#i think the main reason it feels like that isn't even the neglect or abuse

[spacedustmantis]

sigh. yet another incredibly improtant self discovery that i won't be able to tell my parents about....

[yall-hate-kids-tourney]

Round 3: Maria Ushiromiya (Umineko: When They Cry) vs. Amane Momose (MILGRAM)

Propaganda below the cut

Maria Ushiromiya (9)

She's really obsessed with occult and witch stuff and acts inappropriately when her family gets murdered because she was told by the culprit that everyone was going to the Golden Land (a super special witch afterlife where you get whatever you want). She also has meltdowns like any autistic child. Because of this, some Umineko fans say that she deserves to get abused by her mother.

----

People really do be saying that this literal nine year old who's been abused and neglected by her mom for her whole life is evil

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Some people in the Umineko fandom have decided that she's annoying because she's a 9 year old with autism. Personally I think she's based. She has a hard life but still tries her hardest to see the goodness in everything. She's kind, even feeling sorry for a wilting flower and hoping it'll get better. She's a very smart young girl who just isn't given the proper love a child needs from their parents to thrive. She deserved SO, SO much better than the cards life dealt her. I mustn't talk too much else I'll get emotional but Maria is peak.Best autistic witch girl.

Amane Momose (12):

Amane was voted guilty in the first trial so that she would acknowledge her guilt. It backfired, and now she’s considered a threat. Well, everyone is a threat, but nobody’s threat level has been as heavily discussed and debated as hers. Consider the next prisoner in line, Mikoto. He’s objectively more dangerous and cannot be restrained. He beat up the guard in trial 1, and he was able to hold his own when the other guilty prisoners were attacked. But a good incentive to forgive him is so that he will calm down. You know what? That’s a good incentive to forgive Amane too! But she *can* be restrained, so a good portion of the discussion went into how she should be voted guilty so she *will* be restrained and not a threat. Since her vote was a near 50/50, of course a good chunk of the voters expressed dissatisfaction with her forgiven verdict. Some are already planning to vote her guilty for trial 3, calling her a “lost cause”. She hasn’t even done any concrete harm yet. Hold the pitchforks until she actually causes harm, please? And what if she *was* voted guilty in trial 2? We’ve been warned that she will continue to deny our judgement. A second guilty verdict won’t make her better either, and then what? She’d be called a “lost cause” as well. There is no winning with her.

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Where do I even start? So first of all she’s an cult child who was physically and mentally abused and tortured by her parents and then (presumably) murdered her mother after her mother killed a cat that she took care of.

Now everyone in Milgram is a murderer but when Amane came and her MV showed her murder and circumstance in an admittedly highly fictionalized depiction of it the audience decided to…repeat the cycle of abuse!

She was voted guilty for the main reason of “teaching her” and helping her “realize that she was abused.” I would like to note that this tough love approach is something her parents utilized against her. “We are only doing this to help you.”

So the audience replicates Amane’s abusers and repeats the cycle of abuse and that’s pretty shitty but it isn’t exactly “Fuck Em Kids” level.

And then Trial 2 happened. Cause Amane is bitter and angry and horrifically traumatized so she acts aggressive and hostile. Especially towards another prisoner.

Now, again, everyone here is a fucking murderer (of atleast could be constructed as one) These people being able to Harm is a core concept of this series.

Yet for some reason it feels like people treat Amane as a “delusional creepy kid who wants to kill people” which completly takes away the nuance of her character. She does have the capacity to harm! Everyone here does! She’s not Uniquly Dangerous! She just has a Reason to be Dangerous. A Reason we GAVE HER by REPEATING THE CYCLE OF ABUSE.

In short: In a series full of Murderers I’m honestly a bit pissed that the 12 year old abuse victim is the one who’s treated like the guy from American Pyscho.

----

TL;DR: "We metavoted this abused, indoctrinated child guilty in trial 1, but it didn't work. Now she is a threat to three grown adults: one who is fully free and two whom she has been shown to get along with. Please metavote her guilty again so she will be restrained and unable to attack them, even though that means subjecting her to further psychological torture." Amane Momose is the youngest of ten murderers, prisoners of Milgram who are to be judged innocent (forgiven) or guilty (unforgiven). In the first interrogation (voice drama), she said that what she did was in line with her religion's doctrines. If we judged her the "wrong way", she said she will just deny the verdict. Combining the voice drama and music video, you could piece together that she was raised in a cult and abused, even though she is cheerful and downplays her pain. She never shows *who* she killed, only *why* she did. After the first day of her vote, she was 81% innocent, but this wouldn't last the whole three months. Many people voted her guilty so she would "see her sins", part of the practice commonly known as "metavoting". Her innocent percentage rapidly decreased, and she hit guilty in the last 15 days, finishing at 51% guilty. At the end of the first trial, Jackalope (who is something like a host) went over all the prisoners' verdicts and commented on the general reasoning. When he got to Amane, he *laughed* at the audience for voting that way to make her realize her sins. Trial 2 rolled around, and it was revealed that Amane's victim was her abuser. On day one, she was at 74% innocent. Seems like a cut-and-dry case now, right? Well... in the intermission, two of the prisoners (Fuuta and Mahiru) were badly beaten up and became reliant on the care of Shidou, a doctor. Amane became hostile to Shidou because what he was doing was against her beliefs. She visited all three of them on their birthdays to convince them to change their ways. She seems to be especially close to Fuuta, who is now murmuring about salvation. Guilty prisoners are psychologically tortured, forced to listen to voices that reject their beliefs. Fuuta and Mahiru both say that the mental strain is worse than their physical injuries. But Amane, who also looks worse for wear, was thrown under the bus because she isn't injured and is considered a physical threat to them (never mind that she gets along with them). She's considered a threat to Shidou, a grown man who is twice her size and fully free, while she is partially restricted by the long sleeves in her trial 2 uniform. She might indoctrinate Fuuta even though, in a prison of ten people and one guard, she's the only voice of her cult. Fortunately, she got a break. Her vote was falling at a similar rate to the first trial. But this time, it stabilized at 51% innocent, 12 days before the end of her vote. But there's no way this is over.

[rainybraindays]

Saying this as someone who was bullied, and who is fat, but a corner of this fandoms unwillingness to give Cressida any sympathy while stanning Penelope is weird to me.

Cressida and Penelope are incredibly similar. Their mothers are both abusive women who look down on those around them. They both enjoy gossip, they both have a mean streak, and they're both in similar positions this season.

But for some reason Penelope is forgivable but Cressida isn't?

People often talk of Portias cruelty (though they often downplay it but thats a different post) and how its why Penelope does a lot of what she does, but its the same with Cressida.

As early as s1 we see Cressidas mother brushing her off, she says to violet "My Cressida may have the fortune, but Daphne has the face." And if I remember correctly Cressida is beside her as she says this. Her mother casually insults her, in public to a rather influential person, with no care for her daughters feelings. In s3 its even more blatant with how the moment Cressida voices how she's not interested in Debling her mother starts in on how shes 3 seasons in an unmarried, how shes on the road to spinsterdom. She says "you may find me cruel" and then guilts her with how her father is cutting their allowance to justify it. Cressida has no siblings so Araminta has made every other girl in the ton her competition to a far greater degree than other girls, because while they all seem to have friend groups, Cressida doesn't consistently have the same friends. How is she able to keep a friend when the one time one shows up to see her, shes told shes not to be seen with her anymore?

Eloise is the first true friend shes had in years, and its clear through their interactions that while Cressida can be cruel, its not all she is. The cruelty is a shield, much like Whistledown is for Penelope. The main difference is that while Cressidas cruelty is open and known, Penelope is hiding the worst parts of herself. Part of this is because while both Araminta and Portia are open in their cruelty to their daughters, the former is overbearing while the later is neglectful.

