#oh. emotionally damaged villains specifically | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

justanotherhh · 8 months ago

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suuuuper curious to know where you're suspecting the story will take striker, blitz will definitely want him decimated once he comprehends the damage dealt to stolas, but there's also the matter of there definitely-almost-certainly-i-am-not-deluded being a goetia we still haven't met who striker wants decimated for whatever the fuck was done to him and his in the past ( unless he's already killed them and then just.... kept on plowing with his unquenchable quest for vengeance ) + obvs his backstory needs to be revealed and that thing will have to address both his classism and his identity as a hybrid + there's def more villains left he could team up with + twice now there's been the lingering threats towards octavia and oh no where could that possibly go now that he's off stella's chain + i am so curious where his beef with eminem will go now that they've had a rematch

hello hello!

THIS IS AAAAAAAAALL PULLED OUTTA MORE OR LESS NOTHIN' BE PREPARED:

Yes, absolutely there is some Backstory that's been somewhat hinted at that I think will explain some of his ire and further develop him as a foil to blitzø, who, after all, early in s1 could for a second there have believably joined him due to feeling objectified and used by stolas after a lifetime of his talents (which in the episode and generally all episodes are shown to be substantial) going to waste, due to, yes, his own Trauma, but also due to Class specifically. but of course, what striker doesn't get is that blitzø actually likes loves stolas and also stolas loves blitzø and wants to do better by him RIP

(sidenote, I think if striker found out that the reason blitzø acts Like That around stolas is to keep himself emotionally safe/at a distance, because he doesn't feel good enough for stolas, he'd flip a table, not because he cares about blitzø's mental health, but because This Is What He's Been Trying To Make Points About The Whole Time Dammit These Blue Bloods Take Our Best And Turn Them Into Whining Toys Desperate For Their Approval!!!!)

but yes, something that will potentially make blitzø see/understand where striker is coming from, and why he's unhappy with the way things are (in ways moreso than everyone else is unhappy about the way things are), and even maybe why striker was hoping to find some commonality with him? because they... do have a lot of common ground....?

sidenote here, I don't think this can be entirely divorced from stolas' and fizzarolli's arcs, the former I think could potentially eventually abandon the expectations forced upon him and become blitzø's employee/partner, and the latter... more unsure. still need some data, but it'll definitely pertain to his relationship with asmodeus being out in the open now. my dream is poly life, but hey, i'm never expecting it, even in queer shows. not everything can be sense8 after all --

but stolas and fizz represent two sides of the status quo that are going to dismantle it in their own way. stolas by not subjecting himself and therefore others to what he's been taught he Has to do and be, and fizz through his relationship with ozzie. they're already so much more effective than anything striker has managed to achieve, despite his beliefs

but also that striker is blitzø's shadow. blitzø feels hopeless and alone, but he's got a lot of people (especially as of halfway through s2) who would go out to bat for him, who want him in their lives, who really really care... the person blitzø doesn't want to be is... striker. striker is a match for blitzø in every way (share first place at the harvest moon festival), has many similar opinions (oh great, now the supremacist is agreeing with me), and is similarly jaded... and has nobody at all

the point is that striker's goal is to dismantle the status quo... sort of... it's to destroy something in any case, to get vengeance as some kind of vague Concept (which does make me think he got his vengeance and is just post-vengeance lashing out) but it doesn't seem like he's thought that far ahead, and now it's become personal, it's all centred around blitzø (and fizz, but blitzø moreso) "betraying" their kind, and stolas and potentially fizz, now after oops are symbolic of everything that's Wrong, but also... it would hurt blitzø specifically..... both western energy and oops showed blitzø reacting emotionally to someone getting hurt because of striker. differently, because his relationship with stolas and his relationship with fizz are two distinct kinds of fucked up, but in the end, because of blitzø's place in the story and the Thing that striker is trying to destroy (powerful demons and the class traitors that allow themselves to become their pets) it aaaall centers back around to him and striker becoming more and more unhinged about, specifically, him, and also maybe wanting to drag blitzø to his level and finally finally agree with his point of view...

at least... that's what i want it to

so I want it to get more personal from here on out. striker seemed to really lose it at the end of oops, there is no cool left AND THEN BLITZØ BLEW HIM UP. MY GUY! IT'S PERSONAL NOW IF IT WASN'T BEFORE! (and it was getting personal before, but I'm gonna break you like a horse really cinched it -- and that was before his manic attempts at murdering fizz in front of blitzø)

I don't necessarily think blitzø would want to "decimate" him, not because striker isn't really dangerous and hasn't actively tried to kill two people blitzø loves (and moxxie and millie by proximity), but because to blitzø this isn't as personal... yet. kill, maybe, but I don't think he's currently out looking for a fight, and I think once it does get that personal, the dynamic will be too complicated to measure in simple terms of destruction, i think it'll be a cauldron of things...

I need to go back and rewatch western energy to remind myself of how exactly he taunts stolas that blitzø isn't coming for him, just to convince myself that there's something in there that's more than just glee about stolas being hurt, but also that he's happy that blitzø hasn't been completely lost to this relationship (fizz is way more of a lost cause according to striker), and maybe he can cut that thread for him, who knows. put him back on the right path. it's a gift, really, killing stolas

and i want blitzø to pity striker. i think that would drive him right over whatever edge he hasn't toppled off already, if blitzø understood and saw him and still told him that he was wrong, but now he felt sorry for him

as for via, great potential for a stolas and blitzø co-dads team-up? i don't imagine she'd get seriously hurt in the way other characters have been, but then that's my own limitations, simply because she's been safe from harm so far... but yeah, co-dads team-up. feels like a later down the line thing (well, most of this does)

i do want striker to land some kind of truly painful hit on blitzø. something he can't walk away from without actually getting help. whether that's hurting people he loves, or hurting him in a way so that he needs to be saved (listen, i want the latter... big fan of emotional whump blitzø, but the show has us covered on that front, it's time for him to need saving after getting stabbed and beaten and what have you, stolas can't have all the fun!)

In Conclusion: do I have real Theories? not as such. I just have Feelings.

a. I want blitzø to understand striker because of striker's past, and for that understanding to make things worse between them b. I want striker to take whatever messed up emotions he has and fine-tune them in blitzø's direction and everything he cares about (hell, maybe barbie could get involved in this somehow, so far she's been very far off to the left) c. I want striker to really really hurt blitzø. I want blitzø to at one point be genuinely, deeply afraid and in pain for a prolonged amount of time (so not just the brief parts in oops, I'm talking full episode angst) because of striker -- I think especially because striker has lost a few bouts against I.M.P. it's time for him to get a real win. and for blitzø to get hurt. sorry, that's what you get for being the narrative's specialist little boy d. I want striker to accidentally bring stolas and blitzø closer together, perhaps by kidnapping/threatening via e. I want striker to function as blitzø's narrative/symbolic shadow for the rest of the show f. do I want striker to survive the show? idk. maybe. I like a villain whose motives you get, but who never gets redeemed, and whether that can happen and him surviving, who knows g. I want there to be more horse-based innuendos, I think that's their shared language h. (I also want him to start crying because he's so damned tired of everyone making his esteemed rivalries and attempts at decent threatening behaviours and murder into a sex thing. can't a guy be a mass-murdering hitman in peace these days?)

as for villains: striker and mammon? striker and paimon? the hypocrisy of striker working with people like stella being writ even larger, simply because his whole set of ideals have been upended by how much he wants to destroy/dominate/win over one fucking guy that lives in his head rent free (blitzø has that gift)

In Real Conclusion: in the journey to try and get at blitzø, striker destroys the last parts of himself that he could hold onto. something like that. that would be cool. also. want him to make blitzø cry at one point. just cos.

#helluva boss #helluva striker #blitzø #blitzo #blitz #helluva boss meta #blitzker #striker/blitz #because listen. do i Ship them in the traditional sense? no #do i think there is a non-zero amount of this dynamic that i like best when it's hard to sum up outside of some of the precepts of shipping #yeah that... that thing.... i like the idea of a striker who wants so Desperately to dominate/break/control/win over/etc blitzø #and a blitzø for whom the greatest fear is becoming striker #hb meta #go tf to sleep me

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in-defense-of-loki · 2 years ago

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So I saw this post, and I'm not reblogging it because I don't wanna deal with an argument that doesn't need to happen but would, even if I linked the post.

But basically it's this:

——

And the only problem I had with it, was it's misunderstanding on equal footing. Like, okay happy, healthy relationships trigger you, but damaging, abusive relationships trigger others. It's an impass then. Because when it comes to media, it should be morally based, no? Functioning relationships should be framed as positive, despite triggers, because of how fiction affects perception. There is also plenty of fucked up content, but with the proper framing, nobody bats an eye at it, because it's morally sound even if it's not showing a happy life, therefore not triggering for this anon. Horror is a big one I can think of, and I love that shit.

This person also needs to take accountability for themselves. Example, I don't wanna get into it but somebody doing the dishes triggers me, the sound especially. Particularly if there's no care to how much sound is being made. But this is not gonna make me go around telling everybody "you can't do that because I'm triggered," as if it's okay for me to tell them they can't have clean dishes. And there is this whole thing about curating your experience. Tumblr gives you the tools to do that, too? But you can do it irl by just, avoiding that kind of content? But seriously, don't use your trigger as an excuse to defend bad framing and morally bankrupt main media. Also, I've seen a bunch of problematic stories be written, especially in fanfic, so you can go find the content if you desire, and I'm not gonna say anything against it. The antis I know are more concerned with mainstream media portrayal, like on TV and such, not private indulgences. And if you're dealing with antis who are, they're invading your private, personal business and we ain't about that. They can fuck off.

But taking Loki show for example, I don't think any of us "antis" are actually upset specifically with the actions taken by Mobius and Sylvie, I constantly see people say "they'd be so great as villains." Loki being beaten down physically, mentally, verbally, and emotionally is something that media can explore, if done properly. Because it's the FRAMING we have problems with. Mobius torturing Loki is shown as a good thing when it should never fucking be. Sylvie mistreating Loki is shown as a positive thing when it's not. And they tell us that it's "growth" for Loki. It's not the thing that's happening, it's how it's displayed to viewers. We are also pissed about the lack of continuity, but...

This post clearly explains why framing in the Avengers when Loki was getting beat down is not something we antis complain about, and yet when it's done in Ragnarok and the tv show, we will write full metas about how it's so upsetting. I mean think about that, why are we okay with one, but not the others? So it's not problematic themes we necessarily have issues with, feel me?

Oh! Oh! So, my dad watched a lot of this tv show called Scandal, and nowhere in that series does it showcase happy, healthy relationships. It's constantly fucked in some way, shape, or form. But because of the framing of the show, viewers understand that these are not relationships you should want to be in while still exploring that kind of storytelling. Perfect example of how you can absolutely have media about problematic themes (or disturbing if in the sense of the horror genre) but have people okay with the content because of how it's presented. It's about the framing.

#long rant #in defense of loki #not my anon #problematic media #problematic fiction #trigger mentions #marvel #mcu #anti loki show #scandal show

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miintsprigz · 7 months ago

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Reblogging my own post to add onto it.

Things I specifically loved at the 4/28/24 Hadestown show. I knew the original myth and had heard a few pieces of the songs via TikTok, but this was my first time hearing it in full. I’m gonna go in soundtrack order because I’m tired now and I get order mixed up.

LONG POST BELOW and LET THERE BE SPOILERS!

-“AIGHT!”

-Eurydice is dressed in shorter overalls from the beginning and “always has the fates following her”…gosh don’t you hate it when Doomed, can’t even let this woman CANDLE in peace. she was always meant to go down there. And stay down there.

-I haven’t seen a SINGLE person talk about Yaya Reich’s version of Eurydice?! She’s excellent!!! I really love her hair, legit debated trying to style mine like hers

-I 100% understand what Eurydice sees in Orpheus. Gosh what a dork. I love him. I also 100% understand what Orpheus sees in Eurydice because HAVE I MENTIONED YAYA IS BEAUTIFUL

-Hermes gives me uncle vibes in the most comforting way imaginable.

-Persephone kinda gives me Tinkerbell vibes, the way she dances is so great. Woman EMBODIES life of the party.

-Her dance when Way Down Hadestown begins—she like bent at the waist, sort of shimmying side to side. It’s like she was being pulled down by Hades. So creepy, I love it.

-“I missed ya.” Philip Boykin’s delivery of that gave me Audrey II vibes.

-Orpheus visibly phasing in and out of Hadestown as he worked on the song…I’ve never seen a better representation of an artist getting completely swallowed whole by their work. The scared “is he always like this?” from Eurydice chilled me. Sometimes we’re in too deep…

-All these performers getting YEETED across the stage by the turntable/rotating stage/I dunno jargon was crazy. I would have fallen like 54 times.

-The way I audibly went “oh no” as Eurydice was pretty much attacked by the Fates. I see those three as the true villains here. Love it when your own mind tries to bite you.

