#the writers aren't playing games and I respect that

[undead-moth]

#THANK YOU#I HAVE BEEN SAYING THAT SINCE I FUCKING READ IT#THERE ARE GRAMMATICAL ERRORS A FUCKING FIFTH GRADER WOULD CATCH#GOD FFS#ESPECIALLY FOR SOMEONE WHOSE WELL READ LIKE MANGIONE#his ass did NOT write that

Re: your tags,

I've been dying to really break this down:

“To the Feds (1) (6), I'll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly (3) that I wasn't (6, From this point on, they cease to use contractions) working with anyone. This was fairly (3) trivial (4): some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, a lot of patience. The spiral notebook, if present (2), has some straggling (2) notes and To Do lists that illuminate (2) the gist of it (1). My tech is pretty locked down (1)(3) because I work in engineering so probably not much info there (1). I do apologize (2) for any strife of traumas (4)(6) but it had to be done. Frankly (3), these parasites simply had it coming (1)(3). A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy. United is the [indecipherable] largest company in the US by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, Walmart. It has grown and grown, but as (5) our life expectancy? No the reality is, these [indecipherable] have simply (3) gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allwed (5) them to get away with it. Obviously (3) the problem is more complex, but I do not have space (1), and frankly (3) I do not pretend to be the most qualified person to lay out (1) the full argument. But many have illuminated (2) the corruption and greed (e.g.:(6) Rosenthal, Moore), decades ago and the problems simply (3) remain. It is not an issue of awareness at this point, but clearly (3) power games at play (1). Evidently (3) I am the first to face it with such brutal honesty.”

(While there are many strange components of this manifesto that are reasonable to question, such as what I listed in the op, for this I'm going to focus exclusively on the writing and not the content.)

1 and 2. The blending of conversational language with uncommon elevated, formal or academic language (some of which is usually reserved for creative writing).

Throughout the manifesto, the writer blends conversational language with extremely uncommon formal or elevated language. If the manifesto had been exclusively conversational, I would have thought this was a strange choice, but it wouldn't have raised any red flags. If it had all been written in academic language - which is scarce in this - I would have thought that made sense given Luigi has a master's degree, and in a STEM field no less. It would be a strange choice for a manifesto, but only because people who write manifestos aren't typically engineers, and it seems possible to me that a manifesto written by an academic might sound more academic than the typical manifesto. If the entire piece had been written in elevated and formal language, I would have thought that was bizarre - but its consistency would have simply made me come to the conclusion that this must just be how Luigi is.

But it's not consistently any of these styles of writing. Granted, academics in real life might blend conversational and elevated or academic language together due to the fact that both kinds of language are understandable and relevant to them - but writing in that style, on the other hand, is unusual. By the time you're a master's student you've become accustomed to modifying your writing accordingly. You keep your homework or scholarly writing academic, your college and job applications formal, and your tweets conversational. The only exception would be if it was for some reason unavoidable, or if you knew whoever was going to read that writing would be familiar with and okay with every style.

Whoever wrote this didn't choose to write this way for this reason. This strange blend of overly formal language like "I do apologize" (what century are we in?) and extremely conversational language like "pretty locked down" and "to lay out" comes off as someone who is trying really hard to sound educated but is either incapable of elevating all of their writing in a typical way or doesn't have the ability to recognize conversational language. Especially when extremely uncommon words like "illuminate" (an elevated word that may give the impression of intelligence or education, but when used figuratively like this would only ever be used in creative writing. The same is true with "straggling.") are used twice in one manifesto that's less than a page long, right beside extremely recent colloquial phrases like, "I do not have the space," it suggests the writer is trying to write outside of their league. In fact, "illuminate" is so out of place here and would be so out of place even in academic writing, that my immediate assumption was that whoever wrote this was using thesaurus.com or Grammarly to find replacements for words the writer didn't think were elevated enough.

Even though the writer is making efforts to sound educated, it’s obvious this isn't a person who has ever combed through their paper for unacademic writing. This isn't a person who has ever had to code-switch for their profession. This isn't a person who is used to using elevated, formal or academic language. This is a person who thinks the way beginner writers in academia do - they often think to add elevated elements to the writing, but it doesn't even occur to them to remove unelevated elements from the writing - the latter of which is arguably more important in academic, professional or otherwise formal writing.

3. Extraneous Adverbs

This is one of the most well-known tell-tale signs of a writer who is new to academic, professional or formal writing. Rookie writers use these extraneous adverbs as a crutch. Though they add virtually nothing to the content of the writing, they create the allusion of elevated language. Every single extraneous adverb in blue above means essentially the same thing (which, within the context each is used, is: nothing, lol), and if removed, wouldn't change the meaning of the content. The use of the word "pretty" is colloquial - I could possibly see someone choosing to purposefully use "pretty" in this way regardless of the nature of the writing (academic, professional, creative, etc.). "Obviously" and "Evidently" are also more justifiable. They come closer to adding meaning that wouldn't otherwise be present. "Obviously" comes with such emphasis I can see it being appropriate to use in a manifesto. If only these extraneous adverbs had been included, I probably wouldn't have thought anything of it.

But when they're included right beside "plainly," "fairly," "simply," "frankly," and "clearly" - all of which mean essentially the same thing, all of which add nothing - they once again give the impression of someone trying to sound educated, much the way Freshman students in their first ever English comp. course do. It's especially egregious to me that "frankly" and "simply" were each used twice, in a manifesto less than a page long. Luigi attended the University of Pennsylvania - that is an Ivy League school. I find it extremely hard to believe that Luigi's professors would not have beaten this habit out of him well before he ever attended grad school. Of course, this isn't an academic paper. If Luigi had written this, he could have chosen not to follow that writing expectation - but if it was something you were already accustomed to avoiding, why would you suddenly decide to add it again?

4. Nonsensical Use of a Word

(To me, these errors are the greatest indicator that this couldn't have possibly been written by someone with a master's degree.)

It appears whoever wrote this thought the word "trivial" meant something other than what it means. I think the word the writer was looking for was "brief." The obvious, much more common and equally appropriate word would be "short." "Trivial" does not make sense. That is not how that word is used. It's not just a strange use or uncommon use of the word - it is an inappropriate use of the word. When I read it, I again got the impression the writer was possibly using thesaurus.com or Grammarly and one of the two suggested "trivial" could replace the word "short." Both thesauraus.com and Grammarly lead writers astray in this way - they find words that are adjacent in meaning but aren't actually appropriate substitutes for one another. It seems plausible to me that "trivial," meaning "simple," is a word in close enough proximity to "short" (things that are short are often simple) that thesaurus.com or Grammarly recommended it as a replacement and the writer was unable to recognize it wasn’t a good recommendation. Or it could also be that the writer closely associates "trivial," meaning "simple," with shortness, and didn't realize that they aren't actually related. Either way, it's a nonsensical use of the word "trivial."

EDIT: I misread the sentence that used “trivial” and based my analysis on my misreading. The use of “trivial” does actually make sense.

The other example of a nonsensical use of a word is "strife." The word "strife" here is being used like a container for another noun, which would require it be followed by the word "of." There are many words in English that can be used in this way - "The book of Mormon," "The school of rock," "The house of cards," etc. When a noun is used in this way and followed by "of" it is indicating that whatever noun follows the "of" is something being contained within the initial noun. The word "strife" is not a noun that can be used in this way. Once again, it is not just a strange or uncommon use of the word - it is an inappropriate use of the word. In the former example ("Trivial") the implication is that the writer doesn't know what that word means, but in this example, the implication is not that they don't know what the word means, but that they don't understand how nouns can and can't be used grammatically in the English language. I want to be clear that I'm not knit-picking a dialect here. This isn't like trying to tell someone that their AAVE is "improper" because it has different grammatical constructions than "standard" English. I'm also not just knit-picking unusual linguistic expression. This isn't like Yoda talk in which someone is speaking in a weird but nevertheless coherent way. This isn't inappropriate because it's "improper" according to "standard" English language rules - it's inappropriate because it has the potential to impede meaning, which defeats the very purpose of writing. What the fuck are you saying? I know it is one small segment of the manifesto, but it is quite literally nonsense.

When I see nonsensical usage like this, and in a manifesto where obvious efforts to sound educated and intellectual were made, I can only assume that the highest level of the writer's education is high school. There is no way someone with a master's degree wrote this. Someone with a master's degree likely wouldn't make these this mistakes, especially not the second one, which is so bizarre because it's not an example of something missing or mixed-up, which are the types of errors I would expect to happen from time to time even for a grad student - but an example of something being added. It can't be explained by the writer forgetting to include something or getting something confused with something else - it can only be explained by a genuine incomprehension of the grammar.

