#because they just try to fit too much into episodes tbh

[dunmeshistash]

My post about animal loving in Dungeon Meshi got a lot of traction (and I'm very happy so many people resonated with it) but I did leave out details that were too specific to the personal situation of the characters since I wanted to write something that was easy to understand by someone that had only seen up to that episode, since the episode about Senshi's past wasn't out yet, and because I wanted to focus on that subject as it related to that scene.

Ofc Senshi's relationship to Anne was more complex, he named her after the pony his party had to eat and he probably saw Anne the pony in the Anne the Kelpie, I think that would fit better in a Senshi analysis than an Anne the Kelpie analysis. There's also the fact that even tho Laios *knows* monsters are unpredictable and wild he thought he could control Kensuke which backfired during the dragon fight.

But those details I don't think added much to my line of thought, the way people justify why they think an animal is special varies a lot and can be rooted in past trauma, but the complexity of the relationship is one-sided. Not to say you can't have complex feelings about an animal, as long as at the end you understand them and their needs.

The Laios thing wasn't quite the same but it was also part of our relationship to animals tbh, I was analyzing it thru a lens of love and Laios does love Kensuke as an animal, but he also thought it was an animal he could control, which I also think it's human nature, he thought since he "understood" Kensuke he could control it, but he says so himself, he doesn't know how monsters think.

I think this one relates more to people that have so much experience with an animal that they forget wild animals are still unpredictable, a "perfectly trained" Lion is still capable of biting your head off even if it didn't the last 100 times.

I really enjoy how Laios reacts to it after he suffers the consequences tho

He never takes it personally when he suffers because of a monster, even towards the Red Dragon he never reacts in anger as if he needs to "take revenge" on the dragon and even tho Kensuke "betrayed" him he still feels sorry when he thinks he might have harmed him later on.

The thing he says about trying to find an use to living monsters reminds me of another Kui work. it's a great read and made me think a lot, chapter 8 from 'the dragon school is on top of the mountain' (Another option if you can't open mangadex)

This got longer than I intended and I'm not going anywhere with it, I just love animals and talking about loving them.

[tangents-within-tangents]

As much as I love sweet headcanons and found family fics about the Batch accepting Echo and supporting him through his adjustment and PTSD/trauma, gotta remember that what we were actually given in canon is this:

Hunter: Me and the boys will tag along anyway, if only to say I told you so. Crosshair: I would have left him for dead too. Besides, he's just another reg. (his rescue was just a mission for them, wouldn't have done it otherwise)

Tech: To be blunt his mind belonged to the Separatists until we unplugged him. We don't really know where his loyalties lie. Rex: Yeah? Well I know. Hunter: Alright Echo what are you trying to pull? Tech: How do we know that's what you're really going to do? Hunter: Well I guess you actually are on our side. (They openly doubt his loyalty even though they saw what he went through, and he already fought alongside them on Skako. Feels kinda victim-blamey to me, and it's odd that it goes straight from this to him joining them, like he had to prove himself worthy first? It's just the opposite of fanon which usually has the Batch be immediately sympathetic/protective and assume the regs would distrust him)

Tech: You are more machine than man, percentage wise at least. Echo, a triple amputee: *sigh* lucky me...

Palpatine: ...the attempt on my life has left me scarred and deformed Wrecker: You can say that again! Echo, a physically disabled person:

Echo, who was medically experimented on: *injured and having a panic attack in the medbay* The Batch: *off somewhere joking/betting about if he’s dead*

Tech: -from the Citadel rescue when you... how shall I put this? Wrecker: Blew up!! :D Crosshair: And turned into that Echo: *sigh* yes

Random stranger: *mistakes Echofor a droid* Hunter: *smiles and goes along with it for the credits* Echo, who was SOLD and dehumanized as a pow: *visibly uncomfortable* Hunter: Echo, go to your new owner.

Echo, who was treated like property by the Techno Union: *explains why slavery is wrong* And we are gonna stop it from happening to that kid. Tech: As well as earn a decent amount of credits once the job is complete. Echo: (bitterly) yeah, that too *leaves the room*

Tech: The client being a Separatist is not relevant. Echo, who was imprisoned and tortured by Separatists for over a year: It is to me! Hunter: Forget politics! We're here to do a job.

Tech: This squad existed before Echo was a part of it, and it will exist after.

For the record, yes people can and do joke about their trauma and disabilities

But look at Echo’s reactions/tone/body language in these scenes. It’s downcast sighs and discomfort, while the others are smiling, sneering, or dismissive. And because it's animated that means that every facial expression was intentionally designed.

What really clinches it for me is this moment:

Omega, a child who he just met, comforts him and helps him through his panic attack. But when the Batch, his squad who he's been living with for at least ~6 months, comes into the room he visibly closes himself off and hides his vulnerability :(

There are good moments too (though tbh i can't think of many)

I don't wanna discount that, but that doesn't discount this either. And it's just really weird when you think about it. Like half of these were in the first episode, which is the first time we are actually seeing how these characters interact together as a squad. And this is coming from the "defective" clones who supposedly know what it's like to not fit in? Who offered Echo a place with them specifically because they thought he wouldn't be accepted by others?

As with anything, there are ways we can read into or explain these moments (like honestly 'selling' your brother or betting that your brother died by lunch tray is very accurate sibling energy (And my personal headcanon (to reconcile it for myself bc the show didn't) is that Wrecker was worried about Echo so Crosshair jokingly exaggerated that he was dead and turned it into an argument/bet to distract him (which is also why I think he turns battles into a game/competition with Wrecker)) but Echo is very traumatized and there's a complete lack of consideration there). But that doesn't excuse it nor does it change the fact that this is what was presented to us in the writing. Characters aren't actually people (shocking I know lol), so any of their 'choices' are actually made by a real-life writer. And whether the implications of these moments were fully considered/intended or not, it still portrays the characters and their attitudes/relationships in a certain way.

[seimsisk]

turns out I need to rant about House some more

see I have this friend who hates House because she's a woman with zero patience for asshole protagonists who everybody loves for no reason, which is fine, but then she watched some episodes and came to terrible no good very bad análises of the themes in House and everytime I think about it I get mad and ranty but I have no one to rant to

(like this was some three months ago. but my rant-brain doesn't know how to move on)

my friend seems to be under the impression that the core character trait of House (the character) is being an asshole, and that the episode where he talks about his teenage experience of meeting a genius doctor who everybody hated is some kind of badly written origin story of why he decided to be an asshole. which is a very upsetting analysis because of how unkind it is - it only makes sense of you assume the writing is bad

and it pisses me off first of all because that story was an explanation not of why house is an asshole but of why he's a doctor. totally different thing. and the reason he's a doctor is that he found out that doctors and respected even when they are hated.

so I would say House's core trait is not that he's an asshole exactly, but that he is hated. He's used to being hated, he doesn't try to not be hated, he hates himself even, and he genuinely believes that he is only tolerated because of his skills as a doctor. which is painfully relatable tbh.

house isn't just an asshole, he's a huge misfit who has come to the conclusion that trying to fit in is pointless and painful. he's a genius weirdo in too much pain to give a shit. he's chronically depressed but afraid treatment will dull his mind. he's an addict who argues that he needs his addiction to function (up until he accidentally almost kills someone). he's so obviously Neuro divergent that the show has like three separate episodes based around parallels between House and a neurodivergent and/or mentally disabled patient, and in each of them House is seen low-key envying those patients because they are not expected to behave like neurotypicals the way he is which is also painfully relatable. he's and asshole to everyone and he's extra special asshole to (neurotypical) people with physical disabilities (like he has), but he is genuinely kind and gentle to people with neurodivergencies and mental illnesses. also to whores. I think the thing is, if society hates you for who you are and how you behave, House immediately adopts you like a stray puppy, just like he adopts that sick rat Steve.

