#i didn't know what else to make my first post

[hotchsprncess]

the road to recovery ⊹ spencer reid

.ᐟ MDNI .ᐟ

ᝰ summary : since getting shot on the job 2 weeks ago, anything physical was difficult for spencer and was strongly discouraged by his doctor. you were tending to his every need like the wonderful girlfriend you are, but there were some new things he needed now that he was recovering.

ᝰ warnings : mentions of injuries, domestic vibes, l-bombs, fem reader, sorta sub!spencer (he's just needy af), softdom!reader, oral f receiving, handjob, munch!spencer (nobody can tell me he doesn't wanna be suffocated by thighs okay), dirty talk, praise, multiple orgasms

munch!spencer is a necessity and i will never shut up about it. i didn't have a specific season reid in mind for this (though i did take inspiration from him getting shot in s5 & s9). maybe pre-prison reid though? i feel like he'd become less subby post-prison arc BUT imagine whatever season reid your heart desires! hope you all enjoy my first reid fic & feel free to send me any requests ⋆.˚

it was hard watching your boyfriend struggle and be basically bed/couch ridden since he was shot on a case a couple weeks ago. spencer was shot in the leg, a bullet grazed his neck, and a couple rounds got stopped by his vest which left his torso severely bruised. to say you were panicked when you first got the news was an understatement, but luckily spencer was okay and just had to take it easy at home during his recovery. you took this time off work to stay by his side and get him whatever he needed since his doctor strongly discouraged him from doing any strenuous movement, or moving too much at all for that matter. now that it had been a couple weeks, spencer was starting to feel better and he was recovering well, his torso slowly becoming less sore and the stiffness of his neck subsiding.

you press a kiss to spencer's forehead as you grab the empty coffee mug from the nightstand, him reading a book on quantum physics at lightning speed as he sat upright in bed. "oh- thanks honey, i could've brought that back to the kitchen you know?" he pulls his gaze away from the text on the page, locking eyes with you and getting lost in them. "oh stop, just because you have crutches and the doctor said you could move around a bit more doesn't mean you have to do all the little things" you smile softly at him, watching as he licks his lips gently. "what's on that genius mind of yours?" you ask, reading into him from the distracted look in his eyes. he may be the profiler but spencer was a very easy person to read, and the saying 'eyes are the window to the soul' was basically written about him. he reaches out for you, grabbing your smaller hands in his large ones as he sighs, "there's something else i need, if you don't mind" his hands squeezing yours.

"anything, what is it?" you watch as he shifts a little, now noticing the slight bulge in his sweatpants. now you get it. "i haven't tasted you in so long and now that i'm doing better i can hardly cope, i need- please just sit on my face" he practically begs, a smirk creeping onto your face. "fuck spence, who am i to deny that?" you whisper and press your lips to his, feeling the desperation in his kiss. his hands have moved and are basically pulling you onto the bed by your waist, hardly being able to wait now that you've agreed to satiate his needs. you break the kiss, giggling softly as you start to remove your leggings and thong that lies beneath it. "fuck..." he breathes out, shifting to lie flat on the bed. "come here, please baby" he begs as he feels your weight on the mattress, making your way towards his head. you straddle his head, pussy hovering over his mouth and nearly making him drool. "you'll tell me if you start to feel pain, right? the last thing i wanna do is hurt you- oh!" your sentence turns into a gasp as spencer tugs you down, his tongue coming in contact with your slit, collecting your juices on his tongue.

"f-fuck" you gasp again, his tongue devouring you as though you were his last meal. his mouth finds your clit, sucking it into his mouth and causing your hips to buck. your hands grip the headboard as he indulges, stabilizing you on his face. "spence, spence.. so fucking good, jesus-" you whine as he moans into your pussy, ministrations never faltering. as much as he was desperate, you were in the same boat, not having had sexual contact with your boyfriend in weeks. his hands have a vice grip on your waist as he releases your clit, taking a second to speak "grind on my tongue, please" he sticks his tongue out, pulling you back down. you moan at the contact, your hips rolling and grinding your pussy on his tongue. "you're so good, so good at this, i- i'm close" this omission makes spencer start to flick his tongue across your clit frantically, bringing you to the edge. "shit, shit- spencer, i'm cumming" you moan, legs shaking around his head as your orgasms crashes down, his tongue collecting everything it can. your chest heaves as you try to catch your breath, yet his tongue continues to work at your hole. "baby-"

"more, give me one more, please" he whines, muffled slightly by his face being buried in your pussy. "god yes" you moan, throwing your head back at the blissful overstimulation you were feeling. "you taste perfect" he groans against you, lapping at your clit again and rapidly bringing you to the edge again. "don't stop, don't stop-" you gasp loudly, second orgasm making it's way out of you. "yes! yes!" you squeal, thighs squeezing his head as you cum again, his tongue hectically collecting it all once more. you take a moment to regulate your breath, lifting off of his mouth and lying beside him on the bed. a smile is plastered across his face, his lips and chin glistening with your juices. "thank you, needed that so bad" he breathes, wiping his chin with his hand. "thank you, baby" you smile as your hand lingers on his waistband, his bulge now a full erection. "it's time for me to repay you" you whisper in his ear as you push down his sweatpants and boxers just enough to release his cock, the precum actively leaking down his shaft.

"o-oh god" his words are shaky as your hand wraps around him, the sensation overwhelming after weeks of no contact. "just enjoy it, baby... you've waited so patiently" you whisper, starting to stroke him, his precum being the perfect lube. "yeah, yeah, mhmmm" he whines loudly, your pace gradually picking up. "feels good?" you ask, his hips thrusting up into your grasp. "so good, so good i- i can't-" his breath is rapid as you jerk him off, moans constantly leaving his mouth. "that's it, you're doing so good, just enjoy it, don't think about anything else.." you press a kiss to his cheek as he grips the sheets, his orgasm building up. "gonna- gonna cum- can't hold it" he moans loudly as his cum starts to shoot out, landing on his stomach. your hand slows as he comes down, his breath coming back to it's normal pace.

"you okay, love?" you run a hand through his hair as he chuckles. "more than okay, you're unreal" he cups your cheek and runs his thumb across it gently. "should get you cleaned up, one sec" you slip off the bed, heading to the bathroom and dampening a washcloth. when you reach the bed once again, you wince as you see the purple that litters his torso, "tell me if i start to hurt you, okay? just wanna clean you up" you gently wipe up everything, careful to be as gentle as possible. "you're amazing, thank you" he smiles lovingly at you, grabbing your hand. you smile back, "of course. i love you, doctor reid",

"i love you too, sweetheart"

[zeciex]

I'm taking a step back from writing.

I'm really sorry to those who have been excited for this new season--for the pregnancy reveal, for the rebuilding of Daenera/Aemond's relationship, for the smut, for dad!Aemond, for everything.

But I've recieved quite a few comments on AO3 accusing me of using AI in my writing. There was a reddit thread about it, and while it was vague, it was very, very obviously about A Vow of Blood. (They mentioned the length of the fic being almost 1 million words, and my posting schedule.)

And so, I write this to defend myself.

October 2, 2022, episode 7 of HOTD came out and I was immediately drawn by Aemond's character. I watched it when I was on home leave from the ship I was working on. I spent the next 4 weeks plotting the story and coming up with what I wanted to write when I got home. In those 2 weeks I was home again, I wrote and wrote, and then I went out for 4 weeks again.

