#donovan talks

[puretrash2424]

Me and my friends put together this model starscream and finished it after 7 hours. Now I sleep

[bairdthereader]

There's one in every friend group (and we love them).

Bonus--Confused Nick is confused:

[ewwww-what]

I don’t think this is going to be important this season but I would really like it to be.

[mayplantstarrwaters]

It's fall....I'm thinking of 60s cloak/cape fashion trend

[constantcascades]

I can see through your hollow actions... Have you always been so selfish?

[nocturnal-artist]

Damn how much would it piss Gorgug off that these girls would be such good friends

[lolliepops-rox]

South Park Kin Assignment Quiz

It's finally done After like a year of work and creating a spreadsheet w/ formulas, I have made my perfectly balanced South Park kin assignment UQuiz no prier knowledge of South Park is required, so i encourage everyone to do it, especially my mutuals and tell me what u got <3

[inafieldofdaisies]

Alycia-Debnam Carey at GQ Men of the Year Red Carpet 2024

[g0ldenglider]

Do you think that Mary Ann and Zelda know each other? They are both barbarians who would have been in the same year. Neither of them seem to be/have been in the same class with Gorgug (ofc Zelda had private lessons with Porter in freshmen year, but I assume that wasn't ALL of her classes) so it stands to reason they might have been in the same class block.

I like to think they actually got on okay. They're both very reserved and clearly neurodivergent it's easy to imagine them partnering up on group projects when Zelda doesn't want to ask someone else and Mary Ann doesn't care to. They make for an interesting match up with Mary Ann seemingly being a very brute force style of combatant and Zelda being a dexterity focused Eagle barbarian, but them being probably the shortest two barbarians in their year. I bet they enjoyed hanging out in class and not actually having to talk to each other, maybe chatting occasionally about crystal games

[jamethinks]

Sitting, Eating and Breastmilk: An examination of the Desmonds family dinner

**cw for discussion of abuse, manipulation, and vague mentions of disordered eating**

Lots of things to note about the interactions of the family in the recent chapter and how that reflects their dynamic and Donovan's control over the family.

I am by no means smart, just chatty. Media analysis is a skill I am trying to develop slowly... very slowly. Bear with me.

Also unedited hehe let's see how many times I forget to negate a word and just fucked everything up *tiktok smirk emoji*

Firstly, we will observe the sitting positions.

On the right hand side of the table we have Donovan, the head of the table. Right side being the dominant side it further affirms his position of power over his family. Furthermore it gives him full view of his family. He can see all of them, clearly. At some point we see him scan the room, checking to ensure everyone is acting correctly.

On the opposite side, we have Melinda. Although she is also at the head of the she's on the left hand side aka the non dominant side. If we were to use our left as our dominant side, we would be scorned and discriminated against, right is right. This is reflective of her role as the mother. She's technically in a command position, but it's one with no power whatsoever. She has power, but it's limited. If she tries to gain more, she will be met with scorn. She is also in direct view of Donovan, meaning he is especially aware of everything she does.

Then there is Demetrius. Demetrius is seated on the northern(? I do not know my cardinals, lmao) side of the table. This is again a dominant position in the family. He's sat closest to the head of the household. While Damian is a scion, Demetrius is the heir expected to follow in his father's footsteps and inherit his power. Demetrius' proximity to his father is also harmful. Donovan is very attached to Demetrius in a way that may seem like he cares for him more, but it simply opens Deme up more to his father's abuse. Remember Damian's words about his father spending more time with Deme as a child, that one panel of him staring at Deme as his works (staring is a bit unfair though that's just how his eyes look). So on paper, Demetrius is seeming in the best position but in reality he has the worst luck.

Lastly, there's Damian. He's sat closest to his mother on the south side. While his brother is closest to the head of the household, he's closest to the tail. He is at the least powerful position of the table, reflecting his nothingness to his family. He's also sat far away from his father, which is part of Donovan's approach to abusing Damian. Negligence. By completely ignoring his son, he forces damian to actively seek out his attention (and affection). Damian spends most of his time trying to get closer to his father w/o realizing he's in a position of complete submission. It also forces him to envy his brother, who again seems to be the closest to his father. Damian has to depend on mother who despite the illusion of being equal to Donovan, has nothing to offer in support of her son. In the end, Damian is forced to sit there alone.

The next angle is food.

Demetrius eats his food quietly and at a proper pace. He ignores everything around him and just eats his food. Deme is a simple man. He does as he is told and moves on. He studies hard and achieves a lot. He's composed and emotionless, exactly what his father wants him to be. He's the perfect son. Emotionally stunted and isolated, focusing on the task at hand and nothing more. He doesn't even spare a glance at his mother or brother. When he's finished, he gets up and leaves, probably going back to work.

Donovan, eats ig idk I wasn't watching him.

