#that people believe to be canon because they don't ever interact with the source material anymore only fan content?

[themoonking]

where did fandom get the idea that tim drake's parents were leaving him 100% alone in a mansion with no food no adults no et cetera when they went out of the country? unless my memory is wrong, or there's some alternate version of his origin that i can't find on any fanwiki (and please correct me if there is), he was left in a boarding school. and while there's a point to be made about the negative effects boarding schools can have on children's mental health, boarding school is still viewed as perfectly normal, especially for upper class families like the drakes. so where did "the drakes were criminally neglectful and never cared about tim" come from and how did it become such a widespread idea?

[thewitchfarhan]

Why are you reblogging from evilios? Do you know that they’re a zeus apologist, right? 💀💀💀

I'm going to preface this by saying this is going to be a *MONSTER* of a post, so be warned - it's gonna be long.

TLDR: “But when it comes to the spiritual people I follow and reblog from on Tumblr - I have the following rule for myself:

If I like it, I interact with it, if I don’t - I won’t. If the blog isn’t upsetting to me or triggering me then I’ll follow, if it is - I won’t. If someone isn’t harming anyone by their spirituality then I’ll respect it, but if they are - fuck 'em.”

Hi anon - thank you for your inquiry. This is actually something I have been pondering for a bit and I feel ready to express my feelings around this issue.

To start - I am *very* new to the Hellenic Pagan community. While I have been a practicing Witch and Pagan for about 10 years - Hellenic Paganism is not a practice I have worked with/within prior to 2023.

Additionally - I make a point to not pass judgment on a spiritual belief or path before researching it from a third-party point of view, and examining the historical documentation available (as opposed to just taking into account UPG).

With that being said - my feelings toward Zeus as a deity/spiritual entity are negative (as you can see below from a previous post I made).

A good portion of the myths about Zeus that I am familiar with have heavy themes that center around male entitlement, assault, r*pe, and misogyny. All of which are not only morally reprehensible - but also somewhat triggering for me as someone who grew up Catholic.

I have seen individuals say that you have to take into account the “historical context” in which myth and religious texts are written. I have seen individuals say things along the line of “These myths were written by misogynistic men so they projected their own values and beliefs onto Zeus, that’s now who Zeus really is!”

[I'm going to use the anon above as an example because their thoughts and sentiments are ones I see often from Zeus Devotees / Zeus Worshipers]

I’m not in the business of trying to tell others what to believe - not because I think all beliefs are valid - but because I know it’s pointless.

However, if you are going to use Greek Myths as the source material for your religious practice - then it would be more logical to compare these myths - not to Paradise Lost - but to the Bible.

So, if Greek Myths (the basis of Hellenic Paganism) are symbolic and not to be taken literally - then prey tell where are you getting your canonical information from? Which religious texts *are* to be taken literally?

The bottom line, and answer to this quandary, is this:

All religion is invented. All religion is made up. All religion was created by humanity.

Cows and Crows don’t have religion. They do not build altars or shrines. They do follow religious codes. They do not worship or name divinity.

We can trace a before and after period for every religion's existence. There is not one religion that has existed from the dawn of time (and if anyone claims such they’re lying because humanity evolved from other species who definitely did not have any concept of ‘religion’).

So, with that being said, if you aren’t part of an organized religion/coven/cult - then you have two options.

1. Interpret all holy and traditional texts as literal and abide by their ever moral, rule, and decision within your personal practice.

Or

2. Acknowledge that you are picking and choosing what you believe to fit your own moral and personal narrative. Admit that you are making up your own personal gnosis and acknowledge that any judgment of your personal practice is also a judgment of your person. Admit that if you aren’t taking source material literally (which is a totally fine thing to do) you are inventing your own religious gnosis.

Want to worship Zeus and ignore all myths that portray him as a r*pist? Go ahead! I have no issue with you. Just don't try to somehow make those myths "valid" or "just symbolic" - just admit what you're doing and move on.

Because if you’re going to go around saying “Oh this historical information is valid but the other one isn’t and shouldn’t be judged from a modern lens!” then congratulations! I’m going to view your practice through the same lens as those who praise the Christian God as an all-loving entity and ignore the fact that (according to the story of Noah��s Ark in the Bible) he murdered every single adult and child on planet Earth, aside from a chosen few.

At the end of the day - do what you want. I don’t have any authority to stop you and I’m not gonna fight with you. But if you want my personal opinion on Zeus worship it is this:

Zeus, for me, is categorically defined by his actions. While there are many stories of SA and Abuse in Greek Mythology, Zeus as King of the Gods takes the cake. Not only because of the sheer number of stories that center around him committing acts of SA - but also because as the King of the Gods, he should be held to a higher standard.

Since I am not part of an organized religion/coven/cult - I get to choose how I interact with spirituality, and for me, that includes judging it through a modern lens.