I was going somewhere with this but I forgot where. might continue rant later

[brellafaun]

UNHINGEDPOSTING YIPPEE

today's episode is what build a bears i think the brellies would have/get. they take five as sibling bonding and he pretends to hate it but secretly loves it. allison records all of the heart ceremonies and cherishes the videos forever. i'm truly losing it i miss them so much

LUTHER ♡

luther would 1000% appreciate a golden retriever build a bear. he probably really wanted a dog as a kid but reggie wouldn't let him, so this would be kinda like healing that inner part of him (also rebelling against what reggie said!! win!!!). he would probably name it something like rover or scout and get the pumpkin spice scent and some jammies for it.

DIEGO ♡

shaggy highland cow. lila would tease him while they're looking at bears by saying their hair matches. it would only motivate him to get it out of spite. cannot think of a name while at the store, comes up with one once he's home. either gets one of the button ups with a funky print or an all black outfit with combat boots, with no in between. definitely a birthday cake scent guy.

ALLISON ♡

pawlette girlie all the way. classic, but not outdated. likely matches with a bear claire has. she would commit too hard to the bit and spend way too long trying to find the perfect outfit, maybe something that matches whatever she's wearing when they go. gets either sunglasses or one of the fake lattes as an accessory. either pumpkin spice scented or strawberry.

KLAUS ♡

rainbow bearlien no i am not taking criticism. maybe a frog, but this is the funnier option tbh. he would assemble the cuntiest little outfit possible for his bear, definitely using the faux leather crop top and some boots. additionally, he might get the emotional support bear shirt. takes the heart ceremony and birth certificates extremely seriously and gets his laminated. lavender scent ftw (maybe even gets his bear weighted?? weighted stuffed animals are great for anxiety tbh)

FIVE ♡

timeless teddy bear because. he's timeless. okay listen that was funnier in my head. but i feel like he'd dig this guy because it's more like something he would've actually had as a kid. maybe it'd be like a bear he did have, sewn together by Grace. he would pretend that he doesn't want it, but he absolutely does. gets a little suit and shoes to match his (that, or he gets the emotional support bear shirt). the scents are probably a little too on the sweet side for his liking. (if she had planned it out in advance, allison would've gotten him one of the ones that has embroidery on the foot. it'd probably be something simple and grounding for when he's stressed.) immediately emotionally attached. the employees ask if it's his birthday at least twice.

BEN ♡

jennifur the cat. we all know why. but in all seriousness, i think he'd dig this one because he's got a secret soft spot for cats. it's also pretty separated from the aquatic animals, and doesn't remind him of the horror at all. gets a zip-up hoodie and jeans to match his. potentially gets a voice message in the paw, something from klaus or the whole family. fresh cut flowers scent.

VIKTOR ♡

buffalo check pawlette just kinda fits the vibe? idk man, it clicks in my brain just right. the ears and paw pads are a good texture and he jives with it. joins mr. snuggles in the lofty position of on the bed. emotional support bear shirt, little denim jacket, jeans, and boots. maybe the plaid pajamas if he's feeling a more cozy vibe. lavender scent for sure. doesn't get a box and carries it with him as they leave.

LILA ♡

mothman. she's the family's own little cryptid. it works. finds the goofiest sleeper she can and bunny slippers. gives him a ridiculously intricate name like Sir Cornelius Weston XXVII. gets diego to record a voice message for her and refuses to tell anyone what it says (it's just him saying "I love you"). laughs at five doing the heart ceremony and refuses to do it when it's her turn. cotton candy scent

...........hargreeves family going to build a bear fic when

[xxsabitoxx]

Toxic Things the Pillars Do.

Pillars x Unspecified Reader

Warnings: toxic behaviors/habits — angst-ish

A/N: don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of these characters being the perfect dream man/woman but lets be real… if they were real people they’d definitely have some bad habits… so this is what I think they are :)

Bold words = the toxic trait

Tomioka Giyu

He is so unbelievably withdrawn sometimes

You were able to break him out of his shell enough to want to be with him and make a life with him and such

But sometimes he falls into these periods where he wants nothing to do with anyone — including you.

Which, you understand his past traumas, you understand when people need space

But these periods of silence can go on for months

You try to be there for him but really there is only so much you can handle before you feel like you’re in a relationship with a damn ghost.

He thinks things can go right back to normal once these episodes pass

He thinks you’ll always be willing and waiting for him once he pulls himself out of these depressive episodes

And you were the first few times it happened, now you’re at your wits end

He can’t see why you’d be bothered by his withdrawn personality

I mean, you knew what you were getting into, right?

Kocho Shinobu

She can have a mean ass attitude

I’m talking mean as fuck, like she gets into moods where she’s just looking to start an argument

We know she’s an angry soul, she hides it behind a never ending smile

But when she’s alone with you, she can be herself

Which, in her mind, means she doesn’t need to put up an always happy facade with you

You respect that of course, you knew she was feisty before getting into your relationship with her

But there have been times where her attitude gets the better of her and she can be almost unbearable

She’ll insult you during a fight and not apologize after

She struggles to see when she’s in the wrong

It’ll take a lot of work to get her to apologize but honestly it sometimes doesn’t even feel genuine

She gets visibly upset if you give her an attitude in response to her behavior

Rengoku Kyojuro

He’s too positive

If you have a problem or are having a bad day, you’ll often go to him for help

The problem being, his advice can almost be a little too much… pushy even.

Sometimes you just want to collapse in his arms and hug him tightly to feel better

However, he’ll nonstop talk about ways to fix your problems and even try and get you off of him to do so

He struggles to read the room

When you’re upset, sometimes Kyojuro has an issue realizing it. (It’s giving tism…mood)

He’s also very practical and can struggle to differentiate between you wanting advice and simply wanting comfort

The thing his, overall his “toxic traits” aren’t all that bad

They just take some getting used to, and he’s more than willing to work on them

Main toxic trait: he really doesn’t have one

Uzui Tengen

He unintentionally plays favorites

Out of his spouses, he’s quite obvious about the one he’s feeling closer to that day (ouch)

He doesn’t realize it, he thinks he’s hiding it well because honestly he loves all four of you the same.

It’s just… sometimes he’s a little more clingy with one or two of you more so than other days

He’s blunt as fuck

He has no regards for what he says, if it hurts it hurts but it’s the god damn truth

This has actually created a few arguments among the five of you all together (Tengen, Makio, Suma, Hina and you)

There has actually been times where you’ve all slept in separate beds because of it

He is a perfectionist

If you do his makeup or hair wrong, he’ll get pissy about it

Maybe even make a comment about how one of the other wives do it better. Like I said, he’s blunt.

Kanroji Mitsuri

She’s extremely clingy Don’t come for me for saying that, I love clingy people tbh

She’ll throw a fit if you have to leave her on days she’s not feeling the best

She’s super emotional too so sometimes you feel like you’re walking on eggshells around her

If you don’t give her the attention she deserves, she’ll give you the silent treatment

That being said… she’s stubborn

Similar to Giyu, she doesn’t think her stubbornness is a big deal and can’t understand why you’re peeved by it

Which results in an argument… which results in tears

Even if you didn’t do anything wrong, she expects you to apologize yes of course Queen, whatever you want fr I’m on my knees.

