#how can I feel this much about a fictional character?!

[wemlygust]

In my experience the best fiction does not follow up the first situation with an emotionally similar situation, even if it's escalated. At least not too many times in a row/for too long relative to the length of the story. That can end up feeling like the same situation stretched out way too far. You can only get away with that for so long before the reader just acclimates and gets used to it and none of the excitement feels as exciting anymore. Instead, my favorites alternate moods between scenes. Just had a super stressful chase scene? > Now we have a relaxing and/or funny scene to take some of that tension off. Just had a really emotionally fraught conversation scene? > Now for the shocking action scene, or the methodical investigative scene, perhaps. Just had a slow, leisurely, peaceful scene, where everything is great and the characters are happy? > Here comes the Cascade of Problems! Just had a cascade of problems? > Here is the safety, everything is good now! Oh wait, > here is the oh god my friend died during the cascade of problems scene, everyone is mourning now, tearjerking scene. Now that you've made everyone cry, it's time for > a really funny scene that makes the characters laugh even though it still hurts, or another action scene, or a thoughtful conversation scene, or maybe a romance scene. Next, maybe a good scare, then an action scene, maybe a couple more humorous moments mixed in, maybe some philosophical moments, whatever. Add another romance scene. Then bring the dead friend back to life (yay!) or don't and instead resolve that thread otherwise by having the characters come to terms in some sense with their death. But wait, betrayal from stage left! And so on. What emotion you switch to doesn't matter too much, as long as you move on to something, though not without abandoning the context of the previous scenes or the character development throughlines and suchlike. It doesn't have to be literally every other scene that the mood changes, and you don't have to include every possible mood, you can just pick a handful that contrast well; the point is just that the mood has to change and shouldn't just be the same the entire time, to keep things engaging instead of boring and one-note, imo. This is more true the longer the work is. A really short story can get away with being just 1 thing, but the longer a story gets, the more a one-note angst-fest or series of fight scenes or whatever gets exhausting instead of fun. This is why there are typewriter-rooms in Resident Evil games. The peaceful moments enable the horror in the other parts of the game, and there are similar peaceful spots in other horror media - even though and because horror is all about scaring and/or horrifying people. Like, the alien isn't right there chasing Ripley for the entirety of the movie Alien - the most intense scenes are spread out and interspersed with mystery and interpersonal drama and suchlike. Without the typewriter rooms, or an equivalent moment to breathe in other horror media, people either get overwhelmed and stop, or they acclimate and stop being scared. The peace and safety is needed in order to bring down the terror. Tl;dr: vary the type of situation. And sometimes the situation can be nice. Just keep changing it up. With faster or slower switches depending on how you want to do your pacing, and how long the story is overall. Also I actually think it's also fine to totally discard this type of writing advice and just, like, write slice-of-life feel-good fiction sometimes. Our culture shapes the kinds of stories we usually tell, and genre shapes that further, and it shapes writing advice like mine and that of the people above me in this reblog chain, because of what we have experience reading and what advice we have heard ourselves and so on, and it's okay to just throw all that out and do something else, too. Including whatever thing you've been told specifically not to do. Do that, if you want.

The point of fiction is actually to put that guy in a situation™️, and he might try to tell you the point is to then get him out of the situation, WRONG, second situation

[firegirl888101]

Insatiable Madness (11)

|Sagau Yandere Fatui Harbingers x Reader|

Now is your time to survive. Will you swallow your words? Or spit them and face the consequences, both good and bad?

Reader is Gender Neutral!

"Alright... I can do this. This'll be a piece of cake." You paced yourself, walking around your room to clear your dooming thoughts.

"Nothing bad is going to happen; this isn't like back then. I'm in my room, where I can control what happens and when something happens. How much worse could my situation possibly get? The worst characters in the entire game are here, in my house already. It physically can't get any worse!"

"Shut up! You sound like a cult of fat Mitachurls dancing around a fire!" A Harbinger's voice shouted from downstairs, banging following their shouts.

"Break a hole in my ceiling and I swear to your archon I'll gouge out your eyes and bury them in my back garden!"

"Shuuuut up." The same voice shouted back quieter, going completely silent when another voice scolded them. You guessed it was a scolding, as their voice sounded authoritive despite being muffled. Pierro, perhaps.

This idea of yours better work. You're not fighting your past experiences for nothing! If these characters don't reply to you and make you sound (and look) like a dunce, you're done with the universe.

Speaking of being done with the universe, how on Earth did this even happen? It's not normal for fictional characters to know of the existence of people who created them. Are other games like this too? Or is Genshin Impact special in some way? And if it's just Genshin Impact, who's to say other Hoyoverse games don't have the same level of intelligence behind the characters?

It's a good thing you uninstalled Honkai Star Rail a month ago, who knows, it could have been the Stellaron Hunters in your house instead. Although... Arguably, you somehow think they'd be a lot better compared to the Harbingers.

Anyway, it's time to start your plan.

You booted up Genshin, eyeing the Celestia background hesitantly with shaking fingers, the sun in the background feeling more real considering your current circumstances.

Pushing your chair inwards in a hurry, you scrambled to get your notebook beside your PC to re-read the notes you wrote before. You didn't want to freeze up in the middle of your SOS speech, so you took it upon yourself to write key points of your argument and read them if you start feeling the anxiety creep in.

Ugh, thinking about how possibly the entirety of Teyvat was going to hear your voice scares you even more.

No, take deep breaths. The characters left aren't as evil as the Fatui, or have smart people such as Dottore or Sandrone. The only person you currently see as a threat is Albedo, but he shouldn't be a problem since his goal is to destroy Mondstadt.

You read your paper again:

Introduce yourself formally, keep it classy

Ask Aether what the FUCK the Harbingers think they're doing!!!

Beg Explain you could really use some help

Ask if there's any way someone on the other side, perhaps Albedo, could construct a portal to get these mangy, whining, murderous babies out of your house

Be polite, thank for listening, and wait for reply. Patience is key

If this little golden teenager with a ratty plait doesn't answer you, you're throwing your TV remote at your PC. ...Actually nevermind, it might come useful in the future.

Your screen suddenly loaded, the blinding white loading screen with each element fading to show the landscape. Your screen looked exactly how it did yesterday. With your Childe team, minus Childe obviously, in their idle animations outside of the Spiral Abyss portal in Mondstadt.

Okay, this is it. It's better to at least try rather than run away with cowardice. If you don't try, you'll never know whether it's actually possible to communicate with other characters. Also, in the small hope that the Harbingers leave your house, you can delete the game and start a new life. ...Hopefully.

You hesitantly went to the character selection screen and selected Aether, putting him in a team on his own with no other characters next to him. Noticeably, Arlecchino and surprisingly Wanderer aren't in the character menu either. Did the Harbinger's travel to Teyvat alter the course of history on their side? Interesting...

Now, where to communicate with him? Well, considering Signora is alive, the timeline must be just before or during Inazuma. Would staying in Mondstadt be a better place? Oh, who cares. You've got the guy in your party anyway. As long as he's there, it should be fine, right?

You selected the waypoint closest to Albedo's lab in Dragonspine, running to the camp and occasionally stopping to avoid freezing to death by using the orange seelies.

Then, you turn Aether's avatar to face you, his breath creating white vapour in the cold air of the mountain.

"So, uh, hello...!" You started, mumbling quietly as you scooch your chair back away from your desk.

No. Follow step one correctly, and be confident about it. You coughed before starting again, voice stronger but still quiet as to not alert the Harbingers.

"My name is Y/N, and I really need your help. I'm not sure what's happening on your side of things, and to be honest, I don't really care. If you haven't noticed on your journey by now, The 11 Fatui Harbingers have gone missing. Well, in your world anyway." You began.

"They somehow and miraculously ended up here, in my world. Specifically, my house. From what they've told me, they want to give me over to the Tsaritsa. I have no idea what that means, all I know is she'll probably kill me."

