#proof that i love this ship despite my criticisms lmao

[milkmynk]

Munto, small HC

Quick sketch...

The night all of the Heavenly Realm celebrated the return of the cycle of Akuto, Munto slipped away from the celebrations

Yumemi found him in his throne room, standing in darkness, gazing out at the twinkling lights and fireworks (precious Akuto being spent, an unthinkable extravagance just a few days before) in the distance of the ongoing celebrations

He looks tired but his eyes soften as she steps over to him. She can tell that he doesn’t wish to talk, and truth be told, neither did she

They stand together in comfortable silence for a while, before she glances up at him and sees tears spilling silently down his cheeks

Nearly all his life, he had been walking a tightrope of despair

Teetering between having to be strong for his people, honoring his parents by bearing the duty he had been born to shoulder, fulfilling his destiny as the one to save them all…

All the while frustrated by his weakness, hiding his powerlessness behind a veneer of authority, praying that somehow, some way, he wouldn’t fail his people, his loved ones, his parents.

Things were far from over, there were a million things left to do

But for now, he could finally have a moment of respite

True rest, without imminent destruction snapping at his heels

Yumemi has seen his memories, felt his fears as her own

She hesitates before reaching out and sliding her hand into his

Slowly, almost as though he were in a trance, he turned his head to look at her

Before gradually taking her into his arms and burying his face in her hair

She can feel wetness on her scalp

All of a sudden, he sags onto her as complete exhaustion overtakes him, his full weight bearing down on her petite form

She startles and calls his name in alarm

He manages to rouse slightly, slurring reassurances as she helps him to his throne

She's about to pull away, promising to find help, but he grips her wrist and effortlessly hauls her into his lap

She lets out a squeak, but he simply cradles her in his arms and lets his cheek lay against the top of her head, breathing her in

"... Stay. Just... stay."

It was more plea than request

She's rigid in his arms for a moment, then relaxes cautiously.

"... Okay."

Munto promptly blacks out into a long, dreamless sleep, into which Yumemi follows him not long after

[meglinpancake]

Okay, I am def new to the DBD shipping side of the fandom (I literally live, laugh, love Fanfiction why’d it take me years to discover my people are here) so outta curiosity how’d you get to shipping Jill and Nea?

And any of your other ships if you’d like to explain them to (Haddie and Mikaela are literally my life rn you draw them so cute<3)

Why hello there! Welcome in<33

It’s actually Jill x Meg! I’ve been calling it Speeding Bullet.

It started because my gf at the time was the one who introduced me to dbd- we met through the re8 community and they dragged me over to The Entity’s realm wheeze. They actually introduced me to Susie/Julie first! Those were the characters that got me into dbd.

My first dbd simp was Susie lmao, here’s the proof:

When I did get the game finally- they mained Jill and I mained Meg- so I started shipping them together, and the more I thought about them- the more they just made sense together- and I’ve continued shipping them since then.

Although it was a messy break up- I still hold that person dear to my heart. It was my first serious relationship, and although there were many flaws- it was my first mostly healthy relationship. They accepted me despite my critical stage of depression- the one to push me to therapy, to really start that journey to discovering myself and learning to accept myself. And as I continued my journey to accepting myself, I used Haddie to help me- and eventually I started shipping Haddie/Mikaela as a way to exercise self-love when I finally came to accept most of who I am now.

Haddie and Mikaela have a pretty complicated history with me bahaha. Haddie in particular. It’s a lot of baggage I’m not comfortable sharing publicly, but to have a home for them on my blog has been a huge honour<3

And for that ex-gf, I really hope they’re doing well. We may not have separated on the best of terms, but I was blessed to have our worlds cross for the time it did. It was definitely an experience I wouldn’t have traded for anything, and perhaps someday I’ll have the honour to see them again and thank them for being such a wonderful person. They were such an expressive, unique individual who saw the world so differently- the experience I had being theirs for the moment I was has and will always continue to inspire me.

[becomingpart2]

another thing that candy did that annoyed me was how she would constantly defend caroline’s actions, but then would insist that she thinks caroline is just as flawed as elena. like it was so transparent. and one time she cited “proof” that fandom is more open to seeing caroline’s flaws than elena by linking to one tumblr post that said caroline was flattered by klaus’ attention despite everything he’d done. one single tumblr post, because that totally reflects fandom’s attitude to caroline and elena. and if she truly cared about acknowledging Caroline’s flaws she would put the same energy into correcting caroline stans rosy idealized perception of Caroline as she did in correcting elena stans. but of course she didn’t because it was never about appreciating morally ambiguous women, it was about hating elena.

OMG!!! So much to say about this... YES absolutely! I had forgotten about that one thing about her but it was SO prevalent. She defended Caroline over the most stupid banal things. In fact, I think that was the basis of my first interaction with her. She was always like this, even before she started to criticize elena stans and the feminist side of the fandom but it became even more ridiculous after when she would do that while claiming to love how "morally ambiguous" Caroline was because SHE CLEARLY DIDN'T LMAO

And also YES omg, she LOVED to handpick random tumblr posts and use it as an example of a wider fandom opinion. Also let's talk about how a post praising Caroline for being "morally ambiguous" in relation to KLAUS had a clear shipper agenda in mind lmao

Like OF COURSE klaroliners will want Caroline to be this way, that validates their ship, that makes Caroline Klaus' dark princess like they've always wanted her to be!

