#also in case it isn't obvious (lol) this is a vague

[sals-soup]

"all of you are actually secretly one of us so you have to accept us, hehe" radqueers are literally insane. also, they used a map emoji and a paw emoji to convey "map zoo" so i think that's officially my second-least favourite censorship i've seen, next to antis referring to CSAM as "cheese pizza"

[pa-pa-plasma]

You are literally putting the comfort of THEORETICAL PEOPLE above the lives of real disabled people who are facing these issues.

So, the thing is that addicts are both real & disabled, & who's triggers should be taken into account. You obviously can't give everyone accommodations at the same time since different people require different things, but if someone is recovering & cannot be around alcohol for example, you would try to take that into account when possible because you want to treat them with respect.

Nobody is doing this? You're arguing points that you're making up

So, again, this isn't a strawman argument, & I'm not making people up to defend. It's not a hypothetical. I have met these people in real life. I've been asked politely if I could make these accommodations & I agreed to it because I know how triggers work & know how much being triggered sucks. Saying "your trigger is your problem only so don't expect people to care" is just showing how little you actually care about other disabled people. Try being nicer.

you're advocating for sacrificing the lives, health, and dignity of real disabled people for the comfort of thereotical people

I literally never said that & would love if you could quote where I said that directly.

Again, I'm a real disabled person who has been in the real situation I just described. If you're in a situation where you will die unless you take your medication immediately at your desk, there are other options besides you leaving or triggering someone. You can ask them to leave for their health. Let them know when you take your meds so they can leave at that time.

it isn't hard to come up with solutions to this problem. It isn't Them VS Us. There are no sides here, just disabled people in bad situations not getting the proper accommodations. You acting like it is Them VS Us only tells me how little you actually care about fixing this issue. You only want to complain about the people you view as The Enemy. You only care about Them VS Us.

And something tells me you're not actually concerned at all about the mental health of addicts. Something tells me that you just don't want to have to see a "yucky disabled person" existing in public in a way that offends your delicate sensibilities.

you are literally so fucking pathetic if this is what you got out of "here is a problem we should think of solutions to." what exactly is telling you this? stop going into stuff like this in the worst faith possible. it makes you look like a piece of shit

Things that should be normalized:

Taking meds in public

Going out to eat by yourself

Not having your drivers license

Asking about allergies when eating out

Things that should NOT be normalized:

Watching loud videos in public without earbuds istg stop it its so annoying I don't want to hear some Minecraft dude screaming while I'm trying to eat my pancakes in peace

[gammija]

PLEASE tell us more about your vampwolf au

i WILL!

First of all, the main purpose of this au is to have fun imagining vampire!martin and werewolf!jon and secrets/newly discovered abilities. so the details are very vague unless i could come up with something i found interesting

Elias is a centuries-old vampire who runs the Institute partly because he wants to gather and keep knowledge on the supernatural, partly as his personal bloodbank (shamelessly stole this idea from this fic). The supernatural is, just like in tma, not believed in outside of specific circles. Vampires are more or less typical; need to drink human blood every so often, can't go in sunlight, can turn into bats, can make thralls. New vampires are supernaturally bound to the one who made them.

Somewhere in the latter half of the 1900s, Elias turns Martin. Martin half-knew what he was getting into, but he did it to help his mom and he was lonely enough that he didnt particularly care about the consequences. Idk what Elias specifically hoped to get out of it - perhaps his previous lackey died and he just neede someone new to do his dirty work.

After Martin becomes a vampire, it becomes clear that he's quite talented at doing subtle short-term thralls on humans. A useful skill, Elias decides to keep him around for that as well, and sticks him in the basement as the archivist, which isn't a specific role in this au - just an excuse so that Martin doesn't see the sunlight. He's not allowed to snack from the Institute's employees, he's got to source his own blood. Basically Martin's life sucks and the only fun he gets is messing up the organization of the old files that get sent down.

This next part is a lot vaguer but maybe Elias wants to experiment with different combinations of supernatural creatures - there's quite a few that are born out of humans, and what if you could stack the effects somehow! and what if he could control whatever monster results from it by making them his vampire! but the problem is, as soon as someone becomes a vampire, their body stops changing, so no new supernatural abilities can stack. So he needs to keep his experiment bound to him with more normal, capitalist means until they're done cooking. or maybe he has a cursed contract for employees, idk

IN ANY CASE researcher Jon is investigating some odd deaths around the Lukas' estate. Other employees tell him to stay away from that place, it's not worth it, and Elias is like "oh nooo Jon definitely don't do a stake-out at their mansion during the full moon ;)"

Obviously the Lukasses are werewolves (they're lone wolves lol) and when Peter spots one of Elias' guys around his home, he decides to make an example of him. He attacks Jon in his car, drags him out, nearly chomps his leg off, leaves him for dead on the grounds.

Martin is sent by Elias to go and save Jon, and he can't really refuse, so off he goes. He drives a half-conscious Jon back to London and drops him off at the hospital, making sure to mind-control the people he meets into believing that Jon had come there alone. As soon as it seems like Jon won't die, he leaves.

Jon recovers in the hospital, needing to walk with crutches for a while after, but he goes back to work. because now he has a new mystery to chase: who saved him? He had lost a lot of blood by that point and he's not great with faces so he doesn't recognize Martin, but he knows there was someone there, he couldn't have driven himself back, especially with his leg. Despite this obvious truth, somehow all the nurses are convinced he came there by himself? he needs to figure this out. Also, for some reason he keeps having to shave a lot more often and craving rare steaks for dinner, but surely that's nothing.

Meanwhile Elias is happy that he's now got a werewolf who's already tied to the institute, and sticks Jon together with Martin in the basement so his vampire can keep an eye on his wolfy, make sure that Jon doesn't die while he goes poking around at other supernatural creatures as he tries to find out what happened that night, or that he doesn't kill someone and get sent to jail come next full moon. Set-up, done.

After that, I don't have a very strict idea. I think it'd be fun if Leitner (or someone like him) does his thing where he nearly threatens to tell Jon about Elias' plans for him, and Eliase has to kill him - except he lets Martin do it in the classic vampire style, so Jon can walk in on him as he sucks the lifeforce out of Leitner. Extra fun if Jon hadn't put together that Martin is a vampire yet.

Jon flees and goes to Georgie who's like 'oh yeah werewolves are real nbd'. Then, the most tragic part of this au kicks in....

as a werewolf, the Admiral is instinctively scared of Jon 😔

[aubris-fox]

⊱ ─── ⋅ʚ❤︎ɞ⋅ ─── ⊰

꩜.ᐟAtlas' Headcanonsᯓᡣ𐭩

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

͝ ⏝𝅄︶ ͝ ⏝ ⊹ ⏝ ͝ ︶𝅄⏝ ͝

here's a bunch of random Horangi (Call Of Duty) headcanons because i keep coming up with them and need a place to throw them lol

˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖ 🐯 ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖

when he's incredibly focused, he sticks his tongue out a little. it's usually hidden by his mask, though, so most don't know he does it.

^ he almost constantly has a little wet spot on his mask from doing that. it's not obvious or anything, he's not drooling all over it, but it's there lmao (this is a shared headcanon, and my pal kade came up with it)

definitely a cat person

Horangi had a very solitary nature until he joined the army. he still kind of does, but by the time he joined KorTac he'd been conditioned to be around others and it doesn't bother him as much

smokes, but pretty casually. heavy smoking is an addiction he left behind with gambling.

he likes the snow!! (though over the years, he finds himself preferring to just look at it. the cold irritates his scars)

he likes thrillers, and cooking shows.

^ watches Nailed It! at like four in the morning to laugh at them (this is projection)

mostly lets out amused huffs/snorts instead of 'properly' laughing. (basically a human version of tiger chuffing!! chuffing has been described as sounding like car exhaust, snorts, and/or huffs, and it's vaguely akin to purring. in general, it's the sound of a very happy kitty, but it's also used for greetings and courtship. just a funfact :3)

^ on the topic of noises; grunting in response to things, those quiet grumbles that almost sound like growls when he's frustrated, etc.. gotta have tiger-like vocalizations for mr. tiger man

he can see exceptionally well in the dark, and he has an almost scarily good sense of smell.

sharp teeth, big yawns, and even bigger smiles.

his hair's almost always silky smooth (maybe just slighty coarse, at some points, but never too dry or brittle). not even he understands how he manages it.

Horangi has hypogeusia. it's a taste disorder that causes reduced taste and can make it hard to differentiate certain flavors. it isn't severe in his case, and it mostly affects his ability to taste sweetness.

