#why do we care which ships fit into her narrative

[starsofleo]

my brother in christ, why are we still arguing about which ships are most realistic in the year of our lord 2024? you can just not like a ship and move on without telling the poster they’re delusional. you can do that.

[gffa]

I don't know if you have read about Filoni saying that anybody/everybody can use the force now, that it was GL's vision on the force which is clearly a misinterpretation imo, to me he's just trying to make excuses for his bad writting about Sabine in the Ahsoka series. I do like the idea of everyone being part of the living force but I hardly dislike to think that anyone can be force sensitive and "become a Jedi" like they are trying to imply now. I mean, being a Jedi is more than being sensitive i know but I hope i make sense in what i'm trying to say here. I do like Sabine in Rebels she is such a good character as she is, a badass Mandalorian, why everyone needs suddenly use the force and be a Jedi out of nowhere? I'd like to know your opinion about it if you feel like answering. Thanks.

I mean, I will give Felony this: I'm pretty sure Lucas did say somewhere along the way that the Force is for everyone/that everyone can use the Force. My issue with Felony isn't that Sabine can use the Force, it's that his writing to take her down that path felt disconnected from her entire established story and that he stretched the worldbuilding too far--being able to grab your lightsaber in battle, okay, sure, maybe I could accept that, but the ability to also give Ezra a massive push across that huge of a distance. The Jedi have always said the Force is for everyone, Yoda gives a whole speech to Jek, Thyre, and and Rhys about how they can use the Force to quiet their minds in the very first episode of TCW. I don't have Lucas' quote on hand, so take it or leave it as you will, but I do think "the Force is for everyone" fits with his themes. I just don't think that Sabine being written as a Jedi makes sense for her character, even given how lost and adrift she felt (not that we actually got to see any of the important part of why she would turn down this path, just suddenly she's here! and only monologuing to tell us what happened), beyond Felony wanted her to be special. And I'm all for female characters getting to be special (male characters get to be special all the time) but not at the expense of breaking the worldbuilding, because now being able to wield the Force means less, because it's being handed out like candy to Felony's faves, rather than something that has worldbuilding and thematic rules. But that's also coming from someone who cares more about the Force and the themes of the narrative than almost any single character in Star Wars, so I treat it as being rather precious, and other people aren't going to feel the same way. A lot of people probably did love Sabine getting to use the Force. If Sabine had genuinely only been able to do small things or used it to quiet her mind/feel connected to the galaxy, I would have been perfectly fine with that. That made sense to me. But that giant push for Ezra to get him on the ship? Blehhhhh, that was more about making a Dramatic Moment than it was about keeping to the themes of Star Wars. So, personally, I'm just kind of compartmentalizing it into "Felony's pet fave gets special treatment, I'm not counting it towards worldbuilding" because I just don't care enough anymore. XD

[emmitaaa4]

Getting exponentially tired of the “elriels want 👹” posts in the elain tags where they proceed to either A) outright invent stuff B) act holier than thou about how they care so much for Elain because they C) misconstrue the little they hear from our side in bad faith, or D) just completely miss the point they’re addressing.

it’s one thing to be bitter about a ship, but geez theyre getting mad at generalizations they made up about what we think. it has to be tiring. non?

small rant beneath, just to vent. yes i know i can (& should) block certain tags, but reading frustrating content is a hobby of sorts.

Im genuinely convinced all these “ewriel”-myths they keep talking about are a result of a bad game of telephone—they hear a random thing a gwynriel says, go “they’re all stupid/delusional/immature (insult of choice) so i don’t doubt what you’re saying”, then repeat it to others.

It’s obvious by the way they wholeheartedly believe that Elain is our puritanical-warrior-self-insert we use to vicariously F Azriel (😃✋). Doesn’t help that they usually don’t look as deeply into Elain as we do & tend to get stuck on obviously superficial statements about her: they cannot seem to fathom an Elain that isn’t just a once-bright socialite wilting away sans her sun-mate. So any hint of darkness/savviness we see in her is just us moulding her into Y/N. sigh

anyways.

I can say i’ve read their posts on here, a ton prior to being involved and some now. I’ve seen their tiktoks & video essays, their powerpoints & reddit posts. i’ve seen their comments all over insta/tiktok (kinda hard to miss, they jump on elriel content with their “um shadows and um pliable bones and mates!!” comments). I am WELL aware of what the general consensus is on that side—which is why I am generally unbothered by GA, don’t mind EL, and am just peacefully sailing aboard my ship waiting for it to reach destination.

And because I care about Elain’s journey, I try to see the story the way they do when i encounter certain elucien arguments. For if i am to even just privately engage in the sHip wArs, i know to remain ✨critical✨ and ✨open minded✨.

… there’s no point turning discussions into angry posts against imaginary adversaries.

EVERY elriel i’ve talked to would read an elucien book because it is Elain’s story we are most anticipating. It’s just very telling to me that very few would do the same; that there’s not a whiff of willingness from most of them to listen to the other side.

The funny thing is that all those anti eWrieL posts** i’ve read tend to address twisted versions of “the elriel narrative.” They take things out of context, or say we have the same 3 arguments—which is genuinely insane bc if you know our ship so well, how can you be off by like 2 orders of magnitude ??? (exaggerating if it wasn’t clear, we can’t know these days).

** Their pro GA content reads very anti-Az, used to be very anti-elain, and has a narrow scope ngl. While the bonus matters, it seems like that is ALL they’ve read. They don’t think much about Elain’s journey or powers or decisions, which is just logically not the best way to analyze the series given she IS what’s to come.

✨Just some common myths they believe✨:

they repeatedly claim that elriels want poor elain to be a kickass warrior torturer to fit Az because they A) don’t actually read our stuff B) enjoy thinking we hate elain, and C) can’t fanthom that spying isn’t 007 ninja activities.

apparently we ship elriel because we think they have this big great romance OFF PAGE 😭. how in the hell— i’ll make a post on this one istg it’s lowkey funny. quick, were nessian strangers and unfeeling towards each other at the start of SF ???? damnit i must’ve missed that.

En tout cas. End of rant the rest stays in the drafts lmao.

but istg one day i’ll cave in and unleash the essays of rebuttals and psychoanalyses of their arguments / thought processes just for shit and giggles.

[elrielbaby]

What do you think of the Gwynriels being too confident in their ship? Are you sure Az has feelings for Gwyn and is always looking for her and stuff? And what are they matte?

I have tried, really really tried, to see where they’re coming from. I’ve re read the books multiple times to ensure I’m not missing any context, I’ve looked at it through every angle possible and I still cannot fathom why they are so confident.

I have a couple of theories as to why they’re so confident and I’m feeling a little spicy today, so I’ll share. I could go in to heavy detail, but I’ll try keep it brief anon.

