#so like. op is right. in the canon of the show we really don't SEE evidence of cause for concern re:claudia

[crookedfivefingers]

3.13 | ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀꜱᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ʟᴏʀᴅꜱ

link to the post I accidentally wound up prattling endlessly about in the tags 💀

[cinematicnomad]

#I think this is good analysis but it’s missing a fundamental element #they don’t think she’s fucked up for anything she’s done or will do. they don’t think her life is a tragedy from her actions. #her life is a tragedy bc she’s a child. think about how much independence and autonomy a child has. #she’s 14. barely out of middle school. #(her actress obviously is older. bc a real 14 year old could not provide the necessary level of performance. but TV claudia is 14.) #claudia cannot exist in human society without a parent figure. which means she is eternally tied to a vampire companion by necessity #book claudia is 5 years old. Louis carries her around like a babydoll. brushes her hair and puts ribbons in it. #obviously TV claudia would not put up with that treatment. she has MUCH more autonomy than book claudia. #but Claudia being uniquely cursed is due to her age. and as her maker lestat is responsible for that #and lestat projects his insecurity back at her #armand wants her out of the way and he recognizes her insecurities/weaknesses immediately and plays them up #that’s why he creates the psychological torture of the baby lulu character for her. #madeleine well that’s interesting. TV madeleine is much more well adjusted as a human being. #book madeleine is a doll maker who lost a child. and Claudia is her replacement baby. they match each other’s freak but it’s crazyyy #they never really touch on Claudia’s age in Europe. they show her basically as a functioning adult. #when like. a biggest part of her tragedy is that she CANT leave Louis. she NEEDS an adult body with her to be passably human. #I’m rambling but yeah. it’s her age. #but she’s literally a black 14 year old who can only go out at night #the human world is so fucking dangerous for her (via @punk-pins)

As much as nearly every character she meets tends to act like there's something uniquely broken and wrong with Claudia, at no point does it truly seem to me like there actually really is? I mean, obviously she is extremely fucked up, she straight up went through a serial killer collecting trophies phase, but there's a level of fucked up that's sort of the baseline for every character in the show, and obviously being turned into a vampire as a child puts her at a unique disadvantage. But for all that everyone around her spends their time bemoaning how dreadful and doomed her life is, even Louis who genuinely loves her but also builds so much of his identity around feeling responsible for her Terrible Fate™, I really don't think she's like, fundamentally damaged any more than any of the other vampires are.

But Lestat is so unwilling to be wrong that every time her life hits an inevitable road bump instead of helping her through it he points and says "look! see! she IS a monster, I was right Louis, making her was a mistake!" (and I think he sees his own monstrousness in her but fails to also see her humanity)

And then Armand meets her and sees only someone who will inevitably lose her mind, so of course speeding up the "inevitable" and siding with the coven to plan her death is just a mercy, absolving himself of any blame. (and he projects his own frailty and desire for death onto her, failing to see her strength and her desire for life)

Which makes it so cathartic when she meets Madeleine, admits to her how broken she feels sometimes, and Madeleine's response is just. Well that's normal. Who isn't a little broken these days. Let yourself feel it, move on, let yourself feel it again if you need to. After spending her life having others act as if her emotions are something uniquely dark and worrying, Madeleine's incredibly blase attitude must have been such an incredible breath of fresh air for Claudia!

To spend her whole life being made to feel like something is Wrong™ with her, and then meet someone who's just like, "yeah, and?? Who isn't? Join the club I guess"

Which makes her death so incredibly tragic and frustrating because like. She was fine! She was making a life for herself! She wasn't doomed by her nature, she wasn't "doomed by the narrative" (whatever the fuck that even means), she was doomed for no reason other than that everyone around her (except for Madeleine) preemptively DECIDED she was doomed and never gave her a chance to prove them wrong.

[illamda-spaminations]

I find it so interesting that during the Twisted Hearts OP, when the song goes "I feel you sins all the time", they showed Mycroft and Albert respectively. While Mycroft does not understand/know everything that's going on with the LOC and Moriarty & co., I do believe he understands how Albert feels, especially about taking the punishment on himself.

For example: This scene in MTP, post-Final problem

He understands because he knows Albert and, more importantly, he has been there, it's just the circumstances and the consequences of the decision is very different. The reason he dedicated his life to working for the government was because of his father's involvement in the French Revolution. He wanted to repent on behalf of him, so he decided to take on that punishment, protecting Sherlock in the process. Albert does something very similar, he takes on the atonement so Louis doesn't have to. He believes Louis deserves so much more than punishment; he deserves a fulfilling life, a happy one, or at least as happy as it can get, and above all, the one who should reap the crops William sown [I should REALLY make a separate post on Louis ye gods-].

Mycroft could've let the Moriarty brothers do what they saw fit, as long as he was spared from the brutality, but instead he threatens them. If they don't put the country's future and prosperity first, Mycroft will personally "annihilate" him [his words not mine].

This scene really goes to show that Mycroft is genuinely dedicated to the Empire, he is very intent to serve for the country's future, but it's not blind loyalty, it's him being bound to it, it's the least he could do to make up for his father's sins [sins of the father am I right?] and it's the same for Albert. He and Mycroft love their younger brothers, to the point of sacrificing themselves in order to protect them, to make sure they live as they please, free of guilt. The difference is that Mycroft changed over time, he started to loosen up. The first time we see him outside of his office for non-work related matters was with meeting everyone in the dinner party. And for Albert? Time stopped turning entirely. The moment he entered the tower was the moment he couldn't go back. It was him, his thoughts and the messages from Mycroft to distract him. The only person who could convince him to come out of his prison and start living was William; because William's actions, sins, guilt and will to die was the very reason why Albert chose his punishment.

In comparison, Mycroft's self enforced punishment was lighter to Albert's. While Mycroft has to deal with constant stress [this is not really canon, but considering that he's referred to as the government, yeaaaaa I think he's gonna be stressed af] and grief, Albert had to deal with a spiral towards insanity, grief, religious guilt for the Moriarty plan and his compulsive thoughts. And he's sure as hell isn't going to stand on his own for a while after that.

Another thing [this time it's actually related to my point :0] is exactly when the two show up. Mycroft shows up around the lyrics "I feel your sins" while albert shows up around "all the time", which further proves my point. Since Sherlock and William showing up around the point of "I can't feel your love but I can give you love" basically describes Sherlock's goal of saving William and their relationship in a nutshell.

"I don't know if you see me as a friend but I'll see you like that anyway, and save you, just like what I would do to another friend."

What's not to say the same can be true to Mycroft and Albert?

"I can never truly understand what you are going through, but I will always understand how you feel."

[sapphic-agent]

You wanna know who the #1 beneficiary of the tech power creep is in this series? Momo. One thing this mech suit shows is that Momo totally wasted her time trying to beat people with sticks. The idea of trying to create items in a battle as a form of problem solving is stupid, or at best, should be done as a last resort. Her power was always meant for technology. That's the true power in this world. She should have been trying to be Ironman. You know how All Might spent his fortune on the suit, and that was meant to be a limiting factor as to why this tech can't be widely used? Well, guess who has the ability to generate materials with no cost. Even the idea of her inventions requiring studying to make things more complex stops holding water when you look at the torture device she tried to strap Midoriya into during Class A vs Deku. She made that in an instant and it posed an immediate threat. What could she make if she wasn't trying to do it during stressful battles with enemies right in front of her? So, her limiting factor really is her ability to study advanced concepts and have people explain them to her, and most importantly, what an author is willing to let her do. The path forward for her was always to pay people smarter and more educated than her to invent things and then she can have them explain it to her so she can recreate it. If her family had paid the cost to design that Iron Might suit, then she'd pay it. Once. And then be able to use the schematics to create as many of them as she wants. Or better yet, make killer robots except use the tech inside of the suit. Create an entire army of them so she never has to be in any sort of danger at all. Control them remotely. UA has been shown to have advanced AI robots who have personalities. Said bots have enough restraint to never kill any of the kids in the sports festival or entrance exam. This could be used for hero work. This also gets into what a valuable resource Mei Hatsume is and how if you wanted Momo to be a god, you could just have them meet in middle school. Mei just has to design a working device, once, and then Momo can study it and forever use it. What could she come up with, if the idea was that Momo would hide somewhere, perhaps in an APC, while she uses drones and robots to fight at a distance? Energy/food costs for her also aren't a concern. She's clearly able to output more energy than she takes in, given she can create cannons and things that weigh more than her. So she could use up all of her lipids creating a dead meat cube that contains as many calories as she's capable of packing into an object, then eat it. And repeat this process as needed.

This is definitely interesting.

Momo absolutely has the potential to be the most OP in the series. Horikoshi originally wanted to give her quirk to a pro but recognized that someone experienced would nerf the entire story.

I don't necessarily think that making things for problem-solving is the issue; I think it's way more that Horikoshi just didn't have the creativity for it. Like you said the entrapment device she made during 1A vs Izuku was maybe her most effective creation. Instead of disinfectant, imagine she made poison gas and simply knocked Kendo and the other 1B students out (not sure if she can create chemical reactions, but she could theoretically cause one by using components right).

I doubt she would be comfortable doing next to nothing as a hero. I do wish we knew her motivations, but relying purely on her money while doing minimal work doesn't paint a great picture for her. I like that in canon she doesn't rely on her status or wealth for hero work, she relies on her intelligence.

Momo should be an underground hero. She could be the equivalent of Batman (no this isn't my love for Batman over Iron-Man talking), strategizing and having any gadget she needs at her disposal. I would love to see more tech incorporated into her work as a hero. I also wouldn't mind the bo staff if she was allowed to actually use it like a bo staff (seriously she barely does anything with it what's the point of giving it to her. Nah give my girl a sword and let her cut people)

[lets-try-some-writing]

okay but what about robots in disguise?? its not a favorite of mine but it’s still pretty good. russel and his dad are decent lol

Frag that show.

It disrespected TFP on every level and for that it has my eternal hatred and contempt. The humans were annoying, and I HATED how many interesting plot threads there were that were either done poorly or with so little tact that the writing team should have just scrapped it. The designs are tolerable, but I hate how canon TFP characters lost so much of their individuality in their designs (coughtheopticscough). Smokescreen is fricking GONE, which bothers me more than I care to admit. We see the rest of the team enough to be reasonable, but they all appear in ways that don't really make me happy.

Ratchet was done well enough in my opinion. I like his RID design. It suites him. Optimus's design can go die in a hole, they brutalized that mech. Same with Jazz. Frag those stupid shoulder pads.

Grimlock is fun, I appreciate Sideswipe, although his helm hair thingies I think need a redesign to make sense in relation to his alt mode. Strongarm was HORRIBLY underutilized and I hardly saw any character growth in her. Drift and his crew were interesting, but similarly not given much room to grow. I really liked Windblade for the most part, especially the episode where she tries to baby Optimus and comes out having relearned that Op is still a PRIME with MILLIONS OF YEARS OF WAR EXPERIENCE.

The Primes who've done nothing but sit on their rears had NO RIGHT to belittle Optimus at every turn. Nor did the show have the right to make him an idiot for the sake of making Bee look smarter. As @nova--spark has pointed out, the personality Bee got in the show matches Smokescreen better. Bumblebee wouldn't have SUCKED so much at the whole leadership shtick. What happened to all that skill shown in the movie huh? HUH WRITING TEAM????!??!?!

While I am on this train. OPTIMUS DIED SO GOSH DARN LEAVE HIM ALONE!!! He should have stayed deceased, or if they REALLY needed him back, he should have either returned as an Civi or came back with actual issues. Like dang hear me out mate.

