#his shit. main character doesn't give his shit away to people who hate him. main character goes to visit the guy's love interest

[meezer]

I knitted a lot today while listening to the heart of darkness audiobook. but this means I have not had a lot of leisure time and time alone... time to p3r

[sixstepsaway]

so here's the thing

i've seen a bunch of people say on twitter and stuff how... ed's behavior is very abusive and his anger is dangerous and he isn't romantic lead material because of it

and i get where they're coming from

but to me the main issue isn't putting ed in the position of a romantic lead, but not crafting the narrative around his characterization so that it allows for a spicy romantic pirates-in-love narrative instead of...whatever this is.

i'm going to try and explain this. idk if i'll do well but i'll try

the way she show presents stede is as an innocent baby who isn't really equipped for pirate life. he goes into a fugue/disassociative state whenever there's any real violence, apparently, and needs protecting by other characters when things get too rough - for example when ed is telling ned lowe not to take the poker to stede.

that's fine! it's honestly adorable to see a masc character being so soft around the edges and being protected by other characters this way.

(i'm not going to touch on stede's... eh... not great characterization this season rn)

then there's izzy, who is shown as a bit violent, a bit rough around the edges. he's more likely to draw a sword or throw a punch or hit someone with a chair or take a punch like a champ. violence is just part of life for him and that's okay, it just Is, from small things like smacking stede on the ass to bigger things like being wall slammed, it's not all that big or bad for violence to happen around and with him, he tends to give as good as he gets (there's some nuance here but i'm talking the macro themes not the micro of what izzy does vs is done to him)

and finally there's ed

ed is presented as violent (stabbing knives at guys, telling fang to use the snail fork etc) and used to a life of violence, and then in season 2 he's presented as really violent, his anger coming out in dangerous and terrifying ways

and frankly, i'd be super into it if he and izzy were the main ship and that twisted dynamic from the first two episodes of s2 was explored and fleshed out into something deeper

friends to enemies to lovers who fight and fuck. angry pirates who lay hands on each other, who break the whole ship with each other in the heat of passion.

except instead, s2 gives us... abuse. it gives us izzy cringing and lowering his head and trying to protect the kids crew from ed's angry outbursts.

so when stede comes back and he's still soft around the edges and ed headbutts him and it's deliberate, it's... not a great look, and the vibes are a bit skewed

if stede fought back, if when ed struck out at him he struck back, if they fought rather than it being one-sided, if it was friends to enemies to lovers and not presented as healthy, but maybe they can work their way there, who knows, maybe even more like anne bonnie and mary read because hey, they were doing something very similar?

except they were both into it. they were both enjoying the fighting and the fucking and the burning down the house.

stede's not enjoying it.

i cannot describe how much i hate this sequence just because of the way stede flinches

anne and mary don't!! mary jumps at the unexpected bang but she doesnt flinch, she doesn't cover her face like she thinks the vase will be coming for her not the wall and anne? looks so into it

and the thing is that in real life, no, you don't want to date someone who throws shit around, or headbutts you

but in fiction when it's two fucked up people doing this shit together like anne and mary?

that can be fun.

but instead what we've been given is stede flinching and apologizing to ed and then all of ed's...what, semi-redemption???? is done away from the other collection of people he abused, and then he spends some time on a fishing boat wearing a dog collar and everything is fine because he's good now and won't be doing anything bad ever again

and it's just... poor writing. the vibes are rancid.

i spent a really big chunk of time between s1 and s2 defending ed. i kept saying how what he did to izzy by making him eat his toe wasn't abuse, it was a one-off and abuse isn't a one-off thing it's a pattern, and then s2 made it a pattern.

explicitly. explicitly a pattern.

not just one toe but three.

jim saying "you're in an unhealthy relationship with blackbeard"

and all ed offered izzy was a "sorry about your leg" which might've been fine if izzy survived and they could work on this more, but instead that's all the apology and closure izzy will ever get

ed threw a chair and a vase and made stede flinch in fear and stede was right to do that. what part of any of this implies this will never happen again? that stede won't press the wrong button at some point and be on the receiving end? none of it

and if we'd been presented with a s2 stede bonnet who could handle himself and stand up for himself and fight back, then maybe i could imagine that turning into a weird sexy fucked up anne/mary like thing and maybe that could be why they put that episode in, but instead it feels like that episode was going, "look, see, ed's violence is fine because these two are fine with it with each other"

but stede isn't

ed and izzy or ed and stede in an unhealthy battle of a relationship could be such a fun, interesting and downright sexy thing to watch unfold on tv, and could honestly end somewhere far more down the chill end of the spectrum, but that's not what we've been given here

i cannot argue that ed isn't an abuser anymore, and not just of izzy but of the whole crew. he terrified frenchie.

it's not good writing to try and lean into the idea that ed and the pirates are violent and live a life of violence, so it's okay that ed's been violent, while simultaneously presenting his violence as traumatic and abusive, and then less than three episodes later saying oh it's fine now, he's just a little meow meow who can do no wrong, see?

especially considering they had him murdering people at the end of the season. and sure, you can say the english are just cannon fodder and they dont 'count', but they did before. ed explicitly did not kill before, and that included the english, or the spanish, or anyone else. so either they count or they don't, but flipping him on a dime makes no sense.

ALSO

having ed be the son of an abusive man who threw plates at his mother and made her cringe and then having ed kill his father to protect his mother and then a season later having ed become the kind of man who throws chairs and vases and makes his love interest cringe is, again, not bloody optimal

i want to say again i dont CARE about tv always presenting healthy relationships or tv always giving us aspirational goals. i want messy fucked up dynamics and terrible people making terrible choices, and still, to this day, i fucking love ed teach. i would honestly love to have seen them continue with ed's darkness and bring stede into it and see where they went with that, to have stede kill ned lowe and not just bury his feelings in ed but get off on it, enjoy the violence, and see where that led, but no

and so instead all we end up with is a protagonist who is being set up for a lifetime of abuse from an intimate partner, and a romantic lead who abuses his love interests (and yes. izzy is a love interest, he is set up like one and positioned like one and treated like one), frightens his love interests with his violence, is erratic and most of all inconsistently written. he was so sorry about scaring fang as though he hadn't been deliberately terrifying the whole crew for fuck knows how long? what?!

the whole fandom has spent so long saying, "no no, i know stede bonnet irl was a slave owner, but ofmd is using the names and not any real piracy, it's more disney piracy, you know? so that kind of stuff doesnt exist!" and then they flipped around and went "blackbeard is blackbeard and so he is evil and does all these horrible things" and i dont know how to rationalize the two sides of that because it feels so out of place

i'm getting rambly, this isnt a particularly well constructed thought process, i just feel like we were robbed both of a toxic, violent relationship that could be fun to see explored on tv and a soft and sweet love story between two middle aged men exploring their first loves in one fell swoop and there's no way for s3 to bring either of those things back because they got utterly torpedoed by making ed a horrible person

ugh

[ufopigeon]

to the random ass proshippers

I’ll block proshippers and I won’t throw any first punches if I find the accounts. Just block n’ move on. Think what you want, but think it away from me. This is for the ppl who are going after others both anonymously and in the open, and being insistent about misunderstanding his character. It is absolutely absurd that some are really trying to PUSH the mere implication that the Postal Dude could be a pedo/have pedophilic tendencies, or that “it makes sense for him”. Some of you are ragebait I’m sure, but I also sadly think some of you are really genuine. And this is also the last I am going to speak about it. Just wanted to do something longer on behalf of everyone else who does not agree with this random influx.

The Postal Dude is obviously designed to be an ambiguous character, allowing players to project various characteristics onto him. HOWEVER, this doesn't mean that any and all negative traits can be justified. Ambiguity in character design is meant to give freedom in interpretation, but it doesn't equate to carte blanche for projecting extreme or inappropriate characteristics that aren't supported by the game’s narrative or the developer's intent. Assuming that a character would commit any and all bad acts simply because they commit some is a lazy and inaccurate approach to understanding character design.

The argument that, "Durrr he’s literally a mass shooter, why is it so far-fetched for him to be a pedo too?" is a slippery slope fallacy. It’s that same exact shit all the edgelords try to use when they say (just so they can justify attacking any queer fans, same way SOME proshippers want to feel justified in attacking those who disagree), “The Postal Dude SPECIFICALLY hates gay people and trans people and wouldn’t support them at all/be grossed out by them! Why? Uhh, because he’s literally an evil, vile character! Duh!” Sure he is. No denying that. And sure, you can think that about him. But it’s just fundamentally inaccurate. Just because the games allow for extreme behaviors doesn’t mean they endorse or include every possible immoral action.

