#But I have leaving characters as unredeemable

[luna-blood]

I was debating on YouTube about Sasuke but YouTube deletes comments, especially those that have a link. It was also difficult for me to search for the publications. So I gave myself the task of collecting posts from all Sasuke fans and neutral critics of the work 'Naruto' that talk about Sasuke and his relationship with the other Naruto characters. I have also included my contributions, such as questions to other users and post responses. I hope this post helps you when you need support when you are debating in favor of Sasuke. Without anything else to say, I leave you the links:

Positive qualities of Sasuke.

Sasuke's chakra is extremely powerful, voluminous, and denser than Senjutsu chakra!

It is false that Bee could have killed Sasuke any time he wanted.

¡Sasuke has been shown to nullify mortal wounds with Raiton!

Sasuke is literally the first person to survive the Raikage's Liger Bomb.

All Sasuke received from Raikage was a small lip bleed, while Raikage lost an arm and another Kage, Gaara, had to intervene to save his leg and his life.

Orochimaru's "physical condition" has nothing to do with his ritual and Sasuke's victory.

Analysis Sasuke vs Deidara.

Sasuke killed Danzo; he did not commit suicide.

Are Itachi and Kakashi really prodigies at the level their fans believe them to be? No.

The only reason Naruto managed to hurt Kaguya was because Sasuke forced her to change dimensions more than once and she herself had changed dimensions about four times in total.

Because Sasuke haters say that Haku is simply more tragic and a better person than Sasuke; and Batman too!

What is it about Sasuke that provokes people so much, compared to all the other fictional characters (in and out of Naruto) who have done bad things? Gaara was killing people for fun in part 1, but no one ever complains about him not being punished. Zuko from ATLA burned down a village of civilians, sent a hitman after Team Avatar, and was just lucky that no civilian was injured/killed, but everyone adores him. But Sasuke is unredeemable for threatening to destroy the village?

A back and forth on why Sasuke is a much better realized character, with thematic and narrative depth, compared to Kurapika and Zuko.

Sasuke is the imperfect victim unlike the perfect victims of ATLA and Full Metal Alchemist.

Sasuke's character is too good for the Naruto universe.

Are people upset that Sasuke was going to let the Shinobi Alliance perish?

Sasuke as a feminist icon.

Sakura is a female incel.

Sakura is a narcissistic.

Sakura inserted herself because she wanted validations from people who were out of her league, that's why. She is perfect for self-insert.

The mere idea of turning over an entire manga in your head in which Sasuke hides a raging boner (at age 12) for Sakura is... repulsive. Don't you have anything better to do?

Sasuke never kissed Sakura.

The blow on the forehead is not the maximum expression of love.

Naruto Gaiden is a fucking masterpiece! It proves that Sasuke doesn't love Sakura.

Sasuke retsuden is not canon.

Sasuke retsuden is not canon, Jun Esaka herself said it and if you are a fan of Sasuke it is normal that you hate Sakura because Sasuke is unhappy with her.

Sasuke still considers Sakura inferior.

Sasuke didn't push Sakura away because of the curse of hate.

Sasuke rejected Sakura, Ino and Karin, he didn't push them away because he was afraid.

Sasuke is not in love with Karin and did not have sex in part 2 with Karin.

Why Karin's fans say she had sex with Sasuke in part 2.

What does Kakashi know about the genocide and the physical and mental torture that would lead the child victim to a fatal coma, at the hands of a family member?

Naruto is a narcissistic.

Why Naruto is the worst character.

How can anyone read the two chapter panels showing two very different worlds the characters occupy and be surprised by the way it ended? They were not going to reconcile since the world where Sasuke exists is the antithesis of the world where his former team resides.

Lee was never "good” at Taijutsu, let alone being a genius at it. The series' main theme, revolves around bonds. When the manga began, Naruto let loose Kurama (unintentionally) against Haku, breaking all Ice Mirrors that ... no Jutsu could break; and that, happened way back in the Waves Arc. How does that associate "hard-work" with Naruto's character, upon whom many poor souls project their misfortunes to feel vindicated, when two geniuses (Sasuke and Kakashi) in the near-vicinity failed? Naruto powered through this via nothing but brute force; and that isn't a precursor to hard-work. That's the exact opposite. With the beginning of the next Arc, the "if we work hard, we could beat all odds, too" trope lovers got their kicks from Sasuke's humiliation at Lee's hands (or gates?); but then they conveniently forget that Lee himself stated that what Sasuke accomplished was literally impossible for someone like him (he even emphasized on this argument). Gai even went so far as to state that even with the Sharingan's power, Sasuke should never have been able to do what he did (he literally invented his own Taijutsu maneuver from Lee's in a single day; if that's not prodigious, I don't know what is); and Gai, last I checked, is an authority on the subject of Taijutsu, not you—yes, you! Sasuke mastered Kimimaro's CS in under two hours whilst Lee survived simply because Kimimaro was dying and he literally died whilst delivering a death-blow to Gaara and Lee; so thematically, narratively, and metaphorically, Sasuke matched an adversary against whom both Gaara and Lee lost? That and Lee was outshined by Sasuke twice in a row, going so far as to undermine Lee in his own life endeavors that involved years of sweat and tears?

Shikamaru's revenge is meaningless unlike Sasuke's.

People who support Nagato but vilify Sasuke sound a lot more idiotic than they think.

In defense of Fugaku.

How does Sasuke's revolution develop?

Why didn't the narrative validate Sasuke's radical change from Konoha's Will of Fire to the Revolution?

Itachi massacred the clan out of conscience.

The difference between Kushina and Itachi is not that big.

The policies of Tobirama Senju and the Uchiha genocide.

At what point will people stop demanding Sasuke?

Tsunade was at the forefront of the Second Shinobi World War that massacred the people of Nagato, plundered their land's resources, and continued to use the land as a battlefield resulting in mass deaths, poverty, and suffering. A war that Konoha started.

Why do so many people still blame Sasuke for Sasuke's past?

Uchihas do not have mental illnesses.

Sasuke vs Readers without empathy.

Kishimoto canon vs Studio Pierrot fanservice.

The brilliant change of perspective and theme between Hebi and Taka Sasuke; and that there is no writing defect in the moment in which Sasuke stabs Karin to reach Danzō.

Tobirama never accepted the Uchiha as true allies like Hashirama did, never trusting them, something he admitted so openly that his brother had to warn him "not to continue pursuing the Uchiha." And the Uchiha weren't planning to kill innocent people, they were planning to take over the government itself.

Kishimoto is anti sasusaku and anti naruhina.

Kishimoto never wanted to write Boruto.

The real Sasuke fans.

Sasuke winking at Sakura was never happened in the manga, it was a translation error.

[hadesisqueer]

Just fully read Azula In The Spirit Temple, and I gotta say, it definitely is an improvement from her characterization in The Search and Smoke and Shadow trilogies; this comic understands her character more than those trilogies combined.

