#like. i GET why the characters and traits and relationships that are focused on are focused on! but there are SO MANY good alternate angles

[tulipe-rose]

Kazuha, sweetie, I'm not your biggest fan, but I'm going to be incredibly honest with you right now, and that's because I don't really understand what you're expecting from Heiji atp.

You're his self proclaimed, so called, 'older sister'. The first thing you do when you meet a friend of his, or a supposed girlfriend to be more accurate, is introduce yourself as his older sister. Whenever anyone claims that there's any romance between you guys, you refute it and call him your stupid little brother.

GIRL.

EVEN I STARTED TO GET MIXED SIGNALS AT ONE POINT. If not for the blushing we clearly see as the audience I would've been soldified in my belief that it's unrequited love for Heiji. Dramatic irony at it's finest.

Either way– WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM HIM?? You keep brother-zoning him to the point where only the Hattori Heji himself could be so stubborn to ignore this weird girl reverse psychology that would keep any other guy at a two meter distance.

Don't think you're any better, though, Heiji. If any third party who had never watched dcmk before had to give their opinion after looking at the overall confession bull crap you've been stalling these past three decades they'd think you're trying to impress Shinichi, not Kazuha. Won't blame them, I myself am pretty confused.

Who is this confession for???? KAZUHA.

THEN WHO TF IS SHINICHI TO THIS RELATIONSHIP AND WHY IS ONE UPPING HIM DETRIMENTAL TO Y'ALL?? WHY DOES HIS OPINION MATTER?? WHAT EVEN IS THE POINT OF THIS CONFESSION ANYMORE?? You're not even trying to think like ‘Oh, I'm doing this because Kazuha only deserves the best’ NO. IT'S ALL BIG BEN THIS KUDO THAT. I feel kinda bad for Kazuha.

Don't even get me started on how awkward it is to keep being so possessive over her when y'all aren't even an item (I'M LOOKING AT YOU TOO SHINICHI. GLARING REAL HARD HERE.). If she's seeing some other guy (which would never happen because of course she has fallen head over heals for you. Ugh- this is triggering my gag reflex.) then leave her be, because you either act like a chicken after being all bark and no bite or idk, grow a spine and fricking confess??? You can't go around calling her yours and then noping out of a confession. God my blood pressure keeps spiking because of these blockheaded teenagers I need to go take a few deep breaths.

I would like to know what they actually even talk about or bond over. From what I understood, Kazuha really likes the sound of his katana when he practices, which is high-key weird and makes me feel deaf cause how do you even hear that sort of stuff? And... What does Heiji like about her again? These guys need to explain what they like about their crushes more often. Or at least maybe ask themselves about it every once in a while, yk, just to make sure all of this stress is worth it. I will NOT be talking about Aoko and Kaito purely for the sake of my heart and blood pressure; they can only handle one dcmk couple at a time.

In conclusion, a man with an unresolved inferiority/superiority complex–because he somehow has both–so severe he cannot function without making it about his rival should not be looking for a relationship before seeing a therapist. Thank God his actual friendship with Shinichi isn't an eighth as bad as you'd think it should be; they're one of the most iconic duos ever, let's just keep their love lives outta the mix (Heiji is high-key supportive though, so there's that ig).

Edit: Came back after I realized I phrased my opinion on Heiji and Shinichi's friendship in a way that was easy to misinterpret. What I mean to say is that they're my favorite dcmk duo but I just can't stand how Heiji prioritizes one upping Shinichi rather than getting his feelings out there. I say Heiji ditches Kazuha as a love interest and forms a trio with Shinichi and Shiho. They'd be unstoppable homies that would do the unspeakable for each other.

[welcometoteyvat]

the rarepair pipeline really is just (wants to see two characters interact) (the only people who make content of those two interacting are the shippers) (doesn't mind them having a romantic relationship and thus is converted into the rarepair)

[floatyflowers]

Dark Platonic! Fire Nation Royal Family x Non-bender Reader

Part 2

With Ozai:

At first he didn't accept the fact that you, his youngest child, is a non-bender, and ignored your existence.

That was until he noticed how his older brother, Iroh, spends time with you, Ozai got extremely jealous.

And decided to spend time with you, only to realize that you are his favorite child, and felt like an actual father.

Yes, you can't firebend nor do you even have the ability to protect yourself.

But why would you need to protect yourself when your father is going to be the Phoenix king of the fire nation?

Ozai will burn down the world for you.

"You, my sweet child, will grow up in the presence of a very powerful father"

With Ursa:

When Ursa found out that you couldn't bend, she became overprotective of you to the point of paranoia.

Since childhood, she refused to allow you to play with anyone except Zuko.

One time, one of her handmaidens scolded you harshly for playing outside without your mother's permission which resulted in you bursting into tears.

The next day, that handmaiden was fired and Ursa made sure that she gets no other jobs.

While thinking of escaping, she thought to take you with her.

However, Ozai has forbidden that from happening.

"When you find out the truth, promise to come find me"

With Azulon

While still alive, he made sure you had the best education and guards.

Azulon also made sure to have you believe that the fire nation is without mistakes or faults.

He tried manipulating you into believing that just your loyalty to your people is enough duty.

However, you are kind, too kind.

Yet, he Azulon didn't hate you for it even if he considered a weak trait to have in the royal family.

He also still has the flower crown you made him stored away safely so it doesn't rot.

It is rumored that the last word he muttered was your name.

With Iroh

Uncle Iroh isn't really as possessive as the other characters, but he focuses on advising you from time to time.

You enjoy drinking tea with him and gossiping about everything.

Even though, Ozai has forbidden him from speaking with you, you would sneak behind your father's back to drink tea with him.

After the loss of his son in the war, Lu Ten, Iroh felt depressed.

Yet you managed to comfort him with your cheerfulness and playful attitude.

It reminded him of his son.

"The best quality in a princess is her kindness, something which your sister clearly lacks"

With Zuko

Zuko thought you would be like Azula but you have proven him wrong.

You are kind, gentle, and nurturing just like your and his mother.

That's why Zuko always found himself by your side, being your playmate...being your protecter.

His mother told him that it's his duty to protect you from danger considering that he is your older brother.

Even though Azula has never hurt you, but Zuko was always wary of her, especially after his mother disappeared.

When Ozai challenged him to an Agni Kai, you were the first to cry out and plead with him to let Zuko off, but Ozai felt jealous of your relationship with Zuko and was determined to teach his son a lesson.

However when your brother got banished, Zuko took you with him in secret not wanting you to be left with Azula.

"I know the journey will take long but once I restore my honor we can return home together"

With Azula

Azula was extremely jealous when you were born, thinking that you will take all the attention from her.

But she realized that you deserve all the attention.

You didn't treat her like a monster, you weren't scared of her.

Instead you showed her love and called her 'big sister'

You would cling to her as a toddler, whenever there was lightning, you would secretly sneak to her room and sleep beside her.

"How can you be scared of lightning, we control it, silly"

Mai and Ty Lee saw how Azula softens whenever you are around.

And when Azula discovered that you have left with Zuko, she destroyed everything in her way and burned a few servants.

"She's mine, and only MINE"

[explosionshark]

Part of why it's so frustrating to me that we didn't have the opportunity to spend more time during Vi's pit fighter era and Caitlyn's dictator phase is bc like. Well, I mean those are both hugely significant and interesting ways for them to cope that are deeply reflective of the fundamental differences in their characters

Vi, an undercity kid that spent most of her formative years imprisoned, seeks out pain and oblivion. She finds herself lost and abandoned and immediately reaches for what she's most familiar with - violence. The self harming nature of her fighting career is obvious but I think the other stuff we see in the montage deserved more time too. She drinks to an unhealthy excess, blacking out, getting into more violent altercations. We don't see her seeking out any form of intimacy or connection with people - there are no depicted one night stands or groupies. Instead we see her hallucinating Caitlyn and reacting violently when a guy tries dancing with her.

Whether it's an intrinsic part of her or a trait that was cultivated through trauma, we know that Vi doesn't have many close relationships, but she loves the people near to her fiercely. It's kind of heartbreaking and so fucking interesting that when she's apart from Caitlyn she doesn't try to fill the void with other people. She just misses her.

Vi reacts to being left behind by isolating herself further. She reacts to being hurt by piling more hurt onto herself, channeling her pain into aggression, and when she's not fighting she's trying to numb herself with alcohol. It's a brutal montage and I really wish we'd been able to dive in more to Vi's self destructive tendencies.

Caitlyn meanwhile also reaches for the familiar but in a totally different way. We see her indulging her privilege in a very particular way. Unlike Vi, instead of fully isolating or burying her pain, we see her hold her grief tight in both hands and use it as fuel. She channels her pain into obsessively hunting down Jinx and suppressing Zaun through her increasingly militarized policing campaign. She becomes a workaholic who can't ever stop focusing on her agenda, even as the doubts she has continue to increase. She's stone cold sober in every scene and the combat practice she undertakes at Ambessa's side is controlled, goal-oriented and the complete opposite of Vi's reckless prize fighting.

Instead of solitude, we see her take up with a subordinate that she doesn't have a strong emotional attachment to and take comfort in sex within a dynamic where she perceives she has total control. Maddie doesn't mean enough to Caitlyn to meaningfully challenge her, which we see as Caitlyn ignores her advice and pulls away from her in bed. Hooking up with someone under her is a move that it's hard to imagine the idealistic s1 version of Caitlyn ever approving of and that's why it's so interesting to me. I think it highlights how much of s1 Caitlyn's morality is related to her resisting the ability to abuse her privilege as a favored daughter of Piltover. In s2, she forgoes her earlier attempts for egalitarian reform and justice in favor of indulging more wantonly with her baser impulses for control and power and immediate satisfaction. It suggests this beautiful death by a thousand cuts of her moral center as she loosens her grip on her noble ideals and gives in to this rash impulse, and that pragmatic cruelty, and this selfish want until she's in so deep she's become the sort of brutal oppressive force she had once tried to tear down.

The difference between them in this part of the show is so striking and it's a shame to me that we never get to really see them confront these versions of each other.

[aroaceleovaldez]

i know a lot of people talk about the Cupid Scene as not being great as Nico's coming out story (which i think is a complex matter but that's a rant for another day), but I personally find it way more compelling if it's just not Nico's coming out story at all - it's the beginning of Jason's.

Because it doesn't really work or make sense to be Nico's, right? It's not Nico's pov. Nico doesn't have a POV at all in this book. And in House of Hades, the Cupid Scene is one of the first major things Nico gets to do right out of the box jar. Why introduce a character, have him be outed as gay, lead the crew around, and then leave to go travel with someone else all in one book where he's not even a POV? It's also contrary to the way Nico generally functions as a character - he's either exposition, dues ex machina, or damsel in distress. He's kind of a damsel here, but ultimately he doesn't need anyone else to save him - or even be there. He handles it on his own. Jason is mostly just a witness.

