#but also the way he's the only one who gets it--who tries to treat the innies with some empathy. the way he gives

[pluckyredhead]

Do you think Dick has a favourite brother?

I LOVE THIS QUESTION. I'M GOING TO ANSWER IT AT UNNECESSARY LENGTH.

But for the tl;dr crowd: yes, 1000000%. It's Damian. Dick would not admit this under pain of death, even to himself, but it's Damian.

THE LONG VERSION:

So Dick and Jason are not close and never have been. I always sort of blink in bewilderment when people say they are, or were when Jason was Robin, because they are demonstrably not, and that's what's interesting and tragic about them.

The fact of the matter is that Dick simply wasn't around very much when Jason was Robin. The Doyleist reason for this is that he wasn't really being treated like a Bat character: he was a Titans character, appearing in Titans books, with only the occasional cameo in Batbooks. He and Jason get along very well in Jason's first origin story (when Jason was a circus acrobat and his parents were eaten by crocodiles); in fact, Dick tells Bruce he wants to adopt Jason and Bruce is like "Not if I adopt him first!" But after that, Dick simply...wasn't there very often.

If you need a Watsonian reason for this, it's pretty easy to extrapolate one. Dick and Bruce were not getting along well during this period, so of course Dick would avoid Bruce and Gotham. And yeah, I think it's fair to assume Dick felt some kind of complicated feelings about Bruce having a new Robin, especially post-Crisis when Bruce made Jason Robin without Dick having any say or even a warning that it was going to happen. I tend to headcanon that he resented Jason a little, but was mature enough to know that it wasn't actually Jason's fault, and partially decided to stay away so that he didn't take that out on Jason. But Jason, a smart and sensitive kid, interpreted this as Dick avoiding him because he didn't like him.

And then Jason died.

Dick took that hard, and I think it was less "my brother who I had a close relationship with died" and more "this child followed in my footsteps and it killed him and I wasn't even there for him when I had the chance." To me, that absolutely forms the subtext of the relationship he develops with Tim.

Not at the start. At the start, once "A Lonely Place of Dying" is over, he's as checked out with Tim as he was with Jason. The Doyleist reason is the same - Dick literally just wasn't supposed to be in Batbooks too much - but the way it plays out is sometimes really funny in an awful way. Like in and just after Knightfall, when Bruce gets his back broken by Bane and is like "I've known Jean-Paul Valley for two weeks and he barely has any training, most of it done by my extremely new 13-year-old Robin...I think I'll make him Batman." And then Tim's dad and Tim's dad's doctor, Shondra Kinsolving, get kidnapped, and since Bruce has been aggressively romantically pursuing Shondra to the point of it being uncomfortable and inappropriate, he's like "Okay going to rescue Shondra! I mean, your dad! I'm taking Alfred with me! Tim, you're in charge of Gotham and Jean-Paul byeeeeee!" And then JPV immediately gets unhinged and violent and tries to kill Tim and Tim keeps calling Alfred like "Um can you please come back and help" and Alfred's like "No" and Tim's like "Okay well did you at least rescue my dad?" and Alfred's like "Also no." Anyway Dick finally comes to Gotham and Tim is like "THANK GOD, HELP, BRUCE MADE AZRAEL BATMAN AND HE'S TRYING TO KILL EVERYONE, I NEED AN ADULT" and Dick is like "He made someone who isn't me Batman??? 😡😡😡" and then just...fucks off back to New York and leaves Tim to deal with it. Very out of character, VERY funny.

BUT ANYWAY. Then we get to around 1996 and 1. Dick is no longer on the Titans which has a whole new lineup and 2. there's an editorial shift emphasizing the Batfamily. This is where the line really expands: Robin (started in 1993, but still pretty new), Nightwing, Birds of Prey, Azrael, eventually Gotham Knights in 1999 and Batgirl in 2000. Dick moves to Bludhaven and spends way more time in Gotham.

This is when Dick looks at Tim, says "Is anyone gonna big brother that?" and doesn't wait for an answer. All of a sudden he's behaving in a way that suddenly feels in character for him (although the idea of Dick as a big brother/mentor...really wasn't a thing for him prior to this era, so it's more of a new development that feels correct in retrospect). He's training Tim, he's giving him advice, he's teasing him about girls, he's coming up with inside jokes, he's giving him noogies. It's like he watched a bunch of 80s sitcoms to learn how to be a big brother and applied his research accordingly.

And Tim? Tim absolutely blossoms under the attention. Tim, who has been adultified by every other adult in his life since he was, like, eight, is getting treated like a kid. Tim, whose parents are never around, and don't pay attention when they are around, has an adult he looks up to who wants to spend time with him, for fun. Tim, who has hero worshipped Dick Grayson since he was...well, according to the math, he was one (1) year old so let's ignore the math, but he was small, is now basking in the full force of Dick Grayson's off-the-charts charisma. This is the best thing that has ever happened to Tim. This is the dream.

I want to be clear here: I think Dick's extreme reversal here is a delayed reaction to Jason's death, but I don't want to imply that he doesn't care about Tim as an individual. He loves Tim as much as Tim loves him. Tim's good opinion is incredibly important to him. This relationship goes both ways.

Annnnd then both of their lives fall apart extremely rapidly, and Damian shows up, and Bruce dies. And Dick tries to get out of it, but ultimately it ends how it has to: with him accepting the mantle of Batman, and responsibility for Damian.

The relationship Dick has with Damian is nothing like the relationship Dick has with Tim. Tim is his little bro. Damian is his baby. He's fourteen years older than Damian and as much of a parent figure as a sibling figure. And Damian is difficult and exhausting but Dick slowly, slowly coaxes a degree of trust and affection out of him that even Bruce will never achieve. And he can only do that by making Damian Robin, which means Tim has to stop being Robin.

