#((because he isn't my first place favourite and doesn't fit in with any of the other categories. he doesn't end up making the list sadly))

[steamberrystudio]

Time for a Q&A with Daaz. Ever thoughtful with his answers, of course. Typical Daaz fashion.

Of course, that meant they almost didn't FIT ON THE PAGE. But that is very Daaz-like, of course. <3 Image Text reads:

Do you have any bad habits, Daaz? I suppose so. I mean, I tend to ask a lot of questions when I first meet someone and I guess it can be kind of annoying. And, it's not really a habit but some people think I'm boring…as a person.

What is your greatest fear? I don't know. Most people just fear in the direction where their greatest love is. That would be my friends and family. So I always worry about them…

What is one of your biggest secrets? I don't think we know each other well enough for me to share that. There's a reason it's a secret.

Are you an indoors or outdoors type of person? Depends on where I am. Whether you like the outdoors or not, when you spend months at a time in deep space on a ship, you're confined inside. Surface-side I like to balance inside/outside time.

What quality do you value most in a partner? I don't think I can pin everything on a single quality. I need someone that aligns, over all, to my value system and that means that there are several important traits - openness, honesty, loyalty. But I suppose when I really think about it, the most important thing is that they return my feelings. If someone doesn't like me in the first place, then a relationship is impossible. Or maybe that's too much of a given? I don't know. I just need someone that I click with and who clicks with me.

Do you have any siblings? I have multiple biological siblings, yes. Neze, Riyu, and Zel. Asher's not blood related but, you know how it is. I think he counts as one of them in his own way.

Who's your favourite? Ha ha. Nope. I value my life way too much to answer that!

What advice would you give your younger self? Worry less about pleasing others with your choices.

Do you believe in love at first sight? Hmm. No. Obviously you can be attracted to someone at first sight, but you have to actually speak to someone and get to know them a little to fall in love in the romantic sense. I do believe you can fall in love very quickly. But not just on sight. That isn't 'love' - just attraction. In my opinion, of course.

Have you ever been in love? This one is tough for me. Because love isn't just a sense of infatuation but an active choice regarding how you treat and view someone. Typically when we talk about romantic love, we're kind of implying that both things are involved. I suppose I'd tentatively say yes…but perhaps it was more on the more shallow side since it didn't last…

What type of person do you despise the most? People who wantonly hurt others, yeah? I mean, that seems logical.

Do you believe in happy endings? I'm not sure I believe in endings at all, you know?

[white-wolf-buckaroo]

The last drop in The Last Drop🍺✨

Here is my self indulging fic set in the Arcane series because I miss Vander a lot and I need to cope with the ending somehow -> Basically a fic where I add an og character (a little girl named Luna) who becomes Vander's fifth adopted child (shoutout to the single dad of the year)

Disclaimer: I haven't played LOL and english isn't my first language, so yeah, and oh I've got daddy issues (reason for which I'm writing this lol)

Mi main Masterlist: here!

Pre-Act 1.1

It's alright, little one

Luna liked Vander's hands. They made her feel safe. He made her feel safe

She's got us now

The Last Drop was a loud place, and Vander's kids were also loud, but Luna slowly begins to fit in within the chaos with her new family

You're not by yourself anymore, Lu

Luna has nightmares, but Vander will always be there for her. She just has to learn that.

I like being close to you

Luna likes to hang out behind the counter because she likes being close to Vander.

It's nice to make new friends

Luna meets Ekko for the first time.

We're having a game night!

When Vander realizes Luna is scared of thunderstorms, he thinks of something to help distract her from the next storm.

To protect something precious one must be willing to do anything

As Luna keeps Vander company while he cleans up for the night, an unexpected visitor arrives: a man with a long coat, black hair, and a scarred eye.

And I'll keep choosing you, every single day

Vander had been called many things in his life, but no one had ever said 'Dad' to him. Until now.

You're my family. Every single one of you.

Mylo, Vi and Claggor get frustrated because they are grounded for a week, and they get angry because Vander doesn't seem to get as angry with Powder and Luna when they do wrong. It's time for him to remind them that he doesn't have any favourites (this one follows directly the one shot/chapter before "And I'll keep choosing you, every single day").

This is somethin' special, kid

On a rare sunny day in the Lanes, all the kids go outside to have fun and play, but not Luna. She stays in the basement all day working on a super secret project that she reveals at the end of the day to her family.

Takes one to know one

Luna makes a new friend, except he isn't from the Lanes, but from Piltover. A boy named Seb.

... more to come!

Drabbles pre Act 1.1.

Told you sprinkles are important!

Vander, Powder and Luna bake Vi a birthday cake.

'Guess the tooth fairy knows her stuff

About a tooth fairy named Claggor.

He's so going to kill us

Luna tags along Vi and Claggor to complete an assignment for Vander, however, she loses them and ends up alone (scaring the sh*t out of her siblings and dad).

... more to come!

Act 1.1

I’ll still fight every day. For them.

Vander wakes up after being taken by Singed for his experiments.

... more to come!

If you have any requests or want to see something happen let me know! I do have a few things mapped out, but as this is a very self indulging fic, I'll probably don't follow a concrete order posting (maybe one day I post a one shot set when they were all kids and the next day one set in season 2, idk depends on the mood ig)

Tell me if you want to be tagged!

[actual-changeling]

there's just something about bad blood and the way all their problems are put on display and hidden behind a thin veil of comedy to the point where most people just. don't see it.

scully is NOT having a good time! at all! any attempt at trying to bridge the gap is literally swatted away.

mulder doesn't refer to them as "we" and scully has to remind him several times that this isn't only about him, she's just as deep in this as he is. they're a team, even if he's somehow become incapable of remembering that.

in her version of the story, the way the sheriff behaves towards her is exactly how mulder usually does: he listens, he values her opinion, he actively seeks out her thoughts, he respects her as a scientist and a person and they physically meet in the middle.

it's not just funny haha or a coincidence that they placed them all this way. it's entirely intentional. the fact that the sheriff calls her dana just really drives the point home because yeah, he never knew her name—but mulder does. he knows her name and he used to call her that as a way of emotionally connecting deeper than they usually do.

do you remember the last time he did that at this point because i sure as hell don't, and i won't even start talking about the general decline throughout the first half of season 5.

just look at the physical distance between them. she leans in with her entire upper body and you could still fit another person between them. mr and mrs "we have to be in kissing distance to talk or we will die" are not whoever it is we are looking at.

i won't even get into how he very much does not touch her neck at the end compared to when he was feeling her up in "ice" in that stupid closet. and don't get me started on how he treats her like his personal assistant instead of an equal. go do that, no i don't give a fuck that you're hungry or tired i want you to do that autopsy now, yes i will do fuck all while you do that, no i don't think that's unfair, why are you still here go do as you're told.

she calls him out on it and he just doesn't listen, and then she goes and does it anyway because she loves him too much for her own good sometimes.

and none of this is to say that mulder is being intentionally malicious, he very much isn't (at this point, season 6 is a different story). but while he was careless from the beginning he still cared. he genuinely needed her and wanted her around, he wanted her to be happy and was more protective than he should have been. i have my own theories on why his behaviour changes (which would be a separate too long post if people are interested) and in the end there were several moments throughout season 5 and this episode that should have given him pause. mulder just isn't thinking about her like he used to, and that's why he's so uncharacteristically dismissive and cold towards her.

she tried to talk to him about it (so much. she tried so many times and so hard) but he wasn't listening. by then it would have taken her getting kidnapped or shot or otherwise hurt for him to get ripped back to reality and realize what he was doing, and even when that did happen it didn't actually change anything.

it's only when she intentionally and willingly attempts to walk away from him that he jumps into action but THAT is also a different post entirely.

anyway, bad blood is one of my favourite episode and i do think it's funny as fuck and i enjoy watching it. there's just more to it than one might realize on the first watch.

to end this on a good note, here's something that doesn't change in either of their stories: he still loves her and when he does look at her she's all he sees.

flaws and all, they're stuck together and choose to come back to each other every single time.

