#because I think that would be an INTERESTING thing to highlight when he gets older

[disappearinginq]

Important state of the WIPs questions!

What is the premise of each of the six unnamed Slow Horses fics?

How many Tracker fics are there? General plots?

How about Deception? Just Consequences and Mirrorverse? Or a few more?

Is there any news on the Rue front?

I have miscounted on the unnamed Slow Horses fics, so...buckle up:

Louisa is awoken in the middle of the night by Catherine. River, who's been missing for an indeterminate amount of time, has shown up at her flat, looking pretty okay if not just tired and exhausted, but he either can't talk, or won't, and it's them trying to piece together what happened. (they don't, and all I have figured out is that River CAN talk, he just doesn't because of whatever happened to him)

In which I channel my inner Stephen King and make a play on Misery by having River get held hostage by an older woman who has decided that he gets himself into too much trouble (after seeing him after incidents like the season 3 finale, season 4 finale, etc) and decides that she needs to keep him safe from himself.

My excuse to have River and Catherine bond even more. There's a lot of back and forth miscommunication between the two of them. River has learned through bitter experience that parental love/affection is something to be afraid of, and after the events of season 4 he's sort of unraveling and Catherine is trying not to overstep Coworker Level of Care but really trying to take care of him at the same time, and River is freaking out because he thinks he's overstepping, and angst ensues.

This one is like a Conspiracy Theory knockoff, except I think I'm changing up the timeline. It was going to be bad guys of non specific origin that had kidnapped River, but I think now maybe it's MI5 itself who're interrogating River about his "involvement" with Frank's machinations post season 4 finale. Whelan is a Bad Guy in this.

A conversation in between season 2 and season 3 when the agents find out that Spider didn't choose not to go to Slough House, Lamb wouldn't take him, so his only option was to quit and go private sector. This leads to fun speculation between Catherine and the gang because Catherine knows damn well why Lamb told Spider to get fucked and the Horses realize there actually are standards for Slough House.

River has to deal with chronic pain after season 3, but he just decides to muscle through it because he doesn't have any better way of dealing with/addressing it. Shirley recommends massage therapy after watching him hobble about/wincing at certain movements but River is Not a Fan of being touched, especially by strangers, so Shirley offers to do it for him. Basically an excuse for me to incorporate real life experiences into fic

Shirley decides to take a more proactive interest in her co-workers lives after Marcus dies, and it becomes a tradition for her to walk the last one out of the office to their car/mode of transport, and it becomes a highlight of the day for the others because Shirley picks the most unhinged conversation topics like "if you HAD to fight a bear, which one would you choose if you thought you had a chance of winning?" One night, when walking River out to the car, they linger longer than usual because River, despite being awkward as fuck, is probably the most emotionally intuitive of the group, and she feels like she can actually talk to him about Marcus and missing him, but - in true Slow Horses Luck fashion - they get mugged, and they go after River thinking he's the threat when we all know Shirley is the one who's killed the most people canonically (AND SHE'LL DO IT AGAIN).

Slow Horses, except set in WWII. They’re not relegated to admin work, but instead are shoved into the field and take missions that will likely result in death as they’re considered expendable. More like X-Company meets The Dirty Dozen

From the Bad Things Happen Bingo Card "Ear Injury". River’s hearing doesn’t recover as well as he would like from the archives, and he, naturally, hides how bad it gets because he thinks it’s just taking its sweet time recovering and doesn’t want to get fired for being mostly deaf. Turns out, no, River, it’s not just tinnitus. That’s just a symptom.

the Horses get stuck on a road trip/ in the field overnight, stuck in a town where there's nothing except a small inn with a whopping total of two rooms. Instead of an argument about who is going to be sleeping on the floor, it is an argument who gets to share the beds because nobody wants to share with Lamb. River is too tired to care and just passes out on one of the beds and wakes up at the bottom of a dog pile and other than a crick in his neck 0 complaints

BTHB "This is for your own good". Not sure the circumstances but River has been having horrific insomnia for weeks, but he refuses to do anything about it because River has 0 self care habits, but he has in fact been prescribed sleep medication and just won't take it. One of the Horses takes matters into their own hands and slip it into his tea or something equally benign, except after it starts taking effect, something happens to make them half to go on the run/hide, and they're struggling with a barely conscious River in addition to Bad Guys. Details TBD

Frank, River, and Lamb are in a standoff (details unknown): Lamb: you've only got one bullet left, and it'll take more than that to stop me Frank: best put it where it'll do the most damage then, hmm? And shoots River

Tracker: Alas, only one, which was started before anybody met Russell on the show. Colter goes missing, and Reenie calls his brother to help find him. Turns out, Colter got a little too close to something Big and Bad and was kidnapped by Big Pharma doc who has been experimenting on patients that family members have committed under false pretenses to assume control over their property/money/affairs

Deception is in fact just Mirrors and Consequences because I refuse to start anymore until these two are done.

As far as Rue - I've established she makes her money in the foodie smuggling business because different planets have different spices and like vanilla and saffron are worth more than their weight in money, and she uses this to supplement her piracy tendencies.

[ki1ldeer]

Oh pinterest my beloved, for so long I underestimated the worth of your silly pictures for drawing references 🙏

[oh-no-its-bird]

Ok so, thinking about this post, specifically the "dumb au where the Uchiha just really like Kakashi for some reason (clan stuff??)" part, and it got me thinking;

AU where the Hatake's have a reputation for being "good luck charm" to the point where some clans view them as genuine symbols of prosperity, and marrying one / getting one to join your family in some way is supposed to bless you, your family, and your fields for as long as they remain yours

Maybe their white chakra specifically is actually some sort of good luck thing? Idk, but like, there's that abstract idea.

"The Hatake, with their steely hair and blessed white chakra said to bless any fortunate enough to see it"

Could totally mash this in with the Sexyman Sakumo agenda and say part of his insane popularity was bc of the rumors about how his bloodline limit is supposed to give fortune to any who might tie him down

Oooo what if after his mission gone wrong, the rumors and reputation twists and suddenly people are saying no, they got it opposite, the Hatake's bring bad luck

Then Sakumo offs himself and Kakashi suddenly has to live with the reputation of being a bad luck charm

Could be fun.

Anyways, rewinding:

Gonna think ab the warring states with this idea first.

So, half Hatake Tobirama, right? Senju Butsama marrying a Hatake woman would be such a power move for him,,,

Oh my god wait ok: Something about the Senju clan and their planty stuff, then marrying a Hatake woman said to bring prosperity to their "clan and crops" is so good.

And then she also goes and proves it right by popping out the first mokuton baby in forever

So fun !!

I like the idea that their luck is said to specifically be in their white chakra, so like. None of the Senju boys being born with white chakra and their dad being upset by it bc that means the luck wasn't passed down. But Tobirama, being an albino, looks pretty Hatake so maybe some of the charm passed onto him...?

(It hadn't, but there's some fun to be had in the belief that it had.)

Tobirama never marries in part because he has no interest in it, and in part because many of those who approached him only wanted him for his supposed 'Hatake Luck'

You could so easily turn this into sort of a parody to a blessed eyes au by rolling with Tobirama having the social flex of being a Hatake, a good luck charm in human form.

Skipping back ahead to Kohona back to Kakashi— umm supposed "bad luck" Hatake Kakashi (to the general population of Kohona) being fuckin pspsps'ed at by the older clans who know Hatake's are good luck and are so trying to get him to join their clan (and bring them luck)

He's an orphan now!!! That means he's free realestate!!! Pspsps cmere little boy come let the nice old clan people adopt you teehee <3

This was meant to be a funny silly lighthearted thing but I can see several ugly paths to take with that actually. Let's stick to lighthearted fun for now tho

Ummm Obito actually survives the rock fall bc of Kakashi's Hatake luck, pass it on. He so should have died but he didn't and it's bc of Kakashi taking him as his "best friend" and suddenly boom, luck.

Ooo maybe when they swap eyes, uh, yk, Kakashi's eye has a bit of white chakra in it and now it's in Obito.

So now Obito suddenly has this double conundrum of "physically has a Hatake's white chakra in him (in his eye, even, which is a culturally and spiritually significant body part to highlight)

And he's considered family by Kakashi, who Kakashi thinks of (and unknowingly sends good luck towards) every day,,,,

Obito's plans keep going so well even when he does a half assed job at them bc of the fucking Hatake blessing Kakashi unknowingly placed on him, pass it on

Alternativley: silly fluffy 'everythings good and nothing hurts' au that's just older Kakashi being aggressively pursued by people both bc hes hot and also the Hatake luck.

Mothers want to adopt him to get him into their clan and fathers want to fuc—

Sorry what was I saying?

Anyways

Good luck charm Kohona sexy man Sakumo and his son Kakashi who grows up into a good luck charm Kohona sexyman himself....

Hatake good luck charm au. Make it happen. I believe in us

[sitepathos]

Will the Batfam be more open to Omega reader having a mate if it was with one of them? Since they're all about keeping him in the pack by all means, what better way that having him mated to one of them?

Would they go as far to consider that??

Oh yeah, pretty much EVERYTHING is on the table when it comes to Omegaverse, from Alpha parents mating with their Omega children to Alpha siblings mating with their Omega siblings, uncaring about the birth order or age gap.

And I mentioned Tim in one of my Omegaverse posts because while all of them would probably think of claiming you as a mate so they could bring you back to the manor, Tim would absolutely be the first to think of it and would already be drafting plans.

Seriously, this guy’s never even heard of personal space, so he’s immediately researching everything about you he can get his hands on, from analyzing what little was left behind in your old bedroom to studying the code of your video game. If it’s relating to you, he’s examining it to hell and back before putting it in the file he has on you on his computer under heaviest guard. He even buys all your Momma’s books ever wrote and reads them all three times, writing notes and highlighting entire paragraphs.

And you can bet your ass that once he’s ready to put his plan in action, he makes it known in the most public way possible. Probably when he’s being hounded by reporters on his way to Drake Industries.

“Mister Drake, do you have anything to say regarding your treatment towards your pack’s only Omega?”

“Only that I’m ashamed that I was too stupid to see that I was living with a treasure many would kill and die to possess and I wish to make amends with Y/N. Starting by announcing that I intend to begin courting him, starting today. I can only hope that he can find it in his heart to forgive me and give me a chance to prove my love for him.”

