#and that. i don't do cause everything is full of biases (which is to be expected ofc nobody is immune)

[blanketforcas]

making a post about cas is like omg cas <3 making a post about dean is like wait should i first consult 4 different spreadsheets and read up on meta before i even utter a word about him

[theeroins]

If I say that I'm not used to people misinterpreting my favorite characters, I'd be lying. But the way they get so many things wrong about Inho's character is kinda pissing me off because you KNOW that most of them do it to cancel out the possibility of InHun being *something* more than what's shown so far. You don't ship them, that's fair, frankly I don't care. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion UNTIL your opinion is wrong.

Let's talk about a couple of things I've seen being talked about on tiktok (🙄)

“Inho joined the games because ilnam said that it'd basically be more fun to play than to watch so he followed his example." loud incorrect buzzer ! Inho has joined the games before, and not only that, he's also a previous winner, so therefore he's very much aware of what it's like to be a part of it, he's experienced them first hand, just like he's experienced the atrocities of it. they've changed him for the worst and possibly caused him a huge trauma —they're the reason he's lost faith in humanity after all— so, why would he crave to relive it just for the thrill of it? i, personally doubt he even enjoys watching the game.

“Inho didn't look at Gihun with love, he likes to watch him suffer” Short answer is no. He doesn't like to watch him suffer, neither he looked at him with love, not the pure kind of love at least. Two things can be true at once. Inho spent half the season staring at Gihun because everything about the man intrigued him; His determination, his stubbornness, his kindness, his hope, his heart that's full of love despite the pain he suffered, even the pain in his eyes every time someone got eliminated in front of him as if it was the first time it had happened, as if the cruelty of it all surprised him every damn time. How can someone, who's been through the same things Inho has been through, be the polar opposite of him?

now, the reason(s) that I think Inho actually joined the games for..

(yes I am an Inhun shipper, does that make my opinion a little biased? maybe. do i still believe I'm right? absofuckinglutely.)

Let me clarify this: Inho is NOT a good man, no matter the redemption arc he might get in s3, he'll continue to be a terrible person because nothing will ever erase the blood he's spilled and the evil men he's worked for. BUT at the same time, he's not ALL bad, not like the VIPS and ilnam. See, Inhun are the average "yin-yang" trope in fictional romance, (which I eat up every time and I find it very interesting when it's done the right way, don't get me wrong) Inho is bad but there's some goodness somewhere deep inside him. And the only person who's brought it to the surface is Gihun. Sure, he does think Gihun is naive, but he's also the only person who's actually challenged him, who's "forced" him to get his stupid head out of the dirt and look around him, even for a short while and Inho definitely liked what he saw. Honestly, it wasn't even that hard for Gihun to do so because the goodness in Inho wanted and waited for someone to pull him out of the dirt, he wished for someone, something to give him hope for humanity or.. anything. Anything that'll help him escape from his misery.

You can definitely argue that he joined the games to befriend Gihun, to gain his trust and stop his plans when the time comes, which is half true. But keep in mind that he needed to justify his choice to join the games. He's not a VIP nor the mastermind to simply get to do that without consequences. He's the frontman, the one who controls and manages everything. He's needed for the games to work and go by smoothly and successfully without unnecessary losses and problems. Gihun would only cause problems, Inho knew that very well and yet he chose to put him in it once again. He recklessly made that choice, risking pretty much everything because of his inner conflict. A part of him wanted Gihun to prove himself to him, that there's indeed good that'll save the world and the rest of him wanted to prove to Gihun that everything he so strongly believes in is merely a fantasy.

Joining the games and befriending Gihun was the only way for Inho to see the real him, without the heroic mask he puts on every time he faces the frontman. I think he believed that someone as extraordinary as Gihun will either break in front of him and he will end up disappointed by the human kind once again, or Gihun will change everything about the way he thinks for the better. But the problem is that Inho hopes for both of those things at the same time.

And that was Inho's arc in season 2. His inner conflict and how it will affect him, the game and Gihun later on.

[leonawriter]

A few things about Carmen.

First of all, I'm biased because there are many things that imply she wasn't the greatest person even before she got Brain Vat-ed, but my entire Brand is "we have to look at things objectively and by looking at the facts in order to get a full and accurate picture of the way things are, not how we simply want them to be," so I'm going to do that. As best as I can.

Okay, so... what we know about her before she died is limited completely to other peoples' testimony, which is highly important because as we know from my other posts, Everyone Here Is An Unreliable Narrator.

That said, let's take a look at a few of those things.

I'd love to use images to prove I'm getting the dialogue straight from the game on every single line, but unfortunately Tumblr has an image limit of 30 per post! So. After a point, text only it is.

Starting from the past!

First, and the most recent (chronologically) yet objective of those takes on her, is Binah. Whose entire deal is to see things without getting caught up enough that you don't see the bigger picture, funnily enough!

Roland: Hang on, what? You mean the Carmen who recruited people for her quest to cure humanity? Binah: She strove to create a world without conflict. To elaborate, her idea of utopia was one in which people did not harm each other, and could mutually understand. She dreamed of a world where people could dream. Alas, she could never reach that ideal herself.

Now, this is interesting, because as said, Binah is someone who was never part of the team, who never followed Carmen, and the person she is interested in watching isn't Carmen - it's Ayin. He, after all, was the one who by the last loop could face his fear of her and confront her head on in her meltdown.

But she was also the one who was interacting with her the most over the past ten thousand years, unable to go mad from her dealings with the Bucket and Well. So there's this:

So. Yeah. Binah's had Carmen to talk with over that length of time.

We can see from this that Carmen's original goal was, in fact, to create a utopia where no one hurt each other and people could have their own dreams, rather than just the ones that the City gave to them (the need to survive).

However, that's not all we know about her.

Let's look at memories from those who actually interacted with her!

The problem here is that for the most part... that's reduced to one person: Ayin. And he's hardly reliable here! But... there are a few places where we can see others' perspectives, one way or another, and just because he's an unreliable narrator doesn't cause his opinions and memories from being useless for our needs here.

That's for the most part. We also have Angela and the Patron Librarians in Ruina to think of.

We know that she was someone who was warm and full of life, courtesy of Ayin, Angela, and Netzach:

Netzach: All I could think about was how brilliant and alive a person could be. She went on about how she'll change this world and its people. Whenever I saw Carmen brimming with joy and pride for her cause, I felt alive too.

We know that Carmen had fond memories of and warmth for Ayin:

Angela: Why did you have to model me after a person with fond memories of you?

And that she was excited to see people choose to work with her for her cause, and that she "wasn't the manipulative sort of person."

A(yin) [flashback]: Just ike everyone else, Michelle liked Carmen. That was not trickery or a show. She wasn't the manipulative sort of person who'd keep up such a facade, either.

She could understand that she had certain privileges, that others did not, but still wanted to help them:

Carmen: You know, I don't have any true contact with the lives of the people from the Backstreets, nor the pain they go through. From that I've always felt so ashamed of everything, even to be graced by a small ray of sunshine.

Gebura: But Carmen told me that she wouldn't give up on anyone, even people like us.

She was a workaholic who looked out for others:

A(yin): Th only problem was that Carmen was too wrapped up in taking care of others. She never had a moment to take good care of herself.

Carmen was the one who encouraged them to save Lisa and Enoch, from the Outskirts, and ensured that they'd be looked after:

Lisa: Besides, Carmen told us that we didn't have to worry about anything here, too. A(yin): Carmen personally asked her to bring the children here.

It was the trust between Carmen and the team that caused Daniel to choose Carmen's group over literally any other Wing:

Chesed: Manager, do you know why I chose to join your small company, instead of any other grander Wings? [...] It was because I liked how everyone here trusted Carmen.

All of which seems positive, right?

Except... the seeds (ha) of her becoming the sort of person who would shift "bring out the best potential in people" to "aren't you through with being nice? don't you want to be selfish and distort?" were there from the beginning.

In the very scene where Ayin is saying that Carmen isn't the manipulative sort of person, he also recounts that she had done this:

A(yin): If your beloved parents, or your precious friends try to coax you, are you confident that you'll be able to refuse them? A(yin, narrator: She wasn't able to say anything to my browbeating. Carmen broke the silence instead. Carmen: Don't be too harsh on her. She's amazing to be here at such a young age!

Maybe on its own, this would be a harmless action, but bear in mind: they are currently in or heading to a lab that is in the Outskirts for the sake of evading the eye of the Head. Ayin is watching out for Michelle by warning her of the very real danger she is putting herself into, if she isn't strong enough.

And Carmen brushes over his concerns, overrules him, and ignores the potential danger.

One could argue that this is a simple mistake, however it happens over and over again in the course of the flashbacks.

Over and over, she is able to be dismissive of others, not looking past what she sees in the moment, yet able to plan ahead, which is said to X right all the way back in Day 9:

Angela:  [Alright, the letter ‘C’. Not a bad choice.] Persons who select C believe that the process is more important than the outcome. Therefore, they are good at planning ahead and enjoy change. They will be able to gain insight and attain inner growth without being confined by the rules.

"Okay, but how is she dismissive of others? We've only seen her support Michelle so far!" Right then.

Kali: By the way, who's the guy glaring at me? Carmen: Oh, that's A(yin). He just always has a serious look on his face.

Effectively, she dismisses Kali's concerns about Ayin not trusting her, but also makes a joke out of Ayin's own RBF (which most likely has its origin in a lethal mix of autism and depression, based on my own read of him).

Even if all Carmen intended was to break the ice, this is not conducive to communication. No one's concerns are alleviated. Kali may now potentially dismiss Ayin's expression as irrelevant.

Daniel's recruitment comes with a double-whammy.

A(yin), flashback: "He's a bit pompous, so don't believe everything he says," she said to me.

Which is bad enough, encouraging your junior who has been with you this long to dismiss the words of someone who is choosing to work with you. These two people will be working together, and there is a certain irony in how Daniel chose to join Carmen's team because they all trusted her...

...but these last two especially beg the question - did they all trust each other?

And here's the other side of the Whammy, which also comes in two parts:

A(yin): I asked how she was able to recruit such an elite. Carmen answered nonchalantly, as if I had asked about something trivial. "Don't you know that by now?"

And as to what "that" might be... here's this, from when Daniel had just arrived, asking how she knew he was coming:

Carmen: I told you. No matter how great you may be, you will always be in the palm of my hand.

...excuse me, what was that?

Because first off, we have a certain level of pride and arrogance, in how she "nonchalantly" answers about how she could recruit someone from the elite. To her, this is something she can just do with ease. She sees no great feat where others would have to struggle.

But then there's this phrase: No matter how great you may be, you will always be in the palm of my hand. This gave me an immediate sense of discomfort when I first saw this scene. Not to mention, it's used in far less benign ways later on; Angela to Chesed (who she has been forcing to do unsavoury things, resulting in death) and notably several major enemies in Limbus Company.

The good guys do not use phrases such as these which inhibit the freedom and agency of a person.

