#hawks critical

[sapphic-agent]

I've said this before, but it's actually so twisted to give one of the only other characters with an abusive father an Endeavor fixation, and then use him as a tool to redeem Endeavor.

Like?? Horikoshi didn't have to do that to Hawks. He could have given Hawks any other backstory and it wouldn't have changed anything. But to have him idolize Endeavor for catching his dad, make him prop Endeavor's development, and then have him set aside the fact that Endeavor was actually worse than his dad?

(Not to mention, it feels like Hawks has no agency throughout the whole series. He was forced into being a child soldier/assassin and still follows the HPSC's orders the whole time. We don't see any internal conflict with this like we do with Lady Nagant. And to top it all off, he has no negative thoughts about the hero he looked up to being an abuser? Like, Horikoshi couldn't spend a panel talking about it??)

Am I the only one who thinks that's kind of fucked up?

[nutzgunray-lvt]

I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but It's really funny how Horikoshi writes characters that seemingly only exist to be cheerleaders/mouthpieces to his favored ones. What's even funnier is how divisive these favored characters are.

Izuku - He's the main character and he does have a personality, but he's never allowed to grow beyond his "Kacchan is the best" mentality, despite it literally being painful for Bakugou to actually call him by his name instead of 'useless'.

Present Mic - Pretty much only exists to show that Aizawa supposedly isn't a bad person, despite Aizawa canonically not treating him that good.

Aizawa - Exists to show that "Bakugou's totally a good guy!" despite him having expelled students for much less. It's REALLY not a good look for Aizawa as a person that he wants BAKUGOU to be the No. 1 Hero.

Hawks - Is ride or die for Endeavor, despite him being a domestic abuser and an all-around douche.

Rei and Fuyumi - Minimize the negativity Endeavor has brought into the family's lives and violate the boundaries and feelings set in place by those not favorable to Endeavor (though this last one is soley on Fuyumi)

The frustrating thing about these characters is that there are the building blocks for more nuanced characters there.

Izuku could gradually come to the realization that the way Bakugou treats him was never okay and leave him behind for the sake of his own healing.

It's all but stated Hawks latched onto Endeavor as a replacement for his own abusive father - have him see and fully realize that Endeavor was no different from his dad.

Hori brushes over the parentification Fuyumi underwent as a result of Rei's hospitalization and Endeavor's neglect - just fucking give her SOMEONE to take care of her, as well as someone calling her out on pushing her feelings onto her younger brothers.

I don't really know with Rei, but I guess just have multiple people reminding her that not only was the abuse she suffered never okay, but Endeavor leaving her favorite flower is the bare minimum of apologizing.

[anneapocalypse]

Honestly something that really affected my view of Varric (and again, I say this with great love for the character) was playing my Terrible Hawke, Emilia, who ends the game an absolute anti-mage fanatic who believes that magic is a curse and it was a blessing that the Maker called Bethany back to His side before she could fall to demons. She is a Hawke who is mainly diplomatic, well-spoken, respected, and absolutely unhinged in her views on magic. She is the Viscount of Kirkwall, and by the time she comes to the Inquisition she's also taken Chantry vows and become an actual templar (after having practiced the discipline off the books for years). She singlehanded kept Kirkwall under Chantry control after Meredith's death. She slaughtered every mage to a one, even the ones who surrendered.

She's Varric's best friend. And he's just as starry-eyed about her in Inquisition as he is about any other Hawke. I love what a deeply unsettling side of Varric that is to see.

She's the best. She's a hero. She saved his city.

[kaltacore]

ah yes. a spectrum of my current most relevant obsessions

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

I said I wasn't going to get started on the topic of Aveline ruining Carver's chances with the guard but I lied okay, it's Carver Hawke defense hours.

Here's the thing; it doesn't matter if you believe Carver was or wasn't fit for the guard. That's a different debate that I'll get to. What matters is Aveline's in no position to tell the guard not to accept his application. Why does she think that's her right to judge whether or not he's fit?

Carver should've had the chance to prove himself one way or another. If it turns out he's not a good fit, then let him fail. Let him learn from it.

"Oh but failure could mean lost lives-"

Aveline doesn't get to talk shit about failure and the people. Plenty have died on her watch yet she still believes she's a good guard and Guard-Captain.