As expected, the entire world loses its shit once the news begins to circulate. For years, the media has asked each Alpha of the Wayne Pack when they intend to court an Omega and many have made it clear that they wish to be courted by the Waynes, but they always find a way of evading the question or saying they have other things they must attend to before they can court an Omega before excusing themselves, but now, a member of the Wayne Pack is publicly showing interest in an Omega and intends to court him!

Of course, it does not take long for you to hear about it and you are pissed!

You don’t even want to be in the same state as these people and now one of them is wanting to become your mate.

Before you know it, you have media outlets from all over Nevada and the surrounding states surrounding your house, taking pictures and yelling questions at you from the curb as you attempt to get in your car.

Of course, you’re not the only one pissed as everyone in the Wayne Pack loses their shit once they hear about it.

Bruce knows that if this succeeds, you’ll be back home, but he’s still your father and your Alpha (if only in his own delusional mind), so he sees Tim courting you without his permission as an insult and the two get into a fight once Tim gets home, but Alfred manages to separate the two of them before it gets physical.

Dick is angry that Tim would say such a thing in public. They’re a pack and such things should be discussed before doing something that can’t be undone. Also, he sees himself as your older brother, so the thought of someone showing any sort of interest in you is enough to make his hackles raise.

Barbara isn’t sure how to respond to the news. On one hand, she thinks this is a fast of way of bringing you back home and into the pack. On the other hand, however, she thinks it’s an underhanded and shameful tactic that no one in their right mind would ever consider (what does she expect, this is the Waynes we’re talking about).

Jason is fucking furious when he hears the news and plans to shoot both Tim’s kneecaps the moment he sees the bastard (Alfred puts a stop to that quickly). To him, you’re a person first before an Omega and you should be allowed to choose who you want to court you and not have some Alpha fuckhead decide from you. But… there’s a part of him that wishes he had thought of it first.

Steph laughs for a full ten minutes once she sees the news and the fallout that happens because of it. She lives for drama and this promises to deliver drama that she never thought she’d see in her wildest dreams. Of course, she’s pissed that Tim is using such sacred and action like courting to bring you back home and while she wants nothing more than for you to be back at the manor, she plans on giving Tim hell until everything’s said and done.

Cass knows this is probably the most efficient way to bring you back home since Omegas are required to accept an Alpha’s offer of courtship due to centuries of tradition, but she’s angry that someone like Tim is courting someone like you. She knows the two of you have nothing in common and you hate them enough to try to kill them, but if this brings you back into the pack, so be it.

Damian is planning to slit Tim’s throat in his sleep (although that might take a while since the guy practically never sleeps). You are a member of the Wayne bloodline and the thought of someone like Drake thinking he has any right to court you and knot you like some shameless mutt is repulsive to him. Besides, according to League tradition, your life is his thanks to him cutting you with his sword the first day you met (he regrets his actions everyday, but if it works in his favor, he’ll bear the guilt) and if anyone has the right to court you, it’s him!

With Tim courting you, you can expect multiple gifts to be delivered to your house on a daily basis (seriously, every delivery service in the state of Nevada hates you) and each gift falls into one of two categories: something you expressed interest in buying but choose to wait or something related to your interests.

For the first category, Tim is actively monitoring your internet activity; you wishlist a game on Steam, you see it’s already been bought for you an hour later. Or you look up a book and you have everything that author’s ever written on your doorstep. Or even researching what brand of headphones is best and every brand you looked at is being delivered to you by the end of the day.

For the second category, he’ll buy you anything that’s even remotely related to your interests. And he’ll go so overboard. For example, you have a favorite Pokémon? Well, now you have every plushie of that Pokémon available on the Pokémon Center, no matter how little or how small it is.

And of course, he’ll make regular visits to Nevada so the two of you can be seen in public. You can flip out, scream, hit, and threaten him all you want, he’ll still look at you with love in his eyes and a sincere smile gracing his face (that you begin to daydream beating to a pulp).

[bibliophilesince2003]

Transformers One In-Depth Review

Transformers One is a must watch.

I’m tired of seeing a bad review go towards a movie that is actually extremely well done, especially if the reviewer hadn’t taken the time to watch it or considered the trailers enough content to draw a review from.

Seriously, it was so refreshing to see a new take on a franchise that has been around for years. In my personal opinion, it’s better than re-makes that offer even less room for creativity.

I am a huge Transformers fan. I grew up with Transformers Prime, and when I was older, I watched the movies. I’ve watched other shows here and there, and while I may not be a complete expert, I know the lore well enough to have been heavily, emotionally impacted by Transformers One.

I’ll start with the "non-spoiler take" followed by the "spoiler take” which will be “hidden” for those who do not want to be spoiled.

"Non-spoiler" take...

Peter Cullen’s voice is legendary. Chris Hemsworth himself acknowledged this in an interview, mentioning that the goal was to “re-create” and “do something new.” He intended to represent a “youthful, brash, and cocky version” of Orion Pax before he was known as Optimus Prime. This is a realistic representation. In Transformers Prime, Ratchet states that Optimus Prime was more like Jack in his youth. For those of you who don’t know, Jack is a strong-willed, selfless, but slightly impulsive teenager, as all teenagers should be. It is clear that Hemsworth has evaluated “hints” that other movies and shows have provided. Hemsworth wanted to “lean into” a more serious voice towards the end of Transformers One. He insisted “he wouldn’t dare mimic Peter Cullen.” I highly respect his choices, and he does not deserve the amount of hate thrown at him. Now, Orion Pax also comes across as a humble, soft-spoken character in other movies and shows. However, I can see why they would lean into his impulsiveness to better highlight and contrast the relationship between Orion Pax and D-16, especially as D-16’s true colors show. More about that in the “spoiler” section, though!

No, it would not have made sense for Orion Pax to have a deep, majestic voice. That comes with experience; that comes with hard decisions. Quite honestly, Hemsworth is pretty close to what I had imagined Orion Pax to sound like. It’s still slightly deep, and very soothing.

The character development in this movie? Oh. My. Word. Guys, as a writer, I can say that subtle character development – the best kind – is not easy to do. In Transformers One, it flowed naturally. It made me smile. It broke my heart. If you’ve seen other Transformers movies and shows, brace yourself. If you haven’t, still brace yourself. Again, more about that in the “spoiler” section.

The humor in the trailers has been re-posted so heavily I think it’s beginning to lose its effect and people, not knowing the context, are quick to judge. Yes, Bee is funny. It’s Bee. He’s supposed to be lovable, humorous, loyal, and powerful. I found no issue with most of the humor coming from him. There is more humor that is not mentioned in the trailers that is really worth chuckling over.

Finally, the fight scenes were clean, the animation was captivating, and the incredible Brian Tyler produced musical masterpieces for most every scene, some of it connecting to other movies and shows.

"Spoiler" take, now!

I expected to dislike Elita. Really, I did. I knew she was the “love interest” for Optimus Prime beforehand and expected big things from her, because Optimus Prime never struck me as having a “love interest” in the past. Not only that, but I expected her to be the female character I seem to find everywhere these days who strives to be better than everyone else without a lick of experience, complaining about the male figures in her life.

Elita, however, is ambitious. She leads. She doesn’t have to prove anything; she’s simply willing to work hard and do her job. Understandably, she gets upset with Orion Pax and the others when they interrupt her progress, though I can’t help but be amused by Orion Pax’s shy attempt to get her attention and adored his subtle acts of kindness. Sure, she’s a tad bit aggressive – she did punch Orion Pax, after all – but I really enjoyed seeing her adapt. When Orion Pax was feeling hopeless, she was there to encourage him. If she had stopped talking immediately after saying “I’m better” I would have been frustrated. Orion Pax and D-16 are the main characters in Transformers One, after all. She didn’t stop there, though. She highlighted the most important aspects of Orion Pax; his good heart, selflessness, and bravery. She told Shockwave and the others to shut up and listen to Orion Pax when they doubted his plan. She encouraged him to speak louder when others couldn’t hear him. She leaned towards the pit when Orion Pax fell.

Not only that, but Orion Pax was incredibly patient with her. He woke her up when she was unconscious and immediately took a punch to the face like a champ. He gently, subtlety smiled at her when they traveled to the surface and Elita announced "it's beautiful." He cried out her name and pushed her out of the way to save her during a battle. He listened to her. He told her to beat Arachnid “gently” when Elita managed to detain her, proving he fully understood Elita’s personality.

I’m sorry, but this kind of relationship takes the cake. If they’re meant to be a couple, I can see the signs. I love how well they work together and build each other up.

Bee is an icon. One of my favorite scenes is him eagerly saying to Orion Pax “I’m going to go cut these guys up, watch! C’MERE!” It’s like a proud kid trying to get their parent to watch. I love how loyal he is to Orion Pax right off the bat.

While they changed some lore in Transformers One, they included everything that was important. Orion Pax and D-16 are miners, but it seems Orion Pax may have been a clerk beforehand. When he broke into the archives, he seemed to know where he was going. When he ran, I can’t remember exactly, but I believe he was muttering numbers? I don’t mind the small twists and can see how they were necessary for the story; key details are kept.

Jazz and Ratchet mention! I was so excited to hear their names. Kind of wish they had shown Ratchet, maybe shouting “I needed that!” to a fumbling worker. Sorry, Transformers Prime reference.

Arachnid had an incredible design.

Sentinel is a well-written, hate-worthy villain. I… did not expect D-16 to rip him in half, though.

Also… can I just mention how epic that particular scene was? The switch from D-16 reaching his peak character development – showing no mercy – while Orion Pax reached his – making the ultimate sacrifice to preserve life and do things the right way; receiving the Matrix of Leadership. The music, the animation, the slow-motion… everything was incredibly cinematic.

Obviously, D-16 took things too far. I appreciated the fact that he didn’t just wake up one day and decide to be evil. It took time. It took motivation. Obviously, any sane person would stand with Optimus Prime, though he does make mistakes from time to time, but it was incredibly neat to actually appreciate D-16’s insight in the beginning, then notice the shift and feel every bit of emotion Orion Pax felt.

