#and part of that genuinely is because of his example

[batsovergotham]

🦇 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘆𝘀𝗼𝗻 | A DETAILED GUIDE

regarding the project: whether or not you have read the comics, this is a straightforward tutorial for anyone wishing to write mark grayson more precisely. brief notes. genuine emotional breakdowns. no lecturing. no gatekeeping. just a straightforward, honest look at what really shapes him and how to use the source material to portray him accurately.

a/n: i posted the poll about making a how to write mark grayson guide today, but honestly... i’ve been working on this for a while, ever since i posted some fics. it started because a few people mentioned that some of my mark breakdowns helped them with their fics, and i thought it might be nice to have something more detailed all in one place. so even though the poll went up today, this guide’s been in the works for a bit hehe i really hope it helps anyone who wants to write mark more true to the comics! thanks for reading!

in the invincible comics, if there’s one thing about mark grayson, it’s that he’s stubborn as hell when it comes to his ideals. like, painfully stubborn. there are so many times where he just flat-out refuses to back down from what he believes is right, even when everyone around him is telling him he’s being naive or that it’s gonna blow up in his face. and since the show hasn’t gotten to a lot of these moments yet, let’s talk about some comic only examples that really show just how stubborn (and sometimes reckless) mark’s idealism can be.

okay, so first off: the whole fight between mark and cecil stedman (the government guy who runs the GDA)? it's turning point of mark's view of the GDA and what it truly means to be a hero. it also begins to shed him of his naivety.

basically, mark finds out cecil’s been doing all this shady stuff behind the scenes like building an army of zombie cyborg supersoldiers (the reanimen), working with literal evil clones, just... real villain behavior. cecil’s whole mindset is like, “yeah it’s awful, but it’s for the greater good.” and mark? hates it. the second he finds out, he’s ready to fight.

and cecil’s response? he doesn’t even try to explain himself anymore. he just sends a whole damn army of reanimen after mark to try and beat him into submission. it’s brutal. mark gets swarmed, blasted with this crazy sonic device they rigged up, he’s getting absolutely trashed, and he still refuses to back down. he barely escapes, pulls some of the guardians together, and marches right back to finish what he started.

they trash the reanimen, it’s a mess, and at the end, cecil’s standing there like, “i did what had to be done.” and mark, bleeding and furious, basically tells him to shove it. he straight-up quits. no backup, no government support, nothing just him deciding he’d rather be completely alone than be part of something he thinks is wrong. like... that’s mark grayson. stubborn to the end.

Universa Arc.

so, universa’s this alien warrior who shows up on earth basically trying to steal the planet’s energy to save her dying world. mark and eve fight her, they win, she gets thrown in prison. standard superhero stuff, right? most heroes would’ve been like “cool, problem solved” and moved on. but not mark. mark can’t let it go.

he actually goes out of his way to visit her in jail. just to talk. and when he finds out she was only doing all of this because her people were desperate not because she was evil or power-hungry or anything he immediately goes into “let’s fix this” mode. like, no hesitation.

and he doesn't just feel bad about it and leave, no, mark convinces the warden to let her go, helps her find a way to safely get the energy she needs without hurting anyone, and sends her back home to save her people. universa is so stunned she literally promises to repay him someday.

it’s honestly one of the purest things he ever does. he refuses to just see her as “the bad guy.” he sees the person underneath. he believes that people, even enemies, can do the right thing if you give them a real chance.

was it a little naive? yeah, kinda. but it worked because mark’s the kind of guy who means it. like, really means it. and people can tell. that’s why his idealism hits so hard. he never gives up on the idea that there’s a better way.

Oliver and Allen VS Mark

okay, so one of the most heartbreaking examples of mark’s idealism clashing with the people he loves is the whole scourge virus situation.

basically, allen the alien and mark’s half-brother oliver come up with this plan to release a modified version of the scourge virua, the same virus that almost wiped out the viltrumites, to finish the job for good.

and mark? mark is horrified.

he’s not just worried about the viltrumites (even though yeah, some of them deserve it). he’s thinking about the humans. he’s thinking about the risk. he’s thinking about how unleashing something that dangerous ever is just crossing a moral line you can’t uncross.

so he tries to stop them. and it turns into a full-on fight. it’s messy, it’s emotional, and somewhere in the middle of it all, oliver, desperate and panicking, accidentally infects mark with the virus. mark almost dies.

and even after all that, after being betrayed and almost killed by his own brother, mark doesn’t blow up in rage. he’s just heartbroken. because for mark, the real tragedy isn’t what happened to him. it’s that people he loves were willing to risk something so horrific, to cross a line he’s spent his whole life refusing to cross.

like... he would literally rather fight his own family, risk dying, than give up on his ideals. he genuinely believes that the ends don’t justify the means, even if it costs him everything.

The Final Battle with Thragg and Mark's Monologue

by the end of the comic, we really get the full picture of who mark grayson has become. all that stubborn idealism, independence, and moral conviction he’s built up over the years? it all comes to a head during his final battle with thragg.

and the thing is...mark’s not just throwing punches. he’s saying everything he’s believed, everything that’s come to define him. he straight-up rejects thragg’s whole worldview, the viltrumite mindset of "strength over everything." and while they’re fighting, mark gives this monologue (mid-fight, because of course he does) that honestly just hits you right in the chest:

“you see us as people living only for conquest, measured only by the size of our empire. no room for peace. no room for compassion. no room for love… the truth is you were holding us back… we can be a force for good. we can spread peace throughout the galaxy. we can love and be loved. we can be happy.”

like... that’s so mark. even after everything he’s been through, even while he's locked in a life or death fight, he still believes people, even viltrumites, can be better.

and it’s not just talk either. this is what mark actually wants. he’s trying to turn an empire built on war into something good. it’s insanely idealistic, yeah, but it’s 100% real. and what’s really cool is that he’s doing it his way. not the way any viltrumite leader before him would’ve done it. this is mark’s independence on full blast, he's building something new, completely breaking away from the old viltrumite pride and brutality.

thragg, of course, can’t even wrap his head around it. and mark beats him, physically and symbolically. it’s basically proving that compassion and strength aren’t opposites. mark’s showing that being a good person doesn’t mean being weak, and being cruel doesn’t mean you’re strong.

if you’re writing fanfiction that covers late-series or post-series mark, this moment is a huge thing to keep in mind. by now, he’s not the uncertain teenager anymore. he knows who he is and what he stands for. but he hasn’t lost that earnestness, that moral fire he had as a kid, if anything, it’s gotten stronger and sharper.

mark taking down thragg with conviction shows the kind of leader he’s grown into. he’s not just reacting to problems anymore; he’s actively trying to shape a better future. people look up to him, even people who used to be enemies, because of the integrity he shows. not because they’re scared of him, but because they respect him.

another super important thing: even after all that, mark doesn’t turn into some dictator. like, it would’ve been so easy for him to say, “i’m the strongest, i’m in charge now.” but he doesn’t. he stays focused on making things better. he pushes for the viltrumites to actually protect earth, to integrate, to live differently. he keeps that humility.

even at the height of his power, he’s worrying about being a good husband, a good dad (the finale shows his future family life), and living up to his ideals. he never stops checking himself because deep down, he’s terrified of turning into what his dad was.

so if you’re writing a future!mark or an alt ending where he’s leading the viltrumites or running with huge responsibilities, always keep that in mind: no matter how powerful he is, he’s still that same kid who’s scared of losing his humanity and who’ll do anything to protect it.

