#logic isn't his strongest trait

[lavender-phoenix-flames]

Wei wuxian: the protagonist of all time

One of the many things I love about wei wuxian is that how great of a protagonist he is (quite a long post) :

Wei wuxian is introduced as a villian that gets resurrected but as the story progresses we see that he is actually a naturally heroic person, who did his best to do the right thing and survive the unfair, unjust and classist system.

He is very self aware, confident, charming, charismatic, handsome and competent. He has a very healthy self esteem, high emotional intelligence and he is a renowned genius, a prodigy. He is also amazingly observant, perceptive, a logic driven person, a quick thinker. He is so calculated in everything he does and reasonable too. He isn't impulsive or reckless rather he thinks all his actions through, considers the consequences and then takes action. He isn't oblivious either (anyone who thinks otherwise go read the book again).

Above mentioned traits are something you don't usually find in protagonists that often and it's refreshing to see a character so greatly skilled and intelligent in all ways yet so humble, sweet, kind, free spirited, full of life and selfless (selfless not self sacrificing). Usually any other character with his level of greatness would have been arrogant about it, but wwx is different. He has not only attempted the impossible but successfully achieved it, not once but multiple times, yet he knew his limits and shortcomings well, even when he was the strongest he never thought himself invincible/omnipotent, he never thought anyone above or below him.

He is so misunderstood both by the world he lives in and the fandom. Being orphaned at a young age, surviving living on the streets, being raised in a abusive household, scapegoated, backed into the farthest corner, having being into worst of situations, where his beliefs, his own life and life of his loved ones are threatened, having limited options where it is either forsake yourself or other innocent ones, he chooses the former. It isn't self sacrificial if he didn't have any other option, cuz other option is just betrayal of his self and morals.

And at the end he is just as human as any of us if not more. He has his flaws, his trauma, his sufferings, his dark days and moments where he wasn't himself but he never let it hold him back, dictate his life. He seeked revenge on those who wronged him, even in his darkest days he knew the limits of violence he can commit. Never regretted any of his actions, if he did he moved on quickly.

At the end there really isn't anyone like him, he isn't perfect but he is ideal, he is someone who we should learn from and strive to be. For me this is how an ideal protagonists should be, not only is he lovable, admirable, and deserving of immense respect, he is someone we can all be, it isn't impossible.

[brucewaynehater101]

Hey just wanna ask about something:

Do you ever think that Tim would want to sacrifice himself bcs he thinks that the only way out of his problems is to do something for someone even though they never asked for it but he just wants to keep them safe from any disasters that befall on them.

Yet, his path is not to change but to save someone.

Unlike his brothers Tim probably still has that thought of losing someone he loves to die again. So he will be prepared for anything, like he prepared an armor/suit for every apocalyptic stuff happened, a base that have daily stuff so one of them can be safe and comfortable in that place whenever they need alone time or just wants to hang out, he would also prepare the strongest weapon he could make or find so that he could give it to them if he does die or he wants them to survive as long as they could and I think Tim will go ballistic if his love ones get injured in front of him but not that brutal bcs he can do anything especially backstabbing.

Tim also prepares some tasty information of every person even the people outside of Gotham so that he can identify and set a message to his teammates of the person whereabouts or current state.

But when someone does save him from something or someone he just says "thanks" yet his face looks disappointed bcs he thinks that he's not strong enough to save himself from his problems (which is kinda true Tim you need to go to therapy fr) and every time he got saved by someone he thinks that person probably felt pitiful for him but he doesn't tell them that probably thinking he would be a burden for voicing his opinions or thoughts.

Anyway, I just want your idea of self-sacrifice Tim Drake bcs I think it will be worthy of angst material.

Hello!!! Just to summarize, you stated that you see Tim as the type to go to great lengths for the safety of his loved ones while not accepting or feeling shame if that was reciprocal.

There are several traits for Tim that one can play around with: his selfless need to help, his self-sacrifical tendencies, his desire for independence, and his continued forgiveness.

People will hurt him, and he'll still go out of the way to ensure their safety. It's a trait about him to admire at the same time it makes me frustrated as hell.

Then, there is the chance that he feels that he isn't enough or isn't doing enough. He does compare himself to others and how they would handle the situation better than him. He uses this messed up logic to state that he isn't trying hard enough or doing well. Great angst to be had.

I find fics or AUs that highlight Tim's subtle/silent support as great ones. For some reason or another, Tim no longer provides the care and diligence he did behind the scenes. The batfam then realize just how much he was taking on.

There's a ton of fics that have the AU of Tim sacrificing his life for the Bats. Here's some other forms of sacrifice I think would really drive in that angst:

his childhood (if you go the "Bruce only treated him as a soldier/coworker" route)

memories (of the Bats or of his parents loving him)

his independence/freedom

his brain (his ability to think/put together clues)

his ability to feel love or happy

his last name (either Drake or Wayne)

his ability to fight

I personally like the AUs where he goes back in time and sacrifices his ability to be with the Waynes as a family (he saves all of them [or tries] and they don't even know him).

I'm down to talk about any of these more!!!

[buffyspeak]

Craig Manning + 1, 2, 12, 18 & 23

ty for recognizing this as an excuse to talk about craig manning lol

why do you like or dislike this character?

a lot of it comes down to the fact that i think he has one of the best, most memorable introductions in the show, and he has some of the best, most intentional writing from s2-s4. largely because jake epstein is one of their strongest actors and they really played into that. i like that they are able to make us immediately sympathize with him, and that the abuse he suffered very clearly affects him even once his dad is gone, but it also ever feels like the Only thing about him. i think they did really well at establishing a mix of like... earnest awkwardness with a certain charm that felt really natural. and i appreciate that even when i don't agree with his choices, they (usually - as i've established, i'm not really a fan of the way his addiction story is handled in s6) make logical sense for the character.

2. favorite canon thing about this character?

i appreciate that he was largely portrayed as a really good friend? obviously there were issues in his Other relationships (***), but i really appreciate how this trait softens some of the harsher/more complex aspects of his character (which i do also enjoy, but i think helps with balancing out his character and keeping him sympathetic and someone you want to root for.)

ANYWAY, some examples of Good Friend craig manning behavior: generally very supportive of ashley in dressed in black, helps emma find her dad in father figure, is supportive of marco and tries to help him with dylan problems in moonlight desires. i also think he's the friend we see visit jimmy most often in the hospital after he's shot.

ALSO i just remembered: it's a really small moment, but when jimmy doesn't want to hang at joey's with them in drive because he invited sean, who jimmy still has Tension with, i really like that craig is firm in saying he can't uninvite sean. it would be really easy for craig to like, choose jimmy, who is more a member of the Cool Kids, over sean, but i like that he doesn't just write sean off because that would be shitty, and it's clear he remembers sean really being there for him in when doves cry.

(** stuff with ellie gets complicated because i guess they are friends and i certainly do think he's in the wrong for stuff between them but they're really written as romantic interests that the writers are keeping apart for love triangle drama reasons.)

12. what's a headcanon you have for this character?

the first time joey openly speaks about a fond memory of julia, craig starts crying and has to excuse himself. he was Not allowed to just casually bring his deceased mother up in conversations at his father's house, it is Weird and hard for him, but not bad? he wants to talk about her. it's just surprising the first time. (yes i think daily about the scene where craig says something like "remember how mom used to make - " and then albert glares at him with an implicit threat until he shuts up what of it.)

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

i really admire the relationship between craig and marco. i feel like they could have really played up the, "oh, look, craig is another dude that's totally chill with gay people and isn't that so heroic and awesome of him" in a way that was decidedly NOT chill or cool. and i really appreciate that they didn't do that. it was always just... no big deal between them. obviously it was played for laughs, and understandably, craig reacted with confusion/annoyance, but even the fact that marco kissed him in moonlight desires and craig was just like "dude wtf go talk to your boyfriend" instead of getting into gay panic mode, i thought was nice.

they have some really cute/funny back and forth. as much as i hate the general plot in weddings, parties, anything, marco teasing craig when he bumps into a door after being distracted by a pretty girl who was flirting with him was comedy gold. and i giggle every time craig is like "good thing you aren't the lead in the school play... oh wait, you are, it IS all riding on you" lmao. icons, the both of them.

and they just have such an... overall easy friendship? like of course there are rocky patches, but i honestly believe that these people like each other in a way i don't always with other friendships in the show.

