#you're jumping on a traumatized person for pointing out things that remind them of their trauma

[jeneseoquoi]

saw this thing on twitter saying 127 are all the type to get in a fight for u but who do u think actually would fight??? like i cant see alllllll of them fighting lol

LMAO i'm laughing bc i saw this exact same thing on twitter too. it was hilarious seeing everyone's opinions. here's mine:

nct 127 | reacting to you in a fight

taeil: he is absolutely not jumping in at any point in time. will make sure nobody tries to sneak you though. snatches anybody's phone who tries to record it. tells you you won even if you both know they two pieced you up. laughs every time when it randomly pops into his head weeks/months/years later.

johnny: his big ass. he will definitely laugh while recording if you're really tossing that ho like a salad. if you start losing or the other person's friends try to jump you, he's immediately intervening to stop the fight. lines everyone who witnessed it up and makes them delete any incriminating evidence off their phones.

taeyong: is BEGGING you to stop fighting. once he realizes it's dead serious and you're not going down without a fight, he just steps back to watch and make sure nobody around is being sneaky. (saw someone on twitter say he would post the other person's weave that he snatched up the next day and i absolutely stand by the person who said this lmaooooo.)

yuta: MY DAWG IS 100% IN THE MIDDLE WRECKING HOS FOR YOU. like the minute he senses you're about to get in a fight, he's already there throwing bows left and right. let a trifling bitch pull your hair, he's immediately got them in a chokehold talking about some "i'll let go when you let go." lays out anybody who ever tries to step to you again. this is my rider frfr.

doyoung: is so embarrassed omg. yelling at you to remember his image in hopes of getting you to come to your senses and stop fighting. actively running around the crowd taking peoples' phones so they can't record. soooo mad at you after the fight is over, but still makes sure to take care of you and any wounds you suffered.

jaehyun: anyone who decides to be with this man has to have hands like. he is genuinely confused as to what's happening, but trusts that you can handle your own so he just watches in amusement. lies and tells you it's just a little scratch & that you still look pretty afterwards, even though your shit is BUSTED. at least you won though.

jungwoo: is screaming, crying, and throwing up. like normally you're his soft, sweet baby, so who the fuck is this?!?!? in tears the entire time it's happening, like he can't even comprehend what led up to the fight in the first place. on his knees, BEGS you to never ever get into another fight ever again. he is genuinely traumatized, like he never sees you the same way again lmao.

mark: cursing everybody in that mf out. "the fuck is your problem bro"-ing everyone involved. only hops in when he sees you starting to lose. in turn starts getting his ass beat, which gives you the advantage to start molly whopping hos so you can save your man. will forever remind you of the time he got his shit rocked just so you wouldn't lose a fight. don't ever let him go hahaha.

haechan: honestly, probably the reason you're in a fight in the first place. like he was the one talking mad shit in the first place, but you know he don't got hands at all, so now here you are fighting his battle. keeps taunting the other person & the people on their side like "yeah that's right, mess with me and my girl will smack you up." you promise yourself that when you're done whooping their ass, that he's next.

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hello! I don't usually have a problem with pacing but I noticed that I've had this particular issue in similar scenes in different stories. So basically, something traumatic happenned to X character, they move on, time goes by, and at a certain point something reminds them of the traumatic situation and they break down crying, usually while someone is there to hold them. I've.. been there, it happens out of a sudden, without any warning, and the crying feels endless. Now, I can't seem to be able to write that same feeling down. I think have a good grasp with exposition, but it doesn't feel like I have to throw that in while this other VERY BIG emotion is overwhelming the character. Same with description. Also, I get that this is the way I understand it and there's clearly something wrong with it because when I reread it feels like something is missing. So basically, and to summarize, how do I make crying scenes feel longer? (Because saying "they cried for a few minutes and slowly calmed down" sounds awful.)

Making Breakdown Scene Feel Longer

Fiction writing is comprised of three elements:

-- Exposition (explaining, describing, character thought) -- Action (character movement, things happening) -- Dialogue (characters talking)

Every scene is a balance of exposition, action, and dialogue.

So, when it comes to pacing a scene, those are your choices. If you want to make a scene longer, you need to add more exposition, more action, and more dialogue.

If you want to make a crying scene actually feel long (without saying "they cried for a few minutes") you need to add more of those three things. For example:

Exposition: what are the characters thinking while this scene is taking place? What do they feel? What do they notice about each others body language and facial expressions? What do they notice about their own internal sensations? What observations do they make about what's happening and how do those make them feel? What sensory things do they notice about the other person, about themselves, and about the environment? (For example, to illustrate time passing, you could illustrate the light changes in the room or have a character notice it's getting late.)

Action: what are some ways the characters can move around during this scene? Body language, gestures, facial expressions, interaction with each other, interaction with the environment... What are some things that can happen not initiated by the two characters? (For example, the cat jumps up in the lap of the crying character. They're interrupted by a pizza delivery. Fireworks start to go off in the dark city skyline outside the window...)

Dialogue: what are some things these characters can say in this scene? To one another, out loud to themselves, to another character who shows up briefly, or perhaps on a phone call.

One more thing...

If a character is having a breakdown related to a past trauma, you might consider working brief flashbacks of the trauma into this scene as sort of a fourth element. You probably wouldn't want to start the crying scene and then go into a long flashback (although you could have a long flashback kick-off the breakdown...) but you could dip in and out of the comfort scene as this character recalls little bits and pieces, perhaps even while relaying them to the other character. It might not work for the scene you're writing, but it's something to consider.

I hope that helps!

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[sysmedsaresexist]

about pro-endo therapists - i think any therapists that are pro-endo don’t actually know much about did. my current therapist currently supports endos, but at the same time, she has admitted to being relatively new to the subject of systems and is still learning more about it. if she read up on studies and research, i think she’d change her mind

also this as a reminder that just cuz a therapist says something doesn’t automatically make it true. they still need to do research and be trained in specific areas to be a reliable source.

This is true. There is a distinct lack of education into dissociative disorders. Unless someone specializes in them, their education likely consisted of a single class covering all of them. That's why I suggested to look for dissociative specialists in my thread about looking for a therapist. Most won't have any knowledge or experience otherwise.

Having been on the other side of the office, I also have a bit of insight to add.

This is not to insight any paranoia about your therapist, please don't jump to that conclusion.

First, therapists need to you trust them. They will not directly contradict you in the beginning. If you say you're plural without trauma, they're going to nod their head and write that down to deal with later. This does not mean they're agreeing or that they support endogenic systems. Their job is to deal FIRST with whatever issue brought you in. Once that's done, they can start to deal with other things. So if you came in for SH and depression, they're going to get you stabilized and back on your feet before they start looking into that plurality stuff with you. It doesn't mean they agree with you, there are just bigger battles to fight, first.

If you ask them if they think endogenic plurality is possible, they're going to word it in such a way as to not dismiss anyone's experiences (example, "I believe they're experiencing something," "I believe they think they're plural," "A lot of things are possible (meaning other diagnoses are possible, but in a sneaky way)"). This also doesn't mean they agree.

If they confront you, you're going to leave, which means, A, you're not going to get help, and B, they're going to lose money.

Over time, as the relationship and trust builds, the therapist will gently probe and correct. They'll start to confront you with, "do you think that might have been traumatic? Why not?" They'll start to point out inconsistencies and misunderstandings.

Like a parent talking to a child, they'll try to broaden your understandings. "Wow! The moon is made of cheese! Wild! What else do you think it could be made of?"