1. They hate Elain and so are looking for any other option. Literally anyone. G*yn happens to be in the bonus chapter and so they go with that, without really thinking about it* (I will circle back to this).

2. They blindly follow the word of one or two people online.They don’t like Elain, or they love L*cien (and they totally miss all the clues that say L*cien doesn’t actually want Elain but that’s a whole other can of worms) and so they accept other people’s interpretations - which those people very intentionally present as fact, and use them as a jumping off point, so when they go back to the books they have that other persons narrative in their head that far better suits their ideals and so they’re looking, twisting, turning any and all of the narrative to fit that. They are gaslighting themselves, basically.

3. They don’t re read the books and they don’t open themselves up to any other possibility. I can say for myself that before I started posting online about elriel, I had heard about G*riel after reading the books and re read them to be sure. I’m nearly positive a lot of them don’t do that, and either never re read or re read as per the second point.

As to the second part of this question, I don’t believe he’s got feelings for G*yn, nor do I think he’s always looking for her - so, I’m very sure of that. If you meant Elain, it’s pretty obviously laid out in the text, without SJM having Azriel and Elain say ‘I’M IN LOVE WITH HIM/HER AND I DONT CARE WHO KNOWS IT’ - because how does that make any sense when they haven’t had their book? If they had, I’d be less sure of their endgame.

As for the last part, I’m going to assume you’re asking if I think either G*yn or Elain are mated to Azriel. I do not believe G*yn is Azriels mate. At all. There are a few signs that Az & Elain could be, but it truly doesn’t matter to me if they are or not. I think SJM has been metaphorically winking at us with some of the things she’s said about them but it could go a number of ways, in terms of wether they’re mates or not.

One things for certain though - they’re endgame ❤️

* to circle back to them not really thinking about it, as I didn’t want to bog down the main text with this, they don’t seem to consider a number of different things.

They don’t consider that it’s a limited bonus chapter that was only available for one specific book store. It is not available in the copies of ACOSF you can buy now, nor was it available in a huge number of copies you could buy at its initial release.

They don’t seem to consider that if you remove the bonus chapter, we still have four books that include build up for them. It literally makes no odds as to wether the bonus matters or not. For them though? Most of their argument relies on that bonus chapter.

They don’t seem to consider any other reason as to why G would be in that bonus chapter. None whatsoever. The Elain part was explicitly romantic and if you look at G’s part there is no romanticism in sight. The ‘spark’ happened after a conversation with Clotho, not even when G was present. Almost like G didn’t actually have anything to do with it at all. If you connect the dots to the main text, at least for my interpretation, you have Elain & Az, who very clearly have feelings for one another. You have G, who has a powerful affect on Nesta, and Clotho who also has, to a smaller extent, a powerful affect on Nesta.

And those are just the few things off the top of my head that I have the bandwidth to come up with right now. ❤️

[respectthepetty]

So Live in Love decided to go all the way left in the final episode and gave me unhinged madness for 90+ minutes starting with Red Rascal Amp leaning into his color coding and being a red flag.

And the person he was working with to sabotage Cake and Kla's relationship was even worse as she held a blue rose to show her commitment to getting Blue Boy Kla.

But I'm pissed because I went against what the colors were telling me and truly believed the red bathroom was a red herring and Red Rascal Amp was not behind the locked door, so even though this last episode was bananas, the colors were consistent and never lied! Amp was the culprit and the colors stated that from the start!

And I knew who his partner was before we even saw her face! Khing wants to be the Pink Person that Kla loves so badly that she is willing to fake her color and her personality.

So I was really worried that Red Rascal Amp was going to continue to be the worst of his color and do something horrible to Cake to make sure he could keep him all to himself.

Because I already knew this chick was not going to let up on her plan since she came this far.

Even when she was caught red-handed (hehe), she still put on an act (the pink) and only focused on getting the Blue Boy of her dreams.

KLA WAS PISSED! As he should have been!

He was tired of everyone coming between him and Cake, so standing in between the pink on the left and the blue on the right, Kla finally told Amp that he needed to quit his shit or suffer the consquences.

And now I'm seeing all the red flags I missed about Khing! The chick was crazy all along!

She leached onto Kla because he showed her the care she never got from her father, yet I ignored the clear warning signs that Khing was a little too passionate about Kla.

So I'm glad Amp dulled his red a bit and realized his mistakes while Gina decided to finally be true to herself (which is probably why she was wearing everyone else's colors all the time because she was trying to fit in!).

And even though Khing ended the first half of the finale in a pit of dark despair while holding Kla's blue sweater, the narrative decided to forgive everyone for their outlandish (and criminal) behavior, so she got to go abroad to sort herself out.

Pink Person Cake can now freely wear his Blue Boy's color without the threat of online harassment, kidnapping, and sexual assault lingering over his head.

Orange Oddity Pon also officially declares his love for his Cyan Cutie Gam via social media to announce they are boyfriends.

Good for them.

And Kla takes a page out of their love story to do the same (but why do they have to go live?!). Cake sits right next to him in both of their colors solidifying that they are in love and no one can tear them apart (not even the girl who decided kidnap and sexual assault was the answer).

So everyone ends up next to the one they love and in their color.

And when Pink Person Cake graduates, he still, somehow, has both his and Kla's colors on him to show they are stronger than ever.

Gina even joins the celebrations by acknowledging that Cake is the one Kla picked with her present of blue flowers.

Oh, yeah, and Khing is there too, in pink . . . which I still don't trust.

And the ship I have wanted to sail this entire series between Green Guy Tim and Red Rascal Amp finally leaves the harbor!

Now that everyone else is settled, Pink Person Cake and Blue Boy Kla can live happily ever after with their pink and blue sticky notes.

And their book of memories (that is not the same title as the show, and I'm slightly irked about it, but Thai and English and translations or something like that, so it is what it is).

In the end, everyone is happy and working together in color-coded bliss, so all is well that end's well.

(Except Khing truly thought sexual assault was the answer and this show really just glossed over that, pero . . . oookay)

[azaharinflames]

I gotta say, I find the buddies refusal to accept both Ryan AND Eddie/the shows outright statements that Eddie is straight disgusting.

If we flipped the narrative, if we had Eddie say outright say he is gay, and everyone started shouting "no! He's just lying to himself, he's actually straight!" Can you imagine the outcry? People storming the castle, claims of homophobia because the fans not listening to what he's saying don't want him to be gay. But when he claims he's straight, it's perfectly okay to claim that he doesn't know himself, that he's lying to everyone because those fans don't like what he's saying?

I'm not saying people can't ship buddie. People ship fanon couples all the time, regardless of their sexual orientation. If they want to ignore canon and have fun with their fanon couple in their own little play space, that's fine, go nuts. What isn't fine, is choosing to ignore canon and then DEMANDING that the show bend to their will because they don't like it. If this was real life, and you told someone that they were straight "no you're not, because you exhibit traits a, b and c which a straight person couldn't POSSIBLY have, so therefore I've decided you're gay?" Ooh boy.

