#revenge is representation

[respectthepetty]

I love that these two are actually friends.

Wu Suo Wei could've used Xiao Shuai as a bargaining chip when Guo Cheng Yu approached him, but instead he said he would just come clean to Chi Cheng and suffer the consequences. Then Xiao Shuai was like "hush, let me get a massage with this rich man's money"

Also, I think the masseur didn't want to die, so that's why he stopped massaging Xiao Shuai since Guo Cheng Yu kept staring.

Guo Cheng Yu is already thinking Xiao Shuai is from heaven with his golden light.

So on behalf of your friend's cause, thank you for your sacrifice, Xiao Shuai.

You will be rewarded greatly.

[starstriix]

the boyssss

i know sam seems more like an earth pony or something, but i think making him a pegasus who never uses his wings helps to emphasize his laziness. and it balances out the species ratio of the cast!

The girls are here!!

I’ve explained the species choices and cutie mark designs in this post!

[girl4music]

Remember what I was saying about bisexual narratives? This is one but since it's about a female romantic interest they had to be a lot more careful with it. But the fact they did an entire episode about the concept of Gabrielle being jealous over Xena and Lao Ma's intimate relationship is significant, and again, just proves how much they took Xena and Gabrielle's relationship seriously whether it was interpreted as a romantic one or not because this is a DRAMA. It's not a joke. In fact it's the only Gabrielle-centric drama. Yeah, there's humour in it with an amnesiac Gabrielle and Joxer trying to get her to remember but that's completely besides the point of what they're saying here.

Which is that Gabrielle betrayed Xena in Chin because she thought Xena was leaving her and going to hook back up with an ex-girlfriend because neither Xena nor Gabrielle had any idea Lao Ma was dead until the point of reaching Chin and then learning that information. So making this an episode in actual context of why Gabrielle did what she did in betraying Xena makes complete sense. Why wouldn't she think that when Xena literally says to her that she'd give her life up with Gabrielle to fulfil some insane debt to a woman she once loved. Gabrielle doesn't understand what that debt is UNTIL Xena explains it after the whole ordeal so - naturally - Gabrielle would think in her grief and anger shit like: "She still loves her and she doesn't want to be with me anymore. I'm nothing to her. I'm not a lover, I'm not a friend, I'm not a sidekick... I never was important to her at all. I was only there to help her pass the time away. Why should I let her have happiness now? Why should I let her have that power over me?" and they really go into this area of thought with her as a full-on drama because petty jealousy like that can be a really compelling storyline and vehicle for character development and we come to get a whole other dimension to Gabrielle's character that we have never gotten before - that we probably never wanted to get - but the creators were like "No, we're taking this relationship so seriously to the point where we have to depict the ugliness in it as well as the beauty because that's what real life couples go through” and Gabrielle has to finally stop lying to herself as well as Xena that her motivations for betraying her and hurting her were not selfish or self-serving because they were and she had to come to terms with the fact that she was never like this when it came to any of the male romantic interests in Xena's life. But with a female one... because she knew Xena was a lot more emotionally invested there... she was a lot worse than she ever was when it came to Ares or Draco or Marcus. She was a lot more fucking concerned and rightly so because like if Xena was into women - why the hell haven't they gotten together? Why are they not more than they are? So you see what I mean about how interpreting them as a slow burn really works with everything going on in the show with all of the narratives because they can do an episode like this and it doesn't feel like it's just come out of left field at all. It feels logical and necessary.

I think as much as Season 3 showed us Gabrielle wasn't the entirely innocent, pure or selfless character - this was the storyline arc that showed that she could be pretty freaking vindictive when she can't get her way with Xena or when she wasn't the center of her attention but I thought that all this made her even more of a great character because she wasn't clean cut anymore. She could be a bitch too and so she was on more equal footing as Xena who we know used to be and would absolutely understand where Gabrielle was coming from.

