#But yeah we all have fandom war flashbacks

[infinitelystrangemachinex]

Mel for the unhinged character bingo!

yessss YEEEESSSSSSSSS

[secret-engima]

Kumo Thoughts

So this will hopefully be quick but the most common take I see for Kumo in the Naruto fandom is that it's a overly militaristic hellhole (pardon the language) that kidnaps and forcibly breeds any bloodline it can get its hands on and like.

I get it?

the Naruto ninja world is absolutely messed up enough to accommodate a village like that. Especially with- *waves at Kiri*, *waves at ROOT*, *waves at Ame*, *wa-*. But I feel like personally I think that's. The shallowest take? Like if that's how you wanna world build it! You can! Lots of angst and interesting subterfuge down that way.

But we seen in canon that shinobi who live in Really horrible villages do tend to go missing-nin en masse; Kiri is the poster child for this, but Iwa and Suna both have some ... pretty noticeable defections. On the flip side the only REAL Kumo missing-nin we see, iirc, are the Kinkaku brothers.

From The First Shinobi War.

Like- what are things we know about Kumo *really* from the show/s?

and the one everyone harps on in worldbuilding- they tried to kidnap Hinata and Kushina.

HOWEVER. The rest of the things we know about them are:

2. Their Raikage is allergic to doors. He refuses to acknowledge doors. He can and will smash through any wall, window, or other non-door entity in order to exit or enter a room when at all possible. This is not the behavior of a Strict Rigid Militaristic Man this is the behavior of a feral gorilla someone stuffed in an office and expected to do paperwork. Which, granted, A is fully capable of doing his paperwork, by all accounts he's actually really good at running his village. But again. This man is allergic to doors or manners and anyone who is willing to arm wrestle Senju Tsunade to get medical assistance for his own men can't be all bad let's be real.

3. Killer B exists. I feel like he alone is enough evidence against the "military breeding program hellhole" fanon but to break it down. This "brother" of A is not actually his brother. In canon, B is literally just- *some kid*, AT BEST a cousin of the previous Jinchuuriki but that is not confirmed iirc, that was among several other kids that were all lined up and told "we need a new Jinchuuriki and A needs a fighting buddy, run at this training dummy and see if you can help him decapitate it" and when B was the one who succeeded they went "congrats you're his brother now, here's your complimentary octopus monster". And like everyone just accepts this? Not a SINGLE person calls B as a fake brother or points out that he and A are not actually related. Not to mention B has the strongest and most stable relationship with his Biju until Naruto and Kurama work out their bromance, and B was rocking that friendship with his biju *years* before Naruto even knew Kurama was a Thing That Existed.

4. B is also beloved by his village. BELOVED. The people adore him and his weird rapping nonsense. And yeah there's flashbacks in the anime to that not being the case when he was first introduced but B was actually able to work on changing their minds. You really think "small feral child rapping at civilians to make them warm up to him" would have flown in Kiri? In Iwa who canonically keep abusing their jinchuuriki to the point of running off? Nope. No sir. B is also allowed to have a team of his own, and seems to not only be an accepted member of the village but also a much trusted and beloved one who is even allowed his own team? Even Konoha doesn't have that good a track record lbr. It took Naruto face punching the guy who just committed genocide on the entire village for Konoha to go "you know what? We like you now".

5. One of the only other jinchuuriki we see that has fully mastered their Biju state and is on good terms with their Biju while also not being a missing-nin (or brainwashed and then immediately dead) is ALSO a Kumo ninja. Namely the holder of the Two Tails. Now on the wiki it says that she was put through a "detestable" training program but we all know how inconsistent Kishi is with... everything worldbuilding ever. And if we go off behavior alone from the brief scenes with her, Yugito Nii is?? Really stable??? And solid with her Biju??? She gave her pawprint for an Uchiha child's book of cat paw prints for crying out loud.

6. throughout the entire show, Jinchuuriki are consistently treated as the lowest class citizens. In basically every village. Naruto in Konoha, Kushina cried when she realized Minato was going to make Naruto a Jinchuuriki and put him through what she went through growing up as one so you know she didn't have a great time either, GAARA is his own entire dissertation on Jinchuuriki treatment and stability, Fuu was raised by the village leader of her village but had zero friends and was canonically super lonely and isolated, Han and Roku straight up ran away from Iwa because of whatever they were put through, a maneuver only repeated in another village by Utakata from Kiri. But in Kumo we find two jinchuuriki who have mastered their biju, are well respected by their peers and fellow citizens, and are basically treated like any other really weirdo ninja from the village barring needing to be monitored with bodyguards in B's case, which is mostly because he keeps running away to go train under rap artists so you can understand why A is ready to go frothing at the mouth feral at his brother sometimes.

All I'm saying is that if even the village's "monsters" are treated that way, why does everyone stick with the fanon that they're a breeding, bloodline stealing hellhole?

Imo it would be WAY more fun to world build Kumo as the feral mountain ninja-mandalorians of the Elemental Nations, who have a reputation for bloodline theft because they keep finding Actual Strays, Refugees from other villages, and Illegitimate bloodline children and going: YO ANYONE GONNA ADOPT THIS? and not waiting for an answer. Your a missing ninja from Kiri and you're fed up with both them and missing-nin life and want to come work for us? Great. Oh you also have a valuable kekkei genkai that can be inherited? Awesome have you heard of our red light district and child support program or better yet our tax deductible program for marrying one of our lovely civilians and raising a family here where no bloodline purges will ever happen ever. Oh you're a stray Uzumaki on the run from bloodline hunters? Well we may have been involved in destroying Uzushio (depends on your fan interpretation since canonically we do not know which villages did that other than Not Konoha) but we also have hot food, good housing, high ninja standards of living, and free weekly entertainment in betting when our Raikage is going to launch his desk at his brother like a high speed missile because B's rapping got too cringy.

Let Hinata's and Kushina's kidnapping either be the exception to their usual playbook of how they acquire bloodlines (hey it's not their fault if the other villages can't keep it in their pants/can't inspire loyalty) OR have it be seen, culturally in Kumo, as something more akin to a rescue mission. Yes these two girls are useful and have useful bloodlines, that's tactically wise, but also have you SEEN how Konoha treats their jinchuuriki? They have seal master princess and are treating her like a dog on a leash! And literally everyone knows what the Hyuuga do to their own kids if they aren't main branch, and we can't rescue any of those kids without their eyeballs exploding and them dying but hey we can snag the heiress and then any kids she has won't have to be branded so-.

Like I feel that would be so much more INTERESTING? Instead of having Konoha be the only "nice" village and make this weird tonal dissonance for how the "nice" village has the most incompetent leadership (Sarutobi) and underground atrocities (Danzo and Orochimaru) while every other village is Horrible All The Time For Everyone why not have Kumo be actually Really Functional and treat their shinobi and Jinchuuriki well and their horrible reputation is *mostly* (not entirely, because. Ninja.) be cultural clashes between the feral mountain ninja and Everyone Else and propaganda from the other villages who would like their shinobi to STOP DEFECTING TO KUMO PLEASE. WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY HAVE DENTAL.

Seriously I feel like there is so much more you could do with that angle than just "yet another shinobi village that is Bad and Awful and Needs The Power of Friendship yet somehow has this really stupid goofy jinchuuriki man who loves his brother and his village shut up don't think about it".

[ultfreakme]

idk of it's just me but i don't understand, the atla fandom, from all ships existing would just slander zukka out of nowhere. like mf i just want to see my boys being silly and in love in fanwork, why they need to be so mean lmao

I think it's because for close to 20 years, Kataang and Zutara were reining supreme in ship wars and fandom space. Jetko was the main mlm ship before but it didn't have nearly the same popularity. No other ship could even touch those two and those two continued arguing about what's best for canon.

