#but i would accept likes to indicate sympathy/support

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

i just read your ask about how zutaras think airbenders are racist, sexist, ect. and i'm like?? aren't air nomads canonically the most accepting of the 4 nations??? i don't know how accurate the avatar universe wiki is (it's one of the most expansive wikis i've ever seen for a fandom), but it says it there.

Even if we don't take the wiki or anything except the show itself into account - nothing in the show itself indicates they were racist, sexist, etc.

But you know what nation is confirmed to be very fucking racist, and there's hints of it being a least a little sexist? The Fire Nation. The one that commited genocide towards both the air-nomads and Southern Water Tribe.

Zutarians are constantly going on and on about how their ship is more "complext and adult", yet lots of them are TERRIFIED to engage with aspects that would make it a complex, adult, very messy dynamic - aka the fact that Zuko is not only a direct descendent of the guy that started the war (Sozin), of the guy that was responsible for the raids on Katara's tribe (Azulon), and of the guy that order her best friend's capture/death (Ozai) but he also took A LONG time to realize "Holy shit, what my family is doing is terrible" and was in fact constantly putting Katara and her friends in danger, helped Azula get the upper hand in Ba Sing Se and thus kill Aang, then sent an assassin after them to finish/repeat the job later.

There's also the fact that, due to their immaturity, they think they HAVE to hate Aang just because they don't him and Katara together, and it can make them look really bad to hate on the sole survivor of a genocide while praising the prince that was trying to help his nation get rid of said last survivor.

They could deal with that by doing stuff like making modern AUs to avoid the war thing, or actually addressing the complexity of the situation, or being mature enough to say "I dislike Kataang/Aang as a character, but obviously Zuko was an objectively worse person back when he was supporting literal genocide."

Instead they decide to make the air-nomads look like "asshole victims" to reduce sympathy for them and Aang, pretend the SWT and the NWT are exactly the same to make it look like Katara felt oppressed by her own family and culture instead of being traumatized by their death, and pretend the Fire Nation is not only the "feminst nation" but also that said feminism would TOTALLY extend to the girl they were taught to see as being part of an inferior race just because there's a new guy in charge.

Zutarians tend to only acknowledge the elephant in the room when it's for the sake of a fetish or extra drama (see the non-con fics or "Slave/Concubine Katara" fics), or when they are genuinely fucking clueless/racist and think "Oh, it wasn't so bad" and say as much openly.

[heavyhitterheaux]

Forever and Always? Part 1

First Lady of Private Garden Fic

AN: Yall not ready for this 😭

Synopsis: Your husband has been acting differently towards you for some time and you attempt to put a stop to it and figure out what's wrong. You didn't realize how much the two of you were at odds until the word of divorce is mentioned.

Pairing: Husband!Jack Harlow x Wife!Reader

Thank you to my boo @mortirolo for helping me!

Please Do Not Repost My Content Anywhere

This was the fourth time that you called Jack only to have his phone go to voicemail.

The time before that it only rang once indicating that he rejected your call.

Something that he never did in the years that you two had been together. 

This was one of the most important shows of your career and he was nowhere to be found.

Tears pricked your eyes and you hung up once again and threw your phone behind you onto the couch.

Saweetie, Sza, and Brandi looked at you with sympathy, but deep down they wanted to kill your husband.

Brandi had been noticing that this pattern had been happening for weeks and she was concerned.

Jack would blow you off and suddenly turn around and get gifts to make up for it before turning around and doing the exact same thing.

You deserved better than that, but when it came to Jack there was hardly anything to make you believe that he could do any wrong in your eyes.

You always accepted the gifts even though she knew deep down that you would rather have the communication between your husband the same way it had been before this change happened.

The change.

And no one could put a finger on as to why.

You had been the same as you always had been.

Extremely supportive, going to shows, accompanying him when he went to photoshoots, and interviews.

Jack would always do the same thing, but, now it’s almost as if you didn’t recognize the person that you had married.

I mean he looked the same, but he was acting completely different.

He began to miss a few shows.

Not a big deal, he has a lot going on too.

Then it was missing date night which he had never did since you had your first date at the state fair when the two of you were 15.

The one that had hurt you the most was when you made reservations for the two of you at one of your favorite restaurants in Atlanta.

Usually, it was booked for months and no matter your status, you couldn’t wiggle your way to the front.

Celebrities included.

Jack decided to forget about it and go to the studio instead.

Even though you had reminded him all week, had reminded him that morning as he brushed you off and barely gave you a kiss goodbye, and yet it was 9 pm and you had been sitting at the table by yourself for 45 minutes.

So what did he do to make up for it?

He got your favorite muffins from one of your favorite bakeries.

Except.

It wasn’t your favorite muffins.

He got strawberry when he knows your favorite is blueberry with cream cheese in the middle.

The same ones that the two of you would eat sitting on your deck in your back yard in Louisville.

And it wasn’t your favorite bakery.

It was one of the newer ones that just so happened to be on his way home.

He knew better, right?

He was just stressed and this’ll blow over sooner and later and you would be able to get your husband back. 

You always talked Saweetie off of a cliff because she had absolutely no problem giving Jack a piece of her mind.

She would go down swinging for you.

She loved Jack too, but if she had to choose, it was you all the way.

Saweetie noticed that the tears were ready to fall and she immediately took you in her embrace along with Sza.

“Hey, hey. None of that, okay? You’re going to go out there and kill it like you usually do. Who knows, maybe he got tied up in doing something. He’ll be here.”

“But I’m due on stage in seven minutes.”

“Then he has a total of seven minutes to appear before we kick his ass,” Sza replied while dabbing a tissue at your eyes to make sure that you didn’t mess up your make up.

“Come on queen of the south. Go out there and kill it like you normally do.” 

They both gave you another hug before walking with you to the side stage.

Your team hooked up your mic and placed in your ear-piece and it was go time.

As Saweetie, Sza, and Brandi watched you from the side stage, Saweetie was ready to murder him.

“Jack has a lot of explaining to do.”

“Like, what the hell is going on with him? It’s been like this for weeks.”

“And she’s trying to be so strong about it. Like he loves her and loves her hard so this makes no sense to me. Jack worships the ground that she walks on and she does the exact same thing for him. They would go down swinging for each other.”

“Hopefully whatever it is, they work it out soon. She’s not really getting any sleep.”

“Look, Jack better get it together before I get my hands on him because when I do it will not be a pretty sight. No one makes my best friend cry.”

--

You and Jack were now having date night.

If you could even call it that.

The night was spent with the two of you in complete silence stabbing at your food which had never happened. 

You needed to figure out what was wrong with your husband and fast if you wanted for things to go back to the way they were.

Because you didn’t know how much longer you could take of this.

“Jack?”

“Hmm?” He responded while not even looking up at you from his phone. 

Something that he never did.

Any time you would talk to him, he always gave you his undivided attention.

“Baby, can you put you phone down for one second? You’ve been glued to it all night. I thought we were supposed to be spending time with each other. I feel like I haven’t seen you all week.”

“I just have some important things to take care of that can’t wait. We have date night all the time. You can afford to let me off the hook this one time.”

Your jaw dropped open.

“Excuse me? I am trying to give you my undivided attention and you’re acting as if you don’t give two shits.”

“Y/N, please. You’re making way too big a deal out of this.”

“Jack you do realize you missed all three of my shows this week?”

“When? You know I’m busy.”

“So am I, but I always make it a priority to come and see you and make sure that you’re okay. You didn’t even facetime me before my show like you usually do if you know you won’t be there.”

“Y/N, are we just going to sit here and listen to you complain all night?”

“Whaa. are you serious?”

“Yes, I’m serious. All you’ve done for these past few weeks is complain non-stop. I don’t want to listen to that bullshit.”

“Jackman Thomas what the hell has gotten into you?”

You tried not to raise your voice as people were starting to stare at the two of you.

The two lovebirds who were known to the world as being head over heels for each other, but not so much tonight.

“Not a damn thing, so what the hell has gotten into you.”

“Take me home right now.”

“Hell no. You complained about not seeing me all week so here I am. You need to stop acting ungrateful.”

“Ungrateful?!? Me?! Do you even hear yourself right now? I don’t know what has happened to us but we need to fix it.”

“We don’t need to fix a got damn thing because nothing’s wrong with me. I’m fine, it’s you who can’t get a grip.”

Tears started to prick the corner of your eyes and you quickly tried to wipe them away with a napkin.

Now this caught Jack’s attention.

“Y/N, don’t tell me you’re crying. Go in the bathroom and fix your make up. We have an image to protect.”

You didn’t have the energy to say anything back so you quickly and quietly got up from the table and headed towards the bathroom.

Once there, the dam broke.

Mascara was running down your face and no matter what you did, they didn’t seem to stop.

An older woman spotted you and quickly grew concerned.

“Hey, sweetie. Is everything okay?”

“Mmm hmm, just one of those days where nothing seems to go right.”

“I get it. You know what would always make me feel better?” She asked you as she handed you a tissue from her purse.

“What’s that?”

“A hug and kiss from my husband.”

You had a few days off and were currently at home. PG was there since you had invited them over not wanting to be in the house alone with Jack.

It was if he had been ignoring you and didn’t want to be around you and you just didn’t know what to do anymore.

PG noticed the shift and they couldn’t put their finger on as to why Jack was acting the way that he was towards you.

Like, you were literally the light of his life and he was acting as if you didn’t even exist.

Even they were walking on eggshells right along with Urban not wanting to be caught in the middle of it.

Urban especially.

No matter what would happen between you two, Urban always found himself being involved.

And it wasn’t done on purpose.

You were all sitting in the living room watching the latest Jurassic Park movie when Jack’s phone rang.

He promptly got up from his seat next to you to answer it.

Going into the other room to answer calls?

That was a first.

He had been gone for almost an hour when you decided to go and check on him to make sure that everything was okay.

“Babe....”

You heard him deeply sigh before turning towards you.

“What?”

“Um, I was just wondering if you were okay.”

“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know because you literally never leave the room to answer a phone call.”

“We were watching a movie.”

“Correction. Me and everyone else was watching the movie while you were once again on your phone.”

“You just have it out for me, don’t you?”

Hearing the two of you yelling, PG quickly came over to investigate to see if they could try to calm the two of you down. 

"That's it! I have had it up to here with you Jackman!" You confessed while staring at your husband trying to make sense of the situation.

"Calm down! Why are you blowing this so out of proportion?!"

"Seriously?! So I can't express how I feel!?!"

"Nobody ever said that! And you are so fucking annoying sometimes! Stop putting words in my mouth."

PG was silent as they watched the exchange between the two of you not knowing if it was safe to intervene or not.

“You act like you don’t want to be bothered with me anymore and that it’s an inconvenience to be married to me!”

“It is when all you do is stress me the fuck out! I didn’t sign up for this shit. You’ve been breathing down my neck constantly and I’m fucking tired of that shit.”

This had been going on for the last two months and you were at your limit.

PG was literally falling apart at the seams with the glue that held them together.

"If I fucking annoy you so much, then why the hell did you marry me?!"

"Good question! Consider this DONE. I want a divorce."

"WHAT?!? Now wait a minute yall can fix this. Yall love each other! Like ride or die! Forever and always!"

You calmly turned to Urban with tears streaming down your face and you didn't even try to stop them.

"No Urban. We're done. Pack your shit and get the fuck out, Jack."

“Shit, say less. Urb, help me get my stuff together.”

“But...”

“Do it. Urban you are more than welcome to stay here with me but you need to get him the hell out of my sight.”

Jack then took the steps two at a time and Urban was still staring at you along with everyone else in PG.

“Y/N....”

“Just go, Urb.” You replied as the tears began to make themselves known and Urban hung his head before following Jack up the steps.

“But.. like yall are soulmates. You two can overcome anything. Just... fix it.”

“Shloob, I’ve been trying to fix this for months. I just don’t have the energy anymore.”

“No. I’m not accepting this. Yall fucking love each other like.... yall would do anything for the other one.”

“Apparently not anymore on his end.”

“But...”

“I... need to be alone. I love yall but...”

“Look we’ll talk to him.”

“And say what?” You curiously asked.

“That he’s making a mistake!”

“But... is he?”

“Y/N, you are seriously talking crazy. The both of you are.”

“I’m going to ask Brandi what I have to do tomorrow to proceed with the divorce.”

Taglist:

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@mortirolo

@jackharlowsthings​

[treblrebl]

Spark in the Park - A Different Opinion

I've read quite a few people vilifying Booth for his treatment of the professor in this one. The man undoubtedly has moments when you want to reach through the screen and whack him with a bat (ugh Blood from the Stones is INFURIATING), but I honestly don't find this episode to be one of them.

I mean it is testament to Richard Schiff's superlative skills that the viewer is immediately drawn to his pain, but seriously, how do we ignore that he was, in fact, quite a poor father? Yes, Booth was short-sighted in the first meeting and far too unyielding and impatient to give the professor the time he needed to be ready to answer questions. Especially since, as Brennan later points out to him, his emotionally avoidant behaviour was pretty much a mirror to her own. Up till that point, fair criticism. He deserved that reality check.

But during that very meeting we find out that Amanda lost her mom barely a year ago, and yet she was the one taking care of her father more than the other way around. Think of it - no matter how talented a gymnast she is, Amanda is a CHILD. Then we find out that the intense pressure of being a prodigy led her into the weed trap, which her father was completely unaware of. Add to that, Hodgins discovers that Amanda visited her father on the very night she died, a fact which the professor apparently covered up. From an investigative angle, the professor is very clearly a person of interest at this time. Brennan seeing herself in the professor does not negate the fact that at this point, the EVIDENCE itself is clearly indicating him as suspicious.

The evidence paints a picture of a neglectful father who was far too wrapped up in his ivory tower and his own grief about his wife's death to consider that he has a child who needs him. No matter how sympathetic you are to him, he fails at being there for his daughter. And by equating her complete emotional playbook with him, I feel Brennan severely underestimates herself as a mother. She might think that she would be as aloof and withdrawn as Dr. Watters, but NO WAY would she fail to recognize Christine's emotional distress, or be unable to recall every single moment spent with her. Hell, she is better attuned to Parker than the professor was to Amanda!

People who think Booth's disdain for the professor was only a result of his non-standard reaction to the news of his daughter's death, overlook something glaring. Booth has NEVER reacted favorably to any parent, especially a father, who fails to be there for their children. In this very episode we are introduced to another father who pushed his child prodigy to the brink, to the end of being physically abusive. Booth reacts in a similar manner as he does to the professor, for pretty much similar reasons. Do we really think Booth, with his own heavy history of parental abandonment and neglect, would not draw parallels with the victim, and empathize with Amanda almost as strongly as Brennan did with the professor?

And it did NOT sit right with me that Brennan pretty much accused Booth and Sweets of manipulating the investigation to pinpoint the professor because they didn't understand how he operates. That was behaviour so far out of the left field for her - Booth's dedication to investigating a crime thoroughly irrespective of his personal feelings is something she herself has pointed out so many times. She wasn't acting like his partner in this episode. In most cases I'm in support of Booth's tendency to put aside his own feelings to validate Brennan's, but not in this one. I loved him encouraging her to go to the professor to lend him the sympathy only she could understandably provide, but he should not have accepted her assertion that he thought the professor was the killer. If anything, he was fixated on the coach.

