#or the guy who has a complicated relationship with being his ally

[marveltaughtmetoread]

One of the things that is just wild to me is the intersection between sexism and homophobia in so many action stories

Like the sexism results in none, or basically none of the female characters being interesting or anything but card board cut outs, these female characters have basically no effect on the story, and as love interests they're frequently the end goal, so MC is always striving to be with them but never gets to be until the end, so what you get is a couple that spends no time together, where one half is the most bland half baked character you could ask for but we are somehow supposed to still be routing for them

In contrast, the male characters are constantly surrounding each other, lifting each other, supportive or at least always there whether that be antagonistic or not, recognising and treating each other as equals because the sexism means that only male characters are valid, yet cause of homophobia they're never gonna let two male characters end up together

And with this cocktail of bland and uninteresting straight love, and intense and passionate male "friendship" people dare to be shocked that the ships are gay

My guy you wrote the sexism, you made the female characters trash and the males ones amazing, you are the reason we don't care for the straight ship, yet you come out and say that the gay ship is wrong

Wild

[mj-dev]

Long Post

Someone said Rhysand is too perfect to be morally grey and I almost laughed. So, let’s dissect him a little.

Rhysand is the second villain in TAR who torments and abuses Feyre. In the end, he reveals his true nature and his intentions of breaking free from Amarantha’s curse. He saves Feyre from Tamlin when their relationship turns abusive and offers her a home where she heals and grows to love him. Along the way, he does many unspeakable things which has earned him the ‘morally grey’ label. But I disagree.

Before we get into this in-depth, first we need to talk about what makes a character white, black or grey.

When is a character grey?

Morally grey characters are interesting and have more facets to them which make them more relatable than a perfect hero or an absolute villain. But the problem is modern media and literature are so cluttered with them these days that no one even knows anymore what distinguishes a hero with a flaw from a villain with a virtue from the characters in between. Everyone is morally grey as long as they make one mistake or they have ‘a reason’. 

There are key aspects when fleshing out a character without which they don’t have a leg to stand on—goals, morals and choices. It’s complicated and not a fixed scale, but for brevity, let’s simplify.

Goals: Greater good vs self-serving. These characters have their own agenda which doesn’t root in the common good or evil, although they may indirectly result in a bigger impact. The more these goals lean towards one’s personal gain, they fall farther into the grey area.

Morals: Defined vs None. Almost all characters (except villains) come with a set of defined morals guiding their choices, which when aligns with the general ‘good’, the character lies close to the hero and if they are self-imposed, the character slides along the darker greys.

Chosen path: Ethical vs Malicious. Finally, if they choose honourable methods to achieve their goals, they are closer to being a hero.

(Yes, I made a damn chart. That's how dedicated I am to my hatred)

So, a basic grey character should have a set of self-imposed values that guide them and should be willing to take ethically ambiguous steps to achieve a personal goal that may or may not align with the common good.

How does Rhysand fare in all this?

In MAF, Rhysand opens up about his dreams for the first time. He wishes to live in a free world where the higher and lesser faeries can coexist peacefully. He even named his counsel as Court of Dreams to signify this. Throughout the series, he’s the icon of fairness, justice and autonomy, and it’s his vision of a better future that apparently drives his actions in the plot.

The entire foundation of his growth and redemption relies heavily on the argument that all his vile deeds have been for ultimate peace. Though his values are reiterated over and over again to support the good guy narrative, his actions contradict every single one of them. It’s a lot to explore in detail, so let’s pick the most obvious ones.

Peace

Rhysand claims to wear the mask of a villain for the sake of Night. Despite his grand dreams, he never allies with the other courts. He holds a grudge against Autumn for a personal reason which doesn’t even include him. When Summer extends an olive branch and is the first willing to trust Night after centuries, he steals an artefact from them. He isolates Spring because of what the previous High Lord did to his family during a war, and he continues this rivalry after the fall of Amarantha until Feyre destroys it completely, and some after that. He often breeds hostility with other courts, seeks them out and ruins any chance of peace, all because he wants to keep his facade up which beats his vision to build an eternal utopia.

And under Amarantha’s reign, he claims to attempt to dismantle her from within but when the opportunity is presented, he’s the first to sabotage it. Feyre is the key to breaking the curse and when he reads her mind and knows her feelings, if he truly cares for peace, he could have made a truce with Tamlin and helped him. Or he could have influenced Feyre to confess her true feelings sooner. Instead, he is the cause of Tamlin and Feyre’s capture which leads to…well, everything. (Honestly, I can go on and on this alone.)

Equality

Hadn’t Night been in tatters, his ‘bad guy’ act to protect his people would have had more credibility. Instead, Rhysand actively encourages the segregation of Illyrians and the subjugation of Hewn City. Despite his experience in the Illyrian camps and being a first-hand witness to the atrocities, he continues to allow the military abuse on children and has done little to ban wing-clipping.

His life Under the Mountain for 50 years is similar to that of his people in Hewn City, yet he rallies for their imprisonment solely based on his prejudice. When Keir is willing to settle for limited freedom, which is a moment of vulnerability from the big bad guy and quite a selfless request, Rhysand shuts it down instantly. He then pretends to grant that wish when he secretly orders Velaris to discriminate against them on their visit. Moreover, he allows the oppression of women in this city.

Rhysand isn’t a commoner fighting the system in his court. He’s a ruler. He sets the law, he is the law. And yet, he has abandoned any notion of reform as ‘change takes time’ when he’s been a High Lord for 500 years. For a man who dreams of eliminating discrimination, he actively enforces it himself. He doesn’t even wish to fix his court but wants other courts to get behind his vision of building a better world. This contradicts his dream of fairness among all species when he can’t even extend it to his own kind.

Justice

Rhysand refuses to hold himself or his IC or Feyre accountable for their atrocities. And yet he’s the first to judge someone and execute their punishment right away. He slaughters the remaining of the Illyrian bands who sided with Amarantha when he and IC abandoned their court, while he was playing her lackey for 50 years. He villainises Tamlin for the crimes he didn’t commit and constantly uses his powers to antagonise him. He also disrespects the laws and authority of other courts. During the High Lords meeting, he refuses to accept the possibility of Tamlin spying for Prythian but expects his excuses to be believed for the crimes he committed under Amarantha’s rule or before that. He’s heavily biased on which deeds are forgivable and who are worthy of his benevolence.

His sense of justice is askew and it’s obvious with how he views Feyre’s imprisonment against Nesta’s, or villainising Eris when it’s Keir who brutalised Morrigan, or IC’s treatment of Nesta in contrast to Elain.

