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vonbabbitt · 3 months ago

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Okay Von hi feel free to just ignore this if it's not a topic you want brought up and I'm not saying this was bad writing on your part since it was definitely unintentional but GOD DAMN it hurts that Watari died and was specifically burned during black history month. The cold motive being during December was a coincidence so this definitely is too but holy fuck it just hurts. A lot.

Praying it's a suicide honestly because one of these students I've grown to love burning a black woman alive on purpose during February (ik they don't know it's February but on principle it still hurts) would fuck me up so bad.

You're an awesome writer so don't take this the wrong way, it isn't a critique at all and definitely just seems like an awful coincidence to me but still. It's an awful coincidence.

(if it wasn't obvious btw I am black just so this doesn't read as some weird yt person lmao)

Thanks for making tetro anyway, hope you're in better health soon

hey anon, i wanted to address this because its a totally valid thing to bring up and your message was really really polite about it

it genuinely is just an awful coincidence unfortunately. when i first wrote all of tetro a few years ago i had zero idea of when it would be releasing or what the release schedule would look like, and things just happened to line up in a really unfortunate way.

obviously i cant speak on any matters of the case or the trial or the culprit right now, so i think a much better use of this platform and time would be to discuss ACTUAL issues of anti-black racism in japan with the focus people are now giving watari. hopefully thats a use of this platform that people will be able to take something away from

japan, historically, has had relatively limited interaction with african countries and people of african descent. the first time a black person was actually recorded historically in japan was a 16th century samurai named yasuke who was brought over by portuguese traders and eventually then served as a samurai under a 16th century daimyō named oda nobunaga. yasuke was very much a spectacle in 16th century japan, with records at the time saying that people in kyoto were fascinated by his height and dark skin. japan's interaction with black people remained extremely sparse throughout a lot of this time.

in the late 19th century, during japans early globalization, american minstrel shows (blackface performances) toured in japan, which introduced derogatory caricatures of black people to japanese audiences. it was a sort of imported imagery in that sense, carrying imported western racism with it into japan and laying foundations for japan's anti-black stereotyping in future japanese media.

during ww2, japan portrayed itself as a champion of non-white peoples against western imperialism and proposed a racial equality clause at the 1919 league of nations, which western powers rejected. while they were advertising this anti-racism approach, propaganda and attitudes within japan were actually a lot different. for example, after the war, many japanese people initially blamed black soldiers for the bombings, insisting that their skin had been "blackened" by the bomb. the american occupation of japan from 1945 to 1952 then brought a significant black presence to japan, with about 15000 black troops stationed in tokyo alone by 1946. these soldiers' interactions with japanese civilians (including romantic relationships) served as many japanese people's first prolonged contact with black people. the occupation era brought a new wave of mixed-race children that then went on to face strong social stigma in japan and the US alike, dredging up entrenched ideas about racial purity. generally, japan's historical context regarding black people is one of limited contact and imported stereotypes, setting the stage for modern perceptions.

in contemporary japan, which is still about 98% ethnically japanese, black people are an incredibly small minority, thought to make up only 0.02% of the population. because of this homogeneity, many attitudes towards black people are shaped by media images and lack of personal interaction. on one hand, theres still a curiosity and admiration for aspects of black culture in japan - mainly african-american pop culture, particularly hip-hop, sports and fashion. younger japanese people emulate black musicians and athletes, as well as certain subcultures (notably the late 1990s "B-style" trend) and at times even darken their skin to imitate black celebrities. on the other hand, deep-seated stereotypes persist. black people are often stereotyped as exceptionally athletic, musical or "cool", but also dangerous and foreign. as an example, black residents in japan will commonly report that strangers perceive them with a mix of fascination and fear. baye mcneil (who is a black author living in japan that i absolutely recommend reading the works of) notes that japanese reactions to blackness are frequently rooted in ignorance rather than malice. he notes that many japanese people fear blackness, and that their fear comes from a place of ignorance. this manifests in ways that may seem subtle at first glance - avoiding sitting next to a black passenger on the train or holding their belongings a little tighter in the presence of a black person. microaggressions against black people in japan are still extremely prevalent.

that same prejudice can also take the form of insensitive comments or questions, usually stemming from the assumption that all black people are from africa or america and fit certain tropes. for instance, a black friend of mine who visited japan recently noted that she was asked on more than one occasion if her skin colour would "rub off", reflecting a massively prevalent lack of exposure. japanese anti-black racism is strongly rooted in ignorance as opposed to the overt hatred displayed in western countries; physical attacks motivated by race are unusual. instead, social exclusion and othering are the more common issues. black people, like other visible minorities, often face the "perpetual foreigner" mindset japan still holds - no matter how long they've lived in japan or how well they speak japanese, they may be treated as outsiders. even japanese-born residents of mixed african descent can be viewed by some as not "fully japanese", as seen in public reactions to famous mixed-race individuals of such descent. to recap, modern attitudes are a complicated mix: a general polite public demeanour masking unspoken biases, a fascination with black culture coexisting with lingering stereotypes, and a lack of awareness that results in black residents frequently feeling hyper-visible yet entirely misunderstood and misinterpreted.

id also like to talk about the role of japanese media in anti-black racism in japan. japanese media and pop culture have a bit of a mixed record in their portrayal of black people. historically, representations were often steeped in caricature. in anime and manga, black or dark-skinned characters are often drawn with exaggerated features reminiscent of racist minstrel imagery, such as the very frequent use of exaggerated lips seen in many popular anime. two fairly infamous examples are mr. popo from the dragon ball series and jynx from pokemon. mr. popo is a genie-like character depicted with jet-black skin, large red lips and a turban, features clearly echoing the blackface iconography japan became familiar with in the 19th century. these designs sparked criticism internationally as well. western releases of these shows later altered the characters, such as mr. popo's skin being recoloured to bright blue in one edited instance, to downplay the resemblance to racist caricatures. the portrayal of black people in japanese media has thus been subject to intense criticism for insensitivity. many japanese viewers initially did not recognize these depictions as offensive, due to the different historical context, but awareness around anti-black racism has since been growing.

live-action media and advertising have also featured plenty of tone-deaf portrayals. blackface in comedy shows persisted in japan long after it had faded from other parts of the world. as recently as new years eve 2017, a popular comedian (masatoshi hamada) donned full blackface to impersonate eddie murphy on national TV, igniting outrage among international viewers and anti-racism activists. domestic reaction within japan was mixed, with some defending it as harmless cosplay and others (both japanese and otherwise) pointed out that, intentional or not, such images are hurtful and stem from ignorance. baye mcneil (shoutout again) led campaigns to educate the public on why blackface is offensive, especially with the 2020 tokyo olympics on the horizon and japan under greater global scrutiny. in 2020, japans public broadcaster NHK aired an animated segment about the black lives matter protests that depicted caricatured black figures (a muscular black man speaking broken japanese, with others shown looting) without any mention of police brutality - a portrayal widely condemned as racist. NHK retracted and apologized after facing backlack, showing that japanese media institutions are finally (but slowly) being called to account for promoting racist imagery and stereotyping.

there have been positive developments. the rise of internationally successful mixed-race japanese athletes and celebrities - such as tennis star naomi osaka, who is haitian-japanese, or signer crystal kay, who is korean-african-japanese - has prompted more nuanced conversations about identity. advertisers have featured more diversity in commercials, though not without missteps. as an example, one 2019 nissin noodles ad drew criticism for depicting a cartoonized naomi osaka with much lighter skin and eurocentric features. on variety TV, black personalities often appear, but sometimes in tokenized roles. notably, foreign talents like bob sapp and bobby ologun became famous in japan in the 2000s. while they gained popularity, they were somtimes boxes into caricatured personas (the "big scary black man" or the comic relief.) a quote from a japanese viewer at the time noted that "bobby ologon speaks weird japanese, bob sapp eats raw meat...it's like watching a circus show. people look down on them and it is obviously discrimination." this underscores how japanese media often plays up stereotypes (the non-fluent funny foreigner, the brute strength athlete, etc.) for laughs. however. more recent years have seen more candid discussions in media about racism. for example, japanese news programs covered the 2020 BLM marches in japan seriously, and films or other literature by afro-japanese creators, such as the memoirs of black residents, are slowly gaining more attention. overall, japanese pop culture is gradually, if slowly, moving from caricature to more authentic representation, pushed by both international pressure and a new generation that is more globally aware.

