#zero decisions on who she will romance. we will see

[jennycalendar]

durge btw

[satureja13]

The Friendship between: Saiwa and Vlad

Like Vlad and Jack, Saiwa and Vlad met at the Space (Balls) Bar & Grill & 'Residence'.

They have a very solid friendship and respect each other. Usually one of them is reasonable and able to talk the other into doing the right thing or out of making wrong decisions and usually the other listens.

Saiwa is a reluctant leader (no one except himself ever questioned his abilities to lead them, neither the Boys themselves nor the Resistance) and often questions his position in the group and it's a burden for him. He's glad that he can ask Vlad (and Kiyoshi) for advice.

And he also thinks that Vlad would be a better leader (also no one else shares this opinion lol and Vlad would be shocked if he knew about this. He has more than enough problems, is an introvert and prefers quiet activities like painting and writing over herding a bunch of weirdos out of control ö.Ö') More about this (and more ^^') here (under the cut) and here (also under the cut).

Aside of all their hardships, they also are a very handsome pairing (=the visuals of the group ;) (Romance Level: Below Zero) At Mount Komorebi

In our Heidi Special I love the way they look at each other.

And a very funny one! That was when we made the Simtimates Collection Special at the end of the Sabotage Chapter: Sai joked about what if Ms Coombes, their teacher (Vlad is her favourite) ever sees these pics hahaha. (And a few weeks later she said she really saw them! omg ^^')

And that was at the 6 month anniversary of our story ^w^ Hissing and growling with the yeti :3

And in the Jungle of Selvadorada

After Vlad died, it had been Saiwa who refused accepting it and kept on investigating. He even dragged Jeb to DEATH's Domain to find out what happened to him.

And that was when Saiwa and the Gang Doctor 'encouraged' Vlad to tighten the Bond with Ji Ho :3 (Ah I really enjoy doing this series, we had so much fun! And it keeps me busy and from worrying until I have my new computer and if everything goes well ^^')

And no one ever found out which song it was...

The only fights they had (and I remember) were before Ji Ho and Vlad tightened the bond. This was at the beginning when Vlad wanted to avoid Ji Ho:

And this was when Giga/Saiwa had sent Ji Ho to Vlad's room to take a bath and Vlad was upset because he feared to lose control ^^' (It had been Saiwa who dragged Ji Ho to the Space Bar and Saiwa was the first who predicted their epic love story at the first they they'd met)

Oh and the epic fight they had that faithful day when Vlad decided to bond with Morgan to spare Ji Ho from doing Bond Magic... Sai and Jack had been so mad at Vlad, they didn't speak with him for months ö.Ö' (this stupid action also lead to the Boys' separation and a few weeks later they swore to not have any secrets from each other to avoid further harm).

This is one of the few things they'll never agree on I fear. Saiwa wants to use their Bond magic for doing good and Vlad wants to spare Ji Ho from doing it.

Their Friendships (in chronological order):

Giga/Saiwa and Jack

Vlad and Jack (updated)

Giga/Saiwa and Vlad

Vlad and Sai at Tartosa

Vlad and Sai dancing together in our Goth Special

In chronological order: 🫛 Saiwa and Jack 🫛 Vlad and Jack 🫛 Saiwa and Vlad 🫛 Kiyoshi and Jeb 🫛 Saiwa and Ji Ho 🫛 Ji Ho and Jack 🫛 Ji Ho and Jeb 🫛 Ji Ho and Kiyoshi 🫛 Vlad and Kiyoshi 🫛 Vlad and Jeb 🫛 Saiwa and Kiyoshi 🫛 Jack and Jeb

❤️‍🔥 Ji Ho and Vlad (and Luci) ❤️‍🔥 Saiwa and Jeb ❤️‍🔥 Jack and Kiyoshi ❤️‍🔥 Noxee and Greg ❤️‍🔥 Leander and Wesley (and Vlad) ❤️‍🔥 Francine Spencer (Jeb's Grandmother) and Jules Rico

From the Beginning  ~  Underwater Love ~  Latest 🕹️ 'Therapy Game' from the beginning ▶️ here 📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 17-22 ~ 23-28

[yourhighness6]

A Yue Stan's Thoughts on Yue's Character in NATLA

As much as I appreciated what NATLA was trying to do and think it is worth a rewatch, can I just say as an unapolagetic Yue stan that they completely ruined her, and Yukka by extension.

And say whatever you want about her scenes leading up to the sacrifice (which did make me cry, I'll admit, her speech about living was actually a nice addition), but it was actually this line that left me absolutely seething and in my opinion proves that the writers completely misunderstood what made the sacrifice so powerful:

I actually had to pause the television and collect myself after this one because holy fuck is this the stupidest thing I've ever heard. The entire point in the animated show was that she didn't get to make her own choices before this point. She didn't get to choose who to marry, she didn't get to choose her role in society, she didn't get to choose basically anything about her life besides maybe how to style her hair or something. Yue was a character who was extremely dutiful, but also extremely boxed in by her duty. It was both her greatest strength and her greatest weakness, a parody of itself, just as her mere existence was a parody: while she was saved by the moon spirit as a child and allowed to live on, it was that very reason that she eventually gave up her life. And the very fact that she was given these choices in the first place in the LA seriously undermined the idea of her sacrifice. Yue was told her entire life what to do, and although she did manage to find a bit of freedom through her brief romance with Sokka, ultimately, she still didn't get to publicly be with him or reject Hahn or anything similar. Her sacrifice was what she saw as her duty, yes, but her sacrifice for her people was also a way of standing up for herself and finally resolving to make her own choices. In that moment, she not only saved her people, but she finally made a decision for herself instead of doing something someone else told her to, even going against Sokka's wishes to do what she thought was necessary. So in the LA, with her having a place of influence in her community, with her being able to call off her engagement, with her being told that she could one day be chief, to that stupid fucking line implying that she was in no way ever repressed and free to make her own decisions the entire time, removing all of her character growth and any character significance to her actions, it was all basically pointless. It made Yue into a plot device for Sokka to bond with and to move the Aang-and-Kuruk plotline forward. In the animated series, Yue was not a plot device, and she was extremely well written, whereas in NATLA, her character fell completely flat. She talks about responsibility and pressure in her first scene with Sokka, but other than that, she has no depth. In other words, she has no depth besides her relationship to him.

Anyway, I hope we can all agree that her characterization and a lot of the decisions made in the last two episodes of NATLA were nothing but a pile of bulshit. From Iroh killing Zhao to Yukka having zero chemistry to Katara just magically becoming a master to Zuko being shelved to the plotline about Aang not feeling like he belonged having absolutely no buildup beyond a throwaway line in the second episode to everything about Yue I spelled out above, I would go as far to call it just plain bad. Again, I'm glad it got renewed, and I'll be the first to say a lot of other episodes get unnecessary hate, as well as that we are working with slightly different characters (especially Azula) in this version than the first, but I was really disappointed with seeing Yue in LA for a second time.

[koreandragon]

One spring night was amazing. Not only did we get so many great women and relationships btw them we also got some important themes and stories domestic abuse, single parenthood for both men and women in Korea etc. And the best thing is all this and we got an amazing love story with a badass lady who is so well written and has friendships and a job she loves and dynamic relationships with her parents and siblings but also is so proactive in her relationship and while she makes mistakes she is as steadfast and strong in defending and protecting her boyfriend as he is her. It just honestly makes all these dramas lately pale even more in comparison because they seem to think we're stupid or something. Our brains can't possibly see something as feminist if it's not as performative as possible while also forgoing the actual point of most of these shows which is to make a romance. Like the male characters only|main purpose is to be in love and that's what drives all their thoughts and actions with zero regard for their individuality or safety or anything else at all on the other hand that's the female characters last concern and they can't possibly make decisions based on prioritizing the person they love lest they crumble where they stand because uwu girlbosses so it's like two different stories written by Jekyll and Hyde.

literally so tired of the hallmark movie Ambitous City Girl Learns To Love Again trope like i'm tired of all the girlbossery where women don't allow themselves to feel anything because we're in the age of the Strong Woman at least some bastardization of the concept and then she meets the clingiest motherfucker on earth to teach her to live laugh love like we just need women portayed as normal fucking people. i beg

[walking-tornado]

Chobits is an asexual fantasy and yall feel weird because a show has never catered so hardcore to demiromantic asexuals until Chobits.

