#It really speaks to his “generous” character

[pomefioredove]

I'm not sure exactly which day counts as "weekend" bc of cultural differences lol but you can ignore this if it's not on the permitted day!!

But for the brief Rollo x reader thing that's you're doing, can I please have something with him and a reader that is generally very tactile? One day they grab his hand to pull him somewhere as they absentmindedly ramble, and they don't realize it until he speaks up about it (or not....? <w<)

hii anon!! ofc this is a very cute request

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ cold hands

type of post: short fic characters: rollo additional info: platonic or romantic, reader is gender neutral, reader is yuu

Winter in Fleur City is as unkind as it is beautiful.

Autumn's colorful embrace was short and sweet, giving you but three weeks of cozy, lukewarm mornings before the trees were bare and bending in the breeze that carried along the Soleil.

The first snow of the winter season had completely frozen over the river.

It had also kissed everything in frost, blanketed the streets, and canceled classes at Noble Bell College for the morning. It was heavy and restless.

It became no wonder to you that the people of Fleur City were eager to put up their tinsel and candles. The smell of cinnamon and pine is an effective distraction from the icy wind, after all.

And so, without classes to attend to, you find yourself walking through the city on crushed snow, already muddy with boot prints and animal hooves, to a seasonal cafe which had just opened.

Oh, and the Student Council President has offered to escort you.

It's, apparently, quite an ordeal; the few Noble Bell students you pass by in the streets stop mid-snowball fight or nearly drop their to-go coffees from their mittens when they see you, bundled up in Rollo Flamme's scarf, walking hand-in-hand.

You honestly hadn't even noticed you had grabbed him. It had been somewhat of an impulse, your cold, undressed hands feeling out for something to hold.

And usually, that would have been a quill, or one of those artisanal wooden blocks this city so loves, just something to run your thumb over while you think, not the Student Council President's hand.

But he doesn't say anything, and, more presently, doesn't pull away.

"You really ought to have dressed warmer," Rollo says, fussing over the scarf he'd given you off his own neck. "You'll catch something, and missing class over a frivolous venture such as is unacceptable."

"I suppose I didn't think of it,"

"Then next time," he says. "I don't know what I would do with myself if you were ill. It's the busiest time of year."

Right. Finals are coming up.

"I won't do it again,"

He sighs. "I know. Now, come along. Morning classes may have been dismissed, quite unnecessarily, I might say, but we'll both be expected on campus at noon,"

His hand tightens around yours, and his pace becomes brisker, cutting through the myriad of tourists and laughing children and pigeons. He shields you from the falling snow and blistering wind, holding you behind him until you reach the cafe.

It's bustling and loud inside, busier than the annual cafes you're used to visiting, but Rollo somehow has you in and out with a warm drink and a pastry in no more than five minutes.

You have the treat outside, your hands already cracked from the dry cold in the air, and once you've finished he slips his hand into yours and begins walking again.

There's not much conversation. Rollo is a strange man; some days, he's happy to talk about the history of Fleur City or what he's studying in Noble Bell's prestigious law class, and some days he's like this. Quiet.

His hand is surprisingly warm, though, despite the cold he seems to maintain a high body temperature all on his own. He runs a thumb over the back of your hand, feeling the dry skin there.

"You're freezing,"

"I'm okay,"

"Honesty is a virtue," he snaps, his sharp way of reminding you that he can always tell when you're lying, and he doesn't like it.

"You'll catch your death of cold. And then what would I do?"

For a fleeting moment, you can swear he gets a little warmer; or, at least, his hand does. You must be imagining things.

The silence lingers like the cold in the air, but, finally, he gets you to start talking about your favorite class subject, which you do until you've reached the gates of the school.

Rollo stops you, bids you an overly formal good-bye, and takes his hand, too, leaving you with the cold.

Hm. He seemed so off today. You wonder what that could be?

You won't realize that you'd been holding his hand all morning until later, but for now, you're content with the mystery and the warm scarf he left on your shoulders.

[meo-eiru]

MERU😭😭😭 i finally had a free moment to relax and the first thing i wanted to do was play hold your tongues and i've spent the last few hours pouring over how absolutely beautiful of a piece it is in storytelling and visuals. i genuinely have so much to gush over and idk where i should be doing it so into your inbox it goes. i apologise in advance, you also don't have to respond to this bc 1) i am aware it's gonna get vv long and 2) spoilers will definitely be mentioned

i hope sel knows what an absolute gem of a writer she is for executing all of this bc i am fucking gobsmacked by how well certain ideas and concepts were interwoven throughout the entire piece. maybe a lot of the things following are just my interpretations, but that's another thing i really really love — there's enough ambiguity in the prose to be able to infer it in so many different ways

first to the namesake of the game, ‘hold your tongues’ and the many connotations of tongues that are explored throughout; as symbols of liberation and entrapment that intermingle so so well. i feel like the game really delves into the struggles that women face in society, in relationships, just in general and i like how since it's done so through maelyn's own perspective, we're privy to a more complex and raw display of how deeply emotionally scarring it can be.

eric is a little bitch imo (i won't retract that statement ever) but the ever judgmental, taunting and superior tone he has as the ‘voice’ in maelyn's head speaks volumes of the character he possessed and the lasting impact it had on her. giving her dress to another man makes her ‘unfaithful’, the fact that it's emphasised that these are only ‘remains’ of a dress too — bc eric left her with shreds, physically, mentally. 

if we take the dress to act as a metaphor for maelyn herself, he left her in shreds.

in response to this, maelyn bites her tongue, so hard that it bleeds. it's restraint, quite literally biting back your anger and the feeling of being wronged. grounding yourself again to the harsh reality of it all, and it brings her back to the present moment when starling points it out.

we see a similar occurrence later on when maelyn relays her tongue ‘longing for a taste, was to be kept down.' so again, she stops herself (and i think the wording here is particularly interesting, that it was to be kept, so intrinsically this too may also link to how women are commonly taught to be submissive and forced to fit to certain standards). 

in both contexts, the act of biting the tongue can be taken as a suppression of some sort of desire — the first is the desire to be mad, and the second is the desire of lust. both which women have been criticised for through the ages.

i also like to think that the tongue is a representation of freedom. starling is very much making wings to fly out of them, and taking them away from ppl has ‘forever deprived of their ability to lie’ (in which case lying = freedom, i won't expand on this too much bc it'll be another whole essay😭) so going back to maelyn, her biting hers can also be seen as her freedom being hurt, prevented.

another thing is, the line just before ‘he never ran out of tongues’, we can take this as starling never having his freedom threatened. and it poses further questions. is this because of his strength? is it because he has the ocean ‘wholly’? is it because he's a ‘man’?

on my first run through, one of the most prominent questions i came away w/ was what was it that attracted maelyn to starling? to the concept of these monsters of the sea that had surpassed human constraints that had her waiting out all those hours to catch a glimpse of one to begin with. what was it that kept her coming back? time and time again, day after day when she could've not gone back to that shore after leaving.