My work contract ended in January 2023, and from then on, I wrote every single day. I wrote 130 or so pages before even figuring out HOW to write Daenera as a character and after the 130 pages, I decided to scrap most of it and start over.

I had nothing else to do and this was my hyperfixation. I wasn't sure if it was going to last so I kept the first 40+ chapters to myself as I wrote until the 21st of April 2023 where I posted the first chapter.

I then decided I could post twice a week for the simple reason that I had 40+ chapters locked and loaded. And before posting, I went through it, plotted it into my audio program so it read my writing aloud to me to listen for mistakes.

And in the meantime while posting, I of course wrote new chapters. Then, when the chapters finally ran out, the schedule changed to once every two weeks. I did everything I could to keep it--literally putting my life on hold just to ensure that I could post a new chapter every Friday.

This was my hobby, this was my hyperfixation (literally, I'm autistic), this was what I spent my time doing as I recovered from burnout due to grueling work as a sailor. I stressed about it. I had breakdowns over having to skip a Friday because I hadn't been able to write anything for a week.

The reason the story is as long as it is, is because I spent literal hours every day writing. Most days I can reach somewhere between 1500-2500k words. If I'm lucky, I can write more.

I am very aware that my writing is very, VERY detailed--too detailed, even. It's a flaw of mine. I want to set the scene, I want to get all the details that I have in my brain and I want you to see it. Is it too much? Yes. I'm also awfully aware of my progression as a writer, how earlier chapters are written and how the newest ones are written. I'm aware of how I've changed some of the style/started using way tooo many em-dashes, recklessly and hubris-ly (not a word, I'm aware). I know I throw them around. I know I could properly use the good ol' comma, but I like them.

As to the spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, I can say with 100% confidence that it's not some grand scheme that I've thought out to avoid AI detection--I literally didn't catch the mistake when I went through the chapter. I re-read one of my chapters yesterday and found a spelling mistake that I immediately corrected.

I've used grammarly for spell checking/grammar mistakes since English isn't my first language and Danish has a different structure that I often times keep through my English writing. That is the extent of it.

So, here I am, writing this. And I am beyond devastated--to the point of it making me physically ill. I have not used AI in the creation of A Vow of Blood. I have not used AI for plot-points. I have not used AI for character creations. I have not used AI for analyzes. I have not used AI for prompts. I have not used AI to write any chapters for me. I have not used AI in the development of this story.

I have used these sites for this story; Thesaurus ASOIAF Wiki Travel distances in ASOIAF This map A search of ice and fire This for badly translated High Valyrian This from the maker of High Valyrian

And I have used google and various of wiki pages on plants, poisons and whatever else I might need.

Here's some of the few pictures I've taken of my setup throughout those years:

I have like... way too many notebooks for my own good with frivolous details, character sheets, quickly scribbled quotes and inspiration for the story. I didn't expect that I should have taken more pictures.

As I stated previously, this has pulled the rug out from under me. I thought I'd be happily writing until the new season comes out and beyond that. I hoped to finish S2 of the story by the time S3 would come around--though I am terrible at planning this because the story has a habit of taking a life on its own, so it was not likely lol. But this... I don't want to feel anxious about posting a new chapter. I have this pit in my stomach at the thought of even writing now. The one thing that has sustained me through this, the reason I'm still at it, is the lovely commenters. I am beyond grateful for the friends I've made, and I really do hope I'll find my way back to writing. I hope I can finish this story. But the thought of posting at the moment is just.... it brings me so much dread.

I'm going on a hiatus, I'm taking some time for myself. Maybe now I can finally finish my room.

[redspacegirl]

i am back. with the headcanons. big ol warning for PD s2 finale spoilers! anyways lets (noises that sound vaguely of an airplane) fly right into this.

So, ashe (reminder for my first timers here. i hc ashe as transfem. don't agree? that's chill, you can have your own headcanons. however ill be using she/her in this post <3) carries the squad in nearly every video game. she is genuinely so good, on the verge of a sweat in most games. while playing in minecraft, she'll be the one to actually farm everything. she has the y level for diamonds memorized by heart (-54 iirc), and is solid at using redstone. she has a solo minecraft world that she's played on for 4 years, and has given Dakota a tour of what the world looks like. she also plays a lot (LOT) of horror games, and knows a bunch of good, niche, roblox horror games (+ indie horror games outside of roblox games). she also follows a few roblox myths, and was absolutely devastated to find out that it had been a year after she returned (missed out on a bunch of myth events :'C). She ends up being the one to walk first in the roblox horror games (dakota tries, but then gets distracted, or maybe a little scared but shh you didn't hear that).

William is on the COMPLETE opposite side of the spectrum. He is. SO bad at video games. He love video games, he just can't help but suck complete and total ass at them. the only game he is good at is, as is canon, mario kart. i mean, given he was living in his rotting body, it would high key make sense for him not to have full articulation. even after that, after the s2 finale, he still completely sucks. despite this, he rages SO hard. obviously not breaking controllers or anything (that shit is expensive), but he will start yelling at the screen, yk chuck the controller at a soft surface or something. Another thing, he is very good at roblox dress to impress. He has all the gamepasses for it and everything. He also votes everyone else (minus his friends) one star. He didn't play a lot of roblox growing up, but he surely watched so many indie horror game playthroughs. he and ashe both know a lot of video game lore stuff, though mainly william. william will actually research and watch a lot of video game theories (he totally watches so much game theory no question). he'll post on reddit about his findings and everything.

Vycent managed to adapt to video game controls with surprising ease. I think he also gets REALLY competitive at video games, he will sometimes go out of his way to get Will riled up. Mario Kart games with the prime defenders are actively the worst. anyways, he's solid at video games. Vyncent prefers stuff like Legend of Zelda, and is a switch main, however he'll play on PC for some games, especially Minecraft night with the squad (on Java edition, as things should be /j). he has played baldurs gate 3 and full on started crying over how much it reminded him of home. A similar event happened with Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. he does play some games on his phone, however most of them are the type the average middle-aged mother has on her phone, yk the ones where you match the stuff together and all that. he has like 20 of them that he'll cycle through, but he does have that one dragon matching game specifically that he plays every day religiously. (and he has cookie run kingdom for the enjoyers out there. i guess)

Dakota is incredibly chaotic when gaming, which should come to no surprise. (shout out to the person in the replies who said this but) he mains. his fucking. tablet. he is also insanely good on tablet. however, for whatever reason, he'll struggle a bit on pc (depending on the game ofc). not as much as will, but he's better on mobile either way. he plays fortnite on there (i have never really played fortnite on mobile but i've heard it is absolutely horrendous). While ashe goes out to gather materials, Dakota likes to build the base. He's actually very good at it, and makes a homey cottage for the team. when he does try to go mining, he ends up mainly going cave diving, and he'll set up a bed near the entrance of the cave, because he just KEEPS dying. he doesn't rage as bad as Will does, he just keeps getting more and more determined to keep trying. He is also the reason there is a designated 'Pet Room' in the base, where they have 14 dogs, 9 cats, 6 parrots, 7 horses, a polar bear, and a huge fish tank. They all have names, and Dakota Did go out and gather up nametags for all of them.