While Penelope has been left alone to try and find a husband, given up on before her presentation, Cressida is constantly thrown at everyman who seems to be looking for a wife. Theres no attempt to have her actually form a connection, which I'd argue is part of why her courtships never leave the early stages. She puts on an act for them, likely at her mothers insistence, much like Portia insists Penelope play dumb for Debling.

People also keep asking "why isn't Cressida considered a spinster?" When she very nearly is? She says it herself, her mother says it, this is her last year to really have a chance. The only reason she wouldn't become an actual spinster is because th Cowpers have connections the Featheringtons don't, and are not against marrying her off to the first old friend of her father's who is willing.

Cressida has done everything she can to draw attention to herself, her hair, her clothes, they scream "look at me!" She has put on mask after mask to try and be the woman whichever man she may be speaking to may want, and has failed everytime. She is one of, if not the last, of the girls in her debut year who has yet to get engaged, or even close to an engagement, and she is scared. Anything she does in part 2, I expect because at this point she has three (known) failed courtship attempts, and the threat of a man the age of her father as a husband hanging over her head.

Cressidas been a bully, thats true, but shes also being abused. If you can justify Penelope as Whistledown because shes bullied and shes abused, but can't even find sympathy for Cressida you should maybe think about why ones negatives are okay, but the others aren't.

[donkeys-waffles]

(WARNING SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 425.)

Just casually thinking about how "Creep" from Radiohead is so AFO and Izuku coded. Just separately, both characters emulate the feelings behind this song. "Creep" is a very self-deprecating song, with deep devotion to another person, referring to this other person as an angel, as something that is 'perfect' in comparison to how they refer to themselves as a 'creep'.

This part I'll be talking about Izuku, next I'll talk about AFO.

We've seen the discrimination Izuku has experienced from being quirkless, the isolation, neglect, verbal and physical abuse.

He mentions that this was the moment he realized that not all people are created equal. It speaks volumes of his character and how he views himself, like he's the main problem of this equation. As if in some way it's his fault for being born without a quirk so it's natural for others to treat him with discrimination. There's not enough righteous fury in this recap.

Everyone, every important figure in his life has told him to be realistic, his mother apologized for him being quirkless as if it was a disease, (I love both her and All Might don't get me wrong here, I can understand their reasonings, but that doesn't take away the impact of what was said.) and both his childhood friend and idol crushed his dreams.

It reminds me of these lyrics from "Creep"

"I wish I was special You're so fuckin' special

But I'm a creep I'm a weirdo What the hell am I doin' here? I don't belong here"

I also wanna add this fun little tidbit for the "But I'm a creep," section,

So many times has his mumbling been a source of discomfort for people, so much so that Bakugou felt the need to have an outburst each time he did it in the beginning of the manga. Makes it even funnier knowing it's about quirks.

The last two lines remind me a lot of Izuku's mentality in the early chapters, during the sports festival and the first appearance of the League of Villains we see a lot of Izuku feeling completely useless. We also see Izuku degrading his own accomplishments, giving the credit to All Might, Gran Torino, or his other classmates. Despite, him earning OFA because of his heroic spirit he views himself as a burden.

I feel like the line "I don't belong here" is emulated in so many ways, you can easily argue that his vigilante arch could emulate this, but I really think that his resolve for being quirkless again is what takes the cake for me.

Of course, he's not too heartbroken by it if he never felt he deserved it anyway. He always viewed it as a gift (not something he earned the right to), we see this with Shigaraki and even Aoyama. That's his line of empathy with them, he views himself as fortunate to be given the opportunity he has, while they suffered a worse fate by hands that wanted to use them. Here are some other honorable mentions when it comes to this idea. (Even though Izuku isn't very lucky either, he's also been used as a weapon in two wars at 16 but that's beside the point.)

And many, many others really, let's be honest. It's one of the first things I noticed about Izuku's character that I feel never truly got resolved.

"I don't care if it hurts I wanna have control I want a perfect body I want a perfect soul I want you to notice When I'm not around"

The first two lines emulate a lot of Izuku's lack of self-preservation.

The first picture illustrates the sacrifices he's made saving others despite it shattering his bones. The second is him grabbing Tomura's hands despite decay and losing his arms.

Lines 3 and 4, as well as

"You're just like an angel Your skin makes me cry You float like a feather In a beautiful world"

Emulates how he views All Might and Bakugou throughout the manga,

All Might is always shown as this unstoppable force for a big chunk of the manga, we can see it in the season 1 anime opening when All Might is standing with his back to Izuku, a light silhouetting him with Izuku reaching his hand out to him. As if he's this unattainable picture of heroism, furthering the lyrics of "I don't belong here," "You're just like an angel" and "You're so fucking special."

Now for Bakugou, which my main examples come from early in the manga of course.

"As you've said, I had nothing going for me."

"I could admire All Might from a distance, but you were right there. This amazing person in my life."

I think this just illustrates my point. He considered them both pillars of strength. (I wouldn't say that has changed with All Might despite him being retired, even though All Might is admired, and cherished, now he's viewed as more human. Which is so sweet.)

"I want you to notice me when I'm not around"

Is also, very Izuku coded, considering his history with being bullied. Looking back to the beginning of my spiel, we see a lot of bullying taking place in the classroom with teachers that could've reported Bakugou's aggressive behavior. A lot of adults failed Izuku, they turned a blind eye to the obvious abuse happening right in front of them. And that's made even worse if you consider whether Inko knew of the abuse herself. There was negligence in the system on Izuku's behalf, that's made clear. Also considering his first friends (in a decade,), and his extreme anxiety surrounding Ochako and Iida when he first met them. But it also makes me think of this recent panel

It really hurts looking at these panels, because he's clearing wanting to talk with them and they're brushing him off. He wants to be noticed here, he wants to reach out to them and have friends to confide in. And Ochako just talks about his hair and brushes him off, while Todoroki does the same thing.

It just makes me sad considering his history, he probably thinks it's because he's going to be quirkless again. And the saddest thing is Izuku wouldn't blame them, he wouldn't feel the anger he's entitled to, because again I don't believe he feels deserving of living the dream he had. With it all disappearing with his quirk feels natural to him when it shouldn't. Bringing us back the beginning of this self-deprecating song and cycle in Izuku's life.

[mytalemyworld]

They are the most popular couple right now on social media, actually it's not very surprising since there is no love story happening in other tv shows so it's like there is literally no ship wars or something but…even if there was, I think they could still be at the first place.

You didn't ask for my two cents but I'll tell you anyway. The show is a complete mess. Nowadays the writers just don't waste any efforts on their scripts. This one is no different, there's so much craziness going on that I can't stop judging.

So the main character Yaman (his real name is Ali Soysalan) was kidnapped when he was a child. Then he somehow ended up on the streets, grew up with three homeless children. (Cesur, Asi and Umut. Their names come from their characteristics I guess since they have no identity. Cesur means "Brave", Asi means "Rebellious/Rebel". Umut means "Hope". Yaman means "the person who doesn't give up, is strong") They become a kind of family. One day he finds out his real family and the story begins.

This might be too cliche, I don't care about that, but the problem is if you want to watch a heartfelt family reunion you may be very disappointed. After he reunites with his family, there is no bonding, no family time, no thought about how to spend their days from now on…The family find their kid and act like "so yeah, this is your family, stay in our home, these are your other siblings, let's move on." Come on! As a mother more importantly as a doctor mother, you just have to see the emotional damage and the endless gap between your kids.

And don't get me started on how Mother Soysalan announce the news to her other children: They just find out from the tv like the other citizens in the country.

Nothing makes sense, but let's just forget all nonsense and accept that this story is more like about a lost kid who turns back his home to get his revenge on the bad guys.

