#feel free to disagree w me

[thegayshroom]

I love all the new outfits, but alban's>>>>>

[cavennmalore]

Something weird I've noticed in the kotlc fandom that I really cannot wrap my head around is the treatment of the Vacker family, specifically Alden and Fitz. These are understandably popular characters (and for good reason) and it makes sense that people interpret them in different ways. I can't help but notice that some of the predominant discussions around them center on personality traits they just... don't have in canon.

Most of the characterizations I see of Alden treat him as a rampant child abuser. He's overbearing, stern, and determined to force his child to live up to the Vacker name by any means necessary. Naturally, Alden is not a perfect character or father, but such a harsh depiction flattens much of what makes him dynamic in the books. As I see it, there are two main flaws that Alden has in canon: his past with Prentice and his meddling.

What Alden did to Prentice is treated pretty seriously throughout the series. In Exile, it's made clear that falsely accusing (or, not so falsely, depending on what you consider the real crime to be) Prentice and performing the mindbreak is the biggest regret of his life. So big, that it shatters his sanity and ruins one of his closest relationships (Exile, Chapter 35; Nightfall, Chapter 3). It's the mistake that keeps on giving, and it's made abundantly clear that while Alden wasn't aware of what he was truly doing, he bears responsibility nonetheless. It's a burden that Alden takes extremely seriously, pushing him to search for the Moonlark for years, but more on that later. While his guilt over Prentice is an important part of his character, it's not the flaw that I usually see given the most weight in his characterizations.

Alden's meddling is prominent, to say the least. It heavily features in most interpretations I see of him online, largely negatively and largely without specificity. In canon, there are really two ways that his nosiness presents itself: his children's personal lives and his hunt for the Moonlark. The two best examples of his meddling as a parent come from his interventions in Fitz and Biana's friendships. In the first book, Alden encourages Biana to befriend Sophie because he worries about her (Keeper, Chapters 43 and 47). He acts similarly with Fitz and Keefe, encouraging Fitz to invite Keefe to Everglen so Keefe can avoid spending time with Cassius (Flashback, Chapter 21). In both cases, Alden doesn't go beyond asking his kids to spend time with potential friends. He doesn't micromanage their hangouts or insist it's for status reasons; he's interested in supervising kids who he worries are in a bad spot. This is notably different from Gisela's meddling, which is for personal gain with tangible, selfish goals (Neverseen, Chapter 63). Maybe Alden shouldn't be pushing his kids to spend time with those they don't have an interest in. But the eventual friendships that arise from them make up for it, in my opinion.

The other form Alden's meddling takes is his hunt for the Moonlark. As a manifestation of his guilt over Prentice's mindbreak, Alden enlists Alvar and Fitz to search the Forbidden Cities for the Moonlark. I've seen this search used as the basis for a lot of the animosity between Alden and his sons, which I think is incorrect. Alvar is the first hunter and is very open about how pointless he thought the endeavor was (Keeper, Chapter 28; Neverseen, Chapter 1). The difference of opinions over the Black Swan between Alvar and Alden is a point of contention in their relationship, but it's important to note that Alvar doesn't claim to feel pressured or pushed into the search. He just thinks the conspiracy of the Black Swan is stupid (Keeper, Chapter 28). Of course, much of this protesting was a cover for the fact that he was working with the Neverseen and would've been searching anyway (Neverseen, Chapter 63).

Fitz takes over the search at age six (Neverseen, Chapter 1). Fitz's age when being sent out is questionable at best, and I think is fair to criticize Alden for (though, I think the age has more to do with Shannon being unable to decide how Elvin aging is supposed to work since none of the other characters seem to think six is unreasonably young). But while the reader can freely critique Alden for this, what's crucial is that Fitz doesn't seem to mind this. Rather than be upset or resentful that Alden had him search for the Moonlark, Fitz calls it "the most important thing [he'll] probably ever do" (Stellarlune, Chapter 43). He's proud of the work he and his father did; if anything, it's a positive in their relationship. I've seen some arguments that pushing Fitz into the Forbidden Cities is part of a pattern of having kids do dangerous work (per Sophie doing Fintans mindbreak in Exile, even though that wasn't Alden's idea and he offered to disobey the Council if she didn't want to), which isn't necessarily unfair. What I do think is a problem is acting like the search for the Moonlark had a significant negative impact on Alden's relationships with his sons.