But, if you view the Cupid Scene as being about Jason, it narratively fits a lot more; Jason at this point is dating Piper, and they're three books deep into their relationship. TLH they start dating and are relatively happy with it and where they are. SoN is a skip but we know they're happily dating during that time, and then Mark of Athena we get a slight shift. Jason and Piper see Percy and Annabeth and go "Oh! They're perfect. Their relationship is perfect. We could be happier if we were more like them." Piper and Jason are also both characters who go through an identity turmoil in general - particularly about how both of them want to be perceived by others and who they are as people. The things they identify with - their parents, their heritages, etc etc. Their orientations. Piper's get more focus earlier in HoO, and Jason gets more later.

The Cupid Scene is from Jason's POV, in a book where he is beginning to struggle with his identity and what people expect from him - particularly him not feeling like he perfectly fits with "either camp." He's too "Greek" to be "Roman" but too "Roman" to be "Greek." He's not quite one or the other. He doesn't meet the expectations either has for him. (This is bi-coding, if you couldn't tell. Just replace "Greek" and "Roman" with "Straight" and "Gay.") It starts with Cupid addressing Jason first, before Nico, very directly - asking him if he's so sure he's happy in his relationship? Does he really think it's perfect? Even Favonius very pointedly asks him if he really forget that guys can date guys? Do you have some internalized bias around that, Jason? Hm? Heck, they're both specifically in their Roman forms, not Greek. Why would they appear in their Roman forms if they're there for a Greek demigod? And very notably, they have this exchange:

(remember what I said about the bi-coding with Jason's Greek/Roman identity crisis? I don't think it's coincidence that this so pointedly comes up during the Cupid scene.)

Favonius' introduction to the Cupid scene sets up Nico's portion of it, but Cupid almost exclusively speaks to Jason for the first half of it. Then Nico steps in. He diverts the conversation away from Jason and focuses the attention onto him. Nico's the one Cupid wants, he insists, not Jason. He's the target, not Jason. This is very in line with Nico's character - practically one of his core character traits is he trusts and starts caring about people very quickly, probably quicker than he should or even wants to, and will put himself in harm's way to prevent others from being hurt. The Cupid Scene isn't the start of Nico's coming out story - Nico already knows he's gay. He has no internal doubts about that. He's known it for awhile. He's just in the closet. And he starts coming out of his own free will in the next book, first to Reyna and Coach. The Cupid Scene is Nico recognizing that Favonius and Cupid are pushing Jason for something he's not ready for and hasn't figured out yet, but something Nico has and just hasn't said out loud yet. The Cupid Scene is Nico taking the proverbial bullet/literal arrow for Jason (Jason consistently describes the arrows as whizzing by him before striking near Nico, interestingly) and being outed so Jason isn't. And that presents Jason with the path to begin questioning his identity further. (Jason also then directly compares Cupid to Aphrodite, specifically her Greek form, which also ties into Jason's greek/roman stuff.)

And I don't think it's coincidence that Jason and Nico mirror each other so much, and that their arcs in HoH are so intertwined. The Cupid Scene functionally, on a meta level, establishes an explicitly queer character to parallel Jason and for him to bounce off of during his own arc. (And, also on a meta level, establishes to the audience to be sympathetic to queer struggles, with Jason's arc then proceeding to be a queer-coded struggle.) Jason is presented as having this strange level of isolation from how others perceive him in a positive way/the expectations people have of him that wraps around to something akin to Nico's ostracization as being an outsider and atypical demigod in general. Nico is a rouge - he explicitly expresses how he feels like he doesn't fit in at either camp (something he expresses explicitly during the Cupid Scene, mirroring Jason's simultaneous questioning his own place at Camp Jupiter) and a core part of his character is that he does function outside the rules and expectations of both camps. He operates on an entirely different realm to them. If the camps are an expectation of normative concepts of acceptable relationships, Nico is outside of that. And he recognizes that he operates outside of that and will never fully fit into the mold either expect of him, and he recognizes he doesn't need to fit in, even if he theoretically could force himself to fit that mold. Jason, meanwhile, is still locked within those boundaries, and grappling with this idea of how he can exist between them.

Nico hands Jason a goblet of poison and says "how much do you trust me?" and it's Nico challenging Jason to take his own advice about trusting others about their identities, and almost immediately after that Jason gives up his praetor title to Frank. Jason's Greek/Roman arc is directly tied to Nico and the Cupid scene. BoO ends with Jason asking Nico to stay at CHB so they can hang out that summer. By TOA, we learn that Nico has started dating and is staying at CHB (is exploring the niche of expected and socially accepted relationships) while Jason has broken up with Piper and is living away from both camps (rejecting hetero/allonormative expectations), still struggling with his own identity. They functionally swap places. And that's fascinating.

Anyways i think about Jason's bi-coding a lot.

[bokettochild]

Ketto's Update Thoughts: Crescent Flame 1

Okay! I missed the last one, so here's this one!

Honestly, I love this pairing! I love that Legend and Hyrule, the two OG Links, are the ones teamed up. For character building, I'm not keen on it, but for asthetics? Gosh, my first two games were the OG Zelda and ALTTP, so watching the boys hit all the traditional dungeon requirements together, all the ones you'd expect in their games, makes me very happy. (I am dying to know what that torch does! They never JUST light up the room, except in moving floor levels- that is, if I'm remembering right?)

It's good to see Legend relaxing a bit more, and that bit with the pots! Yes, he took a risk, tossing it at Hyrule's freaking HEAD, but he's being playful and not as tense. If he was the bully the rest thought, he'd totally have tried to snatch that rupee, since he grabbed the pot first, but instead we have this little reaction

(Love his little smile here, omgosh!!!!)

-

I am curious about why JoJo chose to have the Age Bookends interrupt the two boys; was it just a way to get these two, mostly silent, Links to start talking? Or will we be seeing the groups stumble over each other a bit through the dungeon? Doubling over ground already covered? If this is based of Downfall dungeons (which it has many traits of so far) that would track, but if not, then I wander why it is that way.

I might be thinking too much though, and besides, it did give us THIS funny interactions

Like, this has, at the very least, got to be JoJo having fun with the fact that all of us can't make up our minds where Four fits in the Age range of the group, and maybe this is where we start to get more confirmation for all the ages! I mean, we did have Wars classifying Legend, officially, with the 'kids', and Sky is now counted with the adults (in the early days a lot of folks had him on the younger side, not equal to Twilight)

.....

Okay, I know I'm hyper-focusing on Legend, but hey, this is the first time we've seen this much of him in a bit, and I'm getting some DDR flashbacks right now; the two heroes' wandering off, discussing something as they go, something that has Legend feeling a certain kinda angst, and I just get the impression that maybe something's going to happen with him here.

I have been wondering why JoJo included the bunny arc before, especially as it has no plot relevance save setting up the relationship with Twilight and Sky, which could have been accomplished through other means (although it would have taken longer). The fact of the matter though is that Hyrule was brought into it back then:

which has had me wondering for a while if JoJo might revisit this, and perhaps the bit about Warriors too; she's been fleshing out that relationship more as of late as well!

Which brings me to my next point!

followed by

This is really interesting to me, considering just how much Legend's whole existence is wrapped up beside the ideas of knighthood and the existence of knights! In his games, we learn he's the last of a bloodline of ancient knights, his uncle was a knight, and it's likely his father was one too. Yet his most common enemies in the Light world are also knights, not monsters- at least during his first adventure! So it makes sense that he'd have complicated feelings about it.

However, we've seen Legend spout some very definitive opinions about knights on the whole:

Maybe it's just me, but given his own heritage, combined with his resentment, I'm starting to think Legend's still trying to convince himself how terrible knights are, and maybe not just because of what they've done to him, but maybe out of a feeling of being less-than or unworthy, much like Hyrule himself! Except, rather than openly admiring what he'd like to be, he mocks it to make himself feel better about not being able to achieve it, hence why he tends to pick more on Warriors and Sky, the two knights, rather than the rest of the group (given that Wild doesn't remember much of being a knight, I don't think he counts in Legend's book).

Again, maybe I'm reading into it more than I should, but this expression

seems to let on that there's more to this than Legend's saying. he's not even speaking loud enough for Hyrule to hear him (the traveler is obviously focused elsewhere) so one can assume this is more a comment to himself, yet there's more regret than anger in that face, more resignation than resentment, like something about the thought of never being a knight actually hurts Legend in some way.

.....

Oh well, maybe I'm reading into this too much, I have been writing a lot of angst today, so maybe that's what's up LOL

Either way, I'm so glad for a Legend centric update, and I'm eager to see where JoJo takes what she's setting up here. i'm pretty sure we'll be tuning in next time to one of the other groups (maybe the Age Bookends again, since they showed up here), but whatever happens, I will be watching eagerly!

[lohotine]

Could you please write a post sharing what traits you think would make the dragons in CROB fall in love with us? Thank you!

Inspired by these two asks:

https://www.tumblr.com/shmolish/750988905085632512/httpswwwtumblrcomshmolish750251834196852736

https://www.tumblr.com/shmolish/750251834196852736/so-not-sure-on-the-limit-for-characters-but-feel

CROB dragons x Reader (separate)

Warning: May be OOC, mild spoilers for the dragon story ig

``You're pulling at my heartstrings!``

Featuring: Longan, Lychee, Lotus, Ananas, Pitaya

Longan Dragon

`°♡ Longan is pretty pessimistic, I'd think. And even if you disagree with that, it's safe to say they aren't very open to new ideals.

`°♡ Therefore, I propose a sort of sun/moon relationship

`°♡ In which reader is very optimistic and open minded. Not only that, but determined as well

`°♡ Afterall, there is 0 chance of changing Longan's ideals just like that

`°♡ It will take a lot of time and effort

`°♡ Hence why it will definitely be a slow burn relationship

`°♡ Your open mindedness will cause Longan to think a lot more, and the more they think about you, the more they grow fond of you

`°♡ Now whether this fondness is just some odd curiosity or actually love is up for debate-

`°♡ Of course they don't admit this (especially if you're an ordinary cookie and not a dragon)

`°♡ But when push comes to shove, you are one of the few that can change Longan's view of the world

`°♡ Now...