Now though? Zukka's the second most popular ship on ao3- all of those fics and content showed up in 3 years. And suddenly the Netflix actors are pushing for Zukka practically every interview while actively dissuading Zutara(and hinting strongly at Kataang- thanks Gordon & Kiawentiio going "he/she's my.....family, yeah let's say family *wink* *wink*"). They're getting extremely popular and now fucking Netflix, Entertainment Weekly and Deadline are tagging #zukka in the year of our lord 2024(thank you for your service Dallas Liu, braver than the marines). Popular ships unfortunately get hate, especially queer ships, like just as a baseline regardless of if it's a canonically supported or unsupported ship, if it's "morally correct or incorrect".

This 'crackship' that no one took seriously suddenly feels...like a threat to these people??? Like we can joke about hahaha zukka gayyyy but we all know that's just silly gobbledygook right? (Not saying Zukka should or could be canon, but just the fact that people are seriously considering it as a ship option in fandom makes people act weird)

A lot of the the points made for "why Zukka is bad actually" are so funny though, that my initial irritation is fading and I'm just laughing at it. Some highlights that made me actually lose it:

Zukka is misogynist to Katara because, and I shit you not, they think that we think Katara is homophobic sdjfhbbgvh. I was shook when I discovered this was a thing.

Zukka bad because Klance bad (war flashbacks to Voltron)

"Everyone just wants a gay ship smh the chronically ONLINE FANDOM BRAIN HAS ROTTED THE SANCTITY OF HETEROSEXUAL-[EXPLODES]"

Zuko is a colonizer who's oppressing Sokka by dating him (i have no stats but this sounds like a white person trying very hard to sound like they're super inclusive and understand the plights of the colonized and oppressed. and the best way to do it is shit on a fake ship about lines on a page)

Zukka bad because it makes no canon sense

I think people who are Big Mad don't get that we're genuinely just chilling and making silly stuff without thinking too much about what SHOULD happen in canon. Everyone in ATLA fandom takes the show and the fandom far too seriously, like losing a fan discussion is somehow a slight upon their personal morals.

We coasted along without much hate for a good while but the increasing popularity means Zukka as a ship is going to get bashed ;_; I think the best we can do is block and ignore instead of engaging(very hypocritcal of me rn tbh, I'll try to stop).

I don't think you expected this....giant wall of text but thanks for sending me the ask and I totally get your frustration" Just let us enjoy our silly hcs and content!!!

[skepticreadstoa]

The Hidden Oracle: Chapter 4

(Ignore how long it's been since the last post, I do want to try to be more consistent on this blog)

Alright, but Percy actually has more patience then we, as a fandom, give him credit for. Imagine after everything you've been through, two world ending prophecies, missing a full year of high school, having to do catch up for all of that, and then a newly banished god swings by the apartment with a street child in tow, and he walks in and starts salivating at the sight of his pregnant mother. The restraint he has to have had to not throw Lester straight back out the door...

Percy stepped to my side. “Um, Apollo? She’s not cursed. And can you not mention Hera?” Percy said, "We don't use the H word in the household".

If I had still been an immortal, I might have flirted with her myself. Mate. She is married and EXPECTING A BABY. TONE IT DOWN.

Lester/Apollo thinking of how to thank the Jacksons for their hospitality:

Image: https://www.deviantart.com/blood-dripping/art/sink-fire-24038385

I had a sneaking suspicion that Percy had given me this (Icarus) shirt as a joke—the fall from the sky. Despite being in retirement from the demigod life, Percy is still not afraid to be cheeky with a god. Old habits die hard.

I did my usual motivational speech in the mirror: “You are gorgeous and people love you!” We'll see about how you feel about that statement later on.

“Actually, I was thinking about the last time I had a nosebleed.” Percy getting flashbacks at the sight of a nosebleed is too real.

Zeus seemed to consider egotism a trait the boy (Octavian) had inherited from me. Which is ridiculous. I am much too self-aware to be egotistical.

Percy winced. “I hate memory gaps. Last year I lost an entire semester thanks to Hera.” “Ah, yes.” I couldn’t quite remember what Percy Jackson was talking about. During the war with Gaea, I had been focused mostly on my own fabulous exploits. But I suppose he and his friends had undergone a few minor hardships. Ah, yeah, Tartarus? Saving the world? Just some minor hardships, run of the mill, nothing special.

“Besides, my mom’s pregnant. I’m going to have a baby sister. I’d like to be around to get to know her.” “Well, I understand that. I remember when Artemis was born—” “Aren’t you twins?” “I’ve always regarded her as my little sister.” Bro please, your sister helped your mother give birth to YOU. Stop lying through your nostrils.

Percy when Apollo tries to ask him to help get his Olympian throne back: "Nuh uh" "Tf you mean nuh uh?"

[dontbotherwiththepronunciation]

This escalated a lot, (which was a good distraction from everything so I'm taking that as a good thing), so now I have to give:

Warnings: Discussions and mentions of all the horrible things we warn for in Theon's Plotline, particularly the ones about depersonhood, sexual violence, casual violence, classism, and so on and so on + a few suicide jokes and links to artistic depictions of the aftermath of rape.

I moved a few weeks ago and haven't been able to unpack because I got injured during the moving and my other arm is also fucked up because of something else that happened this year and today I finally got to clean around and actually do stuff and arrange my room and I started with my book shelf, which obviously means I didn't actually do much because I just started rereading whatever book I hadn't seen in a while got to my hands. And after realising that I certainly have a type for narratives and characters I started thinking about Hannah from Until Dawn and how amazing it was to have a dead female character with little to no characterisation that subverted the "haunt the narrative" thing we see in many of the asoiaf girls from the dead ladies club and yeah I am thinking about Kyra again and that is not a good mentality.

Elia and Lyanna are given a personality and a face through those who loved them, they feel real because the pain of those who mourn them feels real. Even Joanna Lannister gets some of that through what little we find out of her.

Kyra is a dead lady but she’s not a member of the Dead Ladies Club™. She doesn’t get that privilege. The only person who thinks of her is Theon and it is not done lovingly.

Kyra has a personality we are not privy too. She is a satellite character that is mentioned exclusively in relation to Theon, even in the exception of Bran's POV. Her existence is conditioned to Theon.

Jeyne Poole, although often called one, isn't a satellite character. From the very beginning of the story she is already a presence in multiple POV character's lives, even if her role in the story and her characterisation is weak; She is Sansa's friend, Arya's bully, even Catelyn mentions her and in relation to Robb, but we don't ever see her interacting with her father and none of those characters seems very concerned of her well-being. I don't even know if Ned was planning on sending her with Arya & Sansa or if she was supposed to stay with her father. She later ascends a bit by becoming a secondary but fundamental character in Theon's POV and the Northern plot.

Kyra however is a blank page with a name. This isn't meant as something derogatory. I still have flashbacks of my 2016 experience in this fandom and the way the only kyra stan I ever met would wage a war on jeyne p fans. This isn't my intention.

With exception of Theon there are four other characters that are mentioned to have interacted with her.

Bessa, another serving wench who is implied to have participated on a threesome with her and Theon some time before Bran V, AGOT (Oooh she and Theon were bi4bi!)

Wex Pyke, is mentioned to have slept at the foot of Theon's bed, a bed on which Kyra slept as well. (Oooh Dog imagery and the implied possible witnessing of rape!)

Ramsay Snow...not going to write that. We all know what happened.

Ben Bones, "[...] Even if we do escape, Lord Ramsay will hunt us down, him and Ben Bones and the girls." generalised statement by Theon during his escape with Jeyne. Ben Bones isn't mentioned in relation to Kyra and him being caught during their failed escape.

These aren't even brief versions of her connections, I'm reaching out with many of them.

What else do we know about her?