Your personal therapist accepting you doesn't mean they agree with you.

I really wish endogenic systems would stop using their personal therapists as a "gotcha".

[mimzy-writing-online]

Dear Mimzy, I can't begin to tell you how happy I was to find your advice on how to write a blind or visually impaired person respectfully. Thank you so much for doing that. It was very helpful. I'm currently writing a book and I'm about to start the editing phase. I'm writing you to ask if you would consider being a beta reader of mine? I'll pay you, of course. You can write me on Instagram: mettepeleikis if you're interested. Once again thank you for your helpful blog. - Mette

PART 1/2: Mette again. Even if you're not interested in beta reading my book, I do have some questions that I haven't found the answers to on your blog. I hope you can help me by giving me your opinion on these two things. 1. The love interest of my MC loses his sight from a head trauma accident (I did read you advice against that but it's unfortunately not something I can change now) but do you consider that "victimizing your blind character" like when you mentioned rape?

PART 2/2: Gosh, I'm sorry for spamming you. Here's my second question. I never wanted to cure my blind character, but I did have in mind that a surgery could partially restore a bit of it. Just enough for him to see a bit of color. Do you think that is as bad as curing them when partially restoring his sight? Thank you so much, Mimzy. Best, Mette

Mimzy answered: I’m so happy I could help your writing process! Hearing that I help makes every day much better, especially since this is part of what I’ll be focusing on in school.

I am considering taking a few beta-reading contracts in the winter between school semesters. I am going to put a note down with your Instagram contact.

As for your first question, I recently made a post going in-depth about writing whump and using blindness for plot purposes. It has far more depth and nuance to the subject than my initial post did in 2019, largely because that was (still is) a topic I struggle to talk about.

(The following paragraph is useful advice to all writers, not just Mette)

The concern about head trauma being the cause of blindness stems more from how rare it is compared to natural causes of blindness. Glaucoma, Macular Degeneration, Cataracts, and Diabetic Retinopathy are the most common causes of vision loss. The head trauma route is also a big sign that the writer took the lazy way out of researching the cause of the character’s blindness, which suggests to the reader that the character is more of a prop than a character. The best thing you can do to avoid this sentiment, avoid inaccuracy and insensitivity, is to deeply research the specific details of the injury and how that will affect your character’s vision.

I found an article for you with a wide variety of specific injury types that can follow a traumatic brain injury. It will be a good starting point in your individual research.

What Mette is describing doesn’t sound like victimizing, at least not as I would personally define it. Victimizing would be using the character’s trauma and blindness to teach the main character some kind of lesson, very much like the trend of violently killing off female characters to push the male protagonist’s storyline.

The message a plotline like that sends to a blind reader is that how our blindness affects our loved ones is more important than how it affects us, that we’re a burden to our loved ones, and that our feelings about vision loss don’t matter because we’re a plot device for our family’s story.

Or using the character’s blindness as a way to “set up” a plan to hurt the character. An example would be the character getting kidnapped and not realizing they were being stalked because of their blindness. A good exercise to test if you’re falling into this trap would be to ask yourself “if this character was a drunk teenage girl, would this look like victim blaming?” If the answer is yes, then you need to rethink that plotline.

The message this plotline sends is that being disabled makes you an easy victim to assault, that it’s only a matter of time before it happens, that it happens because you’re disabled and that it’s somehow your fault.

It’s also a reminder of a terrifying but very real statistic of how common it is for a disabled person to be a victim of a crime. I found a webpage discussing it if you’d like to further educate yourself.

So there’s a big difference between an author exploring the trauma around sudden vision loss, and an author turning that trauma into shallow dramatics for entertainment purposes. One has the chance to make you feel seen, and the other makes you feel objectified.

Ask yourself how your story compares to what I’ve described and if/how you can do better.

To answer your last question, I’m not 100% sure. Realistically, if offered a chance to surgically improve your vision when you were in the early stages of learning to adapt, you might very well jump at the chance. Some might, but there are plenty of reasons why you might decline the surgery. It’s very likely you might develop a phobia against medical care (iatrophobia) following a traumatic medical experience, and perhaps avoid doctors and medical procedures at all costs, even if it means potentially allowing conditions to get dangerously worse before seeking help. If your story is based in America, chances are that a procedure like that will be too costly, even with insurance. Double-check medical care costs in the country the story takes place in if you’re not sure. Hearing that the surgery might risk you losing more sight with very little promise of returning your vision, especially long term, would be a big motivation to decline. Resentment against how doctors and loved ones focused on wanting to “fix you” instead of helping you adjust might be a reason to decline. (It certainly was for me, especially when the proposed solution wouldn’t completely improve my vision. This was prediagnosis) Being far enough into your recovery due to a great support system and therapy might also be a reason to decline the surgery, stating that you’re happy with life as is.

Personally, I would hate to lose my color vision. Vibrant colors make me absurdly happy. However, if I did lose my color vision and a specific surgery was proposed to possibly restore it, it’s highly unlikely I would accept for almost all of the reasons stated above.

It’s a subject that will require more than one sensitivity reader, and possibly asking people within the blind community how they feel about that. A variety of responses will help you explore the nuances of the plotline.

I always recommend @blindbeta as a sensitivity reader because I love their work discussing different blind characters in media and their advice posts.

Thank you for the positive feedback, it made my night :)

(after post notes: dear god I hope this is coherent. This was written between the hours of 1 and 2 am. Yeah, this blog is called the Late Night Writing Advice Blog for a reason. Also (@ everyone, I shared some personal feelings tonight, please treat that with respect)

[explosionshark]

You didn't say you wanted to do this game but I'm gonna ask you anyway! Behind the scenes writing thingie: 3, 11, 17, 18. :D

3. Do you write fics from start or finish, or jump around?

usually from start to finish. writing chronologically just feels more natural to me and it allows me to develop ideas more organically. though if i have a particularly vivid scene i might sketch that out and then write up to it, but that's the exception not the rule

11. If you could only write angst, fluff, or smut for the rest of your life, which would it be?

ughh the problem is i think these are all kinda boring on their own. the strongest fics are a mix of all 3.

18. What is a line/scene you’re really proud of? Give us the DVD commentary for that scene.

this one's going under a cut, it'll be a scene from my most recent mass effect fic. (sorry, but i don't think i've written anything for any of the fandoms you're in, so you're stuck with the most recent thing that comes to mind for me)

If Miranda thought the hardest part of the night was over, she was only half-right. With well-practiced precision, she removes piece after piece of jagged glass from Jack's face, cleaning the blood from her skin, tending to the wounds. Yet despite the steadiness of her hands, she finds herself sympathetically queasy at the painful-looking cuts. Jack, in contrast, barely flinches at the sting of alcohol. If anything she seems more bored and restless than in pain, shifting on the closed lid of the toilet like an impatient child, hands drifting up the sides of Miranda’s thighs enough times for her to get tired of swatting them away, ordering Jack to sit on them until she’s finished.

the character A cleaning up character B's wounds thing ALWAYS works for me, but doubly so when character B can't keep their hands to themselves. it's also a big release of tension to write this after having spent the prior part of the story building up to a huge fight.

“Fuck! Fine, okay,” Jack huffs a dramatic sigh, leaning back slightly on her seat, hands tucked underneath her. “You know, when you said you were gonna patch me up I definitely expected a little less Citadel free clinic and a lot more sexy nurse.”

