#but you know. his ‘letting people show him affection’ arc is important to me
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Stay brave in your toil, you lucky old fool
#my art#jack tag#Hell river#drawing art of Jack is kind of silly because most of the time he is just a coyote (he’s a shapeshifter)#but you know. his ‘letting people show him affection’ arc is important to me#artblr#oc art#my ocs#own character#shapeshifter#original character#traditional art#pen art#drawing#coyote#werewolf#art#artists on tumblr
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I've recently seen again a post talking about the Sableye and Dusknoir's relationship so i'd like to put my two cents in the discussion, for I love screaming into the void about PMD. (this isnt meant to discourage any other interpretations btw this is just my take on theirs and Dusknoir's relationship, bc I think they're very fun characters and I am very glad the game actually gives these minions a bit of relevance in se5).
Tbh I don't buy that Dusknoir treats the Sableye nicely, at least not out of kindness. I don't think he's a tyrant or inexplicably mean, of course, and I think his minions ADORE him, but i also believe that doesn't mean he's nice to them, sth that i consider meaningful for their character arcs.
Throughout the entire game he's exclusively giving them orders, in se5 he concocts a plan that involves thrashing them MULTIPLE times (he's lucky Grovyle isn't one to try and kill enemies in battle ig), and the cherry on top is that the first time we see him being fully genuine he does this:
(yes, he is in turmoil in here, but there's not a single thing implying that 1. this is an unusual response towards the sablye, 2. dusknoir feels bad for it at some point or is surprised at himself, 3. this has any impact in the sableye at all. You can argue these reactions happen off screen and we don't see them, they don't happen bc they have pressing matters to attend to or they happen after they return to life, and that's perfectly valid, but i'm sticking with what the game shows us, here.)
I must say, though, the fact that the Sableye, despite having been almost mindless pokémon up to now, STAND UP TO AND ATTACK Primal Dialga for their boss and even try to look after him despite him ordering them to check on Grovyle and Celebi first is SO important to me. they are goons to the bone and they love that scheming ghost so much.
My own view is that Dusknoir is generally polite to them (you wouldn't randomly break your own revolver or weapon without any reason, would you?), but is quicker to get mean with them than with people he doesn't know or he is seeking to manipulate. He doesn't care about their behaviour as long as they get the job done, which is why I think the anime thing of the Sableye climbing onto his shoulder isn't that remarkable, rather it's a very cute moment, one that is showing how they've been working together for long and how their size difference affects their interactions, but it is not necessarily conveying an affectionate bond (this is a bit random, but it reminds me of Disney's Jafar with Iago lmao. throw your pet sableye at your enemies so they mock them and then return to your shoulder). Additionally, Dusknoir letting the Sableye onto his shoulder is probably as close as we are gonna get to a villain turning around in his chair while petting a cat in PMD lol.
[this isn't meant to be a one-to-one comparison, it's just a detail i find cute and shows that this gesture can have multiple interpretations, with none being the only right one]
Leaving that aside, I hesitate to claim Dusknoir trusts his Sableye as allies, as Grovyle makes a point in the main story of how the Sableye (your Sableye, he says, as if objectifying them; not friends, but tools, weapons at Dusknoir's disposal) are lacking compared to the way hero/partner/grovyle support one another (power of friendship and hidden information babyyyy). The Sableye are used to Dusknoir's way of doing things, though, I'm sure. They know what happens when he's displeased, after all.
I think, most of all, the Sableye are meant to look disposable: they are 6 identical pokémon that almost act like a hivemind, and we are not supposed to think at all about how we may hurt them in battle any more than we do with the angry Manectric pack or random dungeon pokémon. This, I believe, is why the game has them stand up against Dialga and gives them unique dialogue at the end of se5. They're meant to show their inner shine, just as Dusknoir managed to do. They suddenly gain an individuality they had never shown while they were working to maintain the dark future.
Where they abandoned Dusknoir in the Old Ruins, now Grovyle has motivated them to look for their dignity and fight for a better world, and that starts with protecting their leader from Primal Dialga's rampage, and supporting his new objective and allies in their quest to save the future. In their own small way, they've also grown as characters throughout SE5.
I believe that, overall, Dusknoir saw the Sableye as tools, but thanks to their growth and clear care for him, there's a possibility he might start to see them (and by extension other pokémon) in a more genuine, less pragmatic / objectifying way in the future. Now that Dusknoir has the chance to live a fulfilling life, he may learn to care for others without surrounding himself by so many walls. If anything, I think their future is quite bright. Not that the Sableye would mind if he still thrashed them around, though lol, they're clearly not bothered much by it (special episode 0 had a great depiction of the sableye imo, you can check that romhack if you haven't yet).
In conclusion, look at these little guys who adore their can-get-mean-but-is-mostly-polite boss and probably have a body count but now are good, they're so cute:
#tldr: i think dusknoir not being nice and them being cowards is what makes their se5 actions more significant. they both have an arc#this is all surface level analysis i know but thats how i read them#i didnt bother to talk about grov saying the sableye do 'all the dirty work' around the future bc i didnt know where to put it but. uh.#add that to the prepared execution room and i think these guys have killed people lmao#i must reiterate this isnt throwing shade to any headcanons this is just what i got from the game. people are free to have fun.#also. dusknoir in the middle of his se5 panic attack and existential crisis: get the fuck out of my way this is my moment#HE GETS OUT OF HIS CRISIS ANIMATION SO FAST TOO. HE REALLY SAYS 'not now sweaty. daddy's having some him time' and slaps them#so he can go back to his drama queen pose#hes so awesome. gay toxic uncle behavior#his nemesis is in agony the entire time while this happens. se5 is truly peak fiction#the height difference is so funny too#like no wonder dusknoir didnt have any issue trying to kill the mcs. the sableye are tinier than some starter options ewionfwojfewo#highly throwable imps they are#him beign a bit jerk and him letting the sableye climb him up to give him rocks like in the anime special are not mutually exclusive. to me#this is pokemon. these magic creatures constantly beat up each other#the sableye get climbing privileges if they are good boys and it is useful to give him what he's looking for. and also it's very cute#this was gonna be just a textpost but then it got long and i strted looking for game moments that seemed relevant to the sableye oops#i like to babble about this game and dusknoir especially#sableye#dusknoir#pmd2#'scribz isnt it cringe to write 500 words retelling the events of a children's game' look if 90% of eos video essays can do it then so can#this is the closest thing my lacking understanding can manage to a meta/analysis post ig
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Hi, do you think Sakura has unconditional love for Sasuke, I always thought her love was superficial, but many people think it's unconditional
hello anon!
No, Sakura does not have unconditional love for Sasuke. As you said, her love for him is very much superficial and there's several instances in the manga that prove this. I'm gonna also show you the difference in Sakura and Naruto's love for Sasuke so you can truly see how superficial Sakura's infatuation for Sasuke is when it's contrasted with someone else's love for that same person.
We see how Sakura doesn't take Sasuke's pain and trauma as a survivor of the mass murder of his clan seriously twice. The first time in ch. 3 where Sakura mocks Naruto for being an orphan in front of Sasuke, another orphan, who then calls her out for it. If Sakura who apparently had had a crush on Sasuke for years at this point, she'd have enough empathy to know this isn't the way to treat kids with no family, especially if your crush happens to be one of those kids.
Sakura seems affected by his harsh words but then, in chapter 181 we see that she really hasn't changed her behaviour nor does she really care about Sasuke's past. To begin with, for Sakura that moment of Sasuke calling her out for her nasty behavior and standing up for Naruto was romantic between the two her and Sasuke, whereas for Sasuke it was important because he defended Naruto.
We also see how as Sasuke prepares to leave the village Sakura starts to talk about how revenge isn't the way to go and he won't achieve happiness through it, but then she goes and makes it about herself which pisses off Sasuke hence him saying "I knew it", Sakura hadn't grow after all this time. This wouldn't be the only time Sakura makes everything about herself.
And for a second time she belittles Sasuke's trauma by stating that even though she has family and friends, not having her crush by her side will make her very lonely just like the way Sasuke had showed her what it meant to be lonely, not once thinking of how insensitive it is to say such thing to a genocide survivor. Sasuke thinks of Naruto and Sakura, because once again Sakura is disregarding Naruto's existence.
Even though Sakura is attempting to stop Sasuke from leaving by telling him it wouldn't make anyone happy, she grows more and more desperate when she sees how her words have no effect on him that she completely tosses all that aside and goes y'know what let me go with you because all I care about is me being with my crush, everything else be damned. Compare that to Naruto saying that he will break Sasuke's bones if that's what it takes to take him back to the village and stop him from going to Orochimaru, that's how little backbone Sakura has. So Sasuke tells her once again she's being annoying and knocks her out.
Another time we see how shallow Sakura's feelings for Sasuke actually are is during the summit arc. Sasuke attacks the Kage summit and basically everyone agrees he needs to be executed, included Sakura. While Sakura was plotting on killing Sasuke once he stepped out of line Naruto was trying to understand his pain and why he had taken the path that he did, on top of that, everytime someone told him to give up on Sasuke and let them execute him he profusely refused to the point he got a panic attack and passed out.
The difference in their reactions is day and night, that's how different their devotion for Sasuke is.

We continue to see the stark contrast in Sakura and Naruto's feelings once they finally meet Sasuke at the bridge. Naruto is seeking to understand Sasuke after everyone told him to give him up, even Itachi had told him that eventually he will have to choose between Sasuke or the village, a notion that Naruto vehemently rejected.
Sakura, on the other hand, refuses to understand Sasuke. The minute she sees him she's like "he's different" and attempts to kill him without trying to see where he's coming from.



