#since fear is such an integral theme to the show

[gachagon]

"Who will you see? There in the darkness, when no one is watching. Who will you be? When you're afraid, and everything changes. Will you see a stranger? Feel proud or betrayed?"

-"Fear", Volume 7 OST

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Trunk or Treat with The Yandere Student Council Pt. I

Based Off the OCs in this Post

“Alright everyone let’s start talking about ideas!” 

“Uhm do you mean ideas for what to do with Halloween coming?”

“Oh no darling, we always do a Trunk or Treat kind of thing.”

“We are talking about our costumes.”

As bizarre as it sounds the college’s students look forward to the costumes of the student council

Allowed to enjoy whatever festivity that comes with their choice

For reference they share that last year they had a ‘kiss–in–the–coffin’ booth for their shared vampire costumes

“J-j-just so you know the kisses were on the cheek only!”

“I didn’t ask but okay.”

It set the precedent for this year to be just amazing if not better

“Since we have you now (Y/n) we should have something special that welcomes you in!”

“I-i-i-i think that’s a great idea.”

“I’m all for it too!”

Despite your protests, in fear of being singled out by their fans your haters they forge on

“They won’t be bothering you. Not on my watch.”

“You say that but–”

“Seriously (Y/n) believe us! We’ll make sure there won’t be any problems.”

“And if there are we will kill them.”

“What?!”

“Joking. Joking.”

They’re not

Anyway it was decided on that the council will be Ghostly Royalty

Which makes costumes really easy or so you thought 

According to Min, quite a large part of the budget went into your costumes

“Pick your jaw up (Y/n)! This is the best part! You don’t think we get this big of a budget without showing off, do you?”

“Still…it feels a bit overkill…especially when I don’t have a fan base at all.”

“Ohhh that’s what you think–ow!” 

“Roman, always such an optimistic chatterbox. Always saying things that are not true.”

Lucoa takes the role of the king naturally

Spencer is forcefully given the role of the queen

Min takes the role of the dungeon master, despite his meek character

Roman takes the role of an advisor

Gil as a duke

June as a duchess

“Wait so what am I?”

“Our dragon.”

“What?!”

“We wanted to put a spin on the old system!”

“But that isn’t really accurate…nor does it really fit the ghost royalty theme.”

“.....”

“....”

“So? We’re doing fantasy ghosts then.”

In your opinion, it's just an excuse to make your costume as ridiculous as they please

“This is an early draft of your costume.”

“What!? Wait where are the actual clothes? I’m just seeing gold necklaces and bangles.”

“...That was the idea.”

“I’m not wearing that if there aren’t actual clothes underneath there.”

“...But it will ruin the integrity of the design and disrupt the choreography and–”

“Then hide it under the gold! I’m not going to be half-naked for the entire school.”

“...I will consult the President.”

You owed him a favor after that

Saying you agreed to this as an honorary member

But when you’re not having to fight Gill on your costume designs

You are helping the others

“June…this is just a dress.”

“Right, it’s a perfect occasion to wear it. And don’t my hips feel and look great.”

Adjusting the golden belt meant to hang off his waist you try to ignore how his poses requires that he touch you in some way shape or form

“Well yeah but don’t you feel like your fans would want you in something else?”

“Oh baby! You don’t have to worry, they love this sort of thing.”

And helping with their research

“Roman I know you never seem to run out of ideas to hang out but why a medieval diner?”

“It's for research! By the way, how do you like the food? I made sure the critiques were as positive as they could get.”

“Roman.”

“Yes?”

“Why did that waitress, compliment our relationship?”

“OMG they brought another plate of bread and for free? So cool.”

“Roman!”

Or helping organize their booths

“So Spencer what are you going for?”

“A kind of dunk tank except it drops on me.”

“Oh okay….this says that you’re not actually using water but…oil?”

“Yeah Lucoa suggested I show off my scars and muscles.”

“Wait you have those?”

“Hahaha very funny but seriously give me your opinion.”

“Oh wow….yeah, I think they’ll like it…no they’ll love it.”

“Oh really? Well, thanks!”

As if he didn’t already know

But eventually as the date comes closer it comes time to focus on your booth

But it seems that as an honorary member you don’t get to have much control over your own booth

Or any decision involving your event

“Hey Min what are you building over there?”

“Oh this is the art for your exhibit. Lucoa put me in charge of matching the gold from your costume to the setting around there.”

“Aw thanks can I help?”

“N-n-no!”

“Oh.”

“S-s-s-sorry the President gave us explicit instructions not to include you in the making of it. I’m r-r-r-r-really so sorry!”

“It’s fine Min, don’t worry about it.”

It’s just so apparent how little you would be included in your own activity no one really bothered to hide that fact from you

“Hey Gill this meeting on your calendar, I don’t remember getting your usual reminder for it.”

“That is because you are not invited to it.”

“Don’t be sad (Y/n)~Afterwards we can just come visit you after.”

“No no that’s okay I’ll just take the day off then. Catch up on homework.”

“Aw~ Don’t be like that we’ll come over to your house after.”

“No I’m not sad. I’m going to be happily doing my homework alone!”

“Putting that on our private calendar: Going to (Y/n)’s house an hour after the meeting.”

At the end of the day you’re just as surprised when the event begins and they shove you in the room under the stage with nothing but a warning not to move from the chair you’re in:

Part 2

[da-janela-lateral]

MP100 S2E01 under a writer's perspective

The Emi Fukami episode in Mob Psycho 100 was a beautiful display of Mob's character development in relation to his individuality and a earnest vision of emotional vulnerability, but I want to call attention to a single detail: Emi being a writer.

Out of all the secret truths that the cast masks during the narrative, Emi's must be one of the most mundane. She is writing a book. She doesn't want people to know about it, much less read it, as Emi was led to believe this hobby of hers was embarassing.

I find it very interesting that Emi, character whose focus episode revolves around vulnerability, has writing has her main passion. In a way, writing is one of the most revealing art forms that there is. Literary choices are a reflection of the author's context, beliefs, likes and dislikes, fears and dreams, even though many of these choices cannot be perceived in a sensible level. Even if I suddenly decided to write a tale about a random theme - you say, a blue-footed booby who becomes an architect while wearing ballet shoes - it would say something about me. It could be a preferred text type, my sense of humor or even my idea of what is "random". Word choices, rhythm, figures of speech, themes, narrative structures, spins on a literary genre's expectations - all of these and more consist of conscious or unconscious decisions made by the writer. Writing as an art form serves as a mirror to the artist's very mind.

As a result, a piece of text can be a very delicate thing. Many people would only reveal their works to a exemplarily trusted someone, or to no one at all. That's the origin and end of uncountable masterpieces. It is also associated to passion. Few are the writers who characterize themselves as such and don't feel a duty to write. Yes, duty. Not all pieces are a labor of love, but it's almost universal that they're one of resolve, as little as it might be. One can unlock a fundamental will to write something in spite of it being weary work. At this point, for many writers, it's not a simple hobby. It's a need. It's a compulsory manner of expression hardwired onto our brains; thus, it's an inseparable part of who we are.

So what does any of this have to do with Emi's arc?

S2E01 is all about being vulnerable. Even though Emi had only asked out Mob because of a bet and hanged out with him for a week, she felt safe enough to show him her book. Her own friend group didn't have an idea that she was working on one, and once they discovered this, they ridiculed Emi's effort and teared it to shreds. Emi tried to alleviate this rejection by affirming she didn't care for her work, while everything shown previously on the episode proved this was wrong. In turn, Mob uses his psychic powers to put back her text together - his first public demonstration of them since he was a child. Mob was honest about himself by revealing he was an esper. Emi was honest by wanting his opinion on her book.

Emi is a fourteen year old girl going through a confusing and ever changing phase of her life. After doubting on Mob's emotions, she tells him that she too doesn't know well who she is, and her actions around her friends prove how she was prone to peer pressure. Her mind and identity were on an uncertain state, and this would also reflect on her writing. Emi uses complicated words, perhaps to make her writing sound more serious. Based on a translation of her work "Adventure", she uses more of a stream of consciousness prose and ambiguous descriptions. She immediately decides to write something different after her experiences with Mob. Emi has a personal style! She has techniques and topics she enjoys and active choices about how she will employ them! Emi has a bit of her on her story and this was why she hid it so much: a mockery of it would be synonym of a mockery of herself.

This is what makes the plotline with her book so important to express the episode's themes. Emi felt insecure to reveal such an integral part of herself to the world until someone came and not only took it seriously, but appreciated it enough to make an effort to understand it better. It tells a lot how Mob's demonstration of caring made her leave the people who destroyed her work.

As a writer, this detail gave a whole another layer of significance for the episode. I've felt Emi's struggle in a very intense level on the past. Storytelling is something so dear to me I can't see myself without the adjective of "writer", but the acknowledgement of my work would be the same as exposing myself to the world. It can be scary at times, to divulge something so sincere to others. However, such is the writer's role: divulging. For reasons long unknown a magical excess of words was born to me, and this coincidence can't be supressed and abandoned on the dark. There is something I can offer copiously hand in hand and its words. Words. Words. Words... And the reflection of me resonates on others.