`°♡ We can go the total opposite direction and probably make it work as well

`°♡ That is to say, hyper focusing on restoring the world to the way of old (or whatever Longan be yapping about) and finding yourself falling in love with them

`°♡ It's different from the normal you fell first but they fell harder, since now you're falling both first and harder

`°♡ I can almost see this being some sort of yandere relationship

`°♡ Where you're kinda obsessing over them and they find your loyalty(?) endearing and so they decide take pity on you

`°♡ I won't go into too much detail bc I'd just end up yapping forever and the whole idea is kinda messed up

`°♡ A very unhappy and unhealthy relationship where they use your devotion for their own gain

`°♡ But if you bent it and twisted it in some weird ways ig it could count

`°♡ But if you want more of that just request something and I'll get to it

Lychee Dragon

`°♡ Now where do I even begin...

`°♡ Lychee is an odd one for sure

`°♡ Always insisting that you're in love with them and will bow before them and what-not.

`°♡ Of course, they do with everyone though so it doesn't really mean anything

`°♡ Lychee wants a lot of power and stuff, and most of the time, they can get just that

`°♡ To put it in its most basic terms, I think your ability to resist their charm will catch their eye

`°♡ But of course they won't just hypnotize you

`°♡ That would be much too boring

`°♡ They want you to fall for them naturally!

`°♡ It's like a greed for what they can't have

`°♡ But now, since they can't have you, it only makes them want you even more

`°♡ They start giving you more and more of their attention in hopes of making you finnaly fall for them, and it just ends up snowballing from there

`°♡ Traits outside of... your defiance I suppose, would be your ability to be entertaining

`°♡ Although, I can also see a relationship where you act very poised or calm and Lychee enjoys annoying you

`°♡ Lychee seems to get bored quite a lot, and if you're too boring they probably won't end up working so hard for your acknowledgement in the first place

`°♡ Though, I think they'd appreciate someone else who can match their level of chaoticness a bit more

`°♡ I imaging you two flirt often to try and make the other fall more in love

`°♡ I mean, it works but none of you actually say anything

`°♡ The final nail in the coffin would probably be you suddenly confessing your love in a more serious way

`°♡ It's different from the cheap flirts and sarcastic 'I love yous`, because this confession is actually real

`°♡ Real because you didn't fall for their charms, but just because of them as a whole

`°♡ It's catches them off guard since people are rarely ever this open with them

`°♡ Especially people that they are somewhat close to

`°♡ The fact that you are so vulnerable with them makes them fall even more in love

`°♡ They blushed throughout your entire confession but when asked about it later they insisted it was just thier natural pink hues

Lotus Dragon

`°♡ Creating ideas with them seemed a lot easier in my head-

`°♡ Um, a very simple one is music and dance

`°♡ Afterall, they have a dialouge line about it being their only enjoyable pastime

`°♡ So I'd like to assume that if you create music or dance they automatically like you more

`°♡ Though, you have to be at least somewhat creative for this

`°♡ Lotus also talks about wish granting a lot and how they want an 'interesting wish'

`°♡ I don't exactly know what they mean by it, but if you have an interesting wish you'll probably catch their attention

`°♡ I just get the feeling that they are very curious

`°♡ Though I doubt you'd know much more than them, if you did know things that they didn't, they would enjoy listening to you talk about it

`°♡ Just don't be so rowdy

`°♡ They wouldn't mind it, seeing as their relations with Purple Yam and Mala Sauce are friendly, I just think they'd be more happy with someone calm

`°♡ On another random note; I don't have much to back this up, but they seem like the type of person to enjoy poetry

`°♡ So bonus points there as well

`°♡ They probably drop subtle hints that they like you here and there

`°♡ Asks you to meet them somewhere reclusive yet quaint so they can finnaly confess

Pitaya Dragon

`°♡ Certainly a handful, this one

`°♡ It's would take a lot to make Pitaya actually realize that they like you

`°♡ But once they do realize, they admit it loud and proud.

`°♡ Well, to anyone but you-

`°♡ It's kind of sad, actually

`°♡ Anyway, I can see two different ideas on the type of person they fall for

`°♡ A person who also loves to fight and is kind of just a copy of them (except you actually kick ass)

`°♡ OR a person who is more nurturing and takes care of Pitaya after all of his fights

`°♡ For the first idea, they very obviously want to spar with you a lot

`°♡ Actively seek you out just for the opertunity to fight

`°♡ And of course you happily agree

`°♡ The second idea I can imagine much easier

`°♡ Where you're always scolding them for being so reckless while patching them up

`°♡ And they can't help but cherish each of your little touches

`°♡ Might even get hurt on purpose just for the excuse of being in your presence

`°♡ Though when you tell them how much it worries you they become more careful

`°♡ I think a person like that is really important to Pitaya

`°♡ Especially since we have seen them trying to tough out their wounds instead of properly taking care of themselves (cough cough after the battle with Longan cough cough)

`°♡ A person to help ground their more... outlandish personality

`°♡ You're like their anchor

`°♡ When they finnaly stop being so stubborn and confess they make the whole thing a very big deal

`°♡ Just wants to impress you

`°♡ And of course it works

Ananas Dragon

`°♡ How do I put this...

`°♡ I feel like Ananas would like someone to protect

`°♡ Someone that they deem more important than their treasures

`°♡ So probably someone innocent I guess

`°♡ Since they care for their island so much, I think if you were a more caring and nurturing person, they'd grow a liking for you

`°♡ Would 100% spoil you

`°♡ You want something?

`°♡ Give it a day and it's yours

`°♡ I just get the feeling that Ananas is very touch starved

`°♡ Most of the dragons probably are, but Ananas especially

`°♡ So they practically fold at the most miniscule of touches

`°♡ They hate how you make them crumble

`°♡ But oh

`°♡ They can't help but love it.

`°♡ Confesses to you in the most extravagant of ways

`°♡ And their proposal is even better

[samdeanjohn]

i understand why "female coding" is controversial and i even understand to an extent why people choose to make it an "everyone is equally wrong and ridiculous" problem. however, dean's atypical position in the narrative, especially considering what he may seem like aesthetically when we first meet him, has been a topic of discussion since 2005. dean enjoyers (including critic sheila o'malley) have for the most part always approached this with the nuance it deserves and alongside discussion of his (and the show's) masculinity. it's not treated as some forever get-out-of-jail card, but as a legitimate analysis of his character and his relationship with gender.

but as with many things about dean that make him fascinating and anything but a caricature that neatly fits into tropes, it inspires a certain insecurity from some fans who prefer sam. part of it comes from the belief that supernatural has one main character and therefore only one of them can be a complex individual, which of course would not apply even if jensen really was a supporting player and not a co-lead. still, the idea that purely by existing and being popular dean "steals" things from sam persists. under the guise of "reclaiming sam's main character status" dean's traits and relationships are frequently appropriated and given to sam in a way that distorts both characters beyond recognition. since the motivation is really contrarianism, the reasons why some things are interesting and resonant with dean get lost in the copy/paste process.

as to not derail with other examples, i will focus on the gender thing. it's really not a coincidence that with the post-spn finale fandom renaissance, along with dean appreciation there was a new push to diminish him in every possible way. i'm sympathetic about the disrespect and misplaced aggression shippers were exhibiting toward sam and jared. but the answer isn't to tear down dean to elevate sam who is awesome as he already is. especially from the side of fandom that mainly focuses on the brothers (plural!) and is theoretically supposed to like both of them. after dean's death , we got new waves of posts about his gender, sexuality and trauma and instead of simply contributing to the conversation or ignoring it, some people got mad. and we got endless gender essentialism in the form of "actually, sam is female coded. no, sam is a woman. every woman in the horror genre is sam. sam outliving dean who died young and beautiful to give him a heteronormative "happy" ending is sam being the final girl. she/her pronouns for sam in casual conversation. claiming sam textually suffered misogyny from dean who is the most cishet man on tv and nothing but a amalgamation of every "toxic male" trait ever", etc. all incredibly childish, exhausting and self righteous. it's unforgivable to watch 15 seasons of a show and come away thinking either brother was that simple.

when people discuss dean and femininity, they don't seek to cast dean as the one and only victim and everyone around him as a patriarchal abuser, it's not about guilting anyone into liking dean better, it's certainly not about female coding making dean incapable of having flaws or causing harm. and as horror is a primarily female genre, it's not about how no other male character in the show can occupy a female trope. this whole thing is misunderstanding why people are drawn to dean in the first place. it was never about wanting a perfect person to put on a pedestal as an example but about appreciating the complicated whole, thorns and all.

what's troubling about the "sam is a woman" rebuttal is that the word woman really becomes a synonym for perfect victim. it becomes all about being infantilized, having zero autonomy and never making a single choice. when it comes to actual female characters, audiences have always valued their agency even when a narrative has afforded them very little. at least the deer/lamb/rabbit sam trend is more honest about what it's attempting to twist him into. the more i see this phenomenon in whatever form it takes, the more i'm convinced it's really just about creating the blandest least dynamic character possible. and sam deserves so much better than that.

[rockrosethistle]

Workin Boys was literally the only thing that saved Hidgens from being flanderized beyond recognition

(Spoilers for Workin' Boys)

So what I think a lot of people don't give much thought to is how much Professor Hidgens as a character has evolved since tgwdlm, essentially becoming a parody of himself.

Think of Hidgens as a character. What are his defining traits?

Did you think about how he is a doomsday prepper who has been stockpiling supplies for 20 years? Because that's how he's introduced in Guy.

Did you try think about how he has a weird relationship with his Alexa? Or did we forget about that?

In fact, for the majority of TGWDLM, Hidgens' main character trait is that he says weird shit with a Doc Brown voice.

The whole concept of Workin Boys isn't even introduced until the last half hour of the show. That's where he reveals his real motivation: to live out the musical he wrote as a young man.

Actually, no, that's not right. Because his motivation was world peace, and Workin Boy's was just a convenient means to that end.

I won't disregard the fact that Hidgens clearly has an emotional connection to the show, but in Guy, it serves as a punchline rather than a driving force.

So now we have this lovely, morally-grey, multi-layered character that we can work with.

By the time we get to Time Bastard, the fandom is expecting a show stopping number reference, so of course we get that.

But at this point, Hidge is still that multi-layered character. Sure, showstopping number gets a callback, but we also get a callback to his strange relationship with robots. They make up an equal part of him as a character.

By the time we get to Honey Queen, we have lost several aspects of Hidgens altogether. He is no longer a doomsday-believing recluse. He is now active in the community and his only motivation is to get his show funded. He brings it up at every chance he gets, and his loyalties lie with whoever is more likely to make Workin Boys happen.

So how the hell do we come back from this?

Well, at first it seems like we're not going to. Workin' Boys (the short film) comes out, and it looks like we're leaning even harder into this aspect of his personality than before. But then we get hit with something we're not expecting: Hidge gets the Ted Spankoffski treatment.