Part of the reason I think this interpretation is so prevalent is a contributing misunderstanding about Fitz's character. Fitz is often portrayed as anxiety-ridden over his role as a Vacker and the expectations that come along with it. Being a leader isn't something he wants, but something he feels pressured into. In canon, Fitz is almost the complete opposite. He's shown at being naturally gifted at telepathy and school and is incredibly charming. Being a Vacker -- and the expectations that come with it -- is something he embraces wholeheartedly. In fact, it is the loss of his leadership that causes struggle. A main point of contention that Fitz has with Sophie in Stellarlune (Chapter 43) is that he "still want[s] to be that guy that everyone looks to" even though that's no longer his role. None of this is to say that Fitz is perfect, or that he doesn't fight against the idea of being labeled so. Instead, much of Fitz's arc is about learning when to step back and change his perspective on the world, including recognizing when his privilege has clouded his judgment. His rejection of being labeled perfect has more to do, in my eyes, with having a difficult time reconciling his "idyllic" childhood with the harsher childhoods of his friends (Flashback, Chapter 21).

So what is the problem between the Vackers, if not fanon? The one issue that is repeatedly brought up by both Fitz and Alvar alike regarding their father is favoritism. Alvar felt ignored after the births of Fitz and Biana, claiming that Alden replaced him with Fitz whom he refers to as the "Golden Child" (Neverseen, Chapter 72; Flashback, Chapter 49). Fitz feels betrayed by his parents' immediate re-welcoming of Alvar when his memories are gone, insisting they prioritize Alvar over Fitz and Biana's safety (Flashback, Chapter 16). In both cases, Fitz and Alvar feel like an afterthought or the lesser child. It's that feeling that fuels (or encourages, considering Alvar's done quite a bit throughout the series to create independent hate lol) the animosity between them and Alden.

It's this "favorite child" dynamic that I find really interesting and unique about the Vacker's dysfunction in the series. Maybe it's just me, but I don't see a reason to paint over this dynamic with bullying, especially considering there is a father-son relationship in canon that is the Vacker fanon almost to a T. Cassius spent Keefe's whole life attempting to pressure him into becoming a "real" Sencen, which Keefe tried to do before realizing it was unattainable (Flashback, Chapter 21). It's the bedrock of their non-relationship. To shove Fitz and Alden into that pigeonhole is a disservice to each of these relationships, which have their own intrigues without sharing. None of this is to say that people can't headcanon as they wish, and to try and play with characters is the fun of fandom. I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from that or shame them for it. But to claim those relationships are canon is disingenuous to me and a misportrayal of the books.

[katiekatdragon27]

Happy Pride chat, I feel like showing off my headcanons (and ships)

Drawing these two's outfits with the colors of their flags was kinda a challenge (especially Wizard, that was a pain), but I think it turned out really nice.

Progress doodles and some small notes below the cut:

Aight, in case someone doesn't know these flags, Wizard is wearing the transwoman flag on her fur coat and hat with the lesbian flag being her blouse, and Rabbiteen is wearing the non-binary woman flag on her coat and the sapphic flag on her dress.

Wizard went down the he/him to she/her pipeline. She also went down the straight to lesbian pipeline too. Pipelines all around /lh.

Rabbiteen (and her brother) never really grew up with the concept of gender. Since I headconon that she was raised by Rabbids and they don't really have physical genders (it's more emotionally based), she grew up with that mindset. So, in all technicalities, she views herself as non-binary/agender, but knows that she is probably a woman, so it is a weird disconnect that is explained through the label. And she's sapphic cuz she's a woman kisser who is physically more feminine. (I hope that made sense, it's kinda based on my gender identity lol)

If there are any other characters you want to see my personal headcanons (and ships) for, feel free to ask✌️

Have a lovely LGBT Month<3

[hollymacycomic]

Holly & Macy and Everyone Else

Chapter 4: Page 2

Start at the Beginning | About the comic | Tip-jar 

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[deus-ex-mona]

suddenly remembered this thing from an old interview soooo

Q: You mentioned that the characters, Suzumi Hiyori and both Someya Yujiro and Shibasaki Aizo of LIPxLIP, were created at the same time, but how did they come to be?

Yamako: Yujiro and Hiyori made their first appearance at the end of the MV for “Koiiro ni Sake” to indicate that a new generation was about to begin as the first generation of characters from the CEC graduated from high school. At that time, I didn’t have a specific vision for their future, but it gradually took shape as I thought up Aizo’s character visuals afterwards. I think LIPxLIP became idols because shito said that he wanted to create idol characters in the series.

shito: Yes, that’s indeed the case (laughs). Up till then, we had only written love songs for the CEC, but even before that, I had wanted to write idol songs. So, since we’re able to create our own characters and have them move around as we wish through our songs as HoneyWorks, I proposed the idea of creating a two-man idol unit. Around the same time, we also created Hiyori, a girl who could bring out the two-faced nature of the idols, since a completely ordinary girl like her would be able to bring out both their natural personalities and their bad-tempered natures (laughs). So I get the feeling that Hiyori naturally came about as we were creating LIPxLIP.

