#but i KNOW this dude does not have the emotional intelligence to approach it in a healthy way

[willosword]

☹️

[mer-acle]

The Greek Gods, described by me:

(pls take this as hc I just have vibes)

Zeus:

That uncle that thinks they're fun at parties, but actually everybody just wants them to shut up and stop talking about the shape of the earth. Knows the truth and what's best for you (hmmm)

Poseidon:

That uncle that is perpetually absent, but very loud when he does show. Teases everyone and never notices that some of it hurts. Has slightly less unhinged ideas about the world than Zeus but is just as annoying about them.

Hades:

The uncle that at least gets how unhinged everything is. Usually has the reasonable arguments but nobody listens. Has no idea what you are up to, but at least he feels bad that he's distant. Hates family gatherings even more than the second generation.

Hera:

True professional. Made bad choices (marrying Zeus) but now guess we'll deal with it. Olympus runs because of her. Being a bastard child does not serve you well, unless what you want actively annoys Zeus, or if you know not to expect a mother figure but approach her as queen.

Demeter:

Tries to fix Olympus sometimes, but it never goes well. Perfectly agreeable until you go after the environment (honestly you go girl). Is a genuinely sweet Mom who probably cries if you get her a gift because she loves you so much. Probably will get a dog to compensate for you growing up and moving out (even if you didn't get kidnapped first)

Hestia:

The best. Always has hot chocolate and a place to unwind. Honestly everyone would be happier if they spent more time with her. Possibly the only God who genuinely knows peace.

Athena:

Oh look, the oldest and gifted too. No coincidence that there was nothing about being happy in that prophecy about her. Is naturally good at pretty much anything she tries, except feelings. Will join in with the first gen's arguments even though there's nothing to be gained, it's just hard to sit by all the bullshit when you know better.

Hephaestus:

Honestly a pretty chill dude. Just wants to make things. Every few hundred years he'll make something evil-scientist-y so Olympus remembers he's not a doormat. Would have coined the word introvert if Hades hadn't beaten him to it.

Aphrodite:

Smarter than you think. Torn between being exactly what everyone sees her as and being anything but. Don't mistake love for harmony, this girl holds her ground and just bc she has emotional intelligence does not mean she won't punch where it really stings.

Ares:

They really screwed this guy over, he's just doing his job. Yes, he will kill you, but not if you're unarmed. Honest, strong, straightforward, and can be gentle as long as not on the battlefield. Give this big man some appreciation and self-esteem, by Styx!

Artemis:

A mythic bitch. Possibly the first ever activist, making a point of breaking gender norms. Smart, capable, and independent. Her views can be a little extreme at times, but you can't deny that running around the woods with a bunch of wild nymphs lesbians imo is massive lifegoals

Apollo:

Fabulous. Cannot pick a hobby to save his life. Is the most competent and put-together medic ever but outside of the tent, he cries about puppy videos. Always torn between "I am the best there ever was" and "I am a failure of a man, a god, a being!"

Hermes:

God of ADHD and we love him for it. Also a little menace who is simultaneously an amazing liar and can't keep his mouth shut when he really should (thankfully he's quick on his feet). Physically unable to take anything seriously.

Dionysus:

Does all the drugs (which is especially crazy given he can actually die) Being the youngest does actually do nothing for him. God of side quests and mayhem. Seriously mess with him and your mental health is gone forever (that explains a lot about me actually)

[gothamitelove]

yandere nolanverse scarecrow hcs?

ooh you fucking got it. sorry this took forever i forgot it was in my DRAFTS not my inbox

yandere!nolanverse!jonathan crane headcanons:

lemme just say he gets FAR worse during the dark knight rises. before that, it's still bad! but then it absolutely gets Worse.

he is every type of yandere. dude is manipulative, he's deeply possessive, he's absolutely a stalker, and he's intelligent, which makes him dangerous

he notices you before you notice him. and once he does, he's absolutely hooked.

he follows you, collecting any information he can find on you. (this is quite a lot- he knows how to get into your medical records, and the internet is a wonderful place for finding people's personal information)

he wants to study you. you're fascinating to him

he's slightly hesitant to approach you in person, because for all he knows about you, he doesn't want to be let down

and now to get weird. he will drug you. handy little example here: if you're depressed, you end up with antidepressants mixed into your drinks. it's like that

will kill the guys you go out with. they're all insolent little boys who think they get to have what's his and there's a punishment for that.

he's not the type to be swayed by emotional outbursts and certainly not the kind to feel guilty about anything he's done, so don't even try it, cause it won't work.

would kidnap you. and he keeps you comfortable but your room is essentially escape-proof. it's like babyproofing but worse and just. more so

is capable of being both kind to you and cruel when he needs to be. he can play rough, don't test him

you don't find out about his... tendencies until it's far too late. this is by design. but if you are looking for them, you'll find them in his eyes. they're always a little too intense when it comes to you.

[theghoulgirl]

Keith Kogane/Reader Headcannons- Section I

For these headcanons, this is specifically for Keith after the war. Therefore, I am going to make this an 18+ post because it would be super fucking weird if someone under that age read this. This is also the first part to an (currently) endless headcannons that I have.

Otherwise, enjoy! And please feel free to comment about any challenges against them or to apply your own for others to read! 

In a friendship…

Would befriend someone who is either affiliated to the group or would be in ‘forced’ proximity with, such as work

He would connect well with someone who is a little bit of a goober, like Hunk or Lance.

Keith would also most definitely befriend a stoner and connect to them through trauma bonding

Home dude lost a lot throughout his life, he would absolutely use drugs and alcohol recreationally. 

He also connects really well with individuals who are intelligent in ways that contrast his own. 

Keith does not befriend someone based on physicality, but whether it’s on how much of an asshole you are. The less judgemental you are, the closer he will want to befriend you 

It takes a looong time to break down his walls. Before you are able to, he’s generally awkward and aloof. But once you either prove or he can see you are trustworthy, he’ll start to occasionally drop a hot piece of trauma to see your reaction to it. If you react well and don’t judge him, he’ll open up more. But if you become uncomfortable with it, he will probably keep you an arms distance away. 

Once you two are closer, most likely through quality time together (ex. Studying while he trains), he would get more and more playful with you. 

Specifically also slowly reveal more and more of his silly side. 

Poking you when he wants your attention and then pretending he didn’t poke you. Blames it on the air. 

Keith would absolutely spar with you in the kitchen using utensils 

He would occasionally crack a joke here and there as well

I also fully believe that Keith has ADHD, and if you have ADHD too, then it would just ricochet between the two of you. This would drive everyone absolutely insane. 

One moment Keith could be discussing battle plans and then you walk into the room and make a random noise, and he would repeat it back thus losing all sense of authority and seriousness. 

Eventually, as you two grow closer, Keith might also develop some feelings…

In a relationship…

He would not be the first person to confess. 

Unless someone were to give him confirmation, then he’d contemplate it. Otherwise, the other party would have to approach him 

Once y’all talk it out and are officially an item, he is going to be a little awkward and aloof again.

This man did not engage in courting behavior when he was in highschool. Sure, I’ll entertain the idea that some of his peers were infatuated with him, but he never actually pursued those relationships since he was focused on his own life problems and emotions. 

Therefore, he does not know how to flirt or how to date someone. 

But that does not mean he is not willing to try, especially for you. 

But in other news, Keith has matured with time and is an amazing communicator. 

He will let you know when he is uncomfortable with something, such as PDA. 

Speaking of PDA, he would prefer to keep most physical touches in private. 

Especially kissing.

But he does not mind holding your hand or resting his on your back

He would also let you know when he is getting nervous over not messing up the relationship. But all he needs is a little assurance that he is doing amazing and all he needs to do is be himself. 

Once he relaxes more into the relationship and gets more comfortable, he would be unabashedly affectionate towards you. In private though. Outside of seclusion ? He would mostly stick to teasing you or light touches. 

Section II coming soon!

Please also feel free to comment on more head cannons that you have! Or to give a contradicting thought!

[joesalw]

I sent these quotes to another blog a while ago and thought it would be a good time to bring them back here. Because a lot of people say they don't understand how or why people like Joe and that we don't know him and only like the person Taylor painted in her songs. A big reason for this is that these people never really saw him as much more than a pawn and Taylor's boyfriend or tried to get to get to know him beyond that. You're not required to do that ofc, but once you make up lies to fit your story that's other thing. My point is these are just a few things people who actually interacted with Joe up close and personal have said about him. Mostly all different people, because everyone who works with him has something good to say about him. Even people who randomly meet him seem to get enrupted right away. So this is to show what people who know him (co-workers, directors, his school teachers) say as opposed to the shitty stuff swifties say without even being in the same room with this man for 5 minutes to make people believe he's some kind of monster. I would even say there's a few things being said that are not very common for people to compliment in a man.

"He's just so gentle and sincere. I felt very safe with him."

"Joe isn't nearly as reserved as Nick, but it's a tendency to let others have the floor. He just tends to be more interested in everyone else, what they're saying, which is a lovely quality"

"he's so sensitive and thoughtful"

"there's something very soulful about Joe as a person. He's very introspective. He's exceptionally kind, as a person. There’s just something gorgeous about him, as a person, and that goes into the acting. He can do uncertainty brilliantly and he can do vulnerability brilliantly."

