#e.g. a lot of shows ended and characters died etc

[the0ther-side0f-dawn]

should i just become a Phan trash blog??

[ohnomausey]

Okay, so I was asked (thank you @schafpudel for allowing me to talk about my favorite academic research field LMAO) to post my elaboration on how Mytho is a combination of and commentary on two hero archetypes, namely two opposing pre-existing Siegfried-characterizations and how that is referenced in the show (mainly through the music).

Sooo in the first half of the show Mytho is mostly characterized by being the prince that stands between the black swan and the white swan, Odile and Odette, Krähe and Tutu. The according scenes are accompanied by the music from the ballet „Swan Lake“. The prince of the ballet (he is called Siegfried) is notorious in the world of ballet for being extremely passive in his role as a prince, having his decisions made for him. All influence he has on the story itself is also by him NOT doing something (for example while hunting he chooses NOT to shoot the swan etc.). He’s kind of infamous for that and created the archetype of THE *ballet*-prince many others were modeled after.

Officially Mytho's character theme is from another Tchaikovsky ballet suite: the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from „The Nutcracker“. The reference falls kinda flat and i am not 100% sure what it means but the Sugar Plum Fairy is not much more than a kind, soft, benevolent princess-fairy. It sounds the part too and i think the softness fits season one Mytho regardless.

The Siegfried-references that are a lot more interesting however come from the Wagner operas being referenced. WHENEVER (and by this I really mean every single scene) where the main focus of discussion is Mytho’s identity of the prince from Prinz und Rabe, or his returning emotions and agency, the music that plays in the background is Richard Wagner’s “Siegfried Idyll” which isn’t directly from any of Wagner’s „Ring of the Nibelungen“ Operas, but stands in close relation to them! It plays when he is waiting for Rue in the „On the Evening of the Fire Festival“ episode and dances with Duck instead and she notes how “this must be the real prince” and also „he danced with me because HE chose to do so!“, it also plays in a lot of scenes in between, e.g. one where Mytho himself talks about wanting his heart back in episode 14 and then most importantly during his transformation into Prinz Siegfried in episode 25, shortly after which he calls himself “Siegfried”.

Wagner’s Siegfried is the hero of the composers biggest work. He is also the “ideal man of the future” as coined by Wagner in his more sociological, revolutionary writings. He stands for heroism, revolution, standing up to the gods and bringing with him literally a new era of time (Wagner literally named his SON „Siegfried“ and wrote the „Siegfried Idyll“ for him when he was born. That is how much faith he had in the idea of this very masculine hero figure that will lead us all to peace and the future…). Wagner’s Siegfried is the ideal hero archetype as we still reference in stories today. He is fearless, strong, intuitive and reckless as he slays the dragon and gets the girl but also oblivious and easy to manipulate. He is also not much of an empath…

Raven!Mytho is characterized by „Siegfried's Death March“ from the last opera in Wagner's cycle („Götterdämmerung“) — the work that plays when Siegfried dies in the opera. Raven!Mytho is the subversion of the ideal hero, the prince that is confused by his ideals and twists them around: "If i am supposed to love the entire world, then everyone should love me in return". So the second season is Mytho being super close to reaching this ideal state of himself, but being corrupted before he can which as some kind of silver lining leads to him questioning the expectations that come with being a hero, or a prince and why he even wants this for himself in the first place. At least, that is what I think.

At the end, we look back on Mytho having grown from a passive, emotionless puppet that still held an almost intuitive protectiveness over those weaker than him (jumping out of windows and running into burning houses to save birds…) into the hero he is supposed to be: He becomes strong, assertive, forges the sword and slays the dragon (the Raven) like Siegfried does in Wagner's operas. But he is not fearless, or brash or wild like Wagner's Siegfried. He keeps the emotional, compassionate, even tormented ("feminine") side that the swan lake prince Siegfried carried. He cries when he finds out that a small, fragile bird was the one who brought him his heart back all this time and kneels in front of Duck RIGHT before he transforms in episode 25. And he also knows that there is a part of himself that will differ from the hero he is supposed to be, the selfish Raven-blood side that makes him more human than his existence as a sort of archetype would usually suggest.

So, long story short: Mytho is a wandering hero-subversion and commentary on the archetype and, in true Princess Tutu fashion, challenges traditional roles and gender norms while he is at it. The music has A LOT to do with this but it becomes evident even just in the story itself. Understanding the Wagner references just makes it evident beyond ANY doubt. It‘s a shame that a lot of it gets pushed back if you do not get the Wagner references (and to be fair, they are even more extensive than they should be — not everyone is going to understand them because they are so. goddamn. obscure.). It makes Mytho seem like a lot more of wasted potential than he really is. He should have had more time to develop in the series, directly. But giving him that would have led to other characters being pushed back. I think an additional one or two episodes to kind of stretch the second half of the series would have done the narrative a service, but that is critique on a really high level. I still think Princess Tutu is one of the best pieces of narrative media ever created.

[class1akids]

having a tough time reading fanfics that depict shoto as having all bad coping mechanisms when in canon he has some of the best out of all the characters after the sports festival

For me, it's a bit more complex than that. I feel like Shouto's coping mechanisms are not really depicted - we are just to assume that they exist.

After the SF, Shouto does a lot of reflection, goes to look at his dead as a hero - so he starts the compartmentalisation of his father into Endeavor, the competent hero and Enji, the shitty dad.

In Midterms / Forest /Kamino arcs, he's mostly treating Enji as non-existent. But then after Kamino (when Endeavor's change is kickstarted), the Licensing exam portrays Shouto distancing himself from his father and trying to bury his past as an obstacle for him to become a hero and he fails his exam over it.

We also see PTSD episodes mid-fights - so it's not precisely all good or healthy.

For me, the interesting part of Shouto's arc is how he keeps struggling and how his healing is non-linear. But as Endeavor's atonement arc progresses, Shouto's own coping mechanisms are depicted less and less in detail, especially the ugly or fragile parts. His pain or mental anguish gets less focus and is only shown in footnotes / or implied because Hori doesn't know how to write an honest redemption / atonement arc where the victims' pain doesn't get swept under the rug.

This is my main problem with how he writes both Endeavor and Bakugou - the more he buys into the hype of his own writing, the more insecure he becomes about it. So he started to spend more and more time on highlighting feelings of regret from the perpetrators' POV (also combining them with flashy fight moments - so it could be framed as e.g. Endeavor fought AFO FOR Touya, Bakugou died FOR Deku, etc), while the damage is simply not shown.

So people can say things like: why hold Endeavor accountable? - Shouto is clearly over it. But I could also bring up the example of Izuku, who had all this build-up to feelings of worthlessness that didn't get explored or properly resolved in the end, because than god forbid the impact of being bullied may need to be dragged up again rather than just showing the same hero card scene over and over.

So, I do appreciate fanfic that goes into these neglected areas. I want to see how Shouto goes from Ch 298 self -> Ch 327. I want to see how he copes with the fallout of the Dabi reveal. I want to see how he feels after the final war about Touya, how he grieves his brother's death, how he copes with his family falling apart, how he faces the public as a young pro hero, how things he buried may hit him later in life, how PTSD may come to the surface.

I think there is plenty that can be explored without undermining also the incredible emotional work Shouto has put into his own healing.

[xf-cases-solved]

Valentine’s Questionnaire

These questions are designed to help your secret admirer get to know you and some of your favorite things. When answering, try to keep in mind that there are many different types of gifts that your answers may help your secret admirer create! Remember these are also a starting point and you are encouraged to send anonymous love letters (asks) to your valentine over the next four weeks.

Tell your secret admirer about your relationship to The X-Files. This could be about how you got into the show in the first place, what it means to you, or anything else you’d like to share.

due to poor parenting decisions, i was allowed to watch x-files as a wee babe (five years old, circa 1998). as a result, i kind of absorbed the x-files into my personality via osmosis and it has become intrinsically linked to my soul ever since. so y'know, a totally normal relationship with a tv show 💀

Tell your secret admirer about your favorite things! Favorite characters, ships, scenes, seasons, arcs, etc.

msr 4eva, 5eva, ♾️eva. they invented love. i have always been a huge fan of simp mulder. like, literally always. as a kid i loved the episodes where scully was in peril, not bc i liked seeing her suffer, but bc i liked seeing MULDER suffer bc he becomes so unhinged when she's in danger. (as an adult with a gender studies minor, i recognize how that's not the most feminist pov to have, but sometimes an ardent feminist needs to watch a loser man lose his mind bc the woman he loves has been kidnapped for the eighty fourth time, ok??). i am also pretty firmly an original run fan (s1-7 and then what i consider to be canon after that sort of just depends on my whims). cancer arc and SSoS are always *chefs kiss*

Now what are your least favorite things?

bc of life circumstances that occurred around the same time as its release date, (and also just bc i think it's not a very good movie), i don't fuck with IWTB, unfortunately. (i'll watch gifs of them smooching tho, i'm okay with that much lol). i don't like mulder/other at all, ESPECIALLY diana. and as mentioned above, anything past s7 is kind of up in the air in terms of whether or not i accept it as canon or just disregard it entirely. i enjoyed the revival in that i enjoyed having new content and experiencing that joy of sitting down to watch x-files as it aired again, but i don't actually like the plot of it. the episode with rhys darby can stay, tho, that one slaps

Tell your secret admirer where you fall on the following scales:

Spice Scale

Salt only – no spice at all please! i.e., general audience rating.

Black pepper – a hint of spice. i.e., teen rating.

Chili pepper – there’s a bit of a kick! i.e., mature rating.

Habanero – definitely spicy, but most spice lovers can handle it. i.e., explicit rating.

Ghost pepper – only for the spiciest of spice lovers. i.e., VERY explicit/kink/POANG rating.

literally anything, with some exception with ghost pepper, in that i'm not rly into d/s unless it's rly mild, spanking, or any kind of bodily fluid play besides jizz

Angst Scale

Pale blue sky – no angst, all fluff!

Aquamarine – a little bit of angst, maybe some yearning, nothing too heartbreaking. e.g., the various scenes in Mulder’s hallway.

Cascade ocean wave – a moderate amount of angst, e.g. Pusher or Wetwired. Happy ending included.

Sapphire tears – pain slut. Angst with a happy or bittersweet ending. e.g. abduction arcs, cancer arc.

Catastrophic blues – literally why. Lots of angst with some devastation for dessert, e.g. cancer arc but Scully dies at the end, season 8 and Mulder dies.

i love angst, but prefer it served with a side of hurt/comfort and an at least somewhat happy/ambiguous ending

What’s on your X-Files playlist? e.g. a character playlist, MSR playlist, etc. Bonus points for love songs!

none of the songs i associate with x-files make sense bc it's mostly just vibes. "blue skies" by noah and the whale is one i associate with them, but that is partly bc it was a song i looped a lot when i wrote my multi-chap xfiles fic. i have a headcanon that scully's favorite song is "brandy" by looking glass. anything else kind of just varies. my playlists are weird

What are some of your favorite quotes and/or lyrics about love?

hmmmmm. "this world isn't big enough to keep me away from you" from the song "seabird" by the alessi brothers is a good one if taken in a "no matter what the world throws at us, we'll always find our way back to each other" type of way, not a stalkerish type of way, lmfao. i like the "i love you and i like you" thing from parks and rec, bc i think quality relationships should be built on friendship. if i wasn't doing this questionnaire on a time restraint i could probably come up with something better, but that's what i got off the dome

What are some of your favorite tropes? Are there any you avoid?

i enjoy oblivious idiots, mutual pining, i can always get behind a good ol' "there was only one bed." idk, most tropes are fair game if done well. except 5+1 fics, which i don't like for some reason. i think they just remind me of boring creative writing exercises in college lol

What is your favorite color or color scheme? These can be specific colors or general categories, e.g. jewel tones, cool colors.

fall colors, warm colors, american southwest colors, anything maroon or burgundy, and, in total contrast to the rest, lime green

What’s a fic that you would send as a valentine to someone else? Why would you choose that fic?

like a fic that already exists? oh i have no idea and i don't have time to find something, but i would probably pick something fairly low-stakes with a happy ending and lots of smooches in it, bc i think that encompasses the spirit of the holiday

Share the links to some gifsets/edits that you love and tell your secret admirer why (e.g. do you like the layout? The coloring? The quote that they used? Typography? Simplicity? Parallels?). These can be X-Files/MSR or other fandoms.

