Fangirl by nature. Soul Eater, Bleach, Legend of Korra (and ATLA), Black Lagoon, Hellsing (Ultimate and Manga ONLY), League of Legends, Quentin Tarantino movies...the list goes on. If you like strong opinions, you've come to the right place.
An interesting argument you've put forth for your tagging preferences...only thing is, given your logic, why tag this as Ichiruki? You don't mention Ichiruki at all in this post; you could very well dislike RenRuki without shipping Ichiruki...which makes it clear to me that this is just hate mongering with your fellow community--a community that is known for gross amounts of negativity and harrassment. I mean I feel kind of bad for you that you can't appreciate all of the history, understanding, ionic bonding, reconciliation, awesomeness, attraction, and best-bro-in-teh-worldness that RR brings to the table, but just because you experience that kind of deficit doesn't mean you should be tagging non-descriptively. The typical etiquette is to at least put "anti-" in front of whatever you're senselessly shitting on so it doesn't filter through to fans who appreciate it. To those of us who see RR and flinch because our feels are giving us a collective wave of warmth and fuzziness shot directly into our fucking veins (we love each other so much we're telepathic; when one of us reads fanfics and eats up smutty fanart we all do). Try finding a community that practices love over hatred.
So it seems obvious now that the angle the show wanted to go with Gendry and Arya is that she mostly just wanted some sex out of him by the time they were both in Winterfell. That she just "enjoys new experiences" I guess (quote from deleted scene). The vibe I'm getting is that she wanted to act on those feelings she had for Gendry years ago, but that it's been so long and she's been through so much that most of the romance is gone, but the physical aspect of her love remains (since, Jesus, her physicality seems to be the only thing that's been honed over the course of the series while her emotional and mental states have been harmed). Maybe they were going for some power!woman thing and thought it was groundbreaking for feminism or something? THAT SAID. If that was their intended driving force, they directed it terribly. Spending so much time on Arya and Gendry both re-connecting emotionally and newly-connecting physically. All their scenes being with each other in the first part of the season, with nothing but boundless romantic and sexual chemistry in their gazes, banter, and love scene. Then they hit us with a nonsensical proposal ending in a cold and abrupt scene change? With no other interaction from these characters afterwards? Like what??? If you want to make Arya not interested in the person he is anymore, make her not interested. Don't have her be happy to hear him calling her "mi'lady" followed by her being proud of him when he becomes a Lord followed by her dreamily kissing him even as she rejects his proposal. And then pretend she doesn't really give a shit about him. If she is human enough to love her family still, then she is human enough to love this boy whom she once tried to make her family. You can't have it both ways. THEY DIDN'T EVEN ADDRESS THEIR RELATIONSHIP IN THE INSIDE THE EPISODE SEGMENTS!!! LIKE WTF??? YOU SPEND ALL THIS TIME ON A MAJOR CHARACTER GETTING INTO THIS RELATIONSHIP SITUATION WITH A CHARACTER WITH WHOM SHE ALSO HAS A PRETTY FUCKING SIGNIFICANT PAST AND YOU JUST DECIDE IT'S NOT REALLY THAT BIG A DEAL AFTER ALL??? WHY!!!!!!!!!!!! DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS??????????? I shouldn't be so angry at this hour (starting a new job tomorrow), but I just can't deal with professionals handling their work like this. I'm not a TV writer but damnit I work hard at the jobs I do have and I sure as hell know I wouldn't have been happy with this monstrosity of a plotline had I written it. HBO wanted to give you guys 10 episodes to finish this season right but instead you decided to go play with fucking lightsabers instead of giving a well-paced and proper conclusion to the television show that gave you endless amounts of money, notoriety, and fans' hearts. Hearts that you disregarded for lord knows what reason. I'm honestly so disillusioned with this ending for Gendry and Arya that I'm choosing to believe in my heart that it's fucking fake. Like that's it. It's actually not canon. It doesn't deserve to be--these characters and their story are to good for this. Arya and Gendrya have a heart-to-heart sometime after the proposal, and he's on the ship with her sailing West of Westeros. The End.
To help myself and the Gendrya fandom work through the negative emotions that have come along with the leaks for 8x06, I’ve written an “inserted scene” featuring our two favorite idiot lovebirds that is compliant with the leaks while still leaving things open for their relationship. Hoping there will be a scene like this in the finale since leaks are almost always incomplete but we’ll see lol. Also sorry it’s only half an hour before the finale haha.
Hope ya’ll enjoy!
