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chaos-of-the-abyss · 4 months ago

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I hope you don't mind me asking this, but why do you like Celegorm? I love that you're vocal about how stupid the Feanorian woobification in this fandom is because people who claim that they did nothing wrong or that they're not villains clearly hasn't read the Silm, but while there's still a level of sympathy to most of them, Celegorm is just genuinely the worst and I can't figure out what there is to appreciate about him lol. I'm sorry if this comes across as a bad-faith question, I really want to know how you like him while not ignoring, trying to deny, or worst trying to justify (which I have seen FAR too many people doing) his canon actions

you're totally good anon! i'd be happy to answer this. just want to preface, i perfectly get where you're coming from and why people hate celegorm, because he is, as you say, the worst. he's horrible. he's done awful things to countless people -- and by no means is he the only feanorian to have done that, obviously, but celegorm's actions in luthien's story make him a type of squicky that's unique even among the brothers. he, hm. how can i put this. he deserves nothing. and yes, people who try to justify him are just wrong. stop reading the silm if you want a mass murdering sexual predator to be glorified ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

that said! the succinct answer is that it's all about the vibes lol. all the feanorians are awful people, but celegorm is, imo, that particularly entertaining kind of awful. there's a certain interplay between his successes and failures that i find unbearably endearing (derogatory). he is canonically charming and magnetic and charismatic enough to sway people with his rhetoric, and i love that. i love that he's opportunistic, clever, and sly, and pounces on the chance when he spots it. the fact that his speech in nargothrond is explicitly paralleled with feanor's before the flight of the noldor says a lot. i find it compelling that while, in many ways, celegorm is the most distant from his family -- friend of a vala, a great woodsman and hunter which are two things that neither his father nor his brothers are ever even mentioned around -- he is the only one among the sons of feanor to be directly, textually compared to feanor, and feanor during one of his most pivotal and infamous moments, no less. the guy must be a force of nature when he really wants to be. yet at the same time, he's endlessly reckless, arrogant, and shortsighted, and he does not get to get away with his actions. his plans flop (just like he will continue to flop until his karmic and also really fucking funny death in about thirty years' time, i'll get back to that), his intentions are discerned, and he gets thrown out in disgrace for treachery with the embarrassing declaration "a maiden had dared that which the sons of feanor had not dared to do" following after him. it's that particular blend of hyper-competence followed hand-in-hand by prompt abject failure and humiliation that makes him so appealing to me.

oh and. another thing about celegorm is that he has the added charm of being a fucking sore loser and a petty bitch -- trying to kill luthien even though she spares his brother's life when she'd be justified throttling him and curufin with her bare hands and i just. he's sooo funny. what is wrong with him. so many things are wrong with him. tfw you kidnap and tried to rape this woman and she does you an untold, absolutely herculean grace and kindness that you know damn well you do not deserve and your reaction is to try to kill her for daring to show you compassion. he's insane.

then. then then then then. he gets chased by own dog and runs away "in terror." you know you've messed up when your dog finally has enough of your bullshit and runs you down because he's fed up with all the terrible things you've been doing. not to mention his dog also dies fighting next to a man that he hates, using his last opportunity of speech to say goodbye to said man. like. beren and luthien's story leaves celegorm, as skilled and magnetic as he canonically is, in absolute shambles and it's hilarious. how does one recover from that you may ask. and i answer one does not recover from that.

but that's not even all. after that saga of blunders he hangs around for about three decades doing absolutely nothing of note, then in his attempt to regain some relevancy winds up having the most mortifying death ever. my dude you were the "let's ambush doriath guys" spokesperson. you campaigned for that shit. this was your desire. this is what you wanted. and you walk in there and the guy who's *checks notes* THIRTY-SIX compared to your one-thousand-something KILLS YOU. elves are not developmentally matured until they're a hundred. your killer is like thirty. this is, generously speaking, about an eight year old by your standards. a fucking eight year old kills you. yes i know dior was not actually a child at the time but the fact remains that celegorm quite literally has more life experience than the entire human race and he's done in by the son of a human. then to add second insult to first insult to extreme injury, two of your brothers are also killed in this battle and in the end you all don't even achieve what the fuck you came there to do. THIS WAS YOUR PLAN. how do you lose that badly. holy hell. if i were him i'd stay in the halls of mandos forever out of pure embarrassment. you simply would never see me again. you think i'm walking out into society and showing my face around the block when an eight-year-old ended my life? nah. no sir not me

plus well. on a more serious note, dior is luthien's son. luthien, whom celegorm thought he could control, whom he saw as an object to further his aims and to lust after. he's killed by the son of the woman he tried to rape, and there's nothing more fitting than that.

so! there you have the basic rundown of why i like what's explicitly laid out about celegorm in canon. he's an objectively horrible man, it's just that i find the way he goes about being objectively horrible extremely funny. but i also think he is ripe for exploration in the realm of speculation -- and that speculation enhances what we do know about his actions during b&l and after until his death. aside from the kinslaying at alqualonde wherein all the sons of feanor participate, we see him and curufin acting unambiguously villainous a good bit before the rest of their brothers -- at the very least, they are clearly more willing to do horrible things at the point of time of b&l when compared to the likes of maedhros and maglor. like, they are out here committing actions that no sane person can rationalize as being anything other than abhorrent. it's clear that they've already given up on the idea of being "good"; they've already given up on keeping their hands clean and they've already shed whatever qualms they might have had in the past.

my thoughts on why? this is by no means canon, but tolkien does seem to like giving the legendarium's major villains some sort of arc and some type of insight into what they become (melkor gets history, sauron gets history, maedhros and maglor get history), so i don't see why celegorm should be any different. and for me, celegorm and curufin, especially celegorm, give the impression that they fell into despair and disillusionment far before the other feanorians did. and their response was to accept that they have no way of going back to the people they used to be, that they've already been rightfully damned, and if they've come this far they may as well do whatever they can to achieve what they fell so low for, because what does it matter anymore? it's part of why i think celegorm sees maedhros trying to look at beleriand and the war against morgoth from a larger perspective than just the silmarils, and both disdains and pities him for it. they've already been doomed and they already can't hope to make amends. they should do what they're here for -- and while, in celegorm's eyes, maedhros isn't willing to do what needs to be done, he is. i think that sort of mentality is fascinating. in a way, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy -- maybe if celegorm thought there was any meaning to him being better, or even just any meaning in not being nearly as awful as he resolved to be, then he wouldn't have stooped so low. but he did believe there was no hope for him, he did believe that he could never be forgiven -- and in believing that, he did go past the point of no return, beyond which he truly, legitimately couldn't hope to be forgiven. also, i just personally like the "well i'm a terrible person so i'm going to act like a terrible person"-type villains better than "oh no i'm a terrible person it makes me so sad and full of despair"-type villains (looking at you, maglor). again, none of this is canon, but it's my reading of celegorm's character, and i think it sheds some light on why he's so awful in b&l and afterwards. in his mind, it's already over for him anyway.

i hope this answered your question anon! i like celegorm, and i enjoy his character, because there are shades of a sad tale behind his descent to being the worst, he's entertaining while he's being the worst, and most crucially of all, he gets his comeuppance for being the worst in an extremely satisfying way. i definitely wouldn't like him (or the silm at all) so much if he'd been, like, successful in anything -- but thankfully he is written by an author who knows full well what an utterly reprehensible character he is. and boy does tolkien not spare him from that karma. he is simultaneously a singleminded and relentless fallen prince, a repulsive monster, and the story's laughingstock (one of them anyway). honestly, none of the feanorians tickle my brain quite like he does. i love him and i would beat him with a shoe

#my beloathed i hate him. absolutely no rights #celegorm #curufin #lúthien tinúviel #lúthien #luthien tinuviel #luthien #maedhros #huan #tolkien #tolkien tag #tolkien meta #lotr #the silmarillion #jrr tolkien #asks #anonymous #answered

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zqnl · 9 days ago

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Compiled some thoughts/observation/analysis of Vol I, Book 1!

Les Misérables Vol I, Book 1: A Good Man

Victor Hugo starts everything off with essentially the life and times of Bishop Myriel. Even though he says it has little relevance to do with the rest of the tale, the book not only touches on some major themes (and personal points of conflict for Hugo) but also has some foreshadowing that I already know will make some future scenes hit so much harder.

Less importantly, but more entertainingly, Myriel throws so much shade and gives so many backhanded compliments for a short, happy, elderly guy. Sometimes he's subtle about it and it flies over the head of the person he's talking to, but other times he just goes out of his way to make his disapproval known in very comical ways. Nothing I saw before reading the brick prepared me for this guy having personality, but I'm so happy it's there.

Notes on themes & foreshadowing/parallels under the cut! Would love to read about alternate opinions/things I didn't catch, especially as a first-time reader 👀👀

Themes

When is a violent revolution justified?

Down with the death penalty

What makes a person good?

Nobody's perfect, or why Myriel is a staunch royalist

Hedonism as a privelege for the rich

The importance of education

When is a violent revolution justified?

Myriel seems to have a very micro approach to goodness — he uses most of his own funds for the benefit of those in need and chides the bishops who hoard individual wealth, but repeatedly shies away from political change. It’s both pacifist and very cure-over-prevention, which is what makes his clash with the Conventionist G so interesting.

Their conversation really felt like Hugo’s own internal dialogue, attempting to address the conflict between the progress won through revolutions and the violence wielded to get there. Despite some back and forth, there was a clear ‘victor’ in the debate. G states “I voted for the end of the tyrant. That’s to say, the end of prostitution for women, the end of slavery for men, the end of benightedness for children. In voting for the Republic, that’s what I voted for.” Since this is extremely reminiscent of the preface, it’s clear that this is the voice Hugo endorses. He also appears to give his own definition for when violence is forgivable when G concludes his speech with “Yes, the brutalities of progress are called revolutions. When they are over, what we recognize is this: the human race has had a rough time, but it has advanced.” It’s therefore quite intriguing that he chose to centre Les Misérables around the 1832 rebellion that didn’t succeed. Maybe future chapters will reveal a tighter definition for progress that will include the aftershocks (if any) of the June Rebellion?

Despite ending on a pretty unambiguous statement of philosophy, some of Hugo’s misgivings (previously published in his public announcements regarding past revolutions) are also voiced in this passage, like when Myriel says “You’ve brought about destruction. Destruction can be useful but I distrust destruction compounded with anger.” G responds by listing what that first revolution gifted France (though “sent tides of civilisation sweeping across the earth” could be referring to Napoleon’s conquests which is somewhat unbalancing), but I think the true rebuttal is when he responds with a crime against the people for every crime against the monarchy. This is particularly enjoyable because it mirrors Myriel’s own attitude in rejecting artificial divides between normal people and ‘higher powers’ back from when he wittily rebuked Napoleon.

Down with the death penalty

A vivid part of France’s violent revolutions is of course the use of the guillotine (or more broadly, the death penalty). Hugo uses some pretty unambiguous language to describe and personify the guillotine, leaving us very clear on his personal stance towards the death penalty; namely, that he’s extremely against it. Myriel himself says “I didn’t realize it was so monstrous. It’s wrong to be so deeply absorbed in divine law that you become unaware of human law. Death depends on God alone. By what right do men meddle with this matter of destiny?” Again, lines from the preface incorporated into the text, highlighting how this section is not in fact without bearing on the rest of the story, at least thematically.

However, Myriel’s actions after this revelation are quite interesting. While his exclamation appears to denounce the use of religion as a band-aid or distraction from material, man-made horrors, Myriel henceforth avoids the guillotine and continues to avoid interactions with changing the law. Later, he even says “Whatever his fellow man does, God allows it.” This is in-line with his character, which so far seems to primarily advocate for mercy and mundane acts of kindness, and avoids questioning the religion he serves. He even writes (of god) “Solomon names you Mercy, and of all your names this is the most beautiful.” in one of his books.

This also comes up in his conversation with G, except here it seems Hugo’s stance on the death penalty isn’t part of the debate. Instead, G is a Conventionist who voted against killing Louis XVI. Personally, I get the feeling that Hugo is drawing a line here. It seems like had G voted for Louis XVI’s death, Hugo would have found him unfit as a mouthpiece for his ideology.

What makes a person good?

Certainly not success, or a good social standing. The section where Hugo says “success is a fairly hideous thing. Its false resemblance to merit deceives men.” feels like one side of the coin to one of Les Misérables’ main tenets, with the flipside being that poverty does not imply weakness of character. I have it on pretty good authority that Les Misérables is very much about the goodness of the ordinary or lower class individual as opposed to the greatness of powerful figures, which was clear from Myriel’s very first snipe at Napoleon.

Hugo also describes Myriel as “Infantile if you will, but these sublime infantilisms were those of St Francis of Assisi and Marcus Aurelius.” I have a vague impression of childlike innocence being present in Cosette and to some extent Fantine (given her name). Hugo might not point to it as the primary or sole example of goodness, but he definitely props it up as one of the examples.

Nobody’s perfect, or why Myriel is a staunch royalist

It’s quite paradoxical for Myriel to believe that as a bishop — advisor to the people — he should live close to poverty, but simultaneously be a royalist and therefore implicitly accept that the king — leader of the people — can live in never-before witnessed splendour starting from the reign of Louis XIV.

This character flaw is again emphasised in the passing of Conventionist G, where Myriel (without much given reason) looks at a man peacefully accepting his death and thinks “He did not think there was any sense of God in this manner of dying.”. This is especially jarring since he’d said “Let us fear ourselves. Prejudices are the real robbers.” a couple pages prior.