^ he prefers foods that have much stronger tastes, because its easier to, well, taste them. while his disorder mainly hinders tasting sweet things, foods in general can taste a bit bland to him if they arent powerful enough.

smells 'warm'. citrus, cedar, spices, ginger, etc. (burberry brit for men is the cologne im thinking of for him). also always smells like cigarette smoke. definitely not overwhelmingly though; it's there, but mostly covered by the aforementioned scents.

he's actually pretty good at baking, which is ironic because most of the time he can barely taste what he's making.

massive spicy food enjoyer. feast mode ACTIVATED, he will tear that shit up. better pray you get some before him because there will be none left after he's done.

his favorite color is pink!

it's scary how quiet he can be. he's stealthy, a complete master of the hunt. you'll turn around and he'll Literally Just Be There like "hey man."

cannot find a pair of matching socks literally ever. the divorce rate between them is astonishing.

he reads/has read the classics, for sure. from historical texts, to renowned novels. i think he especially enjoys the iliad. also massive stephen king fan probably.

he'd take a strongly steeped cup of tea over coffee any day (though frequently he caves and drinks the latter for caffeine purposes)

︶꒦︶꒷︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶꒦︶꒷︶︶꒷꒦︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶

that's pretty much all i have rn, maybe i will add more in the future!! tysm for reading !! ♡ (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)

⊱ ─── ⋅ʚ❤︎ɞ⋅ ─── ⊰

@idiotrxccoon

unfortunately tumblr site killed the formatting sighh. looks cute on the mobile app though so i will leave it i guess

[nanabansama]

hiii it’s tsutsumi-kurose!! would to hear your thoughts on the new chapter!! do you have any thoughts on who the people in the red house were this time? do you think they were really trying to help mitsuba? they seem different from the kannagi we originally saw in the red house arc! also just any thoughts overall bc wow what an ending!!

Hiii!!!! 💖💖💖

I really should write a proper post but...let's see! Yes, the new victims are mysterious, aren't they? I enjoyed the twist that they aren't evil and actually tried to help Kou and Mitsuba. At first their "Get Out"s seemed malicious, but then you realize it was a warning... (so yes, I do think they tried to help Mitsuba!)

I also don't think it's weird to say this is Amane's doing. This was his house, and these people weren't here in the old timeline, to our knowledge. And yes, I'm also thinking these aren't exactly kannagi...

That said, notice where they are. They're submerged in water. They're gurbling and glubbing out their words.

As I've talked about before, the Entity beneath the Red House is associated with water. Water bubbles float around its speech bubbles. It lives in a well. The kannagi were sacrificed into a water-filled chasm. Given that we are in the Red House itself, I am very confident when I say the Entity is a part of all this. (Very obvious conclusion, I know, lol.)

Anyway, I have to imagine these people are similar to Kou in that they were lured to the Red House by Amane. What the victims have in common I'm not sure... however given the fact that Kou was drawn here after being possessed by "Tsukasa-kun" it wouldn't surprise me if these people also came into contact with Tsukasa-kun.

But if that is the case that is extremely concerning... are there a bunch of missing person cases linked to people from Kamome Academy? Or does Tsukasa-kun have a farther reach than we thought?

Let's also remember Amane's age. If I remember correctly the latest we've seen him alive was as a teacher spreading rumors in 1983. It seems like he died that year, or soon after anyway, given his relatively young appearance in Chapter 118.

This could mean he's been at this forrr... more than 30 years?! With over 10 victims at that. It's not too crazy then if he's been getting away with it and that people think the missing person cases are unrelated...especially since the perpetrator, Yugi Amane, is probably considered dead...

One thing I found interesting is some of the victims are rather tall. And some rather short. Either this is a stylistic choice or the victims are all ages. Kind of mysterious! It's hard to imagine elementary schoolers being connected to Kamome Academy, for example, and these beings are really quite short...

They are very vaguely defined though so maybe it's not important. I mean, they don't even have legs.

Regardless, it's at least safe to assume the victims are all from the city of Kamome. Which isn't too weird considering the Red House from the old timeline also had many victims from Kamome.

Anyway, as I was saying earlier the victims are submerged in water which is famously linked to the Entity. I really don't think it's too crazy if these were victims sacrificed to the Entity in order to grant a wish. The Red House has always been a wish-fulfilling house, after all; from when Tsukasa sacrificed animals to it to give presents to Amane, to when Tsukasa asked Kou if he would sacrifice Nene to get his mom back.

It would be strange if the Red House of the new timeline didn't have anything to do with wishes! But that's time paradoxes for you I suppose.

Much to think about...I'm sure I'm overlooking something obvious right now. But I really loved the chapter! Threw a big curveball at me with Amane having a hole for a face. It tickles me that the twins still resemble each other so much, despite the age difference.

Really curious about the ways in which they are different though... and how much of their true selves remain... hmm... still kinda hoping we might find Tsukasa in the Red House!!! Feels wrong without him tbh. Thanks for the ask!!

[glitchedsoftware]

well its been long enough so here it is -

My personal thoughts and issues with Sammy Lawrences characterization in Dreams Come to Life

little disclaimer im obviously gonna be pretty negative in this so if you like the books good for you!! i just want to put my thoughts on the matter out there its just some silly indie horror game book and i wouldnt take others opinions TOO seriously lol also spoilers for dctl of course

also another little edit - a majority of this was written before the graphic novel came out,, not like that changes anything rlly just yk remember im exclusively talking about the original novel here

Lets start with the most obvious point first - the racism/misogyny

The idea that Sammy's racist and misogynistic mainly stems from two parts from the book - the part where Sammy refers to Tom by his first name instead of "Mr Connor" to which Tom replies quote "Not used to giving someone like me respect?" and the part where he refers to Abby by her first name with Buddy directly stating how he wonders if this could mean Sammy has some sort of bigoted views.

Now of course he does consider if this is just a habit of his, but it is pretty unclear if that's the case. This weirdly vague and ambiguous way of writing a fan favorite character to be racist and misogynistic is just generally very weird to me. Before anyone tells me I am aware of the fact a former kindly beast member claimed that Toms race had nothing to do with it and Sammy just said that because he's a repairman or whatever, but that still doesn't remotely change the fact that it can easily be read as Sammy being racist.

(Also even in said screenshot they said how could be easily interpreted as that. Also they didn't even write the book obviously so that whole point just falls flat.)

To be fair, there is a line from Buddys first encounter with Sammy in which he also refers to Joey by first name, which could imply Buddys other conclusion was correct and that its just a habit of his.

However, I'd argue this small details pretty easy to miss (even I almost forgot about it while writing this) especially considering the only other people he refers to by any sort of name was Tom and Abby. That paired with the other two scene previously stated still make this very easy to misinterpret and even considering this, very confusing on if Sammy was written with the intention of him being racist. Also Sammys bigotry in this book being conflicted by literally one word kinda speaks for itself. It's just super weird and definitely should have been handled better. If you don't know how to write topics like this with the amount of care they deserve then you don't need to write them. On another note, Sammy being racist or misogynistic just wouldn't affect the story or world building in any sort of meaningful way. Whether he was supposed to be bigoted or not, it has no bearing on the story or characters. Any time It's even slightly implied this could affect someone it's just super underdeveloped which makes this whole thing just feel completely pointless and unnecessary. It really does just come off like it was just thrown in there to "make it more realistic to the time period" instead of working it into the story in any meaningful way that actually works, or any sort of commentary on that sorta thing other than just "racism and misogyny exist".

On a related note, I saw someone speak out about how they interpreted specifically the scene with Tom to be intended not to show that Sammy's racist, but to show how Tom would assume that it was about his race considering he's of course a black man in the 1940s and has clearly faced discrimination over that before. I could almost see how that could be perceived, but that along with the part with Abby really makes me contemplate if that was really the intention behind that scene. Also, as I said before, it isn't really expanded on how that would affect Tom. I get that that could just be because Tom is supposed to be more of a rude abrasive kinda guy, I'm not expecting him to cry over it or something. I just feel it should have either been a bit more developed on, or not been there at all. I'm all for subtly, I love how the subtle misogyny is shown in BatIM with the Alice angel merchandise not selling as well as other products, but if that's what they were going for I think this was a bad way of doing it. If you wanted to portray how this kind of bigotry affects people, maybe choosing the rude asshole character who doesn't really seem to give a shit wasn't really the best idea. (Also who's in the games implied to be classist but that's a whole other conversation) Sorry for the little detour away from discussing just Sammy, I just felt it was important since I do get where that point was coming from, I just still feel like the execution of it all was FAR from perfect.

Also overall the idea that Sammy would be racist or misogynistic is just awfully misunderstanding Sammys character and it just really fails at what its trying to do. Sammy is shown to have had a genuinely strong relationship with Susie (whether you interpret it as romantic or not) and never shown to have seen women as less than, quite the opposite actually. I saw someone say Sammy being bigoted doesn't make sense because "he doesn't respect anybody" and I heavily disagree. I think it doesn't work because he does care so much about people. In the cycle Sammy isn't shown to be selfish at all, like he's not just trying to free himself but also others (albeit through sacrificing Henry, and even then describes that as seeming "cruel"). You know it's "he will set us free". Whether he himself knows or not, Sammy does care about people deeply so him being bigoted just really doesn't work at all.