"maybe Aveline's protecting him, Carver could die while on patrol-"

Carver could die working in the Bone Pit, or serving as a templar, or when he's running around with Hawke. Carver could trip and fall down a set of stairs and die. In fact, he can die in the Deep Roads, somewhere he wouldn't have to go if the Hawke's weren't desperate.

Either Carver fails as a guard, or more likely, he succeeds and proves himself worthy of it.

But let's be real, Carver probably kept getting rejected due to being a Fereldan with a past of smuggling/mercenary work and Aveline only reaffirmed the decision, either because they asked her what she thought or she stuck her nose in unprompted.

But what irritates me is that she admits to telling them not to accept his application, and then has the balls to call Carver too proud to take up a trade or find another line of work.

Carver tells her, "And who would take on a Fereldan apprentice? Maybe in another year I could work my way up to pissboy." He has a good point here. Aside from the guard, the only other place Carver could work and use his skillset is with the Templars. Or go back to mercenary/smuggling work.

And Aveline doesn't even have a real answer for him. No suggestions, no encouragement, nothing. Just "Fine, let's crawl down some holes. Good bloody luck for your sake."

Also, if you do the Mark of the Assassin DLC in Act 1-

Aveline: You should see if any of the noblemen are looking for new men-at-arms. Carver: Are you trying to get rid of me? Aveline: It's a role with some autonomy. A good fit with your training and... tendencies. Carver: After serving King Cailan? You want me to suffer some poncy git who needs two servants to wipe his own ass? I'll find my own way, thanks. Aveline: I wish you would.

You wish he would?? Aveline, he was trying to find his way into the guard, a position he'd make a good fit for, and you helped deny him of it because YOU didn't think he would be good enough, I just-

If I haven't made it clear yet, I firmly believe that Carver would've made a great guard. He wants to help people, to be a protector. He's loyal, and despite what Aveline claims, he can follow orders and take his duty seriously. We see him do incredibly well with the Grey Wardens, after all. If he were a guard, he wouldn't have to go down into the Deep Roads with Hawke, and I think he would've been okay with that! He's so hurt and bitter when you leave him behind because that effectively tells him, "I don't need you." Carver's spent the whole first act telling you he wants to go on the expedition aka that he wants to be needed.

But if he were a guard, he would be needed elsewhere. He'd be in training as a recruit. He'd look after Leandra while you go. He wouldn't be backed into a corner with no income and only the templars left as his chance at forging his own path and providing for his family.

He doesn't get that opportunity, though.

By the way, if he becomes a warden, you can get this banter:

Aveline: I'm glad you found a place with the Wardens. Carver: Well, it's not the city guard, but it'll do. Aveline: Carver... it wasn't the place for you. Carver: No, it's all right. It is. It cost a lot, but I get it. I really was a bit of a tit those days, wasn't I? Aveline: Well...

This banter makes me want to scream.

Aveline's just... she's so insistent that she's right. She's someone who will double down rather than entertain the idea that she's wrong and it's not just with Carver and the guard, it's with everything. The "my beef with Aveline" list gets longer and longer every time I replay da2, I swear.

Say what you will about Carver, whether you think he would've been a good fit or if Aveline's right and it wasn't for him, he was denied a chance and it cost him so much in the end. He either dies, or he joins the templars where he deals with Chantry's bullshit trying to brainwash him with "mages aren't people" and "magic is a cancer in this world", or he's infected with the blight and becomes a Grey Warden, forced to serve the rest of his life fighting darkspawn, tormented by voices and nightmares.

I will never not be bitter about this.

[luckthebard]

CritRole putting out a green version of the large Dice Bag of Hoarding has reminded me of one of the most embarrassing moments in CR/TTRPG twitter history, when CR first launched the bag back in 2019 and it started a Discourse about CR’s shop destroying the livelihood of all small creators in the tabletop space. If you don’t remember this, I WISH I were joking.

[tobythewise]

I just think there’s something incredibly special about being a mage Hawke romancing Anders. All of the other companions find the mage plight annoying at the best of times and WRONG in the worst of times. Hearing their banter HURTS me sometime because hey… you’re saying all mages deserve to have Meredith imprison them because they’re all weak?? IM one of those mages you’re talking about! You think tranquility is fine? That’s ME you’re talking about??