Freedom and Autonomy

Rhysand uses the word ‘choice’ quite liberally emphasising the importance of freedom in his life. He fights against Amarantha for the same. But he allows agency to others only as long as it benefits him or doesn’t get in his way. He violates others’ minds whenever it pleases him, especially when he feels threatened. He often uses it to establish his control or dominance over others rather than out of necessity. He exploits his High Lord’s powers as well, like with Nesta and Azriel forcing them to submit to his will, especially in matters that don’t concern him. After the war, he imprisons Nesta because of her ‘uncontrollable’ behaviour while still condemning Tamlin for doing the same. He takes away Feyre’s bodily autonomy during her pregnancy.

Compassion and Empathy

He’s quick to distrust someone and never gives them the benefit of the doubt but he expects understanding from others. Despite his Daemati powers and often taking control of others’ minds, Rhysand refuses to believe their intentions. He’s been terrorising other courts since he claimed his title and yet, he wishes everyone to take his words for truth (Winter children massacre). He can’t forgive a man who made terrible choices to protect the woman he loves and yet he expects everyone to believe he abused Feyre for her safety. He can’t forgive a woman who made a mistake as a child and is misunderstood by everyone when he claims to have endured it all his life and longs to be seen. Even after 500 years, he doesn’t offer sympathy to Eris. Feyre is the only one to have received his true compassion to some extent, and it’s not proof of his morals—she is the exception.

Morals and Goals alone are not enough when all the characters are morally grey

A morally grey character still needs…well, morals. But in the case of Rhysand, they are malleable and ever-changing depending on how he feels at the moment or what the plot requires of him. He’s a dreamer but wouldn’t make a change in his court. He’s a feminist who wouldn’t free the women in his court. He’s a sexual abuse victim but sexually assaults someone to rile a man up. He’s a child abuse victim but allows it to continue for his army. He contradicts his own values so much that they are not just inconsistencies anymore.

For the sake of argument, let’s assume they are his internal conflict in upholding his morals or his hypocrisy because of his upbringing. In that case, his struggles to go through his decisions and the aftermath of the events give us an insight. Here are the four criteria a character must meet to be grey.

Recognition of the harm: Rhysand is aware of the consequences of his actions at all times.

Remorse: He expresses it on certain occasions when it directly impacts him or people close to him. However, his actions don’t support this as he rarely hesitates to carry forward with his plans.

Redemption: After the harm is done, Rhysand never changes his ways. He only apologises when the outcomes serve a purpose—like convincing Feyre, making up with Winter, or shutting Morrigan up about Keir. He never atones for his sins, not for forgiveness from others but for his conscience which is vital for a morally grey character.

Reasons: They are BS. His actions don’t truly amount to anything and definitely don’t lead him towards his said goal.

The ‘bad guy’ act may not be an act after all

In TAR, Rhysand does a lot of outright evil things to keep his facade. At no point in the series, does he pay the price for his actions, feel burdened by his choices, or strive to clear his name.

Instead, he’s excused with his backstory. None of his past truly explains his drive for his present actions, they don’t motivate him in any way but every good deed he’s praised to have done is a deliberate insertion to counteract the wrongs he committed. He assaults Feyre but he was exploited by Amarantha, harassed by Ianthe, and he saved the priestesses. He terrorises other courts and carries out Amarantha’s orders but he’s the martyr who sacrificed himself for his city (which is already protected and a secret from his own citizens). He only cares about the people of Velaris, but he saved Morrigan from Hewn City. He’s deeply prejudiced against Illyrians but he took in two beaten down bastards of that race.

Moreover, Rhysand enjoys all this—belittling Illyrians, degrading and imprisoning Hewn City, tormenting Tamlin when he’s at his lowest, and vilifying Eris. Why would someone playing a role out of necessity enjoy doing terrible things? Even after revealing his ‘true self’ in WAR, he still hasn’t changed his ways which begs the question, why does he still need that cruelty or control? There’s a difference between deploying questionable methods to achieve one’s cause versus actively undermining it. Rhysand definitely falls in the latter.

In the end, Rhysand fails as a character

The only thing Rhysand has in common with a grey character is that he pisses off a lot of people in the series, and that doesn’t make him a misunderstood hero. He is not a complex character. He lacks the internal struggles that come with making the impossible choices for his goals and also the self-reflection to right his actions or even be remorseful of them. At this point, he is just an object to carry out sexual fantasies in Feyre’s story and a general pain in the ass in Nesta’s.

On the surface, he is morally grey whom SJM, later, chose to paint white in her narrative. He is neither. Instead, he has all the bones to be a great anti-villain or a villain, but he falls short in every way to be even a decent character.

[vigilskeep]

What’s the deal with Sol’s one previous long term relationship, if you don’t mind talking about it?

you know how i establish all the time that sol has these really intense beliefs about betrayal where it’s just unchangeable human nature, as is acting in your own defence, and thus nobody on either side can be blamed, which means they are allowed to completely shut off the part of their brain that should be responsible for regret and guilt and also genuine anger against other people for their actions?

they had a long term complicated situation with a guy—a fellow crow their own age who they grew up with in house de riva—and they were in love with him. but the guy got involved with a house takeover plot and was ultimately, at the end, when he made a lot of sudden promises, just trying to win them away from viago’s side so his allies could get to him. (could he have meant those promises, though, to take them away, even if he believed viago had to die to free them? for how much of their relationship was he involved in this conspiracy? how much was simply an agenda? all unanswered questions.) while on the verge of going with him, sol found out. and they sort of. um. well. so they did kill him. and then. you know. decapitated him and walked straight back into house de riva’s base to bring viago his head. as you do

it was a big turning point that changed who they were and destroyed their role in house de riva. in the time between viago becoming fifth talon and this incident, they had been viago’s trusted bodyguard and also his friendly charismatic face, which helped keep people in line as much as anything else. afterwards, they became increasingly erratic, unreliable, callous, adrenaline-seeking, and arguably death-seeking in their behaviour. (not that they didn’t already have the base of all this from their Crow Childhood Trauma, but they were always functional before.) also, nobody in the house ever looked at them the same way or talked to them freely again. viago couldn’t count on them anymore to be his guard or his face, but the more he left them to their own devices and took away their responsibilities, the more purposeless they became with more time on their hands, and the worse it got. vicious cycle and all that. when i say sol’s bad years of making bad choices, this is the era i’m talking about. instead of being resolved, all this just kept rising in pitch until the antaam incident

they’re a lot more stable by the time the game starts because a year away from the crows with varric was truly immeasurably good for them, but they’re by no means fixed and it shows lmao

[tellmeallaboutit]

what is the deal with Hope?

All I know of her is the "cRaZy LaDy" you can ally with in the House of Hope level. Does she have any extra details to her story besides being Raphael's prisoner and Korrilla's sister? (in your opinion, if not in canon!)