5. Typo (Except it's not because the manifesto was handwritten???)

This is a manifesto. It's not only the writer's message to the world, but it's likely the last message they'll ever get to send the world, and they would know this. This is the writer's one shot, right? Given how perfect the literal shots were in this assassination - why wouldn't a manifesto written by an educated engineer be the same? Or at least much closer to perfect than this? This manifesto is less than a page and there are two "typos". I can't stress enough how impressively bad that is. Whoever wrote this didn't spare this manifesto a second glance. Didn't even skim over it after writing it and it is less than a page. For reference, in academic writing, you would probably be expected to have two typos total in ten or more pages. Two typos in less than a page is beyond egregious.

It is also just fucking weird that something that was supposedly handwritten has two mistakes in it that are basically only ever typos? When typing, it's common to mistype "has" as "as" or miss a letter in a word like "allowed." But errors of this particular nature aren't common in handwritten writing? In fact, they're extremely rare? What...? What happened there?

6. Missing and/or Improper Punctuation or Grammar Errors (that I personally feel don't have any plausible deniability - there are technically many improper uses of punctuation and grammatical errors in this, but they are either so commonly used as to not be worth pointing out or generally accepted as correct even though they technically aren't. I'm not focusing on those because it seems plausible to me even a grad student could make those errors accidentally or even with purpose.)

Capitalizing "Feds" is probably excusable. I unthinkingly capitalize significant, but not technically proper nouns all the time. But it's only done to "Feds," and so I almost wonder if the writer legitimately believed they needed to capitalize it.

Choosing to use the contractions "I'll" and "wasn't" before ceasing their use for the rest of the manifesto is not technically "improper" but it's fucking weird. Generally, a writer, especially an experienced academic or professional writer, would be consistent except in situations when a contraction isn't appropriate to use, or when only a contraction is appropriate to use (such as in a sentence that ends with "it is." You would never end a sentence with "it's."). There are also places in this manifesto where it was very strange not to use a contraction because the words being used in that context are generally almost always made into a contraction. "It is not an issue of -" in particular, really stands out to me. What I find telling about this is that writers new to academic writing often make the incorrect assumption that it's unacademic to use contractions. Students will sometimes avoid using contractions in an effort to make their writing - once again - sound more elevated than it actually is. This thinking bleeds into other contexts too - newbie poets sometimes refuse to use contractions, for example. If Luigi had actually written this, I would expect him to have used contractions throughout, because someone with a master's would have long ago learned that there isn't ever any reason to avoid contractions in virtually any kind of writing outside of for stylistic reasons. If the entire manifesto had avoided contractions altogether, I may have considered that for whatever reason, Luigi just doesn't like using contractions. But whoever wrote this fucked up when they kept "I'll" and "wasn't" in the first two sentences and avoided contractions from then on. Even if the contractions were interspersed, I would have considered that it might be as simple as personal style or writing on autopilot. But whoever wrote this tried and probably thought they eliminated all of the contractions, and probably did so under the incorrect assumption that avoiding contractions would make their writing sound more elevated, and therefore more educated, but because they personally only have a high school diploma at best, they had no way of knowing they were getting it backwards.

The word "trauma" is pluralized in this manifesto. The word "trauma" is ordinarily an uncountable noun, as in, no matter how much "trauma" there is, it is all still just "trauma." However, it's similar to "water" and "fish" in that there are specific instances in which the uncountable noun becomes countable. Generally, no matter how much water you have, it is water - unless you are talking about different regions of water, then it would be appropriate to say "waters." Likewise, no matter how many fish you have, they are all still fish - until you're discussing multiple distinct species of fish, then it's appropriate to say "fishes." "Trauma" is a word that also operates like this. So it technically can be pluralized - but the thing is, it's a word that would likely only ever be pluralized in academic writing or scholarly literature. The word "traumas" is specialized, field-specific, and few people outside of people actually studying or researching trauma would have reason to say "traumas." Regardless, this is not an instance in which "traumas" is appropriate to say, and once again, this is a mistake that is not the result of missing something or confusing something - it was something that was added. This demonstrates a genuine incomprehension. In this case, I'm guessing it was pluralized not because whoever wrote this usually pluralizes trauma, but because in this sentence, "trauma" is the thing being contained (inappropriately, nonsensically) within "strife" and while the person writing this doesn't comprehend this grammar fully, they comprehend it enough to know that the noun being contained is often plural, and they kind of just instinctually added it. It's not uncommon for inexperienced writers who are also fluent English speakers to have a familiarity with some English grammar, but due to not being taught it in the overt, purposeful way English learners are taught it, nevertheless aren't really sure how or why or when to apply that English grammar. The result of this is that they sometimes apply that English grammar needlessly based on a gut feeling, not genuine understanding of the need for its use.

Lastly - and this is what stood out to me the most after the nonsensical use of "strife" - whoever wrote this has placed a colon after "e.g." The abbreviation "e.g." is used frequently in academic writing of all kinds, including STEM. Depending on the context, it is appropriate to precede or follow or both precede and follow "e.g." with a comma, but never a colon. A master's student would know this. An engineer would know this. Anyone who has ever had to do any academic writing or professional research would know this. I think whoever wrote this thought "e.g." is followed by a comma - because whoever wrote this is not someone who has ever had to type and turn in something with "e.g." written in it.

Whoever wrote this manifesto was, over and over, making every effort to elevate their writing and make themselves sound educated and intelligent - all while making tell-tale mistakes that expose them as someone who maybe has a high school diploma. Because they aren't an experienced writer, they didn't have any way of recognizing these mistakes, much less realizing how thoroughly these mistakes expose their inexperience. Even if they had sat down and made thorough revisions, they would have only been able to make the writing marginally better, because they would not have the literacy necessary to notice the weaknesses in their writing. I know a manifesto is not academic in nature. I'm aware that somebody with the writing skills of an educated engineer could choose not to elevate their manifesto to something more academic, professional, or formal. My argument here isn't "This doesn't resemble an academic paper so there's no way an academic wrote it." My argument is that even when an academic chooses to write something that isn't academic in nature, this is not what it would sound like. If Luigi had written this with the intention of being conversational, this is not what it would sound like. This manifesto makes mistakes that aren't appropriate in any kind of writing, and includes stylistic elements that are extremely common, textbook signs that the person who wrote it was trying to make their writing sound more elevated than it is, and by extension, make themselves sound more educated than they are. They were trying to make this manifesto academic, or at least elevated, knowing Luigi has a master's degree and that if Luigi wrote a manifesto it would sound like it was written by someone with a master's degree - but the writer failed because they definitely don't have a master's degree. There is zero doubt in my mind that a cop wrote this.

The one piece of evidence I’m 100% sure was planted is that manifesto. Like even setting aside that manifestos are generally released before the crime, generally addressing the people they’re meant to threaten or enlighten and not cops, and generally you know, widely distributed online and not just carried around physically in case of an arrest that we have reason to believe was unwanted and unsuccessfully but intentionally avoided - there is just no fucking way you’re going to convince me that someone with a master’s degree wrote that lmao. Whoever wrote that manifesto would struggle to pass an undergraduate English gen. ed. course.

[lets-try-some-writing]

Finally got around to reading and catching up on the Skybound 2023 comic.

I was not prepared.

[seffyriath]

okay here is my weird take about what emet-selch might have done regarding zenos and whatever "experiment" was going on

Joke answer: he's a dragon stuffed into a human body

serious answer: it's the same as the joke answer but longer and explained in an incoherent way.

i think we've been given hints about what the fuck was going on with Varis's Large Adult Son even after endwalker, but i need to reference other things to do that, so let's break it down:

-We have been given more insight into how Memories and Souls work and interact in this setting, especially after Dawntrail. We know that it's possible to implant memories onto a soul that didn't originally have them, and it works fine if you have the technology to do this

-Emet-Selch's whole job involved souls and the lifestream

-We've seen Athena also bring back ancients, in a temporary way, by reconstituting soul stuff and grabbing the memories for those ancients, since souls and memories are essentially different kinds of aether. if you've played FFVII at all, you already know this. one would assume that Emet-Selch would manage reconstituting souls a lot better

-there are some memories that are so powerful that they are blasted or etched into your soul, which is why some faded memories can stick around from past lives

-We know that Emet-Selch was seriously thinking of a way to bring the ancients back without rejoinings, and this was probably attempted via his literal large adult sons and their descendants.

-dragon's souls, as far as we know, are unsundered.