[rwby-confess]

Confession #118

[honeynclove]

Aphmau went downhill when the skins went from regular skins to whatever that is

[ihugmomo]

bloody stream and crazy noisy bizarre town are the best jojo openings i don't care

[hindahoney]

Hello! I hope this ask finds you well. I have a question (as a non-Jewish person). I sometimes write and I've thought about writing a Jewish character but I feel like I don't know enough. Are there any common mistakes gentiles make while writing that I should avoid? Sorry if this ask sounds ignorant/weird, I'm still kind of learning. Have a nice day!!

I have posted about my position on this topic before, but I'll reiterate it here. If you don't think you know enough about Judaism and Jewish culture you shouldn't be writing Jewish characters. I understand that you want to, but you wanting to write a Jewish character does not outweigh or trump the potential harm or misinformation that would be spread by writing about a culture you're not educated on or part of.

The consequences of an incorrect portrayal would not be mitigated by me telling you about common mistakes gentiles make when writing about us, because there's just so much that could be incorrect that can't be anticipated. I can always tell when a non-Jew tries to write a Jewish character. It is always painfully obvious to me even if the author feels like they've put in time and effort into educating themselves.

This also might not be a popular opinion, and it's just my own (I am not speaking for every Jew), but it always feels uncomfortable to me when gentiles want to write Jewish characters. Unless the character's Judaism is central to the story (in which case you'd need to be really knowledgeable about us to pull off in a believable way), I can't think of a story that couldn't be told if the character was a gentile. It feels more like "Oh my character is Jewish that makes them interesting" or it's an afterthought, in which case we have enough characters already who were written by gentiles that have their Jewish identity only brought up when the author remembers it. Tokenization would be the term for it, I guess.

All that being said, if you still want to write a Jewish character, it's necessary to put in the work and effort into learning about us and I'd recommend having a Jewish friend check your writing to make sure it's accurate. If it's just for something like a fanfic and you want a Jewish character, then it's not as big of a deal but it's still important to be accurate.

In conclusion, Jews deserve better representation than an off-handed comment about their bar/bat mitzvah and the fact they celebrate Chanukkah or some yiddish words sprinkled into their vocabulary. So if that's the extent of what you want to write about your Jewish character I would rather you don't.

[averlym]

Can you do prompt 34 for araleyn?

no.34, gen: "you look happy" //sometimes i think too much about dlyh

[valiisthea]

I have the jitters before this procedure so here are some Barnabas thoughts.

No, he is not attracted to his mother. I do have a sense of humor, though, so jokes aren't going to irritate me. But my Barnabas had a very loving relationship (albeit a little...rocky) with his mother. She chose to raise her child in a cult and that's on her, but she loved her boy and he loved her. He was very loyal to her. She is the only person who has ever made him FEEL.

So when she passes away, and Barnabas finds himself awakening as Odin, it makes sense for him to trauma-build a person that CANNOT leave him. Enter Sleipnir. Built of trauma and necessity. Cannot die and leave him. Will always be loyally at his side.

He has not forged close bonds with anyone else. No matter how many people warmed his bed - none of them moved his heart.

So yes, he does crave the warmth and comfort of a mother's touch. He does wish to lay his head down in someone's lap and have his hair gently pet. He craves that feeling of warmth and safety - but he would never look for it in another human. Maybe Sleipnir, but purposefully choosing a human would be nigh impossible.

That doesn't mean he wouldn't accidentally grow feelings and emotions for someone. He's still human deep deep DEEEEEP down in his chest. It's possible, just improbable.

For this reason, I have modified him ONLY SLIGHTLY to make writing with him a bit easier. And I mean very barely slightly. Still do not hold expectations of him.

Ultima and Mythos are his purpose. His mother is his love and whatever is left of his heart. That is why she is an effective reward from Ultima when Barnabas is a "good boy."

He is not in love or lust with his mother. He is an 18 year old scared boy who just watched her be murdered in front of him that loves and misses her dearly. She was all he ever had.