I'm referring to Ted's backstory in Time Bastard, where we learn that all of his actions actually stem from a single, traumatic moment, which in his eyes forced him to alter his behaviour, so as to not go through the same trauma again.

Can you see where I'm going with this?

The backstory we get from Hidgens certainly puts things in perspective. No, it's not enough to explain why his behaviour has been so laser-focused on this one show, but it's a start.

Then comes the part that changes everything.

It's left up to interpretation whether these ghosts Hidge is seeing are actually there, or just hallucinations, but that doesn't really matter.

Hidgens had been through a horrible experience, so traumatizing that he is still literally being haunted by it decades later. For one reason or another, he believes that the only way he can relieve himself of these ghosts is by bringing honor to the loved ones he's lost and telling their stories.

This reveal recontextualizes everything we know about Hidgens as a character. Suddenly, this isn't a story about some guy who just really wants to put on his musical, this is a story about guilt. Of course it would be the driving factor in his life. Look at him apologizing to his boys. He feels like he is slandering their memories with everything that goes wrong for the show.

This is supported even more with the ending.

Henry Hidgens dies with a smile on his face, believing he's finally achieved his goal: to tell the real story of what happened that night.

It finally makes sense as to why we've lost those parts of him--we've retconned the character by revealing that all that simplification of his goals and traits wasn't flanderization at all, but a steady downward spiral of grief over his loved ones. It wasn't Hidgens getting a little too into being a playwrite, it was him descending into madness caused by the inability to please the part of himself (or the literal ghosts, if that's how you interpret it) that believes he's not doing enough.

And if not for Workin' Boys, he would have remained that one-dimensional character.

[luv-lock]

Can I ask why you hate Tim 😭 I’m genuinely curious im just getting into batfam lore and I see so many ppl hating on him

I don’t hate Tim as a character—I used to love him. He was one of my favorite Robins for years because of how well-written and unique he was. But over the past 6-7 years, the writing has completely ruined him.

Tim started as the smartest Robin, someone who stood out because of his brains and determination. He wasn’t chosen to be Robin because of tragedy or by accident—he earned it. He figured out Batman and Robin’s identities on his own, proving how intelligent and capable he was. He became Robin not because he needed Batman, but because Batman needed him. That dynamic made him special.

But now? He’s gone from being the 'smartest Robin' to what DC themselves called the 'always-online bisexual.' That’s literally how they described him in their marketing, and it shows how little respect they have for his character. Instead of focusing on his intelligence, his strategic mind, or his growth as a hero, they’ve reduced him to a walking label. His sexuality is the only thing they emphasize now, and that’s not representation—that’s lazy writing. Not to mention the arts sucks. The artists who make comics for him are coming straight out of Wattpad. Look at this shit:

The art sucks. Now compare this trash to these:

Fucking beautiful. I can just look at it and be happy. Idk about others but it's obvious which one I'm going to buy.

And the change wasn’t organic. Tim was written as straight for 40 years. He had deep, meaningful relationships with female characters, especially Stephanie Brown. Their relationship was one of the healthiest and most developed in the Batfam. They supported each other, they had chemistry, and it felt natural. But then the writers threw it all away. His new relationship feels hollow and forced, like it only exists to make him a bisexual character.

Don’t get me wrong—representation is important. But when it’s done this way, it feels like a checkbox, not real development. A character’s sexuality isn’t a personality trait or an arc. Tim was more than his sexuality before, but now it feels like that’s all DC cares about.

Compare this to other Robins:

Dick Grayson (the first Robin):

Dick is the OG, but when he debuted, people didn’t take him seriously. Back then, he was seen as a sidekick—a kid in bright tights following Batman around. When DC aged him up and transitioned him into Nightwing, he became a leader, a symbol of independence, and the heart of the Batfamily. Now he’s beloved, but it took years for fans to respect him.

Jason Todd (the second Robin):

Jason was hated when he first replaced Dick. Fans thought he was just a cheap copy—another circus kid in a Robin costume. His personality rubbed people the wrong way, and the backlash was so bad that DC actually let fans vote to kill him off. But when Jason was brought back as Red Hood, his character was transformed. He’s now a fan-favorite because of his anger, his moral complexity, and his strained relationship with Bruce. Fans went from hating him to loving him, but it took a lot of work to get there.

Damian Wayne (the current Robin):

Damian started as an arrogant, entitled brat. Fans found him unlikable, and many hated that he replaced Tim as Robin. But DC invested in his growth. Over time, Damian became more humble, learned to work with others, and developed his own unique dynamic with Bruce. Now, he’s seen as one of the most compelling Robins.

Tim, however, had the opposite journey. When he debuted, he was instantly loved. He wasn’t a tragic orphan or a rebellious anti-hero. He was just a smart, determined kid who figured out Batman’s identity and stepped up because he believed Batman needed Robin. Fans loved that. His comics as Robin sold for years—something Dick and Jason never achieved when they were Robin.

But now? Tim has gone from being one of the most beloved Robins to a joke. DC doesn’t know what to do with him, so they’ve reduced him to being the 'always-online bisexual' (their own words). His entire character now revolves around his sexuality. A character’s sexuality isn’t character development. I only care about sexuality when it's comes to watching porn. Tim was so much more than that. He was the smartest Robin, the strategic genius who could outthink even Bruce. But now, that part of him is gone.

He’s not Robin anymore, but he doesn’t have a clear role or identity. While Dick is Nightwing, Jason is Red Hood, and Damian is Robin, Tim is stuck in this weird limbo. DC hasn’t given him a meaningful arc—they’re just writing him for the sake of saying, 'Look, we have a bisexual character.' And I as a bisexual person found it very offensive.

What makes this even worse is that Tim’s been overshadowed by Damian. DC created Damian partly because they hated Tim, and now Damian has taken over everything that made Tim special. He’s a tactical genius, a skilled fighter, and even looks like Tim now. I mean look:

If it wasn't for his girlfriend in these pictures and the art style I couldn't tell if it's Tim or Damian.

Tim deserved better. He lost most of his real fans and these days his fans are people who are into yaoi. He used to be one of the smartest, most relatable characters in the Batfam. But instead of building on that, DC has turned him into a caricature. That’s why I’ve lost respect for how they’ve handled him—not because of his sexuality, but because they’ve erased everything that made him great and replaced it with shallow writing. He's just an extra now that is better dead. And if DC itself don't care about it's characters then why should I? We have enough good comics with good art for Dick, Jason and Damian that I don't even think about Tim anymore.

[deeply-unserious-fellow]

I've been seeing a lot of people talk about how Hazel is a boring protagonist(or I guess more like... people complaining about how other people are saying that? Idk I'm not on Twitter), and at first I kind of agreed with those takes because all I had seen were random clips. BUT, now that I've watched the show, I disagree. I don't think Hazel is a boring character, at least not conceptually. I think the issue is that the majority of her RELATIONSHIPS are really boring.

Hazel on her own has a lot of potential. She's caring, she's funny, she has a tendancy to overthink, her design is really good, she has realistic problems most people can relate to... she's just all around a really well built character. The problem is that almost none of the characters she interacts with consistently have any depth, and that causes her relationships with them to fall flat, which causes HER to fall flat because at the end of the day, a character is only as strong as their relationships with other characters. We're TOLD what her relationships with others are like, we're TOLD what the other characters' personality traits are, but we're never SHOWN those things. I think the episode where they deal with Jasmine's fears is probably the biggest offender. Jasmine herself acts as more of a plot device then anything else, with her fears being used as a stepping stone to teach HAZEL a lesson, rather then allowing the episode to focus on Jasmine overcoming those fears. The scene where Jasmine actually FACES those fears ends up being just thrown in at the end as a way to solve the conflict, which tbh wasn't that engaging in the first place because Hazel had no personal attatchment to any of Jasmine's fears... that's just kind of a bad episode overall tbh it's where all of the shows flaws are the most prominent but I DIGRESS-

Another really good example of the poor relationship building is her relationship with her brother, Antony, who we literally don't even get to SEE until well into the second half of the season. I haven't actually gotten to that episode yet, so I can't really judge Antony as a character, but I CAN judge how they've been setting him up so far! Which hasn't been very good! Instead of SHOWING US Hazel's relationship with him through flashbacks or something, the writers just have Hazel TELL US how she feels about her brother and things they used to do together. It just doesn't have the same impact as actually seeing their relationship play out would, y'know? They've been telling us about Hazel's relationships with other characters instead of showing us those relationships, and it's been hurting Hazel as a character.

The only relationships she has that we actually get to watch her BUILD are her relationship with Cosmo & Wanda and her relationship with Dev, which, while the ladder is genuinely really well done and interesting(aside from a couple pacing issues but honestly the show is chock full of those so whatever), the former ALSO falls really flat because Cosmo & Wanda aren't really... characters. They're iconic, sure, and they're really funny, but they're also mostly just plot devices. They're here to grant Hazel's wishes(aka cause the plot of the episode) and be funny. That's it. Which is fine, those kinds of characters obviously have their place, but when they're the only ones your main character consistently interacts with? That causes some problems. It's like if, in the movie Aladdin, instead of focusing mostly on the relationship between Aladdin and Jasmine, they focused entirely on his relationship with the Genie. The Genie is mostly just here to move the plot along and say funny things, so having him be the character Aladdin interacts with the MOST kind of breaks the movie. Having a story where almost all the interactions are between the main character and the comic relief just doesn't work.