There is something I don't believe I fully like, which is the notion that she 'rejected redemption' from the spirit. That thing seemed to be overall a Lotus Eater Machine rather than something that actually was trying to help her Zuko gets Iroh and Azula gets a giant centipede disguised as an old woman that makes her have hallucinations —something she struggled with in the past— and give her 'redemption' through fake dreams and fantasies and lies. I doubt that thing had any good intentions at all, but anyway.

I do love things about the comic: there were some parts that reminded me a bit of Zuko before his redemption arc, and that while the comic doesn't redeem her and doesn't say she'll be redeemed, she's not approached as an unredeemable person either.

One of the things I loved was that flashback of Azula firebending for the first time and being seen by Ozai and Ursa doing so, and the implications later. Ozai was seemingly excited, Ursa wasn't. Take into consideration that Azulon arranged the marriage between them was to make a powerful line of benders. Azula and Zuko were children of the second son and they weren't originally born to rule, they were born to be weapons.

So Ursa looking serious and afraid —and young Azula looking confused, probably thinking her mother was scared of her— while Ozai is elated upon realizing that his daughter is a firebending prodigy and the implications is great, most of all when the spirit later shows Azula a warped version of the memory where Ursa looks actually happy and proud. Azula was like 'no, that wasn't how it went, my mother wasn't proud, she was scared of me, scared for me.' Because Azula herself realizes that her mother was scared of the path her father was going to make her take.

And then we have a few moments later Azula talking to her mother again, and her telling her mother that. That deep down she resented Ursa not just because she thought she loved Zuko more than she loved her, but because she thought she protected Zuko over her as well, that she saved him from being killed-- and then left. Azula tells Ursa that she abandoned her, that she wasn't there to protect her from Ozai and prevent him from turning her into his weapon, that she didn't have a choice and that if Ursa had been there to protect, she wouldn't have turned out-- like that.

Of course, I feel sympathy for Ursa, and Azula is hypocritical and refuses to take responsibility for her actions several times, blaming others for them or for leaving her. But in this comic we see for the first time something that's been obvious for many of us but wasn't acknowledged yet, and Azula acknowledges it herself: that she was an abused child. That Zuko wasn't the only victim of Ozai, she was his victim as well. That she felt neglected by her mother, and that while Zuko had had both Ursa and then Iroh to support him, Azula didn't have anyone to protect her from Ozai shaping her into his firebending weapon. And it's confirmed that Azula doesn't like being a monster, she hates it, and wishes someone had helped her. Azula wishes her mother had been there to help her and protect her from Ozai the way she felt she protected Zuko.

And it is shown, too, that Azula doesn't really hate Zuko, either. Or even Iroh. Otherwise, neither of them would have appeared in the dream the spirit gave her of the perfect scenario from her—her whole family happy and together, and proud of her and loving her. Zuko doesn't even have his scar; in her perfect world, she has a good relationship with her brother and he was never burnt by their father.

Even later, when she's shown fighting and arguing with an hallucinated version of Ty Lee, Azula doesn't even actively try hurting her; she manages to knock Ty Lee out and when the spirit asks her 'are you going to kill her?', Azula is startled by that suggestion and says 'why would I do that?', which shows that deep down she does care about Ty Lee. And Mai, in a way. Messed up, but she wouldn't want to actually hurt either of them, and it was already obvious in the show how much their betrayal affected her. Despite her messed up approach at it, it was clear and continues to be clear that Azula cared about them and did think of them as her friends. In her messed up way, again. And even now, she doesn't even entertain the idea of truly hurting Ty Lee.

And while she does reject 'redemption' (I still think that thing didn't truly want to redeem her tbh), she also-- kind of does choose it? Instead of attacking the Fire Warriors for betraying her, when she finds them-- she just looks at them being happy together, and instead turns around and leaves. She chooses to let them go and go on her own way, in a similar way Zuko let Appa go.

The comic did well with Azula's characterization of being a person who's hurt many people and done awful things while also acknowledging that she is also a kid, an abused one, that she wasn't born a monster and she dislikes being one and that she wishes someone had helped her, or acknowledge that she was hurt, too. It's shown that while she doesn't acknowledge this, she still really needs help.

It was good reading it, really. I don't think it necessarily means Azula will be redeemed in the future, but I don't think it means she won't be, either. Yeah, she messes up her chance at 'redemption', but Zuko had to be dragged crying and wailing by Iroh into doing the right thing several times, and he himself rejected his own redemption and betrayed his uncle in The Crossroads of Destiny. So Azula rejecting redemption now doesn't mean that in a future she couldn't still be redeemed. Zuko did get worse before he got it right.

Again, Azula in this comic reminded me a bit of pre-redemption Zuko several times and I find a few parallels between them. Honestly, while not perfect, I feel like this comic could be kind of read as Azula's equivalent to Zuko Alone in some way.

[maingh0st]

The hate Taryn gets is way too exaggerated and disproportionate. It’s just straight up misogyny at this point, in my opinion. The fandom needs to get over it.

I could literally write a treatise about Taryn-hate at this point lmao. I’m going to share some thoughts (this actually got quite long), but I want to include a big ole disclaimer: at the end of the day, everybody gets to engage in fandom in the ways they want. everyone is free to love or hate whichever characters they want, for the reasons that feel valid and real to them. that being said, the treatment of Taryn specifically is really troubling and bizarre to me. 

I think it’s worth pointing out that when we say Taryn-hate seems misogynistic, that means a lot more than just “people who hate Taryn hate her because she’s a girl.” in my opinion, fandom misogyny toward her often gets couched in broader terms. some examples of what I mean by this are:

(1) Taryn does things that are bad and I don’t like that - uhhhh okay. everybody in these books does shitty things, so let’s think about why specifically the actions of Taryn (a 17-18 year old girl being manipulated by multiple men in her life) fall into the category of unredeemable for you. the reason we might point to this being misogynistic is because it’s a double standard that doesn’t apply to other characters—we’re willing to forgive Cardan his cruelty, or centuries-old Madoc for the trauma he's inflicted and his ongoing need for bloodshed, but Taryn is just a stupid, evil girl for trying to secure her place in Elfhame through the levers of power that are available to her. she can never be forgiven nor redeemed no matter how loyal she is to Jude moving forward. why is that? what sin of hers are so particularly evil to warrant this response? and we have to answer these questions in the context of Elfhame & its moral code, not in the context of our own world.

(2) I could never see myself acting in the way Taryn does and therefore I don’t like her - okay? I can never see myself acting like Madoc, or even like Vivi (don’t get me started on Vivi & the fact that she gets passes Taryn never does), but that doesn’t mean I can’t have empathy for them. I understand that we experience the books through Jude’s perspective, so we’re automatically more prone to rooting for her—and to be clear, I love Jude! but fiction challenges us to experience the world through other perspectives, and it’s my opinion that Taryn acts in a way that is completely consistent and understandable with her experience of Elfhame. “I’m not like you,” she tells Jude. “I want to belong here. Defying them makes everything worse. You never asked me before you went against Prince Cardan—you didn’t care what it brought down on either of our heads.” 

while Jude’s defiance is held up as girlboss behavior (by me, too! I love a “get worse” arc), Taryn’s more traditionally feminine approach to finding her place in Elfhame is reviled (@slightlyrebelliouswriter23 has a great post on the fawn response to trauma & on passivity). more on this point below. 