But Candy didn't see that, oh no! She didn't see the dishonesty in that. She didn't see any shipper agenda coloring people's views of the characters and the show. I wonder why that is. Oh right, because it was her agenda as well! It aligned with HER views of the character/show and what she wanted peaple to see out of it. SHE WAS SO FULL OF SHIT LOL

if she truly cared about acknowledging Caroline’s flaws she would put the same energy into correcting caroline stans rosy idealized perception of Caroline as she did in correcting elena stans.

EXACTLY. I think I even said something like that once to her but yes it's exactly like that. She NEVER addressed when Caroline was indeed shitty, not without caveats! When she did, it conveniently was to support klaroline and to propel Caroline as a superior character lmao

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

So, this may sound weird, since I don't ship ZK, but I think the reason some dislike EIP is because they realize it was the first part of a busted enemies-to-lovers arc. EIP was part one, where Zuko and Katara see how others see them, and it weirds them out. Yet, Zuko insisted on sitting next to Katara and Katara pushes Aang away, suggesting there might be something there that they don't want to acknowledge. (1/3)

The first part of the finale was Part 2, where June reiterates the "Hey you're with your gf again!" Zuko and Katara deny it, but there likely should have been an undercurrent of 'Why do people think we're together? Do we act like it? Should we be? S/he is kind of cute.' During this time, Zuko defers to Katara and despite Toph likely being more helpful, asks Katara to be the one to take down Azula with him. (2/3)

Last part of the finale should have been the money shot, Zuko taking lightning for Katara, and in a parallel to CoD, Katara healing him. Dante Basco is right in that there probably should have been a kiss at that moment and the end scene of the gang at the Jasmine Dragon with Zuko and Katara shyly proclaiming their interest in each other. (3/4, sorry I have one more)

Again, ZK is not my ship, but EIP seemed to set up a ZK endgame that jumped the tracks at the end. By all the "rules" of a good narrative, Zuko and Katara should have ended up together, otherwise EIP should never have been countenanced or storyboarded. Full disclosure that I'm not a huge Kataang fan either, but Kataang was done a disservice by having EIP exist. It either should not have ever gotten written, or the ZK enemies-to-lovers arc should have been concluded. (end)

Disclaimer: I don’t care if someone ships Zvtara. Never have, never will. If the takeaway you (the general you, not anon specifically lol) get from this post is that Zvtara is “bad,” then I’m going to assume you didn’t actually read anything I wrote, because that is the farthest thing from my point here. Also, this post is strictly my personal response to these asks. I don’t expect everyone to read this and be like “YEAH” lmao. I am sure some people have different opinions, and that is a-okay!

In short, I think we will have to agree to disagree, anon.

Do some people consider EIP the beginning of a busted enemies-to-lovers arc? Of course they do, they’re “rabid zkers” who wear Zvtara shipping goggles 24/7 lmao. EIP couldn’t have been the beginning of an E-L arc because such an arc was never in the cards for them in the first place! Katara forgave Zuko in the previous episode. Trying to cram a romantic relationship into five episodes after months of hatred between Zuko and Katara would have been awful writing (and thus probably would have been a decision mercilessly criticized until the end of time, lmao). So it’s honestly better that Zvtara gets to spread its wings in fanon instead (much less pressure)! Also, realistically speaking, Katara and Zuko probably still had so many issues to work through in their friendship. Like yes, she forgave him and recognized he was trying to do better, but that doesn’t erase what Zuko has done to her and her friends. There is still plenty of forward progress they need to make before romance can even be considered between them. If that makes sense?

Also, let’s be real: EIP and bit with June afterwards were 100% ship bait. Just an attempt to add to the “drama” of who Katara would end up. A technique only effective while it was airing, for the record, because if you watch the show straight through, it becomes glaringly obvious that Zuko and Katara’s relationship - while gorgeous - was always meant to stay strictly platonic within the canon timeline.

Anyways. I’ll try to break down your ask one piece at a time!

“Zuko and Katara see how others see them, and it weirds them out”

Yes, they are definitely weirded out! The transcript says, “Zuko and Katara inch away from each other, slightly uncomfortable.” Which is just a longer way of describing that they were weirded out by the depiction of their relationship in EIP, lol. However, the play is not how others see them. The play is the Fire Nation’s imperialist propaganda, meant to demean the entire Gaang. I talk about in specifics how the entire Gaang is belittled here, but this is the key stuff I noted about Zuko and Katara:

it’s important to situate that and more importantly situate eip zuko and katara’s relationship within the context of the show. the fire nation is an imperialist country. the southern water tribe has suffered heavily beneath them. we know from “the headband” that fire nation individuals are fed pro-imperialistic propaganda from birth; that combined with zuko and azula’s degrading comment of “peasant” towards katara demonstrate very clearly how the fire nation views every other nation - put simply, they are superior and everyone else is inferior. that attitude is therefore reflected in the eip play:

- katara, an indigenous woman, is highly sexualized and portrayed as overly dramatic and tearful, because the fire nation objectifies women not of their own people and views them as less intelligent and less emotionally stable

- she is thus paired as having a “romance” with zuko in eip because naturally, via fire nation logic, zuko would be able to “score” an “easy” woman of one of the water tribes

- furthermore, the eip “romance” between zuko and katara emphasizes zuko’s position as a traitor to the fire nation; the implication is that as a traitor, he’d only be able to achieve a relationship with a “lesser” woman, e.g. a woman not of the fire nation

That is not how other people truly view Zuko and Katara’s relationship. That is how the Fire Nation depicts their relationship in order to degrade and dehumanize Zuko and Katara. To misinterpret that as “evidence” that Zuko and Katara should have been together romantically is… disturbing, in my opinion. (I really try to stay far away from zkers who use EIP as “proof” of supposed Zvtara interest in each other like honey that is imperialist propaganda please don’t 😭).

If you want to talk about how other people actually view Zuko and Katara’s relationship, look at the Gaang, who were around them most of all! They never tease the possibility of romance between their friends. Why? Because within canon, there wasn’t one. Simple!

“Zuko insisted on sitting next to Katara”

Nope! This is all the transcript says: “Zuko [Removing his hood.] Just sit next to me. What’s the big deal?” He doesn’t even mention Katara! Zuko is literally just like I’m already sitting. Why do I need to move? lmfao. It’s no thoughts head empty for our favorite firebender 😂

“Katara pushes Aang away”

I’m assuming this about the kiss, which I’m going to make a post about in the future because I am TIRED of the tomfoolery. Anyways, I’ll keep this brief - yes, she does push him away. She does not deny that she likes him. For Katara, the issue is the timing: “This isn’t the right time.” Both Katara and Aang know they like each other, plain and simple (which is why Aang doesn’t ask if he returns her feelings - he asks if they’d be together, because he knows their feelings are mutual). Katara pushes Aang away because, as she says, they’re in the middle of a war. She’s already seen Aang die once. He might die again. She doesn’t want that, of course, but it’s a reality Katara is forced to consider.

Anyways, her decision has nothing to do with Zuko. Lol.

“June reiterates the ‘Hey you’re with your gf again!’ Zuko and Katara deny it, but there likely should have been an undercurrent of ‘Why do people think we're together? Do we act like it? Should we be? S/he is kind of cute.’”

June’s assumption - especially because it is a repeat of a gag from earlier in the series, when it is incredibly concerning to assume a Fire Nation citizen would be with someone of the Water Tribes because of the war and its consequences - is comic relief. Not even good comic relief, lmao, because of the horrific implications I just mentioned that come with it, but it’s supposed to be comedy. There was no need of any “Zvtara” undercurrents there because a) Katara and Zuko had never expressed romantic interest in each other in the past, b) it wouldn’t track with the show’s narrative of Katara as Zuko’s surrogate sibling because of her position as Azula’s primary foil, and c) it just doesn’t make sense in general. Katara likes Aang. Zuko likes Mai. There was never a love triangle there, plain and simple. Fandom invented it.

And again, if you want to talk about how people actually see Zuko and Katara, don’t look at June, who has never had a proper conversation with either of them. As I said, the Gaang is a much better example, since they’re with the two 24/7. If they never tease Zuko and Katara about romance, why should we trust this random lady who doesn’t even know them?

“During this time, Zuko defers to Katara and despite Toph likely being more helpful, asks Katara to be the one to take down Azula with him.”

As I mentioned, Katara is Azula’s primary foil, so from a literary perspective she absolutely needed to be the one to take her down. Zuko needed to face Azula, but taking her down - again, from a literary pov - was always meant to be the end of Katara’s journey (she was the only person besides Aang who was ever a match for Azula, after all, as we see in CoD). Also, how would Toph be more helpful?? Not saying you’re wrong, btw, I just don’t understand what you mean. If I was Zuko, I also would have brought the waterbender that I’d already witnessed almost take down my sister already 😂. But even if Toph would have been more helpful, sometimes practicality must be sacrificed for a fulfilling narrative arc, lol!

“Last part of the finale should have been the money shot, Zuko taking lightning for Katara, and in a parallel to CoD, Katara healing him.”

Honestly, anon, this part of your ask baffles me 😂 I totally understand why rabid zkers might make this argument, but taking into account the rest of the show… It just doesn’t make sense? It’s been talked about a hundred times, but Zuko taking lightning out of romantic interest would ruin his redemption arc, regardless of if it was Katara or Aang or Sokka or anyone in the Gaang that he was taking it for, so that should be the end of discussion, full stop. I’ve talked about this issue here and here before, and someone else does a great job breaking it down in this post, too. But seriously. Zuko having romantic interest for anyone in the Gaang would ruin!! His!! Entire!! Arc!! I hate when people don’t understand that 😭 Zuko had to learn selflessness, to learn how to put others before himself, and to unlearn the imperialist rhetoric he’d been indoctrinated with from birth. Romantic interest during canon for Katara, Sokka, Aang, whomever, I don’t care, completely disregards all of his growth of breaking away from the Fire Nation. Plain and simple.