She unintentionally gaslights you

“What? Do you not love me? Why don’t you spend more time with me? I guess I’m not that important”

She’s a lot to handle but tbh you still love her. No fr I’m on my knees I’ll do whatever she wants

Iguro Obanai

He’ll compare you to others

In a weird way, he’ll project his own insecurities onto you

He’s super critical when it comes to random things, if you ask him a question and he feels the answer is obvious he’ll make you feel a bit stupid for not knowing

He gets super jealous

Some may see that as a plus it’s me, I’m some but it can honestly become overbearing

He is hesitant to let you go out with anyone that isn’t in him and often forced you to decline plans

You’ll get into arguments over this and he’ll blatantly pretend he has no idea what you’re talking about

He gaslights you purposely

Unlike Mitsuri, he knows what he’s doing and knows just how to fuck with you

He’s a bit of a drama queen because of it

I totally see him not letting you break up with him, low key Yandere-ish

Shinazugawa Sanemi

His mouth. His attitude.

This bitch is a smart ass, even if what he says backfires he knows he’s more than capable of handling himself

So when it comes to you? It’s always a losing battle

It’s almost as if he’s trying to get you to leave him, see how far he can push you before you give up

He won’t open up

If you manage to stick with him, you’ll realize he mellows out and isn’t as big of a hard ass as he was

That being said, it doesn’t prevent him from falling into periods of depression or anger

When you try to help him, he pushes you away. Similar to Giyu, but these episodes don’t last nearly as long

He’s possessive

Unlike Obanai, this man rarely gets jealous. He’s cocky enough to know you’ll never find anyone better than him… gaslighter lmfao but he right

He likes to leave various marks on you where people will see and he’s not shy to public affection. Even if it makes you uncomfortable.

Himejima Gyomei

He often prioritizes other things over you

You know his work comes first, you know a lot of people rely on him but… he’ll always put work before you

Even if it’s a birthday, special occasion, etc

He’ll make it up to you of course but there is only so many missed dates, missed birthdays, missed anniversaries that you can take before you start to feel inferior

He wants children but can’t understand why you don’t

Going off of what I said above, you know damn well you’ll essentially be a single parent even though you’re with him

When you bring it up, he doesn’t see the issue. He doesn’t think he’s that absent in your life

He’s pretty timid personality wise, but there have been times where you’ve pushed his buttons and he gets curt with you.

You can go a while without seeing him

I’m talking months. When it comes to work, it’ll always be his number one priority

I should mention, he fully expects you to wait for him and refrain from… any sexual activity. I’m not sorry for that lmao

[all-pacas]

ok i was trying to nap because i'm sick and i couldn't sleep and instead i was thinking about house medical doctor. and like. ok. chase is my special favorite, right? i want to punch him in his face, right?

-

I was thinking, though. It's easy to… smooth over and buff out characters to make them more appealing. To focus on traits and interpretations that you like. And to be clear I do think Chase has a lot of good qualities, both in terms of being a likeable character (he's clever! He doesn't take himself that seriously and isn't ego driven, unlike many others in the cast!) and being a fun character to watch (he's always pulling weird faces or being sarcastic!).

But he also has some real fucking character flaws, so let's talk about them. Because I want to. Because I don't like smoothing people out to fit a Narrative. I want to talk about his apathetic moral vacancy.

Like. Chase is apathetic. He truly and honestly doesn't give a shit about other people a lot of the time. He's not aggressive about it, he's not cruel — he tends to be fairly polite, although he's not great at hiding it ("the nurse's phone can take pictures!" "………cool"), he doesn't often talk shit. When he dislikes a patient, he at least tries to hide it (contrast with Foreman, who genuinely sucks at this). But that doesn't mean he cares. He is absolutely fine with lying to patients (Post Mortem), or with billing people for tests and not telling them (Safe). He doesn't care if that's shady. He's super ethically flexible, is the only one of the fellows to be openly pro euthanasia, has zero moral issue with treating Dibala. This clearly isn't because Chase believes so strongly that being a doctor should make you neutral to petty political beliefs, he just… doesn't care much. It doesn't bother him. I don't think he'd go out of his way to be harmful or cruel to someone, but he also isn't going out of his way to help them either.

While we do see him advocating for his patients and getting involved now and then (mostly with children), he never really has any moments where he takes a stand or fights for someone. Cameron, by contrast, does this constantly (The Itch, Acceptance, Fidelity…). Foreman also has several episodes (Fools For Love, Whac-A-Mole, a lot of his S3 development tbh) where he finds and bonds with and over-invests in a patient. The closest Chase ever comes to "getting way too involved in someone's life because he cares" is Moira in Chase, and she's preeeetty explicitly called out as him rebounding and acting out; he's doing the Wilson-Amber reinvent yourself after trauma thing, and it wears off pretty quickly. In Cameron and Foreman's cases too, it's more about their personal issues than the patient in question… but Chase's situation was really about him.

Speaking of being morally vacant! When Cameron might be infected with HIV (Hunting), he expresses some concern and House immediately mocks him for being fake. I don't actually know that it was (he certainly keeps up the thread of suggesting she should take some time off, he's not just being performative), but it's telling that the first reaction to Chase showing concern for anyone is "lol, who are you kidding?" Cameron accuses him later that of not being a good guy. She wants to get laid and live life on the edge, and the person that jumps to her mind when she wonders "who would be down for doing me on meth" is Chase. Nor is she wrong. Chase is an opportunist. Tritter calls him one, and Tritter is correct. He rats to Vogler to save his job, and is barely sorry for it; I'm not sure he ever apologizes. Everyone expects he'll immediately run to Tritter and a huge source of tension in Finding Judas is that Chase can't win: Foreman and Cameron already assume he has, that he's too spoiled and weak to not. Later in S3, when Cameron propositions him, he again goes "free sex?" and signs up, despite calling her out on what a demeaning offer she's making. He tends to pick the easier options. He stays a diagnostics fellow for years longer than anyone else, because it's a safe space. It's easy. He'd rather be a follower than take any risks. (I think there is no room for a reality where he refused his dad's money out of spite or pride. Why would he refuse a trust fund? It's easy. It's right there.)

We actually do see him lash out and stand up for himself here and there. He pushes back against Cameron a few times, actually (Act your Age, Saviors, Teamwork), and he's also pushed back against Foreman and House. But it's only for himself. I can't think of a time he went far out of his way to defend one of his coworkers, or his boss, or a patient. He did get mad enough to, uh, kill, when Dibala threatened Cameron. Which: fair enough? But he doesn't care much for things outside of his immediate influence. He has no problem shrugging off Cuddy in Living the Dream, or an armed gunman in Last Resort. He has no moral stances or political beliefs that we know of (besides, uh, fat people suck and the US immigration system is annoying). He very much does care about people, he's pretty clear that at least some of his apathy is a defense thing after a deeply fucked up childhood, but it's always despite himself. He prefers to do his job and go home. There's an old not-joke about how all surgeons have god complexes. Chase being a surgeon is kind of a retcon, and in a lot of ways he doesn't fit the stereotype — he's not particularly arrogant or superior, he's not even ambitious. He does get touchy about being called wrong, or accused of making mistakes, but I don't think he's any worse than the others on that front (or more prone to making mistakes). But that indifference? His sort of general aloofness? He cares about himself, and his little circle, and watches his own back, and that's it. He doesn't dislike other people, but he doesn't care much either way. Foreman accuses him of being fake. Everyone accuses him of being morally vacant, an opportunist who will do anything if it improves his own situation. And… yeah. Kinda.

