Seeing that you've been here since 2012 is INSANE like you've witnessed it all huh. You've seen probably SO many weird and crazy things in this fandom like man that's so cool for you I feel...

ive def seen and participated in a lot of dumbass bullshit over the years LMAO. although notsomuch during the skybound-to-seabound era cuz i'd lost interest for a bit

Random shit I remember off the top of my head (plz feel free to fact-check):

deviantart era: (2012-2013)

that bright green ninjago ask meme

like, literally everybody making self-insert purple ninjas (sometimes orange, teal, or rainbow) and shipping them with their fav ninja

everyone making their own genderbends of the ninja. cole was almost always called nicole or colette lmao

people also naming their accounts (name)-the-ninja (or "teh-ninja", since this was 2012)

there's a non-zero probability that if you were in the fandom during the season 1 era, you're a furry now

naruto crossovers

half-snake ninja aus.........wonder who uh......who could've done that.....heheh (me) (that was my whole deal pre-nindroid!jay lmfao)

everyone posting like, doll-maker things they made of ninjago? especially dragon ones

(me) posting leaked screenshots of season 2 eps that i found on the lego wiki or smth lmao. this is also how i found out zane was a robot. i think i kept posting leaks when i moved to tumblr

legends of chima releasing and i thiiink it was supposed to be a ninjago replacement? like, legitimately? though a lot of people weren't happy about it. "furry gang drug wars" was a phrase used a lot lmfao.

tumblr era (2013-2016 for me) (may overlap with dA era)

everyone losing their minds over the shirtless ninja in ns2 lmfao

that one video of kirby marrow (rest in peace) saying cole was 14

that other vid of like, behind the scenes and it was the ninja's actors but like in-universe? it's where "cole bucket" comes from

also some behind the scenes vid with the actual voice actors lol

thinking back on this, im like 100% sure it was bullshit but when the end of rebooted aired, there was a rumor going around about fans being so upset over zane's death that they carved a snowflake on their stomachs. lots of people were freaking out lmfao

the rise and fall of "fucknoshittyninjagoOCs" (ashamed to say i heavily participated in harassing this blog even if i rlly didnt like the premise.........)

maypong

lots of tension with instagram cuz of all the art reposts. like. tons of reposts. i remember someone blocked me when i said to take something down but then unblocked me the same evening and apologized LOL so

roleplay twitter accounts (twitter was kinda not-as-a lot at the time)

nindroid!jay of course. its so old there was an update that was made in flash lmfao...

absolute fucking shitloads of AUs and headcanons. i dont think this has changed much but like. there were so many lmfao. entire threads

actually there's too many fucking AUs. im scrolling through my main blog and i cant fuckin find anything cuz ITS ALL THESE STUPID AU THREADS THEY AREN'T EVEN LIKE DEEP LMAO

ask-all-the-ninjagians

the absurd screenshot redraws i did. like they were super stupid lmfao. icr which blog they're on but they're on my comp still at least

ninjagians just. being a term used at all lmao

the ninjago fan-tournament during ns4. people would draw/write about their ocs doing whatever prompt was posted and then everyone came together to defeat a big bad snake man

tbh i started naturally losing interest during ns5, and then VERY QUICKLY dropped the show (and therefore fandom) when skybound came out lmao............... so i dont really remember a lot from this era and everything after

and now im back :D

i hope this is insightful! xD

Out of all the “villains” Valentino is the most effective because he’s actually threatening. Everytime he and Angel are on screen together theres a shift and scene gets very uncomfortable and unease because Valentino can actually hurt angel. He’s bark and bite. I’m more mad they viv and the va are trying to baby him and saying he’s just a big dumb drama uwu baby XD lol, because either viv is too ashame to admit she has a rape kink which there’s nothing to be ashamed about owe that shit, or she’s accidentally made a character she really likes a villain is front to gaslight people into thinking he’s not all bad? Idk it’s very bizarre to try to make light of a rapist, this like family guy quagmire level of gaslighting

Honestly, I feel like Valentino's all over the place with this. Every once in a while he'll have a moment where he's dangerous and intimidating or legitimately charming, and then Viv will ruin it because she can't write consistently to save her life.

Like the scene where he's leaving Angel messages and he's all "Amorcito, come home, it's not the same without you <3" and it works for a second, you can see how Angel fell into his arms and into his trap, and then the very next message he's yelling "KILL YOUR WHOLE FUCKING FAMILY" in the Curly Three Stooges voice he keeps lapsing into.

Why do you find Charles interesting?

I find Charles fascinating because I think that he's a very unique character. He's terrible in a multifaceted way that I think is often overlooked.

Fandom and Creator Attitudes

I feel like a lot of people write him off as "annoying" and ignore him, which is kind of irritating.

First, in writing Charles off as "annoying" without elaborating on that, we brush the actually-heinous things Charles does under the rug. Specifically in regards to Alastair. Like, no, he wasn't just a boorish boyfriend who neglected Alastair's needs! He was an abusive person who groomed him when he was a child, transparently used him for sex based on their behavior in ChoG, treated him consistently terribly, brainwashed him to the point that Cordelia compared Alastair-dating-Charles to Bracelet-James, and harassed him in public after they broke up. Let's talk about it beyond "lol what an annoying asshole!"

Unfortunately, the narrative and the fandom villainize him for being closeted. This is not a reason he sucks. Charles is a gay man in the early 1900s and should be allowed to chill in Narnia for as long as he wants. When we go "he needs to CoMe oUt," that's shitty. But it also brushes the perfectly legitimate reasons he should be villainized under the rug!

But second, in writing Charles off as "annoying," we ignore what a complex and layered character he is.

Why Is Charles Layered?

Charles Buford Fairchild is, mark my words, a pompous git. I don't want there to be any misunderstanding here. He is an arrogant, self-important douchebag who puts on an air of perceived authority and thinks he is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

And yet.

In addition to thinking he is the Coolest Thing in All the World, Charles also hates himself on a deep and fundamental level.

This dichotomy is fascinating. Charles isn't just made up of ambition, shame, and fear in equal parts. He's made up entirely of ambition, entirely of shame, and entirely of fear. All three of these things work together to form the character. They exacerbate each other. If Charles did not have so much ambition, he would not be so scared of his homosexuality; if he were not so ashamed, he would not be scared. But at the same time, that fear drives his ambition. He has to be the best, he has to be Consul, he has to matter.

Charles also is incredibly awkward. Like, sometimes he says and does awful things that I don't even necessarily think he means to.

I personally, like @faithfromanewperspective and @caterpillarinacave once said, believe Charles to be autistic.