You waited for a response, any glitching similar to when Childe wasn't working in the abyss or visual cue to show someone (or something) was listening. You didn't see one, but continued anyway.

"I need your help to transport them back to Teyvat. I know what you're probably thinking, 'but the Fatui have been causing me problems on my journey to find my sister'. Unfortunately for you, they become important in developing your journey across each nation. I'm guessing you're currently in Inazuma or Liyue since Signora is still alive, even though I've brought you to Natlan? Ugh, this is so weird." You shook your head with a small grimace.

"Anyway, I'm really hoping you can hear me. If the Fatui of all possible people who could know of me are aware of my side and my existence, surely you and/or the Archons must know too? Maybe even the Abyss? After watching your journey in Natlan I can't stand them, but they did prove a long theory I had..."

You trailed off, hoping that maybe nobody replied to your speech because they were waiting for a moment you would stop so they could input. Alas, nothing changed. Aether was still as blank as ever, face unchanging to the world around him.

You tried everything to get a reaction. Kamera mode, Teapot mode, equipping different characters, changing locations, reloading the game... but nothing worked.

What were you doing wrong? If the Harbingers knew of your existence, surely that would have been because you used Childe a lot, right? There's nothing else you can think of that could be the cause. Unless, perhaps, the 'players' existence is a known fact throughout Teyvat? No, that couldn't be right. You've talked to NPC's and read hundreds of theories using lore found within the game. Not once did it ever mention a higher being above the Descenders, nor the Phane for that matter.

You hit the pause button in Genshin, huffing an angered sigh as you pushed your chair out aggressively. You'll have to try again later, that's the only thing you can do right now. Considering the Harbinger's have no idea what resources exist in this world, you're pretty sure it will take them awhile to figure out how to get back to Teyvat.

'Awhile' may sound like a long time, but you know Dottore will somehow cut that word by 3/4. Anyway, you'll have to save asking about a possible way to create a portal another time. Right now, what's more important is grasping a connection of understanding.

Well, you better start sorting out another problem that will soon come. The problem which Pulcinella actually pointed out, too.

Food.

And you know what you need to get more? Money.

If only Pantalone were useful in this world, then, he would be able to pay for all the expenses you'll need these next few weeks. You know, now that you're actually thinking about it, he's probably the most useless Harbinger here.

You sat up from your chair and left it pushed out, convincing yourself that this plan wasn't completely over. In truth, it wasn't. There was nothing wrong in trying again, was there? Sure, this session might have failed. But who's to say it won't work the next time? Or maybe the time after that?

...Right?

You left the room after eyeing your computer screen once more, scowling at the Genshin merch on your desk. That reminds you, you need to burn all the Harbinger merch the second you can. Maybe all your merch in fact. Okay that's a lie, although this instance has definitely scarred you for life, it won't stop you from keeping a few non-Fatui items.

Unfortunately, if you'd just looked at your desk one more time, you would have noticed Paimon waving frantically at you with a face of panic, shouting through the screen trying to get her voice to be heard on the other side.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"Okay, group time. We need to discuss something." You called everyone to the living room, snatching the remote from Pantalone's hand and turning the TV off.

"Pardon me, it was my turn to watch the television tonight." He excused himself aggressively, trying to swat the remote back into his hand.

"Not so funny when it's your turn, is it?" Dottore laughed at him, pausing his writing to mock the banker.

"Are you aware of how long I had to wait until I could have a look at my channel? I only just received the remote!" He complained, glaring at Dottore through his closed eyes.

"Hmph. To me, it looks like you're sleeping laying on the sofa like that." Sandrone scoffed, her posture straight.

"Alright, Alright," You quietened them. "Pantalone can get the remote back after I say what I need to."

After a short while of waiting, everyone except Pierro, Signora, Capitano and Childe had arrived in the living room to listen to what you had to say.

"Where are the other four? Why is there always someone missing when I need to say something important." You asked the Harbingers, sighing in frustration.

"Heh, Childe is out of commission at the moment." Scaramouche snickered to himself, eyes closed imagining the pain he's going through.

"That's not a 'where', it's a 'what'." You deadpanned.

"He's in the landing with Capitano. I brought him there since these two were taking over the sofa." Arlecchino answered.

"And... Signora and Pierro?"

"Signora's in the guest bedroom, fretting about her nails growing in a different direction that how'd she'd like them to. Pierro's still in the office signing paperwork that clearly isn't helpful to our situation at this moment in time."

"Thank you, at least someone's helpful." You nodded to her, Arlecchino nodding back in an understanding as she leant against the wall with her arms crossed.

"We need to talk about food. As Pulcinella reminded me earlier today, if we don't get more food we'll run out in about 3 days."

"Does that even matter?" Scaramouche interrupted you. "The majority of us don't even need to eat, you're just wasting your resources by feeding us. Besides, who would want to eat your aw--"

"What he means to say is," Pulcinella coughed to interrupt the puppet. "Yes, this is indeed a tough predicament. How are we to get the resources we need?"

"Well, we'll have to go to the shop and buy some. But to buy, we need money."

"Money? I have plenty of that." Pantalone questions with a bored tone, his head leaning into one of his hands.

"Stop forgetting what I told you earlier, you damned diva. Your money is useless here. If we want to get money, we'll have to work." You hushed him quickly.

"Work. Yes, of course." Arlecchino thought out loud. "But how do we work when we know nothing about this world?"

"Ugh, it's not that different to Teyvat! So, who's feeling like working?"

Nobody replied, everyone looking at eachother urging them to say yes instead of them.

"...Right, well, let's eliminate the people who can't work. Signora can't, as it would be way too risky. If the police somehow recovered the damaged footage and released it to the public, I'd be dead meat she'd blow her cover immediately," You started.

"Pulcinella and Pierro also can't, as they look way too old to be working. They'd be considered retirement age from looks alone. On the same topic, Columbina and Sandrone might have to stay behind too because of how child-like they look. Columbina might be able to get away with it, but it would still turn some heads in my opinion."

"Hah! It seems you're worth some praise." Sandrone commended you, letting out a hearty laugh in satisfaction. "However, this does cause some problems on my end of the bargain."

"And what problems would that be?"

"Why, exploring your world's machinery, of course! Becoming an engineer would be the perfect way to learn more about your world."

"Yes." You gave her a dead look. "And tell me, you're planning to become a professional's apprentice to learn? Something tells me your pride wouldn't let that happen."

"It can't be that difficult." She scoffed to herself, voice quiet and eyes narrow.

"I wanted to see more of this world..." Columbina sighed sadly, interjecting Sandrone. "Oh well, I suppose I can do that by asking you questions instead~"

"Right..." You sweated nervously.

"I have no objections." Pulcinella nodded with his eyes closed, being in agreeance. "We can discuss Sandrone's means to learn later, as I believe it would be an excellent idea."

You sighed once more, not bothering to argue more, and continued your rambling.

"Capitano is also a no in terms of getting a job. That helmet really stands out, and considering he can't and wouldn't want to take it off, I guess he's not going outside ever. Anyway, so, uh... We'll discuss who wants to have what job and when they'd like to start tomorrow. I'm going upstairs to tell Signora what's happening. Arlecchino, Pulcinella, could you both respectively tell Childe and Capitano, as well as Pierro this information?" You told them, head looking back over your shoulder before turning straight to walk up the stairs.

"Of course." They both replied, leaving to do their own thing.

As you were walking up the stairs, you could hear Pantalone and Dottore arguing for the remote. Funnily enough, it was Columbina's abnormal dry tone that caused the two to stop fighting and find something to watch together. Huh, you wished you could do that.

You knocked on the guest bedroom door, hearing Signora scoff and call out to the person on the other side telling them to enter. You walked into the bedroom silently, sitting on the bed waiting for her to talk to you.