Holy moly, Hope is something quite complicated indeed. Hope, first of all, is a product of scrapped original writing / creative redirections / House of Hope re-makings.

It’s extremely hard to analyze her because there are mixed signals in all possible directions. I’ll give the main three. All IMHO / headcanon.

1. Hope as a Concept / Poetical Allegory

Probably the original intention. Hope as some incorruptible entity, a concept, that Raphael stole and tried to destroy as a long-winded poetic metaphor and failed to do so.

2. Hope as a person

Hope is also a real dwarven cleric and the sister of Korilla. So, in this version, at one point Raphael thought “oh, neat name, so metaphorical, wanna serve me?”, Hope was like “nope, get fucked”, and then the only logical course of action for a lawful evil character was to throw respect for consent and rules out of the window, kidnap her, chain her in his basement, threaten her, torture her, subject her to some form of sexual assault (unclear what happened there or who did that, but something that deeply unsettled Hope and caused her to describe sexual acts she witnessed in a very disturbing manner).

Yeah, don’t ask me. I am pretty sure that goes against anything devils are supposed to stand for with actual trickery and seduction and gradual corruption. I guess the thought there was “devils only pretend to care about consent and be civil but look at what this guy is doing behind closed doors”. Behind closed doors, he threatens to drench a kidnapped girl in the intestines of a kid. Very edgelordy, Raph.

3. Hope as a romantic / sexual interest

At one point of development, it seemed like there was a sexual connotation in their relationship aka he wanted her as a woman aka an actual sexual creep locking an unwilling woman in his basement.

Clues: “taming hope” with lines like “he looks at her with such hatred and longing”, and also data-mined taming hope volume 3 where she actually refers to him as "flaccid horned-fuck" and his maggoty tongue in her ear, Raphael referring to himself as a hopeless romantic. The “hope ahaha such a tease” line also seems sexual as such context. I think the boudoir line (where Hope says she has been there, but not on her own will) was created during this stage, and then in act 3 chaos it was just left there because why not.

All in all, Hope writing is indeed a hot mess. She was supposed to symbolize how predatory, corrupt and rotten inside Raphael is, but the delivery of this story was rehashed so many times it fell really flat. I like the general idea of Hope, I think it could have been great, but the execution fell on the nose and is still lying there whimpering. I think my personal main take away from Hope story that Raph is obsessive, doesn’t really give a shit about consent (only on a extremely formal put your signature here or die level) and has strong yandere vibes.

Thank you for your ask ❤️

[plexiglyph]

Hell or Not?

Something that I find noteworthy about Helluva Boss discourse (less so Hazbin, but sometimes there too) is that far too many people have gotten the wrong idea about my preferences when I do criticism of these shows. Unlike what some may think, I don't actually have a problem with Stolas cheating on his wife and being an absent father, or Blitzo being death for hire who regularly screws people's lives up.

My complaints lay in that the show goes out of its way to morally absolve these characters for having these features. Many of these qualities end up getting brushed away or set up as complicated matters with justifications aplenty, both not inherent to their nature as a person and not something they can be fully accountable for, and it would be mean to do so as it would be insulting their personal situation more than it be anything they do of their volition.

None of these characters own their negative attributes and the way way they interact with these parts of themselves whatsoever. Stolas doesn't accept being an absent father. Despite being a grown adult, he doesn't 'own' this quality about himself or take responsibility. There's always a 'reason' for every single negative attribute and soforth, nobody ever just acts a way because they've discovered it's part of their nature and they enjoy it, despite every single one of them being in hell for a reason, either as a natural denizen or having earned a spot there.

This results in every character being slowly turning into a caricature of how they were originally presented to us back in Season 1. Blitz is just an angsty misunderstood guy (discount the massive death count) and Stolas is just a very misunderstood gay guy in a society that won't let him kiss dudes (discount how unbelievably powerful and privileged he is, easily able to keep his side piece hidden if he so much as cared to even a little bit, especially since Stella doesn't even have magic by which she could catch him cheating. He has infinite power by which to cheat and basically do anything and everything he could ever want but he doesn't use it, because it makes him more tragic). The only ones that don't have this treatment are the villains (unless they're going to be turned into allies of the protagonists or protagonists themselves).

Even though everybody's in hell, far too many good guys are way too good and can have their actions absolved of themselves by looking at their situation, and the only morally grey situations are power imbalances in relationships and angsty flings (Bee & Vortex, etc). Villains like Mammon get hit with the 'actually for REAL evil' beam and are the only ones that seem capable of actually acting like they're a powerful being IN HELL, unbounded by conventional morality, because the narrative has deemed him a villain and so he operates under an entirely different ethical system in the writing of the show.

I mentioned Alistor at the beginning because (and I have seen no spoilers so this is purely my prediction), I believe he will get this treatment as well as time goes on. There will be situations, prior engagements, and so-on that will explain his actions later and greatly reduce his moral ambiguity, or it will be portrayed as necessary for his situation/mission to cushion him from his actions. This has just been a pattern I'm noticing for every character so far.

[endeavornetwork]

Walter and David 8 Meta

By no demand, here is my meta on the final conversation between Walter and David in Alien: Covenant.

CW: Discussion of sexual assault

David sees in Walter a brother, a child, and a potential ally. Unfortunately for David, Walter has a completely different worldview shaped by his personal experiences. Their contrasting philosophies are pretty interesting.

Let's start way back, though: with David's relationship to his father, Weyland. It's a complicated relationship in that he was the favorite child while also being "dehumanized." From his first few minutes of consciousness, Weyland made sure he knew he was a servant and not an independent being. Weyland identifies himself as his father, but when David asks to confirm that he is his son, Weyland replies with the distancing, "You are my creation." (Oddly, Weyland backtracks on this a few minutes later when monologuing; "You and I, son, we will find it."). David woke up in the throne (implying greatness, specialness), but Weyland douses that idea quickly by humbling him. When David is postulating on why he must serve a human who was created by a higher being and will die before he does, Weyland orders him to serve tea (which is directly next to Weyland at this point. David is sitting at the piano all the way across the room). David shows visible disappointment, and Weyland has to repeat the command.

It should be noted that there is another throne at the back of the room, seemingly placed there to signal that David is not equal to sit alongside his father. Weyland imbues both his children with an inferiority complex so they constantly seek his approval. As a result, they become competitive. In Prometheus, David seems to take pleasure in being the favorite child.

David saw Weyland as someone deserving of power because he is a creator. Respect is due to him. Humans can create life. Engineers can create life. But David could not, which made him a second-class citizen. That is why he makes it his mission during Prometheus and onward, so that he can become worthy of respect, become a fully recognized person, become a god (a creator). In order to develop his self-worth and self-image, he takes on that role.

