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peachesofteal · 8 months

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I’ll be honest, I’m looking forward to the darker scenarios 👀

Darling unable to get away, having to stay because she knows she can’t survive on her own, let alone with a little baby that’s entirely dependent on her.

Simon, possessive and controlling to keep Darling with them, their family together. He’s already gone too far with messing with the BC, so I’m betting he’s willing to go further at this point.

Johnny, helpless to it all, but trying to keep the peace, keep Darling healthy so she can deliver a healthy baby safely. What else can he do without losing both Simon and his pregnant Darling?

I’m specifically imagining after Darling confronts them, trying to run out the front door, but Simon physically stops her, will not let her leave until she listens to him, agrees this is for the best, that she belongs to and with them.

Sorry for the long ask, just have so many thoughts on this AU and am looking forward to seeing where you take it 😵‍💫

There are so many juicy little bits to the baby trap au here, but let's talk about Johnny for a sec:

I like to imagine Johnny not being helpless, but definitely second to Simon in all of this. It was his idea, his dream, and he did agree. It was a decision they made together, but I think now he's really trying to tow the line in order to keep everyone together. It's a strain for sure, but he did this to himself, he's not innocent. He knows it. He likes it. The guys, both of them, love how you've always depended on them and this is no different in baby trap.

18+ MDNI / baby trap au / dark and twisty themes / reader is a prisoner so please read with caution

His fingers reach for yours involuntarily, the muscles in his face working against the wince that is pulling at his lips when you snatch your hand away like he's burned you. "Please, darling, will you at least-"

"No." You hiss, pushing the plate away from where you sit. Your arms cross in front of your chest, and you do that thing again, the thing you've been doing recently that's driving him mad, where you close your eyes and pretend he doesn't exist.

"I know ye must be hungry, love." He moves the plate back, palm cupping your knee softly. You don't jerk away, but it's more because you're still acting like he's not there, instead of shying away as you're prone to do.

He sighs.

"Well, I guess I can eat this then. Or we can dump it." He takes your fork and spears a piece of pancake, mopping it around in the syrup that you like so much, before lifting it to his lips. "Be such a shame, to waste it all, but Si won't be home for another hour yet, and I ate before ye woke up." He's not lying, it would be. He made you pancakes, bacon, and eggs. Sourdough toast, your favorite, and a peanut butter smoothie. There's also orange juice, and chocolate almond milk, another thing you've been craving non stop.

You crack an eyelid. Just a little, enough to survey the meal again. He knows, knows, that you're hungry. You hardly touched your dinner, and then suffered a breakdown, where you locked yourself in the bathroom and cried for hours until Simon had enough and picked the lock after you had started sobbing out loud about how you wanted to die.

It had taken hours to settle you, Simon with a hand steady on your nape, Johnny with his arms around you as you cried yourself to sleep in the guest bed.

He chews his bite, thoughtfully, albeit a little loudly, before clearing his throat. "It's a nice day today. Want to go for a walk? We could go to the park, or walk down to the cafe you like." Both of your eyes blink open now, narrowed, but still staring at breakfast, and he puts the fork on the rim of the plate with a clink, motioning to the pancakes. "They're a bit fluffy." He comments, and you scowl. He holds his snicker as you reach for it, pulling everything in front of you, stabbing into a large bite and lifting it into your mouth. "Good girl." He whispers, and you shift uncomfortably in your seat, teeth worrying at your bottom lip. "Take another bite." He urges in a soft voice, but you shake your head.

"My stomach hurts." you whisper to your knees, and he swallows the lump in his throat. It's been so hard on you, the pregnancy, the changes in everything, everything that's happened after you found that stupid piece of foil. You had always struggled with eating, your own emotions sabotaging you, twisting you up into knots, but now it was even worse. And you needed to eat, now more than ever. For yourself, and the baby. The doctor had assured them that your appetite fluctuations were okay for now, but they needed to keep a close eye on it.

"What about some of the eggs?" He nods to the glass to your left, the tall one with the smoothie in it. "Or some of that?" Your nose wrinkles.

"I don't want it."

"You love peanut butter smoothies, they're your favorite."

"I want mango." You huff. Mango? Since when? You rub your belly thoughtfully and look at him with big, sad eyes. "I'm really craving mango. Can I have a mango smoothie? With vanilla ice cream in it? Please?" There's a glimmer of something, in your eyes, something sad, and longing... but familiar, and he swallows against the worry that rises in his gut. It's going to be okay. You're going to be alright. They're taking care of you. They won't let anything happen to you.

He shoots Simon a quick text, telling him to pick up fresh mango and vanilla ice cream on his way home, and then he glances back at you.

"Si will bring the ingredients home, okay?" You nod, still palming your belly, fingers tapping across your skin. You groan a little when you get to your feet, body sore from the less than luxurious guest bed that you've been insistent on sleeping in, and walk away to sink into the couch. "What're ye doing?" You burrow yourself into the cushions pulling the blankets up over your chin and closing your eyes, back to pretending that he doesn't exist, except to give your answer.

"Waiting for my smoothie. You'll bring it to me?" You peek over the mound of pillows, eyes still wide and sad, but there's something else there, something he can't name, and he nods automatically.

"Of course, darling."

#peaches asks #ghost x soap x reader #baby trap au #ghoap x reader

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stil-lindigo · 4 months

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okay so, not entirely sure what the last anon was on about (and it very well could be a troll just trying to bait. they really should have at least brought up what they meant if they wanted to appear in good faith), but it may be in relation to "drink up" and how it attracted terf attention on twitter? (which I know you addressed btw, so I hope this doesn't come across as an attack or anything)

personally, I think the phrase "our only natural predator" might have appealed to terf rhetoric just a little (but that's my opinion - I very well could be 100% wrong). I have my own personal feelings on the use of "natural" in the phrase (men don't naturally prey on women like animal predators do their prey - if anything, it's unnatural, deliberately chosen behavior - and it reminds me of the excuse that "it's just naturally how men are," like "boys will be boys." HOWEVER, I see how that phrasing ties into the "lioness/women turning it around and preying on the predator" theme, so honestly it works well there), but aside from all that, I can also see why it might've attracted terfs: bc they very often view and frame trans women as male predators to cis women. I know that's definitely not how you intended it though!!

and this also isn't meant as a nitpick to your work, so my apologies if that's how it comes across. I really like your art and your writing (and "drink up" has a very cool theme)! it's just that I can see how terfs might've interpreted it a certain way. it's not your fault that they viewed it like that though, and you've made it very clear you're NOT down with trans exclusionary BS. so that's literally the only thing I could see anon complaining about tbh, assuming they're not just being a troll. also I'm sorry for the super long message (I have an issue w/ typing too much smh). I just thought I'd share my thoughts on it in case it's at all helpful, but also this might just be annoying to read instead, so honestly feel free to just discard it if you prefer!

It’s not annoying at all anon, and I appreciate you taking the time to send this in. The comic you’re talking about is one I think back on with a lot of regret. It was made in a furious haze after a big time female streamer revealed that she was being mentally abused for years by her husband, where he would waste her hard earned money, threaten her dogs and her livelihood and overall be a monster to the woman who was their primary breadwinner. The reaction online to this information by her largely male audience was so genuinely vile and violently misogynistic that I made the comic, without thinking broadly about the implications you’ve already pointed out. In reality, the comic was meant to talk about how all women (cis and trans) suffer under the patriarchy and how the label of womanhood can often be an open call for baseless derision, dehumanisation and entitlement at many levels.

TERFS quickly co-opted the comic, and I’ll always regret ever giving them an opportunity to feel empowered and validated by my art, but I’ve learned from the experience overall to do better by my trans siblings. Thank you for engaging in good faith - I hope my behaviour now and in the future can make up for past mis-steps.