“Dante Basco is right in that there probably should have been a kiss at that moment and the end scene of the gang at the Jasmine Dragon with Zuko and Katara shyly proclaiming their interest in each other.”

I learned in a discord I’m in that Dante Basco apparently hadn’t seen the whole show until this year lmao. He didn’t know what energybending was nor did he know A:TLA ended with a Kataang kiss. Take that with a grain of salt, of course (you can watch the livestream this is revealed in here, and it was also mentioned in the recent StageIt A:TLA reunion), but I think it’s safe to conclude Dante Basco can be treated like any other Zvtara shipper. He likes the ship, which is totally cool, but he is not one of the writers, so his opinion meant naught in constructing the canon narrative.

ANYWAYS. My point is why would Zuko and Katara proclaim interest in each other if such interest would have to be crammed into five measly episodes?? Especially when four of those episodes were the finale?? That is awful writing, of course the A:TLA writers wouldn’t do that, lmao! They’d built up Kataang and Maiko already. Why scrap it and needlessly rush a romance from an excellent - and, important to note, a newly established - platonic bond? Nah.

“EIP seemed to set up a ZK endgame that jumped the tracks at the end. By all the ‘rules’ of a good narrative, Zuko and Katara should have ended up together”

Nope. Idk what rules people have been teaching you, anon, but they were lying!! You deserve better than people who would lie to you like that 😤. But yeah, narratively speaking, Katara and Zuko getting together would have made no sense. It would have undermined Zuko’s and Katara’s arcs, it would have completely disregarded Katara’s established feelings for Aang and Zuko’s for Mai, and again, it would have been totally rushed. Who wants that?? Normal people don’t, lmao. This might be hard to believe considering I occasionally rag about BNF zkers, but I actually have several friends who are Zvtara shippers! They agree that canon Zvtara would have made no sense, and that it’s better to play out a potential Zvtara dynamic in post-A:TLA fanon. I swear, it is only the rabid shippers who think Zvtara should have been canon, and trust me when I say no one should want to associate with them, lmao.

(And again, as I touched upon earlier, Zuko and Katara’s canon narrative relationship was surrogate siblings because of Katara’s position as Azula’s primary foil. The show wrapped their arc up perfectly! With a lovely bow and all. So no complaints from me!)

“otherwise EIP should never have been countenanced or storyboarded. Full disclosure that I’m not a huge Kataang fan either, but Kataang was done a disservice by having EIP exist”

What EIP did right:

- accurate (and horrifying) depiction of pro-imperialist propaganda

- recap of previous seasons

- a lesson on consent (Aang kisses Katara, it is depicted as wrong, and Aang reacts appropriately by admonishing himself and by giving Katara space afterwards. like, people call Aang an incel/entitled/whatever, BUT HE HAD THE PERFECT REACTION?? he literally backed off and never pressured her again. i would have killed for the guy who kept getting in my personal space during my junior year to have backed off when i told him to. spoiler alert: he didn’t)

- hit some good humor beats

What EIP did poorly:

- honestly it’s not very interesting just based on watching it (deconstructing it as propaganda gives it better depth), but that’s to be expected from filler

- stupid shipping drama

- not having an additional conversation/explicit apology between Aang and Katara

HOWEVER. This final point is actually very subjective. For one, A:TLA has a clear trend of not showing apologies on screen. Ex.: Katara doesn’t apologize to Sokka for what she said about their mother, Zuko doesn’t apologize for anything he did to the Gaang, Song, or really anyone (closest we get is “Hello, Zuko here” lmao), Ty Lee and Mai don’t apologize for putting the Kyoshi warriors in jail, etc. etc. So while an explicit apology would have been great, the lack of one admittedly tracks with the show’s pre-established standards. And two, while I of course would love a conversation between Aang and Katara (that’s literally MORE KATAANG. why would I refuse 😂), it isn’t… necessary, to be frank. Aang’s mistake is treated as such - kissing Katara was wrong and he should never have done that. Like I said, Aang acknowledges this error and gives Katara space afterwards. Thus, it is Katara who chooses to be with him when the war is over. She respects the time he gave her to come to a conclusion, and the choice she makes is that she loves him despite his poorly-timed kiss (I mean, she forgave Zuko for being complicit in Aang’s death. Katara is clearly a very forgiving person!). So like,, it gets to a point where if someone doesn’t recognize that, they’re probably the kind of weirdo who labels anything they don’t understand in a story as a plothole, lmao.

All of this is to say that EIP wasn’t a disservice to Kataang. It certainly could have been better, of course, and the kiss was obviously only put in to hype up drama (“will they, won’t they” blah blah blah), but overall it handled consent well for a kid’s show.

“It either should not have ever gotten written, or the ZK enemies-to-lovers arc should have been concluded.”

On the whole, EIP is absolutely an unnecessary episode, yeah. It was just a recap before the finale. The only important thing is its accurate depiction of pro-imperialist propaganda, but most people’s minds don’t immediately go to that, I’ll admit lmao 😂. And as I’ve already said, there was no Zvtara E-L arc - fandom completely made that up. Which is totally fine! That’s the point of transformative works. But they are still fanon. Plain and simple.