One has to wonder how Carmen could balance "I want people to not hurt each other and to dream their own dreams" with the way of thinking that would encourage such a phrase to become so very associated with her.

Moving on, and in spite of being safe from the Outskirts, Lisa and Enoch weren't actually happy, or safe themselves.

Enoch: Well... what if we said Carmen was our new mom, then? Lisa: No... This isn't the same at all... Let me go home, please...

More importantly... when Enoch asks "Please allow me to participate in the experiment"-

A(yin) [flashback]: Carmen spent many nights thinking about his earnest request. Then, finally, we... >Approved his participation.

Adults have a duty of care to children to NOT DO THIS.

Concerningly enough, there are implications that she may have known this would happen - she says in no uncertain terms to Ayin that:

Carmen: I have something I should confess. I actually have a much weaker heart than everyone thinks. I always say stuff like “count on me” and “just follow me” in front of everyone… But I’m never sure about the things I do. If anyone were harmed or put in trouble because of what I do… I would definitely be shaken and end up hating myself. I know that. That’s why I need to ask you for a favor. No matter what I may become, please finish what I started. We humans have weak hearts. One crack and it will easily crumble. I am no exception to this, but you… You’ll endure through it. There is only one way out, and it’ll never change. You know what I’m trying to say, right?

Basically? She more than implies that she knows perfectly well that if she caused someone to be hurt because of the path she takes to getting what she wants (her ideal world), she'll "crumble."

She approved Enoch going into the experiment knowing this about herself.

She also knew that she couldn't face her fears, so she placed all of the weight of that onto one person: Ayin. When realistically, no one human should have been given that kind of weight to carry all on their own. Based on our knowledge of what happens next, we know that Ayin, too, is no exception to the "humans have weak hearts" rule.

Then, we reach how she is after Enoch dies, once she's in her own unstable state:

Abel: I saw her eyes right after opening that door. Those eyes, soaked with red, as she had to endure cruel reality. She walked into your lab and started illustrating her hypothesis. Carefully, yet decidedly. You wanted to tell her it was preposterous, but like always, she had you persuaded. You had no choice but to admit it was the only way. What made me, us, so upset... Abel: Was how much it hurt to listen to her put it so calmly, as if it were none of our business. And how much we loathed ourselves for just having to tolerate it.

So, in essence, she had a very forceful personality, and she steamrollered all over Ayin's objections to her hypothesis, which can be theorised was the origin of the Seed of Light Scenario, and the very Script itself, as the devs have confirmed that she had a hand in it, to the point where she at least detailed out what the hiring practices should be (this is in one of the interviews).

She is very good at convincing people to think what she thinks is best, and to do what she wants them to do. Remember that phrase of hers? "You are always in the palm of my hand." Here, we see a direct example of that as Ayin was trying to fight back, but she put down his objections.

Possibly most important is that last line there - remember that this is implied to be almost certainly her discussing things that Ayin should do to continue her work after she is gone. We do not know the details, but if we look at even the bare minimum... he has to do some horrendous things, even without putting his friends/former coworkers in metal boxes. And here is Carmen, talking about the future, with Ayin knowing that it is in fact going to be him who has to do all of this. But does he get a say in this?

No. He does not. He simply "tolerates" her putting it "calmly, as if it were none of [his] business."

All in all, the overall picture so far of Carmen is of someone who... has grand dreams, high ideals, and who may not see the end as justifying the means, but appears to believe that cruelty has to be "endured" regardless, all of which makes her, quite simply, a very flawed human being.

What came next?

Well, we know that Carmen became the Bucket, dipping into the Well of the human subconscious, because of Binah. We know that she was still alive.

We know through Hokma that agents employed by Lobotomy Corporation's Headquarters had records made, and that any one of them could be brought back at Hokma's will.

We... also know that a fair number of Abnormalities have traits in common with her.

Of the most blatant, there's Bloodbath (the method of her death), and WhiteNight.

Bloodbath drags agents into it, and you get more Positive Enkephalin boxes for each agent in the bath (i.e, sacrificed to it). However, you don't get unique boxes, meaning that there are significant drawbacks (you lose agents, and you don't get gear).

This can effectively be another way of referring back to how Carmen's death only served to drag others down into depression and despair with her, and although they gained some things, there were significant drawbacks in that people died, and it wasn't even efficient.

WhiteNight starts off as the abnormality "Plague Doctor." Now, Plague Doctor is connected to Carmen in two ways - firstly, both she and the historical Plague Doctors wanted to cure an illness that plagued humanity, but there's also the fact that when fighting the others after the end, the Plague Doctor is the EGO that Angela, who was built based off of Carmen and spends most of the game emulating her, wears. Plague Doctors in history are also infamous for only having ineffective cures.

The supposedly Zayin Plague Doctor, after it has blessed twelve of the agents, however... will transform into WhiteNight, and immediately transform them into Apostles. The only ways for WhiteNight to be defeated are to completely kill WhiteNight itself, or to have the Twelfth Apostle do Confession work on One Sin and Hundreds of Good Deeds.

I've seen others suggest that this last apostle is Michelle, who told the Head about them, or it could be someone else. Personally, I like the idea that it was Michelle, but... I'm also partial to the idea that it's Ayin himself, given that even up to the duration of Ruina, we have the Librarians saying that they enjoyed being with Carmen, and Ayin was the first one of her followers to realise (during management, in ways they couldn't see) that perhaps they shouldn't be following her exactly to the letter and spirit anymore. So he's either that last one, or he's connected somehow to our good friend One Sin, who is there at the start of every single Facility.

This is due to Adam, who shares a lot in common with WhiteNight.

Adam: Abnormalities are the true humans of this age. They are the pure form that bursts out from the chrysalis that is our empty skin. They feared and tried to contain the Abnormalities. Do not place blame upon their ignorance. It is only natural for one to fear being naked in the face of the world. At least you and I know one thing. Carmen shall be our forbidden fruit for the new humanity.

Now, yes, we can't just take Adam's words as flat truth. But if we take how he speaks about Carmen, and the bad end you get from not being able to face him either through his questions or from failing his Core Suppression, we get something that's very similar to the fallout of the White Nights and Dark Days, but on a bigger scale.

People start distorting. It isn't called that yet, but as Adam sees it:

Adam: Everything that was suppressed, bursting out in every shape and figure possible. Does it not make you tremble in excitement? 

Yeah, that's distortion.

Even if Carmen wasn't WhiteNight before, and Ayin wasn't the twelfth apostle or One Sin at the start, they certainly are now.

Which leads us to - what about now?

Perhaps in contrast to what she was like before, perhaps not, she now focuses far more on the "you should live for yourself, rather than for the sake of the City" than anything else.

"The children that underwent the experiment…" "It's too late. The way back is gone. That clear ignorance of the world made the children rather burdensome." The merry voice mercilessly strikes down my question.

This is an exchange between Vergilius and Carmen, from Leviathan. Note how he expresses concern for the children he had been trying to save, and she is dismissive of his concerns, and described as "mercilessly" striking down his question.

She then goes on to emphasise to him how none of the awful things that happened were "his fault."

She also says something that calls back to Adam's words, regarding humanity and distortion:

"…It's certainly not a normal form to take." "Normal… To them, they are normal while the world is the abnormal one. But more importantly, they have come to cherish themselves and see the world through their own eyes."

Emphasis mine.

It isn't only Vergilius she's being dismissive of while attempting to distort him, however.

"It is to become a self unbound by the eyes and standards of the City. However, the resulting form changes depending on the way it was revealed. …Thanks to my junior, who has a different idea than me, joining the Light." The word "junior" being insignificantly introduced and disregarded bothered me. It was spoken with a light and calm tone, but I feel as if it was involved in every cause and effect.

Emphasis mine again, because as Vergilius says, that's a very big thing to just brush aside as a "by the way"! Ayin's very presence in the Light itself, without him having to say anything or do anything outright, allows people to manifest EGO - and yet, Carmen's reaction to this is not pride. She simply states it as a fact.

She also refers to Ayin as only her "junior," and not as someone who finished the work she started.

"If what you say is true… Are you saying we shouldn't look at anything other than ourselves?" "…You ask the same question as my junior. We must struggle, but as human beings, we should use reason, not emotion…" The voice adjusted itself. "So, he said, we have to fight in the most human way possible, through clothing and tools, while holding the human form in high regard." "……" "But that only pollutes the results. You don't need moderation when revealing yourself. After all, if you go through something without properly reaching its conclusion and keep going in such a roundabout way, your wish will become diluted and be forgotten all over again."

This is also vastly important towards understanding both Ayin and Carmen's different stances on humanity and distortion vs. EGO; Carmen here outright says things that have Vergilius asking if she means people "shouldn't look at anything other than ourselves," and I do have to wonder what tone she was taking when she talks about him, because of the line "the voice adjusted itself" - what from? She clearly isn't proud. Was it annoyance? Irritation? Here is another person who, like Ayin, is opposing her ideas of how things should work, after all.

She sees both Ayin and Vergilius' takes as "polluting the results." That you can't take other people into consideration when focusing on your dreams, because your own wish will be forgotten along the way.

I've put this here rather than right back at the start, because it's plausible that the past years as the Bucket have changed her, and she is in the light and all that now. But... how much, really, do we know hasn't changed? Do we know if this isn't what she felt all the way back before she died?

Remember: Ayin argued against her ideas before she killed herself. We were not privy to that argument, however... we are privy to this one - where she refers to his ideas as, as stated, "polluting the results." Do we know that this is not what she said all the way back then? Simply putting it in nicer terms, so that he had no way to say that she wasn't right?

Either way, she's gone from someone who wanted people to be able to understand each other without causing harm, while at the same time most likely being unaware of how harmful she was being to those around her, to someone who is causing others to distort, and sees absolutely nothing wrong with this.

The way I see it, Roland wasn't wrong in his estimation to call her a cult leader. She gathered people around her - often vulnerable people, several of them young - and told those who were old enough to think for themselves and who were able to go to other places that they were "always in the palm of [her] hand." She was able to walk the Backstreets even before recruiting Kali, a Grade 2 Fixer who would later become a Colour. Each of the people who she recruited trusted her more than they really and truly knew each other... it certainly has a lot in common with a cult, even if wasn't, or even if that wasn't what she intended.

There's a reason why, in my opinion, some of the Limbus Company enemies that are associated with her are people such as Kromer, Ahab, and Dongbaek, who drew people to their cause in spite of It being all for the sake of their own selfish desires.

All in all... when I say that I am biased against her and that I don't like her, my views come from how she is a person who was responsible for a lot of harm, be it intentional or not, and she foisted her work and problems onto others when she knew she couldn't carry on with it.

That said, I think that she is amazingly well written, nuanced, and quite frankly terrifying as a person.

