#my sense of direction isn't the greatest but i know how to allow for it and compensate

[ficretus]

I am getting kind of annoyed both at takes I see at rwde as well as anon who spammed my posts few weeks ago. Basically, they argue that on top of being awful character, Jaune also completely ruins his literary allusion, Joan of Arc.

Of course, you are free to like or dislike Jaune, however, when people claim they hate Jaune because he is a coward, I get really confused. Jaune is not a coward, he is pretty brave, to the point of it being kind of flaw since he has low regard for his own safety. If he was a coward, he wouldn't have went with Ruby, Nora and Ren to Haven, he wouldn't have challenged Cinder to the fight, he wouldn't have tried to infiltrate Salem's base to save Oscar, etc. They are pretty on the nose with it in Volume 8 when Ren states Jaune feels no fear.

However, meat of my gripes is with people not understanding Joan of Arc and how to translate her character to the story.

No, Jaune not being giga chad isekai self insert protagonist level of strong is not an issue or insult to his primary literary allusion, it's the opposite. I don't know do people get their Joan of Arc knowledge from Fate Grand Order, but Joan herself wasn't skilled fighter. She was never properly trained and never directly fought someone. In pretty much every major battle she fought she was wounded or knocked out (hit by an arrow at Orleans, knocked out by a rock at Jargeau, hit by an arrow at Paris, knocked off from her horse at Compiegne). In fact her knowledge of sword fighting was so lacking she accidentally broke her treasured sword when she struck a prostitute with its side. There is no good reason for Jaune to be some kind of prodigy when he is based on a character that never properly fought anyone.

No, Jaune relying on his team to solve problems doesn't make him pussy and isn't unlike Joan. Once again, Joan of Arc wasn't front line fighter, she was moral support to the army. Her greatest triumph, siege of Orleans, was just her directing armies where to go whenever she got a vision. And Jaune's Semblance makes sense for someone based on Joan of Arc. It is essentially morale boost Semblance considering boosting an Aura buffs both your health, defense and offensive abilities. It matches what Joan did for her comrades. Jaune relying on his team to accomplish things is not a bug, it's a feature.

No, Jaune failing doesn't make him an insult to Joan of Arc. Joan of Arc herself wasn't perfect and suffered handful of failures herself. After her victory at Orleans, she won at Jargeau, but then lost the siege at Paris. After that she was stalemated in Perrinet Gressart campaign, won a battle at Lagny and was then captured at Compiegne. After failed siege of Paris, and especially after stalemate against Perrinet Gressart, Court started doubting her abilities. It is simply different order of wins and losses with Joan peaking in her first battle while Jaune was completely useless during the Fall of Beacon but has upward trajectory after that.

Jaune's Joan of Arc is the one without any special abilities but with the same aspirations. He wants to be the hero and save the world, but he wasn't blessed with divine power that gives him unnatural charisma and allows him to see future events. People's gripes and suggestions how to "fix him" usually boil down to turning Jaune into generic power fantasy protagonist. Which is not only boring and misses the point of the character, it also misses the point of Joan of Arc. If Jaune was some kind of prodigy kicking ass since Volume 1, he wouldn't have been Joan, he would have been Roland, Arthur, Lancelot or whatever famous legendary knight you can find.

[roux36prod]

Is In Loving Memory related to Freddy & Friends?

I've actually been getting asked this question a lot ever since I announced the In Loving Memory series. I wasn't going to say anything until Volume 1 released to keep it a surprise, but I'm now coming to the realization that might not be the greatest idea. So instead of keeping this question in the dark until the entirety of Volume 1 is finished, I'm gonna provide clarification on the subject now:

They're not just related. In Loving Memory IS the new Freddy & Friends.

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Click "Keep reading" for the full details, and what's gonna happen to the Freddy & Friends Tumblr.

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However, they USED to be two separate AUs...

When I was first creating the idea for In Loving Memory, I made the decision to cross over the Freddy & Friends lore into it in order to make the worldbuilding easier on myself. The functionality of the animatronics, the functions of the pizzeria, among other things. The only things that were really different were the characters and overarching story.

But as I kept on writing it, I realized that doing both In Loving Memory and Freddy & Friends would be really confusing with so much overlapping lore. It would be pointless to do both, since what I planned to release video-wise for F&F wasn't too different from what I wanted to do with ILM.

Additionally, I've been working on Freddy & Friends since I was 11 years-old. The idea of that AU is almost ten years old. And ever since then, the story has gone through many, many, MANY changes. But with all the things that I wanted to incorporate (one such complication being Sister Location existing on the timeline), there were only so many stories I could tell without the timeline becoming crowded. Frankly, the whole thing was quite the cluster-fuck with so many plot holes and character motives that I just couldn't make sense of. Too many hard questions for the writer (me) to find an answer to. Ultimately, what I had feared came to pass: I had done the same thing that Scott did, just with better writing and just as much confusion.

When I started on ILM, I realized that I liked that story MUCH better.

It has a distinct beginning, middle, and end. Without the plot of the games past FNAF 4, it was a much simpler story with better characterization and a clearer plot. And, unlike F&F, I had a clear direction with how I wanted to present it.

And so, with a heavy heart, I reworked F&F into the new AU that I was making. Afterwards, I was led into calling it "In Loving Memory", named after the title sequence theme I had composed for F&F. ;)

The Freddy & Friends label isn't dead, however. Freddy & Friends is canonically a side story that happens within the In Loving Memory AU, and will have more of a focus on the spirits of the children within the animatronics, as opposed to the rest of the series, which is focused on Mike. As of right now, I'm not sure what format that story would be told in. I just know that the events themselves are canon.

So essentially, yes. Freddy & Friends as it once was is technically cancelled. However, I don't like to think about it like that. I like to think that, after almost a decade of residing in my head, we are FINALLY working on the first episode of Freddy & Friends.

Only now, it's going under a different tile. =)

But wait, what's gonna happen to the Freddy & Friends Tumblr?

In all likelihood, I'm going to archive it. I feel like I've released too much content on there and allowed people to delve too deep into that story to simply convert it into the ILM Tumblr.

However, best case scenario, I'm going to rebrand it under a label called Freddy & Friends: Legacy, which is an archive of all the scrapped and unused content of the F&F AU prior to the current draft. There, I can stop being so secretive about its story and lore and give y'all the whole scoop of what I had originally intended. =)

As for the In Loving Memory Tumblr, I'm not sure how much I'm going to carry over. I'm not sure if I'll still have Henry answer questions over on there (I'm characterizing him a little differently). I also styled the original Tumblr to act as a forum that would have existed in the real world. That doesn't really feel right to carry over into In Loving Memory as a Tumblr page, but if you guys really want it, I can probably work something out along those lines.

I hope this clears up any confusion you had on where the series stands

- Roux

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

Hi, I hope you're having a blessed Good Friday and Holy Week. I have a heavy question that may be difficult to answer but I'm hoping you could provide some insight.

How do I lean on Jesus to keep me strong in an abusive situation? I am a closeted trans guy living with alt-right conservative family. I am doing my best to escape the situation but for now I'm stuck. It feels impossible to stay strong knowing these people already hate me, and would hate me even more if they knew my true and actual self. They're supposed to love me, we're family, but they never have. I want to be like Jesus and love them no matter what, and I want to forgive them, but I don't know how. I feel like I can't forgive what they do when it's continuous and they are not sorry. Can you point me in the direction of any verses or lessons that can help me stay strong in the face of pain and hurt?

TW: unaccepting family, conservative family

Ach, so sorry I didn't see this till now. My heart aches for you in this painful situation. I will be holding you in my prayers; may God enfold you in love and courage to get through this time, and send support your way to help you out. If there is anything I can do to help you get out of this current living situation, please let me know.

The fact that you want to show forgiveness to people who have failed to give you the love and care you deserve shows what a big heart and courageous spirit you have. It's a powerful thing to go through hurt and still seek grace even for the ones who hurt you. That kindness is a rare and precious gift; hang on to it for the future, when there will be people in your life who are actually open to receiving and responding to your kindness.

In the meantime, you are correct in pointing out the impossibility of forgiveness when the ones who hurt you are still hurting you, probably have no plans to stop any time soon, and haven't shown any remorse. Despite how mainstream Christianity has watered down the concept of forgiveness into an abstract statement, to a one-off, simple "forgive and forget :)" attitude, that is not actually the kind of forgiveness that Jesus instructs us in.

Mainstream Christian culture has warped forgiveness into a weapon against the wronged, pressuring them to "just move on" so we don't have to live in the discomfort and challenge of dismantling the kind of power dynamics that allow for harm to take place.

Meanwhile when Jesus taught forgiveness, about reconciliation between a wrongdoer and the one they've wronged, his challenge was to the wrongdoer. It was up to them to show remorse and seek forgiveness, to show they'd actually changed by lowering themselves to an equal field with the one wronged so that the harm can never happen again.

In this post, I talk more about Jesus's idea of forgiveness, and discuss how one might "love one's enemies" as Jesus instructs even when forgiving them is not possible.

One thing that has stood out to a lot of people is that when Jesus was going through his greatest agony, being tortured and murdered on a Roman cross, his words of forgiveness are not "I forgive these people who are in the midst of murdering me" but "Father, forgive them." When we are unable to forgive for any reason, that isn't sinful or a sign of weak faith or any such nonsense. It's recognizing the complicated realities of relationship, where reconciliation isn't the responsibility of the person being wronged. And we can let go of any sense of burden on us to do the forgiving — ultimately, that's not our job, but God's.

___

As you survive this difficult situation, I think about Jesus' fraught relationship with his own biological family. His situation was much different from yours — we know his parents did love him, as did his cousin John, and presumably other family members as well. But they didn't always understand him, and they didn't always accept him. They wanted him to be what they expected him to be, not live into who he truly was.

In Mark 3, as Jesus is gaining steam as a teacher and healer, some of his family gets worried about the fame he's gaining — they say, "he's out of his mind!" and seek to "seize control of him." They think what he preaches is some kind of mental illness, and they're either embarrassed of or scared for him. Jesus, come back home! What will people think?? Don't you know what they're saying about our family??

When people tell Jesus his mother and siblings have arrived, he retorts,

“Who is my mother? Who are my siblings?” Looking around at those seated around him in a circle, he said, “Look, here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does God’s will is my brother, sister, and mother.”

Jesus recognizes that family is much deeper than blood; that family is about who supports you in your God-given identity and gifts, and helps you grow into the person God created you to be. When biological family fails to do that, your family becomes anyone who does not fail you.

Jesus knew, at least to some extent, some of the pain you are going through in being misunderstood by your own kin. I pray that one day you will be surrounded with an outpouring of love, with people who celebrate all that you are. For now, know that God is that supportive presence holding you close, even when you can't feel Them.

As the psalmist in Psalm 27:10 says, "Even if my father and mother left me all alone, Holy God would take me in." To me, that whole Psalm can be read as a message of encouragement to those currently in the closet — the psalmist experiences God giving them shelter in God's own dwelling place, tucking them away "in a secret place in God's own tent."

One day, you'll be free; for now, I hope you take comfort in knowing God is with you in the closet.