Melinda doesn't eat much and only drinks. This can be taken a lot of ways. The main way I interpret it will be spoken on later, but let's look at the other two options. One is that she's too disgusted by her husband to eat. The situation is so unbearable that it completely suppresses her diet. The other option is that she can't. Dietary control and eating disorders are a very patriarchal way of controlling and abusing someone. Again, she's in a direct line of sight to her husband. She can't eat a lot of food because, as a woman, she isn't supposed to. She should stay weak and feeble and hungry, with a constant state of need and submission.

Damian eats at a somewhat slow pace. He's young, and kids are known for being complicated when it comes to eating. They're slow with most tasks as their still learning and trying to figure it out. He's the last to "finish" and by the end, he's left alone by the table. His father's parting comments indicate that he was trying to eat faster to meet up with his family but failed in the end. Donovan subtly reminds him of his position, the slow and last one. That he shouldn't try to shake up the dynamic.

The last detail I wanted to touch on was the interactions between Melinda and Damian.*

Background: Breastmilk is a naturally produced substance by mammals that is used to feed and nurture their young. Mammals have a unique relationship with their young, often found to have genuine bonds and love for their offspring compared to most other animals. In the case of humans, our evolutionary bond with our young is far more complicated. Babies are born underdeveloped compared to most species, can't walk, can't talk, can't even shit right. They're useless. But because of how intelligent humans are, our young can be so useless and dependent since we have the capacity to care. Thus, however, it results in an extensive dependence on the mother/primary caregiver.

Breast milk is a bit of a magical substance. When feeding, babies will spitback (don't ask me how) milk and the mother's body will analyze it to check the needs of the baby and adjust the contents accordingly (again don't ask me, just look it up. This allows the mother to feed her baby, bond with them, and keep them healthy by ensuring they have all the nutrients they need.

Throughout the dinner scene, Melinda doesn't eat and spends most of the night sipping wine. Meanwhile, Damian is constantly shooting signs that he needs her help. By not eating, Melinda is limiting the amount of nutrients available in her body, preventing her from being able to feed him (i.e., attend to his needs). If she did try, it would come a cost, draining her of what little she has for herself. Furthermore, by consuming alcohol she's making the milk unsuitable for him, meaning it would also bring him harm.

Obviously, breastmilk is a metaphor for love and care (?). Melinda can't offer Dmaian what he needs with harming the both of them. It inadvertently still causes them harm (Melinda starves and is now filled with alcohol which is bad, yk). It's a lose-lose situation, one perfectly orchestrated by Donovan. Although she's suffering in this moment, Melinda still plays his little game, afraid of what worse consequences come from defiance.

Damian's perspective:

Given his age and lack of experience, Damian clearly doesn't understand what's going on around him. At the end, he asks Jeeves what his father meant by worthwhile. In the Japanese version, he asks it in the hiragana (?) Way aka the more simplified version of Japanese written language (man Google it fuck off). Again, he's too young to understand the words and approaches ir from a more juvenile angle.

This is how he will continue to process his interactions with his family. His scope is limited, and his adoration for his father will cloud his ability to understand his father's actions, automatically assigning bias to him. This will eventually cause him to resent and avoid his family. He won't see his mother as scared but simply cold, rejecting him for no clear reason. His brother is also cold but also gets the love and attention he craves from his father. Think about him not helping his brother with his homework (academics being the avenue to get his father's attention and validation), essentially blocking Damian from what he believes in the key to getting closer to his father, blocking him from having a relationship. A selfish way of safeguarding his position as the heir with no care for his brother.

In the end, Damian will resent his family for abandoning him. When he acknowledges that his father was, in fact, abusive (if he notices), he will further resent his family for not protecting him or helping. The difference between each form of abuse makes each member unaware of the violence the others are exposed to. This ensure they can never bond or team up against him, too busy competing with one another.

Unedited, early morning rant. You all be safe now. No photos either. You will sit here and read.

*breast milk is being discussed in a more metaphorical sense. Some of the points made lean heavily into natalism and bio essentialism (?). So, just for my sake, this is not a full reflection of my opinions on breastfeeding. It's a complicated social issue that's very integral in the oppression of women/mothers. It's a very nuanced issue, but for the sake of brevity, I looked at it from a more general and simplistic angle, focusing on what's relevant for the comparison. Obviously, Damian is 6, so this isn't an actual issue for him. Just a way to model the relationship b/w parent (primary care giver to be specific) and child. I don't even agree with some of the sentiments I shared lmao just take it with a grain of salt.

[puretrash2424]

Here's the cake (ft. My littol guys)

[thepettymachine]

Donnie & Cressida came down to Moonlight Falls for Ashley's wedding.

Unfortunately, Michael and Donnie do not get along

[weetlebeetle]

If all goes according to plan, I'll be reopening my shop on September 15.

Here they are!

[oneshimaru]

When you first meet Donovan, he gets so excited to use his disguises, it was sooo cuute 🥺🥺 Jun's really sweet too but pursuing him feels like cheating lmao

[sigsfigs]

wips, will delete when i feel like it

[that90sshowgoldencouple]

Dad Bro

Nate and Jay moments can nearly always guarantee a laugh, especially with silly jokes like these.

Part 2, Episode 2: Something to Talk About