Now that we understand the Idealism surrounding his character, let's discuss how to actually write him.

okay so if you’re writing mark grayson in fanfics, one of the biggest things you have to remember is that he is not a soft boy. he is not a “yes man.” he is not some passive sunshine character who just agrees with whatever the hell his friends or love interest says because he’s so sweet and loyal. that’s just not who he is.

mark is kind. he’s empathetic. he loves deeply. but he is stubborn as hell when it comes to his beliefs. like painfully, frustratingly stubborn.

he doesn’t just roll over when someone he loves disagrees with him. he doesn’t abandon his moral compass to avoid conflict. if anything, he’ll fight even harder against the people he cares about because he believes so strongly in what he thinks is right.

this is the guy who:

tells cecil (the literal head of the GDA, who helped him post omni-man) to fuck off to his face because cecil’s methods are too corrupt.

tries to rehabilitate a literal eco-terrorist (dinosaurus) because he genuinely thinks they could do good together, even when everyone else calls him insane.

punches his own little brother and one of his best friends (oliver and allen) in the face when they want to use the scourge virus to wipe out the viltrumites, because he refuses to believe genocide is ever the answer even when it would save billions of lives.

goes into exile on an alien planet with his family instead of accepting a “peaceful” dictatorship run by robot, because he would rather lose everything than live under tyranny. then, he eventually comes back and kills robot himself.

like... mark is kind, yes. but he’s not compliant. he’s not someone you can easily sway just because you’re close to him. he doesn’t make decisions based on what’s easiest or what’ll hurt the fewest feelings. he makes decisions based on what he believes is right, even if it blows up his relationships. even if it hurts people he loves. even if it isolates him.

so when you’re writing him:

let him argue. let him push back when something doesn’t sit right with him.

let him get angry when his beliefs are challenged. he’s emotional. he’s reactive.

let him stand his ground even when it costs him.

let him care so deeply it hurts him sometimes.

don’t be afraid to show that he’s wrong, too because sometimes his stubbornness backfires horribly (like trusting dinosaurus). but even when he’s wrong, he’s never malicious. he’s never apathetic. he’s trying.

he’s not cold. he’s not cruel. but he’s also not a people-pleaser. he’s willing to lose friends, mentors, allies, and even his home if it means doing what he feels is right.

common mischaracterizations you should avoid:

making him a soft, easily manipulated boyfriend who never questions anything.

making him prioritize romance over his core values without struggle. (like, if you have him abandoning his morals instantly for love, it feels wrong. he might bend, but it would mess him up inside and cause conflict.) DO NOT CONFLATE HIS MORALS WITH WHAT THE GDA BELIEVES!!

making him unrealistically calm and detached. mark feels everything with his whole chest. when he’s hurt or angry, it shows. he doesn't bottle it up perfectly.

writing him like he's just “along for the ride” emotionally. mark makes decisions. he moves the plot. even when he’s wrong, he’s active, not passive.

writing mark grayson right means letting him be a mess sometimes. it means letting him get bloodied up in fights he probably can’t win. it means letting him make terrible mistakes because he believed too hard in someone. it means letting him love people and lose people and still keep standing, still keep hoping. still keep fighting for the better world he dreams of.

because that's what makes him invincible. not the powers. not the strength. it’s the fact that even when everything in him is broken, his body, his mind, etc, he keeps fighting for what he believes in.

bad vs good characterization examples for mark

example 1

bad: "are you sure about this?" he asked, voice trembling. "i mean... if you think it's right, i'll go along with it. i trust you." (he says nothing else. he just follows along. no hesitation, no conflict, just blind loyalty.)

why it's wrong: this makes him sound like a passive puppy who just goes wherever the story/author pushes him. mark is loyal, yeah, but he’s not a yes man. if something feels wrong to him, he’s going to say something even if it starts a fight.

good: "i don’t know if i can go with you on this," mark said, frowning. "i get why you want to do it... i do. but it doesn’t sit right with me. it’s not who i want to be." his hands flexed at his sides, restless. "i’m not trying to fight you. i’m trying to make you understand." (there’s tension. there’s conflict. but the love is still there. he’s standing his ground because he cares.)

example 2

bad: mark nodded immediately. "you're right. i didn’t even think about it that way. i’ll change everything i'm doing for you." (he has no independent thought. he never questions anything. he changes core beliefs instantly.)

why it's wrong: mark can compromise sometimes, but it’s never instant. if he changes his mind, it comes from hard conversations, real consequences, or deep emotional shifts. he doesn’t just flip a switch because someone asked him nicely.

good: "maybe you’re right," mark muttered after a long beat, his jaw locked. "but you can’t expect me to throw away everything i believe just because it's easier." he exhaled, frustrated, running a hand through his ebony hair. "i need to think. i can't just... pretend this doesn't matter."

key reminders when writing mark:

he’s stubborn. like cartoonishly stubborn. even when it’s inconvenient. even when it costs him everything.

he’s idealistic. he genuinely believes doing the right thing matters, even if nobody else believes it anymore.

he’s emotional. he feels everything with his whole chest. anger, sadness, guilt, hope, it’s never muted or put down for the sake of plot purposes.

he’s reactive. mark doesn’t always think things through. if he sees something he doesn't like or someone he loves in danger, he moves first, thinks later.

he’s not a people pleaser. even if he loves you, if you’re doing something he thinks is wrong, he’s gonna call you out. loudly.

he fights with people he loves. not because he loves them less but because he loves them too much to let them destroy themselves or cause harm to other people that causes conflict in what he believes in.

he’s not a soft boy. he’s kind. he’s empathetic. but he’s also willing to bloody his fists and risk his life for what he believes in.

he’s not passive. mark makes choices. even when they’re bad ones. he’s an active character who moves the plot forward.

he’s wrong sometimes. his idealism blinds him. he trusts the wrong people. he fucks up. and he owns it (eventually).

he doesn't believe violence is the first answer (especially at the end of the series). but when it’s necessary, he doesn’t hold back. if he’s in a fight, he’s there to win.

he can’t be guilt tripped into giving up his morals. you can hurt him. you can betray him. but you can’t make him become someone he’s not.

he keeps hoping. even after all the betrayal, death, loss, heartbreak he's gone through, he never fully lets go of hope.

