#instead of judging their morals how about we judge based on the strength of their resolve?

[ronanvespertine]

Instead of debating the morality around Hawks, how about we at least recognize the absurd strength of his resolve? :3

[kustas]

ok, without spoilers if possible but i'm EXTREMELY curious about your "this is how fights work in hxh" tag under the recent post, could you explain?

(the post, for reference)

HxH, like many battle shonen, has its own unique power system, called Nen. It stands out for several things, among which being extremely complex with an at-times mathematical precision, and for the creativity of the powers it create. This is because, in essence, the superpowers it creates are designed by their users, and strength essentially comes from training, unlike a system like Jojo's stands where characters are born with their superpower. Following this, said abilities tend to reflect who each character is like as a person, the same way that say, you could guess a bit about a scholar based on what they are doing their master's thesis about: it's something you are dedicating years of your life into digging into, it usually means something personal! In the world of HxH, skilled artisans end up using that magic even if they don't know about its existence (the training method used by the heroes is a gatekept secret), because their concentration and dedication to their craft helps inherently develop it.

How this ties into battles is that superpowers wielded by the characters are rarely directly related to combat - unless your character has a reason to dedicate years of their life into being the best fighter, it's unlikely they'll have created their abilities around this. Instead, you get more indirect and creative things. I won't give examples because I wish to respect your request for no spoilers! So we will stay in theory only.

With this, fights pit out OP anime characters but who's OP anime abilities are not "hit hard", so combats immediately go to strategy planning. Unless you already know your opponent by heart, which isn't always the case, you cannot know what extremely niche thing they've achieved (and boy does it get niche) so the classic "mid fight description of strategy" monologues of HxH are famously long and ridiculous! Let's use OP as an example: assuming we read their bragging on Tumblr and therefore know everything about their ability, we can make a profile. First, their ability revolves around killing, and they compare it to death note, we can infer they're someone with muddy morals and a sense of superiority: Light of the show kills because he's got his god complex of knowing better than the rest of the world. Drawing skill also plays into this ability, so OP must be an artist and a confident one too, why else would you link the aim of your ability (killing things) to drawing skill level?

The other thing this post features that is shared by HxH and perhaps my favorite aspect are the limitations. At it's core Nen works by "I have decided I wish to do this thing and will concentrate hard enough to willpower it into existence" (tying in to your passions, personality, and skills), but just as artists can reach heights by limiting their tools, you can reach higher power levels by limiting what you can do. It's a self given vow: I will not let myself do X, and in return I'll do what I want to do more powerfully. Here, the limitation is about the intelligence level of the target, and the art you have to draw to kill them. These limitations are brought up mid fight as part of the strategy planning, often from the POV character of the moment about their own ability, as they have to judge the terrain before they strike!

This makes for a text heavy manga at times, which has been memed a whole lot, and laughably long fight blabla. Given that post immediately starts by describing a niche anime magic attack and took up my entire phone screen, the comparison sprung fast to mind...

[theres-an-impulstor-among-us]

Hey Vaunna, if you ever want to try and write something to make me cry, hit me up. Imma start making a list of things I’ve almost and actually cried over in fics-

Make me suffer, I dare you.

welp here we go! good luck everyone LOL

summary: Team ZIT face a blast from Zedaph's past

...

“I dunno about you but I think having only a set of coordinates sent to our communicators with no explanation is never a good thing,” says Tango, gazing around the clearing.

Impulse nods. “Agreed. Especially considering it’s been five minutes and… nobody’s here.”

As if on cue, someone walks out through the trees. The two jerk in surprise but relax when they register who it is.

“Oh, Zed, it’s you,” breathes Tango. “Why did you send us these coords?”

Zedaph doesn’t reply as he walks over to a tree on the edge of the clearing and pulls a lever.

Immediately, a glass box springs up from the ground and closes around the two.

“Hey!” Tango snaps, hitting the glass with his first. “What the hell are you doing, Zed?!”

“Tango?!” comes Zedaph’s voice from the opposite side of the clearing.

Tango and Impulse turn sharply to find… Zedaph running into the clearing.

After a stunned moment, they turn back. Zedaph is standing by the lever he just pulled, but he doesn’t look EXACTLY like Zedaph anymore. His eyes flash red, his hair more tousled and a slightly darker shade of blond.

“What’s happening here?!” Tango demands. “Why are there two of you? Who’s the real Zed?!”

“I am,” says the newcomer Zedaph immediately. “He’s…”

His face pales as he properly registers who’s standing on the other side of the clearing.

“I’m Helsaph,” the first Zedaph says. “Your dear Zedaph’s hels counterpart.”

“What’s going on?” asks Impulse nervously. “Why have you locked us in a glass box?”

“Oh, cuz I thought you might want to hear about what Zedaph did to me,” Helsaph responds aggressively.

Zedaph slowly moves forward towards Helsaph, but stops several blocks away. “I…”

“What the hell could Zed have possibly done to YOU?” Tango growls.

Helsaph jabs his finger at his counterpart. “You wanna tell them what you did or shall I?”

Zedaph’s mouth opens and closes uselessly for a few seconds, before he squeezes his eyes shut and looks away.

Helsaph turns to the two in the box. “Let me see if this jogs your memory of anything.”

He pulls out a pink item from his pocket and holds it up to his eyes.

Tango and Impulse freeze in horror.

“Look familiar?” says Helsaph challengingly. “Huh?”

Impulse stares helplessly at the helsmit. “I don’t… understand.”

Helsaph barks a laugh. “What, you don’t really think it was the real Zedaph under that mask, do you? Surely you don’t really think the mastermind behind the PR stunt that was Wormman would be out there risking his OWN neck?”

“Zed, what is he saying?” Tango demands.

“I recruited Helsaph to be Wormman and then I abandoned him in Season 5 when we moved on to the next world!” Zedaph bursts out suddenly.

Silence falls. Tango and Impulse exchange a look of horror.

“You didn’t know that, huh?” Helsaph taunts. “Guess your precious little best friend never told you that he’s not the moral angel you think he is.”

“Zed…” Impulse gazes at his friend in disappointment. “Why?”

Zedaph doesn’t answer. Instead, he murmurs, “There. I said it. Is that what you wanted, Helsaph?”

Helsaph grabs Zedaph by the collar and yanks him off the ground. “Is that it?! “Is that what you wanted?”?! YOU ABANDONED ME IN A GHOST WORLD FOR THREE YEARS!”

He tosses Zedaph away as if Zedaph weighed nothing. No sooner has Zedaph landed on the ground than he looks up to find Helsaph charging at him. He can’t react in time to stop Helsaph from slamming his boot into his stomach, yanking all the air from his lungs and causing him to dissolve into a fit of coughing.

“ZED!” Tango screeches, hitting the glass wall with all his strength. It starts to crack under his blows.

“You made me play the hero!” Helsaph yells at his counterpart. “You trained me and spent time with me and made me CARE about you and then you just tossed me aside like I was NOTHING to you! Do you have any idea how much it hurts to learn that the person you thought loved you actually didn’t give a DAMN about you?!”

“I…!” Zedaph’s voice fails and he hangs his head. “I’m… I’m sorry...”

“Oh, you’re SORRY?”

Helsaph grabs Zedaph by the throat and slams him against a tree, the pressure on Zedaph’s windpipe abruptly cutting off his breathing.

“You think SORRY is going to make up for what you did?!”

“Get off him!” screams Tango’s voice.

A second later, Tango himself barrels into Helsaph, knocking him to the ground and releasing his grip on Zedaph, who drops to his knees, gasping for breath.

Impulse appears at Zedaph’s side and envelopes him in a hug. “It’s okay,” he whispers. “It’s okay, Zed.”

A little way off, Tango is kneeling on Helsaph’s back, keeping him pressed to the ground. As Helsaph struggles against Tango’s grip on his arms, he screams, “All I wanted was to be loved! ALL I WANTED WAS TO BE ACCEPTED!”

“Shut up!” Tango snarls at him.

“Tango, don’t hurt him!” pleads Zedaph hoarsely, his vision blurred. Weakly pushing Impulse away, he stumbles blindly towards the hazy figures of Helsaph and Tango. “Let him go!”

“Let him go?!” Tango echoes in disbelief. “HE TRIED TO KILL YOU!”

“Please, Tango! Let him go!”

Tango stares at Zedaph in disbelief for a moment, before huffing and releasing Helsaph, though he keeps a firm eye on the helsmit. “Fine.”

Helsaph slowly pushes himself to his knees, his eyes fixed on Zedaph. All his anger seems to have vanished, replaced by despair. “Why did you not want me anymore?” he cries. “W-Was I not good enough…? Did I do something wrong…?”

“No…! I never intended to hurt you.” Zedaph’s voice cracks with emotion. “This is all my fault. I should never have abandoned you, I… I was just so scared of what you might become that I never considered I could help you not become it. And instead… my worst fears came true, and it’s all my fault. Helsaph, I’m so sorry.”

Zedaph slowly moves forward and, kneeling down in front of Helsaph, brings him into a hug.

And after a few seconds, the dam breaks.

Tango and Impulse stand together a safe distance away, watching their best friend hug his crying Hels counterpart.

“All he ever wanted was a family,” says Impulse quietly. “People to care about him the way we care about Zed.”

Tango hesitates for a moment, then makes a decision. He joins Zedaph and Helsaph on the ground and wraps his arms around both of them. Impulse does the same on the other side, both he and Tango holding their Zedaphs tightly.

“I wanna be a hero again, Zedaph,” croaks Helsaph. “Have I messed it up?”

“No no, you haven’t messed anything up,” Zedaph says reassuringly. “If anything, I’M the one who messed everything up. Can you forgive me, Hels…?”

Helsaph sits back on his heels, regarding Zedaph with wary eyes. “But… But how do I know you won’t abandon me again if I stop being useful?”

Zedaph anxiously clasps his hands together. “I know you won’t trust me again for a long time, and that’s… that’s completely valid. But I… I refuse to judge your worth based on how “useful” you are again. From now on, you’re my brother and I’ll stick by you, no matter what.”

“B… Brother…?” repeats Helsaph shakily. “You mean…?”

“You’re part of the ZIT family now,” Impulse chuckles, tousling Helsaph’s hair. “Double Zedaph.”

Helsaph stares at Impulse with wide eyes. “I… Why would you want me here after everything I did…?”

“Because Zed made some mistakes and he’s my friend so I want to help him fix them,” Impulse replies kindly. “Right, Tango?”

Tango nods back. “Absolutely. Plus, I mean, you can never have too much Zedaph, know what I mean?”

Sensing that Helsaph is about to cry again, Zedaph quickly steps in and says, “You know, Hels, you actually arrived at a great time. We could do with a hero right now. You remember Evil X?”

Helsaph nods, wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve. “Very well.”

“They’re back on the server causing a bit of mischief, running a scheme that’s definitely a scam. The server could use a hero to keep an eye on them and make sure they don’t do anything evil.” Zedaph grins. “What do you think? You up to the challenge?”

“I…” Helsaph hesitates. “I’m out of practise.”

“Don’t you worry about that,” says Tango. “We’ll help ya.”

“Yeah, we’re gonna train you back up into the best superhero on the server,” Impulse adds happily.

Zedaph hands Helsaph the pink mask the latter dropped earlier. “Welcome back, Wormman,” he says softly.

After a moment, Helsaph takes the mask and puts it on.

And with this action, Helsaph’s road to recovery, surrounded by his brand new family, begins.

[draceempressa]

TW chapters before, have always been social and psychological, but chapter 5 in particular is a huge middle finger to stereotype-and common beliefs/views of stereotypes. 

Many assumes Vil’s backstory involved him being poor, but Kalim already proves just because you’re rich doesn’t mean your life have no problem. And before the chapter starts, many people antagonize Vil for he is harsh towards Epel, and he’s the prettily elegant one, “the mean girl”, in haters’ words, when Leona and Idia, who are objectively bigger jerks, who are understandably more disliked in-universe, get passed in the fandom for they are relatable/more masculine/boyish. Yes, ugly people have their own problem. That doesn’t mean pretty people don’t have their problem, ranging from being harassed, prejudiced as superficial or being bitch, etc.

Media and culture, for years, have been painting masculinity as strength and femininity as weakness, lawful is bad and chaotic is good, the beautiful/elegant people is wrong and the cute ones are innocent/on the right side. 

Riddle already have it bad for he is lawful, but Vil has it worse for he is not only lawful, but also being feminine and pretty. Not to say we have to be unreasonably lawful like Riddle or super strict like Vil, what’s I’m trying to say is, the mindset of law and femininity is purely bad and chaos and masculinity is purely good is wrong-though,  generally “pure” mindset is wrong. 

Related to this, TW actually run on gray morality, not black and white. You’re too black and you get hated (like Leona and Idia) , but if you’re too white you get laughed (like Deuce, Jack, Kalim) And it’s fine. Everyone can be both wrong and right in different times , and that’s how it is in real life too. Nobody is pure evil nor they are pure good . Purity  (in concept and principle)is never good actually.

Many people are rooting for Epel for the points above, for he is both chaotic and want to be masculine, and antagonize the pretty, lawful and feminine Vil, but overtime fandom are proven to be wrong. Pome chapter is huge callout for  the stereotyping mindset, as well, the previous points. What Epel wants isn’t “for people to look past his looks”, it’s “to be as masculine as possible in both looks and personality” . He is not fighting prejudice, he is simply giving in to the idea of toxic masculinity. He doesn’t want people to think he’s a badass despite his look, he want to be beefy so ppl can tell he’s a badass in first glance.  His idea of masculinity is to talk shit to people , be beefy as possible, to pick fights and only fight with fists. He is projecting the idea of masculinity to Jack, like how he says he wants to be beefy as Jack. It’s like when girls using a model, or basically someone else, to be her base of ideal beauty, which is equally unhealthy. It’s not fine even if it’s boys who do it, as it’s still not accepting who you actually are. 

