#He’s too focused on the demon to really think about it imo tbh

[general-cyno]

Something that fascinates me about Zolu is how the relationship is full of opposites (pirate and pirate hunter, god and demon, two kings in their own right) and at the same time is clearly about complements (sun and moon, captain and first mate, king and knight, devotion and faith). I really feel that Zoro walks a fine line in which he can be an equal for Luffy (starting from their similarities in things as simple as their lack of orientation, the indomitable will that the two have that separates them from the rest) while still being his second, his right hand, one of his wings and, in my opinion, the cornerstone of his crew. It's a relationship that could be of rivals or equals or enemies or lovers or best friends or...

I don't have much to add bc you laid it out perfectly but YESSS! their relationship is just so good from all the different angles you can view it from, and the multiple layers it has despite how simple or effortless they make it seem when interacting with one another. I'd also say though it's perhaps a little contradictory? that zoro and luffy understanding and complementing each other as much as they do (despite some of the thematic opposites they have as well) is exactly what allows zoro to stand as his second and find purpose in following/tying his own dream and goals to luffy's instead of just striking out of his own, just like it allows luffy to trust and rely on him the crazy way he does in turn.

tbh when it comes to these two I don't really think them being equals or not has to do with strength. ultimately, luffy will always be as strong as the plot needs him to be and stronger than his crewmates and fellow captains in the kind of raw fighting power he excels at against the enemies he faces. any other weaknesses or shortcomings he may have or whatever battles he can't fight bc he's focusing on the local biggest bad - that's what the straw hats and the allies he's made along the way are for.

BUT. for example, the one person who's absorbed luffy's pain and exhaustion in the most literal and physical way possible, all while protecting the entire crew but especially luffy himself as well, is zoro. and the most recent chapters have only highlighted how special this is, from kuma's pov, even though it's been years (within the story and irl) since it happened.

roger and rayleigh are also a good point of comparison imo. ray's basically known as a legend second only to roger himself and he was still very much his partner, no matter if roger was technically stronger. now, for crew dynamics reasons I don't think zoro and luffy will directly call each other the same but there's very obvious parallels between these four so there's that too.

[incesthemes]

Happy Wincest Wednesday Ciel!!!!!

If you haven't already and have the time I was wondering what your answers were to 7 and 17.

I'm like almost 100% I know your answer to 7, I just like to hear you talk about why you like things honestly lol

i go to ice my hand and you immediately ask me to write essays, i see how it is. i guess i'll ice it later lmao

do you have a preference between wincest, weirdcest, or gencest?

WEIRDCEST!!!!!!!! i make no overt distinction between any of them because i am a spiteful man, but there is a delicious flavor in weirdcest that appeals to me specifically.

imo sam and dean are way too stupid to actually put hard labels on anything they feel for each other and especially on themselves, so the more "traditional" romantic understanding of their relationship isn't something that really speaks to me. i for sure think they have sex but i don't think they'd ever cross the mental gap between "i'm fucking my brother" and "i'm in a (non-familial) relationship with my brother" if you get what i mean.

on top of that it's just that the weirdness of their relationship is what speaks to me. i don't care about sex or romance much at all, so i'm way more focused on how completely insane they are about each other. and weirdcest offers a lens to take that weirdness to an extreme and zero in on it, to pick them apart and play with them in ways that i feel more align with my tastes in fiction—as in, i'm a huge fan of the gothic, and the gothic genre hinges on anxiety and uncertainty. the unspoken existence of something between these freaks is where i pitch my tent, so toppling over into overt romance sort of diminishes the effect for me tbh. there's no existential anxiety in domestic bliss, you see 😔

how do you see their soulmate relationship? any headcanons?

soulmatism 🤤 i love soulmates as a horror concept and i love the general vibe of horror that surrounds supernatural's soulmates as well. the abject lack of autonomy fits well with the themes of destiny and fate within the story, and it's incredibly fitting that sam and dean have been forced into yet another ugly mold by those fucking angels. not only destined to kill each other cain and abel style, but also to be desperately intertwined in ways they can never extricate themselves from. and because these are the two options presented to them from the very start of the show, the only two paths they can ever walk, it's just such a satisfying development to behold.

as for headcanons, i am extremely partial to dyed-red's soulmate meta and theory. it's a beautifully horrific concept to think about and it makes a lot of sense in the canon of the show, based on what we know and what the audience is told.

as for OTHER headcanons, here's something: dean has a perhaps uncanny ability to locate sam, because he "knows" him. i'd love to take that and apply it to soulmates—maybe people do have more success finding their soulmates wherever they are because they're just one single person in the end. and then on the flip side, when dean is a demon in season 10, sam can't find him because his soul has been corrupted unrecognizably. in the context of them being able to find each other in the past due to their connection, it adds another layer to sam's panic and extreme reactions 🥰

[that-green-haired-swordsman]

I'm too lazy to write a detailed post about I liked and disliked about the One Piece live action, but let me say I'd give it a solid 8.5/10, it's far better than I expected it to be (I didn't expect anything tbh and was sure it would suck lol)

But as I'm rewatching it now I want to point out two things about Zoro that I'm missing, and no, it's not the goofiness that would be a tad bit out of place due to the overall tone of the show, it's

1. his lack of cheekiness, sometimes arrogance even, when he's enjoying a bit of trash talk during a fight, that kind of "fuck off you cockroaches, I'm the greatest" attitude he carried for a while, until he got his wings clipped by Mihawk at least and I think that he gets more stoic and serious after fighting Mihawk is a nice shift in his character for reasons I'm sure I don't have to explain to you, but it seems they're gonna make him the other way round in the show, let him open up and relax more instead of letting him get more serious, which would be a bit off in a live action TV show I'd say, because I think these shows just work better with people getting more comfortable with each other instead of one of them being more reserved, guess that just doesn't go along well with that "TV show formula" if you get what I'm saying.

2. What I also miss is his... excitement for fighting, he practically can't wait to meet an opponent he can improve his abilities with, which goes as far as that he smiles and grins devilishly (fitting his byname "demon" so well), which looks even more intimidating when he wears his bandana, and a more intimidating in general is what I'd love to see. He's more a silent ninja, so speak, with deliberate, thought-through movements, he includes his environment, which is an interesting take because as much as I love a Zoro who just slams his blades down and across hard for destruction, focused on strength instead of agility, never jumping backwards or sideways much, just forward, into his opponent, that new, more athletic take is believable because you can't tell me that Zoro never gets involved in a good and proper bar fight. How he flung that beer mug at the marine was just priceless. But when he fights, he often does it with a smile on his face which is so noteworthy as it contradicts his demeanor outside of a fight. Sometimes it's like he turns into another person when he really enjoys a fight, and he does enjoy them (he's arguably insane imo). BUT! That this trait of his is missing at this point makes room for a change of his demeanor once he's in Logue Town.

Kitetsu.

The cursed blade he obtains in that arms shop and claims he's managed to having broken or mastered that curse, just by outstretching his arm and challenging his luck another time. And so far, there hasn't been any indication that this curse is still active. (aside from the old Ashura theory)

But... what if it is? What if that cursed sword turns Zoro slowly, but steadily, into that bloodthirsty maniac we know from the manga and anime? What if guarded, calculated Zoro becomes this madman who licks his opponent's blood of his blades and smiles while doing so? What if the reason for this crazy behaviour is Kitetsu's curse, who forces him to become more reckless, more intimidating, if not even more demonic, since it's the will of the curse or sword, a curse that has killed each of his masters so far? And as Kitetsu was beaten by Zoro's luck when he tossed that sword in the air, the blade begins to corrupt Zoro's mind instead?

Idk if this is too dark for this adaptation but then again we had psychopathic Buggy. A blade with such power over Zoro would also fit to a drama-themed TV show I think. Idk I just think it would be cool. Because I always thought that, so far, Zoro got away too easily, considering he wasn't even on Rookie level when he challenged Kitetsu's curse and he beat it. Either Zoro was just hella strong even back then or it's just a weak-ass curse lol. Anyway, if the show runners would play a bit with that curse more, it would add some dramatic effect that would fit right in with the general tone, and we would get to see a bit more of that Zoro we're used to because if you call him a demon, it takes more to live up to that name than to just cut people in half... Yeah, carrying cut-off heads with him is pretty dark and cold, but a demon is something else, still, at least for me. Zoro can create an aura if he wants to that makes an opponent shit their pants, especially when he's in a fight, and if that would be the extension of that curse... Man I'd love this. The sword wants blood and Zoro has to deliver. Wow but it's PG-12 so probably not gonna happen but let me dream a little

[iichaeyj]

omg can you please do it for enhypen too? i saw your moot game and it was really cute

enhypen as kdrama cliches . . . ♡

PAIRING: enhypen x gn!reader

GENRE: fluff

WARNINGS: not proof read at all lol

WORD COUNT: 1.8k

A/N: tysm for requesting this!! hopefully you like it!

HEESEUNG: past life lovers

i love this trope omg

the one where the two leads were in love in their past lives (and it ended tragically)

maybe you two were in danger and he was killed trying to protect you

or he was the one who had to kill you to protect you from something

classic kdrama stuff, yk?

this concept just suits heeseung so well imo

smth about randomly meeting heeseung somewhere

maybe you saw him at a party or you passed by him on the street

and you just feel this weird connection and he feels it, too

so you both sorta freeze as you make eye contact, the world moving around you as you two stare at each other

and you eventually have to move on and go about your day, but the image of the stranger who feels so familiar to you doesn't leave your mind

and you meet him somewhere else the next day

maybe he's your boss at your new job

but everytime you see him, you feel this weird sensation in your heart

the feeling that the thing you've been looking for your whole life has been found

that's how heeseung makes you feel

and it's the same feeling you had when you loved him in the past <3

examples of kdramas that include this trope: extraordinary you, hotel del luna (sorta), and goblin

JAY: demon/fantasy

okay just hear me out

tbh i didn't think this suited jay that well when i first thought of it

but the more i thought about it, and my bad boy!jay agenda, it sorta makes sense

in fantasy kdramas, there are often ones where the male lead is a demon

and he typically comes off as this tough, brooding figure who has never experienced love (and claims he can't feel such things)

but it all changes when he meets the protagonist who is kind and can understand him

as they spend more time together, their feelings for each other grow stronger

and just think about this but with jay

demon!jay (or any other mystical being) who only comes to meet you because maybe you accidentally summoned him or smth

and he's sorta kept around bc you don't know what you even want from him

and although he seems cold and rude in the beginning, he begins reaching out for you more and more as time goes on

and soon enough, he's falling in love with you

also, this trope just produces the most soft-hearted men (most of the time) who only love their lover and that is so <3

just picture jay, a literal demon, pining for you like #@*$&#$!$!

