#AND YOU JUST ASSUME THE LOVE TRIANGLE IS IMPORTANT HERE?

[heavenlyascent]

You can tell what the ship war/Tifa vs Aerith/Whose the “True” Heroine/Love of FF7 is about because it never includes Barret, despite him being a romance candidate (even IF the OG boiled it down to one big antiblack gay joke), or Yuffie (thankfully because of her age though I shutter to think how she would have been treated if she was an older, viable candidate), or Zack despite his bond with Cloud, or Jessie for that matter. All these are background elements to the ongoing fight over who is the default love interest and thus true love of Cloud.

Which is boiled down to, which one of these women are meant for this man.

It doesn't care that Final Fantasy 7 is a world-spanning story about humanity, genocide, imperialism, and trauma. It ignores that while Cloud is ultimately our main character, it's a story of an entire cast of main characters who are just as important to the ever moving plot as Cloud.

And really, as it insults Tifa and Aerith by trying to suggest one's story is more "important" than the other, it also insults Barret by completely ignoring that his efforts are the instigating factors OF the story and that the running theme of saving the planet? Is because Barret was the first one to scream it in the narrative. It ignores Yuffie's and Red XIII's fight to preserve their dying cultures in a world that actively wants to destroy them for the sake of capitalism. It ignores Cid as someone whose dreams were crushed by capitalism and become so consumed by his pain, he hurt everyone around him. It ignores how Vincent played an active role in Sephiroth's birth and the core corruption of Shinra.

And I think it absolutely misses the theme of FF7 and Cloud in general. Cloud loves everyone. He loves all his friends. If the Remakes and Rebirth did anything, it put on display that there's not one single person that Cloud loves--but all those he has met. Yes, he loves Tifa and loves Aerith and maybe in one or both, he has romantic feelings for them but he clearly loves Barret, Red XIII, Yuffie, Zack, Jessie, Bigs, Wedge, Reeve/Cait, and--as we'll see later--Cid and Vincent.

If any of them died, Cloud would have been devastated. Aerith is special and he mourns her in a specific way because she's AERITH. Not because she's the ONE. SHE'S AERITH. Irreplaceable just like Tifa, just like Barret, just like Yuffie, just like Red XIII, just like Zack, and Cait/Reeve, Cid, and Vincent.

For the last near 30 years, the ship wars have rewrote Cloud's intense love for the people around him as just a heteronormative love story and it's gross.

None of the characters deserve that, but specifically Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith who are so much more than players in a stupid love triangle.

[actual-changeling]

I know a lot of people interpret Scully's reaction to Mulder's love confession in 'Triangle' as her assuming that he is drugged up and talking nonsense.

There is another (worse) option, though.

"Oh brother" is definitely not what you respond if you're taking it seriously, we can probably agree on that, but i don't think potential drugs are the reasons here.

Let's look back a little. I'm working with the assumption that 'Folie a Deux' is set in May of 1998 with FtF taking place in August. 'The Beginning' happens sometime in September of the same year. If we use this as our timeline, we have a total of around five months during which a LOT of shit happens.

'Folie a Deux' is important because this is the "original" drugged up love confession Scully hears when Mulder is in the psychward. It gets to her, she thinks he is being genuine and does what he asked her to do.

More important than the act itself is what he tells her. I assume most of us have that conversation memorized, but just as a reminder:

"Scully, you have to believe me. Nobody else on this whole damn planet does or ever will. You're my one in five billion."

Even from our point of view, this makes complete sense—she IS the only one he trusts.

Except that it's a lie. I don't expect Mulder to think of Diana in that moment, and it wouldn't have been an issue at all if it weren't for the events of 'The End', which happen about 2-3 weeks later.

Suddenly, there is a person from his past that he trusts unconditionally to the point of stupidity, and he not only doesn't talk to Scully about any of it, he stops talking to her period. It's as if she has been a placeholder for Diana, and now that she's back, there is no use for her anymore.

Mulder works the case with Diana, Scully is dragging herself along and he does not care about her or her work until it is useful for him; he doesn't back her up when a room full of people (including Diana) belittle and mock her. He nods along, which, to Scully, is just the last puzzle piece slotting into place.

To summarize, Mulder's confession in Folie a Deux that she took seriously is revealed to be a lie—a means to an end to get her to do what he wants her to. Whether or not that's objectively true is a totally different matter because this is what Scully is confronted with.

Betrayal.

With that in mind, their argument in FtF in his hallway and Scully thinking of herself as redundant makes complete sense. We get yet another love confession, one she ALSO takes seriously, and if it weren't for that fucking bee, they'd have kissed. Maybe then, the whole mess that comes after could have been avoided, but here we are.

In "The Beginning", Scully repeats said confession back to him in an attempt to calm him and regain his trust in her/her science. Let's see what happens:

He implicitly tells her that none of what he confessed still applies, that the whole speech was, once again, nothing but a farce to get her to stay. Mulder confirms this at the end of the episode, and Scully asking him with tears in her eyes to trust her is a deeply painful contrast to his earlier declarations.

Two times, Mulder confesses his love to her.

Two times, he takes it back later and continues to use it against her.

In 'Triangle', Scully once again finds herself next to Mulder in a hospital bed and listens to him as he confesses his love for a third time. Does she think he's drugged up? Yeah, probably, but that's not the reason she cannot take him seriously.

Considering her track record with Mulder and big speeches, is it at all surprising that she no longer trusts what he tells her?

"Oh, brother," because she is forced to grapple with her many, many feelings for him and process it in a way that fits into everything else that has happened so far.

"Oh, brother," because it might be an attempt to placate her and nothing else.

"Oh, brother," because there is a chance he will twist his 'I love you' into a weapon to stab her with later. Because he says it and does not mean it.

This is not a "oh, he's drugged up" expression to me. This is Scully preparing to get hurt again.

The funniest part is that she's right. She is right. He couldn't have meant it because then he wouldn't be staring her down with apathy in his eyes and tell her not to make it "personal".

SHE is making it personal? After Mulder manipulated her by pulling on their connection like a leash to get her to do what he wants? After he confessed how much he loves and trusts her over and over just to throw it all away?

To ignore all of it in the moment it actually fucking matters?

The drug option is less angsty and kinda fun, and I do enjoy reading fics that interpret it as such, but with their history attached, it is so much more—and so much worse.

Pretending it never happened is one thing, but then actively denying it to her face and using her feelings to hurt her? Yeah, no.

Mulder fucked up and Scully has every right to reject his declarations and distance herself from him.

[jeonscatalyst]

https://www.tumblr.com/jeonscatalyst/760242773222883328/this-all-of-this-and-every-single-bit-of-this?source=share

I do agree with this person's analysis of Jimin and Jungkook personalities, and I also agree that to some extent Jungkook's affection being rarer than Jimin's does make it more special to some fans, but where I disagree is that I don't think that's the main reason why fans seem to put more weight in what Jungkook does than what Jimin does.

Because while some fans will put this much thought on the differences in jikook's personalities, I don't think it's the majority that does. It's kinda of a problem we have actually. If people realised that Jimin and Jungkook are two different people with different ways of showing affection, then we wouldn't have to keep seeing the same stupid takes on their relationship over and over again. It's people expecting jikook to always do to the other the exact same thing the other did to them that causes so much annoying discourse.

But you know what a lot of shipper do love doing? Competing with one another. Competition is one of the main things in every k-pop fandom and sub-fandom, shippers are no exception. And when it comes to jikookers we all know the competition is with taekookers. We're always at each other's throats, let's be honest. And some spend just as much time taking about the rival ship as they do talking about their own ship.

Which leads me to what I believe is the real main reason why both sides (not just jikookers) view Jungkook's actions as more important. It's because he's the in-common person to both ships. He's like the main character in a love triangle. He's the one that ultimately decides who gets together in the end, not the two love interests, so their actions don't matter as much.

The point of contention with shippers has never really been whether or not Jimin or Taehyung like Jungkook, that's already assumed to be the case. With solos it's definitely an argument, but jikookers and taekookers focus more on each other than in solos. No, the real question has always been who does Jungkook like more: Jimin or Taehyung?

If Jimin declares his love for Jungkook jikookers will of course love that, but if Jungkook is the one who does it it'll matter more because it can be used against taekookers. Taekookers don't care if Jimin loves Jungkook or not, what he feels doesn't matter to them. Nothing Jimin says can prove anything to them. The confirmation has to come from Jungkook, that's the only way they'll care about it. And jikookers do care about one-upping taekookers. If we didn't we wouldn't spend so much time trying to prove to them that we're right.

There's been plenty of times when I've seen something that used to not matter suddenly become important the moment people realize it could be used in the shipping competition. It's a sort of 'I didn't care that much about that thing I have until I realized it could make the other side jealous'. Or 'I didn't want that thing until the other side got it and now I want it too'.

Things naturally hold more importance to people when those things have not only their own inherent value but also when they have the added bonus of pissing off someone you don't like. Jimin's love for Jungkook is important by itself but Jungkook's love for Jimin is seen as more important because it will also piss off taekookers.

I'm pretty sure that if the two biggest ships were jikook and vmin instead, then the most important thing suddenly would be Jimin's affection, regardless of how affectionate he is with everyone.

Again, I do agree some fans do consider jikook's differences and that that does influence how they value their actions, it's just that I think there's a bigger reason here.

I hope this didn't come across as me being a contrarian for the sake of it, I just wanted to add a separate perspective on the subject because I've had this opinion for a while and it seemed relevant to the topic. I also hope I was not to harsh on my opinions of other jikookers, but no fandom is without it's flaws and I think it's important to acknowledge them.

Anon, I owe you a cold beer right now because it seems like you read my mind.

This is exactly what I think too. It’s just mostly about the competition, the shipwars, the fights and the need to “win”. That’s really why people think Jungkook’s actions hold more meaning that Vmins. It’s like Jungkook is the prize that Vmin are desperately trying to win and every action or word of his is used as an affirmation or debunking. “Jungkook did this with Tae but didn’t do that with Jimin so Tae is his boyfriend”….just an endless cycle of bullshit.

Anyone who is mature and experienced enough understands that Jimin and Jungkook don’t have to express themselves exactly the same for things to be mutual. Jimin could say “I love you” to Jungkook and Jungkook wouldn’t say it back but would prefer to make a video of Jimin. So many people would say Jungkook didn’t reciprocate just because he didn’t do things exactly the way Jimin did when the truth is that he did, just in his own way.

When I see people coming up with useless takes or comparisons about their bond it pisses me off to no end because it’s the little things that Jungkook does. People would get pissed at Jungkook and say that he doesn’t show love to Jimin as much as Jimin does just because Jimin would constantly touch him, ask him to eat alot and is very vocal about his affection but Jungkook remembering that Jimin likes his food spicy and trying to make it just how Jimin likes it apparently means nothing because Jungkook wasn’t shouting on a roof top or Jungkook thinking of what to cook in Jeju and knowing that Jimin would love it doesn’t matter because he didn’t stand on a podium and announce it or Jungkook quietly getting water for Jimin and giving him to drink without him asking doesn’t mean a thing because he didn’t carry Jimin on his head. Sometimes I don’t even have the energy to argue because if only people understood Jungkook they would know that Jungkook doesn’t treat anyone the same way he does Jimin.