[epictacobird]

Dorms and their reactions to Demon Slayer!Yuu

Warnings: dark themes, ptsd mentioned, angsty content ahead, hurt + comfort, spoilers for book 1 of twst

No I will not stop talking about this please I need content and I’m a slut for crossovers. This is meant to be platonic but if you envision somethin else idc

No gendered pronouns to refer to mc/Yuu, only “you”

Heartslabyul (here)- Savanaclaw - Octavinelle - Scarabia - Pomefiore - Ignihyde - Diasomnia

Context:

You’re a demon slayer, an extremely experienced one at that. You have been fighting demons ever since you were young, and preparing to do so even younger. When you were unexpectedly thrown into Twisted Wonderland and admitted to NRC, you hid your sword in your uniform, and stashed away your clothes once you could. You figured the best way to survive here was to hide your cards. After all, being surrounded by morally questionable strangers with magic was not ideal. In the case you really needed it, you figured it was best to pretend to be weak so you’re strength can cover you when you need it most.

Now that a few months have passed and you’ve gained reliable friends, you didn’t see a point anymore. You felt safer than you ever have in you’re entire life. You were no longer on a battlefield, no longer surrounded by the pained cries of the people you failed to save. But the battle was catching up to you. Now that you were no longer fighting constantly, you had more time to think. You’re nightmares of battle have been getting worse and you can’t escape it. The guilt of hiding such an integral part of yourself from your friends wasn’t helping either. Eventually though, you let the dam break. You tell them about you’re life, the reason behind your scars and show them your sword. There’s tears in your eyes and you’re shaking like the child you once were long ago.

Riddle

When you first entered NRC he was taken aback by you’re clothing, even more so with you’re visible scars and toughened look.

Even before you became friends he took note of the look in you’re eyes. He felt uneasy, it did not give the impression a normal teenagers eyes would. Whenever he caught you alone in the hallways you would always hold that deadened gaze, even if it was paired with a pleasant smile.

It was during his overblot when he saw the look in your eyes change. You’re dead eyes turned wide with fear and worry. But not at him, rather for him. When he woke up after, he could’ve sworn you were in the edge of tears. Later you would tell him you were just worried for his safety, which was true. (Although only you would know why your fear ran so deep)

he thought of you as a very tough, resilient and brave individual, a view that continued as long as he knew you. So imagine his surprise when he accidentally walked in on you crying.

He felt something was wrong for a while, although today was especially bad. You were tense, jumpier, and had dark circles around your eyes that only got worse. It all went down when he came over to Ramshackle for a study session. You had forgotten all about it, having scheduled it a week earlier. Currently you were holding a trinket from a loved one you had lost to a demon and were bawling your eyes out.

In the heat of your mourning, you didn’t hear Riddle come in or walk up the stairs to your room. Despite all your training, your senses failed you even when Riddle knocked on the door.

He heard you and warning bells went off in his head, after how you were acting all week he decided he couldn’t ignore it anymore and opened the door.

He called out you’re name in the softest voice, his brows furrowed. He didn’t know what to do or what was going on, having not been comforted much growing up meant he was a little lost.

Your head snapped up, and Riddle stumbled seeing you’re face.

Your eyes were bloodshot and heavy, as if it held all the sorrow in the world and it just couldn’t contain it. You’re lip was nearly gnawed through from the way you were trying to stifle you’re cries.

At first he thought you were just homesick with the way you clutched the trinket in your hands. But he came to realize he was very wrong.

A demon slayer? You really witnessed all that death that young?

And oh god your scars. They ran all over your body. Claw marks, blades, burns, tears, bruises, they littered your body. He was sickened by all the near death experiences you had. The most he felt he could do was sit by you and listen to your story. He’s holding your hand, looking at you, gently motioning you to continue.

Truthfully his view of you doesn’t change. He’s impressed by your skills, your selflessness, and your determination. In the end, he researches ways he could help you. You were suffering, and you trusted him enough with all of this. The least he could do was to support you.

He hugs you so tightly, even though he was never really big on physical touch. Just this once, how could not? He gives such a gentle smile, “I promise to help any way I can, Prefect. Please, rely on me. You’ve done so much already.”

Trey

Being extremely observant, he knew that you didn’t lead a normal life.

The first instance was when you were making the tart for Riddle. He walked over to give you some pointers as you worked on the chestnuts. He didn’t show it, but he was surprised by your hands. They were thick and calloused, with small scars all over.

He didn’t think much of it, he was just under the impression you must have worked outside or in carpentry back home.

That is, until Riddle’s overblot.

You were calm, too calm for someone who apparently was never in a life or death situation. Not to mention your strategies, but maybe you were just intelligent.

You were magicless, a completely normal human, yet you deflected and dodged every attack. No one really noticed, as you were off to the side, except for him.

Truthfully, he didn’t have much evidence other than that. Just that he felt something was innately wrong. There was something in the way you carried yourself, the way you’re body tensed at any sound at night, the way your eyes glazed over and fell into void when you thought no one was looking.

It was when you came over to help him bake something did he have to guts to ask.

You were chopping up fruit with impressive skill, something that came in handy whenever he had to prepare a large amount of treats for an unbirthday party. You enjoyed the time with him, after all, you were allowed to take some home for yourself if there was extra.

“What did you do back home?”

You paused, the knife hovering over the apples you were slicing. “What do you mean?”

“Well…” He trailed off, trying to find the words, “I guess I’m just curious is all.”

You continued to cut through the fruit, the tension never releasing from your shoulders. “Ah, well I never really had much of an education. I started working pretty early, I…erm…” You stumbled, trying to think up of an excuse, “I worked as a farmer.”

Trey frowned, knowing damn well you lied. But he took it, figuring you must’ve had a good reason to. You were normally so honest, (too honest for Adeuce and grim’s liking) so you must’ve felt it necessary.

But what he didn’t know was the guilt gnawing at you. It was a dirty lie, a meaningless one even. You told yourself you didn’t want to ruin the happy mood but that was a lie too.

As Trey put the desserts in the oven and set the timers you fumbled with your apron. You spoke as steadily as your voice allowed, “Trey, I lied earlier. I’m not a farmer, it’s just the real answer isn’t a happy one. I didn’t want to scare you, I’m sorry.”

He turned around with a soft smile, and nodded for you to continue.

And so you did, with the both of you seated on the stools you recounted your life. Truth be told, Trey was just as horrified as Riddle. But he kept a straight face best he could and let you talk. He watched as the tension leave your shoulders as the weight above you finally dropped.

It was then Trey really got a good look at you. The scars that trailed just above the collar and cuffs of your shirt and the dark circles under your eyes. You just looked so tired.

“Thank you for telling me.” He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you in gently. He was near tears himself, he couldn’t imagine someone his little sibling’s age witnessing all of that.

“I’ll take care of the rest, Prefect. Why don’t you stay here at Heartslabyul? I want to make sure you get a good nights’ rest.”

Cater

Like Ace and Deuce, he didn’t notice anything either. And if he did, he never pried. Out of everyone he understood the most about wanting to keep parts of your identity hidden.

Although he was initially weirded out by the way you reacted to his phone. It was like you were from a hundred years ago or something. In the end he did teach you how to use it, which you were forever grateful for now that you were living in a modern world.

You were a hard worker, he’ll give you that. You never let being magicless stop you from doing anything. When he tricked asked you to help him paint the roses, he noticed the pride you took in your work.

A lot of your interactions after Riddle’s overblot was him teaching you how to navigate social media. Especially when he realized how fucking ripped you are. He asked you to hold him up once for a pic and the amount of likes you got was insane.

Sure, you didn’t understand half of what he was saying but you liked his enthusiasm! It was nice to have a friend like him, someone that made you feel normal. Like with Adeuce, his fast paced nature let you forget about your past.

Of course, you couldn’t keep it a secret forever. Cater wanted to go shopping and dress you up so you could have matching outfits for magicam, and it was getting harder to avoid. After all, an outfit that showed more skin than the uniform meant he would see your scars front and center.

But that’s not how he found out, rather it was during a movie night y’all had at Heartslabyul.

You bunked with Cater for the night since he didn’t have a roommate and besides, it was fun to have a sleepover with your newfound bestie.

You struggled falling asleep, and when you did your nightmares came back full swing.

You woke up screaming, Cater had shaken you awake and he was terrified.

“Hey! Hey! It’s alright! Calm down Prefect, it was just a dream. Breathe alright?”

He explained that you were crying in your sleep, mumbling incoherent things with such fear that he had to wake you up. You really scared him.

When he asked you about your nightmare, you couldn’t bring yourself to lie. I mean, here he was, at your side with eyes wide and hands clasped to yours. If you lied to him now, could you really call each other friends?

So you told him, initially he thought that it must’ve been a crazy nightmare from a horror movie. But you explained that it was real, although the events were dramatized in your dream.

He was at a loss for words, all your odd little actions clicked into place. Of course you didn’t understand technology and hated when he walked around at night.

But he understood, bringing you into a hug and let you cry into his shoulder. You felt so small, fragile even. Nothing like before. In this moment you weren’t the strong and confident Ramshackle Prefect; rather a hurt child that couldn’t bear their burden any longer.

“Hey, why don’t we go to that one cafe by the beach tomorrow? It’ll be my treat, you’ve been wanting to go there for a while right?”