At the end of it, in spite of the truly poignantly evocative eulogy in the equation, we still have a dead child, and a father who placed the emotional burden on his daughter and failed to notice her distress until too late.

[dolphin1812]

The contrast between the two newspaper articles in this chapter is pretty funny. Both definitely have a royalist bent, but (based on a quick search – I could be wrong) the Journal de Paris focused more on pop culture than politics, and that’s evident from the details given in each article. The Drapeau Blanc is fairly objective in its style, mentioning only the immediate particulars of the case and recognizing the unknowns (such as where Valjean’s money is). The name of the paper alludes to its royalist sympathies, but they’re not glaringly obvious from the article itself.

The second article, on the other hand, is much more dramatic. Valjean is not simply a convict, but a “wretch” and a “scoundrel” with “Herculean strength” (the last one being dramatic enough that it’s probably how Hugo would describe him in his narration). The support for the present order is more evident through the use of additions like “indefatigable zeal” while describing the prosecutor and notes on the king’s “clemency” in “only” giving him life in prison. There’s also the addition of gossip about his relationship with Fantine, and while we know for sure that it’s false, it’s notable as well that the other publication avoids this, indicating that it really was seen as gossip that, believed or not, wasn’t considered acceptable to repeat in all papers. This work is more literary, too, quoting a patriarch. Overall, the combined purpose of this newspaper as information and entertainment is really clear from the style, which Hugo captured well. It gives a good sense of the feeling of reading papers in the time, and it’s a fun way to learn about what happened to Valjean.

I also like that Hugo circles back to the issue of tax collection here to illustrate M. sur M.’s decline after the loss of Madeleine. I’m a fan of his use of “documents” in general, as it lends the novel the sense of a historical investigation, but taxation in particular is a good way of showing how the central government is present in all towns even as local politics are more impactful. Taxation is how the government notices changes in a town’s prosperity, but ultimately, that prosperity depends on local government. Unfortunately, Valjean as Madeleine suffered from the same issue as the bishop, making himself the center of charity without changing the mindsets of the townspeople. Consequently, as soon as he’s gone, the town ceases to flourish. It’s heart-breaking, but seeing this confirmed by tax reports (rather than, say, the experiences of the people we know in the town) further emphasizes a) the historical aspect of the book and b) that the change was monetary rather than cultural. It it were cultural, perhaps it wouldn’t have happened in the first place, but people would also narrate it differently. Since it was more a change in the town’s finances because Valjean’s ideas didn’t reach the people, it’s fitting that we end with finances as well.

[beevean]

Honestly Julia is so overlooked. She was also done dirty by CoD. Rosaly was given the chance to shine in both the MF manga and PtR as the cutest thing, but Julia? No, she only has the game to go by, and CoD doesn’t exactly have the best presentation.

But still! I love love love this comment that Michiru Yamane left on her theme, Sarabande of Healing:

“I want to heal her, forced to bear the fate of her brother. Yet she's the one healing Hector! Why?!”

Oh, that hurts :(

The theme itself represents her personality. It starts off with a soothing celesta, that makes you feel all cozy inside, much like her shop is a place of rest for Hector (it even has a rocking chair for him to sit on)... but soon enough, that celesta gets replaced by a haunting, sorrowful cello. And the celesta doesn’t come back. It’s just that cello, painting her inner pain, that she tries so hard to hide.

Because that’s what Julia does: she hides her feelings. Think back of her first cutscene:

She meets a stranger who’s looking for Isaac, and she asks him what’s his relationship with him. He says that he’s his most bitter enemy, and by his voice it’s clear that he has murderous intentions. Julia... offers her help, and calls Isaac her enemy as well. When you know that she’s talking about her brother, it hits you hard.

And when Isaac dies, the most she shows is a sad face. She’s still repressing.

“The curse has reached deep inside of them. Its mark will not easily vanish. For my brother, only death could erase it.”

And when Hector starts to express sympathy, she immediately changes subject to a more positive topic, as if nothing happened.

There are clues that Julia and Isaac care about each other to some degree. First, Isaac’s reaction upon seeing her in Cordova Town, right in the middle of his fight with Hector:

He retreats Abel first thing, and then he runs away. He could have killed Hector right there when he was distracted... but no. Not when Julia is in danger of being involved. Sure, he does the whole “nah not worth killing you, become stronger first” spiel, but then why retreating Abel and making himself more vulnerable? To not hurt Julia, perhaps? The fact that he even thinks of that, as he’s Cursed up to his hair and hyperfocused on Hector, tells a lot.

And another thing that tells a lot is this comment from Julia:

“No, Hector. You must be the one to defeat him. My brother had always respected you.”

How does she know that? Yes, she has premonition powers (somehow she knew about Rosaly), but nothing indicates that she’s a mind reader. Did... Did Isaac tell her, at some point? Were they in touch when he was working for Dracula? And did he talk positively about Hector? If so, that is just wholesome 💖

So give back that wholesomeness and get this kick in the teeth from the Japanese script :)

“Only then I could accept it. Even if I lose my family...”

Julia is a witch. She was persecuted, all the way to Western Europe (Italy, maybe? Her name sounds very Italian if you fix the spelling). Whatever Isaac went through as a child, she probably did too. The MF manga implies that Isaac dragged her with him to Castlevania, but for some reason she’s never seen there - she didn’t find a place where she was allowed to exist. Then, years later, she saw her brother lose his mind to the Curse, to a degree where she decided that it would be best if he were mercy killed and be left alone in the world. And I sure hope she never witnessed Rosaly’s execution.

And yet she never complains or cries. She sells potions to Hector and hosts his Devils with a gentle smile, supporting him all the way through.

Ngl, I’d so cut that whole conversation between St. Germain and Zead that Hector overhears, and replace it with one between Julia and Isaac 😭 let them talk! I want to see Julia try to reach out to Isaac, only to be cruelly rejected, and Hector could get a glimpse of her true sadness behind her cute, slightly brusque mask.

I don’t feel like either Hector or Julia are, by the end of CoD, in a healthy place to start a romantic relationship. Julia looks too much like Rosaly, and is the sister of Hector’s friend-turned-enemy. Hector killed Isaac, even though Julia felt it was the best course of action. It’s a situation that spells disaster. But I really wish they’ll be able to heal together, and that Julia will open up more.

[laf-outloud]

To clarify, when I said Jensen is not a producer, I didn't mean he didn't hold the title or the job. He was given the title and the job, sure. But he has absolutely zero idea how to do it and (going by what I've seen) very little interest, humility, curiosity, or care to actually learn. Never mind the backstabbing part, keeping the idea from Jared was INSANELY stupid from a business perspective. Jared would've helped because he's incredibly generous. Of the two, it's Jared who is the producer. I remember at 2015 Comic Con when Jared was asked if he'd like to direct besides acting he said no, if he was going to do sth else it would be producing. All the way back in 2015 and he already knew what he could do. He's smart & self-aware enough to know his strengths and put effort into cultivating them. Jensen is a passable director who is better than passable when the camera is on Jared, maybe due to what seems like his own weird proprietary-ish obsessive love-hate, admiration-jealousy mess when it comes to Jared. He really should stick to acting & directing. He can make money and minions out of those. Friends, however? Not so much, but he doesn't seem interested in the ONE real friendship we've watched him benefit from over the years, so I'm guessing he's not worried abt friends. He's happy to play up for hellers then sulk when they fall for what is clearly an act, and he's never spoken up abt the hate Jared gets from vocal fans of Jensen. And how many vocal Jared haters has Jensen employed so far? Even creativity isn't his forte: Unlike Jared, Jensen never reads scripts in advance despite complaining (read: throwing ppl under the bus) later and for YEARS abt SPN plots & dialogue. He needs to shut up, stop thinking, accept directing and acting jobs that pay, and bask in the gross horny lies, er, "flattery" from his loon fans. As for Jared, I hope his sympathy, generosity, and kindness don't mean he ends up giving Jensen work on Walker or any other project Jared helms, and I hope Jared never feels he owes it to Jensen to help out by appearing on any fiasco Jensen decides to make. I'm so grateful Jared was never on The Boys or TW. He has ample sense not to, but we've seen how his kindness makes him continue to support Stands to help out. Jared's caption on the latest Instagram post was poignant. Slide through life with people who love you. Not "with good buddies" or "good friends" or even any indication to the bond he and Anson have after surviving that horrible crash. No. He chose to say "people who love you". It's sad that he now knows that there are others who don't and were only ever using him. Remember the cryptic Instagram post a few years ago on his birthday, when he said (paraphrasing here) that it was awful and some people were working against him? I thought it about someone behind the scenes. Now I think it must've been about Jensen. He wouldn't have sounded so hurt if it had been anyone else. Imagine rooming with your costar, discovering you have so much in common, building a beautiful cult show together, starting families and doting on each other's kids, all of it for FIFTEEN years, only to discover the dude you had to create boundaries with wasn't simply too controlling or obsessive because you were his most precious best friend, oh no. It was because he never had any friendship or love for you in the first place. God. I'm so glad he has his family and Gen and his kids and people like Anson. Thank you for allowing me to send you all this. You're a wonderful blogger with a good head on your shoulders and a heart in the right place. I respect you a lot because you keep your criticism where it counts. You don't make fun of people's looks (ppl we hate, like Dmitri, Danneel, etc), for instance. I love your blog. Have a good day or evening, laf-outloud.

Thanks for clarifying the producer part! I totally agree. Obviously, there were issues from even before the announcement, but the fact that Jensen admitted to sitting in his car while everything supposedly ran smoothly on set (and later finding out they had to do a bunch of reshoots), told me all I needed to know about his producing 'skills' early on. And if Jensen decides to continue directing, I hope he takes advantage of some of the directing programs studios offer so he can improve his skills.

I'm truly grateful that Jared's been able to experience a much healthier and loving environment around his family, his true friends, and his coworkers. Every time I see photos of him, he just looks healthier and happier than he seemed to be on the SPN set.

Thank you for sharing everything else, I really have nothing to add because you've said it so much better than I ever could, and especially, thank you for your very kind words! I may get salty sometimes, and don't always get things right, but I do try and stay fair, and I'm glad that you, and hopefully others, see that. Sending love back to you and best wishes for a wonderful weekend!

[mysticdragon3md3]

My personal interpretations of Claude.

I know that early into 3Hopes, I bought into that interpretation I heard from someone else, about 3Hopes proving that Claude actually did need Byleth just as much as Dimitri and Edelgard did in FE3H. But giving it more thought, that doesn't actually make sense to me. I've settled on a different interpretation of Claude for my own headcanons.

I think that Claude really was the most mentally, emotionally stable and mature lord from the beginning of FE3H. After all, despite his background traumas, he already proved to have chosen healthy reactions, like externalized compassion and his dream to create a world of understanding, diversity, and cooperation. His reaction to everyone in his upbringing treating him like garbage, was not revenge or thinking conquest/domination/retaliation was the answer, but instead, he choose to believe that if people could just understand each other, they could overcome their differences. Everything in his demeanor and FE3H Supports proved he was striving towards that belief in his dream, by practicing patience, sympathy, being open to changing his own mind, meeting even antagonistic people with cheer, and attempting persuasion over confrontation. Claude was doing all right, from the very beginning of FE3H.

Sure, Byleth's FE3H Supports with him proved he still felt lonely, and Byleth's presence likely helped Claude feel some extra support. But Claude didn't NEED Byleth; Byleth was just a blessing. (I don't ship Claudeleth, but I do believe that WANTING someone is more indicative of a good bond than NEEDING someone. So please take that solace.)

That being said, the events of 3Hopes, I think, broke that version of Claude, until he was on the same level as FE3H Dimitri and FE3H Edelgard, in needing Byleth. Someone once said that one of the great features about Claude is that, in contrast to the other Lords, he doesn't NEED Byleth for his emotional stability. But I think that after 3Hopes had Claude kill his brother Shahid, THAT PARTICULAR Claude NEEDED Byleth, as well as his time in the Academy forging closer friendships. That was one trauma too much for him to overcome alone. Likely because it forced him to kill his own family, which he states during that scene, he had always wanted to reconcile with. But also, it forced Claude to act in opposition to his own ideals and personal values. The dissonance clearly made him question whether all his resolutions to solve conflicts non-violently were just naïve and impossible. He was forced to see first-hand proof that not everyone can come to understand and tolerate each other’s differences. That dissonance, destroyed 3Hopes Claude’s ability to hope and strive for his dream without hesitation. Realistically, not everything can be solved non-violently and not all people will be able to understand and accept each other enough to live in peace. But it’s important to try anyway, and that starts with believing. It was important for Claude to be able to BELIEVE in those impossibilities anyway, especially in order to TRY to strive towards them. But killing Shahid introduced true doubt into Claude over his dream, for probably the first time in his life. That dissonance probably broke 3Hopes Claude.

And without Byleth, 3Hopes Claude went on to make some poor decisions in Golden Wildfire, that continued him acting against even his own ideals and the things we admired about him. I recently heard someone say that a person with a quiet, listening demeanor makes you want to tell them everything, and that observation reminded me of Byleth. It's very telling when Shez tries to comfort 3Hopes Claude after killing Shahid, but isn't able to get much out of Claude, and Shez notices and regrets their deficiency. Maybe if 3Hopes Claude was able to talk out his dissonant feelings after killing Shahid, maybe he would have been able to reconcile his actions with his ideals. But because he doesn't get that internal turmoil resolved, he goes on to make poor decisions in Golden Wildfire that seem in opposition to the reasonings and values we love about FE3H Claude. This is likely because he is still struggling to re-align those things within himself.

And personally, I blame meta reasons. Lots of people said FE3H Claude "didn't have a character arc", some people said, "he did have trust issues to resolve, but it was subtle, but that was his character arc", meanwhile, idiots like me were like, "I love a paragon character! He doesn't need a character arc, to me! He just needs to inspire others and be exemplary! But you guys saying he had an arc with his trust issues makes sense, so I will buy into that". When it comes down to it, I'm still suspicious that Intelligent Systems had 3Hopes Claude make BIGGER mistakes with BIG consequences, so that when he decided to rectify his flaws by changing, it would be unmistakably noticeable. All for the drama of a noticeable character arc. Well, we got our "Claude with an obvious character arc" now, and all it cost was irrevocable trauma to our boy. I hope everyone who wanted "a real character arc" for him is happy now.

I was upset with several of the things 3Hopes Claude did, even more than I was upset at FE3H Claude once for not avoiding fighting the Kingdom army at Gronder. (And a second time for not merely taking Edelgard prisoner. But that cutscene needed to share with Silver Snow's storyline, so Verdant Wind sadly didn't get to be more characteristic of Claude's story, I guess.) But I still think 3Hopes Claude is redeemable. In fact, I think allowing him to have character growth and a character arc is all about moving past his mistakes. And if we can all love feral boar post timeskip Dimitri, despite all his faults, then we can still love 3Hopes Claude despite his mistakes.

