#because so much of it is built around that misinterpretation

[descendant-of-truth]

When are we gonna acknowledge the fact that the whole "Sonic is super cheerful around Shadow who finds him annoying" thing only started in Shadow the Hedgehog and that this isn't, like. their default

You wanna know what their original dynamic was? Sonic getting ticked off by Shadow's very presence, who would stop in the middle of anything no matter how urgent and time-sensitive it was just to mess with Sonic.

(He got sidetracked from his own mission to save Rouge from THE EXPLOSIVES THAT HE SET because the urge to make fun of Sonic was too strong. what is wrong with him)

And it's Sonic who starts their first fight, by the way. He was clearly taking Shadow much more seriously than the other way around; he genuinely wanted to fight, while I'm pretty sure Shadow just wanted to have some fun and show off. (AS THE BOMB IS STILL TICKING)

But at the same time, most likely because he was having fun, he seemed to be hoping that Sonic would prove himself to be something more than just... Some Guy. Why else would he seem disappointed that Sonic could be killed? And so impressed (dare I say proud) when it turned out that he survived by using Chaos Control with a fake Emerald?

All of the animosity was on Sonic's end - Shadow was the one who wanted someone to rival him. He never disliked Sonic, or found him annoying to be around. If he did, he wouldn't have spent so much time around him to begin with.

And they were somehow like this in Heroes, too. Despite his amnesia, Shadow once again listens to Sonic talk for a few seconds and immediately decides that he needs to taunt him. Searching for the answers to his identity can wait, he just thought of a great comeback and needs to style on this random hedgehog for a bit

Then you've got the absolute whiplash of Shadow's game, where all of a sudden Sonic is Super Friendly towards Shadow, who's having none of it. Even if you try to make the argument that Sonic is trying to be friendlier on purpose because he wants to bond with Shadow more, the game portrays it as if this is just How Sonic Is.

Sure, I'd expect him to be picking fewer fights with Shadow when they're working together to save the world, but he's like. borderline giddy all the time. it's kinda funny but so, so confusing in the grand scheme of things.

Sonic 06 gave a much more sensible portrayal of how the two would talk to each other after they're done being enemies, I think. There's a little bit of rivalry in there, but it's not born out of them conflicting with each other. There's no hesitation to work together, no grumbling from Shadow, and Sonic isn't being uncharacteristically excitable about it.

(Plus they retained the silent communication thing they had going at the end of SA2, which is nice)

Unfortunately, 06 was the first and only time that we would see the two of them written this way, as friends who maybe don't "hang out" but aren't the type to bicker or turn everything into a competition at the expense of practicality.

There was no hesitation to the respect they had for each other, either, which is easily the most baffling part of their current portrayals. Not even their Boom counterparts had any hangups about that, and they were legitimately antagonistic towards each other most of the time.

Case in point, I think it's very easy to look at their designs and put them into stereotypical little boxes where Sonic is the ray of sunshine while Shadow is too edgy to find him anything but annoying, but that's just. not how they are at all, and the actual ways their personalities used to bounce off of each other was both funnier and more interesting in my opinion

[aroaceleovaldez]

completely disregarding retcons/errors from HoO, aka the series full of both internal and external inconsistency, I wanna talk about Luke cause it is literally a constantly battle in the fandom of what the hell is up with Luke. And as somebody who likes to rattle Luke around like a six year old with a headless barbie I would like people to stop yelling about misinterpreting a very simple scene after like 15 years.

So here's my breakdown. it's quite simple: Yes, when Luke was dying, he was asking if Annabeth was in love with him romantically. This has absolutely nothing to do with Luke's own feelings. Luke very explicitly did NOT love Annabeth romantically. This is established many times over. Seriously go read Demigod Diaries or something.

Luke was asking if Annabeth was in love with him because he had already caused her so much pain, he couldn't die peacefully if he knew he was about to break her heart on top of it all. He wasn't implying he had any thoughts of reciprocating it. He was just asking permission from Annabeth to die, through the lens of "Will it absolutely ruin your life right now if I kick the bucket?" because if it was going to, then he wouldn't want to. Annabeth reassured him she'd be fine if he died and he went "alright cool peace out ✌️." It was not at all related to Luke's own feelings towards Annabeth. Her opinion of him mattered, mostly in "I care if you will be hurt by this," but he did not feel romantically towards her.

Now HoO has one (1) line that implies Luke did like Annabeth, but HoO also gets Literally Everything Wrong, including making simple errors within like 3 chapters of itself, and given it is retroactive, regardless we can pretty definitively disregard it.

Also like, the meta reason for that scene, and also the Rachel scenes like two minutes later is entirely to clear the air for Percabeth to happen. Like, it's literally just to have an excuse for Annabeth go to "No I conveniently don't have any hang-ups about previous romantic feelings I didn't have that may impede me dating the protagonist" followed immediately by Rachel going "Percy btw as your secondary love interest: I am explicitly unavailable now. Go date Annabeth." Like that's the other purpose there and why those scenes follow each other at the end of TLO. It's just wrapping up loose ends for the romance subplot and confirming that the tension between Luke and Percy in Annabeth's life that Percy had built up was not real and didn't need to be further addressed.

[merbear25]

Monster trio making their S/O cry, because they hurt her feelings or physically hurt her, why did they make her cry and what’s their reaction?

Hello! This sparked some inspiration, so I hope the creativity that flowed through my fingers is to your liking! I decided to make these all accidental situations because I personally can’t see them intentionally hurting their s/o. Thank you for sending in this request.💜💜

CW: gn!reader, fluff, some angst, headcanons/scenario

Accidentally hurting their s/o (Monster trio)

Luffy: He never did have much of a filter when it came to expressing himself. Although that was one of the things you loved about him, you were well aware of how harsh his comments could be. There weren’t really any times you were caught in the crossfire with them, though. You seemed to navigate through conversations well with everyone (not just him).

However, there was one particular day when he was in a generally sour mood. Without you realizing this, you made an off-handed comment that led to him biting your head off. Visibly hurt by his reaction, he instantly regretted snapping at you. His apologies first came out awkward as he stumbled with his words, but despite that, he was truly sorry.

Wiping away the few tears that had built up in your eyes, you forgave him because you knew it wasn’t done intentionally. Still feeling bad about having upset you, he pulled you into a hug, wrapping his arms around you tightly. With you in his embrace, he started peppering your face with kisses, earning a few giggles from you.

Zoro: You knew what he was about from day one: an ambitious man with dreams that he’d never be willing to put on hold. Even though you never sought to change this aspect of him, you had a wish - one that you yourself labeled as selfish - that he’d spend less time perfecting his skills and more time with you. 

You tried suggesting something to do together, but it didn’t really suit his mood for that day. Having been rejected, albeit done softly and without malice, you still took it to heart. Letting your emotions bubble out of you through slight tears, the build-up from the past few weeks was too much to hold back. Seeing your heart-wrenching display, he did his best to calm you down and find out what the matter was.

As you explained the cascading sorrow, he listened intently so as not to misinterpret. He lifted your hands to his lips, placing a firm yet tender kiss on them as he soothed your woes. A compromise needed to be made to ensure you could have more quality time without it hindering any goals he’d set for himself. With a subtle smile tugging at your lips, he pulled you closer and gently pecked a kiss on your temple.

Sanji: He was a very careful and attentive man. The moments that you had hiccups in the relationship were few and far between seeing as he was so eager to please you and make you happy. He was, however, excitable and as adorable as that trait was, he tended to flail his arms around sometimes while still holding a lit cigarette.

Although you warned him time and time again to be more careful, he would still occasionally forget about it. With so much having happened on the Sunny, what with the success the crew had just had, there was so much energy coursing through everyone. As you were coming up from behind, Sanji enthusiastically waved his hands, making the one holding the lit cigarette collide with yours. Though brief, you grunted from the sudden discomfort and promptly tugged your hand away.

When he realized what he’d done, he was left groveling at your feet, holding you tightly and begging for forgiveness—while also sobbing that he didn’t deserve any. You held onto him, telling him that it was an honest mistake and not to fret about it. The reassurance in your voice, knowing that it was just a quick brush, made him feel so unworthy to be with you. You could expect him to continue making it up to you for the rest of your days.

[jungkoode]

IMPORTANT PSA.

Hi, my loves.

I don’t know if anyone really noticed, but I’ve been a little quiet these past few days, taking a moment to breathe and reset after a pretty heavy wave of hostility and willful misinterpretations hit Kiki Nation.

I’ll admit it—I tried to explain myself, to clarify, to fix it. But all I really did was give more attention to people who were never here in good faith to begin with. And that’s on me. I won’t be doing that again.

So, moving forward, I won’t be overexplaining or oversharing anymore. The post about how the goal system works has been removed, and from now on, goals and updates are explained briefly in my FAQ. That’s where you can find the info anytime you need it.

I also want to take this chance to make something very clear, louder than ever:

Anyone who engages in cruelty, mocking, pettiness, manipulation, harassment, ableism, or bullying behavior has never been part of Kiki Nation, and they never will be.

Let’s remind ourselves—there was never ‘leaving’ this space for them, because they were never part of it in the first place.

Kiki Nation has never stood for that kind of behavior, and it never will. We are built on kindness, respect, and showing up for each other with love—not drama. Not control. Not cruelty.

And that’s why I’m trusting the real Kiki Nation right now.

I want to briefly address something that’s still lingering—the engagement on FMU Chapter 21 in Wattpad specifically.

As you might have noticed, there was a pretty obvious wave of petty mass unvoting on that chapter after the backlash. It dropped below its original goal, and now it looks like Chapter 22 was posted without ever reaching the milestone we all celebrated together. And it’s sadly misleading a lot of readers.

That’s not what Kiki Nation is about.

We’ve never been the kind of space that lets a few bad-faith players rewrite the narrative or take away from what we built together.

So, I’m asking—if you’re here, if you care, if you still stand with this space—go back to Chapter 21 on Wattpad and re-vote to restore what we actually achieved together.

Why? Because it protects the visibility of the story.

Because it keeps Kiki Nation’s credibility clean.

Because it clarifies Chapter 22 was posted because Chapter 21 did reach 200 votes (under 48h I should say), and it’s at 130 because 70 people unvoted AFTER the new chapter was posted.

And mostly—because it shows that we decide what this space stands for—not the ones who tried to tear it down.

I’ve taken a step back these past few days and had some time to reflect. And honestly? While I’m still disappointed, I also know this was never a loss. It was a cleansing. They were never really part of this space, and now they’re gone. That’s something I’m learning to see as a positive, not a setback.

I also want to admit that I blurred the line a little too much between author and readers, and in doing that, I might have given certain people the wrong idea—that they had the right to lash out, to push expectations, or to control what happens here. That stops now. This space has always been built on mutual respect and appreciation, and that’s exactly how it’s going to stay.

As always, I’ll be updating at my own pace—after goals are met and support is steady across the story. That’s how it’s always worked, and it’s exactly how Kikizens have appreciated it. I’m not changing it to accommodate the few trolls who were never part of Kiki Nation to begin with and are only here in bad faith. FMU 23 will be posted when FMU 21’s goals are restored and FMU 22 reaches its own. (Holding myself back from over explaining/justifying myself here again, so I won’t. That’s all there is to it.)

To protect my mental health, I’ll also be slowing down a bit more until the end of the year. I need to take care of myself and prioritize my life offline, and I trust you’ll understand that pace.

Thank you again, truly, for being here. For sticking around. For showing me what the real Kiki Nation is made of.

We move.