Naruto then reveals that he was told the truth about Itachi and his family, information Sakura isn't privy to and would *never* show interest in getting to know in the next chapters. While Sakura showed Sasuke that she was willing to kill him twice, Naruto tells Sasuke that he's not going to lose to him in battle and get killed just like he also won't kill Sasuke. Kishimoto had said it in an interview, Sakura gives up on Sasuke but Naruto never does [full interview here LINK].
Another instance of Sakura showcasing how shallow her feelings for Sasuke are is during the last arc, when she makes her final love confession.
The moments prior to her confession Sasuke talks about how we wants to change the world and all that. Now, don't get me wrong, things in the shinobi world are wrong and complicated but the way Sasuke intented to fix them weren't the way to go either. Yet Sakura exercised zero listening comprehension and instead made everything all about herself and how she feels and how if Sasuke has a place for her in his heart then he ought to not leave her so things can go back to what they were which... girl he just said he doesn't want to go back to how things were. But it shows you how little she cares about Sasuke and how *he* feels.
On top of that, Sakura also acknowledges that she actually doesn't know Sasuke at all. She can't get close to him or exchange blows with him the way Naruto does. In the end, Sasuke gets annoyed and puts her under a genjutsu.
Once again, compare how Sakura reacts to Sasuke's pain and makes it all about how she feels to the way Naruto reacts. Sasuke acknowledges Naruto is the only one that never tried to cut him off and then Naruto also tells him that the reason why he can't leave Sasuke alone is because it hurts him to see Sasuke hurt himself. Naruto's love for Sasuke is selfless while Sakura's is self-interested.
Lastly, we see in Naruto Gaiden how when Sarada starts inquiring about her dad Sakura really can't answer with certainty questions about Sasuke. Not just that, she doesn't even realize what's going on with Sarada.
Sakura made Sarada cry and couldn't even grant her some relief regarding her father but Naruto got Sarada blushing and smiling. Once again, it's totally different the way Naruto reacts to Sarada's dismay and he is actually able to put her at ease and reassure her.
The feelings both Sakura and Naruto have for Sasuke end up reflected on Sasuke's child.
Kishimoto is very consistent in his writing on the type of love Sakura professes Sasuke and it's neither deep nor unconditional.
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When I Think About You, I Touchstone Myself: Fic Recs for the Biogenesis/ Sixth Extinction/ Amor Fati trilogy
I thought it was time to do some fic fixes for these important episodes for a few reasons.
First, Amor Fati is an episode I can’t ever stay away from; I both love it and have big issues with it. I love the tribute to Last Temptation of Christ, a film I admire, but I also find the identification of Mulder as a Christ figure to be problematic, or at least to raise questions the show doesn’t really address. I love the touchstone speech and the boy on the beach sequence; I find a lot of the real-life dialogue (e.g. between CSM and Diana) to be clunky.
And honestly, I find it kind of irritating that Diana's death happened off screen, too. Deep Throat, Spender, X, CSM, Well-Manicured Man, Blevins — their deaths were all dramatized onscreen, so it seems weird that Diana’s was not, doesn’t it? Anticlimactic and odd. To me, it's the straw that broke the camel's back for the Diana arc, really raising the question of whether she was ever really written intending to be an important character to the mytharc plot at all ... or whether she just really was a cardboard cutout character there to generate jealousy.
But I digress. What I mean to to say is: I always want to talk more about Amor Fati.
Second, I particularly enjoy me some psychic Mulder fic, and there are some great examples below. How well does he read minds? Does he read Scully’s? Her every thought? How long does it last? Readers want to know.
Finally, if you believe season 7 was the season of secret sex, or even if you just hold to season 7 as the “sometime consummated” season, these 3 eps have to be a crucial turning point. Some people maintain that Mulder got the affirmation to move ahead with MSR when he heard Scully's thoughts. Possibly. Either way, though, by the end, through the events of Amor Fati, they both validate the other’s point of view in a way we don't really see before. Plus, you know, maybe you heard? They’re one another’s touchstones. So this is a crucial MSR trilogy, too.
So I have a (NO DOUBT INCOMPETE) selection of fic recs below. I’m mixing up the fic recs for all three episodes, but I try to note if a fic is really more about one ep than another.
Fic Recs:
Before the White Noise - Nimz12peekaboo Scully goes to see Mulder inside his padded cell in Biogenesis. This is sweet and canon-attentive, if not quite compliant.
A Less Certain World - Sarah Segretti This is really only post-Biogenesis and goes AU after that; it’s the author’s AU Sixth Extinction, I suppose. Mulder is much more affected by the trauma to his brain and body than in the show, and Scully is scared for him. Amazing fic.
Temporary Shelter - Gwendolyn Also a Biogenesis post-ep, this fic imagines that Scully springs psychic Mulder from the hospital and then takes him back with her to the Ivory Coast. They stay in a cabin (with only one bed!) that was once occupied by another couple affected by the artifact. This is rich in plot (and in MSR.)
Stunned - Vickie Moseley This is, by description, what happens in the commercial breaks in Biogenesis. And let's just say that it’s kind of a lot. This fic focuses on Scully coming to calm Mulder down at the hospital, on their trust between one another. There is a little Diana wrap up, too.
All the Places - Ambress A lovely, lovely take on Mulder’s ability to read minds. I cannot recommend this highly enough.
Out of Our Minds - Sarah Segretti and haphazard method This is specifically post-Biogenesis, written before season 7 began. It focuses on the rather realistic idea that Scully would be freaked the fuck out by Mulder being able to read her mind—like, existentially freaked out. Both characters’ POV here; both characters have your sympathy; angsty and extremely true to character.
Disonance - suilven This piece is kind of a classic in my own little personal world. It just such a satisfying concept. It delightfully doesn’t take the canon implications of Mulder’s telepathy seriously, like, at all, which is why we love fanfic. Mulder, Scully, and Diana get stuck on an elevator just as Mulder’s starting to realize he can read minds. Delicious set-up.
the things they say in the dark - MonikaFileFan Missing scenes for Amor Fati, this piece helps us see the two moving closer and closer together while still having the invisible line between them. There is hurt/comfort here with Scully caring for Mulder, and a little light mind reading. So sweet and well done.
how to tell your lover you’ve seen all their secret gardens - 0666666 While Scully is taking care of Mulder after the events of Amor Fati, he tries to think of how to tell her he heard her thoughts. Very good.
Woven Deep by Maureen B. Ocks This is a really smart little Amor Fati post-ep with sharp dialogue / banter throughout. Mulder is in recovery, and they have a chance to talk about his experiences. It’s Mulder POV, but Scully is written very well here.
up and down the east coast by skuls When he’s still supposed to be recovering from Amor Fati events, Mulder asks Scully to go on a road trip to look for Sasquatch. She agrees. This one isn’t about psychic Mulder so much as the little guarded steps the two take towards acknowledging their feelings. Extremely sweet.
Synesthesia by haphazard method On a case shortly after the events of Amor Fati, Scully is still coming to terms with the role she plays in their partnership. An excellent conversation.
Petrichor by Aloysia Virgata. A lovely gem, a fandom classic. A one-chapter case file set directly after Amor Fati. Mulder and Scully’s relationship is offkilter and unsettled; Mulder is troubled by dreams with messages from a familiar ghost; the plot riffs on Anglo-Irish folklore. The spot-on banter and exquisite writing one expects from this author.
Eli Eli by Marguerite Mulder is recovering physically post-Amor Fati while Scully tries to cope with the crisis of faith her experiences in the Ivory Coast provoked in her. Skinner sends them to a beach house in Galveston to rest and heal.
Silence Waiting by JET Scully is struggling to cope with the implications of what she saw in Africa as Mulder heals and worries about her. This is intercut with the story of another telepath, Gretta, who grows up only reading the thoughts of one boy in her town, Frederick. This fic is lovely in every way and makes me weep.
The Boy on the Beach - me me (cecilysass) Yeah, I include my own fic. I just know it best, you know, lol? I include this one specifically for this theme because it was really written in part to engage with Amor Fati, specifically with the implications of Mulder’s Last Temptation of Christ-inspired dream sequence. But I'm the author, so you know, grain of salt.
Let me know what I missed!
#xfiles fanfic#x files fanfic#x-files biogenesis#the sixth extinction#the sixth extinction II: amor fati#amor fati#fic recs#rec list#touchstone
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Hi! Do you think Alastor and Lucifer are foils?
Hi!
Yes, of course they are!
Alastor and Lucifer's foiling starts in Dad Beats Dad (obviously), where they fight over Charlie's affection. They might seem as opposites throughout the episode, but they are actually the same, as they both try to impress Charlie with their powers:
[ALASTOR:] They say, when you're looking for assistance It's smart to pick the path of least resistance [LUCIFER:] Others say, that in your needy hour There's no substitute for pure angelic power!
Still, Charlie doesn't care and all she wants is for her parental figures to support her:
Charlie: How come he can have faith in me, but my own father can't?
In short, Alastor and Lucifer find pride in their abilities, but need to let go of it, in order to show their love for Charlie. By the end of the episode, they both accomplish this. However, they succeed in slightly different ways, that fit their shared motif of shadow and light. In particular:
Alastor is linked to shadows, as his abilities let him manipulate shadows
Lucifer is linked to light, as his name means morningstar and his powers manifest in light-beams
As a result:
Alastor's development happens in the shadows, whereas Lucifer's in the light - This is true also on a meta-level, as Alastor's arc is the secondary plot-line of the episode, whereas Lucifer's is the main one
Alastor acts as Lucifer's jungian shadow and becomes a catalyst for him to change. Similarly, Alastor himself is challenged to grow by his own jungian shadow, aka Husk
What is the jungian shadow? It is the repressed part of a person. In stories, a character might meet another one, who embodies this hidden part of the self. By integrating with the shadow, the character evolves. In other words, Alastor represents a repressed part of Lucifer and Husk a repressed part of Alastor. Let's see how it all plays out.
ALASTOR, HUSK AND MIMZY
Alastor and Mimzy's bond is unhealthy, as they both enable negative sides of the other. On the one hand Alastor keeps covering for Mimzy, no matter what she does. On the other hand Mimzy feeds Alastor's ego by praising his power and abilities.
So, Mimzy never faces the consequences of her actions:
Mimzy: Thanks for helpin' lil' old me out of a though spot. You're always such a pal.
And Alastor feels respected and appreciated:
Alastor: It's nothing I can't handle. Don't worry Husker. Who in their right mind would cross me?
However, the reality is that Mimzy is using Alastor and Husk points this out:
