#many fans who never get to see her international too i just. I'm sorry I'm just like this breaks my heart on levels and like

[sheerioswifties]

.

[mayordoi]

Happy birthday to the number one princess in the world!! 💖

~from her biggest fans :)

ramble of my scattered thoughts on the piece under cut as usual cuz i love talking 😋

This has been an idea I've been cookin for a while, and it was so cluttered and unlike any other ensemble piece I've made... and I decided I oughta do it anyway. I love Miku, I love Vocaloid, and I wanted to do something really ambitious and crazy for her anniversary. Crazy that she's turning her "canon" age this year TwT

I had the idea floating around since like, May...? And then finally started acting on it around June 18. I'm terrible with deadlines, obvious with how I can never make a silly birthday post in time, so I started wayyyy ahead to make sure I have some room to be lazy lol, especially with an idea as ambitious as this.

This was finished on July 12! So I had to sit on this for an annoying amount of time. Very difficult for someone like me who just wants to talk about everything I'm working on to the masses. But at the very least, that gave me the time to work on the draft for this post.

~~~

Here's some ~behind the scenes~ scribbles leading up to the finished piece!

Left is the chicken scratch plan i made in my handy dandy notebook (whenever things are getting real and ambitious, i always made a rough ROUGH plan in there. Usually I'd do a rough pass of the full thing, but this was too complicated for me to do traditionally. I majorly benefited from digital tools to make this possible). CyberDiva and CyberSongman were considered, but I ended up cutting them cuz I just didn't feel like drawing them sorry-- (just pretend they're off to the side. They gave Ruby and Clara the pizza lol). Right is the "final" completed sketch (before I decided to include Chika mid-way through coloring and VY1 and VY2 near the finish line). I started by drawing the main "groups" separated on a different canvas so I can plop them into the main canvas for easy rearranging and transforming. However I got lazy and ended up drawing everyone in the bottom right corner directly on the canvas since I liked seeing the big picture of everyone's positions. Y'know.

Almost excluded Chika! But I like her design so much that I just felt like including her last-minute. You win this time, Chika fans. VY1 and VY2 were very close to being cut! I added them when I began doing the banner and thought "eh why not". I figured their non-human designs would be pretty easy to include pushed back in the bg. Ik VY1 is more commonly associated with the fan design, but I referenced the hairpin cuz it was simpler and the fan looked very annoying to draw 😭

Sorry to the fans of many Vocaloids I had to cut because this composition was insane enough as is. I promise I wanted to include fellas like CUL, LUMi and Sachiko 😭 I will admit I was a little biased on who I wanted to include over others. Like, I don't normally care for Bruno and Clara, but I wanted to get some more international 'loids in the mix. Also wanted to stick in the realm of official designs and not fan-designs since, as much as I can appreciate those, are just a whole "wait who is that guy supposed to be" situation I didn't wanna deal with. I also did wanna include even more character references through the balloons, but they ended up being kind of ugly and overcomplicated the BG :,) (Oh, and while this was originally planned to be a Vocaloid-only piece, I did end up including Teto, Neru, and Haku 'cuz those are Miku's besties dude!!! They may not be Officially in the club but they're her girls and it would be criminal to not invite them to her birthday).

Anyway, this project marks the first time I've drawn a lot of Vocaloids. Lily, Piko, Rana, Yuki, Yukari, Miki, Maika, and many more lol. All of 'em I've heard or seen in passing, but now I actually drew them, and some have really cool and fun designs!! I got into a habit of drawing Merli after this since I just love her design for example. And I'll probably be drawing more lol!!

Oh and the last thing I'll add for now!! The cake is indeed made up of various song references!! I wanted to reference the "big four" producers, just absolute icons in Vocaloid history. The pink/black checkerboard is "World is Mine" (Ryo), the crescents on the side is "Rolling Girl" (Wowaka), the smiley faces is "Matryoshka" (Hachi), and the three hearts on the side is "The Vampire" (DECO*27, which is sort of a symbol of his whole Mannequin album tbh). I know "The Vampire" is a bit modern but I couldn't think of anything else off the top of my head. I'm a fake DECO fan I know 😔 "Matryoshka" was originally going to be referenced in the colors of the candles but believe me it looked like shit so I just went for something else last minute 😭

That's all I have to say!!! Hope you didn't mind the text wall if you made it here. I hope you like it as much as I do!!!! Happy freakin' birthday Miku!!!!

I have to deal with tagging all these characters now for my page,,, in the drafts my tags got cut off after a certain point so I think I'm massively breaching the tag limit 😭 um... I'll figure that out later...

not losing sleep that i can't tag everyone, even for page organization purposes because some characters have pretty generic names and some are a little hard to see in full yknow. If you're one of those people who tag every character in the art piece you reblog... I am very sorry.

[genericpuff]

I really enjoyed seeing your last post!!! It reminded me of something else that I noticed when I was younger and not really seeing LO through the eyes I am now- even when I lived LO, I noticed that Minthe’s bust size.. Might’ve changed? (I could be remembering wrong, and I’m sorry if I am!) I didn’t think on it too much back then, but it felt a lot like the “she could never measure up to Persephone”, or the “she’s nothing to worry about when it comes to Persephone”!!

But then, when Minthe was supposed to be more of a “problem,” I noticed she’d get drawn with a larger bust- or at least larger than it had been back in the earliest episodes!

This could all make absolutely no sense, (and I apologize for just rambling in your askbox!), but I watching a character’s “worthiness” be portrayed through something as simple and neutral as their chest size stuck out to me then, and sticks out to me now!! 😓)

Oh don't apologize, you're literally pointing out exactly the things we've even talked about in the ULO community !

Literally here she is in S1:

And we even get a scene of her smooshing her boobs together in Episode 35 in an effort to make them seem bigger because she legit feels like Hades is pursuing the "new hotness" in the office based around their physical appearances:

But then she conveniently goes up like 3 cup sizes when it's time for her to be cemented as the villain and suffer her fate by getting turned into a plant?

I've literally seen fans grasp at straws to explain that maybe she got a boob job but then they don't realize that the story at this point has only been going on for like, 3-4 weeks at most. At best you shouldn't have to make those massive leaps to explain the inconsistent character body types. If Minthe really did get a boob job, don't you think that's something that should have been explained in the comic?

And let's be real, we all know what it's really about because it's just more of Rachel pitting women against women:

What's wild though is that Rachel is vastly misinterpreting a classic image here:

A lot of people look at that image of Jayne Mansfield and Sophia Loren and just immediately assume that Sophia is giving Jayne the stink eye over her outfit. And of course, we see this misinterpretation in Rachel's drawing that swaps Sophia and Jayne with Minthe and Persephone.

When in FACT what was actually going on was that Sophia spotted Jayne getting dangerously close to a wardrobe malfunction / nip slip and the camera just happened to catch her making a face that could be misinterpreted as slut-shaming.

"Yes, Paramount had organized a party for me. All of cinema was there, it was incredible. And then comes in Jayne Mansfield, the last one to come. For me, that was when it got amazing. She came right for my table. She knew everyone was watching. She sat down. And now, she was barely… Listen. Look at the picture. Where are my eyes? I'm staring at her nipples because I am afraid they are about to come onto my plate. In my face you can see the fear. I'm so frightened that everything in her dress is going to blow—BOOM!—and spill all over the table."

Ans Sophia has actually stated that she doesn't like those misinterpretations and is trying to actively distance herself from it.

"Actually, many, many times I am given this photo to autograph it. And I never do. I don't want to have anything to do with that. And also out of respect for Jayne Mansfield because she's not with us anymore."

Jayne died in 1967, only living for about 30 years, and Sophia herself is actually still around. I can imagine how disheartening it is to see people still misinterpreting a photo of two friends and colleagues especially when it's through the lens of slut-shaming an accomplished actress who is unfortunately no longer with us.

Sooo yeah all that said, I'm less inclined to believe it was Minthe getting a boob job and more inclined to believe it was more of Rachel's weird internalized misogyny picking and choosing which women are "sluts" and which ones are "victims" for dressing or being built a certain way. It's really gross when you start to notice it.

People have also pointed out how odd it is that every single character who gets into a relationship or is in a relationship by S3 seemingly morphs into copies of Hades and Persephone, which is really just more of a testament to how lazy Rachel is in her character designs. In her head she's just trying Hades and Persephone all the time but different colors, I imagine at this point the H x P relationship is the only thing that she's interested in writing/drawing about (and even that's arguably hanging on by a thread because she couldn't even let their long-awaited wedding scene have real room to breathe) so it's almost like she's defaulting to just zoning out and drawing nothing but H x P and then having her assistants color them differently based on who it's actually supposed to be.

But I digress. The body shaming and slut shaming is definitely hard-baked into LO and how it portrays its characters. Despite Rachel having written an actual comic portraying sexism in the past, she still can't seem to express her ideas around sexism, to the point of, again, saying she "didn't know sexism was that bad" until she worked on LO. Like, girl... you drew a comic about sexism before LO, what are you talking about? Is this more of you not wanting to acknowledge ANY of the work you did prior to LO, or are you telling me you didn't intend for those older works to be interpreted as sexism???

"I feel like female characters in general, people will be a little harsher on them and sometimes way harsher on them, and I used to be like.. before I started writing the story and like making a story I was like yeah, sexism is not that bad, and [now] I was like oh it's bad. It's quite bad [laughs], so like, I don't know, I feel like the female characters in the story don't get so much of a pass. But this isn't consistent across the board, it's not all the time." - Rachel Smythe, Girl Wonder Podcast circa 2022

[alwaysteveswife]

"My girl" | Steve Harrington x Fem! Reader.

Steve and Y/N go to a party of one of his old "friends" for a good night out, too bad Jason was there to ruin it.

Warnings: Y/N being passive aggressive, Steve being tender <3, mention about Y/N's anxiety issues, Jason being a jerk as usual.

Number of characters: 3,942

I've never been a big fan of parties. I'm the kind of person who prefers to hang out with friends in a close circle and eat junk food until late. Unfortunately, my boyfriend was the opposite, so when he was invited to a party and looked at me with those puppy dog eyes he makes when he wants something I knew my plans for the night were ruined.

Now I was standing at a kitchen counter in a kitchen too ostentatious for a 20 year old teenager, drinking coke while pulling some potatoes out of the jar on the table.

Whenever Steve drags me to these things he is by my side, if some people come over to talk to him he just puts his arm around my shoulders and casually adds me to the conversation. That was one of the many reasons I was lost for him. He knew about my anxiety issues and how bad I get around people, so he would always stay by my side, grabbing my waist, grabbing my shoulders while stroking my arm, or just tangling the fingers of our hands, giving a kiss on the back of this one every so often.

To my bad luck, Steve is human, and like a normal human, he has to go to the bathroom. That's why I was basically behaving like the complete asocial person I am, staying away from the crowd and avoiding any conversation that might be born between me and people I didn't know.

"Hi!" A blond-haired, blue-eyed boy with a big smile approached me, leaning against the kitchen counter, "I noticed you were a bit lonely here, so I came to keep you company".

"No need, I'm fine on my own" I peeked out the door leading to the hallway hoping to see Steve. The kitchen was empty and completely surrounded by walls, which meant I was alone with this guy.

"No need to be modest, although I understand why you're nervous" he let out an idiotic laugh, as Robin calls them, the kind that guys do when they think they're impressing girls.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I'm understanding, why, exactly, should I be nervous?" I recoiled uncomfortably as I noticed him getting closer to me than necessary. I hated having my personal space invaded.

"Don't you know who I am?" The tone he used made me gag. "Jason Carver".

"Ah" I nodded, looking toward the door, internally biting my lower lip. I wasn't liking the situation. "Actually, I have no idea who you are, and I'm not interested in finding out, so could you back up?"

"Are you the difficult type?" He laughed again when he saw my displeased grimace. "It's okay, I find it attractive in girls".

"Excuse me...?" Before I could finish, Jason and I were startled to notice a hand on his shoulder, pressing down hard.

"Hey, thanks for finding my girlfriend, buddy" Steve slapped the boy's back hard, feigning a 'friendly' greeting. "I'd been looking all over the house for her" he ran a hand around my waist. I could tell, as I looked up, how behind his big smile there was a trace of anger, he was clenching his jaws.

"Your girlfriend, she didn't say anything to me about a boyfriend".

"My girl is a little shy about that, although I don't understand why she should have told you we were a couple anyway" Before Jason could say anything, Steve moved closer to me, leaving short kisses on my lips while mumbling something about going home to spend the rest of the night together. It went on like that until the third guy in the room decided to leave. "God, I can't leave you alone for a minute without some jerk coming on to you," he snorted, holding my cheek as he brushed his nose against mine. "Did that guy do something to you?"

"You're just in time" I put my arms around his neck, closing my eyes and lowering my voice "And I really like your idea of going home" I smiled when I heard his laugh, followed by his hands carrying me carefully as he ran to the car. "Steve! I'm going to fall if you carry me like that!" I was holding on tightly to his shoulders, laughing too hard to hear the music coming out of the speakers.

"I promise I won't let you fall, honey".

Masterlist

[frost-felon]

I aim to accomplish three things in this post:

1. Make an argument for why I believe Gojo Satoru's death and afterlife scene don't give his character arc a satisfying resolution.

