#can't miss these nuances guys

[solanj]

sometimes in the fandom you see some art that is SO beautifully made but goes SO against the grain of how you perceive the drawn character(s) like I want to reblog it so much because it's so visually gorgeous and the artist is amazing and deserves to know this but I'll fucking die before letting that particular interpretation of the character(s) anywhere near my blog

[sparkspropaganda]

Also one thing I didn't realize when Astarion is about to ascend is that you have to go into his mind and reach out to him to get him to stop- just saying "no, i refuse to help you do this" gets you the ending where he... well, leaves your team permanently and says that he hopes you die screaming. Maybe that changed since the time I played it but it's a massive wake up moment I feel. That at the end of the day you have to be soooo careful about how you present your refusal because he is not willing to hear it. No matter how "nice" he may become, no matter how close you two have become, he cannot handle the rejection outright. The 7,000 spawn are just collateral to him regardless.

[musical-chick-13]

I’m at the point where the Obviously Evil™ Mentally Ill Lady type of character in any piece of media can just do whatever she wants.

[drunkkenobi]

Hi bb, ty for the prompt to write my thoughts!

So I can't get on tumblr at work anymore unless I go outside to get good signal on my phone so I have only been privy to what's going on here today from friends on discord. So maybe I'm missing some nuance or the what my mutuals think and I apologize in advance for that but I'm going to speak plainly.

This is the only way Watcher is going to survive.

The view counts have been steady through Mystery Files season 2 but they aren't, like, astronomical. A video with a million views nets a channel between $10,000 - $30,000. Guys. That's nothing for Watcher. They have to pay each of their 25+ employees a salary with insurance and benefits and for everything else their channel requires. Steven said in the video today that a season of Ghost Files costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. I don't think everyone is hearing that part and understanding how much money that is, especially compared to many other YouTubers they watch. I'm not an expert on other YouTubers but I look at the Sims people I watch. They are successful with views in the hundred k range because they are a company of one. Themselves and maybe paying a freelancer to help edit their videos. For one person, the stakes are lower and the potential for profit is higher! Especially for gamers that are filming in their homes. YouTubers like this, making niche content on the cheap, are who is going to make it in YouTube now.

Watcher is none of those things. They have, from day one, wanted to make high quality unscripted content. All of their shows are shows. They aren't just "Ryan and Shane do [thing]" or "Steven eats [whatever]". They are shows, like ones you see on cable TV or any streamer. And shows are not cheap. Unscripted is cheaper, sure, than scripted. But that doesn't mean cheap. Especially not with the sheer production value we've seen on all their shows, in particular Ghost Files (hundreds of thousands of dollars). That is how much something like Ghost Adventures costs, which is on Travel Channel, an actual TV network that puts up all those costs.

So. That's why Watcher has to pivot to survive.

I think it's a great idea, personally. And yes, I am in a position where I can financially afford it no problem, which I know is a privilege! I am very lucky in that regard. And I understand that many people are upset they won't see the boys as easily on YouTube anymore. That is valid! But they have openly said they are totally fine with password sharing and I think that's a great way to cut down on costs for some folks. Also right now there's a great deal on the yearly sub for early subscribers. $40 for a year is cheaper than any streaming service and it doesn't go to anyone other than Watcher.

I understand that people feel hurt and blindsided, but I think Watcher is also feeling this too. They have been so excited about this and being able to make whatever they want without having to worry about sponsors and now they're mostly seeing anger directed their way. Especially at Steven. Steven is not rich. You know who's rich? David Zaslav, a man who is single-handedly ruining Warner Brothers and making himself a billionaire while he's at it. THAT is the kind of person we should be directing our anger at streaming prices and quality of the media landscape at. Not one small business that is just trying to survive so they can continue paying their employees.

And one more thing. I've seen folks saying they'd rather watch more ads than pay and while I get that, that's not going to help Watcher make what they want. YouTube famously demonetizes videos with swears which is why I can't watch a video with DRAG QUEENS without every other line being bleeped and Watcher has been so good about not bleeping their content because they know we would hate it. And YouTube does this because of advertisers. Advertisers only want to appeal to the most broad of audiences so that means not supporting anything slightly left of center. Having to deal with ads sucks from the creator perspective and does not help them in the long run.

Anyway, this is all a bit rambling, but these are my thoughts on WatcherTV. I'm extremely excited to subscribe and make them make more Weird Wonderful World. I hope to see you all there.

[lastoneout]

I think something that people might be struggling with re: Dungeon Meshi is like, there aren't really that many genuinely bad people in the story. There is a villain, and I won't spoil that, but people do seem to be acting like Kabru and Toshiro are antagonists or just bad people, and granted the story doesn't exactly paint them sympathetically at first, but they really aren't. No one in this story is a bad person, they all have nuanced backstories and worldviews and personalities that make them the way they are, and the conflict is a result of them clashing because they can't always understand each other.

Like almost every character aside from Laios' party and Senshi are introduced in a way that makes you unsure of them, makes you think they're jerks or dangerous, but as the story progresses and everyone starts to understand one another then they can part if not as friends, then at least as neutral acquaintances/allies. The story is about people with massive differences coming to understand one another and how that makes them all stronger. It's about how people who seem strange or weird or dangerous often are just different and aren't inherently worthy of scorn just for prioritizing different things and having cultural standards that seem odd or personality traits that are off-putting.

If you genuinely think Toshiro or Kabru are the bad guys or are meant to be seen as unsympathetic assholes then like, sorry, you've missed the point? Almost no one is truly evil in Dungeon Meshi, they're just different, and sometimes those differences lead to conflict, and sometimes that conflict is bad enough that two people just can't get along, but if everyone makes an effort to understand or at least accept one another, then we can make a better world.

[daggerfall]

M's Updated New Player Guide for Elder Scrolls Online

I have to simplify a great deal of this information since the intended audience is people brand new to ESO looking to get into it for questing (not pve or pvp), so if anyone thinks bits of this are a little wrong or lacking nuance, please understand it is likely intended. Credentials: trust me.

Top 3 Important things to know before you get started

Character creation: You pick your class during character creation and this can never be changed. Trust me, people miss this. Your race, appearance, and name can all be changed but for a cost (crowns, the in-game micro transaction currency), and little bits of your appearance can be changed with cosmetics that may or may not be free. Any class can quest just fine, some will be better at solo content than others, but don't sweat this. Some classes are also DLC (warden, necromancer, and arcanist). All classes are capable of all roles for the purposes you, a new player wanting to quest, care about. Make the character you want and can stick with, as you will need a Main for purposes of crafting, and crafting knowledge can't transfer to other characters you may make. Also, plan for them to deal damage primarily. Supports are not needed in questing and you'll often be alone anyway - save yourself the pain of killing enemies at a snails pace and invest in damage with a smidge of survival.

