#even if he was there was no attempt of apology or redemption so i don't understand why he's a fan favourite

[dramaticallychill]

i was ready to like hob and then he casually brings up how he's a slave trader???? he then has to be told how that's bad?!!!!

[sokkastyles]

I've seen people try to argue that while Katara and Zuko have a close friendship, Katara could never trust him enough to be in a romantic relationship with him. And the thing about this is that I think we are really underestimating here the amount of trust Katara would have to put in Zuko to even be an ally to him, let alone a friend.

Katara's hurt is so great that there is no possibility of her having even a casual relationship with Zuko if she was not assured that he no longer believed any of the things he previously believed about her people or the other nations, and no longer would act on those beliefs. Their entire relationship is built on not only Zuko's redemption but Katara's belief in his redemption, which the show spends quite a bit of time building. The reason Katara was so angry at Zuko when he joined the gaang is because she did not trust and believe that he had changed, and she needed that convincing to even allow herself to be around him.

That's why the renewed interest in calling Zuko a colonizer to discredit zutara does not ring true. It seems to actually diminish the choices Katara made to trust Zuko, to paint Katara's trust in him as undeserved. Which actually undermines Katara's pain in a misguided attempt to "protect" her from it because then everything Katara does from the Southern Raiders onward, every moment where she confides in Zuko and expresses care towards him and fights alongside him, becomes a moment where she is actually not a person making a choice to trust Zuko. It reduces her to a victim in a relationship that she actively invested in and assumes that her forgiveness of him was either insincere or coerced.

And the problem with that is that in canon, Katara's relationship with Zuko is actually a healing one. Her forgiveness of him is essential to her finding closure for not only the pain he caused her, but the pain of the loss of her mother. That is why she explicitly chooses to forgive Zuko and not Yon Rah. The closeness she has with Zuko following this choice is a result of her decision to seek healing and accept Zuko's help, and to give him what help she can. She does not forgive because she is morally obligated to, but because she chooses to and wants to.

And this process actually began long before Katara forgave Zuko. It began in the crystal catacombs when not only did Zuko apologize to Katara, but Katara apologized to him. Because seeing Zuko as someone like her who was in pain was part of her way of finding healing for herself. That's the thing that is missing when people insist that there is forever this unbridgeable gap between them. That Katara herself sought to close that gap as part of her healing process.

That also was a large part of why she felt betrayed by him in book 3. Which means that reconciling with him was an essential part of finding closure. Katara could not just put up with Zuko. She could not be an ally or a casual friend. She had to be sure that there was mutual trust between them, and she had to feel it.

She would accept nothing less from him than mutual respect and trust. And I don't think she would accept anything less if their relationship became romantic.

[bleuside97]

Redemption and Regression

paring: babydaddy!jungkook x exgirlfriend!reader

summary: even after five years there is not escaping of jeon jungkook.

warnings: reader has a four year old child, reader gets kidnapped by jjk, manhandling, harsh words, profanities, a bit of angst,

genre: yandere jungkook

"Hi mommy." A little voice called through the phone call. You hold the phone close to your ear. Relief filled your senses by hearing your son's voice. Looking both ways before crossing the empty street. "Hello mommy's baby." You replied to your son, U-Jin Y/L/N, smiling ear to ear. "How are you liking it at Grandma's house?" You asked the small boy. "I love it here, Grandma has lots of toys for me to play with and she cooked samgyupsal for dinner." You couldn't see him but you can tell that joy evident in his voice. In the background of the phone call the sound of toys clashing together. Clearly, submerged in his fun toys he stopped taking.

Your four year old baby, frequently stays at his grandparents house on nights you have to work overtime. This whole week has been filled with late shifts at the office. You are employed as a journalist, a struggling one if that, you are writing your newest article that could be your breakthrough. A female voice cuts in, "Y/n." "Hello Mom, thank you for taking U-Jin in again, I've been so busy at the office." Walking home from work alone in the dark of the night. Thankfully you're almost at home. Just a few more blocks from it. You walk through the patches of yellow lights given by the street lights, within every kilometer. A gust of wind flies past you and bites your nose and cheeks turning a bright rose color. Your cling onto your light jacket a little tighter with your free hand. It was cold but your pursed nonetheless pulling the hood over your head. Pushing your hands deeper into your jacket's pocket for warmth. You continue to walk to your destination.

"I can't neglect my responsibility as a Grandmother," She dismisses your gratitude, always selfless. You're grateful to have her in your life, the only person you trust right now. You smile gratefully, admitting, "I can't do this alone." Tears well up, clouding your vision. "I'm a struggling single mom, trying to keep my job." A compassionate sigh emanates from the other end of the phone. "Don't give up, Y/n. You've come so far from those so many years ago." Her encouraging words bring a smile to your face. The smile fades as you recall your life before five years ago. Swiftly changing the subject, you attempt to forget about it. "I'll pick up U-Jin tomorrow, it's my day off. See you then, please kiss U-Jin goodnight for me."

You conclude the call quick to tuck it in your purse. A shadow of a figure in the distance. A rather tall figure, with long brunette hair blowing in the wind. He wore a loose-fitting hoodie and baggy jeans. He walks, his gaze locked on the sidewalk ahead, his face obscured by a cap that renders him faceless in the dim light. In the midst of the crowded sidewalk, your shoulders accidentally collide. You're quick to offer an apology, but as you do, the faceless figure slowly turns to face you, and in that instant, you imprint a name on his featureless visage. A surge of instinctive fear jolts through your mind, urging your body into action. Your legs propel you into motion before rational thought can catch up.

In the darkness behind you, an iron grip suddenly clamps onto your arms, imprisoning them against your trembling frame. You instinctively struggle, desperately attempting to wriggle free from his unyielding hold, but he remains an immovable force. As fear courses through your veins, you open your mouth to scream, only to be violently yanked backward, stealing the very breath from your lungs and reducing your scream to a feeble gasp.

His fingers constrict around your waist and throat, the world narrowing to the thunderous pounding of your heart in your ears and the veins throbbing visibly in your throat. Panic surges within you, tears welling up in your eyes. Amidst the chaotic moment, your vision is reduced to a blur of blinding car headlights, the whizzing of the street, and a fraction of a car door frame as you're forcibly thrust into the passenger-side seat. Desperation fuels your efforts as you claw your nails against his arm, a frantic struggle to break free.

Having cornered you within the confines of the vehicle, your assailant steps back, allowing you a fleeting glimpse. Through your disheveled hair, the darkness, and the tears clouding your vision, you discern little more than the silhouette of a man. His head abruptly swivels in your direction, his hand lunging forward, and a noxious cloth slaps onto your face.

In your frantic struggle with all your might, you toss your head back, a desperate bid to evade him, your instincts screaming about the consequences of failure. You were forcibly shoved into the car, an unsettling sense of déjà vu washed over you, and you could have sworn that your faceless assailant wore a hauntingly familiar, triumphant grin. A haunting warning chills your soul, "I warned you, y/n, from the moment you left me, I told you I will always find you." The world dissolves into darkness as he steps back, sealing your fate with a resounding slam of the car door. Rendering you unconscious.

(Transition)

A cold shiver danced down your spine, and the chill of damp concrete beneath your scent a jolt of discomfort through her frail frame. Panic began to claw at the edges of your consciousness as her memory reluctantly unveiled the grim truth: she was trapped, imprisoned by the very person she had once called her own.

As her senses gradually sharpened, she became aware of the stale, musty air, tinged with the scent of old wood and mildew. The sound of distant water dripping echoed ominously, punctuating the silence that enveloped her. Her hands, trembling as she explored her immediate surroundings, brushed against rough walls and the coarse surface of a cot, revealing the stark minimalism of her prison. With every fleeting moment, the dreadful awareness of her predicament grew more poignant. Memories of their tumultuous history resurfaced, casting shadows on her thoughts, and the realization dawned that she was now at the mercy of her former captor. Tears welled up in her eyes as she grappled with the agonizing helplessness of her situation.

Amidst the dimly lit basement's gloom, your eyes gradually adjusted to the obscurity, revealing the harsh reality of her situation. As her disoriented senses sharpened, she could make out a silhouette lurking in the shadows. Her heart raced, and a tremor coursed through her frail form as the figure gradually materialized before her.

a/n: it's been a minute bro ik i said that i was going to post like five days a week naaa that was a lie. it's not that easy im currently in school and im tired and doing work all the time. im exhausted but ima try to post once a week. i will try. anyways, im still on my yandere shit and i have way more coming up. i really this one and i think it's a cool story. please let me know your feedback please this is only the first part of the story and i don't want this to flop 😭 please don't make it flop I beg! i really worked hard on it it took me days to do!! there's gonna be two more chapters and smut would be included in the next chapter so...

[sapphic-agent]

Let's Talk About Bakugou's Apology

Jfc, I swear this wasn't meant to be an MHA blog but whatever. Let's get into this.

I wanted to give Bakugou stans the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to think that they would only hype something up if it was groundbreaking. I wanted to believe that Horikoshi was a halfway decent writer and would put actual effort into such a pivotal, revered moment in the series.

I was left sorely disappointed for multiple reasons.

1) A List of Excuses To be completely fair to Bakugou, he does take some accountability which was more than I expected. He does acknowledge that what he did was wrong a few times during his little speech. I have to give him credit for that. However, it's overshadowed by the narrative making sure to stress that it was the people around Bakugou who were at fault for that behavior. Which isn't true because even before he got his quirk, he still treated Izuku like garbage. He gave him the name Deku and acted like he was above everyone way before Izuku was deemed quirkless.

(I'd also like to add that the only thing that literal pre-school teacher said was that Bakugou's quirk could make for a fine hero. He was the one who ran with it and decided that it made him better than everyone and that he would be the best)

There's also the fact that every time he does point out what he did was wrong, there's always some kind of justification behind it. "I did... because I felt..." It undermines what's supposed to be a genuine apology because it's not about Bakugou's feelings, he wasn't the one hurt (more on this later).

2) Timing

So many people have brought this up and they're absolutely right; that was the worst possible time for this to happen. Izuku was injured, starving, and dirty. Not to mention his mental state is practically in shambles. He's been isolating himself for weeks in his attempts to walk a selfless, lonely path. The absolute last thing he needed was this shitty apology.

This was supposed to be an effort for Class 1A to show Izuku that they care about him and to convince him to share his burden and come back to UA with them and rest and heal. Instead that genuine effort is highjacked by Bakugou rambling on about something entirely unrelated. He could have done this during the bath scene or even right after that. Instead, it's shoehorned into Izuku's actual friends trying their best to help him.

Iida's words should have been the final ones. They had enough impact and were way more powerful. There was no reason for Bakugou's apology to be the finishing lines.

3) The Insults

It's wild to me that Bakugou apologized for insulting Izuku... right after purposely insulting Izuku.

This is something that has been detrimental to Bakugou's entire character "redemption". "Oh, he's changing!" Except he's still doing the same shit he's always done. It undermines the entire point of redeeming him.

(I hate to be pro Endeavor in any way, but at least when he decided to change he made the genuine effort to stay that way and didn't relapse into old habits)

Not only did him mocking Izuku do absolutely nothing to change his mind, it's just so shitty to do to someone who's clearly struggling. If you are incapable of showing empathy and kindness at a time like this, shut up and sit down because there's no reason for you to open your mouth. You're not helping, you're only making things worse.

And then he says, "I don't expect this to change things between us." Like bro, that's completely on you. All you have to do is not be a dick and act like your apology actually meant something by refraining from hurling insults at someone who did nothing to deserve it. But even after this apology, he continues to yell at and insult Izuku. Sato and Tokoyami even call him out on this, only it's just played for laughs.

Word to the wise kids, an apology means nothing if just keep repeating your bad behavior.

4) No Autonomy for the Victim

Not once do we get to see what Izuku's thinking. Not once do we ever see things from his point of view.

This moment is entirely about Bakugou. It's only a plot device to develop his character and make him come off better. And Izuku who was the victim gets no attention. He doesn't even get to respond, he just faints by the end of it.

In fact, the closest thing we ever get to an insight into Izuku's feelings is All Might saying that he wouldn't hold what Bakugou did against him. That's such a copout considering a) nothing Izuku did ever indicated he felt that way and b) another person is speaking for him. He doesn't even get to say this himself.

Horikoshi does this consistently. Izuku is never allowed to voice how he feels. We never get to see how things are affecting him. The only time he's ever permitted to show strong emotions is when it's in favor of someone else. You would think that by this point in the story that would be rectified. But no, everything has to be about Bakugou. Not even in his own rescue story can Izuku ever be the center of attention. No, it's all about making Bakugou better.

(Again I hate to be pro Endeavor, but at least Shoto, Fuyumi, and Natsu get to respond to Endeavor's attempts at atonement on their own terms. Natsu is allowed to be angry. Fuyumi gets to make the choice to forgive him. Shoto is allowed to ponder the decision. Both cases are terrible abuse narratives, but at least the Todoroki kids have a say in how they feel and are allowed to express it. Izuku doesn't even get that)

It feels like Izuku isn't even allowed to be a victim in any way, shape, or form. He's just there to prop Bakugou

[heyjude19-writing]

Putting nostalgia aside, what in your opinion makes dramione greater than other Draco pairings? I love both equally personally, but I’d love to know as time has gone on, I now myself have a preference which i now gravitate towards on the basis of their“technicalities”.

So putting aside the nostalgia, what tropes, characteristics of each, do you find more fascinating or more unique in either pairing?

(Usual disclaimer that I'm a "ship and let ship" person and all fanfic portrayals of these fictional characters are valid, this is just a silly, long-winded opinion 😘)

Hmm, I don't think I would say it's "greater" (everything is subjective) than any other pairing, but if you're asking why dramione has remained my favorite, it's simply because I find them the most compelling. We get a lot of hermione in the books, sure, but as we're in harry's head for almost all of canon, i found myself interested in exploring her character and all its glory and flaws without the veil of harry's pov. I adore her intelligence, of course, and her capacity for kindness, but she can also be ruthless (keeping Skeeter in a jar, Marietta Edgecombe), unflinchingly pragmatic (her disdain for divination, wiping her parents' memories), and morally grey when it suits her interests (every book, y'all, every book she is breaking/bending rules with harry/ron).

I'm not going to even attempt to dig through my past asks because tumblr searches are terrible, but I've written before about Draco's unfinished and unsatisfying canon narrative. He is set up several times over to have a somewhat forgiving arc but ultimately it falls flat and it's a stupendous waste of potential for an on-page redemption. It makes him a fantastic character for fanfiction at least.

And so I prefer dramione for what it makes these two confront about themselves and each other. They have shared trauma, or at least overlapping trauma touchpoints, that can lend themselves to some gutwrenching conversations. A relationship, a friendship, fuck even earning the right to breathe in Hermione's vicinity is going to require a lot of soul-searching, apologizing, unlearning of hateful rhetoric and probably a fuckton of therapy for draco. I dont view dramione as opposites so much as complements and there's a vast potential for drama and angst and these two seem really intense in their desires to succeed in the world as very loyal, tightly wound, ambitious over-achievers.

I don't know honestly, it just makes me happy to think about them happy together. Put these two in some situations and let them kiss.

I adore drarry too of course, but harry and draco's animosity is often focused on draco confronting personal conflict/differences vs their ideological differences.

[ckret2]

To be honest, it seems so impossible to picture billford actually happening right now. I trust you! But it's hard to envision the path ahead.

I'm not gonna lie the reason it took me months & months to commit to taking the fic that route is because I didn't want to go "no yeah I'm doing this" until I was sure I did have a path, and it is hard to envision lmfao. It's a very twisty and very narrow path that they're only gonna just barely squeeze through.

Without giving any spoilers, as far as I see it, any reconciliation between Ford & Bill—platonic or romantic—requires three things:

a reason for Ford to stop fearing Bill

a reason for Ford to stop hating Bill

a reason for Ford to like Bill.

We don't need anything on Bill's side, he's all prepared to like Ford as soon as Ford likes him. All he has to do is, y'know, give Ford all of those reasons.

#3 is the easiest one! Ford already has reasons to like Bill: they're all of the reasons he used to like Bill. He's an alien with infinite knowledge. That's great. But Bill could give Ford a million reasons to like him and they won't do a bit of good as long as Ford hates him. If you stab someone in the gut and give them a flower, you stabbed them in the gut. If you stab someone in the gut and give them an entire field of flowers, you still stabbed them in the gut. It's actually more insulting to get flowers than it would've been to just get stabbed. Gotta do something about the stabbing.

#1 was also pretty easy to figure out. All it takes is trapping Bill in a scenario where he's forced to demonstrate he no longer wants to kill the Pines, in a way that makes it impossible to think that it could have been an act or a lie. Easy.

#2 is the only hard part. Ford has a lot of very good reasons to hate Bill forever. Why would he even want to stop hating Bill? And that's the key:

4. a reason for Ford to WANT to stop hating Bill

The hardest and MOST IMPORTANT part. A reason for Ford to go, fine. One last shot. If you want me to think anything is different, then show me—and no more chances to slip up. He can still hate Bill at this point! Bill still has to climb that mountain. But now Ford's simply standing at the top of the mountain glaring at Bill with his arms crossed, waiting to see if he can make it to the top, rather than using a long stick to shove Bill back down every time he gets close.

Let's talk about redemption arcs!

There's a thing I believe about redemption arcs and redemption in general, which is that saying "they shouldn't get a second chance unless they deserve it" is impossible. "Deserve it" means they're good now, "deserve it" means they've already done the work to improve themselves and make amends for what they did wrong. But in the real world, somebody needs to give you a second chance BEFORE you deserve it in order to have space to work on yourself and become worthy of it.

That doesn't mean Ford, of all people, owes Bill a second chance. He was never gonna be the first to offer Bill a hand. He couldn't be, he shouldn't be. And nobody owes Bill a second chance—but in order for it to be possible for Bill to have a redemption arc at all, SOMEBODY had to give him one anyway. The whole fic is the result of people extending a hand to Bill so that he can become worthy of the help he was offered. He wouldn't be alive if the Axolotl hadn't given him a second chance. He'd still be curled up in the corner of the attic day after day waiting to die if Mabel hadn't given him a second chance. Over and over he's gonna get chances he doesn't deserve, from people who have no reason to offer them, when he regrets nothing, when he's apologized for nothing—and that's what will save him.

SOMEBODY ELSE had to offer Bill an unconditional second chance first. But—once Ford has seen that Bill might have potential—he can, if he wants, offer Bill a limited, conditional second chance. I just have to get him to want to.

After that it's smooth sailing. Get the two of them as far as "okay we can attempt having a positive relationship again" and past that it really doesn't matter what kind of positive relationship it is, platonic, romantic, sexual, whatever. "Do you think they might wanna bone or not?" is a much less important and much less difficult question than "What would it take for Ford to stop despising the triangle who ruined his life?"

Personally, I want 'em to make out nasty style. But that's far and away the least important part of this whole arc, because it was important to me that that not be a motivating factor in their reconciliation. Like I've said, I'm deliberately playing on hard mode here, and "I'm kinda sorta motivated to forgive him because I'm attracted to him" is a cheat I'm not allowing. I'm too ace to tolerate that kind of plot unless it's in a story about the frustrating folly of desire. The attraction can only come after reconciliation; and it also won't prevent them from continuing to have the kind of ongoing issues you'd expect out of two guys with a long history of heartless betrayal and murder attempts.

[comradekatara]

Hello! So this is not quite an ask but THANK YOU for doing god's work of injecting some actual nuance, defending bolin (among other things), critiquing the comics, and all the plot holes/things that just don't make sense which become glaringly obvious if one thinks about any aspect for more than two seconds (lol but you know this already duh) and am only annoyed I did not stumble upon this blog sooner, since I am so done with this show (but also I keeping at it like the scabs). Also, your art is delightful! If you still require an ask, do you perchance write fanfic? (it's possible you might have mentioned it but sometimes I can't read lol)

Have a good day!

hello, and thank you! also it’s funny that defending bolin is the first thing you list because I thought I made it pretty clear that I think his character is direly poorly-written and that I do not care for him. but… you’re welcome I guess? but yes obviously critiquing the comics and imbuing nuance and all of that I will definitely gladly take credit for. and thank you for liking my art! i do occasionally write fanfic, but i’ve only ever shown it to my friends and never actually posted it anywhere, so functionally, my answer would be no. i have debated posting it in the past, but idk, i don’t think that would be a good idea. maybe someday i’ll snap tho who knows.

as for your other ask…

Also because I clicked on the ask button before I had a brain fart (so if this would come off a bit deranged for posting an ask right after the first my apologies), I also want to mention the commentary that Iroh being 'everyone's favourite sexist' is gold because we just gloss over that and no one ever seems to mention that scene. Another thing about atla is that the reason given for Zuko's constant internal struggle and conflict is because he's descended from the previous avatar and the fire lord but hello, Azula?? Did Ursa have an affair now?? Isn't she just as worthy of redemption, or the fact she's just as abused anyhoo ok im done

I mean I’m assuming by “that scene” you mean the one with june, but tbh his misogyny isn’t relegated to simply one unpalatable scene. it’s reflected in how he treats azula (versus zuko) across the show. and I know that zuko is softer and more amenable than azula, and he has demonstrated a desire to do good that azula hasn’t, but it’s also quite troubling that iroh just writes off his fourteen year old niece as a lost cause when she is also the sibling who most resembles him. and he somehow just can’t seem to understand that she is worthy of the same empathy and compassion and understanding as zuko is, that playing favorites like this isn’t good or normal. and I actually think that azula has it way worse than iroh, both because she’s a girl and because azulon seemed to love iroh conditionally (despite clearly not feeling the same about ozai), whereas ozai’s love for azula is incredibly conditional and does not exempt her from his violence. but you know. her hysterical wandering womb is outta control she needs to go down she cant be trusted she’s a sickopath!!!! like. ok old man.

as for your next point, I do think that what iroh says about zuko’s ancestry reflecting the ideological battle within him is fully bullshit, but I do reconcile that by interpreting iroh’s claims not as what he truly believes, but as a rhetorical point he thinks might get through to zuko. because he’s really run the gamut of wisdom and guidance, some of it even being contradictory, just in an attempt to pierce through zuko’s thick, stubborn skull. and it does pay off, eventually, but it takes ages to get there. like how much do you wanna bet his first approach was to just straight up be like “your father is an abuser and you shouldn’t adhere to his dogmas.” and then when that didn’t work he started getting creative with it. and like, the reason it gets through to zuko isn’t even because roku was his great grandfather, but because he was ursa’s grandfather. and realizing that he too can be good and stand up for what he believes in, like her, his true role model, is his ultimate takeaway from that lesson. but I really do think by that point iroh’s rhetorical strategy was really to just throw vaguely pertinent metaphors at the wall to see what sticks.

[brigdh]

I was thinking about Izzy as a father figure, and his apology during his death scene, and trying to make it all make sense, and I've got a theory.

I think, perhaps, Jenkins wanted Izzy to symbolize the Good Father, in contrast to Ed's Bad Fathers (his actual dad and Hornigold).

Jenkins's exact quotes: “There is a nice parallel to have Ed treat him so badly at the beginning of the season and then come all the way around to where Izzy is this sort of father figure he doesn’t want to lose — because Ed usually kills his father figures.” And from another interview: "And he’s one person who kind of raised Ed right, because Blackbeard usually kills his parental figures." (Check this incredibly useful post compiling all of Jenkins's interviews.)

I think Izzy wasn't meant to parallel Ed's Bad Fathers, but to be their opposite. Ed kills his Bad Fathers (I don't think there's a suggestion that he killed Hornigold in reality, but we see him try to in the Gravy Basket); in opposition, his attempt to kill Izzy fails and then he tries to prevent Izzy's death and mourns when he can't. Ed's Bad Fathers abuse him and force him to be violent and hard; Izzy (over the course of S2) comes to support him, his retirement, and his relationship with Stede. Ed's Bad Fathers would never apologize to him – but Izzy does, and that's what's going on with his dying speech. Moreso than being about Izzy's own actions, Jenkins wanted to symbolize Ed's dad and Hornigold apologizing for the trauma they caused ("I fed your darkness"), and that's what Ed actually needs to heal and move on (well, he does in a sitcom-level understanding of psychology). Izzy's death, then, is a redemption not particularly of himself, but of Ed's whole category of Fathers.

This still isn't really fair to Izzy as a separate character – after all, he's not Ed's dad or Hornigold, he's possibly never even met either of them – and he doesn't function as a father figure to Ed in S1 or most of S2. Ed's his boss, his partner, but not remotely, not even symbolically, his child. We don't know exactly how young Izzy and Ed were when they first met, but it seems likely that Ed already had all of his foundational, self-shaping traumas by that point. Ed already needed the mask and protection of Blackbeard, even if perhaps Izzy had a hand in figuring out how to bring it into existence.

But, if you're Jenkins (or one of the other writers or directors involved, whoever came up with this plot), and you feel like you need to fix Ed's youthful traumas to have him believably move forward to the next chapter of the story, I can see how you'd want a story beat that's the opposite of Ed's core wound – not the Bad Father he kills thereby hurting himself, but the Good Father who dies thereby healing him. And who else could you remotely stuff into that role? Like, Izzy's not a good fit, but anyone else would be even worse. The fact that Izzy did have a good relationship with Ed in the past, that they did like one another once, and that Izzy spends S2 becoming even more open and encouraging is all necessary to make the distinction between Izzy and the Bad Fathers, to make Izzy the one who finally breaks the pattern.

...which still, like, kinda sucks as a plot point? But I think this might have been what Jenkins et al where at least going for.

[i-like-anything-water]

okay this is rough and jumbled.

SnakeHolder!Chloe headcanons:

Sass is shown to be calm and charming, qualities that make the Kwamis look up to him and consider him as a leader figure. Chloe's tendencies to be easily driven by poor writing by her emotions, especially her self loathing and insecurities can be redeemed with continuous support, calm but firm guidance by Sass. He's also described as mature and responsible which dissuades Chloe's attempts at anything that could get her in trouble or revert her to her old ways.

Sass had doubts at first but after a near death experience where Chloe didn't seem to be fazed or had mind, he was intrigued. And maybe a bit worried.

Surprisingly, Chloe denies him at first saying that Ladybug was right and she shouldn't be trusted with another miraculous. This goes on and on until she finally bursts and all the pent up trauma comes out. Part time Kwami, full time Therapist.

Their relationship is rocky at first but they eventually became civil after they transformed (against Chloe's will) to fight off a powered up akuma. The others weren't aware as Chloe insisted they work incognito.

Chloe slowly redeems herself after acting quick and planning fast everytime she uses Second Chance. It's hard to keep up while making sure she doesn't get seen by the other heroes. It's hard at first but what does she have to lose anyway?

Her new hero persona eventually bleeds into her personal life. She's still sassy (lol), mean, and doesn't take anyone's shit but she's more aware now. Going back in time to fix things alters your brain chemistry.

Awareness is the first step to redemption. After numerous breakdowns and nights of self loathing and pity, she eventually acknowledges everything she's done wrong and sees everything in a new perspective and just freaks out.

Cue Protective Sass!

The process is slow and subtle and people don't notice it at first. Chloe thinks first now. She's able to hold in usual insults that would freely come out of her and reconsider her reaction (unless it's sudden, spooked her, etc.)

Next to awareness and acknowledgement is guilt. After realizing everything she's done, she tries everything she can do at that moment to change even some things. Apologies aren't easy for her because she's never even heard that directed to her. In sincerity and not fear. So, whenever she doesn't have to help Ladybug and Chat Noir, she practices with Sass.

"I..," a shaky breath, "I'm sorry."

She practices the phrase before and after the day.

She's hella confused. She's grateful Sass is there to assure her everytime. She stumbles through her words but she manages to get out a sincere apology to the closest person she has: Sabrina.

They talk about it and their friendship shifts. It's not perfect, but it's better than before.

She hasn't formally apologized to the others yet but she's trying.

With help from both Sabrina and Sass, she starts to apologize (but now with more confidence) to people she's hurt. Rose is open to the idea of mending bonds, the others are wary but doesn't say anything else.

The last two she apologizes to is Adrien and Marinette. Adrien is wary but his kindness overweights his doubts. They're not back to what was before and frankly Chloe is glad. She doesn't want what's in the past, she wants to create something now and for the future.

Marinette was the last.

"You shouldn't forgive me right away," she interrupts the shorter girl, "I know you're kind and such a goody two shoes but that doesn't mean you should forgive me after a week or so." She levels a determined look to shocked blue eyes, "Let me prove myself first." And softer, "please."

Well that's all I have so far. I just find it befitting for two major reasons: Sass's ability can actually help Chloe see things in more than one perspective which would help her deal and open up with all her trauma and toxic habits. The ability allows her to be more observant on where she needs to go back to fix the mistake. It takes quick thinking and concentration of the user. It requires an open mind on alternatives. And secondly, 'Second Chance' is fitting for what she needs. Not a half baked Arc where she doesn't know what she wants and needs. But something firm and continuous to keep her going. A real second chance.

That's just me and my rambling. Feel free to add or correct me about anything! (Don't be rude about it though).

[woodchipp]

"her actions have shown [how much she cares]" not being backed up by any of her actions throughout the game aside, this summary gets even funnier if you take a closer look at what kicks off the plot of One Day Left - Sunny, Kel and Hero confronting Aubrey at her house.

I have Things to say about that scene, both in terms of how it relates to Aubrey and to the game's writing in general.

Right off the bat, the game uses a milder version of "hell" right before inexplicably making Aubrey use the word itself. Something like

AUBREY: ...! AUBREY: Wh-What are you guys doing here?! AUBREY: GET THE HELL OUT OF MY ROOM!!

would've worked just as fine, in my opinion.

This game had three editors, by the way.

When pressed, the first thing Aubrey says about the incident at the lake is a straight-up lie in an attempt to diminish the severity of her wrongdoing. No, her watery eyes aren't going to convince me she's genuinely sorry.

1) Here it is again. Instead of owning up to her behavior at the very least, she continues trying to make the incident seem less severe than it actually was.

2) You "didn't mean to" push Basil into the lake even though he was obviously standing right at the edge of the pier? And you knew he was incapable of swimming? You're a fuckwad.

Accident or no accident, he was in active danger of dying. You chose to argue with Kel on the pier since that was more of a priority to you than trying to save your close friend.

And then she tries to reduce the severity of what she did for the third time! Sure, she does seem to apologize afterwards

but then immediately falls back on deflecting blame, which makes the apology come off as insincere.

Really, I would've preferred Aubrey being upfront about being a prick. Her incessant attempts to blame everyone and everything but herself for her choices don't make her complex because the game speedruns her redemption and we don't get to see her growth, which is also why said attempts become very grating after a certain point.

Aubrey isn't the only character I take issue with here, though.

1) Hero. My dude. Your own brother accused Aubrey of nearly killing another friend of yours. Aubrey confirmed said accusation. And you still dismiss it as a harmless squabble like the ones they had in their childhood days??

Either he's also stuck in his childhood mentally or he's just - and I'm not going to mince words here - a moron.

2) I love that Hero's reaction implies he still doesn't seem to take Kel seriously. You'd think he'd try to be more mindful of his little brother following that furious outburst, but nope. He still seems to view Kel as a rash little child he has to rein in.

One could argue this is meant to show that the charscters are flawed, and in a better story, I'd actually be inclined to agree. I like the idea of Hero struggling to move on from his role as the group's "dad", and I'd have liked if the story forced him to understand he can't keep playing their dad with a situation much more complicated than a "typical Kel and Aubrey fight". Likewise, Hero's perception of Kel as an impulsive, bratty kid persisting to the present day and causing friction with Kel himself would've made for an interesting conflict.

Of course, this isn't a better story, so after Kel and Aubrey's reactions, Hero's shallow peacemaking is promptly (and conveniently) forgotten when he notices the last bunch of missing photos.

Peak writing, everyone!

This game took six years and $200,000, by the way. No, I won't stop mentioning that.

My sister in Christ you are literally wearing her fucking headband. You were also given some of her other clothes, it seems.

If Aubrey's problem was about having nothing to remember Mari by, it's null and void to me because she clearly does have more than just the photos. Not only that, but this also comes off as the game trying to use Aubrey's grief as an excuse for her treatment of Basil, which is disgusting for reasons I shouldn't need to explain.

(oh, and Sunny's just Standing There. he doesn't contribute anything to the conversation at all. he could've been removed from this scene altogether and nothing of value would be lost. the main character of all time, truly)

[camelely]

The Betrayal of Ted Lasso S3

Yea. The title is a bit dramatic but I have been one of those people who will defend the Shandy and Zava arcs. I thought everything had a purpose, but really really this season felt like a turn, and part of it felt like the plot belonged in a different show...

They keep saying this was the three season arc they planned. But this felt very rushed, and wrapped all these plots up too neatly too quickly. Ted was reduced to a manic pixie dream girl floating in and out of peoples lives teaching them about love, forgiveness, and to believe.

Lets start with my least favorite thing in the finale. Reducing the Jamie/Keeley/Roy story to a fist fight and a "choose me over him" arc. Belonged in a different show. Pheobe said it best in the first episode "Why are you breaking up?" Nothing they did this season was better because of the Roy x Keeley breakup. Even Keeley's bi arc. Like she has always been implied bi, so they could have just made it clear with Jack being an ex that resurfaced instead of a new relationship. Imagine the version of the KJPR plot with Jack being an ex. No out of date leaked nudes plot. Roy can be jealous because he thinks maybe Keeley does want to get back with this ex, but he sees that is his problem not hers and works on it internally/with Dr. Sharon. And Keeley can think Jack is just trying to help and apologize for the mistakes she made in their relationship, but soon its clear Jack wants to get Keeley back by funding her business and then pulling her funding when things don't go her way. This leaves Keeley wondering if she ever had any value as a business woman and Rebecca and Roy are there to support her. Rebecca as a friend and financial backer and Roy as a supportive BF. Then Keeley can return the favor supporting Rebecca when she is deciding to sell the club or not, and Roy when he is promoted to manager.

The leaked nudes plot belonged on a show that came out like five/six years ago when society first started to shift and see that the celebrities were the victims. I understand it was a true story from the real Keeley, but seriously it dated a show that could have been pretty universal otherwise. I know they deal with issues like racism and homophobia but those things aren't going anywhere. We have to keep fighting, but those people always exist. Meanwhile the nudes thing has seen a pretty quick shift already. They built Shandy up as this vengeful character, Why didn't they have her do something to try and blow up Keeley's business? Even something simple like an attempt at wrongful termination? Shandy could have posted on her socials and been like "Keeley Jones claims shes for women but she fired me for no reason" got a bunch 'eat the rich' activists on her side since Keeley is backed by a billionaire and caused a lot of problems for the PR firm in the press.

Jamie reconnecting with his abusive parent. Honestly this did feel in place for a show thats all about forgiveness. But the more we learned about him the more he felt worse than Rupert. Absolutely awful. A better ending would have been his death and Jamie coping with the conflicted feelings he has vs the sadness he is expected to show by the media. Or even just letting Jamie move on. "I don't need him. I have a great mom, team, friends, and step dad/mom's bf" (I can't remember if they were married or not lol).

Nate simply quitting off screen and then being welcomed back like it was nothing. Belonged on another show. This one's been talked to death but I'll say it anyway. We see Rupert try to push a boundary and Nate left the bad situation and then fast forward, Nate quits and Rupert is being accused of impropriety. The start of the season was so focused on Nate being an ass to the West Ham players and then they just brush that under and rush him coming back? I didn't need a redemption arc. I liked the apology to Will and Ted's speech to Beard. But I did need to see the moments with Nate's choices. Nate made zero on screen choices this season. I mean even coming back was influenced by Jade.

Jade suddenly liking Nate, belonged on a different show. Okay I didn't hate Jade. I didn't hate that she started to date Nate. I think its weird the writers wrote a possibly racist character and then didn't address it but I guess the white af writers room just didn't get it. But I also liked Jade, Nate needed a no nonsense strong person in his life. I feel like his sister could have filled the role a bit better. But the girlfriend route wasn't bad.

Rebecca and the Amsterdam guy belonged in a rom com. Yea it worked a bit since Ted's whole rom com speech. But still, part of what I liked about the Amsterdam plot was that he was a great guy and a great time and then he was just gone. A happy memory to look back on and nothing more. It was so stupid that she randomly ran into him and they just magically got together. With Rebecca's romantic past ruined by Rupert's behavior. And the Sam relationship being kinda cute kinda doomed boss/employee weirdness it felt like Amsterdam guy was the true rebound she needed to move on and start a new path. Rebecca didn't need an endgame romance imo, she needed a fresh start. While I think she should have sold the whole club and moved on from the Rupert chapter of her life, I didn't hate the selling it to the fans thing. That was a decent way to end her journey. If they wanted her to have an endgame romance why not let the fans get to know the guy? Or flash forward to a guy we have never met implying that she eventually found someone?

Rupert hitting the coach also belonged on another show. Rupert is the guy who has everything work out for him. He's cool and collected and confident. Pushing the guy who wouldn't listen to him didn't seem like a Rupert move. Rupert would have fired him and promoted the guy under him. The big change would be if they had that guy quit and then the next guy quit until Rupert was left with no one. Could have also gone back to the Nate thing. If Nate leaving the toxic environment inspired others to do the same. Rupert publicly loosing his cool might have been fun since hes the worst, but it was too neat a wrapped bow.

Beard and Jane. Why did they literally only tell us everything bad about her if they wanted us to root for them? I'm sure she had some good qualities we could have seen. I did like that Beard was the character that got the ending rom com 'stop the plane' moment.

Colin's coming out. I could have done with less Isaac and more Trent or even less angry Isaac and more supportive Isaac but I liked it overall ngl. The kiss in the final episode was the best romantic moment in all of Ted Lasso. My canon favorite ship was RoyxKeeley but they never had a moment I could turn to. This was perfect and Colin was the best character for it.

The Van Damme thing was dumb. The joke about the mask making him 'Zorro' was dumb. I assume they were making fun of Ron Artest/Metta World Peace/Metta Sandiford-Artest but Zoreaux didn't need that. And it was funny for like one month in 2011, get over it.

Ted. Oh sweet Ted. I loved his talk with Trent about changing the name of the book because its not about him, and Trent taking that note but no others. At the end of the day, Ted's whole thing this season is Jason Sudeikis's whole thing in real life. He has a work family in London but his kids and ex in America. He's still low key in love with his ex and doesn't like the new relationship she's in and even though the new relationship ends pretty quickly it still sucks. And that is exactly what ruined the show. I'm sorry Jason is sad, I get people work through their problems in their art. But what a very emotional Jason sees as a good ending for Jason, is not a good ending for Ted. Ted Lasso the character deserved to decide to report Dr. Jacob (sorry Jason you can't report Harry Styles, he didn't do anything unethical... except maybe spit on Chris Pine...). Ted Lasso deserved a solid relationship with his son and a new partner, whoever you ship him with could work. I mean Sassy could have reported Dr. Jacob and told Ted maybe they could make it work since she is spending some time in the US for work. Or Rebecca with her millions saying she can commute as much as they want. Or a third new person in Kansas. The way the show implied Michelle is single and Ted is single. The 'they are getting along' narrative was a bit much.

The dream ending. Yes Bill Lawrence, this worked for Scrubs because JD was a character constantly fantasizing. But thats not Ted Lasso. This show deserved something more unique and more open ended. The final shot could have been Ted on the plane, smiling and that would beat the weird dream flash forward imo.

Yes the show has a central theme about forgiveness. But in previous seasons the person being forgiven earns that forgiveness. Here it was handed out to everyone regardless of who they hurt and what they did. It undermined Rebecca's s1 arc, Nate's multi season arc, Jamie's multi season arc, etc. The only arc that wasn't undermined was maybe Roy, since he ended up in therapy and actively trying to be better. So I guess good for Roy?

Overall my point is Ted Lasso was special because they marched to a positive and hopeful beat while still discussing hard topics. This season took everything special about the show and garbaged it, creating a messy, bland, and insulting final product that was a shell of the show they created. And they managed to do it in three seasons. Congrats guys? I mean most shows take 5-6 seasons to get truly off the rails.

[sugoi-and-spice]

Answering the other part of this Q from @hunajan in a separate post rather than a reblog because...

Well, you'll see why lol.

This is SUCH a great question!

So yeah, when I was expanding this fic, and realized that I wanted it to be a story with deeper meaning, rather than just a straight up fetish-y dubcon/noncon fic (which there's nothing wrong with, it's just not the direction I wanted this story to go), and when I decided that I did indeed want Shigaraki and MC to be endgame - I knew that there was A LOT of work that was going to need to happen in the story, and from Shigaraki's end, to make that possible.

As a quick disclaimer, in real life, I do not think Shigaraki and MC's relationship would be salvageable. Dear readers, if your relationship with a person starts with a freaking sexual assault or a place of this deep of manipulation - fucking run, don't walk lol.

Buuuut, this is fiction, and I love writing about effed up characters trying to make each other's lives a bit less effed up, so yeah, this is a romance that I intend to give a happy ending.

Of course, I still don't want to make a happy ending easy for them. I fucking love me a character arc, and Shigaraki in this fic has one hell of a character arc to go through, one of the biggest steps of which is taking accountability and doing some serious fucking atoning.

So to answer the question, no, Shigaraki's realization and apology wasn't particularly difficult to write or plan out, but it was something I was very careful with and definitely put a lot of thought into. And so my first step in crafting this plot point was to look at one of my favorite atonement arcs in media:

Endeavor's!

*nervously* Hahaha, I can hear the pitch forks sharpening already. A lot of people really hate this character and claim he has a shit redemption arc, but I couldn't disagree more tbh.

I think the most important aspect of atoning is accepting the fact that forgiveness must happen on the other person's terms - if it's granted at all. And if the person you've hurt doesn't ever forgive you, accepting that as well.

Endeavor's attempts for atonement are not perfect ones at first. He tries at first to mend his relationship with his kids, very much on his own terms:

This is not a flaw with the arc mind you, imo, but an intentional flaw of the character. The rocky beginning on his road to atonement.

Because ultimately, mending the relationship, earning forgiveness, building a new life with his family - those are all things that he wants. They are things that would serve him, would make him happy. But that's not necessarily what's actually best for his family.

What's best for his family, is to free them. Separate himself from them so that if they decide to forgive and move forward with them, they can do it on their terms.

^This right here is the scene that really brough My Hero Academia from good to great in my eyes. And made me realize how amazingly poignant Horikoshi was when it comes to telling stories about trauma and complicated family dynamics. It was such an amazing show of growth, maturity, and genuine care for his family, to want them all to just heal and be happy, even if that means he's not a part of it.

That's some damn good freaking atonement right there imo. And admittedly, it's probably due to some personal bias.

To be tmi for a sec, I have a lot of experience with abusive people, and abusive parents specifically. I am no contact with my father and very low contact with my mother. They are people who have done fucking terrible, awful things to me in my life and quite regularly, just expect me to forgive them without them putting any real work into changing things. They want me to forgive on their terms and their terms only, and they absolutely fucking expect forgiveness. Because that's what family does.

Bullshit.

I can't tell you how much in my life I've wanted to hear them say:

I think that is the pinnacle of an actual good apology honestly, and particularly when apologizing for doing truly horrendous things. It's to just reach out to people, say I'm sorry, you don't have to forgive me, but I am fucking sorry - I take full responsibility for your well-being and what I've put you through,. And then to work on making things better for others, and improving yourself going forward. No pushing, no love-bombing, no trying to make it up to them directly. To just lay it all out on the table and accept the consequences.

There's a reason that the 9th Step in AA is "making amends" and not "asking for forgiveness."

Sooooo, to bring it away from this Endeavor meta tangent, and back to your actual question - that's what I decided needed to be at the forefront of Shigraki's apology in Play Nice. Not the literal words "I'm sorry", but this part:

His willingness to walk away if that's what she wanted and was best for her, even if doing so made his own life noticeably worse. The promise to not cause her anymore of that pain, no matter what it takes - that's what really needed to happen here I think to make their relationship salvageable honestly. That's what I really wanted to highlight.

[cygnusmori]

Good Omens S2 thoughts ahead, beware of spoilers

It's been already two days since I binge watched the season in one go, and I wanna share some thoughts. However, they aren't positive, if you're looking for praise you won't like this.

I won't talk about the big bad end or Aziraphale, I think there's already enough posts covering the issue and explaining Aziraphale, or theorizing about Metatron, or that Crowley wasn't in the right either.

I wanna talk about him.

For many, it seems like he was the only positive sweet thing about that ending, and that this was his redemption arc.

But I digrees.

See, I've always been fan of Gabriel, and I always thought he was a nuanced character, I don't think Gabriel is anywhere near of perfection. I like him with his flaws, I think he's funny, ignorant, mean at times, and has that alienating "non human" feeling. He did bad things, but I never saw him as an evil big bad force, I never thought he was a villain. He was on the opposing side of our protagonists, which is different.

But that's the S1, let's talk about S2 and why I'm disappointed.

Maybe just showing that he isn't all evil a didn't want to try to destroy the world is enough of a development for most. But not for me, because we didn't see this development.

I'm grateful that he wasn't shown as an evil edgelord compulsive serial abuser? Yeah. Thanks.

But for most of the season, we didn't see Gabriel, we saw Jim. This amnesiac, empty, thoughtless person. I loved him, we all love him, I know! He's sweet, cute, empathetic, dumb, and apologized for something he didn't know he did.

But he didn't have any actual meaningful "eye-opening" experiences with the ineffables. He didn't have like, let's say an attempt at bonding or friendship, or getting to know and discover earth. Everyone theorized and was eager to have Gabriel discovering the wonders of earth and humanity, realizing is worth saving.

And what did we go? ...A flashback in the last episode that lasted less than, what, 6 minutes? Where he just enjoys the same song that Beelzebub. Everything about their relationship is left as just guess work, there's not even a fraction of growth like the ineffables had.

But not just that, is that it was mostly told. Not shown.

We didn't see Gabriel having any actual feelings, or conflicts, or problems, or worries. Nothing.

We're shown he could sacrifice himself to save the humans and trying to avoid the problems he was causing, which is sweet and beautiful! I love him! But that's still Jim...Would Gabriel do it? I wanna say yes, I wanna believe that he would! But that's the problem. we don't really know because we just got about less than 10 minutes of the actual Gabriel.

He remained as this silly amnesiac character for the first 5 episodes. And then on the last 20 minutes he got his memories back, and what did he do, after being protected and cared by Aziraphale and Crowley?

Nothing. There wasn't an exchange of words, there wasn't a "They helped me". There was nothing, there wasn't any explanation for why he actually seeked Aziraphale, besides that little implication made by Metatron that maybe Gabriel thought Aziraphale should be the next leader (which, let me add, could be a lie).

I, even as a fan of Gabe, feel like he had barely anything to offer. No much more relevant bits of his personality than what we already knew. I still thought he was super funny and loveable as Jim, but yeah...not growth. Especially between Aziraphale and him, after all...they knew each other for ages, Aziraphale thought he was awful but also that he would protect him, and this amnesiac Gabriel was eager to apologize and help, where are the follow ups of that?

I get it, he's a side character.

But this season he's a Plot Device.

What about these "lucid moments" where he spoke with the voice of God? Or those "It hurts to remember!"? They meant nothing? They weren't clues, he was just so ready to drop everything?

And as an audience I have to accept he really changed that much, he really didn't care about falling or losing his over 6000 years job. That's so...empty.

I didn't see any eye-opening, or mind-changer experience for him. We saw he's capable of love and respect and selfless actions, I guess, but that's just the most bare minimum, and one that I already always believed, so there's not excitement for me at all.

I think maybe I feel like this because I always thought he wasn't evil, but all of the reasoning for him not being evil, barely got touched. I mean the responsability maniac, the workaholic tendencies, the extreme obedience, the stress, the emotional familiarity with other archangels, the fear of falling... he had none of these things, he apparently changed in four years. That's it. "He's changed, and doesn't care about being the leader! And now he's singing a love song and disappearing happily on the sunset!" is not the direction I expected.

They just left, without consequences besides stepping down of their ranks? Gabriel's memories loss wasn't even a punishment. He had no real consequences for anything and that hurts me, because those are needed for a character to learn and progress. He got rewarded for loving freely, but that love wasn't even actually shown (no, cheesy and super sappy pet names aren't a relationship development)

I'm just sad...or more like devastated about almost everything in this S2. I guess I can just enjoy the fact that him being just a random dude and not worse than the devil himself is my consolation prize. And even with that I was left feeling like I don't have any reason to be in the fandom.

That said, those are just my thoughts. You can disagree and think this season was wonderfully done on every aspect, that's what opinions are.

[tacticalhimbo]

— 10 Fandoms, 10 Characters, 10 Mutuals

@perpetuagf tagged me in this and i am OBSESSED, tyvm for tagging me babs <3

apologies in advance if anybody gets a repeat tag in this!

@carlosoliveiraa | @alexxmason | @captastra | @bbrocklesnar | @vendettapandav | @kourumi | @scarfacemarston | @captain-radioactive-mentality | @ollierachnid | @theavaricesystem

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

AIDEN PEARCE | WATCH DOGS; this man embodies older brother rage and it resonates so hard. like. the protectiveness over his remaining family. the fact he acknowledges (even if a bit harshly at times) that he is a bad guy. the fact he thinks he is utterly irredeemable… obsessed with him and his funky sense of fashion

APOLLYON | FOR HONOR; bastard woman. but i love her for it. her backstory doesn't get a lot of mention and i constantly think about how being a child when her family and such was slaughtered, and to have seen how the man who swore to protect them simply turned his back… i just. the way she's grown into someone who is willing to maintain the presence and intensity of war just to showcase its brutality. the way she took said man's armor and forged it to be her own. her brain!!! she is evil and i support women's wrongs o7

ARCADE GANNON | FALLOUT; the original "just like me fr" character, and one of the first canonically queer characters i had exposure to. my favorite companion always. his personality? incredible. his backstory? tragic. his humor? dry and awful, but i still love it and love him

DR. VIKTOR VEKTOR | CYBERPUNK; literally the character with the most transmasc swag i think i have ever witnessed in a game. like. genuinely. this man is trans to me and i am just so head over heels for this old man and his humor and his genuine care for those within his circle

ELSA WOLCOTT | WILSON'S HEART VR; underrated game and underrated character. genuinely. she is such a good character. i love the whole "parent who will do anything and everything for their child" trope (see: my inclusion of sam fisher and, by extension, aiden pearce). but like genuinely, elsa is such a tragic character when you look past the humor of the plot (re: the game being a mish-mash of horror tropes). i wish she coulda had a redemption arc q0q

MAJOR JACK KRAUSER | RESIDENT EVIL; bastard man. but i love him for it. the dynamic he has with leon (aka his obsession over his former ally) is so… man!!!! he also has transmasc energy and i really don't know how to explain it. he just. does

OBI-WAN KENOBI | STAR WARS; my first fictional crush fr, but also he is just. the character ever. the things he's been through, the way he uses them to better himself. the way he tries so hard to be a good man for everyone around him… obsessed

PUNISHED "VENOM" SNAKE | METAL GEAR; i am so normal about this man (lie) and the fact that he is a shell of his former self that has been molded to fit another's perfect image in an attempt to achieve a greater cause (one that would inevitably become corrupted and lead to his own death) and i just. mm. obsessed again

SAM BECKER | FAR CRY; underrated fave. i love sam's bombastic personality and how it stems from the fact that, after facing tragedy and having to adapt a role that makes him complicit in shit, he finally feels hope at things getting better (at least that's how i see it). he is my tragic little meow meow and i am still so sad about his death. i literally know it happens and every time i play the game i start getting so :((((

SAM FISHER | SPLINTER CELL; i discovered him while playing ghost recon and then he single-handedly shot me into the splinter cell series and now i am rotating him in my brain always. his character arc is one of my favorites, and a scene that always plays in my head is the one in conviction when he finds out the truth about his daughter's disappearance like. ugh!! plus i just love very involved and protective father figure characters (if you haven't noticed the trend on this list. and if you did? shush <;3)

[triviareads]

I see what you mean about bitchy heroes. I like them if they are mean but not too mean if that makes sense. And they can't be a*holes to the heroine. Do you have other recs like that?

It's a fine line! Bitchy heroes to me are like, a particular niche that I don't see very often in newer historical romances; you have the grumpy ones that are closed off initially, the repressed ones, the *revenge* focused ones, the ones who hate the heroine initially and argue with her a lot..... but that doesn't make them bitchy imo. Bitchiness is a mindset.

St. Vincent from Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas: The thing about St. Vincent is, he's never particularly dangerous (see: his flop kidnapping attempt), BUT he is definitely a bitch to Evie in the beginning of DiW, like the time he, ya know, calls her a bitch, and also the general bitchiness of lines like "I'd never be so bourgeois to sleep with my own wife".

Nikolas Angelovsky from Prince of Dreams by Lisa Kleypas: Definitely a bitch when he threatens Emma's suitor into leaving her, gets her drunk, sleeps with her, and announces that he thought about marrying her since she was 13 after he gifted her a tiger to spite her dad, whose wife he kidnapped.

Tony from Theory of Earls by Kathleen Ayers: The kind of man who's told he's hot so often, he doesn't think twice of asking a debutante to perform the piano for him in only her chemise, and umtimately compromising her when she asked his help to compromise someone else. BUT the wildest thing about Tony is something he says when he finds out the Maggie is pregnant which...... I was NOT expecting. Was the redemption fully realized? idk but he's hot so I forgive him.

Anthony Bridgerton from The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn: He is. I won't elaborate.

Blackburn (aka FIGGY) from That Scandalous Evening by Christina Dodd: He's angry, confused, still turned on by Jane's *obsession* once his nude sculpture goes public, and the humiliation doesn't stop him from accosting her when she tries to apologize and press her hand to his dick and going "note the difference".

Kerrich from Rules of Engagement by Christina Dodd: Doesn't think twice about buying a child to gain respectability and hiring a governess who he IMMEDIATELY starts chasing after all while being very confused why he's into this "ugly" woman.

Asa Makepeace from Sweetest Scoundrel by Elizabeth Hoyt: Generally bitchy to Eve re her looks and buttoned-up vibe initially but he's super butthurt when she declines to paint him naked :(

Godric from Outrageous by Minerva Spencer: Again, not dangerous but he spent the entire prior book weirdly stalking the hero and heroine and generally being a little weirdo which understandably got the hero's sister Eva so concerned she kidnapped him.

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

So I was reading this manhwa 'who made me a princess', idk if you know about it so brief description of it is a modern girl transmigrated into a book after her death, and its a princess who is disliked by her emperor/king? (forgot title) father and was eventually executed, anyway what i was trying to get at is that to show how terrible the father was there was entire scene where he killed all the concubines in cold blood after his wife's death (in webcomic there is no reason or readdressing of this fact afterwards, idk about the novel) so some of the fans were discussing that to show he changed as the comic was trying to portray, how powerful it would have been if he bowed down in front of those he killed, if he at least tried to make up for it. And idk looking at that discussion made me think if an attempt at post canon jiang cheng redemption (idk man maybe jiang yanlis ghost came to haunt him or some other reason where he tries i guess, maybe an older jin ling who is now stable in his position as the jin leader is the one who breakdowns and yells how much of a murderer/blood jiang cheng has of innocents on his hands after being approached by some poor family member of someone jiang cheng killed, the person is an old grandmother who asks 'my grandson was taken by sect leader jiang as a disciple he hasnt been back since, i hope he is well' and poor woman doesnt know the kids been tortured and killed and so jin ling says unless you apologize to them, unless you at least try to face your actions, dont call me your nephew again/i wont call you my uncle) jin ling (and just to be safe he tells wei wuxian all about the dates when they are going in case something goes wrong cause he trusts wei wuxian to help if things go south with jiang cheng) goes with him to prevent jiang cheng from lashing out if the families dont want to do shit with him, and to make sure he tells the truth of it and maybe its a finally wake up call for jiang cheng, because any time he even thinks of blaming wei wuxian he remembers how much of a clown he is ALA the temple scene and has no other choice but to face his actions if he wants to keep a relationship with jin ling. What are your thoughts on it?

I do think, in regards to Jin Ling and Jiang Cheng's relationship, his love for his nephew is to show that it isn't too late to show in actions, his own dedication to someone. Admittedly, I do not think Jin Ling has the heart to disown or think his uncle is a monster, as many do reasonably view him as readers. As he had said with his narration:

Somehow, there didn’t seem to be anyone he could blame or anyone he could hate. Wei Wuxian, Jin Guangyao, Wen Ning—he should hold every one of them responsible for his parents’ deaths. He had good reason to loathe each of them. But they all seemed like they’d had their reasons, and it left him unable to hate them.

But if he didn’t hate them, who could he hate? Had he deserved to lose both parents at such a young age? Was this how he would be forced to live—unable to seek revenge on his enemies, but also unable to loathe them without qualms?

He couldn’t take this lying down. He couldn’t help but feel aggrieved. How he yearned to perish with them and be done with it!

For many I don't think they see as Jiang Cheng being served enough of his own retribution. But not all of it is always putting someone in the worst possible situations to be reaped. The world of "demonic cultivation" is the realm of Xue Yang, not of Wei Wuxian, and is something that has been in underground existence even before Wei Wuxian. But don't know if Jin Ling would technically by these stories, as everyone has their reasons. It's about the healing over anything else that he eventually tries to grow with and become less ignorant through. This is already seen as he chooses night hunts with Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji mentoring with no mention of Jiang Cheng kicking up a fuss. It is a very small thing, but small things are all that can be used to achieve a better world and life. Jin Ling, I feel at least, does not want anything to do with further condemnation that will only cycle a hate that will not be satisfied unless you as a person decide to move on from it.

Jin Ling does know what his uncle is like, horribleness and all, but, love is also trying to stay with them and having the fortitude to stay with that person to hope they can be for the better. Jiang Cheng, will never be kind or fully capable of initiating remorse, but his actions are enough for Jin Ling to comfortably and finally be allowed to flourish, without the weight of self-doubt. Support, in that, is really what Jin Ling needs over wanting further condemnations for those that he loves and cares for.

A lesson ironically learned from Wei Wuxian a man he stated to hate so much, yet learned to love.