She was sitting on the chair in front of the mirror, fiddling with a nail file whilst muttering about the state of her fingers. Beside her fumbling form was some nail varnish. Hold on a minute, aren't those your mothers?

"Signora, you wouldn't have happened to find the nail kit in front of you in my parent's bedroom, would you?" You asked her, feeling your annoyance begin to grow.

"Hm? Maybe I did. What's it to you?" She glared in the mirror, eyeing you without turning around.

"What's it to me??? Did you seriously just ask me that? You're using a dead woman's nail file and nail varnish!" You argued.

"Well, yes." She shrugged, a wicked grin growing on her face. "I'll have to make do with what I can get. If it weren't for the surprisingly beautiful colour and necessity of my manicure, I would have put the thought out of my head immediately."

"But those are just excuses! Look, if you really wanted a fucking manicure, you could have just asked for my stuff in my room."

"And how, for Teyvat's sake, was I supposed to know you had supplies in your room?" She eyed you strangely.

Well, she has a point. A dumb point, but one you'll accept as long as she stops using your mother's marriage anniversary nail kit.

"Just...! Just pass the nail kit to me and I'll give you my manicure bag. Stay here, and stay out of my parent's room." You warned her, snatching the nail file and nail varnish with haste.

You speedwalked to your bedroom, dumping the items on your desk with the thought to put those in your bedside drawer later. Stopping for a moment to look at your monitor still showcasing Genshin, you sighed and continued pacing the room to find your manicure bag. When finding the bag, you quickly swiped it off of the shelf and returned to the guest bedroom.

"Right." You started, dumping the bag and opening the zip to let her see what was inside the bag.

"Is this alright for you, your majesty?" You mocked her, unable to stop yourself from speaking. "You'll have everything you could possibly need for your nails in here. From different colours, to charms, to glitter. Capiche?"

"Hmm..." She fiddled with the bag, having a look at the colours you've given her. "Since you're here already, why don't you make yourself useful and do my nails for me? Do whatever you wish with them in terms of colour and point, I'd like to see how nails in this world differ from Teyvat." She ordered you with a wave of her hand, one leg over the other.

Is she actually joking?

"Are you kidding me? I'm not doing your nails for you!" You exclaimed, outraged at the suggestion itself.

"Oh, please. Don't act as if the suggestion is atrocious. Aren't you the one who often mentions our wrongdoings when we're minding our own business? Who's to say we can't do the same?"

"A normal person." You grumbled under your breath with squinted eyes. "Murder and stealing are two very different things."

"I hope you're as good as talking as you are making excuses." She rolled her eyes, laying her hands out in front of her. "Not only that, but doing nails. If I don't like them, you'll have hell to pay."

Well, looks like you don't have a choice in terms of doing her nails for her. What a prissy bitch.

"Fine." You scoffed at her, dragging a spare chair in the corner of the room to sit down.

You looked through the bag of colours you had, deciding to do a red and black gradient whilst leaving her nails relatively long and sharp. Perhaps you could add little light blue dots to the black gradient to highlight her eyes? Yes, that sounds like a good idea.

"Those are the colours you're choosing?" She raised on eyebrow with an uninterested frown.

"I'm sorry, your highness, were you expecting a pretty baby pink?"

"Continue." She rolled her eyes.

Filing and washing her nails to the perfect size, you began to paint the nails delicately. As you were working, you noticed Signora begin to soften her features, a small almost non-existent smile on her face with satisfaction in watching you work.

"Do you do nails often?" She asked you with a gentler tone, tilting her head to get a better look at you painting her smallest nail.

"Not really." You denied, shaking your head. "I only have this many colours because my mother liked to gift me stuff like this."

"Ah..." She made a noise of understanding. "So that's why the majority of your colours are still sealed."

"Yeah. I never used them because I saw no need to, occasionally I'd help my mother do hers if she went out to party with the neighbours. Also most of my Pinterest references use a specific set of colours."

"...Pinterest?"

"It's a type of catalogue." You tried your best to explain, fanning the nails hoping they would dry quickly.

"You can save pictures that other people post and use them for references. I like to use it for clothes and nail inspiration for my mother."

"That sounds... exquisite." Signora noted with wide eyes. "You mean to tell me different people from all over can post these pictures? And others seeing the pictures can use them as they wish?"

"Yup. Although, you saying that out loud makes me think you're thinking of something illegal." You deadpanned.

"I'm not!" She accidentally recoiled, slowly putting her hands back out when realising. "It just seems like a power not worthy on humans. Surely you would use such a powerful idea for messages instead of just pictures?"

"You're literally just describing a forum."

"Hm?"

"Nevermind!" You stated, grabbing the blue and adding dots to the black. Instead of ending it there as planned, you decided to add glitter and put a couple specks onto each dot. You looked back at the nails from a distance, finding satisfaction in your work.

"What do you think? If you don't like them, I don't care. To be fair, this is the first time I've done nails in awhile."

"I suppose they're... alright." Her cheeks turned slightly pink, hesitating in how to answer. "They're much better than what I thought they'd be. Your world has such vibrant colours for varnish, usually I just stick to black."

"I noticed." You put all your materials away, attempting to zip up the bag.

Before you could zip up the bag completely, Signora stopped your hand by placing hers over your own.

"Hey, don't move your hands so much! I just finished your nails!"

"Ahem. I believe we had a deal? You do my nails, and I'll do yours? Although I would rather spend my time doing something else, I am not one to back out of an agreement such as this."

Somehow, despite the day not going to plan, you don't hate how it ended. In fact, you feel as if you've grown a little closer to Signora today.

"Oh, and whilst I'm at it," She paused. "I better have a look at what clothes you have in your wardrobe. From what I see now, I don't think I'll like what I'll see in there."

You take back what you said earlier.

Has anyone noticed I like the word 'prissy' a bit too much?

Anyway, Insatiable Madness is going to have longer Views from now on 🥳

I like this part a lot, it's definitely one of my favourite Views I've written so far!

Please don't expect too many happy, nice and generally fluffy scenes.

This is Yandere, a genre which should never, under any circumstance be considered normal. It's abusive, unhealthy and leads to a lot of victims facing awful conditions which they never should or ever have to endure no matter who they are.

This is fiction that I'm writing, meaning it's all taken light-heartedly IN A FICTIONAL SENSE.

If anyone, by chance, is currently in conditions where a loved-one or yourself has suddenly become distant and/or being hurt when away from eyes please get help. Talk to them, or if it's you, talk to someone you know you can trust.

If you can't talk to anyone, find authorities who can help you. Call 999, as it is in the U.K, or your local emergency service. They will always help you, and will never deny your rights or freedom.

Thanks for reading this, I hope all who's reading knows this information already, but I thought I'd include it since who knows when it comes to where you are in the world and whether your education programs taught critical information like this.

✨Elusive✨ Taglist!:

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Quick Reminder Here! If you no longer want to be on the taglist that's completely fine; I take no offence whatsoever so please don't hesitate to tell me. ^^

[bougiebutchbitch]

while we're on a kick with mouthwashing.......... I haven't talked much about Anya because she seemed incredibly flat to me - a very sterotypical 'tragic vicitimized woman' character who, as an archetype, just doesn't appeal to me in fictional contexts.

But. BUT. I can appreciate the genius of this as a storytelling device. We are seeing her from Jimmy's incredibly fucked-up perspective. Of course he sees her as a flat cardboard cut-out who is just there to fulfill his needs and be a caretaker. Of course he doesn't see much of a personality in her - so we have to piece it together from the scraps we're fed around the edges of the game.

That feels like a very purposeful and clever choice. Even if a big part of me wishes Anya got more focus ( I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HER FIGHTING SO HARD TO GET INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL!!!! I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE NURSE WHO FAILS TO GET IN AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN, BUT NEVER GIVES UP!!!!!!) I understand that the focus being taken off victims and placed on offenders is part of The Horror of the game.