and ofc there's the dilemma of whether you two will be able to even be together

but he's a demon, he'll figure it out

and you two are now together, whether you two are both human or demon or whatever <3

examples of kdramas that include this trope: doom at your service, goblin, and my roommate is a gumiho

JAKE: love at first sight

this suits jake so well :(

imagine accidentally running into jake at a cafe or smth

and your drink spills on him

and you're apologizing profusely and such

and you look up at him and make eye contact

and he's just staring back at you with such lovestruck eyes????

like you're just trying to apologize, but jake can't even hear anything cause he's so focused on taking you in

you're just so stunning and attractive and you make him feel so ??? in a way he can't explain

and this is even better if he's the popular, confident type

he, who is normally very confident and poised, just stuttering after meeting your eyes

so basically, you're all like ??? trying to say sorry, while he's staring at you like <3_<3

and just imagine him chasing after you??

like you sorta run away after that, embarrassed to have spilled your drink all over him

and he's so enamored by you that he just begins searching for you

he goes to the cafe everyday at the same time, hoping you'll come in

or if you two meet at a cafe in a university, he asks his friends if they've seen anyone like you around

im basically spreading my puppy bf!jake agenda atp but idec

and when he does find you, he goes all <3_<3 again while trying to ask for your number

so cute im throwing up

examples of kdramas that include this trope: business proposal, descendants of the sun, and strong woman do bong soon

SUNGHOON: opposites attract

we all know how i feel about sunghoon and enemies to lovers <3

but this trope could be enemies to lovers, or it could just be ppl who are very different from one another falling in love

this could also suit sunghoon as a ceo tbh

he's known as this cold, rich ceo who's attractive but apparently not very nice

and you're his new secretary who's been told that you shouldn't try and approach him in a friendly manner

but you're friendly and bold, so you do it anyway

and sunghoon is sorta cold at first, dismissing you as strange and telling you to go away

but as you keep persisting, you manage to become a daily sight for him

when you greet him in the morning, he begins greeting you back and making conversation

he knows you're different from the other people in his life, and he enjoys having you around

it's sort of like he's cold to everyone but you

i also see a lot of angst potential in this trope omg

you two have very different backgrounds (regarding your wealth and reputation and such), and that could pose as a problem

idk but this trope w/ ceo!sunghoon ??? in love tbh

examples of kdramas that include this trope: run on, business proposal, and it's okay to not be okay

SUNOO: love triangle

idk but i just see it

sunoo's your best friend who's had your attention all his life

you two had something special and it was obvious to everyone

the way you two looked at each other said enough about how you both felt

but bc you two were so precious to each other, he was afraid of making the first move

he had just figured that it was all going to work out

after all, you two only had eyes for each other

but then someone else comes in

the company you work at just employed your new coworker

and he seemed into you at first sight

the new guy just kept approaching you both in and out of the office

and ofc, sunoo saw all of this

he saw the way the guy was practically chasing after you everytime sunoo came to pick you up after work

and he was feeling something that he hadn't felt before

he was scared of losing you

and he was jealous that someone was taking your attention away from him

and tbh, i feel like he'd just sorta snap at that point

even though you two had previously been very cautious about your feelings, he was suddenly crossing over the line you two had been too afraid of jumping over

he was suddenly being affectionate with you in public and began asking for your attention anywhere you two went

and ofc, the other guy stood no chance

not when sunoo was yours and you were his since the beginning <3

examples of kdramas that include this trope: cheese in the trap, nevertheless, and love alarm

JUNGWON: business partners/working together

to be specific, i'm talking about the classic kdrama trope where the leads are forced to come together because they have a mutual goal and/or just work beside one another

just think about jungwon and you who work together in the same company

you two are the heads of two different groups (like maybe you're head of the designing team and he's the head of the marketing team or whatever)

so you two have never really interacted with each other personally

but one day, you two are tasked to work together on a big project

and i just picture a lot of arguing at first

you two have totally different ideas on how you want your project to turn out

but you two have to spend time together (or else you two might get fired)

so you collaborate using all your ideas

and you two gain mutual respect for one another

but as you two spend more time together, your friendly relationship begins to turn into a romantic one

i imagine a lot of mutual pining and small accidents that make you two like each other even more

like think about you and jungwon working late together one night

and all the lingering stares and the gentle brushing of hands against each other

or him moving closer to take a look at your work, coming up from behind you and leaning down so that his head is right next to yours

the tension is insane

and it's all up to one of you two to confess (if your pride allows it)

examples of kdramas that include this trope: run on, start up, and itaewon class

NIKI: hopelessly pining

i've said it before, but niki and the best friends to lovers trope <3

he's been your best friend since you two were in middle school

and now you two were going to the same university

you've only ever seen him as your best friend

you've talked to him about love before, but he's never been the main subject

but he's actually been in love with you for years now

he hadn't realized it until the last year of high school, but he was completely head over heels for you

i can imagine all the angst omg

just niki trying to control his new feelings for you while you're totally oblivious to them

and imagine jealous niki omg

him getting jealous over every guy that tries to get your number, sometimes pretending to be your bf or just casually slipping an arm around your shoulder

and you're just totally oblivious

you two have been affectionate with each other since you were little

it was no different now than it had been in the past (at least that's what you think)

but as you two try and navigate your first year of university, weird things begin happening

niki becomes more open about his feelings in a way you can't understand

you don't understand why he glares at any guy that comes near you

you don't understand why he begins getting more cautious of hugging you or holding your hand

you don't understand why he can't look you in the eye anymore

but maybe with a heated argument and an angry confession, you'll realize why

examples of kdramas that include this trope: dear m, fight for my way, and weightlifting fairy kim bok joo

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[little-miss-ghostess]

I ranked all of Invader Zim's episodes + movie (because why not?)

So recently I decided -- very spontaneously -- to binge all of Invader Zim. The show, that is, not the comics (although I do need to do that at some point). I hadn't seen Enter the Florpus since it released in 2019, and I hadn't watched the show in a longer time than that, and since I'm a stressed out little gremlin I just kinda went "Hey, why not?"

And it was a good time! I see more flaws with the show than I did as a kid/teen, but I still enjoyed it. I think this was the only show I saw as a kid in its entirety cause in every episode there was SOMETHING I remembered, and it was also a lot of fun to see Florpus right after seeing the show since it meant I could directly compare them.

Partway through this binge project I decided, "I wanna do a ranking of these episodes, that seems fun." I was originally going to do it on a tierlist, but then once I made this blog I decided it would be more fun for me to just dump it here instead in a list format and with some short thoughts of mine on each episode.

From worst to best:

Rise of Zitboy (Ep.9B)

The concept for this one wasn't really great to begin with, and the execution wasn't much greater. It's basically just an extended gross-out joke, and it wasn't a funny one imo.

Career Day (Ep.6A)

A great concept for an episode I feel wasn't executed the greatest. I laughed a couple times, but it was too gross-out focused for my liking.

Gaz: Taster of Pork (Ep.26)

Felt like a regular episode forcefully extended into a double-length special.

Voting of the Doomed (Ep.25B)

Like Career Day, this had a great concept but eh execution. I think this is considered the worst episode by fans? I don't agree with that entirely, but it is weak.

Door to Door (Ep.14A)

I remembered this episode being one of my favorites as a kid, and it's still alright, but not as good as I remembered.

The Sad, Sad Tale of Chickenfoot (Ep.16B)

I remembered this episode being not great as a kid, but it was better than I expected.

A Room With a Moose (Ep.7A)

Dib should've let those kids face the moose tbh.

Future Dib (Ep.13B)

Good concept, decent execution. If it was given another rewrite it could've been great.

Walk of Doom (Ep.2B)

AKA the favorite episode of everyone making Gir line compilations on YouTube in the early 2010s.

Lice (Episode 17B)

Dib seemed weirdly out of character in this one and Zim probably should've gotten more play, but it was still enjoyable.

Abducted (Ep.16A)

I'll never forget you, weird blob creature.

Mysterious Mysteries (Ep.13A)

I find the implication that Zim actually accepted an invite to appear on a human TV show funnier than I should.

Hamstergeddon (Ep.7B)

The only reason Zim failed is because he tried this plan on a hamster. If he tried it on a DOG then he would've won, easily. Dogs listen to you, hamsters only seek to cause mayhem.

Battle Dib (Ep.6B)

Considering how little his dad was around at this point, it's amazing Dib knew as much about him as he did.

The Wettening (Ep.5B)

One of Zim's most effective plans, and it was just to get back at Dib for splashing him with a puddle. Incredible.

Bestest Friend (Ep.3A)

Keef scares me.

Parent Teacher Night (Ep.2A)

Has probably the single funniest Zim shriek in the whole show.

Bolognius Maximus (Ep.11A)

I've seen some weird stuff in cartoons, but I'm not sure anything can top "Turning my enemy into sentient bolognea to defeat them."

Battle of the Planets of Doom (Ep.15)

Pretty good episode, and it reminded me that the "Face on Mars" is a real thing.

The Girl Who Cried Gnome (Ep.24A)

Moofy's screaming can get to be a bit much, but otherwise this was a stupid episode in a fun way.

Mortos Der Soulstealer (Ep.23A)

Shoutouts to Dib who was so focused on stopping Zim he didn't even consider trying to show off Mortos to prove demons are real. Kid has a helluva one-track mind and I relate.

Vindicated! (Ep.25A)

More like Mr. Dicky. Got'em.

Invasion of the Idiot Dog Brain (Ep.8A)

All things considered, it's incredible that Zim had the patience to stand Gir piloting the house for a full year.

Bloaty’s Pizza Hog (Ep.10B)

It's a good thing Zim never targeted Bloaty's at all. Gaz would've ended the whole show in 10 minutes if he did.

Gir Goes Crazy and Stuff (Ep.19A)

I keep thinking this episode is called "Gir's Gone Crazy and Stuff" which lead to two of my friends misreading it as "Girls Gone Crazy." Oops.

Germs (Ep.4A)

Zim being a clean-freak is the funniest character trait he's ever been given. I will not be taking in outside input.

FBI Warning (Ep.14B)

This episode made me afraid of renting things as a kid.

Backseat Drivers from Beyond the Stars (Ep.22)

The scene between Zim and Dib when Zim realizes Dib is in Tak's ship is the funniest interaction in the whole show, both performance and animation-wise.