NOTABLE MOMENTS TO HELP CHARACTERIZE HIM IN YOUR FIC

“DON’T EVER THREATEN MY FAMILY!!” – Issue #33.

this is mark at his absolute breaking point just pure protective rage, screaming at angstrom who just hurt his mom. it’s a simple line, but it hits because you can feel everything behind it. the second someone he loves is in danger, mark doesn’t hold back. he doesn’t care about looking heroic or calm, he just loses it. and that’s something to keep in mind if you’re writing him, when mark’s temper explodes, it’s not about his pride or getting even. it’s about protecting the people he loves. period. he’s like a lion protecting his cubs its all instinct, no hesitation. so if you’re ever writing a scene where a villain’s threatening someone close to him, picture mark practically shaking, shouting until his voice breaks, just burning with that raw, desperate anger. it’s not polished or composed, it’s messy, it’s emotional, and it’s all love underneath it.

“THIS IS BEING A SUPER-HERO? I'M JUST STOPPING CRAP FROM HAPPENING AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT. I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING REALLY WORTHWHILE… …AND WHEN I FAIL… MY GOD, I FAIL BIG. WE HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD, EVE… …BUT INSTEAD THINGS JUST KEEP GETTING WORSE.” – Issue #81.

it’s not just some random thought he brushes off. you can tell it hits him. like... what if everything he’s been doing hasn’t actually changed anything? what if he’s just patching holes in something that’s already falling apart? it’s honestly a gut-punch moment because mark is usually so stubbornly hopeful. but even he isn’t immune to wondering if any of it’s enough. and it’s such an important part of who he is, he doesn’t just blindly believe everything’s fine. he feels it when it isn’t. he questions himself. he struggles with it. if you’re writing fanfic and you want to show a more introspective or vulnerable side of him, especially after something rough happens, this is the kind of feeling you want to tap into. not him giving up, but that raw, exhausted moment where he’s like, what’s the point if nothing ever really changes? it makes him feel real. because even with all the optimism and fight he’s got, sometimes the weight of it still catches up to him.

HOW TO WRITE HIS HUMOR/MORE LIGHT-HEARTED SIDE

mark isn’t all heavy drama and serious fights, he actually has a ton of light, funny moments, especially early on. like when he first starts getting his powers and his coworker asks him about his future, he just says

“finish high school, I guess.”

which is funny because he already knows he’s about to step into something way bigger.

there are little moments like that all over, times when he’s play fighting with william, or throwing out corny jokes, especially about stuff like science dog (his favorite comic, seance dog in the show). even though a lot of this guide focuses on the heavy, emotional stuff, it’s important not to forget these slice of life stuff

if you’re writing fanfics with him, adding in those little jokes or funny lines can really help keep mark in character. think about it like how spider-man cracks jokes during fights except mark’s version is a little less snarky and more dorky he jokes the most when he’s around people he’s comfortable with, and it’s not because he’s not taking things seriously it’s because that humor is just a part of who he is.

DISCLAIMER!

one of the biggest differences between comic mark and show mark is that comic mark is definitely rougher around the edges, especially early on. he’s not the super polished, always perfect hero type. in the early issues, mark can actually be kind of crude, he uses slurs (like the r-word) and makes some offhanded gay jokes, usually when he’s goofing around with william. it’s definitely surprising when you read it now, but it’s also important to understand that it’s part of his growth. it’s not written to make him look good, it’s showing that he’s a dumb teenage boy who hasn’t figured everything out yet. he says thoughtless, insensitive stuff because he’s young, immature, and still has a lot of learning to do.

and the comics let him grow.

later on, when william comes out to him, mark doesn’t just brush it off or make another dumb joke, he’s genuinely supportive. he accepts william without hesitation. and from that point on, you can see a clear shift, mark stops using slurs, stops making those kinds of jokes. it’s not a huge dramatic “lesson learned” moment, but the change is there. he matures. he gets it.

the show sort of skips over this whole messy, realistic part of his character arc. animated mark is a lot more careful and a little more "clean" from the start, he doesn’t really say anything offensive, and he’s framed as a lot more socially aware right out of the gate. which makes sense for a modern audience and a tv format, but it does smooth out some of the rough growth we see in comic mark.

comic mark’s early immaturity makes his later kindness and emotional intelligence feel earned. it’s not that he’s perfect, it’s that he chooses to grow, to be better, to really care about people in a way that goes beyond surface-level acceptance. that’s a huge part of what makes comic mark feel so real. he screws up, he says dumb stuff, but he listens, he learns, and he changes.

CONCLUSION AND FINAL NOTE!

at the end of the day, mark grayson isn’t about being perfect. he’s about trying. he’s stubborn as hell, emotional, sometimes reckless, and way more human than people give him credit for.

he holds onto what he believes even when everyone’s telling him to give up. he fights for the people he loves even when it costs him everything. he messes up (a lot), but he always, always tries to be better. that’s what makes him mark.

when you’re writing him, don’t be afraid to show all of it, the anger, the humor, the doubt, the stubborn hope that somehow refuses to die even when everything’s falling apart. he’s not supposed to be perfect or untouchable. he’s supposed to feel real.

sometimes he gets it wrong. sometimes he crashes and burns. but the point is, he keeps going. he cares even when it’s easier not to. and that’s why people love him.

i hope breaking all this down helps if you’re trying to write him, understand him better, or just see where he’s coming from. because when you really look at it, mark’s whole story isn’t about being the strongest guy in the room it’s about being the one who refuses to give up on people, even when it would be easier to stop caring.

thanks for reading! and honestly, if you ever feel stuck writing him, just go back to that core idea > he never stops trying. that’s who he is.