On the other hand, a Fallen!Claude could be some fun dark AU headcanons, and I think that would be easily extrapolated from 3Hopes Claude. I mean, even after his noticeable growth after his mistake at Ailell (so noticeable that Judith specifically says, "So you've finally decided to rely on your friends a little."), he still barely tried for a peaceful resolution with Rhea. He killed Rhea in the end of Golden Wildfire, instead of a non-violent or even non-lethal resolution with her. To me, that says that 3Hopes Claude may still have a way to go before he regains his semi-paragon level from FE3H, which was a lot closer to his non-violent ideals. But even in FE3H, things Claude said which sounded like metaphorical unification dreams of people coming together in acceptance, could very easily be interpreted as dreams of unifying countries literally through conquest. I could see 3Hopes Claude stumbling further from his values, to "erase borders" through conquest, instead of metaphorical border erasure through multicultural acceptance. That could be a fun, dark AU.

(No one has to agree with me. Everyone is entitled to different interpretations---And personally, I think that's the whole point of consuming media. Please don't start arguments. My mental state is too fragile to get involved in most back and forth discussions. x_x; )

Anyway, I think that's how I've settled on thinking of Claude, in both 3Hopes and FE3H.

[secondwhisper]

tfw it's not even impostor syndrome anymore bc you were supposed to graduate last may but now you won't have a diploma until at earliest the end of this august, and hr doesn't know whether to fire or demote you

[deripmaver]

laurent is a good person - book 1 meta

one of the most amazing things about captive prince is how the reveals in book 3 recontextualize all of the scenes leading up to them, including about laurent himself. in book one, all we see is damen pov as he’s being abused and humiliated by this supposedly spoiled, vile ice prince. when the regent comes to damen and subtly (and not so subtly) insults laurent, calling him unfit to rule - well, why would he think anything different? laurent has insulted him, had him whipped within an inch of his life, and even attempted to (and later successfully lmfao) have him raped while drugged out of his mind. 

after book 3 we can reread most if not all of book 1 as a very traumatized boy who has finally been confronted with the man who killed his brother, leaving him alone with his abusive uncle, and who he clearly has made into a complete monster in his own mind. damen of course sees him as a complete bitch, but there’s textual/subtextual evidence that laurent is well liked, and that his behavior during book 1 was actually pretty out of character for him. i’d like to provide some examples of that now!!!!

“Laurent had stopped dead the moment he had seen Damen, his face turning white as though in reaction to a slap, or an insult. Damen’s view, half-truncated by the short chain at this neck, had been enough to see that. But Laurent’s expression had shuttered quickly.” Captive Prince, Chapter One

i couldn’t resist adding this one in hehe. laurent recognizes damen!! he’s come down, knowing his uncle has devised another truly horrendous and triggering “gift” and that he’ll lose support if he calls it our for what it truly is, only to find out that it’s fucking damianos of akielos sent to him as a sex slave. a jab at laurent’s trauma about auguste and also a jab at laurent’s frigid sexuality - which ofc is completely the regent’s fault. fuck that guy so much lmfao 

“‘It’s so rare to see you at these entertainments, Your Highness,’ said Vannes.” Captive Prince, Chapter Two.

this is right before the fight between govart and damen in the ring, of course. damen sees laurent as depraved and vile as the sexual sadism on display by the veretian court, and considers him to be a willing purveyor of it. this is wrong, of course, as said by vannes here. laurent has only shown up because he wants to humiliate damen lmfao.

“He did remember being supported by two of the guards, here, in this room, while Radel stared athis back in horror. ‘The Prince really . . . did this.’ ‘Who else?’ Damen said. Radel had stepped forward, and slapped Damen across the face; it was a hard slap, and the man wore three rings on each finger. ‘What did you do to him?’ Radel demanded.” Captive Prince, Chapter Four

this scene, to me, was the most telling lmfao. it’s right after damen is whipped. you could argue that radel is just a servant in the employ of the royal household, so is of course going to be loyal to the prince, but he seems genuinely surprised of the prince’s cruelty towards damen. not only that, but he slaps him and immediately assumes damen must have done something. which - i mean, technically he did lmao. not necessarily enough to deserve having the skin flayed from his back, but you know. if laurent was in the habit of torturing pets and slaves, why would the overseer react this way?

“The men guarding him were the Prince’s Guard, and had no affiliation with the Regent whatsoever. It surprised Damen how loyal they were to their Prince, and how diligent in his service, airing none of the grudges and complaints that he might have expected, considering Laurent’s noxious personality. Laurent’s feud with his uncle they took up wholeheartedly; there were deep schisms and rivalries between the Prince’s Guard and the Regent’s Guard, apparently.” Captive Prince, Chapter Four

laurents relationships with his guards are also some of the biggest indicators that he isn’t just a spoiled brat, but can insire a deep loyalty in his men. even if they do all want to fuck him. ah, sexual harassment. it’s also hilarious that damen immediately assumes they’re loyal to him because they want to fuck him - nice projection there, dude. we know a bit more about laurent and his guards thanks to green but for a season, but this little bit here is interesting.

“Laurent was indeed good at talking. He accepted sympathy gracefully. He put his position rationally. He stopped the flow of talk when it became dangerously critical of his uncle. He said nothing that could be taken as an open slight on the Regency. Yet no one who talked to him could have any doubt that his uncle was behaving at best misguidedly and at worst treasonously.”  Captive Prince, Chapter Five

idek what to say here. laurent my beloved <3333

“‘When someone doesn’t like you very much, it isn’t a good idea to let them know that you care about something,’ said Laurent. Damen felt himself turn ashen, as the threat sank in. ‘Would it hurt worse than a lashing for me to cut down someone you care for?’ said Laurent.” Captive Prince, Chapter Seven

this isn’t really relevant to my thesis lmfao i just love this exchange bc it gives SO MUCH information about laurent and his uncle in just three lines of dialogue. what has the regent done, who did he cut down just to hurt laurent? when and how did laurent learn that? p a i n 

“Laurent’s fussy horse began acting out again, and he leaned forward in the saddle, murmuring something as he stroked her neck in an uncharacteristically gentle gesture to quiet her.” Captive Prince, Chapter Nine. 

HORSEY NO- lmfao this scene just hurts so badly on the reread. especially later on, in book 3 i think, where laurent says something like “i provoked my uncle.” he’s really blaming himself for his uncle KILLING HIS HORSE, his horse that his murdered brother trained, one of the only living connections to auguste... all because his uncle could not let a single miniscule plan laurent had set go through without some kind of repercussion. literally all laurent did was do something to stop an innocent group of people from being abused, nothing to undermine his uncle’s rule, but because the regent is VILE he could not let laurent have even this. he’s so good with her, too. he must have known by this point and also known that there was no way to stop this. P A I N

“‘I know that you have somehow arranged this,’ said Erasmus. He was incapable of hiding what he felt, and just seemed to radiate embarrassed happiness. ‘You kept your promise. You and your master. I told you he was kind,’ Erasmus said. ‘You did,’ said Damen. He was pleased to see Erasmus happy. Whatever Erasmus believed about Laurent, Damen wasn’t going to dissuade him. ‘He’s even nicer in person. Did you know he came and talked to me?’ said Erasmus. ‘—He did?’ said Damen. It was something he couldn’t imagine. ‘He asked about . . . what happened in the gardens. Then he warned me. About last night.’ ‘He warned you,’ said Damen. ‘He said that Nicaise would make me perform before the court and it would be awful, but that if I was brave, something good might come at the end of it.’ Erasmus looked up at Damen curiously. ‘Why do you look surprised?’ ‘I don’t know. I shouldn’t be. He likes to plan things in advance,’ said Damen.” Captive Prince, Chapter 9.

this is the first in-text confirmation we have that laurent has a good heart beneath his layers and layers of trauma-induced lashing out. book one often skeeves people out because of its graphic and, honestly, yes, kind of sexualized depiction of rape, slavery, and depravity, but beneath it all you meet these two protagonists who are going to have all of their most deeply held views about each other challenged. laurent from very early on is shaken to his core when damen refuses to rape nicaise in the ring - it cracks the very foundations of the person he’d built up in his head as this horrible monster who killed his brother in cold blood. and damen keeps defying laurents expectations by being a good person through and through. on the other hand, laurent spends the first part of the book taking out years of anger on damen, but here for the first time we see him do something just because its the kind thing to do. yes, torveld is an ally against his uncle, but laurent has clearly been scheming with him for a while now, and he’s now overlooking his hatred of damen and working with him just because none of the slaves deserve whats happened to them. it’s such a sweet moment.

“One of the other men, eyeing them, approached a moment later. ‘Don’t mind Jean. He’s in a foul mood. He was the one had to stick a sword through the mare’s throat and put her down. The Prince tore strips off him for not doing it fast enough.’” Captive Prince, Chapter Nine.

HORSEY NO- pt 2. this is just another really sweet and sad detail - laurent being so upset that the horse’s death could have been more painless. it must have hurt so much to see her in pain, and to know that the only way for that pain to end was being put down as quickly as possible. i wuv him. im sad

that’s it, though there are still a few more chapters left in the book. this isn’t providing any new information, of course, the path of the three books is to show that laurent isnt the man we meet in book one, that he’s actually sweet, and earnest, and he’s been fighting his own battle practically alone against his abuser since he was fifteen years old. also, the reveal that laurent knew who damianos was from the start makes it clear imo that all of his violence in book 1 was supposed vengence, not... him being evil. he apologizes explicitly in-text, and also, all of the acts of violence he commits cause serious problems for him in terms of his future alliance which he then needs to fix. i just love how layered these books are, how there’s so much information in them that makes rereading almost more fun than reading them for the very first time!

[merakiui]

Diluc, Kaeya, Xiao, and Childe Finding out That You’re Being Abused HCs

cw: mentions/descriptions of (physical and emotional) abuse, injuries, depressive mood/thoughts, implied violence **please proceed with caution and do not read if this is triggering! note - submissions are confusing for me, so I wrote it in this format. I hope that was okay! 

@tuestika said: Hi! Sorry that I send my request through submission, tumblr has sometimes eaten my asks either wholly or have omnomned whole ask xD Usually my requests sent through submissions arrive intact so…. I saw that you had done Scaramouche reacting finding out their s/o is being abused headcanons, may I request headcanons for Kaeya, Diluc, Xiao and Childe finding out their their s/o is being abused? Keep up good job! <3

🔥 Diluc 🔥

Diluc might not be the most vocal person in the world, but he’s definitely observant. He’s gotten rather skilled at picking apart your social cues because he’s spent a lot of time with you. 

So when you barge into his tavern one evening, looking absolutely disheveled and asking for one of the Knights, he’s feeling two emotions: confusion and irritation. 

For one, you shouldn’t even entrust your issue to those inadequate Knights. Nevertheless, you are his friend and he isn’t going to kick you out just because you mentioned them. 

He waves you over to the bar and is thoroughly shocked when you beg him to let you hide behind it. Then he notices your split lip and the fresh injuries on your face and forearms, and he wastes no time in getting to the point.

“Why were you out so late fighting hilichurls? I hope you haven’t led any here. We don’t need that sort of trouble right now.”

“Sorry. No, that’s not it. I just—you’re the only one...” You’re struggling to piece a coherent statement together, too busy looking over your shoulder to keep track of your thoughts. “I didn’t know where I could go. I mean, I thought of you and—“

“Please slow down. Start at the beginning.”

More concerned over your safety than professionalism, Diluc allows you to slip behind the bar counter, where you cower on the ground to avoid being seen. 

You gesture for him to come down to your height and he sighs, silently complying when he finds there aren’t any new customers to serve. Bending down to your level, he holds onto the countertop to keep his balance and then he locks eyes with you. 

“What exactly happened?”

You inhale a shuddering breath, wrapping your sore arms around yourself for comfort. Tears are gathering in your eyes as you recall the event. Your abuser had found you after you’d left to get some fresh air, they’d cornered you in a secluded alley, and—you can’t finish the rest of the story.

Diluc doesn’t expect you to continue. He nods as he lets the information sink in, already harboring a deep resentment for this despicable individual. 

“Wait here. I’ll close the tavern early. In the meantime, we should see to your injuries and then we’ll look for that person.”

“I really think we should tell the Knights...” you mumble, knowing he’ll disapprove. “They’re more suited to these types of cases.”

“The Knights are incompetent. The investigation will take days, if not weeks. What happens if your abuser knows they’ll be coming for them? They’ll try to escape and then there’ll be no telling where they’ve gone.”

“I know, but it wouldn’t hurt to—“

“I’ll take care of it.”

You try to object because it’s dangerous and you don’t want him to get injured on your behalf. But he’s insistent in his decision, claiming that if the Knights can’t help you no one can. And you really wouldn’t feel safe if your abuser was still roaming free, so you have no other choice but to allow him to carry out the investigation himself.

And Diluc can be quite clever at times. It won’t be hard to traverse the interior of Mondstadt at night, where his identity melts away into that of the sneaky Darknight Hero. 

He’s going to protect you no matter what. Your abuser won’t receive an ounce of sympathy from Diluc. All he feels is cold hatred when he catches them. Someone as precious as you does not deserve to be put through such torment, and he’ll see to it that your abuser pays a hefty price to make up for all of the damage they’ve caused.

🧊 Kaeya 🧊

Kaeya can’t understand why you’ve started isolating yourself from everyone. In the past, you were always such great friends with the Knights, always catching up to talk to one of them.

He’d spent a lot of time with you and has since gotten to know you through lighthearted conversations and gossip from the people of Mondstadt. 

For someone so appreciated and well-known, he can’t wrap his head around why you might want to suddenly disappear, hiding yourself away as if you didn’t exist. 

And then he happens to catch you in town one day while you’re out running some errands. It’s so like him to pop in with a few flirty lines, but the words stick in his throat when he notices the bandages stuck to your arms and legs. 

“That can’t be good,” he says as he approaches you, leaning ever so gracefully against a wooden support beam. “Why don’t we find Barbara? I’m sure she’ll have you patched up in no time, my dear friend.”

You don’t think you’re worth it so you shake your head, nervously hoping he’ll take the hint and go away. 

“I hope you’re not accepting those dangerous commissions again,” he adds, half teasing and half serious. You can’t tell whether he’s trying to sound chiding or not. 

“Please just...leave me be. I’m a little busy right now.” You try to leave the stall you’re at, walking stiffly to avoid limping in front of him. “I’m not feeling well, so if you’ll excuse me—“

Kaeya pushes off from the beam, standing in front of you with a posture that appears immovable. “By order of the Calvary Captain,” he’s saying, a playful glint in his eyes, “you aren’t allowed to move from that spot until you tell me what’s bothering you and why you’re covered head to toe in bandages.”

You can easily object to such an order, but you figure it’s better to answer instead of arguing over your physical condition. So you explain a modified version of the story, telling him that you simply got into a disagreement and it ended in bruises on both sides. 

Kaeya hears the tremble in your voice when you say it; you’re lying. His expression softens at once and he steps away, indicating that you’re free to leave. But you don’t; you’re looking at him with such a helpless, pleading look. It breaks his heart.

You break before him, lips quivering as you beg for his help. You’re so scared and alone, and you’re not sure how long you can suffer through this before it seriously hurts you. 