Honestly I think the issues with Hazel's relationships are probably why people are more drawn to Dev as a character then they are to Hazel, because while Hazel almost exclusively interacts with characters who could be replaced by cardboard cutouts and nobody would tell the difference, Dev doesn't. Dev's relationships are a lot more engaging because all of the characters he interacts with are SIGNIFICANTLY more fleshed out then the ones Hazel interacts with. His relationship with Hazel is engaging because it's an emotional rollercoaster for both of them. His relationship with Peri is interesting because Peri is much newer to being a fairy godparent then Cosmo & Wanda are, meaning he's more likely to make mistakes. His relationship with his dad is interesting because it's literally the main motivation for his character, and we actually get to SEE WHY THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS THE WAY IT IS. His relationship with Irep is more interesting because Irep is a weird little shit who's mostly just using Dev to take over fairyworld, and he also has an interesting dynamic with Peri! Dev's relationships are all WAY better executed then Hazel's, and honestly I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that Dev is an antagonist who mostly interacts with other antagonists. He's at the center of almost every single ongoing conflict in the show, which is often times what makes a character and their relationships interesting: conflict. I also think he benefits from getting expanded on LATER in the show, since by that point all of the writers would've had a much better feel for all of the characters, making it easier for them to actually show what his relationships are like instead of outright telling us skgnvkdmfkekfndn

Now, was the point of all this to say that I think Dev would be a better protagonist then Hazel? No. Absolutely not no- he has a more interesting, better executed story then Hazel does so far, sure, but he just. Wouldn't be able to carry an episodic show like FOP on his own I'm sorry- we've seen the kind of wishes he makes, they're not particularly interesting. Because he's a rich kid who can do basically whatever he wants. Plus, his conflict with Peri just isn't really built to be stretched out over an entire season, which it would HAVE to be if Dev was the protagonist of a Fairly Oddparents, because the entire premise of the show is "this kid gets a Fairy Godparent, what kind of wacky hijinks will they get up to now?" Plus there's the fact that the narrative has been treating his parental neglect with a lot more gravity then Timmy's ever was, meaning if the show was from his perspective they'd have to tone down the things that make him interesting to keep the show from getting outright miserable- Dev is not a good character to make carry that kind of show. Dev should not be the main character. HOWEVER! Do I think the show would be more interesting if we got more episodes featuring him and Hazel hanging out together? Yes absolutely. They bounce off of eachother incredibly well, and once Peri is introduced we also get to see Peri's relationship with his parents and how THEY interact, and it's just. So much more interesting then seeing just Hazel and CosWan. Or Hazel's cardboard cutout friends. Honestly I'd go as far as to say he should've been Hazel's dueteragonist instead of just a recurring character, kinda like a(hopefully) better executed Chloe. It'd give Hazel a more interesting character to bounce off of then Cosmo & Wanda. Either that or I think Peri should've been Hazel's fairy godparent instead of Cosmo & Wanda, because he has more room to grow and develope as a character then they do, making his potential dynamic with Hazel a lot more interesting. Idk just in general I think having Hazel interact almost exclusively with Cosmo & Wanda was a mistake-

Also should be noted; I am saying this as someone who has never seen the original Fairly Oddparents. I don't know if the original show had these issues aswell or not, everything I know about the original comes from random YouTube videos I watched out of curiousity/boredom. Either way if the original DID have issues with Timmy's relationships being really boring then uh. That's not an excuse for A New Wish to do the same, I guess. Idk where I'm going with this... also sorry if this essay is incoherent! I have a lot of thoughts about how Hazel's relationships are really poorly executed and I just needed to get them out skfnvdkdjfndn- if you want me to elaborate on anything feel free to leave a comment or send me an ask :)

[coraniaid]

I know it's never going to happen, but it sure would be nice if people in the Buffy fandom could shut about how much they hate Kennedy. We get it, you're boring and predictable and have poor taste. But why not just ... keep it to yourself? Why assume everybody scrolling the tags wants to read your bad takes?

You don't even have anything original to say.

"Oh, but the writers rushed Willow into a new relationship too soon; Willow would never--"

I'm sorry, but are we talking about Willow Rosenberg, the girl who tried to encourage Buffy back into "date mode" because "love is nice" not only weeks after Buffy's ex-boyfriend had lost his soul, but while he was still actively terrorizing her and trying to kill her friends? The girl who tried to set Buffy up with a new boyfriend, because "you're ready now", just days after Buffy got back from months spent hiding out alone in a strange city while grieving over having to send that same ex-boyfriend to hell to save the world? Who -- after said ex came back from hell and then broke up with her -- then pushed her to try to date the first person who seemed interested in her in college, no matter how reluctant Buffy told her she was and how little either of them knew about him? That's the Willow we're talking about? That's the girl you think wouldn't rush into a new relationship?

Willow has always invested a huge amount of her self-worth in being worthy of love and being able to be loved by others, and she's always assumed that everyone else does the same. That's who she is. We're talking about the girl who ran off to cry when she realized the friend she'd been crushing on for years was dating somebody she didn't like because "it means you'd rather be with somebody you hate than be with me". The girl who only finally got over said crush when she started dating somebody new. Who was so upset when he left her too, years later, that she attracted the attention of a vengeance demon who told her she had "pain that pierces dimensional walls"; and who only really got over that when she met Tara. Who later describes her relationship with Tara as "the only thing" she had going for her. All the way back in Season 1, the first episode that ever focused on Willow was about her attracting the romantic attention of a demon obsessed with wanting its followers to love and worship it. Wanting to be loved is, arguably, the most consistent character trait Willow has ever had.

And look: Willow tortured and killed the man who murdered Tara; she came close to ending the world rather than living in it without her; when she comes back to Sunnydale months later, still mourning, she makes a point of visiting Tara's grave. She's twenty-one years old. It's not moving too fast for her to want to be part of a relationship again; it's the only way somebody like Willow can really stop being unhappy and find some measure of peace and emotional stability. Do you really want Willow to end the show miserable and single and mourning? Do you think that shows more respect towards Tara?

"Oh, but Kennedy is so different from Tara, surely Willow would never--"

We don't know what Willow's type is! Before Season 7, Tara is the only woman we ever see Willow show the slightest bit of interest in! And, again, Willow is twenty one years old. She met Tara when they were both teenagers. Are you still exclusively interested in the type of person you were attracted to when you were a teenager?

Tara is different enough from Oz, who was different enough from Xander, that I think it's safe to guess that Willow's romantic taste is broader than you might think. And the one thing that Kennedy does have in common with Tara (and with Oz before her) is that she is very, very obviously into Willow as soon as they meet. That's what we know about Willow's type: she falls for people who are, on sight, transfixed by Willow.

"Oh, but Kennedy treats Buffy so disrepectfully, she--"

Wow. A teenage girl not showing proper reverence to an older, more experienced person who -- without consulting her about it -- positions themselves as some sort of unelected authority figure? Oh, yes, I can see why fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer would hate somebody like that. That's nothing like anybody we've seen on the show before.

Why should Kennedy like Buffy? Why should she respect her? She doesn't know her! Anything she's heard about Buffy Summers before Season 7 she'd have heard from the Watchers, who have no reason to be honest or favorable about her. When she gets to Sunnydale she gets to live in Buffy's crowded, cramped house, and train in her garden all day, and listen to speeches by somebody who tells her she's probably going to die soon and will probably deserve it. Somebody who doesn't make any effort to get to know her or bond with her as a person. Somebody who mocks girls like her for being driven to suicide (girls who are, in Buffy's words, "weak" and "idiots"), who sleeps with vampires and is friends with demons and comes up with plans that get the other Potentials -- Kennedy's friends, girls Kennedy herself feels responsible for (just like Buffy would if their positions were reversed!) -- seriously hurt or even killed. What does Buffy ever do to earn Kennedy's respect?

Don't get me wrong, most of Buffy's friends treat her pretty terribly this season [this is not a comment about Buffy's friends as much as it is about the quality of the writing this season]. But while Dawn or Willow or Xander helping to kick Buffy out of her own house is appalling and ungrateful and out of character, when Kennedy does it it makes sense. Buffy hasn't ever treated Kennedy as a friend, so why would she magically become one?

"Oh, but Kennedy is so rich and entitled and bossy, she--"

You're a hypothetical Buffy fan on Tumblr. I know if I look I will find posts talking about how much you like Season 1 Cordelia Chase. I'm just saying that maybe this isn't a route you want to go down.

"Oh, but Kennedy's just in the season too much, I wanted more focus on the original--"

This season does try to juggle too many characters, and it would be better if it spent more time examining Buffy's relationship with Willow and Xander and Giles. But the way you achieve that is by downplaying Andrew Wells (a lot), cutting out a lot of the more forgettable Potentials, entirely getting rid of Caleb [the actual worst Buffy character, for the record] and throwing out the awful time-wasting subplots around Spike's hypnotic trigger and the non-mystery of Giles obviously not being the First. It's not by reducing the amount of screen time Kennedy or Robin Wood get, because they are the new characters this season should actually be about.

"Oh, but-"

No, enough. I'm sick of it.

[amethystarachnid]

Hello, I am wondering if u are still taking requests or not but if you are could I please have a request for a Tony Stark x female reader, who is also best friend of Tony Stark before he came Iron Man, but she was born in the same day as him “May 29th” but Tony Stark is also older by a couple or a few years older then her “Your choice I don’t mind” but She also has similar personality traits as Tony Stark and she is highly intelligent but also she has an Artistic where she can draw or sketch with perfect detail as well and Musician side where she can play any instrument especially with the guitars as well and she is has high medical skills as well but also an Avenger who is selfless and protective of the people she loves especially when it comes to Tony Stark, but she suffers from insomnia, anxiety and panic attacks as well, but she has been by his side through everything as well especially with during his Party and Playboy times as well and she went with him and James “Rhodey” Rhodes in Afghanistan where Tony Stark became Iron Man and she also helped Yinsen with his first Arc Reactor in that cave as well But it’s a fluff and romance ending as at the end where they both reveal their feelings for each other which they had from the moment they met and they have their first kiss between them as well and then also they both happily agreed to be in a relationship with each other as well but Y/N “The Reader” also likes to call Tony Stark by his last name “Stark” as a nickname for him from the moment they met or just Tony as well.

LINES OF THE HEART

⤷ ANTHONY “TONY” E. STARK

ᯓ★ Pairing: Anthony “Tony” E. Stark x fem!reader

ᯓ★ Genre: fluff, romance, rom-com

ᯓ★ Word count: 4k

ᯓ★ Summary: Tony Stark and his brilliant, artistic best friend have danced around their feelings for years, until jealousy and a heartfelt confession finally bring them together.

ᯓ★ TW(s): nothing I think

ᯓ★ Love is in the air - Valentine's Day special game

ᯓ★ My Masterlist

ᯓ★ MARVEL Holiday Special

ᯓ★ MARVEL Multiverse - choose an AU, pair it with your favorite character and make a request!

ᯓ★ Songs & Superheroes tales - The Game (to make a request, follow the rules on the link!)

ᯓ★ MARVEL Bingo

ᯓ★ English isn’t my first language

The soft hum of the workshop fills the air, the familiar scent of motor oil and coffee lingering around you as you lean back in your chair, twirling a pencil between your fingers. The glow of holographic schematics casts a blue tint over the room, illuminating Tony’s focused expression as he tinkers with the latest upgrade to his suit. His brows are furrowed in that way they always get when he’s deep in thought, his fingers moving with practiced precision over the delicate wiring. You watch him for a moment, the corner of your lips quirking up in amusement. Even after all these years, the sight of him completely absorbed in his work never gets old.

“You’re staring,” he says without looking up, his voice laced with that trademark Stark smirk.