I guess no character can have it all?

Hedonism as a privilege of the rich

I don’t think I need to make too many notes here — his speech at the end of 1.1.8 speaks for itself. As an excerpt:

You fine gentlemen, as you say, have a philosophy of your own, for yourselves. An exquisite, refined philosophy available only to the rich

But you are kindly princes and you don’t mind that belief in God should be the philosophy of the people, rather in the same way that goose stuffed with chestnuts is the truffled turkey of the poor.

The importance of education

I imagine this will be touched on more later, but for now we have the quote:

Society is to blame for not giving free education. It’s responsible for the darkness it produces. In any benighted soul – that’s where sin will be committed. It’s not he who commits the sin that’s to blame but he who causes the darkness to prevail.’

This is obviously still relevant to us now, but unsurprisingly, the issue of education was even more important in the 19th century. Literacy rates are still quite low, and new scientific/philosophical/political theories were often spread via the written word. You can't convince the illiterate with writing! If the people who are most marginalised are the ones least able to engage with ideologies made to help them, the vehicle that might enable them to connect with new ideas is naturally extremely important.

Foreshadowing/parallels

Myriel’s silver

I think the following quotes speak for themselves, and add so much significance to Myriel’s later actions:

It must be acknowledged, though, that of his former possessions he was still left with six silver forks and spoons and a large soup ladle that for Madame Magloire were a daily joy to see gleaming splendidly on the white linen tablecloth.

… he had more than once been heard to say, “It would be hard to give up eating off silver.”

In the bishop’s own bedroom… was a small cupboard in which Madame Magloire locked away the six silver forks and spoons and the large ladle every evening. It has to be said, the key was never removed.

This little old guy just likes his one material indulgence, but gives it away to Jean Valjean anyways!

Jean Valjean’s future arrival

Myriel writes in another one of his books:

Don’t ask the name of anyone that asks you for shelter. It is especially the person whose name is a burden to him that has need of shelter.

Castles in the air

I’m not sure if this was just common imagery at the time, and I’m also not sure if the wording is similar in the original French, but in 1.1.12, “blushing choristers… young priests, like Perrette with her pot of milk, build castles in the air!” is used to describe those seeking to advance socially via the seminary. As far as I’m aware, Cosette doesn’t really have any ambitions to do with the church, but still… castle on a cloud in the air mentioned!

Baptistine’s family is rich!

We obviously find out in her letter to her sister, but previous sections foreshadow this by connecting Baptistine with some nicer material goods:

Mademoiselle Baptistine also had in her room a very large bergère of wood that had once been gilt, and upholstered in a flower-patterned Peking silk.

… first a very nice armchair…

However, as we shall see, underneath the whitewashed paper Madame Magloire had recently discovered paintings that decorated Mademoiselle Baptistine’s room.

… and second, a plain exterior peeled off to expose art or luxury.

Honestly, when I first read those sentences, I almost thought she was being set up for like… a villain arc? Or at least a secret reveal arc? But nothing I’ve heard in fandom seems to indicate that so. I just suspected a wealthy background a couple chapters in advance, I guess.

A sentence in Baptistine’s letter

I don’t know if this leads to anything, or if it’s just an excuse for Hugo to shout “[Myriel] is still a true royalist”, but why was Baptistine’s sister asking about a De Faux family?

Facing death with radiance

This one is definitely more of a stretch, but when Myriel accompanies the man sentenced to death onto the scaffold of the guillotine, the criminal is described as such:

So crushed and despondent the previous day, the man facing death was radiant. He felt his soul have been reconciled and his trust was in God.

I’m not very into canon Enjoltaire, and the context here is a believer comforting the wretched by following them instead of the wretched following the believer, but I'll stretch to get the parallel anyways. I also just think the general concept of taking happiness and comfort in not facing it alone is very nice.

#les mis #les mis letters #not sure if i should tag individual chapters since this is just a Block #reading the brick #donougher translation

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woongisi · 1 year ago

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Brand New God // Choi Jongho

sub!Choi Jongho x dom!fem!reader // SMUT

WC// 3.2k

Synopsis// Jongho was the perfect son in the eyes of the church. It was your mission to change that. Opportunity comes once he consumes you with a particularly sinful confession.

Warnings// blasphemy, corruption, angst for a bit, oral (male receiving), no protection (pls use it even for oral), improper use of confessional booths, dacryphilia if you squint

Author's Note// This has been a long time in the making. Hope my other religious trauma mfs enjoy it as much as I do. Title is an iDKHOW reference. ☺︎♡

---------

Jongho wasn't the preacher's son, but he may as well have been. Never late to mass, always helping the elders, scolding the children, the whole lot of it. Sung in the choir. Formerly an altar boy. The envy of every parent's eye.

He was always excited to see you even if he had to preface his greeting by asking why you missed mass yet again. Despite his general duties and all he was never much of an extrovert. You always felt the air of awkwardness that hung around him when he approached you. If anything gave away that he was happy to see you… it was his glossy eyes and trembling smile that he tried so hard to suppress.

Being the son every parent wanted had its perks but many downfalls in the end. Most of the other people your age had largely abandoned the strictness of their faiths. Many still kept their beliefs but no longer felt such pressure to be perfect. In turn, they tended to find Jongho annoying.

You, however? Something about him was cute. Just how nervous he was to speak to you. The deep blush that he tried to hide whenever he told you that you looked pretty. You told yourself you only really went to church out of obligation, but now you'd begun to think you were there for him more than anything. You knew he was perfect. You knew almost for a fact that he'd never touched anyone else or even himself. You'd love to ruin him but at the same time you'd accepted you'd never get to.

Right?

Something about today was different. Jongho's face was red the second he saw you, red before he'd so much as stood up to greet you.

“Miss! You look pretty as always.” He piped up and almost immediately turned to skitter away. Only stopping once you grabbed the sleeve of his shirt.

“Thank you, Jongho. Always the gentleman. You look quite handsome today yourself.” You smiled and ruffled his hair a bit. “You seem nervous. Are you alright? Are you sick?”

“N-no I’m ok!” Jongho avoided your gaze like his life depended on it. “Lying is a sin, Jongho, lying is a sin.” He whispered under his breath.

“What was that?”

“Ok, look! Can… Can I ask you something?”

“Anything you want, sweetheart.”

Jongho swore he'd just passed on. There was no way. No girl his age had ever called him that before… only the little old ladies.

“You- What- Ok, ok come on just follow me, alright?”

Jongho led you back to the confession booths. They were somewhat secluded, given the nature of their use. Standing with your back pressed against the wall, Jongho couldn't even hold eye contact as he stood sheepishly in front of you.

“I- Last night-” Jongho huffed and hid his face. “Stop looking at me like that!”

“Like what?” You smirked. “I'm not here to judge. It's just kinda cute seeing you so nervous.”

“Cute…? Anyway! Gosh! Last night I…” One glance at the low hem of your shirt had shut him down. “Never mind. It's ok! I don't wanna talk about it anymore.”

“Get in the goddamn booth.”

“W-What? First, don't use the Lord’s name in vain. Second… what?”

“Just pretend I'm the priest, k? You wouldn't lie to me, would you, Jongho?”

“This feels wrong, but… fine.”

Jongho sat in the booth and closed the curtains with trembling hands. He'd sat in this exact spot so many times and confessed to so many little sins. Little white lies, things that weren't even necessarily sins that he simply felt guilt for. This time he couldn't shake the anxiety.

Situated on the other half, you slid the small wooden door to the side to reveal the rectangular screen that kept you both apart.

“Right. Now tell me what's got you so bothered?”

Shame devoured Jongho from head to toe. He couldn't even believe he was sitting here letting you play priest. Why the hell was he doing this? Couldn't he just tell the actual priest when it was time for confession?

“Well, last night I had a dream.”

His voice has gotten low. You could tell he was trying hard not to stutter and could almost picture his eyebrows furrowed as he picked at his nails.

“I had a dream about a girl.”

“Mhm? What's odd about that?”

“She…” Jongho sighed. “She was touching me.”

“Like a hug?” You caught on to the fact it wasn't anything innocent in an instant but took any chance you could to hear Jongho confess. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience after all.

“N-No. She was on her knees, she was dragging her nails along my thighs.”

“Ah, those thick thighs of yours? I see.”

Jongho chose to ignore that charged comment.

“She leaned down and put her mouth on my- uh- privates. And… why am I telling you this?!”

“Just relax. Let it out.”

“Ok…” The memories from the night before raced through the boy's brain. He felt like he might faint. “She bobbed her head up and down. Told me I looked handsome. Looked up at me with those shining eyes… didn't stop until I… you know.”

Jongho had slumped against the backboard of the booth, evident by the creaking. His hands nervously fidgeted with the hem of his striped wool sweater.

“She was just so beautiful, y/n… she looked like a dream.” A moment’s silence. “I mean I guess she was a dream. I just feel so filthy. I've never had a dream about that. I've never thought about someone like that. I've never even-”

You cut his rambling off. “Kissed someone? Touched yourself?”

“Both of those…” he murmured. “The worst thing about the dream is that we weren't married.”

“Jongho?”

“Yeah?”

“Was this girl me?”

“Yeah…” Jongho’s head hit the wall with a light thud.

The next thing he heard was shuffling, the cracks of old wood, and the curtain being shoved to the side.

“W-wait! I'm sorry… just… don't go.” He shot to sit straight up. “Forget what I said. Please, you're my only real friend.”

You swore you heard his voice crack at the end.

“The others our age aren't kind to me. I pretend it doesn't bother me and remember the Lord has a plan for me, but… you can only take so long of being surrounded by old people and little kids before you start to wonder what's wrong with you.”

He was undoubtedly crying now.

“You're probably already gone. Great job, Jongho, you ruined the only thing you had. Loser.”

Your heart dropped to the pit of your stomach. Unbelievable. He was what the kids wanted to grow up to be like, yet he had such a low opinion of himself?

He about jumped out of his skin once you pulled his curtain away just enough to look in at him. Though it hurt to see him like this, he did look gorgeous. His full cheeks were a rosy pink, his lashes clumped together by the big wet tears that rolled down his face. You hated how it turned you on. Just a bit.

“Y-you didn't leave?”

“Oh, Jongho…” You pouted and extended your hand out to him. “No, I wouldn't leave without a word. I wouldn't leave, period.”

When he took your hand into his you could tell his body was shaking. Though he moved to stand up, it didn't last long before he was dropped on his knees, hand still on yours. You found yourself following shortly behind.

Jongho was properly sobbing in every regard, chest heaving, his mouth babbling nonsense to beg you for forgiveness. You shook away his hand and knelt to one knee. Placing a hand upon his shoulder was the only act it took for his arms to reach around your waist and pull himself against you, his face buried in your neck, his hands gripping the fabric of your shirt like you were going to disappear.

“Jongho…”, You rubbed circles on his back. “Come on. Look at me.”

Jongho obliged with hesitation, still avoiding looking into your eyes. You, of course, followed his eyes.

“I'm no prude. You can't get rid of me that easily. I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart. I didn't know you felt so alone, but, honestly… words aren't enough right now.”

You leaned in and placed a kiss on Jongho’s cheek. It was salty, but his skin was smooth against your lips. He flinched in shock but once you pulled away, he found himself wanting more.

His voice was barely above a whisper. “Wait. Can you do that again? Please… this time on my-”

You didn't let him finish his sentence before swooping back in and taking his lips into your own. He gasped so sweetly into your mouth, he tasted like honey and hints of sweetened coffee. Undoubtedly his breakfast.

“Follow my lead, okay?” Jongho was quick to agree.

Based on watching him suck on his bottom lip when he was nervous, you'd figured they'd be soft. They were pillowy, warm, and tasted like vanilla chapstick. His large hand had a death grip on your wrist and you could tell he was riddled with anxiety.

“Jongho, fuck. You taste so good.” You sighed deeply back into the kiss. Jongho's returned advances were shy but undoubtedly needy. The kiss was broken only long enough for you to take his ear lobe gently in your mouth, exercising care not to catch on his studded earring.

Jongho flinched and whined before melting into your touch once more. His mind felt hazy, sluggish, but oh so happy. He’d never dreamed of feeling this way. He didn’t expect to feel any kind of sexual gratification until he was married… whenever that may have been. The guilt he felt for letting you go at his neck in the middle of his lifelong church was immense, but part of him found it unbelievably hot.

“Mmh, please,” Jongho’s hand rested on the back of your head. “Don’t stop.”

“You can touch me, honey.” You smirked and shimmied your jacket off your shoulders. “Wherever you want. I’m yours to explore.”

Jongho was nothing short of eager, with his hands starting to roam the shape of your body. Every stripe you licked down his neck and every sloppy kiss brought forth unholy noises from his throat. His warmly tinted skin blossomed in shades of purple and blue with your manipulation. You’d just have to give him some of your concealer.

“Jongho?”

“Yes, dear? His head slumped forward with a pant.

“Your dream. Wanna make that a reality?”

“What? Isn’t that a-”

“Sin? Mhm. If you don’t sin a bit then Jesus died for nothing.” You giggled. “Besides, it can’t get much worse than what we’re doing already.”

Jongho thought for only a moment before whining and nodding eagerly.

You removed yourself from Jongho and leapt to your feet. “Ok, well we shouldn’t do that right here on the floor. Come on, get back in the booth.”

Jongho leaned back against the wooden wall with his hands bracing himself on the railing.