[ashyjingles]

What's your favorite trope in thiam fics? (Or in general?)

this ended up being something a lot longer than i meant to be and is less of a fav trope and more of an analysis of how i view them or whatever but like. here have it

theo learning how to cope with life outside of the dread doctors and being viewed as a monster for his actions (which,,, sorry theo ily and i will forever be a theo defender,,, but never an apologist bc wtf bro) and liam understanding him because of what he's done during his ied episodes and the repercussions

liam's reluctant to admit he feels that empathy for him at first because hey!! this guy kind of not only evil but also batshit fucking bonkers!! but he kinda realizes without empathy he loses an aspect of his humanity and when he accepts it he realizes theo was quite honestly just in an incredibly abusive situation and was just trying to survive and became a product of his enviornment (and considering one of the causes of ied is environmental factors i feel like it wouldn't be too far fetched to say liam understands that personally too)

and theos reluctant to admit that he. feels guilty for anything he did. because that means admitting that he did bad things. which when he tries to rationalize makes no sense because he has done bad things and has even enjoyed doing it because his brains a little fucked and he knows that because he's a monster. but being guilty means he's a failure to the dread doctors. and he's already rotten at the edges and the edges are starting to peel away to show a rotten core and that means he's a failure to the mccall pack because they're a bunch of saints (compared to him at least. and if not, well they're on a saints leash) and he's spent so long being anything but a failure because being a failure means being dead and he cannot shake that no matter how hard he tries until he realizes liam sometimes fails at keeping his anger in check but that doesn't make him a failure. and then without even realizing liam starts teaching theo that it's okay to slip up a few times because that's what makes people human and maybe theo doesn't have to be a monster

but when they both accept themselves and the other it leads to a relationship that no one else quite gets (sure, mason has been there for liam his entire life and i cannot stress how much i adore their friendship but sometimes understanding something because you've watched it happen is worlds away from actually experiencing it) at first but it's the sort of thing that just. fits. because they can both push each other to their limits without actually going over (eventually) but also pull each other back when they need a reminder of who they are (people. not monsters.)

tbh i love them cause there's so many different dynamics and tropes that can apply to them but this one,,,,,,,, this one is the one that well and truly wrecks me most of the time. and i don't even think this counts as a trope.

if i had to choose like a trope trope then. idiots to lovers? basic. enemies to lovers? too obvious. idk any tropes now that i think about it,, fuck. sunshine x grumpy?? but also i think i like grumpy liam more than sunshine liam because that boy has an ied and a shitload of trauma he's not gonna be a ray of happiness all the time and like hell will theo be a sunshine character. OHHHH YOU KNOW WHAT?? FAKE DATING!! or the and they were roommates thing. idk tbh dude. hanahaki if u wanna take a peek at my 4 hanahaki drafts for them lmfao

in general tho? combination of idiots to lovers but also fake dating but also grumpy x grumpy that sometimes leans toward grumpy x sunshine I GUESS. since you're MAKING me CHOOSE.

[dreamwreaver]

Vaggie would really benefit from having a long break from being Charlie's girlfriend and take the screentime for herself WITHOUT involving Charlie. Honestly, for the sake of keeping her a compelling character, they should have focused on her past as an exorcist and had her reflect on her actions, having an identity crisis because all she was made for was war and now that she's left that behind, what else is there for her? Who is she? Too bad she's designated as the love interest and nothing more.

Though I wonder what's your full thoughts on Vaggie since you seem to have a lot of valid arguments to say about her. Is it okay to ask for a critique on her character, if it's not too much trouble?

I couldn't resist lol.

No but for real, Vaggie could be such an interesting character on her own. She was an Angel created by the first man who ascended and proceeded to become a massive fucking dick. Her whole purpose is to be a weapon. From the way adam talks vaggie was possibly only second to lute. So what could have changed; we see the exorcists can go out and about in heaven proper without issue. They have normal lives. Heaven is allegedly perfect; so why did Vaggie change? Is it possible that (solely from a callous perspective) there was some inherent defect in her design? Like, it's very weird and considering we don't really know the strict parameters of the extermination it's cause for concern.

My basic knowledge is that so long as Lucifer allows them to come and purge sinners the rest of hell will remain untouched, including his family. That may in fact be why he showed up in the final battle. Adam was going to kill Charlie, we see his mask glitch which might have been a visual cue for the audience that the deal was broken. But back to Vaggie; without going on a whole other tangent about the possible classification of Rosie and the rest of her cannibals Vaggie spared someone and was mutilated and left for dead because of it. Why? Honestly the issue could really just be that Lute and Adam are dicks and saw this one act of mercy as weakness that needed to be culled. Whatever the reason, vaggie lost her halo, her wings, and her eye and was left to bleed out in an alley.

All of that is honestly a good setup for Vaggie wanting vengeance on those that abandoned her. But it really doesn't mesh with her being around Charlie if it is. We know from dialogue in the show Vaggie still has a lot of bloodlust in her heart and I don't think that's necessarily bad since it's all part of her makeup. But why, then, go along with a hotel to rehabilitate sinners? Honestly most of the things Vaggie does seem to be just because she's going along with what Charlie wants. Very much like Lucifer even in her "disgraced" state lets say, she still clearly sees herself as above the other sinners around her. She doesn't really do most of the hotel activities aimed at self improvement, she made 1 commercial to try and promote the thing, mostly she tends to just sit around and frown or threaten people with her spear. Again, not a bad character in and of herself but when paired with Charlie the energy is just completely antithetical to one another.

And again notice how the fallen Angel who doesn't seem to care for sinners ended up with someone half angel and half demon. Isn't that just... so convenient? And sure, it could be paralleling Charlie's parents as so many chaggie shippers are wont to claim. But tbh? Charlastor fits that bill more. A divine being falling for a mortal and willing to face down their own creator to be with this person.

I think my biggest issue is that shippers treat it like peak wlw rep. In an adult animated show? In 2024? No. You could replace most of Vaggie's scenes with a lamp and it wouldn't change a thing. The very fact that so many casual people who joined when the finished series aired had NO IDEA they were a couple until episode 5? Right, meanwhile Rebecca sugar in 2015 on Cartoon Network had an episode of steven universe where ruby and sapphire couldn't stop being gay long enough to not sabotage a mission. We got lesbian softball, we got neck kisses, we got a goddamn marriage proposal and this was at a time where the gayest rep we'd gotten before that was the korrasami handhold as they wandered into the spirit dimension.

In your ask you mentioned a really good question nonny; who is vaggie without being an exorcist? What are her goals, her ambitions, her hobbies, ANYTHING? What does she like to do in her spare time? What secret love does she have that she'd be mortified if anyone found out about? What food can she not stand? And no amount of "sexy songs" in future seasons will fix the fundamental thing broken in this relationship; vaggie is an object, not a partner.

Even if I don't ship it personally I see the appeal of ships like cherrimoth or velvette moth. They pair vaggie with strong personalities who would take serious offense to anyone thinking they're too fragile to handle a harsh truth. They don't want someone to be their armor, they want a partner.

And honestly, that's why I like Emily for Vaggie. Yes, she's basically Charlie in true angel form, but think about what she said when Sera tried to gaslight her about why she kept Emily in the dark about the exorcisms;

"I don't need your condescension, I'm not a child to protect"

And that right there is the same thing Vaggie needs to hear. Charlie is a grown ass woman hundreds of human years old. The notion that just because she's an optimist, just because she's positive and emotionally sensitive doesn't mean she couldn't handle something that weighed on her partner like this. But truthfully? Vaggie might have never let Charlie in, but Charlie never really thought to knock, now did she?