This is where Dick and Tim fall apart, because what they need in this very vulnerable moment is so diametrically opposed, and neither of them are wrong. To Dick, asking Tim to step down - or up, from Dick's perspective - from being Robin is a compliment. Dick fought to free himself from Bruce, to become his own man with his own name, and so asking Tim to do the same thing is a show of faith in Tim, in his skills and experience.

Whereas Tim's hero-worship has always been for Robin, not Batman, and every glimpse he has had of a future beyond Robin has always been a dystopia. But more importantly, Tim has just lost his father, his stepmother, his mentor, his girlfriend, and his two best friends. He desperately needs to be able to lean on Dick, the grown-up he admires the most, and instead, Dick is kicking him out of the nest.

In other words: Dick is saying, with all the love and trust in his heart, "I need you to help me by being a fellow adult." And Tim is saying, with all the love and trust in his heart, "But I need you to be my adult." And they both get a no.

This is water under the bridge now, and they've healed even though they've never really talked it through because Bats don't do that (although what I wouldn't give for a Nightwing/Red Robin miniseries where they do everything but talk about it). But I do think Tim looks at the closeness and affection between Dick and Damian and feels some kind of way about it to this day, because it's so clear to everyone that Damian is Dick's favorite...but Tim remembers when he was Dick's favorite. And what Tim doesn't see is that Dick values him as a genuine partner in a way he will never quite achieve with Damian, because to him, Damian will always be his baby, even more so than he is Bruce's. (Dick is Bruce's baby, actually, not Damian. In this essay I will...)

(I could see a really interesting dynamic developing between Jason and Tim here, as the ones on the outside of that mutual appreciation society, but sadly the comics have never gone there. Alas.)

Finally, I think the relationship between Dick and Duke is very much "I just work here." Like, Dick is grown, he's out of the house, he's largely matured past the Bat-drama. He likes Duke but he doesn't feel the compulsion to brother him the way he did with Tim, and Duke doesn't need the mother henning Damian did.

IN CONCLUSION, and hooboy, sorry anon, most of this wasn't at all the question you asked:

Duke and Dick get along fine but aren't particularly close.

Damian is Dick's precious baby and always will be, even when Damian is an adult and annoyed by this treatment (but privately kind of loves it because he is a princess at heart).

Tim is Dick's buddy, his pal, his equal. If Dick were ever going to talk something through with a sibling, it would be Tim. (But that would require Dick admitting that everything isn't perfect or asking for help, so it'll never happen.)

Jason and Dick can't be in a room together for five minutes without fighting and Dick finds him wildly frustrating, but they will throw down for each other. When they aren't punching each other.

(And to answer the corollary: Damian's favorite brother is Dick. Tim's favorite brother is also Dick. Duke's favorite brother is Tim by default, since he doesn't know Dick very well and Jason and Damian are both too annoying, but really he's closest with Cass. Jason's favorite brother is Ace and he has communicated that often and loudly (but really it's probably also Dick).)

[consumeroflemoans]

I've never read SVSSS, but I heard the title and knew a normal guy got put into the position of some evil dude in a world with magical elements and there was a group of people (Who I now through exposure know are the Peak Lords)

And with that information I tried to puzzle the plot together and this is what I assumed was going on:

As the title is "Scum Villain Self Saving System" I assumed there was a system in place specifically to save villains

So I assumed that the group of people were effectively an organisation of villains that have succesfully taken over their respective parts of the world at the same time and realized each of the others is enough of a threat to more or less willingly collaborate by building a world government in which they each represent the region they've taken over, helping each other to stay in power in order to ensure they keep their own rule firmly in place

But each of them is also firmly aware that they others would sell them out for a piece of pocket lint and try to take over their region immediatly if they die so they implemented a system that sends a soul from a foreign world into their bodies if they ever die, ensuring that no one notices and they can keep power forever

The protagonist is in this case the said soul and that's where the "Scum Villain" part comes from because suddenly this dude is ripped from his normal life to be like a dictator and he doesn't like that so he's like "Fucking scum villain with their shitass self saving system"

And now he has to pretend that he's the dead guy so the others don't notice and try to wage war or imprison him to get his part of the world while subtly trying to free the citizens and getting closer to some of the other rulers during the meetings by Being A Normal Person

-Leuchtturm

I cannot stop giggling because while this is a banger concept for a story it is prettyyy far from the plot of Scum Villain

In our modern world there’s a novel known as Proud Immortal Demon Way. It’s a stallion novel, so the entire point of it is ‘one guy runs around doing things, collecting women in a harem, and having hot sex’. The book in short consists of half demon, half human Luo Binghe being taken into a cultivator (magic user) sect, being severely abused within the sect, being thrown into hell, crawling back out as a fully recognized demon, and promptly taking over the entire world while collecting over 600 women.

This guy Shen Yuan reads this porn novel for the plot and world building so he gets really upset whenever plot holes or bad characterization shows up in favor of a sex scene. He’s a prominent hater but he’s locked in on reading this massive novel. While he’s in the middle of typing a really angry comment he chokes on his food and promptly dies.

He wakes up in the body of Shen Qingqiu, Luo Binghe’s master from back when he was a disciple. He’s one of the main antagonists at the start of PIDW. He severely abuses Luo Binghe, treats him like a discardable servant, and eventually is the one to shove him into hell. He’s just an all around asshole who’s perpetuating a cycle of abuse from his own childhood. He’s said ‘Scum Villain’.

