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shaymcsudonim · 2 years

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Okay, it's finally time for me to write a Gamer Webtoon essay on the figurative and literal Garbage Man, Yeonhwa of Poison.

First off, let me start by saying that I love this character. And that if he does betray Jihan at some point, I will absolutely not see it coming, because I have complete faith in him.

Now, with that disclaimer out of the way, let us examine exactly what the fuck is wrong with Yeonhwa of Poison, organized chronologically from his perspective.

Starting things off, his mother traded him away to be eaten during a time of famine, causing him to mutate into a mushroom demon. In this flashback, he states that he wants 'to make everyone full,' which presumably means that child Yeonhwa wants to end hunger, so that no one suffers the same fate that he did.

Sometime after that, he presumably joined Geumodo, and though he seems to share their fascination with apotheosis, he was unimpressed with their lack of both ambition and results, and left fairly quickly.

At some point, he traveled to Korea and joined Montain Hermit's Gate as a servant, and was put in charge purifying the overmind of the Korean Peninsula, a thankless task, which he performs without complaint, albeit in an extremely ruthless fashion.

And that is where he met Han Jihan, the Gamer, and we begin to see his story first hand.

As we saw during his introduction, Mountain Hermit's Gate treats Yeonhwa kindly, urging him to preserve his own life, and Yeonhwa later says that he'll always be grateful to the Mountain Lord.

The King of Yuldo Nation absolutely hates Jihan from their first meeting onward, and he and Yeonhwa seem to be acquainted, if not outright friends. Perhaps Jihan's subordination of Yeonhwa was the reason for the King of Yuldo Nation's animosity?

At any rate, even before meeting Jihan, Yeonhwa seemed to have no shortage of friends, allies, and colleagues in the Korean Abyss, and is clearly not a man who casually burns his bridges.

He also seems to already possess a moral code and an ambition. That is to say, rather than a person that changes through a character arc because of the way that the world has shaped them, Yeonhwa is the immovable object that seeks to change the world through scheming and sheer force of personality.

That is a large part of why his actions and motives in the narrative are so hard to predict. Unlike the typical Token Evil Teammate, Yeonhwa doesn't seem to have gone soft after joining forces with the protagonist.

When it comes to Yeonhwa's value system, his formative years are long gone, and the proverbial die has already been cast. All that remains is to parse out what exactly his motives are.

There's quote here, that I think encapsulates my take on Yeonhwa's personality, which some of you might recognize from Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog:

"He seems like a jerk when you first meet him, but there's another layer underneath once you get to know him."

"...okay, but sometimes there's a third layer under that, and it's exactly the same as the first. Like pie."

Of course, as in the source material, this three layered personality can also be inverted.

On the surface, Yeonhwa is friendly, polite, and only wishes to help.

One layer down, and Yeonhwa is a cruel and violent sadist, who wouldn't hesitate to take human lives, and who feels nothing whatsoever when his minions perish in battle.

And one layer further, in his innermost self, Yeonhwa is still that small child who wanted to end hunger.

In terms of his desires, Yeonhwa's appearance offers a clue. He dresses as a Female Shaman, and seems to only respect 'true gods.' As the meme goes, either Yeonhwa wants to create God, or he wants to kill God, and I'm not sure he cares if there's a difference.

We also see something of Yeonhwa's values during his initial fight with Jihan, in that he doesn't become emotional until he perceives Jihan as a threat to world stability, and once he realizes that he was mistaken, he deescalates and offers a truce.

Towards the end of the fight, it becomes almost like a friendly spar between the two of them, neither Jihan nor Yeonhwa taking things very seriously.

And let's not forget that the soul subordination contract was Yeonhwa's idea in the first place. One might think that when a being who can dissolve mind and spirit offers to enter a Soul subordination contract, he might already have the ability to dissolve soul and free himself, but that's still speculation at this point.

My own guess is that Yeonhwa entered the contract as a test of Jihan's character, and keeps the contract in order to grow his own power and influence the person who he thinks will be the next true god, Han Jihan.

And it is entirely possible that Jihan will ascend to Godhood, but there is another outcome that I think would be funnier:

Through his efforts to turn Jihan into a God, Yeonhwa will become a God, himself.

Do I have a justification for this beyond, 'it would be really cool? Not really.

Nonetheless, it is my current theory for how the current arc will conclude.