—Kiki

Edit: I have received a bunch of loving anons after this announcement. Just know I have read every single one of them and would love to reply in private but the option is not available, so I’m keeping them in my heart. I’m closing this chapter with a warm fuzzy feeling. Thank you.🩷

[valeisaslut]

i don't know how to put thoughts and concepts into words written out, verbally goes easier but typed out you're gna have to bear with me: ellie has a very demanding presence and is very loud and unapologetic about it, that's the way she's always been. her loving reader so loudly and unapologetically even before she was sure what they had was real and that her feelings were reciprocated doesn't stem from her rebeliousness but from the fact that she wants to give her what she wishes she got. right? or am i just like yapping here? like now for the first time ever she found someone who does it back, and who treats her that way in return for the first time ever. however she was still scared bc she wasn't sure if it was for the cameras or not. idk if that's wrong tho. i do want to know why she has such a rebelious nature or if that's wrong and i just like misinterpreted that and assumed it bc of the stereotype and if she isn't like that at all

nooo you’re not yapping at all—this is actually such a beautiful and dead-on take i’m gonna cry a little actually. I FUCKING LOVE YOU.

LETS BREAK IT DOWN:

you’re totally right about the fact that ellie’s loudness and demanding energy isn’t just rebellion. she is loud, yeah. she is magnetic and unapologetic. but when it comes to the reader—when it comes to love—that intensity isn’t about defiance. it’s about longing. it’s about giving someone else the kind of love she always craved and never got.

i think a lot of people look at her attitude and chalk it up to “classic rockstar behavior”—and sure, there’s some truth to that. ellie has built a persona around being untouchable, the cool girl with the guitar, the one who always walks out first. but underneath it? that persona was built to protect herself. that “rebelliousness” is less about anarchy and more about survival. it’s her way of staying in control when the world around her feels chaotic and unpredictable.

when you grow up not being seen the way you wanted—not being loved the way you needed—you learn to take up space in other ways.

she’s loud because she’s scared of being ignored. she’s bold because she doesn’t want to be invisible. she’s hard to reach because deep down she doesn’t believe anyone would stay if they really saw her.

and you NAILED it with the reader being the first person to match that energy. the first person who gives as much as they take. and that’s so fucking overwhelming for ellie. like, imagine spending your whole life performing a version of yourself just to be tolerated, and then suddenly someone sees the real version—and loves her. not just publicly, not just for the cameras. but quietly, intimately, truly.

so yeah, of course she was terrified. of course she couldn’t trust it at first. because for her, vulnerability has always come with consequences. that’s why she was always trying to stay one step ahead.

that’s why even when she was fake-dating the reader, she was still loving her real.

because for the first time, she was giving someone everything she ever wanted to receive—and it was the scariest and bravest thing she’s ever done.

anyway. yeah. she’s not just a rebel. she’s a girl with a cracked-open heart and no instruction manual for how to let someone take care of it.

[dw-flagler]

Consider: Case 53 Ashley

how the tables have turned! You've really thrown me a curveball. I was asking because my idea was for me to do my own personal take on case 53 undersiders, but I'd never really considered C53 ashley before!

EXTREMELY LONG POST BELOW

My biggest problem is that, while I am an Ashley Liker, I decidedly am not an Ashley Understander. I think she's super cool (and also some other things) but I don't really feel like I have a good grasp on her character.

I suppose I'll have to show my work. So okay, what is Ashley's trigger & trigger trauma? Her interludes in Eclipse kind of skim over it. Because she triggered so early in her life, and so long ago, it feels like it's, well, not healed, but at least papered over by new stuff.

I've always compared triggers and resultant powers to stereotypical cruel genies: they grant a wish (solve a problem) but deliberately misinterpret it in an ironic fashion, exacerbating the underlying issues and eventually creating a problem they can't solve.

So Ashley's trigger event? Ashley and her mother were abused by her father, a cruel and egotistical man. Ashley tried to fight back, failed (because he was a fully grown man and she was thirteen-at-most, see shakertwelve's dallon age speculation post, and gained a ~striker/blaster power that allowed her to basically kill anyone who threatened her, no matter how strong they may be (quite literally, she's one of vanishingly few capes theoretically capable of straight up killing alexandria, the endbringers and even scion*). The mental aspect basically forces her into becoming a mirror of her father: egotistical to a fault and inclined towards massive retribution for even minor percieved slights. Her power basically is built to punch up, to destroy bullies (like her father) but it makes her into a bully herself (also like her father).

The control aspect, though: that's the part I can't quite grasp (get it?) It's cruel, sure, but how is it ironic? My best guess is that it plays into a sort of superiority/inferiority complex and also her bipolar disorder (technically not entirely canon but heavily implied), where it basically forces her to feel useless and incompetent whenever it misfires, which it's especially prone to do when she's feeling anxious, stressed, or depressive. It makes a self-perpetuating loop. Feeds into a superiority/inferiority complex? Forces higher highs, lower lows? I told you, I'm not an Ashley Understander**.

So, we come to what I think she'd look like and how her powers would function as a Case 53.

My personal idea is that she'd be, like, a statue of a greek goddess, a real athena type. Sharp features, severe expression, but still, you know, a greek goddess. But the statue is made out of metal of the same kind as the leftovers of her power: it would be twisted, scorched, and irregular, looking like it was once larger but other pieces were torn off (especially around areas like the shoulders and elbows, giving the impression she used to or should have more than 4 limbs). Deceptively light, though.

Deceptively light, because her statue form would be mostly hollow, like the statue of liberty or something. And inside it would be a wanton-style telekinetic storm, made out of her power. Basically, the idea is that her physical body is just a shell, and her "real" form would be the storm, which could move itself to move the shell in-turn.

Her power would be actively expressed through blasts (and I know ashley's supposed to be the moon in the starsong dichotomy but) I imagine as being visually similar to a solar flare. I also like the idea that using her power more actively destroys her statue form (it quickly rebuilds itself, within less than a second in most cases). Additionally, if her statue form is injured the storm leaks out like blood, though that would only last for a little while because it would rebuild itself (though much slower than if she intentionally used her power). Oh, and she can theoretically blast her self (because remember her body is made out of her power now, so a punch is basically her extending her more malleable self out in a direction, rather than projecting a thing) out in every direction, completely destroying her body, and it won't kill her, but there's not much utility to this.

I really like the idea of this version of Ashley still having to eat, sleep, and breathe, but that would make literally zero sense on account of her not having any biology at all. But actually I think that's a point in its favor?

She has a similar but not identical mental situation as canon ashley. She has a mental illness which is exacerbated by her power (and the fact that she's a case 53 means she'll literally never be diagnosed), but it's taken in a very slightly different direction: Canon Ashley is primarily "compelled" to dominate or command others around her, she always wants to be in charge of the situation. She has a secondary focus on always being the best at everything and never losing (or losing face). This version of ashley has that be flipped on its head. So now the never losing part is the main thing and the being in charge is the secondary thing. Ultimately, this is pretty much the same as canon.

Oh, and basically her voice is like, made out of the noises her power makes, so it sounds really fucking scary to hear once, but if she uses it a lot it is just irritating. As a byproduct of this, she doesn't actually need to move her "mouth" to speak.

My idea for this is basically that her power as a case 53 is similar to your idea for lily's--it's Ashley if she literally were her power. Her body being this fake shell is supposed to be a literal expression of her superiority/inferiority complex caused by her power, disorder, and persona, where she's this perfect statue but it completely falls apart when you take a closer look. This is part of why I like the "still has to eat and breathe" thing because it makes no sense at all but she still has to do it: her perfect image is revealed to be a lie. Like, she takes medication for bipolar disorder and needs to drink water to swallow it: where the fuck is it going? She would still have her control issues with her power (of a slightly different fashion, her power would "leak" out more as a loss of concentration rather than her moving her hand wrong), leading to a concerning tendency for her to blow her body apart at complete random.

Since her actual body is made out of her power, using her blasts doesn't cause any recoil (unless it hits something it somehow can't destroy) because you don't get blown across the room when you wave your arm, do you?

This actually plays into how I'm imagining her trigger: basically, she's from an alternate earth (this could very easily be a wildly different earth, as opposed to your imagining of sabah or lily's triggers. domestic violence is common even in the middle ages or whatever), and she suffers something almost exactly the same as her canon trigger event, but without the part where she triggered. Her dad beat her with a fire poker until she almost died, but cauldron steps in and gives her a vial shortly before death (thus the brute aspect rather than the mover aspect!) and dumps her on bet as part of the nemesis program (though she's not edict or licit's nemesis), weirdly enough in the middle of the white mountains, where she terrorized several small towns for a few months.

I'm not sure what would happen after. She probably would get inducted into the wards, but she could also follow a similar trajectory to canon ashley as well.

So that's my idea for case 53 Ashley. I'm not totally satisfied with it (honestly it kind of feels more like "breaker ashley" rather than "case 53 ashley"), but I think it's a neat concept at least.

tl;dr: i'm not smart enough for this, ask kaoinim.

[severus-snaps]

a ramble and some open questions for fandom elders (and others) about whether Snape was only made more sympathetic on account of Alan Rickman's popularity/casting, and similar things

so I stopped engaging with a tiktok creator for a while who I'd previously found very interesting because nearly every time they brought up Snape, they'd throw in some casual "if Harry was a girl, Snape would be really creepy/predatory about it" or some other weird Snape take not rooted in anything (to my mind). Like, it was weird to me because they bring in book quotes or pottermore/interview snippets to other analyses of other characters and ideas, but never Snape - for Snape, it was always just about vibes and feelings. For Snape, the fact we never hear that he killed someone or the fact we never heard that he stalked Lily is, in fact, strong evidence that he did do those things - or certainly thought about it - and certainly enough to be considered predatory and likely to dose Lily (and later a hypothetical Harriet) with a love potion or keep them in his basement, or something.

I disputed that idea in the comments one time, and some Snape supporting comments outside of mine got removed and users blocked, meanwhile my comments were (I think deliberately) misinterpreted. I stopped using tiktok entirely for a while, and never went back to see if the comments got deleted or whatever. Tiktok never gave me any further notifications about it upon re-downloading, so I guess they were removed? Idk. I have no desire to check.

but all of that is background really; she's lately posted some videos (I still find the rest of her content interesting, but apparently snape content is a no-go lool) saying that Snape's whole characterisation is different after the 'three year summer' - that is, that JKR saw how popular Snape was in the films, that she had to find a way to keep Alan Rickman on board when he wanted to leave, and that when she took her break between writing GoF and OotP I think, Snape sort of morphed into a new character and she had to attempt to redeem him (which, in her eyes, he's not redeemed even at the end which is like. ok). She implied that there's no evidence of James' bullying prior to OotP, no evidence of Snape ever having had a relationship (much less a friendship) with Lily, and that all of that was tossed into the later books retroactively to 'redeem' his character. (Obviously, I have Thoughts on that, which I'll come back to).

Of course, with the sort of... bad vibes she's built up around pro-Snape comments on her videos, all of the comments were in agreement with her. I'm also new to HP/Snape in terms of actively engaging with the fandom online, as it somehow passed me by at the time. But now I have Thoughts

So with all of that in mind, and just because I want to hear other people's thoughts but TikTok comments are a nightmare on their own with the character limit, inability to read them properly/in order, and general vibe of TikTok comments (even without the creator deleting/getting antsy about pro-Snape ideas), if anyone wants to discuss this lot, I am keen to hear people's thoughts:

Was Snape always a popular book character, or did that change/skyrocket with Alan Rickman? (For my part, I don't remember hating Snape when I read the books the first time around - in fact, I hardly remember registering him at all - but I do remember hating Umbridge).

How true is it that Snape was made 'more sympathetic' following the films? To me, it doesn't make sense; the first big, weighty suggestion of the marauders bullying Snape was in PoA, which was released mid-1999; the first evidence that Snape was spying was in GoF, in mid-2000. The first film didn't even come out (Alan Rickman's charisma included) until 2001. Weirdly, the PoA stuff the user is convinced just says that Snape was jealous of James (probably true, not denying it) but in the exact same book Remus/Sirius all but admitted to Sirius trying to kill Snape, which seems like a massive overreaction to Snape being an annoying little hater of a teen that she never comments on because, I guess, Snape deserved it?

