#and if they see this and wanna adopt it into their interpretation too they're more than welcome to ♥

[deadn30n]

while i was in the shower i was brainstorming about heartsteel aphelios and all the different reasons he might've lost his voice ( && i'm of the opinion that it's recoverable, but difficult to achieve that ) and i thought..... what if aphelios is autistic? maybe he's like me and not on the stronger side of the spectrum, but he is autistic and so the first several years of his life he was actually nonverbal. because, yanno, sometimes we autistic people just be like that. i myself was on the side that never shut the fuck up, but i had friends who were quieter or didn't speak much.

so what if aphelios was autistic? what if alune was one of the only people he spoke with? she's his twin after all, she had a lot deeper connection with him than anyone else, even their parents. and maybe eventually she coaxed him into actually communicating ( but for the most part still speaks on his behalf ) && for a lil while he was a bit more communicative.

&& then when he was a teenager, unfortunately he developed throat cancer, which was tragic in itself, because he'd only just discovered how much he likes to sing. he'd sing to alune fairly often, and she loved it because his voice was always so sweet and gentle. after the cancer developed, he had to go in for surgery and that ultimately robbed him of his voice. not completely, but for a very long time it's extremely painful for him to speak, so he just doesn't. alune knows this, so she picks up the same habit she had as a kid in speaking on his behalf now that he quite literally can't.

but maybe one day he'll be able to get his voice back, yeah? he won't ever be able to sing again, but he will be able to speak. he's going to speech therapy actively, but not much progress has been made since the healing process is a long and grueling one. one day though! one day...

[sharonisthebettercarter]

Starlight isn't interested in being a mom, she'll protect kids when the situation calls for it and be supportive of said kids, but she's not gonna take care of a child 24/7. She's more "protective auntie" type than "Good mom energy". Nobody expected Billy to be all nurturing towards kids, they shouldn't expect the same from starlight, it doesn't matter if the latter has a stronger connection to kids. We never saw her talk wanting kids nor shown any implications of her wanting to join motherhood. She definitely seems like she's someone who likes kids, but doesn't want any of her own. So yeah, don't expect her to be anyone's mom. Nobody expected Billy to be anyone's dad, especially if you read the comics, don't expect starlight to be anyone's mom. Idgas if she's nicer to kids than billy.

idk what you're on about anon but it's fuckin' weird, i'ma tell ya that.

starlight wanting kids is basically schrodinger's cat here. sure, she's never said or implied she specifically *wanted* kids.

but she's never said or implied that she specifically *doesn't* want kids either, in either iteration so whatever you thought this was, it's just a great big can of nothin' word soup.

or in other words, this random ramble that showed up in my inbox? it don't make a lick of sense.

also, why even care so much if starlight becomes a mom or not??? that is an exceedingly weird thing to grasp onto, i gotta say. it sounds more like *you* specifically don't want her to have kids and are possibly projecting your own desire onto your interpretation of the character, so headcanon i guess?? which fine, but why bother me with it???????? who even cares whether she becomes a mom or not? if they go that route, they go that route, if they don't, they don't.

butt.

i will also say that if starlight didn't ever want kids or had some sort of issue with adopting one, she probably would have freaked out the first second hughie mentioned 'may have signed us up to adopt a kid'. she was pretty unfazed in response so it either just wasn't something she cared to give much attention to in that moment (half because she wouldn't mind/half because more important topics at hand), or her and hughie *are* actually at the stage in their relationship where kids aren't necessarily the goal, but they're okay with becoming parents and have probably talked about it (at least once, generally an important conversation for a healthy het couple that is sexually active)

and why in satan's red hellscape would you designate her as a 'protective auntie' specifically to bar her from 'good mom energy'?????????? first of all, WHAT?? who are you to decide that for another woman?????? how do you even decide *for another woman* 'yeah, she likes kids but def never wants any of her own'??? leik wut?? when did she say *anything* even remotely implying this???????????

why do *you* get to speak for *her*?????? what the hell are you even basing this assumption on????????????

and second, why couldn't she be both???? people can be *both* moms to one kid and aunts to others. if your mom has siblings(or super close family friends/besties), and her siblings(besties) have kids, which would be your cousins(or conisdered family), she's an aunt too(or could be considered one)!

and if mom's sibling is a sister and they both have kids, wouldn't ya know, they're *both* mom/auntie combos!!

leik where is the logic here?????????????

shoot, we might even see them actually adopt a kid (maybe teddy stillwell) if that paperwork did actually go through and i could def picture hughie freakin' out but annie bein' a total boss about it (also lmao would be kinda great since the kid's powers match hughie's, could also picture butcher pushing hughie to adopt teddy specifically to use him... FFFFFFFFFFFFFF--)

butt~ there's also leaked spoilers of a pregnancy reveal in the next season, big chance it could be starlight's, leik big enough to make a safe bet i'd guess, but who knows.

otherwise, i mean if you wanna write starlight not being a mom in fanfic, that's an option. it is free. have at it.

just maybe don't bother the people who do make her become a mom in their own fics or want to see that in the show, or try to implement your personal vision of 'what starlight should be' onto them, that much is a bit of a dick move. (you can make your own meta and nicely discuss but this ask is hella weird)

leik you could have just been honest and said 'i don't want starlight to have kids' and it would have made a 1000 times more sense and been more valid than whatever the hell this thing was.

i ramble a ton but don't care one way or another, which just makes this extra weird anon. honestly wtf. this might make more sense if i gushed about starlight becoming a mom as much as i did about butcher getting impregnated~<3 but i've only ever mentioned it in passing, probably once or twice?? normally in reference to predictions for *if* ryan survives, which i've made pretty clear i'm *not* holding out for. (that kid died in the comic by butcher's hand, given the parallels with the kid accidentally killing his mom in both comic and show, i'm expecting a similar parallel for him and butcher eventually) you sure this one was meant for me???

also, the way things are going + leaked spoilers, maybe don't be surprised if she does in fact become a mom in canon? (or if butcher causes her to have a miscarriage i guess. would not put it past him... FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF--)

[egg-emperor]

Feels like some want to put emphasis on family in almost every relationship in this series; and quite a bit of others where it's not biggest theme. Occasional maybe, but not the whole aspect. (And for something that is complex as family; biological, found or otherwise, people seem keen on making each one virtually the same in concept.)

Gonna drop a hot take and I fear angering a bunch of people at once, I just hope they hear me out all the way through first lol. But I wanna be honest about how I feel about this

They really do. There's a huge push for every dynamic between the characters to be familial and for all to have family of some kind lately. You have tons of people going "x and x are literally related and found family/adoptive family and everything else is wrong", acting like it's undeniable canon, in places where it's never been explicitly labeled as such, or doesn't exist at all, or is only somewhat resembling of a family dynamic but still up to interpretation, or is a lot more complex than the typical expected nuclear family structure and simplifying it removes what's interesting.

For example, I can see how Charmy is like Vector's son if you consider he's taken him into care and the dynamic they have in games but even then it's not said outright. But then people act like Vector signed adoption papers and with Espio as his other son and Charmy's brother even though he doesn't have anything like that dynamic with him in the games at all, and say it's "literally canon"... Why is Espio forced into that box? People decide on ages alone as if they've ever been a huge important point in the series but they're barely acknowledged

Then there's a push for Team Dark to have Rouge as a mom/sister and Shadow and Omega as kids/brothers when none are implied. Rouge isn't motherly just because she cares for Shadow, she's only 18 (plus in a bio they considered her having a thing for him so) and isn't sisterly either. Shadow treats their team ups and interactions like business with the objective in priority and goes off and does his own thing when it's over, he's not implied to live a domestic family life with them. And Omega is Omega, he doesn't think of himself as family to Rouge nor Shadow just because Robotniks created them, he just wants to destroy Eggman's shit lol

Team Rose is what I think of being one of the more familial types, but again only really from how Big acts like their big brother in the Heroes saying he's gotta get tough for them and looks out for them like that. But even then that's not set in stone as they're barely together as a team and it's all just based on vibes and they only call each other friends. But there's definitely more of a logical case than the other teams, but again I think as only in a much more casual and mild way than what people want. So I just think of them as being good friends with things in common with family dynamics but it not meaning they're literally family.

I even think of Team Sonic as all friends first, despite brotherly esque interactions depending on how you view Sonic and Knuckles interacting maybe, and how Tails was said to be seen "like something of a" little brother to Sonic in a bio and called his bro a couple times in game. But people kinda overemphasize there too as it's much more casual and not in the way they signed adoption papers to play strict family roles. For the most part, it feels like they're friends and parts of their dynamic can resemble the dynamics but it's not a strict family structure and role assignment.

What's funny is Silver and Blaze were stated to have a sibling like dynamic, with Blaze seeing Silver as a brother in a bio and people get mad when it's brought up because they ship them. That's when they stop caring about family type dynamics, if it gets in the way of their ship lol. I have no problem with people who wanna ship them as they're not literally adoptive like I said for the others so do your thing. But people getting mad and rejecting the idea that's official if it gets in the way of their ship, yet claiming other family type bonds are official when they aren't is ironic XD

And now with Eggman just because of Sage, people act like literally every single robot ever of his are all canon sons and daughters and he's the best wholesome dad and nothing more than one and all he does is play with them and have family days out and isn't his own person anymore. Kinda heavily reminiscent of the nuclear family dream propaganda pushed all the time that irks me as a gay guy who had had that forced onto me incessantly... Seeing a comfort character forced into all the things he's helped distract me from by fans when it doesn't exist like that in the games is rough.

Plus it involves ignoring the specific selfish, egotistical, and shallow reasons that Eggman accepted Sage as being as a daughter and why he half-heartedly entertained her desire to see Orbot and Cubot as brothers, which are very different reasons than "he was lonely and had no purpose in life so he wanted to become the nuclear family stereotype of a dad and thanks to Sage he is and he's actually a good likable character for it now!" It pushes the idea that everyone needs a romantic relationship and/or family to be whole and worth something and it's uncomfortable :(

Even more for how shallow, manipulative, and conditional his dynamic with Sage is and how he treats Orbot and Cubot like shit which, if he entertains the dynamic of them being Sage's brothers, it makes him an absive father already and doesn't magically undo that. (Plus in games past Frontiers he continues to be cruel to them.) And he's never seen other creations as kids, closest is calling the E Series brothers but only referred to himself as their creator, not dad. Calling himself Metal's dad is IDW only and doesn't make sense to be canon. But even if it was, the dynamic is a casual silly thing and not a deep meaningful thing there, just like it wasn't with the E Series so it worked.

But people want Eggman and his creations to replicate a nuclear family structure and dynamics one to one, as if his bond with Sage isn't anything but ordinary and he isn't terrible to his creations. He doesn't see all of them as his kids and all of them don't see each other as siblings. It's even more clear in how I see people asking members of Sonic Official like "will Eggman get a girlfriend/wife so Sage can have a mom" and it makes me feel ill. It's clear they don't understand Eggman's dynamic with his creations and why it exists and just want him to replicate the nuclear family dynamic, get a romantic partner, and conform to the life script because they think he's better that way.