People say the ending is rushed, or that D-16’s change came too abruptly without any good motivation. Sure, the ending may be a little rushed, but movies are typically structured this way. Falling action does not have a set speed; it just needs to be well done. Bad things happen in a rush, and this leaves ample opportunity for the “good guys” to react a little too slowly. As for D-16’s motivation… even a person can take their worship of an item or figure too far. Megatronus was someone to look up to in D-16’s eyes. He agreed to Orion Pax’s plans, or at least tolerated them, but his admiration for Megatronus was his own interest. Orion Pax threatened that vision. D-16 wanted to kill Sentinel to satisfy his own needs and desires, not to liberate others. Sentinel deserved death after committing murder, yes. He didn’t, however, deserve a public execution, especially as he tried to get away and was relatively defenseless. Remember, Sentinel told D-16 and Bee that he would execute them in front of everyone. We can acknowledge his promise as brutal, so shouldn't D-16's actions be considered brutal, too? No "reason" could ever justify it.

When D-16 let Orion Pax drop, he proved he no longer cared about loyalty. The least he could do was hoist Orion Pax’s body up or break down after losing what he once called his best friend, but he didn’t.

It’s ironic… D-16 said “I’m done saving you” when in reality, Orion Pax was trying to save D-16 from doing something he knew D-16 should have regretted doing. Normally, yes, D-16 is the voice of reason, but not in this case. For once, this is where Orion Pax’s true personality shines through. His spark – the spark of a Prime – is in the right place. Orion Pax puts joking aside when serious matters arise. It seems D-16 didn’t really know his friend after all. The actions D-16 committed, my friends, are not actions you want to celebrate.

I really, really hope Transformers One gains more attention. We need the sequel! Transformers fans, tell your friends. Give an honest review, which are of more value than the reviews given by those who didn’t take the time to watch it. Hype it up and roll out!

[thelunarfairy]

Between the Lines

In the last episode, Tsukasa gets an extra line, not present in the manga, where he mentions that:

"I hope she does well, like Amane did".

Not with the exact same words, but the mention here is quite clear. During Tsukasa's speech, we see Hanako's knife highlighted.

If we consider the hypothetical situation, at first Shijima says that in order for them to leave that reality, it was necessary for Amane and Mitsuba to be killed.

Something similar to

"the nightmare/fairy tale ends when the protagonist dies, there is no story without him"

Seeing Tsukasa mention that Amane did a good job, as he wished Nene would do, we can imagine that the older brother may have felt obligated to kill Tsukasa.

As a real agreement about "the nightmare ending" for it to end, he needs to kill Tsukasa, the thing inside him, without fail.

It's interesting that Tsukasa mentioned this at that exact moment, as well as the knife being displayed as a clue lost between the words.

It doesn't mean that this is directly related to Mei or her ability (although her death is also conditional on the death or life of the Yugi twins, she was alive in the current reality), but it could be linked to some real situation between the twins.

What if this was like a preview?

Amane and Tsukasa would be trapped in that house and the only way for him and his family to escape would be to kill the boy, specifically the thing inside him. There would be no other condition besides that.

Just like Kou and Nene's dilemma, in order to return to reality, they would have to kill Amane and Mitsuba.

And as we saw, the rules could be broken, there was another option. Something similar to the context of the twins. Although Tsukasa did in fact die, he didn't disappear, he stuck to Hanako until Amane found another way to save his younger brother.

Leaving Tsukasa trapped (as well as Nene) in the boundary until he finds a solution.

Perhaps Tsukasa could be mentioning this, as Amane did his "job" well, killing him.

Or, it could just be a dramatization of a scene from the anime.

It's interesting to think about this, because it makes you wonder about the real situation of Tsukasa's death, if it was something Amane did because he wanted to save his brother from the entity, or if it was something Tsukasa expected Amane to do, to the point of perhaps causing his own death.

The twin paradox.

If Tsukasa hadn't found out that Amane would kill him, he wouldn't have insisted on going back to see how he would be killed, and upon returning, perhaps he purposefully did relevant actions that made Amane make the decision to kill him.

Don't take any of this seriously, it's just a brief analysis.

[sokkastyles]

As the eldest daughter in my family, I've always kind of related to Katara in some ways. I wasn't parentified like she was, but whenever I saw her trying to keep things together for the Gaang in the show or whenever I see her being the emotional anchor for the Gaang in a way, I could really relate to that, especially because Katara is sort of always expected to be that person for everyone and she never really gets a break from it. I'm nowhere near as incredible as Katara is, but I have experienced being the person who was always expected to be kind and forgiving, always willing to compromise and understand, and never really being allowed to be mean or angry or even make mistakes in the same ways that some of my other family members were allowed to do. I've heard my family members say things like "that's just what that person is like, that's just what their personality is like, nothing you can do about it." It still frustrates me to hear that, because it often feels like I've never been given that same margin of error. I'm not an ideal older sister or daughter by any means and I've definitely made mistakes. I'm sure there must be other girls and women who can relate to this too. And I think one of the main reasons Zutara has always been, and still is, appealing to me is because Zuko sees Katara for who she is, the good parts and the less than perfect parts, and he doesn't ever make her feel guilty about any of it. He takes her seriously, gives her a lot of care and emotional support, and is very good at meeting her where she is and trying to understand her rather than dismissing the parts of her personality that he doesn't understand or are more complicated. That's the type of emotional support I would like from a partner one day, and I wish Katara and Zuko had ended up together for that reason too.

Tbh, when people (usually KA shippers) talk about Katara getting to be a child with Aang, they talk about in based on the idea that what she needs is to be like Aang. They want her to be carefree and do cute things like penguin sled. And even though Katara enjoys doing those things, when she penguin sleds with Aang, she doesn't actually experience herself as a kid again. Her reaction is "I haven't done this since I was a kid," and Aang points out that she talks as if she isn't still a kid, because she doesn't feel like one, and going penguin sledding doesn't magically transform her. If anything, that scene emphasizes how much Katara does not consider herself a kid. Which doesn't mean she isn't one, but Katara's attitude towards penguin sledding highlights her parentification, not reverses it.

When Katara acts like a kid, she often acts in ways that get her hated by the fandom. In what scenes does Katara actually get to experience being a kid again, I ask you?

Katara's inner child is not happy-go-lucky like Aang. Katara's inner child is selfish and full of anger and grief and fear. And validating that child is just as important as Katara getting the opportunity to play. I just find it interesting that certain people scream about letting Katara be a kid when she's doing the things that Aang wants her to do, and yet one of the episodes that show Katara the most in touch with the child she is is an episode where she gets accused of acting in a way that is not herself or too adult or too dark.

Katara avenging her mother and confronting the man who murdered her is an acknowledgement of Katara's stolen childhood and one of the most clear expressions she has of taking it back, literally reclaiming her identity. And she doesn't do it in a way that's innocent or kind or cute or wholesome or acceptably feminine, but it still comes from a need to be the child she is.

And Zuko is the one who makes that happen for her, and who doesn't tell her what the mature or proper way to do it is.

I read a quote recently from a review of the remake of Carrie that instantly made me think of Katara, and I feel like it's relevant both in the ways we talk about Katara as a heroic character and as a parentified child.

Whether she’s volunteering to take her sister’s place in the arena or grooming her son to lead the resistance; gunning down the gangsters who sell drugs to the kids in her neighborhood or swinging swords to avenge her daughter, the “strong female character” is often stirred by a maternal concern, a quintessential desire to preserve her community, to protect the weak and vulnerable. Her bad-assery must be in the service of a greater good. Even when she’s more ethically complex (like the Bride, who begrudgingly admits that all the people she killed to get to her daughter, “felt good”), she never takes a place at the table of Walter White’s grand epiphany: “I did it for me.”

- Laura Bogart, The Trouble With Carrie: Strong Female Characters and Onscreen Violence

Katara's actions in the Southern Raiders are one of the best expressions of her being a child because she does it for herself. She does it BECAUSE she is a child and she was hurt. When Katara is penguin sledding because Aang asked her to, it never approaches the point where she's doing it for herself or letting go of the idea that she isn't a kid like the others around her. It's only when she's confronting Yon Rah that she's acting not as her mother's replacement, but as the child who was left behind. The child who, like Carrie, needed the adults around her to protect her.

Of course, Katara's actions are nowhere near as extreme as Carrie's, but both stories tap into something intrinsic about girlhood and the desire for validation in a world that adultifies girls but at the same time tries to keep them infantalized.

[yumeka-sxf]

Even though today's new chapter was pretty funny, it also reinforces how Damian's need to act indifferent and even hostile towards Anya stems from emotional baggage from his family - whether it's brainwashing, strict discipline, or something else, we see how he's so afraid to show even a minute trace of feelings towards a "commoner" that he has to go through hoops just to ensure no one else sees him give Anya a gift.

What could the Desmond family have instilled in him that gives him such aversion to anyone of a lower social standing? I hope we find out someday. But at the same time, this chapter also gave me the impression that Damian doesn't like having to put on this jerk act in front of everyone. He seemed annoyed and exhausted that he had to do all this just to repay a debt, a debt which no one was demanding of him. Despite all the insults he hurls, the kid has morals and dignity. So it's a shame he feels such a strong need to supress that (he and Twilight have a lot in common in that regard. Twilight is simply better at hiding his real feelings since he's an adult and has been doing it much longer).

However, Damian seems okay with showing only Anya his softer side (when no one else is looking of course). Probably because, unlike all the other Eden kids, she's not from a high-class family with whom the Desmonds have to put on airs with.

While I'm not nearly as into Damianya as Twiyor, I can appreciate them as a cute future couple when they're older, with the seeds of that future relationship slowly sprouting in the series (though nothing romantic now of course as they are only 1st graders). Endo brought back Damian's "shojo filter" in this chapter, which was at maximum strength! (Is Damian secretly a CLAMP fan? 😂)

It's only at the end of the chapter, when the debt is repaid and Damian can finally relax, that he's able to see Anya's natural cuteness, without the shojo filter (his expression here looks like one of Twilight's...they really do have a lot in common!)

What's also interesting is that, compared to some of their early confrontations, Anya never returned Damian's insults until recently, maybe around the end of the bus hijacking arc. In the beginning of the series, she seemed to not know how to act when faced with bullying and was just focused on getting Damian to be friends with her. Now she openly returns his jabs with her own.

