#she's not good at empathy - but still doesn't like to see anyone she cares for made to be sad/upset

[gffa]

I'm going through my screencaps from Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade and it really kills me that I can't recommend this book to more people because it's from the point of view of a character falling to the dark side, so on the surface it comes across as very Jedi critical, but as someone who constantly keeps a hawk's eye out for what the other Jedi say and do so I can put it in my citations project, let me tell you, this book drives me absolutely up the wall with how much I was handed on a silver platter for how it's structured. It's a book that's set from the point of view of a troubled young Padawan, Iskat Akaris, and everything in her thoughts is about how she does try to let go of her anger, which she finds very difficult, but she also constantly craves battle and violence and seeks to find ways to justify that. She's offered by multiple people to find avenues to help her, but she always turns away from them, because they're not exciting enough for her. She never tells anyone directly of her struggles and any time another Jedi expresses support, somehow it's never good enough, she assumes it's not real empathy (because she thinks they wouldn't agree with her feelings--she doesn't want to be an archivist, she wants to fight, she doesn't want to take a regular position with the children in the creche--despite that she was really good with them and felt calmer afterwards--because she wants to be out in the galaxy fighting), and when she makes mistakes, she looks to justify why it wasn't her fault (she doesn't actually care about the civilians her actions hurt, she just cares that Adi and Yoda are telling her she has to be more careful). She's offered mentorship multiple times, by Jocasta, by Josk, Master Klefan talks to her frequently, Adi and Yoda make a point to tell her that two specific Masters are available to speak to, the Council offers her a position in the creche because they think she'd do well there--but that's not the excitement she craves, it's not the admiration for her battle skills that she wants, so she turns away from it. She's offered a position that's clearly very dear to them, it comes with multiple compliments and that they say it's meant to be beneficial to her as well (with the implication of how much it calmed her), and yet she sees it as a demotion, because it's not a mission with action and fighting. Everything that is the opposite of what a Jedi needs to seek. And it's done with such deftness to Iskat's point of view that, if you're not paying attention, it might seem like she is justified in these things. But when you look beyond her, you see how hard the Jedi are trying to help her, how many hands they hold out to her, and I want to write entire essays about this book but arrrghhhh I'm probably the only one who read this book in this specific way and who still has tolerance left for unreliable narrators who unfairly criticize the Jedi, but I can see the consistent pattern of how compassionate they are beyond it, so I feel I'd just be yelling into the void even more than I usually do, so instead I just sit with my feelings, like, I enjoyed this book through this lens, but it's a lens that scrapes a lot of people's nerves raw, so I can't blame them, but also oh man there's so much to chew on in this book and I just have to delete these caps as I make my way through my backlog. Arrrghhh.

[miqojak]

🌲 How deeply does your OC feel? Are they typically empathetic or do they have a hard time connecting with others in this way? What are they like when offering support and comfort to someone they care for?

(A sneaky lil answer to something you sent me ages ago, because I went to reset my housing timer, and realized how much I miss Jak...) Jak is... not an empathetic person - which has been difficult to approach, as someone who is OOCly! She just doesn't really resonate with what others are feeling - and in a couple of instances, it's made things awkward! She tried to sympathize with a friend and comfort them some when they thought their partner died, but she just felt like she was getting it wrong the whole time. It's the effort that counts, right? (Showing any sort of care usually involves 'actions' of some kind. Like a cat leaving you a dead bird... she shows she cares by doing something. Not necessarily something entirely logical.) Jak does feel things deeply - and these days, she just doesn't really know what to do with the way she is made to feel, for the most part (mostly she channels it into anger). It's a bit daunting not to understand what feelings are... 'appropriate' or 'normal? How do others feel about this thing/situation? What does she call this emotion, or that one? If you've ever watched Lucifer, then Maze is a great example! She's effectively emotionally on the same level as a child, initially, being a demon who has never really had cause to have many emotions not associated with torture or sex - and has to learn how to interact with others in ways that are socially acceptable - and the people around her have to adapt to her oddities and realize that she won't ever be just like them, even after learning how to process and express her emotions in more constructive ways. Jak... is a lot like that. She rolled her eyes at simple niceties like 'thank you' and 'please', back in 2019. These days she can hold a polite conversation all the way through, if she truly wants to... she understands how to navigate them better, now... mostly. She can camouflage herself well enough, but rarely cares for truly polite conversation. Hard truths will always be what she prefers - she, a lot like Maze, likes to make people squirm.

[garden-variety-jumo]

I want to talk about the latest Doctor Who episode looking at monoculture and worldbuilding and how it adds fantastically to the whole episode.

I knew about the twist in the episode before I went into it, so I have less to say about how the racism shocked me and more about the society they function in.

As I mentioned in a previous post, none of them experience the world around them- pretty much at all.

I watched Lindy walk to work and I thought to myself "is that their gardens? They never stop to look at them?" Maicured grass with decorative shrubs- not only is the grass itself a symbol or capitalism and class systems, but it's perfectly kept and that's pretty much all the biodiversity you see.

It's a monoculture, it's not hospitable to insects, and it reveals more about the planet to you. It's not hospitable to insects because they aren't meant to live there. There probably even aren't any, thanks to the forcefields around the city. They may be seen as pests, but they're absolutely vital to an ecosystem. It makes me imagine that even the dirt housing the grass is likely free of microfauna- meaning some other technological intervention is taking place to make the grass stay green- it might not even be real. Which implies nothing can grow.

Also note you also don't see any pets.

Additionally, the doctor that pops up on Lindy's screen notes she doesn't need to urinate. Sure it's just a silly joke about how when she gets scared she suddenly does need to. But it tells you:

1) That is seen as a good thing, having to pee is seen as an inconvenience or maybe a social faux pas

2) If she doesn't need to pee, she doesn't need to drink. If she doesn't need to drink, she doesn't need to eat either

And if she doesn't need to eat, she probably doesn't, and she almost definitely never cooks either. I'll say it a million times- as will Dungeon Meshi as it's surged in popularity: you need to eat to be alive and, in fact, being alive is all about being able to eat- finding balance and enjoyment and sharing experiences and staying alive. It's a celebration of who you are and where you came from and how good it is to still be alive. And in their society- it's just gone.

Everyone dresses so similarly and even acts similarly. Everyone dresses in clean cut clothing and pastels- even those who have more eccentric styling or hair, they fit into this world and it's not commented on. The most diversity they have is Goth Paul and even he doesn't dress fully in black- he has an almost pastel purple in his hair. So even with those "different" they're actually quite similar

(Thinking about it. Did anyone in that episode have curly hair besides the Doctor...?)

And it all leads back to monoculture. Even think about how everyone in the city is the same sort of demographic: 17-27, rich, white. Likely also able bodied and neurotypical. Nothing can live or thrive in a monoculture, no one can or will change, and so they stagnate- as does the world around them.

People become more accepting and open and kind when they try new experiences and meet new people, by expanding their worlds, they become more tolerant- but this is a world in which that can never happen. Even Ricky September, who turns off his bubble, stays inside to read. He never goes out, never tries anything- so not even he would have the capacity to change, truly.

Knowledge is such a powerful tool as well as being open to outside influences and change. By living with people who are the same, they can never take on the wisdom of their elders, and by living in a monoculture, their fashion will never change, they will never try new food, they will never appreciate new growth on plants or learn to take care of pets.

They can never change or grow. And the racism building their society has ensured that. They will never learn empathy, because they will never interact with different races and are taught to be disgusted by them. They will never be able to experience the joys of those cultures either, not that they deserve them, they won't pick up new fashion or recipes or dance or music. And from their point of view, they never want to.

Experiencing the world will teach you much more than books ever could. Ricky September showed bravery and empathy from his limited freedom, much more than Lindy was capable of. But he would still be racist if it came down to it, because why would he be otherwise?

This is their perfect society: nothing can live there and nothing ever will. And thanks to it, not one of them will survive.

[joseline-woodhouse]

I want in on talking about Annabel and Prospero.

Since most posts I've seen are about how nice it is to watch them being healthy for one another (it really is, I adore their dynamic) I decided to talk about how neither of them would hesitate to kill one another eventually.

First of all both Annabel Lee and Prospero are calculative people. Both of them care for only the outcome and how to get there. I have seen people call Annabel a hypocrite for protecting Prospero because he's important to her after what she did to Duke and I entirely disagree, more on the rescue from Ada later. We have established that Annabel really doesn't care that everyone in the academy (except one, if the Deans can be trusted) is doomed.

I don't think Annabel's general willingness to sacrifice people needs to be discussed.

Now, I'm leaning a bit far out the window here, but take a good look at Prospero in the left picture above, he looks more frustrated than anything. His chances just got a lot worse, he needs to rethink his strategy and on top of all that Ada is invading his personal space again.

Moving forward to what I think makes their mutual betrayal inevitable, the episodes after the Mansion Arc (this is were it gets interesting):

Until now we have seen Prospero mostly be mildly bothered by whatever is happening. When everything fell apart during the Lesson and everyone except for him apperently just did not do their job, he seemed like he was about to explode and seriously questioning his choice of team. Everyone else appeared to just want to go on with the day, Prospero however demanded answers, proving that he cares to win this entire game without getting side tracked.

