#but he literally changed how I think about the entire story SOOO

[millennialdemon]

I completely agree, I am so tired of shounen villains that are extremists who, if they weren't extremists, would be the actual heroes of the story for trying to change the status quo of their world/nation/city etc. The same unfair status quo that our protagonists always ends up conforming to despite it also being the biggest thing they have to fight against in their journey to fulfill their dreams. "This is my villain, he's fighting for justice and equality against an oppressive regime set upon destroying his people. Oh, and also he eats babies!" Maybe let's try something else!

I've talked about Rades specifically in regards to the bizarre topsy-turvy morals of Black Clover a few times, just because the story is so contradictory in so many ways when it comes to deciding who is evil and who is not, and I feel like that is most evident with Rades. On one hand we see the Magic Knights judge Rades for his crimes against humanity (and he does commit them, of course), but prior to the fight we see that the Magic Knights are a bunch of very classist nobles by and large, and they themselves aren't beholden to many moral standards or even a basic sense of honour. Asta goes on a whole rant about how they are no better than his childhood bullies when he witnesses Noelle’s siblings - fellow Magic Knights - humiliating her at a banquet for her poor magical abilities, the same thing Asta has been bullied about for his entire life!

Similarly, the same way Asta and Noelle did not ask to be saddled with difficult to control and/or “no” magic, Rades didn’t ask to be saddled with necromancy and the resulting social fallout. And we learn that Rades tried to be “good” by joining the Magic Knights (and we are supposed to agree that the Magic Knights are good) and using his unconventional magic for something virtuous, and he got exiled for it.

And yet Asta looks up to the Magic Knights and is honoured to be one, and doesn’t protest at all when he is asked to hide their dirty laundry from the citizens of the kingdom he supposedly loves? Why?

It's such a juvenile approach to storytelling. And hell, it could stay the same and still be better if it were just more complex! We could have a class of Magic Knights who do just as much bad as they do good for the kingdom, if we had characters that had complicated feelings about that fact. We could have an extremist terrorist group ready to make any sacrifices necessary to reform or destroy Clover Kingdom, if we had Clover Kingdom sympathizers who were torn between staying and defecting. But so far all I can parse from Black Clover (I have seen 52 episodes) is that not only is it a story that constantly tells its audience how to feel, but it can’t even keep its story straight!

Oh, and I'm not about to rewrite the entirety of Black Clover, but this did remind me that I want to write up a post about the Asta and the Black Bulls we could have got. I also agree that the Asta we have is a pretty bad character to be conveying the underdog message of this story, and I have this AU or remix or whatever you want to call it in my head wherein Asta decides he will pursue being Wizard King, but won’t become a Magic Knight to do it, and the Black Bulls are like an unofficial sort of vigilante group made up of the magical rejects of the Clover Kingdom that fight for righteousness in their own way!

Complaining about black clover

Black clover made all the bad guys kill people because they wouldn't have been bad guys otherwise. "I want to change our country because it is bad, and doing the same exact thing for 500 years has changed nothing" that's a pretty solid point. "I'm going to do this by killing everyone" okay hold on a minute.

Also Asta sucked at conveying the idea he was supposed. It was supposed to be this underdog story of how this nobody became somebody because he never gave up even though he had shit genes. A real pull yourself up by the bootstrap moment, but those definitely can be done well. He's just this poor boy with no magic at all so sad. But also he can pull swords out of thin air (book) turn into the devil and then make said sword shoot lasers and turn into a football field long sword but no actually he's so sad and magicless. Brother. Idk but that sounds pretty magical to me. Yeah he worked hard, but so did the devil believers or whatever and there was an obvious difference between the two. Asta no longer had the ability to pretend like he was on the same playing field as people with very little to no magic, because he wasn't. He had the power to change things in his life, they had nowhere near that amount of power.

Magna was a much better representation of the whole, never give up and you'll make it theme. He had very little magic and because of that he had to get smart about his magic. He had to make technical moves instead of "I stab you with a mile long sword really hard so you die". He did what he could with what he had, and he did it really well. Asta was given a lot of power and did his best to retain a system that kept people without power down.

I thought the anime was sick tbf and I'm not saying it's bad, I'm just being a hater for fun.

[bitimdrake]

Thoughts on Jack Drake's death in Identity Crisis? I personally dislike it because it's a fridging (and somehow only the third worst death in that book behind "why did she have a FLAMETHROWER tho" and "that's not how Firestorm works you're confusing him with Human Bomb"), and it took away what made Tim stand out in making him an orphan like the other Robins. I'm not a Batfam expert so I haven't read a ton of the surrounding stories but it feels like there was more they could have done with Jack.

I would not personally call it fridging because I think we've gotten waaaay too liberal with that term, particularly when removed from the original context of misogyny (*unless perhaps we are applying it to other bigotry, which I do think is worthwhile), and because "side character dies to push forward a main character's story" is...not a bad thing. That's a perfectly valid story telling trope that can be used well or poorly.

THAT SAID. I do think there was more to do with Jack that could have been really interesting!

He'd just found out Tim was Robin, and imo there was sooo much that could have be mined from that. It could have been a really interesting and major shakeup in Tim's story, without entirely changing the fundamentals of his character. I'm so interested in the theoretical arc of Tim and his long time hot-and-cold distant dad trying to figure this relationship out now that Jack finally, for the first time, is both (a) interested in actively pursuing a relationship with his son (he's been on and off since shortly after Tim became Robin) and (b) actually able to get to know his son (which has been impossible from Tim's side since he became Robin and starting keeping so much of his life secret). Jack decided to be supportive, but their relationship is messy! Their history is complicated! And he still has understandably mixed feelings about his son fighting crime! How do they figure this out??

(Unrelated, I still think about this one fic where Jack comes back to life circa Brucequest and realizes his archeological skills can help. The future story it implied. The gentle question of can Tim and Jack repair their relationship. It compels me.)

I'm of two minds about Jack dying at all. On the hand, I do agree it took away a lot that made Tim unique as a Robin and lumped him more in with the others. On the other hand, there has been some nice stuff as a result of him being adopted into Bruce's family. And, e.g., I don't think stuff like his relationship with Damian would be remotely the same if Tim still had his own father.

Also like. the theoretical fandom shift from this would be fascinating. The best known batfam characters who are not Wayne family are largely women at this point, which means fandom is extra inclined to ignore them. But if one of the core bat boys was not part of the literal family, would that actually shift the whole fandom focus away from Force This Into A Nuclear Family Mold? Would we see an entire thematic shift? Or would people just be trying to contrive reasons why Tim's very much living father didn't count....

[mushyposts]

I already put this on ao3 in a comment but you made me cry so you have to see it twice now. I know this entire story is Zuko-centric but I literally can't stop thinking about what this au means for Sokka.

Ok I just have to say I felt so heartbroken for Sokka here. All I could think about was how all of a sudden there's a boy in the place he's supposed to be. HE should be travelling with the men, HE should've been with them for the last three years, HE should be trusted enough with all this important stuff he should know if he is the next chief/acting chief.

He is being told this new kid has seen and done things the most skilled of warriors couldn't have done, like he is this almost untouchable standard Sokka can't reach. Then to be told he's taken Sokka's place in the tribe as Hakoda's and Batos' adopted child, teaching him how to be a man over the three years Sokka didn't even know his father, never a letter, never knowing when they would come home. Then being told by that same kid that he was only playing war. not to mention the piercings and jewellery he's adorned with.

Sokka has been the leader of the remnants of the Southern Water Tribe for three years, and due to the strict gender divides, had no one to teach him how to lead in the way a chief would. He has been the one hunting, defending, in charge of the future of their civilisation, the education of the children, which is really important in their culture. the memories of his father would be so twisted to the memories Hadoka has of Sokka. Sokka, in the months before he left, lost his mother, protecting his little sister. he then saw his father fall deep into depression, becoming very detached, and from what is described, angry and violent, not towards him, but that his still scary behaviour to witness. Then, his father left, and he was told he couldn't come, and that he was in charge of the village. Even though it was probably to boost his ego at the time more than anything, the impact on Sokka in that moment, combined into quite literally what his job becoming.

