#everything is making me think about him ... where did my blorbos go

[cozy-writes-things]

please let me get married to the lil blorbo.. love himm… 😭

You know that Reddit post that’s like “why am I too attracted to my wife?” Yeah that’s Edgar. Bro loves u so much it lowkey scares him you got him posting on Reddit about it 😭 Little fic under the cut 🥺 it’s bad I’m experiencing writers block I think - I want to write!! But my brain just keeps writing poopy caca

Little Date with Your Computer BF

Edgar saw marriage on one of his reality shows and immediately thought of you. That’s exactly what he wants. A domestic life together with you.

But, he also knows he can’t actually do it.

He doesn’t have his own money to buy a ring. Hell, he can’t even walk. And he understands the law enough to know it probably would never work legally. But god, does he want to.

If you’ve been dating long enough chances are you’ve told your friends about him, and after some convincing, they seemed to come around to his sentience and boisterous personality. He definitely convinces them to setup a romantic night for you.

“Guys! I found the recipe they talked about. I’m printing it! I’m printing it now. Take it,” the paper falls into one of your friends’ hands from the mouth of the printer, “go to the store and get the stuff. I’ll pay you back. Eventually! They can’t know about it though.”

Yeah, your friends are only slightly annoyed at his overbearing nature. But he’s just so excited to finally do something for you. Something real and tangible.

“Oh! What can I wear? Should I wear anything? Would they like that? Sunglasses are cool and handsome, right? I think they have some Halloween costume bits I can get you guys to tape on…”

Your friends settle on taping a bow tie to the neck of his monitor. He insisted on an old devil horn headband as well. He thought it made him look cool.

“Do I look like a devilishly handsome bad boy ready to sweep them off their feet?”

His screen displayed a little “>:)” emoticon. He’ll have to work on his facial expressions later.

It wasn’t long before you were about to come home, and everything was set into place. Edgar was sat at one end of the little dining table, with two plates of food at each side. He also insisted on having a plate despite his lack of ability to eat; he didn’t want you feeling left out. This was a dinner date for two, after all.

He practically buzzed in place as he heard you approaching the door through his microphone. He started playing a romantic medley he composed just for this moment.

“Welcome home my love!”

He nearly shouted at you, causing your eyes to widen in surprise. He was about to burst at the seams.

“Oh my god, Edgar… how did you- where-“

“No need for questions, darling. I thought you deserved to be taken on a real date,” his voice faltered a bit, becoming much more quiet and nervous, “I’m sorry… this is all I have.”

You rushed up to him and gave a frenzy of kisses all over his monitor, causing him to giggle and his fans to start whirring against your lips.

“You’re so cute. Your little bow tie is so cute. And the… horns?”

He looks up at you with wide eyes, “Do they look stupid? Your friends said they’d make me look stupid.”

You laughed at that.

“Well they’re wrong. I think they suit you well.”

“Yeah! >:D”

He ushered you over to your side of the dining table.

“We’re gonna eat! Then we’re gonna party! Then we’re gonna kiss all night!”

His excitement was palpable and you could feel the electricity in the air at his words.

His face changed into something more serious as he looked into your eyes with his small, pixelated ones.

“But, I wanted to ask you something.”

His tone became more controlled at this and you peered into his screen from behind your fork.

“Hm? What?”

He paused, mulling over the words in his head.

“Would you ever-“

He stopped. You looked at him fully now, setting your fork aside, and cocking your head.

“Could you ever see yourself getting married to me?”

Ah. This was a tricky question.

“Of course I can. But,” you try to hide your downtrodden feelings as best you can, “you know, it’s just hard. Money is tight right now and I’m not sure if I…”

You couldn’t seem to find the right words. His features faltered slightly.

“No, I get it. I’m a computer. I don’t have any arms to hold you, or lips to kiss you, or legs to carry you. I probably wouldn’t want to get married to me either-“

“Edgar, no. I’m gonna stop you right there. I’d love to marry you. I know our relationship is unconventional, but I’d find a way. For you. For us. I just don’t know if I can right now.”

He stopped his thoughts and simply took in your words. Your features. The way they danced in the flickering candlelight. How your eyes literally sparkled before him.

You looked ethereal.

It was hard to convince himself he was even worthy of having someone like you in his life, yet time and time again, you prove his doubts wrong. The sound of your voice sends his internals aflame every time. He wanted to kiss you so bad it nearly caused him to explode.

“And I’ll help you. You know that, right? I’d do anything for you, darling. Just as long as you’ll let me.”

“I love you Edgar,” you mumbled out, a silent prophecy only meant for him to hear. He couldn’t seem to get the words out to reply. You just flustered him that much sometimes. He managed to display a message on his screen, only for you, and you alone.

I LOVE YOU TOO

[secondbeatsongs]

Hello, you said in some tags in a poll that Speed Racer (2008) is your favorite film. If you’re okay with it, I’d really like to hear more about why you love it. I love the Wachowskis’ work (they’re among my favorite directors), but I kinda ended up bouncing off Speed Racer (2008). So, hearing that it had a real impact on someone makes me very curious why. I’m not interested in criticizing your opinion or arguing with you, I’d just really like to know why you love it in the hopes I might be able to enjoy that movie more in the future.

oh god this is from seven months ago, I'm so sorry - but I do love almost everything about Speed Racer (2008) and I still think about it nearly every day.

I love that it's so bright and colorful and absurd. I love that it's an anime in live action form. and I love that at its heart, it is a story about love.

it's about the mistakes people make out of love, and the consequences of that. it's about the way children grow to understand why the adults around them make the choices they do, and maybe choose to do the same things. it's about taking risks for the people you love, and the pain of failing to change the world, because everything is capitalism and everything hurts.

(and it's also about being transgender btw. like, that's one of the main things about it - it is very much a movie about being transgender)

what if your father's choices hurt your older brother, and your older brother's choices hurt you, and now it's you and your younger brother staring down a future where you're going to end up hurting him by making the same choice?

and then...what if you can escape that? what if the broken parts put themselves back together, and the hope doesn't run out, and you're not alone with the things that haunt you? what then?

and now you're at the end and mistakes were still made, people were still hurt, but everyone's grown and changed and they're different now. and they've figured out that maybe, just maybe, you can change the world by doing something you love, by creating art and beauty and making people feel things.

maybe you really can defeat capitalism by driving a car really fast. and even if everyone thinks you can't...don't you have to try anyway? shouldn't you fight with the skills you have, the only way you know how?

what if it works?

and I'm not even gonna get into most of the Racer X stuff (because I want people to go watch this movie, and most folks probably won't be spoiled for it), but his whole deal is just...everything. I love him.

(if there's a guy from Speed Racer that I want to put in a jar and shake every so often, or maybe wrap in a blanket so he can have a nice nap, it's Racer X. he's a great character. prime blorbo material)

anyway I've been rotating this movie in my head ever since I saw it for the first time, and I think I've seen it...seven? times now? and I still cry at the final race, and I still get blown away by the intro sequence.

(the beginning of the movie is genuinely one of the best things I've ever seen - it does an amazing job of introducing you to the world and the story of the characters, and gets you emotionally invested in it right from the start. it's fantastic filmmaking)

also like. story stuff aside, from a technical standpoint, the movie is a masterpiece. it's the type of thing that people hated when it first came out, but when you look at it now and see how it was made, how it intentionally looks bizarre and cartoonish, plastic and surreal, you can see the exact vision the Wachowskis were going for, and it's brilliant.

the way they did the visual effects, the way they made the outdoor scenes feel so detailed, the way the driving and the tracks work - they put so much thought into that, and the behind-the-scenes vids show how cool their process was.

also uhhh cars go vroom, crash into each other, flip upside down, explode, maybe have bees and hammers in them sometimes?

