#there /is/ something wrong with people saying it's underrated and undeserving of much of the criticism it receives

[shantechni]

In light of recent news

[veliseraptor]

Top 5 underrated books you love

oh man see this requires me to judge "underrated" though...challenge, that. but here goes let's see what I can come up with

1. Doctrine of Labyrinths by Sarah Monette. This is the obvious one for me. Out of print fantasy series published at the wrong time my beloved. I mean, admittedly if it was published now the discourse would be a nightmare (if...people read it, maybe it would still be underread), but god I love it so much. I recognize it has its "storytelling flaws" or whatever but this was the first series I read where I felt like the author was putting their hands on my shoulders, looking me directly in the eye, and going "okay, Lise, I'm about to come for you where you live." and then did it.

2. Coldfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman. It's been a while since I read this one so I hesitated a little over including it, because, you know, "how much can I say I recommend something if I haven't read it in ten years" but part of my problem here is that I've met maybe three other people in my life who have also read it. Maybe if more people started reading it I would actually get around to doing my reread. An early "huh this really feels like it should've been gay, are we sure it's not" book. I'm still not sure it isn't.

3. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. And Children of Ruin and Children of Memory is sitting on my shelf eagerly awaiting me, but this was the one that kicked it off and I keep trying to recommend it to people, but for some reason "it's about sentient spiders you guys" isn't as compelling a sell as I feel like it is. But it's about increasingly advanced spiders on an evolution fast track building a civilization you guys and also about conflict with the other and all that but. I'm really here for the incredibly fascinating worldbuilding Tchaikovsky does with the spiders.

4. The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks. I really want to at some point ask Ann Leckie if she's read any of the Culture books because...I just feel like there's something there. Not the same, but some kind of connection, and I felt it particularly reading this book. I remember enjoying Consider Phlebas (clearly, I picked up the "next" one in the chronology of this 80s space opera series), but this is the one where I read it and was like. Oh, fuck, you got me. In general I feel like this is a very interesting series worth revisiting - I wouldn't say it's obscure but I feel like a lot of more recent sci-fi/fantasy readers overlook it because "80s sci-fi" has a lot of connotations, deserved or undeserved. I will just say that I'm picky about my sci-fi and this one got me.

5. I went back and forth for a while about what to put here but I think I have to say A City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff Vandermeer, because I remember when I started seeing Annihilation and its sequels take off going NOW YOU GUYS FIND HIM (pleased and exasperated) and that book was my intro to his work. And I still in some ways like it (and his other earlier work) more. But just in general if you are into New Weird stuff, or enjoyed his more recent work, I recommend going back and looking at his older stuff, too. I happen to know that after being hard to find for a while FSG is now reprinting those books.

BONUS: I can't actually say Lymond Chronicles is "underrated" as such because it has a very devoted following and a whole crop of authors talk about it if you start looking, but still. The devoted following is not actually huge. And I love it very dearly.

[iskeai-needs-more-dykes]

Hi, sorry to jump onto your blog and reference a personal vent post you made, but since it is venting, I thought I’d clarify something in terms of the nuance attached to the issue: basically, manhua is Chinese while manhwa is Korean, and the images you included in your post show it’s actually a Korean manhwa (via the action words on the panel).

Obviously East Asian countries overall tend to have some not great beauty standards and China isn’t necessarily more innocent than Korea in terms of fatphobia, but I do personally think both countries sometimes engage with beauty standards in different ways. For example, there’s not a lot of focus on transforming fat people into skinny beauty queens in Chinese media, so that’s why, as a person of Chinese descent and also a manhua fan, it felt off-putting seeing the misdirected hatred.

Again, sorry to just burst in with this random ask about the matter. I just see manhua and manhwa lumped together a lot, and while it’s kind of understandable, Chinese media is a lot more underrated than Korean media and gets a lot more undeserved hate due to sinophobia, so seeing more misdirected frustration can be a little discouraging.

But of course, your posts aren’t about that or for me, and I know that. I understand I’m just a stranger on the Internet, but I hope though that someday you can find a manhwa that meets your standards nonetheless! The lack of representation in any media for people who fall outside the standard beauty mold—where any representation can even end up feeling malicious—truly sucks. 😔

oh sorry!! yea i know the comic was korean - and no matter how much i complain about stuff just know that its never directed to entire cultures. thats hypocritical and just as bad as the people who excuse awful behavior by generalizing by race. fatphobia, racism, sexism are all issues prevelant in every form of media regardless of Where they come from.

as for the manhua vs manhwa. honestly that is a true mistake on my part, i knew there was a difference but i got the terms mixed up and didnt bother looking up to see if i was right. but i am aware that most of what i read is korean! ill be more careful from now on to use the correct term, thank you for that.

but yes of course regardless of if the comic is chinese, korean, or even japanese since this is an issue with a lot of manga i find as well! i criticize obvious fatphobia and the common trends i see. thats not to say in any sense there ARENT any manhwa [or manhua] that dont handle these issues well, in fact ive read a few in that regard though its more background stuff. its just a frustrating issue and i know id be feeling the exact same way in regards to western media.

anyway i hope i make sense in this and thank you for being civil and correcting me! while my posts may just be vents i dont mind others talking or fixing anything i say wrong. i have some issues so im not the best in the way of saying? putting words together and all if that makes sense. but thank you anyway and i hope you have a good day ^_^

[ask-whitebag]

I’ve seen a lot of people claim that Ron was “underserving” of Kim or that “he wasn’t good enough for her”.

And lately I’ve seen a lot of negative comments directed to it’s character for example the wiki is very negatively biased towards his character and of his relationship with Kim.

Not so long ago there was this fake Kim possible AMA made on Reddit where a person impresionantes Bob-Schooley and under this they spoke very ill of Ron’s character saying that he and Kim had no chemistry, that he was a very bad and one-dimensional character and that he and Kim’s relationship wasn’t “pleasant”.

All of this while they kept on praising Kigo and what saddens me the most is that because this person was faking being the co-creator of the show many people believe them and some people even began backing him up saying stuff like that they never liked Ron or the fact that he ended up with Kim.

And it seems like compared to other “friends to lovers” ships (Danny x Sam, Marinette x Adrien, Star x Marco, Keith x Lance)

I feel like from all of them KimRon is one of the most underrated. I don’t see many people making art or stories about them.

It also seems there were many people who thought Ron was undeserving of Kim? Or they she “could have done better” Do you think this is true? Why do you think people say that? Or have this reaction?

Kim was undeserving of Ron, if anything. No, no, I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I kinda had to. This entire issue is just kinda silly. Also, it took me a long time to answer this one because I don’t like spreading negativity. I’m sorry if the reply below comes off as angry or upset - I swear I’m not. I’m just being down to earth. And tired.

If the creators disliked Ron, they wouldn’t plan Kim x Ron from the beginning, and they wouldn’t focus so much on Ron’s character throughout the entire series. You know how Phineas and Ferb is named after Phineas and Ferb, but Candace and Doofenshmirtz are actually main characters with actual arcs and character development? Ron kinda falls into that category, too. Of course I still think Kim is a fully realized character in her own right, but Ron isn’t just a supporting character, he is a main character too, because we spend just as much time with him as we do with Kim, and there’s a lot of focus put on him and his character development.

Because of that, Ron is probably the most developed and interesting character in the entire series, and stating otherwise isn’t even a bad take - it’s just wrong.

Also, let’s get something important out of the way - I am Shego’s age. If you told me to choose between the mad scientist malewife and the minor, I hope it’s not surprising I’d obviously go with the mad scientist malewife, like, this isn’t even a competition. However, some people out there think Shego would choose differently, and frankly, I think it’s quite disgusting and offensive to her character.

(Although it’s okay to headcanon Shego as a lesbian too! Especially if she was your sexual awakening. Trust me, I also started questioning myself because of Shego. Just… don’t ship her with a child, lmao)

Here’s a thing though - if I told people shipping a fourteen-year-old with a woman in her late twenties is bad, and they still wouldn’t have problems shipping it, then there’s not much I can do about it, is there? I won’t go to war over a fictional ship from a twenty-year old show, because I’m an adult with taxes to pay, and internet trolls are just simply beneath me and not worth my time.

Which brings me to another point - I think the reason KimRon seems unpopular in comparison to those other ships you mentioned is simply because it’s old. It’s literally twenty years old, and at this point, I’ve met people who have never even heard about Kim Possible before. (I suppose there’s an argument to make that Danny Phantom is an old show too but the fandom’s still alive, but the truth is - I was there, Gandalf, and Danny Phantom has always been more popular, even back in the 2000s. It’s just how it’s always been. I don’t have a scientific explanation for this one, chief.)