The mad queen Daenerys was dead. Arya’s brother—her cousin—had betrayed his queen, and now he and the others were picking up the pieces. Arya wanted no part of it—after slogging through what she could only imagine was hell’s doppelganger, politics seemed trivial. Many thousands—tens of thousands—were dead, and nothing could be done for them. Whoever took over would be presiding over ash and tar, with only dead dreams to cheer them on in the streets. Things weren’t going to feel normal again for a long time…not for the city, or for her.
At least she’d been able to throw some water over her face and down her gullet since the Dragon Queen’s killing had occurred—it’d been only hours ago, now. She’d found a small, secluded spot on the beaches and was perched on some low rocks, watching the tide of sea roll in and out, endlessly. She marveled that the world could come to an end (as it almost just had), and that the ocean would be indifferent. It would keep rocking back and forth without a care for what happened on its shores…she felt jealous of it.
Some crunches in the sand nearby caught her attention, and she waited for the intruder to come into her line of vision. She supposed it was Jon, probably, here to take her back to the land of the living. But, alas, the face which greeted her sent a pang through her belly. Gendry’s stubbled chin and bright blue eyes immediately found her, and he smiled—relieved to see her alive, but with a hint of sadness in his gaze. His garments were clean and beautiful, and represented his house colors—bright yellow and deep black.
“They told me you’d run off somewhere. I’m so glad…it’s good to see you alive.” He’d stuttered a bit with how to express his last sentiment, surely walking on pins and needles since her firm rejection. He walked closer, instinctively raising his arms to embrace her—but quickly and stubbornly forced them down to stay at his sides. She felt her heart crack a bit.
“It’s good to see you alive, too,” she teased him, knowing he hadn’t been present for the city’s destruction. Her smile was warm and sincere, if a bit weak because of her current mental state, and this seemed to make him relax. She was glad. His eyes wandered from hers, focusing on something behind her, and she took the opportunity to let the ocean draw her gaze once more.
“You were right.”
She looked up at him, eyes wide, and a firm pressure arose within her chest. He was looking directly at her again, and her heart felt like it was swelling up, like it would grow and fill her torso to bursting. He continued before she, dazed, could even fathom a response.
“I should have known. All you’ve ever said is how much you hate the idea of ladyship. I care about you, and I just lost my head in the moment…I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.” It came out before she could think. “Lords should have ladies. I can’t blame you for trying to make that happen. For trying to build the kind of life you’ve wanted for a long time.” She expected him to smile at that; to see, finally and without question, that she only wanted to support him. However, his face softened, dropped, his brow relaxing and the creases at the corners of his mouth folding in more deeply.
“I’ve always wanted to have a place in the world. To matter to someone or something. That’s what the name ‘Baratheon’ gave me. A rightful spot to exist. Feels like I was meant to be here…that maybe I wasn’t just the unwanted bastard spawned from one of thousands of drunken lays.” He’d not talked this openly about his insecurities before, and it had Arya’s mind reeling, wondering what he would say next. She wondered if her near-death had inspired something in him. “The lordship is something I could take or leave. It was never the point. And highborns have always treated me like nothing, anyhow…except you. Not really the kind of company I’m racing to join up with.” A tenderness flashed in his eyes when he’d referred to her, and Arya Stark suddenly felt tethered to him. She recognized this feeling from long ago, when she’d asked him to come with her and serve her brother. When they’d exchanged long gazes in that musty cave, and she felt that she might do anything in that moment to keep him with her—to keep herself complete. Parts of her grieved for that girl—for the innocence she’d had. The pain she’d not yet had to endure. How simple it was for her to hold on to him without looking back or holding reservations…but how she’d changed since then. Everything she’d seen, experienced—all the death, cruelty, utter annihilation—it was tangled up like thorny vines somewhere deep inside of her, and she knew she couldn’t simply forget about it and run off to a new life on a shining hill. She would never be able to live a normal life without working through it all.
There was silence between them, both tentative to take another step now that everything was laid out on the table. He’d ventured forward for her last time…she felt it might be right for her to reach out this time around.
