#fandom takes

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

I hate to say it, but none of the characters are leftiepilled marxistmaxxers. None of them are socialist, or communist, or whatever else. Additionally, very few of them support a meritocracy, much less a real democracy.

The series doesn't actually focus on the political and economic structures, instead it focuses on interpersonal struggles and also kill the big evil world ending dragon.

If you're going to get mad about the social and economic gaps that are inherent in empires and monarchies, you're not going to like the series. Most characters are complacent or supportive of the oppressive systems because the leading lords in each game are presented as benevolent rulers.

If that annoys you, maybe you just don't like knight kill dragon games. Play Disco Elysium or something else that's actually politically charged.

(Before anyone says anything, I'm a communist, I am just also able to suspend disbelief when playing a game about olden knights and wizards and dragons)

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[total-drama-takes-the-squeakquel]

one of my fav things about td fans is how crazy the age range is. you have gen wunners like me who grew up with seasons 1-3 and are now in their 20s all the way to the teen new gens growing up with the show now and posting some of the most beautiful artwork i’ve ever seen. total drama is eternal

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[canonically47]

“there is no straight explanation for this” neither is there a gay one. there is however an aromantic one

[meaningtotellyou]

idk how to word this without sounding like im shitting on new fans but there really has been a huge surge of everlore fans and now tiktok/eras tour fans (i’ll call them) who like… love the music but don’t really like.. know Taylor as a person quite yet? so it’s like the music is cool but then they get to her personality and think she’s nothing but cringy and weird and everything she does is annoying. and THAT’S what i don’t like i guess. stan culture has really shifted into being as mean and as cruel and crude as possible to and about the person you’re stanning ANYWAY and then laughing it off as a joke but.. idk. like she knows we make fun of her sometimes but it’s another thing to be like “shut up you’re old and cringe and embarrassing and not funny stop talking” and that’s a lot of what im seeing lately

[real-total-drama-takes]

I’m not a multishipper but multishippers are like the NICEST people in this fandom. Like you’ll post shop art or tell them about a ship and they’ll be like “omg that’s so cute!!!” Or “waittt I can totally see it!” Instead of being like “they’ve never interacted” “but I ship x” “. They’re so much fun

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[amiedeselfes]

I just realised that akeshu and their justice ideals and perceptions in the story is even more symbolic that I thought.

Hear me out. Akechi for his justice has decided to sacrifice others for it. He has tricked, manipulated, killed and hurt so many for his revenge, his justice.

Ren instead, to face the injustice he has gone through, has decided to sacrifice himself for others. To save people, to stop assaults, violence, gaslighting and manipulation from many palace rulers, he has put himself into danger. He has gone throught police interrogation and even death itself for his justice. It's a sacrifice of himself he makes for others to not live what he has gone through. He does it so justice prevails, true justice to his eyes.

BUT! In the boiler room, their vision of justice shatters. At this very moment, for Akechi's justice to prevail he doesn't sacrifice others but himself. And for Ren's justice to prevail he must let him do so, let someone else be sacrificed for his justice.

The parrallels in there makes me insane. Why are they like this.

[stellarembers]

unpopular opinion in the natm fandom

Ahkmenrah is confirmed to be 18 in the movies but 17 in the books, I can't wrap around the fact that this fandom ships tablet guardians. Larry is pushing forty. Don't give me that "but Ahk's over 4,000 years old 🤓" we've had this argument with redditors and discord mods

[the-owl-house-takes]

The TOH critical people are literally so funny because none of them agree about anything.

"Season 1 was the only good season" "Season 1 is the worst season and the writing only got better because they knew they were being cancelled and were forced to speed it up"

"TTT was the best episode of season 3" "TTT is the worst episode of season 3"

"Lumity is boring" "Lumity is toxic"

"Huntlow needed more time" "Huntlow had too much screen time"

"Why does Gus exist? He shouldn't have existed, he takes up too much time" "Gus didn't get enough time"

"King became too important" "King didn't do anything"

Can you all just finally admit that there's nothing actually wrong with the show and you just personally, in your own opinion, didn't like it? Nothing wrong with not liking it, you don't have to make up shit that doesn't exist or pretend things are worse than they were. I don't like white chocolate, but I'm not going to tell people that it kills you or whatever. That the people who invented it were evil. Like come on now.