(3) Taryn isn’t a “girl’s girl” - I am begging fandom to think critically about why Taryn betrays Jude & what that says not just about Elfhame, but about our world. these girls live in a world that affords them little power and agency. we meet them on the cusp of adulthood, and they’re both hyper-aware that they need to secure their place in Elfhame. Jude refers to knighthood as “earning” her place and is uninterested in marriage, but Taryn seems aware that she’s more likely to secure her place through the latter option (and also expresses the fear that Jude is going to leave her behind). it’s an oversimplification, but a useful one for the sake of this conversation, to point out that Jude chooses a more traditionally masculine approach, while Taryn chooses a more traditionally feminine one.

the tragedy is that this world—and particularly the men in their lives—pit them against one another. Locke offers Taryn the thing she wants most, requires a vow of her secrecy, and then begins flirting with Jude (and that's not even to mention him being a gancanagh!). at a point in her story where Madoc and Oriana are the only family who are still around for Taryn, Madoc capitalizes on Taryn’s ignorance (and also her awareness that she's never been the favorite daughter) & uses her to betray Jude. I almost never see these complexities brought up in conversations about Taryn, which is just gross to me, and echoes the ways that patriarchal power structures pit women against each other in the real world. 

I’ve seen people argue that while Jude’s approach is also flawed, she at least doesn’t betray Taryn. and like… kind of? she certainly doesn’t betray Taryn as directly as Taryn betrays her—but some of that just strikes me as dumb luck. consider what might’ve happened if Dain hadn’t died at the end of book one. what lengths might he have asked Jude to go to in order to prove her loyalty to him? or if we rewind even further—it’s honestly just dumb luck that someone didn’t harm or kill Taryn (Valerian, for example, could've chosen the wrong window). Jude’s antagonism of Cardan & his friends had a direct effect on Taryn’s life, and even though Taryn begged her to stop, she bullheadedly charged on. the difference is that Jude’s risky decisions ultimately work out for her, while Taryn has to face the consequences of hers not panning out the way she wanted them to. 

this isn't exhaustive, and there’s so much more I could say, but this is already so long. so in conclusion, the reason all this matters to me personally is twofold: 

at its best, fiction teaches us empathy. part of why I love tfota is because it takes characters & dynamics that are really messy & helps you, the reader, understand where everyone is coming from & why. the fact that we love Madoc is a testament to fiction’s ability to do this. so why is a teenage girl treated like the true villain of this story? what about her makes us incapable of empathy? why, in the mind of the fandom, is she not allowed forgiveness (or even just a chance at redemption) for the harm she's caused, while other characters are? I see people stanning Nicasia, who actively tortured Jude (over a boy, no less!!) ffs

fandom misogyny reflects our world. why are people eager to forgive toxic male love interests, yet hold the bar impossibly high for girls? why is there such a narrow set of choices & behaviors that we consider acceptable for female characters? Holly wrote a story about two young women carving out places for themselves in a world hostile to them, hurting each other in the process, and ultimately deciding to forgive, love, and root for one another—and fandom has taken that complex narrative and pitted them against one another, upholding one as the girlboss who can do no wrong while treating the other as scum. misogyny thrives on women treating each other like the problem, so if this is our attitude toward a fictional story where we’re afforded direct looks into characters’ thoughts, how much worse are we going to be in the real world, faced with real, imperfect women?

anyways, in conclusion: you're entitled to dislike taryn, but if you feel such vitriol toward her that you're literally making hate posts (or commenting under fanart of her!! holy shit), I invite you to interrogate where that hate actually comes from. fin.

[oscconfessions]

I will personally never truly understand II Taco hate. I dont get why people see her as some unredeemable pos that deserves nobody. Yeah she really needs to get some help, but people literally think shes some villain, everyone treated her like one, shes such a tragic character I personally cant see her like that after watching II15. Like if she was unredeemable, would she not have actually been upset about Mic leaving her? If you dkd pay attention to her expressions, Taco wanted to help Mic win so she(Mic) wouldnt have to feel what Taco have felt back then. If MePad is willing to help Taco despite her wanting to push him away, I personally do see her as a redeemable character. Shes truly a tragic character, not some one sided villain.

.

[marvelstars]

Anakin did not realize Clovis was forcing himself on Padme. He said later that he only saw the two of them “kissing.” He also glared at Padme and said she had “no say in this” when she asked him to stop the fight. Clovis was definitely an unredeemable asshole, but Anakin was not defending Padme’s honor. He was trying to punish her for cheating on him.

Nobody is sympathetic to Clovis; we’re sympathetic to PADME, whose husband didn’t even acknowledge the hardship she was experiencing, and even put her mission (which he knew about) in jeopardy because he couldn’t control himself.

I disagree given I have seen some posts talking about Clovis being some kind of pro-feminist character, I know it´s because many hate Anakin but that´s why I felt the need to make the post about Clovis, I believe he is a boring character in general but I wanted to explore the context of his appareances in Clone Wars.

How was Anakin trying to punish Padmé exactly?

Punish her by beating the guy who was trying to kiss her agaisn´t her will which actually counts as sexual assault?

by stopping beating Clovis when Padmé asked him?

by leaving her alone and in fact breaking their relationship when she said she wanted to end their marriage?

I guess we just very have different perspectives on what "punishment" means

Anakin admited it was wrong to beat Clovis and I also believe he feel bad more because he stopped her "investigation"even when it was going wrong if she could not stop Clovis from taking advantage of her, she certainly wasn´t in control of the situation when Anakin found them.

I personally believe Clovis deserved no less but well I guess for some fans Anakin must be in the wrong no matter the circunstances and that´s ok, fandom is allowed to be biased, just don´t get on my case when I notice the double standard.

I get you point about the problems on Anakin and Padmé relationship but I disagree with it, in fact that´s why I said I understand many fans for hating Anakin on many things, including his relationship with Padmé and that some fans see this scene as a preview of their confrontation on Mustafar and that´s why some fans glaringly ignore Clovis trying to force himself on Padme but the whole point of the scene between Anakin and Padme on Mustafar is the fact Anakin ISNT LIKE THAT, Anakin was in the middle of a breakdown and full on the darkside on Mustafar, that´s not how he behaves, that´s not himself, that´s him losing himself to the darkside, the whole point Lucas wanted to make on Mustafar was the fact Anakin wasn´t like that, he wasn´t "Anakin" anymore, he was Vader now and that´s why Padme recognizes this and tells him he is going on a path she can´t follow.

This is also why Anakin feel horrified after beating Clovis, not for defending Padmé but for his violence and that´s also why he agreed to end their marriage recognizing Padmé didn´t feel secure in their relationship anymore and he left her alone, because guess what? he actually cares about his wife, so he listens to her when she says their relationship is over and didn´t even try to argue with her.

But I guess is easier to paint Anakin as an evil guy on all circunstances. I get it truly but this doesn´t mean I won´t notice when fandom ignores context to suit their biased view on Anakin.