"Joe’s instinct as an actor is always to push away from the obvious and into ambiguity. He’s very quietly spoken. He’s not brash at all. He’s a gentle, intelligent guy. "

"Joe is such a naturally kind and warm and welcoming human being,”

"I don’t think people will be surprised by just how much everyone loves Joe Alwyn, how much everyone fell in love with Joe Alwyn… he’s a true English gent. I completely owe my heart to Joe Alwyn.”

“Yeah Joe Alwyn does come in and steal the hearts of everyone around. He’s just like the most genuine, kind, present human. Funny too! Real funny.”

"I know Joe a little and like him an enormous amount. Such a phenomenal talent and wonderful human

"He has to be one of the nicest people I have ever met and I know it might sound like I'm saying it to ease everyone's mind, but no genuinely he was the sweetest and he was super worried about me all the time"

"I really liked acting with him. He's really a gentleman. A sweet guy. He's really focused and cares a lot about his work"

"Joe is tremendously warm and winning"

"There was just something very subtle about his reading. You could feel the tenderness inside of him. He just felt real."

"I'll say he is perhaps the top notch talent I ever witness in a reading. He was so directable, so talented, and ofc the look is gorgeous. Like a gift dropped from heaven"

"He has a disarming humility which appears both on and off screen. I spoke to Joe recently and found that the experience of starring in a Hollywood movie had not changed him at all. He will continue to be the person he is."

"Very cool impressive actor. After meeting him I had the opposite thought: Can she keep him?" (This came from a movie director who seems to be a Taylor fan, after meeting him once)

“He’s really nice. Really, really friendly, really good dude.”

When Joe first arrived at the school… “He brought a maturity and intelligence that was of immense benefit to the group. He also had a passion for the work and a conviction within his own artistry that was an inspiration to some of his younger colleagues.” By the time Joe was approaching his final year, he had become… “completely fearless.”

"A brilliant natural actor, especially gifted at quiet emotion"

"He's an absolute pleasure to work with. I became very close to him. I think everybody did"

“He can carry a movie on his shoulders—he has the height, the looks, obviously, the voice, the ability with accents; he is versatile,”

“Joe was gentle and he wasn’t overly pushy, because he knew I’m not good at mushy stuff,” she says. “Boys age differently, they’re f—ing idiots until they get older. But he’s a kind man with good manners.”

“When you’re speaking to him you feel like he’s only listening to you,”

“He’s got…the greatest head on his shoulders,”

‘That very first scene between the tree, he was worried the entire time like, “Are you OK? I don’t want to hurt you. Shall we do it like that? Is this easier for you?” The entire time trying to find out if I was OK, he was so sweet, so gentle, that I knew that I would be safe with him"

'He's very hardworking, very down to earth, very diligent and very gregarious. A very nice spirit to be around.

'Joe was always deeply committed to his craft. He was often very moved by the massiveness of his vocation. 'He saw acting as a necessity. He was serious about it, very committed. He was exceptional in that regard. He's a thoughtful man who cares beyond the frivolity of putting on a show. 'He sees performance as a powerful gift that he has, and that he hopes can change things for good.'We always hoped that this poetic soul would find a place for his vision.'

wow this was such a precious thing to read, he's really such a nice individual it makes my heart warm 🥺

[folyoszel]

My Live Blog of The Apothecary Diaries Light Novels Volume 1 Chapter 2: The Two Consorts (Part 1 of 2)

This chapter, of course, starts with Maomao learning about the "curse" on the imperial heirs.

The LN takes a different approach from both the manga and anime, having Maomao overhear a conversation rather than having Xiaolan tell her directly. This was probably changed to streamline it in the visual mediums.

Um, I know this woman's commenting on the age of the babies, but the wording really makes it seem like she's talking about the ages of the consorts.

So this picture confirms that one of the women is Xiaolan.

Nice that the LN details the sex of two of the dead children. It's not super important information, and using Princess Lingli as the reasoning against intentional poisonings works just as well, but I just appreciate knowing more. I really hope the LN will introduce more names because it can get really confusing when you don't know the names of characters important to the story, like the Emperor, the former emperor, the former empress dowager, etc.

It's too late, Maomao. The extrovert has chosen you as her introvert friend! There is no escape, just give up.

Joking aside, this seems to be the start of Maomao's friendship with Xiaolan, and I think that's cute. Xiaolan really is an extrovert who jumped at the chance to make another friend. However, this being the start of Maomao's relationship with Xiaolan, plus not having the implication that Maomao helps other girls with figuring out their chores like the anime and manga have really seems to indicate that LN Maomao is a lot more solitary than she is in the other adaptations, at least up until this point.

It is also worth mentioning that the LN has Maomao learning about the imperial heirs problem over time rather than just one sitting with Xiaolan. I can understand why that was changed, but I do like this version better since it more resembles how rumors like this would actually work.

Can I just say I love Maomao? Her curiosity, kindness, intelligence, and practicality mixed with actual flaws like avoiding emotions make for such a realistic, lovable, and interesting protagonist.

First, I love that she makes an excuse, rather than just going there. Second, it's a great but subtle character moment to have her know something helpful but not share it and compare it with when she does share this kind of information. With clothes and no one specifically asking her, she deems it too troublesome to say anything, but when people's lives are at stake, she risks herself to help out.

I love that Maomao uses Jinshi as an excuse here since this is the event that ultimately brings her to his attention. Just a funny little thing. Also, I love the woman who either is 100% down to help another girl see a hot dude, or just happy for an excuse to give someone else one of her chores. Either way, she's iconic.

I want to discuss this paragraph because I think it shows something very interesting about Maomao's views on romantic relationships. She seems to view sex, specifically heterosexual sex, as vital to a romantic relationship. This is shown in both how she characterizes eunuchs as "not really men" and attraction to them being "puzzling," as well as how she characterizes attraction to eunuchs and other women as only resulting from a lack of interaction with "real men," rather than a natural thing. She also regards same sex attraction between women as "unhealthy," which I can only assume is due to her only experience with it coming from when Pairin hasn't had male customers recently enough, as well as the thoughts of the time. I really hope that this is intended as a flaw of Maomao's based on the beliefs of the time and not a reflection of the author's personal beliefs. (All members of the LGBTQ+ community are completely valid. Happy Pride Month! ☺️🏳️‍🌈)

Apparently, there is a picture limit, so I'll see you in the next part of this chapter blog!

[namorian]

I love zoro as a character but I need society to stop pushing the idea he can be anywhere near an authority position. I don’t mind him having conquerer’s haki — his goal is to literally be the best in his field. But I cannot agree with the idea of him as a first mate/vice captain/leader etc. mainly because his stoicism and weird ass machoness that comes out at the oddest times is detrimental to being a leader.

Leadership is not just being commanding or cool. A massive factor in it is your social capacity. Being able to understand where the people under you are coming from, have a sense of what’s up with them mentally/emotionally, and trying to work with them on it or at least take it into account when making a decision. People need to feel like they’re being heard and understood, if they feel like you get where they’re coming from then they’re more likely to accept choices they actively dislike bc they feel respected. Zoro and luffy are both Very Bad at this tho in different directions. Luffy tends to Get people emotionally but really rarely takes the thoughts of others into account when making choices (ex. Agreeing to a Davy back fight b4 even knowing what it was and against like half the crew’s wishes). Zoro however really rarely gets other people, he doesn’t really put himself in other people’s shoes. He just lacks the emotional intelligence that really helps luffy get by and make up for his impulsive choices.

This is a big issue when you want to say he’s a second in command in the crew. A second in command in this context is also the HR department and zoro has big “because I said so” energy which doesn’t fly. I will say he was wrong about how to handle the usopp thing til I’m blue in the face and I avidly don’t like how he talked to chopper in the Davy back fight. He frequently shoots down nami’s more like, sensible emotionally tactful or measured approaches. This is not how you keep a group together in the long run. It’s just not. Zoro is a wonderful character, a great dude and a wonderful friend but he just — he is NOT built to manage a group dynamic or to work with people in that way. He just doesn’t always get why someone is upset about something and this doesn’t take it seriously or he does get it but responds with his own brand of emotional regulation which is just “tough it up and be man” which is just— that’s not helpful.

[sepublic]

         There’s a pretty messed up moment where Sally is in the middle of some tense, dangerous situation, and an innocent under mind control hinders her. Because of what’s at stake here, she doesn’t think much of what to do, and just does; She kills the poor victim, and for a few split seconds, ponders.

         Like, that dude was totally innocent. It wasn’t his fault. But Sally couldn’t just let him interfere, there was important stuff and not a lot of time to do it! But then she realizes, damn maybe I could’ve just punched and knocked him out. Even if he suffered from a concussion or internal injuries, it’s better than being dead. And then Sally just casually, mentally shrugs and decides, “Oh well, I’ll just have to do better next time.”

         She’s not gonna dwell on the Should’ve, Would’ve, Could’ve anymore than she really needs to. To be honest, Sally doesn’t feel much if really any guilt or remorse... She can get caught up in trying to feel the emotions people generally do, but in the end? Sally isn’t totally obsessed with the moral implications of her actions, not that much at least. Yeah, she does have some existential anxiety and self-consciousness over her role in life, but... Otherwise, concern for the actual strangers themselves doesn’t come so naturally to her.