[fire-in-my-woods]

So often in media, when abuse is talked about, the little boys in the household are shown to be combative - the "protector" of the family (an utterly depraved and insane idea). What makes Simon's younger self portrayal so special to me is that he's none of these things as a child. He was scared, timid, because he was just a kid in a horrifying situation. Being a male should not strip you of the right to involuntary responses that come with being abused.

This is not to say that the former example does not exist in the real world, because it very much does - it's just usually the only example of a young boy in an abusive household. Though the themes itself are not pleasant, I am incredibly happy to see representation of the quote-on-quote "softer" side of men who faced abuse growing up.

[canonicallyplural]

Mike from total drama: revenge of the island + total drama all stars is canonically plural.

Mike has five explicitly named system members-Chester, Svetlana, Manitoba, Vito, and Mal. Chester is an old man, Svetlana is an olympic gymnast, Manitoba is a survivalist, Vito is a playboy type, and Mal is a persecutor. Mike states explicitly to the audience he has multiple personality disorder, and over the series, each headmate is introduced through various triggers, with Mal making his debut in total drama all stars. Other characters switch names (and pronouns for Svetlana) for each presenting altar. Each headmate is acknowledged to serve a different purpose for the system, treated distinctly and generally fairly by other contestants. The system also has an explicitly canon and accessible headspace they use to communicate with each other. [spoilers] at the end of total drama all stars, Mike experiences what looks to be a final fusion.

While more specific terms (plural, persecutor, headmate, etc) are not used, Mike's multiplicity is about as explicit as it can get. Mal does fit the trope of "evil altar", as a forewarning. Overall, I really liked his portrayal, and we actually split a version of Mal.

.

[mannyblacque]

The ship has sailed

Art by Shonya

[do-u-know-this-autisticcharacter]

Do You Know This (Non-canon) Autistic Character?

Evidence is this Tumblr post!

What it says about Manjiro below the cut!

First of all, Mikey is the leader of a biker gang. He has an immense interest in motorcycles (including their parts and repairing/building them), something of which he is able to bond with other delinquents over. He is frequently commented on by others as showcasing ‘childish’ behavior, such as whining when he doesn’t get his way, taking naps on his vice-commander, Draken’s, back or getting upset when he receives a kid’s meal with no flag in it. He often relies on Draken in a caretaker sort of role, such as providing the aforementioned flags to avoid meltdowns, tying his hair up just the right way in the mornings, going to his house to wake him up (all these things appear frequent activities/rituals Mikey relies on), and being “his heart.” Mikey appears to have naturally low empathy. Pretty early on in the series, he and Draken pay a visit to a girl who was put in the hospital by a rival gang, for being affiliated with some of their members. Her parents encounter them and they are furious that anyone involved in gang activity would even dare show their faces, despite Mikey and Draken not being the ones to actually hurt her. He insists they shouldn't apologize to the parents, because it's not their fault and they personally didn't do anything, failing to comprehend the bigger picture, that the lifestyle of delinquency and crime in general and the violence it breeds, not just between those who partake, but innocents caught in the crossfire, is what led to their daughter's assault. And they are feeling grief and anger, thus acting irrationally and lashing out (which, while illogical to Mikey, is a typical emotional reaction to this sort of situation). But he eventually amends his opinion at Draken’s urging—reserving emotional consideration for when his friends are involved primarily. Difficulty regulating emotions, selective listening, and self-centeredness are also all traits that Mikey has exhibited. He often has atypical/repressed facial expressions. He has safe foods—preferring sweet things like dorayaki and taiyaki above all else. He has a comfort item in the form of an old, raggedy towel, which is, in his words “his whole life,” and refuses to give it up even when his family urges him to throw it out. “The tip of his towel” is canonically his “favorite spot”—He is seen stimming with it by rolling it up and kneading it with his hands and fingers. He also prefers to dress for comfort, in loose and baggy clothes whenever he is outside of his gang uniform, and he always wears the same flip-flops, even when it would seem inconvenient. Some other things that don’t necessarily point to autism, but maybe could be considered in the broader picture with everything else?

