#do i even need to clarify it?

[alicornze7]

AvM fandom is this accurate-

(pls don't burn me at the stake)

[warmfuzzyanimal]

[theshriekingsisterhood]

The way I SPRINTED to my computer to make this the second Risky showed me this textpost

[thetundrakitsune]

Midnight at Full Velocity

[soggy-fishsticks]

I FINALLY FINISHED THIS!!!!!!!! I might tweak some of the wording, but this is for my school project explaining what goth is ☺️🫶

[moeblob]

What if I straight up didn't explain myself? What if I just said trust me on this? Would you?

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Suddenly remembered something I wanted to say re:Akechi, because I think it's really core to his character (at least the way I interpreted him?) and I feel like it explains a lot of his contradictions. Essentially, he is incapable of seeing himself as just a person - he's either the greatest hero/detective ever, or he's some violent monster, and it's like there's no in-between. It's very in keeping with his obvious superiority-inferiority complex, but it goes deeper than that too; when he's in a role, it seems like his self-perception kind of changes too depending on how he is perceived by others. He really does get a confidence boost from being the Detective Prince. He really does shut down emotionally as the Black Mask.

They're masks that he's made, and it's not that aspects of them aren't based in truth to some extent, but I think it goes to show why he's not actually that fantastic a liar (imo, I found the outright lies pretty obvious), but he is a very good actor. He's either an angel or a demon, and never a person, but there are conditions to that. He is an angel when he is perfect - to society. He is a demon when he is vengeful - again, to society. He is never a person, because he never was seen as one - to society. He was disregarded. To be anything of value or notoriety, whether that's hero or villain, he has to be wildly more or less than who he actually is, and he's been building these masks up for so long that I really think he lost sight of the actual person behind it all. And I don't think he wanted to see that person anyways, because that person "wasn't good enough" and I do think he'd rather be anything other than himself. That trickery, that deflection from the person within, in itself brings him pride and satisfaction. He wants to be loved and needed instead of being cast aside, but I also think that if he can't have that then he'd much rather be hated than never have mattered at all. He weaponizes his own loneliness - if he can't ever be accepted then he'll build his own pedestal apart from everyone else.

It's so fascinating too, because I just wonder how much of this he was consciously aware of pre, during, and post engine room. There's this recurring thing with him where he goes "I can only be myself" etc but I just want to shake him because, well, who is that, Akechi??? Or, who do you think that is? Do you actually have an answer? Is it predicated on your actual feelings or solely on your success at fooling everyone around you? Is there any part of you that you actually like that isn't based on a painstakingly constructed mask? Isn't it all mostly lies to deflect from the truth? Isn't it all founded mostly on truth, nonetheless?

It drives me insane. And I think this is a big reason why he breaks so hard in the engine room, because so much of his mask requires his "audience" to perform in a particular way. And here he is, and the Thieves have beaten him, so there goes the first mask, because he's no longer "perfect". He swings wildly into the ugliest sides of him, but this mask is broken too, amidst him vehemently and desperately denying that he has any other emotions than hatred and rage, or any other needs or desires than vengeance. And after that, it's just him. And they should reject him, right? That's what happens. He's not useful, he's not needed or perfect, his hands are stained with blood. But the Thieves, again, don't play the role he expects them to. They, despite everything, relate to him - because he is in fact very similar in a lot of ways and they acknowledge him as a person - not a hero, or idol, or villain, or tool, or unwanted child - but as a damaged teen like the rest of them. And he does not know what to do with that. His identity is intrinsically dependent on getting the right reactions from other people as a form of ingratiating himself - if he does not get that reciprocal reaction he's looking for, his act falters, and, I really do believe that so does his self-perception. That's why you see different aspects of him seep out when he's spending time with Joker, because Joker does not react the way he expects, and Akechi both does and does not like this, because it leaves him feeling both intrigued and vulnerable.