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[zoluulife]

Honestly kind of sick of staying silent about this so I am going to say it. {just before that though I’ll say that people have every right to ship zosan if that’s what makes them happy this is just my opinion on the ship and the fandom a-bit :) } I don’t understand what makes zosan such a popular ship among the one piece community, I mean I get the whole “enemies to lovers” bs but that trope is just so boring and so unoriginal in my opinion like it’s the same old stuff every time and honestly they don’t have good chemistry together. I normally get mad if ppl mischaracterise characters that are enemies and try to justify that as a reason why they are a bad ship (like sasnaru) but with zosan it’s just painful I mean just imagine the toxicity of it if they were to actually be in a relationship.

All the ship has going for it is the headcannons no cannon material lol ,they are constantly at each others threats so I really don’t see how that screams romantic to so many people in the fanbase it’s honestly kinda sad and obviously there is bickering occasionally that can be cute in a ship but zoro and sanji don’t even bicker they are full on fighting each other ,I don’t see the appeal like they are constantly going on about how much they hate each other and I mean yeah they have their moments where they get along but I always just think of that in a very platonic way I mean it’s like oda why of showing that 99% of the time they hate each other but 1% of the time they can care yk him showing that at the end of the day they are a crew but yeah ig i’ll just never get it call this controversial but zosan really is the “gay ship for straight people “

Ship that everyone fan girls about but doesn’t actually deserve its popularity. And zosan shippers who hate on zolu are seriously crazy might get hate for this but zolu has more chemistry and cannon material than zosan ever will.

[try02line]

TOH UNPOPULAR TAKE: CALEB WITTEBANE: Evelyn his love, Philip his joy

Essentially a personal interpretation of the Wittebane lore from Caleb perspective with him being a much more grey character of dubious/grey morality (+ him being kind of delusional)

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Imagine this- Caleb meets Evelyn, a gorgeous, witty and vibrant witch. Despite everything he has been taught all his life, he likes her- no, screw that, he loves her. It takes time of course, but their love is genuine and deep, they complete each other, and their relationship flourishes fast and sweet. She is a breath of fresh air in Caleb’s life, she shows him things he had never thought possible, she shows him a world that is new and exciting and free, so strikingly different from the stark harsh rules and unsaid protocols of Gravesfield.

The small hushed conversations in the forest, the secret kisses and small escapades are soon not enough for either. They crave for more, but they know they cannot have it in the human realm, so Evelyn leads her friend and lover through a portal and to her home.

Caleb’s visits to the Boiling Isles are brief and hesitant affairs at first, albeit his curiosity, it still takes time for him to get used to such strange, terrifying yet fascinating world. But with time he grows bolder and more confidente. They don’t have to hide their love there, they are free. Free to hold hands and dance together, free to laugh and cry, free to explore and love for hours to no end.

And just like that, the once rare brief escapades become an ever more common occurrence, until they become a nearly daily matter. And not only that, but the time he spends there grows exponentially. If at first it was just a few minutes, soon he spends there hours, even days.

Until one day, he doesn’t come back from that portal.

Being in the Boiling Isles with Evelyn is intoxicating, nearly addictive. He is free, he is happy, he feels alive. Time flies by like butterflies, at the constant rhythm of their enamored hearts, inexorable and yet unnoticed. Caleb thinks he’d like to stay there forever, spend the rest of his days in this apparent perfect pure bliss.

But he cannot.

Because he doesn’t belong.

The Boiling Isles are beautiful and Evelyn’s family and friends always do their best to make him feel part of this- of everything; and he appreciates that, truly, they are far kinder to him than what he deserves, than what he’ll ever be able to to express and give back.

But it isn’t enough.