-fitting with the Sephiroth and Jenvoa parallel, they are also canonically aliens

about Zenos:

-the devs have said that he was "born wrong" and that's why he's like that. this seems different than "born evil" because Lyse assumes that this wasn't the case, and that's not the normal philosophy for the game. characters have been wrong before, but if he was experimented on, this is likely referencing Sephiroth, who was also born wrong on purpose, as a joke, via tampering in the womb

-people in the world still have vague, ephemeral memories of the ancients, but Zenos is different. Zenos has upsettingly visceral memories of the final days but he also views the world like the ancients do, particularly regarding accomplishing your life's purpose and then dying right after as a positive thing. this is why his actions at the end of stormblood do not read as suicidal to not just me, but the characters. they're really confused about why he does this! Zenos acting the way he does seems to be the answer to why the ancients tried to emphasize a more communal existence, because what happens when the most powerful motherfucker on earth is also a prince in an extremely hierarchical society? you get Zenos

-However, Zenos also follows the rule of beasts and is much more beastlike, similar to dragons. Dragons aren't evil, but they have extremely different cultures and views than humans, because they're functionally immortal and don't need to reproduce. they are power manifest, and can easily take over an ecosystem. Midgardsomr's covenant with Hydaelyn most likely prevents this, but the point is that dragons are pure power, and that's what they respect the most. like Zenos, although being raised as he was probably made this even worse

-Zenos seems pretty dysphoric, but it doesn't seem to be directed at any gender. he's stated that he doesn't care about his name one way or the other, and that he only wants his body back from Elidibus because of how powerful it is. he otherwise doesn't seem to care about normal human experiences, like human food or sex, or just companionship in general with other humans. as far as food goes, he's the only villain to do this, as the writers tend to get into what foods the characters like in the lore books, even the villains. you can't really say that this is just the product of being a royal or someone in power. even Thordan has a favorite food, and even Varis had a childhood friend, who we've actually met.

-both in The Hunt Begins and in general, Zenos actively wants to be able to use and manipulate aether. this is odd, since Garleans are constantly told that magic is evil and bad, but Zenos goes out of his way to try to do this, including piercing himself with a crystal where the aether exchange could kill him. this could be because his great grandfather is a sorcerer of eld. it could be because dragons not being able to use magic would feel extremely unnatural to him. why not both?

-He seems. REALLY excited when he transforms into Shinryu. like, weirdly excited. i get it, it would probably own being a dragon, and you could say that he was just really excited about fighting the wol the first time, but this has happened twice now, and every time he almost sounds like Susano with how excited he is. it's a total fucking mood shift. also in his last fight he still keeps the Shinryu attacks. since it's in a place that's ruled by emotions, one has to assume that he's attached to them

-He literally has a horde (of weapons)? i know we don't see a lot of FFXIV dragons do this, but Vrtra has a horde that he uses as a bank. what's up with that.

-He doesn't really have a coda yet, and while i don't think he's going to be brought back, or that he NEEDS to be brought back, the wol seems like they're just starting to be comfortable with thinking about what Zenos's deal is with enough time and distance

-how d. how did he know that dragons can just lay eggs like that. yeah he could have READ about it but like. how did he figure out how to do that in the fight. and why. why did he just doooo thaaaat.

IN CONCLUSION i think that in a bid to try to bring ancients back into the world through unnatural means, Emet-Selch took the closest recently dead unsundered soul he could find at the time (a dragon's), imprinted some of his memories onto it (as one would do when making the convocation crystals) and put that shit in a baby. thanks.

[gartenofbanny]

Morally, gray characters are those with complex motivations or goals that aren't simply right or wrong. One of my favorite morally gray characters in fiction is Jason Todd from DC. The second Robin that Batman failed to save, who ended up dying at the hands of the Joker and resurrected by Ra's Al Ghul.

Given a second chance at life, he comes to a revelation that villains should NOT be left alive. Villains, especially the Joker, have caused the suffering of thousands of people, as said by Jason Todd in Under The Red Hood.

Leaving villains alive will risk more innocent lives and graveyards to be filled when it easily could have been prevented.

But there is an opposite argument that does have merit to it. In DC, there is a crook turned superhero named Plastic Man who, after multiple chances, turned his life around for the better.

At the end of the day, Jason is ending a human life. A life with the potential to convert and change for the better. They're capable of changing, but it's a risky game to play. This is what makes Jason Todd a morally gray character. You understand his motivations, and depending on who you are, you agree or disagree with his actions. There is no easy answer for a topic like this.

So, what about Alastor? Well, he's just not a good person at all. Does he do some good things? Yeah, but he mostly does them in exchange, which will benefit him. He doesn't do anything out of the kindness of his heart (if he even has one), nor does he do stuff, which he believes is right.

So, as always, this blog will be separated into two sections listing the reasons why I don't believe Alastor is morally gray, starting off with status.

Alastor is an Overlord who makes contracts with other demons to get them to submit their souls. Alastor has many souls in his possession, including Husk, and he holds all of them in for power. Immediately, this is not what a morally gray character is. I have yet to see a morally gray character who enslaves other people just to further their goals because that's just what an evil person would do.

And it's not like Alastor had no choice or did it for the greater good or did it to simply defend himself. He ambushed Overlords, took their souls, and broadcasted their fucking screams across Hell to show the denizens of Hell that he means business. He wants people to be afraid of him or respect him for his power.

Secondly, there's just him as a person. He genuinely sucks. Everything he does, he usually does it for himself or because he's told to by a higher power. He helps Charlie just so he could watch the Sinners fail for laughs. He helps Vaggie with the commercial so he wouldn't have to make one ever again. He makes a deal with Charlie in exchange for a favor he'll likely use to his advantage in the future. All of these "kind" actions are usually in exchange for something else, he doesn't do anything out of the kindness of his heart just to further his own agenda.

And if you really think about it, Alastor contributed very little to the hotel despite making a deal with Charlie that he would help her. They only got one new patron, which was Sir Pentious, and it stayed that way for 6 months. Apparently, Charlie, Vaggie, and Alastor suck at their job if they can't bring any new members lmao. And no, just because a villain did something nice for once doesn't make them morally gray.

Thanos helped an old lady cross the street just so he could ruin some woman's life, that definitely doesn't make him morally gray.

Morally, gray characters are complicated, and that's what makes them interesting. Alastor isn't complicated. He's just a power-hungry psycho who eats people and wants to have fun. He's the perfect example of simplicity.

Just because Alastor will potentially be a morally gray character or complicated character in the future doesn't mean he is one now. And I say potentially because the writers of Hazbin and Helluva like to set things up with underwhelming payoffs. But that's a future blog for a different day.

In conclusion, Alastor is not a good person. He's a bad guy, and just because he's the protagonist doesn't make him any less evil or any more good. Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you all have a good one. ❤️‍🔥

[habitual-truant]

"Naoto isn't trans! Kanji isn't gay! You obviously don't understand their character arcs at all!"

I'm allowed to be critical of the homophobic and transphobic narratives that are in persona 4. Obviously in canon kanji is straight and Naoto is a cis girl, but it pisses me off when people decide to say "you don't understand their character!" because I do. I KNOW Kanji's arc was about toxic masculinity. I KNOW Naoto didn't like being a girl because she wasn't treated fairly and taken seriously for it. I KNOW they aren't queer. But they should have been.

Throughout persona, a person's shadow has been some part of their unconscious mind, the exact part varying from game to game, but the general consensus being that it's the part of the self that's unknown for whatever reason. In persona 4, its the part that is repressed and rejected. Characters defeat their shadow and gain their persona from accepting that their shadow, a manifestation of the things they hate about themselves, is in fact a part of them. It's not exactly the same for Kanji and Naoto though. Kanji's shadow is the result of internalizing what others say about him as the truth, and Naoto's is the result of rejecting what other people think of her, and repressing the reasons why they think those things. Unlike the other characters who's shadows entirely come from their own emotions and thoughts, Kanji and Naoto's shadows come from how other's perception of the two affects them.

Kanji's shadow is a "gross pervert" that lusts over men. Based off of the other characters and how they defeat their shadows, you would think he has internalized homophobia, and that by accepting his shadow, he accepts being gay. But, its the opposite. Kanji accepts he's straight despite liking feminine things. He accepts that he's NOT gay. I understand the intentions. I know his shadow was the way it was because he was accused of being gay and made fun of for liking girlish things, and he internalized it. I know his arc is about toxic masculinity and unlearning it. But Kanji was attracted to men before his arc. He all of a sudden magically becomes straight after accepting his shadow. "But he had a crush on Naoto, who ended up being a girl!" Yeah, I understand. Doesn't change the fact that Naoto presented as a boy, and was completely socially transitioned. At that point, Kanji had literally no reason to think that Naoto was a girl, he completely saw her as a boy. The writers backpedaled on his attraction to boys. It implies being attracted to the same sex is something you can change, and that it's worth changing. Not to mention, his entire arc is played off as a joke. his shadow is a "pervert queer" because its "haha funny" for a masculine man to like men. It's a mockery.

