#although tbh I have seen older people have this issue too

[lucemxnox]

Question: have the majority of ppl ages 20-25 lost their souls? Seriously. The amount of people around my age who solidly do not give a fuck about their impact on other people, the hurt they do or may cause, basic ideas of respecting shared spaces, etc. is absolutely batshit to me.

[princess-ibri]

It's great to write for the established characters as well as create new OCs, but have you ever done the relatively rare thing of picking out a nameless background character and giving them a name and backstory?

I have actually yes! There's been quite a few background characters I've had little head canons for, mostly from Beauty and the Beast,like the guy driving the cart at the beginning is Lefou's older brother, and the girl he waves to is the older sister of the littlr blonde girl Belle pats on the head.

Or the Little Mermaid 2, with the kids, human and mer. I had names for all of them at one point but can't remember them now xD The blonde merboy was Urchin from The Little Mermaid Animated Series' son though.

The one reall obscure ones I got into were some people in the very last scene of Beauty and the Beast.

There's a girl in green I was going to have her be an apprentice to the Enchantress. But I ended up scrapping the story idea, before I ever did any art, it just no longer fit in with what I was making with my DisneyVerse. But perhaps I'll go back and rework who I think she is one day.

There was also this handsome looking bloke who I had the idea of being a half-brother/illegitimate brother of Prince Adam due to the similarities but decided to nix that idea.

Atm he's the human form of the Music Box, deleted character who was expanded in comics to be the only enchanted object in the castle that started out as an object, not a human. In my version he gained a human form when everyone else turned back, and he looks like young Prince Adam because the music box was a cherised toy of the prince when he was young.

(But tbh I'm not entirely sold on that idea either but its there for now)

Also I'm fairly sure this tall lady in green is the Enchantress

More info about the Music Box under the cut

Taken from the article on the Disney Wiki which I can verify is true because I actually happen to have this comic. But its in one of my many boxes now as I'm moving :p

Oh but they have a picture of the cover/production art so that works too!

In a short-lived comic book series set before the events of Beauty and the Beast (not to be confused with the Marvel comic book series set during Belle's stay at the castle), the Music Box was given a very important part in one issue (specifically Issue 1).

In that issue, it is explained to Chip by Mrs. Potts that unlike the other enchanted objects, the Music Box was never human, and he has been in fact the Beast/Prince's favorite toy. Although Chip along with the Beast likes his music, Cogsworth tends to look down on the Music Box as a "primitive creature".

In an amusing scene where Lumiere tries to coach the Beast in the art of courting by using Fifi (here called Marie) as an example, the Music Box is called on to supply the dance music. The Beast has grown to depend on the Music Box to lull him to sleep with his music, so that when he accidentally smashes him during one of his tantrums, he is devastated.

Lumiere and even Cogsworth are grieved as well, commenting that although he was different than the rest of them, he had a "heart" just the same, and are left wondering if they can put him back together again. The fact that he is seen in the movie at the Battle scene as well as during the Marvel Comic would seem to indicate the positive.

Thanks for the ask!

[spurgie-cousin]

I feel it was arranged in the sense that Bri found Nurie first and got to know the family through her, and was Jill’s perfect combination of flattering and submissive and it was decided to pair him up with the next available son, which was Sam (since I think Phillip was going through his issues around the time that Bri started traveling with Nurie and Nathan, Tim was already engaged and Gabe was still too young)

There was also speculation that Nathan and Nurie’s church was like 2-3 hours from where Bri lived when she started going there, so it was assumed that she intentionally sought them out to get closer to the Rod family. That’s probably also a little bit of where my ‘arranged courtship’ feelings come from. He might actually really like her (wouldn’t know it from their photoshoot) but I think they were heavily pushed together by Jill and Bri herself.

Also I think what really raised the eyebrows and red flags for people was the age and world experience gap. What would make a 25 year old secular college graduate want to hitch up with a freshly 20 year old recent graduate of fundie homeschool, who clearly had a different upbringing and lives several states away?

Kind of like I said in the last answer, I agree that this and all the marriages were probably set up in some way by Jill and David, and I mostly think that's because the pool of Acceptable Marriage Candidates for any of the Rodrigues kids is very, very small. And I'm sure Nurie is aware of whatever level of bigotry makes someone acceptable to marry into their family, seeing as she's done it before lol, so I also don't disagree that she's the one that made Jill and David aware of Brianne initially.

And I'm not saying anything definitely about Brianne's character bc honestly she seems weird as hell, although I will add that based on the reddit AMA her childhood friend did she grew up Catholic, not secular like a lot of people think, and apparently with very controlling parents. Personally, I just haven't seen any evidence that she's anything but a weird fundie Baptist convert.

I also don't know for sure where she lived at the time she started attending Nathan's church, I thought I'd heard she was in the area but who knows if that's true. But I'd also argue that, if I were an IBLP flavored fundie Christian convert, a Keller family-run church might be a bigger draw than anything the Rods have going on.......at 25 she is certainly among the generation who might've watched those Duggar reruns, which featured the Kellers (incl Nathan occasionally) waaaaay more than they ever did the Rods (I think we saw them in the crowd for a wedding, once). So if you're in a fanatical fundie mindset, the Kellers are honestly more fundie "royalty" by a long shot, but as a woman it's not like you could hangout with Nathan and his fam alone, so you get close to his wife, meet her family when they come visit a few times a year etc, etc.

Genuinely I'm not trying to stand up for Brianne lol, I'm ngl it's just bugging me that they're have been sooooo many similar fundie relationships with the genders reversed, even with the age gap and life circumstances of one of the spouses, but nobody really gets all conspiratorial like they (mostly reddit tbh) are doing with this relationship. It just feels like a lot of people might be making an exception because Samuel is conventionally hot and Brianne is older and a woman.

[skaruresonic]

Honestly, as fun as it was to go "Jesse what the fuck are you talking about" at the absurdity of fandom tourists who refused to engage with canon in good faith, it still felt like people explaining the nitty-gritty of how and why Freemance "didn't count" as pedophilia were giving the antis too much ground. Like they were implying there was a point that any given HL ship could be considered too problematic to defend.

As someone who ships Valhoun, which could arguably be considered more problematic than Freemance in this system of moral checks and balances by mere virtue of Barney actually being in his forties or so (although even that is debatable tbh), as opposed to Gordon's Schroedinger's Creepy Old Man Status, needless to say, I found the whole thing ridiculous.

To me it doesn't really matter even if Gordon was 47, because Half-Life exists in a context where real-life social mores don't apply as stringently. Humanity is on its last legs and Eli wants grandkids, yo. I have argued in the past that age gap squicks would likely lessen out of necessity following the Combine's breeding suppression. People need to procreate in order to repopulate the species, after all, and beggars can't be choosers. Kleiner said "get busy fuckin' or get busy dyin'" for a reason.

However, I'm not terribly keen on Freemance because Gordon's blank-slate status means I'd have to make up his characterization in my head, and it just doesn't seem worth the effort. I always feel like I'm shipping a dozen different versions of Gordon rather than Gordon himself. He also... just doesn't react to Alyx, making their chemistry incredibly lopsided. At least Barney goes "Eugh" when Alyx teases him about "not being an animal person"; Gordon just presumably stands there like :I when she cracks her Zombine joke.

Despite lifting somewhat in recent years, fandom has an ironclad "Barney is Alyx's uncle/big bro" fanon, which is just as annoying as "Shadria is incest" because it basically sprang out of nowhere. Canon seems to imply that Barney and Alyx are acquaintances at best, not terribly familiar with each other outside of their faintly overlapping social circles. Kleiner is honestly their only link. Barney, in fact, has less reason than most other older male characters to be considered one of Alyx's honorary uncles. At the very least Alyx suggests the possibility Gordon may have seen her once as a child; no such equivalent exists for Barney. The idea he babysat her is also hilarious considering he never even directly addresses Eli in HL2. On top of that, there's the issue of infantilizing Alyx, which I could rant about for hours. Yes, Valhoun may be just as "fanon" as Uncle Barney headcanons, but that doesn't mean I'm not thinking in terms of the series' overarching context. I view Valhoun as a sort of push-pull dynamic between Barney and Alyx, duty stifling love and placed inside a pressure-cooker of sexual repression. Hot. Plus, there's that forbidden fruit aspect of rebel/Metrocop lol. And while I would in a perfect world like to see the two be together, given HL's bleak world, realistically, I don't see it working out. Not even in an "Alyx dumps his ass for Gordon" kind of way, necessarily, but in a "they break up out of fear for each other's safety but there are still lingering feelings if they gaze in the other's wake for too long" kind of way. I have also argued that all three major HL ships bear imbalances. Valhoun does not suffer the experience gap that Freemance and Freehoun would; Barney and Alyx would have shared roughly the same life experiences under Combine rule that Gordon lacks.