Just imagine when he finds out the secrets Zuko's hiding and how his father and Bato knew and didn't tell him. Sokka has struggled with feeling like he isn't important, as a non-bender and his relations with his sister, her being a prodigy + a bender, and his father, always feeling like he wasn't enough for his dad, not good enough, not smart enough, not needed, but the Zuko's good enough, Hakoda loves him.

Zuko, who has had an incredibly traumatic and difficult childhood, the last three years of his life is where he has found and made a spot for himself in a positive community that loves him and supports him, Sokka has become increasingly more and more isolated, and his sense of self has changed even more dramatically in the last few weeks.

Sorry for the long rant, but I could just feel Sokka's fears and insecurities screaming at me throughout the chapter. Love this work though, just cried for Sokka <3

HIII OH YOU SO GET IT!! OH YOU SOOOO GET IT!! The fic is for SURE Zuko-centric, but I have been intentionally layering on the potential for his arc to align with Sokka's in completely the opposing way. Zuko has everything Sokka wants, he has a space with the crew, the warriors. he spent the last three years with his father and Bato, bonding, developing his identity as a person alongside the tribe, welcomed in, he has gotten to be everything that Sokka has always wanted. Meanwhile, Sokka has everything that Zuko wants. Sokka was home, somewhere safe with people who cared for him and looked up to him, with his sister, away from his parents and in a position where he was in charge of his own life. Its such a twisted, complex situation where the two crave, desperately, what the other has without thinking about the context. Without thinking of what got the other to the point of having what they wanted, both in turn. IM SOOO happy to see someone talking about Sokka ohhhughhh im so fucking happy. I think a lot of people have focused on Sokka's initial attitude towards Zuko, without thinking about every single thing you've brought up in this beautifully constructed comment, of which I am really excited to eventually flesh out when I am back from hiatus. Sokka, more than anything, wants to be a warrior alongside his father. For Zuko, he doesn't think Sokka fully understands the gravity of what that would look like, especially after having experienced such a heavy loss as he had recently. (RIP king im sorry) but for Sokka, he see's a replacement. he doesnt know the nuances, not for lack of intelligence but he just literally hasnt been told and although he is owed explanation he isn't owed Zuko's story in its full, of what led Hakoda and Bato to the decision of keeping him on board. I firmly believe if Zuko had have been older, or had have been a child from any other nation, Hakoda and Bato would have not kept him. I actually go over this a lot in the early chapters where they're deciding wtf to do. It genuinely ended up being a problem of "well. No matter where we put him he's gonna get killed. How fucked up is that, safest place for this kid is LITERALLY on a warship of the enemy. great." I also think acknowledging the fact that Zuko HAS had a lot of support and comfort in the last three years whereas Sokka has not is a super important point to be made! Despite the current circumstances, and the ones that led Zuko to being in the position he is/was, Zuko did have support which Sokka lacked. TBH, if I hadve had more wiggle room and decided to fuck with canon more then I already had, I would have left a good amount of the warriors in the SWT, unlike in canon. Or had Hakoda go back to leave soldiers there when he realised they were going to be gone for longer then what I am assuming was initially planned. However I was more then aware that would SIGNIFICANTLY change the circumstances of Sokka's experiences and how it aligns with Zuko's, in canon and in the fic, so i chose against it. This is such a sporadic messy reply I am just so happy to get a comment picking up on all the stone I've been laying for a big discussion on the details of Sokka's own trauma and how its going to clash with Zuko's.

All this to say, Sokka will absolutely be getting his turn to hash out everything you've said here and I can promise you no stone will be left unturned when it comes to his trauma and life experiences!! I think a big thing I am most excited for is having the two hash it out and realise where their lives overlap, where their feelings and experiences align and managing to acknowledge that each others traumas dont cancel each other out. Zuko's experiences do not cancel out Sokka's, and Sokka's do not cancel out Zuko's.

[qprpbj]

ik in the musical they changed it but it is sooo funny that pony describes darry cold mean and barely human but like he still goes by his childhood nickame “darry” like sry but thts still cute and he is still sooo young (and the only one in the entire book who calls him darrel is paul but thts a whole other post ig)

to be fair maybe susan shouldn’t have named 3 of her characters dally darry and cherry 😭😭

it’s so sick to me. like the whole point of how pony talks about darry in the book — and he literally says it — is that he thinks he hates darry but deep down knows he doesn’t and he knows he’s lying to himself when he tells himself that. he does somewhere in his head know that darry’s trying his best and wants what’s best for him, bc ponyboy is a smart kid, but he’s so clouded by grief and frankly. being a 13/14 year old kid (shit is rough!). that he doesn’t consciously realize darry is so alike to him, just now also has all these responsibilities and has to be hard on him and strict and work double time to keep the remainder of their family together or else god knows what will happen — social services or. who knows what else. pony somewhere KNOWS darry is just as lost and scared as he is, maybe even more so, especiallyyyy because of how similar they are (and he knows it deep down!!! think of the eye colour thing alone!!!!!), but can’t acknowledge it yet till the end of the story when he’s grown up a little. sighhh can we Tell i love these two.

“i don’t care about darry. but i was still lying and i knew it. i lie to myself all the time. but i never believe me.” like we do NOTT talk about this enough!!!! he’s just a grief ridden hormonal kid!!!!!! ugh. sorry this was Not the point of this ask at all but i hope you enjoyed anyway LOL

[iouinotes]

You're my dream | Alex Walter

pairing: Alex Walter x female!reader

genre: fluff word count: 3,4k

show: My life with the Walter boys

summary: Alex thinks you prefer Cole over him. You show him that he is the most important person in your life.

a/n: @bbr0wni3 and I had the same idea for a story, so I hope you like the final result :) and sorry for gatekeeping sooo long

Alex had been quiet for the entire walk home. It felt like the school day had passed painfully slow, without his sympathy, his jokes, or his comments in math class. I've tried to find out the reason for his silence, but each time I asked about it, he changed the topic and I was left clueless.

Of course, I thought about what could bother him so much, but none of my suggestions were that convincing. Maybe it was his bad history essay? Or did he have had another fight with Cole? Was it about Paige? She had become his black shadow over the last year and if I'm being honest, I never really liked her. I mean, as Alex's best friend, I have little say in his dating life, even though my opinion is important to him.

Because when Alex falls in love, no one can stop him. It happens quickly and is usually associated with a lot of pain afterwards.

But if I remember things correct, Alex has been acting a bit strange for a while now. I mean, I tried to get to the bottom of his sudden mood-changes, but understanding Alex's mind has never been an easy task.

Good thing for me, I've never liked things too easy. Then again, bad thing for me, that I'm in love with my best friend.

I didn´t notice it at first and I can't pinpoint the exact moment, when my feelings for him meant more than just friendship.

Alex has always been a special person in my life, someone I could open my heart to and who would never hurt me. Apparently, I opened the doors to my heart a little too wide for him, because on one warm spring day, when I couldn't stop looking at his smiling face, my feelings for him became very clear to me. I literally hung on every word he said and I didn't even know at that point, that you could see a light in his eyes, when he talked about something he liked, that shone as beautiful as the rays of the sun.

And then, without even paying attention to what he was saying anymore (I think it was something about a new video game, he was playing), I quickly wrote down a few phrases in my notebook. that came to my mind. Unfortunately, I probably acted a little bit too hectic, because he stopped talking mid-sentence, irritated but curious.

"What are you doing?" I heard him ask, a smile on his lips. He leaned towards me and before I could hide it, he read the words out loud.

"Looking at you is like having the sun right in front of me.

I´m blinded by your beauty."