Sending you love and solidarity, anon. May you find moments of joy in the midst of this pain; may God lavish you in love and courage until you're able to leave. <3

[olivereliocorcordium1983]

Eminem vs Cancel culture X'D

this whole cancel eminem thing is making me laugh my ass off. Seriously as a early 90s baby it truly is hilarious to me that so many people are offended by one song. who were not even born when em started his rap game, thinking that this is the first time, he has "offended" people. It isn't. The man speaks his mind, and says so out loud without fear.

this guy has been "dissing people" for years since he started rapping during a time where white rappers, were not allowed in the hip hop/ rap space. Case in point, Vanilla Ice, tried it back then. Vanilla got laughed at and his ass was booted out of the scene. they wanted nothing to do with him.

Then here comes Em a dude who literally came from nothing, got booed at rap battles, lost a few of them. Was told he was never going to make in the rap scene at all, having a horrible upbringing ect. yet look where the man is now.

Managed to bust his ass and gain the respect of most of the black rappers within the rap game. Who also in return give him the upmost respect and are cool with him. Back when they were all trying to come up themselves trying to make a name for themselves and cement their legacy's like Pac (may he rest in peace).

He has managed to cement himself as one of the greatest rappers of all time and has EARNED their respect. It's why he is a legend in his own right and why other rappers won't dare mess with him in the sense of causing beef with him.

In fact, I am almost certain that it seems like a "right of passage" at this point to be apart of or even in one of Em's songs. X'D and he has far worse lyrics in other songs that make "Houdini" sound like a church song on sunday.

"Kim" about him getting into a fight with his ex wife, then murdering her. Due to intense anger towards her.

"Bonnie and Clyde 97'- Him putting his wife's body in the trunk of his car and going to dispose of said body at the beach. With his daughter in the car as well.

"Guilty Conscience"- themes of date rape, murder, robbery.

"Criminal"- murder

"Stan"- the story of an obsessed Em fan who ends up commiting murder on his girlfriend, then killing himself.

"Kill you"- theme of rape

"The Real Slim Shady"- directed at Christina & Brittany Spears. (which disses both of them and it's funny as shit!)

"Cleaning out my Closet" - About Em's mom

Which every kid now adult of my generation knows about these songs. And i'm sure that they could name many different ones even though these song are controversial in nature it proves how crazy of a story teller that Em can be.

The only people that he has truly dissed within his career and had actual issues with was MGK for talking about his daughter and Ja Rule who did the same thing. which is understandable you don't go after a man's daughter and get away with it. But everyone else who are apart of his songs, he has got no real beef with. In his very own words he said himself, that if the name fits with the song then he is going to use it. It is nothing personal for him unless, someone does something to make it personal like talk about his daughter.

So all of those who are "offended" by the song. You are going to have a long damn way to go if you decide to travel down that rabbit hole. he's got a lot of them.

This isn't the first time Em has been talked about due to his controversial lyrics. And it certainly won't be the last I'm sure, but the world seriously needs to get over itself. Not everything needs to be taken so damn seriously.

Em's not going anywhere there way too many people who like him and respect him for what he does. Besides, the man has already proven himself enough, he has nothing to prove anymore. He showed himself and the world that he could become a great rapper and he did it. he did it all to give a better life to his kids.

But if you are easily that offended by THAT then I dare you to sit down and listen to "Dancing with the Devil" by Immortal Technique all the way through and then come back and tell me you are still offended by Eminem.

[jestersdlc]

Putting the vent under cut

feel free to blog the vent tag if you want to, i know not everyones comfy seeing vent stuff

I will list CW tho

CW: tsams, solarmoon, aroace stuff (idk how to word it but you get an idea maybe, like shipping and repulsion), swearing, tsams spoilers i guess, like OLD ones but still, mentioned chara death, just tired of drama, funk it and do what makes you happy

This is a mixed rant, but its gonna especially be a TSAMS rant, so keep that in mind if you DO decide to read this i guess

I just...i feel like shit rn cause I ship SolarMoon rn, I like the ship, its cute, I was planning on working on my bloody SolarMoon oneshot

But like...a thing put me in a funk and i just....feel scummy rn and it just...IT FUCKING SUCKS

It wasn't directed at anyone per say, it was just...someone else venting their frustrations and...and I FUCKING GET IT

I can't even be upset with anyone in this, cause I GET BOTH SIDES

I get people being upset because New Moon is questioning his identity as possibly being NOT aroace, i get that.

I get how much that can be REALLY UPSETTING to a lot of aroace and a-spec people, I WAS ONE, I still am a bit upset honestly.

It, it killed me a bit inside when i found that out, but PEOPLE can question themselves and their identity, they can think they are aroace, then decide later they are spec or NOT at all, real people do this

But I know Moon is a comfort character to a lot of people and the rep is IMPORTANT makes you feel seen, represented, its great

BUT how I as an aroace person who considered OLD MOON a comfort character (yes, yes he wasn't the greatest at times, but also, he TRIED to change he KNEW he was a jerk, he didn't...he didn't fucking ignore the impact of his actions or dismiss them, he acknowledged it and TRIED even if he still fucking sucked at that)

But heres the thing with this OLD MOON was and still is to me a comfort character, his death hurt a fucking lot. HE was aroace HE WAS and will always be the rep

NEW MOON isn't old Moon, so they AREN"T going to be the same, if New Moon's identity isn't aroace, ya it sucks no rep but that doesnt ERASE the fact old Moon was rep HE WAS THE REP don't forget that

New Moon questioning himself isn't ERASING AroAce rep, he's a different person, and A FICTIONAL ONE at that

You have to seperate these things, they are seperate people who were at one point IN the same body, doesn't make them the same

and i get ASIDES the who aroace part and separating the characters

I GET repulsed aroace's not liking seeing a AT ONE POINT AroAce character who MAY NOT BE AROACE ANYMORE be shipped can be uncomfortable I AM FUCKING REPULSED HALF THE TIME

I have had fucking PANIC ATTACKS because my repulsion, I get its shitty to see something you like in a way YOU aren't comfy with but dont fucking SHIT ON OTHERS over it

People are allowed to like what they like if its not hurting themselves or others

and you know what? fellow aroace and a-spec people shipping a character with another isnt INHERENTLY BAD there are rom/sex postive aroace and a-spec people, there are ones that WANT those relationships, JUST like there is ones who are repulsed, ambivalent or apathetic

ITS A SPECTRUM

If you don't like something, you don't NEED to engage with it

there is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to enjoy and engage in things like shipping aroace or a-spec characters AS an aroace/a-spec person, there CAN be times argued it doesn't make sense i will agree (like if a character in the CANON universe are touch/romance/sex REPULSED, but i see no harm in making alternate universes to enjoy in something) and there is nothing wrong with NOT wanting to engage in or see such things as an aroace/a-spec person either, you can avoid and be uncomfortable with it

BOTH SIDES ARE ALLOWED

but don't fucking shit on each other, if something's not canon, don't try to PUSH your side of what you want to see, au's or headcanons and shipping are FINE but don't PUSH your au's, hc, etc as if they ARE canon, this goes for both sides, neither is the superior one to this, if its not canon, no one has the high ground to say something is or isnt ok or to push their wishes onto others

if its canon, fine but don't get upset at others aus and headcanons

if its not, fine, but don't try to force your ideas onto others as if it WERE canon

I didn't always ship SolarMoon, I love the ship now, i don't expect it to become CANON, but i can enjoy it in au's and enjoy the interactions IN canon between the characters, is it fun to see it AS shipping stuff, yes, but i'm just happy to see the interactions as they are in general

Even when I DIDN'T ship it I saw no reason to go out of my way to be upset with others, because i didn't HAVE to like it or engage with it if i didn't want to, and yes, now I like the ship, i think its cute, but i can still understand both sides of the arguement

its frustrating and stressful because i just see it as 'don't like, dont engage. not canon? that's fine, but don't force it onto others.'

its just...DRAMA that can be resolved by no one trying to push their side on the others

I like SolarMoon, I am an Ambivalent AroAce person who is TIRED of the drama, I just want to have my fun liking a silly thing, Old Moon was a comfort character, he is dead. Solar is a comfort character, I will write New Moon how I want to, and I will write them interacting however i feel like, be it platonic, qpr, rom, found family, i just want to have my harmless fun in my little corner of the void.

I'll have my fun with my lil pocket of TSAMS lore i find comfort and enjoyment in, i will spin my own little ideas, and i will be stepping away from recent canon, its too much for me and its just....a mess of drama that stresses me out.

Fandom is meant to be fun, not stressful, so just, remember to have fun, avoid the stuff you aren't ok with and do what makes you happy, if you aren't hurting yourself or others, then just say FUCK IT and be happy.

This is not directed AT anyone, i will reiterate in the tags, this is just general yelling into the void

[source-of-support]

Stuck in a room listening and debating. learning about and having a genuine interest in the outcome of life.

I may not be in that room anymore with the people who were once there in the now symbolic 'room'. if I ever fully was. I remain in a room like it though. the people who I invite in don't all seem to realize that I am in there doing what I am doing. Just inquiring as to the nature of the place. what lay outside it. I've seen bits of it. Like the nature around the world. the sun and the stars and the pictures and nature of the cosmos. the different categories of thought intertwined and grown into my own pitri dish of thought and understanding and up walking around seeing things and growing.

I haven't been alive in a while. I've allowed myself the possibility of opening the door and leaving. I can always come back, and in greater numbers.

Vulnerability is my greatest weakness. that I can't be seen to be interested in another person. because I would in some sense sacrifice a bit of my own autonomy. but wouldn't it be nice. to share that sacrifice. I feel like I don't know how to ask another to make that sacrifice. I go to them. Would I need to sit and not leave a part of me there after I leave? a thought. a sentiment. a gesture. I don't want to demand anything of anyone. Again. being beholden to another is my greatest fear.

I feel especially vulnerable now. because by my own standards I want to be better for the persons who would care about me.

Goku pushed himself. learned the confines of his limits. and others who pushed themselves did the same. but couldn't best him at that game.

If I felt seriously, the weight of my own being would necessitate action of some sort. constant pushing. not shoving. just a probing. and then a plan. and then the rush would begin. to live in the need and want I had left off at after I was excommunicated from the room. To, now, search out love from another person and not to give or sacrifice everything for everyone else. and when a person sees my search and responds to me. in kind. I would learn what I couldn't learn alone. whether that love became or was always romantic or if it never was and was another love.

also in this plan to the betterment of my experience would include forethought. a type of thought that is limited in me if not in general. I can't tell which direction I want or can allow myself to fail in pursuing. monetarily asking people who don't benefit from what I do while asking for money. What failure state is that? to have money from someone who shouldn't have it taken or persuaded out of them. the vulnerable. someone who can pay can be given what I have for free. I need a reason to charge money. at the present moment I need a reason to exchange my already paid for experience with time from someone else's life. Surely a thought pattern can be changed without exchanging money. Success seems to be salient to me. failure of the kind that I can allow myself to entertain isn't always so easy to understand. And I can allow myself the blind dollar arriving in my authorial royalty checks or signing deals. I just don't know what path that would cut me off from. internally screaming as my children or my brother and his children navigate with me having money.

I had a dream. I saw a desert and said I wish I could go there and live there. I was crying in real life as I was waking from the dream. sobbing. I don't know why. I know I love deserts though. I didn't know to this extent.