And just because a character engages in morally questionable actions doesn’t logically lead to them engaging in the worst possible behaviors. The creator's stance is crucial in defining the boundaries of the character. If the creators have explicitly stated that Postal Dude would never engage in pedophilia (just like how they explicitly stated he wasnt transphobic) and that such content would never be included in the game, this is a definitive limitation on what the character can be reasonably interpreted as. Again, I don’t care if you hold a private opinion that differs. But when you start accusing those who disagree with this extreme interpretation of being the weird or wrong ones, that’s where it becomes an issue.

Dude's actions, while extreme, are presented within a certain context that aims to criticize or mock certain aspects of society. Pedophilia is not something that fits within this satirical style. Yes, even for Postal 1997. I don't care if it is generally considered more "serious" than other games, they still had Dude throwing out stupid-ass catchphrases in a silly radio-host-sounding voice that was obviously supposed to be a stark contrast to what was happening on screen (“Buttsauce”. “Smells like chicken” when burning NPCs. Really now? Go ahead and listen to more from the original. They’re all silly one-liners.). It was a shock at the time and a bit of dark humor. Following games only increased this aspect.

All in all, Postal Dude’s actions, while immoral, are usually presented in a way that allows for some level of detachment or absurdity, keeping them within the realm of dark comedy. Yes, 1997 is still included here. It’s an absurd game. One man took out hundreds of people and was armed to the teeth, even with literal rocket launchers. His main weapon has infinite ammunition. It was an obviously over-the-top video game with a loose connection to reality and an even looser message about “something something mental health and everyone has it in them to go postal”. It was a game made to shock people. Pedophilia, however, is universally considered an irredeemable act, something that cannot be framed in any context that would make it acceptable or even darkly humorous. The distinction between immoral and irredeemable acts is crucial here. The Postal Dude can be morally ambiguous, but crossing into irredeemable territory would fundamentally alter the character in a way that the game and its creators/99.9% of the fans do not support.

Also: “But muh 1997 promo art where it says his girlfriend was 17!! She says they just started dating 3 weeks ago!!” Yeah. The same photo was used with the girl also saying, “It was so weird. He told everyone I was his girlfriend, but I only met him once.” It says “live” near the bottom corner, implying this was an interview with the girl AFTER the crimes had taken place. In the promotional pic where it states she’s 17, it also says she DIED of third degree burns while he was on his rampage. Now that doesn’t really add up, does it. How can this girl give an interview after everything is said and done while also dying in the middle of his killing spree?

AKA, these promotional photos were reused over and over because they were on a budget and really not thinking about it, and are absolutely not valid for legit storytelling purposes at all. RWS has even said this themselves.

[poggersbathwater]

vivziepop: this show is about criticising Christianity"

proceeds to: woobify sinners and make them overlords as a reward,for some reason all or most sinners (cannibals, rapists,murderers....etc) are queer,villainized Adam the first human (had nothing to do with Christianity at the time he got created and it's not his fault that god made him for a woman and just wanted peaceful life with her) who lost two women because of lucifer,made lucifer the good innocent guy (let's ignore that he is the main reason why humanity is suffering), "7 DEADLY SINS ARE GOOD FOR YOU ACTUALLY! LUST IS ABOUT CONSENT AND GLUTTONY ARE ABOUT SELF CONTROL,EXCEPT FOR GREED CAUSE THERE'S NO SUCH A THING AS A GOOD GREED CAUSE FUCK RICH!....btw please buy my Valentino cups! (I Wonder why 7 sins are deadly in a first place if they're caring and healthy according to viv)" "Wait.....are you telling me that stolas is a wise high ranking demon who give knowledge to those who summon him? Nonsense! Stolas is a horny softie who needs his imp slave to protect him! Screw accuracy! And you know what? I am making the rest of ars goetia and turn them into birds and had nothing to do with their demonology because I just need to use their names to make more characters"

(Yeah sorry about stolas accuracy part,it's just that I am tired of "not everything should be accurate" argument,that's like making thoth a Egyptian god of wisdom into a weak softie hypocrite character who is obsessed with sex and have nothing to do with his wisdom and knowledge,actually there's a lot of interesting things about thoth that makes him respected amongst gods and if viv wrote him he would be nothing but a joke character that have no personality outside of sex and victimhood mentally)

Alright lightning round here

Woobifying (idk what that means but i imagine it means glorification) sinners: I think the overlords are there to run businesses and industries in Hell, not to reward them exactly- but I do see the point you're making. The worse they are, the more power they have, which doesn't look too good for Hell's case.

Having most of the sinners be queer: Yeah I.. also get this one. It's weird how no fascists or.. well, generally bigoted people are there, but all the characters that ARE there happen to be queer. And I'm not saying queer people can't be bad, they can, but when there's more queer people than bigots in a place that's supposed to have the bad people... yeahhhhh no

Villainizing Adam: Yeah I hate how they turn Adam into a righteous douche- though it could make sense, since he did eat the fruit too (it probably changed his behavior a lot), turning him into a righteous douche who's bitter he lost his wife was.. kinda messed up.

The characterization of the sins: YEAH ACTUALLY THIS ONE SUCKS !! The whole point of Gluttony is that you just keep indulging without a care- the whole point of lust is that it's forced and it hurts people- if it wasn't about force, it'd be called love. Because consent is love. Force and betrayal (cheating/infidelity) is lust. The sins being characterized as good people takes away from why they are sins.

Stolas: Okay I don't know much about demon stuff, so I'll leave that alone (the ars goetia isn't talked about in Christianity so that's why I can't answer it), but I will say that stolas being the victim all the time is fucking ass. Yes, stolas has been forced into an arranged marriage. That sucks, it does. But that doesn't excuse any of his actions towards Blitzo, or his emotional unavailability towards Via.

I've never gotten this many asks Holy shit

[x-liv25-jamieswife]

my long ass avery rant that might not make sense but i love her and needed to make this.

a huge rant about my love for avery (i swear im not hating on anyone (except for avery haters... sort of. i respect your opinion but...)) i think the end of my rant makes more sense than the beginning...

IVE MADE A POST ABOUT THIS BUT ILL SAY IT AGAIN. STOP OVERLOOKING AVERY'S TRAUMA. SHE IS SO UNDERRATED AND SUCH A COMPLEX CHARACTER AND I CAN'T STAND PEOPLE IGNORING HER. PEOPLE IN THIS FANDOM BARELY POST ABOUT HER AND IT'S UNBEARABLE (LIKE NO HATE CAUSE I LOVE ALL THE LYRA POSTS BUT HOW ARE PEOPLE POSTING MORE ABOUT A CHARACTER NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT AND NOT AVERY??? LIKE I SAID NOT HATE, I EAT THE LYRA POSTS UP).

she's literally the best character in the series. the brothers don't even come close to her. people who are mad at her for not picking grayson can actually just shove it up their ass bc gray and avery would've never worked out in the long run. avery is a queen and i see people hating on her for so many stupid reasons. not picking gray? giving away the money? being an emily 2.0????????????????????????????? don't even dare compare my queen, my love, my everything to that wretched beast who is now rotting in a coffin underground. some people making reviews on goodreads seriously need to get a life and touch some grass.

as im rereading the main trilogy, i'm writing down quotes from avery so i can make an in depth analysis of her character. it might suck and it will definitely be multiple parts but if no one is gonna acknowledge her trauma, i will. i'm sick and tired of people constantly ranting about grayson and other characters when avery is literally the main character. none of this series would exist if it weren't for avery. the fact that some people are willing to defend their favorite characters when they hurt avery is so so sad to me. like, i love jameson with my entire heart, but treating avery like a puzzle and messing with her self esteem was not cool of him. same goes for grayson and him treating avery like a shitty gold digger who 'hasn't struggled like he has'

i've made posts about this before but i feel the need to make another one. i've seen people defend grayson for treating avery like shit in the first book (some people do it as a joke which is fine but some people are actually serious and it confuses me??). i get that grayson was mad and disappointed that his grand father disinherited him after a lifetime of being told he was going to inherit. his feelings were 100% valid. did he have the right to take it out on avery though? no. not at all. this girl is even more confused that he is and has been nothing but kind to him. him invalidating her feelings and treating her like crap is just so shitty of him. don't get me wrong. he has redeemed himself and i do love him, but seeing people defending him (in a serious way) just gets on my nerves. would you like to be treated the way avery was in tig? i think not.

i'm not as mad about jameson bc 1. he apologized on 'screen' and 2. i don't see people defending him as much as grayson (i don't think i've ever seen a post defending him which is good). i love him too, and what he did was also horrible. i better not ever see a post defending him. his actions are explainable but that doesn't justify them. he really messed with avery's self-esteem, so much as to make her doubt his feelings towards her. the only reason i'm not as mad as with the grayson situation is bc i don't see people defending him as passionately (if at all).

i see this happen in so many fandoms. people gush over the male love interest or the male main character and completely ignore the fmc. the only fandom i don't see this happening in is the folk of the air fandom. jude is getting the attention she deserves which makes me so happy. people willingly ignore what the fmc goes through at the hands of their favorite male character just bc they love them and that is just so absurd to me.