“Sandor told me it wasn’t worth it. Revenge. He showed me. Showed me that I was making a mistake. He saved me. Helped me remember…helped me remember what matters to me.” She looked him dead in the eyes. “I’ve chosen to live. I don’t know what that’s going to look like yet, but…” she stalled for a moment, struggling to find the words to describe her feelings. Glancing away, the memory she’d just been reminded of took hold in her mind and she found a sudden clarity. Her eyes re-focused on his. “I can’t be your lady, Gendry…but I can be your family. I can always come back to you, no matter where I go. I can write you, and be with you, even if it’s only some of the time, and…” she trailed off as the next items came into her mind, not wanting to torture him with talk of a romance that she couldn’t make stable for him. “I want to love people, but I don’t know how much I can right now. There’s too much inside of me…too many bad memories. I’m not sure yet how to clear my head…” she’d finally said it aloud, admitted it to herself. She was lost. She knew she wanted peace, and family, and love…but had no idea how to get there given the current state of her mind and heart. Gendry moved forward, and before she knew it his warm arms were around her, his jaw at her temple, his solid form pressing against her and anchoring her to the many feelings rushing through her. She’d not gotten a good look at his face once she’d gone into the more difficult parts of her monologue.
“You’re Arya Stark, of Winterfell,” he told her. “Slayer of the Night King, Bringer of Dawn, the fiercest warrior any man’s ever seen in his life.” His grip on her tightened, markedly. “I haven’t heard about all the trials you’ve had, but I’ve seen the proof of them. You’re a fighter, through and through.” He drew back and she could see in his face his compassion, his care; how he wished he could help in a bigger way than just with his words. “I can’t imagine a challenge in this world you wouldn’t be able to conquer. And I’m sure your family will be there to help you through it…including me.” His serious expression morphed into a longing smile, and she could see how hurt his heart was, still, despite how much he was trying to be selflessly encouraging. She leaned forward, grabbing around his middle, her head buried in his chest as she tried to hide her guilt. Knowing she couldn’t reciprocate for him right now, despite all the feelings within her that truly wished to.
“Thank you, Gendry,” she spoke sincerely, and she was reminded of her send-off to the Hound. She relaxed in his re-formed embrace, and took a moment. A moment to feel him. His warmth. His love.
“Got any ideas for how to start your recovery?” he asked her, and she knew that he must be helping her mental state already, for she was almost annoyed that he was ruining the moment.
“I’ve always wanted to see what’s to the West of Westeros,” she spoke, drawing back from him and noticing that he’d let his hair grow back out a bit. Point number 2 for him bringing back her grip on reality. “Maybe now’s the time to make that happen.” He once again looked happy for her while also, simultaneously, staving off heartache.
“So you’ll be at sea then? Well, at least you’ll know you have an ally to come to if you’re ever in the Stormlands and you get bested by pirates.” He was moving toward being more jovial, as was their custom, and she felt relieved at how comfortable and familiar it was. A weight was lifted.
“You’ll be the one who’ll have to worry about pirates, guarding some huge stack of treasure in a castle on a lonely island. Isn’t that right, mi’lord?” She felt an instinct to say something about the lady he might have at his side, helping him protect his riches, but the intelligent part of her shot through to her biting wit and reminded her how fresh his wounds were.
“Yes, well…there’ll be time to think about that later. Everyone else is meeting soon and we’ll be expected to join them…” she could hear her own respect of the elephant in the room mirrored in his voice, as he forced himself not to spit out ‘mi’lady’ at the end of his sentence….but it felt off. He was turning away from her, beckoning her to follow him off the beaches and back to what was left of civilization, and she felt she couldn’t leave things so impersonal between them. She grabbed his hand and hopped off the rocks, giving him a smile that shone with love…a love hidden, trapped, lost in layers of trauma…but a love nonetheless. Her own kind…the kind she could manage, for now.
“Hasn’t anyone ever told you to address highborn ladies properly?” she jested. His shocked expression was priceless. It warmed her. “You’ll need to if you ever want them to come to your little island off the coast. They may even stay a while, if you’re lucky.” She could tell that he could tell what she meant. She didn’t mean other ladies. She meant herself. And, for the first time that day, his smile was fully relaxed.
“Yes, mi’lady,” he spoke softly, voice smooth as butter, and they walked into the future together, hand-in-hand.
Hound to Arya: You know how I know that bastard boy really is a twat? Because only a hopeless, stubborn idiot would follow some cunt like you to the ends of the earth.
Arya: Follow me to the ends of the earth? Nah playa he's gonna rule Storm's End and be happy and imma die here in KL finishing my awesome revenge plot.
Also Hound to Arya (possibly in dying moments): Go ahead and live your life like mine, if you'd like. See how much it's given me? See how happy I am? Hold on to your spite and hatred and you'll be like me. It's your choice to make.