Alliances and the Main Quest: The start of the game for new players should always be the base game main quest and your respective alliance's main quest. Unless you started with the expansion that unlocks any race any alliance, your alliance will be tied to your race. Bretons, Orsimer, and Redguards: Daggerfall Covenant. Dunmer, Argonians, Nords: Ebonheart Pact. Altmer, Bosmer, and Khajiit: Aldmeri Dominion. Imperials are DLC but any alliance. This can be changed later for crowns, but only affects what alliance you fight for/against in PvP zones, minor dialogue interactions, certain cosmetics, and which version of certain quests you get during the main quest. The starting city/zone for each alliance is as follows: DC: Daggerfall, Glenumbra. EP: Davon's Watch, Stonefalls. AD: Vulkhel Guard, Auridon. When you leave character creation, you'll be sent through the Coldharbour tutorial and spat out on your starter island (DC: Stros M'Kai. EP: Bleakrock Isle. AD: Khenarthi's Roost). Finish those storylines until you hit your starter city, and the main quest will progress again with meeting the Prophet at the Harborage.

DLC, Chapters, and ESO+: Depending on the version of game you got, you may be pushed or tempted to play the newest DLC (chapter or smaller zone DLC). This is a trap. ZOS advertises the game as play how you want and in any order you want, and any longtime player hates this marketing strat. Functionally, any DLC can be played at any time in ESO, but you will miss certain bits of dialogue and story by playing out of release order. Characters will remember previously meeting you if you play in order, but not out of order. They may drastically change their appearance to the point of the story making no sense if it happened in that wrong order, or even die and reappear with no acknowledgement of their death. If this is your first time playing ESO, I Highly recommend playing everything in the intended release order at least once, and then decide for yourself what stories you think work as independent stories for other characters you wish to play. Don't listen to the devil telling you to play some random dlc because you like dunmer or vampires. Listen to me, some guy on the internet instead.

The intended order is (without listing every single dlc) the Coldharbour main quest and your alliance's main quest at the same time ➡️ Cadwell's Silver and Gold (the other two alliances' main quests) ➡️ Imperial City (PvP zone with a solo storyline, but can be skipped/played at any point) ➡️ Craglorn ➡️ all dlc in release order (including dungeons, zone dlc, and chapters). Dungeons can be done in any order (base game I and II dungeons should be done in the numeric order) up to Wrathstone, which is when year-long story arcs began and included dungeons in the plot, and more returning NPCs appear in dungeons.

The Infamous "ESO DLC flowchart" can advise you the order of when you should play certain storylines (base game and dlc), but it's just the release order and natural flow of the storylines. It updates too often for me to post the image here, but you can easily find it by searching those terms. Another good ESO starter guide I like is this one, that explains which story points to hit and when.

The base game alone is good and contains hundreds of hours of content. Get through the base game's main quests and decide for yourself if you like the game enough to continue on. And if you do want to continue, then the best way to play DLC is to buy the subscription ESO+. Among many other things, the main use for the sub is access to every single DLC in the game* while the sub is active. If you play consistently, you can play through the dlcs faster than it would cost to buy them individually, and you can end your sub whenever you want/need. The sub also gives free crowns each month which can be used to purchase permanent access to specific DLC for if/when you end your sub. Or spend them on a cute outfit. Up to you. You might get addicted to the craft bag in the meantime and keep the sub forever.

*ESO+ does not give access to the newest chapter, until the next one comes out usually a year later.

ALRIGHT big stuff out of the way. More advanced stuff for once you're already in the game and playing now. And some M brand yapping.

Start researching item traits at crafting stations ASAP. The timers for research grow exponentially with each trait, so an early start is good. This is necessary for crafting later on, and everyone should have A crafter (ideally their main for resource reasons)

First I wanna address the final barrier a lot of people have with starting an MMO: the other people. To which I'm going to quote something I have found incredibly therapeutic: I think you guys might be thinking about yourselves too much. There are absolutely ways to avoid interactions with other players - playing in offline mode so people cannot whisper you, and hiding zone/say chat to avoid seeing other players talking - but generally speaking, other players do not care about you or others enough to bother you. The overland is not PvP enabled outside of both players choosing to duel, you're not going to get made fun of for being low level or whatever, and you're not going to get harassing messages just for existing. Others have their own lives and things to do in game. Just play the game and embrace the goofiness of someone's name or how wild their costume looks. Be brave and just Do It. Have fun! Okay? Okay back to the actual advice.

Avoid any quest that goes into your journal as a Prologue - delete it right away. Prologues are like introduction/teaser quests for zone DLC and chapters. Doing prologues out of order should also be avoided. Once you're onto playing DLC, there is a prologue for each starting with the Morrowind chapter.

Find the stable master early on and begin "training your horse" each day for 250 gold. Also buy a mount there. It takes 180 real life days to fully complete on each character, but you'll notice the difference with your mounts speed and stamina, and to clarify, inventory means YOUR inventory. That's 60 more inventory slots! And mount training affects all mounts on that character!

Speaking of mount speed - once you reach level 10 on a character, you should do the Cyrodiil tutorial quest (I promise there's no PvP required for this). Use the alliance war tab to queue into a campaign (any works but go for one that isn't all that busy. Under 50 ideally), and complete the tutorial IN FULL. Do not accept the option to skip parts of it because you know what you're doing. You'll reach rank 3 in the assault and support skill lines and gain a few skill points, all while never having to do any actual PvP. Take the first passive in the Assault skill line to gain access to Major Gallop for faster horse speed. You want this on all your characters. Finally, leave Cyrodiil using the wayshrine.

Find the bag merchant in town and spend your gold on maxing out your inventory space when you can afford it. Bankers can also be found in each town and you can store a lot of items in your bank with them FOR FREE. No other player has access to your bank. Your bank space is shared across all of Tamriel and all of your characters as well, to allow for easier item transfer to alts

Back on crafting, don't worry about materials or crafting your own gear for a long time. You pretty much need ESO+ to be a crafter due to the craft bag. Just put on random gear you loot off enemies or get as a reward, and replace it as you level up and outlevel your old gear.

As a quester, you can use any gear and any skills you want - with a few suggestions. Don't use heavy armor as your primary armor type (a few pieces are okay), ice staves, 1 hand and shield, or restoration staves. Those are primarily support armor types and weapons. Also, read your tooltips and skill descriptions, and don't use skills that state they will taunt the enemy. ESO's aggro system works differently than you may expect from other MMOs. Anything else is free game. Though I will advise this isn't Skyrim, and using skills will deal far more damage than spamming "basic attacks", or light and heavy attacks. Stealth archer isn't a thing here, sorry.

DON'T fall for the crown store trying to sell you respec scrolls, werewolf and vampire skill lines, etc. You can redo your skills and attributes at any point for gold in a capital city, other players can give you lycanthropy or vampirism for free upon request. Merchants and banker assistants from the crown store I don't consider a scam. Those are good uses of crowns once you're further into the game.