“Gonna unbutton those pants, alright?” As usual, Jongho was outfitted in slim-fitting black dress pants and a white button-up, complete with a black tie. He truly did look stunning even if you’d never be able to get him to accept it.

Jongho inhaled deeply, watching your every move as you dropped to your knees and fumbled with the clasp of his belt. Undoing it, you waited a moment to fully pull his pants down.

“You’re hard, Jongie~.” You cooed and rubbed the back of his thigh. “Have you ever been hard before?”

“Not outside the ones you get through puberty… or when you're scared for a presentation… well, not until that dream.” One hand brushed your hair out of your face.

“Oh? Sweet boy. I’ll be gentle, I promise.”

Soon enough, Jongho had shrugged his neatly ironed slacks to the floor. Your intuition told you he’d be big… But fuck. He really was. His boxers weren’t tight-fitting in any regard, but the tent formed in them was considerable.

“Oh hell, Jongho! Seriously?! This is what you’ve been keeping from the world all this time.” You groaned and fidgeted with the rim of one of the legs of his boxers. You glanced up long enough to catch his deep brown eyes staring down intently. You’d be lying if you said it didn’t make you a bit antsy to be under his gaze like this.

“I got you, ok?” Jongho hummed nervously at your words.

Your hand moved across the form of his dick just enough to give him an idea of what to expect from this. The way he jolted was enough to let you know he enjoyed it. You rubbed your hand over him with a flat palm and relished in the girth you could already tell he possessed underneath the fabric.

“You’re so fucking big, damn, did you even realize that?” Jongho shook his head feverishly.

“N-no… am I really?” Jongho felt his heart skip a beat, his hand hovering over you.

You could feel his presence over you and grabbed his hand, moved it to your hair, and gave it a reassuring pat. His fingers scratched at your scalp as if on instinct, soothing himself to the feeling. Every movement of your palm sent electric shocks up his spine.

Deciding it was due time for more, you inquired as to whether you could remove his boxers… met with an overwhelming agreeance. His cock sprung from under the confines of his underwear, causing him to wince at the newly cold air. His length was nothing to laugh at, you’d be a fool not to note the considerable circumference and upward curve as well. He was unshaven as you expected with curly black-brown hair over the expanse of his balls and above the base of his dick. He had a rather prominent happy trail which, fittingly, made you incredibly happy. He was circumcised with the skin around the head a shade lighter than the rest. The tip glistened with pre-cum in the dim light. Jongho squirmed under your watch.

“I-is something wrong? Do you not want to anymore…?”

“I… I’m kind of in shock honestly. Your dick is almost as pretty as you… almost.”

Jongho whined and gripped your hair lightly in response. Your free hand caressed the expanse of his firm thighs, the other encasing the head of his dick.

“A-ah, careful!” Jongho resisted the need to buck his hips against your touch. “I-I’m sensitive. Really.”

You hummed in acknowledgment, gathered a considerable amount of drool in the space of your cheeks, and let it run down onto him. The warm sensation melted the boy’s mind. You gave him a few languid strokes to spread the makeshift lube along the length of his shaft. Using three fingers, you rubbed a deliberate line up the prominent vein situated on the underside of his cock. Jongho’s labored breathing filled the confined space with need.

“Such a pretty thing, you are.” You purred and left a quick peck just below Jongho’s navel. “Such a needy boy.” Your movements matched up with your strokes and fondles.

“Feels good, doesn’t it? Don’t worry about replying, babe. Just listen to me.”

Jongho stroked your cheek with trembling hands. “You’re so beautiful.” His words almost carried a pout and made your heart melt. They felt sincere. Like you could trust them. He meant it outside the heat of the moment.

You met Jongho’s gaze tenderly. “So, you meant it all those times, didn’t you? All the times you greeted me before mass?”

Jongho’s voice was velvety smooth in his response. “Of course I did. Even besides lying being a sin… I’ve always thought so from the first time I saw you. Always…”

“Oh, Jongho… Jongho by the time I’m done with you, you’re only going to want to worship to me.”

Feeling you’d worked him up enough by now, you took his cock into your mouth, giving him time to adjust to the new feeling. You hollowed your cheeks and sunk your head further down around him, embracing the struggle once his length hit the back of your throat. Your gag panicked Jongho, urging him to nervously make sure you’re okay. You lent him a reassuring rub to his thigh, taking his cock back into your mouth with a hum.

Jongho’s grip on your hair tightened in congruence with his loudening moans. He felt as if he might die. He felt he might’ve already died because could heaven be any better than his current situation? He wasn’t so sure anymore.

“Feels so good, y/n, so good.” Jongho’s voice broke toward the end of his statement. You took into consideration how he wasn't used to this, planning every ministration carefully to ensure he enjoyed each moment that he lasted.

Introducing a hand to the mix, you wrapped your hand firmly around the base of his cock. This gave you a bit of stability in leverage so that you could swirl your tongue all over. Around the tip, tease the slit of his head, gently over the thin band of skin below it. You pulled back from his cock with a pop to catch your breath.

“Doing ok, Jongho?” You sighed and rested your cheek against his thigh for a moment.

His head was thrown back to rest against the wood of the booth, forehead damp with sweat. He granted you a thumbs up which you found incredibly in character.

“Cum whenever you're ready, alright? Just let me know.” You lowered yourself down a bit further in order to take one of his balls into your mouth. With one hand twisting and tugging at his cock, you knew he wouldn't take much longer to bust. It seemed you were right, whimpers filling the space around the two of you.

“Close-” Jongho groaned and desperately reached for your hand that was grasping at his toned thighs. You accept his advance, intertwining your fingers with his and squeezing reassuringly. His nails digging into the skin of your hand and his breath fully catching in his throat was the last sign you needed.

Swiftly, your mouth sank back around Jongho just in time for his climax. White hot cum coated the inside of your mouth, plenty of it, that had undoubtedly been waiting since his dream. You wondered briefly how uncomfortable it was for his balls to have been so full. Once Jongho came back down to reality enough, the gravity of what you'd done set in on him.

“You… you swallowed it?!” He gasped, shocked that was even a possibility.

“Mm,” You popped off of his length and shook your head. Opening your mouth wide so he could see his load pooling on your tongue, you made a show of swallowing every last drop. “Now I did.”

After a moment of silence Jongho cocked his head to the side. “Does it, uh, taste good?”

“Only because it's yours.”

Helping Jongho clean up with tissues you kept in your purse, you let him buckle his belt and help you to your feet.

“Don't you want anything in return?”

“Only for you to be mine and only mine.”

“O-Oh, I can do that. But what about your…?”

“Let's wait ‘til mass actually ends. They're gonna wonder where we've been. Come on, Jjongie.”

Anticipation shivered up his spine, taking your hand into his own to lead you to the doorway that opened to the main hall of the church.

Jongho took the initiative to kiss you tenderly. “I'll make up some excuse on the spot.”

“Deal.”

#jongho smut #ateez smut #choi jongho smut #ateez jongho smut #ateez imagines #ateez fic #ateez fanfic #jongho imagines #jongho fic #jongho fanfic #ateez scenarios #[jo fucks ateez 🏴‍☠️]

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ino-takumas-baggy-sweater · 1 year ago

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A Moment in Time (Ino Takuma x Reader)

First time posting since I rebranded my tumblr to try and get into posting fics here, thought I'd start off with this to put myself out there cause I finished it just a couple of hours ago ) I hope y'all enjoy, Ino is just a little baby and deserves all the love

Small preface: This is set post-Shibuya, but just before Yuta reenters the picture so it does contain brief manga spoilers in the beginning in terms of character appearances. Reader's CT involves sound and emotions, it manifests as a colour-shifting blob that can be manipulated into different shapes and colours to distract, camouflage and other things. It is influenced by inner thoughts and emotions and sometimes takes the form of people she is thinking of or imitates her movements, almost like it has a mind of it's own. (However it's a very small part and only mentioned a couple of times) Also I have no idea if Shoko can actually do the things she is described to do here, so just roll with it

Warnings: blood, mention of a missing eye, shoko's healing, a lot of pain noises, lots of blood :( as happy of an ending as you can have while just coming out of shibuya, fluff

Word count: 1.7k

Shibuya was a mess. So were you, and so was Yuji who has just shown up in front of you for the first time since you departed Jujutsu Tech all those hours ago. “Where’s…” You trail off, your voice raw and defeated as you look pleadingly at him standing beside a man you don’t recognise, “Yuji,” You whisper, tears welling up in your eyes, “Where’s Ino?”

He shakes his head, scrunching his own face up, “Ino got hurt real bad, protecting Megumi and I,” He mumbles, angrily rubbing at his face, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, he’s hurt real bad,”

You quickly race over, your arms pulling him into a hug and letting him hide his face against your neck despite the blood, “Shhh, Yuji, it’s not your fault,” you murmur, “Even if you wanted to you couldn’t stop him from protecting you, he’s a selfish hard-headed piece of work,” Yuji’s body shakes but he makes no noise as he cries, you continue to reassure him softly, knowing what he needs right now is someone to let him know he’s alright. “If he dies-“ You cut him off before he says anything else, “Don’t make a promise like that, Yuji, Ino knew exactly what he was doing,” You bring a hand up to the back of his head and clutch his hair, letting your own tears fall, “You know he promised me he’d protect you, he promised me, not anyone else, me, as if I had a reason to believe he’d do anything different,”

“I hurt so many people,” He sobs, “Nanami is gone, Kugisaki might be too, it’s all my fault,” You push him away from his sanctuary in your arms, holding him so he’s forced to look at you, “Yuji, they’re sorcerers, they’re fucking crazy, they knew what they were doing, we all know what we’re here for and we all know the eventual price we must pay,” You move your hand from the back of his head to his cheek, “You’re worth it, Yuji, you’re so much more than just ‘Sukuna’s vessel’ to us,” The other man finally steps forwards, “She’s right,” His voice is soft, rumbling like a faraway storm, “You’re strong, brother, but that doesn’t mean you have to be strong alone,”

You nod to him in thanks as Yuji’s body stills, no longer wracked with sobs, “Since the first finger you’ve never been alone Yuji, it began with Megumi and Gojo and it will end with all of us, we may not know what it’s like, but we’re here and we care,” A few more tears slip down his face as he lets a small smile grace his lips, “Thank you Y/n,” He murmurs, “Will you stay by my side?” You nod, “I will do whatever I can for you, Yuji Itadori,” You brush your thumbs over his cheeks, wiping away the tears that fall, “Now dry your tears, we still have work to do,” He nods, “This is Choso by the way,” He gestures to the man accompanying you and you finally focus on him for a few moments.

Black hair tied up in messy pigtails, a thick black line across his nose, his clothing loose and shoes that look straight from a goth’s wardrobe, “It’s good to meet you,” You smile as you wonder where he came from, “I’m Y/n,” He nods in return, not quite meeting your eyes but it’s not something that bothers you. You can feel your cursed technique welling up beneath your skin and it seeps out, taking up a crude imitative form of Ino beside you, “Have you seen Megumi since you split up?” you ask, ignoring it. “Last I saw he was with Shoko and Principal Yaga, Ino should be there too, Sukuna sort of saved Megumi, but I don’t know why yet,” Yuji scratches the back of his head while you think for a moment, “Alright, I’ll let you guys get back to the remaining curses, I’ll see if we’re going to move the badly wounded to a safe location,”

You pull him into another quick hug, “I’ll see you soon, okay?” He nods against your shoulder, “Thanks Y/n,” He murmurs as you pat his back. “If you need me, I’m only one call away, don’t be afraid to ask for help,” You say firmly as you grip his upper arms for a moment, before letting go and darting off to where you believe Shoko and Yaga will be based on the directions you were given beforehand.

Once you’ve made your way to the building under the cover of your cursed technique, it drips away into a puddle of red and black that follows you along the ground as you desperately search for Ino. “Y/n! He’s over here!” Shoko calls from a bit further down the rows of bodies, tucked in next to a pillar. Your heart races as you run to her, her hands gently working over his body to find the sources of his pain. You stumble to your knees beside him and cup his cheeks, not caring about the blood as he grits his teeth and groans.

“Shhshhshh,” You gently hush him, stroking the hair back from his forehead, your chest aching as you try to avoid looking into his empty right eye-socket, “Everything’s gonna be ok, you’re gonna be alright,” You murmur. “Hold him,” Shoko instructs softly and you nod, shifting closer and letting him nestle his head sideways against your chest, still facing Shoko. You feel the reverse cursed energy radiating from Shoko as she pushes it into him, frowning as she looks up at his face. An agonized cry falls from his lips and his hands grip you tightly, painfully, but you ignore it and press your lips to the top of his head, “It’s ok Takuma, I’m here, I love you, I’m not leaving,” You whisper.

He struggles and shakes but you hold him tightly, his breaths coming in short wailing gasps, “Is it supposed to hurt him this much?!” You blurt to Shoko, gripped with panic. She grimaces, “I’m growing him an entirely new eye, give me a second!” She seethes. His fingernails dig so sharply into your waist and back that you feel your skin breaking, but you ignore your own pain and just rock him gently. He finally falls limp, breathing heavily and still making small groaning noises every so often, “Stay with him,” She stands, “He needs you,” You nod firmly.

