#he's deeply flawed and it's important

[honeyflower-bellybower]

Honestly if you're writing a Sirius that simply wouldn't do the prank, just accept he's ooc.

[rexonalapis]

it is very telling that average genshin players cannot comprehend seeing an actual mature, qualified leader that is actually good at taking her job seriously after meeting archons who either is still childish, clowning whimsically, or straight up incompetent.

[aq2003]

if anyone is a fan of dt's voice work/audio dramas like i am and wants to listen to something random they've likely never heard before (or if you're coming down from the tony-baddingham-rivals high and want to see (hear) him play an entirely different yet equally complicated guy) i recommend murder in samarkand! it's quite good :)

cw: explicit mentions of SA/police brutality, islamophobia, and suicidal ideation

(youtube link)

(official site: mp3 download/soundcloud link)

[necrotic-nephilim]

for the choose violence ask game!!

16: you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

for the choose violence ask game!

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

i've decided i'm really picking violence with my answer this time: sunshine Robin Jason Todd. like the whole fanon that runs with him just being a bundle of joy and the sweetest boy ever who likes to read and is a nerd and an angel. really any version of Jaybin where Jason is a happy-go-lucky character because. that's just? not canon?

don't get me wrong Jason is certainly more nuanced in his Robin years than "the angry one" and he does have happy moments. but this whole "Robin is magic" has really gotten away from us. firstly, i'm begging fans to understand: Jason is not the only Robin who has said this. Tim has *also* said being Robin gives him magic. it's not unique to Jason, it's simply the function of the Robin mantle no matter who is in it. it can't be used to characterize Jason bc it's not unique to him. and his other happier moments were either 1, Pre-Crisis, where he had a different backstory and none of it is canon or 2, comics that were more light-hearted in general so his personality was shaped to match the tone. in all of his Batman and Detective Comics appearances, he's much more grounded and nuanced. he *has* happy moments they're certainly important to him. he is a smart kid with a book-reading hobby and a kindness to him. but he's not a sunshine "Robin is magic" boy. he is driven by his anger, even as Robin. he has violent reactions repeatedly and he's not the best at coping with his emotions because *he's a teenage boy*. a teenage boy who grew up on the streets and had to virtually raise himself. it makes him hardened and on edge most of the time. it makes him reactionary.

and trying to call every instance where Jason was angry as Robin bad writing just... gets rid of his whole Robin era tbh. there are a lot of sides to him as Robin and one of those sides is very angry violence. and his writers can be blamed for that- they didn't like him and wanted him dead and it was very clear. but at the same time, it's still consistent characterization. so i've really disliked the new wave of fanon that won't let Jason have *any* flaws as Robin bc god forbid you acknowledge the violent things he's done bc they you're making him the "angry Robin" and that's bad now, to fanon. he was a flawed Robin. they were *all* flawed Robins. trying to cleanse his Robin years just makes him more boring, imo.

[lacefuneral]

"ACAB except kim kitsuragi"

no hope for you even at all.

[sukibenders]

Me, when I see modern retellings of Greek myths that are actually worse than the original---- from woobifying some gods and making them innocent meow meows to demonizing and villainizing others (eg. Demeter and, yes, even Hera), ignoring how they are morally grey and can't just be lumped in with a modern viewpoint at all times, making the goddess and other female figures "girlboss" but also riddled with undertones of misogyny/internalized misogyny and victim blaming (you see this a lot with retellings for Medusa, especially regarding Andromeda because if they aren't making her a girlboss than they hate on her for being a damsel, which isn't even bad, or even make her the "other woman" 😭), or make characters like Perseus the bad guy, even though he was literally sent/went on a dangerous, life threatening quest to save his mother (and himself lowkey) from an abuser and then went to save Andromeda, who he loved even though these retellings try to say otherwise, from death:

[suswous]

Realistically speaking, killing a healthcare CEO doesn’t fix the greater systemic problems with American healthcare, and Brian Thompson isn’t (/wasn’t lol) solely responsible for American healthcare or even just UHC’s particularly bad policies, because there’s a whole apparatus in place, and that’s often why people who consider themselves moral can do what UHC execs do, because they feel diminished responsibility; to some extent trying to kill ppl responsible would lead to like a whackamole, and I do think that would be immoral; I don’t think it’s possible to kill your way into a better healthcare system, and ultimately this isn’t going to fix American healthcare, certainly not in the long term, it’s just an act of violence which isn’t a sustainable method of change and can often make things worse long-term.