23. Favorite picture of this character?

this smile is so soft and wholesome i'm sorry. i want to wrap him in several blankets. i am normal about this character. (< me when i lie)

[echthr0s]

I was about to make a post about how I feel extremely underrepresented as a cold-averse autistic person but then I thought about Björn and Grey and now I'm fascinated about how a body's autistic traits and preferences can shift depending on the nature of the consciousness piloting it

because they both loved winter and preferred being cold over being hot. Grey in particular felt his power to be strongest in winter. and the thing is -- our body's erratic temperature regulation matched their feelings. we get hot pretty easily (well -- our core anyway. the tradeoff is that our extremities get cold at the vaguest hint of a temperature drop, especially our hands. hands are cold as fuck rn god) and that compounded Grey and Björn's discomfort in the warmer months. logical feedback loop

meanwhile, me -- Sun-coded, summer-oriented, fed by warmth. I pilot the same easily-heated body that Björn and Grey did, but I experience it differently. being too hot isn't as negative an experience to me as being too cold is. it's inconvenient, for sure, but being too cold is more than inconvenient, it's stressful and oppressive. and then there's the sweat! in summer, I'm already dressed lightly, I can carry a fan for some relief, it's just kinda icky but manageably so. in winter, if I try to dress for the cold, my temperature regulation still does the same thing it always does and heats up our core and now I'm sweating under these layers and the sweat has nowhere to go and it just sits on my skin and in my clothes and then makes me environmentally colder (because now I'm wet) and the body goes "oh no! more heat! put out more heat!" and the cycle continues. that's beyond icky. it's downright disgustang. now I'm Suffering

Grey and Björn didn't have to deal with this as much because since they enjoyed the sensasion of cold, they never bundled up against it. but I hate being cold! so I try to bundle up! which, by the way, is a whole nother can of worms because our body hates the sensation of layers! we hate coats, we hate how tight things get when they're put over another thing, and of course we hate the aforementioned sweat problem. there are clothing we could wear in the winter that would mitigate or even solve these problems, because of their cutting-edge engineering and space-age material and all that nonsense, but they're -- of course -- insanely expensive.

the list of agonies goes on (I didn't even get to the Sun-or-lack-thereof part!) but like I said, I just think it's fascinating how two different people can live in the same autistic body and have opposite experiences in that body based upon how they interpret and manage its idiosyncrasies according to their own

[thewolfisawake]

The Abyssborn Part 4: Traits

Physical - There is no one trait to tell that one is an Abyssborn. However, Abyssborn do tend to naturally stand out physically due to adapting to an 'uncommon' physical trait to that world. Harbingers tend to adapt the a trait from their non-Abyss or adopted species to appear 'striking' in some manner. They also tend to be wonky in terms of height. They have a listed height but it will not always appear as such since it usually changes with their headspace. So it can make one seem physically imposing despite being smaller or even if they are the tallest, they can seem no different than everyone else in the room if they shrink in on themselves.

It also doesn't necessarily have to be every one but it has been a trend that their eyes seem to shift with their emotions too and give the hint of something about them. For example, Tannim's eyes seem to be like flames barely contained when he is angry and they dim and almost revert to a green color (his human eye color) when he is sad. Balmoral's tend to show a vastness of the heavens and sparkle and shine under his enthusiasm but it also turns dark and sucks others in like a black hole when he is pissed.

Aura/'Scent' - A certain game gave the perfect name for the aura of natural born Abyssborn: existence outside the domain. They are not from 'here' or any other place. They do not belong to any world and will tend to feel 'foreign' to those that can sense that sort of thing. However they can disguise their 'scent' with varying degrees of success. The best at it are ancient Abyssborn, whom have been through countless worlds to understand how to construct an air that could fool even divinity and those intertwined with a realm. Harbingers will initially come off as solely their non-Abyss parent's race. However connecting to the adapted being's traits...it starts to drift to some combination of the non-Abyss race and the adapted being's. But there is a faint undercurrent of 'something else' that hints to their Abyssborn blood. Balmoral is something of an exception as he does seem to have fae and Abyssborn but not so much his adapted being.

Dimensional Interaction - Abyssborn can travel other dimensions/realms/whatever we're gonna call it. If it isn't their homeworld, then the world always has a chance of kicking them out at some point. Which for natural ones, this is every world. For Harbingers, it's their original world and the offshoots of that world. They do not experience weakness or sickness when they make these jumps however Harbingers can experience a bout of sickness from a major shift of the 'strongest being' within the world they live. Tannim is a kinda funny exception because his homeworld is one that had the strongest being shift so often, it doesn't bother him. Natural Abyssborn when they land gain knowledge about the world's 'rules' and how their logic works. So they basically have a grasp on what is or isn't possible, what the people are like and an idea of how to navigate. Harbingers don't. They have to learn about the world like any other fish out of water however they start off with much stronger ability than their parents.

Time Interaction - Abyssborn are time sensitive. This means that they tend to notice the shifts in a given timeline. So if there is someone else messing with the time line, they may notice what that person is up to but they never have an obligation to stop it. Abyssborn are not affected by time shifts but Harbingers are but can start to unravel the 'truth' of that given timeline. So say that someone went back and prevented a very evil dude from dying and the world sucks. The Harbinger that is living in that timeline with have their lives altered by this change but they have visions and flare ups to show them what was supposed to be. What they do with that knowledge is on them.

Interactions with other versions of themselves in different worlds and times gets pretty funky for Harbingers (and it's pretty much only Harbingers since the Abyssborn does not have establishment in timelines, they are only 'tethered' by their Harbinger child. So whatever is their background in relation to their child is what is 'true'). For most dimensional changes, they simply both exist and do not tend to meet. The 'visiting' version of the Harbinger does gain the memories and knowledge of the version that already exists so they do have working knowledge when they are there. This also works with 'visiting' dimensional anomalies. So someone like Noita's daughter, Lucille, who is from a dimension hopping family interacting with Tannim will trigger those memories from that time as well. So when she comes up to him, he is aware of who she is and why she knows him.

For most timeline changes, they take over the them of that time if it exists. They can and have been able to manifest their 'current' selves but it is pretty exhausting to do because...well, they're messing with the world order and they are away from their technical 'true' place. If it is a completely different version of themselves (someone that isn't in this time line at all) then they will not always have awareness of who they are although there are snatches of this. This is actually what Tannim experiences, he has lived this timeline's life with only some remembrances of his 'actual' life. It is unknown when he came into awareness but by current time of this blog, he is aware of who he originally is.

[r0sech]

KMSCR CH1 commentary

I wanted to write some thoughts on my chapters and on my fic in gerneral. I'll start by talking a bit about the context first. Spoilers for demon slayer and like the first 2 episodes of death note.

KMSCR came about essentially because I wanted to know more about the demons, their social hierarchies, their relationships, their pasts. I personally think they're the most interesting part of kny haha

I found Muzan particularly interesting because he striked me as the only villain character that I know of who seems to have some kind of anxiety disorder.

Specifically when he manages to find it in him to be so scared of a teenager miles away from him that Daki could feel his stress on a cellular level. To me it's a unique character trait that's fits perfectly with who he is and the person he projects himself being. A part of his character is about someone desperately trying to be in control, someone who's completely contorted themselves over their obssessive perfectionism. Someone who wants to be taken seriously. But also, due to his actions, he comes off as really ridiculous sometimes.

This is kind of off-topic but i like comparing his character with light yagami. Although light does sometimes act in a way that could be considered stupid, like when he narrowed down the suspect list from a few billion people to like these 100 or so japanese citizens, it's completely in character. His ego is so huge that i don't see that situation playing out as anything but what happened. It's not a "plothole" with a character supposed to be smart being dumb, it's that his self-importance took priority over what many people would consider "the logical/smart way of doing things". In fact, i don't even think that light is actually even the genius level IQ that people in universe claim him to be. I think his defining strategy is actually his risk-taking and general unpredictability. Since many people wouldn't ever consider the plans he comes up with in the first place because they are just so risky, it gives the illusion that he "created" a new path. For me, light is a performer. He cooks up these precarious last minute plans and manages to pull them off, throught luck and his own skills. His real talent is more in the execution of his plan than in the coming up of it.