#askbox

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bibibbon · 3 months

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Quirks and MHA society

Throughout the manga there is this reoccurring theme of people not being able to use and control their quirks and the quirk system being broken but honestly this plot point never really goes anywhere in my opinion or if it is used it's not used properly and never reaches it's fullest potential.

Like we see people break the law a bunch of times by using their quirks illegally and we see people state that they cannot control their quirks but nothing is done about it. We never see people arrested for quirk use unless said quirk use harms people.

If it's illegal to use your quirk then how is it that you have middle schoolers freely using their quirks in school or how normal members of the public use their quirks? Also what does this mean for people born with a heteromorphic quirk? Is part of the reason they're discriminated because they can't turn if their quirks or is it because so heteromorphic quirks make the user look more alien and less human? The government in MHA doesn't seem to be very strict about quirk use laws but states that it is (hori failing in show don't tell again🤷‍♀️)

What about people whose quirks are dangerous if they don't release it? What do they do? Do they just have to suffer or does the MHA government have a facility where people can safely release their quirk? This doesn't seem likely considering that izuku, ochako, Katsuki and miriko ran into someone who they(miriko and bakugo)deemed a villain for not being able to control his quirk. This case is treated as a one off incident but it really isn't. If one person has a quirk like that then that means so many other civilians do and they could of been pushed into villainy due to it. Hori establishes that the MHA universe lacks establishments that help people discharge/release or deal with their quirk but he never outright does anything with this plot point (it's mainly used to justify characters actions or villainy)

Horikoshi also introduces the half baked idea that quirks can influence ones personality and desires. This idea is introduced mainly in the MVA arc to ig justify characters (like toga and tomuras) actions and behaviours. I think it could of been a good idea if characters end up acting similarly or develop similar traits that come from their quirk however as I mentioned before the idea is half baked. Toga having an interest/craving in blood because thats how her quirk works makes sense but it's not heavily established. When it comes to toga we get mentions of how broken the quirk counselling system is and how instead of helping her to deal with a quirk that makes her have such a strong fascination and affection to blood it only made her suppress the urges until she went off the rails into full insanity. When it comes to tomura this idea is only used as an excuse (almost) for his actions, his quirk is used to demonise him and make him more of this completely psycho villain who loves to destroy things because that's his nature?!? When it really isn't.

Quirk counselling is a plot point with so much wasted potential. Like how did quirk counselling work? Was it a legal requirement or was it recommended? Did it actually help some people by helping kids understand their quirks, help them with control, offer any support equipment if needed to deal with the quirk and teach children morals? It seems like people with ordinary common quirks benefit more from the system then people with unique quirks that have unique side effects. We are told that toga's quirk counselling was full of adults not understanding and telling her that she is a weird psycho who is obsessed with blood instead of actually helping her. We see curious herself admit that there are many problems with the quirk counselling system and how it only benefited people with certain types of quirks and how it was basically a place teaching and breeding children to learn "right" and "wrong".

We see the quirk counselling system fail but it's never addressed. MHA chapter 22 shows how people with powerful or uncontrollable quirks tend to be failed by the system just like how toga and tomuras were. Eri is a special case you can't even know if she is just being trained or if she attends general counselling because in all truth we aren't told. Eri also faces the same problem where she can't have too much build up for her quirk or it will hurt her so shouldn't MHA dive deeper into the idea of quirk counselling and people not being able to control their quirks. Heck you even have all might state that he has noticed a lot of people can't control their quirks which brings the question is quirk counselling only for young people in elementary school and not for older people because people like midoriya who had a quirk in his teenage years was never forced to do any quirk counselling by the government?!?!?!?

Overall, in my opinion quirks in MHA is a wasted potential of a plot point and topic. MHA fails to truly delve and dig deep into topics like how the government fails in providing help with quirk counselling or establishments that help people deal with their quirks, or how less people know how to control their quirks being a result for the quickly failing system or how badly the law is reinforced . These ideas intertwining with quirk inequality and how it affects peoples day to day life could of all been interesting points to explore.

#mha critical #bnha critical #hori is a bad writer #horikoshi critical #mha #bhna critical #wasted potential #bnha quirks

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opbackgrounds · 3 months

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What exactly had Oda 'not known to self-edit'? Cause I someone who DID drop the series during Punk Hazard, but binged is right before the you-know-what-reveal - it reads great at onces, though I can see why weekly readers suffer. I can't think of a single thing that's doesn't look like setup for later - so I'm curious, what's so unnecessary for you?

There are too many characters, mostly. There didn't need to be 9 samurai. There didn't need to be 7 Vegapunks. There didn't need to be 11 Supernovas. For every character Oda introduces, he must find a place for them, and this is both One Piece's blessing and its curse. It makes the world feel full and lived in, where no matter where you look there are other characters who could be the protagonists of their own story, but is also how you get Raizo spending 25 chapters fighting the long earlobe guy in what's ultimately a meaningless fight no one cares about. Oda himself acknowledged this when he (semi) lightheartedly said he wished he'd made fewer warlords, because then he wouldn't have to write stories for 7 different characters. It's a compounding problem that gets worse as the series gets longer, and Oda is forced to juggle more and more balls with varying success.

And even if that were not the case, there's a lot more fluff than the old days. I pointed this out during Water 7, but if you want an example of a tight arc look there. The gags and little character moments that are essential to the series are all there, but they're purposeful to the plot. There's not an ounce of fat in the whole arc, and it's largely regarded as one of the best in the series.

Compare that to Wano when you have entire chapters dedicated to the little fox spirit or Franky running around the city looking for blueprints to the mansion. They're fine in isolation, heart warming and funny respectively, but it's a lot of wasted pages for not a lot of purpose. A few such scenes sprinkled in sparingly can add flavor to the story, but too many grind the feeling of progress to a halt, and take away time from things that are more important to the plot and/or themes. Like, did you know Tama was a Kozuki? Putting that information in the manga itself would have done a lot to clear up the thematic confusion caused by Hiyori's speech at the end of the arc. But there was too much fluff and too many unimportant characters getting page time that that bit of info is regulated to an SBS where many fans will never see it.

#sarc talks

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tornrose24 · 3 months

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I’ve been rewatching The Ghost and Molly McGee and have concluded watching season 1. These are my thoughts and observations:

-I love how Scratch slowly warms up to Molly across the season and it is easier to catch when you watch the episodes in order. From going to a complete jerk, to valuing her friendship, to caring about how she views him, to not wanting to lose her.

-I also love how this show’s art style is like a storybook come to life in every shot.

-It makes even more sense as to why Scratch haunts Adia’s old home. Todd’s soul gravitated to the one place in Brighton that held happy memories for him, where life had yet to turn him into an anxious, fearful adult. It was a safe space for him, and he was mad when a family managed to move in and invade it. Especially Molly specifically moving into his personal room/the safest spot in the house for him.

-Molly and Scratch are BOTH horrible liars. It’s funny how similar they are in that detail, and it’s even funnier if they call each other out on it.

-Scratch is an absolute asshole to a lot of people and enjoys seeing them suffer during this season, but I think that partly stems from a ‘I was/am miserable so I like seeing others suffer.’

-I’d say Molly’s worst episode is the Snow Day episode (not listening to what everyone else wants to do) and Scratch’s worst episode is the Internship episode (taking advantage of an intern to do basic, unhelpful tasks and being a bigger asshole than usual).

-Molly nearly dies 4 times (the machine during ‘Friend off,’ was willing to catch hypothermia in order to have fun in the snow, was almost hit by the truck, and was nearly sliced in half by Jinx).