And man one of the many reasons Eggman is special and appealing to me is he's a middle aged man that doesn't show an interest in biological family or romantic relationship, instead happily living without that, embracing his commonly considered childish passions and unconventional dreams. You have no idea how happy I was about in character terms of Eggman and Sage's dynamic in the game and how he expressed aversion towards biological natural reproduction. That's special to me. Not to be dramatic but seeing fandom act like he's not good or likable until he perfectly replicates the life script nuclear family structure dream instead is kinda heartbreaking.

-

Like even if you want to look at any of these bonds of a case of found family, why does it all have to be in the structure of nuclear family dynamics and all these specific strict labels and dynamics forced onto them where they don't even exist, or at least are much more casual and still more friendly than familial? Why does it need to have everything about it be exactly the same aside from the biological blood relation? Like you said, there's way more forms and complexity than that. It can be way more interesting and meaningful to show how it can transcend that, how it doesn't have to follow the guidelines of the expected life script and nuclear family structure just with a different coat of paint.

Intentionally or not, it pushes the idea that one has more purpose and worth if they create the nuclear family structure in one way or another, that one is missing something without it, and life has more meaning and is better with it. It gives the vibe of conservatives and those that feel we should all follow the life script and have more purpose and meaning when we create a family- because it's helping make virtually the same concept look appealing and pushing the idea it's always needed. It can still serve as propaganda that can give an impression to the audience they should comply, find it or create it to have more meaning in life, and put pressure on them the same way instead of it being optional, because it's been shown to them exactly the way biological relation ones are.

If it was presented that way in canon, it would be propaganda and that makes it uncomfortable to me being aro and gay. Not saying everyone has to agree and appeal to me, I'm not the main character of the universe lol. But I don't like to see romance or forced family dynamics from nowhere or being made to replicate the nuclear family structure they're expected to end up with. That's just like if they had gotten into romantic relationships, without the relationship but still the results. With the way fandom has been pushing it, it's no different to the concepts displayed in nuclear family propaganda, only biological relation aside. And that doesn't make it any less uncomfortable for how it replicates it otherwise, it's just the nuclear family structure disguised at that point and can have the same effect.

I like how the series has a big focus on friendship instead. Romance is very rare and small in this series focus and there was very little focus on family before Frontiers too. It was always the power of friendship overall. You can be friends without being anything like a family and it's just meaningful, in case everyone is forgetting. What was once the people saying "stop shipping everyone with each other, not everything is romantic" are now like "ALL the characters are all/should be family, everything is familial". And I dunno man, I kinda just like them all being friends like they're literally meant to be for the most part lol

Of course people can do what they want in fanon but the insistence that its all literally canon or the push for it to be played that way in it if they acknowledge it isn't feels bad with all this in mind. But again that's just my opinion and I'm not demanding everyone to cater to me with their fanon creations. I'm not focusing or hating on specific creations, just sharing my thoughts on the general concept and dynamic that I'm free to dislike just like anyone is free to like, and talking about why I wouldn't want fandom's take on all of it to ever become canon to the series. Some that get mad may twist my words either way but just wanna clarify anyway.

But yeah, tldr the way people are really just using the idea of found family and characters having any kind of familial esque dynamic between each other as a way to replicate nuclear family structures exist in them because they think it's "better and more interesting" that way is starting to make me really uncomfortable and dislike it for how it simplifies and waters down the dynamics to force them into that box. I know there are plenty of good ways to present and explore such dynamics without it going that route, it's just that this has become so much more common instead and people get mad if you're discomforted or not a fan for any reasons and it sucks.

[shock-micro]

i was thinking about the stars this morning... well... i'm certainly thinking about them a lot more now! shoutouts to stars!

btw you've might noticed me saying stars instead of lord or god recently... well, i've decided to adopt that mannerism? because i don't really?? follow?? the christian god?? and so the stars feel a lot more meaningful to invoke??

essentially, i've resolved myself to putting in the effort to change, recently. i'd already set in motion going to college, so why not try and put the best version of myself out there? i wanna be a person who can reliably do things herself, take care of itself, and above all, help others, regardless of what it takes.

i've thought a lot about change, in the past years. the idea of everything always changing, nothing being everlasting... the concept first resonated with me after i had come up with a theory about a game, which i then applied to the lore and gameplay of my own game concept. it's funny, but it's when i first really thought about it...

it wasn't until i played in stars and time when i realized how important that concept really was to me. seeing it reflected in everything about the game's environment... it made me think.

the idea of cycles has kinda bounced around my head a lot, too. zelda, one of the first game series i knew of, is built around a cycle of reincarnation. one of the best entries is even a time loop story! and history always taught about different religions, about the cycle of reincarnation and how it's interpreted differently...

but i didn't really think about that all too much until i played rain world. seeing such a profound story centered around the concept, a whole world trapped in a cycle... well, it made me think!

because isn't everything a cycle? isn't everything constantly changing within it? think about it. the water cycle, raining, collecting, and evaporating back to the sky to rain down again. life, growing, reproducing, dying, and becoming nutrients for new things to grow. it's all constantly changing, yet in complete equilibrium, a cycle.

it's beautiful, isn't it? our seasons, the rain, the emotions we feel, life itself, they're all in flux, all ever changing, every moment fleeting, and we live it! we get to experience it all! and we get to lock it all in our memories, write it down, pass down our stories across generations, lay them bare for all to see!

and i don't think anything exemplifies my point better than the stars. the stars, which are constantly shifting in the plane of the universe, growing, fusing, casting their life-giving rays for all to see, and eventually dying in a fiery passion, reduced to stardust, ready to be used as fuel for the creation of another star.

a perfect cycle, at a scale of time and space nigh-incomprehensible to us. yet, we're able to know it all, thanks to the vastness of our universe. the cycle of something which used to be held in religious reverence, something which gives us life, the ashes of which give us form, is now within our knowledge.

...i think it's about time we treat them with a bit of respect again.

[vegaseatsass]

GAP the Series ep 6 thoughts (spoilers!!)

Am about to embark on an epic two-day backread (dw this is like. self-soothing behavior, not an obligation) but first!! Let me quickly journal about GAP: The Intricate Rituals Series.

So this episode made me feral. I'm like "no way can they top what last week did to my brain" and then Sam was out here licking Mon's thigh and barking. GAP girlies, we are truly God's strongest soldiers.

Thigh-licking aside, Thee Moment for me this week was Mon: It's nothing Sam: That means it's something. Mon: How could you possibly know that? Sam: I'm that type of person. How could I possibly not know what it's like? I mean first of all hhhhh Sam recognizing herself in Mon's attempt at disregarding very strong/obvious emotions!!! They are so socially different yet still mirrors of each other!! But second of all, Mon has become such an expert at decoding Sam's chaotic hot-cold indirect communication style, and I realized this week that Sam's approach to understanding Mon when avoiding or withdrawing from her isn't to learn how to read between Mon's lines and carefully interpret her like Mon does with Sam, but to urge Mon towards direct communication, push her past her kneejerk social graces to tell Sam the things she would otherwise swallow down. Not sure if I'm explaining this well but I find it really lovely, that they're both so attuned to each other and so invested in really understanding what the other is thinking and feeling, but they have different, complementary skillsets in how to go about seeking answers: Mon is incredibly perceptive and Sam is incredibly assertive. They're learning from each other too!! Not only is Sam paying close attention to what Mon is feeling but she does this cute thing where she lists off all the evidence of what she's observed (you didn't answer my texts and said no to dinner!), like a student first learning how to do mathematical proofs kdjfsdff Mon meanwhile asks more direct questions of Sam every episode. "What am I to you?" It's no longer enough for her to rely on non-verbal cues. Tl;dr im love them.

"What do you want to eat?" "Your lips" WANNA SUCK MOUTH ENERGY STILL GOING STRONG. Sam is so openly horny it is such a delight to behold.

Jim telling Mon she almost broke up with her fiance when Sam kissed her lmaooo she gets it!! I'm also wondering if she (whether deliberately or subconsciously) shared that to try to provoke a reaction in Mon. Sam's friends are just always stirring the pot to try to make Mon/Sam happen, so the symmetry of Jim taunting first Sam and then Mon with kissies seems intentional. Regardless, I am living for how hard they all ship Sam/Mon, and how they lack a single shred of remorse for Kirk. "If you guys have a beautiful affair we won't tell!!!"

I loved Sam's apology to Jim for oh so many reasons (why is she such a sexy gremlin? "You slap me, I'll kiss you." Sam who taught you to be like this!! I know it wasn't grandma!!), but one of them is all the apology language she's adopted from Kirk and Mon. The fingerheart attempt was so uwu I am having trouble typing about it, but also I'm clocking the snack bribery as something she picked up from Kirk. Before Mon became her role model on how to human, Kirk was there. Like esp if he's been mitigating her grandma's influence on her since she was a kid? I can just see why that was such a central relationship for her before Mon came along. Like I am sad! That he wasn't actually reading the room and wingmanning for her with Mon in ep2! I would have loved that as a story choice sooo much more, he's more annoying for his heteronormativity goggles, and it legit sucks that he's pushing their relationship in earnest when AT A MINIMUM he knows Sam views marriage as a kind of punishment/failure of girlboss aspirations. But I still suspect (what I am anticipating we'll see of) Sam's sense of obligation around his proposal isn't exclusively about obeisance to her grandma. I think there probably was real love there and he probably was a transformative and vital support for her for a lot of her life. Idk I haven't backread any of the tag or anything so this may be a realllly unpopular take lmao but I'm compelled by mess and it's more interesting to me to think that Sam really has loved and depended on Kirk as a partner for most of her life, but she isn't in love with him, something that only became crystal clear after meeting Mon.

On the heteronormativity goggles note: proud of Nop for getting his shit together this fast! I mean I think he always knew, and last week Mon just took away his reason to keep lying to himself about it, but it's nice that he can comfortably transition into Mon's lesbianism supporter. SHE NEEDS ONE

Noticed that she started wearing rainbow earrings after their little discussion btw. Is she beginning to embrace her "like"-like-a-lover-not-like-a-fangirl feelings... signs point to yes. Honestly atp I think all she needed to take that bouquet and propose to Sam herself was some explicit confirmation that Sam sees her as girlfriend material and not as a weird servant-sister, so it's devastating that instead of getting that grounding, the rug was pulled out from under them both. The preview for next week feels v "I don't know if we were dating but I do know she broke up w/ me" and that's the kind of gay representation I desire MOST so thank you but also ow.

