#and he's clearly quite sensitive and emotionally intelligent

[movementsofmylife]

god that episode was sad.

bison finally saw what fadel had been trying to protect him from all along. that the real world can be just as harsh as the insular hired killing world that they're living in. bison looks so sad and angry and will probably also feel guilty for not listening to fadel, for falling too hard. how do you learn to trust someone again when they not only betrayed you but changed how safe you find the world?

i think fadel is accepting the sadness, already resigned to losing another person he loves by his own hands. (i think regardless of whether he murdered his ex himself, which he could have, he probably got hurt because of fadel.)

bison is angry and sad, his emotions have an outward trajectory, someone to claw at and fight and process through. fadel just takes all of his feelings and pushes them into himself, turns it all into deep seated sadness and disappointment and resignation that will follow him for the rest of his life.

i know that they'll both end up with kant and style respectively, but i think they'll have to take a pretty treacherous path to get there.

and while bison will probably lash out and be more violent, i think fadel will be the one that is much harder to convince, much harder to earn back the trust of. fadel takes on the responsibility of protecting not just himself but his younger brother too. so there is more at stake for him when it comes to forgiving or letting style back in.

i'm looking forward to seeing how the show does this, and crying about it for the next 6 eps.

[vroomvroomwee]

I love how unusual Husk is. I love when writers don't take the stereotypical, generated, seen-it-done-it before route for characters, but instead, decide to play around with their personalities a little bit. I love how when we see Husk from an objective point of view, he looks like someone who would shove their feelings deep down under an adamantine layer of self-preservation, distrust, and inability to actually process them because naturally "men should be tough and macho and emotionless" *spits* like so many older dudes with tough-guy personalities believe. But that's not what's happening at all with him. In fact, he's the COMPLETE opposite. This grumpy old man is the ONLY one in the whole show who actively ENCOURAGES people to express their feelings and open up to each other. Not even Charlie fully understands the importance of verbal honesty and the weight of being emotionally vulnerable with someone like Husk does.

Yet, this dude who's born in what? 1920? gets how imperative it is to have healthy communication and how that not only fosters stronger friendships but is also palliative to the mind. He readily speaks his opinions and doesn't play pretend with the other guests, he puts up his boundaries clearly, he doesn't manipulate or deceive or act passive-agressive like so many people do in social circles, he's not afraid to call people out on their crap, he recognizes that buried, unspoken feelings will eventually decay someone's soul and he encourages Angel to let them go. Not just that, but he actually understands emotions, other's and his own, he can easily read people and is insanely emotionally intelligent. And what's best is that Husk is KIND. He doesn't take advantage of the crew's (quite obvious) inhibitions and worries, and he instead tries to help them. He IS a tough-guy AND he's sensitive and gentle. He's so RARE I just... ugh I love him so so much

[scliffe]

I know most of us (including me) laughed (quite a lot) on this scene because; Earl Ciel “Sebastian-Kill-Them-All” Phantomhive of all people, is saying something like this about killing people? It sounds so fake and ridiculous right? Hypocritical, even. But I also think it’s rather empathetic of Ciel to say this in front of the Weston boys because he understands that these boys did not murder out of evil intent; it was a crime of passion, not premeditated. I’m sure that in Ciel’s eyes, these upperclassmen of his are still much more innocent than he is—and so when he speaks to them, he is speaking to “normal people”, not serial murderers. But while Ciel does not see the prefects as evil people, he doesn’t infantilize them either. He does not empathize with them trying to justify their actions; because things like school values or reputation is not a worthy cause for these boys to kill someone over. At the same time Ciel may not personally care about the lives of Derrick Arden and the others, but he does not think students should turn into murderers over such menial issues.

In comparison, when he speaks to Joker in BOC, he was unfiltered and candid—he’s speaking of something he personally believes; that deep cynicism and distrust in humanity. Unlike the Weston students, Joker’s actions were premeditated; he planned to kidnap children—knowing they would be abused and turned into some sick plaything before brutally murdered—and methodically eliminated witnesses to avoid getting caught. Joker knew exactly what he was doing when he organized these crimes to sacrifice others for his family’s lives. And yet the way Ciel spoke, he wasn’t passing judgement on Joker at all; he acutely understood the despair of facing injustice with no one lending a helping hand; the desperate wish to protect one’s family and loved ones above what’s considered to be morally correct by society; he knows better than anyone else how hell is paved with good intentions. This too, was incredibly empathetic in a strange way that only Ciel could be. Although Joker lamented their fate as abandoned orphans living in an apathetic society, Ciel does not pity them and thus did not simply reduce them to gullible victims of their circumstances. He did not justify Joker’s actions, and he did not justify his own actions in killing Joker and the circus crew either—he was incredibly self aware and fair; equally as ruthless to other people as with himself. He understood that everyone acted in their own interests. By removing complicated principles of morality out of the equation, he is able to see things clearly and act decisively without ridiculous notions of human morality. After all, what use does he have for it when his soul is already damned anyway?

Ciel keeps away from people and refrains from making personal attachments; and yet he is still very empathetic to each of them without even meaning to. In the flashbacks, he was also depicted to be a sensitive and kindhearted child. Despite everything he has gone through, he still retains a bit of that gentleness and sincerity from his childhood; which I think comes with being naturally emotionally intelligent—he has an unusually acute insight on people which certainly helps his business acumen, and ironically also helps him know how to lie and act in front of other people. While Sebastian is a “master of understanding human desires”, Ciel understands the complexity and most basic nature of humanity better than anyone else; which forms both his cynicism and his own brand of empathy.

[zhehxmp3]

Hmm haven’t yapped in a bit

Theory times woo!

Mindful of spoilers for Towards the Truth, especially Shen Song backstory and ending!!

I was thinking about how TRUST is a very important thing present in the show, it’s actually genius and very well associated with every main character! (This is probably also why the show is called Towards the Truth LMAO)

The trust starts with Shen Song first, I know I made a post before about his mental illness and so this is expanding more on it. We know he was the one who accidentally got his entire village murdered (poor baby) but it starts with trust, he trusted one person outside of his village and it lead to blood shed. This is very interesting considering he’s so young at the time, but the mental impact and PTSD stuck with him forever clearly. He was naive and didn’t know any better which UH YEA?? He was 8 LMAO- he didn’t know this random guy was gonna do that sob..

So how does this play into the theme?

The trauma he faced, left him with amnesia but it’s interesting that throughout the entire show, he displays a lot of distrust towards anyone he’s not close with or even himself. He has no memory of this trauma so why would he already have such strong distrust towards people and be super sensitive towards lying (coming back to this)

I’m not sure what the term could be but from my general knowledge and talking to my friend who’s a psych major, it’s a form of suppression and PTSD. His brain blocked out the memories of what happened but at the same time, it has put up a defensive mechanism of a new personality trait. He no longer is trusting of others he doesn’t know well, that is why It’s possible in the beginning, his only friends were Lao Li and the restaurant owner. Lao Li wasn’t even that close of a friend though, and it only grows deeper later on, so who knows.

I think before he joins the restaurant, when we learn about his role in wanting to become someone important at first. He tried to become the Emperors advisor? Then was let down again, only adding more to his trust issues, this definitely also forms his bias against “privileged people” which is fair, their gov was lowkey corrupt as hell haha.

Now, he meets Gongsun!

And then was betrayed in the first three episodes ahh, Gongsun…

I always thought his reaction to the betrayal was very emotionally distressed. Abnormal or not? I’m not sure but it shows that he’s known this man for two and a half days and put all his trust into him, trusting that he’d actually be the same as him in getting Justice! Then BAM, gets a whole punch in the face and his reaction is devastating, it’s quite sad and interesting.

Maybe it was a form of PTSD, knowing he trusted someone and was lied to once again. Regardless of not knowing his memory, his brain subconsciously remembered his first traumatic betrayal as a child, and this soon is displayed in his emotions even as an adult.

They work around it of course, Gongsun does a little bonding with him and he promises to earn his full trust one day (which is like marriage basically). In the next eps 5/6/7, this is tested a little bit because Gongsun has a close relationship with Luanha (dk if that’s her name spelling sigh).

Besides Shen Song being a very petty and jealous wife, he grows distrustful of Gongsun again since he won’t tell him why he knows the Courtesan wasn’t the killer, and this lead to an intense argument tbh, which LOVEE THAT for them cough uh. This pressures Gongsun to eventually explain his friendship with her and he feels bad lmao, he trusts Gongsun again after that for a little bit aha!

It’s just an interesting dynamic for Shen Song at times, he’s learned to not trust others easily through trauma but he’s all about getting the truth and being righteous. He is full of determined intelligence that often is reckless and yet works! It’s really not till the end when he finally remembers it was “his fault” that his entire village was killed, this is kind of where he pieces together the last memory puzzle and that sends him into a coma… again.

To conclude this theory.

In the last scenes where Shen Song is in his coma, we see him reliving his entire trauma until Gongsun infiltrates his subconscious and starts to console the 8 yr old Shen song (sob). Then he sticks his hand out and the child finally reaches out and takes his hand as well, this symbolizes the trust finally being restored for THEM, but also in Shen Songs trauma. Gongsun is offering him help and comfort, he’s giving him trust, to trust HIM, and Shen Song alternately changes the fate of his own trauma by accepting.

The handshake is kind of like a warm hug for the baby Shen Song, originally he woke up and had no one to trust after that event, but Gongsun is THERE now, he is there to comfort and provide trust for the baby Shen song.

This is really amazing to me 😞

It’s like Gongsun comforting the broken inner child in Shen Song, that is so beautiful sob.

Sorry for the many words sigh…

[rainy-astrology]

SF9 Inseong Birth Chart Analysis

Based on my opinion and observations. Not an expert. May change later.

July 12th, 1993

Seoul, South Korea

Unknown time

☀️♋️, 🌙♈️

Cancer sun + Aries moon - likely squares; protective and strong-willed, ambitious and knows what he wants as both are cardinal signs. If they do square, there could be a case of emotional turmoil and confusion on how to properly express himself, how to even deal with such feelings. Cancer is sentimental and deeply emotional while Aries would prefer to not revel in their feelings (although funnily they're a very emotionally sensitive sign too).

Cancer sun conjuncts Cancer mercury - Good communication skills and high intelligence; active mind; both being in Cancer, makes him intuituve and sentimental. There's a family and home focus. Inseong is incredibly intelligent and he does seem to care for his family a lot. Inseong does not cry much, but there was a moment during a concert where the members were talking about their families and he actually became emotional during the topic.

Aries Moon + Cancer Mercury - likely squares; if his moon squares his mercury, he may have a hard time with clearly expressing his feelings and thoughts clearly. Could be an impulsive way of showing it or an attempt to repress them. Inseong generally doesn't show his negative feelings (having only openly cried twice throughout his career iirc), he seems to prefer being positive.

Gemini venus square Virgo mars - a conflict between balancing the want for intimacy and harmony (venus) with the want for independence and control (mars). This could be troublesome in relationships (if underdeveloped) as this placement craves attention and acceptance, can be quite demanding for it at times. Tends to be affectionate but also overwhelming with the need for reciprocity. I do see this a bit with him as he is very affectionate with his members and does openly ask for love back. On a more positive note, it seems to give the native a drive for creative expression, which Inseong definitely has a lot of.