He has 0 concept of how to engage with people, and he seems to follow pre-set rules when it comes to social interactions that don't always make sense. Exhibit A: talking to James when he destroys the Blackthorn's greenhouse. He has walked into this encounter with a preconceived idea that James has done something wrong; he is unable and unwilling to entertain otherwise, because he has already made up his mind. Charles Buford Fairchild simply cannot be wrong, not only because he's pompous but also because it would go off-script to be wrong. It would be awkward for him, and the way that he purports himself here illustrates that.

Defining Charles's Character Through Relationships

There's also something interesting to be said about his relationships with other people. His mother, whose footsteps he wants to follow in despite the fact that he has deep-rooted misogyny, yes. His father, who he seems to show absolutely no interest in, sure.

But, family-wise, I think it's interesting to pick apart the fact that he and Matthew are so different in an almost cultivated way. They seem to have each defined themselves against the other. Matthew is open, flamboyant, a libertine; Charles is a closeted, stuffy, sexually repressed person. They're both MLM. They just handle it in the exact opposite ways. And everything with Charles totally backfires in part because of this. Everybody loves openly bisexual Matthew; Charles knows this, but the fear that stems from having too much ambition convinces him that his homosexuality will be a barrier in the way of becoming Consul. He convinces himself (incorrectly) that Matthew has no ambition or drive; that all he does, and, yes, I think this is a very interestingly slut-shamey thing to say, is go to "clubs and salons and orgies." He's the classic Republican gay guy that has convinced himself that Matthew is the other kind of gay person that he doesn't like. Baffling. And, still, everyone loves Matthew. Astounding.

His relationship with Alastair, though vile and rancid, is also interesting on a narrative level. He's doubtlessly predatory, and he's very abusive - but I don't think that he views Alastair as a person that he's abusing. I think he views Alastair as another gay man, one that he is attracted to - and, thus, a constant reminder that he is gay. This supersedes Alastair the person and is in part a reason that he is so foul.

It's also interesting to note that Charles is the natural culmination of what a Charlotte/Henry baby would look like in its worst possible form. Charlotte's ambition and drive, but totally blown out of proportion into something ugly; Henry's desire to matter to the Shadow world magnified and redirected toward political pursuits rather than scientific ones.

In conclusion, he's fascinating.

Space lazar wolf responded with this to my reblog and I don’t know how they did it because I blocked them but either way 😵‍💫 I’m making this its own post because I don’t feel like unblocking them and entertaining a conversation with their stupid ass but I feel like this needs to be said.

first of all “consensual sex” it doesn’t matter if in this scenario it’s “consensual” or not. Because this scenario is fabricated. The fact that you’re conjuring up an idea for a story in which a lesbian fucks a man and promoting the idea that lesbians can actually fuck men is corrective rape rhetoric no matter if you say it’s “consensual” or not(ever heard of “Adam”?). Lesbians do not have sex with men(and no this isn’t me talking about lesbians with comphet who fucked men before realizing their sexuality, they are valid; I’m talking about lesbians who are aware that they are lesbians). We don’t want to. And saying that we do want to, or can, for ANY REASON AR ALL is literally promoting corrective rape. Do you not understand that?! If a lesbian does “have sex” with a man and it’s not because of a) comphet, b) being closeted, c) sex work or d) I’m actually not sure what the d is and if there is one then I forgot lol, then 100% that lesbian was actually raped by the man. 100 per fucking sent.

And secondly “corrective rape survivor” I’m legitimately sorry that you were correctively raped. Really, I am. But if you experienced this trauma then why in the fucking hell would you post about lesbians fucking men and unironically vouch for the idea that lesbians can fuck men, knowing damn well that this is the same idea that gets us correctively raped in the real world?! Like.

And before you say “nobody thinks that in real life, log off of your computer” I’m here to tell you otherwise. “Lesbians can fuck men” isn’t just a chronically online thing. It’s everywhere. It’s what every cishet(or at least attracted to women) man believes when they hit on us. It’s a fetish in porn. It’s used by men to lesbians as a threat when we’re not interested in them(and of course we’re not, because we’re lesbians, and lesbians don’t fuck men, I must continue to emphasize). Every lesbophobic man’s fantasy is that of a lesbian “taking their dick” and being turned into a straight girl who is totally happy to be their brainless passive sex doll forever and ever. And it’s all rape and coercion fantasies, whether the lesbian is presented as “consenting” to having sex with the man or not(and lbr most of the time they are not).

You are a corrective rape survivor and yet you are spouting and spreading the exact same fucking rhetoric that men use to force themselves upon lesbians and literally writing out a corrective rape fetishist’s fantasy dressed up in “totally kweer progressive inclusive” language and if you can’t see the irony in that then you are a sad fucking shell of a human being. I pity you. And you should be ashamed of yourself.

And frankly, if you think that lesbians can fuck or be attracted to men then you are literally no better than the men who prey on us and threaten/try to/actually rape us. End of story.

Do better.

GEEZ this complete lamp of the body story was such an amazing and sinister read!

The two main theories I had going into Dark Light Within were either a) nightmares were caused by residue nen leftover in the eyes after the death of one of the kurta victims or b) nightmares caused by Chrollo himself tormenting reader for some unforeseen but necessary purpose (at the time I assumed, the suffocation might have been a troupe member or chrollo himself trying to pin down reader due to the process of implanting the eyes being potentially very painful and/or traumatic. And the reason the pain and nightmares kept continuing, I assumed, was due to Chrollo needing to constantly use nen or some convoluted/agonising procedure in order to make sure the eyes wouldn't 'reject' their new host since they're the body parts of such a unique and isolated ethnic group).

In the end, I was halfway right on both parts, but even so, I didn't expect the reason for Chrollo to be doing all this to be so callous. Because wow, this was definitely one of the cruelest Chrollo's fics out there! I was lulled into a sense of false security in part 1 due to how soothing and considerate he behaved (albeit still controlling and manipulative) but fuck, here? He was absolutely merciless; partly shown in how violently he fucked the reader, but ESPECIALLY in the way he deceives and violates her so deeply with literally zero remorse or regret during his POV. Like god, he's such a selfish bastard. The cheek! When I first read the line about him smiling after reader confirmed they'd never leave him, I definitely thought he'd felt genuine relief that she'd never abandon him. But lol, now? All I can think about is how smug and smarmy that smile must have been because his sneaky ass knew DAMN well how codependent reader was – he said it himself, he didn't even need Pakunoda to see how distressed she was without him. And yet, he had the gall to act like he was legitimately worried over her leaving him. Classic husband crying tears for sympathy when they abuse their spouse technique and he's not even ashamed about it.

