#but also the joke is that he IS misunderstood

[rumbleonthemill]

I'm not sure why is this STILL a topic since 2020, when some fucking ass idiot callout drama addict decided to make up lies both about Theodore and the old ship of Neighbor/Player (faust storyline, two adult men) because wah wah they shipped something else and they also admittedly wanted the man DEAD.

😭

it's so fucking crazy that people even consider this thing. plot-wise it's absolutely unnecessary. and a story is being written here in the first place, by writers who are either hired for money, or the creators themselves(Nikita). it's not only unnecessary plot element, this game is 12+ at max and such topic can only be brought up in 18+ or 21+ games. and the actions. You could rather push such accusations on purple guy/ William Afton who used to be a literal child murderer ONLY EXCLUSIVELY, A CREEP, in canon. but Theodore?!?!!?!! if he's got to know about such topic, he'd murder the creep with his own hands.

and third and most weighted detail: Nikita NEVER meant to discuss this thing. HN covered many important topics, but never this one. there's enough shit happening in the lore anyway, there's zero reason to include such horrible topic which btw does trigger people in real life. this topic, if included anywhere, needs to be put on the table carefully and shown to the audience of a media with caution and a clear message of it being horrible. and HN isn't the game for that. never was and never will be.

😭

just as OP (ig); I'm also fucking tired of some people of gen z/alpha screaming the p word whenever they run into someone they dislike, fictional or real user, doesn't matter for them. fucking nonsense and it just erases the real weight of that word. crying wolf for absolutely fucking nothing.

😭

and lastly, the AS has horrible character and scene writing. someone from the writers has ABSOLUTELY DOGSHIT humor, this isn't even considered funny in the present world and never was. jokes like "do you like kids" by Trinity in the first episode, or Theodore's speech with the cookies in hand make me FURIOUS. it's BADLY written. it's not his character. certain elements shouldn't be in the cartoon because 1) it's not HN at all its ooc as fuck 2) it can be misunderstood easily, especially by younger audiences.

😭

I'd give my soul to Theodore, i know he's not gonna do anything bad, he used to be the loving father of two children as shown in Hide and Seek. he's forced into horrible decisions along the way, but the real Neighbor is absolutely entirely fine. there's nothing more to discuss there.

in addition, before someone finds another post, he didn't abuse anyone, he didn't hit anyone. Nicky injured and made himself dirty by trying to escape and sitting in a basement for two months. Aaron legit has bandages on his injuries, and a room with a bed and toys, showing that there IS care, it's just faulty, due to the situation. he's trying to escape as well AS SHOWN. Theodore is barely keeping himself together, last thing in his mind is "hm let's hit some kids" holy fuck

go outside I'm begging

how's this shit still topic

Alright, so, I was scrolling trough someone's tumblr and I wanna talk about this (no hate, it's just my opinion)

Theodore Peterson is NOT a pedophile, if he was, Aaron would also be traumatised in the game, and would probably hate his father. I feel like people tend to forget that an adult smiling in a weird way can also mean that they're planning to kidnap or kill the kid. Plus the reason of why he grabbed Trinity in ep 6 s1 was because he wanted to at least make sure Trinity wouldn't tell ANYONE about the kidnapping. Theodore is NOT a good person, but he would NEVER go this far. He has a son, Theo has a bit of decenty in him, he knows to NOT grape (without the G) kids.

It's just my opinion tho

[bestworstcase]

this little fairytale doesn’t seem to end well… pages are torn and there’s no final chapter… (what happened when you took alyx and lewis to the tree? i… i don’t know.)… i’ll write the ending of your tragic fairytale. i am the ending of your tragic fairytale… i’m not afraid of you, you’re nothing but the unwritten pages of my book… dark nightmarish tone seems inappropriate for young readers, especially its downbeat, pessimistic ending… hearts can unbreak in the story’s nick of time…

jabber jabber what are you for.

if the jabberwalker eats one of us, we do not ascend.

that’s not necessarily the same as we die, though, is it. what really happens if the jabberwalker eats you? do you, maybe, find out how the story ends? do you, maybe, read the final chapter, and find yourself back outside of the story again?

