kinda the slimes, and sludges, and base elements of the earth. Also Numbuh 2 was that little boy who loved gross stuff, so a Gimer fits him really well.

I am giving Numbah 2 an Alolan Grimer, as opposed to a regular Kanto grimer for two reasons. One because the dark green color makes it look like boogers, which in the KND are used as personal verification for operatives and power sources for some of their technology. Secondly because I gave Abby a more exotic/regionly diverse team, which I feel makes sense for her. But as revealed in the finale numbuh’s 2&5 get married as adults. Looking back at the show while two don’t seem to have those feelings for each other yet (Well Hoagie does not have those feelings for Abby yet. Abby may be starting to like like Hoagie, but she either does not realize it herself yet, or keeps it a secret from everyone else. Gonna guess the former, because she couldn’t keep her crush on Maurice a secret), you can see hints and suggestions that they will one day sprinkled throughout the show. I wanted to give them a connection through their teams that, like them, was more sublte. So I am giving them both alolan pokemon.

Munchlax: a chubby kiddie with a near unstopable appitite. Gramdma the Stuffem bewere the combined eating power of both Numbuh 2 and Munchlax together.

Hoagie/Numbuh 2′s team: Jolteon, Dedenne, Scarmory, Yanma, Alolan Grimer, Munchlax.

Kuki Sanban A.K.A Numbuh 3

(Note Kuki here was the most fun to make a team for, and honestly the only hard part was having to limit her to just 6. I could for real do another two lists at least for her)

Flareon: Which eevelution will Numbuh 3 get, if Numbuh 1 has the beautiful Espeon? Why Flareon of course! If Kuki were the only operative to get an eevelution the correct one for her would still be Flareon. Flareon is fluffiest one. It’s adorable. Like Numbuh 3 it’s base demeanor and attitude are that of a sweetheart, but if you are dumb enough to make it mad it will set itself and your sorry backside ablaze.

Chimchar: So since Numbah 3 was such an avid collector/protector of rainbow monkey’s, she has to, has to have a colorful monkey pokemon. I picked chimcar because according to cannon her favorite Rainbow monkey is “The Orange Kind (Because it reminds her of Wally)” Plus as stated previously I believe Numbuh 3 would make for a really strong Fire type trainer.

Bannet: Numbuh 3's strongest pokemon. Representative of both ramon4 and Numbuh 3's most important trait: her heart. Bannets are born from discarded toys and love that has been forgotten. Number 3 always believed everyone deserved and needed love, and made it her mission to give it when she could (Ramon4, the mustache “Kitty”, ghost hamsters, and many others). If Numbuh 3 came across a sad and lonely bannet, she would totally catch it just so she could shower it with what it believes is gone. That's who she is.

skunky: for Bradley

Skitty: it's super cute, super sweet, super hyper, and super strong all rolled into one. In my opinion It's the most Kuki Sanban a pokemon there is

Beautifly: Because it is pretty, colorful, and feminine, and there is nothing wrong with being a girly girl. It was trained alongside and is super good pals with Numbuh 4′s Dustops

Kuki/Numbuh 3′s team: Flareon, Chimchar, Bannet, Skunky, Skitty, Beautifly

Wallabe (Wally) Beetles a.k.a Numbuh 4

Vaporeon: Okay so for real Wally got Vaporeon by default. When I decided I should use the first 5 eveelutions a team connection for Sector V the other 4  went right with who they fit best, and Vaporeon and Wally were what was left. When I realized this I at first tried to rationalize switching him and one of his friends partners, or maybe changing the connection. Why would Number 4 have a Vaporeon? It’s a water pokemon and he couldn’t/could barely Swim?... Then it hit me that is exactly why he needs/should have Vaporeon. Water is his big weakness. So a pokemon that could help him in the water would be an integral and invaluable part of his team.

Magikarp: Because he loved Mr. Fishy so much. Plus once he is done raising it and it was ready to evolve, he would then have a giant, raging, serpent to ride around on. It could help him to feel tall. ( Anyone remember Tubezilla?)

Slowpoke: It comes off as a really dim, but grows up to be one of he smartest pokemon there is. This represents how everyone thought Numbuh 4 was a dummy, but as became apparent as he grew up, he was actually a genius. This is the last water pokemon I am giving him. Him having a team that is half water-types was not intentional, but a happy accident. I love it.

Tyrogue and Hawlocha: Numbah 4 was the strongest member of sector v, and the best at battle. So as such he would probably have at least 2 fighting types. I chose to give him both a decked out  T.V. wrestler and  the scrappiest kid pokemon.

Dustops: So I really wanted to do a second, two part, branch evolution with 3x4, and have them raise them together. After looking into different branch evolution I came to the conclusion that I would have to use Beautifly and Dustops (It was them or Huntail and Gorabis). Beautifly works perfectly for Numbuh 3. While Dumbuh 4 would probably initially think butterfly’s are “sissy” Dustops is technically a moth which might be more acceptable. Exspecally since it is a poison type with a scary face pattern on its wings, and again gave him an excuses to spend more one-on-one time training with the girl of his dreams. He would come to love Dustops, no doubt about it.

Wally/Numbuh 4′s team: Vaporeon, Magikarp, Slowpoke, Machop, Hawlocha, Dustops

Abigail (Abby) Lincoln  a.k.a Numbuh 5

(I think I mentioned this in Hoagie’s list, but I am giving Numbuh 5 a more exotic/regionally diverse team, since she traveled so much on her Candy adventures).

Umbreon: Numbuh 5 gets Umbreon because she was the operative that had the most talent for Night based Missions. Umbreon and Espeon were released in the samegen, and that will have to serve as Numbuh’s 1&5′s connection to each other, as friends and 1st&2nd in command of the team. Originally I wanted to make them the only 2 with Mega evolutions, but it turns out Bannet (whom I refuse to take off Numbuh 3′s team list) can mega evolve, and chimchar and Magickarp will mega evolve at their final forms. Then I tried to give them both shinnies, but the shinnies on numhuh 1′s team did not suit him as well as their regular forms. So by default I am just giving them parallel eeveelutions.