Husk: You and I both know Mimzy only shows up, when she needs something. That bitch is trouble and who knows what kinda demon she fucked with to come running to you this time?
Not only that, but he openly calls Alastor out on his pride:
Husk: Big talk for someone, who's also on a leash.
Which results in Alastor reacting in anger:
That said, Husk is proven right. It turns out Mimzy has willingly brought chaos to the hotel, so that Alastor could solve things for her. Because of this, Alastor finally cuts ties with her:
Alastor: You deliberately brought danger to this place just to have me clean up your mess. I can't have that here.
This choice is important and it shows how the people around him are slowly impacting Alastor. On the one hand the Radio Demon listens to one of his subjects' advice. On the other hand he acts to protect the hotel. As a matter of fact the moment Alastor steps up as the Host of the Hotel isn't when he sings to Charlie in Hell's Greatest Dad nor when he transforms into a giant and fights. It is when he sends Mimzy away and sacrifices a little bit of his pride to do so. interestingly, this happens as nobody is looking at him, so he isn't really trying to impress nor to trick the others. He acts selflessly in the shadows.
LUCIFER, ALASTOR AND CHARLIE
Lucifer and Charlie's bond is strained:
Charlie: We just have never been close. After he and mom split, he never really wanted to see me. He calls... sometimes, but only if he's bored or like, needs me to do something.
At the root of this conflict there is Lucifer's inability to show his daughter how much he cares. He struggles to express his feelings and hides them behind a prideful persona:
Charlie: I told you when you called me five months ago. Or did you not listen? Lucifer: No, no, no, no. Just, you know, I just forgot. I've just been really busy, ya know with um... important things.
Instead of openly admitting his depression and sadness he prefers to look cold and uninterested. Even dismissive and condescending, like when he arrives at the Hazbin Hotel:
Lucifer: Wow, this place sure looks, uh... Uh-uh. Yeah. Uh-uh. It's got a lot of character!
Lucifer is initially too focused on what he cares about - meeting his daughter - rather than on what Charlie wants - for him to help her with the hotel. He happily hugs Charlie and then immediately moves on to pet Keekee, Razzle and Dazzle, who are his own creations. Only later he considers the welcome Charlie and the others have prepared for him. Even then, he still misses the point and tries to buy Charlie's love by showing off his magical powers:
Haha, looks like you could use some help From the big boss of Hell himself
Except that what Charlie wants from him aren't champaigne fountains or caviar mountains, but an appointment with Heaven, which he negates her. Not only that, but instead of being honest about his fears, he deflects everything on Charlie herself, by dismissing her plan:
Lucifer: Alright, listen, I love that you want to see the best in people, but these sinners... You know, they're just the worst. I, I don't know how much you can realistically expect from them in Heaven.
Luckily, the Radio Demon is closeby, as he forces Lucifer to show his true self.
On the one hand Alastor brings out Lucifer's insecurity and fears:
I'm truly honored that we've built such a bond You're like the child that I wish that I had I care for you, just like a daughter I spawned It's a little funny, you could almost call me dad
He juxtaposes moments of everyday life and affirmations of affection to Lucifer's materialistic and fancy promises. In this way Alastor highlights the faults of Lucifer, as a father. He points out that Lucifer is never there for Charlie.
On the other hand Alastor embodies the kind of sinner Lucifer despises:
Lucifer: Ya see? What I tell ya? Charlie, sinners are violent psychopaths, hell bent on causing as much pain and destruction as they can. There's really no point in trying.
And yet, such a violent psychopath is more willing to help Charlie than Lucifer himself:
Charlie: Dad, stop! He's defending this hotel. It may be a bit more sadistic than I'd hoped. But he's doing it for me!
This realization leads to a confrontation between father and daughter and to an admission on Lucifer's part:
Lucifer: I just don't want you to be crushed by them like... like I was.
The problem isn't Charlie, but Lucifer himself. It is not that Charlie's dream is silly, but that Lucifer's one has been destroyed. This revelation is important because Lucifer's mask comes off and he shows Charlie his weakest and most broken self. He swallows his pride and has Charlie see who her father really his. In all his mistakes and his hurt. And to his surprise Charlie accepts him. Not only that, but she admires him:
So in the end, it's the view I had of you That showed me dreams can be worth fighting for
Symbolically the song More than Anything starts with Lucifer and Charlie in the shadows:
They are repressing a lot and have no idea who the other is. Still, as the song goes on, they get to understand each other:
All that I'm hopin', now that my eyes are open Is that we can start again, not be pulled apart again 'Cause in the end, you are part of who I am
And they end the song surrounded by light:
What is initially in the shadow comes to light in three different ways:
Lucifer shows Charlie his true self
Lucifer sees Charlie for who she is
Lucifer exhibits his weakness in front of the whole Hazbin Hotel. He lets the sinners he dislikes so much witness the mess that he is.
His fragility is in full display. It is in the light for everyone to see.
PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWERS! ITTY BITTY LIVING SPACE!
Another similarity Alastor and Lucifer share is that they are two powerful beings that give much importance to free will:
Alastor: You should know better than anyone what a soul can accomplish when they take charge of their own fate.
Charlie: Together, they wished to share the magic of free will with humanity.
And yet, they are both trapped:
Alastor: I'm hungry for freedom like never before The constraints of my deal surely have a backdoor Once I figure out how to unclip my wings Guess who will be pulling all the strings?
Charlie: As punishment for their reckless act, Heaven cast Lucifer and his love into the dark pit he had created, never allowing him to see the good that came from humanity, only the cruel and the wicked.
On the one hand Alastor controls many souls, but his own is owned by someone else. On the other hand Lucifer is the strongest being in all of Hell, but he is regarded as a disgrace by other angels.
Moreover, they both project their unhappiness on others. Specifically, Lucifer blames sinners like Alastor:
Lucifer: Our "people", Charlie, are awful! They got gifted free will and look what they did with it! Everything's terrible!
While Alastor lashes out on his prisoners, like Husk:
Alastor: If you ever say that again, I will tear your soul apart and broadcast your screams for every other disrespectful wretch who dares to question me.
Still, the point is that Lucifer is exactly like Alastor. He is a gifted creature, who messed up royally and cursed humanity. Alastor instead is exactly like Husk, a powerful overlord, who still finds himself chained. Lucifer is the most hated being in all of creation and Alastor is on a leash. They are both lonely and desperate, but too proud to admit it. In other words, they are both losers:
Husk: There was a time I thought no one could relate To the gruesome ways in which I'm damaged But lettin' walls down, it can sometimes set you straight! We're all livin' in the same shit-sandwich
Just like everyone in Hell. And yet, this is not bad per se. Even if you hit rock bottom, you can still climb back up, as long as you let go of self-importance and start to earnestly empathize with others. As a matter of fact it is only through community and bonds that a person can be redeemed and heal:
Out for love Love Think of who you care about Protect them and be out For love Love You're gonna fight without gloves Long as you're out for love
This is what Alastor and Lucifer are learning through Charlie.
TWO DADS, ONE DAUGHTER
Season 1 sets up Alastor and Lucifer as two mentor figures to Charlie. They share this role in a way, which makes them almost perfect mirrors. Some examples:
Lucifer gives Charlie the hotel building and Alastor calls it Hazbin Hotel
Alastor helps repair the Hotel in the beginning, while Lucifer assists Charlie in building it anew by the end
Lucifer guides Charlie to Heaven, as he sets up her meeting with Sera and Emily. Alastor instead guides Charlie in Hell as he introduces her to Rosie and helps her inspire the cannibals
Both Alastor and Lucifer believe in Charlie, when she is at her lowest. Alastor does so before the final battle, whereas Lucifer after the fight
Alastor and Lucifer fight Adam (another foil of theirs) in the final episode. Moreover, both belittle his abilities and highlight how he is strong, but unskilled:
Alastor: You lack discipline, control and worst, you are sloppy!
Lucifer: So, this is what you've been up to since Eden? Gotta say, you really let yourself go buddy.
In particular, Alastor is the one supposed to take Adam down, but fails and Lucifer steps in by the end. This is just like in the beginning Lucifer is supposed to support and help Charlie with her project. Still, he is absent and Alastor fills the spot.
In other words, Alastor and Lucifer are unwillingly complementary and so far one has appeared when the other has been incapacitated. We'll see if this pattern continues. As for now, they are clearly framed as key to Charlie's development, so it is possible they will come to embody different sides of her:
Alastor represents the sinners Charlie wants to reach and all their pain and complexity. He is also linked to fear and the unknown. He is the ally she finds by herself. He is the found family Charlie chooses.
Lucifer represents the angels Charlie wants to communicate with. He is also linked to dreams and ideals. He is the legacy she inherits. He is the biological family Charlie wants to re-connect with.
In short, they are both parts of who Charlie is and she needs them to grow into herself. Just like they need her to mature and find redemption and happiness.
#hazbin hotel#hazbin hotel meta#alastor#alastor hazbin hotel#lucifer morningstar#lucifer hazbin hotel#my meta#asksfullofsugar#anonymous
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サスケはオレにとっちゃ深いダチって訳 でもねーし.... 別に好きな奴でもねェ
Sasuke wa ore ni toccha fukai dachi tte wake demonē shi....betsu ni sukina yatsu demonē
Sasuke is not my deepest/best friend and I don't.... I don't even like him
Here Shikamaru is openly admitting that he doesn't like Sasuke.
Even though he doesn't like him personally.... he is willing to put his life on the line to rescue Sasuke. Why?? Chouji and Neji went to the brink of death during the Sasuke retrieval arc. We haven't seen these boys have a friendly interaction with Sasuke yet. So, Why are they helping him?? Nakama is more like an associate amongst a group of people or people who are in the same team/group and have the same goal, dream, or purpose. Nakama also means one that is of the same nation. Even if they don't like or get along with each other, they are still your '仲間 nakama'. That's why they were willing to risk their lives to rescue Sasuke because Sasuke also belongs to the same village as them. After they heard about that Sasuke was joining the Akatsuki, an organization that destroyed Konoha, the Konoha 12 decided to kill Sasuke.
✲ Even Sasuke is a nakama of Naruto, but the nature of their relationship is not the same as between nakama.
✲ A boy who worked hard to gain the acknowledgement of others, leading him to the dream of becoming a Hokage. A boy who refused to die until he became Hokage. Ready to die with Sasuke
✲ persistent uncertainty, doubt and confusion about their relationship.
✲ longing
We know...Naruto always saves others because he can't leave someone so similar to him alone.

