#flamboyant hedgehog

[shannonallaround]

[xviiper-rents-houses]

Yandere Sonic

Yes, yes, this is a bit of a random drabble. Grammar might not be the best but, hey, you get something! I'll probably do some writing for this guy later on, we'll see!

Sonic

Ah yes, the name of the games, comics and films: Sonic. Honestly, good character. He's smart, fast, funny and replies with quick combacks when battling enemies or participating in playful banter. Sonic has a bit of an ego as well, flamboyant and loves to show off, making you wonder why you should even root for him in the first place.

That's where the writers get you with Sonic constantly being humbled and told to slow down. His need for speed and impatience are two of the biggest weaknesses he bears, hindering Sonic from being whole. However, he learns from his mistakes and keeps trying; Sonic does not give up. Sonic also hyperfixates on problems that bother him, probably digging far too deeply into an issue that might not need that much solving, thus creating further problems.

That's where I get the idea that he could be a yandere. I mean, (this was mentioned in another blog) how scary would it be if he was your stalker? Petrifying, I'll tell you that. Honestly, you could be minding your own business, going on a simple walk or maybe doing a favorite hobby, being followed by Sonic and when you turn your back, there's no trace of your stalker.

Here's what makes it even better, (or worse, depending upon how you feel) Sonic in my interpretation would absolutely focus on you. Sure, he'd still interact with other characters but, you are his top priority. He'd chose you over anything. Sonic's good at putting up an act, he can downplay any accusations with his good reputation and charm.

Gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss. Sonic doesn't give up, as mentioned before, he will find a way to make you his. He's saved so many Mobians and Mobius itself alike, gone on interdimensional missions, fought in space; the blue hedgehog is a traveling connoisseur. Each adventure he went on, Sonic made it out alive and better than before. He's had a lot of down points, I see this as a reoccurring issue he has to deal with, and still, he finds a way out of it.

Perhaps his constant down points give him paranoia? I'm thinking with the amount of things Sonic has endured he'd be worried about losing you. Maybe not to the point of isolating you from the entire world, (I think Sonic would still let you speak to your friends under watchful eyes and listening ears) but he would make sure that he's always around and ready to protect you.

Yeaaaaah, that's about it. Let me know what you guys think! I'll probably work on writing some random drabbles about other characters, fanfics, y'know, the usual.

[blues824]

Twisted Wonderland's Housewardens with a GN!Saiki!s/o; reacting to the news that they're a psychic.

Riddle Rosehearts

Even though he would prefer to be isolated from others, he is sad that you don’t accept anyone as your friend, much less your significant other. This is when you use your telepathy to tell him that you can read minds. He is very embarrassed, so please let him know that you return his feelings.

He understands your sweet tooth, as he has one himself. He will try and get Trey to teach him how to make coffee jelly so that you don’t have to keep buying it from Sam’s shop. The effort was heartwarming, and really piqued your interest. 

You both can talk to the hedgehogs and flamingos in different ways; he knows their language and you can speak with them telepathically. The flamboyance and the array all love you (much to your slight annoyance), and you have to admit that they are adorable. Whenever Riddle sees you interact with the animals, he just gets a warm feeling in his chest.

Leona Kingscholar

Sarcasm at its finest. You both like to be alone, so you tend to be alone together. Whenever he’s asleep, you can see his dreams, and a lot of them are about you. This fact does make you blush just a tiny bit, but you never tell him that you can until much later in your relationship.

He does not understand your sweet tooth, but he will have Reggie supply you with some coffee jelly. Leona prefers more savory foods like meat, so he will find it annoying whenever you do anything for your beloved treat. He swears you love it more than him, and it’s probably true.

You have the ability to talk to him telepathically, so you both don’t even have to be near each other. You can hear his thoughts, and you can speak to him through his mind. It’s actually very convenient for the two of you, as you don't have to look for each other or make the effort of texting each other.

Azul Ashengrotto 

Oh, please don’t tell him that you can read his mind. Other than being concerned with matters consisting of his multitude of contracts, the tweels, and the Mostro Lounge, 95% of his thoughts are about you. Mans would grow more red than Riddle’s hair if you informed him that you were psychic.

His favorite dish is fried chicken (can’t blame him), so he has a preference towards savory foods. However, sometimes he wants something sweet. That’s where you come in and convince him to add coffee jelly to the Lounge’s menu so that you can enjoy it freshly made. 

You have the ability to talk to the fish in the tank, as does Azul. It’s very intriguing for you to hear them speak, since you made it so that the cecaelia could actually hear the marine life saying words. A few of them were angry that other fishes did something, so there were a lot of curses.

Kalim Al-Asim

I feel like he would be the kind to have his head empty, which makes you panic because you can’t read his mind. However, you can tell that he’s very genuine in his joy (alliteration goes crazy sometimes). If you told him that you were psychic, he probably didn’t understand what that was.

He likes coconut, right? He likes sweeter things, if I’m correct. That being said, he can’t blame you when you get a sweet tooth. He is probably your main source of coffee jelly, since he would order some just for you. He tried it once and didn’t really like it, but you love it and he loves you.

If you talk to Jamil, you’re already talking to a snake (/j, but not really). Anyways, you can talk to any of the animals that Kalim gets on a whim, and they’re all annoyed that the young Asim doesn’t know when not to spend money on impulse. Honestly, all of those animals are just a mood.

Vil Schoenheit

His mind never turns off. He’s always thinking about something, and it honestly gives you a headache. As the two of you often sit with each other to squeeze in time to be a semi-normal couple. You can tell that sometimes he’s not present because he’s planning his day through. You often have to tell him to slow his mind.

If I remember correctly, he likes smoothies. You like coffee jelly. Vil knows that it’s not the healthiest, so he tries to offer you a deal: you both can enjoy it once a month so that you can think of it as more of a reward than a treat. He is aware that you can off him with a single thought, but he doesn’t care.

You like to brighten up his day by talking to him telepathically whenever he’s too busy. It’s a bit out of character for you, but you know that it makes him feel a bit better. Knowing that you support him even from far away is comforting for him.

Idia Shroud

Please don’t tell him you can read his mind, Part 2. Mans would panic. Like Azul, his mind is constantly thinking about you, and maybe a new anime he watched or a new video game he played. His hair along with his face grows bright red when you tell him that you are psychic.

Idia likes candy, so he completely understands your little (huge) sweet tooth. Whenever you tell him telepathically that you are coming over, he makes sure that he has coffee jelly on hand so that you continue to like him (he’s insecure, so he uses your love of food to his advantage). 

You often like to spook him by just using your telepathy to tell him something, especially when he’s out for a club meeting. The cecaelia he likes to play board games with is often confused when he sees the eldest Shroud brother jump because you scared him.

Malleus Draconia

He thinks your powers are amazing. What’s amusing to him is how you constantly fight with Sebek because you were a very sarcastic (borderline rude) person. Malleus often had to calm his knight down after every single fight you both had, but the prince couldn’t help a small smile that appeared on his face.

Malleus enjoys ice cream, but he wouldn’t mind trying his beloved’s favorite dessert. He doesn’t dislike it, but he prefers to stick to his favorite. However, don’t be surprised if you see an elegantly wrapped package of coffee jelly at the front door of your dormitory, signed M.D.

Whenever you decide to use your telepathy, it’s usually when he gives you a sign that he can’t get away from his retainers. You both have full-blown conversations with each other and neither Lilia, Silver, nor Sebek notice because his face would be great in poker.

[edwinspaynes]

I'll Stare Directly at the Sun but Never in the Mirror: Literary Foils, Matthew Fairchild, and Alastair Carstairs

Hello, hello, and welcome to my academic dissection of two of my all-time favourite fictional characters. I, your fearless host, will be giving you insight into Matthew and Alastair as literary foils, the ways that their arcs mirror each other, and the ways that they're two sides of the same traumatised little coin.

So, without further ado, let's start with the basics. This post is super long, so it's going under a cut.

