#that's not about being Right About Characters but rather validating your own perspective and other peoples' and acknowledging they coexist

[theghostofashton]

.

[valtsv]

This isn't a gotcha, so please don't take it as such, but would yuou be willing to explain what it is about VAL that makes her such a favourite of yours? I can't stand her myself, she comes across to me as a bully given god-like power that she abuses for her own amusement, and I've seen you acknowledge as much, but we draw completely different conclusions from that. I just want to understand your perspective.

i've been anticipating a question like this for a while now, so i'm more than happy to answer for you!

you're right, VAL is in some ways a "bully given godlike power" as you put it, and there's no avoiding that (nor do i want to). and yeah, i do like her in part because of that, because i have a fondness for horrible fictional characters and in particular "bad victim" archetypes, of which VAL certainly is one. but i think what makes her compelling to me, rather than repulsive, is that she is fundamentally a cautionary tale and a tragedy. in-universe, she's the scapegoat. the example. the "make the right choices or this could be you". she's inescapably, heartbreakingly human in her awfulness, and that makes her terrifying, but it also makes her deeply sad (at least to me).

i also strongly believe in rehabilitative/restorative justice, so for me, wanting better for VAL is about my real-world principles to a degree. i can't and won't argue that VAL doesn't function as an uncomfortable allusion to a lot of atrocious crimes against humanity (by humanity) within the narative, and that anyone who finds her upsetting or even hateful for these reasons is absolutely justified in doing so. however, she's still a fantasy entity at the end of the day. she's not a 1:1 stand-in for real-world abuses any more than, say, a vampire or werewolf, which plenty of people are more than happy to explore the nuances of. and there's also the question of what punitive measures would even achieve in her case, beyond personal satisfaction for the one administering or spectating them (which is not to say that wanting to punch VAL makes you as bad as she is, just that her arc is, among other things, about how cycles of abuse and violence perpetuate). the worst that could possibly happen to her has already happened. she's been tortured. she's been taken advantage of for her mistaken belief that working for and with the system has the opportunity to benefit her, and died for it. there's nothing to be "learned" from her punishment that hasn't already been shown to us. that she hasn't already internalised. if she were ever to develop a stable conscience, that would be punishment enough in my opinion.

despite being a victim of people not entirely unlike VAL, i personally am not her victim, so treating her with sympathy and kindness whilst acknowledging the elephant in the room that is her many (fictional) war crimes is not something that requires any cognitive dissonance on my behalf. i would cautiously argue that the narrative agrees with me somewhat in this regard - the few times VAL is treated to a genuine act of kindness with no ulterior motives, it shatters her composure and outward conviction that what she's doing is necessary for her personal satisfaction, and even prompts her to reconsider on occasion (sparing the woodsman comes to mind). i'm not saying anyone needs to hug her and tell her she's valid, but if all it takes is some genuine good intent to get her to engage in introspection, i'm willing to be the person to offer it.

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/756599406195818496/i-feel-like-such-a-hypocrite-reblogging-all-these?source=share

it seems like our perspectives are too different for talking to you to help me but I have nowhere else to talk about this so

it doesn't make me uncomfortable because other people say I should like female characters, it makes me uncomfortable because I wish I did

and I wish I did because I AM a woman; if some/many slash fans turn out to be trans good for them, but I don't wanna be a different gender, I just don't wanna feel like mine is inferior

if characters have to be male for me to appreciate and empathise with them, then I can't appreciate or empathise with myself

I only think it's cool/attractive/emotionally moving when men do things; if it's a woman doing the same thing it's automatically off-putting -- so anything I do is off-putting

I'm not saying this as a universal objective logic thing, I'm sure there are women who only like slash and have no self-esteem issues related to it, but I do

but maybe it's not "fictional women are off-putting, therefore I'm off-putting", but rather "I'm off-putting, therefore fictional women are off-putting" -- so maybe I can't try to fix it by just liking the fictional ones more, I have to learn to like myself first, but the only way I've ever changed my mind/feelings about anything was by consuming art about it so idk

my point is, I think *my* exclusive enjoyment of male characters *is* related to internalised misogyny and it makes *me* suffer, and I feel invalidated being told I just fell for other people's nonsensensical moral panic

but I understand you're just not gonna be the person who validates me on that and that's your right

--

I think most of that genre of post is silly in a way that this is not.

Self esteem issues are real. They can be addressed—not easily banished forever, no, but addressed.

The reason the typical post is garbage is that it's not personal. It's always projecting on other women rather than seeking help for oneself. That's just shitty to other women while doing nothing productive.

No, I'm not going to validate a broken coping mechanism that makes the tumblr space more hostile to women having fun. But if you want people's advice on how to improve one's own self esteem, perhaps someone will have ideas.

[thepoetjean-makes-stuff]

HOW TO ACTUALLY WRITE -- THE BASICS (AKA STEP 0-1)

(AKA ThePoetJean justifies their Master's degree and makes it everyone else's problem)

1) "WRITING IS REWRITING" AND WHAT THE HELL THAT MEANS -- No writing is law or set in stone upon the first draft, and whoever taught you that is a bum. Even permanent glue can be removed by nail polish remover, so why is editing your first draft no different? When writing for fun, oftentimes you can edit the post and clean up the story when things are no longer working (it's called a cutting room floor for a reason). When writing for publishing, you'll often be paired with an editor who'll send tweaks back-and-forth to you, chipping away at any structural mistakes or grammar flaws to bring out the point of your writing piece in the process. The first draft is just about getting the general vibes of the story down: like the batter for the cake recipe before you start baking it. This part is meant to be fun and messy and no one expects you to serve them go when you're just cracking your eggs open. Let yourself be messy cuz (burnt or fluffy), this is the first step to making your story, so no need to have something be all pretty and presentable the first time around! Again, a lot of writing is just rewriting cuz drafts are a thing so getting stuff down is most important. And another amazing thing -- if the story sucks, you can always change it later! You gotta trust yourself to get it done in order to get it out to the world one way or another, so go do that!

2) LEARN YOUR OWN WRITING PROCESS! -- (OH MY GOD PPL, LEARN HOW YOU TO THE THING IT'S HALF THE BATTLE!) Most of the struggles I see with newer writers is never learning how they write, and that sucks since have the joy of making things is making the thing -- so why make writing stories so arduos for yourself. Learn your own methods and use them whenever you get to writing! Learn the writerly basics like plot, structure, framing, character voice, setting, time period, etc and learn how best you can utilize them in your own stories! On a purely craft level: Learn ALL THE WRITING CRAFT and keep in mind that all writing craft is meant to be guidelines rather than hard rules. Learn many ways about how to write in general cuz no writing advice is one size fits all and being embarrassed of your process is dumb and hinders your creative growth. Trust yourself as a writer, you'll improve faster that way. Believing you can and believing it's possible is the first step to doing anything! (Plus all writing is rewriting anyhow to there's no need to feel embarrassed about something you can fix later, anyways, right?)