Just as the 'body horror' element does not come from Curly's appearance, but from the very real horror many disabled people face when stripped of all autonomy and forced to rely on abusers to survive, the 'horror' of Anya's character being reduced to a simplistic stock archetype of victimhood feels like a commentary on how sexual abuse and trauma can change people irl and make you retreat into yourself, and how abusers often do see you as something less than a complete human being.

[venussaidso]

Ketu Kinship p1.

disclaimer: as per usual, all my posts are based entirely on fictional dynamics and themes that perfectly tie into the nakshatras of the characters/actors. when talking about onscreen pairings, i am not promoting anything. don't ask me about compatibility, i'm simply a dedicated consumer of fictional media who just so happens to be obsessed with the meanings and storytelling behind nakshatras. if this resonates, though, i am glad. but when it comes to real life, i'm not intrigued by astrological pairings. this is for fun!

The Chinese drama Love Between Fairy and Devil is so Mula-coded. The way Mula is derived from the Sanskrit word for "root" and the Fairy, played by a Mula Sun native, gets to the tree of emotions of the Devil (who is the epitome of a Ketu power-hungry emotionless tyrant, mind you). She finds this tree, which is representative of his psyche, to be completely damaged and frozen, and she unintentionally heals his roots (which gets to his core issues, and hidden parts of himself). Ketu bringing forth truth and healing, this debilitates him, and she becomes his weakness.

Although, there's a toxic aspect that I just explored of the Ketu-Ketu pairings, especially in het pairings, where the Ketu man fixates on the Ketu woman and he traps her, selfishly taking away her autonomy. Of course, it's romanticized, but this is yet again another Ketu man doing too much because he can't healthily express his feelings (as they begin to surface, all thanks to her Mula abilities) and he overexerts himself, his genuine feelings for her being in conflict with his tyrannical instincts (another power trip for the Ketuvian).

The one astrological influence I found to go perfectly head-to-head with Ketuvians' force is Rahu, and vice versa. I will be getting to that post someday; but Rahuvians can be the least tolerant and more resistant of them. The same way Sun-Saturn pairings function. Being of equal polarity, there can be enough tension and conflict to showcase their refusal to submit to each other's force as opposed to natives of the same rulership.

And also, the Beauty-&-the-Beast element I talked about is there between Fairy and Devil, of course, as I've explored with this specific nodal pairing before. Even in the other details of the drama, such as her friends being plants the same way Belle's friends are kitchen utensils and teacups. Her isolation speaks to her Ketu-rulership, and her getting locked up by the Ketu male she's supposedly meant to fall in love with is literally Beauty-&-the-Beast. Except the Beast here is a murderous god, the actual biggest threat in the universe and whatnot. While Punarvasu's Beast was merely a vain, narcissistic prince, compared to Mula as the Beast who is initially extremely villainous and darker (as explored before in my wolf in disguise post, how nodals are the evil beasts everyone has the right to be wary for). Of course, as you can see how the media has always been obsessed with humanizing & redeeming murderous male characters, the Beauty-&-the-Beast tale is of two Ketuvians here.

Although, not to shit on Ketu-Ketu entirely.

It is interesting that (fictional) Ketu-ruled natives, though seen in a symbiotic dynamic with Jupiter-ruled natives, are magnetized by those of the same rulership, and vice versa; to the point of certain medias showcasing a better understanding of the Ketuvian through other Ketuvians. It is also interesting how fans of these shows even prefer these pairings, sensing way more chemistry and connection than expected, such as;

In the love triangle between Joey Potter, Pacey Witter, and Dawson Leery; Pacey Witter and Joey Potter are the perfect endgame to pretty much majority of the fandom. Initially Joey loves Dawson for his Jupiterian tendencies, but even the viewers grow to realize that Pacey actually sees her for who she is. While Dawson, being so full of himself, remains with a version of Joey in his head that just isn't real (Jupiter's idealization getting in the way of reality). The way Pacey sees Joey goes to Ketu's energy cutting through superficial layers to get to the essence of things. Pacey gets to look into Joey's dreams, aspirations and true self more than Dawson will ever.

With Rory Gilmore, Dean, and Jess; it’s almost the exact same thing. Rory and Dean are initially drawn to each other’s polarity and seem like a fine fit. Then, Jess comes along, and his presence gives us a more real version of Rory. They have that effect on each other where, while they’re so magnetized by one another, they feel so grounded and seen when they’re together. He validates important aspects of herself that we never see Dean do.

Alex Russo and Mason Greybeck. Her first relationship was with Dean (another Punarvasu by the name Dean lol), and some can argue it’s her best. But her relationship with Mason demonstrates a deeper understanding and appreciation of her character compared to her relationship with Dean. Her second relationship was pretty much the most iconic on the show. With Mason, Alex was just seen, he gave her space to thrive even in her recklessness. [Also Mason's unhealthy fixation on Alex showed in episodes post their breakup. Typical.]

With Clara Oswald and the Eleventh Doctor and the Twelfth, this is another clear example that Ketu-Ketu is the best fit in my opinion. Clara had only become an equal beside Twelfth, developing a deeper, more real, connection with him because she is seen and through him her character thrives more. Clara with Eleventh were a stereotypical Ketu-Jupiter pair, mostly centered around him and his Jupiterian abundance with no room for her to grow or be grounded in a meaningful way as Jupiter doesn't challenge Ketu or pierce through Ketu.

Her character beside the Eleventh Doctor was based on his fascination with her, not supporting her growth or complexity as Jupiter has the tendency to idealize. With the Twelfth Doctor, he challenges her in ways that force her to confront her fears, truths and insecurities. This is the Ketuvian piercing through the other Ketuvian, adding even more emotional depth to their connection.

As Ketuvians can be extremely grounding from their ability to see beyond things and destroy illusion, it comes as no surprise that such natives can be validated by one another just based on perception and the ability to brutally tell things as they are alone. For example, in the film, Thoroughbreds, Mula Sun Olivia Cooke plays a character who is marked by her blunt honesty and emotional detachment, contrasting the performative and often illusory behaviour of the characters around her. Being that she is Ketuvian, she is the grounding force that drives the movie, forcing Ashwini Sun Anya Taylor Joy's character to confront the darker, more complex aspects of herself and her insecurities. The Mula native's candidness acts as a mirror for the Ashwini native who hasn't had anyone pierce through her as she did. The unwavering authenticity of the Mula native encourages her to reconsider her own identity.

This way of Ketuvians seeing each other always comes with an unspoken acceptance and understanding of each other. They seem to initially function like Solar people who hate having expectations put on them as it restricts them. Ketu people hate falsities projected onto them, and when they’re with people who limit them as they try to navigate their own identity, or with people who don’t see them and have the Ketuvian center them instead, they become suffocated. It comes as no surprise that when another Ketu person walks into their life, they feel so validated and grounded, as the truth that's always existed within them is forcibly pulled out and mirrored. In general, without my dramatic ass interpretation, Ketu people are just naturally more inclined to the company of each other because there’s a theme of belonging, as headless and directionless as Ketu is.

[lovemyromance]

(Not a troll ask please don't shoot :D - genuine question)

But I feel like it's really downplayed how much Gwynriels gaslight the fandom. I joined ACOTAR bc I saw Gwynriel fanart and thought they were cute. I Got all the way to ACOSF still hoping for Gwynriel and got a whole lot of NOTHING. And honestly I think Elain is as interesting as cardboard (sorry), but you'd have to be downright blind to ignore she had something going on with Azriel.

Then I saw on titktok about the bonus chapter, everyone going in saying omg thats where gwyn & az are mates! So I cracked it open, read it - and bruh - HE'S OUT HERE TRYING TO GO DOWN ON ELAIN??

How can you put THAT interaction & the conversation he had with Gwyn side by side and people are walking away from it saying Gwyn & Azriel are mates?