“Jack. I was given an utterly devastated body that had endured the vacuum of space, orbital re-entry and impact trauma, and the stress of being shipped like cargo across multiple planets and tasked with making it a person again. And I succeeded. I literally rebuilt a human being. I could hardly be reduced to a nurse,” Miranda sniffs.

“God, you’re so sexy when you’re completely missing the fucking point,” Jack purrs and, ridiculously, Miranda feels her heartbeat quicken.

the characters in this story have a lot in common on a core level but are SUPER different in how they express themselves and approach problems. it was fun to have jack tease miranda with a generic sexy fantasy and have miranda sort of play along by taking up the role of the straight man in the bit (although like part of this IS genuine, she's a braggart for real)

“I just find it fairly reductive, as far as fantasies go.”

“Yeah, well, excuse me for being a little light on sexy mad scientist fantasies, after the whole human test subject deal.”

Miranda tenses automatically, but Jack’s still watching her with that lazy grin, voice light, posture relaxed. It’s the first time she’s ever made a joke out of her history, with Miranda anyway, and the surprise of it startles a laugh out of her. Jack grins even wider, eyes sparkling.

this is also important - it's jack's olive branch, a final reassurance that the fight is over. it's playful, but also a display of trust to joke about something that traumatic

“Fair enough,” Miranda concedes. They’re nearly done now, so she might as well play along. “And what about this whole situation isn’t working for you?”

“Scenery could be better,” Jack says.

“Your apartment,” Miranda reminds her.

“Uniform is… not bad,” Jack says, and edges her boot up against Miranda’s heels, suggestively. It’s bold, a clever subversion of her recently imposed ‘no hands’ rule, so Miranda allows it, shifting her stance wider accommodatingly. Jack grins wolfishly in response. “A little unconventional. I guess you could be some kind of fucked up rich person nurse, in that getup.”

writing this kind of playful back and forth is always really fun, especially when i can ratchet up the sexual tension at the same time and really set the tone for the smut scene later lmao. i love the push and pull of the power dynamic with these characters

Jack nods at Miranda’s dress, but doesn’t make a move to reach out for her, which sends a tiny spark of pleasure up Miranda’s spine. She leans in closer as a reward, carefully stroking Jack’s face more for the simple joy of touching her than to continue the work of tending her wounds. “What else?”

miranda again usually plays the role of this uptight, restrained authority figure, but i love to emphasize that her interest in jack isn't just tied up in weird power games. she's got a soft side too, she takes pleasure in just being close to jack.

“Bedside manner is…”

“Cold?” Not the first time she’s gotten that feedback, no. There’s a reason Miranda didn’t decide to pursue a new career in medical services after the first wave of emergency triage was handled, in the aftermath of the Reaper War.

kind of a counterpoint to jack's joke earlier. miranda knows she can be too restrained. owning it here, in a light, casual kind of way, is an acknowledgement and, in a way, a thank you. she knows it takes patience from jack to put up with that.

“Colder than a Noverian hooker’s tits,” Jack agrees, solemnly. Then she leans into Miranda’s touch and adds, “But, y’know. Thawing.”

“Thawing,” Miranda repeats, voice flat and unimpressed despite the way her fingertips tingle against Jack’s skin, the rush of blood through her ears. “As evaluations go, this one is fairly mixed.”

“Just being honest.”

“And let me guess: you have some suggestions on how I could improve my performance.”

“A few,” Jack licks her lips, and it’s not hard to guess what those suggestions might be.

“And what makes you think I’d want to hear them?”

“C’mon, you’re such a perfectionist, It's got to be driving you crazy, not getting top marks. How about just one? To start.” Jack’s eyes are wide, full lips pursed into a pout Miranda wants to kiss off her face, her voice is eager, just slightly breathy.

“Fine. What’s your grand suggestion, then?”

“Y'know, you cleaned me up good, but this shit still hurts. How about you kiss me better?"

this last line was the prompt that kind of dictated the entire premise of the fic. there's something always really satisfying to me about starting a story from a prompt and finding a way to turn someone else's random line into a piece with something to say about the characters.

[justanotherpersonsuniverse]

Something I came up with for future Panthera stuff

New Ladyblog-Exclusive Release: First Interview with New Superheroine Queen Bee! (ft. Panthera Noire) [highlights]

Alya: Welcome, Queen Bee and Panthera Noire! Thanks for letting me do this interview.

Queen Bee: We're happy to be here.

Panthera: Thank you for having us.

Alya: Before we begin, I do want to remind you that you can stop a line of questioning down at any time. So, first off, how exactly did Queen Bee join the team?

Panthera: I already knew Queenie here pretty well. She was one of the people on the top of my list for potential heroes when we first needed the Bee's powers, and I got a chance to pick someone to add to the team.

QB: I know her hero persona pretty well in my civilian life, and while I didn't think I made enough of an impression to be considered for this, I'm not passing up the chance!

Panthera: Hey, no doubting yourself here. I wouldn't have chosen you if I didn't think it was a good idea. And if anyone says otherwise, tell me so I can bite their kneecaps off.

Alya: Tell us more about yourself, QB! How are you doing in life right now?

QB: There's not really much to tell. I'm not too proud of the person I am behind the mask, but I've been getting better. I have a better support system than I used to. Otherwise, I'm doing great! High grades, no financial issues, all that good stuff.

Alya: What kind of things do you do for fun?

QB: Most of my hobbies are more refined. Shopping and proper spa treatment have always been relaxing for me, and the friends I have make some of the more formal events I attend tolerable.

Panthera: *stage whispering* She really likes traumatizing people with anime-

QB: Hey!

Panthera: *smirking* She's a massive weeaboo and so are some of her friends. She even commissioned someone for a bo-

QB: MOVING ON! Next question.

Alya: How do you feel about your teammates?

QB: I haven't really talked with Rena Rouge and Carapace all that much, so I can't really say anything about them. They seem decently nice. As for the senior members of the team...

Panthera: She had the cutest celebrity crushes on both me and Ladybug. Watching your brain short-circuit whenever I talked to you was pretty fun.

QB: I wasn't that bad... anyway! Ladybug... cares a lot about everyone. Aggressively so. She gets mad at the team all the time for making decisions that put us in the way of harm, even if those decisions keep her protected and able to fix damage from akuma attacks. Whenever we make those types of sacrifices, it's less of a choice and more of an ultimatum.

Panthera: She means well, but she feels a bit responsible whenever we take the fall for her. Comes with the territory of being a reset button, sadly. I will say that she's absolutely the type of person who will scream positive affirmations at you and toss a water bottle and weighted blanket at you if she thinks you need it.

QB: I can at least agree with her on one thing: this stubborn cat needs proper emotional support and help!

Panthera: Queenie, I said I'm fine-

QB: I know you've got some issues you don't want to push onto us, but at least accept my offer to pay for therapy! If the team can't help you in the ways you need then at least-

*A blaring tone is heard as the screen displays a black background with yellow text reading, "Technical Difficulties, Jump-Cut in Progress"*

Alya: So Panthera, I know you've routinely denied having any sort of romantic relationship with Ladybug, but what exactly is your relationship with Queen Bee here?

Panthera: If you're implying what I think you are, I'm gonna shut that idea down before anyone else gets any ideas.

QB: Yeah, I love Panthera, but I don't think I could ever date her.

Panthera: Same. Besides, in her normal life, she's already got her eye on a special someone~

QB: Hey! Don't just go around saying things like that!

Panthera: Yeah, tsunderes aren't really my type. She's more like a daughter to me at this point.

QB: ...I am?