And UGH... The fact he was so focused on the eyes when fucking reader... it really gave the impression he was objectifying her so deeply, roughly treating her like a breathing fleshlight in the pursuit of getting off to the radiance of the scarlet eyes, a body part that doesn't even belong to her, like her own actual physical beauty has diminished in the light of the kurta eyes next to them. Like her actual body was, at least in that moment, just a tool for Chrollo to indulge in an old unearthed obsession. The fact he so insidiously objectifies both this poor dead kurta clan victim AND reader, both subjects of his viciousness and abuse in completely different ways, and gets off to the fact that one of his murder victims is being forced into a form of intimacy with him after he literally snuffed them out... This poor kurta clan member can't receive any rest or peace or dignity even in death... Just horrible. Not to mention the fact he was completely unbothered by the fact that hunting for the eyes for so long was inducing so much pent up anxiety and stress in reader, especially considering she'd just suffered such a deeply isolating and traumatic accident. The fact he feels zero guilt in torturing/tormenting reader for months on end both awake and when she was asleep, completely vulnerable, even though the night terrors and panic attacks clearly traumatised and debilitated her. His callous usage of her for his own curiosity/sadistic pleasure escalates to the point he becomes so audacious he chokes her during a moment where she's genuinely lucid! He doesn't even care anymore that he's strangling her whilst she's wide awake! And the worst part is she's just too deferential towards him to legitimately confront it.

Which leads to the saddest person in the fic: poor poor reader. Honestly, when it comes to stories like this, I feel like people tend to believe aggressive readers that are combative and fight back are the ones who suffer the most since their obviously resistant behaviour tends to inspire rage in the yandere in question and severe punishment as a result. But I've always felt like readers such as this one, readers who are overly generous and submissive are amongst the most tragic of all, because by being so forgiving and boundary-less, they allow insatiable yanderes like Chrollo here, to take more and more and more of their dignity, their identity, their personhood... They're so profoundly mutilated from their own self-worth they just let things like this happen, their lack of sense of self/independence and the normalisation of their abuse is so ingrained it feels like even daring to fight for their own worth and dignity would be arrogant, selfish ... almost even petty. It's like watching a prey animal just lie down and do nothing whilst it's being eaten alive by a tiger, completely giving up on themselves and their own existence, giving in completely to the unrelenting oppressiveness of their environment. Though, having said all that... I do have to wonder if Chrollo may have shot himself in the foot here. Because those scarlet eyes still have nen in them, given how they interacted, if only fleetingly, with reader. I wonder if being attached to a living body now, and being activated to glow scarlet so often, especially by their own personal killer, will inspire that nen to grow, and lead to a subtle growing resentment/bloodthirstiness in reader that Chrollo won't see coming, especially from so 'servile' a victim. It would certainly be a very ironic and very deserved case of hubris if that were to happen, made even more poignant by the fact that it would be ushered into motion by one of Chrollo's past victims empowering the current. Like his victims are somehow uniting, empowering, uplifting each other, in whatever small ways they can, even after death, to gnaw at the chain of Chrollo's iron abuse.

Just amazing, I had a hell of a time reading this fic – left me thinking on ever since it was posted, thank you so so much <3 🩷❤️

First off, thank you so much for sending this! It was a lot of fun to read over all of your thoughts regarding my fic❤️❤️❤️

I had a lot of moments while writing this where I thought to myself of just how awful Chrollo was being to both reader and especially the unknown member of the Kurta Clan. You're absolutely correct when you say that they can't get any peace or dignity in death. Chrollo is just too selfish and greedy

Poor reader really should've stayed home that day and dealt with being a lil lonely while she waited for Chrollo to come back😭

I'm very glad that you enjoyed the fic! It always makes me happy to hear when people enjoy my work! And thank you again for this detailed message. It was very nice to see when I opened up my inbox today🥰🥰🥰

Last sin I can legitimately feel ashamed for.

I wrote a fic in 2018, it's a terrible terrible fic abt Lloyd x lol not telling that I completly forgot abt. I recently had to go through the entire explicit tag to make a joke abt the nonexistence of decent explicit ninjago fics, and I found it abt a month ago. It has 7k hits, 190 kudos, 140 comments. Most is just one guy begging me to update and another telling me to get cheated on and that I'm a cheater and anyone who reads this fic will be subjected to cheating. Which is so fucking funny. And I shouldn't write a chapter two. The sin is I want to...while also the sin of having wrote it and not hating it years later. Like I reread it and it's not horrible. I'm proud of this thing and that my writing has held up 5yrs after the fact, and I want to slap myself for thinking that.

So...yeah. that's the last sin that I feel disgusting, recoiling shame for. There r more but I'm being annoying enough as it is with 3 seperate asks. So thx for letting me talk abt it. <3

You've got something wired weird in your brain. I don't know what I can do to help you.

do some soul searching on why you want to write a part 2. cuz that's weird.

also, obviously, you can not under any circumstance do that. In fact, write an update to at least two other abandoned projects to compensate for that thought. or start some projects you have neglected to write if you don't have stuff to update.

i really appreciate your positivity post about those of us who can't wear masks outside in the heat. i don't know if i have anything diagnosable but i'm definitely disabled nonetheless in such a way that i can't stand outside very long without getting extremely tired/dizzy/sick/miserable/etc. and i feel like i'm very prone to heat stroke due to how physically weak i am by default, especially since my climate is so fucking hot & humid and probably one of the worst such places in the whole country (i'd imagine at least?). it certainly doesn't help that the masks we have that aren't the classic N95s are all... black and absorb the sunlight lol. i know a lot of karens complain that they can't breathe when they have to go shopping for 20 minutes that way and it's pathetic to us but i legitimately feel trapped, panicked, and overheated when i can't breathe freely. it's overwhelming for sure!

yw!! I've been being kinder to myself about it and I still have some anxiety over it, but I wanted to share cuz like. we're the last people who should be beating ourselves up. we cant control that our bodies dont do well in heat, and we shouldnt be risking immediate serious illness or death. and we shouldnt feel ashamed because some comparatively abled people whined and are still whining about masks.

so yeah. i hope you're able to stay cool and safe this summer ♡ and its comforting to know im not alone

Y’know how there’s fan clubs and fanfiction and Player x Reader stuff?

What if the main four found it, or other people outside of the Reader fan club. I’m pretty sure 2bDamned would secretly use these to try and satisfy his suppressed needs only to find himself needing Reader like ten times more.