…jaune broke the story. the jabberwalker wants to fix something…

is he the door

[nenehyuuchiha]

I love reading fanfics with deaging/time travel robin Jason cause it always goes like:

Jaybin: I'm Robin and being robin gives me magic 😊✨

Batfamily: *going through all the stages of grief in a second* 💀

[boxesblr]

The hill I will die on is that LastLife!Etho (and Etho more generally) worries so much about rules and that's the reason some people think that he comes across as 'uncaring', especially when it comes to giving Bdubs his life. In episode 5, he tells Cleo he can't just give her the brewing stand - he can't just give things to red lifes, it has to be a deal. He is happy to make the deal for Bdubs to sign Scar's book to get him a life, and then executes the boogey kill (arguing that he didn't break any contract), and Then signs Scar's book himself. He goes on to argue that 'The Boogeyman took the enchanter' but when Scar counters that Etho was cured upon the kill so that's untrue, Etho backs down. He talks about rules and technicalities and he loves to play the game but he wants to find loopholes, not break rules.

That's why he hesitates to give Bdubs his life later on. All alliances with reds are cut, so he can't give anything to Bdubs without something in return. And yes he's a survivor yes he bends to the whims of others but he does care. He was the one out there working to get Bdubs back on yellow, and he was willing to make enemies to do it if he had to. He never fully trusts Bdubs and he vocalises that after he sees BigB kill Cleo ("it's always the ones you least expect") but he does care. He does.

[natsmagi]

adding onto my last rant from a while ago a little bit, it is fascinating how many people in this fandom completely miss the point of tsumugis character and misconstrue what hes actually about which, ironically, is just what eichi did. and its done in such a similar fashion too, such as making assumptions about his motives, his family relationship, and missing the point in why he chooses to look the way he does. and, time and time again, eichi has been proven to be WRONG about tsumugi. he misunderstood him deeply, and now its eichi whos stuck mourning the past while tsumugi has long since moved on, not the other way around, as tsumugi is on the path of getting his happy ending. and i dont get why people keep trying to take this positivity from him

(s. element epilogue 2)

[jasontoddenthusiastt]

I think fans want Jason to be a good person or be becoming one. To have a character that is well meaning and compassionate but decided murder is ok and to stand against main heroes who’s beliefs and actions go against the people he cares about and wants in his life. It’s confusing for people. People want their fav characters to be happy. But Jason can’t have his family’s support and follow his moral code. He’s cares about people and Gotham, and he’s an asshole who kills. It’s messy. It’s not black and white. I don’t even think Jason cares about being a good person or in the right anymore. I think he cares about what will save the most people instead.

Oh my goodness gracious I’ve been bamboozled

Batman’s definition of Good is not synonymous with absolute good/right no matter how much dc insists it is. Torture, battery/assault, surveillance, those are all condemnable actions too. I won’t get into the exhausting and frankly dumb debate of comic book morality wrt killing because I’ve already reblogged plenty of posts from other people who explained my thoughts on the matter far better than I ever have the patience to sit down and articulate. I also just think the notion that there’s something to be done about fictional characters who kill nazis and senseless murderers is stupid. Jason’s point is that the “main” heroes’ sanitized definition of right has its unaddressed holes and flaws which ultimately result in more preventable fatalities, and that he’ll work to correct those missing spots.

He doesn’t not care about doing what’s right. What he doesn’t care about (at least during his Winick characterization) is whether Batman thinks he’s right or wrong, because he sees the flaws in Batman’s methodology (and since he has a mind of his own). Batman’s methods alone cannot address Arkham’s revolving door and the rogues that come and go through those doors who have no intention (or capability from the doylist pov) of ever changing or undergoing redemption. Jason knows that he’s minimizing the number of preventable deaths by killing his targets, typically Characters Who Simply Do Fucked Up Shit Just Because, Why The Fuck Not?

