#what I want characters to be and what I'm willing to inflict on them for the sake of telling a story are 2 v different things

[lampochkaart]

1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 18, 19 and 20 for Kokichi for the character ask??? (Sorry if that's too many haha)

Woah, so many! Okay, okay, I don't mind👀

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

I love him so much!! I really love how complex he is, how incredible charismatic and fun he is, how fucking smart he is... And I also love how flawed and biased he is. And how cynical and stubborn he is.

I absolutely LOVE the characters that are right and wrong at the same time. Kokichi often says something that is technically right, but at the same time his judgement is very flawed so it's impossible to completely agree with him. Or he's trying to do something good but the way he's doing it is... not great. Or has a good intentions but is being a complete asshole about it.

Like, for example, the situation with Maki. Yes, it's a good thing that he warned everyone about an assassin since they're in a killing game. But also he was trying to separate her from the group and kept needling her even when she wasn't showing any agression to others (and also she had plenty oportunities to kill, but made no move to do it). Only willing to see her as a threat.

And, of course, he's also a very tragic character. What's even worse is that most of it is self inflicted. He isolates, he turns people against himself, he cuts off every possible friendly connection he had. He spends so much time investigating, coming up with plans. And dies in a horrible painful way for the sake of a plan. The plan that didn't work. And he lied to such an extent that people doubted even the sincerity of his last words. Absolutely soul crushing (and body crushing SORRY)

10/10 angst, my heart is in pieces💔

He's both funny and entertaining and also very tragic and I love him for it

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

Hmm... Hard to only choose one

Probably his insane acting abilities. How much he's able to control his emotions, how fast can he switch from one to another. How he's able to keep his face no matter how he feels

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

Difficult question, because I really like him. Even (especially) with his flaws

Uhhh... His bad CGs maybe? It's more of a problem with V3 in general (although some CGs from other games also have problems). But I'm just thinking about those ones from after trial 4 and they... look very weird. It might be becuase V3's production was rushed, but still

Other that that it's what I'm talking about in 19th question

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

I'm gonna answer these two questions in a different ask since it would probably be pretty long answer and this post is already long enough

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

Oh, I'll take this as an invitation to ramble about Kokichi and Kaito!! >:]

I think Kaito and Kokichi's relationship is probably the most interesting in the game. They are polar opposites. They are two sides of the same coin. The are narrative foils.

It's so facinating to see their opposite ideologies clash. Kaito is an idealistic optimist, who wants to play the role of a hero, who values emotions over logic, who's willing to believe at someone simply because he wants to. Kokichi is a cynical pessimist, who likes playing the villain, who values logic over emotion, and who would rather lie, than let people get close to him.

Because of that they constantly get into arguements. And they're totally baffled by each other. Before they never met anyone like that, probably haven't even considered people like this real. How could someone be so cynical and distrusting? How could someone be so naive and trusting? They just can't understand each other's point of view because it's so different from their own. And that's just so fun to watch

But at the same time... They are very similar. Both of them are liars. Both of them are upholding an image, presenting themselves stronger than they are. Both are social, like to be around people. Both like to have fun. Both like to tell crazy stories. Both sometimes act "immature".

And also I like this little fact that a lot of Kaito's loved items are Kokichi's liked items and a lot of Kokichi's loved items are Kaito's liked items. So they even have a lot of shared interests!

It's very entertaining to watch them get into conflicts with each other. And it's because of all their antagonism throughout the game, that it's so cool to see them work together in Ch.5.

They're forced in a fucked up hopeless situation and they do their best to make the most use of it. They have a common goal: to end the killing game. So they put aside their differences and work together. They see each other in their most vulnerable moments. They hate it, but there's no way to avoid it. They put their trust in eachother. They switch roles. But at the same time the roles don't change. Kaito becomes a liar (but he was always one). Kokichi becomes a martyr (but he was always going to do that).

I love 5th case because it's not a murder out of malice, not a murder to get our and not an accident. It's an act of trust. They both put trust in each other. Even though they were pretty much enemies for a good part of the game! They both know they're dying. They both know that there's a high risk of the plan failing. But they still choose to do it. For a small chance of success. For a small chance of a happy ending. Not for themselves, but for their friends.

In my opinion Kaito and Kokichi have one of the most interesting relationships in DR. And I firmly believe that to understand one of them, you have to understand the other. Only then it's possible to see the full picture.

19. How about a relationship they have in canon that you don't like?

Kokichi's relationship with Kiibo. He's just constantly picking on him for no reason. The bit quickly becomes too repetetive and just unnecessary mean. Also to me it feels that a lot of things Kokichi does should have some kind of meaning behind them (sometimes even several layers of meaning). So I would've kinda expected that since Kokichi's doing this so persistently, he's trying to do something. Like maybe he's somehow trying to push Kiibo to accept his unique abilities and powers. And while that maaaybe kinda can be interpreted like Kokichi is doing it in the most weird awkward way possible. But still, it's a pretty big stretch. Without any actual payoff it's just Kokichi being mean to Kiibo and that's it. Just bullying the poor robot who wants to be treated normally

They could be friends if Kokichi was nicer to Kiibo. And I would really like them to be friends...

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

GONTA!!!

Kokichi's friendship with Gonta is so so important to me!!

I don't know, I just think it would be so nice if Kokichi would hang out with Gonta and listen to him talk about bugs even though he hates bugs. And if Gonta would participate in Kokichi's pranks. I just like to think they would have fun together. They could've been such an cool duo if they weren't in a shitty stressful situation.

I like Kokichi being friends with Miu and potentially with Rantaro and with Kaito, but Kokichi's friendship with Gonta holds a special place in my heart<3

Thank you for the ask!!<333

[kazamajun]

t8's despair ending but there's an additional scene where kazuya finds out jun is alive via being served divorce papers

[ponyboyssophie]

There's so many bangers in Sorry We're Closed but imo Matilda's song is possibly the most thematically interesting and basically functions as a Duchess theme ASWELL as Matilda's.

[Spoilers, obviously]

Lemme explain.

When Dream Eater asks michelle what she wants most, each of these options represents one of the Duchess' ex-love interests.

Jenny is personal gain. Her solution to the Duchess problem is to gain excessive amounts of wealth to try and bribe her way out of the Duchesses grasp.

Gabriella is destruction. She steals the Duchesses key to break into the crypt to release havoc on the inside that threatens to spill into the outside, taking revenge on her parents while also dooming herself to a life forever on a mantle. She's the only love interest who isn't a boss because she basically mummifies herself and turns the crypt into her own tomb.