The Virgo mars also gives him high expectations for himself and others, so this may wedge some issues between him and others if they don't meet them.

Energetic Aries moon and hardworking Virgo mars can explain why Inseong pursues many activities. Likes to genuinely keep himself busy. I sometimes wonder if it is to keep himself from thinking about his deeper thoughts and feelings...there seems to be a sense of trouble of dealing with his emotions. But I could be wrong as there's no confirmed time for him.

Possible rising: Libra - Charming and fun, he certainly knows how to liven up the atmosphere. Loves to make people laugh and have a good time. It also seems he has had to settle some conflicts and/or at least seems a bit awkward with conflict. E.g He was an MC for a P1Harmony for a series and when the group started to get a bit rowdy once, he seemed very unsure what to do. The other members have also spoken about how Inseong has a hard time saying "no" to other people, indicating he is probably a bit of a people pleaser.

It could also give him a Cancer MC, with Sun and Mercury in 10th. Seems quite fitting for him. Career is important for him as he's always working on and pursuing many things (musicals, idol work, variety shows, even pursuing his college education when he was juggling all of this work).

Possible Libra rising and Gemini venus could explain his flirty and talkative nature to the others, especially as both are air placements (mentally energetic and analytical). Quite affectionate and shameless in pursuing and showing that love.

Possible Aries moon in 7th with Aries 7h could explain Inseong's affectionate nature to his members. This placement also reminds me of the time in an interview some years ago where they were asked which member they would date. Inseong chose Youngbin as he believed Youngbin would protect him. 7th house Aries tends to be attracted to people who seem strong and protective.

___

Other analysis:

MBTI | Enneagram

___

Kpop astrology masterlist

[siriuslysatorusimping]

Author Discussion - Summer Nights Part 4

I ONCE AGAIN FEEL THE NEED TO JUSTIFY MY DECISIONS AS A WRITER, AND PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT THAT WAS NOT GIVEN IN THE INSTALLMENT BECAUSE OF THE PERSPECTIVE.

You can read Summer Nights, (Installment 8 of Physical Paradox) on AO3!

I will say, it's a bit refreshing to see people upset with Rinko instead of Gojo 😂😂 but also, my rejection sensitivity came out to play and this is my way of telling it to go fuck itself 😂🥹

Obviously, for many, Rinko's behavior was far from ideal. But it was human. Just like I've emphasized from the beginning: these characters are human. They fuck up and they make mistakes, and they don't always react the way they should.

It's also important to remember that this was Gojo's perspective of the events. So her laughter at him admitting his tattoo kink felt a bit exaggerated because he was embarrassed and felt awkward. As readers, we don't know what was going through Rinko's head. But I can tell you that it wasn't her just purely mocking him. It was disbelief. Part of her thought he was joking because it had been so obvious that he'd been turned on by her tattoo. She didn't think he was serious in not being sure about it being a kink, but as soon as she realized he was, she backed off and quit laughing. We didn't get to see that explicitly stated because Gojo was stuck in his own head at that point and didn't notice that she'd quit laughing.

I think people kinda expect Rinko to be perfect sometimes. To always react the right way and make all the right decisions because she's strong and intelligent and acts so confident in this AU. But everyone fucks up.

Sometimes I think we forget that while Rinko is very emotionally aware, she also has ✨abandonment issues✨ and self-worth issues. In Another Level, we saw Rinko, at least twice, trying to pull away from Gojo after an embarrassing moment or after a fight because it was her attempting to disappear before she could be rejected. She's still like that in this AU. But she doesn't have that constant overhead of possible sudden death forcing her to mature.

She gives Gojo a hard time about childhood trauma, but oh boy, does she have some fucking trauma. Because Naobito still called her an unwanted mistake for most of her life. Naoya still calls her a half-breed from a whore because he's a piece of shit. While she knows she's not those things, she's very sensitive about her self-worth and being made to feel like someone sees her as less than a person.

Gojo implying that her friendship was worth nothing more than a means to get sex really hit at something deep inside of her. And while she knew logically that he wasn't like that, she was buzzed, and those words triggered a part of her that she'd developed out of self-preservation.

We didn't see those thoughts or feelings (a purposeful choice on my part) because we only saw Gojo's perspective.

But Rinko was embarrassed. She was embarrassed that she let herself get so close. And, she'd even had the thought in the previous part that when he smiled at her a certain way, she could forget he was a fuckboy. She clearly likes him a lot more than she wants to admit to herself. And when he's sweet and affectionate, it makes her want to lean into the feeling and indulge in the idea that maybe he'd want more than just sex. She was still buzzed and he'd helped her into her room earlier that night when she was drunk. And it gave her alcohol-filled brain a little bit of hope that he might want something like a relationship if she ever slept with him.

When he accidentally implied that being a good friend meant he thought she should sleep with him, it ripped her out of that trance, and she felt stupid for letting herself think that he might want more from her.

Does he? Yes. He does. But even Gojo doesn't fully understand what that means because he's a dumb lil fuckboy who's never had a relationship before. He thinks he just wants to be friends with benefits, not a relationship. He literally had that internal conversation with himself. He doesn't realize that what he thinks of as a FWB, would really be a relationship.

Gojo has been giving her some mixed signals, too. He flirts with her a lot. Calls her pretty, digs for compliments for himself, and teases her just as much as she teases him. It's their dynamic that they've established, and it works for the most part. But it gives weird, mixed signals on both of their parts because again he is a dumb lil fuckboy who doesn't understand his own feelings just yet. He will. But it's gonna take a little longer.

In this AU, Rinko can already see that she would tip over and fall head over heels in love with him because he's so sweet and kind and caring with his friends. Part of her, in the back of her mind, hoped that maybe he'd say he wanted to give actual dating a try. But instead, he said he wanted to be friends with benefits and confirmed her belief that he would never see her as anything more than a friend he wanted to have sex with. She believes that a FWB would just end with her broken-hearted and without a friendship that she's come to value.

And, if we're all being honest with ourselves, she wouldn't have believed him if he had said he wanted to give a real relationship a try. Gojo was right in thinking that she would just believe he was trying to get in her pants. Because she has those super fun self-worth issues.

So, after feeling so embarrassed and humiliated, she decided that the safest bet was to stop being friends with him. To avoid him and Geto so that she wouldn't be embarrassing herself further by acting clingy when she drinks, letting her drunk lil mind imagine that he'd want more than casual sex for a while and disappear once she developed feelings that he wouldn't ever return.

Would he return those feelings? Yes. Does he already? Most likely. But Rinko doesn't know that.

So, she intended to cut things off at the knees and withdraw before he had the chance to abandon her instead. Was it selfish? A bit. But it's what she felt she needed to do to protect herself.

Oh, why did she open the door? Why did she listen to him? Why did she decide to stay friends with him? Because she likes being friends with him. She knows he's not a bad person. And she selfishly doesn't want to lose him, either. Seeing him care so much that he would apologize, embarrass himself in the process of doing so, solidified that he was a friend she genuinely wanted to have in her life.

We're going to see a very different side of Rinko in the next installment. An angrier, more bitter side of her that's somewhat justified and a whole lot traumatized.

I've said before that Naobito is sort of trying to make amends with Rinko in this AU. But she is not receptive to it. She hates him. She hates him more than she hates anyone except Naoya. Because she's waiting for the shoe to drop. For Naobito to decide that he doesn't actually care about his unwanted mistake. That he doesn't want a relationship. And she's bracing herself so that when he does decide that, she's not left picking up the broken pieces of a little girl who was called an unwanted mistake until she was eighteen. She's waiting for the man she knew the majority of her life, who did and said nothing to scold his son after he broke her arm over an argument when they were teenagers, to reappear.

We're going to see that Rinko in the next installment. And it's not gonna be all that pretty or graceful. But it'll be so human and flawed.

To give a lil spoiler, the next installment is going to be called Family Trauma. Because there's a hell of a lot of trauma to be addressed, and we're playing with the little phrase 'family drama.'

It's gonna be pretty angsty, I think. Still trying to get it written, honestly, but I'm excited for you to see it!

[detectivist]

STAND UP , YOU'VE GOT TO MANAGE / I WON'T SYMPATHISE ANYMORE

#DETECTIVIST : scarred emotionally and physically, lipstick stained teeth, violently independent, unsolved trust issues, recurring nightmares, cracking a glass in one's own hand, emotional meltdown haircuts, no strings attached, repressing as a coping mechanism, ripped stockings, sleeping on the couch, storms named after women, a missing ring, a missing finger, [...]

TW : parent death, corruption, murder, attempted murder, loss of a finger [...]

-- ABOUT

NAME: Oona Doherty ALIAS: Detective Doherty, Number One, Red, [...] AGE: Thirty-six GENDER: Cis Female SEXUALITY: Bisexual MARITAL STATUS: Divorced

Her ex-husband is currently awaiting trial for identity theft, conspiracy, the murder of two attorneys and two other attempted murders; one on the solicitor general and another on Oona herself.

DOB: December 10th BIRTHPLACE: Dublin, Ireland CURRENT RESIDENCE: London , England ; recently moved to a new apartment right next to Acton Town station. Her humble home is still very much empty. Oona couldn't bring herself to keep anything from her old apartment. OCCUPATION: Detective Constable for the Metropolitan Police

--- APPEARANCE

FACE: Sarah Snook HEIGHT: 5'5" / 1.65 m ETHNICITY: Irish-British HAIR: Light red, thin and wavy though she often straightens it. When long it is usually found tied in a high pony-tail, but nowadays Oona likes to keep it short for the sake of practicality. EYES: Pale blue, sharp and hooded, Oona has no issues with staring and holding another's gaze. She is constantly looking for something, lies, weak spots, details she might want to save for later. Either way, being the target of Oona's attention often feels intimidating. PHYSIQUE: With wide hips and a narrow waist, Oona often struggles with her own femininity, especially in the workplace. She visits the gym often and is clearly in good shape. Her legs are toned and, despite not being particularly tall, the way Oona carries herself makes her seem larger than her most imposing peers.

DISTINCTIVE MARKS: Oona is missing half of her right hand's ring finger and has a large scar on her palm. These are the results of a stabbing attack carried out by Oona's ex-husband. The detective was also left with a gnarly scar across her stomach from that encounter. The flesh right above her bellybutton is a pink and lumpy half-circle; Oona is somewhat self-conscious regarding that particular scar. Most of her skin is also riddled with freckles.

--- PERSONALITY

ALIGNMENT: Neutral Good STRENGTHS: Committed, perceptive, resilient, confident, intelligent, brave, loyal, pragmatic, charismatic, forthright, active, strong-willed, righteous, [...] WEAKNESSES: Sarcastic, passive-aggressive, cold, manipulative, vindictive, suspicious of others, distant, impulsive, snarky, workaholic, haunted, [...]

SKILLS: Fluent in Spanish, some knowledge in the field of psychology, good leadership skills, particularly good with interrogations, excellent cardio levels, can drive a car or a motorcycle, good under pressure, knows her way around firearms, makes a mean martini. HABITS: Smoker, though usually only when under stress. Visits the gym at least three times a week. Drinks quite often and, perhaps, a bit too much.