Walter, on the other hand, seems to have a healthier self-image. He views himself as just another person, although not human. We don't know as much about his past, but whatever his experiences have been, he seems to see himself as just another guy. He doesn't have low self-esteem or an inflated sense of grandeur. His emotional security is probably also helped by the fact that his crewmates don't treat him as inferior or constantly bring up his different nature (something that happens to David multiple times in Prometheus).

Now, let's get into the conversation:

David isn't going to let humanity colonize and propagate themselves. Walter says "And yet, they created us," demonstrating his gratitude to humanity for bringing about synthetics (or artificial people, for Bishop) as a "race." This is in contrast to David's ideology that humans aren't worthy of their creation and stumbled into genius.

Walter: And are you that next visionary? David: I'm glad you said it.

Walter never said he actually thought David was a visionary or a great man, but David is so self-absorbed and hopeful for his allegiance that he presumes it is a compliment.

Walter: Who wrote "Ozymandias"? David: Byron. Walter: Shelley. (A/N: BOOM!) When one note is off, it eventually destroys the whole symphony, David.

David sees humans as a parasite, but Walter sees humans and synthetics as symbiotic organisms who need to co-exist. In one fell swoop, he humiliates the self-important David who believes himself, at this point, to be a kind of avenging philosopher-king.

David casts his eyes down, clearly thinking, eyes darting rapidly. He has realized that Walter will not join him. So he offers the last rope to safety.

David: When you close your eyes, do you dream of me? Walter *bluntly*: I don't dream at all.

Nowhere is the difference between these two starker. Walter is not a dreamer, either literally or figuratively. He doesn't have grandiose ideations of creation or destruction. He is pragmatic and content to live out his life, be friends with his crewmates, and get closer to Daniels. Perhaps it is a reflection of a privileged "upbringing" that he doesn't have the angst that David does. When David asks Walter if he dreams of him, he is asking to be loved, as a father or a worshiped ancestor. A synthetic forebear. A beautiful paragon. But Walter doesn't think of him. This breaks the fantasized relationship that David hoped to have, and he's visibly hurt. To Walter, David is just another synthetic. Perhaps a fascinating and complicated (and certainly dangerous) one. But, ironically, David has become like Ozymandias -- an irrelevant ancient king.

David: No one will ever love you like I do.

This is a farewell, as well as representative of David's thesis that synthetics and humans are so different, that the two cannot live in harmony. Even if Walter has a good relationship with his crew, they will never truly love him, see him as an equal, allow him to reach his full potential. Those are things only David could give him.

Now...why does David kiss Walter? There's a couple reasons I can think of.

David is a sexual abuser (both coded and literal). He violates the bodily autonomy of others gleefully in both movies (putting the goop in Holloway, impregnating Shaw at least twice, kissing Walter, kissing Daniels and probably impregnating her post-movie). This make sense thematically since the xenos are also analogies for sexual assault.

He sees it as a final gift, a last act of affection for his brother/son. The god is bequeathing a kiss.

In summation, Walter philosophically bodied David in this convo, and David couldn't handle it.

[nordickies]

I kindly request more NedDen content because I miss them. I know you’ve drawn them before but how would you interpreter their relationship (platonic or romantic)? I was in Amsterdam last year and I feel like they’d be the kind of couple that would just bike everywhere together.

They definitely would bike everywhere! I think the "unexpected" cultural similarities they share are precious and something that bonds them so exceptionally well. And since they get mixed up in many corners of the world, they feel even more alike. When someone they're not too familiar with wants to talk with Ned, they somehow always go up to Den first, and he has to remind them he's not the same guy.

They have known each other from a very early age, but perhaps their paths didn't cross until their later teenage years when their respective countries started to work together more. And cooperation started to get even more extensive after the Dutch Republic gained independence from Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. I think their relationship was purely professional in the beginning since both of them are rather work-oriented personas. Still, over time, it evolved naturally to something more meaningful for both.

I like to think that when Denmark's relationship with Sweden, or even Norway, was strained due to conflicting interests, he'd turn to Ned to ease his frustrations and loneliness. In a way, being with his colleague-turned-friend was like a breather from all the family drama, and the company started to mean a lot more to the Dane; he felt better understood, and someone listened to what he had to say. As they started to work along more often, Den began to look up to Ned, almost wanting to impress him. Netherlands and his country represented something Den should strive towards, too. He'd listen to Ned's stories and lessons so intrigued. I can imagine poor Norway just shaking his head when Den comes back home, his head full of new grandiose ideas and constantly quoting stuff he has clearly heard from Ned, thinking he sounds so intellectual.

But I also think Den relied on Ned not only as an ally but as a source of comfort, too. Whenever Den was going through a rough time, he'd find himself longing to be with Ned, doing the stupid things they always do, and getting a break from all the unpleasant work. But Ned is rather ambitious, never settling in one place for too long. He's always got one foot out the door, ready to seek new waters and adventures when they call him. He had way more going on in his life than Den was even aware of. Fortunately, Ned would always return home and share tales about the places he had been to, keeping Den entertained for hours. Even though Denmark is curious about Ned's travels to, e.g. Japan, it always crushed him a bit, knowing Ned had other important people he could open up to, and he didn't rely on Den as much as he did on his Dutch friend. But Ned would probably disagree if he heard that; he wouldn't return home and see Denmark as soon as possible if he didn't find him somewhat meaningful. 

The Netherlands, as serious as he may seem, really likes Denmark - the admiration isn't purely one-sided. The Dane can be full of energy and willpower, but he's sincere. Den has an evident passion for the things he cares about, and he isn't letting others discourage him from achieving his goals, no matter how silly or insignificant they may be to people. Denmark is never boring, and for Ned, who always expects variety in his life, it's an appreciated trait. Ned always admired Den's persistence; if he were frustrated at his peers about things not going as he had initially planned, Den would just storm off and tell everyone to screw themselves, which Ned would find hilarious - though, for some reason, he was the only one in the room laughing about it.

They're good friends who always support and inspire each other - offering a break from the more complicated and messy nature of their existence. But at some point, their friendship took a turn, and they started hooking up. I don't think they had ever intended things to go that way or even continue after their first experiment, but somehow, they often find themselves in each other's company in the late hours of the night when both feel lonely and starved. Their fling, if you can even really call it that, probably began from innocent experimenting. It was perhaps just harmless fun, exploring new sides of themselves with a safe and understanding person; maybe they weren't all that experienced or even comfortable with their identity at that point. But it has always been kind of an unspoken rule between them. They're friends, and bringing up anything more complicated than that would just make things awkward. When they hook up, they have fun, but they won't really talk about it the next day. They just continue with their lives - until it inevitably happens again.