On the other hand: LMAO

[bonebabbles]

im curious, do you think there is any good way to portray a redemption by death? like, can a character truly be made a better person by dying? or is it just an all-around bad trope? i vaguely saw what the authors were trying to do with tom and sandgorse's situations, but they just sucked too bad and gave it the absolute wrong effect imo

I think there's a way to make anything work! So I won't say "NO NEVER." But personally, I have a big bone to pick with it so I avoid it

A redemption death doesn't give the character time to meaningfully change, imo, or truly make up for their actions. That all has to come before the death itself. And even the very idea of giving your life up to "redeem yourself" just... sits uncomfortably with me.

Dying never makes a person better. It just kills them. A person who's dead is not changing nor growing.

So Tom and Sandgorse... what their deaths are supposed to do is re-frame everything they did before that point. With no apology on Sandgorse's end for how badly he hurt his son or wasn't there for his mate, he was a good enough person to die for someone else and thus must be forgiven. Tom thrashes two women and they both die because of him, but he was still willing to heroically throw his life down for his child, and so he is 'worthy' of being avenged and honored.

No growth. No change. No acknowledgement. The death is supposed to add sympathy to them, while there's no actual reckoning of how they hurt their victims. Not even a real consequence. "Their intentions were good, and this is proven through the ultimate sacrifice." As if that changes anything. It doesn't.

I think if there's an decent example of a redemption death in warriors, it's Bluestar's. I still have problems with how it believes Stone and Misty have to "forgive her" for some reason, REALLY don't like the fact that this series has always equated redemption and forgiveness... but that aside? Just focusing on Firestar, ThunderClan, and Bluestar?

I think what makes the moment so strong is that it is a moment of clarity through her cruelty arc. We saw the heroic person she was at the start of TPB. We know that her actions are coming from anger, spite, and paranoia. That is never shown as a thing to be excused. But while she's wrapped up in her own misery, Fireheart is being the leader she isn't.

And her last life is a return to form, spending it the way she is supposed to, as a leader, and as his mentor.

Her arc could never be about 'growth' because... she WAS a great leader. She WAS selfless, long ago. Her redemption death is a return to that, and a plot necessity. Bluestar and Firestar cannot both exist.

But, anyway, it's generally a trope I'm not fond of. I think that nearly anything can work in the right context, but I think it's so situational that I personally avoid it when possible.

[inthegardenofprayers]

10000 Days (Wings pt. 2)

...We listen to the tales and romanticize

How we'd follow the path of the hero

Boast about the day when the rivers overrun

How we'd rise to the height of our halo

… Listen to the tales as we all rationalize

Our way into the arms of the savior

Feigning all the trials and the tribulations

None of us have actually been there

Not like you

… Ignorant siblings at the congregation

Gather around spewing sympathy

Spare me

None of them can even hold a candle up to you

Blinded by choice, these hypocrites won't see

… But enough about the collective Judas

Who could deny you were the one who illuminated

Your little piece of the divine

… And this little light of mine

A gift you passed onto me

I'm gonna let it shine

To guide you safely on your way

Your way home

… Oh, what are they gonna do when the lights go down?

Without you to guide them all to Zion?

What are they gonna do when the rivers overrun?

Other than tremble incessantly?