I personally can see how someone might naturally value Jungkook’s actions more because Jimin is a natural caring, nurturing and loving person to everyone so sometimes it is hard to tell if his actions mean more or it is just him being himself but with Jungkook, he tries as much as possible to be impartial but he just cannot help it when it comes to Jimin. He is pretty kind and caring towards everyone he loves too but not the same way Jimin does it plus Jungkook tends to go big when he expresses his affection for Jimin. So with Jimin we get little bits of love and affection more frequently than we get from Jungkook but once we get one from Jungkook, it is usually news worthy and kinda exclusive to Jimin so it hits harder.

I dunno. I might have gone off topic but like I said, I 100% agree with you.

[libraryofgage]

PJO Steddie Two

One

So, this part was kinda supposed to be attached to part one, but I got tired and the part was getting too long so here we are lmao

Anyway, we get a few parents revealed here, but most are still a mystery

As always, if you see any typos, no you didn't ;P

---

Eddie is on the other side of the park and wondering if he has enough time to see that fake Parthenon when he hears the unmistakable sound of a harpy's shriek. Those things have nearly eaten him enough times at camp for their bird screams to be seared into his memory. And if he's hearing the overgrown chicken, that means it's found those demigod kids before he could.

Fuck.

He whirls around just in time to see the harpy shoot above the trees, wings flared and feathers bristling, before dive-bombing whichever unlucky kid it's decided to eat first.

"Motherfucking shit bitch," Eddie mutters, taking off across the grass to where the harpy dived.

On the bright side, he managed to find the kids pretty quick; he'd only been in Athens for a few hours. On the fucked up side, he might only be able to sneak one or two kids away from the monster. Which, like, he'd love to save more of them, but he's not exactly the best fighter. He's the best runner and hider. This is why he's sent on these missions: the camp has learned that stealth and hiding usually bring more kids into safety than straight-up attacking monsters.

Eddie skirts around a tree, just barely missing the branch that threatens to whack his head off. He can hear music (something light and jumpy, soft and clear) and kids shouting in what he assumes to be fear. Just based on the sound, he's not going to be able to sneak those kids away. They're probably right in front of the harpy.

He'll have to be a distraction so they can run. "I'm gonna fucking die today," Eddie says, resigned and annoyed all at once. He reaches up and tears off the guitar pic and chain around his neck, the small triangle bursting outwards into a shield with straps that wrap around his arm.

It's ready to withstand some harpy claws by the time Eddie gracefully trips over a tree root and reflexively tucks and rolls over his shoulder. He pops up from the ground, eyes trained to the harpy, and freezes as three very important things become incredibly obvious.

One: the kids are not, in fact, shouting in fear. They're shouting with excitement, cheering at the fight happening before them. Eddie watches as a boy wearing a baseball cap punches the air and shouts, "Get 'em, Steve! Fuck the bird up!" His words are quickly followed by two girls jokingly shouting, "Language!" in return before laughing.

Two: the song playing is coming from a Bluetooth speaker on the blankets. It's a pop song. At least, it sounds like one. It's definitely old, though, and he only knows the name (Dancing in the Moonlight, by Toploader) because one of the muses' kids sang it once at a campfire night when Eddie first arrived at the camp.

Three: the most gorgeous boy Eddie has ever seen is currently beating the ever-loving shit out of the harpy with a nail bat. His mouth is pulled back into a vicious grin, his hair is somehow unaffected by the violent swings, and Eddie can somehow tell he's dragging this fight out with the harpy to blow off some steam.

"Oh! Steve!" one of the kids shouts, a girl with a beanie covering her hair. Her hat seems to be shifting just slightly, but Eddie thinks it might be a trick of the light. "Hit her to the music, like one of those movie fight scenes."

Then Eddie hears the boy, Steve, laugh. The sound is bright and clear and pierces right through Eddie's chest. "Sure thing, kiddo," Steve says, sliding back a step and twirling the bat in his hand. He tilts his head, listening to the song and catching the drums and keyboard, and then jumps right back onto the harpy.

And he does it. He starts swinging and landing hits on the harpy in time with the drums. Steve roundhouse kicks the harpy in the chest right as a guitar solo starts, his foot making contact with the first strum. Feathers are bursting in the air around Steve, brushing by him and creating brief, tiny dappled shadows over his face. The way he fights is like a dance, especially when he has music to follow and an audience to entertain.

Here's the thing: Eddie has never been one to keep his imagination in check. Why would he? Some of his best songs have been inspired by daydreams. So, when he sees the most gorgeous boy in the world beating a harpy's ass with a violent yet graceful dance, Eddie really can't be blamed for daydreaming.

The bright sun is replaced by a full moon, the park has become the shore by the lake at camp, and the audience of kids has disappeared completely. It's just him and Steve at the lake, smiling at each other and dancing, trading off lead between them. Eddie spins Steve and Steve dips Eddie. Somewhere, Dancing in the Moonlight is playing softly, nearly drowned out by their quiet laughter and whispered jokes and the waves of the lake brushing against the shore.

Oh. Oh.

That stupid prophecy. It was talking about this. The oracle predicted this moment and, apparently, considered it important enough to actually tell Eddie about it months ago. And he's spent this entire time trying to fight that obscure prophecy, trying to turn it into something bitter and filled with rage when it's just...just Steve. And Eddie doesn't know Steve yet, sure, but not even the gods could stop him from giving it a shot.

"YES!"

Eddie blinks, dragged harshly from his daydream by the kids shouting with joy as Steve brings the bat down on the harpy's head. The monster bursts into that familiar puff of smoke and mist and dust, and the kids cheer even louder.

Steve grins and stands up straight, rolling his shoulders and cockily resting the bat on his shoulder. He starts to turn toward the kids only to stop when he's facing Eddie, their eyes meeting and catching right as the song finishes playing.

----

The rush of joy and adrenaline at beating the harpy is still surging through Steve when he sees the guy his age standing a few feet away, staring at them with wide eyes. For a brief moment, Steve thinks he's a human who just happens to be able to see monsters, too. They've run into a person like that before. Then he notices the shield on the guy's arm and realizes he must be like them to some degree.

Steve blinks, his shoulders tensing slightly as he studies the other boy. Hair that definitely needs a more specialized shampoo, big brown eyes, and a whole grunge kinda vibe that Steve finds inexplicably attractive. He could spend another hour staring at the guy, but then one of the kids leaps onto his back, laughing right in his ear and nearly making him go deaf.

"That was so awesome!" Dustin shouts, wrapping his legs around Steve's waist as the other kids rush to surround him.

El grabs his free hand, smiling up at him. "Thank you for dance fighting," she says, her words almost drowned out by the other kids shouting their favorite parts and Max insisting she could have helped with the fight.

Steve grins a little wider, feeling his adrenaline drain as the relief of keeping his kids safe takes its place. "She shouldn't have interrupted our day off," he says, stubbornly keeping his eyes on the kids instead of the guy still staring at them. "C'mon, we need to keep moving."

"Where are you going?"

The guy's voice is a little rough, and Steve thinks he'd be able to pick it out from any crowd after hearing it just once. He looks over at the guy, frowning slightly. "I don't think it's your business," he says, trying to ignore the part of him that feels bad.

Thankfully, the guy doesn't seem to care. He just shrugs and takes a few steps closer. "Oh, I don't know, big boy. I think your gaggle of demigods is definitely my business," he says.

"Is that a threat?" Steve asks, really hoping it isn't. It would be a shame to punch the guy's face.

The boy blinks, pausing like he's reconsidering how his words sounded. "Shit, yeah, that did sound bad," he says, frowning and tugging on a lock of hair. He pulls it in front of his mouth, a few more seconds passing before he says, "I'm gonna start again."

The guy clears his throat and the retracts his shield. It shrinks down into a guitar pic on a chain that he latches around his neck. "Okay," he says, "Eddie Munson, son of Hermes, future rockstar, and your guide to Camp Half-Blood."

"Future rockstar?" Max asks, her voice low and sardonic.

"Hermes has kids?" Mike asks.

"I've never heard of Camp Half-Blood," Steve says, pushing forward and herding the kids to stand behind him. He stores Eddie's name for later, forcing himself to focus on the whole Potential Threat to His Kids thing.

Eddie nods like this is something he's expected. "That's fine. Lucky for you, pretty boy, I'm here to explain it all."

"Pretty boy," Steve mumbles, doing his absolute best to not think about his face heating up.

From behind him, he hears Lucas groan, "Aww, man, they're gonna be gross."

Thankfully, Eddie doesn't pay them any mind. "Camp Half-Blood is a safe haven for demigods like us. It's got a barrier around it that keeps monsters out, and we make sure everyone is trained to fight monsters and survive as adults," he explains, grinning at Steve.

"Wait, how many more of us are there?" Will asks, poking his head around Steve to look at Eddie with wide eyes.

"Oh, hundreds. The gods aren't exactly known for keeping it in their pants."

"So, we'll be safe at this camp?" Steve asks slowly.

"Safe as can be, big boy."

"Is it demigods only?" Steve asks.

Eddie nods once, flashing a grin. "Of course. We've got one Olympian who helps run the camp as, like, a punishment thing. He doesn't do much, actually. But we've also got some nymphs and Chiron. Uh, there are a few monsters in the forest, but they aren't too dangerous. They're mostly for training. The main thing is that big dangerous monsters can't get to us, and the Mist keeps humans from stumbling on the camp, too."

Honestly? It sounds way too good to be true. Steve has spent years running across this country and back, collecting the kids along the way and struggling to keep them alive. How is he only now learning about some camp that's built just for kids like them?

"The Mist?" Dustin asks, pushing around Steve. He'd be halfway to Eddie if Steve didn't grab his shirt and drag him back. "What's the Mist?"

"It's, like, this camouflage thing that keeps humans from noticing monsters and our powers," Eddie explains, vaguely sweeping his hand in the direction of a few other park-goers. "It's why nobody started screaming when you beat that harpy."

"Oh, that's what it's called," Dustin says, his grin saying he's about to grill Eddie for all his knowledge if Steve doesn't stop him.

Eddie nods and looks over the kids before settling his gaze on Steve again. "You and the kids will be safe there," he says.

"I wouldn't mind settling down," Will says, tugging on Steve's sleeve and looking up at him hopefully.

The other kids nod in agreement, and El squeezes Steve's hand. "It sounds like it'll be safe for me, too," she whispers.

Gods, is it tempting. No more running around, a place they can actually settle down and call home. He could get a full night of sleep for once instead of waking up every other hour to check their surroundings. He wouldn't need to worry about food or clothes or what to do if the kids get sick.

Steve frowns slightly, thinking for a moment before looking back at Eddie. "What happens when we get there?" he asks.

"You'll be given the grand tour by yours truly," Eddie says, playfully bowing to Steve and the kids. "Then, you'll get sorted into cabins and start training."

"How will we be sorted?" Lucas asks. He sounds genuinely curious, so Steve swallows back his retort that they certainly won't be separated if he has anything to say about it.

"By your godly parent. So, pretty boy here will probably go into the Aphrodite cabin," Eddie says, winking playfully at Steve.