Arya: *hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm*
Gendry: *appears suddenly to aid Arya in battle* I TOLD YOU IT WASN'T WORTH ANYTHIN' UNLESS I HAD YOU WITH MEEEEEEE
Cersei: Oh look Arya I'm conveniently here for you to kill but to do so you must make some huge sacrifice (probs allowing a loved one to die)/do something terrible.
The realm: Cool we got this just put someone good on the throne no in-fighting plz.
Arya to Gendry: So I thought things over and with some guidance from Obie-Wan Houndobi I have realized something. Like I already told you I can't be your lady. That will never change. But I CAN BE YOUR FAMILY. I love you. *full circle callbacks high five*
ENDING A: Let's fuck off to wherever and be a forest lass and a forest lad together.
ENDING B: Gendry sits on the throne and Arya is zee royal assassin while they carry on a romantic committed relationship.
ENDING C: They stay together, married or not, in Storm's End or wherever the Starks are OR on the throne together. Arya is her own kind of Lady/Queen, not taking on the traditional role.
In a typical TV show this would mean the end of Gendrya. But in GOT? Gendry is too stubborn for that. That's one of the reasons Arya loves him. We already know Joe Dempsie's in 8x06. Why else if not to follow Arya to KL and show her that he truly loves her and would support her by any means? He himself said his lordship would be nothing without her and we already know he's not 100% like Robert (who probably fucked upwards of 100 girls by his early twenties). I think this theory is likely: Hound dies in Cleganebowl simultaneously with Gregor and tells Arya how she should embrace life and love instead of being bitter and vengeful like him. Arya has to choose between killing Cersei and protecting Gendry and chooses the latter. They stay together in some kind of non-traditional union with Arya recognizing that she can make her own path despite committing to a relationship. They are the foil to the failed courtship of Robert/Lyanna. Arya remembers the girl inside of her who feels, and Gendry lets go of his preoccupation with arbitrary status. Obviously if Arya felt nothing for him she wouldn't have kissed him and worded things the way she did. She just needs a wake up call and Gendry needs to let go of the importance of class. I know this seems too hopeful for an outcome in GOT, but with how they are having this move along I feel that a surprise Gendry entrance in KL as a reconciliation will be one of the "big surprises" they always strive for in this show. I just don't buy Gendry going along with this passively. If so it's unfortunate writing. One of the reasons they work as a couple is that they challenge each other. The only other outcome I could see making sense is Gendry jumps out and dies for her out of nowhere and she moves forward accepting that having loved ones in life makes her happy and that she should keep people close. And lives the rest of her life keeping this in mind while remembering Gendry. Though hopefully it turns out to be an arrangement where they are both alive and well and committed to each other. Because Jesus we don't have definitive leaks for their endings yet and having everyone end in tragedy is just as cringe as everyone ending in unadulterated bliss. Pls signalboost my TedTalk.
Been scouring Reddit for 3 hours and as far as I can tell the only leaks/spoilers that are 100% confirmed can be found here: *SERIOUSLY BEWARE THERE ARE HUGE EFFING SPOILERS HERE ONLY GO HERE IF YOU'RE NOT AFRAID TO SEE SHIT ABOUT ALL THE CHARACTERS* https://www.reddit.com/r/freefolk/comments/bky94k/episode_4_has_leaked/ Despite all these "leaks" about Gendrya people have been posting in this tag I have seen NOTHING on Reddit or other original leak posts even talking about them (in a positive or negative way). Not that other people didn't see them, but all the other potential leaks people have been chattering about have sourcing back to screenshots/videos or original leak posts but no original that I've found seems to be talking about Gendrya in ep.4 or in the long term. Only people throwing around things they've heard with no source. So people who are posting about Gendrya this episode, please link your source.