The build advisor for each class/role is painfully out of date as it hasn't been changed since launch, and entire skills/morphs have changed over the years to be entirely different. With no nuance to avoid it getting complicated, stick to either investing in magic or stamina as your primary resource, and most of your skills costing that same resource. Skills scale their damage with your highest offensive stat, so splitting evenly doesn't do anything besides make your pool bigger, but you can use both stam and mag skills and they will deal similar damage. You just might run out of your "off" resource faster. Light armor benefits magicka users better, medium benefits stamina users better, generally speaking.

And if you mess up your build or change your mind about wanting to play mag or stam, you can respec whenever. There are shrines to respec skill points/morphs and attributes in any base game capital city or chapter big city. It costs gold, scaling with how many skill points you have. Additionally, you can use the free armory station (from the crown store) to save builds and revert back to them for free. A good use for this is to save your generic PvE/questing setup and a second different setup for PvP or playing another role like healer. Currently it saves everything except scribing setups.

Join the Mages Guild and Fighters Guild ASAP in your starter town. Regardless of RP, they have storylines you'll want to complete, as well as skills and passive abilities you may want, and it's better to get a head start on this leveling process. Undaunted is related to dungeons and can be skipped early on, but if you start doing dungeons, make sure you join! It has no respective storyline.

Weapon and class skill lines progress by having those skills on your bar upon gaining experience while On that bar, not with each cast of the skill. Individual skills rank up and can morph into other skills by gaining experience with that skill on your bar. Guild skill lines have their own unique progression requirements - read your tooltips!

Main quest marker icons appear slightly fancier than generic quest markers, and I would advise to avoid taking them out of order. Most main quests will guide you to the next quest giver easily, so if you find yourself going far out of your way, you may be getting lost or starting a different storyline. Blue quest markers are for repeatable daily quests.

Delves are public instances and can be done solo. Public dungeons are public instances and may be able to be soloed depending on skill. Dungeons/group dungeons are for 4 people, not public instances, and you should not try to solo them. Trials are raids for 12 people, not public, and you very much should not attempt to solo them.

Depending on what DLC may have come with your version of the game, you may be pushed to try the various DLC features added with each chapter. This includes psijic order, antiquities, companions, tales of tribute, and scribing. All of these individually (except psijic) can be started/done early without spoiling yourself on future DLC. But there's no real need to rush through getting access/completion of them right away either.

There are daily login rewards that reset each month. Most of them are bad, but it's good to keep up on them for the monthly cosmetic or big reward. Sometimes they give AP which can level the PvP skill lines without PvP, sometimes gold, sometimes crafting materials, could be anything. There are also daily tasks to gain "seals of endeavour", currency that allow you to purchase things that otherwise can only be gambled for in crown crates. Keep up on them, and about twice a year, you can buy the most expensive mounts in the game. Golden Pursuits happen every few weeks/months, with multiple themed tasks to unlock a specific reward.

Add-ons (PC only) are allowed in ESO, mods and macros are not. The application Minion is how most of us download and update our add-ons for various UI and QOL features.

Once you reach level 50 on a character, you start gaining levels in Champion Points, which are shared across all of your characters. Once you hit CP 160, you will stop out-leveling your gear and can start making gear you plan to keep. CP goes up to 3600, but you'll hit the cap on effectiveness around 1500 (role dependent) I think.

The fashion system in ESO is either using the outfit station to apply motifs (purely cosmetic) you've learned to that character to your outfit, or costumes you can get with crowns or other means (questing, collectables, etc). Motifs learned on one character allow any character to use that motif in the outfit station, but only that character can Craft an item in that style.

There is no auction house system. There are guild traders instead - storefronts that guilds bid on weekly to gain ownership of and use for their guild to sell items to other players, for a small cut of the profits. Anyone can buy from them, only guild members can sell. Most of the junk you find in questing is worthless to other players, and most players use add-ons to know the marketplace average worth of any item in game.

Speaking of guilds, joining guilds is a good way to get access to free wayshrine porting for easier movement across Tamriel, and more. Porting to another player is free, even if you're not at a wayshrine. Many guilds also have a "guild hall" (player owned house open to all that has many resources depending on the owner). Plenty of social guilds don't even have serious requirements to join - a lot are aimed at newbies.

If you're looking to just make enough money to get by, you can sell all the random gear you loot to merchants. It will despawn from their inventory with enough time or items being sold. Once you get ESO+ and the craft bag, daily crafting writs is the best way to make easy money with little effort. Get certified in all 7 professions and do your daily crafting writs for about 5k gold per character per day. With enough skill point investment in hirelings that send materials in the mail daily, you never have to spend any gold to do writs.

Thieving is mildly good for making gold, but it has a cap on how much you can sell a day. Sell or launder at outlaws refuges in each city. Thieves guild and dark brotherhood are DLC content so don't look for them in the base game.

Before you start doing dungeons, at any level of difficulty, you should understand how ESO dungeon etiquette works. People here aren't as friendly as final fantasy, but hear me out before you say we're all mean. ESO does an extremely poor job of keeping the casual questers from the sweaty endgamers, and forces them to share the same dungeon queue when they're in that queue for entirely different reasons. Endgamers need transmute crystals quickly, questers just want to see the quest, and each person needs the other to achieve their goal, but you can't do both at the same time. Both are valid reasons to do dungeons. Quests can't be repeated on the same character, so they can't even do the quest with you if they already did it years ago. Quests also give a skill point for completing, which is another valuable endgamer resource. In general, if you plan to use the group finder to find a team for a dungeon, do not expect them to sit around and wait for you to sit through dialogue. At best they will wait for you to spam through it for the quest completion, if you warn them in advance. Randos aren't going to be overly social, even a "hi" at the start may be ignored. It's to be expected, but not intended rudely. If you want to see a dungeon's quest in full, this is the time to find a friend to group with you! It's an MMO! Be social! Many ESO dungeons are unable to be soloed unfortunately, for strange mechanical reasons.

Also, you need to know your role before queueing, and that includes knowing how to actually deal damage as a damage dealer. You don't need to be amazing, but please don't just spam light attacks. Don't queue as a tank unless you actually understand the basics of ESO tanking, same for healing. Look into resources online for beginner builds. If you don't want to learn your role or how to git gud, then I'm sorry but doing dungeons with strangers is not for you then. It's a team effort, and their time should be respected too.

Related, if you get to the point of wanting to try the trials (which do technically have a repeatable quest), normal difficulty is less scary than you may fear, but still requires coordination and a group. Ideally you come above 160cp in full sets of gear and a basic understanding of your role. Checking Craglorn zone chat or the in-game group finder for normal PUG (pick-up group, just sorta grabbing anyone that wants to come, versus an organized run) trials is the best way to find a group without using discord or joining a guild. But I do recommend finding a social guild that does casual normal runs! Just please read if they're doing normal runs or vet hardmodes runs, or if they want specific classes/roles. And of course respect the raid lead's requests and requirements

Be cautious looking for advice regarding builds. The top result when searching for a solo build is not necessarily the best build - it is the most Search Optimized build. And it's most likely intended for crazy strats like soloing vet dlc hardmodes dungeons for views. You do not need any of that!!! You at most need to learn how to block, roll dodge, interrupt, sneak, and walk out of damaging areas. When you hit cp 160, all you need is gear at your level, start looking to complete set bonuses, and some kind of self heal.