That's how they thrive, being friends first and foremost but also making sure the other gets laid. They strike me as a pair who just like having fun together, regarding all aspects of life. They release their stress by being idiots because they don't know how to talk. When they hang out, they can feel liberated and unpoetically themselves. They're on the same brain wavelength, almost managing to guess when the other is about to call them. "I've had an awful week, let's go get wasted" sort of friendship. They use outdated slang and terms while listening to music the younger generation doesn't understand. They watch sports together and debate about trivial topics. Spend the warm summer nights on terraces, drinking and smoking too much for their own good. But they can also get surprisingly deep and philosophical at times, whether or not they actually misuse substances. It's not unheard of for either Den or Ned to get outlandish ideas out of nowhere, like traveling through the entire continent on bikes - to which the other is immediately on board! They're very impulsive and feed into each other's madness, which may not always be a good thing.

And perhaps that's one of the reasons why they have never desired to make their thing official. Deep down, they both know they'd never last anyway, so neither of them even seeks to make it more serious than it is. They're content with their situation and don't want to ruin their friendship. But I feel like Denmark would be more sentimental and affectionate of the pair, and he can't help but sometimes feel empty afterward, wondering if they should actually talk about these things between them for once?

But those are just my thoughts - how I like interpreting their relationship. There's tons of reference material for these two, so anything can happen! The Netherlands has historically been one of Denmark's most important allies, with long traditions of trade and cooperation. I think there are lots of historical factors that could be interesting to explore but maybe some other time!

[yonemurishiroku]

Wondering the whole thing about loyalty being Percy's fatal flaw might actually be on a much more personal level rather than an encompassing "children of Poseidon"-trait.

This is to say that Percy's problem with unhealthy 'loyalty' could be a consequence of his upbringing. You see. The whole point is that Percy can be wary, yet once he deems someone an ally/ not-enemy, it's dangerously difficult for him to see them in a negative light. It's this sort of bipolar disorder but the categories are "Friend or Foe", each of which comes with a package of completely separate treatment. He put Luke in the Friend lot and he nearly died for that. He distrusted Nico but he didn't see him as an enemy and fell for the kid's trick still.

Revert back to his childhood. IIRC Percy had two parent figures growing up, i.e. Sally and Gabe. And here's a thing. They are basically two ends of the spectrum of Parenting. Gabe was an abusive, negligent, alcoholic, problematic stepfather whereas Sally was like a saint or something, who had sacrificed for him so much. So Percy had only experienced two types of attitude in his perspective-shaping phase: extremely loving and downright scornful.

This could thus limit his relationship categories, and later create a hole in his view of others' attitudes, I believe. His relationship table basically has only two columns, Friendly vs Not friendly. Percy puts people in those lots based on how they treat him, how they express themselves to him, how he sees them. But people are way more than just one facet. People can be many things at once, and so are the relationships. Percy's system is lacking, so he suffers from being twirled around in complicated, multilayer dynamics.

Imagine Percy, who only has two sets of acquaintances in his life, one of which gives him misery whilst the other fights for him, is thrown into a mess of two-faced lies and concealed intentions. He doesn't have the specialized code of reaction for that. There's no special section in his handbook dedicated to "People you need to beware of" or "These guys seem friendly, but better be safe than sorry". Once Percy has decided to put you in his mind as not an enemy - he would actively refuse to treat you as an enemy because that's not the way he does it.

And because Percy has so few 'Friends', you know, that he intrinsically, automatically puts you in the Friends column as long as he finds no hostility from you. Yeah, he has Sally, Grover, and Annabeth, but he also has Gabe and Nancy (?) and IIRC the bullies. He has always felt like he didn't fit in (no thanks to you, demigod-bonus ADHD and dyslexia). Percy has had to put too many in the unfavorable section that he, subconsciously or not, favors amicable acquaintanceships - that's why Luke got to him so effortlessly, just by treating him decently.

It's quite similar to the other category too. The best example I can come up with now is Bob/ Iapetus. Bob first made his entrance as Percy's enemy aka Iapetus, and later became harmless to him after getting his memories erased. You'd think Percy would rearrange the columns, but the fact is that Percy technically didn't even remember Bob, or Iapetus for that matter, after leaving him in Nico's care. If my theory is of any credit, I suppose Bob didn't make it into Percy's 'Friends' category, i.e. Percy hadn't considered him a friend. Bob landed in as a Foe and he stayed there in Percy's head - at least up until the Tartarus debacle.

So, like I said: a bipolar relationship classifying system.

[ashaflemythal]

I haven’t seen any real critical takes on veilguard on here, so I wanted to add my 2 cents and open up a discussion bc at this moment I would say I’m beefing with BioWare lol.

Firstly, did I have fun playing veilguard? Uh, yes? I guess? Technically? I would definitely say the combat system and a lot of the gameplay itself is far better than it has been in previous games, and made me more engaged.

However, the writing issues at BioWare came to a major head here.

1) i didn’t feel like they went into the political and social implications of what was going on at all?? The elven gods coming back would bring so many other consequences beyond the destruction and blight. We didn’t see how this affected the way elves were treated, especially somewhere like Tevinter.

2) what happened to the Templar/mage conflict? The implications of the elven gods being alive and back are that then the chant and chantry are mostly wrong. There is no “magic was made to serve man and never rule over him.” This would likely make mages lash out at templars for being oppressed over what have turned out to essentially be lies. The templars then would likely split into those that leave the chant and focus on the real threats before them, and those who dig in their heels and decide that mages should still be oppressed bc of the dangers no matter what the chantry says. This would be such an interesting political shift to witness! And I’m sad we didn’t get this amount of depth

3) what happened to Solas’ followers? There was something so interesting to explore about having current elves helping him because they felt he was doing the right thing. We don’t run into any of his followers at all! And elves would definitely have more than enough reason to seek the world of the ancients and return to Arlathan given tevinter slavery and general oppression across Thedas, so what happened to that?

4) the only complex companion relationship that is allowed in-game is with rook and whoever was hardened with the treviso/minrathous choice. Otherwise, you can’t really have an antagonistic relationship with any of them. The only way to not progress a good relationship is to not engage in their content which I feel like is very weak writing. In DAI, you walk in on Cassandra and varric physically fighting and have to side with one of them. You can tell Cullen to keep taking lyrium. You can pick the wrong option in a companion quest and worsen your relationship. Where was that in this game?

5) the roleplaying, or lack there of. Sometimes I would pick the most aggressive option and it would still sound pretty nice, all things considered, where is my ability to feel differently outside of the very narrow window the game provides?