LAST DAY OF FLUFF WEEK(I AM SO BURNT OUT WITH PD (which is crazy as number three pd enjoyer) IM SORRY ITS LATE) (they are playing minecraft. btw)

i have gaming headcanons but i will be writing those later. maybe

[ulysses-s-wishes]

Okay the time has come for me to elaborate: I've seen a lot of discussion about who has a brotherly relationship in All for the Game and I do think a lot of it comes down to people thinking that found family needs defined familial relationships, which is a post for a different day. So first off, I'd like to put in my two cents about which relationships are not brotherly:

Matt and Neil. They are friends. They're best friends. They're adorable together. There is nothing brotherly about their relationship. At most, Matt is the cool brother-in-law/boyfriend-of-your-older-sibling who looks out for you.

Andrew and Kevin. They have a messed up relationship (affectionate) but it is not brotherly. It's friendship. It's based in protectiveness and understanding, as some have said they are the first two who really saw each other. Andrew does have a messed up relationship with his actual brother, but it is so quintessentially brotherly it's insane. They didn't grow up together, but they understand each others' minds, they squabble and they would throw down with or for each other without a second of hesitation. Kevin and Andrew are family, but they are family because of their close friendship, not because they behave like siblings.

Jean and Neil. This comes the closest to a brotherly relationship. But in the end, they are too similar. And simultaneously too different. They care about each other and would protect each other and see where the other is coming from, but they match too well. They are misplaced forever partners. They see each others' whole backstory, and even if they had been in the nest together, they would have been two young boys struggling through together as one unit. Not as siblings.

You know who are brothers? Kevin and Neil.

Neil is the surrogate brother Riko never was. Kevin was raised to see his court partner as his brother because that was the actual Moriyama encouraged dynamic between them. (Jean simply saw his partner as that - he wouldn't have seen Neil as a sibling no matter what). So when Neil shows up, becomes striker, he is taking the role of Kevin's partner that Riko formerly held, except he actually respects Kevin - and Kevin respects him! He believes in his potential! They are just like Riko and Kevin, except they actually support each other!

Moreover, Kevin and Neil understand each others' pasts and upbringings, not because of how similar they are (like Jean and Neil) but simply because they can see it in the way they live. They resent each other for having different lives. They fundamentally cannot conceive of the other person's mindset, but at the same time they understand it perfectly. Their worldviews are inherently opposed, worldviews that have been beaten into them, and yet they both, individually, spit in the face of that for each other.

Neil was raised to put himself before everyone else, to form no attachments, to cut and run to save his own skin. He was raised to think nothing mattered short of his own survival. And yet he tells himself, tells the ghost of his mother "'one of us has to make it, Mom.' It wasn't going to be Neil...But maybe Kevin could do it... Neil couldn't leave until he knew Kevin would be okay." Neil spends two pages thinking about how it's unfair that Kevin got a family and a game even if that family was awful, thinking that Kevin has all of these people devoted to him, Andrew, Wymack, Neil himself - and Neil resents him for that. But in the same breath he reaffirms that he is devoted to Kevin, and thinks his own death would be worth at long as Kevin turned out okay. Which is so siblings stuck in a toxic environment? Constantly making sacrifices, hating their siblings but loving them more?

Neil hates him at this point, is furious that Kevin is so bossy and condescending, and this is before he even knows Kevin thinks he's court material, but when Kevin tells him how to improve, he does it, because he respects that Kevin is better than him, and Kevin respects that Neil can get as good as him - the very thing that was lacking in Kevin and Riko's partnership/brotherhood.

And on the reverse side! The premise of the books was the founding principle of Kevin's childhood: All for the game. Exy is the only thing that matters, and anything else can and should be sacrificed so long as Kevin is winning. Anything that is a distraction from the court, or the Court or the Perfect Court is a waste of time and energy, and must be disregarded. So when Kevin decides he's going to make Neil the best, it's okay because it's in service of the game. But then he finds out that Neil is going to die. Finds out that Neil has no plans of making it through the year, that even running won't save him. And Neil asks if he will still train him - it would make sense if he said no. Neil isn't going to make it to Court, he isn't going to be a phenomenal exy player, he isn't going to last long enough. He has, essentially, become a waste of Kevin's time. and yet still, Kevin promises to train him every night. Not to get him to Court, not to help them win championships and create a great team out of the Foxes, but because it's Neil's dying wish.

When Neil tells the press about his tattoo and he and Kevin fight, first of all, Andrew lets them because he knows they would never actually hurt each other - even Matt doesn't get that consideration, because Neil and Kevin's relationship is unique. But more importantly, Neil confronts Kevin. Tells him he's not judging him for his fear, but that he needs to be able to hold his own, needs to think of himself as capable of being free or this is all for nothing and most importantly says he doesn't understand how Kevin can keep his head down when he's the one of the two of them who will actually survive, will be good enough for court, will have a life. And Kevin says that Andrew had told him the same - but it's clearly hitting differently coming from Neil - and that he isn't like Neil. He admires Neil's refusal to take anything lying down so much, even though he can't conceive it. There are characters in this book who are similar, but none who are so different yet so in tune with each others' mindset.

They fight, they bicker, they insult each other, Neil smacks Kevin upside the head for being a pessimist, and then they turn around and have each others' back. They aren't protectors like Andrew is for them, but they are protectors like Andrew and Aaron are for each other. They aren't partners like Jean and Neil would have been, they're partners like Kevin and Riko claimed to be.

[katerinaaqu]

This is a bit of a stupid question but— is there any adaptation or Retelling of the The Odyssey foccused on Telemachus?

I know is a bit silly cause why would anyone make a retelling/adaptation of The Odyssey about Telemachus instead of Odysseus, the hero the book is named after.

But Telemachus is a really interesting characther overall if because he gives you insight on what happend to Ithaca while Odysseus was gone. So while in Odysseus perspective we get told what happens, in Telemachus perspective we witness what happends first hand

The only things I've been able to find is Opera's of Telemachus ending up on Calypso's Island and Telegony and it's retellings

Tbh I don't have much hope since Telemachus story doesn't get as much attention as Odysseus or, let's bring the Iliad into the mix, Achilles

I think it's a bit of a waste but I also understand why it doesn't have as much attention (on mainstream midia)

Anyways sorry abt the Yapping I just thought you'd be the best person to ask :P

I am afraid I am not sure. I am not fanatic with looking for retelling and all given my disappointment of all that culture around them but to my knowledge there is not much done on Telemachus. Heck we hardly see his importance in the Odyssey retellings! Yet alone have one for himself!