for black people living in or visiting japan, everyday life is generally safe but can be clouded by subtle discrimination and challenges. japan has no law explicitly prohibiting racial discrimination, so incidents of bias can go unchecked. a government survey in 2017 revealed that nearly one third of foreign residents had encountered derogatory remarks, and about 40% reported facing housing discrimination. black individuals often find themselves included in these statistics and often experience much greater suspicion than white foreigners. for instance, many black residents have stories of being repeatedly stopped by police for "random" ID checks or questioning, a practice linked to racial profiling. michael sharpe (a professor with the university of oxford) notes hearing of south asian and african immigrants being "stopped and harassed by police, denied housing, relegated to certain types of employment, and exploited" in japan. such profiling feeds a sense among black communities that they are being watched with particular scrutiny. a black american in tokyo reported that in his first week of living in a neighbourhood, he was stopped by police for riding a new bicycle, with the implication that a black person on a new bicycle may have stolen it.

housing and employment present other hurdles. its common for landlords and real estate agents in japan to flat-out reject foreign renters, with excuses such as language barriers or different lifestyles. black applicants, especially those from african or non-western countries, report this rejection at higher rates, sometimes hearing that neighbours or owners are "uncomfortable" renting to them. in the workplace, blatant racism is uncommon, but black professionals often face a ceiling or bias. many employers prefer hiring white westerners, perceiving them as more "suitable" english instructors or corporate representatives due to pervasive western-centric images, which can sideline black candidates. those who do work in japan might also endure ignorant comments from colleagues - for example, joking about skin colour or being compared to random black celebrities. a lack of diversity training means coworkers may not realize their "innocent" jokes are hurtful or disparaging.

social interactions can range from warmly welcoming to awkward. many japanese are genuinely curious and might ask personal questions with a racial charge behind them that the japanese fail to recognize. in more negative cases, black people may be avoided in public - a phenomenon illustrated by baye mcneil's anecdote of a man literally turning away and guarding his pockets when mcneil stood behind him in a train line. children often point or call out black people because they so rarely see black individuals, with such moments highlighting the feeling of otherness that black residents frequently experience. there have also been many incidents out outright rudeness: strangers touching black hair without permission, or making vulgar comments about the hygiene of black residents based on stereotyping.

its important to note that in the modern day, many black visitors travel in japan without incident, and many black expatriates build meaningful lives and friendships in japan. the discrimination tends to be subtle or indirect rather than open hostility. japans strong cultural emphasis on politeness often restrains open hate. however, this can be a double-edged sword. problems of racism may be denied or swept under the rug entirely. a common culture among the japanese is that "racism is an american problem, not a japanese one," which was a reaction seen when BLM rallies were held in tokyo. black residents in japan know differently - they live with daily reminders that their appearance sets them apart, for better or worse. in summary, daily life for black people in japan is usually from from violence or blatant abuse, but not free from the strain of being viewed as "alien" and having to navigate systemic biases in housing and policing that other groups might not face to the same degree.

several high-profile incidents in recent years have brought anti-black racism in japan into the spotlight and stirred public debate. one example is the case of ariana miyamoto in miss universe japan 2015. when miyamoto, born to a japanese mother and black father, won the miss universe japan title, it sparked nationwide conversation about what it means to be japanese. while many were proud of her win, a vocal sector on social media questioned whether a mixed-race contestant should represent japan. miyamoto, who was raised in japan, revealed she had faced bullying growing up - classmates threw trash at her and called her racial slurs due to her darker skin. the controversy around her victory - with comments such as "she doesnt look japanese" being prevalent - highlighted the exclusionary view some hold. her grace under fire and the support she received from others also became a teaching moment about multicultural japan.

another example is the case of tennis champion naomi osaka, who - as mentioned earlier - is hatian-japanese. while she is widely celebrated in japan, her rise came with many instances of racism. in 2019, japanese comedy duo a masso joked that osaka was "too sunburned" and that she "needed some bleach", implying her skin was too dark. they apologized after receiving harsh backlash. earlier that year, as mentioned earlier, nissin noodles released a cartoon ad where osaka's character was depicted with much lighter skin and hair than in reality. following criticism, nissin withdrew the ad and admitted they had not consulted osaka on her portrayal. osaka herself has handled these instances of racism with maturity, even joking in response to the bleach comment, and continues to proudly represent her mixed heritage.

anti-black racism in japan is a multifaceted issue, shaped by history, media representation, and japans self-image as a homogenous society. only in recent years has japanese society progressed towards a stance of anti-racism. i think whats genuinely fascinating about japans position is that we're seeing the disassembly of societal racism in real time in japan. massive civil rights strides that happened a hundred years ago in america are happening now in japan for the first time. we're seeing a new generation of japan that wants to directly oppose racism, and a generation of black japanese residents that are showing their strength and exceptionality. i really vividly remember the backlash against naomi osaka - and backlash on that massive of a scale can be terrifying. its inspiring on such a genuine level to see her demonstrating that level of strength and determination in the face of racism.

its genuinely unfortunate how the uploads happened to fall in regards to watari and black history month. however, if nothing else, im glad to have been given the opportunity to talk about black history in japan, and im glad to have been given the opportunity to witness the fight for the safety, acceptance, and love of black people in japan in real time. i know this was a bit of a long read but i had a lot i wanted to go over lmao.

as a final note, please dont be complacent. its really easy for people to reblog posts about black history and civil rights without really doing much of anything else. please always be the type of person who fights against anti-black racism. please use your voice correctly. you dont have to be anywhere near japan to have a say in how japanese racism is received by the greater world. the benefit of a global culture is that you can use your voice to affect things in other countries. when there are japanese comedians making horrible jokes about black people, and when there are japanese companies putting out ads that mock and erase black people, you have the ability to loudly raise your voice about it. so please always do so

idk how to end this but if you made it this far thank you for reading lmao. and thank you anon for giving me an opportunity to talk about this in more depth. i hope everyone has been able to have a reflective, meaningful, happy and genuinely loving black history month

#anon #ask #von.txt

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that-hazbin · 4 months ago

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I know Alastors your favorite character so bear with me but

Charlie's internalized classism (She's my privileged cunt and I love her <3)

Starting off with the definition, "Classism is a form of discrimination that treats people differently based on their social class..."First, let's start off with how she throws money around. She goes off and buys a hotel on a whim and impulse. She doesn't take the time to plan out the hotel before opening it. She has no staff members, and the hotel is broken down and racked. Simply fixing up the place would be hard work but wouldn't even cost that much!

Now let's talk about how she clearly only views sinners as 'dirty' and 'evil'. She doesn't ever outright state her opinions on sinners besides rambling in about their 'potential'. She thinks they all need to be redeemed and doesn't question the system until it harms her.Her views on Angel Dust's job make it so obvious that she has either never worked or only had plush internship-type jobs. She simply says to take time off and is shocked that he can't take time off willy-nilly. Her constants disapproval of his job and her generally pretty dismissive attitude only serves to emphasize this more!

I think the hotel initially belonged to the Morningstar family, actually, she didn't need to buy it because she's privileged enough to ALREADY OWN this giant ass building that works perfectly for her purposes.

And yeah, Charlie is very classist lmao. I love her, but she comes off so unintentionally mean at times and I KNOW she would be DEVASTATED to learn how rude she can come off as.

Like, that skit she made Angel perform where he's a drug dealer was genuinely SO MEAN. It targeted him so specifically, regarding drug addiction, making him call himself a "crackhead," and Sir Pentious basically saying "having sex before marriage is Wrong." Like??? Charlie, girl, holy SHIT. I would have been so pissed at her regardless of her good intentions lmaooo.

Someone made a post before that while Charlie has good intentions, she actually has pretty low empathy. Which is 100% true, she is very blind in regards to others' feelings and circumstances. And of course she is, she lived an extremely sheltered life in comparison to literally every other person in hell. She's literal royalty, one of her parents very loudly HATES sinners, and was definitely brought up to think herself as "above" her subjects. She doesn't intend to think that way, but she was raised into it.

She's nice, but she's also mean and I really love that dichotomy of her character. She's got a lot of room for some really interesting character development that I can't wait to see in later seasons.

#hazbin hotel #charlie morningstar #angel dust #sir pentious

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leoruby-draws · 6 months ago

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I did a whole bunch of drawings for Jason's team two weeks back, so now its time to concentrate on Steph's team! Here we've got 4 new characters for her team, with a couple extra tomorrow as well. Lets go into to them, one by one.

First up is the lantern for the group, more specifically a Violet Lantern apprentice aka Miri Riam! Her reasons for coming to earth is unknown at the moment but they seem to have some connection to Carol Ferris. Carol's also a Violet Lantern and Hal's(Green Lantern) on-and-off girlfriend and occasional antagonist. Perhaps Miri was sent to become Carol's apprentice? I've got more info on whats happening there, but thats for later.

As for why Miri was chosen for the group, I knew I wanted some kind of Lantern for the team, but couldn't find a green lantern that was both in Steph's age group and have fun interactions with them. But then I thought, does it have to be a green lantern? I had a red lantern for Jason's group after all. I looked around and found Miri! I don't know her exact age but I knew she was a young adult, so I'm just gonna have her be around Steph's age group.