2. Argue why Tsumiki would be crucial for advancing Satoru's character and giving her more of a role than "Megumi's Motivation™", whilst working within the confines of what JJK has been written as, previously.

3. Give Yuji-lovers more hope that we'll see our little guy give an earnest smile again.

Because this post is pretty damn long, here are the effective starting and ending points of each argument. Please note that no words in this meta are meant to be extraneous, other than some light-hearted asides.

1. "Personally, I think that the airport scene only makes sense/can be consistent with Satoru's portrayals throughout the story (even right before the fight, in Chapters 222 & 223) if it's meant to highlight an internal struggle."/"While key characters like Geto and Nanami show up, with Amanai shown seated separately, there is one crucial absence:"

2. "Fushiguro Tsumiki."/"And I just...I want some real depth to Tsumiki, be it in service to another character for the 50th time or not."

3. "Because somehow, I don't think that what Yuji wants right now is for someone to take away all the boo-boos and make his situation better; I think he wants to go home and relax with the people he cares about, and he'll do anything--eat anything--to accomplish that."/"So depower Satoru, but let him live, so Yuji can finally get out of this misery porn and into his loved ones' arms."

So, without further ado!

248 really made a lot of people excited for the possibility of Gojo Satoru coming back, while making others groan. Why? That actually requires a nuanced answer--but the gist is that many people adore Satoru's character; some people think his character arc was abruptly ended (even spat-on, in some cases); the fallout of 236 left a lot of people angry and/or divided on the story's direction (for more than just Satoru's character, but in many cases, focally so); some fans got really annoying about it; and some people just don't want to hear about Satoru Discourse™, regardless of how they feel about his character. All of these are valid reasons for a cocktail of reactions to the knowledge that Ui Ui and co. have been snatching bodies from the field. If you think Satoru's story is over, then giving this hope to the people who wish to believe he's going to be alive can be quite irksome. And if you want Satoru to live, then the uneasiness of not knowing how Satoru living will affect the narrative may be eating at you, too.

Personally, I think that the airport scene only makes sense/can be consistent with Satoru's portrayals throughout the story (even right before the fight, in Chapters 222 & 223) if it's meant to highlight an internal struggle. Nanami's words are...suspect¹, let's say, in 236, but he discusses clinging to your past versus becoming anew, betting on the future. This, I think, is the main conflict of Satoru's character arc:

The struggle between keeping to what you're familiar with and remaining within expectations, in opposition to taking risks and trusting who you are and what you want to others around you, working with them. Effectively, shedding Satoru's superficiality and being fully open to new ideas.

Satoru's goading, jocular personality has been noted to be fake before, but the intensity he occasionally shows has never been doubted, even if what the intensity is for has. Like in 222 and 223, with Ijichi's long-running guilt and self-doubt. In 222, Satoru says, "Now it's just the three of us, huh?" when alone with Ieri and Ijichi. When he expresses his thought on Nanami's death, this exchange occurs:

SATORU: "I thought Nanami was the type to survive no matter what."

IJICHI: "I'm sorry."

SATORU: "What do you have to be sorry for, Ijichi?"

IJICHI: "I thought you were implying why did he die and not me?"

SATORU: "Is your opinion of me that low?!"

SATORU: "You still have a big job to do..."

SATORU: "...so stay sharp."

Notably, throughout this exchange, Satoru is first looking away at the ground from his elevated, but seated position, when commenting on Nanami's death. However, when Ijichi reveals that he thought Satoru was disappointed that Ijichi had lived 'in place' of Nanami (which is a false mutual-exclusion serving Ijichi's guilt complex), Satoru turns to Ijichi, looking directly at him. As he admonishes Ijichi, he raises his left hand to point at the man, with what looks to be an irritated expression of his own. It's pretty uncommon to see Satoru express any form of anger, severe or not, though we've seen him do so here, in Shibuya, in parts of Hidden Inventory, and most importantly to Satoru and Ijichi's relationship, when Satoru revealed his rage at Yuji's death in Ieri's morgue.

Before I go further, I'd like to acknowledge that Satoru's personality is significantly mellowed-out from his pre-unsealing demeanor, though he's still not emotionally-open, even if he isn't quite evasive in his answers. He's a lot more visibly serious, but his writing still suggests that he's keeping some of his thoughts and feelings close to his chest. If you know me, you know that I despise the timeskip for robbing us of several opportunities for character growth and exploration, including Satoru's change in mentality after being stuck in solitary isolation with a bunch of suicidal skeletons, in what he describes as,

"Like when work is insanely busy."

"A week would pass in a flash..."

"...but it's so draining that you'd never want to do it again."

"Like that."

However, I must ignore the majority of the 34-35 days that were skipped, harder than even Gege has, in order to stick to what JJK canon has given me. At the time of this writing, no further flashback sequences during the timeskip involving Satoru have been revealed. So pretty much all I have are from scenes in the chapter shortly before the battle, as the battle itself doesn't really give any indications on why Satoru is acting the way he is. Thus, I'm going to continue to look at some of these scenes, including the 223 conversation with Ijichi, the 223 confrontation by Gakuganji, and Ieri's words in 220.

First, with Gakuganji:

Here, Satoru expresses what appears to be relieved amusement at Gakuganji's change of heart. Interestingly, his behavior here does get evasive in his body language, and clipped in his dialogue; by turning away, he makes it harder for Gakuganji to judge his reaction to Yaga's last words. He also acknowledges his responsibility in having let down his allies by being sealed. To Satoru, fostering "strong and intelligent allies" has been his dream since well before we came to know him in JJK proper. Ieri's flashback in 220 shows him talking about his dream in an intense manner as he removes his JJK 0 blindfold; when we see him discuss this in Chapter 11: A Dream, he's shown with his eyes obscured, either by his then-current blindfold, or with his hand, as in the chapter cover. So it's pretty important to him, and this moment, along with his discussion with Ijichi before this scene and mere pages afterward in 223, suggest a regret for having been unable to support his allies, and a responsibility to those left in the wake of his presence or absence.

In the scene before, after Ijichi has received his answer for what it's like in the Prison Realm, Satoru asks,

"What happened to the people on Floor B5?"

Notably, he is looking forward while walking to their destination, instead of at Ijichi when he raises this question. Ijichi answers with,

"That was² the epicenter of the Shibuya Incident where the Cursed Spirits were released."

"Non-Sorcerers all over Tokyo were less likely to survive the closer they were to Shibuya."

"However, thanks to the remnants of Gojo-san's Cursed Energy³, the Spirits never came near B5."

The next lines come with Satoru striving forward on stairs and to Gakuganji and Utahime, still not slowing down to look at Ijichi, who is trailing behind Satoru.

SATORU: "Any after-effects of Unlimited Void?"

IJICHI: "No. Everyone's lives have returned to normal.⁴"

SATORU: "That's good to hear."

Here, Satoru stretches, before changing the subject.

SATORU: "Well, shall we do this?"

In the later scene with Ijichi, right before Satoru deploys on the field, we get these pages:

This scene is mostly focused on Ijichi's perspective of himself, while touching upon his relationship to Satoru. Satoru's assurance that Ijichi is necessary and someone that he trusts shakes Ijichi, who is plagued by self-doubt. Now, he's striving to "live up to [Satoru's] words", pushing past his own insecurities to aid Satoru in creating a safer world. Like with Gakuganji, Ijichi can't read Satoru well, which is a consistent pattern with other characters; largely through Satoru's own behaviors and cagey control over what he allows others to see, other members of the cast are kept at arm's length.

Enter Ieri Shoko, his longtime friend and classmate (who doesn't get nearly enough to do), and consider her words from 220:

"But you idiot, who's alone? I was there all along."

"There're a bunch of monsters now...awaiting your return. Come back, Gojo."

This scene, where she reflects on her relationship with Satoru, as well as her reminiscence on both of her classmates and Satoru's intensity with his dream ("I will foster...a strong and intelligent group. I won't leave anyone alone."), are pretty revealing. Both to Satoru's emotional distance from others driving his ambitions, as well as how he hurts his potential relationships with others. Ieri reflects on her presence and support going unappreciated (or simply underappreciated) by Satoru, since she can't reach through the walls he's built up over the years. Largely because she doesn't get to actually matter outside of her usefulness as a medkit in most scenes, sadly.

Then 236 comes along, and has Satoru just. Die, suddenly, and an afterlife scene that feels cheesy at best, and actively hampering the narrative, at worst. While key characters like Geto and Nanami show up, with Amanai shown seated separately, there is one crucial absence:

Fushiguro Tsumiki.

Tsumiki is more of a plot device and source of motivation for Megumi than a character. That's disappointing, but she's served her purpose in the narrative. Except...I can't remember ever seeing a scene where she talked to or interacted with Satoru, especially not as the focus. My understanding is that Satoru is her legal guardian/provides her with shelter, utilities, and likely food, with everything else being speculation, because...they've not been explored together. On the other hand, Tsumiki and Satoru are crucial to Megumi's character.

I have no illusions of Tsumiki being a vital character to Satoru's development, but damn, I wish she was. Or that she had a presence, an acknowledgement; and there's really only one last chance to do this, barring Megumi getting Mega Murdered.

Yet, she's missing from the airport. It could just be that even now, developing Tsumiki and her relation to Satoru (as his ward/former ward) is a cardinal sin that Jujutsu Kaisen cannot indulge. It certainly wouldn't be the first time that a woman character was treated poorly, and left on the wayside⁵, though Tsumiki has always blatantly been more of a tool for the narrative than a character to me. Which is why I think this may be her last real chance at having a character with fleshed-out relationships, and could also provide a satisfying ending to Satoru's character arc.

I'm angling for a scenario in which Satoru is pulled from the suffering of the past to the suffering of the present. In which Tsumiki coaxes Satoru out of his isolationist grip on his heart with hard-hitting questions. Finally, Satoru could let go of his failures, and the discord in his soul, to do what he does best: providing unexpected and vigorous support to the people he believes in. The next generation, the competent allies--be they ones he had already become attached to, or ones he'd in some way overlooked. If nothing else, I truly believe that Gege could pull off a scenario of Satoru overcoming his baggage, and renewing himself to turn intense, conflicted feelings and hard-to-read value in others into full-fledged devotion. Because she was there from the beginning, wasn't she? A teenager walked into her life and her brother's, and gave them the aid the children's parents would not or could not, and throughout it all, she's watched the people she loved grow, until she was robbed of years of her life to a coma.

She'd know so intimately, wouldn't she? Of never being enough, of losing time.

And even in her minimal character, she has never struck me as a character so chained to the past. But to expectations? Sure.

So. While I don't think that it's likely that Jujutsu Kaisen will prominently showcase a woman's inherent value, I do think that a woman's value being tied to the men in her life has a shot. Even if it's a dream, I don't think it's far-fetched, a mere fantasy, to have Tsumiki play a large role and help make this messy, jarring afterlife scene stand better with the rest of the work. And I just...I want some real depth to Tsumiki, be it in service to another character for the 50th time or not.

As for how Satoru's revival could not be an irritation? Have him sacrifice his Cursed Energy and Six-Eyes. To his students, and to those who trust him, his value can't be so simplified as "The Strongest". Geto asked him a silly question once, when struggling with his own demons. This time, ten years and at least twice as many bonds later, Satoru will finally have an answer.

He's not the Strongest. He is Gojo Satoru, and his loved ones need him, wholly and honestly. Whatever it takes.

Because somehow, I don't think that what Yuji wants right now is for someone to take away all the boo-boos and make his situation better; I think he wants to go home and relax with the people he cares about, and he'll do anything--eat anything--to accomplish that. But it wouldn't hurt to let him know that he isn't alone. That his loved ones aren't full of regrets bleeding from their hearts (but never their mouths, because "I can't say that to him"; "It wasn't so bad!"; "That's what you should do."⁶) as he watches them die, over and over again. So depower Satoru, but let him live, so Yuji can finally get out of this misery porn and into his loved ones' arms.

Really, I think we should come full circle. Sukuna self-admittedly doesn't have an ideal, or a higher purpose to pursue. A dream. Other than in 220's flashback, Satoru can't be seen with visible, open eyes when discussing his dream, and even then, he's looking up and away. I'd like to see Tsumiki help him achieve his dream with earnest, open eyes. To leave the airport a changed, fully-realized man, and with unseeing eyes wide open to a future of strong and intelligent allies achieving their own dreams.

↓ Notations and my closing paragraph/mid-leak edit, lmao.

¹They're not consistent with Nanami's portrayals as an adult, but are consistent with how Nanami thought of Satoru when enrolled in Jujutsu High. In general, the characters in the airport resemble the incarnations (largely teenagers, around 10-11 years in the past) they are shown as, but with the knowledge and some of the mentality of their older selves. Nanami most resembles his later self when discussing Mei Mei's advice. If this is going to connect with Satoru leaving the airport (and thus, his past) behind, then this can work. As it is, it's very jarring.

²For most of the analysis, I use the VIZ lines. However, this set of dialogue has a mistake, so here, I have switched to a scanlation group's work (if you know, you know). This is the only time I will be doing so. That said, I have tweaked the start of this line to say "That was...", as in the VIZ version, since the present tense used by the scanlation group feels off, given the context.

³"Residuals" in VIZ translation.

⁴We're back to the VIZ lines now, with this line and the preceding one.