I'm so genuinely confused why someone would start that nonsense. The way I ate up Gwynriel art/fan theories it was like she was a major character there from the start and they'd already had 8 kids and a HEA.

Then I open the books and they barely even have a conversation??

It was honestly really annoying. felt like a scam, like one of those authors peddling their book on social media and then you realize its a wattpadd fic written by a 12 yr old not an actual book

If it helps - we're all confused. Nothing has been proven yet about any remaining couple so idk why the Elucien and Gwynriels are out here straight up inventing fiction and trying to pass it off as fact to anyone willing (and even unwilling) to listen.

This ship war could've just been - "Hey I like Elucien more!" Or "I love elriel!"

But instead of just accepting these are all opinions and not actually what is in the books - people decided to straight up gaslight and claim that Elucien are a couple and Gwynriel are mates.

If you cannot point to it on the page where such a thing it explicitly happened - then it is not canon.

Lucien & Elain? They're mates. That's canon.

What's also canon - is that not all mates are a good pairing and end up happy together.

Whats also canon - is that the cauldron was wrong.

It shouldn't be hard to reach accurate conclusions if people stopped treating their wants and headcanons as fact.

Like for gods sake - let's just look at fanart. I'm not saying that every piece of fanart is canon or even should be canon - but elriel has much more canon fanart. Thats literally a fact. They have multiple major moments together - on the page.

What is canon Elucien fanart? When she falls out the cauldron - naked and humiliated and he gives her his cloak? When they sit together over a tea service acting uncomfortable? When she avoids him every other time she sees him?

What is canon Gwynriel fanart? When he gives her boss a secondhand necklace to give to her or anyone else? When he - and cassian and everyone else - watch her cut a ribbon she sees as an enemy?

I've seen so many people open up these books expecting some grand romance between Elain & Lucien and end up disappointed because... she doesn't even want to be in the same room as him.

So many Gwynriels with similar stories to yours expecting some entertaining Gwynriel love story only to also end up disappointed because Gwyn doesn't even exist till the last book and she and Azriel barely interact.

They chose to believe in a nonexistent ship and are trying to compete with canon Elriel evidence. Like ok - tough shit? But you can't just start making shit up.

Until Elain accepts that bond - or even gives Lucien the time of day - they're not a couple. They are nowhere close to endgame if everything she has done and said has shown us she doesn't want him.

Until Azriel himself declares Gwyn is his mate or vice versa - they're not mates.

And yeah I'm gonna get a lot of backlash from the "foreshadowing and crumbs" crowd.

But let me ask you this:

There are some Elriels who think the mating bond between Lucien & Elain is fake. There is plenty of evidence and similar language used about their bond that resembles the fake Rowan & Lyria bond. Plenty of signs showing their bond isn't quite right.

do you think Elriels can then claim it's canon that the Elucien bond is fake?

"We have crumbs and foreshadowing and similar language used" too. But do you see us going around claiming it's canon?

No.

We are very clear about the distinction between canon and headcanons. About what's in the books, and what is just pure guesswork and theory.

"Sparky spark" and "elucien is endgame" are both theories until proven. They are NOT canon.

Wish they'd just learn the difference. They'd be a lot less unhappy fans.

[joejhang]

my aftg hot takes

most of these are pretty lukewarm but i'm gonna get flamed for them anyway but whatever. spoilers ??? ahead ??? idk read at ur own risk

i don't think andreil ever say i love you to each other; i feel like the discourse about this is virtually endless ever since nora said it but honestly her explanation was so valid??? they're such a show not tell couple it just makes so much sense for them to show the "i love you" in their actions than ever saying the words out loud. esp bc neither of them have ever really heard those words and have them mean anything real or true or actually loving. personally i think their little percentages and the "i hate you"'s and kisses and keys mean more to them than an "i love you" ever could. i'm not a purist on this tho i do think i could visualise it happening maybe somewhere along the road i just think nora's explanation for this is very very in line with canon andreil.

i don't hate thea muldani; i've made a post abt this but basically my thoughts around her are literally just: she's a human being, and she's never gonna be perfect. i also find it very...interesting how the fandom likes to flame thea (an explicitly stated woman of colour) for being "problematic" and a "terrible person/character" when she doesn't act all that different from andrew, neil and kevin (white men) ??? idk it seems a little strange to me bc she seems pretty on par with them on whatever moral compass this batshit crazy fandom has decided to impose on these fictional and very much morally ambiguous characters. anyway go check out my post i go a lot deeper into thea's character and why she does a lot of things wrong but i don't rlly think she's deserving of the insane amounts of hate she gets in the fandom.

i don't think andreil ever get married; this MIGHT be me projecting bc the idea of marriage is just a very complicated and rough concept in my mind but also just i feel like there's something so beautiful about andreil never really putting a label on their relationship??? like they never define it by calling the other their "boyfriend" or "husband" they just are. they have nothing "concrete" binding them like a marriage certificate but they choose to stay with each other through everything. idk it's real to me but again i'm not a purist people can do whatever they want.

i've said it before but i'll keep saying it till enough people hear me: the aftg fandom mischaracterises literally the main fucking characters; i'm mostly talking about andrew and ESPECIALLY neil here bc neil is not a sweet, sunshiney, oblivious, blushy softboy and andrew is not a cold, unemotional, stoic, "conceal don't feel" stone. since i've already bitched on and on about neil's mischaracterisation let's just talk about andrew for a sec. i think andrew is actually a deeply emotional person and is fully aware of the feelings he experiences. does he vocalise or express them often? no but more often than not they show themselves anyway. him crashing out after neil was kidnapped, letting himself get walked like a dog by neil for three books straight, choking allison for slapping aaron, idk i could go on. but yeah you get it.

i don't actually think neil is that oblivious; before people come at me like "but nora said!" or whatever yeah, i know she said he's as dense as a brick when it comes to people flirting with him. considering how much of the ec the aftg fandom likes to disregard allow me to disregard this little bit of it, yeah? this isn't me tryna impose my own projections onto nora's characters, this is lit just me tryna explain how i understand neil josten (he's my bsf btw). he literally clocks his feelings for andrew in trk (after his deep convo™ with nicky) but he just files it away for later bc he doesn't consider attraction or romantic interest anything to be thinking about considering he's got the mafia and his serial killer dad on his tail. i also don't really blame him for not catching onto andrew's feelings earlier (tho doesn't he get pretty fucking close during that one convo they have in exites in trk???? someone correct me if i'm wrong but) bc dude andrew was out here sending fucking mixed ass signals like bro was saying "you are a pipe dream" and "i hate you" in the same fucking conversations like??? neil has always taken andrew at face value and he's not about to question him now. he's also never confused or uncertain about nicky or marissa and what their comments about him meant, he just genuinely does not gaf about them so he doesn't acknowledge them or pay them any attention in his narration. i truly truly think his dismissal of all the advances made upon him in aftg were borne out of indifference, not obliviousness.

have already said this in detail but i don't think andrew's actually a misogynist; the wording doesn't feel right. i'd probably describe andrew's distrust of women (esp. those in motherly/mother roles) as a similar ingrained wariness that neil has for older men. this is something borne out of trauma and shitty experiences that takes time and trust to unlearn. nora says a lot of things the fandom disregards and for me, this is one of those things i'm a little iffy about. misogyny actually isn't reflected in andrew's actions at all, i'd say. does he respect women? no. but he doesn't respect anyone unless they've actually earned it. and among the people he does respect and care for there are women (renee, bee). he doesn't treat women any differently and obv doesn't think they're any weaker than men are (considering renee wipes the floor w him their first sparring sesh). andrew's an equal opportunity hater and i don't think he actually has any sexist or even misogynistic tendencies. i think what is there is just a slightly biased worldview of disliking/mistrusting mother figures, given his bad experiences w tilda and cass (they've left him w more long-term emotional damage that's probably rlly difficult and complicated for him to work through esp considering cass did love??? him and he did want her enough to be willing to suffer dr*ke to be close to her; there's more to it but for the sake of word count i won't go into it) but honestly it doesn't actually show that much??? if people wanna say he hates women, sure, but for one, he doesn't hate a lot of things he's just very indifferent to them and two, he holds a pretty similar apathetic distaste for most people and things, so it's not like a very big distinction. i also think the whole "no girls" thing w aaron was very much a personal thing, and his mistrust of katelyn probably came from aaron's past (apparently negative) experiences w other girlfriends and friendships in general. and if i remember correctly the deal wasn't even "no girls" it was just "family only" which is why aaron didn't make friends w the rest of the foxes either. i digress but i don't think saying "andrew isn't a misogynist" is robbing him of any nuance as a character.

