#self-identity issues

[kelpermoosee]

One thing I find interesting about book Officer Knight is how simple his design is!

Gonna ramble more about this under the cut…

For a character so essential to the series, he’s got one of the most generic designs in the books, and I think it really works. You’re not supposed to get attached to Officer Knight, the main character is supposed to be Dog Man, after all.

Officer Knight is simply just the sacrifice necessary for Dog Man’s backstory, and barely shows up aside from a couple of panels.

He’s hardly even talked about past his death (honestly, I don’t think they mention his name at all???), so the only concrete things we know about Knight is his strength, general cluelessness, and close bond with Greg.

This little knowledge about Knight makes him feels mysterious and out of reach, like something we’re not privy to.

And despite his seemingly close connections to parts of the main cast, like the Chief and Petey, he’s forgotten in an instant. Or in other cases, framed as being “saved” by the surgery and becoming part of Dog Man. (Kind of a scary thought, right?)

It’s strange, to have such little information on a person who’s technically (more than) half of the main character. But I like how mysterious Officer Knight is.

Personally, it makes his close relationship with Greg feel all the more heartfelt. Since it feels like a series of memories only Dog Man alone can reflect on now. But maybe that’s just me being overly cheesy about their dynamic. Can you tell they’re my favorites?

Overall, I like his design in the movie, but there’s so much charm to his generic appearance too!

[egg2bones]

fantasy au. witch uraraka x changeling toga ITS SO OVER

toga sees ochako looking for ingredients in the town nearby her forest and approaches her as a human. they become friends :) and then

[anglerflsh]

she's quite possibly the best genshin impact character

[fromtheseventhhell]

I love how people are only ever interested in defending Arya's right to be weird-looking. It's never defending her intelligence from people who claim she's incapable of thinking for herself, highlighting her importance to the plot and refusing to see her as just a prop, acknowledging how much of her story gets stolen and given to other characters, talking about her trauma or how often it gets erased and overlooked, seeing her as more than just an attack dog/bodyguard, etc. Nope. It's just a "why can't people let Arya be ugly/unconventional looking? :(" post every other week because people are, for whatever reason, obsessed with how Arya is visually perceived. One of the most misinterpreted characters yet the issue is only ever with her being portrayed as "too pretty" or the wrong "type" of pretty. This fandom will entirely rewrite a character's motivations, values, and role in the story to the point that they consider references to canon "hate" but! The true injustice to canon is we acknowledge that she is described as pretty several times. Arya simply existing as her pretty, important, and non-conforming self is too complex and confusing for people to comprehend 😔.

[daydreamycrustacean]

What if we both lost our identities and then had to rebuild ourselves based on the memories and perceptions that we had of one another...and we were both man-shaped humanoids.

[jabberwockprince]

nanami kiryuu youre the only girl ever

right and tsuwabuki is also there

[morninkim]

that one movie sinbad did about the genie

[mirellapryce]

Whatever you do, don't think about Charles and the Queen Charlotte speech. Don't think about Charles shouting at Edwin, "I will stand between Hell and Earth for you. I will remind you who you are. Do. You. Love me?"

[chaoxfix]

oh my beloved, cherished main character who carries the narrative. you have so many problems. i love you and i can't wait to ruin your life. i promise i will give you a love interest with trauma that acts as a perfect foil to your own.

[royalich]

Was spite spite when he was put into lucanis? Or was he determination and they soured him into spite?? I thought he was spite when he was put in but I'm replaying and lucanis said it wasn't only him that didn't have a choice and any spirit can become a demon does that mean he knew spite when he was determination?

Honestly i didn't pay much attention my first playthrough so I prolly just missed it pls don't yell at me I'm just a girl with a dainty little attention span

[mattiebluebird]

And if I said genderfluid Cissie would anyone care

[the-dragon-hearted]

We, as a community, do not talk enough about how Juvia and Bora are exes.

Like HELLO

Mr. Number 1 Opp of episode 1 who actively participated in human trafficking dating the one and only done-dirty-by-Mashima water woman.

