#sort of analysis

So the way this is asked makes it feel as though you don't think Ryuuji should have forgiven Yukio?

Personally, I have a lot of thoughts and opinions on this entire plot line. I really enjoy it and the mounting tension and how many signs are pointing to the escalating tension and how obvious it is once you know to look. The confrontation is inevitable.

The first thing I think to take into consideration for the arc is that Ryuuji was present when Tadashi Misumi died. He was not responsible for the death, that belongs on Lewin Light and whoever created the Morinath Contract that Tadashi was forced to sign. That interrogation directly leads to the death of someone Yukio grew up with.

Ryuuji intervenes on the torture and gets himself injured for that intervention, but it is immensely obvious he holds a lot of guilt for the death and the fact that he can't explain any of it to Rin and Yukio. He himself says that he was involved in the death of someone important to them and he could barely stand to be in front of them because of the shame he felt.

Then he learns just how deeply involved in every horrible part of Section Thirteen that Rin and Yukio are, and how they don't know any of it and that they've been used and manipulated their entire lives, possibly by the person that raised them, and he can't say anything.

We know Ryuuji despises lies and dislikes not being able to confide in and lean on his friends, and hates not letting them lean on him, and he wants to be there but can't because he can't speak about this.

Yukio knows Ryuuji is involved because he over heard the other priests at the monastery talking about Lightning, and that focuses his attention on Ryuuji and he starts noticing and gives Ryuuji a lot of opportunities to share information but Ryuuji can't. This unfortunately starts to drive them both a bit crazy. Ryuuji with guilt and Yukio with the drive for knowledge that Mephisto himself talked about as the thing that drives humans.

That confrontation was inevitable. Yukio was under unimaginable pressure and sleep deprivation while battling a constant voice in his head. A voice he knew his adopted father heard and knew had led to Shirou's death, and who he sees as confirming every terrible thought he has about himself. A constant endless reminder of who his real father is and the dishonor that is his lineage. A witch of a mother and the most vile demon as his father, and every question he has Ryuuji gets to know and the answers are right there.

Yukio has spent pretty much every arc since the Kraken arc (rip fantastic arc, you'd have been awesome animated) trying to find out answers and being more and more obviously manipulated and controlled and belittled and denied any respect or answers. Further isolated and taunted by Satan with no escape he can see because he has not had any one to lean on since Shirou died.

He confronts Ryuuji about wanting to ask questions about Shirou and Ryuuji, while being TERRIBLE at hiding his thoughts and emotions, continues to be asked by Yukio how he was involved in Tadashi's death and what he was investigating.

Looking like guilt itself personified, Ryuuji says he can't answer, and that is the moment, in my opinion that leads to the second.

Yukio needs an answer and has been driven to a spot beyond reasoning and Ryuuji, who has been dying under his own weight and guilt has a single shocking moment where he finally properly looks at Yukio and sees what no one else has, or has bothered to look at for more than a moment.

That is why Ryuuji forgives him even as it's happening. He's not scared of the gun or even of Yukio. It doesn't seem like he's really at any moment scared of getting hurt or really seeing it as a genuine threat to his life or safety.

Instead he seems scared by what he sees in Yukio's eyes. By what he didn't notice and how obviously dire Yukio's mental state is if he's gone to this.

He forgives because he, more than most anyone else around Yukio, gets what immense pressure can do to you. What guilt can do to you. What being alone can do to you.

Because more than most any of them, he gets that he also didn't reach out and didn't see the need right in front of him and because as he tells Izumo, he can't fight friends and he considers Yukio a friend. One he himself failed.

Is this right? Who is to say. It's Ryuuji's decision to make on if he forgives. Just as it's Yukio's decision on if he forgives Ryuuji for being secretively involved in the death of someone like an uncle to him. I can say I don't think it would be Ryuuji not to forgive for this and not to immediately grab the guy that just threatened him with a gun to ask what happened and if Yukio's okay. Or to skip the apology entirely, twice, and instead reach across the distance he had a hand in creating and close a large amount of it by being the one to place them in the grounds of friendship by telling Yukio to call him Ryuuji and being one of the only people to consistently call him Yukio and not some other nickname.

All of those moments are fully dependent upon each other and they both have faults that lead to it and both chose to move on and be stronger friends with both trusting their backs to each other without any visible hesitation.

I think we can all agree that Hanako should’ve reacted better to Nene’s yukata.