--- HISTORY

> Born in Dublin, parents divorced when she was only 5. Oona stayed with her mother only for her to pass away two years after in a car accident.

> Oona goes to live with her father in Manchester, England. It's not particularly amazing but it's not bad either. Her father isn't the most expressive/sensitive guy but he tries his best. Oona grows to become a strong but cold teenager.

> Her dad works as a cop. Oona wants to make papa proud and tells him she wants to join the force too. He doesn't seem too happy about it. She gets excellent grades. He'd much prefer if she studied medicine or went into law. Oona doesn't listen.

> Good grades at the police academy. A lot of the old-timers speak highly of her dad. Oona doesn't feel overshadowed at all. In fact, she's proud to be associated with her dad's name. She becomes a member of the force.

> Later in life, after being moved to London and working as an officer, Oona works her way into detective work. She's focused and sharp and intuitive but her father still seems uncomfortable about her working in the same field as him.

> It becomes clear why when in 2017: just after Oona began her work as a detective, news broke out about a huge anti-corruption operation within Manchester's police force. Her father's name was amongst the list of cops who had been taking bribes in order to turn a blind eye on certain white-collar crimes. This broke Oona's heart.

> In comes Xavier, a man Oona fell head over heels for (a rare occurrence). A man's man but with hidden depths and plenty of mystery; he claimed to work overseeing a trucking business. They married after only a few years of dating and everything seemed right. This couldn't be further from the truth.

> Turns out Xavier was actually a murderer who had already taken the life of two attorneys back in 2010 and who had recently attempted to kill the current solicitor general. Oona figured this out and, when trying to confront the love of her life, she got stabbed on her stomach and hand, causing her to lose half of her right hand's ring finger. Her ex-husband is currently awaiting trial and Oona still bares plenty of scars from that relationship (physical and emotional).

> She is currently drowning herself with work, fearing that if she stops for one moment she might actually fall apart or bite someone's head off due to all the pent up anger and disappointment she has for mankind.

--- EXTRAS

INSPIRED BY: Clarice Starling (Silence of the Lambs), Dorothy Lyon (Fargo S5), Cersei Lannister (Game of Thrones), [...] WANTED DYNAMICS: Under co.

[assassinmidnight]

Their resident Genius

The BAU is called in by Scotland Yard to help with a case, Spencer becomes intrigued when he hears that they have their own resident genius.

_________

Spencer Reid x Holmes!Autistic!Female!reader

_________

Honestly Spencer was unsure why Scotland Yard had called them in, he always knew that their team was one of the best but the fact that Scotland Yard had called them in had surprised the Genius a lot.

--

“Okay team, we’ve been called in by the English. We’re gonna be gone for a bit so pack accordingly. Airstrip in 30,” Hotch called. “Wait, the English? You mean Scotland Yard? Scotland Yard called US in, why?” 

“Really Reid, I thought you’d be the most excited to meet their team. Apparently they have their own resident genius,” The reply from Hotch had Morgan smiling “Resident Genius? Is he smarter than Reid? Man I have to see this,”

--

During the entire flight Spencer had been thinking of the so-called Genius. He didn’t really believe in genius as a word but he had become intrigued. He wondered if Hotch was honest, if he was correctly informed. Spencer had for a long time kept track of Scotland Yard but he’d only heard of Sherlock Holmes being their resident genius, but he was a consultant not an official agent. Did he decide to join them officially?

“Reid stop, I can hear the cogs turning in your head and it’s keeping me from my sleep,” 

“Shut up Morgan,” Morgan looked over “Reid I get it, you’re stressed about meeting new people and maybe even someone who can go against you in brainiac power. But dude chill, it’s gonna be all good, chances are they aren’t even close to your level.” 

Spencer took that into consideration, it’s true most people who are called geniuses aren’t close to his level.”

_

“Okay team we’re gonna meet the people from Scotland Yard. Behave,” Hotch sounded more serious than he looked.

Spencer was surprised when they entered the building, it was nothing like their own. This place was not messy or filled with people stuffing the rooms, it was all quiet and strict as if it was a classroom. “This way to the office,” Hotch pointed towards a room and they all headed there.

“Ah Agent Hotch, thank you for coming,” The man smiled and shook hands with Hotch, “This must be your famous team of profilers,” The man quickly looked at his watch before looking up again. “We should wait with the introductions, one of ours is running late,” Morgan smirked “Your resident genius?” The man looked up surprised before nodding, he looked like he was about to answer but got interrupted by the door swinging open.

“I’m sorry for being late, you know how my brother is,” A woman came in, a bit out of breath. She looked around 21 and had (y/h) colored hair, quite long too.

She seemed to realize the company they had and went beet red, Spencer thought she looked pretty cute. 

She turned back to the man, “So this is the BAU team lestrade? The best profilers,” 

“Wait you’re Greg Lestrade? You worked with Sherlock and Dr. Watson,” The two brits looked over at Reid, the girl cocked her head to the side before smiling. “Dr. Reid I presume. I’ve read a lot about you, three PhDs and working for the FBI at 24, impressive,” now Reid turned red earning a laugh from Morgan. “You did your homework,” The woman looked at Morgan, “Yes I did, I like knowing who come here, Agent Morgan.” 

“Y/n behave. I know you prefer working alone but no need to be rude, you are better than your brothers aren't you?” The girl named Y/n sighed and nodded. “Good, introduce us to the UnSub.”

__

Throughout the entire briefing Spencer had been staring at Y/N, he couldn’t figure out how such a young woman was part of Scotland Yard. He tried to profile her but all he could decipher from her movements, which were many. She fidgeted a lot, tended to stare at the wall and kept her arms crossed over her chest. She was distracted, bored and introverted. That profile didn’t fit someone in this field. 

“Yes Y/N?” Hotch's voice brought Spencer from his thoughts.

“Dr. Reid, why are you staring at me so much? Is it really that hard to profile me?” Her voice was quite gleeful. She was proud, she had an advantage and she knew that. “Mm, yes sorry, I was profiling you but it wasn’t hard. You are clearly bored by this, unfocused throughout the entire briefing and you are closed off. These are not common attributes in Agents, that’s why I was staring,” He felt pretty proud of himself until “You didn’t introduce me Detective?” “No, I thought it best to keep the introductions til we're all here. But it seems like you know them well enough which I expected but you should probably introduce yourself,” Lestrade smiled and Y/N nodded. “My name is Y/N Holmes, little sister of both Mycroft and Sherlock. I am the one who usually works alone in my cave but apparently I was needed for this case. And no Dr. Reid I was not bored or unfocused, quite the opposite actually. I was just in my mind palace,”

“You’re the sister of Sherlock? Wait you’re the resident Genius,” Y/N laughed at Morgan’s reaction. Once again she cocked her head to the side, smiling. “How many PhDs?” She turned to Reid, “None, school bores me. Also resident genius isn’t what I would call myself, creative genius with hypersensitivity. All the Holmes boys got none of the emotion so I got all of it,” Reid nodded. “Well now that we’ve been introduced to the most interesting thing in England, how about we get started.”

__

“You still thinking about Miss smartypants, Pretty boy?” Reid tossed a pillow at Derek, but he did nod. “There is something about her, she wasn’t looking at me but knew that I was watching her. She assumed Lestrade had introduced her to us but was happy when she got to do it herself and she pointed out that she is more creative and sensitive than her brothers who are known sociopaths. I can’t understand her brain, or her profile,” Morgan stared at Reid before laughing “Dude it sound like you have a crush on Miss Holmes, well if she is as smart as they say your kids will definitely be something out of this world,” Morgan kept on laughing even when Spencer turned around on his bed.

__

“Welcome to my cave, don’t touch anything without asking.” Y/N was stern, her look was cold as well Spence nodded. “So um, why am I working here instead of in the field?” he asked, she looked at him annoyed before turning to her screen. “Because your boss thought it would be best to keep the two geniuses in the same room.”

The two kept working, Reid was surprised at all the tea Y/N was drinking and how she compulsively played with her bracelets whenever she was thinking. OCD, that did fit but something still felt off. “Just ask, get it out of the way before you drive me absolutely nuts” she looked at him expectantly. Spencer gulped before asking the question “Why can’t I profile you? I know it’s nothing on my end so it must be something on yours,” She shook her head and smiled, looking back at her screen. Spencer sighed thinking she wasn’t going to answer. 

“I am autistic with traces of OCD and dyslexia, that’s why you can’t profile me. I don’t fit the general profile for autistics. I have a deep emotional understanding but I lack logical intelligence that is usually paired with the diagnosis. My OCD traces are caused by my autism and the compulsive behaviors are mainly caused by anxiety. I suffered deep trauma in my childhood like both my brothers but unlike them I never emotionally distanced myself, this is why you can’t profile me Reid, I don’t fit the general profiles just like you,��He was surprised at her answer but considering what she just said he really shouldn’t have. 

“Wow, that’s- that’s a lot. Wait, you profiled me?” He was genuinely surprised, she laughed at him, breaking her cold act. “No I didn’t, but most intelligent people are the same,” he nodded before laughing with her.

__

“So thanks to the BAU and our own Agents we’ve managed to catch this killer and he will soon be behind bars,” JJ announced on the news. The team were currently at Lestrades house having a drink. Reid kept looking over to Y/N, ever since they’d solved the case she’d been distant towards him, it hurt for some reason. He thought they were getting along, especially after they’d started to talk about Dr. WHO, guess not. 

“Something wrong, Reid?” He turned and saw that the voice belonged to Lestrade, he nodded. “In my experience with the Holmes siblings, they rarely act like this unless it’s something that will actually impact them. You should talk to her, as much as she detests it she is like her brothers and when angry instead of being consumed by emotions like them she turns them off and goes all logical. Easy to have a conversation with if you watch your words,” When Spencer didn’t move Lestrade pushed him slightly making him go over to Y/N.

“Why are you ignoring me?” She turned to him, cup of tea in her hand, she sighed then gave him a strained smile. “Reid, go back to your team,” “Not until you tell me why you’ve been ignoring me?” She gave him a cold look before sighing again. “I have been ignoring you because I like you, Reid. You are going back to America so I am simply distancing myself to get used to not having you around any more. It’s all logical,” 

“You like me?” he was genuinely surprised, he found Y/N cute and even had a bit of a crush on her, something he’d never admit to Morgan but he never thought she liked him back.

“Of course I like you. You are smart and cute and have these small quirks about you. You are funny and a geek and get almost every single of my pop culture references,” Reid just looked at her with fond eyes, she liked him back and was now rambling on about why. It was cute, really cute. He pressed his lips against hers, successfully muffling her rambles. She seemed surprised at first but soon reprocrated the kiss.

“WHO IS THAT GUY KISSING MY BABY SISTER!” The two geniuses broke apart, red and turned to the voice. Seems like Sherlock Holmes had invited himself in and based on the look in his eyes said one thing, the high functioning sociopath was not happy with Reid kissing his sister.

[13eyond13]

Hello I just excited saw your tags on an L post about what you think his enneagram type is !!! Can you go deeper into what u see his type as and why?? :)

Hi hi! I got into the Enneagram a couple years back for funsies, and I think L is probably a Type 5 with a 6 wing, which I guess is called either "The Troubleshooter" or "The Investigator" (lol, fitting).

