#but whether or not they're actually romantically involved I do think it's critical that they are SO SO SO SO IMPORTANT to each other

[rotisseries]

THAT’S SO COOL????? I’m not into video games but GOD they reincarnate and are in love every time??? princess and knight??? also I’ve been wanting to say this for ages but link is sooooo gender. you get it

so. they are in love in the sense that nintendo is queerbaiting me. queerbaiting me with a "straight" couple (they are lesbians). they are not canon they kissed only in the second ever zelda game when there was only the barest story and they were nothing more than pixel sprites and they have not been canon since. and because every game is technically a different link and a different zelda, each individual game varies on how shippable they actually are? like, I'm not very far through twilight princess yet but I've heard they're pretty much just coworkers in that one. the three latest mainline games though, they're like. they're pretty much canon in all but name like you could say it's platonic but like at that point you are running on loads of denial. the three latest mainline games are skyward sword, which is the first link and zelda, the start of the cycle. the plot ENTIRELY revolves around how much link loves zelda. cause they're best friends, hyrule as a kingdom doesn't even exist yet (they live on an island in the sky) she falls to earth and is running around having to discover that she's a reincarnated goddess (that's a whole angst factor btw bc the goddess (hylia) had to fight demise and she won but knew it was temporary and knew demise would have to be defeated again, and that he would need to be defeated with the power of the triforce, which can only be wielded by humans, so she decided basically that she'd need a loyal human knight, and so she reincarnated into a human girl because a girl is loved in the way a goddess isn't and she knew someone would love a human girl enough to save her WHICH HAPPENS so basically zelda gets to have an identity crisis was she just dragging link towards this destiny the whole time? did she truly love him? did he truly love her? are they puppets in this grand plan? "I'm still your zelda" she says to him, but is she??? drives me nuts) and he, ever loyal, keeps running after her to save her again and again and again (link is so dog coded there's a great botw fic about this), and then they defeat demise and he curses them and link is just some guy who went through ALL THIS SHIT cause he LOVED zelda. what if you were in love with your best friend and it cursed you and your descendants for the rest of time this is so francesca by hozier I'd tell them put me back in it I'd go through it again if i could hold you for a minute. and then the next two mainline games are breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom and breath of the wild involves an amnesia plot so you basically watch link fall in love with zelda a second time and then in tears of the kingdom they are. common law married. they share a house. there's only one bed. do NOT get me FUCKING STARTED on the hateno house. and nintendo still plays FUCKING COY zelda's english va has to be like "they... have a really close bond...." this is how I know they're queer you wouldn't do this with straight people. and then people also ship ocarina of time (most popular and well known game of the series most praised for its story) zelink a lot but that's an older game I haven't played yet so I can't speak on them. zelda is so transmasc in that one though this I know. I talk about link being genderqueer a fair amount and everyone on this internet knows link is trans but trust. zelink is t4t

[virgobingo]

welp. accidentally deleted the question anon. so i'll answer it in a post.

is satosugu queer baiting? i think they're queer coded. if they were queer bait or, probably more accurate to japan, fujoshi bait there would be a lot more fanservice. i'm talking like in black butler or more obviously "kiss him, not me". or when animation studios do heavy leg work for a ship in shounen.

which, actually—

with all the anime only moments in jujutsu kaisen, this is one of the criticisms held against satosugu. ppl insist that the narrative is being twisted by MAPPA to feed shippers. but the difference lies, in my opinion, on how closely gege was involved in the production of gojo's past arc and the praise he has for it.

satosugu is also a ship that can stand on its own with the source material. especially after chapter 221, when i think gege decided to commit to them? it was around a month or two before the anime was released, and it also coincided with tokyo rainbow pride which i think is a fun tidbit. considering gege can be very particular about dates sometimes. he also decided to bring up how romantic dec 24 is— as well as gojo's decision to fight that date.

i think for the longest time gege was unsure whether to double down on what he sort of set up between them in jjk0 (that was written as a standalone). which is why the hidden inventory arc/premature death arc is ambiguous, and he toes the line in shibuya.

with gojo's sealing, gege, on top of many other things, basically had three years to think about the direction he wanted to take gojo and geto's relationship.

and he arrived at this:

which i think is more of a hint than bait. who knows what else is in the future?

[corvuscorona]

"You Never Forget Your First Love."

The other day, a mutual (hi! you know who you are I think probably hello hi! thank you for the Posting Impetus!) said something that made me curious (for, like, the 80th time, actually; lol. I Have Thoughts) about something: what's the split on people who subscribe to the "Stranger of Paradise probably intended for us to believe that Jack & Sarah were in love" mindset, vs. not? In general, but ESPECIALLY around these parts.

I genuinely didn't read it that way myself (& I do NOT normally give media (general) this much credit, but the writing in this game is sublime; I had no choice but to fully engage Scholar Mode on it), + I think it's interesting that SPECIFICALLY any of my fellow tumblr people / AO3-heads / Gay People Online / etc. seem to have. (I expect nothing from people who haven't been basting themselves in the same online sub-subcultures as me for over a decade. They're allowed to write wrong things on wikis, and have done so already; it's whatever.)

I wanna metapost badly again, so let's go. Join me. No poll. If you have an opinion on this, I'm looking directly into your eyes and beckoning you towards your own keyboard + also the reblog button / comment section, like a weird ghost. What did you think when you first played the game?? What do you think right now? What are you about to think after you have read a bunch of my words. Tell Me. I Need To Know This.

Spoilers for, idk, everything? Today we will use everything we've got to talk about Princess Sarah.

1. As a Narrative Element

This game makes a point of referring to Sarah as things like "a symbol of hope and peace" as often as possible, & when it isn't doing that she's usually in the role of An Object Or Device Of Some Kind, anyway. She's important because she's capable of holding light and dark in balance & SOMEONE'S gotta hold onto this dark crystal for safekeeping, and also we're gonna need to upset that balance on purpose later. There's that conversation in the Wicked Arbor about whether the Strangers would "choose" her (as opposed to "treasure") as the "reward" for succeeding in their mission[1], & there's the one in the Sunken Shrine where Jed asks Jack what he thinks of her and Jack says that he doesn't care about her as a person[2] BUT that protecting her is mission-critical (lol), too.

Sarah's death is metaphorically charged. It's the point of no return: the dark crystal breaks, the balance of light & dark gets extremely ruined, & Literally All The Darkness In Cornelia converges in one place (Fool's Missive XXVII). That's the payoff for the "symbol of hope and peace" motif, and communicating this idea that "the metaphorical light of hope just For Real Died, Like Catastrophically Imploded, No Take-Backs" feels to me like it was the highest priority here. Second-highest goes to "Jack had way more humanity before, but he set it aside on purpose and is actively in the middle of losing the rest of it." "Sort of." "I'm not getting into what counts as humanity or doesn't because if I did we would be here forever."

Basically, I'm saying that the tidiest read on the situation is "Jack despairs because Sarah dying means in a very literary and final way that everything is ruined forever, which doesn't necessarily have anything to do with, like, Love (romantic)." I don't think the text of the game is particularly signaling that Love (romantic) is involved, and I think that if it meant to, it would be more obvious about it. You could bundle "an romance" into the "humanity" thing if you wanted to, but I'm not inclined to, based on some additional list items that you can read below this one.

[1] The fact that Neon ALSO says she feels bad for her for being thought of in this way only reinforces my conviction that the game is pointing at Sarah & yelling "REMEMBER THAT SHE IS MOSTLY A SYMBOL!", tbh. Who wants to go point out how freaky the mechanics of Being An Royalty are w/ me and the boys??

[2] I will give the Wiki WrongPosters this: I can totally see this as some kind of irony thing, given that he's still missing like a fucktillion of his memories when he says it. However! As mentioned above, I have other reasons not to read it as evidence that he was ever, like, romantically interested in her.

2. As a Sheltered Youth™

We don't have a TON of information to work with RE: Sarah as, like, a person, but here are a couple of hard facts to start with: she's 19 (per the data book, but she'd have to be somewhere in the 18-to-early-20's age range regardless or her whole deal wouldn't really make much sense, imo. She's a baby...!), and she's royalty. I think this ties into her utility as a walking metaphor, among other things; she's archetypically young, fresh, & idealistic. I'd call her naïve but the game obviously isn't interested in portraying it as a weakness, so positive words only; why not.