Naoto's shadow isn't nearly as insulting, showing the main focus of Naoto's arc; nobody respects her as a detective because she's a teenage girl. However, Naoto herself says she doesn't like being a girl when her shadow reveals the fact that she's a girl. Yes, it's because she's ridiculed and disregarded because she's not a man, but she's still uncomfortable as a girl and actively chooses to present as a boy, even after gaining her persona. She is undeniably transcoded, at the very least, before she accepts her shadow. She accepts that she's not taken seriously, that she IS all the things that people look down on her for being, and that she IS actually a girl. Again, while not doing a complete 180, the writers back out of Naoto wanting to be a boy. Even though her arc isn't as abysmally insulting as Kanji's, it still sells the narrative that trans people need to accept that they "aren't trans, just pretending,"

No matter how you look at it, the "moral of the story" for both Kanji and Naoto is that being gay or trans isn't something you should accept about yourself. Both Kanji and Naoto have queer themes in their stories, even if the writers backed out and effectively gave the opposite message. They're queercoded, end of story. For us queers to reject the homophobic + transphobic themes and decide "no, actually these characters ARE gay" is completely reasonable. Who are you to tell us that we aren't allowed to reject the honestly disrespectful writing from a triple A game franchise? Why wouldn't we dislike the way the characters are written? And why do you only complain when its the two characters that are so close to being queer rep?

I 100% understand and respect people who disagree with the headcanons, but those who mock and make fun of people who do consider Kanji and Naoto to be queer? That's something I can't accept.

TL;DR: People choose to interpret Kanji and Naoto as queer because of the queer themes in their arcs. The same themes that the writers completely backpedaled on, and ended up implying harmful things on instead.

[lillybearrie]

Hello I would like to remind everyone that the first (technically second if you wanna get really technical but who cares) thing we heard from fable was

"Release Me,

You are free of Enderian, now focus on purpose"

Directed at Icarus

"Now focus on your purpose"????? WHAT HAPPENED TO "HI" "HELLO" "HOW ARE YOU MY SON"

BECAUSE NEWSFLASH SIR THAT'S NOT HOW YOU TALK TO YOUR FUCKING CHILD

THEY AREN'T A FUCKING ROBOT TO TAKE AND CARRY OUT YOUR ORDERS THAT'S YOUR GODDAMN KID!

PEOPLE TREATED SEVEN WITH MORE FAMIARITY AND RESPECT

no offense to seven great guy rip man BUT STILL

Anyway on to actual analysis

After reading this note, several deductions can be made about our antagonist's character right off the bat, which in season 3 we see to be accurate assumptions

First of all the sending of the note "release me" constantly at the beginning of every reset presumably for the past several ones gives us a base line of a few things A) whoever wrote it is trapped B) they really want out C) whomever was to recive the note presumably can help with this D) this person is either very angry and resorting to formal wording as a form of passive aggression or they are simply a very formal person Had this not been the case they would have written "let me out" or "get me out" or even "help me"

Now for the post-corruption portion

"You are free of Enderian"

1) this person knows Enderian 2) This person knows at least of Icarus 3) They intentionally have been sending these to Icarus 4) despite being trapped they have some way to know what is going on 5) their particular view of Enderian is not favorable it's not overtly antagonistic however this is the one part of the not that can be read as at least partially sympathetic to Icarus

Finally "Now focus on your purpose"

1) they don't see Icarus as anything but a means to an end 2) tone wise it feels like both the chastisement of a child and an order to an unthinking being 3) "your purpose" seemingly refers to the prior statement of "release me" either implying that the writer believes Icarus is only here to get them out of wherever they are or that Icarus's sole purpose in life is to aid and assist them and 4) the use of "now" after the previous statement implies they view the corruption arc as simply something that was inhibiting the progression of them being let out

First off once again SIR THAT IS YOUR CHILD YOU MOTHERFUCKER-

In conclusion deductions that can be made from this note with the knowledge that i now hold are as follows: Fable wanted out of purgatory, they issued Icarus with the fulfillment of this task and saw the corruption arc as merely a speed bump on the road of getting his ass outta there. Fable is a pretentious douchebag. Like everyone else in his life Fable is constantly using his own son as a means to achieving his end goal.

Other notes:

Had Fable's motivations not been his underlying obsession with keeping what he believes is "his" even when it disrupts and disregards the rules of the universe and the sanctity of life he likely wouldn't have given 2 shits about Icarus.

If we view Fable's interactions with others through the lense of him thinking of those of the overworld as "his" his people his creations his world then it starts to become clearer that he only sees individuals as tools and for their potential usefulness to him. And if we want to take this view even further we could even say that he at least on some level viewed Alerion giving a place for his deceased mortals to restate something akin to how a child views their sibling stealing a toy from their room, which then implies that the war of the gods is just a big temper tantrum where Fable hurt his brother then his other siblings stepped in and went "hey woah man not cool you can hit Al dude he is literally just playing the game" to which Fable's response was to hurt them as well and now he's just got out of timeout and basically started blaming his parents for everything wrong in his life which is so silly goofy of him until you remember that these were people he was upset about his brother "stealing" from him and it becomes less silly goofy.

"But Lilly!" I hear you say because you've totally read this far, mhm definitely "If he doesn't actually care about the dead people, then why does he act nice? Why is his charisma stat so high?" Well to that I say is it easier to keep someone in one spot when you make them believe this is where they wanna be or when they know the whole truth?

[total-drama-brainrot]

Assistant Noah AU, since Noah isn't a contestant, Ezekiel takes Noah's place as a member of Team Chris...

Ezekiel doesn't lose the stick, so there's no eliminations in the Egyptian Episode...

Ezekiel had become Lindsay's and Beth's platonic BFF, and now has a new better respect for women...

Ezekiel is also a bit smarter, and somehow sees through Alejandro's tricks...

How would Alejandro honestly feel about Ezekiel? 😉

I'll take any oppertunity to "save" Ezekiel from his canon treatment, and having him substitute onto Team Chris in Noah's place is a great idea.

But I don't think Alejandro would like him at all.

You've got to understand; Ezekiel is the equivalent of a very misguided, very lost puppy. He's not exactly sure what's going on at the best of times, and after Island his response to the culture shock between his homelife and his life on reality TV is to adopt a fake "cool" personality from whatever pop culture he's managed to consume... which only serves to make him more insufferable to the people around him than his clueless farmboy demeanour ever did.

Had he retained his pre-Total Drama personality and naivety, then Alejandro would tolerate him, if only as an exploitable pawn (much like Tyler). But it's repeatedly shown in canon that Ezekiel is unpleasent to be around by design. He's talkative and outspoken at the worst times, oftentimes with opinions that aren't exactly palatable, he doesn't understand the concept of personal space and acceptable social behaviour, he smells bad, ect ect. Pair this with him mimicking the stereotypical "rapper" demeanour, and you have the perfect foil for Alejandro's nice guy act.

Because Alejandro is very many things, but patient isn't one of them. At least, not in the context of being around people who annoy him. Just look at his canon relationship with Owen; if he couldn't stand to be around Owen of all people, then he'd really hate Ezekiel.

That's not to say that I think Ezekiel is a hateable character. Quite the opposite, really. He's so interesting to think about from a writer's standpoint, since he has a surprising amount of characterisation for a character who spends the majority of his screentime feral and non-verbal. Just enough to base characterisation on, and just little enough to expand upon in whatever way you'd like and not have it feel out of character.

In the given scenario, I'd have him form a friendship with Owen and and Izzy (by this point in the series he's been educated on how his father's mindset is very outdated and toxic, so he's more than happy to befriend a girl). The two of them aren't concerned with things like "coolness" and social acceptability, which would be a huge part of Zeke's character arc in this season - learning how to accept himself for himself, instead of trying to conform to his skewered perspective of what the media deems "hip".

Pairing this with the somewhat limited but amicable relationship he shares with Lindsay on Team Victory, and the intangiable but nonetheless just as impactful influence of Beth who's stuck on the Aftermath, and suddenly Ezekiel has a whole support system of genuinely kind people who can and will help him learn the ropes of modern society. (Give Ezekiel Friends 2k24‼️)

A direct contrast to Alejandro, who's whole deal is presenting himself as a perfect, infalliable person who doesn't really form any friendships. (Unless you count Heather and maybe Courtney?)

See here's where the two of them play the role of "contrasting narritive foil" for each other. Alejandro and Ezekiel are both fueled by their need to prove themselves by winning, but their methodology is entirely different; Alejandro's game plan is to be as fake and perfect as possible whilst sabotaging the competition and inadvertantly isolating himself, and Ezekiel is just doing his best to play fair whilst learning how to be the most authentic version of himself in the proccess with the help of his friends. (Something something the power of friendship...)

Something to note here: Both of them are trying to prove themselves to their families. Alejandro's trying to prove he can be more than second place (to José, or just in general), and Ezekiel is trying to prove that he can withstand the challenges of the world outside of his family's farm (which he never got the chance to, given he was the first boot of the previous two seasons).

As for Ezekiel being "smarter" and seeing through Alejandro's tricks; I'd like to veto that idea and offer you this instead.

Ezekiel has gullibility and naivety practically woven into the threads of his character, so of course he'd be in the same boat as Owen and Tyler. That is to say, he'd initially be one of Alejandro's most staunch defenders, since he doesn't have the intelligence or the instincts to see past his fake exterior, as Ezekiel isn't worldly enough to know how to spot a fake.

And that's exactly what causes Alejandro's downfall.