the text narrates a couple of things that i think contributed, there's a sense of warring humanity and animosity in the repetitive motifs of dirt and uncleanliness, in her noting that starling looked ‘half a man’ and that one half could've ‘consumed’ the other. maelyn has an envy that's touched upon frequently. does maelyn want to be closer to a monster so that no one can hurt her? or does she feel like a monster is all she can be now?

then there's a dynamic with power that was honestly done so well. again, my praise to sel for how well thought out it all was. that part where she put her hand into his guts and he made sounds he was ‘unable to control’, another when she tells him ‘cut’ and he does so without question — she recognises she holds the reins in that moment, acknowledges, ‘in control, I breathed.’ 

starling listens to her for the most part, it's a reoccuring theme. even when making his wings, he's following her instructions although it's made clear that he learns quick and is capable. perhaps this gives her comfortability.

but we see this turn on its head when things start to go left, starling begins to do as he pleases and maelyn is taken back into her trauma, back to feeling ‘disgusting’ and ‘unclean’, she even apologises and promises to do better.

leashes are mentioned a few times, maelyn first describes them as a sort of ‘necklace’ — perhaps this is tribute to the way a woman's submission is often beautified and normalised. the ‘leash’ starling puts on her in one of the ends is made of pearls, he keeps it in his mouth before this. could this be a reference to eric's sweet words that bound maelyn before he revealed himself? starling ties it somewhat loosely ‘so she could breathe’ yet that doesn't take away the fact that it's still there. it has a sort of your cage is not small, but that doesn't mean you're not locked in it kinda feel.

there's so much more i could say but i think ive alr said too much😭 i didnt even get to touch on the cuddle ending which was my favourite, or the symbolism of losing fingers, the significance of the numbers two, three and four to the story. I DIDN'T EVEN TALK MUCH ABT THE ART😭😭 MERU SORRY I GOT DISTRACTED BUT THE ART WAS PHENOMENAL❗️❗️❗️❗️

maelyn is super pretty and i love how her and starling contrast each other in design so nicely. starling's expressions were stellar ++ the bgs and cgs were beautiful (you're right, if you didn't clarify it i would think you were behind the chest one haha). also the body horror aspect was really brought to life with the visuals and ik it definitely mustn't have been easy drawing all those organs, thank you for your service meruuuu

i'll shut up here before i write another 3k, but both you and sel did such a great job w/ this. the two of you deserve a nice break to rest so pls make sure to take things easy and take care of yourselves!! drink water and sleep when you can, and know that you've made a masterpiece♥️

OH MY GOD THIS ASK IS MAKING ME GO FERAL

It's so well written??? You did such a good job picking up the details hidden behind their lines??? I fish you continued writing because I for sure did not want to finish it and please do send the other thoughts you had if you can, I love this so much

I'm sure @celerifleuri will too so I'll tag her

You already mentioned the spoilers at the start but I'll also note it down here for people who haven't played the game yet. I'm sure sel will do a much better job answering your story analyses but I'll also say you're completely right with most things you've said.

The story takes place in 1800s with dated gender roles we unfortunately can still relate to. Maelyn is a curious woman who wants to study and experiment, but is being held back by society and even people who she thought she could trust, but again Sel will do a better job explaining those.

I'll talk about the art a bit. One thing I really enjoyed that was kinda unintentional on my part was the use of night and day.

The story starts at night time, the first ever cg we get of Maelyn is her jumping down the cliff, with the moon's reflection on her left and the waves giving an illusion of wings as she looks up, in that very moment she is free.

On the other hand the first ever cg of Starling is day time. The sun is shining brightly from his left, almost blindingly, as he looks down. His hair covering the screen like spider webs.

To contrast these, it's night time in the wood ending. Just like the first cg of Maelyn, we can see the soft moonight shining upon them but not quite reaching Starling's face. Maelyn is alive.

Meanwhile in the bone ending, even though they are underwater we can tell it's day time, just like the first Starling cg. We get to see a glimpse of them through the seaweeds covering our view, the sunlight showering them gently. Starling is alive.

For the character designs too, a bit of a reverse but I'd say Maelyn resembles the sun, meanwhile Starling is like the moon.

They both share green eyes, although quite different shades. Maelyn has bright red hair that contrasts Starling's red tongue tail.

I also like that Maelyn's hair, albeit a bit loosely, is braided and kept tidy. Meanwhile Starling's hair is usually all over the place and quite messy.

[squiddy-god]

Lmao last time I asked for Avenpaz but this is x reader so what about Aventurine x reader? Hehe thank you :3 (Desperate for some Aventurine stuff 🥰)

Yes you may, i'm going to do general hcs for this because thats what im feeling right now teehee- on a side note, aventurine but its the scene with hua cheng and xie lian with the dice rolling- there was just,,,so much tension in that scene please  

♡requests open♡

Cw : gn!reader, mentions of trauma and spoilers for his story and a bit of penacony, fluff. Both established and un established relationship hcs, a little bit of angst 

Ok so pre relationship i think that aventurine is actually quick to catch feelings but slow to realize them

Like off the bat he can tell how he feels in about someone, like or dislike, trust or not trust 

What is slow to build is how deep that runs, both his romantic feelings and his trust are gained slowly but eventually snowball and that is when he finally either realizes or admits it.

Something i never got in general is when people talk about like how {character} wouldn't trust you until xxx into relationship etc

But the thing is like, are y'all dating people you dont trust? Because especially as someone who is depressed/traumatized, I fully would have to trust someone to get into a relationship, and that trust does not reset to 0 because we got together like??- i promise i will tie this in trust me 

The other slight problem with aventurine pre relationship is that after he realizes/admits his feelings to himself he is taking that to his grave. He will casually flirt or maybe drop little hints, but he is content to never speak these feelings out loud to you, 

Half of this is a fear of forming intimate connections that he knows he's ultimately powerless to protect, he fears rejection and loss when it truly matters and this prevents him from ever really bringing himself to pursue you. The other half is a subconscious self sabotaging hatred. Despite his fronting he is an insecure and traumatized man who's become jaded by the cosmos. While he at this point would trust you implicitly he cant help the feeling that you won't, dont, and couldn't possibly like him and return his feelings. 

Reasonably he knows that he is an attractive man, a man with both wealth,power, and status, and yet he feels that you won't possibly want him. His self loathing even in his subconscious holds him back, giving a false sense of apathy towards your relationship status that outweighs the jealousy he feels. In truth the jealousy only serves to prove his point on how you don't return his feelings

There are scenarios that I think he would confess first if you don't beat him to the punch. 

The first is said jokingly, and yet there is not that sharp witted teasing edge or bite to his words, unexpectedly raw and genuine when he poses a simple “what if” question 

The second involves many different factors, maybe you catch him on a good day, maybe he sees the way you seem to look at him and in your eyes is the reflection of his own affections. Maybe you catch him on a bad day, and in his pit of despair he decides that it is at least worth the risk to gamble.