Ship negativity below - skip the strike-through paragraph if you don’t want to read it; Also, I think it’s funny because I dislike all the ships you just mentioned. I already said what I think about Danny and Sam here. I think Sta//r//co had the biggest potential of being like KimRon but they fell into the same trap as Marinette and Adrien AKA taking too long to get anywhere and tripping over problematic shit on their way, which made those ships super unlikable to me, like, even if I shipped them before, I just can’t anymore, because I don’t enjoy them. And Kl//a//nce isn’t even canon. Realistically, there was Potential, but all they got were very vague/lowkey queerbaiting scenes and that’s it. I genuinely feel so sorry for people who fell for it. But yeah, KimRom is just soo much better than all of those, it’s not even a competition.

Maybe it’s my demi ass talking, but I really love how KimRon started with them being just childhood friends, and then having the most natural friends to lovers development ever. It wasn’t in your face, there wasn’t that much drama around it, it was pretty much perfect. And people are still allowed to dislike it. But I don’t.

I think people who hate Ron are simply bitter their “lesbian” ship ain’t canon, so they feel the need to shit on this clearly amazing, enby-coded character for “getting in the way”, but I gotta be real with y’all - you won’t find good WLW content in this 2000s cartoon made by male boomers. …What you're looking for is in the Owl House, made by openly bisexual Dana Terrace. It’s there, and it’s canon, I promise. Go watch it. It’s good.

[wh33zy]

11 and 14? 👀

(love the profile pic btw) Thank you so much for the ask! Without FURTHER ADO:

11. My favorite non-canon pairings are as follows: Junjou Optimist (Misaki x Nowaki)- they would be sO CUTE AND SOFT LIKE COTTON CANDY. Junjou Passive Aggressive (Shinobu x Misaki)- they would balance each other out SO WELL. Last but certainly not least, WhatShouldHaveBeenFecta (Kirishima x Haruhiko)- Haruhiko + found family trope is always a WIN BBYYYY.

14. I think I tend to have a lot of unpopular opinions as of late, but reading the same story since middle school will do that to a person lol. Ok, so the first glaringly obvious unpopular opinion is WhatShouldHaveBeenFecta. I'm sorry, but Yoko is still in the same trash bin (but different trash bag) as Takano. Yoko is completely undeserving of Kirishima and Hiyori, and I feel he has not done nearly enough to be redeemed. Honestly, Kirishima and Hiyori just fell in this guy's lap and he went with it. Kirishima and Hiyori, however, would have been the kind of happiness and security and sense of acceptance that Haruhiko seemed to want. It would have been a much more meaningful and beautiful set up.

I also just cannot like Nostalgia because of Takano, the things he did/said, not checking Yoko, and how he's a watered down super flat Akihiko who got WORSE (and I honestly don't understand, like I can't compute, those who like him but to each their own I guess) and I'm so angry that Nostalgia isn't a REALLY GOOD break up story because it had that potential to really teach something. I also wish the change in Ritsu from high school to working adult was a lot bigger and a lot more distinct (more than just the fact that Ritsu grew up while Takano didn't). There are also times I wish he was a lot more assertive but I totally understand and don't blame him when he wasn't.

As for Egoist, (though I feel like this is not so unpopular after I tore Hiroki to shreds in my last analysis) it's honestly just a story about a raging narcissist asshole who knows he has problems but refuse to change them all the while sinking his claws into someone wearing rose colored glasses who he can't even treat fairly. It's not as cute as I thought it was years ago. (And I'm not saying Nowaki was an angel here, there is SHIT he did of course, but Hiroki is so so much worse. Not to mention, I'm VERY CONFIDENT that given the chance, Hiroki would leave Nowaki for Akihiko which boils my blood a lot. I know if Hiroki and Akihiko were together, Hiroki would treat Akihiko 1000 times better than he ever treated Nowaki).

The Mistake story is honestly a lot better than I think a lot of people give credit for and should have been given more screen time than Egoist. Such an underrated pairing.

Lastly, Terrorist is one of the healthiest, if not the healthiest couple around. While I will say Shinobu is exceptionally mature and smart for his age from the get go, there was a lot of growing he and Miyagi did. It was refreshing to see them recognize problems within themselves and with each other, talk them out, then do their best to fix/grow from them. They have the best communication (apart from Mistake) and it's so cool to see them be vulnerable with each other. However, as much as I love Shinobu already, I feel like Nakamura is quite lazy with his character because we know more personal stuff about Miyagi than we do Shinobu (for example, hobbies, likes/dislikes, why he decided to major in law in the first place).

I love, love, love Misaki. I do. But it's very obvious that he was made to be super relatable. Not that there's anything wrong with that at all, a lot of great characters are made with that in mind, but it does stick out a bit in some parts.

Last unpopular opinions: Domestica is Mistake if Mistake had no personality or spice (and if Asahina was an enabler which he isn't). Erotica is the relationship that Egoist was supposed to be but fell short because Kisa owned bad parts of himself and worked on them while Hiroki does nothing of the sort (he is the same character from the beginning but i guess he maybe loves Akihiko slightly less? IDK, throw this man AWAY). Thanks again for the ask!! I'M ALSO SORRY FOR THE WALL OF TEXT.

[chairismaticchair]

Nagisa Shiota and Why He Deserves Better

Among most anime protagonists, Shiota Nagisa would unlikely be the first one to come to mind. Introverted, feminine looks and calm, Nagisa is not the typical shōnen anime protagonist. And in the Assassination Classroom fandom, it is difficult to call him the fan favourite. But why is this the case? And does Nagisa deserve better? This is what we will delve into today. What do we mean when we say “deserve better”? Well, in this essay, this will mean to do something or have qualities worthy of being treated better.

So firstly, who is Shiota Nagisa? He is the protagonist of the 2015 anime “Assassination Classroom”, or Ansatsu Kyōshitsu. Nagisa starts off in the series as an unconfident, observant and calm character, one  who often fades into the background and does not particularly stand out in any way, other than the unconventional fact that he looks much more feminine than the average male anime protagonist. Nagisa is shown to have deeply embedded insecurity in his own skills, the reason he ended up in the worst class, 3E. However, throughout the series, Nagisa grows and develops as a character, gaining self confidence, bravery, and finds his own goals. We also find out that he has the special and rare ability to be able to hide his bloodlust, making him a natural assassin. 

Nagisa deserves better because despite having a troubled and complex background, he does not act in a toxic manner or blame other undeserving characters for his suffering. Character background is what gives a character depth and Nagisa is no exception. His mother had wished for a daughter so that she could live vicariously through her child, but had given birth to Nagisa instead. Because of that, she forced him to present himself femininely by cross dressing and growing out his hair, abuses him emotionally, verbally and physically, and controls everything he does. Despite that, Nagisa does not lash out at his classmates or negatively impact the people around him. Instead, he treats everyone he meets with kindness, respect and empathy. For example, he helped tutor a young bullied girl called Sakura. He taught her how to do arithmancy and how to deal with her bullies. In two weeks, she ends up doing extremely well in her studies. This shows that though he deals with an abusive mother, when it comes to guiding and mentoring people himself, he does not take out his frustrations onto them. Another example of this is when Nagisa’s mother wanted him to burn his classroom down so that he could go to a better class. She drugged his food and drove him to the classroom, before passing him a torch. Her reasoning behind this was that if Nagisa burned the building down himself, he would feel too much guilt to ever interact with his classmates and teachers ever again. When he protested against this, an assassin who wanted to kill Koro-sensei showed up and threatened to kill Nagisa’s mother. Though he could have let the assassin kill his abuser, Nagisa did not do so. Instead, he actively defended his mother and set boundaries and communicated with her after he did so. This shows that Nagisa is not only empathetic, but he goes out of his way to help the people who are struggling and displays a maturity for situations and people around him. Thus, Nagisa does not act in a toxic manner or blame other characters for his suffering despite having a troubled and complex background. Therefore, he deserves better.

Secondly, Nagisa deserves better because he displays a clear character growth from the beginning of the series till the end. Assassination Classroom is an anime which focuses a lot on character growth, even giving plenty of screen time to secondary characters like Horibe Itona and Isogai Yūma. Ultimately, this means that Nagisa, as the protagonist of the series, is given the most screen time. Logically, this links to his character growth, which is humungous despite its subtlety compared to more startling arcs, such as Kayano Kaedae. As Nagisa is given the most screen time, his character growth is more gradual. It makes him a more realistic and relatable character, as we watch him grow from a shy wallflower to a confident assassin. 