[del-stars]

what’s some of your favourite black brothers hcs?

bless you for sending this and giving me the opportunity to yap

i wish i could remember who posted this hc but sirius got stuck in walburga's ribs in birth and regulus was born blue/not breathing

sirius constantly causing walburga pain during her pregnancy, burrowing as far inside of her as he could, only to be ripped from her into a reality that will constantly tear them apart vs regulus being doomed from the very beginning, dying so young because he shouldn't be alive in the first place MHM YUP

sirius was the favorite child. this led to regulus trying to copy sirius in absolutely everything he does when they were very little

sirius bore the brunt of physical punishment because of the expectations/attention constantly placed upon them. regulus, on the other hand, suffered from neglect

incredibly competitive household, everything they do is compared against each other. recipe for sibling failure

i could write an entire essay on how sirius internalises his failure to be a 'good heir' into thinking something is inherently wrong with him/how regulus' being born second gave him limitless rage at everything around him

even after sirius is sorted into gryffindor and, by his family's definition, becomes a major fuck-up, walburga wants and hopes that he will assume the demeanor and responsibilities of being heir. this is where regulus' resentment of sirius is born: regulus has always been good, has always kept his mouth shut and done what he should, and yet he's still not fit to be heir, even when sirius so obviously doesn't want it. walburga wants her eldest son to be 'perfect' again so badly that she can't see that regulus fits all of her requirements

and after regulus is sorted into slytherin, sirius begins to resent him. now that he can see that he isn't just a black sheep - the rest of the world is nothing at all like his family - he wants regulus to follow in his footsteps, and he won't. he sees regulus as weak for continuing to bend to their family's ways and strive to impress them

so, by age twelve or thirteen, they hate each other. that's the tragedy. they don't come back from this. regulus thinks sirius is ungrateful and out of control, and sirius thinks regulus is a coward and a bigot

regulus spiralssssss because of how much he hates sirius. it is pure, unbridled jealousy. he isolates himself, lets himself be driven by negativity, and tries desperately to mask his inherent sense of inferiority by positioning himself as superior due to his blood status. this makes him the perfect candidate for targeted radicalisation by the de's/bellatrix

sirius does not regret leaving and does not wish he could've taken regulus with him. regulus was fucking over the moon that sirius ran away, and was also part of the reason sirius needed to leave. i will die on this hill

i will always think their characterisations are more interesting/compelling when you make them hate each other. they are fundamentally so different that you can't just swap traits/storylines between them. regulus is SUCH an interesting villain and i wish people explored him in this light more rather than just giving him sirius' story

they are a product of their circumstance. in any other universe they probably could've bonded over their shared trauma (which is why i love my black brother modern aus), but in the one they're in they are destined to be torn apart.

and now, the mini moodboard:

[anyplaceisparadise]

The Use of Colour in Gladiator II: Black, Part 1

Once again before I get into it, here's my copy and paste from previous iterations of this: I referred quite a bit to some of my favourite books, The World According to Colour: A Cultural History by James Fox, The Secret Lives of Colour by Kassia St. Clair, and Emperor of Rome and SPQR by Mary Beard while working on this. I highly recommend all of them! These are definitely not mind blowing ideas here, just stuff that came to me because this movie has given me a severe case of brain rot. If you disagree, that’s cool. If you’ve mentioned any of this before, I love that we’re on the same wavelength. If you think this is ridiculous and I’ve gone off the deep end, you are correct.

Past Colour Posts: White Yellow Purple Brown Black Pt. 2 Red Blue Green Honourable Mentions

Black can be used in Gladiator II to represent exposure.

Black is most obviously associated with darkness, with hiding, with secrets, or evil. It's often the colour we connect with villains, or the "bad guys" in stories.

James Fox writes, "Just as we can only 'feel' a hole by touching the edges around it, so we 'see' black by observing the lightness that surrounds or precedes it. Black, in other words, is made by light" (The World According to Colour, James Fox, pg. 24). When characters wear black in Gladiator II, I argue that they are exposed, either for what they truly are deep inside, or their thoughts and ideas.

The first character we see in black is Geta, at Thraex's party.

One thing that is interesting to me about the twins wearing black is that every time they do so, it is combined with a metallic colour. Geta, with the silver here, and Caracalla with gold. Other characters that wear black do not get that same colour combo, and I'd argue it's because the twins are emperors, with gold and silver being used to represent wealth and power.

Arguably, Geta's outfit here is more silver than it is black. But I think that works well here, because at Thraex's party, Geta draws attention to himself after the fight by standing up, walking around, clapping, yelling out. All eyes are already on him and Caracalla, but he brings them even more attention, even more exposure. This is where the silver comes in. He's an emperor after all. He's flashy, he's important. However, he doesn't anticipate Lucius embarrassing him in front of everyone by reciting the poem. Geta's shortcoming's have been exposed for all to see. He is not the great, scary, imposing emperor he portrays. And this is where the black comes in, his weaknesses and failures peeking out for everyone to see.

Geta also wears black (and silver and gold) in the deleted adoption scene.

Geta and Caracalla ask Lucilla to adopt them, thus securing legitimacy for themselves and connecting them to Marcus Aurelius. Their weakness, their lack of authority, and their tenuous position as emperors is exposed in this scene, and it's a shame it never made it to the final film.

Lucilla also wears a black cloak when she meets with Lucius for the first time and exposes herself as his mother. Her vulnerability is on display, and she is open to hurt. And she is hurt, Lucius isn't receptive, he's angry, he denies her. But her secret is out there, and she speaks it aloud for the first time while wearing black (the blue dress is for another post).

Lucius and Acacius both wear black as well.

It's definitely a practicality thing (as I wrote about in the post on brown), to wear dark colours while in battle, but for the sake of the post, let's look at it again. In the opening of the film, Acacius is wearing dark armour to capture more land for Rome and for the emperors. He is exposing his role as general and conqueror, but he also exposes how he truly feels about it all with the rather sad way he speaks about his actions.

It's fitting that Acacius wears that same armour in his final fight. He is fighting Lucius, who even if we ignore the entire coup plot, is from the place Acacius just raided and captured. This is the first time Lucius and Acacius have spoken or even really been close to each other, and Acacius' actions in the raid are exposed to the very person that was impacted by it.

He is doubly exposed in this fight, as the entire point is that the coup plot has been revealed and his transgressions against the emperors is exposed to the entirety of Rome (or at least, those in the colosseum).

Lucius wears black armour that belonged to Maximus at the end of the movie. The symbolism is pretty obvious, it's a full circle moment here. His true identity is exposed, his birthright is right there for the taking, and he wears his deceased father's armour to defend his mother. The cat is full out of the bag by the time Lucius puts this armour on.

Caracalla also wears black (and gold). The first time is at the second round of games:

This entire scene is super interesting to me, mostly because of Geta. At this point in the movie, Geta is seen as in control, the more stable twin and emperor. However, he is really losing it here. He rubs his gums, he rocks in his seat, and is generally twitchy and fidgety. In other words, he acts the way we are meant to view Caracalla.

Caracalla wearing black and gold here exposes him via Geta. He looks to Geta in this scene for reassurance. He fiddles with his fingers and straightens up in his seat as he looks at Geta. His role as an emperor is on display because Geta is acting so much not like an emperor here. Geta becoming a little unglued shows Caracalla's usual behaviour, but also exposes their lack of control. If Geta is rocking in his seat, where does that leave Caracalla?

This is also the scene where Lucius shoots an arrow into the emperor's box seats. No one is hurt, but it's a direct display of how their roles have impacted everyone in that colosseum, even themselves.

Caracalla also wears black once he is sole emperor.

This is his darkest outfit. We know that he doesn't remember what happened to Geta, nor does he realize the implications or consequences of what is happening. He is ill, he is mad, and while Rome probably already knew that, he doesn't have Geta to hold him back anymore. He full exposes his illness in this scene by naming Dondus as first consul.

He is also out of Geta's shadow. Throughout the film, Geta has been the one to make decisions and to speak for the two of them. Geta holds Caracalla back from gutting Lucilla and Acacius in the night scene (where the darkness of the night exposes the coup). Geta is the one that makes the mercy/no mercy decisions (although he does ask for input the first time around, I'll give him that). Geta is running the show because it is necessary; Caracalla is ill (does Cara even realize he is ill? Debatable). We also know that Geta has been this way their whole lives as mentioned in their final moments together. It was Geta that took the blows from their father to spare Caracalla.

But here, dressed in black and gold, Caracalla is in the driver's seat so to speak. He's the one in control. He's sole emperor. And when you are sole emperor, you also become the sign of the times. There is no one else to shift the blame on to, no twin left to shoulder the consequences for you. Geta protected Caracalla all their lives, till the very end, but he can't protect him anymore. It's all on Caracalla now.

So ends part one. Part two is a piece of absolute brain rot that is related to the idea of exposure but it veered off course so it gets a separate post.

[ii-meeple-confessions]

Honestly the way Mephone's contestants react to him in general and them realizing "Oh this guy is kind of messed up" is so funny to me. Because as much as Mephone tries to hide it through the host persona he pushes onto himself to seem normal, it really doesn't work.

Even before everything (This was in 2016, for reference! -- And this is one of my favourite things ever -- Fan, on his blog, wrote what is essentially a Mephone4 Fanfiction (The link is here: it's on his blog! If you care to read it in full..... https://www.tumblr.com/inanimateinsanityfan/150341850210/fan-blog-confessions-i-confess-i-forced-someone?source=share) (sorry the link doesn't actually work when you click on it) And one of the lines was: "M: Alright.  I just kind of have trouble verbalizing what I really want to say?  So a lot of my thoughts just come out as these little attacks." Continuing into "M: Yeah... they’re just so second nature to me, I say them to fill in the gaps... otherwise I wouldn’t really know how to chime in."

And I think its genuinely so funny that Fan read him that well. Be it fanfiction and projection or not, Fan is right here! Mephone has trouble verbalizing and complimenting others. (Probably because he himself wasn't often complimented by Cobs--) and it leads him to ruining potential relationships. He stokes flames of distrust between him and other people to keep himself safe and entertained, and then gets upset when he's all alone because he can't build meaningful relationships with people.