I thought my heart would give out at that moment, but he just grinned at me with twinkling eyes and asked who these two poetic sentences were addressed to. I said back then that it was about a character from a movie, because he wouldn't have bought anything else. After all, he had known me for so long that he knew about every crush I ever had, so choosing a boy from school would have been out of question.

But he never found out that my inspiration was actually him.

However, when I clear my thoughts and turn to look at him now, a visible frown is attached all over his beautiful features. I decide to put my arm around his arm, the typical pose for a married couple, so he isn´t able to get away from me and I can convince him to hang out. With the aim that I can lighten up his sadness.

Unfortunately now, much to my discomfort, he's looking at me with raised eyebrows, which is why I finally bring up the sensitive topic.

"So, something is clearly bothering you and I will take it as my duty to change your miserable mood. Don´t protest, because we are going to my place and I will take care of you with lots of ice cream. How does that sound?" I see a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, he signs but then quietly nods. And when we arrive at my house, luckily my parents are still at work, I turn the key and let us in. He takes off his jacket, my eyes secretly wander to him and I notice, while my heart is pounding, that he wears my favorite sweater. A white one with a blue hood.

He fixes his hair, that always need to look perfect and I smile lightly, because I love every time that I can get on his nerves, when I ruffle through it. He throws himself on the sofa and while I turn on the heater and go into the kitchen to get the ice cream, he has already made himself comfortable with a blanket. When I see him hugging a pillow, still scowl on his face, I sit myself right next to him. But as he keeps his attention at the black TV, I notice his exhausted figure and decide to speak up.

"Alex, come on. Talk to me, something is obviously going on. I don´t like it, when you are sad. Plus, I really miss your smile." My hand rests on his shoulder, lightly stroking the hair on the back of his neck, because I know he has a weakness for physical touch. When I see him struggling to keep up his act, I approach him and whisper "you can tell me anything, you know that right? I would never judge you."

Again, he signs loudly, but finally looks at me. His eyes are searching for mine and now that his attention is focused completely on me, I suddenly feel uneasy.

"D-did I do something?" My nerves are getting thinner by the second. I hate to upset him. Probably because I love seeing him happy so much.

"No, it´s-" his hand brushes over his face. "It is complicated." I'm still trying to understand, why he can't tell me what's going on.

"You didn´t do something illegal, didn´t you? I mean, I would still be your best friend, but I would have to make up a story, why I'm visiting you in prison-" at that, he quietly laughs and shakes his head.

"It´s legal, even though I feel like it shouldnt be." Now I'm curious and scared at the same time.

"Please, tell me. I´m dying to know." I try to put on my best puppy dog look, even though it probably looks pretty stupid.

A few seconds later, he slowly raises his hand and places it on my cheek, gently stroking my skin, while still holding the eye contact. His gesture leaves me speechless. I mean we cuddled every now and then during a movie or I've fallen asleep on him. I've also kissed him on the cheek once while doing a chore, but otherwise we always kept a decent distance. The fact that he's coming so close to me now is catching me off guard.

"You...you would tell me if you like someone, right?" His question surprises me.

"Yeah, of course. You now, that I can barely keep something from you. You always know what I get you for your birthday, because I can´t resist, when you keep asking me about it." His hand slowly sneaks into mine. My eyes wander to our laps. I feel myself getting more and more confused.

"Alex, what´s going on? I don´t hide anything from? Do you think otherwise?" I feel a pang in my heart as I look into his eyes.

"I heard a rumor" he begins to say and I draw my eyebrows together at his words. He never considers any rumors, because most of the time they are false anyway.

"And?" I want him to continue.

"It was about you and-" hopefully not about the fact that I'm in love with you, just let it stay my secret.

"-Cole." What?

"What?" He signs, looking away from me.

"Someone said, he heard you talking about how in love you were with him or something. That you prefer him over me." He averts his eyes so he's no longer looking at me. I almost laugh at this ridiculous statement.

"Do you really believe that? That I would prefer Cole over you? My funny and kind, but sometimes very very stupid best friend? You really think, I hang out with you in every free second, that I have, because I like your brother? Who is by the way, not even close on my list of people I would visit in prison." I'm glad he didn't do anything illegal and it's just about a stupid rumor. But now, I still have to convince him, that it is in fact just a rumor.

He is quiet for a moment, but when he speaks up, I almost laugh at his question.

"Where am I on your list?" His eyes look into mine and now I'm the one taking his hands.

"Alex" I start to speak in a gentle voice "you will always be my number one, you hear me? I don´t think, I like another person in this world or in this universe as much as I like you. Sometimes, it feels like you are literally the reason, that the earth revolves. Because for me, my world revolves around you. I enjoy every second, I spent with you and I would never, ever trade this for even a minute with Cole. Okay? Never. I promise."

I finally see his shoulders relax and a genuine smile that spreads across his face. When I nudge him on the shoulder, he laughs.

"You, big dummy. I thought, you would tell me, you robbed a bank or something."

"Oh, I would never dare. You would kick my ass." We smile at each other in silence.

But I still want to know, how it comes, that he would believe something so ridiculous.

"So, why did you think, I would prefer Cole over you?" It hurts a little to think, that he believes he´s not that important for me.

"Because" he begins to say, gesturing with his hands "the Cole effect exits and all that. Every girl falls for his charm or whatever. I can´t compete with him." Something I will never understand. How he always makes himself look bad in comparison to his older brother.

"Well, for the matter, you affect me with your smart and kind soul. And I think my heart could bear it a lot better, if you would not look like a dream come true."

He's silent for a moment and I begin to panic, when he suddenly looks at me with a nervous expression.

"Can I- I mean, I think I´m going to say something really concerning. And it will affect our friendship, like a lot. So, just let me say it." Since that means, that he wants to talk about something important, I stay quiet. Nevertheless, still holding his hand for support.

He exhales heavily, but then looks directly at me. "I know you for as long as I can remember, you were by my site since the second I walked on this earth. You know, quite literally, because we were in the same kindergarden group. You were my first friend and I remember so many moments, that will forever exist in my memory. And...in my heart. Because you seem to have a say in what my heart wants and it feels like it wants you, for some time now. I know you are my best friend, but I cant imagine someone else being so connected in my life. In everything I do, everything I am. You support my decisions, even if you don´t like them. When you force me to watch rom-coms with you and the characters talk about finding their soulmate, doing all these cheesy things, I realize I want that too. With you. Since watching the Notebook three weeks ago, I wake up every day and wish that you would lay next to me. So, I could-"

He leans forward and with a shy smile, that makes my heart burst with happiness, he kisses me. It´s a feeling, I never want to miss again.

"-kiss you. It would be the first thing I would do in the morning."

He tucks a strand of hair behind my ears.

"I would-" his hands move to my waist and pull me onto his lap. "-make you sit right here and whisper all the things I adore about you. Like-" he kisses my forehead, I feel his lips across my face. I close my eyes and enjoy being so close to him. He leans further towards me, his lips brush over my neck and leaves a kiss there.

He mutters a few words, that I -much to my dislike- can´t understand. But I´m too caught up in his embrace to ask about it.

But then, he seems to get more confident and when he speaks again, I almost tear up.

"I love you. As my best friend, my heart, my love, my person. If you let me. I'll be yours, if you want to be mine."

I kiss him again, letting the tears flow, because I don´t know what else I could do to show my happiness. When we break apart, I look at him. A lovesick feeling inside my chest.

We're holding each other in our arms, but just a few seconds pass until his curiosity wins and he turns to me.

"That quote, that you wrote a few weeks ago, about someone being like the sun for you. Who was it about? Because you did not, just for once, talked about a fictional character. I would remember." Okay, I didn't expect that.

His beautiful eyes continue to look at me, encouraging me to come out with the truth. I nervously smile, tracing the lines in his hand.

"As you said, you ever looked at someone and just thought: This is my person? Someone, you want to have in your life, no matter, if it´s just a friend, a boyfriend or maybe even a best friend." I look at him, searching in his eyes, that he knows how I feel. Then I continue.