[mephistopheleswasrobbed]

Okay after having watched a bunch of different reactions to the first episode of OLTH (and before the second one comes out and complicates things) I've decided to just quickly go over some opinions I have regarding changes after all (SPOILERS for OL and OL:ItS):

Choko: This is, I think, the change I'm personally least happy about because I really loved Choko in the original and I thought her character contributed a lot to the overall story and themes of the show. As I've said, this change is not without precedent as the boss having a daughter instead of a wife was also the case in OL:ItS (which SPOILER is afaik also the only version where Haruta ends up with Kurosawa). I've seen several theories floated as to why the went this route for the Thai version, most prominently among them (1) SPOILER they didn't want to portray a big age-differece relationship (esp. with the woman being the older one). Personally I don't think this is the reason, at least not the primary one but I've seen it mentioned a bunch of times so I didn't want to omitt it. (2) They wanted to remove the cheating aspect from the boss's character. From some of the reactions we tend to see online whenever cheating is so much as a possibility I'm more inclined to this theory although a few loud (mostly inter) people on the internet probably don't accurately reflect the opinions of the majority of their audience so I'm also not sure if that was truly the primary concern. (3) not something I've seen mentioned but something that I could very well see having an influence on this desicion: they wanted another significant role that could go to one of their roster instead of an outside actress/ they wanted to keep the average age of the main cast down to better appeal to their relatively younger target audience. As for Choko's story lines, we've already seen from the trailer that the whole detective bit will be taken over by the daughter. SPOILER They could go the ItS route and have the daughter also fall for Heng to add back in some of the initial post-discovery tension for this trio but I'm not sure they will, we'll see. For Choko's and Maro's relationship the daughter could also take over though, of course, the issue of the age-difference would be gone in that case. (Though I've also seen a bunch of people float Ten & Newyear which is also a possibility)

The Line: This, for some reason, has been the most divisive change so far. Personally, while I also would have found it funny and memeable to see Momo tell Heng about his big cock, in the context of the whole episode I actually lean more towards positive for this change. The line only makes sense in the original because Maki had previously witnessed Haruta loudly declare his preference for big-boobed women and tbh as a boob-haver myself I'm not sad to see this objectifying talk of his go. Times have changed, and so have sensibilities and while I'm not saying that there can never be a character, even one that we're supposed to like (eventually), that can say something like this, I also don't think it added anything in the original besides making Haruta seem like a bit of a jerk. Did they make this change because Gmmtv are cowards who can't allow their main characters to be too unlikable? Idk maybe (although there is the occasional Gmmtv series that would say otherwise) But in this case I'm inclined to say they made the right choice. And it's not like Heng is some sort of perfect embodiment of feminism either and there's still plenty room for character growth regardless.

some of Kurosawa's positive actions towards Haruta being omitted/ going to Momo instead: This is something I haven't really seen anyone talk about but it's something I wonder about and will keep an eye on in future episodes. I said in my change round-up that the boss was portrayed a little less creepy and invasive in the Thai version so far and I wonder if therefore his more redeeming moments are also less needed to create sympathy for him in the viewer? Or if those moments would have even affected those viewers who react quite stronly to the HR violationy actions of his in the first place.

mentions of sexual harassment towards women: both the scene in the bus and Chizu's backstory were omitted and I'm curious about this one the most tbh. Is sexual harrassment not as big of a topic in Thailand as in Japan? Is it because the original didn't really do anything with it? Is it because Gmmtv didn't want to draw viewers attentions to the idea of harassment in light of Kongdech and Momo's actions towars Heng? I'd be curious if anyone has some more ideas about this.

[devilsskettle]

not only was i correct about this and think saying “the story is ONLY about what the story is about!!” is stupid but also i think the substance does more than “beauty standards are bad :( it makes girls sad” thing like i think the criticism is so specific to women in the film industry and not just that it makes women in general feel insecure but ageism is an actual structural issue for women with careers in hollywood and all the double standards and power dynamics involving men and sure that message has been “done before” but the fact that it’s still a problem means those stories need to continue to be told and if men complain that it’s “too on the nose” that means it’s something they can’t ignore just because it makes them uncomfortable. they SHOULD feel uncomfortable! the substance achieves that very well. also there is a fascinating perversion of the mother/daughter relationship at play or at least an intergenerational conflict in which both the older and younger generations of women are commodified but put in competition with each other, blaming each other for the limited spaces for women in their field rather than acknowledging that that limitation is institutionally imposed. etc.

i also think it’s interesting how little i’ve seen about the ending/“elisasue” maybe because of how much body horror is involved, it’s a carrie-esque scene without the audience really being able to project a power fantasy onto it because of elisasue’s monstrous appearance and how completely crushed her aspirations are in that moment. i literally sobbed watching that scene hahaha but i think that the pity it invokes in the viewer is overwhelming and not cathartic in the same way that carrie is, i think it actually discourages identification with elisasue in that moment and like i’ve said we all think we’re carrie in part BECAUSE of the catharsis of the “underdog getting revenge” ending and also because in film adaptations she’s generally more conventionally attractive than she is in the book. so that’s something i was pondering after finishing the substance as well and the roles that women traditionally play in horror which can be ambiguously feminist or sexist depending on your interpretation. i think the substance doesn’t let you wiggle out of discomfort by letting you feel vindication for the main character, it’s just horrible to watch (which is fantastic imo!! i love how horrible it is) but i think some people found it to be a bit much, although i think the audiences who would’ve thought that are not really who this movie is for tbh

anyway i think my instincts were right on this one just from reading the reviews and i’m glad i finally sat down and watched it and gave myself some time to process how i feel about the movie, i’m kind of surprised that people are being as dismissive of it as i’ve seen but again it’s just filmbros on letterboxd that i’ve seen saying that so like. grain of salt etc. although i’ve seen people who otherwise seem to have a positive opinion of the film almost confessionally say it was “on the nose” like that’s a bad thing….. why is that a bad thing lol sometimes subtlety is lost on certain audiences

another thing that pissed me off today was reading letterboxd reviews of the substance by men saying it was too on the nose basically like it hits you over the head with the “shallow, overdone” theme of beauty standards for women in the entertainment industry or whatever and it “doesn’t have anything else to say” (i was under the impression that that WAS the premise of the film??? what more do you want it to say). one guy was like this movie ignores the body positivity movement and the great strides we’ve made as a culture etc etc like shut the fuck up!!!!! shut up!!!!!! apparently you haven’t noticed that we are actively regressing in terms of the body positivity/body neutrality/anti diet culture movements.“beauty” and makeup culture, diet culture, plastic surgery, and other trends and social mores that dictate women’s appearances are extremely ingrained in our pop culture consciousness rn. marketers might use different terms to disguise what they’re doing like the bastardized “choice feminism” but it’s just the same shit repackaged and we’ve barely made any progress. if you think we’re past the point where “beauty standards are bad” is a useful message in a film, you are wrong!!!!! i haven’t even seen this movie yet, i was trying to decide if i wanted to go see this movie, and that attitude just rubs me the wrong way. it’s like trying to find an excuse why people don’t want movies with overtly feminist themes — is it “too on the nose” and unnecessary or do you just not want there to be movies with overtly feminist themes

[sweetbitterimpossiblecreature]

A Brief And Concise Summary Of Is Wrong With The ACOTAR Series

I think we can agree that a lot of ACOTAR is pretty iffy. Consider this a very brief refresher.

What's Wrong With Feyre/Rhysand (juxtaposed against Feyre/Tamlin)

Rhysand drugs and sexually assaults her in Book 1

This is "for her own good". Because he "has no choice". Despite the fact that, from what we know of the plot, Amarantha thinks that Clare Beddor was the one Rhysand was diddling, and is only interested in Feyre because Rhysand, "her" man male, has taken an interest in her.

If we extrapolate from this we can figure that Rhysand is the one directly putting her into danger.

Now, let's be clear: drugging someone is bad. Sexually assaulting someone is bad. One could argue there were extenuating circumstances. But if, in such a situation, what your mind goes to is "I know, I should assault this person... for their safety" I have questions about your moral qualities. There were a million things he could have done. He could have done whatever he did to Clare - that is, remove her ability to feel any pain - easily. He could have helped her escape. Under The Mountain, he - while still there unwillingly - has a lot of power, as Amarantha's side piece. Maybe this would have resulted in him being punished- however, he is hundreds of years old and a badass motherfucker, and she is a nineteen year old human girl.

Now, onto Tamlin. Obviously not a lot of people really ship F/T anymore after ACOMAF, because compared to F/R, it's boring. I read another person's post about it, which was very enlightening: they said that Feyre's personality is essentially a mirror. When she is with Rhysand, she's snarky and malicious- because she is "bouncing off" his energy. When she's with Mor she's super feminist and "in awe of her strength". On the other hand, Tamlin is kind of an empty character. He's a pretty boy with anger issues, which should be more interesting than it is. SJM manages to make him bland. Because Feyre has nothing to bounce off of, (a lot of this is from the person's post), she and Tamlin together is mainly just him introducing her to his world.

What Tamlin Does: prevents a skinny twenty year old from going on dangerous missions with him and combat-trained soldiers, accidentally blows up a room with her in it, and, at the end, prevents her from leaving the house.

This is not a Tamlin apologist post. Obviously it was really fucking gross of him to do that, and their relationship was toxic. However, a lot of his abuse stems from their inability to communicate, as well as own negligence. He does not knowingly and purposefully sexually assault her or rape her mind. And tbh, leaving a girl without combat training at home while he goes on missions with a bunch of muscled sentries is... kind of reasonable?

Again: not a Tamlin apologist post. It was abuse. However, if Rhysand is "allowed" to sexually assault, mind-rape, and drug Feyre "for her own safety", why is Tamlin demonized for preventing her from leaving his mansion "for her own safety"?

Another pertinent point: Rhys is never punished for sexually assaulting her. It is brushed off as part of his "mask" or that his hand was forced. Jesus Christ my dudes, his hand was not forced under her skirt. If he has to maintain his gross rapist abuser tyrant oppressor mask... why? Who did that benefit beside him? None of his actions remotely helped Prythian. They were done solely for his buddies - five people safe in a rich hidden city - and no one else, which is explicitly stated.