You could argue that people look to her as a symbol of hope because she hasn't directly experienced enough strife to exhibit hopelessness or fear in response to bad news in the abstract. I find it interesting that before Jack, like, knocks the wind out of her & tells Sophia to take her outside so she can see for herself how bad things have gotten at the end of the game, she says that her duty is to die with her people if she has to, & it doesn't even seem to occur to her that she could lead at least some of them away to safety...? When she changes her mind, she still talks about herself as a symbol before she ever uses the word "leader". She sees HERSELF in terms of symbols and metaphors, and takes action based on her designated role As One Of Those. Not very practical.

There's also the dialogue you can have with the queen the first time you're allowed to run around in the throne room at the beginning of the game, where she asks Jack to smile in front of her daughters (NOT just Mia; daughters, plural). Even if she only means "dude can you be polite please," the fact that this is The thing she has to say to Jack is telling. Is it going to upset your 19-year-old daughter to see that the Guy Whose Job It Is To Kill Monsters looks serious? Why do you think this? Does your 19-year-old daughter understand how serious the situation is, generally speaking? Do you not WANT her to for some reason? Boats don't work anymore unless a weird elf messes with them first. Not thinking very hard about the implications of this is something a sheltered person does.

Residual time loop un-memories aside, a young woman in this situation is so obviously going to have a huge crush on Jack Garland no matter what. He Is So Cool, first of all, & he's also Different from the adult men she gets to see on an everyday basis (family, guards, rando townspeople[3]...). It's not like the political social scene could POSSIBLY be thriving in this world, either; it all seems to be one kingdom we're dealing with and they're kind of busy with the external threat of being Under Fucking Attack By Monsters. Does she even get fun treats like "handsome visiting dignitaries" & what-have-you? The game doesn't present us with any potential options, here. Jack is mysterious, he has special-boy Warrior of Light status, his one job & apparent life's purpose is protecting the kingdom she loves, he's pretty nice to her (even in later cycles he at least goes out of his way to be polite!), & additionally, he's shredded. THIS makes sense to me.

There's a Q&A in the data book that has something to say about JACK as a symbol & what that has to do with this whole thing but we'll get there. We'll get there.

[3] Tangent: what's up with how Cornelia's entire adult male population appears to consist of aging queens. Why did they only make models that look Like That for the NPCs? It's awesome but I have 1 quastion

3. JACK JUMPSCARE !

I'm not about to say that he's just humoring her, or anything, but please humor ME for one second & put yourself in Jack's shoes. Not the default shoes; we can have more fun than that. Maybe the Banded Boots. Blurple ones? Shaped like a cartoon would wear them? Big spikes on the back for no reason? I love those things. Anyway, you're Jack. You're working for literally the king, & the work means Everything to you for reasons you can't even necessarily explain except to say that it JUST does. The king's eldest daughter (very young adult; Never Been Outdoors; a little overly-sociable but nice enough & what do you expect from a princess, anyway) has imprinted on you like a duckling for whatever reason. You would be nice to this person, yes? You'd be patient with her while you're in town. You have Brutal Murders to be doing, but not until, like, 2 days from now, or whatever; you're sharing space with her in some capacity in the meantime & it's in your best interests to keep her happy. (You probably even enjoy doing this, if you're Jack of a Way Earlier Cycle; I'm in no way ruling that out. Sharing your music collection with an enthusiastic Baby Adult? That's fun. I think he was probably having fun. Okay, you can step out of the fun purple shoes if you want; the Humoring Me Minute has concluded; thanks.)

Also, @2000sanimeop and I think that if Jack felt that way about her Astos would have been a little More Something about how much it was gonna suck for him when she died. In Fool's Missive XXVII he uses the word "painful," but that's about it. He doesn't even bring it up in XXV, which is the one where he says he's curious about whether she'd survive being turned into a fiend (side note: Astos fucking rocks. Why did he write that down?? I love him). & Hey SPEAKING OF ASTOS,

4. I wouldn't put Jackstos on a wiki, either.

The writing in Stranger of Paradise, SERIOUSLY, WITHOUT EXAGGERATION, is some of the best I've seen in literally anything ever. It suits not just its medium but also its sort of Place in History Relative to Other Video Games & the things it chose to DO with that medium & that niche INSANELY well. It is CUSTOMIZED. It's SO INTENTIONAL. I can't get too far into this or we'll be here all day, but the essence of what I want to say here is: there are relatively few facts presented to us by this game, compared to the implications we can go about drawing from those facts & other, external sources of context.

Sarah calls Jack her first love; that's a fact. No facts are presented to us that REALLY say much one way or the other[4] about what Jack thinks of this, himself; "fucktillion memories missing" Jack says he doesn't care, but he's missing a fucktillion of his memories, and DLC2 Jack has a set of dialogue options (hi Anne the Malboro I love you Anne the Malboro) that can point either way depending on what the player chooses, which is kind of nothing, on balance. As the audience, we can (should!) draw whatever conclusion we want about it, but none of those conclusions are text.

[4] I WILL GET TO THE DATA BOOK IN ONE SECOND. HOLD ON.

And, okay, please let me level with you. Let's be on the same page. Jack & Astos had some kind of thing going on, imo, OBVIOUSLY, but I want to be CLEAR and I want to get CREDIT for the things I'M bringing to the table to help generate this conviction. I drew that conclusion & I read that reading based on subtext, context, personal history, personal preference, & sheer gay zest for life. It is also, emphatically, NOT TEXT.

Astos refers to Jack with the ol' "...friend" in Fool's Missive XXI. He calls him "my Jack" in Fool's Missive XXXI. Canonically, textually, he has some big fucking COMPLICATED fucking feelings about this man. These are facts. If you're playing this game as Some Guy, I can see how you could potentially absorb these facts & still pay them much less regard[5] than I did & continue to. My argument here is that god I wish I lived in a world where Some Guy could extend the same courtesy to me and not treat Sarah's textual affection for Jack as something that necessarily indicates Some Kind Of Reciprocal Romantic Whatever, Definitely, Obviously, Of Course.

[5] Longer Tangent: I have been informed that the Some Guys of the world are currently pretty good at Recognizing a character that behaves in a way that's Pretty Gay, but tend to stop there, possibly for the combined reasons that A. they're not very familiar with a lot of the the ways gay relationships often work (you know, soul resonance. mutual recognition. sharing a brain etc.) and B. the Object Of Affection is usually the player character and they subconsciously shy away from thinking of a Guy They're Supposed To Identify With as gay. This is practically a lead-in to an entire separate post I could make, so I'll leave it at that, lol.

The writing is too good for that kind of assumption! I'M SERIOUS!! It's mind-blowingly subtle & endlessly fascinating to hold up to the light & view from every possible angle, and "Jack & Sarah were in love" + "Jack & Astos were in love" are BOTH ANGLES. I'm personally very very interested in giving the text credit for that. I think it's impressive. I think it's really, really cool, and I think it was on purpose. Speaking of which,

5. Word of God agrees with me, btw

This is from the Q&A section on page 156 of the Confidential File. The translations below are my own (I think they're straightforward enough, but lmk if you know more than me & I'm actually being stupid in there somewhere. Alt text has the JPN, if you want to copypaste it or something). Someone asked:

Why is it that you established Garland as someone Sarah has a romantic interest in?

The answer is from Daisuke Inoue (director, one of 3; the other 2 are from Team Ninja; he's from Square Enix):

That was because, from a narrative standpoint, we wanted Sarah to be the kind of person who holds onto hope. You can imagine that she saw the "hope" to save the world in Jack, a potential Warrior of Light. Sarah is seen by her people as a symbol of a bright future, but if there were nobody to give her hope, that might destabilize her emotionally. As for whether she felt genuine love for Jack, or just mistook her feelings of admiration towards him for "first love," we'll leave that to your interpretation.

The first time I read this, I thought the question was implying the aforementioned Reciprocal Something, but on closer inspection that doesn't even seem to be true! "思い人" seems to indicate a directional relationship; as in, the question assumes that Jack is an object of affection to Sarah, but assumes nothing about what Jack thinks.

Also, the answer uses the word "初恋" (hatsukoi), which is a very established Concept as far as "first love" goes, but in that one cutscene, Sarah says "初めての恋" (hajimete no koi), which is. Different, but I couldn't tell you how, lol. It's Not The Exact Same Phrase, but I'm not sure whether it's meaningfully different in this context. If I had to guess, I'd say that IF ANYTHING it could be a way of saying "first love" without invoking the cultural CONSTRUCT of First Love (as much)? But it's whatever. The localization holds up. All sources show that Sarah had Feelings about Jack, and all sources CONSPICUOUSLY neglect to mention Jack's feelings about her.