"Someone who makes you smile just by existing. Or someone who has a shitty humor, but he delivers his jokes so perfect, it makes you laugh anyway. Someone, who holds my heart and my mind in his hands, even if he doesnt know it."

"What´s he like?" His eyes are curious, but to my surprise, he seems irritated by the thought, that I could be in love with someone. Someone, who isnt him. You big, big, idiot.

"He's kind, has a fascination for fantasy books and for riding horses, playing baseball or fighting creatures in video games. He doesn't know, why I have a soft spot for sweet, gentle and caring characters, even though he is my inspiration for writing them."

His lips part in surprise.

"He's my everything. Sometimes it makes me sad, because I can´t love someone else, the same way. But then, I look at him and I feel like, why do I even want to love someone else, when he exits." I pause for a moment.

"When you exist."

My words make him speechless, but he continues to hold me close to his heart.

"For a long time, I didnt even know I had feelings for you too, Alex. You were always like a second home for me.

You are someone I trust the most and who I rely on in any kind of situation. You make me laugh and you´re always there for me. At first, I didnt notice my change of feelings. Because you kept being my safe place, but as I grew up, I realized that nothing mattered the way, you matter to me.

Sometimes, when I look at you, it feels like I have met my other soul or that maybe, we share the same. Nothing in this world is as important to me than you or your feelings. Maybe it wasnt clear enough for you to see, but I am in love with you.

Your existence in this world is so special and like nothing else, I could ever dream of. Because you are my dream, the most-dearest one."

[bonefall]

what do you of "the man who sold the world" for fallenleaf? friend is getting me into nirvana and i cant do anything without thinking of the Beasts

Hmm... honestly? I think it fits other characters much better!

Man Who Sold The World always reads to me as like... a dangerous character, could be a demon, could be an evil parent, could be a more literal villain in some kind of story, who has unambiguously gotten its ass kicked and banished. In its defeat, it realizes that it can turn it around; by trying to convince one of their Victims to join them.

And succeeding.

(and it's why Nirvana's version is my favorite, Cobain's voice is just the right amount of hoarse that makes me feel like the Victim Character has lost a lot of sleep over it. Vulnerable and open to the offer of the Villain, possibly on the brink of desperation in their own life. It has that sort of angsty-young-adult madness that makes choosing bad decisions sooo much easier. Bowie's and Ure's versions are also fantastic, but imo they're a lot more dreamlike, like the victim is being more entranced than convinced!)

The song isn't about breaking out of that cycle. It's about "laughing and shaking his hand," returning home almost unaware of any change. But over many years, in tiny little ways that add up into even bigger ones, slowly the Victim becomes another man who sold the world.

They doesn't even realize when they died alone along their quest, just that it must have been long, long ago.

Some of that fits Fallenleaf, but it's not quite the same vibe. She killed Ashfur in revenge. She sought out Sol and took his deal for power, and tried to kill her own brother. She subjugated an entire Ancient Lake society-- and the only thing she can really blame Sol for is how it got bored of her and kicked her out of her own body.

Those were things she did. And they're things she lives with. Trickery was less a part of it than she might have wanted to believe at some point in her long, guilty life.

NATURALLY I'm inspired by Cheecat's really great animation they made with Brambleclaw and Tigerstar, and I think it fits Tigerstar to a T, but who I always think of is Hawkfrost.

Especially in BB, where RiverClan raised him to lean into his legacy. Not Clanborn, from a young age he had to work twice as hard, prove that he and his sister were "worth" keeping around, told that they were only protected by that diluted Tigerkin blood that trickles through their veins and that Tigerstar was an ideal to live up to...

Only the thinnest veneers of, "Be what he was, without his flaws" to hold him back from fully adopting everything his father ever stood for. A father he never met, who hurt his mother, who killed and traumatized countless clanmates.

And then Hawkfrost sees him. The song kicks in. "I thought you died alone, a long long time ago."

"Not me. I never lost control." It means that those "flaws," they weren't so bad. "You're face to face with the man who sold the world" and I can teach you the value of that.

He leaves that exchange feeling warm. "I laughed and shook his hand." He goes through the destruction of the forest (looking for form), the great journey (and land), and eventually finds himself in all the conflicts of TNP. No one knows at what point he stopped being the noble young warrior who stood up for Reedpaw against his tormenters, or when wanting to protect his sister became abuse and belittling.

But at some point, he died alone, long before his heart stopped beating on that stake.

He ends up in the Dark Forest with his father, preparing for the change that's coming in OotS, but not by the end of the song. At the end of the song his father has successfully dragged him down to his level, singing the same tune, trying to pretend that his dad getting him pointlessly shish-kebabed for a petty personal dispute wasn't a critical L to the chest.

[peachyfnaf]

Morning peachy!

Happy Friday, I was scrolling through your blog and literally didn't realize you were the one that made the Nexus design that lives in my head rent free. I love your art and vibes ❤️🥰❤️

I'm at the part when Old Moon is back and met Earth it's SO AWKWARD

I don't like it (not mad he's back but it's just the entire lead up has me upset)

I was watching Baby Moon/New Moon and Earth like you said and idk, I think it's really messed up how everything went down. Earth seemed to jump to a lot of conclusions about New Moon and she seemed really upset but also I don't think what New Moon said to push her away was actually that mean. Maybe it's just me?

I also didn't like how Sun went to others for help because he's so lost on what to do with New Moon and everyone was just "let's kill him"

I'm so messed up over this....

What's your thoughts on this? I want to know your observations 👀✍️

First off,

SNIFFS. bro your art and your vibes are INCREDIBLE so that compliment means a whole lot to me. tysm <3

Second off, oh-ho-ho. my friend, you've just opened up pandora's box for me. this response is gonna be a long one, let's see how incomprehensible it will get-

(Also, just so anyone who doesn't know me knows, I'm currently not watching the security breach shows due to a bit of burnout, but mostly due to me not liking the current sams arc. I'm just avoiding it for the sake of me mental health. sooo if I bring up something that has already been acknowledged/fixed/changed in canon, forgive me <3. for sams, I have knowledge up to about "brothers REUNITE in vrchat", so. just go into this knowing that lol)

OKAY. AHEM. DISCLAIMERS DONE. HERE WE GO.

Don't have much to say about "I don't like it (not mad he's back but it's just the entire lead up has me upset)" other than I 1000% agree. I (again, personally) actually don't like that he's back, mostly because the lead up to O.M's return felt very rushed, it makes O.M's original sacrifice for K.C completely in vain, and O.M has essentially just taken N.M's role in the family now that N.M is where he is now, as Nexus. it was all very frustrating to see happen.

And, whooh, I can go on and on and on about how O.M has shown many signs that he hasn't actually improved as a person/brother as much as he claims to have, but I think that harpers on spoiler territory for you Sab so I'll save that for another day dkjfhsdfsd but as for the SECOND part of your statement...

"...I think it's really messed up how everything went down. Earth seemed to jump to a lot of conclusions about New Moon and she seemed really upset but also I don't think what New Moon said to push her away was actually that mean. Maybe it's just me?"

IT 👏 IS 👏 NOT 👏 JUST 👏 YOU 👏

From what I can tell, actually a lot of people agree with you!!! (me included). this leads to kind of a divide in-fandom between people who are on the families side, and those who are on New Moon's/Nexus'. and from what I've seen, even the people who aren't on either side just kind of find Nexus pathetic and emo. which is 100% fair and understandable, considering his "villain arc" was built off of shakey ground lol. AND while I am 100% a N.M/Nexus apologist, that wont stop me from acknowledging that he fucked up bad in some places sdkfjhsdjfk really, everyone messed up a lot to get into the situation they are now story-wise. it's not just one sides fault, and it's draining seeing people trying to make the dilemma one of black and white morals when it is 20x more complex than that. OKAY MINI RANT OVER, ONTO WHAT YOU REFERENCED SKFJDHSDF so. did Earth have every right to be hurt by what New Moon said? oh, 100% yeah, her brother just insulted and demeaned her to her face, ofc it would hurt.