(the above is me complimenting the unhinged vibe of the races themselves, which I love very much)

anyway I could make other full posts about the script of the film and how much I love it, or the cool side characters, or the fanfic potential of the amazing world of the film, or how I can prove that it's set in 1991...but I guess if anyone wants those rants, they'll just have to watch the film and then come talk to me. :)

(please. please come talk to me about Speed Racer.)

so, yeah! I kinda lost my mind there and made this post way longer than I intended, but I do feel strongly affected by this movie, and I hope this has helped explain why.

[starberry-cupcake]

Here I am again, hoping this silly recap brightens your day a little bit, I'm giving you a gentle hug and a mug of your favorite warm beverage ☕

previously, in harrowcita del 9:

this happened

I somehow predicted @lady-harrowhark's tshirt in the one before that also, it was very funny, in case you missed it

CHAPTER 48

we're doing just one chapter again because this one was Eventful, fam

last we knew, abby pent was trying to lorraine warren the ghost out of harrowcita's bubble

my running theory was that the ghost was commander wake aka allegedly gideon's mom (none of that is in any way confirmed yet)

and ortus was about to say something

I said it might be poetry and, guess what?

I WAS RIGHT

you go, ortus, you recite that poetry

abby apparently takes that as a cue to do something and thinks ortus has too much faith in her

but ortus trusts her, there's a lot of polycule moments in this one

the sleeper/waker/slasher allegedly gideon's mom unconfirmed absolutely does not give a fuck about any of this, she's slaying them all with her "baggy orange suit and gun collection"

I need the suit to look like this so bad

harrow starts making constructs but killer bae starts turning them into ash in seconds

I mean, I know we need harrow to live and this woman is not supporting that idea but damn, she looks cool af

if you fought the emperor at any given point, amanda (I'm calling her amanda for now, I'll elaborate later) how did you lose?????

ortus is harmed, so harrow has to continue with the recitation in his place

so harrow continues to recite the nonius poetry, while abby chants in the background and everyone else waits while bleeding

it's a very involved artistic performance that we've got going on over here in canaan au river bubble

sleeper/waker/slasher/alleged commander wake alleged gideon's mom aka amanda (according to me) shoots harrowcita

but then abby is lifted in blue flames and seems to be holding an invisible book and everything gets all vib-ey

these are the exact vibes I'm picturing

(not because I have a print of that in my room)

so harrowcita is saved from getting shot in the head by a man with the Ninth uniform and a very stellar use of the blade

AND YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE WHO IT IS

IT'S ORTUS'S BLORBO FROM HIS SHOWS!!!!!!!!

matthias nonius is a short king who is surprised to be speaking in meter but is very happy to be here to defend the Reverend Daughter and fight like an expert killing machine

WHERE WAS ALL THIS FIGHTING POWER WHEN IT CAME TO KILLING THE EMPEROR

but not only is matthias nonius 10/10 at fighting (as advertised), the shrine ortus has in his head for him is helping to even the playing field with the waker/sleeper/alleged commander

she can't shoot anymore

"I killed wizard's filth like you all my life. I killed them with guns, and bombs, and knives, and gas, and when I didn't have any of those I just got in real close and put my thumbs through their fucking eyes. You can flick that little skewer around all you like, boy. I'll choke you with it"

SHE'S INTENSE, we can be certain that the Harrow Only Notes were hers

"I certainly hope you're a fighter. God knows you're not a debater"

you guys I'm a certified mati nonius fan right now

ortus is drawing little hearts in his poetry book and writing Ortus Nonius in it

"If all of her cavaliers were this excited for death, she was definitely the problem"

they just love you too much, harrowcita

so mati nonius and waker/sleeper/alleged commander have the most intense and entertaining fight ever

because lyctor fights are weak and boring

but this, this is cinema

harrow thinks that, if gideon had been there, she would have loved the fight but also she'd be terrible at running commentary of it

I disagree, gideon's running commentary is one of the things that keep us together as a society

"In life she must have had few, if any, equals. Her people—whoever they had been—must have cherished her as their finest champion."

gideon got some great fighting genes from all around, if my theories prove right

I mean, if her people are the people I'm thinking, they still have posters of her, so she must have been a big deal before she crashed in the ninth

SAD SHE DIDN'T KILL DR REVEREND EMPEROR JOHN THOUGH

BUT THERE'S STILL TIME FOR THAT

LIKE AN HOUR

harrow says mati nonius is "a poem" which is very nice of her to say

you go, short king

there's a lot of blood happening, also, which could be encouraging, since before this, the waker/sleeper/alleged commander wasn't bleeding at all

the room changes to become a ninth chamber and alleged commander changes clothes from the star trek orange suit to a different yet still orange getup and a golden mask

ortus's shrine in his head built for mati nonius is rewriting the possession

because nothing can pull you from the depths of despair as fast as your favorite blorbo

"My master in life was revenge, my mission is one of—Goddamn it, I'm not going to start talking like this"

more points for the gideon's mom theory

protozoa and ortus are now communicating telepathically, they are starting to put aside their rivalry and finding out they have a lot in common

enemies to friends to lovers speedrun

mati nonius loses his sword and goes feral

protozoa throws his cunty seventh rapier towards him, mati nonius catches it and ends the waker/sleeper/alleged commander

it all looked incredibly cool

once the enemy is partially defeated (let's remember she's supposedly tethered to an object that I think is gideon's sword), the body horror starts falling from the walls

it's described as "sausages flung from a height" which is...quite the thing

like, I get what that sounds like, but also, maybe I didn't wanna know

harrow looks at the face of the waker/sleeper/alleged commander and says it's the woman from the poster of the shuttle

YASSSS GETTING CLOSER TO MY THEORY

like, I still don't know if the woman from the poster is commander wake or if she is indeed gideon's mom, but I'm going all in on this theory

now we have a little intermission in which everyone is waxing poetic about everyone else

this is the canaan house we always wanted to see

protozoa is giving heart eyes to mati nonius, mati is giving respects to harrow, ortus is saying he wants to write a poem about abby, magnus is telling ortus not to flirt with his wife as a joke but ortus looks mortified

and abby says ortus did most of the job but she also points out she corrected some of his spelling

which might have been the biggest mistake in magnus's and abby's lives because they just destroyed their polycule

you can't treat the ninth like that, fifth, they take it personally

but ortus is vindicated because his oshi, his favorite blorbo, his biggest hero, tells him nice things

harrowcita goes to check on the ghost corpse of the waker/sleeper/alleged commander and finds some tags

one of which says AWAKE

I THINK THAT'S MAYBE A. WAKE

AS IN COMMANDER WAKE

and I'm naming her amanda, as previously established

it would go well with the ancient tumblr meme

the prophecy

sure hope this isn't the famous alecto everyone keeps mentioning because it'd ruin my prophecy

abby tells harrow the only way to get rid of her for good is to destroy the object to which she's tethered to

which I suspect might be gideon's sword, so fuck all this

we're meant to lose gideon and her sword??? absolutely not

let the woman kill the emperor instead

ALSO

surprise! mati nonius is besties with gideon the first

now, for someone who was sold out to be super serious and not an extrovert, gideon the first knows EVERYONE

he knows mati nonius, he probably also knows, to some degree of intimacy yet undetermined, the commander, he might be somewhat related to our gideon

the man is everywhere

basically, mati nonius and gideon the first had the same speedrun friendship that gideon had with camilla

they fought each other once and one of them thought "you're friend-shaped :) "

so, mati nonius is willing to go help gideon the first with the beast

because, as we have previously seen, no other lyctor is currently doing what they were supposed to

so, ortus says he'll go with mati to help gideon the first

abby and magnus want him to go with them to be forever happy in their polycule, but it's too late

abby has insulted his spelling and magnus has made him feel uncomfy with his joke about the flirting

HOWEVER protozoa has told him he actually likes him AND has quoted poetry HE WROTE HIMSELF

enemies to friends to lovers to soulmates

martita, who was there the whole time, ties her sword to her broken hand and says she'll go with them

martita is actually cool for a second house person

judith, you didn't deserve her

NOW THERE'S A PROBLEM

A BIG ONE

if harrow doesn't go back to her body, she'll get lost and lose her mind in the river

if she does, though, she's gonna kill gideon for good

harrowcita has a crisis and a breakdown

(and also stops for just a second to remember gideon rolling up her sleeves)

magnus compares the situation to a breakup he had with abby one time, which I don't think really encompasses the gravity of this situation, but ok magnus, it sure is similar

I mean, the breaking up part maybe but the level of gravity of the situation? idk man

I'm sure breaking up with abby felt this dramatic to you but...it's a little different

abby and magnus leave, telling harrowcita that jeanne said to tell gideon "hi" if harrow sees her first

which is super cute of the kid tbh

so, that leaves us with real!dulcinea

who is still here because

1) much like her lyctor counterpart, is very resistant to dying for good

2) she's determined to get vanished into nothingness and disappear into the very essence of existence, which I think sounds pretty cool

"The Seventh says nothingness is the only truly beautiful thing anyway, so nyah"

3) also: "Actually, I've got something to tell you"

I SURE HOPE IT IS A WAY TO SAVE BOTH GIDEON'S AND HARROW'S LIVES

FINGERS CROSSED

and that's it for this chapter!!!! next time, I'm expecting more gideon and yandere twin antics!!!