[luckynumber-8]

Been thinking a lot about the whole "Alastor redemption arc" as a possibility for Hazbin seasons future (2 or onwards, this has the potential to be a several-season narrative). I think, in order for Alastor to really change in character for the better (intentional or not) he has to completely fall apart first. Whatever corner he's been backed into by his deal will probably make him more and more desperate to do absolutely anything and use everyone he knows however he feels he needs to to free himself. And I mean ANYTHING - this guy is not only a psychopathic cannibalistic demon serial killer, but also a soul-owning overlord with serious control issues. He could go on a pretty dark spiral to feel like he's staying in control when he's really losing all semblance of it - especially when he considers himself an unredeemable villain, and he's proud of it (it makes him untouchable, or at least feel that way).

Bridges are going to get burned with the main cast, and he might destroy just about every good relationship he's built. But this is Hell, and if he's in a soul contract with either of the people who we all suspect, it's not going to go well for him, and he's going to hit rock-bottom when he realizes he no longer has any control AND no one to turn to.

But that's where Charlie comes in.

Yeah, she's going to be mad. The betrayal will sting, especially when you can see just how much she wants to see the good in Alastor. And I can't imagine we won't make it through Alastor's downfall arc without him cashing in his favor in some twisted way - even if it doesn't hurt anyone else, it'll hurt Charlie. She won't want to forgive him, and she'll distance herself dramatically, likely just enough for Alastor to go and get himself into trouble.

But Charlie (and her crew) has that unfortunate all-forgiving, all-accepting streak that gets her into trouble so often... when it really matters, she'll do whatever she can to save him because that's how she is. And because Alastor is Alastor, that might be finally enough to get through to him - somebody helping him out of a situation that he would have abandoned anyone else in, assuming that they'd leave him without a care because he betrayed them (because that's what he would do). And yet here she is, stubborn demon child, back to save him for what reason?? Out of the goodness her heart?? No one in hell does things like that. It's HELL.

Ridiculous. Impossible.

Or maybe not, because here she is.

((Bonus brainrot: I can also see like a reverse Stockholm lol (getting close to people to use them and then WHOOPS accidentally getting close to them for real). He already admitted some level of fondness (which, for Alastor, is saying something) to Niffty in that last balcony scene, probably because he views her like Pentious's egg boys - someone small and insignificant to everyone (at least pre-Adam stabbing lol) who spews crazy things all the time. He can tell her things because it doesn't matter if she repeats them; everyone takes what she says with a grain of salt.)

[codenamesazanka]

Its not even a matter of being a villains fan or not, the writing is just genuinely bad because it contradicts dekus character and interrupts shigarakis storyline. Deku was written to set himself apart from others by using his stablished inherent goodness to save (not kill) the "unredeemable villain", that was his narrative challange/conflict, like it was done with uraraka and shouto (except they are not the MC). This is not a overanalysis, its literally how the author was writing his mc lmao.

Hi anon, again(?)

I'm not disagreeing with you! About Deku being bad writing. Sorry if it came off that way. I think the story really did mostly tell us about Deku's attributes without showing them, and also effectively gaslit us about Deku's uniquely great drive to save and that all the stuff he did was in service of that 'saving'.

I have to point out, though, that technically killing was never off the table. Nana asked him if he had the resolve to kill, and Deku said 'Dunno. Maybe there will be no other way', and only after that says he wants to try saving first. Gran Torino gave us the "killing is salvation" and Deku never contradicts him, and now it seems like that was the thing Deku took to heart.

The thing about 'saving' is that - I think - it's in a Buddhist context that this Japanese manga takes place in. Though take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. Idk about Horikoshi's religious beliefs and HeroAca isn't an explicitly Buddhist work, but Buddhist thought is part of Japanese culture, so it's inevitable that its sensibilities and ethics show up everywhere.

'Saving' here means ending suffering, being freed from things like anger and hatred. It doesn't necessarily mean 'not kill' or 'no death'. Sort of like saving the soul. Which is why Deku smashing Shigaraki's hatred is him 'saving' Shigaraki... and then he can just let Shigaraki die. Deku even talks to Shigaraki in the latter's final moments about basically trying to end the cycle of sadness/grief/misery - with him releasing Shigaraki from it.

(I don't think this is unique to Buddhism either... Saving the soul is also a thing in Christianity, right? With death still okay. That's something I know even less about, though, so pardon me.)

Quoting @bnhaobservation :

It's similar to how Midoriya saves Shigaraki's soul and we aren't impressed, but Japanese readers are.

In the western culture when someone dies, at most, we only worry about the soul regretting his wrongdoings or he'll end in hell (that and that he won't look deserving of being forgiven by the audience if he doesn't regret them).

In Japan, when someone dies in a violent way including murder or suicide or dies leaving behind unfinished business or do not receive appropriate funeral rites upon their death, they believe his spirit remains trapped in the world of living and can't move on and this is torture for said soul.

So the idea that Shigaraki's soul was soothed, that was put to rest, is really important and equates to salvation in a Japanese mind-setting... but, to us, it's only a last smile before death.

Deku was indeed written to set himself apart from others - by even bothering to care a little bit about Shigaraki and 'not ignoring the Inner Crying Child'. (But then there was Uraraka, feeling the same way about Toga...) No one else on the Hero side cared, not even All Might and Gran Torino with their connections to the Shimura Family that Shigaraki/Tenko is part of. Deku's inherent goodness means compassion, which, again, he shows by 'not ignoring the Inner Crying Child'. He takes the extra step of trying to save Shigaraki's heart, which technically he didn't have to. He could've just killed Shigaraki from the start. And so that's his great heroism.

Furthermore, he's actually unhappy about being unable to save Shigaraki/Tenko's life. That's a sign of his amazing kindness.

I largely disagree with this. I think 'saving' should've meant also physically saving Shigaraki. I think Deku's kindness was bare minimum, and this is absolutely not "extraordinary heroism". But that's me. I've seen a few Japanese readers also take Shigaraki's ending to mean that he couldn't be saved, or disagree with Deku's violent mind-invasion actions. But most of the reactions I have seen from Japanese readers do agree with Deku having did his best and succeeded in saving Shigaraki's heart, and that was what was needed, and so Deku is a great Hero. This isn't unique to Japan either - good portion of people in Western fandom also seem to agree.

Writing is still bad, though, with Deku being so bland and boring and empty of a character and the story often insisting that Deku doing a regular old thing that other characters have also done is actually the epitome of heroism. Then there's everything else in Act 3.

Thanks for the ask, anon! Sorry you were disappointed.