The Violet Lanterns Corps are very ...enthusiastic about the power of love and Miri's no exception. She wants everyone to know the joy of Love, she's honestly kinda annoying about it. I remember this one GL issue where she was destroying a city just to get Kyle and Soranik to resolve their love troubles. That pretty much became the basis for how I'm writing Miri's personality. Like I said above, I'll get more into Miri at a later time.

Next is Maxine Hunkel aka Cyclone, granddaughter of Ma Hunkel aka the golden age Red Tornado! I already posted a drawing of her a while back, I thought she'd make a fun fit for the team. She's has such high energy and so much enthusiasm I couldn't help but find her utterly endearing. I think at a later point she'll end up joining the JSA but for now she's just having fun with this team.

Btw I thought that maybe her grandmother, Ma Hunkel, could fit a similar role that the other Red Tornado did for Young Justice, helping out a young hero team. Just a way to emphasize how Steph and Tim's teams can serve as foils to each other.

Next up is the archer of the group, Mia Dearden aka Speedy II. Tho she should probably have a different name due to Roy still being Speedy atm. Maybe Speedette? Ehhh, gotta workshop that.

Anyways here's Mia and Steph meeting as civilians, with Mia showing off her bow. Mia seems to be in some sort of school uniform, perhaps Oliver is sponsoring her to go to a fancy academy? Her backstory is similar to canon, with Oliver saving her from bad people. I'm not sure if her story should be exactly the same as canon, since Mia is 10 but terrible things like that do happen in real life to young children. But I don't know if a goofy au like mine is the best place to show that. But for now lets just say Mia is currently trying to heal and become a hero like Green Arrow.

I imagine Steph and Mia get along really well, they just get each other in a lot of ways. Steph can see Mia might be hurting inside and wants to cheer her up, hopefully with all of Mia's new friends she can.

Last up is Jaime Reyes aka Blue Beetle III. Unfortunately I haven't drawn him all that much so no individual drawing for him, tho I do like him.

As for why Jaime, I remember liking him in the YJ cartoon and found him pretty likeable in the comics as well. But I've always like the spiderman hero archetype anyways, which Jaime fits really well (I mean, it was done on purpose). Static and Sideways also fit the archetype and are in the team as well. Arguably you can say add Steph to this too, probably more than Tim in my personal opinion.

Another reason I wanted to add Jaime is that he and Steph almost became teammates in canon, in a failed Young Justice project. What could have been huh. Third reason is more silly tho, if Barbara and Ted Kord start to date in this au, imagine how grossed out Steph and Jaime will be lmao.

So there's four new teammates for the team, but! I've got a couple extra for tomorrow! And later on I hope to finally post some more doodles of these characters (some of them are real old, more than a year old). Especially Miri, she turned out to be such a fun character, and I've always liked the all the lantern corps. Here's a bonus doodle of them btw (with bonus unmasked Sideways):

So many new members, well, hope you liked all that!

#DC Comics #Stephanie Brown #Jackson Hyde #Kara Zor El #M'gann M'orzz #Miri Riam #Maxine Hunkel #Jaime Reyes #Mia Dearden #Carol Ferris #Derek James #my art #Training Wheels au

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codthefishgod · 18 days ago

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Analysis post for episode 83 of Faroff, AKA Truth: Part 2

Split below for spoilers!

I am VERY sorry that this is late LMAO, this is probably one of my longest analysis posts so far and I haven't read through it all again yet so I hope it makes sense--knowing me I probably forgot something. 💀

Okay, unfortunately I did skip last episode's analysis post (I've been in a crappy place recently, I'm recovering more now though), BUT I'm BACK and THANK FUCK BECAUSE HOLY CRAP THIS EPISODE WAS JUICY-

First off, Tobias getting really and properly angry for the first time? Tobias in general seems to make a point of never showing ANY extreme emotions, happy or sad or otherwise. He's usually in a state of neutrality, and there have only been a handful of times where he's done otherwise (example of one of these times below.)

Fun fact, when I first saw this panel it was because someone on Instagram had it as their profile picture (they had it before the episode came out to non-Patreon subscribers), and I genuinely didn't think it was real (as in a canon panel) because I didn't think Tobias would show that much emotion until I actually saw the episode myself!

This is yet another way that he's the polar opposite of Fenn, considering Fenn is almost always showing extreme emotions and it's when he's calm that's odd for him.

Obviously this isn't because Tobias doesn't experience extreme emotions, but because it was dangerous to express any sort of vulnerability when he lived with his family. It's become ingrained in his behaviour.

So.

Him being genuinely, seriously, all out PISSED for the first time in Faroff history. Occurring at the same time as him being truly vulnerable about his past for the first time. It's no wonder that he has a lot of pent up anger about his past, considering everything, but what IS interesting is how it's manifesting, considering Tobias has never really directly spoken about his feelings towards his family on screen.

Most of his anger doesn't seem to be directed at his family for treating him badly, but at himself for not meeting their expectations.

He blames himself for them not showing him any love or attention. And he also seems to believe that maybe, just maybe, if he does the right thing or is in a bad enough situation, there's still a chance for them to accept him.

There's this panel to show that, not to mention that I've thought for a while that this is the reason behind why he's looking forward to going back to Vaylin (not so much since the Edward announcement but 😬.) I think he thinks that if he just does what they want for long enough, or at least stays out of their way, they'll care about him. If he fulfills this imaginary role he thinks he's supposed to, they'd love him. Of course, we know this to be untrue--just look at Edward--but one of Tobias' main motivations throughout this series has been shown to be the desire to be loved. And when all he's ever been taught is that usefulness = love, of course he's going to gauge everything by that.

Speaking of this panel specifically, this is actually kind of news to me, considering I've suspected for a long time that Tobias purposely failed out. Turns out that's not the case. He is genuinely, seriously, horribly bad at being a soldier.

Which brings me into my next point.

Fenn being forced to consider a new type of worth.

Throughout this series, Fenn has shown several times that he values himself entirely (or at least mostly) by how good a soldier he is. To him, that is All That Matters--serving your country and doing it well. Tobias has always acted as if he thought this was dumb, but it's being revealed to us now, that NO--Tobias was ALSO brainwashed for as long as he's been alive (though in a different way), and he ALSO values himself by how good a soldier he is. He's just a lot better at hiding that fact.

And this isn't a situation where Tobias actually is good at it and is just being hard on himself. He's the real deal. He fucking sucks at being a soldier.

But we also know that Fenn doesn't think Tobias is useless. We know Fenn values him. And Fenn knows that too. So he will be forced to confront this--that maybe being a soldier ISN'T all that matters, and there's more than one way a person can be important and worthy of love. Not only for Tobi, but for himself.

Continuing on the note of Fenn...

This also tells us some new information. What Fenn says about Tobias has a much bigger impact on him than previously thought. Similar to what I was talking about earlier, Tobias has always acted like Fenn's insults don't mean anything to him. But Tobias bringing up what Fenn has said about him in the past tells us something different--they DO hurt him.

I'll admit that I've seen the similarities in how Fenn (particularly early Fenn) sometimes talks to Tobias and how Tobias' family talked to him. But it's never been exactly clear how much this affects Tobias. It seems that he's been internalising at least some of the stuff Fenn says to him.

Now this is a dark take on this whole situation, but. Abuse victims are more likely to end up in abusive relationships because they're used to abusive dynamics, and may even see normal/healthy relationships as uncomfortable. I am NOT saying Fenn is abusive--he has his own reasons for acting the way he did, many of which are completely understandable from his perspective, though misguided. I AM saying that Tobias has acted uneasy and/or confused in the past when Fenn has acted in a way that contradicted his family's abuse (telling him his art is great, that his ideas are worth listening to, etc.)

This is part of why I think Fenn and Tobias aren't quite ready to be in a romantic relationship yet. There is a certain number of things that Fenn can show Tobias through treating him right, but Tobias shouldn't be dependent on Fenn to know what he deserves and what he's worth. And he should know what sort of treatment isn't okay. He should be able to tell Fenn if something he says hurts him.

Fenn would never hurt Tobias on purpose, but things happen when a person is prone to not speaking out for themselves. Tobias needs to have more character development so they can both have a more healthy relationship in the long run.

...Alright. Moving on.

Minor detail but it was confirmed that Tobias kept his identity a secret because he was afraid of Fenn reacting badly to it. I think most of us suspected that, though.

On a MUCH more positive note, we're about to get into Fenn's reaction!!!

In the past, Fenn has usually only helped Tobias when he's making an excuse for why it's okay, or when he's put their circumstances out of his mind and is refusing to think about them. For example, Fenn cooking for Tobias in the beginning and making the excuse that it's unfair if he's better fed than Tobias, or Fenn pretending that he and Tobias aren't enemies when they were slow dancing together.