         By the end of the day, Sally has opted for an almost cold yet utilitarian approach to life; If she messes up, learn and do better. No use beating herself up over it, and it’s not like Sally is conducive to that kind of regret, it’s more natural for her to not care and move on, than actively worry about it. It’s harsh and Sally is no saint, but she does try. And this pragmatism has recognized that a kinder world is more conducive to society than a ruthless one.

         ...Sometimes, Sally ponders on the moral dilemma of killing, only to realize later a creative solution you could’ve used to incapacitate. Is it a moral failing to have not been more clever, to have not thought outside of the box as well? To not make the most out of one’s abilities and skills? The Phantom Alliance might certainly think so. What if you try to think of work-arounds, but still fail? Do you just forgive yourself? Is it the willingness to put in the effort and work that counts, more so than just efficacy? 

         Given her moral pragmatism, does that sentiment really mean anything if you fail, IS it a moral failure to have not figured out the perfect solution? Because not being smart enough just leads to tragedy that could’ve been avoided. But Sally loathes and detests the Phantom Alliance who made her like this, and their disdain for the ‘unenlightened’. Man, morality and ethics is complicated. Maybe there IS a correlation between such a subject being for the more thoughtful, between intelligence and morality.

         And yet Sally knows how cruel ‘smart’ people can be, can she really be a moral pragmatist yet dismiss efficacy as the true measure of compassion? Is this what it’s like to be caught up in sentimentality and emotions? Sally is a pragmatist because these feelings don’t come naturally, so she might not have to be if they do...

[voxblade]

Raphael Kirsten propaganda!!!

He's constantly dismissed as nothing more than a one-note dude who only cares about protecting his sister and eating. If you just skim the character, or only go by his monastery dialogue, that's a fair assumption to make. But Raphael's simplicity masks an, imo, necessary and actually really good character.

In a cast like Three Houses, full of people that have suffered trauma and grief and unfairly heavy burdens, Raphael is unique in starting the game with his "arc" more or less finished. He's a commoner who's parents died horribly to monsters just a few years ago. His best friend felt (incorrectly) responsible for the deaths and stopped talking to him out of shame. He has an aging grandpa and a little sister to support. So what does he do? How does he respond to this chain of hardships? Does he grow jaded? Does he pine for the better times? After all, this all sounds like it could lead to a character with heavy internal angst, but... we don't get that with Raphael. He's just not that kind of guy. When you first meet him, he's all smiles and himbo cheer. He's already embraced life and has moved on. And he loves life, every day!

What Raphael lacks in "complexity" or cutting wit, he makes up for it with honestly the healthiest approach to grief out of everyone in the cast. And this makes him a great support(pun intended. Fire Emblem fans know what I mean). Raphael is all about the simple joys of life and works to remind other characters to stop getting so wrapped up in their baggage. He's the emotional intelligence, even if he's not completely aware of it. Ignatz overthinks his role in the death of Raphael's parents and assumes Raphael must hate him? Raph's like, "dude, what are you talking about? I just want us to be friends again, there's nothing to forgive? I love you, bro?" and helps him leave that headspace. Marianne is swallowed by her depression and only talks to animals, because she believes she's cursed and other people should stay away from her? Raphael misunderstands and tries to chirp at Marianne like a bird, startling her into actually, sincerely laughing(this is after he tried to find "birds that talk like people", btw, and also one of the cutest moments in the whole game). Byleth loses a loved one? Raphael offers actually good advice at managing the grief and a shoulder to lean on. There's tons of examples like this.

Idk. I'm running out of time to write this up as nice as I want. I love this idiot. He's so kind. Also he was an absolute beast on my first playthrough. If the character analysis didn't sway you, vote for him for punching a genocidal racist wizard to death in one round for me.

GENTLE GIANT SWAG: BLUEBERRY BRACKET, SECOND CHANCE BATTLE1

Asterios’ propaganda masterpost

Raphael’s masterpost

Chad’s masterpost

Hunk’s masterpost

[aprils2ndhandshop]

can i request the 2003 raph, don and mikey with a sweet, anti-social, shy girl? thank you cowabunga!!!

Raphael, Donatello & Michelangelo w/ a shy, anti-social girl ‘03

Sorry King Leo and all my Leo stans!

Summary; how each of these turtles would treat a shy s/o, their plan to approach a shy girl and how their relationship would function in relations to how shy she is. 

Notes from me; hey everyone! I’m sorry for the slow posting, I’m super busy at the moment so it’s hard to work on this blog. I will try to post again soon! Enjoy dudes!

Raphael;

Raph would, in many ways, come to appreciate your humble nature.

In the beginning, his intense observation of your shy demeanour revolved around his curiosity. He became determined to better understand you like you were a mystery he needed to unravel. 

His initial curiosity quickly became romantic the closer he got to you, the more he came to realize how thoughtful the person behind the quietness was. 

Raph being a guy that struggles with emotional intelligence admires your ability to observe and understand the moods and vibes in the room. 

Your ability to read people is something his brothers also admire in you, especially at the thought of how beneficial it would be for their hot-head brother to be able to experience first hand.

"Raph and y/n?"

"Never thought Raphie boy would be into such a sweet, shy girl!"

"Guess love really is unpredictable."

Although Raph enjoys a loud and rowdy time on a special occasion, he much more enjoys the peaceful moments with you. His hostility is something that would solely exist in his training if it wasn't for his insecurity and anxiety; by nature, he is calm and values quiet time.

Everything surrounding Raph has been chaotic since his childhood; he and his brothers clearly don’t lead normal lives - to have something so sweet and soothing is a luxury he can't lose. 

Eventually, the thought of you becomes enough to bring him back down to his sanity, enough to help him sleep through the night and avoid unnecessary anger.

Due to your quietness, Raph becomes much more attentive; he is always sure to address you if something feels unusual.

“Hey baby, you seem off. There something you wanna tell with me?”

"No Raph, I'm okay."

Knowing very well you aren't being honest with him, he scoops you up in his arms and places you into his lap to talk.

Donatello;

Donatello would initially be intimidated by you. Despite being labelled the smart brother, he fumbles a bit with you, struggling to wrap his mind around something so beautiful being so shy and anti-social. 

Being inexperienced with humans, he naturally subscribed to the belief that beauty equates to confidence. This belief drove him to believe that it wasn't shyness keeping you from talking to him - you were simply too good for him.

Of all people, Donnie knew better than to judge somebody by their appearance, yet with you, that proved to be more difficult.

But don't worry he comes around.

"Y/n, I had no idea that was you would be into such..."

"Dorky stuff? You can say it, Don, it's not a bad word."

You bond over common interests, nerdy interests he never imagined you would have, quickly after his fears of a pretty girl disliking him would fade.

Once Donnie can pass his insecurity barrier,  your shyness evolves from intimidating to charming!

He finds our adorable shyness so charming that he develops an inability to ever say no to you - a deadly one.

"Don? Can I eat some of these cookies? You don't think Raph would mind, right?"

Oh no, those are Raph's cookies... He'll kill me.

"Of course you can, beautiful."

Raph was not happy...

Donatello would encourage you to branch out. Although a selfish part of him would love to suck up all of your free time, it's not the life he wants you to live. You're such a sweet girl and he knows you could make friends easily.

When you become buddies with his elder brother, Leonardo, he is over the moon - especially after hearing you open up with Leo and seek advice from him.

"She's good for you, Don. I really like her."

 Initially, Donatello was scared that your shyness would keep you hidden from his family so witnessing you gain their love is super significant for him.

Michelangelo;

Mikey is drawn to you right away, finding your shyness to be endearing and absolutely adorable. From the moment he met you, he wanted nothing more than protect something so sweet from all the bitterness of the world.

He essentially views you as some modern-day princess or earth-dwelling angel.

Although he has a thing for shy girls, he's never really put thought into it and has no idea how to approach you. Being the loud goofball he is, he worries that you'll stray away from him or be discouraged by his bold personality.

He tones himself down just for you.

"Hey, y/n/n!"

"You're Michelangelo, right?"

"Yeah! You can call me Mikey though if you want!"

In the beginning, he is determined to be as mellow and soft around you as possible - he does not want to mess up his chance with you!

This change in Mikey shocks his family. Master Splinter specifically, is touched by his son's compassion, yet he refuses to let it go on for too long. He takes the time to explain how important it is for Mikey to be himself with you, especially considering how much he seems to like you.

"Why would you do that, Mikey? You being goofy would never change how I look at you."

"I just wanted to be sure you'd like me."

"I really like you."

Looking back on how your relationship started now, both you and Mikey get a good laugh from it.

Although your shyness isn't as prominent when you're alone with Mikey, he still appreciates the little hints of your nervousness that pop up from time to time: occasional studders, emotional fluster when he flirts, hiding your face from him.

"You're so cute, angel cakes!"

He fanboys over your cuteness from time to time.

Michelangelo may be a chaotic goofball but his attentiveness towards you was never faked - he wants nothing more than to keep you safe and happy.