He held you tighter, he wasn’t a soldier or a fighter by any means, but he was a friend. He wanted to cheer you up, he couldn’t bear to see you like this.

“Oh you know what? Why don’t we finally go on that shopping trip you owe me. I’ll let you choose the fit though.”

Ace + Deuce

They absolutely walked in on you changing.

They were about to do something stupid, in fact they already have and we’re looking to you to help them out of it.

Deuce, the gentleman, was about to knock on your door to see if you were there.

Ace over here didn’t think twice about running to your room and kicking the door open. Deuce immediately protested, leading you to whip around with your shirt just over your head.

Your torso was showing, which of course was where the ugliest scars were.

Deuce yelled an apology and yanked Ace back, slamming the door shut. Both of them had seen it, and both had eyes as wide as saucers with a million thoughts running through their pea brains.

Initially, both of them thought you must’ve been some crazy thug or trouble maker to earn those scars. But the more they thought back on it, if you were just a troublemaker why did you have giant claw marks? Burns that bad surely couldn’t have come from just a few street fights.

They waited in the lounge for you to come down. For once they were quiet, and gave you their full attention when you walked in.

Tbh Deuce was wondering if you were in a gang. It would explain a lot about the scars. He never said it but he was a little hurt you would hide that from him since he came from similar circumstances.

Ace thought you finally had enough of him when you walked in holding a sword. Literally why would you scare him like that

You sighed and sat down on the decrepit couch. “Alright, I’ll answer your questions as honestly as I can. It’s the least I can do after hiding this for so long.”

Chaos

One question was shot one after the other, “What happened?!” “Were you in a gang?!” “Did you kill someone??!” “Why the sword?”

In the end you managed to shut them up and tell them everything. Honestly I don’t think they would’ve noticed your strange behavior at first. You were always cheery around them, sure you had your moments but no one at this school was normal.

Ace is a little salty you didn’t help more when they were fighting the overblot monster from the mines. You telling him you could’ve oneshot that guy while they were running around all crazy? Fake friends man

His attitude changes though when you answered Deuce’s questions about a specific scar he saw on your back. It was thick, running all the way down to your lower back. It twisted the skin in a way that showed how deep it ran.

You explained that that wound nearly killed you. Despite pushing through it, it weakened you severely. It marked one of the greatest failures of your career as a slayer. The result was a massacre of citizens and your teammates.

The air changed after that. For once, Ace and Deuce saw you at your weakest as you recounted the battle. The magicless Prefect, the human who faced dangerous overblots without a batting an eye, was shaking with tear filled eyes as they clutched their sword.

They were at a loss at what to do. This was a first, seeing you like this. In the end, they settled on cheering you up. They knew how much your past haunted you but you were at NRC now! Demons don’t exist here, and you gave everything to save those people. You couldn’t wallow forever, but you couldn’t help that. So as your friends, they’d support you as best they can.

“That’s actually pretty badass, I mean you got all these crazy stories.” Ace complimented.

“Yeah, no wonder you’ve made it though all those overblots. Just how strong are you?” Deuce followed up.

You sighed in relief, at least they weren’t freaked out or anything. You were finally able to relax into the couch with a small smile dancing on your lips.

“Can I use your sword?”

“No” 😐

“By the way, Grim is stuck in a tree. He’s hiding from Floyd after we pissed him off.”

*****

[wilcze-kudly]

I really want to see your post about how Katara is forcefully matured by the fandom, please!

Ok, while I wasn't ready to make that post in earnest, and frankly never might be, here's some of my cursory thoughts on the topic. I'd gladly talk about it in detail more but also ✨️fear✨️

So, let's get the obvious out of the way. Katara is a 14 year old. A child, barely a teen. In fact, the entirety of the gaang is made up of children.

Now, I haven't been fully active in the atla fandom in quite some time, mostly lurking on the peripheries, because the fandom is a shitshow. One of the reasons being the fact that most fans cannot, for the life of them handle the Gaang's inherent childishness.

This isn't just a Katara problem. Other than her, Aang suffers the most for the egregious crime of being a 12 year old survivor of a genocide. Suki is, of course, mainly ignored. The interpretations of Toph can vary wildly, from her being horrifically matured to being dissmissed as a chaotic, rude child. Zuko and Sokka's immature moments are looked at more permissively, being an angsty boi™️ and a goofy goober respectively.

I do find it odd that Aang doesn't get the "boys will be boys" pass, but ok, we'll blame it on him being... bald? a nice boy? not concerned with his own masculinity?

As for Katara, her maturity is treated like... a given. She's the mom of the group, the proverbial love interest, the feminist icon, the badass fighter, the trailblazer filled with feminine rage. The trophy wife to Aang, the (Lore Olympus style) Persephone to Zuko's Hades.

And true, she is, or at least can be, a lot of these things.

However she is, first and foremost, a child. This fact is presented to us on a silver platter in the first episode, when her and Aang are penguin sledding.

Katara : I haven't done this since I was a kid!

Aang: You still are a kid!

Katara is a child forced to mature. Her circumstances forced her to try to fill her mother's place and to fight for those who couldn't do so themselves. The fandom brands her as a mom friend. Sees her purely as an icon of empowerment. Or worse, degrades her character to being a love interest.

(im talking about both sides of the kataang/zutara debate. I have my biases, but I'm sure there are kataangers who treat her like this as well. I simply have encountered very few of them.)

Her story, while yes, has many themes of female empowerment is in huge part, a tragedy. The tragedy of a young girl forced to grow up much too soon.

Sadly, this is rarely spoken about. It's not spoken about directly and therefore a lot of the fandom doesn't see this. (Or simply doesn't want to see it)

This is not to say that Katara's more mature aspects should be dismissed or buried. She displays a lot of maturity for her age, to the point of being able to go toe to toe both intellectually and physically with the (admittedly usually incompetent) adults of the show. Additionally, she evolves as a character through the durtation of the show.

But a huge chunk of her maturity being forced and therefore unhealthy is a key aspect of her character.

I think what upsets me the most is that while the critiquing the idea of Katara being treated as the mom of the group in fanon is becoming more and more common, the treatment of her as something akin to a YA protagonist is on the rise.

Both these interpretations are so insulting to the character of Katara, what is wrong with you people?

I'm currently rewatching atla with a focus on Katara as a character (while also trying to give zutara a chance I am doing my best guys) and her childishness is an integral part of her. It's sad to see her treated as an adult by the fandom. And honestly unsettling, especially with how much of like a child she acts.

I wanna finish my rewatch before I give my full ramble on the topic. I also wanna look more into the many different opinions people in the atla fandom have on Katara's treatment by the show. Though even trying to skim the surfce was like injecting lemon juice directly into my tear ducts. Also I really, really don't wanna get sent death threats again.

I want to give the topic of Katara my full attention. However I don't think I'll ever make this post, actually. The atla fandom is a rabid horrid pack of creatures and I'm not sure if I wanna engage with all that.The post would probably bash a lot of things considered key arguments for Zutara, since, looking at Zutara through a child's doesn't exactly scream 'romance' and do I really want that on my blog?

Katara's role as a child isn't valued as much as her role as a woman and I just don't want to deal with people calling me mean names for talking about a little girl being traumatised.

I'd be glad to have a discussion but I made this blog mainly to have fun and enjoy a piece of media I like. I met some truly amazing people whom I can have really great discussions with, even if we don't agree. I don't want to jeopardise that by being a pretentious dick on a soapbox.

Call this and the last few posts I made on Katara me testing the waters.

[coffinbrotherr]

Istg I keep seeing videos in my recommend that have either Andrew or Ashley sprites in the thumbnail and it's always in the lines of "shock storytelling is BAD" or "this needs to STOP" (I'm not providing examples as to not install a witchhunt but if youve seen them, you know EXACTLY who im talking about.) and I dont...I don't get why? Like, ok genuinely I'm having an actual hard time understanding why because being disturbed and being made uncomfortable is quite literally the definition of horror, so why is it a problem now.

To I guess throw my hat into the ring, I'd like to explain why i personally think incest integral to Tcoaal not only because I'm just fucking tired of seeing people not like the game just because of that aspect and I'm not knocking those people because of it because people can not like things for specific reasons, for example I am not one for horror involving teeth or the mouth so I tend to ignore horror media that prominently use those as setpieces. I'm mainly talking about people that bash it without actually playing it and people that see it at surface level and just make a Baseless assumption because to me and obviously a lot of other people as it still has great reviews, Tcoaal is wonderfully written and that IS thanks to its incest themes.