I have mentioned a bit on Telemachus on a reply of mine here:

when we were discussing about portrayals in songs and such. But long story short, Telemachus has arguably as much screentime as Odysseus has. He is if not the co-protagonist, one of the main characters in the Odyssey. His own trip covers the five first rhapsodies of the Odyssey while Odysseus's own trip covers rhapsodies 9-12. You can also count rhapsodies 6-8 where we see his trip to Scheria and all so as you see Odysseus barely has a few more rhapsodies than Telemachus in a large part of the Odyssey. Telemachus is as much as an important character to the Odyssey as Odysseus himself

Which in my opinion makes no sense why it is not popular apart from the fact that people have the mistaken idea from all these retellings that the Odyssey is solely about the trip and nothing else. Unfortunately for them the biggest part of the Odyssey is actually Odysseus's return and the murder of the suitors rather than the trip itself and Telemachus is a vital part of it all. But given the circumstances I am glad they didn't because as you see when something is popular, the consequences are catastrophic! Lol

So far I have written only one thing that is mostly Telemachus-focused but I plan on updating it to make it more Odyssey-accurate

For I am really proud on how this came out psychology-wise but I am deeply ashamed that this is arguably one of my least accurate piece of works in regards to the Odyssey (specifically on what Odysseus originally wanted to do as execution for the maids seems to be the sword -unless of course it is metaphorical for execution- and it was Telemachus the one to order the hanging but yeah I will probably update this)

Not at all! I am really honored in fact! I hope I answered you a bit! ^_^ I am sorry I cannot be much of help here though

(As for the middle section I assume you mean Circe's island? Unless you have in mind someone mentioning Aeaea as Calypso's isle instead although most famous Telegony related material involve Circe instead)

[lunebris]

Thoughts of Uther Pendragon

Hello hello. It's pretty obvious that hatred towards Uther’s character shades most of the fandom’s opinions. But it happens that I find his character pretty intriguing, mostly because the show doesn’t tell much about his past or things from his perspective which gives much room for interpretation.

So here’s another character analysis I’ve made of Uther. Take from it what you want. (In other words I’m not labeling him as ”good” or ”bad”, I’m simply inspired and wrote this analysis of a commonly not-so-popular character.)

Here are some more themes I’ve been thinking about:

Uther the warrior

Is Uther a lonely king?

Why are Uther and Arthur clashing so much?

Uther's attitude towards the old religion It's a relatively lengthy post so it's under 'keep reading'

1. Uther the warrior

Medieval times were times filled with wars. As far as I have understood, when the show begins, it’s the longest peaceful times for ages.

Backtracking a little… It’s not implied in the show but generally in the Arthurian legends Uther was trained to be a warrior since birth. He wasn’t a blood heir but he was given the position by another king which created a domino-effect of conflicts and more wars.

The way I see Uther in the show, he is still a warrior (regardless of his background the show doesn’t tell us). He never learned how to act or what to be when it’s finally peace. A king in wartime has a clear purpose: fight, conquer, and protect. But in peace? A ruler has to shift from being a warrior to being a diplomat, lawmaker, and administrator. They’re all roles that Uther doesn’t seem particularly suited for. For someone who’s spent decades defining himself through war and conquest, suddenly ruling a kingdom that no longer needs a warrior could make him feel directionless.

This scene between Uther and Nimueh pops up in my mind:

UTHER Don't ever speak of her in that way. She was my heart, my soul. And you took her from me.

NIMUEH She died giving birth to your son. It was not my choice. That is the law of magic. To create a life, there had to be a death. The balance of the world had to be repaid.

UTHER You knew it would kill her.

NIMUEH No, you're wrong. If I had foreseen her death, and the terrible retribution you would seek... I would never have granted your wish.

UTHER I wish you hadn't.

NIMUEH You wish you didn't have a son? Well, your wish will come true tomorrow.

UTHER I will not let you take him.

NIMUEH I have watched so many people I love die at your hands, Uther Pendragon. Now it is your turn.

”I wish you hadn’t.” The way I see it is that Uther regrets the mess he has made – not Ygraine’s death or having a son. He is lost, lonely and lives with the fact that he isn’t the best father to Arthur (and Morgana).

”You wish you didn’t have a son?” Btw, it’s Nimueh speculating. Uther replies, ”I will not let you take him.” He hates the stressfull situation he has created and put himself into – but he does not hate Arthur.

2. Is Uther a lonely king?

Uther still lives like a warrior, a war commander, because he doesn’t know what else to be. This could explain why he keeps such a tight grip on power: he might subconsciously provoke conflict (through harsh laws, executions, and persecution of magic users) because it keeps him in his psychological comfort zone. He’s paranoid, he rarely trusts anyone and he believes that peaceful times are only temporary. (”It’s peaceful – what’s wrong?” Nowadays we know it’s a sign of being unhealthily in a constant survival mode.)

I have seen some discussions about Arthur being a lonely prince and Merlin being one of the first friends (if not the first) with whom he can just be himself and have a genuine connection with. I think it’s the same with Uther. He has some other noble friends but as far as I’ve understood, Gaius is the only one he shares the more sensitive stuff with. Gaius is his trusted advisor.

Imagine being Uther – not daring to trust anyone, ruling a kingdom you fear might fall apart any moment, raising a future king some people apparently want to kill – and just… being lonely all the time. It’s a poisonous cycle, and it’s hard to find a way out of there. Being lonely yet not trusting anyone. Wanting to protect a future king and the kingdom, having to endure the hatred people have towards you. He’s not the type to give up. I think he believes that people hating him are a part of the deal, of being a king. He thinks you can’t please everyone and is more or less fine with it.

3. Why are Uther and Arthur clashing so much?

Arthur is growing up in a more stable kingdom and sees peace as something worth maintaining. He believes that a king should be loved, not feared.

Uther, on the other hand, sees peace as fragile, temporary, and believes that a king must always be ready for war. His training of Arthur is based on this: he wants Arthur to be a warrior first, a ruler second. But Uther doesn't necessarily know how to be a ruler. This is why they clash so much. Uther believes that Camelot is constantly under some threat - he's the warrior protecting his kingdom, eliminating enemies or possible enemies for the safety of Camelot's people. Whereas Arthur lives in the moment, treasures the peaceful times and wants to focus on the well being of Camelot's residents. He doesn't understand why the king should be feared. He wants a connection with his subordinates.

But in Uther's mind being loved means being weak. Love requires trust and trust is easily taken advantage of.

If Uther fought for his own throne or had to suppress challenges to his rule, then he knows how dangerous it is to be seen as weak. Even though the show portrays him as a rightful king (if I remember correctly), he still might have faced opposition early on (which typically happened with new kings during their era), and it shapes his paranoia about Arthur's future. This could explain his strictness with Arthur. He’s not just preparing him to rule but to defend his claim against inevitable rivals.

Even though Arthur is Uther’s son and an obvious heir, that doesn’t mean everyone will accept him unquestioningly. Nobles, rival families, and even former allies could see a young, inexperienced king as an opportunity to seize power (which, again, was typical in their era). Uther’s an elder man, he has first hand experience of these things. Uther’s harsh training of Arthur (forcing him into battles, making him prove himself constantly) isn’t just about strength for strength’s sake. It’s about making sure no one dares to challenge him when the time comes. And, the rivals aren’t even imaginary threats: the times someone tries to get rid of Arthur in the show… Phew.

It might seem heartless of Uther to not let Arthur go on quests to save servants etc, but honestly Uther’s actually being pretty smart since he doesn’t want to risk the life of Camelot’s future king. Uther is getting old and if his heir dies it opens possibilities for enemies to attack and try to take down Uther too. To take Camelot.

If you want to beat a group, an army or even a kingdom, you aim for the leader. Sometimes when kings fight in wars with their men, it’s quite easy to think that they're being cowards if they flee the scene when the battles get worse. But really, they’re being smart (or acting smart, who knows), because if the king is defeated, the whole kingdom is defeated. Nobody wants that because typically the new leader wants to shape the conquered area into their liking, which means that the people might lose their identity and are forced to submit to a new ruler's will.

