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the making of enoshima junko

junko is a fascinatingly funny villain who defies so many attempts to understand her, reason with her, or empathize with her. i think the creator of danganronpa even said she was made to be a villain who’s impossible to relate to or understand. BUT HERE I AM, writing a meta about the inner workings of her mind and her motivations as a villain and how much of a tragedy she really was, because i am out here empathizing with her and loving her with all my heart.

i think she can be difficult to understand, and it’s easy to give up and explain away her actions as just “an obsession with despair” but there’s so much more going on that i just can’t leave it at that. 

SO HERE WE GO: what the fuck is going on in junko’s mind?

[contains MAJOR spoilers for the first and second games and danganronpa 0; includes content from unlocked bonus mode games]

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Been thinking (ya know instead of sleeping) on how busted White Lily will be when she inevitably gets an awakened form due to power creep. It likely won’t be for now just based on where the narrative is and how she’s still relatively good in the meta and with Holly right there along with the witch arc too but yeah. Like she’s already strong and her animation be crazy on the processing so idk how that’ll work. That’s not even touching on how that’ll work narratively.

(My opinion on that while I’m half asleep is she’ll break down due to Dark enchantress then deal with her beast).

But yeah I’m signing off I don’t even want to think about the beasts in the future getting buffed. 😅

Do you ever just hyperfixate on something and now it takes up most of your tags and no matter how hard you try you don’t get any other content other than said thing in your “Your Tags” page

I had to figure out comparative Raimi-verse and Webb-verse character strength for a fic once and found out that this scene:

has absolutely bonkers implications (and is also physically impossible).

For reference, the thing that's attached to the other end of that cable he's holding is a pre-2010 Roosevelt Tramway car. It weighs 18,300 pounds, or 9.16 tons, when empty, and it is currently loaded (though I'll be ignoring the weight of the passengers in this post for the sake of easier math). That is an absolutely insane amount of weight to hold one-handed, and he's not bracing or shifting his weight to counter it at all.

This means that Norman is much, much stronger than the 800% increase in strength promised by the performance enhancers. I don't know exactly how the ratios translate, but if Norman can hold 9 tons without effort in one hand, he can probably bench press two or three times that. Eight times the current unequipped bench press record is 6,256 pounds, or 3.12 tons, roughly a third of the weight he is currently supporting. And Peter is capable of beating Norman hand-to-hand, which requires a rough parity in strength. Therefore, Peter is also absolutely insanely strong. They're both closer to Thor's weight class than to Captain America's.

So much for the overanalysis of what this single shot means for Norman and Peter's abilities. Here's where we get to what makes the scene impossible: weight ratios. Norman is not sticky, like Peter. He does not have foot clamps on the bridge like he does on his glider. There is no physical way that a 180-190 pound dude, however inhumanly strong, can hold that much weight without skidding right off of the bridge into freefall. By all rights, this should not be a shot of the Green Goblin standing menacingly over Peter Parker, it should be a shot of a green blur getting yanked off the side of the Queensboro Bridge by the force generated by 9.15 tons of falling metal, and that absolutely cracks me up laughing.

The way Ianthe performs life-extending experiments on apples, the forbidden fruit, the original sin……sexy

Therealvinelle (spelling? but you seem to know eachother) added this to your meta post about if other Cullens were in love with Bella "Now someone please ask what happens if all the Cullens fall in love with Bella.

Or better yet, the entire cast. Just, all the Twilight characters."

I'm actually curious on thoughts

@therealvinelle can reap what she sowed.

(More seriously, it’d take me weeks to get to this post ordinarily due to the state of my inbox and this’ll get a response sooner that I can add comments to if needed)

Anyone else think a lot about how at the end of canon, Lan Wangji has had time to mature for 10+ years into a guy in his mid-30s, but Wei Wuxian still has the life experience and general maturity of a war-traumatized early 20-something?

Because like. Wei Wuxian died young and he died tragically, and everyone who was around him then that's still there after he's resurrected has gotten to live their lives. They got to mature. They've had 13/16 years to heal (or not heal -_-) and learn who they are. To become fully realized adults outside of the pressures of war. And Wei Wuxian hasn't had that. If you believe MXTX's interview that circulates on this site sometimes, he spent those 16 years in a suspended state of agony. And even if you don't believe that, he was still dead. Non-existant.

For Wei Wuxian, the war is fresh. The pain is fresh. He has no idea what's doing because he's barely an adult, if admittedly a highly skilled one for his age. The world has moved on around him and he has stayed in place. What does he do with that?

Wei Wuxian had no choice but to pretend that he's moved on, too, because that war that took so much from him was almost two decades ago, now. The Wen Remnants have been dead for over 10 years. What use is it to dig up old hurts? Except, those hurts are still hurting him.

When he died, Wei Wuxian was helping care for Lan Sizhui. Wen Yuan. When he died, Lan Wangji raised A-Yuan with the Lan. If Wei Wuxian was dead for 13/16 years and A-Yuan was 3/4 when he died, then Lan Sizhui is about his age, or very close to it.

This is the child he was raising. This child is now his peer.

Wei Wuxian has memories of war and tragedy, but no one to talk to. The juniors, who are closest to him in relative age, haven't known war, and everyone who has known it has moved on. He's trapped between generations, and that has to be so incredibly isolating.

Jiang Yanli, the Wen Remnants, Wen Qing of particular note, all of them died shortly before he did. Did he ever really get to grieve them? Will he be allowed to now? Especially with his reputation. Especially with the number of people who would really prefer him to simply leave the past in the past. Especially with all the people who think he is the cause of the deaths he wishes to grieve.

Will he be allowed to mourn, if the cultivation world thinks these deaths are his fault? Or that these people don't deserve to be grieved?