[aingeal98]

Thinking about how happy Cass was when Steph became Robin because while she did agree with Bruce that Steph shouldn't be out on the streets fighting and it caused their first breakup, her issue was never against Steph as a person. If anyone didn't have a high enough level of fighting skill Cass would not want them in danger. But Steph kept stubbornly improving anyways and even though she might still not have been quite as good as Cass's anxiety would like, Bruce made her Robin which means Bruce must have changed his mind and now trusted Steph's potential and seen the same thing in her that made him take in Tim even though Cass doesn't fully understand that part yet. And Cass trusts Bruce so that's enough. Steph is happy Cass is happy they can spend time together which Cass loves and they don't have to fight anymore!

And then Steph gets fired and Barbara snaps at Cass and the next time Cass sees Steph she's so confused because why is she back in Spoiler gear now? Steph is Robin!

And even though Steph is going through emotional hell right now I think she understood there, the difference between Bruce and Cass. The way she didn't see back when they first fought. It's why she thanks Cass for her friendship even though it wasn't always smooth sailing. Even though she does have a right to be hurt and angry with Cass from before. Unlike Bruce, Cass isn't messing with Steph, jerking her around and treating her awfully for being a girl. She genuinely likes Steph and wants Steph to succeed and be a part of her life. Unlike so many other characters, she isn't unfairly biased against Steph. (She can be a jerk but she's an equal opportunity jerk. She'd treat any fighter on Steph's level the same, unless they have Bruce's approval in which case she'd trust the process. Doesn't make it fully OK but I think it's a nuance Steph appreciates in this scene.)

But then. But then. The next time they see each other war has broken out and Cass once again needs to step in and rescue Steph and.

It's the last conversation they have before Steph dies. She doesn't know Cass spent hours looking for her even in the middle of such a large turf war. She doesn't know how distracted Cass got, how passionate she was towards finding Steph even when Batman told her they couldn't afford it. She dies thinking Cass, while not viewing her like Bruce or Alfred does, still doesn't see Steph as an equal in any way that matters. And she's right! Cass loves Steph. Cass loves Steph more than she's loved any non family member in her entire life. Which doesn't change the fact that Cass does not think Steph should be out fighting, and she can only consider Steph an equal comrade when she's wearing the Robin uniform. Cass doesn't trust Steph's insistence that she's good enough, but she trusts Bruce's judgement. And Bruce is an asshole to Steph. Constantly.

They deserved to hash this out when Steph came back from the dead. Steph deserved to know how much Cass cared for her and she deserved to say exactly how Cass hurt her, no matter how good her intentions were. Cass deserved to tell Steph everything about how deeply the loss hurt her. And they both deserved the opportunity to agree on a second chance, to earn each other's full trust for once.

Anyways I'm having stephcass feelings tonight and I swear one day I will end up in the dc writers room and do... Well I'll do something to fix this that's for sure

[foundfamily-connoisseur]

Cramps are krampusing so uhhh my thoughts on these dudes as romantic partners and additional explanation cuz why not

Explanation in order of chart

Doc Louis:

have you seen how much he cares for his boy? Absolutely doting and will always find a way to make time for you. Honestly the only thing you'd need to talk to him with is balancing time together as partners and his own time as Macs dad i mean coach

Piston Hondo:

super respectful and he seems very communicative and willing to talk about whatever issues you two may have in a relationship(although i doubt you'd have many). He's not as obsessed with his position in boxing as some of the other folks, which means of course he'll make time for you and would enjoy doing things you'd like to do(even if it isn't his personal cup of tea)

Don Flamenco:

He's a Spaniard. Love and romance is his whole thing if he sucks at that literally what is he here for. I think if there was an issue it'd be how petty he can be(less with you and more on personal vendettas/grudges with other folks), nothing serious tho

Bald Bull:

Ok ik he has anger issues and maybe it's the biases talking but he literally only gets mad when ppl are all up in his face. Only difference between him and me is I just start bawling when that happens lmao.

I think he's the only one with bigger problems in the "good partner" section but he gets higher up because if he isn't bombarded with the paparazzi he's literally chill. Nice sweet and domestic scene me thinks

Bear Hugger:

He would prolly rank higher but I feel he's the type to be a bit dense. Nothing enough to be a major problem but you gotta spell out some things to him sometimes lol. Maybe a bit more rowdy/"dirty" than preferred, but outside of that he's a 10/10

Disco Kid:

Just nothing remarkable tbh. For sure sweet and attentive but he might be coming home late from a party (and it really will just be him losing track of time but sometimes you gotta go 🤨 😒 and give him an earful). Only fault would be his overt friendliness that might lead to others thinking he's flirting and he doesn't get it till you pull him aside and tell him and he's like OHHHHHHHH my bad lol

Glass Joe:

I probs should've ranked him higher lmao idk why he's there. I think the only thing I could fault him on is his innate stubbornness cuz no way is that only staying in the ring. It isn't that he'll fight with you on everything but he has a few select things that are his way or the high way and it just he like that.

Von Kaiser:

Look at him. He is filled to the brim with issues. I feel like his PTSD or whatever we want to assume he has gets to him a fair bit. Again I doubt it'll ever escalate to violence but there are times where it really does affect his ability to communicate or do things. Its assuredly a talk you two need to have and something you need to understand getting into the relationship. Also please get him into therapy I think that'll help but he's 42 I don't think he believes in that.

Mr. Sandman:

he'd be a fine boyfriend for sure, maybe a bit stoic in public with the occasional discrete smile here or there, but his anger issues are so much worse chat. Like he clearly values his position as world champion that when he lost it he wrecked a BUILDING!!!!

Im not going to say anyone here would be violent towards you but that man might punch walls or some shit. More than likely just absolutely obliterate his punching bag. His obsession might cause issues in your relationship that could lead to neglect on his behalf. You are for sure fighting with him on talking it out but he's sweet outside of that. If I had to move him he might teeter onto the rank below but the others are just worse so he gets saved there i suppose.

Great Tiger:

He just seems full of himself. Not as bad as SMM but enough that you'd argue with him from time to time. I feel like he'd use his clones to play silly pranks and they're fine until one day he does it when you're super tense and you end up yelling at him. His biggest sin is just not understanding what's funny to him could be annoying to you. It might take an outburst to set him straight than a one to one talk, though

Super Macho Man:

Does he treat the women he's with well? Yeah of course! At least when it comes to spending dough on them. He doesn't seem like the type to want a relationship in the first place, and if he does it's very brief since he's always looking for someone hotter than the last(or whoever is the most eager). If there is a genuine relationship, he thinks that gifts can supplement any other aspect to a relationship beyond showing you off, and would get mad that you ask him for a little quality time once in a while(like shut up he literally bought you a Porsche what more could you want????)

Also I'm going to be so real here if he doesn't think you're up to snuff looks wise he's going to be a bit of an ass. Mostly it's just him being more willing to push you aside for events and stuff because he considers you to be "lucky" that he's even sparing a minute of his time with you. Then surprised Pikachu face when you leave

Aran Ryan:

Who started this list I'm sorry chat but his ass is NOT ready for a relationship. What you get from this man is an emotionally stunted mess who can't process his own emotions beyond anger, much less yours. He either is dismissive of you at best or if he loves you completely still sucks because he doesn't know how to deal with those kinds of feelings.

He'd be possessive but not in the cute way; someone can look at you for a moment too long and he's bashing their skull in. Like it can even get to the point where he's iffy about any male friendships as a result.

Additionally that man can't process emotions for the life of him. I just feel like if he's sad he's the type to suppress it and ignore it via boxing or literally anything else until it catches up with him years later. As a result, you can literally tell him your grandpa died and he'd be like "damn" and go on with his day. Of course he feels absolutely fucking horrible for you but he assumes that his way of dealing with his problems is the way you should do it since ignoring problems = problems don't exist anymore.

Obviously, this does not work and you just end up fighting/crying. Genuinely he just doesn't seem ready for any kind of relationship and I don't think he thinks therapy is real or is the type to say it's for sissys or something.

On that note he's got a bit of misogyny to him(his quotes are not slay girlbosses) that are only not worse because his sister beats him straight.

Would he cheat? Eh. If it started off as a hook up or something than I just think he'd forget he's even in a relationship tbh. If he's actually in love absolutely not he's got standards sometimes

Soda Popinski:

I flip back and forth on where I'd place him because he seems fine overall, but of course it's his vice that does him in. It's more of a matter on how much you think his soda vice impacts his life, especially with Title Defense mode where he's super serumed with it. He's absolutely coming back home every day sloshed and you can only put up with that for so long. It's a balance act of his good character outside of his vice and the vice itself.

Donkey Kong: that is a gorilla. Ideally no one wants to date said gorilla.

Little Mac: he's aromantic to me chat he signed it to me himself.

I JUST REALIZED I DIDNT PUT KING HIPPO SHIT:

yeah nothing remarkable to him. At most yall are going to argue about how much money he spends on food but tbf you knew what to expect in this relationship idk why you're so surprised.

[kritzel]

Adams Past Thoughts

(English isn't my first language so sorry if I make mistakes)

After finishing HH I got to thinking, was Adam always the way that we see him in the show.

Because he, Lilith and Eve were created without original sin. So it wouldn't make sense for him to be a complete idiot from the beginning.

Here's what I think could be a possibility on what happened (after all we don't know how biased Lilith's book is):

First he and Lilith are created

Maybe he didn't really boss her around and it was more like a situation of a sibling telling the other sibling what to do (I know they where married but it's the only example I could think of)

"Just because you're older doesn't mean you can tell me what to do" kinda way (since Adam probably was made first)

But it was not supposed to be an order from Adam more like a suggestion

So Lilith walks of and meets Lucifer

Heaven realises Lilith won't work as a wife and they create Eve from Adam

Eve is a lot more naive than Lilith

Adam is explicitly told to look after her and make sure she is alright

He does just that and they both are happy together

Lucifer and Lilith create the fruit

And in a rare moment where Eve isn't with Adam she finds the tree

Eve eats the fruit

She gives it to Adam

He eats it too because he loves Eve and doesn't want her to endure the punishment alone

Everything goes downhill from here

I believe they were not really capable of feeling negative emotions before they ate the fruit

Eve being the first to eat it develops a lot of doubts towards Adam

Why wasn't he looking after me? That's what he was supposed to do now we are stuck in a world filled with danger and death

Adam ,who before the fruit didn't care about Lilith leaving him, was now starting to yearn for the woman he never had. She was supposed to be his and now she is with the most hated being of all creation.

They never really expressed the thoughts they had after eating the fruit with eachother

Resentment started building up without them really noticing

They still held love for eachother and tried to survive in a world full of danger

It went alright in the beginning

They had two kids

Everything seemed to look up

But of course Cane kills Abel

And that was the last nail in the coffin

Adam and Eve could not cope with the loss of both their sons (let's pretend Seth never becomes a person in this story)

They still tried to stay together

But the resentment grows bigger

Love turns into hate and a lot of hurtful things are said between them

They separate and go there different ways

And lets pretend Eve really did have something with Lucifer

As soon as Adam hears about that his hate for Lucifer and Eve just grows bigger

What is wrong with these women? What is it about this Lucifer?