I highly recommend reading it to watching the anime. The anime deviates quite a bit from the manga and cuts a lot of important details from the last arc. Spoilers ahead for the end of the show, i will get into basically everything soooo be warned.

Feel free to fight me in the comments, i love discussions :>

At its core Chobits is a romance between a human cishet man- Hideki- and a female asexual Robot/Persocom -Chi-. Its a slow burn romance, where Hideki is given time to observe the complex relationships around him, before coming to a decision, while Chi has more of an introspective journey of finding out what she wants outside of her programming.

Chobits explores quite a number of themes and ideas about romance and the nature of sapience:

The most glaring is the idea of Human/Persocom relationships and romances. Is a Persocom with complex enough programing sapient? Is it enough that the human observer believes their Persocom is sentient for it to be? When a Persocom consents, does it really?

We see people become obsessed with their Persocom who can do anything ,without question, to the point where they neglect their spouses. At the same time we see people who are wholeheartedly in love with their Persocom, and who endure the societal pressure to seek human companionship. We see characters who create a Persocom duplicate of their deceased loved one, and their emotional struggle.

We are shown the effects of the sociatal pressure on women to rise up to the beauty and "perfection " standards that these dolls bring to the table.

Okay okay buuuut wait WalkingTornado, isnt this that one anime where her power button is down THERE?!?!

Yes, thats the one. Its treated as a comedic hook in the first chapter because Hideki has zero experience and background information and we see the world though his extremely naive eyes.

After learning from those around him about the nature of a romantic relationship with a Persocom, he is hit with the magnitude of that perticular design choice. Chi has no innate desire for sex, and should she have sex, her fundamental personality will be deleted and changed forever.

And Hideki, accepts to enter a purely romantic relationship with Chi, and consents to not have sex with her ever, despite being allosexual.

He doesnt ask if they can move/remove the button, he doesnt ask if he can possibly have oral, he doesnt ask if he can date someone on the side, he doesnt ask her to sacrifice her being for his sexual benefit.

He accepts her as she is and respects the now completely asexual nature of their relationship.

Now onto the negatives: The asexual being a robot is nothing new, but is it problematic? Maybe, but considering that so much media has trouble accepting an Asexual as not a broken/ill/hasnt met the right person/traumatised/low libido/nun who has to get over themselves and just have sex like the rest of us, Chobits with it unusual premise, does a good job of portraying an asexual romantic relationship using an unconventional premise.

I pray for a future, where asexual representation in media gets to a point where we can look back and snicker that hehe they thought we were all robots. But till then, i will defend Chobits as my go to Asexual media to my dying day.

[atsoraasayoma]

Hi! I just found your page, and as a Takari shipper, I really appreciate what you do!

I bring you a topic to analyze! Recently I've been thinking about something that I haven't seen discussed anywhere, and that is that if you look at the children of the chosen ones in the epilogue, the oldest ones are Yolei's and Ken's, and then Hikari's (???).

Taking into account that the epilogue takes place in 2027 and her daughter (or son?) looks about 10 years old maybe, then let's say she only has about 5 years left between '02 The Beginning' and the birth of her child to meet someone, fall in love, date and perhaps get married (I mean, it's not necessary to get married to have a child). That's a long time I know, and she could still meet someone between that time, date and then get married in a space of 3 years or so, but it sounds a bit accelerated. Could it be that by the time of the last movie, she's already meeting someone, going out to bars and fooling around? See where I'm going?

I would like to know what you think about it? :)

Hi there! Thanks for consulting with me about this topic friend. For one, I don’t really see Hikari going to bars by herself. She is very cautious unless going through emotional distress, but if one of her friends were there specifically Takeru or Miyako I think she would allow herself to get a little buzzed but not full on wasted and make those kinds of decisions.

To be perfectly honest I have a hard time seeing Hikari dating anyone because it takes a long time for her to feel comfortable. She’s great with children of course, but when it comes to romance I think that would prove to be difficult. She has to learn to confide in people. So if she has close friends and went to a mixer or something, maybe but she would have to have the approval of her friends first. She may be timid at times, but she is smart. With Takeru’s training I’m sure she could talk her way out of trouble what with how she seemed to learn how to tease from him.

Due to her past I think she’s better than before about making personal choices but this is usually in a group setting when it comes to decisions. I am sure she has learned from both Takeru and Miyako and the hearts of the kidnapped children in zero two. Oh, and Tailmon as well.

A part of me strongly believes that she would end up with Takeru and we are being played until the end of this. I spent quite sometime trying to analyze eye colors and heritage and how their kids could have blue eyes and the other has brown eyes which was disheartening…

…but then I remembered, hey this is anime. Does everything absolutely have to be in alignment for it to work? I don’t think so with a hint of salt.

We have to be realistic, but omission is neither evidence nor falsehood.

I try to look at trends, yet since we don’t know the names of most of the Digidestined spouses or seen them we’re not getting the full picture. So, we need to focus on what we can see.

That was just the introduction. So here are my thoughts.

Whoever Hikari dates would need some kind of approval from her brother. He’s still protective of her. He would also need to be approved by her other friends -especially Miyako who is her confidante. She would also like to know Takeru’s reaction since they were childhood friends.

So she would control her environment before she takes any hasty emotional decisions.

I think you’re right timing wise as far as the canonicity of the children being born.

Yet, even after considering what is highly likely I want to give proper credence to omission in the Takari case.

What’s fascinating about this pairing is what we can draw from their constantly being around each other. They grow, they support each other, they start to have feelings in Tri, and by the time we get to Kizuna they are in sync literally lockstep (from the limited time we see them.)

All of this is hammered down even further when we get to the 2nd dialogue script in 02 to the Beginning Movie where they literally are making up stories together on the spot with their Digimon and just literally leading Ken on with their wild stories.

(This also got me thinking maybe Hikari gave Takeru idea to write about for future novels)

Then in that same movie Hikari seems to have front passenger seat privileges, is extremely calm about Takeru’s erractic driving which tells me she is used to it, and lastly, and this is the most important point:

They are still extremely close. Even more so than their DNA digivolving partners. I can’t say the same for Ken and Daisuke.

If we take a step back and look at this from Digimon Adventure all the way through this new movie we can see a steady progression in the building of their relationship.

In the next movie then, I believe, so close to the ordained time of meeting their spouses, one of two things will happen.

They will be in good communication of course. But, what I can see is either Takeru will meet someone, introduce them to the group and Hikari will be supportive but heartbroken and then move on.

Or two, and this is my hope, that, they will finally cross that line to actually become lovers. It would have to be a truly desperate moment for them to see each other that way. They are both terrific at hiding their own feelings.

If we approach this canon wise the first option seems more likely.

But I have approached their relationship differently because so much of their relationship is based off those little details of expression, emotion, and proximity.

This is the last scene I have seen of them from the new movie that I remember. They still seem quite close.

In my opinion after such an emotional travail from the previous conflict it seems that each Digidestined ended up playing with the ones they are closest to.

Hikari could have chosen Miyako.Takeru could have not prepared himself and taken a hit from Iori but he was ready to take it from her.

In response to the last part of your question, I think, should Hikari have been dating Takeru would have made some reaction or comment about it. The same with Takeru. Like in Tri?

But, they didn’t. It wasn’t even brought up. And even if it was possible do you think another girl or guy would like their girl/boyfriend hanging out with their childhood friend in their car alone or at a restaurant?

Maybe it’s a cultural thing but you have to admit that can prompt all kind of misunderstandings.

So in summary I agree they could meet someone else by the time the last movie comes out and dash the hopes of the Takari faithful.

However, like in one of my previous posts I submit this picture as a reservation for Takari to be canon much as the vacant spot conspicuously behind Tentomon in front that seemed reserved for someone:

Mirrored Daisuke appears to have mirrored the missing spot between Sora and Yamato. Yet Takeru seems to have stepped forward as if he was meant to have been in that hidden spot besides Hikari in the first picture.

My hopes for Takaridom are banked on such observations. There is a constant ‘why’ when it comes to these two and their relationship.

One of my biggest ones is why that gap? And as this final movie comes across our path hopefully in the next five years we’ll get some kind of final answer just how far their relationship goes.

I just know that if they are still that close which I believe they will be one or the other will somehow have the other in the back of their minds when it comes to any romance. Which, is a most curious thing, isn’t it?

Would that not lead to, ‘If I’m always considering you/confiding in you does that mean we are the best of friends or could we be more than that?

…

And I am eagerly waiting for those emerging of emotions to manifest that both of them will realize.