Deep down, Caleb knows he doesn’t belong here, just like he didn’t belong in Gravesfield when he arrived all those years before. No one but a poor homeless orphan, with nothing to his name but his father’s blue coat and his little brother at his side.

He doesn’t belong there, and he accepts it. He smiles his worries away, and simply tries to make the most out of this, trying to enjoy this sweet little dream, knowing it will not last forever.

He has to go back after all, he knows, he has always known.

That was why when he followed Evelyn thru that portal, he left all his most priced possessions behind.

His blue coat.

His carving knife.

His little brother.

Oh his little brother. His joy and his duty. The only thing his poor mother had left to remind him of her. Of her blue eyes, of her dark hair, of her witty comments- Philip had inherited all of that and more.

Caleb missed him dearly, of course he did.

He had spent his own childhood and adolescence raising him. He had taught him everything he knew. He had comforted him from his nightmares. He had taken any and every back breaking job under the sun to make sure he wouldn’t go hungry. He had stolen medicines when he was sick. He had taken his punishments and blames when he had messed up. He had haunted an hanged innocent and sinful women alike so they could fit in.

It had been a hard life, and yet, it had always seemed worth it when he would come back to their small home in the woods at the end of the day, sweaty and exhausted, and his little brother would be waiting for him sat on the small porch of their cabin. Every day he would do that, with no fail. Whether it was hot or cold, whether it was sunny or raining or snowing, whether it was early or late, whether they had argued or not. He was always there, each single time, awaiting for his return.

And Caleb would feel at home.

Maybe that was why, regardless of all the precious memories they shared in there, of all the small trinkets and moments and love they had filled it with it, Caleb had never been able to truly feel the house him and Evelyn shared as anything more than that … a house, never a home, or never a complete one at least.

There would always be something, someone missing to him, an emptiness in his heart. Something no friend, nor pet, nor palisman, nor the prospect of a baby could make up for- even if he loved each of them more than life itself.

Not even his Evelyn. Oh, how he loved her. But he also loved Philip.

And in his sinful human greed, Caleb prayed at night he could have both.

Evelyn’s free hypnotizing smile, Philip’s mischevious adoring eyes.

Wouldn’t it be beautiful? To go on adventures in the forest with his little brother during the day, and to dance around the fire with his lover at night. He didn’t think he’d need anything more, anyone else, to be truly happy. For how blasphemous it was to ponder such thought, he didn’t think anything their lord in heaven could offer him would ever be as joyful and sweet as that.

But it was impossible, nothing more than wishful thinking, a greedy fantasy.

For that to be possible, he’d have to either bring Philip to the Boiling Isles or Evelyn to the human realm, and both prospects were nothing but cruel, even if there was any chance of either accepting. He couldn’t do that to either, he loved them both too much for that.

How could he ask his lover to leave her home, her friends and family behind? How could he ask her vibrant and free Evelyn to strip herself of what made her her, to spend the rest of her life in hiding, with the looming threat of someone finding out what she was and burning her at the stake for that? No, she was to remain free to fly around and spread her wings in all their glory. That was whom she was, untamed and rebellious, but also warm and reassuring, like fire. He would never even suggest anything that may deem that light, he loved her too much for that

But then, how would asking his little brother to leave the human realm any better? Philip, who had been forcefully dragged from his home once already, whom had always struggled so much to fit in, to find a purpose, a place in their stern and unforgiving community. How could he ask him to leave it all behind, when he had just started to thrive in it? To drag him to this dangerous hellish new land, to start from scratch with no guarantee on their future, not only making of him an outcast once more, but knowing that for him to have any chance to fit in, he would have to unlearn and go against all the morals and rules that everyone had taught him since he was a little child?

That Caleb had taught him?

Oh … Maybe that was the real issue, wasn’t it? Maybe there was nothing selfless nor loving about his worries. Maybe the reason why he didn’t bring Philip along with him was far from merely not wishing to cause him harm.

Maybe the truth was that he was too prideful to let his little brother know he had been wrong. And not about something small and insignificant, but that all his life he had been wrong.