-“Orpheus, I’m hungry…” the fact that Eurydice is so destitute for most of this show BREAKS MEEEE

-The intro to “Wait For Me” will never not frick me up. “Where is she…?”

-I didn’t know how to feel about Eurydice choosing to go down to Hades. But with what little we know of her past, it makes some good sense to me. She’s used to moving when the going gets tough and people left her a lot. Sure, Orpheus was different, but one person isn’t enough to change a lifelong foundation of behavior, and when people are stressed they’re even more likely to fall into old behaviors…I’m getting too psychoanalytical oops.

-The set BREAKING APART when Orpheus sings that melody. My gosh, I felt my mouth drop open. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The staging of this whole song was awesome.

-I know now that “there’s a crack in the wall!” in “our lady of the underground” is meant to be a peep show but seeing her reach up for the light made me kind of sad. Like she’s trying to reach and touch the world she loves.

-“Flowers” is one of the most underrated songs in this show, PERIOD. I got REKT. The fact that she REMEMBERS ORPHEUS’ KINDNESS EVEN THOUGH SHE FORGOT BOTH THEIR NAMES. NO IM NOT OK

-The gags in Come Home With Me (Reprise) had me rolling honestly. “No I walked” (points to aisle)

-The fight scene during Papers was genuinely super cool to me.

-“Nothing Changes” makes me think this show could really be used as a lesson not to let the cruel and twisted voices in your mind result in you leading to a tragedy by your own actions/inactions at times…but don’t get down on yourself for what you did before you knew better.

-If It’s True is CRUSHING. EMOTIONAL DAMAGE!

-Kinda got irked that Orpheus almost gave up here, but to be fair, this dude just got 1.) beaten up 2.) EMOTIONALLY DUNKED ON by hades. Probably the worst day of his life.

-“How Long?” Having them stand on either side of the hole, with O, E, and the workers going down in there…it’s like the riot is driving a wedge between the two of them. And ya know, sometimes you gotta tear it all down before you can rebuild.

-YOUNG MAAAAN GOT TA HAND IT TO YA—

“Keep your head” takes on a different meaning—don’t let them get inside your head, “take” your head…”keep” it, keep YOURSELF!

-Me: “the Epic is probably gonna be cheesy.”

Me after Epic III: “cheesy? Yeah a little. Still stunning? YEEAAAAH”

-The fact that the Fates themselves fall in line during Epic III, and follow the other characters for once. I know they were canonically probably biding their time, but I like to think Orpheus’ song was so good on this run that he BENT FATE TO HIS WILL. And that’s why, even though this has been a never-ending loop, Persephone comes down for springtime! He DID change something, he BENT FATE. HEAR. ME OUT.

-Hades’ shaky singing. Listen, he’s done bad stuff but I just thought “aw buddy”…

-Hades’ goofy dancing made him a lot more likeable to me.

-Idk why, I wasn’t big on Promises or Wedding Song as a whole—not like I hated em, I loved this whole show, those songs just didn’t light my brain up as much. I’m a lunkhead, so that doesn’t mean much. Don’t listen to me—

-The fact that HADES HIMSELF is swayed by the Fates—the Fates are literally responsible for driving (albeit not causing, note the difference) every single bad thing that happens—Eury going down, Hades making the catch, Orph TURNING—COME ON. Great theme that no one is without flaw.

-Personally, I love how done Hermes is with this plot from Hades. You can see how sick he is of seeing this same exact thing happen again and again.

-Again, Hermes tells it like it is. The doubt, the insecurities of the cast, they’re the real “villain” here. Not the gods. The sadistic Fates. And the fact that people can’t HELP but listen.

-Wait For Me Reprise is great. Send tweet.

-The staging for the walk up is great. The mist, the complete blackness representing the inner mind of Orpheus.

-The fact that The Fates PHYSICALLY get in between Orpheus and Eurydice. What a great visual metaphor. She’s talking to him the whole time and HE CANT HEAR HER!!! Because they’re held so much closer than even his love. He’s not doing it on purpose, it’s just human nature.

-There’s a whole group with her too, I swear the ensemble choir here comes through with this message of the people you surround yourself with rubbing off on you (like E dancing with them in Living It Up) but there comes a point where you get so drowned in your own thoughts that even a whole crowd can’t reach you…

-People have suggested Orpheus’ wavering could have to do with him literally losing himself from all the time he’s spent in Hadestown. He didn’t sign his soul away, so I know it doesn’t really count, but…I could kinda see it.

-I knew, I KNEW what was coming. And I was STILL HORRIFIED. The way she GASPS. The immediate relief that changes to horror as he realizes his desperation to see if she was really there is her ultimate doom. The woman he loved more than anything, and he’s sent her to her demise, once, twice, and FOR GOOD. All with the best intentions. They do indeed pave the road to hell.

-The ending positions. He’s forever looking down. Head down in despair. Unable to see the world as it could be anymore. And her? She’s just GONE.

-Jon Jon’s Hermes looked so DONE. His “aight?” Sounded like “okay, kiddo. You didn’t get it this time either. But it’s okay, because I’m going to keep singing it until you get it.” I was concerned they’d go right into the same opening version, knowing that would jolt me right out of immersion. That did NOT happen.

-Man I wanna give this whole cast a big hug. They want a happy ending so bad, and so do I. I’m gonna keep singing. Let’s all keep singing. Maybe one day, Orpheus won’t turn around. See the world for what it could be, in spite of the way that it is.

Raise a cup. For the Orpheus in all of us. Who will turn, again and again, but we keep on singing. Keep on weaving our masterpieces, trying to heal our world, and maybe, maybe one day, heal ourselves.

Okay it’s 1am, I need to sleep. Thank you for reading.

Just want to say I saw Hadestown for the first time tonight and I LOVED IT!

#hadestown #hadestown musical #hadestown orpheus #hadestown persephone #hadestown eurydice #hadestown hades #hadestown hermes #broadway #bway #hadestown broadway #orpheus #eurydice #persephone #hades #Hermes #musicals #anais mitchell

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whumpwillow · 3 years ago

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Hello! I found your blog a few weeks ago via a screenshotted post on Pinterest, and I just have to say your writing has been a huge source of inspiration for me. I actually re-logged into my tumblr account after 5 years so I could finally follow you. (Congrats on 1000!) I've been away from tumblr for so long I'm not sure if I am doing this submission right as this was too long for a normal ask... But anyways! I attend a lot of writing conventions as my dad is a writer and I really mean it when I say you are really good at this. It's always so vivid and emotionally evoking! And it's always awesome to come across another ace creator.

While going through your blog I noticed you mentioned a couple prompts based on D&D. I’m not sure if you actually play or not but I was hoping for some advice. You see I’ve been working on a D&D inspired webcomic and I... sort of wrote myself into a corner when it comes to dealing with two of the character interactions. The webcomic is not intended to be whump-centric but there are definitely some parts that qualify. I was wondering if I could run the scenario past you and you could treat it like a prompt? It has an evil wizard whumper, a reluctant half-demon caretaker, and touch-starved-mute whumpee who is under a shared magical effect with the caretaker. And for bonus points all three of them are/used to be villains!

—

response under the cut!

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oh my gosh. oh my. I...I don't even know where to start with this. Thank you 😭😭 the fact that you logged onto your account for the first time in five whole years just to follow me?? wow. I am just a lil creecher and you came here just for me I'm 😭 thank you. wow.

also my posts have made it onto pinterest? am I famous now? 😂

I'm so happy to hear you say that you like my writing and that I'm good at it! It makes me very excited that people enjoy the content I produce.

Yo, I love webcomics!! I read them all the time and am pretty obsessed with them. I like, consume them. D&D however, I've never played and I don't know really anything about it, I just like fantasy. Though if you're looking for someone who has a lot of information on D&D and D&D specific whump, ask @redwingedwhump who's really into it.

also, your characters! wow, your mind. I love half-demons so so so much. also touch-starved whumpees.

evil wizard whumper? magical whump.

making whumpee feel like they're boiling alive from the inside

spells to make whumpee feel pain without damaging their body

spells to slice whumpee in a bunch of difference places at once without even touching them

using magic to position whumpee in stress positions / humiliating poses

hallucinations / magical projections

curse mark scars (you can find references for these on pinterest)

past villains!!!!

the two villains have a past history of fighting each other for territory / for being in warring groups

having a past history of being in the same group, but one of them betrayed the other

being friends with each other in the past as villains, but one decided to stop being a villain and the other took that as a personal betrayal like they were abandoning them

they could only depend on each other as villains, since they were at the bottom of the ranks and always abused by the Supervillain, but one villain managed to get out and escape if that meant leaving behind their friend

the redeemed villain wanting to save their friend too, but the friend doesn't see their point of view or is too terrified to join them, thinking that the heroes will kill them

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thatsjustrwde · 4 years ago

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For the RWBY character prompt thing: you gotta tell me about Ironwood for sure! And if somebody already asked, how's about Qrow? :)

OH BABEY A DOUBLE (I’m gunna put Qrow in a separate post to avoid making this too long) thank you so much!

Warning: This is a PRO IRONWOOD POST. I also go into team RWBY taking responsibility for their abuse towards Ozpin. Don’t read this if you don’t like it. You’ve been warned

My top three two ships for Ironwood

1) Ironqrow (Ironwood x Qrow) {Volumes 3-7}

I have loved the idea of these two since the fall of beacon. When they first interacted, I wasn’t too sure about them because it seemed like they didn’t really like each other.. but that scene where all the robots were turning on beacon and Qrow spotted ironwood, ran at him with his scythe, only to jump over him and save him from a Grimm, sold the ship to me. It was clear that they didn’t actually despise each other. Qrow wasn’t quick to point fingers; he knew that what was going on wasn’t James’ fault, and he even tried to add a little bit of comic relief to the scene. (When ironwood’s ship fell, and Qrow smirked “well, it won’t be much of a walk”)

My love for the ship was reinforced in v6 (yeah I know it was the fan service volume but I’m rolling with it anyway). Qrow knew that they HAD to get to ironwood in order to complete their goal. He trusted James, and he knew that he was a smart and capable leader who would know what to do (ah,, the good old days ;;)

And then in the early episodes of v7, their bickering that we once saw in v3 was non existent. They were happy to see each other, and James even initiated a hug. He was just so relieved to see him ;; it made my heart melt, I remember posting about this moment so much, all over instagram and tumblr. I loved them so dearly.

2) Ironwood x Glynda (idk if they have a ship name)

God,, I always loved them. that scene in v2 with Ironwood and Glynda standing together in the dead of night looking over the city of vale was so special to me. I love Glynda and her character, she is so dynamic. that scene with her and ironwood showed to us that she truly respected and cared for him and his well-being. She was worried for him as well. I just wish they had more interactions before his death. they would have been very sweet and POWERFUL together.

My three least favourite ships for Ironwood

1) Ironqrow {Volumes 7-8}

Oh boy. RT really knows how to take something good and just, ruin it huh.

I feel as though I don’t need to dive too deep into this (as I’ll be covering Ironwood’s fall from grace later) but yeah... The fight with Qrow and Clover was.. unfortunate. Everyone seemed to lose their braincells in that scene, and the moment it was over, Qrow was dead set on killing Ironwood for some reason even though he was the one who decided to side with a literal murderer, but go off MKEK you really did something there...

Yepp this absolutely killed the ship for me in canon (though I stilln love thinking about them out of the canon setting), I was an absolute wreck after this scene. they deserved better.

2) Ironwood x Winter

don’t worry I’m not about to pull the “IRONWOOD WAS AN ABUSIVE FATHER FIGURE AND GROOMED HER CAREERRHYUGGHR” no.

I always saw Ironwood as a POSITIVE father figure to winter, even before v7. We knew that winter was one of his best soldiers, and was most likely one of his students before then. I believe that Ironwood gave winter a chance at something great, to leave her actual abusive father and hone her skills as a soldier instead of becoming the heiress to a company that she did not want to be tied to. I believe Ironwood was a stellar father figure and role model to her, and that is the reason why I do not ship them. their relationship was so much deeper than that. it was found family.

3) Ironwood x Salem

What the fuck. Like actually what? This was a thing? What is it with this fandom and glorifying abusive relationships... I remember seeing a lot of people trying to justify it like “awh salem was so sweet with him she just wanted him to stop fighting. She would leave him alone after!!” Thats manipulation honey, we don’t fuck with that here. no. Absolutely not

My biggest criticism for Ironwood

See: the reason I made this side blog

It’s no secret to us in the RWDE community that his fall into the role of the villain was POORLY WRITTEN AND WE ALL HATE IT SO FUCKING MUCH. where the hell did this even come from? oh I know! TEAM RWBY LYING TO HIS FACE AFTER HE WAS NOTHING BUT KIND AND GENEROUS TO THEM. god I’m heated already.

I’ve talked about his stupid semblance before but it doesn’t even matter because his semblance wasn’t the cause of his descent anyway. We were all HOPING that it was but nope! it was him “losing his humanity” because he lost his other arm. How fucked up is that.