Wei Wuxian has the misfortune of being a man who is a decade out of time, and he will have to learn to cope with that, but how does he account for the missing years? When the pain is still fresh for him, how does he find a place in a society that has long since moved on?

when i watched good omens, i didn’t expect to love tv crowley, and it fuckin blindsided me. all at once, i thought, oh gosh, damn, and fuck, roughly in that order, and here’s why.

where tv crowley and book crowley most significantly diverge is the bookshop fire. in the book, “Crowley cursed Aziraphale, and the ineffable plan, and Above, and Below.” in the tv show, instead of cursing him, he calls out for him desperately before falling to the floor with a quiet “you’ve gone.” for book crowley, az is “Aziraphale. The Enemy, of course. But an enemy for six thousand years now, which made him a sort of friend.” for tv crowley, aziraphale is his “best friend.” naturally, in the bookshop fire, tv crowley is in fucking agony. this is not how book crowley reacts.

see, one of book crowley’s most basic traits is his optimism. “Because, underneath it all,” the book says, “Crowley was an optimist. If there was one rock-hard certainty that had sustained him through the bad times—he thought briefly of the fourteenth century—then it was utter surety that he would come out on top; that the universe would look after him.”

it’s a really beautiful passage. and i can’t relate to it at all. 

after the fire, book crowley thinks he might “get completely and utterly pissed out of his mind while he waited for the world to end.” where book crowley only considers it, tv crowley actually does it. he does go to wait out the end of the world while drunk, and does give up, and he does break down, and he is not an optimist; he is a mess. that struck me. i’ve never seen a heroic character so blatantly need help before. but crowley gets help; he finds a friend and confesses how much aziraphale means to him; he gets back in the car and forges onward through the fire, even though he’s clearly Not Okay.

and there, on the flaming m25, book crowley and tv crowley diverge again. tv crowley is not an optimist; he’s not holding the bentley together with the hope that it’ll all work out. but he does it anyway. tv crowley doesn’t have optimism, but he has something that is, to me, even more important. in the show, “Crowley has something no other demons have, especially not Hastur: an imagination.”

an imagination. strangely enough, in the book, crowley admits to lacking it: “They’ve got what we lack. They’ve got imagination,” book crowley says. but tv crowley has that imagination, and that is what saves him–and that, to me, makes so much sense.

tv crowley is traumatised. when he fell, some part of him broke, and while he claims he “sauntered vaguely downwards,” he really took a “million-light-year freestyle dive into a pool of boiling sulphur,” and it hurt. tv crowley is hurt. and so am i. 

i also give up. i also break down. i don’t, and can’t, ever believe that the universe is looking out for me–or for anyone. i am not an optimist. but you know what? i have imagination. i have friends. and if it came down to me to help save the world, that is exactly what i would rely on.

Top five underrated characters from the Ramayana?

1. Urmila is by far, in my opinion, one of the most underrated characters in the Ramayana. Everyone talks about the sacrifices made by Rama, Sita and Lakshman and everyone knows about them but Urmila is generally forgotten. She willingly allowed Lakshman to leave her behind so he could serve Rama and Sita and then gave up fourteen years of her life so he could fulfil his duty properly. She is regarded as a forgotten heroine by Tagore because of her immense duty. 

2. Shatrughan. He governed Ayodhya in Rama’s absence in terms of administration whilst Rama and Lakshman were in exile and Bharat was living like a sage. He also slew Lavansura, Raavana’s nephew, and is mostly forgotten in comparison to Rama, Lakshman and Bharat. 

3. Mandodari because she always strove for good and is again for the most part forgotten. She suffered for being Raavana’s wife and yet she still tried to persuade him to return Sita as well as saving Sita from death and rape. She is generally overlooked.

4. I think one of my favourite lesser known events is between Rama and Lakshman where Lakshman claims that as he is the younger brother of Rama he has to serve him which was unfair. It is said this is why he was reborn as Balarama on the Mahabharata so that he could have a chance to be served. I’m not entirely sure how accurate this is but I can certainly imagine it.

5. The birth of Sita is one of the most interesting stories I think. She was found in a field and hence Janak named her Sita but there are different stories about who her birth parents were. The most common is that she is the daughter of Bhumi Devi but other stories suggest that the apsara Menaka was her mother or even that she was the daughter of Raavana and was abandoned because she would cause his death. 

Supongo qie tendre que migrar de Facebook a aquí 😓

Con todo esto de que meta usará las ilustraciones para alimentar a la ia ya no se que hacer

bday gift for my friend @jestopolis !!!!!! feat. The Fellas from my resurrected au hehe (minus iblis and scourge bc theyre not being haters)

“On occasion, the Force allows us to connect with another living being and communicate with them across great distances, seeing what they see and feeling what they feel.  Though this may seem like a harmless–and perhaps even valuable–ability, it is easily manipulated by those on the dark side.  Some powerful Force users have been able to create secret bonds with others who are unaware of their connection.  They then use those bonds to corrupt their target and steer their actions.  Even if the unwanted bond is detected, it can still be extremely difficult to break.”  –Luke Skywalker, Secrets of the Jedi Hey, do you want some creepy Force horror?  Apparently dark siders can create a bond with someone without them even knowing and use it to corrupt their target and steer their actions, and even if you detect the bond, it can still be difficult to break. THANKS, STAR WARS, THAT’S TERRIFYING, I LOVE IT. It’s interesting, because the prequels Jedi didn’t really seem to have a problem with it, there are multiple examples of bonds and potential bonds, where they seem to have their shit under control and can deal with it when it might become dangerous, but Luke’s point of view on them seems much more wary, which makes sense when you consider what happened with Ben and Snoke. But just that it’s at all possible is terrifying!  It’s probably moreso for people who aren’t Force-sensitive, rather than those who are trained and have a solid mental foundation in the Force, but the idea of, say, being able to manipulate someone without them even knowing you’re in their head, being able to steer their actions without them knowing it, that even once they’re aware of you, it’s hard as hell to get you out of their head, THAT’S THE PSYCHIC FORCE HORROR STUFF I’M TALKING ABOUT. I mean, just think how hard it would have been for Anakin to get Palpatine’s connection out of his head, that of course Palpatine would have quietly and sneakily put little suggestions here and there.  Never too much, because Anakin was so strong in the Force and he had the help of all the Jedi if Sidious was ever detected, but how easy would it have been for Palpatine to hide in amongst Anakin’s already terrified thoughts?  That the source of those unexamined fears was still Anakin himself, it has always been Anakin that’s the source, but that Palpatine would sneak a bond onto him, that Anakin would be too afraid to examine his own mind and his own fears, so it’s just that little extra push that makes it all the worse? THE FORCE IS TERRIFYING, OKAY.

the way vader absolves obi-wan’s guilt over killing anakin but at the cost of really rubbing in the fact that every last piece of anakin is truly dead and gone

tcw (2008) Anakin is actually the worst characterization of Anakin ever and actively does harm to the prequels and his arc but I don’t think yall are ready for that conversation

Since others are sleeping on this point, I’m gonna point out something interesting on Hizashi Yamada; SPOILERS for chapter 338.