"Aphrodite isn't his mother," El says, pushing closer to Steve as the other kids agree.

Eddie blinks. "Uh, who is?"

Steve hesitates, studying Eddie for a few seconds before looking at the kids. This isn't something he should reveal without a general consensus from them. What he gets is a few shrugs, an exasperated sigh from Lucas, and some nods. "My dad is Zeus," Steve says, looking back at Eddie.

"Dude," Eddie breathes, his eyes wide as though his entire world has been shaken, "How the fuck are you alive?"

And Steve can't help it. He laughs, shrugging off the nerves he'd felt earlier because he just can't bring himself to mistrust Eddie. "It's a bit of a long story," he says, "but I could tell it to you on the way to Camp Half-Blood."

The way Eddie lights up is enough to slightly calm the ever-present anxiety that hums through Steve's veins. Maybe this won't be a disaster.

Tag List (there is definitely still room, so just let me know if you'd like to be added!)

@mugloversonly, @mentallyundone, @hairdryerducks-blog, @carriethesaint, @lunabyrd, @weekend-dreamer7, @farfaras, @littlelady03, @my-tears-are-becoming-a-sea20, @mogami13, @a-little-unsteddie

[smrtnik07]

librarians redesigned!!! by me!!! :)

the designs are free to use, i used this as a character design exercise for myself while recovering from carpal tunnel issues! read more for all the individual designs + me ranting :*

first off roland!! i included an angelica in here, i designed her before him, shes very triangular to me.. maybe a bit more messed up than roland tells us about, he is a biased narrator afterall. anyways i wanted his design to match hers nicely, so hes like a rounded square type of guy... i think projmoon designed him to be Just A Guy intentionally, so i played into it. overall the least interesting design of the bunch imo. its on purpose :)

angela !!! my baby :) an important thing here is her bangs. i dont want her hair to be able to recover from however many years she spent with the hard middle part in lobcorp, i think its cute to incorporate it still. swoopy, fluffy hair for her! and the clothes are just a bit more casual idk the librarian uniforms were kinda boring and stiff to me, as much as it does go with her character.. if u wanna be human u gotta experience the joy of sweatpants or whatever. also i didnt add color but i dont want her to be fully white<3 or fully clear skinned.. give her sunspots on her face. she finally gets to experience sun. :)

guess ill go in order of appearance lol. malkuth! whats the headband for if it doesnt keep anything out of her face!! since shes a bit more active than some of her colleagues, i also gave her a ponytail(its also for the silhouette...) also gave her some chubbier thighs.. also maybe a butler-esque coat, at least to me; i just made it a bit more form fitting than the original. playing into her personality or whatever. shes cute.. remember to take deep breaths!!

yesod!! i want to play into the skin issues a bit more, i still removed his gloves but i gave him a poncho, not just for the square silhouette im trying to build but for more coverage. also emo hair over eyes was funny. also wide flare pants for you, boy. just very square and put together in general

hod! this ones my favorite (i even cared enough to give her a pattern on that skirt!!) it was kinda bugging me how in the artbook i couldnt tell who was writing because hod's, malkuth's, and tiphereth's colors are so similar. so hod is pink now, and malkuth a bit more orange. i kinda went for a romantic poet thing here, dunno how much that worked out, but i think out of everyone you can tell shes the literature girl. gave her pigtails !! theyre cute :> also since i removed the coat decoration off of angela, i gave part of it to hod in the bottom of her coat :). cute and round!

netzach is a very strange man to me.. ellipse shape and loose fitting clothes for u. if i saw him irl i wouldnt approach him. not to say i dont like him as a character, i love him, but i want him to look like a depressed guy who would pick up art as a hobby to distract himself and it works. bro is just surviving out there. also gave him comfy clothes to make the surviving easier, down to the shoes and wide, id assume non-denim pants - maybe cotton? maybe sweatpants that dont fit around the ankle? who knows.

tiphereth!! since she's like the teen girl of the group i gave her a skater dress, converse, and a tied coat around her waist.. like how i used to wear as a teen when i was being a hater and recovering from a death in the family that changed my entire life (im still a teen ... 9 more days till im 20 as of posting this). also gave her fishnets i think she would like that. i imagine she would get headaches bc of those dumb braids on her head<3 or maybe bc her coworkers are kinda dumb<3

gebura :) round face, reverse triangle shaped body.. like a true butch lesbian stereotype.. i decided a leather jacket, docs and pants i see metalheads wear would fit her! red leather jacket, of course. also gave her spiky hair just like projmoon did<3 my favorite detail here are the eyebrows, i think their shape is rlly neat! nvm i think its just that gebura is rlly neat. anyways the eyebrows fit her

chesed my boy.. idk i just saw him and hit him with the transmasc beam and gave him , as the kids say, wh0re eyes. i wanted him to have rounder hips and just be round in general. turtleneck and cardigan combo also, i think he would like wearing that. also somewhat curlier hair, or at least wavy would do him well! and a tote bag, i dont doubt that he would go out to read in coffee shops if he could - so he gets a tote bag to carry his sociology books. i want him to look like he would give the warmest, comfiest hugs and be friend shaped

binah!! this one was the most challenging, trying to find the right place for the colors - to not use too little or too much yellow. i still dont think i got it right but this is as close as im getting. long face, long nose, siren-ish eyes.. messed up in the head bird lady that speaks like hannibal! i also dont think a dress really suits her so i opted for wide pants and a fancy black button up .. maybe angela styled her, who knows. also black fingertips which is a trait i like to give the arbiters (including an oc).. just my own little consistency thing i like to do :)

hi grandpa! ok for hokma i dont think the changes are that big? i gave him O shaped legs and his sword thing i turned into a walking cane, gave him a vest (didnt want to opt for a corset but i think he would enjoy the back support for proper posture) . also gave him a mild gradient from darker gray to lighter gray, since he IS the gray part of the ABC trio. gave him salt and pepper hair and an older face. forgot to draw it, but i wanted to give him a silicone tip for the sword so it doesnt dull out, which he can take off when recieving guests

honorary mention to go along with the angelica i mentioned with roland, i mildly changed up her twin(k) brother. i gave argalia and angie the same hair but mirrored, his a bit more curly and hers a bit more spikey, his face a bit more edgy, hers a bit rounder and kinder. not much else to say here, i liked his design as is, but wanted to add him here :)

[lesbianmarrow]

i love this scene so much, and i find the dialogue quite interesting. the episode features a lot of miscommunication and lack of communication within the tara-willow-oz love triangle. willow doesn't tell oz she's with tara, tara sees oz in willow's room and assumes they've slept together, tara avoids telling oz that she's with willow but he figures it out anyway. and, importantly, willow doesn't tell tara what she means to her, in part because willow herself isn't totally sure. so tara is left floundering and uncertain as to where she stands with willow. her immediate assumption is that oz is more important to willow than tara is, and that willow will leave her now that he's back. willow doesn't dissuade that notion at first, because she still has to figure out for herself that it isn't true. but once willow has figured out what she wants, and understands that what she wants is tara, she makes sure to tell tara this in no uncertain terms.

willow shows up at tara's door and, once invited in, begins to say something. but tara cuts her off. tara thinks willow is here to break up with her to be with oz and interrupts willow to say that she understands. "you have to be with the person you love." but willow gently corrects her. "i am." willow corrects tara in a way that affirms the truth of what tara has said. she does have to be with the person she loves. it's just that the person she loves happens to be tara.

tara, uncertain but hopeful, meets willow's gaze (she had been avoiding it before) and says, "you mean...?" and this time willow jumps in and says "i mean." reassuring, loving, gentle. tara is so insecure about her place in willow's life, about her right to be with willow. she's insecure in her words and her ability to wield them; she speaks softly, she stammers and trails off, and often she chooses to say nothing at all. by repeating tara's words back to her, willow shows her support for tara and what she says. she shows tara that tara isn't wrong to speak or to hope that willow will want to be with her. she isn't wrong to voice that hope. again, willow reaffirming the veracity of what tara says.

"okay?" willow adds, checking to make sure that tara understands. there has been so much previous miscommunication that she wants to make absolutely sure that she's being clear. tara replies, "oh, yes." she gets it. they're finally on the same page. willow apologizes for her behavior earlier in the episode: "i feel horrible about everything i put you through, and i'm gonna make it up to you, starting right now." a sincere apology, but also a flirtation, as she steps closer to tara and smiles. a promise to show tara she loves her not just with her words but also with her actions. "right now?" tara repeats. another repetition, but now tara is repeating willow's words. tara's checking to see that she understands correctly, but she's also flirting back, if her smile is anything to go by. maybe she's also thinking about how it feels to speak of willow's love for her out loud, something she's avoided doing for most of this episode. willow's affirmation of tara's voice gives tara confidence. though tara has spent much of this episode minimizing her relationship with willow and avoiding mention of it, now she feels emboldened to talk about it out loud.

and then willow nods, and tara smiles and blows out the candle. cut to black. i love that this scene ends with willow and tara communicating without words. it's such a shift from earlier in the episode where they're frequently misunderstanding each other and uncertain of how the other feels. they've so fully succeeded in communicating their feelings that they're now in complete understanding and can continue to communicate without words. demonstrating the power of words, but also reminding us that words aren't everything. it also hearkens back nicely to 4x10 "hush", when tara and willow first bonded. their voices had been taken from them, so they were unable to speak, but they connected without words. there are things you can know without having to speak them aloud. but the speaking aloud can also be useful sometimes.

[smoooothoperator]

untouchable

14: Mastermind

Lando Norris x OC (Violet Sinclair)

same group friend, unrequited love, acquittances to lovers, ski trip, love triangle, life as lovers

Words: 3.9k

Warnings: a lot of fluff and a little of drama

a/n: Happy Valentine's Day!!!! I think this chapter fits this day because of what happnes here!

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Every way of feedback is very welcomed

His kisses on my shoulder were the reason I woke up. His hands on my stomach were the reason for my smile. His body pressed against mine was the reason why I turned around and wrapped my arms around him.

“Good morning” I whispered, hiding my face in his chest, breathing his scent.

“Morning, beautiful” he whispered, making me giggle. “How did you sleep?”

“Really good” I smiled. “Should we get out of bed? I can smell pancakes downstairs”

“Oh yeah” he laughed. 

But we stayed in bed a little longer. Somehow, this felt intimate. Laying face to face, naked and with our hands and fingers exploring each other's body. Sex wasn't necessary to be intimate with someone, just feeling comfortable and connected was everything we needed.

“When are we leaving for the next trip?” I whisper, feeling shivers run my body as he traced my spine with his fingers.

“Hm… why don't we go in a few days?” he whispered, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against mine, rubbing the tip of my nose with his.

“Oh? And spend the New Year together?” I smiled.

“Is that okay?” he whispered. “Or you had plans with your family? I mean, we can go whenever you want. I only have to make a few calls and everything will be fine”

“I think that if I go with my family they will bomb me with questions about you” I sighed, kissing his chin. “Since we are practically posting pictures of each other…”

“About that…” he whispered. “You don't mind, right? On Christmas Eve we just played with it and made it look like the pictures were of Max and Pietra. But yesterday…”

“I don't mind” I smiled. “We're doing this the right way. I like it”

He smiled and kissed my forehead, his hand going down my back and placing it on my thigh, pulling me closer and making me wrap my leg around his hip. He just held me, closing his eyes and keeping me close.