The Type 5s tend to be quite logical and independent and intelligent, very focused on gathering information and sussing out meanings and analyzing and interpreting data. The Type 6 tends to be skeptical and private and cautious and focused, which I think would be his most likely secondary type (rather than the Type 4, which is a bit more of an artsy and emotional and sensitive type).

Here is what the write-up for the 5w6 says:

People with an enneagram type 5 wing 6 personality usually identify the most with the type 5, but also share traits with the 6 type. They tend to be practical, independent, and logical in their behavior. They are much more cooperative than other 5 types and have a passion for using their knowledge to solve real-world problems.

Basic Fear

Five wing sixes fear being useless or incapable. They seek to improve the world around them in order to feel worthy.

Basic Desire

Their basic desire is to be competent and useful. They usually show this by picking up new skills and pieces of knowledge that can be of benefit.

Troubleshooters may withdraw from others to cope with stressful situations, which can tend to make them feel lonely.

In summary, Enneagram 5w6 personalities tend to...

Be hard-working and analytical problem-solvers

Withdraw from others when stressed

Prefer to spend time thinking alone

Fear being incapable or incompetent

Make practical and logical decisions

Enneagram 5w6 Strengths

Being focused and well-organized

Passion for learning and growing

Solving difficult or complex problems

Remaining calm in times of crisis

Enneagram 5w6 Weaknesses

Struggling to relate to and understand others

Tendency to be private and defensive

Being perceived as cold or aloof

Difficulty taking action when uninspired

How Enneagram 5w6 personalities like to work

Communicating with an Enneagram 5w6

Avoid emotional expressions and allow five wing sixes space to think and process.

Meeting with an Enneagram 5w6

Keep meetings short and sweet; focus on clearly addressing the purpose.

Emailing an Enneagram 5w6

Be direct when emailing, allowing five wing sixes to share insightful and new ideas.

Giving feedback to an Enneagram 5w6

Offer constructive criticism and honest feedback; give specific areas for improvement.

Resolving conflict with an Enneagram 5w6

Focus on logically expressing your perspective; work toward a mutual understanding, allowing them time to think privately, if needed.

Enneagram 5w6 Motivations

Enneagram 5w6s tend to be motivated and energized by...

Solving or preventing problems

Spending time alone to gather their thoughts

Feeling like they’re contributing to society

Pursuing knowledge in the specific area that sparks their personal interest

Enneagram 5w6 Stress

Enneagram 5w6s tend to be stressed and drained by...

Spending too much time around others

Needing to be emotionally vulnerable

Feeling unwanted or rejected by others

Self-doubt and insecurity

--

I think it all sounds a lot like him. The introversion and fierce independence, the problem-solving skills and preoccupation with privacy when socializing, withdrawn when moody and listless when uninspired, etc. The list of strengths and motivations reminds me a lot of him when he is successfully honing in on Kira during the beginning of the story, and the stresses and weaknesses remind me a lot of L when he is struggling more during the Yotsuba Arc.

[cocoartistwrites]

what is the mbti type do you think hermione and draco and tom riddle have? just asking 'cause i think your way to see this characters is great

omg thank you! what a great question.

Tom is what happens when an ENFJ/Protagonist can't love :))). He has such big main character energy he lit rally made himself the villain. Hates being alone so much he had to create a literal cult. Weirdly fond and mentoring of young Dark Wizards. All the people skills, none of the caring. You might think he's commander type (ENTJ) but he has no sense of strategy so,,,

An ENFJ who has not found their place in the world is likely to be extremely sensitive to criticism, and to have the tendency to worry excessively and feel guilty. They are also likely to be very manipulative and controling with others.

Hermione: ENFP/Campaigner. This will surprise people who read the books and didn't notice that Hermione is quite outgoing & incredible emotionally intelligent! She gets cast as introverted a lot just bc she likes reading and is logical. Her E is quite borderline. So is her F. BUT Hermione's decision-making is, I think, clearly not based on logic. You don't go on the run with Harry Potter if you make your life decisions based on logic lol. She's organised for an ENFP she's a Virgo. You know who else is a Virgo ENFP? Me. Sir, that's my emotional comfort literary avatar.

Make connections between events and information very quickly, and confidently proceed based on the patterns they see. Want a lot of affirmation from others, and readily give appreciation and support.

Draco: this is the hardest because we only really see him framed through Harrycam, so at his worst, bUT. ENTP/Debater. He's super attention-seeking, but he's also obviously very clever (the Vanishing Cabinet idea impressed even LV and Dumbledore not to mention that he's good enough at charms that he actually fixed it!! Impressive!!). He's a very talented bully, which means he is very good at reading people and working out what motivates them, what they fear, etc, which has always seemed like empathy but twisted to me. He's quite witty. He's a bit of a coward. He's quite analytical.

Quick, ingenious, stimulating, alert, and outspoken. Resourceful in solving new and challenging problems. Adept at generating conceptual possibilities and then analyzing them strategically. Good at reading other people. Bored by routine, will seldom do the same thing the same way, apt to turn to one new interest after another.

They’re all extroverts sorry Introvert!tumblr but they are 

[daughterofzagreus]

The Astrological Signs of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" characters

Part 1 - Team Avatar

♎ Aang - Libra

Libra is an air sign and Aang is an airbender. More than that, though, Libra (represented by the scales) is the sign of harmony and balance. As the Avatar, restoring and maintaining balance is Aang's primary duty. Aside from all that symbolism though, Aang's personality is a lot like a Libra.

Libra is the opposite compliment to Aries, a war sign. Libra don't really like discord (at least, they don't like to be IN the discord and chaos). They're lovers, not fighters, so they tend to be peacekeepers. This is Aang to a T. Aang is not only one of the youngest characters in the show (and therefore, the most likely to be uncomfortable with violence), but he is also a monk, raised by other peaceful monks.

He values peace and all life. Even his fighting styles are evasive and are more about using an opponent's strength against them, rather than attacking. It's something that is brought up in the Book 2 episode "Bitter Work", when Aang has trouble learning earthbending from Toph. Libras (depending on the rest of their chart, of course) often tend to respond to conflict in a similar manner, by being avoidant.

You see the pacifist in Aang anytime he needs to mediate a conflict. Examples include "The Great Divide" in Book 1, where Aang has to mediate between the two tribes (as well as Sokka and Katara). He does so by telling them that "Harsh words won't solve anything. Action will". Of course, when that doesn't work, he just lies and makes up the alternative story of WeiJin and JinWei. I don't think Aang is a big fan of lies, but it was for the sake of peace, a means to an end. Very Libra.

Another thing that makes Aang a Libra is the fact that 1) Libra is ruled by Venus and 2) Libra rules the 7th house, which is essentially relationships. Aang's relationships (platonic and romantic) mean EVERYTHING to him, and there's a reason why putting one of his loved ones in danger is initially the only way to activate the Avatar state. He's a very friendly, charming and loving kid (like most Libras) and he's the first one from team Avatar who believes they can make it through the secret tunnel, because of how strongly he believes in his love for Katara. The final point is Aang's reluctance (or sometimes downright refusal) to cause harm to others unless absolutely necessary. While others use violence, Aang is more likely to want to befriend his enemies, and that's actually a good thing. It's Libra's superpower.

♋ Katara - Cancer

Cancer is a water sign that is ruled by the moon, and Katara is a (very powerful) waterbender who draws her powers from the moon. In astrology, water signs are known for being on the emotional side. And with Cancer's ruling planet being the moon (the planet of emotions and also the celestial body that pushes and pulls the tides), Cancers are known to be so emotional, that they're often just archetyped by it. Katara is similarly emotional (see the Book 3 episode "Ember Island Players"). However, Katara being so in touch with her emotions also makes her extremely emotionally intelligent. Like Cancers and most other water signs, her heightened sensitivity allows her to almost psychically sense how others are feeling, and to know how exactly to respond to and comfort them. There's a reason why Katara has such great chemistry (when it comes to her one-on-one conversations) with so many people (Aang, Haru, Jet, Zuko, Toph). Her emotional intelligence also makes her very mature for her age and allow her to see things clearer than others, or to foresee things that others don't.

Cancers are often either family oriented, or they love and value their home (this can either be their childhood home, current home, or the city, country or culture that they came from). This applies with Katara. As a waterbender, being from the water tribes is a big part of who she is, and she has a deep love for her culture. We see how being the only waterbender in the South Pole and having no one to show her the ways of waterbending saddens her, and how happy she is to hear that Hama is willing to teach her (the only other waterbender from the Southern water tribes that Katara has ever met).

With regards to Katara being mature for her age, she's also very motherly. The Book 3 episode "The Runaway" (as well as most of her interactions with Toph) demonstrates this. The moon (which rules Cancer) is The Mother in astrology, and so most Cancers have a significant relationship with motherhood. Katara was very close to her late mother and her death still affects her.

Following the death of her mother, Katara has basically had to become everyone else's mother and hold things together. You see this as well (in a more positive light) in the Book 2 episode "The Desert". In this episode, Appa is missing, Aang is too upset to think or act clearly, Toph can't see properly because of the sand and Sokka is high off cactus juice. Katara is the one that is keeping everything together in this episode.

On the downside, Katara's mothering can turn to nagging sometimes, but I don't blame her. She's a child that's had to grow up way too fast. She has a lot of pressure on her. With water, that pressure can build up, until it bursts like a dam wall (which it's likely to do). It's the combination of this, as well as Katara's strong and fearless sense of right and wrong that lead to those cataclysmic outbursts that both Katara and water signs are sometimes known for.

♋♐Sokka - Cancer sun, but with a lot of Sagittarius aspects in the birth chart

Okay, let's start with the Sagittarius side of things. There are a lot of elements of the Sag personality in Sokka. For one thing, luck. Not only does he manage to survive (and thrive) in the entire series WITHOUT any bending powers, but that boomerang ALWAYS comes back! That's some Jupiter-luck energy if I've ever seen it.

Sokka was originally going to be a more serious character, but the voice actor decided to improvise and add some of his own humor to the role, which created the Sokka that we know and love now. I mention this because the voice actor (Jack De Sena) is a Sagittarius. Sokka has the kind of personality that provides humor in difficult times and can lighten up the sometimes very heavy atmosphere in the group. He doesn't just make people laugh, he likes to laugh as well (at his own jokes and even at his enemy's jokes). In the book 3 episode "The Ember Island Players", heeven goes to the effort of getting Suki to sneak him backstage, so he could give the actor playing himself some tips and extra jokes (and low and behold, the crowd actually laughs at them). In his words, he's "just a guy who loves comedy". In fact, I think he's one of the only ones there who just decides to kick his feet up and enjoy the show (by basically turning the situation into a date night for him and Suki). Sagittarians love to laugh and make people laugh. They're optimists who like to have a good time, and are likely to be the make-lemonade-out-of-lemons type.