And yes, I know this isn't real life, it's a TV show, but it's real people who are playing these characters, real people who are getting harassed (both actors and fans) because a certain subset of the fandom aren't getting what they want. Not to mention, this mindset is the very toxic masculinity that Ryan has been saying he wants to dispel with Eddie's story - that a man being being vulnerable, emotional etc doesn't make them weak and doesn't mean they are automatically gay. And if people have these attitudes towards fictional characters, that they think two guys cant be close with each other without there being some some of sexual component underneath, that people don't know their own sexuality because it doesn't fit your expectations, what are they like towards people in real life?

Hi, Nonnie! Thanks for your ask!

Hard agree - I find it disgusting as well. I think it's one thing to have something as a hc, and another to claim it is the indisputable truth. And the thing with Gay Eddie very much falls into the latter. And it's like you say - what if we flipped the narrative?

Case in point: what if we suddenly started to claim Hen is straight, that there have been signs of this, and that it's obvious she doesn't know better? What if we were to claim this over and over, even with Aisha stating Hen is a lesbian and very happily married to her wife?

And, hey, I do understand the situation isn't exactly the same, but in the end, it comes to being disrespectful and, honestly, a bit gross. And, as it has been said before, if Ryan is saying (multiple times) that Eddie is straight in interviews (and hell, even the show), that's because he's gotten permission to say that. It's not a game of misdirection, but a confirmation of his sexuality to stop people from thinking Buddie might happen.

And, yes! Ship buddie by all means as a fanon couple. I will never tell anyone to not do that, because that'd be insane of me. But, like you've said anon, they should not go demanding the show to bend at their will, and they should not harass everyone they can think of when their ship doesn't happen. Shipping is supposed to be fun, and they're not supposed to take shipping war so damn literal. My God.

Lastly - yeah, good point. Ryan has made sure to explain why this SL is so important to him, why he wants to show Eddie can be in touch with his emotions and be vulnerable, and for that not to mean he's gay. It might not be the message that side of the fandom wanted, but it is still a really good message. And the one that RG clearly wants to tell, he couldn't have made it clearer.

Thanks again - my inbox is open for ranting, venting, discussing (911 or whatever), and giving opinions (popular or unpopular)!

Take care <3

[this-dirty-sinner-right-here]

Ok I have an idea for an AU so hear me out.

Gravity falls as Jurrasic World Camp Cretaceous + Chaos Theory.

I wanted this to follow a modern Au with the stan twins going to the camp at the age of 13 and meeting the other camp members. It would include Fiddleford, Crala, Susan, and Preston.

it would follow the shows storyline of the Jurrasic World show with changes to fit the narrative and characters. I would list some details, but I'm unsure if anyone from the gravity falls fandom has even watched that show. if you haven't you are truly missing out. Like if you like dinos and kid shows it's the show for you.

So to start with which charcter would be characters from the jurrasic world show as well as a small description as to why.

Fiddleford = Ben

I picked Fiddleford to be Ben because Ben's character is a timid character, he is scared of most things, but is tough and will brave the fear to help those he cares about.

Preston = Kenji

To the point with this one I picked Preston to be Kenji is because the are both rich with a major ego on them. Plus spoiled rich kid learn that friendship is kinda better than money seems cool. But Kenji is a kind soul even if he has a habit of making everything about himself, which I feel like would match Preston if he were allow himself to grow.

Susan = Sammy

Sammy in the show is a sweet girl with a sunshine personality who seems to like everyone and somehow makes everyone like her. She has a love for animals and tends to always look on the bright side of things even when things look dark. so I figured to add a little more to Susan's character I would pick her.

Carla = Yaz/Yazmina

Carla doesn't have any screen time so we know nothing about her character so I modeled her after the character I chose for her. Yaz is a girl who is determined and headstrong. She's athletic and likes to draw as a hobby, but her favorite thing to do is run

Ford = Darrius

So this one is pretty simple. Ford as Darrius made sense to me because they are both smart and passionate people about the things they love. Darrius has a love for knowledge and dinosaurs and Ford has a love for science and anomalies. I figured if there was anyone in this group of characters Ford or Stan would be dinosaur lovers.

Stan = Brooklyn

This was the only one that was hard to explain, but to sum it up, Brooklyn's character craves approval and attention. She’s also a truth seeker and has a knack for investigation. She's tough and caring, has traveled the world, and has done many things. She's strong-willed and strong-headed. This was a hard pick because sure stan is kinda like that, but because everyone else was kinda easier to assign a character to this was my last choice.

I have photos for this au that I might post later just because.

I would like to mention there is implied stancest in this au as well as fiddauthor, Fiddlestanwich, and fiddlestan. I was thinking of maybe some Stan x Preston stuff but am unsure of that. Also, I plan to let Carla and Susan date. I need more ships of characters who have little screen time or none at all being together.

[fistfuloflightning]

If you ever have the sudden urge totlk about Kushina/Fugaku, please do <3

(Totally unrelated to me reading your fic and finding a new rare pair. Honest. /lh)

Why yes I do love talking about my rarepairs!! *chin on hands* I’m so glad you asked! Also, sorry for the incredibly late reply!! 

Okay. So. Fugashina. I haven’t actually had to put down my thoughts about this ship beyond fic ideas before, so be forewarned that some of this is just brainmush and might not make sense.

I’ve mentioned this a couple other times, but I’ve long held the headcanon that the Uzumaki and the Uchiha are linked, through their sealing abilities (actual seals vs the sharingan which I would argue acts as a seal on the mind) but also as narrative foils. And that trickles down to their members. We already got the Naruto/Sasuke dynamic in canon, along with some teeny bits of Kushina and Obito also as foils (outcasts desperate to prove themselves to the place/people that regard them as Other).

Kushina is a fantastic character, strong and determined and so very underutilized. Admittedly, it is mostly Minato’s story but Kushina just gets swept under the rug. And while I lovelovelove Minato’s character, there’s a power imbalance in the relationship between the two of them that I don’t particularly like, (probably why I ship both Minato and Kushina with people that are not each other lol). They each deserve to have an equal partnership (and if that means writing fanfic, then fine damnit). Kushina doesn’t deserve to be that wife who wields power over her helpless husband; Minato deserves to be more than just a malewife after we got glimpses of what he could be. Kushina just feels like wasted potential (admittedly we only see her in domestic scenes in the anime, and mayyyyybe some fights scenes in the movies I think if I’m remembering correctly) and I think that’s just sad. It’s like… watching Padme, once the queen of an entire planet and then a senator in the galactic senate, spend most of RotS barefoot and pregnant. Idk I just think it’s wasted potential and it’s stupid and I want to make it better.