Now at the end of PIDW, Shen Qingqiu gets all his limbs chopped off by Luo Binghe and is tortured by him before being killed. Shen Yuan would rather not have his life end with violent torture and he’d also just rather not abuse children, so his primary goal is to manage to survive his role as an antagonist.

This is where the System comes into play. It acts as a menu from an RPG game combined with an AI. Its primary goal is to fix plot holes, improve the storyline, and make the protagonist shine. It can only be seen by Shen Qingqiu and acts as a guide, informing him, providing him missions, and calculating ‘points’. There’s a bunch of different point values including protagonist satisfaction, ‘badass’ points, coolness points, and various skill/stat points. The way the system calculates these points seems pretty random with the system picking and choosing what to reward. The most important thing is that if any of these points values drop to 0, Shen Yuan gets kicked out of the world and back into his dead body. Also if he acts too out of character or reveals his true identity as someone other than Shen Qingqiu he gets kicked back to his body.

So the whole of svsss is Shen Yuan trying to live his life as Shen Qingqiu without either being killed by the system or Luo Binghe. And in the process of this he majorly changes the plot, so many different character’s fates, and ends up with Luo Binghe in love with him instead of a harem of women

Also the peak lords are all part of this cultivation sect. They’re overall good guys, their entire purpose is to protect humans from supernatural forces. Shen Qingqiu’s original character is a terrible person but he does work for a good cause

[scribe-of-hael]

Why Starscream?

I talk alot about the ever fumbling of Starscream's character alot here. Hasbro is no stranger to the mishandling of this character or having been tossed around form one set of writers to another inna desperate attempt to change him only to retcon him.

But what I haven't talked about it the positives in what they have done with Starscream's character or the potential his character had glimpses to be.

I think Starscream being a fan favorite is not new to anyone for the 40 years he has been aorund. Some ppl love him, love to hate him. Or love to hate him. Either way, Starscream manages to make you think about him depaite what light he is in.

For me, I was introduced to the character in 2008 when Transformers animated aired in Cartoon Network. So yes Tom Kenny was my first Starscream and I adore him 💖

But what drew me to Starscream, besides his large build, magenta color, and cliche silly bad guy destined to fail. Was his insufferable personality being clever and cunning, but fumbling at every turn. He was menacing was also silly and kind dumb in ways. He was a treat every time he was in screen. I knew whatever was going to happen would be filled with choactic schemes and banter.

Depsite knowing he was a bad guy. There was also a part of me that really wanted to see Starscream succeed, or at the very least have some sort of win and live to fight another day at that chance. I felt with all the trouble he had gone through he deserved at least SOMTHING for it all.

Yes it was never going to happen, he was written to fail. But also it seemed that was suposse to be a reoccurring antagonist for the s4 that never came around.

But you can imagine my devastated 9 year old self at seeing two of my favorite characters loosong their lives in one episode. I was so upset and angery , esspcially when I begged for him to run away so he could get away.

I think there is an aspect of Starscream, that is shared in alot of his iterations is the fact Starscream is an underdog. He bullied, undermined, never taken seriously, degraded and fumbles almost every single opportunity. Even in some stories characters pointing out that even if Starscream some how gets the upper hand, he will eventually fail.

You can't help but want Starscream to get some sort of win even though you know it could end up bad for everyone eles. But its a big thing that Starscream is his own worst enemy. With an ego and insecurity to make it worse than what it already is.

If Starscream ever truly locked in and ignored all those down playing him and put his ego aside i do think he would be a unstoppable force. But because of these flaws he is left to go from ine failed scheme to the next. There is not to say Starscream isn't capable , skilled or knowledgeable. He is , but he gets in his own way of success. Which I feel is relatable to alot of ppl.

That and what i find to be Starscream's most incredible trait. His persistence and determination.

It doesn't matter WHAT it is, a goal, a means to an end, revenge or pure fucking spite. Starscream is the most persistent mother fucker I have ever seen in media. He just never ever give up for any reason even if that some how is a horrible idea. Once he sets his mind on somthing he is going to go through with it.

Coupled with some iterations of being immortal, Starscream being someone who will endlessly scheme, chase and blow anything in his way is both terrifying as it is and incredible trait of his.

I always admired in TFA how Starscream (despite him taking a while to maybe rethink his tactics) just endlessly went afterMegatron, over and over and over again depaite failing. He tried a diffenrt method. He still stuck to his goal . Yes he fumbled like he always does but it fueled that want for him to get a win ! I felt like he earned it.

I think at Starscream's core he is a driven character, ambitious, determined fueled by spite, which is a dangerous combo with ego. But I admire that dwpaite the odds always being aginst him whether in plot or in the writers room.

Starscream will find a way to live rent free in ppls minds and make his presence know to all. I don't see this Star fading soon, I think he shines even brighter depsite it all.

[eleanor-bradstreet]

Okay I'm back from a whirlwind zip through London and Florence, heart full of love and eyes full of Benophie so let’s make a breakdown of my errant unhinged thoughts on the season 4 sneak peek!

Benophie: They are somehow both my parents and my children 🥹

Goobie hurts either his ears or his delicious slender fingies and then tries to play it off hoping no one saw

Beneloise are going to continue to be the best, obviously

Violet. VIOLET ���� Mama is ready to SLAY. Marcus better be disguised as a cat at this party because that man should be on all fours ready to lap up whatever treats she gives him.