I just generally thought the topic of discrimination was handled pretty bad. I could go on and on about this subject alone, but hopefully I was able to get my point across.

Now with that out of the way I can discuss just the general mischaracterization and demonization of Sammys character

This obviously being a more broad subject makes it a little difficult to start so let me just start with this- I believe that Sammys character get heavily dumbed down to just being an asshole. I of course have no problem with Sammy being a bit of a dick considering the sort of sarcastic tone he's shown to have had in certain audio logs, but the problem arises when that is practically all he is shown to be. Looking through every scene with him, all he ever did was just be super rude to everyone and eventually go insane and kill people and talk about worshiping Bendy or whatever with little depth. This, in my opinion, makes him both weak as a character and antagonist. I mean, Buddy only first met Sammy the DAY he got infected by the ink. He never even knew what Sammy was like before that incident which REALLY makes the line "I just know that Sammy isn't Sammy anymore" make no sense. Buddy never knew Sammy, he only knew the one dimensional character we got in Dreams Come to Life.

After looking through all of Sammys characterization outside the novels I can clearly deduce that Sammy was never even explicitly the sort of condescending asshole hes shown to be in Dreams Come to Life, but was just a bit blunt and stern due to the stress of working at the studio. I get that some people just chock up his behavior to the fact that he had been drinking ink at the time or whatever, but again the fact we're never shown how he was before that just makes this feel like overall bad writing to me. It just feels like a very poor attempt at writing Sammy that lacks any sort of nuance his character was shown to have. Characters have intended purposes, and I believe Sammys was to display a character who was so overworked it drove him to insanity. Part of the reason he even worships Bendy is just because the unhealthy hours he would spend working forced him to have to see his stupid face everywhere, not the whole ink addiction thing the book goes with. It's one thing to make him unnecessarily rude, but the thing is that they never really deviate from him being just that, which just left his character feeling very flat and lackluster to me. Buddy being an "unreliable narrator" doesn't excuse this both because Buddy only states that he sometimes forgets the order of events, not the actual events themselves, and, as I said before, it never deviates from this view of Sammy. I don't even think Buddy was supposed to be an "unreliable narrator" in that way as I've heard people excuse this for. If all of Sammys mischaracterization was because of that, than like half of the book would just be Buddy completely making shit up, which clearly isn't the case. The book just genuinely tries to portray Sammy in some of the worst light ever.

All that along with the the whole implied bigotry thing I just discussed really makes it seem like they tried dehumanizing Sammy as much as possible, which really goes against one of the core messages of BatIM. Sammy just being some asshole who got addicted to ink and went crazy because of it is FAR less interesting or emotionally compelling than him being an abused overworked employee and a prime example of what working at the studio can do to someone. Stripping him of that in favor of making it that he's always just been a total dick just completely misses a lot of the point of Sammys character and even BatIM as a whole. It's not just a game about "ooh scary ink" or whatever, it's also a game about corporate greed, capitalism and obviously how big corporations abuse and manipulate their minimum wage workers. And that's what Sammy is. He's not "evil" he's just a victim of a highly unhealthy work environment. Sammy being overworked to death (literally) is something that is barely, if at all, developed on in the book weirdly enough, despite being a very interesting part of his character that they had every opportunity to explore. It feels almost like they explicitly tried making Sammy so unsympathetic so he could be a more "evil" antagonist which, in turn, makes him a very poorly written antagonist lacking depth and completely missing anything that made his character so interesting. Again they just took Sammy being a bit irritable and sarcastic and wrote him as being a genuinely bad person, which really bugs me for sorta personal reason I'll get into in this next section.

Why this matters (to me)

I feel its of importance that I discuss how writing an implied mentally ill/neurodivergent character in such a demonizing way can, whether intentional or not, come off as ableist. TO MAKE THIS CLEAR I am NOT stating Adrienne Kress is ableist. This is overall just a much larger issue in general that definitely could have a discussion of it's own. However I will be briefly talking about it since it does unfortunately relate to dreams come to life.

As I said before, Sammy is a victim. Yes, he's still a morally grey character who generally does bad things with good intentions, but hes still a character. The way Sammy is shown to act and have acted in the past is very likely because he was mentally ill and possibly autistic. Taking an actually nuanced character like that who was clearly just extremely mentally unwell and writing it that he's some evil irredeemable asshole has always just rubbed me the wrong way. As an autistic person myself, I've always kinda had issues with regulating my emotions and coming off as "too blunt", so seeing a character who also has those traits be warped into being a "bad person" just. Really sucks.

When I read Dreams Come to Life, I had always sorta read Buddy as being autistic, all though this coding could have been unintentional. For instance, he's shown to not fully get some social cues and mentions feeling like people would kinda talk down to him for not getting certain things. This being the case really confused me for a bit as to why Sammy was demonized for also displaying traits of autism until it finally hit me as to why that is. It's likely because Sammy shows symptoms that are unfortunately far more stigmatized by society. Lack of emotional/impulse control can obviously lead to someone being more prone to lashing out than other people would, and I hate how just in general people or even characters who do that are labeled as "bad people" since that clearly isn't true. Again, he's not evil or whatever, he's just extremely stressed and overworked. That's all it ever was.

Sorry for getting a bit personal, in case it wasn't obvious I'm just very passionate about this character (and franchise in general) and just wanted to discuss how I personally perceived certain things. I'm sure I wasn't supposed to read into it THIS much and I know I'm probably stretching with this. Again, I VERY HIGHLY doubt Adrienne Kress intended for Sammys writing to be read as ableist, just felt like getting my thoughts out there (regardless of how insane I probably sound)

Conclusion

To sum it all up, I just found Sammy character to be heavily flanderized and lacking a lot of the things that I personally loved so much about him, as well as finding the way bigotry was portrayed to be very nothing. It just overall didn't build on what we know about Sammys character in game in any interesting way, at least to me. Despite how long this was, I honestly don't really mind people who enjoy the books, this wasn't some personal dig on anyone of course lol. Hell, I'm even friends with some people who like Dreams Come to Life!! I've tried putting different perspectives into writing this, and I've obviously concluded that this, on top of just a bunch of general issues with the book, have just made me personally unable to like it. I'm fine with people liking the books, however I do wish people would actually criticize them more than they do. Like, you're allowed to criticize the things you like, especially with a franchise as flawed as Bendy lmao

Anyways that's pretty much it. Thanks for listening to me ramble about this silly little series I'm hyperfixated on <3

[dwarf-hat-enjoyer]

🌼Favorite Flowers🌼 (Bachelors' V.)

synopsis: Favorite flowers of all six Stardew bachelors! No farmer mentioned, headcanons. SFW.

w.c.: 1.2k words!

content warnings: None!

A.N.: shoutout to @jellyaris for inspo on the Shane section! Hope everyone enjoys these little snippety snippets...Suuure, some of these headcanons kind of diverge from canon (yeah, yeah. Alex is neutral to dandelions ingame. Sue me, LOL.) But who cares, it's Tumblr! Might make a bachelorettes' version too.

Alex

He's a simple man with simple tastes. DANDELIONS suit him well! He has fond memories of picking dandelions with his mother and blowing the seeds away, and even vaguely remembers how to make flower chains out of them. Of course, he could never get them as neat as hers, but Granny Evelyn still asks for his help when making crowns for the Flower Dance. Apart of him wonders why they have to use nicer-looking flowers for the formal crowns when dandelions work just fine. They're sturdy yet flexible- not nearly as fragile as the more 'beautiful' flowers, and as an athlete, he can admire that about them.

On a deeper level, there are many similarities to be found between Alex and his favorite flower. First impressions can be deceiving- just like most people think of dandelions as pests, Alex can come on a bit strong and even arrogant. But looking beneath the surface, they both share the same physical and mental will to push forward and survive in even the most difficult circumstances. They both go through drastic changes as well. Just as the bright and spiky bloom of a dandelion becomes softer and more delicate, Alex's spirit softens too. His own changes, though, won't float away on the wind anytime soon :P

Elliott

As obvious as it would be to say red roses, SNAPDRAGONS would be his favorites instead! As much as he is a romantic, he's just as much a daydreamer, and snapdragons would provide his imagination with ample opportunity to run wild, both with their fantastical name and lush, delicate appearance. They remind him of adventures in far-off lands, harkening reveries of ancient castles filled with wondrous secrets and the brave heroes set out to uncover them. He's a homebody at heart, but nothing is stopping him from holing up in his cabin and writing about any of it! (Or, well, fantasizing about writing about it, in most cases. <3)

But just as established, he's a romantic. Elliott is definitely well-versed in the language of flowers, and the meaning behind snapdragons in particular hardly eludes him. They symbolize grace, earnestness and strength under pressure, but are also known to represent something less than well-intentioned. Emulating the former qualities is something Elliott has done effortlessly, but in a way, the last one entices him the most. To create something beautiful, strong and mysterious; something that draws one in and sparks love and fear and longing for an endless more- isn't that what every writer wants? What every writer dreams of?