[algumaideia]

An analysis of Octavian

This post was actually going to be an explanation of why I think Octavian is an antagonist, but not a villain. But it ended up being an analysis of his character. 

SPOILERS

And as always feel free to disagree with me, just be respectful. 

Sorry, because it wasn’t well-written, I’m incapable of writing good texts. 

Backstory

I think it is important to say that since we don’t have any information about his backstory most of the thing said in this part of the review are what I think is his backstory. It is a mix of the facts stated in the books, the way Octavian acts and my interpretations. Besides the things I’ll make clear that were said in the books, the rest is not canon. And you don’t need to agree with me that this was his backstory.

His family is one of the richest of New Rome- In the books he also seems to act without fearing the consequences while taking the privilege/money of his family as garented. Octavian acts like someone that is seeking attention. It is so weird how he just do whatever he wants without fearing consequences when his family is right there in New Rome. For that to happen I think or his family neglects him or they are those kind of people who think the children can do no wrong and are all my baby didn’t do that. But I think that if they were the latter, they would be more present in Octavian’s life, but they are never there. 

He is an augere and feels very proud about it. I don’t think there is too much to add about it besides that I think he likes to be an augere because it makes him important and necessary.

No one likes him and this isn’t something new. In Son of Neptune, Hazel says half of the camp hates Octavian and most of his friends are bought. So, Octavian is a lonely child. And he is aware of this. He is a bad person, people dislike him for a reason. But it seems people have been disliking him for some years and he is a child. According to his wiki he was 10 years old when he came to Camp Jupiter for the first time, and he spent his tweens and teens years in a place where people did not like him. I don’t think this was a good place to grow up.

He is really smart and manipulative. I think that those traits are a little inconsistent. Because in the beginning of the SoN Percy says how Octavian is really good at manipulating people with words, but then in the ending of the book and in MoA everyone is shutting Octavian up. Isn’t he this kind of master of words, how he isn’t answering people back? 

We also know he’s been at camp jupiter for quite sometime. I’ll talk about it in another part of the post.

He is anemic and mentally ill. I’ll talk about those things in the Camp Jupiter, Treatment and Ableism parts. 

Other thing that I would like to say is that this post is not an attempt to ignore the bad things Octavian did and pretend he is not a bad person. It is just me trying to understand his better and show why in my opinion the fandom hasn’t treated him fairly.

Camp Jupiter

Camp Jupiter sucks and it does for a lot of reasons. Some of them being the fact they have a city full of adults and most of them were demigods trained in the camp, which means they have trained adults but instead tweens and teens are the ones who fights. Hazel said that if Percy dishonored the legion they both would be executed. Hazel also says that sometimes people die in the war games. There is also the fact that people are dying all the time in missions/wars. The Camp Jupiter also expects perfect behavior for its demigods, to them all know the rules and to do not commit mistakes and I don’t have adhd but this doesn’t seem to be a good place to people that has the disorder. There is too much preassure to do not do any wrong, apperently no emotional support and the punishments seems to be crazy. It’s not a healthy place to a chldren grow up.

Other point is how they value physical strenght, hand to hand combats and offensive approache more than a lot of things. Frank said how he wasn’t treated well because he was an archer, and this was seem as cowardice. Octavian is anemic, he doesn’t have physical strenght or energy to be able to fight. The only way to be respected in Jupiter's camp is to be a good fighter, and he cannot be that because of his illness. As I said Octavian is someone that is often seeking attention and validation by his peers, and I think that this is why being an augere is something so important to him. He cannot make himself important in the traditional way and by being an augere he is necessary to the camp. People cannot just dismiss him. He buys friends, he manipulates people, he becomes a centurion, he is always dominating the senate. He makes himself impossible to be neglected. 

Yes, Octavian is power-hungry. Yes, he is bad. But a lot of things he did during Heroes of Olympus was just Roman things (he was also mentally ill and his mental health was getting worse in each book). When Hazel says that Octavian will kill Percy if the greeks atack New Rome, but in the next sentence she says that Romans take oaths very seriously. However it is all written like it is Octavian being a horrible person. But it is not. The Romans are very harsh with their punishments, they seem to be violent, physical. When Octavian says the Romans should fight the greeks, he is just acting like a Roman, like someone who was raised in a enviroment that encouraged violence responses.

Treatment

Octavian wasn’t treated nicely by the narrative and other characters. I mean, this guy was the centurion of the first cohort and an augere. But no one seem to respect him. No one enters the legion without him saying yes (I know it is acording to what he sees) but he is treated like he isn’t important. He is the one that is responsable of saying what the gods wants, but no one seems to have problems mocking him. I mean fi he decides to give you a wrong information about what a god want you are dead. 

Hazel said how “obsessed” with the sibylline books Octavian and it was framed as him being irrational and dumb. But in the end he was right, if the legion listened to him Ella would have been save way sooner. But no, it is just Octavian being  “obsessed”.

Percy acts like Octavian doesn’t have any prophecy powers, but he saw the lighting in the Jupiter Temple. Then when Octavian is mad because there are three preators he acts like he is overreacting, and Jason and Reyna do nothing. And this is weird because it was made very clear that rules are very important to Camp Jupiter. 

When he decides to attack Camp Jupiter he is always villified and not seem as a mentally ill boy that has been getting worse doing the Roman thing. 

He is always dismissed, mocked, villified, ignored.

And the fact Luke was treated with sympathy, but Octavian not. Luke, who tried to kill Percy, a childre, a lot of times. Luke, who used Annabeth feelings and emotional attachment to manipulate her. Luke, who was 19-22 years old and groomed Silena, who was 14-18 years old. Luke, who poisoned Talia’s tree. Luke, who had no regards for Grover, the satyr that saved him. Luke was treated with sympathy. But not Octavian. Not the mentally ill child who was losing the touch with reality during the series. Not the guy who was just doing what he was raised to do. 

I mean, I don’t even like Octavian and I cannot stand it.

Gwen

Guys, Octavian did a lot of bad things but killing Gwen wasn’t one of those thing. It is so no sense for a lot of reasons. 

As we talked before he is anemic and he is also smart. This intelligent man, that is full aware of his physical limits, thought it would be a good idea to get in the midle of a chaotic fight? I don’t think so.

Some pages before that Percy hit Octavian and he fell like a straw man (according to the text, the first time I read it I thought he fainted). 

Octavian always makes things because of a purpose, he isn’t just being mean because. He does bad things because his actions will give him something. Killing Gwen wouldn’t help him with anything.

Frank for some reason decided to look to Octavian during that mess and that doesn’t make any sense. He is in the camp for a month at this time the guy should’ve already known that Octavian doesn’t battle, he only commands. He saw Percy fighting for a couple of seconds during the war game and was already able to say how he fought.

Octavian was without his knive, but just minutes before he fainted, he could have lost it when he fell.

Frank said that Octavian seemed interested and not worried. But this is not enough to blame the guy, this is not enough to assume anything execpt that maybe Octavian has low empath. 

Greeks

Octavian was a roman. To the romans the greeks didn’t exist anymore, and they were the enemy. 

So, a random greek shows up, spends some days at the camp, becomes preator, and two of your most important gods appear and give a lot of attention to this greek. This is really suspicious. This greek also says that the romans should work with the greeks so they can defeat Gaea. And why you should trust this dude? He doesn’t show respect for the Roman culture. Then this huge war ship appears and this suspect greek guy says that they all come peace and the romans should not attack. Obviously you don’t believe it, and what happens they attack! As the good roman you are, your answer is to attack the greeks back. 

The romans answers things with violence. This is why Reyna asked if Annabeth was a roman after the judo flip. This is why Hazel said she and Percy would be executed if he did a mistake during his period of probatio. Octavian was being roman. He was trying to protect and revenge his Camp against a long time enemy. 

Not saying everything he did about it was logical, but this is because of his upbringing and his mental health. 

Goals

I think it is really interisting the fact that Octavian main goal was to be a hero, not more powerful. Apollo didin’t say Octavian would become preator, he said Octavian would save New Rome. 

I mean, since Octavian wanted to be preator and then became the pontifex maximum, so the logical think it would be to him wants more power. But no he wants to be a hero. A hero is someone that is respected, admired, liked and even loved. All the thing Octavian isn't. Don't get me wrong, Octavian is a bad person, there is a reason people dislike him. But he is also a lonely child that is hated by most of the camp.

Ableism

Octavian is often described as crazy, mad, insane. In his first appearence Percy said Octavian had madness in the eyes, and this was the way of the narrative warning us he was one of the bad guys. He is obviusly mentally ill, his mental health is obviusly getting worse, but everyone ignores it. Everyone ignores it, execpt when they are describing how insane his laugh is, how crazy he looks, how intense his gaze is. Everyone ignores it, until they need to remind us he is one of the antagonists. 

Ending

The ending was terrible. 

Octavian was obiously having a psychotic break, he was stumbling, laughing “in an insane” way, and he didn’t realize his jewelry was in fire. And then what happens? Michael Kahale, the person he most trusted, his problaby only friends appeared, saw the situation and did nothing.

Octavian didn’t kill himself. He didn’t know his clothes were tied in the onager. It wasn’t a sacrifice. It was an aciddent. 