⁵I don't like the direction of Maki's character at this point, and I think Hana's narrative role has probably been fulfilled, but I'd really like to see them get important scenes that flesh out their characters. Kirara (who I am assuming is a transwoman or she/they; my apologies if I'm wrong), Nishimiya, and Miwa are dying in the streets, though.

⁶I'm using the VIZ line, but this has wildly different translations, and seems to be...very left open to interpretation in the original wording. Alternatively, the "My role..." line could work here.

Edit: The fuck you mean we got 249 leaks early?! I was just finishing up after a bad week! Which explains part of why this post is disjointed--I may have to go into more detail on certain parts at another time. If 249 ends this meta and myself, so be it. Thank you for reading!

[chibivesicle]

Asks that I will never really answer. My apologies; life gets busy and I get distracted.

I'm dropping these here today, so I can clear out some of the asks from my inbox. Apologies for some of these going back to when Trigun Stampede was still airing. >_< If I don't have a clear and concise answer, I'll let things sit in the inbox but they occasionally do fall off my radar.

Uuummm sorry Anon, I meant to give this more of a response but as I got angrier at Stampede, I just couldn't bring myself to give you a well thought out reply. My overall vibes for the Christian themes that were missing in Stampede had to do how they kept a lot of the surface content, images/style/design from the original but with the sci-fi emphasis removed the weird esoteric Christian stuff and made it look that way. Vash was more willing to engage with others in the original manga/'98 anime based on what Rem taught him. Yet, we never get why he does what he does in Stampede. By changing Wolfwood from being a traveling preacher where Vash lambasts him with 'thou shall not kill' the nuance of his character's moral conflict is lost. He's a trained killer for a quasi-religious organization that might be using a Zia in a really not cool way. We also do not see him act in a self-sacrificing way, which he does from the get go in the original. The angelic body horror was gone, replaced by a sci-fi reading of plants and the concept of plant worship was missing in there as well. There is a lot of internal dialogue that many of the characters pose through the anime and manga and its just gone from Stampede and it revolves around forgiveness, violence, and justice.

For me, the complete re-interpretation of the world and loss of the moral conflict that all characters show hurt the Christian (and Buddhist) themes that underpinned the original. It really came down to how the characters acted and talked. There is no point to a gunslinger who is almost completely passive when one who is active but uses a non-lethal method based on principle. There is a chapter where Vash gets taunted by some enemy for how bad his target practice is until they determine he was that accurate at shooting someone but not killing them. The best way to summarize is that they took some of the aesthetics of the original and didn't follow through on how the characters acted. There is so much contemplation in the original and that is missing in the remake.

Let's just make this a list: 1.) Leo would actually have a real girlfriend. I already have issues with White, I think adding her in as a quasi-girlfriend was a disservice to Leo's character. 2.) Zapp would be white. Less of a manwhore perhaps? 3.) Chain would be cute as opposed to cold and distant. No drinking assholes under the table and vomiting in her bathroom later. See Meryl Stryfe.

4.) K.K. would have boobs, and somehow be more sexy than an awkward and doting mother. See Rem and Luida. 5.) Steven's scar would be smaller or missing to make him a real lady killer. Either they'd lean way too far into Steven's shady side or they'd clean it up completely. Like he'd wink at women as opposed to sleeping with them to get intel. Be Klaus #1 fan! But like all the time, making himself to work too much. His hangry side would either be missing or played up for laughs. 6.) Zed would be dropped because he's the non-human team member. What's the point of having him? 7.) Luciana Estevez would only appear in her super sexy doctor form not her silly clone or normal form.

8.) They would try to create lore and filler to explain things that you have to assume are just how things work. Or they would info dump as opposed to leaving it up to you to worry about things and figure it out from the context. 9.) The entire cast gets aged down, because having a bunch of 30+ cast members who don't have all their shit together is too embarrassing aka very realistic. e.g. K.K. has a house husband (not a good mother like Rem and Luida in Stampede), Steven will die single and alone, Daniel will die single and alone, Patrick carries a torch for Guinness but is single, Abrams is a walking disaster.

10.) Character designs which are super unique and fun, especially in the manga all get 'isekai treatment' were they look homogeneous. The whole point of the diversity of the cast is lost. Women are short and cute, men are tall and slender or tall and buff. No other options.

11.) They attempt to rationalize the 13 Kings and give deep meaning behind their behaviors. Which maybe we will get that someday, but part of the fun is how fucking chaotic they are.

12.) Hellsalem's Lot is an empty city. Somehow, the city lacks people on the streets and we don't get the rooftop betting scene between the giant stomping creature and super-sized Riel. Sex, drugs, gambling are minimized in their version.

13.) The entire Prosfair story line is cut because it is so fucking bizarre and awesome; they wouldn't understand the point of the entire game.

14.) The OST is bad.

[kaisacobra]

Thank you for saying that it really means a lot, I actually used to write fan-fiction a couple years back and I’ve recently tried to start again but I’m very critical of what I write and how I write it so I’m incapable of producing a single chapter.

Keep it mysterious, I’ll be eagerly awaiting whatever you gift us ✨

Now that you mention it, yes I completely understand what you mean about R not being able to be extremely cold to Tara. R seems like the type of person who’d be hurt and disappointed, someone who wouldn’t necessarily be cold to Tara but would definitely hide from her. For R I’d imagine it’d be an internal battle of what she wants versus what she deserves, we already get a feel for that in the first chapter but it was easier for her to choose what she wants- which is to provide whatever comfort and happiness Tara wants because she loves her so much over what she deserves- someone who cares about her in a consistent manner and not only when it’s convenient (boo Tara😡). After Tara’s outburst I think R would have to force herself in every way possible to really process that she can’t put Tara’s needs above her own anymore, as much as she loves Tara doing that would reinforce the notion that everything Tara said is true. We know she always runs back but now that’s she’s been ridiculed for it she can’t.

The way she’s always there for Tara makes me wonder about her background. Maybe this is TMI, but I personally have experienced many relationships like this in the past. My father abandoned my sister and I at a very young age, so part of the reason I would always be there for them and never left first even when I should’ve but wouldn’t- was because I never wanted them to feel as unloved and unworthy as I did when my father left me. By the time I was a teenager I’d already forgiven him for all the abuse my family endured because of him, in my heart nobody could ever hurt me the way he hurt me- so I’d forgive them even though the people around me would expressively tell me not to, you know? But im older now and I stand my ground, i can leave when if its what’s best for me and not get too caught up in what’s best for them.

I’m from California by the way! It’s 10:30PM right now, you’re from Brazil though? That’s so cool! Did you grow up there? My parents were born in Mexico but they moved to USA in the late 1980’s, I wanna move to Mexico and live there for a couple years because my mother loves and talks about her hometown so much, the idea of seeing where she grew up in person and picturing her as a little girl warms my heart.

- ☘️ (I’m gonna use this as my anon tag from now on)

I feel like everyone is gonna be critical when it comes to their own stuff, like, I'm not kidding when I said i thought second best wasn't that good, specially because I used to be an essay tutor/monitor at school and my writing had to be more than perfect. Just remember that usually you're gonna be more critical of your work than other people and it doesn't mean that what you write is actually bad.

I'm so sorry that happened to you and I'm glad that you can stand your ground now!💪 I know this will sound oddly ironic but all the background information I have on R is about... Tara. In my head, R is divided by past (beginning of friendship, woodsboro), present (the current mess) and future (what's gonna happen) so, in a way, maybe her life is all about Tara😔

I don't think R's family are gonna make an appearance so I'll leave it up for you guys to hc whatever you want as R's reason for being so attached to Tara.

California seems so nice! And yeah, i grew up here and i wouldn't have it any other way🤭 Maybe this happens to everyone in their own home country but i just love my culture and history so much, I can't imagine living anywhere else.

Mexico sounds super cool! I've been wanting to go there, specially in 2026 because of the world cup (really wanted to see it live) but i dont think it's gonna happen😔 Either way it's a beautiful country i wanna visit someday and i definitely have to start improving my spanish.

[canirove]

Red & Blue | Chapter 22

Author's note: I just want to say... I'm sorry. You'll understand why when you finish this chapter 😅

And if it isn't asking too much, from now on when you send me an ask discussing the chapter, could you write "Red & Blue spolier" at the begining of the message? That way people who haven't ready it yet and who follow me, will scroll past that it and not read anything that may spoil it for them ☺️

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Masterlist

"Sorry for ruining our last game together" Leah says, resting her head on my shoulder. We are on the bus on our way back home, the worst season we've had since I'm on the first team finally over.

"You didn't ruin anything. And it wasn't our last game together."

"If I had scored that goal, we would have won and you would be leaving with a last win, not with a draw. Because you are leaving. And I get it. The World Cup is around the corner, and we are getting old. You need to make the most of it."

"We are not old, Leah."

"In football years, we are. We’ll be 30 and 29 next year! That's the beginning of the end."

"You are so dramatic" I laugh.

"Promise you won't forget about me."

"I won't forget about you, Leah. It doesn't matter if I'm here in England, in Germany or in Spain. You are my best friend, and that will never change."

"I love you" she says, hugging me.

"I love you too, Leah" I say, hugging her back.

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"What if I stay? Maybe next year will be our year? We must see the light at one point" I say, pacing around our room.

"It's impossible to know that. And the deal is almost closed" Mason says, laying on the bed.

"But I can still say no. It won't look very professional, but it's possible. And what about us, uh? Can we survive a long distance relationship?"

"We can, we've already talked about it."

"I know, I know. It'll be like when we have away games, but a bit longer. And we will see each other during international break, and there always is the possibility of catching a plane for a quick trip during a free day."

"Exactly."

"But what about the fans? They will hate me for leaving, I've been at Arsenal since I was a kid!"

"They'll be disappointed at first, but those who can use their brains will understand your decision."

"But..."

"But nothing" Mason says, getting up from the bed. "We are gonna go to that meeting with Rob and the others, discuss the final touches, and close the deal."

"Why are you so calm?"

"Because one of us has to if we want this to work out."

"Because this will work out" I say, taking a deep breath.

"It will. Trust me" Mason says, kissing my forehead.

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"Everything is ready."

"Thank you" I say.

"You'll be ok. And if you cry, you cry" Mason says next to me. "You've been here for almost 20 years."

I just nod, my throat already starting to hurt as tears threaten to come out.

When I leave the room where Mason and I were waiting, I'm almost blinded by the cameras' flashes. As I sit down, my manager next to me, I can see Leah and my teammates front row, my family and Aaron next to them.

"Thank you very much for coming" I say, my voice sounding very weird in my ears. "Some people may not believe this, but today it's the worst day of my football career so far. I've gone through many tough moments, really hard defeats... But nothing compares to having to say good bye to the club that's been my home since I was 10. The club where I got to meet my best friend and one of the most important people in my life. The club that has taught me everything I know about football, and the one that has helped me become the person I am today. These past years have been the best years of my life as a football player, and it's all thanks to this club. Thanks to this team" I say, nodding towards my teammates. "And thanks to the fans. I know you'll be disappointed with me right now. Angry. And I understand it. But I hope that one day, you will understand why I'm making this decision. That one day, you'll think of me and remember all the good moments we've shared together. Even the hard ones. Because we fought through them together. I won't be part of the team this season, but I know these girls over here and the people who work every day with them, and I know that, with your help, the fans help... Arsenal will be back where it deserves to be. Even if I'm now going to wear a different shirt, different colors... I will still support Arsenal. I'll be another fan, cheering for my girls and giving them the strength they may need, just as you all will be doing from the stadium and your homes" I say while crying and trying to control my sobs. "I know I'm probably forgetting half of the things I wanted to say, but... But know that this isn't a goodbye. It's a see you soon. Come on you gunners!"

With that, I let myself properly cry, my manager giving me a hug. A hug that ends up being a team hug, the girls moving to where I am, Leah the first. My girls.

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"It's gonna be so weird."

"What is?"

"Seeing you, Dec and everyone else with the national team while I stay at home, bored to death."

"These end of the season games are the worst, you are the lucky one. And now you'll have plenty of time to play videogames without anyone complaining about it" I say.

"I'm gonna miss that, you'll see. And the bed will feel so weird without you..."

"We weren't going to sleep together at St. George’s either."

"I know. But at least I knew that you were just a few rooms away, not kilometres."

"You'll survive, Mason. And it'll be a way to get used to what's going to happen next season."

"Yeah..."

"We'll be fine. You said it yourself, remember?" I say, sitting on the bed next to him.

"We will, yes" he says with a sad smile.

"I can always hide you on my suitcase, tho. It may not be the best for your injury, but if we put you in the right position..."

"I'm not that small" he says, finally giving me a smile.

"Well..." I say, teasing him.

"It's not fair to compare me to guys like Tyrone or... Eric."

"Not again, Mason. I thought we had closed that chapter."

"We have" he says. "But he's back with the national team. You are gonna see him."

"And? I'm not gonna sneak into his room at night or anything like that. I'm with you, Mason. You are my boyfriend, my fake husband, and the man I love. You" I say, hitting him on the chest with my finger.

"Ouch" he says. "That hurt."

"Good. Now you know how serious I am. So," I say, getting up "do you want to check if you can fit on my suitcase?"

"You are crazy" he chuckles.

"Crazy for you, yes."

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"When you said I'll see you later, I thought you meant for lunch, not for dinner."

"I'm sorry" Mason says. "I lost track of time."