Shitty writing aside, I know James had flaws even before the shitshow that was v7-8, but honestly there was nothing he did that I can criticize harshly. He was a good and honest man with good intentions and a pure, big heart made of gold. Of course he made mistakes and of course he wasn’t perfect, but he was always trying to do the right thing to protect the people. He was a good man until MKEK decided they needed a reason to kill off another headmaster.

My favourite thing about Ironwood

his MUSCLES

His willingness to sacrifice himself to save others. During the fall of beacon he told the students that they didn’t have to stay, even though he could have used the help greatly. But he KNEW that they weren’t ready to handle a crisis like this, and he didn’t want to force them into a responsibility that could have left them emotionally/physically damaged, or worse.

During the Ironwood and Watts fight, IRONWOOD MANGLED HIS OWN ARM TO CAPTURE WATTS. He was so headstrong and brave and he wanted to do everything he could to prevent Salem, even if that meant hurting himself and losing another part of himself. God I miss him so much ;; I’m tearing up a little writing all of this...

A head canon I have for Ironwood

I love creating head canons for characters, it always makes them feel more real to me. one of my biggest head canons is that, in a peaceful world setting, he would enjoy sleeping in on the weekends. ;;. He is a headmaster AND a general which means he has to follow a strict schedule all the time. Maybe this is coming from my desire to take care of him and make sure he is happy and healthy and not stressed out.. But yeah, lazy Sundays, sleeping in late. pls let him sleep he needs so much sleep. What I would change about Ironwood if I were making a rewrite

Strap in kiddos I’ve been thinking about this for a very long time. I’m sure that someone has come up with a similar concept, but I will share my ideas anyway (: I am going to preface this by saying that for this rewrite to work, we need to have Winter receive the Winter maiden powers from Freya in V7. To start, we will have to go back all the way to v2 when Ironwood was first introduced. I would have Ozpin and Glynda share their concerns to each other about Ironwood bringing all of his ships to look over the festival, but I would take that time to thoroughly explain his semblance. His semblance is stupid, so I would make some changes. To start off, I wouldn’t make it passive. The way it is now is just,, a weird way to give him a mental illness without actually giving him a mental illness. Activating it would have to be a decision that he made if he knew that he had to make decisions that would be hard for him. This way if his semblance caused him to do something actually horrible, he would be directly accountable for it, instead of blaming him for something that he couldn’t control. Semblances are a representation of the user, so with time and with more stress put onto Ironwood, I could see him falling victim to his own semblance if he were to abuse it too much. This will help as we lead into a better way to write his fall from grace.

From there, I would keep pretty much everything the same until we get to v7. Team RWBY arrives in Atlas and gets arrested and brought to Ironwood just as they do in canon. This time, however, we have Oscar explain EVERYTHING. No lying. Salem cannot be killed. Oscar explains that Ozpin shut himself off after team RWBY forced the truth out of him, and while the truth is a lot for Ironwood to handle, he understands why Ozpin kept it a secret. He shuns team RWBY for their methods and explains why their actions were unnecessary and abusive, but agrees to help them anyway since he knows that they all need to come together if this is going to work. Hence, his arc kind of goes backwards. Instead of team RWBY having his trust from the beginning, they will need to work to gain it back.

He takes Oscar under his wing to try and draw Ozpin back out. He greets Qrow, they fall in love, he also formally introduces the team to the Ace Ops. The Ace Ops take an IMMEDIATE backseat in the story. We don’t need more characters. For the sake of this rewrite specifically, they are barely around. We are focusing on Ironwood and his growth/relationships. I would explore more times to show the deep connection between him and Winter. As I said earlier, I see him as a healthy father figure for her, so I would definitely focus on that for a bit. At this point, Winter would not have received the maidens power yet, so we could have a scene of him assuring her that she is a perfect fit for the role, and encouraging her and just,, you know, solidifying that he wasn’t pressuring her into doing it.

Carrying on with the main plot, instead of being left in the dark for the whole season, Ironwood is already aware that Salem cannot be killed. This gives him and the rest of the team a lot of time to work on a new plan to defeat her. They spend lots of time training, Ironwood takes care of them, offering his resources to them. Overtime the team do start to gain his trust little by little again, but this will all kinda fall apart when Salem arrives.

With stress levels higher than ever, he activates his semblance. Team RWBY and friends KNOW about his semblance and they understand why he is acting irrationally. Maybe they have different ideas than him, but they would not directly oppose him. This completely fixes him from becoming a cartoon villain. Team RWBY and friends would work WITH Ironwood at a distance to fix amity and get global communications back up safely. From there, Ironwood could deliver a message to the world about Salem. Since people know who he is, it will make the message more impactful. Just like he did with his message to Mantle.

Qrow and Winter are positives in his life. They keep trying to ground him and bring him back to reality, but he will not deactivate his semblance. He is too scared of what’s to come with Salem. They support him in this, and do not turn their back on him.

Winter receives the maiden’s power, and is told to open the vault to obtain the staff and raise atlas further into the sky to save his people. Winter agrees, why wouldn’t she? They have already evacuated most of mantle to atlas anyway. In situations like this it’s impossible to save everyone. RWBY could whine and bitch if they wanted to, but there is nothing they could do in this situation because, for the sake of this rewrite, they wouldn’t be as stupid as they are in the canon proper.

The vault is open and the staff is vulnerable. It is in this moment that the ACTUAL VILLIAN comes into play. Watts took advantage of the security from behind the scenes, giving Salem the exact time that the vault was open. And thanks to him overhearing everything, he knows that all she needs to do is use the staff, and Atlas will fall. Salem appears in the room, and the big finale battle would occur. They weren’t ready yet. They hadn’t finalized the plan to stop her without killing her. Team RWBY Oscar and Qrow would do their best to keep Salem distracted while Winter and Ironwood speak to the staff. Meanwhile, Neo could breach Ironwood’s office and retrieve the relic of knowledge for Salem.

The battle plays out, she keeps coming back, the team gets tired, Salem loses her patience and just PLOWS through them to get to the staff. She enters the realm and the mystical world around them begins to shatter and break. With that much concentrated evil in this place coming up out of nowhere, it would be sure to shift the balance.

She goes head to head against Winter and Ironwood for the staff. She knows that using the staff will cause Atlas to come crashing down, so that is exactly what she does. Since he is already out, she just gives him a command. It doesn’t matter what it is. Atlas starts to fall. She strikes a lethal blow to Ironwood (Keeping the theme of her killing headmasters) and flees with the staff. Qrow runs to his side, he and winter are crying, Team RWBY is upset, OZPIN IS UPSET. With his aura broken and his semblance down, he smiles at them all, says that he is proud of them for their work and he knows that they will find a way to defeat her. He tells them to get out and save themselves, save as many people as they can. They do that, but for further angst, Qrow stays with him, holding him and crying against him as Atlas falls. Team RWBY use the gravity dust keeping Atlas falling slowly to their advantage. They get as many people as they can into airships and send them to mistral. They then make their own way to Vacuo... Since global communications are back up, the world would know about this. This would give Shade academy a good chance to prepare. (damn I could write a fic)

What I think of Ironwood’s allusion and what I would change.

It’s dumb the way that CRWBY has portrayed it. In the story of the Wizard of Oz, the tin man doesn’t have a heart, but learns to love overtime. I used THIS aspect for helping my rewrite of Ironwood. He was hardened at the beginning, but managed to trust again and eventually smiled and said that he was proud of team RWBY and friends in his dying moments. It’s just more impactful that way I think.

#long post #ironwood #pro ironwood #ironqrow #rwde #rwby crit

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lightcreators · 4 months ago

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Normally, he was keeping his specific inferiority complex concerning his metaphoric twin within spheres on his own brain --- by moments, internally, he was expressing an terrible envy to reaching same achievement of what he could remember or perceived within circumstances (when his personal impact remained yet … further limited than his casual ambitions, when degree of influence depending how much he had been initially limited by circumstances by his tutor, or how repeated circumstances generated that divergence of reactions for having yet that long term established curse to facing his own broken illusions --- regardless if he was resurrecting an ghost within himself inside best of his abilities), indirect confession confessing by moments, who he was wasn’t enough. Well, if he wasn’t the therapist of sir Anakin Skywalker who was specific of that long term mental and emotional issue in which he admired beautifully the damages on first seat, he would been willing to face that reflection. Only, when such circumstances decided to tormenting his brain once more, similarly as the Witch of Illusions, he had to pondering in which degree he was somewhere accurate. Concerning vengeful purposes, he always had been truly in character, for had experiencing in entire degree how much he really wanted the entire world bonding to their own wishes, and understood one of his horrible villain’s supporter perspective within causal sensed hatred … but as much he received guarantee decades ago of Philip Butler to gain what he desired if he was determinate … there was consciousness he remained gentler than supposed.

Anything outside his biggest angry issues (in which Anakin Skywalker showing him exactly everything he didn’t wanted to become, and indirectly had calling him out) remained within that gentleness he did a great care to protect, but didn’t wanted to assume that much publicly (as much he was first one ready to showing condescendence of other villains who messed up with the wrong guys, he stayed exasperated what to expect from heroes, in which self-scarifying gestures were maybe a too much weighting mirroring effect) ! It had been silly nonsense comments and complains he somewhere expressed towards his metaphoric twin. Regardless if memories were coming from an ancient time, he had still, as the saved, as the only left, of fragments of that presupposed bright sunshine able to showing potentiality of threatening manners (when he experienced and understood how much he was an manipulative clinging individual gaining by force what he desired, taking any no as a answer, and using people around him as pressure for his desires … and oh, who loved offered sparks everywhere. It still serves him well when he was misbehaving. It did serve him well when it was concerning the fall of a Dark Lord in which his presence wasn’t welcomed). It wasn’t first time he was facing with countless tiny details to deal with on one second. A long time ago, he experiencing these circumstances within a stressful context when terrified as he was, he ha been forced to fooling himself for hide his natural emotions of his body. Some adventures with his Skywalker patient didn’t making his life any better --- but well, concerning that emotionality part, he shared same problem with his tutor, when both were pretty good to lying to themselves … only his tutor refused to left one weakness moment, or if he was facing one horrible problem he accidentally created himself, degree of how much he had suffered all by himself would be confessed eventually because no other choice was left to him … He was joining his tutor on that part !

He appreciated the entire goodness gaze he can feel over him. Whatever if they had already played that game a long time ago, circumstances weren’t the same. Impression of touching indirectly something intimate had perfectly conscious when it concerned exposing vampire action --- on his part, he couldn’t be brutal, he desired suffering of none brutality in return. He wanted sweetness. He wanted higher gentleness. It was really something simple, but important for him. It was impossible for his brain to simply summarize it as a ‘game’. Following nod confirmed his demand, as there was further embarrassment within his features. His neck was one of the body place in which he remained deeply cautious to be touched to begin with (for remain wordlessly worried over the day when he would stop breath for lack of oxygen caused on that part of his body … when he wasn’t going to mention the other one) when silent anxiety would staying attached to the possibility. He would need immediate reassurance for not having the impression to have been hurt. He would need comfort for overcoming impression he was briefly experiencing a pain he might live someday. Flustered features increased one second later, as much it wasn’t sensation he wanted to projecting, he perceiving himself right now like a clumsy kid who had no idea how to react --- when he was an twenty five man who simply mentally shut down in front of impossibility of an reflection --- which would most likely showing an unexpected cute part of his personality he would possibly dying shamefully at whatever reminder later. First affection he received giving him an fondness within his look he was unable to control, before slowly jumping when the caress came to his neck, as innocent and harmless they were, when somewhere, he managed to focus --- but blushed further, sensing his heartbeat increased second by second --- when their closeness expanded. It sounded dramatically nostalgic the decision she took. It always had been his manner of reassurance of his metaphoric twin to bring closeness ear to ear … when sound of her voice was really comforting, when he almost forgotten everything around … ❝ If it’s gentle, yes … ❞ Still, for avoiding whatever emotional consequences that could came to hit him later, he would have another request. ❝ Can you … mh … would be possible for you for kissing the mark you made afterwards, as gently as possible? I … uh … I just need it … ❞ Well, he would have been an emotional disastrous puppy with shameful puppy eyes … Maybe how he could picturing himself in the moment right now would leave fragments of his brain concerning circumstances in which he was shameful, and regretted his poor reactions ! Ah, he wasn’t complicated: he was never saying no for be loved, especially inside situation in which he was afraid to overreacting though that feeling, hence, naturally requested that … only coming from someone who N E V E R asked damn thing orally ! ❝ If it’s not possible, I would love an hug …❞

@lightcreators asked :

Draco vc: listen Eden as much I'm appreciate the biting part 😳 I'm not wild. I want it gentle. Yep I understand myself my own innuendos 😂 *confused frozen red face * (have an combo on your ask answering to your comment lmao)

bite my muses || always accepting

─「エデン」─ the way he was reasoning with her when she had teased him with the offer to BITE into her skin anywhere he would like drew a tender smile to the TRAILBLAZER's lips. he was forward in things he was passionate about, and bashful on the display of affection and physical touches. she didn't think she was going that far with the light smirk and a bit of a tilt of head to show her a softer part of her neck, but seeing how FLUSTERED he was just from it ? it was feeding her more mischievous side.