Panthera: Yep. I just need to file the adoption papers and get the mayor to legalize kidnapping. But in all honesty, I'm proud of how you've been doing, both in and out of the suit. Being a part of- oof!

*Queen Bee tackle-hugs Panthera Noire; Panthera freezes up for a moment before returning the hug. As the two hold each other, quiet mumbles of "thank you" can be heard from QB, who appears to be shaking a little bit.*

*A blaring tone is heard as the screen displays a black background with yellow text reading, "Technical Difficulties, Jump-Cut in Progress"*

Alya: That's all we have time for today. Any last words you want to want to give to Paris before you head out?

QB: Thanks for listening! I'll work to be the best hero I can be.

Panthera: I've only had Queenie on the team for a week and a half, but if anything happened to her, I'd kill everyone in this city and then myself.

Alya: Make sure to stay updated for when more videos drop! Ladyblogger, signing out!

I LOVE THEM

[toilet-bound-messenger]

TBHK theory: is Tsukasa really the "abuser"? + the meaning of the ropes

So I know that it is a common belief in the fandom that Hanako was abused by someone close to him since he did say that "he forgives it". And since he forgives it, it's obvious that it must be someone important to him, right? And that someone is most likely Tsukasa... or is it?

The reason why we think that is because of Hanako's reactions to when he runs into Tsukasa. So I guess a lot of us just assumed that he reacted that way because he's scared of Tsukasa. But I think that rather being scared of Tsukasa, he's scared of himself. Remember when he jumped on Yashiro after Tsukasa first showed up? I can't find the post anymore but I do remember someone saying that reenacting a past traumatic experience is a common way to "deal" with it. Thus he jumped on Yashiro to emulate that because seeing Tsukasa made him remember when he killed him. Which is why he's always so uncomfortable around Tsukasa: because it makes him think of a traumatic event. Not necessarily because Tsukasa was the "abuser".

We also have this image:

Which makes us think that Tsukasa might be the abuser because Hanako is bound by ropes while a shadow that looks like Hanako is saying something in his ear. A common idea here, is that the shadow is Tsukasa, however I'm not sure about that. If it really is Tsukasa, then why does he not have the patch on his right cheek? It might just be me, but besides the clothes, I think that the obvious way to tell Hanako and Tsukasa apart is the patches they have on their cheeks. Hanako's is on his left cheek and Tsukasa's is on the right. But as we can see the shadow doesn't have Tsukasa's patch. If the shadow does have a patch then it's on the side that we can't see: the left side, the same as Hanako's.

Thus, I think that this shadow might, or might not be a metaphoric representation of Hanako himself, fucking himself over and tying himself town out of guilt because he killed his brother. Hanako is blaming himself. After all, we can also see the knife being bound as a way to remind himself of what he did.

Oh, and let's talk about the ropes.

Another belief is that maybe Hanako was abused with ropes, that Tsukasa may have been into... bondage?? And he did that to his twin brother?? This doesn't sound right, doesn't it?

Tsuchigomori says: "you're always covered in cuts and bruises" but there's no mention of ropes. I mean, I'm only assuming here, but if the abuser really did use ropes then wouldn't they be easy to see? Tsuchigomori also says that it happens every single day so all the bruises he has on his body must always be fresh/recent, right? I would guess that rope bruises are really easy to identify whether you're a nurse or a normal person.

But then... What the hell do the ropes mean?! Well I have an easy answer to give: those ropes are a recurring theme in TBHK.

Almost all of the covers of the volumes have ropes on them and even side art from Aida.

Look at this:

So there could be 2 different explanations for this:

1) Aida likes drawing ropes

2) Ropes are a metaphor for something

I think it's obviously answer n°2.

Maybe what I'm going to say sounds super obvious, but I feel like ropes are a way to show us that all of those characters are "bound" together. Their stories and lives are all tied together since they're all important characters in the story and they're the ones to move the plot forward.

We can see it especially here:

The rope is tied to Hanako's pinky finger, and most times, in Japanese culture they call that the "red string of fate". Basically, you're tied to someone else. Which is most times your soulmate. That whole rope thing means that all of those characters' fates are tied to eachother.

But now the last point: if I don't think that the abuser is Tsukasa and that the rope doesn't mean that Hanako was abused with ropes then what the hell does this all mean? Who's the abuser?

Well to be honest... I don't know.

I think the obvious answer here would be their parents. I mean, we know nothing about them. Where are they?? Could Hanako and Tsukasa be orphans?

Maybe they were abused in the orphanage, after all, it's common knowledge that Japanese orphanages are shit. (Or at least they were shittier back then, maybe now it's better but I'm not a specialist in the subject.)

Also, isn't it weird how we always saw past Hanako but never past Tsukasa? Why? Why haven't we seen him yet? Maybe because Tsukasa was abused even more than Hanako.

Let me explain: we got this whole explanation

This is in chapter 46 when Amane was talking about Scorpius and Antares, and how they're actually twin stars but that one of the 2 is brighter than the other so you can only see one of them. (Sorry for the quality of the image, I can't find better.)

This is obviously a metaphor for Amane and Tsukasa. So what does it all mean?

Well, long story short: I think that Tsukasa wasn't allowed to go to school while Amane was.

If my orphanage theory is correct, then I would guess that the orphanage had funding issues (I mean, it's a problem even to this day and not only in Japan. Orphanages being short on money because the governement doesn't care enough to help abandoned kids is ocurrent.)

So I don't find that hard to believe that the orphanage might've been like "Fuck it! Let' send the older twin brother to school and the younger one can stay here. We can't afford to send all of our children to school after all." I mean it's weird, right? That in the flashback Tsuchigomori didn't even mention Tsukasa. If Tsukasa was really going to school and was the abuser then wouldn't Tsuchigomori be like "oh, it's weird how your twin brother doesn't have any bruises while you do. Is he the one to do this?"

But no. There is absolutely no mention of Tsukasa whatsoever. Which is really, really weird. I had twins in my classroom throughout elementary school and middle school and they were always put in the same classroom. So if Tsukasa really did go to school I would guess that they would not only be in the same classroom, but also Tsuchigomori would bring him up.

Thus while Amane was in school, Tsukasa was the one being abused, and that's why he's so fucked in the head. Because Tsukasa was actually the one getting most of the beatings, the cuts and the bruises.

Of course, school in Japan lasts longer than in the west with the clubs and all. But I would guess that Amane didn't join a club because he wanted to get back as quickly as possible to help his brother. That's why Amane didn't have any friends. Because he would always rush to the orphanage after school.

I think, Amane being the caring big brother he is, he would take the abuse instead of Tsukasa when he was "home" to protect him as much as he could, but since he was at school most of the time, Tsukasa was the one taking most of the beatings.

And since Amane was going to school, I would guess that they went "easier" on him so the teachers wouldn't call the cops on them. That's also why Amane decided "not to go anywhere anymore."

Because whenever he's away from his brother, Tsukasa gets hurt. Amane decided to throw his dream away to protect Tsukasa from the abusers.

And so, that is also why I think that Tsukasa has a mental illness. That's why he's so much more emotionally unstable than Amane. Hanako has obviously problems too, but Tsukasa is the one who got the short end of the stick.

I would guess, Tsukasa may be a sociopath at this point. A current belief, is that sociopaths like to hurt animals/kill them to feel something. When someone is abused, what the brain does is to "repress" emotions to feel less pain. That's how different mental illnesses get born.

For example, "dissociating" to feel like you're not you, to believe that it's someone else who's suffering right now your brain tries to make you believe that you're "out" of your body.