Kibutsuji Muzan, on the other hand, doesn't even seem to have a plan. He's ready to get dressed up to dunk on his lower moons, he's ready to strut up to the Ubuyashiki's household smoke effects and all, but he just can't seem to be bothered actually sending someone competent to hunt down the kid that looks like his nemesis reincarnated LMAOO

And do you know what's worse? He sees this human in asakusa, feels clearly threatened, and then what. Decides that the person he should send to thwart the threat should be not his strongest demon soldier in existence, it shoudn't be upper one or two or three or any of the moons. No, he decides to send in BALL demon like are we really that suprised he lost.

He struggles really bad. He has all the right cards in his hands. It should be impossible for him to lose. And yet. He just cannot seem to catch a break. He's so bad at this that he randomly decides to grow like 7 extra brains during a fight and they don't help him at all. (side note: he didn't even grow any extra skulls to protect them so are they just sloshing in there? ok)

Light feels like he has the hubris of a teenager, like some condescending asshole from Reddit or something. Muzan's existence in and of itself feels like a contradiction.

The other thing was that I thought muzan's general uselessness was really funny and I never found any muzan centric fics that were to my tastes, so I decided to make my own thing.

Re-reading the chapter, you can tell I was still figuring out how to write him. This is evidenced by his lack of stupidity this chapter, which I suppose isn't too bad because if I have him act like a clown immediately it kind of kills all tension the fic could possibly have. And also because I was worrying if him saying fuck ass was OOC when i have him doing gua sha in the latest chapter

Tanjirou's resemblance to Yoriichi was also something I thought had a lot of potential. In between the eye color, hair color, scar and earings I thought they really were related at the begining, and I don't think I'm the only one. Wouldn't it have been so cool to see Kokushibou react to that?

I'm going to actually comment the chapter now.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

"Pointless. This was all so pointless. When were they going to make some progress? Centuries upon centuries they had been on a wild goose chase searching for some flower and being terrorised by the fuck ass sun."

-

"It was certainly a quaint little village, buried in the snow.

Ha, what a joke.

In reality, it was nothing but a pitiful little spot in the middle of nowhere, with inhabitants as pathetic as they were inconsequential. Nothing of interest, nothing worthy of note."

Interestingly his random hateful tangents make an appearance even in chapter one, and that's a character trait I've kept all the way into my most recent chapters. Since it's been a while since i've started writing, ive got a collection of things he hates intensly.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

"And as he turned around he was met with... his personal  nightmare, in the flesh. It came with a rounder face and a higher pitched voice then he remembered but the eyes were oh-so familiar. That shade, and those earrings, there was no doubt about it. He even had the stupid forehead mark, for heaven’s sake. There it was, the face of his long dead nemesis spat out and regurgitated onto the body of a child. "

I think this was actually the first thing I wrote for the fic. I added the stuff at the begining afterwards. If i remember right i had this idea around 2023 and started writing in mid april 2024. In this paragraph, i'm particularly fond of the way I managed to describe Muzan feeling absolute revulsion for a child who is literally just standing there and asking him normal questions.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

-”Mister, is everything alright?“

The sheer audacity of this child, to assume that he was delicate enough to be weakened by nothing but his mere presence. And the nerve of him being right. Muzan immediately wanted to punt him into the nearest village house.

One of my fave moments.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

-”Oh Tanjirou, where have you been!? Be careful out there. Did you know, they say the village across the mountain has not a soul left!! They were all found covered in blood, Tanjirou!!“ 

This is the consequence of Muzan's line from the very begining ( "he moved to inflict his feelings on someone else." )

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

-”Tanjirou. You are a child, just let me handle it and go have fun with your siblings, okay? “

-”Right..”He trailed off, not quite sure what to say more. Until-

-”Hey Mom? “

-”Mmh?”

-”Do you know what a blue spider lily is?”

This is played for laughs because it's poking fun at the fact that Muzan is so desperate that he's willing to ask a random stranger if he knows where this mythical flower is, and also the fact that said mythical flower is in the kamado's back yard. But it's actually relevant later too. After all, if someone suddenly disapeared after meeting a dubious indiviual talking about mythical flowers, if you were in the shoes of the Demon Slayer Corps, wouldn't you find it suspicious?

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Last point I want to make is that near the end of the chap muzan calls Tanjirou the Apparition. This is logical because at this point he doesnt know his name nor does he care for learning it, but the idea that Tanjirou himself might be more than just a human definitely comes up later. It's linked with the whole Miracle Child thing that Douma does as well. When I say more than just a human, you could take that to mean being a demon somewhat, because is raised by them and does adopt their mannerisms over time. Or you could take it as in he's something other than a human or a demon, something more metaphyisical. Somekind of god, a reincarnation, a spirit..

Eitherway the question of what Tanjirou actually is, what he chooses to be and how he defines himself is central to the plot.

anyway here's the fic if you want to read it

https://archiveofourown.org/works/55754893/chapters/141539182

[crwbannwen]

Tell me the jan 9th trans masc lore 🐥💢

I'm probably gonna need to explain OLP and calendar synaesthesia for this one... and I'm gonna sound insane but ah whatever.

Basic idea is that all odd numbers (to me) are female with the exception of 9 and 1. What I can't remember if I mentioned about the transmasc lore is that I also decided that 9 in this instance is a trans man who adopted his trans nephew 1 (this isn't normally part of my olp)

Ordinal Linguistic Personification (OLP):

The application of human traits or personalities to cardinal concepts such as letters, numbers/digits, shapes, etc.

Marilyn Moroe had OLP (her numbers had personalities)

I personally have olp with digits (not numbers just 0-9, 10 would be a 1 and a 0) and it's stronger with some than others.

Generally, odd numbers are female and even numbers are male. but there are three exceptions: 9 (male), 1 (male), and 2 (androgynous but female)

This is what led to me deciding but 9 and 1 (January 9th) is trans masc - by this logic however so is September 1st and I guess sure.

9 is one of the weaker numbers with my olp, my strongest are 3 and 7 who have such distinct personalities that I can converse with them.

I also have OLP with sheet music - but the fact that incy wincy spider in c major created a narrative about an orphan in a wheelchair is another story

Calendar Synaesthesia/Ideasthesia

Bit of an umbrella term but it's when concept of a calendar (like months or days) are connected to other senses or concepts.

The blonde frog man and I both have time-colour synaesthesia. For example the number 3, the month of may, and the day wednesday are all bright pink for me. So whenever may 3rd is a wednesday it's a bright pink day (and yes wednesday has been pink since before I watched mean girls). For my brother, I happen to know that a 'year' is orange.

I also have time-space synaesthesia where I view months and days of the week around me spatially. Months are like a lopsided halo around my head. Days of the Week are like a ladder with days a rungs from Saturday up to Friday in front of my eyes.

These are the months, Early january appears above and slightly left of my left eye (Near where my birthmark is if you know what my face looks like (My hair is covering it in this image, but to the right of red dot is my birthmark)

And here's days of the week. Really should've put my eyes between the gap between Mon and Tues, but it's roughly right.

Anyway because of the proximity to January 9th and the days of the week, especially how they raise up, my brain associated that with raising a child who is close to but not quite connected to you which lead to thee additional lore that 9 is a trans man raising 1 in the concept of Jan the 9th.

This is why this isn't fully applicable to September 1st, because September is far away from the days of the week so they don't have a strong connection.

Enjoy.

[blue-mint-winter]

House of the Dragon s2e7

A really fun episode. I enjoyed it a lot. It was amazing to see all these new dragons and how they are claimed by the dragonseeds. But it's all thanks to Addam of Hull who declared allegiance to Rhaenyra. I think his behaviour had a role in convincing the queen to let others try to claim dragons.

Speaking of Addam, he finally got a scene with Corlys and it was so awkward. Addam was hoping for some fatherly love, but Corlys could only manage to say to him "good job" 🤣. I misjudged Corlys - I assumed he just wants a dragonrider heir, but that's not it - in his later conversation with Alyn, Corlys unsubtly suggests that Alyn should try claiming a dragon too, because it must be a trait from their mother's side. Corlys is clearly playing favourites and the dragon is a welcome bonus but its lack is not a dealbreaker. I wonder why Joffrey isn't even considered as Corlys' heir, Laenor claimed him as a son too.