Dibship Rising (Ep.24B)

Dib faced less consequences for a robot him wreaking havoc than he did when he threw a cup of punch on the ground

Dib’s Wonderful Life of Doom (Ep.19B)

And the award for the Most Hilariously Petty Act goes to.....Zim!

Hobo 13 (Ep.20A)

I can't believe Skoodge was voiced by Ted Raimi.

The Frycook What Came From All That Space (Ep.27)

It's unfortunate that the show was cancelled, but this wasn't a terrible episode to end things on all things considered. Almost made things feel like they came full circle...almost.

Game Slave 2 (Ep.11B)

At the time, this probably came off as Gaz being unnecessarily cruel. Nowadays, Iggins would fit right alongside the other Gamers™ so I can say with certainty that he deserved it.

Dark Harvest (Ep.4B)

...Ok yeah, I'll give this one to the parents of the 2000s. I have no idea how this episode got greenlit.

Walk For Your Lives (Ep.20B)

This is Zim at his absolute stupidest. It's a riot.

Plague of Babies (Ep.10A)

Ayo what the fuck

Nanozim (Ep.3B)

na-no

Megadoomer (Ep.17A)

This is the most cooperative Gir has been short of being hypnotized. Wow.

Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom (Ep.12)

Honestly, Zim and Dib need to put aside their differences for like a month and get some damn therapy.

Zim Eats Waffles (Ep.23B)

This episode is stupid. So, so stupid. It's also incredibly funny and is the first episode that comes to my mind when I think of Invader Zim.

Attack of the Saucer Morons (Ep.5A)

I like this one a lot. Why?...I dunno I just do, it's funny. Leave me alone.

The Nightmare Begins (Ep.1)

The crew really hit the ground running with this show, huh?

Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy (Ep.8B)

Real talk, this was a great balance of humor and genuinely telling an interesting Zim story.

Planet Jackers (Ep.9A)

I love that Zim's final plan was just to let himself get the shit beaten out of him to distract the drivers from his ship. Zim may be dumb, but he's smart dumb.

The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever (Ep.21)

Can we get Jhonen to write more Christmas specials?

Tak: The Hideous New Girl (Ep.18)

Easily the best episode of the original show imo. It's just really well-written, even if it does take a little longer than you'd expect to get to the real meat of the episode. Also, I probably quote "Your head smells like a puppy!" the most out of any Invader Zim line. No I will not elaborate.

Enter the Florpus

Everything that made the original show great but in HD and with some genuine heart to it. I do prefer the original designs from the show itself (sharp angles for LIFE) but the coloring here is just so pretty I hardly mind. If this is the last animated Zim thing we ever get, it's a great note to end things on.

[bthump]

i feel like you totally might have been asked this question previously, so fully ignore this if so and i just didn't immediately find it, but what do you think a theoretical meeting between golden age griffith and like, post GA guts would be like? the idea of a more innocent griffith not quite understanding whatever swirl of emotion guts feels towards him is intriguing to me, and then obviously the pain/regret/guilt???/hate(/love) guts feels etc..... so complicated. so delicious.

Sorry this took a while to respond to, my brain just has not been in creative mode recently lol.

Anyway I have one post where I've talked about time travel-y stuff here but the focus is pretty specific.

So yeah I definitely think that Guts’ emotions would be wild. I don’t think he’d really feel much if any anger or hate towards him, that’s all been focused on the demon version. Guts’ post-eclipse feelings towards human Griffith are all about regret and loss and longing. Assuming Guts traveled through time on purpose and this wasn’t suddenly sprung on him, I think he could keep himself under control, but man he’d be like, staring at Griffith in shock and awe for a while no matter what, and the intensity would bleed through any attempt to be chill.

I think seeing human Griffith would hit Guts with a big punch of self-loathing tbh, like in comparison to him he’d really feel monstrous now, in his armour and/or Black Swordsman gear, etc. Plus like... the nostalgia of being back in the moment you were at your best and happiest while you’re currently at your worst and miserable... that would be hard to deal with even without Griffith. He’d look around at Griffith and the Hawks and think, wow this is what I threw away, it’s gone forever now.

Anyway wrt Griffith he might still have some mixed feelings even if his hate is focused on Femto/Ngriff actually, yk, that sort of dread, knowing what Griffith would choose in his moment of despair - I’ve always said that he should feel betrayed about the sacrifice and the eclipse rape cheapens that. So that would also be an interesting layer of emotion imo, especially since ultimately Guts blames himself for bringing on Griffith’s despair. It’s that like, contrast between that sense of past innocence and wanting to cling to it, and present knowledge of what’s to come.

And it’s Guts so regardless of how time travel works, whether this is possible, whether he was warned against it, I think he’d immediately try to change the past somehow lol. Maybe that’s telling Griffith exactly why he wants to leave and hoping Griffith confronts past!Guts about it, or maybe he’s dumb and just tries to destroy the behelit lol, whatever.

For Griffith’s part... I think he’d be kind of horrified at Guts’ vibe. Ignoring all the immediate ‘what the fuck is going on who are you yadda yadda yadda’ stuff like, once he realizes who Guts is he’d be like, okay some shit clearly went down. He’d probably be perturbed at Guts’ intensity towards him, kinda freaked out at the implications behind it, like wondering if he died in the future or something. Also let’s be real, if he was into Guts’ strength and badassery in the Golden Age he’d probably be pretty attracted to him post-eclipse lol, even while being disturbed and wary.

Trying to come up with concrete things they’d say or do is too hard though lol, it’s too dependent on circumstance. Plus I’m bad at imagining big emotional displays, and this would definitely be a cause for them.

ty for the ask!

[haleigh-sloth]

dabi does care and it's shown pretty clearly on panel too? like the entire incident with twice we're shown his own thoughts for the first time in ever and it's very understanding of twice’s mindset back there. In MVA immediately after he said he doesn't care about giran bringing him into the league, when they think an enemy is closing in he rushes from the back to the very front with his hand raised to attack like tsundere much? and in the war arc when nejire is about to attack a already bound duo of shigaraki and spinner he sends a wall of flames right to her? like if people are gonna twist small things to paint him like he's the LOV's adversary atleast take everything into consideration? like he's tunnel visioned because of how much his self expression had been hijacked by endvr the moment he was created and he's been separated from his family and probably people in general for a decade because of how extremely traumatizing the self immolation was and watching his father continue heroism like his son hadn't just died. people really see one person not adhering to the rules of their found family and they set out to demonize him further.

I agree with a lot of this but I also do think the fandom turned Dabi into this "uwu baby who cares so so much like a protective big brother" (because he's an actual big brother lol) and people just kinda forgot that......he's an asshole.

He is. But like, so is Shouto, straight up. But it doesn't mean he doesn't care. He's super emotional actually, especially when he's casually crying blood and thinking about his family. Yeah, emotionless, doesn't care at all about anything 🤙🏼 🤙🏼 🤙🏼. But no he's never been the type to outwardly show concern when things get...concerning. It took Twice's death for him to show actual signs of distress in front of another person. Again--the times crying about his family, nobody was there to see it.

Before you read further I also ranted a bit about this whole debacle here and here. Though I think this ask was actually in response to one or both of those posts lmao.

On ch. 335:

I think people are just mad that he doesn't have the same horrified expression on his face as Toga and Spinner, I guess completely forgetting who his character is. You know, the one hyper-focused on his father. Not just killing his father, but making a show of it, making sure his father's attention is on him as they're dying....together. Yeah, what's happening in front of him isn't pleasant, but tbh what is he supposed to do? What are Spinner and Toga doing? My issue is people thinking Dabi is just totally cool with going along with AFO's plans (don't get me started on AFO comparing the two of them), when in actuality, the entire LOV are taking cues from and are at the mercy of AFO now so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I also think Dabi's tunnel vision is an indication that his arc is going to be strictly about his family. I mean I always thought his arc would be about his family, but I think people expected a bit more inner exploration of him and his feelings toward the people around him (the LOV specifically). And don't miss me, I think we may get some of that. But imo the focus of Dabi's arc has always been the Todorokis, and I really don't expect that to change.

AND Dabi isn't the only one with tunnel vision either? Toga and Shigaraki have exhibited severe tunnel vision at their own moments also--and Shigaraki is literally doing that right now.

Toga: she left the LOV mid-war to go satisfy her own curiosity on what Ochacko thinks of villains, get her opinion on if they're even considered people in her eyes. Yeah, she promised to go back to them, but she still left for her own ambitions. Because she wanted a hero's words to either make or break her.

Shigaraki is lying there in front of the LOV screaming about All Might. Not even screaming about the fact that AFO took control over the LOV, took control over his mind and body, drug him out to that fight with S&S. Yeah--he was putting up a fight with AFO on the battle field. But that battle is over, and what's happening now? He's reverted back to how he was pre-Kamino, where he just attributed all of his pain to the existence of All Might. He's back to square one. Coming full circle, again with this Horikoshi lol (this entire arc since the war has brought back a lot of early BNHA stuff). Shigaraki may mention Twice and we may see him really talk to the LOV, but I'm doubtful of that tbh with what's happening. We'll see, both routes are possible.

But I mean, if Shigaraki and Toga can show tunnel vision for their own personal interests, why can't Dabi? The LOV trio have always all had their own personal vendettas against heroes. They don't have the same pain, trauma, feelings, not even the same goals really. Toga wants to live in a world that's....easy to live in. Shigaraki wants to destroy everything (save for what his comrades want), and Dabi straight up wants to die with his dad. No, they're not gonna be a big ball of togetherness right now. We're in the final stretch and it's getting time for the LOV trio's pain to start getting addressed individually, because that's what they each need.

[imperiuswrecked]

This is the anon from the previous ask about ToM, I completely agree with everything you said, I just worded the last part of my ask very poorly since I was putting a emphasis on Wanda since throughout Trial of Magneto, it was heavily focused on her despite the series being named TRIAL OF MAGNETO. The Avengers and X-Men need to be held accountable for what they did because honestly? It's really enraging that the twins need to constantly "redeem" themselves for something they hadn't meant to happen. The X-Men who were involved in House of M got way too comfortable despising Wanda even though it was their willingness to kill her that drove Pietro to convince Wanda to rewrite reality to protect her. The whole hatred towards Wanda got even worse imo when the AXIS retcon happened, because now in the Krakoa Era, some of the mutants are framing it as if it was her own personal beliefs, because now she's a human mutate, instead of retaliation against Magento after he killed Pietro when he found out what he did to save Wanda.