People in the World Like Us

It bears noting that Matthew and Alastair have several superficial similarities and differences,

One of these similarities is that they are both men who love men (MLM). Unlike Charles, who is deeply filled with fear and shame, both Matthew and Alastair seem to be comfortable with being bisexual and gay (respectively) as of 1903.

Alastair is not flashy about it. He's not formally out, but he's also hiding nothing. He's just 5'10, likes hedgehogs, has dark hair, is gay, and likes music. There's 0 shame, but there's also no advertising it.

Matthew is much flashier. He's very openly MLM, even if he is not formally out to those who are not close to him. He wears Oscar Wilde's green carnation, which is indeed simply a symbol of the aesthetic movement. However, it was also so heavily associated with MLM during the time period that it'd be a fairly clear tip-off to those with any perceptive skills whatsoever. He attends salons frequently associated with LGBT culture; he openly flirts with both men and women.

Alastair also seems to seek out long-term partnerships with Charles and then, later, with Thomas. (Huge upgrade!) Matthew, on the other hand, has casual relationships frequently.

These attitudes toward their respective sexualities also seem to parallel their personalities more generally as they are written in the text. Alastair is introverted and closed off; Matthew is extraverted and free-spirited.

I will discuss both of the above points more later.

However, for now, I find this more interesting because this is the first thing that Alastair says to Matthew in Nothing but Shadows:

"You new boys have barely been here five minutes, and all you can find to talk about is some mundane who got sent to prison for indecency?" "So you know Oscar Wilde too, Alastair?" Matthew asked. [...] "I know of many mundane criminals," Alastair Carstairs said in chilly tones. "I read the mundane newspapers to find hints of demonic activity. I certainly don't bother reading plays."

In fact, it's the first thing he says at all!

Alastair clearly is not yet comfortable with being MLM, though he does get there by Chain of Gold. Matthew, on the other hand, is visibly MLM. This immediately establishes a power dynamic between someone who is by all initial appearances a homophobic straight man and a flamboyant, visibly MLM character who needs to defend the idol who shares his sexuality.

It's at this point that Matthew gets visibly agitated and begins to defend Wilde, who was almost certainly bisexual like Matthew:

"Naturally. What use do sad, unimaginative little people have for plays?" he asked. "Or paintings, or dancing, or anything that makes life interesting. I am so glad to be at this dank little school where they will try to squeeze down my mind until it is almost as narrow as yours."

This begins a conflict that will escalate over the course of the series. The initial source of their contention stems from their different reactions to a quality that they share.

Mad, Wonderful, Colorful Things

This interaction does not just set up a conflict because Matthew is hurt at the barb about his sexuality. It also shows their relationships to art. That's what I will aim to unpack in this section.

Matthew is undeniably an Art aficionado. His constant obsessive discussions of Oscar Wilde are proof enough, but he does tend to talk about art spectatorship and appreciation for Beauty a lot as well. In Nothing but Shadows, he talks about his lack of artistic prowess, but says that he could 'spectate for England.' To this, James tells him that he could be an actor.

Matthew is, in and of himself, a work of art; he dresses himself up, values his stylish clothing, and affects a theatrical air in most social settings (to the point that he made his Grand Sober Debut in Chain of Thorns while dressed as Puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream.)

Matthew is enchanted with Downworld and with magic. He dances with the fair folk; he has seemingly had both friendships and sexual relations with multiple Downworlders. He attends poetry readings and artistic salons with these Downworlders, has put on performances at the Hell Ruelle before (with Kellington, who notes that they have recited poetry together).

Matthew openly- very openly- adores art in all of its forms. James casually notes that a sleeping Matthew looks like one of the cherubic, innocent paintings he adores in Chain of Gold. Matthew and art are inextricable.

But what of Alastair?

Alastair, too, admires art. He once played the piano, and he once sang ghazals. The difference is that while Matthew was encouraged by those around him to love the things he loved, Alastair quite literally had that beaten out of him while at school. Alastair eventually was so ashamed of his Persian heritage that he stopped singing ghazals (and dyed his hair to look like- you guessed it- Matthew's). He was treated so poorly that he completely disengaged with art in general despite deeply loving it.

(As an aside: I'm so glad that he has become more comfortable making music again. I really hope that he continues to nurture that as an adult in a safe and stable home).

In any case:

Matthew's artistic nature was nurtured; Alastair's was a casualty of abuse. This brings Alastair's comments about plays and Wilde's work to light a bit more - it is probable that there's a bit of deflection happening.

The specific targeting of plays is also interesting when you consider the following interaction:

“I know we’re supposed to avoid mundane things,” said Alastair, “but you must see this. It’s a film. A moving picture! This one is the latest. It’s called Le Voyage dans la Lune.”

Two years after graduating from the Academy, while on his travel year and away from Elias, Alastair was finally allowing himself to engage with art again. Intrinsically, it is clear that he still loved performances; he just closed himself off from this love to protect himself against abuse.

Tricks and Papas and the Circumstances of Your Birth

It's not a secret that Alastair was a bully in school, though it is critical to emphasize that he tried everything in his power not to be. This is true to the point of allowing himself to be physically abused by the other students for an entire year:

“When I got to school,” said Alastair slowly [to Thomas], the effort clearly costing him, “loose talk about my father had preceded me. Everyone knew he was a failure, and some of the older students decided I was an easy target. They… let’s just say that by the end of the first week, I had been made to understand my place in the hierarchy, and I had the bruises to remind me should I ever forget. [...] After about a year of being knocked around [...] I realized I could either become one of the bullies, or suffer for the rest of my school days."

When he told Cordelia about this in Chain of Gold, she inquired about why Alastair did not simply come home.

Coming home was, unfortunately, not an option for Alastair, as he faced abuse there as well. I could pick several Chain of Iron quotes, but I'll simply go with Chain of Gold's:

“Because I wanted you to have a childhood, a thing I never had. I wanted you to be able to love and respect your father as I never could. Every time he made a mess, who do you think had to clean it up? Who told you Father was ill or sleeping when he was drunk? Who went out and fetched him when he passed out in a gin palace and smuggled him in through the back door? Who learned at ten years old to refill the brandy bottles with water each morning so no one would notice the levels had sunk—?”

So, Alastair did everything he could so he would not need to go home to an abusive environment.

Matthew is, as usual, Alastair's equal and opposite reaction.

"Maybe it's the fact you have everything I want," Matthew snarled [to James]. "And you don't even seem to want it. [...] They will send you home any time you like," Matthew said. "They're trying to drive you away. And no matter what I do, they won't chuck me out. Not the Consul's son. [...] I want to go home, all right?" Matthew snapped. "I want to be with my father!"

The very reason that Alastair cannot go home is the reason that Matthew feels that he absolutely must.

Matthew later muses in Cast Long Shadows:

His papa was the best papa in the world, so Matthew had no opportunity to be cruelly oppressed or sadly neglected.

Matthew's love for his family and perception of them as a kind, nurturing presence makes it impossible for him to understand Alastair. This is true to the point that he empathizes with Elias in his obvious neglect of Alastair at the Academy, stating that if he had "an insufferable toad of a son, and were he blessedly to be sent away to school, [he was] not sure [he] could bring [him]self to blast [his] sight with his visage until the accursed holidays carried him back to [him] again.”

Like with Alastair's bullying being a survival response, it is important to note that Matthew does not have all the information here. And yet, it perpetuates the pattern: Matthew cannot conceptualize the idea of an abusive home.

The irony? Matthew himself is a parentified child, just as Alastair is (though, obviously, without the other layers of purposeful abuse). He just doesn't realize it. Look:

[Parentification] occurs when parents look to their children for emotional and/or practical support, rather than providing it. Hence, the child becomes the caregiver. As a result, parentified children are forced to assume adult responsibilities and behaviors before they are ready to do so. In addition, they do not receive acknowledgment or support for taking on these responsibilities. (Quote from Newport Academy)

And Matthew:

"I have put out fires on my own father's head. My mother is always busy, and Charles Buford is always running after her and acting superior. I'm the one who takes care of my father. I'm the one who listens to him. I didn't want to go away to school and leave him, and I've been doing all I can to get chucked out and go back."