#Gamer webtoon #The gamer #Han Jihan #Yeonhwa of Poison

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theshinobiway · 4 years

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I read your other two posts about shipping nejiten and why you dont. I think you make good arguments about how marrying neji would take away tenten's freedom but I was actually wondering about how you view the ship from the perspective of someone who is married? Sorry of that doesn't make sense. I mean like how compatible you think their personalities are if the story was written differently.

Hey there anon!

So this will be my third time addressing the pairing and not to say it's any fault of yours, but I hope it's the last.

I care most about what makes a character develop in a way that is meaningful and beneficial for the overarching story. This extends into the pairings I choose to ship. I've also never been a big shipper to begin with and I'm indifferent to most pairings from any show I watch.

I also am married. Personally, fictional ships or shipping wars do not interest me in the slightest. I'd rather focus on my own, real, interpersonal relationships.

To expand on why I don't like talking about this pairing in particular: it's because I have been openly harassed by fans of the pairing both on this blog and on a previous blog that I eventually closed because my inbox blew up with angry stans that, a few years ago, I was not mentally equipped to handle. I've responded to around two to three asks openly on the blog, but at this point I've deleted in the range of 10-12 messages that I did not see fit to dignify with a response.

I figure that most of these comments come from underage followers who are too immature to understand complexities of romantic relationships or are simply too disinterested in talking about the literature to have open discourse with. They just want to ship what they believe the characters are like, have headcanons, and ignore the evidence contrary. As an adult, I have to handle this with patience and understanding. I'm not about to rage on any anon follower because I don't know their age or personal circumstances. And frankly, a fictional pairing is not worth tearing someone down over–I speak from experience.

Now, on to answering your question in full:

When it comes to the narrative, there isn't a common thread (theme, motif, storyline, etc.) that ties Neji and Tenten together. They both have the goal to get stronger, (As is the theme of team Gai at large) but Neji's story is MOST closely tied to Hinata/The Hyuga, Lee, and Naruto (in that order.) All three of those characters are sufficient enough to spur Neji's growth in his own arc. Tenten's support as a teammate is also sufficient enough. They are good battle partners (combining long range and short range) but the same is also said for Tenten and Lee. There's nothing special here. Nothing that screams "chemistry" or that "stands out."

The reason people love pairings such as SnS, NaruSaku, NaruHina, Sasusaku, SaiIno, ShikaTema, etc. is because all of these pairings have two partners that can equally contribute to the other's growth. Neji and Tenten simply do not have this. Tenten adds nothing to Neji that he does not already have: her support already comes from multiple other people in his life that understand his situation better. Tenten is often shown having a more common thread with Lee: they are both ninja that came from no special background and are overcoming their own weaknesses to pave their own path. You might say Tenten could humanize Neji or humble him, but Naruto and Lee already do that. Neji's closest female relationship is with Hinata, and that's where we see him become softer and more patient. Hinata is the one that humanizes Neji the most, and it's because they also share a same arc: literally, the Hyuga clan arc. She has the emotional intelligence to reach Neji and the position to make him believe in the determination of the once-talentless. That's THEIR arc as siblings.

I would also like people to ask themselves what exactly Neji can offer Tenten. In the reverse, I strongly can affirm that Neji does NOTHING for Tenten. He can train with her? So can the rest of her team, and she does. He can encourage her? So can the rest of her team, and they do–far more than Neji. He can calm her down when Gai/Lee do their antics? Okay, but is being a walking pacifier really a great foundry for a relationship? (Also, as Tenten gets older, part of her personal development is finally accepting her own goofy side and joining in!) In fact, his relationship and subsequent would inhibit her stated goals and dreams.

Tenten flat out does not want to have a traditional, feminine lifestyle of getting married. And as a married person, it's not impossible to understand why! Relationships and marriages are HARD work! It's not sailing into the sunset with kids and a house! They require commitment and upkeep! Sacrifice! They are a huge stressor (even the best marriages!) and you must balance the feelings and dreams of another person when you are deciding your future and make personal sacrifices.

Tenten wants to follow her hobbies and her dream is one of self-determination. Marrying Neji means introducing a rigid, hierarchical clan structure for which Tenten has no experience/interest in and is ill-prepared to handle. Her blunt, insensitive attitude would not fare well in the formal atmosphere of Hyuga affairs–this isnt a shoujo of rich guy/average girl. This is a shounen. She'll be expected to raise children and retire/hiatus from her career. This expectation does not help her goals or dreams and effectively halts her personal development.