Also Bora broke up with HER? Sir?? There is so much to explore there that, like many things, IS NEVER BROUGHT UP AGAIN -

Okay - so were they childhood friends or was he using her for her looks/powerful magic? Did it start off transactionally or was there some spark there? How long did they date? Did she stay with him because she felt that no one would ever love her, so at least she could be valuable in a different way? Did he make her laugh? Or just put up a facade in front of other people? Was she his backup for a while, a bodyguard adjacent fella for when his schemes went sideways? Is that how they started? What about the end? Sure we see him breaking up with her in canon - but why? You can't tell me he suddenly didn't like the rain of The Rain Woman. I mean he can, he's a prick, but consider the alternative: Did she catch on to his beginnings? Expose one of his scams? Grow critical of whatever shit he was getting into? Did she say something? Did she try to stop him?

The first time we see her she is completely covered head to toe in several layers and the rain does not stop. She says it's never stopped. But damn, doesn't it feel like turned from a drizzle to a downpour after him? I think it's purposeful. The layers are purposeful. The hints are there. She fully expects to be discarded after her fight with Gray. AND seeing how she comes out of her shell in the later arcs - watching her change her hair and her clothes, experimenting with new styles with an almost fervent joy - it just makes me wonder.

Could she not do that before? Was there an expectation there? A controlling factor? How much of her identity was she willing to sacrifice to quiet the fear of being unloved? How hard did the rain fall as it progressed, did it ever waver, or did it only get stronger and stronger.

And Bora? Fucking Bora?

Was it REALLY about the rain, or did she just speak up? Did she intervene and he had enough sense to refrain from trying to harm her. Because if the relationship was built off of him using her for magic and granting her some sense of companionship in return, then he damn well knew that there was no way he, a lil fire mage, could stand up to the actual force of nature that is Juvia. No, that meant he knew EXACTLY how to hurt her without inviting her vengeful side.

So he tells her she's too depressing. He reinforces how unlovable she is. How it's HER fault. How it's always been HER, how he's leaving her because of who she is - how he couldn't change her. He probably throws everything she's quietly confessed to him and leaves - safe from retribution and free to continue his fucking diabolical business. Because he knows he's hurt her worse than anyone else could. He knows that she'll either come running back, or she'll run and run and just keep running.

He doesn't know that Juvia only loved the idea of being loved. Not him. Bora can't imagine anyone not loving him (he can, but he's the one who's running, headfirst into greed with an enchanted ring on his finger - someplace Juvia never would've followed). Juvia doesn't run back to him. She doesn't run at all, the rain pours and she decides: "Fine, if I can't be loved. Let me be feared."

Maybe Phantom Lord orchestrated it, the master seems sort of cartoonishly conniving, and Juvia's magic is insanely powerful - but if that is the case, that doesn't change how easily Bora was bought. It doesn't change how Bora knew just what to say to push her to that point. It honestly doesn't change much of anything.

Bora? Pathetic.

Juvia? We all know she's always been lovesick and maybe if she was allowed a bit more characterization we'd be able to explore why. Maybe we'd talk about why she wore so many layers or kept her hair long. Why she kept a "frilly" pink umbrella but wore all blue. Indulging in a childish side while wearing a face of complete apathy. Why she adores the idea of being loved but can't seem to make it work. Why she's desperate for romance but finds more joy in the friends she makes - it doesn't stop her from chasing "true love" but she finds she doesn't need a lover's touch to chase the rain away anymore.

Because the rain was never about Gray, it was about Juvia. It was about how she was loved - not by others - but by herself.

I could spend eons critiquing how she was written... But for now I'm just gonna sit here and think about the consequences of Juvia dating Bora.

And I'm gonna laugh when Natsu and Lucy own his ass in episode 1. Because they don't even know it yet, but they're avenging a soon-to-be-friend. And honestly, I hope Juvia read about it in a newspaper, the pages soggy under her touch. I hope she sat in a park, the sound of pouring rain drowning out all else, read the headline.

And I hope, that even in that dark moment of her life, when she was the cruelest she would ever be, she read about Bora getting his ass handed to him. And I hope it made her smile.

[cool-person-yey]

the answer to the question "who's lila?" is " a giant fucking callout for me" apparently

[npd-goro-akechi]

And if I said Sumire also had NPD? What then. What if all of Royal Trio had NPD now

[my-thoughts-and-junk]

thinking about superheroes unfortunately

[magictavern]

going to pound my head against a desk repeatedly