3) Read projects like your project in order to get a better feel of your project. Whether it be writing style references, basic literary craft examples, or just you want to break down the vibes of the stories so you can better emulate in your own -- GO AND WATCH/READ/LISTEN ETC TO WHATEVER STORIES YOU THINK WOULD MATCH THE VIBES OF YOUR OWN!! Now, this isn't a 1-to-1 copy, you're not mean to make a clone of the thing you like or take properties for the IP that you're into -- that's more along the lines of fanfiction (which can be fun and is ofc, super valid) -- BUT! To create your own stories, you need to learn where you get your ideas from, and learn how to implement, borrow, twist, etc from the story structures and properties you gather your inspo from. Other writers are your peers, not your enemies -- so treat their work and your own with the respect it deserves. No two chicken sandwiches are ever exactly the same; true artists steal from many places, so learn how to be a good thief (creatively speaking). Example from my own secret WIP novel: I'm writing a New Adult Urban fantasy novel with a dark, powerful lady protagonist that uses lots of philosophical themes, alternate history perspectives as well as using mythology as a basis for a lot of the magical roots and setting roots. Likewise, this a story about friendship and romance after major loss and trauma, and how to come back to yourself after grief, so I've been looking for stories that cover those themes in their plots, which has made the story a lot more fun to read and write outside of just being a cool concept to play with.

If you're writing a second-chance romance story, read romance stories. If you're writing a sci-fi story with lots of robots, read stories about robots. Presumably, you enjoy the same stories you're writing in concept if not in execution, so don't hesitate to seek those stories out, and break down how those stories work in order to scrap them for literary parts. You're smarter than you think you are, and breaking down stories is a lot of fun once you get the hang of it, so please consider doing this as you go into your next project, your writing will thank you for it!

OPTIONAL:

4) If the story works better as something else, swap the format and see what happens.

Have you ever read something and been like "Huh, I like this book, but with how iconography is used in the actual text, it might be better as a movie or a comic book"? So have I!

So, if you ever feel like the story you're writing isn't working so well as a novel or a play, consider turning it into a movie or a webcomic! Of course, this is all easier said than done, and every writing format comes with its own rules and limitations, but I'd give it a try if you ever want to see your project from a fresh perspective! If nothing else, you'll learn something new -- and become a better writer for it!

Til next time, beloveds~

__

PS. Take all advice with a grain of salt. I am not your parent or your principal, I'm just a lady with a writing degree and a lil free time. Take what resonates, leave what doesn't, etc. PLEASE SHARE THIS POST AROUND TO ANYONE WHO IT MIGHT HELP! THANKIES :3

KOFI: https://ko-fi.com/thepoetjean

[kyouka-supremacy]

hello!

I saw your recent post and you hinted that Atsushi is actually kinda twisted and that yoh don't agree with his morals?

If its alr with you, do you mind elaborating? ❤️

Alright, to be fair, I *am* self aware enough to realize a lot of what I say about Atsushi is probably fairly detached from canon. When push comes to shove, he's just a guy trying to get through. A polite dude. I like to stretch on how a lot of his well-mannered behaviour and his desperate attempt to prove himself good are moved by deeply selfish reasons of validating his own right to live, but that said, that doesn't make him inherently evil, either.

Atsushi's double morality is something that comes up a lot, so please check out these posts!! (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8). But overall... Is a good action that is done for deeply selfish reasons, still good? I'm not sure. But when I watched the anime for the first time, and in episode 8 it turned out that Atsushi was not helping the train passengers out of spontaneous inclination to help people in need, but rather just due to a self-interested aim to validate his own right to live... Idk, it didn't positively impress me? I was even less positively impacted by the later line “people can't live unless someone tells them ‘it's okay to go on’! ” The thing is, both scenes feel like more of the author's underlying worldviews that end up being conveyed through the series' protagonist, and that's a consideration to be made by its own– it's not an issue I have with Atsushi specifically, as much as me fundamentally disagreeing with most of bsd's perspectives on the world, as I've already said before.

But that doesn't change the fact that Atsushi is fundamentally selfish¹, does it? The difference is - I think - that for the author, more or less all people are, while to me no one is born selfish. But that still makes Atsushi not really morally virtuous, and I think that's narratively interesting to explore by its own!!! What if there was a character who only did good because (he thinks) that's the only way he has the right to live? What if there was someone who believed the right to live had to be owned in the first place? After having overcome the admittedly jarring sentiment I felt when first engaged with the character, I must admit those are some compelling concepts to explore, even despite disagreeing with the underlying morals.

At the end of the day, it's just a complex nature of the character? I like to emphasize on Atsushi's uncommendable selfishness especially as opposite to Akutagawa's hidden selflessness; but all said, a man who tries to do good despite it not being his first nature is a better man than any of us, isn't he?

¹ And Atsushi is profoundly selfish. I think that Beast in particular proves that he's ready to commit evil just as much as in canon he is to do good, if it's to pursue the goal of his own survival. The first thing we see him do, at the very start of the series, is, symbolically, contemplating robbing other people for his own survival (though in real life I would never judge someone's morality in life and death situations... But maybe since this is fiction, that can still hold narrative value). He will stop acting good as long as it's no longer required of him (each of his interactions with Akutagawa). Maybe it's a little pessimist way to interpret the manga, but perhaps still a consistent one?

[loaffofbred]

what a wild day of qsmp lore

All people discussed here are characters

So much has happened, here is the gist of it, sorry if i miss anything! :

1. Foolish and Tazercraft's friendship has now mended! Tazercraft used a photoshopped photo of Leo's bed gone which implied her death, which Foolish responded quite aggressively only to found out it was all simply a prank. Foolish, now learning his lesson, told Tazercraft what happened within the day of their imprisonment.

2. Bad and Max have now officially put Elquackity off the presidency, killing off his last life. Bad using explosives and a lasso and Max killing Elquackity off last minute! Elquackity said that 'You fucked it up for everyone' and logged off after that.

3. After all the solved puzzles, Cellbit has handed all the evidence to a specific coordinates. Once done, he was led into another place that had an elevator, which headed into an office where Cucurucho spoke its gratitude of completing a task, implying that all this time, he was working with the Federation WITHOUT his knowledge! This implies that the federation DID threaten Richas life, and all evidences and books are now at the hands of the Feds. As a reward, he received a keycard!

From what I know this is all thats happened! Here's my thoughts on em :))

Cellbit: Employee of the Month

- Watching his reaction live was nuts, it was a twist that, while definitely expected, still impacted so much on him. It felt heartbreaking yet I was laughing my ass off. Though, this implies a lot of things about the Federation. The Federation now had threatened an egg! Not only that, had used manipulative ways to make Cellbit work with them, establishing that the Federation are fully aware the distrust he had of them, only to use this to their favor. Props for the smart af plan Feds, you continue to be one step ahead.