Btw, I am usually not that kind of person who comments on the performances of the actors but I don't know why, the lead actor doesn't make me really feel anything. The same actor also acted in Kardeslerim as Kadir a.k.a. the eldest brother, (this already looks like typecasting btw) however he is really not convincing here. There's a lack of chemistry with everyone, but this also might be a directing or a script problem because the other actors can't give any strong feelings in some specific scenes too. In short, I fast forward his scenes most of the time. The fact that his actions are so predictable doesn't help either.

So here comes the problematic part.

They are twins but I prefer calling them Jessie and James from Pokemon.

Since The Council of Radio and Television in Turkiye doesn't care the degrees of violence shown or the importance of right labelling for tv shows, I shouldn't be surprised by how this show is tagged. I, however, will give you a warning. The show is dark, there is drug use, excessive violence, emotional abuse, family abuse, physical abuse…oh my, you can put any warning actually. The worse, they are not handled very well. Law enforcement, is there even such a thing in this show? No. Any law? No. Stupidity ever ends? No. I know they are portraying the underdog people so the violence part might be kind of realistic, but the adults are so frustrating when they can not do anything useful.

And these twins are suffering from childhood emotional neglect. (To be honest the half of Soysalan family must be in prison, the other half should see a therapist.)

Alaz Soysalan, he is one of the problematic characters in the show. The younger sibling of the main character and doesn't like his newly found "big bro" (he uses this word with a mocking emphasis) because he sees him as the main reason for his lonely and motherless childhood. He doesn't know what empathy means, he just doesn't feel the others' pains unless the other party also goes through the same thing he does.

He definitely isn't likeable, but for a tv show where everybody shows acute reactions, his choices blend in the rest. Don't expect anything from him, he is a complete disaster.

I can overlook many of his wrongdoings because that's fiction, but I wish I had never seen the way he behaved towards his twin sister at the early episodes. I think it doesn't make sense since he is overly protective and possesive of his family.

Yeah, let's jump into the shipping part.

She is Asi. Your typical tough tomboy. Thanks to growing up together with a bunch of boys, she knows how to deal with them. She swears, she fights. But she is also loyal and compassionate. She is unfortunately helplessly in love with Yaman. He isn't aware of her feelings and sees her as his family, his sister.

When she first meets Alaz, they don't have any important one-to-one interaction. They just don't like each other and naturally turn into enemies. But this is the slowest burn of the show.

Like I said, he has lack of empathy unless he sees someone is hurt from the same pain as he is.

This is the moment he truly sees her because both of them are suffering from one-sided love. He realizes she's in love with Yaman and she knows he loves Rüya. Unlike the other people in the cell, she knows why he's frustrated and angry. Not communicating at all, they share something here.

I'm going to post more about them. They're the only interesting thing in the show. For the rest...meh. I usually adore family dynamics, but don't have expectations here after having seen the found kid part was badly written.

[mulletmitsuya]

I hated the tr ending so badly. Not because it was rushed or anything. Wakui could have fleshed out the last timeline so thoroughly and logically and I would still hate it because the ending itself goes against what I felt the story stood for in the first place. He replaced all the characters for fakes, none of the characters we were intoduced to had happy endings because they either are totally different people or re lived their life to avoid healing. The ending basically proved izanas last words right "there's no saving me" yeah I guess not if the only way to help everyone is to make sure their lives never happened the way it did. Horrible I hate it so much. Also one ship I hate is rinzu or ranzu because they don't even interact once and it's so popular for no fucking reason other than "its hot" and tbh they would prolly hate eachother like petty bitches, they would NOT get along at any point. Also Koko and amane ship because if people actually read the manga with their eyes open it would not make sense. Anyways thanks for letting me be a hater in ur askbox, I love your blog btw

This is long, also tw for typical tokrev themes and sa

I think you're the first person who has the same opinion as me lmao😭. I also didn't believe it should have had an ending like that at all because of the themes that had been set up during the entire story. I understand people's perspectives of "It's Wakui's manga and it's his ending he can do what he wants" but media is supposed to be talked about, discussed and even criticized at times. That's like, the whole point of publishing stuff. As an enjoyer and supporter of Wakui's manga, I feel like I have the right to question some inconsistencies and contradictions (not directly attack him tho, that's never okay. like people who send death threats over ships and stuff that's messed up) that showed up in the ending. I also believe lots of people didn't really take it seriously as a manga idk. It had some very serious topics that people seem to forget about. For example: suicide, abuse, abandonment, child neglect, substance abuse, extreme violence, rape, prostitution etc, and I think people just kinda see it as a silly manga that has cool characters they like. And that's okay. It's okay to not take a piece of media seriously and enjoy it for the sake of enjoying it, not everything needs to be critically analyzed, but stop shitting on the people who take it seriously enough to question why the fuck it ended how it ended. Lots of the discourse took place between critical analysers who wanted an author to finish the manga by sticking to the themes and messages he has set up the entire time versus casual enjoyers who just wanted everyone to be happy for the sake of liking the characters. And I completely agree with the Izana thing!!!! You cannot claim to have saved someone by rewriting their entire life!!! Takemitchy was not supposed to be god!! Also, isn't the moral story of time travel that you should never ever do it? Because you win some, you lose a whole lot fucking more. I thought Draken dying was setting up that narrative. That saving Mikey, was gonna fuck up a whole lot. Isn't that why Chifuyu broke down?

Idk about you guys, but dark impulses being a curse disappointed me quite a bit. I thought it was supposed to be a symbol of Mikey being deeply mentaly ill. And that he had to deal with it head on and not run away all the time (this was Takemichi's entire storyline basically and the the main theme of TR). I just feel like it sucked because the message of the ending, whether Wakui intended it or not, was that you can't be fixed without magical time traveling. Although the story had some fictional aspects, it was realistic at least. I thought they'd deal with everything that wasn't time travel realistically.

Any ship with Sanzu and the Haitani's is hilarious to me and although I don't ship any of them seriously, the fanarts fun to look at some time (and you're right I think they look good together cause they're hot😭). You are completely correct about them not liking each other tho. It's actually canon. Idk if you remember during the three deities fight when Ran hit Haruchiyo with his baton? Nothing but pure malice between their eyes😭. The Koko and Akane ship actually triggers me because one thing about me? I'm not comfortable with large age gaps. Akane was 5 years older than Koko💀. And I didn't know people took what she said to him seriously. I thought she was just trying to not hurt his feelings? Koko and Inupi were around 7/8 when the fire happened. Meaning Akane was like 12/13. Uhhh Idk bout y'all but I don't think a 13 yo would be attracted to someone that young. And waiting for them to be of age is...😶. Be fr.