As stated before, Ezekiel is annoying by design. Pair his enthusiasm with an idolisation towards Alejandro (for being an objectively strong competitor, or whatever reason you want) and you've got the perfect recipe for Alejandro to blow up at Ezekiel once his already negligable patience snaps. Probably in a scene similar to the confrontation he has with Owen in the Amazon.

All of a sudden, Ezekiel has seen Alejandro's true colours and the rose-tinted glasses he's been blinded by come shattering to the ground - and the knowledge that's been painstakingly imparted onto him by Lindsay and Beth comes into play. Alejandro is a bad guy, just like Zeke's dad.

From then on, Ezekiel is hesitant around Alejandro. Quiet, uncharacteristically so. The sight of unapologetically loud and obtuse Ezekiel being subdued (scared?) of Alejandro has the other contestants beginning to question his performative geniality. If Zeke of all people doesn't trust him, it must be a bad sign.

[ririya-translates]

Kokuto Neji's Story

Translation of Neji's concept art short story (original) for his birthday on March 22nd. Story by Shin Towada (JJ lead writer and Ishida's sister). Art by Lownine. Much like the others, there aren't really any spoilers as it's at the very beginning of the game before the first play.

The stage is a gigantic machine. Jacks and Jeannes are the gears and I'm the mechanic who assembles them all.

The darkened room is lit solely by a clattering computer with light strong enough to rival the midday sun. The bookshelves along the walls are crammed tight beyond usual capacity. The remaining books that couldn't fit have been turned into a fort on the floor. "Hmmm." Out of that pile, he easily picks out a book while holding a cup of coffee in his other hand. The one craning his neck towards the computer screen is the owner of this room. He's a third-year at Univeil Drama School. Working under somewhat special circumstances, he's the leader of Quartz: Kokuto Neji. His classmates include the Quartz Al Jeanne, Sarafumi Takashina, and Jack Ace, Kai Mutsumi. Taking liberal advantage of Univeil's culture of respect for personal autonomy, Neji doesn't just write and perform. He's able to act as both a Jack and a Jeanne, using his many talents to bring the performance together. Even now, he's in the middle of making preparations for the newcomers' performance. His eyes dart around as he scrolls through the screen. He's fidgety inside his head. For this reason, a knock at the door rings out unusually strongly.

"Yes, yes, come iiiin!" As Neji snaps back to reality, he opens the door with a feeling of anticipation. "Thanks." Behind the door stands a person with pale skin and soft hair. So soft it's as if the colour has faded and dissolved. This utterly adorable person raises his eyes towards Neji. "Why on earth would you call me over here then ignore me? I have things to do too you know." The edge of criticism in his voice gives a very different impression from his outside appearance. "Sorry about that, Shirota!" Mitsuki Shirota. He's a second-year, one year below Neji. As one would expect from his looks, he's been assigned to female roles as a Jeanne. "Honestly, I didn't think you'd actually show up." Shirota's eyes grow sharper as he speaks without hesitation. "Using a first-year as your carrier pigeon, what kind of excuse is that?" Neji had casually requested one of the brand new Quartz students to send Shirota to his office. "Well weren't you the one who told me to stop asking Kai to do things?" "Obviously. You shouldn't be using our Jack Ace for your trivial errands." "Right, so instead I asked this new person to be a pinch hitter." "I said to stop doing that too. Ugh, what do you want?" "How did that kid get you to come here? What kinda trap did he use?" "…You called me here for no reason didn't you. I'm leaving." "Hey, wait!" As Shirota turns to leave, Neji holds out both of his hands as if to say 'I'm sorry, I'm screwed up!' Shirota's expression darkens, recognizing that Neji hasn't reflected on his actions one bit. "So? What do you want?" Neji prefaces his words with, "I guess I messed up a bit," before finally cutting to the chase. "What is your impression of the first-years?" Shirota furrows his brow. "You asked Fumi and Kai this too, didn't you?" "You're right, I did!" He had asked both Fumi and Kai the same question. "If you have answers from both the Al Jeanne and Jack Ace, that should be enough. Why do you need to ask me too?" "What are you talking about?! You're our Tresor. You're our flower too!" Tresor is the name for Univeil Jeannes with strong singing abilities. The title suits Shirota perfectly. His outstanding vocal talents add vibrant colour to their performances. It's popular with audiences too. "I am glad you're with Quartz still though. I know you're pretty in-demand with Rhodonite." Shirota stays silent at the mention of that name. Univeil is divided into four separate classes with their own special traits. As the "transparent" Quartz class, they are primarily made up of inexperienced performers who have yet to find their true colours. This could put the class at a disadvantage, but really there are quite a few who enrol brimming with hidden talents. Quartz gives them the space to let those talents free. The content of their performances are tailored specifically for the current state of the class. The songs, dances, acting, all of it.

In contrast, classes like Onyx and Rhodonite have clearly defined colours. Powerful Jack dancers are the main selling point of Onyx, whereas Rhodonite pushes the dazzling singing talents of their Jeannes front and centre. Considering Shirota's abilities, it wouldn't be strange at all for him to have been sorted into Rhodonite. Actually, Rhodonite's class leader is pretty taken with him. But whatever class you look at, all of them are desperately aiming for that top spot -- now more than ever.

"So? What do you think of this year's new students?" Neji's tone of voice drops for the first time in this conversation,"You know it won't be good if things stay as they are, right? What with Amber and all…" That's the name of the fourth Univeil class. But it's hard to act as if the others are on equal ground with them. Shirota seems to grasp the weight of these words. He grips the sky blue tie around his neck as he appears deep in thought. He finally opens his mouth. "…There are three people I noticed," he says bluntly. Starting with Person 1. "Orimaki. I don't know how he got into Univeil with his singing skills so low, but his voice is strong and direct." Onto Person 2. "Yonaga. Him being as he is, he's a late bloomer who's constantly nervous about how he even got into Univeil. But he also thinks twice as much about the meaning of each song. That being said…"

Shirota's immediate answer suddenly hits a pause. "It's possible both of them just got my attention because they aren't very good." "In that case, they should consider themselves lucky you graced your eyes on them." Neji jokes then stares at him intently. "And the third person?" Mitsuki sighs at being asked for his final answer. "It's the one you made into your little carrier pigeon." A voice deep in Neji's heart whispers 'I knew it.' "So then, does our carrier pigeon also have a glimmer of sparkle out of a mountain of problems like Orimaki and Yonaga do?" "No, that guy is…" Shirota hesitates a moment as he chooses his words carefully. "I still don't know yet." "You don't know, which means…?" "Exactly what I said." He speaks as if to say he will give no further comment on the matter. "Is that enough for you now? I'm leaving." Having finished what he was asked, Shirota heads for the door. "Ah, one last thing! How did this pigeon get you to come over here?" Shirota is the type who prefers not to group up with others in class. He keeps a distance between himself and other people. He's not the type someone could easily convince by just asking outright. Even moreso if it comes from a student younger than him. "……" Shirota responds to Neji's hastily thrown words with silence. He opens the door to leave. That's as far as we're getting today, is it? "…It wasn't anything special." Neji's mood suddenly shifts at the sound of a reply he didn't expect to ever hear. "I was just taking a short break during practice and he came up to me and said 'Neji was asking for you'." A surprised 'ohh?' slips out of Neji's mouth. "So in other words, he chose when to make the request based on timing that would work for you?" There are times when Shirota is busy singing of course; however, there are also a lot of times when he appears to be doing nothing, but is actually busy arranging music in his mind. Figuring out the timing of when he's truly taking a break is no easy task. Even aside from the music, there are times when he doesn't want to be hassled with having to talk to someone. Using this understanding of his quirks, that carrier pigeon was able to start up a conversation. "Isn't that actually quite special after all?!" Neji says with a nod of admiration.

Upon hearing this, Shirota restrains himself from turning around and calling him a bald-faced liar. "This was all part of your plan, wasn't it?" His eyes sharply say, 'You haven't fooled me.' "Turning him into your carrier pigeon worked out just as you planned. Getting me to show up here and to name him as one of the students I noticed. You already knew all these things. It was just a ploy to confirm them." Shirota states his assertions strongly. Neji grins. He keeps up the act that there's no hidden motive behind his actions, but it smells like a lie. Shirota's face fills with disgust. He passes through the door, speaking as if he cannot bear to be around Neji any longer. "Please don't use me as a ruler for measuring other people." He shuts the door immediately to not let the conversation linger. "My my, Shirota is quite clever isn't he." Listening to the footsteps fade into the distance, Neji stifles his smile. "But regardless, the fact that pigeon was able to navigate this sense of distance with Shirota shows he might have quite a number of uses." This could be precisely reflected on-stage too. Neji's mind overflows with so many different ideas at an intensity that could give birth to a whole other world. "However, the 'I still don't know' part is there too. Fumi and Kai said the same thing." It seems difficult to learn the true nature of this bird. Even for Neji, there's many things about this younger student he's still unable to grasp. "The stage is a gigantic machine. Jacks and Jeannes are the gears…and I'm the mechanic who assembles them all. What shape will these talents take? Just watch and see." Neji takes a sip from the coffee he's been holding all this time. It went cold ages ago, but in this moment it's just what his body needs.