He's also one of the smartest and most competent characters on the show. He has excellent problem solving skills, and isn't afraid to look at things through a different angle and try new things to expand his worldview and knowledge. This is relevant, as Sag rules the 9th house which includes, amoung other things, higher learning, truth and knowledge. He can be a bit tactless and insensitive...a little slick at the mouth, but it's largely ignored by others, as he is likeable and funny enough for others to let it go. That's quite a Sag trait.

The Cancerian part of Sokka's personality is less pronounced, but it's there. He's VERY protective of his loved ones, even before the situation with Princess Yue. He is family oriented in that he admires his dad and the traditions and customs of the water tribes. He loves and is just as proud of his culture and home life as Katara is, but just in a different way. He also always looks out for the other members of team Avatar. He can tell when a member of the team needs support and immediately jumps to action (for example, the way he immediately grabs Toph's hand to guide her in "The Serpent's Pass", in "The Desert" and on the air ships during the final battle in the series finale). He's also very loving and protective of his sister, despite how often they fight. Also, quiet as it's kept, Cancers are one of the funniest signs in the zodiac.

♉♈Toph - Taurus sun, but with a lot of Aries aspects in the birth chart

Let's start with the Taurus aspects. Taurus is not just an earth sign, it's FIXED earth. It embodies the firm stance and hardheadness of not just Toph, but earthbenders in general. Tauruses are very stubborn and like to do things their own way at their own pace. Combine that with the independence and confrontational nature of an Aries, and you've got Toph.

Aries value their independence, sometimes to the point of being selfish, which is what we get with Toph in the Book 2 episode "The Chase". In this episode, it's Toph's first time riding with the group, but it's also her first taste of freedom. Like an Aries, she hates the idea of seeming weak or helpless, and has to learn that freedom doesn't mean that she has to do everything alone.

As Toph shows us, there is, however, power and strength in valuing independence, so long as you're not insecure about independence or projecting. Toph is a wealthy, sheltered child who is blind, which, in most cases, would make her vulnerable. But it's not the case. Toph ran away once before when she was little, and that's where she learned earthbending from the giant blind moles. She learned earthbending not just as a martial art, but as an extension of herself and her senses, and as a way to see. She would have never been able to master doing that (nor would shehave gone on to do even greater things like train the avatar and discover metal bending), if she didn't have the will, bravery and self assurance to run away in the first place. That little pilgrimage (her life changing adventure, if you will...but still not with Zuko, I'm afraid😔) showed the value of independence. Of going out on your own journey of self-discovery. Much like how Zuko needed to be be alone for a while during Book 2 for his own journey of self-discovery.

Oh, speaking of "Zuko Alone"...

♈Zuko - Aries

Zuko's arc in the show shows us the transition from a dark-sided, low vibrational Aries, to a high-vibrational Aries at it's best: passionate, brave, protective, strong, innovative, a good leader, driven, energetic and independent. Zuko embodies many Aries (and general fire sign) traits, both good and bad. He can be impulsive, and doesn't always think things all the way through. Aries is cardinal fire, so it's about getting up and going, just DOING something. Zuko is known for never giving up. These are things that that Iroh, Sokka and Ursa have mentioned. Zuko is an impatient person and is very fiery, hot headed and reactionary even for a firebender.

His reactionary nature makes him prone to a bit of melodrama (and I imagine that's why it's so fun for Azula or even Iroh to get a rise out of him). This is definitely the case with Aries. They're not the only sign with a temper, but they are the most likey to cause a scene and storm off in a huff about it. Or challenge you to a fight. Zuko can't refuse a fight for the life of him. At least not until he evolves and figures out his ✨true destiny✨.

One the other hand, he also keeps that same fiery energy when it comes to defending those who can't defend themselves and fighting for what he believes is right. In these cases, he refuses to back down. Even if his chances of winning are low, he'll still keep pushing forward. That's the will, energy and drive of cardinal fire. Zuko just needs to chanel all that power into something useful and constructive, like creating change for the greater good, and not distraction. Like with fire in general, Aries (and Zuko) is useful and powerful, but requires direction, guidance and purpose, so as to not risk letting the fire run wild to cause destruction and devastation.

[namimashi]

𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐉𝐢𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐧'𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬:

In general, he's a dreamy and idealistic person, although a little susceptible in many cases. He has a huge and pure heart, very sensitive and intuitive when it comes to the people he considers important. It's in his natural instinct to want to help and lead in things that he's passionate about. Jihoon is a person who moves forward in life with optimism and sensitivity, he's naturally charismatic and loved by others.

To this is added his great will and rigor to achieve what he wants. Jihoon loves challenges, in fact he moves thanks to them, so as soon as he has a goal in sight he doesn't stop until he achieves it. Fearless and brave. He knows how to lead correctly, precisely because it's something he enjoys. He often motivates others without even trying with his great energy and enthusiasm for things.

The mix of his intuition, pure heart and sensitivity for his surroundings and important people, together with his leadership skills and rigor is what makes him a wonderful leader who usually takes the role of motivating others to fight for their goals with great effort. He knows very well thanks to his intuition when someone breaks down or gives up. He will never want to see someone fall in front of his eyes.

On a more general level, he can sometimes be impulsive, impatient, and very energetic. He needs to be constantly entertained, he can't keep himself wanting for long. He's very passionate and something very trivial and boring can easily bore him. Also quite spontaneous if he wants it.

He has a very imaginative and creative mind, many times he tends to be guided a lot by his intuition when it comes to understanding the world. Thanks to this mystical tendency in his mind, his aptitude for music and art in general is awesome. He can easily be inspired. The negative quality is that sometimes his mind can be a little "cluttered" and so there are times when it's difficult for him to express some of his ideas clearly.

When it comes to interacting with others, he's playful and very intuitive. Although thanks to his impulsive and fiery nature, he can sometimes have a hard time connecting with people. He's the type of person who can be susceptible with others but also forget a bit about other people's susceptibility sometimes. In general he's a charming and charismatic person when he interacts, others end up falling for him.

It's quite common to see him one day connecting very well with his surroundings and being sensitive, but the next day being a bit volatile and somewhat insensitive (pisces-aries quality).

Note: since we don't know his birth time and therefore neither his moon sign, it's not possible to know what his emotional world is like :(

𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐡:

Jihoon isn't someone who's too complex to read, in fact he can be quite simple. It's not difficult to deal with him precisely because of that.

He's a (very) sociable person who knows well how to use his words to convince, although sometimes he can fail a little to express himself about his ideas, in general he knows well how to speak with others and in front of others.

He's very kind and knows how to treat people, he gives off a lot of charisma and charm, in fact his manners and his way of expressing himself is what makes him attractive in front of others. In addition, he has excellent diplomatic skills, many times he uses that to solve problems and disagreements between people (another reason why he's an excellent leader).

Although sometimes he can be a bit naive because he purely and honestly trusts people that even his trust can be blind. Sometimes he's too idealistic and optimistic for his own good.

He's also intelligent and has the ability to learn easily. There are moments when he sees himself rationalizing and looking for an explanation of what he feels despite knowing the beauty of just feeling.

Open-minded, values a wide and varied knowledge about different fields. He has the ability to plan ahead and be objective, his decisions are almost always (or always) well thought out.

Jihoon is generally confident in himself and tries not to think about things that make him feel insecure, however there are times when he tends to slip into a negative pattern of emotions. He many times can seek approval from others regarding his behavior and at the same time underestimate his own abilities. Sometimes his own insecurity about himself consumes him.

He's a bit afraid of the unknown and can even become mentally and emotionally isolated at times.

Maybe his father could be a little absent or he felt it that way.

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬:

Jihoon is the type of person who seeks to mentally connect in a relationship and at the same time be able to enjoy the beauty of love. He's a romantic, sensitive and idealistic person who has a very special and mystic vision of love. He tends to look for someone to just connect with.

It's very likely that he has attracted partners with a strong intellect or who use reason and logic very well. In fact, it's something that he values very much in a partner, intelligence is attractive to him.

In a way, he's magnetic when it comes to love. He tends to seek a strong and unbreakable bond, from the most unconscious plane though.

It's possible that he has certainly attracted somewhat enigmatic and sociable partners who value knowledge as well.

Still, on a general level, it's likely that Jihoon hasn't had too many romantic experiences throughout his life.

[shrimpanalysis]

SIMON LAURENT ANALYSIS

Simon is mostly known infamously as the Villain of this season and a murderer to boot. He seems to be very insistent about his own opinions and beliefs. Going so far as to outright deny other peoples attempts at correcting him.

Due to this he is seen as narrowed-minded and egotistical, outwardly hating being wrong and giving people this intellectual leverage over him but internally rethinking all of his views. His inferiority complex I mean pride- is what I think to be one of the major factors that causes his character regression.

His pride (No, not the group of lions) is shown throughout the season by holding his ground. Most people interpret it as him being close minded at adamant to his own beliefs but I feel like the beliefs are only the basis to his inferiority.

An example, his own hatred towards Nulls. This can be quite a weak link to bring up as everyone in the Apex has this belief. However, the way he continuously reacts to them despite them showing humanity to him as compared to Grace who has gradually seen the other side of them and starts to understand and develop meaningful relationships with them-

Simon reacts negatively the nicer the nulls are to him.(Tuba’s death)

I interpret this as his own damaged pride, he hates being wrong and the more he is proven wrong the more angry he would get. This fear of being wrong could stem from past experiences of being the butt of arguments and made a fool out of it.

Him experiencing these feelings brings himself to adopt this mentality that other people are perceiving him as an idiot or a fool, causing him to try to justify his beliefs as much as he can in order to victimize himself into thinking that everyone is against him and he is the only one that is right to boost his self-esteem which causes him to adopt this narcissistic and manipulative persona to hide his own weaknesses.

(Simon looks away from Grace displaying emotion, he would be more susceptible to mirroring the reactions of his closest friend and he does not want to show weakness.)

Due to his narcissism, he also displays what the viewers might perceive to be a lack of empathy. He does not display much compassion and can be outright apathetic to other people's circumstances, Such as his dismissal to Hazel bringing along Tuba despite her looking clearly distressed when they said she couldn't bring her and completely ignores her feelings about the subject.

He perhaps reacts this way due to his own internalized hatred of himself and displaying compassion would be showing a less hardened in his eyes as he is perhaps taught from a young age that being sensitive or vulnerable is showing weakness and he does not want people to think less of him.

Him being unempathetic also stems from his ego and beliefs as he usually displays this attribute towards Nulls specifically throughout the show which is because if he was indeed wrong about Nulls, it could cause him to start questioning his own feelings about them which is something he does not want to think about as it conflicts with his own victim complex.

Due to him not wanting to be more exposed emotionally, he lashes out in anger. Anger at himself that he projects onto his relationships with others as he is unable to understand and handle his emotions effectively, this can be caused by not having a stable guardian like figure to help him through such issues.

Simon is also shown to outwardly control his anger by kicking and punching objects.

This is shown to be counter productive as it does not allow the person to understand where their anger is coming from and only prides a temporary outlet for his aggression.

His aggressive personality can also be shown in his interest with making war replicas/models.

This can be taken as him being someone who likes being in control and feels like conflict is the only way to progress which can be found in his own toxic relationship with grace where he tries to control her, not knowing that she is her own person which ties into his lack of empathy. This trait is especially shown almost at the end of the series where he commands the Apex like a leader and donning a military general like coat.