Harvey

A little like Elliott in this regard, Harvey is the sentimental type. FORGET-ME-NOTS hold a special place in his heart. It's a simple flower in appearance with an almost childlike name, but he likes them just the same. Maybe it's because of those traits that he does- they remind him of the carefree days he's missed out on, since moving to the valley. On top of his doctoral duties, he's a very lonely person overall. Forget-Me-Nots, with their hopeful pale blue, almost cheer him up to see on days where he feels less like a member of the community and more like a robot with a stethoscope and scrubs.

It's also their name that connects with him in a way...Forget-Me-Not. On top of the way they look, they cheer him up with that name. On the rare instance that the flower comes up in conversation, he jokes that the person who named it must've had terrible memory, as cheesy as it sounds. But all jokes aside, it's comforting to him that a flower otherwise unremarkable would have a name that insists to the listening ear that it shouldn't be forgotten. Almost inspiring, even. It makes him feel as if one day, he won't be another face-in-the-crowd. Somebody important, though to whom in particular...? Well, time will tell!

Sam

For Sam, it's DAISIES all the way! He constantly flip-flops between spring and summer as his favorite seasons, but daisies give him the best of both worlds. Seeing them dotting the fields in the warmer months always brings a smile to his face. Whether or not he's close with him, Sam definitely got Alex to teach him how to make flower chains one late spring...Of course, Alex may or may not have been mildly jealous of how easily Sam picked up on the skill, but when spending time together outside, Sam's restless hands sometimes find themselves picking daisies from the grass while Abigail and Sebastian chat and bicker and making the both of them bracelets!

When he still lived in the city with his mother, father and a much younger Vincent, he'd sometimes see them poking out of cracks in the sidewalk. While they weren't as common as dandelions, they still always caught his attention. While Jodi chatted aimlessly with her fellow PTA moms outside one of the countless Zuzu City JojaMarts, he'd busy himself, plucking daisies and dandelions from whatever nooks and crannies he could find and playing with them however he wanted. Back then, he didn't think much of it, but he looks at those times with almost a fond nostalgia. Things changed, but that doesn't mean it all has to be sad, right?

Sebastian

He doesn't think about this sort of thing very often, being the lovable terminally-online dork that he is. But if you ask, Sebastian's favorite flower would have to be BLACK TULIPS. It's not a very deep answer, really. Sure, tulips are more of a spring flower, but he finds the pitch purple color to be one of the more interesting colors that plants can have. They stick out among the cheerier colors that most other breeds of tulips display- the goths of their genus, if you will, and that's small part of why he likes them!

He entertained the idea of gardening, at one point, even prior to the farmer's arrival. Though he plans to move out eventually, he thought it would be a good way to get outside and get some exercise, though it wasn't ever really anything he thought to commit to. Though, he does chat with Evelyn on occasion- their shared affinity for tulips and his occasional fantasy of maintaining a small garden has ended up providing a lot more conversation than he's used to, or even expected! Even if most people see him as an asocial shut-in, it's comforting for him to recognize his softer side.

Shane

Look at him. All gruff and mean. His favorite flower is probably a thistle of some sort, or something poisonous. All things considered, his favorite flowers are FAIRY ROSES. Don't give him that look- it's just because Jas likes them so much! Seeing the way she lights up when she sees them is contagious for this gold-hearted curmudgeon. She'd spent two entire weeks planning out a one-woman recital for him and Marnie once, and when he handed her a little JojaMart bouquet of them afterwards...Well, the look on her face made the price tag worth it. Although, her excited squeal did leave his ears ringing for the rest of the evening.

The flowers are native to the valley, too...Sometimes, he feels as if he doesn't belong. Why would he? It's not as if he was born there or has any particularly close friends. If Pelican Town was a garden, he'd just be a weed. But Jas seems to have taken like a duck to water, although she's still shy as ever. Shane can be self-defeating and pessimistic at times, but he's not made of stone. He's grateful that she's in a place where she can flourish, just like the fairy roses she adores so much.

~FIN~

[floralovebot]

MADE EDITS i couldn't stop thinking about their outfits and like,, the aspects i liked and thought felt very winx and in line with the individual characters and the aspects i Hated and thought sucked dookie SO i made some edits :)

biggest changes are to musa, aisha, and stella! actually changed the clothes there. flora and tecna i just adjusted the colors (in flora's case to further unwhitewash her and saturate her clothing more and in tecna's case to bring back her pink hair and green and cyan).

explanations on changes below!

I'll start with the simpler edits!

For Tecna, I just wanted to play around with her og colors lol I actually LOVE her new look and I would love to see this be the final design!! It's SO tecna and fits in with the rest of the winx i love it soo much :') I do think they should bring back her pinker hair though! And again, would love to see the green and cyan make an appearance. I feel like neon green is just very classy techy character. And while it is cliche, I do love it akjgd plus I think it looks good on her and makes the other colors stand out more imo! (but maybe this new, pinker look will make people like her more idk :') justice for tecna my beloved :'))

For Flora, I darkened her skin more for obvious reasons. And then I added more saturation to the colors and added back the warmer tones they took out. Imo, the darker, desaturated, and cooler toned look for Flora only works in very specific circumstances. Color theory rainbow!! Bring back the brightness! The color!! The warmth!!

Which brings me to Stella ohmygod,,, please,,,, please stop desaturating her she looks so pale and sick and lifeless STOP please :') Anyway lol, obviously brought back the brighter orange! I also took away the random sleeve. It's cute but it just didn't feel very Stella at the time? The tube top look is Very Classic Stella (very much giving s3 casual but in orange). Tbh, I don't love the dress itself, but I do think it looks better once you add more of Stella's colors. I also tanned her skin more and made her hair more yellow + brighter! Just like with Flora, color theory is important for media!! This Stella design just does Not give sunny, optimistic character. It's giving the gap (aka BORING aljdhg)

Aisha's design stumped me for a bit, I won't lie. I couldn't figure out exactly what I didn't like. But I got it!! One, way too symmetrical imo. Yes, Aisha does have some very symmetrical looks, but like 80% of her looks are very asymmetrical. I also didn't love that it didn't incorporate more of Aisha's powers. It really just went for *vaguely sporty* and didn't try to bring anything else to the table. And some people might say that Aisha's og looks were like that too, but I disagree! They told a story! She's a brave adventurer, a dancer, a princess, etcetc!! This tells me "oh yeah this girl might like to do yoga. cool."

Anyway! So I made Aisha's pants baggier because let's be fucking real for a sec. Changed the design on the pants slightly to make it asymmetrical and incorporated a wave design. Took away that bottom shiny fabric of her shirt. I tried to keep it but it just wasn't looking great with the pants changes tbh. Added small waves to the bottom and made it one shoulder! Also added her classic little circle wave design 1. because it's cute and 2. so Musa wouldn't feel so out of place with a design. Tbh, I still don't love the pants... I think maybe that hem could be higher?

For Musa! I've spoken about this before but I do not like the bodysuit. I liked the concept and the vibe it brings, but it looks So uncomfortable and s1 Musa was alllll about being comfortable. It's why so many people think she hates wearing dresses (even though she doesn't). So I kept the vibe, but changed it to the same mesh that's on her right arm! Which like!! I didn't even see that until I started the edit!! It's so,,, unnoticeable which like,, isn't a bad thing? But also? I think the mesh being on her stomach too makes the design as a whole a little more balanced (and it's a nice callback to her og magic winx!). As for the color changes, really just wanted to go back to her reds and dark blues. I don't Hate the color scheme, but I also don't love it. And I think this feels a lot more like Musa yknow? Also darkened her hair cause fuck that dude

Anyway lol it's not the best edit so don't look too hard :') I just wanted to explore what I liked about the designs and what I didn't. We did get to see a little bit of Bloom's casual, but I want to wait until we get a closer look to speak on it/make edits. Also tbh, I don't really love Flora's outfit but I didn't want to completely redesign her and I concede that this is something she would wear (although it feels more like s4 cowgirl time/s5 casual and not s1 new student time but Fine). For now, I'm gonna pretend the trailer showed us my edit of Stella and not what it really showed. I can't get pale pinterest stella out of my head,,, aggghhhh

[idontwanttospoiltheparty]

I love your nuanced takes. They are always a joy to read.