Froakie: Another one for taking on night missions. Wiki says Forakie acts really chill on the outside, but deep down is supper protective and watchful of its closest companions. Numhuh 5 and Froakie are one and the same in that regard, and would no doubt work well as a team. Plus it’s a super cool pokemon, that just gets cooler as it evolves. I love the idea of future Supreme Leader Numbuh 5 having a Grenija with her up on the Moonbase. Galactic KND Beware.

Vanilliuxe: What? This girl is not only super chill; she was candy themed Indiana Jones. She needs at least two ice-type pokemon, and at least 1 candy/sweet pokemon. Unfortunately candy/sweet based pokemon are a rarity (I have elected to ignore slurpuff’s existence). Fortunately the Vanilite pokemon line exists. Ice cream is supposed to be her favorite treat. I am going to give her the Fully evolved form: Xanilliuze. She is the fourth flavor chosen one after all.

An Alolan Sandshrew: Numbuh 5′s second ice type pokemon, her alolan pokemon (As previuosly mentioned that I gave Abby and Hoagie each a, different typed, alolan pokemon; to highlight their friendship and the subtle hints through out the show that they will one day like each other as more), and what is in my opinion her cutest pokemon. 

A hisiun Arcanine: Number 5 said once that she liked dogs, and I think her an Arcanine would get along quite well. Arcanine’s another pokemon that shows off how she see’s herself as a protector to her friends. It’s big enough to carry Number 5 as well as friends/team mates of her’s, and fast enough to make quick, speedy, get aways when needed. I could also see it being very useful on Candy missions . I am giving her a Hisuin one because I really like its design, and to connect with her sister’s favorite pokemon.

Mawile: Rounding out Numbuh 5′s team is Mawile. picked for its trademark “Head gear” if you will, as well as its skills with tricking/deceiving its foes.

Abby/ Numbuh 5′s team: Umbreon, Froakie. Vanilliuxe, An Alolan Sandshrew, A hisiun Arcanine, Mawile.

Notable Background character.

Kids Next Door isn’t all sector V. There are other operatives and former operatives who are now Teen Ninja’s that show up frequently. However given these characters screen time  I will only give them 1-2 pokemon. I am not saying they do not have 6, but  I figure most of theirs would probably stay at their bases, and they would bring their favorite ones on missions away from their areas.

Chad Dickson a.k.a Numbuh 274- 

Has 2 favorite pokemon

Feraligatr and and Monferno: was tempted to take the easy way out and just give the man here and absol (rumored to be but really isn’t), but I have already used Absol a couple other times (Ducktales Lena and The owl House’s Hunter), and Chad here’s character is very different from theirs. Plus I did not go into this just to tack on easy, less creative choices. So I thought more about Chad. He’s a jock; that was true in both his time as a KND operative, as Supreme Leader, and as a Teen Ninja/Double Agent. I google sports based pokemon and discover that there are many pokemon based off famous athletes.

I chose Feraligatr who is based off a pro football player. Football is Chad’s favorite sport, and Feraligatr is a fast, muscled, high powered, and intimidating beast. Infernape is based off a famous boxer. Chad could box well too. But I lowered it down one evolution to a Monferno, to show that there is still more training he could do.

Rachel T McKenzie a.k.a Numbah 362

Venomoth:  Before she took over as Supreme Leader Numbuh 362 was a stealth agent/spy for the KND right? So I wanted to give her a really stealthy, ninja pokemon. At first I was gonna give her Frogadier, and that may have worked okay (her having the evolved form of one of Abby’s pokemon could be a hint to Abby being her successor). But then, when I was re-watching season 1 of Pokemon, I found the episode where Ash goes to challenge the leader at a ninja based gym. The gym leader and his sister used venonat and venomoth a lot. I know that both have super good vision. Venamoth being a flying type could also keep look out and do aerial scouting. Once I read stun spore and sleep powder are in its move pool that was it. Venomoth became the perfect pokemon for a spy agent who does little battling, but lot’s of sneaking around and intel gathering on the enemy.

Richu: One thing I was trying to avoid doing was giving her a team that was similar to Chad’s. After Chad’s “betrayal” on his 13th birthday I cannot imagine the KND would have allowed their next Supreme leader to copy Chad. Besides Rachel is clever enough I do not think she would ever have to. I gave Chad a water type and a fire type pokemon. So I decided to give Rachel an electric pokemon. Once I made that decision Richu was an easy pick. For one it matches the orange and brown stripped sweater she starts wearing in season 2. It is also a strong and clever mouse, and could function as the ears to Venomth’s eyes on her team.

Fanny Fullbright a.k.a Numbah 86

Houndoom and Snubble. So do to her... tough and yappy personality (which yes I know is a shield she puts up due to having what must be the most emotionally difficult role in the KND: having to decommission operatives that age out after years of service) it was a given that she would have dog pokemon. Houndoom is a big, fierce one, that helps her hunt down the operatives that refuse to go without a fight. Or worse, try to leave early and sell the organizations secrets to the enemy. Snubble is still grumpy and tough. But it is also small, and doll like, and could maybe serve as a comfort creature for this girl.

Cree Lincoln, Formerly Numbuh 11, Now high ranking teen Ninja

Has 1 favorite pokemon

 Sneasler: A Hisuian pokemon  (so there is a bit of a connection with both her and her younger sister having Hisuian pokemon). Sneasler is a powerful poison and fighting type which is a combo that suits Cree very well. It’s also very ninja like, scary, and in contrast to weavile (a pack creature) it’s pretty much a loner. If I remember Chad and the other teens often worked as a group. Cree meanwhile would recruit teens to their organization, but was pretty much a soloist in the field.

Patton Drilovsky a.k.a Numbuh 60

Empoleon: Pretty simple. His character is basically that he is in charge of the arctic base; which is probably the second most important KND base next to the Moonbase. Its also in the coldest part of Antarctica. What else would I give him but a giant Emperor penguin pokemon.