Also: don't even get me started on Eloise of Arc there in the background and how the show dressed her in the coolest possible iteration of this costume. Holy shit, season 4, slow down. I’m starting to think this is a quality tv show…

LOOK at the masquerade! LOOKADDITT!! This is not the cacophony of metallic technicolor vomit season 3 taught me to expect. This is not chintzy flowers and sequins. This is a reversion to season 1’s muted palette. This is dark fantasy. This is the masquerade in The Labyrinth. It’s spooky, it’s moody, and it’s better than I had ever hoped for from Jess Brownell. She said herself Bowie covers may make it onto the soundtrack. I’ll start to pray now.

Uh, Jess Brownell...is that you?

The unicorn-head lady is absolutely sending me 🤣🤣

My sweet, beloved, beautiful John all returned from Scotland and having fun 😭😭😭 why do you do this to me

So clearly costuming decided both to grant mercy to Penelope and bypass her Leprechaun-ification (presumably problematic given Nic is Irish) and give Pirate Colin his Behemoth-Hatted Pirate Wife, Penelope the Blonde. I think Pen has just become Nicola at this point. It's...a lewk and I'm here for it. But who exactly wants to speak to Mrs. Bridgerton now that she's a known mole for the Queen is beyond me.

There she is, the people's princess, absolutely radiant 🥹🩶

Benedict being a smart ass: "Please enter my mother's domicile to begin your tenure of servitude while I begrudgingly permit you to have free will, all the while intending to grabass you in the halls and woo you into being mine forever."

Cinderella era, here we gooooooo

God, they already look like bitches. I'm going to love to hate them.

*screaming, crying, throwing up* as he holds her like she's made of glass; like she's a dream that will evaporate if he looks away, as he touches her for the first time and teaches her to dance 🫠 The way I have DREAMED of this for YEARS 💙

MY COTTAGE MY COTTAGE MY COTTAGE MY COTTAGE WET MY COTTAGE

EX-FUCKING SCUSE ME, WHO INVITED CLIVE OWEN ONTO THE SET? I legitimately had to pause to realize this was him because I saw both Clive Owen and EDMUND first and now I'm remembering how a critic ages ago described the similarity to Clive and also how good the casting is that he looks just like his father and I fucking CAN'T and he's not the only thing that's soaking wet and heaving 😰 giving her those fuck me eyes right from the get

Apparently because his disguise is so shit, his masquerade tekkers is to whip out his gravely Batman voice. Okay, Bruce Bridgerton, calm down. You won't tell your mother? I recall this was also your concern three seasons ago. Always sneaking behind Violet's back, aye? Just kidding, baritone daddy. Let's keep our dirty gazebo secrets together uwu

They did it. They fucking did it. They gave him the phaeton.

THEN WHY DON'T YOU GO AHEAD AND RIP MY OVARIES OUT WITH YOUR BARE HANDS SHONDA? GO RIGHT AHEAD AND SHOW ME CANON PAPA BEARDTHONY AND WATCH ME DIE RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY COMPUTER SCREEN. THANKS.

So, in summary...

Season 4 already looks waaaaaay better than I had dared to hope for. The palette. The vibes. The obvious book accuracy. I have...no notes, other than to squeal in barely-contained excitement for *checks watch* about 18 months. Here's hoping it ultimately does satisfy. I'm at least grateful for the very juicy crumbs we're getting in the meantime 💙

[hiseyeisonthesparrow]

Hiya! Mormon here, so I'm sorry if I seem like a heretic taking over your post, but I actually have a half-decent answer!

So, in the Book of Mormon, there's an anti-Christ named Korihor who goes around preaching that Christ won't come and that everyone is a fool for believing in the traditions of their fathers. Alma, the prophet at the time, deals with Korihor in a couple of ways:

Ask WHY they hold the opinions they do. Alma teaches that you can't really overcome pure hate with a logical argument (as much as I wish that I could... ;v;), so the only thing we can do is question the source of the opinions. Instead of telling them their opinions are fundamentally anti-Christian because of x, y, and z, we can invite them to think more deeply about the root of their hate. The American Republican party is deeply rooted in fear (there's a very cool neuroscience study about it if you want to hear), so debating them will only solidify their beliefs. Instead, truly seek to understand them.

Preach the true gospel of LOVE and ACCEPTANCE. You cannot make them shut up, but you can proclaim your faith in God and Jesus louder than they can hate. Testifying with all the pure love of Christ that you can does wonders.

Invite them to leave! Ignore them! It is not your responsibility to convince them to be good people -- that's for the Holy Spirit to handle.

Here are some pieces of dialogue I've used to defend my positions to Christian Nationalists without coming across as inflammatory or offensive:

"Well, I remember that Jesus was a refugee, and he taught us to love "the least of us", so I really want to love my immigrant neighbors. Like the Good Samaritan -- the person that you help might be someone you don't agree with."

"God gave us the ability to choose between right or wrong. He also gave us the ability to choose to follow His path; not having a choice at all is Satan's goal. I think we should let people choose what they want to do, as long as it doesn't hurt other people."

"Sometimes I find that Satan tries to trap us by making us zoom in and only focus on one tiny detail. Taking a moment to look at the bigger picture helps me not get caught up in Satan's web of lies."

"I hope you find enough faith to overcome the fear in your heart. He wants you to have hope!"

"What are you worried about? ... Why are you so worried about it?"

"I think that God's love is the most important thing in the whole scriptures, don't you? That's why he gave us Jesus! So, because of that, I think treating people with love is more important than any rules or opinions."

The tricky part is to not come across as patronizing or insulting. Make sure to explain or defend your position rather than attacking theirs. It won't be perfect, but hopefully we can fill this world with a little more love and a little less MAGA idiocy (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

Guys how do you deal with the, what feels like, hypocrisy of calling out Christians Nationalists. Cause like I won’t lie it feels weird calling them out for judging other because like… yeah I’m judging you. Ya know? Idk if I’m putting this correctly.