These are the moments he confesses to you, bated breath waiting for the other shoe to drop and for you to lash out with laughter or anger but he is delighted when you return his feelings

Ok ok enough angst-

This man is a shameless flirt, he is romantic long before you every begin a relationship- you just take it as a joke, a bit that's silly between close friends 

After you manage to pry that confession out of him or you make the first move, he is shockingly quick to put a label on it, you are his romantic partner! His love, hes your lucky charm

Ok ok like i said before i really don't thing that aventurine is the type to be in an actual relationship with someone he A)doesn’t trust, or B) doesn’t love

So by the time you get in a relationship there is already a strong foundation of real trust, but he has already realized he is hopelessly in love. 

I will die on the hill that aventurine is a stage 100 clinger 

This is a clingy man to his core, he is sending you 50 messages a day

Good morning, good night, have you eaten? I love you, miss you, literally anything because he truly dose miss you 

Have you eaten? Yes? Good have a little treat +500 credits 

No? Wait there he's taking you to lunch- or +5000 credits 

I know everyone says it but he really does spoil you. Now the way he sees it genuinely isn't as like a bribe but both something that genuinely makes him happy and also he likes to make your life easier 

Seeing you happy, being able to spoil you with gifts and treats and money brings him genuine joy, and knowing that he is able to provide some relief from the harsh reality of life makes his a very merry man

As I said, clingy- he loves your time, being able to spend time with you and relax in your presence is truly heaven. 

Most of his missions aren't dangerous, just business so he enjoys taking you with him so that he can spend more time with you

He is touch starved for positive physical contact and affection 

Sit in his lap, let him sit in yours- honestly he isn't very picky as long as he gets to touch you 

If you thought his playful bestie flirting was bad you are gonna die, because he gets so much worse, now that he knows exactly what to say so that he can fluster you he grows ever bolder in his pursuit

No matter what he says his actions always follow his words, he shows he loves you with the way he sees you and treats you, in the way he seems to crave you like a thirsty man craves water or how a plant craves the warm sun, to breathe you in like air and love you tenderly 

Even if he is clumsy at love and intimacy he still puts in a profound sense of effort. 

The definition of if he wanted to he would. And he definitely wants to

[cosmossystem]

ok fuck it. system tinder post. yes this is cringe. no i don't care i do what i want forever. NOT a joke post at all (it is a little silly though.) our protectors only let me get away with this because they think it's funny. mostly i just think it's funny because it makes me feel like i'm trying to convince you to adopt us, which is accurate. anyway enjoy my sales pitch

also sorry if this clogs the tags (feel free to block us. there will be no hard feelings) -cass

System Tinder Post

System (20) seeking Partner System(s) (18+)

Are YOU& over 18 and seeking a NEW QPR/PARTNER SYSTEM?? Look no further than US, THE COSMOS. Interested? Have more questions? Want a follow-up interview? Just want to say hi? That's all great! Send an ask, DM, or reply to this post.

We are: American, white, collectively nonbinary and transmasculine, disabled, autistic, OCD, polyamorous, objectum (but not POSIC), kinky, therians General interests: Minecraft & Hermitcraft, Baldur's Gate 3, art, writing, space and astronomy, disability activism, cartoons, sleeping, some bugs, clowns, original characters Ask privately for: fandoms, other interests, any more specific details (trying not to dox us too much here bc this is a sideblog)

What we NEED in a partner system: covid-conscious, anti-zionist, anti-transmedicalism, endo-friendly What we would PREFER in a partner system: having literally anything in common with us in terms of likes/identity What we are interested in: whatever the vibes are (platonic/romantic/sexual/whatever)

Love language: does not speak unless spoken to, but when spoken to, will NOT shut up ever. at first, needs constant reassurance we are not bothering you. our host gets b&w thinking VERY easily so you might need to be persistant in checking on us, however we will do the same for you. would love to get to know you and eventually maybe video call. will send you cool pictures and stuff that reminds us of you.

Trivia:

collectively a gemini

ate our twin in the womb

sleep with dozens of plushies on the bed (all of them are named)

have known about our plurality for over 8 years

currently have about 40-ish members but we are not counting

have had at least one in-system wedding

have had the same special interests for several years now

our regular pizza order is a cheese pizza plus pineapples, onions, and green bell peppers

we cover everything we own in stickers

our christmas tradition consists of making hot cocoa and watching the same movies every year

we are REALLY good at making kandi but we don't normally wear it

red knows how to play a kalimba/thumb piano and a ukulele (but he hates to admit it because he had a cringy soft-boy phase a few years ago)

jam can juggle!

crush makes his own plushies

several of us can code HTML/CSS

caspar and red can often be found watching bluey together when cass is regressed

avid players of Pokemon Go (have caught 2 shinies!)

we each have a favorite pokemon!!! ask what they are

we collect a lot of stuff (pins/buttons, keychains, plushies, mugs, hats, stickers)

ok if you read this far i feel like you are at least obliged to say hi in the notes

[sunshine-zenith]

Does it sound like Peri "puts on a voice?" What I mean is that in his first appearance it sounded deeper, but his later appearances it sounds higher and slightly nasally. And I can't say it was for that one episode because I rewatched the episodes (and will do so again tomorrow) and I swear the voice change happened within the same episode in his other appearances.

You know, Anon, I think he does

In his intro scene as Dev’s fairy, it’s clear his voice actor is trying to emulate Pilot!Cosmo’s voice — smooth and confident — but as the series goes on it does get higher, occasionally sounding similar to Current Day!Cosmo. I don’t necessarily think either voice is his “natural” voice, though (or at least, as close to a natural voice as a fictional character portrayed by a professional voice actor not speaking in their natural voice can get)

Something I specifically noticed is that Peri’s voice pitches up when he’s stressed or out of it — him arguing with Dev, him panicking, when he was succumbing to the magical buildup, etc. I’m pretty sure in general it’s common for voices to up pitch in stressful or terrifying situations

Meanwhile, I noticed his voice does pitch down when he’s trying to be confident and in control — his introduction scene, for a start, but iirc, a couple other times when he was trying to enforce the rules and his parent interrupted him/made him feel like a kid, he pitched his voice down a bit to show himself as an authority figure who totally knows what he’s doing

A good example of this is in the opening scene to Lost in Fairyworld — when Peri tries to explain the rules to Dev, he puts on the smooth, confident I Know What I’m Doing voice, but when Dev makes his loophole wish to go to Fairyworld, he’s caught off guard and his voice pitches waaay up. Most of the time otherwise it’s somewhere in the middle

It’s also possible that Peri’s natural voice just is higher pitched, like his dad’s, and any instance of him speaking in a lower voice is him consciously putting on a voice. Part of why I think it’s actually more in the middle is because a lot of his scenes are him being That Bitch (affectionate) and putting on a voice to audibly say that word “sigh” when you’re annoyed at your parents seems like a wee bit much, even when you’re That Bitch

(Side note, but I’m pretty sure it’s not an uncommon head canon that Peri probably practiced his introduction before actually going to Dev — his intro is overall really cool, but parts of it don’t necessarily flow super naturally in conversation, like introducing himself with his deadname before clarifying that that’s not his name anymore, basically like a monologue that hasn’t been workshopped by peers yet. It’s easy to imagine Peri rehearsing what he wanted to say ahead of time, and that’s why his voice is the deepest in this scene compared to any other — Peri’s working off a script, literally playing a character of himself, while every other moment he’s winging it. He can’t consciously play the coolest version of himself when he’s reacting to something completely unexpected in the moment)

Here’s a fun challenge/drinking game for anyone who plans on watching the series as soon as it drops on netflix tomorrow: when Peri is on screen, pay attention to his vocal range and try to pinpoint/take a shot (of water/juice/whatever) when it changes

[quotidian-oblivion]

*ahem*

I'mNotGonnaTurnThisIntoARantI'mNotGonnaTurnThisIntoARant-

So, as a fan who loves analyzing the fuck our of everything and anything, I have obviously peeked at some of Joker's stuff.