Hank would be jealous and try to kill the poor authors probably.

Idk about the rest but the idea of them constantly fawning over Reader even when they’re not around would be adorable.

I love this idea so much, thank you lol. I'm not quite sure how it would work chronologically for the Main Four, but let's say for brevity's sake that you happened to control them somehow before coming into Nevada and visiting the Nexus (also starting off their knowledge of and obsession with you in the process). The most likely scenario is that Doc and Deimos find a multitude of emails when they're going through a database. They immediately stop skimming the paragraphs once they realize the actual subject of them, going from bored to completely enthralled in an instant. The Nexus Core workers wrote fanfiction about you? And had dedicated clubs for it and your "fans"? They all reacted to it a bit differently.

To begin with those who first found them, Deimos kinda grows addicted to reading the fanfics? They fuel his already abundant daydreams about what being in a relationship with you will be like, giving him new ideas to think about and consider when he plans out dates and things like that. Don't get him wrong, he's a bit (extremely) jealous that all of these grunts have met you in person before him, but the content they make just gets him more excited to finally have you in front of him. He also probably makes a sock puppet account so he can infiltrate the chats they have to get more of the fics directly and fawn over you with the Nexus workers lol.

Doc is similar, but he initially uses them as a way to "act out" any fantasies he's been focusing on in his head to try and get them out of his system before he goes to work. He figures if he spends a few hours immersing himself in content about you, his brain might get tired of it just enough to allow him some actual focus. It doesn't work though. The temptation of having stories about you at his fingertips is something he can't help but fall into, and he has to catch himself before he spends the entire day reading story after story about you. It's worse because the writers have actually seen you up close, so he knows the details about the way your eyes appear, how you smell, or the little mannerisms you have are probably accurate. It only makes his obsession with you larger, and his yearning to actually meet you himself reaches a new high. He has to see you now, he needs to. Soon he's going back to the emails to find any information regarding your precise location. It'll bring the SQ in direct conflict with the Nexus Core if he isn't careful, but he doesn't care. Getting you was vital, no matter the consequence.

Hank is angry once he learns about it. He feels he should've expected it; you're absolutely perfect in his eyes, so of course people would fawn over you like this. However, the fact that someone other than him is doing it and having romantic fantasies makes him incredibly jealous. The fact that these grunts supposedly "know" you only makes it worse, since he considered them legitimate threats to your impending relationship. In all likelihood, he'll make a point of "visiting" any Nexus facilities they mention to get rid of as much of his competition as possible. Besides, maybe you'll even be impressed by his efforts. They are proof of his love, after all.

Sanford's a little ashamed by how much he finds himself liking them, and mortified by the thought of you finding out. As such, they're a complete guilty pleasure for him. Seriously, he's red with embarrassment the entire time he reads the words and he actually has to take a break if the fic gets a bit too hot and heavy (let's just say that Sanford's vivid imagination runs a little wild with this lol). He's self-aware to the extreme here, worried that you know about the fics' existence and thinks they're creepy so he'll be considered creepy by extension, it's a whole jumbled mess. And yet, he can't help himself. He's honestly a little jealous of how your "fan club" is so open about their love for you, but that's overshadowed by how envious he is that they've actually met you. It makes him wonder how much of these scenarios you'd actually do, cause they must've been inspired by something, right?

As for the others outside of the main four, Hofnarr is well aware of his worker's escapades related to you, and he feels a little conflicted. On one hand, he knows you personally, so he thinks it's very improper to be indulging in fantastical stories about you behind your back. (Especially with the more...risque things the Nexus Core grunts come up with.) But on the other hand, they're very entertaining? At least, that's the excuse he comes up with for reading them. (It's totally not because you're so busy that he finds himself yearning for more of your presence at all times, of course not, that'd be so selfish-) As for the fan clubs, let's just say he's a valued patron for some of their merchandise and may or may not be considered a senior member (even if it's honorary).

Contrary to popular belief, Jeb does have some idea of the stuff the Nexus Core does with regards to you. It'd be weirder for him not to, especially after finding a keychain with your face on it in one of Hofnarr's desk drawers. But he isn't clued in on the fanfics about you, which is lucky for the Nexus grunts considering his horrified reaction to Phobos' own works. He just thinks the trinkets they make are an innocent form of idolization; it's not like their devotion towards you could ever come close to his, so he sees no reason to intervene too much. (Outside of maybe keeping them from interacting with you for prolonged periods, if he sees them getting a little too comfy in your presence.) Although he's also seriously considering asking Hofnarr to get him some item related to you.

Do you really think Ahsoka doesn't believe Obi-Wan tried to save Anakin ? And what do you think her feelings were when she felt their deaths ?

you know, i've thought about it and in the last few episodes of The Clone Wars Ahsoka and Obi-wan were really on the outs with each other more than they EVER were in the entire run of the show.

They even have a legitimate argument in public in front of Anakin. They are having an angry daughter/strict dad type fight with Ahsoka having unvented resentment towards Obi-wan regarding her feelings of betrayal post-trial.

I think Ahsoka, at that point, having been essentially kicked out of the Order definitely harbors some anger towards Obi-wan (a Council member who had a say in her treatment during the trial).

Of course Obi-wan's actions during that time period were in what he saw as her best interest - he wanted to keep the integrity of the Order afloat for her future and also maybe wanted to teach her a, yes terrifying and very ill-conceived, lesson in the same (definitely misguided) vein of his Rako Hardeen arc. But the fact is he and Plo Koon were two of the only Council members who dissented & voted NOT to remove her from the Order - but Ahsoka doesn't know that for sure.

Obi-wan adores Ahsoka. He is her protector alongside Anakin - she in canon considers them her parents. This whole ordeal hurt her greatly.

But Ahsoka doesn't know Obi-wan's private thoughts as a Council member and he doesn't openly share them either. He doesn't make grand gestures of devotion.

Ahsoka only knows Anakin ran after her, begging her to stay, letting her escape, getting her Padme as her legal representative, swearing to her that he would do anything to clear her name, that he would not stop until it was done, and he did it.

He did clear her name and save her.

Ahsoka would never, ever forget that.

She remembers that moment and regrets she was not there to do the same for Anakin, who she grew to respect as a friend and compatriot. To stand up for him when no one else would or be the last voice in dissent when everyone else thought he was lost.

Her last words in the Clone Wars with Obi-wan, very interestingly, were in a quick stilted sort of half-apology type convo scuttling around the whole ordeal from Obi who was fumbling a little. From what I remember. And then Ahsoka cuts to the chase and warns him about Anakin, that something is going to happen to Anakin (as per Maul), to protect Anakin and to tell him something for her.