To admit that to Philip, who always looked up to him as if he could do or say no wrong, as if he was special. Him- special! What a joke! Caleb Wittebane, a poor orphan with little education and nothing to his name. A nobody, who had to scrap the bottom of the barrel each and every day just to make enough to eat. And yet … and yet Philip had always looked up at him as if he held the whole world in his hands.

Expecting of him to always know the answer, to always know what to do- it was exhausting at times, sure, it felt like a cross on his shoulders for him to carry thru the years, but it was also so sinfully addictive, as he sipped the sweet reward from the top of his pedestal. To feel important, to feel indispensable, to feel respected. Pride was a sin, and yet one Caleb couldn’t stop indulging in, a forbidden fruit he never got tired off, regardless of the years that passed by. He was so ashamed of himself, but- oh how he relinquished in the pure naive adoration and admiration his little brother would shower him with.

Stronger than a knight. Smarter than a lawman. Higher than a priest.

That was how it made him feel, and to a nobody like him, it was everything.

Wouldn’t it be cruel, to tear that pristine perfect image from his little brother’s arms? To let him see, that the older brother he looked up so much to, was nothing, but a fraud? No, Philip had already so few certainties in his life, he couldn’t do that to him. It wouldn’t be fair. He was his duty after all, how could he cause him so much pain? What kind of older brother would he be, if he knowingly hurt him?

He had to go back. It didn’t matter how exciting the Boiling Isles were, how pleasant his life there was, how lovely Evelyn was- he did not belong there. His place was at Gravesfield, in a little cabin in the woods, with his little brother.

It was his destiny, it was his duty.

He had promised Philip he would never leave him after all, how could he call himself a good older brother and disappoint him so cruelly? He had to go back, and he soon would.

Or at least, that was what he told himself every morning when he woke up, and every night when he went to sleep. And yet- that was what it all was, just words, with little progress or action to actually follow them. Again, he was a fraud after all, ready to fool not only his loved ones, but also himself.

Caleb kept telling himself he had all the time in the world. And just like that, days, months and years passed by. And yet, he still told himself he had time, so it didn’t matter. Even when him and Evelyn got married, even when they moved to a bigger house, even when she told him she was expecting.

Caleb kept telling himself he could and would stop at any moment, he was just waiting for the right one. It wasn’t that much different from when him and Philip would play pretend in the woods. His younger brother often got so self absorbed in his little games and stories that he would loose track of time- yeah that must be it, he was simply enjoying his life and struggling to keep track of time. But it was fine, all games come to an end sooner or later, regardless of how fun they were or how painful it was to stop, and this one would to.

One day, soon enough, he would have the bravery to thank Evelyn for blessing him with her love, he was sure she would find someone else, someone better, someone who deserved to build a family with her. He would gather his stuff, and he would leave, and go back to his old life, to Philip.

Caleb never wondered what may have been of his little brother, while he was away, never even pondered such scenarios. He just told himself that Philip was a smart kid, and he would be fine while he was gone. In his mind, there was no doubt of that, just like there was no doubt he would eventually cross that portal, and go back to him.

In his mind, the younger boy would be waiting for him on the steps of their home, just like he always did, looking not one day older from when he had left him behind, still the little boy he had raised and loved. Maybe he’d be upset he took this long, just like when he did whenever Caleb had to work an extra hour in the fields, but in the end, he would forgive him, just like he always did. They would just pick up from where they had left, as if only a few days had passed by, maybe he would indulge him and play witch hunters in the forest just like when they were children. His little brother would forget all his sins and would smile up to him as if he was a great king rather than a fool, and everything would be fine.

Right?

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I always claim i want to explore a more grey-dark version of Caleb Wittebane (more or less within the canon), so here it is! Let me know what you think about it! Especially @barnowled

[batfamtournament]

Most Annoying Fanon Take

Maybe it's disputed by canon. Maybe it seems wildly out of character. Maybe it's just something you see so often that it drives you up the wall. But what's the BatFanon that annoys you the most?