My first love, a turtle named Squirtle Anne, lived in a desert home next to my home. I saw the mountain and the plain. the sky was blue and the winters were cold and the summers were hot. the brush was true. it was dense and every part of life that could eek life out of that place eek-ed it out. In this dream I was writing a skit after I cried about wanting to be okay with my failed childhood.. I was allowing myself to fail in the dream. and it felt true. truer than my waking life. In failing to find a way to memorize the skit upon waking I thought. The skit doesn't have to be the dream. it can be whatever happens to arrive. and in this before bed memory tube of a snippet of thought. I can allow myself failure and allow myself happiness. allow myself to another and ask another. maybe we can talk. or go jogging eventually. or sit in silence together and enjoy the presence of the other person.

I've been watching teen angsty anime. Don't toy with me miss nagatoro, as well as Tomo chan is a girl.

I'm looking up work place harasment stuff because I enjoy twitch stuff and people I watch do it for money and not for entertainment alone. so I wish to respect them more fully by educating myself on their rights and my responsibilities.

[valorxdrive]

She casually refilled her cup with warm tea, taking a moment to take in the aroma. "It is good that you understand." Her eyes darted down to his callused hands. "You are no mage, not in the truest sense. You favor the sword over wand, melee over distance. A long time ago, there was a name we used for such combatants. Spell Blade, Mystic Swordsman, Battle Mage, just to name a few." She paused just before bringing her cup to her lips. "Though in your case, I suppose you prefer Keybearer?" She stood up now, a staff with an Amethyst jewel embedded materializing in hand. "Dear boy, I can teach you to improve your control. However, be wary. There are consequences to honing your magical craft too far. How old do you believe I am?"

Realizing weakness had been one of his greatest strengths. Taking it for what it is, allowing it to mold new potentials anew, by no means did he intend to let his failure settled in the cosmic Mark of Mastery be all for naught. There were simply too many people fixed within his life to bring under such lines of risks. He gives a soft nod to the words, reflecting understanding as those very hands would be drawn into fists.

"...." Stunned once again, his lips slacken, clearly caught by the sheer foresight invested within this Sorceress. Was this actually her first time in encountering ilk? The possibility scratches vividly as his amazement is scarcely hidden on his face. "You had this all figured out from my first steps. I.." Impressive as that is, he'd feel a touch rude if honesty wasn't given a proper two way street.

In some ways it felt good not to hide it. Allowing his hands to briefly raise as he gives a shrug, he relents the point. "And you'd be right on the Munny. Name's Sora, and what you're meeting here is a full on Keyblade wielder."

"You'd really be willing too!?" It was hard to let that excitement be contained within his body. The heart soars and in turn, that joyous energy finds itself elevating beyond the body, invisible to the common eye but to the adept, reveals a shining, fiery case of goal that practically dances around his figure. A heart like his was in a unique stage of growth, the power it's harnessing holding such abundance and freedom, that it hardly knows what to do with itself.

It's open to being refined.

Maybe this need for direction is what allowed his eagerness to be recklessly free. Ophelia's guidance was made by no means of recommendation or approval of his known circle, only by an adventurer's intuition and the seriousness showcased in her figure. The talk of prices however only adds to that lot of a brighter view as it briefly brings him pause, owlishly blinking towards her. "I.. Uh, isn't that usually a little rude for someone to guess or assume..?"

Chewing briefly at the inside of his mouth, the discomfort is swatted briefly for a generous guess.

"You don't look a day beyond your twenties though, so somewhere around there?"

[perpetual-stories]

Story Structures for your Next WIP

hello, hello. this post will be mostly for my notes. this is something I need in to be reminded of for my business, but it can also be very useful and beneficial for you guys as well.

everything in life has structure and storytelling is no different, so let’s dive right in :)

First off let’s just review what a story structure is :

a story is the backbone of the story, the skeleton if you will. It hold the entire story together.

the structure in which you choose your story will effectively determine how you create drama and depending on the structure you choose it should help you align your story and sequence it with the conflict, climax, and resolution.

1. Freytag's Pyramid

this first story structure i will be talking about was named after 19th century German novelist and playwright.

it is a five point structure that is based off classical Greek tragedies such as Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripedes.

Freytag's Pyramid structure consists of:

Introduction: the status quo has been established and an inciting incident occurs.

Rise or rising action: the protagonist will search and try to achieve their goal, heightening the stakes,

Climax: the protagonist can no longer go back, the point of no return if you will.

Return or fall: after the climax of the story, tension builds and the story inevitably heads towards...

Catastrophe: the main character has reached their lowest point and their greatest fears have come into fruition.

this structure is used less and less nowadays in modern storytelling mainly due to readers lack of appetite for tragic narratives.

2. The Hero's Journey

the hero's journey is a very well known and popular form of storytelling.

it is very popular in modern stories such as Star Wars, and movies in the MCU.

although the hero's journey was inspired by Joseph Campbell's concept, a Disney executive Christopher Vogler has created a simplified version:

The Ordinary World: The hero's everyday routine and life is established.

The Call of Adventure: the inciting incident.

Refusal of the Call: the hero / protagonist is hesitant or reluctant to take on the challenges.

Meeting the Mentor: the hero meets someone who will help them and prepare them for the dangers ahead.

Crossing the First Threshold: first steps out of the comfort zone are taken.

Tests, Allie, Enemies: new challenges occur, and maybe new friends or enemies.

Approach to the Inmost Cave: hero approaches goal.

The Ordeal: the hero faces their biggest challenge.

Reward (Seizing the Sword): the hero manages to get ahold of what they were after.

The Road Back: they realize that their goal was not the final hurdle, but may have actually caused a bigger problem than before.

Resurrection: a final challenge, testing them on everything they've learned.

Return with the Elixir: after succeeding they return to their old life.

the hero's journey can be applied to any genre of fiction.

3. Three Act Structure:

this structure splits the story into the 'beginning, middle and end' but with in-depth components for each act.

Act 1: Setup:

exposition: the status quo or the ordinary life is established.

inciting incident: an event sets the whole story into motion.

plot point one: the main character decided to take on the challenge head on and she crosses the threshold and the story is now progressing forward.

Act 2: Confrontation:

rising action: the stakes are clearer and the hero has started to become familiar with the new world and begins to encounter enemies, allies and tests.

midpoint: an event that derails the protagonists mission.

plot point two: the hero is tested and fails, and begins to doubt themselves.

Act 3: Resolution:

pre-climax: the hero must chose between acting or failing.

climax: they fights against the antagonist or danger one last time, but will they succeed?

Denouement: loose ends are tied up and the reader discovers the consequences of the climax, and return to ordinary life.

4. Dan Harmon's Story Circle

it surprised me to know the creator of Rick and Morty had their own variation of Campbell's hero's journey.

the benefit of Harmon's approach is that is focuses on the main character's arc.

it makes sense that he has such a successful structure, after all the show has multiple seasons, five or six seasons? i don't know not a fan of the show.

the character is in their comfort zone: also known as the status quo or ordinary life.

they want something: this is a longing and it can be brought forth by an inciting incident.

the character enters and unfamiliar situation: they must take action and do something new to pursue what they want.

adapt to it: of course there are challenges, there is struggle and begin to succeed.

they get what they want: often a false victory.

a heavy price is paid: a realization of what they wanted isn't what they needed.

back to the good old ways: they return to their familiar situation yet with a new truth.

having changed: was it for the better or worse?

i might actually make a operate post going more in depth about dan harmon's story circle.

5. Fichtean Curve:

the fichtean curve places the main character in a series of obstacles in order to achieve their goal.

this structure encourages writers to write a story packed with tension and mini-crises to keep the reader engaged.

The Rising Action

the story must start with an inciting indecent.

then a series of crisis arise.

there are often four crises.

2. The Climax:

3. Falling Action

this type of story telling structure goes very well with flash-back structured story as well as in theatre.

6. Save the Cat Beat Sheet:

this is another variation of a three act structure created by screenwriter Blake Snyder, and is praised widely by champion storytellers.

Structure for Save the Cat is as follows: (the numbers in the brackets are for the number of pages required, assuming you're writing a 110 page screenplay)

Opening Image [1]: The first shot of the film. If you’re starting a novel, this would be an opening paragraph or scene that sucks readers into the world of your story.

Set-up [1-10]. Establishing the ‘ordinary world’ of your protagonist. What does he want? What is he missing out on?

Theme Stated [5]. During the setup, hint at what your story is really about — the truth that your protagonist will discover by the end.

Catalyst [12]. The inciting incident!

Debate [12-25]. The hero refuses the call to adventure. He tries to avoid the conflict before they are forced into action.

Break into Two [25]. The protagonist makes an active choice and the journey begins in earnest.

B Story [30]. A subplot kicks in. Often romantic in nature, the protagonist’s subplot should serve to highlight the theme.

The Promise of the Premise [30-55]. Often called the ‘fun and games’ stage, this is usually a highly entertaining section where the writer delivers the goods. If you promised an exciting detective story, we’d see the detective in action. If you promised a goofy story of people falling in love, let’s go on some charmingly awkward dates.

Midpoint [55]. A plot twist occurs that ups the stakes and makes the hero’s goal harder to achieve — or makes them focus on a new, more important goal.

Bad Guys Close In [55-75]. The tension ratchets up. The hero’s obstacles become greater, his plan falls apart, and he is on the back foot.

All is Lost [75]. The hero hits rock bottom. He loses everything he’s gained so far, and things are looking bleak. The hero is overpowered by the villain; a mentor dies; our lovebirds have an argument and break up.

Dark Night of the Soul [75-85-ish]. Having just lost everything, the hero shambles around the city in a minor-key musical montage before discovering some “new information” that reveals exactly what he needs to do if he wants to take another crack at success. (This new information is often delivered through the B-Story)

Break into Three [85]. Armed with this new information, our protagonist decides to try once more!

Finale [85-110]. The hero confronts the antagonist or whatever the source of the primary conflict is. The truth that eluded him at the start of the story (established in step three and accentuated by the B Story) is now clear, allowing him to resolve their story.

Final Image [110]. A final moment or scene that crystallizes how the character has changed. It’s a reflection, in some way, of the opening image.

(all information regarding the save the cat beat sheet was copy and pasted directly from reedsy!)

7. Seven Point Story Structure:

this structure encourages writers to start with the at the end, with the resolution, and work their way back to the starting point.

this structure is about dramatic changes from beginning to end

The Hook. Draw readers in by explaining the protagonist’s current situation. Their state of being at the beginning of the novel should be in direct contrast to what it will be at the end of the novel.

Plot Point 1. Whether it’s a person, an idea, an inciting incident, or something else — there should be a "Call to Adventure" of sorts that sets the narrative and character development in motion.

Pinch Point 1. Things can’t be all sunshine and roses for your protagonist. Something should go wrong here that applies pressure to the main character, forcing them to step up and solve the problem.

Midpoint. A “Turning Point” wherein the main character changes from a passive force to an active force in the story. Whatever the narrative’s main conflict is, the protagonist decides to start meeting it head-on.

Pinch Point 2. The second pinch point involves another blow to the protagonist — things go even more awry than they did during the first pinch point. This might involve the passing of a mentor, the failure of a plan, the reveal of a traitor, etc.