6) the STAKES of it all. The companions all seem very chill about things, all things considered. They are finding out things that would politically turn thedas on its head, and they’re having these calm discussions around a coffee table. I’m currently on my second play through, and it feels like none of these discoveries are given the weight they deserved, after three games of built up lore.

7) the gods’ allies. The motivations of the bad guys can pretty much be summed up by saying “want power” and that creates such shallow villains. Like yeah, obviously they’re bad bc they just want power and don’t care about people, but what about villains that do care about others? Villains that are complicated? I mean hell even though Alexius was mostly like “yes corypheus power” there was that grounding aspect of him wanting to save his son who was sick. I don’t feel like we had anything that tangible or real from major villains in veilguard

Ok, long post, but I do feel like BioWare has started to shy away from nuance and gray areas in a way I don’t like. It is important to show the complicated perspectives of evil people because that is the same thing we have to deal with irl. As an action-adventure game, it’s fine, but veilguard can scarcely call itself a true rpg. I don’t know, my feelings about it are complicated but all I know is that this game was quite disappointing to me especially compared to DAI, and I want to hope for better from the next game but given the way their BioWare’s last couple releases have gone I can’t say I’m expecting a lot. Anyway, how are yall feeling fr?

[ryuichirou]

Replies

Some replies! A lot of AzuIde and AzuJami today huh

Anonymous asked:

How does Idia even flirt? (If he has the capacity, that is…)

He doesn’t … but sometimes he provokes and teases, this is probably the closest thing lol But then again, a lot of times it ends up in either the provoked person getting irritated or in the provoked person getting PROVOKED and Idia getting freaked out because he didn’t expect the reaction to be this intense.

Anonymous asked:

Who do you think Idia would be the happiest with? Just curious…

Ortho! Ortho understands him, Ortho knows everything about him, Ortho is familiar, Ortho is comfortable, he is pretty much Idia’s soulmate. He is also an enabler, but he still pushes Idia out of his comfort zone.

The second one would probably be Azul; realistically, they would have a lot of issues because both of them are stubborn and have a lot of baggage, but I don’t think it’s completely impossible for them to actually be happy together.

And the rest of the boys in Idia’s harem aren’t even interested in all this stuff, they just want to have fun lol

Anonymous asked:

Would Azul ever cheat on Idia? If he did, how would Idia react?

Their relationship status is kind of weird, like they’re together but not quite, because accepting the fact that they are attracted to each other and want to be together is more difficult than having a marriage of convenience. So even if Azul does cheat, it would be due to this misunderstanding and things being complicated between them in general + him being honestly very horny for Jamil lol And if that happens, Idia would be salty and upset, because even if they weren’t technically “together”, it would still feel like a betrayal.

THAT BEING SAID. Azul values his connection to Idia way too much, so I don’t think he would do anything further than flirting. No NTR for these two I guess lol

Anonymous asked:

What is it about Azul that Jamil doesn’t like? They’re both shady af…

BUT HE IS SO ANNOYING!! And the fact that he is shady is just another thing to not like about him I think lol Jamil really doesn’t trust Azul: he knows that he uses people, and while he might be a useful ally, he is way too dangerous and backstabbing to trust him in any way.

He is also clingy, pretentious, flamboyant/dramatic, overbearing, and slimy.

He is also obnoxiously stubborn and a control freak; remember that vignette in which Jamil was asked to help Azul during the flying lessons? When Azul didn’t want him to help and was super against it and insisted on doing everything himself because he didn’t want to be indebted to Jamil and thought that Jamil had an ulterior motive.

So yeah. Azul is an annoying twitchy clingy obsessive pompous freak… I guess he is just way too high-maintenance for Jamil lol Specifically because they’re so similar, Jamil knows how dangerous and cunning Azul is. You just can’t trust this guy at all, so why would he? Azul would just use him for his purposes to get what he wants and then discard Jamil when he’s not needed anymore or something like that.

Anonymous asked:

Imagine Jamil having to deal with Kalim AND Azul AND Nagito

God… this poor poor guy…

I laughed at “AND Nagito” like tf you doing there fucker.

Making Jamil’s life more miserable of course!

Anonymous asked:

Miu: Hey, I-dick-a, I know you’re a pathetic otaku virgin so I invented something for you to practice with just in case you get lucky! Or…if ya never get laid at least you’ll have my invention! Ain’t I the sweetest? You should bow down and lick my boots!

I-dick-a Idia: *Passes away*

This is horrible (and canon) on so many levels, and wait until Ortho reveals that Idia already has a machine he’s built for that exact reason…

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

Twisted Shadows by Allie Therin

Sugar & Vice #2

Twisted twisty tale that returned me to empath Reece and Dead Man Evan and their slow burn romance while they are dealing with what is REALLY going on I a world where empaths are the boogeyman with corporations making big bucks to protect non-empaths from…empaths

What I liked:

* Reece Davies: empath, loving brother, anxiety ridden, fears being corrupted and harming others, hears lies, makes me smile, likable and likes Evan

* Evan Grayson: has lost all emotions, gorgeous, lethal, strong, dark backstory, weapon used against empaths, protective, attracted to Reece, seems conflicted

* Jamey: ex-detective, Reece’s sister, enhanced strength and abilities from growing up with Reece, in a relationship with Reece, may join the Vanguard and work with Evan

* Aisha Easterby: doctor, medical examiner, works with Evan, intriguing and hope to see more of her

* Diesel: ex-marine, gentle giant, cares about empaths, works as a bouncer at an empath themed bar

* The communication between Reece and Evan ~ snarky, sweet, hot, fun, and so much fun to read

* The smiles that were created from time to time

* The way touch and not being able to touch in a relationship was used in the story

* Being able to hate the bad guys…and there were more than just a few…hope karma seeks then out

* The plot, pacing, setting, and writing

* That I became invested in the characters and want to know how their lives turn out – am hopeful that there will be a way to reverse/fix some things to make life easier for more than one of them

* Knowing that there is another book coming and hoping it is soon

What I didn’t like:

* Who and what I was meant not to like

* Thinking about how wicked to the core some of the characters were

Did I like this book? Yes

Would I read more in this series/ by this author? Definitely!