Optimus is forcefully returned to life, beats the Fallen with his borrowed power, but then has to actually deal with the consequences of essentially being a walking bomb for a while. Make him start losing plating, make his frame HURT, make him slim down again into the TFP base design. Just, give him a reason to have to sit back and RECOVER. Not this whole half hearted limping around garbage. To add to that, don't baby the mech. Let him stay at base and fulfill the role Ratchet did in TFP. Let him use his knowledge to teach and offer wisdom, plan battles and locate enemies. For Primus's sake he could have gone undercover on Cybertron or something if they really needed him to go be useless elsewhere.

THEY COULD HAVE EVEN HAD AN ARC WITH HIM GIVING THE TEAM A WAKEUP CALL!!! SIdeswipe has no respect for the mission, Grimlock is a fool, Strongarm is too snarky, and Bee in this seems to have largely forgotten about the seriousness except for during key moments. They could have made Optimus a minor antagonist, forcing the team to follow wartime standards since they laid down this plot thread regarding issues between leadership styles and Optimus trying to take control of the operation more than once.

I would have paid money to see Optimus's wartime mentality show itself in the best and worst ways through how he worked with this group of non war vets on a Decepticon capture mission. Maybe even have him use lethal force once or twice, or at least hint at it so that people can be reminded that he is a mech who went to war, killed countless bots, and both drove their people to and saved their people from extinction.

Bee could have had to teach Optimus to calm down. He could have helped eased his leader out of his wartime mindset. Or following that whole council running Cybertron route, Optimus could have had his moment of being very much right when he points out WHY he fought at all and gestures towards the new council. There was SO MUCH potential in this show, so many good threads and interesting Decepticon character that could have given so much depth to the war and the aligned continuity as a whole, but they were almost ALL ignored.

*deep breath*

Alright, sorry about that. I have big feelings in regards to how dirty Optimus was done. Moving on, the Predacons were killed off supposedly and that pisses me off ESPECIALLY because it was done in a fricking offscreen setting. What the hell happened to Predaking??? WHERE DID HE GO????

Starscream's design was rad though, not going to lie.

Where is Shockwave? No seriously where is that fragger? After several years of the map he MUST have an army growing in a tank somewhere.

Soundwave. Why. ARe. YOU. HERE??!?!?!? I love you man but dang you are so out of place. He made sense in the context of trying to get to Megatron, but idk he felt like he deserved better. He should have been the big brain behind the Cons on Earth if you asked me. It would have made everything far more intense, especially if the Cons dont follow Decepticon creed as seen by Soundwave.

The humans were annoying. Sorry they just were.

Fixit is Primus's gift to RID and he's one of the few individuals who makes it less annoying. Idk, I just like him in reasonable doses.

WHERE ARE THE TFP KIDS?! WHY HAS BEE NOT CALLED THEM?? GOOD HEAVENS THERE IS A WHOLE SUBPLOT RIGHT THERE!!!

*yet another deep breath*

Apologies.

To put things simply, I would rather a group of fanfic writers put RID together than whoever the writing team was. They could have made a coherent story with deep characters that actually address the ramifications of millions of years of war and lingering functionalist mindsets. They would have done the lore and the world justice even if there were no main characters popping up.

I think RID has so much potential, but that almost all of it went right down the toilet due to either the higher ups sticking their noses where they don't belong or because the writing team couldn't go two minutes without retconning or otherwise destroying established everything.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[demonslayedher]

Things that went through my head while watching this episode: --This was a great episode to notice during the OP that in the clip right after Muichiro throws the sword and Tanjiro goes rushing forward in a strike presumably with that sword, you can see Yoriichi in the back lined up next to Tanjiro--almost like the pose Tanjiro strikes with Pillars in the OP! (Hmm, how are they going to do that for the Pillar Training Arc?)

--Kanamori, in some not very well-placed exposition, says that Tanjiro asked him to be understanding of Muichiro, and that is why as Muichiro's new swordsmith, he looked into who used to smith his swords. First of all, when? We only saw Tanjiro interact with Kanamori the day or two before this all goes down, but Kanamori already has Muichiro's new sword ready and stashed away in the same shop where Haganezuka is busy putting his life on the line for polishing a sword even before Gyokko shows up. The first we see of Tanjiro even hearing of Kanamori being responsible for Muichiro's sword is when Muichiro woke him up maybe an hour or so ago. This means Tanjiro had to have known this and had an opportunity to talk to Kanamori long before he even witnessed Muichiro in the Swordsmith Village. Perhaps Tanjiro brought it up as general advice to Kanamori who expressed feeling pressure for being assigned to a Pillar, and Tanjiro just wanted to be encouraging to him based on what little impression he had of Muichiro at the Pillar Meeting and whatever he heard from Shinobu (and Shinobu did tell Tanjiro Muichiro's name, at the very least). But also, perhaps Kanamori started this endeavor to understand Muichiro after completing his first sword for him, because Tanjiro only said this to him yesterday? In which case, was this truly a matter of Tanjiro seeing that Muichiro is in need of that kindness, or was it Tanjiro throwing his hands up and saying, "I don't know what to make of him, you try!"

--And that, friends, is how you can dig too deep into canon to find fanfic ideas.

--Kotetsu-kun truly is a brave kid whose response to seeing his friends in pain was to attack instead of run away. I love how close-knit everyone in the village is, they all know (and recognize!) each other by name. --Muichiro is the kind of person who would walk around a modern art museum saying, "I could do that." Kotetsu would be the one saying, "but you didn't." Gyokko, of course, is the worst of modern artists. There must be a modern day AU which Gyokko leans a bean in Chicago and Muichiro starts a "paint the bean pink" event.

--Gyokko deserves some credit here for his cleverness! Although what Muzan would have preferred is Gyokko finding Ubuyashiki or the blue spider lilies, Gyokko has honed in the Corp's weapons and focused his efforts on eliminating those. Maybe he was merely lucky to have found a clue about the village, but he developed a technique, I assume specifically, to deprive swordsmen of their Breath.

--Being taunted for having "a dull life" and an existence with no meaning sure adds weight to that "I was born to be happy" statement. --Kimetsu Academy answered some of my wishes by having Uzui-sensei and Gyokko hang out and talk art, but what I really want is to see Shinobu see those fishes.

--I love the BGM and sound effects for Love Breath. Mitsuri is just so special, you guys. I love hearing her in this Taisho Secret showing off her sword skills to Tanjiro & Nezuko, and a sound that lives in my head rent free is the the sound she made in the previous episode's Kimetsu Academy short as she falls to her knees. --One of my favorite background characters in this whole series is the guy who tried to protect Tecchin by charging at the fish monster with a naginata. ----First, naginata. I have bias. ----Second, such upstanding character! That is not a man who runs away even when the swordsmen have been slain. ----Also, while Tecchin and the other guy who got his head bumped are shameless in fishing for Mitsuri's care and attention, this is the guy who had the view up her skirt and who made no mention of it whatsoever. ----That might be because he was so rightfully distracted by the sight of her sword instead, and he gave us some smoother exposition with which to appreciate it. --Another random thing, but I love the nighttime lighting in this season! The BGM in general feels more experimental and sometimes takes me out of it (opposed to how the Yuukaku spin plunged me deeper into it), but when it slaps, it slaps, like on the new variation as Tanjiro attains a lightsaber Red Blade. Also also, there are a lot of characters in this one with peculiar and kind of old-timey ways of speaking (Kanamori, Tecchin, Hantengu's clones, etc.) that are still distinct from other characters (like Rengoku). I don't know how much of it comes across in translation, but my ears enjoy the extra characterization.

--I love--and the first time I watched this, my friends loved it too--how Nezuko and Tanjiro take turns carrying each other when they lose consciousness. It keeps the pacing fast and desperation high, while also illustrating their bond really well. What also gets me is how Tanjiro frets and tells her to let go of the sword because her fingers will get cut. It doesn't feel like a big concern because we know she's already lost a forearm and being impaled through through the torso and neck tonight, but any reasonable brother doesn't want to see his sister's fingers cut off, much less sliced with a sword at all.

--I love how Sekido is the only demon around here whose perspective is worth anything

--Quickly jumping to the end of the episode to note how we see the base of Aizetsu's neck and the top of his head still intact, so that implies that Genya munched on the bottom half of his head. In general I'm not much into ship content, but I know there is a fandom for Aizetsu and Genya out there, and I do find the idea of it being one-sided infatuation on Aizetsu's part an amusing premise. With that in the back of my mind, I could also imagine Aizetsu mistakenly thinking Genya was going to make out with him and how quickly and shockingly he'd have his hopes dashed. --Okay, so, HINOKAMI KAGURA WITH A RED BLADE AND THE MARK, TIME TO DIAL UP THE ANIMATION

--And they do

--And it's so sad Haganezuka doesn't get to see it --Like, after how much the fight with Rui blew up and the internet collectively lost their minds, we tend to just expect this from Ufotable, so the beauty they accomplish doesn't always stick out because they have to work harder and harder to stand out from what they've already given us, but this attack on Karaku, Urogi, and Sekido is a thing of wonder and it is highly worth appreciating.

--The lighting! The fluid motion and changing camera angles! But also the ability to show changes in expression, and to differentiate Tanjiro in the marked state from his usual state.

--But, again, the timeline has me in knots. Tanjiro says he was "always" thinking about that last strike on Gyutaro and how it felt different, but when would he have had time to do that, since he's spend so much of his wakeful life, like, fighting for his life against a mechanical doll? He's of course had downtime, but given the Taisho Secret in the hand-out at the early Mugen Ressha showings, I suspect comatose Tanjiro spend a lot of time analyzing and replaying that moment and doing image training. --On the first watch, when Tanjiro is thinking about how his will is tied with that of everyone around him, and even if he can't do it, someone else will take over for him, it's easy to get wrapped up in "THAT'S RENGOKU" or "this is foreshadowing all the hands in that truly final battle with Muzan!" but, I can't wait to think back to this scene when he's talking to Giyuu in the next season. Giyuu is the first person he thinks of, but also, Giyuu's hand is absent from among the ones on Tanjiro's back.

[nalyra-dreaming]

In response to this ask: https://www.tumblr.com/nalyra-dreaming/765370193149034496/hey-nalyra-i-was-wondering-does-lestat-have-a

Considering the obvious plans of having the amc series interact with each other at some point I would really like one of the Mayfair witches to have a best friend thing with Lestat. Rowan, since she's already been established and if I'm not mistaken has a fling with Lestat too. Since that whole ass arc has been deleted they could insert her in another way and then have her go back to the MW and have this off screen friendship with Les.

Or Merrick, since he seems to care for her. Instead of killing her off they could keep her and make her a supporting character for the Loustat vs talamasca mess and then have her transition to MW.

Or, if we want to avoid all of that crossover bother, Jesse could be nice. The roots for a friendship with Lestat are there from the qotd movie, as ass as it was. She too would be a nice addition to the Loustat vs talamasca arc Rolin seems to want to make. But who knows. Thoughts?

To be honest I get OP for the question because it's really sad for Lestat to never have a bestie that is just his. Reading fanfics especially, Daniel is always Louis' token bestie while Lestat is always kind of there, alone, or with Armand as a sort of friend which, idk. It’s something that makes you realize just how isolated Lestat, besides Louis, is, and I think a friend that is just his, or is friends with everyone else but very obviously chooses him as a bestie, like Daniel for Louis, would be very nice. So l'd love to know who'd you think would be the perfect fanfic bestie or future bestie for Lestat, since we’re here :)

It would be nice if the show would choose to build up Jesse, Merrick or Rowan, yes, especially, since we can always use more vampiresses or witches, right?^^.