Dissociative personality disorder makes you develop multiple personalities inside yourself so you can switch between them and feel like you're safe while another personality is taking the abuse for you.

And then, of course, sociopathy, your brain "turns off" your emotions for you to stay "sane" but funnily enough, in the long run it makes you insane since you can't feel emotions in normal situations anymore.

A lot of mental illnesses come from traumatic experiences, they're defensive mechanisms after all. Mental illnesses are your brain trying to protect you from excessive pain...

This got dark real quick, sorry.

Anyway, this whole theory started with a thought I had: "Why would a sibling, not to mention a TWIN, abuse his brother?"

The conclusion I came to is: they wouldn't.

I'm not saying that it's definitely impossible at a 100% but I always found that weird how everyone thinks that a twin sibling would abuse his other sibling. Especially since twins are so close.

And to end it all...

I think that what went down with the Yugi siblings is that, one day they decided to end it all. They couldn't take the suffering anymore so they decided to kill themselves.

But right at the end, Tsukasa's emotions finally kicked in and he got scared at the last moment. And so, he begged Amane to finish the job. Amane then got traumatized from killing his brother and he ran to the girls' bathroom and hung himself out of guilt. Or maybe he also stabbed himself like Tsukasa? Who knows.

[purplerose244]

Thoughts journal Ninjago season 13!! 🖤🖤 (4/4)

Here we are, at the end of just another season of Ninjago! And I've gotta say, until now it has been very good, I think I'm liking this season better than Prime Empire and Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu. I liked them too, but this one feels more complete and deep, also LILLY GOT A BACKSTORY HECK YEAH 😍😍

Prime Empire had one really great ending, so I'm very curious how this season will conclude! Spinjitzu burst? Some last minute plot twist? Cole and Vania confirmed...? 🙄

Here we go!!

THE DARKEST HOUR

So I'm guessing the guys aren't doing too good at the moment 😅

I know this is kind of a tense situation, but honestly Kai looking so confused at having to lead cracks me up 😂 "Do I have to say it? Is that what being in charge means?"

Lloyd: YOU

Jay: SHALL

Kai: NOT

Zane: BE GRANTED THE PERMISSION TO TRAVERSE BEYOND THIS POINT

I have no words, that was such an obvious reference in full Zane style so in character, I have tears. Beautiful 🤣🤣

Also they all look SO COOL 💚💙❤🤍

My ninja babies fighting together screaming NINJA-GOO!! Really this season feels like we're back in the old days, so cool! And they are so in sync, Kai lifting Lloyd up and Zane pushing others away and I LOVE THE FIGHTING ANIMATIONS 🤩

Poor Skull dude, he's trying to do his big bad guy monologue and he keeps getting interrupted 😂

It was cute that both tribes immediately refused to surrender, not sure if it was for pride or they actually care about their new ninja friends, but it was nice

Aahh, near death life experiences, the best way to elicit teamwork 👍 Nice scene, nice cute scene

Nnnnnyyyggg, Lloyd, that's the sacrifice look right there 😱 At least they just turned themselves in peacefully after reuniting the tribes... aaand of course he was lying, I hate that Skull dude 👿👿

THE ASCENT

Back to team Cole! Back to the Upply! 🖤 Quick guys, we're only three episodes left!! NEED TO GO BIG!!

Heeeeeyy, Wu back in business! I kinda missed him a bit taking control of the situation, it used to be him because he was the master. It really is a jump into the past this season! 🤩🤩

Sure let's go with the explosive cart, not like Cole and the other ninja haven't been piloting a falling apart rocket back to Earth before 🤷‍♀️

A Mech on rolleskates, why not? Does Cole even know how to go on those though? He was already out of the Tournament of Elements during Chen's Thunder Blade so I don't really know...

Lolz the monster was actually waiting staring at the wall, guess you don't get much fun in this mine 😅

COOL FIGHTING SEQUENCE COOL FIGHTING SEQUENCE COOL FIGHTING SEQUENCE 🖤🖤🖤

And a poor old couple of civilians traumatized. They need to be trained by the people of Ninjago City on how to deal with weird appearances 💪

I guess we're doing this 😅 Gonna be honest, this is the first very evident sweet look I see from these two. I like Vania, a lot, but another classic love interest? Uuuuhhh, Idk, Imma see the rest of the season and see what happens 🤷‍♀️

A baby dragon on a giant spider, one of my favorite things ever on one thing I fear... I'll let it pass just because Adam is a good boy 🕷🕷🕷

GO VANIA GO GIRL LET HIM KNOW WHO IS THE BOSS HERE!!! 💛💛💛

THE UPPLY STRIKES BACK!

I really like these DnD guys, they've grown on me, let's see what they have in store! 😁

Munce and Geckles under chains, ninja in a cage, the Skull dude has the control, we're back when we started... sucks to be a ninja sometimes 😅

Omg I'm loving that this dude is trying so hard to be menacing and he keeps getting ignored 😂😂 Aww cute, you think you're the first that wants to destroy the ninja? Such a special little snowflake 😘 Evil monologue, we've been going for 13 seasons now with various specials and a movie, we heard it already 🤷‍♀️

Also the reveal, and he's all "Your friend Cole is dead" and Lloyd "That's what they all say, buddy" 👌👌

Poor Cole just wants justice for his mom HELP EMOTIONAL AGAIN

I'm all for Cole's personal team, they should do missions together, like Jay's team in Skybound!... that technically never happened, BUT STILL COOL 🖤💙🖤💙

Oh boy oh boy oh boy got the swords, confrontation ready, BRING IT!! Ninja team is all in for this!! ❤💚💙🤍🌊

REVOLUTION!!!! 💪💪💪💪

Swords aren't usually Cole's weapon of choice... BUT DANG IT HE CAN SWING THEM, HOLY GARMADON!!! THIS IS THE FIGHTING SCENES I WANT!!! 😍😍

How is this the episode prior the finale? It already feels like the finale! What else is going to happen?

SON'S OF LILY

Oh with a title like this, it's a given that I will not survive. Oh boy, here goes, the FINALE!

Chaos, chaos, beautiful dragon of death and distraction, also gently reminder that Mino is also a very good boy 💕 Are the skeletons connected to the skull? Are they gonna stop reform when Cole defeats the Skull Sorcerer?

The swords are not actually magical? Huh, first weapon in this show that turns out to be a fluke, apart maybe the Dragon Armor of the Firstborne... that one stayed intact at least 😅

HERE COMES THE VALKIRIES!!! *classic related music plays*

THIS. FIGHTING. SCENES. ARE. SO. FREAKING. GOOD 😍 Also wow sensei, full kamikaze with a dragon? I guess the sacrifice gene really runs into that family 😅

COLE NO DON'T HURT ROCK BABY 😭

"Always." KIRBY STOP MAKING ME CRY WITH YOUR AMAZING VOICE ACTING SKILLS ALSO HOLY HOOLA GANG

THAT'S LIKE A SPINJITZU WITH THE TRUE POTENTIAL OMG HECK YEAH SHINE COLE SHINE!!! 🖤🖤🖤

A bit red, could mistake it for Kai's, but it's an orange earth lava burst so I understand

Cole: okay guys, done my part

Cole: wake me up when next season is out

LOOK AT VANIA BECOMING THE QUEEN WITH THAT BEAUTIFUL ATTIRE AND USING COLE'S MOTHER QUOTE BECAUSE SHE LEARNED SO MUCH FROM COLE AWWW 💛