I'd be curious which songs, beatles or solo, do you think they wrote for/about each other and their situation (beatles&solo).

You don't have to go into great detail on them if you don't wanna.

Hope you have a great day. <3

Hi anon :) Glad you enjoy my takes! Hope you have a great day too <3

Preface that while I think this is fun, I really don't generally think songs are a good vehicle to extrapolate about the real life of these people. So, I try not to base my analyses of them as people on these songs, even the ones I feel more strongly about.

I'll categorize these by how certain I am about them (and I'll leave out confirmed stuff like Too Many People, Early 1970, How Do You Sleep?, Run of the Mill, Here Today etc.)

If you have a question re: why some specific song is in this category and not the other I can try to explain, though some of it is admittedly just vibes (and since I try to separate this from the Main Analysis™, I feel okay utilizing the vibes as a justification at times lol) If I left a song off you'd like my take on feel free to ask as well.

Close to positive:

Day Tripper is imho at least partially about Paul. This one feels so obvious to me, given what John said about it and the timeline (written squarely before Paul took LSD, conveniently after the whole LA fiasco), yet I rarely see people talking about it. Sad! It could also be partially about Cynthia.

Tug of War: Paul said it was about John in 1982 but then retconned that. IDK why he did that but. Come on!

I Know (I Know): I nearly put this one a tier lower but the I've Got A Feeling intro and the way it fits in the timeline. The Getting Better reference. It matching up with Paul's description of them tripping together + "share in each other's mind". It's too much.

A compelling case can be made:

In My Life: it makes a lot of sense. But Paul isn't the only likely muse IMO. he might be the most likely one, I'm not sure. I Know (I Know) makes me tend more to it though, admittedly.

3 Legs: yeah. Probably! It's not entirely clear to me what he's expressing outside a feeling of betrayal though.

Oh! Darling: Likely about John, but perhaps actually about the band as a whole.

The Answer's at the End: the way George quoted that same saying when asked about Paul in that live chat… THE IMPLICATIONS! (at least that maybe George came to associate the song with Paul later on?)

Remember: I tend to think this song is specifically about running away from the Beatles. There's more sadness in it, given John references Bring It On Home in the lyrics.

Who Can See It: this one also appears to be about George's general relationship with the Beatles. I don't think this is a hot take but no one talks about this song lol. I love it!

Cafe On The Left Bank: the song referencing Charles de Gaulle making a speech does place this quite firmly in the 60s. It's not really a love song though so I don't get why people consider this one such a win lol. It seems to mostly be about the city of Paris itself.

I like to think it's true but am admittedly not sure:

Call Me Back Again: it's a vague song, really. But damn… those mellotron flutes.

#9 Dream: IDK. this versus "The dream is over". the production-style. I like reading this song as a reconciliation with The Beatles as a concept.

Little Lamb Dragonfly: the whole being haunted by the dragonfly even though you're trying to move on thing :/

No Words: COME ON??????? but the Denny writing credit does puzzle me lol.

Crippled Inside: it would be soooooo devastating @ Paul!!! (probably only partially, possibly also self-directed)

Could have been inspired by the other but not necessarily in the way people think:

Some People Never Know: I do think Paul felt John was cynical in the way he's describing in this song. (I don't really think I Know (I Know) is a response to this song btw)

Silly Love Songs: ditto. He is Not fucking saying "I love you" (romantically) to John in the song he's duetting with his wife lol. but it could be a cheeky lil nod.

We Can Work It Out: I believe Paul when he says this was written about a fight he'd had with Jane. But Paul was also in conflict with John at the time (again, the LSD thing), thus I think that might have in some way informed his outlook when writing this. And John may have been thinking about their conflict while writing his part.

Let Me Roll It: it sounds a lot like John, yeah! but idk about the lyrics.

Look At Me: it could be about Paul, but it could be about the whole world, really. It's more a wish to be seen and understood really.

Dear Boy: I'm annoyed by people insisting Paul is lying when he says the inspiration is Linda's ex-husband. She's co-credited (and she actually isn't credited on every Ram song. I don't think the credit was "handed" to her, at least not at this point in time)! That being said, Paul may have bonded with Linda over feeling unappreciated in their previous life situations.

Yvonne's The One: Look. I think John's death really shifted how Paul felt about telling people he loved them. That may well have influenced the lyrics song. I don't think it's necessarily that literal.

However Absurd: ditto. This song is even more abstract so it feels even less literal.

?????? Who Knows

If I Fell: usually I think no it couldn't possibly. But– (And I don't find that Valentines card very compelling, no. but it's just like: well then who else would this song John called very personal about? I guess, for all I know, it could even be Brian. wow!)

Girl: I mean. Maybe! Sort of. They also said at the time it was about religion, and that makes a lot of sense, but it could still be that the character of the girl was inspired by how John felt about Paul at the time.

I'm So Tired: it seems equally likely to be about Yoko to me.

Don't Let Me Down: ditto. Actually. this one's more likely Just about Yoko tbh.

I'm Losing You: maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe. but also. Yoko.

Now And Then: genuinely who knows. this one's admittedly stranger for Yoko but… they did "interrupt" their relationship often, requiring to "start again". Also May is an option.

The Pound Is Sinking: Mostly, I don't know how straightforward it is.

Honestly… Not really

(Just Like) Starting Over: the "My Love", "Another Day", "Wings" thing has never compelled me, based on those being OLD songs by 1980, plus none of the phrasing or word choice is particularly conspicuous to me. But I also don't feel very strongly that it's not about Paul. It could be, though I don't know that I'd assume it was meant as a direct declaration of love then. Also the line before being a reference to Through The Looking Glass is neither here nor there. Since when is John Lennon dropping Lewis Caroll references only reserved for Paul? that feels like putting the cart before the horse, based on one single lyric in Glass Onion.

I've Got A Feeling: I think he's just saying words here, tbh.

Real Love: if it's about Paul that's fucking depressing. But I don't think it is really.

[theluminoussunflower]

very random question incoming but since you know a lot about dps maybe you can finally help me find peace. it doesn't hurt to ask right..? (this turned out longer than anticipated sorry about that..)

do you have any clue how people pinpoint the exact birthdays (in neils case also death day) of dead poets society characters? i know they're in the wiki but like.. where did we get them? am i an idot? do they talk about that somewhere? in the script maybe? is it just a very popular headcanon that everyone decided is real?

people claim december 15th is the day Neil died. i looked at the document todd has to sign looking for a date and i can see 12-5-59 at the bottom right. that means december 5th is the day everyone had to sign, right?

that would make neils death day maybe (!) the 4th. which could make sense because that day was a friday (the play wouldnt be on a weekday right? december 15th 1959 was a tuesday..)

but then again they are most likely signing a week or so after neil died, which would put his death day in late november??

where does december 15th come from? is there some random interview? is it really really obvious? is it all fake? please help an idiot out..!

thank you so much and have a nice day 💛

hello anon! hopefully i can provide a bit of clarity.

in terms of birthdays, they're all made up. the only birthday we're vaguely made aware of is todd's but we're not given an exact day. it's about mid-way through the movie, so i personally place it at the beginning of november, which is about halfway between the start and end of an autumn semester in the states. (i go with november third since that's ethan hawke's birthday, but to each their own).

the wiki isn't really the right place to look for like actual information about the movie because people just make shit up on it all the time. kind of annoying if you're actually trying to find out canon, but it's fandom wiki so we can't really stop it lol i personally disagree with most of the birthdays provided on the wiki (someone on there thinks pitts is a taurus when he's CLEARLY a capricorn /lh)

in terms of neil's death day, december fifteenth comes from neil's dad's calendar on his desk in the scene before his suicide. it's reeeaaallly grainy so it could be anything, but it looks like a teen number, and there aren't that many pages left on it. i had never seen the 12-5-59 date on the contract until this ask, so that definitely puts a hole in the december fifteenth thing, and i agree that a tuesday is a weird day to have the opening night of a play on. so it's two contradicting props.

but i think the suicide happening with snowfall and just before finals puts it more towards mid-december, though you could be right about it being more around thanksgiving (vermont gets snow starting in november)

to my knowledge that is the extent of the december fifteenth stuff. if there's any more, someone can reblog and add, but in short, it's basically fanon looking really deeply into props lol there's no interview, it's not in the script, it's really not that deep. if you think his suicide was late november, there's nothing that concrete to disprove it.

let me know what birthdays you think the boys have, because i basically just give them their actors birthdays lol

anyway happy neil dies day <3

[mecachrome]

k, hear me out… on my dream au. what are the thoughts™️ on 814 detective au. like. oscar as the newly appointed detective in the precinct (prepare for zero (0) appropriate vocabulary regarding the matter,,,, worse, even : plainly erroneous terminology) where lando’s been working for some years. he just graduated whatever school u go to to do that and he’s like this rule follower, in the law we trust kinda guy who wants to do things the right way. THEN he gets paired up w/ lando on this like murder cold case or whatever & they start out not really getting along that much (osc is sorta freaked out by lando’s whimsical approach? his breaking of the right process/bypassing of the stuff u should do in order to get warrants ect) and along the way, they make progress on the case & osc realizes he needs to kiss him on the mouth or he’ll die. something like that, u know?