i like nicky and honestly feel similarly towards him as i do about thea; he isn't perfect and never will be and i think while the way he acts towards neil and others (see: matt, kevin) is pretty untoward and inappropriate, i also do see where he's coming from, esp after aaron's explanation of it. that it's a defence mechanism coming from someone who's experienced a lot of prejudice and harm because of his sexuality. obv i think everyone can agree his assault on neil was fucked up but i think nora was right in saying that nicky was high and drunk and not rlly in his right mind at the time, and he does apologise and i'm pretty sure she also said he and neil work it out privately anyway. he's a messy character and definitely not perfect queer rep but again, he's pretty realistic, and i think he's honestly a rlly well-written and complex character.

[legendary-lunatic]

I’m here to spread my Oliver Banks propaganda. Listen, there’s a lot of cool ships in the Magnus fandom, but I feel like people are sleeping on Oliver Banks/ Gerard Keay. Honestly, Oliver in general is such an underrated character.

Oliver is the undead avatar of the end, he’s actually a pretty chill and nice guy, he’s ironically one of the avatars not trying to be an ass and kill people for no reason and pretty much just vibes because he’s edgy and death is inevitable except for when it’s not. He’s gay, he matches Gerry’s freak, and I think they would get along. Gerry and Oliver deserve someone who understands but is easy going for once.

Gerry is a dead goth man with a sweet personality and I think he would absolutely kick it off with Oliver. After spending so much time with people who are off their rocker, maybe Gerry needs to sit and hang out with a guy who gets freaky nightmares just like he probably does and just copes with him while watching him paint a nice picture. They can sit in some middle dimension End purgatory and play board games, who knows?

Oliver works at a crystal tarot magic shop and that is so Gerard coded to me.

There’s so much you could do with them narratively. They don’t have a lot of fiction but the ones there are are absolute bangers. Y’all should check it out. Or maybe they can just be friends. They could probably use some somewhat “normal” friends… normal by their standards…

Please I need more people to write about how iconic they are as a duo, romantic or not.

[ayoharuko]

Love and Deepspace: Boyfriend Headcanons ♡

Hello! I have been sucked into this game in so many ways, I have literally almost lost interest in my other otome games- And yes i chose this game as my comeback but ya’ll already know why :3

Most of these headcanons are kinda already canon? Like canon in game? But don't worry I sprinkled some original ones thought by yours truly of course~ ✩

This will be separate parts as I wanted different posts dedicated to each of our beloved boys, we all love each one of them in this household.

Reader here is Gender Neutral (They/Them)

Warning: Some Spoilers from his Myths and minor swearing.

Reminder: The character belongs to INFOLD/ its respective creators; this is all just fictional work so please try to not take these too seriously :)

♡ First of all, Xavier is a cuddle bug.... HE WILL HUG YOU WHENEVER HE GETS THE CHANCE TO.

♡ So, I would love to think that that he loves receiving and giving, physical touch. Whether its holding hands, hugging you, kissing you- heck.. even just your shoulders touching can count as physical touch to him. Especially, if you aren't comfortable with physical touch yet.

♡ Xavier is also the best napping buddy! He can be in any sleeping position you want, if you want- you can have him just on his back, laying still as you cuddle him in any position. Or maybe you prefer him holding you? Any position is fine with him, as long as he has you sleeping beside him :)

♡ But if you have to ask him what his favorite sleeping position is, it has to be the 'Face to Face' position, so he can get blessed by your sleeping face every morning.

♡ Sometimes, when he wakes up first or feel restless (Which is rarely) he stares at you.... carving every texture, mole or freckle into his brain, even if he had already memorized it by now.

♡ He just wants to.... cherish you before... his time ends you know? (HAHAHAHA SORRY I COULDN'T HELP IT-)

♡ Oh, you love food? Congrats then. You have yourself a foodie buddy- and boyfriend for life!

♡ Almost all your dates are visiting new or old restaurants around Linkon and outside of Linkon to eat, but mostly it'll be hotpot themed as we all know how much he loves his hotpot.

♡ But if we're talking about homecooked meals.... well.. Obviously he can't be in the kitchen but whatever and whenever you cook he'll eat definitely it! Your food is much better then the restaurants you all visit, he claims!

♡ One more love language of his is that I think he'll have is words of affirmation, in a receiving and giving way. With his soft, airy like voice he would whisper sweet words into your ear as you fall to dreamland.

♡ Comfort you if your having a stressful or bad day and he just loves talking to you... you bring out the extrovert in him :)

♡ In the receiving end, he needs all the affirmation and assurance that you'll always be there... He knows he can't be honest all the time and has his flaws but he needs you to tell him its okay. His a soft boy.. only for you obviously.

♡ He would get you flowers every week, once a week maybe. Each week with a different flower; Jeremiah would teach him how to make a small bouquet and teach him how to grow flowers whilst having these lessons, he'll also pick up a book from his other friends library on the meaning of flowers.

♡ When all thats learned have been learned, he'll start bringing you flowers with hidden meanings that you don't pay mind to but Xavier sometimes will tell you what they mean🌷͙֒

♡ Wear whatever you want babe, your boyfriend is literally Lumiere and he'll glare at anyone who has ill intentions for you or the ones whose judging you.

♡ Sometimes we all forget that this man is LITERALLY A PRINCE. (If some of ya'll don't know this yet- spoiler I guess.)

♡ So that means, princess treatment ALL THE WAY, actually no- QUEEN TREATMENT. Doors will be opened, bags shall be carried, you won't pay for shit when your with him as his salary is big (Ordinary hunter MY ASS.)

♡ He'll also do anything you ask him to do. Whether its household related things or... *ahem * *ahem* pest related things....

♡ But yes, he would do anything you ask him to, as long as it makes you happy :)

♡ He would flirt with you, but in a subtle way... like, he would say something so flirty or smooth but he won't comment on it, or he makes it so subtle that it almost sounds like a compliment or normal thing to say.

♡ He'll brush it off if you ask about it and just put on his usually charming smile and give you a compliment instead.

♡ But if you do it back to him, you will notice the red spreading all over his cheek and ears, he might get embarrassed about it but he secretly craves it since you won't do that to anybody but him- and if you do... well.... they will most definitely get the cold shoulder from Xavier as well as the sink eye....

♡ While Xavier has plenty of good qualities about him, it doesn't mean he doesn't have any bad qualities about him.

♡ He would be very secretive. Sometimes you won't know if you truly know him, once you confront him with this problem he'd brush it off and try to derail the conversation but if you push it- you and him will get into a one-sided heated argument. With you as the heated one and him the one-sided.

♡ In the end, you'd have to accept that he won't tell you any of the secrets his hiding so you give up and make him promise to you that once his ready, he should/would tell you everything.

♡ Sometimes the napping habit of his would become too much. It'll result in him losing track of time and possibly missing your scheduled dates, forgetting to eat or do basic self-care and it basically becomes an unhealthy habit. So he appreciates it whenever you're both going out or when you're forcing him to do something else besides napping.