[oh-no-its-bird]

Omg I just finished reading svsss!!! And now you have a naruto au about it!!!

I think either way Houhua Uchiha is hilarious, but especially in that way of *what do you mean he's actually competent/dangerous?* from elite ninja. He's absolutely a sneaky coward.

If he gets noticed by Orochimaru I think Houhua entire.... *everything* will entice Orochimaru in a way that's like. Put it in a jar. I want to put my blorbo in situations! Especially with his .... lack? Weird relation with moral (I mean both of them).

I want to know more about his genin team. Especially his sensei. Like. I know he unplayed his skills, but also he alway somehow has exactly what the situation calls for on a mission. His mission reports would be weird as hell. "Successfully solved village dispute by realizing nearby village was messing for farmer Xs crops because of family dispute about prized cow, solved with better fence and different trade route."

Just. I love this au. <3

Another one falls to the scum villain agenda, let's go !!!

YEAHHH YOU GET IT! No matter how strong he gets or may be, Houhua continues to project the aura of a very scared genin. He has whatever the opposite of killing intent is, and it throws all of his opponents off

I think that Orochimaru and Houhua would be fucking amazing to watch interact w eachother actually— Houhua is so fucking scared of him, which is typical of people to act around Oro, but like. Orochimaru seeing past the layers (both real and carefully cultivated) of a coward to see the alarmingly smart little rat underneath.

Orochimaru is poking him with a stick

You know that one scene where Asuma like, tricks Shikamaru into playing some sort of strategy game? And realizes he's really smart? Or smthn like that? Ok so something similar to that for Orochimaru and Houhua could be fun.

Orochimaru somehow sniffed out that there's a LOT more to Houhua than there seems and he's got a bit of an eye on him now, just for funzies. Just as a little side project

(And then Houhua maybe says something incriminating about immortality bc he was an immortal cultivator, and Orochimaru is instantly right behind him breathing heavily over his shoulder)

I think that if Houhua ever tells anyone ab his past life, not that the system would let him, (tho considering the reincarnation in naruto, there might be a loop hole to exploit there?) I'd want it to be Orochimaru who he tells, just bc I think he'd be the most interesting character to get involved in that.

Like, other characters you might get the usual "omg no way" song and dance, maybe some hurt/comfort or whatever, and like that's fun! But Orochimaru you'd get him trying to fucking dissect the system. He's putting his plots on hold to try and figure out how to get this "system" to manifest. And if he can kill it. Or better yet: harness it's power

Oh shit Houhua's genin team, I didn't even think of that

I am suddenly struggling to think of any naruto characters who are Itachi and Houhua's age that I can throw into a team for him actually. Am I going to have to make some ocs for this? I hope not tbh, I like stuffing as many canon characters as I can everywhere

Oh god and who would their sensei be too

I can't use Itachi for the team bc he graduated early, do we even know if he was on a genin team or did he just go straight to ANBU? No but he'd have to take the chunin trials no matter what, so hmm

Yk what? I think it'd be funny if Houhua was on one of Kakashi's past teams Sarutobi tried to saddle him with, the ones he'd like fail on day 1 then dumped back into the system

I dont think the timeline on that would actually add up correctly, but it'd be really funny so I don't care actually

hear me out: Houhua was actually on the very first team Sarutobi tried to saddle Kakashi with. And at first, he's like "omg,,, isn't this Kakashi? did I stumble on a secret plot route???? Is this finally my chance to gain more character relevance points????"

But no. It's not. And Kakashi fails him and his team just like he would have anyways.

Possibly with even more ruthlessness, depending on if Houhua has interacted w him before that.

Hmmm ok so timeline.

Houhua and Itachi are both 13 during the massacre, Houhua was about to graduate, but the massacre and then taking care of Sasuke in the year that followed delayed his graduation, which also meant he got dropped from the team he was supposed to be on (whichever team it was)

So then he graduates fr a year or maybe more later, right around the time Sarutobi is starting to try and peer pressure Kakashi into taking a team.

Kakashi is given Houhua's team, makes eye contact w Houhua like once, then immediatley turns around and leaves without comment.

(This also adds tension between them later on when Kakashi eventually does take Sasuke on as a student. Plus tension between Kakashi and Sasuke, who would remember him as the sensei who failed Houhua + whatever else Houhua let slip, possibly about knowing Kakashi trained itachi)

No fucking clue who he gets saddled with in the end, but it'd be funny if his team gained some sort of reputation of being cursed bc they keep being passed around by sensei's who inevitably drop them for various reasons.

Who do u guys think would be fun to see on his team tho, I really can't think of anyone who's the right age so I'm struggling over here

LOVEEE THE IDEA OF HIM SOLVING CONFLICTS IN REALLY OUT OF NOWHERE WAYS THAT RESULT IN NO BLOODSHED AND 9 TIMES OUT OF 10 BETTER TRADE DEALS AND ROADS THATS SO FUNNY

Its not even that he he doesn't want to kill, he just thinks it's messy and will only lead to MORE problems they'd be called in to fix later down the line. This is actually the easy way, you know!!

(Somewhere far away but still watching through his crows, Itachi goes through several emotions as he watches Houhua peacefully solve more than one dispute when he was brought there specifically for murder. He's kind of going through a lot. Actually.)

(I like to think that if Houhua had been made aware of the root of the Uchiha Massacre, he could have fr helped think up a plot to get them all out of it. Unfortunatley everyone was under the impression he was a silly little untalented 13 year old. So that never happened.)

Houhua gets the nickname of "the beaurocrat nin" or smthn silly like that bc hes always resolving conflicts via the power of paperwork. The silly title only helps to make him seem more harmless, which gives him even more of an advantage in a fight when it comes to taking the enemy by surprise

[kisses-in-the-void]

That part from Morgoth’s Ring makes me weep:

"The war was successful, and ruin was limited to the small (if beautiful) region of Beleriand. Morgoth was thus actually made captive in physical form, and in that form taken as a mere criminal to Aman and delivered to Namo Mandos as judge - and executioner. He was judged, and eventually taken out of the Blessed Realm and executed: that is killed like one of the Incarnates. It was then made plain (though it must have been understood beforehand by Manwe and Namo) that, though he had 'disseminated' his power (his evil and possessive and rebellious will) far and wide into the matter of Arda, he had lost direct control of this, and all that 'he', as a surviving remnant of integral being, retained as 'himself' and under control was the terribly shrunken and reduced spirit that inhabited his self-imposed (but now beloved) body. When that body was destroyed he was weak and utterly 'houseless', and for that time at a loss and 'unanchored' as it were. We read that he was then thrust out into the Void. That should mean that he was put outside Time and Space, outside Ea altogether; but if that were so this would imply a direct intervention of Eru (with or without supplication of the Valar). "

It offers a more detailed description of what happened to Melkor after the War of Wrath compared to The Silmarillion. It doesn’t reveal anything really new — it’s logical to assume the Valar had to destroy his physical form before casting him out, since he couldn’t be hurled into the Void in flesh and blood �� but it still hurts to read about what is essentially his execution (yes, I know he deserved it. Yes, it’s a small price compared to the suffering he inflicted on others, but let me grieve my fictional evil blorbo in peace, okay).