Speaking about Jack, he too is a victim of prejudice. In his robe story, Ace is surprised he’s from Pyroxene and not the Savannah., implying the prejudice beastmen only come from the savannah (and gladly Riddle immediately calls Ace out for it),  in his voice lines, he is offended by  Ruggie’s disbelief reaction when he says he never got red mark in exams, and he is also offended when MC is shocked he says he want to go to the library, implying the prejudice “beefy men must be brainless muscle”. Jack, is still proud of his beastmen heritage and is sporty and active, but he is also fighting prejudice of beefy men are dumbasses by studying as hard as he does his physical exercises. 

We are also fed by culture and media that the word “ugly” and “beautiful” is limited to just visual things, when Pomefiore, Rook and Vil makes it clear “beauty” is everything that can be your advantage/power or your every good trait (like being unyielding, having bond and understanding others, and having special code of conduct). Which it means, the opposite also applies-that the word “ugly”  Vil mentioned to himself before his overblot is more referring to his other traits. That he finally cheats, that he is weak and gives in to his stress-if he thinks strength is beautiful then he must thought weakness is ugly. 

Not to say looks doesn’t matter, because it is, as we humans are visual creatures, and if visuals don’t matter, we don’t only wouldn’t have fashion or beauty care products, or visual arts, but even visual informations like newspapers, books, or even socmed pages, and fashion can be a form of self expression. The problem is when people don’t use their brain and see past through someone’s looks. Looks is part of one’s identity, but it’s not all there is to them.

Riddle paints himself as the judge and executioner, not only establishing law of the Queen of Hearts but also punishes people who crossed her rules on the place with his UM and decapitating them from their magic. Vil, meanwhile, paints himself as a tutor. He’s strict, but he’s not lawful for the sake of law. He seeks to help people grow, to taught people things, but being strict teacher he is, he refuses to teach in first go, letting you try your own method first (Deuce’s lab coat story),or that  when he agrees to help, he will teach you how to do it instead of doing it and gives you the final result (Jamil’s dorm uniform) . He is explicitly nicer to people who are willing to learn (his own Halloween card) Alternatively, he can be pestered to help (Halloween, Malleus pretty much pestering him with the whole western dragon vs eastern dragon difference for one hour ), or,despite all his complaints, he will help anyway (Ghost Marriage, Vil mentions Idia often asks for his help) . He also congratulates ppl who did grow well, even if they did beat him. (fairy gala ending, Epel when finally admitting cuteness is advantage too, Deuce right after he beats him) ,  he is fine with people hating him as long they actually develop themselves-that he thinks his responsibility is to help ppl grow, not to make ppl simply adore him (his own dorm uniform)And he also breaks the pattern of great seven incarnate harassing MC and gets gradually more hostile about it. He can also appreciate other’s kindness (his own robe story), as well strong point (PE voice line, he openly admits Epel’s strong point in flying), and can even show some sympathy (not empathy ) (Ortho’s ceremony gear)

Leona insults others to feed his superiority inferiority complex and knows where it hurt (like calling Riddle Red Midget or bastard octopus to Azul-note, that was the insult Azul used on himself on his self deprecating moment after his overblot) , Vil insults other as the ones he deems unworthy yet to call with name, but potatoes, French for potatoes is “earth’s apple”, also back in the day ppl are scared to eat potatoes bc they are still related to nightshade/belladonna and said to be devil’s plant , only after they get past the prejudice they eat potatoes. So yeah if he call you by name , it means he already acknowledge you to certain degree, and if he still uses vegetables he’s still deems you unworthy-no romantic hc blogs it’s not what he will call his s/o

Fandom complained, “save Epel, he doesn’t fit in Pomefiore, and he’s stuck” but is he? He did , in fact, have a choice, mentioned in Jade’s dorm uniform by Vil “You know how to change dorms, right Epel?” It’s by his  own admission he stays in Pomefiore bc his pride to prove Vil wrong that “cute isn’t a strength on its own”  Besides, Pome isn’t just about being yourself (despite being art neurodivergent and defying gender norms), it’s also not about picking your fight-instead, it’s about picking the method.

Again, we are fed to the idea femininity is weak by other media and culture. In TW,yes,  Vil is obectively the most feminine of TW cast, but weak? Definitely not.He can beat the beefy guys physically (PE uniform voice line), easily, and magically, he is strong enough to be able to make barrier than can protect people from MALLEUS (Cater halloween) , and when he’s overblot, he is the only one so far you failed to beat until Deuce used the counterattack using his own magic. Kalim isn’t joking or is in the clouds when he says Vil is one of the strongest mage of the school.

Yes, Yana says fuck patterns and stereotypes, but it’s not like she pulls plot twists randomly out of her ass.She always put foreshadowings first. Vil being bullying victim already mentioned as early as his robe story,, that the overblot cause is always something that is already problem to them even BEFORE NRC-Epel was able to curb people before NRC and get away with being a jerk, it wasn’t until Vil beat him in opening day that he started to be stressed about the whole manner thing.  that he doesn’t like things that doesn’t last from his school uniform, and the previous mentions of Vil’s tutor traits above that he’s not as malicious , not just the mean girl fandom make him to be. Chapter titles always refer to the local great seven incarnate, not specifically the prefect. “Desert’s Tactician” is clearly Jamil, not Kalim.Being a strategist is certainly not Kalim’s trait. Chapter title not referring to him, he wasn’t stressed before NRC, and the blot dripping scene happes without him, why the surprise it’s not Epel who overblot ? the build up is all there.

[surfalldaybaby]

First this fandom is so fucking toxic it’s honestly hard to read posts or want to interact with people anymore. Some of yall I’m legit worried about how you see and interact with other people. You’re posts seem to lack so much compassion, objectivity, and have such a hard core judgements on morality.

Yall acting like Mor is the devil when all she did throw Nestas bad attitude in her face. She put her in her place after Mor tried to reach out to Nesta- did y’all forget- and Nesta was unreasonabley rude and cold back to Mor.

Nesta was treating Cassian like shit during the war so Mor told Nesta to go clean up with the same tone of voice. I would be defensive over my friend as well if some girl I don’t know was debasing his name based on being of a lesser bloodline. Like what the fuck?

Literally there hasn’t been ANY other circumstance to show Mors disrespect except for in the recent chapters.

The Hewn City comment was a lot but she is also a survivor of assault, seen Nesta be cruel to Feyre and Cassian, seen her alienate Elain, and watched her spend her courts money on booze and gambling when the people of her court, the people she loves are still suffering from the invasion. I don’t blame Mor for disliking Nesta. Nestas attitude directly correlates with the lack of care and cruelty that she saw and experienced in the Hewn City. We only know Nesta isn’t really like that because we see her POV and know more of her story. Mor doesn’t. Yall exagérate and dramatize the mutual dislike or apathy they have and use any single excuse to hate Mor. It’s disgusting. Just say you hate women who don’t do exactly as you would like and leave.

Mor is a survivor. She was almost murdered and raped at 17-18 after being abused by her family for her whole life. She turned that darkness in her into something beautiful and kind and forgiving but she isn’t always rational in that thinking. Y’all forgive nestas blatant lack of ability to get past her trauma and all the dysfunctionality that that causes but put a time limit on Mors trauma and judge her reactions to everything. You can’t put a time limit on someone’s grief or trauma! She was saved by Cassian and Az and Rhys and for 500 years they made a family and yall seem to think that relationship can be torn down or diminished because of Nesta? No. Trauma, abuse, and healing looks different for everyone and who the fuck are you to judge her? If you wanna judge Mor are you also going to judge Nesta for spending money that should have been used to rebuild innocent people’s houses and lives and help their children and instead went to seedy bars and gambling? Instead went to taking precious resources and basically shitting on everything that they mean? No I don’t think you are gonna judge for her that. Just because youre biased and have a prejudice against Mor doesn’t mean you are vindicated or correct. Try to be objective.

Even more disgusting some of you ship Eris, Mors abuser, with Nesta, a victim of abuse. That is fucking unbelievabley disgusting and startlingly cruel. You would want nesta to be a relationship with the one person Mor still cannot speak to or look at because he almost murdered her and incited so much fear in her that it’s taken her 500 years to grow event a little bit of strength back? I can’t get past that ever. You know who also can’t get past that. Cassian or any of the inner circle. For good fucking reason.

Mor is the seeming exact opposite of Nesta and she conforms to a lot of societal norms that Nesta doesn’t, so it’s interesting to see how once that dynamic was solidified people jumped on the bandwagon to hate Mor specifically while being infatuated and seeing no faults or wrongdoing with Nesta. When the characters are literally all written to have faults.

If you really want to say you hate her because of Cassian and how she and Cass treat Nesta they treat her like she treats them, a little standoffishish, rude and observant.

For most of the books Mor is said to have just ignored Nesta like literally that’s it. She doesn’t make comments when Feyre or Cassian speaks about her she minds her business until this moment when ALL the inner circle was speaking about what to do with Nesta.

As of right now there is no Nessian. It doesn’t exist. There’s a bond but Mor isn’t acting like she’s Cassians best friend friend and Nesta doesn’t matter. ITS THE REALITY. Mor is acting like she’s acted with Cassian for 500 years and he hasn’t told her to back off. That’s on him. Friends who flirt, friends who love eachother as viciously as they love eachother are not going to relent on their affection for some woman who continually is disrespectful and questions Cassians worth because of his bastard status- which is Inherently racist but y’all seem to gloss over that. Nesta is not worth that right now because she is still not a good person. Objectively nesta is not a good person she has lots of faults that even the author has said need to be brought up and worked through. She has a lot to be sorry for. I honestly think once Nessian is solidified, if it is, Mor will 100% back up on the obvious affection and blurred boundaries. As of now she hasn’t had too.

Pretty disgusting y’all hold genders to different standards. Mor and Nesta are very similar and it’s wild how y’all pick and choose whose trauma is ignored or applauded and whose is explored and ridiculed. You can’t hate one female for doing the same thing as another, holding one female up as if she can’t do anything wrong. HOLD THE SAME ENERGY!

[big-trouble-in-little-eldia]

Continuation of the author’s bias post a few days ago because twitter had a second wave of discourse. Largely crossposted from my twitter, but it feels appropriate to have it on here as well.

Attack on Titan's strongest thematic quality was to present us with Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie — people who killed thousands and who continued to do so after being confronted and understanding the world — and made us sympathise with them, even understand their point of view and question if maybe, our perspective was wrong and they were right. We even learned that they were right, after all. To demonise Bertholdt in the end the way the story did and present the warriors as bad and in need of redemption and the SC as good and in a position to judge undermines one of its greatest strengths.

You can bend and contort yourself until you find the one argument that AMJC shouldn't sympathise with Bertholdt in a sea of thousands where they should because Marco this and Bertholdt evil that and all of those, but really, why would you be happy to turn the story into a shallow revenge porn fantasy, least of all against characters as vulnerable as the warriors?

The story isn't just an account of people we follow, this is a fictional story. Isayama chose to write AMJC in a position where the universe excused them for being self-serving, which also influenced how the readers think about it, but that is within Isayama’s control.

On a character-based level, yeah, it's bad morally-speaking that they have no sympathy. Unfulfilling. But on a story-based level? This is an event that broke everything the story stood for and undid what made it so good in the past. Why defend that? 

SnK twitter, or the global fandom as a whole, doesn't know how to approach a story as a story with tropes, literary devices, themes, patterns, character arcs, etc. and instead approaches it as something happening to their besties. Most anime is like that. Isayama didn't work hard enough to set himself apart.

Meta that sees the characters as the people they are in-universe is necessary for a round discussion of a series, but so is OOC meta. The former is dumbed down to the worst faith, most clinical and mechanical view of human psychology and decency while the latter doesn't exist.

Personally, I'm far more interested in a story that asks what it means to be a human being who was hurt and who has hurt in a difficult conflict that exceeds everything you know about morality than one going over every minute detail of who's allowed to be how much of an ass to who.

Anyway, this thread sums up very well why what went down is such unfulfilling writing that insults its own core message.

[recurring-polynya]

I have to say I knew that at one point renji, ikkaku, yumichika and iba were in the same squad with kenpachi but good god you managed to paint a beautiful picture for me. I simply assumed that for them it was simply party time all the time along with a few bald jokes but this is much better. Emotionally healthy squad 11 which still love fighting more than anything. I always cringed when someone would just describe them as hooligans that do nothing but fighting. I mean they do that too but I love the idea that they are all emotionally healthy and mature, a loving and supportive family to their own - in their own wakka doodoo kind of way thats endearing - and of course they are in my opinion they single capable force against sexisim. Because they don't care about anything else - gendere, sexuality, gender performances, race, mentality or anything - other than if you fight good you respectable and if you fight good in squad 11 you family. ( like when kenpachi just became captain he made yachiru his lieutenant and no one was against it no one thought it was beneath them, sure thru nag at her sometimes but that's mostly in a banter like way because she call them stupid nicknames but no one hates her for being unrightfully their superior. One day they got a new captain and a new lieutenant that's a child and they just went with it.) I admit their disdain and disrespect to squad 4 is still frowned upon but I do believe some squad 4s can handle their own, it's just that we saw the really peaceful ones. Anyways sorry for ranting. Just wanted to say that yeah, I really like how the past squad 11 with iba and renji in it was a great place in general. I think if they found out some one was being sexist - for whatever reason - they would be there right next to nanao - or iba's mom protesting. Kenpachi and yachiru as well. And that makes me want to be squad 11 ,despite not being much for fighting, so bad.

So, for starters, thanks! I try to have fun whenever I write Squad 11, and I’m glad you enjoy my take on them.

My Squad 11 is just... really not very canon, though. Canon Squad 11 is actually pretty gross and sexist. Yumichika is transphobic, Kenpachi makes homophobic remarks about Yumichika, they bully Squad 4, there’s a filler episode devoted to a guy that Ikkaku bullied for, like 100 years because the guy lost his reiatsu saving Ikkaku’s dumb ass.