(For further understanding of how Takari can be canon I recommend to read my fanfiction series The Digital Record Series on fanfiction.net or archiveofourown.com under Atsoraasayoma.)

I know this has been quite the long response but to me I can’t give a short answer or even a medium one. Much like their relationship you might need to take my opinion with a grain of salt or go back through the series and read between the lines.)

[azems-familiar]

my thoughts on veilguard

putting this all below a cut; it will contain SPOILERS for all of veilguard, including the ending.

alright, i'll start with the good parts.

i did actually enjoy playing the game - while the mechanics are very different from previous dragon age games, i found it still had enough tactics in it to be interesting, and the varying difficulty levels helped a lot for me; i'm actually planning to try it on a slightly higher difficulty the next playthrough i do. i quite liked the exploration and felt that they'd successfully improved on the failed open worlds from Inquisition, and the puzzles all over were a lot of fun to decode. the art style itself is absolutely beautiful; i was skeptical of it in the trailers, but found myself enjoying it once i actually got into the game itself. the soundtrack is gorgeous (though i do think it lacks a bit when compared to inquisition's), and i overall had fun.

i do love all the companions, and as someone who really enjoyed me2's loyalty system seeing a similar style brought in here was quite fun for me. i also felt they did a good job trimming down extraneous side quests while still keeping the game feeling like it had plenty of content; i didn't fully 100% it my first run but i got through almost everything.i imagine if i'd gone for the full 100% my playthrough would've ran around 100 hours rather than the 95 i clocked (though that includes some character creator time, so isn't fully accurate. maybe 90?).

there were several very good moments - i enjoyed the conversations between Rook and Solas; overall i really loved most of Solas's content in the game. i felt the Varric bait-and-switch reveal was actually really well done. i played a trans nonbinary Rook and really adored the trans dialogue peppered throughout and how that interacted with the romances and with Taash's arc. the game also keeps track of how you interact with characters and has that influence the choices you get in the future, or the choices they make, which was very neat.

but overall...it really just feels like they dropped the ball.

this doesn't feel like a dragon age game. it's entirely absent the complex politics and intrigue that i'd expect from one - we are told many things that are there for plot reasons and given no deeper justification, such as the Antaam and Venatori not only willingly working together, but willingly working together for the elven gods. it's expected to be believable that the Dalish uniformly have accepted this version of their history that only the Inquisitor and her inner circle knew, besides Fen'harel's agents, ten years ago? speaking of Fen'harel, where are his agents, his network, his people?

(speaking of the Dalish, why are they all Veil Jumpers now. we see zero traditional clan structure onscreen and i'm kinda upset about it as someone who has played as a Dalish elf wherever possible in every game.)

the game has incredibly weird pacing; it uses Varric's screens to describe things that haven't happened and the characters don't know about, and i think they meant to have that build tension, but instead imo it just deflates it; there's no natural wondering what consequences things might have because everything is spelled out long before we get there. at the same time, things that should have been quests to discover are spoken of in "varricspace". this does get better later in the game, but it still feels...very weird. i think the worst part of it is at the beginning - you stop Solas's ritual, the gods escape, you have one conversation with Solas, everyone basically uniformly agrees the gods have escaped, and away you go. D'Meta's Crossing is treated like a "find out who your actual enemy is" part but...doesn't really end up actually feeling like that because of the weird exposition.

their decision to only carry over 3 choices but still reference past events left a lot of open-ended, vague moments - like Harding's conversation about the Inquisition, where she could only give surface details about a few people and said nothing about the Inquisitor at all, or Dorian and Maevaris talking about how Fereldan's succession was decided by a duel at one point but not saying anything else about it. or the fact that Hawke never comes up, despite one of their potential romances being right here, and Varric hanging around...whether that was Actual Varric or not lol.

i found a lot of plot holes - it was pretty clear they wanted to do specific things with the Blight, so there was just a lot of Wardens going "well we don't know what's happening it's changing all the rules" and massively fucking with that lore, which, okay whatever. i wasn't very happy with the fact that we destroyed Weisshaupt, but at least trying to destroy the Grey Wardens is kinda a dragon age special. the other Evanuris are basically treated as though they no longer exist, even though Solas trapped all of them in the Fade...? this was a big ol plot hole for the ending imo.

most people have said all the other things i could say about the writing, so instead i'll address the thing that bothered me the absolute most: the ending.

first - gratuitous character death that has almost no impact on the game or the characters? well i played mass effect, so whatever, i'm used to that. nah, i want to talk about Solas, and how the ending is awful for him, even the "good" one.

even if you ignore the plot hole about how there should still be several other Evanuris out there to maintain the Veil, pushing Solas to tie himself to the Veil and spend the rest of his immortal life protecting it as "atonement" is a super shitty ending. atonement for what? for actions that happened thousands of years ago, that he has lived with awful regret for since, that he was pushed into by Mythal? the game does a wonderful job of showing how manipulative and insidious their relationship was - i'd go so far as to call it abusive, though not in a way some people would recognize, emotionally rather than physically - only to then never touch on that or let the characters properly react to it. in fact, with the Titans, Solas is the one saying he knows this is a bad idea and will have consequences, and he's told to do it anyway - and yet Harding gets furious at him, then later laments that she should be ANGRIER at him for it.

Solas was used by Mythal time and again, very clearly felt as though he couldn't refuse her until the very end, often spoke out against her decisions, and most importantly was only one of the people responsible for the war with the Titans, and yet is made to bear all of the blame. Frankly I'm also upset by how the game railroads you into being angry at him for Varric's death and treating it as some horrible thing - Varric fucking tried to steal Solas's ritual knife, while unarmed, i don't know what he expected. and Varric's death alone is not a crime worth forcing Solas to spend his ENTIRE IMMORTAL LIFE "atoning" for. neither is his desire to tear down the Veil, which he never actually succeeded at doing.

a true, healthy and happy ending would have been Solas getting to pass off the mantle of his people's protector and whatnot, maybe to an elven Rook, and getting to go off and live an actual life, as he says he wanted to in a particular codex entry:

while i'm glad that Lavellan gets to go with him, it just felt like such an...almost punitive-punishment style ending. the evil villain has to go atone for his crimes all his life but because there's a good man who wanted to do good things (AND DID DO A WHOLE LOT OF GOOD LET'S NOT FORGET) under there he gets to have his lover with him for it. like. what are we punishing him for, lying to Rook??

idk, man. it leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.

[kindwhispers]

Kaze Hikaru: Slow burn romance, debunking the patriarchal gender roles, and the intricacies of a fractured Bakumatsu era

Disclaimer: Attached below are heavy spoilers, please read on your own discretion.

I. Initial thoughts and impressions:

I am not well versed with Japan's Feudal history but I am well aware that this is recounting actual events during the Bakumatsu Era. At first it definitely felt like there's a lot of information bombardment in a chapter, as well as characters being thrown around and it was quite hard to catch up especially coming in with zero background on the Shinsengumi. There's definitely so much to consider and put into mind because of its setting and I can be highly critical with a lot of them (especially how huge gender role expectations were and how overbearing & cruel patriarchy is especially during this era, will get into this next).

II. Bakumatsu era, Bushido:

Just for a quick background, this was set in 1863-1867 during the decline of Bakumatsu, the last leg of Edo Period under Tokugawa shogunate, right before Meiji Restoration. Bushido is the "way of a warrior" and how bushis live with this code of conduct.

III. On antiquated patriarchal gender roles:

In the vast course of the series, Soji often offers a resolution for Sei to marry off instead of staying in Shinsengumi for a promise of safety... though distinctly coming from a place of care for her, is still in the end administering to misogyny where women were expected to be in households. It all essentially rows around patriarchy during Edo period.

Sei is someone who has struggled a lot to become a bushi as a woman. She is always told that she couldn't, as a woman, she should be married at her age instead, and so forth. Through Sei, we can see a lot of the constraining and dismantling the patriarchal gender structure as she climbs her way up to stand amongst Shinsengumi, which is domineered by mostly men. With her hard work and zeal, along with her raison d'être (first, joining to seek vengeance for her family, then, staying for Soji), she has earned her way up and is seen as a bushi on equal footings- and even better than most. Through all these, she constantly hears and deals with archetypal misogyny and sexist remarks, how being Feeling and Emotive is considered as a "girly thing," and how she always has to grapple with herself by being "a man" bc what she is doing is not "womanly" enough or what she is doing is still inadequate because she will always be a "woman" at the end of the day. This all falls on the rigid social dichotomy that is founded in patriarchy.