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I really really really want to know why there's such a huge industry in many Asian countries(Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, etc.) for gay romance shows, and none at all in the US, Canada, or Great Britain, despite the fact that, if I understand correctly, it's far more socially acceptable to be gay in the latter countries. It's not like there's a lack of women in them who love gay romance. Are there academic papers on this phenomenon? I find it utterly fascinating.

Dumbledore as a Mentor

Dumbledore is the most well executed mentor figure for Harry in the series, for two reasons.

First is what he represents. Since the very beginning of the series, he trusts him absolutely, and is along with the Weasleys the only adult with whom he shares that title. But Harry trusts Dumbledore even though he doesn't know anything about him. Harry, who has a pathological mistrust of adults, always feels that he can rely on him. He's the only wizard that Voldemort ever feared, and his very presence at Hogwarts makes it so that there is at least one place which Harry knows is safe.

And then he's killed. Just before the final book, before the last confrontation Harry and the Dark Lord will have, the man whom Harry though he could most rely on dies. The warm blanket of comfort and safety that Dumbledore provided is suddenly gone, and Harry must face Voldemort as his own man, no mentors to guide and protect him. His final challenge. "The last and greatest of his protectors had died, and he was more alone than he had ever been before" Of course, there was another protector left still, but Harry didn't know that at the time.

Dumbledore is also unique among Harry Potter characters in that he's the one who most understands the Harry Potter settings supernatural elements.

Fantasy and supernatural are not the same. Fantasy is when things that would not be possible in our world, indeed, what in the real world would be classified as supernatural, are mundane elements of the setting, as real and part of nature as anything else. Magic, dragons, spells, potions and house elves and all, is part of the nature of the world. They are not considered supernatural elements for wizards, the way they are for muggles. Supernatural elements are those that surpass what is perceived as natural in any given setting. Harry Potter as a series has both, and Dumbledore is the only character who truly understands them.

What am I talking about? Mainly (though not exclusively) Love, capital L. In Harry Potter, Love, unconditional, true, Love is more than just an emotion. It has magical reality, it tangibly affects the world. While it falls under the umbrella of magic, It is the most mysterious and least understood of the magics. It is ancient, and powerful beyond belief. It is what made Harry's mind agony for the Dark Lord to touch. What permitted Dumbledore to trust Snape absolutely (and if you want a more detailed analysis of how Love and Snape are fundamentally intertwined, and how his arc is among the most important in telling the message Rowling wanted to tell, read this meta by rex-luscus), what allowed Harry to survive the unstoppable Killing curse, when no one had ever done it before.

Most powerful mentor figures in fiction teach the protagonist powerful spells and magic. It's expected. After all, in most stories, the hero defeats the villain by growing to match them in power. Not so in Harry Potter. Harry, while a powerful wizard, and very talented in DADA, is nothing out of this world. He never approaches Voldemort's league. Whenever his killing curse fails, it is by supernatural mechanisms, that Voldemort cannot fathom but that neither fully understand. Lily's protection. Priori Incantatem. The supernatural phenomenon of the magical world. In both these scenarios, the first to understand what truly happened and explain is Dumbledore. In their private sessions, Dumbledore never teaches Harry powerful spells, or Potions, as many would expect him to (that role is left to other mentors of his, mainly Lupin and Snape). He teaches him philosophy, how to understand the mind of Tom Riddle, and about the nature of magic itself as a phenomenon. He teaches him wisdom, to understand the world. That's why, when Harry comes into his own, it is no surprise that he defeats him by understanding, on a deeper level, the Deathstick. Another of the myths and legends of the magical world, that is nonetheless real. When Voldemort casts at Harry his third and last killing curse, he dies, with only Harry understanding why. He has learned all that Dumbledore wanted to teach him. He has taught him to be wise.

Voldemort's main flaw is that magic only has value to him in so much as it is a tool that he can bring under his control to increase his power. He views it almost like a scientific discipline. And in those areas, the non supernatural ones, he is unrivalled. Dumbledore is at most his equal, but probably not. When they fight, they are evenly matched, even though Dumbledore has the Elder Wand. Dumbledore acknowledges him as the most brilliant student that Hogwarts has ever seen, a tacit admission that he is his superior. And yet, Dumbledore is the greatest sorcerer to ever live. Why? Because he understands the mysteries of magic, knows that magic is a fundamentally supernatural force. Voldemort opened his mind to the power of magic, but could not see what lay beyond. His mind remained shackled, and he never did understand magic beyond what is conceivable by science. Dumbledore did, and that's why he's the only one he ever feared. And it's what makes him the perfect mentor for Harry.

A Theory about Shouto's and Touya's birthdays

I've been thinking again about the meaning of Shouto's and Touya's birthdays. What if Shouto's birthday is 111 because it's like the winning combo on a slot machine (getting three ones is a particularly good sign in light of Endeavor's aim to raise a son to be No 1) and Touya's birthday is 118 because he's only "almost perfect"?

And then I did some further research, and sure enough, the in the 18 in Touya's birthday the kanji for 1: 一 (ichi) and 8: 八 (hachi) can be found in the following Japanese gambling phrase:

一か八か = ichi ka bachi ka, “one or nothing”, or literally “one or punishment” - i.e.: a high risk gamble or something like "go for broke".