It’s obvious she felt a little uncomfortable and was worried Kou and Hanako wouldn’t think it suited her. Their silence had to have caused her anxiety. Look at her, she even covers a portion of her face with her hair because she’s a bit shy.

Of course Kou compliments her on her appearance (after being prodded a bit), but the real concern for Nene had to have been Hanako. I mean, she had just kissed him on the cheek in the episode prior to this (idk how this fits in manga timeline, however.) so his opinion really matters. Anyways, what I’m trying to say is that she’s already got a bit of a crush on Hanako at this point, and all he’s got to say about her gorgeous look is “the clothes make the daikon”.

Not only does he bring up her greatest insecurity, but he also alludes to the fact that the clothes are the only reason she looks nice. The way it’s worded could make a girl think: “so my clothes are what make me pretty? Am I not normally nice looking?” I mean,😭 c’mon Hanako, she already has a complex.

Nene really just wants to be a princess if we’re being honest here. No shade on Hanako, I love him, but I hate that her “princess moment” was totally ruined by him. Again, her desires to feel feminine and cute just get pushed aside again and played off for laughs. This whole scene just shows how Nene is locked in this constant battle and struggle of wanting to feel feminine and not being able to. That’s really sad to me 💔

However, that’s one of the reasons I love Nene. She’s so relatable to girls all around the world who want to feel special & beautiful and have to fight against the world to feel that way.

Anyways, I think we can all agree that living 8 year old Amane handled her with more care ❤️🌹😂

Hi everyone, So if you seen from my old posts I'm a fan of Lore Rekindled and an older fan of Lore Olympus. I love hearing Genericpuff essay on the problems of Lore Olympus and Rachel's writing and I wanted to give it a go.

It's no secret that Rachel sometimes uses Disney scenes as a reference as shown here:

Seem familiar? It's taken out of Cinderella. Now while I'm also a fan of Disney there are some scenes that do not hit the mark or impact.

Say like episode: 123 when being compared to 128.

See in 128 I felt the emotional weight more then 123, because I liked the scene. You could understand the emotional weight while rooting for Hades. You can see he loves Persephone and genuinely wants her to wake up, he wants to get to know her better. However when taking into consideration of episodes 123 it doesn't hold the same weight when taking into account the reality of the situation and seeing things from the perspective of the pawn shop owner or the person who paid for the comb.

Hades was acting like a jerk even if he did stop when seeing the Shop owner was scared, adding on to him giving a heartfelt speech and let's not forget THREATENING to bulldozed the Worker's shop before hand.. why should she even help him. Realistically she probably wouldn't tell him anything after that display even if Hades did say he wanted to know Persephone was safe that isn't enough to go on.

I'm gonna compare this comic to another one on webtoom called Fnaf Blarerock. Now the two I want to talk about are Nightlight and Freddy, now those who have read the comic (or not) Freddy was a bit like Hades.

To explain this better here's one of my favorite posts from the UnpopularLoreOlympus Reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnpopularLoreOlympus/s/KLuPCaFxSc

Giving this gives a very good and amazing point on HOW the trope of Beauty and the Beast is being failed at By Rachel. Getting back to my comparison with Fnaf Blarerock, @agileo-101 Hits the mark where Rachel failed.

I'm now entering spoiler territory, let's compare Nightlight's gone wings to Hades taking out Alex's friend's eyes. Freddy was happy that Dawnlight took Nightlight's wings now I will give him the benefit of the doubt as he was angry and did attack Dawnlight beforehand but he also was manipulated by Dawnlight who used Freddy's ego. Now it's no secret that Freddy was a total jerk but he HAS changed, Readers seen it, I've seen in. And here's proof:

Some of these panels are from old panels, they WERE ADDED AS PROOF, here's a post from @genericpuff that explains it better then I could in a way:

https://www.tumblr.com/genericpuff/754562633793961985/heyi-was-just-wonderingyou-mentioned-something?source=share

THIS IS BREADCRUMING PEOPLE. Anyway, this scene had an emotional pull because we have the pieces we need, we have, proof, evidence, and MORE to prove of both Nightlight and Freddy growing closer while with Persephone and Hades its still an Infatuation at best.

Now onto landing the mark, When the truth comes out how Freddy and Hades are treated are both vastly different. Freddy is called out and remorseful as shown above yet Hades doesn't see the problem until Persephone tell him what's wrong.

