#I think I didn’t know because the fanbase likes him so much that he’s treated like a character who’s been recurring throughout the games

[designernishiki]

nishitani really did live, serve cunt, and die didn’t he

[calamitydaze]

okay i’m gonna go to sleep cause it’s late iiiiii hope i don’t wake up to nuclear bombs dropped on us

[bigtittiecomitte]

What are your thoughts on this video?? This was recommend to me and I watched it and I didn't really care for it..maybe it's just me but it feels like this person seems more salty about V not getting together with N instead of giving actually criticisms of why he didn't like the finale, in fact I've seen most people act act this way when it comes to the finale..it's been mixed since it released and more people have lately been finding reasons to find Nuzi *Problematic* and a bad ship with saying the whole N is dating is "sister" (Cyn) because of Uzi and the solver being in one together in the same body even though that's NOT the case!! Idk, part of the reasons I was never able to fully ship Envy was because of some of the toxic fans and V fans and how they treated Uzi as a character..even after the finale Uzi is still getting undeserved mistreatment and hate and it's truly unfortunate. People need to see and realize that although Nuzi is canon people are still allowed to ship whatever they want canon or not, and just because Nuzi is canon doesn't mean anybody can be a dick and jackass. People also shouldn't be sending threats to Liam and Glitch because of the finale, yes the finale was flawed but that doesn't make it okay to to doxx or hass the studio or creator, MD is Liam's show and he should allowed to do whatever he wants with this show, I've said this in my own post but I think many in this fandom truly took this show for granted and didn't really deserve it..although I'm grateful for Murder Drones and will forever cherish it as it's my comfort show, this fandom is truly a mess and I know that's all fandoms..but the MD community is just so toxic and I wished it was a much better and healthier fanbase. :(

https://youtu.be/mQ5xnKYHGoc?si=6bSwQpiPV10beX-b

I saw the video and holy fuck Media Literacy is DEAD

I’m all for hearing people’s opinions but it really does piss me off when people just start saying crap without properly understanding the characters they’re talking about

For anybody not wanting to check out the video, basically the guy is saying that N and V should’ve gotten together and N and Uzi should’ve just stayed friends or even have a “sibling dynamic” (pretty much stuff we’ve already heard before lol). The issue is that if you have been watching the show with your two eyes you would know that N and V getting together in the end would actually be WORSE for N and V

N and V’s relationship is very catered to the past, present and future. In the past, N and V had a thing for each other in the manor (maybe even dated) then we have the present where N and V are now genocidal robots with the intent of killing worker drones for oil. N still has a crush on V prior to meeting Uzi while V tries to protect her and N by continuing on their path of death due to her trauma of Cyn and everything that happened in the manor, she tries pretending to forget his name and hides secrets from him, which makes him upset and lash out on her. Then we cut to the future, N and V are now friends and living in the bunker with the rest of the worker drones, they’re healing but they’re doing alright now that there’s finally no hiding secrets from one another

The problem with a lot of people complaining that Envy should have been canon instead is the fact that their entire relationship throughout Murder Drones is all about moving on and the fact that not all romantic relationships end with them being happy together. N and V could never have what they had in the manor again because not only have they moved on from each other but they’re also building up their platonic relationship brick by brick. N and V were never proper friends and never got the chance to rekindle until Uzi came along, which another thing I want to talk about

I see so many people hating on Uzi for being the reason as to why N and V didn’t become endgame but if it wasn’t for Uzi. N and V would’ve never ended up where they are today like if they never met Uzi then they would just end up killing all the worker drones and dying after all the oil is gone, N and V wouldn’t even get to rekindle their relationship because it would be stuck to how it was before Uzi came along. The reason as to why Nuzi became endgame and not Envy wasn’t because Liam favoured one ship than the other but because N and Uzi were actually communicating. They were friends and understood each other’s trauma and feelings, which is what made them work. N and V didn’t have that until N lashed out on her and she got her character growth

The only part I can somewhat agree with is that we should have seen V apologise to the real N (she did apologise but it was to a fake N instead) but I’m at least happy that real N was there to know that she was being sincere with her words. They’re all traumatised characters, none of them deserved what they went through

He says that Uzi should’ve stopped having a crush on N which leads to N and V getting together and I just full on stopped the video because how are you seeing the interactions between N and Uzi and thinking that Uzi should have just stopped having a crush on him when N’s feelings for her were also the same, them not being canon would have actually made no sense because of all the moments we had got of them, hell even them implied to be dating in Episode 7 lol. N and V getting together in the end would have been way more rushed than the ship of what some envy shippers actually claim to be rushed

Not only that but him calling V “jealous” of N and Uzi being in love because apparently that’s what she wanted with N, like hell did V tell you that? She’s happy for them even if she doesn’t look like it (I mean I don’t like seeing couples in public either lol)

Nuzi being canon doesn’t mean you have to stop shipping other ships that you find better and it’s totally ok to be disappointed that Envy wasn’t the main ship. But it doesn’t give people the right to just make fake screenshots of Liam’s twitter and blaming Nuzi shippers for the reason as to why Nuzi became canon (apparently we all did a meeting and pay for Nuzi to be canon lmao). Remember that fanfiction and fanart exist my dudes, support your local AU’s too

Basically Envy is a very tragic ship and it was always written that way and guys please stop mischaracterising V it hurts

[autism-alley]

augh found my old post abt pjo and disability from before the show came out but it was on ye olde blog so i’m literally just gonna copy and paste, 3, 2, 1—

ok now that i’ve got it on the brain, i want to talk about disability in pjo and specifically how calling percy jackson dumb or treating him as such is not only a mischaracterization, but ableism. as a quick note, i’m keeping this to just percy to avoid having this already long post be even longer, but there are other disabled characters in pjo worthy of discussion, though i hit many of the same points in this post. i bring up percy specifically because he is mostly the character i have seen people treat as stupid.

percy is a dyslexic teen with ADHD who comes from a low-income family, raised by a single mother, and deals with an abusive step-father. i cannot stress enough how much of his character is shaped by that experience, but as hard as it is to single out any one part, i am going to focus on his ADHD and dyslexia. this kid has nightmares of being forced to take tests in a straightjacket as teachers ask him if he’s stupid and withhold him from recess with his peers. he is constantly labelled as “troubled” and blamed for things he didn’t do or aren’t his fault. he is told, over and over again, even from trusted adults, that he is “not normal” (othering him). he bounces between schools. he struggles to make friends. he deals with bullying. he has difficulty studying and reading, even when invested. teachers struggle to connect with him and tend to just give up on him. these are real disabled experiences, and rick does a good job at presenting them in the pjo books. sometimes, it feels like everything is a struggle. you are living inside a system that not only is restricting, but actively works against and punishes you.