In Gaara's case, Naruto understood him, but on the other hand, he was literally threatening to kill him if he didn't stop his rampage. From the panels above you can see how the expression in his eyes changes, his eyes with angry veins show that his emotions are heightened.
If Sakura was included among his important person, he could have saved her from Gaara. She became important in here only because Sasuke was on that team.

If he considered Sakura as an important person, Naruto would never smile like this after Sasuke literally tried to kill her.

And he clearly stated that his only bonds are Iruka and Sasuke.

Naruto empathized with Gaara and tried his best to save him. And he was crying. That's understandable! But, Why is he mentioning Sasuke here?

Seeing Gaara's dead body... He said: ぶん殴ってやる = bunnagutteyaru -> (I'll) beat the hell out of (you). Then he strikes Deidara repeatedly with his fists as he said. But when Sasuke died, Naruto's words and feelings were very different from Gaara's. Kishimoto did the scene very vaguely. Zooming out of the panels as Naruto leans into Sasuke and slowly closing their gap it's as if Kishi is giving them a private moment.
When his master Jiraiya died, he did not go into a rage because he chose not to voluntarily seek the power of the Kyuubi. But he cried a river of tears. But, At the end of the Pain arc, even though he wanted to kill them so badly, we saw a new and more matured Naruto as he forgave the enemy who destroyed his home and killed his master. And he also wanted to end the cycle of Hatred by carrying on Jiraiya's Will.
But this all turned upside down when he heard that Danzo had decided to eliminate Sasuke and Raikage has decided to kill Sasuke.

Naruto wouldn't let them kill Sasuke and or stop the chain of hatred by forgiving them. Naruto implies that if Sasuke is killed there will be a war.
友情 yuujou is a common word for "friendship". 友情- you and me. You can use this word when you want to refer to a good relationship of friends. 友情 refers to the wonderful feelings such as affection and love that occur between 友達 tomodachi - close friends. You can sacrifice yourself for other people. 友情 is a deeper and more personal friendship.
As you can see, Naruto calls Sasuke his Tomodachi in the panel above, and here the Raikage tells him that this is not considered friendship in the shinobi world.
✲ Have we ever seen a moment where he said he would start a war when Jiraiya, Gaara, Kakashi or any other Nakama died?
✲ Have we ever seen Naruto kneel down and beg in front of others?
✲ Have we ever seen him say that he can't become Hokage if he can't save others?
✲ Have we ever seen him offered to give up his life for anyone?
He did all this only for Sasuke. Just only for him. Sasuke alone. Because his feelings goes beyond Friendship....

And also, Naruto starts hyperventilating and has a panic attack when he learnt that everyone turned their back on Sasuke.
#There's more to it which I'll write about in my next post#sns#narusasu#sasunaru#Naruto#Sasuke#my stuff
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Original source here; I saw it via @liberalsarecol here. I went a bit off and didn't want to piggyback on their post. (What is the etiquette in these situations? I'm never quite sure.)
They said "Walking away from Trump is healthy." To which I can only respond it's not only healthy, it's damned heroic. Star Trek and US politics thoughts below the cut.
I've been thinking about Damar (from DS9)'s character arc in the final season, and how it to relates to the people swept up in Trumpism. Liz Cheney, Gov. Mike Milley, but also just run of the mill conservatives. They all went along with this cult that is MAGA because it worked for them at some level, because it claimed to give power and voice to something they actually believed in (conservative principles of independence and freedom, an economy that let them support their families, being told who they were was something to be proud of). Not the values that resonate most with me, but I can see someone believing them and acting based on it.
Then came something that should be the bridge too far. The thing they couldn't support. Maybe it affected them personally, maybe it was just extremism beyond what they could swallow. Most people caught up in this movement have a point like that, but not all are brave enough to turn aside. Even if it means admitting they were wrong. Even if that leaves them without a party that represents their view. Even if they have to set aside their own policy preferences and vote for a Democrat because there's more important things at stake.
Which, as I said reminds me of Damar. If you don't know the show, it's built around a war between the various species of the Alpha Quadrant and the Dominion, a fascist regime from the other side of the galaxy. The Cardassians are a militaristic, duty-to-the-state heavy species that makes an alliance with them as a way to get military strength and influence. It doesn't work out so well for them. As Damar, a Cardassian military leader turned rebel terrorist, says:
Seven million of our brave soldiers have given their lives to fulfill our part of the agreement, and what has the Dominion done in return? Nothing. We've gained no new territories. In fact, our influence throughout the quadrant has diminished. And to make matters worse, we are no longer masters in our own home. Travel anywhere on Cardassia and what do you find? Jem'Hadar, Vorta, and now Breen. Instead of the invaders, we have become the invaded. Our 'allies' have conquered us without firing a single shot. Well, no longer.
The thing about Damar is he's no flower child or unblemished angel of a character. I can't remember offhand if he was involved in the occupation of Bajor, but given his background it's hard to imagine he wasn't involved in the occupation of somewhere. He shot Ziyal. it's his personal humiliation more than some grand moral awakening that ultimately drives him to rebel. And probably billions died because of how he tried to pursue power and gave the Dominion an Alpha Quadrant foothold. But when it came down to it he said no more, he gave up his pride and the way he'd woven his pride and position and future in with the Dominion, and he changed course.
I mean, I never thought I'd be cheering on a Cheney either. What a world.
My point is, it's hard to take that leap -- much more challenging than being on the right side of things from the beginning. And while it doesn't wipe away getting it wrong to begin with and all you did because of that, the changing course is still pretty heroic in my book.
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LAES,TSAMS,EAPS WEEKLY*/*DAILY REVIEW SHOW!!!!!
Okay, we had a lot of really good episodes today, so let's hurry up and talk about them!

First up, FAMILY MOMENTS! I love this thumbnail so much, especially Moon's face.. I .. I just love it!
I love how we get to learn about everyone's movie preferences. It's interesting learning these little random tidbits about them. It's fun. Also Sun...
SPY KIDS 3 IS GREAT, AND I WILL NOT HEAR OTHERWISE!!! 😡
Also, Prince of Egypt is a really good movie. You all should go watch it. Even if you aren't religious, it's really good and has some awesome animation and music. Seriously, if you haven't watched, please do. I think it's on YouTube for free???
This episode was cute.... ONTO THE TRAUMA!

Bout time, I was wondering when Nexus would try to kidnap Sun. Took longer than I expected... I wonder why? 🤔
This episode I think confirmed a theory I had...
New Moon/Nexus never cared.
I had this thought in the back of my head that Nexus never really cared about them. He never thought of them as family. He just saw them as people he was told to call family. They were NEVER his family. He never really cared. He just cared about Solar, but Solar never saw him as a brother. OOOFFFFF!
That hurts!
But I'm glad we know because DANG! The angst there!
Also, Sun is stronger than Nexus' chain ability (That ability where he forces people to the floor. I like to imagine purple chains form around the person when he uses that move)
Nexus was so close to kidnapping Sun....

BUT MONTY CAME IN STINKIN' CLUTCH!!!!!!
Monty FINALLY got to use the shotgun! He nearly killed Nexus there! Thank you, Nebula, for the starshells! The Astrals are starting to grow on me.
(Okay... maybe a was a little rash on the whole "Down with the Astrals" "Viva la revolution" thing!) Sorry, Astrals. Still don't really trust Taurus or Leo tho.
Things are getting serious! October is in like two weeks! The creator is still out there! Rez and Cetus are out there! And Dark Sun still has a stinkin' dragon! This is gonna be an exciting October! I'm so excited!
Also, thank you, Davis and Reed, for this picture of Monty with a shotty.
And lastly...

Okay, Eclipse looks like that one guy from the office that conspiracy theory guy. And Puppet just looks depressed.
Puppet really wants to catch the killer. It's really affecting her. It's the MCI incident all over again. And she clearly doesn't want anyone or herself to go through that again. Eclipse still won't watch movies with anyone. It's only a matter of time, though. The moment he says yes and joins them is the moment his redemption arc is complete for me!
So, Eclipse and Puppet have narrowed down the killer to 4 suspects. All employees of Fazbear.
1. Vincent
2. Some lady named Margo
3. A teenage intern who works in the daycare named Josh
4. And the repair man whose name I forget.
I don't think it's any of these guys. But I have a few theories on who the killer could be..
1. Michael Afton of this world. Eclipse did mention in one of the early episodes of the EAPS that the Michael of this world was/still is an employee of Fazbears.
2. Henry Emily. Just cause the angst that it would cause Puppet.
3. The Charlie of this world. Just cause again the angst it would cause Puppet being the killer of this world!
There is no way it's Wanda(the William of this world)
And I highly doubt it's Vincent or some rando employee.
It has to be someone important.
These episodes were amazing!
Davis, Reed, Kat, Valentine, you guys did amazing on these episodes again!
12/10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Extra point cause WOW!
Also shout out to this commentor for having the funniest comment on there.