Secondly, Jason is compassionate … to a fault. That was his fatal flaw. If he wasn’t so hell-bent on saving his potential birth mother he just met from that bomb despite everything she did to him prior, he could have protected himself instead, however slim his odds of survival were. What about his relationship with his other parents? He was a caregiver during his early childhood years for Catherine, until her death. Even mature adults who are financially stable find being a caregiver to a dying parent to be extremely burdensome on their bodies and minds, but he never complained about it or resented Catherine for being unable to care for him. Despite how none of his parents have really been what he needed them to be, he doesn’t blame them for their failings, and even continues to think highly of them (Bruce included).

And post-death? Enter Lost Days. Despite being dead set on plotting his revenge on Bruce, he constantly sidelines this in order to save other victims who are helpless like he once was. His own anger, trauma, and mission don’t remain his priority. (Sound familiar? Something something my own trauma above my son’s, mission above all else, etc.). Why would he waste precious time and risk his own life to do this if he wasn’t empathetic towards these victims or didn’t care about doing the right thing. He is simultaneously horribly traumatized and full of rage, and also incapable of ignoring what’s happening to victims around him (even as he claims that it’s indeed not his priority). And in that same vein, the entire premise of his rebirth outlaws run was that he doesn’t care if the public views him as a villain, an outlaw, so long as he can protect Gotham. And anyway where is this portrayal of him not caring about being in the right anymore. Almost every modern Jason story is about him grappling with where he stands with Bruce/Batman. During the early 2000s was probably the last time he did not care (hello, tentatodd??).

Jason has very evidently been portrayed as a kind and compassionate character. He is also simultaneously a calculated killer who doesn’t hesitate to kill when he deems necessary, and does so without remorse. It’s called being a Complex Character With An Edge™ that as you said, people so often claim to love. However when he fulfills that latter part, that seems to upset people because “killing bad”, and they then try to shave off and round out all his edges and claim he shouldn’t be that angry. In that case I guess you should just stick to liking traditional one-dimensional characters instead of claiming to like Jason but then encouraging his character assassination attempt by dc. Lol.

Lastly, who said anything about the batfam making Jason happy? Just because he’s written nowadays to want acceptance from Bruce (a shoddy attempt at forcing a non-existent nuclear batfamily), doesn’t mean that it’s a sound decision or that it does his character justice. I certainly don’t empathize with the idea that Jason needs the family’s approval or acceptance to be happy. (And anyway he has enough outlets for angst and pain aside from the batfam hello explore his other sources of trauma and do more deep dives into how he thinks when he’s alone). I don’t want them to magically make up and become one big happy family. This is not disney Lol. Besides, there are plenty of stories from dc that have that type of “wholesome” (hate that word utilization) characterization for Jason (Li’l Gotham, Tiny Titans, wfa, and even new stuff like the brave and the bold mini) and that is sufficient imo. Jason fans who are invested in the character deserve accurate, nuanced characterization and well-written stories, whether they be from his robin days (e.g., Batman: The Cult) or as red hood.

[dlstmxkakwldrlarchive]

Little rant incoming I hope you don't mind 😮‍💨

actually a lot of jinki duos and moments in general don't get attention and it makes me kinda sad, but it is what it is. I just wish some of those moments could go viral so that more people could see what type of person he is but it hardly ever happens nowadays. I know twitter viralability doesn't really mean anything at the end of the day, but it's just frustrating because I know so many of these moments would've taken off if it were between other members (I hope no one takes this as hate against the other members, this is more my frustration with the fandom not really paying attention to jinki and misinterpreting his interactions with the members like you said)

yeah i agree, even alone tbh

[kebriones]

A clarification on Athenian Laws concerning male homosexuality.

(because this particular small thing is often misunderstood, due to inability to accurately translate specific ancient greek terms into english, or lack of comprehension of context.)

In classical athens, there was a very specific set of laws, concerning ONLY male athenian citizens (so slaves, women and metics were not subject to it). These laws said that a male athenian citizen who engages in intercourse with another man IN EXCHANGE FOR PAYMENT, was not allowed to do certain things, such as hold positions of power or speak in the assembly. There were also potential penalties (not described in detail) for the person hiring an athenian citizen for this purpose. Again, this is often misunderstood, so I have to repeat, this was only when it was done in exchange for some sort of payment/recompense. The word used for these men is of the same root as εταιρα, which was the female counterpart. It is often mistranslated, there's a whole thing I could go on explaining about the different types of prostitution terms, but basically there was a distinction between prostitute and courtesan/escort/whatever you'd call them in english. Also, this law did not forbid this, and it was not a prosecutable offense by itself. The offense was if one such man disobeyed the limitations set by the law, and it's unclear to me what the deal was with the person who paid.