What I generally do with my fics is that I take every version of Joker I've been exposed to so far and mush them all together, taking the aspects which are useful to the plot (as one does). But when I think of Joker, generally, it changes. I find him to be very malleable in terms of plot and character and writing him is very easy because he cooperates with the plot really well

Unlike the fucking Wayne family

Anyways, under the cut, here is my personal interpretation and choice of portrayal for Joker!

ShitITurnedThisIntoARant.

To understand the Joker, we gotta understand Batman first. Not Bruce, I'm pretty sure we all understand Bruce well, I mean Batman.

Because the Joker was created by comic writers to rival Batman in every way! Joker is Batman's commensalistic parasite. Commensalism is when an organism attaches itself to the other, and it benefits while the other organism is unaffected. Joker needs Batman to be the Joker. Batman doesn't need Joker to be Batman. It's a very interesting thing I've observed and I believe that this is one of the key motivations for Joker to do the things he does.

Joker knows he can't operate without Batman. An example of this is clearly in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part I and II. In the movie, Bruce gives up being Batman cuz he got too old for it and a lot of the villains were sent to rehabilitation. And Joker was shown to be catatonic, unresponsive, a vegetable, dead except for his lungs expanding and heart beating.

Until... Batman came back (cuz plot happened) and he saw that he came back on TV. His mind spurred back to life and in a blink, Joker became himself again. All because Batman came back and gave him a purpose.

As for the motivation of "its fun", yes, the Joker does want to have fun. But his kind of fun is wildly different to a normal person's. He doesn't think riding a roller coaster is fun. But his sense of fun is always directed at something or someone. And almost all the time, it's Batman. But during times it's not, it's always to show the dark side of humanity (which I'll be speaking about more later).

Besides motivation, here is how I've broken down his character:

Morality

Born to be the opposite side

Symbolism of humanity

Thoughts and feelings on Robin

How his mind works

How comic writers (unsurprisingly) failed to portray his real character

Morality

Not all of my sources will be from comics and movies. I'm going to quote soms fanfics and my own thoughts too becauss Joker's character is so vast and open.

In terms of morality, the best way I've seen someone portray this was the fic Christened by StoriesAreMagic. I haven't finished reading it 😅 but the first few chapters include Joler Junior Tim and his thought process behind what his dad (Joker) taught him.

He repeatedly goes through what is good-good, bad-good, bad-bad, good-bad. Good-good and bad-bad are things like murder and stealing which is generally unacceptable by society. Bad-good and good-bad are what is deemed "right" or "wrong" by Joker.

Now this was interesting because it implies that Joker knows what the right and wrong things to do are (which kinda throws away his insanity plea a little bit). And because he knows them, he knows exactly what to do.

But, he doesn't just kill people for fun. And one thing you'll see me repeatedly coming back to is his motivations - Joker cannot exist without Batman.

If we want to write a good Joker, then he can't be killing people and tormenting them willy-nilly. That's not how Joker's mind works. He can't have fun that way. His sense of fun needs to cause someone pain. Someone who he likes. He won't kill a random person cuz he wants to watch their SO suffer. He will kill a random person because he wants to watch Batman or Robin or Red Hood or Nightwing or someone writhe in pain with the knowledge that they failed to save someone.

It's the reason he killed Jason. He had fun tormenting him by watching the boy writhe in pain. Then he had fun killing himby watching Batman writhe in pain at losing his son.

So Joker's moral compass will always be targetted towards his sense of fun - how much he can torture Gotham's vigilantes/Commissioner.

To write a good Joker, would be to have him strike at Batman's insecurities through murder or torture or other things.

Opposites

I googles why comic writers created Joker and the answer was that Robinson (the writer) loved the psychological aspect of Batman's character and created villains to oppose that. And the biggest thing we know about Batman is that he's not fun, he doesn't have fun, he doesn't laugh, is stoic, is organized, precise, planned, and in grief. That is always who Batman is going to be. So Joker opposes Batman in every way of that. He is "fun", he is always looking to have "fun", he always laughs, is silly, is chaotic, wild, unpredictable, and always "happy". The biggest opposite here is obviously that Batman, the darkness, is the good guy while Joker, the light, is the bad guy.

A while ago, I ranted to a couple friends on discord about this exact seperation, let me see if I can find it.

I really go off about it lol

But the short thing is, Joker and Batman are like the yin and yang. There is light in darkness (Batman) and there is darkness in light (Joker).

To write a good Joker would be to make all the things that are deemed "fun" and light, twisted into darkness and horror. Not always blood, but always horror.

Symbolism

I've already talked about this in tje screenshots so I'm gonna keep this short.

Especially taking the moment from Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins. The scene with the two ships.

What Batman and Joker, when they're shown together, represent is the goodness and evil in humanity.

The reason why Joker wins as much as he does is because of how humanity is. I believe that through Joker's character, the writers were sending a message. A message about how evil humans can be. And whenever Joker wins, it's always because of humanity's dark, twisted, horrifying, sick nature.

Whenever Batman wins though, it's always because of humanity's good, gentle, nurturing, protective, kind nature.

The scene with the two boats proves it. If humans had given in to their evil nature, Joker would have won. But no, humans chose goodness, and so Joker lost.

It's a message to us. We hate the Joker so much becaus eof the disgusting being he is, because he represents the dark parts of us. The impulsive twisted thoughts that sometimes enter your head. But we also have a goodness in us, a Batman that is born of the evil. Take a trauma survivor for example, they could either become a Joker and continue the cycle of abuse, or they can become a Batman and stop it (don't come at me for this example, you don't know me, you don't know my past, and this is a simple, mere harmless example). Fiction is an echo of reality but reality is also often an echo of fiction and hwavily influenced by it (take the example of the creator of Alexa or Siri or whoever building an AI because they saw it in Star Trek. Or Star Wars. Idk), so the tale of Batman and Joker encourages viewers to make the right choice and choose the goodness of humanity.

Much like how children's shows and movies have a moral, this also has a moral but for more mature audiences.

So to write a good Joker would be to make him completely dependent om the idea that humanity's dark side will always win out. To write a good Joker would be to make his wins related to the twisted nature of humanity and his losses related to the kindness of humanity. (In a way).

Robins

I've said a lot about this topic in the screenshots too, so there isn't much to add to this section.

But I will reference this one comic - Robin #85. And yes, comic writers suck etc etc, but I do like the theme of this issue. That Joker is smart.