Nebula, you are starting to become my favorite Astral!
Also, Patchnotes is a ship I really hope happens now!
#tsams#sun and moon show#lunar and earth show#laes#eclipse and puppet show#eaps#Monty FINALLY got to use the shotgun!#chekhov's gun#hey Nexus enjoy the holes in your body!#Big battle coming up soon! I can feel it!#Nebula you're pretty cool. Thanks for the starbullets!#tsams sun#tsams moon#tsams nexus#tsams ruin#laes earth#laes lunar#laes nebula#eaps puppet#eaps eclipse#eaps monty#eaps monica#eaps foxy#eaps f.c.#mgafs monty#mgafs foxy#mgafs f.c.#eaps vincent#this is gonna be fun!#the next few weeks are gonna be an exciting few!
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in honor of my "Mohg dosen't have to be inlove with Miquella" post being agreed with i also want to say that i think both Morgott and Mohg have the child neglect and being hated aspect are also important to their arcs;
Both of them, as you already know get thrown into the sewers, so both of them have a trauma bond since birth. they both learn to survive, and they both learn that both of them are hated for being omens. which is something neither of them can control. they live with the fact that their mother, marika, is also a God. the one God that built the lands between hates them, and their kind.
Morgott from that, learns that marika, the golden order are right, and that hes the issue. he hates himself, he protects the Erdtree until he dies, and kills tarnished, just like how he thinks the greater will would want. marika hates omens, and anyone she deems imperfect is banished or killed. but Morgott still wants to serve her/the golden order and does exactly that, his entire life. the golden order lets him die human, because what he does is human. his self hatred is human.
Morgott's design reflects that too, and i don't just mean that visually. He wears rags, further showing that he may still see himself as a prisoner, and his boss design, his attacks are gold. only golden order loyalists have the transparent yellow attacks.
Mohg, on the other hand, says "fuck the golden order lmao" and then the moment he gets out of the sewers, he creates a whole ass cult, which is also underground, may i mention. its hidden, so no one can disturb him. so no one can kill him, ever again. in the sewers (likely) the formless mother gives him, i assume, blood powers, or at the very least gives much stronger blood powers since blood is broken asf.
He dosen't hate himself like Morgott, but it clearly affects him because it affects his failure. He probably held strict rules in order to mantain the dynasty, hence why there's so many of his dead servant's bodies everywhere.
Mohg give's the Mohgwyn dynasty followers his blood, his power. Would also be a fun headcanon if he somehow got Varre/someone who knows how to sew to make the elegant outfits. Mohg values the past, he even learn latin, however, I imagine why isn't just because he's "ohhh in my days.." but because before marika, there were dragons. Dragons never shunned anybody from what we know. People like the crucible knights were even seen as *holy*.
The way he treats his dynasty with "love & affection" according to Varre makes me think he still has a complex to be loved back like Morgott. I think love is a vague word, and it can cover many things, but Varre says that the two fingers hold "no love for the tarnished" while lord Mohg does. This makes me think that, Mohg holds love for everyone in a way Miquella may have. That he dosen't care who they are as long as they serve him/love him back.
#elden ring#eldenring#miquella the unalloyed#mohg lord of blood#mohg the omen#mohg posting#morgott the omen king#morgott the grace given#elden ring morgott#margit the fell omen#im srs on the last part#elden ring lore#paragraph#also i don't want to see marika apologists defend her child neglect because i mentioned pls thanks#mohgreal posts#mohgreal
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Cooking Crush ep 10: This Show Has My Whole Heart
I wrote about some of the things Cooking Crush is doing so well in my response to a recent ask, and so I'm particularly glad that episode 10 came through with a strong flourish to get us set up the last two episodes.
I wanted to call out a few specific things this episode did that are contributing to why it's working so well for me.
First, I want to mention that the reciprocity continues! Previously, we had Prem comforting Ten during a panic attack post adrenaline crash. In this episode, Ten comforts and supports Prem during his worries about Samsee and the competition.
Picking up on something else I've talked about before, this show is committed to its character's arcs. Fire is struggling with his sexuality and his desire to keep their relationship secret last episode led to the conflict between Samsee and Dynamite this episode. Fire showing up to support Dy in public, giving him affection, and using the petname Dy insisted on having is all evidence of Fy's increasing comfort with it. He's already said before he intends to tell his mother, and Dy has been clear he's not rushing him. The way Dy is so careful with Fire but also so receptive to and appreciative of what Fire is able to give warms my heart (pun intended). And Samsee and Prem seeing it and reacting supportively too, because they know what this means to their friend!

[The gifsearch is not cooperating but please enjoy this gifest by @gunsatthaphan.]
I also want to talk about how this conflict with Samsee hits Dynamite hard, and in the context of knowing he's lost relationships with his parents because of his sexuality, to think his relationship with Fire could have lost him a close friend must be bringing back up his feelings about being cut out of the lives of people he loves. However, it speaks to the strength of his bond with Samsee that even though Samsee is furious and not speaking with him, he does not kick Dy out of his apartment. Dy mentions that he didn't see Samsee the night before the competition because Samsee didn't come home (we find out later why, but I loved this subtle nod to the fact that unlike Dy's own parents, Samsee didn't abandon Dy when he made choices that hurt him. I AM IN MY QUEER FOUND FAMILY FEELINGS, FRIENDS).
Along these lines, Ten going to confess to Prem, noticing that these friends are having a moment, and quietly stepping away to give them space is such a good character moment for him, since previously he's been begging to be let in to their shared space even when Prem mentions he's concerned about its impact on his friends and their relationship. Ten's realizing he can't be everything for Prem, and it's better for both of them if he isn't.

That scene of reconciliation, the three friends re-establishing how important they are to one another, that got to me. And that the show prioritized it over the romance! I cannot tell you how much I love that this was an explicit decision the show made, to say 'no, this is not the time for a confession, this friendship reconciliation is more important right now'. And I love that the show gives us a solid, character-grounded reason for why Samsee reacted so strongly to being left out in the first place. We've been told Samsee has changed school majors 3 times, and it's been played as a joke as well as an explanation for why he's an older student. I love that we've now had the consequences of those changes on Samsee's friendships added to his story. Even a "joke" backstory has ramifications for the characters in this show, I am obsessed.

I also want to mention that I am loving what the show is doing with Samsee and Metha, two characters who are the "fuck-ups" of their friend groups, but who are also the most loyal and most supportive of them all. They conflict with one another around what that support looks like, even while they enable one another to continue to be the best friends to their respective besties.

Prem has struggled this entire show to use his words, and in particular he's visibly wrestled with how he can gracefully reject Chef Changma without putting his own career at risk. In this episode he manages to say 'I don't think that [a hug] would be a good idea', and he's ignored. Ten immediately steps in, but I wanted to highlight how big a deal it is for Prem to have said no to this Chef--who he's idolized, who is his mentor, and who is a judge of the competition he's in--in this moment.

When we do get to the confession, Prem continues to lead with action, and Ten continues to push him to use his words. I love so much that Ten never lets him get away with copping out of saying the words, since it's something we know Prem struggles so much with. This speaks to @lurkingshan's earlier post about how Cooking Crush shows us its leads are better thanks to their relationship (in the same way that Fire self-actualizing and being more free to be himself and express affection also speaks to this point).