Below, from Volume 30, I believe, somehow counters those gender roles. Sei, when she saw Omasa looking a lot more "womanly" ever since she became a wife and a mum, came the scenes of her lamentations about letting go of her womanhood (marrying off, bearing a child, keeping the household, serving the husband, which were all what was believed to be what encompasses the happiness of a woman- an indoctrination of social mores re: what defines a woman that entirely stems from patriarchy) when she has already decided to choose to walk the path of a bushi. Though she has long been resolute with her decision, she still inevitably comes back to it, and she can't help but feel envious. Kondo saying "Soji would be a good wife" already disproves the gender stereotypes, and how the important conversation between Sei and Soji afterwards carries with it so much weight.

Because of her envy with Omasa, she sees herself insignificant both as a woman and as a bushi. She thinks that she is already past the age of a woman who's expected to be marrying off and having a family of her own, and that her mourning about it negates her being a bushi, that she is still as "girly" for thinking this way, even after coming a long way and proving herself in Shinsengumi. Soji then refutes this. Sei emphasized how she wants to be like the wind (Soji) that’s not clinging onto anything and that no desires could constrain, all she could do as a grass is look up to him and admire him even though she couldn’t be with the wind. Soji tells her otherwise, that the wind is envious of the grass that even has the ability to blossom with flowers and yearns to be like that. That Sei is already viewed as influential, and truthfully so. It's basically Soji saying he sees her as equals and is telling her that she is a strong woman and a fine bushi at that; that he, too, admires her (and how at this point Soji has already been perceiving Sei to be strong, as a great bushi and as herself, with how she carries herself & her ability to affect the ppl’s lives around her). Sei needs not to strip away her being a woman, she doesn't have to become a "man" to have been seen as equals, because she did it all being one; she is a woman of influence, and she actively debunks what were archetypal subjectifications of a woman- which, (thought not entirely), defies the patriarchal gender role expectations at this point.

IV. Slow burn romance, transformative and profound Love:

Finally, on the romance! The romance in this manga takes its time and it is wonderful.

I want to start off with how Soji really came a long way of acknowledging his love for Sei (someday I will make a separate post studying his character), how it has always been there, no matter which form, and how transformative it was. At first, he still doesn't fully recognise his feelings about Sei that he instead analogizes it to a parent having to let go of their first born, then how he was with Kondo as a sensei-disciple, then how his love for Sei is that above of a familial love. Now having met Sei, how he finds himself loving her in the process, he subconsciously files it under emotions he’s most familiar with: and that is his love for Kondo, or familial love. What he feels with Sei is something completely alien to him, he doesn’t yet have the awareness that it’s an entirely different form of love (and I will always believe that all the forms of love he had for Sei is just as significant and doesn't need to be measured, even when it doesn't have to necessarily metamorphose into a romantic love). Asking Toshi to reassign Nakamura, allowing his personal feelings get in the way of his work, was the first huge step in coming face to face with his feelings.

“It’s better than marrying someone I truly love so I can just die anytime” monologue of him, and having the dilemma of NOT being like that with Sei… because with Sei, he has something to value and that scares him more than anything. I feel this is interwoven by his past (I will also make a study on Sei & Soji's pasts, their similarities and how their contraries attract, both interlaced by their upbringing). Having ingrained the ‘bushido’ through Kondo & Toshi at an early age, and how he detaches himself from his emotions and dismisses them when it's all right in front of him just to shield himself pain links to his trauma from what happened with Sae.

Soji telling Sei that he wants her happiness more than anybody. At this point, he still struggles to rummage through how he feels. He tiptoes a lot on Sei and keeps her at an arm's length (and how Sei do not want this at all, having witnessed her mum having to bear it all alone, despite her dad loving her- again, will make a separate post about this) because he's scared of unintentionally hurting her.

So many factors come in between their love, the biggest one should be the societal structure during this era. Sei choosing to stay as a bushi & how this is the bridge that continually allows them to be together, so the best they could show it is by protecting each other with their lives. Sei coming to terms of not seeking love in return but just a love that gives and this love acts as a bridge for her to stay in Shinsengumi, to stay with Soji.

They’re both making peace with being able to be by each other despite despite not being Together… How immense their love for each other is that they have to constantly find ways for it to be selfless. 

Going back on the above panels of Sei & Soji's conversation about the analogy of wind-grass inserted in III. On antiquated patriarchal gender roles, him saying there's the desire of whisking away a flower is him wanting to bring her with him. Probably because that flower is still part of a grass so there's a part of Sei that he wants to whisk away with him, and how this ties to both of their inner desires of being together as lovers despite being unaware of how each other feels. That they feel the same about each other and have the same ‘selfish��� yearnings for their love to bear fruits.

Soji finally understands that they both have the same happiness, of being able to watch over each other as the best they can do with their love. He doesn't anymore push her to quit and marry off for a promise of safety but rather respects her agency of choosing to stay so he just does everything he can to protect her, to not lose her. Sei is the same with him. Their love transcends the formalities of marriage, as they get to be by each other's side as bushi, fighting alongside each other with their lives. That they do not need to be wedded to love each other, it surpasses it instead.

Sei and Soji: a profound love that has a pressing desire to be selfish but resists that very selfishness & instead endures all that is fencing their togetherness for each other’s sake. They can’t find themselves to gather this selfishness (of wanting to be with each other as lovers) because they want their happiness more than anything… and that happiness is mirrored by their shared longing of being by each other's side.

Ripened thoughts (under the limitations until Vol. 30):

The charm of Kaze Hikaru is the slow burn romance, & seeing how Sei fares well in a male-domineering environment. I am glad that Sei reiterates that her being a girl doesn't matter as she can be a bushi on par with men, that she does not have to be what is expected of women in that time. Although I initially have qualms about her character as a bushi in the end still being revolved around a man, but the good thing about KH is it dislodges heteronormativity. To Soji, and even to Saito, Sei's gender identity truly didn't matter much. There is also plentiful of iterations in the manga about normativities in sexual preferences, though mostly between men (I have read that sapphics were not much accorded the same way, sadly. And I have yet to read a sapphic manga occurring during the same era, please if you know some recommend them to me...), during Edo period.

This manga doesn't weather down how barbaric this period can get, it instead reminds us many times that deaths were inevitable, no matter how unjust- people die and people kill. It's so bittersweet, yet it manages to keep a balance by showing us how there are found joys & bonds in their quotidian lives, which I really loved and stayed for. Love Kaze Hikaru for how unhurriedly progressive the characters are, how the story takes its time to venture into such a fractured era, & mostly how passionate the mangaka is to chronicle historical events.

Kaze Hikaru is nowhere near perfect, but it is still a wonderful manga that deserves more audience. Please read it and let's team up against V*Z to give us a more consistent volume release.

[septembersghost]

What do you think of the idea that this was PR for SNTV so that everyone would be paying attention to the Nash shows?

oof. okay, first of all, and this isn't aimed at you anon, but everyone has gotten way too comfortable using the term "PR" inappropriately, to the point where it's meaningless, because you get people online saying everything they see ever is PR when that's simply not the case and a lot of things are just...humans living life who happen to do so in the public eye. but the whole point of the concept there is some benefit. this is not an instance where there's benefit of publicity - trolling potential aside, because that would serve a different purpose - all eyes are already on her.

she knows fans pay attention to the shows every week (even the ones like me who aren't viewing the livestreams! i read along with the updates as they happen but haven't watched, others might check in the next day due to time zones or busy schedules, and so on), no matter what we all know what happens and what surprise songs she plays and what she might've said, and we know very quickly. every entertainment and music outlet is paying attention. an album announcement would make spectacular noise and immediately be reported no matter what.

furthermore, stoking romance/personal rumors, if anything, takes *away* from the announcement, it doesn't add to it - hence the internet being in a dither about matty rather than only being focused on excitement over SNTV. why on earth would she intentionally court speculation and rumor that distracts from an important project? moreover, why with someone who undeniably would be controversial and cause anger/annoyance? how does that help her? (answer: it's irrelevant to her if she likes him.) i'd be slightly inclined to think it was a silly joke for the sake of 1989 TV and a potential collab if she'd announced that album instead, but everything about the optics, especially given very recent events and history, has such overwhelming negative downsides with really no upsides as far as press and reactions go. so PR for SNTV specifically makes very little sense to me, versus her being in a do-whatever-i-want-with-whoever-i-want moment (which, let's be real, is not out of character).

it's either a (perhaps ill-timed and unclear) bit of shenanigans between chaotic friends or it's...whatever it is, and we're going to be living with that rebound reality for a bit. he took a very long trip to get to a hometown show for her...we're gonna have to face what that means, particularly after not seeing the person we thought we should have seen on opening night. i didn't want to read into that absence before, but unfortunately information is now what it is. (me @ mr. bowery: you should've been there! you should've burst through the door with that, "baby, i'm right here" smile!)

the announcement of SNTV would've happened last night no matter what, i'd lay odds she's had that planned for the first night of nashville for quite a while. the matty of it all is a wrinkle, not a boost. the only thing i hope is that it doesn't have any negative ramifications for her (not necessarily in the press, but in her personal life. having fun is fine, i just don't want her to be hurt anymore than what's already happened, you know?).

ultimately, what we all have to remember is that boundary - we don't know her directly. we have no say or influence over her decisions or personal life. that doesn't mean we have to like them, but we have zero input into her making those choices. all we can continue to do is what we already do, support her artistry, wish her the best, and cherish her music.