-Scratch, Mr. ‘So afraid of dying that I never lived a day’…. Gets trampled by animals, eats poison berries, gets hit by a tour bus, gets blended by the machine from ‘Friend off,’ and is sliced in half by Jinx among all the possible things that WOULD have killed him in this season if he hadn’t been a ghost at the time.

-In ‘Very Hungry Ghost’ Scratch doesn’t get to eat any of the food intended for the ghosts. Because he wasn’t fully a ghost, that feast was not meant to be eaten by him.

-I admit I have yet to catch Scratch’s ‘nervous habit of scratching his arm’ during these episodes.

-There’s a recurring theme of the adult characters regaining their passion for something they once loved in a few episodes.

-However I also appreciate showing very realistic struggles, like financial concerns and how you can’t magically restore your community and town to its glory days without some effort put into it.

-Libby’s mom can be seen as an early cameo during ‘The (Un)natural.’ Of course, she would be there for her daughter ^_^

-I’m not a huge fan of the Christmas episode (never rewatched it until now) but GOD do I love the pink sky they use against the Christmas decorations and snow.

-In Pete’s news article in ‘Twin Trouble’, it mentions that other city planners mysteriously disappeared. However, I don’t think the show EVER addressed that, because such a story fascinated me and made me wonder if there was more to Brighton than meets the eye.

-There was a wasted opportunity in not discussing who or WHAT The Chairman was. Was this mystery meant for season 3?

-Scratch mentioning that he is dead throughout the show hits differently now that we know its quite the opposite. So does seeing him having to do mandatory things for the ghost world that he technically shouldn’t NEED to be doing at that moment.

-So does his interactions with Geoff. Oh boy.

-Was Scratch specifically assigned to scare Brighton? What about the other ghosts from there, like the Tugbottom siblings? Howlin Harriet? Sonia? Why don’t we see them doing their job as much as Scratch has to?

-The sheer irony of Scratch believing that he didn’t have any fears in ‘Scaring is Caring’ only for fear to be the reason WHY he was a ghost to begin with. Once again, there’s a hell of a difference between ‘Scratch as a human being afraid of everything’ and ‘Scratch as a ghost being afraid of losing Molly and would do anything to save her.’

-No seriously, it gets to a point where Scratch risks his existence to save Molly in this season and in the next one-if he had been human, he would have been willing to die for her.

-‘All Night Plight’ is an episode I hadn’t rewatched until recently. And it hits a LOT differently this time around. Molly wanted to form a forever memory with Libby and Scratch by seeing that comet and she managed to win over Scratch who went above and beyond to ensure that was possible. While that memory is now somewhere hidden in Scratch’s mind as a living person, this episode likely was one of the events needed to push him into becoming someone who would take chances and embrace life upon coming back to life.

-Considering the number of times Molly almost dies, it would have been one thing if Scratch didn’t take it too well if he failed to save Molly. But if he learned that he was the one who had the chance to come back to life and not her? Yeah, that would have seriously wrecked his mental state.

-That moment when you realize that it was TWO souls hovering on the edge between life and death that changed everything in the Ghost World. Also I could be wrong, but I caught that Molly AND Scratch both have a brighter glow compared to most other ghosts in the Ghost World. Was this stealth foreshadowing, or just a coincidence?

-Scratch’s declaration that knowing Molly was the highlight of his afterlife. That moment when you realize Molly brought him joy after years of being miserable as both a ghost and as a human. This girl reached out to him and was able to get him to open up when no one else did. This girl who is showing him how to truly live once more. This girl who he openly declares to be his friend no matter what others will think.

-When I see Wraith!Molly hugging Libby and Scratch, I just wonder ‘WHY DOES MOLLY HAVE 3 ARMS?!’

-As good as this show is, a lot of folks who watch these Disney Channel shows are likely used to the more story-oriented shows. While the ‘slice of life’ style for TGAMM did pay off, the slow pace and length it took for the episodes to release likely worked against it and I could see why it didn’t attract more viewers at the time.

Stuff relating to Todd:

-Scratch possesses people a lot in this show, but especially in season 1. I’m reminded of someone who talked about the wraith theory on YouTube and he had this guess that Scratch might someday possess Todd and then realize something is different this time. I think that having Scratch use the possession trick so often was building up to that one moment in the last episode because it WAS a matter of time until he possessed Todd.

-As I said in a previous post, I caught Todd in the stands during The (Un)Natural, which was his ACTUAL debut episode. It was easy to miss the first time, but its a noticeable establishing character moment since he’s the only audience member who is visibly NOT happy despite that the team is winning.

-Molly stopping at Todd’s house during the song montage in the bandshell episode hits a lot differently now after the series finale. But then I laughed when she smacked him in the face with a flyer upon stopping by the house a second time in the same episode.

-We have confirmation that Scratch (as Todd) knew the mayor when they were kids and that is a tale I’m very curious about.

-I caught Todd in the audience during ‘Citizen McGee’ when the mayor bestows the honor of being mayor for a day to Molly. I admit a cynical side of me thinks that this is how he actually remembers her name in the last episode…. But at the same time he was so on auto-pilot during that time that he likely wouldn’t pay much attention or remember those events that well. (Plus, you can’t be expected to remember someone’s name once all the time). I refuse to believe that he remembered this event and that Scratch’s memories were what actually triggered the name.

-Todd’s actual lines are very limited (I don’t think he gets many in season 2 compared to this one). While Dana Snyder was voicing him, Snyder lowered his voice so much that it’s really hard to tell that he’s the one voicing Todd. I keep putting my ear to my computer to listen, but Todd barely sounds like Dana. I think they did this on purpose to avoid making it too obvious that Todd IS Scratch. (And that’s probably why he doesn’t talk as much in season 2…. Until the last episode of course).

-The Internship seems to double as foreshadowing, and not just because Todd appears or that his ‘junk’ held some very crucial clues. Molly believes that the pawnshop is where happy memories go to die while Weird Larry assures her that it’s where memories can be reborn into something new. So… is the pawnshop a metaphor for Scratch’s own depression causing his ‘death’ and how he’ll be resurrected into a happier person?

#the ghost and molly mcgee #the ghost and molly mcgee spoilers #i'll need a break before i rewatch all of season 2 #molly mcgee #scratch the ghost #todd mortenson

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bengiyo · 10 months

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Step By Step: It makes sense to me.

We’re taking a break from our game this week, so it’s time to get into the Step By Step discourse. Much has been said about the pacing and the writing of this show. I want to write out some of my thoughts on the gay things that are going on and how I think they play into the themes. I’ll try building off my post from last night and expanding those thoughts.

Let me say that I am writing this from the perspective as a Black gay male in the Gulf Coast of the US. I’m writing from that perspective and primarily for that perspective.

The Frustration Is Intentional

I think one of the big themes of this show is about how people are not going to be able to have happiness if they can’t live their lives honestly with each other. Almost every couple is having problems of some sort in this show, and most of them are because of their inability to be direct and honest with each other about what’s going on. Pat gained clarity with the MLM Big Tall by telling him right off. He and Put can’t be together because neither of them can talk about how much they don’t fit anymore. Beam can’t be with Ae. Ae is always fussing with Khanun. Jaab and Jane can’t be together because they can’t talk about what’s going on between them. Pat and Jeng are struggling because Jeng is struggling.

I agree that these episodes have not felt triumphant, but it doesn’t feel like that’s what the show is going for right now. They had a false honeymoon phase. It almost feels like they’re hoping that the release in a year’s worth of sexual tension will fix all the other issues. However, the world is still pressing in. Ying saw this, too, and reminded Pat that he is the one who must be strong. It feels kinda cool to me that a romantic lead who’s the more femme written such that they must take total control of their destiny. Neither of these dudes are going to solve Pat’s problems.

