#give me the introspection

[guardianhyren]

Thanks to this one Black Clover fic I read forever ago where Hage wasn’t really all that great to Asta but he put on a brave face because no one would believe him; I have this overwhelming urge to read/write SOMETHING where Asta/Magic Knights finds a magicless village (for whatever reason) and they don’t like it but Asta has finally found people he can belong with and this one lines between Asta and Yuno plays in my head on repeat like a broken record:

Yuno: Why the hell do you care so much?!

Asta: Maybe because for once in my life I’m not the freak!

[joonboree]

Stan's strong brain theory

I was watching the Gravity Falls panel at this year's new York comic con and (this) one part stood out to me in particular. It's about 2 minutes long. (but you know watch the whole panel if you can it's so fun)

It feeds into a silly theory I had about Stanley. That he's got some zen like control over his own mind/consciousness that even he might not understand but at the very least it makes him stronger against Bill. (Last episode spoilers)

Evidence I have for this is:

1) In dreamscapers the way he just knew he was talking to Dipper in his own head.

This might not be evidence on its own but

2) The way he was able to suppress his own thoughts so that Bill wouldn't know he wasn't in Ford's mind was pretty Strong.

Now this situation though non-cannon provides a third part to that evidence.

3) Even in his dream, weird as it is, he's able to question when Bill is disrupting the flow of his subconscious.

If he knew what lucid dreaming was he could probably pick it up pretty easily and could probably even choose not to have that dream but feels too guilty to let it go.

To him it might be a gift he has that he assumes everyone can do because he's thinking "Well if my brain is so great how come I'm not smart like Ford or I messed up at school?"

It seems like something he wouldn't have found a use for in his life except to specify screw over Bill.

P.S. After writing this I literally just re-watched the Stanturian candidate from not having remembered it at all. It is kind of one minus point to my theory in regards to the tie they used on him. I feel like it wouldn't have worked or would have worked less on him.

[star-struck09]

Life is about trying and trying and trying and trying and trying and trying and trying and—

[zinniapetals]

my fave chengxian reconciliation scenario is wei wuxian slowly realizing that the life of a wanderer isn’t actually what he wants and lotus pier is his home and more clearly, living in a world with jiang cheng but not actually being something to jiang cheng isn’t what he wants either

[agentc0rn]

{Retrouvaille}

Thoughts below:

I wanted to go with Metanoia (spiritual conversion) for the title but Retrouvaille sounded thematically stronger and fitting. It means reunion between loved ones who were separated apart for a long time. :)

The flowers shown in one of the panels are:

Lady's thimble (harebell/bellflower) = grief, submission

Teasel (dipsacus) = misanthropy

Pheasant's eyes (adonis) = sorrowful memories, I cannot forget you

Morning bride (scabiosa) = I have lost all

If you also are able to catch the reference in the last page, I applaud you!! You get a cookie :)🍪

[murdockhawkeye]

this is *maybe* a bit of a stretch but i still find interesting to think about? don't know if i have everything right

but

i feel like with the elemental opposite duos - emma & rikki, cleo & bella - you could reasonably say their arcs'd mirror each other in a way

like

emma and rikki have issues with responsibility/expectations but on opposite ends of the spectrum

emma was a gifted child, everyone had high expectations for her and she tried to meet those expectations the best she could. she’s responsible emma, who makes sure everyone is looked after, and everyone “knew” was going to become a top athlete, because look at all those trophies on her shelf

and then rikki on the other hand, was alone for “her own good.” she admitted to elliot that no one really liked her growing up, so when somebody did, it made her feel weird and she pushed them away. she stayed away from other people, made sure they never had any expectations of her

they both avoided disappointing others, by going to opposite extreme lengths

and then they overcame these issues, with emma facing a sudden change in her life (becoming a mermaid) that meant she had to give up her swimming dreams and disappoint the people in her life (that had to suck for her, honestly.) she had to come to terms with that - but then, she also found a whole new world that she’d never have been a part of, if things had gone the way she planned

and as for rikki - her biggest change wasn't the tail, but becoming friends with emma and cleo. had she'd her way and zane’d never gotten cleo stuck on that boat, she’d never become friends with them. rikki had to learn the hurdles of friendship and of keeping them, like when she mistook the different kinds of fish, when cleo and emma didn't support her relationship with zane, etc. they had their issues - but in the end, they were there for rikki, and rikki was there for them back. she'd have never gotten that kind of solidarity, had things gone the way she thought it would

and then there’s cleo and bella

bella - unfortunately, didn’t have much in terms of development, since the writers prioritized will’s relationship with her over expanding her character background+ for some reason ??