Uther training Arthur sends mixed messages too. He wants Arthur to take part in tournaments and other competitions and quests to prove his strength, and these aren't always risk-free either. I think that Uther accepts these battles because he is there to oversee most of these happenings, he could step in if he considered it necessary. To protect his son. Also, these tournaments and quests carry a pretty huge reputation: people know and talk about these things. If Arthur survives or wins something, everyone will know about it. It builds his reputation as a strong heir, whereas going on a quest to save a servant etc. is not that grand of an event. Besides, I think Uther fears that enemies might take advantage of Arthur's soft heart. If he goes through that much trouble to save "just a servant", how easy it would be to manipulate Arthur into something more sinister?

Lastly, taking in notice that Uther doesn’t seem to trust anyone fully, who would he choose to be his follower had Arthur died?

4. Uther’s attitude towards the old religion

In the show, prophecies and destiny play a huge role in shaping events. A lot of the conflict comes from people trying to either fulfill or prevent prophecies and, to be honest, it doesn’t work that well even if the participants truly have good intentions.

If we look at it from Uther’s perspective, the old religion and magic users aren’t just dangerous because they have power – it's because they believe in forces like fate and destiny that they actively try to enforce. They manipulate people based on prophecies or visions. Uther might see them as dangerous not just because of their abilities, but because they shape events in unpredictable ways. Even when people (for example Merlin) try to prevent a prophecy, they often just make things worse.

Uther seems to be a person who does what he wants. He makes his own path based on his own reasoning – he doesn’t trust these visions or prophesies. Maybe because he knows how tricky they can be? Has he learnt something the hard way himself?

* * *

What do you all think? Would Uther have been less extreme if magic users weren’t constantly trying to reshape destiny? Would he have been a better king and a father had he found a way to drop the I-trust-no-one-and-rule-this-kingdom-alone thought?

[ann-lol]

Anti-Marella Rant/Analysis (but mainly rant) Post Ahead! I have VERY strong opinions on her so if you love her, I would recommend not reading this. Unless you want to anyway ofc! Either way enjoy! :)

Alright so I have many problems with this girl- like it’s actually insane. A problem I did have with her was her pick me behavior but @the-way-astray already explained in this post how in the very first few books almost everyone had a very misogynistic/sexist mindset so I’m not as bothered by that anymore. But her short story does contain a bit of what can be interpreted as pick me behavior so I will be going over that later.

Everblaze/Neverseen

My main gripe with Marella was her “problem” with Sophie in Everblaze/Neverseen. I briefly went over it in this post but basically for further analysis Marella blamed Sophie for not involving her in her dangerous and life threatening situations. She wanted to join the team and be a part of what Sophie was experiencing. Now I won’t say she didn’t have a reason to be jealous. She was obviously hurt that Fitz, Keefe, Dex and Biana were all involved in what Sophie was going through. She considered herself as much of a friend as they are to Sophie. So her jealousy is understandable. But every one of those people were either already involved or reached out to Sophie to be involved. Not one of them expected Sophie to involve them.

Fitz was the one who found Sophie from the very beginning. He knew the most about her compared to everyone else at that time. Keefe actively pressured Sophie into involving him, especially in Exlie. And we end up learning that his mother is part of the Neverseen, making him even more integrated and important to the story. Dex was kidnapped by the Neverseen with Sophie in the first book. He shares her trauma and he was the one who was forced to create the ability-restricting circlet for Sophie, as well as being the one to take it off for her. Biana’s involvement is similar to Keefe’s. She reached out to Sophie herself. Her guilt for not being a good friend in the beginning may have played a role in her wanting to be by Sophie’s side but regardless of her alternative motives she didn’t expect Sophie to involve her without even knowing if she wanted to be involved in the first place.

Marella’s response to Sophie not involving her was to basically gaslight Sophie into believing that she isn’t a good friend and to befriend both Sophie and Dex’s bully, Stina. Mind you, Marella HATED Stina and used to encourage Sophie to “take her down” in the first book. Yet she was willing to befriend this person just to spite Sophie.

Now some might think that she has changed since Everblaze/Neverseen but she proved that in Stellarlune she has actually NOT changed and if anything she just moved the goal post.

Stellarlune

In Stellarlune pages 409 - 410 she basically taunts Sophie into guessing whether or not they’re still friends.

Quotes:

"You started picturing me switching sides and setting everything on fire didn't you?...Was it an epic struggle between the moonlark and her fiery former friend?" - Marella

"Former?" - Sophie

"Well...in that scenario," - Marella

"And in this one?" - Sophie

"I'm sitting with you, aren't I?" - Marella.

"True" "So...does that mean we're good?" - Sophie

"Depends." - Marella

"On what?" - Sophie

This whole exchange infuriates me. STOP beating around the bush and having Sophie guessing at your every word. Just spill it.

So when Sophie wants confirmation on whether or not Marella thinks of them as friends, Marella starts assuming that Sophie has alternative motives for "hanging out with her".

Quote:

"Well, for one thing, I'm curious- are you only hanging out with me right now because you want to know how it went when I talked to Fintan about his cache?" - Marella

*Deep breathe* You first got angry with Sophie that she didn’t involve you in her life threatening, “go-lucky play dates”, as you seem to believe that’s what they are, and when Sophie decides to bring YOU in, involve YOU, give YOU a role here, you then have an issue with providing vital intel that only you can obtain? You were so willing to be a part of all this to the point that you mentally stressed the hell out of Sophie for it but when the time comes for you to play your part, just like you wanted, you want to have a problem with that as well?? MAKE. UP. YOUR. GOD. DAMN. MIND. *Breaths out*

Sophie then points out that Marella is the one technically hanging out with her and that she was the one who brought up Fintan.

Quotes:

"Technically you're hanging out with me," "I was already sitting here when you sat down. And you're the one who brought up Fintan- not me. I didn't even know you had a chance to talk to him yet." - Sophie

"Fair enough. But you're dying to ask about it now, aren't you?" - Marella

Is this a game for her? She's just trying to villainize Sophie at every turn, at this point. No matter what Sophie does or doesn't do, at the end of the day she has to be in the wrong? Really Marella?

Sophie caught on that Marella is trying to test her so she basically says that she’ll wait until Marella wants to tell her about Fintan and also that a friend wouldn’t hold back vital info.

Quote:

"Not really- because a friend would never hold back something important. So you'll tell me when you're ready. Or you have nothing worth telling. Either way, there's no point asking you about it. Especially since you're clearly trying you test me right now, and I'm not going to fall for it." - Sophie

The fact that Sophie has to feel like her "friend" is testing her is unbelievably sad. Having to prove to your friend that you're not a bad person when you've literally given them NO reason to even believe that you are, while simultaneously trying not be killed by your enemies, sounds mentally draining.

Now I will say that Sophie's tone in that quote was very stern but at the same time she's responding to all of Marella's previous comments so it's completely appropriate. But in Marella’s mind, she believes that Sophie now has an attitude. Sophie is literally making a valid point and if anything Marella is the one with the attitude. She's actively trying to start problems with Sophie from nothing.