Okay, since there weren't evident references to Nexo Knights this season, can I pretend Fungus shooting fireworks is one? Merlok used to do that almost at every season finale... IMMA PRETEND 🙃

She is so adorable, I really love her. Wished we've seen more of her bond with her father, it felt a little easy her giving up on him. Idk, Sky and Chen didn't have that much of a bond but she struggled a lot! But she is super cool and cute, I ADORE her 💕

This sounds like a pretty good experience for Lloyd who FINALLY spent a season without being scarred for life!!! He even met a princess who didn't plan his death!!! Montgomery things are getting better 💚

Well, that surprised me, I guess Cole and Vania like each other but not heavily? Just a very light mood, like they care a lot but no other step further. I'm very happy about this choice, you can see it as a couple if you want, but you can also say they are just good friends. Nice 👍

Oh no, Wu got his midlife crisis, SOMEBODY STOPS HIM 😱

Wherever the wind will take them okay, wherever the producers will decide to torture them 😗

Overall, great finale! 😁

FINAL THOUGHTS

I think I enjoyed Prime Empire's finale more than this one, but this season with all of its episodes was absolutely AMAZING 🖤

The Skull Sorcerer wasn't necessarily a bad villain, but the story kinda went into another direction in my opinion so his part wasn't fundamental. Which isn't a bad thing for me, it's actually new and exciting see the attention to the story instead of the villain, and I did enjoy how they made fun of how cliche he was being 😂

Vania was GREAT. Wished we had more time with her father to really establish what kind of bond they had, but overall I loved her, new best girl acquired 💛💛💛

FREAKING ROCK MOM!! FREAKING LILLY!! I'm so emotional just thinking about this family, omg, THIS is the content I want for Ninjago! Impactful, that makes sense, connected to the heart that makes you so much closer to a character! Finally the Rock family is getting more complex 🖤

I think this season really gave Cole justice, we got her mom's story, we've got him leading a team again, we've got him with a cool new power! 😍😍

For the other ninja it was okay, I really liked the shenanigans with the tribes and the cultures were really fun to explore. Was kinda like a side quest and for me didn't bring that much to the main story, but it was fun and it's fair, Cole had all the attention he deserved 👌

FIGHTING ANIMATION OMG HECK FREAKING YEAH 10/NINJA-GOOOO ❤💚💙🖤🤍🌊

Beautiful designs for the characters, in particular the Shintaro citizens, and also wonderful backgrounds and sceneries, that I thought were starting to lack but here seems much nicer to look at 🤩

What can I say? Ninjago still knows how to mess with my heart, and I'm so very happy about it. I think the so wanted Cole season was definitely worth it 🖤🖤🖤

Now, I heard voices about a possible Nya season... ABSOLUTELY YES, YES TO EVERYTHING, QUEEN GETTING HER OWN SEASON YES YES YES!!! 😍😍😍🌊🌊🌊 Besides that apparently Maya will come back, which is a dream coming true, if they give Nya the same attention they gave to Cole this season, I will be happy 😊

[kannra21]

This time I watched Fugou Keiji Balance: Unlimited for real, meaning that all this knowledge I gained about that series from the previous time was just facts coming from different posts on Tumblr. And I got to know a lot about it thanks to you. You guys were a big help in figuring out some of the series' most important aspects, I appreciate your input on it.

Now that I’ve watched both episodes. I’m going to comment on some things I haven’t seen people talking much about, I’ll try giving it some highlight so I hope you enjoy.

1) The millionaire detective *or smtng more than that*-

Many expect the main character of the series to present himself in a way that he says his name and what he does for life, to give us an insight into who he is and to give us a better idea of what to expect of the series. But instead, the first episode opens with "I had a father and I had a mother", the series opens with a tragic story and tells us about the rich person's unfortunate life. Why's that? It's very important for Daisuke's character. Because, as we go through the series, the author probably predicted that audience would start judging him according to the way he treats people and work, just like Kato always does. The author tries to warn us not to judge a book by its covers. That's why it is so important that the beginning of the series opens this way.

2) Daisuke's and Kato's teamwork-

Daisuke, being a highly classified detective, knows his rights and what he can and can not do, which he exploits a great deal. He can damage people's vehicles and traffic control but he doesn't care, bc he's a detective and bc the law is on his side. He's using this same knowledge to reach his goal faster without wasting time on things that aren't that important, which means, morally or ethically important. Emotions like insecurity, guilt and regret aren't welcomed in this job. Sensitivity to other people's needs before yours are also irrelevant. Traumatizing a mother and a child from almost getting ran over isn't something that he'd preoccupy his mind with too much. He cares about the sufficiency of the mission and working in the favor of the government, as Ryo himself said.

Kato, on the other hand, is different. People come to him in the first place and the most important thing for him is to bring them peace and security, things that all police officers should actually have in mind. He is everything that Daisuke is not.

And when he told him "You're making quite the show here. How are you going to take responsibility for this?", we can notice that something clicked in Daisuke, that he told himself "ugh I went too far I should do something about it". And then he called HEUSC and told him to send reimbursements for DOUBLE the damage costs he caused for certain people. He also gave the Abura Emirate's seventh prince a billion yen when the car didn't even cost that much. So it’s evident that Daisuke does possess feelings like guilt, he just needs to be reminded of it.

The same goes for that scene when he tried to drop the vehicle into the river, Kato reached for the girl and told her to jump out. Daisuke doesn't care if she's a kid or if she's going to explode together with the van. It is important to him to save the rest + the kids are also considered criminals, he will take it upon himself to judge them as they actually deserved it. Kato, unlike him, can't let himself do that, he just can't. That's why he saved her and let her be with Hiroshi again. I love Kato for that.

Maybe Daisuke is a sufficient detective but Kato is there to remind him that the things he's doing aren't ok. He's giving him a sense of morality and ethics and that's why I think they're put together bc they make a great team. And they truly do, the problem is, Kato can't stand him. 😅

3) This funny moment-

I love how Kamei in the second episode found out ab the tragic death of some woman by going through one of his inappropriate sites and he's like: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

Kato *annoyed bc he's as well judging him for his perverted ways and lack of devotion towards work*: "Shut up Kamei."

Kamei *big sad*: "It says she died from a drug overdose. That centerfold model Akiko Hoshida..."

Kato: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA??!! SERIOUSLY?"

Which leads me to the conclusion that:

Kato isn't that much different from Kamei.

Kato prefers only a specific type of women while Kamei drolls over every woman who looks even remotely pretty.

Kato has a type because the deceased centerfold model Akiko Hoshida and Suzue look very alike. Kato is also into "innocent" women bc he himself is innocent, as Akira stated. + He knows how to cook, refuses to drink alcoholic beverages during work hours and is actually pretty soft. Kato is more lovable than Daisuke in those aspects.

4) Kato's cluelessness-

Because of being so innocent, Kato doesn't have the ability to criticize others or judge "the way they breathe". He's too good, too considerate, too emphatic. That's why Daisuke's here to break his pretty picture of the world they're living in.

Kato was so easily deceived by the street performers and it was actually funny. Why would they do it otherwise than for money? No one wants to make an idiot out of themselves without a certain price.

He also thought of Suzue as one of them, the drug dealers I mean, acting as liaison. And it made me laugh so much bc he didn't know what's going to hit him. 😂

5) HEUSC-

I love HEUSC so much, this technology stuff is so lit, I wish I had it. It can detect lies, analize time, deduce certain information just from the help of a person's credit card, how much income they have, how much they lost over a couple of days, when and where, what were they buying. It can detect a person, personal information ab where they're from, age and date of birth. It also shows the person's heart rate. It can even work as a magnifier and control the traffic lights, isn't it crazy??