[randomfoggytiger]

My thoughts on the Chris Carter discourse.

I think I sit on the fence regarding the gendered violence issue in The X-Files. Yet, I also recognize CC's shortcomings-- pouring his energy into being a provocateur rather than a coherent show writer.

**Note**: Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. This is mine.

The show's violence against women isn't skewered in a sexist, one-way direction to me: gendered violence is perpetrated against both sexes equally; and the male cast and crew even joked about Mulder constantly getting beat up or tortured during CC's mytharc episodes. Not only that, but children and men as well as women are kidnapped or abducted and raped (or mind raped) and tortured and killed in equal measure.

The problem begins and ends, I believe, with Chris's ego. He views his show as a SHOW, not a beloved series cherished by fans. To him, Mulder and Scully and their children are literal paper dolls he created and played (plays) with like the Sims-- lighting them on fire, putting them through insane or ridiculous scenarios, and always resetting them back to normal at the end.

The "problem" is, the fans do not see Mulder and Scully as Sims models (pardon the references, got into the game lately) but as living, breathing characters with blood, sweat, and tears poured into their portrayals. Gillian took the role seriously and wanted it to make sense; and fans felt her passion and dedication, and honored the years she put in at her own inconvenience (over and over.)

David doesn't mind following CC's creative vision-- he views art differently than GA, and that's just fine, too. The difference is (I believe): Chris Carter honors David's viewpoint because it aligns with his own; but sloughs off, ignores, or discredits Gillian's because it opposes his.

Chris Carter has an ego (he does, it is what it is); and that rubs audiences the wrong way when they contrast his actions towards DD (letting him read scripts earlier than Gillian, likely knowing David'll give a "wow, interesting" rather than outright critical remark) and GA (who sacrificed a lot to come back and was pretty much ignored every step of the way, even now.) David shrugs off what Chris writes for his character-- which is fine, that's his prerogative-- while Gillian does not-- which is also fine, that's her prerogative. Chris, however, does not treat them equally.

I say this not to hate on Chris. I dislike him, but I respect the characters, show, and world of The X-Files. All things being fair, it was his brainchild.

However: every person that will ever exist has their own perspective, feelings, and emotions regarding what they do or don't love. Fans and Gillian wanted The X-Files to make sense, to honor its characters, to craft an unforgettable journey between two unforgettable characters. Chris Carter did not-- which, again, is fine. But where he continues to fail is by throwing jabs at perspectives other than his own.

Because when you create a timeline that makes no logical sense (powered by plot twists that also make no logical sense) and expect your lead actress and fans who have spent time and energy and money on your franchise not to give you criticism or express their disappointment (and even anger)-- and, further, imply they "don't get it" or aren't "real fans" because of said criticisms-- then...

That's where you (Chris Carter) have a problem.

[bloggingboutburgers]

Going anon because my icon is an In Stars and Time spoiler:

Not gonna go into detail since you said you're playing the game but I still wanted to lay your worries to rest. Aromanticism and asexuality aren't explicitly named, true, but the scene is crystal clear about it. The dev said they took extra care to get it right.

(also theres an optional follow up conversation to the scene which puts no uncertain terms to it.)

I understand the "is this legit" stomachache deeply. I have the same experience with any show or game hinting at possible aro or ace rep, constantly expecting the writers to pull out the rug, no matter how on point and respectful they had been up to that point. But don't worry, ISAT's rep is as legit as BoJack Horseman or Koisenu Futari.

Welp that's putting it up to a high bar.

Thanks for the reassurance, I honestly hope that... Yeah I'll like it TwT

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

https://www.tumblr.com/irresistible-revolution/633688280720916480/fanon-ships-and-the-alpha-male-x-cinderella

thoughts?

I personally would not go that far, at least on most cases. I'd say that the trend of women insisting the Bad Boy type is actually far kinder and more respectful towards the Main Girl than the Good Guy is a combination of two things:

1 - The sexist belief that women who like the "wrong" kind of romance are too stupid to know that some things should be fantasy only and not a model for real life relationships.

2 - The annoying trend of the past decades of people having to pretend nothing about the things they personally like can be kinky, or even genuinely problematic, otherwise they'd be admiting to being bad people.

It's purity culture. It's the assumption of "I am capable of crytical thinking, you are not." Plain and simple.

Some people just get horny for villains/morally dubious characters, are aware that they will be judged for it - and instead of just going "Fuck you, you don't have the right to judge me because of a goddamn fantasy" they try to argue "Actually, YOUR fantasy is the one that is actually problematic, sexist, racist, elitist, heteronormative and panders to the EVIL Male Gaze, while MY fantasy is secretly empowering and subversive and designed to be enjoyed by enlightened girlbosses because it is made with the Wholesome Female Gaze in mind."

Zutarians, for all their talk of wanting a complicated, mature, adult romance for their ship, are actually fucking terrified of the more messy aspects of their own fantasies, and instead of getting over that complex (or removing them through AUs) and having their fun, they defend themselves from bad faith criticism by attacking people first.

That's why they deem Aang a rapist for the Ember Island kiss and call Kataang fans abuse apologists for it, but constantly sexualize the scene of Zuko tying Katara to a tree. That's why they complain that Katara was reduced to "Aang's trophy-wife and airbender breeder" but write AUs where Katara is literally Zuko's sex slave. Why they complain about the supposed "power imbalance" due to Kataang's two year age gap, but don't say a word about Zutara's two year age gap. Why they insist that Kataang fans are all males projecting onto Aang (because projecting onto a guy is inherently bad) while Zutara fans are all women "connecting" with Katara (because projecting onto a girl is inherently good). Why they label Aang as intolerant of Katara's culture for not liking the food, but will throw a fit if people point out that Zuko, and his entire family and nation, legit wanted wanted Katara dead, or at least subjugated, because of her race.

It's a CLASSIC cope and pure proejction. I like tons of Villain X Hero ships, and I see that bullshit all the time. People feel some kind of guilt or shame over being into a character that is a "bad person", even though that is a morally neutral thing, so they twist the narrative until it fits into a pseudo-feminist idea of an "empowering" fantasy for women.

Zutarians claiming that their ship, that only exists because of rape fics, is actually NOT based on highly kinky shit (namely Male Domination/Female Submission with bonus of dubcon/noncon and race play) but rather just on the vague/nonsensical concept of the "Female Gaze" is no different than a bunch of Game of Thrones/HOTD fans, and even the excutives and writers, pretending that 50% the rapes and 90% of the age-inappropriate and/or incestuous relationships aren't just George R.R. Martin (and themselves) having fetishes.

Both are morally neutral and should just be honest about when they are genuinely exploring a dark topic and when they're just getting off on a kinky fantasy. But being honest about it doesn't give zutarians an excuse to act morally superior, so they just stick to their double-standard and purity policing.

[ofironandivory]

i wish i wasn’t fictosexual/fictoromantic. this shit is lonely as hell. any advice?

Hmm.. Each person deals with their ficto partners in different ways, and that's completely okay!

I'm not too sure what type of advice you're looking for, but here's some stuff that makes me feel more connected to my F/Os:

Messages from them.

Type out things they've said in canon, or that you wish they'd tell you, print them and keep them somewhere to read when you miss them!

Buy or make things that remind you of them.

From trinkets to perfumes to little notes and room decor, surrounding yourself with things that make you feel closer to your loves is a wonderful idea!

Imitate affection.

This one may be a little embarrassing to some, but it's important to remember that you can do anything you like as long as you're not harming yourself or other real people!

Stuff some gloves with something soft and sturdy and hold them. Put a shirt or other piece of clothing that reminds you of your F/O on one of your pillows so you can hold on to it at night. Play with your hair and think about your F/O doing it instead!

Most humans need physical affection to thrive, but more intimate affection can be hard to come across when one is only attracted to fictional folks, there's no shame in doing what's best for you and creating an environment where you feel safe and comfortable

Interact with fan made content of them.

This works even better if your partner isn't very present in their source, because others who appreciate them will take the time to create and post about them!

Read fanfiction about them, maybe some reader inserts to give you more ideas about your next date together or to just occupy your mind with thoughts of them! Make sure to show the writers some love and support too, if possible

Watch edits of them! Now, as a jealous ficto, I recommend avoiding the videos' captions and comments as much as possible. That way you won't have to deal with jealousy and it gives you a bit more self control over consuming media that upsets you; it's done wonders to keep me from doomscrolling

Look for fanart of them! Personally I'm a huge hoarder and I save up all my favorite pictures and fanarts of my beloveds, to a personal discord group with only myself in it! Do not reupload anything you gather publicly, respect the artists!

Find VAs who post about them or who have a similar voice to your partner (or what you imagine they sound like)! Saving up audios of your partner being motivational and romantic can really help you tackle things you're not looking forward to! Same rule applies to visual fanwork: do not reupload anything anywhere public, respect the artists!