She knew Obi-wan was going to confront Anakin and something big was going to happen.

So I do think Ahsoka might hold some lingering resentment (and doubt) towards Obi-wan -- seeing what happened to Anakin's body in Rebels, and also not exactly knowing what happened on Mustafar. She is out of the loop to a degree. Naturally, Obi-wan (in true Obi fashion) might have wanted to keep it all from her to protect her image of Anakin. But he also was definitely more than a little ashamed that he - what he sees as - failed Anakin and Ahsoka.

And no, I don't think Ahsoka would have seen chopping Anakin's limbs off and leaving him to burn while he was still alive as the optimal way to handle that situation lol... I think she would've tried to neutralize him and then bring him in, captured, etc.

That pivotal moment on Mustafar I can see her trying different means to subdue and capture this new person Vader who inhabited Anakin. The change was fresh, the possibilities still there. (And she was less experienced than Obi-wan but also free of the strictures of being a Jedi... open to her emotions and willingness to fight for her attachment, Obi-wan on the other hand at Mustafar was overwhelmed and astonished by this as-yet unadmitted emotional turmoil he had regarding Anakin & his own capacity for attachment). In Rebels she was fully ready to die fighting Vader to avenge Anakin, all to show Anakin she would never leave him alone again.

She didn't know Obi-wan left the lavafields heartbroken after confessing his love. She didn't know she probably risked being turned herself on Mustafar if she was there. There are a lot of unknowns and half-knowns and tragedies involved there.

And of course, she is still following Obi-wan's guidance in Rebels via his holocron message, so she still loves and trusts Obi-wan, but I can definitely see there being some resentment towards Obi-wan on Ahsoka's part for a time. She probably even resents him in a way (even though she's an experienced war commander) for not making an effort to find her after the Republic fell. Obi-wan was her only remaining 'parent' (in her eyes) and he left her alone.

But Obi may have looked for her and secretly kept tabs on her - and we don't know it yet!

Maybe we will get a resolution to this in the Ahsoka show! I'm sure we will get a lot of juicy Ahsoka-Obi insights during the show and I am looking forward to it.

As for how Ahsoka felt when she senses their deaths? I think she felt very much at peace finally after all those years. She knew Obi-wan entered the Force in peace (and I like to think he visited her as a Ghost and spoke to her!). And I think when she felt Anakin join the Force she felt utter relief and happiness.

She knew Anakin was free as he never was in life. I think, being older and wiser now, and the ultimate in-verse Ani Stan, she knew how much Anakin suffered and what he carried and wanted him free at any cost.

And best of all, she knew they were together again in the Force!

I think that would give her the most comfort of all, and allowed her to go on and live in peace. I like to think that they'd ask her, as ghosts, after reconciliation, to watch over the family - Leia, Luke, and any of their descedants and attachments, alongside supporting her in her own ventures (and pestering her incessantly as ghosts).

Which we all know she hates to love & loves to hate.

Hii!! I’m not sure if you’re still doing the ship thing with Evan peters or not but I’d like to give it a try!! I’m 5’6 and I have dirty blonde hair and an outgrown wolfcut and I have grayish tired eyes, my eyebags are pretty prominent and I’m decently pale and I have wide lips !! I also have a resting sad face LOL but moving on to personality I’m a very quiet person and I don’t really talk much unless I’m comfortable around the person & im very very sarcastic so sometimes I can’t take things seriously 😭😭 but regardless im always there to be a helping hand to anybody, I love helping people in like every way from opening a bottle to just needing advice. I’mVERYYYYYY forgetful and recently I’ve legitimately have been forgetting everything (crying for helpp) so it’s hard to keep up with things and especially when replying to people or just doing daily tasks. I’m a very open minded person and YEAHH moving on to love language mine would probably be acts of service or just like anything in general I love making/seeing people happy because it makes me happy and it’s honestly just good all around !! Any aspect of love language leads back to it and I love it so much because I honestly would just want my partner to know how much I would care for them like a little caretaker but I also like physical touch because I ALWAYSS have to be touching something so it’s just comforting! Moving onto my Interests I love LOVE LOVEE watching movies or series it keeps me Really entertained and I also love going on walks they are just so comforting! I like to draw and edit especially my fixations !! Anyway I hope I didn’t overflow you with info and if you do mine thank you in advance !!<3

Hello my love! How are you?

Thank you sending ‼️

This was so easy!!! BECAUSE YOU AND...

* drum sound * 🥁🥁🥁🥁

TATE LANGDON ARE PERFECT TOGETHER!

Really! You and him would be so perfect!

For starters, I feel like you have certain physical aspects that resemble Violet and if he was interested in her, he would clearly be interested in you too! You were probably going to meet, because one of you was alone in a work group for school and you had to stay together, starting your story.

He would love the way you like to see others happy and would do his best to see you happy. He would literally do anything, even if it was killing someone (which wouldn't be difficult for him hahah jk).

I imagine you arguing with him to go out for a bit, since he spent his days locked up! But he would still do it just to please you and get some vitamin D hahahah

You would probably have a series in common that you would watch over and over again.

The way you would like people to express love to you is what Tate is. You were going to say "I really wanted a new picture to paint" and he would be there with one the next day. You would have the laces on your sneakers untied and he would kneel down to fix them.

Again Thank you for sending! Comment if you like it! Don't be ashamed my love!

Here's some spoilers and discussion about my initial thoughts on Kingdom Hearts 2 below.

Nearing the end of my KH2 journey... I'd say this has probably been my favorite game so far, out of KH1, CoM, and now this. Overall, I'd say I like the composition of the story of CoM a tad more, but goddamn if the intro and outro haven't gone especially hard on KH2 (also has just generally been littered with several moments that have made the characters very endearing). And the gameplay... woo, actually is super fun. I love the love put into the reaction commands, and every fight is like a movie.

I got past the Roxas fight after like... 40+ tries, and was regretting immensely I decided to play in Proud mode. Never got frustrated at my boy, though- was just filled with respect, and it's seriously the best fight in the franchise thus far for me for giving well designed attacks that I felt were effectively telegraphed. I'm not quite sure how/why Roxas led Sora into what I assume was an internal battle, since he already seemed reabsorbed within Sora's being, but I can only assume Axel's sacrifice (since that happened right before this fight) must've reawoken him, in a way ("Tell me why 'he' chose you!") Poor Roxas has been having his life stolen. The Nobody dehumanization is such shit, dude. Roxas banging on Sora's braced keyblade over and over with that level of ferocity is fueled by such obvious rage that it's undeniable. God, he's living in my head unapologetically.