Ok sorry for tl;dr post but the last thing I'll say is that right now my reading is that before her conversation with Nop, Mon was not looking too closely at her feelings for Sam or what they could mean about their relationship or her own identity, and that's why for example she gets so upset Sam calls her an outsider but NOT that Kirk is doing couple-y stuff with Sam right in front of her! She knows she wants to be close to Sam and important and more than a sister or a servant to her, but she can't fully-fully embrace the word for what it is that she wants without Sam naming it first. Mon's issue is one of internal expression. On the other hand, I think Sam completely knows what she feels for Mon, and probably always has. She felt guilty and exposed that Kirk was being couple-y in front of Mon because she fully sees Mon as her girlfriend! (Did she not google "how to make up with your girlfriend" lol I mean.) But for her the issue is one of external expression: she can't say what she knows she wants and feels out loud, because at best it would get her disowned and at worst it would get her killed in a car crash like her sister, so she's left slapping her friends and inventing lip-biting games instead of using her words.

Ep 1, Ep 2, Ep 3, Ep 4, Ep 5

[hedgehogfangirl317]

Your characters and the work you put into them are incredible! I'm making a similar "Sonic and the Gang's Children and Future" story in my head that will never be released since I can't draw Sonic characters to save my life, any advice?

Thank you so much! I'm so happy you took the time to reach out, and flabbergasted that you'd ask for my advise! I've been putting your ask off to think about it more, because I really wanna do it justice.

The thing is, most of my characters have been with me for 13 years now. They've grown and changed alongside me. I was 10, watched Sonic X, liked the characters and started imagining more about their lives. My fankids were neither original nor very well developed then. Personality-wise, they were mostly copycats of the og cast (but Archie Comics did that, too, and they made money with it, I guess.) I love storytelling, and I taught myself a lot about stories and characters over the years, and put that to use on my Sonic characters. But it still took me a while to work up the courage to post them here.

That's the first point I want to make, I guess. It's easy to be discouraged when you see all the great fanart and fancharacters people have made on the internet. You think you'll never make something as good or original as that. There's some insanely talented people out there. The thing is - forget about it. Making something that has never been there before, with the amount of fancharacters this 30-year-old fandom has to offer, is next to impossible. So just don't try. Make the characters that feel right to you, that fit your stories. Look at other's work with appreciation, and appreciate your characters for what they mean to you. My characters are a comfort to me, and I love improving on them.

Since I've read your ask, I've really tried to be concious about the way I work on my characters. Most of them, I can't remember when I first envisioned them. But if I'd give advise, I'd pin it down to:

start with the og cast

tell the stories you want to tell and

characters don't exist in a vaccum.

Sonic and his friends are obviously the most important component when writing fankids. They're the parents. The way they act and think will hugely impact the kids. Take the original cast and continue their stories to what feels right. Where do their lives, their choices, lead them? What does their day-to-day life look like in the future? Are they still adventuring? When, how and why did they get kids? These questions are always good starting points for future kids. Get a few notes down on how you interpret Sonic and his friends as characters. Flesh out their backstories which will influence their future, too, and how they'll raise their kids.

(Example for my characters:)

Violet and Flash are affected by their father basically being the world's greatest hero. They grow up with a strong sense of justice and feeling they have a duty to the world, but struggle to live up to Sonic's legacy. Both of them will find their own ways to do so, eventually.

Meanwhile, Tails, shaped by being an abandoned child and an outcast, strifes to build a safe space, where his children can grow and learn in peace. He shelters them a little too much sometimes, but they have education and possibilities he never had at their age.

(I have a lot of fun with this family in particular, with the oldest kid being an alien, and the youngest a hybrid, and Tails nervous they'll be seen as outcasts, too. Shenanigans around the clock.)

I think if you don't know where to start a character, think about where there is potential for a story.

My Tailream child Peony came to be as a direct continuation of the story from Sonic X. Her character is a spiritual sucessor of everything her mother Cosmo stood for, wished for and grew to be. When writing Peony I always have in mind her species (plant-based lifeform), the history of her species from the show, and what her existence means going forward. And of course, what it meant for Tails and Cream when they adopted her, in light of the tragedy they went through to get there.

My Sonamy child Violet became the Guardian of the Chaos Emeralds. This gave me an excuse to explore the whole mythology around them, and flesh out the world more (and I've got re-writing to do after Sonic Frontiers). Violet's role affects her powers, her values, her fears, her view on the world, her self-image and her relationships with others. I have a story where the power overwhelms her, she almost hurts her family, and drops off the face of the world for two years in fear of repetition. She does a lot of soulsearching and research about the Emeralds.

Obviously not all fankids can have a history this extensive, but having a couple of kids rounded can help deciding what to do with the rest.

Because characters don't exist in a vaccum. If you want to make believable, well-rounded characters, remember that they live in a world, with other characters.. Their beliefs and values depend on where and how they grow up, who their family is, who they interact with. What's happening in the world around them? Like I said, Sonic and the gang as parents are going to shape how the kids will turn out to be, but it's also the other way around. With time, the kids will change their parents, siblings will influence each other, and deciding who their friends are is important, too. In my stories, Sonic's and Tails' kids see each other every day because they're basically family. So Violet and Flash get a lot more education than Sonic ever did, and Tails' kids learn to appreciate freedom and adventure outside of their sheltered and protected life. But they also spend a lot of time on Angel Island, because Violet wants to learn about the Master Emerald, and Flash is best friends with Knuckles' son.

With so many characters you're never really done. Right now, I'm working on my other two Silvaze kids that have only existed as vague concepts in my head up to now (hope I can post them soon.) I even had a whole traditional family for Shadow at some point. His son had quite a significant role in my stories. But I've now realised I don't think this fits Shadow's character anymore. (I didn't understand him really until I've recently started really digging into the matter), and I've scrapped all of it. Now, I'm completely re-writing Shadow's future to better fit how I interpret him. It'll be much more interesting than what I had before.

I don't know if any of this is coherent, and if you've read to this point, thank you so much. And thank you again for the ask. I just looove character work, no matter original characters or my own. It should be fun, so don't put that much pressure on yourself.

[freckledjoes]

I feel a little alone in this fandom cos I really really love stancy lol 😭 but when the show was on there were soo many posts like "UGH NOONE WANTS STANCY STOP" and I was like noo pls I do!

Like I understand people's hesitance but it's been years, they're both older and very different to the naive kids were when they got together first.

Maybe i just really like the 'second chance romance' trope idk. But it also always confused me how everyone seems to think Nancy hates the idea of having a family? Like she doesn't wanna be in a loveless marriage, but most of the family anxieties come from Jonathan (understandably) I feel like people project it on to her.

Also I really hate that people interpret Steve's speech as him saying "give birth to six of my children as you are a sperm receptacle and it is your place" like. That's soo people projecting again bc Nancy is a Strong Woman TM with no other qualities (in their eyes) and marriage and kids would RUIN her!!! (Though they usually don't care if its with someone not Steve lmao...) and also Steve is not asking her that!! He's sharing a dream, and likely only chose that number so there could be a 'haha mama Steve with the six kids' joke cos there are six kids fandom likes to say he adopted. There were way too many bad faith takes on that scene imo.

Also I remember seeing a few "I'd rather him die than get back with nancy" and I can't help but think do they even like him lol???? Like come on. I respect everyone's opinion but I also wish they would respect mine yknow?

Aww I know for a fact that there are quite a few people out there who do ship stancy!! You're not alone <3 I'm a steddie trooper but considering the way canon is going I definitely think you've got a fat chance at getting your endgame.

I get the appeal of a second chance romance! Outside of my arguments that I left in the previous post about this I generally just don't see their appeal but that's a matter of taste.

Gonna add a read more thingy because... I always write essays lmao.

I think most people think that Nancy's not really feeling the family life due to her reaction to Steve's nuggets speech? That's how I took it anyway, it didn't feel like she was too keen on the idea. But for all we know that could just mean that she's aversed to it right now, or the idea of 6 (I mean it is a lot - but the pick of the number was obvious too) sounded like too much. We can only assume and we will all have our own ideas. And maybe it's also just how people interpret her character, like perhaps it's an assumption based on other things they've seen throughout the show. It's fair for you (or others) to interpret it all differently :) I suppose we will find out (unless they give it an open end) in the last season.

I also never interpreted Steve's nugget speech as him saying Nancy's some kind of baby machine at all. He was literally just sharing his dream like you say, there was no misogyny going on there. And yeah! It was just them writing that narrative in there for the sake of conversation for the viewers.

I think people who say they'd rather see him die say that because they don't believe he would be happy with Nancy in that case. It's not so much about liking him or not, rather just really not wanting to see the alternative. Which I don't judge, but I get why you feel a certain way about that.

I've never been a fan of shipping wars and they are everywhere. I do think that it's up to you (not you in particular) to consume what you want to see. There's always the option to move on and scroll if someone has an opinion that you absolutely disagree with. Sure, you can start a discussion, I get where that passion could come from too, but when both people are very passionate about their ship, or even just a character on its own, it's rarely going to end well.

Every ship has seen commentary from other shippers, hating on their ship. It's how it goes. I personally wouldn't go out of my way to destroy a ship with my mighty words 'cause I'd much rather spend it on the ships I do ship :) Like why go out of your way to explain why the ship you don't like doesn't work? It shouldn't matter then, right? Just focus on the ship you do like.

Of course I'm fine with sharing my opinion if asked, but I really try to stay out of discourse over it because that's just suuuch a waste of time in the end. Like even if I state that I'm not a fan of stancy, I'd never want a stancy shipper to think that I'm shitting on their ship. I'm happy we can all enjoy and relate to characters and ships in such different ways. It's what's supposed to make it fun. :)

[reddpropaganda]

It's interesting how like,,, mythical/mystical? creatures in the ac universe, as far as we know, are rare to come by. Nook and the twins are the only tanuki, and Redd is the only kitsune for example.

Now, there might be a fair population of them around living life same as other animals but we just don't see them.

But what if instead mythical creatures in the ac universe are regarded with suspicion and stigma and treated like second-class-citizens? And that's part of the reason why Tom Nook had it so rough growing up?

We don't really see mythical species because they're living out of slums and struggling for work as other animals think they're scary or strange.

Cue the only other business partner he could find was another yokai-- Redd. And that's why they became friends, having shared a mutual experience with prejudice. It's implied Nook has a past with Sable as well, and they grew up in the same town together. It's then revealed her parents died when Mabel was still very young.

Was it from overworking or a work related accident trying to keep their three daughters taken care of? If so, it's a tragedy to see Sable copy this pattern of working tirelessly at her machine, and... not much else. Even ignoring customers to work as her social life suffers.

Perhaps poor, working class animals and mythical animals are kinda put into the same boat when it comes to classism and so, are more likely to be empathetic of eachother. But Tom Nook leaves for the city anyway.

Was it more openly discriminatory there?

If this is any indication to think so.

That's why Nook takes in Timmy and Tommy. Because without him they,, don't really have a fighting chance out there. It's rough for mystical creatures. He couldn't leave them there in good conscience. Redd can't seem to stick to a legitimate gig and is constantly poor. Himself, broken by the harsh realities of city life.

And what happened to Timmy and Tommy's parents???

The world of Animal Crossing is supposed to be this peaceful utopia land where bad things don't really happen-- or is that only what we're supposed to see? It's odd that both of them are out of the picture and that no other living relative could take them in?