The only one consistently fighting, consistently seeing mages as good and PEOPLE is Anders.

He’ll fight by putting his very life on the line for our freedom. Hawke is willing to throw away his home and be on the run again for their freedom.

I just think that’s really beautiful and really special.

[crimsoncosmic]

So, apparently, an adult supervillain whose been terrorizing a city for years, rarely actually shows remorse for his actions and is also a neglectful and controlling parent because of the “death” of his wife is “sympathetic” and “redeemable”

but a teenage girl whose a bully because she has an abusive mother who constantly belittled her and can’t even remember her own name that she so desperately wants the approval of and a father who just spoils her to death, who showed remorse for her actions at times and was actually on the road to changing and becoming a better person after becoming a superhero before it was taken all away from her at the last second is “irredeemable” and “absolutely evil”.

Thomas Astruc’s logic is absolutely ridiculous.

[bibibbon]

Characters with wasted potential: takami kegio

Oh hawks and the debates I have seen circulating around his character. He could of been a well written and thoroughly interesting and complex character but we know where that went.

I have got my own problems with hawks in canon. This is gonna be more of a ramble than anything else so enjoy.

His interactions with characters. A lot of the interactions that hawks has with different characters could of been so complex and intriguing if done right sadly MHA fails at that. Hawks views Enji todoroki the number two hero as his saviour from his abusive father so obviously hawks is a huge Endeavour fan who puts him on a pedestal. So we expect him to face an internal conflict when he finds out that his own saviour is an abuser to his own family but NOPE WE GET NOTHING. Hawks is physically not allowed to change or think about this and stays as a static character. Hawks and lady nagant have a lot of parallels and I found it Hella confusing when I learnt that lady nagant WASN'T hawk's former mentor and if she was that would of added a lot more depth to them in the vigilante arc. Hawks and tokoyami, look I love their mentor and mentoee relationship and how hawks actively encourages tokoyami to do things also it's Hella implied that the two are close and end up doing silly things on internships which I think is really fun. However I think the bit in the vigilante arc when hawks isn't answering tokoyamis calls and tokoyami is worried about him was handled poorly. I also think tokoyamis reaction to hawks being a killer is handled poorly. Hawk's actions during the first war arc and him killing twice could of been complex to him if handled well but we are led to believe that he was in the right in killing twice when hawks had the power to easily knock out twice, transport him to a jail cell and destroy all the clones before anything bad happens considering that hawks is known for his fastness, strength and agility .

Wasted potential in introduced plot aspects about him. Hawks is introduced as the 3rd top hero and compared to those before him he is young. He has a very charismatic and two faced nature that he has sharpened and learnt to use with the training the HPSC gave him. Hawks is a spy assassin that is supposed to act as a charismatic hero celebrity. In a way after all mights retirement hawks and enji became the most popular faces in Japan. Hawks was bred for this position yet that isn't expanded on neither is it developed well on. Hawk's actions during MVA and the first war arc are complex as they're coming from both genuine truth and lie. Hawks feels trapped literally and metaphorically having to live a life that isn't his and entertain people, always being watched from a cage. That's the story he tells the league and some of it to tokoyami and this is the truth to him. Hawks also killed twice BECAUSE HE BELIEVED it was the only option he had when in fact IT WASNT THE ONLY OPTION and by hawks trying to escape the cage and differentiate himself from the HPSC he ends up following and obeying them all along.

Lack of agency. As a character hawks lacks agency to do things or act. There are things that hawks isn't allowed to do even though it fits his narrative clearly. Hawks isnt allowed to have any negative feelings towards enji todoroki and what he did, heck he isn't even allowed to INTROPSECT on such a thing. Hawks isn't allowed to fully be developed or have any source of introspection, it would of been great if we saw more of what hawks thought about what he did to twice and what toga is trying to do. Hawks also doesn't say much when it comes to the HPSC and how they treated him the closest thing we get to intropsection in that case is him telling lady nagant that he is an extremely optimistic guy.

These are my main problems with hawks, Iam aware that there may be more.