SO yeh. Next time someone says there were laws against homosexuality in classical athens, here's a helpful article of a guy explaining this much better than me, and goes into more detail about all the weird intricacies of the legal system, as well as the laws set in place to protect boys from grown men:

and here's our original source about these laws:

[octopuspot]

It is the day of his birth. Will I resist rolling on him? Only my willpower knows 😔

[nerdynikki94]

SUNNYBLR: So, I know that if I have a reputation for anything as of late, it would probably be for my Rob-Hating-Rants about how (imo), he's done a great disservice to Mac's identity as a gay man.

This has been misconstrued before, and recently was again with a reblog of one of said posts:

Despite acknowledging 1000 times over that I do understand the humor/satire of the show, often I'm accused of not 'getting the point'.

I get the point, trust me. I've been watching this show consistently for well over a decade (& I'm nearly 30; so, I've always been aware/analytical enough to realize that these characters are objectively awful - it's intentionally written that way). That is not where my issue with the writing lies.

Mac may be my baby, but he's an immensely flawed individual. There really is no shortage of terrible qualities that he possesses: he's arrogant, crass, delusional, ignorant, obnoxious, prejudiced, rude, stubborn, tactless, etc. (We all know there's many more fucked up characteristics to his personality) Still, once he came out, the majority of the focus for his flaws surround his sexuality. (Since S12...)

-Mac making his sexuality his entire personality.

-Mac never sincerely showing honest romantic/sexual attraction unless he is exhibiting the 'predatory gay' stereotypes.

-Mac becoming a spineless doormat who happily takes heaps of verbal (& sometimes physical) abuse regarding his sexuality.

-Mac constantly trying to reduce his sexuality by subscribing to constricting stereotypes.

-Mac's sexuality being a characteristic of his personality that he has to receive gang acceptance/approval for (i.e. Frank in MFHP & FVR).

-Mac struggling with reconciling his religion and his sexuality (even 5+ years later) and continuing to be made fun of for grappling w/ongoing internalized religious homophobia.

-Mac's sexuality being used as a constant punchline to countless jokes. (I.E. S16E1 - Running blowjob joke. Funny in context; still using as reference because no one has ever made fun of Dee for sucking dick - because she's a 'straight' woman.)

As I've said too many times before, I know these characters are fucked up and I love them for it. I've never expected them to become benevolent individuals or upstanding role models. They wouldn't be the gang if they were. However, I do and will continue to have a problem with Mac's sexuality being the focal point of his shortcomings or being the cause for any suffering he continues to withstand.

These characters are meant to be punished for their greed, abysmal self-centered behavior, and detestable qualities; so, why is Mac's character still being punished for being gay? The gang is ashamed of him for it, & as the show only centers on them - their dynamics, opinions, schemes - it consistently carries the tone that it is something Mac should also be ashamed of; as if he hadn’t already spent the first 40 years of his life in self-loathing because of it.

Mac is NOT a gay role model, obviously; but that doesn't mean his character should be settled into being a gay joke.

[llegato]

ok.

[confinesofmy]

shoutout to my rock-solid circadian rhythm for successfully tricking my body into thinking it wasn't a fucking crime to be running around on a few hours of scrolling-phone-in-bed time. they all said it couldn't be done but you did it.

[babycharmander]

(BOOK OF BILL SPOILERS)

I just finished reading The Book of Bill and I am kindof losing my mind over some of this stuff.

I had wondered if Alex Hirsch might make Bill sympathetic in some way and oh boy I was not expecting him to do it so successfully (and without cheapening Bill's character).