But that's a discussion for another ask, now isn't it? ;)

[hazbinsponsoredbyvee]

I mean I understand why Radioapple is popular. The Enemies to Lovers trope is like one of the hottest tropes there is, and while Alastor and Vox were technically enemies everyone could tell Alastor didn't take their rivalry very seriously, likely because he didn't view Vox as an actual threat, but Vox was very quick to instigate and was easily shut down by Alastor which is also why Radiosilence is very popular, people love the one-sided thing between them and the bits of past lore we were given. But with Lucifer it's easy to see there's actual angry tension between the two, it's not a one-sided rivalry, Lucifer pisses Al off just as Al pisses Lucifer off so them and their dynamic fit the actual Enemies part perfectly and from there it's much easier to make scenarios in which they would become lovers. Hate sex being very popular because they have a lot of hate for each other, and if they were to have sex it would end in a lot of blood and tears and most likely a very torn up room. That's just my take on it. Tbh the only Radioapple I like is the Berryverse Radioapple which was a thing before the first season, it's kind of an AU where Alastor is a way better version of Al and is Angel's pimp and Lucifer is Vox because he sells Apple mac products.

As someone whose lifeblood is enemies to lovers, I totally get that. And when I first saw that people shipped radioapple my first thought was 'Oh yeah, that makes sense - enemies to lovers. Probably if I look at it close enough, I'll start shipping it too, cause I can never help myself with that trope.'

But then I did start to look at it closer, and I just... don't see any romantic or sexual tension between them. It seems a very superficial enmity because it's just the two most prideful beings being jealous of each other with no real heart behind it. No hate to them as enemies, cause enemies doesn't need to be a complicated thing, I just don't see enough there for anything to develop out of it. Maybe if Alastor wasn't aroace, but as it is, I think it would have to be very special circumstances for him to be interested in anyone like that.

As for radiostatic, I respectfully disagree about Alastor not taking their rivalry seriously. I think he just does a much better job of hiding it. This can even be seen in the (admittedly non-canon) comics, where Vox tries to get a rise out of Alastor, he rolls his eyes and walks away, but the second he's out of earshot starts grumbling and even swearing.

In the show itself, I went in knowing nothing, and in the first episode when Alastor and Vaggie were making the commercial, I was immediately convinced that he had been hurt by/had a grudge against someone in the television industry. Then, when he came out of his tailor's shop (which he knew was right across from Vox's shop, and why did he have to repair a coat that already had so many tears in it?), he stops to pose, cracks an eye open, and then gets all irritated when he gets no reaction. And then what does he do? Immediately goes on air to antagonize Vox right back. (I also saw a post talking about how he references the first part of the song, that Vox wasn't even on air for, implying that he also spies on Vox, but that's shaky evidence, I feel like.)

And the end of that episode really sealed it for me, with him waiting in the shadows, then picking up the watch and powering it on just to taunt Vox. Cause yeah, my first watch of Stayed Gone, I got the same impression that Alastor didn't take the rivalry seriously, but then here he was, going out of his way get a rise out of Vox. It suddenly showed that whatever was between them was very personal, and fuck, the only trope I like more than enemies to lovers is friends to enemies to lovers.

Well, sorry for this soapbox. I'm a big proponent of ship and let ship, so this is in no way trying to put down anyone who views these characters differently, I'm just sharing my opinion!

[ca-suffit]

Can we discuss claudia and louis attempting to kill lestat also because that does count as violence too doesn't it? I'm asking an honest question openly because I do agree louis and claudia faced much worse than lestat and lestat's unhinged violence to louis was horrifying and obviously racist PERIOD. but does the murder attempt count or how does that fit in :3

One thing I did notice is how much SR coddles lestat as a character. I get loving lestat, I get he plays him so he's going to tap into that love but when I watched the BTS clips after the episode he always justifies lestat's every action i.e. saying the ending scene btwn LL was so beautiful, or how lestat was trying to save louis during the trial. He never talks about real issues. As the "lead" he should imo. Ngl he makes lestat out to be the victim too at times, even vaguely.

It does count but...I had to go dig up the original ask here.

I don't think we're done seeing that scene tbh. but what we've seen so far is, as the ask said, "romantic."

Lestat in the book is poisoned, throat slit, and stabbed multiple times in the chest. Claudia grabs him by the neck and bites into him as he's bleeding out on the floor, then he's left in a swamp once he's "dead." but he comes back a little later so then he's set on fire and stabbed and beaten more with a fireplace poker. He's *severely* disfigured after all of that and that's why he goes to Paris to see Armand and ends up in the trial instead. He's trying to seek Armand's blood to heal himself faster. Armand takes advantage of that tho to get Claudia killed (and he never gives him any healing blood). And *then* he pushes Lestat out of the tower and it breaks every bone in Lestat's body and takes him 2 years to heal from.

So then compare that to what the show ever did to him while Louis and Claudia are routinely shown getting fucked up and that's the problem.

Also ya SR does that. Although the more stuff I see over time, the more I start feeling like it's all intentional marketing bs from everyone bcuz nobody much is ever talking about anything. I understand that the point is to not rly ever villainize anyone, but idk why u make a series like this and skip over talking about some of the *best* parts of it?? SR said some of the most unhinged stuff about Lestat in the last Autumn Brown interview (which is a feat too bcuz she does not ask any pressing questions, he just was saying shit on his own lol) and everyone's letting that go by bcuz it doesn't fit the sweet and innocent vibes they mostly like lol.

[katyspersonal]

Tbh being in this fandom helped me to recover my love for drawing?

I've always loved to draw, since early childhood, and I've always picked bright colors and put too much thought and detail into drawings! Like, I wasn't yet six years old and my ways to draw were already showing xD

Things started to go sour since maybe 14, because it was when teachers noticed my talent and started to exploit it to make me draw shit for stupid school events -_- It was also when I started to draw digitally, so, posting my art online. It became an obligation I was not even compensated for irl and a strong stress of "getting audience" and "improvement" online. And it was a very long timeframe of drawing with how my art will be received in mind. I think I've temporarily lost originality as an artist when I've got on Tumblr, even. Because I tried to chameleon to ideas, trends and styles of everyone else. It's been YEARS.

But joining this fandom forced me to abandon my fixation on reception. I've never gotten my art side-eyed and disliked so much in my whole life. I've heard pearls like "You don't have a talent (as an artist) and it is cringe that you say you do", "I don't like how you draw people", "I think you should focus on writing, you are way better at it than at visual art", "Only people who can't draw would enjoy your art" - and none of these came from haters! A lot of ignoring, a lot of visible and obvious irritation from a fan of [character] because I've drawn them "ugly", pity liking because they don't like my art but like me as a person, nothing good to say about my art besides "well you've put a lot of effort in" etc. It just became obvious that my art doesn't fit in Soulsborne fandom. Everyone here are talented, studied artists with academical skill. When they aren't, their style is appealing, simple, anime-ish and pleasing for the eyes. And then there is me lol

The thing is, whereas I had multiple episodes of wanting to delete all my fanart from socials, wanting to give up on art altogether, starting to hate my art myself because others hated it and avoiding looking at other artists' blogs to not face the humiliation of how much more love they get compared to me... I waded through it.