No worries Anon, I enjoyed reading your thoughts, and the discussion we have.

I think you're right and a lot of people totally forget Charles's hand in this too, so many people failed Wanda and just decided her life was not worth saving. They called themselves heroes except for when it counted.

AXIS was so lackluster, I barely remember anything from it except the stupid retcon. And Hickman should keep an eye out because his writing of Wanda as the bogeyman of Mutants is soooo bad, it leaves such a bad taste in my mouth to read how they are demonizing Wanda and I want revenge! lol.

There is so much blame to go around, and Pietro did make mistakes, I'm not sugarcoating his actions either, however I feel like it all boils down to how much people especially the writers of Marvel, ignored all the context and just focused on "no more mutants" no one even remembers that she just watched her brother die at her father's hand, her whole world was breaking, she wasn't doing it on purpose, she was traumatized.

We fans of the Maximoff Twins, and the rest of Magnet Family just want good things for Wanda and everyone, but its hard to feel happy when they constantly shove that damn plot into everything. The Trial of Magneto is a massive joke, it really is the Trial of Wanda all over again, but this time worse. Ugh. I still can't believe she wrote Tommy and Billy yelling at Wanda and its like "therapy! tough love! take responsiblity!" fuck off with that B.S.

*sigh* Can't wait for this series to be done tbh, I was so excited for it but now it's something I dread.

[ectora]

REVIEW 311

Screen time

Macy : 23m26s

Maggie : 20m07s

Mel : 18m25s

Harry : 13m20s

Abigael : 5m02s

Jordan : 4m28s

Here is a table with the details of the time shared

Opinions

In a general manner I enjoyed the episode. It was entertaining and well passed. I don’t think it was their strongest episode so far but it was an entertaining one. It finally started to connect the other characters to the main storyline but also felt almost like a filler for the sisters. I also think the show should have maybe showed more consequences and different good things for the sisters. Because except for Mel (and I’ll come back to that later), the good things that happened to Maggie and Macy are pretty normal. It’s not like Maggie didn’t work for that internship. It’s not like a free legal clinic would get bad press. Or that it can’t happen to be upgraded in a hotel. Like yes what happened to antonio and that old man was really bad but at the same time it just didn’t feel like the sisters were gaining that much from it. Maybe if they had sticked to only it being the consequences of what they had to do to get the allergy off or something, rather than good things that could have normally happened, happening. I’m not sure that nakes sense but well lmao

Positive points:

The perfecti. They’re actually really entertaining on screens and are just funny. I think they were a great idea and a good addition to the story. And I’m genuinely excited to see more of them and how they’re story is going to unfold.

Josefina getting her powers. I’m glad they ended up giving her her powers with “wakening spell” similar to the one the sisters needed when they became witches. I really like her powers as well it’s so fitting.

Macy smiling. I have my issues with how the whole thing happened and I’ll take about it later but I’m glad she was finally able to catch a break. The show is often giving her storylines without a lot of time for her to just breath and I’m glad she finally got the opportunity to do so.

Abigael and Jordan. Listen, I just have a soft spot for their friendship. I just enjoy watching them. Tbh they both have easy chemistry with everyone but these two together just gives me good vibes. I just like them together on screen. I also liked how absolutely soft he was with her. And how she easily recognise his qualities. I just love them individually and together.

Maggie finally getting some therapy. I’m glad they’re finally giving that to her. Now can they extend that to like ... literally every single one of their main characters cause they all need it.

Josefina and Mel. As always their scene were really enjoyable. I think it’s always nice to see Mel show other people magic isn’t their only power. And I like how it shows how understanding and empathetic Mel really can be.

Mel and Maggie. Once again, their bond is so sweet and feels very natural. I just love seeing them share normal sisterly moments.

Negative points :

those are only going to be the actual negative points I have. Others that are more like annoyance, I’ll put them with the remarks.

Ruby. I’m just tired of this show giving zero effort to that relationship. I’m a big time abimel shipper but the treatment they give melby is just disrespectful at this point. They had one little moment where they said “oh she isn’t here” and then that’s it. Not even pretending to be on the phone. Or a text message. Nada. This needs to be fixed. Either get on it or get rid of it. But enough. Especially when you compare it to how they treat the straights.

Abigael’s story. Apparently some people don’t make the connexion with self harm, but to me said connexion is pretty obvious. More and more obvious especially after last episode where they showed us Abigael hurting herself directly. It was graphic and kinda unnecessary imo. I think the story itself, of having Abigael’s sides fight each other is interesting but the way they approached it was very careless and if they continue being so adamant about showing us how broken abi is, they need to actually be careful how they handle this.

Things that just don’t make sense:

Did no one tell Maggie about Jordan being cured ? I’m so confused 😭

Mel. Again, is no one ever going to talk about the fact she never finished her phd in season 1 ? Or didn’t have any teaching experience. I know it’s a small things that’s probably never going to be brought up but it’s been nagging me djdhd

At the end of the episode when they go back to putting the egg, suddenly the air isn’t toxic anymore and it’s small but i realised right away and just haven’t been able to get it out of my head.

Same with Josefina and the book. Mel was right there. Couldn’t she have taken it ? 😭

Why did Harry and Macy took the portal to Paris ? Why just not orb.

I’m still confused by the whole demon trying to kill the witch side of Abby to be honest. Like I’m not sure how hurting her physical body is going to do anything ? Isnt her demon part gonna die too then ? Parker’s made more sense because it was like a sickness, you could say the magical cells were killing he humans ones or something. But here ? I’m confused.

Talking about demon abi, ... why this ugly ass dress. I understand the reason for different noticeable clothes but why does it need to be this ugly. Abigael Jameson-Caine is too fashionable for this.

The entire book of shadow thing like ? Did we just forgot Mel presented the book to Josefina the episode before ? Are we just erasing that from our memories ? What’s happening.

How they gonna freeze the therapist and then just leave a note like is she not supposed to unfreeze ? Maggie is just gonna be gone ? And with a sudden note on her laps ? What.

Remarks & speculations

Hacy. I don’t dislike the couple don’t get me wrong. I think they’re sweet. But the show focuses too much on that relationship. Macy barely feels like she has a story outside of it at this point. At least Harry has the whole white lighter thing but again the reason he wants to be mortal is Macy so ... if just feels like the show continues to centre these two characters toward each other first. However it was great to see Macy happy. But again like The sisters had one hug and then that was if.

I’m really sad we didn’t actually see Macy and Josefina interact. Or that we won’t see her reach them a bit more about her magic and the whole new side they don’t know about.

My babies in the tomb. I’m just really wondering what the deal with the perfecti. Are they so big on duality, good and bad that it’s to an extreme that is dangerous ? Abigael in some ways I can understand. She’s the demon overlord. She’s powerful. Her demon form tried to go after TCO. But Jordan ? Was he just a collateral damage ? Did they judge him bad because he was with abi ? Because he was cursed ? Or is it a plan they have that involved isolating TCO ? (I doubt it but still a possibility). I mean he was probably out there cause he was helping abi but then it being strong questions about the perfecti’s moralities and visions of the world. Cannot wait to see more.

Abigael was ... broken to say the least. Kudo to poppy for that, Abigael looked absolutely exhausted. You could feel the fear and exhaustion in everything she did. And I feel bad for her because she’s not only mentally exhausted but physically too. She can’t sleep safely. And I don’t know if everyone realised the level all this must have reached for Abigael to be ready to give up everything. Because she is different from the sisters on this, she grew up as a magical being. That has been her entire life. What has been defining her since birth. For her to be so ready to give everything up so she could finally just find some peace ... she’s literally at her limits.

Talking about abi. We know the sisters are gonna try to help Jordan in episode 13 but does that mean they don’t realise Jordan is gone until then ? So it’s easy to assume 312 will also have abi/jordy mostly and in the tomb. Speculations - if the synopsis of 312 is indeed about saving Jordan from the tomb and not something else - is that they’ll realise on site than Abigael is stuck too and will help her as well. Unless she does something good to help jordan and because of that they decided to get her out too. That could connect both story and have a start on the redemption.

Also while abi is gone are the demons just gonna wait around ? Like the fact they all just willingly followed her rules doesn’t seem realistic but even less when the girl is no where to be found.

I just want Mel to get a proper storyline. And Macy too. Maggie I feel is actually the best written one development wise out of all of them.

I think they brought the storyline of Harry being worried about his age and waiting to be mortal too early. He has a good ten years on Macy anyway. And they barely started dating. There are already a lot of things going on and I genuinely feel like they should have left that for next season at least.

Highlights

Maggie in therapy. “You seem like you have a lot of demons” “are you under a lot of stress” was genuinely funny. Maggie is so naturally funny I really love her for it.

Mel saying there isn’t another shoe to drop and demon Abigael saying hold me beer.

The dogs that does math. Don’t ask me why it’s just funny.

Josefina using her powers after realising she still has them

Macy’s face when Harry told her about becoming mortal as if he isn’t constantly talking about it djdhd

Abigael’s soft “jordy”

Celebrating later, running now

The entire witch ceremony at the end.