Also, does it matter if he was made 'more sympathetic'? ootp was published in 2003, and in early 2002 Alan considered leaving. sure, JK might have added/exaggerated SWM to make him more sympathetic, but the reasons for adding in scenes don't change the fact that that's now part of the fabric of the character - a character who, by this point, had already been revealed in PoA to be the subject of a near-murder plot at the hands of the Marauders and was Very Not Okay about it; the marauders had already been described as troublemakers; Snape was already shown to be wary of Lupin for reasons that weren't solely about him being a werewolf, but about the Prank/Trick/Willow incident. An incident, much like SWM, that occurred because Sirius thought it would be "amusing" to put Snape in a horrible position. if JKR wanted to, she could've made Sirius the ringleader in SWM - but for Snape, I think she just wanted to solidify why a grown man hates a child who looks exactly like his father, which was also referenced in the early books and strongly prefaced by the events of PoA in the Shack (I don't think she had it 'all planned out' from day dot, however, but went with the vibes and fleshed out the details later). Obviously, to this creator, Lupin's idea that Snape was solely a little bitch because he hated that James was better at Quidditch is to be taken at face value, despite the fact the conversation then moves on to Snape's near-death following Sirius 'trick'ing Snape into the willow

Same as above but with his characterisation; she acknowledges that the later books are darker and have a more adult tone, but somehow it's still suspicious that Snape's sympathetic backstory was never once alluded to in earlier books (which, again, I think it's fair to say it was alluded to, but in sufficiently lacking detail so that JK could deal with it when she got there). Also with PoA and GoF especially, there are hints of Snape going from his more 'silly evil teacher' which he kind of was in books 1 and 2, heading towards the more realistic, but still delightfully bitter and flawed, adult character as the books aged up. I haven't read the books in a while I'll admit, but from the Snape passages I have read, I never noticed a sufficient difference pre or post three-year-summer that didn't match the wider tone of the books changing also.

Unlike the tiktok creator, I also think that Snape's reaction to Harry in general is almost entirely to do with James, rather than Lily's so-called rejection, and so there's no evidence that Snape would be weird to a 'Harriet' that resembled his mother, or weird to Lily if he saw her again; I think with his characterisation it's more likely that Harriet would've been treated like Hermione, Ron, or Tonks - being largely ignored with the occasional insult and told off for causing trouble - aka, how Snape would treat most people. Outside of the one isolated 'mudblood' incident, Snape was a bit of a doormat when it came to Lily (bless his heart). He followed her from the train carriage without comment, backtracked when she appeared angry in the post-prank conversation, even the "I won't let you" seemed more "I won't let you turn him into some kind of hero" or even, at a stretch, an "I won't let you be with him" out of Lily's own safety or something than "I won't let you leave me", to me - because he did just let her leave him in school? James and Snape continued hexing one another in 7th year, but there's no suggestion that Snape ever tried to be weird to Lily.

To my mind, there's no suggestion that Snape stalked Lily, no suggestion that he asked Voldemort to capture her - just to spare her. And then Snape went to Dumbledore anyway, probably immediately based on how harried he is on the windy hilltop scene, because he knew Voldemort wouldn't spare her, and even if he did, Snape would probably have to keep up the ruse of 'desiring' Lily, and do the sorts of thing Snaters suggest he wanted to do, just to keep her alive. But with Dumbledore involved, Snape wouldn't ever have the chance to imprison/love potion her - and that wasn't what he wanted. He just wanted her alive so he wouldn't have played a part in her death. I also doubt that Snape had much time to think when Voldemort revealed who he was choosing to kill; it's not as though Voldemort makes decisions by committee. He'd have revealed his plans and Snape would make a quick, panic-stricken decision to tell Voldemort that he desired Lily (which he may have done, to an extent; he'd need to draw on something to back up his request when Voldemort undoubtedly looked into his mind to see why Snape wanted to spare his Priority #1 victim). And like I say, he then set up a meeting with Dumbledore, probably immediately/as soon as he could, sensing that that wouldn't work (was he not convincing enough? Did he just know Voldemort too well? I have so many questions about how that conversation went down, and subsequent conversations about Lily which presumably occurred after V's resurrection).

anyway, no conclusion, only thoughts too rambly for tiktok comments

[lansangprincess]

i initially didn't want to talk about this scene bc personally i think it's been blown out of proportion but if you want to get real and talk about symbolism, I'll come to play.

For Belly's entire life, Conrad has been "the sun". She idealized him so much that all she could see was him and no one else could compare, leaving Jere in the shadows despite always being there for her (and literally being nicknamed "the sunshine boy")

So many people have tied this shot to that quote "For Belly, Conrad was the sun" and have understood the light here to be the sunlight radiating on Belly and Conrad. But the thing is—despite so many people's misinterpretations of the shot—it (he) is not the sun.

It's artificial lighting. It's not real.

He isn't the person she built him up to be no matter how many times she had convinced herself he was. She just didn't realize it immediately.

When Belly wakes up (that in itself could also be a metaphor), and she is able to think clearly and decide for herself what she wants and what she needs, she chooses Jeremiah. And what exactly happens when she does?

The sun shines on both of them. There is real sunlight bathing the shot because she doesn't idealize him and he doesn't idealize her, they see each other for who they really are and love each other anyway and that's what's real.

it's so important to me that it comes across that the sun shines on both of them. she didn't find a new sun, she didn't choose a different person to revolve her whole life around—she wanted the sun to shine down on her as much as it did her partner bc ultimately, she is now also choosing herself and what makes her truly happy.

[inoreuct]

horse girl zoro/prince sanji au that @redgitanako and i talked about way back when because it suddenly crossed my mind OKAY HERE WE GO

zoro’s a travelling bounty hunter with three horses. yes, three. don’t tell kitetsu and enma but wado’s his favourite

wado was kuina’s horse; when kuina died she was so sad because she didn’t get why kuina was gone and for a while zoro had to emotionally support a horse AND himself, but horses are smart creatures. wado understood by herself after a while. they don’t really talk about it.

on that note, zoro talks to his horses. people look at him like he’s a few crayons short of the whole pack but they don’t say anything because he looks scary as hell; built like a brick wall, one eye gone, gnarly scar across his chest and all

(they’ll never know that he’s having an argument with enma about buying supplies where one party is contributing in possibly-misinterpreted horse looks. the crayons aren’t missing— but it’s admittedly a little hard to prove they’re there, zoro, we can’t keep defending you like this)

sanji's the third prince of the kingdom that hires him; sora’s the queen, and his siblings are all decent other than regular sibling assholery. judge is on the run and they’ve made the collective decision that they want his head on a stick.

zoro expects sanji to be a stuck-up priss because he LOOKS like a stuck-up priss— look at his perfect hair. his clothes. his heeled boots and his stupid curly eyebrows

but NO. well, yes, sanji IS a little bit of a stuck-up priss but also, he’s good with horses?? wado takes to him like a DREAM and zoro's flabbergasted because anybody who has ever tried to coddle her other than zoro or kuina has gotten kicked in the head, but sanji's petting at her neck and cooing at her in baby-talk and she's licking sugar cubes and apple slices out of his palm. zoro feels so betrayed.

like of COURSE his horse had to take a liking to the boy he hates OF ALL PEOPLE.

(zoro. at this moment the horse is smarter than you. listen to her.)

reiju’s the princess here, but sanji’s the one who got all the magic-esque affinities. animals LOVE him. he would be a literal disney princess if not for the fact that he doesn’t love them back

like SQUIRREL. WHY ARE YOU SHITTING ALL OVER MY YARD. GO AWAY. WHY IS A DOG TRYING TO LICK MY HAIR. WHYYY IS THIS BIRD BRINGING ME STICKS ALL THE TIME. he’s trying to fall asleep. he hears a TSKTSKTSKTSKTSKTSKTSK. he sits up and gets right out of bed and starts yelling at the lizard on the ceiling.

he does have a pretty mare called maple, though! (and zoro can’t help but love her too; it’s a sign that the mosshead doesn’t clock until much, much later)

and then zoro comes into his life with his three horses and sanji yanks him in by the collar like "listen up, swordsman. i do not CARE how sweet your horses are. i do not CARE how— how— WHATEVER you are. if you stink up my stable i will make you sleep in it, are we clear?" and zoro just nods because he’s having a bit of a gay crisis

sanji is 1. pretty 2. entirely able to hold his own and 3. Wado Approved™ and zoro does NOT know how to deal. at all. he’s holding onto wado’s reins for dear life. he wonders if the same ultimatum would apply if he swapped out the word stable for bed and immediately wants to dunk himself into the horse trough.

meanwhile sanji isn’t spared at all. sora sits on her throne, one eyebrow raised as her son goes on and on about how "mother i hate the swordsman you hired. he's green. and ugly. like a troll. like an OGRE. his hands are too big. his boots are too shiny. his earrings are cute but only because i want them. his EVERYTHING smells like horse. he might as well be a horse with how strong he is, did you know how many hay bales he carried at once??" and she’s just like,,, "honey are you sure this is hate"

she certainly wouldn’t mind them being together. zoro is rough around the edges and does smell a bit like horse, admittedly, but he was clearly raised right— he’s respectful in his own gruff way and he does things with immense care. sora’s noticed. she knows her son well enough to know that he’s noticed, too.

one day sanji bumps into zoro on his way out of the baths and wow. okay. so he doesn’t smell like horse ALL the time and oh his hair is damp and there's a towel around his waist and he is very, very shirtless and sanji turns around in a panic and walks face-first into a pillar.

he watches zoro care for his horses, carefully brushing through their manes and coats as he speaks to them softly, and alright. maybe this guy isn’t all bad. animals, sanji has noticed, are brilliant judges of character; horses especially can be testy and temperamental, and they don’t hesitate to kick anybody they don’t like.

zoro’s horses love him, and it’s obvious. maple looks forward to the snacks he slips her when he thinks that nobody’s looking. that says a lot more about his character than anything else.

after a few days zoro has a solid plan down and sets out to find judge, and suddenly the stables are empty. sanji finds himself going out with maple more and more, exploring the woods around their forest to pass the time because he needs something to keep his mind occupied and there’s only so much he can cook. judge might be a piece of shit, but he’s also an evil genius, and sanji refuses to admit he’s worried even though he is.

and then zoro comes back with judge’s war helmet wrapped in a cloth, gore dripping off the bottom edge as he sets it at sora’s feet.

he’s a little banged up, tired as hell with a couple of scratches here and there— nothing serious, but sanji still drags him to the infirmary and cleans him up perhaps a little more emotionally than either of them had expected

he passes out for a good few days afterwards but sora invites him to stay for a little longer, a time frame that nobody specifies. zoro just kind of… doesn’t leave. it’s strange for him; he’s wandered, always. he gets antsy staying in one place for too long, but this blond prince that is strangely kind and gives back as good as he gets is really something else.

the days pass. they race and bicker and soon enough, all three of zoro’s horses have brass name plaques tacked above what are now their stalls. he had a room in the palace and a place at the dinner table. sanji’s hair has grown long, now, and neither of them talk about the way that zoro’s stay has become something that feels more permanent—

until zoro finally finds the balls to give sanji one of his earrings as a courting gift. it’s the first one of many, but at that moment sanji just looks at it wide-eyed and zoro starts to shrink back all like "if you. don't want it that's alright. i'll get you something new, something else—" because look, he knows he’s not much. he has money, but not enough to give sanji something really nice. not enough to get something that’s more impressive than all the jewels and gold that the prince could have at a whim. he’s a bounty hunter that came from dirt and this earring is the most precious thing he has to offer, but he understands if—

sanji kisses him. yells something borderline incoherent along the lines of about fucking time as he shakes zoro by the shoulders, but he’s smiling very brightly and he’s very beautiful and zoro has a feeling they're going to be just fine.