Finally, the power dynamic is fucked up. Feyre is less than twenty five years old. Rhysand is 500. There is a tendency in fantasy romance to romanticize a centuries year old man with a young girl, because the man does not show symptoms of age, and so it is easily ignorable. However, can we just briefly acknowledge how fucked up it is? Rhys is over five times older than Donald Trump, Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein, and other known predators/abusers. She is twenty. That is really fucking gross. She is in a vulnerable position and he takes rampant advantage of that.

If he had wrinkles, liver problems, and erectile dysfunction, more people would acknowledge it.

Let's be clear: I'm not saying writing a book with an uneven power dynamic is automatically bad. For example, in The Locked Tomb series, which is in my opinion THE BEST FANTASY SERIES THAT HAS GRACED THIS EARTH (lol i'm starting fires), one main character Harrowhark Nonagesimus is in a position of power over Gideon Nav, the other main character. However, this is not glossed over or romanticized. Gideon resents Harrow for this- there is a relationship of mutual antagonism, fraught with unwilling familiarity and intimacy from growing up together. They are roughly the same age. While there is a certain power dynamic (in that world, there is a dynamic of necromancer and cavalier, i.e. sorcerer and sword) the "empowered" character (Harrow) emphatically respects her and does not abuse this power, although both would of course deny this, and she does make a show of threatening and being aloof. In short, while Gideon obeys her, Gideon also has power over Harrow, and the idea of what is essentially slavery is not romanticized.

Feyre Doesn't Face Any Consequences For Her Own Actions

Let me present a radical notion: a guy preventing you from leaving his house does not justify completely fucking ruining his country and harming the people inside it.

In other words: Tamlin does not deserve what she did to him.

I know that sounds iffy. We're conditioned to think that if someone is an abuser, then they are the scum of the earth, they deserve to die, torturing/murdering/doing anything to them is completely A-OK. However, here's another radical notion: someone harming you does not justify you doing worse.

Obviously, the effects of psychological abuse can cause you to hurt other people (see: Nesta), but Feyre deliberately and maliciously (oh, God, that insufferable POV of her in Spring Court; she reads like a cartoonish Disney villain) dismantles his country. She uses sexual manipulation (Lucien), torture (causing the sentry to be whipped), and mind-rape (who didn't she do this to? lol).

A summary of the entire first half of ACOWAR: "It smelled like roses. I hated roses. For this capital offense against my olfactory system, Tamlin and the entire Spring Court deserved to burn in hell. I knew exactly what I was doing. I smiled at him sweetly: no longer a doe, but a wolf. He didn't see my fangs.............." *aesthetic noises*

Man. I'm starting to think SJM had a horrible experience at a Bath & Body Works and took it out on the rest of us. Don't do it, Sarah!! I know Pink Chiffon and Triple Berry Martini are way too strong, but don't take it out on an innocent population!!

She steals from Summer Court (there are, yk, other solutions to theft. Like maybe asking politely) and ruins Spring Court. Her boyfriend - yeesh sorry, MATE - does nothing while a dozen Winter Court children are murdered.

Now: moral ambiguity is not automatically bad. Again using The Locked Tomb as an example, in the second book (spoiler alert), Harrowhark has a sort of moral ambiguity. She was raised from the beginning to worship the King Undying as God, and so she obeys him without question. Because of this, she commits a lot of crimes in His name: she "flips" - i.e. kills - the life force of planets, and she plots murder (albeit the murder of someone who tried to kill her first). There is no attempt to justify this. There is also no attempt to paint her as a virtuous and yet also badass Madonna figure. She is desperate, plagued with the "wreck of herself", and the book clearly displays her moral pitfalls. While her POV is of course colored by her mindset, it also is limited by her lack of information, and we as readers can acknowledge that.

BACK TO ACOTAR: Feyre is seen by everyone as gorgeous, formidable, and essentially perfect. Rhys sees her as flawless, "made for him", wonderful, beautiful, blah blah blah. (THEY ARE SO BAD FOR EACH OTHER; THEY EXCUSE AND GLORIFY EACH OTHER'S CRIMES, IT'S SO BAD, GUYYYS). Tamlin is insanely batshit in love with her, or whatever. To the Night Court she's the High Lady. In this way she personifies the Mary Sue character. (Excerpt from the TV Tropes page on Mary Sues: "She's exotically beautiful, often having an unusual hair or eye color, and has a similarly cool and exotic name. She's exceptionally talented in an implausibly wide variety of areas, and may possess skills that are rare or nonexistent in the canon setting. She also lacks any realistic, or at least story-relevant, character flaws — either that or her "flaws" are obviously meant to be endearing. She has an unusual and dramatic Back Story. The canon protagonists are all overwhelmed with admiration for her beauty, wit, courage and other virtues, and are quick to adopt her as one of their True Companions, even characters who are usually antisocial and untrusting; if any character doesn't love her, that character gets an extremely unsympathetic portrayal." Sound familiar?)

There is the Ourobous scene. And yet, paradoxically, while presented as an acknowledgment of her flaws, it is in fact a rejection of them. She sees her own brutality... and instead of recognizing that she has these deep, deep moral flaws and realizing that she needs to grow and be better, she in fact "accepts" them.

Guys: Self love means: "I'm important to me, so I'm going to get a massage today after work", or "heck, why not splurge on some expensive lotion, you only live once" or "you know what? I had a tough day today. I'm going to get that strawberry cupcake". SELF LOVE DOES NOT MEAN "oh, I accept all the war crimes I have done, I love myself". LOVING YOURSELF DOES NOT MEAN ABSOLVING YOURSELF OF ALL WRONGDOING.

It's this refusal to acknowledge wrongdoing that is so grating about ACOTAR. It's so goddamn one-sided. And you can tell that after Book 1, SJM decided to completely change the trajectory simply because of how jarring Book 2 reads compared to the first one.

Also: Feyre is a very, very young girl (compared to the other ruling fey) who did not know how to read for the majority of her life. She has no experience whatsoever in politics. Her being High Lady is not a win for feminism.

Rhysand: He Sucks

First, he is 500 years old. He should be written as such, not as some 20 year old virile frat boy feminist. Fantasy is all the more compelling for its elements of realism, which is a concept that SJM does not appear to grasp.

Second of all, his morals are absurd. He is written as the Second Coming of Christ, as someone who can do no wrong, ever, and his flaws only serve to make Feyre love him more. Anything shitty he does is written as part of his "mask" and she can See Beneath It and knows that it "hurts" him to maintain this "mask".

Fellas, WHY DOES HE HAVE TO MAINTAIN THIS MASK???? There is no reason for it. If A) he does not give a shit about Court of Nightmares (we'll get back to that), only about Velaris, and B) Velaris is hidden/protected from the world, what is he pretending for?

It would not hurt him politically to be seen as someone who cares about his country.

"Pretending" to be "Amarantha's whore" does not in any way shape or form benefit the macro-world that is Prythian. In Amarantha's name, he commits atrocities. He commits war crimes; he systemically oppresses entire societies. It doesn't even really benefit Velaris, because Velaris is already hidden.

Let me put this in a real-world perspective. This would be like if Donald Trump was suddenly like: "I know I was a shitty president but IT WAS ALL PART OF MY MASK, WHICH WAS TO PROTECT THIS MICROCOSM OF PRIVILEGED PEOPLE THAT I CARE ABOUT". Like: okay? Sorry, or whatever, but I don't actually give a shit. What about the parents of the children who died? What about Clare Beddor? What about the people who were held in slavery, murdered, tortured?

Rhysand: omg it sucks that my cousin Mor was oppressed by this toxic misogynistic culture from the Court of Nightmares.

Also Rhysand: lol whatever, who gives a shit about Court of Nightmares. They all suck. They meanie. Lol what did you say? That there might be other girls just like Mor who are oppressed by this system? Lol whatever. I can't do anything, I gotta maintain my Mask. I gotta sit on this throne and show the entire Court that not respecting women is completely okay.

In summary: by parading Feyre around as his "whore" (!!) he demonstrates by example that it is completely okay for the Court of Nightmares to abuse their women.

A good ruler cares about all his people. Rhysand cares about a tiny tiny fraction of his people: those who were fortunate enough to be born into Velaris.

God, I'm exhausted. Onto Nesta:

The only character who successfully breaks the Mary Sue effect Feyre exerts on her people is Nesta. Her POV for the first half is a joy to read.

Obviously it sucks that Nesta was a huge bitch to Feyre for the beginning of her childhood. However, it was wrong for Rhysand to threaten her- he is a man male with a huge insane amount of power, and it is not okay for him to threaten to bring the brunt of it down on a young girl because she was a bitch to his girlfriend.

I've seen a lot of discourse on the morality of F/R sending her out of Velaris. Here is my two cents:

It was okay for them to cut her off of their money. If they don't want to enable her self-harm, that is their choice. Again, it's their money, even if it wasn't fairly earned (Rhysand born into an enormous fortune).

It was not okay for them to banish her from Velaris with the implication that she was an embarrassment. Let me explain.

If Rhysand and Feyre are talking to her as sister/brother-in-law, then that is that. They have the complete right to express disapproval and try to help. However, they should not be using their royal privilege against her.

If they are talking to her as ruler to subject, then they have the power to banish her from the city. However, a ruler would not give a shit about a random subject getting drunk and having sex. So, they should not be talking her about her problems as a ruler to subject.