[startanewdream]

I need to rant because well this needs to be said:

I’m going to go as far as saying I don’t trust people who like Snape and hate James. Yes, he was arrogant and bullyish towards Snape, but let’s not forget James main target was the blood supremacists, and guess who was one? Snape. His best mate was a neglected boy who didn’t feel like he fit in with his own family and their views. What did he do? He opened his home as a safe space for him. His other best mate was a werewolf, and instead of being afraid of him or degrading him, he became an animugus so he wouldn’t be alone on the worst days of the month. His other friend was a reject and probably wouldn’t have been popular in any other house (including Slytherin), but James took him under his wing and looked out for him. Everyone does stupid shit when they’re young, but they learn from it and MOVE ON. You know who didn’t move on? Snape! He was bitter because the woman he loved chose the man he loathed, then he joined a group that targets/tortures/kills people like the woman he loves, then, trying to be the ultimate kiss arse to his dark lord, tells him about a prophecy of a child who will be his downfall, then begs the dark lord to spare the woman he loves when he find out the prophecy is for her child, not giving a crap about her son or husband, then, when she dies, he’s like, okay I’ll become a professor and bully little children because it’s all in the name of "love", then when the son of the woman he loves has his first lesson with him, what does he do? Bully him, then he bullies a child that had his parents tortured by his stupid friends and that child his so afraid of him that his boggart takes shape of Snape, then he promotes spoilt blood purist narcissist ferret when he bullies the child of the women he loves, then he throws a temper tantrum when a dementors kiss isn’t given to the of the men he thinks is responsible for the death of the women he loves but it was actually all Snape’s fault because he wanted to kiss his dark lords arse and become his favourite by telling him about the bloody prophecy, then he "accidentally" lets it slip that Remus is a werewolf isolating the child of the women he loves from anyone who cares for him, then he continues to bully of the child of the women he loves even though he realizes he’s different, AND then the audacity of the man to rip a photo of a happy family and take part of a letter just so he can get himself off with his right hand in secluded broom cupboard… That photo belonged to Harry and Harry only. How the fuck is that poor cabbage (in @seriouslysam8 word) supposed to touch or look at that picture again knowing what his ex professor/man obsessed with his mom did to that picture. He didn’t come to the good side or join the death eaters again because he cared for Harry. He was looking for redemption, hoping that the guilt he felt for get it the women he loved killed would lessen. Again, for purely selfish reasons. If he cared for Harry, he would have checked in knowing what Petunia was like, Snape was abused as a child, so he should have noticed the signs of an abused child when he saw Harry, he shouldn't have bullied innocent children that lost loved ones because of his and his friends' actions. We saw one memory of James bullying Snape, how many times did Snape and his friends bully the Marauders? How many times did they bully Muggle borns? What did Snape do as a death eater to innocent people before the Potters died? How many people did he torture, hurt, and kill? You can't say none, because he would have had to prove himself to be just as evil as the rest of the DE, and I'm sure there was some type of initiation to become a death eater. The main question is: if it wasn't the Potters and it was the Longbottoms who were targeted instead, would he have confessed to Dumbledore? The answer is no. which is why Snape isn't a good person.

Okay I think I’m done for now, sorry just needed to vent! 😅

#tell me you hate Snape without telling me you hate him

If you ever wanted to accuse me of sending an anon ask to myself, this was the most probable of them all.

100% agree with you, anon.

[southpark-trashfactory]

I wanna ramble about some Bunny thoughts that aren't necessarily very shippy but I guess are partially why I find them as a ship so interesting.

(CW: Child Abuse )

So, I'm of the opinion that none of the South Park parents are actually very good parents, that's the main reason I don't often talk about them, since I don't wanna let my own dislike for them as people come across like I don't appreciate them as characters.

That being said I feel like most people might hesitate to unanimously label the majority of the SP parents as outright abusive, minus for The Stotches and The McCormicks.

For me, this makes for a very interesting dynamic, because it gives Kenny and Butters some common ground that they don't have with most of the other characters.

Building off of that, their situations are similar in theme, but far from identical in execution.

Kenny is the middle child in a financially struggling household, his parents are constantly fighting and physically abuse each other as well as their kids, he's even been shown to be desensitized to his parents arguing. He's also been parentified in how he has to take care of his little sister, and is psychologically abused through his parents degrading him, either for refusing to go to church or for failing to bring home money when he got a job. (I mean forcing a 9yo to get a job in the first place is pretty yikes but you get what I mean )

Butters is an only child in (what I interpret to be) a fairly financially stable household, with parents who more often than not run their home like a well oiled machine together, they're also physically abusive but the abuse they employ the most frequently is psychological, enforcing very specific rules and very harsh punishments when they are broken. (Like when Stephen got mad at him for not organizing the pantry right, so he poured ricerroni into his coffee, even though he could have, looked at the box)

I sort of always interpret Kenny and Butters situations as a mirror of the other, with Kenny's household primarily employing physical abuse with some instances of psychological abuse, and Butters household employing primarily psychological abuse with strategic physical punishments.

Kenny's environment is chaos that he's grown accustomed to, there isn't any rhyme or reason to what he goes through, and the responsibilities he has are unfair for a kid his age. That being said, I feel like he at least has some peace of mind in knowing that it's his parents who are the problem.

Butters on the other hand, might be a different story. His environment is structured neatly and securely, or at least he's told it is, there's always a reason given for why he's being punished, even if he had no way of knowing beforehand, he's always informed of why exactly he is the one at fault. He's a very sheltered child, and though he may from time to time think he's being treated unfairly, he might hesitate to believe he could be being abused, because don't his parents treat him well outside of when he's being punished? You couldn't well say he's neglected, he plays multiple musical instruments, knows how to tap dance, and entered at least one dressage competition, all of which require lessons, so money and time from his parents. All of this considered would probably make Butters perception of his parents very confusing for him.

I know this post mostly comes across as me pointing at these two like "Hey, look how fucked up these kids are" and by no means do I feel like their shared trauma is the only merit to their dynamic being interesting, but it's something I often find myself thinking about, and rarely really see explored as in depth as I would like.

Like, to what extent do they know about each other's experiences? Could they maybe find solace in each other's experiences, or would they get hung up on the differences? Maybe a mixture of both where they find comfort in each other only after coming to terms with the fact they may never fully understand what the other went through, even if it seems similar? Idk man, I just like the idea that these fucked up kids could be happy together.

I like the idea that they might hurt each other accidentally because they're humans who have been hurt, but they make the effort to do better by each other because they care, and they want to be together for as long as it feels right.

I feel like this is just a bunch of random thoughts strung together but it's like almost 3 am

[king-magppi]

PLEASE tell us more about the camper parents/guardians, they have so much personality already but I'm curious as to your thoughts on them!!!

OK SO. Here's a little info on some of the pairs! I based some of their backstories and "parenting" on how their children behave in Psychonauts 1 and on what little insight into the campers' home-lives we are given by their Campster pages if any at all (there's a web archive link to it on the Ps wiki when you look for "Campster" if you ever wanna check them out! Lots of interesting stuff on there! I've also tried to add it here!). They don't all have names yet, but soon enough they will!

⚠️ALSO! Before we start: a quick content warning for mentions of child abuse, alcoholism, and neglect. Not all of these kids live happy lives.⚠️

The Canolas: Don Canola and his wife homeschool Maloof and get him private tutoring in the subjects he needs help in. They're actually one of the more stable families of the bunch despite being a crime family.

Ms. Foote: Her and her Ex-husband share custody of Clem. Their relationship is extremely rocky and the only reason he even gets to see his son is because of the intense fear she has of him. She finds it hard to have a relationship with her son because of his unwillingness to show interest in anything at home. She tries her best to indulge in anything Clem seems to enjoy, but she feels like she barely knows him.

The Phages: Ms Phage is a widow and now single mother to Milka Phage. Her husband was an alcoholic that stormed off after an argument over his addiction one day and just never came home. The police found his body with several stab wounds under a bridge somewhere days later. After this death, Ms Phage went into a severe depression. During this time, she would become irritable when she saw her daughter and told her to "dissappear" because she couldn't stand to look at her (she looks a lot like her dad). Milka became so good at disappearing on command that sometimes her mom just straight up forgot she was there. During these times, Milka would help herself to whatever was in the fridge and hang around for however long she'd like. Well, at least her cat could see her.

Ms. Snagrash: The single mother to Crystal (never married). She hasn't gotten the memo that she can't go out drinking and partying all day anymore if she's a mom. Because of this mindset, she sees Crystal as a burden and make sure she knows that. She's never had Crystal in a stable environment and is always with some new guy she more than likely wants to leech money from.

The Bulgakovs: Mr. and Mrs. Bulgakov are Mikhail's parents! They live in Kazan, Russia, but sent little Misha over just so he can make some friends over in The States! Mr Bulgakov looks stern and serious, but enjoys a good bear fight. Mrs Bulgakov wishes the boys would get some different, more productive interests like carpentry or archery or something...