And people realize this really quickly. For another example, take Mepad. Who quickly comes to see Mephone is wrong in his judgement towards Toilet and in his treatment of the contestants. Or Suitcase, who comforts Mephone multiple times-- I'd have to lag my computer into oblivion to get the exact quote/s, but she's very keenly aware that Mephone isn't alright at that time, and she verbalizes that. The final 4 of season 2 AND season 3 all seem to be aware of Mephones mental health declining.

And again, he DOES try to hide this. When he's upset over Mepad quitting / doesn't know how to handle it, he jumps into his obnoxious host persona to hide his true feelings on the matter. He pushes and shoves and lights a ring of fire around himself, sacrificing his relationships in return for the safety of his host persona.

Right out of Meeple, some of his first memories of freedom, ARE of being a host. He was basically immediately (unknowingly) enlisted by Cobs to be a host. In escaping Meeple and the persona he had to take on to appease Cobs, he fit himself right into another persona. Another set of rules to follow on how to behave to, in his eyes, stay safe.

It fucks me up so bad because the entire personality he constructed for himself ruins so many of his relationships and thus sinks him into a deeper pit of loneliness. At its core, it's self-sabotaging, and I think it's clearest in "Truth or Flare" (S2 E15) when Mepad quits. I mentioned this before!! But GOD it hits so hard. The way Suitcase says she legitimately hates him and he justs stands there stupidly grinning "I'm a scamp for drama!" No sir you are a scamp for ruining your relationships!

All of this rambling is to say Mephones persona is really one of his undoings. Forcing himself into the mold of reality show tv host isn't... Good for him. And it becomes his safety net when it really shouldn't. It hurts me, to see him so earnestly playing it up when we see him interviewing Box. Trying to seem like a seasoned professional, unbothered, but perking up when complimented. But as the series goes on, that host persona becomes a much more angry and unlikeable person. Hardly any good comes from his insults and comments. And he ruins many of the chances he has to make genuine connections with people-- which is something he so desperately needs.

Sorry if this is a little unstructured! I didn't begin this thinking it'd get so long, so it's a bit all over the place. Can you tell I think about Mephone a lot? Anyways, good night! -2G Anon

.

[l-in-the-light]

Hey 👋👀😊, really nice your analysis of Law (he's my favorite character in OP❤️). Why do you think he has a poor self-steem? I mean he must have noticed that he's very good looking 😋. At least he seems to know that he's intelligent making all these plans.

Hi! He's also my favourite! (it used to be Shanks, but he got dethroned. We all know how good Law is at dethroning people haha. But Shanks is still on podium together with Ace <3) Excellent question! I don't think it's very obvious that Law has poor self-esteem, which is why many people believe him to be arrogant. But despite the fact he is smart, he never rubbed it into anyone's face before.

He did tease Kid and Luffy a bit about choosing the directions of their islands after Wano, but that was really just an older siblings type of teasing there. In fact, he usually goes out of his way just to make sure what he says sounds easier to understand. That's actually rather considerate, not arrogant behaviour. My favourite example of that is how he changed one term Luffy misunderstood as food to a simpler one in World Seeker haha.

The first moment I asked myself the question if Law actually has poor self-esteem, was this:

The contrast here is hilarious, but that's besides the point right now. Why would he be all blue in the face and asking quietly "why me...?" when he scored as second best, podium position? This reaction just didn't fit with the supposed "he's so confident" vibe. Then I also noticed he isn't big on knowing his own bounty. Is it because he truly doesn't care about it, or is it because it actually stresses him out a bit?

Let's look at Law's novel for a bit, because I think that provides an answer (warning for slight spoilers, but mostly only for the beginning of the novel):

It happens right after Corazon dies, Law is walking to the next town, he finally arrives there, trying to ask for help. At first it takes him a lot of courage to even enter, because he gets reminded of how he was treated in hospitals, and that thought freezes him in place. It takes a while for him to overcome it, but then this situation happens and what is Law's reaction here? To run away, *blaming himself* for it, thinking it's so pathetic, that he is so pathetic that he can't be stronger than his own trauma.

I would say he still reacts this way even when he's older, always expecting himself to be better, stronger, but his trauma always catches up to him and he doesn't blame anyone else but himself. He also doesn't allow himself any sort of understanding and acceptance, he thinks he should be able to trust again, so he ends up self-loathing whenever he fails. How do you think Law felt when Doflamingo grabbed him in their fight at the rooftop and Law's body just froze, not listening to him anymore because of traumatic trigger? How did he feel about himself after Doffy used it to his advantage and cut off his arm? Because I think Law blamed himself, calling himself pathetic and weak, filled with self-hate. It did help him overcome it and get back at Doflamingo eventually, but it doesn't change the fact he achieved that by literally beating himself up mentally over a weakness that isn't even his own fault, because he didn't choose to be sick.

He often tries to be strong for his friends, despite lacking self-confidence himself.

And again, it's always for others that he managed to overcome his own fear in the end. He puts a facade, pretends to be strong, so that they don't feel so anxious anymore. He wants to be strong for them.

Even when he receives a compliment, he can't really take it at face value. He questions whether he truly deserved to hear it, not considering himself worthy of it. He never forgets where he failed (interacting with patients) instead of focusing on what he did right.

In most stressful situations he actually struggles to keep his calm. And again, what makes him overcome it is the thought that if he doesn't, people will lose their lives. There's almost none of his own ego in his (very impressive tbh) quick decisions and steady hands and thinking.

And finally, despite having confidence in his battle skills, he still doubts himself. What finally gives him confidence is his steel resolve to not lose or his friends will be in danger then. He takes it very personally, not allowing himself to show any weakness, even going as far as to say "he has no right" to show it.

All things considered, it doesn't surprise he doesn't even accept credit for the good deeds he does. When he saved Bepo, Penguin, Shachi, Wolf, or even Luffy, he always claims it was just "a whim" and that's why he doesn't need to hear thanks. He never wants anything in return for it, because it would be uncool, he claims, but I think he just knows what's unconditional help actually is.

I know Law's novel isn't officially declared "canon", but the author did a very good job at portraying Law. It's very consistent, and even though there are a few things I consider to be a miss, Law's poor self-esteem definitely isn't one.

Logically speaking, why would his self-esteem not take a major blow after Flevance? He lost everything he possibly could, without being able to save anyone. Later Cora-san also sacrificed himself for him, so again, Law took a big blow to his self-esteem, the only person who cared for him after Flevance lost their life and he couldn't do anything about it.

And then there's his sickness, Amber Lead Syndrome. He feels like people are always staring at him and that makes him quesiton whether they can tell he's sick, whether they will scream for him to get out and not come closer, whether there will be judgemental stares and then flinching away from him, just in case it's contagious. Even after visible signs of Amber Lead are gone, Law is still afraid to go back to the town. I wouldn't be surprised if his fear went all the way into his adulthood. Whether Law is handsome or not has nothing to do with it, because as soon as there are white patches on his skin he knows he will be called disgusting, and that stays in your psyche whether you want it or not. Which means it doesn't even matter if he finds himself attractive or not (my bet is on "not really", Law seems like a humble type anyway, never bragging about anything, be it his smartness, looks or skills).

As for his smartness, let's recall his ransom talk with Doflamingo. At first Law sounds very confident, after all his plan was succeeding, but the second talk? All it took for Law to lose his confidence was Doflamingo's mocking tone. That boy might think he's smart, but he knows there are people smarter than him, he doesn't let it get to his head. And honestly, that's probably the sign of smartness as well.

Seems his confidence doesn't come from high self-esteem, but because of his wish to keep people he cares for safe. And perhaps now also because of his faith in a certain Strawhat Luffy. He's kinda the perfect example of "fake it till you make it", because if not for those subtle hints, I would have never doubted he lacks in self-esteem.

In Wano he's even wearing the disguise of a travelling monk. I know everyone makes fun of his "strawbucket", but that's an actual thing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komuso

"Monk of emptiness" or "nothingness" from my understanding relates to a larger context of buddhism and zen, in which you aim to reach enlightnment by giving up your ego and earthly desires. Well, if that doesn't fit very well with Law, knowing what we know about him, never taking credit for what he does, faking confidence to support his friends and refusing compliments.

If anyone can think of more examples when Law shows his poor self-esteem, please do share! I feel like I'm missing a lot about it, even if (I guess) I made my point more or less clear.