[ladytemeraire]

Ok I binge watched both Enola Holmes movies and I am a bit wine at the moment so here are my thoughts:

I want all of Enola's clothes immediately thanks

Did not know I needed Henry Cavill as Sherlock Holmes but he has absolutely ROCKETED to the top of my personal favorite Sherlock Holmes portrayals

(The way he politely but firmly demands that Mycroft make Enola his ward? His delighted little "Ha!" when his baby sister beats him to the punch on a case? The way he immediately softens when he realizes someone held a knife to her throat (and he wasn't there to protect her)? They have a standing sibling date to check in with each other??? A+ Sherlock zero notes I would happily watch six seasons and three more movies of these two)

Related, I know Enola would always be in his shadow and thus she was right to turn down his offer, but I would also watch six seasons and three movies of Holmes & Holmes Detective Agency, oh my GOD GIVE ME THIS

The soundtrack for both movies absolutely WHIPS, it is exactly the right blend of Dramatic and Playful Period Murder Mystery without overpowering the visuals or demanding you Feel Things that aren't supported by what you're watching

The first movie does, unfortunately, suffer from the modern adaptation plague of "corsets are RESTRICTIVE and a CURSE" but that scene is mercifully brief and Enola proceeds to kick ass in appropriately structured and tailored period costume; also I will give her a pass since she was raised, as Mycroft says, as a wildling and so was probably not used to corsets and viewed them as a symbol of society trying to box her into a particular role.

Speaking of which, I was ready to go through the screen and fight everyone who wanted to force Enola into the mold of a Proper Lady, I should not have been surprised at the vehemence of my reaction and yet here we are

ALSO re: asskicking: ENOLA IS THE ANTI-MARY SUE, oh my God I was so delighted to see her being competent but not hypercompetent. She is resourceful and clever and skilled but she still gets bested sometimes, because she is a young woman facing off against unscrupulous men who are not pulling their punches! She wins through hard work and cleverness and it takes multiple tries for her to succeed!

I expected to be mildly annoyed at the romance but I actually really like Enola + Tewkesbury, they are v cute and I am surprisingly soft for competent badass lady + soft gardener gentleman and their whole relationship felt very organic rather than forced. (I did have some secondhand embarrassment at the ball in the 2nd movie but I suspect that is A Me Thing rather than a writing issue.)

Please see my previous post re: period dramas/romances and why Regency period costumes are boring as hell. MORE VICTORIAN/EDWARDIAN FANCY COSTUMES AND BALLS AND RELEVANT PINING PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

The social commentary in general is very very good, especially in the 2nd movie, but Edith's speech to Sherlock in the 1st movie absolutely knocks it out of the park

(Also speaking of Edith: Enola has two moms thanks for coming to my TED talk)

Holy SHIT I am so here for this version of Moriarty???

Enola setting her big brother up with Watson as a flatmate is a gift to me personally and I would like to thank everyone involved with that decision

[crossdressingdeath]

🔥+ Hunters of Artemis

The way the Hunters recruit Bianca (and possibly others, it's a little unclear if the way they recruit her is standard procedure or not) is incredibly manipulative and it pisses me off that no one acknowledges that (even Nico's anger at them is focused more on just them recruiting in general and not the tactics they used on his sister). I mean, they take this twelve year old who's been forced to play primary caregiver for her little brother and they promise her a family all her own and oh, it's okay, Nico can go to camp, she doesn't need to worry about that, boys shouldn't be her problem, she can have a new family and she'll live forever without the responsibility of caring for anyone, and oh she has about five minutes to decide the course of her eternity. She doesn't need to talk to the campers about what Camp Half-Blood is like and ask the Hunters what being a Hunter is like so she can weigh her options! She certainly doesn't need to, I don't know, discuss it with her little brother at all! Make your choice, Bianca, chop chop! She is given no chance to consider what she wants, it's just... the Hunters show up and tell her she could choose to join them and she has to make her decision like ten minutes later, and there's no take-backs if she decides later she made the wrong call. Like, it was shitty of her to just abandon Nico without a second thought, but the Hunters absolutely manipulated her to make that choice. (And it's also fucked up that Zoe decides to bring this girl with zero training who's known she's a half-blood for less than a week on a super dangerous quest where they know two of their number are going to die.)

Also just in general I really hate their habit of recruiting prepubescent girls who haven't gotten the chance to really explore their own desires and decide what they want in life. If nothing else that's terrible planning, a ten year old is not going to make a great hunter in terms of physical capabilities, but like... give them a chance to actually reach an age where they'll seriously think about sex and dating and can decide whether or not they want that! Don't just grab them before they can really think about those things and call it good! Like, I'm so glad that in ToA we finally get to see a character who's a little older and has considered her life and her desires and has decided that eternal life without romance or sex is for sure what she wants. (I don't count Thalia because she pretty explicitly joins the Hunters mainly to escape the prophecy.) I mean Reyna's still a teenager, I'd much prefer it if the majority of the Hunters were adults, but these are children's books so I can accept that. It's good to see someone actually weighing up the options—the impression I get is that Reyna has been considering joining the Hunt for some time—and deciding after a lot of thought that yes, this is what they want. (I also love ToA establishing that yes, Hunters who decide they want romance after all can choose to leave so they can pursue it with no hard feelings.) It just feels incredibly skeevy that Artemis goes after girls who haven't even hit puberty and for sure haven't really thought about sex and dating outside of the abstract and then essentially cuts them off from that forever before they get the chance to consider it explicitly to maintain their "purity" (...was that the word Titan's Curse used? I can't remember, but I'm pretty sure it was a G-rated euphemism for virginity); pretty sure that while Artemis was a protector of children in the myths (side note, lots of child endangerment going on here for a protector of children...) her Hunters were all adults!

[villain-in-love]

At last, a bunch of Liang x Zero headcanons

⬩ Ah yes, the “Peace Was Never An Option” team.

⬩ It's basically one unemotional, socially unadapted combatant x another unemotional, socially unadapted combatant. Well, "unemotional" if we don’t count sadistic glee for Zero and annoyance/anger for Liang. Wow, what a pair.

⬩ I don’t think these two are familiar with dating customs that are known to most normal people, not just because of the peculiar lifestyles/upbringing, but also because both Liang and Zero were never interested in romance before. In fact, they are still not interested in romance. They are interested in each other, and there is a difference.

⬩ I still have very little idea on how exactly they could meet, but what I can say already is that the first impression was not the best, at least from Liang’s perspective. Zero, on the other hand, fell in love practically at first sight. But it’s ironic how, instead of Trois, Honey, and cell 13 boys, who were all so eager for female attention and happy to finally have a girl around, said “girl” decided that instead she wants the only guy who doesn’t want anything to do with her and overall would rather be left alone.

⬩ At first Liang was mostly just interested in convincing Zero to fight him (just a bit less reckless decision than trying to fight Hajime), because by absolutely refusing to hurt him while delivering injuries to others left and right, she unintentionally injured his ego more than any physical damage could ever do.

⬩ It lowkey made him feel insecure, like, does she see him as fragile? An unworthy opponent? What on Earth did her "I'd hate to hurt you, so stay away" even mean??

⬩ They haven’t seen each other for almost a year after the incident, and the first thing Liang did when they met again was immediately trying to challenge her to a duel and demanding a reason why she refused to fight him back then.