But this time, there were no excuses. If he was following the law, he would report him. There was no ignoring their situation or putting it out of his mind. Hell, even Tobias himself threw it right in front of Fenn.

And yet he still chose to help him. I don't know if this development will continue as strongly after this episode--after all, Fenn tends to have a slight development regression after major steps in their relationship--but to me this is showing that he's at least getting closer to not needing some sort of excuse to justify him caring about Tobias. He's getting closer to being able to admit to himself that even if he didn't "have" to interact with him, he would still want to. And he's getting closer to being at a point where he would readily pick Tobias over Sona.

Not only that, but something else was missing as well.

You might've noticed that Fenn sometimes shakes before making a decision that'll bring him closer to Tobi. [Examples below]

I think it signifies internal conflict and struggling with making the decision.

He didn't do it this time, which to me means that this was not a difficult decision to make for him.

And that's not even mentioning the fact that Fenn called Tobias TOBI for the first time!!!

The way this went is quite vastly different from the way the first time Fenn called Tobias "Tobias" went. When that happened, as we remember, it was quite....DRAMATIC. Fenn basically regretted his decision almost immediately and flipped his shit.

But this time around, it was actually a very natural delivery. There was not nearly as much fanfare around it, and so far Fenn is not having the same sort of negative reaction as he did to calling Tobias "Tobias" for the first time. This makes a lot of sense to me, because the two names mark significantly different steps in their relationship.

Calling Tobias "Tobias" was the first proper break into "MAYBEEEEEEEEEEE he isn't the scum of the earth." Fenn reacted very dramatically to it because he had only just accepted that a truce between them was possible and was still deep in Vaylinians-are-inherently-evil-ville. He saw it as himself slipping up and I don't think he even really understood why he chose to do it the first time.

Calling Tobias "Tobi" for the first time, though? Definitely past the "maybe he isn't a bad person" mark. They already have a sort of relationship at this point, unlike the first situation where their "relationship" was basically them just shouting at and insulting each other. Calling Tobias "Tobi" is almost... A term of acceptance to me, if that makes sense? As in, "I'm NOT just doing this because we have a truce, or because I just feel guilty, but because I care about you and you specifically." There is no real excuse for him calling Tobias "Tobi." The only explanation is that he wants to, because he cares about him. It's calmer because it's accepting that. It was deliberate.

They also represent different things. I've talked in the past before about how Fenn says "Vaylinian" when he sees Tobias principally as an enemy, and "Tobias" when he sees Tobias as a real person. I think "Tobi" is not only seeing Tobias as a real person, but as an important person. A good person.

I also think "Tobi" is the signifier that Fenn and Tobias are officially friends now. Before, they always felt like they were this weird in between. Not friends, but not really enemies either. Now I think we've crossed the line into friendship.

And, though I may be wrong about this, I don't think Fenn will be calling Tobias "Vaylinian" at all after this episode. I just don't think Fenn will see Tobias in that way anymore, and now that he knows that Tobias has such low self esteem, I feel he wouldn't want to contribute to it.

Actually, I think this change may be one of the most permanent ones, purely because I don't think Fenn could bring himself to be mean to Tobias again knowing everything that he already thinks of himself. Tobias already thinks that he's useless, that he's a bad soldier, that he's a failure, that he's not someone worthy of love or friendship. Fenn is too good hearted a person to encourage thoughts like that. He can't just change his mind and go all "oh actually I hate you again," he has to think more about how what he does and says actually affects Tobias, and I think he'll become more considerate as a result. I even think Fenn will become more forthcoming about initiating physical contact and other positive interactions. (Speaking of physical contact, this isn't the first time they've hugged, but it's the first time Fenn has hugged Tobias and the first time they've both been an active part of a hug. The other time was kinda just Tobi hugging Fenn and Fenn being too in shock to respond LMAO.)

Overall, I think they're both going to be closer as a result of this interaction. This is the first time Tobias has been truly vulnerable with Fenn, and this is a great sign that the trust in their relationship won't be so one sided anymore (I do believe Fenn has trusted Tobias more than Tobias has trusted him on an emotional level.) Fenn's reaction was VERY important, especially considering Tobi's main reason for not telling Fenn about this was in fear of his reaction. It's proving Tobi's fears wrong and assuring him that it IS safe to tell Fenn about these sorts of things. This is INCREDIBLY important if we want Tobias to get some proper character development. I've always said that I don't think Tobias could get real character development until Fenn got his, and I think this proves that. This is the starting point of Tobias' development arc, and it would've never happened if Fenn hadn't gotten the development he needed to react the way he did. Tobias needs a safe person that he's never really had before, and it's starting to show that Fenn can be that for him, so he can begin to confront his past and realise he deserves better. Fenn's influence especially will probably help him accept the idea that he might not be in the wrong. :)

(I also think the more they both grow away from the people and forces that brainwashed them, the more receptive they'll probably become to the idea of trying to avoid being sent back to their home countries. Escape arc when? 👁)

Thanks for reading!

#faroff #faroff analysis post #faroff monday #faroff webcomic #faroff webtoon #faroffwebtoon #faroffwebcomic #fenn velle #tobias hawkfordt #tobias faroff #fenn faroff

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yinyuedijun · 1 year ago

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end notes for zero-sum game (tw: slavery, sexual abuse)

hi if you're here it means you read my deranged aventurine smut. thank you for reading that abomination lmao I hope you enjoyed it 😭 once again I've touched on really sensitive topics and don't want to be misread so I'm writing some disclaimers/explanations below:

In the act of gambling with human stakes, as well as doing business with human traffickers, Aventurine is essentially himself engaging in human trafficking. This is not something he particularly enjoys doing or wishes to exploit (which I did try to indicate in the narrative); he only does this for his role with the IPC.

The reason I made this a narrative about human trafficking is not because I wish to glamorize this crime. I framed the narrative this way because I wanted to point out how Aventurine actively perpetuates the kind of capitalistic violence that ruined his life by being a Stoneheart. This is something that is implicit in the game but not openly explored, hence I expanded on it here.

Somewhat thematically related: the reader actively engages in self-objectification—using it neutrally as a tool for their espionage work at times, but also positively in order to eroticize their one-sided and exploitative relationship with Aventurine. This was not intended to condone the objectification of human beings; rather, I wanted to show how a lifetime of sexual objectification and extreme dehumanization as a slave has led them to objectify and dehumanize themselves, sometimes even in the capacity of enjoying it.

Aventurine in canon similarly engages in self-objectification and dehumanization as a trauma response (i.e. he refers to himself as a chip in a positive manner, clearly as a reaction to how his owner referred to him callously as a chip when he was a slave), though in my opinion he's not really implied to derive any real joy from the idea.

Related to the point of objectification: Aventurine and the reader clearly do not engage in particularly safe, sane or consensual sexual dynamics (specifically referring to how he started undressing them before they fully consented to public sex and just kind of decided what to do with them without prior discussion). This is not because I think this is acceptable behaviour; it is a reflection of their unequal power dynamic that the reader actively encourages and Aventurine is fine with perpetuating. It is also implied to be the result of his own distorted relationship with sex—he has literally been coerced into doing exactly the same thing in the very same establishment, and assumed that the reader would be fine with doing it too because they generally enjoy it when he exercises "ownership" over them, which they both associate with sexual control for traumatic reasons.

I've seen discourse around the fandom where people interpret the act of kissing Aventurine’s commodity code as a purely sexual or fetishizing action. I thus feel compelled to explain that the act of Aventurine and reader kissing each other’s codes in this story served a specific purpose within the wider narrative about dehumanization. I wrote a lot of things in this fic purely because I was ungodly levels of horny for Aventurine (lol), but those particular actions actually had narrative weight lol

With all this being said, I hope it is clear that the reason I chose to focus on themes of slavery and dehumanization is not because I intend to promote or glamorize them, but because I wanted to explore specific points of Aventurine’s characterization that exist in canon. The theme of sexual abuse (and its psychological fallout) is also something that is a natural extension of his story arc in canon. I have no wish to perpetuate any of these things, and I have faith that my audience can distinguish fiction from reality and thus will not have their perspectives on real life issues be seriously influenced by my dumb horny fic on tumblr dot com.

Also I should hope this is obvious but do not use your regular everyday gloves to finger someone! I like to imagine that Aventurine’s expensive science fiction gloves has the incredible ability to remain sterile in everyday circumstances 👍

#yueshuo #actual fic is coming up soon i swear give me 20 mins LMFAO

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clandestineivory · 16 days ago

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hey fleurrrrrr

it's me, the demon (you know who)

can I request smth about Shadow Milk's canonical fragile body? Like- what do you think he'd do and stuff idk

(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ anon btw and you know who I am

okay (my fingers hurt but what the hell it's smc and I'm ready to work)

Shadow Milk Cookie Headcanons: "Fragile."