[bitofanupsidedowner]

people who want will to get a boyfriend who isn't mike make zero sense to me ngl... i get that mike is kind of a jerk but i just don't feel like it makes a lick of sense tbh, and i also just think anything bad thing mike’s done is best justified/made sympathetic and solved by the conclusion he’s been struggling with his feelings towards will. 

mike is in no way this unredeemable person and i think it’s pretty extreme to treat it like he is. he isn’t perfect, but he’s shown that he does care about will much more often than he’s hurt him. just the facts.

like. yeah sure byler has been built up since season one and mike has been written in a way that made it literally impossible for will TO get a separate love interest. despite mike having a literal girlfriend, his jealousy and protectiveness over will didn’t leave any empty space. we all saw his weird reaction to the painting at the airport and how when dustin and lucas wanted to help will on halloween he yelled at them and shoved them away. 

but like... yeah, let's throw him with some random guy we have no time to get invested in so mike and el can keep being a dysfunctional mess with no chemistry or shared interests even though it would make no sense, have no emotional payout and  is not in any way what mike or will need for a satisfying conclusion to their character arcs (or el! it negatively affects all three.)

separating the two would be the only opportunity possible to give will someone new. it would’ve been tricky to make it believable, but it was their only chance after mike’s emphasis in will’s storyline. that in itself is suspicious, but they essentially told us with mike’s little ‘oh shit’ closet moment that they would not be doing that. 

instead, they kept doubling down on mike and will. they even made the cali plotline sort of agonize over it, with mike and will pulling in the most heart-to-hearts of any duo in any one season afaik. the emphasis on their relationship has been too integral to the show. having had wills sexuality in mind from season one, making mike as big an element in that storyline to begin with is not without consequence. they wrote it in a way that made it almost impossible to reasonably go in another direction.  

they spent a lot of time especially in season 4 showing us how mike and will’s relationship comes naturally to them, has a good  foundation of mutual love and respect, and just generally functions better than mike and el and can repair itself without that much effort. even when mike and el are in their ‘good’ phases, they have less going for them than mike and will in their ‘bad’ phases.

will’s feelings for mike are directly contrasted with el’s. mike makes will feel better for being different. he makes EL feel like a monster. with el, she begged him to say it and he denied her, implying he didn’t ‘know what to say’ and agreeing when will said ‘what if they don’t like the truth?’ he denied her what she wanted until will told him to say it. the text is very directly comparing el and will’s dynamics with mike for a reason.

you never say it > i say it

oh, i didn’t say it. > you didn’t have to.

it doesn't make sense to set this up and then retreat back into a relationship that is mutually destructive, that hinders all three characters growth and self worth, and goes directly against their character arcs. it makes no sense to make will in love with mike at all if it was going to end up with a new guy shoehorned in last minute.

 there’s a reason it’s mike and not lucas or dustin that will fell for. there’s a reason that the majority of people are ecstatic about lumax, jopper, jancy and duzie but find milkvan tedious and forced. 

it's filling the same place in my brain rn as when people want will to have a villain arc. it just does not make any sense to me to actively desire  conclusions to arcs that would undo character progress or just completely misshape the character profile permanently. 

it isn’t JUST a romantic relationship will wants. he doesn’t just have a hankering for a boyfriend. it’s not just about having SOMEONE. it’s specifically mike’s love. it is specifically spending his life with mike that has been explicitly stated over and over again as what he truly wants. 

i feel like it’s fairly rare for characters to both know and state plainly what they want, but will does, which i think is honestly so admirable. he admits it when he is at his most vulnerable (rain fight) when it would be more beneficial for him to just pretend. but he doesn’t. he’s hurt, but he doesn’t hide from it. 

the fact he doesn’t even surprises mike, who was expecting for will to agree that changing drastically and obsessing about girlfriends was the natural progression they were supposed to take. after his wish is put into the open and seemingly rejected, he destroys castle byers. 

mike is insecure about wanting this, but we know he wants that too, we just dont have the explicit confirmation if it’s romantic yet. 

the point being that the emphasis has already been placed on not only who/what will wants, but how confident he is in that never changing. he wants it deeply and forever.

it isn’t just a boyfriend he wants, it’s mike. 

that’s the person he has the deepest connection to, that’s the guy who saved him, who pulled him out of the upside down, fought the hardest for him, stayed by his side when he needed him, befriended him when he was five years old because he thought, ‘he’s like me.’ mike gets a lot of criticism, but none of that is how will himself feels. to him, that’s the guy who makes him brave enough to accept his sexuality. it’s mike, it's always been mike, and it doesn’t make sense narratively for him to be with anyone else.

‘what if you want to join another party? > not possible.

[starryeyeddreamer21]

who perchance is your favorite lab rats villain/antagonist who was unredeemed? like giselle, marcus, troy, sebastian, krane, etc

and then who's ur favorite of the original three rats?

i am conducting a silly very biased study

I think my favorite unredeemed antagonist would have to be Marcus. I just think he had so much potential to be more. He definitely should have been, because even though it was fabricated, he was the rats first school friend. Plus since he's an android he was programmed specifically for this mission and to feel the way he does. I feel like if Chase rebuilt him (which I'm genuinely surprised didn't happen) he could have changed for the better. I really did think that was going to happen for a while before finally giving up.

My favorite rat at the moment would have to be Bree, although I do love Chase and Adam, I think it's interesting that the only thing that stayed consistent with her character was how badly she wanted out. She wanted her own normal life so bad but she was scared and didn't want to leave her (very dysfunctional) family because she does love them. She wants to be independent but doesn't want to be alone.

[communist-ant-hill]

OFMD and Revenge

I've been seeing a lot of posts focusing on characters getting comeuppance for their bad actions in this fandom lately.

People are talking about Izzy getting off easy since no one knows that Ed's behaviour is "his fault" or Ed being punished or Stede etc and like,,, no?

If that's what people want then like I get that and I see you, you're feelings make sense and they're about the furthest you can get from an unfounded opinion but that isn't really the approach ofmd seems to be taking when it comes to revenge.

In season 1 we have three major characters who's character arcs are focused on revenge; Jim, Chauncey and Izzy. Their quests for revenge are never framed as desireable.

Jim is basically done with their revenge quest for most of the show, all they really want is getting their knife back, until they return to their home where they're basically shamed for letting go of their grudge. Them continuing to avenge their family is shown to be detrimental. They leave their friends behind and Jackie outright tells them that it's not worth it.

Chauncey is just a flat-out villain this season. Like we get why he's going after Stede, I'd even say the show makes us sympathise with him, but it's also very obvious to us that he's hurting himself and the people around him by refusing to let go.

Izzy want's Blackbeard back, he's stuck in the past and he also develops a grudge against Stede specifically. These are the reasons he becomes one of our main antagonists in season 1.

But this is made even more obvious in season 2, which is why I find it so weird that a lot of people are still rooting for the possability of Izzy being punished.

I think Ed's storyline this season is the shows clearest declaration on how it's going to handle redemption and comeuppance going forward. Ed is pushed over the ledge at the end of season 1 and so far his s2 arc has been focusing on his awful coping mechanisms with trauma and guilt. He's been doing worse and worse things to the characters we love and he fucking hates himself for it. He keeps punishing himself for doing bad things by doing something worse. It's very similar to Chaunceys framing in s1 if you think about it. And he's to scared to stop because he belives that he's unredeemable, that there's no one waiting for him on the other side.

But his crew, his friends, Izzy, Stede even his own imagination (Hornigold) are telling him that he can let go of his anger and that if he'd just show them that remorse without also hurting them, they'd be there. Ed punishing himself isn't helping anyone.

And if we disregard the fact that Izzy has already lost a leg to a long and painfull infection, not to mention the fuckton of mental trauma, we see that he has put himself on the road to redemption by taking accountability for his personal actions as well as protecting the crew from Blackbeard.