Nico stopped Will Solace who was trying to warn it because some “deaths are inevitable”. Nico, also a mentally ill character saw Octavian in the vulnerable state he was and did nothing to help him. And when Nico was seeing Octavian lunch himself to the sky he thought that this was a relief. No one was sad, no one thought this was a tragedy, no one cared. Octavian was dead and that was a relief. 

The guy was so desperate to be the hero and no one even cared about his death. It is horrible.

Another sorry for the weird tense of the text.

If you want to read this is my post about Octavian and Azula and how their mental illness were treated differently.

Best regards,

Me. 

Ps. We need to start talking how the way Bryce was written was ableist.

[cuntycassandra]

Breaking down Hunter and Omega’s relationship. Pt 2.

We’re back at it, here with the second post in this father-daughter-space-duo series! You guys responded to the first post better then I expected in all honesty! I didn’t think my insights were viewed as so important lmao. I don’t really think much introduction is needed here, the post itself is very self explanatory.

(Pasted paragraph: I would just like to add a disclaimer here. I am, in no way whatsoever, slating the other batchers for having differing relationships with Omega. I absolutely adore everything single one of the boys, and I think they all have wonderful and unique interrelations with her. Although I may point out these different approaches in comparison to Hunter’s, I am not stating these engages are wrong, just different is all!

I’m going to separate this into a little series- covering each episode in a separate post, which I’ll have tagged as the series progresses. Once I’ve tackled these two, as they’re my favourites, I’m going to move on to each individual Batcher and perhaps a few other dynamics such and Hunter and Crosshair, or Wrecker and Omega! Let me know what you guys would like to see!)

(Thank you to this weeks proof-reader: @treasureofmy-heart 💛)

Cut and Run: S1/E2

We kick off this episode with Hunter walking in on Echo inspecting Omega and Wrecker fast asleep on the floor. His face is very relaxed and he clearly finds it very sweet that her childlike curiosity has tired her out. His line, “ha, well this is a first,” while holding a strong gaze in Omega’s direction, suggests that she’s been exploring for quite some time, unleashing her endearing juvenile inquisition in the batchers presence. Hunter continues to claim she’s curious, using the same lighthearted tone he has always used in her regard, sparing the conversation in the medical wing on Kamino. This continues to confirm his gentle approach and concern towards the young clone.

When Echo confronts him over the situation at hand, it’s evident that Hunter hasn’t actually thought about what he’s going to do with Omega, yet by the look of quizzicality on his face. I personally took this as a sign that his initial thoughts were always “we’re going to lay low with her, look after her, while keeping everybody else safe.” It’s clear here that Echo has differing ideas that Hunter hadn’t even began to consider, and I think that’s what perplexes him in this moment. He needs to consider everybody.

The kid is up and awake! (Let the havoc commence aha.) Omega’s reaction to sunlight and dirt is definitely one of my favourite developmental moments of hers, it really sets in place that this little girl may have been an intelligent medical assistant, but she lacks experience, and still needs a guiding hand to help her through this new world she’s never endured before. I’d like to point out that it is, in fact, Hunter who stops to watch Omega’s reactions, and his FACE when she’s playing in the dirt! I’ve never seen such a parental smile on a man so stoic! I feel like I’m repeating myself a lot, but he is so endeared by her! She’s a breath of fresh air in Hunter’s very toxically routined life, and I love that for both of them. When they finally reach Cut’s land, Hunter is the one to pull her back, despite the fact she had to run between Echo and Tech to get to him. And upon Suu and Cut’s arrival, I actually didn’t realise that Omega creeps behind Hunter, most likely because these are strangers she doesn’t know and she feels she needs the protection. This confirms a clear bond between them has already began to flesh out.

There isn’t too much to say about the introduction and inhibitor chip discussion, as Omega spends a decent amount of that time exploring Cut and Suu’s house, but I will just say that it’s a nice touch that she ends up back at Hunter’s side when her part of the conversation is needed, she always seems physically drawn to him. Which brings me to my next point. Upon Shaeeah and Jek’s arrival, Omega once again creeps behind Hunter out of fear, only deciding to approach when formally addressed to do so. *Sigh*, and when Shaeeah pulls Omega out to play, and she halts to ask for Hunter’s permission, which is clearly given through a series of comforting smiles, is a plain indication of a trusted child-parental relationship. I must admit, Hunter’s face is pretty hilarious when everybody practically calls him out on his parental role- it’s just “why are you all staring at me..?” Because you’re acting like a dad, my dude.

Okay! Down to Cut and Hunter’s discussion. It’s a nice touch that Hunter is the first one outside to watch Omega play, swiftly followed by Cut, who, rightfully so, questions her existence. Although instead of explaining Omega’s origin (and by that I just mean that she’s a medical assistant clone from Kamino), he states that it doesn’t matter what the Kaminoans created her for, because she’s with them now, and to be with them she doesn’t need a purpose, she’s just a kid and should be allowed to act like one. Cut goes ahead to tease him over the ins and outs of raising a child, but to Hunter it was a no-brainer, Kamino wasn’t safe, so she was coming with them, as I’ve said previously, he saw NO negotiations. And as Cut says, “I (you) have to do what’s best for them.” This adds sentiment to the narrative of Hunter’s commanding role within the squad and Omega specifically.

So I’m shifting ahead slightly to the ball incident, and I have a LOT to say about this scene. First of all, it’s clearly evident that Hunter is the first to leave the house, along with Cut and Suu following closely behind. Associating this trio together is purposeful on the animators part in my opinion, they intentionally exclusively had Hunter leave with the other parents in the situation, isolating him specifically with that role in Omega’s life. When he finally reaches her, we see the protective hand come straight out to guard her against the Nexu, a typical trait they’ve established between them.

Now we move on to the confrontation. This is the first time Hunter raises his voice at Omega, and immediately she turns herself away from him, curling into her shoulder and making herself small. Omega is going through a lot of emotions right here, she’s afraid, anxious, and she’s being forced to deal with the fact that for the first time, Hunter is mad at her, for something she didn’t even intend to do wrong. Whereas from Hunter’s perspective, he hasn’t acknowledged she’s already in a bit of a state, and instead feels the need to immediately lecture her for her mistakes….although this lasts all but thirty seconds. Upon Cut’s attempts to diffuse the situation by having him pull Hunter away and reiterating that “she’s (Omegas) not a soldier”, his face immediately softens, he forgot for a moment, but now he realises and instantly the features are set in a regretful frown, he clearly feels awful and misrepresented. Hunter continues to observe Cut’s behaviour as he comforts Omega, who seems to take to the attention like a kicked puppy, lip trembling, eyes shaky, shoulders hunched, and I honestly think as Cut carries her away- is the exact moment Hunter realises he isn’t good enough for Omega. (I’ll further out on this in a moment)

I only want to briefly touch upon Omega’s gunners nest scene because I don’t think it has too much impact on her relationship with Hunter, however I would like to address the symbolism. I personally see the removal of her headpiece and the addition of her bangs as a new beginning, attaining the contrasting yellow light of Salucemi in comparison to Kamino, where she would’ve been given her jewel. Considering the episode’s outcome, Omega is no longer the tightly held, quivering little girl from Kamino, and instead she brings a slight unruliness to her aura, a little cheeky, definitely her brother’s sister. Still a sweetheart of course, but with a matter of confidence and boisterous behaviour to her. She seems to bounce out of her sadness quite easily here, as she seems suddenly awkward- yet curious- over Tech’s plan later on.

Furthering out into my previous point about Hunter believing Omega deserved much better in comparison to what he could provide: his conversation with Suu. “Protecting them is what we do.” The realisation on his face when she says this, it’s so…raw, something he’s taking time to comprehend. He heeds her words because he knows she and Cut are experienced in this field, they are better suited for Omega than he and the boys are, he believes he isn’t good enough for her, and this is projected when he insists ‘Mega leave with the family of four. Although Suu questions his sincerity, and he does indeed dodge the straightforward answer, this is what Hunter anticipates is best for Omega. He’s putting her needs above his happiness, no matter the heartache.

Moving along slightly, as Omega and Hunter spend a short period of time away from each other during the ship impoundment, I briefly wanted to touch upon the tone of Hunter’s voice when he learns Omega is on route to their position…by herself in a heavily armed spaceport. His eyes widen in a moment of fear, his voice is suddenly strained, he is struck with another raw emotion, something he frankly can’t obtain right now, and it’s let out in a minor threat towards his brothers- “if something happens to her-“ a clearly indication of worry.

This next point absolutely breaks my heart, the poor dears, both of them. Upon Omega’s arrival, Hunter is left to explain his forced proposal that she should leave Salucemi with Cut and Suu. As usual he completes his little ritual of taking her shoulders and crouching to her level, although this time he can’t quite look her in the eyes, a clear sign of regret and guilt, because he doesn’t want to give her away, he knows deep down she belongs with them, but he doesn’t believe he has what it takes to raise and protect her. The way Omega’s eyes crumple really catches me here, she’s being left, again… All this kid has ever known her entire life has either been abandonment, abuse or isolation, and she’s being passed on to strangers by the only people she’s ever been able to trust, and not only is it clearly breaking her heart, but she’s taking it personally, she thinks she’s at fault, much like Hunter does. Her line: “but, I want to stay with you.” compressed with the quivering tone and her precious accent really aides her desperation here, it conveys her in an adequate and very precise way.