Bad and Max: Regret?

- After Elquackity's response, they definitely started to think if they possibly did the wrong thing. For me, in character, it makes sense for them to kill Elquackity based on their perceived concept of Elquackity not being the real one, and the Federation possibly rigging the whole election. They were justified in thinking he wasn't the real one or was one brainwashed or memory messed with based on Max's interview and his overall mannerisms, such as not caring if he couldve killed an egg during Wilbur's party. Personally, I think that killing him may become a mistake, but as of now, I think is the right move to see how the Federation responds to this. Unfortunately though, they've officially put a target on their backs, not only them, but the eggs that Bad cares for. Bad isn't necessarily 'bad' to do this, rather the opposite, he cares too much about the eggs to risk Elquackity's possible rigged election.

Foolish and Tazercraft: Honesty and Consequences

- Big props to Tazercraft for the prank and giving a heart attack to Foolish and the doozers(includingme)! This prank was genuinely such a good response and revenge to Foolish. Not really harmful yet leaves a mark that stays in the back of your head. It shows how there are always consequences to his actions, whether its outside of himself or not! It shows Foolish a different perspective that isn't clouded by his own moral compass. The whole convo itself showed Foolish and Mike being a possible threat to the island if they're messed with. But by far, this whole convo with them gave me so much respect for Foolish even more. After the prank, he told everything, even the lie!, on what happened during the day of their imprisonment. His lie was a form of assurance and to gain information, he did this for two reasons;

- Selfish reason - To make his reason for their imprisonment more valid since most members don't view his reason, finding Mr.Mustard, as a valid reason.

- Not so selfish reason - To see how Jaiden responds, whether she will refute it, tell it to others, or keep it to herself. Foolish suspected she was going to tell others, which is why he chose Richarlyson rather than Leo as the possible victim.

- The fact that he thought that up, WHILE speaking to Jaiden during that day is nuts btw- Anyway, moreover, Foolish couldve kept that lie going for a long time, yet chose to do it despite it not quite favoring him. He even told Jaiden directly about it, not wanting to continue anymore lies since he himself doesn't like to lie. Sure, he doesn't fully regret his actions and may even do it again (Pac even agreeing with this if he was also in that situation), but reassured them that if THEY wanted to imprison him, he wouldn't mind either way. He doesn't feel full remorse towards his actions but learned that having Tazercraft against him was simply not a good idea, and may even avoid targeting them moving forward. At the end of the day, they communicated to each other and are all good in the end! Secrets are still hidden ofc ;)

anyway, thats about all my thoughts, byeee o/

[kenonade]

for the ask game—3, 5, 18, and 25 for peter wiggin?

THE GUY!!!!!!!!!

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

It’s hard to say because, and I say this with shame—I haven’t read the books in a long, long time. Off the top of my head though, I didn’t like that part in Ender’s Stocking where he became weirdly misogynistic. That was weird. I’m not and have never been a genius teen boy with a younger sister who got rejected by a girl at high school so I can’t say if the interplay between those specific factors would create that outcome—but I sure can say, I didn’t like it.

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

Ether Strike - Akira Complex. It’s hard to explain because it’s a rhythm game song (hello Arcaea fans) whose lyrics consists of like 4 unique lines but I’ll try. “An intense dissatisfaction with the world / And a compulsion to do something about it / Heaven and Earth / My guiding star” It is a compulsion, right? The way he decided he’d be the one to be in charge of it all. Fueled by a sense of desperation for any amount of validation and the guilt that came with. “My guiding star” reminds me of the conversation he had with Ender at the end of Shadow of the Giant where he said that he’d always think, what would Ender do? It helps that I hear a lot of grief, longing, and determination in the drop, too. Honorable mentions to All You Had To Do Was Stay by TS and Mirror Man by Jack Stauber.

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

Admire is a weirdly specific word in this context. There’s Bean, Petra, his parents, Graff, Achilles, Ender, Val whom I can see him having notable relationships with. Honestly, none of them are quite admirable? These relationships are interesting and complex and I like reading about them but I wouldn’t say that I look up to them for guidance on what to do with my own social life? The only exception is his relationship with Petra. He gave her space to grieve and a cushion to fall back on. He learned to love and they learned to trust.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

Dude, the first time I read Ender’s Game I was 12 years old. I don’t even remember how I felt towards the book overall. If I had to guess, I probably didn’t like him. At that stage in my life I would’ve related more to Ender. I do, however, remember the first time I picked EG up for a reread. I fell in love IMMEDIATELY. From the moment the book underlined his hatred with how he felt he wasn’t good enough, I knew he was THE standout character. The scene where he apologizes to Ender thinking that Ender’s asleep… HEARTWRENCHING. His heart-to-heart with Val… MY HEART BROKE. Meanwhile he was also so silly and goofy… literally the most crass character, always saying some wild out of pocket thing that made me go “hang on, we read this in sixth grade??!??” Now, with the part of the Enderverse that pertains to him completely in my pocket, it’s hard to pin down how I feel about him. From a personal perspective, he’s still by far my favorite character. His struggles and triumphs are vivid in a way that the other character’s just don’t live up to, and his failures are incredibly real. Viewing the books from a more critical view, Peter’s existence is interesting in and of itself because he occupies a lot of gray areas in the narrative. He’s a major antagonist in EG, and the only one that changes from an antagonist to a protagonist. He’s meant to be untrustworthy while being likable, making him rather unserious. In a narrative that usually frames characters as People We Should Listen To and People We Shouldn’t Listen To, Peter is the only character that we sorta kinda maybe should listen to depending on how much despair he’s experiencing. He’s explicitly allowed to make terribly embarrassing mistakes that threaten to debase his entire character, but he’s allowed to be helped. He’s allowed to crack jokes; the narrative is allowed to crack jokes about him. There’s an inherent levity to any scene he’s in. He can’t take the moral high ground in any argument—we’ve all seen him at his worst—yet he’s also working towards putting more good in the world. He’s a character filled to the brim with contradictions and even more determination to work through them. As a result, his viewpoints have a nebulous, fluid quality that made it impossible for OSC to use him as a personal megaphone, since, though the reader encouraged to challenge Peter’s assumptions, at the end of the day we’re still on Peter’s side—we want him to succeed, but we know that he WILL fumble doing it. He’s personable. And vivid. Which makes him a poor tool and a fabulous icon. A role that sort of echos his treatment in the novels themselves. Anyway. I think he’s neat.