Did they mayhaps leave young Timmy and Tommy someplace they knew the successful Mr. Nook might find them in hopes that they'd be adopted for a chance at a better life? Is this why, despite having no blood ties to him, they're referred to as his "nephews"?

For Tom Nook hasn't forgotten his roots. He still feels a kinship to other tanuki and knows their struggle. He still speaks the old language and respects his ancestors.

He's promised himself to look after these children-- not as their parent, but for the misfortunate parents who had to give them up. He doesn't see himself as having taken their place, as it's likely they're still alive somewhere and could someday be reunited.

Strangely coincidental is that only Tom Nook, the Able sisters, and Redd are known to have had "rough childhoods" compared to all the other animals we see breezing through life, able to afford cushy housing who are financially stable enough to relocate at the drop of a hat with the biggest worries on their plates being "do I wanna do (leisurely activity) or other (leisurely activity) today?"

Joan, the old turnip seller before Daisy Mae, talks about Redd like this:

And yeah, we all know Redd in particular is "untrustworthy," but... why she just start being racist against all foxes in general ajsjs.

(Which, mind you, he's a kitsune in the Japanese.) So she's really saying "don't trust those damned kitsune."

And look at this:

"Wears a raccoon suit." Which sounds like a roundabout way of saying "he's not really one of us, but just looks like it" since tanuki appear like regular raccoons.

The wiki interprets it as "oh haha they think he's a human man in a raccoon suit that's funny" but like,,, why would they think that. What behaviour, displayed by Nook specifically, would be "human-like" when they all act like humans? They'd all be accusing eachother of being humans in animal suits. So that doesn't make much sense.

Maybe that's why Isabelle and himself are his only employees. Because most other animals just aren't that willing to work so closely with a tanuki. He relies on her, not out of choice, but obligation as there's so few options. That would make her a pretty good ally™ in this case.

I adore their dynamic! Since in folklore, dogs are loathed enemies of tanuki and they kinda flipped that on its head in a nice way.

Speaking of Isabelle, her and her brother, Digby are the only different dog breeds we see-- aside from the mysterious K.K Slider, (a Jack Russel) and the only animal with hands. Maybe they're the only few in the world but are able to get by blending in as others obliviously believe they're regular dogs with weird ears or something.

Shih tzu have mythos attached to them as well in which they're able to turn into giant tigers when threatened sjdjs, so maybe Isabelle receives some of that flack and fear, too?

In fact, villagers describe her as going "Isabellistic," framing her irrationally when they "break a window," something that could reasonably incur anger.

Does it imply villagers can be callous and rude because they have no sense of consequence from living such privileged lives?

I hate reading so into the lore of such a happy, soft game but ajsjs I also love seeking the depth and angst™

[dreamersscape]

In Which I Attempt to Wreak Havoc Upon Panharmonium's Heart. Or Something.

Because I am an awesome friend, clearly, and possibly making people sad/verklempt is definitely an excellent way to (belatedly 😔 but I did start before the 15th!) celebrate Kakashi's birthday, right? ;)

I will admit up front that this is nowhere near as deftly structured and compiled as your Kakashi fanmix, @panharmonium, but that is precisely why I'm not even going to try to organize all these songs into individual playlists. Yet. Plus, I have a tendency to over-explain so this way I can better expound on why certain songs remind me of certain characters. Sorry that I sorta went a little... overboard?

Everything--except a few that aren't available on spotify, I'll link to them directly--can be listened to HERE.

What I'm Looking For - Brendan Benson | Kakashi → I may be a little biased with this one because it fits SO many of my favorite characters so well, somehow, but there's just something about the upbeat/tongue-in-cheek musical cues/delivery of lines such as 'I visit hell on a daily basis, and I see the sadness in all your faces' that just feels so Kakashi to me.

Happy Ending - MIKA | Kakashi → This is presumably a breakup song, but I enjoy it so much more in a non-romantic context (and the song itself isn't really boxed in with overtly romantic framing, so I appreciate that!). Anyway, some very important instructions IMO for listening to this with Kakashi in mind: everything before the bridge is about Kakashi up through his ANBU years, but when you get to the 'little bit of love' refrain, picture Kakashi meeting Tenzo, and then becoming Team 7's sensei, opening back up to Gai, adopting all the other leaf genin, assimilating Sai and Yamato into Team 7, and it keeps building with Kakashi gaining more and more loved ones to fill the hole in his heart, and then cry tears of joy with me! Just my personal suggestion. :D

Light - Sleeping At Last | Kakashi & Team 7 (/all his kids)

with every heartbeat I have left I will defend your every breath

→ I've seen this song used for ship vids and I'm all ????? about that because this is clearly a song about the love you have for your child! But I suppose if one of my favorite pastimes is aggressively re-interpreting love songs in non-romantic ways, I can't begrudge the opposite process... too much, lol.

Heroes - MIKA | Team Minato

your blood on me/and my blood on you/but to make you bleed/the only thing I wouldn't do/.../I wish there was a way/to give you a hand to hold/'cause you don't have to die in your glory/die, to never grow old

Long Lost Friends - Transit | Kakashi & Obito

how long/do you have to say that/this is not the person I used to know/you are not the person I used to know/.../because lately, you've been looking at me like you've seen a ghost/and isn't it obvious who's been missing who the most

→ What the heck! What the heck! What the heck! What the heck! What the heck!

Against the Voices - Switchfoot | Kakashi

'cause everybody knows/the hardest war to fight/is the fight to be yourself/when the voices try to turn you into someone else

Out of the Darkness - Matthew and the Atlas | Obito? Yamato? Kakashi? Itachi & Sasuke? Naruto & Kurama? → I'm a bit undecided about this one, or if I should just not worry about choosing one character and just let myself feel all the "inner darkness is not an innate characteristic, Danzo! They're just grieving/in a lot of pain, and they can find their way out of that dark place!" feels.

Save A Place - 1969 | Kakashi & Sasuke

so I'll keep away and save a place for you/and I'll only make the same mistakes as you/.../when all the blood all over your fingers is dried up/the pain will still linger

→ I'm not uber-confident in picking out really fitting Kakashi & Sasuke songs yet, but I hope this hits a lot of the right notes for you. :)

Thrive - Switchfoot | Kakashi

I'm always close, but I'm never enough/I'm always in line, but I'm never in love/I get so down, but I won't give up/I get so down, but I won't give up

→ See, it says right there that he's never in love! Not the crux of the song, and he's not always 'in line' either, but still! :)

Disarm - The Civil Wars | Kakashi & Obito

the years burn, burn, burn

→ I don't know how I keep collecting fictional relationships that work so well for this song, but literally every single line of this song hits so hard for these two?? Will never recover from this. (Also, I usually disregard when 'my love' pops up in the last line of the chorus, as the mood dictates. :) It's pretty incidental as is IMO.)

Renaissance - Paolo Buonvino & Skin | Sakumo & Obito & Kakashi & Naruto

let me show you one last time/let me show you one last sign/you can find it/I can't say that I can change the world/but if you let me, I can make another world for us/let me suffer all for you/make this vision all brand new/we can fight them/I can't say that I can win it all, [but] come with me and I will make my words stand tall

→ Okay, this is a very odd choice given that it's actually the theme song for a different show about the Italian renaissance (if you happen to see this, Mirjam, don't hate me!), but this could be IT! The "those who break the rules are scum, but those who would abandon their friends are worse than scum" anthem that's all about building a better world based on these principles! I really hope our sharing-a-brain talent translates to listening to this song in this way because I am feeling SOME KIND of way about this!

The Lament of Eustace Scrubb - The Oh Hellos | Kakashi → I really liked the song you chose from this album for your fanmix, so now I've feeling a tiny bit too on-the-nose with my choice, but I guess this is just a Kakashi album all around. 😆

Glass Heart Hymn - Paper Route | Kakashi(+ Obito) & Sasuke(+ Itachi)

memories as heavy as a stone/ I am empty, in my end you are my beginning

This Is Home - Switchfoot | Yamato & Kakashi (+ Team 7)

and now, after all my searching/after all my questions/I'm gonna call it home

→ All finding-where-you-belong songs are actually Yamato songs. True story!

Faust, Midas, & Myself - Switchfoot | Obito

you have one life left to leave/you have one life left to lead

→ Could this be any more perfect for Obito? It even has creepy-old-man!Madara!

Pluto - Sleeping At Last | Kakashi

Always Gold - Radical Face | Kakashi & Obito/Sasuke & Itachi/Naruto & Sasuke

all my life, I've never known where you've been/there were holes in you, the kind that I could not mend/and I heard you say, right when you left that day/does everything go away?/yeah, everything goes away/but I'm going to be here till forever/so just call when you're around

→ ...but mostly Kakashi & Obito because 'there were holes in you' 😭😭😭

Lemon Boy - Cavetown | Yamato & Kakashi → You already know the delights of this song of course, but I gots to be comprehensive. :)

Everywhere I Go - Lissie/cover by Sleeping At Last | Kakashi & Team Minato

danger will follow me now everywhere I go/angels will call on me and take me to my home/well, these tired eyes just want to remain closed

→ I chose the Sleeping At Last cover for maximum angst, 'cause sometimes it be like that.

Uneven Odds - Sleeping At Last | Kakashi

maybe your light is a seed, and the darkness the dirt, in spite of the uneven odds, beauty lifts from the earth

→ ...just like an earth style: mud wall :') Okay, okay, bad jokes aside, the seed metaphor of course makes me want to associate it with Tenzo, but this is clearly a Kakashi song!

Twenty-four - Switchfoot | Kakashi & Obito

life is not what I thought it was twenty-four hours ago/and I'm not who I thought I was twenty-four hours ago/still I'm singing spirit, take me up in arms with you/you're raising the dead in me/I wanna see miracles/to see the world change/wrestled the angel for more than a name/for more than a feeling, for more than a cause/I'm singing spirit, take me up in arms with you/and you're raising the dead in me

I'm Still Here (Jim's Theme) - John Rzeznik | Kakashi

and how can they say I never change?/they're the ones that stay the same/.../they can't tell me who to be/'cause I'm not what they see/.../and their words are just whispers/and lies that I'll never believe

→ Yeah, I might've accidentally imprinted on Treasure Planet as a 14 year old, and then someone made sure this song would forever live in my heart by making a fanvid of it with my favorite character from my robin hood show, but! He's still here!

See You Again - Wiz Khalifa (feat. Charlie Puth) | Kakashi & Obito/Team Minato

how can we not talk about family when family's all that we got?/everything I went through, you were standing there by my side/and now you gon' be with me for the last ride

→ I am being very unoriginal here, and there are in fact already fanvids made for these relationships set to this song (along with many others featuring different Naruto relationships), but I don't think I'll be able to rest until I translate the movie playing in my head whenever I hear this song now into an actually watchable format. After all, they have come a long way from where they began, and I intend to make that both as touching and ironically hilarious as possible!