Thirdly, Nagisa deserves better because he proves that one does not need physical strength to succeed. Despite the fact that some would consider Nagisa as weak and unworthy to be a shōnen protagonist, this is not completely true. Nagisa as a character has always been physically weaker, as the shortest boy in class as well as having the strength more comparable to a girl in the show. However, Nagisa has displayed strength and courage throughout the series that carries him to the top of the class. For example, when a sadistic army drill sergeant named Akira Takaoka replaces Karasuma as 3E’s PE teacher. He assigns them a terrible schedule with no time to study and physically assaults students that disobey him. Then, when Karasuma steps in, he proposes for Karasuma to choose one of the students to go against him. The student chosen was Nagisa. He succeeded in “killing” Takaoka by making use of his ability to hide his bloodlust and catch him off guard. This shows that Nagisa, though isn’t the strongest in the physical sense, has incredible emotional control that undeniably makes him one of the most powerful characters in Assassination Classroom. Therefore, Nagisa proves that one does not need physical strength to succeed and thus, he deserves better.

One of the main reasons why Nagisa is not the fanbase’s favourite character is because of Karma Akabane, 3E’s aggressive delinquent. Intelligent and cool, it is understandable why he might overshadow Nagisa, who is almost the complete opposite of Karma. When Karma supporters were asked their reasoning behind why they like him, most say it is because of his good looks and aggressiveness, which appeals to them. However, I feel that that is a rather superficial point, as appearances are not what make up a person’s worth. Though Karma is a decent character, I personally feel that the fanbase was quick to latch onto the hot bad boy of the show instead of exploring Nagisa's character too. Of course, the preference for Karma is definitely valid, and I to a certain extent can see the appeal. However, I still believe that Nagisa deserves more love and appreciation than what is currently given to him.

Despite what I said earlier on about appearances, I will have to admit that they play a part in a character. Oftentimes in animation, the designs of the characters show a bit of the character as well. For example, Nagisa’s light blue hair could reflect his calmer personality, and his height and build emphasise his physical weakness compared to other boys in the class. Nagisa deserves better because he is severely misrepresented and underrated when it comes to looks. From how many people use the wrong pronouns for him and call him a trap, this undermines his personal experiences and invalidates the abuse he faced from his mother, writing off his feminine looks as something he did on purpose. 

 In summary, Nagisa is an abuse victim who made use of the skills he was forced to learn and harnessed them to a better cause. Nagisa is important as a character as he got out of his bad situation. He used his people reading skill and his ability to hide his emotions, playing them as his strengths and gaining an advantage in every confrontation. Throughout the series, Nagisa displays kindness, character growth, and does not act in a toxic manner to the people around him. Shiota Nagisa deserves better. 

[struwwelzeter]

Could Emigrate fans please stop assuming that Lindemann fans are so stupid that they could only possibly love Lindemann because it's Till and not because they genuinely enjoy what Till and Peter have produced? I'd never dream of saying that Emigrate fans are only in it for Richard because it's blatantly not true. It's insulting to the fans and creators,

Oh I am so sorry if it came across that way. It doesn’t have anything to do with stupidity at all. There is nothing wrong whatsoever with liking that kind of music. For the sake of the argument, I’m gonna compare Pain and Emigrate here, because it takes Till out of the equation; and I think it’s reasonable to assume that alot of people would prefer Pain over Emigrate, becuase it’s really catchy, accessable, and overall just a really good time.

I would also never dream of saying that Lindemann fans are only in it for Till, people aren’t that dumb, he could be Till Lindemann as much as he likes if he only produced crap nobody would buy it. It’s a purely commercial agrument: it’s a big name with a pull, and a very unique way of expression that only comes with the man.

See the thing is, popularity and commercial success, as in numbers of records sold, isn’t fair. It just isn’t, it never is. There is a ton of a jazz geeks out there, spending hours and hours and hours on figuring out harmony and nobody buys their record. And then there is a pop song that hovers around the supertonic only for 3 minutes, has been recorded and produced in a day with a run of the mill kick-drum someone bought off native instruments, and it makes millions. You know? That doesn’t mean that the enjoyment of the fans is invalid. I am sorry but I would rather dance to a bad pop song than listen to a complicated jazz track that makes my brain hurt any day of the week, and as far as purpose goes, I think that bad pop song bringing me joy is probably more useful. But still. It hurts a little to know that there is a lonely jazz guitarist out there going through all that pain and effort and just remaining .... painfully underrated.

That’s all it is. This discussion is really old and happens the same way over all kinds of artists over and over again and people get too offended. You should be critical enough to question your own taste for the potential of popularity and how deserved, from the artists point of view, that popularity is. There is nothing wrong with liking things that are popular, things are popular for a reason, and that is completely fine. The fact remains though, the commercial succes, and as such the “rating” of a thing independtly from personal taste sometimes is undeserved from a effort/success ratio point of view. You don’t have to be offended by someone saying something you like gets a little too much credit and something else gets a bit too little overall. It’s not a cristicism of your taste in particular, it’s a cristicsim of the fact that the reception of art objectively isn’t “fair” a lot of the time.

And to be sure, I am NOT implying Till makes less effort. I am implying that he get’s a huge “on sight” popularity advantage that Richard doesn’t get. Again, it’s not about the art, it’s about the reception.

I’m not saying something can be done about that. In a way that’s just the nature of the beast, It doesn’t make doing one thing moralistically superior over the other at all. It’s just how the world is. All the more I think it’s important to be aware of your own taste, and how you view the, for lack of better word, less fortunate artist, and maybe acknowledge that inherent unfairness without making it all about yourself. Because it’s really not.

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 4X01 - A Tale of Two Sisters

Awww! The Frozen Arc! It’ll be ICE to see it again!

Let’s hope my review is better than my puns! Give it a read below the cut, if you are so kind!

Main Takeaways

Past

I can’t get over how GOOD the casting and chemistry was for the Frozen cast. I’m partially convinced that Disney has machines that construct people from their CG counterparts! XD I feel like the story fro this episode is perfectly good. This segment really just had to show off that it understood the Frozen cast and delivered a story that allowed for the story to continue in an engaging way, and I think they did a pretty solid job of it!

Present

”Your intentions don’t matter.” While this phrase is often a good point in terms of actions mattering more than intentions, it’s not here. While yes, I know that this ends up being Zelena, at the time, Emma was saving an innocent woman. I get that Regina’s upset and it makes sense for her character to be upset in this situation, This is a hard arc to watch. That said, I do like that Emma stands her ground here. While she’s sorry she caused Regina pain, she won’t apologize for sparing Marian. “That was the person I was, not the person I am.” But the thing is, you still have to answer for the sins of the person you were. The harm she caused didn’t go away because you’ve done better. It honestly frustrates me to see Regina deflecting back to this aspect of her character. That said, as I’m often one to defend Emma from criticisms against her walls popping up all the time, I want to make the effort to do the same for Regina. And I do think that not blaming others for her mistakes is the general trajectory of her character, and this arc is interesting because we see a more redeemed Regina put in a similar situation to the very actions that made her The Evil Queen to begin with. The immediate show of growth honestly helps here too. It’s clear by the end of the episode that Regina won’t go back to her old ways, and the engaging part now is how she reconnects with the rest of the mains.

I gotta say, I remember LOVING the initial idea of Marian coming back to life and I still do in the universe where more had been done with it. So much of Storybrooke has forgiven Regina because they’ve seen her take on Pan’s Curse and Zelena, but here comes someone who not only hasn’t seen this redemption, but has a strong connection to Regina’s boyfriend. The conflict there just SCREAMS of potential for all involved. Marian’s got a strong personality, Regina would get to truly prove her redemption to someone with no faith in her, and Robin would get a more intricate conflict and potential for deeper characterization that could contribute to him growing as a member of the main cast. And...nothing like that really happened. I think watching this episode tends to open up old wounds for me because this was an arc that I really looked forward to getting into the meat of and because the meat amounted to that found on a chicken’s foot, I can’t say that I’m that happy.

Basically every line at Neal’s grave had me filled with feels! What a beautiful and touching goodbye from Rumple to his son. It’s such a powerful moment. When it comes to Rumple this episode, they set him up so much to make the ultimate change just to not. Now, in the context of the episode as a vacuum, that’s fine and is a pretty classic Once-y twist. However, I feel like in the service of the arc as a whole, it would’ve been better maybe to show more of the reasons why the Sorcerer’s Hat was so tempting, and if not here, then in another episode. The closest we’ll get is Rumple’s speech to Regina in “Heroes and Villains,” which merely touches upon the effects of dying, being a slave at Zelena’s hands for a year, and losing Bae. And look, I like his declination back to villainy for that reason. Bae was his moral compass -- the person who had just enough doubt and love for Rumple that he would be able to keep Rumple on the path of good just with his willpower and lack of full trust -- and losing him at the end of what amounts to a torture conga is the kind of thing that would cause him to get more slippery with his morals. Belle in certain contexts can be easy to fool and I can see those small rationalizations build up in a way that would match up with the following arc.