[gojonanami]

Hey Sab! I saw your tags talking about how you'd be open to having a conversation about your stance on aging up minor characters, rather receiving blatant hate. Can you explain why you think it's okay then? I'll be honest with you, I'm of the stance that it's wrong. But if you're open to having a discussion, I'd like to hear what you have to say about it, and where you're coming from.

hi friend, first I want to thank you for your very respectful ask — and for feeling comfortable enough to come and ask me about it! I completely respect your opinion and it’s valid— I’ll explain a little what my perspective is on this is—but first:

For others: this is not an invitation for people to come into my inbox and attack me, this is not me opening people up to tagging me in negative posts or messaging me bullshit—if you don’t agree with me, totally fine! if you don’t want to see my posts, just block me. You can have your opinion without feeling as if it’s an attack on you — just as I don’t view yours as an attack on me.

anyway back to the point:

for myself, writing is very little about writing from my perspective, usually it’s about taking an idea and spinning it into a story. the way I write my fics is honestly not much different than I write my own books — except the main character (in this case, reader) is not described much and has a more flexible personality / background. i never self insert myself into stories and even reading fanfiction, it’s more for the story than anything else. just to give some context for my writing process.

I personally would never write a fic about a character is underage engaging in adult acts in fanfiction, that’s just my personal preference. I enjoy writing characters who are older — usually college age and up. I don’t really enjoy writing romance that involves high school or younger, because media is saturated with that (re: every teenage romance show in existence — riverdale, teen wolf, etc). but this is about taking a character (who in this present day would be of age) and placing them in a setting where they would be of age, with other characters who are of age and, in my fic’s case, the exact same age.

I don’t see a problem with taking a character and imagining what they are like older — they are fictional, they do not exist, they do not have rights, they don’t even have a consciousness in any way— and placing them in an environment where they are older and do things that older people do. I see no difference in this and than an author doing a timeskip and showing what the characters are like when they are older. I assume wouldn’t have a problem with this if we ever get designs or a timeskip in JJK, like how the haikyuu fandom did. There’s also a difference between that in RPF, which I’m not a fan of, and aging up real people who are minors — that’s a whole different story since those people actually exist. I understand people’s outrage and want to protect minors from these depictions of them — but I don’t understand why in the case of fictional characters where they don’t exist in a vacuum, AUs exist where people literally make them into eternal beings, monsters, royalty, etc — why it’s a problem to put them in a universe where they are of age and have grown up and get to live normal lives as adults, including engaging in adult acts. Because we see this all the time done in media and also we see minors depicted to engage in adult acts in media today — in books, TV, movies, etc. while I’m not okay writing fiction (fics or not) about that, we cannot lie and say it doesnt happen every day.

now this also leads into censorship in literature and media, which is a major issue all over the world, including the USA (where I live). obviously some things in literature are NEVER okay in real life — but if we start censoring certain things because they aren’t okay in real life, what will come next? we can’t show murder because it’s not okay irl? we can’t show assault because it’s not okay irl? some of these things yes, shouldn’t be depicted gratuitously in fiction, for no reason, but at the same time, once we start drawing this line, it becomes a slippery slope. soon, we can’t show violence at all in fiction — which sometimes it’s necessary for the story you’re telling. for some others, depicting these acts in fiction is a safe way for them to process their trauma — dark romance fiction in general has seen a rise, especially on TikTok, and I think we all have read or seen things that characters have done in a tv show or book or fic where we’re like maybe that’s hot in that fictional setting, but if someone real said that to me, I’m calling the police (see the trend on TikTok of people quoting fictional men saying ridiculous things that have people kicking their feet but in real life would have you putting them in jail). but fiction is a safe way to explore these things without any danger. and that’s okay!

also censorship is used as a dangerous tool to make people ignorant and it’s easy to draw a line where violence shouldn’t be depicted to ‘let’s ban these books because they depict violence but also other things we don’t want people learning about’ — like the book ban that plagues the USA — from books about genocide, slavery, etc.

I think fiction should be a place to explore ideas, even ones that are uncomfortable. And that doesn’t mean I’m saying that means its okay for pedophiles to write creepy things about underage girls. I think we can all agree that’s not okay and that’s a straw man’s argument at best because we’re not talking about that. We’re talking about aging up a fictional character and placing them in an environment with other like aged characters.

Are we going to stop people from writing murderers in fics / literature because we’re afraid it will cause them to murder? We have to be able to distinguish between what is reality and fiction — just because I watched a show about a fictional killer, doesn’t mean I’m going to go murder people. If other people can’t, then they shouldn’t be reading fiction and should be seeking professional help.

For the context of my yuji fic that’s been catching a lot of heat because of this, it’s a childhood best friends to lovers fic. it’s a reader who grew up with yuji, came to college and ends up in a friends with benefits with him, only for her to fall for him. The actual act of sex is just used as a plot device — the point of the story is them falling in love, and reader seeing yuji in a different light. People who are in college have sex (for the most part) it’s a part of adult life and growing up (again for the most part).

overall, we’ve all seen this discourse time and time again — and it’s just a matter of preference at this point. this is why people have tags and warnings — if you don’t like it, just block the person or don’t read it. it’s as simple as that. people are never going to agree on this issue. and everyone is entitled to their own opinion as long as it’s not hurting anyone or themselves. and if all of this sticks to the fictional world, I don’t see a problem

I completely respect your right to have your own preference/opinion on this, and I hope you can do the same for me! thank for being so respectful!

(Also others who disagree with me, just block me. Don’t send me asks, don’t send me hateful messages, don’t try to argue with me, don’t tag me in rude posts — just block me or ignore the post).

this is going to be my last post on this issue. I don’t like to make this blog about discourse. I hate discourse. This is my hobby. It’s for fun. If I wanted to have an argument, I’d go pick a fight on twt. so please don’t bother. I like the discussion, it’s important. But I don’t want to argue pointlessly.

[greatqueenanna]

I've noticed that a good portion of people who dislike or downright hate Frozen 2 are Helsa/Hanna/Hans fans. I've legit seen these fans get angry at the charades scene or the part where Elsa destroys the snow memory of Hans meeting Anna and call it 'bad writing.' Like they've seen the first movie, right? I admit I like Hans as a character too, and Helsa is a guilty pleasure ship of mine but I never got mad at any of those scenes. I'd stopped following some Helsa blogs I liked because of the negativity they were spewing when the charades scene was posted and got nasty about the sequel before & after it came out. I seem like a rare case of a person who likes Hans but not getting all Surprise Pikachu Face whenever Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf, or anyone takes a jab at him and rightfully so. I get he was likely abused by his brothers as a child but Hans still made his choices. None of his brothers forced him to try to kill Anna & Elsa.

Is there something I'm missing here?

I can’t speak for an entire fandom, only on what I’ve seen from mutuals and my own experiences.

From what I understand, the silent majority of Hans fans don’t actually care about how F2 portrayed Hans, and mirror your sentiments. They just ship Hans with their preferred sister (or Kristoff) and engage in fan content, not caring too much about canon. I find that I’m more in line with this side of the fandom, and enjoy Helsa content away from canon.