Interact with their source.

Listening to voice lines, watching scene compilations, re-reading their story, replaying their game, rewatching their show; all of it can help you understand your partner more and bring you closure with their presence!

If you're a creative type, make something featuring them!

Write stories about you and them, draw the two of you together, sculpt a little figure of them, anything works! And don't you dare think your creations aren't good enough! All art created with love and passion is perfect, and the bonus of it making you happy and comforted just makes it all even more alive!

[useless19]

You my dear have made the mistake of reigniting my love for megatron x knockout so now you must suffer my mad ravings. I'm sorry in advance. Megaknock is a FASCINATING ship because they are so alike and so different that its downright poetic in a way i know the writers didn't intend. They are both cunning and dangerous, both ruled by pride and explosive emotions. Both dramatic and boisterous. Neither are particularly patient and both relish in the pain of others.

However megatron enjoys a challenge, he's disciplined and unconcerned with his image as long as he can strike fear in his enemies, hes hardly afraid of getting dirty if it means getting his way. As for Knockout well in his own words games are only fun if your winning. he's indulgent and famously vain taking immeasurable pride in his appearance to the point where he will kill over getting his paint scratched. Megatron is composed and stern, with his harsh edges, towering size and unnatched strength he commands respect strength and radiates danger, an apex predator.

Meanwhile knockout is flamboyant and downright playful. With his small frame, his curved edges, his shiny paint he hides in plain sight making others think he's just a pretty preening thing, making them forget about the buzzsaws and knowledge from his profession that ensures he knows where the soft spots are. A scavenger through and through.

They would be a nightmare for absolutely everyone else as a couple, feeding off of and into eachothers worst nature. You just know knockout would revel in being a pampered trophy wife. As long as he gets to keep enjoying his hobbies he's perfectly happy to play the role of pretty accessory hanging off his masters arm or lounging in his lap and making him look all the more fearsome by comparison. Megatron would enjoy it just as much. Not only does he get to have a treasure the nobles of old would covet shamelessly fawn over him he also gets the entertainment of them not realizing the danger right in front of them. Atleast until they wind up on the dissection table. What can he say, megatron can't resist the sight of knockout in his element with his true predatory nature on full display, besides the colors of death suit him well. He always did find blue and red a lovely combination.

Pulling people back into rarepair hell is never a mistake ;)

One of the key things for me about their dynamic is that Knock Out is possibly the only person who is happy being a Decepticon while also genuinely seeming to like Megatron (for the most part). Watch the look on Knock Out's face in Stronger, Faster when Megatron injures Ratchet and presents his leaking frame to Knock Out with a "There's your laboratory sample, doctor." or the way Megatron accepts the Predacon talon at the end of Plus One.

They enjoy each other's competence and cruelty and their goals are often aligned, meaning that, while methods and success rates may vary, they generally aren't costing each other their key values/at key moments (compare to the worst of their conflicts with Starscream).

I think it helps that Megatron is usually smart about dealing with Knock Out on a (somewhat) professional level. Take the times Knock Out presents himself as mission-ready in Tunnel Vision and Hard Knocks, Megatron questions his capabilities both times. Knock Out doesn't appreciate the questioning, but Megatron's concern is assuaged by giving Knock Out an Insecticon guard and Knock Out borrowing equipment respectively, there's almost an edge of care to it. Later on, "Haven't I proven myself?" is followed up with "I need your scientific skills." which both soothes the unintended insult and shows how much Megatron appreciates Knock Out's non-combat skills - ie, the whole package.

Knock Out doesn't have some big grand plan, he's going with whatever flow works best for him. Whereas, Megatron does have a vision of the future (defeat the Autobots and rule the planet) and it's one that Knock Out fits in perfectly well. There isn't a need for Knock Out to question the status quo because it serves him just fine.

Megatron and Knock Out are also fascinating to me for being the two highest charisma characters in the show, just focused at opposite ends of the spectrum.

As much as I love the many ways in which they can make each other worse, I also really like how they have the potential to fit together and give each other the space to be needlessly sadistic while also being able to get comfort (even if it is wrapped in layers of denial). Megatron praises people when they succeed (competence kink, anyone?), while Knock Out, despite being designed sexy, never gets anyone commenting on how pretty he is, not even in a derogatory way. It's so close to Megatron dropping a half-compliment on Knock Out's looks and Knock Out taking it entirely too seriously.

And size difference. Can't forget the size difference!

[fooloftheunknownworld]

Okay, I got done watching Hazbin's fourth episode and holy shit fuck it with every cell in my body!! Jesus Christ this is not how you handle the topic of rape and exploitation! The visuals in Poisons are less tragic and more fetishy, "Loser Baby" or whatever the second song's name is made me want to strangle Husk for basically saying Angel's a loser and his gambling addition was as bad as him being a sex slave.

I unironically think Ultra Despair Girl's Kotoko Utsugi is a better representation of a rape victim. Sure, the game gives her panty shots, has her make pervy jokes and is the one responsible for the infamous Komaru rape minigame that is played for comedy while expects you to take her trauma seriously, but at least nobody called her a loser for having trauma.

Seriously, just fuck this episode, fuck Husk, fuck everything about this cartoon fuck it all!

Congrats writers, your cartoon makes any attempt at touching the subject of rape by Kodaka look like the most tasteful and respectful attempt by a writer in the history in fiction in comparison.

But, as shit as this episode was, there is one good thing about it;

I really like the designs for the minor characters here, as always, they look much better then the main ones, especially since their designs aren't the definition of visual clutter. And yes, I do think the character of the first two pics are hot, I like both hunks and femboys, I'm not picky. Plus I wish we get to see more of the octopus guy.

[loveephia]

*immediately bolted here as soon as i saw my favourite hq writer open these prompts again >:D*

"i cant get over how a few months ago i wanted to learn your name and now youre having breakfast with me in my sweater" + goshiki 🥹🥹🥹 (stay safe and stay hydrated phia love u <333)

#8'S LOVE STORY | goshiki tsutomu

prompt: "i can't get over how a few months ago, i wanted to learn your name, and now you're having breakfast with me in my sweater."

content: (🦷) tooth-rotting fluff, goshiki gushing over you and perhaps getting distracted during practice while thinking about you, you're his upperclassmen (second year), tendō is a wingman and brownie enthusiast, you like baking, quite long.

⚠ warning/s: none.

note: gosh this was so fun to write that it became a one-shot instead of a drabble. i've never gotten a goshiki request so this was a good challenge for me. i really hope that i got him and the rest of shiratorizawa's personalities right! TYSM AND ILY HIKARIII ENJOY READING GIRL!!! :D

"her name.. what's her name?!" goshiki tsutomu mentally groaned with furrowed brows, peeking out from his classroom door to look at you, his beautiful upperclassmen. you were a responsible girl who did everything at your own pace, hence the clipboard in your hands to check your schedule for the day. if the student council of shiratorizawa accepted second years, you definitely would've at least been the secretary.

goshiki heard your name once from a few of your friends, but he.. just can't remember!

so here he is, irritatedly sipping on his juice box while staring you down. although not on purpose, of course.

"what's up, goshiki! what are we lookin' at?" tendō appears out of nowhere, accidentally spooking the poor wing spiker. goshiki turns his head to look over his shoulder, "huh?! tendō, what are you doing here?! aren't the third year's classrooms all the way on the third floor?"

"what a smart little cookie you are!" tendō ruffled goshiki's hair. "well, y'know how shiratorizawa's annual bake sale is coming up? i'm trying to find y/n because i heard that she's handling the preparations this year. i wanna see if i can get some of her famous two-bite brownies in advance before they sell out again!" tendō hisses at the bitter memory.

tendō can still recall the stinging feeling of how he wasn't able to purchase last year's batch because a volleyball game overlapped on the same day as the sale, so by the time the team got back to shiratorizawa, all of the brownies were gone.

and, hold on..

"y/n!" goshiki rejoices as he was finally able to recollect your name, all thanks to tendō. "yes?" you ask, looking at goshiki with a confused look.

goshiki turns red. "n- nothing!" i forgot that she was in the same hallway!

something in tendō sparks, and he suddenly has the urge to help his underclassmen's love life. he can bring up the brownie topic with you later..

"hey, n/n! what do you think of our up-and-coming ace here? ain't he a real firecracker?" tendō suddenly compliments goshiki, even wrapping his long arm around the young boy's shoulder. goshiki widens his eyes, already wanting to hear more. "hm? oh, i haven't seen him play yet," and just like that, goshiki's ego has been cracked and bruised.

"but i'd love to be invited to the next game if that's okay with you, goshiki." you smile a pearly one at him, and goshiki's mood is turned right back around. "yes! please come, y/n! i won't disappoint you!" he exclaims.

you giggled it off and soon excuse yourself from the two.

