#it reduces them to JUST 'bad guy with no feelings' which just. isn't compelling as a character. this isn't to say that every villainous

[rotruff]

can i say something controversial. writers who sarcastically write for a character who's cold / a villain / etc. romantically and then the writing is just 'they would hate you / wouldnt happen' or something along those lines are so uncreative and boring its not even funny

[strawberryclementine]

For the Character ask game, Naoto, Hina, Hanma. Hope you doing well 🤗

Hey thank you for the ask! I hope you've been well too ⊂⁠(⁠(⁠・⁠▽⁠・⁠)⁠)⁠⊃ Take a moment for yourself~

Oof this is an interesting selection of characters let's gooo~~~ (this ended up being long, so I'm putting a read more)

one aspect about them i love

Naoto: He's the best little brother ever! His dedication in the series is immense and he is such a loving, devoted guy Hina: She is so passionate! It's actually crazy how she slapped Mikey early on in the series just because she thought he was intimidating Takemichi. Not to mention the fact she wears that clover necklace for over a decade. Hanma: His character design is super cool ✨ One of my favourites!

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

Naoto: I think in general he's understood pretty well, but he doesn't get enough credit for how well he handles the time leaping situation and only being the trigger to it. He's a wonderful brother and I will say this every day forever. Honestly, I would simply go insane if I was him Hina: She is more complex than she gets credit for and it bums me out that she's most often treated as a prize to be won! We all know she is a hero character and has moments in which she parallels Takemichi, but she also has moments that are parallel to Kisaki. She's more complex than the pure, innocent girl that she is often reduced to after the Tenjiku Arc. I think it's important to be aware of how Hinata is treated like a prop in the series and how it worsens (especially after Tenjiku). We know Kisaki sees her as a prize to be won, and when he dies, Hinata marries Takemichi in the next timeline. This makes sense, but the moment Kisaki dies, any exploration of Hinata's complexity is abruptly ended. We see no reaction from her about Kisaki's death and she has little struggles or very complex moments for the rest of the series, even though the events of her life are undoubtedly troubling and complex. Her fading to the background after Kisaki dies truly made her feel like a prize to be earned by Takemichi, as the reader is intended to simply assume they will be together forever now that the Big Bad Kisaki is dead. She belongs to Takemichi after that, so her struggles are no longer relevant and no longer shown: the reader isn't supposed to feel her non-romantic struggles matter anymore. The story sees her as a prize from all angles, unfortunately. Of course, I adore the Takemichi and Hina pairing, and them getting married is certainly what I always wanted, but I will say this again and again that the way it is presented is not something I enjoy. It'd be interesting/compelling that she was still treated this way if the narrative was aware of it, but unfortunately it's not.. Hanma: He's a really open-ended character, so idk what to say. He'll always be a time leaper to me LOL

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character

Naoto: I don't think he had many friends as a kid because he was kind of awkward. I feel like he would have and imaginary friend. Maybe of some occult creature. Hina: She is in the school orchestra on piano and is known for her skills. She also participates in competitions for piano, which her dad makes her do. She prefers the casual atmosphere of the school music room. Hanma: He's the kind of guy who eats sour candy. He somehow likes it, lol.

one character i love seeing them interact with

Naoto: Takemichi!!!!!!!!!!!!! He doesn't really interact with anyone else Hina: I could be obvious and say Takemichi but let's be funny and say Hakkai. Her interaction with him in the anime was hilarious! Hanma: Kisaki!!! Hanma is so loyal to him and for what? What is the story of the Pierrot and the Reaper? 😭

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more

Naoto: Kisaki or Mikey. These two were his main targets as a detective but they never interacted. It would have been cool to see a young, oblivious Naoto interacting with either of them. Hina: Kisaki! The man has her killed in every timeline and yet they don't have a single conversation in the main series in middle school. Hanma: Draken!!! I love their fights because they feel like equal opponents and have totally different motives and personalities. I wish they had a more developed rivalry.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character

Naoto: I have a headcanon that he met Kisaki once when he was maybe 10, when Hina invited him to the house on the way home. Kisaki beats him in chess so Naoto hates him LOL Hina: I think she and Yuzuha would become good friends after the Black Dragons Arc. They probably go to cafés together. Maybe they go to an arcade! Hanma: I imagine him uprooting flowers from random lawns to give to Kisaki, dropping dirt around as he carries it over to him. He does it even when Kisaki tells him to stop.

Character Ask Game!

[thefirstknife]

Some of the more interesting bits of today's reset and dialogues. I loved this from Mara. She acknowledges her participation in steering Uldren towards his downfall AND she realises that she will have to do better with him in the future. This is from the ending dialogue when you finish the exotic quest for the Ager's Scepter.

I want to mention something from the start of the week because I've seen people get angry (but when do they not when it comes to Mara?)

Long post under read more:

It's about the discussion she and Ikora have at the terminal. Hot take, but both Mara and Ikora are right and wrong in the argument. Transcript:

Mara: "How long have your Hidden been privy to Uldren's resurrection?" Ikora: "Long enough to watch over him in your absence." Mara: "And you didn't direct him home. Why?" Ikora: "There was a concern he'd pick up some old habits." Mara: "You know the Garden made him sick. Riven twisted his mind. Eris would have seen it. She is not so easily deceived by skin-deep tricks." Ikora: "It's true I made mistakes, out of an idea of justice... out of grief. Are you leveling this same scrutiny toward Petra? Wasn't she supposed to be watching his grave?" Mara: "Petra has paid her dues. The Vanguard murdered him and has yet to pay theirs." Ikora: "We both lost family. I am sorry for my part in yours, but... Crow has been treated --" Mara: "My brother is dead. He was exhumed; his body twisted into a caricature. You had your vengeance." Ikora: "Is that what you're after? Cayde... I still feel that grief like a stone caught in my chest. Some days, it's more pronounced than others. Vengeance didn't erode that grief." Mara: "Then tell me. Who am I to blame? Who sent him to Savathun's clutches? Who bludgeoned Uldren into a scared animal and drove him from his home?" Ikora: "You did, Mara. And those Guardians that hurt him, did so out of misguided anger. Don't make the same mistake. Don't make my mistake."