The Tripes: Mr and Mrs Tripe love to tell Vernon stories! They encourage him to make his own and think he'll make a great author one day (with A LOT of practice, of course). Sometimes, they'll tell Vernon a story, and he'll try to tell the same one to kids at his school but with HIM as the main character. They have an old little dog named "Lady" that Vernon likes to take on walks.

Ms. Fir: She is the single mother of Elton who works at a brothel by the seaside (this is also where she met his father). While she isn't with her son 24/7, she still makes an effort to provide what she can for him in their situation. Elton spends most of his time down by the docks talking to the marine life in the sea.

The Hedgemice: Mr and Mrs Hedgemouse are the parents to Quentin Hedgemouse! They are probably one of the most loving and supportive pairs in this bunch! Mr Hedgemouse used to be in a band himself in highschool (it wasn't very good or well known, but he had fun!) and thinks it's great Quentin's got one too! He often jokes about trying to join "The Levitators". Nowadays he works as a simple book shop clerk. Mrs Hedgemouse is a stay at home mom who enjoys baking and making treats! She dreams of one day opening her own bakery!

The Loves: Mr and Mrs Love are still new to learning about their psychic powers. They only recently got into it after finding out that Phoebe shared this gift and was having problems controlling it.

(P.S. I'm really glad a lot of you seem to enjoy them so far!!!!! Like I'm seeing a bunch of positive feedback for them and it makes me 😭😭😭/pos)

[faeriekit]

Been lurkin and appreciating Blister Pack from afar (until now!!).

The funny thing about Clark, is there IS a certain amount of complicated feelings and empathy to be had, if the show had gone about things differently. A kid being made without your consent is violating and emotionally invasive (not physically in Supes case). But his reaction to his kid is what makes any potential sympathy vanish. Yes, take out your feelings on the person in the situation with even less agency and far less power than you. Thats the way to handle it and process these feelings. The JL letting him (making him?) be in charge of Connor was a poor decision for both parties.

I enjoy how much of this story is a call out of Clark's distorted thinking and assumptions. ♥️ Though its been more background, quietly hopin the rest of the JL members who could be considered complicit in this child neglect and abuse also take responsibility. Like Black Canary you're a therapist (psychiatrist?) and have a bunch of contact with these children! And after that "spar" anyone who watched it should have started having concern!

I hope Clark does finally grow at some point. He doesn't really deserve to call Connor his son, but Connor deserves an apology and the option to connect with his Kryptonian side on his terms, safely.

And the Kents and Lois! Superman just isn't capable of listening or respecting the agency of those around him at the moment. Even in this snippet, he thinks they are in danger because they don't see the situation clearly. Oh the irony 😂

Sorry for the ramble. I originally had a point but now it's just random thoughts. Hope you enjoy the feedback 😎

My main perspective on Superman in Blister Pack is that, if Conner were actually evil, all of his perspectives on the topic of Conner, A Clone Of Superman, might make sense. Conner would need extra security. He would need extra supervision. He would have been more hostile in their spar, which is largely what Superman had been expecting, only for Black Canary to call it when things were clearly not right.

The problem is, Conner's just...a guy. A dude, even. Not even a man. Just a half-ghost sorta-teen with anger issues and deep-seated insecurities. You and I know this since I'm writing it from Conner's perspective, but if I was writing this from anyone's eyes outside of the team... Conner is shifty. He is disappearing from the League with no explanation for hours and hours. He is more than he seems, with unexplained hours. He is isolating himself from other league members, and he doesn't have a mentor to vouch for his introvertedness and disinterest in violence.

So. *shrug* Take that as you will. Supes is making a mountain out of a molehill, but the molehill was already there. There isn't a lot of nuance in International Justice, though, so...he's going overboard without really thinking about the consequences this has on anyone else. I got some empathy for the dude, but my sympathy isn't there. 😅

I like rambling! It helps me shape how I want to look at the fic too. <3

AND for everyone who's wondering about the custody battle, Clark does not have legal custody! The JL on the whole, does, as an org! They're basically licensed as an emergency placement for global security/national disaster/emergency reasons. That's why Jazz has been hitting the base rather than busting down Superman's door and challenging him to a duel; it's not Clark she's fighting. It's the JL.

[once-upon-an-animation]

I saw your post on how there was no fallout/chapter about the aftermath of Tartarus and I think you're absolutely right.

You know, my biggest grip with RR's writing is that he very casually brushes over trauma, to the point where it's like there isn't any at all.

Sort of like what you said, but Percabeth and Tartarus is probably the biggest example of this writing issue. Percy and Annabeth falling into Tartarus and their experiences in there had to have some sort of effect on them, right?? Especially because they were there for at least two weeks, and also, even the GODS don't go there.

Like, it was made to be such a huge and important and deadly thing, and like... nothing ever came of it emotionally for those two. You never see them struggling from it, you never see them having to grapple with the fact that they weren't able to save the ones who helped them escape, you don't see them grappling with the fact that Percy almost killed a Goddess and manipulated a titan, you don't see Annabeth really dealing with her fears that it was her fault after the fact, fears that she voiced in HOH herself. You don't see her dealing with the fallout of Calypso's curse, or the fact that the two of them had practically no food down there.

They just appear completely fine afterwards. There's no lasting impact for them, and I know it's a middle grade story, so you can't add too much, but it just seems like Rick decided not to address it at all.

Nico has similar issues with his own Tartarus trauma, and one of the reasons that I'm not super excited for TSATS is because I have a feeling he and Will are going to get the same Tartarus trauma treatment as Percy and Annabeth.

I know this was long, but I'm seeing more and more people talk about how Rick handles trauma and it's brought up my main issue with Rick's writing in general.

Thanks for reading this lol, have a nice day! :)

Thanks so much for the message! I appreciate you responding and I totally agree with everything you said.

One of the biggest criticisms that I also have of RR’s writing is the way he deals with emotional trauma. He picks and chooses when he allows the characters to have a meaningful and reasonable emotional response to the events around them, and when he spends time exploring those emotions. There are so many times when he could have added so much meaning to a character’s arc, personality, and development, but Rick just brushes it off like it’s nothing, and it ends up making certain plot-lines feel really empty and non-impactful.

And honestly, the middle-school thing isn’t a good justification because this is the same franchise that touches on abuse, alcoholism, neglect, dying children, murder, etc. If Rick can have all of that in there, then he can take the time to explore the trauma and PTSD that the characters should have from certain events. He doesn’t even have to say the words “trauma” or “PTSD”; all he has to do is just literally explore the emotions in a satisfying way!

As for TSATS, I’m already annoyed with the Tartarus plot line because Tartarus really shouldn’t be a place where demigods are just popping in and out. It was such a big deal when Percabeth fell in there; writing a story where demigods are just willingly going in cheapens the whole thing. Also, I read the unedited preview for TSATS and I’m not loving Mark’s approach to the characters. Here’s to hoping the final version is better.

[kedreeva]

Hi! You summoned me 😂 There's soooo much to talk about but on the note of Eddie somehow letting his guards down the most around the two Nice Jocks he encounters, as you called Steve and Chrissy: Eddie likes to put people in neat little boxes (I think you talked about that a few days ago even? It might have been another blog but I'm 99% certain it was you) and judges them before Chrissy, Steve and Nancy with her guns, plural, completely subvert those neat little boxes Eddie has put them into in his mind. I think the fact he starts to open up so quickly with Chrissy and Steve is rooted in two main reasons.

a) since, as we see with Jason in the cafeteria, Eddie especially harbours resentment against the jocks/popular crowd, realizing those jocks/popular people he thought were mean and scary are actually not mean and scary at all but kind and brave is much more impactful then, say, Robin the band kid being kind and brave because in Eddie's perception, he was the hero and the jocks/popular crowd the villains (which is relatable since I think we all know they were the people bullying him the hardest). So seeing Chrissy and Steve, the popular guys, are kind and brave has the deeper effect on Eddie's way of thinking, throwing him off balance. The moment Chrissy tells him she thought Eddie was mean and scary and Eddie realizes "hey I thought you were mean and scary" is a little wake-up moment for him because he realizes he's judged Chrissy the same way he always gets judged (and he already made a point of how much he hated being judged so rashly. I think that's something he has in mind, something that paved the way for him opening up to Steve. It started with Chrissy, and it deepened with Steve, you could say.