Summary: I think the crisis of arthritis is affecting me now because oh my lord my hands hurt like hell (it's been happening to my family for so long and I'm next nawww) I had to go do some digging about this and yknow what "(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ anon"? This is gonna be some extra headcanons because I need a redo and I think he's so wet cat coded with that fuck-ass haircut

Warning: Swearing (i fear it was obvious), bad grammar, possible ooc, lazy. So very lazy. a/n: I'm tired after finishing a sewing project and having to deal with 3 google slide presentations (chat I'm COOKED) I don't wanna talk abt 9/11 and then about Frida Kahlo and THEN about Kaumuali'i like how does this even happen to me

He should've been voiced by a vocaloid but nobody's ready to hear my weird opinion (no hate to the va though i love his talent)

I think he'd put on a front about how he's so strong and mighty and smart (and I can admit that he's smart), but c'mon. Look at him. He uses magic more than he uses his legs to walk.

Do you think he wonders why the Witch baked him like that though- just a fleeting thought that comes up from time to time when he's actually siting on a solid surface. His power lies in intellect, illusion, and psychological manipulation, not brawn. Not like Burning Spice Cookie (who definitely has some smarts of his own, I promise you. ruthless and calculating muscular men my beloved)

He might even tell himself it doesn’t matter, really! That he redefined his own purpose, made him a better version of what he used to be! (But the slight doubt lingers. Of course the Master of Deceit can act and pretend so much so that he forgot what was real behind the glamour and theatricals)

I think he'd use magic to cheat his way out of doing most physical stuff. It's as easy as breathing, so why would he want to take the harder, more taxing way? Sounds boring, doesn't it?

Anyways I think he's allergic to bleach

And honestly, look at him. Does he really look like the typa cookie to be strong (physically)?

He'd probably be wobbly on his legs when he actually has to stand and walk around yknow.

Leans against the wall and pretends to act all mysterious but he's probably SLUMPED against that thing oml get this guy some crutches or make him use his staff RIGHT (or steal GingerBrave's cane idk)

He smells atrocious when left in humid weather for a long time (he becomes like spoiled milk and rotten blueberries. He can't visit Burning Spice for long because of that lmao. keep him away from the deserts PLEASE or else he'll turn into YOGURT)

The type to tolerate 4 bottles of berry juice (or 6 1/2 if he's in a pissy mood) and then go on and on about what it was like being the Fount of Knowledge while trying to crawl into a portal and sleep (or die inside, either one)

Probably the Cookie version of anemic and that's why he hates physical work (literally me)

Music tastes range from a whole orchestra or piano (but I feel as though he'd enjoy opera singing quite a bit. He's over a thousand years old stuck in that body. let the old grandpa in him have some joy that isn't immediately about psychological tormenting others lmao /j I know he has other hobbies I swear)

Calls most of the Ancients 'youngsters' jokingly or 'old' depending on the time of day (peepaw shadow milk go back to bed please and stop calling these guys old)

This headcanon is probably ooc and y'all can beat my ass:

I think he judges whoever he meets and categorizes them as specific chess pieces.

For example -> Black Sapphire and Candy Apple? Rooks. Helpful, ready to serve. Maybe Bishops, but they're being quite genuine when it comes to helping the Master of Deceit. Queens? -> Shadow Milk Cookie himself! (moves in all directions, can easily change the tide of the game when released, quite popular), Burning Spice (same thing but way more destructive...goes off-script sometimes, and the improv is not that good!)...honestly? All of the Beast Cookies. Maybe Mystic Flour is an exception, maybe not.

Pawns? -> Everyone who doesn't seem like a real threat. NPC's, regular Cookies, ect... but they can certainly become something else with enough patience and perseverance. That's the fun part.

and I lowk gave up on this headcanon rn because i typed a whole thing out but my computer got sassy with me and deleted it all (fuck you, man. I ordered you in rose-gold because I thought it would be pretty, not a bitch)

Can I go on to say that milk, ice cream, orange juice, and blue raspberry soda tastes so fucking good like oh my heavens it's like a fizzy ice cream

or milk with frozen blueberries

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glytchedmuffins · 1 month ago

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I think enough time passed for me to start sharing my theories post 3.2

I have two currently, I'll start with one and will post about the second one (which will no doubt be way longer than this one lmao) some other day.

So, let's talk about Era Nova.

3.2 was a massive lore drop, we got a lot of answers, but we also got many more questions.

What I want to talk about is: what exactly is the Era Nova.

Sure, most of it has been revealed by our local mad scientist Anaxagoras, how Era Nova is a process in which the demigods become the new Titans and as such the world is made anew.

But I believe it has another purpose besides the reshaping of the world.

Which relates to the other big reveal we had: the presence of the Destruction, and more specifically, a Lord Ravager.

Based on what Lygus said, Amphoreus acts as a prison for said Emanator of Destruction, which is where that "agreement" they mentioned comes in.

We can also confidently assume that the black tide is the doing of the Lord Ravager.

As time goes by, they get closer and closer to freedom, and it's why the black tide is getting stronger and more aggressive, as stated in 3.1

Which is where Era Nova comes in.

I think, when the world is restarted and reshaped, so does the seal keeping the Lord Ravager in check.

We know the black tide is not exclusive to this cycle only, Gnaus mentions it in the very first memory Naxy gets to see, so that probably means the black tide becomes a threat eventually in every world.

So Era Nova's purpose is to reaffirm the lock each time the Emanator starts to make dents in it.

It probably also serves as a way to avoid corruption since we know the black tide affects the Titans too, (gestures to Nikador and Aquila), and it would explain why choosing new Titans is a part of this process.

And it would also explain why the prophecy is constantly repeated when there is always at least one Titan who remembers that this has happened before, because otherwise the Lord Ravager will get loose, and that's not good for anyone.

Killing them was probably not an option the past cycles had, considering how they were imprisoned in the first place instead of killed, but this cycle has outside factors involved (the Trailblaze) so the story will probably end with us killing them in 3.6 (3.7 being the epilog like how 2.3 was for Penacony).

So when our buddies get reborn in the new world, this time they'll actually get to make a future for themselves instead of constantly repeating the same cycle.

I also believe the very first Titans were made as jailers for this Lord Ravager, or were turned into ones, depending on if they existed prior to the imprisonment.

Right now, that's the question I want answered; "did Amphoreus exist prior to the imprisonment, or was Amphoreus created for the imprisonment."

Hopefully, we'll get more answers soon.

#honkai star rail #hsr #hsr theory #hsr spoilers #amphoreus #the destruction #the lord ravagers

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dmbakura · 1 month ago

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god I hate the sincersity vs irony post making the rounds like that opening fit the theme of dmc 3 as the most series in the series but would not fit any of the others like imagine something like that in dmc 5) like the tone is completely different

i know which one you're talking about and yeah lmao. it's very disingenuous because the two monologues serve completely different purposes in the game vs the show. for all intents and purposes, these are not the same mary either. the comparison is just dumb.

for context:

like in the game it's lady from the end of the game AFTER she's undergone her character arc, and it's specifically to set up the conflict of dante and vergil. not at all the same case in the show, with this mary holding a violent hatred for all demonkind and none of the development of her game counterpart.

ive seen people say the show is "irony poisoned" "insincere" and "hates being dmc" like no it isn't and it doesn't??? there's no shortage of sincerity in the show at all and it plays everything with about the same ridiculous over the top-ness as the games, while also being grounded in moments it needs to be. there's a few "well that happened" kinda flavoured quips from dante but that's about it???

#dmc anime #dmc netflix #asdmc #lady dmc #mary arkham

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ckret2 · 9 months ago

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How married are you to shapes carrying pregnancies at all? As opposed to other methods of making babies, such as spores or eggs or more outlandish sci fi options like parts assembly

Bare minimum, we know that shape reproduction needs a mother and a father.

I'm going to take it as a given that for Euclideans "mother" and "father" refers to "two individuals performing two different but necessary parts of a reproductive act to produce offspring," and not something like "they're totally not necessary at all but the government requires two people to sign up to co-parent before they'll hand out a baby" or whatever.

I'm taking it as a given because if I didn't, the contrary alien worldbuilder in me would go "well if mother and father are made up social roles rather than social roles derived from pre-existing biological roles, then why did they have to make up social roles that just so happened to be so similar to humanity's? I'm calling bull, bad worldbuilding, how dare you foist mom/dad pairs on a species that had no reason to develop mom/dad pairs as if we're supposed to just accept that that's the only NATURAL and NECESSARY way to rear offspring—" so I'm not giving my inner worldbuilder that option.