When you write fanfic, you occasionally run into these more problematic aspects of the source media, and you can choose to dig in and analyze them, or just... remake them in your own way. Take for example, Gin. If you read fanfic about Gin, there are some people who will peel away the layers of him and his fears and insecurities and still make him be a horrible gremlin, and it’s really stellar writing. Other people prefer to write him in an AU where maybe less bad stuff happened to him, and he’s more mischievous than sociopathic, and this is a less meaty interpretation, but it’s also more fun. Sometimes fanfic is a meal and sometimes it’s candy. It fulfills different needs and different fantasies and all of it is welcome.

Yumichika, who for me is the fulcrum of Squad 11, presents this problem. I really don’t like the way his “appreciation for beauty” plays out in canon. He doesn’t actually appreciate beauty, he just likes telling other people they’re ugly. I don’t think he’s ever pointed out beauty in anyone else aside from himself or his zanpakutou. I remember the first time I watched his fight with Charlotte and it struck me as so off -- why wouldn’t he find her beautiful? I mean, I know it’s a transmysogynistic joke, that’s why, men dressed as women is funny, hurr hurr, but Yumichika is gender nonconforming himself. This was an opportunity to make a cool character point, and Kubo took the cheap laughs road instead. Going back to what I said last paragraph, a skilled writer could, in theory, write about his insecurities and his brittleness and meanness and write a pretty compelling story, but a) Kubo certainly doesn’t, and I have never actually found a Yumichika-centric fanfic of this nature, and b) this doesn’t fit the role I need him to play in my stories. I am rarely really interested in writing about Squad 11 for its own sake. I like to write them as a backdrop for the period of Renji’s afterlife where he hit absolute rock bottom and bounced back up again. We already know the role Ikkaku played in this, except that Ikkaku is a complete moron in terms of mental health, and I really, really felt like this is where Yumichika needed to come in.

I like to massage Yumichika’s character a bit, but I do want to keep the flavor of some of his character flaws-- he’s still shallow and mean and judgy, and I love that for him, but I like to add in a positive side to his appreciation for beauty. Having Yumichika make fun of Izuru’s pores is funny but it’s even funnier if he’s just given Renji a compliment on his hair first. The idea that a Yumichika compliment is attainable makes all his drags the more vicious. Yumichika also judged people by their beauty instead of their moral character, which is humorous to me. He dislikes Byakuya as a person, but is obsessed with his haircare regime. I like to have him treat Rangiku as an equal, beauty-wise, and a person whose opinion he respects based on her aesthetic. Rangiku is actually a pretty savvy and very emotionally intelligent person whom many people write off because she likes to present herself as a lazy airhead, so in an extremely convoluted way, this all works out. I like to think that Yumichika’s ideas of beauty are also caught up in boldness and risk-taking and having one’s outward presentation ring true to their inner self. To me, this is the core of why he loves Ikkaku. To him, Ikkaku’s devotion to doing the most Ikkaku thing at all times, no matter how stupid, is irresistibly sexy. 

Aside: At some point, I decided that the fact that a lot of people in Bleach have colorful marks on their faces and elaborate hairstyle and accessory games implied that make-up in Soul Society is gender neutral. I like to think there is actually more of a divide between the nobility, who like their make-up to follow rules and be classy, and, well, Squad 11, who like to get make-up ideas from Jem and the Holograms. I don’t even wear makeup (I don’t know how and it’s expensive and I am ashamed of myself, we can talk about my own gender presentation later) but I like to write about both my male and female characters wearing make-up. I don’t actually know how my readers feel about it, but it just falls under the “Is that what people want?”/“It’s what we do” philosophy of all my writing.

I think one of the theses of my writing is that middle management is more important to the character of a squad than the person at the top. Captains sort of act as ideals to strive for, but they are generally unapproachable for one reason or another. Yachiru is more like her captain in this respect (which makes sense, since she is, in fact part of her captain). Ikkaku and Yumichika present this dual idea that 1) strength is awesome, fighting and being the best is awesome, and 2) part of strength is presenting yourself to the world in a bold and confrontational way. (The fact that both of them are hiding huge parts of themselves is laughably ironic). Kenpachi and Yachiru are shining examples of Do Whatever You Want and Be So Strong That No One Can Stop You. 

What really makes this work is that you need someone one layer down-- does anyone actually subscribe to this nonsense, and that’s why Iba - Abarai Squad 11 is Best Squad 11. I really, really enjoy the genre of Reddit posts where a total bro will find out that his girlfriend is trans and react by becoming a vehement advocate for trans rights. I love the bodybuilders typing encouragement to each other meme. Our world is flooded with disingenuous messages from concern trolls trying to tell us why being kind and inclusive to one another is bad or that you should reject help because struggle makes you stronger and the idea of a Himbo looking at something like that and saying “that seems dumb" is delightful to me.

I actually feel like there are a lot of awful people with bad ideas in Squad 11, it’s just that Renji and Iba don’t put up with their shit, and over time, that becomes the culture of Squad 11. I think that Squad 11 has incredibly turnover, but the ones who stay are the ones who subscribe to the ideas you mentioned-- fighting is what matters, if you wanna go argue about shit, go join Squad 5. In the IkkaYumi story I wrote, which happens shortly after Zaraki takes over, a ton of people leave. The Bount Arc (which I know a lot of people skipped) features a dude who was extremely pissed off because he had liked the old Kenpachi and thought Zaraki sucked and was so mad about it that he betrayed Soul Society. You might think that this arc would feature Zaraki caring about this in some way shape or form, but he really didn’t. So, I think there are a lot of Soul Reapers that took issue with serving under a little girl as a vice captain, they just aren’t in Squad 11 anymore.

Oh, one last note on Iba’s mom. I am of an age where a number of my friends have mothers who were Second Wave Feminists. The moms in question are a real mixed bag, because they Came From a Different Time, and on one hand, you have to respect what they went through, and on the other hand, they are very difficult to get along with. I liked the idea that Iba has always chafed against his mom and her big personality, and then Renji comes in, and is like, “hey, your mom is strong as hell and she has a lot of ideas that I never thought of but they make sense” and Iba realizes that, even though she’s still a huge pain in his ass, his mom is the person who made him who he is. Moms are complex.

Uhhhh, I have definitely lost the thread of wherever I was going with this post. Thank you for enjoying my Squad 11, which is nothing like canon Squad 11. Hopefully maybe this year, I will actually finish my Squad 11 Self Care story, where Renji stops being a drunk disaster person after Yumichika teaches him how to fill his brows; I got stuck on a part where Rangiku gives Renji a talk on ethical sluttery.

[kl4us4]

FISTS OF FURY (Geralt of Rivia x Reader)

Summary: Travelling with Geralt has always been... interesting. While on the search for Ciri, you both find yourselves in Velen, where Geralt is faced by three overzealous, strong armed fighters.

A/N: ok so I love the Witcher series & I also am super into the game so this is a mix of both but based on a side quest in Witcher 3. this is kinda just me dabbling into a show i love 

“He’d beat all you fools with his eyes closed!” Jaskier shouts, looking around at the group of boys and men. When Geralt gives the bard a glare, you hold back a laugh. The things Jaskier gets the group into is insane. The boy has such a big mouth.

“Is that so?” One of the fighters scoffs, his eyes raking Geralt’s muscles, “The thing about strong men is that they have muscles in the wrong places!”

“Yeah!” Another agrees, sitting on top of the gate to the small ring where the fighting takes place, “I bet he’s dumb as a stone!”

“Hm,” is all Geralt responds with, seemingly thinking to himself: if only they knew. You watch Geralt eye the men, no doubt forming a plan in his mind.

Moving from his position leaning against a wooden pole, Jonah steps in front of the Witcher. And his eyes take in the older mans rough appearance. The strangers eyes then land on you, doing the same to your body before he flicks his eyes back to the tall Witcher standing closely beside you. 

“What? Jonah tilts his head, his blue eyes flicking to you, “You afraid you’ll lose your lady?”

Jaskier lets out a loud, humourless laugh. You can’t help but smile at the mans bravery. You watch Geralt, who crosses his arms and shifts on his feet though he gives a smile of his own. He has no doubts about you. “I’m afraid for your dignity,” the Witcher admires, watching Jonah as he gives you a look, “A man who speaks the most often has very little to say.”

“What d’ya think?” Jonah inquires, ignoring Geralt’s comment and wrapping an arm around your shoulder, “Think your big boy is man enough?”

You let out a low chuckle as you look at the young man, indulging his fantasies, “And... What if he isn’t?” 

Jaskiers eyes grow wide, he looks between you and Geralt; who keeps on smiling. Jonah lets out a hum of his own, leaning closer into you. Geralt knows you’re doing it to rile him up, especially with the way you’re watching him as this stranger speaks to you like you belong to him. “Then we have some fun of our own. And you forget about the white haired freak.”

“How much do you want to bet?” Geralt now clenches his jaw, his voice deep. He can hear everything Jonah says to you, though it’s in a low whisper. And he can hear the disgusting young man’s heart speed up when his eyes flutter to your chest. If Geralt were morally corrupt, he would’ve beat the daylights out of Jonah. He’d rather get paid for it.

“145 crowns.” A man announces, placing his hands on Jonah’s shoulders and bringing him away from you. 

“Hm,” Geralt keeps his eyes on Jonah, “For 190 I’ll take out all three of your fighters, one after the other.”

Shouts and whispers erupt around the ring. Looking at Geralt, you raise an eyebrow. 190 crowns isn’t as much as the base rate for his Witcher services. But winning it from these men seems like it’d be even more satisfying. “Deal!” And just like that, Geralt is taking both swords from his back, handing them to Jaskier who’s barely able to set them down next to Roach.

Seeing Jonah and the old man sharing a few words, Jaskier doesn’t even try to reach Geralt’s shoulders, so instead he just exclaims, “You got this, Geralt. You’re the White Wolf, yeah? You’re infamous! You got this, White Wolf, come on.”

To which Geralt just shoots the shorter boy a look. After the armour is removed, Geralt lifts his shirt off of his body, tossing it to the ground beside his weapons. You’re admiring his body, looking at the scars littering his body. And he notices, watching you closely as he takes a few steps towards you, close. “Good luck kiss?” The corners of his lips turn up in a small smirk as he places his hands on your hips. His large hands pull you against his exposed chest, and you hate that he can hear your heart pick up along with your breath hitching.

“When have you ever needed luck?” You question him, your hands resting against his warm lower stomach. Gazing at his golden eyes, you give him a gentle smile.

Geralt admires you from up close, your kind smile, lovely lips, your beautiful eyes, “I don’t know... Jonah seems like a real catch,” he jokes sarcastically, “What if he steals you away from me?”

“Well,” you laugh lightly, placing a hand upon his rough cheek, “you’re just going to have to win the fight.” Leaning close to him, you close your eyes as you press a gentle kiss to his lips.

When you pull back, Geralt lets out a deep hum before he turns to the circle of watchers. Jonah stands in the middle, watching with an angry gaze, shirtless and relatively skinny except for the muscles on his forearms.

You stand beside Jaskier, who watches on casually. “Nervous?” You ask him.

He scoffs, playing along, “Yeah, what if Geralt meets his demise at the hands of a the fearsome Jonah?”

You chuckle, shaking your head admirably, “You better write a bloody good song after we take home the reward.”

“Trust me, I’m already up to the second verse!” Jaskier smiles, reciting, “Jonah lost the fight and we stood hip to hip / our beloved Witcher won the Velen championship!”

“Begin!” A man shouts, stepping from the circle and joining the small crowd that’s formed to watch Geralt and Jonah.

You exhale, watching Geralt’s clenched fists raised in front of his face. He’s waiting for Jonah to strike first. You know Geralt, you know his tactics. He’ll use Jonah’s first attack against him.

The smaller boy swings strong, aiming for Geralt’s throat, but the Witcher grabs his arm, pushing him down to the mud before upper-cutting his jaw. Standing, Geralt maintains his boxing stance as Jonah grunts in pain, still on the ground.

“What was that? 10 seconds?” Jaskier laughs, slapping his knee.

“Should’ve asked for more crowns.” You note, shaking your head in dismay. This is all too easy.

“Keep talking and we’ll have your tongue, girl!” One of the men shout, giving you a disgusting scowl as he hands golden coins over to the old match-maker, who then gives you a pile of money.

“What’s this?” You ask.

“People betted against your dear freak.” He answers with a glare before bending down to see if Jonah’s alright.

“Looks like that went well!” You raise your eyebrows sarcastically, hands on your hips as you smile.

Geralt leans against Roach, looking off as two men lift Jonah up. That was only the first contestant. The worst he has is bruises to his jaw and maybe a scrap on his knee where he hit the dirt. “We’ll ask for more coin next time.” Geralt tells you.

“That’s what I was saying,” you exclaim, turning to smile at Geralt, “This is too easy for you!”

“Next contestant,” the man shouts in disdain, “Stan Fishgulper!”

A look crosses your face. Leaning to Jaskier, you whisper, “Stan who?” You scoff, bursting into a small laughing fit with your friend.

“They’re going to cut your tongue out!” Jaskier whispers, in the midst of his own laugh as Geralt walks to the circle once again, “I can’t add that into a ballad!”

“Rather be mute than gulp fish,” you whisper to him, crossing your arms as another laugh wracks through your body.

Jaskier shoves your shoulder, shaking his head as he laughs along. In the ring, it’s all serious. Geralt eyes the middle aged man, sees the wrinkles along his face and the scars on his fingers as he balls his fists. Must be a fisher judging by the thin scars along them. Must’ve been one his whole life. His posture is hunched, possibly from staring at the water. He may have some strength in his arms then, though Geralt doubts he’ll strike first. He doesn’t seem the type to. Not overly confident.

Geralt lands a punch on Stans side, almost feeling sorry when the man jumps back and grunts in pain. But when Stan side steps and attempts to land a kick between Geralt’s legs, the monster-hunter no longer feels pity. He punches him in the cheek.

Grabbing the stunned man by his shoulders, Geralt uses all his force to knee him in the crotch. “I hope you’ve had your share of children already, my friend.” Geralt muses, pulling his hands from the man's shoulder and stepping back.

“Smithy!” The matchmaker calls, gesturing for another man to approach. Your smile fades when you see the size of this man. The tiniest bit shorter than Geralt but twice the size anyways. He walks slow, his feet trudging his weight to the middle of the circle beside Geralt.