“This is the first time I’ve gotten out in weeks.” So that explains your sudden isolation. “Please... I don’t want to go back home anymore. I’ll do anything. Just don’t let them hurt me again.”

Kaeya’s absolutely stunned to hear the silent revelation in your words. You’re awkwardly reaching to undo one of the bandage wrappings to prove your point, but he stops you short. That’s all the proof he needs.

You’ll be brought back to the Knights of Favonius’ Headquarters to be tended to while he gathers a team to search for your abuser. Since you gave him a solid description, it shouldn’t be too hard to find them. 

And once they’re apprehended, Kaeya will subject them to a grueling interrogation. There will be no gentle punishment; it’s going to be as unforgiving as the abuse you had to suffer through. 

☁️ Xiao ☁️

You’ve never really been keen on physical touch and Xiao understands that completely. He usually avoids any sort of interaction to begin with, unless it’s absolutely necessary, so it’s not a surprise whenever you shy away from large crowds.

He has grown rather fond of you, which has lead to the two of you meeting at Wangshu Inn for some Almond Tofu and relaxed chit-chat.

During one of your many conversations, you bring up a few alarming statements. They’re just personal points you’d like to change, such as your weak fighting spirit or the way your joints brokenly click when you stretch. 

Xiao wonders why you’d want to change yourself. You’re not usually this doubtful of yourself. In the past, you would always play the role of his smiling friend, putting on a positive face even when he was in a disagreeable mood. 

Xiao is examining your movements as you awkwardly explain yourself and when your arms move he catches the sight of a rope burn etched into your wrist. 

“What happened?” He gestures to your sleeve, to which you react in a nervous manner, shyly pulling your sleeve down to hide it. Xiao frowns a bit. “Did you get into an accident?”

“No, of course not! I’m fine. It’s just a result of my clumsiness.”

It really doesn’t look like that to Xiao and when he truly looks at you again he finds that you appear abnormally tired and exhausted. He isn’t going to sugarcoat anything and he could be making a giant assumption, but he still asks.

“Is someone hurting you?”

Your eyes widen for a split second and Xiao catches that movement like a cat drawn to a laser pointer. He won’t force you to explain unless you feel comfortable doing so. The last thing he wants is upsetting you or pressuring you into something you don’t want to talk about.

Eventually, though, the story will come to light and he’ll hear all about the horrors you’ve gone through. That rope burn was just one of many punishments you’ve had to endure, and Xiao’s just about ready to snap. How dare someone lay their filthy hands upon you in such a violent way?

Xiao will calmly tell you to stay at Wangshu Inn or anywhere else in Liyue where you’ll be safe. He’ll watch over you while you take time to recuperate and heal. He’s going to make sure you’ll never have to go through something like that ever again.

Having Xiao by your side makes the healing process all the more comforting.

And when you fall asleep in a soft, warm bed, Xiao slips out into the night to search for your abuser. It won’t be a pretty sight once he gets his hands on the human trash who dared to hurt you.

💧 Childe 💧

He’s very perceptive when it comes to your health and overall well-being. After all, he’s got brothers and sisters to care for; perception is absolutely necessary in order to keep them happy and healthy.

So it doesn’t take long for him to realize your behavior is uncharacteristic. You’re jumpier than usual, always apologizing for the littlest of things, and you’ll look over your shoulder whenever you sense something.

It’s almost as if you expect someone to suddenly come at you, which isn’t all that odd. Childe has been known to keep you on your toes when he’s looking for a fight.

But on one particular day he manages to give you a spook when he comes up beside you, grinning and showing up in your peripheral so suddenly that it nearly gives you a heart attack. 

You’re so frightened as you back away, practically folding in on yourself in an effort to protect yourself from an imaginary blow. Childe pauses, that silly grin fading when he realizes you’re shaking.

“Hey, it wasn’t that scary. Come on, comrade!” He’s approaching you warily, not entirely sure why you’re acting the way you are. He’s always been spontaneous; you should be used to this by now.

But you refuse to let him come any closer, having to distance yourself so that you can ease your racing heart and hyperventilating lungs. Once you’ve calmed down, embarrassment floods through you at the fact that Childe just witnessed all of that. 

Childe will ask if you’re okay with him stepping closer and if you nod he’ll be on you like a hawk, pulling up your sleeves before you can stop him. 

For once, you catch an expression you normally don’t find on Childe: surprise. He’s genuinely shocked at what he sees: dark bruises and shallow lacerations from something sharp. 

Either you got these in your many sparring matches or there’s another factor at play here, and Childe is almost certain it’s the latter.  

His voice is gentle as he asks you to explain what’s going on and once you do he’s already set on finding the one who did this. He seems to forget all about his Fatui work, wanting to capture your abuser and give them a piece of his mind—and subject them to more than a few pieces of his strength, too. 

He’ll have you protected in no time, offering to take you to the best healer. You’ll be treated wonderfully and he’ll even lay off on your sparring matches for a while. 

In the meantime, once he gets his hands on your abuser, everything becomes fair game. After all, someone has to handle the brunt of his anger and pent-up bloodlust from the lack of a fight. And your abuser is the perfect match to pummel into the ground. Childe shows absolutely no mercy for them. 

[dribs-and-drabbles]

Thoughts on the costuming of Bad Buddy (a thread*)

Episode 8 (3/3): The Friends

There's so much I want to write about this week that I've had to break it down into three different posts: one for Ink and Pa; one for Pat and Pran; and one about the Friends. But here's the Friends,

Ooof, this feels like a difficult one to write about...I might get rambly and predictive rather than reflective...but I'll do my best to be succinct. I'm going to start at the end of the episode and Wai in the lighting/sound booth. At first glance Wai's t-shirt looked to be a light shade of green - signifying that he's potentially an obstacle to Pat and Pran's happiness, the cause of conflict - BUT I believe it's actually a pastel/baby blue (and therefore indicating that he's not as bad as he seems 🤞🏽 haha...ha...h...🤡). Hear me out...

Earlier in the episode Pran is in the lighting/sound booth in his sandy coloured top with what looks like green stripes (on the right below - note the dark green headphones too). Aha!, I thought, it's because he's hearing the gossip about Pat and who he might be dating from the people on stage - cue conflict and angst. But later, both times when Pran is backstage speaking with Pat, the stripes are actually a dark blue (on the left below, and even looked black at times). What's my take on this? Well, I think the light in the sound/lighting booth has a green hue to it, changing the colours of the clothes. Why is this important?

Well, Wai in a pale blue actually suggests a support of Pat (and therefore Pran's relationship to him) whether that's now or in the future. It's a weak support, at best, and something has made him drop the curtain to reveal Pat and Pran's relationship...but I'll get back to this in a moment.

Earlier in the episode, when he's looking for Pa and then drinking with Pran, Wai is also in blue (in fact it's the only colour he wears this episode)...but this time it's a richer, brighter shade. There's even a lovely blue light in the fridge to the left of him. (Note also the beautiful lighting behind Pran as he talks - with the red, blue, and mint green lights to his right and the yellow to his left. I love the way Pran is still managing to smile through his reflections about how exhausting their secret relationship is...because, even though he says it's something he tries to avoid, his expression says otherwise. 💛)

Now, here's my (clown) theory: If the rumour is true that Wai was the one to see Pat and Pran in the car earlier, then he might have used the conversation outside the uni to test Pran about his feelings for Pat (by threatening to beat Pat up). Then in the bar, whilst Pran talks about how difficult it would be to date Pa, Wai would know Pran's really talking about the difficulties he's facing in dating Pat. I think (again clowning here) that Wai might actually feel sympathy for Pran and want to help him but isn't sure how. (I would love it if he had actually said to Pran here, "hey man, I know about you and Pat, why don't you talk to me about it" but I don't think he did [silly boy]). Anyway, Wai might potentially reason for himself that revealing Pat and Pran's secret relationship would actually relieve this pressure that Pran feels (not condoning this btw - he was wrong no matter the reason) and enable Pran to live freer. So, I don't think Wai dropped the curtain out of spite or hatred. And adding on to that, I don't think he'll be the one to tell Pran's mum. This is because at some point we will get this:

We get Squad Goals™. The architecture and engineering groups uniting together. And this can only happen if whatever reason Wai has to drop the curtain is acceptable enough for Pran (and Pat) to forgive him (which might not be acceptable to us, because no one should out someone else, do I need to keep saying it?)...so I don't think Wai can be that bad. Btw, I also noticed in the credits that these two moments (below) of each group separately might be just before they meet and join up (above) since they're all in exactly the same clothes:

Wai is still very much in favour with Pran, so I don't think he is an out-and-out villain. He's mis-guided, perhaps, but I think he's done what he's done out of somewhat good intentions (again, not saying it was ok) and I cannot wait to find out what his excuse is. 🤨 @thecookiemonster77 wrote a theory about how the fallout from dropping the curtain might be that Wai becomes gradually isolated from his friends (in a parallel to Pat and Pran becoming accepted) and I like the potential of scenario...but as I've already said, he will eventually be forgiven and brought back into the unified squad.

Now for the other friends. We don't see much of them this episode, just for the rugby practice and at the end when some are suspiciously in the theatre for the reveal. The trailer for episode 9 suggests Pat and Pran will have a hard time with their friends...but I hope their clothes are actually foreshadowing the opposite. Safe and Louis are in both Pran and Pat's colours - Safe in red, and Louis in blue stripes. I've already written about my predictions (or hope) that Safe will be the Best Boy™ of architecture and the voice of reason for the group 🤞🏽 so let's hope they will be supportive.

Korn is also in blue with a bit of pink. He looks taken aback, curious, a little shocked...but despite the ominous dark green t-shirt, I don't think he's going to ostracise Pat like the preview suggests.

First, my prediction was right that the engineering group was going to be supportive of Pat hitting on someone from architecture when they found out. In episode 8 they're in red and pink when grilling Pat and they say that Pat's "so cool" and that they "admire him so much". Sounds pretty positive...

However, in the preview it seems Korn has done a one-eighty - telling Pat that only engineers can sit and that "no outsiders allowed". I'm hoping here that Korn is just teasing Pat and we're being fed a big ole fat red herring. Why is this? Well, going off previous previews, we can't trust a single thing we see/hear but also...I can't help but notice the mint green cap the girl is wearing in the background. A very thin thread, admittedly, but I'm hanging on to it for dear life until I'm proven otherwise 😂🤡

So, circling back to Wai and Pran... Next week there will be animosity between them but they will have to work together on the play. It's interesting that both are in black t-shirts here (Wai's is under a white shirt) - one of the first times Pran has worn black (Wai has worn black with another colour a few times already). And before anyone says, I know it's customary in theatre for technicians/backstage personal to wear black...but it has also been set up in the story so that Pran can wear black here - perhaps symbolising how dark he feels about the situation, how overwhelmed and heavy.

Anyway, whatever is going on I do think there is a lot about the situation we don't know, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for 'good intentions manifested badly' rather than 'outright spite and dickery'. 🤞🏽🙏🏽✨🤡

[Ep 1] [Ep 2] [Ep 3] [Ep 4] [Ep 5] [Ep 6] [Ep 7] [Ep 8] [Ep 9] [Ep 10]

[blindbeta]

Blind/Visually Impaired Person’s Review Of ‘The Blind Bandit’

It is here! At almost 6 thousand words (I have a problem lol). This is a review of season 2, episode 6 in Avatar: the Last Airbender. The episode is called The Blind Bandit.

Note that this is only a review of the portrayal of blindness rather than the episode or show itself. This show also has audio descriptions on Netflix so any blind followers of mine can watch the show if the want to. I would also like to make it clear that this is my opinion. It is my no means lacking in bias and I won’t pretend that it is. I love this character for some of the reasons I will explain here, and that will show even as I consider criticisms of her or things that simply could have been better.

This character, Toph, was my first exposure to a blind character in television.

CHARACTER INTRO:

“Your champion, The Blind Bandit!”

We first hear Toph introduced as The Blind Bandit. She is described as having pale eyes which is usually how eye conditions are conveyed visually. Some online sources describe them as light grey or sea form green, but glazed over. This could be due to cataracts or some other deterioration. Part of me wants to mention that not all blind people have eyes like this. Most don’t; I don’t. However, blind people can have many eye problems outside of just The Blindness, so it isn’t inaccurate either, especially for a time period where eye surgeries are not available, and Waterbenders are not as easy to reach for healings as they may have been before the war. I also suspect her family would not care about cataracts if Toph was not in pain— their main issue would be her blindness. I’m getting ahead of myself.

The point is, I don’t mind the way her eyes are portrayed here. I do think non-blind people are too obsessed with portraying eyes like this, however, and I feel like it is not necessary in non-visual media unless you have established why their eyes are cloudy/lighter/Like That other than Because Blind. I’m happy they didn’t fall into the trap of portraying her eyes as constantly closed.

I also read somewhere that the creators tried not to move her eyes much. I don’t know how true this goal was, but I feel it is not entirely necessary. Blind people can also have uncontrollable eye movements or rapid eye movements. This might be too hard to animate and too confusing for viewers. Therefore, I feel the creators chose a more practical portrayal of eye movements that is the easiest to animate and least confusing for people who may not know blind eyes can and do move, whether due a condition or other factors.

“She can’t really be blind, can she?”

I like that everyone says “blind” without stumbling over it or treating it as a bad word. Katara is surprised and Aang is accepting, feeling hopeful that this girl could at last be his teacher. I even like that she chose to capitalize on it for her persona. Already we can tell Toph has no issue with being blind, nor does she feel the need to hide it in such a setting as this. She is already the champion— it must be working for her. It is this openness and acceptance of blindness that I like, especially from the main character. Rather than make her hide her blindness or angst over something she has lived with all her life, the writers just introduced it as fact. She’s blind and she’s a champion. That is how we meet Toph.

“Sounds to me like you’re scared, Boulder!”

Trash talk. She’s trash talking him. If the champion thing was not an indication that this wasn’t your stereotypical innocent, blind flower, her first line should be! Already Toph is brash and fearless. A far cry from the angelic stereotype we often get in the media.

“Your winner, and still the champion, The Blind Bandit!”

Toph kicks Boulder Butt. Pretty easily. I loved every second of it.

Now let’s talk about the Super Crip trope here.

IS TOPH A SUPERCRIP?

The Supercrip trope is a bit hard to pin down. I found a few definitions floating around. This link has two: Trope: SuperCrip | #CriticalAxis: a community driven project from The Disabled List

The Supercrip is seen as having “overcome” their disability in order to do normal things or even extraordinary things— with a focus on their disability rather than their accomplishments.

The first part is avoided. The narrative doesn’t focus on how extra special it is that Toph is doing things like: walking, talking, eating soup, sitting with her family, yelling at Aang and his friends, etc. Toph is not seen as extra special for doing normal things that her disability does not make more difficult. Not only would this be patronizing and ignorant, this would reflect that attitudes many real life strangers have: disabled people are so strange and mystical to some people that they feel the need to ask blind people on the street how they walk or talk.