[rulesofdisorder]

@chalkless

i mean this genuinely because tbh the time travel stuff in endgame confuses me but if endgame steve saved bucky when he went back in time to be with peggy, wouldn’t that have made an alternate timeline? so because steve talks to sam and makes him captain america at the end of the movie and we understand that to be our steve who just stepped onto the time travel platform like 30 seconds ago, wouldn’t that mean that he wouldn’t have been able to/didn’t change anything? because if he had changed anything at all in the past then wouldn’t his future be different? like if he had saved bucky in the past then there would be no bucky to see him in the future, right? because if bucky was saved from hydra then he’d never become the winter soldier and would have either been steve’s age or dead by 2024. but he’s not. he’s right there. do you get what i’m trying to say? if steve saved him then steve should be in an alternate timeline, not talking with sam at the end of the movie.

time travel in the mcu just really does not make sense to me because i can understand making alternate timelines but then the loki tv show says that alternate timelines are killed.

so if steve going back in time is a part of the “sacred timeline”, then that means that anything he does in the past is also allowed? but that would make more alternate timelines which aren’t allowed? so for example bucky becoming the winter soldier is the “sacred timeline”, and that means that steve wouldn’t be able to intervene, or if he did intervene it would make an alternate timeline which would immediately be disposed of. or at least that’s my understanding. it all just makes my brain hurt tbh

wait actually. yanno how when people complain about endgame steve leaving bucky and the dudebros go “oh my god not everything is about your stupid ship they were not in love steve and bucky were like brothers” and. arguably leaving your brother is worse in that situation i think. let’s look at steve and buckys whole dynamic through a sibling dynamic shall we.

like okay youre steve rogers in this scenario and your brother was presumed dead only for you to find out that he had been kidnapped by nazis and tortured and brainwashed for 70 years to the point where he didn’t even know his own name and had no bodily autonomy and when you found out about this you dismantled an entire sect of the government and then you’re brother in his confused state disappeared and you spent 2-3 years looking for him and then he was framed for murder and you believed him innocent despite the fact that he was an assassin for those 70 years when he was being tortured by nazis and maybe actually did do that for all you know but you fight the government (again) and a bunch of your new friends on his behalf and in doing so become a fugitive and spend another year(ish) on the run and then world gets attacked by this fuckass alien freak and you and you’re brother who is finally (mostly) himself again join the fight against the fuckass alien freak and you lose and your brother gets turned to dust and is dead for 5 years and so you join up with the friends who you had a falling out with to bring back all of the people who died and you succeed and your brother comes back to life and while he is much better than he was when you found him 4 (9?) years ago he is still fucked up in 15 different ways but you finally get the chance to actually be with your brother again after so long so that’s good right? wrong. you decide to leave that brother who you spent years trying to find and became a fugitive for to go back in time (a time where your brother is getting tortured by nazis and you can’t do anything to stop it because it will like break the timeline or whatever) to be with the girl you kissed once. like are you kidding me. who in their goddamn right mind would leave their sibling after all that. the answer is you wouldn’t and steve’s ending is stupid.

[hua-liansimp]

Thinking about how OG!SQQ would react if YQY actually formed a meaningful relationship with someone (other than him).

I'm thinking of someone who is or almost as influential as YQY, who can actually be a part of YQY's daily life. For example one of the other peak lords or someone from his own peak. Their relationship doesn't even have to appear romantic or start out that way (mostly because I believe YQY would just gently let down the person when he figures out their intentions), but strong friendship. Real friendship. Maybe they went on a mission together and they were drugged with truth serum and YQY ended up spilling all of his dirty secrets and feelings to this person, and now they have to be kept under close scrutiny (so they don't tell anyone about YQY's weakness). Except! Except they actually develop a relationship, a slow, genuine friendship through the months after (and when was the last time YQY actually opened up to someone? It feels... Strangely nice. YQY hasn't felt this light in years. His new friend is wrong about saying that YQY should tell SQQ what actually happened in the past, but it still feels nice to come clean). The other person doesn't give up on YQY, doesn't let him clam up and keep them out. (I think for this you really need someone who can actually bully YQY, but also someone YQY can feel like he can be useful to. Or perhaps even someone who reminds him of Xiao-Jiu? Someone who reminds him of one of the children from his own childhood?) Gradually, they start spending all of their time together, though it's almost always the other person who initiates it, not YQY. But he doesn't seem to mind it, not at all.

Their sect siblings and the disciples are watching - and behold, someone saw YQY laughing?! Genuine, inelegant, bark-like laughing?! YQY is seen hugged by this person, dragged around, manhandled, touched so freely as if he wasn't the Sect Leader?! YQY's smile sometimes turns strange when this person is around - were all of YQY's previous smiles fake?! You can't even run into YQY anymore without that other person present! They're like a pair of bonded cats! They're calling them the Twin Sect Leaders now!

The occasional visits to SQQ never stop, neither do the gifts, but SQQ is watching carefully. I don't think he would do anything at first, but it would hurt. He might think the other person is only trying to get close to YQY because he is the Sect Leader, maybe he thinks YQY is a naive idiot for letting them so close, but he is watching and he is wondering. Does YQY actually care for that person, instead of keeping them at arms-length like he seems to keep everyone? Is he being completely replaced? Scoff, it's a wonder it hasn't happened sooner.

Deep down, I think it might be hell for SQQ. Seeing someone occupy the space beside YQY that he used to occupy - Qi-ge seemingly has a new nearest and dearest, someone he can fully dote on again, someone he can devote all his time and annoying (fake) earnest sincerity to. He probably forgot about SQQ completely. Why would he even remember that dirty orphan who clung to him so pathetically? He has already left him in the dust once, so why does it feel like it is happening again? (I think SQQ might gradually work himself up enough to a) Leave the mountain b) kidnap YQY's new friend to make them come clear about their intentions or/and c) have a qi-deviation breakdown that almost kills him.)

Meanwhile YQY's new friend is trying to slowly push YQY into mending his broken relationship with SQQ or at least coming clean to him, for YQY's sake. Those idiots are clearly meant for each other.

[professional-rat-eater]

Let’s just be super clear. If you ship Daniel and Armand and you genuinely believe it wasn’t a horribly abusive relationship, then you are reading their relationship wrong and you also believe there are circumstances where relationships between kidnapper/abuser and kidnapped/abused can work. Saying it’s just fiction doesn’t make sense because it still doesn’t exist there.

It’s not about the law, or what was common at the time. The relationship is believable. That definitely happened back in the 1970s. It’s not about whether it could have happened, because those relationships still happen in some places. But just because we don't want to use the medical term for the severe damage being done to Daniel’s mind, does not mean it didn’t happen.

There is no context that you could give that would make a relationship between a regular human (a deeply traumatised one) and a grown powerful abuser healthy. It does not exist, even in fiction. Daniel was an actual human and that isn’t how humans work.

Just call it what it is. If that’s gonna be your thing, be honest about what it actually is. If Daniel himself can acknowledge it, then you should be able to as well. It’s impossible to actually discuss these characters if people are just going to lie and purposely misinterpret them. Daniel’s trauma is literally the entire Devil's Minion thing and Armand is all that there's to it. If Armand isn’t an abusive creep, he is simply not Armand.