I actually enjoyed hawk's introduction in the manga which was chapter 185 during the changing of the hero popularity polls. Hawks was presented as this complex character who isn't what he seems from the beginning. The first few panels we see him and he is comedically exaggerating his actions aka zipping his mouth and not talking or being overall very expressive however, when he does start to talk he is shown to cleary express his views and has stated that he hates the general bs thay heroes sprout about them wanting to uphold the law more than enjoying the luxuries that hero work gives them. He then takes the mic and proceeds to 'spice things up' by calling out enji on how disliked he is by the civilians. He claims this is something he did to help enji when in fact it didn't help him at all. To me this first interaction already establishes him as a walking contradiction.

His relationship with tokoyami. Their relationship first started in a way for hawks to gain information about 1A and he definitely wasn't being sneaky about it considering that tokoyami could see right through him. Tokoyami at the time only wanted to learn from hawks and was heavily upset and confused as to why hawks taught him nothing and was only using him. However, as time passed by they actually started to form a proper mentor and student relationship which I really enjoyed. When hawks was asked why he chose tokoyami he said that they are from the same feather, basically insinuating that he felt like it was somewhat his duty since he and tokoyami are both bird mutants to a certain extent. As a mentor hawks taught his student to have fun and chill out as tokoyami is a very grounded person (literally and metaphorically). Hawks inspired tokoyami to fly and majority of tokoyamis moves are some stuff that he either learnt or was inspired from with hawks. There's also the fact that it's heavily implied that a lot of the time hawks and tokoyami did goof out a bit considering that tokoyami has 'scandalous pictures' of hawks. However, I wish we actually got more of this relationship especially after tokoyami finds out that hawks killed twice. In the manga when tokoyami finds out of such a thing he automatically protects hawks and thinks he is in the right. I disagree with that and I think it would of been better to have it so that tokoyami protects hawks from Dabi not because he is a hero who done no wrong but because he is his mentor who he deeply cares for. I would also have it so that tokoyami starts to question who hawks really is?, is he a good person?, did tokoyami do the right thing helping hawks? Etc etc. in the vigilante arc, it's stated that tokoyami tried to contact hawks multiple times to no avail however this isn't expanded on. I would have it so that hawks is avoiding tokoyami on purpose because he is ashamed and scared of what his student will think of him. At the end they have a conversation and talk it out with tokoyami understanding that what hawks did was wrong but he deeply cares for him whereas hawks understands just how valuable his relationship with tokoyami really is. In the end, I ended up liking what happend with hawks and tokoyami both protecting eachother in the final arc and growing stronger as a mentor and student. Hawks learns to protect the youth and break the cycle that he was trapped in while learning what a hero means to others from tokoyamis perspective.

Hawks and twice . Hawks managed to build a good relationship with twice as the dumb and overly optimistic MVA member. Twice had potential to be saved but hawks ended up killing him. I have reread this part of the manga and I have my mixed opinions on this however, there are two ways I would change this 1) have hawks kill toga instead and have twice and toga switch places as it makes way more sense or 2) have hawks try to quickly take down twice by knocking him out and trying to transport him somewhere get before he can achieve that Dabi comes in and intervenes finally making hawks too slow to do anything and having him end up killing twice. Option 2 is what happend in the manga with hawks being too slow (ironic considering that hawks is praised on speed) to truly save twice and ends up taking his life so twice doesn't escape and doom them all. The problem is that hawks starts on the offensive (something I like), hawks thinks that killing twice is the only way to avoid everything or at least massively injuring him would stop it. Sadly, hawks could of easily convinced twice to back down considering how easily swayed twice is and that he only did the things he did because he thought there was no way out or wanted to help his friends. Before their fight begins however, hawks talks about not being swayed by nice words and connections he built with twice which makes me think that he didn't want to kill him but due to his mindset and pov he ended up killing him because HE THOUGHT IT WAS THE ONLY OPTION HE HAD (It wasn't)