TL;DR - Zvtara was never in the cards for A:TLA. I wish rabid zkers would stop pretending it was and have fun in the sandbox like the rest of us 😭

And for the record, anon, you absolutely, 100% do not have to be convinced by any of this! It’s just my own, personal thoughts on the whole dealio. No worries either way!! 💛

[knightofbalance-13]

It’s Only Homophobic If I Don’t Like It/All LGBT People Must Think Like ME!

https://rwbycrit.tumblr.com/post/163790412947/speaking-over-lgbt-people-totally-okay-sarcasm

AKA Double Standard the post.

oh boy is there a lot to dissect in this one. first, hey dude, are you lgbt in any way, shape, or form? at all? if not, shut the fuck up

1. Actually, yes I am. I occupy a weird space between heterosexual and demisexual to my neurological condition. So you’re first point is immediately invalidated. And in fact, due to your accusations, your entire post either falls because of this...or you yourself are homophobic.

2. Yeah....and yet when Dudeblade does this later, you don’t call it out at all. You let it go even though, by your logic, he’s doing the exact same thing as me. But since it’s what you want, it’s not homophobic. so screw any LGBT people who didn’t agree with you huh?

there is…. a lot of casual homophobia here. 1. “you people” 2. “bitching about every straight couple” 3. “screeching homophobia” like. slow down, dude. the post has only just begun and you’re being homophobic.

Yeah...except that I call out Dudeblade in the exact same manner as this person, group him in with the “you people” and talk about him with the others and in fact most of my ange ron him...and he’s straight. Now what do they actually have in common? Being RWDE posters. So either you’re an idiot or you are willfully misrepresenting what I say.

there you go with that "you people” bs again. 1. calling the lgbt community “toxic” is literal homophobic rhetoric. 2. you say blame rt like it’s not their fault…. are they not to blame for making the conscious decision to not include even one (1) lgbt character in 5 years/4 volumes lmao?

1. Look at the point above: You just look homophobic for thinking that the LGBT community is a hivemind.

2. Did they ever SAY when the character was coming? No? Then they don’t have a deadline to meet ergo they can take their sweet ass time doing it, as creators are entitled to do.

1. it’s been five (5) years, my dude. we’re way past “not immediately. 2. lgbt characters are not something lgbt viewers should have to sit and wait for, or ”“deserve”“ (in I believe Monty’s words”). they are not prizes.

And you are not LGBT viewers: You are RWDE viewers which is not wholely made of LGBT people. Funny how most of your arguments fall apart by looking at the context huh?

this is so homophobic lmao i can’t believe im reading it with my own two fucking eyes. 1. “everyone blames the lgbt community” everyone does that anyway 2. “you are that insecure about yourselves that everything must mirror you” you’re the one witting a fucking essay about how shows don’t need to have an lgbt character and can be filled to the brim with cishets, my dude. it looks like one of us is the insecure one, and it’s not the lesbian lmao 3. also nice blaming the lgbt community for homophobia. like, thanks homophobe, never heard that one before

1. Actually, a few of your members (read: RWDE) have said that being straight is dragging the show down so that’s a lie.

2. Well, I'm not the one taking your words out of context and making everything fall apart simply by existsing and context. If you were so secure about yourself, you wouldn’t NEED an LGBT character in your show. I usually don’t give a shit about a person or character’s sexuality unless it has massively creepy undertones (like Puri Puri Prisoner from One Punch Man. Seriously, fuck that guy, going around attacking and molesting people just because he’s stronger. Hero my fucking ass.)

3. Once again, you are displaying the thought process of “Every LGBT person MUST think like em or else they are not LGBT.” AKA LGBT people are not like normal people and are a hivemind. Which, like I have said in this very post, is homophobic.

1. MILES also made this promise, you dumb fuck 2. they do have the obligation to include an lgbt character lmao 3. no they don’t. 4. calling lgbt people abusers lmao. love that Homophobia™ 5. what actions and how are they irredeemable………….. ?????? calling rt out on not including an lgbt character in 5 years despite promising us and then making me sit thru the ‘Life and Times of Jaune Arc, Sad Heterosexual Boy’? get fucked

1. Proof. 2. Not anymore: You people (read; RWDE) have pretty much shown that if you are given anything, you will tear everything to shreds so if they never do it: You have only your selves to blame. 3. Ah so they are not allowed to do anything you don’t want them to do. Sounds familiar... (https://helpguide.org/articles/abuse/domestic-violence-and-abuse.htm) 4. Nope, calling RWDE absuers: Glad to see you cannot comprehend that LGBT people are, shock, people with different ideas because sexuality is mostly a non factor in how a person is. 5. Give me a minute: https://knightofbalance-13.tumblr.com/post/163768158700/hey-remember-what-a-mirror-is (A gleeful assortment of what just one person has done.) https://bluepulserjaime.tumblr.com/post/163547055676/so-just-because-jaune-was-in-a-dress-and-camp (trying ti remove freedom of speech. Also he said that the CRWBY are only being praised because they are white. http://dudeblade.tumblr.com/post/163589308451/just-because-jaune-was-in-a-dress-and-camp-camp#notes Oh hey, you’re in there too!) https://sokumotanaka.tumblr.com/post/163181907124/okay-so (Supporting a guy who outright insulted Monty) https://rwby-analysis.tumblr.com/post/162751186437/ejladybug-its-pretty-low-to-accuse-someone-of (ATTACKING an LGBT person because, get this, they didn’t insult Miles and Kerry) That enough because I can go into the harassment, the bigotry, the double standard, the attacks against other LGBT people, the devaluing of human life and so on.

how are you even comparing critiquing a show and it’s writing to actual, real life ABUSE, you disgusting human being?

also, who the fuck is the victim in this? rt??????