HELLOOOO z how do the kids these days put it...... i am spinning this around in my mind like a microwave!!! or however it goes.

well i equally have zero working knowledge of any appropriate terminology so i will join you there LOL. but anyway i know it's such an obvious dynamic atp but i will truly never tire of just like....... T__T any instance of oscar having to put in the work 2 understand lando's particularities (and/or vice versa) and over time learning to understand his intentions and really essentially to Take Care Of HimTM without it being a whole thing or even really a conscious development.... we need the usual supporting cast of like logan (coworker) genuinely horrified at their obliviousness. he's like Mate he's got his shirt half unbuttoned you CANNOT be serious and oscar is like ? what it's hot in here. in the middle of winter literally -5c out with no heating on. ok ANYWAY basically lando wants someone who can push back on his bullshit but who also takes him at face value and understands where he's coming from when he's saying something in good faith and as they begin working together all of oscar's initial antagonism fades away fairly rapidly because well it's clear that actually lando really isn't like any of his preconceived notions... and that the Real World is complex and oscar can be gracious about someone else being right. no other reason of course

& like i don't think necessarily that oscar would be lawful good to the point of being like, we Have to do things this way all the time, he's just been taught that standard procedure is usually good enough and gets the job done so why would he challenge that for an unnecessary risk with not always tangibly more reward...??? ok i don't even know what i'm saying but i just loveeee the complementary dynamic of >oscar realizing that lando is Capable and maybe actually knows more than him and is good at his job and also Why is he so stubborn all the time but also why does that kind of make oscar like him more...??? + >lando realizing that oscar Gets Him and actually listens to all of his ideas and isn't just deflecting his suggestions but actually trying to work through them with him and also Oh hmmmm why does he get red every time lando reaches over him to grab a file . anyway things of that nature

also i never watched the x-files can someone pls tell me if the mulder and scully dynamic is even vaguely translatable to 814............ if not you can blow me up with your mind and I'm sorry for asking LKHDSFLH

[avatarofwar]

i saw your tags of owl and honestly, you are so real and right for it, patricide is cool af and your rant about him was so true (i had the same thought too lol). going to hirata and seeing so many dead people and finding out later that owl was responsible for it (i spoiled myself lol), i had my blood boiling lmao. I haven't reached him but goddamn i am not ready to fight that bastard lol (i am a literal noob) and knowing in the shura ending that he beheads genichiro (my blorbo i love him lol), bruh i wanna kill him so badly lmao

First of all I'm going to state that I agree with everything stated in this ask, and even for the sole crime against your blorbo he deserves eternal suffering.

I'm also going to use this as a jumping off point for an unstructured rant about Owl (and particularly his crimes against my blorbo, who is definitely not made obvious by my Wolf icon). Also Owl is easily my most hated character in any media I have ever consumed and I genuinely cannot see any real life owls without thinking of him and being filled with a moment of blinding rage. This is not an exaggeration.

Putting this under a read more for mentions of abuse. Vague spoilers as well (assuming those are fine since you've spoiled yourself on some things, but trying to keep it vague to limit it just in case).

Prefacing this by stating that while I'll mostly use this as an excuse to rant about his dynamic with Wolf, I don't want to undersell the atrocity of the attack on Hirata Estate, so I'll dive into the rest of my thoughts after briefly touching on it.

This alone says a lot about him as a character. His ambitions for immortality through the Dragon's Heritage are the only thing of value to him. Everything he does is for this goal, and this night in particular highlights how much he values that and how little he values everyone else. The only thing that matters is what he wants, and he will use whatever methods necessary to achieve it. If the chance of immortality results in the deaths of an unstated amount of innocents, it is worth taking.

Ultimately he failed at his goal of achieving immortality through that, but it still important to note that it is still something he did. Owl likely could've come up with any number of plans that furthered his goal without killing innocents, and actively chose to forge his path on the bodies of others. They were all people who were just... living their lives. They aren't important and we know nothing about their lives, but that highlights the dismissive cruelty of Owl's actions; they are regular people of no importance to anyone in the story, and they were still dragged into this, their lives tossed away to further one man's ambitions.

Owl's only concerns are himself and his goals. Everyone else are simply pawns to be used and discarded. He desires immortality, and will forge it on a pile of corpses if need be.

There's more I can say about that night at Hirata Estate, but I don't know how much of that you've pieced together from spoilers so I'll leave it to be pieced together. But with that covered, I can move onto what I really want to talk about.

Owl is very explicitly an abuser. It is something the game makes very clear, and could only make more clear by saying it word for word (which isn't really how FromSoftware handles storytelling), even before his encounter at Ashina Castle (which only further proves it).

It is something made clear in the intro to the game! From the very start it is made very clear that Owl is someone awful, and even without knowing much about him it is clear that, at the very least, he is not someone you should like or trust.

Owl's treatment of Wolf is an extension of how he views everyone else; a tool for his goals and someone to be disposed of. Even with just the intro as your only knowledge of his character it is something evident.

The Iron Code is very blatantly a method of control Owl uses over Wolf, it is something intended not simply guide him, but to define him. His father's word is absolute, it is the first and most important rule of it, and it is simply a part of your introduction to the game and to both Owl and Wolf as characters. And it is something that defines Wolf, whose life for most of the game has simply been defined as obedience to it.

There's no sugarcoating the fact that Owl only ever sees Wolf as a tool to be wielded by him, and raised him to only ever be a weapon and to only ever see himself as one. This alone showcases that!

I could use this to go more into Wolf's dynamic with Kuro, but I'm going to abstain because that will take this in a different direction than I intend. Simply put, Kuro was one of the first people to see him as a person. It is something alien to him, when he is so used to being treated and seen as a tool by his father, when that treatment has resulted in Wolf holding that view of himself.

And then you encounter Owl at Ashina Castle. While Owl plays a significant role in how Wolf views himself, being his abuser, he has been absent from the game. And now here he is in all of his awful glory.

I feel it is worth noting that Owl is the only story relevant character towering over Wolf. Most of the height differences are relatively minor, but Owl is massive. To me at least (who has spent an unhealthy amount of its free time thinking about Wolf), this alone speaks volumes about their dynamic. Owl is this looming, ever present figure who is to define Wolf's life, and in comparison Wolf is someone insignificant, someone looked down on. Owl only ever looks down at him, because Wolf is someone utterly unimportant when he is not of any use to Owl.

This is also where you find out that Owl faked his own death. It is something so incredibly fucked up to deliberately lead your own son to believe you are dead, so of course it is what Owl does. Because of course his own goals have to include the most fucked up methods of causing the loss of innocent lives and leading your son to think you're dead. He is only ever thinking about himself and will screw over anyone if he believes it has a chance of benefiting him.

His whole encounter at Ashina Castle speaks volumes of how he sees Wolf, where he only ever gives Wolf orders he expects to follow, and when Wolf disobeys - when he chooses the direction of his life instead of simply obeying his abuser - he has the logical reaction of attempting to kill him. Because obviously the logical reaction to your son making a choice that doesn't prioritise you is to attempt to kill him!

I'll leave the pre-fight cutscene and the resurrection and death lines in the fight for you to discover, but suffice it to say they do a great job of showing how awful Owl is (and emphasising, you know, being an abuser). I will also add that his Japanese VA is fucking incredible and does such a good job at making him feel so so awful. Words cannot properly convey how great the line delivery is at emphasising Owl as someone utterly despicable.

Honestly this was somewhat nonsensical so I apologise for using your ask as an excuse to go on an unstructured rant but like I feel obligated to hate on him. I did not mean for this to be over 1000 words, and this isn't even fully covering everything I could say.