I came out of it a stronger person, that learned to love drawing only and ONLY for the heck of it. I've noticed that I really just like drawing, because it's fun. Because I want to see some drawing, not because someone else might. I was forced to grow up, except.. I wasn't? I could have given up on art like I "wanted" to! I knew some artists in Soulsborne, mostly 16-17 but not only, who gave up on drawing (at least for this fandom) or straight up abandoned their blogs because of facing similar snobbery regarding their art styles! They were similarly very detailed and "inconvenient", to think back on it. 🤔 But I am here, right? I didn't even do the bare minimum of trying to "fix" my art style to be more "appealing", I just continued drawing the way I like to.. and tbh, the way I used to love drawing back in childhood returned. Long ago before internet, "content", "platform", "relevance" and all this stupid shit that defeats the point. I am lucky to get 30 notes on fully colored fully detalized drawing, 20 of which are friends or mutuals, but I just stopped caring? I am drawing for the heck of it, so many years later, again?

In general, guys, I don't know who needs to hear this, but if you are dealing with ignoring, snobbery, taunting or all at once as an artist, I really recommend you to endure through it and not give up. Eventually you will naturally become strong and self-sufficient! The best way to learn to not rely on anyone else's approval is to actually not be given this approval but continue. The joy of enjoying the drawing regardless of whether your art is liked by others is a wealth much bigger than popularity

[clonehub]

I don't think journalists and earlier viewers hyping up the whole season helped things tbh. The writing for all of S3 was still lackluster all around. The characters still don't feel emotionally developed. Crosshair's "redemption" is missing pieces and I don't think "I left the empire because they weren't loyal to ME" shows growth at all. Was the Empire's violence against Innocents -- including violence they made you committ -- not also a factor? Why? Assajj ventress's episode was...pointless? If we take it out how much do we really lose?

If both assajj and fennec can find the bad batch and the empire was able to find the bad batch why would they go back to Pabu? Why not try and leave the first time they were warned? I get project necromancer is done now but do the batch know that? The left right before Tarkin showed up. Why did Rampart think simply downloading the project necromancer stuff would be enough to blackmail the empire into rehiring him??? The EMPIRE. Why didn't hemlock just kill rampart? Why did they hold onto Nala se if she was useless and had also been tampering with the project?

What was the point in making Emerie a clone? She could have said and done everything she said and did and been a regular woman. It's not like being a clone gave her any particular advantages or disadvantages. She was just There.

They did nothing with wrecker. He's a weapons and demo expert who uses blasters and fights monsters more than he displays his knowledge of bombs and weaponry. He didn't get the time or attention that literally every other character got. This team of mercenaries still doesn't feel like a team to me. They're too stoic and too detached and the writers never go far enough with the themes or messages they want the audience to pick up.

They freed a bunch of regular clones but many if not most of them died to try and help free the bad batch. I'm not sure how many even get named, if any. Omega was the only one to consistently care about them. It's like any clone that appears has to work in service of the bad batch.

Clone CX2 ended up not really meaning anything. At first I thought maybe I misread the signs and he was just meant to be a watery look at what crosshair could have been, but even casual viewers are saying they feel baited. I definitely thought there'd be a reveal. If it's meant to be a crosshair parallel, not done well. If it's meant to just be a cool mysterious guy, not done well. If there was actually supposed to be a big reveal, not done well.

Underwritten and underdeveloped through to the end. The finale felt like a long episode that could have fit in with any other season, besides crosshair's misgivings about really being a team or being able to go into Tantiss (which also felt out of place to me).

[thedrunkenreadersreviews]

Who is Alastor leashed to?

Coke and Jack always slaps! (Sip, sp)

With time to digest Hazbin Hotel's first season, as well as explore other theories that people have, I find that a theory I have is one of the rarest ones. That in no way means it is superior (I'll probably end up being wrong tbh) but I wanted your takes and to read what you guys have to say. Of course, this theory is in regards to who I believe Alastor is leashed to. Granted, my theory is not completely formulated. There are still questions I am asking myself and I am still pulling the whole thing together but I want to share the base of what I have because maybe collaborations and conversations can help me answer these questions.

*Sip, sip*

To start, I think everything is connected to each other. Alastor's leash, his disappearance for 7 years, Lilith, his being at the hotel, and the source of his power.

Now, as much as I posted jokes about Lilith and Alastor on here, let me be clear that I do NOT believe that Lilith owns Alastor's soul. I think it is way too obvious and has been written as a red herring. However, that does not mean I do not think Lilith is in no way involved in the Alastor equation. I think she is but not as the one that Alastor is leashed to. How exactly she fits into this, that I am still trying to figure out.

*Sip, sip*

Who, then, do I think owns Alastor? No, I don't think it's Eve either (though I do not in any way completely dismiss that theory. That was actually the first one I contemplated because she has been MIA). I don't think it's Roo (but the same thing with the Eve theory, I am happy to entertain it because I think it is plausible). I am just on the brink of being 100% convinced it is most certainly not Lilith, not Lucifer, and no, not Niffty either.

*Sip, sip*

Mostly, I think Alastor is leashed to von Eldritch and it actually surprises me that I have not seen more people think so.

*Sip, sip*

Von Eldritch has been one of those looming background figures that is there just enough to make his existence canon but not enough for fans who have not been following Hazbin's creation since the beginning to know who they are. And that is in no way me attempting to gatekeep Hazbin Hotel. I love when fandoms grow and I think it is absolutely incredible that this fantastic show is expanding to a wider audience and more people get to share in this remarkable adventure. Fredrick von Eldritch and Berthseda von Eldritch, along with their children, are shadows on the wall. They are seen in portraits on the hotel's walls and Fredrick is seen in a picture with an arguably much younger-looking Lucifer in Lucifer's room. They have not made an official debut, but they are there. Now let me break down why I think Alastor is leashed to von Eldritch (and I'm leaning towards him being leashed to Fredrick but I'm not dismissing any of the other von Eldritchs).

*Sip, sip*

Eldritch Lore is already canon in the Hellaverse

Not only is Eldritch lore (H.P. Lovecraft's grand mythos) wiggling its way onto the screen in Hazbin but it is most prominently present in Helluva Boss.

In the Helluva Boss episode "Seeing Stars," the entire prologue is Stolas explaining Eldritch lore. Azathoth is a god in the Eldritch Mythos known as one of the "Great Old Ones."

In the prologue of the same episode, Stolas says: "In the great expanse of the nether, there exist boundless amounts of magnificent phenomena. ... But once every one thousand years, our corner of reality is treated to an incredible sight. From the deep eldritch recesses of the cosmos, the tears of a forgotten colossus begin to fall. Tears made of the hopes and dreams of every living thing that never came to be condensed and sent shooting across the night sky in a dazzling final display. What appears to mortal beings as a meteor shower, we can see for what it is---Azathoth's Tears." This prologue nearly solidifies the existence of another reality, one not ruled by the angels of the Hellaverse's Heaven, beyond the reaches of Lucifer and Sera and the others. In this other reality, the Eldritch begins may be the ones running the show and sometimes, as Stolas implies, the two realities cross paths, almost like incursions if you will. I'll dwell more on this in a bit.

In "Spring Broken," one of the shops is also named "Dagon Juice," with Dagon being another figure from the Eldritch Mythos.

2. Alastor's Powers

It has been confirmed by Viv and other creators on the show that Alastor possesses not just voodoo powers but also "Eldritch Powers." The green motif that surrounds Alastor's powers can be found in Eldritch lore, as are the black tentacles that Alastor frequently calls on.

3. The von Eldritch Family

They are a complicated group because of the information that we have on them but even more so because of the information that we don't. From what we can see in the portraits both in the pilot and in the episode "Dad Beat Dad," the Morningstar Family and von Eldritch Family are rather close.

*Sip, sip*

Let's acknowledge now that their name is literally von Eldritch.