In fact, had this pairing actually happened, shippers might have been happy that their pairing "made it," but I have no doubt that people would have ALSO called Tenten yet ANOTHER victim of Kishi's 'housewife' troupe next to Sakura and Temari. Making her Neji's wife erases what little personal identity and development she had. Why would you want to put the ONE woman who pursued her career and goals in a relationship and erase that? Because they have an aesthetic? I surely hope you never then complain about the fates of Sakura or Temari, then!

And on that note, "fixing the writing" to where Tenten is an 'empowered working mom' does NOT address Tenten's personal desires. I see this most often discarded in favor of ANY of her ships.

Tenten's purpose in the story is to show a woman who branches out from the norm. I also seldom see a woman in any story who is as balanced and flawed as she is while still being lovable. Also, despite relegating the other kunoichi to housewife status, Kishi deliberately let Tenten be a single woman who is not criticized for her decision. Japan itself still has a traditional mindset in that regard, and seeing the other cast members treat Tenten as normal–not even commenting on her relationship status–is a quiet, but no less significant addition to the story. It normalizes career women in a traditional atmosphere.

Gag about her store aside, Tenten's shop isn't doing poorly because she's a bad businesswoman or a spinster. It's been clearly stated by Tenten herself that it's because they are in a time of peace. Again, a small but significant detail that gets overlooked in Tenten's story. As Boruto progresses and war seems to loom on the horizon, I have no doubt her shop may get more business soon.

Tenten and Neji have the making of good friends and comrades with some common ground, and it's for the betterment of both of them personally that they stayed that way throughout the series. Good relationships add to characters and stories–they don't take things away.

Hopefully this finally puts my full opinions on the matter to rest. Fandom can do whatever it wants, but I'd like to not see any more of the ridiculous "pairing war" nonsense pop up in my inbox. Nejiten has FAR better reasons to stay platonic than it ever will to become canon, even in a rewritten story where Neji lives. If you want a pairing with this aesthetic but actually have chemistry and a shared narrative, look at Ren/Nora of RWBY (which, coincidentally, is actually one of the few pairings I enjoy.)

Thanks for contributing to the blog!

#nejiten #neji #nejitenten #naruto #naruto headcanons #asks #writing #female characters do not need relationships to be complete #I have this pairing blocked because all the anon hate really left a bad taste in my mouth #so that's where I stand #if you want to discuss canon then use canon evidence #not what you believe the subtext of their interactions are #it's a shounen and their few interactions are NOT that deep #tell me about the chunin exams and I'll point out that Tenten was the Opposing support to Sakura and Ino #and Kishi deliberately never painted them as romantic anywhere in his manga #he had the final say in all pairings #and chose to endorse Konoha Hiden where Tenten affirmed she never wanted a relationship #it's clear Tenten was supporting a teammate #and never her romantic rinterest #hell she noticed Kakashi and Sasuke more than Neji #and in a shonen pairings are made VERY clear #there's no way around it.#neji hyuga #neji hyuuga #hinata #hinata hyuga #hinata hyuuga #tenten #rock lee