His involvement in the MVA. Hawks first starts as a double spy for the HPSC. Through the MVA arc we see him do questionable things in the name of other people safety however, we see his actions backfire badly. Hawks tries to quickly and swiftly gain the leagues trust yet he isn't fast enough, he tries to quickly inform the heroes and the HPSC of how dangerous and out of hand this situation yet he fails and many things are caused by him (the fastest hero alive) not being quick enough to do anything. He 'kills' beat jeanist in the name of gaining the trust of the MVA yet that does nothing to get him up the system and just makes it that best jeanists help is out of the table for the majority of the arc. Hawks joining the MVA was useful for the league as they were going to parade him around so people can join him yet I still wonder how the mainstream media didnt catch a whiff of what hawks was up to or how he simply abandoned hero society (even though he was a double spy). Hawks also talks to the league why he joined the MVA and uses his own story (somewhat of the truth of his life) how he feels like a bird trapped in a cage one that can't fly freely this can be interpreted in many ways. 1) he doesn't have the right to freely use his quirk to any extent he wants which is something that MVA stands for or 2) he feels trapped by his own life choices, him becoming a hero especially the number 2 and has a lot of eyes on him watching him like a circus animal with every move he makes so he puts on an act and never drops the mask.

Hawks and toga himiko . Toga himiko should of either been killed by hawks in place of twice which would of made him get more backlash by the public and make tokoyami question him even more considering that hawks somewhat mercilessly killed a 16 year old (the same age as tokoyami) in cold blood for justice so he could also do it to him. Or we should of gotten a hawks Vs toga battle in the final arc instead of a afo Vs hawks one. It would of made way more sense. Considering that hawks killed twice who is very dear to toga she should of had her eyes set on hawks death the minute she chose to join the lov and the final war. We should of gotten an intense and emotional battle between them were hawks has to come to terms that he didn't need to kill twice but he thought that it was the only option he had and he watches as toga uses twices quirk knowing that twices death was meaningless as toga is using his quirk in the way he feared it would be used. Hawks would be almost killed until ochako intervenes and has her battle with toga while hawks goes and fights alongside tokoyami.

Hawk's views on lady nagant. Lady nagant should of been hawk's mentor and he should of been her replacement. In canon hawks is only her replacement and I think it would of added more nuance and overall better writing if she was his mentor. I absolutely loved the parallels that those two shared and how they came out on different side of things however, I do think that we should of seen more of hawks getting the backhand treatment from the public considering that him killing twice was on live television. Honestly it surprised me that hawks killing twice isn't what the public was most upset with him about but they were upset with him having an abusive and villain father which honestly says a lot. I also think that they should of had more screentime to talk, hawks helped save lady nagant and she ended up asking him how he still has hope while he says that he is "optimistic". Iam not a huge fan of this moment and I think it could of been written better. Hawks and lady nagant are two sides of the same coin but dam did I hate hawks holding her burnt body and telling her that he was her replacement, it could of been handled better with hawks and her actually having somewhat of a fight and then some of the conversation happening after the explosion.

Hawks and the todoroki family . Oh boy I can feel that this is gonna be a long one. I found it interesting that hawks actually looked up and admired endeavour and I loved the parallels it gave both hawks and Dabi. However, I hated that hawks wasn't allowed to think or have any intropsection after hearing about what enji did or that he didn't go through a bit of a crisis over it. The fact that hawk's character has simply been reduced to enji Todorokis biggest supporter is my biggest problem with hawks. Dabi and hawks were very interesting to me (no I don't ship them) they're simply two sides of the same coin especially in the ways they act. Dabi is consistent on revenge whereas hawks is the opposite, Dabi hates enji whereas hawks admires enji and so on and so on. I do think that it would of been way more interesting if touya and kegio had actual history behind everything going on so I have always liked the HC that they met in the HPSC training scheme and became friends. It's plausible and makes Dabi saying hawk's real name way more meaningful than Dabi finding it out by threatening hawk's mother. I also think that both of them sharing a form of history yet not trusting eachother is hella interesting. Dabi was probably one of the only characters (aside from Izuku and tokoyami) that could see through some of hawks actions. Dabi knew what hawks will do yet never tried to intervene until it benefited him of course in true icon fashion that is. I also find hawk's relationship with the youngest todoroki interesting but I think it was done horribly. I would of liked to see more scenes with hawks and shoto talking about enji and touya or just scene of them that draw the similarities they have.