Goodnight, Travel Well - The Killers | Kakashi → Admittedly, I got this idea from a magnificently crafted fanvid done for my robin hood show, but I genuinely think it would be really interesting to make something similar for Kakashi centered around the time he technically died but got better? I don't know how to explain it, but I think it fits quite well.

30 Lives - Imagine Dragons | Kakashi & all the people he's loved and lost → can be listened to here.

A Pound of Flesh - Radical Face | Kakashi

then today I wake up feeling easy/and find I'm on more familiar roads/I got a darkness wrapped inside me/but now it ain't so hard to let it go/so keep a candle burning in the window/I'm almost home

Hold Back The River - James Bay | Kakashi & life getting in the way of him being with his precious people (you may be sensing a pattern here) → @the road of life: Let! Kakashi! And his People! Hold! Each! Other!!! Also, 'tried to square not being there, but think that I should have been' is absolutely about Sasuke's defection and Kakashi adding it to his long list of undeserving self-recriminations.

The Fall - Imagine Dragons | Yamato & Kakashi → 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

Shadowman - K's Choice | could work equally well for Kakashi or Obito, I think

any time tomorrow a part of me will die/and a new one will be born/any time tomorrow/I'll get sick of asking why/sick of all the darkness I have worn/any time tomorrow/I will try to do what's right/making sense of all I can/any time tomorrow I'll pretend to see the light/I just might/.../and doesn't it make you sad?/to see so much love denied/see nothing but a shadowman inside

Paint - The Paper Kites | Kakashi & Team 7

still there's a wound and I'm moving slow/though it don't show, though it don't show/I've got a hole where nothing grows,/how little you know, how little you know

→ A song for just how much Team 7 doesn't know about their sensei.

Always Find Me Here - Transit | Kakashi → ...most likely at the memorial stone. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (why am I like this)

Taste - Sleeping At Last | Kakashi

it’s bittersweet, it’s poetry/a careful pruning of my dead leaves/it’s holy ground, a treasure chest/I'm on my knees and only scratch the surface/like fists unraveling, like glass unshattering/we’re breaking all the rules, we’re breaking bread again/we’re swallowing light ’til we’re fixed from the inside

Help - Hurts | Yamato & Kakashi

take my hand and lead the way/out of the darkness and into the light of the day/.../'cause I know what I've been missing/and I know that I should try/but there's hope in this admission/and there's freedom in your eyes/.../I can feel the darkness coming/and I'm afraid of myself/call my name and I'll come running/'cause I just need some help

→ NO ONE TOUCHE ME.

Your Soul - RHODES | A mish-mash of Kakashi & Tenzo and Rin & Obito & Kakashi and Gai & Kakashi vibes? → So like, 'oh you know when you're alone/I'm holding on and on and on and on/to your soul' reminded me of your 'when you're all alone...the only thing you really think about is dying' 'but when there are two of you...the only thing you can think about is surviving.' and now kakashi - who just saved his life - is asking him 'did you want to die' and yamato is saying 'no' there are two of them and yamato wants to SURVIVE. tags as well as Gai's steadfastness as a friend, and 'I just wanna hold your hand' made me think of Rin's "Well then, I'm just going to have to connect the two of you." while holding their hands, and the sunlight/'soul shine'/'your light' motif is just A Lot in this song!!

7 Years - Lukas Graham | Kakashi → Alright, yeah, there are already approximately a gazillion pre-existing Naruto AMVs for this song and even one or two focusing on Kakashi, but they don't capitalize on all the angst possibilities in many of the lyrics or reach the fluff potential of 'will I think the world is cold or will I have a lot of children who can warm me [when I'm old]' and I cannot abide that!

Putting The Dog To Sleep - The Antlers | Kakashi & Sasuke → Okay, on one hand, this song is One Big Oof. But I do like the (potentially odd) way I've conceptualized it for Kakashi & Sasuke? Like, the first half is Kakashi going through all the tragedies in his life and getting lost in ANBU, but then in the second half it transitions to him wanting to prevent Sasuke from having to be as alone as Kakashi once was and they can face life together? It makes me emotional!

Trust Me - The Fray | Kakashi & Obito

I found a friend, or should I say a foe?/said there's a few things you should know/we don't want you to see/we come, and we go/here today, gone tomorrow

→ There are a few lines that call Tenzo & Kakashi to mind, but mostly it's Obito & Kakashi.

The Lightning Strike (What If This Storm Ends?) - Snow Patrol | Kakashi → I had to, right? My mindscape is a little murky/scattered about what specifically I want to think about when I listen to this, but obviously it has to do with Kakashi in one way or another.

Kettering - The Antlers | Team Minato(???) → Honestly not sure if this will make any sense, but yeah, vague team minato vibes?

Swans - Unkle Bob | Kakashi & Obito/Rin/Minato/Kushina/Sakumo → They should be by his side always!!!

Looking Too Closely - Fink | Kakashi → I honestly feel rather ambivalent about this one too, but I can't deny 'truth is like blood underneath your fingernails/and you don't wanna hurt yourself, hurt yourself/looking too closely' always destroys me because... well, you know. I love suffering. :(

Souvenirs - Switchfoot | Kakashi & Obito & Rin

wolves - Switchfoot | Kakashi

snowfall for the battlefield/roses for the father's sons/see them red on the ground:/bleeding/when the revolution came/we were more than hungry men/we were hoping for more:/bleeding/end. begin again./all of my world is collision and spin/hope is a world that has yet to begin/awaken, oh sleeper/awaken, oh sleeper/a new day begins

→ I wanted a wolf-related song too. :)

PRODIGAL SOUL - Switchfoot | Obito, Itachi, & Sasuke; just all them wayward Uchiha boys

Coming Down - Dear Euphoria | kid!Kakashi & his relationships

the shell/that I wore/it wasn't for fun/it wasn't to make you/stick around/it was for survival/it was what I've learnt/it was for the sun/.../our love has grown/our love has flown

→ Another one I'm a little unsure of whether it makes sense outside of my head or not, but I like the vibes?

Ghosts That We Knew - Mumford & Sons | Kakashi & Yamato? → Hmm, can I maybe submit this as a Kakashi-&-Yamato-just-need-to-mske-it-through-this-war-so-they-can-have-a-bright-bright-future song?

All Is Well (It's Only Blood) - Radical Face | Kakashi → ...he said as he's bleeding out or after he's thrown himself in the line of fire protecting someone he thinks is a better person than himself...

Bleeding Out - Imagine Dragons | Kakashi

when the hour is nigh/and hopelessness is sinking in/and the wolves all cry/to fill the night with hollering/when your eyes are red/and emptiness is all you know/with the darkness fed/I will be your scarecrow/you tell me to hold on/oh, you tell me to hold on/but innocence is gone/and what was right is wrong

→ In a similar vein to the previous song. But goodness gracious! Were they NOT straight up describing Kakashi here?

Amaryllis - Shinedown | Yamato & Kakashi → Just tossing this one out there, not sure if it will make sense or if it's a reach... but I like it?

lost 'cause - Switchfoot | Kakashi & Sasuke

are we a lost cause?/or are we just lost 'cause/we won't be the future we refuse to see?/and if I'm your lost cause/it'll be your lost 'cause/you won't see me as I am, the possibility/that I'm not the enemy

→ 214 feels. (And before and after that, but yeah.)

Through the Ghost - Shinedown | Kakashi & Obito

so many silent sorrows/you never hear from again/and now that you've lost tomorrow/is yesterday still a friend?/.../everything that mattered is just/a city of dust/covering both of us/did you hide yourself away?/I can't see you anymore/.../did you hide yourself away?/are you living through the ghost?/did you finally find a place/above the shadows so the world will never know?/the world will never know you like I do ... like I still do

Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men | Kakashi → Just Kakashi having little chats with his ghosts, totally the most heartwarming way to conclude this section. 😅

Sleepyhead - Passion Pit | Kakashi → Just kidding! Here's a slightly less morbid song for the Most Tired Boy Of Them All.™ (Random aside: this was my customary song to listen to on my walks to 8AM organic chemistry classes; I found it strangely soothing! On a different occasion, after a particularly long day for her, one of my roommates didn't have the energy to make it to her bed but nevertheless requested a lullaby from us. So I obliged by playing this song for her, but she didn't seem to gain the same peace of mind from it as I did. 😄 I know it's not my place to propose anything like this, but it does amuse me to imagine bookends!Kakashi in these situations, even though it's not OChem classes he has to go to.)

General/Miscellaneous:

Rise Above It - Switchfoot | Ensemble

don't care what they're telling me/we can be what we want to be/.../just because it's law doesn't mean that it's fair/.../don't believe the system's on your side/.../the curse is spoken/the system's broken; rise above it

→ I mean, how could I not think about Naruto when this song also has the lines 'hear us sing tonight like the last night on earth/we will rise like the tide/like dead men coming back to life/we are rising, rising'? It's fun to be literal sometimes!

Doorways - Radical Face | Allllll the traumatized children → Someone has to put all those tragic childhood flashbacks to good use, after all.

Ghost Towns - Radical Face | take your pick of Itachi, Sasuke, or Post-Kannabi-Bridge!Obito

there's no comin' home/with a name like mine/I still think of you/but everyone knows/yeah everyone knows/if you care, let it go

Blinding Light - Switchfoot | Hey, Hiruzen? You may have coined the phrase, "children are the king" but I don't think you truly understand it... (insert Princess Bride joke here)

hey boy, don't believe them/we're the nation that eats our youth/.../still looking for the blinding light/still looking for the reason why/still looking for the sun to shine/all my life I've been living in the darkest night/still looking for the blinding light/to take me higher and higher

Brother's Blood - Kevin Devine | EVERYONE → ...but certainly so much you could do with Itachi & Sasuke, Obito & Kakashi, Shisui & Itachi, even Hashirama & Madara! Sakumo's teammates turning their backs on him and saying 'I don't know one thing about my brother's blood'?!?! There are SO MANY ideas I have for this song! It gives me chills and makes my brain scream.

We Need Each Other - Sanctus Real | Ensemble → Already mentioned this one to you, but I have to include it here for thoroughness' sake!

Whispering - Alex Clare | the Hidden Leaf's lost/ostracized children/orphans

who will care for the falling?/who will care for the falling leaves?

So this is probably a strange concept to come up with and apply to this song, but the 'whispering, whispering, whispering' parts brought Konaha's virulent gossiping/passing judgement about others and often kids they don't even know problem to mind, too, and yeah?

The World You Want - Switchfoot | Ensemble → If I were to make a fanvid set to this song, I would definitely keep a broad focus, but I can't deny that the lines 'you start to look like what you believe, you float through time like a stream, if the waters of time are made up by you and I, I could change the world for you, you change it for me' FOR SURE has strong Obito & Kakashi/Kakashi & Tenzo vibes.

Red Eyes - Switchfoot | Ensemble, but definitely many dashes of Uchihas 😄 → I would like to thank Masashi Kishimoto for creating a world where red eyes are a Thing of Importance so I can one day make a fanvid using this song in not just the tired or teary bloodshot-red eyes way, but in a very literal sense too.