As in the phrase:

一いちか八ばちかやってみよう。

Ichikabachika yatte miyō.

I’ll take my chances.

So now I'm 99% convinced that Shouto's and Touya's birthdays are a refence to Endeavor gambling with the kids as if they were prizes in a pachinko slot machines / was playing child gacha?

(Also - Hori's sick sense of humour)

tbh, I was kinda waiting for someone to point this out and yes, you’re absolutely right. Abuse doesn’t have to be physical, it can be emotional and/or verbal.

This comic came about because I‘d read several commentaries comparing Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin, specifically in regards to how they treat their daughters.

Almost everyone I know who takes the time to think critically about The Simpsons or Family Guy hones in on the fact that Peter physically and emotionally abuses Meg, whereas Homer is incompetent, neglectful, and absolutely does not understand Lisa -- but he loves her and he tries.

In the commentary about how Peter and Homer treat their daughters, I didn’t really see anyone bring up the physical/emotional abuse of their sons.

To lay it out there -- I loathe Family Guy. Fucking hate it.

I grew up watching The Simpsons and can have entire conversations purely through quoting the show. But as much as I love The Simpsons, I think the overall cultural attitude to corporal punishment (physical abuse) has changed enough that it’s time to retire the running “joke” of Homer choking Bart. It may have been a culturally acceptable joke ten years ago, but more and more research is showing seriously negative outcomes for kids that have experienced any form of physical punishment. We need to stop normalizing it.

As for King of the Hill, Hank and Peggy are hardly perfect parents and both have a tendency towards stifling Bobby’s more flamboyant and/or “feminine” behavior. But they both love Bobby; they have both, at different times during the show, been able to connect to Bobby through his various interests. While not perfect, they are a much healthier depiction of a family.

As a queer transgender dude who grew up in Texas and is totally unsuited for Southern concepts of masculinity, I have a real soft spot for King of the Hill and for Bobby. It’s a far more real and complex depiction of family, compared to the pointless cruelty of Family Guy or the lesser cruelties of The Simpsons.

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I’m displaying Genesis behavior having a lot of thoughts about Loveless and how objectively it’s such an interesting part of ff7 lore

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any theories/thoughts on the fairies (and maybe great fairies)? like why most games in the downfall timeline (wind waker being an exception) they seem to have human forms, but otherwise they appear as glowing balls of light with wings?

Fairies show up in various forms across the land of Hyrule—at least, that's how they look.

From the drawings we get of LoZ/AoL fairies tend to be your most basic and stereotypical; a little elf girl in a dress with sparkles.

A Link to the Past portrays them similarly, though this one has more vibrant hair and thinner wings, with a decent halo.

Wind Waker gives us a LoZ/AoL style fairy again

Which gets reused entirely for Four Swords Adventures.

But in every other game, we get these.

Interestingly enough, though, we're not actually seeing a change in biology, We're seeing the effects of magical duress.

Like you said, most fairies that show their humanoid forms occur in the Downfall Timeline. ALTTP has vibrant pink, then ALBW is more muted, until we finally get to the dull, glow-less LOZ fairies.

The glow you see at the tip of their wands is actually what little magic they can summon left, concentrated into a precise point, like a laser. As Hyrule declined, their magic faded, not letting them summon the glow they're best known for any more.

A healthy fairy doesn’t need a wand.

In Wind Waker, we also see a decline in fairy power—so much so that by Spirit Tracks, there literally aren't any left; at least, not in New Hyrule. Our big exceptions come from Phantom Hourglass.

Ciela, Leaf, and Neri all maintain their vibrancy and luminosity. But they also draw power from what's essentially a minor god in his own right, the Ocean King.

So they’re outliers, not examples.

In the child timeline, where Four Swords Adventures takes place, we also see the powered down form of a fairy. But in that era, the magic of the world has been robbed, crystalized into force gems that fairies try very hard to absorb power from.

A fairy’s glow is an indicator of its magical health. The fainter the glow, the harder the fairy has to work just to keep itself aloft, and the more stress it accumulates as it tries to use magic.

Great Fairies, however, are a much clearer indicator of the magical status of a kingdom. The larger and more humanoid the Great Fairy, the stronger the country they reside in’s magic.

Ocarina of Time is a good reference point to have. These fairies are particularly large and very human-like, and Hyrule (at least from a wildlife point of view) is thriving.

Wind Waker, however, has an unstable Great Fairy type. The magic in this land is bleeding out and spiraling away, unused and unrestrained as it depletes. These fairies rule a dead world; a sea with no fish but the fishmen, a world with scattered islands and few offerings.

A Link Between Worlds’ great fairy has enough glow for a halo, and remains humanoid, so the magic is being used and maintained. But she’s also barely bigger than a human, indicating that her power’s weakening.

And then by The Legend of Zelda, she’s indistinguishable from any other fairy out there.

But Breath of the Wild?

These Great Fairies are HUGE. They’re the healthiest Great Fairies to date, in part due to their strategic hibernation in their flowers, and they match what we see of Hyrule’s life.

Yes, Ganon has the Divine Beasts and Guardians on his side. Yes, this place has lost its king. But the country itself is alive is thriving. It’s so full of magic that you can find Koroks in literally every corner of the world.

If I had to hazard a guess, since we never encounter them, I’d say that these fairies are the closest they’ve been to Surface Great Fairies from Skyward Sword.

i think i like the four swords manga so much bc there is some just. very up my alley character and ship archetypes in there, but also the message itself and emotional beats hit surprisingly hard?