Maurice Bramley “Formerly” Numbuh 9

Exacadrill: Maurice is the first undercover KND operative in the Teen Ninja force, that learn about. His character is that he is a mole, so I gave him a giant, powerful mole, steel/ground type mole.

Tommy Gilligan a.k.a The Tommy, formerly numbuh T Probably only has the 1 pokemon

Eevee: Yeah yeah yeah Tommy is like 7, so he is “to young for Pokemon”. Kids younger than 10 had pokemon in the show (looking at you Bonnie). Also he trained at the KND Academy, and that would have advanced his readiness. I am actually giving him an eevee since as numbuh T he is put in sector V, si he would have been given an Eevee. But he quit (in a Hero move) after a day, we’ll say he kept the eevee but did not have a chance to battle and evolve it.

Since Tommy basically goes back to being a weird but typical child afterwards, he never evolves Eevee, he just keeps it as a pet/best friend. When I used Eevolutions for the Pines family I did not have a character I could do the “I do not want to evolve it. I want to just keep training Eevee as it is” trope. But Tommy is a pretty good candidate to do that for in Codename Kids Next Door. 

[adamwatchesmovies]

Assassination Nation (2018)

Assassination Nation is stylish and modern. The colours are bold, the ideas are fresh and there’s no mistaking it for anything else. It’s a wildly exaggerated, violent and provocative story that’ll leave even the most open-minded viewers a little shocked. You’ll either love it… or loathe it.

In Salem, Massachusetts, Lily Colson (Odessa Young) and her best friends Sarah (Suki Waterhouse), Em (singer/songwriter Abra) & Bex (Hari Nef) are delighted when the mayor’s personal files are leaked on the internet for all to see. The hacker responsible is just getting started. Soon, half of Salem’s dirtiest secrets are released and the town loses its mind.

The film opens with a montage of trigger warnings telling you how bad things will get for our characters. Right away, you know you’re in store for something different. Is it telling you that what’s coming up will upset you so you can brace yourself, or is director Sam Levinson just being ironic? It’s hard to say. Many of the characters in the film behave as though they’re comments from Internet forums made flesh-and-blood. They say outrageous things they can’t possibly believe - that would be crazy - and you’re not exactly sure if you like any of them. Our four protagonists, for instance. They make fair points about many subjects but at the end of the day, they’re eagerly judging others and don’t even think about respecting anyone privacy once the hacker releases files they know will destroy people’s lives. It’ll turn many people off but that’s exactly the intended reaction. You’re not accustomed to being confronted the way you are while watching Assassination Nation. It’s uncomfortable and scary but also unexpectedly refreshing.

From a visual standpoint, there’s a lot to love. A party scene that follows the quartet would be a joy to watch even with the sound off and no idea of what’s happening. There’s a home invasion scene towards the last act that features long tracking shots that slowly reveal all of these enemies gathering outside. It's so intense, i’ll have you on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Even if you don’t like the characters, the movie is so unpredictable you have no idea what to expect next. Hand The Purge franchise to Sam Levinson right away.

It’s frenetic and stylish, makes no bones about what it wants to say and yet… Assassination Nation still pulls its punches. When characters attack transgender Bex, they always refer to her as “her”, which makes their hatred unconvincing. Numerous times, we’re reminded that Lily is over 18 but when she sends dirty pictures to the mysterious “Daddy” she’s always texting, she never actually shows anything. It makes the attacks she suffers when her pictures leak utterly bewildering. Of all the people in Salem, everyone is jumping on the girl who send PG-13 pictures over the phone? Even in this movie, in which the characters are more embodiments of ideas than characters, that doesn’t make sense.

Whether Assassination Nation is exploiting its 21st-century teens, questioning their sanity or doing both at once, there’s no way you can ignore it. Certainly not after its pitch-perfect finale. The best scenes aren’t just good, they’re amazing and even when things seems a little half-baked, it kind of works. Your senses demand that you stop and examine everything you see, meaning it’ll stick with you long after it’s gone. (On Blu-ray, February 21, 2020)

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

Does FE Engage ever discuss Brodias invasions of Elusia?

Other than taking their lands I assume it's because they have people who worship the fell dragon, so religious persecution basically? They should expand on it more. I wouldn't be surprised if the constant invasions from Brodia caused desperation among Elusians and pushed them to worship the fell dragon.

Yeah! It's a pretty regular thing that gets brought up, either in the main story or in supports between people from those nations. Diamant doesn't like that it happens but he can't just stop it even as the crown prince because it's a problem that's basically just part of Brodia. It's something that's so deep rooted in their history and culture now that he knows it will take effort to actually change it.

If nothing else they've done a good job showing how he wants that change but he knows he can't fix his country overnight. His people have to want it as well, and he talks in depth about it with Ivy in their supports. Even though he doesn't agree with invasion, as long as his people think of themselves as "warriors" and think "warriors" need to invade their non-pact neighbors, he won't be able to control that situation very well, so his goal is to try to change the mindset of his people.

From what Alfred explains, he says Brodia attacks Elusia to expand its territory because Brodia’s king is ambitious, but I can't recall if it was discussed further. If we go by what Alfred explains (since he wouldn't say that to lie and if that's what he says, that's just what he knows/is aware of), it sounds like the king was difficult to get into a non-aggression pact with because of that.

It's kind of ironic because it sounds like Brodia's king and overall nation is scummy and that they invade just to take land, but their king never seemed all that bad of a person. I'm not sure if they intentionally gave us a Family Man King Who Is Super Affectionate And Goofy who just coincidentally was brought up to behave like that or something, but he doesn't act anything like Alfred explains Brodia or the king himself to be. I guess it's a matter of them not being as shitty as other people interpret them to be, but it's explained very thoroughly by Diamant that he doesn't advocate, accept or appreciate how Brodia has invaded Elusia.

Generally the characters we meet don't have any issue with Elusians or their religion as long as they're good people. It seems like the general populace leans toward the Fell Dragon, but they don't seem like a nation of just awful people as a whole. There is a sort of animosity between Brodia and Elusia, but that's because they've been fighting for so long and from what I understand, Brodia started it.