Daisuke's heart rate is always 60 during the whole interrogation. He's so freaking calm.

You also need to understand that Daisuke's session lasted longer than Cho-san's who used weak points such as family members and sense of right and wrong. Daisuke needed some time until their negotiation was done, he gave money to a drug addict in exchange for an information while Cho-san didn't lose anything, he could as well just deceive his suspect and get away with it.

Take into account that Daisuke went through a special training in England so his protocols are different from the normal Japanese ones.

6) Daisuke's jealousy-

Lmao Daisuke is stealing friends. He invited Akira to his own ramen during their Isezaki case.

He said "I can risk my life for Kato" and omg let me tell you, Daisuke became jealous so he made a move and even paid him to get into a costume to lure Kato and the rest of the hooligans to the top.

7) The elevator scene-

Kato standing in the middle of the elevator and Daisuke standing close to the corner as pinned as possible is what made my day. 😂

8) On the rooftop-

Daisuke's heart rate is 72 when shooting from a bazooka in the helicopter. Still too calm but I'd say that he's in a good physical condition considering that he's into boxing.

BTW he accidentally shoot towards Kato bc his target wasn't detected, it only wrote "primary target", he didn't do it on purpose.

But the sole thought of "stank needs to be eliminated" gets me every time. 😂

9) Daisuke joining the MCI-

Daisuke circled around the topic and refused to give the answer about why he decided to become a detective by redirecting the conversation towards Kato.

Let me tell you something, I watched too many crime series to know why he did that.

The reason is very personal.

And at the beginning of the whole anime he introduced himself to us with “I had a father and I had a mother”. I think he's trying to find the culprit for his parent's murder.

10) His lack of sleep-

Although he has lots of money, people like Daisuke tend to afford themselves a nice and cozy sleep. Despite that, Daisuke has as much under eyes as Kato. Which makes me wonder what keeps him awake at night, what's he thinking ab. Is he traumatized in a way? I can't wait for the next episodes to arrive!

Btw while watching the anime I fell in love with Kato even more, such a great character.

[sausagerat]

WHY LEAFY IS MY FAVORITE CHARACTER!

I like Leafy. I believe Leafy is one of the most well written characters on the show. It's easy to write her off as "the nice one" and be done with it, but she's much more complex than that. While it is true that Leafy is very, very friendly, we shouldn't ignore that Leafy is prone to sudden outbursts. She can be very mean. And yes, there's more to it than just her purchasing Dream Island.

Lets look at Leafy in the original BFDI and her relationships with the other characters.

Leafy and Bubble have the most on again off again friendship in the series, and this is because of Leafy's own actions. All of their conflicts are born from her pettiness, or Leafy jumping to insane conclusions.

She tries to steal Bubble's friends away when upset with her (Ice Cube) and never wants to hear the other side and sees her story as the correct one (any argument with Bubble).

Even when Bubble tries to prove to Leafy that she's kind, Leafy often dismisses it as "not kind enough". She sees herself as the nicest contestant, having

"73 levels of niceness"

which I believe is quite telling... You can't measure niceness, and if you're really going around telling people about how nice you are, you're probably not that nice.. which is true for Leafy's case, since she finds it difficult to appreciate Bubble's efforts without comparing it to her imaginary niceness chart.

Worst of all this though, is that Leafy decides when to forgive Bubble. She never truly stays mad at her, making her outbursts that much more futile and reactionary. What's the point of getting upset when you will forgive her anyway? This confuses Bubble, and she even calls her out on their inconsistent relationship, but of course, Leafy jumps to the conclusion that she doesn't want to be friends and sticks with it. The flip flop between being friends and enemies can be a very unhealthy relationship for anyone, so Bubble really did say it best:

"we're friends, and then we're not, and then we're friends, and then we're not."

Now, knowing the unstable nature of Leafy and Bubble's friendship, this got me thinking about another relationship...

Firey and Leafy had the most purest relationship in BFDI. They just clicked, and had a strong bond between one another. That's not to say there wasn't a fair share of close pairs in BFDI, but Firey and Leafy were distinguishable from the others, as they actually seemed like good friends instead of being paired up solely because they were in an alliance or to get ahead of the game.

Firey and Leafy never suffered an unstable friendship, because they were always so in sync, he never did anything to upset Leafy, and their personalities combined to create the perfect chemistry.

Well, that is. Until..

I know some people hate Leafy for doing this, but her trust was betrayed by someone she really cared for, and she was denied access over something petty. (hmm .. does that sound familiar leafy?)

Regardless, while Firey honestly behaved out of character, Leafy buying Dream Island to fuck over Firey was in character. While I really disliked the finale, it at least got one thing correct: Leafy's character. She has always been shown to have outbursts if she feels what's being done is unfair to her, and this scene was no different.

However, BFDIA and onwards, there is a noticable change in Leafy's character, and I believe it is very likely because of her fallout with Firey.

In BFDIA, Leafy for most of the season hides out in Yoyleland to escape the hatred and execution of her former friends. She's unable to compete or interract, and is forced to remain in solitude for months. When confronted, she is immediately on edge and hostile, likely because she's still feeling betrayed and unjustified. For the entire run of season 2, Leafy has the short end of the stick. She is bitter and angry, and even when she decides to see Firey again, the root of all this torment happening to her, she is forgotten by even her closest friend.

Fast forward to BFB, where everything seems to finally be getting better for her. She is properly talking to people again, and at least half the characters seem to be on good terms with her, which is saying a lot for the past couple years for Leafy. However, something about her seems very off. She is aggressively kind, literally shouting about how much she wants to befriend people. You could argue this is a part of BFB's chaotic nature seeping its way through Leafy's personality, but I don't think it's that. Leafy. is traumatized. BFDI does a lot of timeskips, and it's never been confirmed what happened in-between IDFB and BFB, but regardless, Leafy has been accepted again. Due to her past experiences with being hated, she doesn't want to go through it again and lets everyone know how nice she is to both the original and newer contestants. Though she is still prone to her short temper and outbursts, she makes it clear to everyone that she wants to befriend the entire cast.

Though Leafy is on better terms with her peers, she still seems to be affected by her past. This is shown in her competing style in BFB, where her trauma with everyone on the island hating her and Firey's betrayal has caused her to be extremely untrustworthy of her team. Her kindness in BFB is a lot less natural due to this, and it feels as if she puts on a front. Who could blame her though? Why go through an entire cast hating you again? She just wants things to be normal. However, her leadership throughout her team shows how she's comfortable manipulating everyone's choices, knowing at all times what they're doing and if they're doing it correctly. This is why if they go against her, they are a lot less "loyal" to her, or untrustworthy. Her controlling nature makes sense, as if nobody goes against her and she's always in charge, nobody can betray her. She is afraid of unpredictability.

And since her fears, or "harshness" made this clear, she is voted off next episode. 

I know that she rejoins, but to be on a team with someone who is a constant reminder of your trauma, it must suck. To not know what you did to them, or why they forgot about you and hate you, is.. troubling to say the least. I personally don't mind if Firey and Leafy never interract  again, but I do want some closure. It's been lingering on for so long, how Leafy feels about it, and if she's truly okay, and I want an answer to know if she really is. 