(long analysis below)

i like the idea of this character who is so ATTACHED to the idea of being an outsider and harming others, because he believes that he will never belong in the light with them. over the course of the manga, shadow link develops genuine fondness for vio, shows vulnerability through that fondness, and gets betrayed. no matter how real the feelings were between them, vio couldn't bear to hurt his friends or the world. it devastates shadow link; really gets to him. i wonder if he even knew he could have these feelings, falling for the very ruse he attempted to use on vio to get him on his side. while shadow is very ridiculous and theatrical in general, it doesn't seem fake when he expresses that he's glad vio has joined him. it also seems very real when he breaks down after the betrayal.

zelda choosing to be kind to shadow rather than mock him for being foolish is like the final straw that shatters his world view. she asks if he really thinks the light will hurt him, and challenges the notion that he isn't a hero deep down. she's not making excuses for him or telling him who to be; she's naming his deepest insecurities loud and clear and telling him it's okay to be scared. she's not rubbing salt in the wound of vio's rejection, but instead suggesting that shadow could find belonging with others if he took a leap of faith and tried to be their friend without an ulterior motive. shadow gets so giddy about the idea of doing havoc with vio, and it's like buddy, you're experiencing happiness because you like vio, not because you like being evil. i think deep down, we all just want to find Our People. and i can't stand to be cynical enough to suggest that we all don't have at least someone out there for us. it's just harder for some people to belong than others, as is the case with shadow.

shadow link is messed up and destructive to the people around him, unable to even imagine belonging in the light so he settles for chaos in darkness--but he submits, by the end of the comic, to the terrifying truth that he is deserving of love and capable of loving. i say terrifying because in an allegorical sense, it's kind of the equivalent of saying "i'm gay/mentally ill--i can't change that the world is harder for me, and it will be harder to find people who understand me, but i'm doing a disservice to myself and anyone i could hypothetically love by not trying to be my best self." it's a great and fairly uncommon message, especially for teenagers and young people in general.

i mean dude, talk about a bizarre but weirdly resonant reflection of the "gay teenager developing feelings for their best friend" experience. shadow link sets out to manipulate vio at first by appealing to his ego, no personal stakes in the game, but almost IMMEDIATELY falls DOWN BAD for this guy and becomes incredibly emotionally vulnerable around him. shadow link is genuinely LIVING for the time he gets to spend with vio, being as chaotic and theatrical and unrestrained as he pleases. he really believe that vio sees him, and likes him for who he is (which for the record i think is true, but vio also cares about his friends and the fate of the world, things that hold no meaning to shadow).

vio betrays shadow and it genuinely hurts, and that's kind of incredible for a short comic with a lot of goofy moments. and then shadow's resolution is vindicating too, he has agency in the choices he makes, and he does the right thing because he finally believes he doesn't need to remain in the darkness. he disguises himself to help the four because he knows they don't trust his face, really demonstrating the selfless desire to end all the magic shit that put him and the others in archetypical dark/light boxes. shadow link changes a lot in a short period, but the fact that to the end he believes that he still isn't like the others is negated by them saying he's part of "the body" and their friend. his "death" is very simply put in the text--"when a shadow turns to light, it disappears." it's not like a real death. it's a permanent and meaningful statement on how much shadow has changed, and found belonging and acceptance. if shadow's physical form came from feelings of spite and resentment, it makes sense that it no longer needed to exist.

and to TOP IT OFF, he does "end up" with vio and the others, if we're viewing The Full Link as an allegorical friend group or community. he's not quite as homogenous as they are, but rather serves as a shadow of the four. i love the panel where he's giving a thumbs-up from link's shadow so much. that's so simple and obvious, but honestly poetic. because like, in some ways you're never going to be just like everyone else. finding friends who are also gay or mentally ill doesn't make you any less of who you specifically are, and in at least some ways your friends and loved ones are always going to be different from you. i don't like it when the ultimate takeaway from a story is "once you live happily ever after, the darkness will be all gone," because hello??? some things never go away, and the darkness has, for better or for worse, made you who you are! qualities i see in shadow link are sardonic humor, unusual expressiveness, and a deep sense of caring towards His People/Person. those are fueled partially, but not entirely, by his not-great circumstances and deepest fears... but they're also where he shines.

you can be different from other people without resigning yourself to an lonely and unhappy life. coming out doesn't make you any less gay; seeking treatment doesn't magically cure mental illness; but acknowledging yourself for who you are is life-changing liberation, and necessary in the pursuit of happiness. these are huge and scary steps that especially young people are struggle to take, settling for resentment over the possibility of rejection. shadow link takes a chance and finds belonging, but still maintains the parts of himself that give him such a distinct personality. he is accepted for who he is, and at the end of the day who he is is not dark force whose sole purpose is to ruin lives, but just a strange gay-ass little dude who's a little bit extra but good at heart. and vio, as well as the others, appreciate that wholeheartedly. at the end of the day, the Whole Link just isn't the Whole Link without his shadow.

i don't know man, it's always special to me when an angsty character is written not as a joke, but as an opportunity to give people hope. even in the most obscure of places, even in ways that i can analyze endlessly but mean nothing to the average person. maybe none of this was the authors' intention. even if the manga was just, like, a shallow implementation of tropes and characteristics i'm a SUCKER for, i'd still love it to bits.

but i do see something a little deeper here, i can't help it. clearly the story has resonated with a small but dedicated group of fans, many of whom read the manga as kids or teens. i'm... honestly a little jealous of that. it's the kind of story i needed, and the kind of story i wish to tell. this series is truly a gift that keeps on giving.

w... wait hold on... jotaro was SEVENTEEN during his whole arc?? I THOUGHT HE WAS LIKE 25!

jotaro was only 17 in part 3 and it ruined his entire life, and i think about this all the time

at risk of reading too much into arakis work, whose deepest message may simply be ‘big men punch really good and hard,’ part three really did a number on jotaro and took what was an already burgeoning tendency to self-isolate and made it into a full fledged complex that set him down the path to a bad end and im still not over it!!! 