anyways, avery has been through so much fucking trauma it would take me hours to go through it all. she grew up with almost no one by her side, learning how to take care of/protect herself, lost her mother at 15, her best friend moved away a few years before her mom died, her father treated her like dog shit and completely ignore her for her entire life until she inherited the money, she lived in her car, worked her ass off at school and at work to simply keep herself alive, had to deal with drake (although she wasn't his girlfriend, he clearly affected her if she was willing to move into her car bc of him), was almost killed by drake (and, indirectly, skye), sheffield, and eve (and kidnapped by sheffield), it was mentioned in tfg (i believe) that there were other attempts on her life in between thl and tfg, dealt with people constantly belittling her trauma (and her) and saying horrible things about her, she deals with horrible panic attacks after everything she's been through, also deals with crappy self esteem (that was made worse by some of the hawthornes), her privacy was constantly invaded, and, this one is more subtle, but there are instances where she thinks (or does) self harm (like the scene in thl where she's purposefully trying to hurt herself by punching the brick wall blocking off toby's wing. both oren and jameson had to step in to help her). all of these things clearly affected her but barely anyone talks about it? i'm probably missing some things but i just wish she got more attention. she is one of the most forgiving (literally too forgiving. she's willing to forgive people so easily bc she wants to be wanted (but doesn't want to want to be wanted) and have friends)

this girl is much stronger than anyone gives her credit for (the hawthornes would never survive in the 'asylum where they raised her' (whos afraid of little old me by taylor is definitely her song)). this rant is probably all over the place and is really long (but definitely won't be the last). thank you for attending my ted talk.

[admiringlove]

part one.

[19:12] . . .

suna thinks he's lost his mind. or maybe, you've taken all his senses with you when you left that night. maybe he's slowly going crazy—sort of like the main character of that one show you love to watch. the schizophrenic lady slowly losing her senses but not understanding what's going on.

perhaps calling himself crazy would be an overstatement. but you had him confused and dazed, nonetheless.

he thinks he's done something wrong. but he doesn't know what it is. why else would you leave in the middle of the fucking night after the things you two had done together? he's sitting in the living room, one hand in his hair and phone in the other. he's texting osamu, telling him about your amorous endeavors from that night. it had been roughly two weeks since then. and if he was correct(and not borderline insane), you hated his guts.

he wasn't sure why, though. had he not performed well? when the two of you had done "it", did he not please you? what was the issue here? you didn't sound like you hated it, in fact, you sounded quite the opposite throughout.

his phone rings. it's osamu.

"hey-"

"you did what with [y/n]?!" suna has to move the phone away from his ears for that one. his eyebrows knot as he puts the call on speaker, not understanding why osamu of all people is having such an outburst. it's usually atsumu who's the annoying one with no sense of rationality.

"we um," rintarō's face flushes red. he even hides his face with his palms, even though his grey-haired best friend can't see him, "we had sex."

"oh my fuckin' god," the younger miya twin throws more profanities on the phone, but rintarō chooses to tune them out. but then osamu continues, "do ya even know what ya've done? are ya stupid? do ya have no common-fucking-sense? sunarin, for fuck's sake, how can ya be less emotionally intelligent than a fuckin' celery?"

"stop swearing at me, you jackass!" the middle-blocker picks up his phone, almost yelling into it. he then narrows his eyes, lips pursed as he asks, "what exactly did i do wrong?"

"ya do fuckin' realize," suna assumes what osamu's doing is taking a bite out of an apple between his sentences, "ya had a girlfriend a month ago. a pretty fuckin' serious one, at that."

"oh," suna's train of thought stops. oh, shit. fuck, fuck, fuck. what the hell had he done? oh my god.

"yeah, 'oh'. what the bloody hell were ya thinking?" osamu swears again. but this time, rintarō thinks he might've deserved it. all of it. you ignoring him, osamu swearing at him, that nagging feeling at the back of his throat. and that pang in his chest when you left with your things at four o'clock in the fucking morning.

"ya do realize, [y/n] prolly feels more like shit than you do. they haven't spoken to me or 'tsumu after that night. i thought they dropped off the face of the earth until akaashi-san said they were havin' some kinda crisis so they were busy. turns out [y/n] hasn't been showin' up for lectures either," osamu drones on for a few minutes. then it strikes suna. he hadn't even bothered to give you an explanation about why he broke up with his girlfriend.

or actually, she broke up with him. because of you. his mind wavers at the memories of that night where she called him to the local diner to tell him off. she even told everyone it was a mutual break-up and that it didn't work out. he was just glad she fell out of love with him before he accidentally broke her heart. she had every right to do what she did. he was a total, complete twat who didn't know what he was doing. he had hurt so many people, because in actuality, he was just as emotionally stupid as atsumu.

to be honest, even atsumu isn't this stupid. suna has to give that guy some credit.

"what do you even feel about [y/n], sunarin? do ya like them? or didja use them 'cause you were bored 'n wanted ta get yer dick wet?" the accusation makes the middle-blocker wince.

"jesus christ, give me some credit, dude. of course i like them. you know, i never told any of you this, but michi broke up with me because of [y/n]."

"wait, hold on, what? what the fuck?"

"yeah, um," suna hates admitting that he's wrong. gosh, he has to, though. he's done enough. he doesn't want to hurt you any longer, "apparently, i was in love with [y/n] all along and didn't know it."

"oh my god," osamu literally gives up. rintarō can hear his friend facepalm through the phone, "yer such a screwed up person, man. didja even bother telling them this?"

"about that-"

"ya didn't tell 'em. wow. what else could i expect from someone with the emotional range of a fuckin' goldfish? just cut the damn call, already. i got shit to do. and go tell [y/n] all of this or i'll break yer legs the next time i see ya." beep, beep, beep.

he actually ended the call himself. huh, suna thinks to himself. but then he tosses his phone into the pocket of his sweats, pulls on a hoodie, and leaves his apartment.

he's not coming back without making it up to you. no fucking way. all the while that he's driving to your place, he curses at himself for being such a complete and utter dunce. and when he finally stands outside your door, his hands are sweaty and shaking. he's never even been this nervous for a match.

he knocks thrice. dum, dum, dum. then twice, dum, dum. then once, dum.

this was how you guys had communicated in high school. when something went terribly wrong and you needed each other's company. three, two, one. slowly. this was how he'd knocked on the door of the broom closet after school when you were inside having a panic attack. it was how you'd knocked on his bedroom door after they'd lost the match to karasuno in second year.

"go away, rin," you croaked from the inside, "i don't wanna see you."

"'course you don't. i'm an asshole," he says, "but i know where the spare key is and i'll trespass on you if you don't open this door right now."

the door opens a mere second later. you stand there in an oversized tee and shorts, hair a complete mess and eyes glassy. your under-eyes had swollen up too. this was all... because of him?

"the fuck do you want now? more sex?" you ask crudely. he almost scoffs, but he's clearly in the wrong here. you were his best friend. you had the right to abuse him like this because he'd used you. hell, you should be saying more than things like this.

"i'm sorry," he tries to hold your hand, but you move away from him. he feels his heart crack and his throat close up, but he continues, "do you know why michi and i broke up?"

"oh god, " you scoff, "if this is why you're here. please leave."

"listen to me," he holds your shoulders. you visibly look agitated and angry. you have every right to, of course. but you have to hear this. he has to say this. he goes on, "michi left me. i didn't leave her but she left me. don't you want to know why?"

"let me guess, she got fed up with your piece-of-shit attitude?" you walk away, to the kitchen as you turn on the coffee-maker. he chases after you, grabbing you by your shoulders again. you almost push him off.

"because i love you, goddamnit!" he shakes you lightly, "do you understand? she wasn't you. she understood that from the very beginning! that's she why left me."

"oh," you blink slowly, drinking it in, "oh."

"'oh'? that's all you have to say?"

"oh please, rintarō," you roll your eyes, "i've been in love with you since freshman year of high-school and you didn't fucking notice. you are genuinely the most stupid person i have ever met. you know, atsumu knew from the very beginning. he's an idiot, sure, but he's actually really smart when he wants to. osamu knows too- why are you looking at me like i'm a terrorist or something?"

oh. what the heck?

"you were in love with me for five years and didn't even bother saying anything? even the fucking twins know? you do realize, this whole thing could've been avoided if you had just told me you liked me before i said okay to that date with michi a few months ago."

"hey, you don't get to come here and tell me i've done something wrong when you realized you were in love with me because michi, of all people, told you. you didn't have the balls to do that part on your own? instead, you come and sleep with me-"

"i thought that made it very clear that i liked you, come on-"

"absolutely not."

"not even a little bit?"

"no."

"oh come on," he nudges as you pour yourself coffee, "maybe a little?"

you smile. he mentally lets out a huge sigh.