Further his behaviour during the lesson shows that he actually doesn't get how anyone else would still be reluctant to kill their friends here. He was genuinely not expecting anyone to act out of empathy anymore.

And after the widow's watch affair and him witnessing Annabel freaking out after the labyrinth and smoothly asking about Pluto instead of giving an explanation, he is surely just one big-ish failure or unwillingness to take action away from openly confronting Annabel how it can be that whenever she is alone with Lenore, things go south ways, how whenever people want to act against Lenore, she calls it a waste of time despite the growingly obvious threat that Lenore poses.

I think Annabel actually does matter to him, and I think he matters to Annabel as well, but both of them expect something really specific from one another and sympathy alone means little to them.

Now about Annabel saving Prospero.

I believe this says everything:

Since Annabel is a chess player, get ready for chess metaphors:

In chess, most gambits are about giving away a pawn. Why? Because a pawn has very little value on its own and sacrificing a pawn in order to get a slightly more profitable structure on the board can actually be worth it.

Sacrificing a queen? If you do something like that, you better be 100% sure you're seeing a forced checkmate.

Not only is Prospero's spector really powerful, Prospero is also the only thing keeping Annabel in control of her own team right now. Other than Prospero who's supporting her as long as she keeps bringing results, she is stuck with Ada who is a complete wild card and useless most of the time, Morella who is only half on her team, Will who is loyal mostly to Montresor and Montresor who constantly challenges her leadership.

The way things are standing right now, everything she has build would fall apart the very moment Prospero is gone.

Also, what if Annabel and Lenore have to stay long enough for their teams to start falling apart? Whom does Annabel want to face in a one on one? Someone like Montresor who's spector can very much use brute force against her or someone like Prospero who's spector is similarly unforceful as hers?

We even saw, that Annabel can just simply neutralise Prospero's rats with her fog, leaving him with no real attack on her. While he applies her with status conditions she can use her blossoms to attack him after she used her fog to make his rats disappear like she did on the widow's watch

Annabel did not safe him because she likes him, which she does. She saved him because he is a very important piece for her game and no real threat to her in the long run.

Prospero follows Annabel not because he likes her, which he does, but because she keeps bringing results. Or at least she did until rather recently.

[unhelpfulfemme]

Thalias from the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy is how you do a female character with "traditionally feminine" virtues correctly.

The culture of the Ascendancy involves using young girls - the only Force sensitives their race has, since they all lose their Force sensitivity when they enter puberty - as ship navigators necessary to navigating the chaotic part of space that they live in. These girls are taken from their families at a young age and raised by a series of caregivers, and just like a bunch of plenty of carers IRL a lot of them are dogshit at their job. As someone who's worked similar jobs and watched other people work similar jobs, Timothy Zahn is BRILLIANT at portraying all of this - it gives me feelings like I can't describe. If you've ever seen a mean preschool teacher harranguing their charges or a shitty foster parent who doesn't treat their foster kids as individuals or anyone of the sort, you will feel this in your bones. Zahn goes hard on the "children are people" themes in this trilogy and I love love love this - it really means a lot to me to see a man known for his military and engineering competence porn stuff put so much thought and care into portraying caregiving as the important and complicated task that it is without coming off as sexist or patronizing towards it.

Anyway, Thalias is one such navigator, but even though most of them want nothing to do with the whole trauma-inducing system once they grow out of it, Thalias ends up returning as a caregiver and puts so much effort, compassion and logical thought into it that it makes me cry tears of joy. She draws on her own experiences but is quick to course correct when she realizes that Che'ri's experiences are different from her own (Thalias loved to read as a kid and still finds it comforting, Che'ri hates reading), she treats Che'ri with empathy and gives her as much autonomy and independence as she is allowed to. She uses a scientific method to figure out how the navigator powers work and adjust Che'ri's work routine accordingly - something no one has ever thought to do. She advocates for Che'ri with the rest of the ship's crew. She's amazing, and Zahn also makes sure to show how HARD it can be at times rather than just make her a perfect mind reader who always knows what her charge is thinking and what to say or do.

She's also kinda flawed - she seems to have an unhealthy obsession with Thrawn because he was once nice to her when she was a miserable kid in the throes of the shitty navigator system, and it comes off as kind of weird or cringe at times, and that's a GOOD thing in my book because it makes her character more 3D.

ALSO, the really nice part of it is that these books are filled to the brim with cool female characters that all feel really really different from each other, so Thalias being the nurturing, diplomatic type doesn't feel like Zahn sending some kind of message - the other prominent character is Ar'alani, a clever military woman who's a natural leader, excellent at handling her subordinates and recognizing their talents, excellent at handling politics even though she hates it, excellent at improvising on the fly, and also a kind and loyal friend. A lot of the other soldier or officer types are also women, and Zahn's other works also have a shitton of varied and cool women, so you feel safe in the knowledge that anything Thalias says or does is indicative of Thalias as an individual and not some vague idea of what women are like that the author has.

I also love how her character provides a contrast to all the "necessary evil" and "people are assets"-type thinking that a lot of the Ascendancy's more military types endorse (which make up a large percentage of the main cast, since this is mil scifi after all) - her conversation with Samakro about this is just chef's kiss to me. I feel like it's cool that we get this kind of POV because to me it serves as confirmation that Zahn knows what he's doing here - he's not being a stupid edgelord fanboy in love with the concept of doing shitty things for the greater good, he's just keenly observing how different people approach life and how all of these sorts of thinking are very useful in certain situations and deeply stupid in others. And the topic is treated with zero smugness - I've read things where similar arguments are used as a way of showing how wise and perfect one of the characters is and how stupid the other one is (coughvorkosigansagacough), but here everyone is treated with respect and empathy and consideration.

THALIAS SUPREMACY!!!

[orbmanson7]

Why Logan is Trapped by the Narrative: A Quick Analysis on the Effects of Thomas' Black-and-White Thinking

Why is Logan so caught up on not being seen as a joke?

Why does he care so much about what Thomas and the others think of him?

Can't he just be Logic without having to deny he has feelings, without constantly filling only the roles of exposition in the show and the voice of reason for Thomas?

Well, here's the thing: Logan is trapped by the narrative.

Thomas' perception of the narrative, to be exact.

Think of it this way - you know how so many people argue that we can't have a female president in the US because she would somehow be "too emotional" to handle the position properly?

While complete nonsense (at least in comparison to plenty of emotional decisions men can make, too), the point is that people see the role of a president as someone who is calm, collected, and in control. They know that person will have to make very important decisions, so it's believed they need to be someone who is informed and level-headed.

Similarly, if you were to hire a lawyer, only for that lawyer to constantly get angry and loud and scream at people when someone argued with them, would you trust them to be able to do their job properly?

If you went to the doctor, only for your doctor to cry and sob with empathy for you, only offering up niceties and positive words instead of factual information to improve your situation, would you ever go back to such a doctor or trust them to help anyone?

People perceive certain jobs and roles in very specific ways.

It's not that a lawyer can't get emotional, but they need to understand how to keep their calm when they are doing their job. It's not that a doctor can't have empathy and care about their patients, but they need to not let it interfere with their work.

People tend to see the world as more black and white than it actually is. We perceive people for their roles, not as the multi-faceted folks that they truly are.

Just because you see a coworker who's always quiet and reserved doesn't mean they are like that when they go home. Just because your teacher is strict and quick to find faults doesn't mean they are like that when they're on vacation.

Often, people think someone can only be one or the other, not varying shades of both and more. But even people we know very well can have aspects that we don't know or understand.

Logan exists within shades of gray, removed from those arbitrary constructs society holds but still required to operate within them because of Thomas.

This is why he has to insist on being heard, being taken seriously, not making mistakes.

Because everything relies on Thomas' perception of him.

If Thomas doesn't find Logan reliable? He won't be reliable.

If Thomas doesn't trust him when he tells him the truth? He won't be trustworthy.

If Thomas thinks Logan is wrong about something? Then Logan will be wrong.

It all comes down to how Thomas' mind perceives everything, and Logan is always, always torturously aware of that fact. Thomas is human. He has a lot of black-and-white thinking that he hasn't challenged just yet.

It's because of this that Logan knows he can't mess up, because then Thomas will see those mistakes as him. He will be identified in that way.

We see this with the other sides a lot, too, by the way.

Patton isn't taking seriously even when he has good suggestions because he's always telling jokes and relying on feelings. But Morality is something important that should be listened to and taken seriously at times, as it's meant to guide your actions.

Roman is reprimanded a lot for arguing and yelling at others, but he is constantly fueled by passion. He's built to stand up for what he believes in, even if he's wrong or making an impulsive decision in the moment! Tampering down that passion would prevent him from expressing the Creativity that he embodies!

Virgil's entire role is to scare Thomas into not doing things that could potentially hurt him, so Thomas perceived him as scary and villainous for a very long time. But without it, Thomas could easily get hurt!

The same can be said for Janus and Remus, too. They initially come off as villainous, bad, and evil, despite their actual purpose and intentions, only because Thomas has perceived them and their roles in that way.