Though, the Witcher doesn’t look afraid. He takes down fiends and basilisks for Christ’s sake. This, in front of him, is but a man. But you’re not sure. The man in front of him, Smithy, looks strong as hell. “Oh, fuck,” Jaskier breathes, “Now I feel bad for laughing....”

“You’ve got this, Wolf,” you call out, leaning against the sheep pens. Glancing at you, Geralt shoots a wink your way before turning his focus on Smithy.

Immediately, it’s horrid. You cringe, seeing Smithy grab Geralt by his shoulders and swing him across the pen, rolling through the mud. Geralt lands on his back, staring up into the sky with wide and shocked eyes. What the hell just happened? It was so quick, the Witcher barely got time to understand before Smithy pulled him up by his arm.

You and Jaskier, silent from the sides, eyes wide, barely even breathing at the sight in front of you. It can’t be. The Witcher can’t lose this battle. There’s no way. Geralt kicks Smithy in the stomach, pushing him back before raising his arms in defence of his face. The white haired mans footwork is quick, something that cannot be said for Smithy - whos main source of force is his strength.

Slinking around the tall man, Geralt lands a boot in the back of Smithys leg, sending the man falling to his knees slowly but surely. Jaskier gasps, seeing the fight change so drastically so quickly. He grabs your hand, excitement coursing through him. You grip his back, mouth hanging wide open as Geralt takes a few steps back, kicking Smithy in the throat. You grimace, and so does the crowd, as Smithy is winded - much like Geralt a few minutes prior.

Running up to the kneeled man from behind, Geralt lands a foot right on his back, sending the man falling forward. He coughs and sputters on the floor, struggling to stand. The bookie, reluctantly, calls it. And just like that, you and Jaskier are cheering loudly for your friend. “White wolf!” You shout, jumping up and down with Jaskier who whistles at Geralt.

The bookie raises Geralt's hand and the Witcher’s chest rises and falls steadily. His golden eyes come to rest on you as he is announced Champion and given his sum, and Geralt can’t help but grin. You and Jaskier cheer and clap as he makes his way toward you, tossing the coin to the bard. “Done. What now?” Geralt smirks cockily, making you and Jaskier laugh.

“First Velen,” Jaskier announces, his focus on the bag of coin - also filled with the numerous bets against Geralt - “Next: Skellige. Then the next country, then the next, until we rule all.”

“Good plan, Jaskier,” you nod at him before turning back to Geralt who is now dressing, “I think we can do it before the Wild Hunt catches us.”

Geralt chuckles deeply, giving you a smile before placing his swords back in their sheaths, “Funny. Right now, all I need is a shower.”

[austennerdita2533]

Hi to my friend and favorite Austen scholar :) I was wondering if you consider Darcy and Elizabeth an example of the opposites attract trope? I get that they APPEAR very different, with Lizzie exuberant and prone to laughing and teasing while Darcy is a fundamentally serious, reserved introvert. But as I reread and rewatch, I'm struck by how alike I think they actually are. They're both very critical, discerning and quick to judge, they're both extremely clever and intelligent, they're both very insightful (though, like all of us, only when it comes to people other than themselves and those they're closest to!), they're both close to very few but fiercely loyal and loving towards those they do let in, they're both very analytical and contemplative, they're both too stubborn and prideful and reluctant to change their ways until they both learn that's more a sign of strength than weakness. I could bore you by rambling further, but hopefully you get the point! I'm curious whether you agree that they're actually more fundamentally similar than different...? Or am I just as off base as usual?!

Hello lovely, and what a good question!

You know, I've always considered Darcy and Elizabeth to be opposites on the surface but then quite similar beneath it. (That probably reads like a bit of a cop out on my part, but I think it makes sense if you slice it apart.) I'd argue that combination is largely what makes them such a captivating pairing overall.

The so-called "opposite" attributes Darcy and Elizabeth possess work in a two-fold fashion. On the one hand, it explains why they butt heads in the beginning because, in personality, not to mention in the manner in which they're both able to interact with people - acquaintances and/or strangers, especially - they are diametrically opposed. She's extroverted, lively, good humored, and easy to engage in conversation. He's severe, socially inept, broody, and reserved to the point of being almost monosyllabic at the best of times. That difference fosters a lot of tension between them initially. They don't know what to make of each other. How to interact. It also helps to create, elongate, and preserve the canyon of misunderstanding that makes up their dynamic for the first half of the book.

On the other hand, the differences in their dispositions are also where hardcore attraction comes into play. They both gravitate toward, seek to investigate, rather, the qualities the other person has that they do not. It's like catnip. Draws them in like magnets. They're both similarly afflicted in that regard, I'd say.

Darcy is bewitched by Elizabeth's vivacity and openness, by her ability to laugh at the absurdity that is present throughout society. She's easy among new company where he is stilted, uncomfortable, and he LIKES being around her because of that. It draws him out of his shell. Forces him to be more present and attentive, even if "more present" manifests only in the heady looks he shoots at her from across the ballroom. He's stimulated by her wit, by her teasing. She astonishes him (in a good way), keeps him on his toes, and that's exciting...erotic.

Elizabeth, too, even in her most fastidious "I have never sought your good opinion" moments can't help but be caught up in the enigma that is Darcy. Arrogant and taciturn though he seems, his aloofness, as well as the natural reserve which surrounds him, makes him equal parts interesting and grating to her because she's unable to fully figure him out. She tries to glean what she can about him from observation, from limited time spent in his company, but he's essentially a lockbox (rude!), so instead she has to rely on the gossip that other people (Wickham) have related, and even then she's not satisfied. She still wants to know more. Needs to know more about who he is. She says herself that the different accounts she's heard of him "puzzle her exceedingly." The point here being that she can't stop trying to puzzle out the man from the second they meet no matter how hard she tries. She's caught up without realizing just how caught up she is. I mean, even when she's declaring she hates him I'd argue there's still a part of her that's more enthralled with him than anything. He remains an unsolved mystery, which is maddening as well as a little dazzling; so conscious or not, she feels a pull toward him. It cannot be helped. She's in over her head. I believe she's desperate to know if there's more to him than meets the eye (though she'd rather die than admit such a thing.) So really, his introversion has its own attractions for her as well--it keeps her probing, orbiting.

Like you mentioned, too, Darcy and Elizabeth have a lot of traits in common. They're clever, contemplative, critical, astute, and stubborn, to name a few. However, where the juxtaposition comes into the mix is how these things are expressed in their individual personalities. Because, in that regard, they do express or convey these traits differently. I think that's where the "opposites attract" trope could apply.

That said, Darcy and Elizabeth do both face similar conflicts throughout the novel. They're each prideful in their own way and must learn how to overcome their own snobbery, their own criticisms of people. I think we tend to overlook that as something they share because of how it manifests, again, with respect to their individual personalities and social classes. But without that tenet of similarity tying them together there'd be no romantic tension in the novel. That's the whole point of conflict upon which the whole plot turns - their respective (and mutual!) pride and prejudice. Also, if they both weren't loyal and protective of those they loved most in the world, and if they hadn't had a mutual evolution where they'd learned not to be so quick to judge others and forgive past grievances, then the romantic resolution between them would have fallen flat. As readers, we wouldn't have been rooting so hard for them to be together if they hadn't had those things in common. Right?

Part of the reason we consider Darcy and Elizabeth to be well-matched match by the end of the story is because they're opposites on the surface who are bound by the same moral fiber - character - underneath. They're good people who have made and learned from their own mistakes. That growth is what matters. It's because of their mutual self-reflection and self-improvement that they're able to come together to form a healthy union.

In my estimation Darcy and Elizabeth are similar in all the big ways that matter - smart, devoted, forgiving, dependable, loving, etc. - and different in ways - cheerful, stoic, witty, quiet, rich, bougie etc. - that allows their dynamic to feel fresh and surprising...not to mention swoon worthy as hell!

[dangan-meme-palace]

I realy like your analysis on the kaito-maki-shuichi relationship. So i was wondering who in your opinion has the best relationship dynamic within the cast?

Aaaa thanks! I'm more or less pleased with how it came out :D probably could be shorter though haha

-tech

As for the best dynamic... hmm.

Judging based on what I mentioned in the previous post about strengths being highlighted and weaknesses being dealt with in one way or another and believable emotional bonds that help each other, I'd have to say...

Kokichi and Gonta

For sure, it's gotta be them.

Narratively:

They are canonly a dynamic duo, working together and using their different strengths to help one another in areas the other is lacking in. It feels like they can both truly shine when they cooperate, and that's exactly how it should be.

It's very nice to see them work together because they both bring something different to the table that truly helps the other, and not always in ways you would expect at first glance. The brain and brawn thing is expected, but the extent to which they compliment each other is unparalleled by any other dynamic in the game.

Kokichi -> Gonta

Admittedly, Kokichi does less for Gonta narratively than Gonta does for Kokichi, but to be fair I would expect someone like Kokichi to be the one others help shine, not the other way around. Kokichi, as the Ultimate Leader, is more like the protagonist while Gonta is the supporting character.

For the most part though, Kokichi's narrative role relating to Gonta is to show us that Gonta isn't the happy-go-lucky himbo the rest of the cast thinks he is, allowing us to see that Gonta has depth, specifically that Gonta's morals are definitely different than what one would normally expect from someone with his personality.

The rest is something that relates more to their emotional bond, but for now I'll just say that Kokichi allows us to see Gonta's insecurities, flaws, and dedication to his friends (both the cast and Kokichi) and this improves Gonta's character immensely.

Gonta -> Kokichi

Gonta, as a character, shows us just how human Kokichi can be, especially during chapter 4 but also in little moments throughout the game as well. Whether it be lashing out at the others, being soft (like, so, so soft) with Gonta, his cooperation skills, or the depths of his sadness and loyalty, Gonta drags these reactions out of Kokichi one by one like it's his job, which it is! Narratively, Gonta's job is to allow us to see glimpses of what goes on in Kokichi's heart, something incredibly rare and precious to me.

Gonta also really allows Kokichi's ability to strategize and lead people to shine. Like, really shine. Chapter 4 was the best showcase of Kokichi's talent of leading people, but that's because he had Gonta following him. Any captain needs a crew and any Ultimate Leader needs helpful and supportive followers that believe in him. This goes alongside Kokichi's major weakness throughout the game.

Kokichi's biggest weakness is that he's placed himself into an antagonistic position. Seems smart, until you realize that hes the Ultimate Leader and he just alienated himself from literally everyone, losing any potential bonds/followers he could have made. He shot himself in the foot by forsaking some leadership options when he's the Ultimate Leader. It's the thing he's best at, but he put limits on himself anyway to protect everyone from Monokuma's attempts to break them apart.

He can still get the group to do what he wants, but it takes a considerable amount of effort on his behalf in order to do so. Gonta makes up for that by being the follower that Kokichi desperately needs. Gonta believes in Kokichi enough to go along with both of his plans, to the extent that he still goes along with them even they involve kidnapping and killing the other characters.

There's also the fact that Gonta's dedication to the others might've helped Kokichi decide to keep helping everyone, but I'll get more into that in a bit.

Emotionally:

This dynamic also makes a lot of sense from an emotional perspective. You can actually see why these two outcast characters would want to come together and hang out with each other, and why they view the other so positively: they are each other's ideals.

Kokichi -> Gonta

When Gonta needed a friend and someone to take him seriously/not dismiss him, Kokichi was there to hang out with him, seriously listen to him, and explain things to him that he didn't get the first time. Where the other kids were scared of him due to his size and talent, Kokichi had the confidence to ignore Gonta's natural intimidation and the kindness to hang out with Gonta, despite being so scared of bugs he literally foams at the mouth when they touch him.

Kokichi still regarded Gonta as a friend after that incident though, when most people (justifiably) would've held a grudge and cut him off. Gonta has some very obvious rage issues and reacts pretty impulsively to the things that upset him, but Kokichi is very patient with others, and almost forgiving to a fault at times, so he's willing to stick with Gonta and try and work through their problems instead of abandoning him. This would no doubt be something that Gonta desperately wanted from a friend, seeing as he's very self conscious about appearing as scary.

He loyally sticks by Gonta and readily offers advice, support, explanations, patience, etc... I mean the list goes on. I really do think that his relationship with Gonta is a showcase of how Kokichi would act around someone he really likes, like I'm talking about this being the basis for how I think Kokichi would act around DICE levels of emotional intimacy. I think this is Kokichi at his best, friendship wise. Especially because even during events that take place outside of the main story we never see Kokichi act this way around anyone else, even with the people I would also consider to be his friends (mainly Miu, but also sorta with Kiibo as well.)

They didn't know each other for long, but if you really look at it, it's plain to see that Kokichi really valued Gonta as a friend. I mean, I dont think someone who yells about wanting to live during his FTEs with Kaede would willingly offer to give his life for (no discernable goal) for just anyone y'know? Plus, throughout the game, he uses some of his friendliest and softest sprites during his conversations with Gonta. Even visually you can see their bond.

It's a very subtle relationship when compared to some of the more overt pairs throughout the game (aside from some key moments in chapter 4) but it's there, and honestly I can think of very few characters that share this close of a bond in the whole series game.

They actually kinda seem similar to Aoi and Sakura in a way, but somehow they compliment each other more... damn.

Gonta -> Kokichi

Likewise, Gonta also became Kokichi's friend and didn't seem to mind the lying at all, something that means a lot to Kokichi based on his Harmonious Heart Events, because it means that Gonta doesn't want to be friends with someone different, he wants Kokichi, lies and all. This is Kokichi's #1 wish.

I think that meant more to Kokichi than anything else, because this is his way of life. He leads with lies, he plays with lies, and he protects himself with lies too. He wants to keep lying and Gonta not being bothered by that is literally the exact thing that Kokichi yearns for in the best ending for his HHE.

Gonta also caught on to the times that Kokichi was extending olive branches and accepted him. It's subtle, but Kokichi did try and befriend people as long as he could do it without having to change himself and Gonta was one of the people that responded to that positively. Gonta readily befriended Kokichi, probably understanding first-hand what it's like to be an outcast because of misunderstandings and personality traits.