[heartz4levi]

mhm... i keep thinking ab scummy till..

you're screwed up and brilliant !

☆ thinking abt scummy till . . .

☆ till (alnst) ,, gn reader . . modern!au ,, actor!au ,, reader is a mua ,, till is ooc in favor of making him be as scummy as i could ,, till is just. a bitch in this one. and reader cannot stand him ,, is this?? anything at all?? i tried anon, i tried. hope i executed ur ask to ur liking. </3

stark in contrast to the character he plays, till is an absolute scum.

alien stage, one of his biggest projects, but not the most. you're co—workers with him.. sort of. he's an actor in the series who plays a pretty big role, but all you are is a make—up artist for the cast.

while the cameras were rolling, you would drop by ever so often to see which scene they where shooting, to get a better grasp on what the plot is and also to see the brilliance of each actor up close.

everyone was generally kind whenever they were getting their make—up done. some are quieter than others and don't say much, some are more energetic, but all in all each and every one of them treats you with basic desency. the bare minimum that till doesn't even think about achieving, because of course, out of an entire roster or renowned actors someone has to be a lot shittier in terms of personality behind the camera.

you love your job, you really do. you get to collaborate with a bunch of celebrities, you get to create some of their most iconic cosmetic looks and, most importantly, it's fun to do make—up on people. but sometimes you feel like dropping out of this project solely because of till.

he willingly sits still in the chair when it's his turn to get his make—up done and he isn't picky about what styles he does and doesn't like. makes him seem like a regular client, right? wrong.

till will stare at your reflection in the mirror, shooting you the dirtiest looks known to man. if you notice and ask him what's wrong, he'll complain. oddly enough, never about the make—up, but about you, nitpicking any and every single thing you do. it feels like you're not even allowed to breathe in his presence.

if you ask him to calm his face muscles down because you cannot work on someone's face when the canvas is contorted all weird, till will do the complete opposite. he'll scrunch his face up even further, refusing to relax and allow you to do your job in peace. that shenanigan just makes him look childish. but don't tell him that, or else he'll throw a hissy fit. a childish hissy fit.

to be fair, you aren't the only person whom he critiques whenever he gets the chance to. he does the same with his co—actors, shooting nasty glances their way and calling them out on their acting specifically. as if he has a shit ton more years of experience and has better technique.

before you know it, filming for alien stage is wrapped up. then, some time later, it officially airs and although the fans gravitate in every direction, to each character, a lot of them choose till as their favourite. understandable, because his character is a lot less of a douche.

you would think that such a dedicated fanbase could only serve to inflate till's ego even further. but it doesn't, because he doesn't need any fans to consider himself superior and able to judge everyone without ever suffering any consequences. till cares about those fans just about as much as he cares about everyone else who has worked with him — long story short, he does not care. like at all. no fucks given.

but people still don't know that. during promotions for alien stage, till doesn't say much. he leaves all the talking to his co—actors, spacing out and occasionally nodding because god he does not want to be there with all of those people — yeah, he likes acting and starring in ambitious projects, but the promotions part? yeah.. no.

if any reporter, or anyone else for that matter, decides to ask him a question, till will do anything to evade it. if the question isn't about him and he is there witb a fellow actor, he will immediately glance pointedly at them, a silent order that they should do the talking, not him. if he can't evade the question, the answer he gives is short and blunt, making the interaction be as brief as possible.

well, that is none of your concern. he's done with sitting in your chair, having your products be applied on his face and you're done with having to tolerate him for hours on end. thank the fucking stars.

or maybe.. don't thank them.

plenty of time passes before you're thrown into another project that is bound to gain endless popularity once it's out. it'll take a while, it'll take a lot of hard work, maybe even some blood, sweat and tears — but you're glad to be apart of the team regardless!

you're glad until you see who is playing the main character.

not again...

[backpackingspace]

Odysseus: demanding Athena take off whatever enchantment she put on him the second the situation ends.

Odysseus: who constantly reminds Athena that he has great plans to grow old and die with his wife so don't even think about getting any ideas.

Odysseus: side eye diomedes who has started fucking glowing he has so many enchantments on him: bro you should talk to Athena about getting those removed. You're going to end up immortal or some shit

Diomedes: who has been a solider since he was 5 who has intersting thoughts about his own personhood who has a much more traditional relationship with Athena and would rather literally stab his own eye out with a rusted sword than speak out of turn: I don't know what you're talking about

[lord-squiggletits]

I think the key component to my personal reading of post-Delphi Pharma is that he's trying to be a horrible person on purpose. Not "on purpose" in the way that people have free will to exercise their own choices, but in that Pharma's "mad doctor" persona is a performance he puts on to deliberately embrace how much everyone else hates him. Basically, if people already think you're a "bad Autobot" and a horrible doctor who just kills his patients for fun, why try to prove otherwise to people who have already made up their minds about you? Just fully embrace the fact that people see you as an asshole. Don't try to change their minds. Don't plead for their forgiveness or understanding. Just stop caring. If you're going to be remembered as a monster, you might as well be a memorable monster, and eke as much pleasure and hedonism as you can out of it before karma catches up to you and you inevitably crash and burn.

I mean, I guess you could just go the route of "Oh, Pharma was always a fucked up creepy guy and Delphi was just him taking the mask off," but I really don't like that interpretation because, for one, it feels really wrong to take a character like Pharma becoming evil under duress and going, "Oh well clearly he did the things he did because he was evil all along," as if somehow Pharma breaking under blackmail/torture/threat of horrible death was a sign of him having poor moral character. As opposed to, you know, suffering under the very real threat of horrible death for himself and everyone he cares about while being manipulated by a guy who specializes in psychological torture.