”I know you, cause you’re like me.” Not to get too shippy, but I feel like the interaction between Robin and Regina in the office where Robin points out their similarities is a character point that should’ve been given more focus. Yes, from an abstract point of view, Regina and Robin are similar because they used to do villainous things, whereas Robin was a thief, Regina murdered, and that’s an entirely different league of villainy. And I swear I’m not trying to put Regina down here, but I think that difference is one that should be a focal point of their dynamic. Robin went through a redemption arc of his own in a way, and seeing him try to pass on those tactics and fail because they’re not compatible with Regina’s brand of villainy and grow from that to have a better understanding of Regina and take on a different approach to helping her. Getting into the meat of that and establishing those differences could’ve made them stronger for me.

I hate the way “monster” is used in this episode. The context of the episode frames “monster” as something undeserved being thrust upon someone, applying to Regina and Elsa. However, in the context of the episode, Regina’s being called a “monster” by Marian, someone whose most recent memory of Regina is saying that she’ll be happy with her head upon a spike and Marshmallow is being called the monster in Elsa’s case, though she attributes that as an extension of herself while Marshmallow is literally attacking a town. Just...this isn’t like The Beast being called a monster when he’s not attacking anyone and I don’t feel like the framing was entirely there for it. THAT HAVING BEEN SAID, I do think the retraction of “monster” towards Regina was well deserved! She saved Marian, even with all of that rage in her heart and that’s pretty freakin’ great!

Stream of Consciousness Thoughts

-This opening may have one of the most fantastically created storm. Look at the water and the panic of the crew as they try to fight it off!

-So while I don’t blame anyone from being a little nervous at the possibility of Regina going evil again (She spent half of the scene talking about how being a hero screwed her over and she does try to plot to kill Marian with Sidney in the vault), props to Henry for his faith in her!

-Dab, Elsa! Dab!

-”And once more, I’ve started it with a lie.” That was a really poorly-worded segue. He wasn’t talking about lying in the previous part of that speech and it’s not like he brought up lying about Milah’s “death.” It’s just one line, but it could’ve been better constructed.

-”I’ll spend my life repaying you for that.” Well, you’re not wrong.

-Damn, there’s a really interesting contrast in Robin and Regina’s scenes in the office between the finale and here. In the finale, they were on the floor, relaxed, and touching whereas here, they’re sitting on the couch, stiff as boards, and the distance between them looks more like a chasm.

-Okay! Watching this episode after the auction and seeing everything everyone bid on is hysterical!

-As we’re spending a lot of time in the mayor’s office, I’ve got to say that I LOVE the interior design here. I love the black and white that allows for the colors (Especially the reds) to pop against it. I love the forest-like wallpaper. It’s just so pretty!

-I gotta say, I’m really happy seeing Sidney again. The actor just rocks!

-Breaking and entering honeymoon? Sign me the fuck up! :D

-I need a map of Storybrooke SO badly. For a while, I HC’d the mansion as being closer to the town line, but I guess it’s closer to the docks? Thoughts?

-I gotta say, I think it’s a little dumb having Rumple be able to stop people in their tracks like that and have it only happen again like one or two times.

-Speaking of the auction, kind of weird that the Sorcerer’s Hat never came up in it.

-I really like how The Enchanted Forest was given an actual name. It’s not that I don’t like calling it The Enchanted Forest, but calling it Misthaven makes it feel more like a place with a history and a life to it rather than just...a place.

-”I need my beauty sleep.” Woowww, Pabbie. Way to leave in the rudest fucking way ever! Like, I’m bored, byeee! Your in-laws are there, clearly upset about this! Put in some more fucking effort!

-Anna, I don’t think Elsa’s “making excuses” when she’s the queen and can’t abandon her country!

-One of my favorite jokes that’s so underrated is how the “DO NOT BLOCK GATE EVER” fence just gets fucking stepped over! XD

-That snowman doesn’t even look scared! He just looks annoyed! Someone, make this dude a tiara!

-Nathaniel--I mean Kristoph! It’s you! ...I think watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend might have made it impossible for me to fully immerse myself into this character.

-Fuck yeah, Marian! Going in for the fight! ...I do wonder. I guess had Regina not decided to save her, Zelena would’ve revealed herself in order to not die.

-”I don’t know what that [Netflix] is but sure.” I love this line so much!

-”Unless...another monster appears and kills me.” ...Welcome to your life, ma boy.

-I’d like to think that during that pause when Sidney wouldn’t appear, he was talking to Ingrid and plotting.

-Damn, Belle! You pull that off! Or rather, I suppose it was pulled off of you! ;)

-RUMPLE AND HIS SEXY ASS ARMS! WE HAVE RUMPLE AND HIS SEXY ASS ARMS! NOT A DRILL.

-...Anna, that’s not how you wear a necklace!

Favorite Dynamic

Emma and Regina. You would think given how I really don’t like what’s to come that this episode would’ve done no favors for me, but honestly, I love Emma and Regina’s dynamic here! As I said before, while I roll my eyes at a lot of the lines given to Regina here, I do think it makes absolute perfect sense -- not deserved, but make sense -- for Regina to be angry at Emma. And Emma is adamant that she doesn’t regret saving her life, but still feels terrible that Regina lost Robin in the process. It’s a very nuanced aspect of this conflict. I also feel like their reactions to their fight were really well written. Emma is trying to live up to both her job as the Savior and her resolve to fight against her walls by trying to find Regina to talk while Regina’s more reserved character aspects kick into high gear and she slinks back to think on the matter.

Writer

Adam and Eddy are our main guys today, as per usual with season openers and they did a great job! In a vacuum, so much of this story is great and sets up a lot of the conflict and mystery of the next half season. And while the rest of the half season doesn’t hit bullseye at every point, they do succeed more often than they don’t.

Rating

9/10. This episode is a little hard to watch in hindsight because of the potential of some things that just really didn’t pan out, BUT within the context of this episode, the initial quality of these arcs is so present and that’s what this review is mostly here to judge. While not balanced in the sense of giving everyone something to do, I do think that there was a perfect balance of character usage. Everyone placement and actions feel right and appropriate for their characters. Finally, I know I’m in the minority, but I LOVE the Frozen cast. They added a nice bit of charm to the episode and made a very memorable first impression.

Flip My Ship - The Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness”

Captain Swan - I really like the CS plot here. Romance, especially after Neal’s death, isn’t the easiest thing for her and especially given what just happened with Regina, she doesn’t want to let herself be happy, but Killian’s making sure that she gives herself that chance. So, also, I always grinned when I saw Emma fall right on top of Killian. I love when that happens with romantic pairings! And their kiss is just fantastic here! Emma is still very much interested and she feels guilty putting Killian on the side while she deals with her feelings and circumstances.

Rumbelle - I freakin’ love the breaking and entering honeymoon! RUMBELLE PORN! Just...that dance. That music. Robert Carlyle’s smile. My only regret is that we had to sacrifice the awesome outfits Rumple were already wearing (Though they make it up later in the bedroom! ;) ) AND SPEAKING OF THE BEDROOM. Yeah, Belle looks pretty freakin’ satisfied with whatever kinky shit they just got up to!

-----

Hey everyone! So, I altered the review style a little bit. I don’t know whether or not I’ll stick with this or return to the old format, but I feel like this was a better way to condense my thoughts. The Season 3 Overview will be posted...at some point, tbh. I don’t know why, but it is really hard to write right now and since I’m already behind, I figured that I’ll just jump into Season 4!

Thanks to the fabulous folks at @watchingfairytales and to my badass boss of a friend @daensarah! Finally, thank you to my loyal readers! Happy holidays to you all!!!

Season 3 Total (9/230)

Writer Scores: Adam and Eddy: (9/60)

*Links to the rest of my rewatch will no longer be provided. They take posts with links outside of searches and I spend way too much time on these reviews to not give them that kind of exposure. Sorry for the inconvenience, but they still can be found on my page under Operation Rewatch.

[kibaes]

Z please~

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go 

Ah I’m in too many fandoms, I’ll rant about the main thing on my mind (If you want a specific one feel free to send another ask!)

So I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again: Black Clover is criminally underrated. People saw one or two episodes and immediately decided it was shitty because Asta screams a lot. Obviously, if that’s something that bothers you then you don’t owe the show to keep watching it, but just the way people treat it in the anime fanbase is annoying. One of the things that’s most annoying (that I’ve also said before) is that while Black Clover is considered trash (Western fanbase), BNHA is considered the best anime ever. BNHA is so popular that even non-anime fans watch it! Don’t get me wrong, I freakin’ love BNHA, but it gets too much-undeserved praise. So again, I like both shows a lot, but in this rant, I’ll explain why BNHA isn’t much better than Black Clover (heck, I prefer Black Clover).