“Did your parents call or something?” he sighed. 

“Yeah, they texted me” I sighed. “A picture of them in Athens with Santa's hats”

“At least that's something…” he smiled weakly. 

“I just… It annoys me that since I moved here to London they don't try to be with me” I whispered. “It's like… Once I flew away from the nest they assumed I wouldn't come back. They only came once here, and it was for my graduation and after begging them that it was important for me”

“I'm sorry Violet…” he sighed, rubbing my back. 

“They only care about themselves” I said. 

“Then let them be” he whispered. “You have a family here, a chosen family. You made a life here in London, you have friends here”

“Yeah…” I smiled. “I just… Yesterday I was a little jealous. Your family is amazing, I loved them and I felt so grateful to be welcomed the way I was. They don't judge neither ask for favors”

“You can be part of this family” he whispered, cupping my cheek. “And you will be part of this family”

“Hm? Yeah?” I smiled, somehow understanding what that meant. “I want to be part of this family”

“Really?” he smiled. 

“I-I mean… I feel comfortable with them and with you” I said. “And I think I never felt like this with previous partners. Never felt this… full, happy and relaxed with someone. You are my favorite pair of eyes, my favorite smile, my favorite notification. You are my person, Lando…”

“Violet…” he whispered, surprised by my confession, looking at me, not knowing what was coming next.

“What I'm trying to say is…” I smile looking at him. “I think I'm falling in love with you, Lando. Like, pretty hard. And it scared me to tell you because I feel it's early, but then I just started to think. Maybe I felt something for you before. Like, maybe a tiny bit of love or feelings for you were buried inside my chest. Maybe before Harry got inside my mind, trying to make me think that you weren't good…”

“Say it again” he whispered looking at me with a smile, cupping my cheeks and stopping my mumblings. 

“I'm in love with you” I smiled, holding his cheeks.

“Be mine” he whispered. “For real. Like, be my girlfriend. I planned to ask you during the trip, but this wasn’t in my plans”

“You know that Taylor Swift song?” I chuckled. 

“Mastermind? Oh yeah, she got inspired by me” he joked.

“Idiot” I laughed. “But my idiot”

“So it's a yes?” he smiled. 

“Mhm” I chuckled and hugged him. 

“You are officially my girlfriend?” he smiled and I just nodded, kissing his lips as a way of sealing this, of telling him that I'm his.

And somehow, it scared me. But I tried to brush it off. Because I know that I will be happy with Lando, that he wouldn't do what Owen, Jared or Michael did. He can love me right, he showed me…

“Let's go have breakfast” I whispered, hiding my hm face on his neck and pressing a tender kiss on his skin.

I took a deep breath, sitting on the bed and looking at him, watching his hand travel towards my waist, pressing a soft his on my back while his hand moved upwards towards my chest. I closed my eyes at the feeling of his warm palm under the curve of my breast, making me bite my lip and sigh.

“Not here…” I whispered, looking back at him.

“It's inevitable” he sighed, sitting behind me and kissing my cheek. “You are beautiful, it's unfair I can't touch my gorgeous girlfriend”

I laughed softly and pressed a soft kiss on his lips before getting up and grabbing yesterday's clothes, getting dressed and waiting for him to do the same while I watched through the window.

“This house is really beautiful” I said. “The kids have space to play, your sister has her horse close…. I like it”

“Yeah?” He smiled, standing behind me and wrapping his arms around me, kissing the back of my head. 

“Mhm” I smiled leaning on him. “Like, it's the perfect family house. Big lands, space for kids, lots of rooms… It obviously screams that your parents have money, but they did a great job with this place”

“Hypothetically speaking… Would you like a house like this?” he whispered, making me swallow thickly. “I-I mean, if we're just still together! Which I'd love to, you know. Like, we're at a good age to settle down, think about the future… those things”

“Lando…” I sighed, tensing a little, turning around and placing my hands on his chest.

“I get it, really. You don't want to think about that” he smirked weakly.

“It's not that” I sighed, kissing his chin. “It's just… I want to see what this leads us to, okay? You just asked me to be your girlfriend, and even if we are in love, we have to see how this works. How we work as a couple”

“I understand” he nodded. “But…”

“Lando” I smile, cupping his cheek. “Now I'm blinded by my love for you. But I just don't want to start making plans too soon. What if something happens and we won't have that future you want, hm? What if… I don't know. What if we fall out of love? What if this is not what we want?”

“I would rather die than fall out of love” he said, seriously. “I would rather die than losing you and not having a future with you”

“Lando…” I mumbled, somehow touched by his words.

“No, Violet. You don't get it” he smiled weakly cupping my cheeks and kissing my forehead. “I love you. So much. And it would kill me to not be with you after waiting so much to have you in my arms. I would do everything I can to make you stay, you hear me?”

I sighed and nodded, cupping his cheek and hugging him. His words worked, but still…

“You are that person for me, Violet” he whispered. “You are the love of my life. The person I picture when I dream about getting married, the person that holds my baby for the first time laying in a bed. You are that someone for me”

I couldn't answer that, I can't tell him that I'm scared of it. Because I dreamed that once, but that person was the one that forced me. 

“Let's go have breakfast” he sighed, unwrapping his arms around me and walking out of the room.

“Lando…” I sighed, following him.

“It's okay” he smiled, turning around and holding my hand. “I'm happy. Let's live the present”

I sighed and followed him, holding his hand and kissing it. We sat on the table and I didn't let go of his hand, holding it tight. He grabbed his phone and read some things about work as well as answering other mails.

“I have to stay here in January” he said and I looked at him.

“Oh? Why?” I frowned. “I thought you were free from work?”

“I mean, free from sim and anything related to the car” he sighed. “The sponsors things and taking measures of the suits and the seat is better doing it now that late”

“You will have sponsor meetings?” I asked him, leaving the mug on the table after listening carefully.

“Yeah… and the annual end of season dinner with the team is in two days” he said smiling. “So I guess I'll talk with Oscar and know if he will reserve a room so I can reserve one too”

“You can stay in my apartment, you know?” I said. “I mean… To save the money. And if Oscar wants to, he can come to spend time in my apartment, because obviously the spare room is my office…”

“Are you sure about this? I just don't want to be a burden…” he smiled weakly, turning his body to face me.

“Come on, don't be silly” I smiled. “I love having you around, you make me feel less lonely. And Oscar is a really nice guy, so he can keep you company whenever he wants while I'm out working”

“I just want to give you space, Violet” he smiled weakly. “I know you like being on your own…”

“I like it, yeah” I nodded. “And I like it when you are around, too”

“Okay” he smiled, giving up and hugging me.

“But you have to know that you will do chores too, hm?” I chuckled and kissed his cheek, looking at him.

“Just don't make me cook” he joked.

“Alright” I laughed softly.

“Well, then… I guess I'll have to go to Monaco to get a few things” he sighed, looking again at his phone. 

“Maybe you can go today” I said, leaning on him and looking at his phone. “You can go and come in the day, right? Then, you drop me at the apartment and while I work you can go there and come back”

“Okay” he nodded, kissing my temple. “That sounds good”

It was so easy asking him to stay with me for a little longer. So easy and scary. Asking him to stay with me for a few more weeks sounded good, it meant that I could wake up next to him more days. But at the same time, it meant to see his clothes in my wardrobe, his toiletries in my bathroom. It meant being domestic with him, living with him. 

Living with my boyfriend. Again.

But I tried to erase those thoughts from my mind. I tried to ignore the anxiety in my chest, the fear and panic. 

Lando would never do what they did to me.

After hugging his family goodbye and promising them that we would come back some time, we got in his car. A two and a half hour road trip, filled with music and our voices singing the songs, with his hand on my thigh and his thumb rubbing soft circles on my skin.

When we arrived to London he dropped me in front of my apartment building, holding my hand and kissing me softly.

“I’ll come as soon as I can” he smiled, bringing my knuckles to his lips. “You want me to bring something for dinner?”

“Oh, that would be great” I smiled nodding.

I got out of the car and walked inside the building, smiling when I saw that he was still there, waiting for me to get in the elevator.

“It's good to see you smile again, miss Sinclair” the receptionist said. “You had a package while you were away”

A package. Again.

“O-oh… Thank you” I smiled, grabbing the small box he held in his hands. 

“Is he your boyfriend?” he asked, looking at Lando's car that just left. 

“Mhm, yeah” I smiled. “We started not long ago”

“You two make a wonderful couple. I'm happy for you” he smiled.

I nodded and smiled, looking down at the box and getting on the elevator. 

Again, the same vibes, the same ball of anxiety in my chest while I looked at the box decorated with a bow. But I didn't open it, leaving it at the end of the wardrobe, not wanting to see what's inside of it.

I looked around and sighed, getting changed and putting my clothes on the laundry bag. 

I took a deep breath and looked at my wardrobe, swallowing the lump that wasn't letting me breathe, and closing my eyes as I started to remember things.

“What side do you prefer? I think I left enough space, right?”

I smiled looking at Owen, watching how he reorganized his clothes to make space for my clothes. 

“It's perfect” I smiled. “This is enough, don't worry”

Owen smiled and stood next to me, wrapping his arms around me and kissing my lips. We have been dating for a while now, and since my landlord asked me to leave my apartment because he wanted to make a reformation that would last a few months, Owen offered me to move in with him.

“We should buy some new things, hm? To make the apartment a little more cozy” he whispered against my lips. “Maybe we can go to IKEA and look for some things for you? I was thinking about making a space for you and all your make up there”

“Like a dressing table?” I said smiling, brushing his golden hair with my fingers.

“Mhm, yeah” he smiled. “And definitely adding a table for you in my office”

“I would love that, babe” I smiled, kissing him.

“You do?” he smiled. “How about this?”

He pulled away from the kiss and then I heard something tingling next to my head. A pair of keys. The keys of his apartment with a keychain of Poseidon's trident.

“Oh!” I gasped, laughing.

I took a deep breath, shaking my head, wiping away the tears I let slip out of my eyes, noticing them after I felt a tasty flavor on my lips.

No. I can't let those memories come back. It's not fair for Lando.

I got up from the bed and started making space for his clothes, as well as folding the ones he left here from the previous days he stayed. I did the same in the bathroom, making space for his things and hanging another set of towels for him.

I should be happy. I found love again, I deserve it. But why am I afraid? Lando showed me what it is to be loved again, how good it feels to have someone that cares for you and wants the best for you. And I was the one that told him about staying with me while he has to work here, why am I feeling this anxious? It will only last a few weeks, not forever.

What is this feeling? Why am I scared to see someone else's clothes in my wardrobe?

And that conversation in the morning with Lando… He really thinks we will last? What if something goes wrong? His job is dangerous, even if the security of the cars are better now, that means nothing to all the possibilities that can happen. Does he not remember that car burning after a crash? Or that driver in Belgium's race years ago? He said he would rather die than lose me… Was he serious? Just the thought of that makes me feel nauseous. 