This could be because she's confident that they're friends now, so she doesn't have to hold back and can match his insults without worry. Or maybe she's just learning how to better deal with hostility her own way? Or she's just copying his bad manners...hard to say 😅

I like how Endo brought back Damian's promise to repay Anya for the handkerchief incident. From what I've gathered reading the manga fanbook, he tries hard not to leave plot points unaddressed. Which brings me to another highlight of this chapter - mention of Melinda again!

I knew Endo wouldn't forget about her, but I've also been wondering when she would return as a prominent figure in the plot. This chapter raises the question of why she's so intent on Damian and Anya becoming friends...is it simply because Yor would like that, and she wants to be good friends with Yor? Or is there some ulterior motive behind the scenes?

Even though stories focused on the Eden kids aren't typically my favorites, I actually really enjoyed this chapter! It had the great SxF comedy I love of misunderstandings between the characters leading to hilarious moments - Emile and Ewen think Damian wants to duel Anya, Becky thinks Anya wants to spend alone time with him because she's in love, Damian just wants to give Anya the gift to clear his conscience, and Anya just wants to eat the cakes!

(I love how Endo made Anya's mouth slightly watering throughout the chapter whenever she's thinking of the cakes!)

It's hard to tell if this was just a stand-alone chapter or if it will lead to a continuation of the "plan C" thing brought up a while back. I hope it does if it means we get to learn more about Melinda and the Desmond family overall!

[spectral-idiot]

Clemont's characther analysis (Pokeani centered)

Okay so... I’ve really been wanting to do an analysis of this little sour lemon for a while now, and since I got the green light in the XY community, I just couldn’t resist.

Warning!: This post is going to be long and it's translated from Spanish (I don't think my English is good enough for this kind of thing)

I find it very interesting how my hyperfixation with Lem has developed now, as I’ve grown older.

When I was a kid and watched the series (I still identified completely as female back then), my favorite character was Serena in every possible way. I was stunned by her performances and I wanted to be like her.

But when I went back to thinking about the series (and later rewatching it), I found one of the most human characters—at least in that season. Him.

So, as you guys would say, “Bear with me,” or as we’d say in latin-america, “Síganme los buenos,” and let’s begin this analysis.

“I’m not satisfied with who I am rigth now” — Clemont, episode 866/62

His background, story, and initial surroundings:

It’s most likely that he lived his whole life in Lumiose City—or at least that’s the most reasonable assumption, since we see one or two flashbacks of him as a kid living there (like in the Shinx episode, where he studies in a neighboring town he had to move to for a while).

And we can already see that from his immediate family environment, there’s a bit of pressure. A family that may well be the only support system he ever had, since, based on his slight social awkwardness, we can assume he didn’t have many friends.

He’s the city’s Gym Leader—a position he earned, according to the anime, because he’s a genius when it comes to Electric-types. More recognition—and yep, more pressure.

Even in the games, he’s known as “The inventor lighting up the world!”

It’s clear he doesn’t have much faith in himself, or at least he doesn’t seem very confident in that role.

He has a father who’s incredibly encouraging, someone who supports and believes in him—which, on the surface, sounds great.

But at the same time, we see that Clemont didn’t feel confident enough to tell him the Gym had been taken over or controlled by Clembot. There’s no solid reason for this, especially since his dad genuinely supports him—but if we dig a little deeper, we can see it was out of fear of disappointing him.

His father is always trying to help him improve as a Gym Leader, with a positive and well-intentioned approach.

But to Clemont, those intentions may come off as expectations.

And then there’s his sister—but not an older sister who could guide and support him, show him the way.

Instead, he has a younger sister. He’s the one who has to be that figure for Bonnie: a guide, a companion, a shoulder to cry on, and the brother who gives advice. Even if no one directly told him to, he wants to take on that responsibility.

Yep, you guessed it. More pressure.

I want to make it clear that none of these pressures and expectations come from a place of bad intent or malice. His family—and even, to a certain extent, the city—genuinely have a lot of faith in him. They believe in his abilities and see him as someone capable of great things.

But that doesn’t make the weight of it all any lighter. That faith ends up becoming some pretty big shoes to fill.

And it’s mostly him who feels that pressure and sees things this way. It’s not so much that others are pushing it on him—it’s that he puts those expectations on himself, just by realizing how much people believe in him.

His personality and role in the group

(Quick disclaimer: it’s been a while since I rewatched XY, so I might not be 100% accurate.)

We can't get much insight into his personality outside of the Kalos group, since there aren’t many glimpses into his more recent past. Most flashbacks go way too far back.

(Though it’s worth highlighting that in the Shinx episode, his natural inclination to help and his determination to use science for the greater good are already present—showing that these traits existed before his interest in battling.)

That being said, we can assume he used to be a bit more quiet and reserved than how he appears in the main anime—maybe even more nervous.

From the start, we can tell he’s a rather calm person, as expected. He’s knowledgeable in many areas related—obviously—to science and Pokémon. He often plays the role of the “informed” one in the group, recognizing moves, abilities, and strategies.

I’d also like to highlight his mannerisms, way of speaking, and even his language—at least in the original Japanese version (not sure how much of this was lost in translation). His speech is always very polite, though never to the point of sounding snobbish or unnecessarily formal. He’s still the softest and kindest in the group. For instance, he’s the one who most frequently says “please” when calling on his Pokémon or giving them commands (again, in the original version at least).

He seems like someone who’d rather focus on finding a solution than dwell on the problem—unless the issue is too big and he feels incapable of solving it. In that case, he tends to quietly give up instead of complaining, getting angry, or whining. Almost as if he expected to fail.

Like when he believed Luxio hadn't forgiven him or thought Chespin would be better off with another trainer - he didn't cry or cause drama; he just quietly prepared himself, almost like he thought he deserved it.

He also gets noticeably flustered when complimented (maybe a bit insecure).

It’s clear that he’s one of the calmest and most collected members of the quartet—alongside Serena. He’s never loud or disruptive, and often acts as the peacemaker when tensions rise.

Of course, he’s calm.

Unless we’re talking about science and inventions.

That’s when his passion overflows, and the calm demeanor starts to fade. His conviction about how “The future is now thanks to science!” takes over and he turns into a full-on fanboy. Anything science-related excites him—even just visiting a Poké Ball factory is enough to make him giddy.

He genuinely believes that science can create a better future and help people. (Please, hold onto that idea of helping.) He finds it deeply disturbing when robotics and technology are used for unethical purposes.

This less shy and withdrawn version of him shows us something important—he really is comfortable around Serena, Ash, and the group in general. At least during the Kalos journey, he seems more at ease than we imagine he was before the series began.

Another noteworthy trait—especially when you consider his upbringing—is how he’s always looking to help. That small need is always present. When one of his inventions has the chance to be useful, he presents it with a bit of pride, happy to have found a situation where his passion and talent can actually make a difference.

But this goes so far that it once led him to be tricked by Team Rocket, who pretended to be someone else and convinced him that he could help by building a machine for them.

If you look closely, Clemont's very first appearance in the anime is him trying to save Ash! He doesn't know him at all he just sees someone falling from Prism Tower and immediately tries to help.

This shows that his need to help isn’t something trivial—it’s tied deeply to those expectations placed on him.

Even within the group, he plays the most “responsible” role—not just literally (he’s the one who apologizes on behalf of the group, the most grounded one), but also behaviorally. He acts in that “older brother” way: cooking, looking after others.

Beyond his natural role as a big brother, this also seems to stem from his ongoing desire to behave in an “ideal” way—as if he’s still trying to fill those shoes.

This gets to the point where in the games, he uses his defeat as an opportunity to advice Bonnie!

“Responsible.” “Kind.” “Calm.” “Useful.”

His Interests and His Inner Conflict:

He definitely has very defined interests.

His great passion for science/mechanics/robotics, his love for Pokémon (more specifically, Electric-types), and, a little more hidden, his enjoyment of battling.

Why bring these up? Because they tell us a lot about Clemont—not just about his personality, but also about expectations.

And about a small yet huge inner conflict between what he likes, what he knows he's good at, and something in which he feels he's not good enough. Because yes, they do clash with each other.

To begin with, his love for Pokémon is not something isolated—it intertwines deeply with both his passion for science and for battles.

He loves science as a way to create a better world for Pokémon. And he loves battles as a way to understand them.

There isn't much more to add about his passion for inventions that hasn’t already been said. It’s something that clearly interested him from a young age, something that fascinated him ever since. He loves understanding how things work, how to create, and most of all, how to provide or help through it. (Yes, I may be repeating myself, but it really is a strongly marked trait.)

And, moreover, it’s something he’s good at. It’s something that comes naturally to him, something he feels is truly his own, something he sees as his gift and what he can offer to the world. Naturally, it's a passion where he finds comfort in the feeling of being sufficient—something he, as we know, deeply needs.

He found a purpose through this.

But even though it’s not immediately noticeable, it’s not the only thing he likes.

Besides his general love for learning more about Pokémon, he truly enjoys battling.

We can notice that he’s the one who knows the most about it in the group—second only to Ash, of course—which comes naturally with his role as “the knowledgeable one” and as a Gym Leader.

Moreover, we can see how much he enjoyed battling Ash, both in their first encounter and in their official Gym battle.

No, he’s definitely not as vocal about it as Ash is, but he likes it. He enjoys preparing, training, crafting a good strategy.

He simply doesn’t openly say it, and he's not the type to actively seek out battles. (Important note: he usually only battles when it’s to protect his loved ones—especially against Team Rocket—without hesitation.)

So that leaves us with a question: why?

We know he enjoys battling, and sees it as a way to better understand Pokémon, so why does he keep it so hidden?

Wasn’t that the very reason he chose to become a Gym Leader? Because he wanted to understand Pokémon better through battles?

We could simply attribute this behavior to his more peaceful, reserved nature—and we wouldn't be wrong.

But we can also see that he doesn't believe he's particularly good at it. And that's probably why he doesn’t feel very confident about it—not just showing it, but even within himself.

Because being a Gym Leader is about that. In his own words, a Gym Leader must be a wall that pushes trainers to become stronger.

And he doesn’t believe he lives up to that.

During the journey with Ash, he sees—quite clearly—many other Gym Leaders. Leaders who, surely to him, perfectly fulfill their role (presenting a real challenge, helping Ash grow as a trainer), putting in front of him a living example of what he thinks he should be.