LMAO! So for anyone seeing this that didn’t see the post that provoked it, this is word-for-word a post I made about Marius and Armand’s relationship but with the names swapped out for Daniel and Armand.

Hey anon, these are not equivalent and I think you know that. Yes, I’m sure there more people like Daniel who were stalked around the globe by ancient vampires in the 1970s. Maybe there’s enough for them to start a support group for each other. And yes, you’re so right that this is exactly the same as real children who are groomed by real adults in the real world. What a fair and reasonable comparison to make that isn’t at all reductive to both DM and the character you’re trying to defend.

I know you probably think this is the call out post of the century but you’ve neglected to consider a pretty significant detail:

Virtually every Devil’s Minion shipper knows they’re toxic, much like Marius fans who understand him can admit to what he is. I know DM are toxic. If I knew Daniel irl, I would be telling him to get the fuck out of there. We all know Armand is evil and manipulative. It’s literally why we like him. I saw how pathetic and fucked up he was and was immediately enchanted by him. You see the difference between that and the specific Marius fans I talk about? We acknowledge exactly what Armand is and enjoy his character for it. We don’t pretend he isn’t a manipulative murderer. That’s (part of) why we like him. Of course that’s not to say there aren’t those who mischaracterise him too, but you responded to me so I can only speak for myself and what I see my mutuals posting about. I love Armand for what he is. All the good parts, all the bad parts, and that is literally all my Marius post was about. Holy shit. It was the singular point I was actually making. You were so close to getting it. I couldn’t give a fuck who your favourite character is, but quit pretending he’s not everything he is because you’re not a fan of him then. You’re a fan of a fanfic version of him.

I think I’ve probably posted at least a dozen times by now about Armand’s trauma shaping him into a monster, but you used DM so let’s go with that. You what’s particularly interesting about them? The many examples of Armand recreating behaviour Marius subjected him to with Daniel. The love bombing, lavishing him with gifts, being incredibly hot and cold with him emotionally, withholding vampirism from him and eventually turning him when he was dying. They’re a deliberate parallel!! Hello!? Terrible example to use!! It’s almost like traumatised people can in certain cases go on to recreate their trauma to try and make sense of it. You can also see this in Armand’s treatment of Claudia. They could’ve bonded over neglect by their makers and being turned young, but Armand decided to take out his trauma on her instead. I love how fucked up he is. Pretty much every Armand fan who gets him is the same. All DM’s existence proves is that Marius actually did deeply damage Armand’s ability to accept love and how he formed relationships, because he’s a fucking predator in multiple senses of the word. Whataboutism literally doesn’t change a thing. Armand could’ve gone after someone underage too and it still wouldn’t change anything about Marius. If anything, it would’ve reinforced it.

But notice how you were forced to acknowledge that Daniel was in fact a grown adult at the time? If he hadn’t been, the ship wouldn’t be nearly as popular.

Most. People. Don’t. Like. Pedophiles. You can’t be this much of a fan of one and be sensitive about it. I’m sorry to be harsh but it’s literally just the truth. Armand fans get enough shit from people who hate him, and it is only going to be worse if you like Marius. I’m not suggesting that’s okay or that I would dream of contributing to it, but it is going to happen more and more after s3 of the show airs. Prepare for that in whatever way is best for you.

You couldn’t even have your username attached to this. If you’re gonna go so hard to defend your favourite pedo, at least have some conviction about it. No one cares who your favourite character is. Well, I’m sure some people do but those people are weirdos and you should learn to ignore them. Love him as much as you want. I’m actually looking forward to seeing him in season 3, even if he is an utter bastard. Just either quit the mischaracterisation or suck it up and get on board with the fact that even in a fictional setting, and even in gothic horror, people do not vibe with pedophiles and they never will.

[wigglesdtuff]

do you have any favorite one piece panels? or robin panels? from the manga :)

Sorry I took so long, I just have SO much I want to talk about. Since I have another ask about Robin panels, this one will focus on my favorite panels in general and I'll focus on Robin ones on that ask! These also aren't all just panels, some of them are pages/spreads. Some are emotional, some are aesthetic, and some are just funny. These are ones that impacted me specifically, and not all of them are like. Super iconic moments or ones I see a lot maybe? Some of them are. I'm rambling, this is a really long post. Sorry. I just love One Piece...

This is one of the first panels that hooked me in when I saw spoilers for Gear 5. It stuck with me SO much when I finally started the journey. There's so much joy and light in it, and intrigue with why Robin is sitting to the side. This panel will live in my heart forever.

I don't need to explain the emotional impact of the Summit War Saga, but I cannot applaud Oda enough for having the end of it being our hero weeping that he has his crew that he loves and that they're a light to the darkness he just went through.

I have a lot of attachment to characters who are young and have to grow up early, and Momo is like an insanely good example of this. But ALSO the way Luffy encourages his autonomy and his choice and hypes him up to fight for his own freedom alongside him. I just love these brothers.

It's a similar story with Bonney for me. The way he encourages her to fight for herself and what she's lost for her freedom - something SO important for her and Kuma - makes me cry. The faith she has in the future because of Luffy is just. So. Good. The things this manga has to say about joy in laughter, freedom, and creativity means SO MUCH TO ME. There's also something so special about the way she says she's been looking for him, and he responds that he's been with her the whole time. It's so.

I just think this is one of the best pages in the manga. Genuinely.

More Kuma, but I find this panel from the chapter that's technically "unfinished" to be so fucking gutwrenching. I know a lot of it was due to time constraints and Oda's a busy guy, but the way he couldn't finish THIS particular chapter honestly? Added to the emotional impact for me? I could totally be wrong, but to me it felt like he got too emotional working on it and combining that with the time constraints he had to turn it in as it was, and I personally love seeing an artist's hand in their work.

The whole Roger flashback shook me to my fucking core. This part and when he finds the poneglyph on Skypiea specifically.... Ugh. Ough. I can't wait to see this story come to an end, but I don't want it to end.

I can't not talk about Brook, but his encounter with Big Mom is so incredible for him as a character. We once again see how unshakable his loyalty is, and calling an emperor "young lady?" Oh my God the balls on this skeleton. Also, I adore Big Mom, she's my favorite villain. I'll have to gush about her sometime too.

I have a very special connection with Toko and Hiyori specifically. I also lost my dad (though I have a complicated relationship with him, he ultimately did what he could for me and I will always love and miss him deeply in a way that it's hard to express) a few years ago. The horror of losing a loved one and only being able to laugh is. So powerful, Oda was insane for SMILE. However, there's also something I'm attached to 'cause I remember very distinctly the day he passed, I went to lunch with some friends to have company, and I remember my friend telling me later that she knew I would be okay because I was laughing. It didn't really stick with her the same way it did with me, but for some reason that thought stuck in the back of my mind. IDK I'm rambling, but I find the message of laughter in One Piece being tied to freedom very very important to me.