Beyond character arcs, there's one other thing I am very excited for heading into episode 11 next week, and that's the conflicts in this show converging so brilliantly. So far, the show has set up a few conflicts: Ten's relationship with his father, the cooking competition, the bullies, Fire's relationship with his mother, and Chef Changma's interest in Prem. All of these have now been queued up to expertly converge as a single conflict in ep 11, based on the preview. With Changma's advance and subsequent punch being recorded and distributed (I'm placing bets that this was recorded by one of the bullies, btw), Ten's father once again steps in the way of this relationship that he sees as a detriment to his son. Prem also previously stated that he wanted to enter the competition in order to prove to Ten's dad that he has potential, so these threads were already starting to come together weeks ago. Even if I'm wrong about the bullies having been the ones to record that video, they're sitll in the competition as competitors. And of course Fire has promised Dy he'd come out after the competition, tying the last thread of these conflicts all together around this single event.
And this is what I mean when I say the writing on this show is so good. Because the characters are coherent and consistent and have clear arcs, and the conflicts are grounded in the characters, even though there are several threads, they come together easily and in a way that makes perfect sense and that work with the character arcs rather than against them.
The last thing I'll mention, because it's something I actually brought up as a negative to this show previously, is the use of non-linear storytelling. Cooking Crush has used non-linear storytelling several times, showing us a scene and then flashing back to what happened before that scene in order to fill in the gaps. This can be an effective storytelling tool, but it has to accomplish something in the narrative. The difference between unnecessary and excellently-deployed non-linear storytelling is whether or not there's a good answer to this question: What is the purpose of delaying this information to the audience, and how does that delay affect the audience understanding of what they're seeing? In previous instances, for example the kiss and then flashback to the full date, knowing that Ten and Prem kissed at the end of their date didn't add anything to the viewing experience of watching their date, and having seen their date didn't change my experience of the kiss. This is why I consider it an ineffective use of that technique.
In episode 10, however, we get the cold open that shows Ten joining Prem and Samsee in the competition, and then we flash back. Knowing Ten will be joining Prem and Dynamite in the competition helps to colour what we see about Prem and Dy trying to get Samsee to reconcile with them, as well as Samsee's absence. When we get to Ten stepping in, we have learned it was as much a surprise (and disappointment) to Prem and Dy as it was to us. Ten stepping in doesn't actually work, but it does give Prem the courage to ask if they can compete as a duo, rather than just letting themselves be disqualified without a fight. And we later find out that Samsee was so touched by the letter that he went to his hometown to dig for prawns and that's why he was late for the competition. [I also wanted to mention this because based on @respectthepetty's roundup post it sounds like the cold open was cut for the youtube version]
I lied, I have one more actual last thing, this one is obvious but I can't not say it: THANK YOU to this show for consistently queueing up the typical miscommunication fumbles that get so annoying in every BL (in most romance plots of any sexuality) and then saying NOT TODAY SATAN and having the characters choose vulnerability and honesty and bravery, and talking it out. Every time the show does this (and it's at least 2x per episode, no exaggeration) I feel a little more faith in romance writing restored.
ANWAY, TL;DR Cooking Crush continues making me so happy every week!
#cooking crush#bl meta#long post#typed so that I can stop thinking it#sorry y'all i am so obsessed with the details about this show#everything that makes it feel normal to everyone else is what is making it feel extraordinary to me
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Y'know what? I was sitting in a funk, thinking thoughts, and I thought: y'know what'll get me outta this? Listening to a mutual talk about their passions, passionately.
So, tell me: top 3 Revival moments that aren't MSRy. I wanna know layers. I wanna know intrigue. I wanna be GRIPPED by your love for that series. >:DDDDDD
thank you for this dream assignment. okay. *cracks knuckles* let's begin. i don't know if these are my *top* 3, but they're the ones that come to mind immediately.
1.
I'll start with one that you may argue is still msr, but this very specific bit is not, so hear me out. I'm talking about Scully in "Plus One" coming to Mulder's room asking him to hold her. This is all about Scully and the lessons she has had to learn the hard way about using her words, and about taking that big risk of showing vulnerability. For me, we can go all the way back here to season 2, "Irresistible," where she is shaken up to the point of going for a counseling session where she talks about herself in the second person, and then admits she doesn't want Mulder to know how much the case is getting to her. That's not about Mulder specifically. That's about Scully wanting to prove herself to her brothers as a kid. That's about being a woman in a male-dominated field - both in science and the FBI. She knows her weakness can be used against her. So putting up a facade has become second nature to her. It is also important to note that she *does not* open up to Mulder at the end of "Irresistible." She has reached a breaking point. She still doesn't talk.
In "Plus One," she asks for help. Once again she is shaken up by a case to the point where she has trouble handling it. But she is able this time to admit it. And I'm sure that is a hard-earned skill. Yes, she can open up here and ask for help because it's Mulder. But that she's admitting *at all* that she is struggling, and not even that but *asking for support*? That's big. And that has something to do with their relationship, but also not. That's Scully having learned that being scared is okay. That's Scully being more settled in her own skin, more confident, knowing her own strength and therefore being able to drop her defenses occasionally.
2.
In "Ghouli," the scene where William is on that autopsy table and Scully, thinking he's dead, explains to him all about his adoption and how affected she was by it. It's an important moment because I always felt like they completely dropped the ball on that in season 9. She gave up her kid, after it had been her biggest wish to be a mom for so long, and then the next time we hear about it is when she talks about it with Mulder in his jail cell for one minute. In between, she seems completely unaffected by it. It comes up again in IWTB, which I really liked, but I always felt like they owed Scully a real *moment*. A real moment to live in that pain and acknowledge how that changed her life and how really fucking difficult it was. As heartbreaking as that moment is and as much as I tend to simply ignore the William storyline, I think it was important.
3.
This is not a moment per se, but you know I have to mention the sushi episode. "Rm9sbG93ZXJz." There, I even looked up the proper title. It's a lot of moments in that episode that make up the whole of it. I love the creepiness of it that's created through the complete absence of other people. It's isolation dialed up to maximum. That's obviously a social commentary, but to me it's also an X Files commentary, if you will. The whole show, it's been them against the world. Very little backup. Just the two crazies from the basement. And here, they're not just isolated from the rest of the world, but for all intents and purposes, the world seems actually *empty*. Even though this episode stands somehow outside of canon to an extent, to me it's a ~vibes~ summary of the entire og myth arc. They have no one. They can't trust anyone. Everything is against them and yet they keep fighting against an enemy that seems omnipresent and undefeatable. I will talk about this episode for days if I don't stop now, so I'll leave it at that.
oh man this was fun. thank you for the question!
#txf#x files revival#you will notice that i even used capitalization#that's how seriously i approached this
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Every so often One Piece gets an arc that mostly focuses on lore/world building reveals, biggest examples probably being Reverse Mountain, Jaya and this one: Reverie, as we leave our main characters and focus on the shifting powers in the world

Immediately out of the way, it’s a joy to see Shirahoshi again, currently watching the Fishman Island remake as it’s coming out with my friend and man I still love her so much. Seeing her finally free to make decisions for herself, after everything she went through during Fishman Island, is such a joy to see, she can finally see the real world! And we continue on what Queen Otohime said: the youngest generation is who will be shaping up the world anew


Speaking of shaping up the world: We finally get to see more of the Revolutionary Army!! I have a very special place in my heart for Lulusia. Seeing how much the Revs inspire the people, I get really emotional. Call it growing up in a country still affected by a regime that ended years ago, seeing that a bit of hope can change the mentality of people, even in a fictional story, means so much to me. Especially with the added bonus of Moda’s clothing reminding me of some traditional Polish folk wear. The Revs themselves have great designs, love them all

Reverie itself has one of the cutest meet ups, with the three princesses saved by the Straw Hats finally meeting and immediately becoming friends. Shirahoshi, Rebecca and Vivi are all characters I adore, if I didn’t make that clear during their respective arcs, and seeing them interact and gush over the Straw Hats together is so sweet. It also shows just how much positive change Luffy has brought into this world

There’s this thing Oda does ever since the end of Dressrosa that I like to call the Doflamingo jumpscare. Doffy may not be a mysterious guy, or an actual threat anymore, but with how much he had been set up since Jaya it would be a disservice to his character to just not mention him at all, and that’s how we get here. Doflamingo clearly knows something that us readers can only try and piece together, something that still makes him a danger, something that still makes him important. He’ll make a comment whenever something big happens to the plot that will leave you wondering for days on end what was that about? It’s a really good way to build up hype and mystery, and also to utilise a character like him

And right after we get that, we’re met with a new reveal: Imu. I will be reinstating a point a made in TikTok a while ago, but what makes Imu interesting to me, is how from the first panel you see them, it immediately clicks that this is THE guy. I absolutely adore the dark blob design, which is why it pisses me off so much where people try to give them an appearance. Let Oda do this at the right pace man. In the manga they’re already incredibly eerie, and they get more and more ominous as the story goes along, but I have to give huge props to the anime this time, Imu was terrifying in Egghead

Also remeber Charlos getting punched to oblivion in Sabaody? The first time was so nice we gotta do it twice!! And the reveal that it’s Mjosgard, the guy who seemed like every other Celestial Dragon during the Fishman Island flashback who realized his wrongs and actually tried to use his power as a Celestial Dragon to do good, is great. Mjosgard shows that the Celestial Dragons at their core are humans, which makes it all the more terrifying that their wealth makes them believe they’re higher beings. It’s scary, but realistic

We haven’t seen Bonney in a while, and she’ll become important in a few arcs, but here we get some neat foreshadowing for her and Kuma’s relationship, as well as teases of the Sorbet Kingdom. In retrospect, these scenes are so, so important now that we know what happens on Egghead (unless you’re not caught up and if so GO READ EGGHEAD RNNN)