This is why Gonta's death (especially since Kokichi felt like he was fully responsible for it, despite what Gonta said) was so traumatic for Kokichi and why he reacts so negatively to it, he lost someone he never thought he would ever meet in the first place. More than a few of his dialogue lines have him imply that he's used to being hated for how he chooses to live his life and that he expects this kind of treatment from people, so finally finding someone who won't hate him for that and then losing that friend so quickly with his own plan had to have hurt immensely.

Going off that, Gonta is the one to convince Kokichi to remain friends with everyone and try his best for them despite how they treat him, and he also desperately begs for the others to do the same thing for Kokichi. He knew he was leaving Kokichi alone, and he wanted to try and protect him.

While the other members of the cast don't seem to remember this or care much about it after the whole "I'm the mastermind" bit, we do see Kokichi trying to protect the group after chapter 4 by trying getting rid of the motive to leave (therefore "ending" the killing game by making sure no one plays it) and by trying to remove Kaito, who has shown himself to be a harmful influence.

I think Gonta's words really got through to Kokichi, and while it did unfortunately lead to Kokichi dying for everyone's sake, Kokichi might not have tried to save everyone if it hadn't been for Gonta's last wishes. Why would Kokichi want to help people that actively hate him and bully him if not for the pleading of his greatest friend in the game telling him to keep protecting them.

In a sense, Kokichi during chapter 5 fulfills Gonta's original wish to be useful and protect everyone even at the cost of himself, with Kokichi doing exactly that.

Interested?

If you asked me for moments that I feel showcase their bond nicely so you can get a feel of it for yourself, I'd point you towards the dialogue they share during the 4th trial investigation and their meeting before the Insect Meet and Greet was very nice (you'll have to read between the lines for the former though!) If you want to see what I'm talking about, I would definitely recommend rewatching those. The moments prior to Gonta's execution are also always a good look at how much they meant to each other.

If you're really interested, I'd also recommend watching through their bonus content (LHEs, FTEs, HHEs, etc) and thinking about how their desires are reflected in each other, it's interesting to think about at the very least.

TL;DR?

Overall, they have an amazing, yet unsung, dynamic between the two of them and I would like to see more people recognize it. It's very brief and doesn't have a lot of story time, but it feels more meaningful than any of the "main" dynamics in the game with 10x the screentime. It has substance to it. It's satisfying and gratifying to watch.

It also makes fucking sense, unlike a particular dynamic that takes up a majority of the fucking story for nOTHING–

[ariainstars]

Feminism (and Not) in Star Wars

Warning: unpopular opinions ahead.

 During the last few years, I have often heard and read people arguing that the Star Wars sequels are “feminist”, that Rey in particular is a Mary Sue and, at worst, that “feminism ruined Star Wars.” So, I would like to add my two cents. 

It cannot to be denied that the end of the sequels, and with it of the saga as a whole, is highly dissatisfying. But feminism is not what caused it.

The sequels are not feminist at all. Especially not in Star Wars, where the greatest hero Luke Skywalker had ended the conflict through compassion and forgiveness. TRoS in particular is a slap in the face of female dignity and virtue, both for the male protagonist’s mother and for his love interest. 

Unfortunately, and that is one of my major issues with the sequels, many things are not being said or explained. This might be due to the fact that Episode VIII was subversive and that so many classic fans ranted and stormed against it; but that didn’t prevent Episode IX from showing, if not saying, a lot of things. 

Star Wars is all about subtext, that’s what makes it compelling. Please:

Read between the lines.

Look at what is not being said but shown.

Compare the attitudes of different people in similar situations.

  Rey

„You cannot deny the truth that is your family.” Lor San Tekka in The Force Awakens

  Rey was introduced as a positive female character but then, over the course of three films, her moral corruption was displayed under the lame excuse of a black and white morality (“I am all the Sith” vs. “I am all the Jedi”).

Rey seemed like a reboot of Luke Skywalker at first, but watching her throughout TRoS we see her fail in all instances where Luke had proved himself a hero.

  - Luke had forgiven his father despite all the pain he had inflicted on him and his friends. Rey stabbed the „bad guy”, who had repeatedly protected and comforted her, to death.

- Luke never asked Vader to help the Rebellion or to turn to the Light Side, he only wanted him back as his father. Rey assumed that she could make Ben Solo turn, give up the First Order and join the Resistance for her. She was thinking of her friends and her own validation, not of him.

- Luke had made peace by choosing peace. Rey fought until the bitter end.

- Luke had thrown his weapon away before Palpatine. Rey picked up a second weapon. (And both of them weren’t her own.)

- Luke had mourned his dead father. Rey didn’t shed a tear for the man she is bonded to by the Force.

- Luke went back to his friends to celebrate the new peace with them. Rey went back letting everyone celebrate her like the one who saved the galaxy on her own - the woman who was tempted to become the new evil ruler of the galaxy and had to rely on the alleged Bad Guy to save both her soul and her body.

- Luke had embodied compassion when Palpatine was all about hatred. Where he chose love and faith in his father, Rey chose violence and fear.

- Luke had briefly fallen prey to the Dark Side but it made him realize that he had no right to judge his father. Rey’s fall to the Dark Side did not make her wiser.

- Confronted by Vader’s disclosure of his true identity Luke was forced to face himself, to realize that he had been judgmental, arrogant and biased; and after the initial shock he accepted his origins as a part of himself. - Rey did not reconcile with Palpatine as a part of herself. (When she says to him “I don’t hate you” it’s not a sign of superior attitude. It merely shows that she sees him as separate from herself.)

- After realizing what he had done to his nephew, feeling responsible and disillusioned, Luke went into exile for years waiting for his death. - Rey also was appalled at herself, but she spent just a few minutes on Ahch-To until Luke appeared to her, this time telling her exactly what she would have wanted him to say to her on her first visit on the island. This scene was so ridiculously opposite to his attitude in TLJ that I believe he was a fantasy conjectured by her like Ben’s vision of his father.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Rey failed where Ben had been strong.

- Ben killed Snoke to save Rey. Rey killed Palpatine to complete her Jedihood. (Or at least, what she believes being a Jedi means, i.e. “being always right and winning at all costs”.)

- Ben loved Rey despite all she did to him and took away from him, and she didn’t even honour his name in the end.

- Ben knew the stories of Luke, Vader and Palpatine well enough to wanted to end the Jedi and Sith at last and start something new and better. Rey only knew scraps of old tales and wanted to have them her own way.

- Ben had been under an evil influence in his mind since before he was born; when he finally turned to the Dark because he had nowhere else to go, he was 23. Rey gave in to her Dark Side minutes after meeting her “mother” in the Death Star ruin; the same happened to her again with Palpatine on Exegol.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  On the ruin of the second Death Star, Rey is at her lowest on the same spot where Luke had won over himself thirty years before in RoTJ.

- Vader had provoked Luke to make him turn - Kylo hadn’t.

- Vader hat traumatized Luke - Kylo had protected and spared Rey repeatedly.

- Vader hardly had had a kind word to spare for his son (except perhaps when he said to him “It is too late for me, son”) - Kylo had comforted her and shown her his human side.

- Vader had lured Luke into a trap twice in order to keep him by his side. - Kylo hadn’t, on the contrary, he wanted to prevent her from running into Palpatine’s trap.

- Luke did not know what had made Vader the way he was when he came to find him, but he was adamant to save him. - Rey knew by the time of their duel that Kylo was largely also a victim, and she stabbed him to death.

- Luke always fought fair. - Rey used the distraction made by Leia’s reaching out to him to impale him - the way she had seen him impaling Han.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  It is ridiculous to say that it’s a victory of Good over Evil when a young woman uses Jedi training to kill her master’s own son, who was on the defensive, with his mother’s help and blessing. That their weird connection, which was already introduced during the first two films, is explained by way of their being a dyad (one soul in two bodies) only makes it worse. Rey will rather kill the man she belongs to, or die herself, than admit that she needs him. If that is supposed to be “feminism”, it’s a very distorted idea of female independence and strength. Just like it’s not automatically “feminism” to make a girl pose as the heroine because she wants to be a Jedi no questions asked.

Fans discussed and argued about Rey’s family for years; it was a great move in TLJ when she admitted her parents were “nobodies” and that they left her on purpose. It was refreshing to see her carve her life and personality on her own. TRoS shattered this by making her the descendant of the most powerful man in the galaxy; and what’s worse, she wound up being a usurper just the way he was, taking over the Skywalker mantle.

  The sequels are feminist only when the audience believes that it’s a happy ending if a female ends up alone with no one standing in her way. They are told from her point of view, so as viewers we will automatically believe that she’s the heroine and root for her (or not, but still believe that it’s her story). Looking only at the bare facts, Rey is much less heroic than she first seems.

  At the end of TRoS Rey is alone with two dead people behind her, on a desert planet in company of a droid and with an old, wrinkled woman as her only interlocuter, the way she began, and her mind still has hardly developed beyond that of a child. She is willing to embrace the legacy of both Skywalker family and Jedi although the fate of Ben Solo should have taught her how fu***-up both of them were.

  Rey doesn’t want to see. She’s in denial like when she pretended that her family was coming back for her on Jakku. Inside, she is still a child - everything she did was motivated by her desire to find the belonging she ardently craved. She can’t be blamed for that. But does that make her a “strong woman”, or even a “Mary Sue”, like many annoyed viewers claim? No.

  Leia 

“If you will not turn to the Dark Side, then perhaps she will.” Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi

There is something I find much worse than Ben’s patricide or Luke’s panic attack at the Jedi temple. Those were actions spurred by the moment and provoked by Snoke, and both men regretted it immediately. Leia’s behaviour shows an unpardonable attitude for entire decades. Being a trained Jedi herself, she could have taught her son - instead she sent him to his uncle. This seems a practical choice since she was politically active while her brother wanted to start a new Jedi Order, but from the novels we learn that Ben heard his parents arguing and talking about him like he was a monster ever since he was a child, and that when he was sent away this seemed to confirm to him that something was wrong with him and had to be fixed. (From the novels we also learn that he actually had no ambition to become a Jedi and wanted to be a pilot - true Skywalker and also Solo that he is -, but he had no say in the matter.)

 After the tragedy at Luke’s temple and the rise of the First Order, Leia fought with the Resistance for years knowing that her own son was on the other side. What if she had met him and been forced to kill him (or if he had come into the situation, as we see in TLJ)? In TFA, she sent his own father to bomb Starkiller Base knowing well that their son might be on board. Leia had felt Snoke’s influence on Ben’s mind when he was still in her womb; so, she knew he had been manipulated for decades, but when she heard of his fall to the Dark Side, she automatically assumed he had made the choice to be “evil”. Only after he had been a part of a criminal organization for years Leia sent her estranged husband to him. She only reached out to him when she was on her deathbed, and I still am not certain whether she wanted to help him, or to make him stop fighting against the girl she had adopted in his stead. 

Would Padmé have left her own son in the dumps? Never. Padmé refuted Obi-Wan’s disclosure about Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side adamantly, and went to a volcanic planet alone, with a highly advanced pregnancy, to see a terrorist and murderer because she still saw the good little boy he had been in him. And she would have gotten him out of that hell had Obi-Wan not interfered. If you don’t believe me, watch the scene again: Slowly but surely, Anakin’s expression changes totally on speaking with his wife. Padmé was literally reaching out to him, and she was succeeding. Love, as always, was stronger than anything else in him. And Padmé believed in her husband until her very last breath. “Obi-Wan, there is still good in him.”

Din Djarin, the Mandalorian of the eponymous tv show, is an outcast who earns his living with dubious business and has killed his fair share of people. But had anyone attempted to do to his little protégé what Snoke did to Ben Solo, I don’t doubt he would have marched on the Supremacy and strangled him with his bare hands. (At least, he would have died trying.) Han would probably have done the same, but Leia deliberately never told him of Snoke’s influence on her son’s mind ever since before his birth. By the time she finally does, as we witness in TFA, their son has been Kylo Ren for six years. 

Leia, the princess, the general, the war heroine, had feared her son before he was even born because she sensed that he was like her own father. But she had no qualms and no fear accepting and instructing the granddaughter of her worst enemy. Why? 

Because Rey doesn’t waver. She has no doubts. She is not conflicted between both Sides of the Force. In Leia’s eyes, Rey is pure Light Side, so she embraces her wholeheartedly as the child she always wanted. As far as I can remember, Leia has never, the way her brother did, offered love to anyone who didn’t fight on her side. And Rey, who had angrily confronted Luke for his moment of terror which “created Kylo Ren”, did not consider for a moment Leia’s responsibility towards her son. Despite training with Leia for a whole year, she never tells her about Luke’s failure which pushed her son into Snoke’s clutches. Nor does she realize that Leia’s love for her is not unconditional but that it is parallel to her Jedi training. Rey literally becomes both a little girl and a Jedi with Leia, down to wearing pure white for the whole of the last instalment of the trilogy. 

Most fans admire Leia for her rebellious, spirited nature. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s not necessarily such a good thing if one spends one’s whole life fighting instead of learning how to preserve peace. Leia is adamant that the side she’s on must win. Like every Jedi before her, she does not know, want or even consider that what the Force actually needs is Balance; and that both her father and her son were not evil because they were strong on both Sides, but that this meant they might have found balance, had they not met opposition to this in everyone they knew. 

Leia never approached her relationship to her father (at least as far as I know), never tried to understand him better and forgive him the way her brother had. Considering what Vader had done to her and her friends, she can’t be blamed for pushing away her memories and living in terror of the Dark Side. However, on the long run her incapacity or refusal for introspection is not a strength but a weakness. The one who paid the price is her son, and with his fall to the Dark, the whole galaxy again became prey to the terror that she herself had always fought against in first line. 