Interestingly, Matilda's 'solution' is the most similar to the Duchess.

Matilda believes that if she finds someone to love her, the Duchess will leave her alone and she will be able to go back to "normal", back to the endless one-sided adoration of her fans. She doesn't want someone SHE will love, nor does it matter how the other person feels as long as they fill that space in her life. It's only natural that they will love her - there's no obligation for her to give them love or vulnerability in return.

There's a line in Matilda's theme that says, "we're similar, there's no rigid dichotomy, we're two souls that failed obviously." The song switches between talking about her relationship with the Duchess and addressing the fight with Michelle so I can't know for sure who this is meant to be in reference to, but my interpretation of this is that it's acknowledging that Matilda and the Duchess are mirrors, and why both of them fail to have love again and again. All of them represent a foil to one side of Michelle; Matilda is her foil in love. Failing where Michelle succeeds.

This is why I think Matilda is the most similar to Duchess out of all the love interests; which pretty much guarunteed they were never going to work out. They both expect love to serve their purposes without giving in to the mortifying ordeal of being known.

"The more I seem to change, the less I see myself" is so relevant to the story's entire thesis. It relates to the Duchess, but also brings back to Dream Eater and Chamuels conflict, while Dream Eaters' theme also has a stark similarity to the Duchess, it's less on the nose about it as it's meant to describe two characters specifically -some things don't line up.

I could write a whole separate post on that song, but to briefly summarise it; it's the difference between self-preservation and self-destruction. Dream Eaters' solution is to destroy his other half in order to protect him while the Duchess wants to avoid becoming entwined at all in the first place. They're both scared to deviate from the blueprint so to speak - but Dream Eater doesn't want Chamuel to become like him, who has already changed, whereas the Duchess wants to reclaim who they used to be but keep their heart closed to change.

I'm willing to bet that "take the pain my lovers given and I inflict it on everybody" can also relate to the Duchesses relationship with God, who cast them out presumably during the divide, because they didn't fit the mould that Heaven created. It would make sense if they got the idea that love is a weakness that should serve you or be cast away (and never be double-sided!) from somewhere.

I love how many little characterization lines are in each of the main songs; kudos to okumura music group for putting so much thought into the story/characters. No matter how many times I listen to them I feel like I always find something new.

[etherealabyss11037]

What Were They Keeping from Us?

So, I've began rewatching Weeby Newz's livestreams of Danganronpa Another; I'm currently on Chapter 2 during the reveal of the new motive. Here, the 13 surviving students are forced by Monokuma to take a note from a box containing the dark secret of one of their classmates. Only a very few are openly revealed: Kakeru Yamaguchi, Teruya Otori, Mikako Kurokawa, and Yuki Maeda's. Kakeru's secret, as abruptly revealed by Tsurugi, was that "Kakeru Yamaguchi was teased for being too big in elementary school", which is a trauma Kakeru reveals in his FTEs. Teruya Otori's secret, revealed by Kizuna, was that "he still sleeps in bed with his dad"- and of course, who can forget the classic "Mikako Kurokawa might actually be talkative?" as revealed by Yuki when glancing at his note after promising his classmates he wouldn't. Great job Yuki. Speaking of lucky boy, his secret was that "Yuki Maeda might know the identity of the mastermind"- which was true, depending on how you look at it. Regardless, we now have 9 students whose secrets were never revealed, which has always been a bit disappointing. I'm curious to know what skeletons these kids have in their closet- assuming it isn't just something stupid like Kakeru and Teruya.

Firstly, it's important to take into account that one of these secrets is also in the corresponding character's FTEs, so it stands to reason that the same can be applied to the others as well. Another point is that two of these secrets were actually foreshadowing upcoming reveals, so this may also be the case in at least one secret. Some secrets I'll speculate about will be purely based on knowledge about the character in question. Alright, enough with the introduction, let's go!

Akane Taira: I think Akane would have had a similar secret to Yuki- "AkAne TAira miGht kNow tHE IDenTiTy oF thE MaStErMind" and all that jazz. An underwhelming explanation, I know, but I can't be arsed to think of another possibility. Akane without her dEsPaiR memories is pretty docile and isn't the type of person to inflict harm or mayhem unto others, thus I can't see her committing any atrocities that haven't been wiped from her memory. If you have your own idea, please share!

Ayame Hatano: I see it two ways: in her FTEs, we learn she's had problems with her hamstring, which could have severe repercussions on her physical health if she were to push herself too hard when trying to achieve her dream of becoming an Olympic gold medalist. This secret may be more depressing than dark, but Ayame wouldn't like to have this kind of personal issue exposed to her class. However, if we're to be more macabre and use zero canon evidence to support our theory, we could speculate that Ayame's secret was that she had used steroids/drugs to enhance her performance because she feared her ailed hamstring might compromise her skill. This is an act of cheating that, if ever exposed, could result in Ayame being banned from all future competitions, effectively crushing her dream. Now THAT is some tea I could get behind!

Kizuna Tomori: Honestly, based on her final FTE, we learn that Tomori forces her fellow cheerleaders to sleep with the boys that bodyguard her so that she doesn't have to "waste her precious body" in that manner. Aside from attempting to commit literal murder, sexual coercion is the worst thing you can do to someone, so it stands to reason that such a fucked-up secret would be enclosed in one of those notes. If it were revealed to the rest of the class, I highly doubt they'd be so willing to let Kizuna back into their group, if only by virtue of not wanting to befriend what's basically a pimp.

Kanata Inori: This has zero in-universe basis, but I feel like it's fitting for such a sweet character like Inori to have a rather fucked up secret, such as she severely injured or killed a patient while operating on them. It was an accident, of course, but it would still weigh heavily on her tender heart, and I doubt she'd like to be reminded of it.

Kinji Uehara: Using point number two as stated in the preamble, I believe that Kinji's secret would be that he was the traitor working on Monokuma's behalf. Something like that would decimate an already strained relationship with his class, and Tsurugi would definitely forbid Kinji from joining his group after that- hell, Tsurugi might try to convince Kinji to kill himself or try to confine him to his dorm room for the remainder of the killing game. I doubt Tsurugi would show any leniency to Kinji even if he confessed that he betrayed them only to protect the lives of the orphans at his church, which the others may find to be more forgivable. Perhaps this conflict of interest could lead to the Kinjo cult disbanding early? Who knows.