Like- c'mon. He wins against Batman. Makes plans with failsafes and contingencies and stuff so he can get away. He is able to escape from jail multiple times (something which normal inmates of Arkham can't, the ones with powers can, but Joker doesn't have powers). He is smart. Intelligent. Conniving. How else is he able to manipulate Harley so badly and turn Tim into Joker Junior?

To write a good characterization of Joker would be to write him as smart and clecer, not dumb and overlooking. Everything he does has a purpose and if he has run out of moves, even then he makes plans on the fly to escape.

So, the issue also gives some insight to his thoughts on the Robins. He loves the Robins because they're such a "fun" and easy way to win against Batman. But at the same time, he hates the Robins because they distract Batman and he won't be able to get his back-and-forth with them present. Remember, his primary motivation is to rival Batman because he cannot function without his attention on him.

He was figuring out his relationship with Robin during Dick's time. He found a perfect way to get back at Batman while reverting things back to the way it used to be by killing Robin during Jason's time. Tim's time as Robin threw a wrench in his plans and surprised him immensely because he was not expecting that, but he had Batman's attention anyway because of the stunt with the last Robin. So even though he hated Tim's Robin because he wasn't expecting him, he didn't mind too much. I haven't read much about Damian encountering Joker and I know Steph's stint didn't include an encounter with him, but I'm sure he has the same love-hate relationship with them.

To write a good Joker would be to include his conflicting feelings about the sidekicks. I'd say he would try to get them out of the way somehow so he can have his time with Batman (yeah, he's a sick twisted fucker alright).

The Psychology

How his brain works.

In short: his brain only works when Batman is involved.

Imagine the most obssessed person you've ever met.

Joker is ten times more obsessed than that.

This man- monster eats solely for the reason to torment Batman. He breathes solely for Batman. He does everything he does for Batman. To oppose him.

Its the old battle of good vs evil. And Joker is hell-bent on proving that evil triumphs.

So all the things he has done, it's pure evil. Pure darkness. Pure gore and grotesqueness.

Here's the thing: goodness has limits. Evil doesn't.

So the things Joker does, peel off his face then wear it, skewer people like a butcher, cut forced smiles, create a gas that makes someone laugh and laugh until they die-

It's all to defeat the force of good that is Batman. That is all that's in his head. Batman. Batman Batman Batman.

He doesn't even want to kill Batman. I am 100% sure that if he does manage to, he has plans to off himself after he has shown Gotham city and the world that humans are evil no matter what they do.

So, personally, I am in full support of Batman's no killing rule. Yes, I do understand people who like Jason's anti-hero morals, and I have my own thoughts on why Bruce is so particilar about that (most of those thoughts are in the form of my Lazarus Pit Tim Drake AU which is still in the works). Because if Batman kills, especially the Joker, he turns all of that symbolism - all of that goodness that the people have learmed to trust - into evil.

And if that happens, what about Superman? An alien who has the powers to raze the planet? What about Flash? Wonder Woman? Martian Manhuntet?

If Batman - stoic, unshakeable Batman - can turn to the dark side. No one will trust superheroes ever again. No ond will trust safe people, the people seeking to protect them ever again.

When they say "Joker wins", it isn't just a philosophical idea. For the DC universe, for its citizens, the phrase "Joker wins" means that the entire world is plunged into darkness.

It's a painful burden for one man, and Joker is determined to break him.

The Unsurprising But Still Disappointing Misportrayal of Joker

AKA, the conclusion.

I hate how so many writers have thrown away the key aspect of Joker's characterization. I hate that they've molded and made him into this weird guy who wants to kill Jason Todd again or kill Tim. I hate that they made him into a simple killer. I hate that they took away his purpose and are only making him do shit for the sake of drama than the key message and significance of the ancient battle between Batman and Joker.

Batman and Joker are iconic for a reason. When you think of rivals, you think of Batman and Joker because their characters are such polar opposites in a way that effectivrly sums up the key message of humanity's polar opposites.

If you took what the comics and media are doing now - taking Joker and making him do shit like sing songs, kill people cuz he likes it, peel off his own face and wear it, give him a daughter, make him really "love" Harley, make him a little too focused on Harley (because Harley was always a tool to him, a tool to complete his mission with Batman, it's why she was so severely fucked in the head cuz of him), make him get revenge against OCs and nobodies which aren't related to Batman in any way - and all the other stupid shit. If you took all that, and just that. And tried to make that rivalry as iconic. It wouldn't work.

If Batman and Joker didn't have such a clear, established fame as enemies in the world of media and comic books, if their rivalry wasn't so famous. Then the rivalry between Batman and Joker we have now would fade and dissipate. It would be nowhere near as iconic and well-known as it is.

Another thing about Joker is the Batman Beyond movie where Tim gets turned into Joker Junior. The writers mentioned the reason they created Joker as they did.

They wanted to make a cruel, jarring image for Joker but since they were a sort of kids' animation studio, they weren't allowed to do gory stuff or stuff like murder a child. But they still wanted something Utterly Messed Up for Joker to do to Tim in order to get back at Batman.

And so came the idea of the smile.

The creepy iconic Joker smile and laugh we know. They messed up the smile and laugh as much as they were allowed to so they could still show the crazy, messed up side of Joker. And I agree, a smile like that during completely inappropriate times is jarring.

Anyways, in conclusion:

If you want a good Joker character in you story, you have to remember that Joker, despite how messed up he is, is not some weird monster. His actions make him so, but really, the fact is that he's a man. And so, he has human emotions. He is smart, conniving. He feels happiness, he feels sadness, he feels anger, he feels tired, he feels pain just like any other human. Completely detaching Joker from his humanity tears his character because his character represents a part of humanity. How can we show human nature without a human present?

~~~~~~~

I love analyzing characterizations and plot and literary devices and stuff, and I love pulling my own interpretations of things, and I usually go in depth a lot of the time.

But the fact is, this is just my interpretation. It's how I choose to see and write a character. To be clear, I'm not ordering anyone to subscribe to this train of thought, I'm putting my train out there for people to have an option and see if they like it. You can interpret it all however you wish! You can change your character however you wish! No one can truly write a completely canon character because each writer is different and has gone through different things.

I like making all my characters human, even the monsters. But that doesn't mean everyone else likes seeing it that way.

And if you did like this train of thought, and you used it for something, I would bery much appreciate a tag linking me so I can see it and enjoy it and discuss it with you!

Whew, that was long. Happy writing!

Do you have any tips on writing Joker? I despise him but he’s a useful villain to make everyone’s life harder

I need some tips too. I’m about to start writing the ASOH sequel which will heavily feature Joker and I’m desperately trying to psych myself up haha.

He’s a very useful villain like you said, he’s into chaos and making things awful for other people, in ways that are unpredictable even to him. He’s a hedonist of sorts, in my mind.

I think despising him helps when writing him. The disgust helps me at least — that’s how I write Homelander. Gritting my teeth the whole time.

[astro-hunny]

What if I just wrote Persona 6? Like. I could do it. I totally could. And I have ideas for it. Idk, maybe I'll do it maybe I won't. Vote time idk.

Ideas under the cut.

Did I hear a demand for FemC? Did I? Well even if I'm hallucinating, we have FemC in this P6! "Official" name for now is Minori Koto. Might change it later.

I'm sad to say... I can't set it in University/College without screwing with the timeline. I also have to set it in 2018 I'M SORRY IT'S FOR SOCIAL LINKS I PROMISE.

FemC moves to Tokyo from another-but-not-as-big city in Japan for her parent's work. As for where she's from, does it really matter? nahhhhh (i'm lazy/clueless rn)

Persona MC with present parents??? What??? That's a thing??? (might kill one tbh I'm bored)

We're going with a mix of P4 and P5 for how the other world works. Early on, our main character finds an odd book while looking for study material on classics. When she opens it, there's a portal instead of pages, and she gets sucked in along with her partner on the project/best friend character.

All of the other worlds are different books and follow the plot of said book, repeating over and over. The owner's shadow plays the main character, cognitions play all other named characters, and regular shadows play unnamed roles. The way to save the shadow is to either give them a happier ending or break them out of the monotony of the story. Burning the book would kill the owner.

Persona's are also book based. I haven't decided on if I want to name the Persona's after the characters or the authors, but it's one of those two. As for summoning, characters will get a massive tome that they rip pages out of, symbolic of tearing pages out to write their own story as well as a visual representation for SP/HP. (recovery items are things that would help repair the books, like adhesives of actual book binding materials.)

Social links. The bane of my existence. The two I actually have planned somewhat out are connected to 4 and 5 respectively. The next couple points are about them.

The first Social link you'd meet would be a first-year girl who recently moved to Tokyo from a very small town out in the country, also for her father's work. You also find out through her social link that she has a "big bro" in Tokyo who she goes to visit a lot, as well as his roommate and a lot of their friends. Her social link would generally be the two of you bonding over moving to Tokyo and our MC helping her study. If you've yet to realize, this social link would be Nanako Dojima from Persona 4. No, we can not see P4 MC. I'm sorry, that's for spin-off games. She would not join your party.

The second would be the owner of a small cafe you can find nearby the MC's house, who speaks of his kids and how much trouble they used to get into when they were the MC's age. He mentions his daughter getting into places she shouldn't and his son getting into too much trouble, but it's all said in a fond tone that tells you that he knows they were just kids. Eventually, he mentions a boy who used to come in and sit in the same spot you always do: the counter seat closest to the door. At your rank 10 with him, he'll ask you after the rank-up to look into it for him. He wants to know how to help his kids, but he doesn't have the means to figure it out anymore. You cannot tell him before the end of the game, but you can find a missing-persons case for one Goro Akechi that was never really resolved. This social link would be Sojiro Sakura from Persona 5, P5 MC being his 'son' and Futaba being his daughter.

As for velvet room, I desperately want to make it a library, but instead I shall make it an observatory. Personas are created through selecting two stars and crashing them into each other. Your attendant would be a gentle woman, maybe early twenties by the looks of it, named Agatha. She wouldn't be unwise to the world, but she would clearly be one of the less experienced attendants. Igor is Igor, he isn't possessed. for now. Also you could hypothetically walk around the velvet room if this was playable but idk how to make mods.

The team's outfits change in every storybook to match the theme. If you couldn't tell, I've been playing too much Love Nikki recently.

Yes, there would be a god as the final boss.

No, I am not making P6 Fes-Portable-Golden-Royal-Reload or whatever the fuck it would be named. It's in the original release like it should be.

I know we're tumblr, so I'll keep this last one brief. The best perk of all:

FemC gets to be gay. We are free.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk, now please go vote.

[mrvilschoenheit]

Hi Vil!!!!

How would you be interested in reversing roles with Neige???

Like you would play play the hero and he would play the villain. I think it would be really fun to watch!!! I asked @the-official-neige-leblanche and he said he was fine with it!!!!

-🎧

This is an extremely vague offer. Are you an amateur, or have you actually gotten a production launched with these pitching skills?

All inquiries must go through my agency before I'm in any position to approve or deny them. If you're serious about bringing your vision to the light, I will await the email that holds all of the details 💜

[murfpersonalblog]

Thank you for the video! I ran it through a transcriber:

Daniel Montgomery: Rolin Jones, you are the showrunner for Anne Rice's Interview with The Vampire, which aired its second season this past year.... The two seasons are based on the first book, Interview with the Vampire. What did you most want to capture from the novel over the course of these two seasons?

Rolin Jones: Yeah, a very particular romance. The strange war that happens between a 78-year-old man and a 148-year-old man, who still have some stuff to figure out. I wanted Anne's language to make an aggressive appearance; the prose that's so lovely in there, which is sometimes the thing that falls first when you're adapting. And then, yeah, I wanted an almost operatic experience for an audience, as well, to go with it. Emotions are really, really heightened. And yeah, I don't know. Just general, you know, I wanted it to be a nervy, vibrating, weird-ass show. God bless AMC for letting us make it.

DM: And how do you decide where to deviate from the source material, you know, what to expand on, what to leave out? Like, you know, I imagine those are difficult decisions in any adaptation.

RJ: Well...there's a lot of wonderful stuff in our book, a really beautiful book to work off of. I think the challenges were a little bigger in season two, mostly because there was a lot less plot in that book. The book is almost like five meditative conversations between vampires, and then some crazy events, and then, and then you're out! And we had to kind of create a lot of plot out of that. But for the most part, yeah, we try to put as jam as much Anne as we could in there. And the basic, the basic changes you make for anything that was beautifully written as a novel and the choices that you'd have to make to turn it into something that is, you know, for actors to speak. And for it to cut over 15 episodes. I don't know, I think we cannibalized that book! There's like, there's not a lot left. It's a couple of characters that fell off, for this reason, or that reason. We made some decisions about the timeline. But I'd say, I think it was done with a lot of love. And a lot of collaboration with Anne, who is no longer with us.