The thought of leaving his side hadn’t even crossed your mind and you work to comb the fingers of one hand through his hair, gently detangling and moving it away from the blood still on his face. You pick up on his breathing pattern and duck your head, breathing loudly and slowly in his ear until he starts copying you, “That’s it, that’s it,” You praise him softly, “There you go,” He digs his fingernails in again, though not nearly as hard as before, and slumps further against you, forcing you to sit back on your butt against the pillar. He buries his face against your chest and you hold him half in your lap, legs spread either side of his waist, “Oh Takuma,” You whisper, finally allowing yourself to feel a wash of relief, “I’m so happy you’re alive,”

He moans softly against your shirt, his hands creeping up your skin at the back and just holding you, “Takuma,” You breathe. “Y/n,” He finally murmurs as he turns his head to the side slightly, his voice rough and low, mouth barely exposed. You let out a soft cry, “Takuma,” you repeat, helping him as he insistently moves up and then flops onto his butt beside you, his eye good as new but his face still covered in blood, “Oh…” you kneel in front of him and look over your shoulder, “Can someone get me a bottle of water?” You call out, but his gentle hands pull your attention, and your body, back to him. “C’mere,” He grunts, his hands moving down your body the closer you get until he tugs you by the hips and you’re forced to straddle his upper thighs.

“What did you say before doll?” He mutters, his eyes swimming with emotion, almost not quite seeing you. “I’m so happy you’re alive,” You murmur, your hands trailing up to his face, “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you,” He shakes his head, coughing a couple of times, “No, before that,” Someone places a bottle next to your leg and you nod in thanks, looking away only briefly. “Takuma…” You murmur, leaning forward and resting your forehead to his, “I love you,”

He chuckles, his lips spreading into a smile beneath the blood, “I can’t live without you, I don’t want to live without you,” You whisper. “That’s what I needed to hear,” He lets his head rest back against the pillar and you grab the bottle, pouring a small amount of water into your palm and lifting it to his face, “Close your eyes,” You murmur, and once he’s closed them you let the water drip between your fingers onto his forehead and down over his eyelid. You use your fingertips to gently rub the blood off and then rinse his face, drying it with your coat as he opens his eyes again, “You are so pretty,” He murmurs, “And that’s not just the blood loss talking,”

His hands which haven’t deviated once from your hips pull you slightly closer, one trailing up to the back of your head as he leans closer, “Stunning,” He murmurs, his lips brushing over yours like feathers as you share breaths, “Crying for me like this,” He coos, “You’re just beautiful,” You hadn’t even realised you were crying until he mentioned it, his hands grabbing your wrists to stop you from wiping them away, “Takuma,” you whimper softly, struggling against his grip and desperate for validation, “Say it back or let me go,”

His breath fans your neck for a moment and he kisses your jaw, “I love you too,” He murmurs into your skin, “Always have, won’t let you go, I promise,” His mouth trails up to yours, satisfying the flame that roars beneath your skin as he initiates a tentative kiss, one full of love and care. You press further into him, desperately assuring yourself he’s still alive and allowing yourself to forget where you are for just a moment in time.

Thanks for giving me a chance if you got this far, I hope you enjoyed it! Most of my fics start out as self-indulgent writings but then if I'm proud I'll post them somewhere and see what people think, anyway please please feel free to request, send me prompts, anything that comes to mind!

Post dividers from @cafekitsune

#jujutsu kaisen #ino takuma x reader #takuma ino x reader #takuma ino #yuji itadori #choso kamo #shoko ieiri #jjk takuma #jujutsu kaisen x you

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lxmelle · 10 months ago

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"When the day turns into night

And you’re way beyond my sight,

I’ll think of you, I’ll think of you.

When the night turns into day

And you still are far away,

I’ll think of you, I’ll think of you.

Even when I am not here

We still can be so very near

I want you to know my dear

I’ll think of you."

Source: Facebook & misterrogers.org/videos/when-the-day-turns-into-night

And think of each other throughout their short lives they did.

Headcannon, analysis and theorising - more under the cut:

I’ll preface with how I’m aware there is some reaching and rambling, but there are so many interesting parallels and foreshadowing in Gege’s work that I’ll be at risk of writing my own “war and peace” with my theories and headcannon. I might be wrong as always, but I hope it makes for an interesting read even if you don’t agree! Comments and reblogs welcome!

I’ve pondered on this theme of lateness. I have another draft post on this topic, but in this scenario it illustrates the impact of riko’s death and their defeat (eventual victory for Gojo) to Toji.

One ascended and the other descended. Arguably one saved the other, and equally debatably, they exchanged paths. However else you wish to explain it, Gojo deferred to Geto who was his moral compass, and was guided back to a sensible path. Geto did not wish to be saved by the time Gojo intervened, but ultimately was saved from himself before he could get too twisted.

Or, was it ultimately still a tale where Gojo was indeed too late, and despite everything he had, he could do nothing?

Nevertheless, their first defeat left them both scarred and changed.

Losing each other was something they never got over - Gojo and Geto had wounds shaped like each other.

One went off to find strength to change the world; the other went off to foster students to change the world. They pursued each other’s forte to make up for the sense of loss from their separation - trying to find completion within themselves and their world around them, but falling short of healing their emotions wounds - until they could meet the other once again to resolve their relational rupture.

Look at these two paralleling each other... papa Geto and Gojo sensei.

Let me start with Geto:

In this world, Geto admitted before his death that he could never smile from the bottom of his heart.

No matter how many people loved him, how much they were willing to dedicate to him by following and trusting him, Geto didn’t feel happy. We see, so touchingly, how much he was loved by his family - Mimiko, Nanako, Miguel, Larue.

Did he ever feel loved? He certainly felt protective over them, but did he feel he mattered, besides being the one who gave them a vision?

It doesn’t seem so. Geto seemed to think little of himself, for someone prideful and egotistical (by his own definition). He lost a sense of security in himself and value following Gojo’s distancing of himself too. Untethered, he probably felt like he was free falling.

I theorise that his desire for a better world was born out of a desire for redemption, and it was a curse to avenge the loss of his youth as well as those who had died under his care - Riko, “Gojo” (pre-enlightenment), and Haibara. Geto had lost himself within a spiral of depression and self-affirmation following the Toji incident.

I sense that his search for meaning and purpose through the protection of others was always an act of self-sacrifice that was exhausting and defeating for him. Just like the consumption of curses. Like a futile attempt at regaining control when he was slowly losing it even more - getting further and further away from what he really needed - to heal from his emotional wounds.

What he needed to resolve was learning that he was loved within the world; that he had a place and belonging there. It didn’t have to be about him being a protector or making a difference. When he was feeling balanced from within (secure), existing in harmony could become possible. The rest could then fall into place.

But how could Geto have faith in the universe, after the system fails them all, his best friend now finds meaning in acting alone (being protective in his own way), he learns that riko’s death/sacrifice was inconsequential, and that his fellow peers would just keep dying if he continued powerlessly chugging on. He began to believe he can only rely on himself in a world separate from jujutsu high.

The only time he can remember feeling safe or having equilibrium was in his youth beside his best friend, Gojo. The primary source of his wound was losing Gojo and the disillusionment of their defeat was not repairable.

For Geto, despite chasing his goals to the best of his ability, he could not smile authentically for all these years. The world that was presented to him felt cruel; like a curse stuck on vengeance and justice, he kept burying himself with lies that he used to avoid facing the inevitable truth that this could only end in one way. It began and will end with Gojo.

He could not replace what Gojo was to him, and the strength he may have envied to fulfil his goal, was a constant reminder of what he had lost - the trust and understanding of someone. His vision of clarity had become costly and darkened as time passed. To gain more power meant he’d become increasingly twisted. Knowing he was on borrowed time, that what he was doing was wrong, that it could only end one way - to Gojo’s hand.

Did Geto, like Yorozu, need to be seen too? Was this the validation he found / sought - to be witnessed? I honestly don’t know, but whatever Gojo and Geto shared, it was more reciprocal than Sukuna and Yorozu. I do wish Geto was more honest with Gojo, but I think it was enough in itself to yield completely to Gojo and accept his end.

Geto had a Gojo-shaped wound that Gojo mercifully filled upon his last moments - showing him unconditional love and regard despite the changes between them.

We are kept out of the last words Gojo delivered, but we see that: He was recognised by the one who had truly mattered to him the most - the one whom he loved, and thought he had lost. He smiled sincerely at the very end.

Geto was shown to shed not one but two tears in Gojo’s afterlife scene. How moved must he have been to receive the regard and love from his best friend? Despite the lack of honest insight from Geto (Gege, you’re so stingy with inner narratives), it seems rather clear that there is something there that only Gojo can ease for him.

As for Gojo:

In his death dream / afterlife scene, Gojo was shown to express to Geto: If you were there, I probably would’ve been satisfied. It was received as loving, as Geto shed tears to this, and we know Gojo deflects from emotions by abruptly changing topics when he gets a bit heavy.

Gojo also describes how, no matter how many people adored him, he felt a distance between them; although he didn’t feel lonely, he could not feel understood in all these years as the strongest.

The line was drawn even more following his enlightenment, and his only memory of connection was with Geto, who had modelled a way for him to connect with those weaker than him and not see them like feeble dirt beneath his feet (as Hajime did) or pursue power like Sukuna did without caring about “worthless” love.

His main reason for being a teacher was also Geto. I headcannon/theorise that it wouldn’t have been the first time Gojo missed him, imagined “what would Geto do?” or saw Geto in his students in those 10+ years. What could he do differently?

Through the impact of Geto’s loss and the power of their love within their friendship, Gojo was compelled to think about others - whether he wished to prevent it from happening again, to reform the jujutsu world, to make room for Geto to potentially return (pre-jjk 0), or to simply understand his students... Gojo stretched himself to carry the emotional and mental load that was almost exclusively Geto’s role in their friendship.

Gojo was never the most nurturing type, but he did his very best - to advise, demonstrate, and protect the youth of these students. Giving them their own blue spring was also an ode to what he shared with Geto. Despite healing a lot and making room for others, Gojo had a Geto-shaped would that only Geto could fill.

What Gojo needed to resolve was to learn to love others - even moreso following his enlightenment in the manner in which he did after Toji - that he did not have to be isolated and alone, that true connection (love) exists and was worthwhile.

Meaning and purpose beyond “just getting kicks” out of being the strongest or wielding his skills beyond self-fulfilment - were all possible - but Gojo only had a limited canvas to work from - it was mostly Geto’s palette that he expanded upon. That he didn’t want to repeat whatever mistakes either of them made if possible.

His main forte was being a skilled sorcerer. This was his primary focus still, because this was just in his nature. Gojo was practically bestowed with the assets for this role. Nobody can blame him for being greedy and coveting more (love/connection he once knew) or attempting more (influencing a new generation). Gojo was meant to be human with all his flaws and thankfully, he kept his humanity.

He ultimately tried to reach and connect to Sukuna - a potential peer whom he could “converse” with, but they were too different. He fulfilled a need to showcase his skill and philosophy to his students - alongside his own personal desire to “go all out” and die gloriously-victorious through giving it his all.

He found the connection he needed right upon his death; meeting Geto and his friends without the need for an encounter at death’s door with Sukuna - unlike Jogo and Hajime who spent their last moments with Sukuna in a dialogue. Gojo didn’t need to talk with Sukuna. They could not understand each other; not when Sukuna did not know real love - even Yorozu did not think so.

To know love is to long for it enough to recognise it.

Since Gojo could not share with Sukuna what he wanted to teach (about love) he was able to tell and share it with the only person he knew who could understand - Geto. Even if Nanami and Haibara didn’t, Geto did.

It’s enough for them, isn’t it?

And it’s enough for us to know their legacy continues. It is so heartwarming to see Gojo’s students and members of Geto’s family being there too - all fighting for their own reasons - to defend and / or in honour of their memory.

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apostatehamster · 1 year ago

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Oh no! Another person's 2 cents on the OFMD finale situation!

Yes, because unfortunately my mind still hasn't settled and is in a state of disbelief over what happened, and I am trying to unravel all of this to make sense of it. Written from the perspective of a sad Izzy fan, so if you do not care to read about that or are simply tired of reading these mind pieces... well don't. And do not bother interacting.

I want to preface this by saying, I do believe Writers should be writing the story they think is right. It is impossible to please everyone so I prefer Author's sticking to their vision rather than bending to the loudest (in most cases, read: displeased) voices of the audience. However, I also think people are entitled to voice their displeasure over writing decisions in a constructive way. I don't condone hate towards authors, actors or anyone involved in the making of the show and if you feel angry enough to send hate or threats, take a walk and calm down instead of being a jerk. That being said, I watched many shows with decisions I did not agree on and few made me as angry & sad as this one, hence me trying to dismantle why.

False marketing, expectations and broken promises

Frankly I hadn't seen much advertising about the show before, most of it was fandom activity that praised the show as feelgood and comfort, with good queer representation. I got into it pretty late, so I can't tell what the show itself presented itself as, but to me it seemed like they fully embraced that image and encouraged the show to be perceived as such. It's a rom-com after all, many laughters and sappy feelings. A safe space-ship for outcasts, so to speak. We expected drama but also making-up and possibly more shenanigans. What we did not expect, was a rather prominently featured character dying as one got used to happening from other shows.

OFMD promised to be different, or at least that was my and many others' impression, and then it turned that around in the last 10 minutes of the finale. But more about that and tonal shifts later.

What baffled me most were the interviews hailing in at the start of season two. I've read articles about how season 2 was leaning into the Ed/Izzy/Stede triangle with David Jenkins saying these three "are on an arc together that’s pretty inseparable". I mean we had Izzy being called a jilted lover before, and in addition to Ed & Stede's love declaration, we also had Izzy declare he had love for Ed, and Ed as well saying He loved him, best he could. There was a lot of love, but it was complicated, and the article gave hope that this season would sort this out.