Satsuki Iranami: Idk. This is Satsuki for Christ's sake. This girl has literally done nothing wrong in her life. ever. (Okay, I know she shot Haru, but it was an accident, and she couldn't help it) Like, the worst thing I could ever see Satsuki doing is like stealing candy as a child or some shit (watch Kinjo execute her for that). Girlypop has literally zero malicious intent towards any creature of any kind.

Haruhiko Kobashikawa: that he's a virgin.

Tsurugi Kinjo: Going by his FTEs, Tsurugi has a few skeletons in his closet- but what I think would really alter his relationship to the group would be the reveal that Tsurugi himself has killed. In what I believe is his third(?) FTE, we learn that Tsurugi shot a group of hostages -who were his colleagues from the police station- when they were being used as shields by a group of terrorists attempting a deadly attack in Tokyo. Although this deed was done for the greater good, I think this would be enough for his classmates to finally reject Kinjo's bullshit. He spent all of chapter two ostracizing and vilifying Kinji, Rei and Kizuna and demeaning them as "preliminary criminals" all because they refused to be under his control, yet fucking Kinjo out here is killing innocent people? I think the hypocrisy would send some of his biggest haters, like Haru, over the edge, and the Kinjo cult would disband sooner than it did in chapter three.

Rei Mekaru: that she adores and sleeps with teddy bears at night. Yeah, not exactly a heart-stopping, bone-chilling reveal, but knowing uptight, "I-am-so-mature" Mekaru, she would not be happy for that information to be known to anybody. It would be hilarious to read aloud, though. I get the feeling that Kizuna would never let her hear the end of it once she found out.

Ah, it's nice to fantasize on how the other student's secrets could have impacted the killing game if they decided to be like Yuki and take a peek at their notes. Although this concludes the characters that were around for when the second motive was introduced, I'll throw in a bonus question for y'all creative thinkers: what do you think the secrets would have been for the three students who were dead (Kiyoka and Mitch) or otherwise preoccupied (Kisaragi) and were unable to participate in the killing game?

I hope you found this lil' food-for-thought shitpost enjoyable, and that you have your own thoughts to share on this topic! Have a good day!

[lurkingshan]

I've had all the different Love for Love's Sake interpretations rotating in my brain and kind of picking and choosing what I want to take from each of them, which is a very cool thing we can do with this show because it supports many different reads. I think for me I have landed on a few core ideas that I am stewing on the most:

Is Myungha in control of the game?

One thing I'm feeling pretty solid about is that my preferred interpretation is one where Myungha's consciousness is in control of the game. @jemmo and @biochemjess and @wen-kexing-apologist all offered up some thoughts about this that resonated with me and give me a framework that helps me make sense of the game glitches and server errors as manifestations of Myungha's emotional overwhelm and inability to accept love, rather than a creator forcing cruel choices and punishments on him. I like that idea a lot.

The initial assumption the show invites us to make is that the game world was created by the author based on his own novel, but I don't think that idea holds up as the show goes along. Because if this world we're in was truly based on the novel, I would expect we'd have seen some of it. Instead, we get a world that is populated by Myungha's own significant people--those he loved, those he lost, those he regretted--and no real hints about the novel world we're supposedly in. We never met the novel leads, for instance, or learned that Myungha had pre-existing knowledge of any other characters besides Yeowoon. So that tracks better with Myungha simply pulling his blorbo, the character he identified with most, into this afterlife world he created for himself.

Are Yeowoon and the romance "real" within this world of the show?

Which leads me to the next thing I'm stewing on. Is Yeowoon "real" in any meaningful sense within this universe? Is their relationship? Because functionally, Yeowoon is a mirror of Myungha and a stand in for his own self within the game world. Making Yeowoon happy becomes making Myungha happy. Loving Yeowoon is a form of self love for Myungha. One could argue that because the afterlife feels real to Myungha, it becomes real, and therefore everything that happens counts. But @troubled-mind mentioned in her post that she can't really latch onto the love story in this show because the reality is that Myungha has died and this afterlife is "wishful thinking." As an atheist, that resonates with me, and I think it's perhaps why I was not quite as emotionally moved by the romance ending as some of y'all seem to have been. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was beautiful. But I did not experience this as a happy ending to a love story in the way that some did. More than anything, I think I take it as a final bit of closure, that Myungha was able leave in peace having found some measure of love for himself in his final moments. I don't know that I am sold on the idea this means he is living a whole second life with Yeowoon.

So then, who is the author?

I have also been thinking a lot about who exactly this author is and how he's involved in this game world. @bengiyo suggested that he was someone who loved Myungha in life and created this world out of his own grief, and @twig-tea had suggested to me even before the show ended that the author was trying to help Myungha through the game. I see a logic to these reads, but I can't say either particularly resonated for me, in part because of what I mentioned above re: the cruelty of the game world if the errors are not self-inflicted by Myungha. @crapyouknowme suggested that the author is in fact a manifestation of the star Myungha wished upon, a loving presence that came to him because he yearned for it. I kind of like that idea personally, that this is another form of self-love Myungha willed into existence for himself. @dropthedemiurge wrote that in the end it seems all the text messages of love and yearning were from the author, and I do tend to agree. So under this interpretation, the author appears to Myungha and sends messages of love and guides him back into this game world with Yeowoon because Myungha wills these things for himself. I like that idea that Myungha is ultimately still the one in control of how he chooses to leave the world.

I think ultimately for me, I am arriving at seeing this story as less of a romance and more of a journey to self love and closure at the end of life. I do think there is a hopeful tone to the ending despite how dark the realities of Myungha's story are, and for me that hope is primarily based in his ability to love himself on his way out of this life.

[rwby-confess]

I'm not sorry for this but I've never, *ever* seen an Adam hater that wasn't ignorant at least, cruel at worst. Not being willing to hear POC having genuine concerns about the characters, and not being open to the idea that hey, CRWBY made Adam into an abuser and only focused on that because they needed Adam to be EVUUUHHHLL, discrediting his background and reducing him, the White Fang and every single faunus character after that (including Blake) to racist caricatures, all of that is ignorant and close-minded. I stopped trying to ask fans to please listen to my points, please listen to other POC.

Yes, "it's a cartoon", but fans are happy to delve deep into metaphors and hopepunk and whatnot, so why not confront the fact that maybe, gasp, it's really weird that a villain was an ex-slave, and it's really weird that you all call him egocentric, bigoted, etc and talk down to irl POC who like him?