Now Freddy speech of loving Nightlight's works more because it's centered around her, He changed for HER I can tell her truly loves her and his actions in the next comics show it (you'll have to read it to see it but trust me it shows how much he's grown 😊). Hades...didn't change and his actions with the pawn shop proved it, I think he just leaned more into the woe is me thing. It also helps on Freddy had two people who were close to him to help him snap out of his funk, Chica and DJ (Although the later is more frenemy) in fact DJ still helped while calling him out showing that while Freddy has changed that doesn't mean he's fully been forgiven by some.

When sitting down and Talking with Nightlight we also get her perspective and feelings on the matter never once are they pushed or swept aside for Freddy's (Cough Hades cough) we're finally understanding the emotional turmoil and abuse Nightlight has taken from Dawnlight. The chapter is uncomfortable and heavy but that's the point it's needed to be like that and at first glance it seems like it is when Persephone confronts Hades about the eye thing but in reality after re reading it, it's not.

Now....onto my favorite part REFERENCES

It's not secret the the author of Fnaf Blarerock is a fan of Sailor Moon (I also plan on doing a sort of post on how their art reminds me of Sailor Moon down the line)

Here's some photos:

Now I have a favorite chapter in Fnaf Blarerock and it's Drunk on Moonlight (but I also like Sister location) now That episode is a shout out/reference to the Sailor Moon episode 22: Romance Under The Moon Usagi's First Kiss (A gorgeous episode In my opinion) in fact I'll bet that the Nightlight getting drunk during the B.P.B.S.S arc was planned and if it was I loved it, the dress could have been a Foreshadowing I might be grasping at straws yet it's clear @agileo-101 knew and understood WHY and how that episode was romantic.

Throughout that Chapter Nightlight and Freddy talk, After Freddy takes her glass and drinks it probably getting drunk as well. He asked her if she enjoyed herself and Nightlight did, she starts talking about enjoying herself being surrounded by people who care about her before asking if he'll be there and well you can see for yourself:

This is what we needed or what Nightlight needed after the roller-coaster of the last Chapter. Plus this proofs how Agileo-101 landed the mark, they were respectful to the original source that came from it. They added and created a spin to it. Proving their love of Sailor moon and honoring them.

Rachel small shotouts to Disney can work, but if she was doing the Beauty and the Beast trope then she failed the same way media has shown in watered down versions of the tale, I plan on making my own version of the story Beauty and the Beast and I've done my research. The original story wasn't or at least wasn't like Disney portrayed it but it's still needed, To understand why it works why the movie worked and how Beauty and the Beast's relationship truly worked.

I will be giving Rachel the benefit of the doubt as seen in here:

She probably was comparing and studying the scene of Belle tending to the Beast wounds. As someone who reads and tries to make their own comics I've learn from watching Rachel that I need to understand why the scenes or stories I'm inspired by works. This might just be me rambling and me probably going off topic but thanks for reading.

That's my piece thanks for reading, To see more of Rachel's Disney reference here's a link: https://loreolympians.com/gallery

Until Thirteen the way the Doctor presented was male, his body always was, and that was what he was used to, the privileges that come from appearing male in a human world.

The Twelth Doctor knew this, knew times had changed, and especially in his time with the First Doctor the differences there were abundant, he'd progressed and yes, was beginning to feel himself above gender in the same way he's always held himself above humanity intelligence wise.

Then came Thirteen and the constant lessons over how being female limits, controls and dictates our lives. She called it an upgrade, just like Missy did if I recall correctly, but still expected to be treated the same. When that didn't happen she couldn't hold herself above gender because the times she went to, especially back in time, but often in the modern world too, gender presentation was put in her way.

The Doctor at the point of her regeneration was letting go, and had multiple times had to learn to accept things she didn't know, things she could know but also knew would hurt to learn, and has that pocket watch of who she is, given to the TARDIS. She let go of the need to know everything, understand everything.

And now the Fourteenth Doctor, The Tenth Doctor returns, and it's clear that he's not acting like a newly regenerated Doctor, no confusion, no figuring out who he is, and most importantly plenty of similarities to the Tenth Doctor. Hell the main change is he's more willing to say he loves someone which make sense. He regenerated after admitting to love Yaz.

But Ten doesn't let go.