We finish the arc of with some genuinely insane panels, starting with what started the Rat Haired Shanks agenda, which leaves you absolutely shocked when you first see it. After all, it’s hard to believe Shanks would conspire with the gorosai, right? I’m not getting into Elbaf spoilers but this is important to keep in mind, as it leaves you with so many questions. And then, the absolutely jaw dropping panel of Imu sitting on the throne where no one should be sat, and the gorosai, who are supposed to be the highest power in the world, bowing to them. Literal chills
#one piece#op reading corner#reverie#shirahoshi#donquixote mjosgard#imu one piece#donquixote doflamingo#jewellery bonney#no witty comment in the tags this time#I’m leaving that for Wano
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Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 38 part one
(Masterpost) (Pinboard) (whole thing on AO3)
Warning! Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!
OK But Why?
This tale-within-a-tale is excruciating, yeah? So let's start off by considering why it even exists. Yi City feels like, if not a fully separate story, a pretty complete arc that can play as its own little movie. And it's incredibly sad, in every direction. While it may have begun life, in its originally-written form, as a different story exploring some of the same themes, MXTX placed it in the novel deliberately, and the producers of CQL included it deliberately. Why? Other than the, you know, catharsis of a well-wrought tragedy?
I think the answer is that it tells a set of parallel stories, alternate versions of the stories our main characters inhabit, with different outcomes driven by the character's choices. There's an obvious parallel between Lan Wangji's grief and Song Lan's, and another clear one between Wei Wuxian's core donation and Xiao Xingchen's eyeball donation.
And there's an important comparison to be made between Xue Yang and Wei Wuxian, two demonic cultivators. They share some formative experiences, but have followed radically different paths, shaped, at a key moment, by another person's choice.
Overall, the Yi City story illustrates how choices made in a moment affect not just an individual life, but ripple outward into other lives. So be prepared for me to point out parallels even more than usual, as we go through these episodes.
Empathy
We start off learning about Empathy and how it’s sooper dangerous, which means of course Wei Wuxian is totally down for it and probably invented it. He gathers the kids around and assigns Jin Ling to be the person in charge of supervising and deciding when to pull him out of the matrix link.
Jin Ling is surprised and reluctant so teacher’s pet Sizhui jumps forward and volunteers.
Wei Wuxian asks Jin Ling for his Jiang clarity bell, which is on a tassel that used to be Jiang Yanli’s.
(more behind the cut!)
Once the bell/tassel is out of Jin Ling’s hand, however, he changes his mind and snatches it, and the responsibility, back.
It seems like Sizhui might recognize this tassel?
It’s like the one Jiang Yanli gave Wei Wuxian when they met up before her wedding, which means Wei Wuxian would have had it with him during their year in the burial mounds.
Jingyi disapproves of Jin Ling’s mind-changing, which is a little unfair since JL didn’t actually say “no” prior to Sizhui putting in his oar. (Sizhui is entirely loveable, but he is also a pushy brown-noser just like Lan Wangji was at his age. He just does it so sweetly that nobody minds.)
Sizhui, also like his Lan dad, has made it his life’s mission to manage a loudmouth hothead’s temper for him.
Heading into empathy with A-Qing, we get flashes of bits of the story that we're about to see in depth. Then we jump to "ten years ago" which, given the way this series does math, probably means seven years ago.
Side note: A-Qing has managed to keep her hair looking pretty cute despite being 90% dead.
Splish Splash
This particular section of the Wuxia River of Sadness is reserved for people who are contemplating the total mess they have made of their lives (gifset here), but A-Qing didn't get that memo, so she's having a nice time splashing joyfully without a care in the world.
A-Qing isn't about drama or being depressed, even when things are pretty difficult. She has found a big rock to sit on and is having a nice day hanging out on it.
Then she goes skipping along singing "la la la la" (which is the same sound in Chinese as we make in English when we're singing and don't know the words, incidentally). Ok, show, we get it, she's happy and carefree. I sure hope she doesn't get involved in any weird relationships.
Grifting
She sees a couple of women walking on the path and she starts pretending to be blind. In the book, this pretense was facilitated by her having completely white eyes, but in the show she has normal brown eyes, until she actually is blinded by Xue Yang. So her entire pretense of being blind is to unfocus her eyes a bit and wave her hands around...
...with frequent intervals where she thinks no-one is watching her, and she acts 100% like she can see. Somehow she is almost never busted for this.
The ladies give her a steamed bun and whisper loudly to each other about how pitiful she is.
Then she heads into town for a little grifting, picking a wealthy douchebag as a mark. She bumps into him and steals his money bag, which he doesn't notice because he's too busy creeping on her.
She's annoyed and disappointed that he doesn't have a lot of money.
Hey Pretty, Don’t You Want To Take a Ride With Me
Next she bumps into (and robs) Xiao Xingchen, who is actually blind, so he doesn’t notice her noticing how extremely pretty he is.
He does notice that she has robbed him, however.
Did you know if you have your eyes removed or even just damaged so you can't see any more, your eye sockets and/or tear ducts will bleed pretty much forever? Yeah, me neither.
Xiao Xingchen immediately takes charge of A-Qing, telling her to walk more slowly and then telling her - kindly - to return his money purse. Before she can answer him, the rich douchebag comes back to yell at her and try to hit her. Xiao Xingchen stops him and smooths over the situation, and then lectures Ah Qing about stealing and how it's bad. But he tells her to keep his money, so - mixed messages, bro.
She calls him gege and says that since he's blind and she's blind, she's going to follow him forever. He’s like, okey dokey, and they walk off together. Is she really the first person (since Song Lan) who’s had this idea about him? He is *very* pretty, after all.
It's unclear to me if she's calling him gege in the sense of “orphan girl who wants a family,” or in the sense of “mostly-grown-up woman who would like to Hit That.” Xiao Xingchen appears to take it as the former; he is too gay virtuous for the other option.
Two seconds after they decide to stay together, they encounter Xue Yang lying injured by the side of the road. A-Qing pretends she didn’t see him, and almost successfully wangles a piggyback ride out of Xiao Xingchen.
But then he hears Xue Yang and immediately decides to rescue him, like the do-gooder Xue Yang despises him for being.
Xue Yang gets the romance-tropey piggyback ride that A-Qing was hoping for. Girl, the time to stop trying to seduce your gay male friend is 5 minutes before you started, ok?
So...why was Xue Yang lying by the side of the road with a stab wound? Who gave it to him? If Jin Guangyao was sick of him, he would have stabbed him 100% fatally, and he wouldn't have let him hang on to Tiger Seal 2.0. And presumably Xue Yang wouldn’t think of him as a friend any more. It’s a mystery.
The new throuple decide to go to the creepiest abandoned walled city that has ever existed, and head past all the regular houses to set up camp in the morgue, for some reason. Not even inside one of the buildings; just out in the courtyard with a bunch of possibly-occupied coffins. Xiao Xingchen is so fucking weird.
Each Unhappy Family is Unhappy in its Own Way
Xiao Xingchen gets to work patching Xue Yang up, and Xue Yang wakes up and recognizes him. A-Qing explains that they are blind and tells him not to be rude about it.
Xue Yang takes a second to process the situation, and then decided he’s going to hide his identity and make nice with Xiao Xingchen. Proving that found family can also have hideous toxic dynamics.
Xue Yang is very careful to keep XXC from touching his hand, since that would give away his identity. He has a...prosthetic finger? He wears a black glove and keeps his pinky finger straight so we know it's a replacement, or injured, or something.
I think this is a concession to Wang Haoxuan having ten functional fingers and the show having a limited CGI budget. In a real sword-based society, missing a finger is probably not particularly uncommon, and he would probably just rock the nine-fingered look without having a special glove.
At this point, the complex interactions of the trio get rolling. Xiao Xingchen is honestly kind, Xue Yang is fake-kind, A-Qing is fake-unaware with Xue Yang and is unable to make Xiao Xingchen understand the problem, and Xiao Xingchen is genuinely unaware of everything.
We spend a fairly large amount of time with Xue Yang and Xiao Xingchen playing happy families. As part of his false persona, Xue Yang adopts a coy and whiny tone when talking to his pet white-clad cultivator, remarkably like another demonic cultivator we know.
I’m pretty sure Wei Wuxian has never managed to cop a feel while his sweetie climbs up a ladder, however.
Then again, neither Lan Wangji nor Wei Wuxian has ever needed a ladder to get onto a roof, so maybe it’s just a lack of opportunity.
This relationship, on the surface, is cute and sweet, which just makes the reality of it more disturbing. It’s super uncomfortable to watch, but there’s more than manipulation happening in these interactions. As Xue Yang flits around doing domestic tasks like patching the roof of the crappy outdoor shelter that they absolutely do not need to be using, he tells Xiao Xingchen various true things about his early life, and we begin to see what shaped him.
Xue Yang (like OP) is obsessed with candy. In Xue Yang’s case, he was a hungry street kid who loved candy but couldn’t usually have it because of poverty. We learn that he has skills in patching up inadequate housing because he did it growing up.
And we learn that he was beaten a lot.
So he and Wei Wuxian have these things in common - except now Wei Wuxian gets his sugar from alcohol, not from candy. And Wei Wuxian’s handyman skills are used to make a home for his former enemies in the burial grounds, while Xue Yang’s are used - also in a cemetery, of sorts - to manipulate and trap his enemy.
I Want Candy
In classic predator form, Xue Yang uses candy to lure A-Qing into coming within stabbing range, because he thinks she’s faking her blindness and wants to test her.
I find him super attractive right here in spite of his evilness. I’m pretty sure it’s because he’s offering candy. (OP goes and gets a jolly rancher out of her purse).
After calling her over, he draws his sword with a super-loud "sshshk" noise that she inexplicably doesn't notice, and she bravely walks up to, and nearly on to, the point of the sword.
This shocks him and convinces him that she's really blind. He sits her down with apparently sincere gentleness, and gives her candy, while quizzing her about her hot gege.
A-Qing tries to warn Xiao Xingchen about Xue Yang being a bad guy, pointing out that he's a cultivator and won't tell them his name. (She can’t say “also he tried to stab me” because she’d have to come clean about being able to see.) Xiao Xingchen, because he is a condescending prick--albeit a very sweet one--pats her on the fucking head and laughs off her extremely useful warning.
Xiao Xingchen came out into the wider world with a set of ideals that he lives by, apparently without examining them. He’s humble, kind, frugal, and wants to eradicate evil. He also believes that the majority of people are good like him, and that detecting evil is simple--as simple as following his sword toward it. He doesn’t allow A-Qing, who is experienced in the wider world, to teach him anything, preferring to keep his ideals untarnished.
Contrast this with Lan Wangji, who also starts his journey into the wider world with a set of ideals (codified as rules), but does not make the mistake of assuming that other people shares his beliefs. Once he’s away from the Cloud Recesses, he follows Wei Wuxian’s lead when dealing with new people, rather than insisting on doing things the way he did back home. In general, he is open to having his beliefs challenged, even when it makes him upset or uncomfortable. As a result, he grows into a righteous man, not a naïve one, and he’s fully capable of identifying enemies even when they appear to be friends.
Bonus:
In this brief long-distance shot we learn that A-Qing sleeps in a coffin, which is some next level goth girl shit.
Soundtrack: 1. Hey Pretty by Poe 2. I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow 3. Cheap Thrills by Sia
#the untamed#the untamed gifs#restless rewatch the untamed#yi city#yi city trio#canary3d-original#ep 38
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Tug [Shinsou Hitoshi]

Content: Soulmates, Fluff, Sports Festival Arc
Pronouns: None
Header: @/tizuaka
Reblogs: Let me know that you enjoy my work and want to see more, so don’t forget to like and reblog (and comment in the tags. I love seeing people’s rambles in the tags)!
This work’s concepts, plot and original characters are my own which means I do not allow any sort of creative theft nor do I allow my work to be entered into any sort of A.I. bots. Thank you for respecting my space and boundaries.