Ah yes, critique...that consists of lying, msirepresneting and cheating...and attacking the writers while trying to get them fired so a woman can take over...constantly insulting them while saying you are their fans...then trying to humiliate them by making a spectacle and then blaming them...while treating them as a factory for LGBT characters or as robots that should only do as they say instead of people...Making the CRWBY hesitant to answer any and all questions that might set you off...as you control what they do, when they do it...Like an abuser (https://helpguide.org/articles/abuse/domestic-violence-and-abuse.htm)

So yes, yes they are.       

1. jaune asking weiss to the dance 2. weiss giving neptune Sad Heterosexual Looks bc she had a crush on him 3. pyrrha being a Sad Heterosexual bc she has an ~unrequited love~ for jaune 4. pyrrha literally kissing jaune 5. ren and nora’s background and Meaningful Heterosexual Looks, all but confirming renora 6. not to mention all the more one liners about how many characters are SO attracted to the 'opposite gender’ (ie qrow with the waitress)

1. ah yes, because t’s bad if a heterosexual is having love woes. Doesn’t TAHT sound bigoted?

2. Ship sank and was sued for character development. 3. Ship also sank and was used for character development. 4. Ship sank. 5. Because Asexuals, demisexuals and bisexuals don’t exist apparently (and both Ren and Nora have aspects of the first two.) 6. Look at 5

yes, 'tis was I, the Homosexual, that was the homophobe all along! anyway, calling out homophobic/transphobic jokes is not homophobic, I can’t believe i actually have to say that.

Yes...except those jokes are not what you call them. By this logic, every joke ever made is some kind of phobic and thus humor as a whole shouldn’t exist. And since people make jokes about straight and cisgender people, logically they are allowed to make the same jokes for LGBT people. That IS what equality means.

“the lgbt community doesn’t deserve anything” ohhhhhh my god

“Only people who think like me are LGBT” Really, whose the homophobe here?

1. it’s probably because bumbleby is? the most popular? lgbt ship? in? the fandom?????? 2. im not even gonna TOUCH on asexuality and the lgbt community lmao 3. also like Bumbleby can, in fact, be a ship made up of not only two lesbians, but two bisexual women, a bisexual woman and a lesbian, a pansexual woman and a lesbian, or a bisexual woman and a pansexual woman. 4. just say you hate wlw and go!

1. And what about the people who don’t like Bumbleby and are LGBT? Like this person (https://darkvioletcloud.tumblr.com/post/163803510478/rwde-and-rwby-critical-is-making-me-hate-bumblebee) 2. Because if you don’t consider them LGBT because they aren’t you. 3. And you can have two gay men, one bisexual man and one gay man, one bisexual man and one pansexual man, one pansexual woman and one bisexual man, two pansexual men or woman, one pansexual man and woman, one bisexual man and woman. Bumbleby is not your only option for LGBT representation. Or are you just using the guise of representation to force your ship? Seems that way to me. 4. I don’t: I’m a White Rose Shipper. You’re the one who hates anything not wlw from your attitude.

1. im not going to comment about the suicide baiting bc i honestly know nothing about it so 2. didn’t you, earlier, in this very post, say treating the lgbt community like it was a hive mind is homophobic? and yet.

1. Another example of irredeemable shit. 2. I know one would because one HAS done it. My friends in this fandom are all LGBT and they have called this out too. Hell, the guy I linked to is bi AND trans. No one likes being used for another’s agenda. Also, you have been acting LIKE the LGBT community is a hivemind.  3. Dudeblade is straight and talking over LGBT people: He’s doing what you accused me of. And yet not a word against him.�� Double Standard much?

1. renora was suggested from the beginning 2. pyrrha and jaune literally kissed on the mouth in literally the most cliche, heterosexual way possible

1. And by your logic, so was WHite Rose and Bumbleby: Not a counter 2. Ah yes because hetersosexuality Is inherently bad like a cliché. Because homosexuality and it’s kin should just be marketing ploys to make something look good and original when it’s actually shit. That’s not homophobic at all.