Plot Point 2. After the calamity of Pinch Point 2, the protagonist learns that they’ve actually had the key to solving the conflict the whole time.

Resolution. The story’s primary conflict is resolved — and the character goes through the final bit of development necessary to transform them from who they were at the start of the novel.

(all information regarding the seven point story structure was copy and pasted directly from reedsy!)

i decided to fit all of them in one post instead of making it a two part post.

i hope you all enjoy this post and feel free to comment or reblog which structure you use the most, or if you have your own you prefer to use! please share with me!

if you find this useful feel free to reblog on instagram and tag me at perpetualstories

Follow my tumblr and instagram for more writing and grammar tips and more!

[depresseddistraughtdisillusioned]

If You Can't Have the Job You Love, Love the Job You Have?

Following our dreams, finding our passions, and chasing our purpose has left a lot of us bereft, directionless, adrift, and missing everything on the list.

Perhaps life should be defined as "Learning to cope with disappointment."

So I began to wonder, "What if I devoted myself to being good at my job? What opportunities might I find there? Since I've been without direction for years, meandering, why not grab whatever anchor is there and see where it leads me?"

I've never learned much about storytelling nor plot arcs, nor character development. I barely pay attention to all my grammarizing or syntacticality.

Incidentally, syntax is among my favorite words.

What if I really started throwing myself into it? Started taking more shifts for more money, just to expedite moving. It might not be the greatest thrill, but a little workaholism might not be the worst thing to indulge in right now.

I'm just concerned about what that does to my psyche.

It's hard to know exactly where to focus your attention. Sometimes you're better off seeking something to pursue, rather than something to avoid. For instance, becoming really involved in exercise could be the same goal as not smoking pot. If your goal is not to smoke, you're moving away from something. That can be more difficult, because you're still focused on the activity. Focusing on not doing it is not that different from focusing on doing it.

The reason for this is neurological. In a very rudimentary sense, your brain sends two signals when you tell yourself not to do something. The first signal says "do the thing." The second signal negates the first one, sending a "do not do the thing." When most people stand near a ledge they will get this sensation. You will likely get a wild thought about jumping off the edge. This can happen if you are a perfectly happy person who is neither a thrill seeker nor suicidal. Many people have this happen to them.

The reason is the brain is thinking about jumping off the ledge, and then saying "but actually, don't do that."

It's very similar to the mental trick "don't think of an elephant," which forces someone to immediately think of an elephant, because they do that in order to tell themselves not to think about it.

What this means for quitting an addiction is that if you're focused on stopping, you're still reactivating the part of your brain that thinks about engaging in the addiction.

This is why many people then focus on recovery, as their replacement. That is thinking about healing from the addiction and engaging in life again, rather than simply stopping. It also provides an outlet for emotionally clearing out the difficult thoughts and feelings that led to engaging in the addiction in the first place.

This was about learning to love your job, huh?

If you focus on making your job better, or becoming more adept at your job, it can become your passion, and take on purpose for you. You can start to see how doing it allows you to impact the world in some way. Learning more about it, you'll see even being a good cashier is something that can work wonders for you. That's about reading people, understanding shoppers, seeing how a business operates from within. Seeing where there is potential to learn and grow.

Otherwise, I'm focused on being resentful and thinking they are wrong and that I'm a bitch who isn't standing up for myself. Actually, I could find a better way to interact with my editor.

See, pot mellows me out enough to think of these things. It's a crutch, but it's not all bad. Minus the paranoia part.

But, I'm going to shift my mentality to trying to be better at my job. I've actually been listening to my editor, and just trying to learn to play the game they want. Which is a good start. It wouldn't hurt to voice my opinion in a way that is kind and approachable. There's no need to silently stuff it.

Being a better writer, better marketer, and learning more about the operations of a bigger site isn't a bad education. So, I'll play the game and see how they do things 'round these parts.

The scientific mindset is a powerful one to acquire. If everything is an experiment to see the outcome, your ego doesn't get involved as easily. You merely observe the outcome without feeling like you handled it badly or are weak, stupid, or wrong for your thoughts.

If you feel like something dark and bloody, watch the Hannibal TV Series. I mention that because Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal is always watching people, gauging their reaction. He is never really involved with their feelings. He is merely observing them and how they respond to the grim and dour circumstances. The show itself fades after about the second season, if not a bit before, but the early parts are such masterworks that it's really worth watching. That's from a lifelong lover of the original "Silence of the Lambs" film, the whole Thomas Harris series of books, though also a harsh critic of the "Hannibal" book itself. I barely bothered with "Hannibal Rising" because I felt like Harris was going back to a well that worked, but his inspiration had fled.

Anyhow, Mikkelsen's performance is a great example of someone who treats everything like an experiment. Constantly removed, and making little mental notes of how you act, what you say, how the strain shows. Weighing your heart against a feather.

[10shi-256]

Why did I make this blog?

I've fallen into a habit that many people are guilty of, and, in fact, we are essentially being socially engineered into adopting this habit as a standard set of behavior. I do feel like there is some intentional mechanism steering us towards this behavior, turning us into socioeconomic and political cattle that can be herded one way or another. This gluttony for aesthetics has bottlenecked our intrinsic creative cycles and, in some cases, killed our empathy in pursuit of feeding that hunger.

Allow me to explain in reverse. I believe that the "creative cycle" is a simple loop of production and consumption. We input (read:consume) raw data. Information. Everything we intake with our senses is stored in some way in our minds. But it's not solidified yet. We know what these things are but we don't know how to feel about it. The concepts of the things we have experienced remain in a plastic form until we output (read: produce) a simulacrum of our experiences as only we can relate them, through our unique perspectives. But something has now changed. The version of that concept as we have output it is different than the fundamental, mutable concept that was in our heads. The concept solidifies into the image that we have produced. This is how we process any information we receive, even on the simplest level. Take, for instance, a flower you've observed on a walk. You see it, and it compels your thoughts. "That's a really pretty flower." The action of putting that thought into words is an act of production, no matter how simple. Why use the word "pretty" in place of "beautiful," "alluring," or "captivating?" Why is it a "really" pretty flower, instead of a "very" pretty flower? or just a "pretty" flower? It is healthy and necessary to say what we mean and mean what we say, therefore we should not shy away from eloquence.

So what happens when this cycle that defines the post-industrial human condition is interrupted? When we become stuck in an endless phase of consumption, we lose our ability to convey how we feel about anything, and thus lose our ability to know and understand the world around us. We essentially lose our souls. But who would do such a horrid thing?! Simply, anyone who wants to sell you something with no risk of you deciding for yourself that this isn't something you want to buy. Someone who wants to guide your thought into a direction that you would have otherwise judged against. They would have us become puppets, sheep, opiated masses, whatever ages-old allegory you're more familiar with.

When we scroll for hours, mindlessly sharing things that pique our interest without using that information for anything productive, we are building that dam more and more solidly. It must be broken. So I would like to begin breaking the dam I've built for myself. I want to surf the internet more slowly. When I come across something that piques my interest, I want to dive in and explore its fullest depths and understand why my interest is piqued, what can I do with my newfound knowledge, and hopefully inspire someone else with the research I've gathered. This will be my space to do so. My greatest hope? To invite someone to a dialogue and compare my perspective with theirs. Sharing and exchanging ideas is how we continue to grow internally. I don't ever want to stop growing.

[a-master-procrastinator]

Long ass post about the Eternal family not being a copy-paste from ATLA (aka I like the memes but my god can you please stop)

Because some people truly think that Vaylin is off-brand Azula, Arcann is Zuko and so on.

It's. Called. A. Trope. (I mean how often do we come across abusive manipulative fathers in media? Mothers who couldn't much to change anything? Children, desperately looking for their parent's approval no matter what?)

Of course, you have to consider the fact that the writing of ATLA is simply better than of KotFE/ET, so this might have been one of the reasons why people say that.

Spoilers for Avatar: The Last Airbender, Knights of the Fallen Empire and Knights of the Eternal Throne expansions!

Okay, so here's my unprofessional, maybe biased, not super deep take.

(not going to mention that all of them are members of royal, ruling family, kinda obvious)

What roles do they play in their stories? Well, both Valkorion and Ozai are main antagonists, but their presence throughout the story is very different. Ozai is rarely shown in first two seasons, we don't even see his face until season 3. He doesn't have a direct connection to the protagonist, they only meet at the very end of the show, and Ozai's role is to pose a threat to the world, while Aang's is to save it. Valkorion, on the other hand, is constantly on the screen, interacting with the main character, challenging their viewpoint and influencing them directly. His end goal is similar to Ozai's (destroy everything and be the only ruler of the his nation), but with one major difference - he's trapped in Outlander's mind, so to achieve his goal Valkorion attempts to take control of the main character. Their interactions play important role in the story, and we spend a lot of time with Valkorion.

In addition to that, their relationship with children are also not exactly the same. It seems like Azula is Ozai's favorite and Zuko is a failure in his eyes until he meets his expectations, and the same goes with Vaylin, Arcann and Valkorion, right? Well, partially. Indeed, Valkorion and Ozai's treat their sons in similar ways (are disappointed in them until they meet their expectation by doing something that goes against their morals), but when it comes to Vaylin and Azula, it's not that easy. See, Valkorion claims that Vaylin was always his favorite creation (even though we know it's actually his empire), and he certainly seems to take pride in her potential in the Force. But her power is the very reason he's afraid of his own daughter, and in this fear Valkorion literally locks Vaylin away and allows to put her through physical and mental torture just to make sure she won't become a threat, won't overpower him. Maybe he thought of her better than of Arcann, but she wasn't his favored child for sure. I don't want to say that Azula hasn't experienced abuse from Ozai, but for the most part he clearly favored her over Zuko. He has never shown fear of Azula's power and abilities (or at least I haven't noticed), quite the opposite - allowed her to do a lot, as long as she brings results.

I could also mention their slightly different characterization (mostly that we get more characterization of Valkorion, get to learn his motivations, views, philosophy and all that, also he's portrayed as more nuanced, even if he not really is) and role in their respective governments (ozai is one of many Fire Lords and arguably not the greatest, while Valkorion is a god to citizens of Zakuul, their only Immortal Emperor), but those are details, and I think you get the point.

What's similar: role of the main antagonist, manipulative and abusive father, goal of destruction of everything that isn't their nation/empire, relationship with disgraced son.

What's different: presence in the overall narrative, relationship with the main character, relationship with daughter, role in their societies.

Senya and Ursa are even less similar. Yes, they both are mothers who love their children, but have to leave them, but these are probably the only things they have in common. Just as with Ozai and Valkorion's presence throughout the story, Ursa is only shown in flashbacks (for obvious reasons), and Senya is one of major characters in KotFE and (a bit less major) in KotET. Ursa leaves because she has to kill Azulon in order to save Zuko, and later isn't present in the story (I'm aware that her fate is told in comics, but we aren't talking about it). Senya leaves because when she tries to take children with her, they refuse, and she understands that she can't force them to, nor she can help them to break free from Valkorion's manipulations. For a long time she's absent from Arcann ad Vaylin's lives, but at the time of game events she attempts to save her children and stop the madness and destruction they've caused, and it isn't a small part of the story.