But after the finale, we got interviews that declared Izzy was a father/mentor figure to Ed, which is such a weird claim that is absolutely unfounded in the way the characters interacted with each other, as well as the fact that Izzy's death apparently was something planned from the beginning as an ending to his arc. And well, I find that death separates characters quite definitely.

I am not saying that Steddyhands was promised to us, gods no, but we were definitely given a chance at it happening, when in fact, the ending had already been written as the complete opposite.

Reception and cognitive dissonance

Every person is different and thus has different feelings and opinions. I've seen Izzy fans hating the finale obviously, I've seen Izzy fans who said they liked it. I've also seen people who weren't explicitly Izzy fans say, they did not like the finale, so really, opinions can go any way.

However what baffled me is Jenkins feeling he delivered a truly happy end. Personally, I've never watched a character die and thought "This makes me happy." I especially would never describe a character struggling through hardship, just to ultimately die as happy or beautiful. I can only imagine that the focus was on Ed and Stede, when a happy ending was mentioned, but Jenkins kept pointing out in the interviews, how Izzy was his favorite, which gave hope for a happy ending for Izzy as well. As much as I enjoy seeing my favorites go through hardships, I also prefer to keep them around by not dying. I especially do not build my favorite up to be a well fleshed out character with growth, just to reduce them back to a plot device for the main character.

I know this is all based upon the interviews, and less on the show, but when I read "And what's the most interesting thing we can do with Con[...]?" my answer definitely wouldn't have been "kill his character off". Con O'Neill does a great job at playing emotional scenes, but we already had him act his heart out in the first three episodes. A last hurrah wasn't needed.

I am also trying to put myself in David Jenkins' shoes here, because I think he truly expected the last episode to be a happy ending, and a gift, just to be proven differently. I just wonder what went wrong, how one can read the room so completely wrong.

It wasn't malicious, but the fact that it was apparently meant to be a genuine attempt at offering a happy end makes it even worse.

Tonal shifts and established in-Show laws

It's an understatement to say that the tone of season 2 was decidedly more dramatic. To the point where I questioned myself if this was still allowed to be called a comedy show. I would have described season 1 as mostly slice-of-life, little adventures between the crew and the captains. People got hanged, fingers severed, people got stabbed, but you never felt the threat of actual death hanging over anyone's head, because everything was kept humorous. (Speaking of the non-baddies here. Calico Jack got a cannon ball to the head but with plausible deniability of his death & (apparently) an interview saying he could be brought back, if needed)

Enter season 2, which starts off with murder attempts, major wounds and a suicide attempt. Nothing was played off as a joke, and for that I am grateful because that would have been in poor taste, but the tone was noticeably different and darker. But it still wasn't 'realistic' by any standard. With no real doctor on board, Izzy should have died from his wounds and comatose Edward would have wasted away in the hidden cabin. Everyone came out (fucked up but) relatively fine.

The show goes back to the humorous tone with Anne & Mary who enjoy a good backstabbing and poisoning. We had our crew surrounded by death and a curse in the next episode, but there was any fear of them coming to harm, obviously. The crew gets boarded and tortured by Ned and his crew after that, but they are able to take it out and come away unscathed (some wounds aside). Oh no! Stede challenges Zheng Yi to a duel! Which we know means no one is allowed to interfere, until one of the duelants dies. But it's fine, Zheng Yi is just playing with her food. But watch out, a Cannonball flies towards Zheng Yi's head! Ah but she is fine, she escaped. The Swede pulled a Rasputin and got immune to poison without him even noticing! Look, even Auntie survived the explosion, badly wounded but she lives. Oh no! Izzy gets shot! But it's his left side, we established no vital organs are there. Roach and Stede are already on their way to get bandage- Wait they are back with no bandages, and Izzy he-

Oh, wait. He...died?

When watching season 2 I legitimately considered Izzy dying as an end result, because I am used to my favorite characters dying, frankly. But then I dismissed that thought because OFMD has proven again and again, that people do not die. Heck, Lucius was considered dead in the season 1 finale and he came back, albeit traumatized. But he lived to tell the tale.

Season 2 finale made it a point to leave no room for doubt that Izzy did indeed die. They dug him a grave, and they panned to his grave at the end to remind you, he is definitely dead. So, why did Izzy have to die in a world where our favorites can survive about anything? "Pirates die, that's just pirate life", okay but why was he specifically singled out to be the only pirate dying? In comparison to everyone else, it feels unjust, and it feels cruel towards the fans who felt safe in the knowledge that this was the one show where none of their favorites would die. And it feels like such a betrayal of the fans’ trust, who had hoped this show would do better.

I've seen a take along the lines of "Nowadays people expect the stories to be written explicitly for them, and then they get upset when it doesn't happen" and that take pissed me off enough to write this down. This isn't a case of entitled fans asking to change the story to be exactly what they want to be, there is fanfiction for that. No, this is fans upset that their favorite character got singled out by the narrative to be the one exception to the no dying rule. And I use the narrative loosely, because there was no ramification to the death that couldn't also have been established by the character staying alive and giving advice, so the death didn't even feel purposeful. And for a show that always stresses the "Talk it through as a crew" point, they did not care much for choosing talking it through as a solution.

I also heartily disagree that Izzy's arc was over and had no more stories to tell. I mean the guy followed Edward around for decades, I would have loved to hear more about their past.

I would have especially loved to hear more about their future, as two people who learned to let go of Blackbeard and became their own people again. Where exactly did the idea of that even come from, I don't know.

Pacing and Confusing decisions in the Final episode and the build-up into nothing

(Rambling alert!)

Personally I didn't feel any pacing issues until episode 6. While I generally liked the episode, it felt crammed with both set-up of the baddie, fun-times, then appearance of baddie (and disappearance) and return to fun-times. The episode ended and I was literally perplexed that it was over, like we basically ran through that episode. But episode 8 took the cake.

Now I am well aware they had to cut corners, and the strike didn't make it easier either, and I wish we could have seen the result without these factors. But we got what we got now, and I have to judge based upon that, but I really would know how the final cut decision came to be.

I did like the beginning with Ed chilling as a fisherman, but in hindsight I wished they had cut that part a bit shorter to give more room for the final parts. We get a lot of Ricky dicking around the pirate republic, showing Jackie reluctantly bringing them drinks. Later on she finally decides to poison him. Why she didn't do so earlier, I have no idea, unless the show is trying to tell me The Swede had to build up enough poison tolerance within one episode to withstand the poison attempt, which would be ridiculous. Why the Swede was held as an emotional hostage, I don't know either. I don't want him dead but Jackie has many other husbands, the Swede being singled out was more to hurt the viewers than for Jackie imho.

We have Zheng Yi suffering through Stede's presence. Our queen is suffering through the loss of her whole crew and her aunt, while Stede unsympathetically offers that being a failure gets easier. I expected more compassion from a guy who treasures his own crew and also enjoyed the hospitality of Zheng Yi's ship, but okay. Being a dick for the sake of comedy, I suppose. "Thing's have a way of working out. At least for me" And Zheng Yi proves Stede right by killing the soldiers, and Stede claims that went just as planned. I am not sure what happened to the Stede who successfully avoided being backstabbed in episode 5 and defended his crew in episode 6 and actually seemed competent, just to go back to an ignorant fool, but hm.

Fisherman Ed returns, thinks Stede in danger, and recovers his leathers that somehow are still in the same place, after mindlessly killing everyone in his way. Whatever happened to not wanting to be a monster and not killing and running away from that, it doesn't matter anymore. The flashback of pop-pop tells him he needs to go back to what he is good at, and I guess... this is it??? The Kraken rises from the sea again. Will there be consequences for Ed's emotional state after that? Well, no. Not really. Or not in this season anyway.

Okay Ricky invites Izzy to a drink, he's quite obviously a Izzy fanboy. For what reason he took him out of prison, I don't know. He later says "Sad, I wanted to let you live", implying he had plans for Izzy. What those plans were, we will never know, Ricky never tells us. Izzy talks about what piracy means to him. "It's not about getting what you want" and I don't know if he means pirates generally robbing ships to get treasure, or of himself being perceived as a mastermind or being a captain, because he never inclined he wanted either. So, what a weird thing for him to say. "It's about belonging to something when the world has told you, you're nothing" is a beautiful line that makes me wish we had gotten at least some backstory to Izzy. Then we're shown a picture of the crew from season 1.... with Izzy in the background, quite obviously not belonging (yet). What an odd choice to cut into. You could have used something from season 2 that showed him actually belonging

Ed finds one of Stede's love letters, it's cute, but I am not sure why we needed that to somehow reinforce that Ed loves him. We already saw him worry for Stede and literally revert to his Blackbeard persona to set out and save him. He also didn't leave because he didn't love Stede or doubted Stede's love for Ed, but because he needed to find himself first to make it work. It's not a long scene but it took a bit of the momentum of the Kraken rising from the water from me.

Ed and Stede see each other again and we have a callback to the episode one opener. Which was also the moment where I slowly realized, death was in the cards for Izzy because that dream sequence meant his death. But no, this is OFMD, it'll be fine...

We're back in the cell, and our mates are trying to escape. Auntie is there! Very much alive, despite having been on an exploding ship. Who brought her there?? When was she brought there?? How long has she been there and why did no one bother to check the cloaked figure in the corner? NEVERMIND, Auntie is here and alive I suppose. Bleeding out and we've got no supplies to treat her, but she will walk it off just fine.

Captain trio congratulate themselves on beating a bunch of soldiers. Honestly impressive, outnumbered as they were. Mh, maybe they should get back to the crew tho...?

Auntie realizing she was harsh on Zheng Yi and admitting maybe she needs a different approach. I am seeing a parallel to Izzy later admitting his approach was wrong too. Except (and excuse the bitterness) Auntie gets to continue to "mentor" Zheng Yi.

We get a weird hard cut from "I don't do soft" to the talk between Izzy and Ricky. I really thought the talk had been talked, but some more insults get thrown at Ricky, and the deus ex machina happens as all prisoners are freed from prison, the captain trio arrives and all soldiers die of poisoning. Personally this was the moment where I had to slow blink in disbelief, because everything was happening so fast.

Stede talks about how they need a plan, and how a royal hostage could prove valuable. Another hard cut "SO, that's the plan". We do not hear the plan. We just gather from the following montage that it has to do with dressing up as English soldiers. We get a montage of everyone preparing for battle and dressing up, looking cool in slow motion. And, they did look hella cool, but there was so much buildup for them dressing up for the plan...without knowing what the plan even IS.

And then the plan apparently is.... just Izzy holding Ricky hostage? And the rest waits around and sees how it plays out? And they're just trusting Ricky to go along with their plan and say what they want him to say? Why was Izzy the one who had to hold Ricky hostage? The one person with a visible wooden leg? Not sure if peg-legs are an established pirate thing in this world, but the British seem to think so, because they look down at it. Why did no one check that Ricky had no weapons on him beforehand? And most importantly, where the fuck was Stede during this suicide plan? He is the one who planned it, yet he was nowhere around the group with Ricky, nor did he fight any Soldiers. He only reappears when everyone is running away. What the hell!! Where'd he fuck off to. Again, all this epic plan build up, for the barely existing plan to go up in shambles within 5 seconds, and then they all run. At this point they could have just left Ricky at the Inn and attempted to walk to the ship safely in disguise without ever drawing attention to the soldiers, and they would have had as much chance.

Ed asks Izzy if he is okay and I raise an eyebrow, A) because we as the viewers barely saw him get hit and B) Ed hasn't cared much about Izzy after Stede returns. But okay, we're stumbling back to the ship, surprisingly no one else gets shot.

Izzy is bleeding out on the ship, Stede and Roach run off to get bandages. "Bonnet is in charge, oh great I am fucked" is a true statement, considering Stede was in charge with the plan already and got Izzy to here. Later you hear footsteps approaching offscreen, which I guess were Stede and Roach. They just appear again, with no bandages and no comment. I don't want to get into detail how much I despise Izzy's parting words, and the message they send out, but Izzy throughout this season proved he wanted to live and got ready for living again, just to end up saying he wants to go here, and it's just so utterly wrong. This scene was presented as someone who was healed and now got to die amongst his loved ones, but he was not healed. He practically still believed he deserved what he got, and he died believing Ed did not need him and thus he was unnecessary. If he truly was healed, he would fight to live, if not for himself and his new found family, then for Ed who he still loves, but no. Okay maybe I did want to go into detail, but anyway, many have said it better than me already.

The crew who bonded with Izzy over the whole season stands mutely in the background, leaving the stage to Ed, who has barely cared about Izzy all season. Out of nothing I am supposed to believe Izzy means something to him, after Ed shot him down, discarded of him, happily mentioned to Frenchie that "But most importantly, no more Izzy" like Izzy had been the bane of his existence, the guy he didn't even have the balls to approach first to apologize but instead mocked Izzy when Izzy himself finally broke their silence, I am supposed to believe that Edward suddenly realizes Izzy's worth and that he deserves to be the one grieving, not leaving any space to the crew? I don't think so.

All season I was waiting for them to make up again, patiently, full of hope, but the remaining episodes got less and less. And I held out hope for them to bond over talks and teamwork, remembering how well they worked together before it turned sour, acknowledging that they could do better if they tried, but instead we got this. This is supposed to help Edward move on as Not Blackbeard, but Izzy had already encouraged Ed to not be Blackbeard, yet Ed came back deciding on his own to don his leather outfit again. This is such a back and forth, it's frustrating. They could have accomplished growth without a death, but I've already talked about that.