Quote:

"You really are much feistier now. I can't decide how I feel about it."

Newsflash Marella, we don't care how you feel about it. And frankly you don't deserve that sort of attention considering how you're acting.

Maruca comes in asking how Marella feels about what and Marella responds with: "Sophie's new attitude."

Stina, of course, comes in and says: "That's easy. I'm definitely not a fan."

Again NO ONE CARES about what either of you feel about people's personalities. A bully and a gaslighter don't deserve that kind of privilege. How about you look in the mirror first, change yourself and THEN you'll have a right to speak up about others.

(A little off topic, but Shannon completely fumbled with Stina in Stellarlune. She was actually enjoyable in Legacy- I mean like she was literally getting more character development than Marella was and then she got screwed over. Ugh Shannon.)

Anyway back to the rant, Sophie responds to Stina basically saying that if Stina isn't liking her "new attitude" and then she's obviously doing something right. (Honestly, slay)

On page 411, Marella and Stina begin to insult/make fun of Sophie. Mocking her recent company and how they've "influenced" her.

Quote:

"It's like she's been hanging around Ro too much and picked up a case of the Snarky Comback." - Marella

Marella began to ask where Ro was and Sophie responded vaguely not wanting to explain out loud because she wanted to telepathically update everyone instead. Yet Marella still continued to make fun of her anyway.

Quote:

"Clearly you've also picked up some avoiding skills from the Forkle."

Sophie and Marella have a small exchange about how they'll just keep their updates to themselves until the team arrives so they won't have to repeat themselves.

Marella and Stina proceed to whisper and giggle amongst themselves, saying who knows what about Sophie.

It was also implied that there was an obvious divide between everyone, on page 412. Sophie’s group and Marella’s group. Why is Marella actively causing riffs in the group when they should all be focusing on defeating their enemies instead??

Anyway, that's the end of her moments in Stellarlune (just the book). Now to the short story!

Marella's Short Story

Now in her short story Marella showcases a little bit of her pick me behavior. She basically found it “annoying” how easily Linh was able to control her abilities even though Linh worked so hard for it.

Quote:

"But the fact that Linh could stand in a sea of frozen water and do nothing except keep the falling snow from setting on her flushed pink cheeks was very...annoying" - Marella

Now this could be seen as jealousy, which is a fine flaw to have, especially in her case, considering her crazy, out-of-control pyrokinetic abilities, but at the same time it could be interpreted that she just genuinely doesn’t like people being better than her, especially girls. She has expressed many times her "annoyance" with girls specifically (Sophie and Linh being direct targets of this). She never really specifically mentions any of the boys being annoying. Whenever she's really talking about boys she's just basically fawning over them (a trait many pick mes posses) Now I'm not saying finding guys attractive will inherently make you a pick me, but fawning over boys while degrading girls does make you a pick me.

Now it is a little stretch, in all honesty. Her comment about Linh can be interpreted in many different ways. It's also just a single comment- and one that she didn't even say out loud so I'm not too bothered by it. The short story IS where I see the most Marelinh proof though, ironic as it is. I’m genuinely hoping that she and Linh become a thing. She did after all call Linh “peaceful” “pretty” and “perfect” all in one sentence. (Shannon, make it so that Linh is the one that changes Marella and I might actually end up liking her)

Now what I didn't like is her comments afterwards.

Quotes:

"Then again, everyone annoyed Marella a little"

"But it wasn't Marella's fault!"

"People tended to be annoying."

She sounds like she has a victim mentality here. She believes that it isn't her fault that she finds everyone annoying because everyone tends to be annoying...

Has she once considered that everyone around her isn't actually annoying and that she's just easily offended and sensitive? She's literally saying that one of her best friends, if not her best friend, is annoying because she has such good control over her ability. If THAT annoys her then yeah no wonder she finds everyone and everything annoying.

Now aside from everything I've said there are certain aspects that make me like Marella, believe it or not. The way she cares deeply for her mother. The way she wanted to manifest as an empath just to help her identify her mother's emotions. That is very sweet and considerate of her. I respect that, a lot. But the way she treats her mother won't erase the way she treats Sophie and others. She needs to seriously acknowledge her behavior and the way she makes people around her feel. She's been getting more page time in the most recent books so I hope Shannon gives her character some development in the newer ones.

So yep! This is the rant lol. Feel free to express your thoughts and/or opinions on this post. Whether you agree or not, I'd love to hear it! :)

Taged people:

@floofeeeeee

@auspicious-cheerios

@multi-fandom-lunatic

@icantrememberwhoiwaslastdecember

@jeannefostergoriot

@er-idkhehe

@nowjumpinthewater

[nomlioart]

this post is so out of the blue, but we need to talk about something-

Hi! uhh long time no see I know- 😭 but I've been really busy lately and before that I went through a tough time again (as usual, nothing out of the ordinary), so I apologize for my inactivity here.

But this is not the main reason I want to talk about, otherwise I wouldn't be making this post. It's about some.. recent incidents that have been going on lately, and trust me, a pretty large group of people from the PT community know what I mean, I found out about it recently myself...

So this is about a certain person whom I want to leave anonymous (for her safety). I'm aware she has ADHD and autism. Usually she would dm several people (mostly minors from what I know) and the main part of those conversations were her venting, slandering herself and frequent mentioning of wanting to hurt herself, which is why many of these people often felt discomfort by it.

And I was one of those people. Don't get me wrong, I've known her for over a year and I really liked her company, she has always been there for me in difficult situations and I appreciate her for that, she has helped me many times but... There were moments when I felt strong discomfort and as the conversations with her continued it was getting worse.. So she often talked about werepep, which is not a bad thing actually, I always listened because I am interested in other people's interests so yeah. Also she often showed her fanfics and I must admit that the way she wrote them was quite good.

BUT the beginning came when she wanted me to draw werepep stuff for her, at first I agreed because I don't see anything wrong with it but later she increasingly insisted that I draw such things more often, it was hard for me to refuse because I didn't want to hurt her in any way and she had a tendency to get quite negatively depressed. There was also a moment when she wanted me to make a comic about werepep, but I was so swamped with school and my other problems that I couldn't finish it, also because I had no more motivation for it. I told her that I probably wouldn't be able to finish the comic and I apologized to her for that, and it seemed to me that she took it well at first. But later she started mentioning this comic again, something like 'it's sad there's no one to do the comic for me' and honestly it sounded a bit to me like she was upset at me for not doing it.

She also used to vent to me about people not wanting to talk to her or being angry that she vented to others in dms. For example, there was a situation where she sent me screenshots of how a mod from one server confronted her because she was dming people much younger than her, venting to them (it was the first time i found out she was 30 btw-). Of course at first it worried me for quite obvious reasons but she assured me that nothing sexual had happened, of course I believe her, she would never do something like that.

And maybe it's just me but I felt like she was... stalking me a lot-. Cause every time I appeared active, she did the same after literally a few seconds and immediately dms me smth-. Or she often commented on my avatar changes on discord but as I say, maybe i'm just paranoid. 😭

And from our conversations it would probably be mainly that what I wanted to say, if I remembered something I would edit the post or reblog smth to it.

But there is something else I found out a few days ago.