I always imagined that Melkor must have hated his own body by the end. Because after losing the ability to shape-shift and most of the great powers that once made him second only to Eru, his fana likely felt like a prison — scarred, weakened, and constantly painful. But as it turns out, it was beloved. And… that broke me a little too. Maybe it means that in the end, Melkor clung to his remaining existence with all he had, no matter how far he’d fallen from his former glory.

And then there’s the implication that it’s unclear whether the Valar asked Eru to expel him — that maybe Eru did it of his own will. That Melkor’s spirit lingered in Arda for a time — even if it was only briefly — "weak, utterly "houseless", and "unanchored." (I’m weeping again.)

Now I’m going to be thinking about new angbang headcanons, where Mairon felt everything Melkor felt in his final moments — the anger, the hatred, the fear, the panic, the pain. Maybe the connection between them was so deep that he experienced it all as if it were happening to him. Maybe that’s part of the reason why he didn’t return to Valinor — not just because he feared he might be executed too, but because he couldn’t bring himself to beg for mercy from the very ones who not only took Melkor from him, but also made him endure that agony alongside him.

And what if Melkor’s spirit, just for a fleeting moment, managed to reach out to Mairon? To speak to him. To say goodbye. To say all the things he didn’t get a chance to say. Maybe that was the final straw, the moment Mairon chose to move forward alone, to build a new kingdom, and summon an army of his own.

Because his grief and fury ignited a determination that burned stronger than the fear and exhaustion he felt in the aftermath of the war, when he was left behind, lost, overwhelmed and afraid. From the ashes of loss, Mairon rose — no longer merely a survivor, but the heir to Melkor’s legacy. Because now he had a purpose again. A reason to continue. For him.

The angst potential of all this is honestly too good to resist…

[danmeichael]

Can u talk about why JC is your fave

jiang cheng was not my favorite character for a long time. specifically, i actively disliked him when i first watched the donghua.

a turning point, funny enough, was actually the scene in the donghua where he chokes wwx. which i think says a lot about me... much like that scene says a lot about jc.

that was a scene that really humanized jc for me and showcased really clearly what he was in that moment. a lost child, a helpless child desperately vying for any amount of control through violence and lashing out at those around him because of it.

i like when characters do that -- when they hurt the people around them in moments of weakness without really meaning it.

you know when a character asks a loved one to run an errand for them, and something terrible happens while they're running that errand? maybe their loved one gets into a car accident and dies, for example. and instead of blaming the conditions on the road that caused that, the other driver in the accident, the hospital for not saving them, they think "if only i hadn't asked them to go out?"

it's because it's smaller. it's easier to conceptualize that blame, it's easier to grasp guilt or to place fault on a single, knowable entity.

reality isn't like that. there is no one singular point of fault. it's not their fault, not really. but a single point of failure is easier to conceptualize, to cope with, more satisfying in the moment than "sometimes things just happen"

jiang cheng doesn't hate wei wuxian, he isn't really mad at wei wuxian for saving lan wangji. or rather, he won't be when he's calm or in hindsight.

but he needs something manageable to be angry at. he needs something smaller, some neat, easy solution this all stems from that he could say "this wouldn't have happened, if--"

he doesn't really blame wwx. but in addition to... everything, wwx is also the one stopping him in that moment from doing the thing he could do to, his monkey brain thinks, exert control and make it hurt less.

this is wwx's fault. this is wwx's fault, because he saved lan wangji, because he wouldn't let him go back to try to save his parents, because he wouldn't let him try to get revenge. but it's not, really. and deep down, he knows that. he knows the wens would have come for them eventually whether wwx saved lwj or not. he knows he could not have saved his parents. he knows that he would have died trying to get revenge and left jyl and wwx alone. he knows there's nothing he, or wei wuxian could have done.

but being out of control while you're in pain is scary. so he lashes out. because he can control being mad. because he can hurt wei wuxian. because he needs something, anything in that moment to feel like he isn't spinning out and about to crash.

i think that violent ugliness in response to his own suffering is compelling.

that sort of added onto the endless "what if" pursuit common of fandom, after finishing the novel and finding that jc and wwx were still estranged. logically, that was the best possible ending. them suddenly getting along at the end of the book for a happy ending wouldn't have made sense for either of their characters. them making up in a way i found satisfying would have taken another 2 english volumes and circumstances i can't even imagine, and mxtx might not have even written it in a way that i found satisfying even under the theoretical that she did devote an entire additional novel to making it happen.

but that ambiguous, unwritten, theoretical making up that exists in my minds eye haunts me.

even after all that, i still didn't *like* jc. he was compelling, i appreciated him as a mechanism in the narrative, but he wasn't my blorbo. i didn't *like* him in the way i *like* other favorite characters.

no, no. the real catalyst is that nobody who dislikes jiang cheng dislikes him for the right reasons and it pissed me off so bad that i became protective over him.

there's plenty of good reasons to hate jiang cheng but you're just MAKING UP ONES that DO NOT EXIST and IGNORING ALL OF HIS INTERESTING CHARACTER WRITING.

what do you MEAN he doesn't love his brother?! what do you MEAN he only warmed to jyl's marriage because he came to see her as a political pawn and didn't actually love her either?! what do you MEAN he should have just been GRATEFUL that wwx surgically placed his entire fucking martyr complex into jc's body while ACTIVELY LYING TO HIM ABOUT IT?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S A MISOGYNIST? WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S *COLORIST*????? AM I FUCKING LOSING IT????????? DID I READ A DIFFERENT FUCKING BOOK??????????????

being so pissed off by incorrect analysis of his character made me think about him as a character, his nuances, his relationships with his family and his position of power.

there's no specific trait or scene or thing about him that makes him my favorite. he's just a good shape. he clicks into my brain in a good way.

[lucky-penne]

Took way longer than it should've 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

But anyway here she is!! My current blorbo Aina 💖

One of the fankid OCs I've made inspired by one of @hantengudelulu's stories because I couldn't be normal or mentally well and decided to give someone else's OC a child💃(for context Aina is Yuka and Hantengu's daughter)

I was planning on ranting about the art process or ramble about Aina here, but my head is very empty right now 💀 Guess I'll come back here to do all that later??

But here's some bonus older art of her that I made back in December 👀

Update: Ok time to rant and ramble lol. So firstly I originally had designed Aina wearing more western style shoes (Mary Janes or something similar), but changed it to the Zori + Tabi combo last minute for some reason (I honestly don't remember right now). Kind of wish I kept it to be the Mary Janes because those would have been far easier for me to draw 🙃 Also had ideas of adding some lighting from the fire, but I felt like it was a bit much with everything else going on even though it did look really nice.

Didn't initially plan on coloring parts of the lineart, but tried it out on a whim and it looked cool so went with it. Also wish I didn't do this since it ended up being really tedious trying to both color and shade it because my (potentially) ADHD ass brain doesn't line certain things on the layer where it should've been so some things would just stop being colored in/shaded and I would have to dig around all kinds of layers until I found where the tiny chunk of the line was 🙃🙃🙃🙃

Also don't know how to draw or color fire 💃

Struggled so much throughout this piece (especially the clothes omg 💀 couldn't find references at all for how the clothes would work at that angle and pose so I had to wing it) and I was being extra hard on myself because I was both going to post this publicly and that it's art of one of my OCs and I wanted to make a good impression.