I also want to add that their relationship with Ozai and Valkorion are also different, but can't say much about Ursa. I heard that she didn't choose this marriage and suffered emotional (and maybe physical???) abuse from Ozai. I can say with confidence, though, that Senya genuinely loved Valkorion, and strangely enough, he seems to at very least respect her. But, of course, this wasn't the best marriage either.

Plus, we see more of Senya's relationship with Vaylin than Arcann or Thexan, but with Ursa we see her more with Zuko than Azula. Just a detail to remember.

(also Senya is simply a better character but that besides the point, moving on. in this house we stand Senya)

What's similar: role of loving and caring mother, abandoning their family at some point.

What's different: presence in the overall narrative, relationship with husband, characterization in general.

Boy, where do I even begin. Vaylin and Azula are similar in that they are both extremely powerful (one is firebending prodigy, the other is potentially stronger than Valkorion), both are cruel "craaaaazy" (i hate that cliché), both are younger sisters, have serious mother issues (seemingly more so than father issues), both go through betrayal of people they could always rely on, which eventually leads to their downfall. But when I took a look at their personal arcs, it became clear that they aren't the same (unfortunately, Vaylin's arc is very rushed and underdeveloped, but we'll have to go with what we have and my personal view, sorry).

There's a really good video about writing corruption and madness, and I'm going to base my thoughts on it. To summarise it: a good corruption arc should have 4 components:

- the character has a specific goal (or a goal and subgoals);

- in pursuit of said goal they become the cause of a significant event that brings serious consequences;

- as the result of these consequences, character abandons their morals, ideals or a code in pursuit of goal;

- character either will not achieve their goal or will succeed, but it won't be enough to satisfy them.

And then the author brings Azula's arc as one of the best examples of compelling story of corruption (so basically, she represents it perfectly). In short, Azula's main goals are perfection and control, and subgoals help achieve the main ones. In pursuit of these goals, Azula causes Mai and Ty Lee to betray her (by pushing them too far to do something they wouldn't do), which then causes her to become paranoid, which makes her to attempt controlling everything and everyone around her, *breathes* which makes her lose control over herself and ....

Now, I thought if Vaylin's arc could fit into a corruption one, and next part will be based a lot on my assumptions and personal view of her character (plus rushed writing doesn't help), but I think yes (or at least mostly). The difference is in goals, ideals and details.

While the story strongly makes us think that Vaylin's goal is freedom (or control over her life and everything around her) or power and destruction, I think it's actually self-determination (which was said by Tenebrae in 6.2) and feeling safe. Let me explain (and here I thought this would be a short comparison). Sure, when Valkorion caged Vaylin on Nathema, he took choices and control over her life from his daughter. But let's not forget whom Vaylin blames for this (even more than Valkorion): her own mother, and I think this details tell us that the most important thing that Vaylin lost on Nathema is feeling safe. Then, after Arcann brought her home, I assume Vaylin still didn't feel safe enough under Valkorion's rule, still too afraid that he'd simply send her back to that hellish place.

It's when Valkorion is struck down Vaylin finally has a feeling of personal safety, even if she isn't the one on the throne. Why? Because back on Nathema there were two people who haven't turned on her - Arcann and Thexan (yes, this is also a huge assumption, bc the game states that only Thexan visited her, but it doesn't make much sense).

I've always noticed (and I'm not alone in this) that her behavior in Fallen Empire is different from the way she acted in Eternal Throne. Most likely bc of rushed writing, but I see a character driven reason here. In first of these expansions, Vaylin is the second person in power on Zakuul, and with Arcann being in charge, person she can trust more than any other living being, she feels safe - she can test her power, and now Valkorion won't prevent it, she can do pretty much everything she wishes, and the most Arcann will do about this is mildly complain (without blaming her). Really would be nice if we got to see any normal hobbies of Vaylin (like wasn't there something about books or art?), but I digress. She might have some questions about Arcann's tactics, but they get along just fine. The important thing to note is Vaylin not seeking to hunt the Outlander personally, to rule or conquer the rest of the galaxy, or trying to achieve absolute freedom or power. She's kinda there.

This, however, changes when Arcann doesn't allow Vaylin to kill Senya. Their relationship was getting somewhat worse towards the end of KotFE, but this is a turning event Vaylin caused by attempting to strike her mother. By saving the person Vaylin blames for all the trauma from sending her to Nathema, Arcann threatened her feeling of safety. And now Vaylin starts to believing that to achieve safety she now needs to kill people who hurt her (that's why she's so determined to find Senya and Arcann), take the throne and hunt down Outlander (she was manipulated by SCORPIO to these subgoals).

(The following is the weakest, I'll admit, but I hope I can at least express what I see). So, in trying to achieve goals she didn't want before Vaylin loses in self-determination, being either driven by overwhelming anger or manipulated by others (SCORPIO or Commander on Odessen), desperately trying to accomplish anything, or even goes against her morals (like by erasing GEMINI's free will protocols, when earlier she agreed that freedom to choose is important; or breaking the deal on Odessen). All of these result in her downfall.

But even this isn't the end. The key difference between arcs of Azula Vaylin lies in it's resolution, or that Vaylin have a chance to overcome corruption in the main narrative (and Azula doesn't. again, not including comics here, sorry). After death, Vaylin is again controlled by Valkorion in Outlander's mind. First time physically (she can't resist it), second time mentally. This is where Vaylin has to choose - kill brother who betrayed her and Commander who killed her, or go against Valkorion, person responsible for almost all of her pain and trauma. She has t choose by herself, and I think it's a good start.

Now, before 6.2 we all thought Vaylin was dead for good, but that story update hinted at possibility of her coming back to life. What I like to think is that now that she dealt with people responsible for her trauma (helped defeat Valkorion and actually for once listened to Senya), Vaylin can now have a different life, finding herself with support of someone she doesn't hold a grudge against and who treats her well (Satele, I mean).

I'm so sorry for going into details, but I needed this long explanation to present the point (and I suck at explanations). As said before, this is my version of her arc, and most likely wrong interpretation, but even with personal freedom of choice, Vaylin character differs from Azula a lot.

Need I mention that Vaylin relationship with Arcann and Valkorion are drastically different from those between Azula, Zuko and Ozai?

(Also a little detail - with royal family of Fire Nation, Azula is the golden child, while with Tiralls it's actually Thexan, not Vaylin).

What's similar: role of extremely powerful, emotionally damaged daughter with little to no regard towards others, close people betraying them, resulting in their downfall.

What's different: characterization, role in the narrative, relationship with father and brother.

Arcann and Zuko is the most difficult part, but I still believe that calling Arcann just a cheap copy of Zuko is incorrect.

So, they fall into role of less successful son, always getting disapproval from father, being in shadow of more talented sibling, both obsessed with capturing the main character but ending up helping them end the war after going through a redemption arc with help of caring family member. Even both have scars on left side of face. Yeah, seems similar. I still think they are different characters.

Let's start with their relationships with family. In Valkorion section I said that his attitude towards Arcann is similar to that of Ozai towards Zuko, so not going to spend too much time here. However, there's slight difference - Zuko didn't kill his father even he had a perfect opportunity (bc it wasn't his goal), Arcann did (bc it was one of his goals), which says something about their characterizations.

Zuko and Ursa were shown to have a good mother-son relationship, and it played a role in Zuko's character. With Arcann and Senya, we don't really know (not much was shown in expansions). We know Arcann didn't hate his mother, but possibly didn't have warm memories of her either. The reason is most likely, like Senya said, her children wanted nothing to do with her (which is a bit untrue about Vaylin, but okay) and leaned more towards Valkorion. We need to remember that on Zakuul Valkorion isn't just one of many great leaders, he's the greatest, and seen as a god by most citizens, so safe to assume the same would apply to his children as well.

Zuko and Azula's siblingship (i'm out of words) is a bit similar to Arcann and Vaylin's in way of brother knowing that his sister isn't good, but still caring about them (even if not showing). At least it's what I saw. What's different is how Azula treats Zuko, compared to how Vaylin treats Arcann. I think Azula showed compassion or concern for Zuko maybe twice, but I'm not entirely convinced that it was 100% sincere. Vaylin, on the other hand, seems to trust and care about Arcann (with bits of sass and questioning his life choices), and switching to complete opposite after him saving Senya. Also, I don't she ever called Arcann a failure in their father's eyes.

Now I want to say that their roles in stories aren't the same either. Sure, both are introduced to us as antagonists, but in reality, Zuko was never a true antagonist (we get to learn this somewhere mid-season 1), when Arcann remains the main antagonist for whole of KotFE. Zuko didn't start a war and didn't participate in conquest of other nations too much, his main goal was to capture the Avatar so to restore his honor (and deserve his father's forgiveness). Honestly, I think it's safe to say the Zuko is one of two main protagonists of ATLA. Why does Arcann want to capture the Outlander? Solely because his father's spirit still lives inside this person's mind, and the best solution to keep Valkorion away from the galaxy is not letting the Outlander free (hence the carbonite freezing). And Arcann doesn't want or need Valkorion's forgiveness when he attempts to kill him (or kills him, depending on your choice. anyway, his action directly leads to Valkorion's "death"). And right after that he becomes a ruler of Zakuul and begins the conquest of Republic, Sith Empire and everything he can reach (the reasoning behind this is still unclear to me though; maybe because he was raised with ruling Zakuul in mind and he didn't anything else, idk). Point is, he's responsible for war and main's character imprisonment, which makes him the main antagonist of KotFE. They have it the opposite ways - Zuko starts as disgraced prince, supported by a little group of people, and in the end he's recognized and appreciated by his nation, and Arcann starts as respected by his empire, later becoming less and less loved, until some groups start rebelling his rule, and in the end he doesn't get to rule Zakuul again.

This leads me to their morals. See, Zuko didn't have the worst morals in Fire Nation, even more, he expressed care for loyals soldiers of his nation before getting punished by Ozai. During first season (and about a half of second one) his views on other nations are what he was taught before. However, these views are challenged by travelling in Earth Kingdom, witnessing people suffering from war Fire Nation started and hating its people (you already know all of this), and with this he comes through final stage of redemption when he's back home. Unfortunately, Arcann doesn't go through this, and he's shown to be more ruthless.

Alright, when it comes to their redemption arcs, well let's say they are different (both in quality and the way they go through it), I'm just a bit tired of long explanations at this point. Zuko's arc is one of the best ever put on television, and Arcann's... well, it definitely has potential, but is criminally underdeveloped (there are other people who will explain it better than I ever could).

What's similar: role of disgraced son, living in shadow of their sibling, serious injuries on the left side of face (though with different meanings), obsession with capturing the main character, having a redemption arc.

What's different: role in the narrative, role in their society, characterization, relationship with sister and mother, different end goals (before redemption), paths to redemption.

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff: Invincible

Don't like throwing this word around, but is it wrong to say that this series is fresh? Refreshing to see a superhero series, a good one, that isn't DC or Marvel for once. Invincible is a series that seemed like no big deal at first, but this season alone has just hit differently with me in the best way. Keep in mind that I have never read Invincible, kinda wasn't aware of it for most my life, but this actually convinced me and more because this series is ballin'. Why and how is both simple and not.

If there is any downside to this, it's the romance.