It was on purpose. This is my license to be as annoying as I want for one second here. I am right. All the other writing in this game is notably subtle, efficient, intentional, and skilled, AND ALSO, WHEN do you ever see anyone write such a richly beautiful, mostly-subtextual relationship between two men, which can easily be read as a romantic thing, and NOT explicitly canonize a very possible romantic relationship between at least one of those men and a woman, like not even in an interview or anything. What the fuck, man.

I'm putting away the Respectable Scholar Hat now. This is so funny. The person asking this question didn't EVEN go as far as assuming Jack & Sarah had any kind of Actual Romance going on, & the answer STILL dials it back to "she might have been conflating her feelings about Jack AS A SYMBOL with actual affection, also. We'll let you decide : ) ". This game is everything ever.

[regentlord]

Sir ....... did you ....... and Dar'Khan, did you ...... sIR DID YOU AND .... DID YOU??? DID YOU. YOU KNOW. :(

always accepting meta asks !

— @acherys

we will neither confirm nor deny those allegations at this time, the regent lord is taking no more questions today

...

ok let me answer this for real because i have had this thought for years and was always too much of a coward to properly elaborate.

in blood of the highborne, we're introduced to liadrin, gallel and dar'khan having been captured by trolls. lor'themar, also captured, arrives later - and immediately promises he'll find a way to get them all out of there. no one will be left behind. it's all or none. ultimately they escape by uniting forces, and become a group of close friends. liadrin's narration makes it clear though they met in struggle, they went on to share in each other's growth and victories - as well as that, being the only one not advancing professionally, dar'khan started to grow envious and bitter.

my point, though, is that while she notices this, she seems like the only one who does - and not really without reason, I think, because to me lor'themar always read as closer to dar'khan than she was. it makes sense, too - despite their eventual friendship, dar'khan shows disdain for the priests. he is proud, arrogant and constantly placing himself above others from the start, but I suppose that wouldn't be so easy to see to one he may have treated as an equal. and I imagine he did because the farstriders are important, they're quel'thalas' main and nearly only significant military force they have. lor'themar is not only one of them but suggested to be high-ranking. I think dar'khan would've treated lor'themar very differently from the disdain and arrogance he shows to others.

and, well, if he was arrogant and a bitch on occasion, lor'themar can't quite criticize when so is he. they're young when they meet, and certainly more foolish; he'd let a lot slide.

anyway. back to the point: I think between the group itself, there are different dynamics at play. lor and lia are best friends, but he isn't as close to gallel as he is to her. he is most definitely close to dar'khan, though, I just think it's. a different type of close.

I don't think they were ever deeply romantically involved, though I do think the tension existed, maybe even some initial feelings. idk about dar'khan really, idk how much of what he showed all this time would have been real and what would've been fake (and not knowing even after is one of the things that plagues lor'themar the most. some moments are easy, he can remember and think himself foolish for not seeing through him before. but others... others he'll replay over and over in his head, turn around inside out, analyze every pause and each breath and be unable to say whether it was true or false and it'll torment him long after dar'khan is finally gone for good). but I do think lor'themar cared for him deeply, and that there was a romantic interest as well, but he never acted on it, at least not in the sense of truly being in a relationship. they were good friends and he didn't want to threaten to ruin that (lol), and they were also both seemingly very focused on their jobs to bother with serious relationships back then. doesn't mean they never explored each other's bodies carnally but I'm not saying they did either.

the tldr is: I think they were really close, in a way that was particular to them and not about belonging to a friend group. I think the tension existed and lor'themar at one point did have an interest in him as more than friends. I don't think they were ever in an actual relationship in that sense, not in any way either of them would consider it a relationship. and I think their even closer bond is also part of why lor'themar would never in a million years distrust him. they had been close friends for ages. he thought he knew dar'khan, flaws included, and treachery wasn't one of them. he definitely saw more good in him than dar'khan proved to have, be it out of it being what he wanted to see, dar'khan faking it, the homoerotic tension clouding his vision or all previous options.

[gascon-en-exil]

Ok please forgive me for sounding silly if so but Ra/xis is a dude, right? Presumably a straight male? Right? I kinda can't get into that mindset at all of an Edelstan. But as a straight woman, I really don't know where they get the audacity to harass women for not liking Edelgard or being critical of her. Are they blindly ignoring the fact that THEY are straight men and then somehow acting like your comments about how she appeals to the male gaze aren't true? It has to be intentional, right?

Do you think the fetishizing of lesbians/bisexual women is part of what appeals to them about Edelgard? Something that allows them to pretend they're allies of LGBTQ when in reality they're just fetishizing any lesbians/bisexual women in fiction? Since as you argue and I agree, Edelgard panders to the male gaze. And since M/M (at least with Byleth) was simultaneously minimized to pander to straight male obsession for F/F. Or do you think Edelgard is fetish fuel regardless of her canon sexuality?

Not sure if these are from the same anon but they're close enough to where I can talk about them together.

He's certainly male and attracted to women, although straight or bi I couldn't say and don't care to speculate.

It's also not at all unusual that he'd attack women over their takes; I believe it was the Reddit crowd who once said that all female fans of Dimitri were "ruled by their ovaries" or something to that effect, and one of the responses on Twitter to my observations on Edelgard and the male gaze was that obviously Dimitri and the other Lions boys were designed for yaoi fangirls so clearly these two things are equivalent despite the fact that 1) if they are the developers did a poor job of it because it's still all subtext, 2) Dedue and to an extent post-timeskip Houses Dimitri are more like what you'd see from the bara genre than actual yaoi, 3) there is a massive gulf between Byleth romances and non-Byleth ones in terms of overt player pandering, and 4) if anything in Three Houses was designed with yaoi fangirls in mind it would thus be m!Byleth's three romantic same-sex S ranks, all of whom are comparatively "safe" subjects for M/M romance from a homophobic straight male perspective as Yuri is visibly, openly queer on all fronts and the other two talk about their romances with Byleth in distinctly non-romantic terms.

As for whether they're fetishizing queer women, I feel like that's not my call to make both because I'm not a queer woman and because that would involve more speculation over these people's sexual interests than I would ever care to do. When it comes to attacking me specifically they may be comfortable using Edelgard's queerness as a shield, because they can't exactly dismiss me as a homophobic straight guy or a yaoi fangirl. Well, some trolls have tried, but even for them it's a hard sell. This is why it's been more common for me to see them call me a misogynist, or express discomfort in how candid I am about my own sex life in vaguely homophobic terms that imply that I'm some kind of predator just because I'm sexually active in the particular way that I am (non-monogamous, kink-friendly, mostly for-profit).

[xoteajays]

Yes! I have been rewatching Vincenzo again. A Korean mafia show, so that could been another series for you to watch if you enjoy more of a crime drama. It's an internationally popular series around the world.

And Vincenzo Cassano's an ideal man for me. Has beauty, brains and brawn. He's handsome, wealthy, multilingual.. Not afraid to kill a man. And he's the true Don of the mafia. So the type of man I need my life.

I have a type.

And I'm so annoyed there's no stories written about him either. If this is a popular series, then there should be stories written for the man.

~

That is why I was debating on whether or not to have more romantic ships between the canon and original characters in my story, but not too many romantic ships either. If and when I do to write this story.

Since there aren't that many, well, any romantic couples in High&Low besides Kizzy and Kaito. But everyone has their own crushes though.

~

That would depend for me. I can be easily entertained that there have been times where I can enjoy, both adaptions - like how the show and book could be. But sometimes, I'm also critical about it. So it actually depends on the series. Since I can be overly critical of certain series.

~

That's your decision on what experiences you'd want your characters to go through. I would be curious aither outcome. Because there is so many different outcomes that can happen for the characters, story or anyone and anything else involved too. You decide what can happen.

So they're close siblings, but not close in the same way as Smoky and Lara though. Smoky's a huge presence in the Rude Boys family.

I think that's why I wanted to write the timeline for my story before all the movies.. Because I wanted to have some interactions with Smoky and my characters. Even if those scenes might be brief. I don't know.

~

Like after the second season since Hyuga's already released from the prison, but before the movies when the major plot takes place for this whole story. That's why I was deciding around that timeline for mine.

~

I'm a lot more idealistic about the relationships I want, how I think the relationships should be. So I might be slightly unrealistic in that way... Which is why I save those types of relationship for writing stories that could have those couples. Since those relationships are unrealistic for most people. But that might also be based on my own experiences.