[maschotch]

Nah nah nah nah bc I NEED to know what hotch's deal was with fire related cases??????? HE WAS ALWAYS WAY MORE EMOTIONAL IF IT WAS A FIRE BUT THEY NEVER DID ANYTHING WITH IT SO WHATS THE DEAL WITH THAT HUH?? there were at least 3 separate episodes w/ fire plots, all pretty far apart from each other, and he had pretty much the same reaction to each of them that isn't a coincidence like you know the writers did that on purpose I just wish they gave us more info abt it. ALSO I wish the team like cared more???? BC it's pretty obvious that he gets way more antsy during these cases are you telling me no one notices????? Such a wasted opportunity for more character interactions and I'll never forgive them for constantly depriving us of this. I miss Gideon.

ok but fr?? bc it goes unmentioned by eeeeeveryone except gideon and unnoticed by eeeeeeveryone at the bau (except emily in that one ep but they still kinda hated each other so she didnt say shit and just kinda forgot about it, and derek in that other ep but only in the “im gonna act upset and blame hotch for his problems bc idk how to address my own fears/concerns/trauma when it comes to the way i care about the lowkey-suicidal kinda-father-figure bc i have problems” way) which is insane to me considering they’re all profilers?? i think it’s partly bc they unknowingly avoid profiling hotch (either out of respect or discomfort) and partly bc they’ve grown complacent taking hotch’s usual stoicism and “unmovable object” energy for granted as a permanent, impermeable pillar in their lives, almost to the point where they dehumanize him. they don’t like questioning their grounding anchor’s potential for weaknesses bc they depend on his unshakable solidity for their own emotional wellbeing. it’s much easier to intentionally overlook his humanity when they use his unflappability for their own emotional recalibration. which is fucked up for hotch? he’s really gotta play the part of the cool collected unit chief at all times. but then, he’s already used to putting his emotional problems on the back burner. ANYWAY thats just my excuse for why NO ONE FUCKING SAYS ANYTHING ABOUT IT EVER

it’s subtle—bc most interesting things ab hotch are vague at best—but he really does act different during cases involving fire. he’s on edge, distracted, less patient, snippy, or vulnerable in uncharacteristic ways. saying “i wish the writers had given us more ab hotch’s backstory” is redundant at best, but all these hints painting a picture of tragedy makes me want to know mooooore. like.. what were they thinking?? did the writers have anything specific in mind or were they content w ambiguity? it really seems like such a waste, especially when he’s clearly had an apparently very busy life. southern mom, distant younger brother, an abusive father who died in at least three different ways, coin collector, theater kid, troubled teenager, boarding school, apprehension towards fire, following his father’s footsteps and becoming a very successful lawyer, getting bored of that and joining the fbi, working as an ambassador’s security detail, working overseas, networking across a variety of positions in every place imaginable, somehow finding time for swat training and becoming a sharpshooter, joining the bau in record time, being the bau’s encyclopedia of random shit before reid comes around, carrying the responsibility of the team on his back while gideon recuperates… there’s just.. so much they offhandedly mention he’s done without ever really exploring any of it in further detail. it’s frustrating!! give my boy a proper backstory!!

anyway im rambling lol i forgot what we were fucking talking about but YEAHHHHHH HOTCH AND FIRE

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

Arezu thinks that because they're both wardens and wearing Clan uniforms that she and Ingo more similar to each other than they are to the other two. She is sadly very mistaken. Actually, does she even know that Ingo isn't native? Sure he's the weirdest person in Hisui, including the protag, with weird clothes and turns of phrase, but that's easily handwaved as prophet bullshit. Unless the Pearl Clan kinda rolled him out like, "hi, thank you all for coming, this is Ingo, he's our newest warden and... drumroll please... a prophet of Sinnoh who fell from the sky onto our lands! Boom our Sinnoh is clearly the correct one since they blessed us with him and not you, suck it haters." But yes, Arezu is really the only one on this trip who actually cares about their god, aside from maybe Lilligant and the protag. Even Sneasler, a noble descended from Sinnoh's champions, is just here because that's where her dude and the entertainment are. Ingo and Cyllene are most definitely in the "not my god" camp.

Yes, oh my god, and now I also can't help but think that in OoP she was pretty bummed out that she was tasked with keeping Rei out of the fray when Emmet turned out to be a really good battler who made that fight look awesome lol. Wait, okay okay, so we know that when you fight Ingo with his own team he says part of Emmet's pre-multi battle lines. What if, were he to battle against another person with Sneasler as either his ace or a 1v1, he did part of Emmet's pre-super double battle lines instead? Telling them to give it their all, because if a battle is not serious, it is not fun.

Well, my thinking re: catching pokemon to break the frenzy, was because when you catch an alpha pokemon in the game it's completely chill afterward. Fighting them to a k.o. might work too, since part of breaking the nobles' frenzy is wearing them down enough for the bags of comfort food to actually work their magic, but if the option is fight or catch, catching is probably easier in most cases because it won't completely exhaust their pokemon. And also catching in pokeballs is really the only thing I could think of that could be even vaguely vaccine-esque that'd also work with arceus sending a teenager from the future to fix things, especially if we keep the seek out all pokemon mandate. Maybe arceus gives the protag the ability to like, imbue pokeballs with a bit of their power or something, idk.

If battling can break the frenzy if they're knocked out, then the best case scenario would be for Lilligant to frenzy first, because should the others somehow not be able to stand up to her, Sneasler would be on her level and also super effective against her. The frenzy would give Lilligant an extra boost, so it likely couldn't just be Sneasler though. If battling on its own doesn't work and the nobles have to be caught somehow... well that might cause problems with the clans, for one thing.

LOL YEAH... sorry arezu you might have been right if you were paired with Literally Any Other Warden but nope you got the weirdo one instead. and HMM that's a good question... lol you know what would be funny is if the other wardens don't really know not bc ingo intentionally didn't tell them but bc he. didn't realize it was news. like everyone in the pearl clan knew immediately bc they were There when he got there, but the diamond clan wardens? everybody just forgot to update them on it. but that might not be super believable either... it might be like ounce of prevention's adaman, where she knows he's not native bc that's fairly obvious just from talking to him but didn't realize he was from The Sky. or maybe not idk!

wkwjhwjh YEAH she mighta been huh. and. OOOOH... aaaa man that little bit of trivia still hurts my heart so much and this spin on it is SO good... yes yes i love it. also the fact that he presumably remembers the multis lines in canon bc he would have been hearing those semi-daily when they battled together, but if the super doubles lines are also so close to hand then that means he's also heard those really frequently, maybe bc they spar battle each other in different formats a lot too which is already a hc of mine and YEAH. I LIKE IT

no no yeah i think the reasoning for this au works i was just saying that it's kind of. a goofy decision on the part of canon to make that work shksjhskjh. i think to make the "seek out all pokemon" thing more plot relevant it's actually a very elegant solution!! and ooh "imbuing pokeballs with divine power" is a cool thing... then i wonder if instead of balms, it works functionally the same way but you're hucking blessed pokeballs at them instead? hmm

ooh yeah, maybe sneasler's battling to keep her attention and wear her out, and then the protag is busy lining up a throw? but YEAH problems with the clans is a fair point... although lilligant's warden would be there to sign off on it so maybe that would give them some legitimacy? idk

[reservoirreputation]

Just some observations from my (very) slow rewatch of House season 5.

Why's it taking so long? I've said before that this season has a very different tone to previous seasons, and I personally don't like breakup arcs (because that's exactly what's happened between House and Wilson). There's just not been as much urgency to get through the episodes like before, and it truly comes down to my own personal preferences. Anywho, and with that-

5X03- Taub's episode

Mind you, it's been a couple of weeks, but I really like how weirdly practical Taub is, even self-aware, but is also incredibly self-destructive. And that moment where he's ready to spill the beans to his wife, that look on her face? She knew. She's known the whole time. We've not gotten another word from her on the matter, yet, but that was the face of a wife that knows she's being lied to, wanted to pretend otherwise, even fix things in the way of a present, and while she may not know it was exactly cheating, she knew something major was up. And this may be a case of vague memories floating to the surface (I've not seen season five-onwards since it first aired) and could be mixing it up with Wilson's drama, but I feel like Taub's been kicked out. It wouldn't surprise me if he has, that's for sure.

5X05- Thirteen's episode

This poor girl. Not only has she won the bad genetics lottery, it's especially shitty for her. (I believe the paperwork Foreman found showed she had a genetic predisposition to really aggressive Huntington's or something of the like, again, it's been more than a week) And just when she's found somebody to relate to on this level, her girlfriend/fling that seemingly had less time than her, turns out she'll be alright. And despite getting caught hungover on the job, using hospital equipment for herself, getting fired, we end the episode with Thirteen continuing to spiral, ending it as it began.

5X06- Cuddy episode + Taub and Thirteen interactions

I'm covering them first, for obvious reasons, but Taub and Thirteen in this episode? After all of the above? Just, so rich to see the two most self-destructive people on House's team interact. Taub's super depressing approach to fatherhood, Thirteen hiding her laughter as he asks the dealer for some cocaine, I kinda wish they got more time together, TBH. 'Cause, like, neither of them needs to be giving out life advice, and yet here we are.