" so, not wild, but gentle, huh. " the STELLARON VESSEL enunciated the two words on purpose, playful smirk lingering on her lips as she took a step closer with her hands linked behind her back. tilting her head, she watched him going redder with each second passed. was she enjoying his reaction ? oh, very much so.

gloved digits reached out to carefully brush his blonde locks from his face, smoothly gliding down to caress down the line of his neck, lingering at the area where his neck met his shoulder. " then — " leaning in, she exhaled warmly against his skin, smile deepening when he shuddered. eden pressed her lips to the back of his ear, barely making contact but letting her voice echo close to it. " — if i promised to be gentle, you'd let me bite, yes ? "

#lunaetis #ic :: draco malfoy #post hogwarts verse tag #harry potter /#draco and eden tbt.#long post /#draco.exe crashed #tease works 100% on draco lmao #phobos returning & destroying emotionally mun first edition

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unforth · 3 years ago

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Hello unforth! Thank you for your wonderful blog, and the the untamed art blog!! I followed you years ago for destiel, and you were one of the people that got me into the untamed. I watched it last summer and have been binging various cdramas ever since!! I had a question for you about reading. After watching the untamed I read the novel, and didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I think you’re someone who prefers the show, but if not, sorry if I’m remembering wrong… hoping you understand. I want to try reading other novels but I found the romance in mdzs to be kinda off. I guess I’m wondering if you have a recommendation for the best novel you’ve read so far? It would be great if it’s one with fanfic but if not I’m still curious to try! I hope this didn’t come off as rude about the untamed, it’s just a personal preference. Thanks in advance, and thanks again for all your work in fandom!

Howdy! *waves*

You have not misremembered, I definitely prefer the Untamed to the novel of MDZS (and I'm with you, no shade on people with different preferences, of course!). I also didn't enjoy the novel of MDZS as much as I thought I would, though I think some of that was because I read the Exiled Rebels Scanalations translation which - again, no shade, translating that was a HUGE job and kudos to them - but I do here from native speakers that some questionable translation choices were made, which can detract from some people's enjoyment of the novel (and can enhance other people's, it just depends how those translation choices relate to each person's personal likes and dislikes).

Now, I can tell you what I've read and what I've thought of each one, happily - I don't know what turned you off about MDZS specifically, beyond an aspect of the relationship dynamic, so it'll be hard for me to say which of these might appeal to you more? But, here's a list of which danmei novels I've read, and my opinion. The list is shorter than you'd think - danmei novels are long and I read slow, lol.

Note that all of these end happy, for various definitions of "happy," and the main ship is canon in all of them. Also note that I tried to avoid spoilers, but sometimes it's hard to even talk about the ship dynamic without some mild spoilers.

These are (roughly) in the order I've read them; I just finished the last a few days ago. All art is by the official artists, but I'm not always sure what their names are, sorry - I've tried to figure them out for my art blogs but it's REALLY hard.

1. Mo Dao Zu Shi, by MXTX.

(since I'm writing this post for you, and you're already familiar with it, I'm not putting in TW and plot)

My take: I figure knowing my opinion of MDZS will help you assess all this? There are things I loved about MDZS, including the book, but MDZS is still obviously trying to figure out pacing. Whereas in SVSSS, the storyline doesn't always flow that smoothly and the ending is rushed, in MDZS in my opinion the biggest issue is that she clearly didn't plan some things ahead. For example, Miangmian and Wen Ning are both introduced within a few pages of when they'll be needed to Do Shit. It shows that she hadn't quite worked everything out as she was going, and every once in a while was like, "shit shit I need a character for this thing" and hastily added them. The plot itself is better paced, though, though I could have wished for a less talky denouement. When it was the only one I read, I also often thought, "this author doesn't understand consent," and, "this author has kinks I don't share." Now that I've read all three of her books, I completely retract the first one. MXTX absolutely understands consent, and was intentionally playing with it in MDZS. Not sure if the evidence of that got lost in translation, or what, but...yeah.

Relationship Dynamic: ...the second of those opinions, I still kinda feel. The consensual non-con is just not really my thing, like I'm okay with it in small doses? And I don't love some aspects of Lan Wangji's domineering attitudes and Wei Wuxian's act of bare tolerating it. And don't get me wrong, now that I'm more familiar with her work, I think it was an intentional writing choice and I also think they're both largely roleplaying it a lot of the time...but I still don't personally enjoy it much.

2. Scum Villain Self-Saving System, by MXTX.

Genre: modern transmigration into a fantasy xianxia world.

Where to find it: English translation by BC Novels | donghua season 1

Trigger warnings for: graphic descriptions of suffering, non-con of the "fuck or die" variety, and body horror...I can't think of anything else rn?)

Plot: SVSSS is MXTX's first novel, and is a satire of classic stag harem novels. Shen Yuan, the protagonist and half the main ship, is reading a serialized web novel by "Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky" about a demon named Luo Binghe who has a harem of over 3,000 women and has done all kinds of ghastly awful things. He hates this novel but has read all, like, 3 million words of it or something, and trolls every chapter...until one gets him so angry that he dies...and then he wakes up in the book right around when the book starts, in the body of one of the early antagonists, a cultivator named Shen Qingqiu who abuses a young, innocent Luo Binghe physically and emotionally and, ultimately, is horribly tortured to death. Shen Yuan, in Shen Qingqiu's body, thus sets out to not be horribly tortured to death by Luo Binghe. Hijinks ensue.

My Take: In terms of my opinion of it...SVSSS secured for me that MXTX is a much more brilliant author than I thought when I'd only read MDZS. She understands tropes and subverts them brilliantly throughout the story, and from a writing standpoint, I was impressed with her. However, from a plot standpoint...she's got all the ideas but hasn't, imo, yet figured out how exactly to bring them all together. The pacing is off at times, and the ending felt abrupt to me. It's also the only danmei I've read where I ship a side ship more than the primary one (which is, of course, Shen Yuan (as Shen Qingqiu)/Luo Binghe. (also, oops...I read SVSSS after TGCF and just put them in the wrong order, oh well, not gonna change it now.)

Relationship Dynamic: In terms of relationship weirdness...it's hard to sort in that regard, because, like, it's supposed to be weird? I think it's a really interest book but I'm not sure I'd recommend it in your situation. Bingqiu's main dynamic is...uh...tolerance and obsession? They're kinda hard to describe. Shen Yuan often seems like he's just kinda putting up with Luo Binghe, whereas Luo Binghe is...god. So hard to describe, lmao. He's a big clumsy ox in a museum full of porcelain dishes and he really, really loves his Shizun. (also note that Shen Qingqiu is Luo Binghe's teacher. They don't get together until after they're not master/student, but if that's not your thing, another reason to avoid.)

3. Tian Guan Ci Fu, by MXTX.

(art is by Starember)

Genre: historical China (loosely), xianxia (note that I'm still figuring out exactly how stuff gets classified so sorry if I get one wrong, but I think I kinda get it???)

Where to Access It: English Translation by the astonishing yummysuika | manhua (this is an official translation by Bilibili! It's a few chapters behind the actual release, but still...) | donghua season 1 is on Netflix | a live action adaptation is juuuuust getting started on script reading and filing

Trigger warnings for: MCD, temporary MCD, body horror, graphic violence, epic levels of mind fuckery, uh...genocide?...again, racism/colorism, probably other stuff, sorry, I can't take as long as I'd like to for this post so I'm not being as thorough as I oughta be.

Plot: TGCF is about Xie Lian, an 800 year old man, and it commences at the moment when, unexpectedly, he ascends to godhood...for the third time. Unfortunately, when he ascends, he accidentally does some damage in Heaven, and he has to repay that, so he gets sent back to earth to deal with a ghost who's been causing some problems. Hijinks ensue...and then fucktons of angst ensue...then more hijinks...then more angst...and basically it broke my heart like four times and I am grateful for it every day? The main ship is Xie Lian and a ghost named Hua Cheng, but it's hard to even talk about without some spoilers because of some identity shenanigans. (they're VERY mildly identity shenanigans, but still).

My Take: So, you asked what my favorite of the danmei novels I've read is? It's TGCF. TGCF is one of my favorite novels ever, and it has a growing fandom, a donghua that's on Netflix, and a live action that's just starting to film. TGCF is the culmination of the skills MXTX developed through her first two works, imo. She clearly plotted it out all from the start, and while Book 1 especially often seems kind of random - lots of elements are introduced and then kinda...apparently...forgotten? And never explained? But she actually DOES bring it ALL together and it's flat-out masterful. I'm a big fan, obviously.

Relationship Dynamic: it again depends on your preferences and what you didn't like about MDZS, and there's no way to talk about it without spoilers, so consider yourselves warned. Xie Lian ascended to godhood first at the age of 17, and right around then he also saved the life of a 10 year old boy...and that boy is Hua Cheng. Hua Cheng is a follower of Xie Lian's, in that Xie Lian is literally a god, and Hua Cheng is literally one of his followers. However, they're separated for almost 800 years, so the age difference is largely irrelevant, and while some people complain about Hua Cheng's behavior being stalkery and obsessive, I honestly think they're dead wrong. It's more like when you read a celebrity/fan AU, and it starts weird, and then they really genuinely fall in love. Like, the fan may have been in love the whole time, and how they felt about the celebrity before they really met might feel slightly ooky, but it's how they act AFTER they meet their idol that matters more, and...yeah, Hua Cheng is great, they're both great, antis fight me. Xie Lian is easily one of my favorite characters EVER, he is all my favorite tropes in one horribly, wonderfully fucked up martyristic idealistic sweet kind laid back package. I would kill for him, lmao. In terms of their relationship dynamic...they love and respect each other? There's really nothing that weird about it other than the aspects of the "fan" Hua Cheng that get revealed over time - and he's always terrified that when Xie Lian realizes what a fanboy he was, Xie Lian will be upset or disgusted, but of course Xie Lian never is. They adore each other. It's glorious. Highly recommend. :D There's also no explicit content in TGCF (unlike MXTX's other two books).

4. The Husky and His White Cat Shizun (aka 2ha) by Meatbun Doesn't Eat Meat.

Genre: original world, xianxia, time travel, dimension hopping, it's so many things, 2ha is so hard to describe lmao

Where to Access it: English Translation by the amazing yummysuika (things are complicated, though, and it's not finished) | a manhua is in the works and should be out this year | a live action called "Hao Yixing" or "Immortality" is already filmed and could theoretically air literally any time cause it's completely ready, but when will it actually come? Who knows!

Trigger warnings: all of them. Literally. MCD, temporary MCD, murder, suicide, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, rape/non-con, abuse, manipulation, gas lighting, torture, graphic violence, body horror, literal graphic onscreen horrible blood murder of a small child (I had to skip that chapter), teacher/student relationship sort of but not exactly, probably other stuff, this book is dark as fuck, and a lot of these tags apply to behavior of one half of the main ship toward the other, but...it's complicated, and there are reasons things happen, and those reasons aren't "well they're just a bad person."

Plot: This is another one that's hard to describe because there's sooooo much mind fuckery going on, but I'll try. 2ha is about Mo Ran, who rises to be the Emperor of the World, Taxian Jun, but slaughtering all who oppose him...and who is so miserable that he commits suicide, only to wake up in his 16 year old body. This is pretty much perfect from Mo Ran's point of view, because he's gone back so far that the love of his life, his fellow disciple Shi Mei, is still alive. He has a chance to fix everything that went wrong, starting with preventing his awful evil Shizun, Chu Wanning, from letting Shi Mei die.

Spoilers: the main ship in this book is Mo Ran/Chu Wanning.

Hijinks do NOT ensue. There are no hijinks in 2ha. It is all pain all the time (but I swear it ends happy).

My Take: ...well, from a structural standpoint there are some pacing issues. The book is incredibly long (over 300 chapters, over 1 million words) and there are definitely some chunks that could just be excised and it'd still be fine. However, other than that, it's pretty amazing and absolutely masterful how it's plotted. As a reader you'll spend 100+ chapters thinking you know what's going on, and who the good guys are, and who the bad guys are, and how they relate to each other...and then Meatbun starts in on revealing what's ACTUALLY going on and she then spends 200 chapters repeatedly punching you in the face! Like, I went in knowing a LOT of spoilers, because the tags were so dark that I felt that for my mental health it was important I have a general idea what was going on, and I STILL ended up sobbing my eyes out (and I am NOT an easy crier and don't usually cry at books) over something I knew was coming.