That said, I don't quite see Rowan or Merrick there. IF one of them, then Jesse. He trusts Jesse, and meets with her and David later on, that could be easily be built on (and yes, the movie, I mean... *coughs*).

However, I chewed a bit on this and... I think Lestat could find a real friend - a real friend - in Gregory (Gregory Duff Collingsworth).

Gregory seems to "see" him, in the books at least. It will be interesting if they introduce him in the show, but in the books Gregory is a true ancient, but very much rooted in humanity, and navigating it successfully. And he also cares for Lestat, and offers support, he knows when Lestat needs it, too. I think that there is something there that could be true friendship, eventually. With benefits even, since Gregory shares his blood with Lestat, but for some reason it's not... "that" level.

Gregory is also the head of the pharmaceutical empire that Fareed is also working in/using later on... since Fareed has already been introduced as a doctor I am quite tickled by the possibilities, tbh.

And, agreed - Lestat could use a friend.

And Gregory would be on his level later on - and also laid back enough - to be that.

So, after mulling this over for a while :), I'm going with Gregory, for book canon.

But I'd also like Jesse. I wonder if we'll see her at the end of season 3, since she is at Lestat's concert, too. And later on she'd definitely be on a similar level, too. So...

(Ugh, I cannot wait what the show might do. :))

[bravernificationbeam]

thinking abt how isami, smith, and the audience's central questions in bravern

(isami = who + what is bravern???? smith = what do I want, what's my place in this conflict? [that's just called being 24] the audience = same as isami, who/what is bravern)

are ones whose answers are very obvious but only if you have the right framework. otherwise the answers seem so fantastical that they are inconceivable even as potential solutions (i'll note that even people i've seen who called smithvern before ep 8/9 never quite got the mechanism right.....)

like the op basically screams at you twice that smith is bravern, they really do carry themselves quite similarly ('you sound just like him' isami says haha), bravern slips up. y'know. enough (he's so excited he has to just roll w/ the fact that he as an apparent stranger knows isami's name, this mecha has seen an 80s american sci-fi movie apparently, he speaks fucking english fhdfjjdkfjk HE KNOWS THAT SMITH GETS FULL BODY WAXES.....[I LOVE YOU BRAVERN!!!!!!!]). but like What. how would that even Work. but then you get that one puzzle piece and you realize! OH. THAT'S HOW IT WOULD WORK!!!!! (for me it was seeing that cunus has time travel powers. immediately went 🤨)

likewise. smith's questions. what got me on this track was thinking abt how....when cunus is talking to smith does she even know what she means?

"I've always felt you. [You] had this feeling deep inside that [you] couldn't share with anyone. And it thrilled me."

a lot of deathdrive lore is very mysterious and doesn't make a lot of sense ("always"?), but i get the sense that she means some sort of deep unnameable longing rather than something specific--even if she has had some sort of greater knowledge of what's going on on earth than what the deathdrives gain by being in orbit, i don't know if she could necessarily detangle human emotions like that. whatever, the canon is ambiguous; all i'm trying to say is that i don't think we can determine with certainty whether cunus is talking about an identity desire or a romantic/sexual desire on smith's part--or whether she even knows herself (or, as a deathdrive, would know the difference!)

nonetheless you can tell by smith's reaction that he knows cunus is right about him. he's not totally, exactly sure how, but she really, really is ('the bullies knew i was gay before i did' type ass). and he's just abt to get his puzzle piece to figure it out 😉

so like this is all to say when smith goes up to bravern in ep 2 and asks to pilot him, when he's watching wistfully from the sidelines as bravern and isami save the day it's like. he can't ask to be the robot. that question and the desire behind it are incomprehensible to him. wanting to be isami in that situation is the only answer he can really come to, but it's not quite right and i think smith knows it. it's why smith's reflections on heroism are never quite clear--even from episode one, "this is what i've always wanted to be" girl. which is?? 'i wanted to become like him' GIRL. WHO!

i think that moment when cunus first starts talking to him and he's like 'i think you've got the wrong guy, i think you're looking for...bravern' really speaks well to how he rationalizes what's going on in his head--there's kind of a beat where you think he's going to say isami, so it's this dual moment containing both his crush and his whole Thing (weird envy he doesn't fully understand) surrounding bravern, and it's sooo close (uh yep. she sure was looking for bravern), metatextually it's there! but textually it isn't.

and so then smith, falling from the fucking sky after being time loop resurrection bravernified (god i love this show) can FINALLLYYYYY SEEEEE that he wanted to be the robot!!!!!! AND he loves isami!

as do we the audience! answering both of the central questions at once and finally getting to see that paradigm we weren't quite grasping

and it's all So Queer. and i LOVE that and i LOVE that we as the audience get to go along on this queer narrative journey with sumiisa 💖

[rockymountainqueen2]

Back to the Swamp rundown!

So...

Disney Channel's YouTube account just released a new TOH chibi tiny tale.

And it's a crossover with Amphibia!

Here's my summarization of the events.

It begins with Luz meddling with the good 'ol portal door.

I'm not sure what she's expecting to accomplish, but Eda and King evidently found it interesting enough to watch. Eda even brought popcorn!

But whatever Luz did, it worked!

I have no idea when this is supposed to be occurring within the series timeline by the way. Luz is wearing season one outfit, has access to the portal door, which is also not destroyed.

So, season one, right?

But Eda has her post "Let the pain be shared" silver eye... And her season two dress for that matter!

Ah well, onwards to adventure! Eda is all for it!

King is a bit more... concerned, but comes along too.

Doesn't stop him from being mystified about the wildlife, though.

I guess Luz was trying to get back to The Human Realm?

Because she seems utterly shocked by the sudden realization that man-sized insects means that she can't possibly be on earth, lol.

But luckily for the denizens of the owl house, they've landed in Amphibia! By Wartwood! Right in front of the Plantar family home!

While Anne's friends Marcy and Sasha were visiting no less! What luck!

Anne and Luz formally reunite and introduce their respective families/friends to one another. It's very cute.

Sasha and Eda evidently decided that they just had to have an arm wrestling competition.

Sasha uses the powers gifted to her by the Calamity Box in order to win, lol.

But Eda gets the last laugh!

Then Marcy and King play a board game together.

Annnnnd she also uses her Calamity Box powers to win.

Girls, you do realize that's considered cheating, right?

Hooty also makes an appearance.

I guess he was wondering where everybody went?

Polly proceeds to use him as a jump-rope, lol.

I'm surprised that Hooty isn't more into this, but maybe he was genuinely worried about the people who live inside of him and didn't appreciate being used a kid's plaything after braving the unknown in his best effort to find them. Lol.

Meanwhile, Luz is showing off her sick glyph skills!

...Which I just realized, probably shouldn't work in Amphibia.

Ah well, we wouldn't have gotten this nice moment where she and Anne show off their magical powers to each other otherwise!

After all is said and done, our heroes settle down to have a meal.

I'm reasonably certain that they're eating bugs. Yum, protein.

Hop Pop and Eda are doubtlessly exchanging tips on parenting orphans and their other-dimensional friends, lol.

Throughout this whole adventure, the portal door has been... shrinking?

Because... the writers needed a reason for Luz and Co to have go back to The Demon Realm suddenly?

XD That's my best guess, as I don't recall there ever having been a time limit when it came to using the original portal door. It was kinda OP like that.

Anywho, Luz and Co need to leave immediately. Anne and Luz are quite sad to see one another go.

King really wants to make sure to say goodbye to everybody properly!

To the point he was a little too preoccupied to notice the portal door closing on him.

Also: Hop Pop faints because he thinks he just saw a little kid get decapitated, lol.

Meanwhile, back in the owl house, Luz is sad that she had to say goodbye to Anne. Eda comforts her, it's a sweet sight.

What isn't such a sweet sight is what King looks like minus his skull.

Although King himself is rather nonplussed about the whole thing.

Like mother, like son. Lol.

Luz is completely and totally horrified by the sight of King...

And that's the note that we end on!

Overall, cute little short.

And as a bonus...

XD This is officially canon now.

[beanghostprincess]

headcanon time: i wrote a post about how it’s possible that saboala have been dating for a long time but oda hasn’t told us yet. what if koala was crying over sabo sleeping for three days just because she didn’t want to lose her wonderful boyfriend??? (i know friends can do this but i love them so much as a ship and i want them to be canon so bad adiós)

Look, Oda isn't making it canon because that's how he works. He once said that he believed he wasn't good at writing love stories and, to be honest? Average writer behavior. Imposter syndrome. This man has such a powerful way of telling stories and especially about love (platonic or not. But I'm talking about romance here). And he never says it's romantic but damn he knows how to write. So I wholeheartedly believe Saboala should be canon because look at them. I know I don't have many arguments for this but LOOK AT THEM. THAT'S NOT FRIENDSHIP BEHAVIOR THERE'S SOMETHING THERE. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN IT. IT'S THE ENERGY THE VIBES. They're giving Usokaya. 100%. Like they're obviously canon but they're not canon and then OPLA literally said "fuck it, Oda we need romance in here we are NETFLIX if there's no romance we die" and Oda said "Usopp and Kaya" without hesitation (Real conversation I literally heard it I was there I was the script). So,, Just believe whatever you want. He's doing the same with Hibari and Koby and at this point I just consider interpreting OP relationships however you want. I think Yamato and Ace was romantic too and we will never know because this man writes romance in the most obvious of ways but never makes anything canon. The closest we've ever been to a canon romance is Sanji and Pudding and that didn't even work out at the end (well, not really? Because, and this is a manga spoiler btw don't keep reading yadda yadda -> She shows up again. She's gonna be important to the plot. I can't believe this is happening in the anime like, in what? Three weeks? Am I right? I think I am. I miss her so bad. Like-- She's so ending up with Sanji. I am not even trying to make an argument or something I just think it should be obvious seeing how the story has progressed. If they don't end up together I'm gonna fail as a writer because it's just so obvious).

Basically, Saboala is pretty much canon in the OP standard for romance.

[onepiece-oc-archives]

How to write Luffy in general without him coming across as stupid? I feel like in the animanga when you can see him, it's different from a story, where a reader (like a friend who wants to read your story) who is not a op fan might be confused about why Luffy is acting this way. I feel I write him too childish sometimes... or Zoro being too dumb... but then again I've been accused once of writing Sanji "too normal" because I had him not fall high over heels for every woman he sees and I left out the nosebleed too. How to find the right way to write the characters?

Hiya, thanks for your question!

To say it in one sentence: There isn't one correct way to write a character. You might not want to write things that directly contradict canon but, at that point, are you even writing the same character anymore?

You're definitely right on the fact that a visual format like anime or manga is different from a story though. For example, I would never write Sanji going 100% heart eyes and spinning around the room like a hurricane without human form because that just doesn't sound believable in a story - at least not in my writing style. If you write a crackfic, you can definitely still do that. I'd say: Write characters the way it feels right for you.

How do you find what's write for you? Well, by engaging with the characters. Preferably the main source material, so the animanga or live action, depending on what universe your story is set in. But it can also be helpful to read some fanfic and think: "Hm, do I agree with this? Does this feel right for me? Or does this just not fit the character in my eyes?" In the end, everyone will have their own interpretation of a character and that's okay - and even appreciated! I mean, it would be boring if we all wrote the exact same things, right?

Now, for some character-specific tips. I'm gonna just give a few of my thoughts on Luffy, Zoro and Sanji, since those are the three you mentioned.