… High is the way, but all eyes are upon the ground

You are the light and the way that they'll only read about

I only pray Heaven knows when to lift you out

Ten thousand days in the fire is long enough

You're going home

… You're the only one who can hold your head up high

Shake your fist at the gates saying

"I have come home now

Fetch me the Spirit, the Son, and the Father

Tell them their pillar of faith has ascended

It's time now

My time now

Give me my

Give me my wings"

… Give me my

Give me my

Give me my

Give me my

Give me my

Give me my wings

… You are the light, the way

That they will only read about

… Set as I am in my ways and my arrogance

Burden of proof tossed upon non-believers

You were my witness

My eyes, my evidence

Judith Marie, unconditional one

… Daylight dims leaving cold fluorescence

Difficult to see you in this light

Please forgive this bold suggestion

Should you see your maker's face tonight

Look him in the eye

Look him in the eye, and tell him

"I never lived a lie, never took a life

But surely saved one

Hallelujah, it's time for you to bring me home"

[dgaftilwedie]

new coping mechanism is telling myself that if hoffman were here he wouldn't let me suffer

[totheidiot]

why are people thirsting over atticus finch for tkam. you know you are not supposed to glorify him. have any of you ever read go set a watchman ? ?

[aq2003]

im listening to the whitestone stuff in campaign 3 and uhhh rip to the people who hated percy over that or thought he was being ooc or whatever the hell the discourse was. but something's deeply wrong with you

[renthony]

Discussions of what "counts" as "canon" queer representation fall apart the second you start talking about media older than about five years or so. If your only metric for "canon queerness" is a character looking directly into the camera and explaining their identity in specific, modern, US-American-English terminology, you're not going to get a good picture of what queer media looks like. If your barometer for what counts as "canon" requires two characters of the same gender to kiss on-screen, you're not going to get a good picture of what queer media looks like.

Dr. Septimus Pretorius (portrayed by Ernest Thesiger in 1935's Bride of Frankenstein) was never going to look directly into the camera and explain his sexuality in 2024 terms, but he remains an icon in queer media history. You cannot look at that character (blatantly queer-coded in the manner of the time, played by a queer man in a film directed by another queer man) and tell me that he isn't a part of queer media history.

To be honest, even when discussing modern queer media, I would argue that the popular idea of what "counts" as "canon" is very narrow and flawed. I've seen multiple posts in the past few days that say the Nimona movie is "implied" trans representation, and I just...no, y'all, it's not "implied," it's an allegory. The entire damn movie is about transgender struggle, and the original comic is deeply tied into N.D. Stevenson's own queer journey. It isn't subtle. You cannot look at that movie and pretend that it isn't about trans struggle. It's blatant, and to say that Nimona "isn't canonically trans" is a take that misses the story's entire message, and the blatant queerphobia that almost kept the movie from happening. (I wrote a five thousand word essay about the topic.)

Queer themes, queer coding, queer exploration, and queer representation can all exist in a piece of media that doesn't seem to have "canon queer characters" on the surface. Most queer characters are never going to be able to explicitly state their specific identity labels, be it due to censorship or just due to the fact that scenes like that don't fit in some narratives. Some stories aren't conducive to a big "so what's your identity?" scene.

Explicit, undeniable, "this is my identity in no uncertain terms" scenes are very important and radical, and I'm not saying they shouldn't ever exist. I am saying that you can't consider those scenes the only way for queerness in a piece of media to be "canon."

[verved]

thank you to dbh artists that draw hank old and fat and dont slim him down or pretend he isnt an old fuck ily

[dunmesh]

okay i don't have anything smart to add i just genuinely love that these seemingly trivial jokes are actually an important part of his character. we see it throughout the entire manga, how he pushes aside his own frustration and discomfort to accommodate everyone else's and avoid needless confrontation- another example off the top of my head would be the barometz chapter in which he slowly gets frustrated with izutsumi but still tries his best to talk some sense into her calmly and soundly.

and in contrast, there are very few times he expresses his anger and hurt towards others, and it usually takes a lot for him to finally lose his patience and control.

i mean, even with kabru he tried to be polite despite the circumstances until the guy said the one thing that triggers an immense sense of shame, hurt and rage in laios. and you know, the manga does say it quite clearly early on. when we are introduced to namari and then to shuro, laios acts all friendly and shows his respect and trust in them despite how things ended between them, and everyone else gets frustrated with him for acting so strange- why are you the one who tries so hard to pacify the rest when you should be the angriest?

and they don't understand him. they don't know him well enough to be able to understand, but we as readers get to see during the manga that they aren't wrong to question him- he does, in fact, feel all those ugly emotions. and it's when the winged lion finally confronts him that we see to what extent these feelings he buried so deep go, and suddenly all those funny little moments where he sometimes pretends to be mr nice guy speak volumes about his character. honestly, ryoko kui is a master at using jokes in order to define important character traits and this one doesn't fail to amaze me.