We see that throughout the game, Ashley obviously loves her brother, not only in the romantic sense but also in the power dynamic. While some aspects have yet to be revealed about thier relationship as we still only have two chapters, Ashley obviously manipulates Andrew and has since they were little as evident by the hide and seek flashback. It's incredibly obvious that Ashley likes control over people and since she doesn't really have anyone else that's closer to her, she uses Andrew exclusively as he's always been there with her figuratively and literally. While this behavior definitely comes from a sense of loneliness and fear of losing the one person that tolerates her as not even thier own parents wanted to stay around them let alone her, I think it also comes down to enjoying the control. Genuinely think about the story of the game for a sec, could you imagine being in that exact situation we see the siblings in. The closest thing we can even relate it to is covid, and we could at least still leave the house to an extent and have things sent to us that we wanted. Imagine going through all that not being able to leave, literally having the bare minimum of food being dropped off to you and being FORCED to stay inside not with a slap on the wrist but with active threats of death even though you know other people get to freely live outside peacefully. Not only is that terrifying but it gives a lot more insight to Ashley's character as she's literally stuck in a place she cannot control in an unfounded situation that is positively awful, but she does have one thing she can control, she has one person she can make exclusively hers and make him do whatever she wants through manipulation and the connection with love. The same goes for Andrew as we know Andrew was at least a bit more popular with people to the point where he even had a girlfriend (Julia) and to have literally all that stripped away from him is tragic, however for him there's one more person he can interact with, one person that cares about him and truly does love him in a way only they can share. It's a beautifully horrific way of telling a story because on the outside, it just looks like "oh hah hah, that's the incest cannibalism game" but if you actually played it you would see not only is the writing genuinely funny but also incredibly smart with its subtle meaning and player interpretation. It's NOT glorifying incest, it is actively showing an incredibly toxic relationship that was made through the circumstances and actions taken with both characters and to say it's just "shock storytelling" or "it's just trying to glorify incest" is just wrong, it's using the incest to further the narrative and that's why I personally find this game to be my favorite work of horror.

But that was just my interpretation, I'd love to hear your guy's views on it because I'd love to further the discussion and potentially add to my analysis as this was just something I wrote at 12:30 AM in bed. I could go on and on about my personal analysis but a lot of it would just be me being genuinely pretty annoyed with the games detractors and overall just make for a poor reading experience.

[get-hamilton-on-your-side]

I've been seeing posts like these going around lately, and I don't want to start Discourse™️, but I do think it's an interesting conversation to be had.

OP mentions that this is a sentiment occurring in younger viewers, and I think there are lots of reasons for this response. I'm in my early twenties, and growing up, romance was pretty much guaranteed for any book/movie/TV series with a YA audience, even if it wasn't specifically in the romance genre. There were largely popular romance series, of course, (Twilight, The Selection, etc.), but romance was also integral to several series NOT centered around romance. The Series Which Shall Not Be Named ends in a hetero utopia, where basically every member of the original crew grows up, marries each other, and all have kids. Almost every main character of Rick Riordan's series experiences a committed romantic relationship, with the exception of Reyna, (although she's mostly a side character throughout HoO) and Meg (who is a god, and an actual child). The Hunger Games has fewer romantic pairings, but the marketing for those movies were very dedicated to the "love triangle" narrative between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale.

The dedication to establishing romantic relationships does appear somewhat differently for male/masculine and female/feminine coded characters well. For example, I've seen multiple series have a sort of "7th wheel syndrome" where one member of a friend group is made fun of and/or left out in some way because they're the only one not in a relationship. Shows like The Big Bang Theory majorly have this problem, where every character's main goal in life is to fall in love and have a family. In TBBT, Raj has major dating troubles and actually ends up settling for an arranged marriage because his friends are all married and he doesn't want to end up alone. Riordan's HoO series, once again, paints Leo as a tragic figure for being the only single person on the Argo II, but his self worth is finally in tact by the end of the series when he saves the day and gets the girl. Fez in That 70s Show is regularly made fun of for his inability to get a girl. It's not lost on me that many of the male characters in these situations are POC.

While male characters are set up with a last-minute shoehorned romance, female characters (particularly white women) are often given a love interest planned from the beginning. I love Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles but I was kind of dumbfounded by the end because every one of the 8 major characters ends the series in a committed relationship. Every single Disney princess up until 2012 had a prince (although, this has since changed---the only princess post-2012 with a prince is Anna).

And then, of course, you have the plethora of sitcoms that end with every character (or at least every main character) happily in a relationship. New Girl, Parks and Rec, Friends, The Office, The Good Place, Ghosts (US). Even shows like Phineas and Ferb assure the audience that the couples stay together when they're grown up. Almost every Marvel and DC superhero has a love interest, and most action heroes have a girl to save.

Don't get me wrong, I think many of the romances in the media I've talked about so far are good, well-written, and well-established. But based on the previous track-record of shoehorned romances, that is a concern I have about shows like Stranger Things (I won't talk much about The Bear because I haven't seen that show). Stranger Things has highlighted friendship as a major theme in the show, but as the characters have grown older, they've explored various romantic relationships as well. Many people online have already discussed how they fear relationships will be shoehorned in at the end of Season 5, since it is the final season. Ships like stancy, where it's clear that they wouldn't really work well together. I agree with Maya Hawke's sentiment about delving deeper into her friendships. It has been established that she has a crush on Vickie, but we've barely seen them together, and in a show that has to balance SO many different characters, I'm not sure it would serve the show well to put Robin in a romantic relationship. (There is, of course, another conversation to be had about how minority characters are presented in romantic relationships in media. Lesbian relationships are less commonly found in media and they can be really important to some viewers. My agreeing with Hawke is just my 2 cents as an ace lesbian. Other users have also mentioned that when it comes to The Bear, it can be harmful to perpetuate that a Black woman character shouldn't be in a relationship with the main white guy. I haven't seen the show and I myself am not Black, so I won't weigh in on that aspect, but it is another thing to consider in this conversation).

With romance so prevalent in media, it makes sense that our generation is taking a steep turn in the other direction. We've been shown all our lives that romance and sex trumps friendship in importance, but that's not how many of us actually live. Younger people are having sex less. I'm 22 and I'd say half of my friends are not currently in a romantic relationship, and many of them aren't looking for one. I know plenty of adults as well who are happily single, not looking for any more romance in their lives. Even the way people are experiencing romantic and sexual relationships is vastly different from what is shown on TV as there are more openly queer individuals, queer platonic relationships, and polyamory is becoming more prevalent.

I'm not an expert by any means, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. This is all based on my own observation and there is still a lot of media out there that don't have romance as a focal point, media like The Lord of the Rings, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Letterkenny, Bob's Burgers, Reservation Dogs, What We Do in the Shadows, Derry Girls. Shows like Doctor Who have characters in romantic relationships, but the romance is never placed above friendship with the Doctor. The amount of romance in a piece of media also relies on the genre it's in. I've mainly been discussing comedies, science fiction, and action, but other media such as horror, for example, treats romance and sexuality differently.

Still, showing romance, sex, and innuendo in media isn't counterculture, as is suggested by that second Twitter post. It's almost everywhere you look (and lots of kid shows/movies even include those kinds of jokes, as is shown by the amount of videos I've seen titled "I Didn't Get This Joke as a Kid.") I know we're on the internet so people don't care if they hurt other people's feelings, but acting like people who want a little less romance are immature or stupid can be hurtful. There's room for all different types of relationships.

TL;DR, I think a lot of people are just tired of media treating romance and sex as the most important relationship you can have with a person. We're not saying no media should have romance or sexuality or innuendo in it. It's just that as media diversifies, I think it's important to diversify the types of relationships highlighted as well. There's room for romance, sex, and friendship in media, and I don't think people should judge others for wanting positive representation of friendship.

[caffernnn]

Knock knock bestie have we talked about the goldfish but in the mookverse 👀

OKAY HI HELLO I’ve been spinning this in my mind since you’ve sent it (you’re a visionary, truly) and I’m READY NOW !!! 🛁✨🧡

(… putting a readmore bc this got long lmao)

Sooo, we see goldfish come up quite a few times within the show, most often in relation to Makoto. Whether it’s the literal goldfish he’s taken care of (first fish from childhood, plus the ones gifted later by Haru) or the striking visuals of swarms of goldfish that show up within his shrine vision and stress dream in FS/FS2, they’re looming. In my mind, when we get a Makoto scene where goldfish are involved in some fashion, it’s a surefire signal for me to pay attention to how that moment comments on Makoto’s supportive caretaking abilities — do others trust he can take care of the things and the people he holds dear; does he trust that his efforts will be enough to convey everything he wants to before it’s too late? It’s interesting to think about the implications of goldfish imagery, especially the more abstract/interpretive ones seen later on, because it creates this fascinating opening for the mh mookverse to be tied into that collection. Before even jumping into the universe itself, I’m drawn to its conception — how it’s built in a dream that can be read to be from either Makoto or Haru’s head (if not both), and how many points in the story are these call-response moments crafted from fears and reassurances during the ES era. Seeing how goldfish have brought attention to Makoto’s worry and Haru’s responding reassurance in the show, how might they also find their way into this shared dreamverse, where Makoto’s ability to take care of and protect others is a prevailing theme? (theme, right? Lit nerds don’t come for me rn okay I think I’m using that term right)

There were a couple moments that stood out to me with Big Goldfish Energy when I last read through the story, so let me just tack those up on the conspiracy pinboard really quick 📌

There’s… something about Haru showing up, being declared as specifically half-fish, revealing that he doesn’t have a home or people (or particularly strong conviction) to return to, and revealing he “doesn’t care” about whether he has any of those bonds or aspirations or not (okay, parallel to that fight with Rin in the locker room, I see you~). There’s something to Makoto immediately extending care to this version of Haru: someone who is a practical stranger (and creature) in his eyes, yet has a disposition that he takes personally. The suddenness of Makoto imposing this all-important “power of friendship” on himself, then proceeding to open up his home and his downtime and his life to Haru… it’s an echo to the deep bond they have in the waking world, yes, but it also feels connected to Makoto’s ever-present desire to take care of something/someone. Being a pet owner, being a big brother, being a team captain, being a swim coach, being a firefighter — there is a core part of Makoto that’s not begrudgingly bound to responsibility, but craves and almost chases whatever heartfelt pursuit he can to feel useful. So much of Makoto’s character and his dream (as we understand it throughout ES and beyond) is spurred on by this desire to help. Whether he’s trusted with fish from a fair named after his friends, or presented with a half-fish in his home that wears the face of one of those same treasured friends, of course he pounces and takes on that task with pride.