Sanji is a great case of what I mean when I say that some things just don't work out in writing, like I already said. What I like to do for animanga!Sanji is to write him like a lovesick fool but without the physical comedy. Because he is a lovesick fool. Or at least he comes across as one. I can't really go into too much character analysis here without derailing the post and diving into spoilers, but he has his reasons for treating practically every woman like a goddess. So, don't be afraid to show that! It's a vital part of his character, so you can't just leave it out. I mean, imagine someone writes Sanji kicking a woman! He would never do that and has repeatedly said so in canon. Well, not yet in OPLA, but I don't see that as a spoiler. Literally look at him and how he behaves towards Nami and Nojiko. Generally, OPLA is a great example of how to make Sanji work without the physical comedy. He's still an absolute fool for every woman but he's not inhumanly weird. I love OPLA Sanji and I will never stop gushing about that - sorry not sorry <3

Zoro! Like with Sanji, you should keep his main characteristics, which is a lot easier for him that for curly-brows, I'd say. Zoro is blunt about his opinions, he has literally no sense of direction and he likes to sleep a lot. So far so simple. I also wouldn't say he's dumb, though he can come across that way. He just... doesn't care. He cares about getting to slice people and has a very pragmatic approach to a lot of problems. But you've gotta remember that he's also very knowledgeable about some things, mainly about swords and fighting technique. As much as it looks like he just rushes into battle without thinking, his attacks are actually thought-out and precise. Put him in the right situation and he might as well be a genius. Unfortunately, that situation doesn't apply a lot of times, so you're left mainly with his pragmatic side. But that pragmatic side actually does a lot of good for the Straw Hats, especially further down in the story.

And now, Luffy... Luffy is actually stupid. Yeah, I mean it, he's not the most intelligent guy. Not a calculated thought in that boy's brain. If he ever comes up with something like a plan, he comes up with it on the fly - and that's not a bad thing! It creates a contrast between him and the more calculated members of the crew. So, yeah, you don't really have to worry about Luffy coming off as too dumb, but you might not want to make it the main point of the scene too often or make it come off as forced. Think about it, how stupid could a human you meet on the street possibly be? Most people don't say nonsensical things all the time. There is definitely rhyme and reason behind the things that Luffy says and does, but he has his own perception of what "rhyme and reason" is. Also, he might not be smart, but he's emotionally intelligent.

I suppose the only way to really "get good" at writing characters is to get really familiar with them and try to understand how they think. Also, to just do it. There have been so many times where I never even got started on writing stuff because I was scared I wasn't going to do the characters justice - but I figured it out on the way, doing what felt right for me, and those fics have become my most popular yet. So, don't be afraid to experiment a little!

There you go, I hope that helped! Have a lovely day <3

[sokkastyles]

Hey I normally agree with you on things about ATLA, but that post from the user themattress(sorry I dont remember their username, just what they talked about in regards to Azula and who is responsible for shaping her to be the way she was) didn't seem to be wrong at all? Maybe this is my own experiences talking but while Ursa and Iroh aren't entirely guilty for how Azula turned out, there is a level of responsibility there? They're not completely absolved of everything because they were the adults in that situation, Azula was and is the child? Who depends on and looks up to the grown ups in her life and they are the ones who have the responsibility to teach and guide her?

Honestly I really don't get what you didn't connect(? Is that the right word?) or I guess agree with(?) with in that post since it made very much sense to me and I don't think I'm an Azula apologist or whatever that is? I want to understand where you're coming from since to me it feels.. very much like blaming Azula for being the victim of Ozai and the imperialism and fascism in the Fire Nation at the time. These don't absolve her of anything though because her choices to hurt and attempt to kill others are the choices she made, it's just trying to understand why and how she would have ended up the way she did and the adults who were involved and are culpable for it.

Either way, whether we agree or disagree, you're opinions and interpretations are valid too, as are other peoples. I hope you have a good rest of your day! 👋🏼

Okay, first of all, I never said they didn't have a responsibility for her, and you're right that adults do have certain responsibilities towards children, particularly Ursa as Azula's mother. But the ting is, we are shown this responsibility in canon. We are shown Ursa acting as a maternal figure for Azula and trying to teach her right and wrong. That IS her showing responsibility. The OP of that post claimed that Ursa neglected Azula, in ways that just aren't canon. We can say that certain interpretations are "valid" all day long, but the thing is, there are interpretations that can be backed up with canon evidence, and there are interpretations that cannot be backed up with canon evidence. The idea that Ursa neglected Azula is not backed up by any canon evidence.

Further, the OP says a lot of incorrect things about how abuse actually happens, specifically in statements made about Ursa. OP also specifically said that Ursa was "a guilty party." They didn't just say Ursa had a responsibility to Azula, which I agree that she does. They tried to make an argument that she was, actually, just as guilty as Ozai. I should not have to explain why it's victim blaming to say that an abused wife and mother is just as guilty as her abuser for the abuse of her child. There is a WORLD of difference between that and blaming Azula for her abuse, which I never did. Because I never said that Ozai's abuse of Azula was okay. In fact, it was Ursa who was often trying to counteract it. Because Ozai not teaching Azula right from wrong and not teaching her boundaries or how to function socially and just letting her treat people cruelly is abuse, as abusive as the pressure he put on her to be perfect. It's also neglect, neglect of Azula's emotional and social needs. Neglect is a word that I often see lobbed at Ursa, but the thing is, chastising your child isn't neglect. Not giving your child boundaries and rules and not teaching them the tools they need to grow into a happy, healthy person is. Ozai neglected Azula in every way except when he wanted her to be his perfect princess, and that aspect of his abuse is often ignored in order to make these accusations at Ursa, when we have no canon evidence of Ursa's so-called neglect.

Let's also take a closer look at some specific things the OP said.

Ursa gets some leeway for being a victim of Ozai's abuse, but it can only carry her so far. As frightened of Ozai as she was, she was still an adult, and her children were far more vulnerable and at risk from Ozai. And yet Ursa let her fear of Ozai, whom she saw in Azula, and her guilt for inadvertently setting Zuko up for being targeted for abuse by Ozai, cloud her maternal judgement. She focused her energies on Zuko, neglecting Azula save for chiding her when she acted out for attention, and gave Ozai the perfect opportunity to convince Azula that unconditional love was a fantasy. And on top of that, she ended up completely abandoning both her children. Both of Azula's parents sucked.

First of all, where, where oh where in canon, is it stated that Ursa's "fear of Ozai, who she saw in Azula, cloud her judgement." What scenes can you point to from the show to show this? Every scene of Ursa chastising Azula happens because of something Azula specifically did, not because Ursa is afraid of Ozai. Ursa is afraid of Ozai, for good reason, and probably also afraid of what Ozai is turing Azula into, but there's no reason to believe that her judgment was clouded. She's not wrong when she chastises Azula for wishing death upon family members. She's not wrong when she chastises Azula for terrorizing her brother. Her judgment of Azula is not clouded during these scenes. She reacts in the way a parent should react to that situation.

There's also no evidence that she "focused her energies on Zuko." Where is this in the show? Us being shown more scenes of Ursa with Zuko in a flashback from Zuko's perspective is not proof of that. There's no evidence that she neglected Azula. We don't see her excluding Azula in things, and in most of the scenes from Zuko's memory, Azula is there with him and Ursa.

What we do see, and this is where the "favoritism" argument always comes in, is Ursa protecting Azula from Zuko or attempting to mitigate Ozai's and Azula's attempts to exclude or terrorize or mistreat Zuko. And that's where I have to call bullshit, because this logic? Is straight out of the abuser's playbook.

We also have no evidence that Azula "acted out for attention" because she was neglected by her mother. We know why Azula did the things she did. She did them because she was being groomed by Ozai to behave that way. Trying to frame it as something else is ignoring and diminishing and excusing Ozai's abuse. Azula was not cruel because she was acting out for attention, she was cruel because her father made her believe that being cruel was the best way to show your worth, and that other people were weaker than her and deserved to be treated cruelly.

In fact, the show itself contradicts the idea that she was acting out for her mother's attention, since in "Zuko Alone," we see her lie to her mother about her bad behavior twice because she knew her mother would not approve. Azula is smart, and very aware, even as a young child, that her father will enable her behavior and that her mother won't, but that her mother can also be manipulated because of her expectations for Azula. For example, Azula knows that Ursa expects her to be kind to her brother, so she lies to her mother about wanting to play with her brother so she can play a mean trick on him and Mai. Later, she lies to her mother about threatening her brother with Ozai's plan to kill him because she knows Ursa would not approve of that, either. She is not trying to get her mother's attention here, even negative attention. She is trying to hide and get away with bad behavior, specifically the abuse of her brother, which she has been taught by her abuser how to get away with.

Also, the claim OP makes that Ursa "gave Ozai the opportunity" to abuse Zuko and Azula is disgusting. Full stop.

I'm going to address this because this is something that needs to be said. NOBODY should be blamed for "giving abusers the opportunity," and yes, that is just another form of victim blaming. Obviously it's important for adults to be aware of how abusers gain opportunities in order to prevent abuse, and that's why it's vital to talk about these things, but abusers also a very good at finding and making opportunities for themselves. Sometimes abuse happens because of other ways adults in a child's life are negligent, but not always. Sometimes the adults do everything right and it still happens. And in the case of Ursa, I wrote another post about how Ursa was also groomed and how this is actually a really common abusive situation. It's not a reflection of Ursa's negligence or guilt. It is a reflection of Ozai's abusiveness. Period.

I have never and will never blame Azula for being abused, but the thing is, she is already an abuser herself by the time we see her in "Zuko Alone," as I said above, and every time we see Ursa chastise her it's because of her own violent or abusive behavior. Being an abuse victim does not mean she gets free reign to abuse others, even as a child. She especially does not get free reign to abuse other children. Namely her brother, who was also being abused by her father who encouraged her to participate in his abuse. We have no evidence that Ursa didn't care about Azula or didn't try to stop her from being abused. We have evidence that Ursa tried to prevent Azula from abusing Zuko, and that is being used as evidence that she either didn't care or abused Azula herself. This is victim blaming because it is twisting an event where an abuser abused someone and trying to make them the victim. And while Azula is a victim of Ozai, she is not a victim when her mom is telling her not to light her brother on fire.

OP claims that not only did Ursa cause Ozai's abuse of Azula, but that she also caused Ozai's abuse of Zuko. And I could really dig in and talk about how manipulative Ozai is with Ursa. I could get into what we learn from the comics about how Ursa lied about Zuko's parentage because she knew Ozai was reading her letters and how this is often held up as "proof" that she caused Zuko's abuse, and how much people miss the point of that scene. For one, Ozai purposefully sets up Ursa to fail, and then he himself blames Ursa for Zuko's abuse. So like, first of all, I hope anyone who reads that comic and takes away that Ursa "caused" Zuko's abuse realizes that they're agreeing with Ozai, here, which should be your first clue that it's wrong. But second, Ozai does to Ursa exactly what he does to Zuko when he purposefully sets up Zuko to fail an agni kai against him that he didn't know he'd be fighting, and then punishes him for failing.

Abusers know how to do this. They know how to leverage your guilt and do it purposefully. That is one of the reasons why it's so hard to leave an abusive relationship. Ozai also does this to Azula, by making Azula feel guilty for how he made her complicit in his horrible actions, while convincing her that it was actually her mother that made her feel like a monster, when it wasn't. It was Ozai all along.

The whole idea that abuse can be prevented if only all adults "stepped up" is a comfortable fantasy, but it's one that encourages shifting blame away from where it actually lies: with the abusers.