Now I like Amber, apparently has the most change in character here than in the comics, but it feels too apparent that they're trying to set up Mark and Eve. Even when I can't hate the characters involved, not even Rex Splode, nothing about what's happening really had me as invested. Hell, I'm more concerned with Mark doing good for himself than I am with him trying to be in a relationship, and they did me no favors. But that is just a teaspoon to this pitcher of what I wanna say is an actual extraordinary show.

One thing that stands out the most to me about this series upon everything else is how despite being brutal and gory at times, it never feels like they overdo things. People die, but it's played straight and you're more surprised, and relieved, for whoever makes it. It does have the unfortunate downside that regular citizens basically don't have a say in getting stuck in the crossfire, no precautions or a sense that they care about the random attacks that can kill them easily. Maybe I'm just thinking of what One Punch Man does with its world, but in the least it gives our big bad of this season a nuanced point. Plus it feels natural, like the brutality and blood comes from someone putting up a genuine fight, or in Omni-Man's case show how effortlessly powerful he can be, as oppose to giving us gore/blood for shock value or to take the piss out of everything. Invincible gets his shit kicked in multiple times, but that makes his fights, and potential wins, feel more earned. Mark doesn't become the best super immediately, and you grasp that he's sincere when push comes to shove, willing to fight for his life and others. Same goes with the others, minimal as they are in appearance this season.

It's especially what makes Omni-Man such a well-faceted bastard

Another thing, and this what impressed me the most, is that it's the first cartoon I've ever known that has 40 minute episodes and they feel rewarding. From the action to the conversations, it never felt like they were wasting time. They certainly set up things for another time, but it overall allows every subplot thread to get enough of a spotlight while entertaining you well with the focal point of an episode. They allow things to slow down, but give you plenty popping off moments to make every episode move well. One could say this has some...

Overall, Invincible is a sincere superhero series. Its up there with Megamind and Kick-Ass as a show that's as much a subversive series as it is one that revels in its identity. It has its serious moments, its brutal moments, but matter-of-factly enjoys the colorful costumes, the differing powers and aliens, the soundtrack that tells us exactly what it’s doing, and the campy nature of it all. The passion in the execution is front and center; it never felt like it wanted to play you for being invested.

If season 2 onward carries the same energy and heart as the first, I'll gladly call this one of the greatest shows of the 2020s. Invincible just does a lot right, simple as it is, and I can see why the comic was popular at the time. Even when, from what I've read, they make some liberal changes to the story and characters it's a well-executed adaptation. I love that Kirkman himself is a head of this series which tells me that it's truly getting the direction it needs. There can be moments hard to stomach but Invincible is a series that knows what it wanted to do and did it more than well.

5 Out Of 5. A Superb Series for the Newly Novel Hero

[aileysmirnov]

Loki x Ailey hc! part 1

I was watching Thor Ragnarok with some friends (over zoom ofc) and then It popped up in my head a conversation that I had with @melyaliz and Alex (ig: shir.0_guru) a while back, and I couldn't shake it off my brain as I was trying to write some other thing. So hopefully writing this down would apace my mind.

TW: Arranged marriage, depictions of emotional/psychological abuse

Summary: Eris and Odin find a solution to what's been threatening their domains, an alliance between 2 of the most powerful families, but Ailey and Loki don't seem so keen about it.

Disclaimer/notes: Ailey is my OC! You can learn more about her in here!

Ailey has finally been reunited with most of her family and entered the realm of gods in this AU.

Samaras is the last name of the Eris family, they are rulers of Thera (Eris kingdom) and each member bears a royal title.

Ailey is the only demi-goddess in her family, Demigods are seen as shameful in this AU and usually they have a birthmark and a weakness that distinguishes them as such. In Ailey's case is her golden rose hair once she transforms in her god-form and her weakness is her allergy to gold, it practically burns her skin, debilitates her magic and herself, is like kryptonite for her.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

The only reason they even know about the other, is because of their parents: Eris had been in conflict with Ares lately, and one of his recent attacks greatly debilitated her army and Odin had trouble with a few of the realms under his command forming complots against him and the safety of Asgard.

Both rulers found themselves in need of the other: Odin had the greatest warriors and military at his service, and Eris being the goddess of discord could easily rise or disipate any conflict that may come her way (except for Ares ofc), an easy way in or out of war.

And so, they decided to form an alliance; But Odin being the wise men he is, knew better than to trust blindly in the goddess of chaos, after all...Eris was known for being a backstabber who acted only to beneficiate her own interests.

To prevent that, Odin decided to make the alliance under the condition that one member of the Samaras family must marry the second son: Loki, God of mischief. And so, Eris agreed and offered her youngest daughter: Ailey goddess of ruin and folly.

God it was an absolute mess since the beginning!

Frigga was the one to inform Loki, who immediately went to Odin to protest, but like always his father ignored him, shutting him down by comparing him to his brother and how he would do anything to protect Asgard but Loki was being selfish.

Ailey in the other hand was kept ignorant of such decision and only knew about it a few hours before the engagement party began and only because a servant accidentally told her.

She was furious and much like Loki tried to protest but Eris couldn't care less about her daughter's opinion.

Ailey could rage all she wanted, Eris wasn't even paying attention, the only thing she was accomplishing was in making her angry.

—Child, I think you tend to forget your place in this world, you see: among humans you might be...special but in here... you're just an idiot with too much privilege—Eris had a way with words that could make them feel like poison, creeping in to the insecurities of one's heart.

—If it weren't for me and your brothers, you would be Hera's new toy, so please remember, dear. You not only owe me but to your brothers and this kingdom as well.

Ailey headed back to her room feeling ashamed and angry, she felt her mother's words had some truth in them, seeing as how different she was viewed here in comparison to the human realm.

When the time came for the engagement party and for Ailey and Loki to meet for the first time, is fair to say neither of them were in a good mood.

Even though deep inside they knew both of them didn't have any say in the matter and were pretty much in the same situation; they still felt irrationally mad at each other, that's why since the moment they met to the end of the ceremony they would throw little passive-aggressive remarks at each other.

She viewed him as a pretentious asshole, and He saw her as a spoiled brat.

Almost near the end of the celebration and no announcement had been made so Eris took it upon herself to throw them into the spotlight.

—I believe you two have something important to share with all of us—her face was smiling but her eyes were threatening.

Ailey bit the inner side of her cheek, rolled her eyes as she turned to face Loki who only gave an exasperated sigh before speaking in a monotone voice

—Do you want to marry me?—he didn't even bothered to get on one knee and just extended the ring for her to take.

Ailey felt tempted to say "no" and walk away gracefully but doing that would probably have a negative impact on Thera, so after a long pause she answered.

—Whatever—and put the ring on, herself.

Clearly a good start :) .

I think they didn't saw each other that much afterwards and when they did it was mostly for wedding arrangements in which they continued with the passive-aggressive comments but this time about everything the other would pick.

The mood was so uncomfortable every time they were together everyone around them was like:

I think that sometimes they would have moments where they realize they had been too harsh with the other and would tone it down a little but treating each other like that was the only way of protest that was allowed for them.

Specially for Loki since he constantly had to travel to Thera bc for some reason unknown to him Ailey refused to go to Asgard, which only made his negative opinion on her grow.

In his mind, it was probably because she thought she was too good for Asgard but the reality was: Asgard is practically a death sentence for Ailey since 90% of every building in there was made of gold.

But she will never tell him that.

I think their first "moment of closeness" came to be purely out of the realization neither of them had any option other than get married or see their domains destroyed.

So, they decided to call it a truce: both would play along with the whole marriage fiasco for a while until things died down and then they could divorce and pretend they never even met.

And so, the passive-aggressive comments slowly died down, not that they started acting like lovers all of a sudden, instead they acted like they were just... co-workers or something.

They would greet each other in a formal manner and then only talked about the arrangements and left, nothing else.

But then, inevitably they started to get closer.

It was something so gradual none of them really knew how it happened.

It started off with small comments about decoration ideas for the venue, it turns out they both had quite the interest in interior design.

Eventually those small comments became lengthy conversations about which combination of colors would look the best.

When it came down to learning about the nobility attending the wedding on each side, both would spend a little more time together. Studying the proper way on how to address them and their interests all for the possibility in forming new alliances.

But I feel like instead they would roast the hell out of them, like they would be going through a list of the Asgardian nobility that were to attend and Ailey would just point at a picture of a random Asgardian noble and go: "Oh. My. God. what is he even wearing?"

And Loki would try to force back a smile or a laugh but eventually he would just give in and start joining Ailey in the roasting.

They also have a very similar sense of humor, but Ailey is just more blunt and open about it while Loki isn't, I feel like most of the time he has genius comebacks to stupid comments people make but he's a gentleman and normally just keeps it to himself or would only say it in a polite but slightly aggressive manner, so when Ailey just bluntly says something similar to what he was thinking he can't help but laugh a bit (he won't admit to it though)

Other things Ailey and Loki have in common is their love for drama and spectacle, while Ailey is more of a ballet/dance-based plays person, she understands Loki’s enthusiasm for theater and books even sharing some of it herself.

Not only they enjoy these things, but they also found comfort in them: For Ailey ballet began as something her mother forced upon her but transformed in an outlet for her emotions and a way to connect and control her powers.

For Loki theater was a form of escapism since he was a child, every time he felt like he didn’t belong he found a safe place in countless stories of the misunderstood heroes.

This only makes their bond grow deeper; up until this point they never had anyone to talk to about their interests in such depth, so now they talk all the time about it, sometimes they would surprise themselves looking forward to the next meeting just to gush about a new play or book they just saw or read.

I feel like Loki might’ve even lend Ailey some copies of his favorite books and Ailey as a “thank you” decided to sneek out with him to the human realm to watch "Tristan und Isolde".

Everyone is able to notice the change in attitude of these two, especially Thor who only had heard about the girl but could tell how happy she made him every time Loki would mention her.

And he was happy for his brother but felt curious about his soon to be sister-in-law.

So, it was only natural when Thor asked Loki if he could tag along the next time he went to Thera.

He said no.

Thor went anyways.

When Ailey met him, she could only think about one thing: "he himbo" which she thought was cute btw.

Thor could see why Loki liked this girl so much, they were practically the same, which he found sweet yet amusing.

—Lady Ailey, a pleasure to meet you, mi brother has told me a lot about you!—he stated.

—Really?!—Ailey questioned directing an incredulous glance at Loki. 

—He asked­—Loki tried to defend himself by downplaying his brother statement. 

—No, I didn’t.—Thor retaliated with a mocking smile, he could tell his brother felt embarrassed so he decided to tease him a bit more. 

—In fact, he won’t shut up about you. 

—That’s not true, he’s just.. 

—No, he’s all the time saying Ailey this, Ailey that. It peaked my curiosity and so here I am… 

—Brother, Could you shut up?—Ailey could only smile and hold back a laugh at the brothers spontaneous quarrel. 

Truth is she thought it was sweet of Loki to talk about her with his brother. And teases him about it afterwards.

I think Thor might talk privately with Ailey and would ask her to take care of his brother. 

—I know Loki can be a bit…difficult, but have patience with him, I can tell he really likes you. 