Speaking of Hiyori, I gotta say, 1044 is what got me into One Piece, but I didn't see ANYONE talking about Hiyori's role in that chapter when I saw the spoilers, so I didn't even think about it until I read it myself. When I tell you her entire scene with Orochi gave me goosebumps I am being so fucking serious. She did not, and I repeat, she did NOT "interrupt" Gear 5. She fucking HERALDED IT.

(Here's two that I just find so incredibly funny with or without context) I feel like I'm missing some and I'll come back and edit them if I think of them, but these are the non Robin centric ones that have really stuck with me. I know there's some in Arlong Park and all that that I'm missing, but yeah. It feels wrong to cut it off here but if you made it this far, thank you for reading!!

There's also the Mural, but that one is like. Fucking crazy and we don't know the FULL significance yet so I'll leave my thoughts on that until later.

[zbelle7]

I love analysis like this but I don’t know if I fully agree? Yes Lumon limited the innies’ exposure to knowledge as much as possible, but they still found ways to connect with the restricted writing and art even if it was all just propaganda and cult like paraphernalia they were given and Burt and Irving are the prime example of that. It’s fundamental to how they met.

Outie Irving is obviously someone very cultured and drawn to art and the pursuit of knowledge and that reflects in his innie. When he arrived on the severed floor he felt ‘shapeless’ and quickly drunk the Lumon kool aid because being part of the company made him feel wanted and gave him a purpose. That’s why he memorised the handbook and recited passages from it like it was Shakespearean prose, why he cried over the ugly paintings and why he basically wrote his own fanfiction about the Eagan family lmao. And it’s the initial reason why he bonded with Burt so quickly; he was a kindred spirit and someone who understood his passion for the company lore. But I think it’s super important that we never see outie Burt and Irving bond over art. In the real world they’re clearly also drawn to each other without necessarily talking about their shared interests because their personalities compliment one another.

I don’t think the lack of commonalities is why Ms Casey and Mark S didn’t instantly connect. I think it’s because Ms Casey and Gemma are clearly much less alike than the other innies are to their outies. Ms Casey isn’t just Gemma’s severed self the way Helly is Helena’s or Mark S is Mark Scout’s. Ms Casey was created very specifically for her counsellor role just as her other innies were designed for their specific roles. She’s polite and sweet but direct and seems devoid of emotion. That is until she gets to hang out with other actual people in the MDR office for a day instead of being switched on for random 30 minute sessions. She finds out the Irving likes Burt and tells Irving she saw him in the conference room. She’s genuinely relieved when she finds Helly and Mark alive and well after they ran away from her. She cries when she’s ‘fired’ from her position. Mark and Ms Casey might not recognise each other but Cobel is clearly unhappy that Ms Casey has even the slightest emotional reaction in her final session with Mark. In hindsight, Ms Casey felt the like the most Cold Harbor adjacent Gemma innie that we met.

So yeah I don’t think Mark/Gemma/Ms Casey and Mark/Helly/Helena can really be compared because it’s not a level playing field. Ms Casey isn’t Gemma S, she’s another one of the lab rats Lumon created on the testing floor to conduct their experiments. And I think an actual severed Gemma and Mark would’ve 100% bonded, if not through shared interests and passions then through their complimentary personalities, just as outie Burt and Irving/outie Mark and Helena did.

This might be nothing but I think part of why we perceive love transcending severance for markhellyna and not markgemma is because markgemma’s connection is based on something very different from markhellyna’s.

For Mark and Helly, their connection comes from their shared sense of humour, which isn’t something that severance takes away. All versions of Hellyna can make all versions of Mark laugh fairly effortlessly, and vice versa. It’s a sense of humour that’s weird and dark and off-putting to other characters, which is why it works so well to build their chemistry. A normal person would be weirded out by Helena telling Mark he should meet her father, but not Mark. A normal person would be freaked out by Helly joking about wearing Mark’s face, or Helena wondering what Dieter’s dick turned into, but Mark just adds on to the joke on both occasions. I know we joke that he’s just laughing at her jokes because he’s horny, but I think we’re supposed to understand that he genuinely finds her hilarious. I think this is also why the argument that Mark loves Helly less because he couldn’t tell her apart from Helena doesn’t really work for me. He couldn’t tell her apart from Helena because he genuinely connected with Helena over the same thing he connected with Helly over; their sense of humour. She didn’t have to fake that, it was already a part of her.

I could be a bit off here because I only watched 2x07 once, but I believe Mark and Gemma’s connection comes from their shared passion for knowledge and and scholarly pursuits, which is something Lumon has taken from their innies entirely. We see how hungry for knowledge innie Mark is with the way he fixates on Rickon’s book. The innies don’t have access to any form of knowledge aside from Lumon’s propaganda, which is particularly tragic for Mark and Gemma’s innies, because the pursuit of knowledge is so fundamental to each of their identities. Thus, there’s no basis for Mark and Ms Casey to connect in the way that Mark and Gemma did, because Lumon stripped them of the thing they have in common.

[wei-ying-kexing-apologist]

Bengiyo's Queer Cinema Syllabus

I've been doing this self imposed challenge where I watch all the films on @bengiyo's Queer Cinema Syllabus. Last month I start Unit 6: Gems which includes the following films: Big Eden, Shelter, Weekend, Private Romeo, Were the World Mine, The Birdcage, Make the Yuletide Gay, The Sum of Us, Boy Erased, Boys, Summer Storm, C.R.A.Z.Y., North Sea Texas, Saturday Church, Boy Meets Girl, The Adventers of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Too Wong Foo Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.

Today I watched

Shelter (2007) dir. Jonah Markowitz

[Run Time: 1 hour, 37 minutes, Language: English]

Summary: When his college dreams are sidelined by family obligations, a young man finds comfort in surfing with his best friend's brother.

Cast: - Trevor Wright as Zach - Brad Rowe as Shawn

___

Shelter was such a lovely little film. Another good example of how a film does not have to be ridiculously expensive in order to be good. It’s definitely an indie film, the video quality and the acting is not top tier but the performances are still compelling and the story is able to fit quite a bit of complexity in to a rather short run time. (Especially considering this movie was filmed in 21 days). 