So in short, I found out from 3 people that she was dming them about me, mostly because she was worried about me because I was in a serious condition at that time, however, to one of these people she sent them screenshots of our conversations on an ongoing basis, mainly those with very personal topics, namely my personal life at home or my difficult home situation. I was shown these screenshots but I don't really want to show them here, I hope you will believe me without showing them. And I understand that she cares about me and I really appreciate it, but sending our conversations to others especially my personal life is seriously wrong. Especially to people I don't even know and they don't know me, and in this way these people are also hurt because it's hard to react to such messages and you can get confused and uncomfortable. When I found out about it I was hoping that I had imagined it... Now, I don't tell a large group of people about my personal problems, only trusted mutuals or my friends, and I took her into account that I could trust her with this...

So to sum it all up, she's NOT a bad person, she just has serious mental health issues that she should consult a professional about immediately, because friends can't always be there for you, yes, they can try to help you somehow but it's worth remembering that they themselves are not specialists, especially people much younger than you... ://

And if the person I'm talking about ever sees this post, I want you to know that I don't hate you, but quite the opposite. I wish you the best, and it would be best if you took a break from the internet for a while and got help from experienced people, you need it, you deserve to experience peace and know that I want to support you in this, but in my opinion you need a really long break to organize all your thoughts, I am learning the same thing and I wish the same to you.

[runningincircl3s]

Is Vinny a jealous guy? If he broke it off because of how in love he was with you but then you started dating another guy what would he do? Would he blow up your phone? Happen to show up where you were? Just something I was thinking about.

OOOOH OKAYY THIS GOT ME THINKING!! I NEED TO WRITE THIS RIGHT NOW….

Maybe you worked for the band as a makeup artist, a photographer, or you were just part of Vin's friend group. Either way, you and Vinny had something going on. It was inevitable, he was funny, had a great personality, good looking... how could you not fall in love with him.

You weren’t exactly a couple, but you weren’t just friends, either. And as soon as he realised how much you meant to him, how much he loved you, it terrified him.

So he broke it off. Told himself it was for the best. That it was easier this way.

But then he sees you with someone else... And suddenly all that logic goes out the window.

He tries to act unbothered, like he isn't jealous. Tries to keep his eyes anywhere but on you, jaw tight, fingers drumming against his leg like he couldn’t care less. But the second he catches you laughing a little too hard at your new guy’s joke? The way your hand lingers on his arm?

Oh he’s seething.

And if there's one thing to know about Vinny, it's that he is PETTY!!

If you’re moving on, then so is he- at least, that’s what he wants you to think. He’ll make damn sure you see him with someone else, getting too close, whispering in her ear, letting his hands rest just a little lower than necessary. Acting like it’s effortless. Like you were nothing more than a passing phase.

But that was far from the truth.

Because if he had moved on, he wouldn't notice everything. Like that new necklace you’re wearing? He wonders if it was a gift. That new band you suddenly love? You hated them before, so who got you into them? And you were dressing differently now, did he make you change?

He tells himself he doesn’t care.

So he won’t text you all day. Won’t even look in your direction when you're in the same room. But then it’s 2am, or he’s a few drinks in, and suddenly, his self-control is gone. Suddenly, your phone is lighting up with texts and missed calls.

And maybe one night, to his surprise, you actually pick up.

You can hear it in his voice that he was drunk, his speech slurred as he spoke. "Shit… sorry. Meant to call Ricky."

(He did not mean to call Ricky.)

Or maybe if you didn't answer, you'd wake up to a new voicemail,

"Hey, so uh… just wondering if you still have my shirts. If not, whatever. Keep them. Actually, no, don’t! I want them back."

And if you don’t respond to him? That’s fine. He’ll just post a cryptic tweet, maybe some song lyrics that definitely aren’t about you, maybe you'll see him liking and commenting under other girls pictures. Maybe he even posts a picture with what appears to be another girl.

Then he deletes it ten minutes later.

But if you were to text him first? He’ll leave you on read for hours, maybe even days. His attempt to make you feel just a fraction of what he’s feeling. But the moment you stop reaching out? There he is, sliding into your DMs with dumb memes, sending you things with “this reminded me of you.”

Maybe it’s at a party, or after a show, but eventually, something sets him off. Maybe your new guy has his arm around you. Maybe he’s whispering something in your ear. Maybe he's making you laugh like you used to laugh with him.

And he just can't help himself anymore.

When he watches your new guy walk away, he approaches you with a smug look on his face, leaning in just close enough for you to hear him, his voice low and taunting as he asks,

"He seems nice. Does he know that's my hoodie you're wearing?"

[blackened-angel]

First of all, I wanted to say thanks for taking time to read my post and for sharing your opinions! I will try to adress your points, so it's gonna be a lengthy post.

So, regarding the fanart reposting, like I said in my post, it appears that when he does it, all he gets is a slap on the wrist and again, it wasn't just one time but he expects everyone to forgive him each time.

Yeah and about the quote used for the poster, I believe he mentioned that he wasn't involved, like he wasn't consulted by those who made the poster but at first I didn't know that the one he posted on his account, the one claiming it was the official one was an edit from someone else. I thought that when he said "This is the official one", Shankar must have gotten hold of the corrected poster from those who made it, but apparently that's not the case.

Also, he wasn't consulted regarding that line? Yeah right…he probably couldn't handle the backlash.

I don't like his immature behavior, just like you said. He hasn't displayed professionalism.

"From the visionary mind of—" that's the most egocentric thing you can say in a trailer.

You're so right about this. Such a goddamn narcissist…It really makes it sound as if Devil May Cry is his creation.

I made a post about Lady where I mentioned that even though he had access to stuff that were planned for her, stuff that we could have seen in the DMC3 manga if it hadn't been cancelled, I don't trust that her story was that she joined the military. It's a retelling of DMC3, it's an alternate universe, it doesn't affect the series.

Capcom, you stupid motherfucker, didn't you learn the lesson from the reboot?

And yeah, can we trust how he depicts charcaters if he only reads the localizations and probably wasn't interested in reading the original texts? He never heard within the fandom that the localizations are pretty bad?

He probabbly read the DMC3 manga and seeing how Dante sounds like the reboot one, he thought he sounded cool.

Sure, the Dante we know, for example, would approve of something like the following.

Tokyopop translation

Context: Alice broke into his office to steal his amulet and this "translation" is supposed to convey what he thinks about children, I guess.

Dante: I tell ya..the whole goddamn world would be better off with mandatory sterilization.

Yeah that sounds like something he would say…T_T

He was actually recalling how his mother used to scold him, but I guess it was too difficult to convey for the English speakers, huh?

You asked if he ever mentioned Visions of V and to my knowledge, I don't think he did. Most likely people are expecting that he read the manga but come on, it's not localized.

"Not to mention how he barely ever talks about other names working on the product. Two or three voice actors at most. Maybe the art directors? Lady's voice actor? Maybe some special words for the developers who made this IP an existing thing...?"

Yeah, it's like he's control of everything except the animation of course. The screenwriter is apparently Alex Larsen if you'd like to look him up.

Words from the developers of the IP…Yeah, Itsuno only said "I'm supervising it properly", when the first trailer was released and left Capcom for a while now.

Shankar mentioned a long time ago that he consulted with Hiroyuki Kobayashi, who was the producer for some of the games.