[viridianstars]

something that just occured to me is the question of what it means for the events in paris that louis was the one to “kill” lestat. in the vampire lestat, lestat confesses to armand that claudia “killed” him (not with the intention of having her killed tho since he doesn’t know her and louis are in paris yet) and in interview with the vampire, he repeatedly tells santiago and co he wants them to spare louis so he can go back to new orleans with him. armand then uses lestat’s info to have claudia killed because she broke te rules, but also because he wants louis all to himself.

but how is this going to work in the show? if lestat lies to armand that claudia killed him in order to protect louis, i feel like that’s going to make it even harder for him to be somwhat redeemed in the tvl season(s) in the eyes of a lot of fans since it’s straigh up not a good look. and if armand has claudia killed despite knowing louis actually slit lestat’s throat, that might make armand into more of a villain than in the books. 

i love lestat’s “death” in episode seven so much, it’s beautiful, tragic, poetic etc. i’m just kind of worried about what it means for season two.

[gothsuguru]

Top 5 of your favorite jjk characters!!!

AHHHHHHHHH THANK YOU FOR ASKING I LOOOOOOOOOVE THIS QUESTION HEHE :3

1) toji: my FAVORITE character of ALL TIME and yes i do mean ALL TIME from ANY series… and i’ll tell you why… i have been BEGGING on my hands and knees for a MEAN HOT DILF ASSASSIN IN MEDIA FOR SO FUCKING LONG… and there like a beacon of light in the shadows was toji fushiguro… mean. hot. sexy. looks like he could and would step on me and kick my ass. also very sexy. just everything i wanted all rolled into one <3 and i also legitimately love love LOVE his character arc & backstory so much! heavenly restriction was PERFECT for him and i love that he genuinely fucked shit up + distorted fate… he came out the gate SWINGING!!!!!! also just the fact that he also Genuinely loved his wife and was truly a better man for her & himself and then she died… oh that’s just heartbreaking. him naming megumi “blessings” because names have meaning and megumi was truly his blessing… man i love toji so much. so so SO much. he’s sooooo multi-faceted and i love that no matter what at the end of the day, BOTH TIMES, his last memories were of his son and wanting to protect him. god i love toji <3 also elite character design i Love his scar & his massive tits and also. his spiky hair. Delicious

2) satoru: another elite character and design listen i looooove white-haired characters so much! they’re only second to black-haired characters <3 i also. genuinely. just love how much he loves his kids…….. him doing everything to protect the youth & always wanting them to nurture themselves/their friendships is so fucking sweet??? also i feel like some people just don’t understand that satoru is ACTUALLY, in my opinion, quite emotionally mature & also VERY responsible! he has so much on his plate/the world is on his shoulders and he carries that weight alone & willingly… i think it’s also another reason of why he wants his kids to get stronger… he knows curses won’t ever leave the world and he KNOWS he’s not infallible no matter how much he says he’s the strongest… i just think he wants the new generation to be better than him in every which way! also satoru had to do the work of essentially 3/4 special grades all by himself… yuki left, suguru went awol, yuuta only became an official sg in when he came to school and then he left during his 2nd yr… like i really genuinely truly honestly admire satoru SO much it makes me so upset when people don’t recognize that maturity and silliness can coexist! also him putting up infinity so no one can ever physically hurt him again… like i think people also forget that satoru… DIED. he DIED. when he was 16… and then he came back to life… like he’s such a traumatized character ALSO it’s another pet peeve of mine when people always attribute all of satoru’s best qualities to suguru like… i think people forget that satoru is also SUCH a good person in that he always calmed down suguru’s overthinking mind/would take the blame upon his OWN self… he’s self-sacrificial when necessary while also simultaneously easing the worries of his younger students… he’s my beloved. he’s in my lap as we speak i’m feeding him chocolate covered strawberries bc he deserves it. my baby boy my big baby

3) sukuna: BAD BITCH! I LOVE MEAN BAD BITCHES! I LOVE VILLAINS SOOOOOO MUCH I LOVE THOSE WHO ARE UNFORGIVING! WHO ARE EVIL JUST TO BE EVIL! NO RHYME OR REASON! also. listen. i fucking loooooooooove the idea of him doing this based on his whim… i just adore that when characters do it! if he’s hungry he eats, if he’s feeling murderous he kills, if he’s curious he keeps the person alive for the time being… he’s just so fascinating to me! i also just completely took sukuna and make him into bestie!sukie so i think i love him even more bc of that 😭 he’s just so fun and cool and fucked up to me! he’s everything <333