So, with "reproduction requires two different roles" as our starting point: at the moment, my own personal purpose in worldbuilding how Bill's species works is for use in the post-canon fic I'm working on that explores Bill's home dimension in flashbacks. That's what I'm keeping in mind when I worldbuild.

And I say that to give context to this: for my own personal purpose, my motivation is to worldbuild the way Euclideans' reproduction works in a way that ISN'T so interesting that mentioning it in fic will cause the readers' imaginations to immediately veer off the plot and focus on that detail. I'd rather how they do the do to be unremarkable as hell.

Anything mentioned about Bill's homeworld in the fic is put in either to explain who and what he is and why he's that way, or to sprinkle in a jazzy little bit of flavor. I'm trying to avoid turning his species into a deep exercise in alien speculative biology, since that doesn't mesh with the vibes of the story I'm telling. (As I say this i'm covering that "which shape sexes are reproductively compatible" chart with my body so you can't see it. I said I'm trying to avoid getting deep into the biology, not that i'm succeeding lmao. I'm too interested in how Bill sees his gender.)

Every aspect of Flatland was worldbuilt specifically to comment on the horrors of contemporary Victorian society, even the stuff that surprises readers that don't know much about the Victorian era like "well surely the stuff about irregulars being euthanized or poor babies being stolen and given to middle-class families is a dystopian invention," and anything that DOESN'T serve the social satire is handwaved away with "we have a very interesting way of propelling our bodies but unfortunately I don't have time to talk about it." Bill is written into Gravity Falls to be a foil to every member of the Pines family and to show what they could be like without love, trust, support, and family. That's the same role I want Euclydia to serve in my fic. Anything that diverges from rather than reflects Gravity Falls' contemporary society is out of place.

Putting in something like "eggs" or "spores" opens up cans of worms. How would laying eggs make their society different—are they less attached to their own kids, is trading eggs around and pre-hatching adoption more common, do people steal a neighbor's egg and leave their own? If it's spores, is it even possible to identify your own kid, does anyone care to, do kids ever just spawn out of a rotten log in the forest that spores settled on, are babies self-sufficient since they might be born without an adult nearby? These are fascinating avenues for some great alien worldbuilding! However I'm currently motivated to keep alien worldbuilding to a minimum lol.

In truth, I'll probably never need to know or explain HOW the shapes reproduce—pregnancy, eggs, spores, ritualistic magical waltz, collaborative geometry homework, whatever. Taking time to explain it means talking about details that aren't relevant to the fic, and the ghost of Edwin Abbott Abbott would sadly shake his head at me. However: if I don't explain reproduction, and if it requires two roles, most people are gonna default to assuming pregnancy. I can live with that.

All I need to figure out is how the two roles in the Two Roles Needed For Reproduction are assigned—like, can every member of the species automatically perform both roles at any time? (I don't wanna do that.) Are they born performing one of the two functions? (I don't wanna do that either, because now we've just invented a new male/female sexual dichotomy.) Does which you perform depend on your sides, the one with less sides does X and more does Y? Does it switch seasonally? Does it switch based on your age? Does it switch based on the number of each shape in the local population? Etc. (I'm not attached to any of these ideas, they're just examples.)

And the only reason that's something I need to figure out is that that could affect how Bill thinks about himself and his identity. Like, if which role you perform switches based on the amount of similar shapes in the local population, then it would have some kinda impact on him knowing that his body's been locked into the Lmao There Are NO Other Triangles Nearby role for the past trillion years. If it switches based on your age, then the fact that he never got old enough to switch would be one of many examples of the way his biological age has been in stasis since his dimension was destroyed. Etc.

#shape gender #bill goldilocks cipher #headcanons #anonymous #ask

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melonteee · 10 months ago

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On the subject of One Piece being a very un-shonen-like shonen, one example of this is how the recruitment of all the Straw Hats has way more in common with the structure of romantic comedies than it does with shonen rivals-to-allies.

...

... Okay I know that sounds like a joke but seriously hear me out:

Every single Straw Hat recruitment story has the moment where the character accepts themselves as Straw Hat that's facilitated by a Grand Gesture. And I don't just mean the popular ships, I mean literally every Straw Hat. Luffy deflects bullets at Zoro's execution and gives him back his swords. Luffy destroys Nami's desk at Arlong Park. Luffy punches the Black Cat Pirates for laughing at Usopp. Luffy destroys the Baratie in response to Sanji saying he's willing to die for it. Luffy shields Hiriluk's jolly roger in front of Chopper. Luffy & the crew burns the WG flag in front of Robin. The crew steals Franky's trunks to lure him back to his magnum opus. Luffy reveals that he made the same promise to Laboon as Brook (this one even happens while Luffy is sprawled over a piano). Luffy and Jinbe share blood.

Now, these Grand Gestures for the Straw Hats serve the same exact purpose as the Grand Gestures in romcoms, though in One Piece's case romance isn't the endgame. BUT. But, in a romcom the purpose of the Grand Gesture scene isn't just to be a flashy show of affection/devotion. It's the moment where Character A proves they understand Character B, and Character B in turn realizes that they are understood.

But that's not all! When reading "Romancing the Beat: How to Write Kissing Books," by Gwen Hayes, I'd argue there's a lot more similarities in how Hayes describes the common structure of romcoms. Specifically, a lot of romcoms have what she calls the "No Way" beat - when one or both characters expresses why they think they will Never-Ever Work Together; and the thing that needs to be overcome for the relationship to happen. Which is pretty much what happens with every Straw Hat. The vast majority of Straw Hats have had a literal "No Way" reaction to the prospect of joining the Straw Hats, and even the ones that don't there's still an implicit "No Way" factor underlying their arc.

Straw Hat recruits also hit similar beats to what Hayes describes as "Adhesion" i.e. the circumstances that force the characters into each other's company and making them be literally/figuratively stuck. This is another one story beat that's pretty much everywhere in Straw Hat character arcs: Luffy getting roped into being the Baratie chore boy, Nami being sick in the Drum Kingdom, the Merry being damaged in Water 7, half the crew ending up on the train to Enies Lobby, half the crew's shadows being stolen in Thriller Bark, etc. It's the point in the story - both in romcoms and in One Piece - where the characters have no choice but to bond.

... I don't really have an conclusion to this honestly. I just thought the similarities were neat.

lmao I have nothing to add on cause I totally agree. I read One Piece like a love story, but the love story is between Luffy and everyone and everything he loves HAHA

#ask #melonask

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chasedeys · 6 months ago

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https://www.tumblr.com/chasedeys/767908190114447360/httpswwwtumblrcomchasedeys767907676016476160

Jesus Christ he pulled up on Joe ???! I need this devotion

he did 😔😔🤚🤚🤚

the Lakers Date in gifset form and in video form like look at joe staring at ja'marr like that and giggling and shit oh my god joe ja'marr is sure as hell funnier than you but really? ja'marr putting his arms around joe which is just. yeah. look at that little scratch and then actually reaching his arms out and then just saying something short and random 😭 you know. casual. and joe barely reacting to it ok whatever. oh and also there's this hilarious twitter thread in reaction to it lmao.

this is the wowing backstory (everyone say thank you to carmen's big brain!!) to the date and kind of why this felt like a psychological attack beyond the implication that this was A Basketball Date. basically ja'marr flew his ass to arizona for joe because the man was having the shittiest week and was sooooo weirdly messy about it because he posted a vague blurry ass insta story of his location and then deleted it (?????) god what is wrong with him. like the photo was obviously a quick little snap of him in a car with just a location posted in the middle of the night like it didn't matter what the pic was only the location and was posted the minute he arrived (?) like he was announcing where he was for a very specific reason and then deleted it like it served its purpose and he didn't need it anymore. (is that not basic teenager in love 101........)

on joe being miserable -> like joe went to a club and flipped people off and i think one of the events he had was the signing with obj and kd (beloved kevin durant <3 but its sooo random why the fuck was kd there im so confused as to what this event was) and joe's expressions throughout all the videos and photos were either flat as fuck or straight up not-enjoying-shit. the next time he gets snapped in public it's with ja'marr on a basketball court with matching outfits finally smiling and laughing right and doing silly shit like clapping all up against ja'marr's face like a besotted dork......mind you he clapped because ja'marr was on camera probably getting introduced to the stadium so everyone could technically see it so it was like he was teasing the ever living shit out of ja'marr who was trying to be all cool throwing peace signs only to get stunted on by his embarrassing ass man who just wouldn't let him live jesus i'm sorry but i'm genuinely wondering why he clapped that way. look at his impish little smile joe oh my god stop.

but he was really finally acting all goofy and silly and smiling and laughing genuinely when ja'marr showed up and yapped at him!!!!!!! insane. shining example of devotion and codependency tbh.

some Speculation! which i love to do unfortunately for everyone around me:

this was planned from the start way before joe went through apparent hell or something. they bought the tickets way back with dj and sam and this was like the only thing joe looked forward to which is why he was finally smiling and laughing and actually managed to get through the week.

from that event they had together kd gave tickets to obj (pretty sure he was also there but like on the opposite side of the court?? idk) and joe and joe requested/bought more tickets and invited ja'marr and sam and dj because he was in heavy need of Friendship Love Moral Support from his guys. yeah.