Matthew behaved terribly, refused to do training exercises, and ultimately blew up a part of the school at least in part because he wanted to go back to this situation. Unfortunately, as he has been doing this all his life, it seems normal to him. He doesn't think of it at all beyond loving his father and needing to take care of him.

So Alastair has a terrible relationship with an abusive father. Matthew has an outwardly-great relationship with an absentminded but loving father that he himself does not realize he has a backwards relationship with. Combine that with his mother and brother always being negligent, and we don't have a recipe for a great home situation.

No one notices that there is a problem in either Matthew's or Alastair's case.

Anyway, this brings us to The Incident. Matthew, to Alastair:

“Has no kind soul thought to inform you that your hairstyle is, to use the gentlest words available to me, ill-advised? A friend? Your papa? Does nobody care enough to prevent you from making a spectacle of yourself?"

Matthew didn't intend to hit Alastair where it hurt, but he did nonetheless. Alastair is aware that his father does not love him, or at best has a destructive and abusive 'love' for him. He is aware of and understands his own abuse and parentification. He also understands that no one treats him with care, and Matthew hit the pain button hard.

It's in this moment that Alastair decides to strike Matthew back just as hard. He tells him that he is Gideon Lightwood's bastard, that Henry is not, in fact, his father. Matthew's relationship with Henry, whom he loves as a central tenant of his life, is seemingly called into question.

It is no surprise that he cannot forget. It is no surprise that he, an emotionally volatile boy who literally exploded a wing of the school because of the rage that he had at that comment, may take drastic action to ensure that Henry Fairchild was, in fact, his father.

You can read more on this here, but Alastair became a sort of scapegoat for Matthew after he unwittingly caused his mother's miscarriage. The reason for this is that he, Matthew, simply could not cope with such a heavy burden on his own.

And that's also when the drinking started.

A Noted Handler of Drunks

Alastair is the child of an alcoholic. We see the trauma this has caused him in the earlier quote about wanting Cordelia to have a childhood, but we also see the impact of this in his direct interactions with Elias in Chain of Iron. A couple of examples:

Elias looked at his son. He did not hold out his arms, as he had to Cordelia, but his voice was thick with emotion when he spoke. “Come and greet me, Esfandiyar,” he said. It was Alastair’s middle name. [...] Alastair didn't move.

[Alastair's] father’s face was beet red, and he seemed to have worked himself up into something of a lather. [...] He slammed his hand against the floor.

“Does he—” There was a sharp sound, as of something being knocked off a table, and then the familiar noises of Elias retching. Cordelia could hear Alastair telling James to go, that he would manage it.

But Alastair looked more than long-suffering. His gaze was focused on their father with a barely contained loathing.

This is, of course, far from all of them. We also get an entire Alastair PoV scene where he is grieving in a hard, cold way not only for Elias, but also for his own childhood:

Alastair stood in the parlor, staring blankly out the window at the house next door. He had been watching two little boys playing on the floor of their living room while their mother worked at her embroidery and their father read the newspaper. He could not help but hear his mother’s words as she’d wept, The child will never know his father. Lucky child, he’d said to Cordelia, but under the flippancy, there was a hard, cold sorrow, a sorrow that felt like a blade of ice cutting through him. It was hard to breathe around the loss.

And, as Cassie said at her 2020 St. Louis Chain of Gold panel, Alastair- the child of an alcoholic- has the same level of PTSD as a war veteran.

It is Elias who forced him to grow up at age 10. It is Elias who made him feel worthless. It is Elias who initially abused him, just as it was Elias who sent him off to Shadowhunter Academy to face more abuse. This school abuse was in large part because of Elias's own behavior as well as because of Alastair's brownness (that white Elias failed to consider despite his entire family being made up of PoC). And, as we established, it is Elias's fault that Alastair cannot go home.

Now, Matthew unfairly blames Alastair for something that is squarely the fault of the adult faerie that used him as a tool to try to assassinate the Consul. It is in this moment that Matthew begins his descent into alcoholism:

“That first night,” Matthew said, “after it happened, I took a bottle of whiskey from my parents’ cupboard and drank it. I was vilely sick afterward, but for the first few moments, when it dulled the sharpness of my thoughts and senses, the pain faded. Went away. I felt a lightness of heart, and it is that I have been seeking again and again. That surcease.”

This alcoholism is, in turn, triggering to Alastair, which we can see here (and in many other, smaller places throughout the series):

Alastair’s expression went flat. “You think I would be relieved to hear she’s with Matthew? You think I don’t know a drunk when I see one? Believe me, I do. If he puts Cordelia in harm’s way—”

This begins an endless cycle of conflict. Matthew is angry at Alastair and blames him for the thing that caused him to drink. Alastair is triggered by Matthew's drinking and behaves abrasively. Matthew gets drunker and more upset. Alastair gets more triggered. It is endless, and it's no wonder that they didn't get along.

But Matthew is not like Elias. Cordelia notes that he is not "bitter" as her father is; James notes that, unlike Matthew, Elias cannot handle his alcohol well. Matthew shows none of the aggressive, angry tendencies that Elias does.

And unlike Elias, Matthew eventually begins to do the work necessary to quit drinking. On his own, he:

Realizes that he cannot quit simply because he wants to

Decides and vocalizes that he has a problem that he should work on

Attempts to quit cold-turkey (and fails)

Agrees to drink Christopher's sedative, committing to doing better even though he knows it will be a painful and arduous journey that could literally kill him

All of these are wonderful things to be proud of Matthew for. However, he and his friends have no experience with alcohol withdrawal. Matthew's active propensity for self-harm also leads him to keep bottles to tempt himself, because he believes that he deserves the difficult journey. Because "the suffering is part of the punishment."

Alastair is the only person that could help him here. He has no obligation to, but he does, anyway.

“It isn’t really about seeming drunk, though, is it?” said Alastair, unbuttoning his coat. “My father had to drink, in the end, simply to seem normal.” “I am not your father,” said Matthew frostily. “You are much younger. You have been drinking a much shorter time. Your chances are much better.”

And, before pouring all of Matthew's booze out the window:

"Having all this here is like asking an addict to live in an opium den,” [Alastair] said. “You are never going to be able to drink casually. Alcohol will always mean something to you that it does not mean to other people. Getting rid of this stuff will make it easier. Why not have it be easier?”

This is the beginning of Matthew and Alastair burying the hatchet.

In a way, this makes sense. They are, at the same time, confronting the things that they hate most in the other. Alastair is tackling Matthew's alcoholism head-on despite his own trauma and triggers. Matthew is forced to view Alastair as a person as complex as he himself is, and one that is going out of his way to help him.

In this moment, Matthew is no longer just a drunk to Alastair, and Alastair is no longer a monster to Matthew. It is at this point that they can view each other just as men.

You've Lost Your Hat. I've Lost My Sister!

It's important that we take a look at both Matthew's and Alastair's relationship with the other one's sibling. Alastair secretly dates Charles Fairchild for years; Matthew harbors a desperate passion for Cordelia Carstairs and impulsively runs away with her. Both of these situations end in broken hearts.

Let's first talk about Charles and Alastair.

First, Alastair's birthday would be in the autumn of 1884; Charles' would be early 1879. This means that Charles is nearly 6 years older than Alastair.

I want to preface this by saying that we have received conflicting information regarding this relationship from Clare and from the Shadowhunter canon. She has said that Alastair did not acquaint himself with Charles until 1902, when he was around 17 and Charles was 23. However, she also once said that Alastair picked up the habit of reading mundane papers from Charles, which he was doing in Nothing But Shadows. At this point, Alastair would have been 15 and Charles would have been 21. Charles also says "after these years" in Chain of Gold, so they were obviously together for over a year.