Personally, I find this portrayal of disabled people to be the most harmful. It caters to able-bodied onlookers alone and offers nothing for disabled people. To clarify: the problem is not portraying disabled people/characters doing normal things! The problem is expecting your audience to feel inspired because a disabled person did a thing that is completely ordinary for them.

This does not apply to Toph.

Another definition is that a disabled person is portrayed as “overcoming” their disability in order to do something cool/big, usually something able-bodied people don’t do everyday. This disabled person is only noteworthy because they did something extraordinary such as win several gold medals. This presents two problems: 1) it is hard for disabled people to meet these expectations, especially when this is shown as the only positive way to live with a disability. And 2) able-bodied people see this and believe all disabled people must be winning gold medals or doing super extraordinary things because their disability somehow gives them privilege, pity-points, or superhuman powers that make up for their disability. An example of these powers would be the myth that blind people have superhuman hearing rather than simply using their hearing more than sighted people and thus being more attuned to sound. An example of pity-points would be the time my family was watching Dancing With the Stars featuring a blind contestant. After the dance, someone remarked that the contestant would probably get sympathy points and go on to the next round. Her talent was not a factor the same way it was for the able-bodied contestants; pity-points could not be separated from her success. It was impossible that she would be supported and judged the same way as the others, with her blindness being only an extra factor that might make copying a dance to learn it more challenging for her. Keep in mind, these ideas are so ingrained in people that my own family believed it in even when they know me and several of my blind friends.

Let’s consider Tooh:

Pity-Points? - Not even a factor. This was not brought up by Aang, nor Katara, nor Sokka. It was certainly not thought of by the owner of the battle ring nor Toph’s opponents. In fact, she was only doubted when she lost. Her talent was never viewed as the result of someone else’s pity or reduced to inspiration for an able-bodied wrestling audience. The announcer says her name and nothing else. Her parents don’t bring up the idea that Toph only wins because she was pitied either. They witnessed her bending and only believed they needed to protect her more, not that she was not talented.

Privilege? - It is no question that Tooh’s family is rich. It is hard to say how much that affects her here. She has a tutor who undermines her growth and is pretty much useless. She has protection she doesn’t want and riches she doesn’t seem to use. She does have more free time to battle as a result of her riches, not having to work at a young age (although her parents probably would not have let her even if they needed the money). Toph’s family status could have been seen as playing a role in her winning— if her parents allowed the world to know about her. - It is no secret that Toph is rich, however, when privilege is brought up by able-bodied people, they don’t usually mean riches (although the stereotypical rich disabled person is something I could discuss at a later time). They usually mean some combination of government benefits that may or may not exist and pity points. Disability makes things HARDER, not easier. A person can have multiple privileges they did not earn, or lack of privileges they did not ask for. Toph does not gain special privileges due to her disability, nor does she ask for or expect them. My opinion is that no one asks for this, anyway.

Super-human? - This one is a little trickier. It is the one people are obviously hung up on when they consider Toph. It is difficult to consider this without considering Toph’s entire arc. However, I have chosen to focus on her bending and “sight” and how it is used in this episode. I may talk about this more if I do other reviews. - First, bending. Toph is not the only bender in the series. She is also not the only good bender, as Katara is also someone who grows into her bending and becomes particularly powerful. Aang is already a master of airbending in addition to being the Avatar. He is special and particularly powerful, mastering water quickly. Azula is also said to be a prodigy and has mastered lightning at 14. The point is, Toph is a powerful bender. She is not the only powerful bender in the world. The Avatar needs someone to teach him and that person would, reasonably, have mastered their bending in order to teach the Avatar. - Now for Toph’s bending in relation to her blindness. It is true that Toph is powerful AND blind— is she powerful in spite of being blind? Is she powerful because her blindness gives her superpowers? This is tricky. To me, the narrative doesn’t go out of its way to say “she overcame her blindness and was able to win”. It also doesn’t show blindness as a superpower, such as causing superior hearing. - How is it portrayed then? First, Toph never has to “overcome” her blindness, which is important. The obstacle is the limitations placed on her. The obstacle is society, not her disability. Toph does not need to accept her blindness before doing anything, because she has been blind since birth. She does not have to overcome her blindness before fighting or becoming a champion because when we are introduced to her, she already was. She is not expected to overcome her disability in order to teach Aang; he tries to recruit her without seeing her disability as an issue. She does not need overcome her disability because it is not what stops her, as is the case for most people. There are some things being blind makes difficult, different, or impossible to do, but this isn’t one of them. Blind people can learn to fight. They can win. And when people reduce such accomplishments as “overcoming disability”, it can feel like a misdirection, like a dismissal of hard work and talent.

This does not happen with Toph.

Second, does Toph’s blindness give her superpowers? Maybe. I feel like it might be necessary to cover Toph in other episodes. However, this review is focusing mostly on The Blind Bandit and so I will focus on Toph’s unique “sight”. Toph’s bending is unique from others because she can feel the vibrations in the ground, allowing her to sense objects and people. This ability allows her to fight and beat others. In my opinion, this is more of an adaptation perfected through sheer amount of practice. Katara and Zuko don’t always bend. Toph is using her bending constantly. Of course she would be good at it. Her bending is a tool for her use. Fighting? That’s just a bonus, a hobby.

Toph also has weaknesses and is in fact beaten by Aang, who wasn’t even trying. Losing to someone who had no intention of winning is a pretty big deal.

Personally, I don’t think Toph is a supercrip in this episode. She is a Blind Seer, a trope popular in literature. The Blind Seer can’t see physically, but they can see in other ways you can’t. I don’t have an issue with this trope and think it can be used in cool ways, especially if the blind character isn’t the only one with a superpower.

I do, however, want people to question why a blind character always needs to have a power that relates to or makes up for their lack of sight in some way. Unless you are making a deliberate allusion to something or a blind is not the only one with sight-related powers, I ask writers to question why they jump to sight-related powers in the first place. Or powers related to hearing, something to “make up for” their lack of sight.

Can this be done well? Absolutely. Toph, while she can fall into both The Blind Seer and the Supercrip tropes for some people, she is beloved and interesting for many fans, blind or sighted.

I ask people to trace their logic about why they choose to give their blind character powers related to sight. What kind of power is it? Does it make up for (aka erase) their blindness and make them less relatable to blind readers/watchers? Are they the only blind character and/or the only person with such a power? Can they have another power? What works and does not work for good characters like Toph? Why?

Getting rid of these particular tropes are not the answer. I simply invite people to consider other options, try new things, think critically about why and what woks or doesn’t work in other characters.

I absolutely invite blind writers to use whatever tropes they want, as they can probably write it in a more nuanced way.

My personal opinion about the Supercrip trope is that it is somehow focused on success or talent as the enemy without recognizing what it means. Wanting to succeed is not wrong. Being competitive is refreshing!

It isn’t really about doing super things or not— it is about disabled people being made to feel like they will not be successful, accepted, or taken seriously if they do not win everything or succeed at impossible feats. Able-bodied people are permitted to exist without needing to prove anything. Disabled people are not afforded that respect.

Either disabled people fight against the ingrained expectation that they simply cannot do anything, that will FAIL, because of their disability, or they fight against the realization that, for many people, even impossible feats will never be enough. Their accomplishments will never be seen as just that— accomplishments.

Blind characters should be talented or hard-working, prodigies or people who claw their way to the top. Their disability may be an obstacle and it may, in fact, barely even be necessary to mention aside from adaptive tools. The Supercrip is so alluring because people are under the impression blind people— and disabled people as a whole— cannot do anything. To the point that some condescendingly assume certain things are impossible because they did not think of adaptive techniques or technology. This is why research is important.

Remember why this trope/stereotype exists: for the inspiration of able-bodied people who are uninterested in making changes in society’s attitudes and the amount of accessibility it provides. Problematic tropes like this usually have a specific issue behind them and you cannot tackle or discuss r subvert the trope until you understand the harmful reason it exists.

Not everyone agrees with me. Here are some reading materials:

On the pervasive Supercrip trope in martial arts:

http://feministing.com/2010/02/19/media-portrayal-of-disability-and-martial-arts-a-personal-statement/

On the pressure this trope puts on blind people:

Challenging the ‘Supercrip’ Stereotype of People With Disabilities | The Mighty

[In the comments, I would prefer people not speculate about Toph being a Supercrip or not if they aren’t blind themselves. It would be more helpful to focus on other aspects of this review or share posts by other blind people instead.]

Keep in mind, this is only a review of one episode. And I personally will take a powerful disabled character over a powerless, sad one anytime.

This concludes our commercial break. Back to the show.

BEING BLIND IN EARTH KINGDOM SOCIETY

Earth Kingdom Boy 1: “Well, a flying boar is the symbol of the Beifong family. They’re the richest people in town. Probably whole world.” Earth Kingdom Boy 2: “Yeah, but they don’t have a daughter.”

Now this is interesting. It implies that Toph is: a) hiding herself well so as to keep up her double life and/or b) being hidden by her family. I suspect it is a little of both. A) is pretty obvious, especially with the wall surrounding their estate, while b) could be due to overprotectiveness or shame on the part of her parents. Shame may seem harsh. However, this is not exactly a modern time period and respect for disabled people can vary depending on culture, time, place, and individual attitudes.

When portraying poor social attitudes toward disabled characters, writers must work hard to show the attitudes as wrong and work to reduce them. I do feel that, like with gender discrimination, people tend to preemptively assume accepting disability is modern and Western concept- and that any ableism is fair game because it is realistic. That is far from the truth, especially if they get it wrong.

Too much and it could be mistaken for an excuse to be ableist. Too little and it may seem like erasure of societal barriers faced by blind people.

Let’s see how the ATLA writers handle this.

TOPH’S “SIGHT” AND MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

Anyway, the Gaang finds Toph again. Toph: “What are doing here, Twinkle Toes?” Aang: “How did you know it was me?”

Two things stick out here. I love that The Gaang interacts with her normally and this episode is not about the able-bodied characters learning how to treat a disabled person like a person, nor is it about them confronting their biases. Instead, they have a favor to ask, one that Toph cannot grant. The episode shifts focus onto Toph and her emotions and needs.

I also liked that Aang asks how she knew it was him. This is a common question and it seems to be asked in curiosity rather than implied judgment or suspicion on Aang’s part, as is often the case nowadays. Later in the episode, Toph explains how she knew, but she could also have recognized his footsteps (light as they are) with or without her bending. Blind people are also usually more reliant on hearing or smell and so may pick up on scents or sounds others do not. That is not to say their hearing or smell are superior (see the Supercrip discussion), but that they are used more often. This is how I conceptualize Toph’s bending— it is something she uses all day, every day. Like her hearing and smell and touch, she is more reliant on these senses and so uses them in ways others don’t.

I do wish we had a few more examples of this in the episode/show rather than Toph using her bending for every situation. As I said, I do not mind that she can “see” with bending as it is not true sight, but showing how she uses other senses would have been nice details.

TOPH’S PARENTS HAVE ENTERED THE RING

Toph: “I thought I heard something! I got scared.” Guard: “You know your father doesn’t want you wandering the grounds without supervision, Toph.”

With this, we can understand her father is overprotective, so much so that Toph is able to believably pull off this act of helplessness in front of the guards. Her father does not believe even walking around her own home is safe for her.

With that in mind, it is NOT a plot hole that she can walk around her home in front of her parents. Even overprotected blind kids don’t use canes or need a guide within their own homes as they often memorize the layout. Canes are not usually used inside ones own home or very familiar areas. Outside areas might be an exception as they are likely to change due to nature or redesign, but generally familiar, casual areas do not warrant canes or guides. It is completely believable that Toph can walk around in her own home without causing suspicion.

Toph’s father, indicating soup placed in front of her: “Blow on it. It’s too hot for her.”

Not only is her father overprotective, he is infantilizing. He thinks she can’t blow on her own soup and must be confined to basic stances of bending, something Toph is clearly unhappy with. Toph’s parents are the kind of people who wouldn’t let her watch TV lol!

Toph’s father: “And sadly, because of her blindness, I don’t think she will ever become a true master.”

There it is. There are many people in the world who have this mindset, believing disabled people succeeding is unrealistic, or only achieved by pity-driven intervention from others for inspirational purposes or a lie told by overly soft parenting. Toph’s father may seem radical, but his views are very common even for those close to a blind person. Even for those who might like the inspirational stories about blind people doing things.

HOW TOPH SEES THE WORLD

Toph: “It’s kind of like seeing with my feet.”

This is where I disagree with some interpretations of Toph. She can sense where things are and what they are. She has a wider range than someone with a cane would. However, I don’t know if this is quite erasing her blindness. Could they have done better? Yes. However, to claim the show made her sighted with magic is not quite fitting to me. Toph is not seeing with a magical potion, nor did Katara heal her blindness. She is using a power a lot of people in the ATLA universe have in bending, one she has used her entire life and perfected through sheer number of practice hours. I think it helps that she did not get this power, narratively, because she was blind. Rather she is a blind person who adapted a skill to her use.

A cane or an animal guide might have helped make the narrative more relatable for blind people, however. They could have also played up being unable to see people’s facial expressions. In other episodes, they show areas where she is unable to bend, such as on ice, sand, or floating objects like the warship or Appa.

In these instances, they could have shown sighted guide.

However, I think what they did worked. Would I suggest anyone else try it? Maybe not. It depends on their motivation for doing it. Toph’s powers basically act as a cane or Sunnu band would. They aren’t a magic spell letting her see all the time.

They could have done a little better— I still think it worked. It does not seem to have unfortunate implications of sight being better than blindness or blindness needing special cures.

For writing purposes, it is important to understand why this worked, how it was portrayed, factor in that bending is not unique to Toph, understand the nature of her ‘sight’, and understand what they could have done better. Just because it works here doesn’t mean it will work everywhere. It is important for writers to understand that and question their motivation for giving their character a different kind of vision.

THE DISABILITY EPISODE - AVOIDED

Toph’s father: “My daughter is blind. She is blind and tiny and helpless and fragile. She cannot help you.” Toph: “Yes. I can.”

Some may feel uncomfortable that Toph’s first episode is about her parents doubting her, dealing with ableism and being forced into stereotypes by her own family. It is important to remember that this is a show for children and any blind children watching it will have dealt with similar issues from adults in their lives. The show doesn’t seem to say this is the only narrative a blind character can have, but rather that it is a relatable occurrence for blind children who are watching it.

Toph also has many episodes left — this is only the beginning. This is hardly her only arc, and even her personality and abilities challenge so many stereotypes.

In most shows, the blind character gets one episode. Toph, however, is a main character.

Toph is also a well-rounded and interesting character with agency. She hardly seems like an inspirational puppet for adults.if this show had been written for adults or if Toph had been focusing on wanting to become a champion “despite her blindness”, I might have felt upset. It goes to show how important nuance is when writing disabled characters and how powerful it can be to make an effort to challenge stereotypes.

This is not how we first see Toph— helpless, unproductive. Instead, we FIRST see her out in the world kicking butt with her bending skill and I think that it is important.

NOT SO HELPLESS AFTER ALL

Toph’s father uses these words to describe her: Tiny, helpless, fragile. Unable to help others. Unexpected to become a true master or even advance beyond breathing techniques.