Logan cannot make mistakes because then he'll be seen as unreliable or wrong. He can't display emotions because then he'll be seen as emotional, compromised and unable to make unbiased decisions. He can't be seen as a joke or not taken seriously, because then Thomas' perception of him as a voice of reason, as someone with valuable knowledge, as someone he can always trust to tell him the truth...that will all be gone. It will warp Logan into something that he's not, so he has to maintain those rigid guidelines as much as absolutely possible to remain in his position.

Does this mean Logan really can have emotions? Can he enjoy silly activities or a good joke? Yes, of course he can.

But it needs to be kept separate from his role as Thomas' logic.

And this is where the issue arises. Because Thomas wants his sides to constantly act as their own characters, this puts a lot of spotlight on Logan even when he is in private. He can't be perceived at any time as someone Thomas can't trust or rely on, so his role as Logic invades the other part of his existence, too.

If a lawyer was stoic and formal even at home with their family, their family would probably find them odd, and the lawyer would probably feel stressed about being completely unable to ever unwind.

If a doctor could not show empathy even to their own children, relying only on facts, unable to comfort them because their coworkers could see their every move and they couldn't risk being seen as emotional for even a moment, the doctor would likely have a very stilted relationship with their kids, unable to connect with them in the way they want.

For Logan, he has to remain a reliable, unbiased, unfeeling Logic at all times because he is constantly being perceived as such.

Because it's all about who's watching and what's expected to be seen.

Logan wants to be more than his role as Logic, more than what is expected of him. But he knows the consequences of him trying to do so could harm Thomas in the long run, leaving him without a much-needed voice of reason.

So he's not going to let that happen, even if that means he has to hide away all the parts of 'Logan' that don't quite fit what Thomas expects of him.

Because Thomas needs him to be Logic a hell of a lot more than he needs him to be Logan.

[romanticizingmurder]

How comics treat Jason killing is so frustrating to me because it's always all or nothing. Either Jason just runs around killing anyone who you could label a criminal or Jason has to learn the error of his ways and give up killing.

But the Jason I like best in terms of killing is by far Lost Days Jason.

In Lost Days, Talia fears that Jason may have come back from the pit wrong. He wants to kill Bruce, and he wants to do it cruelly. She decides to see if more time will help, and sends him around the world training. And when he kills, because he discovered his teacher was a child trafficker? Talia is relieved.

In Lost Days, Jason's first murder is presented as a sign he still has empathy. His first act of killing is done to protect children. Jason's desire to kill may have started as revenge for his death but his choice to kill is because he saw children being victimized.

Jason goes on to kill other teachers and the pattern is clear. Harm to children, tainted drugs - these are what Jason kills for. Not some concept of "criminals bad". For concrete and specific crimes against vulnerable people.

Notably, we do see a teacher Jason doesn't kill!

I think this is interesting for two reasons: Jason acknowledged that this teacher isn't a good person - a merc! And yet! He isn't going to kill him. This guy is just a driver.

Lost Days shows that Jason doesn't kill indiscriminately. He doesn't kill someone just for being a dirt bag, for engaging in crime in general. Jason has a clear and easily discerned internal code of ethics for killing. He can stop himself without trouble. He doesn't kill on impulse. His kills are internally consistent and largely sympathetic choices to an outside observer. I think that's important.

I think Lost Days connecting Jason's choice to kill to Jason still having empathy, to Jason, above all, always caring about victims and children - I think that's what killing always should be for Jason.

[moonspirit]

I think the discussion on Armin’s relationship with his mother brings up an interesting idea, especially in relation to your fic. Specifically concerning his relationship with Hange, you have been identifying, and rightly so Levi as the “father” of the Scouts. So I am wondering at the other end do you identify Hange as the “mother”

I would love to hear your ideas on her/their relationship with Armin. Was it a mentor/protegee relationship given their similar passions for knowledge and exploration, or did it become sort of a “Son I never had” for Hange and “Mother whom I never really had” for Armin

As always I would love to hear your insight and thoughts on this.

Hello anon! This is long, sorry TT^TT I got carried away.

Tbh I haven't explored Armin's relationship with Hange all that much in VBEOW, but yes, as you say, the intention is clear that he looked up to her and they spent quite a lot of time together; that's what I'm getting at.

I think much of the fandom appreciates Levi and Hange being the parent figures to the 104th, in that the newest members of the SC are all mere children, and it's Levi and Hange who guide and lead them. Of course we have Erwin, we don't see there necessarily being a "huge distance" of rank between him and the 104th (he's around and about), but he's not the one scolding the kids, breaking up the fights, or teaching them titan science and new technology. Among the vets, Levi and Hange are closest to the 104th (going forth we mean EMA+JSC) and their bond only grows thicker as the years pass, numbers fall, and uncertainty grows.

This is why I love thinking about Levi's relationship to the Alliance post-rumbling, especially in relation to the Paradis boys (Armin, Jean and Connie) because after all that time spent together, they know him, and he knows them. He protected them, took care of them, (probably woke them up with a kick to the balls too), told them to buck up and focus in as little words as possible - a father, through and through.

All of the same goes for Hange, only, she doesn't make it to see them as Ambassadors.

Now coming to Armin specifically.

Among all the Ambassadors, he's the only one that's an orphan. Everyone else has parents, or at least someone looking forward to receiving them at home. Not counting Mikasa, (who is his family, yes, but she's not an adult figure), he has nobody that'll give him a hug and say he's made them a proud parent. There is a comfort in being held by someone older and feeling like you're still a child; that you'll always be their child.

But it's not just now, is it? He hasn't had it since he enlisted in the military.

At that young age when people have friends and parents, loneliness is crippling. Eren and Mikasa being inseparable I think there would've been times Armin wandered the buildings and scoured the libraries all alone. His curiosity to learn is something we don't see anyone sharing with him on quite the same level or depth - sure, he's telling people interesting things from what he's read most recently and they're listening, fascinated, but how many of them are picking his brain and quenching his thirst for a good, long conversation with questions, answers, hypothesis and conclusions?

One. Hange.

Or so I imagine. Their combined curiosity would've known no bounds. He's assessing her hypotheses, she/they're answering his questions. He helps her/them in the lab, she/they gives him new what-ifs to ponder about. She teaches him about the weather. He writes her expedition reports in meticulous detail. We see Hange rambling to anyone that'll spent 5 seconds listening, but it's a special satisfaction when someone listens with keen interest and a desire to contribute their thoughts by an equal measure. For Hange, Armin is a great scout in that he naturally possesses the understanding, empathy and curiosity needed of a scout in the first place. He's also sweet and polite - I see her/them developing a bit of a soft spot for him.

But then things go to shit right? Once the walls break (again) and along with it goes trust (RBA), nothing is a certainty anymore. From this point onwards, the SC begins to get pared down in both numbers and trustworthy members - by the end of S3, the SC we see are those few left alive and survived through all the betrayal. The only constants that remain for Armin then, are his immediate close friends (EM+JSC), Levi, and Hange.

And Hange is admittedly, more vocally softer in her approach to the kids than Levi is.

It only gets worse though, through the timeskip, which is the most grueling of times imo, in the whole story. Hange as a commander is different - no longer does she/they have the time or peace of mind to be the careless mad scientist because the pressure on her to perform, lead, and find a near impossible solution is insane. I imagine Armin and Hange spend many an evening thinking about what to do about the impending annihilation. Some of those evenings, she/they would break down, head in her/their hands, and admit only to him, that the burden of living up to Erwin's legacy's crushing her back.

To everyone else, Hange must be brave. The world's falling apart, she can't look weak. In front of Armin though, she can afford to look scared. Just a bit. Because he'll understand.

And Armin would understand all too well, wouldn't he? They share the burden, after all. One has been appointed the Commander, and the other has replaced a Commander.

Above anyone else too, Hange would understand Armin's guilt. He's just a boy of nineteen, receiving hostile stares and accusations simply for living and breathing, and she/they feel sorry. It wasn't her/their decision, it was Levi's, but Hange's been watching this boy grow up from a scrawny thirteen year old to a young adult who should be feeling more confident in himself (with a shifter's power too!), but he doesn't. He cries, he hates, he wishes he wasn't alive.

What kind of parent wouldn't hurt from that?

To sum up, from the beginning to the moment Hange died burning in the sky, I believe Armin and she/they shared a very special relationship. It might have started out as a Superior/Junior thing, but over time it progressed into something more, something deeper, something closer to the heart.

A soft spot for one another like nobody else had.

[getvalentined]

Actually while I'm on it, I wanna talk about the dichotomy between Genesis and Angeal. I'm not censoring names in this one because I'm not worried about it being read as character bashing, but it's a topic that I think is super interesting but I never see discussed outside the perception that they represent the dichotomy of good versus evil.

The dichotomy between these two is not and has never been good versus evil. Angeal having a white wing or insisting that he's honorable does not make him good, particularly when his idea of "honor" includes never asking anyone for help and forcing people that love him to do horrific things so he doesn't have to keep living as he really is. Conversely, Genesis having a black wing and referring to himself as a monster doesn't make him evil, particularly when everything he does in the actual storyline is an attempt to save himself (and his men), or at least make sure that Shinra falls far enough that it can't do this to anyone else.