I think I fully, consciously realized, just today, that there are more fanfictions and fanworks with a plot that goes like this-- 1. Ichigo and Rukia are dissatisfied with their respective marriages for many years and grow to hate their spouses (despite how much their bonds with their spouses are so intensely deep and rich regardless of their romantic aspects) 2. Ichigo and/or Rukia has an internal teen angst monologue about how they yearn for the other and suffer at home, and whenever they see the other they get that supersecretspecial glow in their eyes that everybody else instantly notices (even though it's neither in-character nor ever explained why they would marry people they didn't love, with the exception that apparently the IchiRuki community is convinced that "RUUkia was FORCED to marry that ABUSER RENjii" (which makes 0 sense?), and then, in grief about this, "ISTUGO married that BITCH CUNTihime out of PITY and heartsickness" (even though what Ichigo wouldn't do something like that to his dear friend Orihime which, even if you hate her, you really can't deny that Ichigo is very obviously shown to care for her a lot like jfc he went to a different dimension to save her just like he did for Rukia who you apparently think he blindly loves so much that he would deceptively marry his dear friend, thus taking advantage of the fact that she loves him)). Like what? 3. After something-something-something blah-blah-blah happens, "Ywach's curse" is broken and the two of them get together the way they were always supposed to be and for some reason sometimes Ichika and Kazui are fucking each other all along? Used as plot tools apparently to strengthen the validity of the supposed romantic bond between Ichigo and Rukia (cough cough Ulqihime) to mask the fact that, in reality, the author actually hates "those little ugly fucklings" (I don't have a direct quote on that but I can only imagine that some IchiRuki shipper somewhere has said it). --than the total amount of anything RenRuki that has ever existed in the fandom. Like I'm just out here trying to find some Renruki smut that isn't 2000 years old. And my ship is CANON. But these bitches be out here playing like Ichigo and Rukia are grief-stricken, hateful cheaters and that their spouses are selfishly obsessed with them as opposed to truly loving them. Like what did we do to deserve this injustice pls somebody pm me I need answers
Even if the person doing it has a point, public call-outs are a passive-aggressive, bad faith, juvenile playground tactic that stifles real discussion and critical thinking about social justice. To really understand these issues, we need give-and-take debate where people are free to make mistakes and learn. When people are screamed at and shamed into silence by the public group instead of truly coming to understand through good faith debate, we end up with GROUPTHINK and ECHO CHAMBERS.
Anon,I can only assume you are supporting me since a lot of what you say is similar to what I have said. If that assumption is correct, I would like to thank you for showing me some love ❤It is very hard to feel like I am really getting my message out to people who are understanding and listening when the person with whom I am debating obviously has a "tumblr crew" of people who will stand with them no matter what comes out of their mouth. So, it is very nice to receive support from fellow members of the tumblr community. I am going to feel really weird about this whole speech if you really meant to bash my statements, but I am pretty sure that's not the case xDIn absolute support of free speech,~CA
I’m posting this because I am tired of seeing this toxic shit:
There is no situation, no justification, that makes it okay for canon Roy Mustang to adopt an Ishvalan child. Like, none. An Ishvalan child should not be the vehicle for his self-actualization, and I’M DAMN SURE that from the perspective of Ishvalans in-universe, it would be considered violating to have a man who helped perpetuate genocide take in a child of the community. You know what Roy could do for Ishvalans? Publicly apologize. Vow to end the State Alchemist program. Campaign for reparations. The return of land and state sovereignty. All of these things are open and available to you should you wish to add an element to your fanworks which illustrates Roy “making peace” with this issue. You know what would be gross and would smack of assimilation tactics and colonizing? Adopting an Ishvalan child. I see the fetishizing going around - how amazing would it be for Roy to adopt an Ishvalan girl with her red eyes! - and you all sound like rich white people shopping for children in Africa. Roy Mustang, similarly, cannot pick up an Ishvalan child from the nearest refugee camp and be released from his guilt.
I know people are uncomfortable with talking about Roy in terms of being a murder, BUT HE IS. It doesn’t matter that it was state-sanctioned, or that he’s sorry, none of that erases how traumatic it was and (most likely) continues to be for the Ishvalan diaspora. I don’t care if your fics depict him as being well intentioned, or loving that child - in his case, it would always be selfish and gross. Do any of you realize how fucked up that kid’s childhood would be? The trauma they’d have to deal with? Navigating their identity as Ishvalan while also having to deal with the fact that their father systematically murdered their people? To adopt an Ishvalan kid would be emotional abuse.
Ya’ll should familiarize yourselves with IRL initiatives like the Indian Child Welfare Act which are aimed at helping oppressed peoples resist assimilation. Adoption has a long and mired history with being a tool for colonizers and oppressors committing cultural genocide. This trope is blatantly racist. Stop. Putting. This. Shit. In. Your. Fanworks.