And b) Eddie is a dreamer. He believes in love, and he believes in humanity. He believes in the good in the world. I think that's part of why he sacrifices himself - for Dustin, the future and the boy he loves like a little brother, but also for that town that hates him because there are good people in Hawkins as well. He believes that good will conquer evil. And seeing that there are people amidst the jocks and popular crowd who are good proves that he was wrong to think they were all villains, all bullies - and we already see that Eddie is someone who likes to be proven wrong if it means things are way better than he thought. With Erica, he's happy that she proves his initial concern (of her being too young and not taking his campaign seriously) wrong, he's happy she roasts him because it means she's a worthy sub. It's the same with Chrissy and Steve. Because he has been proven wrong about all jocks being bullies, which proves that there's so much more good in the world than he thought.

It might simply be me and my chronic overanalyzing, but I always feel in the scenes with Chrissy and Steve that Eddie is eager to let down his guards, considering how fast he's doing it. A little scared, but eager nonetheless. Because no matter how cynical he thinks he is, deep down, he's the opposite of cynical. And he's relieved to see that maybe, that part deep down has been right and the cynical part has been wrong all along.

(On another note, adding to the conversation about Eddie not letting others close, it always breaks my heart a little to see Eddie's surprise about Dustin hugging him. As if he didn't think anyone could actually want to get closer to him. Admiration isn't the same as being loved, and I think a small part of Eddie doesn't think anyone could love him so admiration is what he seeks. He doesn't neccessarily have issues with his self-worth, but if you've been abused or neglected by a parent and bullied by your peers, it'll stick with you enough for a tiny part of yourself to believe them.)

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter! 😊

That's been my final essay for today, I promise 😂 Though I might be back with another one on Jason vs. Eddie 😂 Have a lovely evening/day😊

Honestly I've said so much about Eddie it wouldn't surprise me if it was me XD

Okay first of all, all of this is gold. Second, I wanna pull out a couple of particularly brutal lines:

realizing those jocks/popular people he thought were mean and scary are actually not mean and scary at all but kind and brave is much more impactful then, say, Robin the band kid being kind and brave because in Eddie's perception, he was the hero and the jocks/popular crowd the villains

I would come gently hold your face and tell you that you are amazing for putting this into words, because this is exactly it. THIS is what knocks Eddie off kilter enough to let them close.

I went back to quote you on this but it must've been someone else, so I'll bring it here- BOTH times, with Chrissy and Steve, events happen in the same order for him- he goes into interaction expecting "mean scary jock that is not going to be good," he sees evidence that something he didn't/doesn't understand is going on (Chrissy is frightened of something outside of him and more nervous about something that isn't the drug deal, Steve doesn't fight back, obeys Dustin, and the girls dive after him), and then the OTHER PERSON opens up first (Chrissy asking "do you ever feel like you're losing your mind" and Steve coming up to thank Eddie for saving his ass). This is a very specific pattern of confusion followed by shock that trips him and before he can get up, he's accepting the hand up, which is probably not less confusing.

but... as you've stated, not unwelcome, actually:

no matter how cynical he thinks he is, deep down, he's the opposite of cynical. And he's relieved to see that maybe, that part deep down has been right and the cynical part has been wrong all along.

I think you're 100% right and that this factors into why he does let them close enough to get a better look at them. Unfortunately for him, taking a step closer to Chrissy ends HORRIFICALLY, and I think that uh... I think that plays majorly into his decision to jump into the lake after Steve, his decision to fight, his reaction to seeing Steve fend off the bat, and why "it deepened with Steve" as you say.

Because here's the thing, okay. Eddie's taken two HARD hits to his paradigms (his munson code or whatever) in the last 48 hours, and the first time it happened the person died in front of him while he was still in the middle of figuring her out, and then pretty fucking immediately after the second person almost dies in front of him before he has figured him out. And we know he blames himself for not helping Chrissy. He couldn't save her. So when Steve, the next person to knock his guard down, is in danger, and Eddie CAN do something, he DOES. And.... importantly, Steve comes to him after and says "thank you for saving me." Eddie clearly doesn't even think HE did, that he had a part in that, even though he clearly did, but GOD how bad do you think it affected him, how deep did those words burrow into his chest past his defenses and grab on to his heart.

thanks for saving my ass back there.

you couldn't have saved her, but you did save me

no fucking wonder he wants to keep looking at Steve and maybe let him get a little closer. he touched the EXACT thing Eddie was so damaged over, and applied a little balm, and he doesn't even seem to realize he's doing it.

(we also could probably talk about transactional exchanges here, because. well. it's probably not NICE to think about, but given who Eddie is, how he lives, how he was raised, there's a very good chance that part of the reason he starts trying to figure out how to get Steve to accept his compliment(s) in that moment is not wanting to "owe" him the kindness Steve just showed, which is a whole... thing to unpack. That's a defense mechanism that's very subtle but very common, and a lot of people get squirmy about it because it's so common most people do it IRL too, and that makes them defensive over the character('s traits), but... it's what he's doing. Part of what he's doing anyway. I've talked before about that he IS trying to compliment Steve, but not why, and this is why)

One last thing

He believes in love, and he believes in humanity. He believes in the good in the world. I think that's part of why he sacrifices himself - for Dustin, the future and the boy he loves like a little brother, but also for that town that hates him because there are good people in Hawkins as well. He believes that good will conquer evil. And seeing that there are people amidst the jocks and popular crowd who are good proves that he was wrong to think they were all villains, all bullies

No notes, this is perfect in every way. I hadn't thought about it like this and you are so right.

[haleigh-sloth]

I'm little disappointed that it seems like Touya has back pedaled instead of making a positive development, but I don't want to speak too soon either. But now that we are back to Touya & Shoto (possibly) maybe we will get the actually heart to heart that will lead to actual change and Shoto saving his brother's heart.

I'm not worried.

While I voiced distaste months ago for the idea of him going berserk and killing everyone (which he's on fire but he hasn't killed anyone there from what we've been told), the WAY it's happening is fine with me. And honestly after the Endeavor vs AFO chapters the followed Touya v. Shouto--this makes more sense in the grand scheme of things.

Touya tried to imitate Shouto's power. And Touya's inner thoughts are still being shielded from us quite a bit. His backstory was really the most insight into his character we've ever gotten. And there are still questions that need to be answered. Questions like, what was he thinking when this happened:

What did it mean? I mean, we know from context, but Touya has to acknowledge what it meant at some point. Now's not the time though.

And the main reason I'm not worried is exactly that panel. Because disregarding Touya's relatively safe position in the story, Shouto's is even more safe. And his moment with his brother is supposed to make a difference. Even if the difference isn't apparent yet, it will show eventually.

The thing about Touya is that Shouto seeing him isn't the end goal of what he wanted. It's pretty obvious that Touya showed a bit of appreciation toward the opportunity of getting to talk to someone from his family, and spill his past. AND let out all those ugly feelings toward his brother (and indirectly, he voiced them toward himself too). But the bottom line is that Enji--his dad--is the one he wants to be seen and acknowledged by.