?????? idk bro! any gif of them looking longingly at each other, kissing, hugging, or mulder losing his mind bc he's scared and in love are amazing. they could be grainy and poorly colored and i'd still stare at them endlessly. also, if my secret valentine goes with a giftset as the gift, i want them to do it they way that's natural from them. i wanna see THEIR artwork, not someone else's, ya feel?

that goes for all other types of gift as well, btw! there's literally no way to disappoint me, so go with your heart!!

k i g2g, hope this was somewhat helpful. feel free to hmu with any questions and i will try v hard to answer in a timely manner, even if doing things in a prompt, responsible way goes totally against my nature

later,

-diz

[saoirse-gillespie-film-blog]

Outline Feedback

We received the following feedback from Catriona on the 3rd of February regarding our outline and the changes we had made as a group, Mara took notes and typed it up as follows:

Original was good because it was simple - now it’s getting over complicated, there’s too much. Stay with simplicity.

Wrestle with form and develop the characters.

Film to look at - Green Card (1990)

The brutishness of the character could be similar, unapologetic, ‘I am who I am’.

She is confident in answering the questions and knowing the answers.

He doesn’t answer properly/ ends up failing.

She is confident they will pass but he realises he has failed.

The conflicting compatibilities (in flashbacks) seem superficial and don’t show the depth of the relationship.

Don’t use superficial details - lack of compassion.

Could show one dealing with a difficult thing and the other not understanding/sympathising.

Flashbacks are the weakest form of storytelling and communicating character.

The characters will become passive if they must watch their own lives.

Can they just be pictures that prompt conversation?

 Analyse the details and understanding/misunderstanding of each other.

In the original (Esther’s outline) it feels like a test/ they are prompted to test the relationship

Being in their 20’s makes the fact they are in the after life less obvious, to fix this you might need to show that they died/ how they died in the beginning.

Show what they are like now instead of the past to reflect their relationship.

Show how they’re not compatible in the present, not through the past

 If you don’t want to have a ‘villain’ show the details of the relationship

We don’t villainize people who we see are vulnerable.

The ending has too much ‘acceptance’ for a couple who are going to be in pain/hurting.

How can you reflect how they will be feeling in such a short time?

 SIMPLICITY

Concentrate on characters; wants, obstacles, vulnerabilities without using a lot of backstories

 Questions to consider:

What catalyst should we use instead of the flashbacks? And how would this start the conversation?

How would this show/ help them real us they aren’t compatible without literally showing them?

How do we make it visually interesting without flashbacks?

How do we make sure to show not tell or make the dialogue too obvious?

What things would be good enough to reflect that they aren’t compatible?

  Further feedback:

Don’t worry about what is happening (when trying to develop this new outline) dig into the characters and what is at stake.

For example, what is behind the doors? What will change if they go through separately vs. together? Is it different things behind each door?

Are they motivated by the fear of the unknown (in their decision to go together or separately)

Look at the metaphor for breaking up.

 Another film to look at: THX 1138 (1971) Dir. George Lucas

What should we use instead of the flashbacks?

Could still have questions on the walls (production design)

AI? Could this be questioning them audibly? Or could they be reading the questions?

Inner dialogue is more interesting, and you could do this best by separating them

Flashbacks are ineffective unless someone challenges them/ makes them talk/ prompts them to speak (you wouldn’t just watch a video and decide to talk about why you’re not compatible, especially with such a small snippet of your life)

Her questioning him (like in original) doesn’t show her character, it only develops his

Could it be a ‘only real lovers/ true relationships get into heaven’ test?

Maybe make the characters slightly older

Look at films which show relationships under a microscope, people reflecting on their relationship when faced with a hard situation e.g. apocalypse, illness etc

Could the end reflect the protagonist’s idea that ‘I am strong enough to walk through the door without knowing what is behind it, because I am strong enough and I have loved’

 Do more research! (reference films, test shoots for lighting and camera)

[anime-grimmy-art]

What do you do when there’s not much to an AU? You make up your own stuff, ofc. And as is per usual when I make Character Designs, I make up a shit ton of lore too.

The ramblings under the cut, but what I’m really interested in, is what you guys think. Do you guys have any headcanons/ideas for this AU? Let me hear them! Also, if you don’t wanna read on tumblr, here’s the Google Docs link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/151yshHxnb_--P6eMKkwkI2dee9xC_Llb/view?usp=sharing

Before I get into the characters’ roles, here’s some general facts and backstory of their town:

- Basically, it’s Undertale meets Harvest Moon / Stardew Valley. Well, kinda. I at least used that approach for coming up for the jobs for the characters. You know, how there’s always a general store, a doctor, a smithy, etc.

- The usual story of a HM game is that you come to a town that’s way past its glory days and you, as the player/farmer, help them get back to that. The “backstory” of the town is that that already kinda happened. I’ll get into it more in the character description, but basically when Asgore was still mayor, the town got really popular. Then yadda yadda, a certain tragedy happened, two kids died, and the town suddenly got very bad publicity. There was a lot of stuff going on back then, bad reputation being spread and also a lot of law stuff, cos, you know, supposed child murder ‘n all, so Asgore made the decision to shut off the town to ppl from outside. This was in the interest of most monsters living there, because as fun as it is to have a lot of people coming there, most just wanted to live a quiet life. Not everyone was happy with that though, so many moved away from town and some others are trying to get the town back on its feet. But more on that later.

On to the characters:

I’m just gonna start with the skelebros, cos it’s their fault in the first place I got so invested.

Basically, they are what the player is in hm/sdv. They just showed up one day, took over the abandoned farmhouse and began their life there. The two came to town way after it was “closed” and since then a new mayor has opened the possibility for new residents to move in. Their farm helps the economy of the town a lot and the mayor, like usually in hm games, is trying to use that to make the town more known again. The skelebros aren’t really working towards that goal however.

So, now a bit more detail on them individually.

Papyrus:

- The design is mostly based on what’s “canon” in this au.

- He works mostly on the fields and is in charge of the crops. Their fields aren’t spectacularly big, but still big enough to plant a few dozen rows of veggies. 

- Paps also helps out a lot in town when he has the time. He helps Asgore with his plants, he goes fishing with Undyne, helps Toriel carry crates around and so on. This is inspired by the part-time job mechanic in HM ToT.

- Unbelievably, in this AU Pap is not an absolutely awful cook. Since he helps out at Muffet’s and Grillby’s a lot, they tend to show him some tricks to cooking. Even though Pap’s not a big fan of the greasy or overly sweet cooking those two do, he picks up a lot.

Sans:

- Again, design mostly based on the “canon” look. Maybe a bit more baggy.

- This is finally an AU this dude gets to rest. Since there are no resets and he doesn’t have to see his bro die again and again, for once in his life, he’s not a sad ball of depression. He’s just a chill and lazy dude that loves to make puns. Though, since he’s not too experienced with the feelings of loss, helplessness or grieving, he still tends to hide behind puns and fakes smiles if he does feel bad.

- Sans is in charge of the animals on the farm. Papyrus begrudgingly gave him that role since Pap’s loud demeanour and hectic movements usually scare the animals. Sans’ relaxed attitude draws the animals to him naturally and even if Pap mostly finds him sleep against a tree, in a stack of hay or on one of the sheep, the animals are always fed, healthy and relaxed, so Sans seems to be doing his job.

- Sans always has a small chic sit inside his hoodie or hat. Is it always the same one? Who knows, maybe.

- Sans also, somehow, can produce eggs out of thin air. Grab into his hoodie pocket, in his pants pocket, in his hat, in his slipper, there’s suddenly always an egg there. On good days he can even make butter or cheese appear. 

Gaster:

- He’s literally just a scarecrow in this. Though, if you ask any of the bros why they designed their scarecrow that way, they won’t have an answer.

Frisk&Toriel:

- Frisk is mostly based on what I wore myself as a kid in summer. Just a loose shirt with a cappy. Toriel basically has her ut gown, just with an apron on top.

- Frisk just appeared outside the “magical” forest one day. Napstablook and his cousin found them and brought them to Toriel, who has been taking care of them since.

- Toriel runs the general store in town, but also often takes care of the few kids that still live there.

- Frisk usually helps out in Toriels store, plays with the other kids or sits around at Asgore’s. They’re notorious for nabbing small snacks, mostly from Asgore’s plants. You’ll always find them munching on something. 

- Frisk was in town before the skelebros. Since they’d moved in, Frisk often went to spy on their farm. After a small incident with angry chicken, Frisk got to know the two better and now they see them as something between brothers and uncles.

- But Frisk honestly gets along with everyone. Just like in UT, they’ve not only been adopted by Toriel but literally everyone.

- Toriel and Asgore’s relationship is not as bad as in the main game, since, you know, Asgore didn’t kill literal children, but there’s still tension between them. Back when Asriel and Chara died and the whole thing with the bad rep for the town began, Toriel felt betrayed by Asgore focusing more on the town than giving their deceased kids the grieving they deserved. They’re not divorced, but Toriel still moved out and said needed space to think. Now that Frisk is in the picture though, the both of them are slowly coming to even ground and may even be able to talk things out and clear up the uncertainty of their decisions.

Asgore:

-Asgore has his UT Ending / Deltarune clothes, just with a gardener’s belt.

- He’s the previous mayor of the town, but after all the crap that happened, he stepped down from the position. Now he has his own little shop and sells seeds, saplings, homegrown veggies and fertilizer. So, basically what e.g. the Marimba Farm is in HM AP

- His main customer is Papyrus and they’re on friendly terms. Asgore is worried about how much and how hard Pap works, so he often gives him a discount. 

- Since his family’s past tragedy, Asgore is kind of nervous around kids. So, when he first met Frisk, he hoped they’d not visit him too often. But to his chagrin, Frisk took an instant liking to him and spends a lot of time at his shop (and steals eats the fresh grown veggies). Now, he’s really grateful for that, because for one, he loves Frisk as dearly as he had his own children, and also because now the tension and mistrust between him and Toriel seem to grow smaller day by day.

Undyne&Alphys:

- I gave Undyne a pretty basic fisher’s outfit. Alphys basically has Elli from HM’s outfit, just a bit more doctory stuff added. She still has her canon lab coat too.

- In essence, Undyne and Alphys have 2 completely different jobs. Alphys is the resident doctor and Undyne runs the fish market.

Two things. Yes, I know Alphys is more a mechanic than a doctor, she fits the aesthetic though, so she’s the doc now. And no, Undyne being a fisherwoman is not cannibalism, think of it more as a shark hunting smaller fish.

- The reason I lump them together is because they act as the local “smithy”. Alphys is still really tech savvy in this (I mean, Mettaton is still part of this AU), so she takes on most problems with electronics and stuff. For Undyne, I didn’t want to lose her Royal Guard’s Captain image, so she’s really good at handling tools (and weapons, but Al doesn’t let her make them anymore). So basically, if there’s a broken tool, you can be sure that either Undyne or Alphys can fix it.

- As for relationships, those two are still an item. Alphys is still really shy and a shut-off, but since Undyne and Pap become best friends, she gets to know the skelebros better. She and Sans especially get along well, since most of the time Undyne and Papyrus are let loose, they sit back and talk about science-y stuff. (no, Sans doesn’t have a background in science but he’s still into sci-fi)

- Alphys has a bit of a strained relationship with both Asgore and Mettaton.

Back when Chara and Asriel died, it was because of “illness” (maybe poisoning?). Alphys feels awful because with her back then limited knowledge on medicine she couldn’t help the two. Asgore doesn’t hold anything against her but Alphys can’t help but feel guilty.

Alphys still built Mettaton’s body in this one. The two had a really big disagreement, because Mettaton hated the fact the town was going to close, and he couldn’t understand how Alphys could feel otherwise, even more so endorse the idea.

Mettaton, Napstablook, Mad Dummy/Mew Mew:

- Napsta and Dummy are pretty self-explanatory, they got straw hats. Mettaton’s outfit is a bit of a joke cos it’s a play on “work at the top and party at the bottom”. The tie has two different sides, one with the yellow red pattern, the other completely red. His “top part” is the business part, because when he’s on tv or in the mayors’ office, you don’t usually see his feet. The bottom is his party/dance part, cos his dancing/entertainment channels mostly feature his legs. 

- Mettaton, still a robot, Napstablook and Mad Dummy are all still cousins in this AU.

- Originally, they all lived and worked at the Blook Farm, the Animal Farm of this AU. Mettaton, however, despised that simple live and after befriending Alphys and her building him a body, he left the Farm to pursue bigger things. 

- Mettaton runs the local tv network. From weather to game shows, he does it all. He also runs the tailor shop in town that sells his designer clothes and merchandise. After Asgore stepped down, Mettaton also took over the role of town’s mayor and now works towards making the place more known again. Not everybody is happy with him doing that though.

- One of those people is the Mad Dummy. He can’t stand people anyways and he always claims that history would just repeat itself.