He develops a lot of doubts about himself in his living life. Which causes him to develop the fear of being left by anyone who he lets into his life.

After he died he hears all about how great he is being the first man and all

And over the years he starts believing that he can do no wrong and it was only his wife's and Lucifers fault that everything went to shit

And even though deep down he wants a meaningful relationship he opted to just go for hook ups in fear of losing someone again

And after a few thousand years those things develop into the kind of person we see in the show

But this is just one possibility

I hope it is understandable what I'm trying to convey

Please share your thoughts with me.

What do you think happened all these years ago?

[lunatic-pudge]

Werewolf Sniper SFW and NSFW Headcanons

SWF

-Good lord, where do I even begin? Let's just say that Soldier pissed Merasmus off so much that everyone got turned into some sort of mythological being. For Sniper, he beceame a werewolf

-His "normal" form is just him with wolf ears and a big fluffly tail, he also has slight more body hair as well, his form take a more wolfish appearance and behavior when there's a full moon out. He had to cut slits in his hat so he could still wear it

-He likes to think he's still relatively the same, but it's just him in denial. His sense of smell is heightened, he is able to see better at night, and, much to his dismay, he isn't able to hide behind his stoic facade anymore. Ears perking up at the mention of treats and tail wagging when happy. Yes, Scout makes fun of him for it

-He does use this new werewolf form to his advantage though. Finding himself out and about, hunting more. He starts noticing how foods taste different, eating and craving meat moreso than usual and forgoing sweets, mainly chocolates cause they make his poor tummy hurt now

-When it comes to Sniper in a relationship aspect, he becomes an even more protective lover. He finds himself following you around more, like a lost puppy. He's basically glued to your hip. He'll also expect more physical affection as well (in private, he's not good with PDA) He wants his ears scritched, god damn it >:( He will whine and give you sad puppy eyes until you give in. He's evil like that

-And due to his wolfness, he'll start trying to "groom" you, licking and slobbering all over you, trying to clean you up even though it can feel like the opposite. It's also his way of trying to mark his scent on you. He wants people to know you are his mate and ONLY his, even if it means covering you in slobber

-Now when it's a full moon out, you won't have to worry about your safety, but you'll have to worry about the saftey of other's  when they are around your lap dog of a boyfriend

-When in his more wolf-esque form, he acts more wolf-like than human. He tends to be more mute in that form as well, resorting to growls, howls, barks, and other wolf noises

-He's feral, he's even more overprotective of you (if that's possible) in his wolf form. He likes to keep you safe in his camper, but you're usually having to keep him from mauling people like Scout cause he likes to push people's buttons

-So, in my very biased opinion, werewolf Sniper is a 12/10, would recommend

NSFW

-I'd like to think his sex drive was rather normal at first, but after becoming a werewolf, it skyrocketed. He's embarrassed and couldn't help it. He just can't help but notice how plush your thighs looked. Or how the shirt you were wearing was hugging your figure. And the way you bent down to pick something up? Don't even get him started. He was ready to POUNCE

-Now Sniper already had a scent and breeding kink, but now, as a werewolf, OH BOY. It's amplified by, like, 10 times

-Let's start with the scent kink. It's like his heightened sense of smell is a secret blessing to him. He loves to bury his face up against the crook of your neck and surrounding himself with you smell. It's what really gets him going

-Your perfume/cologne, your natural scent, everything you just smells so good to him. He has a bad habit of stealing your clothes when you're not around. Not only to comfort himself, but also to get off. Could be a shirt, bra, or underwear, he'll press the article of clothes up to his face, inhaling your scent while he strokes himself. Whimpering and panting like the good boy he is. Definitely would cum in your underwear, which would only fuel his drive

-Now for that breeding kink >:)

-Sniper always loved the idea of filling you to the brim with cum, breeding you and making you his officially (in his mind). He will have you in positions that will ensure his cum stays inside you. Even keeping your hips tilted up if he has to

-He'll whisper in your ear about how beautiful you look filled up to the brim with cum, and how beautiful you'd look pregnant. Stomach swollen and so round. Breasts filled with milk. Pregnant with his child. And since he's a werewolf, he'll has a knot so it helps with keeping all his cum in you

-He's also very bitey and will leave scratches on you. He doesn't mean to be so rough with you, he underestimates his new found strength. He just loves to mark you up. It's also another way claim you

-Loves praises. Call him a good boy. Hold him, kiss him, mark him up. Show him how much he means to you. Show him that, even as a werewolf, you still love him. He might just cry from the praises

That's all for now. I just really love wolf Sniper. Hims a baby boy who I just wanna love and protect.

[blorger]

After the 2nd war were the Malfoys sent to Azkaban, was able to escape or did only a little time?

I'm going to be honest with you friend, I'm extremely biased in that I'm a Malfoy stan so my opinions may be skewed; with that said, I honestly don't think a single Malfoy would do any time in Azkaban at all.

First of all, I think that the Malfoys escaping justice yet again would fit with the whole leitmotif of the family, the whole sanctimonia vincet semper, "the Malfoys always land on their feet" thing. Also, I find it very realistic, in that there's always some people that escape justice/come out of conflicts unscathed and it's more often than not the most privileged people in society.

Secondly, I'm honestly unsure of what their charges would be. Take Lucius (the most criminally culpable of them all), what crimes can he be tried for? He spent like 90% of the war wandless and powerless; his house served as a base of sorts for Voldemort, yes, but (if I'm not mistaken) that decision was made while he was still in prison. Speaking of Azkaban, Lucius did not break out of prison himself, he was broken out, and that is a much smaller crime in comparison. Also, Lucius spent the whole of the battle of Hogwarts pointedly not fighting and looking for his son instead (when he wasn't running errands for Voldemort).

I guess you could put him back in Azkaban for the whole department of mysteries kerfuffle but I figure, by the time law and order is restored post-war, the ministry would have bigger fish to fry than wandless pariah Lucius Malfoy. I think house arrest/minimal consequences is the most likely outcome for Lucius and furthermore I believe the loss of prestige post-war would be just as harsh a punishment as prison time for someone like him.

Narcissa is the most clear-cut case of them all: while it is never outright stated wether she is marked or not, it's implied she isn't since she's not present at any DE meeting that take place outside of her house. Like, there's no indication she's there when Voldemort calls the DE over via dark mark after his resurrection. Also, what crimes would she be guilty of? Besides harbouring a criminal -which could argued was done under duress- there's not really a lot that can be attached to her. She also was wandless at the height of the conflict (her wand having gone to Draco), plus there's the whole saving Harry's life thing, which definitely goes a long way.

As for Draco: he was a minor during 6th year, when he went around causing mayhem and trying to make himself kill Dumbledore (which ultimately he did not do). After that, everything he does is under duress, he does not seem to fight in any major battle and, when given the opportunity, he tries to give Harry & co an out (people like to forget that, prior to Crabbe's Big Mistake, Draco was trying to defuse the situation).

All of that aside, Draco is sort of the last living witness for all of his crimes. Has Harry told any non-Ron and Hermione person about what happened on the tower? The newspaper article we see in DH doesn't implicate him and the other people who were up on the astronomy tower are all dead (save for the Carrows, whose testimony wouldn't exactly be considered reliable). Are the people Draco was forced to torture even alive? The only other witness to most of Draco's crimes is Harry, who by the end of the war feels somewhat sympathetic towards him and is likely to aid him should he be prosecuted.

As for any punishments that could be levied against the Malfoys, down and out Draco is a popular trope for storytelling purposes but I don't see it myself.

I simply can't imagine the Malfoy fortune being seized, not only because Bellatrix's wasn't after the first war but also because the ministry of magic's modus operandi seems to oscillate wildly between authoritarian and hands-off libertarian and a post-war government led by the Good Guys would definitely try to avoid going full Orwell. I can see them being made to pay reparations but, like, nothing poverty-worthy (also: are you telling me that a family who managed to stay that rich for that long doesn't know how to hide money?? come on).

So...there's that...this ask got away from me, the Malfoy stan part of me took over, sorry

xoxo

[zombiigrll]

BECAUSE YOU LIKE ME? ⋆｡°✩ enid rhee x fem!reader .ᐟ WORD COUNT .ᐟ ⭑ 738 ꩜ .ᐟ WARNINGS ⭑ fluff + best friends to lovers, use of y/n, slight reader backstory mention, kissing, mostly just cute fluff :] .ᐟ SUMMARY .ᐟ ⭑ you and enid have been friends ever since she found you alone on an expedition. but that soon escalated after you figured out what that tight feeling in your chest every time she was near you. ꩜ .ᐟ A/N .ᐟ ⭑ this is just kind of a test to get used to writing enids character before i write any requests for her !! so its really short but cute :3 hope u like itt !!

──────────────────────────────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────────────────────────────────────── it was well known that you and enid were best friends. the two of you were inseparable ever since you guys met. yes, you were slightly biased having her as your best friend due to her being the person who found and saved you, but still.

you guys would go everywhere together. if she went on a run, you came with, always. the two of you practically lived together, too.

but you started realizing a while after enid and ron had their big breakup that you had feelings for her. it started off small. her smile occasionally sending you into a daze, her tight hugs that she'd give you whenever she was excited causing your face to turn pink and your heart to race.. to you barely being able to talk to her without stuttering.

you would cringe at everything you said to her, thinking that she thought whatever you were saying was stupid.

"hey!" she came up behind you, hugging you around your waist.

you jumped at the sudden touch, but after realizing it was enid, you softened up. well, besides your chest feeling tight. "oh, uh- hey, enid."

"you alright? you seem tense." she tilted her head to face you, her hands remaining on the sides of your torso.

"mhm." you quickly responded, averting your gaze away from hers.

"don't give me that." she shoves you by the shoulder a little before turning her full body to face you. "i know when somethings up. so, tell me. what's up?"

"uh.. nothing?" you awkwardly shrugged, pressing your lips together.

her face dropped to one of annoyance, but she quickly grabbed your hand and began walking towards the gates.

"what're you doing?" you asked, practically being dragged by her.

"we're gonna go on a run." she responded, her voice being toned to determination.

"where?"

"you'll see." she laughs, getting into the drivers seat.

you walk over to the passengers side and get in, crossing your arms together nervously as she starts driving.

...

after a little while, you arrive at a lake.

"and here we are." she smiles and you before unbuckling and stepping out of the car.

"and without crashing, too!" you joke, your face quickly turning pink from embarrassment until she laughs along with you.

"oh, shush."

the two of you walk to the bottom of the lake, sitting alongside it.

"so... why are we here?" you ask, messing with the skin around your fingernails as you speak.

"so we can talk. and you can stop avoiding me." she answered, grabbing a rock and throwing it into the river.

"what? i haven't been avoiding-"

you tried defending yourself, but enid quickly punched you in the arm.

"uh, ow." you chuckle nervously.

"tell me the truth. why have you been avoiding me?" she asks, her voice more serious and slightly upset.