Actually, when Alfred explained all that stuff to Alear, he even apologized and said he didn't mean to try to turn Alear against Elusia by letting Alear know that Elusians worship the Fell Dragon. He also says people can believe what they believe, so there's no immediate religious hate that we're shown.

We don't get a whole lot of depth into why Brodia just decided to try to expand its territory or why they attack Elusia specifically (granted, Solm is probably just too far away to bother and they live in a desert area so it's probably just completely inconvenient to bother), but it's definitely a common theme that comes up and Diamant does apologize for his country behaving like that because he knows it's wrong.

[blueikeproductions]

Still kind of conflicted on what the Pokémon anime is doing. I still feel strongly that after 20+ years, it’s too late to change the main cast of the primary anime. It’s better to just stick with Ash and Team Rocket at this stage than try to reinvent the wheel now with Liko and co.

Again I think Liko and co will be just fine, but I can’t say I feel much of an interest like I would with Digimon (and to a lesser extent Bakugan) when they have new characters. It’s actually kinda ironic that Digimon is returning to Davis and Veemon this fall, while Bakugan’s upcoming G3 incarnation features Dan and Dragonoid again, while Ash and Pikachu steps aside in favor of new leads.

I do have other concerns though. Everything about Horizons so far feels like it’s Journeys 2, only they get to ride in an airship this time. While there’s clearly more of a tangible end goal this time with the pendant and ancient PokeBall, old GS Ball and Meteoroid PTSD makes me reluctant they’ll actually pull this story off without any hitches. Journeys also had a lot of scrutiny for feeling kinda directionless, not fully taking advantage of what they could do with a globe trotting adventure, and a common complaint I’ve seen: lack of reuniting with Ash’s older friends, team rotations and just questionable writing on Goh and Chloe. In a way, it does feel like Goh and Chloe were prototypes for Roy and Liko, but it didn’t take because it never felt like they fully knew what they wanted to do with either of them. Roy in particular feels like he’s just a Goh replacement, having the lofty goal of meeting legendary Pokémon (a clearly more vague version of Goh wanting to meet Mew), and while Goh has fans, he never felt particularly well liked in my orbit… Hopefully Roy takes off better. I think this also extends to the anime having now having a bigger cast in the professor’s airship crew. Journeys struggled with its new main characters and a lot of them didn’t appear much, so what are these guys gonna go through? I like the Dranpa fisherman guy but I don’t see him being much more than an off and on quirky guest character at best as of typing.

There’s also the setting. Why are we still doing a globe trotting thing? Is this a course correction from what people felt was wrong with Journeys? Having more of a purpose than just blithely wandering around? People were upset at the lack of Galar in Journeys, but brushed it aside, but not taking place in Paldea seems to be a final straw for some. Why can’t it take place in Paldea? Is that not a requirement by the anime anymore? I can’t speak for all of us, but it seems most do want a return to a regional adventure, not a globetrotting one. It’s why I’m VERY concerned what they’ll do for the next anime three+ years later, if it’s another globe trotting story I think I might just skip that one entirely.

I’m also concerned how kids will take to the anime. I hear it’s actually hotly debated on if kids still like Pokémon, but they do. Kids still love Pokémon going by frequently checked out Pokémon books at the library and Pokémon toys and games I’ve gotten for toy drives. I don’t think kids will be too bothered by a cast switch, but there’s also the tone. This show seems to have an XYZ vibe to it. Apparently, in Japan at the time, XY and XYZ were said to have done poorly with kids, which is part of the reason why Sun & Moon went for more of a comedic theme that Japanese kids responded to better. Will that repeat itself again I wonder.

It’s why I’m convinced this is far from the end of Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket. I legitimately hate how everyone is acting like they died… The only way to “end” their Neverending Story is just have them continue it off screen, and that’s what Mesaze did. However because of doing it this way, it also feels like a back door to bring them back, both as guest stars in Horizons and as a possible in to revive their story on the off chance Horizons doesn’t stick.

At the very least, I can see another miniseries being commissioned that stars Ash & Team Rocket doing… something while Liko’s group is doing their thing. Preferably this would be a short Paldea adventure of some sort since I’m not sure as of typing if Horizons will use anything from Scarlet and Violet aside from select Pokémon. Some friends are very concerned Horizons won’t use characters like Penny and the like, and if this is gonna be like Journeys, it … probably won’t.

Atm I’m figuring Horizons’ story will lead to the discovery of Terapagos and/or the land Kitakami. The timing of the DLC announcements and the ramping up of Horizons info all but point as this being the end goal of the Volt Tekkars. Does such a plot require three years worth of episodes? No, but Pokémon’s anime has always been about the journey not the destination, and that’s the one thing I don’t see changing here.

[single-malt-scotch]

me and my controversial topics will stay under the cut lol.

i know i blabbed lightly of this probably but obviously one of the things that put me off from mcyt for a few years was when the "rpf is bad" opinion started circling the internet more frequently, in tumblr's 2014-2016 toxic callout culture era. i think that era shifted YT fandoms as a whole and turned loads of ppl to presenting creators with their "characters" specifically (like i recall this early on w markiplier and jacksepticeye) and clarifying it often. but i find this all very amusing when 80% of the ppl dont actually play characters at all, and ppl are either just writing "rpf" or theyre just turned a creator into their own OCs. i think its sometimes just a way to not associate with the idea of rpf even if its like, right there.

like, the problem i think is that the majority of fans, namely the young teens that are the main audience, are very consumed by purity culture and being free of problematic interests in such a black and white way. i get it, i understand why you dont want to be associated with rpf. when i think of weird and uncomfortable rpf i think of.... fan fiction of the Beatles, or something. a band or a movie actor is someone we can easily define as "not a character" but... when it comes to mcyt, its a little more grey, because i know some of them goof around in games and do bits and exaggerate themselves.