Ok. She is a serving wench and probably works at the Smoking Log (Source: Bran)

She blushes easily and seems to be embarrassed by public talks of her sex life (Source: Theon)

She seems like an eager lover and seemed to be excited when Theon first took her to Winterfell (Source: Theon)

She had never been at the castle before (Source: Theon)

She acted as the big spoon as they slept together (Source: Theon)

She still refers to Theon as "M'lord" during early ACOK, even if the aforementioned positioning of the two would have us believe there might be more emotional intimacy or closeness between the two (Source: Theon)

Theon raped her (Source: Theon)

Ramsay possibly raped her (Source: Ramsay saying he wanted to bed her)

She was taken prisoner with the other women and children who were at Winterfell after Ramsay sacked the castle. (Source: Theon)

At some point she managed to set herself free, stole the keys to Theon's cell, liberated him, asked him to help her back to Winterfell and failed (Source: Theon)

She threw a rock at Ramsay when he caught her and Theon again, and missed by a foot (Source: Theon)

She was mauled to death by hounds (Source: Theon)

Ramsay named a hound meant to kill other women during future hunts after her (Source: Theon)

He had run before. Years ago, it seemed, when he still had some strength in him, when he had still been defiant. That time it had been Kyra with the keys. She told him she had stolen them, that she knew a postern gate that was never guarded. "Take me back to Winterfell, m'lord," she begged, pale-faced and trembling. "I don't know the way. I can't escape alone. Come with me, please." And so he had. The gaoler was dead drunk in a puddle of wine, with his breeches down around his ankles. The dungeon door was open and the postern gate had been unguarded, just as she had said. They waited for the moon to go behind a cloud, then slipped from the castle and splashed across the Weeping Water, stumbling over stones, half-frozen by the icy stream. On the far side, he had kissed her. "You've saved us," he said. Fool. Fool. It had all been a trap, a game, a jape. Lord Ramsay loved the chase and preferred to hunt two-legged prey. All night they ran through the darkling wood, but as the sun came up the sound of a distant horn came faintly through the trees, and they heard the baying of a pack of hounds. "We should split up," he told Kyra as the dogs drew closer. "They cannot track us both." The girl was crazed with fear, though, and refused to leave his side, even when he swore that he would raise a host of ironborn and come back for her if she should be the one they followed. Within the hour, they were taken. One dog knocked him to the ground, and a second bit Kyra on the leg as she scrambled up a hillside. The rest surrounded them, baying and snarling, snapping at them every time they moved, holding them there until Ramsay Snow rode up with his huntsmen. He was still a bastard then, not yet a Bolton. "There you are," he said, smiling down at them from the saddle. "You wound me, wandering off like this. Have you grown tired of my hospitality so soon?" That was when Kyra seized a stone and threw it at his head. It missed by a good foot, and Ramsay smiled. "You must be punished." Reek remembered the desperate, frightened look in Kyra's eyes. She had never looked so young as she did in that moment, still half a girl, but there was nothing he could do. She brought them down on us, he thought. If we had separated as I wanted, one of us might have gotten away. - Reek I, ADWD

A few things:

1)

2) Kyra's own involvement

I've often seen people take Theon's inner thoughts as a fact. Most of us are convinced that this was all something Ramsay planned all along, that any possible escape was frustrated from the very beginning. I have often even seen fan works in which Kyra knows and tells Theon that Ramsay is planning to hunt them, but when looking closer to the text I find it difficult to believe that everything was a set up. In Theon's memories he mentions how the gaoler was drunk and had his breeches down, which I think implies that maybe it was Kyra who deliberately planned this. That maybe it was her who orchestrated him getting frunk and eventually also had sex with him, perhaps to get closer and take the keys. "She knew a poster gate that was never guarded" also implies that she wasn't held prisoner in the same way Theon was, but maybe was set up to become a slave/servant like Arya at Harrenhall and spent enough time roaming "free" to notice such things. If this was the case and it was her plan instead of Ramsay (who might or might not have maybe set up her environment and conditioned her thoughts of escape) then I think we can maybe add some other traits to her characterisation; we can assume she is observant, resilient and very brave.

3) I wanted to name this section "The Kiss" but then Klimt came to mind so we are naming it Frame 00:09:31 and Frame 00:09:38 of Belladonna of Sadness (tw the links for artistic depictions of the aftermath of rape)

There is often speculation going on whether the lack of something textual in these books can be seen as proof for something else. Canon romantic Jon/Sansa and the idea that Dany considers the Dothraki subhuman are often backed up by this sort of thought process (I admittedly don't believe in any of the aforementioned examples) but I don’t think we’ve ever seen it used in cases like that of Kyra, where I personally find it more fitting. Particularly when it comes to that scene and how Theon doesn't describe her response. I have always seen people take this as something reciprocal and sometimes even beautiful, and Theon internally chastising himself as he thinks of it is often attributed to thinking there was a chance of escape, when it could as well be him chastising himself because he kissed her without really considering how frightening the entire situation must have been for her. Her reasoning for setting him free is that he knows how to go back, not that she loves him or has forgive him. She is said to tremble as she pleads for help, her face is pale, and I can't help but wonder if part of her fear also came from having to beg her rapist to accompany her in her escape.

Based on her throwing a stone at Ramsay, who probably raped her in the past, I like to believe that when he kissed her she screamed, bit Theon and pushed him away.

4) The Girl

There are a few things in that text about Theon & Kyra that in hindsight remind me of Theon & Jeyne.

Some of it is relatively obvious and I have mentioned it in the past, such as the

"You've saved us," he said. - Reek I, ADWD

"You saved me," Jeyne had whispered, - Theon I, TWOW

and

"We should split up," he told Kyra as the dogs drew closer. "They cannot track us both." The girl was crazed with fear, though, and refused to leave his side, [...] If we had separated as I wanted, one of us might have gotten away. - Reek I, ADWD

"Stay close to me," Jeyne said. "Don't leave me." "I will be right beside you," Theon promised - Theon I, ADWD

but also

"Take me back to Winterfell, m'lord," she begged, pale-faced and trembling. "I don't know the way. I can't escape alone. Come with me, please." - Reek I, ADWD

He put a finger to her lips. "We can talk about that later. You need to be quiet now. Come with us. With me. We will take you away from here. Away from him." - Theon I, ADWD

and

Reek remembered the desperate, frightened look in Kyra's eyes. She had never looked so young as she did in that moment, still half a girl, but there was nothing he could do. - Reek I, ADWD

The eyes of the bride were brown. Big and brown and full of fear. It was not right that she should look to him for rescue.  - The Prince of Winterfell, ADWD

Overall my perception of things tells me that there was a drastic change in Theon's character after her death. It is him who this time has comed up with a plan and has to beg/repeatedly ask for someone else to accompany him. Something I find peculiar is how he describes fear being visible through their eyes and the sight of it makes him feel guilt over his lack of agency.

When comparing his behaviour during the failed escape and the flight we see that he no longer plans on leaving Jeyne in order to escape by himself (and we see him prove that during TWOW when he comments on how her ribs broke so HE CARRIED HER jdsfskdjfnsdkjf aren't you supposed to be emaciated???). And while I find that a very noble development, as I consider salvation to be symbiotic, it leads me to wonder:

5) The AU

So many fanworks often depict Theon holding her hand and going ahead as they run, it's a beautiful image but it doesn't follow into what the canon is telling us.

Kyra being the active one in this event, her having to be the one who not only approaches Theon with thoughts of escape but also begs for his help, implying he might have been hesitant at first, she being the one who refuses to leave him although he is set off on their(/his?) chances of a successful escape being higher if they part ways, all this points to him probably not wanting to hold her hand through it, much less lead her through his same path.

And then I think of Theon's promise

The girl was crazed with fear, though, and refused to leave his side, even when he swore that he would raise a host of ironborn and come back for her if she should be the one they followed. - Reek I, ADWD

Would he? Would he have returned with a host if ironborn to get her? I don't think he would have. I don't think he was consciously lying to her or that he would just forget of her and leave with no remorse and never think of her again. I think it would have become inconvenient to return and he would have told himself it is impossible and she would haunt him nonetheless, but what consolation is that for her?