"With Nathan?"

"Yes."

"Doing what?"

"Since when do I have to tell you everything I do?"

"Since you started to act weird, for example?"

"I'm not acting weird."

"Yes, you are. You barely texted me or called me after the first international game, and it feels like you've been avoiding me since I got back."

"I just... Urgh" he says, letting himself fall on the sofa, hiding his face behind his hands.

"Mason, what is going on? You are worrying me" I say, moving to be next to him.

"I think I need some time."

"Some time?"

"Yes. Alone. To think. I... I don't like the things I've been feeling and thinking while you were away. I need some time alone to think about them and try to understand them."

"Mason... Are you... Are you breaking up with me?" I say, my throat already hurting as I try not to cry.

"No, no" he says, sitting up and holding my hands. "I'm not breaking up with you. I love you. But because I do, I need to fix all these insecurities and the jealousy I've been feeling."

"Because of Eric."

"Yes."

"Even if you know I want nothing with him. That I love you. You."

"Yes. I know. But I just… I don’t want to fight again because of it. I don’t want to risk ruining this, us, because another argument. So before it gets out of hand, I want to take some time and try to fix it. To work on myself."

"Ok… So what are we gonna do now?" I ask, not being able to stop myself from crying.

"For now, we’ll do as we had planned" he says, gently wiping away my tears. "I go on holidays for a few days with the boys, and you with your friends. But I'm gonna need you to give me some space, so don't text me or call me."

"I'll try... But what about our holidays? What if you still haven't figured out all this?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens" he shrugs.

"Ok" I say between sobs. "But promise you won't do anything stupid. Like getting drunk or cutting your hair."

"I promise" he smiles, making me cry even harder.

Things have to work out. He has to figure out everything he's going through. Because I don't think my heart can survive breaking up with him. Not when I'm about to move to another country, alone, and risking the future of my career.

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[shivunin]

Hullo!

Here's some characters for you too!

Sera, Flemeth and Anora :3

Thank you, Arja! 💗Ooh these were interesting ones c:

(Character Ask thing)

Sera

First impression: Alas, at first glance I thought she was a manic pixie dream girl.

Impression now: Soooo much more depth than anyone gives her credit for. So much internal tension and so many contradictions. I think her struggle with her own identity as an elf is so fascinating, especially through the lens of the way she talks to a Lavellan at the beginning of the game vs the things she says in Trespasser. The way she talks about the "little people" is so necessary and at odds with the opinions of the rest of the inner circle, her relationship with Dagna is precious to me, and some of the things she says to a befriended Inquisitor during Trespasser bring me to tears. I don't know that she will ever be one of my favorite characters, but I respect and love her anyways. So glad she is a companion.

Favorite moment: Her monologue after the Winter Palace is soooo good, I love it every time.

Idea for a story: Hmm I've thought about writing some things about her and Elowen, actually, because I think their dynamic is interesting. They love each other, they don't want to be around each other, when they're sad they want to hang out, Sera gets her drunk when she's being mopey...they're a hot mess and at some point I'm going to explore it better. Eventually.

Unpopular opinion: Errr idk. I think Sera fans have big brains and nuanced opinions (from my limited exposure). I'm not sure what the popular opinions are?

Favorite relationship: Sera and Dorian. They have some of the funniest dialogue, and though the companions do not exist solely to entertain me (or, wait, i guess they do) the dynamic between these two is so goddamn funny.

They fascinate me

Favorite headcanon: Idk how much is headcanon and how much is canon, but this is twofold: 1) Sera takes the painted box from you in Origins for the Jennies and 2) when Amethyne (the little girl sitting on the ground in the alienage, whose mom dies in the Cousland origin) talks about Sara going away she is actually talking about Sera and they were besties before Sera was adopted by human woman (whose name escapes me)

Flemeth

First impression: OH MY GOD??? AND SHE TURNS INTO A DRAGON?? WHO THE FUCK IS THIS LADY? SURELY SHE MUST BE A MAIN CHARACTER (and then she wasn't)

Impression now: Terrible mother, but oh my god is she serving cunt

Favorite moment: The scene between her, Morrigan, and Keiran. I just think it's an illuminating aspect of the dynamic between the three of them.

Idea for a story: Hmmmmm so....someday I might go back to the Scourge of Sundermount AU and if I ever do there will be a sort of apprenticeship thing with her and Ilriane. Otherwise, I don't necessarily feel the urge to write her.

Unpopular opinion: I think her weird, cryptic manner of speaking in Origins is hilarious and I wish she kept doing it.

Favorite relationship: I mean, limited options, right? Morrigan by default (we see so little of her and Solas/Fen'Harel). Very fucked up dynamic. Morrigan becoming the mother she never had is *chef's kiss* so good though.

Favorite headcanon: She taught Morrigan to talk Like That on purpose because it reminded her of a more familiar time OR for the lols. Her speech patterns aren't super similar in 2 or Inquisition, so it seems like an intentional affectation to me.

Anora (Arja, if you love Anora, I am so sorry in advance)

First impression: Oh, interesting! I guess maybe she's supposed to represent the conflict between having power, keeping it, and doing what's best for the country. I wonder if she'll act against her dad on the Wardens' behalf. Also, great outfit/nice hair.

Impression now: :/ Unfortunately, I take fictional betrayals very personally, so my opinion is clouded by blind rage at being sold out to Cauthrien and then again at the Landsmeet. I'll leave it at that.

Favorite moment: When Loghain is about to die and he says the thing about her being a little girl with skinned knees and for a moment she is just a daughter watching her father about to die. Extremely effective moment of storytelling.

Idea for a story: Well! If I finish writing the scene where Wen breaks her out, Anora will inevitably be there. So probably that.

Unpopular opinion: Oh geez. Well. Idk what the prevailing opinion on Anora is because most of the people I follow seem to like her in general. It's unpopular with myself that I dislike her so intensely, if that isn't a total cop-out to say? She's all the things I usually find compelling (calculating, kind of heartless, extremely competent) and yet...in my first playthrough she fucked me over so thoroughly that I can't get past it or see her any other way. She cannot girlboss, gatekeep, or gaslight her way out of pissing me off.

Favorite relationship: Her and Loghain. No idea what's going on there, but I want to squish them into a glass slide and look at them under a microscope.

Favorite headcanon: 😬 (Again, I'm sorry if you like her, but in my head Zev kills her post-game to avoid any succession issues and as a gift to Wen, who promised Alistair she wouldn't do anything herself. Not that it was a "won't somebody rid me of this upstart priest" situation; I think he also took Anora getting Wen thrown in prison personally, so it's sort of a win-win for him. So by Awakening she is definitely dead; that's the headcanon. But really she poses an issue to succession if she's not queen or dead, because she refuses to forfeit a right to the crown)

[christian-is-a-dumb-boy]

Before I start, if you happen to find stumble onto this, this is for a class that I'm in. I choose Tumblr because I realized that it's actually a very good place to do this assignment and it would be very fun and interesting to make a Visual Essay here and with my themes too, which is very Tumblr and Pinterest like (which is where I got many of these photos from). If you are in my class, I'm sorry that I came up with this idea. My Visual Essay - Media Throughout the Years and How it Shaped who I Am. By Christian M.

2010 - 2012 was a unique time for fashion. There was still some 2000's elements in our fashion, and these photos show that. It's really iconic how everybody dressed like a wealthy suburban mother despite being a 16 year old named Amber from Albany, Georgia. Fashion in this era was about looking and dressing older, and we see this in our media too. Pretty Little Liars had girls who were supposed to be 15 but dressed like 23 year old interns from NYC, and Nene Leakes literally wore the second outfit in her "The Ghetto" meme from Real Housewives of Atlanta. I was five in 2010, so obviously I wasn't dressing like this, but I thought every teen just looked old because of how they dress despite having one green streak and braces.

This type of being older mentality also was in our music at the time, but in a different way. I love early 2010's music because everybody just was going down the electro pop pipeline, and all of the songs were good. One of my favorite songs back then was Selena Gomez's 'Love You Like a Love Song", which is really underrated. It's just peak early 2010s wannabe futuristic pop, because the song has some techno in it when Selena sings. I was a huge Selena fan already because of Wizards of Waverly Place, and this song changed my life (being dramatic but you get the idea). She isn't the only one that does this. Kesha was well known for doing this and again, Kesha made some bangers. The music was all about sounding like the future, while the casual fashion was about looking older. https://open.spotify.com/track/0laYHRpNTS6i8FXdupHkJ4?si=209bee3a44664ce9 https://open.spotify.com/track/3pYDZTJM2tVBUhIRifWVzI?si=cc6cacc99b024f27

Oh 2013, how you were just....bad for casual fashion. This is where I remember analyzing what people wore and noticing what was trendy and what we liked. It was bad. Teal tops that said 'Pink' literally held us at gunpoint to wear them. I was never really experimented with clothing as a kid because in my opinion, most of the boys clothing at the time was bad, which is why all of the photos are gonna be women's clothing because they either look good, or iconically bad. That was a pet peeve with me whenever we went shoe shopping. The girl shoes were colorful and had personality while the boy shoes were black and white, or an ugly neon green or orange in some random lines if you took gym too seriously at age 8. This is when I wished I was a teen in 2013 because 2013 tumblr hipster and grunge fashion was something that I wished to lived in.

2013 music was really good or bad. Despite coming out in 2009, Party in the U.S.A I feel like was huge in 2013 which made everybody (including me) to wear American flag shirts, pants, and bathing suits. One amazing song from 2013 was Demi Lovato's Heart Attack. Back in her prime, she made some hits, and one of them was this song (Shout out to Give Your Heart a Break too, another amazing hit). It was bad for me. I only had Episode (that story app) because Demi was in it. Demi and Heart Attack accidently created my first internet phase, and it's something that Demi Lovato that has nothing to do it but still needs to pay the price for.

You saw these images and probably went "Chris, how the hell did Demi Lovato made 9 year old you into a anime fan and why?" in your head, and I'll tell you how and why! So like I said, obsessed with Heart Attack when I was a kid, and while I was on YouTube searching for the song, I found this video of Heart Attack, but in the title, it had the words 'nightcore video' in it, and it had Taiga (short girl in the first photo) in her angel outfit from ToraDora (which I never watched until recently and I recommend it along with the other three). If you don't know what nightcore is, it's just song sped up to make the singer sound anime like (which they didn't but regardless I still ate that shit up). These are top tier shows, honestly. I honestly think mostly everybody in my class would like Yuri on Ice (because it's an creative english class). https://open.spotify.com/track/5w24qGKT4DHCKHKU0jPlcK?si=df10a0191d3441ee

Every queer kid had a musical phase. That's just how it is. I don't make the rules for it. I was also that queer kid. My 5th grade teacher, Mr. DeBell, told my class in 2015 that there was a musical about Alexander Hamilton, and played You'll Be Back. I was hooked. Listened to the soundtrack regularly and found other musicals like Be More Chill, Dear Evan Hansen, Every Starkids musical. I'm a terrible singer, but I'm still gonna try belting First Burn. This was also the year I had my Percy Jackson phase, another queer kid staple. I found Percy so charming and Nico so cute in the books and it's so embarrassing, yet so funny. The Percy Jackson Musical was the first musical I ever saw too because we went on a school field trip for it. https://open.spotify.com/track/1A2gifkaEngunqZAFHUS0j?si=c753e346c04141e7

You just saw these images and are either cringing at me, cringing at younger you, or both. 2016 was where my "edgy" phase started. I wasn't edgy in the way every other guy in 2016 was edgy, if anything, cringe culture would've bullied me, but I just liked those angry "emo" songs and disturbing anime's. This is also when I discovered punk, alt, emo and goth fashion, which is all different thing and I don't care what people say, those types of fashions have always look good. People who dressed like that, especially now because cringe culture has been making a comeback, are being harassed but they are really the sweetest and down to earth people ever. People who dressed alt, or punk, or goth were always nice to me and I will always defend them. I personally don't dress like that because I was called emo for wearing a black jacket and black pants in the winter in New York, so obviously people don't like that type of fashion where I'm from, and also if you know me in real life, you know I'm a 5'6 year old guy who has the face of a twink (Tyler Oakley let's be honest), so I don't think I could pull it off. But if you look at my profile picture, it's what I would dress like if I could pull it off, and I probably would kill a fragile, sickly Victorian child before the black plaque reaches them if they saw this version of me.

These were all from different time periods except for the top picture. For 2015 - 2018 fashion that was considered "emo" or punk or goth, it wasn't but that's what i grew up on. These had a gripe on us back in 2015. I remember seeing so many people on youtube wearing that striped school girl skirt and people in pinterest showing off their cat stocking. other alt or "alt" fashion were band shirts, specifically PATD and TOP, flannels, short hair but very long hair in the front, stockings in general.

A few years later, in 2019, I got into K-pop. I wish I had a unique story but I don't. My exe who's also a close friend of mine now was just playing a K-pop song because he also likes it and it was TWIT by Hwasa and it was catchy to me, so I looked it up, found out that she was in a group, Mamamoo, and that was it. I listened to a few songs before like obviously Gangnam Style and Gentleman by PSY when they blew up and also Like This by Wonder Girls (who are legends) when I was a kid. My top three groups in their debut order are Girl's Generation (2007), Rania (2011) and TWICE (2015). If you ever wanna give the genre a try, Girl's Generation and TWICE are the two groups to listen to, as someone who of course loves and also used those two groups to get other people into K-pop both accidentally or on purpose.