And not only that: he also gets to see, firsthand, the other side—the challenger’s side. He sees how Ash gets truly excited about battling for a badge, how he prepares, eager and happy for a good match.

This, added to the involuntary pressure he felt back in Lumiose City, ended up making him even more insecure in that area.

So the question now is: how does he deal with these insecurities? How does he handle not feeling good enough at something he should excel at?

He doesn't. He escapes.

Well, better said, he used to escape.

He takes refuge in what he is truly good at: inventing (let's ignore the fact that they sometimes explode).

To avoid facing the feeling of failure or inadequacy, he focuses on what he knows he can do well, where he feels useful and safe.

This gets to the point where that’s practically why he created Clembot. I'm not arguing that he did it out of laziness to improve, but I do want to highlight that it was, at least in part, to have more time to focus on mechanics rather than confronting his deeper issues.

Yes, because instead of facing his insecurities head-on, he seeks to feel useful and capable through other means.

I’m not saying he doesn’t genuinely love science and mechanics.

But his focus on them may also be tied to avoiding that internal conversation.

You could even argue that one of the reasons he agreed to join this journey was to get out of Lumiose for a while.

I'm not saying it was his only reason—but it definitely was one of them.

Let’s remember that before this, Clemont spent his days wandering around Prism Tower, trying to find a way to regain control of it.

In other words, constantly surrounded by a reminder of his failures.

He always seems to avoid these problems.

Maybe because he doesn’t believe he can solve them.

Maybe because he simply doesn’t have the courage yet to face them.

His Growth:

It could be summarized in one sentence:

"Grant me the strength to change the things I can change within myself, and the love to accept the things I cannot."

Although his development is more a matter of one episode rather than a gradual thing across the series, we can still highlight how he grows.

We know he started out as a calm and slightly insecure boy, who seemed to prefer escaping from problems and feared failure.

To understand this, we should ask ourselves: What does he need? What kind of push does he require to start moving forward?

We know he doesn’t need someone to believe in him—or at least, that’s not the most important thing—because that would likely just put more pressure on his shoulders.

But he doesn’t need that pressure to disappear entirely either. While he does need to stop feeling like he’s not enough, it would also be a mistake for him to think he has nothing to improve, because that would mean denying reality.

He needs to look inward with sincerity, seeing both his virtues and his flaws, and accepting himself.

To stop running away from reality and to work on it. To stop seeking refuge only in what he’s already good at and focus on improving in what he wants to be better at.

He needs a fuller self-concept. More positive, of course, but above all, more complete—one where he’s not blind to his flaws (like fleeing from his insecurities).

And he starts doing that, little by little.

-Victory Over Clembot

In this episode, he starts to take a step forward.

It’s an episode where he returns to Lumiose City and admits the whole truth to the others.

He tells them the story of Clembot, and with their help, he ends up defeating his own creation.

He must face his responsibilities, the weight that comes with them. Now Ash and Serena know who he really is. He has to look reality in the face and accept it.

He had decided to keep it hidden, but was forced to show it. He’s still not completely ready or comfortable, but it’s a big step.

Moreover, he accepts it: by agreeing to battle Ash himself, he’s accepting that responsibility and the role on his shoulders.

And that's why the victory over Clembot is symbolically important too. The takeover of the Gym was one of his mistakes, and now, he is capable of confronting it.

He is able to face one of his failures and fix it, to make amends.

Beyond accepting it, he sees that he is capable. Capable of fixing a mistake.

Maybe this time, because he didn’t try to fix it alone, he succeeded.

Other positive experiences that helped him gain more confidence included episodes like the one with Shinx.

He saw that the Pokémon he thought would never forgive him for not keeping his promise actually forgave him.

Which was something important.

But that bond goes even deeper in the episode where his whole development truly takes shape.

Earlier, we could already see how surrounding himself with a more positive environment was good for him, making him calmer.

But more importantly, what helped him the most was his bond with Ash. He sees in Ash someone fearless, someone he’s willing to become better for.

Because Ash gives him an example. An example is crucial—it allows you to look inside yourself.

Something he really needed.

But soon, that would reach another level.

-Voltage Badge

This character arc is the most important one. And it begins a few days before the battle between Clemont and Ash. It’s after this arc that Clemont truly begins to move forward.

It all starts when the group realizes they’re finally close to Lumiose City.

And with Clemont... hesitating.

It was time to fulfill the promise he made. The time for their battle was drawing near.

Would he be able to meet the expectations?

He had learned a lot from Ash, and he wanted to give something back. But would he be able to?

He doesn’t think so—and all the insecurities he tried to bury resurface.

But once again, it’s seeing Ash’s determination that pushes him to act.

The group gets cornered by Team Rocket again, who this time have taken control of Ash’s Pikachu and Clemont’s own Luxio.

A lightning-strength Thunder Fang attack is coming straight at Ash, and yet his only thought is to reunite with his Pokémon—even if it means putting himself in mortal danger.

And seeing that, Clemont decides something.

Ash was always like this. Some might call him stubborn or reckless. But to Clemont, he is determined.

If he lost five leagues, he’d challenge a sixth.

If the first hit didn’t work, he’d keep trying until it did.

If he wanted to rescue someone, he would—even if it meant putting his life at risk (jumping from Prism Tower to save a Garchomp, or crossing a cliff to rescue Bonnie, for example).

And that's when, surprising everyone, Clemont's usual calm is replaced by determination.

He gets hit by a Thunder Fang, but he doesn't care.

There’s a greater good—something he wants to protect: his friends and his Pokémon.

It’s in his nature to defend, but this time, he crossed one of his own internal barriers.

That’s why the group’s victory was possible. But there's more.

His mindset had changed drastically.

When the incident needs to be reported in Lumiose City, Clemont makes a decision.

He decides to face his insecurities head-on.

He hesitates for a moment, but he asks if he can accompany them back to the city.

He’s going to leave the group for a while.

No more running away. Now there is reflection.

He knows he's not satisfied with something, and instead of hiding behind something else, he decides to change it.

He even tells his friends—and his sister—"I’m not satisfied with who I am right now."

But there’s no sadness in his voice, no discomfort, no anguish you would expect from a confession like that.

Because there’s determination.

He’s not saying it out of insecurity or pressure.

No—he says it with resolve.

The resolve that he’s going to get better.

That’s why he takes some time off and starts looking inward.

He works hard. Really hard.

He has decided.

And later, during the battle, he says it himself:

He couldn’t be happier to be a Gym Leader at that moment.

Because when the time comes to face Ash, we see a Clemont we hadn't seen until then.

A changed Clemont.

Not only happy, but excited.

Someone who enjoys the battle wholeheartedly, win or lose.

Someone who looks much stronger, who shows that his hard work paid off—managing to corner Ash for most of the battle.

But above all, someone who is much more confident.

Someone who faced his weaknesses and, no matter the result, will leave the match happy.

Because he grew.

Because he faced his own flaws.

Someone who is more at peace with himself.

Conclusion:

This analysis was really just an excuse to rewatch the Luxray episode and Clemont’s battle against Ash!! Haha. The end.

Okay, not really.

I wrote all of this simply because I find it incredible.

Because I really like the character and I wanted to share why.

Because without giving him an epic story about becoming the best or saving the world, he has one of the most interesting arcs in the anime.

Because it only takes looking a little deeper and asking yourself some questions to find one of the most human characters.

You don’t need epic stories like N’s or Gladion’s to make a character interesting or to connect with them.

Humanity is enough.

It’s enough to see how a boy, whose pride was his inventions, ends up giving us one of the most spectacular battles in XY.

Because the story behind it is about someone normal, someone ordinary,

Giving it everything he’s got.

Because it’s a story about acceptance, about growth,

And about the power of human connection.

How the people you surround yourself with can transform who you are today.

Because I—and I believe many others—can empathize with a character like this. Because he’s coherent, real, carrying a backpack full of burdens that could happen to anyone.

And because he can inspire.

As a writer, I can only take my hat off to the work that was done here.

Simple, but no less powerful because of it.

Because something simple and well done can be truly wonderful.

So, to finish this:

"The future is now, thanks to science!"

Or as it's said in the version I watched as a kid:

"El futuro es ahora gracias a la ciencia!"

[innerchorus]

are there differences between shapul and esfan? theyre the same character to me.

It took me a while to figure out how I wanted to respond to this mainly because it sounds like something my partner would say to antagonise me but let me give it my best shot.

I do think there are some differences between them (and I will of course mention those in this post) but I think it's more interesting to answer this question by looking at why these two characters are so alike, and specifically why the fact that they are so alike doesn't mean they are merely cardboard cutouts of each other and is vital to understanding them as characters.

First, while Shapur created a strong impression and is an important character to myself and many others, it's worth noting that he appears in relatively few scenes in the manga. That's enough to glean some info about what he's like as a character, but we don't get to spend as much time with him as we do with the main cast. Maybe that's part of why you feel this way.

We do, however, get to see a bit more of his younger brother, Isfan.

When you say that Shapur and Isfan are so alike they seem the same to you, my first response is pretty much "well, what did you expect, given the circumstances?". It's clear from the outset that Isfan wishes to follow in his brother's footsteps.

Here he is in Chapter 59, freshly arrived in Peshawar.

Straight away we learn he wants to avenge his brother's death and offer his service to Prince Arslan in his brother's stead.

From Chapter 64, right before his fight with Gieve.

Here we learn that not only did Shapur save Isfan, he actually taught him. The novels even mention that 'while his brother served as a military general in the royal capital, Isfan became an agent of the royal capital and stayed in his hometown to guard it,' so even before we meet him in the manga, Isfan was stepping into a role that had previously been occupied by his brother, a role that Shapur had trained him for.

It's very clear that Isfan looks up to his brother, idealises him and aspires to be the kind of person he was, not just in a military sense but also sharing his morals, viewing loyalty to one's country and protecting the weak as far more important than riches (as stated in Book 12 of the novels, this is something Shapur said that Isfan adheres to as well). Is it such a surprise that after being so closely taught by Shapur and clearly modelling himself on him, Isfan seems so like his older brother?

That's really why I think saying they're 'the same character' feels reductive, because the reasons why they are so similar tell you so much about them.