For the loud minority that try to make canon a huge deal— I think that there’s quite a bit of layers when it comes to this.

These fans are defensive because a lot of them were heavily bullied and insulted back in the day for liking the character and shipping him with other characters. This defensiveness manifested into being spiteful towards any interpretation of Hans as a villain, or when he is made fun of.

F2 has Elsa, of all the characters, disregard Hans in a pretty big way. She says she finds him irredeemable, and destroys his memory with disgust. Most of these Hans fans lean for Helsa, so this was like the writers were adding salt to the wound by making Elsa essentially reject him as a person.

Canonically, this obviously makes sense. The person Elsa loves more than anyone or anything is Anna, so naturally she would hate the man who hurt her sister.

However, from a fandom perspective, one that has been hurt and bullied in the past for this same reason, this was like a rude awakening and an insult from the writers.

The basic point is that this fandom basically wants validation for their ship or for liking Hans, due to years of bullying from other fans, rather than thinking about what is canonically relevant. A redemption arc and ship confirmation would be the ultimate validation. Because F2 didn’t give that validation, it made them bitter for the sequel.

Again, I can’t speak on the experiences of every person within the fandom, but from my experiences since 2013 and the experiences of mutuals from then until now, this is typically the problem.

[fractualized]

I totally see where you're coming from with how you like your mix of comedy and seriousness and I think I'm really similar! I can definitely tolerate a lot of cheese but I'll almost always consider it a one off situation. I recently rewatched Batman and Robin while my wife was making a cast of my body so we could make cosplay and it was just so funny and silly that like it reminded me of what one of those really campy comics would look like in real life and I respected the fact that they could commit to it that way and make an artful movie that brought that to life but there were a few elements that didn't make sense to me like Barbara being Alfred's niece that I was just like whatever man and I knew I couldn't like... use it as a foundation for my basis of characterization, like I can with other media! I really love the animated series too, I grew up with it being my first experience with Batman and I always really respected it as a medium that I could trust to be satisfying and whole. I also really really liked Batman beyond because it felt like the closest continuation of that story even though I know it's really not canon and it kind of doesn't work, I like to view it as like a semi-official what if fan fiction from the original writers lol

I completely get what you mean about the comics, cuz I kind of view official comics like fanfictions even in their own right? I mean when you think back on like Bill finger and Bob Kane like eventually every other writer is going to be writing fanfiction of their characters but it's really fun to go through all the different Batman media and see whose stories you kind of like more and then whose stories you kind of tend to avoid

and when I mentioned I knew you liked comics, I was also speaking more from the perspective that you seem to have more knowledge about them Rather than I thought you had a preference for them, because you put together that comic PDF with batjokes moments and I was really impressed with that ☺️

i love your telltale fics and the games as a beautiful breath of fresh air into the life of batman so sometimes I like to imagine the animated series would be a great way to say where is juce 10 years later, if those universes were more cohesive setting wise lmao

Yeah, Barbara randomly being Alfred's niece is definitely one of the aspects of B&R that just… I guess it breaks up the campiness? That and Ivy being in love with Freeze for no discernable reason. And teaming up with him even though he'll kill her plants. And poor Bane! And then that weird bit at the end where Freeze is sort of forgiven but Ivy can't be? And Alfred almost dies. Should taken all that stuff out and added more camp.

I really enjoyed Batman Beyond too! I didn't even realize a lot of people didn't like it until recently. Honestly it's one of those things where I don't look into the reasons too much. lol I liked it and I'm fine with having liked it, no notes!! (OK I sorta lied. That bit in JLU where they made Bruce Terry's bio dad, that was bizarre.)

I am definitely in the "anything not created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane might as well be fanfic" camp. Like, sure, if DC puts resources behind a project, it has a better chance at being worth your time, but when I get down to it, I can't put a lot of weight behind the idea that someone's official derivative story is more valid than another someone's derivative AO3 post just because there was a cash exchange with a company that owns the original "asset." People who want to lean into that idea, that's their business.

The wild thing about the batjokes spreadsheet is I know that it's only a fraction of what's out there. I have read hundreds of comics at this point and I still feel like it's not enough to totally have a handle on things. Especially knowing how little I've retained. 😅 But that's another reason for the spreadsheet!

Thank you for enjoying my fics! And for implanting the idea in my head of a Telltale universe animated series… Just hijinks and maybe a little more murder with John and Bruce, bestest buddies.

[roydeezed]

Chainsaw Man-Chapter Round-Up(Chapter 124)

Asa needs to stop being so damn relatable. Forget Patrick Bateman and Travis Bickle, Asa is the poster child of “literally me” now. Okay, enough joking around. Because this week’s chapter was an emotionally resonant capstone to Asa’s journey. The reason it’s so relatable is because Fujimoto earned it. Had she just come out and said these words would we have understood her as much? Maybe. But it would’ve been a soundbite to a character. Now it’s a defining moment.

And that’s because at the base of it all is Asa and Yoru’s relationship with us and each other. It begins with the core concept of lying and dramatic irony and ends with acceptance. We as the audience knew Asa had been lying. About pushing everyone away and her loneliness. And Yoru knew it when she took over. And Asa even knows it. But she lies to herself and everyone around her and refuses to admit it. Even her internal monologue was lying at the beginning. The change began after she thought she was stood up. She started to talk to Yoru about her feelings, for the first time really letting someone in, but eventually landing on wallowing in sadness and self-pity. It wasn’t until she was faced with the mortifying ordeal of trusting someone that she finally accepted her fears and acknowledged them. That’s why it’s so impactful, because it’s real and earned and gets to the heart of the fear of letting others in.

But then we get to the other side of the coin. And that’s Yoru. She’s been lying as well. As much as she doesn’t want to admit it, she cares for the girl she’s taken over and the life she’s started to lead. But for now she can hide behind a facade of self-preservation that Asa never could. Asa’s hurt ran so deep that she would’ve rather died than trust another, even someone sharing her own body. But we’re beginning to see those barriers break down as the two accept each other. 

And that gets us to acceptance. That’s what a big part of Chainsaw Man is. Acceptance. That’s the only way you overcome your fears. Denji accepted the fear that Makima didn’t love him. That’s why he was able to win. And then in eating her, in a very Chainsaw Man type of way, he accepted her again. And in semi-adopting Nayuta, he accepted her again. Chainsaw Part 1, from Denji’s perspective, represents all of the outside factors that stand in the way of our acceptance. Asa’s story is about our internal struggles in regards to acceptance.

Now jumping to another moment in the chapter, a strong moment that also jumped out to this sleep deprived brain, I want to focus on what Asa does right away, to stop them from dying. She hurts herself to stop focusing on the pain. It’s immediately pointed out as the wrong strategy as it leads to mistrust between the two, but it is another facet of acceptance. Focusing on other things, focussing on the pain, compartmentalizing, those are all valid strategies to not feel the fear, but it only delays the inevitable.  It only prolongs the suffering until acceptance. It only hurts in other ways.