"fuck you, yeah, maybe a little," you mutter. he wants to punch the air and kick it and jump around as if he's five-years-old again. because what the hell? he bickered with you and that's all it took to make you smile. holy shit, he thinks.

"go on a date with me," he slides his arms around your waist in the kitchen. you chuckle, holding back a laugh, "no."

"come on, please?" he whines into your ear, placing a chaste kiss on your shoulder, "just five minutes of your time next weekend. i promise it'll be worth it."

"five minutes?" you look back, an eyebrow raised, "you sure? i'll put a timer on my phone and everything."

"shut up," he tells you. then, you grin, "make me."

notes: then they kiss, kiss, fell in love.

© all works belong to admiringlove on tumblr. plagiarism is strictly prohibited.

[junimo-plushie]

I just got my Stardew cookbook and I absolutely love it!

Except for one thing. TW: addiction, suic*de

Let me say first:

We know Pelican Town has two alcoholics- Shane and Pam.

Pam is hot tempered and selfish. We don't really know why she drinks. She clearly has a problem managing personal relationships and funds as a direct result of her addiction. A lot of fans hate Pam and are largely unsympathetic to her, which is a reflection of people's view of alcoholics in real life: lazy, mean, self centered and at sometimes even repulsive to the senses. Even after getting her job back and a big beautiful house, Pam can't let go of her pride or stop drinking. She is so deeply ashamed of herself she would be overwhelmed if she took away the crutch that allows her to numb herself to it. I say all this to demonstrate that Pam is an incredibly well rounded and thoughtful character.

She doesn't get a redemption arc. This is who she is in Pelican Town forever.

Shane is a different story.

As we get to know him, we find another extremely well rounded character. We see him struggle with his addiction to the point it almost kills him. His internal battle with depression is exasperated by his addiction and he expresses that to us in a way similar to Pam. Neither of them want this, they don't like how their alcoholism makes them treat their loved ones, they want to change but don't know how-very common issues alcoholics deal with.

The point im getting to is this:

Stardew has given us two extremely well thought out and realistic characters. While alcoholics ( as is the case with most addicts) are often thought of as "lazy" "too dumb to stop/see addiction is destroying them" "unsalvageable", etc., Stardew very clearly RESPECTS these complex characters. Pam doesn't need a redemption arc to be well written, she's realistic.

Respectful is the main word here.

I'm an alcoholic. A lot of people don't know how bad it was and I'm getting better. It's so normalized to shit all over addicts, it's incredibly refreshing to have two relatable characters that are respected.

Ok let me get to my complaint.

This from the book:

From the writers credits it seems like CA was not the only one who wrote villager's lines in the book.

It's like they looked at Shane's Stardew wiki page and said, " ah yes alcoholic. His brain just be soup and he must have no practical instincts." In my opinion, nothing about Shane's character would suggest that he wouldn't have the good sense to go to a sink to wash his eyes out.

It just seems disrespectful. Something that media REALLY struggles with is showing addicts that are dynamic and have any shred of dignity. They usually can't even portray them as humans giving them zombie like qualities.In my opinion, Stardew never had that problem, which is why this so deeply upset me.

Id really like to get some other opinions on this. Is there something in Shane's dialogue lines that I over-looked that would make this make sense for his character? Am I being way too sensitive to this because it's an issue that I'm too close to(probably)? Other addicts in particular, how did you feel reading that?

[not-goldy]

Tkk have zero respect for Jk. Today, tkk still lying saying Jikook seperated after 5 weeks or Jk wanted to join Tae, but can't cause of tattoos, even tho he never said any of that & Jimin was a last resort, even tho Jk could've enlisted alone. Mad they didn't get the buddy system for their favs. My question tho, why is it Jk always doing all the sacrificing in their minds? Its Jk wanted to be with his baby, but couldn't. You don't hear them say Tae could've enlisted with Jk instead, if tattoos were an issue tho. Do you? Does this mean Tae doesn't love JK as much as Jk loves Tae, since Tae didn't sacrifice what he wanted to do, to be with Jk? You don't hear them saying poor Jk, when all tae's pictures of him and jennie hit the web or Tae was vacationing with her or walking with her holding her hand in Paris and how Tae spent more time in Paris with Jennie, then he did with Jk on that friend ski trip. Do you? Its always Jk either being the shitty BF emotionally abusing Tae & even physically cause they try to say Jk yanks Tae away from people, etc or its Jk is the reason Taekook is not Taekooking or Its his tattoos, he couldn't go, but he wanted too LIE. Its them saying Tae tried to tell us for months Jk is his lover, but Jk is off doing fanservice with others and hurting Tae instead. The flip flopping narratives & victim complex throw on Tae is disturbing. Its okay for Tae to fuck Jennie for 2 years, hold her hand in Paris, take intimate pics in her bed, take couple selfies with her in his house wearing matching clothes, follow her on IG, lounge in bed with Wooga and kiss on them and go off with them and hang on randoms in paris & say he likes Jimin the most over Jk and move another man into his home who is not Jk. See all of that is okay in their minds and yet they still manage to make Jk the abuser treating tae like shit, cause how dare he enlist with another man, hang out with his 97 line, its all fanservice, he doesn't treat tae right.

They don't know what narrative they want to run with, but they know whatever it is, Tae has to be the main character. They are all tae solos and want him to be the main character no matter what. Even if it means painting him as a helpless abused victim by the most popular idol on one hand & on the other, the one Jk has to make sacrifices for, but never the other way around. Tae can treat JK like garbage, cause its deserved for all his years doing fanservice with Jimin. They really hate Jk and they hate him more now since Chapter 2, cause he didn't play along with what Tae was doing. Plain and simple, but he's the most popular idol and that pairs well with more attention on Tae when it comes to trending, so they keep him around for that. Its not Taekook they like. Its the ship being big that they like and the attention they get from it and the bigger the ship, the more attention for Tae and that is what matters. That's what it always been about it. Funny thing is though, Tae hates these fools and keeps shitting on their fantasies on purpose and they keep letting him. He gives a little, then snatches their fucking scalps for them. Deserved too.

That's an understatement I don't know a single Tuktukkers who likes Jungkook for real

In fact he has no agency no autonomy where they are concerned everything he does is coerced, against his will there's no free choice in their vocabulary

To think some of them are grown adults with this mindset is crazy

Jungkook has been caught sneaking Jimin into his hotel room by hybe hidden cameras and nooooo Jimin is the one to blame for it. Not the guy who sneaks into his room at 1am to lie on his bed doing absolutely nothing

They just can't admit the fact Jungkook IS NOT who and what they think he is nor what they want him to be in their ship realm.

And they HATE him for it too

They hate that man they ship with their favs

[bored-trans-orchidsexual]

A Starstruck Odyssey, and Masculinity

I have thoughts and am just gonna unload them on Tumblr. That's what we do here, right? I recently have been re-listening to Starstruck and have had some thoughts on it's depictions of masculinity. This isn't a serious post per se, just some thoughts and observations. Starstruck has a wide spectrum of masculine characters on display, though a lot of it is hostile/toxic. Most men or male-coded characters are either outright villains, or more neutral parties with some toxic and selfish tendencies. Don't get me wrong it's a wild violent galaxy and that's the point, the entire party participates in scamming, kidnapping, exploitations, and unnecessary murder and we love to see it, it's not like it explicitly makes all men out to be inherently more monstrous and evil than others. But I do think the depictions of masculinity can be interesting to observe. Amercadia is a pretty cut and dry critism of the patriarchy and American nationalist culture, which is fantastic worldbuilding to include. Many of the masculine-coded androids are actually pretty nice, friendly and helpful or serious about their jobs, aside from a bitchy one in the beginning who injects our main 'droid with an anxiety spike about being one of a kind. Pretty much all of the Slugs we meet occupy masculine bodies, and they seem to have an abstract gender that picks up pronouns from the body they occupy, though the monarch is objectively a king and uses masculine pronouns even before getting a body, and he's pretty selfish and stupid.