I don't want to lose him. I love him, I love him so much. I should focus on that, only that. We love each other. Yeah, that's everything I need to think about. Not about traumas, or self doubts. Our love is stronger than that.

I was happy. So happy that I could stop smiling for the rest of the day.

When confessed her feelings I thought I was still dreaming, having to pinch myself to check if I was awake. When she asked me to stay with her for a few more weeks while I had work to do I just pinched myself again.

Now I have two marks on my arm. But I didn't care. Not at all.

I tried to be as quick as I could to grab all the things I needed and pack them in a suitcase, because I wanted to be back with her. I had to pack a suit and something I could wear to the dinner in McLaren. I should invite her, right? Just to introduce her to them as my girlfriend.

I looked at my phone and sighed, watching all the tags in my Instagram, the mentions on Twitter. They are talking, they are researching who is the person in my pictures. And for a moment I wanted to not be famous. I wanted to be able to post pictures of the person I love and not explain why I do that.

But I'll do it once she's ready. 

The happiness in my chest was too big to let my mind think about those pictures I received anonymously and I didn't think xfot a moment about them, about the heaviness of leaving her alone.

All I could think about was coming back to her, unpacking my things and sleeping next to her again just to wake up next to her. Maybe it was too soon, maybe she did that because she wanted me to save my money, but the fact that I was going to live with her and have my things next to hers made me happy.

I had previous relationships, not a lot, but never to the point of living together, even if it was for a few weeks. I never experienced something like what I'm experiencing with Violet, I never had that need of showing them what it's like to be loved because none of them lived what she lived. And it makes me happy to be the one she chose to love, to make her believe in love again.

On my way back to the airport, with the suitcases and everything I needed, I looked at my phone, looking at all the pictures I took of her and all the pictures my siblings made of us. She looks happy there, a smile I never saw before, not even when she was with her last boyfriend. And it made me smile even more, because I was the reason for that smile, the reason why she closed her eyes and smiled when I kissed her cheek, or the reason why she blushed when I whispered sweet nothings in her ear.

My cheeks hurt because of how big my smile was.

Until I received a text. A from an unknown number.

unknown: well, well, well… I see you don't have brain cells, hm?

unknown: you can't get an indirect when you receive one, right? The speed might touched your brain to not let you think clearly

I frown reading those texts. Who is this? Who got my number?

unknown: Violet Sinclair is mine. No one else's

unknown: I guess you'll be the next one I have to remove

Lando Norris: who the fuck are you? You want money? I'll give you whatever you want. Leave me and my girlfriend alone

unknown: girlfriend? Oh boy, how funny is this going to be

I frown and block that number. What the hell? Who got my number?

Now I was panicking. I have to be with her, I can't leave her alone. What if someone is stalking her? What if someone breaks into her house and hurts her?

As soon as the plane landed I called her. I need to know if she's alright.

“Hey” she answered, and with her voice I could tell that she was smiling.

“Hey” I sighed, relieved. Good, she's alone at home, no one is with her. “I was wondering… what do you want for dinner?”

“Chinese, maybe?” she said. “I'm too lazy to cook something, actually”

“Then chinese will be” I smiled. “I'll be there soon, just landed minutes ago. I have to get my car and I'll be there”

“Alright, I'll set the table, then” she said. 

“Okay” I nodded. “I'll see you soon. Love you, bye”

“Love you too” she said, giggling.

And that happiness came back, mixed with anxiety and fear. 

The time went by slowly, maybe it was the traffic. I called a Chinese takeout and ordered dinner for us, so in the moment I arrived they could have them ready. I just want to arrive at her apartment and hold her, check that she is alright, that no one is around stalking her.

It scared me, thinking that someone could hurt her because of me. Somehow it reminded me of my last relationship, of the death threats and the hate.

But I can't let this affect me. Love is stronger than that. Our love is stronger than any threat.

With the car smelling of Chinese food and flowers, I parked it not far away from her building. I got out and grabbed everything as best as I could, making sure I didn't drop anything or break the flowers. The receptionist of the building opened the door for me and I smiled grateful, going towards the elevator and taking a deep breath while it took me to her floor. Leaving the suitcase next to me, I dressed the doorbell, waiting for her to open.

“Hey- Oh!” she gasped when she saw the flowers. “You didn't have to!”

“But I wanted to” I smiled, letting her hold the bouquet before I walked inside with the suitcase.

I smiled and looked around. I always liked her apartment, how clean and welcoming it is, with white furniture and a scent she always changed with the season of the year. During winter she always used sweet scents like vanilla or caramel, during spring she used floral scents, during summer she used frutal like peach or tangerine and during fall she liked the scent of wood.

“Let's have dinner first” she said, grabbing the bag hanging by my arm. 

“Yeah” I nodded. “I'll take the suitcase to your room.

She nodded and kissed my cheek, walking towards the kitchen while I went to her bedroom, smiling when I saw an empty side of her wardrobe and the clothes I left here already hanging in there.

This was a little dose of what I want in the future. Of the affirmation that I want to settle down with her.

And it felt amazing.

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[lilyginnyblackv2]

A Japanese video talking about Riku - Mentions the "Love Triangle."

I just found a video talking about Riku (in a sort of "10 Things You Didn't Know About This Character" kinda way). The creator of the video is Japanese and the video itself is in Japanese. Here is the full video:

They talk about 10 different things in regards to Riku, the full list of things they talk about can be seen in this image:

But the point I'm mostly going to be focusing on is #4 - 恋愛事情 or "The Romance Situation."

When the creator gets to point #4, they call it "The Sora and Kairi Love Triangle" (三角関係).

Then bring up the whole "eating (sharing) a paopu fruit with Kairi" stuff. But before jumping right into that, the creator compares Sora, Riku, and Kairi to other popular shonen trios of the time:

First mentioning Naruto with Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

Then Ash, Misty, and Brock. The creator notes that this kind group setup (a trio with two guys and one girl) was really popular around this time.

And that such a dynamic (two guys and one girl) has a lot of potential interest for a romance/romantic situation to come about. Which then brings up back to the whole "sharing a paopu fruit" with Kairi situation.

Specifically the scene in KH1 when Riku races Sora and says:

That whoever wins gets to eat (share) a paopu fruit with Kairi. But, then the creator of this video notes that the reading of this scene isn't necessarily clean cut:

Rather that it is unclear if this moment is just a moment meant to tease and embarrass Sora or if Riku was speaking honestly. Then they mention what Nomura says about Riku and his motives in KH1:

"Riku trying to return Kairi's heart to her wasn't about his feelings for her [Kairi], but rather his strong need to repent for the sins he committed." The Japanese word 罪 (tsumi) can also mean "wrongdoing," but I feel like Nomura is talking specifically about "sin" here, since he used the word 懴悔 (sange) as well. That word is shown to have strong connections to Christianity and Christ. The Japanese Wikipedia page for the word is specifically talking about the idea of repentance and sin in regards to Christ and the like.

(Personal little sidenote here, but this bit of info adds an extra layer to the conversation between Riku and Esmerelda in DDD, since that movie is steeped in Christianity).

Bringing this back to the video and what the creator had to say about this quote:

First, they note how there was no reference to Riku having romantic feelings for Kairi.

So, while knowing about Sora's feelings for Kairi,

It's reasonable to assume that Riku was simply teasing Sora in that scene.

Now, for most Soriku fans, this is old news. Many Soriku fans are aware of this quote in some way, shape, or form, and that interpretation is how we've viewed that scene for ages. But, I think it is important to have someone who is Japanese, speaking in Japanese, and talking about Nomura's quote in Japanese actually bringing up this line as well.

This is even more important, because this Japanese creator doesn't appear to be a Soriku shipper (he might agree with the idea of Riku having feelings for Sora, but he doesn't seem to ship Sora x Riku). After all, he does specifically note that, in KH3, Sora and Kairi are "completely in love with each other" (完全に両想い). So, to this Japanese individual, that paopu sharing scene is meant to be romantic.

The creator of this video also points out that "Riku picks up on that" with the "that" being "Sora and Kairi are completely in love with each other," and shows the scene of Riku on the beach not looking bothered by this. (In Japanese, they state that Riku is 空気が読む - reading the room).

Then they end the video by stating that they "wish people would stop saying that Riku might like Kairi."

I wanted to share this video, because while I do think that there are a number of poorly translated moments in KH (especially in KH3), which either just do the character dirty or causes certain parallels and context to be missed or miss placed in the English version...I don't necessarily agree that the Japanese text makes Soriku or Riku having romantic feelings for Sora more obvious nor do I think that it makes Sokai come off as less romantic than it is intended to be.

When I first played KH3, it was in Japanese when I was living in Japan. The Sokai stuff came off as romantic, poorly written and on the same level as the usual battle shonen stuff (of which this creator made a parallel/connection to with the trio dynamic in a way), but still meant to be read as romantic. Riku and Sora moments still made my eyebrows rise though, as per usual. (Edit: Also, to clarify, I do still think that there were aspects of drifting apart or feeling left behind, especially on Kairi's end, and there was still a lot of queer subtext in KH3, but whether Nomura actually ever does anything with that...).

But, yeah, I think there has been some misconceptions spread about Soriku and Japanese KH fans in general. There seems to be this feeling that like every KH fan in Japan ships Soriku or what have you...but that really is not the case. Soriku fans in Japan ship them, they likely also have queer readings of their bond and the text, but the regular, run-of-the-mill KH fan in Japan will see Sokai as romantic and the official/canon pairing, and view Sora and Riku's bond as friendship.

Though, Soriku is still an extremely popular pairing and I do think that, like in English speaking spaces of the fandom, there might be more of a general acceptance that Riku has feelings for Sora. But, not everyone in Japan holds these views, just like in English speaking KH spaces.

Let's just take a quick look at the comments:

One of the comments that has 14 upvotes notes the heartwarming nature of seeing Sora and Riku go from enemies in KH1 to fighting together "as friends" in KH2. Another comment notes how Sora and Riku are childhood friends. One commentator states that "Riku has Namine, so he'll be okay." Meanwhile, another comment talks about how they think that "Riku is definitely in love with Sora" they use 恋 (koi, which is used when talking about romantic love specifically). One of the replies to that comment notes how they find Soriku to be "hotter and more emotional" than Sokai. The creator responded with a laugh and a general sort of "no doubt (lol)" statement.

I'm going to check and see if there are any other Japanese videos talking about Riku in general. This video was a great little insight into a Japanese POV on Riku and general Japanese fandoms thoughts on Riku. Like with any fandom space, it's a mixed bag.

If you do decide to check out the video above or leave a comment, please be nice and kind. I just thought this was interesting and a good reference / source to point out when it comes to that Nomura comment about KH1 Riku and his motives and Riku's feelings (or lack there of) for Kairi.

[sillyyuserr]

terukane analysis, and/or just random stuff, i have too many prompts in drafts but they’re too small to be their own analysies so they’re here pt. 2 💫

I already made one of these a bit ago, so if theres anything not here it’s either in that other one, or i just haven’t covered it (yet)

Item A: “I like Akane-san”

When teru says this, it comes out differently in every language. And seemingly equally ambiguous which i find interesting

for example, in the french translation of this line, teru says "I love you more than you might think akane" rather than saying “i like akane-san” and i mean having a mistranslation here is obviously something, but what he actually says is just what?