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jayraephoenix · 6 years

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Seeing as Blizzard hasn't given exact dates for everything, I've tried my best with all of the dates below. For Alchemist, I am assuming that the current game takes place in 2076. For references to where I've gotten my dates, just ask. Also, feel free to message me asking general questions on Willow, or if you'd like to roleplay with her.

~~~

Fandom: Overwatch.

Name: Willow "Alchemist" Moore.

Species: Human.

Gender: Female.

Age: 34, Born in the year 2042

Sexuality: Bisexual. Prefers men over women, but won't turn down a female's advances.

Team: Talon.

Class: Offense.

Personality: The Alchemist is incredibly motivated, and once she has her mind set on something, she will work tirelessly towards. Sometimes that something is a new formula for her chemicals, sometimes it's a conundrum created by Talon for her to solve, but more often than not, it's an objective placed before her in the form of a mission.

One of her strengths is her intelligence, but at the same time, it's a weakness; she has a quick tongue, and her obsessive nature combined with her IQ has meant that she can get into situations which are hard to escape from without getting injured. It's not uncommon for her to attempt something on the field without telling her teammates, so those working with her need to be prepared for a sudden push, or to defend her back if she miscalculated.

Surprisingly, seeing as she's on Talon's side, Willow wants to help the world become a better place in the long run. Much like Widowmaker, her mind has slowly warped the longer she stayed with Talon, however unlike the spider, it wasn't a typical brain-washing. She still has emotions, and though she lacks in empathy for her enemies, she can be reasoned with, so trying to connect with a common interest is the best way to avoid getting scorched.

Appearance: Standing at 5" 8, she's just above the average for a woman. Her natural hair colour is a light blonde, on the edge of being platinum, but it's usual to see multi-coloured streaks decorating it (the same colours as the different toxins she uses; more on those later). She has pale skin, which isn't surprising considering she's from England. Her eyes are brown, dark enough that in certain lights they look black. There are no scars marking her face, but she has a very noticeable feature (if her hair wasn't memorable enough). Her entire right arm is bionic, thanks to an accident with her work.

Usual outfit: Her normal outfit consists of a dark boiler suit, with flame-retardant gloves and pipes snaking around her right wrist, up into her bionic arm, which then attaches to the tank on her back. This holds three different chemical creations. Each has a specific colour and ability. The pipes are connected to a gun, similar to a flamethrower. She wears a double filter gas mask and goggles, to protect herself from the noxious gases she uses.

Weapons: The three different chemical mixes in the tank are purple, blue and green. Respectively, purple is a blend of oils, that will light an enemy on fire if the flame on the front is lit. It is her main attack.

Blue is an hallucinogenic, causing whoever inhales it to begin attacking their teammates, as their vision becomes warped. This is her second attack. It isn't effective against those with a face mask or filter. This includes characters like Soldier 76, but it all depends on the skin/outfit they are wearing. For example, if D.Va is in her mech, it doesn't affect her, and if Tracer is in her T.Racer skin, the gas is blocked.

Green is an acid, and can melt armour and plating. This is her ultimate, and can only target those close to her.

As well as having the hallucinogenic as a secondary attack, she can sprint like Soldier 76 can.

Specifics: All of her chemicals are completely safe to handle, even with bare skin; they only become reactive upon hitting a flame. This means that against Mei, Willow will become ineffective, and have to run away to reignite the flame on the front of her weapon.

Her arm is one of the improvements that she has gotten whilst working in Talon. She gained it via an accident with her green, acidic chemical; it didn't react in the way she'd expected during the early stages, and exploded while she was holding it. It caught her right arm, eating away the muscle there, and effectively crippling the entire limb. She wanted to be on the field, but with such a disability, doing so would be dangerous, therefore she had it replaced. Not only did it make her more effective in the long run, but it also meant that Moira had another guinea pig for a short period of time.

Background: Hailing from Britain, Willow used to work as a chemist, creating different medicines to treat the sick. After the attack at King's Row, when the Null Sector bots came and destroyed her business (Willow was aged 27 at the time, 2069), she promptly decided that she could do more than just heal the wounded caused by such fights. Instead, she could prevent the illness before it even started to spread.

With these goals in mind, she began to train, using her knowledge to create chemical weapons with the ability to burn her enemies. She started from scratch, but her persistence and perseverance meant that she put on muscle mass quickly, and learnt endurance and developed stamina. However, instead of going to Overwatch, she strayed to the side of Talon; she was no hero, and had always leaned towards the darker parts of life in her past. Not only that, but with Overwatch being illegal through the Petras Act, there was no way she could have joined them anyway.

For the first few missions she was a part of, they weren't interupted in any way; that was good, considering she was still getting used to everything. However, the first agent who tried to intercept her had no idea of what he was getting into. Soldier 76 had stopped their delivery in Dorado, and Alchemist had become obsessed from the moment she saw him. This was the start of a long journey between them, one involving both successful and failed attempts to woo/kidnap the older man.