But the main pair I'm thinking of, is Barry and Gunnie. Looking at the two of them, there's a lot you can assume. Big Barry Syx is this massive, bulky dude in power armor and shades with a mullet, while Gunnie is a 4' 11" techie cyborg with a big ol' smile. Listen to them in action and many of your assumptions are reinforced; Barry is a total dude-bro associated with nuts, steroids, working out, and acting much like gym bros in our modern life, while Gunnie is a hyperactive technician just doing his best, despite being mired in sympathetic tragedy. Barry's trauma is fairly fantastical or common to stories, having his family gunned down by one of his own, while Gunnie is mostly weighted down by medical debt after he got in an accident after trusting the wrong person. Based on these apperent details one would assume Barry is this toxicly masculine jackass who's insecure about his flaws, while Gunnie is the smartest man on board and is trying to keep everyone in line, doing the right thing, ect. And of course, you'd be dead wrong. Gunnie, while a sympathetic and likable character, is *mired* in toxic masculine traits. While it was an accident that put him in his situation, it was brash foolishness and ignoring obvious red flags that got him in that position in the first place, not to mention a rebellion against his family driving him to it. Furthermore, as Lou himself admits in Adventuring party, Gunnie's *pride* is the reason his problems are so vast; He comes from a lot of money, his initial debt might have never happened or mostly gone away to begin with if he went back to his dads for help. His toxicity doesn't make him an unlikable character but he does have these traits. He's brash, prideful, and ignores common sense a lot. He is also very nice and friendly with others, listens to people, ect. He doesn't have *every* toxic trait in the book, but has them which I tend to not even notice because he's just a funny little guy. Barry, meanwhile, is just about the most wholesome and giving person in the entire 'verse. Syx *And* Nyne, when not under a slug's control, are these total sweetheart bros. Sure, they shit talk each other with friendly ribbing, and yes they are very good at violence, but this violence is always motivated by helping those in need or fighting for those who can't fight for themselves, the Barry Battalion way. Barrys hate it when people are rude, or hurt the innocent. Barrys fight for their friends, provide endless support and praise, and will throw their very bodies into danger to protect or help, as seen on Rec 97 and in the big finale of the battle of the brands. And while the thing the love most is other Barrys, that does not mean that what they respect is also being heavily macho dudes. Barry one (or was is spelled differently? Barry Won? who knows) was the professor who created the other Barrys, a nerdy and fragile professor type, that the Barrys loved and treated as a fellow Barry *literally* the moment they were created. Even Syd is a Barry now, and that's accepted both by Barry Syx who's known her a long time and bonded with her, as well as Barry Nyne who literally, to his perception, *Just* met her, despite her appearance as like a waitress with an arm canon. Being a Barry, in other words, isn't about being just like them, having the name Barry, or anything like that. It's a vibe, it's a way to be, and the 'verse is better off with these super wholesome boys who, despite embodying many stereotypes of the gym bro, posses *none* of the commonly toxic traits also associated with that. They aren't insecure around smarter people or those with different skillsets, they hold no gendered assumptions, and they never wanna use their might to opress others for their own satisfaction.

Just, some thoughts.

[stxrrynxghts]

Ok so

It's me, Hi, I am the problem, it's me.

Why did I just say this? Because the topic of my rant MIGHT just get bombarded with hate comments (tho ik my followers aren't like that, but y'all are surely not my only audience).

So basically I am going to rant on the most underrated MB character, Karna.

No shit, sherlock.

See, I admire Karna for some qualities of his, like the fact he has such a dazzling armor which def gives him an unfair advantage over other ppl, his warrior skills, and his loyalty for his bestie, Dury majority of the time.

Now, Karna is not as much of a run over puppy as ppl make him to be. His foster father is the leader of the Sutas of Hastinapur, plus a direct descendant of Yadu, there is nowhere this guy is poor or something.

Now, Sutas are a set of people who are born from a Kshatriya father and Brahmin mother. Yadu was a Suta. Kichaka was a Suta. Bharat was a Suta as well, and these are all powerful/respected/famed people that I listed.

If the Pandavas (or Kshatriyas in general) hated the sutas so much, they wouldn't marry Abhimanyu to a girl who has Suta blood. And hello, the Pandavas themselves are descended from TWO Sutas.

The sutas are mostly bards by profession, but many of them are also charioteers. FYI, charioteers are allowed to learn warfare. Karna learnt FROM Drona, but he left, yes. WHY?

Because Drona wasn't giving him the brahmastra. Why, you ask, when He had no issues giving it to Arjun. Dudes and girls, Drona gave Arjun a hell of a time, because he just wanted to teach special stuff to his son, but Arjun was a step ahead, and would always end up completing whatever task he was given. THAT credit lies with Arjun, not Drona. Not to mention, Arjun was also an obedient student, one who repeatedly risked his life to save his teacher, and Drona gave him special weapons as a reward.

Now back to Karna. He is born in a relatively rich family, and has loving foster parents. He gets to learn from DRONA, but leaves when Drona doesn't agree to his conditions, and ends up lying to Parshuram so that he can get special weapons.

In the rangbhoomi event, Karna participates illegally. It was an event planned for the Kuru princes to flaunt their skills, not DRONA'S disciples. Drona had other students too, but they aren't here. This is a Kuru prince-only event, and Karna still enters, and he challenges Arjun, who is 10+ years younger than he is.

Now the point where Karna's family background is being asked. Arjun is a fucking prince, and princes don't start dueling with any random guy, do they? No they do not.

Duryodhan crowns Karna as the King of Anga, and Karna doesn't even prove his merit whatsoever. Good warrior=/=good king. Not every man is like Ram.

Karna spends his time plotting, mostly. See, I dislike this dude a lot, even if I admire his warrior abilities. He is also very sexist, calling Draupadi, someone who he shouldn't be having issues with, a harlot. GR8 going Karna. Does he know that his heavenly step bros, the Ashwini Kumaras, are married to the same woman?

Sorry, I am more of a monogamy supporter, but slandering a woman practicing polyandry, because of a boon she got from Shiva ji, especially in a world where polygamy is quite common.

Now, Karna ain't that big of a loyal friend either. When Duryodhana and his brothers go to the forest the Pandavas are living in, to have a fucking picnic to spite them, and get attacked by the Gandharvas, Karna runs away....

wow.

Ahem. I am just picking up the main issues overall. Karna's armor gives him a pretty unfair advantage over everyone else. Unlike Arjun, he does not meditate to gain weapons.

Please do not say that Karna is a better warrior than Arjun. Arjun has defeated countless Danavas when he went to help Indra during his exile. He has defeated the devas during the Khandavaprastha event, and fuck, he stood his ground against SHIVA of all gods. yep, he couldn't defeat him, because that is impossible. No one can defeat Shiva, but Arjun managed to please him. Karna has no achievements of this sort as per my knowledge, correct me if I am wrong.

Karna gives his armor to Indra. Unfair, and tragic. But it isn't that much tragic in real. Karna basically says that a) he shouldn't feel any pain when he cuts off his armor and b) he wants a special weapon in exchange. It is basically a TRADE not a sacrifice, tho I do feel it is kind of unfair on Indra's part to demand the armor.

Now, flashforward, the war. Karna enters on day 11, and I can vaguely recall reading how Abhimanyu handed his ass over to him on day 12. Yes, Star Plus, I am very, very disappointed with what you have done.

Now, day 13.

...

I feel I have ranted on this a bit too much in the past. Basically, Karna runs away when Abhimanyu is on his spree, and then asks Drona how to kill him. He cuts off Abhimanyu's bow from behind, is part of his brutal killing, and enjoys his death, dancing around his corpse.

....This is after he KNOWS that this boy is his NEPHEW. He doesn't wish to accept the Pandavas as his brothers, okay. But enjoying, relishing the cruel murder of a boy who you know very well is your nephew?

Some Karna fans do say that "hey, they didn't have a choice, Abhimanyu would have finished off their entire army!". No. They did have a choice. And they chose to break all the war rules and regulations.

See, I am not being biased here, but Abhimanyu's death is the winner of the top most brutal and undeserved deaths in Hindu lore, correct me if I am wrong.

Karna kills Ghatotkacha, again, his nephew. Tho it is still a one-one fight, so I ....don't hold it against him.

Now, on day 17, when his wheel gets stuck, Karna is like "hey you cannot kill me, that is against DHARMA" right after he just tried to invoke the Brahmastra because he couldn't bear losing against Arjun even if the world ends up being destroyed because of it, and shot a special arrow with Takshak's son on top of it.

Arjun, like the lil meow meow he is, is having an existential crisis for the n-th time. Krishna probably wants Karna to die this way as Arjun-Karna's duel might take up a lot of time to come to a conclusion, and the Pandava army is on the edge of extinction, so the unfair way is the way to go-

Krishna, being the mastermind, reminds Arjun about Karna's crimes, and well, Arjun kills Karna, after being riled up.

So, we all know Arjun killed Karna's son, aka his nephew. It was a one-one duel, so it is fair? And Vrishasena was not unarmed. See, as much as I hate Uttar and Iravan's deaths, they are still SOMEWHAT fair, so...we gotta accept that.

Now, Yudhishthira is very teary over Karna once he finds out he is his big bro. Really Yudi? REALLY?

[freakartack]

hmmmm any volt head canons

VOLTAGE TIME ok so obligatory Papa Volt retread just to get him out of the way. OK now that Papa Volt is done let's move on to the other guys.

18-Volt

-Doing him first because he's my favorite. Anyways 18-volt is an awesome kid because

-Like most other children in Warioware, he has kind of a lonely family situation. He's only ever talked about his mom, who is away a lot as he is able to play video games late into the night unsupervised (unlike the ever-vigilant 9-volt). So it seems like he is kind of a latchkey kid most of the time.