Addressing this post simply to put in my two cents. It’s one thing to say that you think Roy adopting an Ishvalan child in a fanfic is disgusting. But it’s another thing to stifle people’s creativity by telling them not to write what they want to write. Now, I’m not going to try and say that you shouldn’t have made this post (I’m not a hypocrite; you have just as much right to have your thoughts out there as myself or anyone), but I wanted to give my own opinion on this issue in the hopes that it will provide a different viewpoint and not leave this issue unopposed within the community. A real child in the real world isn’t exploited because a fictional character in a fictional story “exploits” a fictional child–which leads into another point, that your narrow view of this story scenario doesn’t necessarily have to apply to every single story with said scenario in it. It doesn’t have to be about Roy “using a child for his own personal sense of atonement”– someone could take this idea in a multitude of different ways, and making the issue black and white and writing it off immediately isn’t really fair. Stories and words don’t directly hurt anyone or anything. This is why people support free speech. Even if you think something is harmful to spread as an idea, bullying people into stopping the spread of their opinions only oppresses individual thought and closes ideas off at what an outside group deems to be “acceptable.” Which isn’t very fair, since no opinion is declared as being “fundamentally right” or “fundamentally wrong” by nature or the universe. If you don’t like what someone is saying, using your own voice to spread your own ideas and convincing people to disagree with the idea you oppose (rather than simply telling the other party to stop talking) allows all voices to operate in an even playing field, but still gives you the opportunity to persuade people of your position. This makes for a fair and just system, at least more so than does trying to force people to conform to your beliefs by calling their perspectives bigoted and disgusting if they don’t. And, in any case, if someone just doesn’t agree with you, then there’s really not much you can do about that–all you can do is accept it and move on. But telling that person that they can’t express their own feelings and opinions is grossly hypocrotical, because that would mean that you are trying to take away the very same right that you are exercising by talking about how much you abhor their viewpoint. I’m not trying to be some big social justice warrior here–I just want to keep the Royai/Roy Mustang/FMA community from being bullied into shoving down their own ideas and artistic expression. I support freedom of speech and expression above all else, and I don’t like seeing nice people put down for creating harmless fan works. Much love, ~CA
“Stories and words don’t directly hurt anyone or anything”
Debatable, but it does reveal racist attitudes??
“…bullying people into stopping the spread of their opinions only oppresses individual thought and closes ideas off at what an outside group deems to be “acceptable.”
Bullying is calling names, harassing people, going into their inboxes and being rude. People are participating in racism. I am calling people out. That is not bullying. I recommend you read this link.
“But telling that person that they can’t express their own feelings and opinions is grossly hypocritical, because that would mean that you are trying to take away the very same right that you are exercising by talking about how much you abhor their viewpoint.”
These opinions are racist. I’m not telling people they can’t like the color green, or hockey sucks, or to wear white after labor day. I call bullshit on the idea the “”””free speech””””” and “””””artistic freedom”””””” protects people and the problematic shit they say. Fuck that. This isn’t debatable. And if by “comform[ing] to my beliefs” you mean that I refuse to ignore racism and the perpetuation of colonialist bullshit, yeah.
Fanworks, like literature, or music, or essays, espouse both implicit and explicit ideas about people of color and systems of oppression. I know that it is necessary, as an individual with a brain and a conscience, to criticize any work in any medium which is problematic. In the absence of calling people out, people go on in their lives thinking that this kind of thing is okay. It’s not okay. While FMA is a fantastical universe, some of the situations within that universe are very real. When you disrespect people of color and indigenous peoples in your fanworks, I can only assume that you disrespect people of color and indigenous peoples in real life. Full stop.
So it's great that you glossed over my point. But I digress. If you wanna call stuff racist, go ahead. Do it. You have that right. I just don't like it when people force others to silence themselves--and, obviously, we disagree there, and in the idea that there is debatability in the idea of whether or not certain things are objectively "racist." As that simple disagreement is never going to be something either of us concedes on, there's really no point in continuing this discussion--it should probably end here since there's not any more progress to be made. That's all I have to say.
I’m posting this because I am tired of seeing this toxic shit:
There is no situation, no justification, that makes it okay for canon Roy Mustang to adopt an Ishvalan child. Like, none. An Ishvalan child should not be the vehicle for his self-actualization, and I’M DAMN SURE that from the perspective of Ishvalans in-universe, it would be considered violating to have a man who helped perpetuate genocide take in a child of the community. You know what Roy could do for Ishvalans? Publicly apologize. Vow to end the State Alchemist program. Campaign for reparations. The return of land and state sovereignty. All of these things are open and available to you should you wish to add an element to your fanworks which illustrates Roy “making peace” with this issue. You know what would be gross and would smack of assimilation tactics and colonizing? Adopting an Ishvalan child. I see the fetishizing going around - how amazing would it be for Roy to adopt an Ishvalan girl with her red eyes! - and you all sound like rich white people shopping for children in Africa. Roy Mustang, similarly, cannot pick up an Ishvalan child from the nearest refugee camp and be released from his guilt.