Relationships: As previously stated, Willow wants a relationship with Overwatch's Soldier 76. However, any interaction must be left on the field, or if she were to kidnap him, because a Talon soldier in the clutches of Overwatch would be a recipe for disaster. The older man always tries to shut down her advances, but she isn't easily deterred.

The person she's closest to on her own team is probably the Reaper, because they share a lot of traits and morals which the others don't have. Not only that, but he was the first person she met in Talon, as he was technically the one who recruited her. Plus, she can pick his brains about the infamous Jack Morrison, the Golden Boy of the old Overwatch.

Apart from him, she gets on fairly well with Moira, only because of their smarts and common interest in science.

Extras: She has a tattoo on the lower half of her back, one which, if you were to ask, she'd explain was a complex alchemy table, based more on the philosophical, rather than scientific, side of alchemy. She got it when she was younger, around her mid-twenties.

Ever since her attention got directed towards the Soldier, Alchemist has been working on a new formula to try and mimic that of the super soldier serum. It's pink in colour, and while it certainly improves stamina for a short period of time, it isn't long-term like what she is hoping for. Not only that, but it has an unwanted affect of increased libido. Further tests are required on that one before it's used on the field, or that'd be a nightmare. She's also working on a way to adapt her suit so that if she's lagging or injured in any way, it'll administer a shot of Moira's healing juice; again, this is still a work in progress.

#overwatch #alchemist oc #my oc #willow/alchemist #feel free to message me

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kalinara · 7 years

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1/2 Let's talk about Rip and how he's different from (afaik) everyone else in the flarrowverse. On the one hand, how do Sara and Kendra (I'd add Amaya but she's from the past and pre-Womens' Lib) (if it's been shown) usually get addressed by anyone, Miss or Ms? Because I find that very old-fashioned of Rip to use Miss, but otoh, very forward/future that he's respectful of women's skills, doesn't question them, undercut them, immediately assigns them tasks he (presumably) could do (cont'd)

2/2 (1x03, opens the trunk, “Sara” and she deals with the man who got them in, as Rip throws his hat in). I find him fascinating that he doesn’t really live in the present (2016, 2017, 2018) but in a more equal (apparently) society than we have now and he respects them all (I think even Mick a bit, after the Chronos reveal) and doesn’t treat the women in a gendered way. Agree? Disagree? A bit of both?

I generally agree. I can’t think of a single time when Rip expressed any kind of doubt or hesitation when it comes to the skill or capabilities of his female teammates. If anything, he was relying on Sara first, before any of the other characters.

Though I wonder about the idea that he actually comes from a more equal society. I think on the surface that’s true. The Time Masters don’t say anything to indicate that they think less of women than men. Miranda leaving the Time Masters for Rip could arguably be a sexist storyline, but it’s presented as her choice, because of an overarching ideological conflict: she can’t work for an organization that demonizes love.

Her exact quote is: “I could never belong to an organization that turns its back on the truth.”

One thing that we tend to forget about that scene as that after that line, Rip is ready to follow her. He even notes that his chosen profession suddenly seems “so terribly unimportant”. But she pushes him to stay. Though she also says that she hopes that someday he’ll realize what she did.

So I think that while the overall narrative concept of a woman giving up a career for love can be sexist, I don’t think that the in character rationale was. Miranda had reasons for her choice. Rip supported her choice. And the Time Masters accepted her choice without gender being a part of any of their explanations.

At the same time, in a lot of ways, the Time Masters seem pretty patriarchal. We have seen female captains (Eve Baxter) and female assassins (the Pilgrim), but there don’t seem to be any prominent women in the Time Council. (Granted, it’s poorly lit, but we don’t even catch a glimpse.) The most prominent of the villains are Druce and Declan, both men. Most of the Captains that experience Snart, Sara and Gideon’s sabotage in Destiny seem to be men. (Though I think there was a woman or two.)

And I still think it’s a little weird that Gideon is the only AI that we see using a female voice.

I suspect the Time Masters, as an organization, likely believe themselves to be enlightened in terms of gender, but the environment still contains a pretty heavy male bias.

I don’t get the sense of that same bias from Rip himself though. Even in terms of address. IIRC, he starts calling Kendra and Martin by first name first. Sara, Ray and Jax tend to get their first name or Miss/Mr./Dr. Last Name depending on the context of the conversation. And he’s never used Len or Mick’s first names. That seems more like a comfort level thing than a gendered thing to me. (Similarly, at this point in time, Amaya still seems to be Ms. Jiwe exclusively.)

Possibly we can credit the lack of obvious gender bias to Mary Xavier, and depending on how young he was when they first worked together, Gideon. (Depending on whether he had spent any of his very early life with his father, then we can probably add Aunt Michelle, Rani - would would be near adult by then, and any of Booster’s old teammates who might have dropped by as positive influences as well.) If most of Rip’s early interests are formidable women (or vaguely female associated incorporeal AIs) then it makes sense that he’d grow up with more of a respect for women than some of his fellows might have.

#rip hunter #legends of tomorrow #speculation

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