so i'm just mostly going to talk about cleo here first - but i'll get to bella in a second

cleo by s3 is a very confident and self-assured person; but she didn't start out that way. she was insecure, somewhat naive. she grew up overshadowed by her two best friends, the both of them being gifted in their own rights - emma, the young up and rising athlete, and lewis the science genius, they were sure to go places. cleo, on the other hand, was overlooked. she didn't have much going for her - except for adequate grades and a love of the marine life that was hindered by her fear of water

and then cleo became a *literal* mermaid. either she was going to avoid it or overcome it. in the end, she didn't just overcome her fear of water, but she also took a risk by taking that job at the marine park, where she'd be working right by the marine animals. she let her fear control her before, and she wasn't going to let it stop her from wanting to pursue things anymore

(funny, she started out with a fear of water, then became a mermaid. she struggled with her grades, then became a science genius)

bella, much like cleo - had her own issues when it came to the kind of attention she got, but the other way around. her first appearance, she was being catcalled. same ep, nate is drooling over her. they've made her beauty a point throughout s3. even cleo and rikki's brought it up. it. could not have been easy for her to deal with that, especially with her secret in mind

seeing that, even with the different issues when it came to attention, i think they'd still have had the same feelings about it. a younger bella, probably would've been similarly insecure/anxious as cleo had been - until she learned to be more sure about herself and grew into the bella we know and love today

(we should've gotten way more lore and background about bella, agh)

tldr; emma and rikki have same feelings but opposite reactions (people pleasing and people avoiding.) cleo and bella opposite situations but same feelings (overshadowed and center of attention)

yk, rikki was right in a way i think about the "universal law," but like, more about keeping in balance and not about trios. emma and rikki balance each other out, cleo and bella were *meant* to balance each other out. but in s2, bella wasn't there - charlotte was

do i blame the antagonizing of charlotte and cleo's out of characterness on the writers, or do i blame it on some magical semi-canon mermaid universal law about balance

blaming it on a mermaid universal law sounds more fun, and could have interesting implications. (though the writing grates me, still)

[setmeatopthepyre]

Bulwark

Push. Pull. Breathe.

One.

The ache would fade, he knew, told himself. It always did. Eventually. Even if it didn't go down without a fight. Especially then. Tommy had survived every heartbreak. Every loss. Every injury. Every siege. Until now. This one felt different, now, but it wouldn't be.

The ache would fade. It always did.

Push. Pull. Breathe.

Two.

He knew the steps. Breathe through it. Pull the air into his lungs. Deeper. Deeper. Pray for enough oxygen to sweep across his shores, erode the sharp edges of his feeling. Reach the brackish water inland and flood the sunken place inside of him. Push it back out, hope the floodwater spilling back out to sea took the rubble inside of him with it. Breathe. Deeper. Deeper. Never deep enough. Remind himself that he wasn't built to be washed clean, to gather sentiment like sediment. To feel. He was built to be a bulwark, a fortress. A wall against the tide. Strength carefully constructed to serve as protection. To withstand storms. Built for waves to crash against before they circled back to sea.

Push. Pull. Breathe.

Three.

He didn't need to do anything but breathe. Breathe through the shaking of his muscles, breathe, breathe, count breaths like reps. Out, in.

Push. Pull. Breathe.

Four.

Push. Pull. Feel.

Five.

Fuck.

The clang of iron on iron. Another stone in the fortification of his body. Another stone in the pit of his stomach. He just needed to breathe. He didn't need to feel. That's not what he was built for. That's not what they built him for. That's not - it's not what he built himself for. It might have been. It should have been. It isn't.

Chest heaving.

Breathe.

He was built to be up on the ramparts. Eyes in the sky. The lone watcher on the wall. Scanning for danger, always, always scanning for fucking danger. Don't feel, just breathe. Feelings cloud your judgment. It's not your job to feel.

From above, his job was to assess threats. From below, to be the last line of defense. Hold the line.

Always keep your head on a swivel. Eyes open.

He had. He did.

Breathe. Deeper.

Not too deep.

Hold the line. No matter what.

Hold the line.

Don't feel. Don't listen.

Don't listen to the snide voice in the back of his head, asking,

Alright, you perfect fucking soldier. What is there left to defend now?

--

bul·wark (bo͝ol′wərk, -wôrk′, bŭl′-) n.

1. A wall or embankment raised as a defensive fortification; a rampart. 2. Something serving as a defense or safeguard. 3. A breakwater.

[asgardian--angels]

gotta say tho. TVL is an incredible book. show-only iwtv fans truly do not understand the complexity of Lestat, his nobility of purpose, his strength of self, his philosophical questioning of existence and desire to understand and affect, and the depth of passion that fans have for him because of getting to hear his story so intimately through his own words. when fandom reduces him to vain, stupid, abusive, catty, it betrays a complete lack of understanding of his character, in a way that benefits no one because his story is as transcendently transformative for the reader as it was for himself. like, show fans, if you read one book in TVC, just one, read The Vampire Lestat. It's truly a beautiful, gripping, and moving journey and you will completely rethink your ideas about him.

