#I don’t feel like this happened even 20% as often when I was a teenager but I was out as gay not bisexual then idk if that changes anything

[junglejim4322]

After years and years of not disclosing my sexuality I am amazed by the sudden uptick of straight guys who will admit to me they’re attracted to men to some extent it’s like the second the opportunity arises they enter catholic confession mode and I’m the bisexual pope

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Character Driven vs. Plot Driven

I had someone message me asking what these terms meant and which Miraculous was and if it explained the writing, especially in context of the ending of season five and that's not something I can answer in a quick reply, so you all get a post instead!

Intro

At first glance, “character driven” and “plot driven” are somewhat confusing terms because almost every story has characters making choices that make things happen and almost every story has some kind of plot that's driving the action, so what do these terms even mean? Why do we use them?

The answer is that we generally don’t? These are high-level categorizations that I’ve almost exclusively seen talked about in things like writing classes where the instructor is trying to help you figure out your style preferences or perhaps painting a genre in broad strokes. I rarely see these terms come up when discussing specific works because they’re not that useful in the mirco. They never excuse or explain writing choices the way something like genre might because genre is a meaningful category and these really aren't. They're too vauge.

Also, as with many such binary categorizations, there’s a spectrum here. On one side is pure plot-driven and on the other is pure character-driven and in between them are most of the stories you'll consume in your life. In spite of that minor issue, I am going to start by defining what these two terms mean at their most extremes because that is relevant to the discussion. We’ll then use Miraculous to get into the nuance of the spectrum.

Character Driven

Character-driven narratives are stories that focus heavily on characters doing – or not doing – things because of their unique personalities, thoughts, and feelings. Stories where the events unfold almost entirely because of who the characters are and what very personal choices they make. Switch the characters and the story would look wildly different or even not exist at all.

When I think of pure character-driven works, I generally think of coming-of-age stories where there’s almost no plot to speak of. It’s just a teenage character struggling with life and learning to accept it. Character studies are another good example.

Plot Driven

Plot-driven narratives are stories that you're engaging with for something other than the characters. The characters are just set pieces that are there to be used by the plot. This means that the characters are probably making choice, but we’re not going to focus on the deep, nuanced reasons for those choices. Change the characters and the choices remain the same because the story is focused on something beyond the characters.

When I think of pure plot-driven stories, I think of stereotypical action movies. Movies where the villain is throwing things at the hero and the hero is overcoming them as fast as they can and so much is happening that you barely even know who these characters are because you're not here for the characters. You're here for the action, so it's fine if the characters are pretty generic. Mystery stories also tend to fit this category as those are often just about the mystery and the characters that aren’t developed beyond what is needed for the puzzle to work.

Nuance

So which is Miraculous?

If we must pick a side, then it’s going to be plot driven because that is Miraculous’ main writing style. It’s not here to study the characters and let them drive the action. It’s here to entertain kids in 20-minute-long chunks where the kids don’t need to know the greater context of who the characters are in order to get what is going on. Pick a random episode and it’s probably going to be one where a random akuma shows up and where everything that happens will never come up again. That is not what character-driven narratives look like. This is not a show brimming with things like Chat Blanc and the season five final. Those are exceptions to the rule.

However, the existence of those episodes and the fact that some of the characters aren't interchangeable shows that this isn’t a purely plot-driven show. The writers do want the characters to effect the world in unique ways decided by their personalities and motivations and relationships. Those are character-driven elements and is why these categories are kind of meaningless in this context. Plot driven vs character driven doesn’t justify or explain Miraculous’ writing choices because many of the writing choices make no sense in either type of story!

Narratives that are mainly plot-driven are not narratives plagued by poor characterization. They’re just ones where the characterization elements aren’t the main focus. You still want your characters to feel authentic and make sense and you can even have moments where the action is effected by who the characters are because plot-driven isn’t some hard rule. As I said at the start, it’s just a general categorization! Genre and format are infinitely more limiting and worthy of discussion because they actually come with some pretty clear rules.

Dunking on Miraculous

The problem with Miraculous is not that the plot is the main driving force of the action. The problem is that characters often make no sense! They act widely out of character for the sake of dragging out the plot, which is the plot driving the narrative, but that doesn’t make it good writing! “Because plot” is not an excuse, it’s just an explanation. In fact, because the show so often ignores the characters’ personalities for the sake dragging out the plot, it actually undermines the entire story because it feels cheap when the story tries to use the characters’ personalities to justify further delays Oh, now you’re letting this matter? Really? How nice. F-off.

Here are some examples of what I mean about the plot-driven nature of the show making inauthentic characters:

Alya is obsessed with finding out everything she can about the miraculous and even becomes a full-time team member in season four with the explicit job of tracking down the butterfly and the peacock, but she never does anything meaningful in that role. We never see her trying to track down the villains even though her character would absolutely do that. Her lack of action is wildly inauthentic.

Gabriel and Nathalie learn all of the temp heroes identities at the end of season three and make two minor efforts to do something with that information that before letting their god-tier knowledge fizzle to nothing even though those same temp heroes never stop being used. This is out of character for both of them, especially Nathalie. In a story that was true to its characters, this would have meaningful consequences such as all the temp heroes having to be benched and/or the villains guessing that Ladybug is someone who knows these people since they have some obvious connections.

The secret identities are the only reason Ladybug lost all of the miraculous at the end of season four and Adrien knows this. The season also ends with Ladybug promising to trust him more and the next season opens on an episode where she does just that. In spite of this, Adrien never even tries to tell her about the secret identity thing and Ladybug never seems to become more open with her partner because, if the show did those things, then an identity reveal would happen and they can't let that happen so, once again, plot trumps characterization.

When a show is plagued by asinine choices such as these while also trying to claim it has these overarching plots and meaningful character beats, the story can come to feel disingenuous and frustrating to a lot of fans. That’s why we can get something as divisive as the season five ending. Because of the poor writing that lead up to that final, it’s hitting different people in different ways depending on how tolerant they are of a lot of the shows previous flaws.

Would it be hard for Marinette to tell Adrien the truth? Sure! That struggle is - in theory - a genuinely good character beat, but it falls flat for many because it comes after multiple seasons of forced, inauthentic delaying tactics that spat in the face of established characterization for basically every meaningful character. With those in mind, it’s hard to view the secret keeping as some authentic, meaningful choice for Marinette’s character when she and many others have been denied so many other authentic, meaningful choices.

This is extra true because her choice to keep both Adrien and Chat Noir in the dark just compounds the issue of the authentic growth that Marinette has been denied! I briefly touched on this in that last example in my list, but we just spent an entire season watching her and Chat Noir maintain their distance in spite of that being something that should have changed based on the character-based events of the last season. Remember, season four gave us this moment in Penalteam:

Ladybug: (looks around them and frowns) I'm sorry, I've been a bad captain. I played a solo game, I forgot we're a team. I'm gonna need all of you now, more than ever. Rooster Bold: Are you sure? I'm not really.. Ladybug: You're an excellent player, Rooster Bold. That's why I chose you. That's why I chose all of you! Let's play together, and bring all of our individual strengths together onto the field!

And this moment in the final, which is the two-part episode directly after Penalteam:

Ladybug: Why don't you just give up on me? I've lost ALL the Miraculous! I'm the worst Guardian EVER! I wanted to control everything, I didn't listen to you, I lied to you, I kept you at a distance! Every time you offered me a helping hand, I never took it! I really made a mess of EVERYTHING! (continues sobbing)

We are, as always, going to ignore that these things don't really match the story that season four told and instead take them at face value since this is the stated lesson. The viewers are being directly told that Ladybug went into season five having learned to trust others and stop keeping Chat Noir at a distance.

But did she? What actually changed in season five? I can't think of anything. Season five maintained all of the secrets and ended by adding new ones. We also had to suffer through Marinette doing absolutely nothing to try to find the missing kwamis even though that is wildly inauthentic to her character. Once that girl has a problem to solve, she obsesses over it! It's one of the few things that consistently gets her acting normal around Adrien, so why did her brain shut off and go full-Adrien for all of season five?