Now, onto that quality of care:

This moment feels particularly telling about how Makoto’s perception of his role in Haru’s life (both in the mook and definitely outside of it) is shifting as time moves forward. He sees Haru comfortable enough, integrating himself into a shared normalcy with Makoto, but he’s noticing how… limiting, this all might be. His efforts in supporting and caring for Haru now orient towards building hope and curiosity. What would it look like for his fish friend to move to a bigger tank, or be released completely? Beyond this also lies a question Makoto refuses to voice to himself, but still makes its presence known in how this whole “trip to the sea” arc proceeds: how much will it hurt if in all of his pushes forward, Haru finds a beautiful life that’s outside of his own line of vision? He wants what’s best for Haru, he wants him to dream, he wants him to be able to do all of this for himself… but there’s also that part of him that will always hope beyond hope that they both find ways forward where they get to stay by each other’s sides. How much is at risk in letting that glittering goldfish grow beyond its small bowl?

This is all skittering off into a general love letter to the mh mook, but I adore the little details that show that shared care they both have for each other. Like, it means something that Makoto insists that they go to the sea together. It means something that he openly wants to be by Haru’s side when he explores the world again beyond the safe bathtub he’s become so familiar with. If you still think about this as a dream, it clears up one of the ongoing points of contention in the ES time period that Makoto struggles to communicate to Haru when everything blows up: he’s not trying to make demands that push Haru towards one specific goal or away from everything he knows. He wants Haru to find a purpose through knowing his options, and he hopes he can be by his side through it all. God, it just makes me think about their fight and why Makoto couldn’t bring himself tell Haru about Tokyo earlier than he did! He’s scared! He’s attached and scared and trying to be hopeful with all of the change and transition laying ahead of him, but homie doesn’t want to lose his best friend and the life they’ve shared for so long together in the process, and it’s agonizing for him to see Haru so openly dig his claws into a beautiful past and normalcy when Makoto knows they both have to keep moving. MAKOTO CARES SO MUCH!!

Ok, back to the mook: I’m obsessed with the moments where it’s made so clear that Haru cares for Makoto and consciously chooses to find his way back to him. Haru isn’t just a passive roommate or pet, but someone who entangles himself into Makoto’s life (shared lunch breaks, walking home, evenings together, etc etc). When given the chance to go anywhere when in the sea, he swims around and then comes back to Makoto. When we get to the fire, where he’s completely out of his element, he actively puts himself in harm’s way to find Makoto (he can’t let his tether to his now beloved constancy and normal burn, right?) to his own demise. He does the scary thing of going somewhere Makoto can’t reach him (bro you 🫧DIED🫧), going through an intense cycle of change (Australia trip could neverrr), and when he pops out on the other side of that cycle with another chance at life, he finds home with Makoto once again. This is our airport reunion, this is our mhtokyo realized — Haru has found a dream, and a crucial piece of that all-encompassing vision is treasuring his most important bonds that pushed him to care about anything. In these moments of Makoto being scared that he failed to care enough to save anyone (the kid from the fire, Haru from the fire, Haru from his ES spiral and breakdown), Haru does his best to convince him otherwise by coming back, sending out a resounding message of not only wanting to be by his side, but trusting Makoto enough to try and build a new path forward with, again and again.

So uhh… the goldfish. Right.

In the story that exists now, there’s a lot to be found in viewing half-fish Haru as a variation or stand-in for the goldfish. It’s an interesting spin in that we see Makoto have a multitude of hopes and fears attached to his abilities to support others through his emerging aspirations, but slapping Haru’s face on a fish reeeally draws our eye to what his subconscious stirs up when focused on his ability to support and take care of Haru specifically. Beyond that, though, if we were to specifically throw visible goldfish into the mookverse, there could be a cute epilogue spin where they have fish in their home together. I love the idea of mook mh getting comfortable enough in their ‘happily ever after’ that they choose to take care of fish together. It’d be cute if it was a surprise gift from one of them to echo back to Haru gifting fish, but establishing growth and security through getting to be the shared caretakers of others? That’s tasty; that’s a nice nod to the domestic mundane security mh get to have in DttF and Tokyo (FS era notwithstanding. She only exists when she’s useful to me) and how they get to focus on helping out their friends for a bit. A lot of soft headcanon or fic potential there tbh.

Oh no, I hope you weren’t originally asking for just a lil hc of them taking care of the goldfish, because if so I 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️

[impossiblesuitcase]

hey! when it comes to the adaptation what are you looking for? i very much am fearful for it so i was wondering like. what your ideal movie would be.

Part of me wants a live action just so i could make little fancasts but in reality an animated movie will get the storyline best. there really are some gorgeous animation styles and we end up with like, elemental vibes or some shit i’ll be distraught

I am terrified of the adaptation. I just know in my heart they'll mess something up.

I'd like live action in the sense that people tend to treat animated movies as 'films for kids', and TLC is not. But since it is animated, I want exceptional animation. Into the Spiderverse level. No babyfying these characters, no censoring the storyline for child appeal. TLC has some heavy themes that are integral to it.

One thing I want is for the characters to be depicted accurately. A lot of adaptations nowadays are race-bending characters, and while that isn't inherently wrong, TLC is already diverse! It doesn't need race-bending for diversity points. I also want them to depict the characters accurately in terms of body: Cinder being lean and boyish, Scarlet being buxom, and please, please do not make Kai inexplicably ripped. Why would he have abs. Please make him the noodle that he is.

I want the movies to be accurate to the original books, and at the same time, I'm not opposed to changes if they improve the story. There's definitely some scenes in Winter that require heavy pacing edits, and I think that could be done well in the movies. You could change some of the character's ages. Deepen the lore. For example, the Eastern Commonwealth is described as this wide homogenous Asia without noting how vast Asia actually is. Why is a dude with a Japanese name ruling from China? Well, explain it. Maybe say Kai's dynasty is Japanese but they chose to be based out of Beijing to quell uprising there. Say the outer provinces of the Commonwealth wanted to be independent nations. Then when Kai is thrust into ruling at a young age, that increases the pressure, as he faces the threat of Levana and his country cracking from underneath him.

Finally, do I prefer it as movies or a show? If they made each book its own 20 episode season they would have to add extraneous plot. Cinder and Scarlet are too short to fill out an entire season each. It would be great if they did it the episode count based on the length of the books: Cinder and Scarlet as 4 episodes each, Cress as maybe 5, and Winter as probably 6.

However I think if they improved the flow of Winter, each book could fit into a movie length, maybe Winter as a two-parter. I want the joy of watching this at the cinema, which won't happen with shows, so movies it is!

[monarchisms]

…do I want to know what happened with roosterteeth this time?

general explanation since i don't know how deep into rt you were/are:

trocadero is a band that has made many of red vs blue's most iconic songs throughout the show's duration, including "blood gulch blues", "agent tex", and "contact". with blood gulch blues in particular, that song was what trocadero sent to the creators of the show, which eventually ended up being the official theme of rvb's first 5 seasons

the reason why people are mad at rt This time around is because of this tweet trocadero's official twitter put out earlier today in regards to rvb's last season:

[iirc, the "i" is nico, one of the band's members, levy is david levy, and hagan is meredith hagan, the last two who have collabed with the band several times]

i don't think it's hard to argue that trocadero is one of many things integral to rvb's whole identity and why people fell in love with the show to begin with. with the bonus knowledge of the people who are part of a big staple of the show starting out as fans themselves, i fear that this continues the whole trend of rooster teeth like... i don't know how to describe it, really. i guess it's like they're making some real boneheaded decisions that negatively affect their reputation with the fans that have kept them relevant for so long, i guess lol

[markantonys]

Do you think they'll start to get into the fear and hatred of the Dragon as a figure in s3? Cause right now that's one of the most glaring things that's missing from Rand's arc currently. And I worry they won't do it at all cause they introduced the idea that the Dragon could be a woman and since Saidar isn't Tainted there wouldn't be any reason to fear a female Dragon. They could frame it as whoever was LTT reborn would be feared just cause of what he did or the Dragon being feared regardless cause they signify the end of the Age. But if they don't introduce it at all I feel like it would be a mistake cause it's such an integral part of Rand's arc

i feel like i've gotten this question 1 Million Times already, so let me pose you a question right back: do you in the year 2023 spend every day of your life fretting about how scary achilles was and how destructive the trojan war was? no? then why do you expect the general population of randland to be constantly hung up on something that happened THREE THOUSAND years ago?