So, we learn that Bill was born into a 2D world... as a mutant who can see into the third dimension. He claims he was absolutely loved by all, but when talking about his powers, he mentions under Pyrokinesis:

"Cipher, Cipher, he's insane / Starting fires with his brain." The kids in grade school could be so cruel. But where are they now, huh? WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

So probably not quite as liked as he was letting on. To add to that, there's the silly straw page, which looks like silly nonsense until you decipher some of the codes:

"EYE DOCTOR OF A DIFFERENT KIND / WHO WANTS TO MAKE HIS PATIENTS BLIND" "THE DOCTOR SAYS / THREE SIPS A DAY / WILL MAKE THE VISIONS / GO AWAY"

I wasn't sure what this meant until I saw someone point out... he was seeing a third dimension that no one else could see. His parents probably took him to the eye doctor to try to "fix" him. Which, speaking of his eye doctor, the coded message in the section about human eyeballs says something interesting:

"MY OPTOMETRIST NEVER SAW IT COMING"

It could be a joke given beforehand he's talking about dissecting a human eye, but given the previous hints of medical abuse, I wouldn't put it past him that he tried to get revenge on his eye doctor.

Oh yeah and the whole thing about him setting his entire dimension on fire? Yeah it turns out it was entirely a mistake (he just wanted everyone to understand the third dimension he was seeing so they could be free of only two dimensions), he was so traumatized by it he blacks out when trying to recall it. He deeply, deeply regrets it, and...

"What? Your ENTIRE home dimension? destroyed? How? By what?" Bill looked distant, more distant than I'd ever seen him. "By a monster."

He sees himself as a monster.

And yet, he's not some innocent, misunderstood being. He still revels in causing pain and chaos. He's terrible in general, but becomes incredibly abusive toward Ford.

"YOU'RE MY PROPERTY. DON'T FORGET IT. The hillbilly abandoned you, your father won't want you returning without millions, you have no friends, and if you died out here in the snow, who would even miss you?"

Which... speaking of him and Ford...

Yes, yes, I know people ship them. But like, whether you see their relationship as romantic or platonic (I see it as the latter), there's some interesting parallels to be made here.

Both Bill and Ford are mutants who were mocked for their being different. (Bill was not physically a mutant, as far as we know, but more in the sense of him having vision stronger than that of everyone else in his dimension, and also having special powers. And he does describe himself as a mutant.) Both became social outcasts, separated from their families but still haunted by them (Ford seeing commercials of Stan on TV and running across old photos of him and his brother, Bill being haunted by his family in some form). Neither could return home for one reason or another. Both more powerful than their peers (Ford intellectually, Bill in terms of actual powers). Both of them isolated and alone. (Yes, Bill does have the Henchmaniacs, but they seem like shallow friends, and only really seem to follow him out of a desire to have a place to party.)

Ford was not aware of most of this, aside from knowing that Bill could not go home because his dimension was destroyed. But Bill absolutely saw himself in Ford. There was no other person he tried to use whom he felt a stronger connection to.

And he actually seems to care about Ford--he actually gave him a birthday present, and when Ford didn't like it, he decided to get drunk and party with him instead to make up for it.

And then when Ford realizes what Bill's plan actually is and refuses to go along with it, and fights back no matter what Bill does, Bill completely breaks down.

After living for trillions of years, he met someone who was like him, and that person rejected him.

He goes berserk, wreaking havoc, being caught by the dimensional authority that he's been taunting for most of his life.

And then after dying and being cast out of hell for being too annoying, he winds up faced with the Axolotl, who sends him to therapy, where he continues to break down further, sending out the book in a desperate attempt to find someone, anyone who will help him break loose and wreak havoc once again.

"You have no friends, and if you died ... who would even miss you?"

I don't know, Bill. Who would even miss you?

In short,

[ID: The front and back of one of Bill's Valentines cards. On the front is a black void with Bill Cipher lying down without his hat, gazing blankly upwards, with the text "I DON'T WANT TO DIE ALONE" above him. On the back is a simple white "TO/FROM" in red, with a red outline illustration of Bill spontaneously growing a mouth and eating a realistic, bloody heart. /end ID]

[death-rebirth-senshi]

I still feel like we're ceding too much power to cinemasins every time we use him as the baseline for people being annoyingly nitpicky about media

[fluo-skeletons]

I think a lot less people would have misunderstood Papyrus as being ignorant/naive if his funny scenes weren't followed up by his brother taking a more serious tone to ask us to be nice to him. It frames Papyrus's shenanigans as less of a deliberate joke and more of a thing he simply can't help.