-As a result, he ends up sleeping over 9-volt's house a lot, and he's also kind of glommed onto 5-volt as a friend to boot ("Hi 9-Volt's Mom"). They both canonically have a passion for gardening, so I can imagine they bond over that and she gives him gardening advice and whatnot. Maybe if NINE VOLT wasn't afraid of getting his hands dirty he could join in the fun but alas

-Because of his growth condition, he's gotten a lot of shit in school in the past. As such, he is extremely quick to come to the defense of kids in need; he stood up to 13-amp when she was picking on ralphie, and then extended an olive branch to 13-amp when he realized she was just a troubled kid. This also mirrors how 9-volt befriended 18-volt when no one else would, so it is kind of beautiful in this way. These are some stand-up kids!

-Is way less adventurous than 9-Volt; he went skateboarding with him exactly once and hated it

-Mains Captain Falcon in smash and says "FALCON PUNCH" out loud

5-Volt

-I love that her character card in g&w says "age unknown" and then immediately tells you that she grew up in the 80s

-I also think that the rest of her wardrobe was similarly radical. I've been meaning to draw Young 5-Volt for a while so you might see her soon

-Was the apex predator of her local arcade back in the day

-Contrary to her moveset in Get It Together!, I don't think she has any supernatural powers beyond being scary as fuck. Pay no attention to the woman behind the TV

-Mains ROB in smash and kills people with him in real life

9-Volt

-The entirety of his retro game collection was inherited from his mother; he doesn't know what eBay is

-Has grown his adult front teeth in since Mega Microgames

-Has said "FIRE" so many times that orbulon accidentally picked up on it in smooth moves

-Mains Pikachu in smash and spams down+B the whole match

Fronk

-Unlike Orbulon and the space hares, I can't even begin to speculate on what the fuck he is. I think he has an exoskeleton. I think he is ovoviviparous. I think his distant ancestors were from space and he comes from a long line of rapidly-reproducing alien animals that somehow gained sapience along the way. It is extremely hard to keep up with Fronk Lore because they are constantly dropping bombshells. Do you know he has a wife and kid

-Mains Marth

[gaslightgatekeepgirlbosscombat]

Group C, Round 2, Poll 6:

Propaganda under the cut

Korn

he sits in his little grandpa sweaters and plays chess and is like "heehee i'm such a harmless old man see I even retired from being a mafia boss and let my son take over look at me I love and support all my sons and let them date as many boys they want and be eccentric and everything aren't I such a good dad" meanwhile he's been manipulating his middle son for so many years now that he doesn't even realize that he's being manipulated, his eldest son has been written off as crazy and eccentric and no one takes him seriously and he has no problem enforcing that idea, and his youngest son doesn't trust him one bit but can't tell his brothers about how shady their dad is because he's the only one who sees it. Does all kinds of other shady shit like killing his foster sister's husband and then keeping her secretly locked away in an attic for like over 10 years, manages to manipulate her son into joining the mafia family (all while not telling him his mother's true identity or that she's even still alive), and then also withholds the fact that he's the son of his foster sister even when his son starts dating the guy. He's playing everyone around him like a fiddle so he can have his little powerful mafia empire.

Phillip Wittebane/Emperor Belos

(SPOILER) Has been gaslighting everyone he knows for hundreds of years (before he kills them or just discards them). Claims god won't love them if they don't do what he says (i.e., participate in his plot to genocide them). Girlbossed his way into becoming the emperor of a land of people he hates.

Gaslited the entire Boiling Isles into giving up their freedom to do any magic in favor of some cool tattoos that can murder you. Gatekept the door to the human realm. Girlbossed his brother fatally with a knife

This mother fucker gaslight, gatekeep, girlbosses his clone of his brother, the main character, A WHOLE FUCKING DIMENSION!!??? He even tries to gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss in his final moments!!!

[chickenoptyrx]

You do so right by z Broly, you understand his potential. Your au with him and Trunks is a delight

Glad we all appreciate my blatant misrepresentation of the character 😌 im partly joking but man fr, 12 year old me would hate that instead of him bein a badass edgy monster, I draw him as.. *checks notes* .. an immature loser with bad coping mechanisms uwu

Ok but in true ask tradition! :U im hijacking this ask to talk about a dumb theory thats been rolling around in my head for like 2 years now: android 16 and broly similarities:

Ok so. If you aren't aware. The android arc of dragon ball was originally going to focus on the androids 19 & 20 and trunks even names them specifically

But Toriyamas former editor, Kazuhiko Torishima, didn't like them as the main antagonists and so Toriyama changed it to focus on 17 & 18 as the bad guys and introduced 16 as a sort of mystery

Now. This gets almost completely dropped once that same former editor ALSO doesn't like these androids and cell becomes the main villian for the arc (yeah yeah, the bomb thing is technically *there*, but its so inconsequential most people forget its even a thing :T )

So. Idk exactly when movie 8 went into production, but we know Brolys LSSJ form was inspired by trunks SSJ grade3 form that appears several chapters after cell has been introduced and the androids have become power-up fodder, so im gonna argue its safe to say the decision to move away from their story had been made

(side tangent that I find absolutely hilarious btw- despite gokus commentary in the HTC, SSJ grade 3 was the strongest form of ssj we saw at this point, so its pretty appropriate to use it as the basis of the strongest scariest ssj form.... rrriiiiiiiiggght up until toriyama introduced SSJ2 on Feb 2, 1993- near exactly 1 month before the first Broly movie hit theaters. Completely undermined what, up til then, looked like a trend in stronger form = bigger and beefier right as the big beefy strongest guy ever movie came out 🤣 absolutely love it!)

So anyways. The movies overall also tend to have varying degrees of similarities with recent arcs in the show and Toriyama, while not overly involved, would give the studio designs and story notes. And. Idk. Yall can tell me im reaching if ya want, but: A guy who's made into a weapon by his father who's on a quest for revenge and has this conflicting view of his son as both someone he feels he failed to protect, someone he cares about, but also as a tool for that revenge, and someone who's destructive power hes become deeply afraid of.. now where have we seen somethin like that 🤔 may be an extra reach but I also think its neat that despite their different face shape, Toriyamas gave em the same expression

Lol they're also both just ridiculously tall bastards. Like for no gd reason. And yeah, to me atleast, it explains why hating goku specifically gets shoehorned into brolys backstory (listen I can absolutely do the mental gymnastics to make it make sense! I'm fine with it! Its fine! I actually like it! ... but it IS a dumb shoehorned plot point! Both things can be true D:< ) look just lookit these tall ass shits

Anyway. My last note is just this statement from Toriyama about 16 and Gero. The way gero is presented is really in line with how I see Paragus as this tragic failure of a father- honestly caring about his kid, but letting grief and revenge drive him into conflicting corners where he wants revenge FOR the life denied his son, but also actively shaping his son into such a terrifying weapon that ultimately hed rather his kid just never be conscious cause thats the 'only way to keep them safe'

“Dr. Gero’s son who died young a long time ago served as the visual model for Android 16. He was a high-ranking soldier for the Red Ribbon Army but was shot down by the enemy. Dr. Gero reserved special feelings for 16 as “his son,” and although he equipped 16 with immense power and a frightening destructive device, he didn’t want to see him be defeated on the battlefield and thus programmed him to have a gentle personality. 16 was consequently considered a failed creation.” The smaller caption below Toriyama’s quote reads: “Was the reason Dr. Gero didn’t want to activate 16 perhaps because of his parental love to not see him destroyed?”

[exstasyplague]

UnPopular Jujutsu Kaisen Opinions (with arguments) PT 2

hi god. it's me again. :)

—manga spoilers!

☆ Sukuna is not stronger than Gojo

right.

i've noticed that both hardcore gojo fans and sukuna fans are delusional; almost on the same tier as the kpop stans that say their oppar is an angelic virgin who will marry them. they are willing to trash the character fighting against their favourite in a genuinely petty way 💀

in the manga it's said clearly that even back in the heian day, sukuna's presence didn't cause much uproar because times were rougher back then. the ones alive had a certain type of blood thirst so you were strong by default if you weren't dead. was sukuna the strongest back then and eventually made himself a name? yes.

gojo's birth caused a disbalance in the world.

let's not forget that. in shibuya, when he expanded his domain for 0.2 seconds, the people subjected to that received 6 months worth of information and had to be hospitalised for weeks.