I've heard it compared to her being sent to rehab. However, rehab is a system designed to help people with certain problems. It has specialized medical centers and involves therapy. Nesta gets her life threatened multiple times. It is not rehab.

In summary: why did SJM inflict this upon us. Throne of Glass was actually good! GAHHH! After the first few books she completely whipped around and introduced the idea of males and mates and fey and that C is actually A and the quality took a huge nosedive. Sigh.

Final horrible but unmistakable truth: The entire ACOTAR series reads like a bad A/B/O fic. I hate to say it but it's true. We're lucky there were no heat cycles. OH WAIT

[blortch]

I've given up on the Picard stuff a while ago bc I realized I do not want these middle-aged white Midwestern men talking about politics. You've held out for quite a while tbh

IIII.... oufff I dunno it’s not even embarrassing anymore it feels nearing on despicable. Leaving all that shit aside the videos aren’t even funny or interesting and they aren’t doing any analysis, they’re just saying they personally like something or personally dislike something - I used to watch to see how badly the showrunners are screwing up Picard but now it’s not even good enough for that. Not if it’s clear from the clips they show what the actual issue with it is and they talk about something completely fucking different that gave them a kneejerk reaction. 

In general RLM vids have gotten sloppy (reviewing stuff when they haven’t watched to the end or forgetting stuff a lot, not doing any research etc.), although Rich and Jay vids are still okay. And Mike and Jay hitbs when Jay actually talks and doesn’t just agree with whatever Mike is saying.

I’ve seen some critique of RLM around from people where they’re pointing out the wrong things, where it’s clear they watched a single video and didn’t bother with the rest, but I have watched nearing on every single one and I can say with certainty there’s been a clear tendency of screwing up Bad lately. When it used to be at most sporadic from 2018 to 2020 (mostly stupid eyeroll inducing Mike quirks, Jay and Rich too at times ngl) which is when I started watching and stuck to it because it was looking like an upwards trend for a while. I can’t speak on anything earlier than that very well. (having watched older stuff out of order or not all of it)

[somebody-909]

Yeong-gi was arrested as a kid [I Love Yoo Theory]

In celebration of the return of my favourite webtoon, I thought I'd share the theory I shared on reddit a while ago about our favourite red head (revamped with pictures and extra discussion). This theory was eventually pretty much proven correct in Episode 112.

TLDR: Allusions to violent behaviour, a bad period of time where Yeong-gi was away, and stigmatized treatment resembling how you treat a criminal, lead me to believe that Yeong-gi, having been deeply affected by the events with his mother, developed violent behaviour, that resulted in legal trouble of some sort. He was then sent "away" somewhere for some time, likely either juvie or a rehabilitation centre of sorts for juvenile delinquents.

1. "How long has it been since you got out?"

In episode 16, when Kousuke visits Yeong-gi at Mrs. Lochlainn's (Yeong-gi's granny) place, he asks:

"How long has it been since you got out? Four years, maybe five? I'll stop for today. I know you don't like being reminded of what happened back then."

This suggests that Yeong-gi "got out" of some place/institution. The words "got out" are also quite ominous... (I would even argue that it implies being "locked" away). I find it hard to believe he would be using this for something that wasn't incredibly unpleasant/hard for Yeong-gi to get through. Kousuke proceeds to say, "Four years, maybe five? I'll stop for today. I know you don't like being reminded of what happened back then," confirming this implication.

I have seen a few possible interpretations of where Yeong-gi might've been "away" for a while. I personally think it's most likely something legal (juvie or juvenile delinquent related rehab), although others believe it might've been a mental institution, and others think it was a boarding school.

I see how "got out" could be used for the first two options easily, but the last one is a bit more shaky. "... since you left boarding school" might be a more natural way of referring to that, since it would have to be a really bad boarding school to refer to it in the way Kousuke does.

The following clues lean more towards Yeong-gi being away due to criminal reasons, however.

2. Treated like a delinquent.

The next clue and the biggest is how everyone treats Yeong-gi. His family treats him like a delinquent (I choose this word specifically because of its connotations... not just a troubled, hopeless kid... but more a kid you can't trust because he will be irresponsible and bad).

In episode 19, the students talk about how Yeong-gi hangs out with Soushi (who they think is a delinquent as seen in episode 20 probably bc he's a brown guy with a scar tbh TT)

"His family's got some great connections, that's the only reason I'm being friendly with the dude."

"But what's the point in doing that? He only hangs out with this delinquent from another school."

"You're joking..."

"I'm not! I saw him! Got a scar too... probably got it from a fight..."

"So it's true what they say then... Him being..."

"Shh! Don't say it out loud!"

They think Yeong-gi is hanging out with and is friends with a delinquent who they associate with having been violent. They immediately ask, "So is it true what they say then … Him being …"

What kind of rumour would they think is true if they saw Yeong-gi hanging out with a "thug"?

It would make sense to finish that question with "So is it true what they say then … Him being a criminal" or "a delinquent".

If we were to go with the mental hospital theory, it might work if they said "him being violent" but that doesn't really work as well here in relation to Soushi being a "delinquent."

There is a bit of nuance between what they would associate with someone with a criminal history, in comparison to someone who had been admitted to an institution for mental health issues, even if both possibilities were linked to violent outbursts.

As for his family, they treat him terribly. Like he's a screw up, a troublemaker. Not so much like someone with mental illness. I think by this point its clear that Yeong-gi made a big mistake, but what would be so bad that they treat him like this?

3. Hints of being "away" and having a criminal past.

There are several subtle hints that indicate Yeong-gi did have a criminal past of sorts. Or at least spent some time away.

Episode 79 - significant criminal past

When Yeong-gi and his father meet the lawyer about the assault and drug case in episode 79, the lawyer says:

"Your son does not have a significant criminal past."

Why not just say that he doesn't have "a criminal past" at all, period? Now this seems negligible, but Quimchee has used very subtle hints like this in the past so I wouldn't put it past her (eg. Yui calling Yeong-gi, "kid," and Kousuke "son," to indicate she is related to Kousuke and not Yeong-gi).

Episode 79 - Hansuke couldn't get to know Yeong-gi

Kousuke's cousin, Hansuke, states that he never got to know Yeong-gi back in their college days because:

"I was busy with my residency and [Yeong-gi] was… you know… "

This alludes to Yeong-gi having been unable to hang out because he had something going on...

Kousuke's Corner 2 and Episode 72 - a year behind

Yeong-gi is also a year older than Shin-Ae and his twelfth grade peers... Having any sort of legal trouble could cause a kid to flunk a year.

References to violent behaviour

In Episode 51, Kousuke mocks Yeong-gi, stating that he can have his assistant bring his punching bag if he needed an outlet for his frustrations.

Not being in "control" of his emotions is a recurring motif, with Yeong-gi's family members and even with himself.

Affinity for physical fitness (boxing) as a coping mechanism

I think it's significant that after being alluded to having had violent behaviour, his coping mechanism is something very physical. Boxing, interestingly, imitates violence.

Thematically fits with the end of the Black and White Formal arc

This is more my personal opinion... But I think Yeong-gi punching that pos Sangchul after constantly being passive aggressively criticized for violent behaviour is... cruelly fitting. Him being arrested and possibly repeating what had once happened, and after he had constantly been told not to repeat it, would be a sad parallel to what he once had to deal with.

Possible alternative explanations

TW: mentions of poor mental health and suicide attempts

I think it's most certain that Yeong-gi had legal trouble of some sort, likely due to a violent altercation, and that he was sent somewhere as a result of this incident.

Where he was actually sent to as a result, however, is a bit more shaky.

Since it was a minor criminal past, it's possible could've been simply arrested and not been sent to juvie at all. If his father was heavily involved in his life, he would likely have intervened if juvie became a possibility.

There are some who speculate Yeong-gi had very poor mental health, likely due to what happened with his mother and may have even attempted suicide. While this is possible, there isn't a lot to indicate past depressive or suicidal tendencies. For sure, his violent behaviour was coupled with poor mental health... but not necessarily poor mental health of this nature. I also feel that there is some nuance in how people would talk to Yeong-gi if his time away was precipitated by a suicide attempt. Someone who had self-harming tendencies isn't treated like a thug. Someone who beat up a kid might be though. (depressive tendencies could've been coupled with violence that caused his time "away," but once again, there is not a lot to really hint at severe depressive behaviours).

There are also theories of foster care, if his mother died (which seems to be the most likely scenario with her). I don't think this is the case because we have seen a young Yeong-gi interact with a young Kousuke. The two brothers (and their parents) were aware of each other. There is also his nana.

I think the most likely scenario is that Yeong-gi, having been deeply affected by the events with his mother, developed violent behaviour, that resulted in legal trouble of some sort.

He was then sent somewhere as a result: either juvie or a rehabilitation centre of sorts for juvenile delinquents, or an asylum (due to aggression issues). Regardless, it must have been tied to a violent incident, resulting in legal action and detention and possibly a follow up mental health related thing (rehab/asylum).

Episode 112's confirmation:

There is a vague flashback alluding to a period of time where Yeong-gi was in trouble, specifically stating

"Poor kid. No one is going to want him."

"Why not?"

"...Behavioural and aggression issues".

This alludes both to Yeong-gi getting into trouble for hurting someone, AND for being guardian-less for a period of time (no one "wanting him" seems to reference foster care or adoption).

Later in the episode, Yeong-gi's classmates gossip and say:

"Wasn't he at a detention centre for a bit?"