♡ He is a jealous man... not possessive but more on jealousy. He knows you're attractive and he also knows that you won't leave him but his more worried about the other people who'll make a move on you or has ill intentions.

♡ He would hold your hand tightly in public and in a subtle way, he'll show that you both are together but also flexing your intertwined hands.

♡ It's canon that his very good with video games right? But I don't think he plays games all the time, I think his the type to play games whenever you're in the mood to or when he sees you online on your favorite game together.

♡ Minecraft is you and Xavier's ultimate game you both would play in your free time.

♡ He is your monster slayer, he tames animals (mostly cats) and he makes sure your amors all enchanted!

♡ When you're both partnered up for a mission, he would absolutely make sure you're safe the whole time. As much as he knows you can handle yourself- he also wants you unharmed.... He can't bear to lose you.. not again.

♡ So he would always be in front of you. Like a shield almost, but he'd also be your blade- He has always been yours to use, if you asked him to take a hit for you, he would. If you asked him to kill any threats that might hurt you, that threat would be dead in mere seconds.

♡ Nicknames that he'll often call you would be My Queen (Assuming you don't know why), Little Star (Idk I just see it) and... honestly? I don't think his that big on nicknames-

♡ He'd probably just prefer to call you by your name as he likes the way it sounds when he says it aloud :)

♡ When it comes nicknames that are for him however... he doesn't mind them, he even has a few favorites- such as: My Prince, Knight in shining armor, babyboy (I SEE THE VISION.) and Honey.

♡ In conclusion: Xavier is a very sweet, charming and sleepy boyfriend- only when it comes to you of course.

♡ Don't forget, to other people; their opinions don't matter. But your words? They mean a lot to him.

You've all reached the end, yay! Thank you so much for reading this far, I hope you all enjoyed this <3

I tried to make a lot of headcanons as I could, but I lost lots of braincells along the way lol.

I'm actually debating whether I should do a NSFW Version of these headcanons.... do you guys think you'll be interested in that? Of course the other guys would get a NSFW Version as well.

See you guys on my next post~! :3

Zayne's Boyfriend Headcanons, check it out too! (Coming Soon)

Reblogs are appreciated and Feedback/Comments are always appreciated! :3

(Note: please don't copy and paste my works anywhere, and if you do see them on other platform please inform me.)

[konmics-n-stuff]

Hi, I disagree with your viewpoint a bit (about Tim’s character, absolutely not trying to get into a ship war lol). Just putting this in a reblog cause trying to format it in the comment section would be super messy. Not trying to be rude or start a heated argument or anything, just wanna discuss/debate fiction in a chill manner. And if you want me to take this down I gladly will.

More words under cut:

So, I would argue that Tim had just as much, if not more, of a choice than most of the other characters you mention with respect to his initial choice to be Robin. No one HAD to step in for Batman. And certainly not a random, tween civilian. Bruce had people like Alfred and Leslie Thompkins (and kinda sorta Dick and Babs, maybe even Harold lol) that could have helped. Even if he didn’t, that responsibility does not fall onto the shoulders of a random kid. Tim made a choice to step in because he felt it was the right thing to do; no one forced him. He had no duty; he didn’t even know Bruce.

Additionally, unlike the cases of Dick, Jason, and Damian, he had a perfectly comfortable life with no big personal tragedy. (To the best of my knowledge), crime had never personally impacted him at this point, except for witnessing the Haley’s Circus incident. After Dick turned down becoming Robin again, Tim could have said “ok, I tried” and gone back to his comfortable, (relatively) trauma-free life with his alive parents and his civilian friends.

Obviously he didn’t, but imo that was a freer choice than Damian’s, for example, who lived an early life of violence, stretched between two legacies and feeling obligated to choose one or the other. Damian never really had an opportunity to lead a normal, civilian life like Tim did. He became Robin because, at the time, he saw it as a way to eventually earn the Batman mantle and thus make the most of the Wayne bloodline. With the way he was raised and his general mentality at this point in canon, I would argue that his choice wasn’t between a civilian life or Robin, it was between Robin or assassinhood, and after Talia dropped him off, he couldn’t be an assassin without outright running from Bruce (and thus the legacy that his mother and grandfather spoke highly of and that he had never known). I don’t think it can be considered a free choice.

In the case of Jason, the Robin mantle already existed. He had a horrible childhood and experienced some of the worst that Gotham city had to offer. He was adopted by the Batman, a man that had done this for only one other boy, and that boy was Robin. Of course he felt pressure to do the same and also to make a difference for kids like him. What other choice did he have?

I’ll concede to your point on Bruce. When he started training, Bruce had been personally touched by crime, tragedy, and the general specter of Gotham more than 13-year-old Tim. But at the end of the day, he deliberately created his own superhero mantle, and was the first to do so in Gotham. And he had a cushy life he could’be fallen back on instead. So yeah, I agree with you here.

For Dick, there’s also wiggle room because he was the first ever Robin, but he was ultimately following Batman’s example, not to mention the recent trauma of his parents’ death and how it shaped his worldview. He was already living with Bruce; expecting him to sit idly by while Batman fights men like Tony Zucco is a bit more unreasonable than expecting Tim to keep living his life as normal and not intervening in a strangers’ mental health.

Even once Tim is Robin, he (initially) views being a superhero as a free choice, and one he can and will take back.

Nightwing (vol 2) #6

Tim, to me, is interesting as a character partially because he had every opportunity to continue on as normal and he chose to be selfless. The mundanity of his pre-Robin life alongside his lack of powers stand in contrast to most superheroes. There is no grand event that happens to him in particular to make him a hero. When he makes that choice, he has no Flying Graysons, Thomas and Martha Wayne, or Uncle Ben. He had no personal connection to Bruce, Dick, or Jason, and he still sacrifices the potential for a perfectly happy, average life solely because he wants to help others. That, to me, is a fundamental aspect of his character. If nothing else, that’s what I see as making him Tim.

And yes, Tim does eventually (in the late 00s) come to think (arguably validly) that he has no choice but to continue. I won’t argue that. But that’s certainly not unique to him; most other Batfamily members think like that too, including Bruce. (In your own post, you acknowledge how much worse Gotham is without Batman, and Bruce’s feeling of obligation to Gotham because of that. I think Dick might also think like that, but i haven’t gotten to that part of New Teen Titans yet so I won’t speak with authority). A whole lot of other superheroes have that kinda mindset too.

However, if you’re captivated by the idea of a character that never had that initial choice of becoming a superhero, (and limited connections in the civilian world), I suggest reevaluating Kon-El.

As much as I love TimKon, I prefer TimBern and it's mainly because of this:

“Bernard says I sacrifice myself like it's a bad thing.”

“But it's all I've ever known.”

“All that my family has ever been taught.”

Tim, out of all of the BatFamily members is the one that never really had a choice.

Bruce had a choice to become Batman. He almost retired, until things went badly again and he realized how much more awful Gotham would be if he did.

Dick had a choice to become Robin. When Bruce fired him he could've finished college and lived a normal life, but he chose to continue on as Nightwing.

Jason had a choice to become Robin. And while his mind had been messed with after being dunked in the Lazarus Pit, he had a choice to become Red Hood, too.

Damian had a choice to become Robin. He fought hard for the role, and seems to genuinely enjoy doing it.

Tim didn't have a choice to become Robin. Yes, no one actually forced him into the role, but he saw what had happened to Bruce after Jason's death (such as how he became more violent), and knew that Bruce needed a Robin to keep himself sane. He tried going to Dick, but Dick said the best he could do was help as Nightwing as he wasn't willing to be Robin again. So Tim felt like he had to take up the role, because Batman, his greatest hero, would lose it if he didn't.

Tim also didn't have a choice to give up being a vigilante, unlike the others. When he got replaced as Robin, Bruce was trapped in time and everyone but him thought he was dead. He didn't have Dick's experience of going out soul searching and deciding that being a hero was what he wanted in life, he had to almost immediately take up a new secret identity and start going on missions so he could find out what happened to Bruce.