But what really confuses me is how personally she took his insults??? Right before, genuinely, right before that confrontation; Sun warned her that Moon might say something he didn't mean. he warned her, because he knows from experience.

and yet Earth took it to heart??? w. why??? she knows a lot about mental health stuff, or she's supposed to, right??? surely she'd understand that it's a very common trauma/fear response for people to become aggressive and lash out, even against those who they love and care for??? right???

And I also agree that she was jumping to conclusions, or at least misinterpreting N.M's goals/intentions/reasonings. when N.M called her "not a real therapist", she took the greatest offense to that. but. the thing is. he wasn't??? wrong???? did he say it in a rude as hell and aggressive way??? yup, no denying that! but he's not wrong.

Earth isn't a licensed therapist. she is an animatronic with downloaded protocols and processes given to her by the Creator in attempts to try and be a therapist. but she literally admits it to herself multiple times in the show that she's not a real therapist, she just does her best. so it always confused me why she took N.M's statement to heart, because genuinely, for him, her best (or more specifically, her kind and patient style of therapy) wasn't enough. which is v tragic, much ow, big pain.

At the time of being confronted, N.M was exhausted, desperate, spiraling, hallucinating, not wanting to ask for help, lying to both himself and the family, in mourning- basically holding on by a thread. so when cornered, (literally, he physically was cornered in P&S) he lashed out and said mean things to be able to push those he cared about away and "get to safety". it was wrong of him to do, yes, but considering everything we knew about how Moon's (both New and Old) react to stressful situations from prior tragedies, it was to be expected.

BUT THEN??? EVERYONE JUST KIND OF GAVE UP ON HIM AFTER THAT????? he made one mistake. one. one mistake. and suddenly everyone was all like "alright, we've got to kill him." I??? DOES ANYONE ELSE THINK THAT'S A LITTLE BIT FUCKED UP??? HELLO?????

I'm not denying that N.M was becoming unstable. I'm not denying that he was becoming aggressive. he was, and that's why he needed help. he needed someone to stick by him even as he was pushing them away, to love him even at his lowest, and no one did. Imo, at least Sun has the excuse of being traumatized by Old Moon's past actions, which could explain why he was so desperate for everyone else's input, but Earth and Lunar??? Monty and Puppet too??? hello???? why the hell are you doing your brother/friend (who is doing all of this TO GET SOLAR BACK BECAUSE HE WANTS TO MAKE THEM ALL HAPPY, MIND YOU) like this???? HELLO????

And I'm also bringing up that Nexus still hasn't really. done anything??? in the current point of the story??? the worst thing he's done so far is rough up O.M a bit. but other than that, all he did was say cruel/threatening things to/about the other Celestials. he's yet to act on.. anything?? he hasn't killed a single person. and you know who have killed people?? Sun, Lunar, Solar, Old Moon, Puppet, Monty... and yet?? some people see him as an irredeemable monster???? it's. strange to me. it's obvious he's hurting, it's obvious he still cares. and he's literally killing himself to try and make the pain that comes with caring stop- isolating himself, poisoning himself, and literally ripping out his own emotions, idk guys, those don't seem like the actions of an irredeemable villain, but maybe it's just me sdkfljhsdf

As expected, this turned into an essay. BUT I'm done now, me-me needs to go take a shower gkfdjhhfgjsd thank you for the excuse to yap, Sabronda!!! I love New Moon/Nexus so much they're my ultimate cringefail. I'm certain they have an edgy Sonic OC somewhere in that evil lab of theirs

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

I guess the thing that I just still do not get about ships that focus on including Izzy with Stede and Ed is it just seems like none of them would be having fun.

Now, one of the big reasons I could never enjoy steddyhands fics in the first place is just because they always seemed very out of character, but I can see how other people might want to explore this dynamic. I think it was Noa @/jellybeanium124 who said that the biggest struggle with Izzy-centric ships with Ed and Stede is it has to be a balancing act to change the characters the least while tweaking them, and Izzy always has to be dumbest one for it to work, and that rings so true to me. Otherwise, I remember giving a few Izzy-centric ships a shot when the fandom was still new, and I was just getting frustrated because if you present Izzy as the one who's in the right, you wind up with a story where Stede's always in the wrong for being soft and feminine and gay, and Ed's just lazy and wild and unmanageable. If Izzy's right then you wind up with a story that is just very mean to and misreads our main characters.

So, keeping in mind that it's always at least a bit ooc, it's certainly not for me, but as Noa says, if you tweak the characters enough, I could see how people could enjoy it. I think it's hardest to make Ed and Izzy work in canon, given everything about them, but for your fluffy modern AUs that change their entire histories with each other? Probably never for me but have fun, I guess.

But the thing that presents an eternal stumbling block for me is I just cannot see how the three of them in a relationship would be anything other than pretty much a personalized torture chamber for everyone involved. Stede, in canon, literally never thinks about Izzy except to get annoyed with him, and he has sooo little tolerance for Izzy's abrasive and bullying behavior (this does smooth out a bit in s2, but he's still kinda mostly just annoyed with him). Ed and Izzy's relationship is complicated and messy, but Izzy admits on his deathbed to having been knowingly abusing Ed for years, and if they were in a relationship Ed would constantly be in some sort of "haha this guy reminds me of my dad a lot. Weird. I don't need to unpack that. I wonder why I feel like I need to get his approval and care so much about what he thinks of me. It's probably nothing." And meanwhile, Ed and Stede are the joined-at-the-hip kind of soulmates who love to laugh and play and have fun and be silly together, and I can't think of anything Izzy would enjoy less than being involved in that.

So Stede and Izzy are both in constant states of annoyance and frustration and Ed's daddy issues are getting shaken up like a bottle of soda every two minutes. Sounds very stressful is all I'm saying, literally cannot imagine one day that wouldn't turn into Stede and Izzy in a screaming match while Ed cries under a blanket

[blackraged]

MORTAL KOMBAT 1 Thoughts Pt1.

[❌❌contains SPOILERS❌❌]

I've been waiting for this for such a long time and we finally got it. Now with MK1 being practically a full reboot, A LOT of changes are to follow. So here are my current thoughts in order how the story went:

Chapter 1

Kung Lao and Raiden being practically brothers is my fave thing in the world.

Half of the MK1 boys are full on babygirl and honestly? I love that for them. Except for Shang Tsung because that feels very much illegal.

That last scene with Madam Bo felt like a fcking fever dream.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN KUAI LIANG IS SCORPION? WHAT THE FCK DO YOU MEAN?? WHERE IS HANZO?? That feels very wrong. Only Hanzo is allowed to say "gET OVER HERE" that is HIS iconic line. I'm not sure if I like this change.

I KNEW the boys were pulling their punches. I KNEW IT. The entire fight felt so awkward and staged. For a short moment I legit thought NRS pushed down on their fighting animation.

Chapter 2

Sooo...Johnny is a failed Actor now? What happened to the glamour? That's not very Cage behavior.

Okay but I love love LOVED Liu Kang literally showing up in front at Johnny's Door all serious, and Johnny being Johnny.

What made NRS choose to paint Kenshi as a former Yakuza?? I mean the idea isn't too bad, because it would make sense for him to be searching for Sento to free his family. But I still prefer his revenge timeline more. Hell, even him being a cocky arse warrior trying to fight anyone and everyone made more sense.

Chapter 3

Idk why but I half expected Kano to show up in this chapter. The trailers made it look like he was at the Wu Shi academy

Liu Kang practically pathed the way for human Raiden to be champion and it shows. I'd like to think it's out of respect for former God Raiden from before, who practically raised Liu Kang and was a father figure to him.

General Shao is so fine, I can't. He was hot before, but now he's so....so..... y'know?