in contrast, CHB is a great example of how when environments meet the needs of disabled people, it hugely changes how disabled we are in that environment. demigod brains are hard-wired for ancient greek, not english, and they’re born impulsive, with high energy levels that help them survive battle—but aren’t very good for a classroom setting. but by having them read books in ancient greek, regularly do lots of training/physical activities, and have genuine opportunities to express themselves...they function pretty damn well. percy discovers that while he struggles academically, he is brilliant in combat and capable of saving the world numerous times—he is a hero. do you know how important that message is for disabled children? disabled adults, too? that we can be heroes?

it is here, in camp half-blood, that percy finds a place he belongs, that shows him his worth—finally, somewhere is built to not only include him, but to nurture and genuinely prepare him for the world outside its boarders. however, i think people forget that just because percy functions in the world of CHB and the gods, that does not mean he doesn’t face ableism in the mortal world—and that there is an entire group of people who see ourselves reflected in his character.

i could talk on for hours about how much being disabled shapes percy’s identity and how he interacts with the world—like how percy’s humor revolves around coping with his environment and actually displays a very low self esteem after being looked down upon his entire life. this kid doesn’t even have to say anything and he screams i had a neurodivergent childhood. but about 5-6 years ago, when i was more regularly tuned into the fandom, every time i saw someone call percy jackson dumb or an idiot, even jokingly, i raised an eyebrow, and now that the series is getting fresh coverage from disney+, i have wanted to make this post. so much of this kid’s life and personality comes from being treated like he’s dumb or incapable, so it’s troubling to watch part of the fanbase reflect the harmful parts of this character’s upbringing. i truly hope it does not become common again. it’s also one thing coming from a neurodivergent/disabled person with similar experiences (and even then i personally find it a little uncomfortable), it’s another to be said by a neurotypical/able bodied person.

percy jackson’s experiences make for very important representation, and for people to characterize him as just a goofy, unintelligent guy is not only an insult to his character as a kid who is intelligent, but previously lacked the environment to show it, but also ableist. so in the dawn of the new tv series era, i ask that we cut that shit out. rick riordan did not create rep for neurodivergent and disabled kids for them to be called stupid by the fanbase. even jokingly.

[dragynkeep]

It’s so shocking to me how people still don’t think RWBY is “that racist” (it’s more than that)” when they straight up tried the “ohhh there’s a REASON why the oppressors are oppressing the minorities LOL” schtick. Unironically. There’s no deeper meaning behind racism, if I said that right, because racism is racism. No reasoning behind it. No excuses to back it. And yet this show is one among many who stick their asses out to try and find one.

“Uhh, the minorities were protesting with VIOLENCE cuz their people were being treated like dogs…. Not good🤓” okay and? And??? The White Fang was getting shit done. We’re told by BLAKE HERSELF their violent methods were WORKING.

speaking of the Wang, I want to bring up the two characters from it we vaguely know the backstories of: firstly, Ilia. Ilia is heavily coded as indigenous, that’s a no-brainer. Indigenous people to this day (emphasis:to this day) are still unfairly labeled as terrorists for demanding basic living rights. Sound familiar?

And Ilia’s backstory. Unprivileged girl gets into a school among humans who don’t like her kind. She must hide her identity as a Faunus in order to fit in among these humans. Slap on the fact she’s native-coded and you’ve got yourself a real uncomfortable parallel I might be tripping with seeing, but. No matter what I do see it and I wish I didn’t.

But she’s in the wrong for wanting Justice for her parents death, wanting Justice at ALL for her people. She was just being stupid. LOLZ

And then there’s Adam. Yes, we don’t know much about his backstory exactly, but what we do know for sure is:

• He was literally branded

• He was literally enslaved

• He was literally enslaved, and very likely held in slavery while he was a minor

hi ermmmmmmm my little diary: What The Fuck why is this the backstory of who is meant to be the most evil cruel fucked up twisted scary guy in your show CRWBY? Why is this kind of backstory, this kind of issue, not treated at all with even a shred of sympathy?

“Oh, but Nevermore has that line abo—“ You mean the song that also had a line mentioning how the former slave hid his branded eyes in an accusatory way? Sure I’ll peep that one up. /j

and yes, Adam was an abuser. Yes, he was a cringe little whiny loser. Yes, he has a weird mouth. Yes, he did deserve to die in that moment. BUT THE FACT THE SHOW RUNNERS DECIDED TO FRAME HIM EXPOSING THE FUCKING HATE CRIME HUMANS DELT HIM AS. HIS WORST MOMENT. DUN DUN DUN. IS FUCKING GROSS

Especially with how many shots just linger on the brand??? And how excessively detailed it is on the model????? Thumbs down. Tomato!

But oh, this guy was fighting against the oppressors because he wanted his people to TAKE OVER THEM! Just like what the news told me… oh Nvm HE JUST WANTED POWER! He never cared about his people at all, those white people Ahem CHOKE humans were only scared of him and those like him and that’s why they’re racist!

Reframe that statement as:

But oh, this former slave was fighting against the oppressors because he wanted his people to TAKE OVER THEM! Just like what the news told me… oh Nvm THE FORMER SLAVE JUST WANTED POWER! The former slave never cared about his people at all, those white people Ahem CHOKE humans were only scared of the former slave and those minorities like him and that’s why they’re racist!

This show has infamous white comfort but it’s this that irks me the most. I’ll say it again, there’s nothing behind why someone is racist. They just are, and it cannot be reasoned or excused. There is no meaningful explanation behind one’s bigotry, at its core, and it’s painfully obvious that the white ass writers writing this show couldn’t get that through their skulls either.

Then again, RWBY never had a good allegory to begin with. It just kept getting worse.

(sorry for the long ask)

yeah there's not much more i can say than what's been pointed out in the ask but it definitely shows that the mostly white, american fanbase of the show will defend the writers because acknowledging these aspects of the show & how the white writers fucked it up despite no one asking them to make a racism storyline makes them uncomfortable.

adam has to be only an abuser because him being a former slave / victim of racism makes them uncomfortable.

blake has to be yang's girlfriend & go to parties instead of activist rallies because her being a victim of racism makes them uncomfortable.

ilia has to be defined by loving blake & being a "dumb lesbian" because her being a victim of racism, especially with the native allegory of boarding schools, makes them uncomfortable.