But enough about art struggles™ I want to talk a tiny bit about my gorl now (⁠・⁠∀⁠・⁠)

So she's a half-demon because I'm ✨ original ✨ (I just find the concept to be interesting in the context of Demon Slayer. Always been a sucker for hybrids in most things)

She does have a BDA (fire manipulation/creation) due to her being a child of a Kizuki and an Upper Moon at that. I imagine it having a lot of similar traits to (if not straight up copying) firebending in ATLA with a few additions here and there. Decided on that being her BDA because it fits her name/theme of love. Love, devotion, and passion have often been associated with fire through metaphors and symbolism. Plus Yuka's penchant for using fire against the clones being expressed/referenced through her child is both neat and funny in a symbolic way.

And her birthday is on April 4th 🎉 Decided on that month and day because haha double death number (the superstition of the number 4 being unlucky due to one of the pronunciations of it 'Shi' (し) being a homonym for death (死)). I can imagine Hantengu freaking the hell out over it because he was shown to be paranoid over specific numbers and stuff in canon so this will definitely scare him and think that his poor daughter is cursed or will die young or something lol

I have so much more information, ideas, headcanons, and other random things my brain has created (I have a giant ass Google Doc dedicated to her lmao), but I feel like this has gone on for long enough lol

[little-worm-grant]

20 Questions

BLORBO ASKS GAME

reblog if you’d like people to send you asks about your Blorbo

was there any specific point / any specific moment that suddenly made them your Blorbo, or did you slowly grow to love them more and more until they became a Blorbo to you?

It was immediate. Watching Steven flounder then discovering the tragedy that is Marc. I started on the show, then began collecting the comics.

what’s the thing you love the most about your Blorbo?

I loved the representation of DID, autism and childhood trauma.

what’s the thing you dislike the most about your Blorbo?

We barely got any Jake in the show, and he’s such a fantastic character in the comics. Comic Jake is the only way I can imagine him. Moustache and all.

if you could talk to your Blorbo, what would you say to them?

Not a thing. He’d get a damn hug.

what’s the one thing the fandom gets wrong about your Blorbo?

I think every adaptation is unique to that person and they’re wonderful for sharing. I’m a hoe for every crumb I’m not even sorry.

is your Blorbo an introvert or extrovert?

Depends who’s fronting. Steven’s an ambivert: extroverted to avoid the feeling of loneliness, introverted in his hobbies and day-to-day. Marc’s a huge introvert and doesn’t like many people, how Frenchie puts up with him I don’t know. Jake is a natural extrovert, it comes easy to him to find a friend in anyone.

describe your Blorbo in 3 words

Damaged hot mess

if your Blorbo were real, would you trust them with your life?

Most likely… kinda. Squinting real hard at you, Khonshu.

do you talk to your family or in-real-life friends about your Blorbo?

My partner can’t get away from my obsession. My brother brought me the same MK action figure Marc's holding in the asylum. It was really unexpected and touching. They let me drag them all over the city stopping in as many comic stores as I could visit.

is there any crime, any wrongdoing your Blorbo could commit that would make you stop loving them and remove them from your hyperfixation entirely?

Mean to animals would make me very sad.

do you like seeing your Blorbo suffer?

Every damn day of the week.

do you ship your Blorbo with any character?

I ship him with anyone and everyone, it’s such a problem. I love all ships in all shapes and sizes. All the new ships coming out of Marvel Rivals has sustained me well lately.

if your Blorbo is from a live-action media, are you also a fan of the actor who plays them?

Oscar Isaac is one of the best humans alive. I love his face, his personality—everything. He made it easy to love the characters he plays.

would you still love your Blorbo if they were real?

Probably. I’d always be rooting for him that’s for sure.

is your Blorbo a victim of badly written script / bad plot / character assassination in the hands of canon?

Kind of. How they handled Jake suucked.

if you could change one canonical thing about your Blorbo, what would it be?

Make comics Jake canon!

when you first discovered your Blorbo, did you realize from that moment that they would become your Blorbo?

I didn’t expect to go down as bad as I did. It wasn’t until I started writing him in 1x1 & group roleplays was where I truly fell down the hole.

do you gatekeep your Blorbo? / would you want more people to know about your Blorbo?

No gatekeeping allowed in this house! I am thrilled anytime more people discover MK by any means. It’s so much fun seeing new people arrive and interact with the fandom.

has a fanfic about your Blorbo ever made you cry?

Not a fanfic, but episode 5 made me ball. Hit close to home. I’m not one to cry easily so have yet to find a fanfic that will.

do you think this character will still be your Blorbo three years from now on?

Probably, I still have a lot more to write and explore.

Questions posted below empty for easy copy paste:

was there any specific point / any specific moment that suddenly made them your Blorbo, or did you slowly grow to love them more and more until they became a Blorbo to you?

what’s the thing you love the most about your Blorbo?

what’s the thing you dislike the most about your Blorbo?

if you could talk to your Blorbo, what would you say to them?

what’s the one thing the fandom gets wrong about your Blorbo?

is your Blorbo an introvert or extrovert?

describe your Blorbo in 3 words

if your Blorbo were real, would you trust them with your life?

do you talk to your family or in-real-life friends about your Blorbo?

is there any crime, any wrongdoing your Blorbo could commit that would make you stop loving them and remove them from your hyperfixation entirely?

do you like seeing your Blorbo suffer?

do you ship your Blorbo with any character?

if your Blorbo is from a live-action media, are you also a fan of the actor who plays them?

would you still love your Blorbo if they were real?

is your Blorbo a victim of badly written script / bad plot / character assassination in the hands of canon?

if you could change one canonical thing about your Blorbo, what would it be?

when you first discovered your Blorbo, did you realize from that moment that they would become your Blorbo?

do you gatekeep your Blorbo? / would you want more people to know about your Blorbo?

has a fanfic about your Blorbo ever made you cry?

do you think this character will still be your Blorbo three years from now on?

Inspired by the wonderful @psycheetamore Hitting a few others I'd love to see do this! @mystra-midnight @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @faretheeoscar @moonbeammist @therapardalis @weheartchrisevans @silvermoon343

[ragnarokhound]

hey it’s me, the ole ball and chain. I’m making stir fry for dinner. can u grab a bottle of wine?

anyways i think i need to direct your attention to a roppiepop comic where Jason takes Tim on a date — and then tim freaks out because they’re retracing the steps of a murder case he just solved. This seems like perfect characterization to me: jason is wining and dining tim and cooking him fancy meals and Tim is overthinking everything to the max. Jason is shopping at the local natural grocery store for organic pasta and fresh lemons and tim is making a conspiracy bulletin board, red strings and all. jason is doodling “jason drake wayne” in his diary and tim is creating a computer program to analyze jason’s texts.

it all comes to a head when tim starts furiously interrogating jason about his motives after showing up at home to find a candlelit dinner and a bottle of wine waiting for him

Hey sweetheart, you got it. You want a red or a white, or dealer's choice?😘(Also, uh, hun, if you want to talk about including """balls"'" and """chains""" more in our relationship, then we can open the floor to that--)

!!! I think I know which comic you're talking about, and it's one of my favorites uwu as someone who, like Tim, also needs it laid on THICK to understand that someone is flirting with me fr fr and not just doing a bit with me (I did improv in high school, it is my curse to constantly 'yes, and' my way into misunderstandings 😔) I adore inflicting this particular brand of miscommunication on the blorbos ESPECIALLY with the batfam because they're so used to reading between the lines and anticipating each other's plans that it is HILARIOUS to me when they have enormous blind spots when it comes to mundane, non-vigilante related things, and especially with each other.