- Since the whole family is made of ghosts, they have different dummies and scarecrows they can use to take care of the animals. To mock Mettaton and kinda get back at Alphys for giving MTT such an opportunity, Mad Dummy found the blueprints for the Mew Mew robot and now modelled one of their scarecrows after it. 

- Napstablook isn’t fond of taking over obejcts like his cousins do, so he mostly takes care of the snails. Somehow, he can interact with them even when incorporeal. 

Muffet&Grillby:

- The two of them run the Inn together. Muffet cooks in the daytime and makes desserts, Grillby manages the bar in the evening. 

- The two still can’t really stand each other but working together like this benefits them both because their rivalry just spurs them on more.

- Even though Grillby is a patient person, somehow Muffet is the only person who riles him up enough to retaliate. (Well, maybe except for Sans, he’s a strong second).

So, basically everything between those two is a challenge in some way. Even if Papyrus doesn’t notice, even his cooking lessons are a challenge for them. 

- Even though they’re constantly bickering, after working together for so many years, there’s a strange level of respect and trust between them. Even if back when they first started this business, they’d pour salt into an already open wound, nowadays they’d know better and just take a step back from the other or even comfort the other (on very rare occasions only). 

Asriel&Chara:

- They be dead. Kinda.

Some Characters that’d live in that town too but that I haven’t made designs for:

- Gerson is the original smithy of the town. He’d grown up in a family of smiths, but he’d always had an appreciation for the sea. That’s why, when the town became more deserted and Undyne had a good enough skill level as smith, he took up the Captains hat and now mostly spends his days out on sea. He also ferries people to places if they need him to. Oh, and just like in canon, Undyne learned most of her skills from him.

- Burgerpants is a poor dude Mettaton basically kidnapped when he was trying to get fame in the city. Now Burgerpants works wherever MTT needs him to, be that as cameraman for the tv shows, cashier in his tailor shop or his slave secretary in the mayor’s office.

- MK is Frisk’s best kid friend. MK’s parents are in charge of shipping the goods out of town and paying the individual people. MK’s the one that usually collects the goods at the end of the day.

- Other than that, there are only a few people in town. I’d imagine the older folks or the really young families stayed in town after it was closed. I think the librarby dude would still run the library. Some Snowdin residents like the stone family or the dogs also might still live there. 

[bybdolan]

god i hard core agree with you on the sense of stop treating taylor like a fictional character cause like i see people get so mad if she does something that doesnt fit their narrative (ie william bowery) and im just like...this isnt a TV show were someone wrote this storyline this is a real person who controls their own life. idk just in general how we treat celebs i found so odd/fascinating I think bout the quote from Taylor a lot about not wanting to be treated like a doll in a dollhouse.

The WB thing is such a good example because I have seen people be genuinely upset when WB was revealed to be Joe like "why would she tie this man to her art! Why would she go that far!" when it most likely was they themselves who made this a "bad step" in their minds in the first place. I get that "Taylor Swift is gay" is an interesting concept in theory but a lot of ppl who believe in it connect it to sooo much tragedy and heartbreak and like. Why would you want that for a person? Same goes for people who want Taylor to break up with Joe because they want that divorce album™ (this is kind of what Adele fans did btw). Yea it's appealing from a narrative standpoint but a life is not a narrative with a climax or payoff etc. so to put a lot of emotional energy into it (or attach a superiority complex to "having it figured out") just feels really unhealthy - at least that was my experience. I wrote a paper once about how celebrity death conspiracies feed heavily into that idea of a life as a story, e.g. how Lady Di's death being orchestrated by the Crown would make sense as a "payoff", but again: that isn't how that stuff works. And a lot of the time it leads to people forgetting about the tragedy of the event. It leads to people forgetting the humanity of the celebrities involved in their scenarios. We will never know all the details of a celebrities' life (thankfully!) and filling in the gaps based on what we WANT is somewhat natural and even encouraged, but fandom spaces and the idea of "knowing" a famous person have made it increasingly unhealthy. If you find yourself get genuinely upset when a celebrity does something that is innocent and yet shatters your perception of them and you get mad or sad about that you should take a step back and like. Watch a movie or a show or read a book so you can put these feelings into characters that are not out of your control and that are contained in fictional narratives. If you can't enjoy an album release without immediately checking how much lyrics or marketing fits your narrative of the artist's life, you are destroying the enjoyment for yourself a bit, at least in my opinion. You will never know Taylor Swift/Lady Di/Kurt Cobain/Namjoon/Harry Styles/Mitski/whoever personally. You have to accept that they will say and do things that you don't want them to do because you do not control them. These are people with real lives. Not characters in a narrative. I think this is important to remember in a lot of aspects in life, like how we look at our own life (nobody is writing your life with clues and foreshadowing and a "happy end") or true crime. It's nice to think that life can be put into neat little boxes and tropes and that once we wrap up a "storyline" all will be well, but that isn't how it works. We should free ourselves and those we admire from the constraints and pitfalls of a fictional narrative and just live and let live and take it one day at a time.

[canmom]

Not sure if you've read the Locked Tomb series yet or plan to, but if you have, interesting article by C. L. Clark that just came out on the Tor website the other day, "The Crosses We Bear: The Butch Martyr in SFF" comparing TLT and Baru, that you might be interested in! Would love to know your

ooh, i'll take a look! I heard Seth and Tamsyn are friends and therefore refuse to read each others books lol. anyway here's the article, to save others the trouble of looking.

I enjoyed the Locked Tomb series quite a bit so far. the like... anatomically hyperdetailed guro magic is a really fun touch and a great aesthetic core, and Tamsyn has the fantastic grasp of narrative voice you'd expect from someone who initially became known for Homestuck fanfiction (and also the love of very knowing and deliberate meme deployment, mixing humour and seriousness, etc.). They definitely stand out a lot.

I have not yet read CL Clark's own novel The Unbroken, which is very much marketed towards this current wave of 'lesbians and imperialism' SFF, so I can't comment on the response to these characters they mention in this essay!

Anyway, I don't know if you can really draw out a trope from exactly two (albeit, to varying degrees, popular) examples; but Clark does a good job of drawing out the parallels in these stories. I'm less fond of some of the theoretical frameworks being deployed here like 'queering' things (such a conveniently vague signifier!) but they aren't that important.

Here's how they sum up the device they're discussing:

they’re often attached both narratively and romantically to who I like to refer to as the conniver, who may or may not be ‘femme’ per se, but is usually less ‘butch’ than the butch in question [meaning] that their strength comes from a less stereotypically masculine realm, e.g. magic or politics, instead of brute strength. (...) The conniver is also depicted as ruthless, cunning, and manipulative, held in stark relief against the charm, humor, and honor of the butch warrior.

The second thing—the butch dies. Specifically, they die in service to the conniver, either to protect the conniver or to further their goals—usually both. For their devotion, the butches become saintly martyrs, representatives of their virtues: physical strength, loyalty, selfless nobility, and sex appeal

The thrust of the essay is their discomfort balancing their great enthusiasm for this narrative with, well, the fact that it's a story of sacrifice and death for the characters with whom they most identify; let me quote their last paragraph:

I write about this because it’s no secret that I love this pairing in genre fiction and character sacrifice is one of those heightened moments that glues readers to the page. The moment of death would seem to be one of the most agency-filled moments for the paladin. But I would like to see this beloved trope stretched further. The butch paladin still necessitates devotion—that’s what a paladin is after all. But there’s potential in giving them their own causes at odds with the conniver they’re also devoted to—what will the paladin sacrifice then? Love? Duty? What happens if the conniver sacrifices herself instead, repaying the undying loyalty with devotion of her own, and showing readers that butches are worth being sacrificed for? Or what if the paladin realizes that the conniver they’ve devoted themselves to isn’t worth their loyalty after all, and instead lets them die or fail at the crucial moment—what if the paladin’s duty is to kill the conniver herself?

There's definitely something to this; it's certainly a very clear description of the narrative that has found a lot of appeal for readers of both books. I'm not sure of the prescribed remedies really quite get at the issue we're struggling with though, and there are differences to draw out here. Spoilers follow... (I had to reread the endings of Gideon and Harrow to refresh myself which was a nice diversion lol.)

Clark has lined up the similarities very well, so what's the major difference?

Tain Hu is characterised by a straightforwardness and lack of subterfuge, but never ignorance. Throughout Traitor, she appears at various points to prompt Baru in the right direction, and basically indicate like "I'll be here when you're ready". She arranges her death not because of an endless faith in Baru's mission, although she evidently does have faith in Baru's potential, but to force a change in Baru's course.

This event completely breaks Baru, now a plural system; one alter (the 'tulpa') shapes herself in the image of Tain Hu, while the other tries to continue her ruthless campaign out of a desperate wish to make good on what Tain Hu saw in her, now with an absolute license for atrocity because nothing could be worse than killing her lover. She falls apart further and further throughout Monster and Tyrant, and the only way she starts to heal is learning to live more like Tain Hu.

Gideon meanwhile is kept in the dark for most of Gideon the Ninth; on the surface she sees Harrow as an enemy but mostly she's desperate for acknowledgement and reciprocation rather than contempt. While Tain Hu is characterised by maturity, Gideon is characterised mostly by impulsiveness and frustration. Her sacrifice to power up Harrow is a spur-of-the-moment decision in an emergency, rather than something considered; there is no real analogue to the scene at the Elided Keep where Tain Hu explains her intentions, and Harrow is given no choice in the matter.

Harrow no doubt does have a lot to learn from Gideon, but her actions in Harrow the Ninth show that she's learned very little, attempting to confine what's left of Gideon to a kind of pocket dimension and rewrite her own memories because she cannot bear to use the power she was granted, as this will destroy Gideon altogether.

Harrow's ambitions also take much longer to be spelled out than Baru's; we're kept considerably in the dark about the big picture because both books take the structure of a mystery building to a gradual reveal. Moreover, Harrow is actually fairly peripheral to the major 'plot events' of Harrow the Ninth, namely the tension between John and his original crop of Lyctors which eventually results in an assassination attempt.

Baru's major conflicts are ethical ones - what she's prepared to do in service of her self-appointed mission, what her real motivation is (saving Taranoke or power for its own sake), how her belief system allows her to be controlled. Baru is ironically a very moralistic person, just with a very warped ethical system; she's constantly obsessed with whether what she's doing is justifiable. Tau lays it out plainly in Tyrant:

A smile sweet like sugar rot. “You need me to be your little amphora, your bottle of reserve goodness, to shatter and use up. You’ve been dying a slow death since you killed Hu. You need to take another soul to finish your work. Only it’ll never be done. You’ll always need more. And no matter what you do here, Baru, I expect that by some strange coincidence it will end up being what Mister Cairdine Farrier wants. Don’t you think so, too?”

Harrow's conflicts are more personal, relating to her guilt over the atrocity that her parents used to create her, and her feelings towards the still-mysterious corpse in the eponymous Locked Tomb. Her relationship to Gideon is also different; she encountered Gideon as a child and their relationship up until the pool scene in Gideon the Ninth is characterised by taking out these traumatic experiences on Gideon, treating her as a 'whipping girl'. Even when they are forced into an alliance in the actual events of Gideon the Ninth, Harrow keeps Gideon at arm's length and treats her with disdain and distrust for most of the book, which ultimately leads to several needless deaths.

Rather than channeling her grief into a series of self-destructive misadventures to somehow justify the faith placed in her, Harrow's form of self-destruction comes from denial. Baru feels she must use the power that Tain Hu's sacrifice gains her, while Harrow continues to refuse Gideon's desire to be used (or 'eaten'). Gideon doesn't actually have any particular interest in Harrow's grand project or ambitions; her entire life has been defined by this one relationship and she chooses to redefine it when Harrow seems to be receptive - and this seems to come as a surprise even to her.

Having lined out these two parallel stories, we can agree with Clark that they are still definitely very similar. We haven't yet seen what Harrow's arc will turn out to be (and it seems book 3 may change viewpoint character again, but who knows), but in each case - taking Clark's terminology of 'conniver' and 'butch' - the sacrifice of the much more pure and straightforward 'butch' is a turning point which forces the 'conniver' to reconsider their destructive path and opens the possibility for something new. The following books concern whether they take it.

So, for all the oaths and so on, I guess my small point of contention here is just that it is not simply for the sake of advancing the interests of the 'conniver' that the 'butch' sacrifices their life, but something a little more complex. It is because the 'conniver' is wrong, but has potential that the 'butch' here dies. Their 'faith' is that they see something in the 'conniver' that is not evident to most people. (Edit: on consideration, this has far more applicability to Baru than to TLT)

Part of the reason for this structure - 'conniver' lives, 'butch' dies - is perhaps that, generally speaking, novels are structured around change - in this case, the 'character arc'. Gideon and Tain Hu are, in their respective circumstances, relatively well-adjusted and confident of their own identities. Harrow and Baru are tortured souls who have buckets of trauma to work through and cause all sorts of harm in the meantime... which is exciting, because it's fun to read about someone who's a hot mess making terrible mistakes.