Routine night motorcycle rides with his brother and childhood friend, which he continues, same time and route, after their deaths, while talking like they are still there with him (though this is more him just honoring their memories and finding comfort in these old actions)

‘Dark impulse’ flare-ups could be interpreted as meltdowns that cross into violent territory? (Like after Sanzu allegedly broke his new toy as a child) But again, dark impulses are a whole other can of worms that could probably be likened to other things better than autism

He is canonically considered a martial arts genius/prodigy, which could be read as some sort of savantism, but also just typical shounen anime shenanigans Despite some of the shakier things to consider, I find myself really liking the idea of autistic Mikey, and I do think there’s a lot in the story in favor of that reading of him. I’d love to see him represented here!"

[aretheybisexual]

Are they bi?

[dollypopup]

y'all can all cancel me (again) for this, but if there's even a SHRED of 'who should I pick?' from Penelope in season 3, I am tuning out SO fast because like. . .sorry not sorry, there IS no choice. Debling is some crusty OC suitor she barely even knows and Colin is a man who she has been so supposedly in love with to the point where she'd ruin her entire family's reputation to have a potential love story with him. Penelope and Colin have background, years of knowing each other, intimacy that few people in the Ton can boast of having (letters, conversations about purpose, fights and arguments and makeups) and her and Debling have. . .a dance or two at a ball because he's a rebound for Penelope's broken heart. he means nothing. he has no nuance, he has no weight to the story, he is such an afterthought to me. either I wanna see Penelope going 'you know what? I don't even LIKE this dude. he's. . .fine, but I don't care about him even a shred as much as I care about Colin' or the INSTANT Colin's like 'you know what? we should get married' if it's not an immediate 'say less, you're already my husband, try returning me without the receipt, Debling whomst?' then I don't want it!

like. . .it's just so frustrating to see all the 'I hope Debling sweeps her off her feet and she rejects Colin's proposal and she makes him work for it and and and-' nonsense from the fandom and it's always tagged and no matter how many times I block it, it just keeps popping up. I go into the Polin tag for POLIN. I don't give a SHIT about a male love interest other than Colin. Not one. Not a shred. Not an iota.

and also. . .Debling has the 'benefit' of not having depth, or character traits, or HISTORY, so peeps can project onto him however they want, but I'm calling it now, there is NOTHING he could do or be that would make me like him more than Colin. Colin will always hit different, and I will always love him more. and if Pen's not on that same page? lol bye

you want me to believe Penelope and Colin are soulmates and it's romance for her to hem and haw about how difficult a decision it is for her to marry a stranger who knows barely anything about her. . .

when Marina was out here dropping banger lines like 'You were the only man with which I could see myself being happy' and 'I do not care about any of these men, where is Colin?'? like hello??? and she wasn't even fully in love with him!!!! but we'll demonize her until the cows come home in our fandom and make her the villain in Polin's love story for DARING to get in between Polin, yet Debling, a white man, is a darling dear perfect prince for getting in between Polin? existing in our fandom solely so Penelope can be like 'lol, Colin ain't shit, let me entertain any and everyone else'?

if that's the direction it goes then, ten toes down and on my mama, she doesn't deserve Colin and she can move because I'm on my way to court him my damn self

and that's that on that

[wanderingmausoleum]

i know i’m not supposed to like this trope as a disabled person but i will always be the #1 fan of characters who were mistreated so badly for being disabled that they start torturing and killing people about it

[incorrectly-quoted-queers]

I guess I wrote a whole book?

If you'd like a crossover of Crimson Peak, Cinderella, Twilight, and Dracula (that's also gay and says fuck you to the patriarchy) you might like my horror fantasy book, Daughter of Or!

Pre-orders are up now, but the ebook and paperback both officially release on May 26th (the same date as Dracula).