and laios's hatred and rage and deep scars he can't get over aren't shown explicitly during most of these moments i mentioned before, but now you realize there are 26 years of emotional baggage to all of them and they sting. he is angry but he can't say shit, what difference would it make? it won't make his friends choose him instead of themselves when he needed them most, and it won't help his party get any farther. of course, this logic doesn't apply to them- they are absolutely allowed to get angry and it's fine to get mad at him, he can take that.

so after finishing the series it's so clear that he tries his best to avoid clashing with others not just due to the current circumstances and him needing to be a reliable leader but also because he knows that people don't even like him when he tries to show his good sides and hide all the rest, so who the hell would tolerate his rage and despair? who would stay after realizing that he is so deeply flawed he doesn't even like his own being?

but he does get mad. he can't help it, and sometimes it gets out of control and now everyone knows. and it's funny, isn't it? that most of those moments ended up bringing him closer to others. shuro admitting he is envy of him and actually becoming the friend laios thought he was all along, fighting for his sake and waiting for him to come back- believing in him even after he turned into a monster and searching for him the way he couldn't bring himself to do for falin when he learned of what became of her- or kabru being pushed to just let it all out because he couldn't bluff his way out of this one and get to laios any other way, so now they are even. they are both horribly honest with each other and they both choose to stay. a weird way of getting to know each other, but it is what it is.

it's simply... the more laios let himself just be, the deeper his relationships grew. and there's intimacy in being your ugly, weak and furious self around someone and them not leaving you. feeling safe enough to let it be known you are hurt and angry. and he knows that now, too.

[1lovepeace]

I genuinely agree with your take. It's true that the trauma Rayla experienced doesn't excuse her actions, but it deeply explains the reasoning behind it. And in a way, you see Amaya soften up after seeing herself in Rayla in terms of being stoic, strong, and lonely in handing things alone. She's opened up more. Callum refuses to let Rayla push him away, that everything they do and face, they do it together, accepting his help and leaning on him for support. Little by little, she's growing and maturing, and I'm proud of her. There's still a long way to go for her, but she will get there.

With all the time that all four of Rayla's parents have spent self-reflecting, whether in the coins or while being alone and self-isolated from the community over the last two years, I sincerely hope that it can transition to all five of them reconciling, healing and repairing their broken, fractured family. No doubt that all 4 of her parents are incredibly scarred, haunted, devastated, and extremely hurt by the failures and negligence committed. Imagine the uncontrollable, horrifying nightmares they must be having of Rayla, being tormented by her memory every night. Their hurt, pain, heartbreak, emotional/psychological torture, and suffering are perhaps far worse than we imagined. I wouldn't even know where to begin with addressing Moonfam's family issues. But they deserve to have their family again after all they've been through.

But Rayla also has a right to feel and express her anger, resentment, disdain, animosity, and even her rage towards all four of her parents for what they put her through. Let her say what she needs to say. Let Rayla be angry and messy.

Seeing people crap on arc two Rayla genuinely makes me sad. I don't think many people truly realize the depth of Rayla's isolation. What happened to all the characters in arc one was horrible (I am not down playing that), Callum and Ezran lost their father, and Soren lost his family, but they all had Katolis to go back to. Their home. Rayla lost EVERYTHING. She lost the assassins who she grew up with and trained her, she lost her home, and worst of all she lost her parents. She lost Runaan and Ethari in one go, only months after her parents. And all she had to remember them by was what they taught her. And they taught her self sacrifice, they taught her to do questionable things in the name of protection and the greater good. Viren threatened everything she loved which WAS Callum and Ezran, and she thought he was still alive. She was stuck in fight or flight mode, she was bathed in trauma. And she had a point in TTM, everyone was just moving on, and didn't take or let her have anytime to truly grieve. She was in such a dark place in TTM and it influenced her decisions. She knows she did something wrong, she knows she hurt Callum. She hasn't brought herself to apologize yet, but why did we stop treating her as human? (Or elf, as it were)

Also hi, I've recently been liberated from TDP reddit