[phoebehalliwell]

how would you rank the seasons from least to most favourite?

alright okay right off the bat worst season season 7. for starters i think this season has no staying power i mean like since i’ve been running this blog 4 so long now my knowledge of charmed is encyclopedic and insanely vast more than like it ever need be but for the longest time. i could not remember season 7. like wtf even happened there?? evidently leo became human??? cole returned? the avatars??? like all of it was just. it’s not even necessarily forgettable it’s just i straight up could not remember it for the longest time. and i’ve said it before the concept of utopia was way to advanced for a show like charmed to tackle i am not watching charmed for moral philosophy i am watching bc i love these girls ♥ hee hee hoo hoo magic adventure ✨ tho if i am to offer a single comment on utopia: it’s awfully rich for a show to go on about destiny and fate and then take a stand against utopia in the name of free will. but w/e. i don’t like leo in the avatars i don’t like his dynamic with piper in this season i don’t like whatever phoebe’s doing this season there’s like leslie?? maybe there’s someone else? boring & flavorless they should have been setting up her endgame instead of puttering around. and kyle. zoo wee mama. could have been a great antihero. morally gray. duplicitous. self serving. but no. they gave him all those traits and called him hero/love interest. s7 left a lot to be desired out of the characters and their relationships also gave us phat L’s such as the charmed ones are werewolves don’t worry about it and feminism peaked with naked women. shout out to zankou: demon, dilf, dub & the noir episode.

you know what? fuck it i’ll say it second worse season 5 genuinely fuck season five. this is probably a Very Specific beef 2 me But. i hate what they did to the charmed universe. this was the season that marked the transition of charmed from supernatural drama to campy soap which like. i love camp! i do! but fr. fuck this season and what it did to the worldbuilding. the early season have Such A Vibe to them man with warlocks and witches and just a couple niche monsters from assorted lore that the show took and made their own. season five opens with mermaids goes directly into fairytales then gives us superheros whatever the fuck was going on in that mummy episode the sandman leprechauns and nymphs. and i hate it for that. it takes away from this urban fantasy things that go bump in the night what lurks in the shadows of the back alleys of san francisco in favor of the ugliest cinderella dress ever put to television and an onslaught of horrible irish accents for a full episode. other issues with season five: cole’s still here? why? they don’t know and neither will you! we’re not redeeming him! phoebe’s not getting back together with him! yes he died we just refuse to let him go! the cherry on top of course being a cole-centric 100th episode. shout out to. hmm. lemme think about what i actually liked about this season. i like jason dean as a love interest i don’t remember what he did in s5 but i know he was there. the season finale i’ve talked about how stupid & shitty it was but idc i still love that episode and then shout out to bacarra the only original villain this season that was a proper serve. the crone gets second place.

next on this come on we all saw it coming season 8. it’s a bad season! and i get bts there was a whole lot happening budget cuts missing actor etc. but it goes beyond that. it was a bad season. billie and christie were bad. and i’ve said this before but billie in herself is not an inherently bad character. she was just the literal worst for the show. she was a dollar store buffy blonde confident cocky skilled and ready 2 fight evil But. we are not following her like we followed buffy we are following her mentors. it’s like if we had a show called giles that aired for seven seasons And Then buffy showed up. billie was insanely irritating to watch from our perspective and in general wasn’t like. well written. attempts to humanize her / give her more depth often fell flat. and then christy. oh nelly. oh my god. barely a character. not well acted but hey it would have been a miracle if she was. negatives include dumain who was a mess omg bringing back the triad bringing back the source billie & christy obvi and also involving homeland security. which is season 7′s fault which is why it’s the worst. dubs on the other hand include both coop and henry i really liked them the shoehorned love interests weren’t great but i like their characters i though the way the got rid of leo to save on the budget was really creative and gave us a great piper episode and of course the sugary sweet finale i love it i do what can i say.

yet another controversial choice aptly coming in fourth is season 4. i respect what season 4 set out to do. i think it was a good idea. long form narratives, keeping a darker tone, focusing on character-driven drama and growth. too bad it fucking failed miserably at all of this. cole as the source and phoebe as the queen of hell was just so so botched. they had a very unique opportunity following the death of prue to explore these characters and what it means to them to be charmed, to be witches. they saved the world but the cost is insanely high. they’ve lost an older sister. they’ve gained a new sister. how do you even begin to cope with all this? episodes such as hell hath no fury and brain drain fuck so hard because they work with exactly that. had the whole season been like those episode season four would sit at number one with flying colors absolutely no competition. but alas. we can’t have nice things. the show got so bogged down with phoebe & cole, in a way that was just so, so messy. for starters, whether you loved cole or hated him before, we can all agree source!cole sucked. he was such a strong 180 from what we had seen that the show had to make the source some type of possession to justify half the shit they were trying to pull. and then to pit phoebe and paige against one another over a man was just. disgusting. and the ending of course felt rushed because it was! they wrapped up that entire issue in a nice little bow much faster than they reasonably should have been able to. it could have been a great season. it was definitely not. shout out to the seer an iconic mastermind on barbas levels, as previously stated brain drain and hell hath no fury Specific shout out to piper’s scene at prue’s grave shout out to paige as a character i like what they did with her and um. yeah that’s it.

okay we’re exiting the shit tier in favorite of the good tier welcome to the upper half. kicking us off is season 6. season 6 did what season 4 could not in that it gave us a long form plot that still left plenty of room for like. normal demon of the week episodes. i love phoebe early in this season with her faboo haircut her brand new empathy power and her relationship with jason dean. obvious strikes against for whatever the fuck that baby crazy stint was and also the mata hari episode. yikes. i love paige’s hair color in this season nothing paige as a character necessarily stands out to me however i like how they seem to have hit the blend of work-magic with paige where she wants a life and career outside of magic however she still loves the craft and embraces is with an open heart and mind. season six also gives us chris who was a very fun male lead imo we really didn’t have many like him he’s bitchy. he whines and bitches a lot he’s got an agenda he’s a bit secretive but at the end of the day he just wants a family i like him. i like the character growth we see out of piper i like seeing her try to move on from leo i love seeing her get back together with leo i like her dynamic with chris and her fears about motherhood. i also liked richard but that one takes a lot of justification. L’s are witchstock hyde school reunion used karma off the top of my head also the paige/richard/addiction plotline was so tone deaf. also the girls were mean to darryl : ( he deserved so much better. dubs were chris as a character, tbh the episode little monsters, phoebe with empathy specifically saying i love you too to jason i could write a dissertation on that line alone also the courtship of wyatt’s father and i thought the reveals of evil wyatt and chris being piper and leo’s son were both fun and interesting plot twists.

coming in third is actually season 2 a season i really do love it’s just. it lacks structure. imo there is a lot to love about season 2 morality bites and pardon my past are both delightful time travel episodes we get jack sheridan and bane jessup two of my personal favorite prue love interests we get p3 h2o and a great prue plotline regarding the death of patty we get the super cute cupid episode it’s a great. collection of episodes. it’s not a great season. there’s just imo not a strong enough thread connecting the stories together it’s mainly held together by having the same characters in it over and over again i really liked dan personally but like. i knew we were wasting time there. he was just an obstacle. a super cute loving and caring obstacle who’s great with kids but lbr piper and leo were always endgame. wasting our time on dan was stupid. i do love the sister dynamics in season two “gotta hand it to those pesky little demons they sure have brought us closer together” but again. this season could have benefitted from a rex and hannah type or even like a cole or zankou. this season is less of a season and more of just like a handful of episodes, and while there are some fat dubs, there are also some definite swings & misses. shout out to the time travel episodes the prue centric episodes phoebe’s character growth and maturity throughout this season (e.g. her going back to college) and i also think the fashion got a lot more fun this season.

second place i’m saying season one season one was a really strong start and gave us these really compelling characters with interesting relationships between one another But. a lot of it just kinda falls flat. and credit where credit is due it was a brand new show getting its feet under it but the fourth sister feats of clay which prue is it anyway they just simply aren’t dubs imo. also i don’t like that 70′s episode bc again i am an asshole concerned about The Lore i can’t believe one bitch ass warlock caused the Charmed Ones to grow up without powers. it just really bugs me. all in all the plots as a whole like aren’t great imo they’re nothing to write home about (save for from fear to eternity) it’s really the characters that make this season so goddamn good.

first place congratulations to the one the only season three. this is just because it kinda hits all my requirements in that it has some banger one offs (e.g. all halliwell’s eve, the good, the bad, and the cursed) it has an overarching plot at the exact same time as the source becomes more prominent and obvi cole is also there with murderous intent i like the character growth we see especially from prue i like piper and leo finally get married overall i really like the aesthetic of this season that blends a darker urban fantasy tone with still some charmed fashion and whimsy. strikes against tbh phoebe and cole’s relationship i am insanely picky with my enemies to lovers and the do not come remotely close to cutting the mustard in fact they are almost immediately disqualified however from afar i can see and respect The Drama. shout out to recasting victor prue with pistols death as a character and shannen directing episodes

[lunar-lair]

Dreamwraith sent me your tags on the Runaway King AU. I just spent the last five minutes mentally key smashing cause assjjdfkkfgkg THANK YOU???!!!!!!! such high praise holy jesus

I'm not used to anyone commenting about Evanescent Signs, so that made my entire week <3

ALAMSOSSKK HI????? Personally im like,,,sorry i barely paid any attention to the actually AU in front of me but also tbth the au yall were talkin abt isnt quite my vibe 😔 too much angst lmao. Also i heard you were coming back and my whole brain lit up w evanescant signs like my god.

alSO WH??? WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO ONE COMMENTS ON EVANESCANT SIGNS ALSMSK IMO ITS LIKE,,,UR CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT IN MY BRAIN

Then again i have not read ur casper high stranded fic bc again, no vibes 4 me 😔 but unless im misremembering, what i read of the fic where you made danny and vlad like,,an angel and demon basically was fucking epic!! Even if i didnt get through it all the way. And the 5+1 with the line 'our here is tiny, he is young, and he is always, *always* saving us' was so excellent. And Amity Park LIVE is really hilarious, even if its one of your shorter ones. And i checked ff.net and not many of secrets revealed is on there? Totally ok i just noticed

In all honesty, and this is so hilarious, i havent read your namesake. Period. I think ive read bits and pieces of it? But it never really stuck with me, which...god, hilarious as ALL hell

But dude, ofc you deserve high praise! And ofc i love evanescant signs!! Ive been following that fic on ff.net since it had...2? 3 chapters? Maybe since before the tucker chapter-brb lemme check-yeye i had it right. I KNOW i waited a while for chapter 4, though. Ive reread every chapter there probably-esp ch. 1 (ectoplasmic encounters) ch. 2 (...smth worth saving i think?) and ch. 5 (ghost speak for jocks), theyre all tied for my favorite tbh

Im sorry if this sounded rlly scattered and like,,ig squirrelly?? ALSKSK ive never gotten an ask off anon i dont think and ESPECIALLY not from a writer ive been following for 5 yrs,,,,its rlly good to hear youre back!! Ofc you dont have to write for evanescant signs if you dont want to, but ive been checking every month or two since i read it first in 5th grade, and i wont stop now!! Its one of my favorites in the fandom, really, so i guess its nice to know you know how much i like it now too!! And again this is so hella scattered ALSLSLS but im glad it made you happy and that you werent focused on me just freaking out abt smth you werent talking abt ALSKSLS <3

[belphegorbillickin]

Okay, but I can definitely imagine Barb/Dia doing that. It seems like quite a possibility. But wasn't dying mc's own fault though? Like,, Barbatos did warn,,, unless he knew this was gonna happen and mc was DUMB AND STUPID enough to show up to everyone like: "hi." and possibly be dumb enough to get killed. Idk lol I forgot this part.

But what you said about Beel, I really like that. I think you even mentioned belphie guilt tripping you in your yandere hcs, and trying to make you completely depend on him?? I like those possibilities. Mammon though,, too soft. Like you said, they've robbed him a lot. He could have had so much potential to be a dark character. Similarly Levi omg.