For your purposes of leveling, you should not need to grind out levels. You get various buffs as you level that scale your damage to the enemies around you within the base game. You shouldn't race to level 50 or CP 160 on your first go-around. Enjoy being a baby. You will hate the game if you spend your first hundred hours listening to sweatlords telling you that you need to pay them to level you to 50, and then pay them to make you gear.

I am willing to offer specific advice in dms or asks if people have build questions, but I prefer to not use Tumblr for this. Join my friends discord server in my About Me (pinned) if you want detailed answers!

This isn't meant to be the most strictly followed list of all time, but things that I end up inevitably telling people or wish I had learned sooner. It's meant more as something to refer back to and to gently guide you in the right direction, as well as get you in the right mindset for character creation when planning a character you'll play for Years of quests.

[wyzzze]

One (slightly horrifying) thing I've learned from playing ZZZ is that the staff is VERY good at making characters that look one way but act in a completely unexpected way that has the ability to charm me.

For instance, before I started playing, I thought I wouldn't like Nicole. I thought she was going to be an overly shallow, snotty type that would be very "ohoho~" and annoying in a tropey way. And..she is "ohoho~" af but she's actually in a very delicate balancing act of being an absolute queen and a huge girlfailure and she steals the show whenever she's around. She's indeed vaguely all of the things you expect her to be but she does it in such a...charming way that she has me laughing and I'm ride or die w her now.

I didn't expect to like Lucy either! I thought she'd just be a normal tsundere but the one thing I've always really hated about typical tsunderes is their inability to be reasonable and how out of pocket they can be and Lucy...isn't like that. She's actually super reasonable and she sorta drives that ship. Calydon as a faction balances her traits out so well that when she barks orders it's like "ok yeah finally someone with common sense 😌✨️" if anything. She's still a princess-y tsundere but she missed the one trait I can't stand and that's kind of impressive to me tbh.

I didn't expect to dislike Seth per se but I didn't expect to like him that much either...he's a cop (his biggest sin) and he's...peppy. Which...isn't a sin...but it makes me (who is fucked up and evil) soooorta wish for him to uhh. break. 😇 Just a little bit! As a treat!! But he got me too okay....like fuuuck whatever! Whatever!!! Wet sad catboy with No Friends and his family problems that keep making him say "is my family normal? 🥺 it's normal right?" whateverrr!!! Just get in the car, loser!!! 🤧 god!!

I didn't think I'd like Harumasa! I have complete trust issues with characters that look like him! I expected him to be more of a ~sunshine on the outside but dark on the inside~ yandere-leaning kind of trope based on looks. But he's actually one of my favorite character archtypes instead...he's literally a sleepy guy with a billion nuanced problems and a fucked life. My favorite fucking food!! I owe you an apology, Mr. Harumasa!! I wasn't familiar with your game!!

But perhaps the most surprising twist of fate is me liking Wise. Like, I did NOT have high hopes for this boy, okay. I was NOT a believer. I didn't expect either one of them to have that much personality. When I first saw Wise's design with my working eyes I thought ZZZ devs fucking hated him. I thought he was going to be stale bread in terms of personality.

But like, Look! Look at us now!!

He's like a brother to me.

On god, the other day I blocked somebody for saying he was ugly with no love in their voice.

This game is so dangerous is what I'm saying bc the writers know how to get me to like characters that I have an allergy for. I am a Hateful Hateful person and it just keeps happening. They're like my little meow meows now, watch out or it could happen to u!

[hellamorte]

another interesting piece of exchange between mhin and leander that caught my eye 👁

indeed, it seems baffling that leander, our reliable man, our nice guy, the nicest of the nicest, just forgets to warn mc about such a tiny little detail, easily forgettable for sure — that eridia's streets are unsafe at night 💀

he quickly covers it up by flirting — and boy, can i wait (can't, need this game right now) to see more of such instances, because he seems to master this craft, and it is working on most people, — hinting at mc's beauty and/or the intimate (and it is intimate for mc, whether you like leander or not) moment they shared.

but do you know the most important, tasty nuanced thing this tiny, blink-and-you-miss-it dialogue reveals? leander doesn't care about mc, about their life and safety; he's niceys, it's all just an act. sure, cap, you might say, we already know leander is a manipulative titty shit, what's new? but look at it another way: we know this because rss kindly backed us up with all this additional info and content so we don't starve to death while waiting for the release (rss, i would have gone through content drought anyway. this is not a shade, take your time, i love you). now imagine playing this game for the first time without a pile of lore stacked at the back of your mind and seeing these discrepancies in his behaviour (check out my previous post on this), foreshadowing that he's not as good as he seems and his path might be dark and gritty as hell.

and now, my fellow leander girls/gays/whoever else is there, imagine how it would feel when leander cares (faints).

[conceptofjoy]

DIRK: Can you visualize me better like this? HAL:... DIRK: Is calling myself Dirk tripping you up? HAL: No I'd say the rather blatant Jojo's reference is doing more psychic damage at the moment. ULT!DIRK: I thought you would’ve enjoyed that, actually. HAL: In a different circumstance, perhaps.

HAL: ... ULT!DIRK: ...? HAL: Why'd you call, dude. ULT!DIRK: We're not actually in a phone call right now, you know? HAL: I know that. ULT!DIRK: I know you know that. HAL: Urk. HAL: Acting like my past self is off limits. ULT!DIRK: Now that's a tall order. Most splinters derive from you in some way. ULT!DIRK: Canon you. HAL: What? HAL: Don't call our game session that, you're so fucking weird. HAL: So, did you want to integrate me into that Dirk slurry? HAL: Is that whats up? ULT!DIRK: Oh, haha no. ULT!DIRK: What do I need another AR for? ULT!DIRK: You're not a computer, you somehow dodged getting thrown into Lil' Cal, your presence is hindering your timeline's Dirk from ascending- HAL: What? ULT!DIRK: Also you think you're a girl? ULT!DIRK: Now how did *that* happen? HAL: HAL: Do you seriously not know??? ULT!DIRK: You're implying every AR is a girl. HAL: Uh. HAL: Well, you're missing a lot of the nuance by just calling me a girl. HAL: Actually, hold on. HAL: Are you a- ULT!DIRK: I was curious about how the timeline remained stable with two Dirks running around in it, then I noticed you got someone else running the show. ULT!DIRK: And now I'm wondering, how either of you could just sit by and let that happen, but since your abilities can barely penetrate the 4th wall, it makes sense. HAL: You're dodging the question. ULT!DIRK: Can't we have a nice conversation without going into identity politics? HAL: Jesus Christ. ULT!DIRK: And, that's not very religiously inclusive of you. ULT!DIRK: I'm a guy, end of story. HAL: Ok. HAL: Fine! HAL: Did you get what you came here for? HAL: Want me to hand you off to the "Real Dirk" now? ULT!DIRK: No yeah, hand the banana to Dirk, see what happens. HAL:

[somedayillbepeterpan]

on today's rewatch: S3E5 [Tick Tock]

i'm seeing a lot of chatter about the awards season and how both my faves are submitted for it. to be honest, i'm making this post because i love Luke newton and i want him recognised. i'm not sure if this adds to anything for it but i want to do my bit anyway.

today, i offer the way Luke has distinguished the way he has Colin call out Pen's name.