But yeah. You'd think that most people would have common sense to not hurt someone they care about, regardless of the reasons. But no.. They end up being horrible people. Just like most people in the world who say and do things like this all the time. Ignore me. I hate humans.

~

You're only five years younger than me.

True. She's trying to right her wrongs. But you would think someone's common sense would make them realize not to do things like this but they still end up doing this anyway. This is why I lose faith in humans.. Because they end up saying or doing things like this. I hate humans.

ah vincenzo! ive watched a few episodes but haven’t gotten back around to it yet. i hear it’s pretty good, but it was a bit of a slow start for me.

i did think the scene of him holding that guy out the window was cool tho.

~

both hinami and ryuko’s stories are kinda balanced between romance and found family stuff. bit more of a lean towards romance, but that’s because it’s what i enjoy writing.

~

i definitely recommend the junji ito books and then the anime only if you’re looking for an easy, not-too-serious watch. there’s mixed reviews for the recent netflix series. i thought it was an easy watch, but it didn’t really have the same unsettling, scary factor that the manga has.

~

smokey really is like a big brother to all of nameless. hinami probably visits his grave a lot after he dies, just to keep it well-tended and maybe to talk to him. though probably a lot of other nameless city citizens that also knew him would as well. they definitely try to keep his spirit alive around nameless. i imagine it’s a bit of a struggle for takeshi, trying to live up to smokey.

~

i think that hinami would’ve been with rude since the beginning, so idk where exactly i’d start her story. the fic i’m writing for her now takes place across a few weeks between the end of the first movie and the start of the second. ryuko’s intro fic was taking place around the same time actually, though more towards the start of end of sky.

they’re having very different situations.

~

we need to change the term ‘common sense’ because clearly it isn’t that common. apparently what’s ‘common’ is the dumb shit people keep doing. like cheating and drunk driving.

[twelvedaysinaugust]

Honestly I know we're all fascinated by Harry's actions towards O but sometimes I'm just like what is SHE thinking???

Some things that happen are just so not okay and I'm not sure if she does it accidentally and gets hate for it or if she likes that she's being talked about, good or bad.

Joining Gemma's live, knowing thousands of fans were watching it and would definitely pull attention is just ???. If she really wanted to watch the live, don't tell me she doesn't have a burner or could have asked anyone else there (Anne, Jeff) to maybe send her some videos if they're all so close and the relationship is real. It's just so unnecessary.

Even releasing the poster the day after MP. Did she think that was going to get a positive response? It's a project her "bf" is very connected to. It barely had the limelight for a day before she made it about dwd.

Idk man I try to give Olivia the benefit of the doubt but it's hard to not see her as the person everyone makes her out to be. I don't want to get into her role as a mother but I can't get around how uncomfortable I am with the whole custody thing being aired for promo. And she just does things to me and time again that are so unnecessary. Sometimes someone needs to back down and I wish she'd just do it because sometimes it seems like she's borderline goading fans into being pissed.

So I do understand where people are coming from. I’ve had many of these same thoughts myself. I thought it was really cringey how Olivia was wearing LOT merch. But then I remembered Harry also wears LOT merch. Why is it only cringey when Olivia does it? There’s some kind of relationship between Harry and Olivia, whether it’s romantic or not. I don’t see any reason to believe they don’t communicate. Why do we always assume Olivia is acting against Harry’s wishes? In a lot of ways, I actually think he holds a lot more power than she does. Olivia works her schedule around Harry’s, for example.

Regarding the live, what if Olivia simply wanted to watch the show like everyone else who joined? And if there was an ulterior motive, I feel like joining a public live is so… minimal. The ulterior motive here is: Olivia wants her movie to do well. I would think Harry also wants this movie to do well, since he’s one of the leads.

This stunt has hurt both of them in some ways, but they both stand to gain a lot if this movie is successful. And from where I’m standing, Olivia has been putting most of the work into this relationship that they presumably both agreed to.

You can say it’s cringey. But part of the reason why it’s cringey is because it seems so one-sided. And that’s Harry’s fault. To me, the only part of this stunt that actually feels unethical and worthy of legitimate criticism is the involvement of Olivia’s children (and ex-fiancé). But Harry and Olivia both shoulder the blame for that.

[outrunningthedark]

your post about gay people only being able to handle so much heteronormativity… yeah you spilled thank you for that! if lesbians and gay people dont wanna watch yet another het pairing its not bad its just the truth! the 911 fandom on here can be sooo condescending and rude when someone tells the truth or goes against them so thank youfor actually being normal, your blog is def an all time fave.

(I appreciate your kindness!) I don't know what people think they're accomplishing by criticizing fans for "not wanting this character to get in the way of your ship" because it shouldn't be surprising that all queer fans [no matter where you land on the spectrum] aren't going to be like "a pretty man and a pretty woman kissing? sign me up!" Do these people assume that every "hate" post is from a straight girl fetishizing a mlm ship? Because that's the only explanation for why members of the community would be taking issue with someone going "Ugh. This shit again???" despite how many of us identify as anything but straight. &yes. We all see the posts about the show "already giving us queer rep and queer couples in loving relationships". True! Here's the problem for some of us: those queer relationships involve one character who has no connection to the firefam other than being a life partner/spouse and therefore we rarely see them [in Mavid's case, it's now past tense]. We're guaranteed to watch the het couples every episode. But knowing when Henren or Mavid would/will show up has been a never-ending guessing game. [Using Josh as "representation" is also a joke when most people making that argument don't even want to see him.] I find it hard to believe people cannot recognize the difference between a gay couple that has scenes every once in a while [depending on necessity] versus one that is made up of two mains and therefore would be a continuous presence regardless of whether they're even doing anything explicitly romantic or intimate.

[thejustmaiden]

So out of nowhere I was tagged and quoted by a SR shipper for a blog of mine posted in August of last year. Talk about throwback but, hey, gotta appreciate that level of snooping. 😉

Back in the day I actually used to encourage discourse amongst Inuyasha fans- both shippers and antis alike- but I've since realized that it's a lost cause. But for you, @feministmetalgreymon , I'll grant this exception. Just 'cause it's been a while so why the hell not. haha

I want to assure you, however, that nothing you say will ever convince me that Sesshomaru and Rin are meant to be together romantically or that the story intended it so. Nor will you find any validation here. You can ship them for all I care, but please for all that is good and holy while I have your attention try- I mean really try- to understand why it is so many of us Inuyasha fans are so against this pairing in the first place (newsflash: it's not about ship wars), and why we believe a romance between the two of them is completely and utterly out of character.

For those of you interested in reading this, the blog of mine in question that the above shipper mentions in their counter-argument is here for reference. It's titled "Jaken = Rin's Dad?" I'm going to try and keep this short, but I'm also making no such promises. After all, I'm not exactly known for my brevity. haha Now let's get crackin'!

Like you, feministmetalgreymon, did for your recent blog here where you took screenshots of mine to address certain parts, I will be doing the same and dissecting yours accordingly.

[Snippet 1]

I worked with kids for many years as a teacher, and many people in my family have too or still do. Two of them happen to be just over 5 feet which is quite short for the average adult woman living here. I've also worked alongside many a women of short stature, and never did I hear any of them complaining of issues with their students having difficulty differentiating them from their own peers just because they were short as well. I'm sorry but that's just ridiculous. Kids are quite smart and pick up on a lot more than you seem to give them credit for. Height is not the only characteristic they look at to determine who's an adult and who's not, and it's foolish to suggest otherwise. So unless you're a babysitter who's still in their teens and/or who has very childlike features or behavior then I'm afraid what you're getting at is total hogwash. This is just another example of how you shippers offer nothing of real substance to your reasoning, it's only ever cherry-picking or strawmanning from you guys. Stop deflecting from the real issues please, because this certainly isn't one and only winds up being a complete waste of time for all parties involved.