 I’ll start with the most obvious and talked about reasons- the way female characters are treated in each show. Some people praise BNHA for how they treat female characters, which I really don’t get. Other than an episode and a half where you kind of see Momo’s insecurities and her getting over them, the female characters don’t get any development or focus. Even Uraraka, the main female protagonist, doesn’t have much of a personality other than liking Deku, which by the way, is another annoying trait that too many characters in BNHA have. Now Asta also has his own harem which makes no sense at all (why would Mimosa like Asta when YUNO IS RIGHT THERE?), but unlike Deku’s harem, the characters in Asta’s harem have their own development and personalities, the most notable being Noelle, the main female protagonist. Noelle started off as a snobby rich person who deep down was unconfident and didn’t believe in herself, but throughout the anime/manga, she overcame (some of) her fears and managed to control her magic and acquire new spells. Having said that, Asta helped her overcome her fears, making her crush on him make some sense, while Uraraka’s crush on Deku doesn’t really make sense. BNHA uses the same excuse that Deku made her realize she can become a better hero or something like that, but this doesn’t really make much sense because it’s not like she wasn’t planning on doing that before. You can say she used to want to be a hero to earn easy money, but that’s not entirely true, and I think it’s safe to say Uraraka’s crush on Deku comes out of nowhere, especially when you compare it to Noelle’s crush on Asta. Uraraka’s crush on Deku is more like Rebecca’s crush on Asta- kind of pointless and doesn’t develop the plot or the characters in any way. Again, I have nothing against Deku x Uraraka and heck I even ship it, but when that’s all the main female protagonist is amounted to you can’t say it has strong female characters. In addition to that, most of the female pro-heroes in BNHA use their sex appeal in one way or another to defeat bad guys or make themselves more popular. In my opinion, it’s fine if there’s one character like that, but having 90% of the female characters do that just makes it uninteresting and annoying. On the other hand, I can’t think of any female character who uses her sex appeal to battle (maybe Vanessa a little, although she uses it more to persuade Finral to fight). There’s Charlotte who’s really cool and strong, and her crush on Yami is adorable (you can say it takes away from her character and her main trait is liking Yami the same way Uraraka likes Deku. I personally disagree but can see why someone would say this, but then again Charlotte isn’t the main female protagonist like Uraraka), and if you don’t think she’s a good example of a strong female character, read the manga and wait for Mereoleona, who’s quite possibly my all-time favorite female characters. Another small addition to this point can be their outfits- BC has much less revealing outfits than BNHA has. Plus too many of the revealing outfits worn in BNHA are worn by young girls, some who aren’t even comfortable in them! Long story short, BNHA definitely doesn’t deserve praise for the way it treats female characters, especially when you compare it to a show like Black Clover, who does so much better.

Now for a more personal opinion- Asta is much much better than Deku. People like to praise BNHA saying it’s progressive because it’s not like other Shounen shows. One of the main differences I see between BNHA and other Shounen shows is Deku. While most Shounens have an overpowered goofball who eats a lot as the main character, BNHA’s Deku is pretty different. Personally, I don’t even like Deku, so him being the main character is a big turn off for me (he did get better in season 3 but in the manga, he continues to annoy me). Now let me explain my point better. There’s a reason most Shounen main characters are similar- ITS GOOD. I’m not saying having something different is bad (I’ll come back to this), but the stereotypical main characters Shounen’s have are adorable and always loved. A lot of people dislike Black Clover because Asta screamed too much. First off, he screams less later on, and it actually becomes funny later (characters in the show itself address it). Also if that’s the only problem you can try to read the manga. Like I said before, these types of main characters are popular because they’re successful. They’re the type of character that goes around influencing people to be better without realizing it (Asta, Luffy, Naruto, Natsu). Deku fits the role of the unconfident kid that later is inspired by one of these characters, rather than being the one that does the inspiring. Deku gets so much attention just for existing- in the beginning, he did risk his life despite not having any quirk which was cool, but later he just does what anyone else (or at least a few other characters) would do in his situation. We’ve seen many characters put their lives in danger, and just because Deku just happens to conveniently be in places where he gets to show that he’s willing to risk his life, he gets all the credit. Adding to this, I’ll never get over how All Might picked a random kid he saw trying to save his friend (which by the way, Deku still considering Bakugo a friend is baffling to me because of how he treated him. Get a clue!) over freakin’ Mirio!!!! Mirio fits the main character role much better than Deku- he has a quirk that seems useless but after hard training, he managed to make it one of the best quirks out there. He also gave up so much to save one little girl (which by the way, Deku stole all the attention in the end and now Eri likes him for no reason). Anyways, I know most people do like Deku so these points might not seem too strong, but I can’t really see how a character like Deku can be main. He’s pretty boring and I think he fits the role of a side character much better. Something that could’ve made BNHA more interesting to me (with Deku as the main character) is if he never got the One For All. Obviously, it’d make for a pretty different show, but it’s pretty boring when you know the main character already has the strongest power ever and he will become the best superhero because of it. You can even compare this to a show like One Piece- Luffy has the Gum Gum fruit, sure, but no one ever said that’s the strongest devil fruit there is, we know there are stronger ones. Plus it’s never been confirmed Luffy will become the Pirate King (although it’s pretty safe to assume he will be). A better example is how we don’t know if Asta will become the Wizard King. He probably will, but there is still some element of mystery whereas in BNHA one of the first lines is Deku confirming he’ll become the strongest hero, which as I said before, isn’t a big surprise considering he has the strongest quirk there is. Personally, I think Deku staying quirkless and overcoming hurdles that way is much more interesting (again, would make for a different show but still), which is exactly what happens in Black Clover with Asta which is one reason I really love BC. Asta manages to become a strong magic knight despite his lack of magic and how everyone always ridicules him. Plus it never gets old to see a bad guy making fun of Asta for not having any Mana and then Asta destroying them. Anyways, Deku still can’t control his powers which is a big focus of the show which is good, since if he could control them there really wouldn’t be any point, but the fact he has the strongest quirk makes him becoming the strongest hero pretty obvious and anticlimactic. To conclude this segment, everyone hates on Asta for being an annoying main character while they praise Deku for being different. Different does not equal good, they gave up on Asta too quickly in my opinion, and personally, I just don’t like Deku.

Another reason people dropped Black Clover was because the story is pretty generic. I agree that at first when I heard Asta wanted to become the Wizard King, I thought it was pretty silly, but once Yuno and Asta leave the village, it becomes much more interesting. Plus, there is an actual bigger plot like in BNHA which most people didn’t even reach before they decided to drop the show. If you aren’t a fan of Shounen shows, then I get why you might’ve dropped Black Clover (no offense though why did you start it? It has ‘Shounen trash’ written all over it) but if you generally are, I really really recommend to give it another try!

Now a short list of other things I love in BC more than in BNHA that I can’t really backup: the art style, the openings (fight me) and focus distribution (the amount of focus each character gets).

Despite all the shit I said, I LOVE BNHA!! It’s a great show with an awesome plot, cool fighting sequences, characters, character interactions, and pace. I’m just tired of seeing it put on a pedestal while Black Clover is considered bad. I just pointed out things that I believe BC is better at to put things into perspective, but they’re both great shows I highly recommend!     

[renaroo]

hi! did bruce ever come to accept that cass DID kill a man or is this something he's still in denial of?

Oh boy, so this is a favorite subject of mine and especially now that we have two continuities to provide comparison for, I’m going to wig out a bit and go for a full deep dive here. My apologies, one and all.

Discussions of murder, child abuse, and suicide under the cut.

New Earth | Pre-Flashpoint Continuity

The simple answer to this is that Bruce learned the truth but rejected the truth and for as far as we were ever given evidence for in all of Batgirl (2000-2006) and all comics after that – minus the OOC “Evil Cass” Saga that everyone agrees to ignore – he basically rejects it without fail. 

Now, one would say that Bruce Wayne objecting to hard evidence on anything is out of character and they’d be right. And, in fact, for Bruce’s subplot throughout Batgirl (2000-2006) that dichotomy actually proved to be one of the leading problems. 

Even when David Cain gives Bruce video evidence of the murder Cass committed as an eight year old child, he is heartbroken but also refuses to accept it no matter how much the evidence stacks up.

[Batgirl (2000-2006) #4]

But, of course, the more he analyzes the tape, the more he looks for signs of tampering or editing, the less he finds, and the more angry he gets at himself for not being able to somehow change the reality of what is happening.