I think overall my favorite part of Shelter was the way the film used Zach’s graffiti as a way to show him working through his own feelings. Zach’s life is chaotic even though he is stuck in the same cycles, trapped in the same town and his artwork mimics that. I loved watching the graffiti on the side of the building grow in to something that was chaotic, in to something tangible, something legible, something that was no longer abstract but was a picture of home and of love. To watch Zach build this for himself, to watch him sit and ponder it, to watch him stare miserably at his graffiti disappearing back behind beige paint when he’s adrift after dumping Shawn and trying to wrestle all his dreams back to the pit where he stored them the first time he undermined his own desires for the sake of his family. 

gif by @brittany

My second favorite part was watching the relationship between Zach and Shawn unfold. The way that Zach kept going for the intimacy between him and Shawn and then retreating the second that his sister would ask him questions. The second she would call him out for putting himself before others. She didn’t want to deal with the possibility that he was a fag so he internalized that homophobia and started lashing out at Shawn, started getting worried about leaving Shawn alone with Cody because his sister was worried about Shawn being gay and alone with her child. But there was such a hunger and desperation there, you could feel it in the scene where Zach initiates physical intimacy.

gif by @zanephillips

And you know that Shawn is going to be really good for Zach because even as Zach was lashing out at him, even after Zach dumped him, and he got some (imo) necessary correction about the class differences between them and why it is harder for Zach to actually go for what he wants, he still submitted Zach’s portfolio to Cal Arts. Shawn wanted to make sure that Zach had the opportunity to choose for himself what he wanted. 

There were a lot of things that I hated about Jeanne, but she was a complex character who did the right thing in the end, and so I have to give her some props for that. I appreciate that the film made sure that we all knew that there was love there between Jeanne and Zach because so many of Jeanne’s behaviors throughout the film feel selfish and detached from genuine care for her family. 

And finally, I am so glad that Cody ended up with Zach and Shawn. The kid broke my heart open when he turned to Zach early on in the film and said “you’re my dad” to his uncle, especially when he continued to claim Zach as his father even after Zach explained the nature of their relationship. But jokes on Zach cause Cody was right all along. Zach is his Dad now, and so is Shawn, and that is the best possible outcome for Cody that could exist. I loved that we ended the film on all of them playing together on the beach. 

gifs by @deanseyes

Favorite Moment

I was going to initially claim Cody calling Zach his father as my favorite moment of the film, then it was going to be the introduction to the sex scene. But after completing the movie I have actually landed on the moment where Shawn and Zach are in bed together talking about the future and Shawn tells Zach he’s so beautiful and Zach responds with “shut up” and Shawn’s voice goes soft and quiet and asks him why he can’t take a compliment and Zach just goes silent and small under the weight of that. His little “thanks”? Ohhhhhhhhh it killed me. What a wonderful scene!

can't find a gif of the actual scene, so please have this beautiful gif by @indigomood instead

Favorite Quote

“What changed?”�� “I did.” 

Final Score: 

9/10 

I understand why it has been so high up on the list of the Top 100 Gay Films for so long.

[archie-mp3]

I need to rant about how hypocritical the Marauders fandom is.

I need to start this off by saying that Snape isn’t a good person, rather he’s morally grey. It’s canon that he is morally grey. Yes, he was not the nicest towards students. But that does not make him the devil, especially when other teachers were guilty of this as well.

First off, the idolization of other Death Eaters who were genuinely blood-purist and were bad people. Regulus and Barry Crouch Jr are examples of this, as well as Peter Pettigrew. Yes, both didn’t have ideal home lives, neither did Snape. If anyone is going to use the argument of: “Snape bullied children!!” Barty tortured Neville’s parents, and actively plotted against Harry during the fourth book. Regulus only “switched” sides because of pettiness. While Lily was the main reason why Snape betrayed the Dark Lord, why is that such an issue? It’s a wake-up call. Pettigrew also betrayed his friends out of selfishness, and then killed others, yet he doesn’t get any backlash, and if he does, it isn’t as bad as Snape’s.

None of those three ever get called a Nazi or a racist. Furthermore, quit using Nazis and racist as a synonym for Death Eaters. They aren’t. Blood-supremacy isn’t against a race, you can be ANY race and still be a blood-purist. It’s more classist than anything. Constantly calling Snape and his fans racist and Nazis only waters down those terms, and hurts the victims of those terms. (I’m part Japanese and I have had to deal with being called both a Nazi and racist remarks about my race. It’s frustrating to see people misuse those terms just because they don’t like a character.)

Snape betraying the Dark Lord for Lily is the equivalent of Katniss tributing herself for her sister. While Lily and Snape may not have been blood-related, Snape did still deeply care for Lily. (No, this is not an indication of obsession. If you are going to say that it is, please cite your sources from any canon material with the exact page number or interview.)

Also, Snape was never a blood-purist. He showed genuine remorse for calling Lily a Mudblood. Later in the series in The Prince’s Tale, he yells at painting for calling Hermione a Mudblood—a student he has actively shown disdain for. He did this while he was alone in the headmaster’s office. He had no reason to correct the painting for using that word if he was a blood-purist.

Overall, stop mischaracterizing Snape to be the devil just because you don’t like him. I am willing to bet you that you do have the ability to hate a character a normal amount.

[fizzyrodeo]

one of the small things i've always liked about blitzø is that we see him take accountability for his actions early on. in 'spring break' he didn't deny that he ditched verosika and maxxed her credit card, and he didn't deny anything she accused/called him out on in 'apology tour' either. i can't remember if there are other examples of him taking accountability but the only example i can think of when he denied accountability was when moxxie accused him of being a stalker in the pilot episode, and that was more of a comedic bit than blitzø genuinely thinking he was doing nothing wrong.

side note: after returning to this topic later, there are two more counts i can recall of blitzø not denying accountability, but ignoring it. he ignores accountability for being the one to seduce stolas in the first place, which started their whole arrangement. and i don't think at any point in the series it's come up how blitzø is a homewrecker. everyone makes a deal (whether big or small) about stolas cheating, but octavia is the only character who acknowledges blitzø as a homewrecker and it doesn't come up in any scenes outside of hers. despite recalling this, i'm still more privy to blitzø. in my opinion ignoring accountability isn't so bad if you own up to it once it's brought up. however, stolas has counta of both ignoring AND denying accountability.

a big part of why i'll never fully like stolas (or at least the stolas we currently have) is because up until 'mastermind' he didn't take accountability for any of the wrong things he did wrong (and also he didn't even really take accountability for his collective wrongdoings in 'mastermind' all he owned up to was willingly lending blitzø the grimmoire, but the circumstance raises the question 'does he actually see why that was wrong of him to do?')

with stolas it's always "i've tried" or "i'm not this person you think i am" but no significant efforts on his behalf to back it up, meanwhile with blitzø it's "yeah, i did that. maybe regretfully so, but i did do that".