TAKE MY FIRE - Switchfoot | The Will of Fire → 'Cause I think I'm sooooo clever. 😄

Above The Clouds Of Pompeii - Bear's Den | various parent & child relationships → This obviously derives from the not-caring-about-your-female-characters problem, but it always gets me that all the single parents in the Naruto universe are almost invariably the fathers! I guess sometimes you can safely guess that the mothers are still alive/exist, but either way we hardly ever get to see them. :/ The one exception I can think of right now is Kurenai, but maybe I'm forgetting another conspicuous single mother. Anyway, I don't know if this helps or hinders more a potential Naruto fanvid for this song, but regardless, it still gives me feelings?

Who We Are - Switchfoot | Ensemble → It just makes me inordinately happy that the chorus for this song starts with 'who we are (in the fever of our youth)', you know? :D

Brother - Kodaline | all the friendships we can stuff in here and then some → Quite a well known song I'm pretty sure, but I love how many dynamics one could showcase in a potential fanvid of this. And, not gonna lie, 'oh brother, we go deeper than the ink beneath the skin of our tattoos' deserves to be used in some sort of Tenzo 'n' Kakashi or Team Ro fan creation!

Special Bonus:

Shake It Out - Florence + The Machine | Kakashi & Obito → I'm not sure whether I would have realized how well this works for Kakashi & Obito on my own, funnily enough, but then I found this fanvid of it (containing only scenes you've seen naturally!) and it hit me like a ton of bricks. It's so well done!

[anzcty]

Analysing Episode 6 Sylvie - her actions, her choice and a whole bunch of theories (Spoilers!)

After watching the Loki finale, I have been scrolling through Tumblr for quite a long time. I already knew that people's opinions were gonna be incredibly different but I definitely did not expect this much negative backlash. Especially when it comes to two specific topics - the Sylvie and Loki kiss and Sylvie's betrayal (/choice/actions). I'm gonna be talking about the latter, for it is another time I'll talk a lot about Sylki's relationship. (Beware that this post is also really long though)

First of all, everyone has different opinions and I respect that. I absolutely adore movies, books, TV-shows and videogames because despite what's happening within the story, each viewer has the opportunity to see something else in what they are shown (besides the obvious canon). What I mean is that everyone interprets certain scenes differently and gains the opportunity to make up theories. Therefore I want to clarify that I do, by no means, want to force my views upon others. It's nice to see people talk about the Loki Series (as long as it doesn't get too negative and hateful, iykwim) because every viewer can share their specific experiences with it :)

I'm gonna analyse Sylvie's character a bit ( because, well, I'm bored and I kinda wanna protect my beloved character that I've only had for a few weeks >:^0 AND the only thing I could think about the past day was this episode) and try to explain her actions in the finale (keep in mind: not justifying them, but explaining them).

I'm terribly bad at concentrating on one single topic point so I kinda made a 'list' with questions and whatnot that I wanted to dive deeper into. Your thoughts are also more than welcome!

I already want to apologise for grammatical mistakes, for I am not a native english speaker.

Sylvie's reason for being taken away by the TVA is still kinda unknown

You know, I've heard quite a few theories about Sylvie's nexus event by now. Some people say that she got taken away because she was playing with her toys in a way that indicates her having a good heart (playing as a Valkyrie and wanting to save someone, another hint may also be the reaction she showed towards someone else who got kidnapped by the TVA, yelling at the soldiers to "help them out"). Another theory is that she already knew she was adopted, unlike Loki who found out way later than her. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but we never got to hear the actual reason why Sylvie got kidnapped. Even Renslayer didn't say a word about it.

Now I'm gonna come up with yet another theory. What if Sylvie didn't really have a nexus event in the first place how we know it? In the final episode, Kang has said that he has planned out everything beforehand so both Loki and Sylvie would end up right in front of him. Did Kang's plan also possibly involve him getting killed by Sylvie? Hear me out: We don't actually know if the Kang we saw in episode 6 is the actual 'nice' Kang and not one of his evil variants. He has already talked about 'reincarnation', so who says that after ending the first universial war, Kang didn't reincarnate into someone with an unpure heart (aka, one of his evil variants)? That'd mean that the real Kang would have been killed and the Kang we've seen in the finale is actually an evil version that simply lied to both Loki and Sylvie. Besides that, we also don't know if Kang actually had that 'point' where he didn't know what would happen next. The show revolves a whole lot around trust, not only regarding the characters, but also the viewers. Who's to say that Kang said the truth? Maybe he planned it all out: He created the TVA, let Sylvie get kidnapped and therefore give her a reason to hunt after Kang, who in return could reincarnate if he got killed OR get killed and therefore give his other variants a possibility to conquer the universes yet again. Don't you think that it was kinda suspicious that Sylvie escaped so easily out of Renslayer's hands? The one person who's probably closest to Kang? (Even though, yes, she doesn't know who he is but Renslayer seems to play a very important role in his plan). What if the Kang we saw was the nice Kang though? Would he plan everything up to a point where another universial war would break out because he might know that there is indeed something/someone out there who could end it and therefore, possibly end Kang as a whole or create a new kind of system revolving around the universe? And therefore, get rid of the possibility of another universial war happening? Who knows. I am definitely overthinking and reaching at this point. One more thing that stood out to me while thinking about the episode again today (which kinda weighs more into my theory of Sylvie being a keypoint (or rather a puppet) in this plan): Kang has talked about his Tempad and that he knew that he would need it to have enough energy. But for what? Yes, his initial idea was to give it to Loki and Sylvie to rule over the TVA, but what if it was supposed to be used for another reason? Sylvie used it to transport Loki back to the TVA (though I kinda think he was accidentally transported to another timeline, hence the reactions of both Mobius and Hunter B-15) and therefore get rid of the only thing that could prevent Sylvie from killing Kang. The Tempad was used to secure Sylvie's path and therefore eradicated Kang's only option of safety. You can see the Tempad loosing it's glow after Kang was killed, possibly due to Kang himself being the origin of it's energy. But maybe, it only had enough energy for one specific action: getting rid of Kang's protection. I do think that Sylvie is now stuck at this place and somehow has to find a way back to Loki's reality. The Tempad clearly doesn't work anymore (at least in my opinion) and there was quite a long shot showing the Tempad up close, which is kinda suspicious tbh. Also, something regarding Sylvie's unanswered nexus event feels kinda odd to me, too.

My theory in conclusion: Sylvie (and Loki) are unconciously helping Kang with his plan (a big, big, BIG plan). They're his puppets, especially Sylvie, because she's the one who created the Multiverse to begin with. Think about Loki, who was said to be manipulated by Thanos in Avengers? It's basically the same train of thoughts.

Sylvie does not take Kang's offer into consideration

To be honest, this was something to be absolutely expected of her. Sylvie was kidnapped as a child, taken away from her home and family, and had to grow up in countless apocalypses where she could never form a real bond with anybody because she knew that those people were all going to die anyway. (Please don't judge me if I got that wrong, maybe I understood the next thing wrong? Idk, if so, I'm very sorry) She revealed that she was kidnapped way before Loki was even born (something I have to think about, too, because, if Loki is the actual Loki the other variants are based off, why did he exist after Sylvie? Wouldn't that make him a variant of Sylvie instead? Idk timelines and parallel universes are hard to understand for me :') I'm kinda stoopid ), therefore she must've had spent several decades of her life running away. She had no life at all. Her only goal was to bring down the TVA and whoever is behind it, driven by pure rage, seeking out revenge for stealing her life and basically forbidding her existence. And now that she has found said person, the only thing that'd be right for her character would be to go for the kill. As immoral as it may sound, it is the only thing that makes sense. And I am actually very happy that Sylvie's goals didn't change besides the fact that she did indeed soften up a little and has gotten someone really close to her. In contrary, it makes sense for Loki to do the exact opposite. His goals have changed. He does not act the way he did in Thor or Avengers anymore. He has found another goal for himself: to make Sylvie feel alright. He has had immense character growth and didn't take a chance to change his goals back in the Thor movies or in Avengers, (....maybe later in Thor: Ragnarok, kinda). This is exactly what I think might happen to Sylvie, too. She is at the beginning of her character arc. She doesn't take the chance to change her goal, but goes for her original goal instead. Said goal does not really have positive consequences (though, maybe it might have some? We're about to find out), which results in a so called 'negative character development', which Loki has already gone through. I think that Sylvie is gonna grow as a character in season 2 and get a positive character development in addition, just like Loki did. I highly doubt that she's gonna become the antagonist, it does not make sense at this point.

Why does she not take Kang's offer (besides her very obvious intention ofc)? That leads straight (or not so straight, pun intended) to the next thing I wanna talk about. Sylvie's distrust in everything and everyone. Besides not wanting to let other people go through what she has been gone through and wanting to let people have a free will, she also does not trust Kang with his offer of 'ruling' the timeline. And it might be because she also does not trust the one she'd be ruling with: Loki.

Why does Sylvie not trust Loki?

I don't even have a specific answer to that, except that Sylvie has an incredibly thick wall built up around her. Loki has always been portrayed as the one you should not trust because he's known for backstabbing people. Loki could have thought the same about Sylvie, but he didn't. Due to his character arc, he himself has learned to trust other people and tries to redeem himself with making himself a person others can trust (He may project that onto Sylvie, meaning that he puts his trust into a Loki variant and therefore in himself, too). You can connect that fact with both Sylvie and Mobius. They're both people who are incredibly important to Loki. He wants them to trust him. He openly told Sylvie about his mistakes and tells her that he's not that person anymore. Sylvie on the other hand does not trust that easily and is - in my opinion - a very important key regarding Loki's character development. It is incredibly hard for Sylvie to trust others (probably due to her trauma) and it therefore creates a very difficult situation for Loki, where he has to 'prove' himself as trustworthy. It's basically about 'trusting yourself' if you put it that way. It's something Loki has to learn about himself: not betraying the trust of others. Sylvie might have to learn something like this, too: learning to trust someone else. It's kinda like a two sided coin - one side is about putting trust in others, whereas the other is about gaining trust from others (and what you do with it). (Good) Relationships in general are always based off trust and honesty. So in order for them to be able to have healthy relationships with others and themselves, they have to learn about trust within themselves (I hope you understand my point, I got carried away, sorry). Loki started to trust Sylvie very easily (maybe because of love? Maybe because of something else? There are still a lot of unanswered questions) whereas Sylvie doesn't trust Loki very easily. Sylvie's character arc might (hopefully) carry on with this topic in the next season.

Was that kiss initiated due to emotional or practical reasons?

Kinda both, somehow. I do think that Sylvie used the kiss to her advantage but you can also clearly see how moved she is while hearing Loki's words. Facial expressions are insanely important when it comes to acting and both Tom and Sophia delivered perfectly. You might've already heard of the quote "The eyes tell more than words could ever say". Look at Sylvie's face when Loki tells her that he wants her to be okay. She is teary eyed, sighs even. She is indeed touched by his words and I strongly think that Sylvie also has non-platonic feelings for Loki, despite barely showing anything.