This means there are three possibilities:

Charles and Alastair got together when they were 22/23 and 17 (best case scenario, still gross)

Charles and Alastair got together when they were at most 21 and 15 respectively, which is when Alastair got the habit of reading the papers

Charles and Alastair knew each other when Alastair was 15, likely younger, but did not have sex until they were 22/23 and 17 respectively

None of these situations are ideal.

Charles also is extremely wealthy; he is the son of the current Consul; he is in a powerful political position as the next Consul; his family is not intentionally abusive and would not reject him; he is white; he is well-loved.

Alastair has none of these privileges. He is the son of a disgraced drunk; his family is in a lot of debt (though they do own Cirenworth); he is brown and treated poorly for it; he is very young; he is vulnerable because he comes from an abusive household; his life has very little love and joy in it. He is also gay and probably did not meet any other MLM until Charles showed up.

The relationship itself also appears unhealthy. Charles becomes extremely angry in Chain of Gold when Alastair privately says he loves him, yelling at him never to say that. Alastair immediately asks him why he has come to him if not for sex, making it pretty clear that Charles primarily (if not exclusively) values Alastair for sex. Charles left Alastair alone in Paris to gallivant around by himself and later with Thomas. Charles did not communicate with Alastair about his engagements and placed the blame on him for not taking a bride and not understanding the world.

It does a number on him. We see this in the fact that he becomes physically ill when he looks at Charles in Chain of Iron. We also see this in his future insecurities with Thomas.

In Chain of Thorns, Thomas literally confesses his love to Alastair in multiple languages, has sex with him, sleeps next to him all night, and opts to hang out with him the next day during the battle. Not 12 hours later, Alastair asks Thomas if he actually likes him, saying (to Thomas's reassurance that he cared) that

"'[That] was the sort of thing Charles always said. ‘I care for you, I have feelings for you.’ Never just ‘I love you—’ "

But luckily, Thomas loves all of Alastair, not just the 'palatable' parts. Thomas loves Alastair as he deserves to be loved.

Charles and Alastair had a very lopsided, abusive, and disgustingly underage grooming-type relationship. It was harmful to Alastair and obviously did a long-term number on him, but he bore it because he was lonely and accepting the love that he thought he deserved.

Now let's talk about Cordelia and Matthew.

Cordelia Carstairs is not a harmful person. She is no Charles Fairchild. However, Matthew seems to use her- and his passion for her- to harm himself. Note that none of this is Cordelia's fault, nor is it on her to be Matthew's salvation. But Matthew sees in her an escape, a sort of saving grace.

She is an outsider; this makes her someone that he can tell his secret to. She does not reject him, which further cements her into the "good" category of people that Matthew feels safe with.

Matthew hates himself and self-harms by self-medicating. His passion for Cordelia is similar to that; she is the single most unattainable person ever for him. She is his parabatai's wife, one that he knows is already in love with James. But he touches the fire because it burns him, because it makes him feel something.

It's also curious that Matthew leaves Cordelia at the end of the book, and that the book itself notes that they did not become closer after the final battle concluded:

[T]hat closeness she had felt with him in Paris was gone, the sense of how well they understood one another. Paradoxically, Matthew had only grown closer to James, and to Thomas, and even Alastair.

Matthew is essentially quitting Cordelia in the same way that he quit drinking. He needs time and distance; he needs to stop getting near that fire so he can heal.

It's also very interesting to note what "Paris" is to Alastair vs Matthew.

In Chain of Iron, Matthew says:

“I was going to Paris because it seemed to me James finally understood what he had, being married to you—and I was glad, only I also knew I could not bear to see it. I thought in Paris I might forget. In Paris, one forgets everything.”

Matthew also treats Paris as a sort of salvation, a magical place where he no longer will be constrained by the self-blame and self-hate that plague him:

“Matthew,” she said. “In Paris, will you be able to forgive yourself?” He smiled at that—a real smile; his face lit up, and Cordelia could not help but think that it was a face that would open any door in Paris to them. “In Paris,” he said, “I shall be able to forgive all the world.”

And, simply:

"In Paris we can be whomever we wish.”

Matthew views Paris as some sort of magical place, removed from the problems of everyday life. It is a place to forgive and forget. It is the best place on earth. It can bring out all the good in you. It's a wish of a place.

It's disconnected and dreamlike.

This is exactly what Alastair found in Paris without even looking for it.

The whole trip had seemed disconnected and dreamlike. Alastair had come from nowhere and now returned to nowhere, and Thomas had no idea when they would next see each other, or how they would act when they did.

Indeed,

Alastair had not asked Thomas about his friends or his family. Thomas hadn’t asked Alastair, either. For these days it had been as though nobody else existed in the entire world.

Thomas and Alastair find this escape in Paris. It was completely removed from their everyday life, and they were both allowed to only be themselves. It was Thomas and Alastair, and they were together, and they never spoke of it again until Chain of Iron, when they only spoke of it when they were alone together.

It's ironic on a storytelling level that this is the one thing Matthew wanted that Alastair got. Even when Alastair views Matthew as the embodiment of everything that he wishes he were, he was the one who got a magical wish of a time in Paris. And Matthew never knew.

Love People Have Denied Themselves

At this point we've established the ways that Alastair and Matthew are trauma-mirrors. We also have established the ways that they each use the other's sibling as an unhealthy balm for those traumas.

Now, I would like to take a look at the ways that they respond to that trauma more generally.

Both characters are scared because they feel that their own trauma responses will be a burden on those around them.

As a result, Alastair has become a fortress. He lets no one in besides his sister (who he aims to protect), his mother (who seems to view him as a sort of co-conspirator), Charles (who abuses him), and eventually Thomas (praise be!) We'll talk about Thomas a lot in the coming sections.

But first:

Matthew, on the other hand, puts on something that I like to call his Sunshine Armor. I deeply relate to this quality in Matthew, actually. He acts happy, lighthearted, and carefree to hide the fact that he is, in fact, in pain. He does this even before he begins drinking. In Cast Long Shadows he literally puts on a Smile, puts on his flashy clothing, calls himself a "waste of space in a waistcoat," and goes out to charm and amuse while pondering his personal failings and how he is likely a bad parabatai.

It's also so ingrained in the character that it's part of his physical appearance:

[Matthew's eyes] were such a dark green that they fooled people, except when light struck the dark a certain way and the depths flashed emerald. Like the rest of him, his eyes were a trick.

And now, he believes that "drink makes [him] amusing" in Chain of Gold. He believes that it makes him charming and likeable, which we see in Chain of Thorns when he tells James that he doesn't know who he will be after he sobers up.

"I know what I’d be doing at an ordinary party,” he said. “Floating about, being entertaining. [...] Being witty and charming. Or at least, I thought I was witty and charming. Without the alcohol, I…” His voice sank. “It’s like I’m watching clockwork dolls in a child’s dollhouse, acting out their parts. Nothing seems real. Or perhaps I am the one who is not real.”

Matthew believes himself to be, in some way, flawed. He believes himself to be unlovable.

This is one way in which he and Alastair are eerily similar. In fact, it is the initial thing that Matthew finds to relate to Alastair in:

Matthew’s eyes opened. “Is he—are you two—?” “He won’t agree to be with me,” said Thomas quietly. “But not out of unkindness. He thinks he would be bad for me. I think… in some way… he believes he does not deserve to be happy. Or perhaps it is that he is unhappy, and he believes it is a sort of contagion that might spread.” “I understand that,” Matthew said, a little wonderingly. “How much love people have denied themselves through the ages because they believed they did not deserve it. As if the waste of love is not the greater tragedy.”

Alastair's main internal conflict throughout TLH is that he believes himself to be unlovable because of his past mistakes. This is no surprise; in fact, it is the only thing that makes sense. His father was a monster to him for at least a decade. The other students at school beat him until he became something he did not want to be. The main group of characters in TLH- including those like Anna who do not know him- continuously villainize him despite his many attempts to apologize.