If the Tenth Doctor went through the things the Thirteenth Doctor has he'd have opened the pocket watch. He wouldn't have accepted a history he doesn't know, not with the answers right there.

You could point at River and his meeting of her to argue that, but Thirteen dealt with an unknown past, not an unknown future.

Donna and Rose's talk about letting go is reminding him of the scenes he lived immediately before regenerating, of how she let herself go for the next person to come. That's what they did too, except they let go of power, she let go of the family she had been chasing and clinging to through her series.

And the Tenth Doctor was the Doctor who built himself a family, even when he left them behind afterwards. Donna spoke about visiting, coming for coffee, almost like the Eleventh did with Rory and Amy, and then with Clara, then Twelth sort of managed with Bill.

Donna and Rose took on the Doctor's up to date memories by how they spoke but they know more than ever that the Doctor is a different person between generations. And this Doctor doesn't understand letting go a lot of the time, only understand major goodbyes so she asks for visits even while it's clear she doesn't believe he'll do them.

Personality not gender is focused on in both these comments.

And the Fourteenth Doctor is already focusing on questions, demanding or constantly bringing up the need for answers over why this face has returned. He's not accepting it, not letting it go.

This is, I believe, the first time we get to see Izuna, right? He has a ponytail and long hair. Interestingly, Madara doesn’t seem to have long hair here. Could this “memory” be from the time, when Madara and Izuna are still young then? Either that, or it could be just Itachi’s imagination altering their looks, what he (Itachi) in his own mind believed Izuna and Madara looked like.

Fast forward and we have Hashirama’s flashback (this is chapter 624, I think), so a memory of someone who actually met Izuna, even if just briefly. Here, Izuna looks very similar to Sasuke, only his lips still look the same. Perhaps it’s just me, but Izuna looks very different here.

And finally:

This is the memory of Izuna Madara has in his mind (around chapter 577). And again...Izuna looks different (like a mix between Itachi’s and Hashirama’s version).

The third image was released before the second image, so that could potentially mean Kishimoto hasn’t perhaps decided he would make Izuna look similar to Sasuke at that point yet. Or it could just mean Hashirama didn’t exactly remember what Izuna looked like, saw Sasuke, and simply used Sasuke’s image on Izuna’s face, because they looked a bit similar to him.  It is also possible Madara himself didn’t quite remember Izuna’s face too. 1) He was probably losing eyesight by the time Izuna died and 2) there are at least 40 or 50 decades between the third image (war arc) and the last time he saw Izuna.

All week I've been planning on writing out a full episode analysis but the last few days have been unexpectedly rough mentally, so I'm just going to analyse the bathroom scene and see if any of it makes sense because my brain is a dumpster fire right now and this could all be rubbish. Yet again this is a beast of a post, I almost dread to think what a full episode analyse would look like. This show being what it is I'd say apply all trigger warnings just in case.

Vegas is once again being a creepy shit, while trying to come across as really nice and helpful. He's all for taking advantage of Porsche while he's intoxicated, which seems to be a theme I've got to say, now I've never read the novel and don't intend to but what is it with Vegas? Is he not capable of getting a willing partner so he's resorted to drugging people or preying on drunk people? I am really not liking that this prize parasite is supposedly the one for Pete but that's a tangent for another post I reckon.

So he's making a show of being helpful to Porsche, getting him out of his wet shirt and sort of half heartedly drying his chest off and kind of out of nowhere he kisses Porsche. Whose facial expression mimicked my words watching the episode, what the actual fuck. Porsche is drunk so he's not hiding any of his facial reactions at all, it's instantaneous discomfort and he's visibly confused because again for him this has come out of absolutely nowhere.

As well as the visual cues the viewers get of Porsches face, his body immediately responds, and not how Vegas wants it to. Porsche curls sideways and away from Vegas and his arm comes up between their necks and shoves outwards trying to gain enough distance to get a decent foothold. Vegas is pushing Porsche practically on top of that counter, it's a disadvantage but Porsche also brings one of his legs up between them as another barrier to Vegas. Literally everything about Porsche's body is screaming 'I do not want this' and while he's not yet at the point of fighting to get Vegas off of him, he's trying to show that the advance is unwanted. Normal people would read that reaction and back off while apologising profusely for the misunderstanding but we have already established that Vegas is a vile bastard and he keeps pushing that unwanted advance with complete abandon.