Meanwhile Xigbar was also... a fight. Less filled with respect, more frustrated about that one, lol. (I thought the sniper mechanics were pretty sick, though. Felt like I was doing Orbonne Monastary in FFXIV again). Can't help but assume several of these Organization members may maintain relevance in future installments in some way, since several seemed to have implied information/backstory that remained unrevealed prior to their disappearance (looking at you, Xigbar [casually referencing that there's been other Keyblade wielders before dying with zero explanation] and Saïx). The next game, 358/2 Days, looks like it's dealing with the Organization in what I assume is a prequel, so maybe backstory will be there?

Kairi and Riku have made my heart warm, and the whole trio's love for each other is honestly so sweet. I keep thinking about their reunion scenes and it's just... aaa, I feel crazy about it. When Kairi lowered Riku's hood and saw the face of Xehanort's Heartless and Riku looked so ashamed (then it cut away?? how dare), when Riku shielded Kairi with his body from Saïx's attack, when Kairi hugged Sora and said "this is real" because 😭 girl your abandonment issues and unachievable desire for constancy are making me feel things, and she's been struggling with the phantom sensation of forgetting someone she cared about for an entire y e a r, so having that confirmation... man. *Staring out to the ocean*

Felt so bad for her that Sora was so awkward about the hug she deeply needed, and didn't even realize the absence of the music until Sora reunited with Riku. 😂 And... oh my god, haha, that part got me. Not surprised that the Sixth Sense kid can pack a gut punch, ofc, he's got a long history of films making me weep, but like... "I looked for you! I looked everywhere for you!" While Sora was crying on his k n e e s and grasping Riku's hand like a lifeline was such amazing emotional payoff. Like, I've been joking with friends about Sora's unwavering "Riku, Riku, Riku" throughout the entire game, but damn if that didn't do a good job of making me invested via Sora, goddamn. I'm so happy my kid gets to see his silver haired punk again. And wowie, they're such a power duo? Their limit break "Eternal Session" is legitimately one of my favorite limit breaks alongside Vincent Valentine's "Satan Slam," from FF7 now. The synchrony of the dance where they pass off the weapons to each other, smooth as butter? Them going "back to back" between the different phases of their LB? (Which is adding to my evaluation of the poems from CoM I've had in the back of my head the entire damn game, by the way...) The clash of their keyblades, and the duality red-blue color scheme? Be still, my artistic heart, they're too much. For this, and the honestly impressive expression and facial rigging for what is a PS2 game, I want to give the animators a smooch.

All I want now is to know where tf Riku pulled Kairi's Keyblade from, and how she's apparently a chosen wielder too. Like, okay??? But where? How?

Oh, also would like Riku to see someone about his hand, that doesn't look too comfortable. My guy can be a badass all he wants, but if he doesn't drink his milk, put an actual cast around his wrist, and bit of work leave off from world-saving shenanigans, he's gonna be a certified hero with post-traumatic arthritis 10~ years down his little road to dawn. Apparently working for Ansem the Wise doesn't provide great health coverage.

How are you so talented and where do you get the drive to make all these wonderful AUs please tell us your secrets!

Oh man. You don’t know about how depressed I was yesterday hfkdbdkdbsks

Uh. Spite. Seriously tho, while discipline and skill has a lot to do with it, you do need to have fun with it! Learn to do things even when you don’t want to do it that day. Learn to sit down power through it. Yes motivation helps A LOT but it can only get you so far. TCOD is a story that ive been developing for a while now and I wanted to work on it. Tho I had so many failed comics before that I never finished so I was afraid that that’s how it was gonna be with mine (I actually didn’t tell anyone about it until I was way far ahead cuz I was ashamed of my past failures dbdnbdjd but I didn’t have any folllowefs so it wasn’t a big deal) but I love the story and I’m still working on it! You really need to be entertained with a story enough to want to do something with it. Also don’t over work yourself, cuz you won’t want to do it. I tell myself to work on one page a week which can be very easy for very difficult depending on how I feel. But it helps!

Now with having several aus…. Uh… none of them are going well except for TCOD. I haven’t figured out the beginning of THOF (which I do want to do something with) and lbl is not going well, probably cuz I’m bored with the prologue lol. Not a lot of links meeting for a links meet au. But I want to do stuff for these stories. For me, if something isn’t working then I gotta scrap it and start over or change it just so I can move on lol. And if this was sparked from my last fic… hooo boy I was legitimately depressed yesterday and last night, but I had to scrap the first draft and start over for me to actually want to edit it.

I’m rambling a lot so let me just… simplify this fhdjfbdjbd

TLDR;

Learn discipline and don’t depend on motivation

Know your limits

Sometimes you gotta redo the whole thing which sucks but it helps a lot

You will make mistakes and that is ok! You just gotta learn from them. Easier said than done to get rid of perfectionism but mistakes will be made

And have fun! Otherwise you’ll get bored and you won’t wanna keep working on it. Having fun will give you random moments of motivation!

On Fandom

"So you know how sometimes a piece of media stops being just a movie or just a series or just a whatever and becomes, like, a legitimately important part of your life?"

-arisha on LJ

For me, that was Escaflowne.

When you consume a piece of media at the perfect time in your life, it just really sticks to you and becomes more than just that thing. It becomes a marker for who you were at the time, no matter how cringey. And if the work is really, really good, it'll be a joy to revisit years later when you've grown up and can look at it with different eyes. I have other reasons for revisiting it, I suppose, and a lot of them have to do with fully accepting my younger self.

I was that girl when I was a grade school kid, fully obsessed, the way only a fangirl could be. I had posters in my room, listened to all the OSTs, talked about how much I hated Allen (lol), made a Fanel household in The Sims, tried out for track, and daydreamed about getting isekai'd myself.

The media landscape was so different back then, a lot of media was just very inaccessible and I had to be resourceful. The depth of research and rabbit-holes I got into - I taught myself katakana, read up on Atlantis and tarot cards, read One Thousand and One Nights, the Van Allen radiation belt (lol), and all the fanfiction I encountered on Geocities websites and FFN. I tracked down all the other works of the voice actors, both English and Japanese, and watched those.

I had my group of friends who were also fangirls, and we all hung out together and talked about our anime crushes and wrote fanfiction together. We definitely got weird looks, but that's okay, on a certain level we did know we were into weird things.