That said, Angeal and Genesis are on opposite sides, just not in the way you most people assume.

Angeal is all about appearances, expectations, worthiness. He's never let go in his life, he was brought up in a poor household where he was presumably heaped with expectations and responsibilities by parents who were unable to properly care for him, and this led him to developing some extremely rigid and maladaptive ideologies. His concept of "honor" is probably the biggest one; we can see how he picked this up from Gillian pretty clearly in how she refers to the Buster Sword, and how we know she continually turned down Shinra's hush money and then never told the truth anyway.

Angeal sees "honor" as doing everything yourself, forever, the exact way that you were told. "Honor" is working yourself to death, it's not admitting when you're in over your head, it's accepting the worst situations as necessary even if they could be changed with the participation or contribution of someone else. It's dishonorable to ask for help. It's dishonorable to stop when there's still work to do. It's dishonorable to be indebted to anyone, even if the process of paying off a debt will kill you. It's better to die than to be dishonorable. He is his mother's son in every way.

By contrast, Genesis is all about independence, equality, justice. We can also see this in what we know of his background—Genesis was the brilliant son of a wealthy family, he gave Banora global brand recognition, his work with Banora White juice literally changed the entire face of his homeland's economy forever. He did this on his own. He figured this out because he wanted to share something with someone he admired, and he knew that the only way to make it worth something was to do it himself. However, where Genesis is independent, he's more than capable of asking for help, and he does over and over through the course of the game. Independence isn't about cutting yourself off from your community, it's about doing things in the way that works best for you, regardless of others' opinions.

Genesis' biggest issue is his concept of "justice," because it wheels pretty often into vengeance. At the end of the day he has three goals: survive, get Sephiroth out of Shinra, and make sure that the company can never do to anyone else what it did to him. He tries to ensure this by carving his way through anyone he feels stands between him and those goals, because Shinra deserves what he's doing and anyone who thinks otherwise is unjust. He's not self-centered, per se, but he has no empathy for anyone he doesn't personally care about, and it makes him seem cruel in a way that is entirely unnecessary.

It's pretty clear by the end that he's not intentionally cruel, just like he probably doesn't lack empathy by choice—but he does clearly struggle with empathy, and he clearly doesn't understand why anyone is angry with him when he knows he's right. He tells the truth without understanding that not everyone wants it. He can't conceptualize why someone wouldn't want to know.

Genesis' biggest problem is that he can't tell the difference between justice that strengthens the world around him and the people under his care, and vengeance meant to pay back the people and institutions that led him here in the first place.

The dichotomy in Project G was never good versus evil, it's external validation versus internal validation. Angeal needs the world to see him as right, while Genesis needs the world to back off and allow him to do things the way he already "knows" is right. The majority of Genesis' story takes place in his own head, and it's a broken narrative for reasons unrelated to the literal rotting; he knows what he's doing, he's methodical and clear in his actions, and he doesn't understand why people that know the truth don't agree with him. Angeal's, meanwhile, takes place primarily through Zack's eyes, because the opinions of others are what matter to him, and if he can't figure out how to make those eyes see exactly what he wants then he can't bear to be seen at all.

Basically Genesis is autistic, Angeal has OCPD, and Shinra has no concept of mental health care. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[makshu]

Yesterday I was thinking about something... remember the first time Tsukasa saw Yashiro and Kou? That time in volume 4

Well, I went to take a look at it and noticed something interesting, Tsukasa's reaction when he saw the two was the same, he said the same thing, he just had different expressions.

Let me show you

That was his reaction when he saw Yashiro, "wow" was what he said with an expression that was kind of impressed and surprised at the same time, and then he held her hand and smiled at her.

Let's take a look on his reaction with Kou now

It was the same reaction. "Wow" again, but this time he seemed more shocked and angry

These could be completely normal reactions and easy to ignore, if it weren't for what happened at the Red House. That's where Tsukasa met Yashiro and Kou, it was his first contact with them

At that time the two helped and protected Tsukasa, they had empathy and compassion for him. One of the first people to care about him probably, he was very happy with their visit, he said so himself

Tsukasa liked them both, he still likes Yashiro, remember? He doesn't hate her, she helped him in the past, why would he hate her? Same reason with Kou, especially since Kou was the one who spent the most time with him. In fact, Tsukasa is grateful to them for visiting.

Apart from the fact that Kou said all those things to Tsukasa, but I'll ignore that for now

Tsukasa having the same reaction to both of them is now justified, so it's not a coincidence. I believe that Tsukasa with the seal has all the memories from the Red House, so from the beginning of the story he already knew who Nene Yashiro and Kou Minamoto were

This reaction demonstrates surprise and how impressed he was with these situations. The people who helped him before were now against him. Anyone would be surprised, right? Especially Tsukasa who doesn't have a good understanding of emotions

Speaking more directly about his reactions, I'll start with Yashiro.

In addition to being impressed, his surprise may be that she is together with Hanako, and her purifying powers are being shown. And she really hurt Tsukasa in a way, attacking him first. The shock of seeing an old friend is present here, the surprise of seeing where that person has come, and even more so being so close to someone you love. Maybe he felt hurt? Betrayed? She attacked him, she didn't remember who he was. But maybe he already expected this, he knew it could happen.

Talking about Kou

Tsukasa was in shock to see Kou again, and perhaps more shocked to see his old friend with such an angry expression on his face. That expression was for Tsukasa. Kou didn't recognize him either. How could he? That hadn't happened yet, at least for Kou. Tsukasa was also angry that Kou was interrupting his goal at the moment.

This is it. He was surprised to see two old friends again, and this time, against him.

[purpleheartskies]

"There's good in everyone"

"I know who I am. You're still pretending to be something you're not."

"I'm becoming someone I don't wanna be. [Robby fixing door knob] I'm hiding the truth from someone I care about."

I recently wrote a post about some of Robby's inherent qualities that show what a good, kind person he is. To go along with that, I want to talk a bit about Tory's positive character traits and about Robby and Tory's relationship. I'm going to focus on Tory outside of her rivalry with Sam because that is only one aspect of her character and arc.

One of Tory's positive and consistent character traits has been her loyalty to those she cares about. It's like Robby said about Tory:

"...'There's good in everyone.' She just needs to be shown the right way."

Tory and Robby both value loyalty. He was loyal to Sam in the probation office and rebuffed what Tory said about Sam not being loyal to him, but when Sam later proved Tory's words right, Robby believed Tory. The look they shared the next day at the CK dojo was telling.

Their convo at the probation office showed some similarities between them wrt their situations. They were "in the same boat". They had both been blamed in certain ways that weren't their fault: Tory was blamed for other Cobras starting a brawl (Tory had only attacked Sam), while Robby was scapegoated for his and Miguel's fight. Neither have adult support (they were each there alone), and both have unstable home lives. They had also both been cheated on. Tory is antagonistic towards Sam but Tory spoke truth about Sam wrt Robby, just like how Kreese and Silver drop truths about Johnny wrt Robby. People brush off the correct things the "bad guys" say about the "good guys" who they've hurt, but sometimes "bad guys" see things for what they are. (This of course doesn't excuse their wrongful actions against those "good guys".) Tory expressed empathy towards Robby here. Another good quality that Tory has. In s5, Tory also had empathy for Devon when Tory heard Devon's story about her mother. Tory may not show her empathy to everyone, but Tory is capable of empathy, unlike some other characters (Miguel, for example).

Some say that Tory isn't a loyal person because she didn't visit Miguel in the hospital. Tory expressed her guilt about what had happened to Miguel, but Tory not going to the hospital to visit Miguel is understandable. She wouldn't have been welcomed there. Everyone blamed others, including her, for what had happened to Miguel, but he was to blame for the situation he had put himself in, not Tory or anyone else. Miguel had assaulted someone, and that person had a natural "fight" response at the end, which was 100% provoked by Miguel only. Tory is not at fault for Miguel's actions in the school fight, nor anyone else's violent actions (aside from Sam defending herself against Tory). Tory didn't ask or encourage others to start fighting that day. She clearly announced her intentions to attack Sam only, and throughout that fight, she stuck to her intentions. Tory was absolutely wrong for attacking Sam, but blaming Tory (or Sam) for the violence of the others, especially her boyfriend, is the typical "it's the woman's fault that the men became violent" bs.