Vader had been right after all: Leia did fall prey to the Dark Side, though unknowingly. Not only did she give up on her son, she actively helped evil come back to the galaxy by believing to do the right thing: she trained Palpatine’s granddaughter, taught her to deny her own fears and weaknesses, gave her justification for her actions, helped her killing her own “evil” son. If that is not the Dark Side’s influence, I don’t know what it is. Leia denied her son’s potential for good and given up on him long before his fate was sealed, and in the same way she closed her eyes on Rey’s potential for evil. The same “bad” son had to prevent the girl she had taken under her wing from becoming what the old devil Palpatine had in mind, at the cost of his life. 

 Conclusion

 I am not an advocate for feminism on principle. If females can be independent and self-assured, if they shed the cloak of “damsel in distress”, on the downside this also means that they can be or become villains just like men. Many people tend to believe that a woman is naturally better, kinder, softer than a man. The Star Wars saga never bowed to this cliché.

 The idea that a woman does not necessarily need a man is positive on its own, but it becomes poisonous if it undermines female trust in men. Star Wars has a long story of lonely, unhappy men (all three generations of Skywalkers), who were denied their natural right to be needed by their women and to keep their families together. One of Anakin’s dilemmas was that he saw Padmé as being too good for him and wanted to prove to her that he was equal to her in his own way. Ben, ironically, felt that he was not good enough for Rey because he was tainted by his larger-than-life heritage, so he wanted to “let the past die” and start something new and fresh with her.

 A man naturally wishes to protect others, in particular wife and children. But in all three generations, we find these men whose personalities are split in two and cannot reconcile the two halves of their self: Anakin / Vader, Luke / Leia, Ben / Kylo. Due to the similarity in his two names, I expected the last of the Skywalker blood to finally heal the wound in his personality and become one. Had anyone wanted and needed both, Ben and Kylo, he might have. But Kylo was an aberration to everyone including Rey. Kylo was a villainous figure and as a male, he was aggressive and arrogant; but at least he made his own decisions and had chosen his own name, things Ben Solo never got to do.

 This is not to say that the sequels are against strong females or prefer the guys over them: no, the guys f** up at least as often as the women do. But to pretend that Leia’s and / or Rey’s portrayal is unrealistically positive and that “feminism ruined Star Wars” is either extremely short-sighted or a mockery of femaleness.

 It is true that women have more and larger roles in the ST, but I can’t see anything wrong with that. Not any more than with the fact that in the OT there was practically only Leia (the few other female characters almost had no impact on the story), and that there were few females in the PT, too. The Jedi Order consisted almost only of men, and you hardly hear anyone complain.

 I know that many fans dislike Anakin and Ben, but please let us consider why.

 One reason is that in an action movie we usually value coolness in a male protagonist above everything, and that the Skywalkers are hot-headed by nature. Most fans prefer Darth Vader, Han Solo and the likes to the Skywalker men.

 Another reason is that the filmmakers have deliberately manipulated our emotions. The prequels are told from everybody’s point of view but Anakin’s, and the same goes for the sequels with Ben, despite the fact that the trilogies are about them, not about “the Jedi superheroes saviours of the galaxy” or “the almighty and untainted Skywalker family”. So, as viewers we automatically identify emotionally with anyone but them. We never get to really know the “villain’s” point of view, we only see how other people react to them; and since these reactions are much more often negative than positive, we get to the conclusion that both of them are inescapably evil, that they chose to be so, and that they deserve their terrible fate.

 My suggestion: rewatch both trilogies again and this time try to look through Anakin’s or Ben’s eyes. (And possibly also read the novels and the Kylo Ren comics.)

  You could be surprised.

[nekkyousagi]

Knockout...Doctor & Designer?

Doing a little character analysis on TFP Knockout, based on something I read on his official TFWiki page. According to his toy bio, Knockout is the Deception’s weapons designer...not exactly the best one but...willing to experiment and then sell to the highest bidder!

I thought, oh sure create that bio as an excuse to sell more toys with extra cool weapons but...is this actually hinted at in the show?! Going back and re-watching TFP again, there’s actually a lot of reasons for Knockout to be the ‘Mad Doctor’ and...Weapons Designer!

Ever since his first appearance, there are tons of hints to Knockout being some kind of weapons and upgrade specialist and not just Ship’s Doctor. Whether by objectively admiring the frames and mods of other bots, or possibly giving him another reason to flaunts his own. And also explains why he’s constantly fascinated with new and rare gadgets.

In his debut episode, “Dues Ex Machina”, Knockout first assumes he’s been summoned for something not quite medically related. "I take it Lord Megatron requires a laboratory assist?" Experimental lab work for the Decepticons? Well, he does a lot of that later in the show.

And when Starscream comments the reason he’s been called back is for his medical expertise, Knockout responds: "I've done plenty of 'body work', Starscream, but I'm better at breaking 'em than fixing 'em." Body work, as in...body modifications, perhaps???

Next, in “Speed Metal”, he moans over how his specially painted door, ripped off by Optimus in order to save a kidnapped human, is “hard to replace.” Not fix...replace!!! As in, perhaps maybe a good amount of his frame is made of special modifications that can’t just be repaired so easily?? Or that he prefers replacing a part with better options than fixing them??

This is hinted at more at the end of the episode, while Starscream is reprimanding him for his actions, he says, "My mistake, Commander Starscream. But I've learned my lesson and...payed the price."

Paying the price perhaps in a literal sense...? How much energon did your pretty paint job cost, Knockout??? XD [Btw What do they even use for money on Cybertron...??]

His expertise as a weapons dealer is hinted at quite strongly in the episode “Shadowzone”, when Knockout is trying his best to help Starscream heal from his post-Megatron-thrashing, and is quite confused about his Commander’s arm going missing. But instead of trying to fix it, Knockout immediately goes into a sales pitch!! And he’s quite enthusiastic about it! With practiced salesman verbiage...like he’s done this before.

When Starscream refuses the upgrade, Knockout comments, "But Starscream, your equipment is a bit...obsolete. I'm not sure I have another one lying around."

Later he returns with an arm similar to Starscream’s original look...with added FIREPOWER, of course! Just...hanging around “in storage”!

Judging by this scene alone, you could definitely say Knockout was, and perhaps still is, a bit of an...“Arms Dealer.” XD

So...the Decepticons obviously have plenty of storage space on the Nemesis, judging by how much Energon they’re hoarding and Iacon relics and dangerous weapons they gather over the course of the show. But it seems like Knockout is more aware of what they have “in storage” than the other members, even Megatron.

To his credit, Knockout does have a great deal of medical knowledge and skill, wherever he acquired them. It makes him almost the perfect rival to Ratchet, as far as medical and tech abilities. He was very aware of the dangerous properties of Dark Energon and the side-affects of using it [Flying Mind], recognized Ratchet’s unusual increase in strength as probably the result of a ‘chemical enhancement’, [Stronger, Faster] and he showed much finesse when repairing Starscream’s T-Cog [Regeneration] and installing a fallen Prime’s arm to upgrade Megatron. [Alpha / Omega] He even started picking apart the mechanics of the Phase Shifter device before using it on Smokescreen. Quickly analyzing the base engineering despite it being a rare and unique Iacon relic. [Inside Job]

Keeping to the description in his toy bio of calling dibs on quality items, Knockout wanted to keep the Phase Shifter for himself...and on several occasions used rare and powerful weapons to make up for his small size and, most importantly, protect his finish.

Though perhaps not quite as skillful and efficient a scientist as Shockwave, Knockout’s ‘expertise’ in both medical and technological work, and perhaps pitching his collection of black market weapons and mods, was enough to buy him a cushy top spot in the Decepticon hierarchy. Shockwave, as far as the Decepticons knew, until his return in Season 3, was thought to be deceased. So an efficient replacement medic/scientist was needed in the ranks. And Knockout does fulfill the role to the best of his abilities.

Yet, despite his somewhat sadistic willingness to take apart other bots and habit of teasingly threatening victims with non-consensual surgery...

...Knockout seems to have a certain moral aversion toward ‘Biotech’.

This I noticed after the unfortunate demise of his partner Breakdown. Though we never did see him actually grieve for his fallen partner, save a brief sad look, he seemed more appalled and enraged that his partner was taken apart and fused with a human~! Throughout the show he makes many comments about his disgust for organics, calling them ‘fleshies’ and ‘skin jobs’. And as he says in “The Human Factor” and “Thirst”, he’s sure that Breakdown would've been pleased knowing that the one who humiliated his pride, despite now occupying his sparkless shell, would receive the same pain and humiliation he’d felt. I see it as showing Knockout’s more loyal side to his partner in a way not easily understood. Breakdown no doubt witnessed many a bot endure Knockout’s scientific experiments and modifications, playing his role as his assistant, and perhaps the two were less sensitive about the whole matter than you’d think... and not averse to snuffing a spark or two, if necessary. It may have been their way of surviving the war, and may have let them to being recruited by Megatron. Also might explain Breakdown’s odd skill at buffing. You’d need a good balance of strength and care to polish up rare and powerful weapons and parts to get them ready for market.

But not to get side-tracked, it seems convincing from the show that Knockout is much more than just a pretty face. And makes me glad that his moral side did eventually come out, choosing to side with the Autobots...though it may have been self-preservation kicking in. But as he said in the finale, he ‘didn’t have the best role-models.’ So perhaps throughout his life, Knockout’s only way of getting what he wanted was to wheel-and-deal...and maybe steal. Parts, weapons, buying and selling, swooning and crooning, whatever it took to survive. While still looking out for number 1...

[hello-that-happened]

Noelle Stevenson’s She-Ra, Vanguard of a Postchristian Era

Plenty of She-Ra fans have written insightful posts about how the show criticizes the brainwashing, trauma, set-in-stone “destiny,” desire suppression, imperialism, and blind obedience of (toxic) Christianity. I wrote one a little while ago about how She-Ra challenges fundamentalist Christian values by accepting existential humanism instead. I want to situate these discussions in a larger cultural context, because Noelle and her fantastic show are the face of a massive sociocultural shift in the United States.

Before I start generalizing to tell the story of past and future American history, I need to say a few caveats: (1) there are plenty of kind, progressive, and/or LGBT+ people who are Christians; (2) it is okay to be Christian; (3) She-Ra does not necessarily criticize every form of Christianity, because some forms are not necessarily toxic; (4) Christians deserve the same respect as everyone else; and (5) as long as there is a United States, it will probably have millions of Christians among its citizens. I hope that covers all my bases.

With that said, let’s talk about the history of American Christianity. 

Background: The Rise of the Christian Right

Main source and further reading: “Secularization Strikes Back: The End of American Religion?” in Providence Magazine

Americans are living through a sociocultural transition unprecedented in our history. For many years, the United States has bucked a global trend of secularization. As countries industrialize and become wealthy, their citizens care less about religion – except for Americans.

The U.S. has stayed so religious for so long for many reasons, but one of the most important has been American religion’s historical distance from politics. Decisions by the “founding fathers” deserve plenty of criticism, but one of their best decisions was to oppose a national church. 

“The famous Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville, who visited the United States in the 1830s,” explained why European Christianity lost its influence then and American Christianity is losing its own: “Famously, he attributed the strength of American religion to its distance from politics.” The further religion stayed away from politics, the stronger it remained. European religion lost power, per Tocqueville, because “religion allied with power was inevitably tainted by factional political interests.”

Let’s fast-forward to modern times. In the late 20th century, the Republican Party realized that it could gain political power by whipping up Christian evangelicals’ hatred of (among other things, like racial integration) the rising social tolerance of sexual freedom. Opposition to these changes catapulted Ronald Reagan to power in 1981 on a wave of the new “Moral Majority,” a coalition of reactionary Christians who wanted the government to legally enforce conservative Christian values on the nation. Since then, the “Christian Right” has remained the most powerful force in the Republican Party. 

Background pt. 2: The Future Strikes Back

Main source and further reading: “The Christian Right Is Helping Drive Liberals Away From Religion” from FiveThirtyEight

For the last 30 years, non-Republican Americans have grown increasingly disgusted with how Christianity merged with Republican politics. Moderates, liberals, and progressives have fled Christianity in record numbers, leading to the highest level of nonreligious Americans in history. 

The straw which broke the camel’s back was marriage equality. In states where Christian conservatives caused more public controversy over gay marriage, nonreligion rose faster. Younger generations, the Millennials (born ‘81-‘96) and Gen Z (born ‘97-‘12), overwhelmingly approve of marriage equality – partly because an unprecedented percentage of us identify as LGBT+, and partly because most of us who don’t at least know a friend or family member who is LGBT+.

“The younger generation, Americans under the age of 30 — more than eight in 10 of them support same-sex marriage…[It's] a litmus test issue for many millennials in the country. It’s not just that conservative white Christians have lost this argument with a broader liberal culture. It’s that they’ve lost it with their own kids and grandchildren.” –Robert P. Jones

Generational warfare strongly shapes American political discourse, where young Americans are much more likely to be secular progressives who support LGBT+ rights, and older Americans are much more likely to be conservative Christians who do not.

That brings us, finally, to Noelle Stevenson and She-Ra.

Noelle Stevenson Tells the Ex-Christian Story

I couldn’t exclude this absolutely amazing image by @horde-princess​:

Noelle Stevenson was raised in a fundamentalist Christian household. Her family taught her that homosexuality conflicts with “God’s plan” for people’s lives, and that some people are born destined to suffer in hell. At her fundamentalist Christian high school, Noelle took a class in apologetics learning how to argue in defense of evangelical Christianity. One of the “facts” she learned is that listening to "Stairway to Heaven” causes demonic possession. Yes, really.

As Noelle grew up, her family’s religion’s strict control over her mind began to crumble. To quote the goddess of she-ra religion posts @horde-princess​, “Noelle describes herself going off to college and having her eyes opened, meeting gay people for the first time in her life, and realizing that they weren’t amoral devil worshippers like she was raised to believe.” Struggling with her own gay feelings, she eventually came to accept them and marry the woman she loved.

In a recent Q&A (and many other times), Noelle has described projecting herself into her characters so much that fan analysis reveals aspects of herself she never realized. She poured her experience into She-Ra, and thousands of (especially LGBT+) fans who grew up in strict Christian households saw their own struggles playing out on the screen. I suspect this relatable quality drove part of the show’s popularity and its staying power.