*Sip, sip*

With that out of the way, let's look first at the picture of Lucifer and Fredrick in "Dad Beat Dad." Lucifer is not wearing the same outfit he wears in the series and other official artworks. He looks relatively younger and is casually smiling with his arm around Fredrick while pointing to him in a goofy manner. Just two friends hanging out. Strangely, Lucifer seems to be wearing an outfit similar to Charlie's tux in the image (but that's a theory for another day).

In the Pilot, images of the von Eldritch and Morningstar Families are found in the background. One portrait depicts both families together (with Lilith looking a little less than thrilled to be there) and one shows Seviathan with Charlie at their high school prom (for those that don't know, Seviathan von Eldritch, Fredrick's son, used to date Charlie and they were in a series relationship before eventually splitting up). There are no other pictures of the Morningstar family being close with any of the other families. We do see Lucifer in the background during the end of the extermination with Zestial, Carmilla, and Zeezi, but that's all, and this shows that the royal family does sometimes engage with the overlords.

Furthermore, Fredrick has been said to be an Overlord of Hell, and the von Eldritch Family are, as of now, regarded as Hellborne with the only other notable Hellbrone entity mentioned that is not of lower station (Ars Goetia, imp, hellhound) is Charlie.

*Sip, sip*

So, if you are not Ars Goetia but Hellborne and so high up in society that you are friendly with the Morningstar Family, it raises questions. This is what I think. I think Seviathan and his sister are Hellborne, while Fredrick and Berthseda are not. I think they came from this Eldritch space, before or after Lucifer's fall, and either ended up getting stuck there because their window to return closed, were cast out (much like Lucifer was and that is how they became friends), or decided to remain in the Hellaverse reality.

Fredrick is known as an Overlord because an Overlord requires you to own souls and is the highest you can get unless you are Ars Goetia. So I think Fredrick is an Overlord by de facto much like Alastor is (Alastor does not want power as stated by Fautisse and was never even looking for the title of Overlord but has it by default. Also interesting how Alastor is an Overlord with no apparent territory like the Vees and Rosie have, which makes me believe that this position on Alastor's lack of desire for power and being an Overlord still stands, and I'll expand more on that as well ... in another post, this theory is long, I know).

*Sip, sip*

This is where my uncertainty that I'm still trying to figure out starts.

I think it's possible von Eldritch is not on the side of Lucifer. It could be that he is simply trying to return home or desires to take over not just Hell but Heaven as well.

If Alastor is leashed to von Eldritch, I could see von Eldritch sending him to the hotel as an informant of sorts which ties back to Lilith. I think Lilith could know about von Eldritch's hold on Alastor and also knows about Charlie's plans for the hotel. So I think it is very possible that Alastor double dipped: he sold his soul to von Eldritch (why, again, another theory, can't make this post too long lol) and then made a deal with Lilith: I'll do what I can to help Charlie and in exchange, you try to get me out of my deal with von Eldritch (notice how in the Pilot, Alastor was particularly interested in Lilith when admiring that family portrait which is why I think she is still part of this equation). Lilith, based on her expression in that two families photo as seen in the Pilot as well, does not seem to like von Eldritch like Lucifer does (of course this could be because she disliked the relationship between their son and Charlie, but we can't place the portrait on the timeline).

*Sip, sip*

So, I'll leave it at that for now. I'm picking up little details as I go, trying to catch things. I think the owner of Alastor's contract is von Eldritch, I think Lilith is involved with Alastor's being at the hotel, and I think this can also play into why Alastor seethingly hates Lucifer from moment one (along with another reason I'm happy to divulge in ... in another post lol).

*Sip, sip*

But please, tell me your thoughts, and feel free to ask questions. Let me know if you want to hear my take on the whole Alastor/Lucifer rivalry, what Alastor is after if not power, why he made a deal with von Eldritch (which I think he made when he was still alive and not just before his 7-year absence) or anything else, really. I love talking about theories.

*Sip, sip*

Also, don't you think it is a bit funny how the number 7 is associated with Heaven like the number 6 is associated with Hell, and Lilith ends up apparently being in Heaven for 7 years?

But I digress.

Cheers.

*Sip, sip*

[if-loki-was-a-fox]

having started watching Wild Life, my autistic ass is now trying to assign the wildcards to tma entities

the snails are easy, they're obviously hunt, but i'm not so sure about the others. the changing sizes in the first episode is kinda giving spiral? possibly flesh. and i think the food switching in the second one could be corruption? mainly based on the hunger/starvation/various poisoning effects

you're the only other person i've seen talk about both so uh. d'you have any thoughts?

- 🦴

(I have so many thoughts, this post is about to spiral so far out of control 'cus I love musing on stuff—)

I was actually thinking about this exactly while watching the latest episodes! The snails had initially struck me as corruption, being slimy little bug-adjacent creatures, but that's so purely aesthetic that the moment you see them in action it's just incredibly clear that they're just straight up The Hunt, as clear cut as it could possibly be tbh.

Maybe a bit of The End with the whole instant kill thing, the invincibility/immortality of the snails, and the kind of inevitability of the snails getting you eventually

The other two are definitely a lot harder

Session 2's gimmick of not being able to eat food / having to eat blocks, with it's themes of eating, kinda reminds me of a lot of Flesh statements in first thought tbh, but without any actual meat (and in fact, meat being the one thing they solidly can't eat) it just doesn't seem to follow through on more than a shallow level. Though maybe from the more fandom angle with the gore-ish-ness of teeth cracking on stone, and how bloody swallowing your own sword incorrectly would be, that kinda fits Flesh

Thinking on the actual energy of that gimmick as it played out in the videos, with the huge change and upset to normalcy that leads to catastrophic results and mass panic, I almost want to say it has some Extinction vibes, but without the "man made"/"we brought this upon ourselves" aspect I'm not sure it quite works out

The Corruption idea I don't think I would have thought of on my own, but it makes some sense too. The whole idea of food making you sick, or of all the other ill affects from just trying not to starve/die, the variety of ways you're almost guaranteed to get poisoned and hurt before you figure out something actually edible..

Corruption and Buried are also both fun to consider with the imagery of having to eat dirt and the like. Buried doesn't have any other relevance tho as far as I can think

Rhyme's suggested The Stranger, as it's solidly an example of the familiar being made unfamiliar, but most manifestations of The Stranger play very heavily on it being other people that are strange and weird, in my observations, so I'm not sure if it's quite right

Spiral also works well with the familiar being bad incomprehensible tho I think. The gimmick doesn't make them doubt reality, but it does rely a lot on them being confused and no longer being able to understand and rely on what should be such a basic backbone to reality (eating food makes you less hungry). A lot of the fear and panic on that session comes from that I think, the logic of world not working the way it should, which fits Spiral fairly well

Session 1 I honestly don't know about. The size changing mechanic didn't strike as much fear into everyone as the other two, which makes it a bit harder to categorize what fear it does cause

Maybe The Buried at times, because there were concerns about getting too big in spaces that were too small

Or The Vast, because of the whole "too big" idea in and of itself, and how getting too big could theoretically play into fear of heights (though it didn't much actually do so in the videos). It also had several incidents of falling to deaths, which is pretty fitting for The Vast. Vast feels like the most aesthetically fitting tho, with heights and sizes being pretty big things with it

Spiral and Flesh definitely make sense too though, playing off of the idea of your very self changing. Constantly shrinking and growing with only a certain level of control to it does kinda feel body-horror-ish, and the whole questioning if what even was changing and if their sizes were changing at the begining could also play into spiral ideas. The whole thing was a bit dream-like