I chose to not ignore the myths that portray Zeus in a negative light because I think the sheer number of those myths defines Zeus' character and what he represented in ancient times.

But when it comes to the spiritual people I follow and reblog from on Tumblr - I have the following rule for myself:

If I like it, I interact with it, if I don’t - I won’t. If the blog isn’t upsetting to me or triggering me then I’ll follow, if it is - I won’t. If someone isn’t harming anyone by their spirituality then I’ll respect it, but if they are - fuck 'em.

Feel free to send any follow-up questions, I could talk about this shit for days.

[muraenide]

This miiiiight be oversharing personal sentiments a little bit but...

Ever since I changed my rules to include an explicit list of what I'm going to write on this blog instead of just a simple, brief statement saying "dark things will be present here" and started actively following people or mutuals of mutuals whose muses or writing I am genuinely interested in/have spiked my interests, I've grown a lot happier about the contents and people I'm seeing on my dash.

I felt like tum.blr rpers have grown incredibly judgemental and incapable of minding their own business. People all around me seem to have shifted their energy onto focusing on offending as few people as possible instead of trying to actually have fun, and the rpc has become a weird circle for activism when it shouldn't have been used as a medium for (false) activism in the first place. Not all of us are here to make a point or to establish a legacy. In fact, most of us are just here to have fun and scratch an itch in the brain or fill in gaps that canon source materials haven't been able to provide. But the idea of this is incomprehensible to some people who are actively ruining the rpc and making everyone fear that they're walking on eggshells while they spiral into a depressing state of existing to not offend anyone instead of existing to have fun.

I've lost count of the number of times people tell me that I'm on a DNI for "writing with pro.ship.pers" or "writing romantic ships with an adult and a minor" (<- said ship is between a 17 y.o. and a 19 y.o.) sometimes it's also ships about fake incest.

(Just as an aside, I've grown so desensitized by being on DNIs that it's no longer something to feel anything about. I'd just go through their rules with a very confused expression if to see what they took issue with. Most of the time I don't even know the mun personally.)

I've gotten more hate directed at me for writing fake in.cest rather than real ones, which is not only baffling but also incredibly ODD bc the fandom "decides" what is good and what is bad, which reeks heavily of manipulation and toxicity in my opinion. Fandoms aren't governed by a single party or a monolithic authority that decides its rules. Fandom rules are made by the community, and in every community, there should be different rules, made to ensure everyone is comfortable and feel inclusive. That is what makes fandoms special and detached from reality. Yes, you're entitled to not want to interact with certain content for reasons no one else is entitled to know unless they have your consent, but you're definitely not entitled to silence/stomp out everyone to cater to your whims or risk getting hate/harassment. Which is why I heavily encourage tagging content as-is instead of denying the nature of said content and praying that no one notices because that is the best way to make it difficult for people with different preferences and tastes to co-exist.

And ever since I changed my rules and actively followed people again, there has been a variety of content on my dash with varying tags. It's honestly very stimulating and uplifting, and if I firmly believe if a mutual were to take offense to anything I write or choose to interact with, it's on them as they clearly did not go through my rules when they followed/followed back. Additionally, I tag all my things.

A few months ago, my dash was exhausting, and boring, everyone (or most of my mutuals) was scared. Now I see posts getting tagged "necrophilia cw". I'm very happy for both my mutuals and their muses for striving for the peaks of how far fiction writing and the imaginative side of the mind can go.

I'd highly recommend anyone who has been in a similar situation to list down your dos and don'ts so your mutuals will know what to take to your tables and what to not. Personally, it felt like my dash had curated itself and it's been very pleasant to be on tum.blr lately even if I still have to vanish for a few more days due to inrl.

I think about my dash very often this week and I love all of you guys for being here and showing me your brainrots/muses! 💗💞💓

[mxtxfanatic]

what are ur fandom dos or don't? is there a preferred way you like to interact (canon vs fanon)?

is fanon ever appealing to you? ngl for me i dislike fanon especially when it tends to take on ooc vibes + feels so far removed from the actual story and characters. obv everyone has their own interpretations + headcanons but i don't think that means all are equally valid esp when not grounded in the story, facts and authors intentions they came from. probs why i think thr authour is dead mindset is weak coping lol

My fandom do’s and don’t’s is that 1) you shouldn’t be an asshole just to antagonize someone with different opinions than you, 2) if you don’t enjoy the source material and also have no real critique of it, then participating in the fandom should not be a thing you do, and 3) all bigots in fandom should be relentlessly called out and mercilessly shunned. Your tolerance should never encompass bigots, because their bigotry will always show in the things they say, do, and create.