Once again, these Chainsaw Man chapters are centered around one central moment in the chapter while other things simmer and begin to boil in the background. While the chapter focused on Asa’s emotional revelation, we also get Yoru getting closer to Asa and doing her damndest to save her while the Falling Devil plot advances.

[disneymbti]

heyyy !! could i request one for emperor kuzco kronk and if no one's already asked? thanks :)

Hi there, Mikey! I really hope you like this a lot!

Emperor Kuzco's MBTI Type, Big Three and Enneagram Type

MBTI Type: ENTP [The Debater]

As extroverts, ENTP types have higher levels of energy and love being around other people. They tend to avoid being alone.

They are more interested in the big picture than on specifics and details. They love solving complex problems and have a great sense of intuition. 

Debaters make decisions based on logic. They care less about what makes people happy and more about what’s right.

They dislike schedules and routine, preferring to keep their options open. They love surprise experiences and challenge the need for rules and regulations.

Big Three: Leo Sun, Gemini Moon and Aries Rising

Leo Sun: The Sun rules the sign Leo, which is why Leo Suns all about ego, will, and character. They’re known to be creative, playful, and bold.

Gemini Moon: Ruled by winged messenger, Mercury, Gemini Moons enjoy discussing their complex feelings with others in order to gain a mindful and clear emotional perspective.

Aries Rising: Aries ascendants are known as the go-getters of the zodiac. They don’t let anything stand in their way of achieving their personal goals.

Enneagram Type: 3w4 [The Expert]

Basic Fear: Enneagram type threes with a four wing are afraid of failure. They tend to throw themselves into their careers and do anything it takes to succeed.

Basic Desire: Their most basic desire is to succeed and feel valued. They may show this by seeking validation of their hard work and successes.

Experts defend themselves by adapting or changing their personalities to fit their environment. This makes them great communicators, but may also lead them to being misunderstood or feeling fraudulent.  

Kronk's MBTI Type, Big Three and Enneagram Type

MBTI Type: ESFJ [The Consul]

As extroverts, Consuls are talkative, energetic, and thrive around people. They prefer not to spend too much time alone.

Highly observant, their focus lies more on the details than on how everything connects together. They trust facts over theories—and they make decisions based on what they can see right now.

ESFJs are feelers who prioritize emotion rather than logic in their decision-making.  Empathetic and diplomatic, they do what feels right rather than what makes sense.

They’re structured and organized, preferring to plan ahead so they know what’s going to happen. They like rules, processes and schedules.

Big Three: Libra Sun, Pisces Moon and Sagittarius Rising

Libra Sun: Libra is ruled by the airy part of Venus, making them bon vivants, critical, and artistic — as well as forever stylish.

Pisces Moon: Pisces Moons are hyper-attuned to the needs and emotions of others. They're likely to predict what's on your mind before you even say it.

Sagittarius Rising: Sagittarius risings are jovial, optimistic, and full of energy. They sparkle with confidence, and you can't help but sparkle back when you're around them.

Enneagram Type: 2w3 [The Host]

Basic Fear: Enneagram type two wing threes fear being unwanted or worthless. They usually avoid this by building personal connections with others and working hard to meet the needs of the community.

Basic Desire: Their most basic desire is to be loved and accepted. They may express this by being extremely attentive and attached to other people.

Hosts tend to suppress their own negative emotions, which, when done frequently, can lead to high levels of stress or unexpected outbursts.

[thesherrinfordfacility]

hi! i love reading your thoughts because they're often so different from my own, but i wanted to ask you something about crowley and the way the abuses he's suffered at heaven/hell's hands have manifested in him. specifically, in his avoidance/tendency to flee as a means of protecting himself & aziraphale. i think it's rather unkind of fandom to just jot that all down to cowardice and to constantly criticize him for "running", esp when in never actually follows through on those threats. (part 1)

good morning nonnie!!!✨

sure thing, more than happy to discuss and at least put down my own thoughts! first thing im going to say is that whilst this is a recurrent theme throughout the whole show, ep6 feels like the pinnacle of everything re: crowley's trauma, and as i said to someone else recently, the reason why i find the Feral Domestic™ so delicious is because it is so well written. these are two characters that are having their own one-sided conversations, even if the dialogue matches up and fits coherently; they chronically misunderstand each other, are both crumbling under the things not being said, and each time you watch it, you can see things from the other's perspective and think that they are in the right. suffice to say, to my mind, there isn't necessarily any right way to interpret it, and all interpretations are valid!!!

let's talk crowley; i mean, you're right - it's not cowardice by the definition of the word. crowley doesn't lack bravery, but the way he manifests that bravery is very different to aziraphale's. i feel in this particular dilemma, personally, aziraphale had the right of it (fighting for change, however it may have come across to crowley, and however naive) - mainly out of the projection that i think it's the logical, most meritable action to take, if successful would actually mean they can be potentially be together in peace, and i would probably have done the same thing. now, we can surmise that that's not at all how it'll go down, and it certainly doesn't mean at all that crowley's reaction is wrong.

i do feel that sometimes the fandom does gloss over crowley's more... problematic... tendencies, and justify it by his trauma. his actions borne out of that trauma are understandable, they hold water, but they're not excusable. again, personal interpretation, but i can't rationalise some of crowley's actions out of anything than avoidance and a maelstrom of harmful, emotional internalisation - manipulating aziraphale/tempting him to kill adam/warlock, keeping key information from aziraphale especially that directly affects aziraphale, his saviour complex going too far and not only robbing aziraphale of some agency by doing so but it resulting in aziraphale believing it's necessary to make crowley happy, his superiority complex (aziraphale has one too, i will add), his habits of putting aziraphale down during stress/desperation... again, we can trace these all back to elements of his trauma, but it doesn't justify them.

that to me is a kind of 'running away'; it isn't that he's a coward and won't face up to the trauma in any meaningful way - it's not a question of a lack of bravery - but that he's so avoidant of examining that part of himself and his history that it holds him back from healing, and in doing so, i think, he possibly expects and anticipates aziraphale to live in that pain with him. maybe because aziraphale is a comfort to it, a balm that lessens the sting? maybe because he needs something to make him feel better about himself? idk, but whilst all things i can empathise with, one of the first things i saw in that scene is that crowley seems to think aziraphale should have remained in that inertia with him, kept the status quo, run away together. and when it turns out aziraphale truly belongs outside of that pain and doesn't want to live in it... well, put very over-simply, crowley couldn't handle it.