Jeng is Broken

Jeng broke last week when he finally admitted what’s been going on with Pat to Jaab. Something I feel very strongly about is how little care is given to boys who mask well enough to pull of heteronormativity. They are suffering quietly, but we don’t care about their pain because they seem so put together or they’re unfun. Jeng has been nursing a crush on Pat for a year, and he was confronted with the revelation that Pat has only seen him as a coworker, has thought he was straight this entire time, and has explicitly said that Jeng is making him uncomfortable.

Jeng’s breakdown says he knows how tenuous his hold has been for a long time. We all noticed that he seemed off this week. He’s barely processing Pat’s confession. He’s throwing food to the ground. He’s not taking care at work. Instead of creating appropriate professional distance from them, he’s instead planning to promote Pat past his colleagues. Jeng is not paying attention.

Beyond his interest in Pat, the only thing he showed interest in this episode was continuing to bring food to the local homeless population. We learned in the first episode that he cares a lot about food waste, and we can tell that he clearly has cultivated a positive relationship with at least one unhoused community (See @wen-kexing-apologist post for more extensive thoughts about this).

gif by @pharawee

My good sis @shortpplfedup revived her Anatomy of a Scene series to talk about the final bed scene between Pat and Jeng to highlight how out of sync they are. We also have a great observation from @grapejuicegay about the parallels between the last bed scene with Put as well. I personally also like that Jeng is making a hot mess of things because I think we need to see competent people break sometimes. I like that Jeng is messing up here because he’s older than Pat. I like that Pat is recognizing that being an adult in a relationship is going to require him to also take charge in his relationships, and we get early signs of this with Jeng placing Pat higher than him on the bed, and also a specific linguistic slip that occurred during the car scene where Pat drops honorifics for Jeng (@chicademartinica).

My man is not well. I knew he was genuinely broken when he recoiled at Pat’s suggestion that the rest of the company was relying on him. This was one of his primary motivations for returning to the company in the first place, and he’s completely lost the thread of that because he just wants to be with Pat. I think Jeng will do better if he leaves the company and focuses on his humanitarian goals, and I am excited to see how the show faces that.

I Don’t Think the Romance Is the Goal

I do think that Pat and Jeng will get together. This is BL after all. However, like with Lovely Writer, I think the narrative goals are about how the societal systems around the romance complicate the romance and make it almost impossible. In Lovely Writer, it was the structures of BL production. In this show, it’s about the way corporate culture makes that impossible within the company.

I’ve been reading the posts where people are struggling with this show or frustrated with some of the decisions on the editing floor. Both @lurkingshan and @neuroticbookworm wrote about their feelings about the lack of emotional catharsis or the confusion around the pacing of the story. I see both perspectives and do genuinely share in these frustrations. However, much of my energy has been spent on how the side plots fit into this drama and what they reveal about the main couple as our vehicle through this story.

The Role of the Hets

I was chatting with @lurkingshan last night and I posited that Beam’s role in the story is to show what happens to the people who are cowardly in romance. I also just finished Coffee Prince, where I spent the entire time complaining to Shan about the messy hets in that show. @chicademartinica already did a good breakdown of this in her earlier post about how intentional Tee is being with these beats.

With Beam, he and Ae knew about the feelings that existed between them, but Beam never said anything or did anything with it. Ae may fuss with Khanun a lot, but he’s not afraid of her. He loves her. He is happy with the life they are building and he’s the one who fathered a child with her. Jeng and Put both failed to speak with Pat properly, and now he’s been forced to run away from them. Like Beam, they have been cowards in their relationship with him.

With Jaab and Jane, both are also an example of abject failure to discuss anything about their feelings for each other. Both are pining for the other and making life choices about the other without consulting the other. They keep meeting and clearly thinking about each other, but keep creating barriers between any kind of connection.

Chot is Everything

Chot. I will be writing an In Praise of… essay for Chat like I did for Framboise. We’ve talked about how Chot is an example of who Pat could be someday (@imminentinertia). I think it’s noteworthy that Chot mentioned that he and Krit have been struggling with the closet for eight years. Chot may be out and proud at work, but he’s closeted privately because his partner cannot share his life with him fully. I think it’s notable that it’s been eight years since SOTUS first aired, and Chot is a reminder that BL has a duty to the queers whose lives are packaged for mass entertainment in these stories.

I can’t find one of the posts right now, but I also agree that I think it would be satisfying for the story for Chot to take over Jeng’s role in the company. It felt extremely intentional to me that the Forge project was helmed by and starred almost exclusively gay/bi/femme men despite the funders and decision-makers having a weak understanding of BL and queerness itself. So many organizations rely on the emotional intelligence and availability of queer people to keep themselves running.

gif by @pharawee

I also feel like Tee wanted to do right by a character for Bruce this time. Many of us felt some kind of way about what happened to his character in Lovely Writer, and I like that he gets to be the first one to signal that the needle is moving a little bit. After eight difficult years, he and his partner are going to see his partner’s parents. Chot is a reminder that none of this stuff happens quickly. It’s been a year in the show for Jeng and Pat, but it’s been decades for some of us in the struggle for queer rights.

More than anything, I am glad that Pat has a queer friend who isn’t too much older than him to give him perspective. It’s imperative that we continue to show that queer people are rarely alone in their lives as adults. They’re finding their friends and community. We also take care of each other. Chot is not going to sit idly by and let the Baby Gay in the office flounder. He takes him under his wing at the expressed concern from Jeng.

Let’s Talk About Gay Sex

They showed Ben’s happy trail!!! I can’t believe it! We’ve come so far! These two can kiss!!

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

I really love these two jumping into a physical relationship quickly only for it to end up not working for Pat. Chot warned him that he was looking down on Jeng’s feelings. Jeng has more feelings than just his attraction to Pat, and that’s going to be the struggle for the rest of this show. Pat needs to see the totality of Jeng, and these two need to figure out what they want for themselves.

I can’t wait to see what triumphant sex looks like for these two.

Well, that’s all I’ve got this week. I’m enjoying unpacking this and La Pluie with everyone right now. Keep posting! Keep chatting! Tag me if you write more stuff! Thank you for coming to my post.

Also tagging @waitmyturtles because I feel for you and the struggles you're having with this project coming off of Tee's earlier work.

#step by step #step by step meta #thai bl #bl series #Ben Writes

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class1akids · 1 month

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What do you think of Nana as a character?

She was really intriguing for me when she was introduced in the Kamino fight. I thought that reveal was a great twist and couldn't wait to find more out about her.

But in the end, I have to say, her character just didn't add up very well for me. She's another one of the "buff, pretty women" who people really love for their design (Nagant, Star, Nana, Mirko), but their characterization relies on a lot of tropes and "cool factor" and remains pretty shallow.

The bits and pieces we get from Nana just feel like a lot of wasted potential instead of really digging into an important theme of the story - the pain caused by self-sacrifice for the people left behind.

She is kind of a contradictory person: she tries to hide her son to protect him and cut him off from the hero world but at the same time she burdens another child - All Might - with OFA and the fight against AFO, but leaves him with at least some support. Gran Torino supporting Toshinori helps him rise and her forbidding GT to look after Kotaro is a factor in his spiral.

Hero Nana feels like all the tropes of "badass woman hero": she grins at AFO in her death, talking about how All Might will take him down, also telling a young Toshinori to keep smiling because that's what makes him "strong". And ironically, that smile to Tomura becomes the symbol of everything he hates about hero society, pretending not to see the suffering they cause or simply ignore.

Hero Nana seems like someone who successfully compartmentalized Mother Nana and shut her inside a box when she gave up her son for adoption and seems to have severed that part of herself until the end. The feelings of guilt only come after she sees what Tomura has become.