And despite Shapur appearing in only a few scenes before his death, the same thing works in reverse. When we meet Isfan, we also learn more about Shapur. I don't think there's any need to list it all as that's not really what your question was aimed at, but I hope you understand my point.

The two brothers do seem to share character traits (they can be hotheaded/rash, as seen with Isfan's fight against Gieve, him rushing hastily to attack Chassum Fortress, and in Shapur throwing down his helmet at Atropatene after learning the king had fled, and particularly in his rescue of Isfan where he rushed alone into the snowy mountains to save him) but again, they're related, sharing the same father. So it's not really a surprise. This does, however, also highlight a difference between them, one that comes down to age and experience.

When we meet Shapur, he's in his mid 30s, and a Marzban, one of the highest military positions possible in Pars.

When we meet Isfan, he's around 20, and although he's clearly got some combat experience he's not at his brother's level just yet. And while they share some traits like I outlined above, while Shapur likely had the age and experience to moderate his reactions a little bit (see how he backtracks after his initial outburst at Atropatene, and defers his conflict with Kubard for another day which never comes), Isfan doesn't, and on certain occasions (like rushing ahead at Chassum) his inexperience shows.

I also want to cover character design, because I think it's a deliberate choice by Arakawa to have there be some resemblance between the two but not have them appear totally identical. One, it highlights that Isfan has a different mother (the manga appears to give him her lighter hair colour), and two, I think it indicates that Isfan isn't just Shapur v2, he's not meant to be just a carbon copy of his brother. Maybe that's also why we haven't seen Isfan wield a spear, Shapur's weapon of choice.

That those visual differences highlight the difference in their birth circumstances feels important. Shapur was born into high status as his family's heir. Isfan was born to a enslaved mother and if not for Shapur's actions his father would have allowed him to die simply to pacify his wife. While Isfan now occupies the same privileged position that his brother grew up in, it could easily have been different.

Those circumstances (Isfan and his mother's abandonment in the mountains) also lead to a distinct difference between the two, which is fighting style. Okay, we don't see much of Shapur in combat but he's clearly a classically trained Parsian warrior. This is likely the nature of the training he gave Isfan, too. But Isfan has an element that is unique to him, something that wasn't influenced by his brother but relates to wolves.

In his fight with Gieve, Tanaka describes Isfan's movements as 'wolf-like' and in both the novel scene and Arakawa's manga adaptation, Gieve is surprised by Isfan's movements (specifically the kick seen below) which depart from orthodox swordsmanship with the unpredictability of the wild.

I don't think we would've seen Shapur pull a move like that!

Yes, I know it makes no sense for Isfan to have these wolf-like traits when the actual contact he had with them was very limited, but I'll forgive Tanaka this conceit because it's fucking cool okay?

Anyway I hope this satisfactorily answers the question. I'm aware I am very (very) into these two characters and not everyone will be as interested in them as I am, but I hope some of the the points in this post were of interest. Hopefully I didn't forget anything, I didn't get a chance to proofread!

[pixiecactus]

another thing that i've seen that is very popular in fandom spaces when people talk about gendrya and really irks me is:

people seem to have this impression that gendry can't actually stand arya or being around her pretty much, but he doesn't have any other choice, so he stays around her. honestly, this time i blame the "pain in my ass" line and the fact that in the show, i don't get the impression that there ever was a friendship between them, just an older boy alongside a little child, with said older boy being angry to be put in the position of being that child's caretaker (even when said child directly saved his life)

because in the books even when gendry was the angriest he has ever been at arya back in harrenhal, after the weasel soup (if i remember correctly) there still was a sense of trust lying underneath their interactions, still a "us vs. them" feeling and connection that was important to both of them.

also doesn't really make sense to me that the time when they decided to show us that gendry doesn't trust highborns and nobility and how he dislikes them altogether was after stannis incarcerated him.

(i want to go on a tangent about the melissandre/gendry fiasco, but at the same time i don't want to, but what you have to know about my position in this is that i am deeply disappointed. i think that book!gendry would have been a lot more distrustful about mel showing interest in him, also, book!gendry doesn't actually think with his cock, and that makes him very different from practically 90% of the male westerosi population. i'm not trying to say that show!gendry was to blame for what happened to him, but rather highlight a distinction between the two versions of gendry we got.

this is going to sound a little weird, but i think that melissandre assaulting gendry was an excellent opportunity to show that sexual assault can happen to anyone. and yes. men get raped too; if you actually disagree with that statement, i don't know what to tell you... sexual assault is not a crime of passion and desire; it is about a person asserting power over their victim. and if i remember correctly, gendry at the start of all this was consenting, and the production had another great opportunity to show a large audience that in any sexual act you can revoke consent at any given time... and what we actually got was other characters later on mocking the fact that gendry was sexually assaulted by a woman because he was a man, which makes me want to tear my hair off!)

coming back to the point i wanted to make was, after this, we see gendry going "i hate those bitches (highborns) and all of them suck ass."

...

what about that little girl who was part of the nobility that saved your life once and cared for your well-being? is this supposed to be unimportant because she had a dumb crush on you and that was her only motivation?

i think that their book's counterpart both shared a "this person is different from the rest" moment with book!arya we were able to read that exact sentence in the text. and for book!gendry i think that sentiment is shown with the devotion he still has for his friend, even after they got separated.

also have you seen how book!gendry behaves around other girls who aren't arya, the boy is fucking rude to all of them. is like no other girl can compare to arya in his mind (only arya was different... amirite, gendry?) and that's so important to me, important enough to make this post.

instead in the show we got a gendry that seems to have completely forgotten about this little kid called arya, because she wasn't important at all until she appeared in the winterfell's forge, and then he couldn't ignore her anymore because she was right in front of him.

i don't have the link, but honorary mention to that post on tumblr that shows how in the books, the period of time where gendry most smiled and laughed was during his time with arya.

[veliseraptor]

@stripedroseandsketchpads since you asked!!!

"this" here meaning my sudden and somewhat inexplicable desire for f!sam winchester, and two disclaimers feel necessary here:

(a) I have always been and probably always will be an inveterate samgirl

(b) this is all based on my memories of a show where I last participated in the fandom more than a decade ago and only watched the first seven and a half seasons or so.

and of course all of this is running on like. #vibes.

but basically what I think is interesting to me about this specific gender-change au is the way that it, like. feels like it gets very knotty in the context of canon.

so people who aren't me back in the mists of time wrote some interesting meta about the ways in which Sam is sort of "female coded" in the context of Supernatural, at least in early seasons; he's cast as the more emotional and in-touch with his feelings of the pair of brothers. Dean, while there are complications, gets on the face of it more of the stereotypically masculine characterization (compare, for instance, his womanizing with Sam's serial monogamy).

another layer to this has to do with the position Sam occupies as a character who frequently lacks agency in general and bodily autonomy in particular, and the potential interplay of that as an element of the character with the gender change. I also think about the way that Sam in relationship to both Dean and his father is the site of a lot of anxiety around the need to protect him, to an extent that does often end up interfering with his agency/autonomy. if Sam is not just the youngest of the family but also a girl, how does that inflect the perception of her as especially vulnerable and in need of safeguarding? how does that inflect the way that her family interacts with her ability to make choices about her own life?

and then there's Sam as the outsider/outlier, the "freak" - infected by evil from birth, destined for dark ends, etc. etc. which again gets especially interesting to me when read along gendered lines. there's a slightly different and to me very compelling valence that I think is particular to a universe where Sam is a woman - particularly when that's stacked on top of the largely male, patriarchal world of hunters in Supernatural canon. it's another layer of isolation/estrangement from her community that highlights the ways in which Sam is or has felt fundamentally different from those closest to her.

but yeah I think what interests me about this concept specifically has a lot to do with the gender politics of Supernatural as a whole (which are, uh, interesting) and the way that it is a show that is almost hyper-gendered, exaggeratedly gendered, and how a female protagonist might interact with that environment. not change it, critically - I don't want a version of this where the milieu is less sexist/fucked up about women than it is in canon. I want to know how a woman, embedded in the fucked-up-about-women world of Supernatural but positioned at the center of it, would navigate that.

the other thing I have been turning over in my head as I've been reading some fic of this, also, is "do I want Dean to also be a woman or do I want him to stay Sam's older brother" and I think I lean toward the latter because it turns some of the dynamic between them up another notch in interesting ways - the existing older/younger brother dynamic is messy enough and then you introduce gender into it, particularly with canon!Dean's gender issues, and it gets even thornier and messier in ways that are fun to think about.

as mentioned in dms I am especially fond of lesbian/bi Sam whose first serious girlfriend is Jessica (and then that goes...badly) and definitely Lucifer in my personal version of this AU needs a lady as a vessel.

anyway I'm thinking about this way too much and there's a part of me that's like "is there a real risk you're going to end up writing something for this." and while I don't think so it's not as out of the question as I'd like it to be

[barren-heart]

We already know the ending of What We Do In The Shadows the show. The movie told us.

Spoilers from both the movie (2014) and the show (2024)

I think it’s obvious when Taika and Jemaine set out to make an American version of their vampire comedy, they weaved a lot of the same storylines into the show. We have vampire roommates, werewolves (not swearwolves) , familiars, an ancient vampire, vampire hypnosis, and a camera crew.

All the same ideas exist from movie to show, just presented differently.

Guillermo, the familiar turned vampire hunter turned bodyguard turned vampire turned back to human, is a combination of the movie’s familiar and vampire Hunter roles. I believe he’s also the love interest, Katherine.

I think the show, while becoming it’s own thing entirely, has a deep connection to the movie. I think they’ve been trying to follow viago’s love interest storyline since the show switched hands from Taika and Jemaine to Paul Simms.

While probably not known to most, Paul was instrumental in bringing the show over to the States, having helped to fund it.

He was already in the world of Shadows, and while I haven’t agreed on the way he’s said things and some direction the show had taken (season 4 had some growing pains), I do believe he’s understood the heart of the show.

Which is why I think they took such a dramatic shift in season 4 to tell and show the audience that Nandor doesn’t want to just date, but to really have a life or afterlife partner. That season had two “coming outs”. Guillermo obviously coming out as gay, and Nandor coming out as pansexual before he was turned.

I think this distinction was really important to build their romantic dynamic. They wanted to show Nandor’s interest in Guillermo wasn’t attributed to just horny vampireness, but actual true love and affection for him.