crowley is not at all wrong for running from his trauma. it was and is, by all inference of the material we have so far, incredibly painful, and possibly even shameful and humiliating and lonely. but in the same way that humans who don't reckon with their trauma are not lesser for not dealing with theirs by avoiding reconciling with it, it doesn't fix anything to do so. fix is the wrong word actually - it doesn't help at all to keep being in that pain. and it will usually result in it hurting those around you too, those that you love and love you in return. and bearing in mind - whilst aziraphale is smart enough to definitely know at least the general impact the fall had, and how heaven had treated/harmed crowley in the events that followed, crowley's never actually told aziraphale any of it (as far as we're aware). he even downplayed it to aziraphale - "sauntered vaguely downwards"... aziraphale is smart, but he is likely to take crowley's word at face value in this respect.

ultimately you are completely correct; it is not at all fair for anyone, aziraphale included, to expect crowley to return to the source of his pain. we know that, we know that the suggestion of returning, of being restored, must be inconceivable to him. but does aziraphale know that? how can he possibly know the full depth of why crowley won't return? beyond saying "they're toxic", and "when heaven ends life here on earth, it'll be just as dead as if hell ended it"... both of these reasons for rejecting the offer, bear in mind, are reasons why aziraphale wants to go back - to change it! it's fixable! he can resolve that! but if crowley had said, "i can't go back, it's the source of all pain for me and i want nothing to do with it"... im not entirely certain that aziraphale would have left.

can't also disagree with you that aziraphale isn't manipulative in his own way, because he absolutely is! aziraphale is equally a little shit for it throughout the entire show! but i truly don't think this is the scene where he's trying to be, or even is - i think he truly sees the offer as a way in which crowley could be happy again, create in utter joy like he did in the pre-fall scene, be shown respect and a means of apology for making him fall... it's meant, to me, out of love and devotion to crowley as a person, this good and kind person that he loves, and wants to facilitate in his happiness as aziraphale believes it could be. now we know that that would never be the case, and it's incredibly naive and reductive for aziraphale to assume this... but does aziraphale? it's not an action or offer made out of any superior or malicious intent, imo, but a way that aziraphale can protect crowley and they can be together without needing to run away... something that aziraphale only considered once offered the power to restore him.

i could talk a little more on crowley physically running away, especially how it's depicted in the book vs. show, but i think my answer is likely to get completely unwieldy if i do rn! but hope that maybe goes some way to at least depicting my understanding of what happened... again, i don't think any interpretation is necessarily wrong, and until s3 comes around and these two buffoons actually talk to each other, we won't know for sure!!!✨

[hanako-san]

whilst no one is forcing you to dislike yashiro your stance on and mindset towards her frustrates me as someone who’s favourite character is also hanako

whilst this is purely assumption it seems to me that you developed a preconceived bias on yashiro initially and now you prioritise less substantial aspects of her characters typically comedic gags as who she is rather than looking at her from a wider perspective especially from the points which may refute your viewpoint ( e.g her relationship w hanako)

i think yashrios development is extremely evident with her relationship with hanako and a large part of her character is infact learning to form a genuine romantic connection w someone in a place which may unexpected and her journey to defying shallowness and making an effort to truly understand someone she claims to love which she has done with hanako which i think holds more merit towards her development rather than comedic gags which reference her idealistic and lovesick nature

yashiro’s own naivety and weakness towards ‘ hot guys’ stems from her own insecurities, you could interpret her weakness as being less about hot guys and being more about her desire to be validated and loved which she pins onto hot guys ( look up the halo effect ) in hopes that she will find this within them leaving her more susceptible to being easily manipulated or taken an advantage of due to the state of mind she has found herself combined with her pre-existing temperament

these aspects of yashiro which i’ve already stated clearly have strengthened and developed due to her experiences of love in the past contributing to her insecurity. This does not undermine her relationship with Hanako but rather it elevates the positive aspects of it and is a clear testament to yashiro’s development across tbhk, yashiro has made it abundantly clear that she loves hanako even if at some points it’s clear she’s in denial or she comes aacross as shallow. Whilst yashiro is obviously still portrayed comedically as having a weakness for hot guys her love for hanako is not obsolete because of that, if yashiro felt that Hanako was not “ good enough for her “ I do not think a lot of the events in the manga would have occurred infact Hanako’s own poor communication and selfishly selfless actions and Yashiros response to them are indicative of her deep love for him.

anyways this is lighthearted and coming from someone who loves hanako v much it’s just my primary point is that tbhk’s comedic gags w yashiro r most often comedic gags and not indicative that yashiro feels any lesser abt Hanako as the manga highlights again and again just how much yashiro cares abt him

Anon, it frustrates me that you come to me and complain about what I write on my blog and it's really none of your business. I'll tell you something you should know: Not everyone will like/love daikon and he has the right to express positive and negative, no matter how many times I have to repeat it? You don't want to change my mind, but you are writing me an essay here, which to me is nothing more than your waste of time.

And I will say only one thing. I hate everything about her, not just the way she treats Hanako. Hanako IS NOT the reason I hate her. The reason is YASHIRO NENE! To me, she's a piece of shit, annoying and pathetic, and does nothing other than be a whiny brat feeling sorry for himself.

My love and respect is over and you realize that Yashiro Nene is not a character that everyone will love and has anti-fans?

"halo effect" what does this prove? Is this supposed to be her defense? I know what it means and I stand by my opinion. Her weakness for boys is not the only accusation against her, there is more, but in short. I hate everything about her.

So stop getting frustrated here because I honestly don't care. This is my blog and my business. I respect your point of view, fine. We won't agree here, but respect my will, my opinion and my choice. It's okay if you don't agree with it or it upsets you,black me? I don't care. I'm being unfair to you, to her or whatever, but it's really my blog and I have the right to write whatever I want on it.

There are different people in fandoms. Everyone likes and hates a character and has the right to express their opinion. I don't deny that I can be gentler with her later or love her again. I do not know. It all depends on AR how it will continue with her, but I'm tired of waiting over 100 chapters and I feel like I saw the same girl in chapter 1

Block me if I'm bothering you. And please understand that Hanako, daikon, teru, akane, aoi and other characters will have anti-fans or people who simply don't like them, because that's what it is and everyone has the right to express their opinions and point of view and hate/criticism.

[autumn-foxfire]

It still surprises me that people take Scaramouche’s perspective of betrayals as fact. I’m not saying that his feelings on what happened after being hurt many times are not valid. They ARE. It just baffles me how people are willing to take his warped perspective of reality as truth. His past experiences were only betrayals from HIS perspective. He chose to use anger as an unhealthy coping mechanism and using that as fuel to keep going to fulfill his own goals at the time.

The only betrayal that was actually real was Dottore manipulating certain events to make sure that the puppet would end up in the hands of the Fatui.

Regarding the matter with Ei, it was more a case of miscommunication and misunderstanding. Deeming him unfit to hold the Gnosis, she instead sought to free him and live his life the way he deemed fit rather than dispose of him. Scaramouche obviously didn’t see it that way. Yes, he’s allowed to feel negative emotions towards his creator, and Ei certainly could have done far better at getting her message across at the very least, but to call it a betrayal is a bit of a stretch in my opinion.