His inability to cope with his own emotions and expressing them outwardly to others is the main reason for his attachment issues.

His own paranoia and lack of trust in Grace by invading her memories when she doesn't tell him that Hazel is a Null which shows us how Grace knows his aggressiveness and acts very secretive around him as she predicts he is going to blow up when he finds out.

Him finding this out himself causes even more hurt as he is hit with the realization the only person that he thinks that ever cares about him has betrayed him. He is alone now, a reminder of the time when Samantha left him behind.

And it angers him and forces him to project his sadness as vengeance against others such as manipulating grace and using her memories against her, causing her to be stuck in her own memories as Simon just walks away.

Put yourself in Simon's shoes, you are stuck in an unfamiliar environment,

no idea where to go and the only parental figure you trusted in this whole place was just using you for her own self interest and

your closest friend seems to be tip toeing around you.

You also feel like everyone is out to get you and that your flawed beliefs are wrong but it was the basis of keeping you sane throughout.

Not wanting to believe that any of these things happened to you, you disregard all emotion and lash out at others because you don't want to feel that any of these things are real.

It sounds like a fever dream doesn't it?

Congratulations, you are basically in denial.

I would say the beauty of Simon's portrayal in season three would definitely be the lack of context behind his actions. He is very easy to dismiss as a one sided evil character. (I don't deny it, he is one.) Due to this we don't really see him as a fleshed out individual and he feels like the Tom Riddle of the season.(slowly devolving into a villain.) His own deterioration into this ultimate descent to becoming a murderer and attempting to murder his childhood friend; the instances to solidify his own inferiority complex (the mentality of "Grace already perceives me as an evil character, what use is there to better myself when it's already too late?") Which is what I think to be the cause of his inevitable demise.

I doubt it is going to happen but I do wish that the next book will cover some parts of Simon's past. He isn't a redeemable character, and never has been. He is someone molded by his own upbringing that we do not see, the most integral parts of his development. Many people have made the comparison that Simon had just as many chances as Grace, if not more to redeem himself.

I feel like he does not need chances, he needs to build himself from the ground up and truly look deep into himself and figure out why is he acting this way. None of these chances provide him with that opportunity and this is where him and Grace deviate.

The train has improved Grace and supported much of her character development as shown in the series where he becomes more empathetic, more trusting and open to others such as Hazel and confronting her own demons in her own mind.

She also finally manages to stick up for herself after the emotional roller coaster Simon put her through.

Simon on the other hand, uses this opportunity on the train to cause much destruction and chaos. He has a disconnect with the plane of reality inside the train as opposed to real life and this stunts his development. In my opinion this would be due to the faults of the train and the limitations of the amount of people that it can help. Yes, some people get off the train and become better. People like Tulip, Jessie and Lake. But we don't really see the people that the system has failed. This is where Simon comes in, he is the very person that the train has failed and it shows how counter intuitive it is with the limited opportunities and the disregard for the different circumstances of the people in it, bundling them together.

I doubt Simon will be the first, or the last passenger to be ruined by the whole system. I do like how his character gives us an insight into something not many of us have thought of before that is; how can a train be designed to be so perfect that it can help every single person on board? It is impossible. Even Artificial Super Intelligence like One-One would have trouble doing so. Which can represent how people can only change if they want to, and if they genuinely don't they have to be stuck the feedback loop of hell.

_____________________________________________________________

Big thanks to my homeboy @useful-crew-too​ for supplying all of the screenshots for this analysis

[autolenaphilia]

Part 2: Universal’s Frankenstein series (1931-1942)

Frankenstein (1931)

Like Dracula this film has some justly well-remembered and iconic imagery. Jack Pierce’s make-up job for the monster is very well-done and the scene of Frankenstein bringing his creation to life is exciting and memorable. James Whale’s direction brings life to the procedings Just in how it looks, this is a well-made and enjoyable film.

The problem is that it is adapted from a book that is anything but a dumb monster book but an intelligent and well-written novel with some philosophical depth to it. And almost none of that makes it into the film. It is not that the monster played by Boris Karloff is unsympathetic. Yet the reason for our sympathy is so different from that of the novel. Karloff’s monster is sympathetic because he is mistreated and while he is superstrong and kills people, he seems to have the mind of a small child. The scene where the monster plays with a little girl is probably the film’s highlight, foreshadowing the greater exploration the film will get in its sequel.

The novel’s monster is sympathetic because it has the mind of a highly intelligent and emotionally sensitive romantic man, yet was born into an unnatural existence rejected by all of humanity including his creator. It is a philosophical angst that anticipates the existentialists. And none of that is in the 1931 film.

In fact, the movie outright contradicts the novel’s themes by appropriating the eugenical ideology of the early 30s by talking about “normal” brains and “abnormal, criminal” brains. And the film implies the monster’s violence is due to having been given a criminal brain. This directly contradicts the novel, where the monster is not born evil but is made so by his ill-treatment. It also ruins any message of “meddling in god’s domain” the film is going for (which is outright stated in Edward Van Sloan’s introduction). The implication is that things only went wrong because of the mistake made by Fritz the assistant that gave the creature a criminal brain.

All of this doesn’t jump rob the monster of complexity, it also robs the Frankenstein character of any tragedy he had in Shelley’s novel. His missteps are far less serious and he seems completely redeemed in the end. Colin Clive doesn’t really have much to work with.

Ultimately this movie is a reflection of its monster. Well-made and its appearance are iconic, but ultimately a shambling and unintelligent mess.

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

This film is a massive improvement on the original, in every way.  This film takes the Universal Frankenstein movies a large step closer to the thematic wealth of its source material. It isn’t as clever as the book, or very faithful to it, but it is far more so than the original film. And it makes a far more convincing argument for being considered as a good film solely on its own merits.

It even feels faithful to the original film, taking off where it ended, with the same director James Whale and with Boris Karloff and Colin Clive reprising their roles as the monster and his creator respectively. It feels like a natural follow-up, yet it goes beyond the original into more interesting territory.

This film explores the monster’s condition deeper than the original did. Here the monster’s loneliness and tragic existence is a central theme. He does commit acts of violence, but the focus is on how humanity persecutes him. There is even a scene where he is tied to a pole and a shot clearly invokes Christ on the cross.

He isn’t the eloquent philosopher of the novel, but he does learn to speak in a limited way from a kindly old blind man. The scenes of the monster meeting the blind man and making friends with him is probably the highlight of the film, and are quite touching. The monster experiences for a short while happiness and companionship. It is however ruined when people searching for the monster break into the monster and the blind hermit’s idyll, and quite literally destroys it by burning down their cottage.

This leads the monster into the hands of the villain Dr Pretorius. Pretorius is Frankenstein’s mentor and wants to convince Frankenstein to resume his experiments, and decides to use the monster as leverage.

Pretorius is a great villain, played with great energy and charisma by Ernest Thesiger. He drives the plot, which goes in strange directions. In a very entertaining and well-made (the special effects are still impressive) but utterly bizarre scene, Pretorius shows off tiny people who he has created and who live in jars.

There is a camp quality to the film, which doesn’t preclude it from exploring deeper themes. This camp quality has given impetus to a number of queer readings of “Bride of Frankenstein”. Director James Whale was more or less openly gay, and there is some evidence of Colin Clive and Ernest Thesiger were bi or gay too. Pretorius is perhaps queercoded, with his effeminate and theatrical mannerisms, and his influence on Frankenstein can be read as homoerotic. The relationship between the monster and the blind hermit has been read as a queer marriage, and the monster’s persecution as an analogy for homophobia.

Pretorius’s goals is to work with Frankenstein to create a female monster, and the monster like in the novel wants this to happen so that he can have a companion.

Unlike in the novel however, the female monster is actually brought to life. She is the “bride of Frankenstein” of the title, and dubbed so by Pretorius.

Yet she has her own mind and rejects the very idea of becoming the monster’s bride. In other words, A female monster rejecting her male creator’s expectations that she’ll become the wife of her male counterpart. The feminist and queer interpretation is obvious: it is a rejection of the heteronormative standards pushed on women by men.

It is a fascinating film that is open to various interesting thematic interpretations. It is also a very well-made film that is very fun to watch.

It even improves on the aesthetic merits of the original film. Jack Pierce’s monster make-up is just as good in this film, and it even subtly changes through the film, because the monster gets injures and slowly heals. The monster coming alive in the first film was very impressive, yet the scene of Frankenstein and Pretorius bringing the bride to life outdoes it in every sense. And The bride herself is another iconic creation.

This is among the very best of Universal’s horror films.

Son of Frankenstein (1939)

This is not as good as Bride of Frankenstein, but is still an extremely well-made film and very enjoyable.

The film with begins with the title character Wolf Von Frankenstein returning to the castle of his ancestors. There he meets Ygor, his father’s old assistant. Ygor was hanged for his graverobbing, but miraculously survived. Ygor has found the monster, who is alive but in bad shape. And he convinces Frankenstein to revive the monster in the hope that it might restore his father’s reputation. Yet Ygor intends to use the monster to get revenge on the men who hanged him. And Wolf is under suspicion from the stalwart Inspector Krogh, who suspects Wolf of committing the same mistakes as his father.

What makes this plot work is foremost the quality of the acting. The film benefits from three highly skilled actors in the lead roles. Basil Rathbone plays the title role, Ygor is played by Bela Lugosi (probably my favourite Lugosi role) and Lionel Atwill plays Krogh, Frankenstein’s heroic antagonist.

The plot is thematically not that interesting, but the three main characters all have clear motivations that bring them in conflict with each other as the film develops. The script by Wyllis Cooper (otherwise most well known for his pioneering radio work) is at least strong on character writing and dialogue, and the three actors make the most of it in their performances. It is just plain fun to see these characters face off with each other thanks to the acting.

It is also fun to see Karloff as the monster again, even if he is out of focus here. He only really gets one scene where he gets to properly act, the scene where the revived monster confronts Frankenstein for the first time. It’s a fine bit of silent acting for what it is.

This film had quite a high budget for a horror film, and it shows in the quality of execution. The story gets more room to breathe thanks to a longer runtime than most horror films of the era, with almost 100 minutes. The set design in these movies is generally excellent, but here it is especially spectacular.

This film is a bit of a step-down from “Bride of Frankenstein”, as it doesn’t have that film’s thematic depth. Yet it is still an enjoyable and extremely well-made film in its own right.

The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)

The title character, I’m not kidding

The Frankenstein series had been extremely lucky with its sequels to this point, with both of them actually surpassing the first film in quality. And while “Bride” is better than “Son”, both are well-made films that found new things to do with the series.

The Ghost of Frankenstein however is exactly what you expect a horror movie sequel to be.

The story borders on absolute nonsense. Ygor has somehow survived being shot multiple times by Wolf von Frankenstein, and the monster has also survived being dropped into sulphur. The film then outright repeats the previous film in that Ygor contacts yet another son of Frankenstein in order to do further work on the monster.  The new Frankenstein son is Ludwig, who is apparently the brother of Wolf from the previous film, and he dutifully repeats his brother’s character arc of repeating his father’s mistakes under the influence of Ygor. There is even a sympathetic yet suspicious policeman to investigate Ludwig, just as Krogh did in “Son Of Frankenstein”.