“i love you more than you might think akane” EXCUSE ME??

also not to mention “san” is gender neutral. He very well could be calling akane by his first name and them (akane & nene) misunderstanding what he said. Although he does refer to aoi as “akane-san”, the translators wouldve translated it to “aoi” instead of “akane” if he was referring to her (or not, im not completely sure on how they do the translation 😭)

Item B: queer association

(Edit: Im fucking dumb and forgot to add the panel of that one dude yelling “no i want to be his boyfriend!” But i can’t find it for the life of me so pretend its here)

not only is this one of the only canon queer characters in tbhk, (my guy only got one panel 💔) but also this associates “queerness” or wtv that means with teru

along with akane mentioning both genders being attracted to teru. Again, associating queerness with him. And you may be wondering, why is this important? well, notice how out of all of the main and/or reoccurring characters, he is one of the ONLY characters to be associated with queerness. (The only others being kou; his friends teasing him about wanting to “undress mitsuba” and akane; the whole yamabuki thing) for example, take note of how scarily popular aoi is because of her beauty, shes like a literal god, everyone loves this girl, but notice how never once has a girl ever confessed to her? actively not associating her with queerness, unlike teru.

and notice how the other characters that are associated with queerness are kou, who (its pretty much been canonized atp) has romantic feelings for his male friend mitsuba, and AKANE. The guy i swear he has a crush on like cmon now AidaIro can you be more obvious

Item C: reoccurring patterns

in tbhk, all of the confirmed/obviously implied romantic relationships between the main characters have been supernatural x human, hanako and nene, mitsuba and kou, akane and aoi, excluding only teru and aoi. But this does not exclude teru and akane, almost showing us that in the love triangle between teru, akane and aoi, it may not be revolving around which one gets with aoi, but which one gets with akane. It seems as though teru x aoi was never an option from the start.

Although teru has said he likes aoi, his actions say otherwise. for example teruaoi’s conversation in the convenience store was obviously extremely awkward, the only non-awkward part being when he helped her out of that creepy interaction with the clerk.

And the face he made when akane asked/assumed he had a crush on aoi

(Which he never definitively answered)

The point of this section was because of these reoccurring patterns we can conclude akane is the main love interest, not aoi.

Item D: their relationship

Something teru likes about akane, is how no matter what he doesn’t seem to ever give up. Which yes in some aspects this can be a bad thing, coff coff

But most times, you can kind of tell this is a big reason he likes akane, almost like a “he pushes him down, he gets back up” kind of thing, its a big part of their dynamic. If akane wasn’t like this, their dynamic would change a lot. He likes this because as stated in the spinoff, he kind of uses akane as a “stress toy” (which has obviously changed, as their relationship did when the series progresses) but he likes this because at the end of the day, akane will come back. No matter how many times he ties akane up, he returns to the student council room. No matter how many times teru pushes akane down (in this example, literally) he gets back up.

Something i like about terukane, is their relationship. The trust and motivation they give one another. For example, its shown early on Teru has disassociates himself from other people. Teru views the living as “delicate” and kind of makes it his job to protect them from supernaturals (when i say he made it his job i mean his dad did). He was raised to have a very different view towards the living vs supernaturals. Rounding this back to Terukane, teru doesn't view akane as “fragile” like other people, and I think that's something to take note of. The reason he thinks like this could definitely tie into the fact that he’s half supernatural but also he views akane in a higher regard then most people. Akane keeps up with him, teru actually acknowledges this, saying he values his intelligence and enjoys talking to him. 

Its kind of been shown teru has had a hard time making friends ever since grade-school, i mean yeah he talks to people, but the only people he’s lowered his guard around has been tiara and kou (siblings), and akane. A literal supernatural (the kind of person this guy is supposed to exterminate??) Literally what makes akane so special? This guy is the most popular person in THE school, second to none, and the only person besides his family that he can let his guard around is akane? They both work in the student council, president and vice president meaning they work in extremely close quarters, everyday, giving them lots of time to talk, so its no doubt they became close, but out of everyone, teru choosing akane to put his trust in is just odd to me idk man

Item E: bringing up each other alot

in many instances, teru and akane bring eachother up when they aren’t even involved in the current situation, or unintentionally show us they think about eachother more than we think they do, a few examples:

Teru talking ab akane to his family. Call me insane but i have alot to say ab this one. This one really gets me because that would mean throughout his entire way home from school, including if he fought off supernaturals on his way back (which he seems to do pretty much everyday), from the last time he saw akane, he had to have been thinking about him the entire time. Since they are in the student council they stay together for most of the day when its not their extra/curricular classes or lunch, meaning they probably stayed together until about an hour after school ended, and according to google

School ends around 3:50 to 4pm and their after school activities last until around 6pm. In one chapter i forget which one, kou complains about his brother not being home much and whenever he is home he’s usually sleeping or too sleepy to answer him properly, (and in art of their ‘home life’ teru is always either sleeping or sleepy) because of his constant fighting with supernaturals well into the evening. Now lets assume at this point teru has left the school building, and about a few (5) minutes down the sidewalk and he runs into supernaturals, fights them off yadayadayada, at this point it’s presumably now 6:30-6:40, now lets also assume they live about a few (5) blocks away from the school, one block presumably taking 5 minutes each, times the 5 blocks they live away, taking approximately 25 minutes to half an hour to walk, plus the additional time he took to exorcise the supernaturals on his way home, which by this point we can probably assume its 7-7:20 now which is around an hour after families/people usually make dinner, we can assume he gets home at the 7-7:20 mark, sits down with tiara and kou to have dinner when this panel was shown

Meaning for an esitmated two and half, to three consecutive hours, akane was on teru’s mind. Thats a pretty long time to be thinking ab someone teru. I know what you are

Item F: extras

the “Aoi is coming too.” Bro brings him up at any given opportunity

akane having a literal DREAM about him.

Like I havent had dreams with life long friends in them so to have a dream about this boy you “hate” is.. hmmm

Innermost subconscious feelings you say? okay okay so not queer at all yk so buddy so bro of them

Item G: the original plot

tbhk was originally going to be a oneshot manga featuring the love triangle between akane, lemon and aoi but later was cancelled, and in the official manga, they made lemon and akane “fall in love”

obviously as a joke but that shows AidaIro is not oblivious to the idea/premise of the two boys instead falling in love with eachother, rather than the girl, so the idea (i talked more ab in a past analysis) of teru&akane getting together rather than teru&aoi or akane&aoi getting together is ON THE TABLE

would add more but i fear this will take me too long💔 new chapter next week yall prepare urselfs

[waynepistachio]

I find it incredibly interesting that the song used here when El kisses Mike and he stands there completely confused when they bring up the topic of him saying that he loves her and he assumed he didn’t hear her since he was talking to Max (The First I Love You)

Is the same song but remixed and slowed played in this crucial scene here when Nancy and Jonathan deny their romance lying that they’re “just friends” when clearly they are in love with each other even though neither has admitted it verbally (The First Lie)

But the thing I noticed the most is that the fact the song played here with Will (Being Different)

In the scene where Will is practically breaking down confessing his pent up emotions the past year with Mike not having really talk to him and struggling with the fact he wants him romantically and feels like he’ll never have the love with Mike that El has is literally another remixed and slowed version of The First Lie except this one is MASSIVELY remixed. Notice how every one of these similar music pieces are literally the revolving around a love triangle, realization of feelings for said person in the triangle and it’s always a Wheeler and a Byers like……????

Obviously we don’t know much about Mikes POV involving Will and his feelings but I find it INCREDIBLY important that they’ve made it where this melody is literally only played with the Byers/Wheeler relationship I think this music alone is a massive hint that Mike could indeed in fact end up with Will romantically.

[bar-cat73]

This is very important for me to know…

What’s your take on one-sided radiostatic as well as their dynamic in general?

Ooooo let me think 🤔🤔🤔

Tbh as much as I love watching those silly gooses…YOU COULD CUT THE TENSION WITH A KNIFE 🔪🔪‼️‼️‼️

We know Alastor likes to be this way with everyone, push people’s buttons and watch them short circuit, but vox is taking this PERSONALLY‼️‼️

and I know damn well it’s not just cuz he’s pissy abt Alastor rejecting his offer to join his team. So let’s get into some theory’s~~~

One of my personal favorites however~~~

(and imo one of the most realistic)

✨ One sided radio static✨

Vox fell head over heels for this adorable psychotic monster (who wouldn’t) and Alastor broke his heart. WHY IS THIS A POSSIBILITY❓❗️‼️ SURELY YOU CANT BE SERIOUS

WELL I AM AND ILL TELL YOU BUT DONT CALL ME SURLEY 😏😏😏

So I don’t think it’s been confirmed by Viv but google says Vox is bisexual and with this being a very diverse queer show I’d say there’s a PRETTYYYYYY good chance

from what we’ve seen of the degenerate television he’s a charismatic, not so educated, formal attitude, power craving showman. He acts big and bad, like he has any sort of control over anything, but as soon as someone mentions the radio demon SHIT. HITS. THE. FAN.

LOOK AT HIS FACE❓‼️ U CANT SIT HERE AND TELL ME HE AINT SHITTING IS PANTS RN

HES SCARED. HES NERVOUS. HES VULNERABLE.

BUT WHY. that’s the LAST thing you need to be as an overlord, especially a weak one. (Sorry Vox)

My theory is when our little silly goose saw this beautiful triangle ass after his overnight carnage-

he was hooked, hooked, HOOKED.

of course being the childish piss baby that he is, I wouldn’t think he would’ve DIRECTLY confessed. Only small subtle hints and YOU KNOW Alastor was looking like this the entire time-

But my Voxie baby is fucking clueless, doesn’t get the hints and Alastors done with his shit so when Vox FINALLY musters up the BALLS to ask him to join the Vs he kindly declines and it’s assuming he took it personally ever sense…

after all who was ALASTOR to decline this offer, a chances with the VEES❓‼️ HOW. DARE. HE.-

I mean obviously ANYONE would take the offer of becoming one of the VEES, “the most powerful overlords, amazing, blah blah blah” but you know at the end of the day they don’t have power over SHIT at least not compared to THEM.

In conclusion, I can confirm one sided radio static is canon because I was alastors microphone and I can’t wait to see more of the sillies. 💃💃💃

Extra: I LOVE Alastor and Voxs rivaling opinions on technology, the radio and television are both so alike yet so different and I love how that’s portrayed in these characters.

[majorproblems77]

Recalled updated! Okay okay okay im very excited about this lets gooooo!

HI!

How are yall doing? I've been freed, (then I got sick haha.) We are back with the final part of Directionless and we find the main group inside Hyrule castle trying to figure out what to do next.

With some shenanigans along the way.

Okay, time for the important things! Recalled and all panels belong to @recalled11 and its wonderful artist @l3ominor. Go check it out!

You can find the comic page here!

Now, it is time for snacks and drinks, Let's do this! :D

Backgrounds my beloved, you get so much story telling from just this one shot it's great.

MAlon and Time and helping Wild gather information, Sky is resting his leg while flower and Sun discuss something.

Hmm, Sky's looking very serious right now. What's on your mind blorbo?