We know that Papyrus is not stupid, of course, so why does he act this way? Why does he act like Papyrus needs him to go behind his back?

(he says this in response to us saying papyrus isn't cool, but otherwise a funny thing to say cuz Papyrus uses a fair amount of sarcasm, which other characters don't seem to get he's doing, and if you don't get that someone is being sarcastic you might end up thinking they're stupid)

Maybe he's doing this "for" Papyrus because Papyrus pushes him to do stuff, so he feels like he needs to do something he can?

That said, weird how he expects us to also find it weird that Papyrus is being told flattery

[tealvenetianmask]

A lot of the discourse on The Full Moon/Apology Tour has revolved around the pedestals that our boys put each other on. But I think the pedestal Stolas has Blitz on in particular often gets misunderstood.

I've seen a lot of takes that says that Stolas can't really love Blitz. He just loves the idea of Blitz . . . the one he's built up in his head based on romance novels and rom-coms and soap operas.

I think the reality is more complicated, and that even though, yes, Stolas idealizes Blitz, he also very much loves Blitz for his true self.

Let's look at some times when Stolas saw "the real Blitz," as his quirky, resilient, innovative, low-class self, and very much loved that person, and not just the knight in shining armor version of him.

The Circus.

Some have used this moment to say that Stolas idealized Blitz as a fantasy of what it must be like to be free.

And . . . yes. BUT ALSO. He only falls more in love (in a kid-crush kind of way) when he sees Blitz mess up on stage, get booed by the crowd, and make a joke that's clever but quite dark and niche. Creatively, to work his way through a difficult situation. There is SO MUCH in this short minute that reveals to us AND TO STOLAS who Blitz really is.

Seeing Stars

Oh boy. Let's make a list. I'm too tired to make this exhaustive, but in this episode, Stolas sees Blitz

Being careless in a way that puts Octavia in danger

Using an absolutely stupid costume to disguise himself

Getting terrible stage fright

Going way off script in the sitcom in (again) a way that's niche humor and does not appeal to most of the audience

LITERALLY HAVING A BREAK FROM REALITY AND SHOOTING UP THE TV STUDIO

Okay, so when Via is in danger, Stolas is unambiguously peeved by the mistake, but he forgives Blitz because Blitz puts in effort to find Via and make it right.

And in the rest of these instances, Stolas EITHER affirmatively likes the cringy and silly side of Blitz's personality:

Or without the slightest hesitation, when Blitz shows a real weakness, focuses not on disappointment that this man is not his perfect soap opera hero, but puts that aside and tries to help Blitz get out of trouble.

There's also this moment in Western Energy where Stolas is absolutely unbothered by Blitz's atrocious spelling and is genuinely just happy to think for a moment that Blitz cares. I feel like someone COULD twist this to be about Stolas having blinders on about what's right in front of him, but I don't think so. I think he's fine with Blitz not having all the same strengths that his society clearly values, and just wants to be loved back by this person who he has genuine feelings for.

So what doesn't Stolas know about Blitz before The Full Moon/Apology Tour? He doesn't know that Blitz hates himself. He doesn't know that Blitz pushes away people he cares about. He knows that Blitz has walls up but doesn't know why. You can fall for someone without knowing their deepest darkest hurts-- you can even love them. But you do need to know these things to have a deeper relationship with the person.

His focus on romantic media is a problem because it forms his expectations about relationships, not necessarily because it blinds him to who Blitz is. He wants to be rescued. He wants to be chased after. He doesn't understand that good relationships take a lot of work . . . and he'll need to learn that.

But he doesn't just love Blitz for these ideas. He loves Blitz for being Blitz.

This, like many of these essays, was inspired by a conversation with @akirathedramaqueen.