It is certainly fun to see Bela Lugosi reprise his role as Ygor and a good actor like Cedric Hardwicke play Ludwig Frankenstein, yet the repetition of plot points from the previous movie is obvious.

There is a new idea however: brain transplants. This means a return to the nonsense from the first film about the monster being bad because he has a “criminal brain”. Ygor’s plan in this movie is to have his brain removed from his weakened body and placed into the strong body of the monster

As you can tell from this plot summary, “The Ghost of Frankenstein” is pure b-movie camp. There is even a literal ghost of (father) Frankenstein in one scene, seemingly only to justify the title (“The Other Son of Frankenstein” would have been more accurate).

It is well-acted certainly, with a wealth of charismatic and talented actors. Cedric Hardwicke as Ludwig, Bela Lugosi reprising his Ygor, Evelyn Ankers as Ludwig’s daughter Elsa and Lionel Atwill as Ludwig’s easily manipulated sidekick Dr Bohmer. Lon Chaney Jr does a decent Karloff impression as the monster. They are all fun to watch, doing well with what they have been given. Yet unlike with Son of Frankenstein the script does not give the characters enough depth and conflict to make the acting really soar like it did in the previous film.

It is certainly enjoyable, don’t get me wrong. If you want to see a fun horror movie “The Ghost of Frankenstein” certainly will fulfil your desire.  But it is a disappointment coming after such good films like “Bride of Frankenstein” and “Son of Frankenstein”.

[autumnblogs]

Day 32: Through the Looking Glass

https://homestuck.com/story/4116

So right out of the gate, we learn a few things about the Scratched version of the universe, aside from the obvious fact that the new heroes are the previous guardians. Everyone is a little more mature, and identities are a little more fully-formed.

Jane’s name is already set in stone. Notably, the definition between the audience and Jane is also a little clearer here than usual - the Narration implies a distinction between us and Jane. Could be because we’re not controlling her yet - but as we get into Act 6, we will find a lot of cases where audience participation happens as part of the mechanic of narration, and this distinction will be called to a lot more.

More after the break.

https://homestuck.com/story/4117

So let’s unpack Jane’s interests and relation to pre-established parts of the Homestuck Universe, and see if we can’t start making guesses about Jane.

First thing’s first is that while we could read Jane’s affinity for these mustachio’d funnymen as being purely an attraction, she roleplays like John does - as a bit of a prankstress herself, and one who dons a fake mustache for one of her disguises, Jane roleplays as these men immediately suggesting to us that she looks up to them, and wants to be like them, rather than that she’s attracted to them.

(Though she certainly could be.)

Second thing is that Jane’s position as the Heirress parallels her not to John, but to Feferi. Like Feferi, Jane is a sweet girl who is the heir to a position of abominable power, and because she is beholden to the shape of that power, as long as she remains wedded to that shape, she will not only struggle to do anything productive with it, but in the course of the story, be subverted into a villain, at least for a little while, and it’s clear from the way that Crockertier Jane’s situation is communicated to us that she is an accomplice to her own brainwashing, and that the actions she takes in that form are meaningfully hers.

On another note, I think it’s interesting that on this side of the scratch, the Condesce has reimagined her empire as a megacorporation.

https://homestuck.com/story/4120

What do we learn about Jake right out of the gate? He likes movies - adventure movies. Jake, like Tavros, the other page, loves to bluster about subjects that he actually has relatively little affinity for - and in both cases, their lack of affinity can largely be described as performing their culture’s ideal of public personhood - warrior virtue. While Jake has all of the outward signifiers of masculinity, and is actually a pretty brave and technically skillful fighter by the standards of the real world, up until the Hopesplosion, he is outclassed by a lot of his friends, and ultimately, the cases where he most embodies warrior-manhood, Jake is being forced into it by someone who wants to take advantage of him.

We benefit from most of this knowledge with hindsight. It’s not actually there in this opening section, but the main thrust of Jake’s interests is his love of adventure and his love of wrestling, and I’m principally interested in Jake’s physicality in addressing his interests - he’s a very physical kid.

https://homestuck.com/story/4121

We’re hot off the heels of Terezi’s fake choice, and a lot of conversation about free will and fake choices in Act 5 - and here we’re presented with one almost immediately. We can pick either option, but the outcome will be the same whatever we do.

https://homestuck.com/story/4124

I’ve always thought the Condescension’s relationship with Jane is deeply fascinating. There is something about the prospect of cultivating an heiress, someone to take over her legacy, that brings out something tender and maternal in her, I think, even if it only manifests in a twisted way. She’s a bit of an enigma to me.

https://homestuck.com/story/4126

Well, Jane is certainly interested in Foxworthy, so I rescind my earlier comment.

We’ve barely been introduced to her and she pretty much immediately starts showing off her paternalistic disdain for rural and vulgar people through the narrative’s language, and her nostalgia for Problem Sleuth characterizes her enjoyment of its sequel.

Jane has an aristocratic mentality, and conservative leanings in the media she appreciates, and the way that she appreciates it. If Andrew’s commentary that he continued to examine the themes he started with Feferi in Jane, I think what we should take away is that Feferi’s concern for the lowly comes with a heaping helping of...

Wait for it.

Wait for it...

Condescension.

B)

https://homestuck.com/story/4127

Jane’s disdain for the vulgar - low culture, low classes - also shows itself pretty quickly. In stark contrast to the other two leaders - John and Karkat - Jane isn’t much of a movie watcher at all (Jake gets that attribute in his session) and her attitude toward’s Jake’s movies is one of snobbery. Both of the other two movie watchers have a playfully self-deprecating attitude toward their own bad tastes in movies, but they still enjoy those movies sincerely.

Her relationship of passive-aggressive one-upsmanship also distinctly recalls Rose’s relationship with her mother, suggesting that Jane shares some of the underlying pessimism and mild hostility that Rose struggles with.

Also, as a symbol Swanson is a representative of the sort of anti-government animus that characterizes the politics of Trans-Mississippi America outside of the heavily populated West Coast, where the wedding of big business and state planning have created a lot of disaffection toward the distant and disinterested corporate landlords and bureaucratic apparatuses that govern huge tracts of federal land and private property in the west. Pawnee Indiana may not actually be on the other side of the Mississippi from Washington, but having grown up in Montana for at least a part of my childhood, Swanson’s politics are immediately recognizable.

Unfortunately, this anti-state animus has manifested not in the form of a renewed commitment to emancipation, but to the uniquely American, get-off-my-lawn form of Right-Wing populism practiced by the short-lived Tea Party, and smug “It’s just basic economics” Reagan-worshipping conservatives.

What I’m trying to say is, Jane would probably be a Ben Shapiro or Steven Crowder fan in the modern day.

https://homestuck.com/story/4136

Jane’s skepticism prevents her from listening to her friends when they tell her about the extraordinary things that they do, but it’s also not exactly a kind of scientific skepticism, and more of a dogmatic realism - she has a narrow vision of what the world is like, and is dismissive of ideas that are outside of her bubble.

Quick Note that while Jake makes only an off-handed remark about it here, he is sensitive to the hostile, toxic relationship between the AR and Dirk in a way that neither of the girls really is, and while that may seem uncharacteristically emotionally intelligent of Jake, I think he’s a lot more aware of his surroundings than he lets on.

https://homestuck.com/story/4142

Now as long as we’re talking about Right Wing Populism and comparing Jane to John there is an extremely potent assertion.

The USPS, and the idea of privatizing it, is as much a symbol of the war of corporatists and authoritarians against social democracy as anything is, and because of the way John is associated with Mail in general as a Hero of Breath, Jane is almost immediately setting herself up as a foil to John.

https://homestuck.com/story/4144

Calliope is so cheery that it’s easy to take everything she says in stride, and yet, with all the horrors Sburb has to offer, in terms of the way it destroys planets, and traumatizes its players, her optimism toward the game is at least disquieting.

Sure, the Null Session isn’t going to destroy the kids’ session, but her language is contrasted against both Kanaya’s and Karkat’s when they berated Aradia and Jade respectively. Both Karkat and Kanaya rue the effects of the narrative on their lives, but Calliope is a superfan.

https://homestuck.com/story/4156

I know I’m spending a lot of time ragging on her here, but like, as long as I am; Jane is sure openly hostile to her best friend, in a way that comes as kind of surprising even given the precedent that we have to work with.

https://homestuck.com/story/4160

Poirot is from Belgium.

I wonder if Andrew or Jane is the one committing that error?

https://homestuck.com/story/4168

Jake is full of little contradictions like this. Likes Adventure, terrified of monsters. Not even ambivalent about them, certainly not excited by them. It’s like the opposite of how little kids are usually super into Dinosaurs.

https://homestuck.com/story/4171

So what is the deal with Jake and his fascination with Blue Women? Aside from the metaphysical connection with Vriska and Aranea (and to a lesser extent, Jake), like... what’s the meaning of it?

I think a possible answer to the question lies in the process of the initial portraits becoming blue - leaving them out in the sun to fade - and the relationship between that, and the way in which he likes mummies and suits of armor, and so on and so forth - and even his stuffed trophies.

Maybe this suggests that Jake is, on principle, far more comfortable with the idea of a thing, than with the thing itself. Jake’s Blue Women are comfortably static. They have ceased to change a long time ago, and now exist, preserved in perpetuity, without the need to worry about adapting to suit them.

https://homestuck.com/story/4175

While a lot of Jake’s guesses are incorrect, he’s still clearly spending a lot of time pondering over the mysterious time shenanigans - he just hasn’t quite put it all together.

https://homestuck.com/story/4177

The same way that Dirk’s fastidious organization is equated to his complicated and demanding modus, and the way that John being a big impulsive himbo is equated with his inability to manage his fetch modus, constantly getting distracted from his goal by the card on the surface, Jake’s Modus has an enormous capacity, but most of it is preoccupied inefficiently.

https://homestuck.com/story/4184

The Autoresponder continues the conversation that Andrew has with the audience about the distribution of the self - Dirk does this more generally, but the particular thread the AR tugs on is the question of where a person’s self really stops - just as the question lingers in the air because of John’s disposition toward Davesprite, the question of whether the AR is really a separate person from Dirk, or a part of him, is posed continuously just by the fact that it exists.

https://homestuck.com/story/4192

To be fair to Dirk, who I will have a lot of kind-of-sympathetic-antipathy for, I had forgotten that it is, in fact, the Autoresponder who sets up this particular challenge for Dirk.

The parallels between Dirk and English are nevertheless being set up through this conversation nevertheless - by sending him the parts and getting him to assemble the robot, Dirk makes Jake complicit in his own humiliation, even as he attempts to build Jake up into an ideal partner.

https://homestuck.com/story/4196

Already we’re seeing indications that this segment of Homestuck will deal with different themes of growing up than the first half. Which is already kind of obvious, but we’ve moved decisively out of Part 1: Problems, and into Part 2: Feelings. The second half has moved out of the territory of other humans and their emotional situations as somewhat idealized problems (somewhat) and into this situation where everyone is a moving body, complicated and the characters are each others’ biggest obstacles, and their own biggest obstacles. That’s a bit of a reductive way of describing it, but I think it rings true.

https://homestuck.com/story/4256

While I am willing to concede that Dirk is not literally responsible for siccing the Brobot on Jake today, he more or less assents to AR’s sexual harassment and physical abuse of Jake.