So, it's no surprise that he believes himself to be "dangerous and bad" for Thomas at the end of Chain of Iron.

Unlike Matthew, who does not like to be alone and finds a way to charm and amuse and remain extraverted and connected, Alastair self-isolates. He does not wish to subject those around him to his company, as we initially see in Chain of Iron when he does not want to go to social events and avoids places that he knows others in the Enclave will be gathering.

This issue persists throughout Chain of Thorns and is a core part of his plotline:

"The person most standing between Alastair and happiness is Alastair himself. He is brave, and loyal, and his heart—” [Thomas] found himself blushing. “I suppose I wish Alastair would treat himself as he deserves to be treated.”

Alastair also admits this later:

"You [Thomas] said that you wish I would treat myself as I deserve to be treated. The thing is, that’s exactly what I was doing. I was denying myself the thing I wanted more than anything else in the world because I didn’t believe I deserved it.”

Everything Exactly the Way That It Is

So, we come to the core question of both Matthew's and Alastair's existence, the one that they both clearly play over and over in their heads every night. Matthew finally vocalizes it, rather heartbreakingly, in Chain of Thorns:

"Am I so hard to love?"

The narrative clearly (correctly) believes that both of these characters are worth loving, but their conclusions look very different.

Matthew is positioned as a character who hates himself despite being surrounded by others who love him. He keeps his Great Sin a secret to retain that love. Note that this is a way that Matthew, like Alastair, is closed off. He keeps this one occurrence to himself. Alastair, then, is positioned as a character who does not have loved ones surrounding him despite his constant attempts to do better.

In creating this curious effect, Clare makes Matthew a character who does not need a romantic conclusion. His arc does not necessitate this interpersonal connection or intimacy, because he is already loved. Instead, Matthew's arc needs to be resolved with self-love, self-care, and compassion for himself.

In fact, a romantic conclusion would have proven unsatisfying for Matthew. It's critical that he spends some time alone, especially since this was set up when he initially attempted to go to Paris alone before Cordelia came along. His departure from London, and from those in it, has been shown as a necessity ever since Chain of Iron.

This is especially true at the end as Matthew undoubtedly still has feelings for Cordelia:

“Daisy.” He turned to her in surprise. “I care about you still. I always will, in some part of my heart, and James knows that; but I am happy you are together."

Distance is necessary, and because Matthew no longer is a servant to the bottle of his Great Sin, he is free to be a wandering spirit. He is free to do "mad, wonderful, colorful things," get to know himself sober, and chase joy in that way. Romance would be yet another thing to tether him in one place at this point in time; he needs freedom for a while, to get to know Matthew Fairchild.

On the other hand...

Clare also positions Alastair as a character who must experience love and intimacy in order to have a satisfying conclusion to his arc. Matthew must improve in his own eyes; Alastair must see himself in another's to understand that he is already capable of love and forgiveness and opening up.

Thomas provides him with this. He obviously likes Alastair's biting wit; his pain does not scare him off. "I need to breathe" does not scare him off or make him think less of Alastair. Because Thomas has always seen the good in Alastair, even when he was not showing it; Thomas "like[d] his nonsense" at school and now:

It was as if [Alastair] had been locked in a room, and Thomas had opened the door: Alastair now seemed to feel free to express the love and affection for his friends and family he had always tamped down and hidden away.

Essentially, Matthew and Alastair are mirrors whose pain, trauma, and healing journeys reflect each other. However, their healing- the ways that they will find grace and delight and joy- are astronomically different.

But it's breathtakingly beautiful.

The wild boy who has always been tied to one place, by secrets and by love and by bitterness and by addiction, is finally completely free. Free to wander and roam and laugh loudly and lose himself to adventure. Free to fall in love with himself, the "beginning of a lifelong romance" per Oscar Wilde.

And the worldly wanderer, an eternal traveler who has never had a real home where felt safe and loved, finally got that. Finally got to build a home with someone gentle who loves him "more than anything." Finally gets stability and security and hard-won happiness.

I am so incredibly happy for them both.

taglist (lmk if you want to be added/removed): @staywildefairchild @s0urlemons262 @belle-keys @coriia @drunkonimagination @alastaircarstairsismybff @vwritesaus @claritywithclary

[carnation-damnation]

Do you think the Werehog reacts to blow driers the same way Huskies do? (If you don't know what that is like, look up "Girl with the Dogs" or any Husky Grooming session.)

I think werehog Sonic acts much like his day-time counterpart, so I believe the real question is "does sonic the hedgehog hate blowdryers??" I think we're forgetting this is Sonic the Flamboyant-Hog here

I think he enjoys it :)

[bobbybutterfly]

More Mulmancho fanart because you can never have enough of this evil mouse!

My break from furries didn’t last very long now did it? To be fair though I did begin this picture before I made and finished the previous post. I’m quite happy I found Mulmancho. It’s fun dressing up this little guy. He’s either dark academia or as in this picture military goth. Or super flamboyant Dorian Electra type stuff. It’s up to you.

I came across this aesthetic when doing K-pop inspired pictures of Squirrel and Hedgehog characters. I have minimal knowledge of K-pop so I just typed in K-pop outfits into Pinterest and drew the pictures with cool outfits and poses.

Think I should check out Ateez now because most of the pictures I used were of them.

Mulmancho doesn’t appear in my Super Secret Project. Unless you want to head cannon that the mouse that captured Geumseagi in the first episode was Mulmancho. Which thinking about it now, it could be a cool cameo. More work? Oh yeah!

But for the most part this was just a distraction from the main project. Though I did do some research on traditional Korean funerals so I will be resuming work on the script. It was interesting to see that they really don’t do funerals in the series. The most you see is that time Mulmancho’s brothers thought he died and so they set up a little shrine with food for him.

And with that I will leave you for today. I woke up really early today and can barely keep my eyes open.

Also check out this outfit! Just look at that black cape!

Bobby out!

[bugswapau]

A Handy-Dandy Guide to the Cast’s Regional Dialects

A couple people have asked me how the cast would sound in the AU. So, I figured I’d give my go on how I imagine the cast would sound! Bare in mind I don’t know Literally Every Regional Dialect In The World, so I might word things wrong. It’s a bit of a long tangent, so I’ll put it under the read-more to spare everyone’s dashes of my accent jargon.

Filbo: In the base game, he has a General American English dialect (to avoid repeating over and over again, a General American English dialect means a pretty standard American accent with no real quirks here or there). I imagine in this AU, he sounds the same.

Ripley: I actually made a video on my primary Bugsnax blog about what I imagine my OCs would sound like, Ripley included. My voice claim for them is Haley Joel Osment, so hopefully that gives a good idea of what they’d sound like!

Triffany: In the base game, Triffany has a fairly pronounced and noticeable Midwest accent (I'd say a mix of Minnesota and Milwaukee-Wisconsin accent). I think she would have a slightly gruffer accent in AU, something closer to a Boston or New Jersey dialect. It would probably match her tougher, more cynical personality.

Cromdo: In the base game, Cromdo has a thick ‘Eyyy-I’m-Walkin’-Here New Jersey/New York accent. It would go unchanged in the AU.

Wiggle: I’ll be honest and admit I haven’t the foggiest idea what you’d classify Wiggle’s accent to be. Sure, it’s a posh-sounding dialect, but which dialect specifically is beyond me. British? Californian? Beats me. Either way, I imagine she’d sound about the same, maybe a little softer.

Gramble: In the base game, Gramble has a southern accent. More specifically, he has a mid-southern Cajun accent. In the AU, he’d sound about the same, albeit it a posh sort of flamboyance to it (I’d say something similar to Dolly Parton).

Wambus: Like Gramble, he also has a southern accent, but specifically an Appalachian accent. In the AU, he’d sound about the same.