I would also have hawks be semi involved in the whole mutant racism plot because we need that to be fleshed out. Does hawks help donate to charities that help mutants? Is he against such people? Or doe hawks himself face such discrimination? To be honest I doubt it considering that his mutation is on the "prettier side" of the mutations and wouldn't face discrimination like shoji did

Hawks also had potential to interact with other characters like todoroki which would of highlighted his thoughts and development on the families matter. There is also Izuku midoriya who in a way is in somewhat of a similar circumstance to hawks and they could of had that whole is there another way to save villains like twice and shigaraki without killing them or is death the only way or just general conversation between the two considering that tokoyami was stated to praise izuku so much that hawks considered taking him as an intern. In one of the side comics you also had Izuku be somewhat suspicious of hawks and his abilities and it's also somewhat hinted in the main manga so it's interesting to have them have a conversation about that.

I personally think that hawks should of received concequences for his actions and one of them being hindered quirk use aka his wings don't grow back properly or everytime he uses them he can't use them to their fullest potential due to how injured he was by Dabis fire. Also, I hate how hawks being used by the commission is almost brought as a second thought, like when the HPSC fell we really didn't get much of hawk's personal reaction or thoughts or anything on the matter it seems like a quite empty point even though it had its potential to Futher develop hawks

In conclusion, hawks character introduction was pretty solid and I really liked some of the aspects that the series gave him like making him a walking contradiction to a certain extent but I do think that horikoshi development of hawks character was horrible and the fact that hawks lacks agency to do many things or reflect on things irritates me very much.

[vigilskeep]

scrolled through my writing document to see if i have anything scribbled down already that’s speculative abt inquisition era keir and um

you know what. i rlly don’t know what else i expected

[sapphic-agent]

I want to add a little something to your Problem With Izuku post, if you don't mind.

This is something I only just thought about yesterday, and I know it's not the first time people have complained about this, but Izuku's not allowed to have anything beyond a black and white view of heroics and heroes as a whole.

When Shigaraki takes him hostage in the mall and asks why people are listening to Stain and not him, Izuku says that he can understand Stain's motives, even though he doesn't condone them. He also says that he doesn't understand what Shigaraki's aiming to achieve with his wanton destruction. That's all well and good. You'd think this would lead to him realizing that not all heroes are altruistic, maybe reflect on how not all men are created equal (the first line in the entire goddamn series), but nope. He says he can understand Stain... because they're both fans of All Might. And Shigaraki just takes this at face value!

He's not allowed to reflect on what all Lady Nagant has been put through at the hands of the HPSC, or that people really don't like the new #1 hero being a child abuser who engaged in eugenics. We don't see any of his views changing in his time outside of UA. For that matter, we don't even really see him truly reflecting on Stains views or his valid points on how heroes can be and are corrupt.

I won't even talk about his views on Bakugou, because you know them well and that's probably the biggest complaint people have on him.

You're absolutely right.

One thing I actually despise about Hori's writing is that all the characters (not just Izuku) aren't allowed to change their views no matter what.

Take Hawks for example. Even though I like Hawks, I completely understand why others don't. He had an abusive father and ends up idolizing another abusive father. And when the Todoroki past gets unveiled, he just... Doesn't react. Because there's "no time" or whatever bs excuse. It would be one thing if he came to the realization that the version of Endeavor he had in his head never existed and had to come to terms with it. But none of that because that would require him to be more complex past being a prop for Endeavor's development.

We also see this with 1A, more so Mina and Kirishima. They hate bullying and constantly stood up for others at their old school. But they almost never defend Izuku against Bakugou (they'll chime in and scold him but that's really it). All of 1A just doesn't react to Bakugou's apology. Sure, you can say that they don't tell him off because he apologized and Izuku "accepted it" (not really), but none of 1A just doesn't care? No making sure Bakugou sticks to his promises? No wavering of their idealization of him?

Aizawa refuses to see past his trauma over Oboro and projects that onto his students relentlessly. And what's worse is he thinks his actions are 100% right so that probably won't change any time soon.

I think the only characters who do make significant changes in their views are All Might, Iida, Rock Lock, and Lady Nagant. All Might thought that being a hero quirkless was impossible, but after losing OFA he joins the fight and even faces AFO by himself without a quirk. The Stain altercation made Iida broaden his world view and understand that things aren't as black and white as he thought they were. Rock Lock forced himself to acknowledge that Izuku was a real hero even if he was a kid. Lady Nagant's faith in the world was restored because she saw hope in the form of Izuku.

So Horikoshi can do this, he just refuses to give most characters- like Izuku- any kind of depth or deeper thinking

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

Honestly thanks to season 5 I genuinely don't believe Marinette should be dating Adrien.