[destinyc1020]

As a Tomdaya on the bird app, who stans Tom and Z as individuals as well as their relationship, I’d thought I chime in. I agree with the anon that Z is treated very differently on the app than Tom and I find it weird. I think Z fans are very proctevtive of Z, rightfully so but they often fail to view her as a human being and put her on this bizarre pedestal that sometimes removes her humanity as an individual that I can only really compare to to Taylor swift. Disney is the starting block to ownership because a lot of fans either grew up with Z or rewatched her shows on the channel that they are the super fans today. Add in The Greatest Showman, MCU, Euphoria and Dune. Properties with big fan bases. Her music career was also very successful though cut short and had a huge impact. It’s not lost on me of the sheer volume of fame and fans she’s received being strategic and being one of a kind talent.

Tom on the other hand has MCU but really didn’t grow up in the public the way Z did at age 13. Another factor I think is a big contribution to this phenomenon is that Z encourages parasocial relationships with her fans. I didn’t think to much of this because most celebs have social media but most don’t really talk to fans unless their gen z or musicians.

They put Z on puritanical pedestals and remove her humanity.Sometimes I think they forget that they know she lurks on socials and might like or retweets accounts thus creating subfandoms that have relations to Z. Those fandoms are not bad and great if your a fan. But those ones like timdayas, hunterdaya or anyone daya who cut Tom out of everything is just so weird to me. They get annoyed if you make a Tomdaya joke cause she more than her relationship. They’re not wrong but she’s always more than her costars but they never see through that logic because it doesn’t fit their narrative lol.

Timothee used to be parasocial as well, especially at the beginning of his career. He would communicate with fans and actually create a bond with them on socials and real life. Club Chalamet is a result of that lol. After the Eiza situation, he stopped and mainly keeps interactions slim and mainly related to his next project because he saw that lines were being blurred and those fans at the time were judgmental. Idk if you remember the infamous Timothee I trusted you meme because despite general public coming for him, those stans really were doing too much lol. I think that’s why he hid his relationships from his fans because they built this idea of him when he’s just a man in his 20s figuring it out lol.

Tom fans are in three catergories mcu fanboys, Tomdayas like me lol, antis who don’t like Z. His fanbase on twitter is really an amalgamation of Tomdayas who both love Z and Tom but their small compared to Z’s or Timothee. When he gets hate Tomdaya felt the need to defend on his behalf. The reality is Tom doesn’t care. He only uses insta and avoids twitter. He healthy because he live in his own universe. However, he’s not a Paul mescal or Josh O’Connor where his work little or alot can stand out for itself whether he’s likeable or not. A lot of his fame comes from his personality or ip films. I’m aware I missed Billy Elliot, just don’t thinks it relevant on social media. Yes I loved tcr but when the rt score came it was brutal. It was shocking seeing critics who relatively have a niche on films come for him and I was just sad that ppl had this much vitriol despite the fact he’s not problematic. Both film twitter beloved Chris Pine and Chris Evans have critically failure and there’s not hate as much as Tom got that week. One thing as a Tomdaya that muted certain z fans who hate on him is that he really doesn’t care.

Him liking that insta post about him forgetting he’s famous made me realise that as a fan I should not care and just curate my account for my own happiness. I don’t engage tweets about comparison with other actors, z’s exes or costars because I know it’s bait. Toms fanbase is small so I’m happy it’s not as big as other actors. That’s why I think those fans can repost his kissing scenes of intamite scenes cause he doesn’t lurk Twitter and it doesn’t start trending. Z does so when those fans post things about her boyfriend or her exes or costars, they know she lurks and I think that’s weird. Maybe that’s why Tomdayas get on defence lol. I’m aware though some Tomdayas can be cringe. I’m not rewriting history here lol.

That’s my two cents lol. Hope you have a good day xxx

Thnx for your input Anon. 😊

Another factor I think is a big contribution to this phenomenon is that Z encourages parasocial relationships with her fans.

I wouldn't say she encourages it, I just think she wants to try to stay personable with her fans and show them that she's still that kind, down to earth girl from Oakland that they've always known and loved, no matter how "famous" she gets. 😊

I didn’t think to much of this because most celebs have social media but most don’t really talk to fans unless their gen z or musicians.

Well Z IS Gen Z lol 😅

Timothee used to be parasocial as well, especially at the beginning of his career. He would communicate with fans and actually create a bond with them on socials and real life. Club Chalamet is a result of that lol. After the Eiza situation, he stopped and mainly keeps interactions slim and mainly related to his next project because he saw that lines were being blurred and those fans at the time were judgmental.

Well, honestly Anon.... MOST Celebrities (I feel) have realized over the years that the LESS they share of their personal life, the BETTER. If you go back 7 years....even just 5 years....and you were to go back in time and be on IG or Twitter as a fan back then, you would see that Z, Tom, Timothee, shoot....even Austin, Nadia lol, etc. ALL used to be waaaay more personable, engaging, and even posted WAY more on their social media accounts back then compared to now. I think over the years, a LOT of these celebrities (especially the ones who are fairly famous) have all realized just how toxic social media has become in just such a short time, and I think they have figured out that the less they share, the better.

Fans have definitely crossed the line, and these actors have realized that they need to put a boundary again btwn them, their private life, and their fans. That's just my own personal observation and theory. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Him liking that insta post about him forgetting he’s famous made me realise that as a fan I should not care and just curate my account for my own happiness.

I definitely think you should curate your online account for your own happiness and not worry too much about Tom. With that said, while he may have liked that post, we can't say with 100% accuracy that "he doesn't care" about what people say about him. He IS human after all. He might not care about ALL things, but certain things might def be hurtful.

[phatcatphergus]

Another thing that lowkey makes me dislike the frubbo storyline sometimes is the way chat is so weird about it even off the server. Any time the topic of irl relationships comes up there are always chatters spamming about Fred and it’s not funny it’s just weird. Tubbo himself has had to tell them off for not separating real life and minecraft before. Even on the late night MaxGGs stream that just happened there was still someone who felt the need to bring up Fred in the middle of a genuine discussion and the stream was only at like 300 viewers. It’s a little sad how much fan reactions can sour the viewing experience but it’s not really possible to fully ignore stuff like that on live streamed content with chat right there on the screen.

People that do this shit make me angrier then I would like to admit as a God fearing woman who confesses my problems with anger regularly.

Part of it is because it’s a long and obnoxious pattern of fandom space that doesn’t seem to go away, but the fact that it’s been happening to Tubbo for so long and so persistently is something that truly enrages me. I don’t think there’s been a point in his career that people didn’t associate him with another person, and we all know how insane some of those beeduo people were. Even before beeduo people were asking about other people and bringing up Tommy when it wasn’t appropriate or needed. Especially referencing or talking about lore characters very much outside of rp.