Now, on what OP says about Iroh, their first sentence right off the bat is an example of faulty logic.

Azulon and Iroh are both guilty through inaction. In Azulon's case, he just straight-up didn't give a damn about Azula...her being named after him and being a prodigy at firebending failed to move him in the way Ozai had hoped.

Putting Azulon and Iroh in the same category doesn't make a lot of sense here, unless you consider that OP is trying to reach for that comparison on purpose to show that Iroh is "just as bad," just like they did by putting Ursa and Ozai in the same category. But before we even get into Iroh, they're assessment of Azulon is totally wrong.

OP lists Azulon's flaws as "inaction" and "failure to be moved in the way Ozai had hoped." But like...that's not what happens in the show at all. Azulon didn't ignore Azula despite Ozai's hope that he would be "moved" by her firebending prowess, and that wasn't how Azulon shaped Azula, either. This statement imagines that Azulon could have rescued Azula from Ozai's abuse if only he'd been "moved" enough by her firebending ability. Azulon didn't fail to save Azula because he wasn't moved, he failed to stop Ozai's abuse because for all we know about him, he probably agreed with it. Like Ozai, he also valued power and conquest above all else, which was why Ozai wanted to show off Azula to him in the first place.

I'm not saying Azulon cared about Azula, but the main way he shaped Azula is by being another example of the Fire Nation legacy which she whole-heartedly embraced, one of cruelty and lust for power. He wasn't going to save her no matter how much he was "moved" by her firebending prowess. In fact, if anything, he would have probably seen her the same way Ozai did, as someone he could mold into his perfect weapon.

In contrast to how Azulon helped shape Azula by being another example of the power and control and cruelty she was taught to value, Azula actually resented Iroh long before he turned his back on the Fire Nation for not fitting into that legacy perfectly, as she derides him as "kooky" and "not a real general."

As for Iroh, he knew damn well what kind of a parent his brother was likely to be, but let his own military ambitions and desire to please his father take precedence over any concerns.

Again, where is this stated or shown or even implied in the series? The only thing we know about how Iroh felt about Azula pre-series is that he once got her a gift. How do you get "he had no concerns" from this, exactly? Oh, I know, I know, the doll wasn't good enough. That's not an argument. Adults have responsibilities to children, but "getting exactly the gift they want and ONLY the gift they want" is not one of those responsibilities. I don't know how else to say this. It would actually be an example of irresponsibility if an adult responded to a child destroying a gift in the way Azula did with "oh, you're right honey, let's get you a shiny new, COOLER gift." That's how narcissistic parents create narcissistic children. And, well, we know how that turned out.

As for "he knew damn well what kind of a parent his brother was likely to be..." Again, what even is this argument? That Iroh should have like, gelded Ozai before he had the chance to reproduce? I kid, but for real, it is incredibly insensitive to argue that abuse could have been prevented if only the people involved tried. That is not how it works. No. You do not get to do that. That IS victim blaming. It's the same logic used on victims, and it doesn't become better if it's used on the victim's families or friends or other people close to them, who often are usually victims to a lesser degree. If you really think that's true, say this kind of shit to, for example, the parent of a child who was groomed by a teacher, and I hope you get punched in the face for it. And I say that in the nicest way possible. Because once again, abusers know how to thrive on this logic, and manipulate that misplaced guilt to their advantage. You are only enabling abusers by believing this to be true.

Then, when he finally had the opportunity to help, he only did so for Zuko because he saw in him both his own dead son and a young version of Ozai that he could save from falling to darkness, while in Azula he only saw current Ozai which completely ignores the fact that she's a child. He didn't help her, and she got worse. Especially damning is that even after Zuko betrayed him and he was locked in prison, Iroh still reached out to help Zuko through teaching him he was Avatar Roku's descendant which somehow means the potential for good is inherit in him...yet did no such thing for Azula even when she is also Avatar Roku's descendant whom that theory should also hold true for.

Iroh had a specific opportunity to help Zuko that he did not have with Azula. Azula wasn't burned and banished. Azula also didn't come to visit Iroh in prison or previously show any inclination that she would listen to him like Zuko did. And, as I previously mentioned, Azula also dismisses the idea that the story of Roku and Sozin could have happened any other way than how Fire Nation propaganda says it did.

And again, where is it shown, said, or implied in the story that Iroh saw Azula as only exactly like Ozai? It isn't. It's Azula's actions that we can point to for why Iroh had no opportunity to help her. I can point to where Azula tells Zuko he is dumb for questioning the story of Roku and Sozin to know that she wouldn't be open to hearing it from Iroh. NOT because Iroh wrote her off, but because of her own actions.

And no, none of that is blaming Azula for being abused, because I'm not saying it's her fault Ozai abused her. It's her fault that she became an abuser and an imperialist and never shows an remorse for her actions or desire to be different.

It is NOT anyone's fault that they couldn't change her, especially when she goes from victim to abuser. But I can tell you that abusers are really invested in getting you to believe that they are the victim so they can continue being abusive. That's what's wrong with blaming Iroh or Ursa for not saving Azula.

I get the impulse to "understand" Azula and why she became the way she did, but as I said above, OP is totally wrong about how Azula became the way she did, and twists canon to suit their own narrative when we already have explanations for how and why Azula became the way she did in canon.

Edit: I also forgot to address, but quoted above, that OP blamed Ursa for "abandoning" both her children, when she was literally banished by Ozai, after he manipulated her into doing his dirty work by blackmailing her with her son's life. That is victim blaming and there is no argument where it isn't.

[spicybylerpolls]

I agree the preferences are definitely relative to will, but also just who byler is? as a switch byler enjoyer I understand anon's points, and ultimately people can hc what they like, but I think it's worth noting that byler specifically have particular personalities that lend themselves to a dynamic which shouldn't make it surprising that it's what people prefer or notice in canon and work with. the writers have written them a certain way, and I personally don't feel a need to "subvert expectations" - personally. same with how public personas don't always =  you are different in the bedroom, that's not the experience for everybody AND there's different ways to view it. for example will being softer in his daily life means to me that he may be a slut in the bedroom, not a raging dom. also, dom/sub is not all that sex is or can be. byler can be neither to a degree.

I don't even think that it's just his Assets that make people see will as a bottom. if this was a ship between two more balanced masc men I'd get how switchvers debates are pointless, but they tell us explicitly that will is not masc and doesn't want to be and his acceptance is learning that he doesn't have to be, and accepting his visibility because he can't change that. wanting to see mike fucked like a bratty bottom uses will as a tool in ways I wouldn't want to because he doesn't like being aggressive (but this is now making fandom deeper and smut fic is usually fantasy, which is why I don't complain I just simply don't read those fics because will is unrecognizable, it's not my cup of tea but it's fine! I'll read eddiemike instead or something) and puts will/byler on the back burner

does the bratty bottom vision go beyond mike in s3, and somewhat s4 though? I see where people get it from 100% but I would gather mike mellows out as he matures, so I don't see that for his long term relationship with will. if it was another more masc guy, or eddie or whatever yeah I could see it better! less bratty, more cheeky and challenging. it's okay that will isn't the partner people might want for mike physically.

they're basically both bottoms in ways, but I agree with you spicybylerpolls, that if will weren't in the picture mike might be more of a switch or bottom with other guys. will is allowed to be a stereotype, which is the other thing people find hard to grasp, but it's fine for him and we can embrace that. even in sfw things.

the point brought up about will topping as a reclamation of control/power has always felt more like an excuse to me? maybe not excuse, but an easy explanation that's never explored. because topping is not only about power, or the only way to have control during sex, that's... really uneducated if people think so. will can find so much power and control in bottoming, he gets to set the pace AND it's with the most trusted person on earth who already loves to provide and protect him. that's a perfectly fine stereotype and not boring, and wanting to see mike get fucked doesn't erase how that initial dynamic is good in its own way 😭 and people have no issue with a top having no power when it's sub top mike, but will bottoming = bad because he has no power as a sub? it's just not how that works 😅

I enjoy switch byler so much but the way in which people insist mike is the subbiest bottom and get quite rude about how people could possibly see otherwise, when - like you said op - it's clear when will is right there why people enjoy the canon dynamic, and how these are not balanced macho male personalities (no matter how much puberty noah went through that changed will's physique. I rewatch s4 and will is still the softest guy, he's just taller. they purposely tried to hide his growth because that's not their vision for will. finn is also growing bigger too, so) is so unnecessary and shocking to me. byler are not st3ddie, it shouldn't be shocking that a lot of people are fine with a soft will and assertive mike because... well that's in the show? those are the boys we all love? I'm able to enjoy all dynamics while understanding what the creators like for them.

I don't intend to make things deep here, because we all know it's just preference and what we like for our faves, but speaking definitively like "at best"  doesn't make something true so I wanted to offer my two cents!

These are all interesting points! Thanks for adding to the conversation! I fully agree that certain things just are Byler, and as you said, "byler specifically have particular personalities that lend themselves to a dynamic which shouldn't make it surprising that it's what people prefer or notice in canon and work with." 100% true!

And yeah, subverting expectations is not always necessary. Because like you said, "byler are not st3ddie, it shouldn't be shocking that a lot of people are fine with a soft will and assertive mike because... well that's in the show? those are the boys we all love?"

Sometimes people role switch/subvert expectations - not just with the spicy side of byler but with all sides - and it ends up not even looking like them. Especially when the argument is rooted in Will's muscle gain and "buff Byers" which, like, you said is not the original vision for the character. Arguing that Will would top because he's physically stronger than Mike completely loses the plot.

But to play devil's advocate, I say that Will being the soft/gentle/less assertive/sensitive/INFP that he is doesn't necessarily mean he can't also fantasize about to fucking boys/Mike, just like Mike being the assertive/leader/knight in shining armor/more masculine one in canon doesn't mean he can't fantasize about the opposite.

(Like in the same way that a straight guy wanting to fuck his girlfriend also doesn't mean that he can't be soft/gentle/less masculine/less assertive/INFP/sensitive/etc. Even if this isn't in a hyper-masculine/aggressive way like other alpha types, it's still considered "normal" and even expected in straight contexts since, well, that's how straight sex typically works). So why is it different in a gay context? Horniness isn't always 2+2= 4, although it can be.

It honestly seems like a lot of these nuances of this discussion/debate are more about who is more dominant and who is more of the sub rather than their specific positions. One could argue that dom Mike/sub Will would closely link to their canon dynamics.

But even so, I remember one of the earliest polls on here had a high number of people who viewed Will as "domming from the bottom" and Mike as "subbing from the top" which is really interesting and somewhat throws a curve ball in this analysis. Maybe that connects to lots of people using the word "bratty" to describe Mike?

All in all though, when discussing gay sex, especially in fandom, there's always this huge emphasis on binary roles and positions that isn't really present when discussing straight sex, but really is that really fair? Will being more feminine ≠ automatically bottoming and Mike being more masculine ≠ automatically topping because these things aren't necessarily gendered or aligned with personality traits, where one is "the boy" and the other is "the girl" during sex, or at least they don't have to be. They sometimes are, but not always.

Through this lens, even if you view top Mike as more canon compliant, it's hypothetically possible that top Will/bottom Will wouldn't even really be role-switching. It could just be what they naturally gravitate to in the bedroom while still keeping all other aspects of their personality. BUT, like you said, if Will is indeed a bottom, it's 100% true that, "Will can find so much power and control in bottoming, he gets to set the pace AND it's with the most trusted person on earth who already loves to provide and protect him."

What does everyone else think?