As for fanon vs. canon, I think people should do what they want and consume what they want, but they should make this very clear. For instance, I don’t care that people like a fanon version of Jiang Cheng; what I care about is the inane insistence that this is “canon” and that anyone who says otherwise must be bullied out of the fandom. Back when I marginally cared about the MCU in its early days, I liked fanon!Loki, but I made it clear that this was a critique of the source material (the first Thor movie) and how its conclusions and audience takeaways contradicted what the narration actually showed. I still live in a Naruto lalaland where Naruto and Sasuke are a good dads and Sasusaku are a loving couple because I hate what the creator did with the sequel series. It is what it is, but that doesn’t mean that my feelings supersede what the creator made, even if I disagree with them. It’s not my work, and my disagreement is not a “valid interpretation.” It’s just disagreement. Accept that the version of the character/events you like is ooc/fanon, correctly tag your wants as fanon/ooc, and stop tryna argue that you know better than the creator or that you know their secret intentions on the matter because you feel like your fantasies are only acceptable once they’ve been “legitimized” by an authority figure.

Also, maybe unpopular opinion, but I believe that if you’ve never engaged with the source material of the fandom, you should have some shame and show some humility by not jumping into fandom discourse over things you’ve only heard about secondhand through the mouths of popular bloggers. Reblog your pretty art in silence, and stick to the walls.

[blorbologist]

Hey ! i was scrolling through tumblr the other day and I saw a post where you suggested to a friend that you could see Percy playing Frollo for a Hunchback of Notre Dam au, and I was just curious as to why you chose Percy for him. Not trying to start an argument or anything! I’m genuinely curious because for some reason…… in another world, I feel like Esmeralda and Frollo could’ve been like Percy and Vex idkplzdontjudge 🫣

I'm not gonna start an argument, but this is my blog and I will point out that if you think Percival 'one of his two ever Rez offerings was singing in Celestial to a dead child' 'knew he had a Thing for Vex for ages and never acted on it because he knew it would be unhealthy as he was' de Rolo the third is anything like Judge 'racist as hell and wanted to drown a baby in the well in the movie / blamed an entire culture for his brother's choices and treated a whole ass infant as a divine test' 'just. Everything with Esmeralda' Frollo...

yeah you're probably on the wrong blog. I am absolutely judging you, and recommend you give the source material of both CR and the Hunchback another look.

The reason I chose Percy is because it's a Broadway AU - they are extremely talented artists playing a role! I don't think you believe the people playing The Phantom or Frollo or the Heathers are actually like that in life, right?

I suggested this because:

I think Percy would have fun with obviously, transparently villainous roles, where he can't inadvertently blur that line and project his negative feelings on himself, in canon he does seem to enjoy making those he dislikes squirm and he has a good understanding of darkness. He could play excellent villains, and they would be a good way of reminding himself that 'oh yeah my post-Briarwoods years were not the best, but holy hells this fucker is a shitshow'. Percy would also have the imposing bearing and voice for the role, and would relish in the dramatics it would entail. Also he'd rock a villain song ok.

Vex as Esmeralda and Scanlan as the titular Hunchback would be great! The two characters constantly presenting masks and dealing with how society perceives them getting to play around with these characters? Fuck yeah. By extension, Percy and Scanlan's fraught relationship (Percy was absolutely going to hunt down Scanlan and steal back Mythcarver and his gun if Vex hadn't calmed him down, Taliesin confirmed this! He was furious at him for leaving!) would actually get space on stage here, and potentially build to in-universe drama if Percy thinks it's all good acting when its actually cutting too deep for Scanlan, given how readily he brushes off hurts until he explodes. So Percy = Frollo is also, in a way, about Scanlan = Hunchback and Vex = Esmeralda. It's not all about the OTP, but their interactions with another important character. Which brings me to my final point:

Vex would trust him in this role. Esmeralda would be a hugely resonant role for Vex, depending on how her canon backstory and insecurities translate to a modern AU like this. I am white, so I can't comment on how a probably-mixed woman who dealt with a lot of discrimination/potentially fetishizing due to her ancestry (while also potentially feeling cut off from it if Syldor took the twins from Elaina as in canon) and at best emotional neglect would relate to a Roma woman on the outskirts who is lusted after a creep and trying to insist on seeing the good in the world... but I suspect it would be a big deal. Vex would be ludicrously vulnerable and impacted by this role. Percy would know what lines not to cross during the performance, and practice, and blocking, and so on. He can be the antagonist to a role Vex would likely get deep into the headspace for without allowing her to get hurt.

I hope that makes a bit more sense as to why I suggested that for Lis' AU, anon! Tldr is because Percy is the absolute opposite of that fuckwit and could safely play the role, even have fun with some aspects (he'd kill Hellfire omg), without hurting Vex in the process.