People doing this shit is something I find it hard to just say “oh it’s just a constant, can’t do anything about it” and leaving it because Tubbo himself said he saw himself and his career as an extension of his friends and undermined his own achievements, goals and projects because of it.

The behavior isn’t new, but the fact that now people pushing tubbo into being associated with an NPC character is disgusting. It not only shows how little these people know of his lore, but also how they never saw Tubbo as his own person in the first place. Irl and in rp.

I will say that some of it is young fans trying to be funny or make a statement, but that doesn’t excuse them from the fact that it’s inappropriate. Especially when it’s in other peoples chat or during a conversation that has ZERO correlation.

I think the bottom line is that fandom spaces have never treated Tubbo well. They see him as a character that they can treat however they want and he only exists to “be with someone” or continue someone else’s plot both in rp and irl. He’s never been seen as his own person outside of his own fanbase and it will continue for however long this fandom space does.

[j00stkl31n]

In general i see that male celebrities/artists etc. are usualmy having the crazier fanbase, cause usually its really young girls who for some reason think they will date said artist at one point 🫠

Yeah, as a crazy 13-year-old who wanted to date Louis Tomlinson uuuuuuh you know it didn’t fucking happen lmao.

Sure the back of my head goes “ooh you’re close to joosts age maybe there’s a chance!” Then reality and normal brain goes “dumbass no”

But yeah! A lot of teenage girl fans are actually not cool about how they’re fans!!! It’s sadly a very common occurrence for teenagers in general honestly.

And sadly there’s no fucking way to get it into their heads except for their favs to literally YELL IT AT THEM TO STOP (ik Joost didnt yell but he’s said it so much lately) and even then they probably won’t fucking stop.

I’m not even being facetious schools need to start teaching kids how to interact online because this amount of parasocial stalking and harassing of so many celebrities is insane. These kids have no online media literacy and think it’s okay to be absolutely evil and rude for no reason to anybody they don’t like. And they also think it’s okay to literally stalk whoever the fuck they want and they see nothing wrong with it because they’re young and stupid.

Parents go back to monitoring your kids online activities!!!

And like, obviously, there’s fucking adults that do this shit too and they’re even worse of a problem because they don’t have an excuse of being a young dumb teenager. They’re a full grown adult who thinks it’s okay to treat a celebrity like they know them. Like you personally don’t know this person homie stop invading their home and personal lives k?

You don’t know Joost stop trying to find out where he lives. Stop trying to find out more about his family. Stop fucking stalking him and his fucking loved ones just for your own enter-fucking-tainment.

Me sitting here finding this man hot enough to want to write smut about it is nowhere and will never fucking be anywhere near as crazy as stalking and harassing somebody and thinking that you’re just being a fan by doing so!

Rant over

[honeythispodcast]

hi! i just listened to your affect theory episode and it reminded me so much of this beautiful review i read of my mcr show, and i wanted to share it! it so totally understood my experience of the show, as one of the 'fervently-devoted fans' up front, and it was really touching to have that understood from the perspective of an 'outsider'. this is the link to the full article in rolling stone australia, by conor lochrie (https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-live-reviews/my-chemical-romance-auckland-concert-review-45753/) but here is the section that i loved: '[For] all of their rock opera magnificence and exquisite conceptual brilliance, what, I think, really makes My Chemical Romance a generational band is the sense of intrinsic and invaluable community. At Tāmaki Makaurau’s Outerfields on Saturday night, that was there for all to see: a mass of worshippers arrived passionately but patiently, mostly gathered, unsurprisingly, in black garments, waiting to offer adoration to four people who meant the world to them.

And “waiting” was what they’d really had to do, with Saturday’s concert taking place after several years of COVID-induced delays. Many fans went so far as to camp outside the venue 24 hours before the concert in order to secure the best view. It’s a narrative that again lends itself to some semblance of “spirituality”, for many of the people I spoke to had approached the Outerfields site from the breadth and depth of Aotearoa. One girl, who later disappeared into the huddled masses near the front of the stage, described arriving on a flight from Christchurch that very morning alongside several dozen other MCR acolytes, all already wearing their concert clothing despite the youthfulness of the day. 

Huge screens beside the stage urged the crowd to treat everyone beside them with kindness, but it was a superfluous message, because this was thousands of people united by a shared purpose. Again, one is loath to use the word “spiritual”, but on Saturday night, as soon as Gerard Way took to the stage, he occupied the role of leader, healer, idol, whatever form each person in the crowd needed him to take.

He performed both within and outwith himself, silent at intervals, a shrieking mess during songs, a wholly unblushing artist committed to everything he was doing. On such a massive stage, in front of such an expectant crowd, Way’s way didn’t feel ingratiating; instead, this was a man seized by his music, overwhelmed by his mission. ...

I stood in the middle of the crowd as it all unfolded, behind what I thought were the truly fervently-devoted fans (a lesson from my late Catholic grandmother: always sit in the back at church if you know the people in front need it more than you) and ahead of those probably there for just a good time. Where I stood, looking at people of all ages on the verge of tears, singing lyrics like their life depended on it, I felt pangs of regret, visions of teenage years that could have been so much different if pretension and cultural constriction hadn’t forcibly collided. 

But mostly – I promise – I felt happier for those around me who had waited so long for this moment, and who would never forget this Saturday night. Because, really, it could be an inordinate amount of time until My Chemical Romance perform in Aotearoa again, even if the band themselves will still exist in the minds of those at Outerfields for a while longer: “How wrong we were to think / That immortality meant never dying”.'

I (EJ) remember reading this article when it came out. It kicked my ass then and it kicks my ass now. Absolutely gorgeous incredible music journalism that really honors the fanbase.

We talk more about this at 1:04:06 in the new episode!