"I thought he was in an asylum?"

"He was sent somewhere for sure..."

[langernameohnebedeutung]

I get the “older” actors thing but Chris Evans is actually talented. Many don’t know of his non Marvel movies. Wrong actor to use that against. Dude has been acting since he was a pre teen. I advise to go watch Snowpiercer, Sunshine, The Ice Man, Defending Jacob, Gifted, and Knives Out. I know people talk about his looks a lot but he’s given some great performances that should not be shunned just because people think he’s hot. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder anyway. Dude wasn’t randomly spotted or knew someone who knew someone, he went after a dream and put himself out there not knowing if he would be successful or not, on top of that he’s gotten this far, has a beautiful career while battling mental health issues so yeah that’s a win for me. He’s good but could be great and I will say he’s a natural in front of that camera, especially in comedy….the movie the losers, his character was a great comic relief. If you have time look up the movie Puncture and tell me what you think. 😊

I think new Gen Z actors and some older ones….. and the ones where you see them all the time but can’t even name one show or movie, or you finally watch them in a film that was hyped up and you watch their performance and it’s like…..seriously? Many actors today lack charisma AND talent. Or you can tell acting to them is just reading words back. But others I see potential of greatness …they just need a better roles or more experience. An actor who is talked about a lot but I can’t tell you one performance that has made me go …wow he’s talented is Michael B Jordan. 🤣

I mean, I've seen Knives Out and he didn't bother me...but also he didn't particularly stand out to me? Maybe I was a bit harsh saying he only gets the roles for his looks but I've genuinely never seen a single scene with him in it where I thought: 'wow, no other actor could have done this like him' or 'I got to go back to see that film for him!'

There are sometimes scenes in movies where I actually skip back and watch the same scene or line several times in a row, just to see that again or hear that again. And there are many scenes that are just legendary on their own for the acting that's being delivered.

And to me, I never had that kind of moment with Evans. Which, again, maybe I was being a bit too harsh saying it's just about looks. It's okay. He gets his job done and it's not like he shatters my immersion or does anything that really bothers or annoys me. He's just there and does his performance. But (taking the example of Knives Out which I did watch two times) - the performances I think of are Daniel Craig's. Jamie Lee Curtis'. Christopher Plummer's. And again, Chris Evans didn't bother me or annoy me. (and in fairness, the plot calls for him to not stand out much for a large chunk of the film).

But if they announced tomorrow, that they were going to remake Knives Out, I wouldn't have any second thoughts or feelings on them recasting that role, while (for example), having another actor fill the shoes of Daniel Craig in that one would have me at a bit of 'but that's Daniel Craig's role??'

I googled Puncture and it genuinely looks interesting to me from the description, so I might give it a chance. Plus, I've read one review that really praises his performance and compares him to Al Pacino.

Tbh, I've only seen Michael B Jordan in one episode of House and Black Panther. I don't really remember him on House but that doesn't say anything imo because I barely remember anything after season 6-7 when the show got bad. I do think he was solid in Black Panther (although I might be biased because I really liked his character). I was actually planning to check out Fahrenheit 451 (the tv-show) at some point where he plays Montag (which is a character I hate, so I'll be less biased lmao) but I was kind of held off because what I've seen of the lighting and scenes and the whole...cyberpunk vibe didn't really fit the vision I had when reading the book which was a less glossy and elegant... and the tv-show gives me 'hey, fellow kids, we made this classic look coool'-vibes. but I digress).

I feel like Black Panther is a good example for what I'm trying to say (though what I said isn't about any singular film. Of course I'm not opposed to films about young people) though because as a movie, it had many great performances! Chadwick Boseman was amazing in his role! His scene with his father on the ancestral plane, the way he portrays that feeling of betrayal and upheaval is definitely one of those scenes that I love to linger on and watch two times, three times, because it is just genuinely really good acting. It's probably one of the strongest scenes in the MCU.

But also, another performance that really stood out to me was Angela Bassett's and I feel like she doesn't get enough credit for it. She's so authentic and effortless. She can communicate so much with just her eyes - she's absolutely convincing in the way she balances the warmth and the composure of her role. And she brings that same authenticity and complexity to her characters on AHS (literally every scene with her and Jessica Lange in Coven is just ??? so good??). You can just tell that she brings 40 years of acting experience to the table - and knows how to use that experience to really incorporate traits and features into her character in a way that just...doesn't feel like acting at all. It seems so natural. Even just wearing the costumes she does in that movie and moving and acting in them in ways that make you go: 'yeah, this character has been wearing clothes like that her entire life' is already a big feat of acting.

There are actually a lot of scenes in Black Panther that make me wish there were actually fewer other characters on screen because it would have put more focus on Angela Bassett and more time to just...see her act/give her character more independence from the other characters around her, but she's just not given that position. Which is fine, because it's T'Challa's story.

My problem really isn't with any singular show or film - but the overall tendency that the industry has to place older actors with a lot of talent and experience in the backseat. Which isn't a problem when you have strong actors in the main-roles - but it does become a problem when you sit there through the main-characters' plot always wishing to see their grandpa give an Oscar-worthy performance in his chair by the fireplace again.

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

What are the major details that confused you about the Hound blurb? The major one that stood put to me was the "way of the farmer opposed to the sword" thing which felt very...un-Cú Chulainn. Also, if you don't mind expanding further, which details didn't you question/be confused by?

and also for anon:

okay so it is like. 2am so there are not going to be any sources here but i can't sleep so here goes!! i will go through this blurb line by line and give youse my thoughts

In 50 BCE,

reasonable. this is roughly the right time period for when the ulster cycle is set. maybe marginally earlier than i'd place cú chulainn, but i'm talking a few years, nothing to get worked up about.

Morrigan, the goddess of war,

fine. normally i'm wary of pantheonising impulses with regard to irish characters (almost none of them can be identified as a god of anything in particular, it doesn't work like that) but tbh the morrigan is like, the most plausible exception to that, so whatever. normally her name has the definite article attached to it because it's kind of a species term as well but whatevs.

has become restless as a long-lasting peace settles over Ireland.

dubious. closest i can think of to peace being reference in any texts is togail bruidne da derga talking about conaire mor's reign being like, prosperous and peaceful and whatever, and even there you've got díberg (plundering/reaving) which is what eventually fucks him over and starts the otherworldly hell spiral situation. that's roughly the right period here but conaire's doom proves you don't have to do much to nudge peace into war, and connacht and ulster are at each other's throats for years before cú chulainn comes on the scene anyway

Deciding the time of peace must end, she chooses Setanta, the nephew of the king of the north, to become her ward.

hmm. i mean. like, this isn't the WEIRDEST choice they could have made. it's still completely made-up, don't get me wrong -- cú chulainn has a lot of different foster parents in different texts and they don't agree with each other but none of them ever mentions the morrígan. but like, they do have a connection of some sort, as evidenced by their conversations. and there's that one moment in the r1 boyhood deeds where little cú chulainn is out on the battlefield and hears her (not sure which name is used here) calling out to him and it like. motivates him to do some deeds or whatever, and i guess you could extrapolate that into some kind of teaching capacity.

so like. could be weirder. if you're gonna pick anyone, you could do worse. still seems weird to me! but not on its own a major issue, i could get past this and consider it a Fun But Unorthodox Creative Decision

(the fact that she tries to seduce him in the táin probably wouldn't get in the way of this considering sleeping with his teachers/foster-mothers is far from unheard of where cú chulainn is concerned)

After a young Setanta slays the demon-hound of Cullan, he becomes known as Cú Cullan—The Hound of Cullan.

weird spelling choices, they could have at least bothered to use the genitive properly. also the hound isn't a demon, it's a ferocious watchdog -- making it sound all Otherworldly and Hellish like this kinda confuses the issue of why he would need to take its place. he needs to take its place because the cattle and people still need protecting because it is a watchdog!! but whatevs, again, it's a brief summary so they can't exactly give us all the details and this is not actively objectionable

As Cú Cullan grows older, it is apparent that an extraordinary power lies within him … and a great darkness.

ugh boring. this makes it sound like he's going to be ~tortured~ and angsty about it. give me an unapologetic murder teen please. is the ríastrad dark? sure i guess, if you're going to be boring about it. it's more like, grotesque neon in my head

When he chooses the quiet life of a farmer over the sword,

this would fucking never happen on like five different levels. obviously like anyone who has ever read anything about cú chulainn can see that this is not in his nature. he is never going to choose a quiet life. this is the kid who tricked his way into taking arms before everyone thought he was ready. also juxtaposed with the "darkness" comment makes it sound like he would Angst his way into this quiet life which. again. have you seen this kid. he is an unapologetic murder teen

the only thing i can think of that might make him temporarily want to walk away is connla's death which... depends where you position that in the timeline really, he does seem a bit fucked up by it and maybe he'd want a holiday although i can see that lasting precisely 5 minutes before someone pissed him off enough for him to murder them. but if he's being raised by the morrígan i can't see him going to train with scáthach so then he'd never meet aífe and therefore connla would never be born so that wouldn't happen. so like. whatever.