Thanks to Pete keeping Kinn updated on Vegas being overly friendly with Porsche, Kinn is already on his way while this whole bathroom scene starts. It's been a pretty tough transition for Kinn this episode, he's recovering from being shot, has had no choice but to lend Porsche out to the minor family, had a tense conversation with his father and he knows Vegas is making a play for Porsche so he's already angry before he gets to the bathroom. He storms in like a threatening storm, with the absolute boss energy to match it. He rips Vegas off of Porsche like his weight is nothing and throws him across the room courtesy of one hell of a deserved punch. Kinn's got his gun out and pointed at Vegas in seconds and I'm not gonna lie I really want someone, anyone I'm not picky, to shoot Vegas in the dick so I was a bit disappointed that didn't happen but you know I live in hope.

Kinn's voice from the second he entered that bathroom was probably the 'strongest' we've heard in this episode, you can audibly hear his rage and he's using that power in his voice to absolutely dominate everyone in that room and it visually works. Even Vegas, the creepy shit, isn't unaffected. Kinn is aware that Vegas wants everything that Kinn has, including his power and position so everything that Vegas has done is a subtle power play or has an element of it. Vegas responds to Kinn's command in that bathroom with as much disdain and helpless disrespect as he possibly could while having a loaded gun pointed at him, he slaps the gun away and consequently the hand with that all important ring on it (I absolutely wanted to call it the ring of power just because it makes me laugh), it's a not so subtle sign that he will listen for now but he's not afraid of Kinn and won't cower before his authority.

I found it really interesting that, had a fight broken out, it was equal man power with the exception of Porsche. So we have an enraged Kinn with two of his best bodyguards, god love those poor sods and the situations they end up in, and we have Vegas and two of his bodyguards. The positions they were in was quite awkward but also telling, Vegas didn't really have an opportunity of killing Kinn and escaping that room and likewise Kinn couldn't have shot Vegas without being at least injured by one of the bodyguards at his back.

Just going to take a minute to enjoy the absolute boss energy of Kinn to stand there with his back to two armed men who were not loyal to him and probably wouldn't have minded shooting him while his back was turned. There has been a lot of speculation on Kinn and his trust issues, including whether or not he trusts his bodyguards to keep him safe but we see here that he does, at least he trusts Pete and Pol enough to turn his back on armed possible assailants. Anyway back to my main thought process of all those armed people and if they started shooting each other. Even if Vegas had attempted to shoot Kinn, his bodyguards might be occupied with Kinn's but we can't forget about Porsche. Unarmed, half naked and intoxicated he might be but he is still a formidable opponent and Vegas knows that because Porsche fought him off, however brief it was, when Porsche was drugged and vulnerable and in that bathroom he's had time to start sobering up. Taking on that much risk, with that many guns in such a small vicinity would literally have been suicide for Vegas and you can see he comes to that conclusion just before he slaps Kinn's gun away, he's a creep and while I question his intelligence at times he is obviously risk aware and acts accordingly to save his own skin and he leaves.

Kinn, still in a rage, orders all bodyguards to leave. They've not even fully left before Kinn is crowding Porsche back into that counter and the mirror, noticeably Kinn is still angry and that's not helped by the fact that Porsche looks amused.

Kinn shouts in Porsche's face, because that's worked out so well for him before and it's not helped that what he shouts is automatic blame upon Porsche. "What the heck were you doing?" The background music here also changed to a more ominous sound, which matched the mood onscreen perfectly. Porsche reacts about as well as you'd expect after being unfairly blamed for the unwanted advancements of a parasite, sorry I mean man, and his stance is beginning to radiate defiance.

There was a lot of visual cues and body language with the bathroom scene and I can't adequately describe just how powerful and moving it made it. Take for instance Porsche, Kinn has just shouted at him and instead of shouting back he focuses on looking, really looking at Kinn's face. His eyes are flitting all over it because he's trying to get a read on Kinn and we see the confusion Porsche feels when he can't. The reason he can't is because this isn't the Kinn from the forest who became an open book to Porsche, or even the Kinn from earlier in the episode where he was making Porsche promise to return to him. No, this Kinn is the one who has been warned off, again, by papa Korn but Porsche doesn't know that. To Porsche, Kinn has shut him out for no reason beyond the situation they are now in and that gets Porsche's defiance and own irritation to the forefront and then Kinn repeats his question and slaps Porsche.