Relationship Dynamic: That's about the only thing that the title accurately conveys about this book. "The Husky and His White Cat Shizun," sounds so soft and fluffy, right? That's how they get you, ha. But, Mo Ran is absolutely a big dumb husky who wants to do the right thing (well, sometimes he does) but just completely fails depressingly often. When he sees someone he likes come in the front door he WILL jump all over them and bark in their face as his way of trying to communicate affection. And Chu Wanning is equally absolutely a cat. He is emotionally constipated, poor at expressing himself, uptight, touch starved, desperate for affection, and so lonely my chest hurts when I think about him. And for how they relate to each other...well, picture that big dog greeting a loved one at the door...except that loved one is the most hide-bound proud white cat you can imagine.

That's their dynamic.

(However, also...there are multiple timelines at play, and Taxian Jun does some truly awful things to "his" Chu Wanning in the original timeline, and many of these things are graphically described, and while it's ultimately all explained, it still all HAPPENS, so if you're going to have trouble reading fucktons of abuse between the main ship, I would not recommend this book)

5. Thousand Autumns (Qianqiu) by Meng Xi Shi.

Genre: historical China (like, references actual people, as far as I can tell), xianxia

Where to Access it: ...reading Thousand Autumns is HARD, it's split over like four websites/translators. This Carrd can kinda help? I can get you the rest if you want | donghua season 1 | I heard there's a live action in the works? But I don't know more than that.

Trigger warnings: graphic violence, mentions/threats of sexual violence (but it's all stopped before things really go wrong), starvation, description of child death (from starvation), near-death, emotional/mental abuse, major semi-permanent character injury, god, minor character death, they're major characters depending on your pov, I can't actually think of others, after writing about 2ha it feels positively fluffy). Note that there's not really any explicit content, just implications of smut, and not til basically the very end and extras.

Plot: Yan Wushi, sect leader of a demonic sect, has just come out of an extended seclusion to improve his cultivation when he and one of his disciples come across a man who is wounded to the point of near death. This turns out to be Shen Qiao, the sect leader of Mount Xuandu. When Shen Qiao awakens from his wounds, he's lost his memory, AND he's blind, and Yan Wushi decides it would be great fun and an excellent use of his time to fuck with Shen Qiao by trying to turn him evil - because Yan Wushi is certain that ALL people are inherently evil, and shattering Shen Qiao's veneer of righteousness will just help prove that.

Spoilers: it's not a veneer.

Not spoilers: Not many hijinks ensue, but there are a few hijinks, and even when it's not hijinxed, it's still not that painful...usually.

My Take: despite that synopsis, a lot of the plot of Thousand Autumns is actually political, and I like political plots, so I liked that aspect of it. However, it has some serious pacing issues imo, and it's also hard to read in English atm because it's not fully translated; it's close, now, much closer than when I read it a few months ago, so it'll be easier to read soon. Or maybe I shouldn't say it's pacing problems, but rather, it's more of a sequence of multiple major plots, strung together, with the growing relationship between Yan Wushi and Shen Qiao playing out in the background. I think if I'd known there was no "one big plot" that would have actually helped me, because it kept feeling like, "Oh, THIS is the main thing," but it never was. Things would feel climactic...except then there'd be more. So it's probably better to actually think of it as more...episodic? And the episodes/stories build, and interrelate, and do have a culmination, but not all of them directly tie in, and not all the threads end up coming together/getting resolved.

Relationship Dynamic: early on, Yan Wushi is definitely abusive and manipulative, intentionally so, and I would argue that, imo, Shen Qiao falls for it. However, mid-way through, there's some big reveals, and after that when they're reunited Shen Qiao no longer takes any shit and Yan Wushi continues to act like he doesn't care even when he clearly does. They're not a typical ship in ANY WAY, and I'd say their relationship is more founded on mutual respect than on love. Indeed, in the author's notes at one point MXS actually says they doesn't see them as the kind of couple to ever exchange love declarations, and I thought that was really interesting and it really helped me to understand how they worked together because I'll own I struggled with at times. Yan Wushi is self-interested, often cruel, and ethically and morally dubious. Shen Qiao, on the other hand, could probably ascend to Daoist godhood, he's so pure. Yet...they DO work. I'd say "opposites attract" but that's ALSO not their main trope, not exactly. They're a VERY hard ship to explain, and I know some people who've read the whole book and still don't really...get them...and I've had to really think about them to wrap my head around them...but the more I've thought about them, the more I like them.

6. Those Years in Quest of Honor Mine by Man Man He Qi Duo.

Genre: historical fiction set in either actual China or make-believe China, I'm not sure if this is directly incorporated any real people

Where to Access It: English Translation by Perpetual Daydreams | manhua (untranslated, I'm not sure if there's anyone translating it into English) | I think there's a live action in the works? Not sure beyond that though.

Trigger Warnings: suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, drug addiction, drug abuse, chronic illness (different character than the drugs), manipulation, abusive, awful parents and parental figures (not all, but definitely some), some homophobia (but way less than there could have been), probably other stuff

Plot: After 7 years away, Zhong Wan returns to the capital of the Empire with the three children of his benefactor, the seven-years-dead Prince Ning. Prince Ning was executed for treason against the previous Emperor, and Zhong Wan has done all he can to protect and raise the three kids, but he's got a lot of worries about returning to the capital and what could happen to his charges if they get pulled into the politics surrounded the Emperor. But, even worse, he's got even more worries about being reunited with Yu She, nephew of the Emperor, with whom he has more than a little history...and about whom he has been lying for the past 7 years, claiming that he is Yu She's lover, in a bid to help use Yu She's reputation to protect Prince Ning's children.

Hijinks ensue.

And so does a political nightmare.

My Take: TYQHM was a hard book to get into because there are just so many characters and it's all about politics - this is NOT a xianxia or wuxia novel, and these characters are NOT cultivators. There's basically nothing supernatural in the whole book; instead, it's about Zhong Wan and Yu She figuring out their own histories, and accepting each other, while trying to survive in a political world that increasingly wants both of them dead. However, I adore political plots, and when all was said and done I really enjoyed it, and I'm trying tooth and nail to claw other people into the fandom with me, so far with basically no success. It only has like 15 works in English on AO3. And so not only does it not fit that requirement of yours...

Relationship Dynamic: ...I think you would also probably not like the relationship dynamic? Zhong Wan is a bit like Wei Wuxian-as-Mo Xuanyu, except more...genuinely? Like, it's his actual personality, not an act, in quite the same way. I don't mean the "flamboyantly gay" part...usually...he definitely has his moments...but he's just...like, he's been through so much that he'll basically say anything, and drag himself entirely through the mud, to distract people who might hurt the three kids (they're like 16, 13, 13, now I think? It was never THAT clear to me, tbh...certainly, all are at least 10...) and, later, Yu She. He has zero face, and doesn't mind having negative face when he feels the situation demands it...and Yu She, on the other hand, has MAJOR depression issues, is sure he deserves nothing, and mostly wants to destroy everyone around him and then kill himself, at least until Zhong Wan starts giving him a reason to live again. But, more than that...Zhong Wan is like the fucking epitome of a bratty subby bottom. He wants to get fucked SO bad. And Yu She is an incredibly reluctant dom, hilariously so at times, uncomfortably/manipulative so at others. When all was said and done, I was pretty fond of them both, but there were definitely moments that made me grimace, and given what you say of how you felt about MDZS, I think this one is less likely to be to your taste?

Bonus 7: Guardian by Priest. I never finished the novel version of Guardian because the translation had some issues that caused me not to enjoy it, so I won't get into it too much, but again, Guardian is a very different book than any of the others, because it's modern fantasy(ish, like, it's still deeply embedded in Daoist-related tropes but it's more "magic spells" and less "cultivation." Like, in terms of what it's like, it felt more like Japanese modern Onmyoji style stories, to me, than it felt like the ancient Chinese wuxia/xianxia cultivation stories.). I'm not gonna get into lots of details, because I read part of the book more than a year ago, and have seen the show (which is VERY different) like three times, so I can hardly even remember what they're like in the novel. There was definitely some weirdness, though? If you're potentially interested, I'd suggest starting with the drama instead. The plot for that is...

Plot: Zhao Yunlan heads a Special Investigation Unit in the human world tasked with maintaining a treaty between humans and the dixigren ("undergrounders") who are (in the show) aliens (in the book...it's the world of the dead). While doing this job, he keeps running into this professor, Shen Wei, who definitely knows more than he oughta.

Hijinks ensue.

And then it murders you with feels.

The live action streams from YouTube - here.

(Warning: uh, I don't want to give spoilers, but my "guaranteed happy ending" does NOT apply to the Guardian TV show...but it does apply to the book, as I understand it.)

Anyway, this was a terrible use of my time but it was definitely more fun than what I should be doing, and it's probably way more information than you wanted or needed, but since I wasn't sure what exactly you had in mind, I figured...might as well be thorough?

(Today's hyper-focus fail: this post, ha...)

#unforth rambles #i'm not gonna tag the fandoms because i give my own opinions #some of which aren't all THAT positive #i think it's best if I don't just dump that into the main tags

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secretive3amramenmaker · 4 years ago

Text

My Opinions On Jujutsu Kaisen That Literally Nobody Asked For

I finished binging the Jujutsu Kaisen manga in 48 hours. I am having some expresso, because I’m depresso.

Here’s a Sad Stitch to show you how I feel.

(And of course, warnings for discussion/ranting/kinda meta on the Jujutsu Kaisen manga below the cut, so please read at your own discretion!)

Sukuna is truly a Bastard™, along with Mahito.

I just- *cries in Shibuya Arc aka PAIN*

*Pulls out megaphone* Nanamin.

That’s all folks. Thanks for reading, have a nice day!

(Just kidding!)

Ugh, NANAMIN 👏 WHAT 👏 A 👏 MAN 😭 😭 😭 😭 I became a certified Nanami stan once I saw the tired business man aesthetic (plus, his words about how work is shit? Truer words have never been spoken), and his little speech about adults and responsibility, how children no matter their circumstances are still children, and should be given the opportunity to act as such. Because, YES, FINALLY, A RESPONSIBLE ADULT WITH THE VOICE OF AN ANGEL aka the voice of Kenjiro Tsuda

Anyways, I love how the Jujutsu Kaisen manga shows that adults can handle things, and that is A-OKAY!!! If Jujutsu Tech follows the Japanese school system, Yuji is a first year in high school, so he’s probably 15 or 16 years old, way too early to go through Shibuya level of trauma (though, I think anybody is too young to have to go through what happened to Yuji in Shibuya).

Children should have the privilege to be children. That doesn’t mean coddling, it means that children should have plenty of time to experience new things, enjoy being a child, and I’m so happy Nanami says this!

In conclusion, Nanami deserves happiness and a vacation to Kuantan 🥺

YOSHINO JUNPEI!!! He and his mom deserve happiness, they’re both precious beans. I didn’t even realize Junpei was dead until 5+ chapters later. But it was too late, for I had already gotten attached!!! *cue curse worthy screeching*

I was so excited for Junpei to join Jujutsu Tech, too! I had this whole headcanon of Junpei being HAPPY again, talking about movies with Yuji, interacting with the other first years, him seeing Panda for the first time!!! The thing was, back then, it wasn’t headcanon! I thought it was going to be facts, until Gege said ‘lol, you thought, peasant’, before spitting on any hope of mine for a happy Junpei.

(On a completely different tangent, I would be SO psyched if I got to meet a talking panda, we could act out all of “Kung Fu Panda” together, especially the chopstick scene, and maybe we could go to a zoo, just to mess with the zookeepers about a honest to god PANDA walking on its hind legs around the zoo)

‘If Junpei had lived’ is a phrase I think about a lot, and I think that is why the “Young Fish and Reverse Punishment” arc was so crucial to the story and yet so tragic.

Junpei has so much potential to be happy, and then he didn’t get the happiness he deserves. It really sets the tone, the high stakes to the whole manga, for we see the amount of damage a curse inflicts on somebody who could be in a situation like Junpei.

As the readers, we understand the reasoning behind Junpei’s ideology, sympathizing with him as we see what horrible torment he has to go through. That very first scene of this arc, where the bullies made him eat the cockroach and BURNED HIM WITH A LIT CIGARETTE, and the teacher who saw all of this happening, JUST TURNS AWAY!!! It was haunting. But finally, finally, we get a light at the tunnel for Junpei in the form of our lord and saviour, the cinnamon roll of cinnamon rolls, Itadori Yuji. HERE is a person who is able to connect with Junpei, who wouldn’t dismiss how Junpei’s circumstances or feelings. and then Junpei dies.

(look at this cute face, how could you Mahito?!)

Also, the symbolism in the opening? The Junpei fish ENLARGING??? HNKDJSFLJDSF JUNPEI NOOO-

Also ALSO (sorry this is the last ‘also’), did we ever learn if Junpei was a sorcerer, or was he a window that possessed enough talent to summon a shikigami? I at first thought Junpei was a window, since he was able to see Mahito, and was hoping that we’d get a more detailed explanation of what windows actually do. (Do they just wander around Tokyo, or wherever they live, and act all ‘La Dee Da, just living my regular, normal life, oOOHHH is that a special grade? Tell that to the sorcerers, maybe I’ll get a bonus!’ Is their life basically a demented version of Pokemon Go? I have so many questions-)

All the villains were well written, and had super cool character designs. My top three villains other than Sukuna, my top three villains are Geto, and Mahito.