"i haven't been trying-"

"seriously, y/n." enid looks up at you, her eyebrows furrowed.

"uhm.." you look away and down at the lake. "uh.. because.. because i-"

"because you like me?" she finishes your sentence with a laugh.

you look over at her, wide-eyed and speechless. "i.."

"i read your notebook by accident. we've been switching through each others houses for so long, i think you took the wrong notebook." she laughs.

"..oh." you sigh, covering your reddened face. "sorry."

"it's cool." she chuckles, grabbing your face in her hands.

"what're you doing-"

she quickly cut you off with a surprising kiss, which you returned after a quick pause. she pulls away shortly after, staring lovingly at your dumbfounded face.

"the only thing you should be sorry about is not telling me sooner." she playfully shoves you, causing you to come back to your senses.

"s-sorry." you laugh. "wait, you.." you slowly process everything. the fact that she likes you back, that she kissed you, and that she likes girls in the first place. "you like girls? what about ron?"

"yeah.." she smiles, leaning back onto the grass and holding herself up by her elbows. "ron was cool, but, y'know.. not really my type."

you laugh, laying down in the grass next to her.

"so, you gonna stop avoiding me now?" she teases, laying down and turning to face you.

"maybe." you joked, turning your head to look back at her. "..yes. yes, i'll stop avoiding you."

"good." she chuckles before leaning in for another kiss, one you were more prepared for.

it felt like paradise. ─────────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────────────

[gregorygerwitz]

AITA for having a daddy kink?

I (32M) have been with my bf, T (45M) for a few months now, and besides the first date (if you remember my post about that, I'm so sorry for the secondhand embarrassment I caused everyone) everything is going really well! Or at least I thought so.

Last week, my boss (who's kind of like the dad I never had) (he's also my bf's old boss but that's not really relevant) was in the hospital after a cartel burned down his house. He's fine now. Made a full recovery. But T and I met up at my place after I left the hospital so we could have dinner. I finally made this new lasagna recipe just right after trying to figure it out for WEEKS and it was delicious.

We were talking about things while we ate, like we've done on all of our dates, and we started talking about my boss in the hospital. T even asked if I was okay, which is a little weird because I'm not the one who was in a fire or the emergency room, but it was sweet. He's really sweet. He's always checking in to make sure I'm okay and he's not doing anything that makes me uncomfortable, and that's really new, but good! Anyway, talking about my boss (and how he's kinda my dad) made T bring up his rough relationship with his own father, and one of his other old bosses, and I could tell it was a little uncomfortable.

Who likes to talk about their strained relationships with family? I know I don't. I always try to change the subject when anyone tries to talk about my parents with me. So I did that.

All I did was joke that we both have daddy issues - because we do, no matter what he says about it - and it's so easy to just talk to him, you know? So maybe I was a little flirty. Okay, I was a lot flirty, but I just wanted to make him smile because I don't like seeing the people I love upset. And maybe that fed into some innuendos. And maybe we kind of came to the conclusion that I really like calling him "daddy" in bed. I had a really good night after dinner. It was great.

And it was all great. This is the happiest I've been in a really long time. I don't think I've ever been this happy in a relationship, actually. It feels so light and easy and like he actually likes me, not some idea of me or the potential I have to be something else? That's something I'll unpack with my therapist later. Don't worry about it.

Anyway, things were great until I talked about it with my best friend, E (32M) - and I'm trying to take what he's said with a grain of salt, because he's going through a lot of major changes in his life right now, and he probably just wanted me to stop talking about my sex life, but still...

He said that because T made the comment while we were talking about our boss being in the hospital, he was just taking advantage of my childhood trauma to try out a kink. Because we were talking about something pretty serious, he never should have turned things in that direction - flirty and sexual - while I was worried and stressed, and he was totally brushing off how I was feeling in the moment. I thought it was fine in the moment, even fun, but E has known me for the last 6 years and has watched me get into and out of relationships that weren't always good for me, and now I'm worried that he's right and it's happening again. I really trust his opinion and I know he just wants to look out for me.

I guess I just don't know how to feel. I really like T, and he hasn't done anything to hurt me, and I'm happy. But E does see things from a different angle, maybe less biased than I do because I'm in the middle of it. I don't know who to trust more right now. I thought I was the one who made the conversation flirty and brought up the daddy issues to lighten the mood and make us smile more, but is my best friend right? Is T brushing off my feelings and sexualizing our relationship? Or is E just overly protective because I've been hurt in the past?

I guess this isn't really an AITA - Is He (T) The Asshole (IHTA) for joking about my daddy issues hopefully giving me a daddy kink, too, in the middle of a dinner date?

[curse-d-owl]

I think the pact between Leicester and Adrestia might be my least favorite moment in Golden Dumpsterfire and that route has a lot of horrendous moments. I pointed this out a lot but i never made a full post about it. So yeah without further ado, here's everything wrong with this cutscene.

Edelgard condemns Rhea for manipulating the truth and having no regard for human life only to deny her crime of invading Leicester and having no regard for the deaths she caused on both sides. What a wonderful character she is. Why would any ever argue that she's a villain?

Sarcasm aside I don't like how Claude gave her any room to weasel her way out of it instead of fully chastising her for her crimes against Leicester. There is that line about him taking tangible resources over empty apologies which i really like but I'm afraid that's the only good part of that exchange.

So far they're on the same page except for the fact that Edelgard wants to shove the southern church down both Leicester'e and Faerghus's throats. Claude rightfully refuses.

"Claude: Why should Leicester accept the southern church you dredged out of nowhere?

Hubert: Our church is credible and deserving of Leicester's approval

Holst: None of us believe you nor your fraudulent church

Hubert: And we don't care nor expect you to

Edelgard: Yeah we only care that you don't side with the central church"

...... If you do not care about the Southern church not being in Leicester then why even bring it up? This is so headache inducing.

And now we come to the worst part of this whole conversation.

Claude hasn't shown any sign of refusing the pact for Hubert to provoke him with empty threats. Claude rightfully defends himself against Huberts disrespectful behaviour and tells him to stay on topic to which Edelgard lashes out at him as if him and Leicester are the irrational and over emotional villains in this scenario.

"Claude WE want stability after we invaded your territory all the way up to Deirdru with no regard for your people's wellbeing! Do us both a favor and stop being so overemotional for everyone's sake!"

This genuinely got on my nerves. If anything it should've been Claude barking that comment to Edelgard, not the other way around. But wait, i forgot, it's a heinous sin in Fodlan to hurt Edelgard's feelings with accountability.

And then Leicester and Adrestia work together to burn down a kingdom and kill an archbishop that has already allowed it's king to right the wrongs of the Seiros faith and Fodlan by giving reperations to Duscur and moving away from crests, heroes relics and forced obligations.

And one chapter later our route's protagonist Claude gets demonized for sacrificing Adrestia's forces while Edelgard didnt even get a slap on the wrist for killing both Leicesters citizens and soldiers. Infact he's the only one that gets so much hate and flack from our heroes while Edelgard doesn't get a fraction of Claude's backlash for everything she's done in both Houses and Hopes.

I don't know what's up with Intelligent Systems and being biased for the villain routes of "morally gray" stories with conflicting paths but if this is a trend that keeps up then i pray to god they don't ever dabble in stories with conflicting paths again.

Cause as they've proven with both Fates and Houses they don't know what moral grayness means.

[andreal831]

What kind of a person do you think Kol would be if being a vampire didn't take away witch powers?

This is one of those topics that I'll admit some biases. With most of the characters in TVDU, we get hints of the past but we don't see the full thing so it's up to us as an audience to fill in the blanks. This is why I think there is so much debate in the fandom. Everyone fills in the blanks differently and to a different extent.

So for me, Kol was not a character that I was drawn to so I often didn't spend a lot of time thinking about his past outside of what we are explicitly told. From the show, we are explicitly told that he was a witch and he clearly still feels very attached to his witch side. We also know that when he turned he no longer was a witch.

What we don't know is how he was as a witch (I know he called himself a child prodigy, but I'd be curious to know how long he was practicing) or how exactly it impacted him to lose that side of him. Unlike Klaus who blamed everything on losing his werewolf side, we don't hear Kol explicitly say he became such a menace because of his loss of magic.

I don't think anyone would really argue that it didn't hurt him to lose that part of himself. But I personally don't think him becoming a heretic would have made him much more of a stable person. Even with Klaus, there were numerous reasons he became such a monster. Esther's lies, Ansel's death, Mikael's hate, losing Aurora, etc. on top of his werewolf side being suppressed. None of this justifies the things he does, but none of them can be said to be the direct or only reason he became what he was.

The same thing applies to Kol. It wasn't just losing his witch side, but also losing his home, losing his chance of being human, running from a murderous father, his mother's death. All of these things happened simultaneously and affected him. We also have zero idea of what kind of person Kol was as a human. He is in none of the human flashbacks. We know that he fled as soon as Mikael began to hunt them, destroying their village. He quickly reunited with his siblings and seemed to already enjoy killing very early in. I think at some point Kol said he enjoyed the "rush" being a witch gave him, so it seemed like he transferred that to killing as a vampire. But it could also just be that he loves adrenaline and would have still gravitated to that side of vampirism even with his magic still intact. Again, it's hard to say since we don't see him as a human.

But what we do see is how he is as a witch in TO. Now, I've said this in another post, TO Kol doesn't make a lot of sense to me compared to TVD and even the flashbacks. Sure, maybe it was just him having access to magic which made him better, but we can't forget that the first scene we have with him as a witch is him SAing a woman by using his magic to make her flash the entire street. Kol, as a witch in TO, likes to use his magic to have power over others, much like he used his vampirism. Again, it's hard to say if he was always like this or if this was as a result of him losing his magic initially.

To me, this is probably how I would imagine Kol as a heretic since this is the best evidence we see of him as a witch. Not necessarily any less violent than we saw him as a vampire. In my opinion, a lot of what caused Kol to behave the way he did was feeling excluded rather than losing his magic. While he often runs off and leaves his family, it always seemed that he caused chaos to get his siblings attention. We are told Kol is this intelligent person so I have to imagine he wasn't just acting dumb and attracting Mikael every time he was undaggered. But he knew it would get his brother's attention. This can make sense for the character since he was turned at like 17 years old. He behaved like a teenager attempting to get his older brothers to pay attention. Even when he knew their attention wouldn't be positive and often was being daggered.

I could see him being a heretic changing his dynamic with his siblings though. He would have been invaluable to them, especially in the early days when they were trying to survive. But again, he still likely would have been a violent and murderous person. It maybe could have been even worse if Kol and Klaus became closer than Elijah and Klaus.

They made Kol's violent and murderous nature a part of his personality, which is why I had a hard time believing that just meeting Davina changed him as a person. But again, I know a lot of people have complex headcanon backstories that show Kol was a completely different person and losing his magic sent him over the edge, which I am not saying is not possible. I just personally don't see it. When Abby lost her magic, she became depressed and lethargic. When Bonnie was cut off from her magic, she didn't become murderous. Kol losing his magic didn't change his personality, but it may have pushed him further into that side of himself than he normally would have. This combined with the heightened emotions of becoming a new vampire created the Kol we met.