there has been no opportunity or reason to get into societal fear of the dragon in the first 2 seasons because no one has any CLUE that he's been reborn (bar the like 7 specific characters in the know, all of whom know rand personally and don't have reason to be afraid of him just yet). the figure of the dragon is SO FAR REMOVED from anyone's everyday life at this point in the story. LTT and the breaking are to them what the trojan war is to us - something that they know probably did really happen, but it was so fucking long ago and there have been so many stories spun about it since then that it feels more like myth than history. and it CERTAINLY doesn't feel like something they need to be concerned about in any way.

people have been whining that the show's making it out like only aes sedai hate/are scared of rand, but that is because they are the ONLY people so far for whom the dragon is a present and pressing reality. we will see wider societal reactions to the dragon once rand has been Public Dragon for more than "5 seconds in front of people who are just happy their city's not getting blown up anymore." (plus, it's safe to assume that Average Joes don't know or don't care about vague prophecies of the dragon being reborn, Someday, and causing more problems, in the same way that aes sedai know and care. Average Joes need concrete evidence that this is a current, real problem for them personally before they will start to get worried.)

at risk of sounding like a broken record from my 1 Million previous responses to this question, just because the show hasn't gotten to a certain Theme yet doesn't mean it never will. the early books were focused on rand's internal struggles with being a male channeler, and we did not start seeing much in terms of societal reactions to the figure of the dragon reborn until rand became Public Dragon starting in book 4. the show hasn't gotten there yet. relax. something isn't "missing" if it was barely a thing yet at this point in the books either. people really need to stop going IT'S MISSING when later-series things haven't yet appeared in the first 2 seasons. now, if we get to season 4 and everyone is holding hands and singing about how much they love the dragon reborn, then feel free to say "i told you so", but you know as well as i do that that is most certainly not going to happen.

also, the show suggesting that the dragon could be a woman is irrelevant. people don't go around every day saying "i'm so worried about 3000-year-old mythology repeating itself again Right Now, but oh! the dragon might be reborn a woman, so it might all be fine!" like no. NONE of this is on their radar WHATSOEVER at this time. and sure, IF they heard "the dragon has been reborn and it's a woman" then maybe they'd be less afraid. but that's not what they're going to hear, so it's irrelevant.

(besides, the mythology is that the dragon could save or break the world. a female channeler could turn to the dark and could break the world just as easily as a male one, even if she isn't affected by madness. or since last time the dragon was male and the dark one corrupted saidin, maybe this time if they were female then he'd corrupt saidar and the events of 3000 years ago would repeat. the show suggesting that the dragon could be a woman does not in any way lessen the inherent danger of the figure - in fact, the show implies even more strongly than the books do that the whole dragon-breaking-or-saving-the-world thing has happened infinite times. and maybe only 2 of those times had saidin madness as a factor.)

[imthepunchlord]

So, going off the last few asks, here's my guesses on the new pairs of the og 7:

Ladybug and Cat (good luck and bad luck) (canon pair) (makes sense to keep them)

Peacock and Fox (opposite colors, blue and orange) (one associated with the air/sky and one associated with the land) one represents truth, integrity, and life, and the other is tied lies, trickery, and ghosts/death)

Ok, now this last one is iffy. It's either butterfly and turtle or butterfly and bee. Butterfly and Bee have some stuff going for them, opposite colors (purple and yellow) and a theme of Chaos vs. Order and Dependent vs. Independent. The Butterfly and Turtle also have stuff going for them. Depending on what color wheel you use, purple's opposite color could be green instead of yellow. They could represent both aspects of provision, protecting and supporting. And lastly their is the thematic parallel of the "main" villain and the "wise mentor" character having the miraculous that go together. Personally, I'm leaning towards Butterfly and Turtle, since going off your reasoning in your old A Declaration of Love fic, the bee makes little more sense to not have a partner. Bees have a lot of symbolism related to teamwork, connections, working with a group, hardwork, and other stuff like that, so it makes sense that the bee instead having one partner is meant to be able to work with anyone.

It's a maybe. It depends on how I do pairs, which I haven't decided yet.

Like do I work off actual animal pairs that do show up in different myths and folklore? Turtle has ties to Rabbit, Crane, and Snake. Also technically Dragon(fly). And there's possibility in doing Lion with Mouse, Wolf, or Tiger. Eagle with Fish, Dragonfly, or Snake. Raven and Dove are also an old pair that have been tied together since Mesopotamia.

Or do I work off themes? As Ladybug and Cat do work off the European themes of good and bad luck. Raven and Rabbit can also work, black and white, Raven's tied to the sun and death while Rabbit is tied to the moon and life. And yeah, Peafowl and Fox do have a nice color opposites and truth vs deception, but that's not Fox's only option, as Bull/Ox often stands for integrity and honesty, and is far more direct to Fox dancing around the bush.

Or do I do a mixture of both? Like, Lion and Mouse could work as a combo on both ideas, as they cover bravery vs fear, pride vs humbleness, power vs cunning, integrity vs deception, dark and light colors, blue and pink, ect..

There's also a debate on do I really keep all of the original 7 together? Despite often promoted together, in actuality, only 3/7 truly need to stay together: Butterfly, Cat, and Ladybug. All the others are honestly kinda removed from them and the show didn't do a good job to validate why these 7 are in a group together.

I am also going to aim for pleasing color wheels, for those that are black and white, their secondary color is what's going to count on a color wheel (blue for Rabbit, pink for Mouse, Horse and Goat are going to be more purple), which sets up Cat and Turtle to compete for the green spot of the color wheel. I don't need two greens and I don't really want to change up the canon colors of the kwamis (at most is just changing Longg to be more orange but it's still a reddish orange; or I could work off Tikki being a reddish pink and just skip out on orange for the bugs).

The other factor is, given how powerful Butterfly is, and the default set up of Ladybug and Cat both being necessary for it (though Cat is a stretch canon wise), I wonder if it should be one of the 5 that doesn't have a counterpart. As, by default, that is set up to be the "leader/diplomat" of the 7, the one who oversees things and acts as the neutral 3rd to the pairs when there is discourse and balances things out.

Though, insect wise, Bee and Butterfly are my top two picks, but I'm not sure I want two insects to make up the 5.

Either way, I do have a lot to think about and consider. At this time, Ladybug and Cat are the only confirmed pair.

[concerningwolves]

Hello! I hope this ask finds you well.

I’m planning a short story set in a vaguely fantasy world with early- to mid-1800s technology (so no hearing aids), in which an eight-year old girl gains deafness after an illness. The point of the short story is very simply her learning to accept that she’s deaf.

I would really love to do this story justice, and I was hoping you could help me out with a few things.

Would it be rude/offensive/inappropriate/misrepresentative in any way if:

1. I wrote this child’s first reaction upon hearing she’s deaf to [plan to] hide it from her family as part of a flight-or-fight instinct (as in, she’s afraid she will be isolated or alienated from her family if they know)?

2. she lost her speech due to self-consciousness about her voice sounding ‘weird’? (And later speaks verbally only, and rarely, around her immediate family after they are made aware?)

Hi Anon!

Before answering your questions, I just want to float the idea of ear trumpets at you:

These have varying levels of effectiveness (and from what I've read, weren't useful for profound to severe hearing loss), but people have been finding ways to aid their hearing since long, long before the advent of our modern conception of hearing aids. Depending on what fantasy elements you have and how this interacts with your world's technology, you might be able to come up with something helpful.

Now, onto your actual questions.

I wrote this child’s first reaction upon hearing she’s deaf to [plan to] hide it from her family as part of a flight-or-fight instinct (as in, she’s afraid she will be isolated or alienated from her family if they know)?

This sounds like a plausible thing for a child to do, but I think it's important to explore why she feels like she has to hide her deafness for fear of being alienated. Has her family expressed ableist views in the past? Or is she acting on assumptions based on wider social views towards disability? While it's an unfortunate truth that our society depicts and considers disability as inherently bad or tragic, the same doesn't necessarily have to be true of a fantasy society. When writers put ableism into their built societies/cultures simply because they're following the social frameworks of our real world (whether current or historical), it implies that ableism is somehow normal or inevitable.

I'm not saying to never include ableism, though! There are times when ableism makes narrative sense, so a big thing I'd like to encourage more SFF authors to think about is "does the ableism need to be here or am I including it because it's what I'm used to seeing?". In other words, is the ableism important to the narrative (i.e., does it in some way help you tell the story you want to tell), or is it Just There? The equally important corollary to this is "and if it makes narrative sense, have you continued to actually explore it in the narrative?".

A good case study of this issue is the treatment of homophobia compared to ableism in the world of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Most (or all, iirc) of the cultures in the world of ASOIAF are ableist. This makes narrative sense because (a) themes of power struggles and power imbalance are crucial to the story's makeup, and (b) the world is closely modelled on the social and political climate of medieval Europe (albeit mapped onto a dark fantasy world). It just wouldn't be the same story if the built society wasn't ableist! (Overcoming internalised ableism is integral to Bran's character arc, for example, and you can't internalise something that isn't first coming from an external source). The narrative consistently and repeatedly shows us that the social pressures to conform to abled standards are harmful, and that the disabled characters are no less for their disabilities, even though they're often flawed people with complex relationships to their own disability. Despite other valid criticisms of the biases in Martin's worldbuilding for ASOIAF, the disabled representation is something I still really enjoy and appreciate.