Towards the end of grade school I distinctly remember feeling ashamed of my weeby behavior and took active measures to tamp it down, 'grow up' a little, and make more friends outside of my anime bubble. It worked and I hung out with other crowds.

I would still engage in the fandom intermittently, but by then my group of friends had all gone our separate ways. I ended up going to a different high school than my grade school friends, and we all gradually stopped being anime fangirls. We developed different interests, discovered boys, etc.

I have bittersweet feelings about that time in my life, consciously suppressing my love for all anime (not just Escaflowne) because I was embarrassed. But at the same time, I was busy with a demanding school schedule and other major life events. Looking back, I wish I didn't shame myself for giving up on my 'childish interests'. I wish I engaged more with the fandom and sought out the corners of the internet where my fellow fans gathered. I recently discovered that there was an Escaflowne forum in the mid-2000s that I completely missed, as the whole site is defunct now.

I also didn't think to look on Tumblr, because I was A Cool Girl(TM) and joined reddit in 2010 instead. I feel like I missed out on a lot, not just because of Life Events but also because of my embarrassment at being a fangirl.

Over the years I'd still listen to the score, rewatch every few years or so. I convinced one of my best buddies to rewatch it with me during the pandemic and he was so impressed the animation, the story, the direction, with how well it holds up. It really reaffirmed by love for the show.

I guess I was mostly embarrassed of my antics when I was younger, but that was just me expressing my love for a piece of media that I really like. What's so strange about that? Christopher Lee used to read LOTR every damn year, there are a million adaptations of The Iliad, and a bajillion more covers of The Beatles' Yesterday. Good art is just timeless, you know?

So yes, this blog is about Escaflowne but also more than that. I’m really happy that I found media that I obsessed over back then and that it still has a bunch of fans like me all over the world.

Nowadays I'm unlearning that shame, I am fully accepting my younger self's cringe, and I owe it to her to engage in fandom. :)

prime numbers for mass effect for the ask game :o)

BOY was this formatting a pain in the butt. i feel like i don't have that many controversial mass effect opinions anymore, or at least none that i care about being controversial. i just hang out and enjoy my faves at this point

2. a compelling argument for why your fave would never top or bottom

legitimately can’t think of one. i pretty universally view my faves as switches.

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you’ve seen on tumblr

not going to name and shame because a) it’s been a while and b) i actually had a very nice conversation with the person who initially posted this, but there was a headcanon post that listed joker as asexual (in a positive light) because having vrolik’s syndrome made sex too risky. the casual ableism of that really bothered me. joker is interested in sex in the game and it bothers him that his disability makes it hard to engage in physical intimacy. there’s a pervasive idea that people with certain kinds of physical disabilities can’t or just wouldn’t want to have sex (“how would that even work?? lol”), and while there are obviously disabled people who are asexual, or who abstain from sex in part or in full because the logistics are difficult or painful, it’s frustrating to see that as a default mindset in a lot of able-bodied people.

5. worst discord server and why

no opinions for this one because i’m not in any mass effect servers!

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because of how the fandom acts about them?

for a while i got sick of liara because her hardcore fans treated her like the default romance

11. number of fandom-related words you’ve filtered

none for mass effect actually, lol. everyone i follow who reblogs mass effect has good taste so it isn’t necessary for me

13. worst blorboficiation

i honestly couldn’t think of one! but i’ll go with a similar hater spirit and say that i hate cute innocent waifu tali characterization. this is NOTHING.

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art

horny geth content. shoutout to the fic with kaidan and the geth hopper that lives in my heart

19. you’re mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like…

i like the synthesis ending, okay!! i’m not even especially ashamed of it!! i think it’s better than killing all of the geth

23. ship you’ve unwillingly come around to

shenko. i’ve gone back and forth on them a LOT, both because of fandom and because kaidan’s behavior in the third game if you move on in me2 bugged me the first time around, but i do like him.

Why do you dislike Luzy x Max? I do aswell lol.

Thanks for the question OP!

in short my reasons are:

- the distortion of Lucys characterisation

- Max misogynistic behavior (which can tbh said about most dha characters to be fair)

- the forced way their relationship starts

- Their lacking chemistry, for one due to Luzys obvious queerness (unintended by the writers but still undeniable), but imo even Charlotte and Max had better chemistry at some point

- general bad implementation of the romantic parallel Plot in S2, leading to unneccesary drama

Now I've got a LOT of thoughts about this, so here a further explanation:

- first of, I think Luzys characterisation got completly butchered for the story surrounding Max and Luzy. I know it has to do with the changes the dha adaption made from hha, but it makes zero sense to me that Luzy is suddenly so obsessed with finding love and then Kaya of all things. It doesn't seem true to her character in S1 at all. Also after the first few episodes she completley forgets about Linn which ist super weird, since she was pretty obsessed with her in S1

- Max is such a misogynistic piece of s*ht. Like don't get me wrong, I don't hate the character. His background ist pretty interesting and I like that they tried to include reaccurring characters that don't live in Haus Anubis in the age group of the cast. But to me, his weird comments about women give such a bad first Impression, I couldn't help but dislike him at first (And when I finally warmed up to him they decided to not only change the actors but also throw his characterisation over board lol) . Although I recognize, that his sexism isn't unrealistic for boys his age (and in general sadly) and might just be a reflection of sexist notions the writers have themselfes, I still hate that this wasn't adressed properly in the show .

The main reason for my dislike is however:

- To me it Just seems like Luzy tried to convince herself that she is in love with Max. This makes sense, as Luzy is convinced that she will find her true Love soon (and is in denial about her Attraction to Charlotte lol). Remember how disgusted Luzy was at the thought of Max being in love with her, after she dreams about him? Yeah that didn't make me think: wow they're made for each other. And how she couldn't imagine that Max didn't write the letters as a joke to make fun of her? Charlotte even admits herself that Luzy never gave Max a second thought before the letters.

The writers try to explain Luzys hesitance by impliying the the main reason she is turned off by the thought of her dating Max, is their age difference. While I think that is a legitimate reason, it feels like an excuse the writers use to delay their relationship for dramaticism, because the characters never show a care for way bigger age gaps (which is another can of worms that I won't open here)(see: Luzy herself is attracted to Benny, Herr Petkovic and Radus) and this reservation of Lucys is only talked about once or twice as far as I recall .

Also I feel like the circumstances under which Luzy confessed didn't really allow her to make her own choice. It was literally: tell Max you want to date him or he'll leave forever. Afterwards Luzy is shown to be ashamed of their relationship and even though I like the talk they have about it afterwards, I still think that isn't a sign of a healthy relationship. This furthers my belief that Luzy is just convincing herself that she is in love with Max, because he is the only boy that is showing sincere interest in her, disregarding that all of her emotianlly intimate relationship have been with girls in the past. This is typical behavior in a heteronormative society and reflects not only the fictional world dha plays in, but also the real world of the writers which the show is a product of.