[newathens]

I would loveee to hear you talk about pjo calypso because the fandom misunderstands her so much and I rarely see any posts about her in a positive way

pjo calypso is a young girl who has been imprisoned on an island for thousands of years alone with an occasional companion given to her as a method of making her imprisonment sadder. that’s it. i genuinely don’t know how people have misunderstood her that badly from the first series to now.

calypso is an incredibly sweet interpretation of the nymph sorceress from mythology. i actually think riordan made her much more docile than the woman who trapped odysseus for years, but at the very same time, we do get to witness a bit of anger from her. she does have a vindictiveness, or maybe a rather snarky attitude, especially in later books (toa).

we meet her as a melancholic love interest in pjato. her purpose in botl is to give percy an escape, an alternate route, etc.. she represents freedom in a sense. peace. love. all of these things that percy might achieve but are not yet promised to him. her role is a common one in many stories.

hoo, i think, is where things went wrong, but didn’t everything. because calypso appeared again, she became less of a tool and more of her own character. and as percy does in others, he clearly inspired a fight in her. she doesn’t want to be used by the gods and now has this anger she did not have last time. it helps push her story forward. but because she became more complex and possibly acted dislikable, fans did not seem to take well to her. edit: add the curse that calypso gave to annabeth that everybody misconstrues. that too.

which at the end of the day is upsetting, because calypso is none of the things the current fanbase says of her. she is, in terms of this series, just another person treated subpar and unfairly by the gods. and another example of their lack of follow-through. fortunately, her journey has landed her in a better situation, but i still wish she had her powers back.

p.s. the complaints thrown against her are incredibly incoherent. they have no footing to stand on nor any canon content to be backed up with and at this point, the current attitude the fanbase has towards her is rooted in misogyny and sexism. like there is no other reason to call this girl what these kids have been calling her. it’s shocking

[powerin]

I wonder how would you compare and contrast Miguel's love interests and his treatment of them? Somehow, I get the feeling the third movie in the Spider-verse trilogy will take him to task for his treatment of women over the years.

this better not be bait. kidding, but there’s some dude who likes to victim-blame and slut-shame dana in my tumblr DMs and it is Very Tiring to ignore him. hope you understand if this reply comes off as combative. 💖

dana’s obviously my favorite. “the virtuous and beautiful whore who sacrificed herself for the one woman she didn’t like.” she will always be my One True Love.

but i wish dana was smarter, less naive, and wasn’t preyed on by tyler stone. i wish dana and gabe stayed together and she didn’t cheat on him (miguel was not worth it). i wish miguel didn’t call her “stupid, deaf, worthless” and throw plates at her. clearly their relationship deteriorated after miguel became Spider-Man (a toxic entitled egomaniac becoming a superhero is a Bad thing? pinch me im getting megamind flashbacks). but dana saying that miguel should leave his toxic company and that she didn’t want miguel to feel any more pain… it hurts me deeply.

especially since dana was right: miguel should leave alchemax. and miguel is the one who causes dana so much pain.

moving on, i should like xina because i am ALSO a brainy tomboyish chinese woman. plus she’s miguel’s childhood sweetheart.

but more to the point, xina’s NotLikeAllGirls internalized misogyny irritates the shit out of me, and she forcibly changed lyla’s personality so lyla would talk badly about dana. lyla even says some misogynistic homewrecker bullshit like “ruin any relationships today dana?” and then says right after, “im sorry… i don’t know why i said that.”

plus when xina and miguel are alone… xina undresses in front of miguel to get him to sleep with her. but he just says (paraphrasing here), “not in the mood for romance plus you’re not that pretty.”

miguel literally calls xina ugly to her face. and xina still thinks dana is the problem. she irritates me to no end. if xina isn’t interested in romance, why is she so upset about the cheating and the engagement? me thinks she’s a dishonest actor. tbh, if i’d be more accepting if the cheating was just a one time mistake and miguel can Move On with xina. but given these panels:

dude did not cheat once. he did not cheat twice. he cheated over the span of 1-2 years (i’m glad you shaved like i asked, years ago). how much can miguel love xina if he’s always cheating on his childhood sweetheart?

keep in mind, when they meet, miguel rubs it in xina’s face that he’s engaged to dana. HE NEVER PROPOSED TO XINA AND HE DATED HER FOR OVER 10 YEARS. but suddenly dana comes along and he’s like “gotta wife that girl”?

you’ll never get me to be a miguel/xina cheerleader, but i don’t hate xina. i understand xina’s mad at dana for “taking miguel away from her” but miguel didn’t slip and fall on dana and whoops they’re together now.

for the majority of the 2099 fanbase to portray dana as some clingy, insane, desperate girlfriend in need of making miguel marry and have kids with her is taking a tragedy and twisting it into something that is frankly, deeply misogynistic and disgusting. they should be ashamed of themselves.

(not meant for you, by the way. i realize you’re here to have a discussion in good faith.)

lyla is lyla. she is cute, but she is also an AI. she cannot consent to a relationship nor sex. but idk. she’s okay when her programming isn’t being messed with by xina. she shouldn’t end up with miguel though. weird non-consensual things abound with robots and AI and cyberpunk that I Would Rather Not Talk About. but miguel treats lyla disrespectfully in the comics and the movie (played for laughs in the movie though? lyla does get him to say please.)

aaaaaaaand I haven’t read anything with tempest. i know she’s miguel’s canon baby mama and wife, and tyler stone fucks with tempest with some kind of mind-control parasite and forces miguel to kill her. i don’t know enough about tempest to have an opinion, but her design is… all right. i don’t dig the pink hair or the wings. maybe she’ll grow on me? does miguel cheat on her or throw plates at her or neg her? if not, she’s already doing leagues better than xina and dana.

[chibivesicle]

Dunno why you're harping so hard on the "muh mystery" aspect. A feature literally only existent in the 98 anime, because they added a shit ton of filler to make up for so little manga material at the time. The actual source material tells us this is all Knives's fault volume ONE! We know super early on why they're stuck here and who is at fault. The actual mystery the manga and stampede are setting up is not "who did it" but "why did knives do it"

Hello hello,

Yes, I'm one of those people who isn't happy with Stampede revealing a lot of information out from the get go. I 100% admit it. I think that this is going to be an issue for a lot of viewers, especially for people who have a high fondness for Trigun.

I think this comes from a lot of different places and combines in the general feeling of 'meh I don't like this as much'.  I’m surprised how quickly I saw the new series and was like ‘Noooooo!’ but didn’t even know why my immediate reaction was like this. 

1.) What was available at the time you watched the anime. When I watched the anime, it was on a fansub. The DVDs were released between 2000-2001 and the box set at the end of 2001. Therefore, this was all you could go on. If you wanted the manga it wouldn't be out until 2003 via Darkhorse in North America. You could have bought the current tankobons and then found a website where there was a text based translation of the speech bubbles. This was before the common use of fan scan translations. The ability to find a manga before it gets an anime was really freakkin' hard in the 80s and 90s. It was almost the reverse - you'd see the anime and then quest for the manga and hope it got picked up by a publisher who'd then publish it over several years.  They’d only gamble on a title if it already had a strong anime fanbase.