Also Izzy telling Ed has family now, because the crew loves him. Ed bonded exactly with one person outside of Stede, and that was Fang, who was once Blackbeard's crew anyway. Other than that Ed only hung back and did not give a shit about what the crew was doing, but sure they love him after the non-pology. Where were the scenes to back this claim up, it was utter nonsense.

Okay, we get a burial. No one says a thing, no one's got to say a thing about their unicorn. Everyone leaves, and "That's that then". Stede talks about Izzy, like he hasn't personally bonded with Izzy over the last episodes and like he was simply a guy Ed dragged along (the way season 1 Stede would have felt). Also, no acknowledgement that Stede's plan was what got Izzy killed whatsoever, no remorse.

Aye no time to be sad, we got a wedding now! It lasts less than a minute screen time, and I am still recovering from the emotional impact of a death scene + burial, maybe give me a minute so I can feel happy for LuPete? No? okay.

Stede and Ed decide to build an Inn, nothing either of them has experience in. Also the "family" Izzy promised Ed is sailing away, so that was for nothing as well. What happened to Stede wanting to be a pirate? What happened to Ed returning to being a pirate, because it's what he's good at? What exactly made them change opinions to leave their crew behind and start this? *lame hand gesture at Izzy's grave* This?? I am usually good at looking for clues and details and figuring stuff out in between the lines, but I am left clueless as to what inspired this.

I am 100% sure there were missing scenes that could have helped soften the blow of the death at least, but like this the episode feels jarringly badly patched together. There is no visible impact to the death that would explain the necessity to the narrative (and yes, we are in a story, not real life. Plot points happen because they bring the narrative along, and it didn't here) With everything established beforehand, it felt like the death got shoehorned in, simply because someone said "I want this character to be dead at the end of the season", and then a story was somehow built around this.

And of course people are upset about this, when I watched I thought it was a joke and I was waiting for the little wink telling me it's not what it seems. The theme I gathered from this season was "belonging", and to see the guy accepting that he belonged and deserved to be loved to be left behind and denied a chance to continue with the crew where he BELONGS, because he's dead and gone, is a very stupid choice.

The season had many unexplained and unresolved things that I chose to overlook because the show was still ongoing and I had hoped they would all work out in the end, but they didn't and this sours the whole experience.

Fandom

This has less to do with me unraveling the happenings of the show, but whatever.

I joined very late, a few weeks before season 2 aired. I was however vaguely aware that Izzy was controversial to the fandom and that fans got hate mail for liking the character who "broke the main couple apart". So going into the new season as someone who utterly loved Izzy in season 1, I was skeptical lol

But it was a nice experience. Season 2 showed parts of Izzy that I had already seen but in a way that made it clear to everyone that this guy has Emotional Layers TM and is capable of more than just being the guy throwing a hissy fit. Everyone could sympathize with him, people enjoyed seeing him, and I legit loved going through the tags of the gifsets and reading all the reactions.

Generally I loved seeing the reactions after every new episode, seeing how fandom came together to talk over what happened, and over what they enjoyed. I had expected a very split fandom but it seemed season 2 was somewhat gluing it together. Izzy was finally an "accepted" character and thus it was "okay" now to love him, now that he wasn't trying to break Ed/Stede apart either. The show was feeding fans too, I felt like I feasted every episode up until the finale happened.

And /then/ the finale happened and the illusion went away.

Up to then I thought this was a season for the Izzy fans, with the opener episode showing how ridiculous the take of "Izzy has to die for Ed/Stede to be happy" was in a mocking dream episode, I thought that was David Jenkins acknowledging the hate that has been sent in the direction of Izzy & his fans, and how it's Not That Easy. And then he proved Izzy was more than that.

And then he killed Izzy off, so Ed/Stede could be happy and we've come full circle again.

Of course Izzy fans were upset, because it felt like a final fuck you after a season full of promises that it would be okay, and of course people were voicing their displeasure and sadness over it. Some people were downright grieving the character, and I can tell you I Am People. I went through the 5 stages of grief, through bargaining and anger directly after the finale, sadness the whole day after, crying over it because it felt so unjust to me. And maybe these reactions seem extreme to you, but that does not mean that people aren't feeling awful about the finale, that it truly hurt them. And you do not get to mock people for feeling in pain. What do you gain from that? If you liked the finale, fine, everyone is different, but allow the people who were shaken by it to express their emotions. Processing emotions takes time, and as a part of this I wrote a goddamn essay to make peace. The least you could do is not be a dick.

Parting thoughts are that the final episode was both a product of unfortunate cuts in screen time, and a writer who didn't expect the effect it would have on the audience.

I am not hating on David Jenkins, I loved every other episode of the season and eagerly anticipated the next one, but I am so incredibly sad that one botched finale broke my trust into the show, soured my love for the previous episodes with the knowledge of what it all built up to, and left the fandom back in shambles.

So long, and be kind to each other.

#ofmd s2 #ofmd season 2 spoilers #izzy hands #ofmd meta #That was the longest I've ever typed. But also at least I feel more content now #You actually do have my respect if you went through this #and to everyone still struggling with sadness: i feel you #ofmd critical

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batmansblushofrobins · 1 month ago

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Bridgerton as an AroAce

As an aromantic asexual, I have a lot of thoughts on romance in media and amatonormativity. I used to just hate all romance on sight--it got to the point that any time a book hinted at two people getting together, I would get annoyed. It took me a while realize it’s not the romance that bothers me, but how it is treated as something to be wanted by everyone even in worlds on the other side of the universe. I like watching things centered on romance but dislike romance being inserted into other genres (plus, established relationships/domestic fluff makes me cringe). I've grown more tolerant over time and can even appreciate some canon ships if they are done well; the first of which I can remember enjoying was Six of Crows, and I could write a whole other essay on why its romantic pairings worked; however, I would much rather read fanfiction about two characters getting together that I feel have the right chemistry for it than chance reading or watching something with romance that I will, in all likelihood, hate. There was a post on here a while back that talked about how if they were reading fanfiction, that meant they were specifically seeking romance out and in the mood for it. I will try to find and link it, because it's really relevant here.

Anyways, enough of the personal preface. Here are my romance-related thoughts on Bridgerton Season 1:

The only other romance shows I've enjoyed are the Pride and Prejudice 80’s miniseries and Heartstopper, so I surprised myself by liking Bridgerton.

SIMON/DAPHNE: Obviously I liked this season enough to keep going, but, looking back, I like it the least. It has a lot to do with Daphne SAing him and being forgiven by the narrative (it made me do the whatever is the opposite of putting on rose-coloured glasses when I remember the season. spilling milk over the film reel? idk), but even if I think of their relationship before that happened, it’s not my favourite. I liked the fake dating trope, but sometimes the misunderstandings were a bit much. Every time they talked, things improved. I know that it's for the drama, but I was still annoyed when they avoided each other again and again.

ELOISE: I related to her so much. She had no love interest this season. She rejected social conventions and the typical path for a lady, was more interested in reading than the idea of courting someone, and wanted to remain a spinster with Penelope forever. So many of her lines resonated with me. I knew because of the type of show that there was no way they would keep her single, but I guess I still had hoped for the impossible.

Season 2:

KATHANI/ANTHONY: This was my favourite pairing of the whole show. I loved how they could be vulnerable together and how many parallels there were between them, such as them feeling the need to protect their younger siblings. Anthony choosing to marry Edwina frustrated me, but I was frustrated at the characters rather than the writers. It felt in-character instead of being there to further the plot along.

ELOISE: This season, Eloise anxiously made her debut. Her mother pushed for her to give love a chance. Violet is well intentioned, but she believes romantic love is the only way to be happy in life since it was what made her happy. Eloise dodged potential suitors and stuck close to Penelope at the balls. Despite this, she got a love interest as I feared. Her relationship with Theo was… cute, unfortunately. I was still upset that she needlessly got a love interest, but at least it was based around intellect which is true to Eloise’s character. Another thing that happened this season was that Kate told her that being a spinster is not as great as one would think. That is probably true for the time period since women didn’t have the freedom to move about the world without a chaperone, but it still perpetuates the idea that single people, specifically women, won’t be happy long-term.

#aromantic #asexual #bridgerton #amatonormativity #eloise bridgerton #I'm running on three hours of sleep #so obviously now is the best time to start posting on tumblr #romance #aroace #i'll add more to this later #essay #meta

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mikeellee · 2 months ago

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Hi, I was wondering about shoto Todoroki before going to be so this may sound a bit nonsense but ...did Shoto really changed or the narrative tricked us?

I want to preface I have no beef with Shoto, this is not a Shoto slander nor hate. I'm curious bc his storyline could have been great haven't be allowed to be.

My thing with Shoto is...his big changing moment is when Izu said "it's your power, bit his" and cool moment, Shoto used his fire and won. I have grievances on how Izu sacrificed a win (I admit I don't think he could have won against Shoto nor BK should but moving on) and got...nothing. Look, not saying Izu should be reward for every little thing but after that moment we could have got a Shoto and Izu friendship (to justify why the fuck Shoto would give his backstory to a complete stranger. Srsly he and Izu were non entities prior the moment)

And yes, Shoto get brownie points for helping Izu in the stain arc. That was nice of him - it set him apart from class A1 who ignored his calls/message "ah but his message was a mess" maybe so but no one shows concern for him! Izu is not someone who cries wolf. Plus they were in patrol.

But ...after that, it seems the character didn't change. He still wants to be a hero. I wouldn't understand if Shoto couldn't stop being hero bc of his father...bc he fears him, let's be real Shoto was a minor and Endy is violent and powerful enough to make his life awful if Shoto decides to be anything else...very convenient shoto wants to be a hero.

In the license arc, Shoto didn't get the license. We do attribute this to Inasa being an entitled fan...but is that just this? Does Shoto helped the others? Acted like a hero? I still remember moments of that anime and in this arc I don't remember Shoto being a team player...I could misremember here.

He makes no friendship, certainly not with Izu. I would argue he befriend BK and that is a Freudian slip - yes, let's blame hori and this is correct as Shoto should hate BK since he hates his father.

There a oneshot to explain the movie "Izu you are a mass murder" where Shoto looks amazed at BK destroying smth of Izu. As if Endy never did smth similar to him in the past which for sure happened.

Its just ...I don't think Shoto changed or had to change.

Izu ...sort change...for worse. He started the story thinking he is worthless. Ended thinking he is a loser- he voiced that, canon. And can only be a hero if someone, his lifelong abuser, handed him a magical suit. Its something so sad bc it fits perfectly on the whole "character hallucinate everything you see in the story"

Something @thr0wnawayy mentioned about Izuku's delusion stuck with me bc...it makes sense.

Not sure why I'm talking about shoto. You could argue many characters didn't change or got worse.

Ochako now is a superficial bitch. Even if hori makes Izuocha canon with kids and marriage ...he will still write Ochako being passive aggressive with Izu, people will joke the kids aren't his - cucko Izu was big and while decreased, it never stopped.

Class A1 is how a bunch of fake friends who only call Izu when they need something. Izu just accepts this is his life.

We read this manga expecting him to be a great hero...and we have this "happy ending" where it would be kinder if Izuku had died along side Shig.

That...makes me think. A lot.

Tô any novice writers reading this...you can fall in love with a character, you can fall out of love with a character but be professional. Think of the story and...don't be a Hori.

#hori is a bad writer #a really bad one #izuku deserves better #mha critical #bnha critical #shoto todoroki #shoto critical #no hate for shoto #im just wondering bc i dont think he change at all #anti bakugou

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shadowfreak98 · 3 months ago

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❤ TF ONE STORY TIME! ❤

youtube

I had a very similar experience like what Comodin described around 7:49...

To preface my story, I have seen Transformers One 5 times in the cinema now. Unfortunately, Thursday was my last time going to see it because I need to save my money. However, I encourage EVERYONE to PLEASE GO AND WATCH THIS MOVIE! GIVE IT YOUR MONEY, YOUR LOVE, YOUR SOUL!

It really needs everyone's attention and love! Even to those who AREN'T Transformers fans, I implore you to see it!

Anyways, onto my story...

About a week and a half ago I had gone to see Transformers for the third time. I had convinced my mom to drop me off at the local theater to let me see it again. I had been sitting in the car and told her how much passion I have for the film, not just as a Transformers fan, but also someone who is shooting to go into Animation. This is the kinda stuff I wanna do, and I want to support it in any way I can.

So, I get into the theater and because it was a spontaneous thing, I had about 45+ minutes to kill before the film would start. I stood around the front of the theater drinking my coffee and talking with the bag checker who is also a massive transformers fan. He knew exactly what I was planning on seeing just from me mentioning the showtime. I decided to shoot the shit with him until the showing.

He had told me that he and the staff had been asked many many questions about Joker 2, and they had been honest about its terrible reception. They had also been trying their DAMNDEST to get people to watch TF One instead. [Basically to support a... GOOD movie. Pfft!]

So, time goes on, and I keep chatting with him about how great this film is. 20 minutes before the movie was going to start, these two kids came inside and I hear them debating what movie they even wanted to watch... They stood beside me at the self-service ticket station and were going back and forth about the flashback showings as well as the recent releases. Well about 5 minutes pass and they hadn't made up their mind, and it sounded like they were about to settle on Hotel Transylvania 2 [Hahahaha, I wasn't gonna let that happen.]

I suggested Transformers One, and the two looked at each other and then back at me, clearly a little skeptical but they admitted to having considered it.