(that's one of my favourite manga panels, btw. will get to that in a second)

let's do some maths.

a minute has 60 seconds. 60÷0.2= 300. 300x6months=1800. in a minute, you get 1800 months' worth of information. 1800÷12= 150. 150 years in a minute. 150÷6= 25. sukuna got information input worth 25 years of non-stop intense brain activity.

that's not only a face of brain damage. sukuna is shook by how powerful that shit was. mad props to him for enduring that. 👏

what's the point of this? to understand that gojo's power is terrifying. that shit hits you properly? it's over. it's not even instant death. it's absolute. no way, chance of recovery.

but sukuna is more well-versed in curse energy. he has a deeper understanding of it. that's his strongest skill— knowledge. gojo with his 6 Eyes can't sense people from a big distance well. sukuna could feel megumi hurting from kilometres away just because he dissected the theory of cursed energy that well, no innate technique. his use of RTC also shows that— it's one thing to get the hang of it, an entirely different one to understand it. sukuna could literally cure cancer if he wanted. (au! doctor sukuna? 🤭🤭 hanibal lecter way since he's a canon cannibal. that's how he became besties with uraume, they KNEW how to cook.)

but then you guys will be like: "ok plague, but doesn't that mean their power is equal since they both excel on their separate things?" no. LOL. knowledge can be attained— if gojo with his natural skills would have sukuna's knowledge... yeah. it would be over. but gojo is gojo and doesn't like putting in effort so he is balanced like that.

this fight is mastery vs innate talent among many other things. one of the main messages in jujutsu kaisen, especially in the plasma vessel arc, is that being powerful is sometimes not enough. and that's exactly gojo is so damn strong; he's the perfect one to prove that point. that's why he struggles against my fraudulent sweet prince. 😍

☆ Maki will never be Toji

never. lol.

people compare them, especially the ones in the jjk world because there are no other heavenly restricted people to draw a parallel between. toji's strength doesn't only come from the fact that he maxxed up his body. it's also his mentality and life philosophy— which maki will never be able to embody. giving up on everything. being all alone. giving up even on yourself and your pride, living to kill and killing to live. that's a certain desperation that's so powerful and strengthening it can not even be called desperation, just something rooting from a VERY similar place with it. toji was rejected by everything and he rejected everything around him. until he didn't and well... we know how that ended. 💀

her own principles will take her on a different path. this is not an opinion about power scaling or whatever, it's as simple as it sounds. SHE IS STRONG. BUT WILL EVOLVE DIFFERENTLY. maki is accepted by some people, by her friends. maki also has her sister; with whom she had a love-hate relationship wtv but in the end mai becomes her greatest motivation and unleash point. plus, maki became besties with that blood clan guy for whatever reason, i don't mind but that's more so to solidify my point. she was able to forge new connections and maintain her old ones.

+ all great villains/ op protags have some backstories. some curses wanted to become the real humans. some mfs were homeless. maki ain't broke enough for this toji shit bruh.

☆ Kashimo is overhyped

🤓

"when kashimo wipes out his SUPER SEKRET CURSED TECHNIQUE—" bro. shut. the. fucx. up. my man can wipe out his d1ck and all it's gonna get him is an honorary spot on rule 34.

he's has an unhinged mentality but that doesn't mean he is a goat. his only purpose in life (reason why kenjaku tapped that ass a bit) is to duel sukuna. very cool. but come on bro. YOU KNOW he is gonna have max 1-2 cool badass moments before he goes like "lul, xd. guess my life nice. bye bye minna-san☺️. the true jujutsu kaisen is the friends we made along the way."

DON'T GET ME WRONG.

if he actually does something cool and badass that will influence the plot beyond adding few cold ass panels, GGs. but there is literally no reason for all the WILD dick buffing this man is getting as of now. no basis.

you know he low-key shitting his pants watching that fight going on— would it be totally in character for him to get excited and hop in for the lols just to see how much damage/influence he'd have? yeah. but that's only because of his ambition. kthx

☆ Nanami has one of the best mentalities

i don't know and i don't care if this is popular/ unpopular.

NANAMI. THE. GOAT.

in a shonen world filled with adults that push all the responsibility on children while they fucx off to party, he is refreshingly aware of the importance his position as an adult holds. (itachi, kakashi, sasuke and naruto could've really used a nanami. you didn't hear that from me though.)

even if in the beginning he didn't really like yuji and only viewed him as sukuna's vessel, a mistake for the jujutsu world, his mentality was: "you are a kid. my priority as an adult is to make sure you are safe." (not exact quotes. when tumblr lets me post more than 10 pics i'll spam you with manga panels, i promise.)

then, he grew fonder of him etc.

"even if you are a sorcerer, you are still a kid. you shouldn't be the one to blame yourself for x event. that's the the business of adults."

in the first light novel, even gojo told nanami that he is the type to be able to save a child's heart from the poison the jujutsu world has to offer. gojo says something among the lines of "for grown ups, the poisons this world has to offer are many and we learn how to deal with them. but for a soul as enthusiastic (as yuji's and many others' teens) one poison like is enough to mess them up for life. exactly because you are the type of sorcerer to know that i'm asking you to look after yuji, even if once, as the individual he is, not sukuna's vessel."

as he was dying, a death filled with doubts and frustrations towards everything— he still thought about yuji's sake. he didn't want to become a curse to him. he could've said "well, i won't see his misery anw so i can put all this sh1t pissing me off on him". (would've been me fr, my self control 0)

that is peak adulting. peak. peak. peak.

RIP. you were one of the best, nanamin 🙏

another proof that you don't need to be mad powerful to be great and impactful.

☆ Interfering in the fight between Gojo and Sukuna would be dumb

small jjk history lesson with your favourite sensei~! ✨

who is this individual? 🤔

haruta shigemo!! 🎉

haruta shigemo was recruited to help the bad scawwyy villains to help with their plans!! yayy. all clear so far. gr8. he is not as strong as a grade 1 sorcerer but his innate technique is luck so he is super duper useful in battles!! (very cool, i know ^^)

now, let's see what happened with haruta shigemo once he faced sukuna (who was busy exorcising mahoraga).

it's fuck1ng OVER man. i've just explained how powerful gojo is and he is striking sukuna with the intent to kill. also let's not forget: sukuna himself is very fuck1ng strong. those two want to rip eachother's throats out. gojo doesn't really care so much about megumi's safety and that's a very sensible smart choice since anything is better than letting him be as he is.

"but— plague 🙄, if he is close to geting backshots then ofc people should help!! they should go against the 2 shikigamis!!! they should've stepped in from the moment gojo's nose bled."

the ONLY instance where it would be ok for someone to step in is when Gojo is literally laying on the ground DEAD or in a state similar with the thing he had with toji. (hopefully it won't happen, my majestic king gotta see another day 😔 👑)

NEVER FORGET.

haruta shigemo 🙏

☆ Side characters are meant to be side characters

crazy.

like sure bro. i cope too. IT'S FINE TO COPE. as long as you know you're coping.

but people get dead ass pissed off at gege because they "haven't seen todo in 10 years. haven't seen utahime in 1000 wet dreams. haven't seen gakuganji at the retirement home in 306 days."

i wonder why. wow. maybe it's because they are the supporting cast. stop. take a break. it's hard for everybody. i miss some characters too. but the focus on the story simply is not on them.

let me know what other copium I should debate 😘

[enhashoutout]

Things I noticed while watching High and Low the Worst X again

I was watching High and Low The Worst X while I was on lunch break and then had more realizations and wanted to write about them lol

These are probably nothing new and someone else probably already noticed these but I wanted to make a post about them sooooo

I’ve watched the movie so many times now idk why I just realized the weight of the three scenes I’m about to talk about. But also I feel like I notice something new every time I watch the movies so I'm gonna cut myself some slack.

Amagai being the only character in the movie who genuinely doesn’t have a sense of friendship/comradery with anyone else.

The first time we see the 3 schools alliance meeting is the opening of the movie, and I remember when I first watched the movie I was like "well damn this looks like a solid ass team" only to find out later that they were in fact not really a team lol 😂 but anywaysss

Watching the movie this time I just realized what Fujin says to Amagai in the first scene in the restaurant where the 3 schools are holding their meetings.

Reiji is first to jump up and say "Let's get this brawl started," and Ghandi jumps in telling Amamgai that their troupes and weapons are ready. Shoji laughs and says that weapons are typical Kamasaka behavior which prompts them to jump at him and Fujin, Raijin, and the other Ebara guys jump straight to his defense while Shoji continues sitting. Amagai tells them to "get us more" while tossing the money bundles in their direction.

Every single fuckin character in this scene's facial expressions have me dying because the disbelief on their faces😂

Shoji looking at Amagai like he's full of shit.

Fujin, Raijin, and Ghandi are looking at him like "wtf?"

The background characters are looking at him in disbelief also like I was WHEEZING when I realized this. Back to the characters who are the main focus of this specific camera frame though, Ghandi and Fujin.

Both characters turn to Amagai with the BIGGEST look of disbelief on their faces and Fujin says "You don't trust we can do it huh?"

To which Amagai says "What's the use in trusting you guys?" and goes on a spiel about how being powerful means you trust no one and not even giving them a slight chance. He also goes on to say that being powerful means bringing everyone else down to their knees and tells the other 3 schools "Just shut up and stick with me. I'll show you what it's like to be at the top." Ryo's face when he says this is a whole other conversation for another day.