Add in the fact that a major plot of season five was outing Lila's lies and lies being bad and Marinette keeping this secret falls incredibly flat both plot-wise and character-wise. There's a reason that one of the main justification people use for the lie is a scarf from season one that we have literally never seen again and that Marinette never actually lied about. The show simply did not set itself up to make Marinette's lie feel like some authentic character beat. The best justification most people can give is that a 14-year-old would probably struggle to reveal this secret.

To be fair, that is a believable justification. That's believability is why the season five ending could have genuinely worked in a better show where the characters felt more authentic or even if it came much earlier in the story. If this was the season two ending, then I think that most people would be engaged by it and I’d probably even be defending Marinette’s actions because this is a massive thing to put on someone’s shoulders and she was early in her journey. Heck, I have defended her actions by pointing out that she was the last-informed of the group of people in the know and none of them are telling Adrien, so this is not all on her.

But that's the best I can do while being authentic to the story because this lie isn’t part of a story with authentic characters. Marinette has not been set up to lie like this and the lie is being told at the end of a season full of poor storytelling after multiple seasons of stalling tactics, making it impossible to take this lie seriously. Even if Miraculous was a primarily character-driven show, you can’t use that to justify the lie while ignoring all the poor characterization that surrounds it. The writers gave Marinette the kind of journey that should lead to her being brave enough to tell the truth, not the kind of journey where she was too much of a coward to tell the truth. The writing also never set up Nathalie or Kagami as the kind of people who would just bow to Marinette's wishes. It is glaringly obvious that this is all happening as a delaying tactic and not because it's a good choice for the characters or the plot.

[maxdibert]

How would James's and Sirius's targeting and bullying of Snape look like if they were adults? In college Hogwarts. Would their peers or authority intervene more? How would it look like? Would it even happen if they were pretty much adults?

I don’t know how universities are elsewhere, but in Europe? People (unless they’re living in dorms or student housing) couldn’t care less about each other. You have people you barely see in a few classes, others you might share schedules with but not courses. Campuses are often spread across cities, not concentrated in one single location. So I just can’t picture bullying on that scale in a university setting. First of all, it’s not a boarding school context—you can’t expect adults to be in a residential system unless Hogwarts was more of a specialization academy than a university. If that were the case, then maybe.

But here’s my second issue: I can’t imagine James and Sirius bullying Severus the same way as adults. Adults bully, sure, but it’s usually more psychological—ostracizing someone at work, spreading rumors... It’s not as physical, you know? Also, the idea of people over 15 calling themselves The Marauders... Ugh, I’d laugh in their damn faces. In a school setting, it makes sense—it’s a childish nickname in a childish environment. But can you imagine that in an adult context? Who the hell would take them seriously? I’d die laughing at them, honestly.

In an adult setting, I think the other people around them would feel super uncomfortable witnessing their behavior. No one would join in on their jokes, and they’d probably end up being sidelined and ignored. Like, who wants to hang out with a bunch of over-20s who are acting like brainless idiots, constantly pulling unfunny pranks? Whose sense of humor is on par with a squid with trisomy? Who think they’re so cool for giving people insulting nicknames while calling each other Padfoot, Prongs, and Moony? I mean, seriously—how are you giving other people nicknames to mock them when those are what you call yourselves?

Honestly, as an adult, I find what the Marauders did believable because they were teenagers, and in a teenage context, a lot of behavior gets a pass that would be utterly cringeworthy in the adult world. But the Marauders in an adult setting, acting the same way? Absolute cringe. I think they’d try to make fun of Severus, and the rest of the people would be like, “What are you doing? Are you stupid? This is embarrassing, stop.”

Because honestly? They’d be so embarrassing.

[taylortruther]

I want the entire cardigan demo explained. I still don’t think she had the characters of james, august, and betty in mind when she wrote the song, especially since it’s the first one she worked on with aaron. I’ve always believed that story came later when she and joe wrote betty together, and she changed certain parts of cardigan and august to create a cohesive narrative. ‘Peter leaving Wendy’ and ‘Peter losing Wendy’ are two very different lines, and it makes me think she changed the lyric to the latter to make it fit into the love triangle where betty is more mature than james. ‘I knew I’d wish you would’ve changed your mind?’ ‘I knew you’d haunt all of my what-ifs?’ the original lyrics make it sound like he didn’t want to be with her/changed the ending where they stay together or perhaps where wendy outgrows him by cheating and leaving. saying she knew all of this makes it sound like she’s already experienced all of those emotions upon reflection, and they got back together. she’s imagining what she might think about this situation years down the road as she looks back on how they ultimately couldn’t stay away from each other. ‘I knew you’d miss me once the moment died’ seems to imply he left to be with someone else but realized he’d actually lost ‘the one.’ all of these lyrics add context to ‘your faithless love’s the only hoax I believe in’ and ‘what you did was just as dark.’ granted, I’m not even necessarily saying all of this happened in 2019-20. maybe she was looking back on when they first fell in love. but idk, I feel like we’re missing some information about something major that she felt the need to write about but couldn’t address directly without creating some sort of narrative around it. I guess the main thing that gives me pause is that we SAW them so often in 2018-19, but that logic is so flawed? you don’t actually know what’s going on in their lives even if you make educated guesses. they were insanely private after all. idk idk. thonking

i would really love a deep dive from her for these reasons too! the perspective from which betty is writing is REALLY interesting. like, yeah, why is she reflecting on a teenage moment as an adult? did it happen again? her grieving sounds so PRESENT, not just reflective.

also thank you for thonking as usual.

[obibail]

sometimes you have such big emotions about tiny minor characters with barely there backstories that you give them semi-fleshed out backstories to be sad about, i guess. anyway, i love rolan, cal, & lia so much

Age-wise, Rolan is obviously the oldest, and Cal has middle sibling who always has to play the peacekeeper vibes but it also feels like he should be the youngest. Rolan is probably in his late 20s, whereas Cal and Lia are probably early to mid-early 20s. It’s also entirely possibly that they’re twins.

but so. Rolan says “gone” and not “dead” when asked about his family when you cast speak with dead on him and that makes me think he’s been not orphaned but abandoned by his family. It would also explain why he says he’s “just Rolan,” and doesn’t mention a family name. Sure, lots of people within Faerun may not have family names and maybe he legitimately doesn’t, but it could also point towards him being stripped of or rejecting his family name, especially considering he was from a human-majority city that would likely have a surname custom. Which could also explain why he is so fixated on becoming a powerful wizard and chasing a destiny because he was abandoned by his family, he denies or was denied his family name — possibly because he’s a tiefling (considering that canonically tiefling lineage can be dormant and come out in generations even with entirely human or otherwise fully planar humanoid parents) — and made to feel like he was wrong, a mistake, like he was nothing, like he was worthless. He’s going to prove them undeniably wrong.

It could also also explain why he is so protective (beyond the obvious that he loves and cares about them immensely) of Cal and Lia and gets so angry at himself and at the pc when he can’t save them on his own and instead has to be saved, because he takes it as a personal failing that he’s not good enough or strong enough to protect the people he loves. It could also explain why he is so hesitant/can’t quite accept that Cal and Lia have so obviously claimed him as family because his blood family abandoned him and he can’t quite accept that his chosen family chose him. He didn’t just chose them, they actively chose him.

If he was abandoned, I think it happened decently early on in his life but he was old enough that he knew why they were leaving and for it to shape him growing up. Pre-teen, but definitely older than 7 or 8. If he was actually orphaned, it was as a much younger child, but I don’t think so. There’s so much bitter bitter resentment and anger and a lot of externalized self-hatred in this man that does not mesh with being orphaned, and especially not with being orphaned young, at least in my mind. (There’s also an acceptance of being treated not just badly but legitimately abusively. Even though he knows he could take on Lorroakan and win, he accepts being beaten because he thinks he needs to. Get this man therapy.)

Either way he likely spends the last half of his childhood/early adulthood in an orphanage where he is often overlooked or outright mistreated because of his heritage. It’s also possible that this is how he meets Cal and Lia, who would’ve been taken into the orphanage’s care when their parents died. Which works vaguely with my idea of their ages, Rolan being solidly a teenager and Lia and Cal somewhere around 10 to 13 when they meet.