Hating Adam will always be a red flag. Same for hating Ironwood. Not because you hate them for the bad things they did, but because you refuse to acknowledge POC and disabled folks points of view in favor of your cutesy fantasy of "haha we are all sooo diverse and good people and accepting of everyone, uhm except if your reaction to trauma inflicted by the systemic racism is ugly and you, huh?! You actually want to fight the system except of rolling over and taking it?!".

Also, for the love of god what the FUCK did they do to Marrow. Oh my god. What the FUCK did they do to Blake.

Confession #460

[slightly-warmer-hibiscus-tea]

My Touchstarved MC / OC time

Because I've been saving it for today^-^

[Warning: long rambling, and possibly no editing]

I have come to the point where I view the main LI's as my side characters to my silly little cannon divergent lore. So everything is completely made up, and also I'm going to rewrite my MCs to fit the actual game when it comes out. so there is my disclaimer before I head off into Lala land.

I've made different MCs based on the three backstories you can choose when you enter the game.

The Alchemist (Naudedel)

Hound (Hound)

Unnamed (Noble)

Each is still cursed but each curse takes on a different form or is gained at a different time along the journey to Eridia.

Noble is the one with the original curse from the game. They corrupt the minds of those they touch. Except on rare occasions...

Hound is a by-product of Nobel's hands. Hound is (till they reach Eridia...) the only one who can touch Nobel without punishment. Though she seems to have still retained her sanity, there is one man who refuses to deny the golden veins running under her skin.

Naudedel was an experiment gone rogue. An attempt to create an artificial God gone wrong. Turning his back on his creator, but still tries to reach for a false heaven on his own.

In my little headcanon world, they are all traveling together as a found family. Hound acts as their guardian, Noble is the oldest, Naudy is the weird middle child, and then there is Cetcher, who is a stand-alone OC who was adopted into their little family.

| And here is a little family photo/reference sheet :D - I'll explain the designs later |

Also, designs aren't finalized completely!! (which is why Hound is missing the prosthetic mentioned below)

The General BackStory: part I

Hound meets Noble when they are around six and takes care of them along with the help of her then-husband Cove. The two worked as mercenaries till taking Noble in as their own. The young couple promised to watch over Noble as they travel to Erida to try and find a cure for their curse. Along the way Hound and Cove hit what they called... a rough patch. Which resulted in Cove severing Hound's leg, not before she could take his good arm. Though Hound can't remember much of their life before that fight. She does know that he is still out there, and looking for them. But a swordsman without his dominant hand isn't much concern for her so she pushes on with the child at her side.

That is when they find Naudedel. The prodigy son of a mage who lived at the top of the hill in the remains of a small standing town. The mage was an older woman, but hospitable to the young mother and her child. She was also very taken by Noble after learning about their infliction. And wanted to help them in their journey to Erida seeing she had ties there from her past. This is where Hound was given her prosthetic, fueled by alchemy and mechanics. Noble took a liking to Naudedel despite his moody disposition and the two (to Naudy's dismay) were stuck at the hip during their stay. However, things didn't stay pleasant for long. As if the air changed in the small town, dire truths flowed with it. Hound and Noble soon learned about the true nature of the boy bound to the hill. The 12th experiment, the 12th body that surprisingly hadn't been dropped in one of the many pre-made graves that ran along the hillside yet. "What a resilient boy she's found!" was the last macabre expression Hound was willing to put up with from the townsfolk before marching up that damned hill only to find a darker twist in the doorway. Naudedel was the one to free himself. The one to kill his mother and step off that hill in his own shoes. Hound just happened to walk in front of him. Or at least that's how he is allowed to tell the story.

The now trio continue their journey, arriving in one broken small town to the next. Around the time the young ones are teenagers and Hound is theoretically pushing late 30s yet every familiar face they meet on the road swears she hasn't aged a wink, They start a town riot...

...

However, that's a story for another time. Anyways, the kids adopted Cetcher as their new baby sister. Cetcher worked as an assistant for an apothecary in town. Though assistant is more of a stretch, servant or pet would have been more fitting. The man running the shop treated the child less than an errand boy and refused to elaborate on where he got her. So Naudedel made it his mission to run off with the kid with the ever-so-graceful help of Noble. After convincing Hound to take her in, the glossy-eyed baby joined their one-wagon caravan. With surprisingly great help from Naudedel, Hound taught Cetcher how to read and write, which might have been the start of her greatest joys, at least in the moment.

But they were on their way. And spent another 5 years on the road before getting close to the city. But that was where they would part ways for a year. Naudedel had found a lead to possibly undoing Noble's curse. But it would be out of their way and a possible goose chase. And Due to an unfortunate run-in with a certain swordsman wielding his signature longsword in his non-dominant hand. They needed to get on the move fast. The plan was for Naudedel and Cetcher to go off the path and for Hound to watch over Noble and make it into Eridia safely. This was the plan, but of course, things would never go accordingly. Here we are in the current day, Noble alone in Eridia left in Leander's care, Hound presumed dead, Cetcher lost in the Fogfall, and Naudedel making contracts with deities he is too proud to admit are over his head.

:)

But yes, my cornerstones of my silly found family.

[cinderflower]

Hey! I love your works, thanks for sharing them! Your stuff is some of my favorites in the fandom!

I just wanted to ask your opinion on how Malenia and Miquella (from FoR and your characterization of them specifically) would view Millicent. How do you think they'd interact with her? Would they avoid her? What would that mean for their own relationship? Etc etc.

Just asking because I think your take on Malenia and Miquella is so interesting to play around with.

Thanks! Your stuff is awesome!!

Wah, anon this is such a sweet message, I'm always humbled to hear people like my works and my characterizations! Thank you so much 🥺💕

I'm so sorry this is so long but as I'm sure you can imagine, I have Many Thoughts about Malenia lol.

I've actually thought quite a lot about Millicent and her sisters and I think, first and foremost, that she doesn't know about them at all. I think after her bloom and being carried back to the roots of the Haligtree that she's basically been in a pseudo-coma as the rot progresses now that she's needle-less, so she might know about the kindred of rot but not Millicent or her sisters.

With Malenia, I really focus on her lack of autonomy as a character throughout the most formative years of her life and the trauma that undoubtedly came with it, where she is burdened with the rot which would have effectively ostracized her from most people except Miquella (because of his immunity to the rot). This is also in addition to her being named as an Empyrean and already having her fate decided for her. So the nature by which Millicent and her sisters came to be, after her bloom and presumably like offshoots or cuttings from plants, they'd be another blow against her autonomy because she didn't have a say in their creation (implied by Gowry raising them and her rejection of the kindred of rot).