and yet i still think its counter productive to get caught up in these woes, and to deny what exactly it means for something to be rpf, or have rpf elements. ironically i think the indulgence people have with making them characters worsens the parasocial/obsessive/skewed lens people have on creators these days. how? well its bc of how ppl get super attached to characters... comfort characters, kinning, etc. i love characters just an intensely, but when you apply this to a youtuber who like, doesnt actually play a character? even tho you wanna act like they do? .....there can definitely be issues in that and its def what makes me not get into the fandom as it is. you elevate them with your view of them as a character by being able to indulge in them way further bc they are kind of "yours" now. but also theyre not really.

but specifically back to the rpf vs not rpf topic- basically what i really intend to say is that like. there is harm in becoming too concerned over what youre writing bc you can fall into that mindset of being far too aware in a way thats just gonna make you feel terrible all the time (i experienced this myself when i was like 15 on tumblr and wanted to avoid any potential of touching something "problematic"). this post isnt to declare you are writing rpf, or you arent, or whatever the"rules" are about when it is or isnt, but just that theres always time to just accept shit as it is when the blurry lines arent actually doing any harm in this case. and that even trying to force yourself into the seemingly right direction doesnt exactly solve all the other problems either.

cuz i did all the things ppl would wanna call me out for and i dont care at this point. i wrote fan fiction where the guys where more characters than themselves, in a fantasy world for the server. but i also wrote fan fiction that was irl and based during minecon! and it was smut. and all i can say to that now is...ok. im not even gonna sit around and vehemently condemn it either? even if i never plan to do it again. cuz i dont see the need to punish my past self, nor do i see the reason to continue questioning the nuances of where the line between hard rpf and hard fiction lies with this bc its a never ending conversation. its just not worth my time to worry anymore. i know how to not be weird about it, i know my boundaries between creator and fan, i dont even get near the extent that some people do... i feel like im aware enough to feel like im not causing harm/can make logical choices when issues arise. i was a niave teenager before, and wrote such things with little thought, and had a much less healthy mindset about it! but the way the internet laid on the pressure of these strict definitions was the moment i felt shame, and as if i couldnt ever redeem myself from actions i understand far better now. its really not worth the stress and heartache to get so caught up in it.

[peachtalia]

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

I’m Peach, I’m 23 and I go by they/them, my main is Peach+Fruit+Cake (remove the +’s, I just don’t want it found through keyword searching lol I don’t wanna get judged). I’m an artist and I have a deep interest in occult topics, different cultures and linguistics! Please take note that due to irl health/neurological issues, I may mix things up often so do keep this in mind

More info below the cut

This is my blog for my Hetalia hyperfixation that keeps periodically returning even after a whole decade, I tend to treat the characters more as ocs though. I'm open to making friends who share the same interests as long as you’re being mindful, so feel free to dm me even if I ever take a while!

I don't post nsfw. If whatever I mention does involve nsfw in it such as fics, movies ets I'll mention it as a heads up.

If there’s any issues to discuss or you have any questions or things to clarify with me/correct me on even, feel free to message! I’m always open to talk and I’m not one to snap or be rude unless spoken to rudely first. As long as you come in good faith, we’re cool :•3

While I love hetalia’s characters and the series does entertain me, please note that I’m still very critical of the source material and acknowledge a load of its fuckups loll. This series brings me a load of comfort and nostalgia otherwise. I also have the personal preference of often referring to the characters by their human names most of the time and I like depicting them as people with strong backgrounds in their culture’s traditions, kind of like a human au. I guess u could say a lot of this blog is for my own personal thoughts, ideas, indulgences etc.

example: I like to see Herakles having had a mother who was very involved in curating artifacts and artwork, teaching Greek history and tradition and took a huge part in cultivating Greek ruins. Maybe even some restoration work. And helped in arranging heritage festivals and exhibits. Perhaps she was a university professor

For a lot of the languages and cultures that I post about, please keep in mind that I’m still learning more and more about them and are by no means an expert on any of these topics! This page in a way is moreso for me to document the journey of learning about these things I love so much. I try my best to verify things, but of course I am still prone to mistakes here and there especially with how forgetful and spacey I can sometimes be, so please kindly let me know if I goof anything up!

Oh also you’re not welcome here if you contribute to racism in any way around here. No I don’t give a fuck if you don’t personally consider yourself a racist or “don’t see how xyz is racist/don’t see racism around here” when poc speak up about it. Especially if you’re a white person saying that, take a long hard look at yourself and what it is you’re thinking and saying and either stfu and improve as a person or go jump off a highway bridge thanks. Idgaf if it’s ironic that I’m saying this when talking about hetalia trust me I am Full aware but that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna still rightfully shoot at others over it

My fav characters are Yao, Feli, Kiku and Heracles!

Oh also heads up, when it comes to characters I’m more emotionally attached to, I can be super picky and rigid when it comes to ships and I’m not the multishipper type. It’s not like I’m rabid about ships or whatever, it’s just something more personal for me. A form of deeper personal expression ig you could call it as corny asf as that sounds. I only hold these preferences toward the ones I’m emotionally attached to, other than that idgaf. I keep the preference to myself. Be sure to avoid mentally grouping me with negative fans of any of the things I like thanks 👍🏻

Besides that here’s ships that I like lol I’ve been obsessed with these as a child and still really like to this day!

- Kiku Honda x Herakles Karpouzi

(Heracles Karpusi is the popular spelling around here ik but I like to keep it accurate to the actual Greek romanization.) This one is my main fav atm! I’m not personally comfy seeing either of them with other characters romantically due to my strong preference so I hope you can respect that ( ¨̮ ) and yeah lol I went insanely hard for them back in the day

- Yao Wang x Ivan Braginsky

I love this one a lot and always have and sometimes re enter a period of obsessing over it lololol

- Feliciano Vargas x Ludwig Beilschmidt

Basic lol ik they’re cute, it was my first love like with every other guy here haha I don’t focus on them as much as I did as a kid though

[deprivedwithjoy]

The Clear Sight of a Blind Lady

R E F L E C T I O N

Do not ever mistake me for a fool, your backhanded compliments are well-received but disregarded. Oppress your resentment, and you shall receive a politely served silent treatment. There is no need to act like a clown performing in a circus, if you're that desperate for attention then go block the streets and have a bus filled with dumb children to run you over. Maybe this time, playing the victim would actually convince people. Before you react negatively to this post, allow me to clarify this once and for all. No, this is not about you. However, if I did hit a nerve, please go to the nearest hospital immediately and demand to be prescribed anaesthesia to ease the pain of an intentionally stabbed wound. Another option would be to lie to yourself, use passive aggression, and create imaginary arguments in your head while staring at the window for several hours as if you're the main character with an incredibly traumatic past.