Starting a brief new point to split these up slightly: I bring us to the continuous glances shared between them. Omega consistently looks over her shoulder to Hunter, she doesn’t want her eyes to leave him for one moment, she’s savouring his face, his details, for the very last time. And equally, Hunter is letting go of something he doesn’t want to leave behind, he likes the kid, to the point where his own self depreciation and doubt have been forced ahead in order to protect her, he can’t risk anything at this point. I’d also like to quickly mention how beautifully Omega’s eyes are animated, they intel so much, those precious little doe irises hold such story to them.

Moving on to a little jump cut enduring the batch’s escape and Omega’s return: Hunter’s tone of voice when addressing Wrecker is so pained, and his facials match it perfectly “she’s not com-“ it’s almost as though he’s biting back the urge to sprint headfirst into the gunfire if only to catch up to the little clone before it’s too late.

However, seeing as she’s managed to find her own way back that wouldn’t be exactly necessary. I think it’s a nice point that Hunter is the one to rush to Omega’s aide after she is grabbed by the trooper (flowing a brief flash of concern crossing his face), although Wrecker might’ve been closer, it’s a nice hint to their subtle closer bond. He, once again, crouches to her level although an unnecessary step in the situation, and I see this as another nod to their familiarised dependancy.

Finally, my last point for this episode, is their final conversation within the last few minutes. It’s faint, but the fact that the other batchers are all busying themselves in the cockpit, leaving Omega and Hunter to chat privately, is a very distinct use of separation. It also should be noted that Omega is the one to approach Hunter, this shows a decent level of not only maturity on her part, but trust between them as family, she trusts both him and herself enough to advance on a delicate situation, we even see her hesitate slightly, before pushing forward with a slip of confidence, and that takes a lot of gut from a little kid. She stands her ground, but with compliment. She very much reminds me of Hunter himself in the brig, assertive yet respectful. And speaking of Hunter, his face is just absolutely guilt-ridden when talking to her, because he too made the mistake of attempting to give her away, no matter how much good he thought it would do them both. While Omega is admitting she has a lot to learn in regards to safety and tactility, Hunter is suggesting he has a lot to learn about raising a child and providing the necessary care for her. It’s a brave moment for both of them, to be honest and open, and yet its received extremely well on both ends.

“If this is where you want to be…then this is where you’ll stay.” The admiration in his voice, the admiration in her eyes! They absolutely adore one another, and it melts my heart every time it’s displayed!

I hope you liked my analysis of Hunter and Omega’s relationship in episode two of The Bad Batch! Of course, I’d love to discuss these two with anybody who might be interested, so please feel free to drop me an ask or a DM, and if you’re captivated enough I’d totally recommend looking out for my future posts on the topic!

As always, much love to our ‘Megs and Hunter, thank you for reading! 💛

Part One: Aftermath

[twstdreams]

Hey there, could I please request headcannons for Leona, Rook, Azul, Ace, and Floyd? How would they react to a crush constantly rejecting their advances due to the fact that their crush doesn’t trust them and is afraid their just trying to use them for their own amusement? You don’t have to answer if it’s not interesting enough! Thank you my dude!

This is interesting! With these characters, I can definitely see why you’d be insecure despite their advances. 🥀

Leona Kingscholar

Ugh, what a pain. Now he has to prove his sincerity too? 

It’s not like he lies about everything.  He’s honest. ish. Kinda. When it comes to you. 

Leona knows he likes to tease you, but that’s because he likes you. The way your eyes widen, the gasp that escapes your lips, how your mouth forms a pout, when you jump in surprise, and of course when that delicious blush paints your cheeks

He wouldn’t put in this much effort if he didn’t care. Why would he chase around a herbivore to this extent, if he wasn’t truly interested?

At this point, he huffs and states it’s annoying that you keep rejecting his advances despite indicating interest in him. So, what will it take to prove he’s serious? Spit it out already. He’s hunted his prey long enough and now he wants the prize

Rook Hunt

Rook comes off as mysterious and eccentric on purpose. He does not like people intruding into his private life. He supposes this attributes to his crush’s uncertainty in his feelings

He showers you with fantabulous compliments but that makes you even more suspicious

You voice how you understand that he is intrigued, but every hunter is bored after they capture their prey and you don’t intend to give him your heart like a trophy to flaunt

Rook is persistent in his pursuit. He learns about you through direct observation and by gathering intelligence, using all of this information to further polish his methods for pursuing you 

What catches you off guard is when he simply observes. You ask what fact he wants to pry out of you now, but he replies that he likes looking at you, just to watch you. The way your face morphs as each emotion blooms inside you never ceases to set his heart aflutter. For once, his flowery words reach your heart and you know a blush spreads across your cheeks, one that he most certainly does not miss

Slowly, bit by bit, you open up to each other. The feeling might have not started off mutual, but Rook perseveres and before you know it, you’ve become flustered. Do you simply like being loved or have you fallen for this dangerous hunter?

Azul Ashengrotto

Yeah, he understands deep inside even if he doesn’t want to admit it. He hasn’t made a fair deal ever. So there’s no indication he’s a fair lover. It still stings to be rejected, despite his improved form. He’s no longer a loser, so he’s slightly caught off guard

Azul does his research beforehand. What you like, top subjects, all the basics he has covered so that when the two of you talk he can be smooth as possible

If you insist that he is unfair or that you think his feelings are fleeting, he’ll try to convince you with a speech. He might outline the relationship like a deal, pointing out all the benefits you would receive

Unfortunately, he comes across as a sleazy businessman and you doubt his sincerity even more

But when little things slip and he shows his vulnerability, you find yourself starting to consider that Azul might have real feelings for you instead of a passing interest. When he asks your opinion about his outfit, how you can fluster him with small gestures like fixing his hair, how his voice raises a pitch when he’s embarrassed, little things like this increase your intrigue about Azul

Azul has to earn your affection slowly to see if his crush lasts the test of time, but he’s not hopeless

Ace Trappola

Ah, but isn’t it all the same? He likes you because you’re fun! The two are related

At first, Ace probably thinks you’re just shy. After all, your emotive face and entertaining reactions were part of what drew him to you in the first place

For a while, it’s just push and pull. He enjoys teasing you and playing tricks on you. He brushes off all your rejections since it’s part of the game

But then you tell him you can’t trust him, knowing how well he lies and annoyed that you’ve become his source of fun. It’s kind of a pain for Ace since you’re not completely wrong either

For a little, he ponders the best approach to convey his feelings. He decides on a gesture to show that he means it. Depending on what you like, he acts. If you like desserts, he gets advice from Trey on how to make cherry pies and bakes one for you. If a movie you like just came out, he invites you on a date to see it. 

Ace isn’t indecisive. He likes you without a shred of doubt and he can prove it

Floyd Leech

He’s unpredictable, yes. But he’s not lying! He finds you interesting, but that’s why he likes you! He hates boring people and doesn’t bother with them

Floyd likes it when tensions are high and things are amusing. He likes you because you are amusing. It’s the same for all of his relationships, romantic or not. How many times does he have to tell you this? He might demand a bone-crushing hug for compensation. Your wriggling and flustered expression placate his annoyance.

Besides, it’s not like it has to be a one-way street. Sure, he only hangs out with Azul because he’s interesting, but Azul greatly benefits from their friendship

If you insist on rejecting his advances despite his explanation, Floyd will probably stop at some point. It’s no fun if you keep brushing him off or actively avoid him. 

If you decide to give this a try, have fun on this whirlwind of a ride

[saksukei]

wen junhui college au

other college aus; wonu minghao mingyu

you're damn right if you think that wen junhui is a theatre arts major because he iS and that too with humanistic studies as a minor aH and he's also on the rowing team,,, he started rowing as a joke and now he has one of the best times??? like. how.

and everybody knows he has too much energy and he uses it in the best way possible

like the plays? dude has a separate fanclub

you keep on seeing new tweets about “who’s the black haired guy in the play?” like wen junhui’s popularity is straight up no joke,, EVERYBODY KNOWS HIM

you on the other hand are an exercise physiology major with nutrition as a minor and you're also part of the rowing team,, and you have the best time for the women’s team,, which means,, you see junhui every other day,,

the coach pairs you guys often,, but there’s only one small issue,,,

YOU HATE WEN JUNHUI

he's such a pain in the ass,, he teases you every time he sees you,,, he always challenges your skills and makes you doubt yourself,, oh the amount of times you’ve wanted to deck him in the face,,

and today was the same as well

“you're not dead yet?” you hissed, as you saw jun approach you,,

“dont sound so disappointed, I might think you don't like me,” he retorted, a smug expression on his face, as he set his bag right beside yours.

“but I really don't like you,” you roll your eyes,,

jun chuckled, as he clapped his hands together, getting everyone's attention.

you guys were practicing indoors, on the rowing machine because there was some trouble with the equipment and the coach had to go get new stuff

which also meant he left jun in charge,, the teams assembled,, looking at junhui for directions,,

“alright everyone, warm up for ten and then start with a thousand metres,” he instructed. “and y/n, you're my partner.”

you rolled your eyes while everyone was whistling or smirking

it was no secret that you and jun didn't get along and he purposely tried to get on your nerves,,, heck everyone in the club said you two would fall in love at one point or another but you assured them by saying you'd rather choke

“your IQ is lower than room temperature junhui if you think that I want to train with you,” you hissed, as the two of you walked towards the machine.