Vestige Nana with her "testing of Izuku" and "can you kill Tomura - oh I was just kidding" is also tropey as hell. I would have preferred some real introspection, or at least some good interaction with Izuku about the moral dilemma of what to do about Tomura, but Horikoshi is not great with that when it comes to female characters.

So in the end, she is just kind of a crying mess of a vestige, flip-flopping on Tomura's fate. I'd like to say that her finally taking responsibility moved me, but it being between two dead people in vestige land, just doesn't carry the same weight to me (like as opposed to Rei running into the fire).

I always say that Horikoshi is mostly a visual storyteller, and he knows exactly the stuff 99% of his audience wants. I'm in the minority and I actively dislike when I feel like he's trying to manipulate me with sentimental visuals instead of solid storytelling (like last week's episode of Anya x Damien in MHA).

But at least the way he used Nana wasn't too bad - even if it had to be really spelled out for her that leaving her son behind like that was kind of bad for him - hugging and stopping Dreamland Kotaro is stepping up both as mother and hero - reuniting her two halves. She couldn't get through the barrier until she reintegrates the mother into the hero and becomes the hero to save her family. And she is the final piece to help Izuku get through. Thank you. I get the theme. It's about as subtle as a sledgehammer.

I guess it's a decent cap for a character who embodies a key theme. But I think she could have been fleshed out (not just drawing her in a lot of detail), but in actual character nuance and storytelling (things like how she met En, why did she take OFA, her state of mind after losing her husband, etc.)

On another note, it would be nice if this was finally the end of the vestige peanut gallery (I absolutely came to hate their parts in the final fight), but considering Yoichi and Vestige Might just seemed to have gone poof, unfortunately, I wouldn't be surprised to see again all of them.

#c1a asks #bnha critical #shimura nana #in the end i never really vibed with nana

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sepublic · 6 months

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Erzsebet should've become Apophis

I've been enjoying Castlevania Nocturne, but ngl I feel like the show in general suffers from a case of wasted opportunity when it comes to adapting many, many elements of the games. At times it feels like the writers tend to ignore perfectly sufficient aspects of the source material to replace with their own thing, which is fine sometimes...

But with Erzsebet, there really was missed potential in making her more like her game counterpart. In Bloodlines, where she's known as Elizabeth Bartley, she turns into Medusa as the first phase of her boss fight, before fighting Jonathan/Eric as her regular self afterwards.

There is SOME room to interpret this as Bartley merely summoning Medusa rather than turning into her. However, in Easy mode, Bartley just dies once Medusa is defeated, suggesting they're the same person; Bartley isn't mentioned in the end credits while Medusa is, suggesting they're interchangeable with one another (because otherwise, why would this one-off boss have more precedent than the main villain who appears in the prologue???); And at the start of Bartley's level, the player is attacked by a floating Medusa head that shoots out red flames, just like the Medusa you actually fight, and just like Bartley herself.

So as far as I'm concerned, Bartley is Medusa. And that's kind of a big deal to me because Medusa is one of the most recurring and iconic bosses in the series, so to see her, or at least one incarnation of Medusa, receive deeper characterization and story relevance is pretty cool. Medusa is one of Dracula's OG generals, which is why it's a shame she's been completely absent from the show.

Here's the thing; If they wanted to give Bathory a second form, Medusa is right there. It'd even parallel how Olrox turns into a green reptile himself, too! And if the writers still want to make Bathory appropriate an Egyptian deity, as part of her colonizer symbolism that informs Olrox's hatred and rebellion, we've got a perfect fit for Medusa; Apophis!

Apophis is a serpent and a much more explicit enemy of the sun than Sekhmet is in myth; He's the sworn arch-nemesis of Ra and attempts to devour the sun every night, only to be defeated, time and time again. He's said to lurk in the Underworld, too! So this has parallels to Vampires' association with Hell, Apophis fulfills the function of Bathory's hatred of the sun and her plan to block it out... Hell, we even have the theme of an enemy of darkness that must be defeated in a neverending cycle, like Dracula, whom Bathory is taking the role of in Nocturne!

So instead of drinking Sekhmet's blood, have Erzsebet drink the blood of Apophis. This causes her to turn into a green, serpentine monster that also resembles Medusa, making her the show equivalent of Medusa, and a more faithful adaptation of Bartley than discount Lion-O. And since Medusa is consistently green throughout most of the games and in general media depictions, this could also cause Erzsebet's hair to turn green, the same color it was in the games! I think that'd make more sense than discarding what little we got of Bartley in the actual games to instead emulate Carmilla from Vampire Hunter D.

#castlevania #castlevania nocturne #Erzsebet Bathory #Medusa #Castlevania netflix #netflixvania #apophis

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verytallfox · 8 months

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The Sounds of Nightmares Episode 5: A Deluge of the Inevitable Thoughts

Right off the bat, we learn the Ferryman is likely the archetypal “guardian at the threshold.” Additionally, Noone has an OCULAR TUMOR in her brain?! She has a fucking eye-thing in there and it is what’s pulling her into the Nowhere.

Next, Noone gives Otto the chewing out of his life. He doesn’t want to listen to her about her parents, and she calls him out on his bullshit. She agrees to tell him about her latest dream so long as there are no machines this time. He agrees.

There’s a role reversal now: Otto will be lying down with a blindfold on while Noone tells him her latest trip to the Nowhere. Otto hopes that Noone can somehow transmit her dream into his head.

Noone is in a sewer setting. There’s lots of children and there’s waste and there’s messed up pipes. Also, unfortunately for Otto his plan is working.

Also, THERE IS A NOME!!! The same noise, the same description, and the same mannerisms! Noone calls it a “little mushroom fairy.” Noone also hits a nasty child with a brick who presumably seeks to hurt the Nome. The Nome guides her to a room full of scavenged junk and treasures, all compiled into piles, dropped down from the world above for years.

There’s also an abandoned child’s “propeller cap” that Noone suspects the Nome’s trying to show her.

There’s also a man, who empties his pockets with his goodies. He was seen before with a beeping device. He’s horribly distorted, his head a mess like most others in the Nowhere. Said head is swollen with the back sagging behind his head, mistaken for a sack for Noone. And she knows he used to be human. He became one with the sewers.

(Cutting out excessive summarization of the episode, there’s a chase, a tidal wave, and cruel singing)

Finally, the Ferryman appears and speaks in riddles that Noone has determined the meaning of: if she gives in to his world the suffering she feels in her own will stop. She suggests that CiCi (?) abandoned Otto because she had enough of his shit. He stumbles out of the room in shock.

Otto’s demeanor changes from this and he’s colder to her from here on out. She also discovers the tumor’s existence. He’s unprofessional and no matter what she said she’s a child and he’s an adult so fuck him, grrr!

Later that night, Otto decided to use a device on Noone to locate the tumor, believing it to be the gateway to the Nowhere. Noone is coming in and out of sleep and Otto is unhinged. He has some sort of brain imaging device and he finds her tumor. Upon viewing it, it LOOKS AT HIM, and its stare is seemingly painful. As it watches him, the machine breaks.

Something has happened to Noone…

And we’ve been cliffhangered. In the words of the great Rouxls Kaard:

GOD. DAMN IT.

Some analysis:

I fucking loved this episode. Of the few legitimate theories I have (this episode mainly backs up the ones I already there), Eyes in your brain lead to the Nowhere, the Ferryman is its guardian, and it can bleed into our world too are all that’s new. Pretty simple!

Also, I believe the “bag-headed man” was once a normal child or normal man, and he’s meant to embody some sort of desire or hunger along with the nasty children. Noone’s explanation of him and the children each wanting what the other has also is meant to parallel to some degree her and Otto.

Additionally, the propeller cap is either the man’s or the Nome’s. As for the children, I don’t think those children were always children (assuming they even are children now) or perhaps they originated in the Nowhere. There’s something wrong with those guys.