I already said I like the Uchiha and Uzumaki as foils, and the one who seems to beat balance her out personality-wise is Fugaku: he’s another case wasted potential (not as bad as Kushina, but still). I like having someone more serious and a little older than her to balance her immaturity and whimsical nature, someone who has the physical and mental stamina to keep up with her, and abilities that compliment hers. I think there are a lot more thoughts about those qualities but I’m exhausted rn. BUT. All this to say Fugaku seems to fit perfectly with her personality and her abilities and has the mental resilience to keep up. He doesn’t strike me as someone who would put her on a pedestal (like Minato did) and instead would challenge her and force her to think instead of behaving recklessly. In canon he’s stern (discipline-wise)with his children—I can see him taking the same approach with Kushina pre-relationship because he can see the potential and will try to help it grow the best way he knows.

She probably likes him for the fact that he doesn’t care she’s an outlier in the village—he likes competence and assertiveness and she’s got that in spades. He treats her as a person and a contributing member of the village—treating her like she has value beyond being a jinchuuriki (which I’m pretty sure was kinda hush hush at that point in canon but idc shhh). 

I just want mutual respect and a balanced relationship and symbolism with an Uchiha/Uzumaki union. A kind of closure to these two once great clans.

…And their babies would be hella cute ☺️ 

[mdhwrites]

What did you think of Anne's sacrifice/death/rebirth, especially compared to Luz's? Do you think it's the sane Anne, or was she replaced by a copy?

So I've talked before about how the death/rebirth of Anne is beautiful. How death is the greatest change we as humans have to ever face and Anne embraces it to save the community she cared about. It's pitch perfect thematically and her understanding she's still a dumb teen and STILL embracing death instead of godhood not only helps keep the thematics on point but also is just great for her character.

As for the clone... Why does it matter? A large part of Amphibia's optimism with change is that our experiences shape us. That they and the people we have met along the way will always be a part of us and shape who we shall be. Since this Anne has all of her memories, all of her experiences, all of those connections... Why should we argue about whether the cells and the like are the same? That is Anne.

It's actually a fun parallel to the Ship of Theseus that doesn't require transfer of souls or the like. That is Anne because she has the spirit of Anne. The personality. The heart. She could be placed into a giant monster or a tiny robot and it would still be Anne. Arguing if she's the same or not is pointless.

Also, comparing it to Luz is laughable. TOH doesn't have themes that fit trying to portray death as an accidental thing you can't control, the only reason The Collector needs saving is due to stupid writing, the choice isn't hers and her going to see the Titan pretty much purely exists for LITERAL GOD to pat her on the head, give her a cookie, tell her she's special and then let her go. Hell, the fact that Luz gets given a choice barely works on a meta level, let alone a narrative one. Do you want to go back, save all your friends, be beloved by all and get to live out the same sort of consequence free fantasy you've always wanted to? Or do you want to die and let everyone you know die for no reason? Especially no reason when you've gone through THREE different character conclusions IN THIS SEASON about you forgiving yourself for your singular mistake that barely mattered to anything.

That is INFINITELY more stupid and meaningless than "Do you feel confident to control the fates of UNIVERSES or do you have humility and accept that you did good and are willing to die with that?" Because remember: Anne isn't revived because she asks to be. She's revived because her willingness to believe ANYONE can improve and no one is flawless, INCLUDING HER, convinces the god that hey, if I think she's ready now, just imagine what more life experience will do to her? Before she gets revived without it even actually being her choice. Though, she does say that she'd like to live again which stops it from being like the guardian is doing something she doesn't want.

It's beautiful and part of why I had to talk about how the fandom undersold it because sure, you can describe it as "Anne dies saving Amphibia and then is revived by god," but that is leaving out JUST how good the writing is. Then again, much of Amphibia looks just fine on paper but looking a little closer almost always yields so much more than you'd expect.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

[burst-of-iridescent]

I sent you the last question. and although I'm not going to argue, there are some points I should clarify.

«that you ship kat.aang.»

You're wrong, I don't ship kataang. I agree that this is a good ending to the show if the creators wanted a romantic ending, because kataang is a story, supported by multiple references and symbolism, about two children, two survivors of the genocide who fought for victory shoulder to shoulder and now go forward together as partners to build a new and better world. this is a very beautiful ending, embodying all the main themes of the show. But I am not an active shiper and would quite agree to an ending in which kataang would not be canonically confirmed.

«what a pity that they didn't end the show with a beautiful, strong, intimate friendship that provided the perfect foundation for a romance to develop.»

Yes, just like the show ended with Zuko's beautiful, strong, intimate friendship with Sokka, Toph and Aang. Zuko and Katara ended the show as friends, but there was never anything in their relationship that Zuko didn't have with Sokka, Toph, or Aang. With Aang, in fact, Zuko has much more parallels, symbolism and friendly interaction (apparently, on this basis it should be assumed that zukaang was robbed).

«it is usually good to provide this little thing called evidence when carrying out analysis.»

it would be my plesure:

"Your sister. She hates me! And I don't know why, but I do care what she thinks of me."

"Now that I know he's out there ... now that I know we can find him, I feel like I have no choice."

These are quotes from the show. it would be great if you revisit the show itself from time to time, if you undertake to talk about how poorly the writers understand the characters.

«their choices are made for them by writers whose job is to make those choices make sense within the scope of their own narrative arcs, and fit the themes and messages of the show.»

which is what we are talking about. Kataang developed literally from the first episode, we saw how Katara's feelings for Aang were born and developed.

 s1 ep 14 Katara first starts thinking about Aang as a potential partner.

s2 ep 2 Katara first offers to kiss Aang, is offended when he refuses and then blushes when she later remembers the kiss.

S3 ep2 Katara is jealous and offended when she sees other girls flirting with Aang, and then rejoices when he invites her to dance and looks at him with loving eyes during the dance.

S3 ep10 Katara blushes when Aang kisses her and anxiously watches as he flies away to fight the firelord.

S3 ep17 The whole episode very clearly mocks the idea of zutara. We see how the propaganda of the fire nation mock Katara rasistic way as a brown girl, overly sexualizing her, showing zutara in his performance and forcing «katara» to say that Aang is like a brother to her.

S3 ep21 Katara initiates her and Aang's kiss. It is important that kataang happens on her terms and it is she who initiates the beginning of their relationship.

 You'll just have to throw these pieces out of the show and ignore the feelings and aspects of Katara's personality to claim that it didn't happen. when I say that kataang and maiko are canon, i dont mean at all "bryke and ehaz wanted to make them canonical and did." I mean, "it logically follows from the characters, from the symbolism and themes of the show." The development of the characters is important, not what the writers wanted.