[greenteabelle]

i love intern mcu!peter parker fics as much as the next person, but what i really love are the aus where peter doesn't have any powers. he's not a hero, he doesn't stick to walls, he's just a regular dude who also happens to be the genius of his generation.

in the movies, peter is always shifting in place awkwardly like he isn't used to being... him. which makes sense to me because all his life he'd been teased and made fun of by that one annoying rich kid. now that he has the physical capability to fight back, he's hesitant. like, he technically could pummel flash, but can he really? he still can't quite get used to the way his shirts fit a little tighter or how he knocks things over because he still can't manage his strength.

he still doesn't feel normal.

but for my headcanon, peter without his powers would somewhat change that.

as flash's jibes grow old and repetitive, peter gets so sick of it he just brushes it off now. rolls his eyes maybe even once or twice. because at that point, who really has the time to focus on a bully who spends most of their life coming up with terrible insults?

not peter, whose only living family is his aunt who works double shifts at the hospital.

maybe he's desperate to lift her burden somehow, and finds himself joining the robotics team because the cash prizes in those competitions are absolutely jaw-dropping.

and maybe his creations catch the attention of tony stark who takes one look at his work and goes, "hm. i haven't done that yet. who the hell do i need to hire?"

then tony meets peter for the first time and is like, "wow. he's everything i could have been when i was younger."

so peter starts his internship and maybe finds a weapon lying around randomly in the lab. he tinkers with it and makes it better, leaving it where it was without another thought on the matter.

then the black widow of all people shows up a few days later, dumping all her tools on him so that he can improve them. (she definitely didn't leave that weapon laying around to see what peter would do once he got his hands on SHIELD technology as a test of sorts.) (she also definitely didn't smile when she realised that he added a taser with enough power to down an elephant to it. definitely not.)

then it becomes a Thing.

the other avengers slowly discover that natasha's weapons have been getting better and better, "it's not fair that the black widow, already arguably the coolest looking mf out of all of them, gets favouritism in gear!" and find out about peter's contributions.

so every once in a while, they'll just drop something off at the labs, still somewhat skeptical that a child could improve cutting edge technology meant to be at the top of its game.

every single time, the gear returns infinitely better. tony is a little salty about that, because why the fuck are the avengers harassing his protege???

peter, on the other hand, is like "...yeah okay." because he literally does not even dream of the possibility that the avengers would notice him out of hundreds of staff at the tower. he literally assumes that the avengers think he's a random technician who just happens to have higher clearance.

(okay, maybe bucky barging into the labs one day with the most murderous expression on his face, staring at him intensely for a few moments before extending his arm in request for a check-up should have been a sign. but peter just assumed that it was tony's instructions because why would a superhero come to him of all people?)

then after many, many rounds of interviews and interrogations, courtesy of SHIELD, peter is finally given clearance to design custom weapons for the heroes. (he already has 20 blueprints shoved inconspicuously in his desk drawer.)

like, i would really like to see peter's human side be explored more in fics!!!!

[rowanwithaz]

Do I think a confession is happening? Yes. I do.

Just not from Izuku to Ochako and vice versa.

So,Ochako is talking about suppressing these feelings in the context of Toga and smiles.

And we know Ochako thinks Toga's smile is the cutest. She loves Toga's real smile. That's part of the reason she wanted to have a talk with Toga in the first place; because Toga had a fake smile. But,here's Ochako,giving her fake smile because she can't see her favourite. Because she's grieving. Why did Toga cry/fake smile? Because she lost twice. They're grieving the same way.

eating the same. Suppressing their feelings of grief/love the same. Guys,she's acting like Toga unconsciously. Something we've established to be romantic and part of Toga's love language. This is all confirmation of her romantic feelings of Toga. Y'know,if this All wasn't enough:

(there's more just don't wanna use too many)

We have more. More evidence to how Ochako feels for Toga. Now,obviously,where does Izuku come in to this? He actually fits into this perfectly. What was something that made Ochako and Toga similar in the beginning? Their shared feelings for Izuku. But,Toga already confessed and got rejected.

That wasn't just Toga's feelings being rejected; they were Ochako's as well. And this only further proved that Izuku doesn't have romantic feelings for Ochako. In this context of romance,he doesn't once think of Ochako. I feel this is where you would want to foreshadow this,but when Izuku thinks of romance he doesn't think of Ochako. He literally confirms that he himself understands Toga's love language. If he does,then we have to consider all the times he did the whole 'being like them' for Kacchan.

(Small examples per usual,there's just too fucking much) and Katsuki does this for Izuku. Some obvious ones would be; his body moved on its own,saving to win,or hurting himself to win. So,this comes around full circle,right? Well,here's where things start to get a little more interesting. Ochako and Izuku do have things in common. The two biggest ones right now? Locking their feelings away and not being able to save their villains. But,that second one is very,very different for them individually. I think it's obvious to why it is,but I'll just say;their feelings for their villains were different and their reasons for wanting to save them were also very different.

So what about locking their feelings away? Well,Izuku has black whip. Which is all about suppressing and controlling his heart. But we've not seen anything hinting at black whip in a while...right? We've actually got some pretty big visuals in THIS chapter alone.

At the end right after Ochako speaks of 'locking these feelings away' Izuku shows up using OFA. It's the first time we've seen him use it in the epilogue,and it's when we're talking about shutting feelings away and out. Where does black whip come from? OFA. The other isn't in the official translations,but I feel it's still worth mentioning.

The ending care is Izuku using black whip. It has been for a couple months now. Why was Izuku using black whip in this scene? It's right after he sees Kacchan's corpse. When he controls his heart. We're leading to what I think is not only the conclusion for Toga's character and Ochako's feelings,but also some answers to how Izuku feels.

We don't know how he feels about anything,really. How does Izuku feel about Shigaraki's death? How does Izuku feel about seeing his childhood friend's dead body? How does Izuku feel about his childhood friend's apology? How does Izuku feel about his childhood friend?

I think this next chapter might answer these very important questions. Will this lead to a confession? Perhaps it will be Ochako confessing her feelings about Toga. Perhaps it will be Izuku confessing his feelings about Kacchan. Perhaps both. Maybe neither. But these are just my thoughts.

But,hey,maybe we won't get any cannon relationships. And that is FINE. Obviously. But I feel there's just too much build up for both of these ships just to ignore all that's happened between them.

I personally think the next chapter will be about them grieving for their shared villains. Nothing more nothing less. Though a part of me can't help but notice all these signs and parallels,so of course a part of me also thinks we're getting the dkbk/bkdk and (sad) tgchk/chktg ending.

these are just my thoughts,but don't lose hope in Hori! He really wants everyone to read these last chapters,so I think we should just trust the process and allow Hori to work.

[longhairwoozi]

SCoups' Met Gala look and why I love it: A ramble

[Transferring this over from my own Reddit post, I'm not plagiarising!]

Image Credit: Vogue

So I've been thinking about Cheol's Met Gala look all day and I'm currently avoiding my actual academic commitments, so I'm inflicting my semi-rambling thoughts on all of you. My credentials: a minor background in fashion history, a longtime judger of Met Gala appearances, and the caffeine-fuelled confidence of a grad student who's built an academic career on yapping well enough to convince smarter people than me I know what I'm talking about.

Some background on the Met Gala and its theme for people who don't treat this event like film buffs treat the Oscars: the Met Gala is a charity event that provides most of the funding for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, since it doesn't receive the same funding that the rest of the Museum does because clothing history still isn't treated as a serious field (a personal gripe I'm not going to go on a tangent about I promise). It's always held on the first Monday of May, organised by Vogue, and follows a theme related to the exhibition hosted by the Costume Institute that year. This year's exhibition is "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style," which follows the development of black dandyism as a distinct men's style which responded to and often reappropriate European symbols of power and status to define a unique culture for the African diaspora in the US from the 17th century to the present. The theme for the Gala this year is more broad, "Tailored for You," but the expectation was that the attendees would incorporate elements of black dandyism or dandyism as it pertained to their own cultures.

So, how did Cheol do? Fucking spectacularly, if I'm anyone to judge. I haven't found a single best-dressed list that features him yet, which is an absolute CRIME, because I love his look so much. If this was any other year, he'd easily be my favourite of the men's looks, but this was the one year that men decided to actually DRESS instead of just wearing clothes (some dudes still did that, but it was much less of an issue than usual). This was his first official outing as a global ambassador for Boss (which is literally a perfect brand for Seventeen's own boss to represent, oh my god), and holy shit did they not disappoint. His look was custom made and inspired by Korean jeogori, the upper garment of the hanbok - the cut of his jacket is clearly designed after it with the overlapping lapels, and the overcoat gives the look the volume and silhouette associated with the hanbok. I just love that Boss gave him a look that incorporated traditional Korean elements and allowed him to represent his culture without making a costume of it - he's the first Kpop idol I know of to actually wear something Korean-inspired to the Met Gala, but I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of every idol to ever attend so that might not be the case. [EDIT: I was in fact wrong about this, a commenter pointed me to CL, who wore a denim jeogori-inspired look for the 2021 Met Gala. I still think Seungcheol did it better, but shout out to CL for blending the jeogori with the denim to fit that year's theme]

His look also perfectly blends elements of western-style tailoring to meet the theme: the pieces all look to be made from traditional suiting wools (I can't be sure of this but I've been looking at a LOT of photos and videos lol, so that's my educated guess), associated with luxurious menswear of the late 19th and early 20th century in Europe and the US when black dandyism was really coming into its own and still pulls a lot of inspiration from today, and what I initially thought was pinstriping on the lapels and inner lining of the overcoat is actually some incredibly precise pleating, and the sewist responsible for those deserves a fucking award, because that is unbelievably labour-intensive to gather, pin, and stitch into place. [ANOTHER EDIT: A commenter on my original Reddit post pointed out that I totally forgot to mention that the silhouette is also very reminiscent of the zoot suit, an absolute staple of black dandyism that originated out of the 1920s Chitlin' Circuit]

Another nod to the attention to detail: I love that they matched his shoes to the suit - it makes him look taller by not cutting the line off with black shoes, which happens so much when men wear suits that aren't black and I hate it to a degree that is frankly unreasonable - AND Seungcheol dyed his hair to match the suit, which is a level of commitment to a bit I have to admire (it also looks SO GOOD on him silver Cheollie supremacy).