I know people are uncomfortable with talking about Roy in terms of being a murder, BUT HE IS. It doesn’t matter that it was state-sanctioned, or that he’s sorry, none of that erases how traumatic it was and (most likely) continues to be for the Ishvalan diaspora. I don’t care if your fics depict him as being well intentioned, or loving that child - in his case, it would always be selfish and gross. Do any of you realize how fucked up that kid’s childhood would be? The trauma they’d have to deal with? Navigating their identity as Ishvalan while also having to deal with the fact that their father systematically murdered their people? To adopt an Ishvalan kid would be emotional abuse.
Ya’ll should familiarize yourselves with IRL initiatives like the Indian Child Welfare Act which are aimed at helping oppressed peoples resist assimilation. Adoption has a long and mired history with being a tool for colonizers and oppressors committing cultural genocide. This trope is blatantly racist. Stop. Putting. This. Shit. In. Your. Fanworks.
Addressing this post simply to put in my two cents. It's one thing to say that you think Roy adopting an Ishvalan child in a fanfic is disgusting. But it's another thing to stifle people's creativity by telling them not to write what they want to write. Now, I'm not going to try and say that you shouldn't have made this post (I'm not a hypocrite; you have just as much right to have your thoughts out there as myself or anyone), but I wanted to give my own opinion on this issue in the hopes that it will provide a different viewpoint and not leave this issue unopposed within the community. A real child in the real world isn't exploited because a fictional character in a fictional story "exploits" a fictional child--which leads into another point, that your narrow view of this story scenario doesn't necessarily have to apply to every single story with said scenario in it. It doesn't have to be about Roy "using a child for his own personal sense of atonement"-- someone could take this idea in a multitude of different ways, and making the issue black and white and writing it off immediately isn't really fair. Stories and words don't directly hurt anyone or anything. This is why people support free speech. Even if you think something is harmful to spread as an idea, bullying people into stopping the spread of their opinions only oppresses individual thought and closes ideas off at what an outside group deems to be "acceptable." Which isn't very fair, since no opinion is declared as being "fundamentally right" or "fundamentally wrong" by nature or the universe. If you don't like what someone is saying, using your own voice to spread your own ideas and convincing people to disagree with the idea you oppose (rather than simply telling the other party to stop talking) allows all voices to operate in an even playing field, but still gives you the opportunity to persuade people of your position. This makes for a fair and just system, at least more so than does trying to force people to conform to your beliefs by calling their perspectives bigoted and disgusting if they don't. And, in any case, if someone just doesn't agree with you, then there's really not much you can do about that--all you can do is accept it and move on. But telling that person that they can't express their own feelings and opinions is grossly hypocrotical, because that would mean that you are trying to take away the very same right that you are exercising by talking about how much you abhor their viewpoint. I'm not trying to be some big social justice warrior here--I just want to keep the Royai/Roy Mustang/FMA community from being bullied into shoving down their own ideas and artistic expression. I support freedom of speech and expression above all else, and I don't like seeing nice people put down for creating harmless fan works. Much love, ~CA
Hi tumblr! This is a wyvern I'm working on for my friend. He is named Levi after everyone's favorite AOT badass, and is, as I hope everyone can tell, a work in progress. This is the final pencil linework, so next will come coloring (I'm thinking chalk pastel?) and, then, ink on the lines and in black areas. Right now I'm thinking that gold would be a good color for his scales, with gray or red/orange as a highlight color (I like to do 2-color schemes for these guys, one for the scales and another for eyes, underbelly and wing membranes)? I've never posted any art on the internets before, but I felt really good about this (i almost never do fun/dynamic posing like this) and I thought it would be a great opportunity to start! I did this with a wooden #2 pencil (as opposed to the mechanical one I use for all of my artwork anymore) and was trying really hard to get some half-decent perspective going (which takes me 20 tries, if you were wondering about all those erased pencil marks). I love doing perspective because of the finished product but hate it because of the process lol. But I wanna make this one good so I put a lot of effort into getting it as accurate as possible :3 I'll be putting up pics of the colored dragon before and after inking--hope someone out there likes it! P.S. That wavy thing coming from the mouth will eventually resemble fire
Hey guys! Here is my last submission for Royai Week--a little wrap up to my drabbly anthology. I used BOTH prompts to write this one (”The Past” AND “The Future”). If this piece intrigues you, please visit my blog and take a look at my previous Royai posts to see the story leading up to this conclusion :) Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read this and has taken the time to read my other submissions--hope you guys enjoy!