(sora and the siblings breathe a collective sigh of relief, because the pining looks and dejected sighing were really getting a little ridiculous.)

(they speak too soon. after they get together it somehow gets WORSE.)

this was a ride… (get it. get it.) okay i’ll stop HOPE YOU ENJOYED HEH i know a lot of places are having a flu season/covid wave going around rn so make sure to hydrate and eat well!! muaks 😽

[fierce-little-miana]

The anime and the movie did Chizuru dirty for me😭 cuz at least in the game Chizuru for me at this sorta of young boyish look, I always thought if she more smart with her disguise and work on her voice more she could pass off as a young boy much longer not get so easily discovered.

Also it's implied that Chizuru (since she's a Oni) has some sort sixth sense (or spidey sense lol) I haven't play the game in a long time and forgetten most of it but does it get brought up much? like the developer can't introduce such a dope ability and not make it be used at all?

So this is part of two very old Hakuouki asks I got a lifetime ago and I am so sorry to only come back to them now… Anon I hope you are still around to see this answer and I am very very sorry about this.

I like Chizuru in the movie and the anime, still 😅.

I don’t think her disguise is that unbelievable. Sure it is not the most convincing disguise I have ever seen (and plenty of people who do interact with her are not fooled: Hijikata, Saito, Okita, Sannan…) but I think it is enough to fool bystanders, which its actual purpose (hence, why guys like Ito are actual threats to her safety, because they can’t really be kept at a "safety distance").

I think to judge Chizuru’s disguise one must remember how gender (as a social category) is about assigned roles and presentation to the outside world. A woman is supposed to act and dress a certain way, a man a different way. While Edo era clothes were less gendered than European clothes of the same era, there were some differences that allowed the onlooker to immediately pick women and men apart (notably the hairstyle, but also some clothes were strictly gendered like haori for example, etc.). In the same way, the way to pick a man apart from a boy was also through presentation rather than being strictly an age category (boys had bangs, men shaved their head, etc.). Of course, some people defied those social constraints and there were categories of people who were also allowed to toy the line between genders (male actors who played female roles, kagema, but they were a bit on the "outskirts" of polite society and also they could be on the receiving side of a lot of scrutiny because of this).

The main things that make Chizuru’s disguise work in universe is that and the fact that people will see what they want to see. A woman is not supposed to be dressed and act (carry a sword around, travel on her own) like she does. So she must be a young man, end of story. Thinking that a woman might be able to do all that (dress as man and behave like one) is more challenging (and dangerous) to the very structure of society than thinking that Chizuru is just an effeminate young man. So the onlooker who sees her pass by might, you know, check her out twice because she looks and sounds very feminine but hey what’s more likely? That the Shinsengumi has a young woman disguised as a young man running around with patrol and gave her a sword for some reason or that the Shinsengumi has a weirdly effeminate page? Especially considering that effeminate/beautiful young men were not exactly unheard of in Japan at the time…

At the end of the day, Chizuru does not need to do much more for her disguise to work on its intended target (onlookers) and doing more might actually raise more suspicions (working on her voice more and speaking with a voice that might sound fake would draw more attention than simply being high-pitched).

As for your question about her “spidey sense”, you are touching the thing I think Hakuouki handles the worst: the vague and incoherent canon around Oni lore (or all the supernatural lore). Oni powers are not well-defined, change from one route to another, and are inconstant in nature. In the routes I have played as for now, I don’t remember Chizuru having any kind of sixth sense, expect maybe knowing a bit in advance when they might be a problem with rasetsu and even that might be just me misinterpreting the tension being built during tense scenes, lol.  

[cosmicjoke]

How "Attack on Titan" Advocates Through Levi and Jean the Superiority of Remaining Human over Becoming a Monster:

There’s an idea presented early on in “Attack on Titan”, which revolves around the concept of needing to become a monster in order to defeat monsters.

At its earliest suggestion, we hear it from Armin, and it’s obvious what it means within the context of fighting titans. Titans are, after all, literal, giant monsters that go around eating people.

But of course, later on, this idea becomes much more complex, what it means becoming more vague and abstract, just like “AoT” itself.

We again hear Armin speak about it with Jean, and also Levi speaking about it during his monologue to the 104th, during the Uprising Arc.

But what I think people tend to misinterpret and misunderstand about “AoT” is that the story very clearly advocates against this idea, and instead promotes the opposite, which is the idea of maintaining our humanity in the face of a cruel and merciless world.

And I think the two characters that it demonstrates this most powerfully through are Levi and Jean. That also makes sense to me, as Levi is the character that perhaps has the largest impact and influence on Jean and his development.

Delving first into Levi and how he demonstrates and, ultimately, I think, proves how “AoT” wants its audience to understand that it’s better to retain our humanity than to become a monster, it’s necessary to talk about Levi and Erwin.

Levi admires Erwin and, indeed, thinks of Erwin as a superior human being to himself. I think, initially, Levi even seeks to emulate him.

The reason Levi admires Erwin and considers him superior to himself, the reason he trusts so much in Erwin and his vision, is because Erwin is able to remain detached from all sentiment in the performance of his duty. He’s able to remain hard-hearted, to make cold and calculating choices and decisions, divorced from any, personal feeling. This is a quality of Erwin’s that Levi both admires, but important to note, is also repulsed by. We see Levi remark several times throughout the story about Erwin’s “creepiness”. He seems often unsettled by Erwin’s lack of emotion and we also see Levi express disgust and ambivalence over several of Erwin’s plans which generally involve sacrificing human lives in order to succeed.

The reason Levi ultimately admires this quality in Erwin, though, and why he believes it makes Erwin superior to himself, is because he believes that ruthlessness in Erwin is built upon a foundation of altruism.

He believes Erwin’s intentions are pure and selfless, and that Erwin himself is a good man.  That he only behaves coldly because he genuinely cares about people and prioritizes them above all else, and that a certain level of detachment is necessary to succeed in his goal of bettering their lives.  Levi himself thinks that Erwin’s ruthlessness, his ability to remain detached and unpersuaded by personal feelings, is a necessary quality, excusable because Erwin utilizes it in order to achieve a better world, by securing humanity’s victory over the titans. 

This is an important distinction to understand, that Levi sees Erwin as a good and compassionate man, but one who is able to detach himself from emotion when a particular circumstance calls for it. So we know that Levi doesn’t view compassion as a weakness. He wouldn’t trust in Erwin if he thought he was a heartless man.

He sees Erwin as superior to himself because Erwin doesn’t struggle in the same way as he does to remove his personal feelings from his choices

And we see this struggle, and ultimately, this inability in Levi to detach himself from feeling, from compassion, and to let that compassion influence his choices, again and again and again, from beginning to end of the story.

He comes across at first as a cold and efficient soldier, able to cut down titans with greater precision and ease than anyone else. His demeanor seems to speak to a cold, unfeeling personality, his lack of expression adding to the effect.

But then, to fly directly in the face of his initial appearance as a cold and efficient killing machine, he turns around and shows exceptional compassion and kindness and a deep ability to empathize with others, tragic even in how affected he is by their pain and suffering.

We see this seeming contrast in Levi’s very first appearance in canon, when we first meet him cutting down titans and remarking upon how ugly they are, expressing disgust when he gets their blood on his hands.

But the very next thing we see Levi do is comfort a dying soldier, grasping his blood-soaked hand without hesitation and listening to his dying words, promising the man that he won’t let his death go in vain. Promising that he’ll use his sacrifice to fuel his own strength and determination to rid the world of titans. We then see Levi ask Petra, in an almost childlike way, if she thinks the soldier heard his vow before passing away, seeking Petra’s reassurance that he was able to bring the man some comfort before his death.

So, it’s shown to us immediately what kind of person Levi actually is.

Levi is all heart, unable and unwilling to abandon compassion toward others, even in the face of a cruel and merciless world.

Again and again we see this, and we see Levi’s attempts to emulate Erwin and his ruthlessness failing as a result.

For example, during the Female Titan Arc, when Dieter begs to be able to go back to retrieve his friend’s corpse, and Erwin and Levi tell him he can’t, and begin to walk away, despite Deiter’s anguished protests. Dieter accuses them both of being heartless, and then decides to strike out on his own to retrieve Ivan’s body, in the process leading a group of titans to the retreating Survey Corps, endangering their lives.

Despite Levi appearing earlier to be deaf to Deiter’s despair, and despite Dieter’s reckless actions endangering the whole group, causing them to have to abandon the bodies they were able to recover, including those of Levi’s squad, and despite his own unkindness toward Levi in accusing him of being heartless, rather than scolding Deiter or showing any sort of anger toward him, Levi instead gives Petra’s badge to him and tells him it belonged to Ivan. We see through this that, despite before walking away with Erwin from Deiter’s emotional breakdown, again, attempting to emulate Erwin’s professional detachment from the situation, Levi was never actually closed off or deaf to Diether’s pain; that he was in fact deeply affected by it, and he’s ultimately unable to keep himself from trying to comfort Dieter by giving away his own memento by which to remember Petra and saying it belonged to Deiter’s friend.

Again, we see Levi’s great humanity in these moments, which is directly at odds with the idea presented, of having to become a monster in order to defeat monsters.

Levi views his own sentimentality as a hinderance to his ability to perform his duty and be a good soldier. Again, it’s why he both admires Erwin, but is also, at times, repulsed by him. Because he views Erwin’s ability to detach himself and not give into emotion as a necessary and positive quality in a leader, while at the same time, such detachment and lack of emotion rankles against Levi’s own nature. It feels wrong to him, to ignore another person’s suffering, and he’s unable himself to do so.

There are numerous other examples of Levi being unable to detach himself or remain emotionless throughout the story, but for now let’s move on.

We see again Levi’s attempts to be more like Erwin during the Uprising Arc, which I think he expresses most openly during his monologue to the 104th. He talks about being willing to take on the role of a “lunatic who kills people”, as long as it means nobody else ever has to take on that role themselves. Now this is important, because we see expressed here a foreshadowing of Levi’s decision during the RtS Arc, of letting Erwin rest, of his unwillingness to let Erwin become a monster for their sakes.

Levi wants to be more like Erwin because he wants to keep others from having to become monsters. He wants to help others preserve their humanity.

Levi grew up in an environment which forced him to do bad things in order to survive. He had to learn to kill and steal and be violent just to make it from day to day, and yet, that’s what makes it all the more remarkable, and what serves as a true testament to Levi’s compassionate nature, that instead of becoming bitter and vengeful and wanting to give the world back the same cruelty and unkindness he was forced to endure, he wants rather to prevent it and shield others from the same sort of experiences and from having to resort to the same extremes he did in order to keep living. He wants to be able to promote kindness and compassion, rather than violence and cruelty.

Again, he thinks at this point in the story the only way to achieve that is by taking on the role of monster himself and, again, being more like Erwin, cold and detached. But there’s an inherent contradiction in that belief and in Levi’s own goals. The very reason Levi is so determined to prevent others from having to become monsters and engage in violence themselves is because of his own compassion and kindness. He doesn’t want to see other people suffer. He isn’t okay with other people suffering. And he isn’t okay with inflicting suffering on others. It’s that very fact about himself that Levi doesn’t quite realize makes him a superior person.

We see this demonstrated in the aftermath of Levi’s and Hange’s torture of Sannes. Levi is visibly disturbed and upset at the orders he’s just had to carry out. We know this because we see how it’s discombobulated Levi’s normally very sharp awareness. He forgets entirely the reason they were torturing Sannes to begin with, which was to extract from him the information about who the true heir to the throne was, that being Historia. We know he forgets, because he forgets to inform Historia herself of the information they’ve gathered, and then when he does remember to tell her, and she initially refuses to even consider taking the throne, he lashes out in frustration and anger at her selfishness. Levi loses himself in this moment to his own discomfort, preoccupied as he is with the realization that he’s had to cause suffering in another human being.