She-Ra is becoming a cultural phenomenon, building on the success of other LGBT+ friendly family cartoons like Steven Universe to spread its messages around the U.S. and the rest of the world. Netflix does not release viewership numbers, which makes it difficult to judge She-Ra’s popularity. But an unpopular show would not have enough fans to trend again and again on Twitter demanding a sixth season and/or a movie. She-Ra is not going away – but Christian hegemony is.

Save the Future

We can overcome the Christian Right Horde.

The more that people watch She-Ra, the more they are exposed to its message that LGBT+ love is a positive good against the evil forces of self-shaming religious imperialism. Kids who grow up with She-Ra will hear Christians using Horde Prime’s language to oppose LGBT+ rights, and will learn to fight the Horde in their own country: the Christian Right.

After selling their proverbial souls to the Christian Right decades ago, Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation are waking up in an America that they do not own anymore. This panic led them to hide behind Trump, hoping that he could fight back against the cultural tide. But Trump has only alienated moderates, liberals, and progressives further from Christianity. His divisive, hateful, reactionary rhetoric can only accelerate the already-exponential rise of nonreligion in the United States. When the Christian Right accepted Trump as their savior, they surrendered their future.

By turning the United States against itself and giving the fossil fuel industry free reign to wreck our environment, Trump and his worshippers are determined to destroy the future before the post-Christian generation can claim it for ourselves. Noelle Stevenson and her masterpiece show She-Ra are a near-perfect figurehead for our generation’s resistance against rising suicide-cult tendencies of the Christian Right. We can fight back, and She-Ra shows us how: with love and forgiveness to those who are willing to change, but with strength and bravery against those who want to force us back into the closet and back into the strictly-controlled dogmatic cult of American evangelical Christianity.

[thegayhimbo]

True Blood Season 1 Review, Part 2 of 2 (Spoilers Ahead)

Apologies for this coming a few days later. It’s been a busy week, and I’m only starting to discover how time-consuming these reviews can be. I’m also currently in the middle of re-watching season 2 (and you can check out my ongoing thoughts about that season as I post about it). For later reviews of the True Blood seasons, I may just give general thoughts on what I liked and didn’t like. The only exceptions will be if I want to do a separate character/story analysis from a particular season.

In any case, let’s get cracking. 

To start off, I will be honest that, even as someone who identifies as gay and seeks out LGBT+ representation in media, the “vampires as a metaphor for oppressed minorities” message never worked for me (at least not in the way the show presents it). For one thing, I found the metaphor redundant and unnecessary when you already had minority characters like Lafayette and Tara (both of whom are black and part of the LGBT+ community) who could represent themselves without becoming vampires. There’s also the fact that both of them had to struggle with relatable real life issues (racism, sexism, homophobia, socioeconomic status, etc) than affected them on a daily basis. Scenes like Lafayette’s AIDS Burger speech for instance did more to convey the homophobic bullshit Lafayette constantly deals with, and I wish the show had expanded more on those moments.

The other part is I don’t think the metaphor was as clever or well-thought out as the writers wanted it to be because of the way they set up vampire society. If anything, the show accidentally undermines its message about tolerance based on how vampires act/behave on the show and what they do to humans. 

One thing that always irritated me (especially in season 1) is how the writers consistently downplayed when humans had valid reasons to be wary of vampires that wasn’t just rooted in bigotry: Over the course of the show (and even in the books) we find out many vampires have kidnapped, raped, tortured, drained, and killed humans in the past, or else turned them into vampires without their consent. We see this in season 1 with Malcom’s nest, Bill’s trial, and the murders/abductions vampires perpetrate against humans. Nan Flannigan (the spokesperson for the AVL) mentions at one point that vampires usually kill humans, and must consistently cover it up and lie about it on TV because she knows it makes vampires look unsympathetic. There’s also the entitled and bigoted attitude vampires have towards humans where they see them as either food, pets, slaves, or disposable commodities. What’s worse is vampires like Malcom, Diane, and The Magister (who’s a high ranking official in the vampire government) have comment on this:

From “Mine” (1x03):

Diane: Not everyone wants to dress up and play human.

Malcolm: Not everybody thinks it was such a great idea. And not everybody intends to tow the party line. Honey, if we can't kill people, what's the point of being a vampire?

From “I Don’t Wanna Know” (1x10):

Magister: Humans exist to serve us. That is their only value.

Some might say that you can’t judge the actions of a few vampires and equate that with all vampires. However, the problem is this isn’t just a case of a few vampires. Vampire culture and society in the books and the show are based solidly on seeing humans as either inferior beings, food, or subservient slaves who only exist to serve vampires. This attitude is deeply engrained, and has been for thousands of years. It constantly affects the way they relate to and interact with humans, and as I pointed out earlier, vampires have a history of kidnapping and killing humans that goes back centuries.

Humans have only known about vampires for 2 years as of season 1 (they came out of the coffin in 2006, and the show starts in 2009) whereas vampires have committed atrocities against humans for THOUSANDS of years, and have arguably acted as the oppressors in those situations. They have advantages that humans don’t (glamouring, superspeed, super strength, ability to drain, etc.) that make them dangerous, and they have chosen to keep some of those abilities from humans because it’s convenient for them to do so. And since many vampires can’t or won’t control themselves (or else make justifications for why it’s okay to treat humans the way they do), that is a BIG PROBLEM for humans who get caught in their crosshairs.

Likewise, as we find out in the later seasons, the vampire government is depicted as corrupt and self-serving (to say nothing of how humans are procured for the monarchs/chancellors, or the barbaric justice system they have), and their entire mainstreaming agenda is more interested in pretending to be civilized for humans (and encouraging vampires not to get caught feeding on humans) rather than actually trying to get vampires to change for the better. It’s also mentioned in season 4 (by Bill of all people) that vampires have a history of infiltrating human organizations (like the Catholic Church) to carry out their agendas. All of this was depicted over the course of the show.

Please note I am NOT saying that humans are guiltless in the way they’ve treated vampires. If anything, season 1 was pretty clear about showing how bigoted humans could be towards vampires. We had drainers like Amy Burley and the Rattarays who targeted vampires for their blood because of it’s magical abilities. Likewise, we were also shown hate crimes towards vampires (the rednecks who burn down Malcom’s nest) and organizations like The Fellowship of the Sun who were heavily anti-vampire. 

But the thing is the show clearly frames such bigotry in a negative light. The message that both the books and the show emphasize is that humans must learn to be tolerant of vampires. Characters like Jason, Tara, and Arlene are expected to grow and become more open-minded about vampires, no matter what kind of reprehensible crimes vampires commit. 

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing..............except that the show perpetrates a double-standard regarding how vampires treat humans vs how humans are expected to treat vampires.

It would be one thing if the books and the show took the position that vampire’s treatment of humans is bigotry that needs to change. Instead, the books and show frame it as "that's just the way they are, and it’s their nature, so deal with it." I cannot begin to describe how many times I’ve heard this excuse from fans whenever the vampires do something morally reprehensible. The problem is that completely undermines the message of tolerance that the books and the show constantly emphasize. You can't be tolerant of someone who sees you as food, who intends to harm you, and who views you as subservient to them. It also doesn't work to claim that humans must treat vampires as equals but it's okay for vampires to still indulge their bigoted attitude towards humans and treat them as inferiors, or that it’s okay for vampires to torture/rape/drain/kill/abduct humans because “that’s just who they are.” 

And please spare me the rape and abuse apologies, or the excuses of “you can’t apply human morality to vampires” or “there are different rules” or whatnot. I’ve heard them before, I don’t agree with them, and as stated, I think they undermine any message of tolerance and learning to co-exist peacefully with others who are different from you. There is a BIG DIFFERENCE in my eyes between a vampire who needs to feed on a human for survival, and a vampire who tortures/rapes/inflicts pain on a human out of sadistic pleasure or just because they can. There is nothing relatable or sympathetic about a character who perpetrates that kind of evil on someone else, and I’m done seeing people trying to make justifications for why it is. 

In any case, this is just my take on how the “vampires as a metaphor for oppressed minorities.” I don’t know if I’ll get blowback for this (I suspect that I will), but I wanted to clarify on the reasons I had problems with how the vampires are portrayed and how that contradicts the message of tolerance and peaceful co-existence that both the books and the show claim to endorse. 

[theunderdogwrites]

If you have a problem with Cookie Monster, then I have a problem with you.

Someone recently asked me how I come up with things to write about and post. Well, these posts are bona fide dumps of random thoughts that sneak in when I’m not engaging any part of my brain. I love them because they’re unpolished and exactly how my mind endlessly prattles on in conversation with itself. Truth be told, it’s usually in the shower. And the dumping of these words here is comparable to spring cleaning. It helps to declutter the mind too from time to time.

Last week my Mom and I were talking about the recent decision by Dr. Seuss Enterprises to stop publishing six of their books because of racist and insensitive imagery. For all the people screaming out there – THE COMPANY MADE THIS CHOICE. They were not forced by cancel culture, but rather listened and took feedback from audiences including teachers, academics and specialists in the field as part of a review process. This is called being responsible and allowing for growth through intelligent conversations. The company recognizes that certain depictions of Asians and Black people are hurtful and wrong and have taken steps to acknowledge these facts. They are NOT banning these books and have said they’re committed to listening and learning going forward.

Here is the list of the six book titles and the year they were first published:

- And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937)

- McElligot’s Pool (1947)​

- If I Ran the Zoo (1950)

- Scrambled Eggs Super! (1953)

- On Beyond Zebra (1955)

- The Cat’s Quizzer (1976)

Have you ever stumbled upon a journal or something you wrote 10 years ago and it made you cringe? Anyone who says NO to this is probably in possession of some of the worst poetry by their hand, in the world. I know that if I was to release some of the stuff I wrote down from a number of years ago (and in reality, some stuff as recent as 3-4 years ago) I’d be embarrassed by their level of absolute lameness. I write with emotion and unless you’re Tucker Carlson or stunted inside from your head to your toes, you know what it means to evolve. It is what we’re supposed to do, otherwise we are simply stuck in one place forever and I for one can’t think of anything more grotesque than remaining the same.

“You are being presented with a choice: evolve or remain. If you choose to remain unchanged, you will be presented with the same challenges, the same routine, the same storms, the same situations, until you learn from them, until you love yourself enough to say “no more”, until you choose change.

If you choose to evolve, you will connect with the strength within you, you will explore what lies outside the comfort zone, you will awaken to love, you will become, you will be. You have everything you need.

Choose to evolve. Choose love.”

Creig Crippen

It is OK to make mistakes, especially when you don’t know any better. Applying how we have grown as a society to the way we behaved 80 years ago is absurd. We are allowed the opportunity to become better before an angry mob comes along and without discussion wants to rip our character to shreds. There are so many chances for real conversations to promote development that are not happening because people are being so quick to condemn and cancel. Fucking stop it! You’re not a crusader. You’re not the moral authority. You are not the Universe’s gift to man/womankind placed here to draw red circles and X’s on every little thing you deem ‘incorrect’. What you are, I suspect, is empty. And I do not know what it is you’re missing, but you won’t find it in a state of ‘over-wokeness’ and tumbling around looking to smite Cookie Monster for passionately enjoying baked goods.

There have been calls to tear down statues and eradicate movies and people for basically what is THE PAST. If you have an actual working time machine, I suppose you can go back to the set of ‘Dirty Harry’ because apparently:

“The film mocks liberal judges and do-gooders, and the villain claims police brutality, planting the seed that other such charges are fake moves to get sympathy.”

I can’t even with that one.

The removal of statues… ok, I understand this one. But I am not of the mind where these statues should be destroyed and essentially erased from history. I am fully onboard with placing the offending bronzed individuals into a museum with a plaque stating something along the lines of: ‘Once upon a time many of us had some crazy fear-based ideas and poor ethics that marginalized large groups of our fellow human beings and created negative stereotypes resulting in a great deal of hurt. We are trying to be better than those placed before you behind the velvet ropes.’

The past cannot be expunged. But it can be a teaching tool. And in some cases, the past can be used to say – “We still suck, but we’re at least trying to evolve into improved people!”

Sadly, instead, we’re taking down Pepé Le Pew. Let’s not believe women when they come forward with claims of sexual abuse, but let’s ban together and get this cartoon skunk with perceived rapist qualities, cancelled. Bravo. Has Pepé Le Pew been a naughty guy? Well, if you break down his actions through the lens of adults – he is incredibly aggressive and borders on being a pervert. I also suspect he’s a chronic masturbater. I grew up watching Looney Tunes (which should surprise NO ONE) and I never liked that skunk. But not because he was overly persistent in his search for love, rather because he was so obnoxious. Worst character on the show. If anything, the French should be offended because I grew up believing all French people were smelly, forceful jerks.

I am flabbergasted at what we are finding urgent and of significance these days. We allow ourselves to become distracted with the stupidest things; revealing exactly where our priorities are placed. Now do not come at me and accuse me of saying racism is not important. Sit your little crusading ass back down because that is not a thought I’d ever possess. This post is not about racism.

I do not give a flying fuck if you hate Megan Markle, love Megan Markle or think Oprah practices her reactionary facial expressions daily in the mirror, but the fact a pregnant woman went on TV in front of MILLIONS of people and admitted to being suicidal while pregnant with her first child and was met with indifference, ridicule and hate… is fucking disgusting.

The mental health status of a pregnant mother is less important than going after Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street because he is misrepresenting homelessness. Oscar is NOT homeless. He lives in a garbage can and if you knew anything, you’d know that garbage can is spacious and in terms of square footage, it is probably the most expensive home in the neighborhood. See? I can distract with silly things too.

I am going to end all this randomness with a warning…

Victor Frankenstein created his monster from old body parts and strange chemicals and it was brought to life by a mysterious spark. The monster is large and strong but with the intelligence of a newborn. Victor abandons the monster, leaving him confused and when he tries to integrate himself into society, he is shunned. Seeking revenge on his creator, he kills Victor’s younger brother. Then after Victor destroys his work on the female monster meant to ease the monster’s pain and solitude, the monster murders Victor’s best friend and then his new wife.