We could perhaps suppose further here that Tain Hu and Gideon are projections of the desires of their authors while Baru and Harrow are projections of their struggles and neuroses, but of course nothing is ever that simple!

So if we wanted to centre a story on a character like Gideon or Tain Hu without them dying at the end of the book, I think the recipe is just this: we just gotta mess them up some more (which is to say, give them more visible complex interiority). You need them to be really deeply, horribly wrong about something - perhaps you could even use, say, believing that it would be right to sacrifice themselves for the sake of saving some tortured, ambitious scheming young prodigy, who actually isn't worth the effort at all. Perhaps trying to be a straightforwardly good person is also fraught.

Which isn't far off what Clark was suggesting, but I think the difference isn't who is worth being sacrificed for (although it can be totally read that way (edit: and certainly has been the case in prior instances of the 'butch dies' trope)) so much as whose neuroses are interesting enough to carry a novel. And yeah, there's certainly an imbalance there. I think it's very rare to see a butch lesbian at the centre of such a story, at least in SFF genre lit. (Admittedly it's only very recently that you might see a lesbian at all.) (Edit: I certainly do not disagree that this is a limiting narrative. If the above is being taken as a rejoinder to Clark, I've written it very poorly.)

So I definitely think it's past time I read The Unbroken, and saw what Clark's answer to this dilemma is. Because above anything else, it's clearly something deeply important and difficult for her, and trying to wrestle with something 'deeply important and difficult' is one of the best lines towards good fiction to my eye...

(edit: i think my comments here ended up being much more specific to just one of these two series - I was very much reading TLT through Baru here. Gideon does in fact carry a novel, and with her heroic return at the end of HtN and the reveal that Lyctors need not kill their Cavalier, the series might avoid killing her at all; Harrow's character is not the central pillar of the series as Baru's is, and i think many readers were disappointed at the shift in tone in the second book at first. Gideon did not really die to force a change in Harrow; her overwhelming loyalty rather came as a result of Harrow's stance changing.

But I think we're also reading Baru through TLT in large part here by taking Tain Hu as uncomplicatedly a butch lesbian - she can certainly be read that way since her physicality is so emphasised by Baru's gaze and her martial skill is 'the source of her power', but particularly in contrast to Gideon they don't go out of the way to give her 'masculine' signifiers beyond this. Baru is a story very consciously engaging with the 'doomed lesbian romance' narrative as a tool of imperial control, and so someone dying is necessary to carry forward the critique, but if it's going to inspire more doomed romances it's seriously misfired. I was at first very skeptical of how it was using this device, though the sequels more than brought me around.)

[margarethx]

The Sambucky fandom spends a lot of time and energy on calling out writers for using problematic, often straight up racist, tropes in their fics. And rightfully so, because some of said tropes are not only unplesant to read for many readers, but also harmful if they help to perpetuate some awful stereotypes. That being said... I feel like we need to show the other side of the spectrum more often and sometimes focus on people who don’t make these mistakes.

----- ------- -----

So here is my personal THANK YOU! to all the writers who have never used these offensive stereotypes in their Sambucky fanfiction and who:

1. Give as much attention to Sam’s side of the story as they give to Bucky’s and do not focus solely on Bucky’s emotions about their developing relationship when it’s a mixed POV.

2. Acknowledge Sam’s trauma and all the loss he experienced in the past (not only in the context where his pain is used to help him better connect with another person who’s hurting).

3. Show other characters (Bucky or not) helping Sam go through his more diffucult moments (bad days, nightmares, painful flashbacks).

4. Show Sam having these more difficult moments.

5. Don’t act like Bucky’s traumatic past is enough of an excuse for his unpleasant behaviour towards Sam. (E.g. they don’t write a story where Sam forgives Bucky every mean, ignorant comment without thinking, just because Bucky’s sad.)

6. Show Sam experiencing variety of emotions - not just frustration and adoration towards Bucky. Show him being sad, happy, disappointed, confused, hopeful, dejected, relieved, terrified, confident etc.

7. Show Sam being the more vulnerable one in the relationship (in general or just in cerain situations)

8. Write scenes where Sam is shy or a little awkward (about his relationship with Bucky or about something else). Also write him being insecure sometimes.

9. Write just as much about Sam’s appearance as they do about Bucky’s. (Both as a narrator and through a character’s compliments or thoughts.)

10. Mention how beautiful Sam’s eyes are... especially if there is more than one line about them. (Plus mention their colour like... at all.)

11. Describe Sam’s appearance focusing on something outside of his smile or muscles. (Not that these are not nice, but there are other things to compliment and they’re hardly ever pointed out.) (Very much including hair or skincolour.)

12. Write Sam making mistakes, but not in a way that insinuates that he’s stupid or incompetent, but in a way that shows he’s a normal person who can sometimes be wrong and own up to it. (Unless he’s the only person in the story who always messes up...)

13. Show Sam being very competent. And show Bucky appreciating Sam’s competence, skills, and knowledge in various fields. (Also write Sam being a badass.)

14. Write about Sam’s background in pararescue, his medical training, skills in combat, flexibility, speed, ability to fly, ability to fix his advanced equipment, strenght, the fact that he’s pretty stealthy etc...

15. Write about the importance of Sam’s relationship with Steve even when Steve’s past connection to Bucky is not relevant to the story at any point.

16. Write Bucky being openly grateful for all the things that Sam did for him and write Bucky helping Sam back even when Sam didn’t specifically ask, because they genuinely care about each other.

17. Write about Sam’s past as a therapist not in the context of him helping Bucky get better, but because it’s relevant to the story and it’s something he has a lot of experience with. Or simply because it’s a significant part of his previous life journey.

18. Show Sam being frustrated or angry without falling into bad stereotypes. And show why his anger was justified and he had the right to react like that, because he doesn’t have to be polite and dyplomatic about everything if other people (Bucky very much included) don’t act respectful towards him in the first place.

19. Acknowledge that Sam is AJ and Cass’s actual uncle. The kids might like Bucky, but they’ve known and loved Sam for way longer... and I rarely see that mentioned.

20. Write about Sam’s past romantic relationships without focusing only on Bucky being jealous about them.

21. Show Sam’s interactions with other characters - not just in a romantic context, but also in terms of friendships (MCU Natasha was closer to Sam than Bucky and fics rarely talk about that), professional cooperation, rivalry and so on.

22. Mention the social commentary brought up in tfatws without brushing it to the side or downplaying the importance of Sam’s race in the formation of his character and storyline.

23. Acknowledge that Sam is human and his body is not enhanced in any way... without making it sound like he’s too weak to do the job.

24. But also... write about Bucky using his super strenght to carry Sam around and to pick him up all the time (for whatever reason), because it’s cute. Sue me.

25. Point out that Sam is slightly shorter than Bucky without always making Sam weirdly insecure about it.

26. Write Sam as Bucky’s first choice... not a second option he picked for the lack of a better candidate for a boyfriend.

27. Understand that Sam has a life outside of Bucky even if their friendship and romantic relationship are obviously very important for him.

28. Write Bucky touching Sam in reassuring, delicate ways. (Holding his hands,  cupping his face, touching his hair, kissing the tip of his nose.)

29. Let Sam make harmless jokes, be charming, and be actually a nice person even when he’s not actively helping anyone. Just let him have a complex, but pleasant personality.

30. Let him be sarcastic without making him mean.

31. Add Figaro (Sam’s cat) to the stories about pets. Or show Sam’s emotional attachment to Redwing, even when it’s still a drone, not a bird.

32. Don’t forget that Riley died. And Sam’s parents died. And his close friends died. And other close friend left him without saying goodbye... etc. (Also don’t forget he himself died at one point...)

33. Mention and discuss Sam’s sexuality and romantic orientation (both in the tags to the story and in the actual text). ...I feel like it’s often unspecified for no reason while Bucky’s identity is clear from the start.

34. Give Sam little hobbys and interests that are unrelated to his work or his ability to make other people’s lives better.

35. Write about Sam’s fears and doubts while not forgetting he’s generally a very brave, mostly confident person.

36. Make the audience feel like Sam is a necessary part of the story. Not just a character added hastily at the end of writing just so the author can tag his name, because the ship he’s a part of is currently more popular than before and showind him at last minute will attract some readers to click.

and... 37. Do the things mentioned above in all of their Sambucky stories and use more than one of these ideas at a time.

----- ------- -----

To people who wrote stories with these tropes... You guys are doing a great job and I appreaciate your work a lot. It’s easy to focus on complaining, because the Sam/Bucky tag on Ao3 was always kind of a mess, but my day genuinely gets better every time I find one of your stories. So thank you again and keep it up :>

(Side note: if you have any recommendations for fics that use the ideas I wrote in this post feel free to link them in the comments. Because the bar is hanging pretty low at this point and some authors still wouldn’t be able to cross a single point from my list if they examined their - allegendly - “Sambucky” stories... so we should promote the content that is actually good.)

[fluffywolverine]

so season 6 of lucifer came out.

there were some things that i liked, but generally i hated it. i believe that was SUCH. BAD. WRITING and it left me frustrated. so i decided to write down all things that pissed me off and sometimes i try to fix this by giving other ideas that – in my opinion – would have made the story better. Check my points out and feel free to add your points of view. without further ado: let’s talk.

- imma start with the big one – fucking time travel. ok I generally hate this trope in the media, because it’s complicated and often leads to some logical mistakes – and they happened here. so rory time travels because of her anger which was caused… by her anger?? i think this was unnecessary. it also brings trouble with this whole free will vs. fate discourse. lucifer says, that he chooses free will… but at the same time he goes the path of his fate. he disappears from rory’s life, because he HAS TO in order of the events of the season to happen. just because he chose to do it, doesn’t mean it’s free will.

- lucifer becomes the very thing he desperately didn’t want to become. “bUt It WaS fOr ThE gReAtEr GoOd” screw this bullshit, if writers wanted to make it better, they could have easily do so. they could have altered the rules of time travel so that his choice of staying could have resulted in rory disappearing. yes, that would have been heart-breaking, but it would have been a great lesson for lucifer, that he can’t make the same mistakes his father did.

- chloe and Lucifer get a child without even talking about it. “bUt MaYbE tHeY tAlKeD aBoUt It We JuSt DiDn’T sEe It” you may say. but the point of writing anything  - whether it’s a book or a script – is to show any thing that matters. and talking about having kids is one of the most things any couple should do. also not every couple needs to have kids and forcing deckerstar to have it feels so far-fetched. this thread was very unnecessary.

- rory herself is a big problem. to begin with – she wanted to KILL her FATHER. i get her frustration, but commiting a murder?? just because he wasn’t there for her?? I would have thought that chloe taught her better, taught her that, like, killing people is bad. turns out she did not. secondly… she just isn’t necessary here. i elaborate later so in conclusion – her thread could be altered with michael’s and it would have made much more sense. i also don’t like the actress (why was she blinking so much??) so i certainly didn’t help.

- of course ella has to end up with a boyfriend. because earlier she always ended up with “bad boys” and now, without any help, she is just able to have a healthy relationship! yay! for me this creates a toxic view, that in order to be happy one HAS TO be in a relationship, because being alone is aLwAyS bAd. well, it’s not.

- i also have troubles with lucifer starting up a foundation for her. firstly, he didn’t ask her. secondly it – AGAIN – shows, that anything good ella got, was because of another man. firstly because of her relationship with carol, secondly because of lucifer’s idea. it could have been so easily altered! there could have been a scene of a conversation e.g. with amenadiel where she expressed a will to do better and be better for someone (given that she sees a lot of dark in herself). amenadiel could have then told her, that she is an inspiration and that it is her biggest strength. that could have been where ella came up with an idea to start a foundation blah blah – it’s just a rough idea but I believe that written well, it could have been so much better;

- and the last thing about ella – of course she had to find out about celestial stuff because sHe WaS tHe OnLy OnE rEmAiNiNg. umm what about trixie? i'll come back to her later. ella was portrayed as the only one believing in god and having her seeing that he really exists ruins the concept of faith. it’s not about knowing something exists, it’s about believing in it.