Yeah he's technically one of the reasons that Ed is in such a bad place right now, but if the revenge crew aren't insanely pissed at Stede for Ed's behaviour then do ya'll really think they'd react that poorly to finding out about Izzy's involvement?

Like they've been there with him, they've seen the abuse he's endured by Blackbeard and the messed up relationship they have together. I'm pretty sure they'd all agree that he's been through enough.

Yeah he's a dick, and they've basically always known him to be one, but he's their dick.

Idk I just think people are a bit to caught up in moral absolutes here when really the happiest ending for everyone involved would be for the characters to forgive themselves for the pain they've caused, and to free themselves of their personal grudges so that they can properly heal.

[rainbow18]

Sonic Nine and Main Character centered morality.

Once again. This wasn’t made to say Sonic should be highly criticized, but a lot of things people are complaining about Nine doing are things Sonic done.

1. Having a Giant Accident while trying to help the place they love.

When Sonic was hoping to help Green Hill, he had an accident. He didn’t mean to break the universe, he just wanted to help. However he ended up breaking everything, So he became concerned about it and wants to fix his mess.

When Nine was hoping to help The Grim, he had an accident. He didn’t mean to break the Shatterverse, he just wanted to help The Grim. However he ended up breaking everything. So he became concerned about it and wants to fix his mess.

However Nine received more criticism than Sonic. In fact, A lot of People have developed self serving memory and began pretending that Nine’s destroying everything on purpose. (Which is something he never claimed he wanted to do.)

But there’s a GIANT PLOT HOLES with that interpretation. Why would Nine want to destroy The Grim? Why does Nine become fearful and angry every time he sees the Shatterverse breaking? Why does he voice a desire to help when nobody is around to listen? (Consciously or not, Nine’s becoming more like Sonic each time they see each other.)

If it’s because Nine didn’t want to commit suicide, First off, that’s victim blaming. Secondly, Sonic didn’t want to help The Grim. So why should Nine help Green Hill?

(Relationships can’t be “All Take. No Give.” If Sonic wants Nine to help Green Hill than he should help The Grim. It’s only fair. )

2. Bad Consequences while trying to clean their mess.

Until The Final Season/Part 3 trailer opens up the possibility that they found a secret 3rd option, It was highly theorized that The Shatterverse will cease to exist if The Prime Characters are saved. Sonic also began stealing the shards.

Some Fans justified this by saying things “Sonic’s mass murder and thefts are okay because he wants to fix his Mess.”

While when Nine realized that he needs to get The energy in Sonic to save the day, He began targeting him. Fan’s reaction? Criticizing him by saying things like “Wanting to stop everything from vanishing isn’t an excuse to target Sonic and he is completely unredeemable for it”

Well, if Saving Millions isn’t an Excuse to Harm Just 1 person, why should Saving a Minority be an excuse to Commit Mass Genocide?

Since Sonic’s plan involves WAY more deaths, while Nine’s plan involves only 1, if Nine is unredeemable than Sonic is unredeemable.

Besides, even if Nine does end up merging the shatterspaces, it still wouldn’t be worse than what Sonic’s doing.

3. Justifications.

When defending Sonic, people often use one of the following.

It was an accident

he doesn’t realize what he’s doing.

He just wants a home.

As I proved, There’s not a single one that doesn’t apply to Nine. Nine just wanted a home. No, calling the Grim superior doesn’t mean he wants more because then you’ll have to give Sonic the exact same scrutiny for acting like Green Hill is better than The Grim.

Throughout everything, Nine only expressed a desire to help The Grim. He never expressed a desire to harm anyone who isn’t currently attacking him. Nine’s mind is unstable due to his fight with Sonic, he isn’t thinking clearly.

Before anyone goes “But Sonic”, Sonic doesn’t count because 1. Sonic’s death is necessary to save the day and 2. Sonic likely still wants to fix Green Hill therefore he’s a threat.

Sonic became ghostly and everything appears to be stabilizing unless the Portal is the only one left in existence.

The fact that Sonic isn’t already in there, heavily implies that Nine still has the prism in The Grim. Nine isn’t attacking so if he still angry, it goes to show that Nine has a “I’ll leave you alone, if you leave me alone” mindset.

(How interesting. Despite Sonic’s Claims that It’ll be “Game over” if Nine gets to him, the end implies that it’s actually “Game On” if Nine gets Sonic. )

[talknerdytome18]

Seeing all the shit regarding people's opinions on Seb after S4 that went down on Twitter just made me feel frustrated. Since I don't post on Twitter since I only use my personal account, I will just come on here instead.

You can dislike a character all you want. That's fine; I dislike many characters. Nobody is saying that you have to like a certain character; it's FINE to not like certain characters.

However, it is NOT okay to attack others who may like that character. It is NOT okay to erase the impact that character, especially with a character like Seb who is a part of the first openly gay couple in the HSM franchise. You can dislike Seb all you want; THAT IS FINE, but you DO NOT attack others who actually like his character. Stop calling Seblos stans losers all because you don't like Seb/think Carlos deserves better; we all know damn well that you never cared about Carlos until s4. I've seen your opinions about him TWITTER 🙄

Fandom is meant to bring people with the same interest together. People who may feel excluded may find comfort in fandom. By actively bullying others who have different opinions than you, that makes you a bully. You can go off and say "IT'S JUST A JOKE HAHAHA STOP GETTING UPSET", THAT MAKES YOU A FUCKING ASSHOLE. PEOPLE COME INTO FANDOMS BECAUSE OF THEIR COMMON INTEREST; THEY DON'T COME INTO FANDOMS TO GET HARASSED FOR THEIR DIFFERING OPINIONS. STOP WITH THE EXCUSES; I'M FUCKING SICK OF IT.

Seblos especially means a lot to many members in the fandom. To many, they have made many feel seen especially in a time where queer shows are being cancelled. Seblos was the first ship I had ever felt connected to and it makes me feel disgusted whenever I see people discrediting their impact all because of s4.

If you constantly make excuses as to why you're bullying others in the fandom, then you're just an awful person. You people are nothing but bark and no bite; you guys can dish it out all online, but are too scared to dish it out in person. This especially goes for a certain fanbase for a ship that, while is a beautiful ship, has the worst fanbase I've ever seen. I will not group all members as being bad as I've met some lovely shippers who have been kind and respectful. Why can't that be the same for Twitter?

All in all, this type of behaviour is fucking embarrassing. HSMTMTS is over and yet people are still arguing like children all because of Seblos being endgame. You can whinge all you about it, but you're not going to change it - they're endgame and that's that. You don't have a say and your non-existent spinoff will not change that.

You can be upset with the cheating storyline. Many Seblos stans are upset with it too, but it is not an excuse to harass us for still liking the ship.

You can dislike Seb. That is FINE, but it is NEVER an excuse to harass people who like Seb. This goes for anyone who likes a certain character (unless it's someone who is completely unredeemable).

This behaviour has gone on too long and was partially the reason why I deleted my fandom Twitter in the first place. Bullying others will never get you anywhere in life; stop excusing this behaviour all because it's a "joke" to you. It may be a joke to you, but it hurts for the person affected.