I wonder why Corlys is so distant from Addam and treats him different from Alyn. Maybe he's not sure if Addam is really his son?

Congratulations to Mysaria for masterfully executing her secret plot and convincing the queen to give dragons to the proletariat by using cold hard logic and wartime necessity of getting more expendable dragonrider soldiers. Not only that, Rhaenyra gave away the biggest and strongest weapons in her arsenal. Certainly more dangerous than her own Syrax and her children's young dragons. Now if only Mysaria can convince the dragonseeds to rebel against monarchy and lords, the flames of revolution would be unstoppable. And well, it seems likely because the previous episodes show that smallfolk change their sympathies quickly. Alternatively - dragonseeds will kill both Greens and Blacks and become the new rulers of Westeros. Alternatively - Rhaenyra isn't so stupid and any dragonseed who survives battle against Aemond will be eliminated as a threat to her own regime.

Jace's scene was so emotional and raw. He's against giving away dragons for a different, but also very good and personal reason - because it would tear away his only shield against the accusation that he's a bastard. It threatens his own legitimacy as the heir. The idea that he has a dragon, therefore he can't be a bastard, would be disproven as false if dragonseeds can claim dragons too. Alas, Rhaenyra chooses winning the war first without losing any family and after that worrying about legitimacy. Finally, a personal conflict in which both sides have a good point.

On the other hand, dragonkeepers are against the plan with dragonseeds because "dragons are sacred". This argument is ridiculous. Let Rhaenyra laugh at them.

I guess Baela is pro "operation dragonseeds" because she's there with Rhaenyra when it commences. I wonder if she's going to be the one to train them up.

It seems that lady Arryn expelled Rhaena and her brothers from her castle. Rhaena goes off alone to try and claim the mysterious wild dragon in the Vale. Good for her, I guess.

On the Green side, secret operation "get Aegon back on his feet" is progressing. Maester Orwyle is giving Aegon rehabilitation and Larys gives him peptalks. Aemond terrorized everyone so badly (he's even sending Aegon's Kingsguard to the Wall, why? Probably because they were there in the brothel and witnessed his humiliation) that now they want Aegon back ASAP. Even lord Wylde joins Larys and they decide not to tell Aemond about the rumours of claimed dragons. They want him gone, possibly ambushed and killed in battle. It seems the only small council members who aren't part of this are Tyland (maybe he just spends more time in the docks due to his job), Criston who's marching with the army, and funnily - Alicent, who goes to the Kingswood on the first vacation in her whole life.

I have to say, Daemon's arc in s2 is one of the best written and most coherent. In this episode Daemon achieves his objective and finally gets an army, however in a very ironic way. Instead of bringing the Riverlords to heel by the means of the heinous crimes committed by his lapdog Blackwood, the situation is completely turned around and it's the Riverlords with young Oscar Tully at their helm who honour their oaths to Rhaenyra and bring Daemon to the heel. Daemon was unable to earn their trust and loyalty on his own, instead his actions and words caused their enmity and hatred. They are willing to cooperate with him only because he's Rheanyra's husband. He has no power otherwise. He's forced by them to kill the only man loyal to him, the psycho war criminal Blackwood in order to be accepted.

Daemon's actions and methods in Riverlands are the repeat of what got him into this mess - the murder of an innocent child, prince Jaehaerys. But he's forced to realize that it's not just Rhaenyra and Viserys before her who found his deeds unacceptable, everyone does and their opinions matter very much. His belief that their subjects are sheep and their thoughts don't matter was completely crushed. His ambition was curbed. He'll never be a king because no one decent and honourable would follow him. What a nice reality check.

Daemon's arc bears some similarity to Otto's fall from grace as both of them pay for their bad decisions and lose the power they wanted so desperately to obtain. Otto's pursuit of his ambition at all costs led to his dismissal as Hand. Daemon's ruthless pursuit of his ambition of kingship also led to him losing any chance of obtaining it. Ultimately, he had to renounce his ambition and seal this choice with Blackwood's blood.

[tedwardremus]

Umm...hello. I would like to ask what are your thoughts on sirius and his memories after azkaban. I know he demonstrates that he remembers factual info... Like...how to injure/kill a dragon...and his vast knowledge of spells and such. He also remembers about Bertha jorkins being a gossiper...so some memories are there...But I think after azkaban he couldn't recall his joyous memories...or atleast they are hazy...and can't recall it completely. But most fics make sirius recollect everything he enjoyed with his friends. Is that possible after 12 years of azkaban?

That state of Sirius' mind and overall health after Azkaban is interesting. Over a decade in solitary confinement, little food, no hygiene or healthcare would have brutal effects on an individual. Add dementors to that hell? How has the International Confederation of Wizards not brought harsh sanctions on the British Wizarding government?

We know his animagus form saved most of his sanity, though. So, while dementors feed on memories, I think he was able to build a solid defense through his constant thought of his innocence and transforming into Padfoot.

Sirius is clearly one of the strongest wizards in terms of magical ability to withstand that torture and his mental strength should be studied by psychologists for years.

He can recall happy memories, though. He remembers tea at the Potters and being treated well by Euphemia. He recalls his favorite uncle giving him money. Those are both happy memories (well maybe the death of his uncle and his inheritance isn't happy but it is really sweet).

And its not just Bertha being a gossip that he recalls. He relays to Harry key political information from the first war and his logical reasoning is in tact.

The only time I recall Sirius having memory issues is when Harry talks to him and Lupin about SWM and they forget how James messed around with his hair. Fiction writers (including myself) freely and frequently apply this trait to James. I don't think that's evidence of him losing his memory, though. I think that's just something his friend did that he hadn't thought about in a long time.

Sirius hides from Harry in OOTP when he is experiencing PTSD and depressive episodes, so we don't, as readers, see the real effects Azkaban had on him. He can recall the happy memories, but they may not fill him with as much joy as they once did, or once could again if he had lived and was able to address his depression.

[pulim-v]

Okay the other three I can't talk about but the half-point regarding MHA is actually really weird, how do you get that from that character?

Okay so for context, the character anon is talking about is Rumi Usagiyama, a My Hero Academia character known as Rabbit Hero: Mirko. She's the fifth best hero in Japan in general, and the best female hero in the country. Her quirk, Rabbit, gives her several similar characteristics to rabbits, such as ears, a tail, and, because she is a human and this is a fantasy series, superhuman leg strength.

Let's get it out of the way: My Hero Academia, in terms of both writing and character design, is sexist. It has been said time and time again that the character designs for women are impractical and needlessly sexualized*, and the writing for them is questionable at times**. Mirko is not exempt from this.

*: for a simple example, there is a character in class 1-A whose power is Invisibility. Her hero costume is gloves and boots. At the same time, there is a male character whose power is intangibility. His hero costume adapts to his body and can turn intangible with him.

**: there are several cases of female heroes being sidelined or ignored. For example, in the Shie Hassaikai arc (first half of s4), there are three teams involved in the Yakuza raid, one of which is composed only of women. Their fight is off-screen and is the only victory to be reverted as the villain they beat escapes easily.

The anon's take is that Mirko's disability (to be specific, she's an amputee, having lost an arm and a leg on-screen) are interesting traits that stop her from being "waifu bait". This is incorrect. Mirko's injuries and subsequent use of prosthetics alone are not truly treated as a character trait, nor a theme that the story explores. They are just a way to include the character in more battles despite her horrific injuries. Those injuries are a result of important character traits, but saying they're the source of anything interesting regarding her is mistaking the forest from the trees.

Mirko is far from being "waifu bait". She's attractive, yes, and the story does tend to focus a bit on the appeal of her appearance and strength, but she's not just there to be a pretty woman - she's a capable fighter, has an interesting personality and offers a bit of comedy to the table in a fitting way that doesn't detract from more serious scenes.

She's also very important to the first war, as it was her battle prowess that took out a major threat for the heroes, and has a genuinely shocking moment in the second war where she doesnt stop fighting until she's lost her other two limbs against the strongest being in the planet.