Once again proving that he is not willing to take Kinn's crap, Porsche with force shoves Kinn off of him. Also interesting to note that Porsche hit Kinn's left shoulder/chest area close to the bullet wound with zero hesitation or concern, it's absolutely savage and I approve. Porsche immediately snaps at Kinn that he's done nothing to warrant... Well any of it really because he's done nothing wrong and he's right to snap that Kinn never trusts him. Kinn helps his cause here by nodding along to the fact that he doesn't trust Porsche, give the man a gold star for sabotaging himself - he deserves it no contest.

Every word and action now is clearly coated in irritation from the both of them, you can practically feel the weight behind every charged word and they are about to get brutal. Porsche lands the first blow by telling Kinn to shoot him just like he shot his ex, the absolute stillness on Kinn's face for a second before it's wiped away by unadulterated violence is hair raising. That look on his face, while academically interesting, is visceral and alarming and yet Porsche doesn't even flinch. Throughout this scene we've seen Porsche's strength in himself, what he'll accept, what he won't and that not much living actually seems to scare him which has been commented on before. Kinn pushes Porsche even further into the counter and he's all tightly controlled rage but did anyone else notice where his hand landed on that counter? His thumb curls around his gun - a subtle sign of the violence in the air and the threat of who Kinn is and what he's willing to do.

What Kinn says next is vile, absolutely vile and honestly I was screaming profanities at him in my head so I had to watch it a few times to get over that initial reaction and analyse the scene. You can see by his expression that his words are a calculated move, they are designed to hurt Porsche to the full extent and Kinn knows Porsche. He knows that to hurt him he has to diminish his worth and value, not to himself because Porsche is too self assured for that, no he has to diminish his role in Kinn's life and that's just instant maximum damage. It's the hurt bomb to end all hurt bombs and Kinn knows that, that's why he says it and not because he believes it. Boy better not believe it or a bullets gonna get lodged somewhere painful. I genuinely think that a talent of Kinn's is to suss out weaknesses, whether in a person's character or as something that can be used against someone, he can find it and store it away until he has need of that knowledge and he can use it as a weapon and I don't think anyone in his life is safe from that, not his family and evidently not Porsche.

Feeling less than happy with Kinn myself, I cheered when Porsche slapped him and our boy wasn't holding back (as he shouldn't). In a move that wasnt intended as one Porsche snapped back with the most devastating of possible comebacks, 'I shouldn't have loved a crappy guy like you.' immediately he tries to walk away, not because of what he said but for the absolute hurt he is feeling. His expression was just breathtakingly devastated and so deeply hurt and the impression I got from his confession was that it was matter of fact. His word choice was quite telling 'loved' not 'love' I don't think that was accidental at all but a sign he was already compartmentalizing it, he was already turning his hurt inwards and walling it off whether to protect himself and/or begin processing his hurt. Yes he loves Kinn but he's not going to put up with his appalling behaviour nor is he willing to be walked all over just because he feels love for Kinn. Porsche values himself even if others don't, that sort of behaviour from Kinn is devaluation at best and Porsche knows his own boundaries and he sticks by them. Porsche is fully prepared to walk away and hes not afraid to show Kinn that, it's like he's saying 'yes I love you but I can walk away and one day I'll stop loving you'.

Kinn grabs Porsche before he can leave and in a move all too reminiscent of his creepy cousin, he crowds Porsche against the wall. Again. Porsche's body language and the position he ends up in, is also like with Vegas when he was uncomfortable and wanted out. He's turned away from Kinn and he's even hugging his arms to his chest. Part of it is also defiance, sure Kinn's got him pinned but that doesn't mean he has to look at him. You see Kinn's expression as he realises that too, his face just crumples in on itself -hes fucked up and he knows it. He can probably remember what it was like before to lose Porsche's trust and his willingness to share his happiness with those around him, to be shut out by Porsche is to lose all the joy and light he brings to those around him. Yet again Kinn is faced with a Porsche that is hurt because of him and that destroys whatever leftover anger/jealousy Kinn has. Now he has to try and find a way of reaching Porsche who has closed himself off and who won't even look at him and who doesn't want to be there in that room with Kinn anymore.