(the favorite. the full of love theory) ja'marr found out joe was Going Through It (from joe himself? from obj? from his manager? the internet? other friends? who knows) and flew his ass to arizona having bought the plane ticket within minutes of ending the call/text regarding the joe situation. knew joe needed some refreshing/healing so he searched up what arizona had going on for them that week or he was planning on watching the game from his home anyway idk and immediately bought court-side tickets for the game. invited dj and sam so joe would be surrounded by more close friends who he would feel comforted by. arrived in phoenix in the middle of the night, snapped a quick photo for ig announcing where he was, joe saw it and sent ???????? in reply, ja'marr then deletes the ig story bc he doesn't want anyone else asking shit too, and finally crashed joe's pity party and has him smiling within minutes. am i crazy. yes. am i free. also yes.

THE CLOTHES THING they're literally wearing yellow and purple -> lakers and coincidentally lsu's colors!!! technically suns' too i think. did they plan on matching or did they each plan on wearing lakers colors in the first place (these divas...) and just had that one-brain-ism thing they got going on. ja'marr was sooooo pretty btw 😭😭 his faceeeee the dimple the hairrrr i miss his cornrows he looks sooo good in bright mustard yellow toooooo somebody save me from myself.

OH and dj reader and sam were there too okay 😭 like they weren't there alone. that la lunch date was like this lakers date 2.0 bc they weren't alone damn it but it weirdly seems that way 😭 when you're in love etc. or maybe because they just weren't mentioned as much as these two :( but I'm really pleased that joe could smile surrounded by his teammates <3 joy etc.

okay bye 😭

#ask #this could've been under 50 words sorry #this and the fact that its referred to as the lakers date instead of the suns date made me think ja'marr was a lakers fan btw #or at least a lebron truther but apparently......it was for joe.........okay...............#like is /joe/ a lakers fan or did they just choose the nearest nba event #so fascinating how sports players enjoy nba games for dates and get introduced to the entire stadium in the process btw #how many Events have they had #'Lakers Date' 'Clothes Saga' 'Game Worn Jersey' 'Natty Championship Ball' 'KC Game Shove' 'Pinky Shakes' idk am i reaching #god i truly wished i got to experience the entire events leading up to the date and the date itself #i fear if i was there i would break the post limit #joemarr #joe burrow #ja'marr chase #...#joemarr meta #i think #also please don't ask how i managed to link all of these #also also i searched up the price for courtside tickets and just about died. why. why the fuck. and its a lakers suns game so.

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bloodyinkandquill · 9 months ago

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Dom x Reader, Valk and Reader idol reader who’s being harassed by toxic fans

writing this in math class, i’m so tired lmao, why’d i have to stay up listening to a true crime podcast, anyways hope this is good! it’s probably my most specific request as of now

- The first time you saw them, a concert some friends invited you to, you didn’t expect much, you knew a song or two, but you didn’t think it would be that cool, how wrong you were, as soon as it started you were inthralled, everything about it, the lights, the stage, the effects, it all served to mystify you, as it came to a close and the two idols said their thanks and goodbyes you knew, you wanted to do what they did

- You already could sing, so perfecting it was the biggest challenge, once you did you started everything else, finding a label, creating your online image, the whole shebang, it was tiring work but it was all worth it, you were gaining traction, fans, tons of streams on your first album, and then you got an invite to a celebrity party, so many big names were doing to be there, including the idols themselves, Flipside

- You dressed impressively while still being related to your branding and swallowed your nerves as you attended it, so many famous faces were there, it was intimidating but also so rewarding, this proved you were making it in the competitive world of fame, it’s there that you met them, Dom and Valk, easily the most famous and well known idols and singers in all of the Inpherno, you took a deep breath before walking to the two brothers and starting a casual conversation, much to your surprise and delight they recognized you, it was an amazing feeling, you exchanged pleasantries before Dom glanced around to see if anyone was listening before asking you if you wanted to hear something funny that happened earlier

- You looked at him intrigued as Valk immediately snapped his head towards his brother face red with embarrassment, Dom went on to tell you that one of their friends while out with some other friends spotted him and Valk while out doing something and paid one of said friends 500 bux to jump over Valk, it went about a great as you’d expect, you instantly cracked up, careful to not be too loud since you didn’t wanna bring major attention to the conversation, Valk softly punched his brother’s arm grumbling out that he promised he wouldn’t tell anyone

- Dom just chuckled before saying ‘Nah, they won’t tell, right?’ While giving you a grin and what you assumed was a wink, a one-eyed wink, you flushed very slightly but promised not to tell with a light chuckle, from there the conversation was a lot more casual and genuine, you enjoyed your time with them beyond them being the Flipside

- From there you guys began to have a friendly fake rivalry, which helped your popularity boom, especially with the release of your newest album, then behind closed doors you began to get closer to them, becoming good friends in Valk’s case and maybe even more in Dom’s, nothing had ever officially happened or been confessed but you two would share looks a little too intimate for just friends, purposely have your fingers brush each others if walking next to each other, and having conversations maybe a little deeper than a platonic relationship would

- Everything was paradise, that was until the flooding began, you had gotten your fair share of hate, that comes with the territory of being an idol, but after one particularly ‘mean’ rival comment about Flipside some of their very… dedicated, fans began to think it was too far, you had run it by both of them and they both said it was fine, but you doubted even if you said that they’d care

- You began receiving small but very persistent harassment online, someone even went as far as to doxx you, luckily it was taken care of very quickly to the point the media didn’t even know it occurred and no one came to your residence but it was still terrifying, things only progressed, meaner comments, even more persistent hate

- It was starting to become too much, you tried everything you could, blocking accounts, not checking social media as much, etc but it didn’t matter, they’d find ways to send you hate, threats, insults, whatever, you kept it together well publicly, the general public didn’t even know this was occurring, to everyone you were completely fine, only you knew you were faking it all

- While hanging out with Flipside one day, just a casual thing at their house chatting, maybe going to play some video games later, one of them asked something that caused a chain reaction, tears began flowing, you couldn’t stop, barely able to form words as you sobbed out the pressure being too much to handle, the dam had broke and the flood released, instantly both of them were surrounding you, offering any comfort they could, trying to discern what had caused this, Valk ran to grab you some water as Dom squeezed your hand, he was being so sweet and gentle things to you, honestly it might have made you cry more at just how good to you he was being

- Eventually you composed yourself enough to finally admit everything that’s been happening, showing them some of the worst things you’ve been sent and experienced, they looked so concerned for you, Dom giving you a tight hug that made the waterworks start again, at some point Valk asked why you didn’t tell them, even if not purposely they had caused it, you said you didn’t wanna seem weak, or like you were overreacting, it came with the job, you were supposed to be able to handle it, Dom looked you in the eyes so genuinely as he said that your not meant to deal with this level of harassment, they don’t receive that awful of hate for that long of a period, you don’t need to shoulder this alone, that broke you again, that night you fell asleep in Dom’s bed, they both wanted you to stay at their place, worried about you, they had a guest bedroom but you very sheepishly asked Dom if you could sleep in his bed, he gave you a smile and you fell asleep in his arms, you were exhausted from how much you were crying you fell asleep almost instantly

- The next day Valk published a public statement saying that the kind of behavior you witnessed would absolutely never be tolerated, the rivalry you had with Flipside was completely for show, and they would not tolerate harassment of such a close friend, Valk took your phone for the day, he figured you needed a break from it and he made sure you just had a day away from social media

- Him and Dom just had you stay at their place for the day, relaxing and being there for you, if you and Dom kissed, that was confidential, and if it did happen weither or not Valk made very obnoxious remarks about it like kissing noises or that kissing in a tree song thing, was also a mystery

- Slowly things started getting better, the hate had died down significantly and you received so much support form other fans, sure it was still an awful thing to experience but Dom and Valk were there for you the entire time when you needed, and you became closer to the both, in different ways but still

sorry the ending is abrupt i could think of any other ways to end it, i’m also so tired, i said i was writing this in math but hah, that didn’t happen i wrote just about all of this after classes, i’ll get this posted then start on my next request which is uh… the darkheart x reader hcs

#x reader #phighting #phighting x reader #phighting!#dom phighting #phighting dom #phighting valk x reader #valk phighting #phighting valk #valk x reader phighting #valk x reader #dom x reader phighting #dom x reader #phighting dom x reader #platonic

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oceanfruitsstuff · 1 month ago

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Dialogue

So I don’t claim to be any sort of professional. I only study literature, so my knowledgeable on cinema isn’t vast by any means. I’m still in writing courses, learning, etc. but with that being said I have been writing for about six years now, so hopefully (big hopefully) I know some things by now. If not I’d be in some trouble lmao.