Does this stop her from being Just Another Waifu? In my opinion, it does! It makes her very entertaining in a lot of different ways. However, you could disagree with that, and to that I say: then her being an amputee changes absolutely nothing. It does nothing to engage in proper representation of disabled people, the fact that she gets those injuries in the first place is the most interesting part and shows a lot about her, but those traits were already there, so she wouldn't have been Waifu Bait in the first place

In conclusion, either Mirko's traits that made her eventually lose her limbs are interesting enough that she isn't waifu bait in the first place, and thus Anon is wrong, or they're not, and Anon's logic is internally inconsistent

(Also it appears she gets more characterization in Vigilantes? That's really cool! I should get around to reading it lol)

I've been waiting to respond since you made that post mocking us for wanting problematic characters banned from your polls because apparently you are not taking legitimate criticism of anime seriously. Because it is full of poor representation of minorities and lgbtq+ and you and all of your followers are laughing about it like it's nothing.

I will start with Yamato because everyone acts like one piece even though it's so full of misogyny. Having a trans character is amazing when I don't even think Yamato is actually trans. I'm pretty sure it's a translation error and everyone has latched on to it. So again that is not good representation if it's not confirmed representation and even if it was confirmed, it's not good representation. Yamato because of the one piece art style by default Yamato is full-blown a fetishization of trans people because all one piece characters if they are drawn, female presenting are drawn like sex dolls. So unless they go through an actual gender transition and not just a pronoun change. There cannot be good representation with Yamato because Yamato is a fetish, not a fully fleshed out character. I mean to boil it all down. I don't think the author is capable of having any good lgbtq+ representation one piece is just not a sophisticated enough story and the characters are just too shallow for that to be possible

Bleach did a similar thing with Yoruichi acting like it was so amazing to have a character of color and she is supposedly bisexual but she's just waifu bait and it reeks of misogyny and fetishization of BIPOC. She's a furry to top it all off. It doesn't help that the bunny chick from my hero is basically the new gen version of the same character, but at least she is disabled too. So at least they tried to do something with her character other than waifu bait

So I would like to know why every character I've seen promoted as great representation in anime for either the BIPOC or LGBTQ+ communities seem to only be horribly fetishized, useless, waifu bait. Not actually a good character.

And even when Japan is dealing with its own ethnic minorities and indigenous populations it still does a horrible job by playing into the Noble Savage stereotype Hollywood likes to play into. Have you not seen the anime Golden Kamuy? It's about Japan's own first Nations tribe and it's So disrespectful to that. I swear they could not have had a single person from Hokkaido, much less a member of the actual Ainu people involved in the creation of that anime or manga. And yet I've seen so many people brag about that anime and manga and how it's so good for diversity. When again, every single Ainu character acts like a bad native American stereotype from like a 1950s American Hollywood western. It's that bad and don't get me started on the fan service in that show. It's at a level that could be considered exploitative but it's okay. Some of the characters might be gay so it's representation. To top it all off it reinforces white colonial beauty standards because the main Ainu character is specially because she's half white and has blue eyes like her white dad and she talks about how she's going to be a new kind of better Ainu for the future because she's white passing. That show is a reductive racist dumpster fire and I can't believe anyone says otherwise.

But you said you won't ban characters unless the fandom becomes too toxic. But you really should consider looking out for the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities by not promoting toxic problematic characters and actually banning these toxic problematic characters and shows

Fandoms vs Illiteracy #1

Feel free to critique the essay but not the person nor the person's intelligence. Do not call names, degrade the person, or personally attack them in any way. The purpose of this series is to critique/analyze the arguments contained in the essays.

For those unfamiliar with the characters mentioned, here are pictures. The names are in the alt text.

And here's one of the promotional images for season 2 of Golden Kamuy

So now that everyone is a little bit more familiar with everything mentioned in the essay and knows the rules, feel free to do your own research and respond.

[cmyknoise]

c!Ranboo's character is such an interesting character, but there's one catch, a vast majority of the fandom has made his failing memory his character defining trait, which is where I think a huge problem comes in.

Because... okay, let's get into it. (Tagged long post bc this gets long <3)

c!Ranboo's identity shouldn't be centered around his memory stuff.

His issues with memory & cognition should be one of his character weaknesses/flaws/conflict, but his character shouldn't be centered around it.

Rather it should be moreso centered around his strong ideals, because even Ranboo's supposed core beliefs of being a centrist isn't even his strong ideals.

His strongest ideals have always been the safety of his friends and family, and doing the morally right thing, not the lawfully right thing.

Ranboo's character is far too centralized about him having memory issues, because when you just ignore that you see so many interesting character traits about him.

For example, he's funny. He has humor in most situations and can usually joke his way out of things- like his conversations with Quackity.

He's also very imposing which isn't intentional but it sort of just comes with what he is. He's a tall enderman hybrid who is very logical and rational in most senses, and he very often voices his thoughts in conversation. Again, you can see this with Quackity, Slimecicle, Foolish and Wilbur.

He also has a very mysterious aura that comes from his enderwalk and nighttime antics.

His knack for potions, enchanting, and smithing comes into play here too, as well as his wealth.

Because he's not snobbish or regal (like osmp!ranboo) and is actually pretty charitable with his wealth. He paid Foolish a lot more than originally asked, gave him totems, and even did that whole shulker deal.

And he's like, super smart because he thinks rationally. This is in such wild contrast to his friends- because Tommy & Tubbo are pretty impulsive.

c!Ranboo is super interesting, but his whole character shouldn't be defined by his memory issues. It should've always been about his relationships, because in reality that's what is most important to him.

He was friends with Niki and Fundy and I remember watching streams during New L'manburg where he really struggled with deciphering who was in the right & wrong, and that's when he realized there isn't any sort of black/white side, and there's a whole lot of gray.

Because yeah, he and Tommy had griefed George's house- but Tommy also took all blame for Ranboo. He liked Phil because Phil had saved his life. He was, at first, the epitome of people not sides. That has since changed, subtly, but that's what his character was.

There was a huge thing in New L'manburg where Ranboo would stick near the people who'd been kind to him, hence why he'd hang out with Phil (who'd saved his life in the Nether).

And like, he stuck around with Tubbo because Tubbo was kind to him, and ALSO with his contact with Tommy, he was one of the only people who could see they were both hurting during the exile era.

Ranboo had some super meaningful conversations with Tubbo that would proceed to allow Tubbo to realize the discs weren't just plastic and that Tommy's reason for clinging to them, in reality, was because to him they represented their friendship. And Ranboo was genuinely the only person at the time, other than Tommy, who saw the discs as a symbol, not an object. Then with Tommy, Ranboo would check on him, write him letters, and help in any way he could, which had helped in some way with Tommy's mental health, even if just a little.

And then later. Sure, he may live with Techno & Phil, but he chose Tubbo. Tubbo was always his priority it's the only reason he's in the syndicate- for Tubbo and Michael. And sure he's friends with Techno but it is very obvious who he'd chose if he was forced to- because he already has.

He's a centralist in the sense that he believes there are multiple sides to a story, and genuinely he's one of the very few people on the server who realize that. There are far too many people who only see good & bad, black & white, the extremes. And it's ironic that the character literally split up by black & white and his entire motif is extreme contrast, it's so ironic that he's one of the very few who actually see the shades of gray.

And I genuinely think it was interesting that not only could he see it, but he was able to show other people these sides.

It was his questioning of Doomsday I believe which would lead to some of Phil's very brief internal dialogue of 'was doomsday right?' (which, he didnt dwell on it, but it was Ranboo who'd made him even contemplate it).

It was his words that made c!Wilbur literally cry because no one had told him things like that before- related to him, believed that he wasnt 100% bad and that he could be good. Because Ranboo genuinely believes that.

In Hitting on 16, and during the Prison Breakout stream, he made choices above all else, to protect his family.

That is his primarily character trait, not his memory problems. His memory problems are a passive conflict, not an active trait.

c!Ranboo is more than the guy who has memory problems, yet that's what his character has been boiled down to. It's gotten so bad that I genuinely believe that it's carried over in part to the actual DSMP server. That's what he's known as.