[Snippet 2]

Okay, calm down now. I wasn't insinuating that relationships between parents and children can't change over time in terms of how they get along. Of course that's possible, as all families experience their fair share of estrangement and abuse. What I was speaking about was in reference to the overall dynamic between the two. Because a bad mother or father can still be viewed as a parental figure to their child even if say they're not in said child's life anymore. Since Sesshomaru and Rin share a healthy bond- and just a friendly reminder that in my blog I even said that he doesn't have to necessarily be labeled her father but that a romantic relationship later would still be inappropriate- I didn't deem it necessary to address what you brought up. Plus, it kinda, umm, misses the point?? Please, let's stay on topic. And it's not captured in the screenshot, but stop acting like there isn't a small part of them that idolizes their parents at some point during childhood. Just like you mention later on how it's normal for kids to have innocent crushes on adults that they eventually grow out of? Well, guess what, the same concept applies here. Kids eventually learn that their parents are far from perfect and make mistakes too. Rin is so damn young in the OG series though that we never even get to see her reach that maturity level.

[Snippet 3]

LOL! Alright, okay, so the "unbreakable bond" bit you're mentioning was actually me quoting you sessrinners. Did you not catch that? I literally spelled it out. *sigh* The whole point I was making is that shippers like yourself make hypocritical and contradictory statements all.the.goddamn.time. One moment you guys claim that Sesshomaru and Rin were essentially strangers and meant very little to each other, only to say in the same breath a few seconds later that they were destined to be together and their bond is like no other. I agree, their bond is special, but why must that mean they're going to fall in love?

That is the root of the matter here. Too many animes/mangas have romanticized this older adult man & young girl growing up falling in love trope that it's become way too normalized and widely accepted across the world- and yes, in some cultures more than others. Sadly, you lack the awareness to recognize how this all works. You know how we know that? When we see that you shippers are so desensitized to sexualized images of girls in the media that you share posts like this one below which *subtly* imply a future romance although one half of that pairing is still just a child in the pic and then try and pass it off as cute. That's like super fucking problematic and it scares me that you can't see that (or deny you do). 🤢

After all that's said and done, Sesshomaru leaving Rin in the village with Kaede is to me the strongest indicator more than pretty much anything else he's done for Rin that proves he is her adoptive father. It's so funny to me how you somehow see the exact opposite though. 🤔 What I think is happening is that you got yourself on some squeaky clean ass shipper goggles fresh out of your little echo chamber. Because I hate to tell you, but what you're fantasizing is what you want to see and not what's actually there on screen or was written into the story. I'm strictly talking about Inuyasha and the manga of course. [For the TL; DR version skip to the last paragraph.]

Parents looking after their kids is what parents are supposed to do. A good parent will do anything to keep their child safe and ensure they are cared for, so what he did for her by leaving her there was in her best interests clearly. Besides, as a babysitter, you more than most people should understand that parents aren't always able to be there for their kids so sometimes others gotta step in to help. Haven't you heard of the saying, "it takes a village to raise a child?" Which in Rin's case is literally true! 😂 Sometimes kids are even sent off to stay with grandparents and that's who raises them instead. Or maybe they have to temporarily live with an aunt or uncle because their single parent's job requires they work out of town 4-5 days of the week so they're hardly home. But that doesn't mean that the parents care or love their kids any less, and it's foolish to assume that Sesshomaru must have thought very little of Rin simply due to the fact that he made the decision to leave her in the village. Come on, y'all are acting like he abandoned her there!!

It's just given the circumstances Sesshomaru finally came to learn that Rin traveling with him was no longer safe. I also like to think it's because he wished for her to live a more normal life and to learn how to fully trust humans again. Plus, continuing to travel with him as young as she was would have proven dangerous and unwise. Now for you to know all this and still manage to turn his past actions towards her while she was just a child into a romantic gesture is what boggles my mind. Regardless of how you look at it, from my perspective or your own, Sesshomaru is in the wrong. Either he's a father figure who impregnates his daughter at the young age of approximately 14. OR he's this man she used to travel with who maybe isn't a father to her but who nonetheless basically rapes her since kids her age can't consent to sex with an adult. Idk about you but it sounds to me like nobody here wins with either scenario we're given. In other words, you should be just as mad as we are. If only one side didn't choose to forsake their morals they know we both have in common for the sake of a ship. Welp. 🤷‍♀️

I agree, incest is disgusting but that's not the only problem we have with this pairing. A romantic bond forming between Sesshomaru and Rin would also constitute as grooming.

You realize that over the years he visited her in the village that he brought her gifts too and essentially watched her grow up right before his very eyes, right? I mean, I know you do, but I really shouldn't have to explain further why pursuing a romantic/sexual relationship with each other is plain and simple wrong. And before you say it's not because he didn't have any malintent, please understand that considering their history and power dynamic up to then that yes this is still considered grooming even if Rin supposedly "wanted it" or "made the first move." Whether you consider him her father or not, as the adult who took on a role resembling that of a caretaker in her early life- a critical developmental time for a child- Sesshomaru is obligated to turn down any advances by Rin and most definitely should not initiate any himself. As the first close adult figure she's had in her life since her parents died, it's unfathomable to imagine how Sesshomaru could go through with taking advantage of this young girl who was under his care and supervision since they met. To think he could be capable of betraying that trust sickens me to the core.

This. Now THIS is how a parent/guardian or a similar adult caretaker (babysitter, teacher, etc.) talks to a child. And, in turn, this is how some young children talk to adults. You'd be insane and delusional to deny it! We see it in our everyday lives, do we not? From where else do you think our stories draw most of their inspiration? Yes, obviously these fictional universes have aspects of fantasy that don't exist in the real world, but so how then do you suppose we're able to relate to them? The reason for that being is because these stories are written by people for people, so naturally there are going to be real life aspects embedded throughout. Sure, a little escapism doesn't hurt as we don't need to take everything so seriously, but ultimately we all need to recognize that the messages in the stories we tell matter. Most stories possess a combination of both light and dark themes, but when it specifically comes to the latter we gotta be careful with how we tackle this in children's media since kids are far more impressionable.

So if at the center of a story we have two of the main protagonists whose mom is basically their same age and to top it off she knew their dad when she was just a girl and who just so happened to help raise her, wouldn't you say that's beyond fucked up or at the very least so fucking weird? Like why would we think it's even remotely okay for our children to watch this garbage?? Really think about it. Try and be objective for once and think about how it would sound explaining this storyline to an outsider who's never watched IY or HNY. Well, antis have tried this before many times and we always get the same reaction: Ewww!

Like I said earlier, if you wanna ship it then fine, but 1) please stop seeking our approval or trying to change our minds - your ship wish came true didn't it, so why do you need us to validate it? 2) even though it's not canon, respect that we don't support this sequel portraying pedophilia in a positive light. It's harmful af to not only allow but glorify the continuation of sexualized images of young girls everywhere. And I shouldn't have to say this, but just because this trope is popular as you say does not make it right. Lolicon themes in the media have been an issue forever and it needs to stop. Yes, even some people in Japan or "the East" would agree. Shocker!

We're pissed off and rightfully so because Yashahime's TV rating is 14, not to mention it airs at the prime time kids in Japan watch TV after getting home from school. That's Towa and Setsuna's age, true, but if Rin being the mom when she's like only a year older than them (please don't argue w/ me about the math- antis have so far been right every time with it) is straight-up disgusting and not something we should be supporting or endorsing. Rin's a whole ass child!! Please don't start with the "but times were different then so her having kids at 15 is acceptable" argument either, because we've already debunked that and every other single excuse you guys throw at us. Besides, how or why would you expect young viewers to know these historical "facts" anyway, especially if as you suggest fiction doesn't affect reality so what does it matter? Yet here we are, arguing over a fictional show in real life almost a year and a half into the "Sesshomaru fucks?" sequel being announced. My ass, your ass, hell all our asses fiction doesn't affect reality!

Look, I do apologize if the tone of this blog came off as snippy or condescending at times. I do not wish you any ill will, it's just I'm not really sure what you expected to get out of all this besides maybe getting on my nerves perhaps. haha A lot of you shippers have been desperately scrambling to interact with us, lurking in our tags, jumping onto our posts screaming canon and getting so defensive even though you sought us out first. We've been sticking to our tags, so how about you stay in your lane too. By the way since we're on the topic, have you seen Twitter or Reddit?! SR shippers there are the actual worst and many Inuyasha fans (not just antis) have complained of not feeling welcomed to engage in fandom spaces anymore. Shippers swarm them and scare them off simply because fans don't like your ship and refuse to accept it. It's pathetic, really. No one should ever be bullied or harassed just because they don't like something you might. We're all fans of Inuyasha, aren't we? So let's act like it. Yashahime on the other hand, you guys are welcome to that pungent heap of trash. Fans have a right to criticize it too, but if you like it then good for you, so keep on liking it and don't mind us.