I'm not going to continue this conversation, it would just be cool if you didn't literally throw whole pieces out of the show and ignore the character of Katara to prove that your ship is something more than just a fanon.

sweetie, there is not a thing you’ve shown me in any of our discussions (and i use that term generously, given that all you’ve done is refuse to engage with my arguments, continue spewing the most egregious misinterpretations, and generally be walking proof of what happens when you don’t pay attention in english class) so far that could convince me that you’re worth giving any more of my attention to.

if you are actually interested, i have addressed all of your “points” and more here — but of course, you never came to me looking for a good-faith, intellectual debate in the first place, given that you didn’t even have the guts to stand by your own arguments without hiding behind anon.

i hope someday you’re able to find joy in something other than bothering strangers on the internet just because they like two different fictional people kissing than you do.

have a good day 🥰

[sonadowwiki]

”Hard work” no one prompted you to do. You did this for entertainment and I don’t think anyone online is entitled to any type of “respect” or “fairness.” She got whatever from you. You and other fans got whatever from Sonic franchise. Commissions and all. Pretty sure founders of the franchise "worked hard” on that, but you don’t see them whining about it. It’s a chain. There is no originality. If you’re so hellbent on it, try taking it to court, which I doubt you’ll have a real case with. I’d rather do this over involving others since I’m the one with the main problem. 

“Fairness,” laughable. Since when was there ever real fairness in life, let alone the internet? Last time I checked, none. 

Why do I care? Why do you get to care and I don’t? That’s the implication I’m getting. I’m not the one who posted and pinned this long post pinned a long “awareness” post about it against one specific person all because you didn’t get what you want and couldn’t rely on the clout you already have. “Admitted” injustice from her? Okay, let me clarify and admit you both straight up suck in different ways. For her it’s not exactly the same way you’re thinking, though it’s not about Sonadow. I’m neutral about the ship. For you, I think you get the idea.

If you think my way of expressing opposition which I’m sure anyone can be harsher about is “aggressive” “rude,” and “gaslighting,” you’re clearly exaggerating. Turn off anonymous asks if you think I’m "insecure" and that it’s indecent having an opposing opinion and someone like myself can suspect that you seem like the type to start some more petty awareness raising against me because of my oh-so indecent opinion because I’m not one of those who are willing to kiss your behind over anything pathetic like this. 

Your answer shows what kind of person you are. All you're doing is just pushing the blame on everything else to try to justify yourself and your actions despite still being a coward and hiding behind being anonymous. Whether we have them open or not, still shows that you chose to be a coward and attack someone without trying to get your reputation ruined. You cared so much about reputation that you can't even fight us head on with a name attached through your own choice.

We do fight for what the company actually wants, whether you know that or not. And unlike the video creator, we make sure to credit everyone on the wiki. We put every link, and even link fan artists that are shown in images connected to officials. So unlike what you're trying to claim, we do respect the company and others by trying to credit each person fairly.

If you choose not to be fair, even on the internet, then that shows that you don't want to take that effort to be a decent person. You even coming out of your way to bully and harass someone in anonymous messages shows that you're not a decent person. You're just selfish in your own way and want to justify what fits your narrative. Someone like you defending people isn't a good look and nothing you said proves that her actions are not unjust.

Instead of answering the question, you ask a question back that leads to nothing. That doesn't answer why you specifically care about this issue enough to go to us and be rude and disrespectful as an anonymous person. It's not saying that we get to care while you don't, it's questioning why you go these lengths unless you're involved with the people who were unjust. And I question why you care even more as someone who isn't even a fan of the ship or the creator in the first place. Why go these lengths?

Again I will remind you we don't have clout. People may look at our things, but that's it. Telling people of others' misdeeds is not something that really has to do with you specifically unless you're part of the group that helped with it. Therefore your anger and bullying doesn't really make sense. Perhaps you're just into causing drama.

I think you need to remember that you're the one who came to bother us and get involved, whether you're anonymous or not. Trying to blame us for your actions is childish, especially when we talk back to defend ourselves against your intimidation, harassment and disrespect. If you don't want to be responded to, then don't make a comment in the first place.

You also use strawman arguments just to have confirmation bias towards your narrative. This is about an unjust action from a user towards us. Other users were more respectful and know school 101 to cite their sources. Just because someone is doing something wrong and you think that it's normal, doesn't mean that it's okay. Therefore, we showed the unjust actions of the person because what she did wasn't right. Simple.

We're not asking you to kiss up to us. We are only responding with what is morally right. You don't just have "a different opinion," you're being disrespectful to try to push your "opinion" on us or change us through your "opinion." In this case, you're projecting what you want to do to us unto us. Also, what you consider an opinion in this situation isn't an "opinion." What you're saying is that we should excuse others' bad actions because you find it okay or that those type of things should be let go. That's not morally right, therefore, that's why we stood up against it. It's like saying that stealing is wrong, whether digitally or physically. Standing up against that isn't wrong or something that should be shamed like you're trying to do to us. It's something you speak up about and tell others of so that change for the better can happen.

Lastly, the reason why we did the wiki isn't for specifically "entertainment." It's mainly because people constantly lie in this fandom. People lie about how characters are, they lie about their relationships, they lie about how they interact with one another. Showing official content was to show others how things really are instead of the fan interpretation they've been lied to with for years. Another reason was to help stop the bullying towards Sonadow because their fans constantly got bullied due to those lies, such as saying that Sonic and Shadow aren't friends, that they fight all the time, that they hate each other, that there's nothing between the two, etc. That's why we show official content to show that that's not the case.

[ladyhindsight]

Hey, I really love your take on some of more controversial aspect of tlh. I enjoy cassandra books, but I kind of feel that dawnwolders are incovinient to her, because she do not make any of them main character anymore. The only dawnwolders that are main characters are half-nephilim or no longer ones. Tlh do not have any and in my opinion won't twp have one ( ash doesn't count as he is some sort of hybrid of demon, fearie and nephilim). This is especially noticable in james case. The one that train james was not warlock but silent brother nor he seek to connect to dawnworlders community (his parabait is the one who fit more with them) also tessa only acted as warlock between her marriages. Vampires have not been present in the plot for 7 books.as a characters that have any influance on it). Luke and maya are the only warewolfs that are in more then 2 book. The only ones to have some page time are fearie and even then it is not much outside some ship drama( I really do not care about kierarktina and cristina, because cristina literally despait claiming that she wanted to help fearie didn't do anything for them but cry pity until she become atracted to mark and kieran. Then she helped only them). Do you think we will have at least one new main character who is dawnwolder in twp, like full blood dawnwolder not kit or ash that are part nephilim?

Hii!

Thinking back on it, this has been rather continuous theme from the very beginning of the whole chronicles. Magnus has been the only Downworld character that's been consistently featured in almost every book and every series, and you can see that Clare enjoys writing him. But let's consider someone like Maia who becomes a major side character in TMI. Maia first appeared in City of Ashes, because that random nameless mention in City of Bones doesn't count, but her story was aimless.