So it's sort of hard for his character to grow. It becomes even harder due to the nature of his character having been passive for so long. He didn't agree with conflict, so he rarely found himself in it. Conflict isn't the only way for characters to grow within stories, but it's the primary thing that moves the story forward on the DSMP, so it becomes very hard for there to be any changes. And... cc!Ranboo absolutely tried.

Back in January of 2021 and up until the summer hiatus, Ranboo had actively been working on his character. From c!Ranboo doing secret experiments, to us getting to see him in his enderwalk state, and more, Ranboo was working on his character having some sort of change.

Then the hiatus, and pushbacks didn't help, and now he's dead. And as stated on an Origins stream, he was supposed to be revived only a few weeks after he'd died.... now how long has it been?

c!Ranboo, unfortunately and ironically is stuck in this literary limbo of being unable to move due to in story circumstances and out of story circumstances, and in my opinion a huge part of it has come from fandom interpretation effecting the way his character has gotten to move on.

c!Ranboo is such an interesting character the moment you make his memory problems a flaw or passive trait, rather than make it the key part of his character, because truly its not.

Once again, c!Ranboo is ultimately a protective, rational person. And I hope, if we do get to see him again, and he is revived, that we get to see that shine, especially if fan theories are correct in stating that he may lose his memory problems all together.

If that's the case, I think his character can really shine, and I think we can get some great moments.

He did once state that he'd start wars and kill anyone who dare touched his son, Michael. And well... not only has someone kidnapped him and held Michael for ransom, that same person killed Ranboo. I think he has plenty reason to be pissed, regardless of Michael having been rescued since.

Actually, with Michael safe, I'd say he has more room to make due on his promises, but that's just my hope.

[sorin-sunchild]

I keep thinking about how the kids in IT most definitely had some sort of Shining. Like, it's only named as such in 'The Shining' and 'Doctor Sleep' (that I know/remember) but we know just enough about this relatively cryptic ability to know it makes sense. We know the Shining and what it can do is a spectrum of abilities with common traits, and that anyone can have it, most not even realising they do. And, if a kid can see correct baseball pitch options by 'looking through his hand' then why can't a kid like say, Bev, never miss a shot because when she holds a weapon she can 'see' exactly what she needs to do with it in order to hit her mark? She also quite literally sees ghosts of Stan and Eddie, and seeing dead people is a big Shining thing. (She also saw into the future in the movie but I'm working on original material). What if Ben can build anything without training, because just by touching pieces or concentrating on the visualisation of his intended creation, his Shining guides him to make it? He just 'knows' which pieces fit where and what material will do what thing. What if Mike literally sees what happened in certain parts of Derry by touching pieces that hold memories, even in photographs? That's a very common Shining trait too. He's certainly quite sensitive to the general 'bad vibes' of Derry and all the death and evil there, probably why he was one of only two able to have visions in the smoke hole too. We know Bill started a telepathic communication with Mike (when Mike was in hospital) and telepathy is a super common Shining trait, if not the absolute most common ESPECIALLY being able to use it to call out to people and let them be with you in a non-physical way and Bill clearly had enough Shining in him to start the ritual with IT which is a mental battle. Richie isn't just 'doing Voices'. There is a power in his Voices, it's his way of summoning the power of his Shining and projecting it outwards as an attack or as shield against other mental interference. This sort of thing is seen is both 'The Shining' and 'Doctor Sleep' multiple times (though doing it via Voices is a very Richie thing). Stan also uses the power of words to inflict damage onto It. He also 'just knew' things, like which job his wife should go for or when to quit his job and start a new business and he was always right. Having this kind of precognition (and even not being able to say exactly why you know, as Stan didn't) is a very common Shining trait. He's also reportedly very good at reading/getting along with people, maybe because he can actually somewhat read their thoughts and know how to act in the best way to make them happy? That'd be a common Shining trait too. Ironically if Stan had the strongest Shining, it was probably why he was also the most vulnerable to It's influence even as an adult... Eddie most definitely used his Shining to guide himself places. He even at one point in the sewers 'needed a moment' to stop and sense the next correct move. I wonder if he had any particular movements or things he needed to do in order to see/sense the next direction? I just think about it sometimes. Even the fact that their abilities were weaker as adults fits with the internal logic of what 'The Shining' is and does. Unintentional or not, it fits. That's cool as heck and I wish more had been done with it I guess?? Either way I'm obsessed.

[leportraitducadavre]

And as a quick addition (I put this in a reblog because the original post is meant as a general issue while this one is more specific), Sakura's character is often criticized and labeled as "badly written" because she never overcame her mean-spirited attitude nor her crush on Sasuke. Yet, this personality trait of hers never caused her any major problems within the narrative as she still had a group that supported her despite her egoistic attitude and her constant seeking for validation (diminishing other people's value in the process, like she did with Tsunade); furthermore, they reacted to this search of hers by bending to her will and validating her --so she obtained what she sought, why would she change her attitude if she gets what she wants? Even her insecurities and need for recognition are in line with her narrative stance, she's the teammate of not one, but two children of prophecy, of Indra and Ashura's reincarnations, people who surpass every shinobi ever; she's quite canonically the third wheel in the team as she's nowhere near their level of strength. How can she not feel minuscule in the face of such a display of power? no wonder she seeks constant validation over and over again.

Also, many of her stans (usually anti-Sasuke rabid fans as well), tend to look at her crush as something that does not possess logical sustenance, when they leave aside that Sasuke as a target has little to do with him in itself but with the status that he could provide her within the military and social pyramid of her village (Sasuke is Ino's upgraded idea, get it? her arc is exactly the same one as when she was a child). Not only that, but Sakura is told tirelessly that Sasuke is not capable of making reasonable decisions since he is blinded by "darkness" which means that his constant rejections are not a consequence of a real lack of interest in her on his part, but his refusal to "be happy". If her entire environment believes that Sasuke's decisions are based on a "biological curse" that controls his feelings and decisions, therefore his rejection and violence towards Konoha and his former team are not taken into account, why should she make a decision contrary to that of her group? Why would she decide to "let Sasuke go" if not a single other member of team seven is even willing to consider it? Her pursuit of Sasuke is no different from the actions and attitudes of the rest of her social environment who also refused to "get over" their fantasies about him.

Regarding her characterization, Sakura is an ambitious woman who grew up in a universe that values strength above anything else (they give the title of Hokage to the "strongest" one) and saw that she was surrounded by monsters with a power that she could never dream matching, such thing gave her a level of self-esteem so abysmal she sought validation through the connections she formed through her life: Ino, Sasuke, Tsunade... and constantly wanted to prove to everyone around her that she surpassed every single person that gave her a helping hand because all of her bonds are formed over the premise of "competition" as that's how ambitious she is (that's the system dogma, as well, as allowing and encouraging rivalries is a primary example of this mindset). Sasuke, as I've stated, represents the culmination of her goal: Status and power, through him, she has it all, so in her eyes, why not pursue him?

There's also a nexus regarding beauty and status that Sakura makes, as she considers Ino to be beautiful during their childhood (I guess such an idea hasn't changed later on as she seeks to insult Ino's looks to diminish her relevance and power level during their match and later on when she wants Sai to insult Ino in the same manner he insulted her) and comments on how beautiful Tsunade is (the only one able to help Sasuke when he was put in a coma), so it isn't strange how Sakura cares so much about how desirable other characters consider her, as the two women that she saw as role models were "beautiful" for her -Sasuke is also incredibly beautiful, so beauty=elevated status is a parallel she draws.

Her fandom also draws a parallel between beauty and status, on a much bigger scale than Sakura canonically does, as they make her out to be this beautiful woman everyone desires and starts wars for (Kakashi, Itachi, Madara *enter any Uchiha you can think of here*); this is quite common in real life as well, as capitalism and patriarchy also encourage women to look as beautiful as possible to "reward them" when they fit the standards they seek: I've said so before, but many of her stans hide behind the term "feminists" when their real interest is to prove their self-insert is "desirable," as they make the level of importance of certain characters within Narutoverse be measured based on how beautiful/powerful their husbands/partners are.