Like I'm not even referring to her stalking behavior the show tries to retcon and justify or her being extremely toxic when jealous(volpina, Animaestro, Ikari Gozen Etc) but the parallels she has with Gabriel and how she willingly choosing to keep from Adrien about stuff which can and will put him in the Harm's Way till he learns the truth(aka him being a Senti monster and his parents wedding rings being his amoks)

The thing about Adrienette in Season 5 is that the show brushes aside any personal issues that would get in the way of a relationship, and most of the conflict involving the couple stems from Gabriel trying to break them up while everyone gushes about how perfect they are.

Why couldn't we get episodes about Marinette and Adrien learning how to make their relationship work thanks to personal growth?

[justcallmecappy]

The Andersmance as a narrative of hope

One thing I've noticed while in the Dragon Age fandom is the prevalent interpretation of the Anders romance as a tragedy, or a romance that's inherently tragic. Anders acts behind Hawke's back, destroys the Kirkwall Chantry no matter what choices the player makes, the player sees this as a huge betrayal, and — despite having romanced Anders, and/or being mage-sympathetic — they decide to execute or banish Anders as punishment for his 'crime'. Tears are shed; it's all dramatic and tragic and angsty.

While I sometimes appreciate tragedies, I would like to posit a different perspective: The romance with Anders is a story of hope; a story of standing up to insurmountable odds and overcoming them. The romance with Anders can be approached as one with a happier ending, where Hawke and Anders are the heroes.

Before I elaborate, a disclaimer: These are my own opinions. I understand some players prefer the Andersmance as a tragic romance, and to each player their own. I am not here to dictate the choices you should make in-game or how you approach your playthroughs, merely to present a different perspective to one I've seen very often.

Also, this post is critical of the rivalmance with Anders — more on that later.

The Andersmance as a narrative of hope relies on two perspectives:

Firstly, the Chantry is an authoritarian institution who are the antagonistic force that the heroes need to oppose and take down. There is plenty of meta that explores and supports this.

Secondly, Anders is a heroic character:

He is a healer who set up a clinic providing free healthcare for the marginalized and downtrodden people of Kirkwall who otherwise have gone overlooked by their own Chantry.

He let a Spirit of Justice into his body, simply to help Justice continue to exist in the physical world when he would have otherwise disappeared into the Fade.

He regularly risks his safety and security by helping mages escape abuse in the Gallows and have a chance at freedom via the Mage Underground.

These are all acts of someone who is kind and compassionate, and, yes, heroic.

He is not a villain who needs to be stopped. He is the hero of the story who needs help and support as he challenges systematic oppression. He's Katniss Everdeen standing up to the Capitol; he's Luke Skywalker opposing the Galactic Empire.

Hawke is that supportive pillar, that safe harbor, that source of unconditional love for Anders in his times of struggle. "The one bright light in Kirkwall" who stands by Anders' side as they face insurmountable odds together.

In World States where Leliana becomes Divine Victoria, this means Hawke and Anders' struggles were not in vain. Through their actions, they sparked a series of events that culminated in the abolition of the Circles.

Anders' prophetic speech about how, "Ten years, a hundred years from now, someone like me will love someone like you, and there will be no Templars to tear them apart" carries so much more weight, because loving Hawke gave him hope for a better future that Anders actually gets to witness in his lifetime.

Do you know how powerful such a love story is?

Their love literally changed the world for the better.

They loved each other, that love gave them courage, and now future generations of mages are free to find a love as strong and precious as the one Hawke and Anders share.

Of course, the condition of this is that Hawke loves and supports Anders wholeheartedly, meaning that this obviously takes the Friendship route for the romance. The rivalmance where Hawke downplays Anders' struggles, breaks Anders' spirit, undermines Anders' confidence, and tries to convince Anders that his cause is needless has no part in this narrative of hope; in fact, I would go so far to say that Hawke is the villain in that version of the story.

Personally, stories of hope have always strongly resonated with me. I gravitate towards stories where our protagonists are presented with challenging obstacles (whether they be internal, external, or both), and things may seem bleak at first, but they bravely carry on, and by the end of the story the characters have made themselves better people, and/or made the world a better place.