Her point of views were unnecessary and did not contribute to the story at all. The narrative and as such the cast treat her terribly, and even though the narrative in City of Ashes prefers us to think that she’s an essential character, it still fails to conclude her story. She just disappears. She serves a plot point and anything beyond that is forgotten as inessential. City of Glass has barely anything to do with her, and in City of Fallen Angels her role in it is as essential as that of, say, Alec, which is not at all. Her impact on the plot is minimal if even that.

Of course, there is Jordan who arrives to introduce Praetor Lupus, because Clare managed to concoct another concept to tie The Infernal Devices to The Mortal Instruments and actually work on the worldbuilding, but why is it all so minor compared to the focus Maia and Jordan's relationship receives. A relationship that begins with no point and ends with no point.

Luke, for one, is there for the connection to Clary and Jocelyn and acts as the eyes through which the past and truth is eventually revealed because Clary herself is (naturally) disconnected from the Shadow World. But to be honest, I don't know if this is an issue of these characters in TMI being Downworlders or that they simply fall into the same role as every other character that is not Jace or Clary. Because no one else has any business with the main plot for a major part of those books.

But with The Last Hours, the Downworlders just act as the backdrop to the "forbidden" parties the Nephilim characters attend in Hell Ruelle. They assist the plot development, some are comic relief, but there's no major character that is Downworlder (aside from Magnus but at this point he doesn't count). The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices probably featured more Downworld characters, The Dark Artifices somewhat as well, but none that was new or major. Malcolm was the villain, Magnus is obligated feature, whatever faerie there is is to be vague and not give straight answers as to the plot that concerns the Nephilim characters.

It's not as surprising that Downworld characters are so sidelined when the worldbuilding is basically in its infancy still. Clare somehow thought that it is realistic that New York vampire clan rules over the rest of the world, that there are no vampire characters, factions, inner politics at all. Similarly to the werewolves. It's a very tiny circle that even gets room on the pages. Now that Raphael as the only major vampire character is gone, Lily has taken his place and serves the sam role as Maia does for the werewolves.

Now that you mentioned Cristina, I kinda laughed because I didn't realize how little she did in the end actually do. Her ambitions were great but in the end she found herself in a relationship with an Unseelie king and a half-faerie Shadowhunter. Regarding The Wicked Powers, I don't think Clare is going to come up with any major character that is fully Downworlder because the only one she can consistently manage is Magnus.

[amelikos]

As soon as Liko was teased to be getting a new Pokemon, my train of thought was that Amethio would probably appear in some capacity in that episode since he has been deeply linked and involved with Liko's important steps as a trainer and journey as a character so far.

So, it's not a coincidence that Amethio is brought back in the narrative specifically after Liko gets her first Pokemon and after she pondered about the kind of trainer she wants to be and ultimately affirming a new desire for herself (to be a trainer who understands the feelings of Pokemon)!

Some character notes and episode notes for HZ021, mostly centered on Liko and Amethio for this post. Writing them down for future reference!

Liko and Mibrim

I wrote a few things about why Mibrim seemed to be an interesting choice for Liko specifically given the theme of emotions this Pokemon has and they delivered. Liko and Mibrim are both sensitive to emotions, and Liko felt an affinity for Mibrim and wanted to take care of her. Liko is also a calm person and Mibrim usually feel at ease and relaxed around such people, so this was fitting. Mibrim had trouble dealing with arguments on the ship (when Orio and Murdock argued), and seemed a bit shy to approach other Pokemon.

I am glad that Liko asked Dot for advice (and it's interesting how both Liko and Roy asked Dot for advice when it came to Kaiden and Mibrim respectively but for different reasons). The similarities between Dot and Mibrim were also brought up.

Dot felt like she could understand where Mibrim was coming from and offered her perspective, which gave Liko a push in the right direction.

In fact, Liko trying to connect with Mibrim reminded me of when she was trying to do the same with Dot initially. Plus, Mibrim and Dot look a bit similar since we don't see their eyes (and Mibrim's smile after Liko took her to bring her to the ship made me think of Dot's smile when she realized Liko considered her a friend).

The visuals showing a separation between characters (in Dot's case, the door of her room was the visual "wall" between her and Liko), but Liko still trying to talk and connect with the other. I also found it interesting that Liko thought back about the first time she arrived on the ship (especially since Amethio was involved at that moment), and tried to use her experience to understand Mibrim.

Liko wanted to leave Mibrim in the forest because she thought she'd struggle living in a place where people feel strong emotions, but she didn't seem to want to say goodbye just yet (which Nyahoja saw). She eventually caught Mibrim and told her that she'd send lots of happy thoughts her way which was just... such a wonderful thing to say and made me love Liko even more. I just really enjoyed that Liko's calm and quiet nature and Mibrim feeling emotions were taken into consideration to make them partners. Liko thought that meeting Mibrim allowed her to know more about herself and understand herself more in the process.

Liko and Nyahoja

I feel like the anime played more on Liko and Nyahoja being similar at the beginning, but now their differences are highlighted and it's interesting. Liko wondered what kind of trainer she wanted to become, and wondered if Nyahoja wanted to become stronger as well. Nyahoja was also very observant this episode and paid close attention to Liko and her reactions.

Nyahoja is actually the one who encouraged Mibrim to go back to Liko at the end (and was the one who found Mibrim in the first place and drew Liko's attention to her). She saw Liko's expression and probably guessed that she didn't want to leave Mibrim and since neither Liko nor Mibrim were going to do anything about it out of consideration towards each other, Nyahoja talked to Mibrim. It's especially sweet, given how Liko told Nyahoja not to be jealous in the episode since she was going to take care of Mibrim for a while.

I was reminded of how Nyahoja gave Liko a push forward in HZ002 as well (against Amethio at the end), and encouraged her to be more honest. I like how Nyahoja seems determinate and I wonder how it'll affect Liko going forward.

(Also, Nyahoja playing with boxes like a cat would was adorable.)

Liko's path

It was brought up in the previous episodes that dealt with Liko's kindness and how it could be a strength or a weakness depending on the situation. I'm glad that this episode showed that all the moments that were there from the start were deliberate and became a pattern building up to this. Liko's considerate nature was brought up by several characters and complimented and it's considered a strength of character.

Roy recalled the time with Oliva.

Which I'm glad he did, because the time with Oliva was the first one which made me think that they seemed to be going somewhere with the theme of emotions in regards to Liko (given how Liko noticed Oliva's feelings and couldn't leave it alone).

Liko shared her story to Orio and Mollie and they gave her their thoughts as well. Orio thought that Liko used to be overly considerate at the start, but it turned out to be what Mibrim needed. Mollie reassured Liko that being able to show compassion was something to be proud of.