Many stans take the beauty of the male they imagined her with as "proof" of how attractive Sakura is because desirability = beauty = power. Even their need to show how "powerful" or "strong" she is (often by providing examples of how "superior" their fav is to other female characters) is more about them being recognized, admired, and desired by the male characters. There's a reason why they make them praise her all the time in their stories or why when a man canonically recognizes Sakura for whatever reason he gets immediately rewarded with a shipping fic (Kakashi!); hell, even why this lack of reward to their praisings makes the Naruto dudebros hate her for her lack of reciprocation. This fits the patriarchal and capitalistic narrative all too well, as for them beauty provides a superior position from others, being that people within a privileged economic position has more resources to "fit the beauty standards" they set themselves, cementing the notion that "the cute ones belong with the cute ones (economic/political status ↑), while the ugly ones belong with the ugly ones." (economic/political status ↓).

I understand why Sakura would think this, as this is the standard set before her by the society she grew up in -but her fandom behaves with the exact same mindset while critiquing patriarchism (although these "critiques" are superficial at most) and chewing Kishimoto up for not giving Sakura the reward she deserved and instead throwing her to the cold hands of misogyny, yet they regurgitate a version of hers that abides just by the same standards they so eagerly claim to condemn.

I feel like some of you take “character’s development” as a synonym for “a character modifying a specific behavior the fandom has a problem with” and when some of these cases end up not changing such things about themselves you guys consider it detracts them from their overall narrative value; sure there’re traits considered toxic that many want for their favorite character to “overcome”, but it mostly rests on the desire of the fandom to place a specific character within an acceptable moral standard. many times this “toxic behavior” isn’t paramount to the character’s stance inside their universe or plot as this characteristic isn’t even a problem surrounding the character’s relationships or goals, so it’s not something that needs to be modified for them to achieve their objectives or establish meaningful bonds; in short, there’s no narrative need to alter it. Furthermore, not everyone needs nor is set to change, and the fact that some characters simply don’t do it just adds to their verisimilitude.

[banana-with-a-bow-tie]

Can I ... share my honest thoughts about you?

When I think about all the times I've spoken to you- and the headaches I go through having to explain certain things just to get a proper answer from you - I feel like empathy/sympathy just isn't one of your strongest traits as a person..

You're so overly logical and speak so coldly about everything, like an intellectual who thinks his answers from his life experiences are the best & only answers and everyone else around him is a fool who isn't even worth his time and doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as him.

There have been other topics I wanted to talk about, but I'm genuinely afraid to sometimes because I don't know what you're going to say.

... I'm also afraid that one day you'll get fed up with me and just block me.

Thank you for your critique. I will take it back to God's Word and see if there are any changes I need to make. Now allow me to share some things with you.

When you come to my blog, where I share what I believe is true based on God's Word, and you ask me my opinion on a topic, what exactly is it that you are seeking from me? Do you want me to affirm everything you believe or solve all your problems? Because I can't do either. I can only share what God's Word says and try to make it a little clearer.

I don't share the things I do because I think I'm better than you or that everyone has to listen to me because I know everything. All I want to do is glorify God. I'm sorry if I don't give this impression, but I do care about you and everyone God has blessed me with the opportunity of reaching. Because I care about you, I am compelled by God to give you the best gift I can, the truth of His Word and the goodness of His Son.

If you come to my blog, seeking my opinion about a topic, I am going to give it to you, but I can't have a relationship with you. I can't disciple you. I will give you whatever tools I can to make you more like Christ, but I'm just one man who is limited by time and space and I don't even know your name. You need to be finding your delight in God and relying on the people He has provided to serve you and for you to serve.

[entireoranges]

Charlie x Sophie ... 2/10

The first few episodes I thought maybe because of everyone it's so out of the logical realm of possibilities, at least so far. Honestly speaking they don't have any chemistry. And I don't think Sophie would ever make a move on a guy Valentina dated especially so seriously, even if they broke up months or years ago.

Drew x Sophie ... 5/10

It's boring. I mean it's a good relationship and the first serious one Sophie as had. With that said I don't see it being her only serious relationship.

Jesse x Sophie ... 4/10

I almost went with 5 as well but they loss a point because it's too predictable. I have tried to see them as the potential end game and that's the way the show is trying to paint it, more so in the first few episodes, to me however it feels like a major misdirection that isn't working that well. Of all the guys Sophie has the strongest best friends vibes with Jesse and I don't think they risk or want to explore something more.

Sid x Sophie ... 9/10

It took me a bit to get here. I'm here now, at least for now LOL. Yes Sid is engaged and the relationship is going well, but I sense it's not as perfect as we think. The long distance is a factor. Feels like a relationship they continue because it's comfortable but in their hearts they know it's not quite right and neither wants to say anything. Sid seems to understand Sophie and they have a beautiful and natural chemistry. Which they are ignoring/turning a blind eye to because of his engagement.

I know we don't know much about the son, but I'm trying to see if I can catch any possible character and personality traits he might have picked up from his father. Though he ranks lower on my list, of all of them I sorta sense Jesse in him. So who knows!

HIMYF I won't lie, it's not my favorite show. I think they could do a lot better, but it's fun enough. I just hope they don't out of nowhere, like 30 episodes and 4 seasons later casually bring up ANOTHER guy who was at the party! I want this current group of possibilities to be the only ones we are working with.

[skipps-writes-for-gojo-satoru]

Someone made an incredible animation of the scene in hidden inventory where Gojo gets screamed at by teen girls fawning over him, and it's beautiful ✨

https://youtu.be/5l9_O51-YYs

Also, it highlights my previous point that when Gojo's confronted by women flirting with him, he doesn't really do... Anything. He's just chill about it. And the little °^° face he makes and the little confused "hm?" from the manga panel in the beginning could indicate that Gojo might not be hit on by girls as often as we think- Jujutsu sorcerers are busy and have even their time off interrupted on the regular. Other than being mildly amused, we don't see Gojo actively bask or pursue attention from women (other than Utahime ofc, which could be because she's as straight-laced as Nanami).

The little content smile he gives at the end basically says it all: Gojo enjoys the attention, but most likely isn't interested in pursuing anything more than that, including sexual relations (with more reasons from my previous posts).

I could see Gojo being the type to allow himself to appreciate just a bit of affection from random women he encounters on missions and then casually walking off with a lazy wave of his hand- just like he did with Miwa.

The man's on a mission (literally) with the goal to change the world. Virgin Gojo is very possible seeing how unaffected he is by women throwing themselves at him- or at least, he allows himself a moment to enjoy the attention but is quick to dismiss the thought from his mind to focus on his duty.

Honestly, non virgin Gojo is still possible, but unless we see Gojo actually show interest or actively flirt with someone (which seems unlikely), we may never know. To me, analyzing Gojo with his interactions with other characters (not his antics) makes me think it's more likely Gojo is a virgin than not, simply bc the argument for Gojo being a non virgin is his looks and immaturity (or his act of immaturity, we know Gojo thinks in a much more complex way than he lets on) which I'd argue is not an accurate description of his character, because that's only a part of it, and is in fact only what Gojo shows on the surface. And there's plenty of reasons why his lifestyle would make such getaways difficult. Also, Gojo's lack of enthusiasm for it. Gojo allows girls to fawn over him, but he hardly stokes the fire more than just taking off his glasses when they asked him to.

If Gojo was more like Osamu Dazai from Bungou Stray Dogs who flirts with every women he sees, I would have an easier time believing he would not be a virgin, but his lifestyle, behavior, and even his Six Eyes and his goal makes me think he wouldn't choose to constantly go on small getaways like that. Personally, I'd say Gojo spends more of his time plotting and maximizing his efforts on recreating Jujutsu Society.

Really, when Gege said he couldn't see Gojo being faithful to a woman could be because he's already committed to his job. Not because he's out womanizing, but even because the type of woman he'd commit to is so rare. And even if he did find a woman he'd commit to, being the ENTP he is means he's incapable of immediately recognizing and acting on his emotions- not because he doesn't have them, but because they're not really his forté. He'd rather rationalize his behavior than attempt to understand his own feelings. It'll take time and patience, but Gojo committing is still a possibility.

Honestly, I'd like to hear why people would think Gojo's a cheater/womanizer to begin with? Besides him teasing Utahime, Gojo's been pretty respectful to Shoko and Mei Mei. He even complimented and recognized Mei Mei's strength as a sorcerer. He didn't flirt once with the hoard of girls fawning over him. In fact, he was quick to focus on his mission despite the attention. I don't think Gojo's ever even teased Shoko about anything (other than commenting on her terrible way of explaining things, which is more of a fact than teasing). Though, correct me if I'm wrong.