Beffica: In the base game, Beffica has a classic Californian “valley girl” accent, and it’s no different in the AU. It’s all about the brand recognition, baby!

Chandlo: Like Beffica, Chandlo also has a Californian dialect, but more similar to a “surfer”/“dudebro” sort of accent. But surprisingly, in the AU, it’s a lot different. I wanted to give him an accent that was European like Snorpy’s, but still has that Californian edge. The easiest answer? SCOTTISH. Tragically, I have no idea how to write Scottish dialogue, so just imagine his dialogue with a Scottish accent.

Snorpy: Snorpy is an inverse on Chandlo’s accent change. Instead of a Californian becoming European, he’s a European (more specifically, a British person) becoming Californian. He’d sound pretty similar to Sonic the Hedgehog (who, coincidentally, his voice actor played too), but with more maturity behind his voice.

Shellsy: As Shellsy isn’t doing the whole “Shelda” jargon in this AU, she’d have the dialect she does in the parts of the game where she breaks character (which I have to assume is also American General English? But I could be wrong).

Flooftix: When in character, Floofty maintains their canonical British accent, only heavily exaggerated. But out of character, they drop the accent, having a similar Californian dialect to Snorpy.

Lizbert: In the base game, Lizbert has a rough Australian accent. In the AU, I imagine it’d be downplayed, almost British-sounding, to match her more reserved personality.

Eggabell: Last but not least, Eggabell! She has a American General English accent, and it’d stay the same in the AU.

So, there you have it! If you need resources on how to write the cast’s dialogue, or even how to portray it in comic dubs, now you know! Hope this is of help.

[dansnaturepictures]

March end of month post 3 of 3: Ten of my favourite wildlife photos I took this month of; Mediterranean Gull at Hayling Island, Lapwing at Pennington, Mel the Peregrine at Winchester Cathedral, Marsh Harrier and Roe Deers at Testwood Lakes a key species seen a lot for me this month, Cetti's Warbler at Fishlake Meadows, Red Admiral at Lakeside Country Park, Great Spotted Woodpecker at Lepe, Grey Squirrel at Lakeside and spider at home.

March was another amazing birdwatching month for me as springtime birds coming into my year such as many Mediterranean Gulls seen, Blackcap and Razorbill mixed perfectly with valuable time with winter birds that I've had a great season for such as Brent Goose, Wigeon and Redwing. Mesmerising owls Little Owl at Portland and Short-eared Owl at Keyhaven, Jack Snipe, Linnet, Sand Martin, Purple Sandpipers, Shag, Gannet and Knot were other stellar additions to my year this month as my year list thrived being in positions in terms of numbers on dates that only my record year list of last year could better which was brilliant. Marsh Harrier and Cetti's Warbler two birds I've had an extraordinary year for so far kept on giving with many wonderful experiences hearing and seeing them in March. Other standout birds this month included Ruff, Greenshank, Avocet, Lapwings, Oystercatcher, Golden Plover, Curlews, Water Rail, Moorhen, Great White Egret, Great Northern Diver, Eider, Pintail, Gadwall, Song Thrush, Dunnock, Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Long-tailed Tit, Lesser Redpoll, Mistle Thrush, Ring-necked Parakeet, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, loads of Chiffchaffs being about a treat to the eyes and ear and Red Kite. It was a true honour to witness Winchester Cathedral's Peregrines in very dramatic times as newbie Mel killed longstanding female Winnie in a scuffle as well as Great Crested Grebes at Lakeside elegantly courting and the stunning humbug chicks of one pair emerging. With me upgrading my camera this month it's been great exploring with it and in particular it's really good for birds in flight so that's been a strong theme this month.

I had a fabulous butterfly month too seeing Red Admiral, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Brimstones and Speckled Wood in the extremely exciting early spring days as these flamboyant insects enter nature's stage. It was great to see bees a lot this month too as well as crane flies and spiders and Grey Silverfish at home. Fallow Deer, Wood Mouse and thrilling views out the front at home of Hedgehog and bats have been other mammal highlights.

On Friday night and last night the other parts of these end of month posts posted about flowers and fungi and landscapes for me this month. Happy Easter all and wishing you a great April.

[kitkatopinions]

New RWBY ep (for once not two days behind.) Criticisms and praise below the keep reading

Praise

The theme song is starting to grow on me. It's got a bit of Sonic-vibes? Like Adventure 1 and 2 Crush 40 stuff, which is my business. It's not as good and there's something off about the sound mixing and Casey's vocals could be better, but it's starting to grow on me.

Weiss's reactions to the Red Prince kind of make sense to me lol. She's dealt with pompous rich people her whole life and I feel like both her sense of superiority that we still see at times and her probably projecting Jacques (and to a lesser extent, Whitley) onto this little red prince but with none of the history makes her treating him like an annoying pest at the start very in character.

I'm digging the suspenseful music that plays during the 'describe the rules' and the start of the chess match. And I love the concept of Ruby being forced to play as chessmaster, with the lives of her friends on the line. I also like that a lot of Ruby's soldiers on the board are already beaten up and busted. It gets across that the game isn't necessarily fair early on (which is good because in war and in the war in Remnant, not everything is always going to be 'fair.')

I also like Ruby's worried and panicked expression as she sits at the chessboard. She's treating this seriously.

Weiss's little bow is so cute.

Yang's little Sonic the Hedgehog style grin is also cute.

The animators are doing what they can to carry this volume in terms of facial expressions and getting across emotion when they can. Some of the choices aren't so good, but moments like these are (as far as the animation goes.)

While there are elements of it I don't like just from this brief listen, the OK Goodnight song in this episode sounds like it's pretty good and the kind of song I'd willingly seek out to listen to. That's a great improvement from my complete disinterest and dislike in the majority of the music from the last two seasons where I didn't actually like a single track. Looking forward to hearing more.

I kind of... Dig the cat sometimes? Obviously it's uncreative in its concept and I wish it was more humanoid and just based off of the Chesire Cat instead of actually being a cat and some of its 'random' lines are annoying and stupid, but. There's an element of creepiness to it that I wish they'd done more of, but is nice to see. His "Promises are like birds. They taste great, but always escape." *Leans in super close to Ruby's ear.* "You should go. Before he changes his mind." The voice acting is good, and hopefully after the writers are done trying their hand at humor with the cat, it takes on more elements of the cat from Coraline.

The loud sound effects for things like Ruby landing on the wall are good, they add an element of suspense to an otherwise not very suspenseful moment.

Neo fell like a comet and it looked fucking radical. I don't think she meant to turn into Ruby and Cinder? Or for her semblance to change and provide her with doubles? But I think it's cool. A bit campy, but cool. And I think Neo expressing her rage at Cinder and Ruby both by transforming into them was cool and a good way to establish her current angry mindset.

Criticisms

Yang: "Are we sure we should do this?" Ruby: "The Red King helped Alyx." I sure wish there was a way for us to know the actual story of Alyx In Wonderland in canon because all I know is that Alyx defeated the Red King at a board game, so Ruby being like "he helped her" has me immediately kind of frustrated. I do not know what to anticipate because it's like they're making up the details of this rip off Wonderland book while they're writing each episode. Why couldn't they have said that Alyx 'got help from the red king after defeating him in a board game' last ep?

Immediately no on the Red Prince btw. I know he's meant to be annoying, but I thought I might have a chance to like this character (my history of liking flamboyant posh spoiled rich kids is vast,) and instead he's just another annoying character in a volume filled with annoying characters.

Blake is so... Weird this season. I feel like she's so far removed from who she was in this first five volumes that trying to compare her to Blake of the past is pointless at this time, but she's even more different than ever this season and the "happy birthday" moment really just drives that home. I feel like if I picture Velvet doing everything she does, it makes more sense to me.