And Thor was correct, Loki really did like her. But it might take a while for him to come to terms with his feelings, and would only manifest in small gestures towards Ailey, like: tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, subconsciously offering his arm for her to take as support when walking down the stairs, placing a hand on the small of her back as guidance whenever they were in a crowded space, sneaking small glances at her, etc.

Overall, he starts acting a lot softer with her, a lot more caring.

Ailey might be a bit oblivious to this (since she’s only used to overly sexual advances and has a difficult time understanding genuine affection), but she appreciates it none the less.

And both might even find themselves thinking that maybe…just maybe spending the rest of their lives together isn’t a bad idea after all.

[natsubeatsrock]

The Ends Never Justify The Means

Every once in a while, I write a post title and think, "Do I really need to make more of this post?"

You already know how this is going to go.

The ends never justify the means.

This matters in two ways: canon and fandom. As someone who has spent years talking about both, allow me to explain.

Every once in a while, I'll have to see someone lament the downfall of some evil character. It's always some character with a sympathetic past or understandable reasons for turning to their actions. They're not always the main antagonist of the series. They're usually important enough that people feel justified in talking about them. At the very least, they're never cartoonishly evil characters, and their reasons for being an antagonist strike a chord with people.

Sometimes, people will justify their causes. Other times, people will argue that the character is really an anti-hero. Most recently, I saw a post that said that characters like this send a bad message. In fiction aimed at children, they teach that social change shouldn't be attempted. Characters like Hama and Jet from Avatar: The Last Airbender come to mind as go-to examples.

Though, those characters are great examples of my point. 

Hama and Jet were both victims of the Fire Nation's war efforts. They end up hating the Fire Nation for the things they did to them. Even if you haven't seen Avatar, you likely know that this doesn't even scratch the surface of wrongs done by the Fire Nation. 

And yet, the series frames them as being in the wrong?

What did they do that was so bad?

In Jet's case, he's willing to destroy an entire village to take out the nearby Fire Nation soldiers. He takes out an old man because he's part of the Fire Nation. He even lies about him having dangerous weapons.

In Hama's case, she kidnapped villagers from the Fire Nation and locked them in an underground dungeon. Using a form of water bending that controls her victim's bodies, no less.

I'm not going to argue that they wouldn't be justified in getting revenge against the people that wronged them specifically. (Hama originally used blood bending to escape prison.) I'm not going to argue that they shouldn't hate the Fire Nation for what they did. It would be more shocking if they didn't hate the Fire Nation after everything they went through.

The problem with both of them is that they took it too far. They were never going to topple the Fire Nation taking out their anger on civilians. It makes sense that they do what they do. But what they're doing isn't justifying the actions of the people they hate. 

To the Fire Nation, they're seen as insurrectionists. The more people like them pop up, the more Fire Nation soldiers get sent in to quash the nonsense. The more that happens, the more you end up with characters who have similar backstories.

Though, this might be a bad example. Avatar is a series where the expressed point is to stop the Fire Nation. As bad as Hama and Jet are, it would be stupid to say their actions are the only way that change is accomplished in the world of Avatar. Especially if that change is directed towards the Fire Nation. Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Zuko all oppose the actions of Jet and Hama. Yet, they're all able to make a positive impact on the world by stopping the Fire Nation. In fact, they make more positive changes in a matter of months than Jet or Hama did as long as they were active.

People that take terrible actions to achieve ends they believe to be good are almost always the greatest barriers to achieving whatever end they want to get at. This isn't just a matter of "you're giving your side a bad reputation". (Note: "just" implies that this aspect shouldn't be ignored.) It's that these people usually don't have the purest of intentions.

This is where I should talk about a character like Killmonger from Black Panther or Scar from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and explain how they fit this mold.

But I already have talked about Scar.

And I already talked about Killmonger.

Instead, I'd like to talk about another character who fits this mold: Thanos.

At this point, I'm sure we all know all about him. He wants to exterminate half of all life in the universe to save its resources. (By the way, pick up Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos if you think the Russos drastically changed his motives.) I'm not here to argue that his plan would have worked. (It wouldn't.) The goal in and of itself is noble. He cares about preserving life for as long as possible.

Though, it can't go ignored how he wants to do this. This isn't a matter of killing a few people or groups who are particularly wasteful of resources. His expressed goal is to kill half of ALL life in the universe. Thankfully, nearly everyone who has seen Infinity War believes Thanos to be in the wrong. People have even criticized the MCU for not pushing harder against his plan. 

However, something happens in Endgame. The Thanos from Infinity War is replaced with the Thanos from Guardians of the Galaxy. This Thanos sees what happened in the universe where he hypothetically succeeded and wishes for a more complete victory. People have criticized this Thanos for not being philosophically similar to the previous Thanos. They think it makes no sense that he would try to take out the Avengers and remake, as opposed to how he acted in the previous movie.

I feel that this misses an important point. In Infinity War, part of his motivation is that Thanos believes he's the only one strong enough to accomplish this task. When (shock of shocks) Gamora challenges the idea that his way is the only way, he doesn't just insist he's right. He believes he's the only strong enough to accomplish what needs to be done.

Thanos was already morally capable of his plan in Endgame. The difference between his thoughts in that movie and Infinity War is his knowledge of the Avengers. Knowing that people would oppose him changes his methods, but his aims are still the same.

"So that's all well and good. Watch out for characters who have sketchy actions, even if they have decent goals. What does this have to do with fandom?"

Fandom is weird. I feel as though it's hard to remember that fandom isn't necessarily made up of hypothetical people holding various views. We're interacting with real people who have reasons for holding whatever views they have, rational or otherwise. Even within the different subsets of fandom, like shipping communities, people have different views. 

One of the worst things I've seen regarding fandom involves treating fans as a monolith. That isn't to say that fandoms never share traits or hold similar views. By being part of a community, there have to be some shared values and actions. What becomes a problem is attributing issues to fandoms without reason.

I understand being upset about some shippers doing something stupid. I've done that plenty of times here. What becomes a problem is assuming the worst of fandoms. It's not a great thing to say all fans are cancer.

As we discuss this, let's bring up something no one likes: fan wars. I've seen quite a number of them over the years. Many of my favorite posts are from my experience in and around fights involving fandoms. This stuff happens for several reasons. I'm not going to pretend that there's much that can be done to stop all fan wars.

What does worry me is how fans fight others. I get thinking certain things are going to be harmful to others. (I'll get to this eventually, I swear.) But what sense does it make to be harmful to those people? I know this is said a lot, but it's worth repeating. You're harming real-life people over fictional characters. 

One of the more pathetic examples of this happened a few years ago in the Fairy Tail fandom. Some spam accounts started spreading hate messages about Lisanna to fans of the series. I was a pretty obvious target, along with other Nali/Lisanna fans. It would be sad if that was where this stopped.

What became really baffling was seeing people who like Nalu get these messages. I get sending those messages to someone who had a Nali icon. Once you send them to the average fan, you're likely sending them to a Nalu shipper. I saw people who obviously like Nalu get those messages.

In our desires for a better world, we do well to pay attention to our own actions. Very few people actively want a worse world. We shouldn't step over people to make others better. That doesn't just feel counterproductive. It outright is.

"But, you don't understand! I yearn for the nectar of her skin!"

Sorry, wrong objection.

"But, you don't understand! I'm only trying to punish people who are harming others!"

Congratulations, you've missed the point.

Normally, I'd end a post like this with a conclusion. However, I'd like to do something a bit different. In writing this post over the past year, I've been reminded of this quote from C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters. The book is about a demon advising his nephew on how to tempt humans. This quote about the desire for human morality is the perfect way to end this post.

"We want a whole race perpetually in pursuit of the rainbow's end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy now, but always using it as mere fuel wherewith to heap the altar of the future every real gift which is offered them in the Present." - Screwtape, Senior Tempter and Undersecretary of Hell

[dino0316]

EXCLUSIVE:

Eden Hazard: "I want to show that I am made for Real"

(Words: Jürgen Geril / Photo: Kris Van Exel)

Fasten your seat belts. This is your captain speaking. The Red Devils kick off their European Championship in Russia tonight and then it is Eden Hazard (30). Not quite fit yet, but soon the captain who can lead us to the European title. Despite a season full of injuries, Hazard allowed us an exclusive interview in which he got quite personal. "My sons are very sorry if I can't play with them in the garden due to injuries."

Eden Hazard

The injections I got in both hips work, but I will never be 100 percent in that first match

You don't just arrange an interview with Eden Hazard. At Real Madrid he continuously held off the boat. Because Real is a world team that does not hand out its stars on a tray, but also because Hazard was injured more than fit and received a lot of criticism. Then you are not always in the mood to talk. At the Red Devils, the captain excelled in his absence for 17 months.

But a conversation is possible during this European Championship preparation. That is, if we can present a negative Covid test. So, one day after we let such a Swiffer stick tickle our eyeball, we sit down at Hazard's table. Eden slumps sprawled under a parasol. “During such preparation, I do have some free hours,” he says. “Okay, sometimes I play cards with teammates, but Mertens and co. don't always like it when I join. (grins) I'm not very good at it and then I cheat to tease the others. Creating atmosphere, huh. Fire your questions.”

Eden, there's been so much speculation about your thigh injury. You indicated that you will never be one hundred percent fit for the opening match. What about now? Can you play against Russia?

“The desire to appear at the kick-off is, of course, there. I can play a good match without training a lot, but – honestly – I don't want to start just to start. The good feeling in my legs will return and the injections I received in both hips work, but I will never be 100 percent in that first match. Even if I just come in, don't expect me to make the difference against Russia right away."

You played only 9 minutes against Croatia. Don't you need net matches to grow into your best form?

“I get better when I can play one, two, three matches in a row. Then the ball feeling returns and the rhythm returns, but I don't want to force it either. If I have to be more patient, so be it. Fortunately, I am not the only one in Belgium who can decide a match. We have so many good players who can score.”

What I wonder: is there no mutual competition among the Devils who is now the greatest world champion? You, De Bruyne, Lukaku,...?

“We don't participate in such games. The ranking is clear, isn't it? When it comes to passing, Kevin is the best, no one can finish better than Romelu, Doku is the sprint bomber and Thibaut Courtois is the best with his hands. Everyone has their specialty and that's what makes us so good. Where am I? I'm hanging in there. I'm good at everything, but I'm not the best at anything. I am a good mix.” (grins)

You say you don't want to force against Russia. Did you do that at Real Madrid? For example, you played in the Champions League against Mönchengladbach after two group training sessions.

(hesitating) “With all those injuries I forced once, yes. I had already been out twice and felt pain again during training. I thought to myself: This is no longer possible. If I now indicate that I am in pain, I have to stop for another two weeks . So I was silent and continued. At Chelsea I often played football with discomfort. Stiffness, a kick I got,... Once warmed up, it went well and in seven years that never led to major injuries in England. Unfortunately, at Real it was the other way around. The next day: Bam, more pain. ”

It all started with that kick by Meunier in the Champions League in 2019. Then you started having problems with that plate in your ankle and since then you have had one muscle injury after another.

“Ah, I played with that picture for two years at Chelsea without hindrance. It's just hard to understand. I do everything I can to not get injured, work hard in the gym – which is really boring – and then a new injury often followed. Bad luck. Hopefully that period is behind me now, because I've had it with it."