Leafy isn't "nice" or "mean". She's complex and trying her best. Really, Leafy is very relatable as she's just someone who happens to do nice things sometimes and mean things sometimes, and could use a little more screentime. As surreal as BFB is, it seems to care about their characters more than the previous entries, and take them more seriously, so I'm hoping for something with Leafy too. She's my favorite and needs some love. ❤️

Day 2- Favorite Character

[sadboyfactory]

how come you ship sheith if you're anti billdip

HOOOOO BOY. Congrats, Anon, I took a whole minute of silence for this one. I’m gonna put this one under a cut. Below is a character analysis on why Sheith strikes a cord with me and a little bit on why I don’t ship billdip.

The two ships have no point of comparison. I don’t even know… how you jumped straight to billdip after questioning why I like Sheith, but I have to assume you’re speaking in reference of the age gap. 

Let me put it this way, the incomprehensible age gap between a 12 year old and a trans-dimensional mind demon that’s been around since the beginning of time is the last reason why I abhor that ship. Let me just clear this up right away and say that- in terms of age difference ALONE- The Voltron creators left their ages incredibly ambiguous and haven’t confirmed any actual age for ANY of their characters, as far as I know. Keith is stated to be “Late teens” and Shiro straight up isn’t even given a point of reference. It’s entirely possibly that they fall in line with my headcanons of Keith being 19.5 and Shiro being 24. In terms of age difference and power dynamics, let me tell you that It’s still a little…. ehhhh. Being 21 years old, I know that the difference between a 19 year old and a 21 year old can be pretty noticeable. When I was 19 with a 21 year old girlfriend there was a slight power dynamic and I sorta felt it. It wasn’t that strong, but I was still infantalized every so often and therefor not always taken seriously. When you also throw in that Shiro is Keiths superior officer as the Leader of Voltron, things start getting really unsteady in terms of the potential for a healthy relationship. When you also throw in that Shiro carries a lot of baggage from his time enslaved by the Galra, the possibility of a healthy relationship with someone four years younger than him goes down a lot. Okay now lemme take this to a new comparison for perspective.I think a more appropriate comparison would be my dislike of Tonks/Remus from the Harry Potter series. If Tonks and Keith are both willing, enthusiastic consenting adults in love with an older person who has been through an immense amount of stress and suffers from PTSD, then why do I think one is okay and not the other?EASY!!! Trust. Trust and Control. I think that Tonks love for Remus was pure and I really liked it. She saw that there was far more to love within Remus than there was to fear and she trusted him with all of her heart, and she was good for it! She’s not the one under question here, Remus is. Remus was never able to trust her ability to cope with his intense baggage. He rejected her love because it made him uncomfortable, then he second guessed their marriage. He flat out regretted having a child with her and he even ran away because he couldn’t cope. I’m sure that he loved his moments with her, I’m sure that when she was in the room then she was all he could think about, but if in the moments that he had alone to himself- if ALL he could think about was how much he was screwing up her life just so he could be happy, then is that a really healthy relationship? Sure he may have loved her, but he couldn’t trust that love.Why not? Well, I have a theory. Remus spent most of his life as an outcast living in a society that hated him on principle. He grew up with anti-werewolf propaganda screaming that he was a monster. Even if people didn’t know he was a werewolf, their anti-werewolf attitude still reinforced an image that He Was Wrong. He was an unloveable beast. The only time he felt truly comfortable was with his close knit group of friends in school and that’s because they not only accepted he was a werewolf right off the bat, but then went above and beyond to change THEIR LIVES just to make his better. Remus then had to watch the world descend into a horrific war that further demonized his kind, but on a more personal note it killed everyone he knew and loved, save for one who was imprisoned for becoming a murderer himself. He dealt with this alone for 12 years. Tonks grew up in a world after this war. She was safe and loved, smart and promising, with a golden ideal for the world. Her only major outstanding difference- being a metamorphmagus- was seen as a blessing or a fun quirk. Her crystal view of the world may be no less valid than his jaded view, shes not WRONG to believe in the best, but for him all he can think of is what straw is going to break the camels back and ruin her. Lets compare this to Sheith. Shiro and Keith have both been through the runner. We don’t know much about Shiro’s past, but what we do know can lead us to assume that he was prominent, trusted figure within the Galaxy Garrison and likely rose to his reputation as a legendary pilot quickly within his career there. As far as we know, his strife begins with the Galra abducting him. It’s hardly necessary to remind us that his time fighting as a gladiator for Zarkon was so traumatic it left him with heavily suppressed memories. Basically, it was a FUCKTON of traumatic stress in not a lot of time and to cope his memories went caput. His experience with the Galra has had a lasting negative effect on him, but largely he’s been able to work through a lot.Keith has been through a lot of stress too, and over mostly a long amount of time. We know he grew up mostly alone. We don’t know when his father left or died, but by the time he’s left the Garrison he’s an orphan. He has issues with authority, suggesting that even when his father WAS there he was still an unreliable person (though Keiths vision of his father depicts him as meaning a lot to Keith, so I doubt he was intentionally abusive) Keith is still undergoing a lot of stress, finding out that he is in part Galra and having the pressure put on him as heir to lead Voltron, among other things. Throughout both seasons we see that Keith is most comfortable relying on Shiro for stability. Keith undoubtedly trusts and loves Shiro in 100% canon (romantic love is debatable, its a ship its not canon). Now what’s interesting is that in season 2 we see the tables turn and Shiro right off the bat is put into a position in which he must rely on Keith or die. Shiro has no problem putting his life in Keiths hands and never once doubts him. From then on we can see him beginning to lean on Keith as a second in command, minimizing the power dynamics between them. I’ll be the first one to admit that I don’t have a lot of solid evidence to go on in terms of balancing out the age gap and the power dynamics, but that being said I’ve only ever watched Voltron (season 1 and 2) once, whereas I’ve seen Gravity Falls in its entirety no less than six times at LEAST and I’ve been reading and rereading Harry Potter for my entire life. I’ll probably need to do some hardcore character studying to really pin down why I like it so that I can explain myself eloquently. But please know, I’m kind of doing that right now. My fic Put it Together, Break it Apart is both a follow-up to Season 2 and an exploration of Keith/Shiro and where it does and doesn’t work. I will say this, I legitimately think that if Keith ever DID pursue a romantic relationship with him then Shiro would be cautious to say the least. Any relationship between them would HAVE to be built on mutual trust and the absolute certainty that this was something that BOTH of them wanted, and both Keith and Shiro would be setting some pretty hardcore boundaries. 

TL:DRBilldip isn’t a good comparison for the relationship dynamics, so I brought up Tonks/Remus. Tonks/Remus have similar starting points as Shiro and Keith in their relationship, the difference being that Remus does not trust himself nor Tonk’s ability to cope with his baggage, and therefor tries to control the relationship in a negative way by deciding to run away from her. Shiro and Keith both trust each other equally and Shiro has spent the last season lessening his control over Keith by slowly abolishing the power dynamics between them.

Now I’m gonna go into why billdip is a horrible ship.

Bill abused Dippers trust and gained absolute control over him. Dipper said “no” and Dipper said “Stop” and Bill didn’t care. Dippers literal actual body was used by Bill for Bills own purposes against Dippers will. It was so traumatic for Dipper that he showed symptoms of PTSD. Do you understand what I’m getting at here? 

Let me say it clearly, then, for the people in the back. Bill’s actions may not have been sexual in nature, but they are allegorical to that of rape. Dipper was a victim of extreme violence and manipulation at the hand of Bill. And that doesn’t even begin to cover Bills actual literal reign of terror over his family, his friends, his town, and his concept of reality. I can’t even begin to explain why the ship is unhealthy, are you sure we watched the same show?