“And you’re avoiding sleep again,” you shoot back, tapping the pencil against your sketchbook. “When was the last time you closed those genius eyes of yours for more than five minutes?”

Tony finally glances up, his dark eyes meeting yours with a mix of exhaustion and defiance. “Sleep is for the weak, and we,” he gestures between the two of you, “are very much not weak.”

You roll your eyes but don’t argue. You know better than anyone that when Tony gets like this, there’s no pulling him away from his projects. It’s one of the many things you’ve always had in common—the inability to switch off your brains, the relentless drive to keep working, creating, improving. It’s why you’ve been inseparable since you were kids, despite the few years between you. Born on the same day, just not the same year. A fact you never let him forget.

“You’re insufferable, Stark,” you mutter, turning your attention back to the half-finished sketch in front of you. It’s a detailed drawing of the workshop, the scattered tools, the glow of the arc reactor in Tony’s chest, the way the light catches the curve of his jaw. You’ve always had a knack for capturing moments like this—tiny fragments of time that most people overlook.

Tony leans over, peering at your sketchbook. “Is that me?”

“No, it’s a very handsome toaster,” you deadpan.

He snorts, nudging your shoulder with his. “Flattery will get you everywhere, sweetheart.”

You shove him lightly, but there’s no real force behind it. “Shut up and go back to your suit. I’m busy.”

Tony doesn’t move, though. Instead, he watches as your pencil glides over the paper, adding shading to the lines of his face. “You know, most people would kill to have you draw them,” he muses.

“Good thing I don’t draw most people, then,” you reply without looking up.

He’s quiet for a moment, and you can practically hear the gears turning in his head. “Remember that time in college when you drew that portrait of me and I accidentally spilled coffee all over it?”

You pause, shooting him a glare. “I still haven’t forgiven you for that.”

Tony grins, completely unrepentant. “I bought you that ridiculously expensive set of pencils to make up for it.”

“And then you broke half of them trying to ‘help’ me sketch.”

“In my defense, I was trying to be supportive.”

“You’re a menace,” you sigh, but there’s no real heat behind it.

Tony’s grin softens into something warmer, something quieter. “Yeah, but I’m your menace.”

The words settle between you, comfortable and familiar. Because that’s what you’ve always been to each other—constants in a world that never stops changing. Through the parties, the scandals, the reckless decisions, the late-night panic attacks when the weight of the world feels like too much—you’ve always had each other’s backs.

You set your pencil down, stretching your arms above your head. “Alright, Stark, I’m calling it. We’ve been down here for twelve hours straight. Even geniuses need to eat.”

Tony makes a show of sighing dramatically, but he’s already shutting down the holograms. “Fine, but only because you’re using that tone.”

“What tone?”

“The ‘I’m about to drag you out of here by your ear if you don’t move’ tone.”

You smirk. “Smart man.”

He follows you out of the workshop, the two of you falling into step like you always do. The tower is quiet at this hour, the city lights twinkling through the floor-to-ceiling windows. It’s moments like these that feel the most real—just you and Tony, no suits, no emergencies, no world-ending threats. Just the two of you, existing in the same space like you were always meant to.

Tony nudges you again as you reach the kitchen. “You’re thinking too loud.”

“And you’re avoiding the fact that you’re starving,” you counter, pulling open the fridge.

He leans against the counter, arms crossed. “I could eat.”

“Understatement of the century,” you mutter, pulling out leftovers.

Tony watches as you move around the kitchen, his expression unreadable for a moment before he finally speaks. “You know, if you ever wanted to, you could just move in here permanently. Save yourself the trip back to your place at 3 AM.”

You pause, glancing at him over your shoulder. “Are you offering me a room in your tower, Stark?”

He shrugs, trying to play it casual, but you know him too well. There’s something vulnerable in his eyes, something he’d never admit out loud. “Figured it’d be more convenient. You’re already here half the time anyway.”

You turn fully to face him, crossing your arms. “Is this your way of saying you’d miss me if I wasn’t around?”

Tony scoffs, but there’s no real bite to it. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

You grin, stepping closer and poking his chest. “Too late. I’m flattered.”

He catches your wrist before you can pull away, his grip gentle but firm. For a second, the air between you shifts, something unspoken hanging in the space between your breaths. Then Tony smirks, breaking the moment. “So, is that a yes?”

You roll your eyes, pulling your hand free. “I’ll think about it.”

Tony’s grin widens, victorious. “That’s basically a yes.”

“It’s basically a ‘shut up and eat your food,’” you retort, shoving a container of takeout into his hands.

He doesn’t argue, just settles onto one of the stools at the island, watching you with that familiar fondness that’s been there for as long as you can remember. And as you sit across from him, stealing fries off his plate just to annoy him, you can’t help but think that no matter what the world throws at you next, you’ll always have this.

You’ll always have Tony.

And really, that’s all that matters.

Moving into the tower is easier than you expected. Tony, of course, insists on handling everything—because when does he not?—and within a day, your belongings are seamlessly integrated into the space next to his. The room is spacious, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a breathtaking view of the city, and a door that connects directly to Tony’s private quarters. He brushes it off as a practicality thing, muttering something about "efficiency" and "late-night brainstorming sessions," but you know him better than that. Still, you don’t call him out on it. Some things don’t need to be said aloud.

The other Avengers take your arrival in stride. Natasha gives you a knowing smirk when she sees you hauling in a box of sketchbooks, Clint immediately ropes you into a prank war against Tony, and Bruce offers a quiet, warm welcome before retreating back to his lab. Steve, though—Steve surprises you. You’d known him before, of course, fought alongside him, but living in the same space brings a new kind of closeness. One afternoon, you’re curled up in the common area, sketching absentmindedly in your notebook, when he walks in and pauses, tilting his head.

“You draw?” he asks, genuine interest in his voice.

You glance up, nodding. “Yeah. You?”

He smiles, that earnest, boyish grin that makes him seem younger than his years. “When I have the time. Mostly old-fashioned stuff, though. Nothing like… whatever that is.” He gestures to your sketch, a detailed, almost futuristic rendering of the city skyline.

You shrug. “Different styles, that’s all. You should show me yours sometime.”

And just like that, it becomes a thing. Steve starts joining you in the common area, his own sketchbook in hand, the two of you trading techniques, critiques, the occasional playful jab about artistic choices. He’s surprisingly good—his lines are clean, his shading precise, his subjects often nostalgic: Brooklyn streets, wartime memories, the Howling Commandos. You, on the other hand, lean toward the abstract, the hyper-detailed, the things most people don’t notice—the way light reflects off Tony’s arc reactor, the exact curve of Natasha’s smirk when she’s about to win an argument.

Tony, for his part, is… weird about it.

At first, you don’t notice. He’s always been possessive in his own way, but it’s never been a problem. Now, though, whenever he walks in on you and Steve hunched over your sketchbooks, his jaw tightens just slightly before he forces a smirk and makes some sarcastic comment about "arts and crafts hour." You brush it off—Tony’s always been dramatic—but then the little things start adding up.

Like how he suddenly "needs" your input on a suit design right in the middle of one of your drawing sessions with Steve. Or how he "accidentally" spills coffee on Steve’s sketchbook (you call him out on that one immediately—he’s not slick). Or how, when Steve compliments one of your pieces, Tony mutters something under his breath about "not needing a museum critic."

It comes to a head one evening when you’re in the workshop, fiddling with a new design for your own suit—because yes, you’ve got one now, courtesy of Tony’s insistence that you "stop borrowing his and get your own damn armor." He’s been uncharacteristically quiet all day, tinkering with something on the other side of the room, when he finally breaks the silence.

“So,” he says, voice too casual, “you and Rogers seem… cozy.”

You don’t look up from your work. “We draw. It’s not a crime.”

Tony scoffs. “Didn’t say it was.”

“You’re implying it, though.”

He’s quiet for a beat, then sighs, running a hand through his hair. “I’m not—look, it’s fine. I just didn’t realize you two were suddenly best friends.”

You finally glance up, raising an eyebrow. “Are you jealous, Stark?”

He barks out a laugh, but it’s forced. “Please. I don’t get jealous.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” you mutter, turning back to your work.

Tony exhales sharply, then pushes away from his workstation, striding over to you. He leans against the table, arms crossed, studying you with an intensity that makes your fingers still. “You’ve known me longer than anyone,” he says quietly. “You know how I get.”

You meet his gaze, holding it. “Yeah. I do. Which is why I know you’re being ridiculous right now.”

He doesn’t deny it. Just looks at you, his expression unreadable for a long moment before he finally says, “I don’t like sharing.”

The admission catches you off guard. Tony Stark doesn’t admit things like that—not outright, not without layers of sarcasm or deflection. But here, now, in the dim glow of the workshop, he’s laid it bare.

You set your tools down, leaning back in your chair. “You’re not sharing me, Tony. I’m not a damn suit.”

He flinches, just slightly, and you immediately regret the sharpness in your tone. You reach out, catching his wrist before he can pull away. “Hey. Look at me.”

He does, reluctantly.

“You’re my best friend,” you say, voice softer now. “That’s not changing. Just because I hang out with Steve sometimes doesn’t mean you’re getting replaced.”

Tony’s jaw works, his eyes flickering over your face like he’s searching for something. Then, finally, he exhales, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. “I know. I’m being an ass.”

“Yeah,” you agree, smirking. “But you’re my ass.”

He rolls his eyes, but there’s a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. “You’re insufferable.”

“Takes one to know one.”

Tony shakes his head, but he doesn’t move away. Instead, he nudges your knee with his. “Just—don’t forget who was here first, alright?”

You snort. “Oh, I’ll never let you live that down.”

He grins then, real and bright, and just like that, the tension dissolves.

Later, when Steve finds you in the common area again, sketchbook in hand, Tony doesn’t interrupt. He just lingers in the doorway for a moment, watching the two of you with an unreadable expression before walking away.

And if, the next day, you leave a new sketch on his workstation—one of him, mid-laugh, the way he only does when it’s just the two of you—well.

Some things don’t need to be said aloud.

----

The Tower thrums with energy, pulsing like a living thing as music spills through every floor. Tony’s parties are always extravagant, but tonight feels different—louder, brighter, more suffocating. You lean against the bar, swirling your drink absently, watching the crowd with a detached sort of amusement. You’ve been to enough of these to know the rhythm—the way people orbit Tony like moths to a flame, the way he plays the part of the charming host, the way his smile never quite reaches his eyes when he’s bored.

And he’s bored tonight. You can tell.

But that doesn’t stop the parade of women from trying their luck.