Belgium knows you as a cheerful French, but your eyes are dimmed.

“I'm still the same, you know. I still have fun, but I can't say I'm happy. That's only me when I can have fun on the field. That has not happened in the past two years at Real. If you have one or two injuries, you can easily turn the switch. You rehabilitate to come back stronger. If it's five, six, seven injuries, it's much more difficult mentally. But I continue. It's not that I'm 36 years old and can say enough is enough. I also get a lot of support during such periods. The whatsapp group with my parents and my brothers Thorgan, Kylian and Ethan does not stand still. My wife and children are also there. Although my sons find it especially bad because I can play football with them less in the garden.”

Are your four sons – Yanis, Leo, Samy and Santi – addicted to playing soccer with their daddy?

“We often play football. Then they try to play a ball through my legs and if they succeed, that's great. That's football. But for now I gate them more often than they gate me. My kids are starting to get it, because now they are constantly defending with their legs closed. They're not bad, but it's too early to tell if they have the talent of the Hazards."

Do they play with the youth of Real Madrid?

“No, Yanis and Leo play together in a team close to our house, Samy just started training there and the youngest is still too small. They should play football for fun. If I can, I'll look, but then I'm not constantly giving directions. That's the coach's job."

We don't really see a trainer in you later on. Not at a professional level, anyway.

“Never say never, but for now I share your opinion. I would be a bad coach. One that says: Grab a ball and do something fun with it . I don't like tactics. If we have an hour of video analysis, as a professional football player, of course I pay attention. You can always learn something, but it's not my favorite activity. I also watch less and less football on TV. Not to the Belgian league anyway, unless my brother Kylian participates at Cercle. In Germany I follow Thorgan at Dortmund, but for the rest? I am more concerned with my family.”

Do your children empathize with you?

“They are fans of Real, but they don't follow every match. During this European Championship they will support the TV with Belgian shirts. It's double. The more we win, the longer they have to miss their daddy, but okay: the boys hope that Belgium becomes European champion and above all that I am fit and healthy on the field."

What do you think of the statement that your injuries are due to stress? At Real you span your muscles through the nerves.

“ N'importe quoi . bland. Of course there is pressure. Real Madrid is the biggest club of all. When you play football there, people expect you to be the best in the world. But why should I be stressed? It's my dream club from when I was little. I looked at Zidane with admiration at Real...”

You are the record purchase of 120 million. Some argue that Chelsea got even more.

“I don't know how much it was myself. Hundred million or more? I am not concerned with money. I only think about the field.”

You also had to succeed Cristiano Ronaldo at Real.

"That is something else. I am not Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo scores 60 to 70 goals in a year, I score 60 to 70 goals in seven or eight years. We are different. For example, I will never jump that high above a defender to head in a ball. Imagine. But I did not enter Madrid with the idea: I have to be the new Ronaldo here . I just have to be Eden Hazard.”

According to our analyst René Vandereycken, they are still not playing you well at Real. They should – according to him – also give you the ball if there are two men in your back.

“It makes sense that they don't, because I haven't shown anything at Real yet. If we play a match tomorrow and I dribble from between three players, they're going to play me more like that. Then confidence grows. That's how it was at Chelsea, that's how it is at the Red Devils. The European Championship can also help me show myself to Real Madrid.”

So are you one hundred percent sure you'll stay?

“Yeah, it didn't even occur to me for a second that I better leave. I'm not going to leave there a failure. I just want to prove that I am made for Real Madrid. The past two years have been difficult. I was in Madrid without actually being in Madrid, you know? And if I did play, it was difficult because of Covid. We played in that small stadium on the practice complex without fans, while I just signed to play football for a full Bernabeu. I hope that the works on our stadium will be finished soon and that the stands will fill up again. I need that.

Real remains another universe. A kilo too much or a bad match and you will be killed. The press and the fans are on your skin. Bale once said: 'When I come out, I immediately have fifty fans behind me.'

“Criticism is part of Real, just like the attention of the fans is part of it. Okay, luckily I live in a closed neighborhood where you don't just drive in. If the supporters could ring my door, it wouldn't be possible. (laughs) But I don't mind signing autographs elsewhere. I try to live a normal life.”

Fans and press were outraged when you laughed and joked with Chelsea players Mendy and Zouma after the elimination in the semi-finals of the Champions League.

“That was wrong, yes. What Mendy and Zouma said wasn't even funny, but I've played with Zouma and I know Mendy through the door. It's always nice to see friends again. Although I understand that I have damaged the image of Real Madrid. Everyone thought I didn't lose sleep over that shutdown, but nothing could be further from the truth. Deep down I was very disappointed. If there was one match I wanted to win, it was against my ex-club Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. I was shocked when I saw those images.”

How did your teammates react?

“I got some phone calls, but honestly: it's a very nice group of players. That is also one of the reasons I absolutely want to stay: the good atmosphere. You know, when I first stepped into Real's dressing room, I was impressed. That was my favorite all-star club, but guys like Sergio Ramos or Karim Benzema are just regular guys. The Spaniards sometimes take the whole group to quiet restaurants.”

Hold on... Eden Hazard was impressed?

“Yes, but I'm fast, you know. When a new talent arrives at the Red Devils, I quickly think: Wow, he can teach us something . Jérémy Doku, for example. What he shows in training speaks for itself. His dribbling, his acceleration.”

Do you recognize yourself in Doku?

“It is a dear guest. He's even faster and more explosive than the young Eden. Jérémy integrates well, but that is not difficult with these Devils. We grow older in age, but our minds remain young. I am still eighteen years old in that regard. I'm not saying that the previous generation of Devils was surly and unkind, but this core is more open to youngsters."

Have you asked Dries Mertens what it is like to work with Carlo Ancelotti? He will be the new coach of Real Madrid.

“Ancelotti has already messaged me. He told me that he is very happy to be coach of Real Madrid again, but that we will have time to talk at length later. He wished me luck at the European Championship. I didn't have to ask Mertens how Carlo Ancelotti is, because at Real there are still many players – Benzema, Modric, Kroos,...– who remember him from his previous visit in Madrid. They all say that Ancelotti is fantastic. A good person who knows how to play and lead a group. Last season Real won nothing, next season we want to take revenge.”

With Zinedine Zidane, your great patron left Real Madrid.

“I called him. It hurt me to see him leave. We had two years where we could show beautiful things and it failed. That is a disappointment to both him and me. Everyone knows the relationship I had with Zidane. He used to be my idol. Because of him I started to watch football with admiration. That goal he scored in the Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen... Everyone knows that volley. Well, hopefully one day I will score such a beautiful goal. I must try that. Maybe at the European Championships.” (laughs)

Another great idol will return to the Red Devils: Thierry Henry.

“That's great. Better to have Titi with us than to have him elsewhere. A former player like Henry means an added value. He has experience in tournaments, won the World Cup and the European Championship. There are few ex-football players who have such an appearance.”

In what area does he help you the most?

“Actually, he doesn't talk much. Henry radiates calm, romps around the terrain and occasionally gives tips: Why don't you walk like that? There is the free space... He has a special aura. It is good for us that such an icon is now back in our staff. Moreover, it frightens the opponents. If we had to play against a team with Zidane as coach tomorrow, we immediately think: oh la la .”

Are we the favorites to win the European Championship?

“No, Belgium is a team that can win the European Championship, but the big favorite is France. They are world champions and still have the same team, supplemented by some new strong players such as Benzema. They are the team to beat. We are an outsider.”

Final question. You never played in Belgium. Will we ever see you play football in Belgium like Kompany did at a later age?

“All due respect to Kompany. He took Belgian football to a higher level, but I don't see myself playing in the Belgian league. I have been living abroad with my family for years: seven years in London and hopefully five years in Madrid. Returning with the whole family seems complicated to me. After my career I may live in a remote place. Laid back. But believe me: I still have five or six great football years ahead of me.”

(X)

[jgnico]

The aspect of this that gets me heated and grinds my gears like no other fanon representation ever has is that Geto's character is grounded in and defined by emotions.

Geto, while seeming to come off as level headed in his initial introduction in the Flashback Arc is pretty quickly shown to be the more emotional of the two. He gets easily annoyed with Gojo when Gojo goads him into a fight over his beliefs. He admonishes Gojo for how he treats others and cites how Gojo's actions make other people feel. He looks out for and caters to Riko's emotions from almost the first time he meets her all the way up until her death. He lets his emotions get in the way when he fights Toji and its in direct counterpoint to his fight with the Curse User earlier in the Arc; his attacks are direct and obvious instead of thought out and cunning like we saw before because he just got told that his best friend is dead and he's (rightfully) upset about it.

And then you fast-forward a year and he still hasn't let any of his trauma go. Emotionally, he's a mess and it affects everything about him. He doubts himself, he doubts his job, he doubts the kindness of others, he's lost weight, he's haggard in appeance, and he can't fix any of these things because he's stuck in the middle of a depressive slump due to trauma.

The Geto at the end of the arc is markedly different than the Geto at the beginning and its because of his emotions. Its because he can't process them. Its because he's being pulled in too many directions by them. His love for his friends. His grief for Riko and Kuroi. His anger at the SPV association. His worry over Gojo growing stronger and the sense of abandonment that comes from that. And when he tries to bring logic into what happened instead of processing his trauma from an emotionally intelligent standpoint, it makes his entire spiral worse and leads to him losing his way even further.

Geto, at his core, is an empathetic person that had his faith in the kindness and compassion of humanity obliterated in the harshest way it could be and then was left with no way to properly process or cope with the fallout.

On the other hand. Gojo is a character that wears his personality on his sleeve, while hiding his true emotions from others. At the beginning of the arc he pretty much never lets his actual feelings out to play. He challenges and picks on other people's emotions for kicks and gives witty comebacks when the opposite is asked of him. A lot can be said about how this is defense mechanism, and yeah, I do think that its a learned behavior so that people don't want to deal with him long enough to actually get to know him and see the chinks in his armor. It keeps people out, it protects him and his heart, and its an aspect of his character that he continuously displays well into his adult life.

Gojo showing his emotions is rare. Gojo letting the emotions of others effect him is rarer still. But the flipside is that whenever he lets himself make a decision based on empathy or lets his emotions take control instead of his logic, it backfires on him every. single. time.

He makes the decision to give Riko one more day and it leaves him exhausted and vulnerable to attack. He nearly dies, Riko dies, everything falls apart. When confronting Geto in Shinjuku, he lets his anger and hurt rule his argument and isn't able to connect with Geto properly. Neither of them listen to each other and Geto, seeminly level-headed in their argument, throws one of his greatest fears into his face. After Geto's death, he can't bring himself to dispose of Geto's body and it makes it possible for Kenjaku to get a hold of it for his plans. When Gojo sees Geto again in Shibuya, he can't keep his emotions in check and it's what allows him to be exiled.

Quite literally, Gojo being emotional is a bad thing for him in the same way that trying to make sense and bring logic to his experiences was bad for Geto. When the two of them swap these aspects of their personalities, it ends in tragedy for themselves, for others, for the story.

kinda insane to me how satosugu fanon (and jjk fanon as a whole really) depicts gojo as being overly emotional and geto as the calm, practical, level headed one when in canon they're the exact opposite lol