Especially at the beginning of their relationship it seems like Max feels more for Luzy, than she does for him. The scene in the Restaurant where Max draws and compliments her, Luzy is just flattered but doesn't compliment Max in any way.

I think that Luzy is in love with the Idea of being in a relationship, instead of being in love with Max.

- Overall the relationship suffers from dhas need too always include a romantic plotline aditionally to the mystery. (Which can also be said about the other canon couples, but imo especially applies to Luzy x Max)

It's like the writers tried to delay them getting together so much, that it just ended up seeming like they weren't a good match for each other. Instead the show could have used more time to flesh out Charlottes and Kayas relationship instead of omitting how exactly their kiss at the season finale came to be. (Or just let Luzy and Charlotte get together but I know that would never happen 😭)

- now the chemistry. It's tbh not the worst, as I think Ninas and Daniels actors fail even more so at conveying that, but other characters' chemistry is just a lot better. Max and Charlotte talk way more with each other than Luzy and Max do and with their development from a relationship purely for their respective own advantage, to a friendship where they genuinely want the other to suceed and be happy, felt more natural than anything that has happened between Max and Luzy. Max & Charlotte and especially Charlotte & Luzy have more scenes of emotional vulnerabilty with each other, which I believe ist a big reason why they seem to have more chemistry.

(I also think that is where Magnus x Mara suceeds and other canon couples fail: regularly talking about their feelings, not just the feelings concerning their relationship. Many relationships that aren't canon like Luzy x Charlotte or Nina x Deliah show the characters comforting each other, telling each other secrets, casual physical touch and generally being open and understanding with each other, which the real couples just don't do to the same extent)

Also maybe that's just me, but many scenes between Luzy and Max seem kinda akward to me? Like they just don't know how to act around each other.

- also COMMUNICATION! It went well in the end, but it seems like a stupid thing to do, not to tell your girlfriend, that your father is the goddamn headmaster?? (Although I love the scenes with Luzy and Altrichter) This ist exactly the stuff you should tell your Partner.

Now some general things that irk me about the whole romance Plot in S2 which play a big part in why I dislike LuzyxMax:

- although the same can be said about Kaya, Max and Charlotte, I think it's especially weird that Luzy isn't involved in Sibuna at all in Season 2 once the romance side story starts, even tho she played an important part before. It seems unrealistic, that she isn't interested in what is happening around Sibuna all of a sudden (she does again in S3 but that's way later). Also, generally I think that from a storytelling perspective, it is a waste of characters to just involve them in a Love Plot and don't give them any other defining character moments.

- I dislike, that the love plot ist completley Independent from the main storyline. That simply seems like bad writing to me and a cheap way of avoiding to think about, how all characters can be incorporated into the story. To me, the whole love side plot in S2 seems really forced and they made it so unecessarily dramatic (thats a general dha issue tho). I especially hated how the finale was split between the pretty dark and suspenseful story around the grail and the Amusement Park scenes (even thought all of them are Comedy gold). The Amusement Park seems like a desperate attempt to somehow tie up all the storylines that were brought up during the season and therefore seems kind of rushed. I think this robbed the finale with Raven of a lot of suspense.

You get the gist 😅.

I don't think Max x Luzy is horrendous. Imo they have some cute moments, but their relationship feels forced and isn't made to last. I would prefer both characters in different relationships or single. However, a big reason for that is not inherent to this couple specifically, but to the concept and writing style of dha that depends heavily on relationship drama, which especially Luzy, Max, Charlotte and Kaya are victims of in S2.

You get rhabdo from trauma to muscles (usually crush injuries) and a CK of less than 1000 just goes away by itself. If it's greater than that, you give IV fluids to prevent damage to the kidneys but there HAS to be damage to the kidneys along with CK rise (typically > 5000) to diagnose rhabdo. And rhado is there either or it's not, it can't be mild. The upper limit of normal CK is 320. 500 CK indicates significant exercise but its NOT rhabdo. I wouldnt even expect this mistake from a med student

This is so embarrassing for all them (except Riley herself) tbh lol jesus

I wasn’t expecting like Official Lab Results to be released but I had no idea how much higher the numbers on those blood results had to be for a rhabdo dx. Like, an entire order of magnitude higher? Helloooo? So it’s not even like a gray area/cusp kind of thing?

Another question I have (trusting you to answer back because you sound like you know several medical science facts): how quickly do those numbers fluctuate? Is the fact that the samples were taken right after her 4-hr morning practice significant, as opposed to if they were taken later in the evening, or right before her afternoon practice following 4 hrs of rest after the morning? Or is it a more stable level that goes up and down gradually?

Also MH is either equally stupid (or just has been operating entirely within that fucked up subculture for too long to hear how she and others sound) for thinking “mild rhabdo” sounded less severe than “overtraining” 🤡

In this instance I don’t actually blame the gymternet for leaping to conclusions because when we first got that news and I looked it up, I was stunned at how severe the muscle tissue breakdown needs to be for that. Like you said, it’s like “muscles crushed by several tons of force in a car accident” levels. And “mild” absolutely sounded like Maggie trying to downplay something that’s like a legitimate medical crisis. Idk why she even elaborated at all. I get that post-2016 there has been a push for transparency but when you are essentially putting out inaccurate info about an athlete’s medical problems/history, that’s uhhh. Not good either lol.

But because of this, I kind of feel like it’s a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation, because if they had been cagey about explaining why she was not going to worlds, everyone would be screaming coverup. And stuff like this, plus stuff like Simone being honest about what was going on in Tokyo, is a challenging dilemma. I don’t think we as fans are owed any of these details, but I certainly understand why we feel like absence of an explanation is fishy.

In the Marta Era, if either of these had happened, they would have been withdrawn BUT it would be blamed on some physical injury. And honestly, I sometimes think I would rather have it that way…? By the time worlds or the Olympics come around, they basically ALL have some injury or nagging overuse injury/aggravation that is a very valid reason not to compete, but they are typically expected to push through it anyway. I appreciate greater transparency and not feeling like what’s really going on is something that needs to be hidden or something to be ashamed of, and I especially appreciate what Simone did in terms of mental health being a legitimate ailment too, but at the same time I’m like….. nobody NEEDS to know my business just because I’m an elite athlete lol leave me alone