1. i can’t believe one (1) man is doing all this! by just criticizing an internet show on a micro-blogging website. amazing. 2. this is now a joke post bc heterophobia ISNT REAL aldjajdjahskshh im literally close to tears rn fuck oh my god

1. More like a group of people encouraging a dangerous mindset and being toxic as shit by encouraging an abusive relationship between fans and creators. 2. Considering you used “cishet” which is a deragitory word used to devalue heterosexuals and cisgender people as if they are beneath you: You are a perfect example of heterophobia. Also: If heterophobia isn’t real then it’s counterpart isn’t real. That’s right. you just insinuated that HOMOPHOBIA isn’t real. Good job there. 3. What abouyt the homophobia argument? The sexism argument? The racism argument? Are those just accepted as truth? Well then: Glad to see you admit it.

not very logically indeed, kob

That’s a mirror you’re talking to dumbass.

[ironinkpen]

“The Leader That You’ve Become”: Allura and the Blue Lion

Alternatively Titled: Dreamworks Let This Poor Girl Have Fun For Once In Her God Damn Life

I already wrote a long ass meta about putting Lance in the Black Lion and talked about Allura in it, but fuck it. I have free time (ie homework I don’t want to do) so let’s write another one about just Allura. This is gonna be long so like, in summary, my argument is that I think that: 1. Allura’s personality and quintessence match the Blue Lion pretty well, and 2. Putting Allura in the Blue Lion might allow for interesting character growth.

But yeah okay let’s go:

So I’ll be the first to say that Black Paladin Allura would make me shit myself out of pure joy. And scenes like the above definitely point in that direction. Coran says it himself, Allura’s a leader. She’s been running this universe saving thing since day one. Sure, Shiro leads the team, but he’s Allura’s second in command. She’s the one who owns the lions, chooses the missions, makes everyone train, builds alliances, gets the team to safety, organizes resistance efforts, and operates the castle. Shiro might be the head of Voltron, but Allura is and always has been Voltron’s leader.

Alright then, I’m sold. Let’s put her in Black!!

But… would that really be the best move, narratively?

For one thing, if the purpose of removing Shiro from the equation (for at least a little while) is to shake up the team, then putting Allura in as Black (at least immediately) is a very strange move. None of the team dynamics get challenged at all, really, because just be swapping out one stable leader for another. It would make sense, but it would kind of be a cop out to the whole big “ooh, what’s the team going to do without Shiro” build up.

Plus, the idea of consolidating the two roles of Leader of Voltron and Head of Voltron kind of stresses me out. That might just be a personal thing, but I feel like it’s really critical for these roles to be kept separate, and what happened to Shiro is proof as to why. If something happens to one of the leaders, the other is still there to handle things. But like, if Allura gets both jobs, and god forbid something happens to her, the team is left with two vacancies and no leaders at all. Then they’d really be screwed.

And on that note, we need two leaders to question each other’s judgement and decisions. We see this dynamic play out between Shiro and Allura frequently. When Shiro says “yeah let’s trust Ulaz,” Allura’s the one to step back and be like “what.” Shiro ends up being right to do so, but Allura’s questions are completely valid. How do we know this isn’t a trap? What have these guys been doing for the past 10000 years? Shiro was ready to trust Ulaz kinda just… ‘cause, while Allura brought the more realistic concerns onto the table.

And when Allura and Keith leave the castle-

-Shiro’s the one to be like, uh, we kind of need you guys here. He and Allura balance each other out. If you combine the two roles, the only judgement the team will follow is Allura’s, because no one else would have the authority to really challenge her. And while she is, again, a brilliant leader, that doesn’t mean she’s always right. Like, specifically in this whole “Keith and Allura run away” thing, they could have tested whether or not it was them being tracked in a different, safer way. Ditching the team and leaving them open to attack in the middle of the night was not the wisest move. This is why we need two leaders, so that one can point out when the other is being too brash or too trusting.

The final issue is:

It’s been emphasized by Coran time and time again that Allura’s quintessence is needed to operate the castle (specifically the wormholes, so that the team can escape if need be). Who would be able to do it in her absence? Can Allura even pilot a lion at all?

Alright so that lays out all of the potential issues with Allura being Black Paladin (and I want to reiterate: I could be completely wrong about all of this lmao, I’m but a mere teenager overanalyzing a children’s tv show). But how would her being the Blue Paladin instead solve any of them?

Well, for one:

This is the same episode where Keith and Allura run off together. Coran is shown to be capable of operating the castle (to an extent) without Allura!! We don’t know the full extent of the castle’s reliance on Allura, and I’m sure that’ll be relevant / explained in season 3, but one thing she’s definitely needed in the castle for is wormholing. It’s a pretty well-established fact that Allura’s the only one who can activate the wormholes.

But that could change soon.

Like Slav points out, the castle is outdated. There’s a chance that someone (maybe him, maybe Coran, maybe someone else) might fix it up to solve that problem.

So, who’s to say that they might not be able to fix things so that Coran might be able to make wormholes instead?

If that happens, Allura could pilot blue, since the team would still be able to wormhole away (assuming that’s really the main thing they need Allura in the castle for). 

On another note:

Allura’s quintessence seems to be blue (it was pink at the end of season two but that was probably because of Haggar I think). I’m still kind of unsure on the whole quintessence thing because the only people on Team Voltron that we see actually using quintessence are Allura (seen above) and Shiro (seen with his arm), so there’s no proof that the color of the quintessence matters when it comes to piloting, but Allura does say:

And if Allura has blue quintessence… Hm.