We see here, again, Levi failing to be like Erwin, failing to remain detached and unaffected by human suffering.

He talks about being a monster, or a lunatic, but just as we’ve seen from the beginning, Levi is truly anything but. He’s a deeply empathetic and kind person who again and again is unable to turn a blind eye to the suffering of others, no matter the cause. As he says, he's willing to "play" the role of a lunatic, but Levi is never able to actually become that. He's never able to do anything but play-act, to pretend at it. And when moments arrive in which he's actually faced with another beings torment, again, the facade of that role drops away, and we're left with who Levi really is, a kind and compassionate man.

And still, Levi thinks Erwin is the superior person, because Erwin’s detachment is in service to the greater good and he can make choices toward that end that Levi himself struggles with.

Only soon Levi, along with the audience, finds out that’s not actually the case.

Erwin’s ability and willingness to remain emotionless, it turns out, was never in service of any such altruistic or selfless goal, but rather in service of Erwin’s own personal and selfish dream.

We find out that as a result of this years long detachment and the secret, personal motivation underlying it, Erwin is in fact ridden with a sense of deep guilt and remorse, but still unable, despite that guilt, to willingly abandon his dream.

Ultimately, he needs Levi to make that decision for him.

Erwin, whom Levi had considered to be a stronger and better man than himself for being able to make the “hard choices”, is too weak morally to do the right thing on his own, even as he very desperately wants to.

And here I think we see the first, clear demonstration of how “AoT” wants its audience to understand that sentimentality and compassion are not, in fact, a weakness, but rather a strength, and that it’s better to retain ones humanity, rather than allowing oneself to become a monster.

We realize that, all this time, it was actually Levi who was the superior one. That you don’t defeat monsters with monstrosity, but with humanity. That being a monster isn’t what makes you strong, but being human. Levi is stronger than Erwin, not in the physical sense, but in the moral sense, and that strength finds its roots in the purity of his heart and intentions. He never betrays what he feels is right, not for anything, and that’s how Levi lives with “no regrets”, as he says. Whatever the outcome of his decisions, Levi is able to have no regrets because he knows in each of those choices, he chose what he genuinely believed to be the correct and just course. Erwin’s ability to make the “hard choices” and remain detached from feeling never made him the embodiment of the Survey Corp’s ideal, rather, it was Levi’s inability to abandon his humanity is that made him the true embodiment of that. Because, after all, what does the SC fight for but humanity itself?

We see Levi’s continued humanity play out when he’s forced to make his decision atop that roof, of whether to give the serum to Erwin or to Armin. He chooses, ultimately, not to give the serum to Erwin because, in alignment with his earlier statement about wanting to prevent others from having to become monsters, he refuses to let Erwin become a monster for them. That encapsulates Levi’s strength. His unwavering resolve to do what he believes is just and right, no matter what.

Erwin was a good man. We see this I think most clearly when he promises the family of Dimo Reeves that his true killer will be brought to justice. He isn’t without feeling or sentiment. But he was in danger of becoming that way, of becoming a “devil” as Floch calls him, and Levi refused to let that happen. He refused to let Erwin’s humanity be sacrificed for a cause. And, again, it’s because of Levi’s own, great humanity that he refused it. He couldn’t condemn a fellow human being to further suffering, or to monstrosity. That refusal to waver in his morality, that refusal to betray his own beliefs and heart is contrasted directly with Erwin’s own weakness and inability to stay true to what he knows is right, and is meant, I think, to demonstrate once more why compassion and kindness are in fact what makes a person strong.

And we know this choice rooted in compassion is ultimately the right choice, and that the narrative wants its audience to see it as the right choice, (unlike what some of the characters in the story, or even some obtuse readers/viewers insist upon) because it leads to humanity’s eventual salvation. Armin, through his own innocence and purity, is able to convince Zeke to get off his ass and actually help stop the Rumbling, something Erwin would have been incapable of as a result of his own, tainted psyche and guilt in relation to his dream.

It’s more than implied that forcing Erwin back into the role of Commander, when his psyche was already breaking down as a consequence of his guilt, would have resulted in Erwin becoming a true monster, willing to do anything and foregoing compassion entirely in pursuit of victory. And if you need an example of where that would have led, look no further than Zeke or Floch, both characters who indeed abandoned any sense of humanity in favor of succeeding in their ideological goals.

There’s a reason the narrative frames Floch and Zeke in a negative, villainous light. We’re meant to see their abandonment of humanity as a bad thing, just like we’re meant to see Erwin’s detachment from feeling as bad, with the way it pushes him to the precipice of madness and drowns him in self-hatred. Again, the implication is that, were he forced to continue on in that role, he would have eventually fallen to the same folly and monstrosity that gripped Floch and Zeke.

That brings me to Jean, and how he, like Levi, also serves to demonstrate the importance of retaining ones humanity in the face of a cruel world.

Jean’s humanity is, in fact, directly contrasted during the raid on Liberio with Floch’s lack of humanity. And I’ll get into that soon.

But first it’s also necessary to go back and talk about what it is Jean learned from Levi and how that influences Jean to retain his humanity moving forward.

I’ve spoken before about how Jean is initially very judgmental toward Levi and even views him as being a bad person for killing other people, right up until the moment Jean himself is forced into a position of kill or be killed. He learns that judging others for their actions without understanding the context is bad, because you can very easily end up in the same position and having to make the same choice. He learns that he and Levi aren't so very different, that Levi doesn't kill because he wants to, but because he has to, and that being forced into a position of having to kill and being willing to kill doesn't in itself render someone without compassion or feeling, or indicate their morality, or a lack of morality. And, in fact, I think, Levi and Jean actually share some very core characteristics with one another. I think both of them are, in truth, the most morally strong characters in "AoT". Even still, in that moment of having to kill, Jean hesitates, and in doing so, forces Armin to take on the burden of becoming a killer for him.

Jean thinks, in the aftermath, that Levi is going to scold him for his failure to do his duty and so he apologizes to him for judging him and vows never to hesitate in taking the killing shot again. Jean expects Levi to chastise him, and maybe even gloat about his own correctness in killing, but instead, Levi tells him that he can’t say whether Jean was wrong or right for hesitating to kill, that he only knows that his failure to do so put all their lives in danger, but that Jean is entitled to and must decide for himself going forward what he believes is the correct course of action in any, given situation.

Jean’s earlier assumption about Levi being a bad person because he kills other people is proven wrong. We see that Levi, in fact, takes no pleasure in and doesn’t at all want to kill people, or even influence others toward that course of action. Indeed, again, as Levi later states in his monologue, he wants to prevent other people from having to become “lunatics”, from having to commit violence, and in that speech, it’s also clear to me that Levi laments the fact that the members of the 104th have, as he says, been exposed to too many abnormal things, forcing them into situations where they have to make those sorts of decisions at all. Again, Levi has grown up in a world that’s taught him that his survival and the survival of others often depended upon his willingness and ability to take life, but that doesn’t mean he views killing as a good thing or even that he tries to justify it. Levi applies no moral judgment to the act of killing. He doesn’t call it right or wrong, and he doesn’t attempt to influence Jean to see it in any, particular light either. Instead, he encourages Jean to form his own opinion and, in the process, to retain his humanity. Again, I think this speaks to Levi’s own humanity, that even though he knows certain situations and circumstances require violence to gain a favorable outcome for himself and those he cares about, he doesn’t attempt and doesn’t want for Jean to specifically learn that lesson or embrace violence or killing as a solution to every problem. Levi would rather have a world in which nobody ever had to kill at all.

I think this is further borne out in regards to the situation with Marlo and Hitch, and how Levi allows Jean to again choose for himself what his path is going to be, whether he’s going to become mercenary, or if he’s going to retain a more humanistic approach and avoid violence where he can.

Remember, Levi is going to let Marlo and Hitch go without harm, telling them he’ll leave them tied up and free to go once he and his squad clear out. But Jean intervenes and asks Levi if he can be allowed to deal with the two of them. This interaction between Levi and Jean is really important, I think, because it shows that Levi trusts in Jean to make the best decision for the situation. This is coming off of their earlier interaction when Levi told Jean he would have to choose for himself what he felt was right and wrong. Again, remember, Levi didn’t scold Jean for failing to kill, and didn’t attempt to guilt trip him over endangering their squad, either. He allowed Jean to maintain his sense of compassion without derision.

Marlo and Hitch don’t pose any physical threat to Levi or his squad at this point, and I think Levi’s initial decision to let them go without harm is also demonstrative of how Jean’s earlier assumption about Levi being a bad person for killing was wrong. Levi only kills when there’s absolutely no other option. He doesn’t kill indiscriminately or for any reason other than preservation of himself or others. Killing isn’t something Levi has grown desensitized to or unfeeling about. He isn’t a cold-blooded or ruthless killer or murderer. He only kills when a failure to do so will get him or others killed.

And so I think it speaks volumes that Levi agrees to let Jean “take care of” Marlo and Hitch. Jean’s wording here would seem to indicate that he’s planning on killing the two of them, but I’m certain that Levi understood in that moment that that wasn’t what Jean was doing or planning at all. He looks at Jean and tells him okay, and lets Jean take Marlo and Hitch off into the woods. I’m certain also that if Levi believed that Jean truly intended on killing Marlo and Hitch, he wouldn’t have allowed it.

Instead, I think Levi understood that Jean needed to test for himself whether his earlier hesitation to kill would always result in a bad outcome, or if there were truly moments when showing mercy and compassion could still work out to the benefit of both parties. If there was any hope for his moral beliefs to survive in a cruel world. And that’s exactly what Jean does. He trusts in his instinct that Marlo is genuine in his declaration of wanting to join the Survey Corps and fight for humanity, and allows himself to be put in a vulnerable position to test whether his instinct is true or false. It pays off for Jean, and for the rest of Levi’s squad, because Jean’s instinct was right and Marlo and Hitch are able to help lead them to the headquarters of the Miliary Police, and to then find out where it was Eren and Historia had been taken.

We see here a clear demonstration of how making a choice of compassion can and does lead to a positive outcome. And again and again we see the same, with Jean allowing his compassion to lead him even in circumstances which, on their face, would seem to require ruthlessness, only for those choices to work out and later bear beneficial fruit. Like Jean wanting to spare Reiner during the RtS arc and Reiner, of course, later becoming a key weapon for the alliance in their attempts to stop the Rumbling. And the same applies, also, to Jean seeming to intentionally miss his shot with the thunderspear against Pieck and Falco, allowing for both of them to, like Reiner, serve as key weapons for the alliance, and in Falco’s case, to become an integral part of their eventual victory.

All of this, as I already mentioned, is directly contrasted with Floch and his intentional murder of civilians during the raid on Liberio. Floch is what happens, what it looks like, when all sentiment is abandoned and we allow ourselves to be purely dictated by logic and cold calculation. It always ends in tragedy and devastation.