I think it's really funny how 12 year old me was listening to "sad" music and music that is just "so deep and so meaningful" and then 14 - 16 year old me listened to just the most upbeat and happy, catchy music (Rania's is the only one that isn't cheerful, their music is very camp if you know what that means). https://open.spotify.com/track/6qyz1KOlGJsKYJ4ZsRmRSD?si=7cd52297243b4301 https://open.spotify.com/track/2BQIMF7CyLe2xAKzh74A4C?si=ff220ef47b3143f2 https://open.spotify.com/track/1utDFK1ARQcuZSwapf3cfb?si=97492c9682a74e12

I am really excited to see what college me is gonna get into. I still like most of these things, and it'll be interesting to see what similar new stuff are gonna come out in the next few years.

[endless-ineffabilities]

It's me again!✌🏿🙋🏿‍♀️ Reading thru your response reminded me of something that I forgot to say. It's triggering so ignore it if it triggers you or even makes you a bit uncomfortable! (It's between the /////)

/////////////

I'm a survivor of csa and that's actually one of the reasons I really love Aemond's portrayal in the show as he was taken to a brothel at such a young age and it's just so clear and obvious that he did NOT like or appreciate what happened and it still follows him to this day. How could it not? It's not like the maesters were mental health professionals.

My abuse shaped who I was romantically involved with for a long time (I'm in my mid 30s) and in the last few years I've been able to see that and work it out wit my therapist. I really dont want that to be the case for Aemond, though it makes sense and it's quite realistic. I would prefer I guess that if he's involved wit Alys without her magic and manipulation that he genuinely likes her, truly, not because that's all he's known because of what happened when he was 13. Even I that's not the case as long as the writers treat this subject with respect and some tact I won't have an issue, but I as a person would have wrote it differently for my own taste.

//////////////////

I also hope that people don't hate on the actress for no reason other than she's dating the fictional hottie. Jokes are fine, I make em too! But only at the character, not the actor/actress. Which is btw what I hate the most about people who diss Aemond and Daemon because they don't think Ewan and Matt are handsome enough or whateva. Total bs in my opinion.

Anyway I don't know where I was going with this and I really do apologize if this was upsetting! I feel comfortable talking about such subjects because I think they should be talked about but I understand that many others feel differently. Thank you for taking time to read my long ass message and respond! Idk what your friends are on about, you're very pleasant 😂 a pleasant Daemon like when he got Syrax's eggs!

Stay warm if it's cold over there, over here it's freezing🥶

Hi there, and sorry for such a late response! There's some backlog when it comes to my inbox and I haven't been able to answer messages promptly 🥲

First of all, I feel that you have such a sense of sincerity and good humour and I find it admirable + kudos for getting to work through your trauma with a therapist. That in itself takes a whooole lot of bravery 🖤

About Aemond though, it's sad to think that he most likely did not/will not get any support about how he was taken advantage of at 13. He probably doesn't even fully know that it's wrong, especially since his older brother seems so keen about it. And I just hate to imagine him having to get used to feeling all messed up about that experience. His struggle remains internal and unnamed as it's not something that is outright 'wrong' or 'abusive' in their world.

In some way, it might be easier to understand Alys using her witchy powers to make Aemond fall in love with her, than it is to see them 'fall in love' without apparent manipulation... Cause there always will be that "what if" on my part about whether his attraction is not influenced by what he went through? ahhh I don't know we'll see how it is portrayed I guess...

You're so right - I also CANNOT stand slander directed towards the actors. I hope the Aemond fans don't target whoever will portray Alys. I mean - it's fine - fans have a right to not like a character, but not to the extent that it's unreasonable and insulting 🤷‍♀️

Also I admit I've seen Matt Smith's work for years now, but I've never been so fixated on him as when he portrayed Daemon 😂

Thank you thank you for the message! Apologies for my essay haha and it's freezing in my corner of the world as well... if only we can keep warm with Aemond or Daemon 😉

[baolinagasy]

I posted 1,259 times in 2022

That's 1,224 more posts than 2021!

5 posts created (0%)

1,254 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

yellow-yarrow

revacholianpizzaagenda

brennisteinnexe

spectrumcore

doodle-shenanigans

I tagged 1,254 of my posts in 2022

#disco elysium - 504 posts

#fanart - 276 posts

#harry du bois - 243 posts

#art - 236 posts

#text - 220 posts

#kim kitsuragi - 186 posts

#inspiration - 115 posts

#capitalism - 86 posts

#news - 72 posts

#mood - 65 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#remember when in the sea fortress he'll scold harry saying he told him not to turn on the music even tho he didn't? what an ass lmao love it

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

crash

0 notes - Posted April 1, 2022

#4

Perception, composure!

Oh, thanks for asking! Always happy to ramble about that game. I'm going to put it under a read more, because I'm looking at it and it's a bit long haha.

perception: what (quote, character, moment) made you feel most Seen?

My God, there are so many... Let's start with moments. Eastern european fans of the game often mention how they never felt like they ever had true representation in media until they played that game. I'm not eastern european at all, but I feel the same. I'm from a third world country and there is something about Martinaise, well Revachol in general, that feels like home. It's the little things, like seeing old men playing pétanque outside (something I literally saw all the time growing up, pétanque is one of our national sports and one of the few where my country has won international competitions lmao), buildings that no one care if you break into, or the fact that nothing really gets cleaned up so people just learn to live in rumbles, or that quiet feeling that you don't really matter. Idk, I guess I just know what it feels like to live in a country that is governed by a foreign power, a country that will never matter much on the international scale. History is being made by important, larger-than-life people and you're not one of them. A soft feeling of nihilism that other people find sad but you are just used to it. That's life! It isn't so bad.

This goes for the characters, too. Almost all of them hits a chord in me. I could write a fucking essay about what Harry means to me. Same goes for Kim (his aloofness, the way he takes care of saying as little as possible about himself, his difficulties to connect with people or with emotional matters, ... aaaaaaaaa). But honestly, even the NPCs are just... god fucking dammit. I know them! I see myself in them, and even if I don't, I see people I know in them! Klaasje reminds me of a girl I deeply care about (but had to ultimately stay away from), the Hardie boys talk and act like the guys I went to high school with, my childhood bestfriend can be bitchy with everyone just like Cindy (she is also an artist practicing in vandalism)... They are all so fucking human! None of them are really good, but none of them are completely bad either. They are humanly imperfect, the rising ape meeting the falling angel.

As for the quote... Again, so many speak to me (I always get chills when I talk with the Deserter, for example). But I will just leave this one, since it is one that made me feel seen, and this is what this ask is about. It's a dialogue Harry can have with Adele about her tape recorder:

"I'm sorry you have to sit here on the ice with the drugs wearing off. At your age -- or at any age -- in this weather... waiting for it to get dark. [...] The people who built this world intended it to be better for you, but they failed. It is easier to live in their failure with this by your side. (Tap on the tape recorder.) It is not a childish fantasy. It can be a real weapon against what's coming for you now." "What is…?" Her shoulders shake a little. "Nothing, if you got this. Don't be scared."

I guess Disco Elysium is my own little tape recorder now :)

composure: would you rather sit on an anthill for an hour or stand in a river of leeches?

Probably the anthill. Most ants are chill, they would just come out from another hole in the ground. Also, I find them cool. I wouldn't mind having them crawl all over my body. Leeches, on the other hand, WILL suck your blood and I hear they are hard to remove. Such an interesting question, but I wonder why it's in a DE ask game haha

6 notes - Posted November 4, 2022

#3

Encyclopedia, Interfacing?

Hey, thanks for asking! Wasn't expecting an ask so soon, haha

encyclopedia: what’s your favourite niche piece of lore?

There are so many tidbits of lore that just get off-handedly mentioned and then you don't get to know more about them... If I had to choose one, it would be Ubi Sunt? Just the name is funny to me, but also to know that there is an island that is just floating in and off the pale... makes me insane. What does it look like? People live there, how are their lives impacted by their close proximity to the pale? I'm fascinated by Elysium in general tbh.

interfacing: what’s your favourite aspect of the game mechanics?

Definitely the skills. I love how much they impact the game, both in a good and a bad way. On my second playthrough, I could really feel the absence of the skills I had in my first one. I'd rather have a skill failure than no skill check at all. It feels weird when they don't chime in. Also I love them and their little personalities. I never want them to shut up. I'm considering making a playthrough where I cheat and get all the skills at level 6 so I could have them argue non-stop in Harry's head.

6 notes - Posted October 27, 2022

#2

I am legit heartbroken over this news... They put their heart into this, they created something so good, so sincere, and it was stolen from them.

I am thankful that this game was made at all, that at least this little miracle exists and will never stop existing. But I’m also so upset, so mad to once again witness talent and passion getting crushed under the heel of capitalism.

I will still look forward and give support to whatever projects they make next. I wish them all the best. And I’ll try to stay inspired by their work and keep creating myself.

11 notes - Posted October 1, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

“I see the capital making statements and thus I am compelled to make statements in turn, which gives me a wonderful opportunity to discuss the story, the ‘making of’ of the game, the characters and destiny central to it in a more sombre manner than may be customary for the industry.

[...]

In short, Robert was fired from the company whose heart and seed he was due to claims of ‘creating a toxic workplace environment’. Having worked at the company remotely in the summer of 2021 I can say things were truly not all right at the company, but I would say it is much more plausible that the toxic environment was created instead by the upper management and blamed on Robert. I have seen a similar situation before. The idealist workaholic does not pay attention to people’s psychological needs as the conspirator does and thus he will at most times be outplayed.

[...]

What happened to Robert was what happens to most talented people that get any recognition in our age — he got manipulated by psychopaths. And the people that have been railed up against him and his entourage, they have also been manipulated by psychopaths so it doesn’t really make anything much better if we get mad at them. Robert trusted people that got him fired completely before they got him fired. He thought they are his friends. This is a major ‘red check failure’ really. 

[...]

To end on a more positive note, Robert said some months ago that he is confident about one day writing Elysium again. I would take him at his word. Many have also asked me how they could contribute. There are two main resources any person has, which are time and attention, and any ‘Disco fan’ has already chosen to give them to the game and its creators, the situation around the game. Be confident that you will do what needs to be done when you see it.

Revachol forever.

The full article is very interesting to read, I just tried to highlight the most “important” information, but really the whole post is worth a read.

Also Kaur Kender and Tõnis Haavel are directly mentioned by name.

60 notes - Posted October 15, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[rendevousz]

not a secret anymore

natasha romanoff x fem!teen!reader

summary: nat reveals a secret to the public when your class takes a learning journey to the tower.

requested: yes

warnings: might come off as half assed writing because this probably is one of my worst works i'm so sorry 😭😭

word count: 1681

notes: i'm so sorry i haven't been writing much, i've recently just gotten extremely busy so i had no time to sit down and write (this one was literally written between all the short breaks i had 😫) and i have a few requests piling up so i hope you guys can understand if they come later <3

"hi, y/n!" ally, an agent, greeted you as you, along with your classmates, walked through the east wing hallway of the tower. your classmates—except for peter, ned and mj— turned to look at you with confused looks.

your class was having a learning journey at the avengers tower and you had contemplated on calling in sick to avoid people who worked in the tower acknowledging you around your classmates.

you were actually an avenger—yeah, crazy—, having been rescued during one of the many avengers' hostage rescue missions few years ago. you were able to single-handedly take down a few of your captors, hence why the team took interest in you then.

now, though you had been trained enough, they decided to keep you a secret in order to protect you. lord knows how many people would try hurt you if they ever found out the avengers had a new, teenage recruit. peter was technically still safe as his alter-ego is masked so you had no choice but to only go on missions that weren't in the public eye.

you also lived in the tower so the agents and staff were undoubtedly familiar with you, some even friends with you, just like ally, who had just passed by with a wave of her hand at you before turning the corner.

"did that lady just acknowledge you?" an annoying voice spoke from beside you in a mocking tone. you gulped, not wanting to respond to flash's irrelevant question.

"hey, loser, i'm talking to you," he nudged your arm with his elbow and you held the urge to grab it and flip his whole body upside down. it's not like you couldn't—you had the skills, obviously— but it's the fact that you didn't want to get in trouble for that.

you ended up keeping quiet, like you always did whenever the boy taunted you. peter taught you to do just that. if it were up to you, flash's stupid face wouldn't even dare to show itself in front of you anymore.

speaking of peter, he was nowhere to be seen by now. you internally rolled your eyes. it had only been two minutes and they were already gone. peter was probably showing them around the place. you had no idea how your teacher didn't notice the three of them missing from your group. you were so going to kill them for ditching you and leaving you alone when they knew they were your only friends. they were also the reason why flash still had his head to this day because they'd stop you from doing anything rash. now you weren't sure if flash would be safe from your fury.

"you probably work here as a cleaner on the weekends or something, huh? that's the only way people here would know you," flash jeered. you let out a breath, trying to control your anger towards the boy.

you rolled your eyes, opting to deliberately ignore his insults and walk away instead, hoping you'll bump into those three idiots of friends of yours.

"did you just ignore me?" flash asked incredulously, as if it was a crime to ignore his annoying ass. he pulled you back by your back collar, effectively halting you in your spot.