This doesn't mean I don't have some tiny, nit-picky criticisms, but you've all got to promise not to hold them against me since they don't relate to Seungcheol in the slightest. First: I wish they'd taken more a risk with the colour. I'm a maximalist who hates grey at heart and I refuse to apologise for this, especially when black dandyism AND traditional hanbok give so much potential for fun colours. Second, and this is an actual criticism that isn't just my personal tastes showing through: the inner lining of his overcoat isn't finished and you can see the raw threads dangling in high-res photos, and this enrages me. In fairness, pleated fabric is a bitch and a half to hem, and I get the feeling the lining was deliberately left unattached to the outer fabric so it can move and have the craftsmanship shown off better, but it still annoys me because it does just look a little sloppy.

Overall though, a solid 9.5 out of 10 and by FAR my favourite look worn by a K-pop idol for ANY Met Gala (sorry to Johnny of NCT, who had the top spot from his appearance in 2022, you've been dethroned).

[A final notes I didn't think of until now: I LOVE that every photo I've seen of him at the Gala has the Seventeen ring front and centre, that's my codependent teenies!]

[tu-es-gegg]

I think I'm crazy but like my favourite part of slimeriana that I don't hear much of is their intense loyalty to each other

Like I feel some people underestimate how they are very close and always come as a pair because they both are obsessed with each other, they never want to choose anyone else that isn't the other misclicker

In that sense of, yknow when you hate someone so much they live rent free in your head, yeah it's that with them, and they will always seem to gravitate to each other in any circumstances

In the early days before the first death they only stayed together because of Juanaflippa, they both ceased any sort of conflict if it made Juana upset (in spite of their collective attention span, seriously)

and they could've moved apart after that and push each other away, but no

Funeral stream, they both were by each others side and grieved together. They were petty and jealous torgtehr, even without a reason to. Because it had to be them together

They always joked about divorcing and argued ofver miniscule things and in the end, they are each others safety spots, they like it better when they make each other crazy

And the absence of another half already had a toll on slime, nobody who could really understand him in his eyes like Mariana, it took him so long to find somewhat of a safety net, a safe place where he could be happy because his one safe thing, his family, was gone

Wedding stream, slime talking with foolish and he says nothing sets his heart ablaze anymore, no one is able to love the same way he does or spark the same intensity as Mariana did to him

So he had to have courage and find it in friends by himself, which already took fuckign forever and even then, he doesn't really have anyone as close to him that he can fully confide with or that he mentions OVER AND OVER as much as Mariana (compare that with how easy fit moved on from spreen, the pinnacle divorcees) slime could easily say 'i don't love him anymore' but no, he can't say that because love is in just simply being so obsessed

And Mariana is the same, no matter what he never considers anyone else to be his husband, he can complain over and over about slime and poke as many flirty jokes to others but at the end of the day, when he meets new people on the qsmp he says he is married with slime, and he is never ashamed of that fact, in fact he's the one actively trying NOT to let divorce happen when it gets brought up because he does want to stay with slime, he's just as head over heels obsessed

If the missclick divorce is ever actually real, you know that shits gone ABSOLUTELY wrong, cause really could that ever happen under normal circumstances

Cause are they a healthy couple? Fuck knows, they dorve each other crazy to the point they turn the clock around back to sane for each other that, if you pair them with anyone else they will just make it worse

Are they one of the strongest couples that never waivers in their loyalty to each other? No matter what it will always be those two even if apart? Yes

[ramblingautisticman]

So! Sesame Street! Everyone's favourite fun and educational kids show featuring the beloved muppets we all know and love.

As we all know (or should know), Jim Henson helped create Sesame Street's vibrant and lively streets when he suggested the use of muppets on the show, hence why the show is full of cute and hectic muppet characters.

And, much like The Muppets themselves, once their show got big they transitioned into movies.

In 1985, Sesame Street made its first feature-length film, and it was called "Follow That Bird".

I will preface this by saying, yes, I did have to buy it on Amazon for a whole £6, and yes, it was definitely the best £6 I've ever spent. I saw one clip on Tiktok and knew I need to watch it because, from what I saw, Big Bird does indeed get taken away by a Child Protective Services esque group.

The movie opens up with a group of birds called the Feathered Friends having (what I assume to be) a weekly meeting. They mention how they deal with cases of birds needing to be placed (an adoption agency of sorts) with new family's.

This weeks case just so happens to be Big Bird.

The group of birds are- for some unknown reason- extremley bigoted about birds being around any non birds. When they see that Big Bird lives alone and doesn't have any birds living nearby, the Feathered Freinds decide he should be placed with a family of birds. So one of these birds, named Miss Finch, takes it upon herself to go and find Big Bird to get him with a family of his 'own kind'.

Now, I will admit, I do agree that Big Bird just living on his own basically in the street is a concern considering he is 6 years old. At the same time, I assume these birds age differently? I mean, he has a grandma. If Big Bird HAD to live with a guardian, surely he would be with his grandma? And if he didn't like Sesame Street, he wouldn't be there.

And yeah, I know I'm looking way into this, but leave me alone. Let me autism about this.

Anyway, Miss Finch makes her way to Sesame Street and basically gaslights Big Bird into leaving Sesame Street. And jesus christ- the tears I had rushing down my cheeks as Big Bird said goodbye to Snuffalupagus? I could have filled a bath tub.

Big Bird clearly doesn't really want to leave, but he also wants to have a family. A mom, a dad, a sister and a brother. He wants to be with other birds. He wants to be around others that understand.

And so he gets on a plane, and heads to Illinois. Miss Finch places him with a family of Dodo's (I have no idea why they are Dodo birds), and so ensues his new happy life. Almost.

He sends a letter back to his friends that, in summary, tells them about how nice the family are but that he isn't happy, and questions if there is something wrong with him.

Like, he writes "I should be happy. What's wrong with me?" and it is the most heart breaking thing, but something that is still so relevant a feeling.

I think it's a feeling alot of kids could probably understand, and a feeling most teenagers, adults and anyone else can too. A feeling that is relevant for so many people, and they have it in a kids film?

I have watched ALOT of movies and TV shows, and honestly, this movie somehow portrayed the feeling of "not fitting in" so much better than anything else I've watched. Maybe it's because it's meant to be understanded by kids, or maybe it's because I want to protect big bird at all costs, but seriously- the do such a good job of it.

We then see Snuffalupagus listening to the letter being read, and this makes him decide that he is going to visit Big Bird, so writes his own letter back. Well, its a post card, but still.

When Big Bird gets it, naturally, he is thrilled. His best friend wants to come see him? Why wouldn't he be excited! But, very quickly, the Dodo's shut that idea down and came that Big Bird needs new bird best friends.

Now, Big Bird gets upset a this. Again, naturally, but instead of listening to his feelings- the Dodo's just decide they will go and look for worms instead- cause what else would Dodo birds be doing?

So Big Bird decides to run away, making his way back to Sesame Street.

This, for some reason, makes headline news and none other than Kermit the Frog himself tells the story. Everyone back in Sesame Street watch in horror as they see their friend has run away, and all quickly gather to start the hunt and find him because Miss Finch does, wanting Big Bird home and safe.

Which, I'm going to be open and honest, was the best thing that ever happen. The groups that go off to look are hilarious, and not only that, the cars?

The Count heads off in his car, which I now need, and so does Oscar, another car I now need. (Sadly, I won't let me put the photos, but go look at those cars. They are amazing.)

Cookie Monster, Gordon, Olivia and Linda (I believe that's their names) head off in someone's borrowd car, and I shit you not, every shot you see of it- Cookie Monster has eaten something off it. Seriously.

Burt and Ernie decide to help, and take to the sky's in an aeroplane (and, needed to mention this, spot Big Bird, ONLY TO STOP TO SING A SONG AND LOSE HIM), while Super Grover comes to help by flying the same way Gordon and his crew are going.

Look, Super Grover is doing his best. Yes, he thinks the yellow car is Big Bird and crashes into it, but he has spirit and hope and that's all we can ask.

Anyway, they all head off in search for Big Bird, while Miss Finch does the same.

Obviously, they all spot Big Bird but somehow still just miss him, and noone knows where he is until two young kids manage to ask Big Bird if he is okay, because he was literally kidnapped, and they managed to call Mr Hooper's to tell them his message.

Your thinking, "How was he kidnapped?", and I'll tell ya.

When the headline breaks that an 8 foot, 6 year old, bright yellow Bird has run away, two men that run a shitty fun fair decide they will capture him to use as an attraction.

Like everyone else, they somehow find him but can't get him, until Big Bird just wonders up to them and asks for help to hide from Miss Finch. He then WILLING walks into a cage, and watches them lock it, before only realizing he is in danger clearly several hours later.

They then dye Big Bird blue....for some reason... and make him sing the single most depressing song of the entire movie. He sings his sad heart out to 100 kids, and only 2 of them decide "Huh, somethings wrong, he seems sad.", even though he is crying? I mean, good these 2 kids noticed, but do none of the others even give a shit?