Keep reading

THE THING IS, OBI-WAN ISN’T WRONG ABOUT THIS. It’s Anakin’s inability to let go, that he’ll engage in reckless and foolhardy behavior to save someone he cares about, that will lead directly to his fall, his loyalty to those he cares about over the safety of the rest of the galaxy is exactly what leads to the death of the Jedi and the rise of the Empire. This is why I love TCW so much–in pretty much any other story I’ve seen, the high-risk-high-reward type of behavior from the hero ultimately always pays off, that minor set-backs are eventually overcome and we’re meant to think that it’s the right thing to do.  In and of itself, maybe we even should think that about Anakin’s style–I mean, who doesn’t want to get R2 back??  I love R2!  Of course we should risk everything for him! But TCW doesn’t exist in a vaccuum, we’re aware that we’re watching Future Darth Vader here and knowing that changes a whole lot about the context of Anakin being willing to risk the safety of everyone else for the one he wants to save.  And Obi-Wan’s definitely not wrong to try to get him to see the danger that lies in that kind of thinking–usually, the one who tries to hold the hero back is wrong, ultimately risking everything for friendship saves the day!!  And it will this time.  But one day…. One day Darth Vader’s going to do the same and it’s going to fuck everything up.

*inspired by that Obi Wan's false sense of superiority post* What we need is an animated series about the psychologist who has to deal with these sentient tire fires. I mean, I'm a human tire fire and even I get help, these guys have no excuse. It needs to be filmed like The Office and as tongue-in-cheek as possible

Look I would pay real currency to watch a series of Anakin and Obi-Wan’s couples counseling. The angst and the passive-aggressiveness and the “I’m fine it’s fine everything’s fine” “NO IT’S NOT OBI-WAN NOTHING IS FINE”. Or individual Jedi counseling.

Better: I want to watch the documentary/mockumentary made by a GFFA psychologist who embeds themselves with the Jedi Order to better understand how they can all be so chill and collected – What’s their secret? How can we all learn, from their example, to embrace serenity in our own lives? – who eventually, as the documentary wears on, comes to realize that THE JEDI ORDER IS COMPRISED ENTIRELY OF EMOTIONAL TRAINWRECKS.

O ludzie, czuję się nostalgicznie widząc Bully!Streva i Kind-of-Bully!Draal. Technicznie wciąż jestem nastolatką. Nie powinnam czuć się nostalgicznie XD

Skoro już przy tym, mały Draal rant.

Draal miał naprawdę dobry arc. Nie zaczął jako zwykły bully, który wyżywa się na słabszym dla przyjemności, upustu czy żeby odreagować. Jim odziedziczył jedną z najważniejszych, jeśli nie najważniejszą rzecz, jaką kiedykolwiek posiadał ojciec Draala i nawet nie wiedział co z nią zrobić. Nawet nie był trollem. A później dowiadujemy się, że Kanjigar odciął się od swojego syna kiedy został Łowcą Trolli. Możliwe, że amulet i to dziedzictwo to jedyne, co Draal mógł mieć po latach, jeśli nie dekadach.

Draal chciał kontynuować dziedzictwo swojego ojca. Uważał, że ma taką rację, przywilej i obowiązek z urodzenia. Musiał się nauczyć, że nie zawsze może dostać czego chce, że amulet sam wybiera jaki rodzaj Łowcy jest najbardziej potrzebny.

W czasie trwania serialu Draal pokazuje się jako bardzo honorowy. Zależy mu na składanych obietnicach i przestrzeganiu pewnego kodeksu. Ponieważ Jim go oszczędził, postanawia ochronić jego dom i matkę, a później nawet próbuje mu pomóc. Nie tylko uczy go walczyć mieczem i pomaga trenować ale też daje mu rad (jak złe by one nie były)

Draal zbliża się do naszej ekipy, staje się bliższy zarówno z ludźmi jak i z trollami z main cast. Po tym kiedy jest kontrolowany, naprawdę przeżywa to, że ich zaatakował, kiedy nie mógł nawet kontrolować własnego ciała. A na koniec oddaje życie za Jima, osobę którą tak... no... pogardzał, na początku. Z tą śmiercią mam osobny problem, do czego dojdę przy trzecim sezonie pewnie, ale dammit, ludzie, czemu-

A później... to wszystko jest wyrzucone w błoto. Dowiadujemy się, że, ugh, Draal brał udział w bitwie o Most Ściętej Głowy (ugh) o czym nikt z jakiegoś powodu do tej pory nie wspomniał, mimo, że Bliky i Aaaaghr też tam byli. (i z jakiegoś powodu nie było tam Kanjigara, który powinien być starszy niż Draal, bo jest jego ojcem i wielkim wojownikiem, ale nope, nie pokazujmy go, nie wspominajmy go, kim jest Kanjigar, never heard of him) Killahead to miejsce gdzie walczyła pierwsza Trollhunter. A po niej były ich jeszcze co najmniej dziesiątki.

A Draal widział ich wszystkich. Początek jego arku opiera się na tym, że Draal jest zdesperowany i chce przejąć dziedzictwo swojego ojca. Uważa to za swoje prawo z urodzenia. Nie jestem w stanie uwierzyć, że ktokolwiek, po tym jak znał i walczył (mniej więcej) u boku pierwszej Trollhunter, widział przez stulecia jak amulet przechodzi z rąk do rąk, między praktycznie randomowymi trollami, strzelałby takiego focha o to, że nie został wybrany po swoim ojcu.

Zamiast na kogoś aroganckiego, ale jednocześnie w żałobie i pragnącego dorównać tak naprawdę niemożliwym standardom, Draal wychodzi na dziecinnego, zadufanego w sobie i w pewnym stopniu także na beksę.

Jego ark stracił sporo swojego impaktu i emocjonalnego bagażu.

A co najgorsze nie dostaliśmy absolutnie nic w zamian. Absolutnie. Nic. Draal został poświęcony dla dwóch 10-sekundowych cameo, w sezonie w którym go zabito i w Wizards. (oh, Wizards, do tego bajzlu też dojdziemy)

Tak czy inaczej. 1000-letni Draal? Thanks, I hate it.

Koniec rantu. Wracam do oglądania.

Jim zajmujący się swoją matką bardzo dobrze wpasowuje się w jego charakter i ton serialu.