The brothers are the embodiments of the 7 deadly sins, yet, tbh, I haven't seen too much of this side of them. At least, not like how'd I expect. Leviathan, for eg. Envy. I don't recall seeing his sin playing out anywhere except in the TSL Quiz thingy. I mean, it's been toned down a lot for someone who's the literal embodiment is envy. Idk I just don't feel he's like that? As from what I found: Envy (Latin: invidia), like greed and lust, is characterized by an insatiable desire. It can be described as a sad or resentful covetousness towards the traits or possessions of someone else. The struggle aroused by envy has three stages: during the first stage, the envious person attempts to lower another's reputation; in the middle stage, the envious person receives either "joy at another's misfortune"(if he succeeds in defaming the other person) or "grief at another's prosperity" (if he fails); the third stage is hatred because "sorrow causes hatred".[38]

Envy is said to be the motivation behind Cain murdering his brother, Abel, as Cain envied Abel because God favored Abel's sacrifice over Cain's.

They toned him down a little too much?? If this game has actually been inspired by demons and the 7 deadly sins, they could at least make them similar to the demons, at least in some way. I'm not that far into the game yet, but so far that I've played, I haven't seen much. As for a demon who is the embodiment of envy... I wish to see more. Levi is capable of A LOT.

Similarly, Satan. I sometimes wonder why is he even called the Avatar of Wrath when we hardly see it?? The only time I remember is him losing his calm during the whole body swap event. The fact Satan got mad at us refusing a pact actually made me think that he was the sin "wrath", but idk now. And the way it was said that "every smile is an act", I really like that concept too. But I don't think I've paid much attention to see where it played out. Sigh now Satan simps for cats like,,, please show me your dark/evil side sir.

The way you said Barb and Dia took part in a torture dungeon, I want to see more of that too. If they're demons, wouldn't they have caused SOME sort of bloodshed in a way? Especially if they're the strongest demons. Killing humans, eating them, or I even like to think doing the same to their own race. Torturing... Seems like something that every demon's blood would contain lmao, I'm not answering questions bye.

And I believe so too. The human seems like a pawn... I feel the demons would use humans for entertainment and their own purposes, while keeping up the facade of loving them. It's easy, since demons are manipulative. In that case, losing the human whether by their own hands or not would go like: "Oh well, that's unfortunate. Time for another human."

But if they REALLY did love you, I feel they'd still be manipulative. Like you said. Corrupting/spoiling the human so much to the point that they'd just HAVE to depend on them. I feel they'd also have yandere tendencies, or be "protective". Like, then I feel they really wouldn't want to let you go, despite knowing how much it can ruin your innocence.

I also don't like how everyone is after mc like "uwuwu master". The human is still a weakling despite having pacts, plus, the pacts aren't even demanding the human's soul or anything. I don't get why they let mc walk over them when they are CLEARLY much stronger? If I were a demon I'd do the opposite lmao. Making the human seem as if they are controlling me, but it's the opposite. I don't think a mere pact can change the fact that the demon's stronger,,, esp if the pact didn't demand the human's soul/life/whatever.

Also, thank you! Things got better for me :)) and also,

💫✨💕send this to ten bloggers you think are wonderful. keep the game going 💕✨

Ofc you don't have to do this, but I got this, and it really made me happy, so here ^^

Oh btw in lesson...56 I think?? Just gonna tag this as a spoiler, but where for whatever reason Satan was "Sully" and the angel Lucifer asked him whether he liked books, let me just say I haven't even played it that far yet, but Satan going, "...Every book here is precious."

TOUCHED ME SO BAD LIKE. I DON'T KNOW IT REALLY MADE ME SOFT LMAO HE'S JUST SO okay I'll stop 🏃– 🍹

It's been a while since I've thought in-depth about the whole time traveling thing tbh, but couldn't Barbatos generally see the outcomes of the world?

We went back because they wanted to know who opened it, but considering Diavolo's the ruler of hell who turned Lilith human and Barbatos is basically the ruler of time & practically the universe I believe they already knew Lilith did it since it had to be "blood related" basically.

Barbatos also knows he can stitch together timelines and get of "extra" MCs essentially, so I believe he'd take that into account. I'm not saying MC getting killed was 100% part of the plan, but that they didn't care of MC was traumatized because they knew they could bring them back if necessary.

Imo the real goal wasn't to find out who did it, but to avoid breaking the family's bonds and devotion to Diavolo. The way it worked out was incredibly convenient and "coincidentally" a huge upgrade for Diavolo that kept the status quo and made him look good (or at least better) to Belphie and Beel without making Lucifer choose.

We see that kind of repeat later when Diavolo withdraws from the play because he was worried Lucifer wouldn't be as loyal. That's also why Lucifer gets that warning from Barbatos.

I think a huge part of why Levi's characterization is like that is because not enough people like him enough to tolerate it tbh. Even Mammon and Lucifer stans complain about the other characters hogging screen time and a lot of them admit to feeling bad for other fans. Levi is pretty much always second to last popularity wise.

I think he'd actually be more liked if they focused more on the jealously instead of making almost every interaction otaku/Ruri-chan related, but it's a bit too late now. I really, really hate how they just pretend otaku culture always existed and that's all Levi ever was. Like at least make him have an obsessive personality and be hyperfixated on novels instead of talking manga in an era before Japan even existed. It's so unbelievably lazy and really takes me out of the story.

Another problem is we only really see him interact with family or people that could enact severe consequences like Diavolo & Barbatos or people protected by the exchange program. He never gets a chance to shine or be cunning. The closest we get is things like him purposefully trying to ruin Christmas for random people online in his Christmas card. I think if he genuinely got jealous of MC and some random demon he would summon lotan almost instantly.

It's especially painful knowing what we had & being so excited to get more only for all of that to get dropped.

In an early devilgram, Be You, Satan gets jealous and feels bad about not having much unique to him and Lucifer comforts him in his own way when the others make it worse. Mammon is the most empathetic though ofc. They also talk about horror movies and Mammon says he doesn't find them scary (& the way it's framed sounds honest, idk if it's a retcon or a lie,) and Satan says "I'm sure we've all witnessed plenty of real-life horrors worse than anything in the movies."

Then when Lucifer asks for a time when he was really angry Satan first casually then gleefully talks about torturing a family to death because a kid set him up to get scolded by their parents. Meanwhile the brothers act wary of him and worry about him getting out of control while Lucifer tells everyone to take cover for their own safety with a smile. Satan happily talks about them begging for their lives and says he wishes they saw it too.

Levi also says he hates hearing about people being happy, but likes hearing about the negative things. While Asmo and Mammon are freaking out he also calls Satan cool. Which shows at least a little bit of his envy for once. Satan also says just the aura of his rage is usually too much for humans which is also interesting.

But back to Diavolo and Barbatos, I don't hate how the whole torture thing isn't super open, it makes sense imo, but I would like to see hints of them hiding it. Especially if Satan or even attic Belphie was the one you could go to to learn more about it. If anyone would defy Diavolo for that it'd be them trying to bring Lucifer down with them, or even just Satan rewarding the hunt for knowledge and not understanding the human psyche fully.

Imagine if instead of a paper thin lie about being human we got a Belphie manipulating us by pretending he was locked up because he was against hurting humans and the whole exchange program was a scam? Or at least if he told us things no one else would about Diavolo that were true so we wouldn't trust him and etc. That's the angle I'm going with in my fanfiction at least, the original story is just so lazy and boring imo.

Yeah I'm not a huge fan of how they handled pacts either, especially considering they don't even get MC's soul. It's way too one-sided to the point where I don't believe someone like Satan would ever offer it, even if the first offer was a trick and he'd get your soul or something. I agree on the whole manipulation thing too, like how is it partnership if one side has complete control over the other?

Even just making it so that demons can fight against if they really don't want to do something like harming each other and having it corrupt MC would make it a million times better.

And that's so sweet, thank you! You've made my days a lot brighter too. Not much makes me happier than infodumping and complaining about Obey Me rn lol.

I really liked Satan's line there too, although I did wish he had more a reaction to everything tbh. That whole section felt a bit too easy imo though, like I kept waiting for it to all go to shit or something. I am glad they went back into more story-based chapters too. I hope they keep that trend and expand on it.

[laufire]

Supernatural s1

my dash: decries Supernatural every five posts.

me: time to watch it seriously for the first time in my life.

-First thing first: it’s an amazingly well-crafted season of tv. I’m a character-focused watcher, not a plot-focused one; I never connected emotionally to the Winchesters (still haven’t and likely never will, as interesting I might find them as character constructs), so I feared I’d be bored and would want to skip scenes. Nuh huh. I was many things, but none of them were bored xDD. Each episode was a lesson in good pacing and the entire season another in proper build-up. There are one or two or a few dozen tv-writers I would like to show it to, ngl.

-Another thing it excelled at was in its portrayal in abusive family dynamics. The way Dean went mellow and so unlike himself when John gave an order (and what a SHOCK it is in the later episodes when he finally stands up to him!!). How Sam said HE would apologize to his father when they saw each other again, or how he made apologies for his father because “it could have been worse” (at least John didn’t beat them up, like it happened to that poor kid!). John showing Sam more “““respect””” (as far as he’s able at least) simply because Sam already proved he’s capable of leaving him; the way John controls the information he gives them and when and how and how much and how small they feel when they reunite with him. Dean knowing his father had been possessed by a demon because it wasn’t reprimanding him and belittling him. Dean’s psychic shapeshifter (?) expressing his resentment towards Sam for getting to escape. Dean’s quickness to resort to violence when Sam says something that makes him angry, or how he tries to severe ties between Sam and his college friends, or how he guilt trips him when Sam says he plans on returning to his studies, or how he minimizes Sam’s experiences with John or how Sam criticizes Dean’s compliance... (I don’t think Dean’s being consciously manipulative. I think it’s intuitive. Which is far, far scarier. He’s the Elena Gilbert of Supernatural and a walking red flag for controlling behavior). How it’s paired with ~honeymoon periods. The way they use the families around them to highlight their issues. It’s... chilling and terrifying and I can’t look away. I won’t get into the shit John pulls in 2x01 because that’s for the s2 POV, but oh my god I’m so happy he’s dead.