Anders and Hawke had many chances to turn away and ignore the plight of mages and just get their own happy ending, but they didn't — they carried on, because they were the heroes, and they knew all mages deserved to be free as they were.

[dgoul]

once again, i keep getting confused on wether the white guy with long hair and beard and his white haired elf beauty boyfriend are

Shadowgast

or

Bloodweave

(bonus: Fenhawke)

[doodlegirl1998]

The reason why I can't behind any of the characters or things they do is that they're made into hypocrites.

You got Mina and Eijirou who're against bullies yet are friends with Bakugou don't do anything when he gets onto All Might.

Hawks who had a past with an abusive father and when Endeavor is exposed as one, he doesn't react or say anything about it.

Izuku with his quirkless past yet doesn't offer any sympathy towards those like him, like how he tried to make Nighteye laugh or Aoyama.

And then there's Aizawa... the guy's a walking hypocrite so I don't feel like going into any of the things he did.

All this makes it difficult to really get behind and like these characters when they contradict their characteristics this much all to make the worse characters look good.

Hi @theloganator101 👋,

Exactly this. Hori's characters act how HE wants them to to service the plot rather than what would fit their characters. So we have situations like this where they become hypocrites and bad things are implied about them. We have talked about Aizawa before so I'll focus on Izuku, Kirishima, Mina and Hawks.

Izuku - was quirkless, was horrifically abused by Bakugou for this as well as daring to try to help him out a river once.

Also Izuku - is NOT allowed once to reflect on the similarities between Aoyama and himself. Is NOT allowed to think one bit on his quirkless past or the horrific bullying (abuse) he went through. Does not seek to change the status quo now that he is a part of it. Or think about how HE could change how quirkless are being treated. This in my most charitable interpretation could be Izuku's self hatred coming out full force, he doesn't want to think about when he was quirkless so he doesn't. But this could also be construed as arrogance, stupidity and narrow minded-ness.

Izuku - knows in graphic detail the Todofam situation, is best friends with Todoroki Shoto and confronted Endeav for being a POS when he first met him.

Also Izuku - Acts like a fanboy of Endeavor in the agency arc and defends Endeavor to Dabi's face (another of Endeavor's victims.) - This puts a sour taste in my mouth not going to lie, this reads as Izuku thinking, 'because he's nice to me and he says he's going to change all is good now!' Also (unlike defending Shoto) defending Endeav just isn't necessary here. No one is denying Endeavor's mentorship or heroism skills. Dabi is saying he is an abuser and a shit dad which - you know - he is. Izuku reads as a naive, narrow-minded teenager at best here. There are better ways Hori could have worded Izuku stepping in - this wasn't it.

Mina and Kirishima: 'We hate bullies!' 😠 Very vocally anti bully, their heroism stories each center on it.

Also Mina and Kirishima: look on as Bakugou acts like the BIGGEST bully for all of the academic year and decide to become his besties. - This can be read as them being too thick to work out Bakugou is a bully at best. At worst... They read as cowards and hypocrites. The 'It's ok as long as he's not picking on me or my friends,' type.

Hawks: has an abusive father that was taken into custody by Endeav before being taken by the HPSC and enduring more intense training (likely abuse.)

Also Hawks: Despite his past abuse as an adult licks the boots of another abusive father, Endeav (Endeav's boots must be super shiny.) - Are we still pretending Hawks is an actual character at this point? All he is now is an Endeav Simp with some 'I killed Twice' angst sprinkled in. But I will save the major pieces of salt regarding Hawks for the ask I have about him. Least charitable interpretation - Hawks has LOW empathy thanks to his abusive childhood and latches on hard to a select few (Endeav) who he will protect, screw everyone else. Hawks doesn't care about Endeav's past child abuse, spousal abuse and literal crimes just what he means to him. Most Charitable - Hawks is an abused messed up person who never grew up past his idealisation of Endeav and clung to anything that meant he could keep the 'hero Endeav' in his mind intact.

With all of these deductions in mind, characters we are meant to root for feel flat, hypocritical, OOC and just downright bizarre at times.

Why? Because Hori bends characters to his script rather than writing the script for what works for the characters.

[in-our-special-place]

Critics Choice Awards January 14th, 2024

📷 Getty Images / @robbierogers IG Story