So, the 2 kids talk to Big Bird, and they manage to tell the others back at Sesame Street where he is.

Everyone hears, rushes to the fun fair THEY PASSED EARLIER, and so ensues the funniest shit I've ever watched.

So, they try to be all sneaky to break Big Bird out, but because they are all from Sesame Street, none of them can actually keep quiet.

Cookie Monster sees cookies and, obviously, goes insane over them and trys to steal them. Super Grover decides to try and break the bars of the cage and, obviously, fails. The Count, obviously, counts every single key they try to free Big Bird and, obviously, in the end they all end up waking the two brothers.

Now, instead of just- I don't know- stepping out of the now open cage, Big Bird just stays in there as the brothers start the car (that the cage is attached too) and then is more worried about the safety of the now ope door of the cage while on the road.

Then, when Gordon goes to safe him, he once again is more worried about safety. After like- 2 minutes- he finally jumps onto the other car and BOOM!

Big Bird is saved!

A few mentions of scenes that aren't related to the story but are 100% worth talking about.

There is a lettuce fight in a grouch restaurant, wich is hilarious. Big Bird just doesn't care about stranger danger and gets into a random dudes truck, in which he realizes the Bird is the missing one from the news, and just doesn't care? Instead sings a song about basically continuing on the road he is on. The last honorable mention is John Candy popping up at the end as a cop to arrest to 2 brothers, and for some reason, launches the kid the identifies them? I mean, go find the clip, cause its hilarious.

Now, I want to very quickly say that- for a film in the 80s? It is kind of progressive? They make a point of having this group of birds, and the birds that Big Bird gets placed with, be very bigoted towards non birds while having Big Bird obviously not caring who anyone is.

Which really is the main message. You should never judge someone because of who they are, what the look like, what they like, etc. It's about loving people because of who they are and how they treat you, not what they look like of it they are also a bird.

And, obviously, the discussion about adoption and found family are extremley prominent. It makes complete sense for a Sesame Street film to deal with found family and adoption- especially considering the different characters on the show.

Still though, and insane plot for a kids movie. Bird Protective Services? A lettuce fight? Road Safety?

So yeah. That's "Follow That Bird". The plot REALLY IS Big Bird getting taken by Child (Bird) Protective Services and proceeded to run away, walking all the way from Illinois to New York.

Seriously though, it's a good kids film. It has a really nice message and, honestly? Is really funny. Kids and adults can both enjoy it, and they should! Go watch it!

[johaerys-writes]

hey its the anon who was asking about achilles’ characterisation in the iliad! thank you so much for your answer, it was super informative and helpful. i think i very much had the wrong interpretation because i had a classics teacher for a year before my school scrapped the subject and they basically rambled about how achilles was a rapist and awful and went against the gods etc. without really going into the nuance of everything or explaining the context of heroes. i was kind of curious about your mention of hubris though? i thought that was a Big Thing in ancient greece because placing yourself on a pedestal above the gods was a guaranteed way to get yourself smote. sorry for acting like a student bugging their favourite teacher for an answer but you really do explain things so well 😅

Hubris is a big thing in ancient greece, you're right; there are so many myths where someone does something stupid and gets their ass whooped by the gods (e.g. Perseus and Andromeda, among many others). But it isn't exclusive to Ancient Greece. In fact, the idea of hubris may have started there, but it changed throughout the years and took different forms in literary tradition. In ancient greek mythos, hubris is usually violent or dangerous behaviours, such as extreme boasting, that are ultimately punished by the gods. In that sense, hubris is external, that means the punishment comes from outside. As cultures changed and the focus shifted more on the individual, hubris started being used to denote a personality quality of excessive pride and arrogance, which are big no-no's in Christianity. So hubris gradually became more of an internal thing, a cautionary tale to make sure the faithful stay humble and are rewarded in the afterlife. In the context of stories, that often comes with personal development of some kind, such as the protagonist seeing the error of their ways and changing their behaviour, which isn't really an integral part of ancient greek mythos as a whole.

Ancient greek hubris and christian hubris often become confused, and because we are taught that hubris is SO important to greek mythos, people try all the time to fit the Homeric works into these neat little boxes. The thing is that Homer does not fit into that; Homer was strange even when the works were written. The Iliad doesn't follow the traditional formulae of stories and myths that were popular at the time, especially oral poetry: it includes emotional change but isn't a story about personal empowerment; there is complexity and nuance in all of the characters but the characters are not idealised; it is a meditation on complex social and human themes such as the connection between rage and grief; it puts mortality, not morality, at the center of the story.

It shows how vulnerable the characters are through their rage or their grief or their passions in general, but the story isn't at all about characters being punished for their hubris or wrong-doings. For example, Agamemnon technically commits hubris in the very first book of the Iliad, when he refuses to give Chryseis back to her father and Apollo gets pissed off about it. This could be considered dangerous behaviour by ancient greek standards, and the Achaeans are indeed punished for it with the plague that Apollo sends their way. However, at the end of the day Agamemnon himself does not get punished for his transgression in any way. He gets everything he wants: Achilles rejoins the fight eventually, Hector is killed, Troy is sacked, he returns to Argos a victor.

Achilles, too, could be said to have committed hubris through excessive violence, when he killed so many people he clogged up the river and then fought the god Scamander himself; and yet he isn't punished by the gods or by the narrative, he is one of the few characters (perhaps the only?) that gets a redemption arc of sorts, by returning Hector's body to Priam and treating the old man with respect, thus showing us his generosity, his integrity, and the nobility of his character once again. And that's where the Iliad ends for him. Not with his death or with him killing even more Trojans or whatever, but with a poignant and moving scene between two people on opposite sides of a war, who have lost everything and yet still find this point of connection between them.

So Homer, and especially the Iliad, breaks all of those norms when it comes to traditional storytelling, and that's why I think it's a work that still baffles and intrigues so many classicists. That's why in my previous answer I said that it's important to keep an open mind, and to try to avoid blindly applying literary criticism devices such as cause-and-effect analyses or importing modern moral judgement and anachronistic theories in works like Homer.

I hope this helped! I love talking about the Iliad so if you have any more questions I'd gladly answer them <3

P.S. WOW that professor really needs to get their facts straight lmao, I'm sorry your first contact with the Iliad and Achilles was through a lens like that. It always astounds me how little some people actually know about the subjects they're supposed to be experts in, like to talk about Achilles, a character from the ILIAD, and to refer to him as a "rapist", a thing that only appears in later Roman works which were basically ILIAD FANFIC LMAO, and BAD fanfic at that because it was essentially anti-Greek propaganda......... wow wow wow

P.S.2 unless the "rapist" thing refers to him sleeping with Briseis/a slave, which WOW once again extremely myopic take, very culturally and contextually tone deaf, I wish they actually do their research and stop spreading slander, that's slander, like come ON

[carboardserpent]

Next gen headcanons? 🤔

Like, Jackson, Cruz, Tim, Danny, Chase, and Ryan?

Oh boy, that's a few characters. Alright, strap in then. Probably also gonna throw in Bubba because he's my favourite non-main next gen <3

(Humanised, as always)

(Quick disclaimer for this one, none of these are supposed to reflect on the irl racers that gave their names and voices to them - I'm treating these characters as though they're entirely fictional and not based on/inspired by real people. I make my HCs literally just based on Vibes (and RPs))

Jackson Storm:

6'1 and fit AF. Clearly spends a lot of time in the gym toning his body and muscles. He is male model levels of gorgeous. Physically flawless black man <3

Short black dreadlocks dyed blue at the ends.

Aromantic (female-leaning)bisexual.

Autistic.

Ray knew he was autistic before Jackson even knew himself, and is the reason he even got diagnosed in the first place.

One of his most common complaints is still about the reflections of the sun glinting in his eyes. The loud noise of the track still gets to him occasionally, but he has special earplugs to help him deal with it.

Can usually be seen drinking a can of IGNTR's flagship energy drink before a race. It helps him calm down and focus in. His sponsors love it, for obvious reasons.

Any time he's on camera, he acts calm and cool but internally he's freaking out. If they ask something he doesn't expect, he visibly tenses up and flounders for a second as he tries to figure out what to say, even if it was a simple question.

Doesn't do fan meets or signings unless he absolutely has to. Even then he tries everything he can to get out of them.

His physical attractiveness makes his already poor attitude even worse. Doesn't know how to talk to people, but gets all the praise and attention he could ever want online.

Yes, he posts photos of himself on various social media. He wasn't sure at first, but Ray convinced him to start shortly after his debut race, hoping that it would help reassure him and give him a bit of a confidence boost. Naturally, it went a little TOO well...

He's a gamer through and through. In any downtime he gets, he's still topping the leaderboards on just about every popular racing game you can play online. He also enjoys the occasional game of CoD and will verbally rip anyone to shreds if they try to come at him.

DUBSTEP. He loves it. If his skull isn't rattling from absolutely filthy, grimy bass, he's not interested.

So, of course, he has to have an incredible sound system that's probably worth more than the average person's car.

He doesn't watch anime. (Stop asking him if he does) Most of his entertainment comes from Twitch streams.