Geto’s backstory in the Hidden Inventory arc was so incredibly written, I especially liked the way Gege wrote how Getou’s righteous ideals gradually deteriorating throughout the Hidden Inventory arc as he realizes the depth of the curses of humanity, the dark hatred the “weak” hold towards things they have no understanding of. (i.e. Riko’s death by the Star Religious Group, Haibara’s death, and finally the villagers ignorant treatment and abuse towards Geto’s twins, Mimiko and Nanako, beating and imprisoning them for “causing” the deaths of the villagers) Geto’s chilling charisma and the reasoning behind his actions as a villain makes him a top tier villain in my eyes.

As for Mahito, I love to hate him, and that why I think he is a great antagonist. I guess I’ve just been seeing a lot of villains that because of their tragic backstories, the readers or characters sympathize with them and rationalising their actions, turning the villain into a flaky antihero of lesser impact. It’s very refreshing to have a villain who is just pure evil.

I think that Mahito fulfilled his purpose as an antagonist very well; his twisted ideals on the worth of human life foiling Itadori’s own ideals of giving others a “proper death”, the curse making Yuji continuously adapt both physically and mentally to defeat him. Physically, by learning new spells and techniques to defeat Mahito, such as the Black Flash (and possibly his own cursed technique! The weird “Past That Never Happened” in the fights with Choso and Todo), or mentally, by questioning his ideals, such as what exactly is a “proper death”, after Yuji had to kill the transfigured humans.

(Ew look at this worm.)

Some Honorable Mentions of Good Villains IMO: Jogo, because I find his ideals of curses, who stem from the true emotions of hatred and fear, being superior yet suppressed by the emotionally faceted humans is definitely fascinating, and eerily reminds me of Geto’s hatred towards non sorcerers. Dagon was pretty cute in his Cursed Womb stage, and I really liked Hanami because the eldritch environmentalist aesthetic is pretty coolio 👌 .

How do Inumaki children learn to speak if all the adults barely talk, only saying inane words like “salmon” and NOT ACTUALLY meaning “salmon, the fish” but an adult secret code for a definition that you might not even know?? Or do the adults just charmspeak the kids, like “SPEAK small child, and have full language comprehension, O tiny ball of pudge!” and boom! Babies talking in complete sentences, maybe understanding weird adult customs. Will the child know when then adult actually mean salmon, the fish, and not the code word salmon?

Let’s assume that Inumaki clan children from learning to speak to four or six years old will be able to speak normally until the clan technique sets in (because that’s when the jjk wiki says cursed techniques kick in). How do you explain to a toddler: “Hey sweetie, happy birthday, have a present! Oh, by the way, those cool tattoos of yours mean that you can’t talk normally to anybody anymore, EVER. Only using these specific words as code to mean these specific meanings, restricting any chance of normal interactions with non-sorcerers if by some inane chance you DON’T want to become a child soldier jujutsu sorcerer. Welp, guess you have to become a jujutsu sorcerer now! Make sure to restrict your choice of words, you could kill somebody! Have fun playing with your Legos honey, welcome to adult life.” Like, EXCUSE ME?

You can’t tell mw a four year old is expected to understand that (or didn’t kill somebody by accident via cursed speech. That MUST have happened at least once).

This is all an elaborate way of saying please give us Inumaki backstory, I’m very curious.

Anyways, thank you for reading my post, and I hope you have a nice day!

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veryvincible · 4 years ago

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Hoi! Do you think Ty was always jealous of Tony? Like do you their friendship was genuine in the beginning.. I know they were always in competition but is it the fact that Tony was always winning or other reasons that made ty develop his maniac side?

I have multiple answers for this, only one of them is following what canon gives us to a T, and the canon answer is the one I dislike and tend to throw out the most.

So, keep in mind that this will be laden with personal reinterpretations of canon and kind of.. I don’t know, supplementary opinions(?) that don’t necessarily contradict canon, but are viewing canon events and canon dialogue as things other than what they were intended to be in the story.

Here’s the canon answer: Yes. Ty was always jealous of Tony, and their friendship was never genuine-- he was a long-con Indries type who happened to start forming plans to ruin Tony’s life forever while they were both, uh... children, and once he reached the Age Where He Thought Murder Would Be Cool, he killed his parents to take their money and fucked off to Europe (after gaining Tony’s pity for the whole “parent death” thing, which he framed as Not Murder, as people tend to do after they murder people) to make a fortune and get richer than Tony.

This is all we really get in terms of flashbacks, but you can see how Tony interpreted their friendship pre-Ty villain reveal, where they seem to be having... a normal range of emotions? I mean, Ty doesn’t look very happy about being Slightly Less Fast than Tony, but he’s content to hang out, so. You know.

Anyway, all of the Vol. 3 stuff happens, and we get a lot of information revealed that turns out to be untrue, in sort of this order, if I’m remembering correctly:

Tony thinks Ty’s setting him up, Ty’s like, “No, I would never do that, I love you!”, Donahue’s like, “For sure, he would do that, and also he’s trying to kill me, and I think this is also the bit of dialogue where I say that his parents killed himself, so the reason he’s after you (Tony) is because your father made his father less successful which led to their deaths,” and Tony’s like, “Oh, shit!” and Tony goes to confront Ty, and Ty’s like, “That’s actually incorrect! I killed them for money! And I will kill you, also, for money!”

And Ty doesn’t succeed in killing Tony in the first Dreamvision battle, so he preps for another Dreamvision battle, wherein he regroups and goes, “Actually, you know what? I’m going to fuck up, like, the entire world, and it would be cool if you could rule by my side and we could be besties.”

And Tony’s like, “No, what the fuck?”

And Ty’s like, “Damn!” and they try to kill each other again, except Tony realizes this time that everything’s gone wrong for Ty and (I believe) Ty’s spent, like, every last cent he owns on his world-conquering technology. So Tony points out that Ty’s trying to get Tony to kill him, and... I don’t remember what Ty says, but it’s probably nothing, or “shut up,” or something to that affect. And they continue to fight, and Tony wins, because of course he does.

And then we get a lot of Ty going, “Nooo, don’t leave me, you’re too sexy,” and then Tony leaves Ty.

So, it’s my understanding that the Actual True Series Of Events canon wants you to believe is: Ty was jealous from the start and pretended to be Tony’s friend for... like, a while (Tony has a lot of educational history-- no lines are clean here). Ty only got more jealous as time went on, and at some point figured that drastic measures were acceptable for... some reason. Maybe he was just That Kind Of Guy. Ty killed his parents for money, left to get rich, came back to... kill Tony now, for some reason, and then the the final fight stuff went down and Ty was abandoned in Dreamvision.

I don’t necessarily know that Tony was winning their competitions all the time. We only really get one instance of a clear “win” on Tony’s part, unless you consider that Ty wanted to be prom king, which is... fair. Regardless, Ty’s clearly not okay with “ties” in competitions, so. You know.

That’s them.

And that’s fine.

Cutting here for length, and also because this is where it gets opinion heavy and I think leaving the separation might be good here:

Like, I don’t hate it as a story, and given how inconsequential a character Ty really is-- especially for a “childhood friend” character-- I don’t really mind that all he is is... evil? Even if we go by the drawing of them as kids alone, they’re still... pre-college age teenagers at least, and probably younger, since both of them are clearly advanced students. So, given that he’s a pre-pre-college aged teenager, and he started on this plot of jealousy that lasted... I don’t know, roughly a decade, or over a decade, or something? Canon Ty Stone is nothing but bad, and all his redeemable qualities only really exist in the minds of other people.

It’s not the worst, but it’s also not the best utilization of the facts and the inconsistencies they presented, in my opinion. Which isn’t to say my interpretation is the best, but I personally prefer it to canon, because... I tailored it to my interests specifically, so. Take what you will from that.

So, here’s my less-canon/non-canon answer:

I don’t think the canonical “inconsistencies” in the story are necessarily a bad thing. I think the fact that the story wavers actually creates... kind of a better story. There are a lot of informants Tony crosses paths with, some of whom are kind of garbage people, and Ty himself flip-flops between, “Tony, we’re besties, stick with me” and “Actually, I’m literally going to murder the shit out of you.”

And I think considering the implications of those details just makes things, uh. Cooler? More realistic? More relatable? I don’t know.

Anyway.

I think both of the things you asked are true: I think Ty was always jealous of Tony, and I think their friendship was, at one point, genuine.

In order to make everything tie together neatly, we have to assume that Ty’s undergone some kind of mental stress or feeling of insecurity that’s made him incapable of letting anyone be better than him, which is... not difficult, because we see this often in kids both traumatized and not-technically-traumatized, and it really boils down to their sense of self. If a kid’s not being praised enough, if their natural talents are neglected, if their passions are put down, if they think their parents like other kids better... you know. They don’t like it, and for good reason.

The good thing about this little theory is that it’s plausible for any child, as this is one of the most common mistakes that parents make. There’s a lot of insecurity in younger people in general, and you could feasibly get a similar story of relentless jealousy from a good number of... random middle/high school friend groups.

The better thing about this little theory is that it doesn’t actually have to be that common, because we already have one canon event that’s been determined to leave some children with a sense of isolation, abandonment, and insecurity; Ty was sent to boarding school.

So, there’s Ty, abandoned by his parents (whether they were well-intentioned in this or not-- I tend to assume it’s the latter for the sake of my own writing and what I find narratively satisfying, but you could also realistically assume they weren’t awful and still end up with a similar outcome), and lonely in boarding school.

Now, of course, children have their innate personalities and will tend to respond to the same thing in different ways. So, we can say that Tony, a sensitive kid, only grew more vulnerable (if distant) in boarding school. And we can say that Ty, someone whose initial personality traits we don’t actually know, might have gone... the opposite way, deciding instead to build some walls and find some semblance of control to cope.

And those kinds of kids sometimes attract each other, because they happen to be morphed into not-so-healthy puzzle pieces that click neatly together, neither of them having to adjust the coping mechanisms they’ve adopted in order to form a friendship.

Essentially, I think boarding school and neglect could have affected them both, fucked them both up, and warped them into perfect fits (in an awful way) for each other. They didn’t have to be healthy to be together; in fact, any semblance of healthiness probably would have been stamped down. We’re not actually shown that Ty was anything but pleasant over the long span of their friendship, and I think canon wants us to believe that he, as a child, was... already acting? In order to tear Tony apart? But I don’t love that, again because it’s not narratively satisfying to me.

I think Ty was probably already volatile as a kid, and he only grew more volatile as an adult. I think he got worse at regulating his emotions and his jealousy and better at lying about it. I think Tony’s parents died, Tony inherited his company, and Ty needed the same jump forward in order to match his status. I think Ty really, genuinely couldn’t decide whether he wanted Tony submissive by his side or dead, and I don’t think Ty ever really made a decision there.

In my opinion, the entirety of Ty and Tony is most interesting when you consider it a story of two emotionally damaged children going in opposite directions psychologically, Tony ultimately taking steps to better himself and be kind to others despite his insecurity and Ty always feeling threatened by it. “I’m never going to be enough” is a motivator for Tony, something to be challenged, and it’s something that infuriates Ty-- there’s this understanding throughout the entirety of the arcs that Ty wants nothing but praise and control and, well, Tony himself. He wants to be the hero, he wants to be looked up to, he wants to be empathized with, and... he’s never gotten it. Sure, it may have started off as something akin to parental neglect, but it ended with Ty being enough of a callous, walled-off dick that no one really wanted to make the effort to save him-- not even Tony, who was so pushed away by the sudden reveal of Ty’s violent lashing out that the only thing he could offer in the end was the basic courtesy he offers to almost every other unfortunate human being he crosses paths with, which was... uh, not killing him.

And it remains to be seen (I guess not, given that they’re never going to bring Real Ty back or explain what happened there) whether or not that was better for anyone.

Again, this is the Opinion part of the post, so here is my Opinion. I think Ty did care for Tony in a purer way at some point. I think there’s an age where tragedy is allowed to be tragedy, and certain degrees of awful behavior can be chalked up to environment and circumstances. I don’t think Ty was always destined to be irredeemable like canon suggests. I think he is-- at least, I think a total redemption or anything that would imply he’s Never Going To Act Awful Again would be... a bit unrealistic now that we’ve seen how far he’s gone-- but at the same time, just from the assumptions I’ve made personally about what must have led to that point, I think there was an age where Ty could have been helped and he wasn’t. Ironically, I think Tony and Ty finding each other made things worse for both of them in the long run, not just because of everything Ty was, but also because of everything Tony was and Ty’s inability to match that.