2.) The unique nature of the source material lead to an unusual but clever adaptation of that limited material. Studio Madhouse didn't have enough material for a full 26 episode run. They were brilliant to focus on a new point of view to introduce the viewer to the world. There is nothing wrong with a show that can be episodic, sure, we want stories with a plot driving them forward but episodic shows allow for more character development. The same situation happens, but characters behave differently and Trigun does this well. Having Wolfwood show up and hang out with the group from episodes 9-11 gives him more time to get to know them. The manga has Wolfwood and Vash as close friends, but before the Fifth Moon Incident they only rode on the bus together. Episodes 9-11 gives us more time for them to be dorks together and makes for enjoyable antics. 3.) The air of mystery fits in perfectly with the 'Western' genre. In the classic American Western, you frequently have a drifter who comes into town. He's a skilled gunman who never stays in one place but tries to stand up against injustice against the locals. He might be genuinely good. He may be on a redemption arc. He might be doing this for penance due his past deeds. Hell, he might just be bored.  What he does have is a mysterious past.

Trigun used this concept its advantage for the slow reveal of events. It went for a stronger ‘show, don't tell’ than either the manga or Stampede. Vash looks like a goofball drifter, why isn't he? What type of pain has he been through? How has he survived? This also worked for Wolfwood who won't reveal his full mystery either and the bits here and there in 9-11 add to it.  What is this traveling clergyman doing with a giant 100kg cross that he literally carries? Why would he accept carrying such a cross?  Why would he lie about being able to shoot a gun when he’s excellent at it?

4.) Meryl and Milly vibed with a Western audience more. I'm appalled at how Roberto is currently treating Meryl in the anime. It is setting up a different trope that didn't exist in the original anime or manga. I think a lot of women will not like this as much, the manga didn't have romance since Yasuhiro Nightow said he couldn't write it. But it means that the anime easily passes the Bechdel test which is good for female representation and motivations. I agree with the idea that Meryl and Roberto are written to be a much more culturally Japanese dynamic.  It honestly would make a lot of sense if they are trying to make this more of a domestic success than the original.  We’ll give it the gritty realism of the Japanese office culture!  That will resonate with people!  Maybe this brings in more Japanese women who sympathize exactly with Meryl now? 

I had no idea that Badlands Rumble was released in the States months before Japan.  It seems Trigun is like Escaflowne.  Saw great success outside of Japan but locally was a bit of a flop.  23 year old Meryl is just starting her career, but remember, women over 25 are ‘Christmas Cake’.  Past their best buy date and should be married.  And this is a term that exists in the present, not the past in Japan. 

Other people have hypothesized that Milly was eliminated due to her rare role as a canonically large girl who could take you on.  Other than the fact that she uses a non-lethal weapon, is the youngest child of 10, and the sweetest person ever.  I always loved her dress shirt, tie and suspenders look but it isn’t very ‘cute’ in a moe sense.

5.) Having a fresh comparison of the anime and manga.  With the Stampede hype, I watched the anime.  And then binged the manga.  Overall, I like the anime better.  It is more character driven, the pacing is right and the twists and turns work well.  The only weakness is the manga background lore is lacking but they more than compensated for it for the most part. 

I don’t generalize that I like a series based on a manga that the manga is inherently better than the anime.  Golden Kamuy was an anime that would have benefited from more of the manga chapters included for the first three seasons.  Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood was better with the full background from the manga.  Gintama messed around with content all the time deciding to move plot vs comedy.  Honestly, it always just depends on which one you ultimately prefer.  And I make this on a series by series basis.

6.) The power of nostalgia and a less saturated anime environment of the past. Now, you can essentially watch anime every day or read current manga for an entire year and not overlap with series other people are reading.  The 80s, 90s and very early 2000s were a sparse anime/manga ecosystem.  The internet wasn’t quite at your fingertips.  This then resulted in a more cohesive fanbase.  You all saw the same things due to limited titles to choose from.  Distributors in the States leaned hard into releasing more obscure OVAs since they were cost effective.  OVAs had more adult content than conventional titles so a bunch of us were exposed to some rather mature things likely before we should have.  A lot of 90s anime had that gritty feeling which I don’t think was an accurate representation for it across the board in the 90s but what made it internationally.  The first con I went to was full of Deedlit cosplayers. Why?  You could rent Record of Lodoss War at Blockbuster and it was a well known fantasy anime with a hot elf chick.  The hardcore people were the Inuyasha and Utena cosplayers since they’d not had a domestic release yet and were fansub/text only translation at the time.

With less titles to choose from, you spent more time on the limited series and really dug into them.  Thus, to the western fanbase, Trigun has risen to an important point on a lot of people’s lists.  Or it was the introduction to anime for a lot of people when my introduction had been series like Macross/Voltron/Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2.  Were these ‘pure’ versions - nope but it was what slowly sucked me into more series. 

This also means that in this supersaturated environment, there is more competition for eyeballs.  Do you want to reboot a series that had modest niche success in Japan that was a blockbuster hit in the States?  You have the advantage of the series being complete now; you can draw from all the source material.  But it is a product of its time and the look can be easily dated to the mid-late 90s. 

There are two ways you go with this.  1.) The CLAMP approach - who cares about current styles and trends, we are gonna keep our chara design pretty standard for the original and that will give us our visual advantage.  2.) Adapt it to the current look - which I think is a gamble.  You lose your visual pop factor by making it look more current but it would appear how current series look so people might be willing to give it a shot not knowing the source material. 

With such high saturation, you end up with so many series with characters that all look similar.  I find this to make it hard to distinguish the isekai/fantasy/school set series and they just keep coming out.  I’ll watch a new anime and be like, ‘It was fine.’  but it will quickly blur into the next series that was just as ‘fine’ as that last one. 

In conclusion, I think all of these factors and likely more are why many fans who watched the original anime (and may have even read and enjoyed the manga as well) are so bummed out by this choice to put so many things up front.  That doesn’t necessarily mean that they will have time to fit in more characters and they may instead be swapping out characters for manga specific ones that weren’t written yet and dropping other manga and anime ones.  I have a gut feeling Midvalley will not appear.  If he does, I will be pleasantly surprised.

I think the reason why so many people love the slow reveal is that it rewards you for your time getting to know Vash.  And with other characters meeting him and wondering why he’s so weird it helps you to focus on it as well before the reveal of his origin.  From a narrative perspective it worked well and I think that contributed to why so many people love the anime and are fine with it if it was the only Trigun media they knew.

[fcb-mv33]

#if Daniel gave that much of a shit about Maxs character#he would have defended him after DTS like max did for Lando#but he never did#so don’t act like Daniel is someone who max should be like

These tags though!!! You don't have to post this because it will clearly be controversial, but Daniel has never really struck me as this "poster child on how to be a good person" that his fans try to paint him as anyway. He's good at being good for PR, which isn't necessarily a bad thing - it's clearly worked out for him, as evidenced by his passionate fanbase. However, he's had ample opportunities to go against the grain and show that he's actually a good person. And he's failed to do so every time.