Look at him run. I love him.

Yoink.

This makes me chuckle. I love when we get Wild shenanigans.

I love how casual he is about this. But I'm gonna note something here.

The orange glow of what I assume is ultrahand. Which would be it, If this next panel didn't exist.

Wild's eye is glowing orange. The eye which changes colour when he's looking at the orb.

So Wild's eye changes colour based on what ability he is using.

Confusion and joy.

Like ust look at these guys

These two are just cackling at Time's expense. And Wild's shenanigans and I totally agree.

The man is still holding his hands out like he's still holding the books.

Flower's little pen for her pura pad. I love it. I can only assume She's got a little diagram on her screen which is just chaos

What's on the paper captain? I hope you didn't tear it out of your book.

I wonder if it's a group drawing of the war heroes looking at a reference picture while trying to find information would make sense. Depending on the length of time it's been since he was fighting that war.

Hiding something are we captain?

I reckon he's trying to figure out just who Time is. And has dug out a picture from the war. (Im unsure, do we get Big Brother Captain? Because I live for Big Brother Captain)

interesting we get symbols for these heroes.

What's the problem Time? Are you looking at someone who you recognise and now he's mentioned your hero title you dont want to talk about it?

Look at Malon, She's like 'You have gotta tell him.'

And Captain looks sad about it. Which tells me that he knows and that he's waiting for Time to approach him.

Thats interesting. We know we get Midna as a companion in Hyrule Warriors. And I assume that Fi mentioned Sky at one point.

I sense some Angst in our future.

Sun putting her hand on Sky's shoulder like that gives me life. i love these two a healthy amount okay.

Also these backgrounds are pretty, I love the triangle behind Sun and Sky here. Thats' Wisdom On the triforce (If observed on the left hand). And considering that sun is in the centre of the frame. I find this interesting. Maybe because they are learning a lot of information right now?

Okay, so you may be wondering who says this line on the left here. I was too. I reckon it's Sky. As a shock response to being mentioned by Captain.

Mainly because From the angle of the speech bubble and the location of the heroes in relation to Wild, it only gives a few heroes. Mainly Sky and Sun.

Sky asking this makes sense as he and sun are the newest to the group at this point.

Okay now its the time for the big one'

The orb. (Or compass,)

I've taken the time to translate the words I can identify and have extrapolated the rest of them from there. The language is Sheika, and most of these words are what (From what I understand) Is what Wild himself identifies each hero as.

So we have, (Rapid fire style)

Hero of Wind

Hero of Spriits

Hero of Sky

Hero of Time

Captain

Me

These all say, Unknown.

A little more on this as well.

This circle around this orange arrow. I believe this is the arrow that Wild has chosen for them to approach. Orange if I had to give you a guess is Twilight's colour. Mainly from this bit before.

Backgrounds give a lot of information by themselves. This looks like a Twili portal.

The reason Wild chose that is unknown to me. During one of his adventures, he encountered Wolfie. So it makes sense. Maybe he was able to identify his name as Twilight. Or called the wolf that himself.

I suppose the next arc will give us more information!

Woo! Adventure time! :D

Okay, thats enough of me rambling.

Thanks for hanging out with me today! I love this comic so it's always a pleasure to write these!

:D

Now I hope you all have a wonderful day!

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

Just a matter of timelines

I 💯 believe Storer never envisioned The Bear as a love story per se but romance was rather a closure/ending for his original movie script. My reason to believe this is quite factual: He said The Bear was actually thought of as a movie about dysfunctional characters finding each other -found family- in a dysfunctional (realistic) kitchen. Not a rom-com. I already talked about that here quoting his interview with the Enquirer.

That being said, I also figured by 02x01 that he had been converted (I assumed by Calo, but ultimately doesn’t matter how) and turned into a Sydcarmy shipper. I go over that here. That’s why his constant gaslighting makes me sick! When I found out that Kasama means together in Filipino and that its owners are married IRL, I was soooo ready to sue this guy.

Anyway, my point is that now with S2 under our belts we can read more into S1 than what Storer wrote originally when all he had was the movie script adapted for TV and no guarantee about the show being picked up for a 2nd season, however, the fact that the ending of the movie/S1 was about leaving the door open for a potential romance between Carmy and Syd as Braciole (Storer has a fetish with naming characters and eps) foreshadowed and that threshold was indeed kinda crossed in S2 (aka the most Sydcarmy season so far), especially in ep 02x09,

it’s important to notice the storytelling length pattern here. Meaning: Storer starts in the opposite direction he actually wants to take, which is what most great writers do BTW and it's not uncommon, ofc. So if he wants to dive into Sydcarmy waters by the end of S3, we can expect a full-on Clairmy renaissance in the first half of the season. You guys know how I feel about her and thus how opposed I am to that, but on Storer terms, the fact that we see Claire get her fucking way at first is gonna be actually a good sign for Sydcarmy.

I have my mind set up to have to wait till S4 to get what I want but with all this new info about the pasta decoding and the storytelling patterns Storer is showing, I’m starting to believe in a S3 Sydcarmy breakthrough. 🤞

There is NO DOUBT in my mind about The Bear getting a star this season or some kind of award like the James Beard that is usually what all Michelin star chefs get first, that’s what makes it so important in the big leagues. More about that here and here.

I have also mentioned that the star will bring them together and also break them up because it comes with a price. And Carmy doesn’t want the star, he wants Sydney and to give her what she wants.

She’s the one who wants The Bear to be a Michelin star spot, Carmy just wanted it to be their spot.

He could have been content with just that. So he will get her the star and probably lose her in the process (I bet but wish I was wrong on this one), which leads me to believe that in S4 he will get her back and that’s why I have my $ on the grand finale, not on S3 for Sydcarmy, but if Storer wants to take a U-turn in S3 as now that I saw this I'm starting to kinda infer... I’m all for it, sure! Unfortunately, he chose the love triangle dynamic, which I hate, to do that, but I’ll take it.

If S3 is Sydcarmy territory as opposed to pre-Sydcarmy territory, I’m here for it.

[musicalmoritz]

I am hopeful about how the anime will adapt TeruAoi

Hear me out, one of the most common complaints about the writing of the manga is that Teru’s crush on Aoi doesn’t make any sense. There’s still the possibility he could like Akane instead (or the even less likely possibility he could like both), but right now it’s strongly looking like his crush is Aoi. I know, I wanted gay people too, but this is what we’re working with. There are hints throughout the manga that he likes her, but most of those come in the form of jokes where he’s trying to get a rise out of Akane. That actually provides more evidence towards him liking Akane than Aoi, since in those scenes he’s focused on how Akane is feeling rather than Aoi herself. So if AidaIro intend on us to pick up on TeruAoi, they’ve done a very poor job. I’d argue that the ship thrives off of heteronormativity, most straight readers (and even many queer ones) will automatically assume Teru likes Aoi and not Akane simply because he’s a boy and she’s a girl. It’s a reasonable assumption, queer rep still isn’t common enough to be the default. But it’s not a great basis for building an actual relationship, even a one-sided one

Look at Kou and Nene, that’s a one-sided relationship that was written well while still making it clear who we’re supposed to be rooting for. TBHK isn’t a love triangle like Twilight, we’re not meant to have equal fuel for both sides because AidaIro ultimately care that we support HanaNene. Kou and Nene have had numerous scenes building their friendship and, by extension, Kou’s feelings for her. However, most of these scenes are intercepted by HanaNene and Mitsukou moments. Their most notable ship moment, the donut scene, was used so that Nene could cheer Hanako up. This method gives Kounene plenty of buildup to where Kou’s feelings for her make sense without disrupting either of the main pairings. It’s also remedied by the fact that Kou gets another love interest fairly early on, so he’s not stuck in the role of the “second choice” for long. That was never really part of his arc but I digress

A lot of my points here are up for interpretation or preference, some fans don’t have a problem with how TeruAoi has been built up. It’s not going to be engame, so some might even say it doesn’t matter. But with Teru’s feelings for her being such a consistent thing throughout the manga, I’d say it’s fairly important that they’re set up well. It’s central to the dynamic of the Sunflower Troupe too, which is even more important. Teru’s feelings for Aoi play into the Terukane rivalry that is so integral to their dynamic, and towards motivating Teru during the Red House arc. Keep in mind, if TeruAoi were well-written, the fandom wouldn’t be so divided on whether or not Aoi is Teru’s crush

There is still the chance that it’s been kept vague for a reason and Teru is actually gay. Please AidaIro it’s not too late-

Despite the negative tone of everything you just read, I love TeruAoi. I’m content with it being canon, although I would rather have Terukane if I’m being honest. I’m a multishipper though, so I want to make it clear that I am by no means a TeruAoi hater. On the contrary, I think they have a lot of potential, and I hope the anime doesn’t waste the opportunity to explore that. So onto the actual point of this rant

THIS CHAPTER. The one that somewhat salvaged TeruAoi’s lazy writing. The chapter that brought TeruAoi shippers rain after a drought. We’re going to see it animated in October. And I am going insane over that

The anime is known for being a poor adaptation of the manga, but in my opinion it has its benefits and its drawbacks. One of the biggest drawbacks is Teru, they completely cut out the arc that delves into his childhood and dynamic with Kou. We lost a lot of his characterization and he essentially became a background character. My boy deserves better than that. But the two new trailers showed a lot of Teru from what I remember (it’s impossible for me to miss my king), and I’m taking that as a sign that they’ve realized his potential as a character. We might get the Young Exorcist arc in season 2, since it’s incredibly important to Kou and Teru’s development both as characters and as a sibling dynamic. This might be wishful thinking but now that they realize people like this series and want to see more of it, maybe they’ll start doing the side characters justice

One of the good points, and this is going to be very controversial, is AoiAoi. The number one complaint I’ve seen about the anime (besides the exclusion of the Young Exorcist arc), is that they nerfed Akane. I disagree. Yes, anime Akane is nothing but a goofy looking nerd who simps for Aoi, but that’s essentially what his character was in the first few arcs of the manga. They adapted him accurately for what they covered. You could just as well complain that Aoi is nothing but Nene’s popular best friend in the anime. That’s true, but only because they haven’t gotten to the Grim Reaper arc yet. The anime notoriously didn’t get to the Clock Keepers arc, but since we’re getting that in season 2, we’ll be seeing a lot more of anime Akane soon. And I don’t think he’s going to disappoint

“But how did they do AoiAoi well if they didn’t adapt much?” I’m so glad you asked. Not many people have pointed this out, but the anime clearly favored AoiAoi in comparison to the other side characters. They added in a lot of scenes that weren’t in the manga, such as their interaction in the garden and the “I’d cut off my own head” scene. I can’t remember them adding in many other scenes, besides Yako’s backstory, so they must have wanted some fan service. The anime really leans into the romance element (for better or worse), which is where I think they could do right by TeruAoi