And that’s just my two cents. I don’t necessarily mind evil-for-no-reason Ty in the same way I don’t mind evil-for-no-reason Howard and evil-for-no-reason Anyone Else; these stories can be fun to read, and it’s not like no one on the face of the earth has ever been evil for no reason. It certainly can be realistic, it just... doesn’t read that way to me immediately, and it doesn’t tend to be as emotional an experience for me. It’s more, “Holy shit!” and less, “I’m probably going to cry myself to sleep tonight!” And both of those feelings when reading comics are totally fine, but the latter is what tends to appeal to me the most.

So, this is what I prefer. And that’s really all it is-- a preference. But I do like to think Ty legitimately cared for Tony at one point (similar to how Whitney cares for Tony, or how the sentient armor cared for Tony), and maybe just... wasn’t really consistent enough as a person to recognize that, often throwing it away for the sake of proving himself superior to Tony, right to the very end. He wanted to have his Tony and kill him too, and he couldn’t.

Anyway.

There you are. I wasn’t sure whether or not you were asking specifically about canon events or my interpretation specifically, so I gave you both.

If you want more of my personal interpretation, I have a whole bunch of headcanons in this ask that go further into my specific warping of Ty canon that I tend to use in my own writing. There might be some repetitiveness.

If you want more strict canon answers, feel free to ask any more questions at any time! I live in this specific piece of Vol. 3 and am always excited to come out and talk about Ty Stone, even when canon gets perplexing to me.

#cassks #tiberius stone #suicide tw #abuse tw #i will put a gentle request here to be kind in the askbox if you have different interpretations and would like to share them #i think most of the pushy and less aware anons have abandoned my askbox or changed their ways #but i will ask once more just in case #(anon who asked this: you're fine and your question was lovely)#(just putting this down due to some past anons being funky)

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hamaon · 4 years ago

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JGY or WWX?

I feel like a fair disclaimer to give before getting to Wei Wuxian is that I watched the Untamed despite, not because of, wangxian! I originally checked out the beginning of the animated series because someone I followed was getting into it, but I already had an inkling that the main romantic relationship in this romance wouldn’t be my cup of tea. The Untamed followed, more than half a year later, really only because I had hit the gorgeous soundtrack on youtube.

How I feel about this character Part of the reason I presumed I wouldn’t be into wangxian was because neither of the main players really spoke to me, and on this account I am happy to have been proven wrong! When I finished the show, Wei Wuxian was probably my favorite character. There's something very satisfying about a surface-level heroic main character hitting his absolute lowest points and starting to be actively harmful to himself and others. “This is all I’ve ever wanted for the class clown type of character”, I think I said at some point. Let it all burn.

I go back and forth on whether I find the flightier parts of his personality charming or annoying, but it’s a spectrum. The Untamed version is my favorite, character-wise.

All the people I ship romantically with this character Nie Huaisang, in the sense that, what with their roles in the plot, it would be fascinating to see how things would play out if this was the main romance, instead. Especially because romance would not be Nie Huaisang’s priority. What would the relationship trajectory even be, teenage sweethearts, ending with a definitive breakup by the finale? I've never sat down with the idea long enough to do anything with it, but sometimes it comes back to me. The main reason I'm into it is because hey, it's the main character & the main driving force behind the story! this is an intellectual puzzle to work out!, but they also had nice, easy chemistry when they were young and seemed to enjoy each other's company, which was something that was... not present in the actual main ship as far as I could see, and apparently my only kink is obvious mutual interest and stability in a relationship. I don't think they really had romantic/sexual chemistry in particular, but hey.

Wen Ning. I just think ningxian is cute. Also has lots of potential for difficult and uncomfortable exploration re: consent and autonomy.

But I think at the end of the day, the only relationship he has that just by the actual shape of it would be something I'd be interested in seeing turn into a romantic and/or sexual relationship is with Wen Qing, which, uh. Yeah. The fond push-and-pull, the two leaders, it’s good stuff. Just a physical relationship during their hunkering together time would be fun, too.

My non-romantic OTP for this character Jiang Cheng. I remember originally being pretty peeved about the fact that the romance (censored or not) is treated as the main focus when the Yunmeng duo is, to me, the real heart of the story. Let Lan Wangji be a supporting character.

I'm not sure if I really want a reconciliation between them, personally, but I want to note that it’s not because I think it would be fundamentally impossible, or because one or both of the characters is genuinely better off without the other. I think it would be very good for them if they managed some sort of genuine healing together!

I don’t want a reconciliation because thinking about their complete and total failure to communicate and consequently never making up makes me experience genuine agony in a very satisfying way. I have in the past gone into people's tags for the two of them and managed to work myself into a sobbing mess within five minutes. It is extremely cathartic.

My unpopular opinion about this character That time when he walks into a Jin party and starts throwing threats 3-2-1, part of me is going “fuck yeah” and part of me is looking at all the collateral damage servants trying to stay out of the way in the background, who never asked to be terrorized by this very powerful man. It’s not something that makes me dislike the character in any way or form, as stated before if anything it just makes him more interesting to me, I just don’t think that it was an uncomplicatedly ‘cool’ moment.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon The man should be actually responsible for his own misdeeds. I’ve heard people say that this was a censorship thing, but I have no sources on that.

And A-Yao gets to go under a read more.

How I feel about this character Continuing down the nostalgia lane, my initial reactions were “this man smiles very deliberately” and, towards the end, “man, fuck the gentry, you should get to win”.

I, hm. It feels sometimes like there are two kinds of opinions that fans have, and I don’t connect with either of them! There’s the “this character is an unrepentant asshole and I’m proud of that, you don’t need to make up sympathetic motivations for villains” which, while I agree that he can justify a lot to himself, just doesn’t ring true to me. I think that many of his actions were either forced by the circumstances, or understandable, or sympathetic and made with decent intentions, or not particularly bad compared to shit that other characters and their society as a whole gets to.

Obviously there are all these breakdowns about the specific acts of altruism that he does that in-universe are rare from someone that high up in power, and those are great, but even without all of that, he was a stable, peaceful, competent ruler who wasn’t doing any large-scale nasty shit after a series of complete nightmares on the throne, and upsetting that long-standing balance should bring about repercussions for several social classes that does more harm than anything he was individually doing at any point.

As for the other take, there’s the “oh no he’s so small and so cute and should be pampered so much” which I don’t... get, emotionally, and additionally it is reaaal hard for me to see the character as someone who either wants or would even particularly enjoy being the one being taken care of. Usually my response is-

There’s that part during Nie Mingjue’s capture in Empathy where he’s just, running the whole show? Like, on one hand it is very important that he’s probably the weakest person in the room, and might lose in a direct confrontation against even the random soldiers standing to the sides, and if he plays his cards wrong or even sub-optimally one of the two big strong cultivators in his vicinity is going to pulverize him, and also aware of all of this at all times and living in low-key terror. But also -- he pulled it off.

If I’m working myself toward some emotional response with “A-Yao small” it doesn’t end with “someone should hold him 🥺” but with “and doesn’t that just make it all the sweeter that he sat on that throne”. (I have two kinks, and the other one is power reversal.)

All the people I ship romantically with this character Only Lan Xichen, really, but there are some tentative side paths to take!

Qin Su, in that the initial attraction would be fun to explore, and then it becomes less about the relationship dynamic and more about the underlying horror.

Nie Huaisang, in a not-particularly-serious, one-sided, never-happened-and-now-it-never-will kind of way. The ideal would be Jin Guangyao thinking of Nie Huaisang as a tiring but cute little brother figure (he doesn't have those, all of his family relationships sans mom take a weird turn at some point! this one sure is about to!), while Nie Huaisang has a lil crush, and then it goes all the way to hell. ...And I know that I set “won’t happen” as a precondition, but I guess if there was a character who keeps the (fierce or not) corpse of the late Chief Cultivator close in an effort to feel alive post-canon, Nie Huaisang is the one I’d want for that role.

Jiang Cheng, because that family unit is so under-explored in canon, and because out of a handful of favorite characters these two are usually my number one, so watching them interact with each other can be fun just because of that. But in my heart of hearts I want Jiang Cheng to stay forever single by choice, and really I'm just here for platonic family shenanigans with Jin Ling. (I've written some of this, but out of everything it's probably the least likely to ever see the light of day.)

But really only Lan Xichen. When I was watching the early episodes and didn't remember the characters well and in my head these two were only “the disturbingly handsome older brother” and “a bit part soldier (lol) from some other sect” I really imprinted on that goodbye scene, like damn, look at these characters who are friendly with each other and showing obvious interest. It's only the circumstances that are getting in the way! If I were to ever read fic from this show, it would be these two. (This was all a counter-reaction to early wangxian haha.) But increasingly it goes to show that what I'm really into is people having mutual and mutually recognized affection for each other, the negotiated part in the relationship being less about whether it'll happen and more about how to go about it. More romances that start with getting together instead of ending there.

I am laughing at my past self here though, after actually finishing the show my thoughts on xiyao were that it was nice that it was both there and stable (until, you know) and unknowable, whatever the shape of their relationship in private they are aware of it and have made their peace with it, and that's all I need to know, and now I'm sitting here with several WIPs, wondering if this is what finally pushes me to start publishing fanfiction.

My non-romantic OTP for this character Lan Xichen. No, I’m not interested in a non-romantic* read on their relationship, yes, I just want him here, too.

Also, the only other relationships of note here are with Meng Shi, Jin Ling and Qin Su, and using ‘non-romantic OTP’ for any of those feels off to me. Meng Shi and Jin Ling are at too much of an uneven level, Qin Su doesn’t reach OTP levels even if the romantic filter is off. Su Minshan and Xue Yang might be a better fit, but again, OTP level is too high. Early-canon Nie Huaisang... maybe.

*non-sexual is fine. never officially getting together w/mutual acknowledgement is fine.

My unpopular opinion about this character I think I already went off, so. The hat is fine, and the hate sounds performative and weirdly ignorant at times. I don't love the Untamed version, but it’s fine and the ones in other adaptations are fantastic, even. The warm yellow-brown combination looks really nice. More of the characters should wear hats, actually! Which I realize is an opinion influenced by historical Japanese and Korean dramas, which are of a different genre altogether (also not Chinese, but hats in official settings are a constant in all of these cultures). Nevertheless.

I wish it was used only post-timeskip in the Untamed, too, though, for more variety in costuming and to further differentiate the pre- and post-timeskip versions of the character.

...................................and a specific xiyao pet peeve also: I am becoming increasingly wary of the... either super common or I just happen to keep finding these, take where he’s some sort of unwilling/particularly hesitant participant in this relationship. Like I went back to watch parts of episode 4 (to figure out why it was that I was so sure Meng Yao would be swinging a sword around in future episodes and my conclusion is: because everyone else was swinging theirs) and even the initial interactions in the goodbye scene are like-

Meng Yao literally runs up to a guy waaay out of his league like “Hello I am bringing myself Forth because I have the audacity to assume you might Personally Want to Know that I am leaving and here are some pretty personal reasons why (gosh you really are lovely)”

Reactions I’ve seen to this: look at the little dude running away from his emotions

Me: w h a t

And then the natural conclusion here is that Lan Xichen is there to love him (with his dick and/or sunny personality) until he’s forced to accept it [serene face emoji] and it makes me. Not enjoy it much.

Ofc this doesn’t include normal human hesitations one might have about... anything and everything in life, really, but when it’s treated like this automatic character/relationship hurdle I’m just hhhh

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon I'm pretty satisfied with things as they stand? Just like the relationship between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian makes me feel cathartic agony, Jin Guangyao's fate makes me feel cathartic rage. Look at the low-born bastard child go down the stairs of life, one last time!

......Sometimes I have my weak moments and do wish he had gotten away in the end, though.

#tägäämätön #huaisang gets around in this hm #xiyao-feels

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colorisbyshe · 4 years ago

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I think the problem is that if there was an effective way to lose weight and keep it off, we would have discovered it by now. I don’t think we should shame people for weight loss but I do think we should make weight loss and weight gain neutral potential outcomes to shifts in behavior and interventions meant to increase someone’s well-being. Like. I don’t think weight specifically needs to be addressed (not in most cases), but things like blood sugar levels, blood pressure, heart health, adequate nutrition, or even relationship with food should be what’s specifically targeted.

Nothing you have said here actually contradicts any of my points, though. Regardless of how effective weight loss is and how much other things need to be addressed, people are going to try to lose weight.

Again, their reasons for doing so or chance at success DOES NOT MATTER, they should still be given methods and spaces to attempt to do so that won’t a. leave them feeling like failures b. villainize fat and weight gain and c. sell them products and eating disorders.

Like... I don’t know what’s getting lost in translation here. No matter how effective and widespread fat liberation/advocacy/acceptance is... and no matter how high the fail rate of diets... and no matter how most fat “heath” concerns can be resolved without necessarily losing weight... people are still going to try to lose weight.