I do think this particular aspect of his character is something a lot of the Thieves don't fully grasp - certainly, I think Joker "I need the mask" Persona 5 understands to a degree, but the sheer degree of reliance and the level of pride attached to it is something that confuses him a little, I think, especially in Mementos Mission. I think the thief that comes closest is actually Morgana, who has a similar superiority-inferiority complex and a desperate need to be seen as competent and useful lest he be discarded. (This is a big part of why the rather lackluster writing with Morgana's arc frustrates me so much because I really do feel it was meant to be contrasted with Akechi's, but I digress.) Morgana is the one to make that emotional appeal to Akechi, which makes a degree of sense - Morgana struggled all along with finding a place in the world. His form leads others to underestimate him; he visually doesn't fit in. He's acting out the role of a chivalrous and cool phantom thief but is more pragmatic with how he views relationships, at least at first. He wants a place to belong where he is appreciated more than anything but his pride won't let him spit it out. Accepting that he belongs and that he is loved even if he really did have nothing of value to provide is a big part of the resolution of his arc. He tries to offer that learned lesson to Akechi in turn ("Follow your true feelings. Even if you think people hate you, or don't want you around-"), but Akechi just wasn't in the right space to listen. There's also an important distinction between the two - Morgana envies humans and looks up to them. Akechi envies humans and looks down on them. Morgana is perfectly happy once he is assured a place amongst the group, but Akechi see-saws wildly between wanting to belong and wanting to be a step above the rest and separating himself further. So while Morgana actually really did cut to the core of the issue, his appeal would never have worked at this point because a) Akechi's pride is dependent on him maintaining his solo act, and b) he just got outed as not actually hating Joker in front of seven other people including Joker himself lmao.

So, uh, sorry, Morgana. Points for trying.

[almondy-milk]

planned to make serious art but here i am again, working my 9-5 at the circus

[dreamsy990]

some of the less nice thoughts about being aroace

extras below the cut

sketch

closeups on my favorite panels

bonus: adios

[arolesbianism]

May I offer some Siffrins on this fine day

[crptdkssr]

insane about erickson saying s1 was about childhood and s2 adolescence when all through the first half of episode 4 i was like good for them they’re teenagers!! they’re literally young teens now!! like, mark and helly* snickering in the face of their teacher-boss’ morality story. milchick responding like an offended parent who ‘thought they knew’ their children as good and obedient. mark blindly infatuated to the point of ignoring everything else around him (i’m so mad for irv). mark finally getting to do helly’s rebellious kid routine in ep 1, demanding a degree of personhood. irv throwing curse words left right and centre (good for him).

like, there’s still that naivety and uncertainty and submission to authority but now it’s much more—dare i say—tempered

[ender1821]

shut up im coping

[ray935sworld]

I'm gonna hold your hand while I say this - if you think an existing, loved and respected system for somthing should be changed because it could be confusing for new fans I do not think you are aware that you hold the power to literally research every information you get. You can spend literally 1 minute researching the rider and checking their championships on Wikipedia. It's not that hard. It's not much. It's not too much to ask.

When you get into a new sport or field, you will get confused at first. You will read information that was written for an audience already familiar with the subject. You cannot expect people, blogs, journalists, news papers, social media admins, to explain the absolute basics over and over and over again. It would be annoy for them and fans familiar with the subject. (and yes for you too after understanding the system)

Research comes with being interested in new stuff. It's normal. It's part of the learning progress. So do your fucking research. Ask fan who have been into it for longer. Respect the established way and do not demand a change because it's "confusing" just because you don't know how to use the internet and expect that everything is written so you can understand with little to no context.

That's not how this works.

[vaguely-concerned]

shortest saddest sad short story you'll ever read:

in memoriam: 1971 mint condition buick riviera car lighter, never depressed

[the-heron]

do any of you fucking people know how much i love my butch. i am madly in love and i need to make it everybody else's problem

[gdragonsideburns]

Played killer chat ONE TIME and now it’s four days later I have about a thousand saves, several play throughs and three reads of the Halloween story under my belt to mine speech patterns for a character I found terribly cringy and am now in love with. (In terms of cringy-edgelord-eboys not in terms of writing, he’s exceedingly well written). Anyways now I have around 5000 words of corruption based dddne ronin porn on my computer. Is this penance for my sins?

EDIT:I posted it btw its on my ao3 same username same spelling