by instinct, you grabbed his hand that was on your collar, twisting it and turning his whole body around, pinning him against the wall with his twisted arm pressed against his back. it happened in just two seconds which totally caught flash off guard, the boy groaning in pain as he begged you to let him free.

you could hear a series of gasps from all around you and you internally groaned. this is why you always ignored flash's taunting. you didn't want to attract attention to yourself and have people wonder how you could defend yourself so well. but flash just had to provoke you. especially here, out of all places.

"what's going on here?" you heard a familiar voice ask and you sighed.

"oh my gosh! it's the black widow!"

"miss romanoff!"

"oh my gosh, i'm gonna need to get a picture for my mum later, she's gonna freak out!"

you stepped away from flash, releasing him as he dramatically kept rubbing at his arm. as if you even put that much pressure. flash smirked, seeing this as a chance to complain about you to an official avenger.

"this girl right here," flash points an accusing finger at you with a glare, like he wasn't just practically begging for his life twenty seconds ago. "attacked me."

you rolled your eyes, unamused. "i hardly attacked him." you told nat. the woman turned to you, an eyebrow raised as she gave you a knowing look. "this...?" she trailed off and you nodded, knowing what she was insinuating. you'd told her about flash one too many times for her not to immediately figure out who he is from a crowd of students.

"flash thompson. heard a lot about you," she turned to the boy. flash's face lit up, thinking he must've made a name for himself or something that even the black widow knew him. little did he know he did, but not for good reasons.

"i would prefer if you stop messing with y/n/n." nat gave him a sharp look and that grin was immediately wiped off his face. "i– y/n/n?" he stuttered, confused that the natasha romanoff is calling you by a nickname.

"you do know she can kick your ass if she wanted to, right? she's been silent all this while because she didn't want to hurt you but you just never seem to learn, huh?" nat took slow, calculated steps towards him until she was towering over him.

"she doesn't need anyone to protect her because she's fully capable of that but i'm just here to warn you, kid, that she, is not to be meddled with. i'm saying this for your own good, flash thompson. she's capable of much worse than whatever she just did to you. so if i hear you messing around with her or any of her friends," she pauses before continuing with a whisper. "i'll close one eye on whatever she wants to do with you."

you wished you could've taken a picture of the dead scared look on flash's face; it was priceless. you turned to nat once she stepped away from him and she put an arm around your shoulder, leading you both away from the watching crowd.

"i–i'm sorry, miss romanoff," you could hear one of your teachers say and nat stopped, effectively stopping you too as she had you in her hold. "but miss y/l/n is on a learning journey with us and she'll miss the tour of the tower if she leaves with you. we'll be discussing a lot regarding this trip in class and she won't understand what we talk about if she misses this tour. i hope you understand." he spoke nervously.

"with all due respect, y/n's seen the whole tower already," she smiles at him but you could tell it was fake. "even the avengers' residential floors which are closed to the public and most employees of the tower."

your teacher looked at her wide-eyed, mouth open but nothing coming out. nat smiles a fake one once again. "now if you'll excuse us, the both of us have avenger duties to attend to."

gasps could be heard all around you and in the midst of it all, your best friends came back and you made eye contact with them, all of them having the same shocked look on their face.

"avenger duties?! nat, what are you doing?!" you whisper-yelled at the woman who seemed to be enjoying the reactions of your classmates and teachers.

"y/n!" peter ran over to you, your other friends following suit. "oh, um hi miss romanoff," he greets shyly. "thanks a lot, guys, look what happened." you spoke sarcastically, rolling your eyes at them. nat proceeded to drag you away from your friends and the last thing you saw was them mouthing apologies and you half-heartedly mouthing to them back that it was fine.

"relax, y/n/n, the public were about to find out soon anyways." nat said nonchalantly. "what?!" you exclaimed once you two were in a different hallway.

"yeah, you're gonna have press this weekend for this. we're gonna officially announce you to the world as an avenger." she once again says nonchalantly, as if this wasn't the first time you were hearing this. "wait, wait, wait, seriously?" you asked in disbelief. no one had told you anything.

"yeah, i—ohh yeah, you don't know yet," nat remembers and you give her an unimpressed look. she wasn't usually this dumb; she only showed this side of her to you. "sorry, i uh, yeah.. i was supposed to come get you for this. meeting with fury and the rest, yknow?" she tells you and you nodded slowly, taking in the information.

"but tell me it didn't feel good that you got to do that to flash," the woman states excitedly and you playfully rolled your eyes at her. "you got to do something. i'm practically an empty threat to him," you stated matter-of-factly.

"not after this weekend you're not. he'll be afraid of you after. that's what you get for being a smelly bully." you couldn't help the little smile on your face. she really sounded like a child right now and it was adorable.

"alright, natty, whatever you say. let's go before fury releases his fury." you look at her hopefully, waiting for her to laugh at your joke which she responded with an unimpressed look. that of course didn't work as you two burst out laughing looking at each other's faces.

you walked alongside her, the woman resting an arm around your shoulder. you smiled up at her as she talked about her day.

god, you couldn't wait to be able to finally walk out in public with these people you considered family.

taglist <3

@amourtentiaa @rqmanoff @abitofeverythinggg @andreasworlsboring101 @cay-writes-fan-fiction514 @teenwonder @sevenmorningstars @fleurlovesbucky @marauvdersfate

[lovebecomeshim]

hello! your zutara posting today has finally motivated me to ask this question because I came to atla very late(last year, to be specific) and I Love It Very Much but am 1000% out of the loop as far as why what remains of fandom (at least that I've seen among my friends) is so very strongly zutara. I'm not opposed to it per se I just don't really know what has driven it to apparently be such a popular ship? can you help me understand and maybe convert me a little bit?

Hey!! Your ICON! :D I can try but I’m not sure how coherent I’ll be; however I AM sure someone a lot more competent will be willing to add to this. Either way, I’m glad you asked because my plan was to drag down as many people as possible with me.

*smacks the hood of zutara* this baby can fit so much mutual love and support!

This got so long, I’m so sorry. I don’t know how to put it under a cut on mobile and it already got deleted once so I’m scared to mess with it lol. Moving on.

I’m gonna start this with a disclaimer that im on mobile so formatting is tricky and I’m also really new to atla in that I only completed my first watch through in like 2019??? So some of my info is all just based on what I’ve picked up from Discourse 👀 so anyway the sparknotes version: zutara was wildly popular from the beginning. To the point where the atla crew internally disagreed on which ship should be endgame. (Ex. Bryke [showrunners] asked the writers to rewrite The Southern Raiders to make Zuko seem less ideal for Katara than Aang [which failed, depending on who you ask]; the animation team purposefully created a visual parrallel between Oma and Shu in the Cave of Two Lovers and Zuko and Katara in the catacombs under Ba Sing Se in the Crossroads of Destiny; etc.)

The ship was popular enough that Bryke actually chose to display zk fanart at a con for the sole purpose of mocking the fans, but that’s neither here nor there. The entire episode Ember Island Players, while a love letter to/parody of the whole show, was an opportunity to address zutara’s viability as a canon pairing (while, again, mocking zutaras for romanticizing that catacombs scene). Point is! It’s always been popular but with it not being endgame, there’s got to be something that’s given it staying power.

And that’s honestly got to do with three things: their dynamic, thematic cohesion, and potential.

(You know what... you know what, it’s four things. The fourth is they’re so aesthetically pleasing together and individually. Like, they’re just good looking people [specifically when they’re grown but they’re also cute kids] and that absolutely doesn’t hurt) (but it’s not the Point, it’s just nice to point out sometimes)

The dynamic is hard to get into without also looking at the canon pairings, but I think I can do that without unnecessary bashing. It’s just that part of the magic of zutara is really highlighted by what they give to each other that their other relationships don’t.

First off, it’s classic enemies to (would be) lovers. The absolute truest form of it. It’s not too different from how CS started out: a rogue antagonist with a job to do—but no personal vendetta against the future love interest—who is deeply and emotionally invested in his personal storyline (revenge/redemption) with little regard for how it effects other people after his entire life and genuine good nature are marred by suffering, and a fierce warrior girl with a strong moral compass and her own personal investment in stopping him (protect her family and save the world doing it). Obviously frustration and animosity grew between them by the nature of them being on opposing sides, but that just lends itself to the sweetness of their later reconciliation.

The thing is that while they’re wildly different on the surface (he’s a hot-headed prince of a fascist regime who is trying to capture the Avatar to please his father; she’s a nurturing daughter of the chief who is trying to protect and train the Avatar in order to topple his father’s throne) they find out that they have so much more in common both in their experiences and their personalities.

(What follows is an excessive use of the word “both” and I’m sorry about that)(I can edit it. I can do that. That IS an option............)

They both have an innate sense of justice that they are determined to see done (zuko, at the war meeting, sticking up for the Earth Kingdom kid when the guards torment his family, choosing not to steal from the pregnant couple despite his circumstances, abiding by his word to leave the SWT should Aang come willingly, etc.; katara, literally.... at any point). They both have pretty one-track minds at accomplishing certain goals once they’ve put their mind to it, regardless of a lack of support in that endeavor (it goes without saying I guess, but zuko’s entire hunt; katara’s determination to get the earth benders to fight back, her determination to absolutely destroy Pakku until he agrees to teach her, etc.). They both lost their mothers at young ages. Their worlds are war-torn and traumatizing to them both, if in different ways, but that ultimately forces them to grow up too quickly to be wholly independent individuals. They both have issues with their fathers (for WILDLY different reasons, but). They both hold extreme prejudices that they need to learn to overcome (which ties into thematic cohesion)(bit like Lizzie and Darcy in that way but magnified by a million). They’re both extremely emotional and empathetic—which can and often does result in loud outbursts. Katara’s a bit better adjusted and can temper her anger for longer than S1 Zuko can, but they both feel that anger deeply and have no compunctions expressing it (Katara is, usually, more justified, particularly in S1. Again, S1 Zuko is severely maladjusted but at the point when they could’ve feasibly become a couple, he’s so much better off with the way he carries himself). They both struggle with feelings of inferiority in their bending abilities when confronted with prodigal benders like Aang and Azula, but have the work ethic required to double down and become two of the most powerful benders in the three remaining nations. This is a little more minor but it is a parrallel that appeals to some shippers that they both have these alter egos in the Painted Lady (notably fire nation coded) and the Blue Spirit (water tribe coded) that are pretty different from who they are day-to-day and are useful in accomplishing a purpose that they as themselves cannot.

(I’m.... I just realized that this could potentially get very long. Should I have made a slide show with bullet points??????)

Anyway, similar. I know there’s more but there’s literally so much to love about zutara that I’ll drive myself a little crazy trying to compile all the ways they’re similar. (Just gonna say that at this exact moment I went back to add more similarities.... so okay then)

Once they’ve reconciled, we see how all of these things only lend themselves to a deeper intimacy together than they share with literally anyone else. There’s a steady partnership that positions them as the mom/dad of the gaang, while also providing the support necessary to allow the other to not have to carry so much responsibility. A lot of zutaras will point out how zuko is actually depicted doing the more domestic chores that are normally relegated to Katara once he joins the gaang, since the others in the group are two 12-year-olds and sokka. The one that sticks out the most is how he makes tea for the group and then serves them, while Katara is able to just relax with her friends around the fire. Fanon expands upon this a lot to Zuko helping with the laundry or the cooking or whatever else needs doing since he, as a once-refugee, is used to doing his own domestic tasks. Before Zuko joined, Katara was the one mothering everyone, sewing for them, cooking for them, etc. She’s always tending to the needs of the group, and that includes emotionally. She does the emotional labor for the gaang 99% of the time, but when she’s the one falling apart, she’s usually doing it alone and without the comfort that she normally provides for others. Until Zuko. And that’s before they’re even friends.

Which is WHY people romanticize the catacombs of Ba Sing Se so much. Katara is verbally attacking Zuko out of her own righteous anger but also her own prejudice when Zuko, surprisingly, chooses to be vulnerable with her. He’s been on a journey that’s opened his eyes a bit, but he’s never actively chosen to expose the rawest parts of his past to anyone. But for some reason he chooses to do that with Katara of all people. While she’s yelling at him. He sees her humanity, and for once can look past his prejudice and empathize with her. And this time, when she breaks down, she gets to be comforted. Katara normally talks about her mother when she’s trying to explain to someone else that she sees and understands they’re pain, as a form of comfort to them. Here, Zuko uses the exact same tactic. He sees her and he understands. And for zuko? He’s not being shut down. He’s allowed to articulate his pain regarding his mother without being ignored and made to internalize it, and he’s allowed to process how he feels about his scar out loud without being told that he deserved it. And then he lets her touch his scar, something we’ve seen him actively avoid before. He’s completely open to her and she’s completely open to him and all it took was one five minute conversation. She was about to use the little bit of Spirit water that she had, that she was saving for something Important, to heal the scar that still daily causes him pain just because they had, somehow, connected.