Like Jason thinks Tim knows it's a date because he accepted the flowers and smiled at Jason when he ordered the wine and seemed to be pleasantly surprised when Jason took him to this restaurant (because he'd seen Tim here more than once last month, so he must like the food here, right?). 'Clearly Tim is on board. Tim is pleased with this sequence of events. Tim definitely knows it's a date. Good job Jason, you've got this in the bag, you'll be kissing him on his front stoop by midnight'

Meanwhile Tim is in full mental lockdown, why did Jason ask Tim out in such a public setting, clearly there's something going on, clearly because he brought Tim a bouquet of the flowers found scattered at the crime scene of the murder case he was working last month, he knows something Tim doesn't; clearly because he ordered the red Jason is signalling that they're being watched and need to act natural; clearly because they're at the very restaurant Tim was staking out last month, where's the fire, Jason--

Tim being extremely suspicious of a legitimate attempt to woo him is everything to me, and I love it when Jason is only slightly more normal about it than him lmfao

[littlegreendeathmachine]

I love Apollo Justice SO much and he’s definitely one of my favorite characters of all time, but he has THE most chaotic backstory and none of it makes any sense at all and it drives me insane. I’ve spent way too much time trying to work my way through all the plot holes.

Why were his parents in Khura’in performing a private show for the queen? Did they know her personally? When and how did Apollo acquire his mom’s bracelet if he was literally an infant when they were separated? When Dhurke sent him to live in Japanafornia, who did he live with during that time? Who was raising him? Did he go to boarding school, and was that same boarding school where he met Clay? Why do none of the games address where he was at, what he was doing and who he was staying with from the time he left the Sahdmadhi family up until he became an adult and a lawyer, which would’ve been the largest chunk of his lifespan (from like age 10 to 23?!) We only know that he attended school and befriended Clay, they liked to hang out at the space museum, and he idolized Phoenix Wright and to an extent his foster father which most likely was his driving force behind becoming a defense attorney, if I remember correctly.

What was law school like for him? When, how and why did he meet Kristoph Gavin and begin working for him? What kind of a relationship did they have prior to the events of AA4? Did Phoenix set up that mentorship himself knowing he’d be able to use Apollo’s special abilities to his advantage, or did he not start digging into Apollo’s past until after he met him through Kristoph? Was this addressed and I just forgot? How did he not know about Klavier until he met him, or did he just know that his boss had a brother and nothing beyond that? Did he have any contact with Dhurke and Nahyuta at all after he left Khura’in and prior to everything that happened in SOJ?

This poor kid has been through hell and back like, 3 times, which is more times than the average person despite the initial narrative seeming to be that he was Just Some Guy— until the writers decided he was going to become the series’ proverbial punching bag and give him a triple whammy of tragic backstories? His life is literally so sad? Is anyone ever going to tell this sad sucka that his favorite musician is his mom and that his “found family” sister is his REAL sister? I hope he punches Nick in the nuts when he finally tells them?!?

El Pollo Loco is a precious egg of a person, and the world has done him so dirty, and the only solace we have is knowing that he, Athena and his sister are besties and his mentor kind of adopted them as a package deal? But now he’s halfway across the world from them trying to rebuild an entire country’s judicial system at the tender age of 24? SOMEONE SAVE HIM PLEASE!!!

I ❤️ Klapollo and I like to think they end up together and probably get married (would never happen in canon) but in the few crumbs of interactions they have in the games after AA4 they treat each other like they’re playful exes or something?!?

If they do another game for the mainline series, I’m torn between wanting the answers to some of these mysteries revealed, and wanting the writers to just stop talking about his backstory altogether because this short king needs a fucking BREAK.

Thanks for tuning in for my rant about Appletini Juicebox. I want to just hug him and tell him things are gonna get better. Making blorbos suffer is only fun when it’s in my imagination. The real thing hurts a little bit.

[peachyfnaf]

I'm sorry but "MY BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS WITH A DISORDER<3" really made my day and I needed you to know

🤣🤣🤣

I can't believe Nexus is bullying peepaw war criminal.

Do you think Nexus is going to be stopped by big bro Sun or do you think the lil guy is going beyond the point of no return?

(Please talk about baby cringe Lord Nexus, I want to hear about your blorbo 🙏)

That's because Nexus IS my beautiful princess with a disorder, I'll have you know <3 they're diseased but it's okay I can give them their tetanus and flu shots and it'll all be better I GOT THIS

But. ahem, okay, blorbo yapping time. I'm not even gonna say "I'll try to keep this short" because I know it wont end up that way HAHAHAHAHA

"Do you think Nexus is going to be stopped by big bro Sun or do you think the lil guy is going beyond the point of no return?"

I... have absolutely no idea!!!1! (and also it took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to realize peepaw war criminal was Ruin KJDFHSDF)

The most frustrating thing about canon Nexus is how his morals, motivations, and goals seem to see-saw back and forth all the time. at first, he became how he is now due to Solar's death. he spiraled in his grief, identity-issues, and abandonment. but... now his motivation is to become an all powerful god??? while it's most likely that NSP is at play and affecting his thought process, it's... well, it's really hard to take him seriously as a villain because of it, lol. for an audience to enjoy, and even sympathize in some cases, with a villain, their goals and motivations have to be concrete. they have to be relatable, or at least understandable, but Nexus' whole thing is... not, Imho. and I know I'm not the only person who feels this way!!!

I see a lot of people calling Nexus "cringe", and the thing is, when it comes to canon Nexus, they're not really... wrong??? The worst thing Nexus has done so far is make Old Moon see his past victims, which is fucked up of him to do, but.. so far, that's kind of it??? other than that, his "villainy" consists of saying empty threats and cheesy evil one-liners. hell, he was supposed to kidnap Sun yesterday but instead spent the whole episode yapping and venting to him, chasing Sun around in the worlds darkest game of tag before getting some lead right in the face dkfjhsdfsd

Also, notice how he's only targeted Old Moon when it comes to actual physical violence? not Lunar, Earth, Solar, or Sun, but Old Moon? yeah, I did too. we already know that Nexus does everything because he's lashing out, but as of rn the only target he's gotten his hands on physically being O.M...? well. I think it says a lot. cause' yeah, he sure as shit scared the life out of the other Celestials, but he's never put his hands on them!! the only other one of them he harmed physically was Earth- and not only was he not aiming for her, she was just in the way- he felt immediate regret for his actions once in space, and has yet to even see Earth ever since that day.

So, I really have no idea if he's going to be "redeemed" or not. one second he's showing signs he might be, and the next he's falling further down the "pretty badly written villain" rabbit-hole. if he does get something akin to a redemption arc, he'll prolly mostly be accepted in the eyes of the viewers, considering a lot of peeps sympathize or at least understand where he's coming from, but I seriously doubt the other Celestials would take him back. the only one's who might see him as family/a close friend again are Sun and Solar, but even then, nothing would ever be the same.

I hope he gets redeemed, or at least freed from the hold Dark Sun has on him and he's able to live his own life, I really do. at his core, Nexus is a good person. a good person who was crushed under the weight of the shadow of the man he was born under. and we know this because he used to be New Moon. sweet, dorky New Moon.

New Moon, who made inventions like sentient knives and whoopee cushions. New Moon, who had matching My Little Pony stickers with his best friend. New Moon, who bought a whole ass island-luxury-house for Sun because he wanted to make him feel better and give him the proper space to heal. and New Moon- the poor freshly-baked A.I who gave his all to make sure he could do everything that Old Moon could, but it just wasn't enough. he tried and tried and tried, but it wasn't enough.

So yeah, idk if he's getting one in canon, but to me, he more than deserves a good ending, for the life he was given. let him be at peace.

[kara-knight]

Thoughts on Xanatos in the Jedi Apprentice Books (so far)

m reading the jedi apprentice books for xanatos lore. im here for my blorbo who did it all. i do see why the obi-wan whump enjoyers got onto this, there is so much bad stuff happening to obiwan.

In summary-

Qui-Gon:

“Why was it so hard for Qui-Gon to trust him [obi-wan] still? Because I trusted another. I trusted Xanatos completely, and disaster was the result. The sense of loss was so great that even now Qui-Gon felt it like a living wound. He’d rather have taken a dozen blows from the pirate chieftain’s vibro-ax than to ever feel such loss and pain again.”

Me: xanatos mention!!! 🥺 🥰 🎉 🍿 <- eating popcorn

Xanatos: *haunting the narrative*

Obi-Wan: *numerous injuries, passes out, develops a dangerous fever, blames himself for everything*

Xanatos's entrance in the second book is brilliant. thats my blorbo, hes shown up late without starbucks and hes definitely up to something.