Here's a snippet out of an interview with Sophia:

(Source)

Both Sylvie and Loki are said to be people who can not trust others. They both have a vulnerable side though. Loki clearly showed that several times when with Sylvie (singing to her, the blanket scene, the comfort scene in the room of the timekeepers, the confession of wanting her to be okay) and is also shown incredibly vulnerable at the end of episode 6: there are several shots showing him, crying. Sure, we have already seen Loki cry a few times beforehand but this time, it's different. He cries because the one person he is the most vulnerable with doesn't trust him, and that does hurt like hell. By the way, if you look at the close-up shot of Sylvie after she yeeted Loki back into the TVA, you can see pain in her eyes, too. But that pain quickly shifts into rage and determination. Something that I have to admit was incredibly well executed by Sophia and the people who directed this shot. Sylvie does show her vulnerable side for a brief moment before putting up her walls again and reaching for her goal.

In conclusion: I think Sylvie initiated the kiss as an emotional response to Loki's words but also used it to distract him to be able to kick him back into the TVA at the same time. Keep in mind that it was because he was in her way of fullfilling her goal. She didn't want to kill or hurt him, so she sent him away instead. So, yes, I think the kiss had both emotional and practical intentions.

Did Sylvie betray Loki?

Even though it really felt like she betrayed him, she didn't. Let me tell you why:

Loki knew exactly what Sylvie was gonna do after reaching the person behind the TVA. Loki supported her all the way up until Kang suggested a deal to them, that's where Loki's and Sylvie's paths divided. Loki is a very smart character, he outsmarts a lot of Marvel characters and therefore I think it's very in character for him to consider one part of the deal and outweigh the pros and cons. Not because he wants the throne, no, but because he wants Sylvie to be okay. A universial war could lead to countless casualties - possibly those people close around him, so of course he would want to keep her safe through that decision. Making them both rulers over the TVA and the sacred timeline would probably guarantee a strong protection from several threats. Also, maybe he thought about the possibility of Sylvie regretting her decision (which she clearly did in the end) and wanted to protect her from even more emotional pain. But as we know, Sylvie's intention has always been laid out in front of her and it didn't change. Loki knew what choice she was going to make and merely tried to change her way - without being successfull.

I don't really know what to think about this scene though. To me, it doesn't meet the requirements of a 'betrayal' but at the same time it does feel like one. It's very difficult to explain :'D

Also, I've seen some people asking themselves how or if Loki will ever be able to forgive Sylvie for making her decision. Let me assure you one thing: he will forgive her. He has said it himself: "I know what you're feeling, I know what you're going through". He has been at Sylvie's point, too. Not only once, but several times already. He seems to have learned from his mistakes, Sylvie has yet to do so. ("I betrayed everyone I've ever loved" is a line to keep in mind now, too. Maybe it could even be projected onto Sylvie this time, because Loki is indeed very dear to her) If there's someone out there who can empathise with Sylvie the most, it is Loki.

Why would Sylvie straight up cause another Universial War?

As I already said. Sylvie's arc is a negative character arc. It does not end well and causes a lot of chaos. Think about Peter Quill in Infinity War and his rage moment on Titan. They could have had the infinity gauntlet way before but Peter got emotional (understandable) and therefore destroyed the chance of an early good ending. The same happened with Sylvie. Her decision was mostly emotional, but also practical on the other hand (giving people free will and freedom). She will face the consequences and I'm pretty sure she's gonna redeem herself and tries to help fix the big mess she has caused.

Sylvie's breakdown

Another scene that was absolutely brilliant was the scene after Sylvie has killed Kang. She backs off slowly and then slumps to the ground, breathing heavily (now that I think about it, I think she even started to cry). She has waited for this moment her whole life, but now that it's done, it kinda feels like she didn't exactly get what she needed. Hunter B-15 has already mentioned it before that Sylvie needs to hunt the person behind the TVA down, unlike Renslayer, who only wants to find out who it really is. Although Sylvie might have recognized that this wasn't everything she needed at this point. We already got to know that she didn't have a clue what to do after she's done with the TVA. She didn't have a goal beyond that. And now that she has reached the point where she is clueless, she might have recognized what she really needed beyond finishing her goal: friends, a life, literally anything that doesn't make her feel alone. And she literally just kicked that one thing away from her. Loki, the one person who has been closest to her and gave her the feeling of not being alone anymore, the feeling of having a friend (or someone more than a friend), has been pushed away by herself. I think that in this exact moment where she sinks to the ground she recognizes that not trusting Loki was a mistake this time and that revenge isn't enough to satisfy her forever.

But maybe that one thing that will satisfy her for a long time is something she's returning back to in season 2. I am so excited to see her again and find out more about Sylvie's character!

Thank you so much for reading this! If you want to add something to this list or correct something or anything, feel free to do so. I'd love to hear your thoughts on Sylvie's character in the finale and what you think might happen with her in season 2 :) see y'all, stay safe and have a nice day/night!

[seoafin]

tbh,, i havent read the raws of the interview yet, only the translated ver from fan-translator and b4 i start, i think that this will be just me talking in circle and in no particular order AND a real mess (my brain does weird things after exams) but uhh here we go

gojou collects talented people, and by doing so he finds the people he can most probably relate to, except that he can't, not really, because something in the universe shifted when he was born. and it makes me think of how he's always known it, that he is special, and he's proven it, time and time again— he wants to take in talented ppl and he does, but there rly isn't much he can do for them. for they are talented, more talented than the world can understand,,

but they aren't gojou satoru

gojou took in megumi, bc he knew megumi was strong, and would grow up to be someone even stronger, but gojou can't facilitate or encourage his growth, bc for all they're similar, they are so fundamentally different. ALSO,, while geto was in his life, gojou rly judged everything according to his understanding of geto’s moral compass. gojou wears a human suit and geto is how he learnt to wear it well 🏃

the dragonfly analogy regarding to geto’s response to gojo, who was shown wearing a dragonfly patterned yukata in HI arc,, i’m trying to not think abt the fact that dragonfly symbolized victory in jpn....pain. i quoted from a web here for more explanation : In Japan the dragonfly is known as the "victory insect", or kachimushi, because of its hunting prowess and also because it is known to never retreat. Dragonflies are agile and fast fliers and can even hover, but never fly backwards

and bringing this up again, matricide and patricide are 2 of the 5 worst act to commit in buddhism, and it was said that if u commit one of those act u’re going to spend a real long time in the deepest pit of hell before continuing the samsaric cycle (higher chances to be born as an animal after that probs)— this might be geto’s divine retribution. held no power over his own body and could be considered that he’s the same as those “monkeys” 💀

ALSO the fact that sukuna's interest is "eating" rly drives home his hedonistic philosophy of seeking pleasure for himself. and he’s a cannibal...makes me think if he’ll just chomp on ppl with the mouth on his stomach

randomly, to date i think he hasn't really called himself a human, shaman, or a curse, and has held himself apart from all 3, and we've also the intro of the cursed wombs so i wonder if he’s trying to become, or is, a different entity altogether

so onmyoji got mentioned in the interview and what they practice is called onmyodo and abe no seimei and kano no yasunori were the notable practitioners,, and the kamo in jjk is the same as irl who served the imperial court back then

maybe i was right when i said that the relation between the govt. and jujutsu elders are similar to how the shogunate and imperial court work (ie, the former holds the actual power) but... lets see later,,

and i cant believe that i actually nailed it on the analogy of jujutsu practices by religion,,, so mahayana buddhism, shintoism, and taoism is present in jjk along with their respective jujutsu practices...but between the 3, it shld (?) be taoism > shintoism > mahayana buddhism (which could took a path to pure land buddhism)

it’s weird that the number of curses are supposedly higher in jpn comparable to other countries when taoism was brought from china....tengen sus

so the zenin family tree is sth like :

brothers: [toji's dad] ; naobito ; ougi

so toji, naoya, and maki & mai are cousins of the same generation

[toji's dad] → jinichi (probs) ; toji → megumi

naobito → other brothers, naoya

ougi → maki, mai

but yea i’d call anyone who’s within/close or below my age range as cousins and others above 30 as uncles/ aunts LMFAO,, i dont rly memorize my own family tree 😭😭 especially since most call the other by honorifics instead of names : aunt, uncles etc or attaching said honorifics at the end of a name for an older sibling figure/ older cousins [but like ppl in my country also call the other who are older with sibling honorific even if we’re strangers,,, rly similar to korea’s hyung/oppa—eonnie(unnie)/noona but some uses more genderless honorific] (1)

tw // topic of incest, mentions of abuse

if anyone got the wrong idea when reading this : i am not glorifying/ romanticising incest(uous themes),, i’m looking at this with absolutely no lenses of bias even tho im rly against it

初恋 = literally : first love, or puppy love

恋 = romantic love/ deep longing

i literally don't know how else to put this...🧍and with language barrier...using a western interpretation of the eng word "love" to explain a jpnese term is not quite that simple, unfortunately

that thread omg,, i rly do understand how exactly someone could associated kindness with love bc of my upbringing, it was when i was slightly older that i was just...oh so its not like that orz,,, so the most plausible explanation would be that

but the problem is that,, akutami never specify when exactly she had a crush on them,, and when megumi answered todo’s question she had a “♡” reaction 😶,, uhmmm there’s rly no way to look past this if its this way or be in denial

i’ve seen some of "why wouldn't mai react that way after hearing megumi say he'd like someone who's compassionate when she's surrounded by men like naoya",, well I MEAN,,, that, but also mai probs admires that megumi grew up so well out of the clan, regardless of the fact that he had the foundation (10 shadows) to do so. imo she seems happy for him the way she can't be for maki, bc maki ultimately had to leave her behind

hate to say it but yea,, the 3 clans most likely still practice inbreeding in order to preserve their power and presumably their wealth too 😀

i had an idle thought abt it at first but i filed it deep in the back of my mind asap,, bc i ont wanna jump to conclusion abt this out of all things too early. it’s probably not even in jjk, but all those elite clans in other ani/mangas that produce powerful heirs and whatnot also do the same,,, but this way of (my personal) thinking was influenced when i first got into tsukihime (type-moon),,, i read abt the nanaya family background and found out that they practice that in order to keep their bloodline “pure” (to keep it short : they have an optical power),, and i had this kind of assumption ever since so there’s that

i’m,, convinced the zenins' inbreeding made it more difficult for them to get powerful shamans bc they got 2 jujutsu technique-less children with heavenly restrictions in the same generation: toji & maki

even more convinced that maki might be a bit stronger than toji bc toji could see curses without aid while maki can't so the pay-off must be higher,,, SJJASN IDK ,,, plus naoya sort of implies his older brothers are nothing compared to him, and idk if we should take that as his arrogance or that his older brothers rly are weak/powerless. it would make sense as to why naobito had a lot of sons, ig, as head of clan

i feel so bad that if one of the factors that can caused heavenly restriction is inbreeding,, toji and maki and mai had no say in how they wanted to be born but are scorned for it,, typical asian families projecting their traumas and ideals onto their kids but get mad when they realize that those ideals are ugly...😁😁😁

since the zenin are conservative,, i wonder if they still hold onto old jpnese dining traditions. where in ancient jpn, hierarchical relationships were made readily apparent even within families. a dining table where everybody sat down and ate as equals would be unheard of. rather, each individual is given their own table that indicates their status,,, someone who is not considered “strong” according to the zenin’s views most likely have no place at the table, and probs eat when those who are “strong” finished/ serve them when they are eating

if toji was tossed into a swarm of curses,, i dont think abuse during said time is below them,,,

the zenin clan was already great, but they further amassed power and strength by, what i assume to be, marrying and adopting powerful individuals into the clan 🤔 ,,, i imagine they're like the hiiragi but without doing what they did to shinya (ons reference)