During the years of oxygen consumption, the compilation of data from experiences formulated a conclusion. Ignoring the elephant in the room does not make YOU the bigger person. It only makes things worse. And by that, I mean, it only makes your resentment worse because you thought you were undergoing an intense villain arc when in all actuality, you're not. Those people are stuck in the loop of hell where they are so convinced that their beliefs are righteous and justified, despite multiple signs of inherent subjectivity. They labelled close ties to be selfish after a trivial disagreement, as they claim themselves to be the so-called "open-minded" individuals who follow ONLY the ethical rules of life. That mindset itself is ironic; they're basically calling the world flat but simultaneously, they frown upon those who are humiliated for being in the same dark side of stupidity.

Once again referring to that random elephant who is currently banging its head against the floral-decorated wall, allow me to elaborate. You can still see the elephant, it did not just magically disappear after stealing the bike from your garage. For this upcoming statement, I would like to NOT apologise in advance for certain people's entitlement and inability to accept the fact that they are not always right. Therefore, if an acquaintance of mine wishes to separate themselves from my life, then they are more welcome to do so. Pride is often useful if it is to protect the values of oneself. The moment a blunder of mine was revealed, I tend to adjust my actions to prevent any further harm in the future and I also try my best to acknowledge the wisdom in failure.

Unfortunately, not everyone has the same principles as mine. Too much pride and vanity will cause more damage than the shifting of perspectives. Either way, do not mistake my kindness for weakness. Although I'm willing to understand your situation and compromise, I will not ALLOW you to disrespect me. If our relationship is lasting merely for the reason that I'm agreeable and you reap the fruitful harvest, then our relationship is fragile and it was already meant to be broken from the start.

If you identify one of my mistakes as an envious action of betrayal to pull you down, then let go of me. Let's be honest, if that's how shallow your mindset is, then none of your relationships will last.

If you view yourself to be superior to others for your diligence and some positive traits from past achievements, have you tried looking into the mirror to check how inflated your ego truly is?

If you accuse me of someone who is verbally abusive and toxic for learning how to stand up for myself, isn't it "a tad bit" hypocritical since you are willing to do much worse to me just to cross my boundaries? You went so far as to get mad at me for saying "No" when it's my right to decline something I do not want. You can't even accept it, do you? No worries, I get it. We're not as self-aware and "amazing" as we thought. And sorry to burst your bubble, but you should seriously stop living in that victimhood mentality. Like no cap, that sucks. Want my reflection? Here it is. My reflection is a reflection of another person.

[umbrace-rambles]

I feel like one of the biggest things that kind of fail in most of the Hannibal fics I read is that any time a "new" killer is introduced, it's very likely going to be either irrelevant or boring. And this is not because the writer is lacking in creativity or ability, but because I never feel like they reach the show's capacity to exploit killers as GREAT narrative tools.

One of the show's strongest points, and why so many people likely got invested in S1 despite its more common criminal series "killer of the week" style, is that every. single. killer. acts as Will's foil. They're not only Will's foils, they often reflect other parts of the plot and characters, but they ALWAYS reflect Will. And it's extremely fitting and ironic that the whole of Will's character is built up from his reflection on serial killers, or the relation of other characters to them (a la Peter or Reba).

Seeing Hobbs, an out-of-the-norm sensitive cannibal as the very first killer we encounter is not a coincidence, the fact that it's the first killer Will and Hannibal face together is not a coincidence. Eldon Stammets, obsessed with connection appearing right after Will orphans Abigail and feels trapped into feeling connected to her. Elliot Buddish representing both Will's empathy and his ability to see the wrong in people and his increasing loss of identity and himself, etc etc

S2 starts to stray from the killer of the week structure but it doesn't get abandoned because it's one of the show's key narrative tools, Peter and Georgia are obvious, Randall Tier reflects what a killer in complete acceptance with his dark urges looks like, to the extreme, I'm sure that's why he has the beastly theme even, it's no wonder Will is narratively forced to kill him and keep hiding from himself while playing double sides. But he STILL respects and honors him.

S3 is interesting because I've seen so many people complain about the focus given to Francis and Reba, but we need to see the complexity and development of their relationship to lead to The Wrath of the Lamb, they're a direct foil of Hannibal and Will. When Will goes to talk to Reba he does out of a sense of understanding, falling in love with the monster, they both know. But in that conversation Will also realizes Reba can move on, while he can't, it's crucial to his understanding of himself the same way his last conversations with Bedelia are.

It's curious to me how I never see people talk about the killers in relation to Will and his character development, cause it's all literally there. If you want to bring in a new or made up killer of your own into a fanfic, I think it would be best to not only think of the killer themselves and their cool murders in the plot but how that killer can reflect the plot situation or the Will in your plot and how it can show the readers how your Will is or how he will develop.

[nataliaphantomhivesblog]

Newsflash: Dazai cares for Chuuya

Before reading any further, I will be talking about stormbringer, so spoilers ahead!! Translation credits go out to: @popopretty on tumblr, make sure to give this kind human some love and appreciation<3

Also if you want to read the first few chapters of stormbringer: @buraihatranslations is currently translating it, give them much love and appreciation as well, they deserve it!!

Honestly, I have been so obsessed with Soukoku lately and I think the reason behind this is because when it comes to Soukoku, their feelings for each other are not as easy to grasp as love or hate, it is much more profound than that. There is care, hurt, trust, resentment, companionship, bitterness, and consideration...And ironically enough, thats just the tip of the iceberg.

If we break down their individual feelings towards each other, it will be easier to understand their bond.