I think the man might be in Little Nightmares 3. There was a suspiciously sewer-themed area in the trailer so fingers crossed!

Also, I believe CiCi is Otto’s sister. There’s mention briefly of Otto being just a boy and also looking “nothing like” his sister.

Lastly, something bad has happened to Noone y’all. I don’t know what, but I think the answers fall under two categories: physical harm or vanishing. We’ve got one more episode left and I can’t wait for it.

EDIT

Holy shit I can’t believe I didn’t consider that they both might be in the Nowhere now. I honestly love that idea, along with the possibility that the final recording will be taken while in the Nowhere. LOVE THAT!

Apologies if this summary heavy, but I hope this gave folks some delicious morsels to nibble on until next week! Thanks for reading and god I love this fucking podcast so much, it has filled the Magnus-shaped hole in me hearto. Anywho, toodles!

#the sounds of nightmares #little nightmares #the ferryman little nightmares #noone #tson

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aotopmha · 11 days

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I've been finally watching an FF7 playthrough and I did not expect what the game's identity ended up being.

Currently at the end of "Disc 1".

I knew about Aerith's death long before I truly cared about Final Fantasy, but what I did not know about was literally anything else.

Aerith's backstory as an ancient, Sephiroth's characterisation as an horror villain across the game, Barret and Dyne, Nanaki and Seto.

Before Aerith even dies, we learn Sephiroth can literally control Cloud and he first ends up beating her up and then later at the capital almost killing her because of Sephiroth's ability to control him.

It's fucked, but absolutely incredible storytelling by itself.

Sephiroth's minimalistic presence itself makes him a fantastic villain because of his relation to Cloud and whatever screwed up cosmic horror Jenova is.

I did not see any of the psychological aspects of the story coming.

And I think it's an incredibly well-told narrative from just a plain script perspective, too.

Everything matters in some form, very few dialog boxes are wasted.

I also get why everyone is shipped with everyone.

Because all of them have such strong dynamics with each other even if the dialog is really straight-forward.

Guess I'm 100% a fan.

(Also as a massive FF14 fan, FF7 is an absolutely fascinating thematic companion to FF14 and I'm only at the end of disc 1.

I love, love how FF14 does its own thing while paying tribute to all other FFs. It's absolutely a tribute, but still very much has its own identity as a game and narrative.)

I'm turning into kind of a massive FF fan narratively at least, I think – FF7 is fantastic dark sci-fi/fantasy, FF6 fantastic steampunk/high fantasy and FF14 is some of the best long-form storytelling ranging from lower to higher fantasy, light-hearted to dark fantasy and a bunch of aesthetics beyond these basics that somehow all blend.

Now from all other FF stories I've seen fully, I think FF10, FF4 and FF16 are the ones I'd place lower narratively.

I think FF10 is my least fav of these because none of the cast did much for me, FF4 has the least depth narratively, though it is still pretty fun and FF16 suffers a bunch because of its uneven last third or so, even if I like the cast and base themes a bunch.

But what I like about them all the most is that even within the turn-based formula they all feel very different to each other, again, narratively-speaking. 16 is very little like 7 and even 4 and 6, the games I consider to be closest tonally handle characterisation and narrative structure pretty differently.

Each game brings something new to the table *the series* has not done before in some form. For example, as far as I know 16 is probably one of the most low fantasy games we've had in the series.

It's not new in the broader context of fantasy media, but it is new for FF.

And I like series that don't sit still like that.

#Final Fantasy VII #Final Fantasy 7 #FF7 #FFVII #FF #Final Fantasy

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gabichanwrites · 5 months

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I've seen an opinion about JJK that the story needs so much pointless death and unrealized potential because it is the point. That this is the world of JJK, cruel and killing off potential because of higher-ups indifference and carelessness with sorcerer's lives. That Gege did a brave thing by stepping out of the line of a typical shouen plot and made his characters suffer and die and pointed out the ridiculousness of adults making children fight for them.

And to all of that I say - I get it. But also I don't agree.

There is a significant difference between the potential in-universe and the potential of the characters. Sure, they overlap a lot, especially in series like JJK, but there is a difference. For example, both the characters and us have been thrilled with the unspoken potential of Megumi's "sacred treasure" and I'm pretty sure every single one of us went wild when he made his half-baked domain in S1. Also, he got Sukuna as his hypeman - it's hard to really top that in terms of potential. But when I say character potential, I don't mean only power scaling one - I mean what they could do in a story. And one of the best examples for me are The Twins. You know, the ones that try to bargain with Sukuna to kill off the Fake-Getou. And the quite pointless death of BOTH of them.

Their techniques personally interest me a lot but it's not even about that. Even if there is not that much space to explore with them cursed technique-wise, wouldn't it be so interesting if one of them got to live? Betrayed by every curse she turned for help to, alone in a raging Shibuya - forced to work with the School Gang? With their very differing opinions, with her wildly different perspective... Man, I'm not that good of a writer to figure it out on a fly. But there was potential there, a very interesting one, and wasting it isn't the nail on the coffin for Gege's story - but it does disappoint me, considering how hyped the story was for me beforehand. How much trust I put into Gege's writing.

And with the way things are going with Nanami, Nobara and, from what I've gathered from my partner's ashamed face when I mentioned my suspicions, Todou, this is no longer about power potential the characters had (although with Nobara it kinda still is). It's about how those deaths are hidden behind the smoke screen of theme and well, that's the cruelty of the world that tries to hide the balant shock-value of these deaths. Because back in season 1 Gojo already said it - that he knows killing higher-ups won't really solve anything. That it's about a new generation doing better, forcing a change others reject.

So why isn't this story about that? Why does it kill off THREE (?) characters for the sake of kicking Yuuji into dirt? Why does Mahito even require so many named deaths to establish... What exactly? That he's fucked up and immoral and direct opposite of Yuuji? That he can bring out the worst in him? I THINK I GOT THE POINT AFTER JUNPEI AND NANAMI, REALLY.

So, with the spoilers I have from the manga, I just feel like it's not quite right to call those deaths deserved because of the setting. Not when the story in S1 promised a change, a hopeful future set by the new generation.

And if that were never the main focus of the series, then I don't want to hear a single world about those deaths contributing to it because they are not.

Man, there is no one who wants to love JJK more than me and there is no one more heartbroken that I can't bring myself to do so anymore.

#jujutsu no kaisen #jjk #i mean i haven't read it but ive been spiiled and i talk about it #jujutsu no kaisen manga spoilers #jjk nanami #nanami kento #kugisaki nobara #aoi todo #itadori yuuji #mahito #jjk critical #unfortunately i'm not over it #and twitter does not help #what a surprise

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besiegedhunter · 5 months

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Projekt Red: Desire for connection and her relationship with Kal'tsit and Grandma.

So originally this was going to just be about Red's relationship with Kal'tsit but thinking about it, I decided I wanted to discuss many other facets of Red when it comes to her connections with other people.

But without further ado:

Setting the scene.

Firstly I want to discuss the possible themes of family and accompanying themes for Siracusa and particularly Lupos.

Nothing illustrates it better than the founding story of Siracusa: the story of the She-Wolf, which takes inspiration from Rome's founding story of Romulus and Remus. A story that ends with Romulus killing his brother Remus, which I say for a reason.

From Rewinding Breeze's Stories from the Sky, it goes as such:

I want to specifically point out the final line of this cropped version: "From then on, Lupos stopped separating themselves into tribes, and called each other family instead."

The story of the She-Wolf and founding of Siracusa is specifically connected to family and Lupos and I think that the state of the She-Wolf's family is echoed in other Lupo's families. Maybe not purposefully but the inversion of wolves, known for their packs is what I imagine they're going for.