He streams himself playing Super Corsa 4 any chance he gets. Which isn't often with the packed NASCAR schedule, but he tries his best. His user is UrStormChasing

Still doesn't get along with Tim after their rivalry in training and isn't very good at pretending he does either. Their crew chiefs have to make deliberate efforts to stop them from running into each other before they get into their cars.

Cruz Ramirez:

5'5 with an athletic build. She is a Latina woman with visible abs and she deserves them gdi.

Side-parted brown hair a little shorter than jaw length, perpetually kinda wild looking.

Chaotic lesbian hours!

ADHD

Literally cannot sleep at night without a big, milky mug of coffee.

It's not normal to wake up and go for a run before even having breakfast?

She's teaching Lightning to use social media more regularly (for better or for worse). His homework is to send her a funny meme or video that he found that week.

The result of this can sometimes be catastrophic. She'll never be able to unhear him uncertainly attempting to use outdated slang.

Almost every race, there's someone complaining about how she doesn't weigh enough and it's unfair to the rest of them. So she forces them to watch as race officials put extra weights in her car.

Has cussed Danny out in Spanish across Pit Road and will do it again if he carries on-

Is probably the only person on Team Dinoco that is actually nice to Cal and doesn't try to tease him. They get along well.

Tim Treadless:

6'0 with a broad frame and light muscle tone.

Tanned skin and tousled brown hair.

Straight ally.

Just call him Mr. Charismatic, everyone loves him.

Everyone except Jackson, that is. Jackson is the only person who brings out his anger to the point of wanting to throw hands.

Has a wife and a baby, bc of course he does.

One of those guys some people hate for being irritatingly perfect. Usually people that don't actually know him.

Has type 1 diabetes and a bad nut allergy.

Was pulled out of a race at the last minute when he went into anaphylactic shock - the entire race was almost stopped when people started to whisper that it was foul play. The race went on, but the only reason for Treadless' absence was that he had to be pulled for "unforseen medical issues".

Some of the other racers still blame Jackson, who actually had nothing to do with it.

Danny Swervez:

5'10 and fairly slender. Not a lot of bulk to him.

Tanned skin (he's Latino) and short black hair.

Cishet male.

This man is FULL of himself. What an attitude.

Genuinely a good racer, but not many people like him.

He's not a good guy. He's given Cruz some trouble for being a woman, though after she embarrassed him by publicly cussing him out in Spanish, he's learned to keep his unpopular opinions on her to himself.

Isn't exactly what we would call "faithful".

But hey, at least he doesn't cheat on the track (smh)

Has just as little respect for the older racers as Jackson, but is less vocal about it.

Is very bitter about Jackson and Tim being more popular than him, yet still does nothing to change himself for the better.

Has at least attempted to physically fight with other drivers that messed with him on the track several times.

Chase Racelott:

5'9 with a build somewhere between Danny and Tim.

Pale skin and dirty-blonde hair.

Straight ally.

Generally a pretty likeable guy. Not as well-loved as Tim, but he has a good amount of pretty dedicated fans.

Makes jokes about being single/available.

Has pretty average performance on the track, not great, but not poor.

Fairly high energy, he gets along well with Cruz.

Probably one of the best with kids. Has a lot of younger fans because of how he interacts with them during meets and signings.

One of the few who will try not to leave until he's spoken to every fan who wanted to meet him, no matter how long it takes.

Often seen hanging around with Ryan - the two of them cause some pretty good natured trouble together, often involving pranks on the other racers.

Ryan "Inside" Laney:

5'11 with a broad build similar to Tim.

Mixed race (¾ Caucasian, ¼ African American), with short black hair.

Closeted bisexual.

Friendly, but not really a standout character as far as the fans are concerned.

Kind of cocky, but in a cool way.

Has a girlfriend who travels with him.

Agent of chaos when he spends too much time with Chase. Don't turn your back on him.

Bubba Wheelhouse

Absolutely massive 6'2 gentle giant

Another gorgeous black man (fight me), his skin tone isn't quite as dark as Jackson's

Closeted homosexual

Has a fake relationship with a lesbian woman who's actually just his best friend (the racing world is scary and the US South probably wouldn't love an openly gay driver)

Kids ADORE him. Him and Chase are the drivers with the most kid fans.

Throws a football around with fans over the catch fence during rain delays (this one is based on the real Bubba Wallace bc its wholesome af)

Gets asked all the weird gay questions by everyone in the friend group. (Ex. "Is it gay if...?" "What is X actually like?")

Legit just trying to mind his own business, he doesn't want any part of drama or rivalries.

Occasionally finds himself roped into girl talk if the guys have their S/Os around. They're very excited to include him. He's too polite to decline.

[good--merits-accumulated]

I wanted to open this with the joke "long time listener, first time caller" but I'm still yet to complete your collection of fics (which I will do, mark my words), but I cannot resist the opportunity to pick your brains about writing. With that, 11 & 15 for Hymnal and 3 & 4 for Christmas in the room. Plus, if I may be so bold, I'm curious about your process - how to you go about planning? Do you tend to write several drafts or is it more a situation of "getting in the zone" and writing in one sitting?

Hehehehehe thank you for the ask, Vine!! Pick away.

11 for Hymnal: What do you like best about this fic?

The description! The poetry! I'm feeling this very keenly right now as I'm writing a contemporary AU without much description, but Hymnal really let me stretch out my native writing wings, i.e. just blocks and blocks of adjectives. If I could, all of my fics would just be thousands of words describing everyone's outfits all the time. And the poetry is still some of the only poetry I've ever written which I still like! So there's that. :D

15 for Hymnal: What did you learn from writing this fic?

Oh, God. Pacing! I really learnt the value of slowing things down. Not quite in time to finish Hymnal, mind; I still think it doesn't read as smoothly as it could and jerks along in places. But hopefully I'm applying the lessons I've learnt about placing in current projects. Hymnal also taught me to be less shy about experimenting with form: the epistolary, yes, but also that one scene written entirely in dialogue. It was so intensely fun and fitting for the mood that I've been going back to it ever since, and other current WIPs (the Secret Life of Walter Mitty AU!) are skipping around from prose to epistolary to playscript. 3 for christmas in the room: What's your favourite line of narration?

Hm. Probably this from the first one:

In any case the light was warm and a little dim and usually it softened the features of whoever walked in, made them friendlier and more beautiful, but clearly something had gone wrong with it this time because Charlie flinched and dropped the peas as soon as he walked in. The trouble with his face was that everything was writ large upon it. The shock and the horror and quickly settling in the confusion, easy to read like a children’s book, A is for Apple is for Anger is for Aw, hell, there goes a jacket I’m never getting back again…

It just reads nicely! My goal for writing is always to have something that sounds good read aloud.

4 for christmas in the room: What's your favourite line of dialogue?

This was HARD, because my goal for the dialogue in this fic was to make it all innocuous and kind of inordinary. Nevertheless I think it's probably:

“Oh, it was nobody,” said Neil, looking up. He smiled, a quick roguish flashing smile which did not for a single second assure Todd of its authenticity. “Nobody. Nothing. Mom’s in the hospital. Like I said – ”

“Neil,” he said, and within two seconds was at his side. 

Neil dropped his face into his hands and ground out, “Like I said, nothing.”

Again, this is about the rhythm of it - I just think it reads well.

RE: your final question, I actually almost never write a second draft! The fic you see on the webpage is almost always the exact same fic which I first set to virtual paper in Google Docs, with the exception of some spelling corrections/rephrasing of a sentence/replacing repeated words/etc. I don't really tend to make other drafts. (Actually, the Martian AU is really weird in this respect because I'm working from a second draft now, the first one being.... how do you say...... dogshit.) But "getting in the zone" isn't really what happens either, since I find that hard to make happen. Unfortunately, it's very prosaic and businesslike and not at all Romantic, capital R: I carve out some time, sit down at my laptop, make myself type out a couple of sentences and then wait for the moment when my fingers start flying. And then it's just a matter of seeing where the story wants to go 😅. Most of the planning happens beforehand, usually in the shower or in bed before I sleep; but then it's still very, very barebones. Usually the story does its own thing and I find myself developing character arcs and motifs around the scaffolding as I go, and then I'll go back and fiddle around in the rest of it until it looks intentional.

... I'm not sure if that helped. LMK if you have any other questions.

[johnslittlespoon]

ok okokk i may be pushing it but i just cant stop picturing barry circa 2012 with leaving!bucky. i just feel like theyd have the cutest dynamic ever. he gives art student vibes like maybe hes studying film or literature. theyre childhood bestfriends and maybe they were eachother's homoerotic-codependent-friendship canon event. UGHH theyd be so cute stfuu. and maybe bucky and gale are already established and curt is just yearning for a whileee like over a year of slow burn until the three of them are a throuple... idk i just miss curtbuckbucky. you dont have to change your canon for the long fic i just needed to share this idea lmfao

au post | NO ur not pushing it this is such fun world building teehee <33 genuinely this is gonna help me later for drafting! (FUCK MY LIFE HOW IS THIS 2K WORDS. i thought i only had a few thoughts... i was so wrong. my bad chief. enjoy/suffer ig)

ok so this is so funny because i've actually been thinking ab how sweet those two would be together, cute little nerdy besties, and how they'd meet because of course curt has to be in this fic!!

and the first thing my mind went to was the cliche homoerotic codependent friendship trope too LMAO. i'm feeling like maybe they meet on the first day of highschool; neither of them share their english class with any friends, and they end up sat next to each other, and john keeps side–eyeing him because curt looks... interesting. (ie: deep into his emo phase. the fringe. the smudged eyeshadow. chipped black nail polish, band shirts– all things john does not let him live down as they grow up.)

but his eyes settle on some pin on curt's jacket that has some character from his favourite movie or something, and the yap jumps out, john can't control it. blurts out a "you like ___ too?!" and curt's head snaps over and he nods nervously and john takes one look at those big sad charcoal–ringed blue puppy eyes and is like yup. this is the one. will protect with my life.