And Cuddy, oh. Cuddy. I knew I didn't recognize the name 'Joy' and could feel that other shoe drop as we got closer to the end of the episode, but damn. And, god Becca, you don't keep a kid on a whim because you hope they'll change your life for the better. And I know it makes for great TV, but that's just preemptively saddling your kid with future therapy bills. 'Mommy only wanted me to make her feel better and to steal the joy (lol) from another mother' and isn't there paperwork to be signed to prevent this kind of thing? Is it just Jersey that's like this? Again, makes for great TV, but I feel like it didn't have to play out this way.

I think it's my most popular House post to date, but I will say it again: Cuddy had to get on her TIPPY TOES to make out with House, and that little moment where the camera shows her dip like an inch in height? Get this woman a stepladder FFS.

[aftokrator-official]

more ship ask meme responses for @freshdickies!

Ranbanein/Azuma:

4. Who initiates affection? Why does the other not initiate affection as much?

They're both pretty physically affectionate, I think, but I think Ranbanein in particular would constantly be touching Azuma even in just casual little ways, an arm around his shoulders or leaning on him or a little kiss to greet him. It's just who he is. Azuma's very willing to indulge his cuddly golden retriever of a partner, but I do think it takes some getting used to for him, since physical affection usually involved or led into sex with his previous relationships, and that's very much not the case with Ranbanein. Once he gets used to it, though, I think Azuma would enjoy the frequent casual physical intimacy, and finds it reassuring.

14. Do they enjoy PDA, or are they more private with affection?

Ranbanein is very affectionate regardless of circumstance. He doesn't mind! Everyone should know how much he loves Azuma and how wonderful Azuma is!! Azuma… is far more private, and very easily embarrassed by this, even though Ranbanein's PDA is all pretty innocent in nature. When he's more comfortable in their relationship, I think Azuma could actually turn the tables on him and get Ranbanein flustered if he's being seductive in public or getting Ranbanein turned on - as physically affectionate as he is, Ranbanein doesn't have too much experience in sexual relationships, so it doesn't take much to get him blushing and awkward about it. 

42. What’s their relationship like with each other’s friends/families?

Honestly pretty good, in both directions. Azuma and Hyrein get along, though I think (at least early on) they'd be tremendously awkward when left alone together, before they know each other well. But Hyrein both respects him as a combatant and tactician, and is tremendously glad his brother has found someone who makes him so happy, so he has a generally positive impression of Azuma. I think Azuma would also respect Hyrein and recognize the difficulties he faces in a command position, though he'd also be harder on him than on Ranbanein when it comes to… Afto cultural practices he doesn't approve of. After all, Hyrein is in a position of authority and Ranbanein isn't.

Ranbanein wouldn't find it hard to endear himself to Azuma's "kids" in Border, for the most part. Most of them would be wary of him at first, but Ranbanein truly doesn't take offense at this and considers it a worthy challenge to earn their trust and respect. In situations that don't involve anyone being captured Koarai and Okudera would come around pretty quickly and get along with him like a house on fire. Miwa, on the other hand… would have a really hard time, for obvious reasons. I think he'd get past it, but it'll take a long time, and a lot of patience on ranazu's parts.

I haven't fully solidified my headcanons for Azuma's parents… but I do have the vague sense that even just learning he's gay was a huge hurdle for them, so "I'm getting married to a man from another dimension, also he's nobility" is PROBABLY A STRETCH lol. If their relationship survives it's probably fairly strained and distant, but that's not Ranbanein's fault, or even particularly related to him personally - it's just inevitable. I feel like Azuma was always closer to his mom, and she might be more likely to come around on her surprise son-in-law and develop a good relationship with him eventually.

---

Hyrein/Izumi:

2. Who wakes up early/Who sleeps in late?

Hyrein is definitely the early riser of the two, Izumi likes to sleep in. Usually Hyrein is waking up early to work, but I think he'd really enjoy a quiet, relaxing early morning routine when he has time for it - listen to the birds, watch the sunrise, have breakfast. Izumi thinks that's all well and good but he'd rather be sleeping all the same. I think a leisurely morning for them usually looks like Hyrein enjoying a quiet, contemplative moment while Izumi uses him as a pillow and continues to sleep. 💖

4. Who initiates affection? Why does the other not initiate affection as much?

In the beginning it was Hyrein, but overall it tends to be Izumi. Hyrein is… not repressed, but keenly aware of his position and the propriety expected of him. Izumi has no such qualms, and a higher sex drive besides, so he's pretty shameless about getting up in Hyrein's personal space and putting his hands all over him. He'll also very casually lean on Hyrein or even fall asleep on him, and I think this makes Hyrein feel things - the trust it shows Izumi has in him now, after how hard won it was, and the fact that almost no one else in his life is this casually affectionate with him (probably only Ranbanein).

11. How do they feel about nicknames/pet names? If they like them, what pet names do they use? If they hate them, why do they feel that way?

I think Hyrein is more likely to use pet names - things like "my love" and "my dear", and I also really like the idea of him calling Izumi "fledgling" ;u; Izumi… is easily embarrassed by it, I think, but secretly really likes it. I don't think he calls Hyrein by anything but his name as much, but one GUARANTEED to fluster Hyrein and turn him on is when Izumi calls him "my lord" after they're in a relationship. It was a perfectly normal way for Izumi to address him when he was simply his apprentice, but as his lover/husband… for some reason Hyrein can't handle it in this context, and Izumi thinks it's adorable (and a fun way to wind him up).

19. Do they wear each other’s clothes/jewelry?

Izumi is a boyfriend's-clothes-stealer for SURE. After the first time seeing Izumi wearing nothing but a shirt of his, slipping off his shoulder, Hyrein does not mind in the least. Hyrein's taller and broader than Izumi and doesn't fit in his clothes as easily, but Izumi does enjoy it very much on the rare occasions he can get Hyrein to wear Meeden clothes. (Izumi thinks he looks adorably awkward in casual wear, and very hot in formal attire.)

22. Are they comfortable joking around with each other and being silly/playful?

Hyrein is a fairly serious person, but I think being around Izumi helps him loosen up a lot. Early on, catching glimpses of a lighter, gentler side to Hyrein is a big part of why Izumi fell for him - seeing him play around with Alektor's animal bullets or being soft for cute animals. Hyrein's sense of humor is subtle, but Izumi is pretty good at picking up on it and thoroughly enjoys it, and Hyrein feels incredibly pleased every time he makes Izumi laugh. Izumi jokes around with him a lot, more and more as he becomes more comfortable with him and more confident that he doesn't need to maintain a stiff formality all the time.

42. What’s their relationship like with each other’s friends/families?

Izumi does fine - he gets along great with Ranbanein, and probably Viza as well. Hyrein, though... has a harder time, for obvious reasons. Izumi forgives him for the invasion and capturing him far more easily than most of Izumi's friends and family. Out of everyone Karasuma would probably come to terms with it most easily - he's seen Hyuse's struggles with being in a fairly similar position to Izumi, and understands that Izumi's emotions are far more complicated than most people expect them to be. He's probably heard a lot about Hyrein and House Beltiston from Hyuse, too, and is more willing to believe that Hyrein truly isn't abusing or manipulating Izumi because of it. Midorikawa also forgives Hyrein and Izumi fairly easily, mostly just glad to have Izumi back in his life even if circumstances are different. He has no idea how to interact with Hyrein, though, and vice versa - I think seeing his friends, and especially Midorikawa interacting with Hyrein would be a stark reminder to Izumi of the age gap between them, haha.

Yoneya has a harder time. He's an easygoing type who doesn't hold grudges easily, but Hyrein took his best friend and then his best friend chose to stay. It's hard for him to understand that and I think he'd be bitter for a while, though he makes an effort to get past it for Izumi's sake. He really leans on Miwa for support after Izumi is taken and Miwa's own emotional state is... not the greatest influence on him. I think he would definitely be able to reconcile with Izumi in time. Miwa, though... I'm not sure his relationship with Izumi would ever recover? That feeling of betrayal would cut deep for him, especially after watching Yoneya fall apart over losing Izumi, and I think it'd leave a scar.

Tachikawa also has a really hard time. He's really protective of Izumi, was single-mindedly determined to rescue him after he was taken, and Izumi's eventual reconciliation with and marriage to Hyrein feels like a horrible blow after he thought it was all over. He's not just angry at Izumi for leaving, he's also half-convinced that Hyrein has somehow brainwashed or manipulated him into this, not trusting him even after most others have come around on their relationship. But Izumi stubbornly fights to maintain a relationship with Tachikawa anyway. I think it's when Hyrein and Izumi's first kids are born that things really start to heal between Izumi and Tachikawa, because Izumi very much wants "Uncle Kei" to be a part of their lives and Tachikawa, in spite of everything, adores them. It's always a little strained between him and Hyrein, but they both do their best to set that aside for Izumi's sake.