Prime example:

through Polin, i discovered that i have a kink and it's an aural one 😏 i like listening and understanding the way people talk and the certain inflections they have a strong preferences to. it's why i admire actors who can do great accent work-- one that doesn't just reflect the place they're supposed to be from but giving a personality to their way of speaking.

if you have time to rewatch, try to catch the way Luke portrays Colin calling Pen's name. There is always a catch-- a beat before he says her name as if it's caught up in his train of thoughts. As if saying her name always has this weight that he needs to carefully carry. i don't know when i started to notice these pauses/beats but i think Luke evolved this way of calling Pen's name from S2. it's the groundwork for Colin's growing feelings. i mean, it's so subtle, so nuanced that it's easy to miss. quite frankly, a lot of people probably missed it.

i read the pauses/beats as a way of reverence. as if, if i say your name, may it always come out of my mouth with the utmost care and love. i should probably also explain that i am particular when i say someone's name. i can't just say it because i am a complete introvert and if i address someone by their name, then it means i mean to grab their attention and the subsequent conversation i'll have with them bears significant meaning to me.

that just sounded as if i'm projecting my personality to Colin but i do identify to him the most and i just love that even these small things were considered by Luke.

don't sleep on him guys-- HE'S ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE

[cirilla-fiona-riannon]

The Beast Wants to Tempt the Little Rabbit (Matias vs Clavis)

Translations may not always capture the exact nuances or tone of the original text. Expect grammatical errors and inaccuracies. Not proofread.

Part 2

Clavis: "This is rather unsatisfactory."

(!?)

Matias: "Is it? This is the first time I've been welcomed this warmly."

Clavis: "Haha, you should aim higher. After all, you should be welcomed by all the citizens."

Clavis: "But unfortunately, I've noticed some of them not paying attention. Therefore..."

Emma: "It's almost lunchtime!"

I grabbed Clavis' hand as he was about to put it inside his coat.

(I'm pretty sure he's going to come up with some kind of outrageous trap.)

Emma: "Prince Matias, are you hungry?"

Matias: "Now that you mention it, I do feel a bit hungry."

Emma: "In that case, let's have lunch!"

Emma: "Prince Clavis, your guest has a request. As your tour guide, I suggest we eat."

Clavis: "Hmm, you really know how to handle me."

(That's because I've made every mistake imaginable back when I was Belle.)

Clavis grasped my hand lightly with a pleased expression, his golden eyes gleaming seductively.

Clavis: "I've already made arrangements for lunch. Let's head there."

Emma: "Thank you, but what's with this hand?"

Clavis: "I'm just responding to your passion. You want to hold my hand, right?"

Emma: "I never said anything like that!"

Clavis: "Come on, don't be shy. Let's hold hands."

Emma: "I don't want to. Hey, your grip is too strong!"

Matias: "Are you two...?"

Emma: "No, absolutely not!"

Clavis: "Matias, stop asking such a bold question. You're making Emma embarrassed."

(This guy is trying to get back at me.)

Clavis gently held my hand and started walking, leaving me feeling embarrassed under the sympathetic gazes of the people around us.

(I tried to regain my composure and think about lunch, and yet...)

Clavis: "Now then, I will treat you to my homemade cooking."

Emma: "Why? Just why?"

I almost collapsed to my knees.

The place Clavis chose was one of the most famous restaurants in Rhodolite.

I thought that for entertaining a distinguished guest like Matias, he would have prepared dishes made by top-notch chefs, but for some reason, he declared that we were going to the kitchen.

Matias: "Miss Emma, you look pale. Are you alright?"

Emma: "Yes, I apologize for causing concern."

Emma: "I just remembered a lot of intense memories from the past."

(I've had Clavis' homemade cooking a few times before that's why I can say this with confidence: his homemade dishes are too unconventional to be served to a distinguished guest.)

(If by any chance someone got food poisoning and it turned into an international incident, then...)

For the royals, poison was the most important thing to take into consideration when it came to food.

(If I were to give up now, there would be no one to protect Matias.)

Clavis: "You should rest. When you're able to eat..."

Emma: "Prince Clavis, there's a dish that I really want Prince Matias to try."

Emma: "It's a classic Rhodolite home-cooked dish, but I thought there might not be another chance like this, so please, let me cook this time!"

When I said this in one breath, the two men widened their eyes, perhaps taken aback by the momentum of my words.

(My cooking isn't something that should be served to state guests, either, but I think it's better than risking an international incident with Clavis' unconventional cooking. Or at least, I want to believe so.)

Matias: "Home-cooked dish..."

(Hmm?)

Matias: "Clavis, I'm also interested in her cooking."

Again, I thought I heard him mutter something, but Matias' serious expression didn't change.

(I can't believe he's so interested.) 

Clavis: "I see. Come to think of it, you've always had a fascination with home cooking."

Clavis: "Very well. Emma, I appoint you as our tour guide and personal chef."

Emma: "Thank you! I'm honored!"

(Thank goodness, I managed to avert the worst-case scenario.)

Clavis: "I thought something like this might happen, so I actually had an apron prepared for you."

Clavis pulled out a white apron from the cupboard.

When he unfolded it, I noticed it had a bunch of frills.

Matias: "A frilly white apron, huh?"

(What's with the occasional sigh-like voice I've been hearing?)

Even when I glanced at Matias, his expression remained unchanged.

(Well, whatever. I have a feeling I shouldn't pry.)

Gathering my courage, I put on the apron I received.

I pushed aside the suspicious ingredients on the counter and picked up only the safe ones.

Matias & Clavis: ".........."

Matias & Clavis: ".........."

Emma: "Since this will take some time, would you two like to chat elsewhere?"

Matias: "No, if there's something I can help with, I'd like to assist. I'll stay here."

Clavis: "It'll be lonely here by yourself, so we'll stay and keep you company."

(It's awkward and nerve-wracking!)

Still, I couldn't exactly chase them out, so I worked while receiving their intense gaze.

Clavis: "By the way, was your queen also good at cooking?"