I noted that Porsche was still breathing really heavily, he's emotionally in pain and very possibly still angry, you can hear his breathing right up until Kinn issues his very sincere and soft apology. As soon as he does, Porsche's breathing levels off and becomes calmer and quieter. The music for that apology scene and the defeated/devastated look on Kinn's face was just absolutely masterful, there aren't words for that ability to grab at the audience and really make them feel every bit of emotion possible.

Kinn nuzzling at Porsche shouldn't have been sweet but by god it was, it was just the sweetest thing. Porsche though seemed somewhat unaffected, his eyes were open but he didn't really seem very present - maybe he was thinking it all through because he came back to himself when Kinn nuzzled his ear. That got a reaction, he immediately closed his eyes and his body relaxed and he turned around to face Kinn. He looked so sad here and slightly resigned, like he's just realised this is probably going to be an ongoing thing with them in the future, I wanted to give him blankets and ice cream and maybe pat him on the head a bit.

Kinn was scanning Porsche's face like he's never seen him before because he wants and needs confirmation that Porsche meant what he said, all while Porsche is looking at him unimpressed like 'yeah I love you, so what'.

I'm going to be honest I was a little unsure about the sex scene at first. When Kinn was kissing Porsche's body, Porsche didn't really seem all that on board with the idea. He was passive, allowing the touch but not engaging until Kinn kissed him, he returned the kiss and got some control back by grabbing Kinn's neck pushing him back and scanning his face. Again trying to read Kinn and this time Kinn is an open book. I just want to celebrate the little nod Kinn gave, with their past sexual encounters I think it was super important for that little check in of consent, from both of them. If for no other reason, than consent being imperative, than once again Kinn is stone cold sober while Porsche is... Well not. He's sobering up but he's still still under the influence. I really liked that once consent was given, Porsche went from gripping Kinn's neck to cupping his face with both hands and drawing him in for a soft, unhurried kiss.

I'm not going to comment on the sex scene itself, for reasons that aren't at all to with awkwardness at analysing it.

I know I’ve been griping on and on about how it was a poor choice narratively speaking and given how things played out.

But I will admit one thing that wasn’t so bad about the Gothel twist.

It gave us an opportunity to explore Cassandra’s trauma.

If the show had shown more things from Cass’ perspective, gave us insight to her actual thought processes, and tied things together by giving Cass healthy agency and the ability to make good choices on her own near the end of the show, this all would have made sense.

Up until Rapunzel’s Return, we know much of Cass’ backstory-her father, how she was raised, her dissatisfaction and discomforts that tie into her upbringing, etc. We know much of what makes Cass...Cass.

Cass having additional trauma that we didn’t know about-trauma that could have been explored beyond a few minute-long scenes of her blaming Rapunzel-should and could have added to our understanding of her character. Instead, the show portrays so little of the trauma’s actual effects on her that it accidentally detracts from her character (or rather, known character traits) and blows her actions out of proportion...which is why the writers had to screw over other characters in season 3 to force Cass into someone that is only pitied instead of giving Cass the spotlight she deserves as a complex and well-written character on her own-which requires her and Rapunzel to confront painful truths about their pasts, presents and future on their own. The other issue is that Raps, presumably our perspective in the show, doesn’t do that-she only fantasizes about what once was, which is understandable but a standstill on its own because that time could have been devoted to the audience watching Cass actually struggle to make sense of her trauma and her emotions.

Cass wanting to stay the hell away from Rapunzel....makes sense. Cass not wanting to come back to Corona definitely makes sense. But because much of the POV for season 3 is still devoted to Raps, who does not undergo significant growth or change in thought, we are forced to focus more on Rapunzel’s pains than Cassandra’s and therefore fall into the same gripe that caused the whole discussion over Cass’ emotional distress in the first place. This was not meant to be a comparison between the two-tragedy and trauma is not a competition. I think the writers, for some reason, didn’t think that Cass deserved to explore her personal feelings on her abusive and neglectful upbringing on her own, without needing to come back and get Rapunzel in on it.

Cass’ feelings and thoughts are not invalid. They are just as valid as anyone else’s. How she acts upon them is a different matter-but Cass isn’t throwing a “temper tantrum” as one may feel upon first viewing season 3. She’s been through shit and has a right to feel the way she does-not act like that, but feel. The show makes a succinct point of that in episodes like Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? 

Comparing Cass’ trauma to other character’s traumas to invalidate her pain is absolutely wrong.

Also...

Remembering and suddenly dealing with trauma that’s been long-forgotten is not something to be made fun of. Deep-seated trauma-especially that which is so painful that your brain literally changes the way it functions-is no joke. 