4) yuji/maki/yuuta: MY BABIES!!!!! MY BESTIES!!!!! MY REASONS TO BE 🥹🥹🥹 yuji is my son my baby child my sunshine boy and also. my badass kid <3 he’s so fucking cool i love him as a mc so much! so much abt him we don’t know esp when it comes to his backstory but you just can’t help but root for him! he’s such a genuinely good kid you always wanna see him win — and seeing him angry? pissed off? another fav of mine <3 the mahito vs yuji fight when yuji tells mahito he’ll kill him no matter the form? poetic cinema. also don’t get me started on geto & toji meeting yuji it’s in my brain all the time 😭 and MAKI IS MY DAUGHTER!!!!! literally like my fav female character of all time she’s so cool and badass and is so powerful! her reaching demon toji level and surpassing him??? DELICIOUS. also scarred maki is my fav character design ok the short hair + scars + yuki fit??? iconic. AND YUUTA <333 my bestie <333 he’s so fun to me i love that he’s babie but also an unforgiving badass! the dichotomy is everything to me! him having a creepier aura than satoru but just as strong… one of my fav panels of all time and i’m so serious. just unmatched

5) suguru: hate this bitch in canon but love this bitch in kanon (kairo canon) <333 he’s a very. interesting character. i disagree w his entire logic and i personally find it foolish (maybe bc i’m a toji & maki truther and love heavenly restriction above all else) but suguru truly is soooo fascinating. even as a high schooler pre-defection he considered non-sorcerers weak and something that sorcerers had to “protect” i think that suguru is very very VERY paternal and i think that influences a lot of his decisions… he’s a literal PATRIARCH in his cult family + he’s technically nanamimi’s dad + he wants to usher in a new age simply to protect those he loves but what he fails to realize is that… he just creates more chaos! he was his own downfall at the end of the day and i do think that no matter if satoru/shoko intervened that he still would have defected i just think he was doomed from the start… you don’t just ingest curses and then not be affected by it y’know? i think eventually he also would have been consumed by negativity the same way he consumes negativity (curses) and ultimately? he was. he’s a wonderful character to me in that he makes me feel genuine anger at certain times and at other times i just feel pity! i love him. he makes me think & feel a lot of things which is why i Write for him 😭 you’re probably wondering well why is he 5th/8th if you write for him the most??? idk maybe he should be theoretically first but i just. like him in my brain more than i do in canon i think he’s unlikable in canon to me but he’s also my skrunkly… i have duality ok i love him i dislike him i want him carnally

[kenobihater]

it's always rlly funny coming back from a break from this hellsite bc i usually accumulate followers in my months long absences, but as soon as i start posting my opinions and hottakes i lose like 10+ followers within a few days 🫶🏼

[sissorcraft]

what are your thoughts on milly/wolfwood….. do you think stampede will push it like tri98 did?

good lird. Good Lird. the thoughts and feelings are Complicated bestie 💀 like. taking a step back and looking at it purely objectively, i think 98s milly//wood is cute genuinely. im not personally crazy abt it but i like them both as characters and i do like the moments they gave them

that being said. the absolute whiplash it gave me EVEN W THE ADDED BONDING MOMENTS when it just cut to THEM IN BED. i genuinely cannot overstate it i have had comphet shoved in my face in media for all my 23 years of being alive and it still made my fucking jaw DROP!!!! it genuinely just came completely out of nowhere. and that feeling of it having little foundation only got stronger when i read trimax and they had even less interaction

like. i truly do like both of them i think its a cute ship genuinely. but the way 98 handled it made me so fucking mad fr esp bc like. they handled vashmeryl REALLY WELL imo so like...... girlies what happened... 🫢

as for stampede. i personally dont see them pushing any relationships to be completely on god. like obv we can all hold hands together and talk abt how vash and wolfwood are gonna fuck s2ep1 like intro scene but realistically i cant see it either. at least not overtly. the way theyre constructing the show is very much so focusing more on the severity of the twins polarizing black/white moralities with humans stepping in to provide the more gray perspectives in between, mainly w meryl and wolfwood. so i think season 2s set up for some very interesting character interactions, esp w the introduction of milly confirmed which i am. so excited for

the characters all still have a lot of growing to do as well. i cannot see stampede wolfwood, as closed off and hissy cat he is whenever someone sees past his front, entering an actual serious relationship w anyone. now obv theres a timeskip so maybe season 2s wolfwood will have settled into himself a bit more and act a bit more like the wolfwood were all used to but even then. id be really surprised to see them pushing any romantically charged relationship, esp between wolfwood and a character being introduced this season

[vampyrluver]

I love my brothers so much i want to protect them all wasaaa