[spill-that-anxietea]

I would do anything for some day in the life genfic of Jimmy and Clark throughout their college years from Jimmy’s perspective

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

The Teller of Small Fortunes

lighthearted fantasy adventure

follows an immigrant fortune teller who travels between villages telling small fortunes for people

when she runs into a (mostly reformed) thief and an an ex-mercenary searching for his lost daughter, she ends up traveling with them in the hopes she can help, along with a baker they meet along the way,

they encounter various magical creatures and adventurous situations, and eventually she has to face her past

no romance

[total-drama-brainrot]

*looks at u w/ my chocolate orbs* opinions on mikesys

Not sure if you're talking about Mike and his alters, or Mickey from RR, but I'll assume it's the former.

I like Mike! I like the concept of his character - that being a "normal guy" who just so happens to have DID (or, given the show's airing period, I suppose he'd call it Multiple Personality Disorder). I'm... not so much a fan of the execution, but it's somewhat understandable that he's a little unrealistic as DID representation given the social standards of the time. If anything, the fact that he wasn't made into an antagonist is revolutionary! (Until, you know, All-stars ruined it.)

Mike as a character is fun. He's just a guy in a world, and nine times out of ten he's so done with whatever bullshit situation he's found himself in - it indicates that Mike's accustomed to finding himself in less than stellar situation thanks to his alters, which tracks given that most of them are definately predisposed to finding trouble. The number of times he's re-fronted in the show itself just to find himself in an awkward or otherwise distasteful situation thanks to whoever was fronting previously attests to this.

When it comes to my opinions on Mike himself, I found him a little too entrenched in the "everyman" personality to really care much for him. His character flaws are fairly generic and reasonable, which is to be expected from the "normal guy" archetype, yet his character strengths don't really have a chance to shine through as Mike.

The Zoke plotline was sweet, if a little painful to watch, but the main personality draw for the ship was Zoey (ironically enough). His alters are by far the most interesting aspect about him despite each only having a fraction of the screentime Mike himself gets, and Mike's own motivations are fairly unclear.

To clarify; Svetlana's motivated by being the best gymnast in the vicinity and showing off her acrobatic prowess, Manitoba's motivated by being the best conservationist/archeologist around (since he's, in all likelyhood, a culmination of an Indiana Jones fictive and Steve Irwin), Chester's motivated by Old Man Spite. Ect ect. Whereas Mike himself is just find of there? He's in the competition because... well, he had nothing better to do, and the prospect of a million dollars is too good to pass up, I guess.

Outside of his will-they-won't-they with Zoey, he forges a friendship with Cameron (though Mike and Cameron's rapport isn't really expanded on outside of Cameron trying his best to cover for Mike's DID) and, in his final episode, a sort-of rivalry with Scott, but otherwise he's fairly self contained in his system.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, more screen time outside of the Zoke plotline would've saved him.

Now, as far as his alters go, I have a pretty distinctive ranking for them:

Chester - He's relatable. I'm personally a big fan of grouchy old man characters when they're played for comedic effect, and Chester's consistantly funny in his brief appearences.

Svetlana - Do I need to clarify? She's Svetlana. She would be my #1 if I wasn't so biased towards Chester.

Vito - He's a fun character to watch, and technically he didn't do anything wrong despite the show itself trying to paint Vito and Anne Maria's relationship(?) as a bad thing, but he loses point for being Italian (/j).

Manitoba Smith - He's alright. Not as entertaining as the other personalities, and he loses even more points for the blatant sexism.

I haven't watched All-stars so I can't in good faith rank Mal.

... I wish Total Drama was good. Mike and his system could've been great.

[almoststedytimetravel]

Oh, you two have thematic and narrative parallels.... Teehee, you should kiss about it.

[moryyteks]

various wips i dont think are getting finished any day unfortunately :(

[coldjustness]

I'm always emotional over the fact that Neve genuinely thinks that she doesn't do enough for Docktown. She doesn't give enough, she doesn't work fast enough - how can you wish a job well done when when there is still so much work to be done. There are still people starving, still people without homes, or still people needing protection, still corrupt Magisters making life harder for her people, Still Venatori out there hurting her people and sinking their claws into the citizens of Minrathous.

There is more she can give, more she can do, there's just that little extra she can do, that extra step she can take that she focuses on. Extra money she can give, extra sacrifices that can be done in the name of protecting all she can. She loves Docktown, she loves her people, and she's frustrated she can't convey that more, that she can't protect it better - despite the fact that Docktown is a hundred times safer with her guarding it's people.

For every hundred people she saves, she grieves the fact she lost fifty along the way. These are not good numbers, and they never will be, and she won't stop until they are. Even if takes forever, even if it takes her life.

[sysig]

Just be honest! (Patreon)

Bonus:

Could be :)

[danielsarmand]

present tense get behind me i will avenge you i will write in present tense in a way that is so scrumptious no one will ever underestimate you again ever