[pigeons-and-pebbles]

good morning to people who put sugar on their cereal, people who just remembered they have to take their meds just now because i mentioned it, people who already remembered to take their meds or will remember later if they need to take them later (congrats on having your life together somewhat), people who enjoy things most would consider odd, people who wish they could dance more but can't, people who prefer more blankets to more pillows, people who search like three tags at once on ao3 that they want to read about and can't find anything with all three, people who like pepsi better than coke, people who liked something a lot as a kid and now you don't like it and hate finding things from back then, people who keep calendars to the best of their ability, people with dietary restrictions that don't often get adhered to at events, people who like making bad art, people who would like swimming if something was slightly different, people who feel judged in their circles for not liking tea, people who need to go outside more, people who don't like headphones/earbuds, people who are at least civil to children, people who give their friends strange gifts (bonus points if the friends enjoy it), people who actually listen to playlists spotify generates, people who put things in their mouths that should Not go there, people who sleep with their window open, people who love their stuffed animals, people who like doing the dishes, people who store other things in those little plastic containers that come in kinder eggs, people who don't know a lot of pop culture, people who live in small towns, people who have gotten very emotional over fanfiction before, people who are terrified of geese, people who have glow-in-the-dark stars, people who love to sing, people who remember to wash their water bottle, people who like wasps, people who believe in magic of any kind, people who enjoy camping, people who sunburn easily (i am giving you aloe and sunscreen), people who can be very childish at times, people who have cried while watching a sharknado movie, people who put holes in their clothes by fidgeting with loose threads, people who often get incorrect things assumed about them, people who need to go grocery shopping soon, people who really need to clean their room, people who used to like school but don't anymore, people who used to hate school but don't anymore, people who keep way too many tabs even though it is noticeably affecting their device, people who have ever been in the foster system, people who purposefully sleep with their notifications on just in case, people who are in fandoms without watching/reading/playing/etc. the source material and learn things about canon based on what is true across different fanworks, people who don't interact openly with some of their fandoms because they're embarrassed, people who share accounts/devices with other people and are always going "what the fuck?? who did this??", people who climb trees, people who daydream often, people who wish they could draw just so they could make animatics, people who are trying to heal strained relationships, people who don't like chocolate, people who need to do laundry today, disabled people, people who make your mom jokes to their siblings that have the same mother as them, and people who wear fun socks!

[sagemoderocklee]

⭐️ For Plus One! Can't believe i forgot to ask this!

ooohh i don't think i expected to get one for this fic since it's a one-shot and really just an excuse to write flirty!gaara lol

okay actually, now that ive said that i know exactly what i wanna talk about!

so there's this thing fandoms often do with characters like Gaara where they treat characters like him--stoic, traumatized, assumed to be less socially skilled--as though they are completely and totally sexless and unaware of the greater world around them to such a degree that they strip the character down into this woobified virginal, blushing, naive, chaste caricature to wank to the idea of him being 'defiled' and it drives me crazy.

tragically the canon also did this in a way with blank period when they made Gaara--ya know the Kazekage and in his what early 20s--not know anything about weddings. utterly insane behavior, but again fandom and source materials interact so differently these days i can't say im surprised they pulled this.

anyways, gaara not knowing about weddings has got to be the stupidest thing i have ever EVER seen made canon, and out of spite i wrote a story where he was actually really good at navigating that shit because he's the fucking Kazekage do you really expect me to believe that he's NEVER attended some political wedding of some kind? that he's never been invited to a wedding in his OWN VILLAGE? or at the very least SEEN one? do people in Suna just not get married? like... he's not unaware of the world around him--funnily enough he's actually REALLY observant, kinda necessary being the KAZEKAGE--and it's insane to be like 'yeah this 20 year old doesn't know about weddings lol' nevermind the way fandom does this in even worse ways

anyway, flirty and experienced is my preferred way to approach Gaara around romance because i think it actually does make sense for him to be more experienced than Lee. i don't think Gaara has the same notions of romance Lee does, so surrounding sex and flirting, Gaara's a lot less bound up in like 'making love' and 'first time' and so on. and like as a closeted gay political leader, he's navigating his desire and secrecy very differently besides.

also i just love writing him flirting because i think him being this deadpan kind of character makes it so fun when he delivers lines like “Even simple men need indulgences, Rock Lee.” i am simply tickled by the image of it.

anyways, that's my director's commentary for Plus One! hope you enjoyed!

[kleinezoe]

Hii, don't misunderstand me levihan is my life but I wanna know more about them. So I noticed from the early manga chapter (not S4 ch ) cd dramas and aot game smth : why does Levi look so annoyed, angry and a little nervous around hanji, he is so harsh with his words with her, and as I can see he never does that's with others (most of the time ), he is always like "oye shitty glasses" with a serious tone also he has that line don't put your subordinates' life in danger I understand they are his responsibility but is it possible that he means her too. And do these two fight a lot(daily), or did they ever had like a big fight and stop talking for a while?