I'm sorry I forgot to respond to this earlier, but thank you for the ask!

[ghostmadam]

Okay you say you like Harry Potter but how can you defend Snqpe like that?

Snape defended him from actual harm/danger for 7 years. He gave his life away for this purpose after Lily died, who he was very dependent to emotionally even if they ended in bad terms and I think their friendship was quite rocky, I don't think canon Snape was able to hold a healthy relationship of any kind.

It's partly his fault that the prophecy was found, yes.He changed sides after Lily was in danger. In a war like that as a muggleborn, she would have been targeted either way but having your childhood friend on that side isn't helping or that your husband bullied said friend. Lily died because Voldemort chose Harry for the prophecy, it always would have been either Neville or Harry .

After he joined the order/be a double spy.Every day he could have died or being tortured for working for the order/protecting Harry. He mostly protected Harry for Lily.He endured all the hate and resentment from both groups for decades probably thought he deserved it. He was bound to Dumbledore and Hogwarts , so kind of forced to be a teacher. And I don't think he cared if he survived the war.

About his death eater phase, it's literally happening irl we have movements similar to that all around the globus, where poor, mentally ill, unattractive guys with their hearts full of hate, that are joining a cause that hurts others and give them power and the position they think they "deserve". There is no way to excuse that and I won't. it's easy to lure them, fill their minds with propaganda and move them against others since they already believe everyone hates them and they hate everyone. They believe they're all that, but they're full of shit and weak-minded.

He never was nice or kind to Harry. He was unnecessary rude to him and to the other Kids, Snape is emotionally immature (on a teenager level which happens to abuse victims)and never healed from his school-days with the marauders, since he stayed on hogwarts .If were honest it's rare that people break the abuse cycle and not repeat what they endured, especially if they can't distance themselves from that surroundings. Besides People forget or don't realise how much the societal norms and the pedagogical world changed in the last 30 years. What's okay and what not. But that's a different topic.

"what about his lessons or the boggart situation". About the boggart situation, everyone is so dramatic, he's 13 guys! Has everyone forgot how dramatic it is to be 13?? It would be either some strict teacher, his grandma or some embarrassing situation, since nothing real traumatic happened to him.(Yes his parents affected him but not in that way) I'm glad for Neville that it was just old Snape in drag, not like Harry with the dementor or Lupin and the moon.which is deeper.

As I said his attitude toward his pupils was often unnecessary, but being a teacher is effing draining especially if you never wanted to be teacher. having Neville every lesson messing everything up and endangering the class,Seamus blowing stuff up and looking into a mini James Potter Face who's squad conspired against you every year sounds draining, I'd be worse tbh. Kids are messy ofc but there is messy and there lack of caring.

Everyone says he is biased towards the houses, so is everyone, it's literally Hagrid's and Ron's doing that Harry is not a Slytherin. Look at Dumbledore giving points to Gryffindor as if it's candy. And when all the houses go against your house, you'd be biased too.

I'm not defending him, I know the things he did wrong are wrong,there are good things that he did that were good. And if you read between the lines you can easily see why things happened the way they happened.Severus Snape is a grey character who we view through Harry's perspective who mind you, he loathed for almost all 7 Books.

About that idk why I'm fascinated with him. But I'm not defending him and saying oh he is babey , nah that's a mean def neurodivergent guy who did shit things and is full of unresolved trauma. But things didn't need to go the way they went yk.

But still he's fascinating, terrifyingly intelligent, magical powers are insane, making his own spells as a teen? on a verge between asking for death and being braver than many, that iron mask makes me curious ,his remarks and insults are mean AF and hilarious to me, apparently very intimidating to everyone

And he's soooo fucking hot to me ? yes book and film version what you're gonna do about it huh, call your mama and complain a stranger on the internet wants Snape??? Gimme that dramatic,big nosed gothic nerd. What's up in that sad pathetic brain? Come here ps ps ps , I fear he would feel bullied by me. Scary mean teacher? Scary ,my god you're divine. Love your attitude, yas give us hate !

[mercurytrinemoon]

DIFFERENT LOOK AT SIGN TRIPLICITIES PART 2: FIRE SIGNS

It is time. We're going to talk all about fire signs today. No bias, we're gonna get to the root of the fire triplicity, address some stereotypes and really flesh it out. Aries, Leo, Sagittarius, lessss gooooo

And I know what you're thinking! "A Sagi Sun with an Aries Moon will definiely be biased here". But… just trust me.

First, let's just really describe the essence of fire signs:

Fire signs are all fired up, ready to go, the most showy, with a zest for life and excitement, but also the most temperamental and hot-headed. They’re about action and movement; the most competitive of all the elements; the most blunt and loud; they like to stick out in the crowd. They’re the avid go-getters.

I've already posted my full essay on air signs and if you haven't read it yet, I highly encourage you to do so HERE. Fire, just like air is a masculine element: it's more outward, it's about proper action, it's physical in the sense that it needs to act out its impulses in the real world. It is said that masculine signs are extroverted and in a sense that is true, especially with fire signs because they receive energy from actively doing something. Fire is also expansive so it's very much about broadening horizons - especially when we look at the evolution of the fire element and we get to the third fire sign, Sagittarius.

And that physicality is an important piece of a fire sign's life. Literally and figuratively. This is the most active element out of all and it constantly needs stimuli to operate properly. But also what does fire do, it burns out quickly. Especially the "younger" it is. We all know how much shit Aries gets for getting bored quickly. I think both Aries and Sagittarius get shit for that, Leos get a pass cause they're a fixed sign I suppose, they thrive in stillness. And I do admit it, as a chronically bored person, it is really tough out there when life lacks excitement. Same old, same old won't work for a fire sign because they need to grow and they need constant fuel.

And constant fuel creates energy and creativity. Fire signs are the power trio of inventiveness: Aries with their desire to constantly try and do new things, Leo with their sense of originality and Sagittarius with their larger-than-life approach to everything. They're all about self-expression and it's what connects them together.

THE BIGGEST ARIES STEREOTYPE

I do admit that Aries folks are the biggest dummies of all the signs. That is the truth but thankfully there's also something endearing about it. It is said that Aries is the baby of the zodiac, they're in the very beginning of the hero's journey. But you know I like to call them golden retrievers on crack: sometimes you giggle at them, most of the times you roll your eyes at them, but they're mostly harmless and cuddle-friendly and sometimes they have zoomies. Just scratch them behind the ear and tell them they're amazing, they're gonna love it. Simple creatures.

Which brings me to the stereotype that Aries is an aggressive sign.

Listen. I always talk about sign's characteristics having a spectrum. In a properly-working state an Aries individual knows what they want and knows how to assert themselves. They do sometimes think after they act, which in most cases is just harmful to them, not those around. Are they thoughtless? Definitely can be, it's really like living with a child - sometimes they don't think about the obvious so you have to enlighten them a bit. The embarassment is almost granted but thankfully they quickly learn. Well mostly.

But going back to the topic of aggression. Most of the times they do work through it without awareness: they are active physically through various sports, their job may require some proper dominance or having to make quick decisions, they may also work through their angry emotions through creativity or simply through a hobby, like gaming.

My absolute favourite Aries Sun is Chester Bennington who was the perfect example of being that sunny, wholesome individual that became a total beast on stage, where he expressed his rage and passion and where he took on that commanding leadership quality. But outside that stage, everyone knew he was the most gentle soul (his Moon was in Sagittarius, which also supported that smiley, positive character). So he had a very healthy outlet for his aggression.

Also, this is where the rest of the chart comes in: next to Aries are Pisces and Taurus so there's a huge chance an Aries Sun will have another planet in one of those passive signs. So their disposition softens a bit, creating a nice balance of strong presence with a gentle, sensitive heart. Unfortunately this also means that more often than not I see Aries Suns who are pushovers or who are just naively letting others use them. Or alternatively, who are caring wayyy too much about what others think. Marty McFly always comes to my mind when I think of Aries because of the way he got into trouble when challenged: instead of being the bigger guy, he fell for the bait every time he was called chicken. This is not real bravery - a real one would be walking away, not letting themselves be egged on.

I think this is the biggest downside of the sign.

And if their Mars is in a weak position (Taurus, Cancer or Libra) - this is when they may actually lack courage when it comes to big decisions and live a slightly miserable life where they're not fully happy while their inner light is dimming down. This is that lack of excitement that actually kills all fire signs but mostly an Aries. As a cardinal sign, they will probably throw themselves into work just to somehow patch their dispair and to not think about whatever is eating them from the inside out but that is a temporary solution (and Aries, as a sign who's very centered in the here and now, may often think about temporary solutions only).

So, a lil advice for my Aries Sun friends: if you're not sure about something and if your heart is telling you to let go, then let it go. You're ruled by a fiery Mars, you're the masters of a gut feeling so please listen to it.

I do admit the true combativeness and spiciness comes out with Aries Moon, especially in women: just think about people like Angelina Jolie, Cardi B, Pink, Rihanna, Lucy Lawless (she has a whole-ass stellium in Aries and she was Xena! The warrior princess! Like come on, you can't be more Aries than that) or even Kamala Harris. These are all feisty, confident and powerful women.

Aries Mercury can also have a bit more brashness than the Sun. Sun is your ego and heart, it is more gentle. Moon and Mercury on the other hand, they both act on impulse (especially Moon, being driven by instincts) and since Aries is a physical sign, the angry feelings will be most (and quickest) displayed with these two. Which also means these are one of the most "what you see is what you get" placements you can get. Along with anything Sagittarius, we don't beat around the bush.

There's also Mars itself, which can be a bit impulsive or bratty if placed in a fire sign. So there's that, I'm sorry, I cannot defend them, it is what it is.

CHOOSE YOUR FIGHTERS

When I think about each of the elements, I often make pairs in my head that share the same qualities. So when I was talking about air signs, I mentioned that both Gemini and Libra have such thinking style that they find it hard to make decisions, whereas Aquarius is rather set in their thinking.

With fire signs, Aries and Leo are the most self-centered, seeking validation and needing to prove themselves (as both are strongly connected to the Sun through exaltation and domicile), while Sagittarius is often selfless and is not afraid to potentially offend someone. All fire signs are generous though because they like to share and be the good guys: Aries likes to be the saviour, mostly because they think everything is THAT easy to solve; Sagittarius, ruled by the benevolent Jupiter, wants to share their goods with everyone, while Leo is all about the Sun's light: it gives life.

Leo and Sagittarius are both natural performers and probably the most upbeat, Aries can be a show-off as well but sometimes they're focused on themselves and their little world too much to have themselves fully on display, they're more about "look what I made" rather than "look at me". Aries can be also a bit more cold and deadpan than these two. Leo and Sagi are definitely the ones to overshare and bare it all (probably literally with the latter as they like to have their tits out whenever they can) just to get attention.