Is me saying “And we shouldn’t leave them to predatory weight loss campaigns that want to shame for how much they weigh but instead create fat positive spaces that offer the least harmful path forward for them” really that controversial or like hard to grasp.

There are ways to talk about weight loss that can shift the focus to actual health over pounds. There are ways to talk about weight loss that actually increase positivity for fat bodies or emotionally prepare people for the chance that they won’t lose anything or might gain it back and they still won’t be failures.

Why is it wrong to acknowledge these truths? Why is “We shouldn’t abandon fat people just because one day they might be less fat?” getting so much pushback?

Some diets do work for some people. Would you rather they come out of their diets thinking “Oh, the people it didn’t work for are just lazy and didn’t try hard enough and I was a lazy person who didn’t try hard enough before I lost this weight”? Because that’s the mindset pushed in most weight loss spaces.

What if they gain the weight back? What if they never do? Which option is better for fat liberation, then? Why should there be a better or worse option?

Again, I ask “Why can’t we, alongside spreading knowledge of the dangers of most diets and weight loss programs, advocate for the least damaging ways to try lose weight in body positive ways? Why can’t we say you’re better off just trying to be healthy at your current size rather than focusing on weight loss because heath is possible at any size but if you’re going to focus on weight loss along side that, here’s how you don’t develop a fucking eating disorder?”

What’s bad about making sure all fat people, even those considering being less fat for any reason (some valid, some which are just fatphobia), benefit from our advocacy?

Bodily autonomy has value, even if it’s betraying thr cause or whatever.

#diet cw #body image cw #fatphobia cw #eating disorders cw #weight loss cw

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s1i9d · 5 years ago

Text

The Ultimate “Adrien is a Sentimonster” Collection

This might sound crazy, but it’s a definite theory and has backing from the show itself. It explains a lot of unresolved questions, and there’s foreshadowing for the show.

(NOTE: This post was last updated on 30th October 2021, the day of the US premiere of 412 “Crocoduel”. Edits with more information may be subject to be added or rectified based on new evidence in-show episodes/specials released.)

SETUP

In “Feast”, Master Fu made his own Sentimonster for his reasons, and caused the destruction of the Temple of the Monks. He detransformed and ran with the last copy of the Grimoir and the last box of Mirauculous.

Fu safely jumped over the canyon and Feast fell into the lava, thought to be dead. Master Fu picked up all the Miraculous in the snow, but the Butterly Miraculous, Peacock Miraculous, and the Grimoir. All fell down into the canyon below.

Many and many after the events, Gabriel and Emilie travelled to Tibet. They found the two Miraculous and the book. Before the events of “Origins”, Emilie used the Peacock Miraculous for something, and died/fell into a coma, setting off the stack of dominos to fall into place for the current show: Gabriel becomes Hawkmoth, Fu needs allies, Marinette and Adrien are given their Miraculous. But the question still remains, what did Emilie use the Peacock Miraculous for? And why did she use it even though there was no need for a villain or a hero of the Miraculous?

Why did Emilie use the Peacock Miraculous?

The main theory is Gabriel and Emilie wanted a child, but they couldn’t have one. Either due to their biological make, or they had a child, but he ended up dying. In their anguish, they made another child to replace him. It may seem to be a genie trickery wish, since

Why is the Peacock Miraculous damaged? How do you damage a Miraculous?

The creation of Feast is what broke the Peacock Miraculous. A Sentimonster existing beyond the time the Holder is transformed and stayed for too long, and the Amok doesn’t return back or de-evilised exerts too much pressure on the Miraculous itself. That initial Sentimonster creation caused Emilie to fall sick and eventually become her current state.

Gabriel is overprotective of Adrien.

The main relationship between Gabriel and Adrien has always been seen as problematic: a “single” father constantly neglects his son of any familial love and affection, even prohibiting him from going to school and outside his usual full schedule for friends outings because he’s overprotective of him.

Now the surface level explanation is that Gabriel is protective of Adrien because he lost Emilie. Why would he be overprotective of Adrien if “Feast” confirms Emilie is harmed by the Peacock Miraculous? I don’t see Adrien going, “Dusuu, transforme moi!” (”Dusuu, spread my feathers” for you English dub viewers.)

We know an Amok and Akuma can remain active even after the Holder has detransformed, and Sentimonsters can be Akumatised.

“Feast” proves it with the Peacock Miraculous, and “Startrain” has proved the same for Hawkmoth. This is something very specific to the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous, since Ladybug’s Lucky Charm (“Oblivio”) disappears when she detransforms.

We see that Feast can be Akumatised, so it makes it possible since Chat Noir/Adrien was also Akumatised seven episodes later in the production order. So there isn’t some kind of Akuma block when Hawkmoth would try to Akumatise Adrien.

Adrien is perfect.

This is something absolutely hammered in the show. Adrien is so perfect and nice, it feels almost inhumane how such a person can exist. We see the show from Marinette’s perspective, but Marinette hasn’t seen the scenes we see with Gabriel being Hawkmoth or even Adrien’s rare physical interactions with people when she’s not present at the same time.

“It is dangerous to misuse the Miraculous.”

This is a repeated statement. Hawkmoth and Mayura both misuse their respective Miraculous; they misuse it for evil and villainous deeds rather than the intentional heroic purpose.

Adrien is allergic to feathers.

Do I need to explain?

Ties into the Season 2 plants for Adrien’s death.

Quite a few episodes in Season 2 foreshadowed Adrien’s death. In “Frozer”, Ladybug tell Chat,

“I can’t imagine a life without the boy I love.”

In “Catalyst (Heroes’ Day - Part 1)”, Chat Noir fake dies in Volpina’s illusion. There’s more, but this isn’t the “Dead Adrien” post.

These plants (film terminology for pieces set in place. Think of it as a Chekhov’s Gun or something that foreshadows an event.) set up in Season 2 fit together with Sentimonster Adrien since he’s not ‘alive’, but he is living. Tomoe could have more information on this than she’s shown to know.

Gabriel’s affiliations with Tomoe Tsurugi (Kagami’s mother)

Tomoe and Gabriel are quite close, to an extent where Kagami is the only real person Gabriel will let Adrien talk to generally. Like in “Animaestro” or “Backwarder”, where they are intentionally spending time with one another.

In “Feast”, we get a brief glimpse of Tomoe when the news reporter talks about the Order of the Guardians’ temple. Suspiciously placed between people extremely related to the Miraculous.

Nathalie’s sickness is happening so fast.

Nathalie and Emilie are confirmed to have the same sickness, but Nathalie’s health is deteriorating quite rapidly. Quickly becoming deadly and affecting her day to day activities. (”Feast” and “Ladybug” both show her illness causes ‘disruptions’ to plans scheduled.)

One more piece of evidence is the theory of Emilie’s illness being slower than Nathalie’s. The effect of Fu’s Sentimonster affecting Emilie, but Fu’s Sentimonster and Adrien both affect the Miraculous, damaging it further. This makes her state worsen.

Hawkmoth/Gabriel has never said explicitly that he will wish his wife back to life/consciousness.

He has said in the opening minutes of “Chat Blanc”:

“Emilie, I miss you every moment. But one day, I will get the Miraculous of Ladybug and Cat Noir, repair the mistakes of the past, and make sure you return to us.”

It’s even shown in “Party Crasher”, right after he hangs up on Nathalie to harvest the butterflies.

“Emilie, we miss you so much. But you'll be back with us very soon. Thanks to my akumas, it's only a matter of time before I take control of their Miraculous. Merging them will grant me absolute power to reshape reality, and finally reverse our past mistake.”

In “Catalyst (Heroes’ Day - Part 1)”, Nathalie and Gabriel spoke in front of the outside Emilie statue.

“You made a promise to your wife. You’ve risked so much for the chance to bring her back.”

And even though it isn’t as explicit as the previous two, it proves Emilie knew she was dying/losing consciousness. So she had some agency over what happened to her, so she knew she was dying and made Gabriel promise to bring her back.

This means Hawkmoth’s wish could be to make Adrien a real boy (a la Pinocchio).

Bugette Sentimonster (”Ladybug”)

It’s quite random how Bugette has her own consciousness when Ladybug gives her Amoked object back. The show has done many random things (Space Dumpsters, Car Hologram Gabriel, Mayor Lamp), but it seems very intentional that Bugette had her own consciousness. All of these objects were mentioned in passing, and that was it. Bugette was talked about after the episode, and it emotionally affected both Chat and Ladybug. She was spoken about more than just a moment.

This is the first and only time we’ve seen something like this happen at the moment (hiatus between S3 and S4), and the additional information the Peacock Holder can intentionally alter the physical design of the Sentimonster. Usually, Sentimonster are affiliated with another character or their reason for Akumatisation.

In “Miraculer”, August creates a lollipop Sentimonster because of his craving for lollipops. Even in “Reflekdoll”, Juleka creates a Doll Sentimonster because of her affiliations with fashion and standing out. Feast itself even had the symbol of the Order of the Guardians on its face. Hawkmoth has his Butterfly Sentimonster with him.

On top of all this information, Adrien was the one who was most anguished about Bugette’s death. Ladybug was upset as well, but Chat was in (or at least) showing more pain than her.

We have no concrete exposition on Adrien’s childhood.

This is very similar to a very specific Steven Universe reveal about Steven’s mother. There was a character she deeply trusted who wasn’t allowed to reveal the information, and therefore we had no exact backstory to the character until after the information was revealed.

Adrien is in a very similar position, where we have no backstory on him. There are no baby pictures of him, he doesn’t talk about being a kid, and the class didn’t even know him until he came to school. Kim (out of all people) even confirms this in “Félix” where he says,

“Truth is, we’ve only known him since he came back after the summer.”

This is the biggest evidence of it being Genie wish, where they wanted a child, but it was a teenager and they couldn’t alter it because their form would be permanent.

There are only a few canon things we have a grasp on Adrien’s past: Chloé, a drawing from “The Collector”, and Adrien’s childhood in “Wishmaker”.

Chloe has always been the only friend from Adrien’s past. She never says anything explicitly and concrete about their relationship in the past, or even talking about their exact age of when Adrien and her first became friends. She only says things like, “Oh, Adrikins! You’ve always been like that.” It’s never something huge about, “Oh, Adrien! Remember when you ________ when we were ______ years old?” No. It’s always relating to Adrien’s actions instead of his past.

In “The Collector”, when Gabriel is destroying random objects in his office to trick LB and CN into thinking he was angry and got Akumatised by ‘Hawkmoth’, he looks inside a cupboard and takes a framed picture of Adrien’s stick figure drawing with him holding his mother and his father’s hands. This shows he made a drawing, but there’s no real explanation for what age he was. He could have made that when he was figuring out how to be a human, or even when he was recently young. It doesn’t give us exact age or even any kind of concrete information on him and his past. But this can be tied together that it is original Adrien’s drawing (the one that died then came back to life) and then Gabriel keeps it as a memory of them.

This is further confirmed in “Wishmaker”, where Adrien says he doesn’t remember his childhood dreams. And when he does get hit by Wishmaker’s power, his dream as a child was “to be what [his] parents wants [him] to be.” The direct line of action referencing his birth, and being controlled by his parents, who were his creators.

To have an Sentimonster or an Akumatised person, an object must be Akumatised or Amoked. So what would the Amoked object be?

Let’s revisit “Félix” for a hot second: Félix and Amilie’s main aim in the episode are to retrieve the Graham de Vanily rings. Gabriel is very adamant to give them back to Amilie, even refusing her fully. Félix ends up stealing one of the rings from his hand, which Gabriel is noticeably furious at him for doing so.

The episode puts an obviously huge focus on the importance of the rings, but explains nothing but hopes for their return in upcoming episodes. These rings are important to Gabriel, possibly his connection to Emilie, but it could also be one (or both) of the rings are the Amoked object for Sentimonster Adrien.

There’s no other explaination for why else they are important, with the other theory of the rings being Miraculous. It makes sense, but doubtful since Master Fu had all but two of the Miraculous, and Gabriel didn’t go to Tibet to retrieve the other Miraculous from Tibet.

One scene followed up on this was the ending sequence in “Mega Leech”, where Gabriel and Adrien start to have a heated discussion before Gabriel sends Adrien to his room. As Adrien walks up the stairs, Gabriel twists his ring on his finger. Again, we have no idea what this could mean, and we have no idea what the rings actually are.

The big question is “was it both the rings, or just one?” The answer can be yes or no. In 412 “Crocoduel,” where one object can be akumatised, but if broken in half as it is akumatised, it must be repaired back before it can be freed of the butterfly.

And that’s all the information we have as of now. It could be that these plants are meant for something adjacent to this, but the evidence currently is overwhelming.

TL:DR - Adrien is a Sentimonster because he’s perfect. Emilie wanted a kid. Fu messed up. Gabriel is crazy. Chloé don’t care about no exposition beside hers. Nathalie is a sick, dying woman and murdered Adrien’s cousin. Félix and/or Gabriel hold Adrien’s lifeline.

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