On Chuuya's end, his feelings are much more clear due to his expressive personality. He wears his emotions on his sleeves, he can try and hide what he feels towards Dazai but his true feelings tend to unravel easily.

He sometimes tries to mask his feelings towards Dazai by throwing insults, but his facial expressions are enough to contradict what he is saying.

Chuuya's feelings towards Dazai can be easier to comprehend. He obviously feels this certain betrayal due to the fact Dazai left the Port Mafia. Not to mention, he and Dazai have always had a rivalry relationship.

In the Soukoku wiki page, it is stated that Chuuya is aware of Dazai not experiencing a proper childhood, therefore allows him to act as childish as he can and lets him tease him relentlessly. I don't know how reliable this source is, but either way I think its worthy enough to add.

In the Dragon head conflict when Dazai was out of sight, Chuuya told Mori to forget about Dazai. That was until Hirotsu mentioned a microscope, Chuuya quickly realizes it was code language because he remembered a previous conversation where Dazai says he needs a microscope to be able to see Chuuya properly.

The moment he figured out it was a tracker, Chuuya did not hesitate to jump in and rescue Dazai. But here is the catch: No one but Chuuya knew about the microscope, if Chuuya really didn't care for Dazai he wouldn't have mentioned the microscope and kept all this under wraps, leaving Dazai in a mess.

Chuuya trusts Dazai with his life. He never hesitates to leave his life on Dazai's hands when it has to come to it. Chuuya and Dazai have known each other for years, for Chuuya to be able to trust Dazai that much is because Dazai also cares for him too, right?

The answer here is yes, Dazai cares for Chuuya. In a superficial level, it doesn't seem like Dazai truly cares, but I can assure you that he does care for him. Weather you like to think of his care in a platonic or romantic manner, the care Dazai has for Chuuya is undeniable and extremely significant for Dazai's character.

I think that stormbringer establishes this idea even further. There is one specific moment in this light novel that shows his genuine concern towards Chuuya's well being:

"There is one problem." Dazai cut off his sentence hesitantly. "It has nothing to do with the sucess rate of the plan. It is a matter we have to overcome in the end but... It may require some time to decide."

"What's with you?" Chuuya raised his eyebrows at Dazai. "Stop dramatizing it. Just hurry up and say it."

"I said earlier about this control spell to open the 'gate' that is used to reset the command inside Chuuya, right?" Dazai spoke with a strangely restrained voice. "If we use that, the logs of the command formula that were written in the past will be erased. That means...even if the memory erasure was used on Chuuya in the past, the traces of that will be erased as well."

"What?"

"I told you before right, the memory erasure command. The only way we can confirm if Chuuya is human or not is to check the history to see if the memory erasure command was ever used. It means..." Dazai looked at Chuuya with eyes that he had never looked at him before. Those eyes were serious. "If we use that control spell, the method to confirm if Chuuya is an artificial personality created by a string of code, or just a normal human being, will be lost. For good."

The time had stopped.

Chuuya opened his eyes and looked towards Dazai but his eyes were not seeing anything. The wind blew between the two of them. Even so, Chuuya did not blink.

"Verlaine became like that because he was tormented by the curse that he was not human. That only is enough of a big problem. The matter of being human or not." Dazai looked at his pocket watch, gave it a glance and continued. "I can delay the time until the plan starts for about two minutes. I will send an order for my men to wait... You can think about it alone for a while. Cuz I guess its hard for you to collect your thoughts with me around."

Having said so, Dazai turned away and walked down the stairs, leaving Chuuya alone.

Dazai fixated in his pocket watch. Two more minutes. Too short for a life decision. But he couldn't afford more than that.

Inside Dazai's head, he was planning a procedure to swith to an alternative plan in case Chuuya refused, at a tremendous speed.

This section in stormbringer is personally one of my favorites, this is a very rare moment between both of them, but especially for Dazai. Like I stated earlier Chuuya wears his emotions on his sleeves, therefore even if he tries to mask his care with insults, its still painfully noticable that he genuienly looks after Dazai. Chuuya also sometimes show a vulnerable side of himself to Dazai, especially after using corruption.

Dazai on the other hand is extremely unreadable. Its hard to understand his true intentions and if he really cares for people or only sees them as a pawn. In this moment though, Dazai was being painfully genuine. Dazai literally prioritized Chuuya over the mission. He was already thinking of coming up with an alternative plan just in case Chuuya refused, obviously the sucess rate of the alternative plan would be lesser than the actual plan Dazai had in mind, he choose Chuuya's wellbeing over a mission.

In this section, Dazai wasn't throwing jokes or witty remarks, he was being serious. Because Dazai knows how desperately Chuuya wants to be human. He knows how important being human is to Chuuya.

Dazai wasn't manipulating Chuuya by giving him the chance to decide, we can see that Dazai was literally showing a lot of hesitation when mentioning this to him, we also get to see what Dazai was thinking, and we can tell he wasn't thinking about manipulative his movements in any way. All of this wasn't coming out of manipulation, it was coming out of pure care.

After six steps, Dazai reached the stair. He stepped on the stair and started walking down. Three steps down the stair, he heard a *clang*, a cool sound of metal echoing behind him. It sounded like the metal was kicked by the sole of someones shoes. The moment Dazai realized what the sound was, Dazai turned around in surprise.

There was already no one at the top.

Dazai was dazed for a moment, then he loosened his lips and laughed.

"Trying to act cool, huh?" Dazai smiled, both annoyed and relieved. Then he turned on his radio and sent out his order. "Chuuya has sallied, everyone get ready for battle."

I personally love this part so much, relief washed over Dazai the moment he noticed that Chuuya was going to go through with the first plan, which proves my point that he wasn't manipulating him and how Dazai was under a lot of stress because he wasn't sure if the alternative plan would be as effective as his original one.

Yet he still was willing to go through the alternative plan if Chuuya refused, because Dazai values him and regards his wellbeing.

Dazai was being surprisingly gentle in this section, he was being honest. There was no ulterior motive behind his actions here, just a boy looking after his partner.