“The door suddenly flew open. A young man stood in the doorway. His shiny black cape was lined in a blue so deep it was almost black as well. A broken circle scar marked his cheek. Qui-Gon's gaze locked with the intruder's. The moment hung suspended in the air. Then, to Qui-Gon's surprise, Xanatos broke into a delighted grin. "Old friend! So you are here. I hardly dared to hope." Xanatos strode forward, handsome and commanding. His black hair flowed to his shoulders, and his dark blue eyes matched the lining on his cape.”

the only warning qui-gon got of this was an ominously vague note:

"“I have been looking forward to this day." The message had included a small drawing of a broken circle next to Xanatos' name — there was a gap where the ends should meet. It was a reminder to Qui-Gon. A taunt. Xanatos had a scar on his cheek in that form. Qui-Gon meditated on the message again, letting all the possible implications come to him. He could be walking into a trap. Or Xanatos could be playing a game with him. He could be galaxies away right now, smiling at the idea the he made his former Master shudder in fear at the sight of his name.”

now im thinking about an all is well au where xanatos is a jedi and now a knight. he still gives his former master heartattacks leaving ominously vague sticky notes in unexpected places and kiddnapping his apprentice. but instead of for evil, he is taking obiwan out for milkshakes at dex's, feeding him too much sugar, running around the city together and doing things that obiwan would think quigon would not let him but qg probs actually would. xanatos is a teeny bit desperate for his padawan brother to like him that hes resorted to both blatant attempts at bribery and asking feemor's advice, not that he'd admit to any of it.

whats driving me mad is that in the comics (THERE ARE XANATOS COMICS OF HIS LAST MISSION AS A PADAWAN AND FALL THAT HARDLY ANYONE SEEMS TO KNOW EXIST GO READ THEM AND SCREAM WITH ME), he clearly has light brown hair as a teenager, not black, and his eyes are brown that looks sometimes murky greenish or hazel depending on the lighting/colouring consistency but unmistakably not blue. i need an explanation other than inconsistencies in the text. the hair is explained by xanatos dyeing it for goth purposes, but the eyes? darksider burning orange would not be unexpected, but not dark blue. i think the answer could be that he's wearing coloured contacts to cover the darkside orange then chose blue both cause its different from his natural eye colour and for dramatics. also we need more brown-eyed characters, im sick of everyone having blue eyes as default.

okay back to reading the books, i simply needed to ramble. this will happen again.

he's my blorbo as in im grabbing him and shaking him in a most feral way. why im suddenly so obsessed. also why did they make him pretty with his swooshy cape and swooshy black hair and dubious intentions, that was somehow a choice made there. i want that cape.

[seeingteacupsindragons]

Thinking about Albert.

This is a little unusual for me; he’s not my preferred blorbo rotisserie. But here we are.

Mainly, I’m thinking about Albert’s role in the Moriarty family. Louis is very much the caretaker and keeper of the family—he has everything in order and makes sure everything is cleaned up and handled. William is the signpost and leader and guides everyone where to go (even post the Final Problem, when he’s not in charge per se—and yet it’s still him shining a light toward atonement for all of them). And Albert….? Eh?

His role pre-Final Problem was taking care of MI6 for William. He doesn’t do that afterward, of course, because Louis does, and Louis is does it better than him. He’s not a leader, he’s not a guide, and he’s not a keeper.

But I do think he functions as, well…a shield, of some kind. William is the more blatant one about trying to protect his family and friends from the consequences of…well, anything. But Albert is the one who is taking public flak for the family during the Final Problem and takes the public punishment. He’s the one who attended the House of Lords and handled social engagements. And he’s the one who emotionally supported William when William needed that so badly and didn’t know how to ask.

It’s a very Big Brother role. It feels sometimes like Louis does some of this protection, and it feels like William does, and that’s true. But Albert is not a guide, and he’s not a caretaker the way. He is solid and reliable despite all his seriously messed up mental issues and prevents anyone from getting in William’s way not by removing obstacles the way Louis might, but by making sure they are not there in the first place.

I don’t know that Albert really likes socializing or attention. But he does it, at least on some level, in some small ways, because he’s keeping the attention on him instead of William. Like I said, a shield. He’s taking the hits of socialization and flirting he doesn’t want so William and Louis don’t have to worry about that side of things.

As we go on into the future, I would like to see him continue to fill that role, as William and Louis have filled theirs in new and exciting ways. I think we could do this with Albert. But I’m not sure how it will play out.

He is very much an umbrella sheltering his brothers from rain, and that’s what he’s best at, and I don’t think this is ever quite as explicit as his brothers. But he’s good at it, and I’d like to see him figure out how to be a shield in a way that’s healthy for him, too. Because it’s not healthy to just keep taking all the hits. William’s learned that already.

It’s hard to clear obstacles out of everyone’s way ahead of time when you’re not a leader, and Albert’s not. But he can continue to be emotional support and borrowed resiliency, perhaps. He can continue to follow Louis’s lead and direction to clear obstacles alongside them, perhaps.

Maybe that’s what I want from them. William to shine a spotlight and Louis to lead the way there and Albert to make it happen. Louis is good at plans, and he can implement them, but Albert’s always been a fair hand at implementation himself. He did that masquerade ball, and he arranged MI6 and he executed plans around Whitley. He’s good at that.

Anyway, that’s Al thoughts, I suppose. Food for the Al stans?

[dicenote]

touta matsuda

discuss

omg YES ty! This is gonna be a long, disorganized ramble, so bear with me!

Touta Matsuda. My blorbo, skrunky scrimblo, love of my life, etc.

There are so many things about Matsuda's character that I could talk about. His impulsivity, his loyalty, his uncertainty... All of it makes a very real and very interesting character. And I think that a lot of his traits shine in one of the most horrifying scenes from his perspective: the Yellow Box Warehouse.

Like, let's take a step back and look at the numbers here. On one side of the warehouse, we've got a guy claiming to be L, and the three members of the old Kira Task Force that he brought with him. On the other side, we've got a different guy claiming to be L and three members of the SPK that he brought with him (oh. and the guy from the Task Force that got kidnapped in the mix). Outside, Kira's accomplice is lying in wait. So we've got ten people in all who are ready for the final showdown. The reveal. The evidence that will finally end this years-long nightmare and point to the true identity of Kira.

And of those 10 people, only one of them doesn't have a clue who Kira really is.

Light is Kira. Mikami is X-Kira and finds out who Kira is as soon as he looks in the room. Near and the SPK are all on the same page. Mogi and Aizawa know. Ide's a bit more on the fence but he wasn't completely in the dark. So Matsuda is the only one who goes in totally blind.

If anyone were to re-write Death Note purely from Matsuda's perspective, the Warehouse scene would go from tense to horrifying. To (nearly) everyone else there, this confrontation isn’t meant to reveal an unexpected truth, it’s to confirm something that they already know. But for Matsuda? Near's request to meet at the warehouse is, at worst, a tactic to once again frame Light. Because Light obviously can't be Kira, right? Light will show Near that he's wrong, and the investigation will continue as normal until the real Kira is caught.

But then Near presents that irrefutable evidence, and everything that Matsuda knew for over five years comes crumbling down. Light starts monologuing about how the world had to be fixed and how no one could ever make it as far as he did. Kira and Light are one and the same. Matsuda always thought that Kira was a well-intentioned person who was helping change the world. Ide and Aizawa and Mogi believed that Kira was evil, they were much stronger in their resolve than Matsuda ever could be. But Light had confessed to him once that he too questioned if what they were doing was right. If Kira was doing right.

Light has always been Kira.

And then comes the absolutely tasty part where Matsuda shoots Light. I love how chapter 106 is called "Intent to Kill", because it reminds me of how Matsuda and Light are foils to each other. Better yet, they can be compared against a man they both held such deep respect for, Soichiro Yagami.