but also like. he would not become a farmer. he just wouldn't! it doesn't work! the ireland of the stories is super hierarchical, right? and this blurb has already fucking told us that he's the king's nephew (canon) so we can tell that being a farmer is Not His Place. when we see upper class figures becoming menial labourers in texts, like in cath maige tuired, it's because Things Are Fucked, Shit's Gone Wrong. people don't just decide to change their entire social class on a whim lmfao

if cú chulainn really wanted to turn his back on being a warrior he could probably make recourse to certain other Suitable Professions ... his grandad's a druid so he might have a route into that, though his dad's not so that might fuck things up a bit bc it's one of those things that's usually inherited. he does give "wisdom" in at least one text though and we also know he can write (he carves riddles in ogham in the táin) and he composes verses on various occasions so idk, maybe something in a poetic direction, though again, usually requires two generations of inheritance to be a real poet and not just a lower-class bard. warrior's kinda the main thing he's got open to him tbh. but farming? i'm not a legal expert but as far as i'm aware based on what i have read, that would fuck shit up

more likely an upset cú chulainn would just go off in search of an adventure somewhere conveniently far away until he'd calmed down (alba, or the tyrrhenian sea, or -- if we're going to get early modern about it -- somewhere like india, which frequently gets thrown into the texts with absolutely no cultural context and it's always hilarious)

Morrigan, angry at the betrayal,

of the entire social order, yes,

instigates an invasion of his homeland

i mean. if they intend this to be the táin then.... táin bó regamna does kinda make the morrígan responsible for it? not in the sense of triggering the pillow talk argument that it's in the book of leinster -- it's her getting up to her usual cow-nicking behaviours for shits and giggles. [note to readers: it is probably for more than shits and giggles but did i mention it's 2am]

but all in all, not particularly out of character that she would be at least some way responsible for this so i can vibe with this. echtra nerai also supports the TBR explanation with her fucking around with otherworldly cows and pissing people off so, yeah, whatever. the morrígan engineered this. sure.

and Cú Cullan must challenge fate itself

this is probably a controversial stance but fate feels like a difficult concept to apply to medieval irish texts. like are people sometimes Doomed? yes. there are prophecies, there are gessi, there's all manner of otherworldly fuckery that can trip you up. is that the same thing as fate? no idea. considering cú chulainn comes out alive from the táin though and his doom prophecies don't catch up to him for like, at least another decade, maybe 16 years depending on who you listen to, hard to see how that would apply here

to keep the goddess at bay.

again like she IS causing fuckery in the táin but also it's like... one time. really not the main character. but she or maybe just some crows, hard to say, do get implicated in the death tale so maybe they're doing what people often do and conflating the two? even though there's like 10-16 years in between them?

anyway as you can see i don’t think it’s wholly terrible / i’m not completely thinkshaming it. like, having cú chulainn raised by the morrígan is unorthodox but it could be a fun and creative direction so i don't object to it. making cú chulainn get sad about murder and choose to be a farmer is just fucking laughable tho, and makes me doubt their characterisations in general. so that's offputting and would probably make me think twice about buying it, if that had ever been on the cards.*

and of course sure, their cú chulainn can be a Sad Boy Who Likes Sheep, but that means he's not the cú chulainn of medieval irish lit / irish myth, because that cú chulainn is a feral murder teen who keeps killing his friends and also is way too high social status to ever be a farmer, and whose only relationship to livestock is as the watchdog who kills anyone trying to harm them (which is an important role on a farm! but like. not the same thing as Being A Farmer. mostly because it involves more murder and is essentially just an extension of his role as a warrior. or rather the other way around. he promises to protect mag muirthemne as a watchdog and this like. gets extended into him becoming its sole defender)

this has been my analysis of this blurb i hope you enjoyed it

it's now 2.30am i should try and sleep now that i've exorcised a few thoughts from my head

*as i mentioned in the tags of my other post, i don't tend to read graphic novels due to disability stuff. they're much harder for me to understand and follow than prose, to the point where some are incomprehensible, so i don't really enjoy them. there are a few i've read, but they tend to be short ones, and i'm usually not reading them in order, just admiring the art separately from the text. so it's unlikely i would read a graphic novel of this size anyway.

[anarmorofwords]

I kinda wanna write a better version of tlh where Tatiana is still insane but there's no Belial bc that makes zero sense to me

In this version there would be:

Kamanna done correctly with actual genderqueer rep and not toxic relationships

Barbra and Oliver bc fight me she didn't die

Genie and Filomena bc I love them and all the lightwoods are queer

The gracelet doesn't even happen bc I refuse to write that

Grace is pretty much still the same but she breaks off their(hers and james') relationship bc she notices that he loves Cordelia

No bad James. He's not a shitty person to Alastair, and he doesn't treat Cordelia like a sex object

Anna puts a stop to Kellington and Matthew's relationship before it gets serious. She also tries to get him to stop drinking all the time

Alastair apologizes around seeing them again for the first time. The merry thieves are a little reluctant because of some of the things he did but they don't actively try to keep him away from events that they're at

Matthew notices how Alastair looks at Thomas and locks them in the sanctuary with Genie and Cordelia's help

Grace gets badly injured due to a mistake in necromancy and Christopher helps her treat it without letting people know

Lucie meets Jesse, and falls in love ofc, so in order to bring him back successfully she asks Malcolm to train her in using her magic

Matthew opens up to his mom about the incident. She doesn't blame him at all and instead apologizes for often putting her work before him

Matthew finds out about Charles and Alastair because he found Alastairxs break up letter to Charles

Matthew, the mother hen he is, decided to attempt to murder his older brother, only being stopped by James who had been there at the right time

Kamala ends things with Charles and tells Anna that she still loves them and hopes that she will give her another chance

Anna told her that they needed time to think, and that she is worried how Kamala's reputation will be affected if anyone besides their friends and Anna's family finds out

Kamala respects her decision and doesn't contact her until Anna's ready to talk about things

The merry thieves don't ignore Christopher and they actively listen and help him

The merry thieves also aren't terrible to Grace bc they realize she's been isolated alone with Tatiana and 1) she might not understand what's saying/doing is wrong or 2) that sometimes she's trying to push them away so her abilities don't accidentally make them do something

Good tid parents

James and Alastair being respectful to each other despite personal differences

Matthew, Alastair, Kamala, Christopher, and Grace being besties, or as I call them, the neglected squad

No fetishizing mlm/wlw

Domestic cuddles and taking care of the other one when they're sick

Jesse/Lucie/Matthew pairing bc I love them and I refuse to pick between lucie/matthew and lucie/jesse

Christopher teaching Grace the elements(at the time) on the periodic table

Tatiana dies at the end yay

It's very unpolished and I'm open to b hearing any feedback and/or suggestions that anyone may have

The idea came to me and I decided it would be best if I told someone before I forgot

hi, I'm sorry it took so long,but I wanted to properly answer this and I keep having either internet connection issues or little time

DON'T BE SHY, WRITE THIS 👀

In all seriousness tho... THIS IS ABSOLUTE PERFECTION?!? I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START I AM UTTERLY IN LOVE WITH THIS IDEA, I NEED IT

Look, I've been on the verge of rewriting ChoI, and I keep saying I want someone to write a TLH that will live up to its potential, but I've never actually came up with a proper idea for it, and you?!! YOUR BRAIN DARLING THIS IS GENIUS

ok hold up I'll just react to each and every single one so

yes please?!? I mean it started off so sweet in EEV?! Also actually genderqueer Anna and not dancing around the subject like CC is doing now?! That's what they deserve, and that's what we all deserve too

yesss please. also just,,,, Barbara, the feminine, not-wanting-to-fight-which-doesnt-make-her-less-badass queen that she is, getting the page space and appreciation she deserves

that's actually brilliant?!? it would be so great, just imagine the new girl arrives for her travel year and Genie is completely awestruck. I'm so invested in Joshwood it's difficult to imagine not having them, but this is actually the only valid alternative?!

ok that's fine. I think it could still happen and be done well, but tbh for now... the gracelet doesn't seem to have done anything relevant to the plot itself? I mean yeah it messed up James's life and Jordelia, but what did it give Belial? Tatiana? nothing. It makes no sense atm.

could be! maybe she's still encouraged by Tatiana to befriend/seduce him, but without the gracelet it doesn't work out? or maybe James somehow manages to realize that she's in danger and he actually like,,,, kidnaps her? idk idk

yes. YES. just,,,,z James is a sweet compassionate literature nerd who accidentally makes a good leader and he actually cares about people, and not just judges them from his high horse; he does still have hero syndrome, but he's kind and respectful and overall a good character

ANNA INTERVENES ABOUT KELLINGTON PLZ. PEOPLE ACTUALLY NOTICE MATTHEW'S STRUGGLES. JAMES DOES, TOO, BECAUSE THERE'S NO GRACELET.

ok yes, so what about: basically TMT don't harass Alastair and accept his apology, and realize they were also being stupid and mean at times at the Academy (especially Math). Matthew doesn't want to accept Alastair's apology, because of The Sin, but his behaviour alerts the rest of TMT and they inquire what's wrong and he tells them about the sin and that's how he later tells his parents (because his friends encourage him) and as you say, she just hugs him and reassures him it's not his fault; so after that Matthew slowly begins to heal and accepts it wasn't Alastair's fault, and also since they've kind of adopted/started including Alastair in things, he can't help but notice he's actually changed and he even starts to grow fond of him

then like you said, Matthew notices Thomas likes Alastair PLEASE HE SO WOULD. I'm not sure about the Sanctuary, if it actually happens (I'll get to why later on), but him and Lucie get really invested in the matchmaking schemes, they include Genie/Kamala because these two are friends with Alastair (both? Or at this point only Kamala?) but they also share some Moments during their scheming/talking about love 👀 (yes I'm a Fairdale shipper, I think it's time to expose myself lol)

Which leads me to (sorry I'm going off order rn) YES YES YES LUCIE AND MATH PLEASE. A FELLOW SHIPPER, HELLO, NICE TO MEET YOU. But since we're actually fixing him then we can give Jesse a personality and I'm totally down for poly Math/Lucie/Jesse

Lucie seeking Malcolm's help in secret, morally gray heroine style?!? no, it's probably not legal. but also has there ever been a Shadowhunter like her? If the Law doesn't expect such situations, it can't really forbid them...