The structure of writing, specifically relationship wise, that the show follows is pretty simple.

A fan base as large as Stranger Things will definitely bring up some frustrations. As fun as shows are to just watch, when analyzing them, it’s very important to keep in mind that these characters are not real. They serve a specific purpose to move the story in a certain direction.

So, when talking about Mike Wheeler for example, there’s a lot of discourse about his behavior. Some saying, “oh he’s just a teenager and his parents don’t say I love you so he doesn’t know how.”

So Mike isn’t allowed to just do things without it being necessary for the story. He’s crafted perfectly with every piece of dialogue, face expression, action, to tell us a specific story.

Analyzing writing is kind of like dissecting a crime. You ask yourself, “okay, can I prove this to be true?” There’s a mystery to crack that needs evidence and supporting claims to make what a character is saying, and doing, plausible.

When a writer wants to lie to you, they use dialogue to do so.

That’s not just my opinion, thats kinda how it’s done 9 times out of 10. That’s even fact in everyday life. Actions speak louder than words they say.

So, Mike is super interesting, but we know some things about him based on what we’re being shown, not told. Season 2 gives us a lot of evidence about when we can trust him. Whether you like it or not, we see Mike the most vulnerable with Will. At this point I’m not attempting to argue whether it’s romantic or not, this is just what we’re being shown. Will and Mike have a tight relationship, they’ve been best friends since they were five years old.

A huge flag to note here is that they’re honest with each other, they tell eachother things they don’t tell other characters. Sometimes in writing you do this to kind of establish a base, you want your audience to be able to go back and know when they can trust a characters words, especially a rather aloof character like Mike Wheeler. While he’s a chatter box, he very rarely speaks with vulnerability.

He tends to spout things out before thinking, we know when he’s doing this based on the pitch of his voice, the harshness in it that follows, and the acting choices that clearly show us the speaking before thinking attitude he tends to have.

Mike’s words punch most of the time, you can kind of catch a rhythm in them if you pay close enough attention. Unlike a character like Will or Lucas who’s way of speaking is pretty structured and keeps the same rhythm with whomever they’re speaking to. Will and Lucas are pretty sensitive, open characters, that lean more towards vulnerability rather than defensiveness most of the time, not always, but consistently.

Mike is the opposite, so when we joke about his “Will voice” it’s actually super interesting because there is such an obvious shift. He softens, and listens, and his tone is considerably more breathless than it normally is. Besides their arguments, he takes his words slow and they’re visibly thought out.

We see him use this voice in season 4 with El and Will, but there’s an important difference in these conversations. Mike goes into his conversation with El with the audible intention to be kind and listen, but he ends it with that same cutting tone he tends to carry. He gets defensive quickly, his face morphs back into that pinch it carry’s, and he strays from authenticity towards a surface level comfort like blaming others and calling her a superhero, which distracts from the original point which was El asking him if he loved her.

Side note, there’s a few key words used in Stranger Things with a sort of “piñata” effect.

Crazy=love (most of the time)

Superhero=bad, there is a not a good connection to this word in the eyes of El. We have evidence to back up this claim.

Then the scene with Will, we’re shown a similar beginning with a vastly different ending. Again, this isn’t necessarily about the couples here, it’s about Mike. Those two scenes are written to parallel eachother and tell us something specifically about his character.

I’m getting a bit off topic here, but what I’m attempting to note, is that Mike can be easy to read if you approach him like a character instead of a person.

So, Mike has some phenomenal dialogue. In season 2 he spends a lot of time with Will, he notices Will in ways no one else does, which makes Will trust him the most out of the people around him. Halloween night, we see Mike open up and be honest with Will and Vice versa. That scene is important for many reasons, but it very clearly establishes the honesty these two have with eachother, which we can use as evidence later on.

The shed monologue is beautiful, and it’s extremely important to analyze, especially in comparison to his monologue in season 4. Again, I’m not even bothering to claim romance or not, this is just clear writing choices I’ve seen.

So, these situations are extremely similar, but there’s a few key differences here.

Eye contact. Eye contact in emotional monologues is so so important, and almost crucial unless otherwise done correctly. We need that other characters reaction to see if we’re being told the truth or not. In the shed we get that reaction, even with Will being possessed, we see the breakthrough he has once Mike has spoken and the depth in his eyes. It’s very clear the effect Mike’s words have.

Also important here is the simplicity of this monologue, it’s riddled with subtext, but it stays on a single point. Mike isn’t jumping around naming a bunch of different things he likes about Will or why he cares about him. He sticks to one memory that he delivers with vulnerability and detail.

It’s just the moment he and Will met and what it meant to him. That’s it, that’s all he talks about. It’s simple and impactful and tells us something about their relationship.

We’ve seen the monologues that are like, “I love this about you and this and this blah blah.” While those are not always bad, they’re a clique and are usually used in sappy rom coms. Totally fine, but it doesn’t fit the flow of writing in Stranger Things.

Focusing on a specific moment is so powerful, because it displays its meaning to us as watchers, and shows us a truth about the character speaking. Jumping around to different points causes the dialogue to lose a bit of authenticity because it seems as if the character speaking is saying things more so for the other character rather than how they really feel. Of course this point can vary, it’s not black and white, but that’s what I’ve learned from writing, specifically when I’ve done script writing.

So we’ve seen Mike deliver a monologue already. It’s simple, it’s impactful, and it works.

Then we see him do it again in season 4. Now we already have evidence about him, whether the majority of people want to admit it or not, Mike is a fantastic talker. He’s a leader. He can be an asshole, sure, but he knows how to evoke something out of the other characters when need be.

He jumps around. He tells her he loved her since they met (a clique) and then describes what she was wearing (another clique) calls her a superhero, tells her he loves her and is scared of losing her and then screams at her to fight.

What do we know about superhero? Right it doesn’t have a good connotation in this show.

It’s dramatic and there’s an entire audience, El is being choked, Will is in the shot, Max is in the shot, it’s a whole ass mess. This is not an accident. We can claim it gave El the motivation to fight on, but can we? Right before she breaks lose her attention drifts to Max. This is HUGE and not done accidentally, it gives us doubt in our belief of what El is actually thinking. I’m not claiming Mike doesn’t care for her, of course he does, they all care for one another, but the oddness in the love confession shouldn’t be waved off OR used as solid evidence for El and Mike’s relationship.

Now getting into the romantic aspect, is that there is underlying meaning to the everything. Having Will stand right behind Mike in that scene should be very worrying for people who are rooting for Mike and El. His placement is extremely odd and strains our focus away from Mike and El.

Anyways, we’re shown 2 monologues from Mike and 1 from Will.

Will’s monologue is simple, focused, and stays on a specific point. He takes the painting and expands on it. To write a hard hitting monologue that’s what you want to do, you want to take a simple thing and blow it up, create meaning and detail. I’d never recommend just naming off a bunch of different things because it loses that simple, hard-hitting effect. It loses authenticity.

Mike’s shed monologue is simple, focused, and stays on one single memory.

In a monologue, especially love based, you want the scene to feel as if it has its own entity and is holding its breath right along with us. For that effect, you need the scene to be focused and, mostly, calm.

What do we know about Mike and Will based on evidence we’ve gathered? Correct, they’re vulnerable with eachother and, usually, honest. That’s why Will lying feels so huge and strange.

So Mike’s monologue to El…

What do we know about Mike and El?

They lie to eachother. You don’t have to like it, but that is an established theme with this relationship from the writers of the show.

Also Will’s push for Mike to give El this confession takes points away from its legitimacy.

Mike is also using Will’s veiled love confession to confess to El, at least parts of it.

It’s all just a big old mess, and from a writing standpoint, the fact that he made that love confession to El at all, is a huge huge red flag. I remember watching the second part of the 4th season and being so relieved when I saw that scene, because if Mike didn’t “fix” the issue he and El had and confess his love, doing the one thing El asked for, it would have carried into Season 5 and continued this plot for them.

But luckily for people who ship byler, it did not. A GOOD thing.

Obviously I’m biased, I like Will and Mike—but I also see the very clear story they’re trying to tell and that’s why I ship Will and Mike.

Again, not claiming to know everything, I guess I could be completely wrong, but this is just my views on it all.

Thanks to anyone who read all my spewing!!

#byler #byler endgame

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