Miguel gaslit Tory at the sushi restaurant. I was proud of Tory for standing her ground because Miguel always tries to put his wrongful actions onto others or downplay those actions. He even lied to her face about only caring about her, acting like he hadn't cheated on her with Sam. (Later on, Miguel doubled down on his false version of the situation by telling Johnny that, unlike Johnny, Miguel is truthful with his ex. That is, Miguel continued his gaslighting narrative about his relationship with Tory.) In situations like the school fight, when someone chooses to become violent, that is 100% on them and not his/her partner's fault. Just like Miguel is not to blame for Tory attacking Sam, Tory is not to blame for Miguel attacking Robby. And to Tory's credit, she has never blamed her actions in the school fight on anyone, not even Kreese or Johnny who were also her senseis. Miguel in turn blamed Johnny completely (gaslighting him in their s3e2 hospital scene), in addition to acting like it was Tory's fault that he had gotten himself into that situation. Miguel said that Tory needs "help", but Miguel had acted violently that day by choice too: tackling Robby while he was stopping Tory, wildly swinging at Robby while Robby crawled backwards to get away from him, even choking Robby at one point, tripping him to stop him from stopping Tory again, purposely kicking Robby into the railing at one point, and then throwing Robby onto the ground and getting his arm in a hold to break it for no reason at all. Miguel may not have pulled out a spiked bracelet, but he'd acted extremely violent towards Robby for no justifiable reason. Miguel needs "help" too, it seems. People (fans and characters) give Miguel a pass because of his injury, but he is 100% accountable for what he did that day, and he has yet to take accountability. Tory has not taken accountability or shown remorse to Sam (yet), and fans correctly call her out for it. But, Tory at least doesn't act like it wasn't her decision or actions to attack Sam.

Many also blame Tory for Miguel using her to make Sam jealous. But just like how Miguel chose to cheat on Tory, he chose to use her in the first place. Tory never told or manipulated him to use her to make Sam jealous, like many claim. She already liked Miguel and wasn't interested in him to get back at Sam. In s2e5, she told him that his video made him look desperate and that girls don't like desperate guys. She told him to act like he was over Sam so that he wouldn't look so desperate. He asked how to do that, and she said to have a little fun. She took him to the empty playground, and they were just having fun (in a pg way) and talking. When he brought up Sam yet again, Tory called him out for it. He said sorry and that sensei told him to go all in and make a move and that he's still figuring out how to do that. She then said to do just that: "make a move". He then chose to kiss her. She never said or implied to use her or "make a move" on her to get Sam back. He chose to use her as his "move". And Tory thought that he was choosing her over Sam, hence her pointed question in the sushi restaurant in s3 about him actually using her when they had dated. (Miguel seems like such a "nice guy". Why would Tory in s2 assume that he'd be okay with the idea of using her? If she'd really offered that he use her, he would have turned her down if he were a sincere guy. It's only after he cheated on her that she realized that he had been using her.) The playground scene in s2e5 is interestingly followed by Robby and Sam's almost kiss, in which he stopped their kiss from happening because he finally had something good going for him after being in a bad situation for a long time and he didn't want to mess things up with her dad. After this, one day Sam purposely picked something cute to wear with Moon's help. When Moon mentioned Miguel, it was obvious from Sam's reaction that she still had feelings for him. Still, she later went to Robby's room and they kissed for the first time. Unlike Miguel and Sam, Tory and Robby didn't get into their respective relationships in s2 while knowing they still had feelings for someone else. Tory and Robby don't use other people like that and don't cheat on their partners.

When Tory was first introduced, she was genuinely kind to Aisha, who is mostly rejected and bullied by others. This tells us a lot about who Tory inherently is. This is also similar to how Robby was kind to Demetri, who's also rejected and bullied a lot. (Tory wasn't exactly kind to Sam when she first met her, but that was out of loyalty to Aisha.) Tory has a lot of trauma and is still experiencing trauma. She has a lot of anger due to her trauma and has a chip on her shoulder, both of which were shown in her first meeting with Sam as well as when she explained to Miguel about her mom getting fired for bringing home leftovers from work. Because of her trauma, Tory got taken in by Kreese's "no mercy" brainwashing. And in Tory's defense, Johnny was not paying attention and didn't really care to really protect any of his students from Kreese except for Miguel. After Johnny kicked Kreese out, Johnny told the students to "show mercy sometimes". What does that mean? When is "sometimes"? Although Tory is 100% at fault for what she did and still needs to apologize to Sam, Tory's primary influence in Cobra Kai has always been Kreese, and Johnny's "show mercy sometimes" lesson was ineffective because he was still advocating for "no mercy" sometimes and he didn't put in the same effort with his other students that he put in with Miguel. This isn't to excuse Tory of what she did in s2 or s3, but Johnny did fail her and his other students by bringing Kreese into their lives and then letting his guard down. At the end of s2, it was absolutely wrong of Johnny to leave his students with Kreese without warning them about the type of person Kreese is. Johnny knows that Kreese is a brainwasher and manipulator. It was obvious that they took Kreese's side because he'd brainwashed them. Johnny acted devastated by their "betrayal" and walked away, but he is the one who betrayed them, not the other way around, because he left them with a dangerous person without warning them about how dangerous he is. In s3, Johnny had shown no concern for Tory or the others still being taught by Kreese and only went to some of his former students when he needed students for his new dojo. Johnny never approached Tory about how bad Kreese is or about leaving Cobra Kai.

In s4, Tory mellowed out a lot. Losing her job seemed to make Tory more careful. Later, she started to get help in her home life and get therapy. She also found a good friend and boyfriend in Robby.

In s4e1, when he challenged the dojo to try to hit him, he'd kept his word when she did hit him even though he'd kind of won already. She then told him not to leave, so he stayed. She already knew that he's a loyal person because of his loyalty to Sam. Here, he honored his word.

At the drive-in, he showed concern about her bad day at her new job but also let her know that he respects her boundaries, which she appreciated. She'd told him earlier that her new job was none of his business.

"I'd ask, but it's none of my business."

At prom, he didn't just listen to her when she talked about why she wanted to win. He genuinely empathized with her.

Tory: "That's stupid." Robby: "No, it's not. I mean, I get it."

No doubt whatever attitude she had towards him in s3 and in early s4 was gone by now, as she'd gotten to know him and that he's not pretending to be something he isn't. Robby just is. Earlier, she hadn't really been interested in his plan to throw her opponent off balance at prom. She just used it as an excuse to ask him out.

Robby: "Did you just ask me to prom?" Tory: "Strictly a tactical move." 😏

They only got together after they both confirmed that they were over their exes, which is better than Sam and Miguel in s2, who started dating Robby and Tory respectively, despite knowing that they weren't over each other. To clarify, Tory and Robby going to prom together had been a mutual decision to throw their opponents off balance and wasn't about either of them using the other to get their ex back. This is different from Miguel choosing to use Tory in s2, without Tory realizing it, to make Sam jealous and get her back.

Tory and Robby are both supportive partners, which adds to them being the healthier couple. They supported each other at the avt, unlike Miguel and Sam. Tory had immediately gone to Robby after his match with Kenny, knowing that Robby would be worried about Kenny. She went to Robby again after he lost, and he came back out to support her, despite his loss.

"Robby... You okay."

"Hey... Good luck."

In s5, when they broke up because of Robby's ultimatum, it really came down to miscommunication between them. Tory shouldn't have used Robby's issues with his dad against him when he first tried to ask her to quit Cobra Kai, but that had been a defensive reaction on her part because she was hiding that she was helping Kreese. Robby in turn doesn't share much about his own issues because of his counterdependence, so it was notable that he'd told her about his issues with his dad. Though he still didn't really tell her much, so she didn't completely understand why he wanted her to quit Cobra Kai. (He had only mentioned that they should quit because of Kreese and Silver, but she had picked up that him quitting also had something to do with his relationship with his dad.) In s4, for example, he also didn't tell her anything about why he understood her reasons for wanting to win, even though he also had some deeply personal reasons driving him to win. (He does attentively listen to people, so maybe he didn't want to make that conversation about himself.) At one point, Robby told Tory that she won the tournament and everything's going good for her right now. This seemed to be a reference to their s3e8 conversation about the two of them still eating shit and everyone else being able to get back to normal, as well as their s4e8 conversation about why she wanted to win the championship. Between the two of them, she's no longer eating shit for the school fight and she'd won a championship (as far as Robby knew). (Throughout s5, there were numerous references to moments and events related to Robby's character story from s1 to s4. Robby's comment fits with those references.) As a couple, they need to and can grow to a healthier place. Robby actively tries to grow, and Tory's open to growing and has grown even though she doesn't actively try to grow.

Tory gets judged for her loyalty to Kreese, but he has been her main influence in Cobra Kai. Kreese had also come through for her in a very meaningful way. In s3, Kreese saved her from having to deal with her pervert landlord. This was an extremely huge deal, especially for a teenage girl in her circumstances. In s4, Tory may have figured out that Kreese had spoken to Amanda, but there's no indication of that. Regardless, he did support Tory in the avt when Silver was telling her to fight dirty. She, like Robby, doesn't have an adult looking out for her, but Kreese did look out for her and expresses empathy towards her. She doesn't know that his intentions are questionable.

Robby of course doesn't know what Kreese has done for her. Regardless, as soon as Robby found out why she was still in Cobra Kai, he made a low-key yet public show of support to her, starting with a sincere apology stating that he'd turned his back on her without understanding her reasons. Of course, she herself hadn't revealed her reasons to him so... yeah, a lack of communication was why they broke up... unlike Miguel and Sam. Sam specifically told Miguel why she wanted a break, but later Miguel admit he didn't understand her reasons and made her feel guilty about it, as usual.