Thinking about how the different fears can play into stuff is fun :]

[ohmful]

taehoon hc + his mother

okay so like, within the viral hit story as well as the c r u m b s we get from ptjs other work. we don’t know much about taehoon’s childhood aside from that one special episode which include “every little things about taehun”.

and the moment I laid my eyes on these very words..

so imagine this; (if hypothetically his mother was more present in his life or at least we, as readers get more insight on her)

little taehun practicing volleyball with his mum, wouldn’t that be cute? and and omg omg since he’s a sucker for taekwondo he probably uses his feet and legs a lot. A LOT. which sometimes ends very poorly because it would probably not go over the net or make the ball accelerate to the unknown

little taehun learning how to properly receive using his hands rather than his feet (it’s totally legal to do that in volleyball which is why Taehun would use it as a reason to throw kicks)

just imagine hansu and sohyeon having small debates on what taehun should do that day or practice with who and why

“taekwondo is an art in which Taehun should indefinitely practice”

“but volleyball helps so much with body work, flexibility and etc”

in the end taehun is bias so taekwondo he choose LOL

i honestly headcanon taehun to be very knowledge able or at least know more than the average person on volleyball because of his mother, probably tune in or watches volleyball matches for funsies

“ no that’s not how u receive” > probably directed at someone in his class > he gets too marks in pe

“nahh what was that fucking set bro”

“cmon that ball was tight, try setting a bit higher”

he probably got hit in the head multiple times if he were ever to be near his mother when she trains her spikes.

since it was stated that sohyeon gave taehun most of her height or where he got it from. i assume she would either play outside or be a middle blocker since those position are great for those with heights

she could’ve been taller than hansu tbh…

probably accidentally spiked a really hard ball toward taehun by accident LMAO

little taehun would probably be really salty if he ever gets an injury from volleyball

just imagine the little guy pouting and throwing hissy fits because he jarred his fingers while trying to practice with mom

(inaudible crying in background as taehun dramatically falls to the ground even though his pinky is jarred)

sohyeon is probably a sweetheart and let him skip a week of school cause of it

I have a feeling he wears his taekwondo uniform if he ever does take on volleyball, sohyeon would look at him with a questionable gaze but let it slide because at least he’s doing volleyball !!

sohyeon has her uniform back in her days in the national team hung in the house

I feel like if taehuns mom did acquire fame, I reckon his time during early grade school/elementary were filled with “omg you look like…that one volleyball player!!”

and then they would either try to spell the name or ask the teacher to show Taehoon a photo

if he were a volleyball player instead, taehoon would play a great outside just like his mother

and even a middle blocker cuz of how intimidating he can be

his fangirls would go wild if he effortlessly block a quick or just spike through a block

anyways, that’s it for my first tumblr post!!

[adracat]

GWitch 23 thoughts

Sorry for the wait on this, I had to rewatch a few times to really drink in everything that was going on. I didn't have the best knee-jerk reaction initially ( I enjoyed it ofc but was a bit ambivalent about some things) and wanted to give it a fair shake.

First up, seeing Suletta zip around like the ace pilot she is was quite rewarding and fun! Now all those auto-pilot rumors can be laid to rest. However, the circumstances weren't the best and it broke my heart she was gasping for air the entire time. I had no doubt she'd live but it's still miserable to witness that

Ah Lauda. Your tomfoolery knows no bounds. We knew this was coming after the last ep, but it's still a bit frustrating. On a technical narrative level, it works since we're seeing two sets of siblings confront their simmering tension with one another. On a personal level, I wasn't very amused. I first saw this at 4 in the morning and had no patience for Lauda lmao. But rewatching it a few times gave me a deeper appreciation for what's going on. He's really intent on scapegoating Mio for everything wrong in his life. Fitting for her role as the Rose Bride and Lauda's demonized witch

This little aside from Chuchu is so suspicious tbh. Considering Mio's failure at piloting, this seems to imply either she does not have a permet implant of any sort or a flat intolerance. I have a sneaking suspicion it'll become a factor in the next episode.

Mio staring wistfully at Cool-san/etc memento of Suletta will always grab me by the throat. Girl wants to wife up Suletta so bad. And really, who could blame her?

Schwarzette is so pretty and cool. Unfairly so. Like, why did you make that thing so unique and cool? For dipstick Lauda?? Who is that pink permet for and why does it look like Utena??? ANSWER ME OKOUCHI

That's nice of Delling to rise from his sickbed to try and negotiate with the SAL. Unfortunately, this would be for naught because they're here to purge and replace. Not make nice. It was the thought that counts, I suppose.

Speaking of, the debut of a solar ray blindsided me. I mean, yeah it's Gundam, but I kinda thought we were skipping the big death ray lmao. After sitting on it, I think I know where it's headed. Totally on brand for SAL too in hindsight. They like to act removed, but they're just as entrenched as Benerit in the skeevy corpo politics. Allying with Ochs and now Peil cements it

Check the link above to see my Utena related thoughts on this moment btw. It might be the highlight of the episode beyond the Prospera confrontation. Stunned they finally stopped playing coy and seemingly confirm Notrette is indeed a GUND entity residing in pseudo hell, and likely a GWitch newtype like Eri

This was very sweet and I enjoy it more on a rewatch but I also understand why I and so many people had a gut-deep aversion to this subplot. The issue is entirely investment based imo, and tbh I just don't care that much about the Jeturk family dynamics. At best, I don't mind them. Guel is a bro but Lauda is SO exhausting on multiple levels. His misogyny and gross negligence of Petra in favor of revenge doesn't help.

If something came of this other than Lauda/Guel sibling closure, I'd consider it fulfilling. But if you lack investment in the conflict, it's going to feel limp or frustrating in comparison to the siblings you want to see. So while I appreciate the parallel with Suletta/Eri and the continuing subtext of witch coded Mio, that's it for me. But hey, it serves a purpose. A tragic cycle was broken after all, thanks to love and MVP Felsi!

The one big gripe I have after consideration is this man's continued existence. Kenanji doesn't deserve to play buddy buddy with the cast. He's a dirty space cop who bullies children and murdered Nadim, now he's joking with 5lan? The hell. I get the theme of the show is forgiveness and not perpetuating the cycle of revenge but... really? KENANJI gets to be happy but Norea/Sophie don't? Sigh

It was so dirty of Eri to use Suletta's love for Mio against her. She knows Suletta would panic over their mother possibly 'gaining two'. It's crafty and unrepentant, but Suletta holds fast. Her faith in Mio is greater than her idle fears

Mio scolding Prospera over her favoritism was great. We love a fiancé willing to take a stand against her shit in-laws. Speaking of, looks like Mio has fully embraced becoming a Mercury one day. 'All of us will be family' YEAH YOU WILL so suck it up Prospera. The holidays are gonna be so awkward

Btw love Mio was shouting at her while having an emotional breakthrough deciphering her mother's QZ riddle. This moment was excellent and easily superceded my minor gripes. UGH when will you reveal Notrette's whole deal GWitch? We're waiting

Such a bittersweet moment. We know from the Blessing and Cradle Planet that Eri loves her sister but it may not have been until this moment that Suletta understands her feelings. Now, I don't think she's 'dead' tbh. Or deader anyway. I suspect it's a false flag to hook you until the finale. It would be quite anti-climactic if she passed without a proper goodbye. I'm still holding out on a Tempest end where Prospera voluntarily sets her free.

The next Sunday will be our last. Hard to believe tbh. Feels like just yesterday we set out on this spectacular journey. Que sera sera! I'll see y'all in the finale~