[Batgirl (2000-2006) #4]

This isn’t a new thing for Bruce’s characterization in this era. Earlier that same year in the premiere issue of Batman: Gotham Knights (2000-2006), his “blind spots” were actually the main crux of the issue, as all the evidence pointed toward the son of the two victims being the one who committed the heinous murder, and he spent valuable time and effort, as well as everyone else’s time and effort, trying to find any evidence at all that would prove the truth wrong. To the point that Dick was trying pretty desperately to take the case from Bruce so it wouldn’t bother him so much. 

But even with that case, as as much as it affected Bruce, he ultimately conceded to the evidence. 

Cassandra, though, is personal. And throughout her Batgirl run, Bruce again and again makes comparisons between the two of them. Bruce almost uncharacteristically opens himself up to Cass soon after beginning to work with her. She had be “vetted” by Barbara, easily Bruce’s most trusted ally at the time, had proved herself by saving Bruce’s best friend Jim Gordon, and provided assistance at their darkest hour during the No Man’s Land crisis. But more than any of that, Cassandra was the first person in Bruce’s life who seemed to carry his blind allegiance to the “No Kill” rule that he had. 

And just when Bruce was most confronted with the facts, when he had heard from Cain himself that Cass had blood on her hands, Cassandra proved herself in an act that even Bruce himself would have had difficulty doing as selflessly and heroically as Cass did. She races into gunfire, not dodging a single shot in order to keep a criminal behind her from being taken out by friendly fire. 

And in the process, has a quiet moment that once again shows just how incredibly similar she and Bruce are in their attitudes and mannerisms.

[Batgirl (2000-2006) #6]

And when Bruce asks her about it later, she gives him an answer that seems to help him draw the wool over his eyes all the more, because she couldn’t be so instinctively protective of life like he is if she had ever taken life herself.

[Batgirl (2000-2006) #6]

If Cassandra, who embodies his philosophies and beliefs so much could kill, then that meant that Bruce could kill, and this was at a dark time in Bruce’s life where that very question was something that could have been the end of him, even the suspicion of murder – such as in Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive – would tear down everything he believed at its foundation.

But of course, all of this was still a willful delusion on Bruce’s part. Cassandra had killed. Cassandra’s guilt and death wish was because of her past. And just because Bruce came up with any excuse possible to ignore these facts didn’t mean that it wasn’t plain to see for everyone else. 

And thus the main conflict for Bruce in Batgirl (2000-2006) wasn’t really portrayed as him discovering the truth about Cass’ past – he had the evidence for it since the third issue – it was about how his inability to accept it, because of his inability to forgive that fault, fed into Cassandra’s death wish as much as her personal guilt. 

Bruce couldn’t accept the reality of Cass having been used and manipulated to do something so heinously wrong when she was a child, because he couldn’t accept the flaw of his own morality that (at this time in his life) he would not be able to find it in himself to forgive someone he loved and admired so much as a part of his family. His very staunch black-and-white worldview was shaped in a way that it made it simpler for him to put criminals away and to see willing killers as deserving of punishment without nuance was at odds with the girl he had adopted as his own who very much was born as evidence of the world’s shades of gray.

But Bruce wasn’t Cass’ only parental figure. In fact, Barbara Gordon was a far bigger influence at this time and Babs was someone with a far more nuanced outlook. And also someone who believed not only that Cass had been haunted by this crime, but was someone who wanted Cass to learn how to forgive herself for something that wasn’t ultimately her fault. Barbara knew that Cass needed to see from her mentors that she could be forgiven before she could really forgive herself, and as long as Bruce wasn’t budging, she was going to continue on her path of self destruction. This frightened and angered Barbara because she couldn’t force Bruce to believe and forgive, even as the time of the death-by-Shiva was approaching. 

Without getting too much into it, I’ll just say that this sentiment is very similar to the helplessness one feels with being familiar with the signs of someone becoming increasingly suicidal, but incapable of pressing others in the loved ones’ life to open their eyes and see the danger for themselves – to accept that there is a problem so that they can then begin to help heal and fix and forgive for it.

This comes to a head in Batgirl (2000-2006) #23 when Barbara tries one last time to wake Bruce up to the reality of it while Cass prepares for her final fight.

[Batgirl (2000-2006) #23]

Honestly, #23 is probably one of the most underrated issues of the entire series and… while the subject material is dark it’s vital to really understanding what the first third of the run was even about. 

There’s an element of Bruce’s denial that is a bit self serving. He doesn’t want to see what’s wrong with Cass’ behavior or her suicidal behavior – her death wish – because it requires him to defend a fundamental flaw of his own philosophies and beliefs. It requires him to really confront how he’s capable of forgiving criminals who have more identifiable motives and, often, mental illness, but is much stricter and less forgiving of the people he loves most and has the highest expectations of. Usually people whose mental illness and trauma aren’t as easily identified. 

It confronts the mindset of valuing any belief system over the circumstances of reality. And Bruce, until he goes through this himself and forgives himself in Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive can’t begin to accept what it would mean for Cassandra. 

But, for reasons that many can fannishly extrapolate on, Barbara can. and it’s fortunate that she can because Cass surviving, Cass being reborn after what is for all intents and purposes a failed suicide attempt, it was Barbara who let her know that her life was still valuable, that her sins and burdens were not beyond forgiveness or made her undeserving of love. That no fault would make Barbara love her less.

[Batgirl (2000-2006) #25]

Cass’ victory in this moment is actually also Barbara’s love as a parent winning as well. Because sometimes putting aside long held beliefs and traversing into new territory to adapt to the grayness of reality is the only real way to be moral in life.

And it’s because Babs showed Cass the way that Cass is able to finally accept herself and see outside herself enough to recognize that same tendency, that same crushing death wish in her opponent as well and ultimately give Shiva the gift of living past a death wish as well.

[Batgirl (2000-2006) #25]

This is just an amazing powerful moment and for obvious reasons can effect many people very differently. This tone, this strangely optimistic story about conquering the shadow of death after it haunts you for all of your life, was one of the most important comics I personally had ever read. And because of that it means a lot to me. I like that there were so many layers to Cass’ feelings, to the reactions of the people around her, and how sometimes those people around her failed her without ever even realizing it. 

And in a way, Bruce did fail Cass in this respect. And it’s because of that that I think a lot of people don’t come away from Batgirl feeling it lines up well with any Batman they know. In a sense, yeah, it feels pretty damning for him to have never accepted the danger Cass was putting herself in, to never fully accept it as something he could change or even that he could contribute to. 

But that’s a sad reality. And in 2003? It would have been all too easy for a parent to write off suicidal teenagers as something that was completely outside of their control, and as much as that angers me today in hindsight, I can’t say that such mistakes would ever singularly make someone a completely terrible person. 

We never get evidence that Bruce accepted the truth later in the series or beyond. And I do think that’s a dangling plot thread that works against the overall “score” of Cass’ Batgirl series as there were quite a few plots that were left aside unceremoniously. But I can also argue that it was something that was left behind because they didn’t think it held any narrative purpose after presenting the “wrong” way someone handles other people’s suicidal feelings. Batgirl is Cass’ story, and Bruce being able to accept the truth for himself once Cass moved past it could have been part of her story, too, but it was still mostly a Bruce story. And it was never brought up in his own series again.

Not to say that Bruce didn’t…. evolve on those thoughts over the years anyway. Just. Not in regards to Cass. Just in regards to Damian and David and…. Selina in hindsight. Comics are weird, and this drop off of this narrative point also marked a lot of change up in Editorial and Writing for the Bat Books that would take us down a path to War Games so saying that we weren’t going to be getting much nuance on the subject is putting it lightly.

Prime Earth | DC Rebirth Continuity

Cass is a really different character based purely on her origins alone in this because a fundamental change was made that... kind of took a lot of power out of Cass’ original death wish by some’s measure, and moved us beyond years of idealizing a teenager’s depression and mental illness in others. It will really depend on what side of the fence you land on for how you feel about either.

Cassandra’s murder was not a nameless mobster here but instead one of her best friend’s mothers, Miranda Row. She also has a mission before she joins the Batfamily of her own volition, one specifically handed to her by Bruce who knows she was Miranda Row’s murderer from the start. 

Bruce’s acceptance of Cass’ past sin is actually the main crux of their relationship in this version and isn’t at all independent of the very real fact that Cass hasn’t been given a mother figure in all of this, there is no Barbara who will play opposite to Bruce’s approaches to Cass’ struggles and past. Therefore the narrative doesn’t have the freedom to explore how different approaches to raising a child with these conditions, especially an adopted child, and so Bruce has to be good and accepting of Cass or else the narrative is just needlessly mistreating someone without giving them any relief or help. To avoid that, both Bruce and Cass have a lot of those layers removed and the story is streamlined. 