Toph challenges all of these at some point. She helps Aang defeat the bad guys. She faces many people in battle and wins, remaining an undefeated champion until Aang accidentally beats her. She advances far beyond basic bending techniques. Toph is good at very active things, with bending as a martial art and as a sport here. It is refreshing to see blind characters being so active and a stark contrast to the passive image her father has of his blind daughter. She does things for herself, including developing her bending style without the help of a master who limits her- and she hides her double life well. Toph’s ability and personality also challenge notions of fragility: she is boisterous and fearless, stubborn and even a bit rude. She mostly says what she wants to and fiercely hides what she doesn’t want to, even when pressured. She yielded only to her parents, which is tied up in love, respect, fear that they will no longer love her, possible aversion to change in some aspects of her life, and cultural expectations. For disabled children, it is often hard to go against your parents because the world teaches you that the world will never accept you or allow you to live in it. Your family is all you have.

Toph IS tiny, although that is due to genetics, environmental factors, and her age. However, her stature is used to prove the other qualities assigned to her when in reality her height has nothing to do with anything her family believes about her.

When the fighting starts, Toph creates a cloud of dust which effectively blinds her opponents. I thought it was a nice, ironic touch. The point is not just that her opponents now cannot see; Toph is already used to fighting under these conditions. She didn’t level the playing field. She is already better than them, already used to working without sight, and so the advantage is hers.

ABLEISM IN ACTION

Later, Toph confronts her parents:

Toph’s father: “You will be cared for and guarded 24/7.” Toph’s mother: “We are doing this for your own good, Toph.”

Unfortunately, this kind of infantilization is not uncommon. They saw her as she truly was and were still unable to let go of their ideas of their blind daughter. At this point, Toph is more trapped than ever despite opening up. The first time, it was surprising to see them not change their minds, given the happy endings we are used to in children’s shows. However, what happens is more relatable to blind kids with overprotective or controlling parents.

Of course, Toph makes the choice to leave them, showing more agency than most blind characters get, with or without controlling parents.

OVERALL

Overall: I loved this episode. It was a nice introduction to a character that both challenged expectations and dealt with obstacles relatable to blind fans. Toph’s struggles with her parents and the weight of stereotypes could have been cheap inspiration porn, but the way it was handled and the target audience of children rather than adults changes things immensely. This episode goes out of its way to challenge many stereotypes viewers may hold about blind people in ways that are fun and exciting. Toph’s personality is refreshing even over a decade later. While her bending as ‘sight’ may be disliked by some, it feels more like something with missed opportunities (the use of a cane or sighted guide), although I thought this episode did it well. Toph is not given special powers so that she can see—she adapts an ability for her own use.

Toph is a martial artist, encouraging children to try something similar if they are interested. She challenges her own parents, which may be very relatable to blind fans.

Unlike most children’s shows of the time (and even now), Toph does not feel like a vessel for able-bodied viewers to learn about blindness.

ACCESSIBILITY:

However, it is important to remember that at the time ATLA aired, there was no Netflix with audio descriptions. Descriptions were infrequent at the time and are still spotty on cable TV. The ATLA DVD did not have audio descriptions either, which is the case with all DVDs I have come across. Netflix also took an embarrassingly long time to add audio descriptions to a show with a blind character.

Consider that Toph was nearly inaccessible to blind children at the time — until 2020, well after other sighted children could enjoy it fully. Blind children could not watch a show about them with the same ease that a sighted child could. Think about that.

Is the show to blame for this? I don’t know. Usually the broadcasting service handles descriptions. I have yet to come across a DVD with descriptions. However, I wonder why it took this long. Did the staff consider a blind audience at all? Could they have pushed for descriptions to be added to the DVD?

And what about fans? Did fans consider that the character who challenged stereotypes for them might not be as accessible to blind people themselves? While they scrabbled about whether the characters were ableist, did they bother to consider Netflix’s lack of audio descriptions? Do they remember to add image descriptions to GIFs, pictures, or video clips in the years ATLA was popular online? Did any of this occur to anyone BUT the blind community?

Doesn’t seem like it.

TOPH AND THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE OF/LESS OF IN BLIND CHARACTERS

I made a post about things I would like to see more/less of in blind characters. You can read it here:

https://blindbeta.tumblr.com/post/637419979125489664/things-i-want-to-see-more-ofless-of-in-blind

Here’s how Toph compares to that!

More of: -Blind main character ✔️ -Blind character of color ✔️ -Active (sports/martial arts) and competitive ✔️ -Acknowledgment of difficulties faced in society ✔️

How They Avoided Things I Wanted Less Of: -Being portrayed as sad or broken because of blindness - Avoided - Toph owns her blindness by giving herself the same The Blind Bandit. The only time she is sad is when facing ableism from her parents.

-Being innocent, helpless, and unrealistically kind or selfless - Toph proves she is not helpless, even directly challenging it in the narrative. - Toph is also not unrealistically kind or selfless, not only insulting other characters- but refusing to help Aang when he needs it because it would change things between her and her parents. She also challenges her parents in the end, putting her desires before their feelings toward their perceptions of her. When she follows Aang, she doesn’t do so only to help him. She has her own want to travel and gain independence. - As for innocence, Toph IS 12, although she is far from naive. She is able to fool her own parents into thinking she is who they want her to be.

-Being portrayed as ungrateful or rude in general - Toph’s rudeness comes from a non-ableist place—herself. She is not rude due to anger about being blind nor rude due to entitlement. She doesn’t accept she doesn’t need and is not demonized for this, even when going against her own parents. Toph’s rudeness is in her personality, making it subversive in avoiding the idea blind people must accept all help and be grateful for it. The narrative does NOT expect Toph to go along with the ‘help’ of her parents or even Aang. She refuses this help until she is ready and willing to receive it.

-Going blind due to accidents or trauma - Toph was born blind

I WOULD HAVE WANTED TO SEE: -more adaptive technology/skills in addition to her bending -how she utilizes her other senses -another blind, minor character somewhere in the show (doesn’t apply to this episode, but still)

Toph is, in the end, a token blind character. It works better because she is a MAIN character, which is still not a common occurrence in modern media at all. Toph works because she does not have any stereotypical traits about her personality, which means the sighted audience does not have to rely on another character to broaden their perspective. However, it is still important to include more than one blind character in your stories. For ATLA, 1 or 2 minor blind characters may have helped, or maybe an additional secondary or even main character with low vision.

Toph has a well-rounded personality, which also means the “token” is not completely applicable to her. Toph is a great character. It would have been nice if she were not the only blind character. In fact, I cannot think of any show that has more than one blind character, as if it is a character quirk that cannot be done more than once.

RANDOM IMAGINES TIME

Now I’m imagining a Zuko whose eyesight was affected by the burn or a Zuko whose father decided he didn’t need that side of face anyway if he could not see out of it. Or an Azula who is blind and still better than Zuko -sticks out tongue-! Or perhaps Sokka or Ty Lee contrasting Toph’s personality and bringing to the table a struggle with a lack of depth perception while hunting or performing in the circus, respectively.

The point is, you don’t have to overload your story with blind characters unless you are setting it at a school or event for the blind. Instead, consider who is blind in your story and who else possibly could be. Consider why you only have one blind character and why.

That about wraps up all my thoughts on Toph. In short, I love her. There are things they could have done better or additions they could have made to improve the episode and Toph’s character as a whole, but she is still one of the most beloved and recognizable blind characters ever. I think that says something about the impression she left on people.

If only she would have been accessible to more blind children from the start.

I hope this review was helpful! If you need help writing blind characters I provide sensitivity reading in exchange for donations. My inbox is also open for questions.

[comfortwriting]

Call Out My Name - F.W.

Fred Weasley X Reader imagine inspired by the song ‘Call Out My Name’ by The Weeknd.

Part 2 , Part 3

A/N: Your Feedback will be greatly appreciated! 

About: Fred is constantly in a ‘on and off’ toxic relationship and he uses the reader when he is lonely, overtime she falls in love with him but because she isn’t Fred’s girl - she has no choice but to walk away.

Themes: Heartbreak, unrequited love, sadness, longing.

Warnings: indication of smut, raw feelings of worthlessness, depression and anger.

Staring out of the train window trying to think of something to doodle in your notebook you couldn’t help but feel over the moon that you were going home for the summer, you had never felt like this before and you hated that you did - but after years of being strung along by someone and not being able to stay away from them - this feeling was bittersweet, hell, everything you had gone through was now nothing but bittersweet memories you just wanted to forget, almost like it never happened.

You fell in love with Fred slowly but the more time you spent with him you fell head over heels for him. This whole fiasco - whatever it was you had with Fred started three years ago, your first time spending the summer at The Burrow. Fred’s on and off girlfriend split up with him for the first time, Fred became withdrawn, not wanting to take part in his usual pranks or plan any new inventions with his brother George. At first, you believed that Fred wanted you around because he valued your friendship (a budding romance) and because you made him happy, but overtime you realised that this wasn’t the case at all - unfortunately you were just a stepping stone for him, someone to use when he couldn’t get what he wanted from the ‘love of his life’. 

You put your head in your hands and sighed deeply, the tears slowly pricking at your eyes, slouching in your seat you covered your house scarf (the one that Fred bought you) over your eyes, the memories flashing back to you like they happened yesterday.

We found each other I helped you out of a broken place You gave me comfort But falling for you was my mistake

Fred sat in his bed, his eyes red and puffy from all of the crying “I don’t know what to do, she doesn’t want me anymore” seeing him in such a state made your heartache, you had never seen him like this before - you were used to him bouncing around, always laughing and getting up to no good, not crying in bed too sad to be himself.

You sat on his bed and stroked his short hair that had been cut a few weeks ago “It’s going to be okay” you smiled at him softly “I know it might be too much to ask but why don’t we go for a walk? Get away from all the noise in this house, just this once.” you encouraged him.  

Fred contemplated your offer for a moment and then nodded “I can do that” he smiled, slowly getting out of bed. What started off as ‘just this once’ turned into routine - you and Fred going for stupidly long walks every morning you were at the burrow. 

Remembering the first time your hands brushed up against one another used to make the butterflies in your stomach soar but now all it does is hurt worse than before - rain now pattering down on the window.

Within months you and Fred did everything together, morning walks, quidditch in the afternoon basking in the warmth and orange glow of the sun, and then in the evenings you two would sneak downstairs whilst everyone lay asleep in bed.

“Hey Y/N” Fred whispered through the crack in the door, trying not to wake everyone up “fancy popping on one of those muggle horror movies you keep telling dad about?” 

You turned over, the landing light shining in your eyes and smirked at Fred, mirroring him “go on then.” 

Clutching your chest you could feel the pain of this memory hit you like a tonne of bricks, taking deep breaths you tried so hard to bring yourself back into the present moment... on the way home... leaving Hogwarts...but it didn’t work, like a leaf in the wind you were pushed back in relieving what you just wanted to forget.

The old and scratchy patchwork blanket sat over you and Fred, out of the corner of your eye you caught Fred glancing at you and smiling to himself. Turning to face him you asked what was so funny “nothing” he replied, yet he leaned in closer, his nose almost touching yours. Giving in, the two of you shared your first kiss and you could’ve sworn you felt sparks igniting within you. 

You brushed your fingers over your soft lonely lips reminiscing more of the memories that popped into your head as if they were being played on film. 

A few evenings later you and Fred were on the same sofa, covered by the same scratchy old patchwork blanket in the dead of night, yet this time instead this kiss lead to something much more, instead of sparks simply just igniting, burst into the biggest and most beautiful firework as you and Fred shared such an intimate moment together.

George had to admit that although he felt left out, he couldn’t deny how much happier Fred became when you were around - he started being himself again; pranking Ron and annoying Percy like it was going out of fashion.

But you had no idea that whatever you had with Fred would turn into the most intense rollercoaster ride you had ever been on.

I put you on top, I put you on top I claimed you so proud and openly

For the first time in your life you put another person before you and you deemed such an act ‘worth it’ at the time because you made mistakes out of your pure love for Fred, but you realised all you were doing was burning yourself out to keep Fred alight. Instead of getting perfect grades, you found yourself in enough detentions for everyone in your house.

In your mind Fred was yours, your boyfriend and he made you feel on top of the world and all you wanted to do was share your feelings and relationship to the world. Every Saturday morning you would be sat waiting at the Quidditch pitch to cheer on Fred, regardless whether it was a match or just practice.

You would write to your family and friends, telling them all about the soft haired troublemaker who swept you off your feet. “Looks like you’ve got another letter” George mentioned one morning over breakfast, your owl swooping up ahead delivering a reply. 

You smiled widely and nodded “Of course I do!” you giggled “My parents can’t wait to meet Fred this Christmas!”

George’s face dropped at your excitement, he cleared his throat awkwardly “I’m really sorry Y/N but did Fred tell you?” he asked, giving you a deep look of sympathy. 

You scowled and shook your head wondering what would get in the way of your perfect plans “tell me what?” 

George stayed silent for a moment but he tried his best to let you down gently “He’s back in contact with his ex, they’re working things out.”

And when times were rough, when times were rough I made sure I held you close to me

And for the second time, Fred came crying into your arms looking like he had been torn apart “She doesn’t think it’s going to work out, she said that it’s not the right time” you held him in your arms, cuddling on the sofa in the common room, rubbing his back with one hand and stroking his now long shoulder length hair with the other, you reassured him. 

“It’s going to be okay Freddie, you got yourself back on track last time and you’re capable of going it again sweetheart” you reminded him “you’ve got me and George, remember.” 

Within the months that came after, you two were inseparable once again, going to Hogsmeade on the weekends raiding Honeydukes and sharing a butterbeer or two in the Three Broomsticks but as always and like George predicted, once Fred’s girl came back into the picture, he dropped you again. 

You managed to break from your flashbacks for a moment, removing the scarf from your face. Checking your watch you had another hour or so until you would be arriving at Kings Cross Station, you slumped back down in your seat and doodled broken hearts and tears onto your open love letters to Fred, now hidden in your notebook.

So call out my name (call out my name) Call out my name when I kiss you so gently I want you to stay (I want you to stay) I want you to stay, even though you don't want me

“Well from the sounds of things you’re not in a serious relationship” you mentioned to Fred, taking off your muddy robes. George shook his head at you almost telling you off but you were both getting frustrated, the only difference is that you didn’t want to keep quiet anymore. 

“Not yet but I’m waiting for her” Fred said eagerly removing his robes too, George could feel the tension in the air and went to the common room.

“So what about us?” you asked bravely, your heart begging to hear what it wanted most. 

Allowing the last of your confidence that Fred had wiped away overtime, you walked towards him and cupped his face, kissing him softly, trying to convince him that you were the one worth waiting for but no matter what, deep down in your heart you knew Fred was thinking about her.

Fred kissed back and chuckled “us?” he flashed you a confused look “we’re the same as we’ve ever been, as we’ll always be” you felt crushed, this wasn’t the answer you were hoping for (and you now owed George all of your exploding bonbons) but you accepted your fate and left to find George so you could cry in his arms. 

“He never truly wanted me, did he?” You asked George, tears running down your cheeks. 

George shook his head “It’s always been about her Y/N, I’m sorry” you hugged George and cried into his chest whilst he held you.