I wasn’t all that sure of how self-aware the creators were about this trend (especially because of how centralized and validated Dean’s POV is in his conflicts with Sam IMO. OTOH... characters like Dean and actors like Ackles are the type to take over a show by charisma alone tbf. The way he swoops in in the pilot and starts disrupting everything, including Sam’s relationship, reminding me of both Angel in BTVS and Chuck in Gossip Girl, Doylist-wise. This comparison is going to make sense to like three people I talk with regularly xDD). At least on early seasons, since certain spoilers about the later ones make me think it grew over time. I’m still unsure but I think they are a little self-aware because of this quote:

Eric Kripke said of Buffy: “I loved ‘Hush’ and ‘Once More, With Feeling,’ but overall, Buffy really taught me about effectively using metaphor in genre. For Buffy, it was ‘high school is hell (literally),’ and Joss Whedon did such a masterful job of grounding his horror and fantasy concepts in this notion, and ultimately telling allegories about high school, which turned what could’ve been B-Movie material into an all-time classic. I used that same philosophy on my run of Supernatural, with the mantra ‘family is hell (literally),’ and always grounded my horror episodes around the notion of families, to the show’s benefit. So thanks, Joss Whedon. I owe you a beer. (Credit: The WB)

everyone wants to be Buffy lol.

-My absolute favourite thing was how competent the Winchesters are (I’m even reluctantly including John here. That bastard). They’re sneaky with local authorities, crafty about fake IDs, credit scams, research abilities, DIY supernatural detectors xDD... I loved the lack of an audience proxy, the fact that the story throws you into the deep end with people that already know their shit. And that the other side is competent too, like when Meg & YED’s plan to trap John relied on the Winchester being competent; on Sam immediately going into the defensive because, what are the chances of finding that cute weird girl a second time, miles away?; on John suspecting it was a trap and only revealing himself after Meg appears to be dead... Another scene that I loved in that sense, from 2x01 (I watched until 2x03, I wanted to see Sterling K. Brown’s first appearance lol) was how upon discovering Reapers are shapeshifters, Dean immediately knew that cute ghost he’d befriended was the one after him. I get the feeling this aspect will get lost in future season and it’s a pity, tbh.

-Related to that, some of my favourite moments: Sam straight up bribing a guy to get into the morgue when Dean’s arguments are failing (with Dean’s money!); Dean’s plan of “well, if this guy is haunting the house and there’s no other way to kill him, we burn the house. No house no haunting”; Dean telling that kid to fake appendicitis to get his parents out of the house; John blessing the tank of water knowing he’s walking into a trap with demons... I dig this stuff.

-I get whiplash sometimes, with the show making a point of (very briefly) telling you racism, homophobia or pro-life attitudes are Bad(TM) and the brothers are Against them (the Racist Truck episode, the one where a woman used a Reaper to exchange “virtuous” lives for those of sinners...), when the rest of the show is err... what it is lol. Dean is toxic masculinity’s poster boy (I was so disgusted by how he acted with Jess omfg), in s2 we don’t get the monsters’ perspective on hunters until we’ve conveniently met our first black one (I love the episode AND the character but it’s fucking true)...

-I need to make a note of paying attention to the writers credits/Bts stuff because I find this show’s progression fascinating on a metatextual level. The only problem is that audience reaction seems to have played a big role (which is a problem on one or two different levels imo xD), and tracking that down is sliiiiightly more difficult lol. Oh well (I don’t even think I want to see too much of this fandom, even to satisfy my curiosity. Some of the glimpses I’ve caught of it are disturbing to the extreme).

-The detail about dead people’s blood being toxic to vampires is SO COOL OMG. I’m tempted to steal it xD

Some random stuff:

-The monsters of the week were some legit creepy stuff.

-I love that Meg has her own hellhounds. Is that still a thing when she returns?

-Dean: you and dad are reckless and I’m going to have to be the one that buries you. / Me, with the power of foresight: 👀

-Also Dean: sometimes it scares me how good I am at killing. / Me: it scares the shit out of me how good you are at killing, too, fam.

-I get the impression Sam loses his demonic-in-origin powers later on, right? What a waste, I love those.

-I’m pretty sure at one point it’s implied John used Dean to honeytrap monsters (when he sends him as a trap for the lady vampire that stole the Colt) and I really don’t know what to do with this information.

-Cassie was GORGEOUS and even make Dean likeable for me while they lasted xDD. But given this show’s track record I’m considering the lack of more appearances a blessing.

-So many guest stars. Everyone’s been on SPN. Especially if they were on the Buffyverse first (I totally get the impulse of casting Buffy actor after Buffy actor lmfao).

-Funny how Luther Hargreeves is exactly who a lot of fans think Dean was (Dean is far, far colder imo), and yet one is constantly called pathetic and evil and the other woobified. Very Funny Indeed *coughs* (funnier still that the character I often see Dean compared to is Wynonna Earp when the parallels are kids-pool deep at best and offensive at worst. Dean is not a Wynonna. Again, Dean is an Elena Gilbert xDD).

-The two paranormal investigators were dumb as rocks, but their motto was “What Would Buffy Do” so I like them (if they ever change that to What Would the Winchesters Do or something like that I’m going to be furious lmao).

-When I want to ~chill I dress about exactly like Dean (minus the flannel I’ve seen in later seasons, you can’t pay me to wear flannel). Like, I think I have a couple of shirts that look exactly like ones of his. I don’t know how I feel about this xDD

-IDK how I’ll feel about Bobby later on (I get the impression every long-term character on this show has their hateful phases xD), but in his introduction he said the last time he saw John he threatened to shoot him (“he causes that reaction in people”), so he’s so far the most relatable character around lol.

[randomidiocyncrazies]

going into more detail about the P2/P4/P5 Persona Q idea, I’m thinking of breaking the cast into the following chunks:

P2 IS: Tatsuya, Lisa, Eikichi and Jun (separated from Maya in Xibalba)

P2 EP: Maya, Ulala, Baofu and Katsuya (before Tatsuya officially joins the party but after the P1 party member leaves?)

P4: entire IT (cultural festival like in PQ, or after fighting the culprit)

P5: all PTs (before Casino heist like PQ2)

Having the P2 cast all come from the EP timeline with Lisa, Eikichi and Jun getting accidentally involved & regaining their IS memories works too, but the storyline would have to revolve around that + Tatsuya’s reaction to justify introducing that plot element imo, cause it’s A LOT to deal with. Also if the overarching plot is centered on P2 (particularly the IS party members), then why are the P4 and P5 casts involved? Also while I think it’d be interesting to re-introduce Philemon and Nyarlathotep to the Persona setting and have them play a bigger part—especially since Nyarly isn’t banished until the end of EP—their involvement might skew the plot too heavily towards P2? (although I admit the “nobody remembers this adventure” ending of PQ games would work especially well for Lisa, Jun and Eikichi here) 

tbh PQ had quite a lot of nods to P2 IS (the clock tower, school mysteries + moving statue urban legend on P4-side, and the true form of the main antagonist). I kinda like the idea of the setting being a fake school like PQ, with details of the school influenced by the persona users when they arrive, but the story might have to be tweaked a bit (different final boss probably, and maybe bring in more themes in P2/4/5). 

potential themes

I liked that PQ and PQ2 had plots that were ultimately about the new characters, since it justifies their inclusion (and i think it’s a bit unfair if the game focuses too much on the cast of a particular game). I have mixed feelings about some of the execution of PQ and PQ2, but I do appreciate the intent behind it. I do think reinforcement of the games’ themes could help make the overarching story more cohesive, so here are some potential themes with P2, P4 and P5 in mind:

rumors, gossip and the role of mass media are important in all 3 (4) persona games here: P2 antagonists manipulate various media to generate rumors, and in turn manipulate rumors to bring about the end of the world; the Midnight Channel in P4 reacts to local gossip and it’s about the casual dehumanization of individuals through media (mostly TV); in P5 people’s perception of the PT is literally a plot point, and the game reminds you of the PT approval rating almost constantly

(distorted) memories is primarily a P2 thing (”worse than death\ forgotten”, Nyarlathotep’s manipulation of Jun and Philemon’s deal to the IS kids, Tatsuya’s ‘sin’) but it could work with the mystery aspect of PQ games. Distorted memories arguably lead to distorted self-perception (P5), and uncovering the truth is P4′s jam

as mentioned in the previous post, the tension between P5′s teenage rebellion and P2 EP’s adult guidance could be really fun to explore and incorporate into the plot. Persona games are about coming of age, but with EP there’s also a secondary theme of guiding the younger generation and fully grappling with adulthood—the heroines of PQ and PQ2 are quite young, but I can potentially see the new character(s) being a little older here (maybe 17-18?)

stroll ideas

Of course the reason why this idea exists in the first place is all the potential interactions between everyone! There’s just so much potential with all the different dynamics and topics they can discuss :3 Here are a few ideas:

Stomping Grounds: P2/4/5 discuss where and how they bust Shadows. P2 “we had to sleep in dungeons sometimes!!!” is incredibly envious that demons aren’t running around the real world for the others. P2 and P4 are jealous of P5 for not having to repair/replace ruined clothes (”you just think about cool clothes and they appear on you?!” “man we should try that in Xibalba...” “it’s really not that simple! Morgana can explain it better, but basically it’s our mental image of rebellion” etc etc).

Lisa’s Brutal Makeover Corner: Teddie gets jealous when Lisa demonstrates her makeup skills on Jun and wants to get dolled up too—he won the Yasogami cross-dressing pageant after all! He has to be the prettiest!!! 

Butterfly Effect: several P4 and P2 characters try to use P5 cast’s knowledge to their advantage, but is stopped by the detective trio to prevent potential time paradoxes

Say It With Flowers: Jun and Haru (and Yukiko?) discuss flower language, share gardening tips, and swap demon/shadow intimidation tactics. Everyone around them is slightly afraid of their enthusiasm on the topic...

Fashion Gurus: Eikichi and Yusuke have a discussion about ~aesthetics~ and comment on their companions’ styles. Kanji is roped into the argument

Fashion Gurus Strike Again: Ulala, Ann and Rise discuss latest fashion trends and comment on the others’ fashion choices

The Audiophiles’ Alliance: Futaba and Yosuke chat about headphones and the greatest bops (with Futaba lamenting she can’t make him eat his words because the song she’s thinking of doesn’t exist yet in his time). Eikichi—aka the great Michel-sama—senses a prime opportunity to get some new fans... 