And do you know anything about Levi's sexuality? Always hear about that Q/A with isayama-sensei about Levi type of women: he said smth about "he likes tall people "but did he really said "does he even like women", because I didn't find a valid source.

And thank you for your efforts to provide us with all this beautiful information. Your account is just <33

Hi !! Thank you for visiting my blog <3

First of all, about official materials, I actually don't see every of them as canon. Only those in which isym's involvement is stated clearly. So, for me manga is still the primary resource for every thing along with well-documented interviews.

why does Levi look so annoyed, angry, and a little nervous around Hanji

In canon it happened one to two times ig (?), but the rest of their interactions showed they get along so well. I don't think Levi is in the spectrum of get annoyed-hate towards Hanji. It's more like they're teasing each other to me.

In materials outside manga, I do think they (the marketing team (?)) exagerrated (most of the time) levihan teasing mode to the one you've said. But then again, isym involvement in these stuffs is unknown to none. So ....

(Note: I don't read the manga from ch 1 - 49, so I only took what was in the anime)

he is so harsh with his words with her, and as I can see he never does that with others (most of the time)

This should be looked up thorughly bcs I don't think english translation is adequate to draw "he never does that with others" conclusion. For east asian languages (well I can only confirmed it with KR and JP), as far as I know, a rude speaking/informality in the languages not only shown by words choices even a suffix omission/substitution with slang ones can be considered as rude. I doubt this aspect can be shown well in EN version.

Also, canonically Levi is constipated with expressing his thoughts and is not quite good with words.

he is always like "oye shitty glasses" with a serious tone

materials outside manga? It happened few times. But ☝☝

he has that line don't put your subordinates' life in danger

an important note that Ilse's book OVA has many fillers that aren't in the original manga. I always want to criticize that part bcs plot-wise, that guy from Levi's squad was endangered himself. Not Hans.

I understand they are his responsibility but is it possible that he means her too

It's possible. Levi cares for everyone. Also, in fact Erwin ordered him too.

do these two fight a lot (daily), or did they ever had like a big fight and stop talking for a while?

In canon? There's no such indications.

I do think they will have an arguments a few times bcs they're different person after all. But I'm kinda glad if it happens, lol. Bcs I think it is a sign of equality between them.

I don't think they ever had a big fight. They're mature enough to not go on that path and no such event in canon can triggered this too.

And do you know anything about Levi's sexuality?

I think it isn't relevant to to the story and there's no clear confirmation from the author. I think people can headcanoning it as they wants WITHOUT forcing others to believe it. I, myself, picture him be in ace-aro-demi spectrum. (I'm not familiar with this term use, but I hope u get what I mean)

(Lol, contrary from what most of people think abt him)

(actually I'm attracted to him for the first time bcs he gives an aro/ace vibes)

Always hear about that Q/A with isayama-sensei about Levi type of women: he said smth about "he likes tall people "but did he really said "does he even like women", because I didn't find a valid source.

This info is circulating around here and there but I still don't know the source. The fact that there are arguments abt what the actual text is, it's probably a fan documented QnA during live event. In regard of this, I agree with what Kawakubo-san has said, "it is better to not take this kind of information (he means a non documented QnA, from live event) seriously as it may be contradict with what will be in the official guidebook"

(I don't remember the exact text, but more or less he meant smtg like that)

Thank you for leaving an ask 😊😊

[nagirambles]

what's your favourite ships in the show?

I don't passionately ship anything in the show, honestly.

I guess you can take it as 'I'll ship anything if you convince me it's cute', but most of the time, especially for the Big 4 because it's Mashima's job to convince me of that, I already have impressions that probably won't change.

Gajevy's 'the rough one is soft for the cute one' bond, but I never saw it immediately romantic. The 'big scary guy's always got a loli' trope or even 'cute little sister with overprotective big brother' uses this dynamic as well. I only saw it as Gajeel trying hard to make up for what he did, and he felt responsible to protect Levy. Yes, it's endearing, but is that apparently a declaration of love already? Darn, now I see why some people think Gajevy was forced. Anyways-- I can be incredibly passionate talking about these two, but do I go around seeking out fluff romantic fanfic about them? Nah, they're cute as a couple now, but shipping in general is just not my thing. I enjoy seeing it play out between the lines of the Fairy Tail manga, and cute fanart of them is always a joy-- but that's it, really.

Gruvia was very one-sided, so child me never understood it. In the same way Gray needed to break it to her, Juvia needed to take a hint-- or she was blatantly ignoring the obvious hint, which grates my gears, because speaking as an aroace, it's not cute. You're not going to get me if you lay jewels at my feet for long enough. They finally progressed after the timeskips though, and I like where they were trying to go with it. Using their battle with Silver as a crux, things are better in their dynamic now. It's getting somewhere.