“why can’t I be Fred’s girl?” 

Torturing yourself beyond repair you couldn’t stay away from Fred, no matter how hard you tried. You still found yourself supporting him at Quidditch, helping him study, you even engaged in conversation with him about his girl, how amazing she was and how happy she made him. You knew if he had the chance Fred would transform you into her if a single project came down to it.

Girl, why can't you wait? (Why can't you wait, baby?) Girl, why can't you wait 'til I fall out of love? Won't you call out my name? (Call out my name) Girl, call out my name, and I'll be on my way

Clutching your date and dancing lazily to the music you stared at Fred having the time of his life with the girl of his dreams on his arm, beaming up at him. You hoped this ball and your date would help you find a new spark and create new fireworks yet with every opportunity to do so all you did was wish for Fred, stare at him and act as if he were to realise you were the one with any coming moment - but it didn’t happen yet, it would never happen. You kept wishing over and over in your head for Fred to turn around, meet your gaze and to become blinded by your beauty when you had another admirer trying to break down your cold persona. 

I said I didn't feel nothing baby, but I lied I almost cut a piece of myself for your life Guess I was just another pit stop 'Til you made up your mind You just wasted my time

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Fred asked, taking a bite out of his toast “Mum and dad are really keen to meet her and she’s never been able to visit over the summer before and with everyone else there we just wouldn’t have the room.”

The two of you continued to walk towards the castle, George following not far behind.

Fred was now inviting his girlfriend to stay with him at the burrow this summer, something you had always done up until this very moment - this was the moment you realised that everything had been a lie, Fred never cared, he never loved you, he had just used you each and every time the love of his life got bored, only to drop you as soon as she wanted him back. 

“Yeah it’s fine, I understand completely” you lied, feeling anger, despair and insecure like you had never before “I’ll just see you at the shop once the ball gets rolling.” Earlier in the year Fred offered you a job to help out with him and George at the shop, placing your own career plan at the ministry on hold.

“Oh bugger” Fred stopped his tracks looking a bit stressed “that's another thing i forgot to mention, we won’t be needing you to help out anymore as-”

“she’s helping out instead” you cut Fred off, finally reaching your breaking point you ran away from Fred and went to your dorm, packing your trunk. 

You're on top, I put you on top I claimed you so proud and openly, babe And when times were rough, when times were rough I made sure I held you close to me

“Are you seriously running back to him after what he did?” 

“He isn’t like that! you don’t understand, you can’t judge him - you don’t even know him!”

So call out my name (call out my name, baby) So call out my name when I kiss you So gently, I want you to stay (I want you to stay) I want you to stay even though you don't want me Girl, why can't you wait? (Girl, why can't you wait 'til I) Girl, why can't you wait 'til I fall out of loving? Babe, call out my name (say call out my name, baby) Girl, call out my name, and I'll be on my way, girl I'll be on my

Jolting awake the train came to a stop, you had finally arrived at the station. Taking a deep breath you picked up your trunk and notebook, getting off the train your scarf slipped off but you were too busy trying to spot your parents to notice. This was it, no more Hogwarts, you didn’t want to look back.

Feeling faint you ran into the toilets, throwing up the last of your pumpkin juice from the ride home, you stared at yourself in the mirror, washing your hands and splashing your face.

“Why can’t I be Fred’s girl?” You asked yourself.

On my way, all the way On my way, all the way, ooh On my way, on my way, on my way On my way, on my way, on my way (On my)

Reaching the exit of the station you spotted The Weasleys, welcoming Fred’s new girlfriend into a tight hug with delighted expressions on their faces. You looked to George and he gave a sad smile, he wanted to say goodbye but even that would be too painful for you to handle; after all, you weren’t just losing Fred, you were losing George, Molly and the rest of the family you loved so much.

Before you could turn around and continue to look for your family, Fred noticed you, he stopped for a moment and waved, holding your scarf up in his hands and shaking it. 

You wanted more than anything to run to Fred and collect it but instead you didn’t wave back or smile, you shook your head and spun on your heel, acting as if he were never there at all. 

[the-sympathetic-villain]

A Life For A Life - Chapter 3

AO3 | First | Previous | Next | Masterpost

A/N: It took me a while to circle back to this one, but on the bright side, I’ve written ahead so the next two chapters or so should follow shortly after this one! :)

Prompt by @local-space-case: Prince Roman and his two loyal friends, Patton and Logan, are on the hunt for a dragon. Meanwhile, Dragonshifter!Janus  is just trying to find the right herbs to cure a sick/injured  Dragonshifter!Virgil. Bonus points for Anxciet and/or Protective Remus.

Word Count: 2006

Chapter warnings: Romantic relationships, Mentions of killing, Mentions of blood, Mentions of death/dying, Injuries, Poisoning (Let me know if you’d like me to add anything!)

---

    “By all standards, sire, I cannot recommend this course of action.” Logan stated, noting the frustration in the prince's eyes as he paced the cave's entrance. “There are far too many unknown variables involved here for me to conclude this is a safe course of action.”

    “We can't just leave now, Logan.” Roman growled through gritted teeth as he gestured to the dark opening into the earth. “The beast was ours to take.”

    “We are forbidden from entering the tunnels, my prince. They are far too dangerous.”

    Roman let out a groan, looking helplessly at Logan's stern expression. “This journey is meant to prove that I am worthy of ascending to the crown. What kind of king would I be if I turned tail and ran at the very first sign of trouble?”

    “A living one, Roman.” Logan sighed as gestured toward Roman. “This trial is not merely meant to challenge your physical strength but your wisdom as well. Your bravery is admirable, but your safety should be your first priority.”

    “You said yourself the beast is unlikely to keep moving for much longer.” Roman pleaded, moving towards Logan. “More than likely all we need to do is retrieve our trophy. I'd wager we'd be in and out in under an hour.”

    “I'm not so certain, your highness.” Logan whispered as he raised a finger to his jaw, pondering the situation. “Something has changed for the creature in the last stretch of the journey.”

    Roman paused. His gaze lingered on Logan for a moment before following the man's gaze to the trampled undergrowth leading to the cave. “What do you mean?”

    “At the last point where the creature has stopped to rest, blood had pooled on the ground.” Logan mused as he pointed to the trampled underbrush along their path. “I see no trace of blood here and I believe it is self-evident  it is unusual that the trail seemed to end there.”

    “How could that be?”

    “I am uncertain.” Logan let out a breath, straightening his glasses. “But to me, this indicates there is even more reason not to interfere with forces unknown.”

    Roman took in the look on Logan’s face for a moment before turning to the cave in frustration. “I know you’re right, but the beast cannot have healed itself. We may not know everything we are facing, but surely it is a simpler task than starting over.”

    “Your safety is paramount, Roman.” Logan's gaze dropped and he crossed his arm across his chest. “We have to act rationally.”

    “You have to be as disappointed as I am, Logan.” Roman interrupted with growing desperation. “Finding another feat to prove my worth could take weeks or months.”

    “I know.”

    “Logan—"

    “It is still preferable to witnessing your death, Prince Roman.”

     Roman paused. Logan's words felt ice-cold as the man’s empty stare remained trained on the ground.

    “I cannot lose you." Logan continued. His muscles went limp with surrender as his façade dropped. “That would be a far worse outcome than needing to remain patient for the right opportunity.”

    “Logan—” Roman dropped his voice to a whisper as he stepped toward the man. “—None of the feats that would satisfy the court of my competency are without risk.”

    “Everything we encounter above ground is a calculated risk,” Logan clung to his reasoning, even as it slipped through his fingers. “but the underground of the forest is home to the most dangerous creatures in the world. Magical creatures, Roman.”

    “Well, that’s why I have you, right?”

    Logan’s eyes tipped to meet Roman's soft smile and his resolution to stop the prince faltered.

    “If my strength fails, we still have your magic." Roman whispered with a smile. “Right. Lo?”

    Logan’s heart fluttered, weak to the adoring glimmer in Roman’s eye as the prince caught Logan’s waist.

   “I do believe it goes against the rules for me to help you accomplish your task.”

     “I'm not asking you to help me cheat,” Roman reassured him, raising a hand to Logan’s cheek. “but if events take a turn and I'm unable to complete my task, you can get us out safely. Right?”

     “You’re right. Strictly speaking, it is not against regulation for me to assist you in fleeing a failed task.”

     Roman let out a soft breath as Logan leaned into his hand. “Then what are we risking, aside from a chance for me to give you your ‘happily ever after' a bit sooner?”

    “Roman, your task is meant to be solitary.”

    “My task is meant to show that the country’s leadership is in capable hands.” Roman whispered bringing Logan’s knuckles to his lips. “You are my strength, Logan. I would have to be a fool to ignore that.”

    Logan felt a redness dust his cheeks as Roman’s fingers curled into his own.

   “You are my shining starlight and I am so deeply in love with you that the rest of the world looks dull in comparison.” Roman breathed as he admired the subtle beauty of Logan’s smile. “I want to shower you with affection from the moment you open your eyes until you fall asleep in my arms at night. Hiding behind formality—Not being allowed to court you until I finish this trial—It's tearing me apart.”

    “Roman, you are too good to me.” Logan whispered as the prince pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead.

     “I do believe we just covered that I am not able to be good enough to you.”

    Logan smiled at the prince’s chuckling. “That is not the issue. You are simply restricted by your position.”

   Roman smirked as he brushed Logan’s soft hair out of his eyes. “Does that mean you’ll allow me the opportunity to ease the burden of our restrictions?”

    “I'll follow you anywhere, Roman. If this is what you choose to do, you’ll have my support.”

    “Good,” Roman let out a breathy laugh as he peeked over Logan’s shoulder at Patton's exasperated expression. “I'd kiss you right now, but I do believe your brother may consider regicide if I do.”

    “No, my Cain instinct is much stronger than th—"

     “He wouldn’t—” Logan hissed, hushing Patton with a glare.

     Patton pursed his lips and stuck his tongue out at Logan.

     “Patton, I swear—”

     “Lo, relax.” Roman laughed, carefully catching Logan’s arm as he turned to scold Patton. “He's right. We have dragged him across half the countryside without considering his opinion.”

    “It is his job.”

    Roman grip on Logan’s softened as he glanced between Logan and Patton. “Job or not, Patton is more than an attendant. He's my future brother-in-law."

    Logan blinked at Roman before letting out a reluctant sigh and shifting his gaze to Patton.

    “You’re right.” Logan paused as Patton raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. “Patton, I’m sorry. This journey should have been a chance for you to know Roman outside of all the politics and I've been wasting that opportunity. Forgive me?”

     Patton smirked as Logan extended him a figurative olive branch. “Only if you accept that when I meet my future husband,  I get to be as disgustingly cute as you.”

    Logan couldn’t help but let out a sharp laugh and shaking his head. “Deal.”

    Instead of taking Logan’s hand Patton swept his older brother into a tight hug, squeezing around his waist. Logan relaxed as Patton hugged him tightly. His irritation melted away as his chest warmed  with the realization that he had the two people he loved most on either side of him.

    “Patton, this is going to be dangerous. If you want to wait for us here—”

    “Not a chance you’re leaving me behind now.” Patton whispered as he raised his head from Logan’s shoulder, covertly wiping away a tear that threatened to fall from his eye. “This is my last chance to torment you before I have to start calling you ‘your highness’. I have to make every minute count.”

    Logan smiled, glad to have Patton close as they started on the next leg of their journey. “You never have to change, Patton.”

    “Thanks, Lolo.”

    Roman smiled, stepping toward them as he gazed into the deep void of the cave opening. “Then, it's decided. The poison should be taking effect right about now. If we’re lucky, the beast will be dead by sundown and we'll be on out way home.”

---

    “Virgil!”

    Janus felt his heart drop as he stumbled to catch his lover’s arm. Virgil’s knees had buckled a half dozen times in the last hour and Janus was aching with the tension from the adrenaline pumping through his veins.

    “I don’t understand.  The bleeding’s stopped.” Janus let loose a string of draconic curses, feeling his scales burning with rage as he adjusted his arm to support Virgil. “Your condition should be improving—”

    Virgil’s lip curled in sympathy as he forced a raspy whisper past his aching throat. “Jan, you know why—”

    “Don’t speak.” Janus interrupted, immediately feeling regret twist in his stomach as Virgil’s grip tightened on his arm. His soft, fingertips felt cold on Janus' skin. “You need to save your energy.”

    “The game's up, Jan.” Virgil started forcefully, blinking up into Janus’ amber, slit-like eyes glowing faintly in the dark. “We got deeper into the mountain than I ever thought we would, but it’s time.”

    “Don’t you dare give up on m—”

    “I'm dying, Jan.” Virgil spat out, stopping Janus in his tracks. “I’m dying and I don't want to die running.”

    Janus felt a lump in his throat as his heart sank in his chest. “Virgil—”

    “If I’m not going to die in the open air, at least give me the dignity of dying in your arms.” Virgil pleaded, desperation clear in his voice. “Don’t let me die cold.”

    Janus head spun around as a loud, sound of rocks tumbling in the narrow twists of the caves behind them signaled their hunters closing in, a few minutes behind them at most.

    “Please, Jan.”

    The sound of Virgil’s broken voice made Janus weak. He couldn’t deny Virgil’s pleas, not when their last moments together may be approaching.

    “It's going to be okay, Virgil.”

    Janus' held Virgil close as his nostrils flared with a sudden heat. His lips curled into a snarl, face elongating into his more draconic features. His teeth hardened into sharpened points, stronger than steel. The bones of his ears stretched out over his shifting bones like webbing over a bat's wings. Finally, after a moment’s shift he could feel his wings extend behind him.

    The subtle stretch of his delicate wings gave him a momentary sense of relief as he curled his long tail around Virgil’s limp form. Though still in between his humanoid form and his true dragon form, he felt immediately more at ease with his body.

    “Hurry, please.”

    Virgil’s voice was barely audible over Janus breathing but he immediately locked on to  Virgil’s arm, covering his lover with his wing as a blazing, hot flame erupted from his throat. The bright light decorated the halls with moving flashes of orange and yellow dancing on the wall and when Janus finally pulled back a hot pile of glowing embers surrounded him and Virgil.

    “Virgil?” Janus whispered as he tipped his wing up to look down at Virgil.

    “It's perfect.”

    Janus bit back a sob as Virgil’s hand dropped from his chest.   He lowered them both to the ground, feeling his lover’s life leaving his body with each new breath. Orange light illuminated Janus’ face from the glowing embers below, dancing like gems in Janus’ glistening amber eyes.

    “I love you, Virgil.”

    “I love you to, Jan. You’re all I ever needed.”

    Janus’ tail curled around Virgil as he completed his transformation. His long talons dug into the ground as his body circled Virgil, creating a comfortable nest for his lover to rest in peace. He let out a long breath as he watched Virgil’s eyes close comfortably before his fully transformed dragon head turned toward the sound of the humans approaching.