I love TimBern so much, because Bernard is Tim's connection to civilian life. If you're a hero dating a hero, even when you're being civilians and doing civilian things, there's always going to be the knowledge of who you both are really, and the missions you've been on together (Such as Tim looking at Kon and remembering things like when he tried to clone him because he was ‘dead’). I feel like with Bernard, Tim can be a full on civilian and forget about the hero life for a while, and that makes it special.

Also I just think Bernard is neat :3

[deviiancetv]

Cinema Starview Presents: It Really Was Agatha All Along

I’m such a lover of the occult, witches, mystical beings and all, so Agatha All Along was a real treat to watch. As someone that loved The Craft, Practical Magic, Halloween Town, Wizard of Oz, Twitches, Hocus Pocus (sorta), AHS Coven, and many other witchy fictional stories in modern day media, this series falls right in line as a potential new comfort show to watch during spooky szn.

I’m not gonna lie, I still hate the name of this show, they could’ve came up or chosen a better name, but that’s not what’s important. Let’s just talk about how well this show was as a return to great storytelling from Marvel, cause they sure as hell have been flopping HARDCORE lately.

For starters can we just give it up to Kathryn Hahn!! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Kathryn is an amazing actress, her comedic timing is something of perfection. Her role as Agatha Harkness is both cunning, calculated, snarky, and yet deeply flawed and caring to her core. Her connection to Billy at the start of it all at first made me think Joe’s character was gonna be a mix of Nicholas and Billy, but Joe Locke being Billy makes a lot more sense. I loved how her story was both tragic and also had lots of depth to it.

I never did watch Heartstopper (don’t plan to) but he definitely fits the role. I think casting Kit Conner as his other half, Hulkling, would be THEE best casting decision and I hope they do that!! As for who Tommy will be, we’ll have to wait and see but I think Tommy will be introduced in that Vision series or maybe even Wonder Man?? And now that Ghost!Agatha and Billy are a team, I’m intrigued to see what adventures they get themselves in when finding Tommy

Might I add that Billy’s room is full of so much pop culture references!!! Like I’m jealous and I definitely need his room as my moodboard template.

I think I say this for everyone, that Aubrey Plaza kills it everytime in her roles. Her monotone and slightly edgy vibe is what makes her great for shows like this. Her role as Rio/Death was very poetic — the phrase “Death comes for us all” is so cryptic and yet so true. It’s the same thing with change being the only constant in life, and life is full of so many deaths and changes, but also there’s so much growth and birth happening all the time. I’m sure we’ll see Rio again, maybe if they FINALLY introduce Mephisto she could act as a henchmen or bounty hunter of sorts for him.

As for the other witches, Alice’s story was sad, but it didn’t feel fully developed as the other witches. Patti LuPone’s role as Lilia is soooo poignant and wispy (as they say). I love Patti’s roles so much, she’s become a favorite of mine over the years and her portrayal of a divination witch was phenomenal. Sasheer Zamata taking on this role was very interesting, I remember her time on SNL and to see her in a dramatic and whimsical setting like this was a nice change.

I’m just so glad her character Jen was able to be unbound by the spell Agatha placed onto her (as well as the cultural significance that represents). In a way, Jen was a final girl given everybody else died, Billy and Rio don’t officially count since they had grander importance than Jen does in terms of the MCU, but good for Jen. I hope we see her again someday.

This show was a nice return to form for Marvel. I’m not the biggest fan of how they treated Wanda in Multiverse of Madness, but I love the creepy supernatural factor that comes with this area of the MCU. I hope they keep it up, but by the looks of it, I’m sure there gonna be more mediocre content until we get to the end of this Multiverse Saga, however this was a nice break in between.

Jac Schaeffer has done it again ✨ they need to give her a raise and make her in charge of the supernatural sector of the MCU.

SCORE: 8/10 ⭐️

[liaragaming]

What kills me about Solas is that Fade nerd we saw in Inquisition wasn't a trick or a facade. It was real. It was him. That's the person he wants to be. Not Fen'Harel. Not the Maker of the modern world as we know it - or the destroyer of it. Just Solas, who loves exploring memories in the Fade, and befriending spirits, and frilly cakes, and loving his vhenan.

But it was not supposed to happen this way and the failure was his and he should pay the price but the Veil is a wound inflicted upon this world that must be healed and he takes no joy in what he must do and shit is just so messed up...

[bixels]

I'm not explaining why re-imagining characters as POC is not the same as white-washing, here of all places should fucking understand.

[tea-cat-arts]

Shen Yuan getting transported into pidw isn't "the system punishing him for being a lazy internet hater," but instead representative of "step 1 of the creative process: getting so mad at something you decide to go write your own fucking book" in this essay I will

[nats-uvi]

Angst time :D👍

You can read my rambling about her in the tags

[henry-or-something]

Guys I'm so normal about him I swear I'm totally sane everything is cool and normal

[mbat]

i literally read the book of bill days ago but its only now kinda hitting me how fucked ford and bills whole thing was though cause ford literally talks about being so unable to sleep (to try to keep bill away), and when sleep inevitably caught up to him, he would wake up to his body abused and things messed with and he just couldnt seem to find an escape (and he literally didnt get to truly escape until 30 years later)

(also keeping people awake for unhealthily long periods of time is another tactic used to mess with and control people because of how it impairs brain function)

listing off the things we see in those few pages in the book of bill:

i mean, punching and scratching at a steel door for hours would be so damaging to your hands and probably hurt like hell for at least 2 days after. then bill says he was hitting fords head against a wall, though its said in a post-it as if its a joke, but he also isnt exactly above doing that, and honestly he says most things like its a joke.

i also dont need to say 'bill really doesnt know how to take no for an answer' because he makes that very clear in literally any interaction we see with him.

bill literally puts a venomous snake near ford while fords asleep, which could have killed him if he wasnt lucky+skilled enough to deal with it.

he nearly gives ford hypothermia, and in the same action actively threatens ford with the idea of making him jump off of a high spot, and like ford says, doesnt do it just so he can send a message to ford about how hes the one in control.

he gets ford in trouble with not only the law, but also with other people that are probably not very happy with him after. he mutilates fords body in several ways, and i dont think i need to go into detail on them because theyre... so ew. and he even exposes part of fords body to the world. like, its just taking his shirt off, but thats still showing off his body in a way that he didnt agree to or want

and then he attempts to (or purposefully fails to) call stan, using fords voice to threaten suicide and tell stan that ford never loved him.

and he punctuates it with a final power move, in a hallucination that he creates, hes messing with stans memories and making him feel like his body was basically about to implode

and like. okay, we all joke about toxic old man yaoi, and its a good joke and toxic old man yaoi is great and its an interesting ship, but holy fuck.

like. to say the absolute least, that had to be so, so deeply violating. its no wonder that when we see ford in the past, when he finally contacts stan, he looks like hes on the verge of shattering into a million pieces. he just went through, and still wasnt yet out of, some deeply abusive shit.

like... everything coming out lately both in this book and what ive heard is on the website, mixed with what we already knew from the show itself... the stans are both so, so fucking tragic dude. their whole lives were thrown away over things that really didnt even need to be the way they were, and then they both get into situations that are pretty damn screwed, and those situations follow them for the rest of their lives. its basically a miracle that things worked out in the end for them.

i dont really have a point, i just had to talk about all that. i read almost all of the book of bill in one sitting, and while i was really enjoying it, i was also getting kind of tired of sitting in one spot only doing this one thing for several hours straight. i still felt a lot of the emotional bits of it of course, but man this part specifically just really didnt hit me until now.

i mean, to say the absolute least, i know what its like to feel violated in a similar way, though not anywhere near to the extent of what he went through at all. someone get that man some therapy got damn