"So i'm going to send an order to my men to prepare for action... Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay." Chuuya turned to Dazai. "Why are you asking me such a thing?"

Dazai didn't answer right away.

That was an unusual expression. It's like he was trying to say something, but he had to arrange the words in his head to decide where he should start. An expression he rarely shows.

This was right before Dazai drops the bomb to Chuuya about the memory erasure command. He was even asking for Chuuya's opinion on sending his men to get ready, this was the first time Dazai ever showed actual concern without masking it with witty remarks. You can tell that Chuuya isn't used to this.

And when you think about it, when Dazai and Chuuya have missions together, Dazai always uses corruption as a last resort and he always allows Chuuya to make the decision if they will be using it or not.

I personally belive that the main reason Chuuya trusts Dazai with using corruption is because The Sheep used to exploit his powers too much, but Dazai leaves the decision to use corruption up to Chuuya. Dazai understands the physical and mental toll corruption takes on Chuuya and therefore leaves the choice up to him.

Theres another section in stormbringer that I really enjoy, it doesn't necessairly show solicitude but I still think this should still be taken into consideration:

"You seem pretty confident that Chuuya is human, don't you?"

"I am," Dazai laughed with a sigh. "There is no way a man-made code could create such a personality that I detest so much."

Throughout the whole story, Dazai is more than determined that Chuuya is human. The main reason Dazai finds Chuuya so intresting is because of how frighteningly human Chuuya can be, because of the fact that he always wears his emotions on his sleeves, something Dazai rarely does himself. Thats personally a nice sentiment from Dazai's end, even when Chuuya struggles completely when it comes to believing in his own humanity, Dazai still can't help but see him as a human being.

Also I am aware that Dazai literally said he detests Chuuya here but he also sighed and laughed while stating this, showing us that he isn't being serious about hating him.

And its not only in stormbringer were he shows his concern towards Chuuya. In fact, in this following manga pannel Dazai is telling Chuuya that if he is willing to listen him, he will stage his own escape so that Chuuya doesn't get punnished.

Honestly, if Dazai didn't care enough for Chuuya, he wouldn't have mentioned this to him. Chuuya didn't care enough to realize that he literally unwillingly freed Dazai which would get the pm mad at him, so the fact that Dazai is literally helping him out is no doubt out of care for him. If Dazai didn't have any regard for Chuuya he would've not staged his escape or mentioned anything to Chuuya, eventually incriminating him.

There are many misconceptions when it comes to Dazai's feelings towards Chuuya, people think that he doesn't care for him due to the fact that he left the Port Mafia, leaving Chuuya behind. But heres the thing: Dazai's intentions had nothing to do with Chuuya. He left the organization for his own good, he left it to fullfill Oda's wish.

"If Dazai cared for Chuuya then why didn't he take Chuuya with him?" the reason is simple, he knows how much the PM means to Chuuya. In stormbringer it is shown that Chuuya feels as if his humanity is attached to the people he is loyal to, in this case its the port mafia. Verlaine wanted to get rid of the pm because he believed that the pm is what kept Chuuya's humanity, eventually making Chuuya believe that he is only human if he stays loyal to the pm. Dazai knows this. Thats exactly why he didn't take Chuuya with him or even explains to Chuuya why he left, he knows it would be selfish to basically rip Chuuya's sense of humanity apart.

I have a feeling that if Dazai told Chuuya about the real reason he left the Port Mafia, Chuuya will not only feel conflicted about being in the pm, but he would also have an inner conflict with himself as a human.

People also think Dazai may not really care for him because of the fact that after the fight against Lovecraft he actualy deserted him, maybe that part was truly just supposed to be seen as simple humor, but either way I want to talk about it. Chuuya's only request to Dazai was to take him back to base safe, so why did Dazai leave Chuuya behind?

I mean he has carried Chuuya back to saftey before with no problem, for example in stormbringer when Chuuya uses corruption for the first time Dazai carries him back to the billiards bar and not to the mafia’s base so that he could say goodbye to his passing friends.

The reson behind this is because Mori needs to know that unlike Dazai, Chuuya is absolutely loyal to him. Leaving Chuuya the way he did will make Mori believe that these two really are at each others throats and that Dazai is insignificant to Chuuya. Making it seem that for Chuuya, the mafia comes first before anything else.

Therefore Dazai established Chuuya's saftey within the mafia since not only does Mori want these two to be hostile with each other, he doesn't want Chuuya to eventually turn against him if he truly found out more about Dazai's true reason of departure. Then again, this isn't canon but it is a logical assumption.

Not to mention that although Dazai did leave him behind, he folded Chuuya's coat and hat before taking his leave. There is also an an extra chapter where Ozaki Kouyou was talking with Chuuya but when he left he forgot his coat, which made Kouyou came across the coat; where she noticed a badge sewed inside saying "Name: Hatrack", she smiled fondly thinking to herself that some things just never change, in this case, Dazai and Chuuya's bond.

Dazai literally took his time to sew this into his coat just to tease him, it was a simple gesture but it shows us how their dynamic will never change. No matter what these two go through, they will always share a bond that consists on teasing, trust and underlying care.

All of this actually makes that theory of Dazai planting a bomb under Chuuya's car for the sole reason that the PM doesn't find Chuuya as an acomplice who aided Dazai on his escape much more feasable.

For Dazai to just plant a bomb under Chuuya's car with no motive makes no sense because if Dazai's true intentions were to simply mess with Chuuya, he would've most likely made it clear at that time. Dazai always has an underlying motive behind his actions, and in this case it is very likely that he did that for Chuuya's sake.

Don't get me wrong, I am aware that the bomb incident could've just been a comedic moment and I shouldn't look too much into it, but there is still a posibility, right?

These two hold so much trust and care for one another, yet they also hold a lot of bitterness and resentment. In the end the good aspects of their dynamic outweighs the bad.

Either you see these two in a platonic or romantic way, you can't tell me that their bond isn't significant.

Thank you so much for reading!! I wanted to talk about this for a while because I feel like people misinterpret Dazai's feelings towards Chuuya a lot so I hope this clears up things a bit<3