And if I, someone who has been trying to move on from HSMTMTS to AGGGTM, have to come here and say this, then you know that I'm pissed. I'm sick of seeing people feeling pressured to leave the HSMTMTS fandom all because some certain members with holier than thou attitudes think it's okay to harass others.

To anyone who has been bullied in this fandom/any fandom space for a silly reason, I am sorry that happened to you. You deserve much better. This blog sees your worth ❤️

Do better HSMTMTS fandom. - Em

[sitp-recs]

Reparo by amalin

Harry/Draco (2008, Explicit, 85k)

Voldemort's final defeat does not mean Harry Potter's troubles are over; far from it. In the aftermath of war, he returns to a Hogwarts that is fractured and divided, but this is no break that can be fixed with a spell. New owls, fading scars, surprising alliances—and along the way, the hardest task of all, to live with it.

'I'm just saying, it's a good thing I never switched to your side,' Malfoy added, sounding more than a little delirious from the pain. 'Never could produce a Patronus. Wouldn't have made the cut.'

I’ve mentioned this fic on a few reclists before but I hadn’t been able to reread it and write a proper rec until now. For those who enjoy old school Drarry, this is excellent 8th year food - quirky, fun, with vivid settings, organic slow burn and fabulous characterization. I reckon unredeemed Draco is not everyone’s jam but for those who enjoy him let me tell you, his proud and pathetic Malfoy voice is an absolute delight. He’s pretty insufferable, prejudiced, arrogant, holds grudges and has that annoying dramatic flair colouring his every interaction. It’s rare to see him embarrassed or caught off guard from Harry’s pov which is why blushing moments feels like a victory for both Harry and us. From bullied Death Eater to the Slytherin champion to Harry’s fuck buddy, he’s complex and fascinating and so deliciously in character I can’t help but lmao at his awful personality. I like this take because it makes me remember that people don’t change that much, or that quickly, especially when they’re so young.

This fic is an 8th year romance with brilliant Gen vibes for the most part, which I love. The Hogwarts routine feels so familiar and I’ve had a blast with their early interactions, all that cute snarling banter and fantastic dialogue keeping me amused and engaged at all times. There are moments that made me pause and appreciate the supporting cast, like the Christmas scene with Andi and Narcissa, or Slughorn’s party - his aloof voice is so on point it feels like he’s jumping out of the books, and Harry soothing Ron’s insecurities about his relationship with Hermione was a very nice touch.

Speaking of characters, I can’t not mention Draco since this is his party, but the Golden Trio is also a delight: this perceptive Hermione (“you got a Malfoy look, you start to look sort of confused and wistful and eager all at once”) who takes notes for inexistent surprise exams + this feisty Ron who instead of exploding just celebrates that his cock is bigger than Draco’s are just perfect. And young Harry has my whole heart - he’s snarky, impulsive and classically oblivious, drawn to Draco in ways he’s not able or willing to explain, and he never disappoints in his classic “do first, ask later” philosophy 😂 his fire and sass complement Draco’s brilliantly, it’s hilarious how he quickly learns how to read and handle him.

The fuck buddies dynamics are as awkward and intense as you’d expect from two horny, traumatized and inexperienced 18 year olds. They butt heads and go for it, never talking it out but finding more about themselves in the process. Despite being so different (and boy do they argue about it) Harry and Draco somehow click together emotionally and physically, with their skinny, scarred, imperfect bodies. Harry can be his true self with Draco and gives back just as good as he gets; they’d be in the middle of an argument then quotes such as “the color of the sky reminded him of Malfoy, a bruised, determined gray” come and take your breath away!

If for nothing else, go read this if you’re looking for a different 8th year vibe, where no character is traditionally nice or easy to love. They’re all both light and dark, sweet but sharp around the edges, and we learn to care for them despite (or maybe because of) their flaws. This story leaves me nostalgic over those good old Hogwarts fics with lots of sneaking around and no heart-to-heart moment, which rings true for two lost boys figuring out who they are and what they want in the post-war. It’s messy, confusing, awkward and dramatic, but also very relatable and real, their future together left open and full of possibilities. Enjoy!

Read on AO3

[noodleblade]

megatron for the ask game?

Hmmmm idk which Megatron because they do slightly change with each continuity so I'll do TFP because he was my first:3

First impression: I did not care for him. TFP was my first transformers show so I had preconceived notions of "Bad Guy" in my brain and uhhh he's in a coma for a good portion of s1 so I didn't really care about him for a while.

Impression now: i love him i love him i love him. hes batshit on crack obsessing over his ex and i love him. love his unfocused gaze as rusty crusty mouth i want to kiss- right. I love how unhinged he is through tfp. Its just soo good??? There is also an artist I found that drew him in such a unique cringegirl way that really helped shape my opinion. (I'll try to find them and link them)

Favorite moment: UGHHH HOW DO I PICK??? THERE ARE SO MANY. I think I'd go with this moment when Optimus and him are fighting with their cringe swords and Optimus sends a wave blast with it?? Megatron is watching in dismay from the Nemesis and Optimus (its a barely there) winks at him and it destroys him. To quote @honkytonka "that's going to set him back years" I think its a really defining moment of how obsessive he is of Optimus in general. Love it love it love it.

Idea for a story: pff ok. I have a megop idea I want to write but its really low priority. I want a sad, desperate, probably drunk Megatron leaving really pathetic awful voicemails for Orion on his commlink...except they still go to Optimus and Optimus is just dealing with this conflict of Megatron mourning their past but viciously denying a possibility of a peaceful future. (also, because im horrible, the idea of this did spur from Arkham City's Joker leaving these deranged, romantic voicemails for Batman throughout the game:3)

Unpopular opinion: hmmmmm what are his unpopular opinions?? Oh, maybe just the show's decision to make him so unredeemably evil? I like Megatron with more moral ambiguity, but there is something very delightful about a Megatron that is fullstop evil, horrible and cruel. idk, i think its fun:)

Favorite relationship: Romantically, megop. They are doing this horrible divorced but still obsessed with each other plotline that makes me rabid. Very much love them for it. Platonically, Soundwave. I like their mutual loyalty and trust. Its not very explicit and the show isn't very deep, but you can see the foundations of genuine friendship there that I think really adds to both their characters.

Favorite headcanon: haha doihaveheadcanonsfortfpmegatronuhhhhhh maybe tfp megatron also writes poetry. i think stylistically it could be neat to see the progression of madness and obsession from a poetry angle. I'M NOT THE PERSON TO WRITE THIS. IM HORRIBLE AT POETRY. But i think it'd be really creative and neat to see it deteriorate from structure and rhythm to chaos and ruin.

[kyouka-supremacy]

What's p/p?

Ah, I meant to say, pp, Psycho-Pass. I usually add slashes to avoid unprompted rambles to show up in main tags, sorry if that resulted confusing.

I love Psycho-Pass. I already made a post about why bsd fans might find it enjoyable, but honestly, there's so much more to it beyond what it has in common with bsd.