Specifically with Millicent, I imagine Malenia would see a lot of herself in her, and I think she would harbor a deep resentment because of that - not because she'd dislike Millicent, but because Millicent would be a reflection of her younger self. Someone who is spawned from her, consequently cursed BY her, to suffer the same hardships. Millicent is the same as younger Malenia, which consequently forces Malenia into the role of the Outer Rot God in their dynamic - unwittingly having taken on the role of the thing she hates. If Malenia had embraced the rot like Romina, I think it would be different, but every time she accepts it, it's when she's at the end of her rope with no choices left and she's essentially resigned herself to death.

This might sound harsh, but it's also why I love her as a character - I believe Malenia is ultimately deeply selfish in her actions where Miquella is concerned (and vice versa ignoring all the DLC). She's sworn herself to his cause, has proven herself willing to die for him, to go to war for him, to commit countless atrocities in his name and inflict the very thing she despises - the curse that has caused her so much misery - on countless others. For him. But! In a twisted way, it's also for herself! Because for once, this is HER choice. She decided to take on the title of his blade and devote herself to him. No matter the ask, no matter the cost.

Miquella, who knows Malenia better than anyone and has been by her side throughout the worst of it, knows all of this. I believe he would be sympathetic to Millicent and her sisters (also seeing a younger Malenia in them) but I suspect that while he would also try to help them in secret, he'd be (selfishly) keeping them away from Malenia so that she wouldn't have to deal with all the trauma I mentioned above. He might feel some guilt about it, but with how I write him in FoR, he's always willing to harbor some secrets if he believes it's in Malenia's best interest. He wants to save her, to give her back the life she's been denied - a life free of her rot and any burdens. And that would mean a life without five magically spawned new dependents whose existence would be inflicting constant psychic damage on Malenia and that she'd feel responsible for.

In a timeline where the twins are far less codependent, and where they're not both so focused on Miquella's ambitions to cure Malenia of her rot and revolutionize the world, maybe Malenia is able to take the time to heal and make peace with herself. In that timeline, maybe Millicent would serve to be a positive and healing influence on her.

[danvolodar]

Failing to understand the appeal of Astarion

Seriously, I just don't get it. Alright, I'll admit I am rather biased againt characters that put a knife to my Tav's throat in a DM-railroaded introduction scene, and [spoilers below this line]

I am even more biased about vampires who try to drink her blood without consent for no reason at all other than to try if they can, lie about the reasons, kill her if she fails the rolls, and then behave as if nothing happened.

But even then. I've seen Astarion compared to Shadowheart or Lae'zel, who can also resort to lethal violence if Tav doesn't settle their differences with a Persuasion roll. And yet still: firstly, they have much more compelling reasons for their actions than "I wanted to see if I could", and secondly and most importantly, both girls do a whole lot of growing up throughout the campaign, while he apparently doesn't.

Now, again I'll admit these two were in my primary party while Astarion was mostly a bench-warmer, but. They have to leave behind everything they'd been taught before encountering the PC party and make their own moral judgements. When confronted with evidence, they are both willing to change, and the driving force behind that change is largely unwillingness to see what had been inflicted on them to be inflicted on the others. This theme is especially prominent if Lae'zel becomes a parent, and says her son is free to choose whom to become, rather than being forced into being a warrior like she was.

In contrast, Astarion complains a lot about his condition, the torture he suffered at the hands of Cazador, and these are all perfectly valid things to bemoan. But thing is, he's also perfectly willing to sacrifice the rest of Cazador's progeny and ascend. He does not change, unless Tav interferes! And even when he's guided away from that mass murder, he still voices striking quips like "There was no way out. […] So don't you ever judge me for doing what Cazador ordered".

But thing is (and I may be biased here again, coming from an Orthodox Christian culture that places a lot of emphasis on internal moral self-judgement), it's not Tav who should be judging him but himself. With seven first-generation spawn Cazador had, and seven thousand spawn in total, each of them dragged hundreds to share the torment they themselves experieced. Okay, the gods refused him aid, the authorities refused him, whatever knightly and religious orders there were in Baldur's Gate failed him - but he always had a way out: just walking out into the sun. After luring in his first dozen victims to be turned into spawn - or even eaten, as he believed, - one has to start wondering if maintaining his own life is worth sacrificing ever more lives of others.

And I'm not saying that Astarion is somehow evil or a moral failure or what have you just because he did not, in fact, walk out into the sun and end himself. People are weak, and they can't be judged for being weak. But what I feel betrays absolute moral bankrupcy is the refusal to reflect on the atrocities he chose to commit to save his own hide, and the attempt to claim immunity just because that choice was forced on him.

[styxnbones]

6 song soundtrack for my OC Harper

Stealing this tag from @kavalyera

Rules: If you're tagged, make a new post with links to music and/or lyrics describing the following . . .

1. Event that defines your character's past: Cannibal by Tally Hall

I am the willing victim of a cannibal She rips out my bones just like an animal And right when I'm feeling like my blood is drained She calls it a game But the wound that she leaves in unmistakable

2. How your character sees themselves: Professional Killer by KMFDM

Yours is not to ask why Yours is to do and die

3. How others view them: Scourge of the Tower by Pitch After Dark

Her conduct is condescending She feels her operations are justified Callous vicious malicious and meticulous To keep the masses terrified

4. Their closest relationship (platonic or romantic): Want by Recoil

I wanna know just how much you hate me so I can predict what you'll do I want you to know the wounds are self-inflicted I want a controlling interest I wanna be somewhere beautiful when I die I wanna be your secret hater I wanna stop destroying you, but I cant And I want and I want and I want And I will always be hungry

5. A major fight scene: Lights Out by Mindless Self Indulgence

Punch your lights out, hit the pavement That's what I call entertainment Causin' problems makes you famous All this violence makes a statement

6. End credits song: Salvation and Saving Face by Rosegarden Funeral Party

Oh, what if I never come back from this? Forever part of my eternal darkness Show me what it’s like To live on the other side To live in love and light

tagging anyone who wants to!