In s5, Tory was juggling her loyalty to Kreese and his Cobra Kai with her loyalty to Robby. She had chosen to stay in the dojo over staying with Robby, but Robby now understood that her ultimate goal was to take down Silver. He had rejoined Miyagi-Do for the same reason. He and his "friends" were trying to take down Silver too. The stone-breaking scene was meaningful because it was about Tory's struggle between doing what she believed was right (helping Kreese take down Silver and take back Cobra Kai) even if it meant sacrificing her relationship with someone she cares about (Robby).

Tory and Robby also accept influence from each other in good ways (and not just in bad ways). In s3e8 and s4e1, Tory opened Robby's eyes about who Sam really is and that she had cheated on him and she uses him to get what she wants. tbf Tory had also been trying to get Robby to join Cobra Kai in s4e1. However, Tory's words were just words, and it was Robby's choice what he did with them. Both times, Robby did rebuff her, but both times, Sam herself proved Tory's words right. In s5, Sam technically proved Tory's words from s4e1 right again. Sam did use Robby to get what she wanted (her dad back as sensei and everyone together) while acting like she'd never betrayed Robby in the first place. At this point though, Robby had started fawning with almost everyone, so he gave Sam what she wanted. In a way, Tory encourages Robby not to be taken advantage of, while also not hiding that she's trying to peer pressure him. She's transparent abour her intentions. After all, she honestly admit to him in s3e9 that she does peer pressure people.

This is another thing to note about Tory. She doesn't like to hide her intentions and is mostly aware of how she treats others. Sam on the other hand uses Robby to get what she wants with zero thought about how it affects him. In s5e5, after Tory said that she's becoming someone she doesn't want to be, she listed the things she was doing that were deceptive: hiding the truth from someone she cares about (Robby), lying to someone she fears (Silver), and delivering anonymous notes that could put people in danger (Daniel).

In s5, Robby may have positively influenced Tory twice. Once was when it came to mentoring and looking out for the younger kids. At the waterpark, Robby had insisted to Tory that Cobra Kai wasn't the right place for Kenny. When Devon joined the flagship dojo later on, Tory immediately was concerned about her doing so. Before this, Tory never seemed to care who was in Cobra Kai, but she'd connected a bit with Devon and wanted to protect Devon from Silver and Kim. Second, in s5e9, although things may have gotten worse for Tory because Kim assumed that Tory was putting her loyalty to Robby over her loyalty to the dojo, Robby's support let her know that someone on the Miyagi Fang side was on her side. Would she have worked with Sam if Robby hadn't already shown his support to her? Sam had rejected Tory's attempt to talk to her the first time. Either way, when Sam came to Tory's apartment, Tory knew that she had Robby's support no matter what because he had gone to Cobra Kai and stood off against Silver for her (and others).

Tory is also open to accepting good influence from adult figures as well. I'm not going to talk about her interactions with Amanda in s4 because that relationship was purely transactional. It was based on "gives" and "takes", nothing more. In s5, Chozen's lesson about honor and winning the correct way influenced Tory's resolve to take down Silver and not accept the empty avt championship that he had bought for her. In the avt, she hadn't wanted to fight dirty and wanted a clean win.

Tory also has the potential to be a good leader. During the leadership training in s5e7, Tory defended Devon from Kim's attack and lost. Devon pointed out that Tory could have won if she'd let Kim get her. Tory said that she wouldn't been a good leader if she did. This was followed by Kenny taking charge with Kyler, fighting him, and then literally stepping on him in order to win. This was after Silver had talked to Kenny about being the leader and following his instincts. Kenny's instincts were to sacrifice his pawn (Kim's word for Devon) while Tory's instincts were to save hers. (This is interestingly followed a little later by Anthony coming up with the group strategy for protecting the egg.)

After Robby's speech at Cobra Kai, Tory and Robby continued to show support to each other. He was concerned about her injured hand, which hadn't been injured when he'd gone to the dojo earlier. She in turn wanted to make sure he didn't break his probation (so she suggested they use her key card). This was in contrast to her trying to peer pressure him into breaking probation in s3e9, which also shows how much she's grown to care about him. He gave her a slightly surprised smile. At this point in s5, no one shows that they genuinely care about what happens to him, but she did here.

They also stood up to Silver together and were the only students to address him in that final confrontation at the dojo.

She did shut Robby down, in a way, at the end when he tried to apologize, but she at least acknowledged that she probably owed him an apology too, which was more than he got from anyone else. (Daniel's apology was followed by him repeating exactly what he'd said in s3, and Robby diverted to talking about his own faults instead of accepting Daniel's apology.)

Tory is definitely one of the grayer characters in the show. Like Robby said about Tory: "...'There's good in everyone.' She just needs to be shown the right way." She has a lot of positive traits like loyalty, empathy, and kindness, but some of her actions have been horrible and inexcusable. She doesn't shift the blame for her actions onto others, but she has yet to take accountability with and apologize to the person she has hurt the most. Since the s4 avt, she's been trying for honest, honorable wins. She also has the potential to be a good leader. Overall, she has shown the ability to grow and has actually started to grow, which is much better than some characters (Johnny and Miguel) who have had no growth, despite having had opportunities to grow. In many ways, Tory is a genuine person in that she is honest even though she's not "nice". She is true to herself and upfront in her relationships.

Tory and Robby may not be at their healthiest as a couple, which of course makes sense given their age, experiences, and traumas, but they're relationship is healthier than Miguel and Sam's relationship, which is just a toxic relationship that should end.

Tory and Robby both value loyalty and are loyal to each other, empathize and genuinely care about each other, and are supportive of one another. Like with many relationships, they struggle with communication sometimes. Regardless, so far Tory has been better to Robby than Sam had been to him. Robby has also been better to Tory than Miguel had been to her (though Miguel sets a really low bar anyway).

I like that overall Robby hasn't been "fixing" Tory and Tory hasn't been "fixing" Robby. They each have "good" in them and have their own journeys that they're navigating. When they're communicating, they're there for each other and support each other, and even when they're not communicating, they respect each other's space and still care about each other.

I'm curious to see what happens with them, individually and as a couple, in the final season. Although I don't think they'll be together at the end of the series, I don't think that's a bad thing either. Tory and Robby need to grow up and grow as individuals first, but once they do, they could make for a healthy couple as adults. Kids like them are more than "lost causes who need wake-up calls". They both have lots of potential. By the end of the series, I would love for Tory to believe that she can be best at more than just karate.

[mewtwoandme]

You know. It's incredibly pretentious to make your self insert OC the one who has the biggest positive impact on Mewtwo, not even Ash comes close to it despite turning his world upside down. Especially that your self insert hasn't really shown any single negative trait so far and that you added a tons of emotional problems to Mewtwo that weren't present in the anime or the movies (like his fear of partnership, suicidal thoughts etc...) turning him into an entirely different character so that your self insert will be the one who helps Mewtwo to overcome them. So yes, Lakota is the very definition of a Mary Sue.

I LOVE how some people still think Lakota is a self insert, I laugh my good sir or ma'am, I laugh XD Think what ya want, I guess. If anything, she is the type of person I WISH I was lol. She is entirely her own character. Believe me, if she was truly a self insert of me and what I'm really like, she wouldn't be very likable.

Also, the definition of a Mary Sue, and I quote is "a type of female character who is depicted as unrealistically lacking in flaws or weaknesses." Which for Lakota is false. She has her flaws and weaknesses. One of her major flaws we continue to see is that she tries to be everyone's rock and anchor, and hardly focuses on her own feelings, which may come back and bite her eventually. Just because I don't visually draw out a scenario for every problem she has for you all to see, doesn't mean she doesn't have her own issues :V

Also there's nothing wrong with a character who has a lot of empathy and cares about her family, and is willing to help them if they need it. I guess some people such as yourself have never received such kindness before though.

And as far as Mewtwo's emotional issues, that's just a little thing called 🌈character development/building🌈 sweetie. I touch on topics that most cartoons are hesitant to. And of course he's not gonna have the same personality as he did in the films, do you know how boring that would be? Like yeah, we get it, a cold and emotionally constipated psychic cat who broods and contemplates his purpose and existence all the time....There's only so much you can do with that, I chose to extend his character a little. I try to make Mewtwo feel a little more relatable and real with the emotions I make him experience, realistically based on everything he went through both in the first movie and in Detective Pikachu, trust issues and ptsd/trauma are very understandable and real emotions I think people would experience if they endured what Mewtwo had to go through. But I guess according to you, that's a big no no, well uhhh...ya know? Too bad. :V

I write my story and characters how I want to. I don't need your or anyone's validation or approval. How about YOU make your own version of Mewtwo and YOU come up with a personality that suits him to YOUR liking, rather than wasting your and my time, sending a paragraph long ask, bitching about mine, kay? 😘

[dear-mrs-otome]

Galileo Galilei - White Day

"These are for you."

MC is startled when out of nowhere Galileo offers her a bouquet of white flowers, wrapped in paper. (I see that wrapping job there sir, nice attempt at casual) They're very beautiful, she can't help thinking, but she's a bit baffled by the gesture - especially given his usual, standoffish demeanor.