And having Guillermo formally come out as gay was more than just the Freddie gag (or the purpose of Guillermo having a boyfriend so that Nandor sleeps with him causing Guillermo to get upset about it which encourages Guillermo to take vampire turning into his own hands, leading to the events in season 5), but to show the audience that Guillermo’s not just a hero worshipper of his boss. He could very well have a crush that could become something more.

And while Simms’ execution of Nandermo so far has not been executed perfectly, (mostly because I think his version of Shadows uses jokes to cover or masque serious moments whereas Jemaine’s comedy often highlights and exposes the truth about life in funny situations), I think Paul’s vision is headed in the right direction.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Guillermo has a far larger familiar role than the one in the movie. Storytelling wise, it’s expected that Guillermo’s ending will solve the lingering vampire question that was halfway resolved in season 5. Because the show is telling the audience, “Wait. There’s more.” There’s more change to be had. I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that a part of Nandor’s arc is finding love. And part of his ending will have to be resolving this, as well.

And funny enough, Viago’s ending resolves both of these issues. He finds love with Katherine again and turns her into a vampire, but she got to have a full life first. There’s comedy there (he’s still older than her even though they don’t look it) but also there’s heart. She got to have a full life and agency of her own instead of being robbed of it.

I think Paul wants to set up this ending because it’s funny but also, to highlight his appreciation to the original. We expected from the jump that Nandor would turn Guillermo eventually and we can’t just have that without growth and change and conflict in between. It’s nice to get everything we want, but that’s not what sitcoms do. Sitcoms subvert expectations, and Paul is highly versed in sitcom structure. (Something that I think even Jemaine and Taika had to learn. )

Paul Simms’ isn’t just a writer in the room, he is a writer familiar (haha insert lame reference joke here) with the source material in a sitcom format. The movie wasn’t a sitcom. They could resolve Viago’s relationship because movies resolve arcs at the end of the movie.

Sitcoms don’t resolve anything at the end of an episode or even the end of a season. They resolve them at the end of the show. He knows Nandermo would end the show, because when characters get what they want (whatever their aspirations are) it completes the narrative. In sitcoms, the characters wants drive the purpose of the show.

And all good sitcoms don’t immediately give you (the audience) what you want until the end. And yes it can be frustrating, but when done right, the payoff is worth it. When the arcs are finished, the story ends. Even in sitcoms and comedy shows. So, Guillermo and Nandor being together and Nandor even eventually turning Guillermo, would have to be arc finishers. That would end the show. Which is why I think s6 is ending here, because the lead (Nandor) finished his arc.

Now whether that means Nandor will turn Guillermo on screen or not is yet to be seen. Maybe at some point down the road when Guillermo’s family is much older or have moved on from this earth and maybe when there is a new way to be a vampire without blood, Guillermo will be ready.

[philosophicalpug]

Ship whiteknight?

Why white knight? Well let me show you

So, we will start out with the obvious: beacon. why would I ship this annoying dork with a girl that is clearly not interested and has rejected his advances multiple times? It’s simple, I don’t I ship the jaune that helps people,

See he’s a dumb teenager, they both are, but the key here is that jaune matures, sure the intended comedy left more than a little room for sour interpretation, he stopped and saw that she wanted to be with another, and promptly ceased his advances, this is very key to his characterization that we must not forget, he genuinely wants her to be happy. And when Neptune beefs it because of his own insecurities? Jaune doesn’t come in for the rebound or any opportunistic sense, no, he confronts him and makes sure Weiss has a good evening.

Not only that, he follows up on his promise to Pyrrha at the dance, this once more highlights his good qualities, he may not be particularly clever or insightful at times, but when he gets it, he gets it

At his heart, he’s someone who tries his best and wants only the best for others. Rocking the dress while played for laughs, still shows that he will go above and beyond because people matter to him

(Also doing this in front of Weiss is important too, he’s not afraid of acting the fool to his crush, not at all! Hes been setting aside the macho bravado, which is a good thing if he’s ever to be in a real relationship) Now onto some Weiss analysis from the beacon era, pompous, classic rich girl, doesn’t have time for all this nonsense and is a career girl through and through- and though she would never admit it, she’s just as much of a dolt as those that surround her,

But we know she’s come from a terrible household, cold was putting it nicely, her fathers a terrible man who doesn’t love anything except money, her mother is an alcoholic that didn’t love them enough (if at all) her older sister being the only member of family where she’s had  a consistent positive relationship, and she ended up running away to the military, leaving behind all the eldest daughter shield duties and trauma to her, which, boy that was a lot. And her little brother, her father’s favorite, she’s not anywhere near mature enough to confront, separate and acknowledge her feelings for said brother who is being raised to be exactly as detestable as the man that sired him. And what choice does Whitley have? He was so young, and he was left behind. Its safe to say she wants a normal, loving life. Desperately. It’s easy to see it in things like Zwei, how over the moon she was for the little guy, and in winter, how she comes to idolize her and seeks her approval over anyone’s. This girl is STARVED for affection.

With beacon being her chance to spread her wings a bit, it’s also natural to see that she would be interested in pursuing a romantic relationship, at her own pace. It’s no wonder that at first early volumes Weiss didn’t like Jaune-she doubtlessly dealt with the bravado of a dozen boys trying to gain her favor because of her status and wealth. Additionally, jaunes impostor syndrome ultimately bled into his interactions with Weiss as well, he was faking it all in beacon, what’s a little more to impress a girl? it’s not like shed like the real him, right? This and Weiss’s self-image of needing to be this pristine, perfect princess is also a huge factor as to why white knight wouldn’t work at beacon, its simply too early, Jaunes attempts were at the height of both their respective character flaws/failings. There's no WAY it would have worked.

Which is why she gravitated to Neptune, I think it was her trying to get out of her shell and try new things, yet still in the trappings of the “need to be pristine” persona. Thinking about this, seriously, yeah of course she was going to get a crush on Neptune, it’s what she knows except she’s convinced herself that its “different”. This suave guy that’s well dressed, knows what a perfect contrast to jaune doing is. It’s not like Weiss really knows Neptune but she thinks she does, at this stage of her life she’s really ruled by her first impressions of people (Ruby Pyrrha Jaune are some examples)

Back to the dance, an entire night worrying, feeling all sorts of emotions after what is likely the first time she opened herself up to a relationship and she’s been left behind. But of course, she must act like it doesn’t bother her, she’s Weiss Schnee, she’s above little insecurities like that. And along comes Jaune with the dress, she saw him make himself the fool in front of everyone laughing along it was a good time for all.

Lo and behold! When Neptune came back she started asking what happened, that she thought he was too embarrassed, Neptune says that it was Jaune that convinced him to come. The boy she’s rejected time and time again, the one she likely thought no more than a nuisance at best, took it all in stride and made sure she had a good time, he definitively proved himself as someone trustworthy, especially with how “an arc never goes back on their word”. It’s no wonder that at this point many people think it could potentially work out, they both have matured, and Weiss finally sees that while Jaunes attempts were annoying and grating, they were always sincere, especially when you consider he had no idea the significance of the Schnee name before.

This is all a solid foundation to work with, they’ve matured a decent bit from where they started, both now able to see each other in a better light. Its not that they are head over heels for each other, but you can’t deny this works as a solid foundation for a possible relationship down the line

But of course, it’s not all gumdrops and Weiss-cream

FALL OF BEACON Moving onto the fall of beacon the first person jaune calls for help with Pyrrha is Weiss, in his most vulnerable moment he reaches out to her, now could this just be how the writers decided the order of things would go? Sure.  But consider this

I think he believes Weiss to be the best among them, someone who he sees as levelheaded and skilled to do something about it, since her semblance is the most flexible one of them all. If theres anyone who can do something, it’s her.

POST FALL  

They’ve both are in their lowest point, truly where the new versions of themselves are put to the test, and oddly enough, both share a parallel with returning home both wouldn’t choose to go home, but one of them was forced to. Jaune decided to persist with his dream and followed through to help his friends, his loyalty is almost second to none: he was a hack, a fraud, no business being amongst his heroes, a dork at the best of times. The easiest thing he could do is return home. No one would blame him. But he didn’t.

Jaune is loyal, astoundingly so, he has a family, with 7 sisters, he could have gone home after the fall, no one would have thought twice about it. Instead, he stuck through, traveling for weeks through monster infested terrains for his friends with whatever they needed. At this point has been steadily improving, no longer just some punk that doesn’t know what they are doing.

(mans stopped a whole ass charging man-devil-horse -hybrid dead in its tracks, noodle boy has been promoted to Pasta with Beef) And yet...he’s still very affected by the fall, mourning. In the battle of haven he was recklessly pursuing cinder, he’s someone with a lot of pain, someone who clearly doesn’t think themselves as important as those that surround him.

Meanwhile everything in the Schnee manor is shit show, Weiss is back in the middle of her family dynamic, looking to be free once more. She ends up struck by her father, disowned and generally treated with scorn, then she gets kidnapped by bandits afterwards. Theres really nothing Weiss wouldn’t do to find real family. By the time they are all reunited, I think she will notice just how the members of Team J_NR are people to trust and confine in.  Knowing what we know, Nora and Ren  didn’t really have anywhere else to go given they are orphans, so it would make sense for them to follow ruby to haven. But once again, Jaune demonstrates true courage and chooses the hard path. That means something for sure. Skipping to the haven fight again, this is another heavy moment, particularly when Weiss-

Well, Weiss was nothing less than struck down. And what is Jaunes immediate response? The only one he seems to have, to be there, no matter what. And in that instinct to protect, in caring for others, he unlocks the mystery of his soul.

At his core he only wants to help, a selfless desire so strong, so literally suffused in his very essence of being that it actively manifests itself in the world.   