"We don't know much about Transformers."

Was the first thing they said, so I followed it up with a simple...

"You don't need to. This movie tells you everything you need to know."

Then they asked...

"Is it anything like Michael Bay? Is there a lot of action?"

So I tried to sum it up as best as I could.

"No. It's not like Bay... but has a good amount of action... It's also extremely funny and hits HARD. I promise."

That was all I could really say without revealing anything, but I implored that they give it a chance. Around that time was when I headed in. Much to my surprise, these kids did it! They took my suggestion!

At the end of the film, I had stayed for the after credits (cannot skip that man), and when I walked out into the lobby, I found the kids were still there. So I asked them what they thought.

I didn't expect their reactions... THEY LOVED IT, and they were MORE THAN HAPPY to express how much they loved that movie! They thanked me, and told me that they had apparently been waiting around/looking for me JUST to thank me for suggesting it to them!

I do not think anything has made me as happy as that has in the longest time. I felt AMAZING after that! I even proceeded to tell my mom when she picked me up, and she thought it was really sweet.

WELP! I hope you guys liked my story time!~ I actually have a story or two more to tell about TF One, maybe more because... WHOO this movie has literally just rocked my whole world! These past three weeks have been nothing but TF One on the brain, and I am loving every minute of it! Lemme know some of your guys' stories and experiences around/about the movie!~ I wanna hear what you guys have been up to and how yer all driving your families crazy talking about it nonstop! Ha! Anyways...

#transformers #tf one #tranformers one #story time #me talking #shadowfreak talks #transformers one #maccadams #maccadam #tf1 #tfone #tf #tf one 2024 #transformers one SLAPS dude #WATCH TF ONE PLZZZ!!!#Youtube

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cripplecharacters · 9 months ago

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Hello! Want to double check that I've done a decent job of avoiding disfiguremisia, and try to turn it into great counter to hatred instead of just an okay one.

Preface: I have a form of memory loss and likely brain damage so I cannot always phrase things clearly although I will try my best.

Personally I do not feel happy reading escapist stories as that happy ending is not achievable for real people. We don't get to live in a place that's completely safe and free from judgement. I'd like to write people in a hostile world who find love and safety and community, however this does necessite writing hostility. I want to make sure I'm doing so with care.

I would like to make sure that the hostility written as tension does not tar how I write how one of the main characters. He should be written with dignity and respect even when he is not being treated well by those around him.

One of my characters is blind and develops severe burn scars. He wears a blindfold to help with photophobia and sensory overwhelm, but takes it off when its dim. (CVI plus autism.)

While he does wear a cloth coverings in public due to ugly laws, he views it as a ridiculous requirement and happily removes this mask when with friends. He also enjoys that being visibly strange or somewhat unnerving to most people means that shallow people who judge by appearances avoid him.

Question: what other things might I be able to employ to counter disfiguremisia? I have him being content with his face as it tells a story of his life and he's a blunt, forward person, not covering his face for most of the story despite laws necessitating that he do so, and a few other things too (and many side characters with facial differences and deformities also).

Also none of the central plotlines centre around facial difference. He's joining a servant rebellion, befriending a bitter exile intent on status at all costs, and discovering the truth of history. (Also a mind controlling octopus being is involved and a semi sentient moon amalgam thing but don't worry about it everything's fine.)

I think later books will be a more effective counter due to lack of ugly laws and him finding a lovely interest. I will also do my best to make the counters feel real and feasible - I want it to feel like an achievable option for those who deal with prejudice in the real world. I want his happy ending to feel real.

I respect the hell out of escapist fantasies it's just that they do nothing for me personally. I really want to write someone dealing with a lot - more than I ever have - and coming out the other end happy. Yes this world is hostile and will judge me but I can find joy despite it all. Some say the world is universally cruel but I have not found this to be the case. It is wise to be wary but myself and friends can create small sections of time and space where no precautions are necessary. Am I not part of the world? Are not they? The world is not universally cruel as long as I and those I treasure live in and we are not extraordinary, simply uncommon, and what is uncommon is still a great bounty. (Something to that effect.)

I'm set on what I want to write but the specifics I'm more than happy to change in order to bring joy. Do you have ideas on how I can do this full idea full justice?

Hello,

before getting to your actual ask, I have a "few" questions about the premise of the story itself.

You mention that you don't like escapist fantasies - that's fair. Taste differs; you can write whatever and that's great. But I do find the insistence to write a story about a specific type of discrimination as an outsider rather strange. If you want to have facial difference representation, I assume you want to have readers with facial differences, correct? I mean, I don't think that many able-bodied people would be too interested in it specifically considering most don't know what it is. So okay, this is supposed to be a story of characters with facial differences overcoming centuries worth of hatred and all that. Arguably more, considering that disfiguremisia and ableism go all the way back to Biblical times.

Why are you the person who needs to tell this story?

Just as people with facial differences are readers, we can be authors as well. We tell our stories. I will take an #OwnVoices book over a one that isn't that any day, and this fact will influence the rest of this answer. I'm a firm believer in #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs and all when it comes to this stuff.

Have you talked to people with facial differences who would be interested in the kind of story you want to tell? Do you know what they want to see from an author that's not taking it from their own experience? I don't count here, because as I made clear before, I'm not and won't be interested in it. I also don't know anyone in the community who has ever said "I wish more people without our experiences wrote about how hard it is to be us!". You need to make sure there are people who want this.

So, have, or will you, reach out to those that could like it? Sensitivity readers, random people online who like to read about disfiguremisia in their free time, advocates who work on media-centric problems? Anyone who would enjoy it is automatically a better candidate to help than me. I'm too jaded.

If you want to talk about people with facial differences in such detail and setting, you need to get to know us. One guy with a specific set of opinions from a blog on Tumblr isn't that (thank god), but I guess I can serve as a reminder that not everyone will be excited to read a book that represents them in some way. We still have preferences.

To write it, you need to involve yourself in the community, start actually spreading activism about our issues. Preach about Face Equality and celebrate when our once-a-year week happens in May. See what disfiguremisia causes. Share our efforts to get all the problematic garbage off the big screen. Read our stories. Understand us as people who are incredibly diverse, and that not all of us like to be described as strange or unnerving.

If you only want to talk about our suffering as some quota to fill on a "types of discrimination" list, it will always be flat and inauthentic, and if you don't put in the effort it's pointless. We don't want tragedy porn, and we don't need to be included in every story about struggles that just wants some brand-new type of bigotry in it. We want authors who care about us, the living and breathing people. And sometimes it might mean respecting our opinions on writing disfiguremisia.

Here is a great post by @writingwithcolor explaining the effects of tragedy exploitation. Not everything there applies, but I would consider it a very valuable read.

If you think about all this, and decide that you are ready to write such a heavy, community-based story, go ahead to...

Actual Answers! Hooray

what other things might I be able to employ to counter disfiguremisia?

Sympathize with him. Disfiguremisia is a tragedy, it's brutal and it hurts. It's traumatic and impossible to forget, even if it wasn't happening constantly just to remind us that it's still there. On this note, I would recommend you research writing characters with PTSD.

Have him think about it. Sometimes I get home after getting stared down on the street and just want to yell. You don't forget a microaggression or a hate crime after five minutes. Let him vent and let him be upset. He can have flashbacks or recall similar situations that happened in the past.

I'm glad that he's aware of disfiguremisia unlike a ton of characters who are somehow always unable to figure out that it's a problem. If the ableism he's facing is so systemic and severe, individual people will be even more extreme. You can have him remember that the shop owner was a slur-spitting bigot, or that his neighbors avoid even talking to him. I want him to call them out - in retrospective, at the moment, in his head, whatever - on what they're doing. Throw a "not this fucking thing again" or something in there.

The minimum is to make him feel like a human with an internal thought process, who is able to actually experience what's happening to him, and for it to have long-term effects.

Also, outside of the whole disfiguremisia thing and me being overdramatic, check out our #blindness tag, and research burn scar care. If you don't show the boring and mundane, it will only feel closer to tragedy porn; just a sad thing one after another.

I will also do my best to make the counters feel real and feasible - I want it to feel like an achievable option for those who deal with prejudice in the real world.

This I think is the part of the ask that made me the saddest, and not because of what you wrote. I tried to think of achievable ways; ways that we did it, tried to do it, and are doing it, and one-by-one I crossed them out as "didn't work", "no one cared enough" or "kinda worked but honestly, it didn't". Face Equality is basically non-existent, not matter how much it hurts me to admit it. We are trying our best, and it doesn't work. It's just plain hard for me to come up with suggestions for this.

In fiction, I suppose that personal resistance is the way when it comes to this. I don't think there are feasible systemic changes that could happen that don't border on magical thinking or get into the "singular glorious revolution that somehow fixes everything and everyone lived happy ever after. We fixed racism, yay!". This just sucks. He could try to educate the people who are willing to listen - that's somewhat what I'm trying to pull off here on this blog, I guess. Sometimes it works, often it doesn't, but in his situation it wouldn't hurt to try.

The fundamental part here will be whether your character is able to find a way to make the ordinary person care in the end. To me, society who still hates us just as much, with a small group that thinks we're okay isn't a happy ending. The opposite, rather. It's cold and isolating to know only your friends could value you as a human being, and downright sad to imply that we should be happy for that. I don't mean that everyone should love us in every story, but there's a difference between The Ableism being represented by an antagonist or two versus the entire world except for the main characters.

If you decide to go forward with this story, I do hope your other readers with facial differences enjoy it.

mod Sasza

[This ask was submitted before my announcement of not taking questions regarding this subject matter. As of publishing this, it still applies.]

#mod sasza #anonymous #face difference #disfiguremisia #tw ableism #long post

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szollibisz · 2 months ago

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I'm a big mush and I forgot to send you something for the ask game, so for Curt and Owen:

-33- redeeming qualities

I see my elusive lover spirit is being called upon after all my haterism towards these two <3

I wanna preface by saying that a lot of their generally positive/neutral qualities unfortunately become twisted into bad qualities due to the times they were living in and the lifestyle they led, but I'm still going to mention said traits as good. And also that most of this pertains to pre fall, since it really brought out the worst in them, and minimised many of these otherwise good qualities.

Curt:

- His optimism. It's mentioned multiple times by other characters in the show, but he truly is a very hopeful person, who wants to do good in the world. I feel like his aggressive optimism might've saved him and Owen a few times. Since Owen is very logical, he may get lost in trying to figure out how to get out of a tricky situation, and may even become overcome with a sense of dread after not finding a good solution, but Curt has this almost naive hope, a sense of being untouchable when together with Owen, so he may make impulsive choices that may not seem logical at first, but end up saving them in the end, or generally help Owen relax until he can properly figure out his plans.

- Being caring and affectionate. It's clear throughout the show that the people he loves, he loves very much and that when he's not in his post-fall depression spiral he's quite personable. He initiates the hug after him and Tatiana agree to be friends, and while she's hesitant he doesn't seem awkward about it at all, which to me comes across as both a. He's used to being like this with people, close, friendly etc and b. He really needed a hug which you know. He does. But yeah, overall when he's not trying to hide behind his macho spy persona too much, his kindness shows through. (Chronic case of kind but not nice most of the time)

- Spontaneity/thinking on the spot. I explained most of this in the optimism paragraph, but yeah, to elaborate that's not just about missions, but the way he generally lives his life. While it does mean he's kinda unreliable, it also means he's always ready to do things and enthusiastic about everything. He's the kind of guy that plans a week long vacation from scratch in like an hour, and even if there are many faults in the plan he will still find a way to make it enjoyable. Also ties in to being sociable and constantly set on having a good time.

- Helpful. I think much of his youth was about helping people, and making up for the things he did wrong/lacked in. He genuinely wants people to be happy, he's just at odds with himself which constantly ends up causing trouble. He gets bad grades, he gets in fights etc etc. He tries to fix it all by being a helpful member of his community. Imo it's not just his hero complex and McCarthyism that fuels his need to be a spy and make a difference, it's a genuine hope for a better world and wanting better things for people.

Owen:

- Logical. Pretty self explanatory, we see it a lot in a1p1, but it's also part of his entire world view. He overanalyzes every feeling and every thought he has and he has a very specific idea of how things work now and how things should work ideally. His logic gives him the capacity to change these ideals, albeit not easily. He's still less susceptible to propaganda than Curt, purely on account of the constant self checking. I think he's the kind of guy that wants to hear multiple perspectives before making a decision, especially since he himself is in a marginalized community, and knows how the most popular opinion on something is not necessarily the "right one"

- Devoted. Whether to ideals or a person this man is all in. Since he is so logical, he often justifies his (very intense) feelings with facts and is more firm in his beliefs than a lot of people are, shaken out of them very rarely. This is especially true with Curt, who he can't stop loving even after the fall. He'd do basically anything for him, or the other ideals he has. So all I'm saying is, if there is only one loyal man in the world it is Owen.

- Detail oriented/persistent. He's very good at focusing on the little things, which is why he's such a good spy and actor. He knows how to pick very specific character quirks to get people talking or pay attention to the small mannerisms of his targets to catch them in lies and whatnot. He's also very organized because of this, having specific methods for everything, from packing his clothes to torturing information out of someone. It's also useful in his relationships, it makes him seem sort of insane and obsessive (he is) but he remembers every innocuous detail about Curt, and he cares for him according to those. Often Curt won't even say things, Owen will just pick up on the and remember for later, like watching how much sugar Curt puts in his coffee and making it the exact same way for him next time.