---

General Taglist:

@justanotherhumanstuff @im-an-anxious-wreck @shadowyplaidpurseegg

A Life For A LIfe Taglist:

@arodynamic-enby @pixelated-pineapple @simplestoryteller @bloodymari-0666

[peppermintbee]

OMORI’s poor writing (Part 2)

Once again, if you are a big fan of OMORI, this review is not for you. Treasure this game, love it, recommend it, make fan art, buy the merch, do what you will with it. I am not here to take OMORI away from anyone. Based on the overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam, I know that my opinion is in the minority.

However, just as the fans have the right to praise the game, I have the right to examine it, criticize it, and explain why it failed to provide a compelling experience. This is second part of my review where I will tackle OMORI’s problematic themes and disrespectful appropriation of mental health.

[ See Part 1: Plot Writing Lies ]

(Note: I use “OMORI” in all-caps for the game title, and “Omori” in title case for the character name.)

Spoilers and criticism below.

Part 2: OMORI’s message is mishandled and distasteful

OMORI provides a warning that it depicts scenes of depression, anxiety, and suicide. Because the game includes these scenes, I assumed these mental health issues are presented in a way that is meaningful and respectful.

However, that is not the case. 

Despite having depictions of such, this game is not really about depression, anxiety, or even suicide. It’s about committing a horrible crime, lying about it, and getting over the guilt.

1. Suicide as a game mechanic

Suicidal thoughts are intrusive, terrifying, and painful. As well as ending the victim's life, suicide wreaks havoc on the lives of those who once knew them. It is often a taboo topic, but discussing such matters is an important step to understanding and preventing it. Video games are a medium well suited to approaching such dark topics.

Unfortunately, OMORI does not handle the topic of suicide well at all.

First, suicide is written as a unavoidable game mechanic that seems to have been included for shallow reasons such as aesthetic and shock value. To leave Sunny’s headspace and wake up, you--as a player--must direct him to stab himself in the stomach. 

But why? It’s not like waking up involves some sort of major sacrifice. In fact, waking up is something that is more or less unavoidable. Reality should be something that snatches Sunny away from his headspace against his will, perhaps as an encroaching darkness that Sunny can run from, but never truly escape. But instead, facing reality is something you are forced to opt into in the most needlessly violent way possible.

Forcing you--as a player--to literally commit suicide just to wake up from a dream is a pointless, distasteful, and disrespectful action that sets a precedent for suicide not being taken seriously in this game. (And it isn’t.)

In the black space, Omori is pressured to kill a cat. In that scene, regardless of your choice, you are forced to kill yourself. However, the act of stabbing yourself has been seen so many times at that point that it has completely lost any impact. Who cares about suicide when it’s been reduced to just a means of travel?

Lastly, if you fail to defeat the final boss, Sunny commits suicide in the real world. However, this is not a cutscene, it is once again something that you--as a player--are forced to do to progress. Putting these actions in the hands of a player is not as meaningful as the writer seems to believe, because there are no other options to progress. Any weight in making that decision is lost to resignation; a frustrated sigh of “Well, okay, fine. I guess I have to click Z here.” You are then rewarded with a SLAPPING pop song and a psychedelic cutscene of Sunny falling to his death. It’s tasteless to its core and appropriates the deaths of every suicidal person as a quirky, shallow “bad end.”

(Seriously, this is how the writer decided to depict a child taking his own life.)

2. Sunny/Omori is a poor presentation of depression

Sunny/Omori does not smile. Even in past photographs before The Incident, he still is not smiling. The contrast between Sunny and his friends stands out like a sore thumb, so I assumed this was the writer’s attempt to show that Sunny is dealing with depression, where he can’t be happy even in happy situations.

Of course, if that were the case it would be inaccurate since depressed people do smile and do hide their true feelings. They are often dismissed with, “You can’t be depressed, I saw you smiling once.” However, I was willing to let Sunny’s chronic frown slide because sometimes you have to oversimplify an idea to get your point across.

Much to my surprise, there is NO evidence of Sunny having depression before The Incident and there is very little indication of him having depression throughout the game either. The evidence of this is that while looking at a family portrait, Sunny comments that he's never liked to smile. Since he's a a baby in this portrait, this goes to show that his not smiling is simply a preference -- a quirky character trait that makes him stand out so that you feel an emotion during the true ending when he finally smiles. 

Everything in the game seems to point to him being pretty happy and well adjusted up until he killed Mari. Then, even after he killed Mari, he pretty much looks and behaves the same way. Wouldn’t it be more jarring and tragic if you saw Sunny was happy in the past, but depressed now?

Which leads me to my next point...

3. Sunny and Basil are not depressed, they’re guilty (and for good reason)

In the book I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t), Brené Brown explains the difference between feeling guilt and shame.

Guilt means: “I did something bad.” Shame means: “I am something bad.”

Guilt, when attributed to bad behavior, is actually a healthy emotion. It means that you have a sense of right and wrong, that you empathize with those you’ve hurt, and it motivates you to make things right.

Shame is an unhealthy emotion. It arrests growth, destroys self-esteem, causes poor decision making, isolates you from your loved ones, and is directly correlated with anxiety and depression.

OMORI should be a game about overcoming shame. All the right set pieces are there. Sunny’s walled himself off, his sister (allegedly) committed suicide, and he seems to be struggling with lifelong depression. However, this all falls apart, when it’s revealed that he killed his sister and staged her death as a suicide to escape blame (with Basil’s help). He DID do something bad. It’s not shame, it’s literally guilt.

All at once, OMORI stops being a game about recovering from grief and depression and becomes a game that demands the player to sympathize with a killer and liar who is hiding from his crimes. Because he and Basil feel bad about what they did, Sunny and Basil are presented as greater victims than their actual victim.

4. OMORI asks you empathize with villains (with ZERO self awareness)

Games where you are playing a character with a guilty conscience has been told before, but where OMORI really fails is that Sunny is not truly held accountable for what he did to others. Instead, the game focuses on HIS pain: since killing his sister he’s been isolated, he’s having nightmares, and he’s suicidal. 

The plot of the game is focused on helping Sunny forgive himself for ruining other people’s lives. The writing barely acknowledges how his friends/family feel about what he did. When his victims’ pain IS addressed, it’s either used to further victimize Sunny (ie: isn’t it sad for him that he made his friends so sad?) or it’s used to reassure the player that Sunny’s victims have forgiven him (or will forgive him). 

In fact, the game holds Mari responsible for her own death, citing that her "perfectionism" must have been what pushed Sunny to attack her. OMORI presents Mari, through headspace, as someone who accepted death gracefully and wants Sunny to live a happy life. She is never given her own voice and nothing in the game suggests she is capable of feeling bitter over her death and postmortem desecration. She plays the role of the Madonna archetype--and the perfect victim--allowing the player to empathize entirely with Sunny while accepting that Mari brought everything on herself.

[Mari suggesting that Sunny acting out his aggression on her was her fault.]

The climax of this game is NOT Sunny telling the truth to his friends. The climax is Sunny defeating his guilt and forgiving himself. We know this because the story does not even show how his friends respond to his confession, because-- once again-- what’s most important thing is resolving Sunny’s pain, not the pain he has caused others. (Though the game does heavily imply that his friends will forgive him.)

[Pictured: the boys shedding their guilt is the true happy ending ]

Imagine, for a moment, if this game was about an abuser, who caused immense pain to someone and got away with it. Then, the whole game was about how they felt bad for the abuse they caused, and-- as a player-- you help them forgive THEMSELF for their past abuse. Then, in the last few seconds of the game, they either apologize to their victim or kill themself. The victim’s response is not shown because it is not important.

This is the plot of OMORI, except with a bunch of excuses thrown on top to make it more palatable. Sunny and Basil are just soooo cute and sad. Killing Mari was an accident. Stringing her body up like a piñata was a juvenile mistake. The boys feel SO BAD that they want to kill themselves. And because suicide is so tragic, you-- as an audience-- are manipulated into empathizing them.

5. In OMORI, suicide is used as a cheap ploy for sympathy

As I mentioned before, suicide is horrible and tragic. People struggling with suicidal ideation need help, support, and respect. That said, let’s make one thing clear: being suicidal does not automatically make someone a good person. There are plenty of examples of criminals who kill themselves to escape the penalty or guilt for something they did. It is so common in the news that I don’t think I have to list out examples.

In bad endings, Sunny and Basil’s suicides are 100% motivated by guilt for their very real crimes. Now, it should be stated, Sunny and Basil do not deserve to die. And because suicide is such an extreme, permanent end for those two boys, we-- as players-- are invested in preventing that tragic end at all costs.

However, the looming threat of suicide is used as leverage to force the audience to dismiss the severity of what Sunny and Basil did. As I’ve said before, the plot of the game is about soothing and alleviating Sunny’s guilt and stopping him from killing himself as opposed to making things right. 

The worst thing is, this tactic actually works. The threat of suicide is so strong, it has distracted many players from the truth that this story is about sympathizing with a boy who has killed his sister, with little regard for those his actions have affected (see point #4).

It’s terrible because suicide is such a serious topic worthy of discussion, but when used as little more than pity-bait, it twists your perception of what the characters did and silences those who try to criticize how this game handles such topics.

6. Mari's suicide being fake is a terrible twist

Lastly, by revealing Mari’s “suicide” as an accidental death, OMORI misses an opportunity to tell a much more powerful story. In the first half of this game, when Mari is thought to have committed suicide at the young age of 15, is a sobering moment. That tragedy is something very real.

If Mari had killed herself as opposed to being killed, Sunny isolating himself after his sister takes her own life is realistic. Mari’s death coming as a surprise is also realistic; how often have we heard people saying that they never knew someone was suffering? That they seemed like such a happy person?

Losing a loved one to suicide does not just cause horrible grief, but crippling shame as well. Those left behind will blame themselves, tormented by thoughts of how they could have saved them, how they would do anything to get them back. That shame can follow you forever, haunting you like a ghost, threatening you with the same fate. Overcoming that grief and shame is no simple task, and I truly thought OMORI was going to be about grappling with grief and letting go of survivor guilt.

Instead, Mari didn’t commit suicide, her life was cut short by her brother. Then, her body was staged as a suicide, forever changing how her family and friends perceived her. Her hanging body did not represent a devastating loss of life and horror of teen depression, but instead is a cheap twist that represents Sunny’s guilt for killing her and tampering with her corpse.

Conclusion:

As I’ve mentioned before OMORI has a lot of potential. The set pieces of a depressed kid who escapes to a dream world to cope with his unresolved trauma is one that had the makings to be very meaningful. However, it fumbles these issues, creating a sloppy plot that results in a problematic message. It’s baffling that this even happened, especially considering the length of time this was in development.

[vickyvicarious]

I'm curious, what's your mental picture of Eliot's childhood? I've never been sure how to put together the bits and pieces that we get.

Well, first off, these are the pieces we know are fact:

Eliot's dad owned a small hardware shop and wanted Eliot to take it over. They had a big fight when Eliot turned 18 and left for the Army, and haven't spoken since (though he expresses hesitant interest in reconnecting in S5)

Eliot has a sibling (we know because he mentions a nephew)

Eliot was on the football team in high school. I'm pretty sure he was the team captain.

He had a high school sweetheart he exchanged promise rings with before leaving and eventually no longer contacting her

Then there's some other implications/stuff to extrapolate from:

Eliot is very, very attentive to any indication of child abuse

He was also very sensitive to a man and a woman having a screaming argument and was worried there might be children in the house

He has a lot of sympathy for working-class people, with particular focus in episodes that deal with people fighting as a way to control one part of their life when they can't control anything else, and a big everything store coming into town killing off all the small local businesses

Combining the two I have a general sketch in my head of Eliot's childhood:

I think he grew up in a household that, for most of his childhood, wasn't in immediate financial danger, but they did keep track of all the money they spent. They weren't quite rationing all their cash but Eliot definitely worked summer jobs, worked in his dad's shop for no/little pay, etc.

I think his parents had a relationship that was pretty fraught. There was a lot of fighting/screaming fits in the house and around the children, probably getting worse over time. Maybe she eventually left him or died, since Eliot doesn't mention really mention her, but that may have been well after he left home, not sure.

I definitely think he has a sister, not a brother. I tend to think that maybe he had an older sister? But I'm torn on it and she could also be younger.

I think Eliot's dad hit him. Not constantly, more on the end of just sometimes using corporal punishment/spanking kind of thing rather than constant rampant abuse. But I think that there were times, as his parents were really getting into it, that Eliot was scared his dad might hit his mom or even vice versa.

I think that as Eliot got older, maybe high school age, the store started to experience financial difficulties. I headcanon this increasing his dad's stress - along with the fighting with his wife getting worse. He took it out at home and I think Eliot's corporal punishments maybe got a bit harsher or more common. I also think Eliot had a bit of a tendency to make himself more of a target for punishment (not usually physical) or just straight up get into an argument with his dad to distract him from his sister or mom. There may also have been an aspect of the dad not being willing to ever hit a girl but not having issue with some tough love for a son.

Again, not all the time. Not to the point that either of them would straight up call it abuse, necessarily. And not enough to make Eliot doubt his dad's love for him or to totally stop him from wanting to maybe reconnect much later. But enough to give Eliot lasting issues with this kind of stuff and certainly to want to get out of this town and family where he feels stifled.

At the same time, he and his dad had been really close when he was a kid, and maybe even still were most of the time. This was a counter to the frustration and resentment building up; his dad was someone he could rely on and who was proud of him, wanted to teach him what he knew, etc.

In high school he's kinda the man about town, he is popular in school and good at sports and has a girlfriend he loves who is much better off than him financially. It's an escape from the now-constant tension at home.

But he feels tied down, stuck in this town and hates the idea of working with his dad for the rest of his life. He doesn't ever feel free at home, he wants so badly to get out - and he's grown up on certain ideals of manhood and duty to your country etc. so he picks the Army as the best way.

He doesn't tell his dad about his plans until the last minute, right at graduation or on his 18th birthday or maybe even just a few days before he ships out or whatever. He knew it would turn into a fight (they've been arguing more lately, his dad wants him to buckle down and be responsible/take over more at the store) and he didn't want to give his dad the chance to change his mind. Eliot's dad thinks of him leaving as a huge betrayal, especially when the store is not doing well at all and needs all hands on deck. He's been counting on Eliot and Eliot is abandoning him; on Eliot's end he's desperately trying to be his own person and follow his own path in life. They both get into it really bad. Terrible things are said on both sides, Eliot storms out, and they haven't seen one another since.

Eliot and his sister were never really close, despite his possible determination to protect her. Maybe him leaving like that left her in the position of having to take over the hardware shop, and that harmed their relationship too. Still I think they contact one another every so often and he's actually been back to see her family as an adult once or twice. I think either his mother stayed with his dad and they continued to make each other miserable, or she left and didn't really keep in touch with any of them. And of course, Eliot loved his girlfriend Aimee - but he needed to get out of that town more than he wanted to stay with her. At the time she supported his plans to leave and make something of himself before returning to her, but when he changed in the army he no longer felt like he could return to her.

Eliot sent money back home at first, or maybe even for a long time, but his dad did not accept it. (At first, or maybe ever.) At some point his sister made good investments or they cashed Eliot's checks or whatever, but by canon his dad is retired and living decently well now.

I'm definitely open to other interpretations, but this is where my head generally goes.