Friede also noted that getting through Mibrim is quite impressive.

And that, in fact, it might be her strongest point and talent. Liko probably didn't realize it. While she admired people like Roy and An for being straightforward and advancing without hesitation towards what they want to do, others also think there are admirable traits in her. I really like the ways they show different personalities and ways to approach life and that there is no one right way to be a trainer.

Liko had a newfound resolve at the end, which is to be a trainer that understands the feelings of Pokemon, because she loves them. I do feel like this could be relevant in regards to the Six Heroes Pokemon in the future.

Liko and Amethio

Amethio has been connected to Liko and some of her pivotal steps from the start. To sum up:

Amethio is the first main character Liko meets in the story (HZ001).

He is the one who activated the pendant's protective powers for the first time onscreen albeit accidentally since his Pokemon's attack missed Friede's Lizardon (HZ001).

He is the one who brings up in-universe the fact that the pendant seems to have mysterious powers and that Liko is connected to it, which makes her aware of it (HZ002). If it weren't for his involvement, Liko wouldn't have known.

In turn, this knowledge makes Liko want to keep traveling with Friede and the others to know what her pendant truly is and why the Explorers are after her because of it (HZ003).

Amethio was also Liko's incentive to become stronger to protect what she holds dear in the first place (HZ007) as she felt frustrated at not being able to do much against him. He was what motivated her and she brought him up specifically.

Now that Amethio is back after Liko found a new resolve, I do wonder how they'll both challenge each other and impact each other's actions especially since Amethio isn't on the pendant mission anymore. Will he make it clear that he isn't after the pendant?

I think that Liko wanting to understand the feelings of Pokemon might be key to find out more about the Explorers, potentially connecting with them through their partners Pokemon? Liko has been shown to connect with isolated people or Pokemon (Dot and Mibrim, for example), so I wonder if that theme of connection will extend to the antagonists side given how they have been involved from the start (just like in my magical girls shows).

I also found it noteworthy that this episode highlighted Liko's considerate nature, and while Amethio's scene was short, it highlighted the same quality on his side?

Amethio's thoughtfulness was conveyed in this scene, as he is willing to handle things by himself as he fully knows that he is acting beyond orders at this point and his line implies that Zir and Conia may suffer consequences if they keep following him. He knows this, and he is being considerate in his own way by being willing to go alone and not put them in a difficult situation. However, Zir and Conia are willing to follow him and seem personally loyal to him.

Overall, Liko and Amethio have been shown to be more similar than they think they are, and I wonder where this will lead. They are integral to each other's stories so far (kind of kickstarting each other's personal journeys).

As a side note: With Mibrim's addition to Liko's team, she and Amethio both have a Paldean and Galarian Pokemon in their teams respectively.

[acourtofthought]

Hi! Your blog is one of my favorites, so I look forward to your thoughts if you have time. I don’t have anyone else to spout off random thoughts about ACOTAR to.

I’ve been seeing a lot of anti-Lucien content from fans that appear to be mostly Elain/Azriel supporters. I know all of the characters are flawed, but to paint Lucien as malicious or a super bad person really puzzles me. He’s made mistakes, but he’s been one of the characters that actually changes for the better when they realize they’ve made a mistake (like his early views on humans vs. living with them now). It’s like they give Azriel all of the charismatic Lucien traits to build him up when canonically Azriel has done a lot of f’d up things (both for his court and separately). I guess it’s because we know so little about Azriel and fans “fill in the blanks” with his personality and he’s a mysterious, hot bat boy. I do think Azriel can be interesting in his own right, but if Elain supporters want a charismatic, thoughtful, and sweet love interest — he’s right there!

Good Morning!!! I have also noticed an uptick in the anti-Lucien content as of late and it really does seem to stem from a desire to discredit him as a possible love interest for Elain. But there's such a blatant twisting of his character to fit their narrative that it's 50% frustrating and 50% hysterical because it's so obvious why they're doing it as well as the fact that their interpretations are so clearly wrong especially because they can't seem to keep their story straight. Either he's screaming at Elain and demanding her attention or he doesn't care enough about her because he's kept his distance. Either he's not acting like a mate because he didn't go feral enough over her or he's too possessive because (insert whatever argument they like to use). He supposedly yelled that they were mates though it's canon he "whispered" and had classic symptoms of shock while doing it. He's too weak to be with Elain because Feyre thinks that Cassian and Az would wipe him off the map while it's proven that all Lucien needs to do is speak a single word while sitting down and Cassian obeys his order. Anyone who doesn't have a vendetta against Lucien in order to further their ship is not blind to the information the author has told us. His ability to let go of past prejudices (like you said), where he once thought a certain way about humans and now he's befriended them and is helping them get back on their feet after the war (that's called growth which we've yet to see from Az). His apologizing to Feyre for failing her (even though it wasn't all that necessary since he too was a victim at the hands of Tamlin and had his own massive trauma's that make it understandable why he couldn't put everything aside for Feyre 100% of the time). His reformed ways and how even though he's never recovered from the emotional loss of Jesminda, he had casual liaisons which he immediately stopped once he learned of having a mate (showing he respects the bond and can be loyal). His ability to control his temper even when something as strong as the bond is trying to force his hand. His ability to not seek to harm others even if they had it coming (*Beron). The way he thinks carefully on what he wants to say. The fact that he takes care in his appearance, same as Elain. The fact that he's so at ease in nature, same as Elain. The fact that he's social and friendly with everyone, male and female alike, same as Elain. I think their problem stems from the fact that it's really difficult to dispute that if the bond had never come into play and Elucien had both been single when they met, they'd find it difficult not to really like one another. Cruelty bothers Elain and Lucien doesn't fight unless someone is attacking him. They both like balls and parties. They have a similar sense of humor and even make the same jokes. They are open with their affection and praise. They both enjoy the outdoors. But since SJM isn't a love at first sight author, she created some pretty major obstacles for them to overcome so the second the bond snapped they didn't go running into one another's' arms but their obstacles are no greater than what Feyre went through to get to Rhys and what Nesta went through to end up with Cassian. And anyone that completely ignores who Elain and Lucien are as individuals and how much they actually have in common is only doing that because of the danger it presents to their ship.

[pectinpeeress]

Aarghhhh.... kind of a rant below, sorry about that, somethings just been bugging me...

I’ve been kind of annoyed with a lot of the Opinions I’ve seen on Kimblee as a character, especially in terms of his relationship with Riza. Because I feel like people keep trying to justify his character morally in order to justify liking him. And, first of all, a character doesn’t need to be a good person for you to like them; and secondly, it makes the characters way less interesting?!?