Bruce isn’t only accepting of Cass’ past, he is actively encouraging her to move past it and maybe even give up vigilantism and violence as a way to reclaim herself.

....

While simultaneously reminding her that Miranda Row will never come back? But at least Harper forgave her? 

.... Batman and Robin Eternal was a mess.

[Batman and Robin Eternal (2015-2016) #26]

You can sort of see the editors and writers desperate to sidestep subjects they don’t want to deal with but also wanting complexities and so... never... really threading that needle.

But since Bruce never really ignores or avoids her past and her faults, that need for Cass to internalize her guilt and to exile herself from the basic joys of life doesn’t really exist either. If he accepts her openly and acknowledges her past, Cass knows that her idol will love her despite her flaws without a blanketed, irrefutable moment like we got between Cass and Barbara in Batgirl (2000-2006) #25.

Un...less we randomly have it anyway?

So. Starting with the relaunch of Detective Comics in Rebirth, we have the mandatory team-gathering issue where Bruce gives his analysis of all the recruits one by one and it includes a moment about Cass over the backdrop of her saving children from a human trafficking ring -- this is notable only because that seems to be the only thing Tynion ever has Cass doing on her own, busting up these rings, but it’s also never commented on and we’re never told how she tracks these down and whether it’s something she dedicates herself to as it has something to do with her past under Mother and that child trafficking. Tynion likes to... not get too far into the subjects he brings up. Which is again a bit at odds with how the old Cass went.

And in this overview Bruce is giving Kate about Cass he.... remarks that she’s the most dangerous fighter he knows which. Seems to go back on his previous reactions to her where it was all about how he believed in her and saw past her one sin and knew how good she was, enough so he trusted her to run interference while he... self-amnesiaed himself for the majority of BaRE. 

[Detective Comics (2016-present) #934]

This also leads to some questionable choices on how they present Cass’ internal struggles. Because she’s been forgiven, she isn’t isolating herself willingly or unwillingly anymore, and she’s already confronted the murder she committed and received resounding forgiveness from Harper (and notably no one writing cares about Cullen’s feelings on the matter hmmm) who regularly pals around with her now like nothing happened. 

So it’s confusing when the only arc which has centered around Cass so far tells us that she’s... drowning in guilt and that she’s desperate to figure out why Batman believes in her. Even though... we know as readers that he.... doesn’t necessarily believe in her all that much. 

[Detective Comics (2016-present) #950]

I should note that none of this is really resolved by the end of this particular arc. she just. Learns that she doesn’t have to fight alone because she has the family behind her and she gives her declaration to Shiva that “I am not less, I am MORE.” so. What I’m saying here is there’s some confusion and a lack of cohesion in what they want to do with Cass here.

They’re not comfortable with tackling a teenage girl’s suicidal tendencies and, really, that’s more than understandable. I wouldn’t want any writer to tackle a subject that important without having a full vision and lots of comfort in doing so. Even the original take with Cass, which benefited from having different circumstances and an editorial team that allowed for Cass to have two mentors to balance things out with, was far from perfect and Bruce’s part in the relationship is a key example of that. 

In New Earth, Bruce never had to fully confront how he was wrong in his approach with Cass, or the fact that it almost cost his adopted daughter her life. Somewhat ironically, Batgirl (2000-2006) was often limited by its failure to sum up the points of its more complicated perspective and storytelling into exact words. The lessons could be missed. 

But in Prime Earth, we have the broad outlines of a relationship dynamic that doesn’t really match up with the text it keeps providing us with, or how they strive for that perilous tone that was known in Cass’ original series, without wanting to dive into the greater themes and struggles. This is a limitation of wanting to hit those notes without focusing hardly any published page time on Cass and her story. These things will only become more and more noticeable as time goes on and we’re continuously sold this idea of growth and relationships without Tynion’s team actually dedicating the time to them. 

So, that’s my summation of the whole thing! Sorry for going a little extra on it lol I appreciated the question a lot.

[seyaryminamoto]

Seeing as you've already given your opinion on who are the most overrated characters of atla, who do you think are the most underrated?

Heh, well…

I wasn’t sure whether to feature Sokka as #1 or #2 but alas, I love him so he gets #1. He’s terribly underrated and it angers me. There was a time when my blog wasn’t an exclusively Sokkla blog with a few things on the side, I used to reblog general Avatar things (yes, that was A LONG time ago xD), and yet every single time I saw “Team Avatar” posts without Sokka I would literally scroll past them as if they didn’t exist. Because ffs, I don’t care if he’s not a bender, if the other four are the perfect symbolization of the four elements in harmony, HE’S PART OF TEAM AVATAR TOO!… so yes. Sokka. The guy who gets simplified, as I recently said, as “he was sexist and now he’s not” by posts of 100K notes, or even shrugged off by some people as “the funny one”, even gets hated by some people with terrible taste who think he’s useless just because he can’t bend. Yep, those who hate him because of this aren’t even worth talking to, in my experience. Clear as day they can’t see the true worth of anything even if it’s right in front of their eyes.Alas, Sokka, the boy who grew up into a man by putting other people’s needs ahead of his own, who stood his moral code even in the worst circumstances (such as shown in Jet), who opened his mind to new experiences and became a remarkable warrior because of this. He’s humble, but his heart is stronger than that of any other character in the franchise. He has seen so much tragedy and such darkness weighs inside him, but he doesn’t allow those tragedies to shape him. His strength is seriously admirable.… And I’d dare say half the fandom, if not more, just think he’s the funny guy. He’s the definition of an underrated character.

Ironically, I think Aang is very underrated. Yes, he’s not my favorite character either, but the strength this boy showed in the face of his many tragedies, and the evolution from fleeing from his problems to being able to face his responsibilities was pretty great. Also, Aang, unlike some other characters, usually faced consequences when he did something wrong.Perhaps the only exception I can think for that is his emo phase during Book 2, which is justified plenty, but the show doesn’t try to make you think he’s being nice. It’s shown that he’s very affected by the loss of his bison, but his treatment of his friends isn’t sweetened. The others show a lot of strength and understanding, knowing Aang can’t be his usual self when this is weighing on him. It was a bad time for everyone, yet I feel it was handled well enough as something that was hurting Aang really badly, one last straw for him after he had undergone so much pain already.Other than that specific part of the show, Aang often was forced to grow and change whenever he made mistakes, and had to face many uncomfortable truths about his past lives and the world he lived in. He showed a lot of integrity and human qualities and never degenerated into a tropey shonen anime protagonist, for instance. So while I’m not a huge Aang fan, I figured the rest of the fandom would appreciate him more. No doubt he has his fans, but a ton of the hate he gets is undeserved and often hypocritical, not to mention it’s mostly done to simplify his character when he was pretty great, as a character and hero, as he was.

Ahahahahaaa… Ozai! Yes, I don’t blame most people for underestimating and despising Ozai: let’s be fair, this man was supposed to be the final boss and he was built from the start to be the kind of villain people hated. He wasn’t meant to be relatable or nice or emotional or anything of the sort, even if a handful of people did grow to like him. But the show clearly wanted him to be a bad guy, THE bad guy, and he played his part well enough.But the thing that bugs me with Ozai is: for one thing, so many people underestimate his bending skills. No lie, we only saw him fighting in Sozin’s Comet, but even so, the kind of mad skills he showed there were off the charts. The legion of people claiming Iroh is stronger than Ozai and that he would’ve handed his ass to him is honestly laughable, considering that IROH HIMSELF SAYS HE DOESN’T KNOW THAT HE CAN GO UP AGAINST HIS BROTHER. Ozai is the strongest firebender in ATLA, PERIOD. He did things no other firebenders were shown doing. He was supposed to be that powerful BECAUSE he’s the final boss. Yes, the fight between him and Aang falls short compared to the Last Agni Kai because the emotional investment and conflict isn’t as strong here as it was over there, but for people to actually claim Ozai was weak at all? That he wasn’t that big a deal? Excuse you, but that’s just spite talking. I love Azula with all my heart, and even I can see she still wasn’t on the same power level scale as her father during the finale. And that’s fact. (I think she has the potential to surpass him, yes, but she hadn’t done it by the time of the finale).And then there’s the other reason why Ozai is underrated: yes, he wasn’t developed, he wasn’t explored, he fell flat many times. But honest to gods, it’s not that hard to draw the parallels between him and Zuko when you consider: 1. Ozai was designed to look like an older version of Zuko 2. Ozai is stated to have traveled looking for the Avatar, just like Zuko 3. Ozai gets passed over by his father and punished beyond proportion for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Seriously, can we not see these parallels, right there? And that’s without getting into the similarity of Zuko and Ozai’s personalities, because both of them seemed to feel entitled to the throne that, originally, wasn’t supposed to be theirs (as a reminder, if we go by what the Wikia says, Zuko is 11 when Lu Ten dies, which means he spent 11 years of his life without being a Crown Prince or expecting to take the throne because, by all logic, it should have been Lu Ten’s... yet he slides into the “that throne will be mine” mentality within a few years). Both of them are brash, hot-headed and impulsive. Both of them have bad tempers, both of them spent years trying to please fathers who could never be pleased at all.Point being? OZAI IS A MIRROR FOR ZUKO. OZAI IS “BAD ENDING ZUKO”. OZAI IS WHAT ZUKO COULD HAVE BEEN IF AANG NEVER SHOWED UP, IF IROH WASN’T AROUND TO GUIDE HIM. And that, my friends, adds a fuckton of complexity to Ozai that the majority of the fandom is happy to overlook. Hate him all you want, he’s supposed to be hated. But this guy is waaaaay more than what meets the eye if you only stop for ten minutes to ponder his character, his possible motivations and his relationships. It’s especially clear that he’s very much complex when you factor in the resemblance with Zuko.