With Cal and Lia, I believe quite strongly that they were definitely orphaned rather than being abandoned. Adventurer parents maybe, considering their strong senses (especially Lia’s) of justice and morality and their desire to help people, as well as their obvious appreciation for found family and their dedication to adopting Rolan. Doting parents who fostered incredibly strong familial bonds and who loved their children dearly, but put saving others over raising those children, especially as they got older. Possibly their parents died while out adventuring, leaving them orphans probably just before their teens, old enough to know what their parents were doing and how they died but also young enough to internalize and romanticize the idea that they died heroes protecting people who couldn’t protect themselves.

I also just love the idea of these devastated newly orphaned kids with hero parents dedicating themselves through their grief to befriending an incredibly reclusive and resentful Rolan who is so close to aging out of the system that he’s just biding his time for the day the orphanage kicks him out. He would be SO resistant to being befriended, especially by two pre-teens, deadset against being vulnerable and letting people close enough to hurt him after a lifetime of being rejected and overlooked, but Cal and Lia are stupid stubborn and deadset on befriending him and don’t give up until they’ve done it. Attach themselves at the hip to him and refuse to budge.

He ages out of the system when they’ve only been there a year or so, and by then the three of them are nearly inseparable and a touch codependent, and so being separated takes a toll on all three of them. Cal and Lia spend another few months there before they kind of just… run away in the middle of the night and move into Rolan’s tiny room that he can barely afford. They make it work.

[lulu-spooks]

Getting sad on the blog again but you know what this is my blog I can be sad when I want. Time for a little vent. Except it got quite long and is now rather organised. Does this count as a vent. I did paragraphs.

I have always had an impeccable memory for my past. I’m not so good with short term stuff like remembering the order of a recipe or a which clothes my brother wants put in the washing machine but I’ve always had an excellent memory for my childhood. There is very little I value more than my memory. I remember crawling on my grandmas kitchen floor and I remember every game I played in pre-school. I can tell you about the day I learned the word friendship and thought it must be some kind of boat.

The grey areas, the ones where memories disappear most often, are the times when my mum hurt me. Physically, emotionally, the times when she degraded me in public, online, to her friends, to my friends, to my teachers, to my doctor. I have vague recollections that these things happened but sometimes I don’t remember the circumstances or the words that were said. I mostly just remember crying. And when the tears stopped I just remember the numb feeling. Or texting my dad to come help me.

I started writing it down eventually. But I was conscious that a diary was never safe. She’d read my diary before, tore out some pages and I’d found them in her closet. But I wrote it down anyway and I eventually came up with a list of 20 things I knew for certain she had done to remind me that I wasn’t crazy every time she backed me into a corner or called me names. That list kept me sane.

I’ve read again and again that it’s my brain trying to protect me when I forget things. I think it would have been more useful for me to remember them. Because when she kicked me out It took only a few days for me to question if I’d chosen to leave. It never made it better that I was the only one she treated like this. My siblings lived in a battlefield of a house but at least they were on the winning side.

She’s nice to me now. She’s happier. I go round every month or so. I listen to her talk about the job she hates, the jokes her internet friends make (she lost a lot of her real-life friends when they found out what she did to me. There are small wins in every situation) and I usually make her a chilli or a banana bread. She still requests I make them out of the most expensive ingredients but insists I pay. We have a largely positive acquaintance relationship. She must have figured out by now that I visit to see my cat, not her. She keeps talking about how I need to spend more quality time with her. She has never come to see me in Wales even once.

I know she was having a rough time when I was a teenager. It doesn’t excuse the things she did. But I think it must have been harder to be her than be around her. I won’t lie and say that I don’t see the old her peaking out sometimes. When I’m at her house and I load the dishwasher wrong or I spend too long on the sofa I can sense something in her voice that made my teenage years a misery. It’s not like I really remember the voice but I can feel it in my arms and legs. It’s like my body remembers what used to happen in this house but my brain can’t quite figure it out why I’m scared.

It’s been odd these past two years, not feeling that at all. I come home and I’m not in trouble for something I didn’t do. I can spend all evening on the sofa if I want. My room is allowed to be messy. My house is cold. It gets damp, the shower is a piece of crap, the oven barely works, and there are literal holes in the ceiling. And it’s the best place I’ve ever been.

It doesn’t stop me questioning wether it would be good to move back. Which is stupid. But part of me still wants to get on my knees and beg for forgiveness. Which is why I have particular beef with my brain. It made me forget all that to protect me, so that I’d want to go back immediately. What could possibly be the reason for that. I can only liken it to the feeling of standing on a cliff edge and getting the unshakeable urge to jump. And the brain gets so wrapped up in itself that your limbs have to take over and drag you back from the edge.

I owe a lot to my muscle memory. It’s the one thing that has consistently served me well in these situations. When I was 17 I begged my mum for a hug because it had been so many years since she’d hugged me last. And she did. And my body has never forgotten how cold that hug was. I can still feel it now. I don’t remember much of the conversation that preceded it. But that is the only hug I can remember from my mum since I was 5.

I think that tells me everything I should consider before I move back.

[just-antithings]

A recent published study showed that about half of gen-z doesn’t want to see sex in media

“sex and sexual content is not needed for the plot of most TV & movies.”

And they want to “see more content focused on friendships and platonic relationships.”

I’ve seen both proshippers and antis pick this study up, some proshippers (and adults in general) are blaming gen z for being so puritanical. And I can understand that, there’s actually less sex that’s being featured in movies (about 2% only, including 20 seconds of showing some skin as well as actors wearing skin colored dresses) so I want to know what they’re seeing

but on the other hand I also feel like they don’t realize what CAUSES gen z to have this aversion to sex / sexual content. And I immediately think of two things:

The internet getting smaller. Adults and minors are forced to share the same platforms with lacking boundaries and weak enforcing of punishment when it comes to TOS violation. You can make violent threats on Twitter for example and even if you report it, it’s not often removed. Same thing happens when you report adults who don’t tag their nsfw posts correctly

Explicit material in pop culture. Minors are exposed to sexually explicit material in mainstream pop culture, memes, songs etc now, at too early an age, and it warps how they feel about appropriate sex scenes in TV and movies when they get older.

It’s too easy to find porn on the internet, even with safe search on, even if you haven’t turned on “sensitive media” features which are required for apps like Twitter/reddit/tumblr etc. It's in-your-face and exhausting. I hate wading through it so I can't imagine how teenagers feel.

Can you send me the link to the study? I’d love to look at it more for myself

[a-heart-like-a-sparrow]

January 8th, 2025 - It happened to me.

Yes, I know it's Jan 9th already, I ran out of time to post this earlier. And I don't want to leave it incomplete and edit it later.

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I've just realized I've been writing "2024" on my entries. My bad.

So last night I listened to "Perverts" by Ethel Cain, with the volume a bit over the healthy maximum, in the dark of my room. I even turned off the fan to listen everything.

I was speechless.

I know little to nothing about music or art in general (even though I literally stay alive for it), but for me it's a masterpiece, even if sometimes it doesn't even count as music.

It may sound like I'm being pretencious, but I think some people just don't get it. Like, you have to open your mind and allow yourself to feel it in order to understand the album. It's just facts.

Or maybe I'm just a sensitive idiot.

Either way, today I'd like to write down my thoughts and feelings I had when I listened to each song, accompanied by my favourite lines from each one.

It's not a lot, but it's my diary and I can say whatever I want. Don't expect some good critical analysis, I'm just an emotional teenager on their period.

Let's see if this makes him get interested in this album. I hope so. (See more)

Perverts

"Fast, reckless driving often leads to slow, sad music."

"It's happening to everybody."

I'm not gonna lie, I was TERRIFIED. I mean, I already knew there was gonna be a weird, creepy vibe just by looking at the album cover... but I was not prepared for it.

Punish

Maybe it was the silence or the distorted voice, but fuck, what a way to start the journey. I was expecting some loud noise to appear at some point, and that made me feel even more scared.

But I think it works. I think the dread induced by the song matches with all the themes in the album. There are other songs that I prefer over this one tho.

And no, it's not an EP, fuck you. It's an album. It has 9 songs, and it's over an hour. Get over it.

"Only God knows, only God would believe that I was an angel, but they made me leave."

I guess it's because I've already listened to this song a couple of times, so I got used to it. But I used to feel such a deep sadness when I'd listen to it.

Housofpsychoticwomn

The faint creaking in the backround is so depressing and... is it me or is she moaning out of pain after the firsr chorus? I don't know, but it sounded great.

And the guitar. Oh God, the guitar. That's the best part of the whole song.

It felt like overwhelming shame. I loved it.

"Do you think you know how to give up? Do you think you understand what it means to be loved? You don’t, and you never will. But I can tell you right now it’s beautiful.

It is such a precious thing to be loved. Such a precious, magnificent thing to be loved. Such a wondrous and painful thing to be loved.

When you were young, you said you wished that someone loved you.

I do.

I do.

I do.

I do.

I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you."

I'm not saying this is true, maybe it's not at all, but I believe you can give two meanings to every song. The meaning related to "the perverts", and the meaning related to Ethel Cain's 'philosophy' (the whole thing about the ring, the divine theatre, proximity to god).

I like the "perverts" meaning more. The one about an intense or sickening love perceived as "abnormal" by everyone.

Vacillator

Wait, am I just projecting here? Probably. But that's all I could think about.

It didn't scare me as much as "Perverts", but it is a bit uncomfortable.

Fun fact: Turns out there's an audio of a porn video in this song... I thought it was just Ethel's recording.

"I could make you cum 20 times a day." (pure poetry right here)

"If you love me, keep it to yourself." (my actual favourite line)

I'm trying, I'm really trying not to say "literally me" with this album... but it's hard.

Onanist

Like, I get it. I feel it. All the fucking time. I am the supreme vacillator. I'm sorry, I needed to say it. I felt seen.

And I'm kinda glad this track is here. I needed a break from everything before it... And I definitely needed more after it.

For me it's like a sad version of "Unpunishable". Am I the only one? (Yes.)

"I want to know love. I want to know what it feels like.

It feels good. It feels good. It feels good. It feels good. It feels good. It feels good. It feels good. It feels good. It feels..."

Pulldrone

To be honest, I don't have anything in particular to say. I just really liked the piano.

I thought the phrase "Heaven has forsaken the masturbator" that was on Ethel's merch was going to be on this track, not "Perverts". But I'm glad it was on the album anyway. It'd been my Roman empire for a while.

"Lo, wellspring of knowledge, of feeling, of sensation. Beauty, overwhelming. I will dislocate my jaw to fit it all in."

"I was an angel, though plummeting. The stars are as beams shining through the wheel. I am sure that Hell must be cold."

"Therein lies sacred geometry of onanism, of ouroboros, of punishment. I am that I was as I no longer am for I am nothing."

The first part about the 12 Pillars of Simulacrum was great, loved it.

But the noise was pissing me off lol

Etienne

It felt like the end of the world. It was terrifying, but not as much as "Perverts", maybe because the latter was pure silence for the most part, and that was creepier.

Just like "Housofpsychoticwomn", I think it could have two meanings.

On one hand, it's the end, and the sense of doom felt when you realized you won't be forgiven for your perversion. On the other hand, it's the constant attempts to go through the ring again, the need to go back to the divine theatre, go through the veil and meet god (whatever you think "god" means), which inevitably ends with "Degradation", "Annahilation", "Desolation".

Either way, it's an incredible part.

"And after this had been going on for a week, he felt so good that he didn't want to kill himself anymore."

Thatorchia

I cried a little bit with that voice, right after this track ended. I don't know why. Could this be the most positive part of the album tho? I'm not sure.

I always complain about how I feel so intensely everything all the time. But at that moment, listening to this album, oh, how grateful I was for being able to feel. How fortunate.

[This one's just instrumental.]

I... don't have anything to say either. I think at this point I was just exhausted and I didn't care a lot about this track. But it's a great song anyway. Not my favourite, but it's not bad at all, I gotta say it.

Amber Waves

"Because the devil I know is the devil I want."

"Yet here I am empty, watching love of mine leave. But I'll be alright. Me and my amber waves, I'll be alright."

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

I cried during the whole song. I hope my mother was asleep and never heard me sobbing in my room.

There's just something about the first notes that makes me so sad. It obviously had to be my favourite track.

I prefer the meaning about a drug addict, but I can see it as a track related to Ethel's philosophy. When you're left with the desolation, and nothing will make you feel as good as the divine theatre did. Nothing matters anymore.

She's a genius.

Ok, that's all.

I don't know if I want to listen to this album again, because I know it won't be the same.

But maybe in the future I will. I'll go outside, on a cloudy day, and listen to it on the outskirts. For the vibes.

So yeah, this is where my entry ends. Thank you for this experience, Ethel Cain. "It's happening to everybody" and DAMN, it did happen to me.

No, really.

Finally, this is my overall ranking from my most to least favourite, based on absolutely nothing. It will change in the future, I don't fully know where to put each song.

Amber Waves

Housofpsychoticwomn

Punish

Vacillator

Etienne

Perverts

Pulldrone

Onanist

Thatorchia

Ok, now I'm leaving. Rest well.

[solar-halos]

hemlines throughout history

umm pls keep in mind i’m doing this off of memory (bc when i was 14 i thought i was a fashion historian LOL) and then pics ive seen paired w my very general knowledge of wtf was going on in that decade but like idk where else to talk about hemlines throughout history so here we are. this is SORT of embarrassing sorry

1910s - this is more interesting to me than the 1920s. since wwi was Happening women stepped into the factories and needed a shorter skirt so they wouldn’t trip and fucking die. but also around this era i’ve noticed that they have the cutest fucking boots that are kinda reminiscent of a go-go boot. perhaps the intent was for the boot and the shorter skirt to meet in the middle so the ankles weren’t on full display. also do you know that advertisement marilyn monroe filmed of her skirt flying up? i think the og video was filmed in this decade (not for a movie or anything (obviously) i think they were just experimenting w the camera)

1920s - flapper era! i feel like theyre often depicted wearing skirts way above the knee, but in the early 20s, the hemline would usually stop a little below the knee so that when they walked around their entire leg wouldn’t be exposed. i think the idea of their thighs being on display is bc in the mid/later half of the decade the hemlines did eventually stop above the knee (but not by much). also it was pretty iconic for women to step out in drapey fabric with drop-waist silhouettes. also i remember when i learned the difference between a flapper and a vamp i was gagged cos i wanted to be a vamp so bad (for some reason… again i was 14 lol)

1930s - the hemline dropped, but not by much. more like above the ankle/calf territory. also the fabrics clung more tightly to the body and even movie stars wore inexpensive fabrics like rayon to imitate the glamor of silk. i don’t rlly have much else to say about this decade tbh

1940s - okay this is actually really interesting. with wwii, rationing became a huge thing, and this applied to clothing too. so in the beginning of the decade, women were wearing shorter skirts that fell to their knees. then, in the latter part of the decade, the skirts got fuller since they didn’t have to worry about rationing as much and the hemlines dropped to create a more feminine silhouette

1950s - the styles in the late 40s trickled down into to early 50s, with skirts becoming longer and dropping around mid calf. this decade was all about “taking back” the femininity women “lost” during the war so that’s why it got so flouncy and reminiscent of like the victorian era

1960s - mini skirts! kinda. the styles from the 50s also trickled down into the early 60s, so it wasn’t like a change over night thing. at first the mini skirts were less mini and more just… above the knee. then later on it got more mainstream to wear mini skirts that we’re more familiar with today. my grandma told me that when she was in school the principal or something would literally fucking measure the length of their skirts and they’d get in trouble if it was too short OR too long. but also my grandma loves lying for fun so idk how true that actually is

1970s - if i’m being honest i haven’t looked into later decades as much but if i recall correctly hemlines were kinda up to you, whether u wanted more mini or maxi lengths

1980s - okay but why were they kinda giving 40s. the boxy silhouette and shoulder pads were back in style and longer skirts got more popular. but also i feel like at this point fashion wasn’t as homogenous so obviously there were different aesthetics and cores and stuff. also not saying that fashion was completely homogenous in the other decades either (like the hobble skirt in the 10s or just the experimentation of diff silhouettes and drapes in general) but the “kids/teenagers dressing like mini adults” phenomenon was long gone so i feel like this was just one genre of style that was popular. i think heathers is kinda a perfect example of this since the Heathers are more preppy but there’s also this stoner who looks grunge adjacent

1990s (i’ll stop here) - micros got so popular in the late 90s/early 2000s but shoutout to feminism bc women weren’t pressured (as much) into wearing one specific skirt length, so minis and maxis were popular. as a matter of fact my mom said that wearing biker shorts (that u could see) under ur dresses was rlly popular when she was growing up in the 90s so i think that style came back with a VENGEANCE in the 2010s

okay i’m done. pls keep in mind that this was #justforfun so my research wasn’t that in depth it’s just what i’ve picked up from looking at old pics/doing very bare minimum google searches over the years. also! saying “women wore ___” is just me generalizing no matter the decade since fashion is crazy and even though it might have been trendy at the time it still doesn’t mean every single person was wearing it. like just look at the hobble skirts, wealthier women wore them as intended whereas working women either had to adapt the trend to their lifestyle or just abandon it entirely. i know it’s not that deep but just wanted to let it be known that im not intentionally tryna spread misinformation

[ewanmitchelll]

•Wait for me…•

Imagine it’s 1944, Aemond goes to war and he parts without knowing your feelings for him. What then?

Warnings: N/P= the name of the place of your choosing. Y/C= your college course.

Recommendations: “Wait For Me”, Kings of Leon. “Thinking of You” and “The One That Got Away” by Katy Perry.

***

The year is 1944. War is carrying further, leaving destructions everywhere, anywhere with little hopes of coming to an end. It has become part of the routine to turn the tv and see the images of bombs, armies marching against the other, scenes of extreme violence and sadness.

You, on the other hand, try to avoid watching. It’s bad enough to live in such scenario, worse to allow oneself to live with hopes. As you grow in your teenage years, you spend time with the Targaryen family in a small village located in N/P, United Kingdom. Though the big, white mansion is the summer house of that family, you more than often are seen around them.

And though everyone seems to think you and Helaena are the best of friends, it’s by Aemond’s side you are seen the most: whether riding a bike together, climbing trees or even studying.

You two know each other so well that even his mother once remarked:

“You know, Y/N. I’ve only seen Aemond smiling widely when he’s around you. Not even his family has earned such privilege.”

At which you blushed and appreciated the consideration. But even so the Targaryens are like your second family, so you feel free to be yourself around them.

So now you are getting close to celebrate your 20’s and you are about to get to university to study Y/C. Under a cork tree, right in front of the lake, you and Aemond are talking about it.

“So I want to become a y/c”, you tell him, placing your curls behind your ears, making sure not to have your hair a complete mess when you are around him, a sudden concern you try not to pay attention this much. “And after a lot of conversation with my father and my mother, they agreed! I thought they wouldn’t, but they did!”

Aemond, in turn, is surprised to find sadness upon such news. Yet, he masks well when occupying himself with lighting a cigarette.

“Does this mean you are leaving to US?”

“What? No. I wouldn’t dare to go that far”, you mumble shyly, looking down at your hands and missing the side, shy smile when he casts you a relieved glance. “You know I cannot afford crossing the ocean and establish myself.”

And yet, despite his selfishness, he finds himself saying:

“You know we could always help you. You are practically a family, Y/N.”

You smile at him and your heart skips a beat when he smiles too. Uh-oh. Oh you wish you haven’t noticed that when he is happy, your heart swoons as a result.

“I appreciate it, dear Aemond. But I wouldn’t ask you this. I.. I prefer to stay.”

“How come? There is so much you could do. I mean, I would go if I had the opportunity”, he grumbles.

You shoot him a hurt glare despite being aware that he has a complicated relationship with his father and his elder sister.

“What about me?”, you hear yourself saying and almost instantly you wish you had not opened your mouth.

But Aemond scoffs at you.

“I would take you with me, of course”, the Targaryen smiles gently when seeing you blush.

A pleasant sight to behold.

If only you knew, though…

“Well, we could always run away together despite the darkness this world has been plagued to.”

“I’d like that. Don’t see why not.”

“You are quiet today”, you remark, leaving your spot to join his side. “What’s been happening?”

Aemond sighs heavily. Looking at the horizon, he at first refuses to look at you, but you are patient. Very gently you put your hand over his shoulder and rub it.

As you wait, your eyes linger at his long silver hair, his long face with lilac eyes that often hid from others what you could easily perceive: his kindness, sense of duty, gentleness to others, loyalty to his family. Where people judged his pride, you’d find him reserved, preferring quiet occasions than lousy ones.

Oh damn it, Aemond. I think I’ve fallen for you.

The realization knocks your heart down, specially aware that you’d never be his type: he’d been in a long relationship with an older woman named Alice Rivers for about five years and the break up wasn’t easy—despite the evident relief in his family, who clearly disapproved the match.

So you remove your hand and look away, thoughtful, but nothing is yet to remain the same when Aemond, feeling the cold on the spot he appreciated the warmth of your touch, gives you the worst news you could expect.

“You know, Y/N. There is something I haven’t had the courage to tell you.” He hesitates.

You look at him, already distressed when he is careful with words—knowing Aemond is not, like when you witnessed him shouting at his older sister Rhaenyra for trying to teach him lessons about dating an older woman when she hooked up with her own uncle—, for something bad is happening. As you predict, it does.

“Yes? Aemond, darling, what is it?”

He cannot look you in the eyes when saying:

“I-I’m going to fight in the war.”

You don’t even realize you shout.

“WHAT?”

You don’t realize you start sobbing.

“W-WHY? No, Aemond! No!”

Aemond swallows his own tears before pulling you to an embrace, forbidding you to flee from his arms.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. I…I was a coward”, he speaks softly to you. “I’m sorry, Y/Nickname. I really am. But I had no choice upon this matter.”

You cast him a hurtful look without parting the embrace, his arms so tight around you that even if you wanted to, you could not get away so easily. You hug him in return, not saying a word as you two stay like this for a long while.

You understand his motivations, but you blame yourself for expecting… What exactly were you expecting, though? That one day he’d find out you have feelings for him and suddenly you’d replace Mrs Rivers in his affections? That the war would never find you and part one from the other?

“What are you thinking? Please talk to me”, he begs you, cupping your face when looking for your eyes.

“I…”

There is so much you wish you could say. But believing to be far from reaching his heart, you are stuck with your words. What comes out of tongue disappoints Aemond, whose thoughts mirror yours.

“Why must you go? This is not your war to fight.”

“You know I cannot refuse. My father’s influence along my maternal grandfather’s managed to prevent my participation in the front.”

“I bet Aegon kept instigating you about it”, you remark with evident displeasure.

“He always sought glory and in many ways, distorted these might be, he is dutiful. He’s been sent to Germany, however, and so far it’s not been so bad.”

You shake your head.

“Come on Y/Nickname”, says Aemond rather anxiously. “I must do what is expected from me. Lots of men are doing so.”

Your eyes are full of protest, Aemond can tell they do, but your gentle nature softens it.

“As long as you come back to us whole, well and alive.”

Aemond gives a smile before taking your hands and kissing each, which makes you giggle.

“I promise you, Y/N. I promise you I’ll come back.”

And he is yet to say something—his impulsiveness seems to realize that he must profess how ardently he loves you before he goes to war—when Lord Otto, his grandfather, comes after you.

“So is it here your secret spot, children?”, the older male laughs away as you two instantly part from each other, and he finds quite absurd how you can’t see what is evident to everyone. “Well, I lament to intrude but Aemond, General Lannister is waiting for you. Apparently you are needed urgently. Your poor mother is already weeping.”

Lord Otto nods at you and there is little time to say anything. Aware how Aemond is colder in front of his relatives, you expect nothing but a quick goodbye. But Aemond hesitates. All he does, though, is look into your eyes, seeing something in them.

I wish I could investigate what there is in your y/c eyes, Y/N. I wonder if you feel the way I do… May God spare me and let me know if you when I come back.

Thoughts that do not, however, reach out for his tongue.

“Take care, Y/N. I’ll see you around.”

He knows… Aemond knows that, without waiting for your response, the moment he turns, you’ll weep. He is forced to swallow his own tears.

And he is right. You are left in silent tears, hating yourself for never telling how much he means to you.

***

A year later… Oxford University.

You don’t move on. You simply cannot, in spite of the appearances. In spite of dressing a long blue skirt and a red-white short sleeved shirt. In spite of putting those Mary Jane’s black shoes and carrying your notes everywhere. In spite of conceding dances to other gentlemen such as Mr Alex Velaryon.

But no gentlemen match your beloved Aemond, your best friend, whom you loved since you were a child. Who went to fight a war and never again you heard news from him.

Because you started to study y/c at Oxford University. Because the Targaryens never again came back to the village you were raised. Because war ruined your dreams.

Your hair is shorter, filled with curls in the manner of these days. You like the fashion. It helps making you feel alive—because part of you left with him.

He is not dead. I know in my heart, Aemond. I know you are alive.

But there are moments your heart is heavy with regret and remorse for never telling him how you feel. So you write this in your journal:

“I should’ve told you what you’ve meant to me. So now I pay the price. In another life, I would make you stay so I don’t have to say you were the one that got away.”

You, however, wait. Specially when news of the end of the war reach your ears. It’s a great relief and everyone is naturally overjoyed. Classes are ended before time and you are allowed to visit your family.

Unbeknownst to you, Aemond is on his way home. He has missed an eye during the conflict, but he is going back as a war hero. Despite the traumas he’s got to deal with, all he cares now is to find you.

Aemond too collects remorses. War has changed him, his perspectives...and mostly taught him that there might not be tomorrow. Losing an eye is nothing compared with the possibility of losing you.

"You are too quiet, Aemond", so says Aegon. "Are you seriously letting it affect you? If I survived this shit, so will you."

"Each to their own", grumbles Aemond. "You became a drunk man, Aegon. How does that make you feel better?"

Aegon pats his brother's shoulder and says:

"Each to their own", he repeats his words.

But they do share the relief of coming back home. By the time they are dropped at the Targaryen mansion, the brothers are surprised to find their father waiting for them next to their mother.

"My boys!", it's Alicent who runs in their direction.

It's a moment to count their blessings, indeed. Even Viserys leaves pride aside to acknowledge he hasn't been the best of parents. Reconciliation is a most prudent path to take, the first steps to heal old wounds.

But as much as Aemond wishes to take part of it, the urgences in his heart cannot wait any further. So he excuses himself from his family.

"My son!", exclaims Alicent in perplexity. "Where are you going to?"

Aegon smirks, but it's Helaena who responds:

"Oh, he is going to purchase his lady's heart at long last!"

***

You are twirling in your swing, finding the celebrations boring. You are not in the mood to tolerate your family, and their constant implications you are in the age of marriage. Your cousin even went as far as telling how he got over the first woman he fell in love.

Ugh. Their assumptions are so unwelcoming and out of place.

However, you do feel sad when considering the possibilities of your life had you told him how you felt.

Not to know makes difficult to move on.

Yet, every doubt dissipates and with it, the shadow of the reminiscent sadness when a very known voice is heard:

"I never thought I would find my lady in such a state."

When looking up, you find Aemond himself standing before you. He is dressed in his old uniform and there is a mix of anxiety and concern in his lilac eyes when staring at you.

Your heart races, but you hesitate.

“Is that a phantom that stands before me?”

He takes your hand, tears emerging in his eyes.

“Is this touch not real enough for you? Oh, madam, what other proof is enough to dissipate any doubts about my return?”

You promptly stand and hold him tight, all the whilst Aemond breathes in relief and lifts you in the air, spinning you around.

“I told you I would come back for you, silly head.”

You giggle amidst tears.

“It’s really you!”

“One eyed, indeed, but me!”

And words come out just like that.

“I love you all the same, Aemond.”

It’s when his face brightens that you notice what you said. And you pale at once.

“Y/N…”, Aemond smiles the brightest at your reaction. It’s so much better he’d ever conceived how it was gonna be. “What did you say?”

You untag yourself from his embrace, turning abruptly on your back, detesting to feel that old anxiety that plagued your teenage years about anything that was out of your league—and Aemond had always been one of those things, at least according to your judgement.

“I didn’t say anything.”

But he turns you at him, making you look at him.

“I heard you well. Why are you running away from me? I told you I would come back for you, didn’t I?”

You swallow hard, specially when he cups your cheeks and, caressing each, makes you look at him.

“I love you too, Y/Nickname. I’m sorry I took so long to admit it.”

“I thought you loved her”, you whisper, leaning into his touch.

“I thought it too, but when it comes to you… Good God. I was afraid you were married by now”, he says, afflicted.

You smile gently, placing your hands all over his chest.

“My heart has always been yours.”

“You waited for me”, Aemond smiles back.

��Of course I did. I will always wait for you.”

“As I will always come for you, my wife.”

You smile brightly.

“My husband.”

And so he pulls you for a kiss, sealing your destiny for good.

[gasping-ghostzes]

A Little rant as to why I love Sprite as a character

Okay so this is basically a summarised version of a 5000+ essay I wrote about her 2 years ago

I know that Sprite is a slightly unpopular character within the fandom and while I totally understand, I feel like I understand her reasoning for acting out.

So for 1, the obvious appearance age gap between her and the other eternals. It’s a known fact that the eternals don’t actually age, and because of this, they must adapt and get use to the idea of moving around to be able to pull off the illusion of aging like normal people. For kingo, he’s apart of a famous nepotistic family where his ‘father’ , ‘grand father’ and ‘great grand father’ (I think) are all famous Bollywood actors and they all conincidentally share a name and a face. Kingo has been granted a life that he can live to the fullest and can continue that life for well over 15 years with a single identity. Because most of the eternals are adults, they’re able to use the excuse that they don’t age as quickly compared to other adults for a longer time. Except for Sprite, being represented as a young teenager, she is unable to keep using that excuse for looking youthful for more than 5 or so years. Even though all of the characters are thousands of years old the only one who won’t be capable of experiencing a mature lifestyle and way of life will be Sprite.

“You know why I hated living with humans? Because they reminded me of things I didn't even know I wanted. Because of them, now I want to know what it feels like to grow up. To fall in love. To have a family. And to know in the end I've lived.”

This quote perfectly reflects how fed up Sprite has gotten over the thousands of years having to watch as humans grow old around her as she has to be seen as a kid for her entire life. Having to watch as everyone around her grow up as adults and be able to fall in love, have kids, have jobs must be painful when you realise that as a kid, she wouldn’t be capable of atleast 2 of those 3 possibilities. And even if she were capable of atleast one of them, she’d have to disappear after 5 years because of her never aging. There’s also the issue where she is thousands of year old, with thousands of lifetimes worth of knowledge, maturity, and pain, it’d be very difficult for her to relate to another person her age.

2, the other issue with this age difference is the way that the eternals perceive and treat Sprite. With her youthful looks, Sprite is often treated as a little sister that was born by mistake 20 or so years later compared to everyone else. There were times where she would spend time with one of the eternals and they’d simply up and leave her. In the movie she mentioned how Kingo left her in Macedonia after going on adventures together for months.

I’d also like to talk about Sprite’s crush on Ikaris, because it was sadly one of the most important parts of her character. It’s a known fact that in the movie, she has a crush on Ikaris, it’s likely because not only was he another eternal like her, but also because of the explicit relationship between Ikaris and Sersi. The relationship between Ikaris and Sersi was likely the only relationship that she saw that she both admired and could relate to. Maybe it was cause she possibly idolised Sersi, or maybe she just simply had a crush on Ikaris. But whatever the reasoning, her crush on Ikaris is what led her joining Ikaris in allowing the emergence to happen.

To me, Sprite joining blindly to Ikaris letting earth simply die was done out of both her love for Ikaris and her completely wanting a restart a new life and be able to have another chance of living a life she can live longer than 5 years.

(Imma end it here because I physically need to go to sleep like rn thanks pookie ^_−☆)

[smilesrobotlover]

in kotg what are the champions relationship like with one another ( also including link and Zelda)

As I’ve said before Urbosa and Daruk are sort of the parents? I love found families so I honestly want them to be a little family. Rebels style you know?

Urbosa is def the most responsible, I imagine that when Zelda and Rhoam aren’t there, she’s the one leading the champions. She’s the chief, very motherly, so of course she’s the most responsible. She’s very comforting to the others when needed and overall they greatly respect her. Now, I haven’t played the dlc for botw so I haven’t read the journals, nor do I have creating a champion, so some facts may not add up, but I do know that Urbosa describes the others besides Daruk as very young, so I think she naturally feels very responsible for the other’s well being. She and Daruk, being the oldest, are good friends and I would describe them as drinking buddies. She’s very motherly towards Mipha, I feel like she and Zelda have a lot in common so Urbosa treats her the same way as Zelda. She sees Link as a goofy teenage boy (even tho he’s 20 in this au) but I feel like she treats Link the same way Telma treated Link in tp? Not super motherly towards him cuz he doesn’t need that (his mother is alive and well) but she does guide him when needed and sees him as a capable adult. And Revali… there’s a reason that he’s scared of her. Anytime Revali would act up she’d scold him and tell him that he’s basically an idiot lol. She understands that he really has a lot of underlying issues underneath his arrogant attitude so she does look out for him.

Daruk a fun dad type of character. I imagine he’s charismatic and helps hype people up when needed, and he’s kind of a ride or die kinda guy (lol). But he’s not responsible. There’s a reason why Urbosa is in charge and not him lol. He’s a loveable himbo who wants to look out for the kidlets you know? Obviously he thinks they’re all adorable, Link is his little guy, Mipha is the little zora princess who has a huge crush and wants his help to confess to Link (he’s a wingman ;)) and Revali is the sassy child who needs some love. Even tho Revali makes fun of him, he doesn’t get offended by any of it. Whether it’s because he’s understanding that Revali means nothing by it, or if it’s because he’s just a himbo, who knows. He loves the kids tho (I keep saying they’re kids they’re adults but THEYRE LITTLE 💀💀💀). But yeah, he just kind of vibes. He and Urbosa are indeed besties and again, he sees Zelda almost the same as Mipha. Just a sweet little child

Mipha is kind of a people pleaser and doesn’t know how to say no. So she finds the champions who won’t take advantage of her kindness very comforting. Now, Mipha’s mother is gonna be in this au (just say she’s alive and don’t worry about the logistics lol) but she doesn’t see her very often so it’s nice to have Urbosa there to tell her “hey take a break”. Zelda is her best friend and they love hanging out. Mipha is really the only person who got through to Revali, so she considers him to be a very good friend. Obviously she loves Link and is basically going to Daruk for help. She wants to impress him with her fighting skills <3 and yeah. She very much wants to protect them. If anything where to happen to them, well… you’ll see :3c

And lastly Revali. You saw that stupid respect thingy ma Bob i made. He’s afraid of Urbosa, but more in a fearful respect kind of way. He won’t cross her in any way and he doesn’t want to make her upset of course. He is very fond of Mipha and Zelda. He thinks they’re both very great people who are strong princesses. He respects Zelda’s determination and intelligence, and he respects Mipha’s kindness and selflessness. He may sass them a couple of times but overall he likes them. Even tho he makes fun of Daruk, he deeply cares for that rock guy. Daruk is just a silly guy and Revali will laugh at him but will defend him with his life. And Link…. Revali is a hardworking guy who is very good at what he does, and Link seems to be some prodigy who is good at everything, and that makes Revali very insecure. Like Zelda, Revali has a huge issue with comparing himself to others. If he’s not the best then he’s the worst, and Link really makes him struggle with that. It’s not Link’s fault, and Revali genuinely thinks he’s an amazing fighter, but he’ll never say it out loud. It’s complicated to say the least. Honestly Revali is the only person who sees him as a rival. Link doesn’t care and the others just think that Revali hates Link lol.

Now for Link and Zelda. Y’all know my thoughts on this zelink. I feel like Zelda would love Link but I don’t want to deal with a love triangle so I might not explore any of that. But they are just friends. You can overall pick up their thoughts on the champions with this.

[otrtbs]

10 books to know me 📚

thank you for the tag @anouri !!! <3

ten books to know me or know what i like to read about?? hmm. i'll tag the books and some quotes to convince you to read them.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt ~ the only book ever. jk. but it is my favorite. i read it 1-3x a year. would take it w me on a deserted island. all that.

"A great sorrow, and one that I am only beginning to understand: we don’t get to choose our own hearts. We can’t make ourselves want what’s good for us or what’s good for other people. We don’t get to choose the people we are."

"And in the midst of our dying, as we rise from the organic and sink back ignominiously into the organic, it is a glory and a privilege to love what Death doesn’t touch."

"As long as I am acting out of love, I feel I am doing best I know how."

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë ~ moody and damp in a way that seeps into your bones and refuses to leave.

“You said I killed you-haunt me, then! [...] Be with me always-take any form-drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!”

“If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.”

What My Mother and I Don't Talk About by Michele Filgate ~ collection of essays about people's relationships with their mothers.

“The hunger I feel is so unreasonable I can’t parse it, even to myself. But I want to be the daughter of this mother, the one who lives in a pink building, the one who dances.”

“I love you past the sun and the moon and the stars,” she’d always say to me when I was little. But I just want her to love me here. Now. On Earth.”

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket ~ yes, the whole series. read them as a kid and they're why i am the way that i am.

"I will love you as a thief loves a gallery...as misfortune loves orphans, as fire loves innocence and as justice loves to sit and watch while everything goes wrong."

"To Beatrice— Darling, dearest, dead."

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott ~ comfort read! it's coziness and comfort in book form! jo march n me are the same and we're besties.

"I keep turning over new leaves, and spoiling them, as I used to spoil my copybooks; and I make so many beginnings there never will be an end."

“The humblest tasks get beautified if loving hands do them.”

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros ~ read this as a young teenager and it's stuck with me ever since.

"And the story goes she never forgave him. She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or was she sorry because she couldn't be all the things she wanted to be. Esperanza. I have inherited her name, but I don't want to inherit her place by the window."

"Their strength is secret. They send ferocious roots beneath the ground. They grow up and they grow down and grab the earth between their hairy toes and bite the sky with violent teeth and never quit their anger. This is how they keep."

Play it As it Lays by Joan Didion ~ it's just a book for your early 20s i think.

“There was a silence. Something real was happening: this was, as it were, her life. If she could keep that in mind she would be able to play it through, do the right thing, whatever that meant.”

Ways of Seeing by John Berger ~ all about art and capitalism and observation. 13/10 read.

“The mirror was often used as a symbol of the vanity of woman. The moralizing, however, was mostly hypocritical. You painted a naked woman because you enjoyed looking at her, you put a mirror in her hand and you called the painting "Vanity", thus morally condemning the woman whose nakedness you had depicted for your own pleasure.”

“The bogus religiosity which now surrounds original works of art, and which is ultimately dependent upon their market value, has become the substitute for what paintings lost when the camera made them reproducible.”

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner ~ haunting, southern gothic, stream-of-consciousness style that embedded itself into my 17 yr old brain and never left

“Memory believes before knowing remembers.”

“That’s what they mean by the womb of time: the agony and the despair of spreading bones, the hard girdle in which lie the outraged entrails of events.”

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green ~ i'd be doing teenage nat a disservice if at least one john green novel didn't make the list

“I was so good at being a kid, and so terrible at being whatever I was now.”

“You can’t control it, that’s the thing,” I said. “Life is not something you wield, you know?”

tagging some of youse bc i wanna see what you're reading! 😋 (absolutely no pressure!!) : @twisted-tales-told @rollercoasterwords @euphorial-docx @rays-of-raven @anythingforourmoonysstuff + anyone else who wants to play!! say i tagged you !! <333

[where-them-kinomiya-at]

A small portion of my character analyzation of Tyson Granger/Kinomiya Takao in V-Force.

I’m so sorry, I really gotta get on with another V-Force post about Tyson/Takao.

This is purely based on the first half/20 episodes of V-Force.

Also excuse me while I switch between the dub and sub names lol.

There was no defined build-up in this episode explaining why the boys were acting so frustrated the first thing in the morning (except for Kai’s loss over Yuya/Wyatt). It so happened that they faced another Psykick labrat, but I really do think that this episode says a lot about Takao.

It started off with his teammates yelling their asses off at him, not to mention Rei and Max legit giving him glares during the practice run. I do understand Takao’s utter frustration in his episode, had I been the one getting yelled at for just messing up a practice run the first thing in the morning, I wouldn’t react too well either.