You take a slow sip of your drink, your grip tightening just slightly as a brunette in a dress that leaves little to the imagination drapes herself over Tony’s arm, laughing at something he says like it’s the funniest thing she’s ever heard. Tony flashes her that smirk, the one you know is pure performance, but it still sends an unwelcome twist through your chest.

You shouldn’t care.

You don’t care.

At least, that’s what you tell yourself.

A familiar presence settles beside you at the bar. “You look like you’re plotting murder,” Steve observes mildly, nodding to the bartender for a drink.

You force a smirk. “Only a little.”

Steve follows your gaze to where Tony is now surrounded by no less than three admirers, all vying for his attention. “Ah,” he says, understanding dawning.

You bristle. “Don’t ‘ah’ me, Rogers.”

He holds up his hands in surrender. “Didn’t say a word.”

You scowl into your drink. “Good.”

Steve hesitates, then sighs. “You know he’s not actually interested in any of them, right?”

You roll your eyes. “I’m not an idiot. I know it’s just part of the act.”

“Then why does it bother you?”

The question hangs in the air between you, sharp and unavoidable. You open your mouth to deflect, to brush it off with a joke, but something in Steve’s steady gaze stops you. He’s not judging. He’s just… asking.

You exhale, shoulders slumping. “I don’t know.”

Steve nods like that’s answer enough. “Sometimes it’s easier to see things from the outside.”

You glance at him. “Meaning?”

He shrugs. “Meaning you two have been circling each other for years. Maybe it’s time to admit what you really want.”

Your throat tightens. “It’s not that simple.”

“Isn’t it?”

You don’t answer. Because the truth is, you do know. You’ve known for a while, maybe always, buried under layers of denial and deflection. But seeing Tony like this—flirting, laughing, playing the part—it claws at something deep in your chest, something possessive and raw.

You want him to look at you like that.

Not as his best friend. Not as his partner in crime.

As yours.

The realization hits you like a punch to the gut.

Steve nudges your shoulder gently. “For what it’s worth, he’s not nearly as subtle as he thinks he is.”

You blink. “What?”

Steve just smiles, taking a sip of his drink. “Nothing.”

Before you can press him, a burst of laughter draws your attention back to Tony. One of the women—the brunette—has her hand on his chest, fingers dangerously close to the arc reactor. Something hot and jagged flares in your ribs.

You set your glass down a little too hard. “Excuse me.”

Steve doesn’t stop you.

You weave through the crowd, your pulse loud in your ears. Tony spots you before you reach him, his eyes lighting up in a way they haven’t all night. “There you are,” he says, disentangling himself from the woman with practiced ease. “I was starting to think you’d ditched me.”

You force a smirk. “And miss the show? Never.”

Tony’s grin falters just slightly, his gaze flickering over your face. “You okay?”

“Peachy,” you lie.

He studies you for a beat, then nods toward the balcony. “Air?”

You don’t argue.

The night air is cool against your skin, a welcome contrast to the stifling heat of the party. Tony leans against the railing, the city lights casting sharp shadows across his face. “So,” he says, “what’s really going on?”

You mirror his stance, staring out at the skyline. “Nothing.”

Tony snorts. “Bullshit. You’ve been off all night.”

You sigh, rubbing your temples. “It’s stupid.”

“Try me.”

You hesitate, then— “I don’t like seeing you with them.”

The words hang between you, heavy and undeniable. Tony goes very still.

Then, slowly, a smirk tugs at his lips. “Jealous, sweetheart?”

You shove his shoulder. “Don’t flatter yourself, Stark.”

He catches your wrist, his grip warm and firm. “Too late.”

Your breath catches. His eyes are dark, intense, searching yours for something. You should pull away. You should laugh it off.

You don’t.

The moment stretches, fragile and electric, before Tony finally exhales, releasing you. “We should get back inside,” he murmurs, but he doesn’t move.

You nod, even though you don’t want to. “Yeah.”

Neither of you moves.

Somewhere below, the city hums, indifferent.

---

The next few days pass in a strange, charged haze.

You and Tony orbit each other like twin stars—close enough to feel the pull, but never quite colliding. There are lingering glances, half-finished sentences, moments where one of you almost says something before thinking better of it. The tension is thick enough to cut with a knife, but neither of you acknowledges it outright.

Then, one afternoon, Tony drops the bomb.

"Got a date tonight," he says casually, not looking up from the holographic schematics floating between you in the workshop.

Your fingers freeze mid-motion over your own project. "Oh?"

"Yeah. Some CEO. Pepper set it up." He shrugs, like it's nothing. Like it doesn't matter.

Your stomach twists. "Have fun," you manage, voice carefully neutral.

Tony finally glances at you, his expression unreadable. "You okay?"

"Perfect." You force a smile. "Why wouldn't I be?"

He studies you for a beat too long before nodding. "Right."

That night, you don't wait up. You bury yourself in work, in music, in anything to keep from imagining Tony across the city, laughing with someone else, touching someone else—

You slam your sketchbook shut.

This is ridiculous.

You're being ridiculous.

But the thought won't leave you alone.

The next morning, Tony finds you in the kitchen, already on your third coffee. "Rough night?" he asks, eyeing the dark circles under your eyes.

You don't look at him. "Something like that."

Tony hesitates, then reaches for your wrist. "Talk to me."

You pull away. "Nothing to talk about."

His jaw tightens. "Bullshit."

You finally meet his gaze, your own sharp. "What do you want me to say, Tony? That I spent all night thinking about your date? That I—" You cut yourself off, biting your tongue.

Tony goes very still. "That you what?"

"Nothing." You turn away, but he catches your arm, spinning you back to face him.

"No. Finish that sentence."

His grip is firm, his eyes burning into yours. Something inside you snaps.

"That I hate it!" you burst out, shoving at his chest. "That I hate seeing you with anyone else, that I can't stand the thought of you—" Your voice cracks. "God, Tony, are you really going to make me say it?"

The words hang between you, raw and exposed.

Tony's grip loosens, his expression shifting into something unreadable. "Say what?" he murmurs.

You swallow hard, your heart pounding. "That I'm in love with you, you idiot."

The silence that follows is deafening.

Then Tony's hands are framing your face, his mouth crashing into yours. The kiss is desperate, messy, years of pent-up longing poured into the press of lips and the slide of tongues. You gasp into it, fingers twisting in his shirt to pull him closer.

When you finally break apart, Tony rests his forehead against yours, his breath ragged. "Took you long enough," he mutters.

You huff a laugh, still reeling. "Shut up."

He grins, stealing another quick kiss. "Make me."

And just like that, the tension shatters—replaced by something warm and bright and terrifyingly real.

Somewhere in the back of your mind, you know this changes everything.

But right now, with Tony's lips on yours, you can't bring yourself to care.

---

The shift between you and Tony is subtle at first—lingering touches, shared glances, the way you instinctively gravitate toward each other in a room. But the Avengers aren’t just Earth’s Mightiest Heroes—they’re also professional nosy bastards.

Clint is the first to notice.

He catches the way Tony’s hand lingers at the small of your back during a debrief, and his eyebrows shoot up so fast they nearly disappear into his hairline. “Ohhh,” he says, grinning like a shark. “So that’s why Stark’s been in such a good mood lately.”

Tony scowls. “I’m always in a good mood.”

Natasha smirks into her coffee. “No, you’re not.”

You roll your eyes, but your cheeks burn.

Bruce, ever the scientist, adjusts his glasses and observes, “Honestly, I’m just surprised it took this long.”

Tony throws a wrench at him.

Steve, though—Steve says nothing. He just watches with that quiet, knowing smile of his, like he’d seen this coming from miles away.

And then, one evening, he corners you both in the common area with a wrapped package under his arm. “For you,” he says, handing it over.

You exchange a glance with Tony before carefully unwrapping it—and freeze.

It’s a charcoal sketch, exquisitely detailed, of the two of you. Tony is mid-laugh, head thrown back, his arm slung around your shoulders as you grin up at him, your fingers tangled together. The moment is so intimate, so real, it steals your breath.

You recognize it instantly—the night on the balcony after the party, when everything finally clicked into place.

Tony’s voice is uncharacteristically soft. “Rogers, when the hell did you—?”

Steve shrugs. “I pay attention.”

You swallow hard, tracing the edge of the frame. “Steve, this is…”

“A long time coming,” he finishes gently. Then, with a smirk, “Try not to break each other’s hearts, yeah?”

Tony scoffs, but his arm tightens around your waist. “No promises.”

Clint, who’d been eavesdropping from the kitchen, cackles. “Oh man, we are never letting you two live this down.”

Natasha nods solemnly. “Never.”

You groan, burying your face in Tony’s shoulder as he flips them off.

And if, later that night, you find the perfect spot on your shared bedroom wall to hang Steve’s gift—well.

Some things are worth remembering.

had to rewrite it but I don't like this version :(

[lady-asphodel]

Small Rant : Dr. Ratio

There's still so much misconceptions about Dr. Ratio and the Genius Society with Nous, that it hurts my soul everytime someone had the right spirit but wrong approach to why Dr. Ratio had not been accepted in the Genius Society.

I've already kind of talked about it in my specific Dr. Ratio analysis posts, especially the one about " When The Stars Of Ingenuity Shines ". But let's focus on that here, and let's clarify that point that many people still, to this day, seems to struggle with.

FIRST- let's see what are the common reasons I've often seen that I don't agree with:

- Dr. Ratio is too kind / empathetic

- Dr. Ratio's achievements are not outstanding enough

- Dr. Ratio prioritizes others over himself

- Dr. Ratio wants everyone to have equal education (this one is a teeny-tiny complicated, because it isn't wrong, but it isn't exact either, especially regarding the G.S [Genius Society])

- Dr. Ratio is still in contact with others / not isolated (there's nuances here)

Now.

I like to use a simple sentence to show the difference between Dr. Ratio and the G.S members; " Geniuses dedicate their life to knowledge, while Dr. Ratio dedicates knowledge to life "

So. Let me put it bluntly. The only two parameters that will influence your chances to be gazed at Nous are strictly how you approach knowledge - The more extreme your relationship with it is, the most likely you'll become a G.S member - and your beliefs regarding Erudition and Knowledge.

JUST. THOSE. TWO. PARAMETERS.

Repeat after me: Morality, ethicality, achievements, empathy, humanity, and social etiquettes have nothing to do with how to obtain the gaze of Nous and be a G.S member.

Dr. Ratio's goal and mission is to assist the continuation/advancement of Civilization. The knowledge he is acquires and then spreads are solely focused on that. He is not a kind or empathetic character - careful there, he isn't malicious either - he is negative minded. But he isn't helping civilization, humanity or others because he genuinely care about them. And while he doesn't despise them either (except fools), his motives are not out of generosity. The one, most impactful, lesson Dr. Ratio values and spreads the most (yet not openly) is the one of the Self - ultimately leading people to self-awarness.