But to call attention to Lupos with strained families or connected to lonliness:

Texas's Father killed her Grandfather, leading to the destruction of the Texas family which she herself just watched, tired of it all and before meeting Emperor was alone thereafter.

Lappland hates her Father more than anything else but Siracusa, with her cutting ties with him entirely after Il Siracusano and him vowing to kill her if they meet again. Also due to her exile she's described as a Lone Wolf.

The Bellone family falls apart in Il Siracusano, with several betrayals and rifts caused throughout the event.

Capone and Gambino, once sworn brothers, become enemies in Code of Brawl.

Gertrude suffered abuse from her father and killed her brother, living and dying alone thereafter.

Pozyomka's whole family was murdered right in front of her, leading to her distrusting the surface and fleeing alone till finding a home with the Durin, though with undeniable differences between them.

Horn is implied to dislike her Father's action but her story following Episode 9, wherein she loses her whole squad but Bagpipe, became Dublinn's prisoner and survived alone in Londinium's sewers with only Metal Crabs as company hones in more on the loneliness.

Crownslayer's parents dying in the Chernobog sarcophagus purge. Reunion falling and then Red killing her mentor, leaving her with no one.

But there's one I left out in this for the sake of focusing on it.

Kinship.

This is Red's Trust 1 and 2 voicelines, Both portray her loneliness and call to two different things. I'll get onto her Trust 2 in a bit but for Red's Trust 1, it shows that whereas where other Lupos or Siracusans have turmoil with their families, either having them be strained, broken or dead, Red doesn't have a family.

Now, it is mentioned in Red's file 4 the existence of someone called Grandma who is responsible for why Red is the way she is, having been the one to raise her, uh, "raise her" before Kal'tsit.

Il Siracusano reveals the existence of beings known as the Signore dei Lupi who are Lupine Beast Lords like Emperor or Gawain and revealing that Grandma is one of them as well as what she expects from Red. Basically, the Signore dei Lupi each have a Fang that they train to kill the other Signore dei Lupi's Fangs. Red is Grandma's Fang.

The Signore dei Lupi claim territory in the wastes of Siracusa. Red's module confirms that this is where Red was trained in the least but as Il Siracusano introduces Lunacub, another Fang who only knows the wilderness and has no family like Red, it can be inferred that Red too was raised away from society, in the wilderness only knowing Grandma.

But even with Lunacub sharing almost the same upbringing that Red did there's a profound difference in how they were raised by their respective Signore dei Lupi. One that results in Lunacub being more capable and sociable than Red.

As said, Red has many problems. She's stated to have both educational as well as social problems. She cuts anything that gets close to her. I believe that her speech is broken (more evident in CN text if I'm right). And has limited empathy.

And as illustrated by her Trust 2:

She has a yearning to bond with other Lupos specifically it appears from this and her module which includes a ball made of fur specifically mentioned to be for when there's no Lupo tails to touch. Which, her wanting to bond with others would make sense.

There's a theme with Red's Trust lines where each line she doesn't take a hard stance on, moreso questioning or confused by something whether it's the importance of family, why she's being avoided or what her life could've been if she wasn't a Wolf Hunter i.e. met Grandma.

The final line of her Trust 3 is the Doctor asking Red to answer the question herself, which I think calls back to her module that really hammers in that Red struggles thinking for herself:

Something that Kal'tsit recognizes and points out herself:

So I see Red's Trust lines as her not being able to understand what she's feeling, the best she can do is to question things that she has feelings about deep down or have deeper meaning to her that she's not aware of.

Being that if she wasn't a Wolf Hunter she could have lived a happier life. She maybe would've had a family of her own. Could approach and befriend other Lupos. Have a bond with others, something that she can't at the moment.

I feel that Red's targeting of Lupos in her Trust 2 is for sure because of Siracusa's emphasis on Lupos and between the She-Wolf & her children and the Signore dei Lupi there is an emphasis on Wolves sticking together.

There's also something specifically with Red, cause the Signore dei Lupi as far as we've seen only have Lupos as their Fangs which on top of the emphasis on Lupos and wolf packs actually goes a level deeper due to two points:

I made a whole post about this but basically: Zaaro demonstrates the same or near identical ability as Red scaring Lupos and Vigil describes it as "kinship" and in the second and third images through Ho'olheyak we learn that Kukulkans and likely all Ancients were originally actual creatures.

So Lupos likely were originally actual Wolves, with the Signore dei Lupi or rather Lupine Beast Lords were kin with in some way or another and able to exert power over them through kinship, like Zaaro demonstrates in that image.

But also likely what Red is doing to scare Lupos, which is tragic. She wants kinship with her fellow Lupos but if I'm correct with this, then unbeknownst to her she has stronger kinship with them than any other Lupo and it's exactly why they're terrified of her.

Also a side note, I do wonder if in IS-ST-4 Red sees Crownslayer as someone she's somewhat fine with and if it's a result of Crownslayer being a Lupo by her account.

Cause there's "Is she your Kal'tsit?" which I'll delve into, but her expression is a happy one as opposed to her resting one for the rest of the conversation and in general she feels too casual.

But that's just a thought. Now, onto the next part:

Grandma and Kal'tsit.

"I do as Grandma/Kal'tsit says"

It's the exact same thing for both of them and by all means it should be. Grandma and Kal'tsit are the people who raised Red, albeit one better than the other.

With the minimal knowledge that Kal'tsit has about Grandma she suspects her to be responsible for the problems Red has that Rhodes has laid out in her files:

As I showed before, Grandma only taught Red what Grandma deemed Red would need to know to accomplish what Grandma wanted before throwing her into a traumatic experience and then doing it again:

And as the end of that paragraph, the way that Grandma raised Red, what she threw her into again and again would have killed her in some way if it wasn't for Kal'tsit.

Now, this is where our information about Grandma dries up as she's not mentioned in Il Siracusano outside of that one screenshot and we don't yet know how Kal'tsit met Red but what we do know is what Kal'tsit did upon meeting her:

Kal'tsit saw the problems that Red has and like Rosmontis, probably recognized how severe they were and decided to provide her with shelter in exchange for Red aiding Rhodes Island through her combat skills.

We also know that Rhodes Island put Red through several tests, likely headed by Kal'tsit herself who we also know tried coming up with several contingencies before scrapping them, destroying test data and classifying a lot of information regarding Red because of the severity and delicate nature of her situation.

But while there's nothing that she can do and by extension Rhodes, she still tries to help Red, whether by teaching her outright like the homework she gets her to do or by teaching her moral lessons which I believe she does in 6-11 after Crownslayer leaves.

Kal'tsit puts in a lot of effort to help Red which really contrasts Grandma's lack of care or affection or help. If Grandma had done much of anything then Red wouldn't have the problems she does, she like Lunacub could've known care and affection and end up better because of it.

But Red, the awful experiences she's gone through, how even now she struggles and doesn't know how to do a lot of things and yearns for affection from other Lupos, is because of how Grandma raised her.

And now Kal'tsit is doing her best to help Red, despite likely knowing that Red will one day leave and that Kal'tsit can't do much to help her and that it's up to Red to help herself at the end of the day. She put in a lot of effort for her.

How Red feels about Kal'tsit on the other hand I feel is quite complicated.

A lot of the time when Red talks or thinks about Kal'tsit it's what Kal'tsit has done for her or their agreement. There's not anything so much resembling the worry Kal'tsit puts in for her. Which I think isn't for lack of care for Kal'tsit.

Going back to how Red says she does what Grandma says and Kal'tsit says in the same way, right?

Red struggles to think for herself. It's what her Trust lines are about. It's what Kal'tsit sees that Red needs to do in her File 4. It's what her module is about. But Red can't and it's the basis of her relationship with Grandma, which is the only one that she knew for ages.