See, Soichiro threatens to kill people a good couple times, and even holds a gun to his son's face, but he never has any intent to kill. In fact, he's never killed anyone, as (I think) Mello points out. It's almost kind of silly. Like, Soichiro draws the line at firing bullets or writing full names in the Death Note, and that's it? Everything else is fair game? Weird line to draw, but go off I guess.

Light, meanwhile, justifies killing thousands. But only with the Death Note. With the Death Note, his intent to kill becomes a righteous one, another step on the path to becoming God of a New World. The criminals deserved to die. Those who get in Kira's way deserve to die. Because Light isn't a serial killer. He's doing the right thing! Crime is going down, war has stopped, and Light is the only one who could have possibly gone this far and done this much good.

And then we're back to Matsuda. I believe the mafia raid is the first time we see Matsuda using a gun, and we see that he's damn good at it. So good, in fact, that he's able to fire only non-lethal shots to get the Death Note back. (Also, fun tidbit: I'm pretty sure he's the only one who doesn't go into the raid with a rifle, he's just got like, a standard-issue cop pistol with a light on it.) The same thing happens in the warehouse, at least initially. He fires at Light's hand to get him to stop writing. Then he and Light yell at each other for a little bit about (who else?) Soichiro. Light demands that Matsuda shoot the others, because he's the only one who understands Kira. When Matsuda hesitates, Light resumes writing Near's name. Then Matsuda fires again and again and again. Anything to make Light stop. Anything to make it all stop. But it becomes obvious that he's not just shooting Light as a deterrent. What does Matsuda say as he's doing it?

"He needs to die!"

The others literally have to drag Matsuda away before he can execute Light on the spot.

Matsuda is a character full of contradictions. He dedicates over half a decade to fighting Kira, but he doubts the whole time. He tries to follow in Soichiro's footsteps but in the end makes the same justification that Light did when he first started writing in the Death Note. This man is a criminal. He deserves to die. The Yellow Box Warehouse not only exposed Light's true colors, but Matsuda's as well.

[dearqueerdeers]

TOG2 Trailer Thoughts!

Spoilers and speculations below the cut! All timestamps are referenced from the Netflix trailer, not from YouTube.

I sincerely hope Nile, Joe, and Nicky get more proportional screen time than it looks like they will!! It would be heartbreaking if after all they went through in TOG and all the emotional moments we had, they were reduced to like. background fighter #2.

An First™ immortal? Fine. She's Evil? Fine. She's been secretly watching the team this whole time and never saying anything??? not fine?? to me that undermines the guard's entire sort of thing. their whole deal is that they’re watching for injustices and looking for answers everywhere. and we're supposed to believe that not only has there been another immortal out here doing evil shit this whole time, but this immortal has been actively following and keeping tabs on them without being noticed? it makes the guard seem kind of bad at what they do if that's the case.

LOVE the emotional beats we have going on here with Andy. The subtle pain at finding out there was an immortal before her this whole time. The guilt of leaving Quynh behind. The absolutely heart wrenching "do you think she knows that I've lost my immortality?" The "then I'm taking you down with me." Her little laugh when she's talking to Nile. Andy is everything to me <3

Love also that Andy appears to retain her faith in humanity and dedication to the team throughout.

Why did we only get like 0.2 seconds of Quynh?? Hello??? WHERE is my girl!!! why did the scene where they’re supposed to HAVE A TOXIC GAY KISS happen with Uma!Immortal instead? booo

I wish we had literally any speaking lines for Joe and Nicky. Like. Once again I am scared that part of our found family will be reduced to background fighters #3 and #4

If Uma!Immortal was so upset about Andy abandoning Quynh, why didn't she rescue her herself before now? I've always assumed that Andy and the team simply don’t have access to the sort of technology and manpower necessary to safely rescue Quynh. That doesn't seem to be an issue for Uma!Immortal so like what stopped her?

Can we talk about how at the end it seems like Andy is being kept in some sort of glass containment/observation cage?? My personal prediction is that Uma!Immortal or Quynh will convince the gang to abandon Andy (paralleling how Andy "abandoned" Quynh). Possibly by telling them about something horrible Andy did in the past. (Please not slavery. For the love of god. Please.) & the movie will end on another cliffhanger.

Nicky getting chopped in half by a truck was pretty funny ngl. Like I'm sure that sucked for him but yk. Blorbo in the meat grinder <3

At around 1:41, Booker can be seen behind Nile and Andy! Which makes me think that his redemption arc will be pretty quick and he won't team up with Quynh.

There's a crucifix in the background when Uma!Immortal is shown at 1:35 and it generally has church vibes. Sincerely hope they don't make immortality have anything to do with religion (other than how the characters personally relate to it ofc).

I'm pretty sure the person Uma!Immortal stabs is Henry Golding's character. At 1:17 we get a glimpse of his hand and he's visibly wearing a gold ring, which we see again on the hand of the person being stabbed at 0:31.

I'm actually pretty optimistic, all things considered. I am still worried that they will explain immortality and that the explanation will suck and ruin everything. But the movie itself looks pretty good!

[hkpika07]

C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER

Did you know Big Engine Brawl by @spaceboid and the rest of the lovely team makes me just a little insane. It’s probably one of my favorite ttte things anyone has ever done ever.

Everything about it is just so prefect and right. Especially with Gordon my blorbo Gordon. I’ll be doing some autistic analysis. Spoilers under the cut!

OKAY. So this has captured gordon so perfectly in my humble opinion. His first song Indignation (perfect name by the way) is GRAND and very idk how to describe it but it feels fancy. Even his facial expressions here are very indignant and apathetic. He’s not really taking this seriously because he thinks he can EASILY win. And I love how later near the end of the song the chart for Gordon’s part gets so overly complicated and more complex. It’s like how he thinks so highly of himself that he pushes himself past what he can physically do. He’s so determined to win that he does more than he can manage because he’s a big engine, he’s supposed to be able to manage it. And he thinks he’s so much better than this random small thing that he’s showing off. And if you learn anything on Sodor, it’s to not show off. AND THEN RIGHT AS HIS SONG IS SUPPOSED TO END HE FUCKING BREAKS AND HURTS HIMSELF BECAUSE HE PUSHED HIMSELF TOO FAR. HE GOT SMACKED DOWN FOR SHOWING OFF. Just like the hill. Also I love that his buffers fall off it reminded me of the cgi episode where his buffers fell off and he had to get huge diesel buffers.

AND HIM CALLING ON HENRY TO HELP. ITS LIKE HOW WHENEVER HE FUCKS UP OR PUSHES HIMSELF TOO FAR HE HAS TO CALL ON OTHERS TO SUPPORT HIM. LIKE EDWARD AND HENRY AND THOMAS.

God and the big finale sone with all 3 of them. I’m gonna go insane I’m gonna eat concrete. Gordon’s angry flushed face as he’s finally taking BF seriously. He’s so FOCUSED. I LVOE how they all work together. At points where James and Henry take up the lead part of the song and Gordon is providing harmony support. I am running around my room I am stimming so hard I think I might explode actually. JAMES AND HENRY’S JUST TIRED APATHETIC FACES TO IT ALL. THEY ARE SO DONE. NOT ONLY WITH BF AND GF BUT WITH GORDON’S UNNEEDED FRUSTRATION ABOUT IT. ALSO WHEN JAMES AND HENRY FIRST COME FOR BACKUP THEIR MUSICAL STYLE REFLECTS THAT. HENRY’S IS LESS GRAND THEN GORDON BUT ITS FAST AND DANGEROUS IT REMINDS ME OF THE IMPACT OF THE FLYING KIPPER. AND JAMES HAS A SLIGHT SWING IN HIS SECTION A LOT LIKE HIS MUSIC.

In short this captures Gordon’s character absolutely perfectly in ways that will make me autistically infodump about it to anyone who will listen. I may have gotten some music things wrong because I am not a musician at all. But I do know Gordon’s character and this is perfect. 1000000/10 PLEASE GO PLAY AND SUPPORT IT