This is some heavy stuff and there's a lot going on. First, I like that Mara doesn't respond at the end. It's uncharacteristic for her. It shows that Ikora's words did something to her. This is evident in the exotic quest later which I've already put at the beginning of the post. She's had time to think and she's admitting the part she played.

I dislike some of Ikora's arguments a lot. First, "concern that he'd pick up some old habits" goes entirely against the Vanguard policy and belief that Guardians are new people. They were only concerned because of bias towards Uldren due to what he's done. And Crow knows this! He said so last week when he wondered why is he the only Guardian judged by his past life. No one else is subjected to the same way of thinking. This is the reason why Guardians aren't supposed to dig around their past lives. Obviously with Crow, there's no way for him to avoid it, but the argument that, if he knew, he'd just magically become Uldren (and not just base!Uldren, but murderer!Uldren who will... I don't know, go after Ikora and Zavala or the innocent people in the City?) really shows how much the Vanguard mistreated Crow.

I also dislike the move to Petra. As Mara says, Petra has paid her dues. She really has. Let's not forget that Uldren was not just some guy to her or just her Prince; he was her friend. She had to watch him spiral out of control due to things she couldn't help him with, she had to make the choice to put him away until Mara comes back and at the end she had to make the choice to kill him. This trauma has shaped her.

The Vanguard hasn't paid any dues. That's kinda the whole point of Mara's questioning. Ikora tries to explain that this was due to grief and losing family, but pray tell Ikora, has Mara not lost family too? Mara mentions this immediately as expected.

Ikora is however right to say that it was ultimately Mara's actions that led to the situation we're currently in. The Vanguard had no say in Awoken royal family affairs. Mara knows this, she said as much in the past few weeks and other lore in general: she spoke at length about the distance she pushed between them out of perceived necessity, the need to shape Uldren in a way to make him less like himself (since she disliked his recklessness and dangerous behaviours), but ultimately that only made things worse. She's aware that his venture into the Black Garden was fuelled by Uldren's need to prove himself. Ironically, in an effort to make him loyal and devoted, Mara pushed him into more recklessness instead of stopping it. She's aware of this. Asking Ikora "who am I to blame" was just waiting to be roasted.

But Mara is also right to ask about how the Vanguard treated both Uldren and Crow. How they washed their hands from killing him "officially" by hiding behind the Guardian, how nobody in the Tower answered for this. Their treatment of Crow as well: forcing him into hiding, isolating him. Excusing all the suffering he felt at the hands of the Guardians as "misguided anger." The torture he endured from Guardians just for showing his face was so much more than just "misguided anger" and Mara is right to feel heated and enraged when she talks about this and when she asks her questions. She expressed similar distaste and anger in a voice line with Glint in regards to how the Spider treated Crow.

I got an interesting dialogue at the end of my Shattered Realm run which also made me really irritated on behalf of both Crow and Mara when it comes to the Vanguard. Ikora asks Crow why didn't he send his latest report and Crow replies that he's had a lot going on and a lot to deal with. Which is true! He's not the Drifter who doesn't send reports out of spite; Crow genuinely wants to help but he's struggling with a lot of things that we can't even begin to unravel. He deserves patience and understanding. However, the following then ensues.

Ikora:

Crow:

Ikora:

This last part is a nice sentiment. But excuse me. Crow has literally been resurrected, isolated, tortured, enslaved and then "rescued" only to be thrust into a cage in the Tower and given "responsibilities." He is not obliged to be the Vanguard's errand boy. It's honestly quite rude from Ikora to tell him that he has to take his responsibilities seriously. The man hasn't lived a single day in his life without anxiety over whether he'll be tortured to death in the street if he shows his face.

I know the Vanguard gave him protection from the Spider and stuff to do (which he enjoys) and accepted him into their ranks. That's all good. But there's very little empathy here that acknowledges the life he's lived. Crow deserves to experience things that aren't isolation, imprisonment and following orders.

And most of all, he deserves to know the truth. Something the Vanguard has denied him for almost a year now. I know Savathun's schemes were involved and specifically, they were involved through impersonating Osiris which made a lot of people turn a blind eye. But now that this is known?

Crow can't share his burdens without knowing the truth. That's the whole problem. Everybody, except him, knows who he was. Everyone looks at him and treats him through that lens. He can't unburden himself without being told half-truths and being denied information. His burdens exist precisely because he doesn't know while everyone else does. So while the sentiment is nice, it reads more like a "that sucks buddy" than a genuine offer to help him with what is really bothering him.

On the other hand, obviously sharing the truth is difficult. His past life is more complicated than for most other Guardians. He's been through things that other Guardians haven't. The situation is complex on every single level and every character has a reason for the choices they've made.

Sometimes those choices are wrong and they are mistakes. And Mara isn't the only one who made the wrong choices and mistakes, consciously and unconsciously. It's a disservice to the complexity of the situation, Ikora, the Vanguard and Uldren to boil everything down to "Mara bad." Doesn't make for a compelling story.

That's what I wanted to address in detail because on the surface, it's easy to just dismiss either of the character you dislike more. And that's just reducing the story to a spectrum of black and white that Destiny really, ironically, isn't about.