If he had miraculously managed to get to his sister or to Dagmer Cleftjaw, had miraculously managed to rapidly heal and regain his strength, would he have been able to get himself a host of loyal ironborn that would follow him far far far into the land, away from the realms of he who dwells beneath the waves, just to save some random girl he used to bed? Ad given how emotionally constipated is, how introverted, how he rarely displays vulnerability, what could he have said in order to change their mind?

Even her physical appearance, something that Theon, a somewhat libidinous young man, might have remarked on, is omitted. She doesn't have thick auburn hair, which could have made some readers use her as "proof" for him being "psychosexually" (another word most people in here don't know how to define but will use regardless) attracted to Robb/Sansa/Cat. The eyes of the girl aren't "big and brown" for me and a few other delusional people to claim as "foreshadowing" for a future romance. There aren't any mentions of her having a sharp nose that could have made us think of her as a semblance of his own family back at the Islands. There is nothing. She is nothing.

Sometimes we readers attempt to give closure to Kyra through fan work; I have seen art depicting her as a ghost "forgiving" Theon, there are fics in which Theon takes care of the hound that was named after her or (I am guilty of this too) him taking care of Jeyne is somehow seen by the narrative as atonement for his past mistreatment of Kyra. None of these works are inherently bad or disrespectful and I can appreciate what they do and I enjoy many of them (@/ghostlyturncloaks has a very beautiful fic involving Theon and Kyra, the hound), but none of them will give Kyra, the actual Kyra who used to breath and was then killed by hounds, closure because that is simply impossible to do given how she is not a real character compared to those who surround her. When people in this fandom talk about "stanning the girls who suffer/are victims" it is often done either in a holier-than-thou light or in a derogative manner but it never refers to Kyra because Kyra isn't allowed to be a person in the text.

Taking care of Jeyne or the hound won't make things right for her and there are no reasons for her to forgive Theon when Theon refuses to even think of the act with indisputable textual remorse. We can read between the lines and realise that Theon feels guilt, the fact she "and her keys" haunt him is already proof of that, but does he feel guilt for her terrible death, for him raping her, for how little he valued her as a person or for all of these together?

And I don't think that Theon is inherently a bad person for not valuing her and not being interested in her as a person, I think such situations are cruelly casual and rarely intentional. I think most people across their life will come to realise that they should have valued someone more. Our feelings aren't reciprocal and that isn't necessarily a sign of vileness. And, to my shame, I admit that part of my obsession with my unlucky trio of Jeyne, Falia and Kyra is somewhat motivated by my own feelings of depersonalisation and overall worthlessness and irrelevance.

It is difficult to explain, at most I can maybe compare it to the way Dany has managed to appeal to so many woc through her journey. Cersei, Dany, Arya and Sansa are all well written, interesting and profound characters that will go down in history both in and out of universe as such. Kyra won’t, neither will Falia, the Jeynes might have but they weren’t enough and were quickly replaced without many mourning that change in the way we mourn Daenerys' popularised end game as a mad queen or Arya's popularised endgame as a badass assassin without any nuisance. And I can understand why! This anger is purely mine!

With Kyra there is a world to explore, but only as long as Theon is no longer there. We can't give her a respectful characterisation if our only source and voice is that of Theon, if we were to that it would probably be highly ooc. But then again we can't even interact with her without Theon being in the picture. What happened to Bessa? Was she killed during the Winterfell sack? Were they friends? I imagine they were close if the two worked together and also had a threesome. Did she feel fear and maybe a pang of jealousy when she saw her being summoned to the castle to never come back to their inn? Did Kyra have a family? Maybe they were working the fields in the late summer/early autumn and were hoping to see her in winter again. I will be arrogant by referring to the images meme I recently made for her but yeah, Nathaniel Russel's fake fliers you will go down in my memory:

Even something as benign and well meaning as giving her a face, be it by a film/show/comic-adaptation or fan art, is somewhat counterproductive to what I think might have been aimed by the writer through her being a faceless pain. A face can make someone become sympathetic or interesting, meanwhile Kyra is pain unbridled and without any mentioned outer or inner beauty to get us to be invested in her. I might have my headcanons for her, with and without Theon, but I am not meant to have them.

The most common Tumblr tag for the sharing of Kyra related posts is "#kyra and her keys" and although this will be perceived by may as a holier than thou attitude I think it speaks on itself that we readers, the few readers who care enough about Kyra to dedicate a post to her, have decided to refer to her with a concept Theon chose for her. We define her through Theon without any real consideration for her own feelings. "#kyra asoiaf" has about three posts last I checked.

[dream-about-dancing]

⛵️ Five Fandoms, Five Ships ⛵

Get to know the blogger, via five different ships from five different fandoms!

I was tagged by @tideswept Thank you 💐💐💐

I tag @apfelhalm @squishymamasboy @virahaus @lovey-dovey-and-sad @fizzigigsimmer (only if you want)

I chose the pairings that make me happy at the moment.

1) Obi-wan/Anakin (Star Wars)

As a teenager I was a big Anidala shipper but as I got older I start fo fall in love with Ewan McGregor (thank you Moulin Rouge!).

I also found out that there are slash pairings and so I saw the movies with different eyes. 😌

I still enjoy Anidala fanart but my Star Wars OTP are these two. There are so many different ways to make them fall in love. Vaderkin, Padaobi, Vaderwan... I love them all. 🖤💙

2) Arnold/Rishe (The 7th Time Loop)

I love and adore this light novel series so much. I can't describe how much I stan this series.

I was so happy that it got an anime and it was such a gorgeous one!!

Rishe is such an interesting character who lived through so much stuff. Sometimes she is too innocent but okay that is a classical trope in Japan. 🙈

On the other side Arnold is a badass who is so in love with fiance. Sadly nobody believes him because he is a murderous asshole. 😂

I pray we will get more anime seasons. 🙏

3) Maomao/Jinshi (The apothecary diaries)

Another awesome light novel series. ❤️

I have one of the two manga adaptions at home and I adore the anime adaption.

It is such a great historical mystery show with two strong leads.

Maomao as the clever apothecary who grew up in a bordell and knows the world is fucked up and then Jinshi who has so many secrets and needs to keep so many secrets as he works for the emperor. A perfect pair even if their own personalities and pasts work against a relationship.

4) Lan Zhan/Wei Ying (MDZS)

It was so hard to chose a Danmei pairing 😭 especially between MXTX but you never forget your first time. 😋

I love them and their cute little son. Even through it is super angsty I love the time period when our sunshine fell to the dark side. I love AUs which give these two and the Wens a chance for a happy end even if their love destroys the world.

5) Frieren/Himmel (Frieren)

Don't you also simply love these doomed elf/human relationships especially when the elf realizes too late what they felt?

Yeah, these two are super fucking cute but also super angsty. They are doomed since episode 1 but I still adore every flashback scene with them and I weep over every scene in the present when Frieren realizes "It is too late."

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

how do you think the maiko relationship can improve?? what would you add so people can like it, be more support it of and not hate it as much ???

The only thing I think could be improved about their relationship was how it started - aka, it'd be nice if we could have SEEN that first spark after all those years apart, their first date, first kiss, etc.

"Oh, but we do get that in a comic!" Yeah, but not in the actual show. Watching it, I knew there was a possibility of them getting together since Mai was revealed to have had a crush on Zuko when they were kids, and then we see a flashback to that in "Zuko Alone", but the show skipped the entire process of them reconnecting as teenagers and starting their romance. There's just a small time-skip and we are told "These two are a thing now." Sure, I was sold on the idea the second I heard the words "You're so beautiful when you hate the world" come out of Zuko's mouth, but still, it would have been nice to get a little more development before that.