[quinloki]

Whats a unpopular op opinion that you can get hate for? Yamatos gender don't matter because Yamato is still Yamato duh

I mean, with as long-running as One Piece is, and with as massive as the fandom is, and with as wide a range as the ages and locations of people in the fandom, I have to say you could probably get hate for pretty much any One Piece opinion.

Some people are just looking for a fight, after all, and some people thrive on stirring up drama over the strangest things.

I'll do a for instance, I'm not a huge fan of Trans Crocodile - I have nothing against it, I just hope/think the secret Ivan knows about should be something completely unrelated to what one expects with Ivankov involved. But even in not being a fan of the theory, I do *love* the theory and a lot of the stuff created because of it.

Honestly, as long as someone isn't trying to hammer their opinion in the form of Indisputable Gospel™, then I'm a pretty live and let live person and feel like others should be too. It's all fiction anyway, there's nothing worth getting that worked up about.

I will say, as a trans person, Yamato's gender does matter, not in like an end-all be-all way, but because it's not a head canon, it's not an item that's open or vague or debatable. It's a canon statement that Yamato is a guy - Even his own dad canonically refers to him as his son.

And because being a guy can be visually nebulous it makes his declaration all the more important. Same with Kiku. At no point in the story are either of their identities made out to be some huge deal - it's not an ordeal Kaido suffers to call Yamato his son, and there's no "oh I called Kiku my sister for so long" from Izou, king that he is. And Izou too! Who has a decidedly feminine appearance and is entirely a man.

One Piece isn't trying to be a discourse on gender, but in some ways it is - and after finding out that the Queers were basically vetted by a close queer friend of Oda's really puts that whole thing in a different light. It used to bother me, it felt like a mockery, but I see it very differently now. A kind of "laugh if you want, we don't give a fuck" sort of vibe.

One Piece is certainly a story about freedom, and having a right to exist as we are, and not within government mandated parameters. *Stares at the camera for a minute*.

So I love that there's a lot of against the grain characters in the show, and it's never their weirdness or differences that are ever contested. Sanji isn't supported for his reaction to the Okama, but he's not derided for his opinion either. He's free to bitch about them - but even with how he grumbles, they still showed up at Shabody to help the crew.

I'm digressing and getting into my own vibes, but I guess the important takeaway is that you can get hate for just about anything, even a popular opinion. At the end of the day the important thing is that you aren't sending death threats to people for having a different opinion.

[yuesya]

Genshin Impact AU? Would Twins Satoru and Shiki get put in the roles of Aether and Lumine? Would Geto also show up here and in what role? I vote for Amber!Geto because Baron Bunny is basically Amber's shiki'd curse spirit (lol)

Which would cause more chaos being left to their devices for 500 years???? Raging cursed spirit(?) Shiki or OP chaos gremlin Satoru

Or OR!!! The same age Shiki and Satoru fuck around with their curse techniques and oopsie themselves into Teyvat causing general mayhem (just realized this isekai plot works for any crossover and Shiki Satoru pair lmao)

Or OR!!! OR! Nanami and Shiki get the most stressful (for Nanami) vacation possibly in the history of ever. (Since poor Satoru's weekend at Worst Cube's)

I don't think I'd have any of the zenith cast outright replace characters, but AU Satoru and Shiki in Teyvat would certainly result in some very chaotic situations lol.

Nanami vacation... Nanami never got a vacation in canon, did he? Wasn't it part of his last thoughts when his mind was kind of wandering and dissociating a bit, after his near-fatal encounter with Jogo (and subsequently actually-fatal encounter with Mahito). If Nanami lands in Teyvat at least he'd finally get a break from exorcising curses. I didn't play Genshin when Klee's summer islands were a thing, but from what I've heard those were great haha.

Part of me thinks it would be fun if Shiki landed in Khaenri'ah before everything went south for Maximum Chaos, but we don't really know much about what happened there in Genshin lore at all, so. (Shrugs)

Or, if we're going along with Inazuma things for the parallels with Japan... Shiki landing in Inazuma during the time of the Archon War? Shiki getting mistaken for one of the native yokai on the islands? Oh, or maybe Shiki arrives in Inazuma right when the Cataclysm is going on. Or getting mixed up in Tataratsuna events could be fun, too... hm...

I haven't done much Ekanomiya exploring yet but I hear the lore there is really interesting, too.

ANYWAYS we're going to be sitting firmly on this for now because 1) I still have lots of Genshin exploring to do, 2) We're not even far along enough in zenith to be considering these AUs given the [REDACTED] stuff we'd most likely be touching on, and 3) I think I have enough on my plate to be juggling with already lol.

Happy to see that others think a Genshin AU might be fun, though!

[destinygoldenstar]

🍀 AnalyzGolden's Reactions To Disventure Camp Season 2: All Eliminations, Plot Twists, Etc. *Merge COMPILATION* 🍀

This Post is compilation of my reactions to Disventure Camp's Eliminations, Plot Twists, & Overall Big Moments.

For those of my followers who don't know, Disventure Camp is an independent animated YouTube show by OddNation Cartoons, that originated as a Total Drama fanfiction.

I already explained in the last fast travel post that the CANON Season 1 is the remake, so technically that was made AFTER this season.

But it's still called Season 2 because of chronological timeline.

And now, even though it, from MY reading of it anyway, is in the same universe as Total Drama, very little if at all is referenced or connected to Total Drama's show and characters.

The ONLY major aspect tying the two together is the identity of this season's host.

Obviously, BIG SPOILERS for this show.

So if you haven't watched it yet, I encourage you to watch it first and then check out these posts from me. The show is free on YouTube. They have it both in English and Spanish.

Check Out This Post For A Fast Travel To My Full Reactions To The Season

I AM planning on making more posts about this show, so look forward to those. (Including A Tier List post, compilations of the more funnier bits, etc)

With the exception of a couple of meme bits, THIS COMPILATION POST WON'T CONTAIN THE SCREENSHOTS. Tumblr has an image limit of 30 images per post.

So if you want the screenshots, see my episode reactions.

I also had to split this into two parts (again) because it got too big and Tumblr wouldn't allow it.

<< PreMerge Compilation

Without further ado, let's get right into the CHAOS that ensued with this!

Lake's New Hair

"This brought back some memories."

Oh?

"When I was really stressed out with my homework and started losing my hair... mom took me to the wig shop. When I arrived, I saw a beautiful wig with red hair... but they didn't let me choose it. Mom was very upset with me because of my baldness. So she bought me this... she said it made me look like a good girl."

Awwwww

WEAR IT.

BECOME A REDHEAD. COME ON.

I WANT REDHEADED LAKE NOW.

YEEESSS!! REDHEADED LAKE! LET'S GOOO!!!!

I'm gonna have to get used to it. BUT LET'S GOOO!!!!

Episode 7 Elimination

Well, we know the outcome here.

'James'

Huh. I thought they'd vote Lake. Since, you know, she was the closest to winning immunity.

'Tess'

Op. I knew it.

'Ally'

Wait what?

I thought y'all were voting together. Why'd you split?

'James'

'Tess'

'James'

'Tess'

'Tess'

I knew it.

She accepted her fate.

What I'm wondering is who the fuck threw their vote on Ally?

"Damn! I knew that if Yul left, attention would fall on us!"

XD

I love that his response is to blame Yul.

It's YUL'S fault that Tess got eliminated here.

I don't care what everyone says. Hunter said it. BLAME YUL FOR TESS GOING HOME.

"We must have thought of a plan or something!"

I mean that's on you guys. YOU'RE the ones that said 'nah, let's party!'

At least Tess CHOSE to let it happen.

"At the end of all this, we will meet again and we will be together."

As a polycule!

It goes full circle!

Awwwwww

Bye, Tess! Have a good one!

That's a good end for that character. I will give her that.

Rosa Reveals Her Idol

"In fact, I was thinking of getting a tattoo when this is all over."

Okay, Lake, honey, I think that's going too far.

WAIT WHOA WHAT

WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET THAT?!

WHAT?! THERE WAS NO BUILD UP!!

"Attention campers, an immunity totem has been hidden somewhere in the camp!"

An idol is back?

T h e i d o l s a r e b a c k . . . ?

WELL THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO KEEP IT A SECRET FROM THE AUDIENCE.

What was the point of keeping it a secret from the audience?

I WOULD'VE LOVED TO KNOW ROSA HAD AN IDOL.

I-

I'm losing my mind already.

Just by LOOKING at an idol. I lose it.

I'm going to abstract. I have PTSD with idols now.

GET THAT IDOL OUT OF MY FACE!!!

"I found the totem minutes before the queens challenge started."

Wasn't Riya with you? Shouldn't Riya already know about this?

Considering, you know:

"You had a couple of hours to find the totem, and just minutes before the challenge started, it was finally found."

Wait what?

We didn't see who had it?

Are they keeping it a secret on who found it?

KRYSTAL SAID THAT. I REMEMBER IT.

I DISTINCTLY REMEMBER IT BECAUSE I REACTED TO THAT LINE.

Riya should already know. Right?

Unless she's secretly planning to steal it.

OH GOD THE COUNTER IS BACK.

STEAL THE IDOL FROM ROSA

NO SHE HEARD ME.

She's like "Yeah Rosa. Bold of you to trust me with that info. Not like I could think strategically, see you and Lake are threats, and steal that idol from you to dump your asses! I AM A FAMOUS AC-TOUR AND I WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED BY POWER!"

Why did I say that with a British accent? SHE'S INDIAN. COME ON ME.

I'm sorry for the disrespect, Riya! You can slay! This is my way of saying sorry, queen!

I love Rosa and don't want anyone to slay her, but I'm also like "DO IT YOU WON'T. DO IT YOU WON'T."

"I was searching with Rosa that day, and now that Lake is in the alliance is when she decides to reveal that she found the totem?! Why didn't she tell me before?! Does she not trust me?"

EXACTLY. THEY'RE ADDRESSING THIS.

Now Riya thinks her only 'friend' is going to blindside her and backstab her and leave her behind.

MAYBE YOUR PROBLEMS WOULD BE SOLVED IF YOU STOLE THE IDOL? HMMM? JUST A SUGGESTION?

James', Aiden's, & Allyson's 'Deaths'

Why is the popcorn already in the pan like that?

If it was left out there, I don't want to eat it.

"I'm following you."

XD

Okay, my brain went to, "I'm following you... ON INSTAGRAM!"

And James reaction is, "Oh neat! You follow me on Instagram? Great!"

PLEASE tell me that's the joke!

"Ew. Another follower who gets my number."

Oh... close enough.

"Do you like them better than your boyfriend Aiden?"

Why do you care about that?! Hello?! ANOTHER predator?

"He's not my boyfriend..."

Oh really? So what was the kiss? What was the attitude? What's with sleeping together? THESE AREN'T FRIENDLY GESTURES MATE.

This man's a predator, I swear to god...

You know what? GET HIM SERIAL KILLER.

Man, if only Yul was still here. Then I could watch hm get killed.

That would've been an excuse to keep him, at least.

OH JESUS CHRIST. WTF?!

I DIDNT EXPECT THAT. HOLY SHIT

HE ACTUALLY DIED?!?!?

Oh shit…

IS THIS VR AGAIN?! IS THAT WHAT THIS IS?! HUH?!

That's actually creepy holy shit...

Why does that remind me of something from FNAF?

Okay, why are we watching her shower? Come on now. We know she's dead.

Yep. There we go.

Bye Allyson.

RULE NUMBER ONE OF SURVIVING A HORROR MOVIE, NEVER TAKE A SHOWER.

GOOD THING THE SERIAL KILLER WAS NICE ENOUGH TO PUT A TOWEL AROUND HER XD

THAT'S NICE OF THEM.