Homophobia, on the other hand, is present but unexplored. It's been a few years since I read these books, and the fact I can remember the disabled characters but only have vague recollections of like one queer character who appears mostly (entirely?) off-page says a lot in itself. This doesn't mean the homophobia shouldn't have been there – it would be pretty odd if an intensely misogynistic and ableist society was accepting of queer people – but if Martin wanted to so blatantly showcase the queerphobia, then he should have given equal consideration to queer perspectives. Failure to do so implies that queer narratives are less important or less worthy of consideration, and betrays a heteronormative bias on the part of the author.

So in your case, Anon: yes, this could be a way to write your character reacting to her acquired deafness! It's not an insensitive idea, it's just one that I think is worth considering in the wider context of your story world and examining for any biases you might have.

she lost her speech due to self-consciousness about her voice sounding ‘weird’? (And later speaks verbally only, and rarely, around her immediate family after they are made aware?)

For this one, I think you'll need to do some research into loss of speech after acquired deafness. I've discussed the links between acquired deafness and language-learning in children in this ask, which sets up a similar scenario to yours. I don't know if an eight year old would lose speech, and depending on how well she could already speak, there may not be a massive difference in her speech quality after loss of hearing. This isn't something I can speak to from personal experience or from any kind of expert knowledge, though.

If she decides not to speak because she's self-conscious of how she sounds, that's another matter – and again, one that's not insensitive in itself, but needs sensitive thought put into it. The most important points are:

Let her find other ways to communicate (e.g., sign language) and portray these as equally valid as verbal speech.

Don't show her self-consciousness about her speech as normal or "correct" – difficulty and frustration with speech when you can't (fully) hear yourself is something many people struggle with, but not something that people should be made to feel ashamed about. If she's ashamed, try to find some way within the narrative to show that she doesn't need to be.

Don't conflate non-verbal or unclear verbal speech with a lack of intelligence.

I hope that gives you a good place to start!

Happy writing <3

[overseer-picard]

Final Thoughts on ST: Picard Season 3

I loved it. All of it.

I was filled with anxious dread when it was announced that the entire cast would be back. The first two seasons were not for me and I was worried all of the things I disliked would bleed into this season and infect ALL my beloved characters, not just Picard (who is my all time favorite fictional character).

But those fears were quickly quieted and I found myself looking forward to each new episode in a way I haven't done since the days before streaming.

There are still things I personally would've done differently, but just because I dislike something doesn't mean it's inherently bad (and vice versa, if I like something it doesn't mean it's objectively good).

I feel that the characters behaved in ways that made sense for their history (which was a pleasant 180 for Picard from the first two seasons) and they came together in organic ways that were integral to the plot rather than just thrown together for a reunion show.

I loved how they brought Data back, I thought it was fresh and creative, and it was fun to see him become the thing he always strove to be: human. I loved seeing Riker and Troi and their love for each other, Picard and Beverly as they navigated the very human emotions of reconnecting and saving their son, seeing Geordi as a dad to his adorable daughters along with his joy at seeing Data again. And Worf being the most Worf he's ever Worfed.

Every note I needed was hit with perfect pitch and tone.

The story was tightly woven with ample plantings and payoffs of key details (I'm excited to rewatch specifically for this reason). The stakes were high and had personal connection. The tension was well paced with solid structuring and anytime things DID slow down, it was to allow some breathing room for the characters to develop and exist. The characters were proactive rather than reactive, they had to actually make choices with no easy answer (a staple of Trek storytelling).

I loved the themes of family, both biological and within friendship, and the importance of loving and appreciating the people who truly matter in your life. I loved that the Trek universe felt connected again with the callbacks to the other shows, cameos from old characters, and our main seven recognizing that their most important years were the years they spent not just with each other, but with us, the audience. You can call this fan service with as much spite and venom as you want, but I call it universe cohesion.

After the first two seasons of Picard that could've taken place in any fictional universe because they were so brazenly disconnected from the key aspects that make Star Trek, Star Trek, I am grateful this team of writers took the care and effort to give these details back in meaningful and narratively useful ways.

And most of all, I loved the countless moments where I felt genuine, heartfelt, emotion. I am not a weepy person by any measure, but I teared up multiple times. Seeing these characters I've loved for so long be happy, connected, and moving forward brought me more satisfaction than I could've ever imagined.

I'm genuinely filled with so much gratitude towards the hundreds of people who came together to create this season of television. The care, dedication, attention to detail, respect, and reverence it holds towards the franchise that I love has brought me deep, lasting joy.

It is not the best show I've ever watched, and maybe I'll break down its flaws one day, but it's easily become a favorite that will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Not many shows get this kind of goodbye 30 years later and for that, I am incredibly grateful.

Sorry to those of you who did not enjoy it, you are not wrong to feel the way you do, we all enjoy media in ways that are unique to us.

[emblazons]

Honesty Hour: I am literally never going to understand “Duffer doubt” or full abject disappointment in them as show runners…and it’s because their story makes sense.

Like. The fear for queer rep thing I understand completely, but so far, even with how little I resonated with S3 or S4-2 at first…they are solid writers with a sense of both direction and their audience, and I have no core issues with what they’ve presented.

Forewarning: pettiness, byler doubt (only mentions for context) & potential elitism idk (it’s also a little long lmao)

This idea The Duffers are gonna drop every single thing they’ve set up from the get go to accommodate the most surface level, least in-character storyline “because heteronormativity” is absolutely insane to me. The idea that, after setting up FOUR SEASONS of buildup, they’re going to kill off the primary protagonist of S1 and drop every single character lesson / core narrative to shove the YOUNGEST CHARACTERS in the gd show into a Disney fantasy marriage is crazy. I literally don’t even know how to imagine them doing that—not because it has never happened in a show, but because hearing them talk about ST makes it clear it’s BEEN mapped from the get, and they have explained clearly why certain things went the way they did in their own way.

Noah got cast on a monologue from a second season before they even have a confirmation of its existence, and character traits we are just pulling on now in characters like Mike (his insecurity especially) are written CLEAR AS DAY in the PITCH OF THE SHOW. Every single sign people on THIS LITERAL APP have pointed to for Y E A R S before S4 that Will was gay turned out to be right, and there has been, from the very first moment Netflix picked this thing up, a 25 page document where they broke down the UD lore.

Where on literal earth are people getting that they have no idea what they’re doing? Or that the lore people point to as foreshadowing is gonna get thrown out the window in the final season of the show? I get being nervous or anxious that your favorite character might not get all the time you want, or even being afraid that they won’t dig into all the things you want personally, but…the idea that two self-proclaimed film boys who were as into their inspirations as we are their show are going to undermine their own narrative integrity to pull a 180 on every theme they’ve set up from the get go and start killing off characters who are front and center in the “we tell the stories of the outcasts as a fuck you to the people who make media we think sucks” narrative? I’m gonna need you to be serious.

As a long time fan and fandom consumer of television, and someone who had to live through being invested in Game of Thrones, I am saying with my whole chest that the doubt is entirely emotional rather than based on anything objective that the duffers have said or done.

They’re not D&D from GoT, who were great ADAPTORS but who just started winging it because they didn’t have completed source material from GRRM. They aren’t the Voltron writers who had a good premise but mixed it all up because of firing their best writers and then caving to fandom nonsense. They aren’t the supernatural writers, or the Sherlock writers who set up an ongoing joke without the follow through people expected. They are the Duffers. And while their writing style is nothing like what I would do, they are telling a story that I can follow and respect until proven otherwise.

All this talk about “mistakes” and the like, even with queer rep. Like??? They released this show in 2016, and the last several years in its country of origin have been absolutely steeped in a horrifying level of bigotry both sociopolitically and in media. Stranger Things was released the same year Tr*mp was elected, and still managed to stand in abject criticism of every value on display in American conservatism ever since.

The push and pull of what was “allowed” in media because of the cultural insanity & bigotry that moved to center stage in the United States makes it clear why they didn’t bring their queer storyline to the fore at first glance and just put it in the subtext—to tell the story without being undermined by the “two seasons and cancelled” era of Netflix before it got huge (because, as we all know, Netflix and cancelling shows is a huge problem for many writers to this literal day) and to keep the bigots on main from noticing it until the train was too fast to stop. That’s what we’re dealing with now—a lot of people yelling loudly on places like Reddit, expecting to be consoled in in their homophobia and bigotry, because now Stranger Things is popular and far along enough to start saying the quiet part (that has ALWAYS been there) out loud.

Hiding the queer storyline in the subtext is something people have done in tv and film for DECADES anyway, and in literature for CENTURIES before that…but somehow the fact that it wasn’t made explicit until the fourth season invalidates it? Or makes it suddenly a reason to call into question the integrity of the entire show, or to let some random m*leven shipper undermine your sense of what makes a good story (which is also what matters most to the “we don’t listen to Reddit, and we regret focusing more on fan theories than our plot” duffers)? Once again: I’m gonna need you to be serious.

All I’m saying is that the way some people in this fandom are willing to believe and agonize over the takes of 18-19 year old actors or a random twitter account or YouTuber instead of listening to the creators of the show + looking at cultural context and how queer stories have been told for eons is crazy. It reeks of immaturity insecurity and media illiteracy, and gives two guys who have put a lot of time and (ADMITTEDLY IMPERFECT) effort into a show that remains one of the best told stories (despite network interference) in recent memory.