Other than that, I honestly don't think Maiko needs any changes. Even the bad moments they had (like The Beach) serve the narrative pretty well. They are two traumatized teenagers in a bad situation trying their best - and sometimes their best sucks. We still have lots of cute scenes between, and it isn't at all hard to understand why they're into each other, or to believe that they'll manage to make their relationship work out now that the war is over and both have a lot more agency than they ever did and faced many of their demons.

As for what would it take for people not to hate on the ship, it's simple. The fandom (mainly Zutara fans) would need to learn/accept that:

1 - Multi-shipping is a thing, and they can continue to ship Zuko with other people without having to hate on rival pairings - they can even *gasp* enjoy both at the same time.

2 - No, Maiko being canon is not why their ship didn't happen - the writers decide what's gonna happen in the story, the canon didn't "rob" them of a thing they never actually had in the first place.

3 - A female character can be grumpy, aloof, "cold", selfish, a villain, or have literally any flaw ever without being the devil. And even if she WAS the literal devil, that doesn't mean that we can't like her.

4 - The hot fictional dude they like not being to the character they relate to the most is not the end of the world, and the character they project onto "not getting the guy" (that she didn't even want) is not misogyny.

5 - Sometimes you just don't particularly care about the canon pairing, even if it isn't bad (I didn't care about Kataang for a long time, and still I never thought it was a bad ship/writting choice)

[purlty23]

𝕱𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖔𝖒 𝖙𝖆𝖌 𝖌𝖆𝖒𝖊 ✨

I saw this little fandom game thingie on another site and I really liked it, so I decided to bring it over here to tumblr while my apple pen charges. I’m also going to change up the rules. I’m going to list the fandoms I’ve been in, and classify them by:

Passive enjoyer = simply enjoyed it and the fan content made for it OR Creative enjoyer = actively made art, fanfic, cosplay, etc etc etc.

I’m going to tag people here but no pressure if you don’t want to do it! @miasmaghoul @lonelymentality @copiasjuicebox @iamthecomet @thediktatortot Also if you see it and want to do it, feel free.

Game under the cut since mine will be long<3

Harry Potter - creative enjoyer - My very first. This shit was a family affair in my house. I went to watch parties, themed parties. I cosplayed shittily, wrote shitty fanfic, and my walls were plastered floor to ceiling in teen magazine posters. Went to the Exhibition. Every second movie would come out in July so I would pretend it was like a birthday gift to me.

Twilight - creative enjoyer - Jfc. Don’t get me started. I still have my Edward action figure whose now missing both hands. Used to write self insert fanfic on quizzilla.com. RIP you beast of a website

The Walking Dead - passive enjoyer - This was also a family affair. Every sunday we would all gather round our shitty TV for the newest episode. I was more of a liveblogger than anything else. My dad has a bit to this day that ‘Hershel isn’t dead. He’ll be back.’ Yeah, sure dad.

Legend of Zelda - creative enjoyer - For most of my childhood I was passive, only really doodling Twilight Princess stuff sometimes. Then BOTW came out and it all changed.

Lord of the Rings - passive enjoyer - I look at Legolas and Aragorn. That’s enough for me. I don’t need creative works because I just need to look at them.

Marvel (Spider-man and Loki mostly) - creative enjoyer - I’ve been drawing these guys since birth, for better or for worse. MCU can suck my nuts but so can Loki franchise /sex DC (Batman) - creative enjoyer - Batman the Animated series did something bad to me. Now I draw Joker sometimes. Watch out, stay safe out there

Sherlock and Doctor Who - passive enjoyer - I’m putting these two together since I never really made fan art or anything, but I did attend watch parties for both on several occasions.

Supernatural - creative enjoyer - Sighs. Sighs even harder. Somewhere out there, deep in the depths of fanfic.net there’s miles of really really really bad fanfic. Somewhere…. Final Fantasy VII - creative enjoyer - Sighs far more dreamily. My favvvvv my ultimate fav. Sephiroth is my fictional other and LOMF. Many, many arts of him throughout every sketchbook I own. Also some fanfics IIRC.

TF2 - creative enjoyer - I used to draw Medic and Pyro kissing<3

Homestuck - creative enjoyer - War flashbacks. Not only was I a semi-well known fanartist, I was also a semi-well known cosplayer in my city. I was a ‘friendleader’ in my cities Homestuck fangroup and attended events, dances, etc etc etc. I was on a cosplay gif blog here on Tumblr. I ran the second most popular groupchat on MSPARP.com before it was MXRP.com. I had beef with mods. Most of my relationships at that time were forged in the fires of LOHAC. I still see my art of Dave in MCR black parade uniform around sometimes. Dramatical Murder - creative enjoyer - To no ones surprise. Yeah. I like the yaoi dissociation game. Dream Daddy - creative enjoyer - SHOUTOUT DREAM DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Evil priest Joseph lovers rise UP. Didn’t do much, but there’s some art floating around out there.

Voltron: LD - passive enjoyer - Thank GOD I never made anything for this. However, I was active in the kin community so thats a huge L. I also ate uppppp stuff about it and sheith still fucks.

Overwatch - creative enjoyer - Sometimes you’re a Genji main and the world is so so hard for you. That’s how I used to live my life, then I got better.

Final Fantasy XV - creative enjoyer - Second LOMF. My old art blog is stocked full of chocobro content, mostly fanart of the boys and meme redraws. Also used to cosplay Noctis CONSTANTLY! Here’s an old tiktok

The Band Ghost and Sleep Token - creative enjoyer - (((((((: Hi guys

[seyaryminamoto]

Sheesh! Azulon is such a spoiled brat, huh? 🤣

... Yes. He is.

Ngl, I rewatched LOTR's trilogy over the past three days and I was surprised by something in it that I immediately connected to Azulon. I've never seen anyone else draw this parallel with LOTR, instead I only ever see people in the fandom constantly comparing Azulon, intentionally or not, with Tywin Lannister.

... as far as I'm concerned, Azulon is Denethor. Full stop.

Even if you want to think the guy loved his firstborn? He was a twisted, pissy asshole who wanted to cling to power at all costs, that above all else, and his "beloved" son was his best means to achieve that. Hell, I'd argue Azulon wouldn't even be likely to have the "last minute awakening" that Denethor did regarding Faramir... but Denethor's behavior over Boromir is 100% the same as Azulon's over Iroh. "Oh, my perfect, glorious, wonderful son who can get everything right, and whose useless brother can't ever measure up to! I'm going to idealize you and give you all the privileges and glorious missions and pretend you could've achieved anything, while he was worth less than the dirt under your feet!"

So, yes, the way I write Azulon is so much closer to Denethor, specifically in terms of how he treats his family, than to Tywin Lannister and all the fandom's attempts to rationalize and justify his treatment of Ozai, all be it because "baby killed my wife". Worth noting? There's no solid evidence of that: Ilah is as good as a non-character, nobody knows what kind of relationship he had with her, Azulon very well could have used her as a brooding mare and nothing more, for all we know... but along with this? A bastard of Azulon's caliber, who helmed the Fire Nation's war for THE LONGEST PERIOD out of all three canon Fire Lords, does not need any greater excuses to treat his second-born like trash, much like Denethor didn't. :')

Of course, I take Azulon a bit further than most people by depicting his insecurities over his newborn granddaughter... I think there's no logical explanation for him to overlook Azula and be as unaffected by her as he's shown to be in Zuko Alone's flashback. She's a prodigy, she should be a useful weapon for him, at the very least...! And he's completely unconcerned with her. He actually shows more reaction to Zuko than he does to Azula. Hmm. Makes ya wonder, huh? :')

So yeah, I think there are many layers to how twisted Azulon is. Dude really took things to a whole other level of BS and kept doing it until the very end. Fandom can call me crazy as much as it cares to, but I don't think any grandfather who demands for the death of his grandson as a punishment for his second son's impertinence should EVER be given the "benefit of the doubt", or granted any excuses for this behavior just because Ozai was a shitty human being. Ozai sure was one: and he learned exactly how to be that way from daddy dearest himself :')