[mohntilyet]

is this a safe space to admit i really don't even like the lines in lucanis' first romance scene where he says something like "perfectly gathered clouds of doom" . but that does not stop me from loving him very much. i'm choosing to see this as a guy who is the terrible combo of reads romance novels, has never had a romantic relationship before AND his definition of 'good flirt' is synonymous with 'illario' so he's got an incorrect definition of what's actually romantic. the less lucanis is specifically trying to be romantic the more he becomes irresistible but i don't think he's caught onto that yet

[lorelune]

in that same vein, i mean it so fr that i do this for fun. writing is a hobby. thirsting over fictional men is the fun reprieve i have away from my deeply independent, corporate grindset. i am here on tumbls and posting my silly little thoughts and words because i have FUN and be silly and share!!!

[kagoutiss]

pays for his therapy

[idiaa-shroxd]

YOUR WRITING IS SO PRETTY I COULD EAT IT. YOU CHARACTERIZE THE CHARACTERS SO WELL TOO!!!

thank you so much!! ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ happy you think my writing is very pretty!! and also makes me happy you think my characterization was correct.

when writing for characters always take a bit of extra time to ensure they sound good? thinking about having an actual conversation with them for a minute and what they’d do! ♧ personally a big fan of viginettes since that reveals a lot of a character more than mainstory.

Σ('◉⌓◉’) mini (huge) rant within the tags of the way of my process to understand a character!!

[doomdoomofdoom]

okay so regardless of whether it was him or not, there's misinformation in this post and it's gonna bug me if I don't point it out.

Angles of camera footage and press coverage are different and yes eyebrows can grow back fast as fuck depending on your grooming method and genetics. something something italians.

I haven't seen any claim of him being arrested with the found clothing. They found the "distinctive" backpack in the park, the one he was arrested with wasn't described in any coverage I read. The jacket found inside the distinctive backpack was only described by brand. If both released photographs from the Hotel lobby (taken on different days btw) are to be believed, he owns at least two jackets.

The found fingerprints are not from the crime scene. They were recovered from things assumed to belong to the shooter, like a phone, wrappers of a protein bar and a bottle or other drink container. That being said, I strongly do not believe these can verifiably match. The recovered print was both partial and smudged, and fingerprint analysis is in large parts subjective. Similar skepticism should be applied to any DNA samples and matches. (As far as I'm informed, they haven't done any yet)

Also I've said this before but being on the run from the cops makes "keeping your belongings with you" the smartest move. If he discarded the gun somewhere, he'd risk having it found and pointing towards him. I presume he kept the manifesto on him in case he was killed by police.

Also how exactly does picking a centrist scapegoat reignite a right vs left culture war? Picking a rich guy, sure, but why a centrist white guy? (Also this assumes the cops are competent enough to think that far or think at all, which is the most unrealistic part so far)

Ongoing news stories also do change as they develop. That's normal. The current understanding is that a patron alerted an employee who called the police.

You can believe Mangione was framed or you can believe he did it, but use the correct facts or your argument falls apart.

Much more importantly: Luigi Mangione has no shot at getting a fair trial. News everywhere have been plastering his face as the ("alleged") killer. He's supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, but we all know the system works the other way around. Even if he is fully cleared by the courts and they find the actual guy. This is now the legacy of Luigi Mangione. And he will never be able to be free of it.

That, if nothing else, should piss you the fuck off. Fall Guy or not - the way his case is being treated and displayed for the public, it's disgusting.

I don't want to be a conspiracy theorist on main but all the memes about Luigi Mangione kind of piss me off bc I am 90% sure he is not the assassin.

I know I've joked in the past that all white men look alike but Luigi Mangione litterally does not look like any of the shooter pics.

The shooter has a long face and a sharp chin, Mangione has a more square face and rounder chin, and THE EYEBROWS!! You're gonna tell me he groomed his eyebrows before commiting a murder and they just grew back completely in less than a week? Nah

Not to mention, police claimed he was wearing the same jacket and backpack from the day of the shooting. You know, the same jacket and backpack the NYPD found discarded in Central Park?

And they're saying his fingerprints match the crimescene even though security footage clearly shows the shooter wearing GLOVES!!

Not to mention, after every meticulous step taken to get away with the shooting, why would the perpatrator still be carrying the murder weapon and a manifesto??

I genuinely believe the cops are using Luigi Mangione as a fall guy. They found a centrist Ivy League kid who kind of matched the description in order to shift the narrative from class war back to a less threatening "left vs right" culture war.

His politics are messy enough that people will spend more time debating over what side of the spectrum he is on than the actual issue at hand. THIS IS A DISTRACTION!

Also the story is all over the place. Was it a McDonalds employee or patron that reported him? The story keeps changing but either way it sends the message that the working class will turn on itself during an unprecedented moment of class unity and solidarity in the United States.

Also I think pinning this on an Ivy League kid was done in an attempt to shift the narrative from the assassin being a working class hero to just another trust fund kid. That being said, even if it WAS him, an Ivy League trust fund kid has more in common with you than you have with the 1%.

So people in the US, please think critically about the distraction tactics being pushed onto you and don't forget who the real enemy is.

Keep solidarity.

Deny

Defend

Depose

[neverendingford]

.

[byjove]

I hate it when actors talk about an animal they had to work with on set and it’s obvious they were not patient with the animal at all. You especially see this with non cat people who had to work with cats and are like “Working with that cat was the bane of my existence, never on cue, scratched me once, always seemed afraid of me.” Like yeah, she’s a cat. She could probably sense you hated her. It’s hard enough to be an animal in the entertainment industry without some guy being a dick to you. Are you that uncharitable with human costars (and particularly child actors) or do you just hate animals?

Conversely, it’s so heartwarming when an actor speaks positively about an animal they worked with and/or there are behind the scenes stories of the crew genuinely trying to make the animal comfortable and giving them grace.

One of my favorite examples of this is Mad Max 2 (1981) which was made on a budget of $4.5 million AUD (about $13.5 USD in today’s money). They ended up casting a dog from the pound that was scheduled to be put down and by all accounts the dog was a nightmare to work with. But most of the cast and crew loved him. The dog’s name was Dog so his character’s name was also Dog. He was difficult to train but super food motivated so they kept writing dog food into scenes for him. He kept freaking out on set and they couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Eventually they realized part of the reason he kept acting out was because he was terrified of the sound of cars and motorcycles so they had special doggy earplugs made. His character was supposed to be aggressive but real Dog was very affectionate and could not be made to behave aggressively so they had to use selective editing to make him seem more menacing. When filming was done multiple crew members wanted to adopt him because he was such a good bad boy. He was adopted by one of the stuntwomen and got to live out the rest of his life doing actual blue heeler things. That was his only film role.