And then we have Sagittarius and Aries - that duo gets an award for being the loudest, most obnoxious and adventure-seeking pair. I think we can definitely agree that Leo has more grace than these two. Endless banter and playful competitiveness is guranteed though with the ram and the archer (and especially between them, the more they like each other, the more they will roast each other).

And that did just make me miss badminton matches with my Aries ex-friend… *sighs*

THE HAPPIEST SIGN OF THE ZODIAC

The happy-go-lucky, the cheerleader, the philosopher. The bubbliest and swaggiest of them all. The comedian and the entertainer. Just think about all the Sagittarians that graced the music world: Britney, Christina, Billie, Taylor, Tina, Miley (tho we don't claim her, she has too much Scorpio in her chart lol), Nicki, Jim Morrison, Hendrix, Corey Taylor, Amy Lee… the list goes on. The world is truly lucky for icons like them.

But as a Sagittarius-heavy person myself, I want to make something clear on behalf of all of us. Yes, we can be reckless (Alexa, play Oops... I did it again) but the stereotype of a reckless heartbreaker needs to stop.

Or more so, of being unfaithful.

I mean, I can't help it that so many Sagis are the hottest people on earth, breaking the hearts of millions. BUT, when it comes to actual matters of the heart, we are actually a generous bunch, who want to give the world to the people we love. Sagi's planetary ruler, Jupiter is all about learning and expansion, right? This is what we want. Mutual growth, romance full of adventures and a lover that is their true best friend they can laugh with.

One of Billie's (Sagittarius Sun and Venus!) songs lives rent-free in my head ever since it came out because it portrays the archer's affection, dedication and sensitivity so perfectly. "All my love and patience/ All my admiration/ All the times I waited/ For you to want me naked/ Made it all look painless/ Man, am I the greatest?". This not only portrays a fire sign's need for physical intimacy but I LOOOOVE how Jupiter is the biggest, most unselfish planet there is and she literally sings about being the greatest. Obsessed, I may or may not have weeped listening to that track for the first time.

Heartbreak for a Sagittarius is tough because we naturally wear rose-coloured glasses and permanently live in a delululand. A heart-wrenching gut punch doesn't serve us well. I think it is rare to see a depressed Sagittarius so once we are depressed, we're in deep dark shit.

Each element is about mastering something and that mastery is reached with the last of every triad: Aquarius is the genius, Capricorn is everyone's mentor… Well, Sagittarius is known as the wisest. A quality Sagi is wise beyond its years as it's the sign of constant learners and teachers and those who reach for the stars. And enlightened people aren't really about being unfaithful, quite the contrary, they are about leading by example.

LEOS CAN BE CHILL AND QUIET

The biggest Leo stereotype is probably that they always seek attention and are drama queens.

Well, this is actually a fire thing in general but it's a label that has been put on Leos specifically.

But as I've mentioned earlier, they tend to be very graceful, you know, like an elegant cat, moving through the world. There's an extra sunny, vibrant energy coming from Leos. Like yes, you can get someone like J.Lo. (Leo Sun), who constantly lives life as a main character. Or Donald Trump (Leo ascendant + Mars), who's absolutely full of himself and who thinks he's the most powerful person on earth. But you can also get someone like Andrew Garfield, who (especially in the recent weeks) has stolen everyone's hearts with his grace, warmth and natural charisma. That guy just oozes positivity, charm and genuinity. Plus, Leos are known for having a heart of gold and this is how he comes across.

Do they all seek attention though? Leos are the theatre kids but remember theatre kids are sometimes the misunderstood underdogs who care about expression and craft, not necessarily about being in the limelight. They like to play a character though.

I've lived with a Leo Sun + Moon (a New Moon baby!) for over a decade. He actually did fall into the typical Leo category of being a working musician who did put himself out there on stage. The charisma was there, the talent and craft was definitely there (his Virgo placements did help here), the ability to attract people as well. And he definitely enjoyed that attention. But that star quality was a natural thing and not something that was desperately sought-after. That's how a high quality Leo should be.

But also, let me give you an example of my Leo Moon friend, who doesn't like attention but absolutely loves the enjoyment of art in all forms, whether it's theatre, film, music, books or whatever. She also happens to be a Sagittarius Sun and there is definitely a type of a Sagittarius who's more bookworm-y and likes to live in their own head, not really caring about the outside world. As a mutable sign, Sagis can flip-flop between being the star of the show and a hippie outcast who's looking for a spiritual enlightenment in solitude. Also, they get the badge of being the most "I don't give a fuck" sign in the zodiac. We stay unbothered.

So, here's your shy withdrawn fire sign example.

IMPATIENT MUCH?

We've already adressed the accusations that Aries is an aggressive sign… Well there's also a level of impatience that supposedly cannot be matched with anyone else… that goes for all fire signs in general honestly. BUT! Before any Aries reads this and thinks "I am actually a very patient person"… I believe you. But also I don't. But also do you happen to have your Mars in an earth sign?

Aries is a cardinal sign. Cardinal signs are about starting things and building foundations. You know, in tarot it's the Emperor card, the card of the leader and provider. There's a very specific type of focus and hard work associated with the sign so Aries Suns often are able to set long-term goals that they slowly but surely put into effect. There's a catch though and it's that the fruits of their work should be visible and progress should be linear. If things are stagnant, an Aries will stamp one's foot, sulk and drop everything as it is (also side note, Aries sulks pretty often in general). This usually happens because they were impatient during the preparation process and so things fell apart cause they didn't have a solid basis - you know, they sometimes like to skip necessary steps. Interestingly, an overnight success isn't good for them either as they hate an easy target cause that's just boring. Gradual success makes them crave more and mobilizes them to work. They're also stubborn so if they want to prove themselves, they will do everything in their power to do so.

It's simmilar with other fire signs as well because it's all about maintaining a steady flame: have it too small and it will go out; have it too strong and it will burn out.

Also, notice how many famous Arians do many things at once? Music, acting, stand-up, social issues, fashion, make-up... yea cause huge success makes them bored and they need something new and exciting.

Funnily, I have A LOT (you'd really be surprised) of patience for many things that take years but I have none for the tiniest, everyday tasks. I like things to be quick but also I can put long hours into stuff if there's excitement and passion. I think many fire signs would agree with that.

ALL FIRE LEADS WITH HEART

It's not about the material (earth), not about the cerebral (air), nor about the spiritual (water). This comes with some sensitivity and vulnerability, as well as with radiant energy. Also because fire is rather self-centered, this easily leads to being self-conscious. And that self-consciousness comes from inside and is focused on who the person is. This is not the case where, for example, an earth sign may feel insecure because of their material posessions or the lack of feeling of security in the world. A fire sign may dwell simply on "am *I* enough?", thinking they're lesser than the other person just because they feel like it. Especially if something's off energetically-speaking. This is that passion and excitement I was talking about earlier.

And all fire signs share the same level of enthusiasm. Fire is hot. Yes, that does connect to being impatient, as we've already established... But this also translates to easygoing and lighthearted approach to people and ideas. Being hot also means there's usually no second guessing as fire will be agreeable to many things and will act on impulse, according to its current mood: "what are you doing right now? Do you feel like going to the movies in 30 minutes?" or "are you new here? Do you want me to show you around and grab some food?" are things you'll likely hear from a fire sign randomly just like that. It's that casual.

Of course, an anxious fire sign will get *very* anxious because fire is very focused and it can burn you from the inside. That usually happens if mushy feelings occur. Or if, for some reason, they start to feel that self-consciousness that we've discussed earlier. Because it's all about making a good impression and making sure you think they are hot and entertaining. Forget about earthy means to impress by status and gifts or watery ways of emotional bonding and trying to become your psychologist just to win you over. Fire wants you to become their biggest fan and wants to seduce and charm you (literally or figuratively) to then conquer the world together and take you on spontaneous adventures. For a happy fire sign, life is like a party that should be lived to the fullest because enjoyment, fun, friendship and love are their biggest priorities in life.

Oh, also, fire signs are all dumb and annoying and that can definitely can be tiring so I do apologize for that.

[captainwidowspring]

On Nico's Ability to Defend Himself

An often-overlooked aspect of Nico's death scene in TFATWS is that there was literally nothing preventing him from thwarting John's attempt to kill him, and keeping it from being a death scene; he just didn't so that there would be a reason for the Captain America title to be stripped from John and given back to Sam. I feel like a major reason why a lot of people don't pick up on this fact, and instead perceive Nico to be defenseless (aside, of course, from the shamelessly manipulative framing) is that in the Siberia incident, the incident Nico's death scene is frequently compared to, Tony, after he lost the upper hand, didn't really get a chance to do much before Steve disabled his suit. It thus didn't stick out too badly when Nico also didn't do much before John attacked him with the shield, even though there was a lot more he could have done. Therefore, let's examine the two situations to see how they are different.

This is how the shield incident played out in Siberia. Near the end of the battle, Tony had managed to gain the upper hand and inflict serious damage on Steve. After Steve refused to stop defending Bucky, Tony prepared to straight up blow Steve out of the bunker and down the mountain: but right before he got the repulsor shot off, Bucky grabbed his leg. Irritated, Tony turned and kicked Bucky in the head with his metal boot. Then, before Tony had the chance to do anything else, Steve grabbed Tony and hoisted him into the air; Tony tried to use the jet packs on his boots to get out of the situation, but too much damage had been inflicted on them at that point for them to be of use, and Steve threw him to the ground. Steve then immediately rushed on top of Tony and punched his face mask three times out of sheer fury, after which he broke the helmet by hitting it twice more with his shield and then tore it off. He subsequently raised the shield, which caused Tony to frantically raise his arms to cover his face, and this allowed Steve to have a clear shot at the arc reactor, which he brought his shield down on and broke.

Now, considering how thoroughly biased Civil War is against Steve, and how much it sought to act like he was the one in the wrong—even though the entire Siberia fight was literally just Tony having a temper tantrum and Steve and Bucky trying to survive it—the creative team certainly wouldn't have minded if Tony had cried out in fear like Nico did, as it would be quite useful for the propaganda efforts. Therefore, there is clearly some reason why he didn't.

And it appears that there are two main reasons for this. The first reason seems to be that everything simply happened too fast. Indeed, the entire incident, from Tony preparing to shoot Steve to Steve disabling the arc reactor, took place in the span of about fifteen seconds. And Tony totally wasn't expecting Steve to grab him; presumably, he assumed that Steve was injured enough that taking his attention off him for a few seconds in order to kick his friend in the head wasn't a big deal. He underestimated the strength that poured into Steve's limbs when he saw Tony so callously abusing Bucky, as well as the fact that Steve is a supersoldier, so he can move really fast when he wants to.