Ok, I think it is wonderful that our society is taking inventory of certain items and doing our best to right some wrongs… even though I believe many people are being persnickety assholes. But what has been created recently… let’s call it ‘cancel culture’, where “THEY” (please someone tell me who all the THEY people are because I’d like to know who is this organized) seemingly go in search of people, places and things to ostracise… is starting to create a monster of a backlash. (Again, this is not about race/racism so don’t start chirping about white privilege etc.)

If you listen carefully, you can hear the groaning. And the frustration. This isn’t about going after history or childhood memories and bleaching them clean of inappropriateness by today’s standards, it’s about trying to control what people are allowed to think, feel and speak. And the people are getting annoyed. Just like Frankenstein’s Monster when his grotesque appearance wasn’t accepted by society. And we all know what happened next.

[themidnightfarmer]

Delivering forgiveness|| Remmy & Jared

Timing: After the initial ring escape sometime.

Location: Jareds farm

Tagging: @whatsin-yourhead & @themidnightfarmer

Description: Remmy delivers a thank you card and gets forgiven.

Triggers: None I think?

It was immediately worrisome to Remmy that the front gate of Lydia’s walkway stopped them as they headed out. A long stretch of empty road expanded in front of them as the world warped-- black figures huddled around the sides of their vision, creeping closer. Remmy froze, hand on the gate, and screwed their eyes shut, counting down from ten. 10. They were safe. 9. There was nothing there. 8. No one was going to hurt them. 7. They were safe. 6. No one was going to kill them. 5. It’s just one gate. 4. They weren’t going back into those cages. 3. No one was there to take them. 2. They were safe. 1. They were safe. When Remmy opened their eyes next, the road was back to normal. Drawing in a breath, they swung the gate open, stepped out and waited with bated breath for something to happen. But nothing did. They shut it quickly, then, and scurried off down the road, to the bus stop. They’d timed it just so that they wouldn’t be waiting at the stop alone too long, and scrambled on. Relaxing once they were settled into a seat surrounded by several others. 

The bus dropped them off just outside of town, where Jared said his farm was. Remmy didn’t know there were farms in a place like this, but they supposed it made sense. Why not? This place had literally everything else. As Remmy came up the dirt driveway, the farm came into view. It looked welcoming, and near the second gate that Remmy would have to go through that day stood a man, lanky and beaming. Remmy gave a short wave as she approached, recognizing Jared, even though the last time they’d seen them they’d been covered in blood and shoved in a car. They faintly remembered the other form he’d had, wispy and tall, but put the thought away for now. “Hey!” they said as they made it up to him. “Hope you weren’t, um-- standing around too long?”

Jared placed himself where he usually did when he was executing someone to the farm. At the end of the long dirt trail, but right at the outer fence gate. He was sat on the tall wooden fence when he spotted them coming up the trail. Hopping down he raised a friendly hand in greeting and tried to project as welcoming a vibe as he could. He knew once they were inside the gates they might rethink wanting to come over. But hopefully he could prove trustworthy enough to convince them to stay when that moment came. 

“Hey! Not long at all, don't sweat it.” The nymph jerked his head towards the gate and heaved it open to let them in. “Most of my kids are on the other side of the property right now.” He explained as Jared started walking backwards and leading them towards the house. “How was your trip to the carnival?” He asked politely. 

Remmy felt a bit of their nerves rising in their throat when they stepped through the gate, watching it close behind them. They weren’t’ trapped here, the land was wide open. Everything was going to be fine. They looked back over at Jared and gave as much of a smile as they could muster. “Okay, good,” they answered, rubbing the back of their neck a moment, “other side? Do you...have a lot of kids?” Blinking, they peered around, trying to spot someone, but they couldn’t even hear much of anything. They stiffened at the mention of the carnival. “It went fine,” they lied quickly, before moving the subject along, “have you um-- lived here long? In, uh, White Crest?”

“Oh yeah loads, over thirty. I’m really lucky to have them. They’re a handful but...well Nymph and all I want to keep them safe you know?” Jared smiled. He noticed the hasty reply and politely ignored it. Instead giving them a warm smile and turning around again to walk side by side. “Lived on this farm all my life actually. Appeared in town, and my family took me home here. Left it for me when dad got a job out of state and wanted to trade in the farm life for something more desk based.” He shrugs with a smile. “We never got on well, but I was the only kid to show an interest, and they wanted to keep the house in the family. But what about you? Lived here long?”

“Thirty!?” Remmy sputtered a little, shaking their head. They weren’t one to judge, but thirty was a lot of kids. They blinked again, but tried to wipe the surprise off their face. “That’s...that’s a lot. Is there anyone here that like...helps you?” They paused a moment. They knew the word nymph from fables but didn’t know they were real. Then again, what wasn’t real at this point? Remmy glanced over at Jared. “Uh, sorry...what’re nymphs? I-- I’m still kinda new to all of this,” they muttered, “I only died like...a year or so ago. It um-- took me a while to figure out what I was. But I won’t hurt you!” they tacked on quickly, holding their hands up, “Or your kids! Pr--” The ‘P’ word stuck in their throat again and they swallowed it down. “You don’t have to worry. But uh...I haven’t been here too long, since uh, November last year?”

“Yeah, they just keep showing up you know? I think this time next year I’ll have to build another barn.” The nymph laughed. “Just me though, not really safe to have people on hand to deal with them. They’re you know...vicious so.” He was so used to people either knowing everything, or not knowing anything. That the in-between stage was throwing his brain for a loop. He hadn’t yet caught up to the fact Remmy had no idea he was talking about creatures and not human kids. Jared recoiled at the almost promise, but relaxed again soon after as they approached the house. He hopped up the steps and threw the door open with no resistance -the only people who locked the thing being Nell and Blanche when they came and went. “Nymph. I’m Fae. I’m the nymph for my kids. Nymph of vicious creatures.” He explained heading inside. “Want a drink?”

Remmy’s head was spinning by the time they made it up to the house. They didn’t quite understand why he was being so blase about having so many kids, and more showing up, and keeping them in a barn!? But then he said the word vicious creatures and it suddenly clicked into place-- he was talking about animals not children. It would have been a relief had the word Fae also not been in the sentence. They never wanted to be the kind of person to judge someone by their species, but they couldn’t help the stiffening of their limbs when he said it. Was he a good Fae? Was he nice? Did he try and trick people into promises? Remmy didn’t know Jared all that well, but Nell did-- and Remmy trusted Nell. And so, they decided they would trust Jared. They had to. “Oh, uh-- no, that’s okay. I don’t really um...I wouldn’t be able to taste it, anyway,” they said finally, stepping inside. The door closing behind them made a soft clicking noise and Remmy’s hands tightened on the envelope in their hands. “Oh, uh-- here,” they muttered, holding it out, “I’m not really good at these things, but I made you a thank you card. Is that weird? I-if it’s weird I can just...throw it away. And it’s not even really a card, I couldn’t think of anything not cheesy to say so it’s just a sketch of the ferris wheel because you said you liked the carnival and-- I-I swear I’m not creepy! I’m sorry, I’m rambling,” they cleared their throat, and held up the card once again, “Um...thanks. For coming for us.”

“Oh right, of course.” Jared spared them a sheepish grin before instead leaning on the counter in the kitchen. His eyes flickered down to the envelope and then up to look at them again curiously, like a confused labrador, while they explained. He started into action when they spoke of throwing it away. “Woah hey no don’t throw it out. Hey, thanks for the card.” the nymph held his hand out for it and smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I’m happy I could help get you out of there. That place…. Well it’s high on my shit list I can tell you that for free.” He mumbled leaning back against the table to rip open the card as a distraction from thinking about the ring. 

Remmy relaxed when he took the card, not realizing how worried they’d been about it at first. It seemed like they were worried about everything these days. They didn’t like it. They missed being able to go outside without being afraid, and being able to talk and meet new people without worrying about accidentally binding themself to a promise. “It’s...yeah,” they muttered, eyes dropping to the floor, shifting between their feet. “It’s not a good place.” But what were they supposed to do about it? It wasn’t like they had the power or the strength to actually make a difference there. Though they’d let out a lot of creatures when they’d escaped, the Ring would never stop. Not until it was gone completely. “I’m sorry you got caught up in that.”

Jared opened the card and smiled at it, he then propped it open on the counter beside the empty fruit bowl. “I was already sort of caught up in it honestly.” Jared was reminded of Ronald, and his decision to let the man go. He grimaced and tried to cover it up for the comfort of Remmy, who was clearly having a hard time with the topic. “Place like that isn’t good for who I am, and my kids you know?” No animal or person should be forced to fight against their will. Jared had a hard time battling with his morals over hunting, and self defence against his creatures, but there at least most people shared the same values. No one should be forced to do something, especially if that something might potentially hurt themselves.

“You were?” Remmy asked, a bit perplexed. But when Jared brought up his kid again-- the creatures-- they realized why he might have been. As it slowly clicked into place, Remmy felt their skin prickle. Jared was some sort of supernatural who was connected with vicious creatures. And he knew about the ring. And in the ring, they had monster. Otherwise known as-- Remmy blinked, shaking their head. “You-- that’s why during the escape--” they paused, unsure of what they were trying to say, “You said you were a nymph for creatures? What, um-- what does that mean?”

He nodded and gave a half shrug crossing his arms and heaving a sigh. “Week before everything with you and Nell someone got onto the farm and tried to take one of mine.” It made Jared cringe. He felt guilty and angry, even now after it all. The nymph smiled apprehensively at the question, “We’re connected. It’s hard to explain, but it’s like a low base feeling of energy. It gets stronger the closer a creature is and how good we are together.” He paused for a moment trying to make it simpler. “Uh, put it like this maybe…. If they suffer I suffer. My role on earth is to offer protection and help the balance. But they’re hunted so consistently it’s more like I’m trying to claw even a small pull in our direction.”

Remmy felt their chest begin to clench. The more Jared talked, the more he explained, the tighter it gripped. It almost felt suffocating, even if they couldn’t breath. They couldn’t keep looking at Jared once they were sure what he was saying was true-- he was connected to the monsters they had fought. Had hurt. Had killed. Their actions had caused direct suffering to someone and Remmy wrenched their eyes shut, clenching their jaw. “I’m sorry,” they said, rather suddenly, voice cracking, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I never meant-- I thought it was-- I thought I was doing good, but I know now I wasn’t, and I-- I’m so sorry.”

Jared looked a little guilty that he’d caused the other so much anguish. But at the same time, all he’d spoken was the truth. He simply was connected to his charges, he simply did have a low ache in his bones because of their near constant demise. It was true, but it wasn’t anyone's fault. He was built this way, and bias against his kids wasn’t going to change in his lifetime. He was slowly coming around to the idea that, maybe sorry would have to be enough. The people who harmed his creatures more often than not didn’t see them any other way than dangerous. It wasn’t fair but that was ALSO the truth. “It’s.... a lot of people think it’s for the best. I don’t blame you. I won’t blame you.” The nymph sighed. “All I can ask is if you’ll do differently now you know, and if you will...that’s everything to me.”

“Of course I will!” Remmy said immediately. “Of course! I never-- it was just-- I thought it was okay without ever questioning it, and I-- I know that was wrong now. That that-- that way of thinking is what got me into that position in the first place.” They remembered the clenching feeling inside, remembered the terror they’d felt when Jax had snapped his fingers and Nell had crumpled. The defeat in their bones as they’d laid in that cage, thinking they’d never get out. All because they’d been so desperate to feel good at something, to be good at something without questioning the why or the how or the what. They shook their head. “I don’t wanna hurt anyone ever again. Not people, not supernaturals, not mon-- er, creatures. That’s not...that’s not me anymore.”

He wanted to say it was okay. But honestly to Jared it wasn't right to say that. All he could offer was forgiveness from himself. “Hey, really. That’s all we can ask for.” He tried to be soothing, his tone of voice trying to be as gentle as he could possibly make it. Even when he was so clearly uncomfortable with the memories of the feeling from back in the ring. “Making a change like that is really going to be big.” The nymph wanted to be encouraging, but all he could offer was what made him feel like everyone should make and stick to a switch like that in ideology. “I could uh...help maybe? I could...introduce you to some of my kids? Make a fresh start? I know bits and pieces that might help...reduce the danger to you and them both?”

Remmy wasn’t sure they deserved this kindness, but they were thankful for it all the same. Messing up usually meant anger, especially from older, authoritative figures. But Jared was gentle and he reminded them of Lydia. They looked up at him again finally, wringing their hands through their shirt before quelling the anxious fiddling by clasping them together. “You...could do that?” they asked, curiosity in their voice. They weren’t sure how to separate the idea that they’d killed so many by their hands with being able to form some sort of relationship to them, but they knew they wanted to try. That’s all they could do now, right? Try? “I...if you’re okay with that, I think I’d like that.”

Jared flashed them a smile. “We have a lot of babies at the moment. Summer is prime time for the farm so the little ones are still not grown enough to be scary. I can show you them, tell you about them. Tell you how to get away with as little damage to you and them as possible. It’s not always that you’ll be able to do that, and it’s okay to defend yourself. But maybe we can put some good stuff in your noggin. It’s a good start yeah?” The nymph tapped his head and shrugged. “They’re wild animals, I don’t see them how others do, so you’ll have to tell me if I get too weird.” He laughed before gesturing to the door. “We can start with the most tame kid I have if you like. He’s not a baby, but he’s not wild like the others. Someone tried to domesticate him, but they treated him poorly so a rescue was staged and now he stays here. What do you say?”

Remmy could feel the relief building inside of them as Jared spoke. He didn’t seem angry or mad, maybe just upset. Which was totally valid. He deserved to be upset and they knew that, while maybe they didn’t entirely deserve this guilt, they needed to feel it. They needed to see the consequence to their decision and face it head on. And the way Jared described them, the way he felt, it helped. It helped them realize that these were just...creatures. Animals. Supernatural, perhaps, but they were just wild animals. After a long moment, they nodded. “Yeah…I-I think I’d like that. I wanna meet them. I wanna know more.”