Jerza was probably one I wanted to see most (of the clearly intended to be canonical ships, aka the Big 4,) because it was a slow journey of recovery between two people, and while it's weird they almost kissed on that beach, I believe it was done to tell the audience that right now, Jerza is going to take three steps back. They're not going to kiss, they're going to set this back and Jellal is going to find redemption first. It's called overcoming trauma and the miracle cure is not 'finding your true love'.

As for other ships in the show that I quite adore, high on that scale would probably be Gray and Loke. The anime tends to eradicate a lot of casual intimacy outside of Big 4 ship moments (which is why all the Nalu hugs are there untampered but somehow the Gray and Erza hug in the Phantom Lord Arc was the most awkward thing I've ever seen) so things like Gray being the only one worriedly looking at Loke and consistently asking him if things are fine because something's not right? I fully appreciate them, and I fully want to explore the partnership between them that we never see. Loke is rarely shown to have as significant a relationship with people in the guild other than Lucy, so this stands out.

I also kinda ship Chendy, RenxSherry, Bixloke, Canalucy, Nali, Gratsuza, and Thunder Legion trio. But once again, I'll ship even rarepairs or crackships if someone manages to convince me that their dynamic's interesting to explore.

I also ship Laxana for no reason other than the fics I've written and contributed to. They have near zero interactions in canon and yet, because I explored them interacting in childhood in the guild-- I've started to see them working in a rather endearing way. (I still spite the source material because Cana, my favourite character to write, is such a waste of potential in the main story.)

But once again-- I don't passionately ship anything. If I do write them or think of them, it is almost always intended to be platonic or an endeared character study, because romance in general is just not my thing. Yes, I can rave about ships, I can squeal about them when they have a wholesome interaction in fanfic, fanart, or the show itself-- but do I particularly seek out instances them kissing or dating or expressing their desire in a deep, meaningful speech? Do I try to interpret 'clearly' romantic motives into every impactful gesture each of them do for each other? Not at all. I feel this exact same way for the Big 4, maybe stronger.

Honestly, I watch Fairy Tail for the nakama power. That's genuinely all I really want to take away from it.

[mistresseast]

You're right about that, I just don't vibe with most of the fandom so even "the fandom will fix it" doesn't help when I just want confirmation he is alive, when people keep saying he's not, and for him to just have something positive with another character, a friend or something, so he feels human and not just "crazy" like he's portrayed. Or any answers about his past or Shido, it just feels unfinished to me and other characters you at least know how they felt. I think I'm the only one not cont.

Response under the cut for length:

I can tell that you’re really upset and frustrated, so I’m going to be as polite and sympathetic as I can. First of all, no one can tell the future in regards to Atlus’s plans. P5 is massively popular and there is every possibility that they will continue the story or tell more stories in the same universe, but there’s also every possibility that the game will essentially go into Brand Lockdown to avoid alienating any potential customers, so all that will come out of P5 in the future is episodic content like Scramble that doesn’t threaten or add to the lore. Anything is possible. HOWEVER if you are betting your enjoyment of the source material on the possible future addition of more content, and specifically content that satisfies all of your personal needs, you are playing a losing game. From these messages, it sounds to me like you have been around the fandom for a while and you have been failed by the game multiple times at this point, and it certainly seems like you are no longer deriving any enjoyment from the fandom or the game. Forgive me if that’s incorrect, but if I’m right, then I believe you need to start thinking seriously about what you want from your fandom experience. At this point, you can either hold out hope that Atlus will provide what you need and/or that the fandom will undergo a massive paradigm shift and start satisfying you OR you can take charge of your own happiness. How you feel about the game/the content fans create is solely your responsibility. I understand that everyone experiences fandom differently, and I’m very sorry that the circles you’ve traveled in have not had the correct “vibes” for what you need, but personally I have not seen a general fandom trend toward believing that Goro and Akira shouldn’t reunite, nor that Goro cannot heal and find love. Perhaps I’ve been lucky, bc I have certainly encountered those mindsets, in particular the concept that Goro, as he is in the game, is not worthy of happiness and healing until he is punished and therefore redeemed, but I never got the impression that that was the state of the fandom as a whole, and in fact I have only ever consumed/created/promoted content where Goro heals and finds love and I never encountered any derision or opposition, even before Royal.