The second reason is that it just doesn't make sense to write Pharma as having been evil all along. I mean...

Occam's Razor says that the best argument is the one with the simplest explanation. Doesn't it make way more sense to take Pharma's appearances in flashbacks, his friendship with Ratchet, his stunning medical accomplishments, and the few we see of him speaking kindly/sympathetically (or in the least charitable interpretation, at least professionally) towards his patients and conclude "This guy was just a normal person, if exceptionally talented." Taking all of these flashback appearances at face value and assuming Pharma was being genuine/honest is a way simpler and more logical explanation than trying to argue that Pharma for the past 4 million years was just faking being a good doctor/person. I mean, it's possible within the realm of headcanon, but the fact is Pharma's appearances in the story are so brief that there simply wasn't room in the story for there to be some sort of secret conspiracy/hidden manipulation behind why Pharma acted the way he did in the past.

I just can't help but look at things like Pharma's friendship with Ratchet (himself a good person and usually a fine judge of character) and the fact that even post-Delphi, pretty much every single mention of Pharma comes with some mention of "He was a good doctor for most of his life" or "He was making major headways in research [before he started killing patients]" which implies that even the Autobots themselves see Pharma's villainy as a recent turn in his life compared to how for "most of his life" he "used to be" a good doctor.

And although Pharma doesn't know this, we as the readers (and even other characters like Rung) know about Aequitas technology and the fact that it actually works, so... if Pharma really was an unrepentant murderer, why couldn't he get through the forcefield too? The Aequitas forcefield doesn't require that a person be completely morally pure and free of wrongdoing or else how could Tyrest get through, just that they feel a sense of inner peace and lack feelings of guilt. Pharma has murdered and tortured people by this point, and put on quite a campy and theatrical show of how much he sees it as a fun game, so why then can he not get through?

It circles back to my headcanon at the start of this post that the "mad doctor" persona is just that-- a persona. Delphi/post-Delphi Pharma's laughing madman personality is just so far removed from every flashback we saw of him and everything we can infer based on how other people see/saw him before that, to me, the mad doctor act is (at least in large part, if not fully) a persona that Pharma puts on to put his villainy in the forefront.

To avoid an overly simplistic/ableist take, I don't think Tarn tortured Pharma into turning crazy. To me, it's more like the constant pressure of death by horrific torture, the feeling of martyrdom as Pharma kept secret that he was the only one standing between Delphi and annihilation, the physical isolation of Messatine as well as the emotional separation from Ratchet, being forced to violate his medical oaths (pretty much the only thing Pharma's entire life has been about), etc. All of that combined traumatized Pharma to the point that the only way he could avoid cracking was to just stop caring about all of it. Because at least then, even if he's still murdering patients to save Delphi from a group of sadistic freaks, Pharma doesn't have to feel guilty and sick about doing it. As opposed to the alternatives, which were probably either going off the deep end and killing himself to escape, or confessing to what he did and getting jailed for it.

In that light, Pharma becoming a mad doctor makes sense. It avoids the bad writing tropes of "oh this character who was good his entire life was actually just evil and really good at hiding it" as well as "oh he got tortured and went crazy that's why he's so random and silly and killing people, he's crazy" and instead frames Pharma's evil as something he was forced into, to the point where in order to avoid a full psychological breakdown and keep defending Delphi, he just had to stop caring about the sanctity of life or about what other people might think of him.

Then, of course, the actual Delphi episode happens, and Pharma's own lifelong best friend Ratchet basically spits in his face and sees him as nothing more than a crazy murderer who went rogue from being a good Autobot. Then Pharma gets his hands cut off and left to die on Messatine. At that point, Pharma has not only been mentally/emotionally broken into losing his feelings of compassion, he's received the message loud and clear: He is alone. Everyone hates him. Not even his own best friend likes him any more. No one even cared enough about him to check if he actually died or not. He will only ever be remembered as a doctor who went insane and killed his patients.

So in the light of 1. Having all of your redeeming qualities be squeezed out of you one by one for the sake of survival and 2. Having your reputation and all of your positive relationships be destroyed and 3. People only know/care about you as "that doctor who became evil and killed his patients" rather than the millions of years of good service that came before.

What else is there to do but internalize the fact that you'll forever be seen as a monster and a freak, and embrace it? People already see you as a murderer for that blackmail deal you did, so why not become an actual murderer and just start killing people on a whim? People already see you as an irredeemable monster who puts a stain on the Autobot name, so why beg for their forgiveness when you could just shun them back? You've already become a murderer, a traitor, and a horrible doctor, so what's a few more evil acts added to the pile? It's not like anyone will ever forgive you or love you ever again.

Why care? Why try to hold on to your principles of compassion, kindness, medical ethics, when an entire lifetime of being a good person did nothing to save you from blackmail and then abandonment? Why put yourself through the emotional agony of feeling lonely, guilty, miserable, when you could just... stop caring, and not hurt any more?

[canideformed]

Hey I am transfem. Your friends might think one way but I am sorry they are not the voice of the transfem community. I am personally made incredibly uncomfortable when transmascs target other transmascs and the way they discuss their oppression under the guise of doing it “for” transfems, because, if I’m honest, I’ve faced way more transmisogyny and exorsexism and intersexism from people who have the viewpoints you’re espousing than from people who talk about transandrophobia.