Of course, it doesn't mean that Dr. Ratio is heartless, far from that, or that he isn't capable of genuine care. But it's..... Not the core of his teaching or his motives. More like a trait that he will show from time to time, a great nuance between his almost inhuman guidance and his actual humanity.

As for his achievements. I don't remember everything to be honest, I won't be able to tell you the exact sources exact that it comes from either the game itself or hoyolab events. Saying that Dr. Ratio is not outstanding and has no achievements is......... Laughable. That man changes the advancement of humanity's knowledge universally.

He has qualifications in eight different complicated fields, developed multiple devices that saved entire planets, published papers that advanced the knowledge of specific previous mysterious of subjects 1000 years. I could go on, but even more ironic, is that even multiple Genius Society members recognized his mastery and his extraordinary qualities.

Then, joining the first paragraph, Dr. Ratio does everything but priotizing others over himself. The only way for people, in my opinion, to think that, outside of the fact he helps civilization, is his methods. Dr. Ratio is a passive teacher that doesn't want to be in the spot-light while giving his lessons (as we were able to see with Asta or Aventurine). For exemple, in Penacony, Dr. Ratio didn't help Aventurine because he cares more about him than himself (though he didn't not care either) but it was part of his personal guidance for him. I will explain it further once I get my hands on Penacony for him.

Dr. Ratio wants everyone to have equal education. Yes and no. If we want to be more exact, think more like this: Dr. Ratio believes that everyone in the cosmos is equal. Everyone can attain self-awarness= anyone can leave their state of ignorance. His education is for civilization advancement not really civilization equality. His core belief is that all life don't have inherent value, thus are worth living no matter the circumstances: in failure or success, it doesn't matter, life itself and continuing forward is what's important. But for everyone to receive the exact same education? In basics it can apply, but everyone is different and therefore can't receive the same knowledge to achieve a greater state. That's why Dr. Ratio is a a detached observator rather than a direct instructor.

As for Dr. Ratio social points.... He isn't that social with others. If anything, he's pretty isolated himself. But not because of knowledge, which differentiate him from Ruan Mei for example. His whole alabaster head is a proof of that!

But all in all, even after debunking all those points, we've seen social Geniuses, kind and empathetic geniuses, as well as banal geniuses with not significant achievements. How can we expect those points to be necessary for Nous' gaze then?

No. Relationship with Nous' vision of knowledge is the fundamental part of it.

And Dr. Ratio beliefs and relationship with knowledge are very different with what Nous (and erudition) stands for.

If you had still struggles with this, I hope this post helped you a little! Otherwise, it still mainly my own interpretation but I think a lot of my points aren't that subjective and more objective than anything.

[satsuha]

not sure if you would agree but sometimes the ace attorney fandom feels like the Shu Takumi fandom, especially since all the games he is head writer on get a lot of praise, with people quickly brushing aside the flaws in the games he worked on or outright making up excuses, such as claiming he was drunk writing turnabout big top but totally sober writing every other case in the 2nd game because"they're good".

Meanwhile the fandom is very harsh towards the games with Takeshi Yamazaki as head writer, only focusing on their flaws, which aren't always flaws and claiming he "ruined ace attorney" or that the games he's head writer on "aren't canon".

Only expections seem to be AA4 and AAI2, but AA4 is overall loved a lot more than the other two Apollo Justice trilogy games and AAI2 has a more niche fanbase, due to only recently being localised, so I worry that game will get more hate because of how harsh people are to AAI1.

oh yeah i totally agree and like, i get it. as someone who got into ace attorney because of how much i liked ghost trick, i get it... but it is absolutely true that fans tend to put takumi on way too much of a pedestal. my personal feelings on the games takumi has worked on are extremely mixed (i think aa3 is amazing but i really did not like tgaa at all), as are my feelings with the games yamazaki directed (aa5 and aa6 are what i would consider my least and most favourite in the main series, while i like the aai games), so they're kinda equal in my book lol

it's ridiculous to me because takumi himself really REALLY likes turnabout big top (source) enough to call it one of his favourite cases so...? those fans would be straight up putting words in his mouth. it's a case i really enjoyed as well, and it's a downright shame that people can't look past a few gripes to just enjoy the case for what it is. i think the berry big circus' return in aai2 shows how well liked it is amongst both the dev team and the japanese fan base (famitsu poll where big top ranked #7 in "most memorable case" and one of the cases mentioned under "did you cry during any of the games", and max ranked #5 under favourite defendants)

i know i said takumi and yamazaki are equal to me right above but in terms of personal preference i would actually pick yamazaki, simply because he's the type of writer who clearly cares so much about his protagonists and the story they have to tell, and the journey they go on. takumi and yamazaki are nearly opposites in this regard if you ask me, with takumi saying phoenix ended up subconsciously being a bit of a self insert (source) while yamazaki tends to lean in much harder on what makes the protagonists unique. i like phoenix well enough but i think all of takumi's games are similar in that the protagonist (playable character) is never really the main character in the stories the games are telling - the one criticism people seem to have about aa4 is how much apollo is a bystander in phoenix and kristoph's story, but in my opinion all of takumi's games are like this, even ghost trick. i hesitate to call it a flaw because it feels very intentional to me and clearly some people like how it worked out with phoenix in aa1-3 and ryunosuke, but if i'm going to spend the whole game with a character and seeing all their thoughts i'd much rather the character have really strong personality traits that shine through in their dialogue/thoughts. this is what i really enjoyed about aai - edgeworth has a really strong personality and getting to see his thoughts was already really fun in aa3-5 and the investigations games were just more of that imo. it's also why i like aa6 and not aa5 - while apollo doesn't "spoil" anything for the player in his thoughts during 6-2, it made a lot more sense for him to be doing that with nahyuta as opposed to his relationship with clay. it's also why aa6-5 is one of my favourite cases... getting to play through that story through apollo's eyes was just. really really good.

but i really hope aai2 doesn't go down this same path... before playing it i already knew it was a lot of peoples' favourite aa game, and unlike tgaa it really did not disappoint for me... i understand that changing scenario writers mid-series can be rough, and i think capcom's insistence and reliance on keeping phoenix in the spotlight throughout the aj trilogy plays a big part in making the transition feel worse, but i just wish people could see yamazaki's writing for its strengths, like they do with takumi

[fafefae]

on the topic of alastor's hatred for vox vs alastor's hatred for lucifer, there's actually a HUGE difference. one is a hatred based in mutual respect and spite (some may call it rivalry, others, kismesissitude), but the other one is just pure unhealthy toxic hatred.

here's my thoughts on alastor's reasoning behind why he hates lucifer, and also some speculation on why alastor seemed so insistent on calling himself charlie's dad when that's so wildly out of character for him in the context of the theory that lilith is the one holding alastor's leash. his relationship (as in, his interactions) with lucifer are not a personal choice; this has his own soul on the line with lilith involved, and it puts him on edge. he's extremely manipulative in "hell's greatest dad" and for the entire rest of the episode too.

but enough about that, in this post im gonna look at alastor and vox, because unlike alastor and lucifer singing "hell's greatest dad", (in which alastor is genuinely fighting to push lucifer out of charlie's life and to keep him gone for ulterior reasons), alastor makes an effort to meet vox as an equal while singing "stayed gone", pushing and allowing vox to push back. his relationship with vox is a personal choice he continues to make.

because by the time vox realizes alastor's back, alastor has been back for a week, and yet it's only when vox announces it on TV that alastor decides to do his first radio broadcast since his return. the radio demon, waiting to do something he loves that he hasn't done in seven years? but that's what he did, alastor waited for vox to initiate something via TV broadcast before jumping in with a radio broadcast.

"did anybody miss him? did anybody notice?"

vox seems really desperate to dismiss how much alastor's return doesn't bother him, how much he doesn't care about where alastor's been, and how much better he's been doing without alastor,

"while he hid in radio, we've pivoted to video!" ... "hell's been better since he split, where's he been, who gives a shit?!"

which REALLY sounds like someone who's been rejected and is bitter about it. and when alastor sings his verses later in the song, that's actually exactly what he says!

"and here's the sugar on the cream, he asked me to join his team! i said no, and now he's pissy, that's the tea!"

alastor REJECTED vox's offer to be part of the Vees, but then alastor seems to have no trouble meeting vox on his own turf. in fact, he seems to get some enjoyment out of riling vox up, to the point where alastor pretty much admits he kept tabs on vox while he was gone those seven years.

"is vox insecure, pursuing allure? flitting between this fad and that, is nothing working? every day, he's got a new format!"

alastor finds this rivalry with vox enjoyable. one could argue that vox is obsessed with alastor, but i'm gonna argue that the inverse is true as well. alastor is JUST AS OBSESSED with vox as vox is with him, and the proof is in the way alastor speaks.

"instead of a clout-chasing mediocre video podcast" ... "now he's pissy, that's the tea!"

those are MODERN SLANG PHRASES. one of alastor's biggest character traits is that he despises modernity, or really, anything that came after he died. and YET, he updated his slang to not only keep up with vox, but meet him as an equal on vox's turf. "see? i can do it too."

and vox does meet him back! the instrumental of "stayed gone" starts off with some electro technical modern sounds (vox's sounds), but when vox opens up the rest of the song to address alastor in his broadcast, it switches to a big band jazzy sound that's extremely reminiscent of the 1920s-1930s, aka, vox is singing a song that's backed by something that is alastor's theming. this is vox meeting alastor. "see? i can do that too."

because at the end of it all, they're actually both the same kind of demon; they're both focused on entertainment, which truly makes them equals. it's just how they both go about it that makes them different.

vox's domain extends over modern entertainment and two of the biggest entertainment industries (adult entertainment and pop-culture) are already in his pocket. the real leader of the Vees is vox (not velvette, as much as she likes to believe she is). but vox wants all of the entertainment domain under his control; for all that vox makes fun of alastor, he still asked alastor to join his team, because radio and podcasts are entertainment, and more importantly, they're sections of the entertainment domain that alastor will never give up.

vox will never stop chasing after alastor, but alastor enjoys that. he enjoys having something vox will never have, and he enjoys that it makes him equal and relevant to vox. and as much as vox proclaims he'll make alastor wish he'd stayed gone, he knows very well he can't control alastor, and alastor knows this very well too.

and that's what makes him so alluring to vox! vox is used to being able to control people! he easily calms valentino down, he easily hypnotizes the masses, but alastor? vox knows damn well that alastor is his equal. and alastor knows damn well that vox is his equal.

"oh, this will be fun."