[lazagnalovingcat]

Okay small rant but I really don't understand the point of tagging x reader fics where you specify on the looks of the reader likr for example chubby!reader or short!reader like unless that actually matters to the plot of the fic or drabble youre writing why include it? I get the fact that they want to focus on a group that are normally overlooked but I don't think I've ever read a fic where they specify on the tag itself the looks and body of the reader and if they do for example write things like "her pale white skin" or "Her bony back" then I can say with chest that, that is shit writing the whole point of x reader fics is that everyone can insert themselves into the plot but the looks of the reader neverrr should have mattered, it could be the actions of reader or the readers background in relation to the character but IT WAS NEVER ABOUT HOW THE READER LOOKS. Beauty is subjective so if the canon character said "youre beautiful" to the reader it shouldnt matter what the reader looks like AND THATS THE POINT. The worse part of these tagged fics is that they say reader is chubby or black or petite or stuff like that and only mention it ONCE if ever, like for example for a chubby reader they would write stuff like "He pinches her chubby waist" AND THEN THATS IT. Bro what is the point of tagging reader as something when at the end of the day it isnt gonna matter to the plot! For an x reader simply saying "He pinches her waist" is enough! Because no where else does the fic imply what the readers body type is! I really don't understand it because its not like tags like witch!reader or vampire!reader or forager!reader because these are non physical traits and actually change the plott! And even if you say there are certain traits assigned to certain reader tags that stuff can still be debatable like if a vampire has really pale skin or just ordinary skin tone like in castlevania. Anyway my point is if youre going to mention a physical trait it better matter in the plot and if not then why bother?? Why tag it as x reader when the oc tag is available! Im talking about purely physical traits not stuff like adhd!reader or mentallyill!reader because those things can show up in different ways and are not purely objective, physical traits are! If its representation youre aiming for youre doing a shit job if the only time its mentioned is in the tags and offhandedly in the dialouge where the noun or adjective can literaly be changed with any other noun or adjective with no change to the plot. As a south east asian woman I would love a fic that specified the ethnicity of the reader and it happens to be the same as mine but I dont just want "She ate [insert cultural food], and shared it with [insert character] and he really enjoyed it!" BRO THAT MEANS NOTHING TO MEE. If you cant tackle complex readers with cultural, historical and physical attributes other than shallow traits then dont do it! Believe me the people you want to represent would much rather enjoy a good x reader fic that doesnt focus on physical attributes than one that does but only offhandedly or doesnt even mention it!. Anyway the whole point of this rant is to say that if you cant write an x reader fic that remains engaging but vgaue on the readers physical traits so that everyone can insert themselves in the fic(the whole purpose of x reader fics) then youre not a good x reader fic writer and you should just stick to oc writing. Yes writing is a form of expression but I hope if you are for example a black writer that you express yourself better than just "she brushes her 4c hair" okay? BE CREATIVE EVERYONE DONT JUST RELY ON TAGS TO REACH A COMMUNITY QUALITY REPRESENTATION IS STILL IMPORTANT!!! thats all.

[comradecowplant]

so Ivanova is nearly killed off, saved by actually killing off sweet baby space legolas, and now she's left anyway? AND my boy lennier is going off to "find himself" too? mkay.

[autisticauthorxyz]

WIP: Radioactive Love

Revenge Fantasy drama

Art by durkknesss https://www.instagram.com/durkknesss?igsh=MW92bXhvZHFjdGJtcg==

[do-u-know-this-autisticcharacter]

Do You Know This (Non-canon) Autistic Character?

Evidence below the cut:

He has a special interest in the occult and thus easily believes when he's told time travel is real... in the good timeline, he grows up to be an occult journalist and is livin his best life. It's neat to see this interest has stuck with him his whole life. In the bad timelines he fixates for 12 years on figuring out how to prevent his sister's murder - which he also immediately accepted as an inevitable threat at the same time time travel is explained. He even becomes a cop to gain access to information on the Tokyo gangs in efforts to save his sister, despite having loathed his own cop dad in childhood for how distant the profession made him. Also, in the show's official mobile game, he will tell you random facts he's learned about the location you're visiting for no reason more than the thrill of trivia.