I'M SORRY BUT THE LOOKS REIJI AND SHOJI GIVE HIM AFTER HIS LITTLE SPIEL HAD ME ROLLING🤣 Like both characters gave him the most judgmental expression and then you got Shoji over here looking away and rolling his eyes PUH-LEASE I AM DEAD🤣

Aside from all of this being extremely funny to me, this plays into my point from above. Yes, all these looks are super funny but it really shows how as "bad" as the other guys are they still run in the same way that Oya and the other S.W.O.R.D gangs do, through friendship and comradery.

Fujin asked "You don't trust we can do it huh?" because Ebara most likely runs on comradery as well. You don't pay someone to do shit for you, they just know to trust each other to get it done. This is a concept that Amagai does not and can not understand because he's been conditioned to believe that the people around him are not worthy of trust or friendship due to his status, they just work for him. As long as he throws money at their feet, they'll do what he wants.

That's like kind of sad actually, the fact that the other "antagonists" of the film still know friendship and he doesn't... I still hate his guts though. We love Ryoki but we don't love his character Amagai.

The way Shoji vs Tsukasa asks Suzaki why he’s working for Amagai

I think everyone can agree that within that 3 school alliance, Shoji Sameoka was the only character with working brain cells (full offense to all the other characters lol no one else in that room had critical thinking skills I swear). From the first meeting we see, the audience can already tell Shoji is the only character who has doubts about this alliance but also questions it; while everyone else has doubts but proceed to just follow Amagai's orders. This eventually leads to Shoji being the one to suggest that Ebara drop out of the alliance because he thinks it’s stupid which then leads to him agreeing to Todoroki’s terms of dropping out of the alliance if Todoroki wins against Fujin and Raijin. I feel like Shoji as a person judges the other characters based on what he knows/hears about them.

We see this when he confronts Suzaki. Shoji asks Suzaki why he would come to Senomon and work under Amagai when he was the one running Nami High. Suzaki tells him to mind his own business. Shoji is asking Suzaki from a place of strength. Based on the dialogue, it seems like Shoji knew Suzaki and Amagai’s reputations before this alliance. I deduce this down to Shoji knowing that Suzaki was the strongest at Nami High and knowing that Amagai isn’t actually physically strong compared to the other characters, he just likes to cause trouble and make others work for him. People fear Amagai not for his strength or skills as a fighter, but simply because he has the money and status to be at the “top”.

This brings me to believe that Shoji was asking why someone as strong as Suzaki would even work under Amagai who is clearly not a match for him strength wise. It seems like Shoji is asking Suzaki why he would be scared of Amagai’s money and work under him when Suzaki is clearly stronger. I think this is because the Ebara guys ranks are based on their strength/who is the strongest (I make this assumption from the fact that Fujin and Raijin are straight up gym bros lol) so Shoji can’t understand why Suzaki is working under someone clearly weaker than him.

Tsukasa’s question is the same….. but also different.

Tsukasa strikes me as someone who really gets to know someone personally to the best of his abilities before he makes his own judgment on them. We see this with Rao in the movie. Tsukasa could’ve taken everyone’s word for it and been like “oh Rao is a big mean monster” but he takes it upon himself to find out who Rao actually is through Mercy. This is how he finds out Rao isn’t actually all that bad like the stories suggests and that Rao fights for good reason (for his siblings). This trait about Tsukasa is why he asks Suzaki why he fights for Amagai but is also why he’s the only one who is able to understand why Suzaki fights for Amagai without a direct answer.

When Tsukasa asks Suzaki why he works for Amagai, he says “why do you work for a guy like him? Does he has some kind of dirt on you?” and Suzaki just keeps quiet. This brings me to believe that Suzaki probably had a reputation for being the strongest at Nani High but also fought people within reason, he didn’t flaunt his strength just because he felt like it.

Tsukasa asked him based off the kind of person he is and not his strength. I'm assuming Ryo fought people within reason and not so much for fun or to assert his dominance over others with his strength, so him working under someone who has as shitty of a personality as Amagai probably threw Tsukasa off a bit.

He is also however able to tell that there is a friendship there even if it isn't great. At the end when Yuken and Todoroki ask why Ryo would work for someone like Amagai, Tsukasa says it's because he means more to Ryo than that. Alluding to the fact that Ryo is doing stuff for Amagai because he sees him as a friend even if everyone else doesn't.

Okay, I'm done now😂 this wasn't as deep as my other analysis because it's not super deep with comparisons or anything like that it was just stuff I noticed while watching the movie again.

I have fics I'm working on for all the S.W.O.R.D leaders and more for Fujio I'm just swamped with assignments and working a little slow

[leahnardo-da-veggie]

My OCs Majour Historical Figures

Part 3 of my world building posts! I'm gonna arrange these guys in order of their importance to the Plot™, and how much I dote on them.

So, without further ado,

The Godhuntress, Ina

She's literally my PFP :)

Lived: 2000-4050AC

Height: 3.5m (11'6 for Americans)

Pronouns: She/Her

Race: Angel of Nature (her halo is just flowers)

Was completely loyal to the Gods until her husband got killed for abandoning his post to pluck some flowers for her

Then she went completely apeshit and genocided the gods

Possessed a secret Voidic ritual to drain magic from others, which gave her the power to defeat the Gods

Killed her daughter, Isobel, in a fit of rage after Iz tried to stop her from killing the last goddess, the Goddess of Dreams, who was just a child

Massacred the Fae, elves, and forest spirits

Jumped into the Void out of grief when she realised she had become a monster like the gods (see it here)

Speaks like she came out of the bible

Basically the biggest deity in modern Triworld

Been living rent free in my head since I was 6

2. The Spirit Emperor, Hans-el

Obsessive midgeted psycho

Lived: 3595- AC

Height: 130cm/4'3 (145/4'9 in his high shoes)

Pronouns: He/Him (caps included)

Race: Forest Spirit

Has an everlasting grudge against Ina for killing his best friend, the Goddess of Dreams, in front of him

Knows her power ritual because he saw her do it, and used it to gain enough power to become Emperor for vengeance

After she died, he set all the souls of the gods free for the heck of it

Like Ina, is power-corrupt and evil. Unlike her, he doesn't give a shit about it

Bastard has his little fingers in every bit of the Plot™

No seriously, if the story's set after Ina, it's events are probably his fault

You'll find him cameoing as either Hans or just 'the spirit'

Will murder you if you call him short (he is, even by spirit standards)

Inexplicably in love with Hash

3. Hash Brown

Nobody knows her real name

Lived: 1998- AC

Height: ? (145/4'9 in his favourite form)

Pronouns: she/he (and never it)

Race: Shapeshifter

Possibly the oldest being alive in Modern Triworld, not that she'd let anyone know it

Wears an elf body because that's what she pretended to be during the Runic Wars

Goes by Hash Brown because the Lich-Queen said it would be cool, and he's possibly forgotten his own name by this point

Actually pretty smart but pretends to be a ditz

Pathological trickster who feels bad getting people in trouble

Moved into Hans' castle one day, became his partner in crime (and everything else) and never left

Feels bad for deserting his people during the Ruinic War (cos he couldn't accept genociding humanity) and as such looks after the remaining shapeshifters

Drinking buddies with the Luxatian Exorcists, who all actually believe she's an elf

Fakes an incredibly strong Paliodaen accent

Secretly, deep within his heart, a good person

4. The Lich-Queen, Iraela Foundling

Cracker of bad quips

Lived: 2800-4003

Height: 165cm/5'5

Race: Human turned Lich

Found in the End of the World along with her sister, Ramaeria, and brought into Ceredellian Royal society

She showed no powers so she stayed hidden away while her sister, an Oracle, danced with nobles

Met and fell in love with a minor duke

When she discovered she was a necromancer of epic proportions, she tore Ceredell apart and remade it into the Deadlands

Has a god-awful inferiority complex and deep rooted jealousy

Still somehow trying to live up to her dead sister's image

Cannot stop cracking jokes at the worst possible timing

Thought it was funny to tell a young shifter to name himself Hashbrown

Main proponent of the Ruinic War, because she hates humanity (she doesn't want to be reminded that she was one)

Bonus: Luna Iverius Delacroix, Mind-mage

Absolute tech boomer

Age: 6012-

Height: 150cm

Race: Human

Actually pretty important to the Plot™

Main character syndrome in every meaning of the word

Make-up fiend

Ran away from home at age 11 and made herself a cult of personality

Cannot drive, cook, use a phone or take care of herself

Insanely lazy, but skilled enough at magic to make up for it

Does not know the meaning of playing fair

Neither booksmart nor streetsmart, but a secret third option (not smart)

By the way, all the images were made on picrew.me ! Go check it out, it's super fun to play with!