Liu Kang really wanted to give Kitana the loving Fam she deserved qwq

Everyone is so mean to Li Mei :(( I feel so bad for her

Reiko tho😳😳😳

Raiden has a cruuush~ Raiden has a cruuush~ unexpected but cute. I wonder what Liu Kang thinks about this.

Chapter 4

Johnny and Sonya are forever iconic...but Johnny and Kenshi? I didn't know I needed it until I had it. Their bickering is GOLD. They're so married.

Wealthy merchant Baraka???

Props to Quan Chis new look. He looks like a clown escaped asylum. Very uncanny.

Are they...are they trying to redeem Shang Tsung? No,that would be way too obvious. Plus that intro scene with Krusty Kronika makes it super sus.

Called it.

Chapter 5

KENSHIS BLINDFOLD WAS PART OF JOHNNYS ARMOR. Y'all NRS knew what they were doing. I am eating this up

I adore Reptiles human form. Very baby girl, very cute.

So if Tarkat is transmitted via physical contact, wouldn't that mean that the guys would have it too when they fought the prisoners in this chapter? You even see Johnny react in Chapter 4 to that fact when Baraka told them. Could it be that it's not infectious since they're clones/experiments?

So help me out here... Baraka is strong enough to rip the cages open that seem to be made of the same metal as their cell door, but failed to open that? Plot, I know, but c'mon.

REPTILE IS EVEN MORE BABY OMGGGGG. Pls let me hold him,, poor baby boy,, his sadness is literally tugging at my heart strings.

I love how honorable Baraka is. This is great character improvement. For a beast (visually) to be showing mercy. It's like he accepts who he is now but still holds onto that human (edenian) side of him.

Stopping here for tonight, but will continue tomorrow. So far it's going great but I have a hard time remembering which of some stories in this timeline are kept the same as from the previous timeline.

I'm still pleasantly overwhelmed by the amount if babygirls.

[twopoppies]

hi gina :)

could i share some good news with you?

i’m asexual and i’ve always had the kind of mindset that being with someone would never come easy to me because of my sexuality, so dating people and going up to people i like is something that i’ve kept distance from, it just never seemed realistic and i didn’t want to face the rejection.

so i’ve been in college for a while now and there’s this boy in my class that i’ve been eyeing since the beginning of the semester. he’s very awkward and adorable, and his eyes are to absolutely die for. i’ve been in a group with him once, but we didn’t speak. i’ve just lingered from a distance because of my fear of rejection.

i don’t know why, but as the weeks went on i literally could not take it and i had to go up to him. i just felt this pull, like it was something that the universe was pushing me to do. so i did, and he gave me his number! we’ve been talking for a bit over a month and he’s sooo sweet. i didn’t bring up sex with him because i just think it’s weird to throw that topic into someone’s face when you just met them, so i just waited it out for a few weeks. i just really didn’t want this incredible feeling to end, and i wasn’t ready to face the rejection that i could possibly receive from him.

then suddenly we were talking about his sexuality, and he brought up that HE was on the ace spectrum and i literally froze. i was do unbelievably happy, and we ended up having a 30 minute conversation about sex and how we both don’t want it.

i don’t know how i found him, but oh my god i’m so happy i did. i don’t know what the future holds for us, but i do know that he has genuinely changed my entire perspective on everything that surrounds my sexuality. i’m no longer carrying that mass amount of weight that i felt with my label, or the dread of what i thought my future would be.

i just really wanted to share this with you, hope that’s okay 💝

Oh, honey. This is such a wonderful message. I’m so incredibly happy for you. Regardless of what the future holds for the two of you together, it’s a beautiful thing that you followed your intuition and that now you can see there’s a future for you in which you can be loved and happy. Thank you so much for sharing the story with me. 💜

[risingscorchingsuns]

Hi Leon!! It’s princeblue but my main acc!! Dropping into ask what you think Genya’s and kyojurous, and maybe even senjurou’s dynamic would be like? You said you interested in being moots sooo I’m taking an opportunity to have a convo hehe

omg hello!!!! thank u for sending this i literally have no idea how to start conversations lmaoo

i think it depends on how much they know about each other/where Genya is in his character development! there’s a LOT of factors here so im gonna try and turn it into a formula because that’s my favorite analysis format lol

i don’t know if this is going to make any sense because I don’t know how to do actual math but breaking things into variables makes it easier to sort them in my brain

let’s say K = kyojuro and G = genya. x = how much kyojuro knows about genya, and y = how much genya knows about kyo. a = pre-tanjiro genya and b = post-tanjiro genya. (i assume this would make a difference bc tanjiro makes him less aggressive lol.) Going to leave Senjuro out for now because that’s too many variables for a post that I don’t plan to cross-reference 💀

There’s also the fact that canonically, post-Tanjiro Genya would never meet Kyojuro, but I didn’t think about that until I was nearly done with this post so I’ll leave that variable in as a hypothetical. aG in this scenario can be a control group I guess lol

let’s take (K)x + (aG)y as a base formula, and solve for the dynamic there. assuming x is “Kyojuro knows nothing except Genya’s last name”, and y is “Genya knows Kyojuro as a Hashira and nothing else”, it’s safe to say their dynamic would be mostly professional. Kyojuro, knowing Genya’s last name, would no doubt link him to Sanemi. But Sanemi fervently denies having any siblings, so Kyojuro would likely try to probe Genya for info, due to his brotherly instinct. He’d want to know if something was wrong, so he could help if possible. Assuming we’re dealing with aG, Genya would shirk away the questions, and Kyojuro would back off out of respect. I don’t think Genya would be too rude about it due to Kyojuro being a Hashira, but definitely a bit more irritable and snarky than bG would be.

bG would feel hurt at the mention of Sanemi, but I believe he’d be more open to talking about it. If Genya opens up to Kyojuro, I think they have high potential to form a brotherly relationship given enough time. Kyojuro would feel protective of Genya, and, whether consciously or not, may link him to Senjuro and begin to act brotherly and/or protective of him as well. If Kyojuro knows that Genya eats demons to make himself stronger at the cost of his own health, he’d probably be horrified- food is very important to Kyojuro and he would be mortified at the idea of eating a demon to gain its powers, especially if it hurts the consumer. I’m not sure if he’d try to stop Genya or not, but he’d definitely be concerned about him.

Either way, I think the key variable here is whether or not Genya lets his guard down long enough for Kyojuro to learn his story- then I think their relationship would evolve from professional to a lot more brotherly. Kyojuro can’t entirely help it- it’s in his nature to protect, it’s literally been taught to him since he was old enough to understand. He would want to protect Genya regardless, but learning his story, his sacrifices, and his actions going forward, Kyojuro would almost certainly take him under his own wing if given the chance. I believe Genya would remind Kyojuro of Senjuro- someone who doesn’t fight traditionally, but is so so strong in their own regard. They aren’t exactly the same, but they have enough similarities that i believe Kyo would definitely associate the two.

how knowing Genya would change his perception of Sanemi is also an interesting concept but I’m going to save that for another post lol

anyway pls feel free to plug in different variables for me to analyze???? id like to do them all here but unfortunately i am writing this post so i can procrastinate on my schoolwork so im gonna call it here lol

[cosmik-homo]

Running here to say someone JUST told me they will read death gate, so the pyramid scheme is working :)

I'm really glad I read it, I had a lot of fun! The final books didn't quite hit the mark for me but as a whole it was a really nice series :) what are your favorite parts if you don't mind me asking?

Yayyyy my empire grows!

I've been really rotating in my mind how to answer this, for basically the whole day. There's very much a case here of "the thing you latch on to as a 12 year old is gonna stay with you forever", and this series helped me unlock a lot of things that have become central to my life, from grappling with sexuality and gender in my tweens and teens to. Very actively opening the door to question the Zionist assumptions I grew up with.

And I do think that despite certain pitfalls (looking at you pryan) the politics of the series are pretty cool, for a fantasy shlock- the validation of rage and vengence instincts on the side of the opressed as real and human (as opposed to bestial or barbaric) while also being unconstructive to creating actually better futures to any sides involved, and the necessity of solidarity and empathy and models of shared life and whatnot are all kind of relevant to what I believe and do with local circles.