On the topic of Royal’s ambiguity: it is not cheap writing to rely on subtext. Royal is not perfect. Its handling of Goro and his fate are not perfect. However, the narrative makes it obvious that Goro is alive if you take the time to put the pieces together. Not stating something outright and allowing the audience to reach its own conclusions does not equal “dangling Goro’s survival” in front of the fans. A lot of the details about Goro’s character, including his backstory and his fate, are present if you can interpret subtext. Fandoms as a whole are not very good at doing this, but that doesn’t mean the information isn’t there, and just because the fandom in general doesn’t know Goro is alive doesn’t mean he isn’t. As far as the canon “proving” Goro isn’t just a trigger-happy maniac, I don’t know where you’ve gotten the idea that it doesn’t. Goro in the third semester is controlled, purposeful, and determined. He’s fully aware of what’s going on and he takes responsibility for his choices, recognizing the manipulation he suffered but not using that to excuse his actions. But he also doesn’t waste time on regret. He gets a little wild as Black Mask, but he’s still your navigator, he’s still very much in control of himself. And even before that, in the engine room, he is portrayed as tragic, not crazy. Again, I realize that there are parts of the fandom that have failed to recognize this and paint Goro as a monster, but AGAIN, you cannot blame the source material for the audience misinterpreting something it did everything in its power to make clear. Wishing the game had done more on that front, or any front, is understandable, but saying the canon portrays him as crazy is simply incorrect.

I'm not trying to argue with you, it just seems like you're upset about some things that are not true. I would also be upset if we never learned whether Goro was dead or alive, but we know that he's alive! I would also be upset if the game failed to show how complex he is and only framed him as a bloodthirsty monster, but it doesn't do that! I see a lot of opinions regarding Goro and Royal that are not based on logic or evidence, but rather on how people felt while playing, which is valid, but that does NOT mean those ideas are canon. What the story is trying to say and what you FEEL like the story is trying to say are not interchangeable. Some of the things that are bringing you grief are fixable. The fandom stuff is more complicated, but I promise the content you're after is out there, and there are a lot of fans who think like you. I know that doesn't really help when you feel alone and misunderstood, but at some point you have to ask yourself if you're going to seek out the fandom experience you want or continue in a fandom that seems to make you pretty miserable.

From the way some of this comes off, it kind of sounds like you want to control how people interpret/interact with the characters and the game, and that you can't be happy unless everyone conforms to your ideas, which is a terrible and alienating way to engage with fandom. But I also recognize that if you’re determined to feel this way, nothing I say will change that, and I believe everyone is perfectly entitled to their own bitterness and frustration if that’s how they want to spend their time. However, if you keep coming to me, I’m going to keep refuting you, bc my feelings about this matter are just as strong as yours. If my frankness depresses you, despite the effort I’ve put in to making my positivity accessible, then I’m sorry. I wish I could help everyone be as happy in this fandom as I am, but that’s just not possible, so I truly wish you all the best in finding what you’re looking for.

[vermillionage]

[So I just got inspired by a conversation I had with @silver-wield about this Cloud&Tifa video below I blogged 2 days ago already, how deep Cloti's connection really is displayed, and how watching it made me feel even more convinced that we totally get endgame feels for them in these various scenes comprised. The video just shows canon material and uses only original dialogue. It made me wonder if the same feelings would be evoked by a video of Cloud and Aeriths Scenes and dialogues.]

Besides English isn't my first language, please overlook grammar and spelling mistakes. I'm sorry it there are too many.

There are many opinions who belongs with whom.

Many people who covered this also and I love and respect most of their analyses on it. Not even sure if I added anything new but here are my thoughts on Clerith endgame qualities (& a bit Cloti).

I like Aerith and she is very important. I just don’t see her as the intended endgame partner for Cloud.

This is all an opinion in the end:

Don't get me wrong this relationship is heavy with feelings as well. But it's no endgame. Cloud and Tifa belong; for various reasons we all discuss daily ;). Clearith's core story is heartwarming and heartbreaking all at once. For me it's a tragic relationship on both sides.

Aerith sees a familiarity in Cloud, something reminding her of, & letting her hope for better days. She sees a strong person who resembles Zack so much. He is handsome and his eyes have the same quality.

She desperately wants to belong (like all of our 3 heroes) because she was alone most of her time. Zack was her first love and a friend. But he is gone. She is heartbroken. Even though she is beloved in the slums by many and has Elmyra, she still feels alone. Zack was someone she confided in. She can't tell anyone the extend of these feelings. Not in the beginning. Always trying to cover up with that flirty cheery attitude. She wants to move on...that much she has uttered to Cloud...but saying and going through such a loss actually are two different things. In OG it was more ambiguous and Aerith was much more determined on Cloud.

Remake gives us (or me)much more clarity. She seems to be aware that it all is flawed..her feelings ..his feelings. (I suppose she even was able to feel that something happened to Zack since she has a connection to the life stream. And it is heartbreaking.) While in OG that was not prominent. You can tell how much she likes Cloud still in the Remake ...but also how much she knows she doesn't belong with him. When she sees the flower in Tifa's Bar, when she sees Cloud and Tifa interact.. when she asks Cloud about Zack indirectly.