"what a cute boy!" you thought with a faint blush on your cheeks.

goshiki looks at tendō, utterly speechless to the core, while the middle blocker only dusts his hands off as if he's just finished some heavy labor. "what can i say! i may not be the first to get married from our team, but i can be a good matchmaker!"

goshiki has never had more respect for tendō than he has right now.

time skip.

"oi! stop standing around like that, number eight! you look like a lost kid at the mall!" coach washijo scolded goshiki, who flinched. i was spacing out again! "s- sorry, coach!"

reon comes up to tendō and shirabu, "what's up with him?" he asks. shirabu sighs, "i don't know. but if he continues to do this, then he'll just drag the whole team down."

"oh, poor little shirabu! i can tell you what's going on in goshiki's head," tendō says, "our future ace has a crush on the sweet and classy y/n!"

"that doesn't matter. can't he just leave his personal feelings out of practice? prelims are around the corner, after all." shirabu stated factually. "it's not like you're capable enough to have crushes anyway, so the least you could do is cut goshiki some slack." semi poked fun at shirabu, as the older setter just so happened to overhear the conversation from a few feet away.

"what did you say?" a visible vein forms on shirabu's forehead.

tendō turns to reon while shirabu and semi bicker, "anyway, the kid is all worried about the upcoming game because y/n is coming to see him play for the first time." tendō whispers. "you think he'll be alright?"

reon looks at goshiki, who's physically trembling. there's even a gloomy aura around him practically screaming, "don't screw this up, don't screw this up, don't screw this up."

just in good timing, ushijima places his palm on goshiki's shoulder. "rest, goshiki. you need to be in good shape to practice." he states. "yeah, exactly! aren't you gonna be ushiwaka's successor? what'll y/n think when she sees you all shaken up on the court!" tendō exclaims.

ushiwaka's.. successor.. y/n..

goshiki's aura quickly shifts into one of fiery determination, ready to take on anything and everything. "you're right, tendō! i'll do my best!"

"it's really easy to get this kid going, huh.." the team thought simultaneously, sweat dropping in the process.

time skip.

it's the day of the prelims, and shiratorizawa was up against ohgiminami high. they're not a powerhouse that goshiki was familiar of, but then again, they're not be underestimated.

the starting line-ups are on court, and there goshiki was standing, being the only first year. that was something you noticed from the stands.

"he must be really talented to have been able to get that far.. i heard that coach washijo is tough on the volleyball club too." you thought.

the coin is flipped and shiratorizawa ends up serving first. ushijima hits the ball and there we go, a service ace. you're impressed to have seen the ball fly by that fast, but then again, it's ushijima. "if i tried receiving that, my arms would fall right off.."

goshiki sees your amused face from the stands, and he huffs. "wait until you see me score a point, y/n!"

a few rounds later, and the rotation is in goshiki's favor. he's up front. he can do a line shot, a move that he specializes in.

"make it a good one, goshiki!" tendō encourages the boy as shirabu sets the ball cleanly toward goshiki. even though he has two blockers against him, he was still able to make a beautiful line shot that granted shiratorizawa another point.

"what was that?!" you were shocked, to say the least. "tendō wasn't kidding when he said he'd be the up-and-coming ace.." you quietly mutter, referring to goshiki.

you watched the way that goshiki shortly celebrated on the court with each of his teammates giving him some heavy pats on the back. the moment was adorable.

goshiki looked up to see you smiling fondly at him. you send him a wave, and he shoots back a smile full of pride; a smile that says, "look at me, y/n! aren't i amazing?"

and only if you knew what it conveyed, you would've replied with a, "yes, goshiki. very."

time skip.

you yawn, clearly drowsy from the lack of sleep. on the table in front of you, was a nice breakfast whipped up by shiratorizawa's patient cooks; one omurice, a small bowl of grapes, and a cup of milk. but besides what was on the table, was what was across from you; goshiki tsutomu, your boyfriend.

it was a cold morning in japan, for spring had finally started. so here you are, all bundled up in goshiki's volleyball jersey.

he's seen smiling at you, and you tilt your head. "what's on your mind, tomu?"

"nothing, it's just.. i can't really get over how a few months ago, i wanted to learn your name, and now you're having breakfast with me in my jersey." goshiki says, "honestly, if it weren't for tendō, i probably wouldn't even be with you right now."

you perk a brow. goshiki panics, "d- don't tell him i said that though!"

"i wouldn't give tendō all the credit, really," you started, "i actually had already taken an interest in you when you were looking at me in the first year's hallway. it was only a matter of time until i'd have mustered enough courage to talk to you myself." you admitted.

is this what a heart attack feels like, because goshiki can feel his chest swelling in both love and pride.

this was a happy ending not only for the two of you, but for tendō too, since he was able to buy all of the two-bite brownies he needed.

© lowercase intended | loveephia

[skaruresonic]

Being a Cream fan is suffering. The writers aren't hiding that they don't like her. Hello Advanced 2 anyone???

I can imagine.

She's milked for both humor and angst. In most cases, the fact that it's Cream specifically who is suffering/the butt of the joke is the intended takeaway behind the humor or angst.

People try to rationalize such moments as "she's just a child," forgetting that Cream is also her own person and has a personality beyond the expected behavior of children her age. Shunting her into the box of Child(tm) and leaving it at that is like reducing Amy to Girl(tm). Or Shadow to his Black Arms blood. You're not wrong to say those elements factor in, per se, but you are being overreductive by focusing only on those isolated elements of their characters when they're not overall terribly important.

Apologies for the self-indulgence here, but before we proceed to talk about IDW 66 and 67's B-side story, I'd like to bring up Cream's chapter in my visual novel as a counterexample:

In a nutshell: OaS is a slice-of-life where Sonic goes about a normal Sunday, visiting his friends and helping them through their problems, alongside some funny shenanigans. He spends about half the game spending time with Knuckles, Amy, and Cream, respectively.

Chapter three sees his relationship with Cream evolve from friends to Big Bro-Lil Sis(tm) as he endeavors to look out for her the best he can and listen to her little kid problems. Math is hard. :<

You'll notice in the conversation Sonic and Cream have after they sit down to eat their carnival food - about halfway through the video - that "lol Cream's just a dumb kid" is the exact attitude I was trying to avoid.

On the contrary: I wanted to respect her agency while also emphasizing that her status as a child is something worth respect on its own. Just because her problems may seem trivial from an adult perspective don't mean they aren't real to her, and I hope I've portrayed it so that Sonic gives her the respect she deserves.

The gist behind the chapter's more humorous moments isn't to point and laugh at Cream, but rather make light of the awkwardness of Sonic navigating being a big brother figure.

That's why stuff like Cream spouting waterfalls really rubs me the wrong way. Folks will argue "she's a child" while neglecting the important nuance that it's not typical of Cream to wail like a toddler in the games... As well as the other important nuance that if it had been Games!Cream in IDW!Cream's place, Rough and Tumble would be ground into paste before the roast finished.

The only punchline here is "Isn't it funny how Cream tried so hard to do right by her mother and some bully destroyed her work in an instant? LOL and then Vanilla went mama bear on them." When you drill down to the core of the underlying idea, you'll find it's just... meanspirited. The book is making fun of the fact that Cream is suffering what is, in her eyes, a humiliating failure.

It's not humor generated by Cream's personality, or the mood whiplash incurred by beating up bad guys one moment and tending to the roast the next, or inviting the bad guys to dinner after giving them a thorough ass-whooping, or anything like that.

How much better would it have been if, instead, following the food fight, we cut to Vanilla returning home to find an immaculate dinner table and two very twitchy skunk boys playing maid in fear of the goddess of destruction's wrath? Cream cheerily greets her mother while Rough and Tumble trip over themselves putting Vanilla's groceries away. Meanwhile Cheese and Chocola give them the evil eye. Vanilla is confused as G-merl pulls out her chair for her, but in no position to protest.

Imagine how amusing that could have been! Nope. The book has to point and laugh at Cream in a "ha ha bitch you thought" kind of way. Can't join in on the laugh track if we have any love for Cream ourselves.

To borrow the stans' logic, it's actually pretty fucked-up that you're meant to laugh at a child for crying in such a situation. At best, you're made to feel sorry for her, but given how the scene is framed to be absurd, it's probably a safer bet to say you're intended to laugh.

That's before we remember Cream doesn't sob buckets in the games. It took being kidnapped, taken to Eggman's creepy robot depot and watching Emerl gleefully tear Phi robots apart for her to sniffle quietly.

Sniffle. Not wail like a toddler. Because the games have this thing called "a sense of decorum," you see. xP

People contend that Cream's a pacifist based on her refusal to engage in Battle until Emerl gets hurt (and then they conveniently ignore how she stepped up and kicked some ass; rip), which overlooks the context that she was probably sick of fighting after having been forced to spar against Emerl and Amy to the point of exhaustion.

---

P.S. IDW!Vanilla wishes she was half as scary as OaS!Vanilla. Yeah, I said it xP