Plz Matthew ready to strangle the carrot when he learns about their relationship, YES. sure, maybe he's still not the biggest fan of Alastair, but he's seen how much the boy's been through and starts to develop an attachment to him, and besides, NO ONE DESERVES TO BE GROOMED AND TREATED LIKE THAT. He's SO MAD at Charles, and he confronts him about it - remembering Kellington as he does, and it makes him sick to think his brother would do the same thing to someone. Maybe he gets very emotional over this and later finally tells his friends about Kellington? Maybe they didn't know before, only Anna did? So when they all realize what was happening then they comfort him etc? Or maybe it's just Alastair that learns now, and the others knew before, and they share a bonding moment over that?

Injured Grace seeking Kit's help is a genius idea I didn't know I needed

Kamanna giving each other time and space and deciding they need to question their relationship and figure out if it actually makes sense would be great. Anna realising she's very privileged and Kamala doesn't have those same opportunities, and also in general realising coming out should never be pressured or forced. Just,,,, Anna being self-aware and respectful towards Kamala. Well-written Anna. Plz. Also Kamanna is actually developed and not just "in love" because,,,,, they're attracted to each other? Maybe even remaining friends while Anna makes up their mind?

yeah just TMT being more compassionate and less judgy because they're not written by Judith so her bias isn't projected onto them

It's not a want, it's a need. They adopt Alastair and Grace eventually. Like, maybe not literally - although, Grace? - but you know what I mean.

I think they all should just have various friendship dynamics and switch between them, because people need more than one friend group

no fetishizing, no watching your brother make out with his lover, yessss

yes domestic cuddles, affection, taking care of wounds, all those things. plz.

Gracetopher bonding over science yes

obviously. or maybe she's imprisoned?!

ok, now for some more notes/my ideas etc., if you don't mind:

I actually think Belial could still be featured? After all, I don't think Tatiana could do much on her own, and since she seeks help from demons, it makes sense to include a Greater Demon as well. But Belial would have to be a stronger villain, written better; I'll think more about this

if that was the case, the serial killer plot could still happen, but be done better. and it would allow for a scenario I talked about with @littlx-songbxrd to happen, where it's Alastair who's falsely accused of murder. It creates a great opportunity to explore some things, because we know Alastair is much more likely to be seriously suspected, considering all the prejudices and bad rep his family has and all that

...what do you say to well-written Jordelia? 👀 Cordelia hasn't been obsessively in love with James since childhood, she only had a crush then. And now that they meet again, she's fond of him but not in love, not straight away. They're both grown up, and different people, but as they spend more and more time together, they fall in love. What if Cordelia gets to flirt with some other boys first? What then. What if she ends up choosing James, instead of going for the only boy she's ever had feelings for and idealized since childhood. What if we even make it friends-to-lovers and have James be a little jealous at some point?! but not in a possessive awful way, just "oh damn oh no"

Now I won't know peace until this exists BUT THANK YOU

[spurgie-cousin]

Plathville (maybe) hot take rants before I start watching the new season:

i think Ethan and Olivia are more trauma-bonded than in love tbh. they relate bc they grew up similarly and understand each other on that level but their interactions remind me a lot of a relationship i had when i was in my early 20s, which was just a mess of anxious-attachment and bad communication. and only staying together because i was terrified of abandonment and my partner knew i was going through a lot outside of the relationship (like Olivia I was also trying to transition to life without religion, although her issues with her family are def more serious) and they didn't want to hurt me more. but the truth is that if you have that kind of attachment style or issues with abandonment it doesn't matter how good your partner is to you, it never goes away unless you do a LOT of work yourself. which tbf can be hard to realize bc in that state of mind it really feels like your happiness and peace can only come from other people. and the irony is that it can be so mentally and emotionally overwhelming for your partner that your fear becomes a self-fuffilling prophecy when they have to step away for their own well-being. and this is total speculation obviously, but the vibes i get from ethan are very much Exhausted.

kind of along those lines but i dont think Olivia realizes that she doesn't get to decide how traumatized anyone but herself is in any situation. nobody can decide that for their partner esp when it comes to their upbringing, people have to come to that conclusion on their own. and in this case, i think it'd help her to separate her own experience from the Plath kids and really re-examine her feelings about the Plath parents if she wants to keep that relationship with Ethan. or if it's too much, they really are as bad as she says, and Ethan won't cut them off, eventually you gotta remove yourself for your own sanity, even though I'm not 100% sure that's the case (easier said than done i know).

also i'm not trying to blame everything on Olivia or attack her at all btw. just seeing these little snippets from the other side makes a lot of things make sooo much more sense to me.

truthfully i think as the older adults in this situation who seem more enlightened about their earlier parenting choices, i think kim and barry should take more initiative to reassure Olivia and try to mend that relationship (and maybe they have and we just haven't seen it).

ok that's all i can think of right now i was just walking my dog having a lot of feelings about a preview i saw lol

[nepenthendline]

Mental Health Headcannons - Tsukishima, Kageyama, Ushijima, Tendou & Bokuto

All these are from my knowledge and based off of each character’s actions haikyuu, this is all my opinion so feel free to discuss other thoughts! I’m happy to talk about each more in depth if anyone would like it :) this is just me projecting my own problems on fictional characters

You can also message me if you wanna talk about these too!!

This is going to be long

TW: Mental health, learning difficulties, eating disorders, self-harm

Tsukishima - Depression, Anxiety & OCD

Tbh someone else (I’ve been trying to find their username to tag them but I can’t find it, they’re called something like theguessmonta but idk) has amazing posts about Tsukishima and his mental health which I totally agree with all of it so some of this is going to be pretty similar

I think his mental health problems started when he was quite young, around the time when the Akiteru drama happened so he’s been dealing with these for a while

Having depression can often make a person seem very disinterested/sarcastic/negative as a way of pushing back emotions and self-protection which explains a lot of the way Tsukishima acts towards some people (I have a whole post on how he isn’t just some asshole)

His anxiety stems from a place of terrible self-esteem and self-image, it’s clear to see he has a bad sense of self-worth when he talks about how people are obviously a lot better than him, he’s just there to ‘stop trouble happening’

Tsukki suffers from panic attacks quite regularly (especially when he was a bit younger) but he tends to shut himself off then they happen, he doesn’t want anyone else to see him like that

His anxiety and overthinking is often why he keeps his headphones on him at all times, listening to music helps drown out the sounds around him and those in his head

His OCD got worse over time - first it was things like turning the light switch on and off repeatedly until it felt right, or tapping on his desk before he went to bed, but as his anxiety and self-esteem got worse it developed into him needing himself to be perfect

This included only eating a certain amount of calories a day (no where near the amount he should be eating) or getting a very specific grade on an exam, where even one number over or under set him into a panic

Things got to their worst for Tsukki around the age of 13 - this is where he was much too underweight and self-harming on his hips (so no one else could see)

Probably also thought about suicide a couple times around this point

He has tried a couple different types of anti-depressants in the past, however none have seemed to help

He likes a lot of time alone - he gets too overwhelmed dealing with other people

The only person besides his family and Yamaguchi that knows about his OCD is Kageyama - they both noticed each others odd, repetitive habits until Kageyama asked him about it one day, while they don’t get along too well, they feel some comfort in each other understanding their actions

Kageyama - Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

wow what a smooth segue 

this boy is like a walking definition of ASD - coming from a person with ASD

Kageyama was diagnosed with Type 1/High-functioning Autism when he was very young (probably around 3-5 years old)

He struggles with social interaction, knowing what to say to people and most importantly, how to say it, e.g. when he smiles people often think he looks angry

Kageyama has never had many, if any, friends before Karasuno, as he has often struggled with conversation and speaking in an inappropriate tone that may make some people uncomfortable or even scared

He isn’t very good when it comes to remembering academic studies but if it relates to his fixations (volleyball) he is extremely intelligent - this is seen clearly when Daichi shows their team hand gestures and Kageyama says he remembered them in a day

Kageyama uses masking a lot - it’s a technique people with ASD tend to do which involves copying other peoples actions in order to understand social situations, he does this many times in the anime/manga such as his awkward BBQ song dance, or high-fives

He visited a social worker once a week while he was little until he started middle school, resulting in his behaviours getting worse

Towards the end of his first year at Karasuno he went back to therapies regularly and has anger-management training in order to help him express himself in a manageable way - he probably won’t admit it but it helps a lot (key note is that having anger-management training often does not have anything to do with anger, simply just managing emotions in general but it often a great type of therapy for those with ASD although he is a bit of an angry boi sometimes)

ASD comes with repetitive, almost OCD-like tendencies - two examples include filing his nails every single day and having a very specific routine before going to bed that consists of drinking milk, putting on pjs, laying in bed and throwing + catching a ball, brushing his teeth and going to bed on his left side - if he doesn’t do these things at the right times/in the right order, he gets extremely anxious and agitated

It is important to remember people with ASD tend to also have another mental health issue, such as anxiety or depression