I'm almost done, but real quick back to Jaken! Let's not forget about how the official Yashahime website- which came out after my blog, mind you- described Jaken. This translation isn't the best one available but it's the only version a fellow anti friend could track down. They do recall a better one done by a native Japanese speaker who was also an anti, and that member confirmed that Jaken is indeed called Rin's babysitter. So you see, I was right in my interpretation. In the original post I did compare Jaken to a brother, but after talking to others (some comments can be found under said post) I did acknowledge that he's more of a reluctant babysitter who's not related. And if he's not at least a brother to Rin, then he's definitely not her father.

At the end of the day, the creator Rumiko Takahashi has the final word. Which is guess what? Hogosha. 💖 Probably should've just started out with that and saved us all the trouble, huh? Good day/night to you.

Papamaru bids you adieu now. 🤞

[crusherthedoctor]

People are calling you a hypocrite because you're being damn ugly with how you respond to people. So what if she's not a mary sue, Lutrudis is still a subject of criticism, whether it's ugly criticism or not. Even if she is your character, it's hypocritical to ship her with Sonic because it sounds like you're saying you only accept a ship when it's your fan character.

You're absolutely right that no character should be immune to criticism, and that includes Trudy. I'd like to think I'm open to advice and suggestions.

The problem is that the "criticism" I've received about her has largely been utterly stupid, devoid of anything constructive, and often based solely on their hateboner for me as a person. You're entitled to your criticism, and I'm entitled to ignore it if it doesn't give me anything to actually work with. It's not "ugly criticism" as you call it, it's just vitriolic nonsense, and I refuse to acknowledge it as anything else.

And it only just so happens that it ended up being an OC/canon ship involving my own character that I happened to like. I'm not apathetic to Sonamy, Sonally, Knuxouge, Silvaze, and countless other canon/canon ships because they're canon/canon. I'm apathetic to them because these dynamics simply don't do anything for me in a romantic context. And it's not like a canon/canon ship that DOES appeal to me couldn't come along some day, as was the case with one-sided Staregg, before Starline morphed into Toothpaste Snively.

As for my "damn ugly" responses to them? Last time I checked anon, I wasn't the one resorting to death threats, bullying, cancel culture, gaslighting, and mocking people for things they have no control over just because their tastes differ from mine. Even with white knights and other types of fanbrats that I have no patience for, I have never done anything like this. So really, it sounds like you're projecting the actions of your kind onto me, and acting outraged when I decide to not take that behaviour sitting down.

[strangertheory]

"anti-Mileven"

I know you submitted this as a message and not an Ask, but I hope you don't mind if I answer your question with a longer post because this is a topic that is important to me but is complicated. I've meant to do a post about this, but kept putting it off because it is a very layered topic for me and my thoughts about Mileven are probably not what a lot of fans want to hear.

I respect that everyone develops an attachment to their preferred couples in stories for personal reasons, and as such any criticism of the dynamic between two characters that are dating can feel like a very personal criticism. I respect everyone's head-canons and favorite ships as sacred ground: I don't want to tell anyone how they should or should not relate to a story. That's unique to each of us as fans, and we will all enjoy Stranger Things for different reasons.

However: I do have some thoughts regarding the way that the narrative has established the dynamic between Mike and El. And I personally do not find their dynamic *as it currently is* to be one that is ideal for either of them yet.

I really care about Eleven and I really care about Mike. They are two of my favorite characters in the story.

To say that I'm "anti-Mileven" is a huge oversimplification of how I feel about Mike and El's dynamic.

I am very much anti:

overlooking the fact El has been treated as a lab rat and abused and isolated from society for the majority of her existence and her ignorance of her own identity and her own desires is repeatedly reinforced canonically. ("How do I know what I like?") El has spent only a few months out in the world beyond her cell at the lab and beyond Hopper's cabin, she knows very little about the world yet, and she is being taught much of what she now knows by her boyfriend who also happens to be one of the few people she interacts with in her daily life. The power difference and social difference between them is huge currently regardless of whether Mike is a nice kid with good intentions or not, and they are both fourteen years olds.

overlooking that it is superficial and not representative of a "deep" relationship to only kiss and make out with a significant other and not do other meaningful activities that establish a real day-to-day relationship (like hanging out with friends and other loved ones as a couple.) There's a popular misconception that the act of two people kissing is inherently romantic and a sign of emotional closeness. But kissing becomes romantic psychologically when two people share a deep affection for one another that is based on shared experiences and emotional and psychological connectedness. If two characters can be shown to care about one another without ever physically touching, they have the potential for a deep connection that is based on more than the thrill of physical affection. Give me a well-developed relationship first, and then kissing will seem romantic to me. Without an established psychological and emotional connection between characters, kissing is merely a superficial representation of the idea of intimacy between characters without any actual substance underneath. Sure that's what kids do when they're figuring out how dating and feelings and physical intimacy work and it's not harmful in itself provided that they are both comfortable with it, but keep this in mind within the context of the other concerns I list here.

trivializing Mike's dishonesty and blaming Hopper for Mike's lying when the truth is Mike could have easily explained to El that Hopper didn't want them spending as much time together and having some space would be better. El is well aware of Hopper's dislike for their time spent together. This should have been a very easy conversation. As Lucas rightfully asks as Mike is ranting about the situation he got himself into: "Why lie?" Good question, Lucas. Good question. El asks Mike this again later at the mall. "Why do you lie?" Mike stares back at her with an awkward expression, and does NOT answer her. Why is this answer not an easy one? Why has Mike still not addressed things with El? I think there is more going on here than just Hopper's threats.

I am very in favor of:

El learning more about who she is and what she wants to do with her life outside of the desires and expectations of other people.

Mike figuring out how to effectively express his thoughts and feelings honestly. He is clearly struggling to do this throughout season 3, and it is uncharacteristic of the kid who defiantly said and did what he wanted frequently in seasons 1 and 2. Clearly Mike is not comfortable and is nervous, which is understandable for someone exploring new emotionally vulnerable territory like dating for the first time, but he needs to learn to be honest and tell people how he is thinking and feeling or else he is also putting himself and his feelings and needs at risk and potentially establishing an unhealthy relationship that will hurt him and hurt others even if he doesn't mean to. Mike's nervousness is STILL present in the final goodbye scene in which Mike and El talk, and El tells him she loves him and kisses him. He is still stumbling over his words and anxious, and he seems notably confused after El kisses him. These small details are not trivial, they are clearly intentional.

Recognizing that Mike is the first person her age that was kind to El when she escaped the lab, and given that she has only known pain and abuse her entire life and has never known friendship let alone romance that her psychological readiness for understanding a romantic relationship is NOT the same as an ordinary 14 year old's and this cannot be stated enough.

Recognizing that societal pressures and personal insecurities might be a huge factor in how Mike clings to El's attention and affection for him, and that there is evidence in the story that supports this interpretation. We know that Mike is bullied frequently, and that there is a layer of homophobia often involved. (Even if James and Troy were speaking rudely about Will, they were still directly confronting Mike. The implication is there.) We know that Lucas yelled at Mike "No Mike. You're blind. Blind because you like that a girl's not grossed out by you!" This reveals that Lucas knows that Mike is insecure and wants validation. Just because Mike has a desperate desire to be loved and liked by a girl does not mean that his appreciation of El's attention is based on his genuine romantic affection for her. Mike might be dating El because he enjoys the attention, he likes being liked, and he likes how having a girlfriend makes him feel more accepted and normal.

Recognizing that every moment that Mike has tried to share something that he is passionate about with El (the Yoda figurine, the dinosaurs) she has been completely disinterested. Since El has no cultural connection to the pop culture stories Mike loves and she lived in the Lab her entire life, it makes perfect sense that she will have no interest in these toys. Her lack of interest in what Mike is passionate about, however, is worth noting: not because it's a bad thing, but because it's just one of many reasons they are "not even from the same planet" and cannot bond and connect easily. El has lived an incredibly different life from Mike, has suffered through so much, and is still learning about the outside world and about herself. She is severely behind in social and personal development. She needs time to learn and to grow and to heal so she can live her best life and recover from what she has been through. (She doesn't really care about your Star Wars toys, Michael, because she just learned what a phone is and is processing a lot of other things right now.)

*I want to credit @kaypeace21 for pointing out many of these particular observations listed above: you can read her very detailed and extensive analysis in her post here: El is Not in Love with Mike.