Also I'm not saying that Yang and Weiss's attitudes don't make sense, but they really aren't helping anything and I'm getting kind of annoyed with their "I'm too tired for this, I'm pissed off at everything, I'm gonna act like all of this is just too lame for me" kind of behavior. It's not helpful and it's getting boring. Ruby and Blake are at least trying, and the other two can't even be bothered to put on a happy tone for two seconds if it means they might get to go home to help the refugees being attacked by Grimm after suddenly losing everything and getting launched into Vacuo, the place Salem is likely to attack next.

Weiss: "Did I used to be this unbearably pompous?" Maybe not to that extent, Weiss, but you were horrible in other ways, soooo.....

Wait wait wait... So the toy block soldiers get hauled off into the bushes and beheaded, two seconds after them and the red prince were played for comedy by the way, and the reactions from Team RWBY are

There's no reason for us or Team RWBY to think these block guys aren't sentient feeling people, there's no reason for us to think that they aren't really dead, and Team RWBY just moves on immediately? No 'you can't do that?' No pulling out their weapons? No questioning whether or not they should fight this monster beheading his people for the crime of making something the wrong color (real creative of the rwby writers btw /s.) They just... Move on? No questions asked? God, when did these characters become so... Lifeless? Even if we say they're trying to stay on the red prince's good side, they don't talk about it? They don't have a moment of upset where the hot-headed Yang or the compassionate Ruby or the once-feisty-and-justice-driven Blake or even the so-done-she-can't-manage-a-smile Weiss so much as say "hey" or "what was that for?" Ruby literally said "How could you" when the red prince tossed aside green glass but barely reacts with anger, sadness, or surprise when he kills people? Yeah, I know she has an emotional attachment to that barely used in the show so far weapon because it was Penny's, but it's two people's lives she's pretty much ignoring here.

The Red Prince: *Smirking darkly while pointedly refusing to tell Ruby that no one will be hurt during his game, heavily implying that this game is to the death or at least to the injury.* The music: *Suspenseful and foreboding.* Ruby, in an uncertain and serious tone: "Uh, can you... Advance one space forward, please?" The little pawn on the board:

Soooo the pawns aren't taking this seriously, they're taking a swing and then relaxing as they get carried away in stretchers. The stakes for this got lowered by three hundred times and watching it, I no longer felt that much suspense. Sure Blake, Weiss, or Yang might get injured, but they're not going to die or get knocked out for the count in episode three, so I'm not that worried.

But wait, there's no reason to believe the Red Prince's red pawns are evil or non-sentient, and WBY are attacking them with a smile at Ruby's command? Bit weird, right? Why aren't Team RWBY trying to avoid needless harm or at least frowning when they're forced to harm things? Ruby seems to be the only person taking this seriously.

"We want to go home, and we believe the tree can get us there." The suspenseful music stops playing. Ruby's voice changes to a completely different tone as she says "Yang, you're up." Fun music starts up. Yang starts Wreck-It-Ralph-style punching Pawns. All in like two seconds flat. Guys, try to ease into your tone change! It's jarring!

"Blake is a faunus... And the rest of us are human." Guys, I seethe with rage every time the writers of this show act like Blake is a different species of creature than the others rather than a different race of human. Every time they refer to Blake or other Faunus as not human it is literally DEHUMANIZING. They literally will say "Blake is not human" and "Faunus aren't human!"

More angelic imagery with Weiss, which I don't like. How are Team RWBY even kind of struggling with these toy soldiers? By all accounts they seem very weak. And the combat... While it isn't Volume 5 levels of bad, it also just isn't isn't good. Combat in RWBY hasn't been that good since volume three, and it's a real shame. I want to like it, but I just can't. Also even when the pawns seem to be taking this slightly more seriously, I feel like it just isn't well done still.

The moving through the Red Prince's castle is so... No. It's like right out of Phineas and Ferb's Across the 2nd Dimension. I liked when Ruby hit the wall and reacted to that, I think they should've kept that without knocking it up to eleven immediately. And they didn't react to it? Ruby wasn't like "one minute I was on the floor, then I was on the ceiling I think, then it was this twisty ramp and the soldiers were right there but they were on other floors?! Upside down?!" Like, yeah, in the moment, she was just running, there wasn't time to ask questions while she was running, but then she stops running and is like "I didn't beat the chess game :(" When wacky stuff breaks all the rules of the universe they're used to, they should... You know. React to it.

Also

Ruby's flower petals had barely disappeared by the time the soldiers were walking over the trapdoor, and this looks like a long hall. How did they not see her jump into it?

Also also, why is it that the mice attacked Blake because specifically her ears and only her ears resembled a cat, but Little barely reacts at all to the presence of the Chesire Cat?

The Cat: "Times change, you know. And so do we when it's our time to change... Don't you?" *Ruby and the team get engulfed by a bright light and suddenly find themselves in a clearing outside.* Me: "Wow the cat just teleported them? They're going to take this time - the most obvious time - to ask about the cat's magic or react vocally to the fact that really freaky stuff like instant teleportation or gravity changes is going on or talk about how dangerous it is that WBY are small or ask the cat what the hell he's talking about, or say that all this wackiness being in the Alyx in Wonderland book is something they knew but it's all still really weird for them to go through in real life or something like that." Yang: "There was a Red King!" Blake: "But something's changed since then." That's what... We already knew that, guys! Didn't they already come to that conclusion earlier? Why - what - the dialogue in this season is so badly written.

Weiss: "Great, so we're not in the stupid story after all." Me: "They're going to take this moment - the most obvious moment - to talk about how they probably didn't just blue skadoo into the pages of a book and that this place might be an afterlife or another world and Alyx or the author must've gone through this and gotten back to Remnant and the fairy tale is just based on that story and that it isn't even like the story they know because everything is clearly different and also maybe express concern about the tyrant beheading people considering that there's no reason to think the world they're in is fake or that the stakes don't matter because it isn't just fiction (for them) and they're clearly in a real place where people have real feelings." Weiss: "We're in its stupid sequel." ... Close enough.

Could Little stop being annoying for three seconds? I want to kick this mouse into the sun like it's a little dog named Teacup

Weiss: "What is the deal with this cat? Can't anyone here be normal?" Blake: "That's not just any cat! When Alyx was lost, she met the Curious Cat who loved to ask questions!" Yang: "And the Curious Cat helped Alyx find the tree!" They're... They're only just now realizing that's the Curious Cat? Guys, if I had gotten transported into a book I'd read enough as a kid or was culturally well known enough that I could recall details about the plot as a nineteen year old, why would I not be able to recognize a character like that? Especially one so fucking iconic looking! This isn't getting transported into Narnia and meeting a little girl and because she looks like any old little girl not realizing right away that it's Lucy Pevensie. This is basically like getting to Narnia and seeing a big old lion breathing life into trees and telling you he's the real king of the whole wood and talking about the deep magic and then ten minutes later being like "Oh shit are you Aslan?" This is quite literally like getting transported into a world like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and seeing a grinning cat gradually disappearing while offering confusing conversation and then ten minutes later being like "Wait that wasn't just any cat, that was the Chesire Cat!" I am reeling.

All in all, this episode was better than the other two, but still really lacking imo. I give it a four out of seven. I didn't laugh once, didn't feel emotional once, but they got a couple of grins and a bit of suspense out of me.

[franki-lew-yo]

If I had to make a definitive listing of the 12 disciples of "Sexyman-dom" I would go with

Anakin Skywalker (brood, sad, angerman incel)

Gene Wilder's Willie Wonka (supposed to be wholesome but uncomfy yet still whimsical)

Severus Snape (Anakin Skywalker but reheated)

Zuko (For cartoon fans and children)

Jack Skellington (the look, the vibe and the story notes all - peak sexyman)

Erik the Phantom of the Opera (another broody, sad incel)

Loki

Starscream (not in either of these fandoms at all tbh but I know the deal with this character in Loki and all I can say is: yeah that tracks)

Bill Cypher (object face, more derectly villainous reality warper)

Onceler (need I say more)

Sans (winner of the hunger games, obv, but also where the 'morally abstract' vibe really flourishes)

...? Idk. Somewhere between Shadow the Hedgehog, Mewtwo, one of the Death Note guys, Snow Miser or the Joker

This isn't to say that Alastor, Louis, Black Hat and others aren't 'definitive' sexymen, but they're specific to tumblr fandom culture of the 2010s. I think to really begin cracking the code you have to go in DEEP and look at classical male ensemble darkhorses w varying degrees of dark-but-lightheartedness and then combined that with the flamboyant chessmaster mustache twirlers to begin looking at at truly discerning the WORLD's definition of "sexyman"...

