#It is literally so so good for young boys to have a role model like this too

[haeoflii]

"Transported to a surreal world, having to go on an adventure while trying to find a way back home...This is just like that popular children's book that got adapted into a movie......! The Wizard of Oz!" *incorrect buzzer sound*

(click for better quality)

A fun-loving toon who got swept away in a carriage from their wacky cartoon world and transported to a twisted anime world.

INFORMATION:

Grade: Freshman

Class: Class A

Birthday: July 7

Age: 19

Orientation: AroAce

Height: 178 cm/5'10 ft

Dominant Hand: Ambidextrous

Homeland: ???

Species: humanoid toon

Club: Film research club

Best Subject: Art

Hobbies: Photography and scrapbooking

Pet Peeves: People throwing fruit skins away

Favourite Food: As long as it's food

Least Favorite Food: Dead rats, bugs, inanimate objects

Talent: Photography and pulling random things out of thin air

NICKNAMES FOR OTHERS (Usually used to annoy them):

Grim: Grimmy-poo/Grimmy

Ace: Acey-wacey

Deuce: Deucey-goosey

Jack: Jacky/Jackaroo

Epel: Epel-peel

Ortho: Toto/Astro boy

Sebek: Mr. braggadocious crocodile

Malleus: Hornton/Mally

Ruggie: Mr. bag-snatcher

NICKNAME FOR THEM:

Grim: Henchmen

Leona: Rook 2.0/herbivore

Floyd: Shrimpy

Rook: Trickster

Malleus: Child of man

Ruggie: Pickpocketer

Sebek: DOLTISH HUMAN!!! (full caps are a must)

BACKSTORY:

r̸̙̲̮̦̺͖̳̩̙̠͓͍͚̰̂̀̿̏̈́͌͗͒͆̾͘ȩ̶̧̢̬̹̗̳̗̱̘͉̲̭̓̇̉̎̓̃̓̎̀͑͒̎̀͜d̸̡̻̻̙̦̲̟̰̫̫͚̖͓͗́̍̌͘a̸͇̟̟̮̩̒͋͂̒͋͆̃̌ͅͅc̷̰̀͐͑ţ̶̡͉̱͈̟̔͂̓̈́̎̽͋̇͝ȩ̵̦̲̣͖̬͆͋̐͝d̴̨̳̙̖̤̪͍̿̑͋͗͊̌͌͋͗̚ ̸̨͔̦̯̙̪͎̪͗͐͑̔͂͑͑̌͘

TRAITS:

Optimistic, nifty, adaptable, resilient, carefree, good-natured, cheerful, dense, obtuse, naive

RELATIONSHIPS:

(credits to @/ai-kan1 for the template!)

I did not check the spelling for this so I'm sorry if this was cheeks 😬

THE BOYZ🥶💯🔥—THE FIRST YEARS:

ADEUCE + GRIM: Dumb, dumber, dumbest and dumd spelled with double d. The three of them would rather take a bullet to the head than admit that they care for each other a lot. Charlie would say they love them from the moon and back and still take the bullet to the head just for fun! (it's not like they could die anyways. They're a toon gosh darn it!!) No matter what the situation is, they'll always have each other's backs—even if they complain and whine along the way!

JACK: Charlie absolutely admires Jack's strong sense of justice! After book 2, Charlie felt bad that Jack watched his role model be an asshole so they tried to be a good role model for him but they're literally no better than Leona. Jack appreciates it though. Jack's wolf form reminds Charlie of a puppy he and his brother used to take care of while they were living on the streets.

EPEL: Epel is ecstatic to find someone who shared the same problem as him—being mistaken for a girl. Every time someone mistakes both of them as a "she", Epel is the first to correct them—saying that both of them are the "most manliest men you've ever seen!" Charlie dgaf abt it but whatever makes him happy. Epel is also a bit jealous that Charlie doesn't have a problem with being perceived as feminine.

SEBEK: Sebek looks down on Charlie because he thinks they're uneducated (which is true because they've never been to a school before) and that they should pursue their educational prowess seriously. Despite the rude and almost offensive remarks, Charlie admires him for his hardworking, honest nature and loyalty to his young master! Even though Sebek claims to dislike them, they're the first person he goes to if the Diasomnia gang is not there to ramble about Malleus. They even occasionally praised Malleus along with him!

THE UNEXPECTED FRIENDSHIP—VIL:

Being in the same club as him, Vil didn't expect for the both of them to get along so well.

At first, Vil thought that Charlie wasn't going to take this club seriously; thinking that Charlie will just play around the set and make a mess but was taken back by surprise to see that they has a bit of knowledge on cinematography as well as their skills with a camera. Charlie on the other hand, was used to being the one behind the camera and was the one who helped their ex-girlfriend become famous.

Charlie's weird and quirky antics as well as their love for beauty reminds him of Rook, while Vil's strict yet passionate personality reminds them of their ex-girlfriend who is a model/actor just like him.

THE BLUNT BANGS FREAKS—ROOK:

Speaking of Rook, Charlie became photography buddies with Rook after accidentally bumping into each other in a bush while trying to take pictures of the other students. With their forces combined, the students of NRC could never catch a break from their constant terrorizing pestering.

Charlie thinks Rook's flamboyant and dramatic antics are hilarious while Rook finds Charlie's toon body fascinating and would sometimes use them as a test subject for whatever he's got in store for them. Unfortunately, Charlie can only match 45% of Rook's freak so they find it super weird. (but who are they to judge him?)

RIVALS OR BUDDIES?—RUGGIE:

At first glance, Ruggie expected Charlie to be naive or overly friendly with the way they treat others and thought it would be funny to treat himself to a nice lunch with their money (that he was definitely just borrowing). Bumping into them and snatching their wallet, he looked inside only to find it empty with trash inside and moths flying out of it.

Sighing, he decided to buy something from the vending machine, only to find his wallet missing. From the corners of his eyes, he saw a very smug Charlie, with his wallet on one hand, and munching on a donut on the other.

And from that day on, both of them will try and outwit each other. Not only that, they bonded instantly due to their similar upbringing growing up. Occasionally, one of them will treat the other to lunch (with someone else's money of course)

TWO GOLDEN RETRIEVERS AND A BLACK CAT—THE SHROUD SIBLINGS:

Extroverted, loud and optimistic—everything in a person that is on Idia's avoid list. Idia finds Charlie intimidating and would rather jump off a cliff than interact with someone as lively as them.

While for Charlie, they're really fond of Idia since he reminds them of their younger brother a lot—especially his anxious nature and his trouble with making friends. Despite their personalities being different from night to day, if given the chance, they would definitely be friends.

Ortho is glad that someone other than him likes his older brother. Ortho tries to get his brother to befriend Charlie with him protesting, saying that Charlie is basically the "Anti-Idia". As for Charlie, they enjoy talking to Ortho and treats him as if he's their own younger brother. Charlie dotes on him often, almost to the point of the first years thinking it's plain favoritism. (Charlie feels incredibly homesick every time they see the siblings with each other)

THREE MAFIA BUSINESS MEN VS STREET SCAMMER—THE OCTOTRIO:

NO NO NO! BIG ON CHARLIE'S NO NO LIST. Charlie may have trouble with solving 76 + 19 but they recognise a scam when they see it. After all, they're a money-grubber too! Despite knowing that Azul is a sucker for capitalism, Charlie sees Azul as someone who worked to the top, disciplined, organized, and efficient in their work; Jade, a person who is passionate about his interests and land life; Floyd, someone who dances on the beat of his own drum. But if Charlie admires them, they wouldn't dare go near them even with a 10ft pole!

FLOYD: SHRIMPYYYY!!!! He finds Charlie super interesting! He wants to see how hard he can squeeze them until their eyes pop out of their head. If Charlie ever turned pocket sized, he'd try to chew them like a dog toy. In Charlie's words: "Floyd's like a runaway car with no driver; unpredictable and chaotic. It's fun to watch and guess what it's gonna hit from afar but the moment it starts to swerve towards you that's when you start running."

JADE: Jade thinks Charlie's an interesting critter. He enjoys messing with them because they make an amusing face when they're scared. When Azul pissed him off, he'll ask Charlie to cook something up for Azul and make Charlie watch him eat it. Azul feels pressured because Charlie's giving him puppy-dog eyes while Jade is giving him the most shit-eating smirk ever. Azul fainted after smelling it and was sent to the infirmary that day.

AZUL: Azul considers Charlie to be a good worker in the Montrol Lounge. Charlie's friendly and outgoing attitude brings in a lot of customers, they're efficient in their work, and they're able to carry 10 plates on each arms along with a plate on their head without ever dropping it. But they are completely BANNED from entering the kitchen. He even made a custom metal sign for it! Every now and then, Azul lets Charlie perform their "magic tricks" (normal toon physics) in the lounge.

VICTIMS OF CONSTANT ANNOYANCE—RIDDLE, JAMIL & LEONA:

RIDDLE: If Riddle had a "no lash out" streak, it'll go back to zero every time Charlie feels mischievous. Charlie wants him to lighten up a bit while Riddle wants them to take life a bit more seriously. On rare occasions, Charlie buys pastries from a cafe for Riddle as an apology. At one point, they bought a cake similar to this one.

JAMIL: Charlie sorta understands what it's like wanting to be free, to fly away from the bird cage where they force you to sing but everything that Charlie does reminds him of Kalim. So Charlie keeps quiet. But Charlie being Charlie, they can't keep quiet for too long. Sometimes, Jamil contemplates on whether or not he should knock their teeth in.

LEONA: A total pain in the ass. Leona fully believes that Charlie was dropped on the head as a kid. While Charlie thinks he's super cool like a cool older brother—especially during book 3. If you ever see Leona smirking in his sleep, just so you know it's probably about punching Charlie in the face. Nobody tells Charlie this otherwise it'll get to his head but Leona finds them a biiiit endearing, like this much🤏 Their cheerful attitude reminds him of a certain lion cub.

LATE NIGHT YAPPERS—MALLEUS:

In almost every twst universe, there's a friendship between the prefect of the Ramshackle dormitory and the Prince of Briar Valley and of course so does this universe. Both of them don't mind the other rambling a lot since they're both good listeners. He's never seen anyone smile so brightly at him before. How can someone act so comfortable with him? Don't you know he's the future King of as well as one of the most powerful mages in the world? And yet Charlie treats him as any other person. Not as the Prince of his kingdom but as an equal instead. Just another student. A friend.

Talking with Malleus feels rejuvenating for Charlie. A calm slow walk around the campus is just what they need after their usual fast-paced chaotic schedule. They also find Malleus' sense of humour funny. His pulse rushes, his head reeling and his face flushes every time he makes them laugh. (definitely not because of his smaallll tiny itty bitty crush....noo not that at all)

TRIVIA:

- Their name "Sue Pierre Calli Francis Lizzie Lexis Ally Dokken" is a reference to the word "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" from Mary Poppins.

- I picked the name Charlie because of the song "Charlie's inferno" and because they were originally a genderbend version of Charlie from back when Hazbin Hotel pilot just aired but I liked it so much that I made them into an oc. And as for jackyl, it just rhymes with ramshackle 🤷

- On their second week in NRC, they pickpocketed around 70 people.

- Idia reminds him of his younger brother.

- Charlie's gloves are a reference to those old rubber-hose cartoons.

- Charlie can stretch all the way up to the Stratosphere but he will feel the effects of ultraviolet radiation.

- Charlie's bag can hold up to 5000 items.

- Charlie used to date a hot celebrity and no one believes him (a lil nod to Roger Rabbit and Jessica Rabbit)

FULL BODY + SILLY GIF:

How Charlie looks at Azul expecting him to eat their radioactive, foul-smelling, non-digestible, toxic, evil-scented "food" that they made:

[pianokantzart]

Not me thinking thinking about how good of a brother Mario is and how there's literally nobody better that Luigi could've clung to while he sorts out his own anxiety.

Mario acknowledges that Luigi is a fearful person, but doesn't think any less of him for being scared. He doesn't see Luigi's bad luck as a burden, even when he tries to make sure he's safe and protected at every turn. Mario gets annoyed by his brother on occasion, but doesn't degrade or talk down to him– not even jokingly. He just puts up with it and forges ahead without drawing attention his brother's mistakes. Then when it comes to Luigi's victories, even small ones, he dwells on them and gets excited without an ounce of insincerity or exaggeration.

The worst thing Mario does is get a little too caught up in his impulses and emotions to listen, but otherwise he's so rock solid, even apart from his three-day adventure solely focused on saving Luigi's life.

[elodieunderglass]

in his delicious materials, do you have any thoughts about what chilchuck's daughters' daemons/bee's sons are like? Is puckpatti's even settled yet?

(In reference to His Delicious Materials: https://archiveofourown.org/works/56658973/chapters/144024799)

Bee’s boys - Sangwine, Pantoufle and Eglantine - gave her an absolute run for her money to raise, although given how much they worked away from home in the early years, she left most of the logistics to her wife, a mouse daemon. As a result she and Chilchuck would come home to “do some parenting while you’re here, why don’t you” and incredibly tricky and complex grievances and disciplinary problems, lots of “Bee will hear about this when she’s home!” Which didn’t set her up for much success, in retrospect.

Bee was an impatient and often angry young parent, but tried her best, made an effort to educate herself, and was exceedingly good at carrying her sons around by the scruffs of their necks, which was good - since they all all liked being absolutely unsuitable and enormous things, like ferrets, for a lot of the time in their wild youth. She wasn’t always the bad cop, but they all had very few models of Effective Parenting growing up, so she wasn’t as good then as she would be at it now.

Pantoufle’s the only one who is likely to give Bee grandchildren in her lifetime, but he’s also a little nightmare, so she doesn’t have much hope. Pan isn’t so good at the daemon’s role of “externalising the human’s voice of conscience.” He is, instead, evidence that their middle child has no conscience whatsoever. He has zero moral fiber and criminal instincts.

They are all long, long since settled.

I have no idea what forms they are, though. Literally was not planning on it ever being relevant. I am doing a 65k commission gift fic over the summer and MOVING ON, I said.

Then ended up having a conversation in the comments where it was like . Oh no. The political implications of being the only weasel daemon in your village. that could be genuinely rather funny. Oh no. What if there was a social landslide as a result of Bee settling, with large political implications swirling around, and it’s genuinely Just Some Awkward Scruffy Tall Guy And His Weasel Soul Who Are Pretty Oblivious To It All, and you turn around and suddenly your people’s daemon pool is completely changed in a generation??? Hilarious. Self-indulgent. Nothing to do with any given canon whatsoever, literally just playing in a sandbox. Someone should write that.

And then the baby didn’t sleep for a few nights in a row (oh no):

[firinnie]

Let's ask Penelope today, should we?

So I think these characters might not appear in Epic because they take too much time/are easily replaced by Odysseus but in Odyssey most of his servants went over to the suitors and we are sure about 3 of them who were loyal to true King until the end.

One of them was Eumaeus, the swineherd, and OH BOY he is a really interesting character, has an interesting backstory and is the best buddy you could ever have. Homer even hides in the text how cool he is, plus he has a heart of gold. Odysseus comes to his hut, transformed into an old beggar by Athena, and not only does he offer him his bed (and sleeps outside with the pigs) or gives him the best cuts of meat at a feast but Eumaeus is literally a fatherly role model for Telemachus, has a close relationship with boy, hugs him when he greets him, etc.

I wanted to tell you all this so that we know what kind of person we are talking about here. Here begins an interesting thing, because the truthful Eumaeus tells Ody-beggar that

"But from Queen Penelope I never get a thing,

never a winning word, no friendly gesture,

not since this, this plague has hit the house

these high and mighty suitors."

So simply "Since the suitors appeared, Penelope has stopped respecting me/us."

I put "/us" there because his way of speaking is very symbolic and I can believe that it may refer to the rest of the loyal servants too.

I was very surprised when I read this because not only is he so good to Telemachus but he defended Pen from suitors. In addition, he was Odysseus' childhood friend, his mother raised Eumaeus side by side with his sister. He was just the most trusted person left but Queen has some problem with him. Or does she not? I think too much about unimportant things but here I believe 3 way to see it are:

1. Penelope is not as close to Eumaeus as Odysseus was so she thinks that he wants to take the place of a father in her son's heart because of their really close relationship.

For Epic Pen I'm sure this is big nope but for canon? Maybe 50:50. This lose a bit of sense of her intelligence and we know her as a wise one.

2. Penelope wants to discredit those who are still loyal by treating them coldly so that the suitors won't pay more attention to them.

That makes sense, but when you look at the fact that the suitors weren't afraid of loyal servants, they believed the king was dead... She had to fend for herself but at the same time she couldn't reject them, Odysseus' father was too old and his son too young to do that either. This sounds like our Pen, putting her emotions aside for the good of others.

3. Panelope pushes away people close to Odysseus because of the pain she feels about his departure.

In my opinion, that makes the most sense and is perfect pair for 2. She became "cold" not intentionally but out of emotion and because she had to announce her husband's death to buy him more time and get rid of over 100 men.

I definitely think too much about one sentence but hey Eumaeus is cool and Penelope is deep. If we can talk about them a bit then why not.

[coralpaperthoughts]

I will never understand ppl who hate/anti ANY of the members of the Gaang, or even any of the other kids. coz they are just kids. in the middle of a fucking war. of course they're gonna fuck up and make mistakes and be little shits, THEY ARE 12-16 !! ALL OF THE GAANG (including Zuko but excluding Suki) HAVEN'T HAD PROPER SOCIALISATION WITH OTHER KIDS THEIR AGE UNTIL THEY MET EACH OTHER !!

and yes, you could argue that Katara and Sokka had each other, but that's siblings and siblings are not the same as friends, and also Sokka was the only teen boy left in the tribe and I think Katara was the only teen girl too (might be wrong there tho)

you could also argue that Aang had friends before he got stuck in the iceberg so he did actually have that socialisation, but bro is fucking 12 and he was stuck in an iceberg for a hundred fucking years and had the whole avatar thing weighing down on his shoulders, cut the boy some slack ???

Toph and Zuko were both Rich Noble Kids™ so they automatically did not get proper socialisation with other kids their age. Toph was sheltered from the outside world because she's blind and a young girl, but yes she did go to that underground boxing ring but that was mainly adults, I highly doubt she was hanging about with kids there and definitely not in normal circumstances.

And although Mai and Ty Lee were there, they were Azula's "companions" (not originally meant to be friends but may have ended up as so after the war) and they weren't there for Zuko, they were there for Azula only. I'm pretty sure Zuko spent most of his time with tutors or with his mother before she left, he didn't get any socialisation with normal kids and he definitely did not get a normal childhood.

None of them got a normal childhood, so can you really blame any of them for being manipulative or assholes or doing dumb shit, whilst still being a kid/teen !!! and then being bad parents too, when they literally have no good role model to go off of (love Hakoda but bro was not there for his kids for a good couple of years and that does a lot to a kid)

edit: also Azula deserved a redemption/healing arc because she was a victim of abuse as much as Zuko was. she was in fact just a child, as much as the rest of them were, and deserved better. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk 🙏

edit 2: Jet also deserved a chance at healing. like bro watched his village burn and was the sole survivor, he probably has mega survivor's guilt that isn't touched upon in the show, like his hate for the fire nation is pretty rational and his actions (to an extent) are justified. all I'm saying is that if he had anybody else in his corner, that wasn't more angsty, out-for-revenge teens or kids, he could have had a much nicer life. one that didn't lead him to his downfall.

[crackedpumpkin]

Hi. No one asked me for this but here is my (slightly) more organised opinion on the Ninja.

[ original ask ]

*Everything stated is purely from my perspective and not meant to represent a group or anyone else other than myself. I am aware that not everyone will agree and I do not expect you to, this is like my own mini vibe check lol*

Lloyd reminds me of the sun peeking through a shroud of grey clouds. He's an amalgamation of the entire team, not just because of the fact that they've been around him since he was a literal kid, but because they're his role models in more ways than one.

He's got Kai's spirit, Jay's goofiness, Zane's level head, Nya's courage, Cole's leadership and Master Wu's wisdom. (Not gonna include Garmadon here)

Being through all that he has is more than enough for a lifetime, and I'm thankful that DR is showing more of that side of him. (also as i type this i just whacked away a bug into oblivion) PTSD is a given, and I feel that the way most of the boys express or deal with it is gymming, especially Lloyd, Cole, and Kai.

He wakes up at night in a cold sweat every so often, with lingering blades that press against his neck filled with intent to kill. If Ninjago had the freedom of Vox Machina's explicitness, I would be sat without question.

At his core he is still that ray of sunshine he was back then, but overshadowed by a constant pressure to be perfect in every way possible. His insecurity to me is never being good enough. He'll always fall short of people's expectations, be it saving the world or passing on his knowledge (cough DR)

Love life wise though, I see him as the type of guy to have unintentional rizz. He grew up with Nya so he knows the taboo topics, and not to mention Zane's love language so he's willingly giving away his umbrellas and jackets to everyone. He doesn't expect reciprocation, but like is definitely oblivious to the extent of how hot girls find him. (Have you seen Garmadon like girl he's the only dilf for me thanks)

Kai is like a flame at its brightest just before it flickers out. Fierce, relentless, and unyielding are what I'd use to describe him. His persistence fuels him, his kindness grounds him, and most of all his loyalty defines his character.

He reminds me of Percy Jackson which is ironic considering their elements, but their cores are similar to me. Cockiness is a constant front he has to put up not just because it's yk...Kai, but because since young he's had to be Nya's pillar of support.

I think it truly translates to when he joins the team and becomes a part of it fully that we see how brightly he can burn for them. He has to be there for everyone, but who's going to be there for him?

I personally think he's way more level headed than you expect, having helped raise Nya without much support. He's had to be the mature one to give up his snacks, his time, and his patience. In my depiction of him I try to showcase more of these traits because I truly view him as a de facto leader who's able to step up to that role.

Jay is like the sparks dancing inside a glass sphere that activate upon touch. He's often portrayed as the funny, goofy one but I believe he's a lot more.

He reminds me a lot of myself in both the worst and best ways. We're both impulsive, quick to jump to conclusions, and overly dramatic to the point that I would gasp in dramatic offence if I go on.

But there's a softer side to him that often gets overshadowed by his humour. Jay is deeply kind, generous, and compassionate. He's someone who gives far more than he takes.

I miss the moments when he was shown repairing ships or geeking out over the tiniest details. Those glimpses of his ingenuity and unrestrained passion reveal the parts of him that feel overlooked. He’s not just the comic relief, he’s the dreamer, the innovator, the one who sees potential where others see impossibility.

But also, I could be heavily biased.

He has ideas that can be easily dismissed as folly, but that doesn't dim his spark which I admire. He thinks out of the box and constantly looks for new angles when not being held under pressure.

When he's with a team that fully supports and accepts him, that when he begins to really shine.

Zane is a whisper of the first snowfall, its delicate touch unwavering. When I found out he was a robot in the first few seasons I was utterly mind blown, and we got to explore his struggles in identifying himself.

He's often portrayed as the reliable and consistent one, and there's not really much i can personally expand on. I find that he is however, overshadowed almost as often as Jay is in the subtlest of ways.

There's lots of moments where I feel he's truly taken for granted, and it makes me rather sad. He's the backbone of the group to me, and I see him as someone who never fails to take everyone into consideration when making a decision.

What I do wish for the most, is not making him being a robot his entire personality.

Nya is the raging torrent of a waterfall, its waves crashing into a serene lake, leaving ripples that echo beneath the surface.

Contrary to popular opinion, I strongly believe that she is just as chaotic, if not more so than Jay. While Jay’s chaos comes from impulsiveness and humour, Nya’s feels more deliberate, as if she's carefully choosing when to strike. She’s a tsunami of passion and determination, with a streak of unpredictability that keeps everyone on their toes.

To me, she has plenty of academic smarts, when it comes to theory. Give her an assessment book for quadratic formulae and complex problems and she'd be able to solve it with little to no problem.

In practice however, it's a completely different story.

Things tend to get… messy. Her execution can be chaotic, not because she’s incapable, but because she’s constantly testing boundaries, sometimes pushing too far just to see what happens.

Kind of like a mad scientist, if you think about it.

I hated what they did with her in the earlier seasons of the love triangle, and it gives me utter nightmares till this day.

With that grievance aside, what I love most about Nya is how much she embodies her element in all its forms. She adapts effortlessly to new challenges, flowing around obstacles and finding creative solutions. She can be calm and serene, like a glassy lake, but she’s just as capable of becoming a fierce, unrelenting wave when pushed too far.

Her ideas aren’t always perfect, sure. Sometimes she’ll charge headfirst into a situation with half a plan and sheer determination, but it’s that tenacity that makes her so inspiring. She’s not afraid to fail because she knows she can bounce back and try again.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 

Taglist:

@ml3czqo @elysiuansstuff

[hamliet]

thoughts on how oshi no ko has portrayed what happened to hikaru (thus far) and any ideas for what his motives/role in the story is?

Honestly? I think it's doing a pretty good job of portraying it. TW for discussions of childhood sexual abuse below.

When it's first introduced to us that Hikaru was raped by the adult actress, Aqua doesn't have much reaction. On an intellectual level, he gets it, but on an emotional level in terms of what this means for Hikaru, for his development and for his pain, he doesn't get it at all. It's only when we get to Akane's expressed horror ("that's sick!") that we get an actual reaction.

The previous chapter was honestly acting and a flashback as it actually happened, and I appreciated that they showed it as violent.

That's something so often missing from stories of older women who rape younger boys (see Mary Kay Letourneau). It's not a love story. He's not lucky. It's violence.

Like, I spoke about this with a friend after the chapter, but the wiki literally says he was "implied to have been raped." Implied? He was ELEVEN.

I don't think the wiki writers are intentionally being obtuse or dismissive, but there is a subconscious way in which a lot of the world, across cultures, reacts to female predators of young boys in a way that is incongruent with how we react to men who prey on young girls. And to be fair, the latter is a far more prevalent issue but still.

So anyways, I was grateful the final panel of the flashback showed Hikaru being dragged, violently, away from a girl his own age whom he likes by an older woman who won't even introduce his son as his son. Anything Hikaru has, he cannot have.

I've written about Hikaru before, but yeah, he's a scary serial killer at this point who is likely going to target Ruby and/or Kana. He's a final antagonist, obviously, and his past abuses don't excuse him. He's somewhat modeled after Lucifer, and not the Hazbin Hotel version.

But I don't think Aqua's final challenge is stopping Hikaru.

Aqua playing Hikaru in these scenes is challenging him to do what playing Ai has provoked Ruby to do: to empathize and further understand their parents. But, the problem is that Aqua can relate to Hikaru's anger and hatred already.

Again, as I wrote previously, Aqua already is very much like Hikaru (albeit at a far earlier stage): trying to reenact and kill the perceived causes of his trauma and not able to see that he's not going to be happy with such an ending because you can't kill your way to peace.

What Aqua actually needs to do is to come to understand Ai. Ruby, imo, is the one who will come to understand Hikaru, and probably forgive him (not excuse, but this is very likely where it's going).

Ai seemed to, after all. She reached out to Hikaru's proxy (the stalker) and definitely recognized the white roses and knew who had sent him.

Yet she still reached out to her stalker as a human being and empathized with him after he had stabbed her.

If it had been Hikaru standing there himself, she would have done the same.

And lest we think this is solely an example of her toxic wanting-to-please-people trait taking control, this was also the moment--the only moment in Ai's life--where she was finally able to express herself without a lie. It can be both an indictment of the entertainment industry prioritizing pleasing others over your own life and pain and Ai's moment of triumph even amidst tragedy.

Hence again why Aqua's challenge is to understand his mother, not to kill his father as justice for her. He needs to recognize her love for him as her son. She wanted him to live. She wanted him to love. She didn't want him to obsess over her in death.

Ruby, on the other hand, needs to understand Hikaru... and Aqua. Thus far, while she's had the best growth of everyone in this entire series, she is still idolizing Sensei and Aqua thereby.

She needs to see him as a person just as Aqua needs to see Ai as a person. Seeing Hikaru's anger and pain and seeing Aqua's go hand in hand for Ruby (again, not a coincidence Aqua is playing young Hikaru in the movie).

As for where Hikaru goes from there, I don't know. He might end his own life like the stalker proxy did, but I think the fact that that's already happened makes it less likely. He might find new life even if like, in prison, or he might die sacrificing himself for his kids. It's too early to make those exact predictions... but I think Ruby understanding him and empathizing is key.

[austinslounge]

Someone saying that Austin is gay is genuinely one of the most delusional things ever. He’s literally never given me that vibe not when he was a teen, in his 20s, or even now. Whoever said that I’m gonna just assume is wishful thinking on their end😂😵‍💫. I’m sorry fellas but Austin is not for y’all! You can admire from a distance but I know Austin will not go there w another man. He’s obviously a heterosexual man who also respects women. He’s a great role model for little boys as well. Nobody should be lying on Austin’s name like this especially with NO EVIDENCE. Now Kaia is another story, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that anon said that to deflect from Kaia’s truth.

I don't think we need to put the other Anon down for their question. It could have just been wishful thinking on their part lol? 😄

But yea, it's pretty obvious (to me anyways) that Austin loves the ladiesss lol.

But! If he were gay, that would be fine too. I've just never gotten that impression at all, and neither have most people.

I think he's a great role model for young boys as well because he's kind, respectful of everyone (women especially), he's smart, but not arrogant, he's down to earth, but genuinely so, he never speaks ill of anyone, he's affectionate, and he's masculine, but also not afraid to be in touch with his sensitive side (not afraid to cry or express his feelings). 😊

Austin is like the perfect blend of what most women would want a man to be tbh. A good balance. 🥰

[skloomdumpster]

I keep trying to work out why Silva went to such lengths to build up this hyper-idealised image of Andreas in Sky's mind and I keep coming up short. I mean, okay, he probably wanted Sky to have decent male role models (and Silva felt guilty about killing Andreas) but Sky already had one of those in Silva. Silva was all the things he claimed Andreas was. Which makes what he did even more baffling.

I feel bad for Sky too - imagine being told growing up every five minutes what a great, noble warrior your dad is and then the real thing shows up - and he's basically an overgrown high school bully - Silva didn't just lie about how Andreas died, he lied about his entire personality. In Sky's shoes, I'd be pissed too.

I wondered once or twice even if Rosalind had Andreas under mind control - not regularly, but often enough that she'd done permanent damage to his mind in some way. Or maybe he'd been hit on the head one time too many. Beatrix was a better strategist than he was - and less easily manipulated - and she was 16.

Of course, Andreas may have just been Like That™ to begin with.

I cannot put in enough words how much fun this ask was to get!! CACKLING at the Andreas' comments.

Alright so I thought at length about the Silva conundrum, I remember thinking the same, literally why are you making up this saint about a bully? Why are you generating distance between you and the son you raised? The boy who wants to be your son?

And the it dawned on me that the goal is exactly that.

I think Silva felt incredibly guilty over Sky and that this enormous sensation of duty and guilt has been his north for longer than anything else has. Silva is a man who describes his father's attack to a Burned One and the fact he took upon his young (10 years old!!) shoulders the burden to give his father a mercy kill. It's Duty Duty Duty.

And I think it's important we differentiate duty from obedience. Andreas is obedient. Andreas hears orders and ignores his own criticism of them, he follows trough no matter what. Silva is dutiful. He has morals and a strict honor code and he'll sometimes fuck himself up over these, he'll get tunnel vision when he has 1 goal in mind (cough "your duty is to Alfea!" said to Sky about spying on Bloom)

All this just to say, I think Silva didn't see himself as a good role to Sky not even for a second. Not when he was a drunk and had a baby he didn't even really want, not when he was sober and had to deal with the fact he had taken a father from this kid - had murdered Andreas, and certainly not when Sky started asking questions and he wanted to give a good answer so he projects some of his traits, some of his own father's traits into a fictional Andreas and only digs the hole deeper. By doing what he thinks is right: killing Andreas, taking Sky under his wing, lying to Sky so he can have a good role model, Saul only makes himself less and less of a good guy in his own eyes and so he NEEDS to push himself from Sky and well... Rinse repeat.

A vicious cycle you cannot be free from unless you're willing to go through dismantling all of it. I wonder if a small part of Saul felt soul crushing relief when Andreas came back and ruined everything. Yes, he revealed Saul was a liar in more ways than one, he showed Saul was a murderer... But also he showed Sky he was not the Andreas from the stories. Which certainly hurt like hell to Sky, but must've felt a little good from Saul's perspective, since he was painting an Andreas who could easily step in and take his son and that simply wasn't reality.

I'm probably rambling, sorry!!

Now, about Andreas, I AGREE SO MUCH. Honestly, about Andreas AND Saul! Strategic my ass, these two are terrible. But I do think Saul has a much clearer head during combat, he can explore his team's strengths and the enemies weaknesses, where Andreas is brute force.

Which, sure, is pretty bad when we look at it head on, but it's not something without its place in a war. Rosalind promoted him for a reason and I can see it, when you're a bloody war where there's no place for hesitation, no place for mercy and obedience is all your commander asks from, Andreas is the perfect soldier. He's a man who'll push through whatever is front of him with sheer brute force and that's what the Burned Ones called for most of the time in the battle field, someone relentless and blood thirsty. In the long run? Not so much!

I think it shows how Andreas is as a character: pragmatic, brute, loyal - that he doesn't question Rosalind's orders and fucks up his relationship with Bea by doing this. Why did he lie about what happened in Aster Dell? Anyone with a brain would understand he'd have a better luck twisting what Aster Dell stood for (a corrupt place) than twisting his role in its destruction. Yet he does that!! He's not a very bright man and that's alright, being smarter than he was would've probably gotten him murdered sooner tbh.

[wisefoxluminary]

Vigor: an essay on Toxic Masculinity in The Boys - character analysis of Soldier Boy and Homelander

So The Boys account posted the full magazine cover of Soldier Boy that Kimiko was reading in the recent episode and a interesting detail caught my eye. Years after his supposed death, Soldier Boy is a poster child of a men's health magazine titled Vigor, a word commonly associated with physical strength and good health. Soldier Boy is a symbol of a true patriotic America and how all men should act. They don't make men like that anymore because Soldier Boy's influence is still strong. This cover is very striking to me as it supports the idea that all men need to be strong and conform to the societal norm. Encouraging men to break up with their girlfriends or to not enjoy interests that aren't associated with manhood etc. There really is an underlying issue of toxic masculinity as Soldier Boy is a literal representation of it. Men are supposed to be strong and that by showing emotion, it is considered weakness. To fit into society, men need to adopt machismo traits in order to preserve their image. Soldier Boy represents how a man should act and behave, we see in season 3 about his outdated views on how men should dress and act, especially his belittling of Hughie.

Men who align themselves with toxic masculinity normally have toxic role models. People in the public eye who have a bad influence on young boys, they further encourage/bring out their toxic traits and mold them into the worst version of themselves per Soldier Boy's warped idolization of Bill Crosby whom he considers to be America's dad when he is far from it. Bullying and deliberately harmed others because they feel they are a threat to their masculine pride just like Soldier Boy's abusive treatment of Black Noir and Soldier Boy considering Homelander, his own son, a disappointment because he doesn't know how to be a father and he sees himself reflecting in Homelander's eyes, the man his father thought had cheated to get compound V in his system, passing on that cycle of abuse and toxic masculinity to Homelander who is slowly breaking under his own pressure and passing that down onto Ryan. We had the scene prior to this of Butcher and Soldier Boy talking about their own abusive fathers and this is key to his character. By becoming his father, Soldier Boy can reject his own flesh and blood and thus driving everyone else to turn against him. This is conflict uprooted in toxic masculinity.

Homelander idolised Soldier Boy way before he learned that he was his father and his desire to reunite stemming from his need to be loved and thus being rejected by him really shakes up Homelander's world. He goes through a mid-life crisis, has fears about becoming old and dives deeper into psychosis by using his power to make other men do things that bring harm to their strong masculine image (hence the blow a-train and the whole scene with Marty.) Homelander may have went back to the lab to come to terms with his past because he felt like he was hurting Ryan, but this was something he had to do for himself to grapple with the effects his father's rejection left on him, how his departure led HL to spend his life in captivity and torture, bringing out his depraved almost childlike ego. A mask he has to wear to hide his fragile masculinity which came out in full force after Soldier Boy called him a fucking disappointment to his face and that continues to slip away the more people challenge him/the more unstable he becomes.

He wants to make himself better and by bringing this harm to others, it's making him fall down the path of becoming a monster, someone worse than even his own father. He considers humans to be below him because they are toys for his own amusement that he can burn down at any second. Someone that he can swoop in and save the day for but could easily control like puppets until they destroy themselves. A common attribute associated with toxic masculinity as males with this type of scorned ego seek to use their bad influence on people to make them feel smaller and to cause them to embrace this toxicity and fall down a dark path of violence and hatred hence falling into place like dominos. Sage encouraged him to adopt this mentality in order to crush the masses with his influence. He is influenced Ryan to embrace this dark behaviours, the same way Soldier Boy used it to put the fear of god into his teammates. Soldier Boy rejected Homelander and by doing that Homelander is falling down this rabbit hole of toxic and fragile masculinity. I'm not saying Homelander wasn't as much of a psychopath before this but it is further encouraging him to adopt this damaging traits and it has sent him too far gone into unhinged territory. Without the love of his father, Homelander has allowed that rejection to take power over him and to shape him into the unforgiving monster he is today. Homelander wouldn't be the way he was in season 4 without Soldier Boy. His influence is greatly felt this season and this is why Homelander has grown into a such snivelling monster hellbent on destroying all of mankind.

With this being said, Soldier Boy also deals with his own kind of fragile masculinity as seen in season 3 when others like Hughie challenge him as a way of emasculating his own overly assertive ego and how he thinks he is better than everyone else. He isn't exactly the red blooded American hero everyone thinks he is and there is something deeper underneath the surface. Soldier Boy serves orders blindly and unquestionably like a unforgiving soldier and is pompously up his own ass. He resorts to violence whenever someone challenges him because he thinks that by smacking the shit out of them, they'll do nothing to harm his ego. They won't expose him for the man he truly is. Soldier Boy really struggles to break out of this mold. He is compensating for his masculinity because he thinks that's how a man is supposed to be strong/fit in to the societal norm when he is far from it. The magazine directly challenges this, taking hits at Soldier Boy's fragile ego by saying is "metrosexuality threatening your manhood"

This takes us into a further deep dive into Soldier Boy's head and how people many years later perceive him. Metrosexuality is relating and denoting men from urban areas who pay too much attention to their personal appearance and cultivating a upscale lifestyle. Men who are obsessed with fashion and how they look, interests that are traditionally associated with women and gay men. It is basically like a heterosexual adopting trends that are stereotypical with homosexuals. Metrosexuals could be openly gay, straight or bisexual.

Soldier Boy is the definition of this term. He is seen in the past quite frequently with the way he performed on Solid Gold, the movie career he cultivated and his sexual activity such as his role in founding herogasm. Caring only about his appearance in public rather than anyone’s perceptions of him, getting lost to drugs and sex as all depraved heroes do. He was high on the eagle's nest. Soldier Boy could very well have experimented with bisexual tendencies at this time but chose to adopt toxic masculinity traits because homosexuality was considered as a crime and far too outside norm at this time and a damaging weakness to a man's ego so Soldier Boy had to keep up this macho facade as a way of not bringing shame to his country. Soldier Boy is the type of guy who is inquired about a fling with another man but then denies that it's gay because he is too strong and egocentric to admit that about himself. This is seen in the way he treats Mallory on the battlefield as his fragile ego gets tested. He embraces misogynistic and homophobic views as a way of looking down on people because he feels that he needs to deflect from the person he truly is. A defensive mechanism so to speak to hide who he truly is. That true part of himself he keeps under lock and key with this toxic persona he has cultivated for himself. By suppressing his true desires, Soldier Boy must become a literal monster and use that power to wreck people's lives with it. It's just as The Deep said, violence is power and that influence will cause others in their wallowing toxic masculinity to do unspeakable things.

I think in season five, we will see Homelander waking up his father from his cryogenic chamber and conspire a truce with him. Manipulating Soldier Boy to join his supe army in their global conquest in exchange for restoring his public image and redeeming himself in the eyes of Vought and the public. Soldier Boy is overbearing, controlling, not really in align with his son's ideas. He uses this partnership as a way of getting revenge on the people that trapped him in the box, mainly The Boys and Stan Edgar. With these issues I've talked about father and son facing, this could eventually lead conflict to stur between Homelander and Soldier Boy. Soldier Boy doesn't think Homelander is fit to lead his team as his power and insanity is slipping by the day. All he cares about is getting his father's approval for the heinous things he's done rather than confront the problem at hand. So Soldier Boy uses his toxic influence to turn the rest of The Seven against him, encouraging them to adopt violent tendencies and to no longer fear Homelander. This leads to Soldier Boy and Homelander to fight as this alliance is likely to end bloody for everyone. Homelander feels rejected and angry and it causes him to go completely off the rails, maybe even violently kill someone in public like the end of season 3 when he felt rejected by SB. I think this was subtly teased with the VCU slate back in episode 5 when a movie called Homelander vs. Soldier Boy: Annihilation was shown, hinting that eventually all blows over and they fight. A father driven to pure hatred of his only son who stages an uprising against him all because Homelander's ego is too fragile for him to handle and it will cause his inevitable downfall. A cycle that is too broken for them to fix.

So in conclusion, Soldier Boy is a character stemmed in toxic masculinity and that influence he carries has damaging consequences for his own son Homelander and everyone around him. By rejected Homelander, Soldier Boy gets rid of that fragile part of him he hated and suppressed for so long. Someone starved for attention and craving for love like he used to be.

End of essay

[margindoodles2407]

Fellas is it wrong to feel less holy for wanting to get married instead of entering religious life. Asking for a friend

In all seriousness. I just... I mean, half the people who know me think I'm going to enter the convent. And I love the religious life! It's a beautiful and noble vocation and I commend and love all the women who have given their lives so fully and completely to God!

But... it hurts me a little, that people think that I have to become a sister because I love the Lord. As if I'm too holy and pure to do anything else. I kind of feel put on a pedestal, and an undeserved pedestal, because I am- to use my favorite expression of St Paul's- the foremost of sinners. I have so many problems. I'm violent and proud and lose my temper too easily, my prayer life is atrocious, and I don't really want to get into it here, but I've had a huge, lifelong struggle and battle against lust that with God's help it looks like I am finally getting over. And I am working on it, and I am offering my broken, sinful self to the Lord and striving to change! To be holier and more patient and kinder and humbler and more chaste and more prayerful and, in a word, more Christ-like! Because that's truly what I want!

But I don't necessarily want that in a convent.

Ever since I was little, the deepest desire of my heart has been to be a mother and a wife. I remember preschool career day, everyone else came in wearing their firefighter and doctor and veterinarian costumes... and I came in, wearing casual clothes and with my baby doll bundled to my chest in a miniature baby carrier my grandma had made specially for the occasion. Maybe it's something about me being the oldest of so many siblings. Maybe it's the fact that my own mother is such an amazing role model. But that's what I truly want, and it's what I have wanted for so many years, and I genuinely think it's what God's been preparing me for my whole life.

But everywhere I go, everyone I've turned to, all I seem to be met with is "You'd make such a good Sister!" or, "So, when are you entering the convent?" or, "Have you ever thought of entering [x] religious order?" with the exception of my own family. And it's led to a lot of stressing over my own vocation, because I'm a very naturally scrupulous person, and so ever since I was, like, eleven years old I've worked myself into the mentality of "I so want to get married to an amazing, wonderful man and have amazing, wonderful children. But what if that's not what God wants for me? I mean, we are called to sacrifice, aren't we? And I'm sure that if I spent enough time in the cloister I could learn to love it. But it's really not what I want. But does what I want matter? Maybe I'm just being selfish. Maybe this is my big test, and I need to give up my own selfish desire for a husband and a family. I'm so afraid that I'm not doing God's will." And so on and so forth.

And it doesn't help that... I've never once been pursued romantically. This is both a blessing and a curse. I get it, I'm young, I've got years to go before I get married, and in today's dating world over half of the hypothetical boys who would ask me out I'd have to politely turn down for various reasons. But it just kind of adds to that whole feeling of me being untouchable, too good and holy and pure for any prospective suitor to soil by attempting to win my favor, and unfortunately... it's kind of gotten to the point where I feel unlovable. Like no one will ever want me like that, like maybe I have no choice but to head behind the grille.

And to make matters worse, there is a boy. He's kind, he's funny, he's courteous and chivalrous and handsome and, most importantly, devout. On fire for his faith. And he shares so many interests with me- we met over the summer and quite literally bonded over our shared love of Zelda and Star Wars. He's an artist, like myself (he draws and writes and plays music) and appreciates the value of beauty in the same way I do. He's also one of my only not-online friends I feel completely and totally secure talking about my faith with, which is the most important thing because in my other friendships I almost always feel spiritually stifled in some way. I am not kidding when I say that he is exactly the man I always prayed for. And, after a very long time of not having a crush, I fell fast and hard. And I can picture us together, I can see us being married and raising children and helping our family get to Heaven together. I can see us growing old together, and having our fights and squabbles but always, through God's grace, coming back more in love than ever. He is one of my best friends and we talk almost every day, and I know that a relationship with him would lead me truly closer to God.

The problem is: he lives pretty far away. We're in the same state, but it's still a three-hour drive. And I have no idea if he feels the same way, because I'd rather have a long-distance friendship that is Godly and holy and whole and lasts for years even if it never leads to anything more, than a long-distance relationship that fizzles out within months and strains the friendship we did once have. To make matters worse, we've talked about vocations and marriage and stuff before (we actually met at summer camp, and our little friend group talked about this kind of thing often), and it turns out that he experiences that phenomenon that seems to be found most heavily concentrated in teenage Catholic populations where there's this amazing incredible Godly young man that every Catholic girl who knows him ends up falling head over heels for. Now, he doesn't play into that (did I mention he's amazing and incredible and Godly), but... there are so many other girls that he could choose, and none of them live three hours away.

I don't know. I just needed to vent, I guess.

TL;DR: I am tired of marriage being seen as lesser than or sub-optimal to religious life, I am tired of always feeling like I need to enter a convent in order to please the Lord, I am tired of being constantly on the verge of a spiritual breakdown over trying to discern my vocation at the tender age of [redacted], and I am tired of feeling like no one will ever want me, except maybe the first guy I've ever been able to actually envision a life with but who lives three hours away and has plenty of admirers besides me.

[chushanye]

Across the Spider-Verse was so weird because it's over two hours of just build-up with no payoff? This whole movie felt like a set up for the third part in the way the MCU does. And the thing is, they introduced two very interesting topics: parenthood and "opposing" police and then didn't deliver on either. The parenthood storyline featured set-ups like Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) and her baby. Gwen's "will you adopt me?" and possible found family especially with the repeated discussions on mentorship later in the movie. Gwen's dad commenting on how difficult parenthood is. Rio talking about how hard it is to let go of Miles being her little man. Jeff's talk with spider-man and that thing about spreading his wings. Peter B. Parker and Mayday. Miguel losing his daughter. Like there were so many threads that connected this theme of parenthood and kids learning how to be kind and responsible from adults but that they still need freedom and healthy rebellion even against loved ones. but it never went anywhere and none of it felt connected. at least not within this movie...which is 2h 20min long.

The scene where Miles is about to tell Rio he is Spider-Man could have been so interesting because the thread connecting all spider-people was NEVER cops- it was "Uncle Ben". It was and always has been family, grief, parental role-models and responsibility. but what also connects them is that all of these spider-people lied to their loved ones about their secret identity. right? like lack of communication and lying in order to "protect" them. and while the scene where you realize Miles went into the wrong universe was done fantastically - the music and atmosphere was so good - imagine how good it would have been if Miles chose to break the cycle of pain and death by being open with Rio. he breaks the cycle by being responsible, honest and having trust in his family! and they have to learn how to let him go and "fly" while trusting he will come home safe and that they will be able to care for him. + it would tie at least one theme in this movie together. but it was a fake out scene instead.

but this movie couldn't fully deliver on the parental theme because it goes hand-in-hand with the weird pro-cop thing. you have spider-punk who is there to question all authority but he can't be in the movie for too long because you just KNOW he's anti-police and we can't have that in this movie that literally relies on the assumption that what makes spider-people spider-man is that a fucking police chief dies. and also the whole spider organisation imprisoning anomalies and being judge jury and executioner of what is "right" for the multiverse, and Miguel BEATING THE SHIT out of Miles while telling him he was the original anomaly, that he is a mistake, and so on...(and lets not forget Miles is a young Black boy and all of this carried implications) and the whole plotline that the whole reason this spider-society exists is to specifically target MILES.....bro the implications are so fucking concerning.

and i mean from the first movie miles wants to become spider-man to "help" people the way his dad does so pro-cop idolization was there from the start. but then this sequel attempts to have some criticism of it as well with Gwen's storyline with her dad. where he almost shoots and attempts to arrest her. and i was watching that scene and thinking "you know this is really good criticism because it shows that 'good' cops aren't a thing because they fundamentally are there to protect a system and not actual justice." but then later in the movie they do a 180 and Gwen straight up goes "you're one of the good cops dad. you pick up that badge because if you didn't, worse people then you would" and it's like what kind of "not all cops. the good ones are somehow exempt from the system" bullshit is that? and i thought when she said "you're a good cop, dad" that she was gonna follow it up with "but you're a bad person because of it." and that would have been such a banger line and i got so hyped because that line was so good in my head but no they just straight up went the pro-cop route. also the whole "the thread that connects all spider-men is the death of a chief of police" made no fucking sense. why would the death of his girlfriends dad be super personal to Pavitr and motivate him to be a better Spider-Man???? literally what. WHY was the "thing that connects all spider-men" made to be a fucking police chief. like I'm sorry that's literally so stupid I was sitting there so fucking confused like "it was family????? the line was always with great power comes great responsibility and that they learn the lesion from someone near and dear to them. and Jeff taught miles to "go by the book" and Mile's opposing this spider-society is him refusing to do that (tying into the theme of rebellion) -> so he thematically realizes he need to oppose organisations that follow rules fundamentally opposed to his morals of not killing people....but he doesn't question his dads job? idk between that parallel and spider-punk, and gwen and her dad i thought something fruitful was gonna be there

but i guess i should be that surprised because marvel has been ramming the pro-military and pro-state propaganda for years now. it just feels so performative in this movie where gwen has "protect tans kids" on her wall and miles has a "BLM" pin.

[theninth09]

I don’t really know where I’m going with this, it’s kinda just a hunch I had.

There’s a difference between being called hot and being called beautiful.

Liam is beautiful, not hot. He has that classic prince look to him. He has that glow and that energy where you can tell he’s healthy, like he has a good diet and keeps his grooming in check and probably snacks on fruit. Like there’s Lana del Rey playing in the background whenever you look at him. He’s the guy that is so beautiful that he isn’t sexualised. Everyone looks at him from afar as this like being that’s so ethereal and classic that he isn’t on the same level as all of the ‘hot’ Instagram model types. It’s like comparing some guy from today to an actor from the 90s, the latter being Liam. Like he’s too angelic in his facial structure. So delicate like he belongs to an old painting or something. And people notice that and don’t put him in the same light as a guy they’d hook up with on a night out or some hot guy who’s passing on the street. His look is too pure and too beautiful, almost regal for that. He definitely smells very clean as well, like a shower almost. But then when you get him alone, and his hair has that bedhead tousle or he is sleepy in the morning, it’s sinful. Like seeing someone so pure and majestic crack a little.

Theo is hot, not beautiful. This may sound brutal but he’s the kinda guy you’d see and call him hot or sexy like a pornstar but he doesn’t have that regal, princely, from a painting vibe to him at all. He’s the guy you sexualise. His look isn’t pure or ‘beautiful’, it’s hot, and sexy. There’s a big difference. He’s more rugged and has a more dirty vibe, like he isn’t angelic or pure or delicate. He is more dark circles messy hair vibes. His voice is probably a little hoarse from smoking. He has that Instagram model vibe and you can tell his look is more ‘put on’, like he gels his hair and tries with outfits and wears a leather jacket and jeans that are a little tight and definitely oversprays with some dark smoky cologne.

I don’t know if this is a weird post or not, I could be chatting total shit so sorry if I it is but it’s just a hunch I had.

i do kinda see where you were going with this, yeah! i definitely think that there's a difference between how people perceive them. im not gonna go into much detail how they actually look, bc thats kinda just their actors and me personally, im not good at pointing out what people find attractive about them since.. i do not find either of them attractive (they're just random men to me and id say sorry but actually.. im not sorry) anyway!

liam does feel like this, for lack of a better phrase and at the risk of sounding cringe, good boy. like. he isnt very tall nor is he buff (yeah he has muscles but hes not like. Huge or anything bc of it) so at first glance he doesnt feel intimidating at all. i feel like his personality adds to this as well, bc hes very nice and gentle all of the time. and he can be a bit silly, too! i know that ppl often reduce him to his anger issues (the writers, the characters in the show and the fandom...) but we actually see him be sweet a lot. with hayden, with his friends, with his dad. he has this calm presence to him. i do feel like this adds to this aura you described, how people dont look at him and think "hot" but rather just, hey, thats a sweet guy.

and that he takes care of himself makes a lot of sense since hes a lacrosse player. do i think that everyone who plays sports at school automatically has a good diet, etc? no, obviously not. but lacrosse is extremely important to him and hes so fit due to his training, that scott & stiles mistake him for a were-creature. that he'd watch what he eats, gets enough rest, etc would make a lot of sense and we literally see him lifting weights and going on runs in the show. so him having a healthy look to him, definitely.

i do want to add that for me, his introduction plays a role here too. hes so young in s4 like. quite literally a child. and as someone who watched that as an adult, i obviously didnt even consider thinking of him like that. like his appearance quite literally doesnt matter to me bc thats a kid. (this is also the reason i dont feel comfortable writing explicit-rated fics that take place during s4-5. i only feel comfortable doing that for s6/post-canon.) so in my mind, hes automatically not anything even close to "hot" bc of the way he gets introduced.

theo, on the other hand, gets introduced in exactly the opposite way. some of his earliest scenes include malia commenting on his body, calling him "hot", him being naked multiple times... that scene of him undressing in front of malia is literally called "thirsting for theo" on the official youtube account. like. cant get much more obvious than that. and ive talked about theo getting sexualized and even sexualizing himself in another post (here) so i definitely agree with that. he uses his looks like a weapon. he counts on other people finding him attractive, he knows that he has every reason to be confident about it. he uses it to his advantage. and he has to unlearn that he doesnt have to seduce/intimidate people anymore and that hes allowed to be soft and gentle, too. that being vulnerable doesnt have to be scary, etc.

i think that hygiene is probably something hes very particular about. obviously we dont see the full extent of his homelessness, but hes always very put together (i think this is due to lazy writing, but let me pretend that there are canon reasons for it.) despite not having a reliable way to take care of himself, its important to him that the pack doesnt get to see him at his lowest. his hair is always styled, he shaves, he wears different outfits. he doesnt want anyone to notice in what a vulnerable situation hes in. post-canon, when hes not homeless anymore (either living on his own or with liam) i think he'd probably struggle a bit at first. having been homeless 100% had an impact on him, so maybe he'd struggle with being casual about it. always savoring that he has an immediate water source, that there's always enough soap, etc. switching between indulging in getting to always be clean and almost obsessing over it.

about his voice: i personally dont think he smokes, bc im just not a fan of that (if you hc that he does, thats cool!) but i do think that he has a deep voice sometimes. his voice is deeper in comparison to liams already and theres that one interview where tyler posey comments on cody christians voice sounding sexy and cody explains it by saying that hes tired. so. theos voice being hoarse after he wakes up or when hes about to go to sleep is my personal hc.

i think their differences here are very interesting when it comes to their relationship. theo definitely looks up to liam, is impressed by him and maybe almost idolizes him a bit. getting to see liam "crack" as you said, would probably make theo feel a lot of emotions. yeah, he'd find it attractive but also just getting to see liam when hes vulnerable, being allowed to see him when hes raw. that'd mean a lot to theo. and at the same time, liam getting theo to lose his persona and slowly helping him remove those walls, would make liam emotional too. getting to see underneath, getting to see theo when hes soft and not putting on a show.

[beanghostprincess]

Opinions on Sanuso ?? 😁

this is like asking jesus his opinions on the bible but okay i'll answer your silly question (-> said by someone literally desperate to answer this question. thank you.)

sanuso, to me, is the most domestic and realistic ship when it comes to sanji. of course, usopp too, but i'm focusing on the one who has more ships than fights in this show. dude is shipped with everybody (as he should be. sanji deserves all the love). what i mean by this, is that their personalities match perfectly:

they're both insecure and have self-worth issues, but cope with them in different ways, and the reason why they're like that is their different but oddly similar pasts if you think about it!!

sanji has... a fair amount of trauma. my poor boy. he was born into a family that constantly told him he was weak and undeserving of love. he was abused, physically and mentally, and he lost the only one who truly made him happy. then he finally made it to the east blue, but even if zeff's a great father (we love you, king) his views on strength and masculinity obviously had a lot to do with sanji's personality. he had to learn to cope in silence, to deal with pain like a man, and to sacrifice himself for others every damn time, not only because he's too kind for his own good, but also because he doesn't think he deserves to be a priority.

on the other hand, usopp was born into a loving family, but his father and role model disappeared and his mom died when he was still very, very young. he had to cope on his own, but at least he had kaya. and the village. right? however, he has spent his whole life pretending and lying and not acting like himself because he doesn't like himself. because he dreamt of bigger things and he was nothing compared to the fantasies he told kaya about.

sanji is the dream usopp seeks, and usopp is the domesticity sanji needs.

sanji sacrifices himself and deals with pain in silence like a man. usopp lies and hides and runs from the truth because he thinks he's not good enough.

so here we have these idiots who do not love themselves but love everyone else with the biggest hearts we've ever seen.

and, you know, people don't ship sanuso as much as they ship other pairings. and i'm not gonna go into the whole "actually, usopp's ships are underrated because usopp himself is underrated and it has to be with him not following stereotypes and normativity regarding his looks and personality in shonen manga" but it's literally just that. i'm so, so sure the ship would be more popular if people actually stopped and valued usopp more... not gonna go into this. sorry. i just love him too much to not defend him to death all the time.

so... the thing about sanuso that makes them so special to me:

they understand and complement each other in a way i think no other mugiwara would understand, and they know how to deal with each other's pain.

(i know this is just my opinion and not an analysis, but i'm annoying when it comes to sanuso so i'm just gonna keep writing until my hands fall off!)

their personalities are... different. like. not "opposites attract different" but... different.

sanji masks his insecurities by acting like the gentleman he already is. he just hides his past and, when the situation comes, he always sacrifices himself but never says the reason why. he covers the fact that he sees himself as undeserving of living and being a priority by putting others first, using his "prince-like/gentleman" facade. we see this with women, mostly, but he's always giving and never taking. he isn't selfish. in fact, he's selfless to a worrisome extent (thriller bark, for example. skypiea, too). but he masks all of this just by saying he's strong enough to take it! man enough to protect everyone! and both can coexist, but it's pretty obvious that he wants to feel useful and loved and the use of self-sacrifice shows us both at the same time.

usopp, on the other hand? he's more fond of running away from his problems and hiding and using his "god/warrior" facade to cover all of his hatred for himself. hatred that not only comes from his past, but also from being surrounded by men who are stronger to an insane extent that's even weird in the anime fantasy world they're in. of course he feels insecure! he's not selfish, per se, but he's kind of a coward and he has this survivor's instinct that sanji lacks. but also, when the time comes, his own morality and good heart make him act beyond that instinct and he's the one to save the ones weaker than him (dressrosa).

okay, so, they both feel very insecure. sanji about his masculinity and worth, and usopp about his strength and bravery. sanji deals with it by self-sacrificing himself and using his gentleman facade, and usopp does the same by lying and running away. sanji doesn't fear death if it's to protect others, and usopp is scared of dying but he would fight against it in some cases for the same reason.

this is why i think they understand each other on a deep, intimate level that other mugiwaras don't get. water 7 is the best example of this, and it will forever be (along with skypiea) the best arc to explain why sanuso works so well. i honestly miss pre time-skip sanuso. they were so, so good...

and it's not only that they understand each other deeply, but the fact that they know how to work with it! their personalities match so well...

sanji thinks before acting and makes plans and his whole life is this complex recipe he has used ever since he was a kid to achieve the expectations of others, hiding his past and his fears. sanji understands people. he can read them well and knows how to approach them with a gentle, caring behavior. he's a sweetheart. he sees somebody suffering and goes to help. or, you know, he can also be a bastard and act on impulse but that's him too, isn't he? (by the way, not gonna mention zosan's dynamic here because that's a complete analysis of them also and it would make this thing longer). his actions are thoughtful but they're led by emotions and empathy mostly.

usopp is more logical and anxious, though. he thinks things through and tries to find the better outcome for himself and whoever he's trying to save, but it isn't really helpful the fact that he's an anxious guy with the constant fear of failure and hurting himself or being seen as weak. but he approaches problems nevertheless when he needs to, and he understands people and gives them what they need at the moment, if that makes any sense.

sanji needs somebody who will understand him but also will give him what he needs at the moment, and usopp needs somebody who's thoughtful and will see beyond his insecurities. that's why they work!!! they make me ill!!!

they're, for me, one of the best ships because they can talk things out. well, of course, sanji's repressed ass would have thousands of issues with liking a boy and also with opening up to somebody. but after seeing usopp is the same as him? after noticing that usopp's just pretending to be confident and he's also worried about what sanji thinks of him? it's beautiful. they could have, as a couple, such a deep connection!!

sanji knows usopp can protect himself but still helps him out all the time because of fear of losing him, and usopp gives sanji enough space to let him open up without suffocating him. they don't rush things. their thing happens naturally. gradually. it's slow and gorgeous and sometimes a bit angsty from both sides, but... it's the magic of a relationship turning into romantic when it used to be only a friendship. i love them so much!!!!! aghhhhhhhh *bangs head against concrete floor*

not to mention, also, that their canon dynamic is hilarious. usopp taking care of sanji at gyojin island when he's being uh.... all over the place with women, but also being done with his behavior is so married couple coded. and also, their whole thing ever since they've known each other is so so funny. because usopp can be as chaotic as luffy sometimes, when he's actually a very logical guy (he loses brain cells when he's around luffy and chopper istg), and sanji has to deal with it. and sanji is calm and collected but a fucking mess when it comes to feelings and love and usopp has to be the one to ground him. also, usopp teases him constantly when he flirts with women.

and, idk, their whole relationship feels very domestic and beautiful to me, especially after skypiea and water 7. i really do miss them there!! they're still boyfriends, though.

and also... gonna go into mbti stuff right now, kay? i love, love, LOVE sanji being an enfj and usopp being an entp:

-> ENTPs and ENFJs are both Extroverted, Intuitive personalities, meaning they tend to enjoy being around others and focusing on the big picture. However, ENTPs are also logical thinkers, who enjoy pursuing new experiences, while ENFJs are empathetic and prefer following set schedules. ENTP personalities should engage in casual, personal conversation with ENFJs, while ENFJs should communicate clearly and logically around ENTPs. -> ENTPs should be sensitive to ENFJs’ feelings by addressing issues gently and helping ENFJs feel safe enough to share their thoughts openly. ENFJs should work to focus carefully on the facts of the situation and avoid overly emotional expressions around ENTPs.

NOT TO MENTION SANJI IS 1W2 AND USOPP IS 6W7 AND THEY MAKE ME GO INSANE CRAZY I'M UNWELL-

but yeah, you can say i like sanuso a fair, normal amount! :)

(i'm not normal)

i just love how domestic and genuine their ship feels. because unlike their other ships, focusing mainly on either sexual tension or painful pining and devotion, these two have such a natural and sweet dynamic... it kind of reminds me to usopp and kaya, too! perhaps that's why it works so well (in this blog we support and love both ships. usopp has two hands!).

10/10 great awesome ship. they give spiderman x gwen stacy but maybe that's just me and my fantasies of them doing the spider-kiss with sogeking.

[tashas-cauldron-of-magic-soup]

Hey so I think you have talked bits about Kazimir's opinion on Drizzt Do'urden but I'm curious about his overall thoughts about Drizzt (If you want if course)

My friend, I am so happy you asked!

So I have somewhat limited knowledge on Drizzt. I have yet to read the novels about him and plan to in the future. But I have fallen down several lore rabbit holes on him so hopefully it suffices.

Drizzt was born in 1297 DR, which makes him 74 years older than Kazimir. Drizzt was already out of the Underdark and doing hero things by 1371 DR when Kaz was born. As such, news about him definitely hit Waterdeep during Kaz's entire childhood and adolescence.

Since the people of Farwallow wanted Kaz to have a good role model like the other kids, Drizzt was perfect. Not only is he a drow hero, he's also a ranger just like Kazimir's mother, Quin. So he could relate very well to him and strive to be like him. The Church of Eilistraee, where Kaz frequented with his mothers so he could make friends with fellow drow, also knew of Drizzt and encouraged Kaz to aspire to a similar path.

In short, if they made posters of Drizzt for Kaz to put up in his room at his parents' house, he would've had several like any good teenage fanboy with his favorite celebrity.

When he was an adolescent, and started having romantic feelings for others, he didn't really acknowledge that he had the same feelings for other boys that he did for girls. Until he finally saw a depiction of Drizzt, this wicked cool drow hero whom he'd looked up to for years, and realized he's also unconscionably attractive. And his romantic feelings for men hit him like a ton of bricks. Hence, Drizzt being Kaz's bisexual awakening became canon.

He secretly wished around that time for Drizzt to come whisk him away for an adventure and teach him to be a gloom stalker. And then fall in love and live happily ever after, the end. Even though he knew Drizzt had Catti-brie, a literal wife, a young and naïve Kazimir could hope, right??

Now that Kazimir is a grown man, he mostly just holds immense respect for Drizzt and laughs whenever he's compared to him. Since Kaz definitely doesn't think he's anywhere near that cool.

However! That doesn't mean that Kaz wouldn't also internally lose his fucking mind if he met Drizzt in the flesh. Like I think he'd forget his own name for a few seconds. Then implicitly try to look cool in front of him.

In all honesty, I like to think Drizzt would treat Kazimir like a beloved little brother if they really got to know one another. They'd fight unbelievably well together and I think Drizzt would respect Kaz's skills with a bow. Which would make Kaz so happy he nearly faints.

[tetsunabouquet]

Jonathan Christopher Fray, how he would have been like (Headcanon)

A/N: Alright, remember when I said that whilst I'll mainly do KNB content, I want to branch out to other fandoms on occasion? This is one of those!

Now for the Shadowhunter fandom; my headcanons are usually me picking any topic I have a headcanon about for a character, whether its a subtle element I feel like others are missing, a character analysis kind of thingy, where I can see them in the future that sort of thing.

So hereby, I'll dedicate myself to Jonathan Christopher Fray, the boy Sebastian should have been. Here are my headcanon's for a version of him where he never was experimented on by Valentine and grew up with Clary in New York.

-He's actually the total opposite of his father. Whilst confident, he's a total sweetheart and a caring brother. I mean, we have seen Sebastian from Thule, and how all of his humanity has burned away in that world. Yet even then, he's more generous of a father and spoils his kid way more then he's ever been. If he can do things better then Valentine when he's pretty much a demon now- just think of how good of a soul Jonathan actually must have been. For it to have hold out against Lilith's demon's blood for at least 17 years also makes me think he has a very strong will. -He's the perfect older brother, Clary is very lucky. -Jonathan and Simon actually also get along pretty well. I have a suspision he'd actually could be convinced to game with Simon considering he did allow Ash to game. -In regards to the topic of gaming, by the time Jace would come around, the three of them would have annual gaming sessions. They even have their own mancave for doing so. -Alec and Magnus, tease them for it on occasion. -On occasion, Luke supplies them with beer as they decided to use Jonathan's old room as the mancave (he moved into the Institute). -Considering Jonathan grew up happily alongside Clary in this perfect world, he's actually fond of Luke. He considers Luke the father figure and role model he needed, and is glad he was raised by Luke instead of Valentine every day. -Actually also would have picked up some form of artistic pursuit.  With Jocelyn being a painter and Valentine having had carving skills, it's very much possible Clary isn't the only talented one. I have a feeling he would have been into ceramics, considering the way it can feature both sculpting and painting. -I literally have this scenario for a one shot in my head about him and the reader having a cute pottery date, with him trying to teach the reader, since being introduced to the concept of him in City of Heavenly Fire. -Considering his resemblance to Valentine, Jace pretty much was onto them being related right away, yet it did not stop him from falling in love with Clary anyway. He went into the tormented anguish of thinking he's in love with his sister right away. -After finding out the truth, Jonathan did not object fo Clary and Jace even though he found it a bit weird at first as Jace was still their adopted brother. -I imagine he's actually not too keen on fighting. Now, don't get me wrong he's still fighting alongside everyone when necessary but I can imagine he'd actually feel some responsibility being Valentine's son, and trying to work for Downworlders's rights politically rather then being active on patrols all the time.  -Valentine totally would have loathed everything he'd stand for. -Considering his pranking of Valentine, Jonathan totally has a mischievous, prankster streak. Especially when he was a young boy, he was a force to be reckoned with. -And he'd target any kid bullying Clary. -Which often got him into trouble. Jocelyn had to be called by the headmaster more then once. -But because he was a sweet, adorable boy they'd often just end up giving him a slap on the wrist. He definitely has that in common with Valentine, but sometimes Jonathan just creates too big of a mess to ignore. -Like, any April Fools. -Clary very much tries everything in her power to stay away from him during April Fools. He definitely got her good more then once when they were kids. -His creativity only makes it worse. -Jonathan was the one to carry the rings on Jocelyn and Luke's wedding. -And unlike Sebastian who's fashion sense is influenced by Valentine, these sort of occasions are the only time you'll spot Jonathen wearing a suit. Considering he's an artist, and probably wants comfort on the days were he isn't fighting, he dresses very casually.