She asks why he's giving these to her, and Galileo reminds her how she gave him chocolates last month, right?

He's merely returning the favor. She hadn't had any expectations that he might, but she's happy regardless.

Aloud, she laughs a little. "You're a conscientious person too," she tells him. (Echoing the way he'd called her that for gifting him Valentine's chocolate as an apology for using his telescope without permission in their very first story)

"I just don't want to be in anyone's debt," he replies.

She gladly accepts the flowers and remarks on how beautiful they are, but she's not familiar with what kind they are. He tells her he's not sure of all the specifics but they're a type of helichrysum - although usually those come in bright colors. These white ones came as a fluke from a university cultivation program, not the color they wanted at all. (AM I THE ONLY ONE READING SOME HEAVY SYMBOLISM HERE?)

He says when he heard they were just going to be tossed, her words came to mind. (How she'd mentioned, when they first met, that she felt like even chance encounters can have meaning) And with her having said something like that, he thought she would treasure these new flowers.

She's kind of silently stunned he remembered her words like that.

"You can throw them away if you have no need of them. Do as you please," Galileo tells her offhandedly.

"No!" she gasps. "I'll take good care of them!"

Galileo just does an about face at that and walks off without another word...but as he goes, the last glimpse she catches of his expression seems softer.

Back at the mansion on the balcony, she's looking at the flowers again and musing how they look like she's holding shooting stars in her hand. Maybe the same thing had occurred to Galileo, which is why he wanted to save the flowers? Because he seems to love the stars so much.