Grandma would teach her something, expecting her to accomplish it and then Red would be thrown out to do it. Likely this repeated and Red came to rely on Grandma to know what to do and not yet having learnt to be autonomous, Red now leans on Kal'tsit in a similar way.

Red doesn't know what it's like to have a parent or a friend, she only knows a master and while I'm sure Kal'tsit tries to not have their relationship be that, Red is the one who sees it as such.

But I think like the Trust lines being Red's attempt of touching upon deeper feelings, I think Red holds that care for Kal'tsit but she knows no different than how she acted with Grandma but it comes through. In it's own way.

And here is where I leave this off because sadly the state Red is in right now isn't the most happy state but I hope you enjoyed reading. Red's got a lot of developing to do for her eventual event and I cannot wait to see what happens between her and Grandma and hopefully Kal'tsit.

I just deem their relationship as really really important and while I'm sure Red will get closer to others in her event, Kal'tsit is so important I hope it's shone some light on in the event itself or an oprec or module.

#arknights #projekt red #kal'tsit #red doesn't have an oprec yet #and I get it #the state she's in makes it pretty difficult #but at the same time #something please

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martellspear · 5 months

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Daeron I tried to imitate Aegon the Conqueror, but forgot what made him so successful in the first place: Limits. Aegon knew there was a limit on his conquests, Daeron had a child's vision of war and I don't blame the Dornish for murdering him under the banner of peace, yet in and out universe, the Dornish are reviled for defending themselves. Daeron was genuinely skilled and charismatic, but too arrogant and impatient.

"A conquest that lasted a summer. He wasted five thousand men in conquering Dorne and ten thousand in holding it. Somebody should have told him that war isn't a game."

I've been interacting with the asoiaf fandom for two years now and it’s, honestly to say the least, revolting how Dorne is treated by some (and I’ll include the show’s writers in that). Just this week I came across a post about how Dorne should keep itself out of the Seven Kingdoms business and how they shouldn’t “stick their noses where it doesn’t belong”. Now, I don’t know if it was jokingly or not, but it still is the same thing some characters and, from what I’ve seen, some readers genuinely think.

Historically, resisting this sort of “endeavor” has always casted a bad light over those who refuse to submit. They are seen as in need of a “righteous” person to guide them towards what’s considered to be the adequate path. We're taught to see the ones standing against oppression as condemnable. There's been a similar situation in Brazil’s history, and we can parallel the treatment towards the northeast region (which had many rebellions against the Crown during the Imperial era, was hard to control and discarded in favor of other regions and those who were born there suffer great prejudice to this very day) to what happens to Dorne.

Also, I'd like to say that The Dornish have always defended themselves and I'm honestly glad they did :).

Daeron did what he did not only because he saw war as a game but because he felt entitled to Dorne (the place that stood against a > dragon < but sure!! It'd work this time). We see this over and over with the Targaryens: they do what they want because of their name and the power that comes with it.

We can go into a deeper discussion regarding other themes that surround this if you want! You know you're always welcome to message me ♡.

#a song of ice and fire #dorne #asoiaf #anti targaryen #house martell #chatterbox nia

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thelesbianpoirot · 9 months

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It's fine...

I did not like the Barbie movie. I didn't hate it, it was just a slog to get through. I was cringing, bored or annoyed. I didn't expect it to be groundbreaking, but I also didn't expect it to be a generic pop culture icon comes to the real world hijinks movie either. I thought it would be this eras Mean Girls, oddly insightful message hidden in a unassuming package. I was a bit let down. 1. The messaging in the movie is so convoluted. There is some basic feminism about women being allowed to be imperfect people, who grow and change, but then they have women save the day by seducing men, feminine wiles to distract them, and sew discord amongst them like woman are accused of, instead of any real innovative non-stereotypical plans. Men aren't really shown to be malicious, just misguided, unappreciated and incompetent, but they essentially wanted to run barbieland/kendom as a gentleman's club/hooters/ a brothel (if they knew anything about sex), they suffer no consequences for this. The movie "don't worry darling" that people shat on last year because of drama had a way more consistent message and theme than this. 2. The kens are so ugly. The Barbies except for like one or two are supermodel types, yet all the kens are just men you'd find in a parking lot of a Walmart, even the ken that belongs to the stereotypical Barbie is old and has an old man's body. If the Barbies are supposed represent perfect womanhood, why not the men? I know i'm a lesbian but other than the barbie that is clearly a man with plastic surgery uncanny valley face, and nasally voice, they all are hot. They just picked random men to be ken, like if Kens are supposed to be decorative accessories, how come Kens can be shlubby and old. And Barbie can't. You could say it's supposed to be that way, but they write it like Ken's are equally objectified, or a perfect specimen of manhood, but they don't have to look nearly as good as the barbs. 3. I expected weird Barbie to be our lesbian representation, I hoped a subtext of her weirdness meant she wasn't het, they didn't even have to give her a girlfriend, Kate carries lesbian subtext with her, but they had Kate McKinnon say a line about wanting to see Ken's smooth privates despite earlier in the movies Barbie and Ken don't know what sex is. Was it written just to make sure we don't think she's a lesbian? Alan is implied to be gay, by a line or two, but I just think it is a wasted.

4. The dialogue is too plain to be surreal. It wasn't transported to this world, I was lectured to, by a teacher speaking through dolls/puppets. I won't complain about it not being funny, because I know comedy is subjective, but the dialogue did nothing for me. It was preachy in a lot of areas, and I wouldn't have some a problem with preachiness if the message didn't suck. "We just need to coddle and comfort men to get/maintain our rights?"

5. There wasn't a single line or reference to tomboy girls, masc girls, gnc girls/women, like the existence of women who may not want living bright pink empty existences. I wouldn't count weird barbie as gnc, because it wasn't a natural feature of hers, not something she chose. Main Barbie at the end just looks the same, and probably has the same interests, she just wears flat sometimes. GIVE BARBIE A BUZZCUT and some combat boots. IDK Mean Girls had a more radical consistent message in the 2000s.

I don't think I am explaining it right, but why not have Sasha, gloria's daughter be a tomboy that genuinely isn't into this stuff, instead of just pretending she's too cool for it. It is just always a little bit of a let down when a film/movie claims to be speaking to women but instead it speaks to femininity/instead of femaleness. i.e, I do like that barbie when to the gyno.

6. I don't think this movie would be as popular as it is, if it was just about a generic doll, and not connect to the barbie brand name. There is absolutely nothing in this movie that stands out to me. It is barely better than a sonic comes to the real world, or smurfs come to the real world story to me. It's fine. Every woman who said she felt a deep connection with the women they watched it with, I am jealous of you, like what are we connecting over? Our joint love of clothes, pink, our goofy yet lovable boyfriends? I feel nothing.

7. Ken, Ryan Gosling, was given too much screen time without Barbie. Everyone online is singing his praises. Saying that he was the best one in the movie, what were they talking about? He was doing Saturday night live worthy performances. I am starting to think these people just love men. Because the only value this movie had is the few scenes where Margot Robbie is allowed to show genuine sadness, dismay and existential dread.

8. The parts I appreciated: a) Barbie meeting that older woman on the bench, b) am I a man without power a woman? c) Barbie deny Ken's any real power. (They should have exiled the Kens to fucking the desert!).

Overall, I like a line or two lines, but all together it is just a confused movie. Not confusing, but this was a movie talking in circles to distract you that it is saying nothing of value really. Real throwing shit at the wall kind of messaging. It's like a whole movie of not a single new or exciting idea or concept being is introduced to you. I wouldn't care to watch it again, or spend time ranting and raving about it online. But I just felt like sharing. I will forget the contents of the movie in a day or two.

#thelesbianpoirot #barbie

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