DM: And Season Two, you introduced the vampire troupe led by Armand. What most excited you about bringing those characters and storylines from from the book to the screen and, you know, folding that in?

RJ: Oh, well, anytime you can shove theater into the face of TV viewers is always a good thing! I hire a lot of playwrights, and a lot of actors from the theater. So I think if there's anything we were just trying to restrain ourselves from making a lot of insider dumb theater jokes that nobody could care about. I think, we always kind of had the specter of the movie behind us ,and they did that part really, really well in the movie. So a lot started out just as, like: Oh, how are we, how are we going to do it? How are we going to justify doing this again? I think there was a caveat from AMC too: Don't repeat the movie! We've seen it! It's beautiful, it's out there! Our timeline really opened up a lot of opportunities to make it a grittier, dirtier, slightly more dangerous Theater of the Vampires than the movie, or even in the book. And the joy of actually setting something in post-war Paris. You see Paris going over the war, you see a lot of Paris during the war, and then you don't see a lot of stuff done in those those first four or five years afterwards. Which was, I think, for all of us, was a nice way to feel like you were, you know, coming into Paris in some kind of a side door. And also just numbers! We had a season one was like a chamber drama between three characters. And we got to expand it, not only with just the bodies, but in space and time to with, you know, what was going on with Dubai; and what what Louis was coming to realize was his truth along the way. So, you know, I got to cast Ben Daniels again! Ugh! <3 Best!

DM: And what was it like writing for him? Ben Daniels, in the role of Santiago? You know, that character being such a highlight of the season?

RJ: Well, we knew that's our that was our guy from the day one! Even if he was already scheduled to go be on Lord of the Rings and our dates weren't working out to begin with. He is somebody we had up on the wall. I worked with him on a TV show previously about like seven or eight years ago, seen his theater work, and know what he can do. He's just one of those really wonderful actors that can sort of turn on a dime, and take something that is very, very funny and then make it very sinister, just like that. The instrument is really huge. And we had a really hammy role for him! Which was, you know, he's just he's one of the really delicate butchers--just the right slice of ham on top of given circumstances and stuff, what a joy. And he also acts like a naughty 14 year old boy when the camera is off too. So it's a nice energy on on Sam. And he gets it like, you know, sort of like the grandad of our theater trip because they were all a bunch of theater actors who had known him growing up in the theater too. So that was a treat. You'd see it on stage. I mean, you see in the camera, there's a lot of joy. There's a lot, it feels like a theater company there. You know, nice to be with it.

DM: Now, there are more than a dozen books in The Vampire Chronicles. You're going into Season Three, you know, and you'll be covering The Vampire Lestat. Would you cover them all if you could, or is there like a specific endpoint that you have in mind?

RJ: I mean, like anything else, you're supposed to take a really good hard look at yourself and go: Do you have anything left to say about vampires? And, you know, they pay you to do this. So that's hard. And I have a three year old child and all that stuff. And who doesn't want a swim in the pool? But I think if you're really honest with yourself, you've got to say: Can you still bring it with the same energy that you brought it the first time? And for Season Three, I believe I can. And I believe our staff can. For 12...for TWELVE books!? Man! I think somewhere along the way, you got to hand that thing off. Because you're just, when you're up to writing the 540th scene of Louis, uhhh...you really need some new blood in there. I think that's a while off. You know, if I had my brothers, we'd do this, figure out Queen of the Damned, Tale of the Body Thief, maybe Memnoch? Somewhere there. And at some point, there will be somebody who already says: Oh, it clearly should be this person. And also! Vampires was--I mean, by that time, who knows how old Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson will look! They might not even look like immortals anymore! So we're just going to try, as long as AMC gives us the dough. We're trying to make aggressive things with it--we're very privileged to do it. But yeah! Look, I'm in the heat. It's hard for me to talk about Season Two, I'm in the heat of Season Three right now! I got Season Three Head in here right now. So I think I hopefully none of this all sounds really canned. It's just that I'm already in the next season.

DM: Now the show is getting a spin off about the Talamasca, who tied into Season Two. Does it complicate the storytelling process to have to factor in storylines that are happening in the same universe, but on another show?

RJ: It's fun, we're communicating with each other. You don't want to be the person that says: You can't do that, you can't do this. You want like John and Mark who are working on the Talamasca show to have as much freedom as I had. That being said, we have a couple of characters that are crossing over. So there's some communications between the two about, like, what those characters need to do in the next season of Vampire, and make sure that those things don't conflict. If anything, make sure that they can help build a better story. Like I'm reading the scripts, and grafting on the given circumstances of their show into ours. And that's cool! That's fun. And they're lovely guys too. So that makes it easy.

DM: Well, I want to congratulate you on your work on Seasons One and Two, going into Season Three of Interview with a Vampire. And thank you so much for talking to me about it!

RJ: Oh, a pleasure! A pleasure! *kisses* Gold Derby!

Interview with Rolin Jones.

Full video here 👇🏻

[sskk-manifesto]

Bungou Stray Dogs: Dead Apple and how “ability users” (opposite to “normal people”) learning to accept themselves through the acceptance of their own abilities is a queer metaphor of acceptance of own's sexual orientation and gender: an essay by me

[not-poignant]

The latest UtR update on AO3 got me hooked and I could no longer constrain myself and had to read the other chapters on Patreon. Now I need to know: does Lucien have any redeeming character traits in the series or can I add him straight to the list of characters that deserve the worst? That attitude of his towards Faber made me so mad lmao

Hi anon!

This actually reminds me of the ask I got recently about how awful Augus is as a character and how it's impossible to consider him through a positive light after reading Falling Falling Stars. Because that's how he seems if you've never read him in anything else of mine!

My narrators are unreliable, anon. We only ever see Lucien very briefly through the jealous eyes of an insecure man.

(Spoilers for a future brief verbal encounter between Lucien and Faber in Underline the Red).

Lucien is an extremely vulnerable omega who is in an institution that has temporary custody of him. They control what he eats, what he does, whether he leaves or not (i.e. he's functionally imprisoned), who fucks him, if he gets to see anyone else, if he can talk to his partner and family back home and how often. He has significant psychiatric issues around his own insecurities re: jealously and his partner, and he clocks Faber as being in love with Caleb, and he's right.

And that's incredibly unethical of Faber, honestly, to not have disclosed any of this to Dr Gary (like Dr Gary will be right to consider firing him over this in the future). It puts Lucien's mental health in direct and severe jeopardy, and is ironically likely what causes his relapse that causes Caleb to suggest domestic discipline in the first place (oh, Faber, the irony).

Because Lucien's there to learn that actually a lot of his jealousy and insecurity is unfounded. Instead, he learns the opposite, that no matter who he bonds with, someone else is there loving his potential partner while he perceives himself as having very little control (and in the case of Hillview - this is true, all he has are his words).

He's a chronically disabled omega who needs a disability aid (walking stick) to get around, he's a second class citizen, he's agreed with his partner to stay at Hillview because they both recognise how sick he's getting.

Faber is not a mental health patient/omega like Lucien is. He's a staff member who is nursing unrequited loved to an alpha companion, that he's refused to disclose, while still interacting with Caleb and his omegas. Imho, while Lucien is very good at lashing out, he's not wrong to, and that's why Faber fully acknowledges what Lucien is saying and listens to him, and basically never interacts with him again, and avoids Caleb where possible.

Lucien's mean about it, but Lucien is right re: Faber trying to hide his feelings because he knows what will happen if people find out, and that it's also wrong/unfair to put Lucien in that position.

And Faber knows that.