Jim żyje z samotnym rodzicem, doktorem na dodatek, który ma problem z regularnym dbaniem o obowiązki domowe. Więc Jim próbuje pomóc mamie, zdejmując z niej część balastu, którego nie jest w stanie udźwignąć.

Amulet nie wybrał na Łowcę Trolli jakiegoś pierwszego nastolatka, który na niego natrafił, o dobrym sercu czy nie. Wybrał tego nastolatka, który już był dojrzały ponad swój wiek. Normalny dzieciak mógłby mieć problem z przyjęciem tak dużej odpowiedzialności, ale dla Jima to było bardziej przedłużenie tego, co już na siebie wziął. Bardzo, bardzo duże przedłużenie.

Jednocześnie, Jim będący odpowiedzialny ponad swój wiek i próbujący pomagać innym wpakowało go w kłopoty - robił śniadanie mamie, spóźnił się do szkoły; próbował uratować kolegę, podpadł bully'emu (i zdobył odrobinę większy szacunek w szkole)

This is soo nice! I agree with everything in here. Like, I always liked Percy but I love Nico, because i was a emo kid in my teenager years , so is great to see myself in a character like that. It's just perfect.

How did I fall in love with Percico? I must admit that the battle was intense.

When I first joined the world of Percy Jackson in 2015, I had no idea what I was getting into.

Actually, I had no idea of anything ... anything at all.

Only one thing was clear.

Nico di Angelo.

This character was introduced to me in a fanfic about a niece of mine who is older than me. She asked me to read her fanfic, and I just did.

It was a [Percy Jackson x Reader], but contrary to what the fanfic says and the feelings of the protagonist, I ended up getting interested on Nico di Angelo.

He was like a crush. At that point he was introduced to me as the typical bad emo boy (which I really didn't like very much), but that character had something, and when I'm curious, I look for information.

Obviously I read every word of the Nico di Angelo Wikia, and since at that moment the Blood of Olympus had barely come out, the Solangelo didn´t exist, practically.

Was I disappointed? Yes. I must admit that I was disappointed to read this character that had struck me was “gay” and, apart, he was in love with the protagonist.

So I gave myself the task of buying the first book (The Lightning Thief), only by Nico di Angelo.

I was 12 years old at the time, and being the first book I read for my own interest, I began to idolize Rick Riordan for being so hooked on his books. I was so hooked on the narrative, the world, and the characters that he made me hopelessly a reader.

By idolizing Rick Riordan for opening up so many possibilities that reading books gave me, I also began to idolize his beliefs, and consequently, in the first book I fell in love with Percabeth.

Percabeth was my life back then.

Annabeth, the strong, determined girl, who ran away from her family when she was 7 years old, fighting for her freedom (or at least in my 12-year-old mind). And Percy Jackson, that kid hurt by his stepfather, sarcastic and kind of mature boy.

They were THE COUPLE.

I continued to ship them in later books.

The Titan's Curse have arrived. I already knew that Bianca was going to die, I already knew the whole story of Nico. But still, reading every paragraph where he came out was a delight. It was more intense, it penetrated you deeper, you could see things that you could not appreciate by reading the wikia.

I didn't give too much importance to Nico. Yes, he was still my favorite character, but I wanted to see Percabeth develop.

The Titan's Curse happened, The Battle of the Labyrinth too, and I didn't really take into account the scenes where Nico and Percy were together, I just liked to appreciate the scenes where Nico used his powers, became strong or showed that personality that I loved, since I was expecting more than anything the Percy and Annabeth scenes.

I didn't like Rachel very much, I didn't like Luke, I didn't like Calypso ... Simply because they got in the way of my ship (I was wrong, and now I know it). With Nico, I just didn't love that he had a crush on Percy, but I still liked the character. I knew from reading the wikia, that they weren't going to end up together anyway. I knew that in the end the one who would triumph was going to be Percabeth. And I was waiting for it.

The Percico Fire escape scene happened in the last chapter of The Battle of the Labyrinth, I treasured that scene in my heart more than anything for being a scene where you see a Nico who lost his inocence too quickly, but still wants to savor the world around him. But the Percico in that book was totally overshadowed by Percabeth's first kiss. I was totally eclipsed.

And in the end I came to The Last Olympian.

It hurt me that Nico cheated on Percy. At that moment I couldn´t see anything of the background of his intentions.

I was really blind.

Luke died, and what I had been waiting for for five books happened.

The kiss Percabeth under the water. I liked? Yes, at the time I fangirled quite a bit, I was happy and it made my day.

At this point I was 13 years old.

The second saga arrived. The Son of Neptune arrived. Nico di Angelo came out not telling Percy his true identity. I was confused. Percy remembered Annabeth and I calmed down awaiting their reunion.

The reunion came and I felt happy, but not excited. The new characters had overshadowed it a bit.

I was more confused not seeing Nico in most of the chapters. I found out that he passed Tartarus alone, yes, I found out that he was locked in a jar in a half-dead state, yes. But I didn´t take the importance that it deserved.

I was angered to see Percy's indifference towards Nico. And at the time I thought I was angry because Nico was my favorite character.

I was wrong.

Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus, and while I liked that the golden couple survived that hell together, with their love, it really didn't feel as good as I thought. I started to lose interest a little. The way they related was no different than when they were friends, just a few cheesy moments here and there. Still, I followed the ship on its journey through Tartarus.

Even Bob.

Bob, the titan Iapetus who told Percy that Nico had sent it to save him. That part where Percy realizes that he must have been a best friend to Nico, in that moment where Percy realizes, dying, that Nico was stronger than he thought.

I was moved by such thought, but still, I continued with Percabeth, simply with the new thought that Percy should take more importance on Nico, because, by the gods, he was NICO DI ANGELO, the son of Hades, the Ghost King. He was my dream character.

The scene that changed everything arrived.

The Cupid scene.

I already knew that that was the moment where Nico confessed that he was in love with Percy. I knew it from the first book, even before.