In addition to his vicarious physical abuse, Dirk’s persona as the Prince of Heart calls him to suppress the uniqueness of the people who are around him, moulding them like clay into shapes that better resemble him. Jake and Jane need to be more like each other in his eyes - which is to say, they both need to be more like Dirk.

We also get some insight into Dirk’s sense of humor here - it’s not just about the irony. I think there is an extent to which at the base of the thing, Dirk’s sense of humor is about simultaneously denying and affirming a thing’s meaning - making fun of it while cherishing it. Having a thing be incredibly silly - while also being incredibly serious business. He cherishes the absurd.

I wonder if he’d like Kojima’s stuff.

https://homestuck.com/story/4257

The way that Dirk identifies with logic and reason recalls the sort of “enlightened by my own intelligence” New Atheist jerks who were known to prowl the internet in the early half of the decade, and to some extent, still do. Like Libertarians, these folks have often in the present day gotten caught up in Right Wing Populism. Maybe it’s something about the way that Right Wing movements increasingly identify as a part of counter-culture even though they advocate reactionary policies.

https://homestuck.com/story/4273

This is extremely silly, but Jake is in mortal peril all the time, and I expect even at the best of times he might be uncomfortable being touched.

https://homestuck.com/story/4284

Here we shall pause.

Sorry for the late post. Early work was quite busy, and once the rush was over, it was already quite late.

So the first Act of Act 6 has been very informative! Compared to the first Act of Homestuck, we’ve been introduced already to all our Dramatis Personae!

Tune back in tomorrow to here Cam Say,

Some variation on Alive and Not Alone.

[ganymedesclock]

Dead Cells and the weight of small lives pt.2 (NPCs, the dead and alive)

Continuing from part 1, now that I’m refreshed, rested, and ready to continue this monster post. I finished off last post talking a bit about the way Prisoner acts onto NPCs and interact-able bodies, so this chunk is picking up with that in earnest.

Here is the thing. If you punt the corpse of an executed prisoner, that’s generally a dick move, so this is another place I feel like I can understand why people might get the takeaway Prisoner is kind of a jerk. But I feel like it’s worth examining, in detail, the kind of interactions he has.

The mechanics of Dead Cells are very focused on scavenging, looting, and a limited amount of buying your way forwards- and, spoken as someone starting to dip my toesies in the higher Stem Cell counts- thus, more difficult runs- any random encounter you can get items from is a godsend.

It’s also where you get a lot of the lore of the game, in random events- some of which will show up in multiple areas, others unique- that tell you about the world.

It’s in these interactions, mainly, that I see Prisoner characterized as a fairly compassionate guy with a morbid sense of humor, and I struggle to see him as a total uncaring asshole. To gloss over a large number of interactions, here’s some common threads:

Prisoner is fairly flippant about death / used to seeing corpses. He will also sometimes kick the bodies with his bare feet to make them drop items, which, as a fairly tactile sensitive person, the thought makes my soul depart my body. Kicked bodies are seldom visibly disturbed from their position by this, though they do drop items. 

He is not opposed to looting said corpses / prying useful items out of their hands, though he may comment on riffling through someone’s stuff being a social no-no while doing so.

At the same time, he far more often uses “personlike” language rather than “objectlike” language to describe the bodies (“this guy” “her” “him” “population”) with the main exception being interacting with a bloated, waterlogged corpse.

You can virtually always examine a lot more than what has money or weapons and Prisoner will have salient thoughts about it suggesting he is proving keenly observant and not specifically looking for loot and ignoring all else.

From here, I’ll go into several incidents I think are pretty noteworthy. 

A fair warning that these are quite morbid and discuss/depict the kinds of things people do when everything is falling apart and people are dying all around them, so, not exactly gentle reading.

1. The Flower Loving Prisoner

This is a fairly common encounter you can find in the Prisoners’ Quarters and Promenade, possibly other places. It is a small cell, with several points of interest, mostly being the large number of potted flowers and the small window. Poking around will have Prisoner note that the flowers “have been a bit underwatered recently” and that the fabric of the mattress was torn up and used elsewhere.

Specifically, for a noose- the person occupying this cell hung himself, and his corpse is holding a single flower in its hands.

For the room, Prisoner remarks “looks like this guy loved flowers.” For the body itself,

“Guess he wanted to choose the time of his death. He’s holding a faded flower between his fingers. A moment of silence… NAH! I’ve got better things to do!”

The “nah” is punctuated by him kicking the body, causing it to drop a necklace- but not the flower it’s holding.

So here’s the thing. This is a flippant action. At surface pass, Prisoner is disrespecting this person who is characterized by growing flowers in a prison- and holding onto this small thing of beauty, even in death.

The thing is though, someone who doesn’t care at all wouldn’t, of their own accord, independently air the idea they should have a “moment of silence” for this person, even to veto it a second later. Nobody is here to see or care what Prisoner is doing.

Also to someone who doesn’t care at all, the entire rest of the room would be of no interest; it would be trivial that flowers were important to a dead person.

So this creates an interesting duality. On one hand: Prisoner very clearly doesn’t care much about bodies. This is a repeated pattern. The main time he’s particularly shocked by corpses is when they were someone who was alive the last time he checked (as is the case of the Tutorial Knight). He has a calculated angle and he’s interested in what he can get from them and how it can prevent him from dying, again.

On the other hand... Prisoner equally clearly cares about people. He thinks a lot about what people wanted, felt, what choices they made. He shows a lot of interpersonal intelligence and even to people who he has every reason to not listen to, his responses tend thoughtful and he socks this information away as important in a context where he is, by necessity, otherwise rigidly focused on survival. He hates the King, but will also talk thoughtfully about the way the royals of the island lived.

And of the two elements in this juxtaposition, while survivalism and gallows humor are clearly strong threads in him... it’s clear the caring part is the larger factor of the two. It persists, while his cheerful morbidity sometimes just utterly fails.

2. The Stilt Village family

In the fishing hamlet, you can find a small house featuring a hanged woman. A letter by her feet, that the Prisoner notes are probably her last words, reads:

“The Malaise won’t get us. I’ll protect you… I’ll protect you.”

The Prisoner, our usually quite chatty protagonist, has almost nothing to say here. The closest he gets is, on examining the woman’s body, notes she “opted for the fast method” and aforementioned observation that the note is her last words.

There is also a bed in the room. Two sets of small feet poke out from under the blankets. If you examine it, Prisoner only says “throats slit.” and nothing more.

There is nothing in the room to loot, no jokes made, and the overall attitude is deeply, crushingly somber. There are closed drawers, but there’s no prompt to go through them.

If Prisoner didn’t care, this would just be more of the same, what’s three more bodies, right? But it’s clear that he isn’t just idly curious about the way people live and what they thought and felt- he has a certain amount of compassion, so that faintly nauseous feeling we get as we creep through this room is probably simpatico with our protagonist.

These people are strangers. He never knew them. They’re villagers of a fishing hamlet that was a hotbed of rebellion, and disrespectful of the king; they are small lives. They are “irrelevant people”. Mechanically, you have no gameplay incentive to stand here and look around.

But it’s clear this encounter affects Prisoner a lot emotionally. He doesn’t know who these people were, never met these kids or their presumed mother- but it’s clear he didn’t want this to have happened to them. 

In particular Prisoner seems to be disquieted by young corpses any time he finds them; the closest he comes to joking is finding the executed body that he notes is “either a dwarf, or... no more than seven or eight years old. ...Let’s... say she’s a dwarf.”

Another half-joke, also in the Stilt Village, is he finds a desperate letter to the Alchemist, written by villagers pledging their bodies to his research and begging him to save them. Prisoner notes that it’s partially damaged by water and hard to read, and then frankly follows with “I don’t think I want to understand what I read.”

This is worth noting, in particular, because we find a lot of the Alchemist’s grimoires, and he mentions his “volunteers” often- the kind of things that happen to them in particular tend to be fatal. One setup in High Peak Castle notes that those exposed to the experimental cure became twisted half-plant beings, and then as a near afterthought, notes “the subject failed to survive.”

So Prisoner- who’s just trying to save his own hide at best- is pretty strongly depicted as more upset at what happened to the villagers than the Alchemist who was trying to work on a cure. This is significant, when we happen to know said Alchemist becomes the Collector, who basically spends the entire game using Prisoner to harvest resources from corpses (the titular Cells) in exchange for better equipment. The Collector also makes it quite clear from the start he knows who Prisoner is, but is not interested in disclosing this information.

(And, if you, like me, don’t think Prisoner is the same person as the King given the wild discrepancy of personality and other evidence- when he finally does “fess up” it’s in the form of lying to Prisoner’s face)

3. Moments of anger

This is actually not one moment but several. Part of what Dead Cells does with its dialogue is convey tone and intensity by changing colors. Most text comes in blue boxes- when it’s lit in red, it’s almost always for emphasis. Especially if the textbox shakes slightly and the text scrolls faster than usual, giving it a sense of slamming into place on the screen.

In several areas- the Promenade or the Ramparts- you can find a setup of “live target training” in which a human prisoner was chained to a post, and then shot at by archers. This is at first perhaps a bit morbidly funny, given the wall behind the prisoner is littered with arrows- but, overall, it’s just dark.

In particular, a single arrow has struck the shackled prisoner. When Prisoner observes this, he notes “Only one arrow hit the target.”

Then, in shaking red text, “Right in the head.”

He then turns and faces the empty stand where the guard stood, and flashes a thumbs-up that I struggle to read as not rather scathing in its condemnation. Again- to someone who doesn’t care or thinks of this as funny, that kind of emphasis doesn’t make sense.

But even some things he says calmly seem to suggest Prisoner’s pretty angry about the whole situation- sometimes, upon finding a large gallows section, it will have an order pinned to it:

By order of the King, all persons presenting behavioural disorders or noticeable deteriorations in their appearance... shall be imprisoned, and hanged by the neck until dead. ...(If the prison doctor confirms the diagnosis of infection.)

There is a distinct beat before the last line is read, and then Prisoner’s commentary ensues:

“Glad they added that. For a second there I really thought we were talking about genocide.”

He also at one point responds to a desecrated statue of the King, defaced with “We’ll skin you alive!” by calling it a “brave and courageous statement,” and seems mildly impressed that someone peed on a royal order in the Stilt Village relatively high up. Besides that, a lot of the area flavor text talks about the abuses of the guards, and in particular in High Peak Castle, it’s noted the royal guard were pulled back into the castle when the rest of the island needed them.

In a way, the way that Prisoner uses humor often trivializes his own anger, which again, ties back to what I said in part 1: everything the game says about small lives- about the “irrelevant little people” that suffered in the wake of the plague emphasizes that Prisoner’s perspective is that he is one of those little people. In the sewers, examining a strange cocoon, Prisoner seems to have a full-on crisis about what he is and why he’s here before interrupting himself with a joke.

Someone who thinks they are important and is used to demanding others’ attention and validation doesn’t treat their own genuine anger and revulsion like it’s something to shrug off.