“oh I'm sorry, I don't compare my intelligence quotient to someone who was deprived of oxygen when they were born,” he snapped, as he started warming up.

“you know what,” you spoke. “i'll just aggressively ignore your existence until you disappear.”

“maybe you should try doing it with that bird hair of yours, looks like worms will crawl out of it soon”

“why don't you look at your face first– ass clown?”

“why don't you look at your face first ass clown” he mimicked in a high pitched tone and all you wanted was to stab him there and then

“CAN YOU TWO SHUT UP WE'RE TRYING TO PRACTICE?” one of the team members yelled, causing you two to fall silent and warm up.

the next day,,, one of your best friends had begged you to go to her department because she had misplaced one of her things,, you only agreed on the basis that you'd be getting pizza

you were passing by the theatre to the class she told you to go to,, and you heard someone rehearsing their lines,, you went ahead to see who it was,,

of course it was jun with a script in his hands,,

and you don't know what it was,, but something just pulled you into the room,, maybe it was the way his words echoed of the walls,, the emotion in those alluring eyes of his,,

you actually sat down and listened to him instead of wanting to kill him,,, understanding what the hype was around him,,

like? you didn't even know this side of junhui existed??? excuse me? he was the biggest dick alive to you so you never really paid attention to anything nice that he did but this,,

you didn't even realize he had stopped until someone snapped you out of it

and you saw jun standing right in front of you

“well well well, it looks like I have a fan,” he smirked, folding his arms as he bent down to your level

“h-heck no,, I was just,,, looking for the um.....” you cursed your memory internally for forgetting.

“umm?” he teased,,

“shut up, I really was looking for something,” you snapped

“alright, alright” he surrenders,, raising his hands in defeat. “how was it though?” he asked.

“what?”

“the lines,, i'm sure you heard some of it.”

“they were um,,, good,” you reply,, shyly,, you've never been used to giving him compliments,,

jun nods as an awkward silence befalls the both of you,, you take it as a que to leave,, but then his voice stops you,,

“hey,, why don't you rehearse with me?” he suggested. “my actual partner is really busy and I need someone to rehearse with.”

“uh,, yeah sure?” you reply,,, as he hands you the script,,

jun started reciting his lines and you responded with the same enthusiasm

but the only thing that worried you was the last,, scene

in the script, it was written that jun's chracter would walk over to where you were, push your character against the wall and would try to initiate a kiss but your character would push him away

and so jun recited his last line, “i don't think I've ever tasted lips so fine, heck i'd taste them over and over again” he walked towards you, eventually pushing you against the wall

and your hEART WAS LIKE BADUMP!!

and his face was an inch from away from yours and you could feel his breath tickling your ear and you realized,,, how pretty wen junhui was,, how perfectly sculptured his face was,, those lips,, those cheekbones?? wait what??

and you were so mesmerized with how he acted on stage you didn't really realize you had to play a part as well

jun broke his stance, “you know you're supposed to push me away right?”

AND YOU BECAME RED

“y-yeah uh–but I–um remembered that I left the stove on!” you lied. “aND I DID SO BYE JUN!” you grabbed your bag and yEETED YOURSELF OUT OF THERE

and jun was confused but he ignored it and started rehearsing again

you on the other hand were trying to calm yourself like ???? It's just wen junhui? what the FUCK? Why is your heart racing so fast?? you were so confused? wHY? why is this happening

and the next time you saw him at training, oh dear god

“well if it isn't miss sunshine,” jun grinned.

“shut up jun, your existence makes me want to die,” you muttered,,, you felt your cheeks getting warm,,

“well, great, I think I'd be doing the world a favor.”

“jun if you're going to bother me one more time during practice I'm going to kick you so hard you will lose the ability to entertain a partner” you hissed, as you started warming up.

“nah,, you don't have the balls to do it,” he grinned, especially proud of the pun he used.

“you know what,,, I don't give a damn, so just leave me alone.”

“you give so many damns, they're visible from space,,,” he says,, his face is close to yours,, and you stop BREATHING

jun grins,, he thinks he has rendered you speechless,, as he goes up ahead to train with the boys,,

aND YOU FELT YOUR HEART WAS GOING TO JUST POP OUT OF YOUR CHEST

and now you were noticing all of these little things about him,, from his silly smile, to how he rolls his eyes, copies every small thing someone else does, to his goofy jokes, how his hair falls on his face, or just,,, him in general

all the while trying to keep your angry/annoyed facade so that he wouldn't pick up on it

but oh boy, it's wen junhui

and he notices every goddamn thing

including how much you've been staring at him especially in today's training session

he knew you were acting really weird since the rehearsal thingy but he was letting it slide because he thought you were upset or something and he didn't want to get on your nerves more

regardless, you decided to ignore jun from today onwards,, to stop feeling whatever you were feeling,,

and every thing was going great

you barely talked to him in rowing practice, you didn't attend the plays or even go anywhere near him

and jun,,,, he stopped annoying you as well

for two months

the whole damn university noticed but nobody dared to say anything ,,,,, in fear that you guys won't talk again

you were casually walking to the cafeteria and you heard something that just ,,,,, made your heart stop

“did you hear that jun got injured really badly? He was practicing in the theatre and this glass fell on his foot,,”

aND YOU DID A FULL 180 AND RAN AS FAST AS YOU COULD TO WHERE HE WAS

you had no idea why you suddenly cared so much like sure yeah, it was bad he got hurt but you were running so fast you felt your heart would pop out of your chest

the nurse eventually led you to where he was

and you saw his leg covered in bandages???

and your heart just broke

“hey what are you doing here?” jun asked. “i haven't seen you in like,,, two months?”

“jun I'm sorry–” you felt tears slide down your face. “i'm sorry I ignored you every time you tried to make a conversation with me or whatever I just,,, I had all these feelings that I couldn't figure out and I got scared–”

“hey hey hey, it's okay,” he cooed, as he opened his arms wide, only for them to wrap around you, as you cried in his chest. “no harm done, I promise.”

“no but jun– I was really inconsiderate and I just kept on feeling like I was missing something but I couldn't figure out what it was,” you cried out. “i felt ignoring you would be a solution but I just, I don't know?”

“hey, okay listen to me– what happened in these past two months happened–” he wiped the tears from your face. “but I hope you understand that the only reason I used to bother you a lot was because,, well,,, I really geniunely like you.”

“l-like me?” you stuttered.

“why do you think I annoy the crap out of you?”

“because you're an idiot, you like doing stuff like this,” you answered.

“but you're the only one I annoy?”

“okay that part I missed,” you give him a weak smile,, jun chuckles,, ruffling your hair,,

“in all seriousness though, I hated these two months. I felt like you were upset or something and I didn't want to risk hurting you even more so I stopped talking altogether because I thought you'd talk to me if I did,,” he admitted.

“its my fault this happened in the first place,” you responded. “and I now realize how stupid I am.”

“you're not stupid, you're just an ass clown,” he joked, a playful smile on his face.

“but i'm still sorry, junhui,” you sighed. “i really didn't want this to happen.”

“hey, it's okay– we both were right in our own places.”

“so um now what do we do?” you asked.

“well it depends,” he answered. “does someone want a cute, charming, handsome and brilliant boyfriend?” he grinned.

“only if he wants an amazing, beautiful, smart and talented girlfriend,” you answered.

“oh he sure as hell does,” jun grinned.

[sokkabeifong]

Okay so dude you know I love Romione HOWEVER if Ron and Hermione couldn’t be together it would 100% have to be Runa and Fremione for me.

Ron and Luna are both very shippable characters in my opinion. Ron may struggle to talk to girls at times but when he does he can be very endearing. Luna is just such a fun character and it’s interesting to imagine how she might approach romance. I’ve always had the headcanon that Luna had a bit of a crush on Ron. Remember when she said that she “wouldn’t have minded” going to the ball with him and gave him a bit of a look? Ron finds Luna to be very endearing and “always good value.” I love how they always seem to make eachother laugh in their scenes together. Ron is the kind of person who not only underestimates himself but is underestimated by the people in his life. He comes from a big family where he had to fight for his parents’ attention. It’s made pretty clear that although they would never say it, Ron definitely wasn’t the favourite child. All of his siblings are either very popular and/or have gone on to accomplish great things, leaving him feeling like he can never live up to them. His best friend is the chosen one. His other best friend/crush is often praised for her high academic aptitude. If this wasn’t bad enough, I find that the people in Ron’s life seem to brush him off a lot and assume that he’s inadequate or not as worthy as they are. Ron is a very supportive brother and friend, but if I were him I would also be a little insecure. I love Hermione, but one thing I don’t like about her is how she tends to brush off Ron’s feelings and will often say things that sort of belittle him, even if she doesn’t quite realize she’s doing it. But Luna? Luna is the kind of person who makes you feel special. The kind of person who hangs on every word you say, the kind of person who waits for you when your shoelace comes undone, the kind of person who laughs at your jokes even when they don’t quite land, the kind of person who makes you feel wanted. Luna would love Ron just for being him, and Ron would love Luna just for being her. Another issue I have with Hermione (as much as I love her) is how she sort of expects Ron to read her mind and then gets mad when he doesn’t. Luna wouldn’t be like that. She would be the type of person to march right up to the person she liked and tell them how she felt, because she’s just confident like that. Oh and Ron and Luna are both very right-brained and emotionally intelligent (which is why Hermione’s comment about him having “the emotional range of a teaspoon” always annoys me). They’re natural-born caretakers.