But more than that, I really love the character dynamics. Haplo's arc is just a really good examination and deconstruction of fantasy masculinity tropes, and its beautiful and cool and explains how toxic masculinity as we refer to it today functions very well for something written before the phrase was coined.

And Alfred...

Ok, I am entirely incapable of being impartial about Alfred "dopamine creator in chief" Montbank but before I go down that rabbithole, i think what I really want to say here is I often feel the way i recommend or advocate for the death gate cycle in itself kind of ruins for others one of the things I like about it the best and the most and find delightful, which is the entire Bait And Switch ordeal.

It's unique, it's fun, it manages Layers, and it's so interesting in it's meaning.

AUTHORS NOTE: I am going to literally physically cut off the incoming alfred rant when it reaches 300 words. i will let myself write it as much as i want cuz god knows i need the serotonin, this is my version of chasing my own tail, and then just cut it at that cuff.

~~~

What Alfred means and represents and does and is in the books is so cool, and it's another thing that being fixated on dgc changed for me. I used to enjoy star wars the way a normal person would, once upon a time. It was Alfred-Majoring that made me c3po crazy. cuz its like, what kind of people are important to a story, what kind of abilities and attitudes and emotions and symptoms are "normal" and "good" to have on screen or page, as opposed to how we as people react to traumatizing or difficult situations in real life? He's an active expriment in discomfort with the pathetic in yourself and in others, in empathy, in being allowed to exist and be loved and meaningful Ugly and Weird. yeah in some ways its just an ugly duckling but. the whole swan/dragon side coming to the foorefront doesnt make the duck not there, hes just an extremly wonderful and powerful ugly, neurotic swan and its awesome.

The fact that being outside a system because youre too weak or odd to belong or manage to fit in it brings you unique opportunity to question if it's necessary or good.

I read a lot of margaret weis interviews and she never directly talked about writing alfred but she does often mention she doesnt read a lot of sf/f- her favorite authors are actually dickens and austen, and between that and the prufrock connection tm I wouldn't be surprised if alfred was purposefully designed to be a Literary character dropped into a SF/F story- and its sooo interesting in how it interacts with the genre convetions of power/magic/masculinity/trauma/danger etc.

~~~

OK that 278 words but I'm gonna cut it off now, I finished my entire coffee and then some crackers. normal behavior ensues-

On a less Analytical viewpoint of "favorite parts" I will say that the plot, dynamic and Imagery of fire sea is the one I find myself returning to most on a sf/f level - being reminded of it whenever necromantic societies come up, or Life Changing Enemies To Working Together Field Trips, or whatnot- Serpent Mage is i think the best constructed and I am often thinking about the social dynamics Alfred experiences there, and I have a deep and unbridled affection and obsession to the iconic mess of a jumble of a novel that is seventh gate because. sometimes, you just need dragontorture/ xars murderous paternal bedwarding / ghost handhold/ psychicthreesome/ dog based ressurection / closing the gate/ epilogue with children serotonin in life. that was balls to the walls the entire way through. and it rocked.

As i recently explained to a very cool person who ran a lecture on deathgate in a local convention: "When i was thirteen i was like oh i love basing my identity on dragonlance lets go for a fun ride. ooh its kinda slashy yayy. and then the existential teenage conditions hit and i started appreciating the Mental Health Representation, and then the panic attack representation looked me in the eye and said Become Leftist. NOW. we were not joking about the opening your worldview arc it isnt a metaphor this is directly about you. YOU need to fight the horrors in a radical kindness and peace way, even though you have crippling fear, right now. and then i did".

AND there's dogs, and dragons, and gay people devotion. so,

[yellowhollyhock]

Why do people think it’s mean? I am referring to your tags on that 2003 post. I thought the humor was funny I dunno I guess I am not understanding what the meanness is. They are teenagers teens can be jerks.

post and my tags on it were 03 season 6 and 12 season 1 but I'm answering about 03 because I've watched it more recently and more often

First thing: it isn't a criticism of the characters (who are fictional and would be very pointless for me to nitpick their behavior) but a comment on the writing

And specifically how the writing is different because it's from that era. Mean-spirited humor is always a thing, but it was popular and mainstream at that time in particular (and having been a teenager at the time who didn't find it funny or participate and was therefore labeled as--well, mean, I guess in a way, or at least a stick in the mud, I have some strong feelings and biases against it).

(That said, not being a teenager anymore and having a bit more media literacy, I do want to add, humor changes, what's socially polite changes, it's not the end of the world, and by saying I hate what the writers did, I don't condemn them as people, we were all there together and we move forward together. Personally I still find season 6 enjoyable, just have certain issues with it. Which is what I will be focusing on since it's what you asked about)

So, the point: in earlier seasons the boys are mean to each other in ways that are believable, match their maturity level, and serve a purpose in the story to show them responding to stress or teach us about their characters. Sometimes they cross lines simply making fun of each other, but there are always underlying story beats. It isn't just the writers saying 'look this one's dumb let's laugh at him'

Season 6, especially with Mikey and Raph, feels like the writers are using them as comic relief in a very mean-spirited way. Sometimes that's reflected in the way Splinter, Leo, or Donny treat them, but it's also sometimes just the way the plot moves to exaggerate and poke fun at their flaws, ignoring character growth from past seasons.

When Raph used to call Mikey shell for brains and Mikey called Raph ugly, they were being teenagers. It was a thoughtful piece of characterization showing that being close friends doesn't make them perfect, being isolated is hard and they lash out at each other sometimes. Mikey was especially hard on Raph when he was having to share his space with April; it served a story purpose of showing the difficulty for the turtles in letting another person into their life (not something they've had to do often). I'm blanking on times Raph was harder on Mikey but the point is that he wasn't needlessly mean, sometimes it was played for a joke but it also had a purpose in the narrative.

Season 6? Oh it's sooo funny how no one wants to go watch wrestling with Raph, something he has literally wanted his entire life, btw don't forget he hates the future, isn't it fun to watch the angry turtle be homesick and isolated? Like Leo and Don are certainly less interested and helpful in that scene than they would be in earlier seasons, but the point is that the writers are being mean. We aren't supposed to understand Raph's brothers as being inconsiderate, we're supposed to laugh at him for being sincere and excited :/

Mikey's intelligence is also a huge example. Mikey is extremely clever and competent, but in season 6 they just constantly make him either pick on Raph or obsess over video games and forgot the rest of his character. Okay, so they flattened him a little, that happened to everyone. But it's worse because his apparent lack of intelligence is constantly made fun of. Donny makes a lot of just completely unnecessary comments that don't serve either of their character arcs, and come across much more as him speaking for the writers (and the audience, supposedly) to mock the dumb turtle.

I hate that extremely.

My brain is not in a good space for more examples. But the principle is that the type of humor popular in that era (which the op referred to) (2007ish to like 2014 I think) is, idk the best way I can describe it is emotional slapstick? mocking a character's emotions or lack of intelligence, almost creating a 'straw man' to beat on. Of course that type of humor has always and will always exist but it was a real mainstream popular thing; we don't usually call it 'literary movements' when it's shows and movies instead of writing but idk how else to explain it.