During his time at Red Bull, he could have acknowledged Max's talent instead of pulling the victim "they're prioritizing my teammate and not giving me a chance!" narrative. He also had the opportunity to do this with Lando at McLaren. He didn't take either opportunity and instead made excuses. Ironically enough, Alex's F1 career nearly came to an end after "underperforming" versus Max, yet he's ALWAYS talked about how talented Max is. There was nothing but pride and ego standing in the way of Daniel doing that for the same teammates he felt threatened or outperformed by.

He could have called the DTS dogs off the first time they portrayed Max as a villain to further pull the "Daniel is such a victim" card. He, again, had the opportunity to do this with the way DTS portrayed Lando. He didn't defend his teammates either time. Coincidentally, Max was the one who said something when he saw DTS doing the same thing to Lando that they had done to him.

Daniel saw the way Oscar, a rookie, was painted as a villain and received hate and harassment from his stans for doing nothing other than taking the opportunity for a F1 seat. Never said a word to call his guard dogs off and be a decent person.

When he went on that Tom Segura podcast, he had the opportunity to call them out on their sexist, misogynistic, xenophobic jokes. He didn't. Instead he giggled along with him.

Daniel is a funny guy, and clearly he knows how to manipulate and make PR work for him. I don't know that I would go as far as calling him a "good person" due to that. He's a "good person" in a follow the leader sense. If others on the grid are raising awareness for something or taking a stand against racism, he has no problem going along with them. When he's on his own and has the opportunity to be a good person though, he somehow ALWAYS fails to rise to the occasion. I can't say the same for Max - if he believes someone he cares about has been done wrong, he's going to say something no matter how hated or unpopular it makes him; Max is going to stand up for what and who he believes in. I literally couldn't name one thing Daniel believes in despite him driving for 2 teams I support now; he just says whatever the media wants to hear.

I didn’t think anyone would read that tag lmao😭😭but nah I agree with you tbh on all of this.

I liked Daniel i do And i do think he’s a a good person definitely but I also think that he knows how much he is v much loved thanks to his character in the sport and tbh he does know he’s always going to be loved by the fans and just in general the people within f1. I think he did also see how being the way he is a v much something that can protect him as well tbh against being called out over his driving and also his v poor decisions he has done before.

He does talk about how talented max is yes but he has always kinda put the idea that he left cause the team were treating him as the second driver as the reason he left and he never actually came out and told his side to not attack Max or Lando or oscar over him leaving reed bull and getting the sack from Mclaren. He knew what way DTS portrayed Max and he let it go on because he was their poster child which meant that Max had to be the big bad villain and never once did Daniel say “hold on, he’s 19/20 this isn’t how he is and it isn’t fair”. Instead daniel just rolled with it which was his decision sure but people saying he’s great when it comes to calling out shit is so not true because he never called it out like Max did for Lando.

Like do I think his personality is who he is definitely I think he’s always been like this but I do think that he knows it will help him when it comes to the media and being v popular in it. Like you said what you see is what you get with Max, he calls out shit he doesn’t agree with and stands for other drivers so that’s why I don’t get why other fans act like Daniel has helped to mold Max?? When they aren’t exactly the exact same🤷🏼‍♀️

[bigtittiecomitte]

So I’ll explain about my last post

Honestly there are two characters that I was thinking of when I made it and that’s Doll and V

They’re good characters but there is one issue that I see people overlook or just excuse

Doll - For Doll it’s about her wanting to avenge her parents. Which is not what I’m talking about, I’m more talking about how far she went to make that her goal. She wants to kill V to avenge her parents, that’s her goal but a bunch of drones got hurt and even killed because of Doll’s obsession with killing V. I don’t see a lot of people talk about that but I always wondered why the heck she even thought to kill those drones at prom that were just running away. Her goal at the start was to kill V but it ended with her probably killing V and many others

V - V’s definitely the character I mostly think of when someone mentions a fanbase that would excuse bad actions. This one I’m talking about is especially her relationship to N and her trauma

So people probably already know that I’m obsessed with puzzling N and V’s relationship just bc of how complicated it is but also how it’s the most perfect example of being in love with someone who changed and you might not like those changes

I see a lot of people excuse her behaviour towards him sometimes I don’t think people even remember just how bad she treated him

Just a list of the things that she did to N throughout the series so far

1. Pretending to not know who he is, even to the point where he thought that she didn’t even know his name

2. Wanting to literally kill him in the pilot

3. Letting J abuse him (for this one it’s not clear on what it was like before Uzi showed up but judging by the scene where Uzi leaves, you can see that she let J abuse him)

4. Making remarks that would make him feel even worse (mental abuse?)

5. Beheading him

6. Insulting him

7. Physically assaulting him

8. Ignoring him (which could also be apart of Number One but even then she still ignored him throughout the series)

9. Trying to kill the one drone that he cares so much about

10. Keeping secrets from him and just not communicating at all

Yeah that’s pretty much it maybe but I always see people excuse this as her protecting him

The difference between N and V is that V remembers everything that happened in the mansion while N didn’t. It’s why with how V treated her trauma, N and V could never be in a relationship again

V has trauma and that is something that’s pretty clear but yet again it doesn’t give her an excuse to be like this to someone that she cares about because that will just drive him to go to someone else who treats him better than she has ever since in the mansion

People who excuse her behaviour towards him as just being protective doesn’t understand that and doesn’t understand that hurting your loved ones and hiding stuff from them is something that’s really harmful for your relationships

It’s the reason why I absolutely loved N snapping at her in Episode 4 because while a lot of people have said that N went too far I beg to differ

Not only did N have the absolute right to stand up for himself after being mistreated so long but it’s also an important scene for not only V’s character development but also N’s. That scene gave V a realisation on that if she continues treating him the way she has then N will not be bothered to be around her anymore now that he has Uzi

V’s not a villain absolutely not, she’s just someone who went through a bunch of trauma and didn’t know how to treat that but it still doesn’t give the right to do what she did to N because they all went through the same thing it’s just that V remembers it and N should never feel like he didn’t matter because he does, everyone does

V obviously does care about N and he does for her but they’ve both changed, quite literally. It’s why they can never go back to being those silly worker drones that were in love with each other because people change and it’s ok to be uncomfortable with that

Let’s hope that if V does live then N and V can talk it out and actually be friends, no romance whatsoever, just friends because them having a romance now will just make them miserable

On Tiktok I saw a bunch of people say that N and V should be together bc they’ve known each other longer but that’s not how romantic relationships should be

It should be on how healthy it is and how it would affect your mental and emotional well-being not how long you’ve known someone for

Anyways that’s my explanation on it all boobies

[thewoollyviking]

Ok, Steven Universe fanbase, we need to talk. Because there’s this issue that keeps cropping up when talking about the Diamonds and no one seems to really understand what folks are saying.