We’re never told in the series what the traits of the Blue Lion are because Lance cuts Allura off, but a look on the Voltron website tells us that it’s “the friendliest of the lions and the most accepting of new pilots” along with having a confidence that “comes in handy in tough battles against bigger and better opponents.” Allura is undoubtedly friendly, as the Alteans are a diplomatic race. We see the extent of her friendliness when she’s willing to work with the Galra despite the fact that they killed her entire civilization (which, in her mind, happened like a few weeks ago thanks to the whole cyro freeze thing). She’s also quite confident in her abilities and judgement– like I’ve said, she’s a leader. 

Additionally, the Blue Lion is the Guardian of Water, and water is typically tied to traits like adaptability and healing. We see Allura healing the Balmera, and we see her being adaptable when she… does anything tbh. Allura is frighteningly well-adjusted. As soon as she comes out of the healing pod she basically accepts that she’s been frozen for ten thousand years off the bat. She’s really good at going with the flow. She throws together a resistance between the Marmora, Balmerans, and the Olkari, works to train the team despite them being young and inexperienced because hey, they’re all we’ve got, and agrees to work with the Marmora (again, despite the fact that the Galra killed everyone she knew like a month ago).

And then there’s the whole “most accepting of new pilots” thing. The fact that that information is purposefully kept from the audience makes it seem to me that the writers are setting things up so that someone new is going to pilot the Blue Lion next season. And Allura’s a good bet for who it might be.

The main reason people seem to be nervous about about Allura not becoming the Black Paladin is that they feel that if she doesn’t, it means that Dreamworks is shoving her character to the side. But, like I’ve said, Allura is and always has been the leader of Voltron. She’s the Commander of the Castleship! Her not becoming the Head doesn’t invalidate the power she already has within the group. She is and always has been the most powerful member of the team. That first picture I showed, where Coran calls her a leader, comes before she’s ever stepped foot in a lion. 

Also, it’s basically impossible for Dreamworks to push Allura aside next season anyway lol. We’ve just found out that there are other Alteans! And that they’re evil!! Plus we’ve got a mini-resistance with the Blade of Marmora and the Balmerans and the Olkari going, and Lotor, who in the OG series basically completely revolved around Allura, is coming to town. Allura’s. Got a lot on her plate, and her plot’s going to be central to the next season anyway. So I wouldn’t consider it too much of a loss if she didn’t pilot Black (or even a Lion at all!).

Okay so anyway I’ve been arguing so far that Allura could be the Blue Paladin, that it would make sense, and that it wouldn’t hurt her character, but to be honest, the biggest reason I feel like Allura should be Blue Paladin if she does become a paladin is that I think it would be good for her character.

We always see Allura as being this very serious person. She’s just lost her people in a war, the man who did it is still out there and is doing the same thing to others, and now she’s gotta deal with a bunch of punkass kids who don’t really know what they’re doing. She’s mourning and stressed. In the Space Mall episode when everyone leaves, she says it herself: “What am I supposed to do now, sit around and worry all day?” 

She worries about the paladins, about her duties, about Zarkon. Sure, she handles this all incredibly well, but it’s clear that there’s already a lot on her plate. And she runs a tight castle-ship as a result.

But, on occasion, we get to see another side of her:

She likes having fun! She plays road trip games with the mice and gossips with them, she wants to go out and see pirates, and when she’s left alone in the castle, she plays bumper cars and races down the hallways (god bless the comic tbh).

The Voltron wiki describes the Blue Lion as an energetic and fun-loving lion. And I’d say that’s an accurate assessment. The first thing Blue does it take Lance out on a joy ride!!

The Voltron website describes Allura as “often feeling the weight of the universe on her shoulders.” Putting her in a happy, energetic lion like Blue would allow us to explore the playful, lighter side of her more, which would add a new dimension to her character. Whereas if she’s put in the Black Lion, I can’t see her character changing / getting more depth from the placement. It would be yet another responsibility, which would reinforce Allura’s current feelings of personal responsibility for the successes and failures of Voltron. And, from a writer’s perspective, why would I want to put my character in a role that wouldn’t change them? It’s much more interesting and dynamic to put them in a situation they have to adapt to and learn from.

Plus, we’d get to see Allura bond with the team! She’s sort of removed from the rest of the paladins at this point. We see her try to chat with Pidge in Season 1, but for the most part, the only conversations Allura really has are ones involving training/missions/fighting Zarkon (minus the ones she has with Lance, which are him being thirsty and her shutting him down lmao). Being the Blue Paladin would allow her to integrate herself into the team more fully and just. Be with them. Not as the Serious Leader but as an equal.

Alright I’m gonna wrap this up here before I write another ten paragraphs on why Allura deserves to be happy and have fun and have friends and kick ass without having to worry about that god damn particle barrier. Basically Allura being Blue Paladin would make sense, wouldn’t make her any less of the leader she already is, and would allow us to explore a new side of her! She was Blue Paladin in the OG series, and there’s a possibility that she might in this one, too!

And for one last parting shot:

Everyone else is color coordinated with their lions (minus Lance, kind of). And guess what color Allura wears?