This is where I think people always make such a fundamental mistake in their interpretation of Levi’s choice to let Erwin die. People who say it was the wrong choice are looking at it from a perspective similar to the one Floch or Zeke holds, that is, this idea that everything, including human compassion, human connection and empathy, is expendable in the name of “the greater good”. Like Floch and Zeke, they think compassion is a weakness, and that abandoning ones humanity is a good thing. It shows how they’ve bought into the idea earlier presented that to defeat monsters, we must become monsters. And so, they call Levi’s decision “selfish” and “wrong” and say he “doomed humanity” because he wasn’t willing to let Erwin become the devil humanity supposedly needed to attain victory. But to say that requires them to also ignore all of the core themes of “Attack on Titan” itself and the message it tries to convey about the importance of retaining our humanity in the face of a cruel world. By their logic, one would suppose “AoT” is telling the reader/viewer that we have to abandon empathy and kindness in order to succeed and flourish. But of course that’s completely the opposite message that “AoT” tells us. It instead tells us that the only way humanity has any chance of surviving and breaking free of the cycle of hate and destruction it over and over seems to get caught in, is to hold on to our empathy, kindness and humanity. It shows why, through Levi and Jean particularly, and how their refusal to compromise on what they feel is right, their refusal to compromise their morality, is so important. How that empathy, kindness and humanity that they have is what actually makes us strong, what actually makes us better.

[bibibbon]

I'm convinced that the translators saw the backlash on the different scans and tried to modify the dialogue to make chapter 430 sound better than it is. It doesn't change the fact that even though villainy has fallen and there's more time for heroes to relax. That none of 1A decided that Izuku was worth their time. I can't stand the copers right now; they are just making excuses for Hori right now.

Plus, Ochako and Tenya had their own team dedicated to quirk counseling and she didn't think to invite her best friend Izuku someone known for being intelligent and obsessed with quirks. Izuku really has some scummy friends. No wonder the cucking memes are going wild right now. Ochako and others just seem like junior members of the MLA for ignoring Izuku after losing OFA. The MLA is bound for a resurgence doesn't it lol.

Not to mention I still can't get over the fact that Izuku had to wait 8 years to get some stupid armor when All-Might had his special suit built in a couple of weeks to fight AFO. If the editors had some sense, Izuku would have already had the power suit before he even graduated from UA and be in the top ten hero ranks by now. But that might have made Izuku look awesome possibly outshining Mirio or Bakugo and we can't have that now, can we. but Hori really wanted to make Izuku look like a bum. Izuku needs better friends and an author.

Hi @agentterios 👋

Iam not sure if Viz manga or official translators actually did do any of that but I still do have my issues with the MHA ending overall.

My main point that confuses me is that if there are less villains then how are the heroes doing more work?!?! Are they more focused on rescuing and changing society? If that's the case then cool I don't have a problem with that but it's the fact that we don't see much of it. We are told that ochako and iida have started a quirk counselling project which like you mentioned adding Izuku to it (or having him involved in the background) because of his quirk analysis or just analytical abilities would be a great addition to them and should of been canon. Doing this would of 1) proved that izuku even though he has lost his quirk he is incredibly close and still works with his classmates and 2) would allow for one of my favourite Izuku characteristics shine.

Alps I find it very weird how the manga states that izuku and the rest of 1A don't hang out at a lot due to work but we don't even get a small panel of him texting them or him hanging out with individual members of 1A. I feel like if we got something like that it would of shown us that yes Izuku is still in contact with them but nope. I also feel like this is one of the reasons why so many people including I might of misinterpreted the thing into 1A ditching Izuku because we literally don't see them hang out or do anything outside of heroics together. Now that I think about it the whole found family bond of 1A is centered around them being heroes and in heroics so that's all they have and it's not a good look.

First I hate the idea of izuku losing his quirk (I have seen different interpretations but I still think it sucks) and two i find it incredibly unrealistic how izuku (a boy who did anything to become a hero) simply not do anything for 8 years. That's not the Izuku I know at all. The Izuku I know would do anything to help others and even try and be useful or a hero but this one just sits back accepting defeat and that his dream is over?!?! The boy who said his body moved on it's own to help others simply gives up and doesn't do anything until he is given a suit?!?!?!

There's also the fact that I don't like the whole suit thing. Maybe I would of liked it if izuku worked with Melissa and mei to make it himself. Something about izuku making it and earning it and learning and adapting to reach his goal is much more satisfying and adds more to his character than him being given a suit and becoming a hero. Izuku working in the background helping heroes whether that be with projects or strategies and analysis also should of been something he should of done during the eight years.

Also, I have been avoiding Izuku related content from twitter and tiktok like the plague so no I haven't had the misfortune in seeing another gag that the fandom makes about izukus pain without them acknowledging how the manga events effect his character

[leandra-kinard]

On Oliver's social media behavior regarding Bucktommy vs. Buddie

Kind of in line with many of the good points raised by @bbbuckaroo in this ask response, but I wanted to make my own post about it.

I, too, have seen posts that prompted this ask - from more well-meaning people remarking that Oliver could/should maybe say something against the toxic Buddie shippers and promote Bucktommy more, to more critical voices saying he's essentially ship-baiting with Buddie because he keeps posting about them.

As the referenced post says, Oliver "knows how important and pivotal the Buddie FRIENDSHIP is".

So let's look at that from Oliver's (and in connection also Ryan's) point of view for a moment here.

You're an actor who's been playing one half of what is one of the most integral relationships on a very successful show. That relationship has textually always been a friendship, but with elements that make it richer and deeper than most regular friendships; it's a sort of family dynamic.

It could be read as having a potential for romance, and you're open to that, should the writers ever decide that's the direction they want to take it. You have said so multiple times, not just to appease a large group of fans, but because you genuinely mean it. You're open to it, but you don't know if it's ever going to happen, nor do you have any power over it.

You do love the way fans are celebrating this relationship though - whether they highlight the canonical platonic aspects or take it a step further. You "love the love" (as Ryan has put it). It's great, it's heartwarming, it's moving because the potential of that romance and your character figuring out he's bisexual means so much to queer fans who are looking for good queer representation (which your show already has, but there could always be a bit more, right?). You see and want to acknowledge all the creativity people pour into it.

But you're careful after a while, because, so far, that relationship has only textually been platonic, and some fans are accusing both the writers and you of queerbaiting.

So you take a step back, do less social media for a while. You don't want them to think you're confirming anything just because you see value in certain fictional interpretations of the text.

But then you are told that your character is supposed to come out as bisexual; he'll have a romance with a background character they're bringing back for a couple of episodes. While that's not exactly the relationship many of the fans hoped to get, it's still amazing. It's the right representation of bisexual characters that is very rarely done right, and it'll confirm that they always read your character correctly as bisexual. It'll be so validating to the fans to know they didn't misinterpret that, and you're very happy about that.

But you still love the family-like, platonic relationship you've built with the other character for 5 whole seasons before this. And you love the relationship your character has with his son, too. (In a way, Buck is to Christopher what Bobby is to Buck - a father figure).

You want to keep celebrating that because your new romantic relationship doesn't replace the year-long friendship with Eddie. You want to show fans that 'hey, even though this isn't exactly what you hoped for, it's still great; it's important. Eddie and Chris are still and always will be a huge part of Buck's life. Don't worry. Buck will not abandon them. I still see you and acknowledge you, but let's focus on the textual friendship and platonic love here. Which is also very, very important, and very dear to me personally."

And there isn't that much to share about a romantic relationship that's just begun yet anyway, especially with the season being so short and packed with multiple story arcs around the main characters. It's all still at the start, and while it's great, exciting and has the potential to become something lasting, nothing's set in stone yet. You probably also don't want to have people get their hopes up that Bucktommy is 'confirmed' as endgame; and you don't want to put a main character who has his own, very complex story arc going on this season on the backburner.

You've obviously 'done it wrong'. But no matter how else you could have done it, it would have been wrong as well. You probably know this by now, because no matter what you did in the past, there were always people who interpreted your actions and words in bad faith to confirm their own agenda.

So what the hell are you supposed to do other than what feels good to you while applying a little bit of caution?

---

Oliver CANNOT get it right. It's simply impossible. If he didn't post at all, some fans would be mad that he doesn't say anything. If he only or primarily promoted Bucktommy, they'd be mad that he ignores Eddie and Chris entirely. If he only promoted Buddie (platonic) and Chris, they'd be mad that he's ship baiting. And if he goes for the balance of putting his character's 6-year history with Eddie+Chris and the newly developing romance with Tommy in perspective, i.e. what he's doing right now, they're still mad.

In any potential scenario, the loud and obnoxiously entitled portion of the fandom would find a reason to criticize. It really does not matter what he does.

So, where does that leave us? Personally, I'd say leave the man alone. Let him post and say what he feels is best, and don't try to look at it under any 'bad faith' lens. He's probably given it sufficient thought and does what he thinks is best and feels right.

[nikethestatue]

I'll sit here and wait for the canon evidence that proves Elain wants something more with Az than a hookup.

"Az questioned his religion for Elain!" (also, why is that romantic, aren't people supposed to have faith and not doubt when it comes to religion? One guy pouting over what he didn't get isn't more important than the entire foundation on which their world was built). "Az gave Elain TT!" Ok, so where are we shown Elain wants a future with Az? That she loves Az? That she was sooo moved by the lending of his dagger? That she wanted anything more than a distraction? They focus solely on Az (misinterpreting his actions to boot) while completely ignoring that Elain has given zero signals of wanting anything serious with him yet claim how what the FMC wants are the most important thing. So show me the proof that Elain wants an actual relationship with Az, that she has true feelings for him. And no, observing that he rubs his temples is not proof of feelings, she in canon often notices things like this about the world around her.

I'll sit here and wait for the canon evidence of what Az actually likes about Elain as an individual.

Not her charming irreverence, that's what he liked about Gwyn. So what is unique to Elain that he in his own words / thoughts is drawn to? Weird how there's absolutely nothing outside of her looks and scent after 2 years of knowing her.

It's an interesting question, because of course that could be asked about anyone. How do we know that someone is interested in another person?

How did we know that Cassian was interested in Nesta? Most of his thoughts in Wings and Embers were sexual in nature--just as explicit as Azriel's, but also with a touch of violence. The first thing Cassian thinks about when he visits the still-human Nesta are her...ample breasts. And then he tries to kiss her. And then she knees him in the balls.

There are still people here, in the fandom, convinced that Nessian aren't even a thing and that she'll leave him for Eris.

So what's going to convince them? Because obviously a whole huge book hasn't convinced them.

Same with Feysand--firstly it was Feyre who wanted a distraction, not Elain, whose personality just doesn't align with casual sex. But besides that, people are still convinced that Rhys daematied Feyre and she is operating under his mind control.

Again, we had a trilogy plus a novella and they have a child together and people still don't believe that they are IT.

So, I suppose, the question could be posed to you--what makes you think that Elain isn't interested in Azriel? That she wants nothing beyond sex?

Because Elain's been observing him, noticing things about him (his words, not mine), he knows that she knows things about him that no one else does, she's been gifting him Solstice gifts (the only man that she's done that for), she clearly doesn't want him to be in pain or uncomfortable, hence the headache powder and the ear plugs. She KNOWS that he's been avoiding her for a year, and yet she still seeks him out, while expecting nothing.

In both of their cases, if you just want to jump someone's bones, why would you....avoid them? For a YEAR?

So it's interesting that you mention 'charming irreverence', but you don't mention "The faelights gilded Elain's unbound hair, making her glow like the sun at dawn."

You don't mention this either: She hadn't bought her mate a present. But she'd gotten Azriel one last year -- a headache powder he kept on his nightstand at the House of Wind. Not to use, but just to look at. Which he'd done every night he’d slept there.

You also don't mention this: She opened her mouth to ask more, but he didn't feel like explaining. Or demonstrating, since that was surely what she'd ask next.

It's just a simple case of selective reading --it's choose to amplify and concentrate on the things that you like, but you discard pretty much the entirety of Azriel and Elain's interactions in ACOFAS, for example. You also discard the rescue from Hybern. Was it all done just so that Azriel could have sex with her? That's seems like overkill.

The thing is--I am not here to convert anyone into Elrielism. That's not my aim or my job. It's not even my aim to have people 'see' Elriel. Elriel is obvious. If it's your choice to ignore ACOWAR, ACOFAS and ACOSF, then what can I do to convince you? Not a whole lot.