The prompts for reflection this series offers are just wonderful: on the relationship between citizens and government, on pervasive systems, on freedom of choice and free will, on safety vs. freedom, on discrimination of minorities and creation of scapegoats, on propaganda and brainwashing, on the increasing and treacherous presence of technology in everyday life, on how government uses technology to control and manipulate people, on fighting the system from the inside vs. fighting the system from the outside. I should watch it again too. It's crazy good.

Akane Tsunemori - the coprotagonist of the first season, the protagonist of the second season and overall the true core and heart of the franchise - is one of the most complex and beautiful characters I ever met. Her growth and character development is truly amazing: the way she starts off as unknowing and naïve, and grows so so much from there; how her writing finds this perfect balance between becoming more mature / hardening and staying true to her beliefs - even when everyone, the system, the people she relies to, the people she looks up to - tell her that there's no other way, that it can't be. It's breathtaking. She is a breathtaking character. The way alone that no matter how conscious and aware she becomes of how cruel the world is, how unredeemable people are, how beyond saving the system is, she still keeps believing in humans… It may sound cliché by itself, but believe me, it's wonderfully executed, and her character is truly amazing. Not to mention, the way she mirrors the coprotagonist Kougami is fabulous, but this is not really about him; she's an amazing character of her own right, and I will die on this hill.

The female cast in general is all amazing honestly. Don't get me wrong, the male characters are just as complex and multilayered (and I LOVE Gino and Kou, how couldn't I), but that's… Something we're more accustomed to, while finding well written female characters is objectively much harder. Female characters in Psycho-Pass aren't written as female characters, they're written as people, just as much as their male counterparts are. They have their fears and hopes and strengths and weaknesses just like any other character. I love Yayoi for being strong and coolheaded. I love (LOVE) Shion for being her fabulous self, kind and flirty and confident and with an heart so big, and for her subverting the trope of guy in the chair by being a glamorous woman who's also incredibly competent at her job of analyst. I love Akane's friends and I don't like season 3 but Mai is genuinely awesome and a joy every time she's on screen. I love Risa so much I could die, I love how strong and independent she is, I love the dilemmas she had to face, I love her choices and how they might have been the wrong ones and how it still haunts her, I love the tragedy of her character in general, I love the doomed friendship that used to be between her Gino and Kou. I love love love Fredrica, I love her being bossy and confident, diligent and determined. There's just a lot of… Strong and independent women in Psycho-Pass, and it's not just a way of saying, they really are.

I LOVE women loving other women, canonly, on screen. The confirmation may be delegated to a small moment in the last episode of the first season, but the fact that it's still there nonetheless, and how it confirms that all the previous moments and exchanges were indeed moments and didn't leave it to ambiguity… It's nice, to say that the first season of Psycho-Pass came out in 2012. And you might have to wait eight years, three seasons, five movies for it, but the phrase “I just want to go outside, dine somewhere nice, and go for walks with someone I love” may make it worth it.

And I LOVE how all the leader positions are filled by women. It's a little funny, honestly, in the best way– despite what I made it look like so far, the Psycho-Pass cast is still men-dominated (or at least a pretty equally split 50/50?); yet all the leader positions are always filled by women: Akane and Mika and Kasei and Frederica and Karina, it's always women.

Also, Mika is a brilliant character. Of course I love her. I'm so so sorry for how much hate and criticism she gets (over being a purposely annoying character! Insane! When Dazai exists!), when she does really and excellent job at conveying “look! A fucked up brainwashed individual in a fucked up brainwashing environment! I wonder how that could have happened!”. Not to mention that her growth, her long and devious way to admitting that the system is flawed, is truly well made, too. Unpopular opinion, characters with big flaws, characters who are unsufferable and make lives impossible to everyone around them, characters who mess up again and again, are actually great to watch.

Again, don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore Gino and Kou too ahah. They're both great!! But that you can probably see by your own. Gino in particular used to be my favourite, how his character does a total 180° turn. I love to see men admit their mistakes and make the choice to be better tomorrow.

About that, the relationships between the characters are AMAZING. Especially the main trio Akane / Kou / Gino, all the combinations within it are beautiful and deep and brilliant, so so enjoyable to explore and with their fair share of canon content, while still never straying to romantic territory (I mean, Akane/Kou may be going in that direction, but if that's true, that's the slowest slow burn I've ever witnessed in my life).

What's more. The world building / general premise - a dystopian world, where your predisposition to do crime can be measured and the government makes use of such technology to monitor and control the population and guarantee everyone's safety - is genuinely interesting and compelling. The aesthetic is genuinely cool (AH, now that I think about it, I've got my unfair bias for people in suits, and pp has a LOT of people in suits… ). The opening and endings feature great artists like Egoist, Ryo, Who-ya Extended and Cö shu Nie, so you're sure to love them!!

(Also, Psycho-Pass is something I used to spend entire nights talking about with a friend, and I'm always thinking about her and hold her tight to my heart in every moment so. That's worth mentioning for me, pfffttt. I love my friend so much.)

Finally, because the other Psycho-Pass post I made here keeps haunting me for the lack of trigger warnings, please be aware: Psycho-Pass DOES have trigger warnings. Pretty much for eveything you can think of. Sexual assault and gore and body horror on the top of my mind, but it's quite dark and gritty at parts in its entirety, so please please keep that in mind if you decide to pick it up.

Well, this is the end of my Psycho-Pass love letter for now. Please give it a chance if you can! I'll go rewatch it now. General watch order, in order of release, is season 1 → season 2 → movie → Sinners of the System movie trilogy → season 3 → First Inspector movie → Providence movie. I don't really like the third season or First Inspector movie (the characters are still great tho, even the newly introduced ones), and I've yet to watch Providence. The first season later came out with an extended edition of added scenes between episodes, and they're quite nice, so if you can't get ahold of it, you might want to look up for a compilation of the missing scenes still.

[missvelvetsstuff]

I've spent the last 2 days going back and forth about where I want The Situation Room to go. The idea came from the show The Newsroom and the main characters(Will and Mackenzie) were exes forced to work together again. I changed a plot point to make the reader more sympathetic and since she didn't do the bad thing that Mackenzie did on the show it makes Will/Bucky's behavior look even worse and potentially unredeemable in some eyes. I always do this with the enemies to lovers trope, make him too much of a dick for her to reasonably forgive.

I considered scrapping the whole thing and starting over, then thought about abandoning the current version to change it back to the plot from the show but hate to leave a story that some people like cuz it's happened to me and it sucks.

So after hours of contemplation and self flagellation I'm gonna write both, concurrently. I'm feeling pretty inspired and have source material to refer to so hope to have both finished in the next week or so. I have 4 chapters of the rewrite done so should be able to post a good chunk of it by Sunday if not sooner.

I swear one day I will have the confidence in my writing to write and post without spending an unhealthy amount of time questioning my work but today is not that day.

Any ideas for a title for the as yet unposted but closer to the Newsroom storyline than what I have written and posted already? It starts the same and is still Bucky and his ex being pushed to work together and clashing but the past and future are not the same. Right now the new one is listed as Rewrite in my works folder and I'm stumped on ideas.