Like, If you look at Kimblees narrative purpose as a character, he isn’t supposed to represent a real person. Just like how the Greek gods are more similar to the element they’re meant to represent than an actual person, Kimblee is the idea of narcissism come manifest. I get that writing is subjective, but Arakawa has literally said that she based Kimblee off of Alex from A Clockwork Orange – a character whose so insufferably self-centered, he makes you wonder if he even deserves to act for himself-- so I feel like it’s fair to say that regardless of what anyone claims, the intention is for him to be an irredeemable person.

I think that what confuses a lot of people is that he has an understandable set of motivations, and people don’t understand the difference between an understandable villain and a sympathetic villain. Kimblee is not a sympathetic villain, he’s given no backstory, no noble goals, or sympathetic motivation. But he is an understandable villain. We understand his thought process, but that doesn’t mean that we can view him as a good person. Honestly, his motivation has always reminded me of alt-right accelerationism, he recognizes that the things he’s doing are bad, but he just doesn’t care.

This is why it bugs me when people claim that he and Riza had a connection, or that Riza sympathized with him. Because it ignores the narrative purpose of his character. He’s the manifestation of the hypocrisy of Amestris. The government claims violence is a necessary evil, but the system is built to reward sadism. It’s sort of like how our society claims to reward kindness, and yet the most powerful people are billionaires who exploit their workers. So when he tells Riza to look in the eyes of the people she kills, it’s impactful because she hates him. It’s her becoming disillusioned with the lies and propaganda of the military. They claim to be protecting the people of Amestris but in reality, they’re just a weapon for the government to use as it sees fit. Riza doesn’t sympathize with Kimblee, she loses her patriotism, and that is the point.

To be clear, I don’t care which characters you like, or what you ship, or whatever, but when you claim that Riza and Kimblee got along, you’re actively making her character less compelling. The narrative goes from “soldier becomes disillusioned with the military” to “woman is tempted by the ~dark side~” which like, that’s fine, there’s nothing inherently wrong with simplifying a character. My issue comes from the fact that people act like they’re improving her character or making her more interesting, and they’re not. She goes from a really interesting look into the purpose of the military and the motivations of the soldiers within it, to a poorly written YA protagonist. And for what?  A love-triangle? The aesthetic?

It just irritates me because there’s this undertone to it like they’re saving Riza from being overly dependent on a man by latching her to another man. Like, the whole point of Riza’s character is that despite being dehumanized her entire life, she is still a human with free will and agency, and their attempt to fix what they perceive as the faults of Riza’s character is to turn her into a tool used by a different man? Like, can’t she just be evil on her own? Why is she only allowed to do immoral things through the proxy of a man? It comes off as way more dehumanizing than any of the tropes they’re trying to fix, while also ignoring that she’s an intentional subversion of those tropes.

IDK, just to clarify, I really do not care about your personal taste or whatever content you make. It’s stupid to act like the mere act of liking a fictional character is indicative of a person’s actual ethics, and it’s even stupider to think that fandom discourse will have any sort of positive impact on their moral compass. What mostly bugs me is when people act like they're smarter than everyone else for liking something when it’s like??? Dude just like what you like you don’t need to lie about the narrative to justify it.

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

normally i don't directly engage in discourse or anything and don't rly care to, but one thing the fandom mentions often is how edelgard is generally made for straight men and like... it's very true - true enough that a hint of it had to be completely wiped from the localization for being too suggestive (read: outright sexual).

some of you might have already heard about this before, but i was going back through the nintendo dream interview since it'd been a while since i'd read it again. as always it just aggravates me how literally specific those support lines are when we know the team (via the interview) had "a lot of people" wanting to take edelgard's side. like... it's just not surprising they'd stick a sex joke in there. if there's one thing the loc did right, it was taking that out lol...

it's basically that byleth (both byleths, but frankly female byleth having that line almost kinda comes off as fetish bait which is... perhaps even worse) has a line in their c support where, when they enter her room at night because they hear sounds coming from her room, suggests they entered her room for sex. the term used is yobai (night crawling), which is an old jp custom where unmarried men and women would have sex. the guy is supposed to say something first to make sure she knows (so it's not rape), hence byleth "telling" her that's what they're there for.

edelgard responds with a smiling blushing portrait. her neutral expression is a small smile, and that was uh, not edited at all (and she wasn't given an angry expression in response like you'd expect a character like her to). so basically byleth makes a joke about fucking her in the middle of the night and she blushes. she responds with, "you know what that means right?", followed by "so you're joking. don't surprise me like that", which... can be taken basically in two different ways (like, geez don't shock me that you'd even ask for that kind of thing, or don't surprise me i was hoping for that). mind you her 3D model is giving a knitted eyebrow frown, but the 3D model is also still blushing.

(also, to be specific, in the loc version she's still blushing, but all byleth says is "i was restless", so the blushing portrait literally doesn't even fit. it's just a leftover from the original script. edelgard's response is also a vocally flat and literally confused "what could that possibly mean?", which like... idk buddy, what do you think "i was restless" means??? i mean come on loc team, i know you wanted to remove the sex joke, but her response to "i was restless" being a genuinely confused blushing response in a completely flat tone was bonkers and entirely out of place. there were other things they could've put to tone it down immensely and have it just be a misunderstanding without making edelgard sound like an actual, literal idiot for not knowing what "i was restless" could possibly mean.)

it's just... really unfortunate. the devs could've made a great game without this level of controversy, but they were evidently too horny to do so and had to adjust the narrative so that the "this time female villain" was justified and had other characters, particularly women (wlw is uh, popular... for usually the wrong reasons), obsess over her (then hopes just further cemented that even harder and not just with monica - which mind you, i shipped edelgard and monica as my own little crackship before hopes was even a thing so... lol...).

i know, i KNOW, i KNOW, you are all SO sick of me saying ashnard is RIGHT THE FUCK THERE, but it's SO TRUE (or maybe you're not idk lol). like, he's basically the same character with a different skin, except... since he's not female, he doesn't get the same treatment. the thing is, he shouldn't - he's a bad person, and that's the whole point! so like... why couldn't they make edelgard the same way? well... evidently bc the devs were literally too horny to think about a proper narrative for her (repeatedly pointed out and labeled as) conquest actions.

they cared so much about the game's story and yet... they didn't care enough past uh, this issue to be like hey, this one character existed before who we called a villain, but we can't do the same for the pretty lady bc we like her too much.

like idk, if that was gonna be the case i kinda wish they just made edelgard's role go to a male again, bc they obviously can't handle it? i mean when there's a literal sex joke in there (notably with just edelgard out of all the characters afaik, who can marry both genders of byleth and the line isn't changed depending on gender) and (a lot of) the team got outed in a Dream interview for wanting to side with her, it just reeks of bias of "we don't actually care about her actions or goals; we just like her because she's hot and a strong woman".

it's just... such wasted potential. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh.