#a very long rant

[dragons-library]

Im gonna rant a little bit and I might just delete this but I’ve been thinking about redemption arcs in media; books, series (animation series mainly) movies…. Specifically those with trauma or victims of a system, of their upbringing, generational trauma, etc….you know, characters that have their behaviour explained by their back story. And there’s a lot of characters that “are redeemed” just because their back story is explained and I don’t like it. I don’t consider that redemption.

One key element of redemption for a character, of growth and of healing is acknowledging the harm done to others. (Honestly this is key in real life too for people that are healing but since this is a book blog…)

Someone can’t move past trauma and bad coping mechanisms, mistakes and (harmful) learned behaviour without acknowledging that they have hurt others, because trauma responses are not excuses for bad behaviour.

They can unpack it and understand where it comes from, but ultimately that’s just a step towards making amends with themselves and others. To forgive themselves for their own mistakes and also being aware that those mistakes have had an effect on other people. It’s absolutely necessary in order to get past the self loathing and self sabotage. To prevent falling into the same patterns again and again. Even prevent perpetuating toxic cycles.

Self compassion is absolutely necessary but that doesn’t mean excusing and justifying bad behaviour and the hurt that has been done to others.

It’s the combination of both, that truly makes a character turn towards true redemption that is meaningful.

Being compassionate enough with themselves to understand that a lot of their behaviour is caused by circumstances and experiences they probably had no control over, or maybe they just didn’t know any better, but aware enough to understand that even when that’s true it does not change or negate that their actions have consequences and have affected others.

Past that, making amends when possible is important too, both for those affected and those making amends as well.

The ones redeeming themselves might have been hurt by others, and understanding that is absolutely essential. Sometimes they are victims of other victims even and it’s also something that should be addressed.

and I do believe that one does not have to forgive those who have hurt us in order to move on, some people can do it and some people can’t, I just don’t find it necessary. Especially because a lot of the times those who have hurt us will not try to remedy the pain or the suffering caused.

That said, no one is entitled to the forgiveness of others either. You can do everything to right your wrong, to make amends and ask for forgiveness, but ultimately those who have been hurt have no obligation to grant said forgiveness. Some might and others may not. That’s for them to decide. No one else.

Each person can only control their own actions, emotions and reactions, no one else’s. But this does not mean thinking only of themselves. But rather understanding that other people’s feelings matter as much as their own feelings. Not more not less.

So if a character is being redeemed, it can’t just be “they went through this and that’s why they did this bad thing” and that be the end of it. That’s just justifying bad behaviour and if accepted ultimately just grants a free pass to cause pain to others because of their own issues. That’s not redemption.

It should be, both having compassion in the story, to understand where this hurt comes from, enough self compassion to forgive themselves, enough self awareness to accept that their actions are in fact bigger than their own feelings and that their hurt does not justify hurting others to prevent it from happening again, enough willingness to do something about it, even if nothing will change or erase what has been done, and ultimately accepting that they are responsible for their own actions. Not the actions of others, taking responsibility when it’s due, not carrying the burden of the mistakes of others and accepting that other people have just as much right to their own feelings and reactions.

That being said it’s 2 am in the morning and I’m just rambling, i don’t even know if any of this makes sense

[sharkylad]

Thinking about the fact that Mabel and Dipper didn't know they had two great uncles.

Yeah they are 12 and at 12 I had a shotty understanding of my family tree- But really? Nobody brought up their great uncle? Stanley? Especially since they'll be staying with his twin brother, Stanford?

Shermie never went to Stan's fake funeral, which to me means the twos relationship was strained on some level. If Shermie is older that means his view of Stan was poisoned in some way, that even as kids they weren't close. If the Shermie is younger then he never even got to meet Stan and all he knew about him was how he failed his family. Hell, people probably barely mentioned Stanley TO Shermie.

The fact that Stan had become a black stain upon the Pines family name makes me so vividly upset. Stanley faked his death and the family just- seemingly decided to strike him from the record. To pretend he didn't existed to spare themselves the sadness and shame.

Stanford and Shermie Pines. The only children worth mentioning of Filbrick and Caryn Pines.

It was never Stanford that was lost to the world. It was Stanley, ever since he had to leave New Jersy- it was always him that had to be struck from the record. Change his name, change his state, change his affiliations, destroy the remains of ghost that was Stanley Pines. Kill him so the family doesn't bring him up, doesn't ask questions, stops asking "Stanford" about his twin.

I just keep thinking about the fact that since the day he made one single mistake all the way up until Ford walks out of that machine- Stanley Pines was killed and did not exist. And Stan himself had no one to blame, he had to play the part in his own demise- He is the only one who ever knew Stanley was alive and has been for decades.

He lives in the multitudes of every personality he's ever taken, all in the hope that he himself can stop being Stanley Pines.

[clockspur]

[anewp0tat0]

i lied i had like atleast one more weston thought to expell from my brain, before i miss this boat entirely. we're heading to green lands woooo

[slugpup2]

still feeling sick, here's a vid of all the covers of pass on (as of now) playing at the same time i made a while ago

[amphibianaday]

day 1421

[taythecatfey]

I just gotta get up on my soap box here for a second.

Inhales

IF I SEE ONE MORE VIDEO OR THREAD ABOUT FULGRIM BEING WEAK AND PATHETIC IM GOING TO GO APE SHIT.

Fulgrim was given almost nothing to work with and then told go perform as good as everyone else. He saved his world with innovation, and compassion. He was a diplomate who was told he needed to be a general. He was told he's made for this so of course he can't feel overwhelmed and under prepared by his new task. He's gotta work twice as hard and fast to catch up with everyone else. He can't fail cause he can't afford to.

On top of that he gets mocked behind his back and to his face by his brothers for what he loves. Even Ferrus put him down when he said he'd make the best weapon. Cause someone as pretty as Fulgrim surely couldn't know anything about working with their hands. How many of the primarchs actually know what hard manual labor is like? If I was put down and constantly stressed about not being good enough I'd be a massive bitch too! I'd go out of my way to prove I'm equal if not better.

And out of all the traitors who fell to Chaos, Fulgrim was the one that had to be driven insane to get him to fall. The daemon sword pushed every insecurity and fanned his ego. He is not mentally well in that book. He falls to Horus manipulation after being told the Emporers doesn't love him. When he wanted to speak out at what Horus was saying the daemon physically wouldn't let him. He's really only that creepy pathedic mess after he's returned from his torture session in the painting. He was been broken down and made ready for Slaanesh to rebuild as her daemon prince.

I think people see him as pathedic and weak because hes uncomfortably human. He such human flaws and fears the other primarchs don't tend to show to the same degree. The primarchs have demigod like outburst. Fulgrim is just always emotional like a normal person. He's insecure and thats why I'm so endread to him. He still strove to prove he could do anything that was demanded of him and sadly that's what ruined him

[tarucore]

ok but thinking about that one post, I think what modern Robin origin retellings get wrong is that Bruce was not a strict guardian, he wasn’t overly cold or distant from Dick, and I say this without judgement bc I love books like Robin: Year One and I’ll probably love the newest Batman and Robin series that’s coming out, but no modern comic really has a handle on how their partnership worked for the first 5-6 years

like the main problem between them in the early years is that they were best friends, partners!! He thought this kid was the best!!! Bruce was incredibly lenient with Dick if you think of their relationship as strictly father/son, and a huge part of their issues as Dick grew up was that Bruce suddenly started setting boundaries and treating Dick like a child just as he was becoming an adult, probably after he read a parenting book (joking) or realized that he was terrified of losing someone close to him again, whether that be by death or Dick moving away

I just don’t get why people are so insistent on ascribing the traits of modern Batman onto his early years, if Bruce had acted as emotionally distant and paranoid as he does now in certain comics then Dick would have never been as close to him as he is, and he would have left the position of Robin way earlier if Bruce hadn’t treated him like an equal

If you don’t want to lean into the campy, fun golden age Batman attitude that’s completely understandable but I’ve found hardly any modern adaptations that convince me Bruce likes the kid, much less loves him

[lynndy-lee]

I just want to thank the JEM community for watching out for their creatives in this circle. On the same day I finished this sketch, it was brought to my attention that someone reposted an old JEM fanart of mine without giving any credit. Most of you would have noticed in my description and now mostly in my watermarks that I do not allow any reposts of my art. Needless to say, I was upset but am very thankful that there are people recognised my art and were kind enough to inform me about it. But please know that reposting an artist's art without their permission, especially when they clearly stated it on all platforms they are using is just rude. Rude enough for me to be all petty and not share anymore fanart of my most beloved fandom. Us artists have been through a lot lately. So please. Don't push it.

And honestly, how hard is it to reblog from my own art blog.

Did a quick sketch of Kimber 💖

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[raetttriestowrite]

Me, an author, side eyeing my WIP: you're not going to do anything weird, are you? We've discussed this. There's a plan. We're going to stick to the plan, aren't we?

The WIP: *presents subplot, presents additional conflicts, presents character development, laughs in my fucking face*

[14dayswithyou]

Meowdy Saint 😼

I got goth vibes and so does my AngelOC, Elodie. So it's funny to imagine this pink boy who is secretly an emo boy in disguise next to a wednesday addams esque babe lmao. Poor boy miscalculated, I like that there was an option to be like 'Oh I like that goth style' at the cafe.

But this raises a question! Would he drop the Ren persona and aesthetic if he realized it wasn't totally necessary?

⌞♥⌝ This has been answered multiple times in the past, but yes, he'd drop the light academia aesthetic if Angel wasn't into it! ^^

However, from a game dev standpoint, it'd be extremely difficult for me to include a bunch of types and aesthetics in hopes of making Ren's appearance feel more inclusive for everyone, so it's easier for me to say, "Oh, Angel likes this one anime character" and build the lore around that.

So, for those who like Ren's real appearance and would've preferred if he introduced himself as [REDACTED] (instead of his Haruko persona), I hear you!! ^^

But please understand that if that were the case, the 14DWY storyline would be a lot less interesting and would defeat the entire purpose of Ren's motives. A big part of his characterisation is that he's more than willing to alter every part of himself to become Angel's ideal type, and if their type happened to be [REDACTED], then it'd make the buildup to his reveal in Day ??? feel far less anticlimactic.

[ultravioletbrit]

“brace” - Jegulus microfic - @into-the-jeggyverse - 266 words

The match had been going on for hours. It was heated and aggressive and even from the stands James could feel the intensity. The score had been close the entire game and it all came down to who could catch the snitch first, but neither seeker had seen it the entire game.

That was until Regulus spotted it hovering in the corner of the pitch only centimeters above the ground. James saw the moment Regulus found it and he didn’t hesitate to go after it. He shot across the pitch faster than James had ever seen him fly and James had to brace himself on the front of the stands as he watched Regulus dive directly towards the ground. It was a risky move because Regulus would have to pull up at the very last second so he didn’t crash into the ground or the side of the pitch. 

It felt like time slowed down and James held his breath the entire time. Regulus reached his hand out and wrapped his fingers around the snitch at the same time as he pulled his broom up and spun to the side to fly straight up along the side of the pitch. It was beautiful. And ridiculously stupid.

Regulus had the biggest smile on his face as he flew over to James.

“You are insane.” James told him. “But that incredible. You’re incredible.”

“For you.” Regulus held out the snitch.

Instead of taking the snitch, James wrapped his hand around Regulus’ wrist and pulled him down for a kiss.

“For you.” James said when they broke the kiss.

[blueskittlesart]

*sigh* thoughts on Nintendo's botw/totk timeline shenanigans and tomfoolery?

tbh. my maybe-unpopular opinion is that the timeline is only important when a game's place on the timeline seriously informs the way their narrative progresses. the problem is that before botw we almost NEVER got games where it didn't matter. it matters for skyward sword because it's the beginning, and it matters for tp/ww/alttp (and their respective sequels) because the choices the hero of time makes explicitly inform the narrative of those games in one way or another. it matters which timeline we're in for those games because these cycles we're seeing are close enough to oot's cycle that they're still feeling the effects of his choices. botw, however, takes place at minimum 10 thousand years after oot, so its place on the timeline actually functionally means nothing. botw is completely divorced from the hero of time & his story, so what he does is a nonissue in the context of botw link and zelda's story. thus, which timeline botw happens in is a nonissue. honestly I kind of liked the idea that it happened in all of them. i think there's a cool idea of inevitability that can be played with there. but the point is that the timeline exists to enhance and fill in the lore of games that need it, and botw/totk don't really need it because the devs finally realized they could make a game without the hero of time in it.

[arcanegifs]

This is the last time I'm going to be annoying about this, I swear.

A few examples of that I, a gifmaker, personally love seeing under the tags:

Analysis of said scene, show, or character, especially the long ones going in depth that span like 1000 words

People saying how crisp the GIFs look and how nice the coloring is THANK YOU. ILY GUYS. That's always huge praise for me.

Reacting with how emotional you got with the scene. How painful and emotional or how touching a scene is.

People making funny jokes, memes, comments, etc.

Literally ppl horny posting LMAO. It's super funny to read and I love seeing all the unhinged comments.

Seeing how much you loved the show and its characters

Things I don't like seeing under the tags. And these are just two very specific things:

How much you hate the show, how much you think a scene is bad, how much you hate a character, the ship, the creators, etc. or how much you dont like this ship anymore, calling a ship horrible because ____ reasons. OKAY! I get it! But I don't want to see that. Make your own hate post on your own blog! You're free to have an opinion on how much you hate something. Just do it on your own blog.

Asking why I leave out certain scenes out, why I decided to gif this scene, or not gif more of these characters. Sometimes, I'm just exhausted. I can overlook things. You guys don't know how draining making gifs can get to me, especially the scenes that are really long. But I do it because I LOVE Arcane, the story, and the characters, and the particular scenes that I make gifs of. I have my own biases too. Of course I’m making them first. Please, just make them yourself instead of complaining under the tags of my edits. Yes, I can see them.

Don’t get me wrong, I wholeheartedly appreciate everyone who supports and follows the blog. I want to make a million more HQ gifs of this amazing show, but sometimes, the very rare negativity can still get overwhelming, to the point where it demotivates you.

Arcane is extremely special to me because it's such a fantastic show, and that alone motivates me in trying to create more GIFs. Honestly, if it was any other fandom or show? I would've probably left already. Arcane is THAT great.

I know the block button is there. I use it too, but sometimes, the amount of effort and time you exert to create FOR FREE just isn’t worth it. And that’s why gifmakers and creators stop making things for fandom. It’s not fun anymore. It’s not worth it.

Some people think that making my style of GIFs is easy. Then great! Since you think so, then do it yourself and help create for the fandom too! I wholeheartedly encourage you to do it!

TLDR: Don't be rude on people's fanwork, especially when they are created FOR FREE. If you don’t like their fanwork, you can make them yourself.

[egophiliac]

a bunch of assorted episode 7 stuff from the last couple of days! because they're still taking over my entire brain! (I keep forgetting that the diasomnia uniform has that weird spike...chain...thing on the back. do you think when they get bored they, like, throw balloons at each other and whoever pops one first wins? is this what the dialounge is like in the off-hours?)

hey when do we get to see maskless red Lilia. please Twst I'm dying over here

[arthursfuckinghat]

"I was gonna say you're like a son to me.. but you're more than that."

"It ain't that complicated!"

How quickly that shoulder pat of comfort turned into a condescending one.