They often dreamed of a potential future, and compared it to what was now in the past. It was true that their future might end in retributive flames and fire, and they wouldn’t feel cheated if it did, but it was nice to think that there could be other possibilities for them after their goals were accomplished. Even the Hawk and the Horse weren’t immune to fantasies.
“I love you” would be expressed through casual daytime kisses and domestic hugs from behind rather than through a knowing glance or the protection of an umbrella on a rainy day. They could hold hands in public instead of having to stop at her trailing closely, protectively behind him. So many things that might be different—but, then again, the suffocating restrictions were in the past, as well.
They would talk openly about how much they cared for the other, and cover each other’s hand with their own when sitting at tables. Plausibly deniable platonic activities, and they had reached a comfortable medium. Physical intimacy was nice, of course, but they didn’t need it—they only really needed each other in a loving way, and they had that without the kissing and sex. Again, however, looking to the future was not uncommon for them. Sometimes, of course, the thoughts were gruesome rather than optimistic.
There might be death and killing in their future. That situation, though, would consist of them being murdered by the government rather than them murdering Ishvalans, as they had in the past. They might be judged by a jury of their peers instead of following the orders of a corrupt military ruler who judged the fate of an entire race of people. A variety of things had the potential to occur. Either way, all they could do now was ponder as they worked to reach the dream which they knew needed to happen. They would accept any consequences coming to them.
There might be three again. She, he and a child rather than she, he, and her father. Alchemy lessons wherein tiny hands were learning the craft in lieu of reaching for the distant love of a parent. Whatever future they had waiting would have similarities to their past in some way, but would fall somewhere on a spectrum from despairingly worse to unexpectedly better. They had no way to tell exactly where the cards would fall when everything was said and done.
Whatever happened, though, they knew that they would be able to handle it as long as they were together, and this was the only circumstance of their future they were certain of. Always, always, they would be together.
Yo! What’s up, peeps? Sorry this wasn’t posted earlier, but I’m glad that I’m at least getting it up before midnight XD This is my sixth submission for Royai Week: “Blindness.” Hope you guys enjoy!
For the first time, they were seeing clearly.
For a long time, they were blind to their own needs; thinking they could survive by walking close to, but not crossing, the line between professional and personal. More recently, they suffered from an impulsive blindness that caused them to ignore reality, and neither of these occurrences could hope to end in success.
“I’m sorry, sir.” Mustang started as she spoke and reached out to cover his hand which was shakily filling out paperwork. He was trying to ward off her advances since the crew had gone out on break, leaving them alone together in the room. Roy didn’t want to look her in the eyes. She knew why, but didn’t mind; she had brought this upon herself. But, now, slowly, he raised his head and she saw his tiredness in his deep bags. A pang of guilt struck her, and she flinched, but held her composure.
“It was wrong of me to act the way I did…I didn’t think things through before letting the guilt take over. I do think that we can go about our relationship in a different way—one that’s not all or nothing. Please…forgive me.” Roy’s eye twitched, and he finally focused them onto hers. He smiled.
“Nonsense, Lieutenant. You were being realistic. All of us do things we regret, and I wouldn’t be angry with you over this for the world.” He flipped his covered hand up and joined it with his other so that he was holding hers, and pulled up so that their elbows rested, bent, on the table. “So forget your guilt, please. I’m not at all offended, and you don’t deserve that weight on your shoulders. Now, what’s on your mind?” His beloved hawk returned his joyful facial expression (albeit less painfully), and began to speak.
“Let’s just spend time together. Meals, evenings…things that we can do which won’t draw attention. I think, before, we were being impulsive…too much restraint made us both lose reason. We might not be able to do all of the things that others can, but we can still express ourselves to each other through our words and actions. We can be in between what we’ve been before, at least until…well, you know.” He did. Their lives were built around the democratization of their country, and bringing justice to those whom they had wronged. Though they didn’t expect to survive the latter, there was a future ahead of them if they did. Life after their dream was accomplished, after the military…it was an oyster.
“Hm…I’d like that, Lieutenant. Where should we go tonight?” They were smiling like fools, but it wasn’t like they weren’t those already. At the end of the day, all they really needed was each other. That was a truth they could never be blinded to.
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