[queenvhagar]

"And then they just... included no fire or blood to these characters." but...there’s no shortage of "fire and blood" in the show? not to defend it or anything, but let’s be honest—there’s plenty of "fire and blood" going on. Rhaenyra had the dragonseeds burned by Vermithor, Rhaenys torched a heap of smallfolk during Aegon’s coronation, and Aemond casually set Sharp Point ablaze. The Rook’s Rest battle itself was basically akin to an atomic bomb going off. These acts alone already reflect the destructive, violent nature the Targaryens are known for. And that’s just the beginning—next season’s bound to bring even more war crimes, with Viserys' children at the forefront of the mess (sans Heleana). At the end of the day, all these characters—Rhaenyra, Aegon, Aemond, and Daeron—are neck-deep in violence. Whether or not their reasons are justified doesn’t really matter because they're all guilty. And it is expected because the Dance is a civil war filled with atrocities on both sides. Black and Green do not matter. Every major player gets their hands dirty in some way. The show doesn't shy away from the brutal nature of these characters or their actions. What it does—and what fans often fall into—is minimizing the severity of their deeds by justifying them with backstory or motivation. Fans latch onto these reasons to the point where they start romanticizing aspects of these characters, searching for the "good" in them (gag in disgust), when in reality, they’re all meant to be deeply flawed, even horrible. Let them be bad! That is fine!!! IS FINE!!!! So yeah, the show has many problems regarding narrative arc and artistic decisions, but it isn't shying away from the fire and blood of the Targaryens; it’s woven into their legacy, and we’re seeing that play out. What we really need to do is move past these no-nonsense teams. No more Team Black or Team Green...my god! Just choose Team Evil!!!

My main problem that I'm getting at is the idea that any Targaryen, after their own kin is slain by the enemy and said enemy is actively opposing you, is willing to sue for peace. ESPECIALLY when in Fire and Blood the deaths of Jaehaerys and Lucerys were these ultimate moments where all out fire and blood mentality kicked in for everyone and not only was war inevitable but it was desired. They wanted fire and blood. They wanted vengeance for harms inflicted upon them through any means and at any cost. These are Targaryens at the height of their absolute power. There is nothing they feel they cannot do or will not do. There is no one capable of opposing them, and if anyone tries, they shall face fire and blood.

I understand the argument of there being plenty of actual fire and actual blood being present in the show... as in yes, the dragons still breathe fire and the war is still killing people. But the house words of fire and blood? The mentality of taking all that is owed to you, no backing down, raining annihilation down upon all that oppose you? That's just not present. It's barely even allowed to be hinted at.

Rhaenyra burned Dragonseeds to get dragonriders? Sure, there was technically fire and blood involved and one could argue there were wisps of a true fire and blood Rhaenyra being hinted at for the single scene. But afterward? There's no acknowledgment narratively, nor is there any character growth: Rhaenyra immediately reverts to only wanting to have dragons as a deterrent to war. After she's lost her throne. Her father. Her only daughter. Her son. Her aunt. Their dragons. And despite the fact that the only way she can press her claim when there's already a crowned king is to wage war, and the only reason there is a war is because she is pursuing it in the first place in order to get her throne.

My problem is that there is such a lack of that fire and blood mentality to Rhaenyra and many other Targaryen characters that should be there and was there in the source material. They're not allowed to be real humans let alone real Targaryens. Their fire is extinguished. Their actions illogical. Their emotions suppressed. They do shy away from the brutal actions of these characters by removing their motivations or distancing them from the actual events that they cause. Any blood they spill is not their intention or is done with the goal of preventing a war that they should want at all costs but continuously, unrealistically, try to back away from.

So yes, of course the characters are still involved in terrible things and their actions get people killed. But the drive behind those actions is gone. Instead it's a series of happenstances and misunderstandings and peaceful aspirations that move the plot along. Where is fire and blood? The fiery boldness and anger, the burning desire for vengeance, the willing violence to grab at power and hold it, the inherent self-entitlement and superiority complex that leads them to believe they deserve the throne at all costs, no matter who is in the way and why they have to do to get it? That mentality is gone, as are representations of the true Targaryens of the books. The family that willingly destroyed itself through the embodiment of fire and blood mentality, taking what they believe is owed, seeking total annihilation of the enemy, using living weapons of fire and force submission. These new characters of the show are shadows of what they should have been. That's my problem with the show. The fire and blood mentality that defined this family is gone. In its place are shells of actual characters.

[allwormdiet]

Arc 4: Shell, Concluding Thoughts

Another fucking roller coaster of an arc, let's get to it

Let's see, where to even begin

I like that Taylor's gotten a lot more confident about school. Even if she figures that Emma will inflict some kind of retribution, the fact that she's willing to take that risk for the sake of getting to laugh in her fucking face makes me glad. John Dillinger school of therapy is a fucking go.

I continue to absolutely adore the Undersiders, it's really fun to see them get to interact with each other in a more normal context, walking around the market and shopping and talking about whatever. I could read nothing but Undersiders slice-of-life for like a month straight and never get sick of it

The conversations about triggers and powers and stuff were also interesting tbh, a healthy dose of exposition and fleshing out the way the world works

Alec has grown on me a lot with this arc, between his clear anger at the shit that Taylor's had to put up with and his critical part in the fight against Bakuda

Which. You know what let's go there actually. Bakuda is so fucking terrifying as an antagonist that I kinda hope Lung pulls her back just so she can be less of a goddamn menace. The combination of ruthless forethought and sadistic unpredictability makes for a combination that rapidly outpaced Lung and the Wards as far as "oh shit this is for real," at some point I completely forgot about the Bomberman costume and - oh I wonder if that's why people don't talk about the Bomberman costume that much, the whole thing just accelerates so far past where that can still be talked about without losing focus

It was kinda sweet seeing Brian and Lisa help Taylor out in the aftermath of the fight, getting her home and helping her feel better (and lying to her dad for her). It'd be nice if Taylor decided that this could mean her cape and civilian lives could be more connected but I kind of doubt that's the case, unfortunately

Dog interlude might be best interlude, because Dog, and also Rachel proving that she rules

I kinda wanna get into a long ramble about all of my current character takes and opinions but I kinda want to get further into the story, see if there's a natural point where I can take a break and make that a separate post. If there isn't a natural one maybe I just do it every, I dunno, six arcs. Chunk it into fifths.

...And once again I'm at the end of a post wondering what the fuck is coming next. Presumably duking it out with the ABB, right? I'd like for that to not be the case but I continue to doubt that Taylor will ever have the luxury of being uninvolved in anything ever again. Poor girl.