Why was she wearing shoes in the shower?

Hunter's 'Death'

"That puppet..."

Okay I know he's supposed to be angry, but he said that so DEADPANNED and I cant take it seriously.

Welp, Hunter's dead.

The doll just killed him herself XD

Oh you poor, poor, stupid boy.

Riya's 'Death'

OH GOD

HEEEEEERRE'S JOHNNY!!

NO RIYA!! NOT THE QUEEN!!

Rosa's 'Death'

ROSA NO DON'T STAY BEHIND. NO QUEEN! DON'T!

"I grew up in a neighborhood where seeing assholes with weapons threatening others was the daily norm."

Geez, what a backstory. BEFORE DEATH.

HOW IS ROSA SO GOOD?

NOOO ROSA!!!!

Lake Fights The Killer

YES LAKE!!! FIGHT EM!!! SAVE YOURSELF!!!

GET OUT, QUEEN!!!

OH SHE'S GOT EM

"That's for attacking my friends!"

"Auf Wiedersehen."

Guys? Lake is AWESOME? THE HELL?

NOOOO LAKE!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!

Karol's Return

Oh they're alive.

I mean I knew it. Still. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE WITHOUT VR?!

I'm so confused.

BRUH. SHE'S NAKED STILL.

This is kinda uncomftorable

"Ketchup?"

Okay but why play dead though? I don't get it.

"Tranquilizers?"

Oh okay.

I still don't get it.

WAIT WHAT THE HELL?! HELLO?!

I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONE. WHAT THE HELL?!

WHY ARE YOU BACK?! WHY'D YOU AGREE TO DO THIS?

"But the producers gave me the opportunity to get back in the game if I cooperated for a challenge."

She's back?!

WHY ARE YOU BACK?

I didn't want her back. WHY?

"I hope that from now on, we can get along."

YOU KILLED EVERYONE.

Episode 8 Elimination

"If someone has an immunity totem and wants to play it, now is the time to do it."

Ooh...

COME ON. PLAY IT. PLAY IT.

PLAY THE IDOL!!!

"Well, no one, so lets read the votes."

GODDAMMIT NOOOOO

'JAMES'

I hope it's James. Honestly.

'RIYA'

Wh-who voted Riya?

GODDAMMIT AIDEN. YOU DOOMED LAKE BY DOING THAT.

'LAKE'

There it is.

'JAMES'

'LAKE'

'JAMES'

Oh? Riya didn't flip? Or is that Karol?

'LAKE'

OH GOD NO...

'LAKE'

NOOOOOOO GODDAMMIT!!!!

WITH AN IDOL SHE HAD ACCESS TO AS WELL. THAT'S THE WORST.

GIRLIE WAS ROBBED. SHE SHOULD'VE WON THAT IMMUNITY.

"Lake... it can't be."

DON'T ACT SURPRISED. YOU THREW YOUR VOTE.

YOU COULD'VE MADE IT A TIE. JUST SAYING.

"So sad you have to go, Lake."

That sounded so fake.

"Oh no... who could've predicted this? Sooooo saaaaaaaddd... Here's my sad face of pity.😪"

That's a better Indian accent I guess. I'm not good at Indian accents, I'm sorry.

"I'm sorry, Lake. I should have used the totem to save you."

Yeah. You should've.

"Now I am free, thanks to you."

Awwwww.

"I love you, Rosa."

"Awwww, I love you too."

AWWWWWW, MOTHER DAUGHTER

Riya's like "Uh... YEAH... I love you too Lake... no I didn't betray you what are you talking about?"

Karol Is Medevacked

OH...

YEAH THAT LOOKS BAD...

"I need medical attention!"

Oh maybe she's fine. She doesn't sound in pain.

(Me trusting the voice acting as actually good)

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

NO COME ON, NOT THE SPIDER

WHY?! THAT WAS NOT NECESSARY TO INCLUDE.

I blame Aiden. Aiden and James. Fuck them.

"With Hunter being the only one who crossed the finish line, he wins immunity."

HUH?! BUT HE DIDN'T HAVE THE BLINDFOLD ON. HELLO?!

YOU'RE BENDING YOUR OWN RULES TO BENEFIT THIS GUY-

I'm done. I'm done.

This episode hates women.

"Aiden, you darn *BLEEP*"

TELL HIM OFF

"I gave you that spider to take care of it! And you put it in danger like it's nothing?!"

TELL HIM

"You are trash, miserable, you and James are one of a kind!"

BLAME JAMES FOR THAT.

"Oh shut up Karol! You crashed into us during the challenge!"

BECAUSE YOU SIDESWIPED HER FIRST.

"If you think that harming a bug is worse than harming a person, then you are insane!"

IF YOU THINK PUTTING A BUG IN SOMEONE'S RIDE TO CRASH THEM AND INJURE THEM IS OKAY, THEN YOU ARE INSANE.

WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT HER?! CLEARLY SHE'S HURT ON THE GROUND.

I'm sorry, THAT IS NOT OKAY. NO MATTER THE PERSON.

"Everyone plays dirty and gets what they want."

I KNOW, RIYA. PREACH.

"Is that the only way to get far in this game?"

Have you seen Total Drama? Cause uh... YEAH.

"Well... I think James was right when he said we'd all do the same eventually."

ROSA DOESN'T. HUNTER DOESN'T. ALLYSON DOESN'T. RIYA... MAYBE.

NO. YOU ARE BEING INFLUENCED BY A MESSED UP SELFISH PREDATORY PERSON. AND THAT'S WHY YOU GOT SOMEONE IN THE HOSPITAL.

BUT THE PEOPLE YOU HOSPITALIZED ANTAGONIZED YOU, SO THAT MAKES IT OKAY I GUESS...

I'm trying to think why I'm against Karol getting hospitalized but celebrating Yul's poisoning? XD

I don't even like Karol all that much. Why am I celebrating Yul going to the hospital but feeling bad for Karol? They're both antagonists!

UH... let's go with female rep. WE NEED MORE SOLID FEMALE REPRESENTATION IN THESE TYPES OF SHOWS, GALS WHO DON'T GET PUSHED AROUND SO EASILY.

SO THEREFORE: IT'S OKAY IF KAROL ANTAGONIZES PEOPLE. BUT NOT YUL.

AND SHE CARED ABOUT THE ANIMALS. SO THAT MAKES IT OKAY.

(PS: PLEASE DON'T TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY, THE REASON IS SIMPLY BIAS AGAINST YUL THE INDIVIDUAL AND FICTIONAL MEDIA INVESTMENT. IF THIS WAS REAL LIFE I WOULD NEVER PRAISE IT NO MATTER WHO YOU WERE.)

"Well, after doing a health check on her leg, it looks like she's not in condition to continue in the game."

Oooooohhhh... fuck off.

SHE CAME FOR ONE EPISODE. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

WHAT WAS THE POINT OF HER COMING BACK?!

I mean at least with Eva it was a joke.

...those two have a lot in common, actually.

Diet Eva.

"YOU HAVE TO GET RID OF AIDEN AND JAMES. THEY ARE-"

ATTEMPTED MURDERERS.

YEAH I'LL FINISH HER SENTENCE FOR HER.

I mean, I don't know if Aiden was trying to kill Karol. He probably wasn't. BUT THE FACT THAT HE SHOWED NO REMORSE ABOUT IT MAKES ME THINK HE WAS.

Episode 9 Elimination

I mean, we know it's Allyson. Right?

There's no stopping it.

'ALLY'

Yep.

'ALLY'

'ROSA'

HEYO, WHO VOTED ROSA?!

'ROSA'

'ALLY'

'ALLY'

YEAH YOU AIN'T PERSUADING RIYA WITH VOTES ON ROSA.

OH.

OKAY.

NOOOOO HE'S NOT ARO 😭

MY HEADCANON (that I knew would be wrong anyway) IS DE-CONFIRMED! NOOOOOOO

Good for them.

I would've preferred Allyson and Tess, but I don't hate it.

"Hunter, no! We agreed that we wouldn't talk or do anything about this until the game is over."

Oh yeah, you did say that. That's not fair to Tess.

"Don't... don't say anything anymore."

Why are you against this? You wanted him!

Okay, welp, girl's playing hard to get. And I don't get it.

Episode 10 Elimination + Riya's Heel Face Turn

YEAH, SHE'S DYING. SHE'S ACTUALLY DYING FROM GOODNESS.

"If someone has a totem..."

SAY NO MORE!

"Me! I have an immunity totem and I want to use it now!"

LET'S GO!

"It's right... here? What?"

YOU DIDN'T CHECK YOUR POCKETS BEFORE YOU GOT TO TRIBAL?!?!

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?!?!?

ROSA NOOOO

I WAS SARCASTIC

I WAS BEING SARCASTIC BACK THERE, I THOUGHT SHE ACTUALLY HAD IT

THIS IS MY FAULT, NOOOO

"Did someone steal it from you?"

Of course no one steals idols around here. Because nobody here takes my advice ever.

Also fuck off, James.

'ROSA'

🎵I fucking hate my life and everyone here...🎵

'JAMES'

🎵I hope it's James but I think it won't because🎵

🎵Because these shows fucking hate me...🎵

🎵Why the hell am I singing? I have no idea🎵

'ROSA'

🎵Maybe cause I don't want to listen to this BULLSHIT🎵

🎵Lalalalalala I'm not listening...🎵

'JAMES'

🎵PLEEEEEEEEEEESSEEEE OH BAAAAAAAABBBYYY DON'T GO🎵

🎵SIMPLE AND CLEAN IS THE WAY THAT YOU'RE-🎵

'ROSA'

😭

I'm not actually crying, that's just the emoji. Imagine me making a whining roar that sounds like a dying cat.

I THOUGHT ROSA WAS GONNA WIN

I WAS ROUTING FOR YOU

HER DAUGHTER TOO, OH MY GOD

SHE CAME HERE FOR HER DAUGHTER

"I just want to say that I'm leaving with a clear conscience. I played fair, I did the right thing, helped everyone I could, and didn't steal anything!"

Tell em.

GIRL HAD A FOOLPROOF GAME STRAT, AND SHE STILL LOST.

She had a secure locked in alliance. The team swap did not shake her. She got along with everyone to prevent herself as a target. She was a strong player. She was finding idols.

SHE HAD EVERYTHING GOING FOR HER.

AND SHE STILL LOST.

"I don't know what happened, but you have to be careful of James."

I know, right?

"Don't worry, I have a plan to deal with James."

AS SHE SHOULD SLAY.

"Riya, I didn't steal anything."

"I know, Rosa. It was me."

*I got up and paced around*

BITCH WHAT THE FUCK

I KNEW IT!!!! I FUCKING KNEW IT!!!! I CALLED IT!!!!!

I FUCKING CALLED IT!!!!!!

OH MY GOD NOOOOOOO

I WAS RIGHT?!?!??!

Guys, I swear this is blind. I swear. I swear on my oath.

Look. There's NO BAR ON THE FUTURE EPISODES.

THIS IS BLIND. I SWEAR. I DID NOT KNOW.

THIS IS PROOF.

DON'T THROW ACCUSATIONS.

RIIIIIIIIYYYYAAAAAAA

WHY DID YOU SLLAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY?!?!??!

WHY DID YOU LISTEN TO ME?!??!?!??!

I'm torn.

I'm so torn.

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FEEL ABOUT MY BEST GIRL SLAYING MY OTHER BEST GIRL?!?!

Do I side with Riya going forward??? I-I don't know-I feel like I have to! I feel like because it's my fault, I'm OBLIGATED to side with her!!