[bitter-sweet-coffee]

infinite may like pretty skirts and dressing like a whore but you need to understand he is the man in the relationship he’s just very flamboyant. he’s still the tall muscular mercenary husband to babygirl shadow the hedgehog who is both his sugar daddy and his trust fund pillow princess (they’re lesbians)

[cxffeeshxp]

“ 🔥 “ Sonic the Hedgehog

~ Feel like people get too hung up and fight over their preferred personality for Sonic when we all should just enjoy our shared love for this blue flamboyant blorbo. Where is his extroverted, introverted, smart-ass, or a cucks Tails, still can't fucking believe that shit, he is still our blue speedy boy.

[subiysu-chan]

Subyss ---Chart

Name: Subyss (Soubise in French)

Profession: Questionnaire du Parlement de Paris

Age: (headcanon based on clues) 38 to 58...However, he would be closer to 35 for interactions set during the first volume. 

Hair color: Black

Eye color: (headcanon) Dark cherry (if Charles can have occasionally grey-purple eyes and complexion on some covers, than surely Subyss can have dark cherry eyes)

Complexion: (headcanon)Very pale and ashy with dark circles having brown and red tones. 

Tattoos: One on his cheek, that he would occasionally touch up with ink-based makeup to keep the edges sharp. I also imagine he would have a hedgehog tattoo on his back and a cross right where his heart is. 

Personality: Subyss is not mentally healthy nor moral to say the least. He’s someone devoted body and soul to the “art” of torture. He’s deeply attached to his dynasty of torturers. But the main trait of his personality is his sadism, he expresses in almost all interactions. He’s both physically and verbally cruel, sometimes to the point of violating common sense. He’s addicted to sadistic pleasure and would drown his sorrow in alcohol if he doesn’t have victims. Subyss’ sense of self is deeply attached to him being a torturer and again, is devoted to this practice. He’s an artist who expresses his talent and creativity by breaking the human body. Being torture-addled, Subyss is by no means intelligent. He would tell someone he interrogates why they should not give him the information he seeks, would believe confessions extracted under torture, would bully someone who is his hiearchical superior and would run into a dangerous crowd while in a position of vulnerability (that he inflicted on himself by drinking himself to a stupor). He’s a man of many addiction, and his mind is almost always addled. Despite this, he still have enough consciousness to know what he is doing is wrong on some level, and is able to acknowledge humanitarian qualities when he sees them, as well as noticing social trends, provided that when he isn’t too addled, he is (occasionally) capable of some introspection and intelligent thoughts. He is also capable of getting some social cues, although he mostly uses that knowledge to hurt people. He’s somewhat of a dark empath, just a really dumb one. Subyss is also someone who is very impulsive, quick to change his mind and he’s attention is easily diverted. He gets also quite angry when people contradict his perceived authority and is someone who seem to enjoy attention and overall, shows certain symptoms of Histrionic Personality disorder. He’s influenceable, theatrical, flamboyant, prone to intense but shallow emotions that rapidly swing and is overly touchy and seductive. 

Qualities: Devoted, introspective and charismatic. Must have some medical knowledge, otherwise Damien would not have survived these two months. 

Flaws: Sadistic, cruel, impulsive, immature, bullying addicted to both torture and alcohol and overly sickly, mentally speaking.

In the manga, he’s present for only a few chapters, but he is still very memorable for all his cruelty, idiocy and flamboyance. We first are introduced to him as the man who tortured Damien for two months. Later, he’s shown to be a little of an exposition character and a running joke. 

[scumbag-the-hedgehog]

Give us Scourge and Fiona's kid. We want a prince of Moebius!

IF THEY HAD A KID MEME

Name: Reynard Gender: Non-Binary (He/They) General appearance: A hedgehog with slightly vulpine features, especially around the muzzle. (Mobian genetics are weird). Mustard yellow quills and fur. Always wears a huge duster they love to sweep around for dramatic effect. Personality: An ego the size of the moon. Aspires to be seen by others as a supervillain. Arrogant, scheming, boisterous, and vindictive. Also a bit flamboyant and dramatic. Special talents: A speedster who's taken an interest in science, especially of the "chaos energy and killer robots" varieties. This is mostly used to build giant mechs and other over-the-top weapons. Who they like better: He's engrossed in his father's image as a conqueror feared throughout the zones, and as such it's pretty clear that he's always trying to please him first and foremost - though let it never be said he doesn't dote on his mother and listen to whatever she says. Who they take after more: Oh, the poor kid took after Scourge hard, though considering Scourge actually pays attention to them, they're less of a mess than their father was, even with the "supervillainy." Personal Headcanon: He's a test tube baby! Since Fiona's trans, Scourge compelled Kintobor into sending over all of the equipment for him and his girl to have a child of their own.

[cosmicalily]

Stray Kids as things my friends have said...part 2 ;)

"He chose climate change! He's worried about the polar bears! Leave him ALONE!" - Chan

"ME! I want to waste all my money!" - Minho

"PLEASE don't become a VSCO girl. There's a reason that population died out." - Changbin

"Sonic the hedgehog. It's like Meghan Thee Stallion, but a hedgehog!" - Hyunjin

"I am homeless and have cancer give me a PS5." - Jisung

"I wanna sit on the heater. In the heater. Near the heater." - Felix

"If someone hits you, kill their mother." - Seungmin

"Is 'flamboyant' a good word to use?" - Jeongin

[heavythread]

Dorian Electra Released Fanfare!!! 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

I don’t like it that much

Okay I’ll be more in depth in a sec, but overall I think it’s a couple steps down from My Agenda, which sucks, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad!

I think the biggest appeal to this album specifically is not knowing what’s going to come next while still sticking to that marching motif, however because of that, after a listen or two it starts getting old. I already know what’s going to come next and the songs aren’t as great as their other albums to keep me coming back. There are some exceptions of course, but overall, while after the first listen or two I would immediately rate it an 8-8.5, the lack of an urge to listen to any song on their own is definitely a problem. They also go for a lot of spoken word/lax singing which isn’t a bad thing for a song or two! The issue is that a good 80% of the songs have those type of vocals, which wouldn’t be a problem if they weren’t SO GOOD at singing and belting! I really wanted to like this more, especially since My Agenda is one of my favorite albums of all time, but it’s just not as good as their previous records, which sucks.

It sounds like I’m bashing this but that doesn’t mean it’s bad! I actually still really like it! I think the nu metal inspirations on a couple tracks are sick as fuck (I’m a sucker for nu metal hyperpop so that’s a fault in my programming 🥳) and Lifetime’s instrumental sounds like something from the Shadow The Hedgehog (2005) ost which is always a good thing. Other than the singles in the first half, the second half would’ve been much stronger if it wasn’t for the weak landing at the end. This is also the longest record in Dorian’s discography which is always nice for hyperpop! Usually with the 20-30 minute run times it can feel a bit short and make you wanting more, but with the 41 minute runtime of the record it feels like the perfect amount of this genre(?? At this point it’s hard to call it a single genre). All in all I would confidently say that this record is good! But not great like my agenda and flamboyant.

Overall I think it’s like a 7/10. Not bad but definitely their weakest album.

My favorite track is linked to this post! My least favorite track is either Freak Mode or Wanna Be a Star. The album can fluctuate from a 10/10 track to a 2/10 immediately which is something I didn’t mention in my main paragraphs, but it is a big problem.