And this time I guess I’ll cut it short at 3 because I can’t think of anyone else who’s underrated or even criticized relentlessly without much basis. While there’s some people who undermine characters like Suki, she also has a fairly big and solid group of fans who are very much devoted to bringing up her character and who will always begrudge Bryke for not revealing anything about her future, so she’s not THAT underrated...?

Welp, I feel the fandom is a little more balanced with the rest of the characters, there’s enough love and hate to go for everyone. So I guess I’ll keep it as a top 3 this time, if you don’t mind, Anon.

[sarahburness]

Sensitivity Means Passion, Not Weakness

“The fact that you’re struggling doesn’t make you a burden. It doesn’t make unlovable, undesirable, or undeserving of care. It doesn’t make you too much or too sensitive or too needy. It makes you human. “ ~Daniell Koepke

A while back, during one of my therapy sessions, I became acquainted with the word “dysthymia.”

I was puzzled at first, but as my therapist dug deeper into the subject, I realized that complex-sounding term was, in fact, a birth name to the grizzly monster that has been shadowing me for years. It’s more commonly known as persistent depressive disorder.

I can’t exactly remember the onset of an extended period when I felt lower than usual. It might have sneaked in unnoticed in my early teens and grown out of proportion since then. It might have been born with me. I have no idea.

All I know is, I’ve had a pervading sense of hopelessness long enough to convince myself that something was wrong. It’s only natural for a child to feel threatened by the world around them. At least that’s how I felt, day in and day out.

I was told it would only be a matter of time until I grew out of it and became a self-assured woman. Well, I’m twenty years old and this day has never come, and I’ll tell you, the old times were paradise. I was lucky to have my parents’ back in every situation, and the thought of loosening my grip on their protection with the passing years was a scary prospect.

Inevitably, I grew up and things didn’t get any easier.

My generalized fear mingled with an endless hunt for the meaning behind words, people’s actions, and even life itself. The existential nature of these questions made it impossible for me to get concrete answers, which overloaded my brain with the untold possibilities, thus fueling an anxiety disorder.

Being an avid gobbler of pills and a depression sufferer herself, my mother suggested that I went to a psychiatrist. As expected, at sixteen I left the doctor’s office with an antidepressant prescription in hand, as I doubted both my sanity and worth.

In a different session, I can recall my therapist drawing a chart of sorts, in order to illustrate my situation: she traced three parallel horizontal lines and named them “euphoria,” “neutrality,” and “depression,” from top to bottom.

She then drew a squiggly line with stable highs and lows, yet mostly focused in the area between depression and neutrality. What that means is I’m bound to feel down most days, with the occasional bout of gloom and/or cheerfulness, depending on the situation. The mood sways aren’t fickle; they’re usually curbed into the same spectrum, but still, sometimes I wish the ups would last longer.

“Don’t worry, that is very common in highly sensitive people,” she said to me. “Now that you’ve named that feeling, it will become easier to deal with.”

At the time, that wasn’t helpful at all. Why did my personality have to be built this way? Would I have to deal with this for the rest of my life? That’s not what I came here for!

I developed an unhealthy habit of comparison, as I envied the life of every extroverted and confident person I knew, even if that meant scrolling through their social media pages (which, let’s face it, makes everyone seem at the top of their game on a daily basis).

For months on end I tried to stick to a fully positive lifestyle. Spoiler alert: I was doing it wrong. It took me a while to recognize that I didn’t have to be happy all the time nor rebuff my icky moments in exchange for a phony, dimmed spark of sunshine. I felt something was missing.

I was in denial. I was rejecting myself, whom I’ll have to spend the rest of my days with whether I want to or not. Little did I know, refusing who I was wouldn’t do anything for me; it would only hinder the process of acceptance.

All I had to do was skew my perspective, bit by bit. And I did, with the help of unexpected sources and events.

Sensitivity Means Passion

During a recent conversation with my brother, I came to the slow realization that I might have underrated what can prove itself to be a powerful attribute.

His girlfriend had broken up with him, and his devastation was painful to watch. However, his main objection was that he felt guilty for “feeling too much while she felt way less.” I could identify with him at that moment.

He would beat himself up and judge his past actions, wishing he could go back and suppress the excess emotion he poured into the relationship. Anyone who’s familiar with him would advise him to never change for a girl, and that the right one would see this supposed “defect” as a major quality.

Being his twin sister, of course we’d share some traits– besides in appearance. And that’s it: we feel too much. Too much of everything, whether it be the pain of a heartbreak or the delight of succeeding at something, for instance.

In discussing life’s matters, we’ve both agreed upon the fact that oftentimes we may be taken up entirely by emotion, to the point where even gazing at the stars opens our minds to an immensity of otherworldly interpretations. How amazing is that?

Besides, we’re eager seekers of beauty in the little things and lovers of kindness. That depth in our mindset is what allows us to express everything so thoroughly, especially through writing and other kinds of art.

What was supposed to be a wallowing session ended up giving us a different view of ourselves. Needless to say, we finished the conversation feeling way better than when we started it.

See It for What It Is: Just A Trait

About three years ago, something interesting came in the mail. One of my aunts resides in England, and she sends gifts every so often. This particular time, she had a special present for me.

It was a book, but not just any book. It was a self-help book called The Highly Sensitive Person, written by Dr. Elaine N. Aron. It had highlighted passages and comments scribbled all over it, as if Auntie wanted me to pay special attention to them.

I might have rolled my eyes at first, but that’s part of my proud nature. Also, never in my seventeen years had I read a self-help book, so I decided to give it a reluctant try in case she asked about it later and I had to whip off a review. I started reading, and to my surprise, it felt like staring at a mirror.

The book, first published in 1996, promotes the de-stigmatization around sensitive people, often mislabeled as weak, shy, and even antisocial, to name a few labels. It has offered me the best advice I’ve been given, from someone who has been through similar struggles.

It counts on interviews with hundreds of people like me—perhaps like you, too—who have offered their experience as HSPs. Their stories prove that we are not alone and that being sensitive makes us unique in our own ways; we just have to make an effort to see that amidst the haze of society telling us we’re somehow abnormal.

I can relate to my aunt on many levels, especially because we have strikingly similar personalities, which is always a recurrent topic during family reunions. At some point in her life she had the same doubts I do now—she felt unfitting and lost. She gets me, and she made sure I had that in mind by giving me that book.

“Think about the impact on you of not being the ideal for your culture. It has to affect you—not only how others have treated you but how you have come to treat yourself.” ~Elaine N. Aron. Ph. D.

For the first time in a while, I accepted my wholeness. I felt an overdue relief in being myself, comforted to know that being dysthymic and highly sensitive by no means indicates than I’m worse than everybody else.

I’m still coming to terms with my fragile essence. I haven’t left therapy or the medications, and I may need them for the rest of my life, who knows? Even so, in researching alternative ways to cope with my anxiety I stumbled across several posts that swore by meditation, so I decided to give it a shot—and it worked like magic!

I meditate for at least ten minutes daily, and the practice has helped diminish common anxious and depressive symptoms, such as a fast heartbeat and racing thoughts. This happens due to meditation’s scientifically suggested power to positively modify our brains—yes, it’s possible! If combined with consistent daily activities such as exercising or anything that sparks creativity, it becomes a strong healing method.

The good news is, my sensitivity has ceased to be a problem. Whenever it wants in, I won’t slam the door, I’ll just invite it in for a cup of coffee instead. Maybe acceptance is all it needs to rest cozy in my chest.

About Laila Resende

Laila is a Brazilian Portuguese/English student and full-time dreamer. She holds a deep passion for writing and aspires to make a difference to those who feel detached from this crazy, yet wonderful world we live in. You can find her blog at thoughtinventory.home.blog.

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