When Hiromi came up with a valid point and tried to mellow things down, Takao took it the wrong way,

and then this-

The similarities between these two scenes is concerning. The G-Revolution one obviously hits a lot harder, but the dialogue just proves that Takao was as frustrated and insecure even back in V-Force. His V-Force demeanour, I do agree, is masked by his ego and anger, which is why people often overlook his character in this season. Not that I’m saying that he was the nicest guy in that season- he was that fourteen year old (dub) that got on everyone’s bad books real quick, but there are just certain things that are overlooked.

Heck I don’t even blame him for getting annoyed at this teammates.

If you look at these clips, it’s obvious that he didn’t mean one bit of it. It was clear that Takao was trying to mask the insecurities his teammates put upon him by talking trash. I’m not going to defend him for what he said towards the end of the scene, but calling him an unapologetic ego centred asshole? Nah, give him a break.

One important dub reference:

In episode 20 when Ozuma encounters Tyson, he says:

“You’re not good enough to beat the Psykicks.” Which completely shook Tyson, instead of flipping him. It continued with, “You lose your temper, Tyson and lose focus and the same goes when you battle. Every time time you get mad you lose control of dragoon and it’s a sure fire way to get beaten-sorry, but that’s the way it is.”

Tyson suprisingly said nothing. He just stood there and hesitated, panicked and clutched onto dragoon. He very well knew Ozuma was right. V-Force Tyson having no control over his frustration and anger really made me feel more sorry than hostile towards him. When I first got into Beyblade I disliked Tyson’s V-Force persona. But as I grew up, I realised what the creators intended- he can expose his weaker side and softer side even with a personality like that and even the dub tried to portray something- showing him as an actual teenage boy. This was honestly a decent approach.

Prior to this scene where Hilary and Kenny came by the river to comfort him (not directly) was indeed overwhelming because that’s what he needed.

Again, I don’t mean to defend his attitude.

Also I’ve been digging into Beyblade cause my exams are over, so if I post a lot…well yeah.

I would give an entire speech only about Tyson in V-Force, let alone the series itself, but that’s gonna be way too long lol.

Clips: Bakuten Shoot Beyblade 2002/V-Force episodes 17 and 20.

[thattimdrakeguy]

i genuinely think tim turned into a pretty shit character when they stopped trying to make him relatable, not the redbird thing, that’s just a nitpick

like he’s an odd character were i think personality wise, he peaked in his first story where he was this really enthusiastic, little weirdo kid who doesn’t understand social norms at all

but you know, they just tried to focus on him as, ah, yes, relatable kid. which is good enough. i wish they used how weird he was in his initial story more, because it would’ve made him more naturally interesting, but he wasn’t uninteresting by any means, unless your standards is 2 exaggerated traits = a personality. in which case i don’t think we should be in speaking terms with one another

and as much as i still love timmy, i’m not calling him a bad character, but i always have criticized his writing, it really sucked in the moments were the middle aged conservative man writer behind the comics popped his head out

and he just became an awfully boring character when they stopped tryna make him relatable or keep some sense of innocence at all. he obviously had a lot of moments were he lost some of his innocence, that’s natural story telling, but they used to keep some sense of innocence in him despite it all. it made the goofy little guy really endearing

but they take away all that and who is he?

oh, he’s the smart one?

well, all right, hmmm. they’re all smart, and he’s not the smartest, nor should he even be the smartest of the robins. that’s stupid and asinine. i don’t get why they started making him a super genius that’s absurd. he was never past anyone in any ability, he was often below. it was just amazing he even got that good to begin with. how the hell is he suddenly better than everyone in a fraction of a time? that takes away all sense of genuine growth just to slap a superficial trait on him

“Oh, oh, he’s the dark one”

darker then both of the murder/former murders? or even the guy who you could peel angst off him like skin after a sun burn?

that doesn’t feel right

oh, i get it now he’s the other one

yeah, thanks DC, the other one

who’s fault is that again?

‘cause he certainly had a very obvious purpose and character, and interesting POV that made him the most popular teenage super hero since clark was superboy, and that popularity at least in dc still hasn’t been properly reached--referring to tim’s prime as a character that is

that really irks me

tim just thrown to the wind and ignored because of talentless hacks, that don’t seem to understand the basics of a writing gig of this nature

boy is that a nag

i’m not expecting everyone to dig up 20 year old comics, some of which have been dated terribly just to understand an irrelevant currently d-list batman sidekick (Well, i’d argue B-list, last I seen, but he’s still treated often as a d-list)

but it doesn’t make the fact it happened any less irritating

[welcometoteyvat]

love your thoughts on character’s ages. looking forward to fontaine & sumeru :) i think you described it really well. ages for my are like… they exist but they don’t at the same time.

edit: OH MY GOD TUMBLRS EDITOR FORMATTING SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!! if you see random parts of words bolded PLEASE ignore i dont know why it keeps happening

if you're the same anon as the og ask i am so so so sorry about the delay T_T T_T i was drafting my answer and then boom life happened ..... anyways. thank you for enjoying my thoughts wah <3333333 "they exist but they don't" SAME SAME frfr. like the most on-point (internet) discussion I've read on ages is that the stage of life you're in is often the only factor that matters, and that can vary a lot based on like your past experiences and stuff. and from my own perspective this holds true—similarly, in genshin where all the playable characters have jobs it's hard to kind of quantify them into really distinct age ranges tbh. sometimes it's just vibes (unfortunately vibes often includes height bc it's a game w not very diverse model types). anyways! character hcs:

sumeru (sans scaramouche): collei, cyno, tighnari, faruzan, layla, nilou

i think collei has an actual canon age right? unless I'm tripping and fanon has solidified so much in everyone's minds. I still haven't read the manhua <3 but iirc people think she's 12-13 there right. maybe she's like 17 rn, i can see anywhere from 14-16 though. idk anything abt her timeline so these are quite literally guesstimates from vibes and they're likely to be wrong. Layla is such a college girlie, she's like 19-20 and sleep deprived (same fr); begging for her to catch a break on behalf of uni students everywhere. I don't have a set age for Faruzan, I can see her anywhere from 30-40, 26 years old minimum (the redesigns people give her where she looks visibly older are so cool <3). Given she was a pretty well known researcher back in her day and since academia is a long and arduous career choice, I think it makes sense; also if she's like way older than Kaveh appearance wise (≥ 10 years) , even if she hadn't gotten trapped for a century, that would be sick af (their dynamic is impeccable and I think a larger age difference makes it better, sweeter, and funnier). Nilou also feels 19-20 years old to me; no real explanation, she just has a young adult vibe, like someone just out of her teenage years but quite capable at managing her life, although still testing out responsibility for major decisions and stuff like that (age solidarity w yun jin)

iirc cyno was already mahamatra or something WHILE tighnari was still in school; thus this makes cynonari EXTREMELY funny if you're a moral purist who ships it and thinks they fell in love in their akademiya days LOL. jkjk it's also a reasonable interpretation that Cyno became mahamatra at an insanely young age, since uhhh fucked up temple of silence background smth smth and honestly it feels in character for him to go buck wild at a young age like that (person most suited for young collei fr). HOWEVER. personally I think being mahamatra at like 19 is insane—thus I think tighnari's probably 23, cyno might be 27? I don't know if that makes it """""""better""""""" from an age gap standpoint but I also don't really care. Cyno being older but more joking around friends, while Tighnari is the younger kohai but serious and no-nonsense is pretty funny to me and when they're both serious you know you're fucked

fontaine: lyney, lynette, freminet (are those the only medium youth models so far lol. damn)

anyways lyney and lynette are confirmed to be at least 10 from Lyney's story quest. such helpful information I know lol. I'd think they're probably around 19-20? 18 minimum—I personally wouldn't watch 18 year olds do gravity defying magic tricks at the nation's biggest opera house—being like 1 year older doesn't make it any better ofc lol, but I think they're above the teenage threshold bc of that. Kinda fucked up to think about the timeline and house of hearth stuff though with this in mind

Freminet I'd say is around 16; 14 minimum. No thoughts for this just vibes. mmmmm idk when he was adopted into the house, if he's around 4-5 years younger than L+L, and let's say they entered the House when they were maybe 6-9 (my headcanons, is it now possible to piece together an accurate timeline of this from in-game lore??), and that was maybe 3-4 years after freminet entered, he probably was like 5-7 when he entered... wah frem............. poor child I'm giving him a hug (knowing that he's also a killing machine)