BUT after all that, i like to think that since akutami’s a big horror fan, jjk might be an outlet to explore said topics or even darker ones, so i wouldnt be that surpised abt it. given that there’s more than enough “red flags” before this was dropped : a reference to “tale of hikaru genji” when a grown woman asked for gojou’s number in HI arc (out of all things); granny who transformed into the man’s daughter, sat on his lap and man just touched her waist; mei mei and ui ui ; and...this (incestous theme is in the novel btw)

lets not start with whatever the fuck in kubo’s head in the interview otherwise i’m writing paragraphs with every curse words possible,, those big 3 mangakas are so— UGH,, a planet w out (cis) men like him sounds real good rn 😌 if one of yall out there decide to do it,, pls hmu rly cant do this shit anymore

akutami said i like my men pretty and i like women who will step on my neck and spit in my face (I REMEMBERED TATSUKI FUJIMOTO’S INTERVIEW WHEN HE WAS ASKED ABT MAKIMA AND IT WAS SO 😭😭😭😭) but ykw,, love that for both of them <3

when i said 3 : one piece, bleach, naruto. aside from the blatant depiction/ characterize of women in those 3,, idk if some ppl arent aware yet but oda is friends with two (2) convicted pedos,, man...the major disappointment and disgust when i first find out abt it

anyways this is just my 2 cents (which i think rightfully belong to the trash can) so pls just take this w a lil to no grain of salt - 🐱

YEAH THE ♡ LMFAO I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST A “good answer ♡“ heart BUT NOW IM RE-EXAMINING?????

honestly i wouldn’t be surprised if the three clans practiced inbreeding. but ik people are going to be  😡😡😡😡😡 about it when the queen of fucking england is literally married to her (something) cousin. i’m not justifying it but like....love the double standards, just as always with the west 😍

DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THAT FUCKING PED* LIST THEY SHOULD ALL BE IN JAIL. JAILLLLL. it’s all so gross. that’s why i fucking hate when people look towards manga for positive representation because the chances of that are super slim to zero, especially since the industry is saturated with misogyny and ped******* and a lot of other gross stuff.

i think ppl forget jjk is a horror manga LOL so obviously it’s going to confront darker themes. the question is whether it’s going to be done tastefully or not......

[piltrafas]

Biphobe anon here. I have a question, but no hard feelings if you ignore: What assumptions am I making? Is it because I don't expect people to see things from my perspective?

I saw your RB on my initial ask. I can clarify:

attraction inevitably leads to action

bisexuals are promiscuous and less prone to monogamy

bisexuals are more likely to cheat

[some] bisexual women are just quirky straight women (or the flipside of bisexual men are just gay men in denial)

I don't buy into these points. Maybe I'm not communicating well enough to get that across. I sometimes suspect the "quirky straight woman" stereotype on account of having dated somone who fit this profile.

When I talk about uncertainty, I mean that I expect most bi partners to want a straight relationship for the long term. It has nothing to do with cheating.

Hi, anon! I can try and explain ~ To get it out of the way, let me just say: in regards to your messages (when I commented on your assumptions/ask ratio I was thinking of the previous ones too) I made a lot of assumptions myself because I genuinely can't connect the dots of the stuff you talked about so it became a game of free association trying to understand. I have no doubt I'm misreading, overthinking a lot of it, you might disagree with your own phrasing or my interpretations, etc and as you say, you apparently don't recognize in yourself the biases I mentioned, and that's fair, I don't know you so I can't judge.

I decided to break down all my initial impressions so at least you'll have an easier time seeing what it looks like from my side. This is long as fuck because I had fun breaking it down. Gives me an opportunity to examine my own thought process, ya know?

how do you deal with the uncertainty of dating someone who is bi?

Uncertainty when dating someone bi is far from universal. When reading the message it seems you think that that uncertainty is, well, a certainty. I'd expect someone who is aware that this is a personal thing might phrase this differently, something like: "I have feelings of uncertainty in regards to dating someone bi, how can I deal with it?"

so how can you not be wary of a bi partner?

You're wary, you assume others would be too. If you wanna expand on how these things connect I'd be very curious. It's never occurred to me that a relationship's dynamics might change based on my partner's sexuality. In fact, I have never even asked what sexuality label anyone used? I have never been asked either. If someone hits on me they're attracted to me, that's all I care about. I actually don't think I've ever said the word bisexual aloud in my life outside of memeing. It's hilarious how it's just not something that organically comes up in conversation in my experience.

Is the fear that they will break up with you eventually? I genuinely don't understand what the wariness is about.

When I talk about uncertainty, I mean that I expect most bi partners to want a straight relationship for the long term.

Why do you expect that? I think this just comes across to me like you're projecting, that maybe if you could choose to be in a straight relationship you would and you can't see why everyone else wouldn't. You mentioned you live somewhere conservative, so I expect that plays a role? Then again, wider society is more socially progressive here, but my area is actually full of religious people that wanna make their faith everyone else's problem and none of the bi people I know or their partners think this and I'm struggling to think where this idea comes from. The people I know that have a set idea about who they wanna date long-term decide it more in terms of things like: whether they want to move abroad, want to marry, want to have children, are okay with adoption, and things of that sort. This doesn't automatically make their ideal partner the opposite gender. If anything, the reverse of what you propose is more familiar to me, because a couple of bisexual women I know exclusively date women (for different reasons iirc). I guess the point is that people with a long-term gender preferences are bound to exist, but they're certainly not the majority or even common ime, and because of that the expectation you have that most people want this seems out of proportion. But yeah, for the record, the qualifier of "long-term" is what gave me the impression that cheating and/or promiscuity play a part, by the way. It's a common stereotype that people say they're bi in their youth just to slut it up but will go have a "respectable" relationship once they settle down a bit. I don't know how you think of sexuality so we might be operating on completely different frameworks here but I think if you wanna make out with women, for quirky reasons or otherwise, then you're not exactly straight to me. (To each their own, I'm not gonna tell anyone how to identify, just a personal appraisal I guess). You said you knew someone like that, but I don't, so I'm not sure how one defines who fits the stereotype: bi women that abandon that label later? The ones that get cold feet about being out? Bi women that end up in long-term relationships with men? I know a malicious version of these people exists, I know they do. There's 7 billion people in the world and there's bound to be a subsection of people roleplaying at any number of things to get whatever attention/power/money they think they'll get out of it, but how statistically significant is this really? Is it worth even thinking about when dating? For me, no. YMMV.

Literally nobody else acts like this is the case outside of the internet.

That's. Simply not true? Just. Even virulently homophobic communities have queer people existing, living content, if private, lives. Some of them are even out and proud and fight for queer rights publicly. I just don't know how to disprove this one, short of dragging you to dinner with me and my friends. About half queer, half not. When conversations touch on sex or romance, no one is playing the pronouns game, no one blinks an eye, no one is worried or ashamed or self-conscious. "Out and proud" looks different for everyone. People who are content with their queerness exist where you are too, you just can't tell on sight. And I mean, personally, I feel no more pride in relation to my sexuality than I feel in connection to anything else I am (that I haven't achieved through hard work), the 'pride' of queerness for me is a direct counter to the shame people try to give me. But I'm certainly not unhappy or ashamed or would pick anything else if I had the choice nor have I mentally locked myself into a relationship with someone of a different gender just so I can pass for straight. In my life I've met exactly one person who agonized about their queerness.

I’m not going to blindly uproot my beliefs and agree to everyone’s outlook just because that’s the polite thing to do.

… is that the polite thing to do? No one responding was asking you to uproot your beliefs for their sake, and if they were they had no right to. But someone challenging what you say, disagreeing, explaining how they moved past their similar feelings isn't demanding anything of you in terms of character growth, in fact, dare I say the outlook most people have on anyone magically changing decades worth of feelings is uh, pretty bleak? It's a nice fantasy to think if you phrase something juuuust right, just persuasively enough that it will make a difference, but it's a fantasy, and I bet the average person reading wasn't holding their breath or grabbing the pitchforks. But for what it's worth, I agree with the overall point you made. We shouldn't blindly accept people's words.

I seriously doubt that half the people who go around telling others to go to therapy have actually done it themselves.

I mean. I hate therapy, I undiagnosed myself and stopped going at multiple points. It's painful and expensive, and that's a feature not a bug. I tell people to go to therapy because I have been to therapy and it's a great tool to change your life for the better. It's hard. I only manage it because I have a group of people that hold my hand through all of it, answer all my questions, helped me find a good professional, taught me how to judge that, taught me how to make the most of each session, and so much more. Accessibility for this kinda stuff is shitty, it sucks, I found it in internet friends that don't even speak my native language. But anyway, yeah, this one, this one is just wild to me because IDK about where you live, but where I live it's actually a stereotype that people who go to therapy get a lifetime debuff that makes them unable to shut the fuck up about it. I think you probably got a lot of words about therapy on account of the aforementioned debuff so I won't go point by point on what you think a therapist does and such, because I bet people have explained, but yeah, your ideas regarding that are disproportionately cynical and at times just plain wrong.

I think it’s important to be honest about my feelings, even if that means being an ass.

No one with a brain is gonna think you're an ass for being honest about your feelings. It's about context. I don't think you're an ass but if I did it would have more to do with your generalizations than with your honesty. You didn't come across badly imo in the offensive sense, just like you were spewing BS.

I don't think the appeal of this is something that anyone here has the background to really grasp.

I think you'd be surprised. A lot of people that I know that hang out/lurk that tumblr (and that are hardcore socialists or anarchocommunists for example, ideologies I don't share) have backgrounds of having been anti-sjws, or hanging in far-right crowds. So did I! A lot more people than you think get the appeal, either because we were there in the past, or our friends were or are attracted to certain parts of it now. Like you said, though, it's not an ideal environment, so people move away. And listen, maybe people won't admit it aloud or whatever, but that doesn't mean it's a category of people that doesn't exist.

I'm sleep deprived and English is hard and a bunch of this probably sounds condescending, so I'm sorry about that. Feel free to come back and call bullshit on all my stuff now (and name yourself something other than biphobe anon if that grates lmao)