These are just a few of many thoughts I have regarding Mike and El's dynamic together, and why I find the romanticization and idealization of their dating relationship to be more suited to fan-canon and fanfiction. For El to have a relationship with Mike that I would personally enjoy and appreciate, the story would need to convincingly allow her to establish a notably better understanding of who she is and what she wants, and have time to heal from her trauma and learn a lot more about the outside world. While I suspect that the Byers moving away will be very difficult for Will, in many ways I think it will benefit El tremendously and I hope that she is given more opportunities to learn and to grow.

I also agree with @hawkinsschoolcounselor 's hypothesis that Mike is projecting his feelings for Will onto El. It's impossible for me to see Mike's dynamic with El as entirely separate from Mike's relationship with Will because El was found in the woods when they were looking for Will in season 1, El helped everyone find Will in the Upside Down and saved his life, and El reappears at the end if season 2 and saves Will from the Mindflayer. Until season 3, El's appearance in Mike's life has been directly tied to Will's survival and safety. I do not think this is a trivial aspect of El's narrative. El's importance within the larger story being told is repeatedly tied back to what Will is dealing with. The reason that El and Will's narratives are so deeply intertwined has not been revealed in the story yet, but I suspect that there are some important aspects of El and Will's stories that haven't been fully revealed yet that will bring all of these seemingly isolated plot threads together. The creators of Stranger Things repeatedly tie El and Will together visually and narratively (re: @kaypeace21), and I believe there is a very specific reason for this.

I look forward to seeing what happens in season 4. Whether my interpretation of El and Mike's dynamic is fair or not, I trust the writers have a compelling next chapter in their story for us all to enjoy.

[essayofthoughts]

HMM let's say. Soulmates. Fake dating/marriage. Sex pollen. Mutual pining.

Give me a fanfiction trope and I’ll grade it

Soulmate AUs - B+

So here's the thing about Soulmate AUs - they can be really trite and boring. A lot of people use them just to skip over the tricky part of getting characters together by saying "No, don't you see, they're meant to be together" and I think that's lazy. That's why I love things like Soulmate AUs where the bond is to someone significant to you, but not necessarily romantic. Soulmate AUs that allow for platonic bonds. Soulmate AUs that explore how toxic and dangerous the expectation of romantic Bonds can be. Soulmate AUs where it isn't an inherent shortcut to the relationship, but where the characters still have to work through things.

Of course, this all depends on the ship. 99% of the time I do not give a crap for Soulbonds because 99% of the time I do not give a crap for whatever is being shipped. It's only recently I actually understood why people feel strongly about ships (THANK YOU CRITICAL ROLE AND PERC'AHLIA I REALLY NEEDED THAT I say with some degree of sarcasm) and for those few ships I am invested in, I am interested in seeing those kinds of explorations. This is why I am (slowly) working on an MCU Soulmate AU, where Wanda and Pietro have a platonic bond... and Vision and Wanda have a bond too, thereby indicating that Vision has what might count as, to some people, a soul. That's a fun space to explore!

So. I don't care about Soulmate AUs except for those few relationships (platonic or romantic or otherwise) where I think that, done right, a Soulmate AU could be EXTREMELY interesting. I don't go searching it out, but sometimes I might see it tagged on a fic and go "UGH fuck no" and other times, with other relationships I'll go "oh... tasty."

TL;DR: I like this when it's angsty and there's conflict rather than when it's a shortcut, but if there's angst I am probably gonna have fun.

Fake Dating/Marriage - B+

I think this has come up in a past iteration of this game, but basically I don't hunt this out but I can enjoy it in certain scenarios. The thing about this is it forces a certain degree of physical intimacy whether the characters necessarily want it or not which can be very revealing as to how they feel about one another - safe, comfortable, contented, happy... or upset, agitated, angry, worried. In this way it can be extremely illustrative of their underlying dynamics, when they're not allowed much space in which to withdraw.

I've read some incredibly bad fics of this (Niamh, you know the one I'm thinking of I'm sure) but I've also read some very good ones (Griftings. One day I will comment on that fic of yours I promise). Done right, making the characters question their own wants and also the motivations and desires of the other... it's good! It shows their understanding of themselves and each other, it means they have to work through these things and decide if they're going to take a chance or believe it's only what was agreed...

And also it plays on trust. Like... whether they act (trusting their understanding of the other individual) or do not (trusting what the other said about the Fakeness of the relationship they're presenting) it shows their interactions with the other as coming from a place of care and respect and that is just good shit. A lot of fics kind of have an implicit degree of assumption, of violation of boundaries, so ones where the main romantic choices still show respect for the involved parties' consent and boundaries... that's good.

TL;DR: I don't need this to be angsty but I want there to be introspection and thought and physical intimacy and vulnerability slowly giving way to emotional intimacy and vulnerability and just A Lot Of Trust.

Sex Pollen - B+

Probably not the response anyone expects but then... I mean I've only really come across the better examples of this fic, largely because I avoid the overlap with AUs where I'm not going to enjoy it, and further avoid relationships I don't care for.

The thing I like about this one is that it can be used basically as an enabling tool, as a gentle push over the edge. I'm going to be specific I don't like the versions of this where those involved are completely out of their minds. I don't like things that take away people's ability to consent; it makes me uncomfortable. But I do like fics where it nudges characters in the direction of what they want but don't dare act on/don't think they can ever have/are too afraid or respectful of the other to even mention.

It's also just... a whole lot of vulnerability? Like specific subtropes in this which I find good are 1. Person A is stripped down to a hormonal instinctive mess and Person B wants to help them which is a vulnerability for Person B, being intimate to help someone they care about and for Person A, being seen when stripped down to that hormonal instinctive mess; and 2. Person A and Person B have wanted it for some time and the Sex Pollen just prompts them to act on it and once acted on and things said in the heat of the moment forces them to finally confront things, discuss things, and move forward together.

TL;DR: I like this as a means to push slow-burning characters to acting; this is also one of those few tropes where I like it with only as much angst as would be realistic for the characters and otherwise it should just be plain old horny and loving.

Mutual Pining - A

In as much as I ever specifically go seeking shipfic (which is to say: extremely rarely and only really Perc'ahlia) this is up there. Usually I tend to search by fandom and then by length and then whittle down tropes I dislike in the hope of reading something new and interesting, but when it comes to the few times I'm looking for specific relationships, this is up there. Mostly because it often (and best, imo) goes hand-in-hand with Slow Burn, which is The Shit.

The thing about it is mutual pining and especially slow burn mutual pining lets you show just how well the characters grok each other. It lets you see how well they mesh. It lets you understand why they could end up together and makes you root for that outcome.

I am a person who generally seeks out genfic, stuff with no relationship or with only platonic or background relationships. This is because you have to sell me on the chemistry between characters before I'm likely to ship them and very, very few pieces of media have actually done that for me, including fanfics. The thing about Mutual Pining, and the Slow Burn it is best paired with (imo) is that it allows me to be convinced by their chemistry. It allows me to see them fitting together. It makes me believe.

TL;DR: I don't exactly seek it out because I don't usually seek out shipfic, but when I am searching shipfic this is a tag that will often (though not always) make me click in to at least have a look.

Give me a fanfiction trope and I’ll grade it

[confusedinfj]

The INFJ'S Guidebook to People: Spotting Entps

So you've tried typing by the letters and by the cognitive functions. Now you're looking to verify your typing makes sense. What are some key attritubes you should be looking for...?

A real entp is...

Not super Extraverted. Like enfps, their first function isn't about people, it's about possibilities.

Able to be mistyped as an Extraverted thinker. They like to 'think' out loud, or so it seems. They're actually just showing off. Alternatively, you're hearing their Ne. You'll be able tell the difference if you ask them for their opinion and then realise how much quieter they are.

Afraid of upsetting people. Can be easily manipulated on occasion.

Not sure of what they're feeling. Able to be convinced they're feeling anything.

Able to be excited about anything. Tell them they'd make a good doctor and watch them plan their lives as a doctor.

Usually highly intelligent.

Involved in way too many things at once.

Probably stressed because of all the things they're doing.

Accidentally flirting with everyone. They love banter, so it doesn't mean they actually like the person they're flirting with. Unlikely to lead someone on though because it's obviously playful.

Bad at remembering things. Able to throw a tantrum and then forget they did it.

Annoying. Probably the most annoying of the types in that everyone finds them annoying.

A sticky beak. They have FOMO bad.

Kind hearted. Even when they're annoying they mean well.

Liked by everyone.

Loyal.

Fond of a good bargain.

Not fussy. Happy to sleep on a bed off the side of the road.