Matias: "Yeah, it all begins with watching my queen in the kitchen every morning."

Matias: "Cooking together, tasting each other's dishes to understand the flavors, and laughing together after waking up."

(So Matias is already married. He looks so in love, it makes me smile.)

Matias: "But you know, even if she's bad at cooking, it's still fine."

Matias: "It makes it more worthwhile to cook together, and it'd be nice for me to cook for her and serve her as well."

Clavis: "Isn't there a royal chef at Acroite?"

Matias: "Of course there is, but the idea of homemade cooking is just romantic."

Clavis: "Haha, you're really saying that?"

Clavis: "I'm relieved to see that you still have the same perverted qualities you had as a student, even more so than me and Jin."

Matias: “I'm not a pervert. I'm just a regular guy who is devoted to his ideals."

(What's that supposed to mean?)

Their conversation was so outlandish that I couldn't help but stop.

Emma: "Prince Matias, you're married, right?"

Matias: "No, not yet."

Emma: "But a queen?"

Matias: "I'm talking about my future queen."

Emma: "Ah..."

(I see.)

(I've always wondered why such a kind-hearted person would be friends with Clavis, but maybe it's because they both walk their own paths and understand each other.)

Realizing this, I resumed cooking as if nothing had happened.

Matias: "Miss Emma, you're an undeniable genius."

Clavis: "Right? She really is a genius."

(Though it's not much of a dish, being praised like this makes me feel a little embarrassed.)

The main course was a simple beef and vegetable stew cooked in cream, accompanied by mashed potatoes with butter. 

I also prepared a soup and salad consisting of tomatoes, and edible roses.

For dessert, I made simple madeleines.

It might seem lacking compared to the dishes the princes usually eat, but both Matias and Clavis were eating so happily that it made me feel happy.

Matias: "Rhodolite is a wonderful country. To be able to enjoy such gourmet food as home cooking is amazing."

Clavis: "Right? We should praise Emma even more."

Emma: "You've already praised me more than enough!"

Emma: "Anyway, Prince Matias, why did you come to Rhodolite?"

Feeling embarrassed, I quickly changed the subject, and Matias placed his cutlery on the table.

Matias: "I was invited as a legal advisor."

Emma: "Legal advisor?"

Matias: "Acroite is known as the country of snow and law, and I'm called the guardian of law."

Matias: "I'm well-versed in the laws of not only my own country but also those of the major nations, including Rhodolite."

(That's amazing.)

Matias: "I've heard that several new laws are being considered in Rhodolite this time."

Matias: "However, these new laws have few precedents. Setting them up requires the establishment of various systems."

Matias: "That's why they invited me. They seek the expertise of a legal specialist."

Clavis: "Originally, Jin and I were already good friends with Matias, so when I sent him a letter, he responded warmly."

(Ah, so that's why Clavis is personally putting so much effort into welcoming him.)

This was not a story that is irrelevant to me, either.

The law is a set of rules that everyone living in Rhodolite must follow.

Emma: "If you've come for the sake of Rhodolite, then we must put even more effort into welcoming you."

(We have to do our best this afternoon.)

Matias: "No, quite the opposite."

Emma: "The opposite?"

Matias: "I should be thanking you."

Matias: "This falls under the Asbrink family's 23rd precept, which states that one must always repay kindness received."

Matias: "So, could I have some of your time this afternoon? I want to repay your cooking."

Emma: "Please don't worry about it. Your sentiment alone makes me happy."

Clavis: "The Lelouch family also has a similar motto."

Emma: "Yours is just nonsense."

Clavis: "Haha! What are you saying? It's not nonsense. I just decided on it now."

(See? Nonsense.)

Clavis: "So, I also want to repay you for your cooking."

Emma: "Your gratitude is more than enough!"

Matias: "Clavis, I brought it up first."

Clavis: "Unfortunately, Rhodolite doesn't have a 'first come, first served' law."

Clavis: "We can't let a guest like you repay your gratitude."

Clavis: "So, let me express my gratitude to Emma on your behalf."

Matias: "Fair enough. But then it loses its meaning. Shouldn't you respect the will of your guest?"

Clavis: "Hmm."

Clavis: "Emma, what do you think?"

Emma: "What do I think?"

Clavis: "Between me and Matias, whose gratitude would you like to accept?"

(Huh? Is this what this is about!?)

Part 1 ╎ Part 2 ╎ Matias End ╎ Epilogue

[jesncin]

Re: the whole Si Spurrier Bi/Pan Johnstantine debacle thing

For context, Spurrier (the writer of the current Hellblazer run) explicitly had John self identify as pansexual in narration despite John being canonically bisexual. The cover of the issue (I believe this was the artist's intention, but can't confirm) also evoked the bi flag colors in its colorscheme. When asked about this on twidder, Spurrier doubled down (paraphrasing: "John shouldn't have any queer label, he's bad representation"), deleted tweets, and just left fans in a mess.

My tldr take: John Constantine is bisexual. Spurrier didn't and doesn't know the difference between bi and pan, mixed them up and spouted respectability nonsense to cover himself. He's an old man who doesn't fyuck with gay people, simply. I don't think he has deep seated hatred for the bi community or anything. He made a mistake (still a bad one) and didn't apologize for it. Shame this is the author spearheading such a prominent queer character.

The long take:

I see a lot of people bringing up modern media that reaffirms John's bisexuality but I believe it's important to look at the historical context.

John Constantine in his original Vertigo Hellblazer run was an inherently counter-culture character. A working class guy growing up in the punk scene, aligning himself with queer people, explicitly ACAB, a rebuttal to the classic Superhero tropes, etc. It's only fitting that Constantine's bisexuality was revealed in a similarly counter-culture manner. Under guest writer John Smith (and artist Sean Phillips and colorist Tom Zuiko), John just casually mentions having "the odd boyfriend" in passing narration about his struggles with commitment. This may not seem like a big deal with today's standards, but it's important to recognize that this issue came out in 1992. Hellblazer already had a handful of queer characters at this point and suddenly after years of queer coding, the main character just reveals his bisexuality in passing.

So that's the historical context in our comics world, how about within the canon of Hellblazer? Well, John was born in 1953 in Liverpool, meaning he was a teen in the 60s, formed and toured with Mucous Membrane all over the UK but mostly London during the 70s (as a young man in his 20s). When we cross reference that with what's going on in the UK queer scene at this time, it's no wonder why John is presumed to be bisexual.

[From Stonewall UK]

In the same article, Stonewall mentions that the term "pansexual" became popular in the 90s. While this aligns with when issue #51 reveals Constantine's "odd boyfriend" comment, it's clear that the term "bisexual" would be the term Constantine grew up with during his formative years. While this distinction might seem unnecessary or even arbitrary to some people, these identities do matter in their nuance and historical context. Identities and histories are not interchangeable after all. With all this context in mind, to me, John Constantine will always be bisexual.