[superpyodan]

Built Just for You

right. it's 7:22 am. i've been up since midnight. what's under the cut is ENTIRELY innapropriate for 7:22am. i can promise you that with FULL certainty.

i wrote this with some help from @annetastic1981a! she's lovely and the best and you should check out her fics!

anyways. alex and kenny. or something. pls enjoy.

❗Minors, DNI ❗stay awayyyyyyy

WC: 3,190 (jesus fucking christ)

Alex Mullner doesn’t like to ask for what he wants. He teases, drops hints — Kissing along Kenny’s jawline, pulling at the hem of his t-shirt, doing everything in his power to make a point, without explicitly stating one. It’s endearing, sure, but it drives Kenny a little insane. He wants to know exactly what Alex wants. He doesn’t want to misinterpret, or overstep boundaries. Too anxious for any possibility of uncertainty.

‘’You’ve got to use words, Alex.’’ Kenny tells him one evening, while they’re sat in front of the fire. Well — Less sitting, more making out. It starts with making out every single time. Alex is touchy, perpetually in contact with his boyfriend. The majority of the time it’s loving and innocent, something he does for his own comfort. But, in the correct circumstances, it’s quick to escalate. A winter evening, after some dinner? Perfect circumstances.

‘’I’m bad at that,’’ Alex groans, wrapping his arms around Kenny’s neck and burying his face into his shoulder.

‘’I know you are, but I don’t want to accidentally do something you’re uncomfortable with. Plus, I like hearing you talk.’’

‘’In a hot way, or in a normal, loving way?’’

‘’All of the above.’’ Kenny informs Alex, and holds him by the waist. ‘’You don’t need to be shy. You’re literally on top of me and I can feel your dick through your jeans. What’s a little verbal communication?’’

In response, Alex just buries his head deeper into Kenny’s shoulder. Kenny, on the other hand, takes a handful of Alex’s hair and gently pulls at it, coaxing Alex’s face away from him so that they can look at each other. Alex’s cheeks are dusted with red, a sight that’s adorably familiar to Kenny. Alex gets shy so easily. It’s surprising, for someone who put so many years of effort into his physical appearance. He didn’t do it to look attractive, but it’s an obvious side effect. Though, Kenny would find him attractive regardless. It’s Alex. Of course he would.

To loosen Alex up a little, Kenny presses a couple of sweet kisses behind his earlobe before speaking again. ‘’What do you want from me? You want to go to bed? You want me to take your shirt off? Undo the button of those jeans? They could do with undoing.’’

‘’I could kill you,’’ Alex mumbles. His forehead is pressed against Kenny’s, one hand pressed against Kenny’s neck, the other in his hair.

‘’You love me,’’ Kenny corrects, and snakes his hand up the back of Alex’s shirt. He rubs Alex’s lower back gently, another sweet action, but that’s exactly what makes Alex melt. He likes to be loved, to be treated gently, and Kenny is more than happy to oblige. He’d do just about anything to make sure Alex feels loved.

‘’I do,’’ Alex affirms quietly, and presses his lips against Kenny’s. Again, gentle, sweet.

Quick to escalate.

It always begins with Alex on top of Kenny. It doesn’t take long for the roles to switch, Kenny’s hands pressed into the couch, Alex holding Kenny’s shoulders. He pushes Kenny’s hair back and holds it there, while hitching his hips up and whimpering carefully into Kenny’s mouth. Careful, because he doesn’t like making too much noise. Kenny wishes he’d make more. In fact, he encourages it, pressing himself against Alex and sinking soft bites into his lower lip. Alex likes that. Kenny likes having his neck kissed, but Alex likes having his lip and shoulders bitten. An equal exchange, always — Until it isn’t.

Their shirts long discarded, but the button on Alex’s jeans still firmly in place, the two move their activities to the bedroom. It’s where Alex feels most comfortable. Kenny holds him close and lowers him into the mattress, kissing between his shoulder and neck, feeling Alex’s heartbeat against his skin.

‘’What do you want, baby?’’ Kenny asks into Alex’s ear, a nickname only used in the comfort of the bedroom.

‘’Literally anything,’’ Alex says, gripping Kenny’s upper arms, entirely unaware of his own strength in the moment. ‘’Anything. Please.’’

Kenny chuckles, and kisses Alex’s forehead. ‘’That’s not good enough. Give me something specific.’’

‘’I don’t know,’’ Alex replies, breathless, while Kenny places kisses down the length of his torso. In Alex’s defense — Kenny isn’t making it easy for him to string sentences together. He’s actively making it more difficult, but Alex looks so good underneath him that his assertive façade is quick to dissipate.

Kenny promptly unbuttons Alex’s jeans, and fingers at the hem of his underwear, while Alex squirms underneath him. He doesn’t let it happen that quick, though, and instead moves back upwards and kisses Alex on the lips again.

‘’Please,’’ Alex pleads, looking Kenny directly in the eyes. Kenny just smiles down at him, and palms at Alex’s dick, hard through his underwear, instead. He enjoys seeing Alex like this — Submissive, sweaty and breathless from almost nothing. It’s not difficult to rile him up. It’s the easiest thing in the world, actually. The only thing easier is loving him.

‘’You’re so cute,’’ Kenny whispers, eliciting another whimper from Alex. Embarrassed, he covers his mouth, but Kenny quickly removes it and laces their fingers together instead. Eventually, his other hand makes it’s way below Alex’s waistband, far enough for Alex to take a sharp inhale, but not far enough that it means anything. Until it does — Obviously.

Kenny stays close, though. He likes to be close to Alex. To feel his heartbeat, feel the breath against his face, to hear every shake in Alex’s voice. Something that borders on a cuddle, mixed with sweat and lust and all the stars in the sky. Everything that’s ever been good is held in the inches of space between Alex’s neck and Kenny’s lips. They love and long and lose together, and in moments like these, Kenny hopes it’ll last forever.

As Kenny traces a finger up Alex’s happy trail, Alex presses his free palm against the small of his back. Then, he pushes Kenny’s hips into his thigh, making his dick feel a little too tight in his pyjama pants.

‘’Don’t do that,’’ Kenny warns playfully, but Alex just pushes him further, hitching his own hips upwards until they’re both placed neatly into the bend of each other’s thighs. Kenny maneuvers himself, slipping a hand underneath Alex’s head and pulling him into a kiss that feels embarrassingly desperate, for him. Usually, he’s able to keep his cool. But, Alex is moaning sweetly into his mouth, and his hair is soft between Kenny’s fingers, and it makes it incredibly easy for everything in him to start cracking. Breaking open, moment by moment.

‘You feel…’’ Alex starts, but trails off when Kenny sinks a gentle bite into his neck.

‘’Hm?’’

‘’I don’t — You’re — Oh my God,’’ Alex stumbles over his words, pressing his bulge harder into Kenny with every kiss, every bite, every small movement of his hips. Admittedly, Kenny can’t help but feel a little proud of himself. He always does, and it never gets old.

“What do you want, baby?” Kenny asks again, nipping at Alex’s shoulder, grinning to himself as Alex moans a little louder, unable to untangle his hand from Kenny’s to cover his mouth.

“I don’t know,” Alex manages to say in between shallow breaths, as kenny traces his thumb against Alex’s jawline.

“Do you want me to stop?” He whispers, just about audible above Alex’s shaky breath.

“No,” Alex replies, leaning up as Kenny moves away, chasing his lips.

“Then use your words,” Kenny reiterates, the cracks glueing themselves back together. This time, he can work with Alex, instead of for him. Though — He doesn’t have an issue with the latter. Not in the slightest. Regardless, Alex looks at Kenny, hesitating, holding careful eye contact. Seeing the look of encouragement in Kenny’s eyes, he takes as deep a breath as he can manage.

“I want you to touch me.” He says. It’s quiet, tip-toeing on the crumbling edge of embarrassment. But, he said it. That’s a start. And, of course — Kenny is more than happy to oblige. He palms Alex’s groin through his jeans, smiling as Alex, somewhat involuntarily, thrusts against his hand.

‘’Satisfied?’’ Kenny asks, slightly tightening his grip on Alex through his jeans. Alex nods weakly, but then quickly changes his mind, and shakes his head, instead.

“Jeans,’’ He pleads, evidently having a difficult time stringing sentences together. Though, he adds a quick ‘’Please,’’ soon after. Of course — He was raised by his grandparents. He’d never forgo saying ‘please’. Always polite, even when he can barely think.

Kenny hums in acknowledgement, and moves his hand upwards to unbutton Alex’s jeans, pulling gently at the zip of his fly. He follows it, slowly sliding the jeans down Alex’s legs, removing them completely and tossing them to the side of the bed.

“What’s next?” He asks in encouragement, smiling through it. He’s sure he looks like an idiot, but God, is he having fun. He knows exactly what’s next. He knows where the entire of the rest of his night is going. But, still. It’s nice to hear it come from Alex — Among other things.

“Underwear,” Alex gasps, eyes shut tight, a knuckle pressed against his teeth. Kenny teases at the elastic of his underwear, slipping half a fingertip through and dragging it across the length of Alex’s body. A totally unnecessary action, but it’s fun to see Alex squirm.

“Off?” Kenny suggests, humming again when Alex nods. He swiftly removes Alex’s underwear, dropping them on top of the discarded jeans. Then, he takes it upon himself to sit on Alex’s thighs, and just look, for a moment. He rubs circles into Alex’s hip with his thumb, taking in everything that’s underneath him. His Alex. As perfect as ever. But still, he waits for Alex’s next instruction. It has to come eventually.

“Kenny,” Alex moans. Eventually came faster than expected.

“Yes, love?’’ Kenny asks, nothing but sweetness in his voice.

‘’Please,’’ Is all Alex can come up with. Kenny grins down at him, cocking his head slightly, his hair falling over his face. Kenny’s love for Alex, while constant, hits him at unexpected moments. This is one of them. Alex is ridiculous. A mess, deeply emotional, bad at expressing himself. But Kenny wouldn’t change any of it for the world, really. Every part of Alex that makes him him, is perfect.

He runs his palm along the top of Alex’s dick, gently, easing him into it. Kenny moves intentionally, and with love, always. The last thing he’d want to do is make Alex uncomfortable. However, he doesn’t seem it — Not even a little bit. Kenny’s touch elicits a moan from Alex, as he loses some tension, melting into Kenny a little.

However, Alex’s knuckle between his teeth quickly turns into a hand over his mouth. It’s the line of embarrassment again, this time, entirely crumbling underneath him. But, Kenny doesn’t like that. He doesn’t want Alex to feel embarrassed or ashamed around him. So, he shuffles a little, leaning over Alex, removes his hand by the wrist, and laces their fingers together instead.

‘’It’s okay,’’ He breathes, his lips pressed gently against Alex’s. ‘’You’re okay.’’

After a nod, Alex presses his lips against Kenny’s with a little more force. They kiss a couple of times, Kenny nibbling gently at Alex’s lower lip, before he moves and once again wraps his free hand around Alex. The other hand, however, stays exactly where it was. It feels important, somehow. Two points of contact, both meaning different things. But, they’re both things that need to be expressed, things that Kenny wants Alex to understand.

For a moment, he revels in it. Takes the time to enjoy himself. Every ounce of his attention is on Alex. The way he moves, feels, sounds. It’s easy to get lost in it, even outside of the current context. When Alex is in a room of people, he’s the only one Kenny notices. He knows Alex’s footsteps, the sound of his breathing, the exact shape of his fingernails — He could probably recognise the sound of Alex’s blinking, if that was possible. It’s all-encompassing. Their entire lives consistently revolve around each other.

“I want…” Alex mumbles, breaking Kenny’s focus. He pauses for a moment, steadying himself. Then, the words come fast. “I want you to remove your pyjamas. And your underwear. I want you against me.”