You can’t tell me this means nothing to her. For a girl that has lived in a stifling coffin of a home. To find someone who’s so selfless and caring, despite never once needing to. Finding someone that manages to see her for who she is, who cares for their happiness without asking anything in return. Someone whom despite all they have suffered, still pushes forward to be there every moment they can in service for others. Someone who reached out with their very soul to halt the hand of death, fueling your own to give you the strength to come back, to your loved ones, never once even mentioning it. Is it any real surprise that love is in the cards for these two?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What makes this ship work is all the post beacon stuff, they both have suffered terrible losses yet they still need to push through, they both have matured and see each other for what they really are,  they can both look back on their beacon days and reminisce, laugh about how stupid they were, mourn lost friends and in that, they find comfort.  They have both been given the space to improve and be better, and it’s not hard to see the qualities they would see in each other Jaune is a loyal and loving person, he knows about family and would sooner suffer ills before ever breaking a promise, someone who WILL love someone to the fullest. Weiss may be cold, but she’s a sweetheart under all that, she’s been hurt and desperately wants to love and be loved, something jaune wouldn’t hesitate to do.

[yurtb0y]

Ted infodumping:

OKAY. Ted is so horrifically mischaracterized that I don’t even really know where to begin. I’m fresh on my Ted lore because I spent the whole night listening to the audiobook and tweaking out like a nerd 😭

Book Ted is so interesting. Without considering game lore, a lot of people seem to think of him as just a cold, self righteous misogynist. However, the thing is that Ted HATES himself. All of his paranoid delusions stem from insecurity, but the way he frames it in the narrative sounds like he’s ’bragging.’

“They hated me because I was the youngest” and “I was the least affected” both sound like points of insecurity for him. Not that he wanted to be tortured more, but in the sense that he was aware he suffered less, and he was insecure of the fact that it was obvious. Ted watched as Benny was transformed from a handsome, normal guy to a straight up ape, and he seems to use that as a comparison point for the other torture they experience. Like, “Well, I don’t have it as rough as Benny, and my mind is still intact because I would know if it wasn’t!” is essentially what Ted was getting at.

Based on how the canned food incident was mentioned in the game during Benny’s route, it can be assumed that the game takes place shortly after the book (seeing as it’s still only been 109 years), and obviously Ted and Ellen didn’t get to kill everyone.

Ted’s route and section in the game strategy guide highlight the reasons why he is the way he is. He was basically groomed by an older woman when he was 19. He had no education, and was forced to work as a mechanic. Then, this woman shows up and shows him the high life; he doesn’t even realize he’s being used by older women for his body.

Notice in his route, Ted never offers to sleep with the maid or the witch.. they offer it to HIM. And it’s not necessarily even an “offer”, it’s in exchange for something. Ted has always used intimacy as a way to get something, and that explains why he has such a cynical view of Ellen. She services the men to try and keep them sane, but Ted can’t seem to fully understand how it’s a selfless act. He has always attributed sex as a means to barter, and here’s a woman having sex with them for “no reason.” Seeing as he couldn’t make her finish, that furthers in his mind that she’s not getting anything from him, so WHY is she doing it? It doesn’t help that AM altered her to make her crave intimacy more, but Ted can’t escape his own disturbed views of sex, and so he blames Ellen for her service.

Then in the game, the reason I think he’s suddenly switched up so fast was because he saw the opportunity to be the fairytale hero that he always imagined being. In the game strategy guide it mentions how he felt cheated because he already saw Ellen as /his/ partner (or something like that), so now he had an opportunity to play the part of a gallant knight for the damsel in distress.

FUN THING TO NOTE!! In Ellen’s route she’s obviously very self-sufficient and intelligent. She’s strong, too. However, every time Ted narrates something (such as the book or his route) he perceives her as weak and emotional; when she doesn’t seem the type. She’s KIND, compassionate. Ted sees that as a form of feminine weakness. It makes you wonder if you can ever trust anything he said about her in the book, from her crying to her “emotional outbursts”. Ted is 100% an unreliable narrator, but people don’t seem to realize just how unreliable he is.

Another thing worth considering is that Ellen has Ted’s infatuation purely because she is the last woman on Earth. There is no other woman for Ted to run to, and he desperately needs the company/affection. Instead of coming to the terms with the fact that he’d never truly have something genuine, he deludes himself with the IDEA of Ellen (I assume his ideal version of her is the one in his route — pliant and submissive). He doesn’t love her for her, he loves this handcrafted idea that he’s built of her.

I personally think a lot of Ted’s inner hate towards Ellen in the book was also because he was jealous. She gave Benny a lot of attention because he was objectively the one that had the most shit going on (I mean… monkey 😭) and Ted immediately assumed the only reason she must like him is because he’s got a big package. This all ties back to Ted viewing sex as a bartering tactic. She doesn’t give Ted that gentle attention, and he can never make her finish. “Therefore, Ellen must give Benny tons of attention because he’s a good lay!” Is what I think his thought process was.

Now, this might be a crazy take, but I also think Ted projects his potential sexual trauma onto Ellen. He was used by older women throughout his young adult life, and he may not know it, but having sex with them to maintain his finances and social status must’ve been traumatic to some extent. But, he could never realize that, this happened in a time period where people were even more likely to not believe a male victim. Ellen takes him out of turn to thank him for going with them to get the canned goods, and all Ted can seemingly think about is how she MUST be using him. She was just trying to do something nice for him, but Ted is so tangled in his own paranoia and delusion that he can’t fathom why she’d do something nice for him.

Sorry if this doesn’t make sense I just woke up but ooooh I love Ted lore so much ugh!!!

y’all get him so well and this was sm fun to read THANK YOU!!!!

[slaaverin]

The way I laughed when I saw this post:

https://x.com/btsdeblueprint/status/1904540673518505984?s=46

And the comments/citations 😅😂. But when we tell them that for Jimin they said we exaggerate, that it is not that deep to change the color in the GCF.

It always baffles me how people are okay to say that Jungkook have a HUGE crush on Namjoon that he wants to marry him bla-bla-bla BUT the moment there is something about Jimin and Jungkook it’s “brother love”.

For me it’s because they don’t have the fear when they see Namjoon and JK together, they don’t feel like they could be a real couple, they laughed about it because they don’t really believe it (or do they?). But the fear of something being real like the possibility of being a couple, is something that they feel when they see Jimin and Jungkook together. They see it too! But it doesn’t match with the Ideal image they have of Jungkook which case in point is Fuckboy; heterosexual man; that could maybe fall in love with a fan girl (their dream).

But still, it baffles me 🤦‍♀️

What do you think of it?

Oh and Hi sorry I just rambled a lot, by the way love your blog and sorry for my English.

Have a nice day💜

Thanks for your lovely ask and your kind words 🥰💜

Omg this post..I mean it is indeed cute but the double standard is astonishing.

GCF Saipan was the same. The way it was structured and the lyrics choice clearly highlighted Jimin but then tkkers were still saying "the camera focused on Tae! He's in love with him" like please 😂 same for Namjoon.

The fandom is allergic to jikook.

I mean they must see the same thing as we do? But then probably find a way that makes sense to them to entirely dismiss it as fanservice/forced/bro behaviour.

Because I guess the alternative would rattle so many core beliefs, it's too uncomfortable to even look at.

"No I'm not seeing anything! I can't hear you lalalalala 🙉🙈" lmao

It's really childish but well.

Yes I agree with you they must see other ships less threatening because not real, just for fun, unlike jikook who hit a little too close to home. But there are also unfortunately still some who think these other ships are real - not only tkkers - look at yoonminers for example you have people who are in DEEP and not for fun. They actually believe it. It baffles me to this day.

You know fans having this fantasy of Jungkook being this heterosexual man coming to ravish them, I just had that thought but maybe we should give people a break. After all that's the whole concept of being an idol, they make people think they are single and that they are their fan's boyfriends, they push for it in many ways and have done so for years. I guess for many people and especially young fans, it's very hard to question things that are presented to them in such light. I'm not entirely sure I blame them for not questioning the status quo. Idk maybe that's too much mental gymnastics for some.

For many it's pretty obvious that it is not the case, that it's only a fantasy sold for a long time for money, it's just them playing the game, and now that they get older things might be different in many ways, but still. Jungkook has never said anything "clear" about his sexuality. To understand a little bit you need to closely pay attention to him and his action/words for years.

When you have the whole picture it is indeed pretty clear that he is not heterosexual.

But really what I learned is that people really do not pay attention at all, or pay attention only to what interests them.

Many don't know half the things jikook have done over the years.

Jikookers have the whole relationship and hundreds of moments in mind that depict a whole love story and a lot of lore.

But most people aren't aware of that.

Most of the time they barely see it and immediately dismiss it.

Since many have come accross different narratives and brainwashing when it comes to jikook they already begin with a bias.

I love when people say "I saw this jikook moment and thought there was something that wasn't right, something off, I need to look further into it" and then they binge jikook stuff and discover that indeed they was more to it than they thought and most likely become a jikooker afterwards.

But it comes purely from the individual and his own intuition/sensations. It's often when people make very deep dives to make their own opinions that they begin to see it.

But before this it remains very surface level.

And you know what? I'm not even mad. Everything moves fast in this fandom. You have news almost every day. You have music to stream, votes to make, the last yoongi cat meme to like, so much content you can spend months and months watching everything.

So am I mad that people dimiss jikook like this? Yes. Many of them do not bear good will and are full of hate for them. I can't forgive it. But I also want to nuance it by thinking there are also people who are simply not as deep into it than us, people who take things at face value, people who need things spelled out for them, young fans, casual fans, desperate girls who would love a star they will never meet to be their boyfriends and can't afford to think even for a second that their idol is gay because they would be sad and feel lied to.

Honestly, it pains me, but I get it.

I'm trying to let go of my frustration because the difference of treatement of jikook in this fandom is hard to accept. But I guess things are not entirely black & white and I'm trying to understand why people have a different perspectives (not the haters of course, fuck them). Like these people in the post you shared.

My first instinct would be to rant too and be angry, but then I think it's better for me to let it go. I'll say to myself "Let them have their fun 🤷🏻‍♀️". If they want to think Joon & Jungkookie are romantic and totally ignore the elephant in the room who am I to ruin it for them.

Anyway, yeah, that's hard.

Maybe I'm trying to make sense of things that just don't make sense lol

Don't mind me

These kind of posts become funny and ironic for real.

"Remember when JK made a FULL GCF about Jimin and being completely in love with him over a gay song? Yeah, THAT was romance folks." 📢

Anyway, it's hopeless 😶‍🌫️

I'd leave them in their bubble, I'm good in my own with the lovely jikookers, at least we have interesting stuff to talk about

Thank you for your ask and take care 💜🫂🥰 (your english was perfect btw!)