[crisiscutie]

People just don't get that redemption isn't for everyone

Yes people can do it but sometimes it's best to say it's irredeemable

Sephiroth has been through so many tragedies to the point,it feels like redemption is one big joke to him,cuz he already reached the point of no return

Personally I feel like the trope of "everything is forgivable" is overused or overlooked way too often,there are things in the world that can't forgive and sometimes punishment is better than forgiveness

In Sephiroth's case, I don't think forgiveness will change anything,rather it's impossible,no one who knows him is willing to forgive him,hence some may say he has no faults at all like Hojo cuz that guy is messed up AF

Take it like this: If a guy who commits an unforgivable crime and someone says he should be forgiven based only on the fact that he was abused or insane or he went through some traumatic shit etc,it would not only feel ridiculous, it's outright selfish

Should Sephiroth be forgiven for the Nibelheim Incident just bcuz it was a crime of passion or he was mentally unstable and should get off free of guilt? No,cuz he did something terrible to others and that should be accepted

I've seen too many cases of normalisation or glorification or defence of characters' faults and apparently "you're a bitch for pointing out others' faults" these days and "it's not nice to have criticisms"

I saw some deep toxic shit about normalised toxicity in fiction lately

I mean I love Seph,but god I'm heavily aware he's evil as hell

-🌹

Yup. Sephiroth's path is set in his mind. For what reason would he deviate from his path? He decided to continue the cycle of pain. And Cloud could've continued that cycle after him if it wasn't for Tifa.

I want to state this: I'm against Sephiroth being redeemed. One reason is that no character ever deserves redemption. Redemption is a complex, grueling process that involves self-reflection, remorse, and a genuine desire to change. It requires a willingness to confront your actions and the consequences you inflicted upon others. Sephiroth, so far, has done none of this. He felt justified in his actions. And the few times when he does acknowledge what he has done? He rubs it in Cloud's face, for goodness' sake. He did this in Advent Children, 7R and even the original FF7, especially during that one iconic scene that shall not be named. Sephiroth has displayed constant cruelty to Cloud, his party and the planet. What on Gaia justifies him deserving redemption? Because of his awful and traumatic past?

Let me say this: the events leading up to and following Sephiroth's birth and childhood were undeniably tragic, and he cannot be blamed for them in any way. However, as an adult with the ability to choose his own path, he made the decision to inflict harm upon others, especially those who ZERO involvement in his suffering.

And like I said before, introducing a potential redemption arc for Sephiroth would actually undermine Cloud's own arc and diminish its impact. Sephiroth serves as a warning to Cloud. He is his dark mirror and representing of what a "hero" could become.

I would also like to mention Aerith, who, like Cloud, serves as another mirror to Sephiroth and had a deeply traumatic past. However, instead of succumbing to darkness like Sephiroth, she remained kind and hopeful. Sephiroth's redemption may also conflict with her story and role as well.

To sum it up, redemption would require Sephiroth to question his beliefs and recognize the pain and suffering he has caused. He's not going to do that. He believes himself to be in the right, and the pain he caused to be "justice" in his mind.

And as you mentioned, it's clear that forgiveness is out of the question for him now. Cloud and Tifa, in particular, hold a deep hatred towards him and are determined to put an end to him. It sucks how Tifa's grudge with Sephiroth has been largely overlooked, both by the fandom and CANON (seriously, what were the writers thinking...). Let's not forget the sheer terror poor Tifa had in 7R when she saw Sephiroth in front of Jenova's pod.

Both she and Cloud had been scarred (literally and figuratively) by this man for the rest of their LIVES. They deserve every blow they can get on Sephiroth...

Anyways, rant over. Please stop trying to make Sephiroth "work". He was a sweet baby that became an evil bastard. Let's appreciate the good and bad of the Crisis Cutie!

(Opinion piece if it isn't obvious)

[meteorstricken]

I've seen it argued that Ultima lacks empathy, and that this is what hinders him from grasping how humanity connects and cares for one another, but I think the nature of this beast is a bit more sinister than that.

Some fairly significant spoilers ahead...

My conclusion is that Ultima is in reality better understood as a dark empath--that is, one who can understand feelings and what motivates people extremely well, but does not share in the experience. Instead, the dark empath will typically use their razor-sharp cognition of others' feelings to manipulate them.

Here's a reference.

This is especially evident in scenes where Ultima appears to the characters as dead loved ones whose memory tends to evoke some intense guilt, longing, grief, and passion. The scene where Clive faces "himself" and falls to his knees before the flame-engulfed figure of Joshua as he last had known him up to that point, filled to brimming with sorrow, is one example. The notorious scene with Barnabas where Ultima role-plays as Benedikta, Hugo, and Barnabas' mother is another.

Ultima's colorful language about humans bolstering one another's usually weak wills by weaving together their consciousness reveals that he understands how a good support system works, and he further spells out the exact nature of those bonds--love, trust--in the aforementioned scene with Barnabas.

(Barnabas himself seems to rely on Ultima as a surrogate social support system, which...sure is a choice, and not one I'm entirely certain he can be wholly blamed for, as the latter end of the game is awash in context clues that he was more or less groomed to that end.)

And thus, Ultima's goal in attempting to cut the threads of consciousness (bonds) supporting Clive is to produce such a profoundly overwhelming state of grief in him that he can't recover from or cope with it, and sees no more reason to keep trying. With his own personal concept of meaning so thoroughly severed--ailing under the sense that even as he breathes, his life is truly over--Clive would theoretically become much more willing to be the 'Mythos' vessel that Ultima wants him to be.

And THAT is...too much...to scheme without any kind of empathy, and because it's too much, it really just underlines the severe extent of the ice-cold contempt Ultima has for humanity. He understands them, but he has always had but one use for making them, and resents the living piss out of them for evolving in a way that throws a wrench into his plans while he was hibernating.

He understands them, but is too entrenched in his own fear, hypocrisy, megalomania, and denial for that to produce any kind of *emotional* empathy--it's 100% cognitive.

As an aside, I have to argue with Clive's late-game insistence that Ultima's never suffered. The combination of fear, control freakishness, and self-isolation Ultima is revealed to have and practice don't typically tend to arise uninspired. It's quite possibly self-inflicted--being a little "g" god who's erroneously convinced himself he's the big "G" and can therefore tell reality how to work will do that--but I do believe it's more likely than not that Ultima has, in their milennia-long life, known a great deal of suffering. All that intricate, surgical understanding of how to produce more angst and suffering from individual to individual has to come from somewhere, and "he created them" doesn't quite make the cut because humanity evolved and awoke absent his guidance.