So yeah. The reader is meant to hate Lucien on a surface level, in the same way that Faber does.

But consider that Faber also sometimes seems to hate all omegas. He finds the smell of their heats disgusting. It's actually pretty normal for people to go through a phase of rejecting the thing that they are, if that's something hated in society. Faber's oscillating mixed feelings of bitterness, resentment and cutting attitude is actually mirrored in Lucien.

Faber has thought extremely savage, scathing and unforgiving things himself to the people around him (and himself). Lucien responds to Faber like Faber is an omega (something Faber doesn't recognise yet), because Faber...kind of acts like one in moments like that. (Efnisien also picks up on this, Faber is not great to him in the beginning of Underline the Black, in a very specific way designed for Efnisien to pick up on, and for Gary to miss. Faber behaves jealously, and constantly suggests to Gary that he should get rid of Efnisien, before he finally adjusts to the absence of Gary in his life. Faber is possessive and manipulative!)

Lucien ultimately doesn't need any redeeming characteristics because he's a victim who is at Hillview to heal and Faber is jeopardising that. We can hate him, but that's just the fact. He didn't try to kill Kadek when he arrived at Hillview, he hasn't tried to destroy memories of James, things Efnisien has done even though we love him all the same (ideally). Lucien felt understandably jealous/insecure (literally the thing he's at Hillview to be treated for, safe from people who will be in love with his lover until Faber) and he lashed out meanly.

If a staff member of Hillview can't handle some rude words, they shouldn't work there.

But yeah, I like the Lucien and Faber encounter because they are both extremely similar people in some ways. They are both bitter, jealous, resentful people capable of very scathing thoughts (and words). The only difference is that in that moment, Faber is the recipient and we feel bad for him. I mean, I do feel bad for him. Faber is in a bad place psychologically, it's a horrible thing for him to experience.

If we were getting Lucien's story from his perspective, and saw the panic attacks he had afterwards, and the regression he went through, etc. it might be different. But it doesn't have to be! Lucien in that moment functions as a reality check for Faber, and a very effective one at that. We're meant to hate him, but also meant to understand that Faber's love for Caleb is not as subtle as he thinks it is in the sense that - omegas can see it for what it is.

I personally like the one moment where we see that Lucien might have a heart when Faber admits his parents are dead, and we can see that he doesn't react with savage satisfaction, but like Faber broke the narrative he'd built for himself in his own insecure, jealous, scared mind.

[housetargaryenloyalist]

Benjicot fluf fic? Benjicot fluf fic!

Coming soon...

[silverview]

“pet toad” belongs with “wife mine” under the heading of: they are dorks, and (proto-)dads, and MUCH goofier than anyone gives them credit for. i know there are countless counter-examples to what i’m about to say but my gut feeling remains: the way people talk about tlog, you’d think it was darker and more disturbing than it really is, and that goes double for on the town. it doesn’t have a cynical outlook on human nature. it is somewhat interested in futility, but not more than any other sitcom. the way it ends is deeply, deeply silly. it is interested in, among other things, the experience of Being A Freak. i honestly think ingleby/barbara is a (very 90s but) fundamentally hopeful love story (also thinking about him and his noises just in general literally all the time regardless). i think you’re right that she’s treated better here, partly because she has a real speaking character to interact with for her love interest

the horror elements are less prominent on the radio, in exchange for more delicious economic despair (benjamin’s friend going missing vs being in town for an interview). i personally prefer the interpretation that ross was lying about being undercover because. i liked being able to relate to him. he was an unemployed hero 😔

sorry for rambling on your post!! just really glad i’m finally caught up & can appreciate your very accurate takes, and realised i hadn’t even begun to process the whole series since i finished it

"on the town with the league of gentlemen" thoughts!

(bearing in mind that i have not fully [re-]watched the tv series yet)

i almost prefer it to the tv series? which is weird bc no visuals. but the immediacy of the audience connection makes it feel a bit less uncomfortable. (yes i am a wuss, what am i doing in this fandom :P)

ditto the fact that literally all of the parts are played by them, inc misc small children, etc!

LOVE the way in which this ends up subverting chloe and radclyffe away from the classic creepy twins trope XD mark is having so much fun :'D

general fascinated nerding-out over the ways certain scenes/characters/arcs do/don't change/evolve between the two versions/to suit the strengths of the different media 8)

soft spot for some of the characters that don't appear in the tv series, e.g. Answerphone Man, Reg Ingleby :D some delightful voice work <3

i am worse at telling apart their voices (when the characters are unfamiliar) than i thought i would be :P i think i mostly got it though

two whole scenes which reece carries by having a duologue between himself?? (stella/reg, bernice/benjamin.) which rarely if ever happens in the tv series? even though they could easily get around it with camera angles/lack of live audience? FUN.

(maybe sometimes the others too but lbr i'm only paying attention to reece)

feels like getting the makeup on really helped reece round geoff out properly :P

the way the lack of visuals means that when a reece character is suffering he properly goes hard on the whining and whimpering in order to sell it :3

i feel like barbara is a bit more humanised (/less dehumanised) in the radio version!! she gets a romance arc and everything. justice for barbara < / 3

you know when you consume a media when you're like 12 and you pick up a meme from it that just becomes part of your vocabulary forevermore without really remembering the origin? OH SO THAT'S WHY in my head it's mandatory to mock-argue about whether the trivial pursuit counters are wedges of cheese or pieces of pie :D that was a pleasant little brain clunk :)

(for the record i'm with stella)

hoist by my own pet toad THEY FUCKING WENT THERE XD can't remember if this ended up in the tv series too, but if it didn't, they're cowards :P

all in all, strong recommend, lots to enjoy, wish there was more meta about it :')

[sharksonfire]

Ik Pyro is from Sydney in the comics (most likely Woolloomooloo specifically since he mentioned his grandma lives there) but I have a really in-depth headcanon about him being from somewhere in Tasmania (in-depth enough to include animal motifs and broader historical things lol I thought about this way too hard) and I really want to form it into a proper fic but I really don't think it would be that interesting to anyone other than, well, me...

[spneveryseason]

Oh late seasons spn if they stuck with the pacifist Sam arc

[zeb-z]

Foolish and Cellbit lore makes me crazy because their characters are very much influenced by the entities they each have chosen, and it comes in to play in key moments. It influences their desires and their actions significantly.

Foolish, who makes sacrifices to the Chaos entity constantly. Who is his usual silly, impulsive self, and then takes it a step further, thinking ‘what would Chaos enjoy?’ Not looking twice before jumping, living and thriving in chaos and unpredictability, even if it is at the cost of his health and well-being. Especially if it’s at the cost of others. He tries to play each side of the conflict, sometimes for whatever will benefit him directly, the rest of the time just by seemingly flipping a coin and going one way or the other for shits and giggles. He starts conflicts and he fans the flames because he wants to see the fallout. He leans into the chaos without a second thought.

Cellbit, who’s a little more subtle, but the effects are still there. He cannot find a single thread on the island without having to find the other end. He takes on the problems and mysteries of everyone else on top of his own. He keeps back to eavesdrop at any opportunity when he says he’s leaving a conversation. He digs his grave as a double agent in the federation, not only to sabotage, but because he cannot stand the idea of a mystery being out there that he can’t figure out. It costs his sanity, it costs his time, it gives him gray hair and puts him in constant danger, it piles on so much work and responsibility on him, it’s a large part of why he feels so alone on the island - and yet he wouldn’t have it any other way. Because who else would know what to do in the face of such puzzles?

The knowledge entity pushes Cellbit to seek that knowledge, damn the cost. His biggest weakness is that he cannot let anything lie - he has to solve whatever is put in front of him, because he has to know, it doesn’t matter what or why in some cases. Just as Foolish is always pushed to leave things to chance, because the unpredictability is exciting, enticing - even when the answer to a problem is obvious and he could easily take action to get the best known outcome.