Fussy. Just because their headphones are broken doesn't mean they're going to get new ones. They're still the best headphones ever. Also, their clothes may be all over the floor, but don't you dare put them back in the wrong spot.

Pretty happy and oblivious as kids. They often get in trouble for arguing, and then make it worse by arguing why they shouldn't get in trouble.

Rational. They like weighing up pros and cons and using reason to determine the best cause of action (Ti)

Romantic. Entps see so many possibilities and prefer not to filter their dreams through logic. You'll find that your entp friend probably has hundreds of romantic dreams they're keeping to themselves, whether it's running a farm or ruling the world.

Kind of lonely. Like enfps, most people like them, but they don't really have any close friends.

A dangerous driver. They like to speed and will justify their speeding. Just for my husband's sake, I would like to point out that it's not just him. I have another entp friend who likes to drive at 200km/h on Freeways, and another who ruins a car every other month. I actually can't believe all entps aren't dead because of their bad driving.

Sadly, a natural lawyer. They will argue about anything as if they're in a court of law, even personal matters.

Probably not aware that they're lonely.

Blunt without realising it. May really upset you without trying.

Often not aware of people being mean to them. People often mistakenly think they're patient when they are just oblivious.

Oblivious. Probably won't notice they upset you. You'll need to tell them. They will try to argue it away, so you'll need to be forthright. When they finally understand how upset you were they'll probably cry. Tertiary Fe being triggered brings on tears.

Usually pretty easy to calm down if they are stressed or crying. Since they're still rationals they like advice when they're upset.

Over defensive. Entps are often oblivious when people are mean to them, but they're also not good at telling when you're NOT being mean to them. This leads them to take offence at random things and be overly defensive about it because they feel attacked.

Messy and disorganised. Usually clean. Likely to obsessively organise one drawer when stressed, ignoring the rest of their messy house (inferior Si).

Good at taking constructive criticism. Or just criticism. Entps genuinely want to grow personally.

Argumentative. But more in a bickering kind of style, in that they just LOVE arguing about anything for no good reason. Tip: if an entp starts arguing over something stupid with you, tell them they're arguing. They will argue they're not and won't even realise the irony for a good five minutes. 😂

Usually quiet.

LOUD. there is no in-between for an entp. They get louder as they get more excited and happy.

Always working on some strange puzzle.

Sometimes creating weird puzzles. For example, my husband went through a stage where everything he would put in the calendar was in some code. The only problem was when he forgot one or two of them I had no clue what he had meant either. (and when I say code, it was like, 'I have the dentist on Monday. The dentist's name is Gordon, like the tank engine, and Gordon the tank engine is green. Green reminds me of lettuce, which is in the story of rapunzel. So imma write down rapunzel).

Soft. Even if they don't cry in public, they might tear up easily.

Big criers.

A type that naturally seems to have a bit of adhd.

A good judge of character. Sometimes they can be over optimistic though, because they really want to like everyone.

Suddenly overwhelmed. Entps will take on more and more AND MORE until... MELT DOWN. This looks like tears and losing track of everything all at once. May bring about spectacular failure if damage control doesn't occur quickly.

Things an entp might say...

'that's a cute dog. I'd like to get a dog one day. What kind of dog should I get? I don't know, I don't know any dog breeds. I think I'd name it Harold though. Only if it was a boy. Otherwise it would be Charlie...' or any other stream of consciousness monologue (Ne)

Anything that baits you into a debate. Eg, 'isn't it great how Trump wants to build a wall?'

Anything that baits you into bickering. Eg, 'I didn't say that'.

'I don't know', with regards to their opinion or feelings. This is a bad sign if it is followed by a pause, because it means they do know, they just don't want to tell you. If they really don't know it will be followed by a list of potential reasons.

'You say I annoyed you at precisely 2.15 pm. If this is the case, then why did you laugh at my joke at 2.16pm?' or any other legal speak during a personal argument.

'Do you know Hitler introduced a similar law to the one I'm breaking now? This law is evil and I don't have to follow it for that reason' or similar.

An extremely ambitious ambition such as, 'one day I'll own the moon'

Anything sad said cheerfully. For example, my husband once cheerfully told me about his friend in grade five. He finished with, 'anyway, he's dead now'.

A story that they've started half way through. They forgot the first half was in their head.

Anything annoying.

Something sweet with heart eyes.

An example of a rational but romantic entp - Tom Holland

[free--therapy]

Hi I'm the anon who asked advice for dealing with worries about the nsfw content that I watched. Thank you for always being so kind and helping me.

I kinda want to ask for your opinions on something that I've been thinking about if it's okay.

The other day, I was just scrolling twitter in the manga fandom which is like Japanese black and white (not colored) comics which are really famous in the anime/manga community. I came upon this post by a fan who was mocking other fans for shipping and supporting an adult character of the series with a minor character of that same series.

I realized that in the anime/manga community, many many things that are totally inappropriate or unacceptable in the real world are shown pretty commonly and since I've been watching it for years now, I've sort of become desensitized to it. Since it's just animated or just drawings, I don't really take it seriously when it comes to the inappropriate behaviours of the characters that are normalized. But when I think about it, some anime/manga content available online is really questionable honestly because it shows romantic/sexual relations between children and adults and most fans don't bother questioning the morality of it since it's not real, I was the same tbh

However recently when I saw someone actually speaking against it, I realized that there are some fans who don't like it at all because that would definitely be wrong irl. But even so, I really can't find myself bothering all that much about it being right/wrong. Does that make me a crazy person?

I think of it as the same as any animated content where any seemingly inappropriate actions are not taken seriously whether that be violent, romantic or sexual unless the characters are shown to suffer from it. As in, if the characters seem okay with whatever's happening, I don't bother thinking if its okay for their age, etc. because it isn't real and doesn't involve real people since it's just drawn or animated.

Of course, I absolutely do not support any of that stuff including seemingly paedophilic content in real life in any shape or form but when it's animated, I don't bother at all (I say this because it's kinda a common theme in anime/manga). It's like I'm not against it nor do I really support it. I just don't mind watching either way. Am I crazy to think like that? Am I too desensitized? Or is it normal? Am I supposed to not watch or is it okay?

It's only recently that I've started seeing some fans are starting to speak against it while most others don't seem to mind either. What do you think about this?

Hello Again Anon,

I know exactly what manga is, I had a phase in my teenaged years lol. I also know exactly what you mean about some of the questionable content too when it comes to manga, anime, hentai, etc., and the stuff people put online whether fanmade or actually published.

It's definitely easy to believe that those sorts of things are harmless because it's all drawings and not real people, but I feel like it can be very similar to watching p*rn because it's still showing you an idea of something explicit, regardless of whether or not the people involved are real. Of course with anything that can be created/drawn, things can get pretty crazy and imaginative, depending on people's interests, kinks, perversions, and whatnot. I do feel like there aren't a lot of limitations and criticism placed on these things because they're forms of "art", but at the same time they are presenting content that can be disturbing to others because the themes they present are definitely real and happen in real life. I do feel like it can make people desensitized to the topics of perversion, p*dophilia, and other explicit things, much like p*rn does though, and can almost act like a gateway into those kinds of content if people turn their interests in them into unhealthy obsessions.

But like the other nsfw stuff you've seen before, I don't believe it's indicative of a perverted or disturbed mindset because a lot of people start consuming it out of curiosity. I think when one then blurs the lines between obsession and curiosity it's when it becomes a problem. It can make people think it's okay to enjoy those sorts of things because the people involved are not real, but like I mentioned above, the ideas and themes are very real.

I wouldn't let this consume you either. You had a healthy curiosity with these things and as long as you're aware that these sorts of content can lead you down a certain path and you know the line you need to draw in the sand for yourself to make sure you don't head down that way, you'll be okay. You have to be aware that just because the characters involved don't act like anything is wrong, doesn't mean that what's happening in them isn't wrong. It takes a lot of discernment outside of the content to realize what is and isn't appropriate. A lot of the time people create these things to try and normalize them to show how seemingly harmless they are, but they're obviously biased because it's an idea they've created out of their own interests in hopes to appeal to a certain crowd of people with similar interests. I hope that makes sense.

It's up to you to decide whether or not you should keep watching it. I'm not going to tell you what you should or shouldn't do in this case, nor am I going to shame you or anyone else for being interested in it. I just want you to have some awareness. I don't think you're crazy for wondering and questioning it though! Hopefully you'll figure out your answer :)