- WHERE THE FUCK IS MICHAEL. i must admit that i loved this character AND I CAN’T STAND HOW AWFULLY HE WAS TREATED HERE. so at the end of season 5 lucifer says “everyone deserves a second chance, even you michael". and what does he do then? COMMANDS HIS TWIN TO CLEAR THE FLOOR IN HELL. yes, i agree that michael should have been punished for his rebellion plan, but… he already has his wing cut off. now he’s stuck in hell, with no way out and is he supposed to learn his lesson? this is cruel. instead of this the entire season could have been centred on him – his journey to self-acceptance, learning how manipulating someone is toxic and starting to realise how to be a better person. at the end he could have become god (because amenadiel is such an obvious choice), which would create a beautiful connection – michael in heaven and his twin in hell.

- lucifer doesn’t feel like being god and that’s cool. damn. people died for him to win this place and he’s like “actually you know guys i’m not the right person bye”. while i believe that anyone should step out if they have a reason, but at the same time lucifer should have faced any consequences of his decisions. falling frog and kool aid in the river are not enough.

- adam’s plot feels just quickly sketched, not actually written. i really appreciate this take on toxic masculinity but it all felt too fast-paced. it’s good that they show this idea of “strong and not-showing-any-feelings man” kind of attitude, but it is impossible for ANYONE (especially The ManTM) to change their mind in a matter of a few days. it takes weeks, months, years even, especially given that adam is like a gazillion years old, he should have especially taken a long time to process this.

- carol is just too pure to exist. he’s also one of the most boring, plain and one-dimensional character i’ve ever seen. i feel like they gave him a problem with alcohol because the writers were like “hmmmmm he has to have some weakness. LET’S MAKE HIM AN ALCOHOLIC”. we don’t see any signs of his everyday struggle, why did he fell into this problem, how did struggle. it just feels like a dull plot device to show that he has flaws. oh and also he’s so pure that he doesn’t mind ella BREAKING INTO HIS HOUSE. acceptance should have boundaries and violating someone’s personal space isn’t right.

- why did they forget about trixie again? yes, i know that scarlett estevez had another project but this does not justify the bad writing. the girl lost her father and we only see her crying once because of that. no signs of this affecting her everyday life, not showing any consequences of her relationships with other people, not  glimpse of any change in her behaviour. oh and also she loses lucifer too because time travel! great idea, writers! losing another close to her person would have been soooooo good for her psychic for sure.

- i also hate the idea that suddenly rory becomes the only child they care for. where is trixie when they spend their day on the beach? where is she when her mother dies? did writers forget about her as well as they did about michael?

- amenadiel being a police officer is… problematic. i was looking forward to this thread, i was kinda scared too and it turned out… meh. i’m white and not American, so this of course does not involve me at all, but i felt like this was not enough. harris basically said that there is nothing they can do to make it better for black folks. even though chloe and amenadiel want to make everything more just, we don’t actually see any change. the only thing is that harris becomes a detective (right? i’m not sure if i understood it correctly, so correct me if i’m wrong, please) which is a total contradiction of what she said before. suddenly she does not have to protect people anymore?

- in season 5 they stated that heaven and hell need to be fixed, as the system is unfair and unjust. at the end we don’t see any change, the only thing that is different is lucifer helping damned souls. it doesn’t help at all! these people still go to hell, they still suffer and there’s nothing that changed here! plus there is also this thing, that a sociopath who murdered people in cold blood goes to heaven (because he does not feel any guilt) and a person abused by her parents/partner/whoever goes to hell (because have been manipulated to feel guilt).

- dan making amends with trixie while… there wasn’t really anything to make amends about. like, most of the parents make mistakes while upbringing their children, but does this make them unworthy of heaven? i would have preferred dan to slowly regain his self-consciousness, how he positively affected the lives of people around him and by doing so – through conversations or maybe reliving some of the memories, he could have proved to himself that he is worthy of love and redemption.

phew, what a ride. i really liked dan being reunited with charlotte (it went just as i imagined) and mazeve dynamics. i even felt like they are finally a real life relationship – with people hurting each other by not understanding each other, but then talking and seeing other’s perspective. generally though, i’m very disappointed.

sorry for any mistakes, lacking commas etc. writing a text this long in not my native language was not easy.

[toolazytodecide]

Hey! I like the fandoms you post about. Do you have any book recommendations? I need something to listen to while I file things at work but I’m bad at predicting what I’ll like because it feels like nothing I’m into has any Google-able overlap. It’s like, if I enjoy the author���s outlook I’ll love anything they make but I don’t care what the book is actually about.

I think about this quote all the time, esp when Netflix is all “you liked Buffy, you might like Vampire Diaries.”😒

“No one knew what Ganseylike was, even Gansey. Teachers and family friends were always collecting articles and stories that they thought might capture his attention, things they thought were Ganseylike. The well-meaning items always addressed the most obvious parts of him. Welsh kings or old Camaros or other young people who had travelled the world for bizarre reasons no one else understood. No one dug down past that, and he supposed he didn't much encourage it. There was a lot of night in those days behind him, and he preferred to turn his face into the sun. Ganseylike. What was Ganseylike?” — The Raven King

First of all you are absolutely correct. I had completely forgotten that Gansey quote but it really does summarise where recommendations fail so well.

My first thought was oh what do I like with similar themes or in the same category? But fuck that I'm just gonna tell you my favourites and a little about them and you can pick what interests you.

1. My FAVOURITE book is The Goldfinch. I only read it this year but it absolutely destroyed my brain and I havent recovered.

Basic summary: 13 year old Theo Decker survives a terrorist attack at an art gallery but loses his mother and in his shock accidentally takes home famous painting: The Goldfinch. First half of the story is him as a teen, second half is as an adult. Theres a lot of themes like drug abuse, internalized homophobia, PTSD and suicide. It's a great book if you love analyzing the fuck out of books. He also develops a mildly codependent (and very gay) friendship with another boy who later becomes a gangster.

It is very different to NHIE and TRC in that it's a lot more....negative? Like the plot resolves itself but you will not be satisfied by the ending. The characters are all very flawed, which I suppose is similar to characters like Adam and Devi but in different ways.

2. Six of Crows- have you read this? If you havent it's like a mandatory read. Its technically a sequel to Shadow and Bone but I read it first and it was fine.

Summary- 6 rag tag teens team up in a dangerous fantasy world to take on the heist of the century.

It's so good man. When I tell you Kaz Brekker is my favourite character of all time I am not joking. Also bonus points for a disabled main character as written by a disabled author. It's very found family with a lot of plot twists and lovable characters.

3. All for the game- this one is here because I love it but objectively I know it's an acquired taste with questionable writing.

All 3 of these so far show my love of a sneaky protagonist with an allergy to telling people about themselves. These books are absolutely bizarre and shouldnt work but they do!

Basic summary: Neil Josten has spent his life on the life from his mobster father after he and his mother escaped him. His mom just died and rather than keep hiding he allows himself to take the opportunity of a lifetime to go to college and play Exy (made up sport) for a team that specializes in taking those who have had rough lives and usually would be picked (e.g drug addicts, foster kids etc)

It's a surprisingly wonderful series about mental health, occasional murder and one of the best love stories I've read. This one is also really popular with ao3 so if you're after something that will give you a lot of wonderful ff this is the best one so far.

(There are a number of trigger warnings for this book I would recommend you look up beforehand.)

Bonus rec: Vicious by V.E Scwab. I need to go into work now but basically told from the supervillains perspective, but honestly I'm on his side anyway. Victor just got out of prison and has the ability to control pain. So he can either inflict pain or say hire henchmen that he pays by curing their chronic pain. (As someone with chronic pain I cant blame them tbh)

he also adopts this kid who can resurrect the dead and it's a great little supervillain found family. I havent read it in ages but there is a sequel I need to read and from what I remember it was very good.

[astradrifting]

While Tyland seems to mirror Tyrion, the latter has already experienced all that in the book, hasn't he? Serving the wrong regime, being hated by the people, being badly disfigured etc. But now he's bringing an enemy with dragons to Westeros. Isn't that far beyond Tyland? I keep thinking the Lannister in the service of a rotten regime and for the wrong reasons (Cersei) might be Jamie. He too is disfigured. Is there a parallel for him in DoD?

(referencing this post)

Well, Tyland was sent across the Narrow Sea to Pentos to get sellswords for the Greens but failed, so maybe Tyrion bringing Dany across is meant to be him succeeding where Tyland failed. But you’re right, the foreshadowing events have already happened for Tyrion and it seems repetitive for his story to progress in exactly that way again. The show seemed to indicate that this was his endgame, but I could see D&D giving him this ‘happy ending’ purely because he’s their favourite, maybe swapping his ending with another character’s to facilitate it. The removal of the Tysha reveal so completely stagnated Tyrion’s character arc, which might be why D&D seemed to have no idea what to do with him post s4 aside from get him sucked into the Dany-cult.

There’s definitely meant to be a link between Ser Criston Cole and Jaime, though more of a mirror reflection than parallels. Cole was known as the Kingmaker, for his crucial role in playing Aegon II and Rhaenyra against each other at the start of the Dance, and was later made Aegon’s Hand. He was once Rhaenyra’s loyal sworn sword, until one of them spurned the other before her wedding to Laenor Velaryon. Either he asked her to run away with him to the Free Cities and she rejected him, or she tried to seduce him (for a second time) in the White Sword Tower and he rejected her. Either way, they clearly had a falling out, after which Rhaenyra turned to Ser Harwin Strong and Cole became a supporter of the Greens and Queen Alicent’s new sworn sword. This is similar to Jaime turning away from Cersei for her infidelity, though he doesn’t go so far as supporting the younger brother that will kill her and keeping her from the throne just yet.

Cole’s death is clearly a reference to the Red Wedding - at the Red Wedding, Robb was hit by three crossbow bolts, before Roose Bolton killed him while saying “Jaime Lannister sends his regards.” Criston Cole died at the Butcher’s Ball, a battle in the riverlands near the God’s Eye, killed by three arrows. The man in charge of the archers, and one of the men who killed him, was called Red Robb Rivers. His head was later put upon a spear and marched to another battle. But considering this is already a reversal of Robb’s exact fate in the books, I don’t know if Cole’s death is meant to provide foreshadowing for Jaime’s ending. He seems to be more of Jaime’s foil than a true parallel - Cole appeared to truly hate Rhaenyra in the end and worked to destroy everything she had, but I think Jaime is going to find it harder to give up on Cersei no matter what he says.

Some of Tyland and Tyrion’s parallels could actually apply to Jaime too, in some ways mapping closer to Jaime:

- Tyland was the younger twin of Lord Jason Lannister, as Jaime is Cersei’s younger twin.

- both were tortured and disfigured by the opposite side in war.

- Tyland’s policies benefitted lords, but made him hated by the smallfolk - similarly, Jaime’s slaying of Aerys actually benefitted the nobility, since it was they that Aerys tended to target, but has made him reviled by the smallfolk as the Kingslayer.

- Tyland advised Aegon II to kill his nephew Aegon the Younger instead of just gelding him or sending him to the Wall, because he would always be a threat to his reign. Tyrion has never threatened Bran (yet, at least), but Jaime has already tried to kill him, and later said that he should be killed, ostensibly for mercy but really because Bran was a threat to his and Cersei’s secret.

I’m still more inclined to think that Jaime and Cersei’s endings are linked in some way. But there’s also a lot of possible foreshadowing for Jaime being Hand within the books - @fedonciadale wrote a meta about Jaime possibly becoming Hand before s8. He also spends much of Feast riding around the Riverlands trying to clean up the war, during which he dreams of becoming known as Goldenhand the Just, instead of the Kingslayer. Of course, right now it’s incomprehensible why exactly either Bran or his council of regents would choose to make Jaime his Hand, aside from possibly appeasing supporters of the old Lannister regime, but Tyrion becoming Hand is pretty baffling too. I’d think that either of them would be especially insulting to both Sansa personally and the Martells, but if both the North and Dorne go independent at the end they probably wouldn’t have a say in who becomes Hand in the remaining kingdoms.

I don’t know why it would happen politically, but I could see why it might happen thematically. It might be a bitter, full circle of sorts for Jaime to end up loyally serving a king he’s already wronged.

In Jaime’s last AFFC chapter, he makes plans to eventually return to KL, but not for Cersei. He intends to separate Cersei from Tommen and find him a new small council, considering a slew of lords who could become the new Hand (even Baelish, bizarrely enough), but conspiciously not including himself, even though he’s already planning political manouevres and there have been previous Lord Commanders of the Kingsguard who have served as the Hand e.g. Ser Ryam Redwyne, and Ser Criston Cole during the Dance. He even wants to tell Tommen that he’s his father.

And he had done his own part here at Riverrun without actually ever taking up arms against the Starks or Tullys. Once he found the Blackfish, he would be free to return to King's Landing, where he belonged. My place is with my king. With my son. Would Tommen want to know that? The truth could cost the boy his throne. Would you sooner have a father or a chair, lad? Jaime wished he knew the answer. 