It's very much a thing in early 2012 writing as well, but I feel that sort of worked better because it landed at the beginning of the show instead of the end, so even though it may or may not have been deliberate (I honestly don't know 12 well enough to say), it worked well to play into their growing up arcs. As opposed to the 03 situation where their social maturity from the first five seasons just evaporated (and after a slow believable buildup too 😔)

tldr: the writers' humor is what I refer to as mean-spirited, not the characters. And yes I do think it's mean to mock the act of having emotions or not knowing enough information or struggling with discipline or being homesick (all things Raph and Mikey were mocked for, not just by other characters but by the narrative in a variety of ways)

[lostonmari]

SUCCESS #2 - November

Success #2 -- Everything I manifested in November

November is when I started this blog, and also ACTUALLY started applying all of the things I learned started taking affirming and thinking in my favor seriously instead of just sporadically manifesting random things here and there because I was too lazy to put in the work. I never had issues w wavering, but I was just inconsistent as fuck (Hell, I'm still inconsistent with posting on my own damn blog, yall can't possibly think I'm consistent with affirming!) So here's everything I manifested…

Manifested back my old bestfriend/ex-gf after 4 years no contact She came back, apologized for mistreating me and told me basically everything I affirmed for LMAO. and that's one of the things that gave me faith in the law because ik this girl would rather die than ever apologize to someone. Now that she's back I'm manifesting away her friends and leaving her broke down and in shambles because I'm evil and believe in revenge. yall dont know the type of bullsh*t this woman put me through. Idc if everyone is you pushed out, some people don't deserve forgiveness 🤓

My mom is walking again I successfully revised her shattered ankle without the weeks of recovery time the doctors "thought" she needed. She's literally walking around just fine now and doesn't need to wear her cast or whatever that big bulky thing was.

Manifested my brother out of jail on a time crunch Now I'm not sharing my family's whole drama online but… yea. he's out.

No more social anxiety, cured one of my mental health issues I don't wanna trauma dump or go into too much detail about my life but, yes. for anyone also working on mental health, it can be done and you won't regret trying. Life actually feels like it has meaning now and for once in all my years of life, I can actually say that I'm happy. 💗

Stopped nail biting COMPLETELY! I used to struggle with nail biting for YEARSSS whether it was out of stress, anxiety, whatever the fuck. but now it's completely gone. my nails are no longer STUBS, like theyre actually long and healthy. I didn't even affirm for this so I kinda think it came with improving my mental health since I didn't really have the issues that *triggered* nail biting anymore yk?. I'm actually the happiest about this result like yall don't understand how long I've wanted the natural french tips look 💀

[TW: Discussion of binging, discussion of food]

6. WL + Maintained weight loss! I literally changed my entire way of viewing food, and subsequently fixed my lose->gain->lose-> gain again cycle. Ever since learning LOAss If I binged I would be like: I just have a fast metabolism so that's why I'm so hungry my body is burning everything I eat so fast! and I would also tell myself calories don't matter because food is only energy. Basically, reminding myself of what Abdullah told Neville: "If you ate as I did, you would be poisoned because of your belief." (heavily paraphrased because my memory is terrible.. yes I'm working on it 😭) and it keeps me from feeling guilty abt eating. I ate SOOO MUCH food yesterday and I mean SO MUCH. I ate an entire box of cheese sticks, two large chicken sandwiches, 2 pb & j sandwiches total throughout the day, and half a tub of icecream for dessert… Yeah I was going crazy.. to the point I looked 5 months pregnant at the end of the night. Fast forward to today, my stomach is back to flat and back to normal as if it never happened. Food literally will not effect you if you believe it doesn't! This was my main focus too so I'm very proud of myself :)

Moral of the story is, never give up.

YOU decide what happens in your reality and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. There were times when I didn't want to affirm, so I didn't. If I felt lazy then I didn't consciously affirm or listen to subliminals, I just relaxed and went on about my day. I never made affirming feel like a chore. There were times when I had doubts too or thought it wouldn't work. I especially thought it wouldn't work for my mental health but I just affirmed anyway. When you're having resistance literally just know there's nothing bad that can possibly happen from believing in yourself and thinking in your favor. Just DO IT. Persist no matter what and you WILL get what you want!

I'll try to do better with posting my successes (but only ones that actually meant something big to me tbh. I don't see a point in sharing every little thing unless it was me overcoming some type of struggle) and answering messages but I refuse to download the tumblr app so yall just gotta see and hear from me whenever I feel like loading up this website. I'm just enjoying & living my life rn girl I used to dream about times like this and now I finally have them 😭

[makethosenarratorsfight]

UNRELIABLE NARRATORS; SIDE C

Kvothe Propaganda:

OKAY SO! for one thing we know for a fact that his perception of denna is different from the reality of her, but that’s the tiniest fucking TIP of the ice berg, because: WE DO NOT EVEN KNOW IF ANYTHING HE HAS TOLD US THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE COURSE OF THE STORY REALLY HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!! we know skarpi is real because chronicler knows him, we know denna is real because bast met her (if that even was the real denna) BUT WE HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE ABOUT THE ENTIRE REST OF IT !!!!!! HE COULD BE LYING OUT HIS ASS WITH EVERY WORD OUT OF HIS MOUTH!!!!!!!!! WE SIMPLY DO NOT KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LORD AND LADY I ENT EVER MET A LIAR LIKE YOU IN ME WHOLE LIFE <- ACTUAL THING SAID TO HIM WITHIN THE BOOKS, IN THE FRAME STORY, WHICH WE KNOW *IS* REAL

Kvothe (now just an innkeeper called Kote) is a man who faked his death to escape his status as a legendary hero, criminal, and villain, depending on who you ask. In the books, he admits he's lied and spread some of the more flashy legends about himself for his own purposes, but he agrees to tell his *true* life story over the course of three days. There are times he contradicts himself, brushes over details, or goes into his more extravagant deeds, but it's pretty much always in question as to how much of it is true, how much is clouded by his nostalgia for the past, and how much could be an intentional lie. I LOVE these books and I love Kvothe :)

he narrates most of the book where he is sooo good at everything and learns things very very fast and gets all the women. yeah mhm. he skips over one thing that is a huge myth because it isn't really interesting to him.

there's a frame narrative consisting of Kvothe telling the main story in order to have it recorded. there's several instances where situations are only vaguely described because Kvothe at the time wasn't mentally sound enough to remember all of them. there's also a big argument to be made for him leaving out or changing parts of his story on purpose (he even points out that, since it's his story, he's entitled to some changes if he thinks they're necessary), mostly I think he depicts his teenage self as much less of a dumbass than he actually was

Dr. John Watson Propaganda:

He literally admits that he changes his stories. "One day the true stories may be told"? Do I need to say more?

[mwagneto]

In one of his other Asks he said he discussed it with Terry something around 2006 or whatever but yeah, nothing addressing his initially - You said cuz you were there so, would you mind sharing what NG used to deny earlier?

[added paragraphs to make it easier to read]

oh brother just a lot of very classic creator homophobia before the show and then weird queerbait after s1, like before it was all about slash [sic] shippers being desperate and making shit up and generally being weirdos he tries to ignore and then after the show that turned into "no no they ARE in love but they're not gay because they don't have genders" which well. a lot of things could be said about that but let's just stick with 1. not how that works 2. there was never any talk of them being any kind of rep before the show even tho they were hyping up pollution being nonbinary

and then him literally saying stuff like he didn't make them gay because Terry's last wish on his deathbed was that he didn't. and then all the stuff about how they don't hold hands (SOMETHING THEY LITERALLY DO IN THE BOOK BTW...)/kiss because making the relationship physical or explicit would cheapen it somehow?? like the ambiguity is somehow better representation because men kissing is sooo basic and cheap and mundane and it's way better if they just sit next to each other and never touch. like constantly going on about how they're not gay because they're not men and they won't ever touch because that's icky yucky but simultaneously they're amazing representation because it's clearly a love story

but then they decide to do a second season and suddenly it's all "wait and see" and THEN they go canon and now he's claiming they were always meant to be endgame and this was planned from the very start, all the way back in the 90s. like again i could excuse the weird homophobia coz he changed his mind and made them kiss so i'd forgive him, and i'd excuse the lying coz i think it's funny as hell but the fact that he's doing both at the same time without ever taking accountability, along with how the entire fandom just believes him is sooo. like im not even mad i just genuinely feel insane coz like there's screenshots. he said these online in traceable asks and interviews it's all there. like I can't even be mad it's just so bizarre i feel like everyone got mandela effected into some universe where he was never homophobic