He wants to be acknowledged as his father's son. He wants to feel like his father is actually that--his father:

That's always, always been what he's wanted.

So the effects of his moment with Shouto probably will not show or be acknowledged by Touya himself, until he gets what he needs from Endeavor.

It's that tunnel vision. It's SO painfully obvious during his fight with Shouto. He can't see past what he wants--his dad. The things he was spouting during their fight weren't focused on the abuse or neglect the family suffered through. Nope, not at all. All Touya could talk about was how lucky Shouto should have felt to be born the way he was, and how he should have capitalized on his circumstances more than he did. He just criticized his brother for basically not acting the way he--Touya--would have acted had he been able to do everything his dad wanted of him.

It really shows where Touya's strongest feelings lie. He wants his dad in his life--for better or for worse. Even if it means living their very last moments and then dying together.

And the thing to remember is that we as readers know more than Touya does. Keep that in mind--

This is the most important, and it's really the last piece of the puzzle needed to complete Touya's salvation.

So imo--it fully checks out that Touya is still "NO >:( where is my dad". Because the main thing he's been wanting hasn't been given to him yet.

Side note: I think I'm safe to assume that Touya called out for Skeptic's assistance because he wanted him to either warp him to Endeavor, or warp Endeavor to him. Based on the context--Skeptic mocking and calling him a daddy's boy, and then Skeptic explaining Endeavor's circumstances as if to explain why he couldn't completet Touya's request. That's just a guess based off the tiny bit of detail we got. We shall see. The rest of this post still stands though regardless.

[fiapple]

Irt my tags on that last post, though, I think the major failing of the "shattered innocence" reading of the Nature duology is moreso when it comes to later episodes like Help & Passing than its existence as a vaccumized reading of the duology itself. The main reason for this is that it fails to acknowledge that Orel isn't just being confronted with the fact that he's been abused- he's being confronted with the fact that it's cyclical, & with the fact that the continuation that cycle is a choice that is made by people, not by God. That the way he's being treated not only hurts, but is genuinley, honestly wrong, and not some form of religous suffering meant to better him. And that, to mantain his morality and his personhood, he is going to have to- at least to an extent- remove himself from social convention.

In the episodes Help & Passing, we also see Clay & Bloberta confronted with the cycle of abuse- however neither of the two is able to acknowledge it for what it is. They merely see it as painful, some sort of necessary evil that exists as a result of a flaw within themselves, and they seek to escape that pain through each other. They both still see societal expectations as something they must strive to meet. They both see their pain as something to be repressed rather than treated at it's root. They both make the choice, whether it be as a result of selfishness or societal expectation, not to break the mold.

For Clay, this looks like alcoholism, marital neglect, and physical abuse. Drinking and drinking to numb the ache of his constant lonliness, and his fears about his own selfishness making him unloveable, hiding his pain until he physically lashes out just like his father had. He seeks out extramarital relationships rather than communicating with his wife, displaying the way trangressions can often worsen as the cycle moves from generation to generation in an attempt to fill the chasm, but believes the rest of the world is responsible for his feelings of unloveablity rather than his own trauma. In very large part because he refuses to acknowledge it as traumatic- instead bouncing between bitter resentment of his father, and justifying the pain by saying it masculinized him. The smothering nature of his mother, when combined with the absenteeism and later abuse by his father, caused Clay to believe that the world owed him. And, more specifically, that women were meant to fix men while men were to allowed to grovel in misery. Clay's mother constantly bolstered his ego, positoning him as a quasi-deity within his family unit & enforcing the notion that women are to worship men, only for his father's abuse to then drastically influence Clay's self-perception by putting him in a postion where he had to seek out violence to get even a fraction of the attention that was previously spoon-fed to him. All of this created a thick layer of bigotry, which Clay repeatedly perpetuates then justifies over the course of the series, along with an emotional hole that could never be filled without intent. He neglects his wife because confronting his own pain would mean confronting the reality that life isn't easy, that there is no simple truth, and that the women and children- people Christianity positions as his lessers- are just as if not more valuable than he is. But Clay is weak, so instead of facing it he takes down as many of the people around him as he can, so as not to be the only pig in the mud. To Clay, this is nature, this is the way of things.

For Bloberta, this looks like obsessive cleaning, feverent conformism, and a perpetuancy for neglect. She's hardly emotionally invested in her marriage beyond how it impacts her appearance to the rest of the world, something we see somewhat paralleled in her parents relationship- as we're shown they're apt to present themselves as a complete and happy family unit while cutting out one of their daughters entirley- aside from her father's silent discomfort. a fact that positons men as figures to seek comfort from in Bloberta's life, while setting the expectation that they don't actually have to do anything of substance for her. She cleans with vigour as it's the one thing that gives her an illusion of control in a patriarchial society where she was given very little. The pain of being ignored, of only recieving any sort of attention for her relationship to social norms, caused Bloberta to be conformist almost to the point of religous fevor as achieving anything that the heteropatriarchy positions as a goal for women was, after all, the only time Bloberta ever recieved any positive reinforcement. She was taught that the mother of a nuclear family is one that is only emotionally present when she feels is necessary, for the members of the family she deems it necessary for, by her mother's targeted & vitrulent neglect, and she was taught that a flawed marriage leading to two legally bound people being miserable together is fine as long as the family can present a happy face to the rest of the world. And as a result not only does she seek out extramarital affairs in an attempt to reach any semblence of feeling valued, of feeling present, but she also neglects her own family- barely allowing their existence to faze her. For Bloberta, this imitation is not just the way of things but the way of being a person itself. It's godly.

And, to be honest, I think that's a large part of why so many people will defend either Clay or Blorberta & try to shift blame between the two. In missing that what Orel is being confronted with is the cycle of abuse, one is very likely to miss it when his parents are confronted with the same.

[gas-stxtion]

//also i wanna be the smallest amount of !!! about some ideas real quick so i wanna share one other thing i've been taking notes on with the new profiles i wrote for the carrd

anyway yeah all my muses here have parents with actual names. feels like a small thing. and did i have to do that? no. no i didn't. i really didn't. but i've wanted for a while to develop these characters' parents, and that starts with giving them names.

does any of this matter? probably not. but i think this is a fun thing to consider for their characters and establishing more of where they each come from, even if a majority of these characters' parents are dead or otherwise not in their lives.

also goes without saying but a lot of my thoughts here are speculation or based on limited evidence in canon, since many of these characters' family backgrounds are just not explained, especially not in any significant detail.

anyway thoughts under the cut

spencer's parents: john and hannah middleton

i've actually had the idea in mind for like a year now that spencer's mom's name was hannah. if you know why.... keep your mouth shut. (kidding)

spencer's parents are dead. he killed them both in retaliation after years of abuse and neglect stemming from their genuine fear of their son's mental illness. basically everyone in town knows he did it, but there's very little chance of him being prosecuted for it. not because anyone thinks it was justified, though--more because, though everyone *knows* he did it, there isn't enough *concrete* evidence.

tony's parents: alejandro caballero and inés torres

so i've talked a little about tony's parents publicly, but not in a lot of detail. the main thing i wanna point out here is that neither of his parents' surnames are vargas. because i'm going all in on "antonio vargas is a fake name." vargas is the surname i gave him but yeah it's all fake babeyyy!!!!

forget if i've said anywhere publicly yet, but tony's legal name is oscar caballero torres! or as he'd mostly be referred to in the U.S., oscar torres. (not sure on exactly *what* specific national heritage his family has, but in at least most spanish cultures, people traditionally have two surnames, one associated with each parent, though in the U.S. for example they tend to go by their matronym. so yeah legally he'd be oscar torres.)