It’s alright that you don’t feel sorry for her-it’s alright that you still think she should be held accountable. But what surprises me is that people jump to this whole thing of making it look like Cass’ issues are petty or don’t have deeper pains- of diminutizing her trauma by comparing it to Varian’s or Rapunzel’s. And that’s wrong.

Trauma-coping with it, remembering it, coming to terms with it-is not and cannot and should not be a competition.

As a person who suffers from trauma and who knows other who do everyday, it hurts when someone diminishes or tries to invalidate your experiences by comparing it to something seemingly worse. Everyone’s experiences are different-their ways of coping with their experiences (in a manner that doesn’t involve hurting themselves or others) are valid.

Condemn Cass’ actions or even her reasoning, but not her feelings or traumatic experiences.

Yes, her arc could have been written better, but it is deep-seated trauma from neglect, abuse, and abandonment-along with the additional feelings of hopelessness and emotional distress of her present existence, an existence where she is supposed to feel comfortable and welcome-that causes Cass to feel angry and confused. It’s not a temper tantrum-even if her reasoning becomes illogical and we don’t always follow it through. It’s an eruption of a lifetime of suppressing negative emotions rather than dealing with them in a healthy manner, along with being unable to maintain positive outlooks and relationships.

Cass’ trauma being exposed made me think of her father and her upbringing in the palace-and that is still a very difficult life. Cass still implies several times that though the Captain was a great man, there was still a void, a disconnect, that resulted out of not being able to properly talk about and openly discuss her trauma, fears, and insecurities. It makes sense that she is iffy around Raps-in a sense, it doesn’t matter how much Rapunzel praises her or gives her a taste of a friendship she has never known. Cass was raised to simply not discuss vulnerable things openly. She essentially got picked up from one neglectful, less-than-ideal environment and thrown into another one at a tender age-even though the Captain still raised her heaps better than Gothel ever could. 

Another thing that people immediately jump to regarding Cass’ trauma is immediately acting like Rapunzel is the queen of all trauma, and that everything else pales in comparison or just doesn’t matter....or even excuses her mistakes while it can’t excuse Cass’, which is wrong. But it’s important to note that Cass usually distances herself from Raps when she feels the need to and sets her boundaries immediately -boundaries that Rapunzel never has to understand or even take the time to respect because she doesn’t understand Cass-she simply admires her as a friend. And it makes sense that Raps doesn’t understand Cass, given their respective traumas, but for some reason, it never falls on Rapunzel to fix her actual mistakes as much as it does on Cass, and the comparison of their traumas is used to justify this double standard when it shouldn’t. I should also point out that understanding someone doesn’t mean you let them walk over you. It’s respecting their decisions if you know it will do you both good, being intimately knowledgeable enough to know when to back off or go forward, being accustomed to knowing when they need help or when they need to be alone. And Rapunzel has trouble with this. Seasons 1 and 2 show that it is usually when Rapunzel pushes too far and crosses the boundaries that trouble happens, because usually the only way to fix said trouble is to force Cass into doing something she doesn’t want to do-talk about her feelings. In other words...Raps does always get her way. Cass doesn’t have to bow to Raps’ every whim or agree to Raps’ every decision to be a good friend. Cass and Raps had similar upbringings with linked traumas but those traumas needed to be discussed individually-AKA not with Cass brining Raps into it or re-traumatizing her as “payback,” but Cass coming to terms with it via actions and opinions of her own. As for Rapunzel, instead of making her “lessons” be things like “let Cass go” and “don’t give up on friends” the writers could have put “it’s alright to be able to say something is wrong and still acknowledge that you could have done better” in the beginning half of season 3. Unfortunately, in trying to make Cass’ trauma a pitying point instead of a point of growth and realization, the writers always dump the majority of the emotional labour on Rapunzel, especially in the later half of season 3, which isn’t fair to either of the girls.

Yes, trauma is not an excuse to hurt others. Cass never should have hurt Raps or anyone else. Cass’ and Raps’ arc deserved better. But Cass’ trauma is no less important than anyone else’s trauma. Cass doesn’t have to have lived through the Great Depression, the Holocaust, or something like the Handmaiden’s Tale to deserve to be heard or to be branded as a tragic villain/antagonist. All problems are important, but not all problems are the same.