But it was very different to know it than to read it in great detail.

“I had a crush on Percy. That´s the truth. That´s the big secret.”

In that scene, I felt a lump in my stomach. It was a strange emotion and in a way unpleasant and pleasant at the same time. I was excited to know that I had reached the peak of the character, but really outside of that I didn´t take much importance, since ... Please ... WHAT ABOUT THE PERCABETH?

Still, inside of me I felt a curiosity to know more about Nico's feelings. I felt like something had fallen into place, but I didn't know what.

At that time I was 14 years old.

The end of the second saga came and Will Solace arrived.

I felt even more confused and upset. I, who had already accepted the knowledge that Nico loved Percy, felt betrayed to see how in a couple of pages Nico had a crush for Will.

How was it possible? What was the reason?

It was sudden, it was rude. I felt a knot in my stomach. I didn't have time to process it when the Solangelo was slapped across my face and across a couple of pages.

I kept reading and the most controversial scene arrived.

"I see that you´re cute, but you´re not my type"

I honestly felt like something didn't add up. I felt more confused. And I felt worse when I found out that Annabeth and Percy had a vision to move to New Rome for college after finishing their last year of high school.

I felt as if the characters were slipping through my hands. Growing up too fast and letting things slide when I wasn't ready to face it yet.

The second saga felt confused, and had unpleasant feelings hanging around. Loose ends that my brain couldn´t spin.

Something was wrong, and I was felt, but I didn't know it.

At this point I was nowhere near my 15th birthday.

I tried to hold on a little to the Nico di Angelo that I knew, not that strange boy who fell in love with Will Solace.

So I read some old Nico di Angelo fanfictions, and why deny it, some Percico fanfics too.

I liked? Yes, I must admit that it had something, although I didn´t understand why yet. Still, I continued to ship Percabeth.

The curiosity for the Percico was very big, and little by little I began to like it more. The dynamics seemed interesting to me. Still, I didn't understand many things.

I had my small Percico phase in 2017. And after that, I left the fandom after reading The Hidden Oracle. I found it funny, yes, but it didn't feel the same anymore. That emotion that put Rick in the first saga and part of the second had been extinguished.

Everything was different. It felt drier, strained, broken. I didn´t like it. It was disappointing.

2020 came, and the pandemic arrived.

At this point I was 17 and less than three months away from leaving high school.

In those almost 3 years of taking a break from Rick Riordan, I had become interested in other things. Shingeki no Kyojin, Supernatural, The Maze Runner, Death Note, etc. I had many stages in those three years.

I grew older, I saw more things and I better understand some circumstances.

In my last days of high school, before the online classes, I met a boy very much like Nico. Very similar. I looked at him and I smiled. I remembered my time when Nico di Angelo was my favorite character.

Remembering what Rick Riordan had done for me by publishing the Percy Jackson books.

Rick Riordan, whether he wanted to or not, he changed my life. He made me be a different person, and I liked the direction.

The end of 2020 came and I was already 18. The online classes had already started and I had already started my first semester of college.

The December 2020 holidays arrived, and my favorite series called Supernatural ended in a painful way.

How is it possible that Dean and Castiel didn't end up together? Castiel loved Dean. He was the most important person to him. He sacrificed himself because he Love him. Why did Dean have to die like Castiel?

His background was beautiful, tragic, although it was not explicitly seen it was there, waiting to see who saw how beautiful the feelings they had for each other.

I felt bad and desolate. The pandemic was affecting me more than I had thought.

I was not a sociable person, but being indoors all the time was frustrating.

I remembered the time when I was happiest, the time when I could go out with friends, where I could appreciate my crush from afar knowing that he would never reciprocate, but I was fine with it.

Nico di Angelo.

Again the character appeared in my head. And, with the new vision that I had, after 6 years of having fallen in love with Nico the first time, I was now ready to analyze, to really know what was wrong three years ago. I read The Trials of Apollo. I didn't like it. It was unpleasant. The only character I was there for was Nico, but even so, the Nico they introduced me to was different, it was everything I didn't remember about Nico.

I didn't like where Rick had led things.

I was frustrated.

I was about to give up, but ...

Percico

I remembered the name of the ship and the nice feeling that had hit me years ago, so I started reading percico fics on Wattpad, and although I really liked them, something was missing.

An English fanfic appeared called What Happened in Venice? By MidnightinJapan.

The characters were so canon, they were how I remembered them, and the way Nico and Percy fit together was really beautiful. Their personalities complemented each other in a unique way.

I fell in love, honestly.

I started researching, analyzing, rereading the books. I began to realize many things that I had not noticed, both about the Percico and the Percabeth.

Scenes came to mind where Percy and Nico had been together, and that thing that had been bothering me for years had finally fallen into place.

The fluff and pretty feelings I had felt with the Percabeth had no chance against the strong overwhelming, passionate and tragic feeling of love in the Percico.

It felt so pure, so sincere, so deep, so developed without falling into the cliché.

It's perfect.

My perception had changed in those years, and I realized that I had done wrong to idolize Rick Riordan the way I did, because in my point of view he has made mistakes.

Percico became my OTP right away. And I remembered that three years ago I had liked it. My subconscious had tried to tell me, but I ignored it!

I started looking for fanarts on Pinterest, on Twitter, wherever I could be found. And that's where everything went wrong.

I rejoined the Percy Jackson fandom and realized that the fandom had changed. Everything had changed.

The shippers Solangelo and Percabeth had gone toxic. The Percico had almost disappeared. Hatred was sinking the ship. And I got mad. I got very angry. I tried to contain myself as much as I could, but after almost 6 months of enduring the hatred thrown at my ship, I had to do something about it. I created my Percico accounts. I tried to put a stop to it even though it was impossible. I'm really trying to get out.

In my head there was no room for them to send Percico so much hatred if he was the best ship for me.

I had my Percabeth phase, I understood how eclipsing they could be, but I, who had already been in the fandom for many years, understood things better and now I am determined not to give up.

I'm not going to let the Percico sink.