(AFFC, Jaime VII)

He seems to want a second chance, with Tommen after years of not truly acknowledging him as his son, and as a knight of the Kingsguard. The last king he truly served, he ended up stabbing in front of the Iron Throne. Robert barely even counts, because Jaime never had any real loyalty to him. Now he has grand plans to guide Tommen as king that will ultimately be disrupted, first by Lady Stoneheart, then likely by Aegon coming out of the woodwork and taking the crown from either Cersei or Tommen. If Jaime survives to the end of the series, he might end up serving a final king.

Bran and Tommen have often been linked to each other and contrasted throughout the series. They’re the same age, both second sons, and Sansa thinks explicitly that Tommen reminds her of Bran in ACOK. At the very beginning of AGOT, they have a sparring match, in which Bran knocks Tommen down:

There was a shout from the courtyard below. Prince Tommen was rolling in the dust, trying to get up and failing. All the padding made him look like a turtle on its back. Bran was standing over him with upraised wooden sword, ready to whack him again once he regained his feet.

(AGOT, Arya I)

There’s a more oblique link made when the Lannisters are discussing Bran’s fall:

“[...] There is nothing Lord Eddard can do for the boy in any case."

"He could end his torment," Jaime said. "I would, if it were my son. It would be a mercy."

"I advise against putting that suggestion to Lord Eddard, sweet brother," Tyrion said. "He would not take it kindly."

(AGOT, Tyrion I)

In AFFC/ADWD, Jon bitterly remembers the spar between Bran and Tommen:

"At Winterfell, Tommen fought my brother Bran with wooden swords," Jon said, remembering. "He wore so much padding he looked like a stuffed goose. Bran knocked him to the ground." He went to the window and threw the shutters open. The air outside was cold and bracing, though the sky was a dull grey. "Yet Bran's dead, and pudgy pink-faced Tommen is sitting on the Iron Throne, with a crown nestled amongst his golden curls."

(ADWD, Jon II)

Except Bran isn’t dead, and it’s Tommen’s prospects that aren’t looking good. By the end of the series, their positions will likely have reversed entirely from Jon’s statement - Bran will be the boy with a crown in his curly hair, while Tommen might be the one tragically killed in his home.

There would be something bitter and darkly ironic in it, if the boy-king Jaime gets a second chance with isn’t the son he desperately wants to know, but the boy he threw out of a window.

[flying-nightwing]

Fluff Alphabet - Jason Todd

Hello guys! This is my first alphabet because I saw everyone do it and i wanted in. I took this alphabet. I had a lot of fun to indulge in Jason, because well. Do I need to explain? 

Anyhow, enjoy this little thing inspired by my feelings for Jason Todd!

Disclaimer: This is my vision of the character and in no way an universal truth

Check out my masterlist in bio // pinned!

A = Attractive (What do they find attractive about the other?)

Your eyes. Jason could get lost in them by a simple glance. They say eyes are the windows to the soul, and he found it to be very true the second he met you. He will sometimes doubt he’s worth your love, but your gaze is enough to reassure him at every turn. He also can’t get enough of that spark that lights up when he makes you laugh, it draws him in. Your eyes are so kind and loving, the rest doesn’t really matter to him.

B = Baby (Do they want a family? Why/Why not?)

Let’s be truthful here, Jason is terrified of having kids. Everytime the discussion gets even close to the topic of family, he gets vivid images of his own father with him and it fills him with dread that he'll end up just like him. Then, he thinks about his lifestyle and how just being the Red Hood (or having been, as a matter of fact) could endanger his family. But I think deep down he craves having a family, having kids (whether they’re biologically his or adopted), because he’s just that natural caring person.

C = Cuddle (How do they cuddle?)

Continuing on that natural caring person wave, Jason will usually cuddle as the big spoon. His large frame makes it ridiculously easy for himself to wrap around you completely, and he loves to see you curled up around him, safe and comfortable in his arms. He likes to know he’s shielding you from any potential danger, it just eases his conscience. But sometimes he’ll have a bad day, or a rough patrol, and he’ll wordlessly slip in your hold in bed. It surprises you every time how small he can make himself, with his head on your chest above your heart and latched around your waist holding for dear life. Then, he’ll rely on you to make him feel safe, and he’ll fall asleep like that (he also likes when you play with his hair when he gets like that).

D = Dates (What are dates with them like?)

Jason is insanely romantic, nobody can prove me otherwise. With the amount of novels and books he read, it would be hard not to know how to be an exemplary lover. However, doing grand gestures in public and/or expensive shits is not his style. So it isn’t rare to come back home from your job after a tough week, to see Jason lighting up candles on a rose petals covered table, smiling at you and telling you to get changed in your pajamas and relax a bit before he finishes cooking (probably one of you favourite meals, or something new he knows you’ll like to surprise you). Dancing on your building’s rooftop or driving outside the city to take a walk under the stars are also his ideas of dates. It’s always something private and meaningful and a proof Jason is a hopeless romantic.

E = Everything (You are my ____ (e.g. my life, my world…))

“You are my reason to keep going on.” I believe at some point after he came back from the dead, Jason had a really hard time finding a reason to keep living (finding out he was replaced as Robin, that Batman didn’t kill the joker, etc…). He was in a really dark place and numb to everything. But then, he met you and suddenly life wasn’t so terrible. After a while, he even finds himself excited to get up in the morning (or early afternoon if he’s been on a long patrol) and smiling at random times. He wants to make an effort for you, because you deserve his best self and the least he can do is try (you still love him at his worst though, and he still can’t wrap his head around it but he’s insanely grateful for it).

F = Feelings (When did they know they were in love?)

One night, Jason woke up in sweats and screaming his lungs out. He had a nightmare where you were kidnapped and tortured by the joker the way he was; it was the first time you were the victim in his nightmares (usually it was faceless people or himself, and even sometimes his brothers. But never you). He found himself wanting to have you in his arms, needing to have you in his arms, and that’s how he knew it wasn’t just a crush anymore, that he was in deep with you.

G = Gentle (Are they gentle? If so, how?)

People have this misconception that Jason is rough, judging by the everything about him. But you would have never foreseen him to be so delicate and gentle with you. He is very strong and can be rash sometimes, but with his lover, he is always careful. He has enough pain and hurt in his life there is now way he’d put the most important person in his life through that. You have to almost beg him to be rough with you, and he’ll only let go if he’s 100% sure you’re okay with it.

H = Hands (How do they like to hold hands?)

Absolutely. He’s not big on PDA but he always wants to hold your hand, especially in public. He can get uncomfortable if there are too many people around, and the little subconscious squeezes of your hand never fails to bring him back to reality and help him focus on you instead of feeling trapped. Also he’s afraid of losing you in a crowd, even if he’s tall and could spot you easily. So yeah, his hand in yours is a constant.

I = Impression (What was their first impression?)

Depends on how you met really. It’s hard to say really, he might have seen you as an angel, or as a simple acquaintance until he discovered your character and you grew on him. He’s a versatile boy in the people he falls for.

J = Jealousy (Do they get jealous?)

Not jealous per say, but insecure. Everytime he sees you talking with someone who seems to be (subconsciously or not) flirting with you, he gets this feeling you’ll suddenly realize you could do much better than him and leave him for someone less broken, less messed up than him. It creeps in his chest and hurts like a heart attack, and it only dies down when you inevitably come back in his arms and look at him like he’s your world. Then, the storm dies and he knows he at least got one more day with you. And as much as the idea of Jealous Jason showing you who you belong to (wink wink) is appealing, I don’t think it would happen unless it has been established both of you were into that kind of foreplay and he knows for sure you’re in for the long haul with him. Then it becomes a game rather than an actual insecurity thing.

K = Kiss (How do they kiss? Who initiated the first kiss?)

Jason’s kisses are soft and wholesome. You can feel every ounce of love and admiration he has for you, and even if they do get emotional or even dominant at some points, it’s never forecefull. Who initiated the first kiss is nebulous, I think it was more of a mutual thing than an unilateral decision. I like to think it happened in a magnet effect, where both parties met halfway because Jason is a very respectful person in general (except if you piss him off for real) and he wouldn’t make you uncomfortable by kissing you without your consent.

L = Love (Who says ‘I love you’ first?)

It’s gotta be you. Jason, who’s afraid of saying it and getting rejected/mocked would definitely not want to get his feet wet first (what if you laugh? What if you leave?). He will show it in his way, but he’d wait for you to say the words first. But once it’s out there? Hooty hoot. He’ll say it like a mantra. He’ll never ever stop saying it at every occasion he gets. 

M = Memory (What’s their favourite memory together?)

At the fair in your city. Spending the afternoon going from attraction to attraction, having fun in the small roller coaster you were pretty sure was one heavy loaded train away from toppling down. After sun down, you went from game booth to game booth, collecting small and colorful stuffed animals and eating everything sugary and fat you could get your hands onto. You were convinced you could beat the rigged shoot the duck game, and when you couldn’t, Jason stepped in and absolutely made the smug smirk drop from the guy’s face. You walked away with a giant Panda, sleepy as hell after you sugar rush, and Jason had to carry you out of the car bridal style. That picture you took on top of the ferris wheel is on his nightstand and is his favourite possession of his. 

N = Nickel (Do they spoil? Do they buy the person they love everything?)

No, he’s not that kind of guy. I think he’s much more into meaningful acts and gestures than buying your love. He would sometimes spoil you if the occasion came to it, but I don’t think he’d be the type to open up his wallet as a demonstration of love.

O = Orange (What colour reminds them of their other half?)

Aqua blue. No other reason than the fact it’s probably the color the most opposite to red. While he absolutely loves to see you wear red things (it drives him crazy in the sweetest way), he doesn’t want to associate you with the darkest part of him. You’re the beautiful blue to his glaring red, because you’re the best thing in his life and he wants to outline and highlight you out as much as possible.

P = Pet names (What pet names do they use?)

I don’t think he has a signature pet name, he probably uses one that fits with the object of his affections and the history he has with them. He’d also be mindful of what you like and don’t like, and adjust them accordingly. 

Q = Quaint (What is their favourite non-modern thing?)

Libraries. The old ones that smell of paper and leather. The ones with the shelves that climb up to the wall and the old worn seats that are just perfect to sit into and read for hours. Jason loves a calm environment and a quiet victorian library does the trick just well.

R = Rainy Day (What do they like to do on a rainy day?)

Read, cuddles, adult cuddles... ;) I think Jason likes rainy days because it gives him an excuse to spend time with you at home. He’d probably bake something in the afternoon and you might or might not turn it into a flour war, make a mess in the kitchen but make a bonding activity of cleaning it up after (he and you know when to be kids and when to be mature and you both respect the line, and that’s why it’s so fun). Rainy days are domestic days and nothing is more pure or adorable than domestic Jason. It’s a hill I’ll die on. 

S = Sad (How do they cheer themselves/others up?)

That’s a tricky one, because when Jason spirals down he has trouble getting out by himself. But when you are down, Jason will go to hell and back to make sure you feel better. He’ll cook you your favourite thing, skip patrol to stay by your side, do a dumb tik tok dance to put a smile on your face or hear you laugh. He’d be attentive to your needs and do everything in his power to help you.

T = Talking (What do they like to talk about?)

Everything. Jason is a smart boy, he’d enjoy either talking about art, or about larger questions in the universe, or maybe about the birds that made a nest outside. Jason is incredibly easy to talk to when he’s receptive to the person talking to him, and that surprises anyone who knows him on the surface or less. 

U = Unencumbered (What helps them relax?)

Massages, but only by you. He trusts you, he is as comfortable as he can get with you seeing him shirtless with his scars (no professional masseur/se will ever get up close to him), and with you touching him in perhaps more sensitive or vulnerable places. He’d close his eyes and let involuntary moans when you’d unknot the tension in his muscles (and you’d secretly enjoy having such a force of nature all putty and soft under your hands). Then it’d be cuddle time and he would be relaxed as he’s ever been.

V = Vaunt (What do they like to show off? What are they proud of?)

That’s simple: you. You’re his beautiful partner, the only one he has eyes for, so the world should see how great you are. He’d find a way to place you in every conversation, whether it would be to point out that hey, you can do that too, or because he just can’t shut up about you. That earns him infinite teasing from his family on how soft he is for you, but he can’t bring himself to care because he loves you so much. 

W = Wedding (When, how, where do they propose?)