(the only reason i'm giving each of his parents one surname each here is simplicity, but their names would also follow this tradition.)

anyway, tony's father alejandro died when he was a young teenager, but his momma is very important to him and a major figure in his life.

jack's parents: charlotte townsend and william evans

so i mentioned earlier this year that i think it's very possible that jack's surname, townsend, isn't his *original* surname. and i've decided to just commit to that.

my original idea was that jack adopted the name townsend from one of his foster parents, possibly his first, as a way of symbolizing him leaving behind his old name and past and basically just. restarting his identity (which is also how him being trans flew mostly under the radar with his neighbors). i ended up dropping that, though, and instead i think townsend is his mom's maiden name.

jack's mom, charlotte, walked out on him and his dad when he was *very* young, and before that she wasn't super present in his life. i don't think she was actively abusive towards him like his dad was, but i also think she wasn't exactly mother of the year. (idk, i go back and forth on how sympathetic to her i am.)

ANYWAY i have a lot more thoughts on jack's parents that are best saved for another post, but basically. jack's mother left her shitty abusive husband and young child behind and started a new life, and jack took her maiden name as he grew when he started a new one as well. i doubt it was intentional on his part, and honestly i think it came down to an issue in the paperwork when he was entered into foster care.

jerry's parents: daphne and matthias pascal

so this is where i am nervously ignoring canon and just kinda doing what i want with the references to jerry's family while picking and choosing what i want from those references.

jerry's parents are a pair of old money types who settled in delaware, and who are definitely *not* happy with the fact that one of their children ran off to join a cult and hasn't spoken to them in well over a decade. his parents cared less about who he was as a person and more about what he could do to further their legacies and reputations. the cult honestly probably started in part as rebellion against them.

in present day, jerry's parents don't know where he is, and he's happy with that. occasionally, the private investigators they hire to try and find him get close to figuring him out, but he's gotten good at evading them.

rosa's parents: elisa vasquez and lorenzo rivera

again, tying in with what i mentioned about spanish surnames under tony's section, rosa's full legal name would be rosa rivera vasquez. ditto for her parents having more surnames, though i'm sticking just to the ones they would've passed down to rosa.

anyway, rosa has two loving parents who genuinely care about her and are active parts of her life, though she has been making a rather significant effort to be more independent and not rely on them as much as she did when she was younger. (ignoring the fact that she *is* still very young.)

i won't pretend they've never had conflict, but for the most part their relationship is healthy and strong. her parents love her and she loves them.

amelia's parents: celeste o'brien and james ambrose

amelia was raised by a single mother, which is where a lot of her drive to be a strong woman and handle everything herself comes from. i originally considered the idea that her father was mostly absent from her life, but i've decided to scrap that idea. she knows her father and has spoken with him, and he has made an effort to be part of her life. he didn't walk out intentionally, and he's been trying to make it up to her.

buuuut she's not particularly impressed with him. she doesn't want to give him a chance, so for the most part she's just. not going to. she has a relationship with him and it's mostly cordial, but she doesn't really get along with him. her relationship with her mother is similarly tense, but they're definitely closer than she is with her dad.

she is, however, *very* close with her aunt natasha. natasha was there for amelia when no one else really was when she was a kid, and she never forgot that. hell, half the reason she moved to this shitty little town in georgia was to be there for her aunt.

sabine's parents: amanda and joseph lemoyne

yeah, i finally named the gas station owners. about time! i could only deal with calling them pops and mamaw for so long.

sabine's parents were a pair of right-wing doomsday preppers who neglected their daughter severely in favor of preparing for an apocalypse and other conspiracy theorist bullshit. they did their part to prepare sabine as well, but for the most part, they tended to just... have her take care of the home while they dealt with everything else, very rarely giving her the support she needed. generally, the lemoyne's had a reputation in town for being very strange but well-meaning, though, and very few people raised a fuss about anything they said or did.

(and yeah, the fact that the lemoyne's were right in some respects about some of what they were paranoid conspiracy buffs about doesn't take away from their rancid-ass beliefs or their treatment of sabine.)

[actualbird]

Regarding 7-2 and Irene, I actually went to talk with a relative of mine that knows law just to see if her sentence could be mitigated based on Singapore law. I want to just say this is my interpretation of what was told to me, I could be wrong and also this isn't my own view I think Irene was completely justified.

So from what I was told there is a chance but a lot of her chances that would really help reduce her sentence have already been made impossible by her actions. Remorse is a big factor in mitigation but considering she didn't come clean until mc basically forced it out of her and she was denying having committed the murder up until then, any chance for remorse is basically gone even if she pled guilty in her own trial because in that case she's not showing remorse, she's forced to do it so she can get a lower sentence. Then of course she framed Jun, that's not doing her any favours.

What she can go for and what a good attorney would use is that she was under prolonged abuse from Edwin Burke that caused her to fear for her safety which led to her planning this whole thing out. It wouldn't excuse her framing Jun, but it'd provide an understandable reason for her actions which could get her a reduced sentence.

I get what you mean about this case not feeling fair, accusing Irene sucked a lot and I wish we could have let her go free. I like to think that mc didn't reveal her plans to defend Jun, but did it for Jade who did seem to care for Irene and didn't deserve to die. No one could tell for certain, but at least from the evidence they had, it seemed like Jade didn't deserve to die like her husband, and for that she did deserve justice. This reminded me of something from the Count of Monte Cristo itself but I'll save my Count of Monte Cristo ramblings for another ask because it'd double the length of this one dyifkh

🌌

reply from @zyphannie :

reply from @ihavenotfallenyet :

// spoilers for main story 7.2, cw abuse, irt this last response

okay im grouping this all together cuz milkyway!anon and zyphannie brought up a really key point in particular that i neglected to mention in my last response (thats what i get for writing responses at 5am, brain still dead ajhvsjfha), namely: jade burke

i agree, jade definitely did not deserve to die. she was a victim too, and im quite sure nobody with a conscience would begrudge her knowing that she was trying to defend irene as much as she could, given the abuse she also sustained.

jade's murder is.....and these are just my own personal feelings as a player and somebody who read the story, it in no way makes the "this isnt fair" feeling any lighter for me. in fact, it makes it heavier. cuz things get more complicated. which, given the story's themes actually, fits in a sense.

ive got this other 7.2 ask in my askbox that im still working on a response for, it's talking about jun's spiel when in the interrogation with him in 7.2, you pick the optional choice to press the button labelled "True Heart". and there he says a lot of stuff but something there that i feel like is among this story's main themes: people who live perpetually backed into a corner and surrounded by enemies lose the privilege of being able to trust

jun was talking about himself there, but i think it applies to irene too (ironic given that he manipulated her as well, but thats a Whole Other thing to talk about). irene spent her entire life mistreated and abused. she could not trust anybody because she was hurt so bad for so long. and in that, she didnt see that jade was trying

this is brought up a bit in mc's last convo with her in the trial. and i dont think that this oversight makes irene's actions evil (she Did Not Know and Could Not See) but it adds a layer of nuance and loops into that main theme.

it's not fair. and the judgement that got passed and that we see in the game thus far doesnt feel fair, because people were wronged in so many ways.

that being said, milkyway's addition about the legal stuffs i think can somehow answer ihavenotfallenyet's replies. i do not know Anything about law, so idk if i can add anything there, but at least there are certain legal systems that can indeed help irene out, if even just a bit.

looping back to the "it's not fair" thing, but i just remembered one thing in main story 7.2's case that did bring satisfaction: edwin's widescale abuse being brought as a transnational case for investigation. i like that they added that. the implications are fucking horrifying (based on how i read it, it implied that edwin was participating in child trafficking, jesus), but it's satisfying to know that this case doesnt end at this trial, if that makes sense? like, edwin is dead (deserved) and his abuse has seen the light of day. the other victims can get their justice too in whatever way is possible

conclusion: this case is a Lot. and honestly, thats all i feel qualified to say at the moment hakfjhsfa