Plus there’s the whole parallel to the star-crossed lovers forbidden from one another, a war divides their people—

And then zuko messes up, he regresses, he gets what he wants and he HATES it. And the sense of justice he had as a child has been restored to him against his will and he can’t think of anything he wants to do more than the Right Thing, so he joins team avatar. Before he does that though, we get to see his relationship with Mai, which is where comparison really comes in. And what we see is Zuko, fresh off of his encounter with Katara in the catacombs, trying to be emotionally honest with Mai... and getting shut down and dismissed. Which is just how Mai is and it’s fine, but not for Zuko. Still, he keeps trying, and he keeps getting ignored or scoffed at or yelled at. Which is really a larger symbol for how he doesn’t fit in his old life anymore, but again that’s about thematic cohesion. He tries to articulate his anxieties about returning home, he tries to make romantic gestures, he tries to explain how morally conflicted he’s feeling—and Mai diverts to some kind of physical affection to shut him up and a parting comment that is pretty much always, in essence, “I don’t wanna talk about this.” So they don’t. On the other hand, once zuko and Katara are friends, we see him again emotionally distraught and caught up in his anxieties about facing Iroh, and it’s Katara who comes to him and listens to him and comforts and encourages him.

Similarly, we have Aang clamming up and getting uncomfortable whenever Katara shows any negative emotion, usually resulting in him making excuses or running away. Or, in the case of the Southern Raiders, lecturing her on how she needs to just let go of her anger about her mother’s murder. People have talked this episode to death and usually better than I ever could, so imma... keep it brief. There’s a serious disconnect between Aang and Katara in his ability to empathize with Katara and her needs that has her tamping down her vulnerability and amping up her anger. He tells her that he was able to forgive his people’s genocide and appa’s kidnapping (petnapping? Theft??), which is blatantly not true but also not an entirely equal parrallel to Katara’s situation, and continues making these little remarks throughout the episode. But it’s Zuko that Katara opens up to. It’s with him that she’s able to talk about the most traumatic day of her life, and it’s with him that she’s able to get the closure she needs, cementing their bond as friends and partners. This disagreement between Aang and Katara is then... never resolved. They just never bring it up and hear what the other is saying.

There’s a fic called The Portraits of Ember Island that has a line that so completely sums up the heart of the matter for why people love their dynamic. For context, zuko has woken up early to help Katara with the cooking and they spend the whole time just letting one another talk, and zuko stops to ask why she always just lets him talk. And so she stops to ask why he’s always helping, and it goes as follows:

There’s just... so much mutual support! Trust! Intimacy!! And it just continues like that from the Southern Raiders on, listening to each other, advising each other, watching each other’s backs! And then! Literally saving each other’s lives!! I will never be over the last Agni kai. Not ever. Zuko may have been willing to jump in front of lightning for anyone, but he actually did it for Katara. And in a show, that’s the thing that really matters. It’s a fulfilled trope usually exclusively applied to romantic pairings, and it ended up applying to Zuko and Katara. And then she ran out into the middle of a fight with tunnel vision just to get to him.

Also!! Also Zuko pushing Katara out of the way of the falling rocks at the Western Air Temple!! And Katara catching him as he fell from the war balloon that he fought Azula on!! Before they’re even getting along, they’re the ones reaching for each other. They come to this place of equal ground, as partners, who watch each other’s backs, call each other out but still listen attentively and understand, and provide the support that the other has been sorely lacking up until they knew each other (whether that be from lack of effort or lack of understanding from others, or an unwillingness to accept it for themselves).

Then, trailing along under the surface of this, we see the themes of the show totally embodied by Zuko and Katara as individuals and in their relationship to one another. There’s a YouTuber, sneezyreviews, who has a, like, 2-hour explanation on why she not only loves zutara but also believes that their endgame would’ve actually elevated the writing of atla to new levels particularly because of thematic cohesion and resolved character arcs. It’s the zutara dissertation I never knew I needed, and it’s funny and eloquent and effective, so I’m just going to sum up her section on thematic cohesion to the best of my abilities and then link it for whenever you have the time. And I HIGHLY recommend it, especially if you want a full understanding of what makes zutara so great and gives it such longevity.

Guru pathik has a line that goes something like this: separation is an illusion; things that seem different are just two parts of the same whole. Iroh also tells Zuko something similar: balance and strength are achieved when the different nations come together and influence one another and celebrate what makes them each unique. And this lesson is a massive central arc that both Zuko and Katara go through, moving past a black-and-white, good guys-vs-bad guys, us-vs-them mentality and into a greyer, more nuanced view of the world. Zuko sees the fire nation from an entirely new perspective and while he still loves and hopes for his nations future, he surrenders his blind loyalty to them in exchange for an unflinching loyalty to peace and love. Katara too had to come to terms with the fact that cruel people exist in the earth kingdom and water tribes, while some fire nation citizens are just regular, kind people who also need and deserve to have someone speak on their behalf. And this is honed in directly on how they view each other. They grow in their individual journeys to be open to the humanity in the other and then, once they’ve found that, they’re able to grow more in compassion for others in a beautiful feedback loop. And this is all matched in the symbolism repeatedly and intentionally associated with them in canon: sun and moon, fire and water, yin and yang, Oma and Shu who found love despite their warring nations. Their individual arcs are completed in each other and complement the themes of atla beautifully.

The canon pairs... just don’t. Which, again, is fine. But the very things that give atla longevity and popularity are anchored in zutara. Kat@ang doesn’t accomplish this. They’re... nice. Sweet. Especially when you erase a good portion of their interactions in S3. It could’ve been just a sweet love story. (Personally, the dynamic between toph and aang accomplish the same thing that zutara does, with complementary personalities that fulfill the theme of opposites blending in harmony) M@iko, on the other hand, is less sweet but I think wasn’t even supposed to last. Zuko’s relationship with Mai seems to represent his relationship with his old life as a whole. He can’t be emotionally vulnerable, he’s goaded into abusing his privileges, his agency and opinions aren’t respected. They just don’t have common ground with which to discuss anything that matters, so they don’t. As far as themes, the relationship doesn’t fit with atla. It’s zuko returning to and sticking with what is (on the surface) like him, what’s expected. Fire nation with fire nation. Fluid water bender with the flexible air bender. Like with like, separated from what is different and challenging and complementary.

And all of these things combined of course lead to the potential for the ship. I don’t know how familiar you are with the post-atla canon but... well, miss “I will never turn my back on people who need me”, miss “I don’t want to heal! I want to fight!” ends up living quietly in the SWT as a designated healer who turns a blind eye to the water tribe civil war happening right outside her front door. Which can be fine! People change! Some people just wanna stay inside. I just wanna stay inside! But the potential future for zutara is so much more satisfying, with Katara becoming the most unconventional Fire Lady the uppity old cads who are stuck on the old ways have ever seen. Fanon has her serving as a voice for the other nations within a kingdom at the point of its biggest political upheaval, as a confidante to Zuko who can actually help him while he’s trying to figure out how to move forward and make reparations. They have the opportunity, together, to accomplish what they both have set on their hearts to fight for: positive change that lends itself to harmony and balance. And the steambabies! A popular headcanon is that their firstborn daughter, the crown princess, is actually a waterbender, which causes such an uproar among the people who are adamantly clinging to the old ways. It’s just a future full of potential to be forces for good together, full of trust, intimacy, joy. The exact era of peace and love and balance that zuko announces that he intends to ring in with the start of his reign as Fire Lord is, again, magnified by the very personal zutara relationship. And we love to see it.

tl;dr zutara isn’t for everyone. Some people just don’t vibe with it. Some are nostalgic. Some love the canon they grew up with. Some have been disappointed for years. Some just see themselves in other characters and want their happiness instead. Whatever the reason, that’s fine. But for me, I love the way these two, from the moment they give each other a fair chance, are able to lower their walls and prejudices to see the other for the kindred spirits they are. They see each other’s humanity, and their response is to pour out love and support and compassion. I love that they’re a power couple in battle. I love the symbolism and, honestly, soulmatism that colors their every interaction. I love that they embody the whole storyline of atla in their relationship and how it develops, which is notably why their seasonal arcs always culminate in each finale with how they relate to one another. I love that zuko adopting a waterbending move is what actually saves his life and then katara’s. I love the chemistry! And I love the future they could’ve had, instead of the ones they were given.

So, in conclusion: I just think they’re neat and I hope you do too, at least a little bit. Even if it’s just respectfully from a disinterested distance cause you do you. And now here is the video I mentioned. I’m sorry this post got so long and then I gave you an even longer homework assignment, but I can’t recommend it enough. She says it all better than I can.

[jaycewrites-192000]

Growl: Chapter 1

Charcter:

Kyotani Kentaro (Mad Dog)

Warnings: None. Slow updates

Summery:

It all started with a growl...

...Which was odd considering it came from a human.

(There might be some lacking in the teams/teammates and matches and I'm sorry if there is. I'll certainly do my best to describe the events of matches and the different personalities of each team members. That's all, thank you for reading!)

(just let me know if you want to be added) Tags: @etroman @theravencawsatmidnight

Your P.O.V

The shrill alarm shook me awake from my sleep, with a groan you sit up and slam the top of the alarm to shut it up. Groggily opening my eyes I grab my phone and turn it on, suddenly my tired eyes filled with panic as I saw the day and time. Monday, 7:20am. I was late for school! I was never late! I toss my phone aside and scrambled to get dressed and brush my teeth and hair. Because I was in a hurry, my hair ended up looking more messy than decent. But there was no time to fix it right, so I hurried to grab my school bag and phone before running downstairs.

I noticed that my mother wasn't here, which would explain why I didn't hear her yelling for me to wake up. I walked over to the fridge to see a note that read: "Y/n, I was called in early for work. Hopefully you remember to wake up early so you can eat breakfast. If not, I left you some cash so you could grab a snack on the way to school. I'll be back before dinner. Love you, -Mom." I internally thanked my mom before grabbing the cash off the table and running out the door. "I don't even think I have time to get some food on the way there." I sigh. Guess I have extra money for lunch then.

Finally I made it to the front gates of the school, Aoba Johsai High, I checked my phone. I had five minutes to spare. Picking up the pace I ran into the school, and through the halls, narrowly avoiding people while doing so. Avoiding all except for one, partially tall person. I yelped, tumbling backwards, I somehow managed not to fall over. The person I ran into turned back to face me. I felt my stomach drop slightly at the sight of the boy. He was tall, with a blonde buzzcut that had two black lines that started from the right side of his head that looped around to the left side. It kinda resembled a bee pattern. His glare shook me down to my core, piercing yellow eyes shot right through me. The dark bags under his eyes only made his glare more intimidating. But what scared me the most, was when he spoke. Or...growled?

"Watch it." His voice was gravely and deep. It was almost like he was snarling at me. Like an angry dog maybe? "I uh...sorry?" I mutter. The boy only clicked his tongue before walking away. "...What the hell was that?" I breathed before picking up my bag and walking into my classroom.

"Miss L/n. You're late." Said my teacher, turning away from the chalk board, book in hand. Ah! I totally forgot! Embarrassed, I bowed my head and apologized before taking my seat. I might have made it too, if it weren't for that angry guy earlier. I sighed and opened my books and got to copying what was written on the board. "Heeeey, L/n-Chan~. You've never been late before, what kept you?" A familiar voice whispered, interrupted my writing. I knew that voice all to well, with another sight you turned to see my, I guess friend, Oikawa Toru.

"I overslept." I whispered back. "I almost made it too." Oikawa chuckled as he leaned on his hand. "That's so unlike you L/n-Chan. What kept you up last night? Have a boyfriend you don't want me to know about?" He smirks. "No!" I whispered-shouted back. "I...I was watching anime." I mutter. Oikawa failed to hold back his laughter. "Oikawa, L/n! Keep it down!" The teacher scolds us both. "Y-yes sir!" We apologize.

"Hey. L/n-Chan, meet me after class in the gym. There's something I want to tell you." Oikawa whispers. You nod before getting back to work.

Normal P.O.V

Finally classes had ended, and you were on your way to the gym. You couldn't help but wonder what Oikawa wanted to tell you. "He better not try and ask me out again." You groan. The first time he did it was so embarrassing! And right in front of his herd of fan girls too! You thought they were going to hunt you down and murder you after what he did. "Jerk. This had better be good." You say before opening the doors to the gym. Inside, was the school's volleyball team, and their captain Oikawa as well. "L/n-Chan!" He ran towards you, trying to give you a hug, but you step out of the way of his path, causing him to run into the wall. "Dumbass." A brown hair male shakes his head. It was Iwaizumi Hajime, Oikawa's "best friend".

"Hi Iwa-Chan." You smile and wave. "Hey! That's my nickname for him!" Oikawa whines. "Hey L/n." Iwaizumi, ignoring him, waves back. "What brings you here?" He asks. "Oikawa told me to come here. He said he needed to tell me something." Iwaizumi glares at Oikawa. "You better not try and ask her out again Shittykawa!" You laugh at the infamous nickname for Oikawa. "I'm not!" Oikawa puts his hands on his hips. "I asked her here for an important reason."

"Like what?" You asked. "Well first of all, what do you think of our team? Though, I shouldn't have to ask that, we're obviously an amazing team, don't be shy, go ahead and say it." Oikawa says with a haughty tone. "Uh, yeah I guess you guys are pretty cool." You tell him. Oikawa scoffs. "Pretty cool?" He shakes his head. "Anyway, how would you like to be our manager?" You gave Oikawa a confused look. "Like, you want me to be your manager? Uh, I mean, I don't know. I've never really held much of an interest in volleyball, let alone managing an entire team."

"Whaaaat? But you have to be! We don't have a cute manager girl!" Your eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Oh shut it! I'm defiantly not going to be your manger if I'm just here to look cute!" You snap. "Please L/n-Chan!" Oikawa begs. "Leave her alone Shittykawa! She's obviously not interested!" Iwaizumi punches Oikawa in the back of his head. "Ow!" He whines.