Strangers in a Familiar Land: Lisa and Ann get into how people tend to act... weird about them due to their foreign looks; Teddie, on the other hand, loves the attention his human form gets from the people around town (and the girls conclude that Teddie would probably get into trouble in a big city)

Everybody Loves Kung Fu Fightin’: Makoto, Ulala, Lisa and Chie show off their moves and swap training tips. Lisa and Chie talk about their favorite martial arts movies and convinces the others to check them out

Big Bro’s Worries: Katsuya and Yosuke complain about their younger brothers, while P4 and P5 protags are slightly smug that they don’t get that much trouble from their sisters, especially P4 protag 

Velvet Room attendants

Since P2/4/5 all have multiple Velvet Room attendants, they’re gonna double up on some jobs to avoid over-crowding:

P2: Demon Artist: he’s in charge of the Workshop. Unlike the other attendants he’s human, so Margaret and the twins are probably intrigued/unsettled by him and Marie might also be curious as someone else who also stays at the Velvet Room but isn’t really an attendant

P2: Nameless & Belladonna: they handle the healing service. They can sense something unusual with the P2 cast due to the split timelines, but it has no bearing on the plot. I’m on the fence whether to include a healing service at all, but if there is one I think it suits them, since their music is supposed to put guests at ease

P4: Margaret & Marie: like their PQ and PQ2 roles, Margaret manages the Persona Compendium and Fusions, and Marie handles skill cards

P5: Caroline and Justine: the twins handle the quests, since Margaret does the fusions. Caroline enjoys ordering the persona users about

[you can find more on this AU tagged under PQ Triple]

[paradife-loft]

the-mirador

replied to your post

“more mdzs novel bloggin. - explicit exposition that Jin Guangshan had...”

i think the discussion in the second paragraph is why i preferred the frame job in the show, because i didn't sense any sort of shift in /how/ he was controlling Wen Ning at any point, such that /he/ would believe that he lost control? (like tbh the way the scene was shot made it seem weird to me that he didn't immediately assume something fishy was going on). so it's disappointing to me that given what you've described, there's not a significant difference in terms of what he's actually doing that would make "losing control" more credible. i will say that i tentatively prefer the "framed" version, because i don't feel like i have a good enough sense of how the magic system works to understand why he fumbled, such that it would feel to me like more of a consequence of the general system of magic being used rather than the specific technique/intent, if that makes sense? and while i would like a more morally gray WWX, i'd prefer that to be about him committing /intentional/ acts of violence than taking on something he couldn't quite control. but that's just my preference.

woooo, awake/not at work/generally capable of replying to this now! I definitely feel what you’re saying here, and I think this plus some other discussion I’ve seen today about adaptational differences is all going to inform the, sort of free-association ramble below. so:

the point about the magic system! it occupies a weird space for me because in either medium, the magic is really only sketched out briefly, through implications a lot of the time, and in drips and pieces throughout the whole story - but also I’m the sort of person who compulsively and in many instances subconsciously tries to assemble the pieces of magic in a story into a comprehensive whole, filling in gaps in much more detail than an original canon gives us? so while I absolutely can be (and had been) automatically tossing up all manner of hypotheses that made sense to me for how WWX could have lost control of his powers, I find it frustrating for the text itself not to provide an account of what specifically happened in Wen Ning’s case, when the setup of that scene in particular makes me want a more detailed explanation of what went wrong to go from “WN fighting a hundred ranged combatants” to “WN now in melee, punching through a dude’s chest”. did he finish off the 100 archers and come down to help WWX, picking any target at random? did Jin Zixuan showing up emit a “delicious high-cultivation life energy, come and get it!” signal to any fierce corpses around that would prompt him to ditch the lowbie archers for a more interesting target? had WWX been keeping a part of his mind focused on an order to WN to control who he was attacking, and the destruction of his gift for Jin Ling fucked up his emotional control and focus such that his argument with JZX got mixed into the “orders for who Wen Ning should murder” channel? there’s implications that this latter is how we’re supposed to read it, but because throughout the scene there’s not... actually any narration of orders being given to Wen Ning in any format at all, it’s still very much a “who knows?!” situation.

and for that matter - the combination of logistics and lackluster explanatory narration that kills that scene, feels even more striking when compared to the very next instance of WWX losing control, in the battle at Nightless City. first, we have a context that makes what’s going on a lot more obvious and plausible, in addition to imo some stronger narration of what is actually happening for Wei Wuxian’s internal perspective. like: he’s pretty clearly unleashing a whole bunch of corpses, directing them to kill anyone on this battlefield except the Jiang sect disciples. he’s explicitly said to be in a volatile emotional state, furious and then terrified once Jiang Yanli shows up; and his panic is destroying the control he’s able to exert over the corpses. JYL is one of many potential targets to a large number of corpses in the exact same area (not a single corpse up until now on a different part of the battlefield). WWX specifically issues an order to the corpse coming after JYL, which is ignored; and later, when he exerts great effort to steady his mind, he’s able to make them obey him again and stop killing.

I think a part of the trouble I have with using “Wei Wuxian loses control of his cultivation abilities and kills people he didn’t want to” as a part of his moral greyness, is that perhaps ironically, I haven’t really gotten the impression in the novel that him losing control of those abilities was something likely that he should have weighed more heavily in his decisions to continually use demonic cultivation in the first place. and this might be a failure on the part of my memory, but - I felt like I got the sense that his control over himself and the spirits he commanded was much more volatile and likely to blow up in his face during the drama, not the novel. and since the ethical value of a loss of control is about whether it’s something foreseeable and possible to take precautions against, rather than whether it happens at all - the two versions feel almost mismatched to me.

(if you want “morally grey due to intentional acts of violence committed,” though, what seems like a real shame to me is actually the difference in the scene a bit after Qiongqi Path, where WWX finds the bunch of low-level cultivators being assholes about the Wens and goes to town on them. the drama version of this scene is kind of ambiguous about what’s actually happening to these people, but in the novel, WWX actually does a lot of curb-stomp \-battle grievous bodily harm to this batch of nobodies - breaks some legs, kicks out a guy’s teeth, etc. - just as a directionless expression of his rage. it’s good.)

....I think ultimately where I’m settling, as far as what my “bits of multiple versions mashed together personal canon” comes out to, is having the Qiongqi Path incident be a framing, but the Nightless City scene not be? keeping both incidents as pure loss of control on WWX’s part feels a bit like it blunts the impact of what’s going on with his mental state once he thinks WQ & WN have been killed - is the recapitulation of his major trauma more or less equivalent to the (admittedly shitty) way he’s treated when ambushed by JZX? and besides that, the specific outcome of the Nightless City incident, Yanli getting hurt, just seems more likely to happen as a result of a loss of control compared to the specific dead-Jin-Zixuan outcome of Qiongqi Path. (since there are also plenty of other ways in which Qiongqi Path is a setup, adding in yet another layer of that doesn’t feel quite so... exonerating, as making the additional deaths at Nightless City not WWX’s fault does? at least that’s my opinion.) so doing a little bit of each version I think ultimately... preserves the level of competence WWX is always shown as having with his abilities - a competence that only breaks down under a truly extraordinary circumstance - while also not wiping him morally spotless in the department of being too reckless and uncaring, and thus getting innocents/his loved ones hurt in the process.

[go-forth-and-live]

Types of Intelligence Meme || Accepting!

intrapersonal   ⸺   the capacity to understand oneself and one’s thoughts and feelings, and to use such knowledge in planning and directioning one’s life. not only an appreciation of the self, but also of the human condition.

@hyakiru​ @nxctiphany​

OH BOY “knowing thyself” is really not one of Hazel’s strong suits tbh. 

So there’s one thing that really shines through a lot in Reload. Hazel’s sense of self-worth and value is mostly based on external things--the perceptions other people have of him. When Ukoku asks him what it is he wants Bishop Filbert to acknowledge him for, he says “I wanted him to need me. We’re not blood related, and there’s nothing definite that connects us; so I wanted him to acknowledge my existence.” Like I can’t really overemphasize the importance of what this means to him. Hazel, ever since he was a child, has been constantly seeking a sense of purpose through the validation and approval of other people. He sees his value solely based on his function to the people he loves. 

What Ukoku tells him is that human beings have no intrinsic worth--that their value is determined arbitrarily by the subjective view of others, and that these things are always in flux. A positive perception of someone could easily skew negative, and vice versa, based on someone’s mood or impression of you. 

Hazel internalizes this hard. And the problem with basing your entire personal perception off others opinions, and living your life in pursuit of that validation, is... well, first of all, it’s never going to be enough for you, right? Even if you get the validation you’re after, your sense of purpose and value is coming from something outside yourself that you can’t control. You’re always going to be fighting to keep it and hold onto it. Beyond that, you also don’t--really know who you are. Hazel crafts certain fictions about himself throughout Reload, and he believes them, because he has to. Because it’s the thing that lets him keep pushing eastward, that keeps him focused on his goals, that keeps him from falling the fuck apart. 

He believed that becoming an exorcist was the only way to secure his place in Filbert’s life, because the alternative was believing that nothing really connected them and that Filbert would never see him as family. He believed that his powers of necromancy were something given to him, personally, specifically, and that they are pulling him towards a mission. A purpose. That he’s crossed the sea to Do Right and Save Humanity and that’s his quest, that’s what he was meant to do. He ties his value to his powers of resurrection, and he expects that’s the primary value others see in him too. All the constant praise he gets from the people he saves just hammers that in deeper. 

By the end of Reload, Hazel has come to realize that he was wrong. The powers he thought made him special were--really just a matter of random chance. A scared kid who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Not only that, but the powers he believed were a gift of divine providence to him were powers he was leeching from a literal demon that was possessing his body. But he also knows, I think, that the... other things were wrong too. That Filbert loved him unconditionally. Gat destroyed Hazel’s soul-hoarding pendant (their safeguard to ensure that Hazel could revive him when needed) and died to protect him, because he saw Hazel’s worth. Not for what he could do but just for who he was. For nothing that Hazel ever had to consciously prove.

What’s good about where Reload leaves him, imo, is that now that he’s had these realizations, he can do something with them. Hazel has to learn to understand himself better now, to see his own intrinsic worth and value, in part because he now has to deal with the fact that he has this monster inside of him. On a practical level, he has to develop that sense of self-awareness, to keep Varahal from taking over his body ever again.  

Seeing Hazel weep over Gat’s bandanna breaks my heart every time I see it, but there’s an odd sort of hope there. That on a metaphorical level, Hazel can and will be able to accept the darkest parts of himself, and for the first time, find a sense of meaning and purpose that is self-defined. And while I doubt he’s ever coming back in the comics, I like to think that the Hazel developing somewhere off the panels is gradually taking steps towards being a wiser, more empathetic, and more self-actualized person.