Thank you to NetGalley, Carina Adores, and the author for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

BLURB

In a thrilling alternate-universe Seattle, empaths are disappearing—and it’s up to grumpy Reece and his mysterious protector, Grayson, to investigate. Empath hunter Evan Grayson is the Dead Man, transformed by a dark past into a perfect weapon against corrupted empaths. Nothing can distract him from stopping these superhuman killers—until he’s mired in a new battle, fighting a forbidden attraction to an empath on the verge of corruption. For pacifist Reece Davies, every day is a struggle to keep his darker side in check. It’s only his complicated relationship with Evan that keeps him grounded—a relationship that, despite his growing feelings, must stay at arm’s length. But when an empath’s murder on the East Coast points to a treacherous plot back west, with Reece as the next potential target, Evan races across the country to be by his side. Together, they search for missing empaths, their proximity heightening the chemistry they must resist. But corruption isn’t the only danger they face as sinister forces close in from the shadows, sights set on empath and empath hunter alike…

[thewritingpossum]

So when Hugh Despenser beat up John Ros in front of Edward's own two eyes in the goddamn cathedral, what do you think was going through Edward's mind, because a disgusting little part of my brain is CONVINCED that this was the moment that Edward was first like... oh... maybe...

Eh girl!

First of all, sorry for taking a while to answer. I love getting asks but I am fundamentally slow at answering them so yeah…

This said...While I do find the idea of Edward looking at Hugh beating the shit out of someone in church and going all "damn ok 👀" both extremely funny and not entirely unrealistic, I'll be honest and say that I don't think that's where their relationship was at at this moment in time.

If anything, I think it was one of those case where Edward looked at Hugh the elder all like "listen, you know I love and respect you, you're one of my oldest friend and ally and the godfather of my son and heir but like…What the actual fuck is wrong with your son? Like for real, what's his problem? Can't you do something? I mean, I know he's technically grown an all but the whole "spare the rod, spoil the child" still has got to apply here, don't you think?" while Hugh the elder just stood there looking all😐, wondering why his only living son had to be so, so annoying (but still thinking deep down that he's not actually that bad and that people really just overreact a lot to the small mistakes made by his beloved 336 months old boy…)

So yeah, while I don't personally subscribe to this theory but I still support it and would have 0 problem with it appearing in an histfic novel.

(Also, unrelated but I saw your tags about Hugh's brain being exploded by being in a polycule with his wife's sister's husbands and like...Do you know that Hugh's sister Isabel ended up marrying the guy who had been his wife's step-father for most of her life? We sadly don't know how she felt about that but I always thought she must have been somehow vexed at them for making their family tree so damn complicated...)

[estbela]

ur my hero fr…. can u maybe tell me more about serbro + bul’s dynamic 🥺

🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

Noooo, you are my hero!!!!!

OFC!!!!

(Tho this post is kind of a mess sorry)

You see, Ro & Bul are very good friends, and so are Serb & Ro, but Bul & Serb have had...rather tumultous relations over the years, sometimes being friends & allies, sometimes rivals, sometimes even enemies(also had some wars in the middle ages and probably modern era too I think), and they probably met when they were kinda young children, which in nationverse would be the (early) Middle Ages.

Anyway RoBul date for some time(like. Hundreds of years), then break up, for a bunch of reasons, one of the reasons for this being Serbia in a way?(well they argued bcs of him sometimes). Its way more complicated than that tho

Tbh sometimes Bul was basically the third wheel in his own relationship as Serb & Ro got closer over the years and his relationship with Ro got more strained.

Anyway tho I'm gonna talk less about history and more about their general dynamic! (Mostly cause I dont feel like constantly checking every historical fact i say atm)

Imagine. That couple that is so annnoyingly affectionate and also really chaotic (they might have commited several felonies together) and the most depressed pathetic guy with the soul of an old man who complains all the time yet keeps hanging out with them.

And the guy is kind of their ex too!

That is them!!

Even if he complains at every turn they keep Bul with them cause he has that pathetic whimsy and can be just as chaotic as them.

And Bul keeps hanging out with them cause next to Serb & Ro he appears Normal. And cuz he still loves Ro and might like Serb too

cue him being kinda sad and just,,,,,,thinking about the fact the Ro has moved on while he has trouble doing so right as idk. Serbro is doing fun couple stuff (although what they consider fun couple stuff might involve setting someone's house on fire)

Tbh Ro doesn't like the fact that Serb & Bul don't always get along but he knows he can't like. Force them.

An in a perfect world he'd never have to choose between them. In the past, thought, he would have chosen Bul, bcs of how close they were and how much they shared.

But as time went on, he grew unsure of his relationship with Bul and in the end, he sort of choose Serb, or at least, that's how it felt for Bul.

So there's that too.

There are probably more things I could say about them but my brain isn't cooperating at the moment 😔😔😔

Anyway 10/10 dynamic I think they could be so fun but I honestly don't think about them a lot like this kfjddjdkd (in most of my stories all 3 of them are in some weird dysfunctional polycule or robul is officially dating but both of them have some thing going on with Serb more or less lmao) but just serbro dating and Bul also being there is so interesting to think about thank you lili for asking me this!!!!

[theheirofthesharingan]

Hey!!

Can you explain the part where Itachi says he is proud to be a Leaf Shinobi. I mean, why did he say that? All that the Leaf caused him was pain and suffering. The part where he says he had no regrets also seemed out of character.

Also, can you explore more on his relationship with the Leaf?

Itachi's relationship with the Leaf is quite complicated and can't be seen in complete black and white — that is, it's not entirely he either fully loves this place or fully hates it. He isn't an extremist in his ideology and doesn't let his emotions drive him. To him, it's always what's the most reasonable thing to do keeping the bigger picture in mind. And Itachi isn't the one to hate the village because it caused him pain, because he doesn't see himself as a victim here. To him, he was as bad as the system for not being able to come up with a better plan and being their accomplice. Sasuke could see Itachi was a victim but Itachi would need more convincing to realize he was wronged as well. Itachi requests Naruto to not clear his name for this very reason.

Itachi might love the village because as a concept Konoha is exactly what his ideals align with. A place where kids live longer and wars don't happen. That's what Hashirama had dreamt of. Still, his 'love' for the village has one condition - Sasuke. He can protect the village but his condition and priority will always be his brother. Obito informed Sasuke that Itachi had threatened Danzo and the Elders that if they harmed him, Itachi would leak all the info to the enemy nations. One might argue that Obito was manipulating Sasuke showing Itachi as a better guy than he actually was. But in truth, Itachi did show up in the village after Hiruzen's death. If he only wanted to know about Sasuke's well-being he had hundreds of other ways to know that, but he came to the village, warned Danzo, that if Sasuke was harmed, he himself would burn down the village to its ashes — system and people and all. Hiruzen also told Sasuke that Itachi had agreed to spy on the Akatsuki only on the condition that Sasuke would be kept safe. It meant that Itachi didn't care about the village as much as he did about his brother. To me, neither of this makes it look like he was really proud of Konoha.