We’ll be getting the iconic convenience store chapter in October, before season 2 of the anime comes out. This means we’ll get a meaningful TeruAoi moment animated before any meaningful AoiAoi moments have been animated, though AoiAoi has already been setup through the first seasons of TBHK and ASHK. So anime-onlys already know Akane and Aoi have feelings for each other, but before that gets explored in a serious manner, they’ll learn that Teru also potentially has feelings for Aoi. This is good, this will put the idea in viewers heads that Teru likes Aoi before he even jokes about liking her in the main series. The first time his feelings were mentioned in the manga was during the exam chapter, and that won’t get animated until season 3 or 4. So until then, they’ll already have the concept of TeruAoi. And they’ll be introduced to that concept through a serious episode rather than a gag scene of Teru threatening Akane

This will set up the group dynamic well while still upholding AoiAoi as the one we’re supposed to root for. They were established first, and we’ll get more insight into Akane’s feelings during the Clock Keepers arc. It won’t come at the expense of AoiAoi, but we’ll be shown a more serious TeruAoi scene to build them up as competition. That will balance out the two dynamics

I’m also hoping they add in a few scenes of TeruAoi the way they did with AoiAoi. The two aren’t really friends until the Grim Reaper arc, but they could throw in a few gag scenes of Teru sucking up to Aoi the way he’s mentioned to do in the manga. A scene of him being overly friendly to her in the hallway, offering to help her carry her bag, etc. And she could still shut him down in a polite way so they don’t lose the dynamic they have in the manga. I wouldn’t want them to do too much or give more confirmation of Teru’s feelings than we get at that point in the manga, but a few filler scenes could really help to build their relationship. At the very least, it would help Teru’s feelings make sense. But I’m already very optimistic since the TeruAoi episode of ASHK is already going to give Teru’s feelings more grounding. Releasing it before the two of them interact/mention each other in the main anime is honestly the best decision they could have made. It will be pleasantly unexpected to anime-onlys who haven’t seen the characters interact before and don’t know what their relationship is in the manga

Anyways, I know a lot of people are freaking out about the anime getting a season 2 (and I understand why), but I’m trying to stay hopeful. The first season was bad, but it’s a good introduction to the series. It was how I got into tbhk, and I felt it was a good start. It was enough to get me hyperfixated after just a few episodes so it’s not THAT bad (okay, it’s kinda bad). But they still have time to fix the major mistakes they made in season 2, as long as we get the Young Exorcist arc. And either way, ASHK is going to be delightful

[pinkeoni]

The Perception of Will Both In & Out of the Show

Right now I'm working on a whole post dedicated to looking at how Hawkins views Will, and something that I've noticed is how this in-universe perception is reflective of how the audience views him as a character.

Will the Crybaby vs. Will the Villain

tl;dr for a post I haven't even posted yet, but my assertion is that generally the town has two modes for how they see Will, prey or predator. He's either the sensitive, weak "fairy" who is assumed to be the target of violence based on these qualities, or he is the predatory "Zombie Boy" who is going to spread death and disease to the rest of the town.

Many of the critiques levied against Will's character from fans after season four was "all he does is cry!"

And in the same breath, after it was revealed that Will was going to be the focus for next season, the claim about Will's character was "he's going to be the villain!"

So Will is both the overly sensitive crybaby and at the same time, somehow going to be the villain of the final season.

I do think that GA opinion is actually more diversified then people give it credit for, so it would be inaccurate of me to say that this is widely agreed upon amongst fans of the show, although both of these statements, especially that of Will’s villain arc, did go around enough to be mentioned in articles about the season.

Starting with Will's sensitivity, it is one of his character traits. It's important enough for Joyce to mention this when describing him in episode one. Noah often gives Will really big reactions with weepy eyes and a quivering lip— he's a feeler!

Some push back against this critique of character, especially on here, was sometimes met with “But Will doesn’t cry that much! He’s tough! Look at this scene he knows how to shoot a gun!” which is kind of missing the point. It’s not that Will isn’t soft and sensitive, it’s that being soft and sensitive isn’t a problem.

The villain!Will claim, while maybe a fun idea for fanon material, seems to grossly mischaracterize him. Will, from the constant mistreatment he has faced, will turn vengeful and join Vecna to become a villain alongside him. You mean the same Will Byers who told D’Artagnan that he wasn’t going to hurt him? That Will Byers is going to seek revenge?

I don’t think that any of these takes are intentionally trying to be this way, but there is a subconscious undertone of homophobia coming from both of them. It’s a bad thing for Will to be soft and emotional, but he’s also going to become the vindictive “big bad.” The prey or the predator.

There seems to be a refusal from some fans to view Will in a hero role

This I can’t really fault them much for. I had a good back and forth with an anon awhile ago who stated that if the audience does not perceive the story as being Will's or Will as a main character, then this is a pitfall from the show. Which I agreed with. If the show is failing to communicate something, then this is a fault of the writing of the show. (I did, however, offer a counter argument to a claim they made saying that the show did not offer any substantial proof of this at all, in which I said that Will being the center in the first season was a good piece of evidence among some others)

I should note that I say "hero" but I don't mean this in a masculine way, just that Will is going to be the one to save the day, be that in his own way. He doesn't need to "man up" in order to be the hero.

El, for good reason, is seen as the hero of the story. If the next season is supposed to revolve around Will now, then he must either be A) A victim that El needs to save or B) A villain that El needs to defeat. (I made a post about El and Will's roles next season here)

This isn't always brought up, but a lot of the times the love triangle is talked about in relation to this because it goes along with the underlying homophobia. If Will is the focus next season and he is also the hero then there's an implication that he may be successful in "getting the guy" so to speak, just going off of typical narrative tropes. If El is the hero and Will is either the victim or villain then he either A) is saved by El and, out of gratefulness to her, is able to accept that that he won't have Mike and is able to accept the two being together (which wouldn't make sense considering this is the position he is already in) or B) El defeats the evil gay boy who is after her man, putting him in his place. These people can't seem to wrap their head around the possibility of Will getting the love interest in the end and El, still important to the main plot, ending up solo and it being a positive for both characters.

The problem with villain!Will especially is that, along with the fact that it relies on a mischaracterization of Will, is that there has to come a point where the villain has to lose and be put in their place in order for the hero to succeed. I see even fans of Will claiming that they want Will to have a villain arc because of everything that he's gone through. And yeah, Will has been through a lot and he has been treated unfairly by people around him, but he can't have a triumphant ending if he is the villain of the story.

I guess it has to do with framing. In simplified terms, Will, in some way, tries to fight for a better life for himself. If Will is the villain then he must learn to be complacent with the life he already has. If he is the hero, however, then he deserves and gets to earn this better life. If Will is the victim who is saved by El then he must learn to be grateful to her. Neither make sense for a story where Will is supposed to come of age. He has to be the hero and he also has to be one to save himself.

I want to say again that I'm not trying to use hero in a masculine sense, wherein I'm picturing a Conan the Barbarian or Rambo-esque buff!byers fighting in the Upside Down, but rather I just mean using his qualities that others deem weak as his strength. Will is the hero, just in his own way. @therainscene had a really great addition to a similar post I made while I was drafting this one. To quote a genius mind—

It's wild that Will is seen as weak, because he's the toughest motherfucker in the show -- not in spite of being soft and sensitive, but because of it. Being a sensitive gay boy in 1980's America is playing life on hard mode: he's punished for refusing to conform to traditional masculinity, both in-universe and by the audience, and his response is to doggedly continue refusing to conform. He's crying and throwing up the whole time he's doing it but he just keeps on doing it.

[cherish--these--times]

Important information. SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE. UPDATING AS I WATCH THE MOVIE ALONG BEAR WITH ME. The film they watched at the hotel is You've Got Mail, this is Sam and Rebecca's story. When they messaged each other not knowing who the other person was. Ted said Sleepless in Seattle was far superior. This is the one where airports play a significant part and it's about a man who lost his wife and has a son finding love again with the woman he never knew until the last second would be the one. He first sees her in an airport and is knocked sideways. By all accounts the last of Ted we will see will be in an airport based on previous seasons with first and last shot being a character’s face in the same location.

Also Rebecca mentioning she has a private jet and the thing with airports; SUSP AS HELL.

Keeley assumed the moment Rebecca spent with Dutch Guy was "Magic" This is also a quote from Sleepless in Seattle. Turns out it was Gezellig instead. But this is definitely where we're going. And that'll either be Dutch Guy or Ted. Both fit the man who lost their partner and have a kid formula. Definitely not Sam. But Ted tripped over the Red String of Fate, has the matchbook, loves Kenny Rogers, bakes the biscuits who are home to her, she carries his army man everywhere she goes. She hasn't been struck by lightning yet which to me means it's not Dutch Guy; Ted is leaving which means her world is about to be turned upside down. I keep the faith. i don't care.

AND there's a tear in Meg Ryan's wedding dress and she says oh no it's a sign to which her mum says "You don't believe in signs!" And Rebecca doesn't really believe in signs either! All the signs have been pointing to different people except the obvious one! They're there so she can see something about herself she completely missed.

FUCK MY LIFE. It's about making wishes!! Tom Hanks' son in the film wishes for his father to find a new wife!! His son is worried about his dad!!!

The psychiatrist on the radio is called Dr. Fieldstone FUUUUUUCK MEEEEE. IT WAS RIGHT THERE ALL ALONG.

Sam and Annie speak the same words at the same time in two different places, soulmatism right there!

Annie thought Sam sounded "Nice" on the radio and Ted is one of the "nicest" humans Rebecca has ever met!!

Quote from a guy : "This is fate, she's divorced and you need a new wife." (not talking about Annie here, it's another woman) "What is that thing when everything intersects?" To which Sam replies: "The Bermuda TRIANGLE."

One woman who writes to Sam after he was on the radio lives in OKLAHOMA!

Dr. Fieldstone tells Sam she can tell he is a good dad just like Beard told Ted!!

One woman says on the radio: "Why do you want to be with someone who doesn't love you?" (Michelle, anyone?)

"Sam, tell me what was so special about your wife?" "It was a million tiny little things then when you added them all up it just meant we were supposed to be together. I knew it the very first time I touched her it was like coming home, only to no home I had ever known!"

Annie asking a friend: "But when you met her (his wife), did you believe she was the only person for you? That in some mystical, cosmic way, it was fated?"

Sam's friend about relationships:

"Things are different, now. First, you have to be friends. You have to like each other."

Annie talks to her best friend about the concept of DESTINY.

Annie hires a private detective to run a background check on Sam!! Ted wanted Rebecca to do it with Dr. Jacob!

Wonderful addition by @doctorbeverlycrusher : Rebecca’s mom said a couple times that when she loves something, she loves it forever. The main song from Sleepless in Seattle, When I Fall in Love, starts with the lyric “When I fall in love, it will be forever”.

ANNIE MUNCHES ON SUNFLOWER SEEDS ON THE PLANE.

Sam's son to his dad: "Jessica says you and Annie never got together in that life, and your hearts are like puzzles with parts out of them and when you get together the puzzle's complete. The reason I know this and you don't is that I'm younger and purer so I'm more in touch with cosmic forces."

There's even a mention of Horticulture!

We spotted the word Rainbow in the pub game, the romcommunism episode was called Rainbow. Let me leave you with the quote from Ted again.

"Now, it may not work out how you think it will or how you hope it does, but believe me, it will all work out. Exactly as it's supposed to."

I might be setting myself up for disappointment but the writers are building every step up to the cliff egde, baby!

Thank you for coming to my Ted Lasso Talk