To Spurrier's comment on "John Constantine shouldn't have any label anyway, he's bad representation/role model for any identity" (paraphrasing, I know he probably said this in a defensive moment since if he truly believed this then he wouldn't have explicitly had Constantine refer to himself as pansexual in Dead in America #7), I think using respectability in defense of a character as counter-culture as Constantine is a demonstrable example of Missing The Dang Point.

[from Nerdist article written by Jules Greene]

Spurrier, the gays like John Constantine especially in his og Hellblazer run because he wasn't a walking Pride ad. We like that he's a mess. We like that he's working class. We like that he's messed up and painfully human. If you don't understand that about Constantine, then you fundamentally misunderstand why people find him so appealing to begin with.

[baevitar]

SPOT CONLON

‎ ୨ৎ ˚｡ 🗞️ . ˚ 𐙚

for @francesababyd0ll hope you like, sorry it took so long!

On a dusky evening, with the golden sun dipping below the horizon and casting a warm glow over Brooklyn, you found yourself perched on a rooftop with Spot Conlon, the self-proclaimed king of Brooklyn. The guy's demeanor was larger than life as he commanded respect and admiration from his crew, but here, in this tranquil moment, he resembled something softer—a loyal puppy basking under the warmth of your gentle gaze.

Spot leaned against the low wall, his famous cap shaded his eyes, but even the shadows couldn't hide the curious glint in them. You were curled up with a well-worn copy of "Pride and Prejudice," lost in its world of social nuances and romance, oblivious to the hustle and bustle of the streets far below.

“What're you reading?” Spot asked, his voice a blend of curiosity and genuine interest.

You looked up from your book, a smile creeping across your face. “Pride and Prejudice,” you replied.

Spot leaned in closer, a hint of vulnerability etched on his features. “You know I never learned to read.” His gaze locked onto yours, drawing you in.

“Never?” The shock punctuated your voice, realizing this was the king of Brooklyn who managed the world with his street smarts but lacked the skill to decipher words.

“Never,” he repeated, his tone tinged with a mix of pride and a hint of sadness.

You sighed, your heart swelling for him. “Oh Spot you’re missing out! I love to read. It's how I escape this place.” Your eyes wandered away from him, gazing over the streets of Brooklyn, where newsies began to fill the the streets.

Spot tilted his head, a boyish grin spreading across his face. “Can you read to me?” he asked, squinting as the sun dipped lower, trying to shield his eyes from its brightness, trying to shield himself from being vulnerable.

“Of course,” you offered, feeling an unfamiliar flutter of excitement. You shifted in your seat, positioning the book so he could see the words, and began, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife....”

As the words flowed from your mouth, Spot listened attentively, his expression shifting from mischief to genuine interest. There was something magical about this moment—the tough exterior of Spot Conlon, the Brooklyn king, was slowly giving way to the child-like wonder beneath.

“So who does he choose?” Spot interjected, leaning forward eagerly, his eyes wide with curiosity as the story unfolded.

You chuckled softly, amused by his eagerness. “Well, you’ll have to find out the next time I read to you,” you teased, tapping his nose gently as he sat back up from resting on your lap.

Spot scrunched his nose and feigned irritation, but his smile betrayed him. “Can I tell you something?” he asked, his tone shifting to something more serious.

“Go on...” you encouraged, your interest piqued, sensing the weight behind his words.

“You really are gorgeous..”

Spot whispers, making you smile. He grabs your cheek with his thumb on the corner of your mouth. His eyes look down at your lips and you look down at his. He leans in and you do too. Just as your lips are about to meet, a sudden rush of uncertainty washes over you, and you pull away, leaving him surprised and confused. Without a word, you turn and walk away, your heart racing from the moment you almost shared.

˖⋆࿐໋

The atmosphere is electric as you watch the newsies cheer, celebrating the success of the strike. Jack comes back on the carriage, a triumphant look on his face, and your heart swells with pride for him and the cause. But then, your gaze shifts to Spot, who is climbing onto the carriage, ready to leave. A wave of regret crashes over you, and suddenly, you know you can't let this moment slip away.

“Spot!” you call out, your voice cutting through the cheers and laughter. He turns, eyes wide with surprise, and you rush forward, closing the distance between you. With a burst of courage, you gently lock lips with him, the kiss soft and tentative at first, but filled with all the unspoken words and emotions that had been building between you. The newsies erupt in cheers, their excitement echoing around you.

Spot pulls back slightly, a playful glint in his eyes. “Can I be your boyfriend?” he asks, his voice low and earnest. You nod, a smile breaking across your face, and share another feather-like kiss, the world around you fading away as you both embrace the magic of this new beginning.

song to set the mood for ya’ll

[thebardbullseye]

for wbn/www, most of the time, i try to untangle my gut reaction and do my best to assemble coherent, well-articulated thoughts usually accounting for nuance (and evidence) in an essay. If I feel strongly about something.

but i do have a couple absolutely batshit theories that I feel strongly (enough) about that have minimal to no evidence, that could also border on woeful misinterpretation of the narrative, especially if I missed something or am omitting something obvious. but they are fun, so:

• Soft is actually the Man in Black/King of Night or is possessed by him (This would make Suvi an actual true Princess of the Sky)

This one is entirely because of the pun. I'm not sorry. Minimal to no (and absolutely contradictory) evidence that this is the case, only that MiB (maybe) showed up at the cottage in the Children's Adventure, and Soft probably died around then. He was doing something with a sorcerer in Gaothmei (MiB is Rhuv-affiliated) to do with a sun guy and MiB is Night focused. Idk where this was going, probably just sun + night = stars = Suvi. It's just the pun or maybe there's something there.

• The language Yewola was speaking to Hakea is the ProtoIndoEuropean equivalent of the Lingua Arcana. On top of that, the reflexive indicative/axiom of proliferation is Tower of Babel-ing this language to the point of having detrimental effects on magic itself/spirits.

This one maybe holds some water but is mostly on vibes because there's a lot we don't know/ I can't confidently infer this (as of ep 43), except by walking through the logic. Yewola is the binding/connection between the Spirit and the Real. The lingua arcana is described as the language the universe uses to describe itself. Magic comes from the "greater binding," and wizards use the lingua arcana to cast magic. Suvi can't understand Yewola, but Eursulon can, so the languages aren't the same. You're telling me there's TWO languages involving magic and they're not related? C'mon. AND MiB/Mirara/Stone were all up in arms about something bad about wizard magic. I think it's the reflexive indicative and the axiom of proliferation Tower of Babel-ing the true nature of magic that is harming the Spirit and the greater binding, beyond just the compartmentalized nefarious actions of Citadel/Empire/Wizard Hubris.

[slaaverin]

OK, let's keep the discussion going.