I’ve had people tell me I didn’t understand the people around me and that I was going to “get hurt” if I “kept hanging out with” transmascs. I said hey, maybe don’t talk to a woman that way, maybe acting like a woman doesn’t understand the world around her and will inevitably be victimised by the “evil men” she’s friends with is. Really sexist and infantilising. And it was 100% ignored. They told me they “hoped I learned before I got hurt.”

I’ve also had intersexists interrogate me about my medical history so they can determine whether I am “really” transfem, as if that’s something that would ever be up to them. (And not that it matters, but when they inevitably decide to “allow” me to “be transfem,” they still treat my intersex status as basically inconsequential to my overall Transfem Status, which is very much inaccurate and erases my intersex identity and experiences).

I’ve also had these people tell me I was a “non-man” when I directly identify as both a man and a woman. And then when I’ve claimed that, no, I am a man, I’m just also a woman, they’ve tried to say I’m still a “non-man” because I’m “nonbinary” (a word I do NOT use or at all like for myself).

At least ime transmascs who talk about transandrophobia tend to be much more aware and thoughtful when discussing oppression, they don’t condescend and infantilise me for being transfem, they don’t force me into a “non-woman” or “non-man” box, and they don’t ask me for personal details of my medical history.

Whenever transmisogyny HAS popped up, the transandrophobia theorists around me (at the very least) have ALWAYS been very good about shutting it down and calling it out. And yet I’ve seen fellow transfems accusing them of being “bitchy transmascs who can’t even support each other” literally for calling out and refusing to tolerate transmisogyny spread by other transmascs. Like I’m sorry but if the people you’re saying are supposed to support me actively punish transmascs for calling out transmisogyny… maybe those aren’t the people who legitimately want the best for transfems as a whole. Maybe those are the people who all agree with one specific ideological framework and who try to punish anybody who disagrees, even if they are actively working to call out transmisogyny and even if they are transfem themselves.

There are some transmisogynists out there, but by and large they are NOT supported by the rest of the community or, if they are, they are very open to being corrected by a kind voice (which I have done, multiple times!).

I’m also just. Not sure what you mean when you say transmascs deny trans women’s experiences of oppression. Transmascs talking about transandrophobia and their own experiences say nothing about trans women and fems and their experiences. Ex. a non-passing trans man talking about how he doesn’t experience male privilege says NOTHING about any trans woman. It only says something about him individually.

what does the "proud transandrophobe" in your bio mean?

"transandrophobia" is the belief that trans men are specifically oppressed for being men/masculine and the "transandrophobia" community often uses this belief to undermine and/or outright deny trans women's experiences with oppression and transmisogyny. its a dumb term that links back to the idea of "misandry" / male oppression. as a transmasc person with real life transfemme friends that i love and care for i find the "transandrophobia" community and its terminology distasteful. calling myself a "proud transandrophobe" is just a joke i put in to have that community steer clear from my blog lol

[gideonisms]

Does a podcast ever release a take you disagree with so strongly it makes you question everything you heard on it up to that point

[warningsine]

[bunnyboy-juice]

awawawawawawa

[chiimeramanticore]

waow

[zecoritheweirdone]

first art post of the new year!!! granted, i don't share my art here that much anyway, but– shhh.

hehehehhhooo,, here's something i've been working on for 'bout a month,, albeit not consecutively– took a few,, very very long breaks in between working on this,, but i managed to finish it in the end! am i satisfied with it? .......ehhhh? not completely, but if this took any longer, it might not have seen the light of day, so like. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

anyway,, made a little poster for my favorite fic, tommyinnit's services for villains, vigilantes, and various other vagabonds, by @scorpionoesit!!! it's really really good,,, and i've always wanted to make more art for it,, so i decided– poster! at least,, that's what it's mean to resemble,,, dkdmkdmdkd.

i will freely admit,, i'm... not the biggest fan of the fan-made logo i tried to design for it,, feels a bit boring, and could definitely have used a bit more pizazz, something to make feel more like the fic itself(what does that mean? you figure that out),,,, but– again, steam was running low,, dkdnksjs. graphic design is my passion. i do also have other complaints, but i'm afraid i already punched my one-use self-critique card,, oh well,,, dkdnkxjdkd.

regardless,, even with the flaws only i can really see,, this still turned out pretty okay!! hope you enjoy it, mx. scorpio and mx. alibi!!! and i hope everyone else has a wonderful new year!!!!

[flovverworks]

brought it upon myself but in pain over the many familial & teacher-student relations in mhyk again. like the 'this is the teacher for each country' is Obviously there, but anytime i think about snow & white in regards to figaro & oz......T_^?!?!? yknow??!?!?!?! messiest family ive ever known (overexaggeration). that one figaro line in 2nd anni(???) agbout him having taken in kids before. figaro & rutile & mitile. oz & arthur. 13yo chloe who was treated badly by his family & decided to go with rustica. the chloe plot especially gets to me cuz it Always makes me think of natsume asking the fujiwara if he could go with them.....izumi talking to sakuyas relatives...... figaro whos so clearly treated as a guardian-ish for rutile & mitile in the writing (thinks of his june bride training ep 5ever). oz who learned about the world because baby arthur asked the questions that kids does. the oz castle event. tiretta and mithra. strangest uncle of all time. faust & neros care for shino & heath. neros care for riquet.

[hxney-lemcn]

Mine, Only Mine — Mr. Crawling, Gap, Silvair, Chopped, Hugeface, and Scarletella x gn! reader

summery: how jealous do some of the Homicipher boys get?

tw: unhealthy relationships (Mr. Hugeface & Scarletella)

wc: 1.2k

Master List

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Mr. Crawling

❥I know people have written about how he gets jealous…but I don’t really think he does? Or at least not terribly. The scene with Mr. Chopped and the cat ears show that Mr. Crawling won’t pout or get sad at you showing affection to others, just that he wants to gain the same attention (the ear scene…). So jealousy with Mr. Crawling isn’t too bad, just be prepared to shower him with more affection than the person you originally did. 

❥On the other hand, I do think his jealousy may increase if you ignore him. Say you give more attention to Mr. Scarletella, Mr. Crawling would get a bit sad and pouty, thinking you don’t like him anymore. If this happens, give him lots and lots of attention and reassurance, he’ll be super grateful. I mean he loves your affection anyways, so might as well give him some extra headpats and kisses. Even better if you only show certain signs of affection with him, it makes him feel special. 

❥Overall, not the most jealous, but not completely unaffected either. Make sure he gets his daily dose of attention/quality time and he’ll be as right as rain.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Mr. Gap

❥Uh, he gets more jealous than you’d think. Like…his whole thing is he wants to be special to you…in his own strange way. Doesn’t like the thought of someone taking his place as a jokester to you. Also why he brings you things he’d think you like from time to time, just to make sure you still have that special place in your heart for him <3

❥Hates hate hates when you call him bad or not good. He’s good! He swears! Remember how he’s helped you before! Gets all frowny when you call him not good and then call someone else good. He’s good too! Guess he has to prove it, AGAIN. It’s honestly kind of endearing how he has no clue how he actually kind of does like you? But not exactly in a romantic way? It’s honestly hard to label his feelings towards you, so why should I?

❥I’d say he’s the second most jealous in this list of characters, watching on angrily as you praise someone that isn’t him. Be prepared for magazines and books galore when he’s in this mood, trying to prove his worth to you. Kind of strange for someone to try so hard when they claim to not like you…

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Mr. Silvair

❥Definitely the chillest one here. Doesn’t really get jealous at all :/ If anything, he finds it entertaining when you’re affectionate with others. Gives him more insight to his lab rats. Yes, he sees everyone as a lab rat. Idk, I can’t really see him get jealous.

❥Maybe…MAYBE if someone else tries doing research on you, or if Ms. Nurse treats you instead he’ll feel a bit off. Like…you’re his test subject, he knows you from the inside out…literally and not in the fun sense. Why would you go to someone who doesn’t know as much about you and how this world affects you? It’s very hard to spot his jealousy, doesn’t even notice it/recognize it himself. He just doesn’t want anyone to mess up his data…that’s all…totally.

❥In conclusion, not really jealous. Doesn’t feel like he needs to be. You’re ‘friends’, doctor and patient, mad scientist and lab rat not many others threaten that balance between you. 

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Mr. Chopped

❥Honestly…Mr. Chopped I’m kinda mixed on how he’d be. Like on one hand, I could totally see him getting jealous if you call others cute or pay too much attention to them. On the other…he could probably care less. He loves himself, you love him, why does he need to get jealous? It’s clear how much you like him with the way you pamper him. I mean we get so many examples where you’re affectionate to Mr. Crawling in front of Mr. Chopped and he doesn’t really bat an eye. 

❥Now, I can see if he gets a bit insecure he might get more jealous. Whether it be because Mr. Crawling pats your head or tucks you into bed, Mr. Chopped feels a bit sad. He’d like to tuck you in, you look so comfy. Might be just a bit pouty, eyeing you like a dissatisfied cat. Easily rectified with head pats or even cuddles. Gets side tracked from his jealousy as soon as you give him a sliver of attention honestly.

❥Mr. Chopped is fifty fifty when it comes to jealousy, but it’s never too bad. He’s pretty comfortable with what you both have and doesn’t really feel threatened by others. After all, you did call him cute.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Mr. Hugeface

❥I wouldn’t say he gets jealous? More possessive than anything. Like that scene when Mr. Machete stumbles into his little makeshift dollhouse that he made for you and gets all angry that he’s there. It’s more of a ‘you’re not supposed to be here, this is our playtime’ more than actual jealousy. Throws a little fit whenever someone messes up your playtime. Very accusatory lmao.

❥Does not like when you try to escape. Was he not providing enough for you? Were you unhappy? You’re not allowed to leave! You’re his cute human! He can’t just find another one y’know. Mr. Hugeface may be lenient if he sees you happier, you need enrichment after all. Feels extra happy if you come back on your own violation. 

❥The most childish out of all the characters on this list. Isn’t afraid to throw tantrums, will also punish you by putting you in a solid concrete cube if he’s really upset. Yeah…not the most healthy of relationships to have…BUT! I do think you could convince him to be a bit better…? Maybe? Only if you put enough work in communicating with him though. Maybe punish him in your own way like leaving for longer if he threatens to trap you.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Mr. Scarletella

❥Uhhhhhhhhhhh. Top of the list when it comes to jealousy. Watches your every move with curiosity and spite. Why are you doing that to Mr. Crawling? Do it to him instead. Why do you look so happy braiding Mr. Chopped’s hair? Style his hair instead. Why are you looking so fondly amused at Mr. Gap? Don’t you find him amusing? You do like him, right? He likes you. He likes you a lot, and he thought he was enough…was he not?

❥Will stare through your skull. It is so intimidating. His smile? Strained, it makes your skin crawl. You have to make sure he doesn’t hurt your friends, he’s so close to snapping, but he knows that would upset you and that’s not his goal. So instead he stands ominously in the background, body staticing in and out while his hand clenches the handle of his umbrella. 

❥Not that easily mended. Likes to monopolize all your time and affection. Needs constant reassurance as well, he’s quite needy. If you like constant validation and no social life go for it, just don’t get too upset if he threatens your other monster friends…he can’t stand that you could like someone that wasn’t him.