⬩ It was actually pretty funny how for quite some time, most of their interactions inevitably came down to: “Fight me.” “No.”

⬩ At this point Liang was starting to hate her. Until one day she agreed. I went as well as one can imagine because even a martial artist as skilled as Liang cannot compete with this absolute monster.

⬩ The reason Zero refused to fight him is simple – she doesn’t want to hurt or kill the first person that actually made her feel something, especially not before she manages to make sense of this strange phenomenon. And she’s not interested in a fight where she can’t injure or kill. Not to mention, Zero is actually not that great at controlling her own strength and she’s somewhat concerned about possibly slipping and going into the killing mode by a force of instinct.

⬩ One would think that difference in species and very weird age difference would cause problems, but considering that ever since she crawled into existence 8 years ago, Zero was wandering around, exploring, studying, and trying to socialize with humans, she’s practically on the same level of life experience as Liang who dedicated all his 19 years of life to studying martial arts and later working in mafia, where most of the “normal people” he interacted with were his targets. It could have been a "Born Sexy Yesterday" trope, but no, they both are just really weird.

⬩ Because of his lack of any experience with opposite sex and romantic love in general, and because he’s just a tiny bit of a moron (I mean, it’s Nanbaka we’re talking about…), I wonder how much time it would take for Liang to realise that Zero is genuinely into him and her weird attempts at flirting are not just her trying to pick a fight or make him uncomfortable. And then how much time will pass before he realises that he himself caught feelings for her (imagine Liang feeling weirdly nervous and excited when seeing Zero and thinking that he probably just got sick).

⬩ One of the first signs of Liang falling in love with Zero was him starting to ward off other guys from her when they start getting flirty. When asked why, he justifies it by saying that he finds their actions generally inappropriate and embarrassing.

⬩ He also never misses a chance to show off, dragging Zero to the trainings grounds of the Building 5 with him, while actively brainstorming how he can impress a demonic abomination with superpowers. Honestly, he just found another reason to obsess over getting stronger…

⬩ Liang used to be somewhat jealous of Qi because Zero was more enthusiastic about spending time with him and his biology books than sports and trainings with Liang. Until Qi told him that most of the time when they are not talking about science, Zero just talks about Liang non-stop and desperately tries to pry more information about him out of Qi.

⬩ He barely convinced her to spar with him, and it’s more of a challenge for Liang to figure out a way to defeat her (A hard task for a human, but not completely impossible). While she’s not keen on the idea of fighting him, Zero still thinks it’s beneficial for Liang to try and fight stronger opponents, so he could further improve his strategy and creative thinking, and not just pure skill.

⬩ If we’re being honest, personally for Zero their sparrings feel more like a dance than a fight (and that’s probably the closest you could ever get to these two dancing together).

⬩ Love is stealing each other’s combat moves.

⬩ It took some time for him to open up, as using techniques from his past is not something he likes, but Zero was truly delighted to see Liang fight dirty and use that vicious fighting style he was taught in mafia.

⬩ Liang is a bit annoyed and envious because while she doesn’t even train, Zero will always be leagues stronger than him just because she got lucky and was born as supernatural creature.

⬩ He will still try to convince her that she should do some training, because if he puts his personal feelings of being annoyed at such unfair power imbalance aside, he really wants to see just how much more powerful she could get if she tried and realised her full potential.

⬩ And so Liang’s interest in her strength and Zero’s love for experiments collided, resulting in Liang proceeding to come up with increasingly more ridiculous ways to challenge Zero and her abilities, and so our long-suffering guards ended up forced to keep an eye on these two, so that they won’t accidentally destroy the entirety of building 5.

⬩ Liang would die before he makes a first move romantically, though. He generally has no idea what he’s supposed to do in this situation, the only thing he knows is to not listen to any word Qi has to say on that matter.

⬩ Qi got the memo that his romantic advice is unwanted, but still actively tried to play a matchmaker and make ship happen, because finally, this boy got interested in something other than trainings and combat. Honestly, Qi didn’t think he would live long enough to witness this moment.

⬩ Liang will probably still wait at least another year before trying to actively reciprocate Zero’s advances, because falling for the first girl you befriended is already pathetic enough, and he still has some pride.

⬩ It’s not like Zero is better at communicating her feeling, though, she’s only slightly better because she's physically incapable of feeling embarrassment. When she tried to confess her love to him she said “I have this intense craving for you… It feels almost as if I want to eat you, but not quite.” Which can be scary to hear coming from a cannibal.

⬩ Samon is... lowkey concerned about Liang's friendship with Zero. Building 5 supervisor clearly sees sees her as a danger and possible bad influence.

⬩ In the end, Samon tolerates her for now, but Zero often ends up getting hit or thrown into the walls when he thinks she acts inappropriately towards Liang (not that it would do her any harm, it’s just a little annoying at worst). Though even Liang finds such measures lowkey extreme, as it’s not like he can’t handle himself.

⬩ Zero stays in prison only because Liang is here, and plays nice because she wants to be able to get out of her cell to see him. But when he finally leaves… Nothing can stop her from going after him, and she will do whatever it takes to break out.

[percontaion-points]

Can We Fix It?! Jocelyn's Choice

It’s been a while since I last did one of these… AKA it’s been a while since I last read a book/series that I thought was remotely salvageable. 

Anyway, can I fix Jocelyn’s Choice? Yes, I think that we totally can!

My biggest problem with this story is the age-gap between Jocelyn and Alex. Again, it’s not so much the six (?) year difference between them, but their life experiences. Jocelyn hadn’t even graduated high school when Alex knocked her up, while he has a fucking master’s degree. Icky. 

Ideally, Jocelyn should probably be in college. Maybe shift her age up 4 years, have her be on the brink of her COLLEGE graduation, and that immediately solves so many problems.

But, if one were to be hung up over the idea of a teen pregnancy, then obviously Alex’s age needs to be lowered. Maybe he’s a year or two older than she is. But not six. However, I feel like even 2 years (with him being 20) is kind of pushing it, so I’d want to establish that they knew one another before this, and it’s not like the relationship sprung up out of nowhere. That would probably curb the icky feeling of their relationship feeling forced and groom-y. 

I think that either of these options could give way to some interesting options as far as Jocelyn’s worry about Alex’s future. In the college-only version, his educational background wouldn’t necessarily change that much. But in the teen pregnancy version, maybe Alex has a full-ride to Yale. She doesn’t want him to drop out, because… bro. Full ride to an ivy-league. 

Now obviously, my second biggest problem with this book is that the title is “Jocelyn’s CHOICE”, yet we never see her making any sort of decision. She simply falls into bed with Alex, zero questions asked. She never puts up a fuss when he said he didn’t have a condom. 

She also NEVER thinks, even for a nanosecond, about anything to do with getting an abortion or even giving the baby up for adoption. Also, Max never questions any of this, either, and never brings it up. The only time that it’s mentioned is when Alex comes home. But as I said during that conversation, it was beyond tacky to suggest to a woman who is heavily pregnant that she should have gotten an abortion. 

So obviously, that’s something that I’d want to see in this kind of a book. Even if even the readers know that she does end up keeping the baby, there should be the actual choice. She’s looking over brochures or maybe she watches Juno or something. IDK. I feel like there are a lot of good ways to go about it, even if the end goal isn’t to abort or adopt. 

Something that bugged me about this book was the way that every single thing was simply told to us. I felt like I walked away from it all without knowing a single thing about what Jocelyn wanted from life. Yes, she wanted Alex and the baby. But what about before that? What were her goals, her hopes and dreams? We knew a little bit more about Alex, but not much. The background characters were even worse. 

This book has got to be one of the worst cases of passive story telling that I’ve ever had the misfortune to read. The entire book was like this! This is exactly what teachers are complaining about when they tell you “show, don’t tell!” PLEASE SHOW JOCELYN HAVING INTERESTS OUTSIDE OF HER PREGNANCY AND LUST FOR ALEX! 

I WANT to get to know the characters, especially the two leads in a romance novel! I want to care about them, and to understand the decisions that they make. 

I feel like even if somebody were to copy-paste all of the beats of the story yet work in deeper characters, and do none of the other suggestions that I talked about, that the story itself would be IMMEDIATELY improved. And I personally find it insanely sad that I have to say shit like this. 

But then again, if Jocelyn, Max, and Alex had any sort of depth to their characters, they might have naturally had the “should I/you get an abortion? Should I/you/we consider adoption?” BECAUSE THEY WOULD BE PEOPLE IN THEIR OWN RIGHTS, WHO HAVE OPINIONS ON ABORTION!