Jason wanted to marry you, and you had talked about it enough as a couple that he knew you wanted it too. But he wanted to wait for the right moment and he couldn’t plan that. The proposal probably happened at an unexpected moment, like when you tried to make him soup when he got injured and ended up messing it up bad. You came back to the couch and apologized to him profusely, and with stars in his eyes he asked you to marry him. Or when one of his enemies tried to take you while taking out the trash, but you chucked the garbage bag AND the metal lid to them, and Jason got down on one knee the second you finished recounting the story, out of breath from running back inside. The wedding was a private affair (Roy was his best man) somewhere quiet and meaningful, without too many artifices or big set up. It was perfect for you two.

X = Xylophone (What’s their song?)

This is a hard one. I feel like Jason would be into soul/jazz, in the style of Marvin Gaye, Nat King Cole or Frank Sinatra. To some extent he is a very old school person, and I believe music is one of the topics that falls into that old school side of him. It’s just a feeling, it’s how I imagine Jason. Unforgettable by Nat King Cole would be his to-go song when it comes to you. 

Y = Yes (Do they ever think of getting married/proposing?)

Oh yea. Jaybird’s got the ring in mind as soon as he knew you were the one. See Wedding above.

Z = Zebra (If they wanted a pet, what would they get?)

I don’t think he’d want a pet, because he can be absent often, or he wouldn’t have enough time. But if he’d have to, he’d get a cat, I think. Walking a dog morning and night would get a little bit much, especially since sometimes he might have trouble getting out of bed after patrol. But a cat, a rescue stubborn older cat who has seen others, that would be a match. The cat would be distant at first, but one morning he’d wake up with his grump of a feline curled beside his pillow and purring, or after a rough day the cat would bring him its toy and Jason would just. Cry. Because this little creature became his friend. And it’s so pure. (Also Jason building cat trees and climbing installations for the cat? Satisfying image).

[knightofmordred]

let's talk about gwen's trauma in bbc merlin

tw // trauma, grief, torture, death, potential racism.

im not sure what else to tw but my post will surround conversations such as these so if you are reading this and may be triggered please either stop or read with care <3

forgive me for any mistakes i will mainly be talking from memory and ofc if i say anything wrong please lmk !!

generally to start off, all of the main four characters went through trauma however you were always able to see their reaction/result of their trauma e.g morgana turning evil, arthur being self-conscious and doubtful of himself and merlin putting up a barrier in S5, but with gwen there was never anything like that which happened.

gwen went through so much throughout the entire show and yet nothing was ever handled or addressed within the show.

SEASON ONE

from the beginning it was indicated that gwen's mother passed away before the time frame shown in camelot and of course that was later confirmed. the only mention about her mother, that i can remember, is when gwen briefly spoke about how her mother was a maid in sir leon's household. we also know that elyan left camelot shortly after their mother passed away, clearly the reasoning was from grief and hurt. we didn't get to see gwen deal with the loss of not only her mum but also her brother, yes he was still alive however he left without a word, gwen and her father were left alone trying to survive.

(also elyan's trauma is also something important to be raised and spoken about)

during this time gwen and her father were still able to make a life in camelot, thomas being a blacksmith and gwen getting a job as morgana's maid. of course events unfolded and gwen was accused of witchcraft. she was thrown in prison and set to be executed. as we know this isnt the first time this will happen. we obviously saw gwen distraught and inconsolable trying to deal with her sentence however this epsiode revolved a lot around morgana and merlin more than it did gwen. e.g. them trying to release gwen etc

a few episodes later thomas is the one imprisoned and eventually was killed due to his attempted escape. again this epsiode focused more on morgana and merlin. the small clips we saw of gwen crying over her father whilst he was imprisoned and then again when she was mourning her father were little to nothing, and the only other scenes surrounding gwen were shown as her being "strong and getting her life back together". following on to merlin asking gwen if she would wish uther dead and she said no, if he died she would feel nothing but wouldn't wish him dead.

now why does gwen have to be this strong and kind hearted woman especially in this epsiode. she lost her father, practically her last and only family member left as elyan was awol and yet she was portrayed this way. she would have been allowed to be angry and upset over everything that happened.

there was a scene where gwen was crying with morgana and spoke about how she cannot go home but it wasn't about her father. it was about tauren - the man who hired thomas for whatever he was making,he came and threatened gwen.

SEASON THREE

a season later gwen and arthur are romantically involved and caught by uther and morgana during a date. uther banished gwen and was later accused of magic (again) and set to be executed (again). this episode focused more on gwen than the last ones i spoke about but again morgana and merlin's side plots were heavily involved.

after each event has taken place in these episodes, it's almost as if gwen's trauma and what she went through were put aside or forgotten about. twice she was nearly killed and once she lost her father.

later, gwen was kidnapped by cenred and morgause and threatened to bring arthur in exchange for elyan's life.

noticing a theme so far? gwen's trauma seems to be revolved around the white characters surrounding her, whether it is entwined with another character's plot or focuses on them.

SEASON FOUR

i don't remember the epsiode but i believe it was the dochard episode. gwen was attacked by morgana in an attempt to kill her.

during this time too she was also looking after and caring for uther. we know she wasn't doing it for uther but for arthur and her love for him and so he wouldn't have to worry and can focus on his duties but....she was still looking after the man who killed her father, nearly killed her a couple of times and overall ruined her life too.

now we get into gwen and lancelot. of course we all know lance was a shade and gwen was enchanted. the way this epsiode was and how they decided to portray gwen and lance for me was ://

again gwen was thrown in jail. the bracelet was never found and nothing ever came to light that she was enchanted.

so...gwen had to live with all of that regret, guilt and feelings of not understanding or knowing why she kissed lancelot for the rest of her life.

she was banished and threatened with death if she ever returned (again).

shortly later in S4 EP11, she was kidnapped (again) whilst living in ealdor. she was able to escape but then turned into a deer by morgana??? then accidentally hunted by arthur and mithian leaving her injured and hurt. which is so unnecessary because why tf turn her into an animal ???

she was nearly killed again.

and again nothing was ever addressed or spoken about in terms of what gwen went through.

SEASON FIVE

S5, uther came back as a ghost, he threatened and attacked gwen to the point she nearly died had she not been found by merlin.

in the middle of the season, gwen was kidnapped and tortured which eventually led to her being enchanted and under morgana's control in the Dark Tower.

again, gwen's trauma is tied to a white character (as in plot and needs etc).

during her enchantment gwen did a few things:

poisoned arthur and nearly killed him

killed tyr

imprisoned merlin and blamed him

conspires with an enemy and tried to kill arthur again

her enchantment was thankfully lifted but once again it just seemed like it was ignored once it was over but also i know S5 was rushed in itself anyway.

tbh you could say gwen knew nothing and couldn't remember what happened whilst she was enchanted but in With All My Heart there seemed to be some awareness from gwen about her enchantment. and also ofc people would say she couldn't remember in order to avoid the conversation around her trauma.

in the finale we see gwen in the battle helping the wounded and when the battle is won we see her having to cope with the fact they couldn't find arthur.

by this time we know where arthur is and it cuts to a scene of leon telling gwen arthur has still not been found and of course gwen is visibly upset.

when gauis comes back and gwen is informed of arthur's condition of course she believes he will get better but then she would have had to battle with the thoughts he wouldn't.

i really wish there had been a scene after this where gwen just talks to someone about what exactly she is feeling but instead it cut to the plot about eira.

the ending was kind of the same for everyone, no one got to mourn apart from merlin.

overall it just makes me so sad that gwen went through all of this and it was ignored or pushed aside because she is a "kind, strong and honest woman". she went straight back to work when her father died because it was "better than sitting in an empty house waiting for my father to return" no gwen!! you can do that if you need to!! you are allowed to be sad and hurt!!

i genuinely do think it is racist writing as black women especially are portrayed as "strong women who get on with things" when actually they've gone through a load of traumatic events and as any else are should be angry and upset and should be allowed to be portrayed that way too.

it also angers me that majority of these events which took place and gwen's experiences/trauma were almost always tied to a white character and aiding their development/storyline/plot. just why

[ginger-and-mint]

Hey, I'm wondering if you have any advice on writing kink stuff? Basically, it feels like I'm writing the same story repeatedly. Coming up with stuffing scenarios that both make sense, and aren't just retreads, is really hard. It probably doesn't help that a) I don't have much writing experience, b) my interests are really narrow, and c) I have no imagination, lol. How do you keep stuff fun and interesting? (Jsyk, I sent this to Tiny as well, I love both your blogs 😊)

Hey, anon! Thank you so much, I’m so glad you enjoy my and Tiny’s content and I’m flattered to be asked for advice! ♡ I have a lot of thoughts about this, so I’ll do my best to boil them down into something useful.
 ^^

Since you mentioned being pretty new to writing, I broke up my advice into a few different “stages,” starting with things that are easy to implement and moving to things that might feel more manageable as you get more comfortable with writing. Under a cut because Real Heckin Long.


Stage One — Don’t Sweat It

This might sound corny and unhelpful, but I genuinely think that especially when you’re first starting out, it’s best not to put pressure on yourself to write the world’s most original stories. Write to please your inner fiend and nobody else! If repeated versions of the same story continue to light your fire, there’s no shame in embracing that.

Doing this will honestly help you with originality in the long-term anyway, because you’re giving yourself the freedom to learn more about what specifics you really enjoy in kink writing. Later on, you can use that knowledge to put new twists on those specifics and invent new scenarios.

Stage Two — Stuffing Scenario Cheat Sheet

I completely agree that believable stuffing scenarios are really difficult to invent. What’s realistic is a matter of opinion of course, but for me, this is a quick breakdown of logical reasons for a character to overeat. If you’re getting tired of using the same justification in your fics, try picking something new from this list:

Accidental stuffing:

Character is distracted by something during the meal

Character eats so fast they don’t realize when they’re full

Character has been hungry for awhile and overdoes it when they finally get to eat

Reluctant intentional stuffing (motivated by external circumstances):

Character feels social pressure to keep eating **

The food will go to waste otherwise **

Eating contests / challenges **

The character is trying to bulk up

Enthusiastic intentional stuffing (because the character wants to):

Character just enjoys the feeling of being full

Character and/or their partner(s) have a stuffing kink

Character has temporary access to good food and is indulging while they can

Fantasy Shenanigans:

Side effects of being a magical creature (e.g. a werewolf eating too much for their human form to handle, a vampire needing to feed all at once, etc.)

Magic that causes a character to overeat (e.g. enchanted food, curses, potions, etc.)

Magic that requires a full stomach and/or extra energy to work (e.g. my di-mage spell mechanics, the antidote in this fic of Tiny’s, etc.)

[free space because fantasy lets you set the boundaries of what’s realistic, so your imagination is really the limit!]

** If you’re aiming for realism, I would be careful of these scenarios. In my opinion, they can be done believably, but often are not. Some things I would look out for:

Most foods can easily be stored for later, so if you want to use the “avoiding waste” trope, make sure that you’re either in a setting without access to refrigeration or that the food is something that genuinely wouldn’t keep until the next day (or at least would be way less tasty after a night in the fridge.)

Social pressure works best in scenarios with people that the to-be-stuffed character 1) doesn’t know very well and 2) wants to impress or keep face around (e.g. formal events, business dinners, first dates that involve food, meeting their partner’s family, etc.)

Loving friends, family, and partners don’t pressure or guilt people into overeating! Characters stuffing themselves because their loved ones are really insistent that they have to taste-test everything or act so disappointed because they went to all this work on some extravagant feast always ring at best false and at worst abusive to me. What kind of loving relationship is it if you don’t feel safe to say “no thanks, I’m full?” That’s not to say social pressure with loved ones can’t be done well, but it usually indicates some kind of character flaw (i.e. an inability to say no and/or a steamroller-y personality) that in my opinion, has to be acknowledged by the fic’s end if you want the tone to stay light and fluffy.

Again, this may just be my opinion, but eating contests only come across as realistic with certain character personalities and in certain contexts. Like yeah, I can believe that a himbo with YouTuber Energy would take on a hot wing eating challenge in front of all his bros, but not so much that an otherwise self-respecting character would drop everything to eat themselves sick because a friend randomly challenged them.

Stage Three — Change Up Other Elements When Using Similar Tropes


Especially if you have narrow interests, it’s probably inevitable you’ll write same basic story structure over and over. I know I sure do! However, I would say that changing other elements of the narrative can give your writing an entirely different feel, turning it into a whole new story that will not feel like a simple retread to a reader.

One thing you can change up is setting. A lot of times kink writers will just plonk characters in the comfort of their own homes, which is valid — but setting hugely influences the atmosphere of a story, so the same Kink Plot will read really differently if it happens, say, at a campground or on a boat. Providing a rich setting can even become a feature of the kink itself. For example, setting your story at a lavish buffet could introduce an element of indulgence that hits you and/or readers differently than a story that involves casual takeout in the living room, even if the rest of the story is similar. Try bold settings! They’re fun!