Don’t know what I mean? Allow me to explain…

Whenever I or someone else talks about how the Diamonds never really faced any real consequences for their actions, why is your first instinct to immediately say “but Steven didn’t forgive them.”

Yes, we know, pretty much all of us have seen future by now, or at least the scene of Steven almost murdering White Diamond that y’all most likely drop to provide context.

But that’s not what we’re talking about. I don’t care if Steven personally thinks the Diamonds are swell and takes them to Funland on the weekends. Because, get this, my judgement of the characters doesn’t depend on who among the cast Steven is giving the most ‘good boi’ points to.

This is such a frustrating topic to discuss with fans because it feels like y’all treat Steven as the ultimate judge of moral character. Newsflash, Steven is a CHILD! And by Future he’s an angry, emotionally unstable child!

Why do we keep circling back to this? Like ok, let’s compare this to another show, and to be fair I’m going to ignore the Owl in the room and pick something that is slightly less obvious, Avatar the Last Airbender.

Imagine if ATLA ended with Aang making Ozai promise to stop being evil and conquering the other nations… but did NOTHING to remove any of his power, either through his position as Firelord or even through taking his bending away.

Even if Aang said he didn’t personally forgive Ozai… would that honestly really matter? Because what did he ultimately accomplish then? Ozai still has all his power and the only thing stopping him is a disapproving look from Aang?

And don’t think I’m being unfair with the comparison here. Yeah, Steven’s a pacifist, but like… so was Aang, dude was literally a monk and was just as much of a child as Steven. And even he understood that even if he couldn’t bring himself to compromise his morality to kill Ozai, he still had to find another way.

And even if the show bent over backwards to make it seem like Ozai really was remorseful for what he did, would it not seem uncomfortably jarring compared to his behavior throughout the entire rest of the show up to that point?

That’s the point I’m getting at with the Diamonds, they ultimately suffered no real repercussions. Because there was no tangible effort to strip them of their power. If White Diamond woke up tomorrow, decided Steven was full of it, and just went around forcing Homeworld to backtrack hard to the point of just bleaching everyone to obey her to start colonizing planets again than who or what can really stop her?

Here’s a bitter pill that SU fans need to swallow, when bad people don’t face any consequences for their actions, than how do you expect them to learn ANYTHING?

Why change and become a better person if no one is going to stop you? Why not abuse your loved ones and cause untold death and destruction to everyone and everything around you if you aren’t going to pay for it?

You can still like the show, there’s still good stuff here, but we gotta accept that the finale sucked, regardless of whether it was a creative decision the crew took from the start or it was compromise that was forced because of CN.

[saezurufeels]

hello there, i've being a saezuru fan since chapter 15 was realized and i've been following the tumblr posts since then as well, this is the first time i actually commented anywhere on tumblr about it! :)

i'm saying this for a reason by the way stay with me :)

ive being expecting this chapter for like a month and ive reread everything from the beginning and i will encourage you to do the same as i understand better the relationship of doumeki and yashiro but also the plot of the yakuza story line, the time frame of the story in the story and the actual time frame of the manga being posted is consider always when creating the next chapter. i mean there is a time dilation and that somehow dilates the understanding of the story! i know that you probably are like dahh we know sis.

BUT i came to an expectation of chapter 51 that was accurate somehow, because i knew that their relationship was never expressed by them with WORDS, and even if they used words (like sharing secrets to each other in the very beginning of the story) is because they showed trust and affection to each other by flirting, especially yashiro to doumeki in the beginning chaptes his like - i can do so much to you babes, let me show you what i can do to you babes omg your so cute! -

There is a silence in their conversation, that it is known that it says i love you. it was always like that from the beginning and thats why i love saezuru that much and yoneda for creating it, i didnt saw that anywhere else so far in a manga, i only saw the words and the common confessions to convey that.

i dont expect a confession i dont see the need for that, she choose to make yashiro kick doumeki to show how concerned he was about him (i love you why did you do that to yourself, i wanted you to be safe) and doumeki let him kick him although he is bigger than him and could easily stop him and all he did was grab him gentle by the wrist and looked at him( i love you i will always love i did this because i can protect you and i will protect you).

also there is no way that doumeki doesn't love yashiro or he is with someone else is yoneda trying to create anxiety on you and she is succeeding lol, she is aware of her fanbase and she is also aware of pleasing us and displeasing us.

i would like to hear your thought and opinions guys!:)

Hi there! Wow, you’ve been here very long! Thank you for your first public Saezuru comment and sharing some of your wisdom :) Well put, I agree with everything you said! Rereading the manga before new chapters come out is always so helpful because it puts things into a proper perspective.

You’re so right, they did flirt a lot in the beginning. They talked so much about their personal lives, and shared so many thoughts and ideas with each other. They also showed so much interest in the other; they didn’t just talk about themselves, they actually cared about the other person. It’s these simple gestures, the pauses - the acceptance, that convey romantic feelings. YK uses body language, dynamics, reactions, and everything in between to show the progression of Yashiro and Doumeki’s relationship. Sometimes there are brief internal monologues and confessions, but those parts are used to supplement what was already conveyed and understood through non-verbal storytelling.

It’s true, a confession isn’t always necessary. The impact of character development often goes down the toilet when you just have two characters in a room making one confession after another. Words don’t change opinions, actions do. Saying something is great, but what value does it have? What impact does it make if it’s not backed up by some tangible actions? Who’s going to believe you? If Doumeki told Yashiro, “I don’t want you to see Kido, because I don’t like how he treats you,” would that leave the same impact as throwing a grown man across a room and picking your lover off the floor? Portraying action is proof, but words are empty by nature.

That being said, I do think Yashiro and Doumeki will have an honest conversation eventually, otherwise it would leave a void. I know I just said words are empty by nature, but when you follow up an act with an explanation, you ascribe meaning and significance to it. If there is no meaning ascribed to behaviour, it could make people question the importance and validity of it. So, words are still important to solidify and clarify the significance and meaning of actions. Perhaps, the order of those two is important in good storytelling.

Oh YK would drop a golden apple into a room and watch the girlies fight over it for sureee. Love her though, would follow her into a cult