Ushijima - Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

autism buds with kageyama

I kid thats probably a bad idea

Ushijima was also diagnosed with Type 1/High-Functioning Autism when he was 5

Unfortunately due to the stigma around Autism, his family (besides his father) were not very accepting of this and he was put into therapy at a young age

While this was actually helpful for him, his family insisted his therapies should ‘cure’ him and were dismissive of the many times a doctor told them that ASD is not a curable disorder

Outside of therapy he does not receive much support from his family, except his father who got him a pair of noise-cancelling headphones he used to wear until he 8 whenever they went out together - he was only allowed to wear them if it was just him and his father, the rest of his family thought it made it too obvious there was ‘something wrong with the child’

Extending on this, Ushijima was very sensitive to sensory input as a child, and while he still is, it has become easier to manager as he has gotten older

His ASD is most prevalent in his lack of understand ways of communication, such as sarcasm or jokes, and tends to take things very literally 

@simp4satori and I came to the conclusion that if you were to call him daddy during sex, or ask him to ‘punish you’ the poor boy would have NO CLUE - would probably call your dad and tell him you needed to speak to him, or say you can’t watch anime for a week lol 

He is extremely direct when he talks, to the point where it comes across rude or hurtful but he doesn’t realise this until someone mentions it

Tendou probably helps him rephrase things from time-to-time in order for him to get his point across

He gets very anxious when faced with things he doesn’t know about or understand (this is mentioned by Tendou in the manga), this can include people, going to new places or trying new foods

It is important to remember people with ASD tend to also have another mental health issue, such as anxiety or depression

Tendou - Depression and Anxiety (also a highly sensitive person - that’s not a mental health disorder or illness but it does affect him)

Tendou’s mental health suffered from a young age due to bullying in school

This caused a lot of low self-esteem and low mood, and he was later on diagnosed with depression and anxiety

Only his family, Ushijima and his coach know about this, and even then, only his family know any details

No one would really expect Tendou to deal with such mental health issues as he always keeps a bubbly, happy persona around others - he doesn’t want people to think he is weak or cowardly

It is also hard for others to see and he is someone with high-highs and low-lows, so when he is happy or excited his emotions are quite extreme

Tendou’s anxiety relates a lot to his image, mainly his appearance and the way he acts, but he is also a general over thinker

He doesn’t have panic attacks as often as Tsukishima does, however they do happen occasionally when things just get too much

He often thinks that people are staring at him, or talking about him whenever he goes out, and he tends to hid this by seeming overly cocky or sardonic

When his depression hits, he tends to just feel sad or hopeless instead of numb, which tends to trigger his anxiety too

Tendou used to self-harm often around his hips/thighs however he hasn’t done so since the end of his first year of high-school 

Probably makes a lot of dark ‘jokes’, especially around suicide and people semi are like ‘...dude...you ok?’ and he’s just like ‘hahaha yeah im fine what’

He doesn’t like alone time too much as he tends to get trapped in his own thoughts

As expected of the guess monster, he is extremely good at reading and understanding people, which is how he finds it easier to help and communicate with Ushijima

Bokuto - ADHD

A lot of people at Fukurodani think Bokuto is just stupid, however he actually has ADHD

He was diagnosed a lot later than the rest at 12 years old

Bokuto tends to struggle with his studies as his attention-span is very low and can get distracted easily - either by things in the classroom or his own thoughts

He’s very forgetful, often forgetting his lunch at home or forgetting to do/bring in his homework, and this goes into volleyball too where he forgets how to do certain moves

Taking exams are the worst for Bokuto, he hates having to be still and quiet for such a long time and is very sensitive to little sounds or movements that distract his attention - you’ll often find his bouncing his leg or fiddling with his pen

He tends to butt into conversations or interrupt people when they are talking, he just gets a bit too enthusiastic to share his thoughts

He has extreme mood-swings too which we see often in the anime, especially when he is stressed or someone mentions his behaviours

Is very reckless - Akaashi has probably had to stop him from leaning too far out the window and almost falling to look something

The whole Fukurodani volleyball team are aware of his ADHD and do their best to help him and make him feel comfortable or accepted

They are the only people allowed to call him stupid - they will fight anyone else

I think there are more characters with mental health illnesses or disorders, such and Yamaguchi, Yachi, Kenma and Asahi having anxiety so I might write more at some point!

[lonelier-version-of-you]

What on Earth was that episode?

After a few weeks of pretty damn good scripts (the storylines still suck, but at least the scripts have been decent), tonight’s Holby returned to mediocrity. Hopefully this isn’t a long-term thing. I have no hope of the show going out on a high, but I want it to at least go out decently, and if the quality just slips back down right when it was finally improving a little bit... that’s not a good sign :/

The Evie storyline... ugh, ugh, ugh. It was actually being handled fairly well last week, but of course, the Holby writers can’t tell issue storylines without piling a load of sensationalist garbage on top (see also: Henrik’s CSA storyline, and the sickening racist stereotyping in it - among the many, many other issues that storyline had), so tonight they returned to form.

I’d ask what sick mind comes up with this stuff, but any of us who have seen any of Kate Oates’ work on other soaps knows the answer to that. This storyline is definitely her doing, and I highly suspect the Henrik storyline was as well. That woman has a weird obsession with writing the most horrible, exploitative rape/sexual abuse storylines possible. Why is she even allowed to work on these shows anymore??

This whole ridiculousness with Fletch punching Rich and Jeni letting Rich deteriorate so she can cover it up and keep pimping Evie out... it’s completely unnecessary, and just shoved in there for extra drama. Again, this is one of Kate Oates’ biggest problems as a storyteller - she doesn’t think issues like this are serious enough in themselves, she has to go and shove a bunch of extra drama in there to up the stakes. For god’s sake.

Also... if I’ve got this straight, Fletch does still think Evie and Rich are dating, right? Like, obviously he doesn’t know about the trafficking, but he does know Evie is “involved” with a much older man? If so, he got over his anger at Rich and concern for Evie remarkably quickly. To the point of snapping at Evie for “thinking a man that age would want anything more than to sleep with her” or whatever. Maybe I’m biased as a CSA survivor myself, but if I were a 40-something man whose 17-year-old daughter was apparently going out with a man around my age, I would be incredibly concerned, recognise that she was being groomed and do my best to help her out of the situation. RIP to Fletch, but I’m different.

Also also, that episode really needed a trigger warning. As did last week’s, tbh. I’m disappointed but not surprised, given there weren’t any trigger warnings for Henrik’s CSA storyline either.

Now I’m done talking about the main plot of the episode, let’s discuss what happened elsewhere:

The “should we let Cameron take part in the trial” debate is ridiculous, as it should logistically all be a moot point. There is NO WAY in a MILLION YEARS that Cameron would ever be treated at Holby. It just wouldn’t happen. Even if he had a medical emergency, like a heart attack or something, surely they would take him to St. James’s.

Chloe actually being asked to work her notice was a surprise. I doubt she’s actually leaving, but it’s nice they remembered that people do actually have to work their notice. I’m pretty sure the last time Holby remembered that was 9 years ago, when we saw Sahira for the final time (the supposed “return” doesn’t count, that character was Sahira in name only, otherwise her storyline had nothing to do with the real Sahira).

Anyway, we got Henrik and Eli in the same scene tonight, so that was nice. Two autistic icons together. *insert thumbs up emoji because I can’t be bothered to copy and paste one* Although, I don’t know what the hell Eli has been thinking WRT the Cameron situation. Or what Henrik is thinking, either, but then again that man is massively incompetent when it comes to handling serial killing doctors (*cough*Gaskell*cough*), so.

The best part of the episode was by far the Jac and Carole stuff. Whoever thought to intertwine their storylines and parallel them like this is a genius. Rosie Marcel and Julia Deakin are both incredible actresses, putting them in a scene together creates utter brilliance. It was lovely seeing Jac show her softer side with Carole, too.

Oh, and I did like Kylie setting up a makeshift prom for her patient and his crush. That was very sweet. Mel’s a bitch for taking the credit though. Damn it Louis, just break up with Mel and get with Kylie already!

[fatestrings]

Big agree on the endvr separating from the rest idk why some people had issue with that it’s actually the best thing that could have been done. Tbh I always thought vigilante!endvr felt different from main!endvr and that’s only bc I’m so obsessed with reading over each todoroki member in the main series. I feel like the editor told the other writer to do his thing with some guidelines and he went overboard. Although I do like it as a way to show how pro heroes get away with too much.

yeah, vigilantes is a bit darker/edgier than the main manga, or at least it used to be. things have been getting more mature in the recent bnha chapters, but in the earlier stuff it seemed like bnha was geared to a younger/ more general audience and vigilantes was more for the older fans. i prefer to read vigilantes as equally- canon to the main manga, but i know some purists wld consider it au. i also take anything from the todofam's- esp endvr's- perspective with a grain of salt bc i know how ppl can warp painful memories in their mind. i've seen firsthand how an abuser can slowly warp their own reality to smth entirely different, to alleviate some of their guilt. i'm most inclined to believe natsuo's perspective, then fuyumi + shouto's, then rei + touya's, then endvr's. (i can explain my reasoning if you'd want bt it'd take a bit and half.)

tht being said, i am a longtime fan of western superhero comics, which have these awful and convoluted canons, so i tend to be more accepting of multiversal content, where ppl make fanworks based off of their own canon-adjacent aus. i don't rlly nitpick how canon a person's fanworks is if they've made smth enjoyable or intriguing.