[viviwivipoo]

random haru & fuyu headcanons

hello blush blush fandom (again). this is my first time writing anything remotely fanfiction-y since like 7th grade so,,, yeah. also these are my personal headcanons and how i interpret their character so if you dont agree then pls scroll tysm 🙏 anyway onto the headcanons (buckle up)

okay so first

I think they would both be kpop fans (starting off very strong ☠️)

(obviously not the crazy ones who attack you for not liking a group)

haru is definitely more open about it though

fuyu heard some kpop but didnt really stan any groups

however, 

when feel my rhythm by red velvet came out…

…

lives were changed

(including fuyu’s)

i think he would like the more classical(?? if thats how one would describe it??) concept of kpop

(ex. feel my rhythm, etc etc.)

i feel like haru would gravitate more towards boy groups

or 2nd gen girl group party music

(ex. i am the best - 2ne1, the boys - girls generation, etc.)

for boy groups i feel like he would like ateez, seventeen (me projecting), and perhaps stray kids

OKAY OKAY ENOUGH ABOUT KPOP

haru for sure had an emo phase at some point in his lifetime

play cemetery drive by mcr in front of him and he will get war flashbacks LMFAO

also aki has a line about haru possibly having a (probably human) child?? ((yt link))

erm hello????

who is bro getting freaky deaky with in fox form…

better yet WHO IS BRO RAW DOGGING IN FOX FORM??????

HELLO??

anywho.

fuyu has tried to play roblox and got scammed repeatedly in royale high and adopt me

(it was haru and aki scamming him)

“back in my day we didn’t have these little screen bricks” ahh ☠️

haru has probably tried to play roblox a few times

i know for sure aki plays roblox and is constantly trying to scam little 10 year olds

after you broke their curses and (somewhat?) restored peace between them,

aki would try to get everyone (fuyu, haru, and you) to play a roblox horror game with him

fuyu would have no idea how to play

“how do i turn around?” “how do i jump again?”

☠️☠️

(this next bit is for the theater kids)

after you broke fuyu’s curse and he talked about broadway and such

he found out (or you told him) about slime tutorials

and he was surprised how different theater was from what he knew theater as

if that makes sense??

when he heard taylor louderman as regina in mean girls the musical

ESPECIALLY IN WORLD BURN

jaw on the floor

(me too)

ANYWAYS ANYWAYS

haru unironically likes chick-flicks (ex. legally blonde, mean girls, miss congeniality, bring it on, clueless, etc)

(projecting again)

erm

yeah

i can't think of any more general hc's

lalalalalalalalalalaal

okay bye

i just realized there are like 5 actual headcanons and the rest is just me blabbering ☠️☠️

thank you for reading my rambles about these little silly billies and sorry for all the parenthesis

GAH okay bye for reals

[crowleys-scarf]

“You go too fast for me, Crowley”

let’s talk about this line bc it was brought to my attention the other day that Crowley hasn’t been pushing Az as much as the fandom usually portrays. Allow me to elaborate. Crowley’s primary explicit romantic gestures are the ‘run away with me’ scenes where he asks Az to go off together. These occur during the onset of Armageddon when Crowley fully believes that the world is going to end and heaven and hell will be at war and he will be separated from Az for all eternity. These proposals are born out of desperation ie not a usual occurrence or a continuation of anything that has happened previously.

Now, it IS true that Crowley has been leading the way in terms of introducing Az to human stuff, he is the reason why Az enjoys food(and by extension other human things), and in the modern day we still see him having to sort of lead Az into agreeing with his view, like how he convinces him that Armageddon is a bad idea. Crowley is the idea guy. He’s like a guide helping Az to deconstruct heaven’s bs, which is necessary bc it’s almost impossible to spot bs while you’re still in it.

However, there hasn’t really been an explicit, on screen indication that this carries over to the romantic aspect of their relationship. If anything Aziraphale is the one making most of the moves in the flashbacks by inviting him out for oysters and crepes.

So what does this line mean?

Of course there’s the surface meaning of ‘you drive too fast’ but there’s obviously more than that

I think it has to do with Crowley acknowledging that what they’re doing, what they have, what they feel for each other, is damnable by heaven and hell. Lying on a memo is one thing, because the head offices really don’t care who’s doing it so long as it gets done, they’re still working for the system. But their relationship doesn’t serve the system, it actively endangers it. So yeah, I don’t think what scares Aziraphale is the fact that Crowley is putting the moves on him, it’s the fact that he’s acknowledging what they have as romantic, or at least more personal than a simple mutually-beneficial work agreement. And he’s acknowledging that that relationship puts them in danger, that it communicates very clearly that they are on their own side, which means places them in opposition to the system.

[cosmossystem]

Hey, I'm sorry for suddenly dumping this onto your askbox, but I just feel the need to be heard

I honestly don't care about being anti and proship at all

But... Everytime I see a post from someone who proudly calling themselves anti... It's always so scarily violent

All those posts saying "kill yourself", "deserves to die", all of that stuff

If you don't like a person or stuff they make... Just block them, mute the tags they use, forget they ever exist

Literally easier to do that than harassing the said person or making others uncomfortable with your violence tendencies

This is why some people that have "I'm an anti" or "Proship dni" have become such a redflag to me, even tho most of the time people who uses them are genuinely just good people who misunderstood what proship is

I wish this whole discourse never existed, I miss everything before 2020...

^^ this

and we feel the exact same way

like we dont have any hard stances on shipcourse because both sides have misinfo and both are wrong about some things-- like, we are firmly anti-lolisho and thats one of the things that is usually seen as "proship", but we do have "problematic" ships and we believe in SALS and are anti-censorship. so much misinfo flies between the two because no one cares about being right, they care about looking right, much like every other fake-activist (which are unfortunately common these days.)

the only reason we even care to begin with is because antis have been so violent to us about it. if you arent with them, youre against them, and if youre against them, youre a target.

it seems like theres a lot of antis in neurodivergent & plural spaces, too, which is just crazy to me, so it feels like we have to specify every time "yes, we're the proship in your DNI, just block us please."

i do wanna say that while 2020 made things worse, ive been in shipcourse + fandom spaces since 2016 and it was pretty bad back then too. like in 2016 i had an anti-ship & anti-ddlg blog and there were DOZENS of other antis in the tags -- yall remember "character-against-bad-ships" blogs? yeah. we ran several of those and had hundreds of mutuals running them as well. (im getting flashbacks to "sonic-for-real-justice". eugh.)

we Fully Converted To Proshipism (/j) in about 2018-19, so i saw how bad it was getting right before covid and honestly its never fully recovered. fandom hasnt really been peaceful since... maybe before 2016? i dont know, i wasnt there. flaming and ship wars have always been around but i honestly cant think of when all this "pro v anti" stuff started. seems like it was a slow buildup and now its just fucking everywhere.

i know this wasnt the point of your ask, but im gonna go on a tangent here because i like to yap:

i think the current state of shipcourse is caused, in part, by the fact that younger generations are getting into fandom. except, i think every time someone points this out, they get it wrong and pin it on some bullshit like "younger fans are mistaking fandom for activism/politics!" that argument sucks because that doesnt afford any empathy to the teenagers and young adults who grew up in this awful fucking political climate (including myself.) fandom IS politics to young people, because they have been aware of the state of the world since the time they could read and dont know a world that isnt inherently political in every way.

and then that brings up the misconception that fandom isnt / should never be political, which isnt true and is literally just denial of what is already happening. every form of media and consumption is inherently political. proshippers tend to be wrong about that, plug their ears and lalala until it goes away while ignoring the very political parts of fandom-- like the misogyny, racism, ableism, aphobia... etc.

and so we get stuck in the same song and dance because everyone is wrong and parrots the same disinfo. fandom is very black and white like that. its either everything is ok, or none of it is, with no room for nuance. like for instance: you can enjoy shipping the canonically-aroace character with someone and that doesnt make you a bad person, but dont pretend that doesnt have any real world implications. and so on.

anyway. thank you for the ask, anon. sorry this got really long and passionate. im very opinionated.