- Adaptability. He could survive anywhere anytime, because honestly, even though he's a mess post fall I still think he managed better than 99% of people would. Just cause he doesn't win the idgaf war doesn't mean it isn't crazy he survived and managed to carve some semblance of a life out for himself. Even before the fall he had to survive ww2 era London, spying, A Situationship and so on. He can stay mostly composed and rational in most situations, until he figures out what to do, and if not he has Curt to rely on for moral support.

There are more for both of them but I want to keep this. Well not short and sweet it's already not short but yeah.

#thank you for the ask! <3 #spies are forever #tin can bros #saf #owen carvour #agent curt mega #curtwen #szol's spy rambles #ask box moment #ask game

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citrinekay · 9 months ago

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hi this is very random, but i was wondering if you're up for sharing any recs (regarding kdramas)? i am an absolute blank canvas, you can influence me into any direction you desire!

Hi, anon! I'm ALWAYS happy to chat about kdramas, so not random at all 💖 I will preface this rec list by saying that, in my opinion, there are two types of kdrama-enjoyers: people like me who love crime/thriller/mystery dramas, and people who like the romance/comedy dramas that most people think of when they imagine kdramas. I will also say that I'm fairly dedicated to particular actors, and since I'm a busy person, I usually only watch dramas based on actors I know I like or recommendations from trusted friends. There's so many that I haven't watched that I'm sure a superb! With that being said, here are my top favorites:

Beyond Evil: My gateway drug to kdramas. This show grabbed a hold of me and wouldn't let go for almost 2 years. It's a mystery/thriller set in a smalltown where a serial killer has been on the loose for 20 years. Rookie detective (and nepotism hire by virtue of his father being highly ranked in the KNPA) Han Joowon arrives in town with strong conviction that he knows who the real killer is - Lee Dongsik, also a cop, who was accused of killing his sister 20 years ago but was released due to lack of evidence. A shining example of "opposites attract" and an evolving relationship arc that is almost unparalleled

The Worst of Evil: My gateway drug to Ji Changwook. A crime noir drama set in the 90s. In order to infiltrate a 3-way drug trade involving China, Japan, and Korea, rural cop Park Junmo goes undercover as the cousin of gangleader Jung Gicheul's deceased best friend. Crisis immediately strikes when it's revealed that Junmo's wife, Euijeong (also a cop), was the childhood sweetheart of Jung Gicheul. The married couple become further and further entangled in the gang's operations and with the enigmatic Gicheul as the undercover operation veers from one crisis to the next, until by the end, they are both asking themselves, "Can we go back to who we were before?"

D.P. (Deserter Pursuit): This drama follows An Junho through his enlistment in Korea's mandatory military service, his introduction to the D.P. unit, which tracks down military deserters, and his fight to expose the corruption, hazing, and abuse within the military. By his side is his partner, Han Hoyeol, a much more reluctant hero who is nevertheless dedicated to protecting Junho at all costs. Another great example of "opposites attract"! But be forewarned, as adorable as this pair is at the start, this series will force you to look at some very uncomfortable aspects of human nature and society and ask you some tough questions that might make you shed more than a few tears

If You Wish Upon Me: My second favorite drama from Ji Changwook and completely underrated, if you ask me. A lonely and suicidal ex-convict is sent to a hospice care facility in order to complete community service. The employees of the hospice operate a program that tries to fulfill the last wishes of their dying patients. To Gyeore's surprise, he finds a group of people who welcome him despite his flaws and slowly but surely make him a part of their little family. Another series that will definitely make you cry more than once! One of my favorite parts of this drama was the romance. Unlike a lot of kdramas, it depicts a man who appears to be tough and willing to fight on the surface but is actually traumatized, powerless, and trapped in an abusive relationship that the FL helps him to escape.

Bad and Crazy: How to describe this drama?? It's a quirky, wild ride that will have you asking "what the fuck?" while also keeping you glued to the screen wanting to know what happens next. Under most circumstances, my suspension of disbelief would have collapsed after the first episode but somehow this drama kept me engaged from start to finish. In simple terms, it's a story about corrupt cop Ryu Suyeol, who has a split personality, K, that is determined to kick his ass until he becomes the righteous hero he dreamed of growing up to be as a child.

Hotel Del Luna: A fantasy drama about a 1,000's year old immortal being, Jang Manwol, who runs a "hotel" for the dead. It's her responsibility to resolve the unfulfilled desires of those who have passed so that they can continue onto the afterlife in peace without becoming vengeful spirits. Young hotelier Koo Chansung is drafted against his will to serve as the hotel's mortal manager when the former manager passes away. While it's Manwol's job to resolve grudges for the dead, she herself holds the biggest grudge of all that's keeping her tied to the hotel indefinitely. Neither she nor Chansung know it at the beginning, but Chansung will be instrumental in helping her move on from her painful past. 10/10 will also make you cry (are you sensing a pattern here?)

Empress Ki: Don't let the whopping 51 episode count of this epic period drama deter you! I watched most of it within 2 weeks and could not pull myself away. It's loosely based on the true story of Ki Seungnyang, a palace slave from Koryo turned empress, who captures the heart of Emperor Toghon of the Yuan Dynasty, which has control over Koryo during this time period. Toghon as been a puppet king abused by the regent for most of his life until Nyang empowers him to reclaim his authority, and in turn, claims a great deal of influence for herself. I've seen a good deal of dissent from other viewers over Toghon and Nyang's relationship, but for me, it was the most compelling thing about the show. No matter how toxic, co-dependent, and fucked up things get between them, they just can't leave each other to the wolves.

Bloodhounds: Set during the COVID-19 pandemic, this drama criticizes the government's response to the economic crisis and the resulting explosion of debt capitalized on by the loansharking business in Korea. Boxers and former Marines Kim Gunwoo and Hong Woojin meet during a match and quickly become fast friends. When Gunwoo's mother is tricked into signing an exploitative contract by a loanshark in order to save her struggling cafe, the pair team up with Mr. Choi, a former loanshark himself who has turned his business around to helping victims of loansharking get out of debt. (The last 2 episodes of this show weren't up to par in my opinion, due to a last-minute rewrite for reasons you can look up online, but overall, I enjoyed the hell out of this drama and adored Gunwoo and Woojin from start to finish. Oh and good news, it's just been renewed for season 2!)

The Guest: A priest, a psychic, and a cop team up to stop a powerful demon called Park Il-do, which has visited tragedy on each of them in different ways. I'm wary of the over-used "linked in childhood" trope that comes up often in kdramas but this drama did it in such a believable and satisfying way. I loved the main trio and their dedication to protecting and helping each other and never letting any one of their group go into danger alone Not to mention that this drama will keep your adrenaline pumping from beginning to end! (You might not believe this but ........ this final episode of this drama made me sob like a baby)

Honorable Mentions include:

Strangers From Hell (Lee Dongwook and Im Siwan), Link: Eat, Love Kill (Yeo Jingoo and Moon Gayoung), Welcome to Samdalri (Ji Changwook and Shin Hyesun), The Devil Judge (Ji Sung and Jinyoung), Unicorn (Shin Hakyun), and The Sound of Magic (Ji Changwook and Choi Sungeun)

#ask #kdrama #kdrama recommendations #beyond evil #the worst of evil #d.p. netflix #empress ki #bad and crazy #bloodhounds #hotel del luna

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mr-payjay · 11 months ago

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feel free to complain to me about the ii finale <3 i'm all ears

thank you ellie :)

fair warning for ii neg, especially on the latest episode.

prefacing this with saying: I LOVE INANIMATE INSANITY!!!!!! inanimate insanity is my favourite show in the world and every episode leaves me full of joy and excitement. i adore criticizing it not out of hatred but out of genuine love. i enjoy every single episode i watch.

however, i find that iii19 has been the worst episode so far. it has gotten me the least hyped out of any episode in the series, which is saying a lot because i bounce off the walls at every episode no matter how much i end up criticizing it later. there are. so many problems i have with it. im gonna try and organize them the best i can, though i'll probably(?) edit this post later to insert anything i missed or forgot to say.

starting off positively: oj!!!! personally i am so glad he didn't talk in this episode. i was terrified of the idea of him having a new va. the spin was adorable, i loved his signature thumbs ups, and every time i saw him i squealed with delight. him voting for balloon also made me really happy! despite the grudge he's had against him for so long, he still sticks with him on this part. even after laughing at his death the episode before that

in general all the seasonwunners voted for balloon!! which makes me happy!!! paintbrush, nickel, balloon, and oj have all been there for the very beginning of season 1, three of them being there for every season. i love the inherent connection the contestants from season 1 have with each other. they've been together since inanimate insanity began and they're there for the end of season 3 too. very sweet.

onto more negative stuff! I CANNOT FUCKING BELIEVE WHAT THEY DID WITH SILVER SPOON AND CANDLEEE they set up something crazy in the last episode and then did NOTHING with it!!! they had silver spoon beat candle unconscious the second she said something that wasn't coddling him like the manchild he is and she STILL voted for him. where even was she for half of the episode?? they just left her lifeless corpse on the ground in iii18 and then she eventually got up in this episode and just. went back to the competition??? dogshit writing

okay now i wanna talk about cabby. I Don't Like Cabby Anymore. so from the very beginning i have loved cabby. she was extremely similar to me in fact! i have really bad memory issues and i tend to keep files on people and on things that i might forget about, as well as just to organize my thoughts and ideas. i loved her confidence, obsession with knowledge, and analytical personality at the start. i was pretty upset when the characters (mostly test tube lmao) started relentlessly bullying her, and i HATE the whole thing in spring on the breakfast where they try to demonize her files. it was kind of annoying when they tried to remedy it really quickly after that because it was clearly because of the backlash, but i was glad they at least tried to fix it. however, over the course of the series, she just felt like she was... becoming sadder? pitiful, honestly? she went from an awesome smart character who loved taking notes on people's behaviour and using that information to get better at the game into some kind of Sad Little Bullied Victim. she doesn't even feel like a character anymore to me, just a mouthpiece for the creators to write dramatic "cathartic" speeches through to prove they're Definitely Not Ableist. also what was the deal with her parents lmao they never brought that up again

aaaand this episode was generally written really badly. super fucking corny for one. they literally had a little dance party at the end like people make jokes about for stereotypical Kids' Shows. but my issue is more with like... the weird super fast character development? and the way they wrapped everything up as quickly as possible? something that bothered me was the tonal whiplash between zuwie voicing springy super hysterically and dramatically and then springy being fully redeemed within like the next 5 minutes and dying for mephone. Why did they even die for mephone. like as a character why would he of all people die for mephone. thats so fucking stupid. the rest of the voice acting felt completely different from springy's as well so it just made the effect worse. everyone's lines were really corny and felt so manufactured, like they would pull characters to mephone's side (losing my mind over all the contestants rooting for mephone like cmon man that guy sucks i just know oj at least would want him dead) with a short Cathartic Speech and everything would be fixed and lovely and peachy keen. its just painful to watch. everything feels really weirdly disjointed and badly put together, the flow is awful, the "danger" doesn't feel like there's any suspense to it at all, and every character gets fully redeemed for no good reason. even walkie talkie chats casually with mephone at the end as if they're good friends after they were HYSTERICALLY INSISTING ON MURDERING HIM? AND MAKING HIM WATCH HIS OWN DEATH?? idk if this will get explained in s2 but we still don't know who walkie talkie is, what their motive is, WHY they got redeemed, etc. we know nothing about them. and even if it will be explained later, i think it's shitty writing that NOTHING was explained in this season.

some extra stuff

- SO FUCKING GLAD THEY DIDN'T BRING HOTEL OJ INTO THIS I WOULD'VE CRIED IF THEY PUT SEASON 3 CHARACTERS INTO HOTEL OJ OR MADE IT ALL SLEEK AND S3 STYLE

- the "you can do this" thing at the end was fucking stupid man that was so corny (btw corny isn't always bad but jesus christ... this episode was just awful with it)

- could not feel any emotion towards the Emotional Parts but laughter and secondhand embarrassment

- HOW DID THEY GET THE FUNDING FOR A LIBRARY? I THOUGHT THE PROBLEM WAS THAT MEPHONE DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING FOR A PRIZE HOW DID HE PAY FOR AN ENTIRE LIBRARY

- speaking of, why isn't oj back at the hotel. doesn't he have to manage it. wasn't paper having a ton of trouble managing it. why are all of them still on that fuckass island. did the library take like 5 minutes to build what the fuck

- ALSO!!! Why did they build a library in the middle of a deserted island

- i liked the short nickloon scene because im a nicklooner

- glad yinyang and candle got to talk

- test tube saying nearly nothing at all the entire episode except for sitting on the ground in a really stupid pose and apologizing to cabby made me laugh

- weirded out by tt and fan not talking to each other at all? not as a ship thing but like they're best friends aren't they

- really fucking annoyed by the fantube family picture at the end i hate fantube family leave that grown ass adult (bot) alone

- glad they didn't canonize any ships i was so scared about silvercandle and fantube

- 4s scene and s1 flashback was cool i love s1 so i got excited

- aaaaand i think my misogyny thread is relevant again. i should update it sometime because ii has only gotten worse about it lmao

- didn't like them making clover stupid for some reason like "is he talking about me?" come on

- oj not talking in these last two episodes is so glaringly unusual because he's never been able to shut his fucking mouth for even a minute

#juice.txt #ii neg #ii spoilers #i love this show but jesus fucking christ #absolute dogshit writing its so embarrassing

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