So there was the element of surprise, and there was also the fact that Tony probably would have been a little stunned, both from the impact of being thrown to the ground, and from being hit in the head multiple times. It must, of course, be remembered that Tony was wearing a full-body metal suit, so no actual harm was inflicted upon him, but Steve is a supersoldier, so even with the layer of protection the impacts would certainly have been felt. These factors combined to produce the effect that, when Steve raised his shield, rather than take the time to yell anything, Tony simply prepared himself to face what was about to happen, which he thought would be Steve attempting to end him. But fortunately for him, he was wrong. Steve wasn't trying to kill Tony; Bucky was still alive, so Steve was able to contain his fury enough to refrain from a killing blow, and he hit the arc reactor instead.

Now, let's look at how Nico's death scene played out. After John pursued Nico for a bit, and managed to fend off a concrete trash can that Nico threw at him, he was able to hit Nico with the shield as Nico ran into a square. This forced Nico to stop to keep his balance, which allowed John to hit him again, and this finally knocked him over. Nico then tried to get back up twice; the first time John hit him with the shield again to keep him down, and the second time he put his foot on Nico's chest to pin him to the ground and stop his escape attempts. Then, since he couldn't try to get away anymore, Nico waved his hands and nervously insisted, "It wasn't me." He said this because, given the role he played in Lemar's death, he was well aware of why John might be mad at him specifically, for more than just being a friend of Karli. John, for his part, had been preparing to interrogate Nico about Karli's whereabouts, but this clear falsehood evidently filled him with rage, and he raised his shield in a fury. Rather than make an effort to block the imminent attack, Nico simply repeated, louder, "It wasn't me!" even though it was clear that John was not about to accept his garbage. And then, of course, since Nico wasn't about to actually do anything, the beating with the shield commenced.

Nico just lay there and was obediently killed, even though there was literally nothing stopping him from simply catching the shield and keeping it off his chest. His arms and hands were not at all restrained—indeed, he was waving them around—and unlike John, who had acquired a gash on his head, Nico was completely uninjured, so there wouldn't have been any pain distracting him either. And as we saw earlier, Nico is just as strong as John—he was able to restrain John so effectively that Karli would have been able to easily stab John if Lemar hadn't stopped her—and his evident fear would likely have given him enough strength to cancel out John's rage. So he would certainly have been able to keep the shield off his chest until Sam and Bucky, who appeared shortly afterwards, could save him if they wanted to.

Indeed, Nico didn't save himself even though, as evidenced by the fact that he did actually have a chance to cry out, he was dealing with a much less challenging situation than Tony was. For one thing, John bringing down the shield on Nico's chest was not at all a surprise. After John had pinned Nico to the ground, Nico had time to say, "It wasn't me" before John made any sort of move: and after John registered what Nico had said, he shifted his shield, which had been on his arm, into a two-handed grip, and then raised it. Nico clearly saw this coming; indeed, this is what caused him to shout "It wasn't me" a second time. And John's intentions at that point were obvious, so it's not like what happened with Tony where Tony thought that Steve was going to do one thing but he did another; it was pretty clear where John's shield was going, and this would have been plenty apparent to Nico since terror tends to make time slow down. So he had ample time to catch it.

Additionally, Nico would not have been stunned in the way that Tony was. Tony was slammed to the ground and then received five forceful rapid-fire close-range blows to the head, which is several hard impacts in a short span of time. Nico, by contrast, was hit once with the shield, then was knocked by John to the ground. This was a much shorter distance to fall than the overhead bench-press position that Tony was thrown from, and there were even stairs to break Nico's fall. Thereafter, Nico was hit with the shield again—and he hadn't gotten very far up, so he didn't fall very far back down—and then John thwarted Nico's final attempt to get up by pushing him down with his foot. In addition to the fact that the push was much gentler than getting hit with the shield again would have been, as before Nico hadn't gotten very far up, so he wouldn't have hit the ground that hard.

Therefore, in contrast to Tony, who received six sharp blows pretty much back to back, Nico received three fairly spread out blows—after the first hit with the shield, John had to close the distance between them and wind up again before hitting him a second time to knock him over, and then Nico fell to the ground and started to get back up before he was hit a third time—as well as a kind of shove. Nico thus did not receive nearly as harsh a pummeling as Tony did. And on top of that, he is a supersoldier: so even if his treatment had been rougher, Nico would have a much higher tolerance for pummeling than normal human Tony would.

Hence, Nico would not only have had plenty of time to see what John was doing, but he also would not have had to contend with the disorientation that Tony experienced. There is no excuse for why his only reaction to John's attack was yelling.

And here's what makes the fact that Nico didn't try to defend himself even more ridiculous. Even though Steve's attack was much more rapid, forceful, and unpredictable than John's was, Tony STILL did the logical thing and was ready to try to catch Steve's shield. Indeed, you can actually see a bit of strategy in his response to Steve raising the shield. Tony knew he wasn't strong enough to entirely keep the shield off his face since his suit was failing, so rather than try to stop it from hitting him, he was instead planning to try to grab the shield during its descent in order to slow it down and cushion the blow. As Steve brings the shield down, you can even see Tony open his fingers as he expects to encounter the shield. Nico did not do anything of the sort, he just aimlessly shouted as he passively lay there and waited for John to kill him. But come on! If Tony, who was just a normal human encased in a suit of rapidly failing metal, and who had been completely taken by surprise with a harsh walloping, could make an attempt to stop Steve from killing him (even though, as it turned out, he didn't need to), then Nico, who was a supersoldier, and who had received far less of a thrashing, could definitely have tried (and succeeded) to stop John from killing him. Especially since, unlike Tony, he actually would have been able to completely stop the shield from hitting him.

There is another difference between the two situations that is very interesting, however. Tony, for his part, was well aware that he was acting dishonorably. For instance, a little after Tony began his assault, when Bucky was trying to run away and Tony was intent on pursuit, Steve stood in front of him and said, "It wasn't him, Tony. Hydra had control of his mind." But Tony already knew this, so he simply responded "Move," in a way that clearly indicated that he didn't care and didn't want to hear it. And a short time later, when Tony prevented Bucky from escaping, Steve tried again to get through to him and said, "This isn't gonna change what happened," but Tony replied, "I don't care, he killed my mom." Tony knew that Bucky wasn't to blame for his parents' deaths, and that killing him would not help anything: but since he was angry with Steve for refusing to accept the Accords and all their rights-violations, he saw the revelation as an excuse to attack both Bucky because he knew it would hurt Steve, and Steve himself because Tony knew that Steve would not just stand by while Bucky was being assaulted. He ignored Steve's attempts to reason with him because he figured that he had enough power to be able to do whatever he wanted, and he also correctly guessed that Steve and Bucky would continuously hold back against him, even though they shouldn't have. And because of these things, before Bucky's intervention, Tony had been about to do something that could have quite possibly ended Steve's life. So when Steve regained the upper hand and Tony was at his mercy, Tony was aware that he had no right to ask Steve to spare him, because when he had been in Steve's position, he had been ready to potentially end Steve's life without a second thought. Therefore, he said nothing; his only response was to see if he had enough strength left to hold off Steve.

So Tony, in the face of Steve's attack, didn't yell anything because he knew that what he had done was indefensible: and it is due in part to this modicum of contrition that Steve was able to contain his rage enough to spare him. Nico, meanwhile, had been doing something similarly heinous. He had been actively engaged in trying to kill John because John was Captain America, and when Lemar frustrated the attempt on John's life, Nico was also the reason why John was unable to protect Lemar from Karli's subsequent death-blow. And just like Tony, Nico had been relying on his strength to protect him from repercussions. So what he had done was just as indefensible as what Tony did: but instead of taking the smallest bit of ownership of this, he tried to completely absolve himself of responsibility for what had happened, and this resulted in his downfall. For while John had clearly been intending to just interrogate Nico, the fact that the person who had held him helpless while his best friend was murdered was trying to act like he was not at all responsible for what had happened caused him to lose it, and this resulted in the shield incident. Now, Nico definitely should have made it clear that he was surrendering if he intended to, and even apologized if he genuinely regretted what had happened to Lemar: and again, when the attack did happen he could have easily fended it off. But if he had simply recognized the fact that he was not worthy of John's mercy since he had not been prepared to show mercy to John, and remained silent like Tony did, the shield-attack would never have happened in the first place.

But in any case, as mentioned above, Nico didn't try to defend himself because John needed to kill him, so that the show would have an excuse to take the Captain America mantle from John and give it back to Sam without it seeming too dubious. (Though considering that the incident ended up resulting in Sam and Bucky attacking John for the shield a very short time after he literally lost his best friend, the show completely failed at that.) Not to mention, if Nico had put up a fight, this would have highlighted how much he was still capable of threatening John, and put lie to the show's attempt to act like he was helpless. Particularly since, again, if he had tried to save himself there is no reason why he would not have been successful.

Now, it is important to also remember that Nico was definitely not surrendering, the other widespread misconception about his death scene. He kept trying to fight John until he literally couldn't—he threw a concrete trash can at John while he was running away, and tried to get back up twice after John initially knocked him over, which is not something someone who wanted to surrender would do—and then after John had him pinned, all he did was try to disingenuously absolve himself of responsibility for Lemar's death, rather than trying to apologize or making it clear that he was surrendering. But on top of the fact that Nico wasn't trying to surrender, and refused to own up to what he had done, he was perfectly capable of surviving John's attack when it happened. These things make his death scene, as well as the subsequent reaction to it, completely ridiculous and utterly nonsensical.

[solarwynd]

To be honest with you I don't even know what type of music we're going to get with BTS because from what I understand that hyyh  project is already done and they also have songs already recorded with J Balvin and Pharrell which means the music is already made,  unless they release that before the actual reunion.  I think they're just going to hurry up and do the tour. I genuinely don't know what to expect, maybe it's not even a full-fledged tour. There's a lot of vague words being thrown around when it comes to their comeback and considering Hybe's shitty situation right now (financially speaking) it's weird that they're not creating more hype or being more specific around their return.  The fandom is so incredibly divided with solo fans,  armies are in their lazy era they don't even want to stream and a lot of them have become multis or straight up antis.  Plus the boycotters that are probably going to continue knowing that scooter is not going anywhere next year either.  So yeah I'm kind of blah  about what's coming up frankly,  also the company seems  to have already been planting the seeds for JK as a soloist so whatever group endeavor that we're going to have is going to be only for a short period.  I don't know, everything seems so uncertain for me. I hope Jimin gets to make more music and his own solo tour in the future because his songs are so tour worthy. He has the theatrics, the choreography, the concepts, the hooks, the angst, the anthems. I know I'm also sounding biased but I think there is a reason why the fandom seems to come alive every time he releases something, love him or hate him, there is always a lot of hype and talk around him and his work.

No cause the details surrounding the hyyh project are hella vague. But I hope they’re actually clever with it and not just do some rehash or something that isn’t even worth the anticipation they’ve been trying to drum up for it. Then after this, I hope they put hyyh to rest and move onto something fresh.

I didn’t know about J balvin, but the fact that him and Pharrell are involved leads me to believe that the sound will probably be main stream leaning. Which is fine with me. Pharrell is versatile though so whatever song he worked on could be any genre.