(tiny headcanon that rly won't have a big effect on plot or anything, but i feel like it just fits very well with john/his character in leaving– dude's got madddd undiagnosed adhd. he's written off as a loud mouth/troublemaker in his childhood, but he wants to be a good kid, his mind is just always going too fast and sitting still is torture and his parents get frustrated and don't look into the root of the problem, trying to discipline it out of him instead. i will heal my inner child by healing him alright)

they're attached at the hip from that moment on and it makes sense to no one because they seem like complete opposites, curt more inclined towards the arts and bookish things and his friends are all the same, whereas john is more inclined towards athletics and science and hangs around that type of crowd as well. but they both love video games and movies and music and they bond over never really feeling like they fit in anywhere particular and both groups of friends get along just fine when they all get together. <3

but yk time goes on, they learn things about themselves as they grow up, and curt and john are so close and spend so much time together that they're already a lot closer than regular friends– they just don't realize it. they think nothing of cuddling up on the couch watching movies together, or sharing a bed when john stays over at curt's place after he gets into a fight with his parents, or being much more interested in spending time together than pursuing girls.

and curt's pretty– john nearly mistakes him for a girl that first day they meet. the summer before their senior year, john practically spends the whole summer at curt's house, and curt's mom doesn't mind; she works long hours and is glad her son isn't spending the summer moping around indoors alone, and she loves john and gets the feeling that her home is a sanctuary for him. one day they're in the backyard lazing around, and they get onto the topic of first kisses, and neither of them have had a proper relationship outside of those classic week–long middleschool flings that don't actually mean anything, so there's not much to talk about.

but being dumb teenage boys, they start worrying about "what if we're really bad at kissing and no girls wanna go with us to senior prom this year" etc. and one of them pops the suggestion of practicing together, and thus begins a summer of sweet stolen kisses and hand holding and experimenting and dancing around calling it something. it ends when the summer does because they realize that they both work better as friends, but they're as close as ever and both definitely learn they aren't straight (and they probably make a cute pact– "if we aren't in love by the time we're thirty, we'll just marry each other.")

i don't see them really doing much together because they're young and shy and inexperienced, but it's enough for john to decide that yeah, he definitely likes guys too, but that's all that really amounts to (until he meets gale) because he's growing up in a small town in wisconsin and it's not the easiest/most accepting place to find other queers. john probably ends up dating a real sweet girl during his last year of highschool, but she's going away for college and john's going to a local one so it ends amicably at the end of summer, both of them staying close friends. (if we wanna get sickeningly wholesome, maybe she ends up pining for a girl while john's pining for gale and they share their little stories and give each other advice and facetime every week to catch up <3)

(++ curt ends up falling head over heels for ken, who he meets through john when curt and john's friend groups get together for movie nights or summer parties. john pretends to be annoyed at how lovesick they are when they first start crushing, but he ends up matchmaking and being the one to push them to confess their feelings after graduation because he loves his friends.)

BUT THEN, leaving this fic's 'canon' to elaborate on the throuple stuff you said! i miss curtbuckbucky too </3

in a separate universe, curt doesn't end up with ken, and as much as he loves his friendship with john and agrees that a relationship wouldn't have worked at that time in their lives, he spends that first year of college pining. when john starts talking about some guy named gale during their second year, he's a little sad, but mostly protective, because "what do you MEAN he's in his 30s??" and "he's a BIKER?"

but john eventually introduces him to gale after a few months of telling curt about him, probably once he and gale actually start seeing each other, and curt immediately gets it. and then he's in double–hell because not only is he a bit (a lot) in love with his best friend, but he's blushing every time said best friend's new bf talks to him, and they're gonna notice eventually if they haven't already and he feels so guilty.

more yearning ensues and john is dense and doesn't realize but gale picks up on it, maybe even notices john doing a bit of pining of his own that john's not fully aware of. and his heart twists because his mind goes to his own insecurities about how john should be seeing someone his own age, so he sits john down and opens up a conversation about it. john is adamant that he's very, very happy with gale, but he tells gale about his and curt's past and admits that he has always still had feelings for him, but insists that it's not something he'd ever pursue, that he values curt's friendship more.

gale throws him off by saying he wouldn't mind if john wanted to explore those feelings, and at first john gets anxious gale is calling things off with the two of them and this is his way of softening the blow, but gale reassures him that's not the case, that he's very happy with their relationship. he just encourages that if he wants to talk to curt and feel things out, he wouldn't be opposed to john and curt seeing each other as well– gale's often busy, after all, so it would be nice for john to have someone else, as long as curt's comfortable with that kind of arrangement and as long as john keeps gale in the loop.

they decide to kinda just feel it out as they go, but soon enough gale starts coming home from work every so often to find the two of them curled up on his couch together, sweet and innocent. curt's wary at first, always slightly detaching himself from john when gale's around, but gale is always friendly and doesn't change up his routine, settling on the couch at john's other side like it's not a big deal at all, wanting to show curt he's welcome there, not wanting john to feel guilty.

it's another scenario where lines just sorta start to blur over time, curt spending a lot of time over at gale's house, and gale sees the way curt looks at him, probably noticed it from the first time they met but chalked it up to nerves at the time. curt's an angel and he's grown quite fond of him, but he doesn't want to overstep, so he leaves it up to curt, thinking maybe the boy will mention it to john one day and john will in turn come to gale to talk about it.

and eventually that happens, just like gale thought it might. curt's just gone home and john's head is in his lap on the couch while they watch tv, and john asks "what do you think about curt?" and gale tells him that he's sweet and he loves how much john smiles when he's around him, the usual. "so you like him?" john pushes, and gale immediately has a feeling where this conversation is going, drags his eyes away from the tv to look down at john.

says "of course" easily, and lets john take his time forming his thoughts. john ends up telling him that he and curt were fooling around earlier while gale was at work (and god help gale for the images that puts in his head) and that he'd made some offhand comment about how curt better hurry up if he doesn't want gale to come home and catch him half naked on their couch. and john's all shy when he says "and curt, uh. y'know. that... did it for him" with a vague gesture LOL. gale never fails to find it amusing how certain things can fluster john to talk about after all they've done together.

"so, anyway. i asked him about it after, if it was a coincidence, and he was real shy about it, but he did admit after a whole lot of apologizing that he likes you." gale listens to him nervously get his words out, petting his hair encouragingly, waits for him to be done before he asks "how do you feel about that?" only to watch the flush return when john mumbles "it's hot."

this is getting sooo long i need to take away my own typing privileges, but basically that's how things would start between the three of them– john and gale agree that gale will let himself be a bit flirty with curt and see how curt takes it. obviously this goes a little too well when curt gets hot and bothered sat between john and gale during a movie night with john's hand on his knee and gale's arm resting on the couch behind him while he plays with curt's hair.

the movie is forgotten when gale's finger catches on a tangled curl and curt doesn't bite back the little whine that slips out in time and john's head snaps over and he mumbles a "fuck" when he realizes what's happened, and his lack of filter comes out to play when he turns to curt and asks "curt, can gale kiss you?" and curt turns to gale with big doll eyes and nods.

john ends up palming himself over his shorts as he watches gale coax curt into his lap, face hot and pupils blown as he gets to see both his guys make out in front of him, almost dizzy seeing curt get so shy and needy and pliant because when it's just the two of them, he and curt are both very balanced in their dynamic. they've been such close friends for so long that not much gets the other truly shy like that, and they're always quick to voice their wants and crack jokes while fooling around and all. so to see curt get so flustered in that way with gale has him lightheaded, and by the time they all collapse into gale's bed at the end of the night, john's convinced this is the best decision he's ever made.

there's a lot of pining on curt's end because for a while it's kinda just sex when it's the three of them, and he loves it but he also finds himself wanting more but feeling too scared to voice it because he feels like he's intruding. but eventually they all get their shit sorted out; curt fits into their relationship just right in a way gale and john never intended or expected, and gale falls for curt just as much as john has and curt does the same with gale.

gale's got two sweet things glued to his side now and man, do they ever give him a run for his money, and if he'd thought john had too much energy (and stamina) it's nothing compared to keeping up with both of them, but he wouldn't have it any other way. <3

throuple things won't be happening in the actual fic, but i do love the idea of exploring the dynamic the three of them might have in a spin–off of that au so this was rly fun thx :-) maybe i'll write a pwp oneshot set in that universe as an excuse to write more curtbuckbucky once the fic is done LOL we'll see!