Another element to vary is context. For example, the basic trope of “stress eating” would play out really differently if a character is about to go on an important mission vs. if they’re recovering from an emotionally difficult day; a story about about a character intentionally stuffing themselves will have a completely different flavor if they’ve been going hungry for awhile vs. they’ve been overeating all week; and so on.


Finally, consider changing up the focus. An easy way to do this is to switch up whether you’re writing from the POV of the stuffed character or a caretaker. You can also focus on different details of the stuffing — for example, lingering on how delicious the food looks and tastes vs. how the character feels as their stomach fills vs. physical details like whether they’re getting bloated or grumbly.

Stage Four — Connect to Character or Plot

The most surefire way to make kink stories distinct is to give the story an additional purpose besides just being kinky. This doesn’t have to be some big, extravagant plot (although it certainly can be) — it can be a simple as writing a kink story the way you usually would, and just finding something within it that you can use to reveal an aspect of your character.

Start with an ordinary kink scenario and try to dive a little deeper. For example:

Say you want to write a story about stress eating. Okay — what is the character stressed about?

Maybe you come up with something relatively simple and generic, like school. Okay, what about this character makes them so likely to be stressed out by school? Are they a perfectionist? Are they facing a lot of pressure from their family? Do they have a goal that requires excellent grades? Have they struggled with this subject in the past?

Let’s say you decide to go with perfectionism. Now, what scenes can you use to show this struggle? And optionally, can you give the character some kind of resolution by the story’s end?

And there you go! Your fic now not only has kink, but also shows how your character reacts in a certain situation.

Character especially is a treasure trove of uniqueness, in my opinion, because well-developed characters react differently to the same scenario. Stories feel more original because even if a reader has read this exact same plot before, they will not have seen how this particular person handles it. So one of the best ways to make fics distinct is to spend time developing your characters!

If the goal is to simply write solid distinct kinky stories, trying to create detailed plot is more work with lower return than investing in your characters, if you ask me. You have to enjoy the process of creating plots itself for it to be worth it. If that’s something you’re interested in, I have a whole load more thoughts about that -- but since this is already incredibly long, I’ll save that for a separate ramble if anyone is specifically interested.

---

I hope something in this huge infodump is helpful to you! Some of it may sound intimidating if you’re just starting out with kink writing, but it’s absolutely all something that can be worked up to. Please feel free to ask any follow-up questions if stuff I’ve written doesn’t make sense. Good luck with your writing, anon, and thanks for giving me an excuse to just go off. ^^’ ♡

[yellow-mapleleaves]

Realistic Personalities in Characters: Alice in Borderland

⚠ Spoilers ⚠

Short Summary

Alice in Borderland  今際の国のアリス  is a Netflix original series about a young boy called Alice (Arisu) and his two friends who happens to find themselves trapped in an abandoned version of Tokyo in which they must take part in many life threatening games to survive.

I wanted to do a review on this series because I noticed that there were some characters that possessed very accurate and realistic behaviours and others that didn’t convey any emotion the entire show. I found it interesting that the mix of very different levels of well-displayed people was able to add to the already amazing plot of the series.

Characters Present:

Alice, Karube, Chota, Usagi, Kuina, Chishiya, Niragi

Alice - Protagonist

The main protagonist of the series is not always the favourite in most tv shows, but from looking at different reviews and people’s comments about Yamazaki’s character Alice, I’ve noticed that he is actually rather popular in his own fictional world. He is honestly probably one of my favourite characters as well, and that’s based on how realistic his behaviours and emotions are conveyed.

Some aspects and scenes of Alice that makes him a more convincing and realistic personality:

Being a normal young boy with no incredibly amazing skills

Not having god-like survival abilities just from being able to play battle-royal videogames well

Having flaws

Having only two close friends rather than a huge friendship group

Not being incredibly attractive and well-groomed

Not having a close relationship with his brother (not all siblings get along)

Having a bad relationship with his father

Having the very human instinct of survival by becoming willing to kill his friends to save his own life out of panic

Reacting badly to watching someone being killed (vomiting, screaming, trauma etc)

Not being incredibly serious all the time; actually having a sense of humour

Showing respect towards Usagi’s privacy

Having a very average style of clothing

Being awkward around people he doesn’t know

Excelling in one area (puzzles) but being quite disadvantaged at the rest

Making mistakes E.g. during the distance game, he doesn’t realize the trick of the game until it ends

Not being able to defend himself physically due to lack of strength

Not moving on after his friends’ deaths immediately like as if it doesn’t happen (it takes him a few days to even develop the energy to get up off the floor)

I would say I personally believe that Alice’s character has a strong and realistic personality, as Yamazaki’s acting and Alice’s reactions to certain experiences creates a sympathetic response from the audience.

____

Karube - Deuteragonist

Let’s be honest, everyone loves a bad boy character. During the short time that Karube was present during the show, I think he conveys both strong and weak personality traits. At some points I think the producers were trying too hard to bring a “tough man” façade to him, when I think he could show more realistic emotions and reactions.

Some aspects and scenes of Karube that makes him a more convincing and realistic personality:

Having a fiery and defensive personality (although it can more than often come across as immature)

Having a sense of humour even in tough times

Having obvious advantage in strength related survival skills

Not being invincible to fear E.g. running from the tagger during the “Tag” game and not even trying to fight back at first

Dealing with work related issues

Actually having a realistic dream life rather than one that sounds almost impossible

Being flawed but not too flawed

Having a love interest that he is forbidden to love (she is with another man)

Conveying fear through anger when Alice tries to kill him to save himself

Not having the nicest of personalities (not everyone is friendly to everyone)

Not having a overly selfless personality

I think Karube should’ve been included in the series more than he is, because his character is very lovable and many fans of this show obviously show sympathy when he dies. His character has a big, extroverted and blunt personality, and I think it is conveyed very well during the time he is present.

____

Chota - Tertiary

Although Chota is one of the main three characters in the beginning of the series, I honestly never felt that sympathetic for him. His character comes across as rather more annoying than weak to me. I understand that the point of his character is to have a weak and smaller personality to match Karube and Alice’s loud energy, but I think this person is kind of just there. He doesn’t do much, considering he almost loses his leg in the first episode and having to use crutches for the rest of the time he is alive.

Some aspects and scenes of Chota that makes him less realistic:

Being friends with people who obviously have dodgy jobs or no jobs at all when he is a successful technician himself

Doesn’t seem to have much of a life outside work and his friends, what are his hobbies?

Not exactly having much of a purpose in the show

Constantly having his guard up and being anxious or worried

Having too many flaws

Following a very different religion to that of his mother

Generally being incredibly different to Alice and Karube (I believe if their personalities were actually friends in real life, they would have too many arguments).

During the short time on the show that Chota had, it was more the point that his personality felt incredibly unneeded. It didn’t exactly serve a huge purpose in the storyline. As well as, he was hard to sympathize for.

____

Usagi - Love Interest / Deuteragonist

Usagi definitely has my most favourite back story of the series. Although, when researching about her I noticed that she is actually one of the characters that get the least recognition by the viewers, despite being in basically every episode and always being beside Alice. I have mixed emotions about the realism in her character, so I made both a positive and negative list to state both sides.

Some aspects and scenes of Usagi that makes her a more convincing and realistic personality:

Having a tragic yet realistic backstory

Using her mountain climbing skills as a huge advantage during physically challenging games

Showing obvious signs of grief for her father, even during the time she was placed in the game

Being insecure of her body

Fighting back against Niragi even when it’s obvious she won’t win

Having good survival instincts from past experiences

Willing to help others out when they need it E.g. during the “Tag” game she went along with Alice’s plan for everyone to work together

Having a obvious more introverted personality

Being too trusting, which ends up getting her hurt

Some aspects and scenes of Usagi that makes her a more unrealistic and poorly convincing personality:

Having too serious of a personality, not seeming to lay back and laugh for even a second

Seeming to have an unrealistic bravery E.g. during the tagger game, she didn’t seemed frightened at all despite that the tagger had a machine gun

Doesn’t react to graphic violent sights that would be traumatizing to humans

Not knowing what “The Beach” was despite being in the game for god knows how long

Overall, I think she is the awesome strong female character that a lot of thriller genres have. Although, I would love if for once a strong yet bad ass character didn’t act so mysterious and quiet all the time. But regardless, she is a good character that shows very human qualities.

____

Kuina - Confidante

Kuina is one of the more popular characters in the show, which I honestly can understand. She has obvious very strong manipulation skills as well as physical strengths like martial arts. Although, I believe her backstory is what truly shapes her as a character and is the reason why the audience develops such an emotional connection with her.

Some aspects and scenes of Kuina that makes her a more convincing a realistic personality:

Having a trusting and good relationship with Chishiya

Having a personality that conveys carelessness

Both social butterfly and keeps to herself

Being a character part of the LGBTQ+ community

Having a realistic backstory

Although having a bad relationship with her Dad, she still respects what he taught her

Having a parent that accepts her rather than just being abandoned, which is what a lot of Transgender characters have been stereotyped as

Being able to defend herself incredibly well

Giving her a human flaw (smoking addiction)

Having a elaborate hairstyle

Showing that she is not mysterious, she just has a lot of walls up

Showing care for people she doesn’t know E.g. warning Alice and Usagi about the militants

I really like Kuina’s character for her strong personality and her ability to build good relationships with the members at the beach paradise. Although she is not featured a lot during season one, the times we have seen her have obviously been enough to make her character very loved by the audience.

____

Chishiya - Confidante

I honestly could not find a more loved character if I tried. This character is such a small part of the show and yet you’d think he was the protagonist. I honestly think anyone would love a sly fox character though, because that’s exactly what he is. Although his personality would probably become annoying if he was a real person, in a genre like this he fits perfectly. So personally, I have mixed emotions about him, because I honestly didn’t get that emotionally attached to him as other audiences may have.

Some aspects and scenes of Chishiya that makes him a more convincing and realistic personality:

Having a cocky attitude at times

Has a underdog appeal to him

Mimics that of a selfish manipulative personality

Showing obvious signs of high intelligence, yet doesn’t blab it around like it’s a trophy

Gives the audience some entertainment

Having a sassy remark, even when his life is on the line

Going out of his way to do things that only benefit him

Having a personality that everyone loves and hates at the same time

Having that personality in which you can’t tell if he’s a good guy or a bad guy

Having a trademark, his white hoodie

Having a caring relationship towards Kuina

Some aspects and scenes of Chishiya that makes him a more unrealistic and less convincing personality:

Attempting to kill Niragi with no hesitation after knowing him personally for so long (that would be difficult to do even if you hated the person)

Not showing human emotions such as fear, worry or anger

Sometimes his personality came across as too selfish to be realistic

Not showing any signs of fear E.g. when Niragi waved a machine gun in his face, he didn’t even flinch

Sometimes his fancy words became a bit annoying

Everyone trusts him, regardless of how manipulative they know he is

Overall, he is a very entertaining character. In my opinion he’s like the personality that throws a match into gasoline then walks away like he didn’t start it. Although his realism in character isn’t exactly good, he is definitely loved for his good looks and sly actions by the audience.

____

Niragi - Antagonist

As much as I dislike this guy as a person in general, when it comes to creating a interesting and great character, he hit the nail on the head. He has one of the most realistic evil character developments probably in the whole series. His personality is so complicated and psychotic, which is what makes him an amazing antagonist and probably the second most popular character among the audience.

Some aspects and scenes of Niragi that makes him a more convincing and realistic personality:

Has a tragic backstory, making the audience believe that’s why he’s so psychotic

Having the delusional mindset that human nature is violence

Makes the audience feel bad for him, despite being a horrible person

Being a hidden antagonist (didn’t expect him to cause all the trouble in the end)

Showing obvious signs of psychological trauma

Conveys positive (yet destructive) emotions and behaviour, which is always a good break when all the characters are serious 24/7

Hits a breaking point in his emotions and goes on a killing spree

Shows loyalty to Aguni

Being awful to everyone, probably due to the fact that everyone was awful to him when he was younger. It’s a way of revenge

Becoming embarrassed when someone challenges him

Scaring people into submission (tactic for some leaders)

Conveys no care for anyone, honestly just uses everyone for either his own entertainment or his own benefit

Has a trademark, his machine gun and checkered shirt

Being self-aware of how evil he is

As evil and bad as he is, he’s one  of the most endearing antagonists I’ve seen in a while. He is a very psychotic and emotionally wrecked personality to him, as if you know something traumatizing must have occurred in his life for him to be able to murder anyone without batting an eye.