Today was one of the most important days of your life, the UA Sports Festival. An event where students would show off their skills and be potentially scouted by pros. You put in so much work into your training. Sleepless nights, bruised body and constant cramming. You had made it through the obstacle race, and had a lot of fun doing it, but…
The cavalry battle kicked your ass. Your team was fourth to last, so of course you didn’t make it to the finale. You were a bit bummed about it, but once you saw that alleged quirkless boy that had been the talk of the school enter the arena, your interest peaked.
But then, all of a sudden
You felt a rough tug.
You had been feeling these little tugs ever since you entered UA, and they had only gotten stronger since entering the festival.
“Ugh—” Another strong pull. You eyed the people nearest to you in the stands. No one else seemed to be affected. However, they were looking at the field below curiously. Your eyes slid over, shocked to see that the two combatants were just standing there. Your eyes flicked up to the large screen.
Midoriya Izuku, the alleged quirkless boy and—
Shinsou Hitoshi
Your brows raised as you looked back toward them. Midoriya stood stiff as if he were petrified. Shinsou however…
“Shinso failed the practical part of the exam, so he lost a spot in the hero course,” You raised a brow as Aizawa spoke, “He got into general studies though, and that’s all he could have hoped for. His quirk is extra powerful, but…given the format of the practical exam. His ability didn’t help him out.” The crowd gasped in awe while you sat in silence. You were fixated on the two, watching in awe as Midoriya silently walked toward the edge of the boundary.
“Ah—” Another tug, this time powerful enough to have you jerk forward in your seat.
Unfortunately, the tug came at the most inopportune time because once you had collected yourself, Midorya was staring back at Shinsou and—
Wait…
Shinsou had shifted back a bit.
“Shit…!” You hissed, gripping the railing tightly as you forced yourself from tipping over the edge. When others around you questioned you, you simply told them that you were really interested in the fight.
If only they knew.
After a few seconds of holding his bruised hand, Midoriya ran for Shinsou. He shoved him toward the edge, but Shinsou punched him in retaliation, not ready to give in just yet. Despite this, Midoriya continued to push him. Shinsou tried to grab him by his neck, but Midoriya counted by grabbing his arm and slamming him to the ground. Shinsou struggled to overpower him, and he did, but—
"Fuck—!” You felt another strong tug, and the next thing you knew, you were flying over the railing.
You knew it was over even before Present Mic announced it.
You did this. This was your fault.
You kept your eyes on the ground as you dusted yourself off, listening in on the students of class 1-C, who were only a few seats over, crowded the railing to speak to Shinsou.
“You were awesome out there, Shinsou!”
“You’re the shining star of us general studies guys!”
“You had us on the edge of our seats!”
“You did just as well as the guy who got third in the obstacle course!”
The corner of your lips tugged upward before you could stop them. You chanced a glance at Shinsou, only to find that his gaze was already on you. He was silent for a moment before addressing Midoriya.
“They’ll consider transfers to the Hero Course depending on the results here. Remember that.” Your eyes widened at his statement, “Maybe I failed this time, but I’m not giving up. I’ll show them I’ve got what it takes to make the Hero Course, and I’ll become a greater hero than all of you.”
Summoning whatever courage (and dignity) you had, you followed the soft tugs to him.
You fiddled with your fingers as his eyes widened. “Uh…hi—I’m your—”
“The one who had a hand in me losing the match.”
You winced, “I’m sorry, I—”
He cut you off again, “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure we—”
This time he was cut off by Midnight, who had cracked her whip at the two of you. “Clear the field!”
Shinsou rolled his eyes, grabbing your hand. “Come on. Looks like we’ve got some getting to know to do…” He paused then glanced back at you
"Soulmate.”

Ko-Fi | Commission | Masterlist

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Buck Season 8 Storyline
Season 7 started off strong for Buck with the way his bisexual realization was written. The confusion, the 'overenthusiastic-ally-to-queer,' over-compensating with the heterosexual behavior because you're not ready to be out.
But after that Buck was, once again, shoved into a relationship with someone who wouldn't treat him well and was given no further storyline beyond that. Even Maddie and Chimney, who didn't get overarching storylines like Henren, Bathena ,and Eddie, at least had one episode storylines and made an impact in the story during the finale (fostering Mara till Henren could finally officially adopt her).
It got me thinking on what kind of storyline Buck could have in season 8. It has to be something that touches on his family (118) and romantic relationships (they can't be side-lined at this point) but it has to be something wholly about him.
Then I remembered season 4. In season 4, we see that Buck started seeing a Dr. Copeland because he had issues about feeling 'sad and lonely' and feeling like he can't trust it (4x03). Even after he got closure from Abby which was the only lingering relationship issue at the time, he still felt sad and lonely.
This means that it's an internal thing that is making him feel sad and lonely, not an external relationship. And afterwards we see that this loneliness stems from his childhood in a family with neglectful parents and a sister, who loved him so much, but was caught up in a terrible situation to be around.
But there was another aspect that we learned from his childhood. His 'reckless' , 'dive in head first' attitude was a learned behaviour. He taught himself that being in pain=getting attention from his parents and this escalated to a point where he got in a motorcycle accident. As these incidents escalated, he would have to do weigh the fact that he could get really hurt (or worse) and then go 'that's not as important as the possibility of surviving and his parents showing him a smidge of attention'
That is textbook self-destructive behaviour wrapped up in this need for attention and love. He needs this attention because otherwise he doesn't feel enough for his parent's affection. And how long can a kid grow up like that before he internalizes that?
This lack of self worth is seen in 4x05 when he calls himself 'defective parts' and when Eddie combats that by saying 'its not on you' he combats it not by saying he doesn't think that but that his parents do think of it like that. He isn't saying 'I know I'm not defective' but that 'this situation isn't about me' when it clearly is. It personally speaks to me about low self-worth, that even when he is talking about himself, its through the way other people describe him.
He also has a huge tendency to intellectualize his traumas rather than confront them. Refer to Buck 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0. Instead of processing the fact that his parents lied to him for years, he just says he's a new person because his parent's agreed to family therapy with him. He hasn't even dealt with his emotions yet and he's already packing the trauma in a box to keep away. Even his bisexual arc follows this, he may logically understand that he is bisexual but then he immediately jumped into something without trying to process what that means to him because he just won't think about himself without a buffer of another person.
So we see that Buck tends to feel lonely even when he is surrounded by meaningful relationships (Taylor in 4x08), he has self destructive habits and a lack of self worth. We also see that whenever it comes to him processing or letting himself feel his emotions, he'd rather focus on something else (he finally realizes it is over with Abby; he worries about not being a manwhore like Buck 1.0, his family lied to him; he'd rather focus on the fact that he is getting family therapy and try to find someone romantic, when Eddie is shot and he's asked about it; he'd rather worry about the team and climb up a crane where chances are he could be shot)
I want to take all of this and put it in a storyline for Buck where he learns that he only looks for a romantic partner, no matter who they are, because he wants to avoid being alone with his negative thoughts about himself or what he has been through like the ladder, his parents, dying, being lied to by Maddie, seeing Eddie get shot. The sad and lonely part of him that he keeps trying to put away with any romantic partner that comes his way is not because he lacks romance or love of any kind, but because he is unable to be happy with just himself. Buck doesn't like himself, he's constantly looking for an external change for something internal to him that he doesn't even try to think about and that is self-destructive.
Because the only external change he can think of is tossing himself into any relationship he has the opportunity of being in without thinking about whether that person is good for him. Abby didn't want a serious relationship, he barely got a chance to be meaningful with Ali, Taylor has behaved poorly in regards to his family (118) and Tommy is overall very dismissive of Buck as a person.
And when these relationships end, he feels even more poorly about himself, because he has always thought of any issue in a relationship being his fault because why wouldn't it be?
Buck has serious self worth issues that he needs to learn how to process and learn to like who he is and I hope season 8 will do that.
#911 abc#evan buckley#911#911 season 7#911 spoilers#911 show#buck buckley#911 season 8#911 season 4#911 season finale#give buck better storylines
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One thing that I think is maybe not overlooked but is given less gravitas than I think it should be is that once the cursed suit comes into play the weather changes it becomes overcast and foggy.
The cursed suit is cursed it’s a representation of Stede falling into the perception of what it means to be a “CAPTAIN” but also he’s conforming to a lot of the depictions of what it means to be “upper crust”. He’s not interested in how the crew is feeling, he’s passive aggressive, he doesn’t seem to even realize or care that Ed and Fang are missing. Granted it’s been shown that he doesn’t always recognize when people are missing (Where’s Olu? I don’t know. Go find him.) but he’s just made this effort to get Ed back on the ship and has zero idea where Ed is but manages to go on two raids and spend a day twirling around the ship in between with no desire to show Ed his new captain suit?? I’m not saying all their actions need to be tethered to each other but he never even asks anyone where Ed might be even JUST to show him his fancy new suit.
And since I assume every decision in filmmaking is deliberate. The fact that this exists outside of the constraints this show usually takes with time in general, is purposefully making it feel like a dreamscape (also commonly depicted with fog) where time literally means nothing making the actions feel more formalistic rather than depicting reality. It’s literally film language telling you this isn’t actually happening like this EVEN in the reality of the show. If you wanna argue for any episode/part of an episode to be Stede’s gravy basket it would be this one because he needs to come to the decision on his own to give up the curse of living up to the standards set by others. He needs to step away from conforming to “the greats” and what they expect from him. He doesn’t recognize that he’s fascinating on his own, he can’t yet see that he doesn’t need the layers of velvet, brocade, silk, or lace to hide behind.
And so as soon as he lets go of the trappings of what he thinks he should want, ie as he’s pawning the suit off on the French, the fog is lifting and the sun is shining again. Even when he’s telling Ed about the suit he says it was cursed, he doesn’t qualify it with “the crew thought” it was cursed. Which is kind of important because the other aspect to keep in mind is that the weather changes for all the characters. Even Ed and Fang are caught up in the fog even though they aren’t on the ship because Stede’s perception of himself affects all those around him.
The fact that the musical cue for the suit is reminiscent of the Kraken musical cue is a parallel showing both Stede and Ed have “evil” personas. Stede’s isn’t outright named something else but it’s when he allows himself to be boxed in by others. (It’s not lost on me that this is also the period in which Izzy is training him and the implications of how Stede is trying to learn to be a pirate captain from someone who helped create and maintain the Blackbeard persona and that the last time Izzy’s “advice” was shown to be taken Ed took it too far and went Kraken mode).
Stede’s clothing represents his progression through his emotional arc of self discovery…this is the hill I will die on.
#you made him the captain he is today#he’s not a captain today stede#stede bonnet#the gentleman pirate#cursed suit of cuntiness#edward teach#ed teach#blackbeard#the crew of the revenge#our flag means death#ofmd season 2#ofmd s2#ofmd#gentlebeard#blackbonnet#ed x stede#izzy hands#the new unicorn
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