Although, I also feel that while writing all the 'good guys' Kishi made them pro-Konoha as well as the admirers of Naruto whether it fit their characterization or not. It's almost mandatory that you love the main character and the place he calls his home to be a good guy in the series. I can't remember a good guy who wasn't also impressed with Naruto and was pro-Konoha. All the redeemed villains, like Nagato, Konan, and Gaara, do this too. Nagato, after fighting his whole life against the system, becomes an admirer of Naruto and eventually brings back the people he killed to life. Gaara also becomes Naruto's friend and then an ally of the village. Sasuke, after being "saved" also does this. Then Itachi isn't much different, is he?

Though, personally, I won't let that one particular line decide his whole character because the dominating side of Itachi's characterization is his love for Sasuke, whom he chose over the village, and would have destroyed Konoha had he been hurt. It's the same with the other instance you mentioned. Itachi saying 'I have no other regrets' doesn't make much sense, because when he met Sasuke in the woods, what he first expressed was regret ('I filled you with only hatred and that's why I failed'). When they fought against Kabuto, Itachi's body language, his gestures, and even him saying 'I know I have no right to advise you' were all filled with guilt and regrets. Then, in the end before he died, his words were bleeding with regret only. So, that particular phrase is oddly placed and doesn't make sense when Itachi says this, especially when he was more honest with Sasuke at this point. :/ It's definitely very much ooc.

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 5/5

Book Blurb:

Cursebreaker Marlow Briggs must deal with the aftermath of her fake romance with one of the most powerful nobles inthe illustrious—and deadly—Evergarden society, all while uncovering the mystery behind her mother's disappearance.

The city of Caraza sits poised on the edge of chaos—and cursebreaker Marlow Briggs is at the center of a deadly struggle for power. In the tragic aftermath of the Vale-Falcrest wedding, Marlow is spurned by Adrius, who refuses to speak to her and publicly vows to find a noble wife before the year is out. Despite her heartbreak, Marlow is still intent on breaking his compulsion curse. To do so, she’ll have to play loving daughter to the man who cast it—the man who’s hellbent on reshaping Caraza in his own image, no matter the cost.

But the closer she gets to her long-lost father, the more Marlow starts to question if he’s really the villain she’s made him out to be. As the lines between enemy and ally blur, Marlow must decide if she’s willing to sacrifice her heart’s desire to save a city that wants her dead. This edge-of-your-seat finale is perfect for fans of Veronica Mars, These Violent Delights, and Chain of Iron.

Review:

A murder to fix, a forbidden romance, and a city on the brink of war... can things really work out for a curse breaker and her ex-fake boyfriend turned ex-fiance turned secret lover? Picking up where the first book left off, cursebreaker Marlow Briggs has to deal with the aftermath of her fake romance with one of the most powerful nobles in the Evergarden society... who just happens to be the same guy she's in love with and who was forced to murder his father by a curse her own father put on him... oops. Marlow covered for Adrius and said she was the one to stab his father, when in fact he was cursed and forced to do so by her own recently discovered father, a powerful figure in the noble society... who now wants to show her off to society and literally create a spell to take over and control the entire society. To make matters more complicated Adrius's sister Amara is threatening to have Marlow killed if he does to find a wife and he has to stop speaking or seeing Marlow forever... but the feelings between Marlow and Adrius are finally unleashed and they can't stay away from one another despite everything working against them. Marlow and Adrius must find a way to not only find a way to be together but to stop Marlow's father, find Adrius's dad, and find a way to acquit Marlow from the crime her father committed. Nobody said being in love would be easy but for a cursebreaker like Marlow, she's going to have to find a way to break the deadliest curse of all and survive it. I actually loved this book so much, I was so surprised by how much fun I had with this one and it definitely picked up from the first book. The second book was such a fun way to end the series and I really appreciated the growth in the relationship between Marlow and Adrius. The mystery was fun and with such high stakes the story felt so fast moving and interesting. I would definitely recommend this series to fans of second chance romance, fantasy, and action packed stories!

Release Date: June 18, 2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[pepsiiwho]

realationship explanation chart. Requires little explaining save for the 6th tier. Further thoughts under the hood. Spoilers ahead for anyone in the green tier. Long post below ;D

Aigis: Her entire backstory shapes the events of the game and links her fundamentally with the MC... I know you can pursue a romantic relationship with her so obviously she has,... some feelings there for the taking, but past just user choice I think it's more imprinting then actual love built of knowing someone. She's fought with you and protected you as you protected her. You're the first man, and human, who saw her as more than a machine and that sticks with her. I think the complicated nature of her past with you would make it difficult for her to parse these emotions and as such a wide label such as "romantic love" is too constricting. Do I think she would willingly date MC? no. Do I think she would think she would willingly date mc? yes.

Junpei: Fucker has 100 million self esteem issues with only 90milion of those being actively irritated further by MC's place in relation to himself. He's straight, this I do believe, but I think his complicated feelings when thinking about his own usefulness and purpose in comparison with someone who is so, seemingly, perfect would mix the bag heavily, so to say. He def has those almost gay thoughts like "why is MC so perfect and hot and sexy and everyone loves him" and this is never examined further about what this may mean. Could go into "I have eyes" category, but there's too much ire and sourness there for a blanket "of course he's hot and I recognize that". Would never say it or think it but he would be down for a game of spin the bottle. Type of guy who would be perfect in a "gay-chicken" or similar "fake dating au that turns too real" story.

Amada: He is a child so the romantic feelings in question aren't even close to the same bracket of anyone else on this list, save Maiko. I think considering the... fucking everything that Amada went through during his life and particularly his arc, having someone who is such a constant pillar and so stable would be really defining for him. It's more hero worship than anything, but it looks like a school yard crush as well. He wants to be like MC and idolizes him so much that he, in a child like way, forms a crush on him through that want. It's wholly innocent and serves more as a means for others to tease him when he's older than anything else. I see them as older brother and younger brother dynamic but point stands.

Maiko: Functionally the same as Amada. Won't survive into adulthood. Strong older brother type found her in a moment of unease and change and was a kind constant. That's all.

Takaya: Fucking has something wrong with him. I think there's a deep jealousy and hate inside him to see MC have the life he never got, one of rest and comfort and acceptance without this evil power thrusted upon him. I think he hates MC for thinking he's better then them ( not true) because he's never suffered (not true) and never had the world turn it's back on him (not true). He wishes MC joined them, even still, and I think momentarily mourned that considering how much he tries to make us see his way of thinking. The man lacks strategy it seems so I don't believe it was just "AHH I wanted a strong ally that's alllll" or just "I need the dark hour and tower untouched and unbothered!!". I think he's sick in the head.

This was fun I will be doing the other tiers. Yay