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

I saw your tags on a post about becoming the mc in one of your novels. Gothic, where the character is more monster than damsel and i am 👀

Would you be willing to talk about it? The story, the character, anything?

(for those of you who did not see my tags on the post anon is referencing, the post prompt was basically 'you are now the main character of your most recent WIP' and my tags were: #technically I think this would put me as the MC of my novel#in a gothic mansion that houses a monstrous lord said to steal people’s souls#in a village the inhabitants view as a cage#after faking my death to escape an abusive arranged marriage#discovering that I am more monster than damsel)

so i talked about it briefly when i ran this poll a while ago asking which one of these two novels you'd all like to see first. it is the one that won, the gothic found family: Of Beasts and Wretched Things (working title). feel free to click through to the poll if you want to see what the results were, what the other option was, and what people's initial reactions were!

Of Beasts and Wretched Things is an inverted 'Beauty and the Beast' coming of age story that wrestles with the monstrosities of girlhood and the inherent horror of self-creation.

When the Lord of Crosswell Estate plans to wed his niece to a brutish lord to save his wealth, she runs away and stumbles upon Illthern, a forgotten trading village under the control of the monstrous Theodoric Gaut, whom she deceives in order to gain his protection from her wrathful uncle; but when she finds herself face to face with Lord Gaut, who is not what the stories would have her believe, she must wrestle with the monstrosity of her own making before he discovers that his supposed long-lost relative is not what she claims to be.

(More under the cut bc wow I...got a bit carried away.)

working on this project has helped me work through some of the trauma i have around my own relationship to femininity and womanhood. the MC struggles with the legacy of abuse inflicted by her blood relatives and what it means to be the person they tried to make her into. the inherent fear of things labeled 'monster' and the consequential fear of being monstrous is a predominant theme, as well as questions of how many of the monsters are things we make ourselves.

what really drew me to the gothic genre was the emotional weight i wanted to give these characters and this world; so often in gothic works it is the characters' own emotional turmoil that drives the plot and shapes the setting, you are the ghost haunting the house even though you still draw breath, etc. even in this real world, there are these weights of what society things a woman should be, the pressures of girlhood especially during adolescence, and these weird half-mourning periods of killing the person you used to be. i think because i wanted these characters to be steeped in the emotions they have about their situations in life and themselves, i found myself drawn to gothic conventions just because it fit so well with what i wanted to explore

with regards to the characters themselves, and particularly the MC, i really wanted them to feel like they were driving the story. the MC has the brilliant and terrible certainty that I know at least I had when I was a teenager. Theodoric is very similar to most characters you'd expect to see in a gothic setting: ominous, more than a bit sinister or mysterious, yet I wanted it to feel like he was always hiding a bleeding heart just under his coat. did i mean to make him autistic? no, but when I was proofreading i was like whoa yeah this man has the spicy brain. i'm a sucker for monstrous things that treat others with tenderness first, what can i say. i don't want to talk too much about any other characters just yet, I don't want to spoil anything :)

WIP-wise, I'm in the midst of getting the manuscript ready to submit to agencies and publishing houses. it's funny, as i'm doing the research to see what that entails, the other story seems to be way easier to market. who knows, maybe i'll self publish OB&WT the way I did Tales from Thicketdown Forest and then go the traditional route for the other one. we'll find out, i guess.

i did sort of know this was going to get long but jfc i went way harder with my prose here than i thought i was going to. uh, hope this answers your question????

Tl:dr; gothic found family h/c, heavy on the comfort, with tender monsters and monstrous girls :)

[tbhimnoteasyonmyself]

15 Day BL Challenge - DAY 34

Hewo uwu

What Trope/Plot Point Do You Fast Forward Through the Most?

You know... For all I love BLs, I cannot come here and lie to you and say I find it hard to find anything to answer this question with. On the contrary, if there's one thing this genre does well is PISS ME OFF!!

Take this as a sign of my love, will you? We tend to me hypercritical of the things we love the most precisely bc we recognize their potential and want them to be extra good.

Anyways... My answer is:

Disregarded Harassment

I just don't get it, you know? What fun is there in watching someone be moral, physically, even sexually harassed and then have the series pick a kitchen towel and try to wipe it all off by calling it flirting? Like????? What??? WHAT????

No, just no.

I understand some ppl like this, it's part of their dark romance landscape and that's valid, I respect y'all's opinion. But this is my squick and own it up. Downvoted.

Here are some examples btw, just to make it more clear (sorry to your favs in advance):

Phayu to Rain (Love in the Air)

I honestly think this is the most obvious one out of all of them bc Phayu. Won't. Stop. He just won't stop. The amount of disgust I felt watching the 1st half of their story is not written anywhere. This is what makes me dislike their couple so much (and also Rain's general demeanour and attitude and every single detail about him, but that's for another day).

Sun to Mork (Dark Blue Kiss)

Listen, maybe we don't all remember this but after they get together Sun gets really weird about wanting to have sex and it honestly freaked me out. I have no idea why that happened, who the hell made that choice but I certainly don't approve. No.

Kinn to Porsche (Kinnporsche)

I just dk, dude... For a series that seems so clear about showing that the VegasPete situation is very much fucked up bc they're both 2 beasts of human beings and only they really can be okay with the amount of violence and abuse they inflict on each other, I certainly think that rape (?) that Kinn performed there was super disregarded for what it was. Like... Sure, this is not a cutesy series but I just don't think it was handled well.

Vee to Mark (Love Mechanics)

I'm gonna put a disclaimer here that I haven't finished it yet, so maybe they'll address this later (I highly doubt it, they barely want to acknowledge Vee is a cheater and Mark is a willing sidepiece, but okay...) but... How does a guy get to rape a drunk man that thinks he's his best friend and the series just moves on, like? What?? Bonkers to me, absolutely bonkers!!

(DIS)HONOURABLE MENTION: Calling the Other "Wife"

As everyone knows, I fuck with gender fuckery. In fact, I am gender fuckery myself. HOWEVER, one thing is to have characters with non-binary or out-of-the-ordinary gender expressions, one other entirely different thing is to treat bottom gay men as if they were women bc you cannot conceptualize their queerness and their masculinity at the same time.

It's homophobic, it's misogynistic and it's downright stupid. Queer men are, get this: ✨MEN✨. I legitimately don't know what's so hard to get about it but, if there ain't any other way the writers will understand this: what makes a gay man gay is the fact that he likes men WHILE being one himself. If he was a woman, then that wouldn't make him gay. I hope this helps =D.