I feel like there’s less here than what I normally write about. But I thought that the base of the story wasn’t terrible, it was mainly the execution of it all that fell really, REALLY flat. 

As usual, these are only ideas, and I don’t lay claim to them. Feel free to use any of these suggestions if you want for your own story! And if you do use this, I want to see what you’ve written! Please?

[chevelleneech]

I agree with somethings for sure, but I also think a lot of the “worry” on both sides comes from people having such strong bias for their preferred pairing.

I would prefer Buddie, but I am also currently enjoying Buck and Tommy. However, I think the biggest reason people view BuckTommy as potential endgame, is because queer characters very rarely get to have multiple partners on screen unless they are written as promiscuous. But even within the 911 universe, none of the queer characters date around. Hen and Karen are married, Josh is perpetually single, while TK and Carlos, who were set since the Lone Star pilot, are now married. The only gay man to date, was Michael and I think he only had two maybe three boyfriends, only because I think they were looking for an actor who could commit to a contract. David was the third, and they’re now married. Hell, even in Station 19 the bisexual woman slept around until she found her wife (I think they got married), while the gay guy mourned his dead husband for a while only to now be a multi-cheater (from what I’ve seen).

As such, this is why I think Buck’s coming out feels odd to me. Because he is a budding serial monogamist who is now backed into a tired trope that does not allow him space to freely date. At the same time, we have already seen him sleeping around and attempting to find The One. Now, he’s with a man, and because on screen queer relationships after often treated as “Oh, my past partners didn’t work because I didn’t know I only wanted this partner!” it is unlikely we’ll see him have multiple male partners. Tommy has to be The One, because it’s what the trope dictates as well as it’s what a season seven love interest usually means anyway.

Not that a s7 Love Interest is a thing, but very rarely do shows add in love interests they don’t plan to have stick around so late in the game. I do think the show will get at least 10 seasons, but we won’t know that until we do. Which is why it makes sense in theory for Tommy to just be his final partner. However… Tommy and Marisol are essentially on the same playing field, people just don’t want to admit it.

Tommy has a last name, yes, but all we know about him is that he is a former army pilot who was a closeted and rude firefighter during his early to mid 20s, and now he’s an out search and rescue pilot. Which is fine. I have no issues with that level of backstory for where we’re at in their relationship. But I also do not have an issue with how little we know about Marisol right now. It’s less than we know about Tommy, but overall blank enough for Tim to build upon, because he didn't know what to do with her. She is a home renovator who attempted to be a nun, but left the convent behind.

Another thing I don’t think people are taking into consideration, is that both Tommy and Marisol are in s7, solely because Tim Minear didn’t want to start at zero again. He said himself he didn’t drop Marisol because he didn’t want Buck and Eddie to be single at the same time again as we started a new season. He also said he didn’t want to create a new character for the sole purpose of them being Buck’s bisexual awakening, and that he didn’t want to have it be a character disconnected from the core group, because as with Abby, it was too difficult to have them intersect.

So these aren’t storylines that have naturally progressed to where they currently are. Things have been forced, because they were easier to do for the show runner and writers. Which is also fine. Sometimes you have to make do with whatever is easiest, then build from there. The thing is, with both Buck and Eddie, the only thing either of them have yet to experience in a relationship is “endgame.” So Tim has to make the ultimate decision of either having both of their partners stay, both of them leave, or one goes while the other stays.

Either way, the writers have to craft an actual believable romance for Buck and Eddie. Because no matter what anyone says about Tommy being perfect for Buck, he hasn’t done anything to showcase that. Neither has Marisol. She’s showing as much grace and comfort to Eddie as Tommy has shown to Buck, but nothing about either pairing has been romantically charged. BuckTommy is equally as potentially endgame as EddieMarisol, simply because in my opinion, it’s the most realistic outcome based on the very real possibility the show ends at 10 seasons, tv history, and the things Tim said he doesn’t want to revisit.

So if s10 is the last, trying to ignite one or two brand new love interests who feel fleshed out and cared for by viewers will take time away from further fleshing out and tying up storylines for established beloved main characters. Leaving the only other options being Buddie becomes canon or one or both of them end the series single.

And I say Buddie is one of the only other options, because while they have a beautiful platonic friendship, they are also fleshed out and established as individual characters, and don’t require extra writing to involve them in the core group. And one of them being single would at least show the other is capable of being written as happy and in love, despite what shippers want. Whereas both of them being single would leave too much room for people to question why they were the only two mains written as having never found The One.

That said, the reason I don’t see Buddie being endgame is because historically, it’s not a thing that happens. Two well established same sex characters don’t often end a series dating. It’s either given as a last hurrah (Korra), mentioned as a long-held want (Castiel), or said to have been what the creator wanted after the fact (Dumbledore). All of which is alright, you know? Everything has its own context, but I don’t see ABC bothering to push their boundary any further when Henren and BuckTommy are technically enough to do the heavy lifting of the current expectations from the newer eyes on the show.

Henren is established and in love and have been married for years, while Buck and Tommy have likely three more seasons (8, 9, and 10) to develop into an established and longterm couple. So why would the network have them split up? Unless it has already been decided with an absolute “Yes”, that Buck and Eddie will get together at some point in s8, and stay together for the remainder of the series. Or one of them (likely Eddie, because again, Buck can no longer be promiscuous) date around yet otherwise stay single for the remaining seasons.

Here's where I am with Buddie.

[CW: I am using the Buddie tag on this post, even though the gist of it is that I'm increasingly doubtful that it'll ever happen. This is NOT an anti-Buddie essay. If you'd rather not read about this topic, please keep scrolling. The bulk of the essay is behind the cut.]

-------

I've thought a lot about this over the weeks since 7x04 aired. It's not a secret that I'm wildly enthusiastic about the BuckTommy pairing (as are many fans) but what does that mean for my thoughts and opinions about Buddie, a pairing I still love and for which I am still writing fic (slowly but surely…)?

It's become increasingly difficult to reconcile hopes for Buddie with dread for a BuckTommy breakup, but if the show managed to pull off a breakup that did not destroy me, I would still be all in for a Buddie endgame.

But more and more, I don't think it's in the cards, and I'm increasingly okay with that.

First off, I know it's a common assumption that Buck and Tommy have an expiration date, and that it cannot last. That may very well be the case, but…the show is not acting like it, nor are they presenting this arc as if it's short-lived. Episodes 4-6, while also being about other things (especially the amazing Madney wedding plot in 6) were also a bit of a trilogy about Buck discovering his sexuality and taking tentative steps into a relationship with another man. It didn't go…particularly smoothly, but the events of 7x06 where they were concerned had a completely different tone. They had a much more settled vibe in the karaoke club scenes, from Tommy's very boyfriendly "check-in" look before he had to leave, to Buck's casual/distracted "Be safe" (as if he's said this before) and just how they spoke to each other and touched each other was much more comfortable than in the coffee meetup. Which makes me think it's been a few weeks and they've seen each other a few times in the interim.

And then that kiss. Putting aside that it was juxtaposed with a literal wedding kiss, there was nothing uncertain or hesitant about it. It felt like a very arc-capping kiss, coupled with the reveal to the rest of Buck's friends and family, and the clear message was "Okay, they're done 'getting together' now, they are together and will be together going forward, even if we don't see Tommy every episode (much as we don't see Karen every episode)." We know Tommy will be around through the end of S8, if not in every remaining episode. After that, we'll see.

A lot of fans have viewed one of the guys coming out as queer to be a first step towards a Buddie future, but I have to say I've never been super comfortable with that logic. I've always thought that if they were going to get together, or both be revealed to be queer, it would have to be at the same time, with each other, via them getting together. The minute they pulled the trigger on Bisexual Buck, I immediately thought that this made Buddie far less likely. Why?

Because it would mean that the writers/showrunners would be making BOTH their "hot younger firefighter" characters queer…separately. In separate storylines. Distinct from each other. And I just don't see that happening. I'm not saying it SHOULDN'T happen. I'd be over the moon. I'm saying I think that's unlikely.

As much as it pains me to say it, I think Eddie will be written as straight and will continue to be written as straight. I don't disagree with the many examples of queer coding we've all seen - the problem is all of them can be just as easily interpreted as arising from a different trauma. Almost everything we've seen from him that could very legitimately be read as breadcrumbs for a queer identity for him could also be rooted in his trauma over Shannon's death, his family trauma, his PTSD, or his general anxiety over being enough for people. He can be read as having sexuality crises. But he can also be read as having other crises with the same results.