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

The FE fandom is unfairly criticized for their treatment of main women leads because not enough people factor in how sexist the writing is. Edelgard would get less hate if she was held more accountable. Micaiah would get less hate if she didn't get written out of the final part and awful blood-pact device. Celica and Erika would get less hate if the writers didn't hand them the idiot ball. Female leads are often awful units compared to male counterparts. The male leads always upstage the female ones or are written overall better bc they were unconcerned with making them a sellable waifu. There's definitely sexist people in the fandom, and male characters everywhere get cut more slack, and I'm not denying an element of sexism in all of this, but holding the writers accountable something that needs to get brought up more.

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Im gonna discuss my opinions on this take now.

Edelgard is held accountable and punished for her actions by literally dying in 3 out of the 4 routes. Like the Agarthans are not blamed for what Edelgard did. She takes complete responsibility and suffers the consequences for starting a war.

Erika giving the Sacred Stone to Formortis because she believes Lyon, an extremely skilled healer and magic user who has been studying the stones will get rid of him through using it is a smarter decision than Ephraim attempting to kill THE DEMON KING ALL BY HIMSELF. Like at least Erika's plan made sense and could have worked if Lyon was able to resist Formortis. People who call Erika stupid for her scene while not doing the same for Ephraim's are hypocritical in this regard.

While SOV is quite sexist in how so many of the women are damseled, Celica sacrificing herself for Mila makes complete sense and is not rooted in sexism because at that point in the game most people believe that they still need the gods to survive and a single human life is worth less than the life of a god. Celica trusted Jedah because to her that was her only choice. What is sexist is her having to be repeatedly saved by men while nothing similar happens to Alm.

I admit I'm being extremely nitpicky with this point, but Erika and Celica both act completely in character when they make their mistakes and therefore are not Idiot Balled. Idiot Balling is when a character acts uncharacteristically stupid and out of character to serve the plot.

Idk about the specifics with Micaiah in Radiant Dawn but yeah it sucks how Ike takes most of the spotlight from both her and Elincia :/

The only female lead that is a substantially worse unit than her male counterpart is Erika. She is an outlier that should not be counted. Celica, Micaiah and Elincia all have utility that Alm and Ike Lack while Edelgard is literally just as good of a frontliner as Dimitri. And Lyn is just as weak as Eliwood.

Character writing is subjective.

You are severely overestimating the importance of waifus and underestimating the importance of husbandos to the franchise. Straight and Bi women play Fire Emblem too.

Also characters who have depth tend to be more popular regardless of their gender. It is profitable to have waifus with layers.

I am not denying that sexism was and somewhat still is a thing in the writing and gameplay of this series; However, the fandom is just as guilty in how female characters are treated - perhaps more guilty in the newest two games where these issues rarely rear their ugly head in the story and the gameplay. The fandom should be held accountable too instead shifting most of the blame on the writers.

Anyway if you read all of this, have a heavenly creature i found recently <3

[total-drama-takes-the-squeakquel]

Cameron should have Cody's fandom

He achieved everything Cody couldn't

Won the Million

Got kissed by Gwen

Eliminated Sierra

Won a fight against Alejandro

But also he's more of a boyfailure

Weighs less than a doll

Weighs less than a butterfly

Had to learn pushups

Did nothing but read and sigh for 16 years

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[canonically47]

“can you people just let friends be friends!!” i shout into the mic. the crowd boos and throws tomatoes at me. “why, are you homophobic?” they accuse. i shoot everyone dead with my aromantic beam.

[fake-total-drama-takes]

discourse we should bring bavk!!:

mike discourse

sierra/cody/coderra discourse

blainely squirting discourse

noco fans are oppressed copypastas

the love triangle debacle

consenting to trans headcanons

raynebow is homophobic/racist

ripaxel is lesbophobix

whatever catanon had going on

may I also add the white loving white takes

[real-total-drama-takes]

I HATE when in fanfics and shit they make Cody Noah’s best friend and not OWEN when Owen is canonically Noah’s best friend. LIKE WHAT THE FUCK