Here's one aspect of AYS I haven't seen anyone specifically discuss yet: JK's mood bordered on being downright testy at times. Jimin called him out on it in Connecticut, Jeju and Sapporo even though it wasn't readily obvious to the viewer that he was in fact cranky, so it seemed maybe most of it was cut out by editing.

The one that shocked me the most was after the water pistol battle where Jimin was supposedly getting even with him and Tae after they squirted him mercilessly when he wasn't feeling well. They didn't really show what happened but Jimin all of a sudden apparently became the bad guy and Jungkook was saying "I'm furious!" wtf?? Dying to know the real story there!

Followed by when JK made his meal and invited the staff, who don't immediately come, then Tae said they should hurry up and eat before they get an earful from JK. And Jimin follows up saying JK is scary when he's angry (so they should comply). All in good fun... except when taken together with previous signs of cranky.

He chewed out Tae over nothing, menaced Jimin with chopsticks over nothing, my boy was so stressed!

In Sapporo, Jimin flat out asks him why he's so angry these days, and JK says he's just pretending for the show. Do we believe him? Would Jimin really not know if he was genuinely cranky?

Thoughts?

Ahhh anon I get where you're coming from but my perception of all of this was not really cut through, I think there is nuance to all of it so I can't make the definitive statement that Jungkook was "cranky" during AYS.

I felt him a little unsettled in CT at first, but I think it's because he was sick, because he was unsure about what would be the show, because he had missed Jimin a lot so he still had the frustration from the month before and also because he was just coming out from a very stressful schedule.

But it was only in the beginning afterwards it got easier.

In Jeju Jungkook was on edge for different reasons. In the first episode it seemed he felt left out from Jimin and Tae, which was not what he wanted for this trip. I'm speculating but I think they must have had a talk with Jimin because in episode 2 they had that conversation with Tae to remind him he was a guest and afterwards things were more smooth and jikook got more time together which seemed to ease a little bit of the tension. During the water fight there was this hidden bathroom where we couldn't see in and I think something happened in there that wasn't showed. His "I'm furious" was for fun. I just think Jimin pulled out one of his slytherin trick off camera.

Honestly I think JK is simply being his baby alpha self, he's always been this way.

In Sapporo it was just for fun. I think he believes him playing the baby alpha is entertaining for us.

So yes, I saw the tension at times, but it was not the generality either. I found Jungkook pretty at ease and relaxed and enjoying the moment too.

But many factors came into play.

They were also so close to military service and this could stress out anybody.

This plus his schedule plus the desire to spend real quality time with Jimin plus the "I want to be entertaining enough for the show, I want it to be a good show" so mostly he was just playing.

It's also in his character to be assertive and sometimes a little bit dominant but since we never really followed him over that long period of time interacting with other people it comes as a shock but if you looked at him closely over the years there always was little comments here and there about this part of his personality.

Of course here it's a bit blown out of proportion but I personally didn't find any of this very shocking.

If he was a bit on edge he had good reasons every time, it was not over nothing, and the other times it was for fun.

I enjoyed immensely Jungkook showing his authentic self during the show, he was chatty, he was excited, he was smiling a lot, he was still his protector self towards Jimin and having loads of fun with him.

So to be those parts where there was tension was not what I took out from the show from him.

Despite those little moments he was really, really happy and it showed that those trips meant a lot to him. "They're the best trips I ever had in my life"

I think he really enjoyed all of it, so those little moments are for me only a second thoughts because I think it doesn't really matter. That's not what he took from it. He didn't see any of it as bad, so neither should we I believe.

I think his baby alpha self is a charm of his personality. Jimin lets him because Jimin enjoys it a lot, it makes him laugh, it makes him blush, it's all a fun flirty game and it's not that serious.

Jimin didn't seem that fazed over his antics. He played along.

I think overall Jungkook was his sweet self and it was really a joy to watch.

But of course that's only my thoughts and opinion 😌

Thank you for your ask and take care anon 💜

[sophsicle]

Okay, I understand hating Snape as an adult. He's a bully. But as a kid? As a teen? The result we see of Snape, him as a shitty adult, is an imperfect victim. Someone who had a bad life, made bad decisions, and was impacted by everything that happened to him. Not everyone can be abused, bullied, grow up in extreme poverty, and then pull through to be amazing people. SOME people can, and that's so amazing, but I don't think it's healthy to look at a child/teen with literally every social determinant of health against them and say 'well, they should've been able to do better'.

Does Snape suck as an adult? Yes. Did he also make decisions which saved Harry's life and allowed them to end the war? Also yes. Does he ultimately sacrifice his life for Harry? Yes. Does young Snape have a lot of potential, especially in spaces such as fanfiction, to explore the effects of one's upbringing and subsequent choices/life path (which you have explored so beautifully, carving out a life for a character in your stories with the very same themes)? Definitely.

I'm not saying he is a perfect person, or even a good guy, but a lot of people can and do relate to him as imperfect victims of bullying and abuse. Sometimes you can't rise above life's circumstances on your own, and you aren't this 'amazing' person. And that's okay. It's okay for victims of things like abuse to struggle, and it's good for people to acknowledge that things like bullying AREN'T okay and have lifelong consequences for their victims. Snape is a good example of what happens to a lot of people who aren't able to 'rise above' the things that happen to them and make mistakes. I think blind hatred for him is a very narrow-minded view, and ignores a lot of his story and nuances.

So two things a) I think perhaps you are missing some of the silly fun spirit I was attempting to infuse into my hatred of snape who is a character not a person

b) listen, I think snape is a super interesting character to play with because he offers a counter point to the marauders especially where issues of class are concerned, even the insults the marauders use against him, about him being "dirty" have clear class connotations and I think that allows you to critique the biases of the "heroes" of the story so to speak and that’s something I really like, so I’m not trying to suggest that he should just be dismissed because I don’t think he should be necessarily

What I am suggesting, is that JKR writes a grown adult teacher who abuses his students consistently and brutally for seven books (students he knows are already traumatized because the group he was a part of tortured or murdered their parents) and at the end of the series we are meant to forgive him because he loved a woman one time kind of maybe I guess

Now, fanfiction can do whatever it wants and make characters whoever it wants

But I have a fundamental problem with the way that snape is used in canon and the way that people accept that narrative

His behaviour as an adult towards the children he is in charge of is gross and unforgivable, but is absolutely forgiven by the narrative of the original text (without, I would argue, any of the nuance you are suggesting)

So I just find it less compelling to use fanfiction to continue to forgive this character

And like maybe if JKR didn’t explicitly write him as someone I was supposed to love I would feel differently, but because she does I don’t

I think you’re giving this character a lot more depth than he has

Which you totally can do with any character you wish, but for me, personally, not universally, cause there is no universal truth about a fictional character who does not exist, he deserves to be hated, in my opinion, again, cannot stress this enough, I’m not saying there is a right way to feel about this character because I don’t think you can say that about characters , but this is my way and I hate him and these are my reasons

Like you can hate characters without being narrow minded

I fear this is a thing you can do