I'm not seeing a sexuality crisis for Eddie in the future. I just don't feel like that's where they're taking him. They're taking him somewhere -- he's got storylines coming up -- but I think they're going to have to do with his family, possibly his friendship with Buck, maybe his relationship (I think we can all agree Marisol isn't going to last, she's like the anti-Tommy in that she's been around way longer but has infinitely less of a presence), and Christopher. That's a lot to deal with just right there. If I'm wrong, I will be delighted to be wrong.

But.

I think the show will continue to prioritize and showcase Buck and Eddie's very deep and emotional friendship, which is revolutionary in its own quiet way. Another thing that makes me think they're setting Tommy up to be a long term love interest is that one of the first things they did with him was affirm that he will not come between Buck and Eddie, give him his own relationship with Eddie and Chris, and have him show that he understands and respects the depth of their bond. Not to mention they've integrated him with the firefam. No other of Buck's love interests have gotten this treatment (Taylor had the most contact with the firefam, but I don't think anyone would say she was integrated, LOL). And it shows how committed they are to maintaining Buck and Eddie's friendship as a key emotional element of the show. Tim has also said this, repeatedly.

People often say that there's no explanation for how Buck and Eddie are with each other if it's not romantic - I read a fantastic essay that pointed out that this statement is the reason their platonic friendship IS so important. Men should be able to be vulnerable and loving with each other without it being romantic, as women can be. If we're unable to see a loving friendship without interpreting it as romantic or sexual, what does that say about the kind of male friendships we see everywhere, that makes this one so different?

I know this is an old anti-Buddie argument and I'm not anti-Buddie nor do I mean it's wrong to see it as romantic. I still do. I'm saying if it's not, if it never is, what it is, is already valuable and special, especially when one of them is now openly queer and dating a man.

Anyway. That's where I am with it, and my interpretation of where the show is with it.

[br1ghtestlight]

thinking about bubblegum's family too...... which is very much a play on the typical popular girl x nerd trope thats seen in high school dramas but it ends up being a bit sadder. her parents started dating when they were maybe fifteen and her dad was a SUPER socially awkward nerd while her mom was a typically cute fun and popular cheerleader but she asked him out and he was like uhh okay sure?? they dated throughout high school yknow irregardless of what other ppl thought and after that they decided they wanted to be Adults and her dad went to college they bought a house together etc and then of course they got pregnant and had a baby (bubblegum) but when she was like maybe a year or two old her mom went out on errands and she'd always been ditzy and distracted by bubblegum (my beloved btw) so she was talking on the phone while crossing the street and there was a truck driver who wasnt really looking where he was going and yeah she got hit by a car and died. her dad took this VERY hard bcuz they were high school sweethearts and now he was left alone with his tiny baby and no support but his mom/bubblegum's grandma moved in with them to help him thru his grief and eventually said if you dont start actually taking care of your daughter and being there for her im going to fight for custody (this was all when bubblegum was REALLY young like she doesnt remember any of this) and after that he Got Better and was like the best dad ever and it was always him and bubblegum against the world they are very close <3 i always like to joke that bubblegum got the worst traits from both her parents (unlikeable and socially awkward + generally stupid and oblivious to things) but she has lots of good traits too and i love her dearly

i always believed in another universe if bubblegum's mom hadn't died she would have had a baby brother :)

also i guess relevant to say that bubblegum's dad chose to never remarry. personally i think if your spouse dies when you're young its okay to remarry or date other people and its ALSO okay if you decide that you dont want to be with anyone else. its a very personal decision there isnt a wrong answer but it isnt because bubblegum's dad never moved on or got over her its bcuz he didnt want to. he's living a happy and healthy life without romance and thats okay bcuz romantic relationships arent the most important thing in the world

i think bubblegum's parents really have the same vibe as the love letter to end all love letters tbh

"I will love you with no regard to the actions of our enemies or the jealousies of actors. I will love you with no regard to the outrage of certain parents or the boredom of certain friends. I will love you no matter what is served in the world’s cafeterias or what game is played at each and every recess. I will love you no matter how many fire drills we are all forced to endure, and no matter what is drawn upon the blackboard in a blurring, boring chalk. I will love you no matter how many mistakes I make when trying to reduce fractions, and no matter how difficult it is to memorize the periodic table. I will love you no matter what your locker combination was, or how you decided to spend your time during study hall. I will love you no matter how your soccer team performed in the tournament or how many stains I received on my cheerleading uniform. I will love you if I never see you again, and I will love you if I see you every Tuesday."

"I will love you as we find ourselves farther and farther from one another, where once we were so close that we could slip the curved straw, and the long, slender spoon, between our lips and fingers respectively. I will love you until the chances of us running into one another slip from skim to zero, and until your face is fogged by distant memory, and your memory faced by distant fog, and your fog memorized by a distant face, and your distance distanced by the memorized memory of a foggy fog. I will love you no matter where you go and who you see, no matter where you avoid and who you don’t see, and no matter who sees you avoiding where you go. I will love you no matter what happens to you, and no matter how I discover what happens to you, and no matter what happens to me as I discover this, and no matter how I am discovered after what happens to me happens to me as I am discovering this. I will love you if you don’t marry me."

"I will love you if you never marry at all, and never have children, and spend your years wishing you had married me after all, and I must say that on late, cold nights I prefer this scenario out of all the scenarios I have mentioned. That, Beatrice, is how I will love you even as the world goes on its wicked way."

[dankzombiereviews]

Book thoughts: Cursed

1.25 ✰

long rant incoming

holy fuck is our protagonist dumb. absolutely stupid. incapable of seeing the consequences of her actions. beyond anything i've ever seen. I can't even fathom how someone like this could be written and expected to be taken seriously. in addition to being the dumbest girl I've ever seen, she also trusted people (ie. Arthur) way too fast, had no training but was mysteriously super powerful, and had zero chemistry with any character. When she makes a mistake, it's never her fault (it was). She is also told to become queen? with no blood to the throne and a random peasant from a random village? It just doesn't make any sense. and then she just... becomes queen of the fey after one (1) inspirational speech. That's not how these things work and I beg someone to explain that to the author. Her misplaced arrogance and self rightousness were difficult to read and I just didn't enjoy a single character in this book. I think the author had a hard on for his protagonist because she could NEVER do anything wrong

This book dragged on until page 379 out of 403, when everything happened all at once; the pacing was terrible. Only half of the book was with Nimue, the other half was Merlin. who was extremely unlikeable, untrustworthy, selfish, and I personally wasn't a fan of how he didn't have magic. I know it's trying to be "different" but to me, Merlin should always have magic, because that's Merlin, no matter the media. Personally didn't vibe with it. Name dropping some Knights of the Round Table doesn't make me care about the characters, it makes me sad to see how far they've fallen.

also the art is not good... the only good thing about The Atlas Six was the art and this book doesn't even have that. the artist could have added shading. detail. proper proportions. Not drawing like he had 30 minutes left and rushed each piece. specifically, the art on page 28-29 feels... racist? like why did the artist draw a black woman's face like that. big ick

The plot is so basic, the pH hit double digits. It goes without saying that the romance was terrible, quick, and shallow. worst of all, this book was boring. Was it actively terrible? maybe not, but it certainly wasn't good and I was just dragging my feet trying to finish this. There were things that just didn't make sense. For example, you can't assasinate your royal mother in front of people and expect no reprocussions. I know it's fantasy but I still expect people to act like people. The ending was so open ended that it feels like they were trying to set up a sequel, but on what? characters are dead, characters are incompetent and nothing like the myth, so how is only one aspect of the myth going to be original and the rest isn't??? If you try to follow the story, it won't make sense.

Saw a review from goodreads that summed up some other thoughts well.

The flashbacks and narration of the plot was very strange. there was no indication or reason for the flashbacks, and i had to reread it several times to try and understand wtf was going on. The logic of ruining all tension BEFORE we see the reasoning... when we all know how it ends is a very strange decision to me. And the seamlessness from present to past was done poorly, like the author was just writing as the ideas came. In every piece of media I've read, there's italics, a paragraph break, little symbols, SOMETHING to indicate a change in time. I've never read a flashback that occurs mid sentence from present to past.

I would normally add fanart but I have to document evidence to how terrible the art is. I took these pictures, and most of the artists on tumblr would NEVER have the audacity to put art this bad in a published book.