"Sorry Oikawa, I just don't think I'm the right fit for your team's manager." You apologize. "At least think about it! I really think you'll like it once you get the feel for it. You'll even get the chance to make more friends." That caught your attention. You didn't have many friends, just Oikawa and Iwaizumi really. You didn't know the rest of the team as well as they did, you would have, if you had more of an interest in volleyball. But you didn't. Maybe this would be good for you after all. Before Iwaizumi got the chance to punch Oikawa again you stopped him. "Fine! I'll think about it, but this is not a yes, got it?"

"Oh thank you L/n-Chan!" Oikawa's mood took a turn for a brighter one. "You won't regret it I promise!"

"For your sake, I better not." You mutter. "I'm gonna get going. I'll see you guys later ok?" Before you head out the gym, Oikawa stopped you. "Wait, don't you want to watch us play? Maybe it will help you make a decision." You shrug and set your bag beside the bench. You didn't really have anything better to do, so you might as well watch. "We're just about to start, we're just waiting for a certain trouble maker to show up." Oikawa crosses his arms. Just as you were going to ask who this "certain trouble maker" was, the gym doors slammed opened. The loudness made you jump in shock, turning around slowly, you met the eyes of someone, you wished you would never have to see again.

It was the scary ass dude you ran into earlier!

"Mad Dog-Chan!" Oikawa greets him. Mad Dog-Chan?? You blink a few times, what kind of name was that? "It's about time you showed up. You get in trouble again?" "Mad Dog-Chan" rolled his eyes and walked in, he didn't even bother to spare you a passing glance as he entered the gym. Did he even notice you at all? It was probably better that way. "You should start getting here earlier. Hurry and get changed so we can start." Iwaizumi spoke up. Mad Dog-Chan nods. "Yes sir." He made his way to the dressing rooms. "Why do you listen to him and not me!?" Oikawa whines.

You walk up to Oikawa as soon as he was gone. "Oikawa, who was that guy? How come you've never mentioned him?" You asked. "He was suspended, so this is the first time he's practicing with us in a while. And as for me not talking about him, well, you saw how unpleasant he can be." You couldn't help but agree with that, you didn't want to make assumptions, but after your encounter with him it was pretty clear he wasn't the most decent of people. "Yeah, I know. I ran into him earlier, I thought he was going to kill me."

"Really? I feel sorry for you then." Oikawa chuckles. "Who is he? Mad Dog-Chan can't be his real name." Well no duh, who names their kid something like that? "His name is Kyotani Kentaro. He's a second year." You hum in response. "Is he any good? Playing volleyball I mean."

"Oh, I don't want to spoil that for you. Just wait and see sweetheart." You punch him in the side. "What did I say about calling me that?" You mutter. "Sorry.." Oikawa whimpers.

Next

[mira--mira]

Hi! I was wondering

How do you think Hashirama and Madara would be in a Road to Ninja version?

I remember once reading a Hashimada fic (which I never finished RIP) that was about Madara appearing in the RTN universe and the 3 things that stucked with me were:

1.- Madara was the first Hokage (something that Madara thought was horrible when he saw his sculpted face on the Hokage mountain 🤣)

And personally I think that it would not have been like that even in the RTN universe because we didn't see his face along with the other faces of Hokages in the movie (Yeah, apparently I'm basing myself on a movie which I'm not even sure if it's canon or not, even though Kishimoto wrote it) and the RTN characters didn't seem to even know who Madara is.

2.- Hashirama having his bowlcut as an adult

And I agree with the Madara from that fanfic, it looks awful on him. Hashirama, babe, I'm sorry but the only ones who can rock that style are Guy Sensei and Rock Lee, I know you just were trying to be cool but it doesn't suite you.

3.- Tobirama was a porn writer

Instead of being a fan of forbidden jutsu and creating justus, he wrote porn novels a la Jiraiya. And I'll hold that headcanon with my dead hands.

The only other fanfic that places the founders in the RTN universe is one where the protagonist is Mito (it's an interesting one-shot that pairs her with Itama 🤔)

She was kind of a shy person 🤔? And so it was Tobirama 🤣 which I found fun.

Hashirama, as the first fanfic I mentioned, was the Tobirama of the place (saddenly Madara wasn't in this fic).

So I would like to know what are your versions of the founders (or only Hashirama and Madara if it is too much) in the RTN universe! And how do you think things would be

Hmm, RTN is an interesting concept to me but, to be honest, I don't think Konoha would exist if a lot of personalities got flipped 😂 I haven't read any RTN fics with the founders, but if you, or anyone else, have links at hand I'd love to check them out 👀

1. Madara

Here's the big one and the crux of why I don't think the village would exist. Typically I characterize Madara as an extremely responsible man who internalizes things when he shouldn't, takes himself way too seriously, is aggressive and abrasive even to people he loves sometimes, but genuinely loves the people closest too him. Reversing this would make a character that slacks off, takes no responsibility, and is completely passive in life and has fleeting attachments to others around him. Assuming he wouldn't die on the battlefield, I could see the RTN "alternate" personality coming about of Madara's being so overpowered and competent that he loses interest and distances himself from things before he can get attached and lose them.

It makes building a village very hard though. (At first I was tempted to go RTN Sasuke route and maybe RTN!Madara is a little more openly flirty than canon!Madara, but the passivity and refusal to take responsibility would be the "core" qualities for me.)

2. Hashirama

Hashirama is a bit weird because he has a lot of surface-level "conflicting" traits in canon. He is optimistic but he pushes beyond his natural attitude and uses it as a mask to hide instead of addressing his feelings. He's mischievous, likes jokes and games, and can be a bit hedonistic with his pleasure but can equally be serious when necessary and will willingly sacrifice for others around him. And simultaneously, Hashirama and Madara are connected by a shared sense of idealism but also anger. Hashirama is a very kind, but extremely angry, man. I think a RTN!Hashirama would share a kind of apathy of RTN!Madara but instead of passivity his lack of anger would manifest as cruelty. Because canon!Hashirama is angry but his anger is usually a righteous kind. I don't think RTN!Hashirama would go out of his way to be cruel, but he doesn't have the empathy of canon!Hashirama, especially to others' suffering. He enjoys fighting just a bit too much and has no qualms about killing. In his mind, he should always come first in any situation and prioritizing (or even considering) others' is effort and him going out of his way to be "nice" and the other should be thankful. Similarly if he feels any negative emotion, he won't bottle it up and swallow it down, he'll immediately address it, usually confrontationally. RTN!Hashirama is as intelligent as his canon counterpart but he doesn't suffer fools and he hates it when people underestimate him. He's pretty proud and vain, tbh.

I really don't think the above would make him the "Tobirama" of RTN verse. To me Hashirama and Tobirama have different core values and perspectives and inverting Hashirama's doesn't make it become Tobirama's, if that makes sense. This one is also wordy bc I immediately knew how RTN!Madara would be RTN!Hashirama is a bit harder to pin down. But I hope it's clear why I have doubts about the village existing...maybe if RTN!Hashirama got it in his mind as a pet project for the hell of it, that he'd be a better leader for the country and not just the Senju alone, and RTN!Madara liked the idea of no responsibility and being able to detach even further than he already was? But that's still kind of grasping for a reason.

3. Hashimada

Equally I think any Hashirama/Madara relationship would be ehhh. They definitely wouldn't have the overwhelming bond of their canon counterparts, and it could be a relationship ripe for unhappiness. The closest I can think of to making the ship work is RTN!Madara would be drawn to Hashirama's absurd level of self-confidence and able to let the casual cruelty slide off instead of getting worked up about it. In a way RTN!Hashirama is stable and predictable. If he's pretty overpowered, there's less of a chance RTN!Madara would lose him, so their relationship isn't deep but it's more or less dependable and Madara knows exactly what he's going to get. In contrast RTN!Hashirama has an audience in the form of RTN!Madara and a partner that's not going to push back against his ideas. RTN!Madara doesn't ask for much and he doesn't complain when RTN!Hashirama puts himself first. He doesn't want, or might not be capable of, the deep emotional bond their canon counterparts have. RTN!Madara wouldn't leave Konoha (if it existed) in the AU, because he doesn't really care. If someone upset RTN!Hashirama and he decided to leave to 'do it right' RTN!Madara would probably follow, maybe out of some loyalty for RTN!Hashirama but mostly because it's what's easiest.

4. Tobirama

The core of Tobirama's character to me is prioritizing logic over emotion and both a conscious and unconscious failure to realize he can't completely eliminate emotion. Tobirama loves his brother, he's curious and has a desire to find out what makes things work and is willing to bend morality to get results if it'll serve a greater good. He's very aware of the unfairness of the world but believes it's an unspoken truth of humanity and can only be mitigated through logical means, but never completely erased. He'll be the sacrificial lamb, the one that works in shadows so his brother can have his utopian dream. Despite everything, he loves his genin, the strongest bonds he has aside from Hashirama, and does try to instill in them lessons he think will help them and lead to peace and stability in the village. He's still influenced by the prejudices of his time and can never find it in him to truly forgive the Uchiha.

A RTN!Tobirama would be a man ruled by emotion. Him writing erotica all day definitely could be one way this manifests lol. But overall he's sensitive and spiritual and can't stand the idea of killing. He and RTN!Hashirama don't get along and he actively tries to avoid his brother. RTN!Tobirama has equally strong principles as canon!Tobirama, but they're pacifist in nature and while he likes his studies, he prefers to be out talking to people and learning from them first hand. He's very naive and can be easily taken advantage of and he has trouble focusing on any one thing for too long. No matter how many times this happens, he never can harden his heart or be overly suspicious of others. RTN!Tobirama would most likely be the one support peace in this AU. He embraces the Uchiha and all the Senjus past enemies with open arms, almost to a foolish degree. It'd be a bad idea if he became hokage in this AU because he's a terrible negotiator and has a bad people-pleasing streak and struggles with long-term tactics. With the exception of RTN!Hashirama, who he considers an aberration who doesn't have a soul, humans at their core all have good intentions at heart.

5. Mito

I characterize Mito as a very level-headed woman. Her marriage to Hashirama is political in nature but they grow to be good friends and she never expected to fall in love and she's glad Hashirama didn't want a traditional wife. Mito is devoted to her community work (she works hands-on with people in the village), she seeks out connections with others and, despite the distance, remains close with her family in Uzushio, constantly writing them letters. She's spiritual and follows the Uzumakis' beliefs (not gonna list this OoT spoiler lol) and studies fuinjutsu in her spare time, something she's done since she was a child. She is willing to sacrifice if it meant protecting something she considered greater than herself, much to her own personal detriment. She loves and is proud of her children and grandchildren, but if she had a choice, she would have chosen to remain childless, she finds her true calling elsewhere.

RTN!Mito, similarly to RTN!Tobirama, is ruled by emotions. She dreams of one day making a good marriage for herself and centers romance and being a mother as her ideal life, but she's extremely picky when it comes picking the perfect husband. RTN!Mito knows how much she's worth and she refuses to settle and will not even entertain the idea of an arranged marriage. She has a hard time forming long-lasting, deep bonds with other people and views starting her own family as the solution to this problem. At times she can be a bit absent-minded and unintentionally selfish, but she's not actively malicious. She blusters a lot and depending on the situation can come off as cold and uncaring, but it's only to hide the depth of her true feelings and loneliness. In this AU she would absolutely refuse to marriage RTN!Hashirama. Nothing on hell or earth, could make her change her mind.

Mito is such a blank-slate character it feels like writing an oc more than a canon character, tbh. And this is something I don't see brought up a lot but a "heart full of love" to combat the kyuubi's hatred to me has never been exclusive to romantic or familial (to children) love. *cough* I want a complex female character who's not vilified for not wanting to have children and/or regretting having them *cough* Mito's "love" was for the people of Konoha and Uzushio. My personal headcanon regarding her and Hashirama's child (I don't think she had more than one) was that she was dedicated to her son, but quickly realized being a mother wasn't her dream or something she even actively liked. The kid was well-cared for and she was dutiful towards him, but Hashirama was the parent that loved and embraced him with his whole heart and it led to some tension between Mito and her son as the kid could tell the difference and neither of them were "wrong" to feel the way they did. This is why Tsunade was shown with Hashirama instead of Mito, he was a lot more present in her life when she was young (instead of Kishi just not having made Mito as a character yet). But after Hashirama and Tsunade's dad died (and then Nawaki), she and Mito grew close but it was definitely more of a friendship or student/mentor relationship rather than a traditional grandmother/granddaughter relationship but both were satisfied with it and loved eachother. Likewise I didn't want RTN!Mito's characterization to be shallow and hit misogynistic undertones with her being an "opposite" to Mito's calm, level-headed, focused on her work/passions characterization.

6. Closing thoughts

#1: Wow this got long #2: I feel conflicted about RTN because it seemed to flip surface-level characteristics instead of deep characterizations, and ignored flaws altogether. The ones above, esp. Hashirama and Madara's, are kind of dark in a way? But that's the only way it makes sense to me...Gai and Lee caring about style and being stylish is a funny joke but if you were to actually poke and prod and say their personalities were inverted, neither of them would be top-notch ninja as we know...unless I'm just completely misremembering RTN because I realize it's been years since I saw it lol. Anyway, hope this was entertaining!