Also, I haven't mentioned Riko much in previous posts and idrk why lol. But while Gojo is dominated by logical thinking, he's emotionally inept enough to notice Riko's mood. He may seem cold in how he comforted her by saying he'd leave her behind, but it's more of his ENTP personality that has him expressing his emotions in a more objective manner- even if it hurts, it's the truth, and that's fine isn't it? (Typical ENTP way of thinking).

Also slight tangent I read that one long meta about Gojo's interaction with Riko someone linked, and I'm completely appalled that they would think Gojo is only "pretending" to have emotions, "mimicking" them even! That he's incapable of truly feeling when in fact it's inherently characteristic of any ENTP to express themselves in a way that, to others, would be considered "cold" and unempathetic. It just goes to show just how misunderstood ENTPs are. They only make up 3% of the world so are often confused for socios/narcs/psychos which is understandable-

But I wanna make one thing clear: all sociopaths could be considered ENTPs. But not all ENTPs are sociopaths. (Switch Socio with psycho/narc/etc and it still works). Why?

Purpose.

Arrogance, boastfulness, unrefined emotional sensitivity, recklessness, impulsiveness- all of those fall below the importance of Purpose. Regardless of how Gojo "acts," it's been expressed time and time again- Gojo acts for the sake of the next generation. Sociopaths/Antisocial Personality Disorder/Psychopaths have one most common defining starting point: "it all starts with cruelty to animals and lack of response to their own actions, or actions of other people."

Let's make it more simple: regardless of whatever end of the spectrum sociopathy can be- high functioning, low functioning- antisocial personality disorder, in it's most simple terms, along with psychopathy and narcissism, condensed into one common trait is very clear: Their actions, while easily blendible into society, are for the sole purpose of pleasuring themselves.

Why don't people notice those with these disorders? Because their *behavior* is so similar to not just the typical ENTP, but also the ISTP AND ESTP. They can easily be mistaken for common members of society, but again: their sole purpose is the pursuit of pleasure themselves, while acting with complete disregard for the consequences of not just their own actions but others'. Staying in one job for extended periods of time is especially rare for a sociopath in particular, and this is one very clear difference between Gojo and a sociopath.

Gojo is willing to spend the rest of his life as a Jujutsu Sorcerer for the sake of others. This sentence alone defies any inclination that he could be a sociopath regardless of any other symptoms commonly associated with sociopathy, such as emotional insensitivity, hostility, risk taking behavior, lack of restraint, and impulsivity- there's a reason such people blend in with society, and that's because such symptoms are common with *any* person, regardless of personality type. Other than with the higher ups, Gojo hardly shows the anger, irritability, or general discontent that a sociopath is most commonly is associated with as their established mood - and even if he did, would being easily irritatable while in the position of the Strongest, the one who carries the burden of establishing a new future of Jujutsu Society on his shoulders alone be so unrealistic? That is why Purpose is so important.

If Gojo truly was a Sociopath, he would have dipped long before Jujutsu Kaisen had even started.

And I apologize for yet another tangent! Someone said Gojo sees his students as weapons or tools to be used in furthering his agenda. While that is not necessarily untrue, the implication is hardly close to reality. Like someone else commented, Gojo goes far and beyond for his students. While he is undoubtedly lacking in his ability to show affection in the most traditional of ways, it's clear that Gojo cares for his students-and others- deeply, whether that be when he went to see Yuta on his business trip to ensure Yuji would be safely taken care of in his absence, when he goes out of his way to personally supervise his students, when he willingly spends a whole day with Nanami just to ask him to mentor Yuji for him (in the Light Novel) regardless of Nanami's disdain, when he turned his Infinity off to allow Yaga to punish him (Gege made it clear in the manga that Gojo had done so to be a good role model for his students and that he recognizes his behavior deserves punishment), and when Gojo commented that he didn't want to think any of his students would be the traitor. Gojo does not express himself as most people do- he's only one of the most misunderstood personality types (on record, along with a few other personalites if you've researched them) and to say people have misinterpreted his character is much more plausible when even in real life, people who behave like Gojo are statistically reported to be misapprehended more often than more populated personality types. When inspected closely, there are so many ways Gojo himself expresses his care for other people, only hidden thinly behind the surface of his lofty attitude and uncaring demeanor. It only takes a few looks at his behavior, not his mouth, to recognize how much he goes out of his way for his students, doing he things that don't necessarily help further his agenda simply because he wants to, not because he has to. Changing the world isn't even something the average person would strive to do, yet Gojo makes it his life goal to accomplish. How could a heartless, emotion mimicking person possibly endure the strife necessary to accomplish such a task? It's appalling.

Gojo is more charitable than most people on the earth, simply because of the perseverance and diligence he takes to withstand the stress and hardships of Jujutsu Society for others. Remember that he chose to become the Strongest, it didn't happen overnight, and in becoming the Strongest, he carries the heaviest burden.

That's without mentioning that even though Gojo is the Strongest, and while to most he seems to proudly state so, it's clear that despite Gojo's antics, he recognizes his weaknesses as a sorcerer and is able to rely on others to make up for them. He had asked Nanami to mentor Yuji because he acknowledged his own flaws as a teacher and that Nanami would have a better capacity than him in that area (in Light Novel). He travelled to see Yuta to ask him to care for Yuji in case something happened to him- and Gojo knows that it's possible that he could be defeated somehow, someway. He's not so deluded to think he's untouchable, even despite his playfulnesses. He is always thinking ahead, calculating his next move while understanding his own shortcomings, acting prudently to ensure a better future.

He is a much deeper and complex character if one only takes the time to look past his antics and analyze his behavior- Something many people in real life seem to miss, and that is the true reason why Gojo struggles to commit.

Sorry for the long tangent and repetitiveness in the beginning lol! Back to the main issue!

Tl;dr there's more evidence of Gojo being a virgin who's more focused on work than pleasure. There's plenty of handsome men who don't seek out sex for reprieve but seek mental stimulation instead for relief. It's totally normal. Gojo could even spend his free time playing video games. He did admit to spending long hours beating 99 years of Momotarou Dentetsu to Geto. He's a gamer, and we know how gamers are commonly known for being virgins lol. Gojo could even be asexual for all we know. He could even be demisexual- someone who doesn't pursue sexual pleasure unless he's made an emotional connection with then. He doesn't necessarily have to even be straight or bi. Therefore, Gojo is very likely to be 28 year old virgin, and there's nothing wrong or strange about that.

Sources: ENTP articles, statistics on mbti rarity, other mbti articles, some quick Google searches, articles on sociopathy, psychopathy, narcissism, and antisocial disorders, etc, the manga, light novels, other metas in threads I remember reading, the anime, graphic organizers

Thanks for reading! 🙏

- 🤔

AHHHH CAN I JUST SAY THE ANIMATION IS DAMN GOOD 🔥🔥🔥 this scene in the manga is absolutely iconic prepare yourselves for season 2 😤 I literally had to stop the video and stare at him...I think one of the reasons Gojo behaved that way is becuz during childhood he probably didn't go out and be around people hence his confused reaction with the screaming teens. I mean everyone enjoys being complimented and getting attention from time to time and gojo is not an exception to this. Yes I definitely agree that when Gege said that he probably meant he's too busy for a relationship. The way it was translated made alot of people confused hence the player/cheater gojo was born. But then also the remember the comment he made when Gojo won the popularity poll? "Pick Nanami instead" ahhh hilarious

MY GAWD 🤔 ANON CAN I JUST SAY THAT YOU'RE AMAZING?! You explained in a way that easy to understand and you made statements backing it up with evidence. I learned from your ask than I ever did in university 😂 wow its truly fascinating though I never knew much personality types especially ENTPs I DON'T BELIEVE FOR ONE SEC GOJO IS A SOCIOPATH OR PSYCHOPATH fight me if you do. Exactly exactly just as anon said "He is a much deeper and complex character if one only takes the time to look past his antics and analyze his behavior." I COULDN'T AGREE MORE 😤 thank you so much for once again educating the community I'm a fan of you 🤔 anon ❤