She has me wrapped around her finger!! I don't know what to do! Because I want to hate her, but I JUST CAN'T!

I don't know what the popular take on Riya is. I only knew what the takes were on Ellie and Jake. I knew people hated Jake. BUT I LOVED HIM. I knew SHIT about the Season 2 cast.

But I NEED to PROCESS THIS...

RIYA I DON'T KNOW IF I LOVE YOU OR I LOVE HATING YOU OR I HATE LOVING YOU, YOU HAVE ME QUESTIONING MY SANITY, GIRL!!!

ARE YOU EVIL?! IS THAT IT?! Or are you just playing the game?

"I stole James' phone and put it in your backpack along with my perfume. I also took your immunity totem."

...

Okay?

Idk what you want me to say. I have nothing to say about that.

"Did you frame me?!"

What do you think she's trying to say? She's coming clean.

"Did you make me look like a thief in front of everyone?"

I mean that SUCKS because Rosa had to steal to survive, so this is some TRAUMA for her.

But also, getting pissed over a PHONE, I think is still on James.

Holy shit I'm defending Riya right now-holy shit I AM stanning her still, oh shit...

Oh no... oh no what has happened to me...?

"I was acting, Rosa. The boys didn't doubt it for a second."

I mean she's right. I can't say that's invalid of a strat.

"Riya, why did you do this to me?"

"We can betray each other inside the game and still be friends outside of it. Just like you betrayed the alliance by spoiling the plan to Hunter."

I... SOUND. Okay. That's sound.

CAUSE HEY, JAMES CAN PUT PEOPLE IN THE HOSPITAL AND CALL IT A STRAT, BUT RIYA CAN'T? LET'S BE REAL NOW.

"These are things that happen in this game."

Yeah. Yes it is.

Don't hate the player, hate the game.

"The problem isn't the game. It's you Riya."

OH SHIT.

"You let the competition change you. You may win the million, but you will be alone again."

OH SHIT...

SO THAT'S WHERE THIS IS GOING...

"Come on Rosa! Don't be mad!"

"Hmph, I am not mad, I am disappointed."

SHIT...

And that's it.

She lost her ONLY friend here.

SHE'S SO UPSET ABOUT IT, OH MY GOD...

Aiden Comes Out As Trans

"Why don't you take off your shirt and come swim with me?"

Uh... what if he doesn't want to?

"No problem. Then get in like that."

Oh?

James is OKAY this episode? Huh?

"What will happen after this?"

"I go find a new target."

"What will happen is that we'll be more famous, which will give us money to do whatever we want."

That's really all he cares about, doesn't he?

Money, fame, his followers, winning. That's it.

Sheesh, no wonder Riya sought the dark side.

I blame James for Riya's turn XD

"We can go on a trip together!"

Oh okay. That's not a bad idea.

"I don't feel very comfortable with the subject, but I feel like I have to tell you..."

Oh?

"Remember that truth challenge... when Krystal... Krystal asked a question that... no one on our team answered?"

OH.

OH MY GOD I FORGOT ABOUT THAT.

I THOUGHT WE WOULDN'T GET CONFIRMATION. HE'S ACTUALLY COMING OUT?!

I didn't think it was Aiden that was the trans character. I thought it was Maggy.

"Aiden, it's okay, don't worry. You don't have to feel forced into talking about it with me until you feel comfortable doing it. Nothing is going to change what I think of you."

Aw...

Oh my god, JAMES IS GOOD NOW?

AWW.

OKAY. YOU WIN. THAT'S VERY WHOLESOME.

Episode 11 Elimination

"If someone has an immunity totem and wants to use it, this is the last time to do so."

SAY NO MORE.

Omg, PLEASE. PLEASE SATISFY ME QUEEN. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE-

"If you think you can get rid of me that easily, you're suddenly mistaken."

YEEESSSS!!!!

YEEEEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!

YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!!!

WE LOVE TO SEE IT!!!

THIS IS WHAT ELLIE SHOULD HAVE DONE!

"Oh crap."

XD

"Yes boys, you underestimate me. GET FUCKED."

"You were the one who stole it!"

"It was Golden's idea! I know exactly how to please her!"

SHE STOLE THE IDOL!!!

THE MEME GOES FULL CIRCLE!

I'm probably not gonna stop after this because it's become too iconic for my reactions.

BUT GOOD TO SEE IT COME FULL CIRCLE!!

"Too late, Sherlock."

XD

"For my next showing, I will steal all the idols on the camp! YOUR IDOLS WILL ALL BE MINE!!"

YES RIYA! STEAL THE IDOLS!! STEAL ALL THE IDOLS!!

'RIYA' *DOESN'T COUNT*

Oh my god, get fucked.

'RIYA' *DOESN'T COUNT*

Get fucked, boys.

'RIYA' *DOESN'T COUNT*

HEYO THAT SAYS RAYA!!

HEYO!!! THE DISRESPECT!!

James, I KNOW that was you.

"Ah, I see you spelled my name wrong, James. SO YOU HAVE CHOSEN DEATH!"

"There is only one vote left..."

OH MY GOD RIYA IS DECIDING!

'HUNTER'

I knew it.

That's the smart play, too.

If that boy bullshit his way to winning, I think everyone would've been PISSED.

"So close to the end?! I could've won that final challenge!"

"I know. That's why you're out."

Are you surprised, Hunter? They all wanted you out since the very start of the merge.

Riya just ended up doing what the others wanted to do to begin with XD

"As usual, it is up to me to do the work. You emotionally charged folks are so difficult to keep on a page."

Riya Attempts Murder

YOU HAVE A FLIGHT SUIT! YOU'RE FINE!

YOU CAN'T DIE IF YOU'RE GLIDING.

That's how that works, right?

"I'm sorry you're about to lose because of a three hundred meter jump."

"Yeah ya wuss!"

OH SHE IS UP AT HIM. GOSH.

"We both know that you don't deserve your place in the final. Everyone made you look like a fool, over and over again..."

GIRL, YOU ARE SLAYING HARD.

OH SHIT.

Riya's like "Oh shit... I didn't mean slay THAT hard, I just wanted to give him an anxiety boost. Uh... what do I do in this situation?"

GRAB THE LEDGE, YOU'RE FINE.

Or, hell, you're wearing a gliding suit. Put your hands in the straps and glide down. You're fine! You're not gonna die!

I mean I would think there's some landing equipment down there, right? It's a show. They would make it so that they wouldn't die if they used the suit wrong.

NO ONE'S KILLING ANYONE.

"Sorry, I already wasted too much time with you."

DAMN GIRL!!!

YOU FUCKING SLAYER!!!

"He can grab the ledge, he's fine! And we're on Reality TV! They're not gonna let him die! I am not responsible!"

RIYA THAT'S STILL KINDA SHITTY OF YOU, EVEN WITH THAT LOGIC.

"I'm AMBITIOUS, what did you expect?! YOU WANTED ME TO DO THIS!"

"In a rare and brave display, Aiden and James jumped off the lowest levels."

And Riya's over here like "WHAT DO YA MEAN A RARE AND BRAVE DISPLAY?! I JUMPED OFF HIGHER!! WITHOUT HELP!!! HOW DARE YOU STEAL MY SPOTLIGHT!!"

"For my next showing, I will lure Aiden to a cliff and shove HIM off! The show will love that!"

NO RIYA THAT'S MURDER.

...WELL SHIT. I KILLED AIDEN XD

OH NO I SHOULDN'T HAVE SAID THAT.

I INFLUENCED HER TO SLAY!!!

This is what happens when you give a character too many slay passes.

THEY USE THEM.

3rd Place + James/Aiden Kiss

Yeah I kinda figured. They weren't gonna kill off anyone.

"Aiden listen, what I did was horrible and I understand if you don't want to forgive me..."

You know what? Let him talk.

"But I want you to know that here was a moment when everything became real."

He says as he grabs the suit.

James, if you really are sorry, YOU HELP HIM.

If Aiden is REALLY more important, then SCREW THE GAME.

LET AIDEN SHINE.

"Regardless of whether you want to keep talking to me or not, I want you to know that I'm sorry. I don't want to see you hurt."

Yeah okay.

I mean I DO ADMIT, I am finding what he is saying here very genuine.

"How do I know you're not just saying that to win back your followers?"

Point.

"Because when I lost everything, I understood something very important..."

"You are everything I ever wanted."

Awwwwwww❤️

Okay that actually touched my heart.

"I'm glad he didn't fall."

XD

Okay Rosa kinda ruined it.

"I'm just glad no one's going to jail! Good times!"

Why are you putting on the suit then? It's over. Only one of you can progress.

GIVE AIDEN HIS TIME TO SHINE.

It would be GREAT for James' character wrap up. He sacrifices his own fame for someone he has grown to care about, to prove to that boy that he isn't a fool and isn't a tool for anyone.

"I'm sorry James."

What? Aiden, you have NOTHING to apologize for.

"When I feel like a fool I get kind of irritating, and I felt that way about what happened yesterday."

You were angry, and you had a right to be.

James is the one that should be apologizing.

...which he is, so awesome.

"Then take my hand. Let's jump together."

Uuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhh, you heard the announcement, right? You can't both make it now.

"Only one of us can stay in the game and there's no way I can beat Riya."

Yes you can! Believe in yourself! That's what you've been wanting to do the entire time and never got the chance!

LET AIDEN BE THE HERO!

"But you can!"

NO.

NO.

DON'T DO THIS.

AFTER WHAT JAMES DID?

AIDEN SHOULD BE THE HERO HERE. NOT HIM.

"I got here because of Lake. I don't think I'll do well in the next stage."

DON'T SAY THAT AIDEN. YOU CAN DO THIS.

*Kiss*

Oh okay. Cool. You're back together.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

AIDEN WHY

WHY?!??!??!?!

"And just like that, Aiden is out of the competition!"

DAMMIT

I don't like that. XD

AT LEAST IN MY OPINION, I DON'T LIKE THAT.

And The Winner Is...

😂

Idk why that crash made me laugh.

COME ON RIYA!!!! WIN THIS GAME AND LOSE EVERYTHING ELSE!!!

"Aiden and I made up! Your plan didn't work!"

"You don't know that yet!"

"You already lost!"

XD

"YOU LOST-" *Gets smacked with a golfball*

BYE JAMES!

VICTORY IS THE QUEENS!!

YES RIYA!!! COME ON!!!!

NO!!! GET UP!!!! RUN!!!!

YOU'RE RIGHT THERE!!!!

GIRLIE! YOU'RE RIGHT THERE!!!!

...

I mean I should've seen it coming, right?

Riya was a villain character. And god forbid a villain wins.

It's the safe ending...

...though I think the safe ending would've been Aiden. Whatever.

I THOUGHT THEY WERE BUILDING UP SOMETHING.

"You'll win the million but you'll be alone again."

You set up this whole character arc over the course of the season, making her a cautionary tale on success and fame and fortune over companionship.

And then you have the other side of the coin, as this gay couple, where one of them only cared about that success and fame and fortune and develops to care for another person.

And then you show Riya getting ditched by Lake, Rosa, and Connor, and getting no forgiveness from them.

ALL THAT BUILD UP FOR A RIYA WIN, AND A DECENT CAUTIONARY TALE.

ALL FOR NOTHING.

"But she's a villain win, a villain win is an ass ending by default."

Says who? Survivor has had villains win. It depends on the storytelling and what you're going for.

*sigh* I'm disappointed. I wanted a Riya win.

And I don't exactly LIKE James either, so that makes it worse.

I don't like this winner.

Yay... happy ending...