- red

[stardust948]

ATLA Live Action episode 6

Aww baby Zuko who still looks 17

.

*Iroh's speech about masking*

I knew it. Autistic Zuko confirmed.

.

"Spineless Slug"

Yes that is a very Zuko thing to say. Good job.

.

Iroh's like don't talk about my son like that.

.

Aang: I'm here to visit Avatar Roku's shrine.

Me: Don't tell them you're the-

Aang: I'm the Avatar!

Me: 🤦‍♀️

.

I like Shyu. Gonna base my Fire Sage OC off him.

.

Koh has mommy issues confirmed.

.

Look Roku, just because your friend committed genocide and started a 100-year war doesn't mean everyone's bestie would.

.

Aang really asked Zuko what eff him up like this.

.

HONOR! WHY IS ZHAO THE FIRST TO SAY HONOR!

.

I hate Zhao. Well not hate hate. More annoyed. Like a know-it-all coworker who think they're the manager.

.

Zhao: We've done something no one's ever done. We have captured the Avatar!

Yeah Zuko already did that. Twice.

.

Really like the Blue Spirit and Aang team up. Though it was really funny watching them just run past the drunk soldiers.

.

Oh he left a sword! That's very Cinderella of you.

.

What are these normal animals? Where's the hare-fowl or goat-turkey or whatever?

.

Love Zuko and Aang's talk.

.

The flashback to the Agni Kai was very smooth. I still think it would have been more impactful if they hired an actual child to play child Zuko. But the fight was good.

Zuko really did do everything Ozai told him and was still punished. I also like the layer of depth they gave Ozai; believing he was doing the right thing and not just your standard evil to the core villain.

Still terrifying. Really can see the cycle of abuse in this scene. (Also was that Azula tearing up or was I just seeing things?)

.

The 41st bowing to Zuko 😭😭😭

.

This was really good. I see why ppl say this was the best episode. They expanded on the lore and characters while adding original twists. If all the show was like episode 6, I'm sure the fandom wouldn't be so divided over whether the live action was good or not.

That said, I'm stopping after this episode. I read the summary for the last 2 episodes and well... I'll like to end on a good note.

[akatsukitrash]

1, 2, 3, 6, 7, [SWERVES TO AVOID 8 I'M SURE WE AGREE] 9, 12, and 20 for tobirama i'm a greedy hog

HIIII

Character Ask Game

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

Honestly, I don't even remember the first time I saw him. I watched Naruto during my entire childhood, so at most I must've been 5 or 6 when I saw his fight against Hiruzen, and I don't believe he stuck out to baby me. But during the War arc, while I was entirely focused on Madara, he appeared. And for some reason, that one panel with the four Hokages back from the dead are what did it to me. He was the one my eyes kept going back to. It might not be the only reason I like him, but his unique character design is definitely what drew me to him at first. He became one of my favourite characters soon after thanks to his dynamic with Hashirama and Orochimaru. I like that there is so much to explore in his character, so much hidden under the surface. He's very compelling to me.

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

His being so hard working. It's just so interesting to me, and makes him feel more human rather than another effortless genius. Fun fact, he's ranked 3rd most hardworking character in the entire verse, after Gai and Lee.

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

He never gets really confronted to how terrible Konoha is (being told without any details that the Uchiha "are no more" isn't really much of a confrontation to the dark side of the system he helped create) and so he never questions his ideals and aside from a half-hearted admission that Madara's plan isn't so bad, he doesn't ever think of a better way for peace to happen. Hell, he just blames that war solely on Madara like he's the source of all evil. It's very annoying bc it makes his character feel static - he never learns about his mistakes nor is forced to confront other point of views (Madara briefly talks to him but a) Madara dislikes Tobirama for obvious reasons so he's not trying to recruit him and b) Kishimoto decided Madara is an irredeemable villain for doing less crimes than the average Konoha shinobi and so he would not write Tobirama questioning his beliefs). Basically he's a state dog and dies that way.

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

Oh this is gonna be sad. Well not to reveal too much of my own Tragic Backstory on my blog (unlockable at Level 5 of Friendship for mutuals though!), I relate a lot to the loneliness and jealousy he must've felt as a child. It's another thing that drew me to him, because the flashback isn't even from his point of view nor does Hashirama dwell on how things must be for his brother. He lost Itama and Kawarama, and Hashirama was more interested in his friend than in Tobirama's feelings (mind you it's not Hashirama's responsibility to deal with that, he was a child soldier himself wrestling with insane amounts of grief and guilt, but I get why baby Tobirama would be upset). And having to deal with an abusive parent on top of it all, while expected to not bother anyone with his feelings...yeah. Another less sad thing we have in common is that we're both mad scientists. I'm not elaborating.

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

Explore the complexity of his character and feelings! He's such a tertiary character, I genuinely didn't expect so many people to take such a liking to him, and especially to still discuss him, his past, his actions nearly 10 years after the ending. He's taken seriously by a good chunk of the Founders' fandom and I really like that. It's rare for a character I like to not get treated like absolute dog shit (anti tobirama fans who? let's pretend they don't exist shall we).

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

Probably, yes. Honestly it's likely he'd be the one yelling after me to do chores than the other way around.

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

Cooking is like therapy for him. Originally, he wasn't allowed in the kitchen due to his blindness, but Butsuma tends to have a hard time saying no to him + is generally not an ableist parent, so he eventually let him and he learnt on his own. He's very good at it, and it helps him feel grounded when he's anxious. He hates it when someone messes with his kitchen though. Don't change the spices placements or he'll kill you.

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

Touka! She's described in the databook as Hashirama's close associate, but I like to think she was the boys' best friend (it's the entire basis of But in this twilight, our choices seal our fate, really). He and Touka develop a very beautiful friendship throughout the years. I also like to think he would've gotten along with Deidara very well. I know! I'm making connections with characters who could never interact but hear me out. Deidara INVENTED a DOJUTSU just to counter Sharingan genjutsu. I feel that's smth that'd get Tobirama's nerdy ass squealing in delight. I can see them spend hours discussing jutsus. Plus I feel Deidara is calm enough to not anger Tobirama nor awaken his Mother Instincts (like Naruto does). There is the little issue of Deidara being an anti government terrorist and Tobirama being, well, the government, but if that wrinkle is smoothed out, I think they'd have a blast together. Pun unintended

Thanks for the ask!!!

[innocentimouto]

Jet and Hama were done dirty by the show

There’s this emphasis on these two killing innocents as proof that they were portrayed fairly because they weren’t great people anyway.

What this basically means is that the oppressed victims of war who kill innocents and enemies are worse than the people 

who are killing innocents ONLY

who started the war

who erased an entire nation

who attack people not even involved in the war

who think they’re in the right

who don’t do anything to stop the war even if they realize it’s wrong

I’m talking about the Fire Nation. I see more people defending the writing of Jet and Hama than people criticizing how the entire Fire Nation was redeemed once the war ended.

It’s not just at the end of the show. Throughout the series, we see many Fire Nation characters have quirky/funny moments which is far more than any other nation. And they started the war. 

Sozin got half an episode of being human and he ordered the erasure of the Air Nomads. Genocide. And somehow Hama gets nearly the same treatment if not worse since we never even saw her speak in her flashback.

Yes Hama and Jet were done dirty. How does the man who started the war not get any hate/fear from Aang, the last airbender, but Jet and Hama get fear/derision?

Sozin’s story ends with Aang deciding every person deserves a chance and friendship can last lifetimes, but the moral of Jet and Hama’s story is to be careful of hating your oppressors or you’ll end up a monster.