I get being nervous. I get being suspicious. But critical consumption & media literacy is more than just theorizing about what things mean or watching what inspired The Duffers. Stop looking at social media posts and randoms for information and start paying attention to the people who MAKE the things you’re so emotionally attached to in their context. I am literally begging at this point.

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things "Creature Feature" and "Summer Special" Reviews

If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out my other Stranger Things reviews, and let me know what your thoughts/theories are about the show or the upcoming season! :)

Stranger Things Six

Stranger Things Halloween Special

Stranger Things The Other Side

Stranger Things Zombie Boys

Stranger Things The Bully

Stranger Things Winter Special

Stranger Things Tomb of Ybwen

Stranger Things Into The Fire

Stranger Things Science Camp

Stranger Things "The Game Master" and "Erica's Quest"

Stranger Things and Dungeons and Dragons

Stranger Things Kamchatka

Stranger Things Erica The Great

Synopsis for Creature Feature: While moving to California, Will, Jonathan, and El make a stop in Denver, Colorado to enjoy a night out at a Drive-In Theater. However, El's visit takes a turn for the worst when certain elements begin triggering PTSD flashbacks......

Synopsis for Summer Special: Join Officers Powell and Callahan during the events of season 3 as they patrol the streets of Hawkins and begin to encounter the Flayed.....

Observations:

Because these comics are short, I am covering both of them in this review. Unlike "Erica's Quest" and "The Game Master," which at least shared the theme of Erica and Mike being isolated and using their love of D&D to reconnect with people, these two short stories don't have much in common other than taking place in the same universe. Because of that, I will be talking about each of their stories separately. This will conclude my reviews of the comics and graphic novels for the time being. When the full versions of Tales from Hawkins, the Stranger Things x TMNT Crossover, and The Voyage are released (which likely won't be until January 2024 at the earliest), I will review them. Until then, I will move on to the tie-in books, beginning with Stranger Things Suspicious Minds.

Let's begin.

Creature Feature:

Out of the two of these, this short comic is the one I like the best. It's an interquel between seasons 3 and 4 that came out on Free Comic Book Day, three weeks before season 4 premiered. As noted in the synopsis, it focuses on an evening that Will, Jonathan, and El have in Denver, Colorado at a Drive-In Theater featuring horror movies. At this point, they're still in the process of moving to Lenora, and the story takes place sometime in October 1985 before Halloween.

The premise of the characters at a Drive-In Theater is fun, and it's nice getting a story exploring the sibling dynamic between El, Will, and Jonathan as El integrates into the Byers family. While we did get scenes like this in season 4, they often felt brief and far in-between. It doesn't help that circumstances like Angela's constant bullying, El ending up in trouble with the law for smashing the brat's face in (not that I blame her for doing so), the three way conflict between Mike, El, and Will at the beginning, and everything to do with Vecna constantly overshadowed attempts to go into more details about El's developing relationship with the Byers. We did get a brief montage with El narrating in her letters to Mike about how she and the Byers are doing, but it isn't as in-depth as it could have been. So any story that explores El, Will, Joyce, and Jonathan together as a family is one I'd be happy to see more of.

There's an interesting parallel between Will's love for the horror movies and atmosphere at the Drive-In vs El's fear of it. Will's enthusiasm for horror movies and Halloween is pretty similar to Max's, with Max even admitting in Runaway Max that she's watched scary movies since she was a kid and Michael Myers from the Halloween series is the one that frightens her the most. Just like there's a psychological component for how Max processes horror movies (especially growing up with an abusive step-dad and step-brother who made her life a living hell), the same goes for Will. When Jonathan asks Will how he can still enjoy horror movies after everything that's happened to him, Will explains it as such:

That is relatable in so many ways. Some of the stuff I've experienced in my life has desensitized me to certain horror/slasher movies, like Saw or Friday The 13th or the Halloween series, to the point the over-the-top blood and gore doesn't elicit a reaction for me. I'm more likely to have fun watching these movies than be scared by them. It's movies, TV shows, and other media that deal with triggering subjects like anxiety, depression, gaslighting, mental illness, rape, and so on that tends to get under my skin.

And considering what El has been through for most of her life, it's also understandable why she has the reaction she does at the Drive-In. Everything from the purple flashing lights to the monster-themed costumes to the loud noises and unfamiliar setting cause her to have a PTSD attack.

It doesn't help that some bullies see what's happening to El and decide to harass her for it.

You know the jackasses on Reddit, Twitter/X, Tumblr, or other social media platforms who mock people for being triggered, accuse people struggling with trauma of wanting to be victims, and are awful to others because they can get away with it? That's who these bullies remind me of. They are the predecessors to Angela, her friends, and the loathsome crowd from Rink-O-Mania who humiliated El. Despite only being in the comic briefly, I despise them.

Thankfully, Will and Jonathan come to her aid, and Jonathan gets a nice big brother moment in telling the bullies to fuck off:

I wish we'd get more scenes on the show of Jonathan getting aggressive with bullies or any other threats to his family.

Getting back to El, there's another reason she's upset: She's in a vulnerable position of having lost her powers at this point, and doesn't know how to deal with it. She's also worried about the threat of the Upside Down returning, which it unfortunately does in season 4. How many times can you face the same horrors over again without feeling like you're losing pieces of yourself and that it's all out of your control?

Except El isn't alone in her fight, no matter how bleak it seems. As Jonathan points out, she still has the support of her friends and family, and all of them will be there for her. They love her regardless of whether or not she has powers. That's a truly beautiful thing to have.

As I've noted before in other reviews (especially Dungeons and Dragons), the final fight between Vecna's forces won't just have El dealing with it all by herself. It's always been a team effort from everyone since season 1, and I do not see that dynamic changing in season 5 without the Duffer Brothers betraying the core themes of friendship and family on the show. Whether or not El will be the one delivering the killing blow to Vecna remains to be seen though.

Overall, I'd recommend this for a read.

Summer Special:

Remember back in my review of The Bully when I talked about how the graphic novel followed the events of season 2 through the eyes of Troy and James? That's pretty much the same formula the Summer Special uses. This time, it takes place in season 3, and it follows Officers Callahan and Powell in the week leading up to the 4th of July.

Like most of the fandom, I never cared for Callahan and Powell. I don't hate them to the extent I hate characters like Billy or Angela, but I still find them obnoxious, and have never been impressed with the "lazy bumbling cop" stereotypes they seem to embody. Unfortunately, this short comic doesn't do much to change that.

The best summary of the plot is that it basically runs on one joke: Callahan and Powell are present during key moments in season 3 (i.e. Billy getting possessed by the Mind Flayer, Doris Driscoll and the other Flayed at Brimborn Steelworks, Alexei's death at the carnival, the Battle of Starcourt, etc), and just when it looks like the two of them might actually find out about the Upside Down and figure out everything that's been going on............they don't. They either miss stuff, dismiss it on sight, or get distracted by trivial crap in their pursuit of trying to be "good cops." It's a joke repeated through-out the comic, and it's one that gets old real fast.

I didn't find this joke funny the first time they did it, and every other time after that made it more annoying.

The comic contains some glaring continuity errors. For example, when Powell and Callahan find Billy's car at Brimborn Steelworks the night he's possessed by the Mind Flayer, the date is July 1st in the comic. However, on the show, the actual date was the evening of June 29th, the same night Billy was set to hook up with Karen.

On top of that, the comic illustrates Billy leaving the steelwork factory different from how he did on the show. Here, he's depicted as quietly sneaking out when Powell and Callahan come to investigate:

But on the show, he is literally running for his life in a panic the moment he gets free of the Mind Flayer, desperately to escape it and not caring about how much of a ruckus he made leaving. If we're taking this comic as canon (which I am not because of all its inconsistencies), it's hard to believe Powell and Callahan wouldn't have heard Billy going back to his car.

There's also other contradictory dates: Doris Driscoll (the old lady Nancy and Jonathan visit in S3 who's later possessed by the Mind Flayer) is established on the show as being taken to the hospital on July 1st. However, the comic depicts this happening on July 2nd. This also apparently happened the same night a possessed Driscoll abducted Powell and took him to the Steelworks factory where the Mind Flayer was, which makes it even more confusing. It also creates a big plot-hole for why the other Flayed never came after Powell later despite Powell witnessing a bunch of them at the factory in the process of attacking his car.

The only moment I semi-liked in this comic was this scene reaffirming how much of a sleazy womanizing piece-of-shit Billy is, and how other people in-universe see him like this as well:

Other than that, and some decent artwork per usual, this comic felt rushed and not well put together as it should have been.

As much as I don't care for Callahan and Powell as characters, I wouldn't mind a comic centered on them provided there was an actual point for it. If they're going to focus on side characters, then actually develop them in a way that's meaningful instead of constantly playing them for laughs. There's an entire story they could have been explored when Powell became the new Chief of Police in Hawkins after Hopper's supposed death in season 3, and how he was forced to adjust to the position and take on new responsibilities. That would have been far more interesting than what they did here. This just came off like a waste.

As you can probably tell, I'm not recommending this comic. The good news is it's not particularly pricey (I got it for $1.99 on Kindle), so if you do want to check it out for yourselves and make your own judgments, there's no harm in doing so. But there are better comics you could spend time and money on.