Clerith to me is like 'could have/ would have' all the time. If she wouldn't die. If Zack was still alive.. if Cloud actually would be able to connect the dots of Zack being her first love.. if Cloud regaining a glimpse of his past wasn't blocked by the barrier of his fake persona so often, always interrupting progress of remembering Zack, of remembering what happened. Would it be Clerith?

It more seems like in the Remake she is aware now (due to parallel time lines/timetravel...whatever) that her part in this story is not that of Clouds love interest. That's why we get that resolution scene with her. It is scripted that way for a reason. As well as the part where she spots the flower or tells Tifa to follow her heart at the pillar.

Maybe there is a wish in her to be with Cloud if only the circumstances were different. But they aren't and she is no egotistical monster bitch. She kind of backs away. And I love that the devs made me lean to believe this.

Cloud on the other hand also lacks/ misses out on many things:

5 years of his live, his home his family. He lived through torture if barely and severe trauma. He put up a fake persona to shield him from all this grief. He made himself that numb, that he rarely connects to any strong feelings a person would have usually.

Like people on anti depressants. Numb to the very high and the very low array. Just being indifferent. We meet him like that in the beginning of OG/R. When he meets Aerith in chapter 8 he already started to open up a bit to the Trio and Tifa, Marle and others. Meeting Tifa opened the Door. She is essentially his drive to move on ever since their childhood, same this time. But Tifa is more subtle in her approach. Her personality is warm and grounded, but she respects that Clouds needs space and is treading lightly, cautious because she seems to feel he is different than in their childhood. We get that in the rescue Johnny scene f.ex..

Aerith's overwhelmingly positive, coaxing personality contrasts this but also opens this crack in the door even wider. Like I said she is important. He is affected, he feels drawn to it/her.I am convinced he is, because he has no association with her. No past. It is light and bright and also not real. She, trying to overcompansate her sadness. Him, rarely being able to connect to his true self and feelings. He is unaware, she is though to a certain extend (like I mentioned above ) is aware.

His attraction also is spurred on because she is more fragile (Than Tifa and others)..he wants to protect. He is loyal. He wants to be strong and he wants to be acknowledged. Aerith asks for help, is clumsy and looks even helpless sometimes( Walk from the church over the roof tops f. ex.). I don’t say she is weak but her asking for help, he feels like he really is that persona he created for himself. And such feelings can turn into love quite easily. But these feelings to be as good as a Soldier 1st class, to protect and be the hero root in his true self's desire to be all that for Tifa. We can’t discard this either. He also helps Avalanche because Tifa asked.

So again..a pinch of could have/would have..it's heartbreaking.

And in the end it's a dead end for Clerith. Not only because she dies. But because he regains access to his true feelings again (lifestream scene)..and they are with Tifa.

Man~even while he has no access to them he is like a hen around its chick with Tifa.😊 Touching, watching, eye contact all the time (just watch this posts video below).

If anything, Aeriths death brought him further away from being with Tifa completely because he feels he failed yet another important person. A person he even might have loved because she was a friend. He hates this feeling and he blames himself for all the deaths, especially Aerith's. And he is so afraid to lose Tifa like that as well. That's why he keeps his distance later especially in Advent Children. Even though we have the Night under the High Wind.

Because if losing a person like Aerith, yes all lovely and sweet and bright and a friend, but if losing a person after several weeks, can do that to him, what would Tifas death do to him?

He doesn't want her, Marlene or Denzel to suffer if she sees that he has a supposedly terminal disease.

He doesn't trust himself to be really enough for her. He can't face her and leaves and has another episode of self isolation and self doubt. In his mind (?) he talks to Aerith ( and Zack is there as well,yaay) he seeks for forgiveness until he realizes he has to forgive himself first. Aerith and Zack reunited in the life stream, his friends, like his big brother and sister or like guardians watching over him, encouraging him as well to trust in himself the future and his loved ones. He sure loves Aerith, but it feels like a different kind of love from his love for Tifa. And this is fine. I would never say he doesn’t love Aerith. But it’s not in a romantic way. Maybe there was an attraction building when they met in sector 5, a curiosity. But for me his bond with Tifa overpowered this in various scenes before and after that section.

So Cloud leaves, nearly ghosting his family and Tifa, and as a fan of Cloti that was hard to watch, but seeing his reasons I came to accept and understand that he needed this.BIn the end yet again their bond is strong enough for pulling them back together again. He goes to stand with Tifa, his family his friends.

In the End Tifa welcomes him back and he finally starts to believe things will be better.

So for me there is no gravitational romantic pull between Aerith and Cloud but between Tifa and him.

This is a bit all over the place and I didn’t put in sources to prove my points because many others here in the fandom did in their analyses. I took a bit of additional intel from everyone's impressions and my own conclusions on the canon.

I just wanted to give my impression.

https://youtu.be/-Dn3SI4RVco

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