Sozin compared to Hama and Jet aren’t even equal; they’re portrayed as worse.

Not everyone in the Fire Nation is evil. But the people who started the war should not be given more sympathy and forgiveness than the victims of war. 

There’s also the fact Hama and Jet were severely traumatized, and people either ignore this or argue it doesn’t change anything.

Zuko was also abused.

Zuko attached the Southern Water Tribe. He threatened the unarmed women and children. He ruined their homes. The Southern Water Tribe had been raided so many times before; it’s guaranteed everyone feared they would be killed.

 Zuko also set Suki’s village on fire, and it’s explicitly stated that they wanted to stay out of the war.

Zuko gets a pass for all of this in the name of trauma. I’m not only talking about characters giving him a pass because they kind of didn’t. I mean the narrative and fandom all forgave him long before he joined the Gaang.

Why? Zuko never even had a scene of thinking back to what he did and regretting it. Zuko didn’t even think to apologize until the last minute. Zuko couldn’t understand why Katara hated him, despite him attacking her home like Yon Rha did. It was never misplaced anger. He did exactly what the man who killed her mother did.

The point is, there was no scene of him caring about his mistakes until the Gaang forced him to, and the story was fine with that.

Zuko had trauma, but he didn’t need to do the things he did. I’m not saying it would be easy, but really, Ozai didn’t order his death if he didn’t capture the avatar. Zuko never even mentioned capturing the avatar for the Fire Nation. He betrayed the Fire Nation by freeing Aang so he could capture him himself. So it wasn’t for the nation either.

Point is, Zuko wasn’t going to die if he left Aang alone. He would be severely unhappy and struggling through years of abuse and unlearning propaganda, which is basically what Book 2 was minus everything but unhappiness, but he would be fine.

Zuko was never forced to chase the avatar. And I look at Zuko very critically, but it does make sense why he chased Aang. He wouldn’t have died if he didn’t though.

Jet on the other hand.

Jet chose to live in a forest away from the Fire Nation. The Fire Nation took over Gaipan and then had soldiers regularly passing through the forest. Jet was forced to do something. The way he did it was wrong, but it’s not like he chose to do it for selfish or unnecessary reasons.

“Oh Jet could have just left.”

Yeah, and travel to any other part of his nation that was being colonized. Anyway, he literally did that by going to BSS and even if he didn’t bother Zuko and Iroh like everyone wanted him to, it would have been taken over  in a few weeks anyway.

Hama was taken from her home and imprisoned in horrible conditions with no way out for decades. I feel like we skip over the implications of what she and her people had to face if they tried to escape. Regardless you can’t come out of that situation and not develop an extreme hatred to the people who did it to you.

That’s years and years of trauma. Even if you argue  it’s different because she’s an adult while Zuko was a child, Hama became an adult in prison. 

I don’t agree with Hama’s actions; I just don’t think the show should have went in that direction without even having Indigenous people involved. The implications of what she did to Fire Nation civilians is horrifying. But the disgusting way she was written is what bothers me the most.

In comparison to the Fire Nation, Jet and Hama were not portrayed fairly. And if the next point is that the two were side characters, then I have to ask:

Why do the victims of war get less time than the perpetrators?

Jet and Hama are side characters. They’re not meant to get much time. That’s fine. It still doesn’t change how they’re the only two victims of war who hate the Fire Nation viciously and were in helpless situations most of their life and got very little parts but enough to demonize them.

Hama’s story ends with her imprisoned which is problematic, and Jet’s story ends by being gaslit, brainwashed, and killed by an earthbender.

Not a firebender. What’s the lesson there? He was too angry, too obsessed, too crazy. It wasn’t the Fire Nation. It was Jet not controlling himself. Take him away from the war and he’d still be a problem.

Hama and Jet’s entire lives were uprooted and destroyed by the Fire Nation and one ends back where her brothers and sisters rotted away while the other ends in a pointless, forgotten death, and the Fire Nation get no blame for causing all their pain and even their “evilness” if you want to go there.

[class1akids]

Have you ever thought that Shoto could be more creative with his quirk? I love the Phosphor move he came up with, but apart from that I’d love to see him do more stuff apart from throwing up big ice walls or spamming fire. I think even Stain made a comment about how reliant he is on his quirks alone. That was season 2 and I thought after all that time we’d see him do some more creative stuff. There’s no reason why someone with such a versatile quirk should just be throwing up ice and fire walls alone. He’s my fav and I wanna see him do some cooler stuff

Please don't mindlessly just repeat fandom slander of Shouto if he's your fave and engage in evidence instead. This is like saying that Bakugou only ever throws around explosions, which is true but also totally misleading.

Yes, Shouto is not a close-combat fighter - his quirk is more suited to mid- to long range, and he relies on his quirk, but really who doesn't? Maybe Midoriya in finger-breaking stage, but once he learnt to use it, he's been relying on OFA to do everything for him too.

As for "only ice and fire-walls" - well, no. That's plain wrong. Shouto's moves are much more broad-ranging than that.

An ever-evolving Heaven-Piercing Ice-Wall

There is a very visible evolution from the first one we saw - it grew in scale and precision throughout the series (even in the SF, Aizawa notes how different the ice wall against Bakugou is vs the icewall against Sero) and he's able to shape it in an instant. Ok, yeah, it's icewall, but it evolves. Look at him countering Decay, or catching 6-quirk Deku mid-flight.

2. Smart, precision ice moves is something we saw from Shouto from the start. Saving All Might at USJ. Outwitting Iida. Or when he like froze an entire building - the move that freaked Bakugou out. None of these are ice-walls.

3. Slides, ramps - getting better, bigger, more precise. None of these are walls

4. Flash Freeze Heat Wave - the evolution from huge, uncontrolled move to something much more precise and usable in urban combat or as a sudden boost. Not an icewall or firewall.

5. From fire wall to flashfire fist to jet kindling (which is Jet Burn). Like those last two are not firewalls at all. They actually meant to make Shouto better at close range, which he is now.

6. Let's not forget his mobility. He's able to keep pace with some of the fastest characters. Did I mention he learnt to fly? Also, check out his cool ice-wave that can carry people with less mobility. Not an icewall!

7. Oh, I forgot to mention the bit where he made shish-kebab out of Shigaraki. Ice-spikes, maybe? It's also precise enough to completely avoid Aizawa

8. He's also tactical (All Might and Deku both say so) and is able to come up with battle plans or combo moves himself. I already mentioned the Iida fight, but he also outsmarted a bunch of ninja guys in the Licensing exam and came up with a combo with Inasa on the fly.

Also note, that usually he's not tactical / unable to think when he's going though PTSD flashbacks like in the Sport Festival or JTA or you know having to fight his own dead brother after a dramatic reveal in an already stressful war.

9. Phosphor which is a technique, as much as a move-set. Shouto invented it himself and it can be used in different ways. There is Pale Blade (a slicing move) and Glacial Aegir (a AoE freezing move) from what we've seen so far.

Considering Shouto is not done yet in the final arc, I think we will see more from him to synthetize everything he learnt. But I hope this helps to convince you that even though he started from a very high level, he did go through an amazing quirk evolution, has one of the most versatile move-sets in class and is not the "simpleton icewall/firewall guy" fandom slanders him as.

He's a different type of fighter than Bakugou or Deku - but also they both rely on their quirks in fight. Everyone does - and depending on the quirk people have more or less martial arts moves.

Shouto does what makes sense for his quirk and has come a long way even though he started out "better than the average pro". And more importantly, his arc is about healing and overcoming trauma, so yes, he makes mistakes and falters from time to time, because healing is not linear. But he learns from it every time. He learns from all his failures and grows with them and that what makes his arc good. If he was just an "always competent, can do everything perfectly on first try" Mary Sue, it would hurt his story.