She stares up at the night sky, thinking about his still unseen heart.

~~~~~~~~~~

MRS. O'S TINFOIL HAT RAMBLINGS:

I already blathered a bit in tags o a different post about the flower symbolism, but let me do it again. These are white strawflowers, which are also known as helichrysum, fyi.

Very lovely, and they dry and remain almost perfectly preserved, hence some of their other names: Everlasting, or Immortelle. They symbolize eternal life or immortality - but also something 'always remembered' and some take it a step further and go with 'eternal love'. Usually they come in many different colors of pinks and reds, or white with bright yellow centers.

This has me side-eyeing things so hard though because the very first story we ever got of his involves MC wandering the Timey-Wimey Hallway, being called and cajoled by a sexy voice she later figures out is Galileo's, and she gets to witness a bit of his past and his imprisonment. Drake's story definitely was just a normal, meet-cute on the street style, nothing as mystical as timewalking. I have a feeling this is going to feature prominently in his stories, along with the heavy emphasis that there is no such thing as a random meaningless encounter.

BUT ALSO, here's heavy tinfoil time! Maybe I'm looking too hard but the symbolism doesn't escape me here of him identifying with and feeling empathy towards these white flowers that symbolize eternity (all pale colored, much like our hero, no??) that are an unwanted accident. A misfire of genetics that's only good to be tossed away and culled. I STAND BY MY DHAMPIR/ HALF-PUREBLOOD THEORY.

[rachelsshowerthoughts]

Was musing on the Aware AU and how the trio internalize and process the abuse and otherwise contextualize or understand and communicate it or otherwise maybe fail to do so.

Because realizing a parent is unfair or doesn't care or is cruel is one thing. It can often be another to straight up be aware of and say you are an abuse victim.

Be it because they are young and thus even with the spread of therapy speak, being able to use it effectively on themselves is hard.

Or because abuse victims don't often look like they do, IE, aren't usually mega rich heirs to powerful names. Even if being a rich child can be rather akin to being an exotic talking pet given none of that money is theirs.

Sad money also makes getting empathy hard and feeling there is a way out even harder. They may not want the former or at least not desire it consciously. But its also a case of, "If we were even believed what could anyone do?"

But then there's also the more personal takes on things, such as how:

Adrien may not blame himself for his fathers inability to love him (Or at least love him in a not terrible way) but he sure as hell blames himself for "Fooling himself" for so long. He's known Gabriel his whole life, he is his son, if anyone should have figured out what he was like it was Adrien. But he didn't so he can't blame anyone else for not seeing it.

Then there's stuff like media where cold and controlling parents get redemption arcs by being soft once or the like. Adrien's just throwing popcorn at the screen, "He's lying to you, its a trick, he'll never change!"

Kagami genuinely loves fencing, she loves how skilled she is, she loves that she is a world renowned fencer. This makes it hard to deal with when abuse is woven into training, such as with overly violent spars, or with training sessions that see her hit the ground and then be forced up again and again.

She's used to her body hurting after training, the issue isn't the punishment, its how arbitrary and unfairly her mother applies them Compounded with the social isolation, control and emotional repression which she has a hard time naming. Meanwhile you have Marinette just wanting to scream because Tomoe is intentionally harming her daughter as punishment.

She'd likely need an outsider to highlight the punishment spars themselves are a bad idea that hinder rather than help her. That the pain itself was wrong, not just when or why it was applied. Kagami is proud of who she is and what she can do. So to some degree she sort of.. Needs the trauma. Because if it was unnecessary, if it isn't how she got so good, then it was just pain.

Chloe has the. other victims do not look like me jacked up to eleven. Most victims are not rich, most people who are aggressive (In her research) are physical and were harmed physically. Most don't have mayor fathers who bailed them out of trouble, though be it to make her reliant on them and feed his own self esteem, hence encouraging her acting out as it fed him.

But its also because she chose to imitate Audrey. She chose this path in order to win her parents love and it didn't even work. She chose this and now she is not choosing it but something else. She had agency in this god dammit and don't you dare tell her otherwise! She is not a victim! She is not weak!

Feeding into that is stuff like Andre actively and outright teaching her, "Extortion, intimidation, bribery, these are how you win a campaign." Because even as she restructures herself, part of her still defaults to these, part of her still sees them as pragmatic and useful. Part of her thinks they will be needed for her and the people they care about. So again, was it abuse or just Andre being bad at parenting?

Plus on the physical side of things, there is some stuff that can be bled into headcanon, among other things... But one thing I would note is that canon Chloe grabbing Zoe and inspecting her like livestock before giving her approval. How she gets so aggressively close and into people's space when she otherwise seems to try and be distant. This screams learned behavior and we can't even blame it all on Audrey cos she was more of a: Fly in tear my daughter apart and leave parent. With likely a mix of social media, calls and streams, or rejection from and via those to compound things. So she's getting this heavily from Andre. But its not overt, its not hitting, it can't be abuse then, because Chloe is too different to the victims she finds, too different to be seen as a victim.

All true! I don’t think any of the kids would apply the words "abuse victim" to themselves. Like, their parent suck. They suck SO BAD. Their parents are awful people who aren’t going to change. They know this. They accept this. But I'm not a VICTIM. I'm not ABUSED. I'm not what that looks like. It doesn’t apply to me(derogatory).

Funnily enough, they might apply it to EACH OTHER. Chloé absolutely thinks Gabriel is emotionally neglecting Adrien. Adrien thinks André and Audrey emotionally abuse Chloé. They both think Tomoe abuses Kagami. But it doesn’t apply to themselves, and they don’t bring it up or try to convince each other.

[sunnywalnut]

I miss when autistic rep was on accident. I feel like every time a neurotypical/allistic person tries to write somebody with autism on purpose, it just comes off as "he's a total jerk, but he's REALLY GOOD at what he does" instead of "this guy's facial expression doesn't change very much, but I promise you he's absolutely happy to help. Also talk to him about birds. He fucking loves birds."

And I don't mean "he loves birds" as in "this guy wears bird shirts 24/7 and corrects you if you accidentally call a pigeon a dove." No. I mean "he loves birds" as in "he's able to name the sound of the bird just by it's song and point to it and it's just sitting on the rooftop next to you" and if you ask questions he gets this little smile to his face and answers them all and even tells you about some drama about two researchers who were unsure of they could call two birds different species since they were so similar and then gives you the answer of they can, because their beaks are different and that means their diet is different or whatever.

Not every autistic dude in media has to be "UwU save me from the world and take care of me bc I'm just a smol beannn✨"

Sometimes they're just Chad from maintenance who seems to love his job a bit more than he should, but it's all good bc everything that's fixed works even better than it was before it was broken. He's not creepy or anything. But he WILL call you over if he sees you walk past in order to show off his latest repair and talk to you about what he did. Everyone loves Chad. They're happy that he's as dedicated to his job as he is. Plus it makes the office a lot more bearable to have him around because he always seems to wear this gigantic grin and talk with his hands.

You're absolutely able to have "cute" autistic characters. I have cute autistic characters.

I have a little elf girl that counts each individual strand of her hair when she's nervous and climbs trees. She loves baking, so much so that she will make everything gluten free, kosher, dairy free, vegan, whatever you need in order to make sure you're included. As soon as she steps into a garden, she's completely covered in dirt. And yes, she's extremely friendly and doesn't understand social cues. And sure. She has her boyfriend take care of things for her, like keeping her safe from creeps when she's in public, and shutting down scammers before she can pay them, but it's not because she's dumb. It's because he elected himself into that space. And he knows full well that if she decides to scurry off to whatever wonderful thing that has caught her eye, that she'll wander back to him when she's ready. She knows how to defend herself. And he trusts her. And she does things for him as well. Which is something I don't see in autistic/allistic relationships in media at all.

Like do y'all really think our partners are just our glorified babysitters???

We're not just there to sit still and look pretty.

We're there to be your emotional rock. We tend to have high empathy. We can listen to your problems and validate your emotions. And sure, we might give you some advice that seems a bit wonky at best, but anyone can do that. Not just autistic people.

Sometimes we take over financial decisions, for one reason or another. I had a partner that would always come to me for financial advice despite living on their own and having more than enough money to do what they wanted with, but they knew that I could budget better. I'm good at math. And no, not a "math wiz" all A's kind of good. But a "I can do big number addition/subtraction and sometimes multiplication within seconds in my head" which was also really helpful in my culinary class when my teacher would put me in charge of making sure we were on target with how many servings of food we had. Not every autistic person has to be leagues above the rest academic to be autistic. My allistic brother had straight A's for YEARS. Much longer than I did. I had A's and B's.

You can come to us if you need a hug. Or to cuddle. Or to body double. Or just to hang out. Some autistic people like touch. We crave it. I can guarantee you that if we were friends and you climbed up on the couch next to me and laid your head in my lap, I would let you. No questions asked. I'd even pet your hair. And I'd ask you about your day. I can't count how many times high fives have turned to hand holding with my friends because they needed a loving talking to about how great they are. Or a back rub when they're crying. Not all of us are going to stand there, staring down at you while you're curled up on the floor and be like "STATISTICALLY SPEAKING-" yeah no. And the people who DO that likely are trying to relay information that they know that they think will help you feel better. We're odd, but we're not heartless. Let me get down on your level. Sit with you. And then I'll talk to you about how tears are actually really healthy and it's good that you're able to cry. And also I'm proud of you and let's get you some water, okay?

We can take care of you too!!

I give all my friends hair care advice bc I've spent too much time watching hair stylist videos. I tell them to make sure they lotion after every shower when they complain about dry skin or body acne. I tell them to drink water after they cry. Or wash their face. Or alternate ways they can get around invisible barriers and still get what they need done. You know how many times I've had to sit down problem solve with my loved ones for over an HOUR bc their ADHD decided not to let them brush their teeth or take a shower? I have a whole ARSENAL of advice to give you. And yeah. If you're close enough where I can head over to your place, I WILL do your dishes(bc somehow they're less gross than mine). I WILL wash your hair for you, or fold your clothes or clear the counters of trash. Not because I think you're lazy or nothing. But because I see something that needs to be done, and I do it. Because I love you, it's simple, and hey, I'm here anyways, right?

Like shit. Every night I have a sleepover with my best friend, I do the dishes that were in her sink before I even came over while she starts on dinner. Because I love her. And that's my way of paying her back for picking me up. I clear all our trash, and the scraps of tea bags that she missed in the mornings. Because I love her. And it's simple enough I can do it myself. I chop the garlic as we cook together because we're working as a team. And yeah. After it's all over. We sit on the couch like a bunch of lazy dogs and watch TV and chat and do whatever. And sometimes. We don't do anything but just enjoy each other's company. Because as adults, we don't get a lot of time to just relax.

We all have our own strengths and weaknesses. And sure. Being friends with an autistic person isn't always sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes our behaviors or our tenancies can be stressful. Like sensory meltdowns, or our bluntness(which is honestly usually just us saying exactly what is true without sugar coating it. Like if you said the sky was purple I'd be like "nah it's blue rn" and people find that blunt and rude. But to me, that's just a fact. I'm not saying you're dumb. I'm just saying it's blue right now.) or sometimes, even when we get super hyper about our interests. I would know. I'm autistic myself. And I irritate myself.

But it seems like in media, the irritation is all people can see. Even in "supportive" families that I see in shows and such, everyone's always stressed all the time.

You're telling me ONE LITTLE CHILD is tearing this entire family apart? (*COUGH COUGH Young Sheldon COUGH*) Not only is that stupid, that's just inaccurate.

If you wanna be accurate, maybe don't have every autistic person you write be a "high functioning" male in a doctor's coat who's transphobic as fuck and his excuse being he's autistic.

If you know the bitch is outwardly transphobic, don't fucking put him in the room with trans people.

And also?

Autistic people are allowed to learn the difference between sex and gender. We're ALLOWED to learn about queer identities. And we're ALLOWED to be queer ourselves without being labeled as idiots who don't know any better.

I've YET to see a show about an outwardly queer autistic girl who is able to make awesome friends and overcome her challenges WITHOUT succumbing to being an asshole on purpose.

Except for The Owl House. And Luz isn't even canonically autistic. It's just speculated.

THAT is good autistic representation.

Not whatever the fuck "The Good Doctor" is supposed to be.

My Personal List Of Good Autism Rep Recs(non canon, sadly):

-Good Omens(not explicitly canon, but multiple characters behave in a way that could be labeled as autistic. Plus Neil Geiman, the writer himself is autistic)

-The Owl House(again. Not explicitly canon. But great. The whole show is about accepting yourself as you are and is kinda along the lines of Gravity Falls. In fact, she was in a relationship with Alex Hirsh, creator of Gravity Falls. And also she's bisexual with a CANONICALLY BISEXUAL LEAD!! Also is lovely for mental health allegories too)

-Gravity Falls (the whole Pines family just REEKS autism to me. Noncannon.)

-How To Train Your Dragon(Hiccup is autistic as hell and you can't convince me otherwise. Non canon)

-Adventure Time (some of the humor is dated, but enjoyable. Also Princess Bubblegum. Need I say more?)

-We Bare Bears (slice of lifey. Sometimes childish. Sweet as hell though. Grizz feels very autistic to me, but that could also be because I enjoy how huggable and easily excitable he is. Everyone loves him. He's loud, he can absolutely be obnoxious, but he loves his bros and tries his best to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. He also does his best to fix any problems he makes. Which in my book, makes him a good guy. Some people also claim Ice Bear is autistic. But personally, I feel like he just doesn't talk much. What do you guys think?)

[xerith-42]

What do you think of the handling for Aaron and aphmaus romance? I know a lot of people who hate it and a lot who love it

Take everything I say here with a grain of salt as my feelings on their romance are bound to change once I actually get to Season 2 in my rewatch/breakdown. I'm mostly speaking from memory here.

As it is now, I'm very disappointed by their romance. While there is wasted potential left and right in Minecraft Diaries, never is it more egregious to me than when looking at Aaron. His introduction into the series in episode 67 is great because it's so fucking vague that the creators can take him literally anywhere they want. And in episode 91 my beloved he gets reintroduced and has it slapped onto his character in equally vague terms that he has beef with Zane.

And even though he doesn't get much else in Season 1, hell he's barely graduated from being a "hot mysterious stranger" as the description of episode 92 describes him, I like where they can take his character. Who knows what atrocities Zane has committed to make him willing to fight Zane to the extent that he is. The problems start when we find out the truth as to why Aaron wants to kill Zane.

Aaron is given so much potential with his backstory and deep connection to the conflict with Zane, but it never really goes... Anywhere. And that's because of the vector in which both Aphmau and the viewer are shown his backstory. In Season 2 episode 42 Aphmau just gets shown Aaron's back story because something something Irene's relic, and it is NEVER EXPLAINED. Because the creators don't actually want to explain it, or even care beyond something something Irene's relic. It doesn't matter how, just that she did.

And this takes away a lot of potential from Aaron because he isn't given the choice to open up about what happened in Falcon Claw on his own. He doesn't get to tearfully tell Aphmau in gory detail what Zane took away from him. There's nothing but his anger that she knows after she's already seen it. And this sucks, because we really could have had a moment of the two bonding here, of Aaron opening up about something he's been understandably cagey about, of Aphmau showing him love and empathy in his time of grief.

I know a lot of people parrot the phrase "Show don't tell" but god dammit sometimes it's best to tell. Sometimes it's worse to be shown. This is one of those moments where Aaron should have been allowed to just be standing in the ruins of Falcon Claw, heard Aphmau come up behind him, and try to push her away. Tell her it's just an old village he found in the woods. And Aphmau can then very calmly and tenderly ask "Then why do you sound like you're about to cry?"

This could have lead to Aphmau comforting Aaron during a difficult moment and solidly establishing a real palpable connection between the two. But instead Aphmau is just shown Aaron's tragic backstory, and then they start romancing each other right after. I don't object to this romance happening, I just would've liked for them to have a little more to go off of. I would've liked Aaron willingly opening himself up to Aphmau and that being the vector for their eventual romance.

And obviously I want this romance to happen NOT at the expense of Garroth and Laurance's characters. I want this romance to happen unexpectedly for everyone, but for Aphmau to be able to actually explain why she and Aaron love each other, especially after his death. Aphmau is a character who has never been allowed to explain her romantic feelings, which is fine if you never plan on pairing her with anyone, but having her ship teased with two people and then enter an explicit romance with another and still NEVER go into details about it is just bad writing.

TLDR: Aarmau angers me because I can see where it could have been a good couple but Jesson had to do a Jesson and be bad at writing.