Then there’s the matter about the sick child. Scaramouche was still hurting over his perceived betrayal by the person he trusted most and was obviously not prepared to handle another loss. Besides, that child was young and innocent, and he probably believed that he’d be able to stay with him and be a family together despite his illness, but did not anticipate that he’d be leaving so soon. And because Scaramouche did not have anyone else to go to for comfort, he was forced to deal with his own emotions by himself, which didn’t really go so well. To him, the child breaking his promise was an act of betrayal. But we, the audience, should know that this is a one-sided perspective.

I didn't know people did? For the most part, the betrayals weren't actually betrayals, one was framed as one by the Dottore and the other was called a betrayal because of the Wanderer's trauma from the previous betrayal and loss of everyone important to him.

I will play devil's advocate on Ei though. I wouldn't say it was just a case of miscommunication and misunderstanding. Ei did abandon the puppet she had created, who saw her as a mother. She created a life and than gave it no direction and left to wonder why he had even been born.

Now, Ei didn't mean for her actions to come across that way as she too was suffering from the heavy trauma of losing everyone she held dear to her and was seeking a way to avoid dealing with that. She was in no way in the right headspace to act like the mother her creation needed but to leave him the way she did wasn't the correct choice either. It's tragic and I can't help but wonder if it would be similar to giving up your child for adoption, though in this case, Ei left him by himself and not with the support of others that he needed.

I can see why you wouldn't want to call it a betrayal in that case as it touches on a subject that most people would find controversial. I think regardless though, the Wanderer would have felt the string of abandonment and that's something that can't be helped.

It's sad that we'll probably never get to see this rift heal and for Ei to reflect on these actions and the affect it had on her creation but it's also true that sometimes the best way to heal from hurt like this is to move forward and cut that person from your life. It's why I'm not to upset about the direction of the interlude quest though others are.

Honestly I can sum up the behaviour of all these characters with the word TRAUMA.

[egg-emperor]

Heya I just finished Sonic Frontiers and while I was trying to avoid spoilers, I did think of you when it came to the Eggman stuff in the game. I can definitely understand why you would be disappointed in the direction they went with with his character in the game. I don't mean to come off as trying to argue against your take away or say your feelings are wrong at all, how you feel is totally valid, but I just wanted to say when it came to how my interpretation of it was:

to me it felt like Eggman having a view of himself as Sage's father felt like it came from a place of his typical narcissism and psychopathy. There's the Egg Memo where he looks down on the idea of creating life as "just a bunch of proteins bumping together" and that the life HE created is so great and awesome because HE made it. It felt like almost like self deification or something. HIS creations, and his method of creating them, are superior to the genetic accidents of nature. He even kind of comes across as thinking the idea of procreation via sexual reproduction is sickening to him.

When he says he's proud of Sage it's like saying "I'm so proud of the new song I just put out" it's not like you're saying you think the song is doing a good job. It's an expression of self pride. He's literally saying he's proud of the thing he created, he's proud of HIMSELF. Anything she accomplishes is a reflection of his own genius. And in the end he's still willing to let her sacrifice herself without hesitation. There's no emotional second guessing or doubt, he just says "yup, go do it, I know you'll succeed (cuz I made you and I'm awesome)." That's just how it came across to me anyway.

I mean Eggman's usual ego tripping is still present all over the game. In the Egg Memo where he mentions Maria, he literally says "why was everyone so head over heels with Maria when I'M THE REAL STAR OF THE SHOW HERE!" And when he teams up with Sonic on the last island he does so under the rationalization of inducting Sonic into a part of the Eggman Empire and then ORDERING him to go collect the chaos emeralds. It felt on brand to me anyway.

Like I said I definitely get why you would come away from it feeling sour. Hopefully the idea that Eggman is canonically a DILF now is comforting? (I was making a lot of "I call Eggman daddy too" jokes during the final stretch of the game >.> )

I appreciate the understanding of my feelings about it. It's nice and refreshing to have someone finally present a different perspective without insulting my intelligence and denying the knowledge I have about Eggman and raising some actual points.

Your interpretation is definitely one of the few accurate ways I feel it would go if they wanted the dynamic to exist at all and I'd really like to believe it was the case and intention with it. And it actually almost would've came off that way to me as it mostly felt one sided from Sage only on an actual genuine sincere level, if it weren't for the weird parts of the memos where Eggman called her "the best" and acted like he sees her as an actual being and family, and how the final scenes tried to make it sad and dramatic and imply sincerity on a deeper level than pride in a creation.

He should've just said something typical like she's his greatest creation yet, so he's especially clear that he's praising himself as creator because he'd never say any other being was "the best", as they imply he sees her as a person rather than AI. They almost got that reflection of ego in it right in the memo about being able to create life and the superiority of him being the creator and I liked that (and how it can be interpreted as aversion to actual sexual reproduction lol) but again, the implication of seeing her as more than an AI and like family doesn't feel right to me.

His selfish thoughts on Maria (aside from the weird questioning of if Sage was like her because why would he care) and how he acted towards Sonic with his childish stubbornness in needing to feel he was still getting his way by ordering Sonic for the Empire are my favorite parts and this interpretation would've fit in perfectly with them. I can see him saying he's proud and she's his greatest creation yet for her loyalty like he has with other creations and yeah, everything he praises and is proud of is actually just reflecting pride in himself as her creator no matter what.

But calling her the best and seeing her as anything more than artificial and even as family made it seem too personal and sincere. There were memos that seemed to be going in the right direction but took weird turns, and especially in the final scenes as if they wanted us to believe that he suddenly saw a creation as important beyond serving their purpose, saw her as a person and family, and cared about someone in any way since he seemed upset to let her go and lose her, rather than just disappointed like simple line changes would've done.

And that's what bothers me most about it really, how it feels like they got so close to getting it right at multiple points and it kind of seemed that this interpretation was the real intention and I love it- but then the implications of thoughts of being like family and caring for "the feels" had to be abruptly forced into the memos and final scenes and ruin it and made him seem like Mr. Tinker with Belle to me, instead of anything the real Eggman would think and feel and act. But just small adjustments to the English dialogue would've changed everything.

It makes me feel better to try to think of the scenes with this interpretation in mind but I feel like that's not what they were really trying to go for with those weird parts that stick out and feel ooc in particular and I'm sad about it because it would've been so much more accurate this way instead. But it's been done in a way that has people thinking he might suddenly stop being evil, actually has a soft caring side, is genuinely a family man, etc and it really irks me. It was already bad and overexaggerated enough in fanon when it wasn't part of game canon and it's about to get worse.

In a way yeah being able to call game Eggman a dilf now too is one good thing that I could take away from it but also he's my daddy, back off Sage >:( lol