Done. Alex doesn’t need to ask twice. Or even once, really. The fact that Kenny is still mostly clothed is a miracle. So, once again, he does as asked, with efficiency. A military-level of service. What Alex wants, Alex gets, with no second thought. Shuffling, in order to lie next to Alex, Kenny pulls him in, kissing his jawline and playing with his hair. They share warmth, and breath, and a heartbeat. It’s a kind of intimacy that Kenny’s never been able to access with anyone else. It hits him every time his palm is pressed against the back of Alex’s neck.

“What now?” Kenny murmurs, between kisses. Alex doesn’t answer for a while, just pulling Kenny closer, kissing him deeper, trailing his fingers up and down his spine.

“I don’t know. Anything. I’m clocked out.’’ Alex laughs, pressing his forehead against Kenny’s. ‘’No more questions, please.’’

Kenny chuckles too, stroking Alex’s cheek with his thumb. ‘’Sure, baby. You want me inside you?’’

Alex nods, eyes closed, leaning his face into Kenny’s hand. He’s cute. Beautiful, even. Soft, but angular. Muscular, gentle, soft spoken, loud. An energetic embodiment of Venus, proudly holding her scales.

Holding himself up with one arm, Kenny goes to lean over Alex towards the bedside table. But he barely gets the drawer open, before he’s interrupted.

“Wait,” Alex says, looking up. Kenny stills, looking at Alex with inquisitive eyes.

“I want to do it.”

It takes everything in Kenny to not fall apart right then. This has always been his job. They have a dynamic going, that’s never been strayed from. It’s fun, it’s comfortable, it’s what they enjoy. By no means, though, is Kenny going to deny Alex’s desire. Once again — What Alex wants, Alex gets. So, Kenny recedes, allowing Alex to reach into the bedside table instead.

“Lie down,” Alex commands, his confidence blooming, rubbing lube into his hands. Kenny, not in a position to resist, does as he’s told. He lies down, allowing Alex to straddle him, before Alex reaches behind himself, and slips his finger inside, moaning in delight at the feeling. Watching, Kenny bites his bottom lip, suddenly incredibly aware of his own cock, throbbing. It kind of feels like torture, but one that he’d never beg for an ending of.

Alex stretches himself, adding another finger, while Kenny takes a hand of himself. Then, Alex pulls his fingers out, then reaches for the lube again, pouring some into his palm and then rubbing them together. Next, he reaches down and replaces the hand on Kenny’s dick with his own. It’s unexpected, but not unwanted, and Kenny’s almost convinced he could cum then and there.

He doesn’t, though. Self control tends to be one of his strong suits, regardless of the situation.

Alex kneels back down over Kenny, guiding him, so his cock is placed against Alex’s hole. And then, Alex pushes down, pressing his lips together, causing Kenny to take a single sharp breath. He does everything he can to hold back. Alex needs to be comfortable, above anything else. Thus far, Alex has been so good so far about taking control, and expressing what he wants. Kenny can’t take that away from him.

“What do you want, baby?” Kenny whispers, despite himself. It’s a genuine question, this time, instead of a plea to get Alex to communicate. He did not know what was coming next, and right now, anything goes.

Alex cocks his head a little, smiling gently, expressing a confidence he did not previously have a hold of. That smile, those eyes, are normally focused the other way around. But, Alex’s face is flushed, and his eyes are crinkles, and Kenny can’t help but smile back at him.

“I want you to fuck me. Please.’’ Alex finally says, running a finger down Kenny’s stomach. And, in that moment, with Alex looking so pretty, holding perfect eye contact — The self control is gone.

Kenny lifts himself upwards, holding Alex’s back as he readjusts their position. Once he’s sure they’re both comfortable, a little tentatively, he withdraws from Alex then pushes back in. Alex immediately grabs a bundle of Kenny’s hair, head resting against Kenny’s, lips slightly parted. It gives Kenny the permission he needed to continue, so he does so, and reaches reaches in between them, grasping Alex’s cock.

‘’You are - So - Fucking… Hot.’’ Kenny mutters, his sentence a little broken. ‘’And I love you.’’ He then adds, for good measure. He does. He really, truly, does love Alex. Not just now. Always.

Alex just moans in response, involuntarily digging his nails into Kenny’s skin. He likes to be told he’s loved. He likes to be praised, to be showered with compliments and affection. So, Kenny does. In fact, he makes a very conscious effort to do so. He’s not a good talker, not really. Alex likes to hear him, though. That’s what matters.

‘’Pretty boy,’’ Kenny muses, as coherently as possible, kissing Alex’s cheek. ‘’You’re doing such a good job. I love you.’’

‘’K,’’ Alex breathes, almost a whimper. Kenny knows what it means.

‘’You’re good. It’s okay.’’

With a few final thrusts, and a firm grip around Alex’s dick, they both fall into each other. Arms around each other, breathing in sync, sharing skin that is usually unexplored. Alex leans in to kiss Kenny — A long, sweet kiss. Then they pull away, but stay close. Breathing into each others mouths, foreheads pressed together, Kenny gently stroking Alex’s back for comfort. Blissful silence, with the light of the moon illuminating Alex’s shoulders. Sometimes Kenny wonders if it shines for him.

‘’I love you too, by the way,’’ Alex says, making Kenny laugh breathlessly.

‘’Of course you do. I know.’’

[nolongerapileofashprobably]

When director Hidemaro Fujibayashi said that Zelda in TOTK is “going through growth, experiencing things, and ultimately figuring out what kind of a person she’s going to be,” how would you say that is reflected in the game? What kind of person do you think she realizes she wants to be? What scene(s) reflect her overall growth?

Zelda’s growth in this game is all about choosing her role, becoming a leader for a freshly healing Hyrule, and about finding her place in the past. For so many, I think we misinterpret growth and development, as Zelda’s main growth in BoTW was directly tied to her magic and her narrowed outlook on life.

In botw, Zelda disregards the reason she needs a knight, naively travels by herself for research purposes, cannot understand the magic supposedly within her, detests the magic, and ultimately detests herself. She’s constantly bottling up her emotions, to the point that she lashes out and it is even commented by Daruk that she “can’t quite see the ranges” because she was incredibly sheltered and stubborn as a result from the constant pressure to do as she is told, not as she thinks. We do see Zelda working on this, as a result of finally seeing Link for who he is, rather than what she has assumed of him. On top of that personal development, she is pitted against a prophecy that TELLS her what she has to do. And when she finally unlocks her magic, in a moment of pure love and selflessness, she is forced to adhere to the prophecy, to do as the sword’s spirit says, to play her part in this prophecy.

I think so many people think Zelda’s development is shallow or barely there in ToTK because we don’t see that personal development piece we get with Zelda and Link’s relationship. And the reason for that is simple— Zelda is now an adult, she has matured and grown from the development we got to see in botw. She’s at peace with herself and with the fact that her magic is basically gone.

The thing she spent the entirety of her life focusing on— it’s gone. Zelda no longer has that pressure on her shoulders. There’s no prophecy to live up to. There’s no kingdom to protect.

But there is one to rebuild.

*spoilers for totk and the ending*

We see through Princess Sightings side quests how Zelda has truly traveled the world of Hyrule and gotten to know her people. She is beloved by all— she did NOT immediately reclaim a throne abandoned for a century. She did NOT make it a priority to rebuild castle town and the castle. I have seen people actively BASH these things, but it makes so much sense when you consider who Zelda is.

Zelda is this legendary Princess that has been holding back Calamity Ganon for a century— everyone knows of her (which is confirmed by talking to NPC’s, one of the most notable being Manny from Hateno). And from ToTK, we see that she has formed research teams, a Guard, presumably (with the shared opinion of Robbie and Purah) cleared nearly all traces of Sheikah tech from Hyrule, built a school to ensure education is properly taught, and invigorated Hyrule’s kingdom through COMMUNITY and CULTURE. Zelda could not just sweep away the rubble on her throne in the Sanctum and start ordering shit around from the castle.

She integrated herself back into Hyrule, learned the people of NOW and grew to love them. Zelda acted as a symbol for a long time and she finally got to show everyone exactly who she is. A kind, compassionate, incredibly smart girl who lived in a village just like everyone else. She put the focus on healing the kingdom and rebuilding it. Which brings us to the world we see in ToTK.

One question in general helps us pinpoint Zelda’s development in ToTK: What is her purpose of being in the past?

This question is first introduced through Rauru, who posed it as a “why”. Why did Zelda’s magic bring her back to this point in time? Why is she here, at the moment in time where Hyrule is currently under the rule of its first King and Queen. Now let’s take a look at this— Zelda went back in time. A newly developed kingdom. The first King and Queen. So that + that = fuckin parallels PEOPLE!!! PARALLELS!!!! Ooh man do I love parallels.

ANYWAY. This introduces Zelda’s main development in ToTK. Whereas in botw her character constantly expected to act as she is told, do as is prophesied (is that a word? … I have a degree in professional writing but that word looks so incorrect… sorry, carry on), and ultimately accepts that the thing she vied for her entire life has been drained, her character in ToTK is now given the chance to DO as she wants, to find her own role, to make her OWN choice.

It’s foreshadowed with Zelda unlocking her magic in botw by way of her own, deliberate, selfless choice to love and protect Link that grants her a path to save everyone else. Zelda’s entire CHOICE is a key focus in her journey.

Zelda chooses to train her magic, to learn about the Zonai, to befriend the sages, to immerse herself in the culture of a Hyrule long forgotten by time. There was no one telling her what she HAD to do. Instead, she was guided. Zelda is supported by Sonia and Rauru in ways she was never granted as a child.

And in this, she learns that even having EVERYTHING she was deprived of in botw, they will fail. They couldn’t save Sonia. They won’t stop Ganondorf.

Zelda, through all of this, develops as a LEADER. She acts as a Sage and ultimately finds herself confused at Rauru’s steadfast determination. She knows he will die if they face off with Ganondorf. He knows he will too. But.

“Maybe so. But it is my duty to try.”

Rauru is the King of Hyrule. He made the choice best suited for his kingdom, to be the sacrifice in order to let the world continue on in his absence. He did what was best for the kingdom— not what was best for him as a person. He was secure in his role as the King of Hyrule, he knows the type of leader he is and wants to be.

Zelda… has not yet figured that out for herself. She is beloved, known to the people of Hyrule for his compassionate deeds and lovely personality, but she has yet to cement herself as the Queen of Hyrule. Naturally, she was born a Princess and remembered to be, but she is not a Queen. She is the Princess of a newly developing kingdom, one being rebuilt from rubble. But she is not the Queen. She is the only royal family member left.

Zelda’s character in ToTK develops to be a QUEEN.

Her actions and assured choices speak VOLUMES over the ones she took when she was listening to the words of others. Instead, she CHOSE to TRY. She embraced the duty to her kingdom, even if it took EVERYTHING she had to offer. Her sense of self and her life. Gone. She expected to NEVER wake up as she does in the end of totk. She knew precisely WHY she found herself in the past, in that era, and with Sonia, Rauru, and the sages.

Zelda chooses to have faith in Link, to heal the sword, to lose herself… all for her kingdom. The one she was rebuilding. The one she was healing with. Zelda becomes her own, mature leader in ToTK. And this is even FURTHER established at the very end, with the extra cutscene of Zelda, Link, and the new sages. They vow to support ZELDA.

The last vow was the serve the King of Hyrule. Zelda now finds herself in the same position, albeit different circumstances and new people.

Zelda’s development in ToTK is establishing the leader she WANTS to be, the person she matured TO be, and ultimately the Queen she WILL be.

Zelda’s story is so emotional and there are so many layers to dig through that I am so so thankful to have the opportunity to discuss this. She is absolutely PRECIOUS and I am so proud of her and the journey from botw to the end of totk.