Now, on to Fremione. Hermione is one of the only people in the books who can put Fred (and George) in his place (well, besides Molly). She’s also one of the only people who seems to scare him (again, besides Molly). He has a sort of genuine respect for her that we don’t usually see from Fred. Throughout the series we see him jump to her defence (although Ron will always be the king of defending Hermione, as we see throughout the books) and whenever they talk to each other they have a sort of banter going on which can be entertaining to read. Oh and remember when she got tricked by one of his WWW products and instead of mocking her and being like “haha that’s what you get” like he would with anyone else, he seemed genuinely concerned and helped her get cleaned up. They’re both very intelligent people, but in completely different ways, and I think they could have challenged eachother to think outside of the box. Oh and you know how I said that although I love Romione, my two biggest issues with it are how Hermione expects Ron to read her mind and how they’re both pretty touchy and insecure people who often hurt eachother’s feelings without realizing it? That wouldn’t be an issue with Fremione. Fred is the kind of person who’s very openly flirty with the people he likes as well as somebody who doesn’t really take things too personally. He’s very confident almost to the point of being cocky, and you’d have to say something really mean in order to get to him.

So yeah, I love Romione and their slow burn, but I also have a soft spot for these ships.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Ron and Luna together!! You make some excellent points for them here and they’re definitely adorable together, I just cannot. Also, their kids would be too freaking cute.

I don’t really feel strongly about fremione one way or another since I ship harmione too much but you make some good points for them too!

[annethepancake]

Sherlock rant

I recently rewatched BBC Sherlock for Rupert Graves, and aside from the lack of Lestrade appreciation I have a lot of problems with this series. Here are my thoughts:

1. It was all a blur

My second first impression of the show: I don't remember anything but the characters. And some characters I just blatantly forgot, like Mary. And I loved Mary on my second watch! I really forgot that at one point John actually got married and I don't even remember when I watched the show for the first time. I can still recall most of HIMYM's events and I hated that series.

2. It’s overall not a detective/crime show

Watching Sherlock for the second time, I mostly turned off my brain and just let it play in the background because (1) there's hardly anything for me to solve with the characters, most clues are taken by Sherlock off-screen anyway (especially after season 2), (2) they focus way too much on the quirks of the characters that make it almost like a sitcom that got dragged on for way too long. A crime/detective show shouldn't allow me to turn off my brain.

3. The characters just kinda fall flat

Exploring the depth of human emotions is not a bad approach to a modernized version of anything, I’m not trying to pretend I’m better than someone who gets sentimental over fictional character (if you know my blog at all, you know I am not), but at least write good characters. Sherlock is hardly a multi-faceted person; in fact, he’s kinda like the Wattpad teen fic main character sometimes. He physically fights off some terrorists with a machete to save the damsel in distress? He gets high off his tits but still got everything right all the time? John is just kinda there for most of the cases. Jim is a poorly written antagonist. Irene is a lesbian but gets the hot for our main character, surprise surprise. The only interesting characters to me are the ones who act like normal people: Molly, Greg and Mary. They are the multi-faceted characters, ones who I can actually relate to without feeling inferior to them in any way. Write characters like them, stop trying to be smart about it and stop writing Wattpad fanfictions for Sir Conan Doyle’s original works.

I get that they try to make Sherlock more like a human with emotions, making him quirky and arrogant, then make him quirky and more likable. It’s hardly a convincing character development though. He’s given over-powered deduction skills, so edgy, so high and mighty all the time. When he is finally written as vulnerable, turns out he has plans for that too. I would love to see him get it wrong once and maybe get humbled by that mistake, but getting Mary shot and killed is hardly even his fault, he is only doing his job. And killing off Mary is overall a bad idea anyway.

4. They treated the fandom like shit

I was absolutely disgusted at the start of season 3 when the showrunners just straight up shat on their fans. I wasn't there with the fandom during the wait between season 2 and 3, but I believe it was a pretty long wait (2 years, I could barely wait 2 years for my comfort series, and they have like 10 episodes per season), and they were presented with the first actual mystery of the series: How did Sherlock survive the fall? After years of waiting and having fun theorizing, they were met with a mockumentary about them, starring the most hated character of the protagonist and the fans. Those are the people who actually cared about the show for god's sake. The fact that the showrunners treated fans like crap and there's still an active fandom for the show appalled me.

Now not only The Empty Hearse bugs me, but the entire show does as well.

Allow me to digress.

Doki Doki Literature Club is a great example of audience engagement done right (Sorry for using this example I’m not actually that invested in the other franchises). After the success of the first game, the story provoked so many fans into solving the mysteries of the characters, some of them went really, really far. And that’s because of the actual mysteries that the development team took effort to plant into the plot. There is actual pay-off for painstakingly following the clues; as far as I know, only two (2!) people in the world have come close to solving the mystery of the first game (or they actually did). The game developers value their fans and their intelligence enough to have planted those clues where they did, and it’s a genuine exchange between the fans and the creators. Now even though you haven’t actually played the game, when you hear of the name and you’re only kinda familiar with gaming (like me), you’ll probably know what it is. What started as a mere open-source game by an indie developer became a sensation which left millions of fans begging for more.

Looking back at Sherlock, there are tons of logical flaws for a self-proclaimed crime series, virtually no clues for the audience to solve crimes along with their favorite detective, and when there was actually a mystery (Sherlock jumped off the building), they plainly showed him alive and well minutes later. Do we really need to see things spelled on screen to know what’s going on? Are we supposed to accept that Sherlock Holmes is an all-knowing future-predicting genius now too? Not a great sign of respecting the audience there.

So far, the only thing left that’s interesting about this series is the characters’ dynamic. Which brings me to the next criticism I have for the show.

5. The plague that infested mainstream media

Why is there still an active fandom? Queerbaiting and targeted marketing.

Community marketing is proven to be one of the best marketing methods there is, if not the best, to lengthen the lifespan of a product or service. The way they do that for shows and films and video games is usually by planting seeds of possible lores and history inside the content. Look at Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, they are franchises that ran for multiple years with a ton of history and world building that provokes fans’ imagination.

Sherlock - well, Sherlock has sexually ambiguous men.

Sherlock has a formula for success. It was an adaptation of the most iconic detective novel in the world, funded by one of the biggest TV networks in the UK and possibly the world (don’t quote me on this). Making this series means you can appeal to such a wide group of audience even before airing. Adding in the quirky smart men who live together, you’ve basically guaranteed a prime-time show with millions of loyal fans all over the world.

Fans are not stupid, and queer people don't just find queerness everywhere they go. They know a gay subtext when they see one. Sherlock came back from the literal death for John, pretty gay if you ask me.

This show is very much not just about some guys being dudes solving crimes, they have relationship that’s deeper than friendship, and definitely not platonic. They deliberately wrote a sexually ambiguous Sherlock Holmes from the get-go - literally from the very first episode, then capitalized off of the targeted demographic, never a pay-off for their anticipation. Martin Freeman said in interviews that he could recognize Sherlock fans, them being generally women from 16 - 25. No shit Sherlock, this show targets them and capitalizes off of them, being quirky and gay as hell, of course the fanbase is generally 16 - 25 and female.

Sherlock queerbaited the fandom for years for the sake of marketing and there’s never a pay-off, nor was there any recognition to the community, and to add to all that bigotry, queercoding pretty much all of the villains? Why was a show aired in the 2010′s allowed to do this? Why did Mark Gatiss, an openly gay man, a writer of the show, allow this to happen? Why are millions of fans all over the world allowing all this to go on?!

6. Conclusion

Now I haven’t read the books yet, so I’m not at all qualified to criticize the adaptation quality of the TV series; I’m just talking about the TV series on its own. Despite my criticism, I think the first two seasons did quite okay. There are quite a few nice cases there, I like The Blind Banker and The Hound of Baskerville. They did those well because the focus was on the cases themselves, and the connection between John and Sherlock was only in the background. I, like many other fans, like to figure things out on my own, to read between the lines, and to not have things spelled out for me. With the next seasons bombarded with Sherlock and John bonding it seriously felt like mere fan service for me and even though I wasn’t there when the show was on, I still felt like I was robbed and my interest in the show was abused.

Sherlock is undoubtedly super influential in pop culture even now. It has to have done something right to be in that spot (capitalizing off loyal fans?). I’m not writing this rant to change someone’s mind about the series, by all means, I’m still gonna love the hell out of Gavin Lestrade, and absolutely lose my mind over Mary Watson. So do take my words with a grain of salt, I’m just disappointed that one of the most influential shows there is is just short of my expectations.