But yeah, it's mostly him.

"There isn't a single thing from the novels mentioned in the trailer. "

While nothing is mentioned the trailer, I believe we will see him interact with Nell Goldstein. Since the first trailer people thought that the novel will be adapted because he didn't have Ebony and Ivory.

Speaking of that omg, do you know that the designs of the pistols from the reboot were used in that Netflix 01 Drop where they showed the sneak-peak?

That scared me back then.

So yeah, I think Shankar mentioned that he will get Ebony and Ivory from Nell.

I think it's obvious we don't him to have anything to do with DMC…

The choice of music…yeah it's for the nostalgia. I think Casey Edwards mentioned that he's contributing to the soundtrack…And yeah of course they had to use a meme to describe Vergil, he's the "storm that is approaching" guy.

"Congrats to the redditors who will love this show. I will myself watch it out of morbid curiosity. But man, seeing a franchise that means so much being turned into a generic action thing, and getting praised for the sake of "getting some content" is so sad. Especially since it shows people watch things for empty entertainment."

I'm disappointed how much the fandom right now is basically just caught up in the fact that Shankar is trying to please everyone. Like we have seen, he pretty much replies and retweets stuff he's tagged in most of the time and people love that they're getting attention from a celebrity…

Even Kamiya-san spends a lot of time on Twitter. I reached out to him on a few occasions to ask him DMC1 related stuff and he answers questions most of the time but people shouldn't expect that they will become his friends.

So yeah, I'm glad to see that other people share my opinions. Thank you again for taking time to read my post!

I'm personally not looking forward to the Netflix adaptation of Devil May Cry.

With the new trailers, I wanted to share my opinions again but I will say that this post isn't recommended for those who only have praise and that any criticism is forbidden.

It's a pretty long post where I try to explain what is my main problem with the adaptation and that is the person who is directing it.

I highlighted some parts that I hope you can at least read those ones, but if I were to give you a brief TL;DR it would be this:

If you want to make an adaptation based on an IP that's been around for a while, even if you proclaim that you're fan, at the very least be modest and try not to cause trouble with your audience, given that you're supposed to be a professional in the industry and perhaps trying desperately to please everyone isn't such a good idea because you might be hanging with the wrong crowd and that will reflect on your image.

Sorry but I'm not interested to coddle that guy so if that brief summary is enough to make you displeased, I'm asking you not to read any further.

So, will talk about why it's difficult for me to praise Netflix Devil May Cry. It's because of the person attached to it.

I've criticized aspects of this adaptation before and while the majority will get angry because the show hasn't come out yet, thus any criticism is invalid, personally, what I have seen so far has been enough for me to have a disdain for it because one of my favorite series is being handled by someone who has never done anything with it before.

Proclaiming to be a fan doesn't automatically mean that it will be a masterpiece and for someone who is allegedly a professional in the industry, their conduct reflects on the product and others that are involved.

Also, just saying, that I refuse to use the word "anime".

Pseudo-anime perhaps but I'm sorry, DMC The Animated Series from 2007, that's the only Devil May Cry anime. I don't see any 'bishounen'/ biseinen' . Have you?

Anime, to someone like me who has been into anime and manga for two decades, is animation produced in Japan, primarily for the Japanese audience, with aesthetic that is different from Western animations.

So yeah I'm just gonna say Netflix DMC.

Ok, so, let's return to the subject, but first, I want to ask you and of course, you can provide examples because from my experience, I haven't seen anime studios acting so desperate like Shankar.

Please tell me if you have seen anime studios on their social media accounts being so friendly with people?

At most, there are some who on some occasions retweet fan creations like art or cosplay but in general they just post information regarding what they are producing, trailers or key visuals, but they don't engage much with the audience.

They are just working on the stuff they want to deliver to their audience, hoping they will enjoy it and look into feedback afterwards.

How many anime studios have you seen bragging like Shankar has been doing?

He actually said on Twitter "I never miss."

Oh and on a few occasions, this grown-ass man kept referring to himself in 3rd person, somehow thinking his fans will find it...cute? Yeah, so it was more like "Adi Shankar never misses."

It's obnoxious. You can tell me that he was joking, but he seems committed to his whole "I never miss with my projects" bit, so it's kind of hard to tell.

Oh and do you think it's also adorable when he reposted people's fanart without crediting? Even when some of them had watermarks?

Like I'm not kidding. If you follow him on Twitter, there were a few times when he was called out for not properly crediting artists and you'd think he'd stop after being told once but no.

In addition to that, one time when I was reading the comments on a reposted artwork, there were only two people that mentioned the artist while the rest of them didn't even ask things like "Hey did you draw this? Did the animation team do it?"

It seemed that even though they must have known it wasn't art made by Shankar or the ones doing the animation, they treated like it was no biggie if he was reposting.

As a professional, allegedly, he should have never done such a thing, but most of his followers seem treat him like "oh he's just enthusiastic, cut him some slack, don't be mean to him".

And we know that in general, anyone else who would do that sort of thing just once would get torn apart by others, but with that guy apparently we must be indulgent.

When caught in the act, he did apologize but like...shouldn't he know better? He most likely expects that everyone will forgive him for anything he does.

Thus, can you understand why I'm having a tough time to like something from that person? Who keeps bragging, promising the best anime ever, acting as if he invented DMC...

That's a person who is supposed to be a professional in the industry, yet he as only been acting like a redditor...And of course he promotes a lot of memes. Gee, I wonder who's the intended audience?

He's been desperately trying to please everyone.

This is why I like the way anime studios conduct their promotion for their projects. They are humble and want to avoid causing problems t and that's why they generally just post information, artwork, trailers etc..

That's something I personally appreciate.

Shankar has only been off-putting...Honestly, what the heck was Capcom thinking?

Apparently he wanted Dino Crisis, but Capcom was like, have DMC instead. It feels like they were saying "yeah do whatever with this IP, doesn't matter", as if DMC isn't popular, which was proven by the popularity poll they hosted.

I feel like this adaptation is mostly for the people that know DMC just from memes and I'm sorry for the long time fans that will most likely get insulted and told to shut up by the people who will only watch this generic Marvel/DC looking animation and be told that DMC is only good because of Shankar or think he should be in charge of other Devil may Cry projects.

So yeah, to me, above all is that narcissistic man who has been trying so hard to please everyone.

No, I don't think it's endearing when he spoke in 3rd person and claims that he never misses with his projects. I did not find it cute when he went on to say stuff like Vergil is a hero and other bullshit, because some people would believe those will actually be the characterizations in the show, only for Shankar to post something like "I'm joking, I'm just a troll" after those kinds of posts, wanting to gain sympathy from people, to see just how much of a fun guy he is and you must definitely watch his DMC "anime".

We already had the reboot that was supposed to appeal to the Western audience because Capcom thought the original series isn't appealing to westerners, but man were they wrong. Still hate it for the fact that they mocked the OG series and here we are again, another production that's mostly for the western audience.

So yeah, I'm just not a fan of how much that man has been boasting and assuring everyone how great the show will be.

Perhaps, for some of you, it will the greatest "anime" ever, he keeps telling you that! But not for me. I don't appreciate the shit I've seen him do on Twitter done and as much as he brags that failure never happens for Adi Shankar, not everyone is of the same opinion.

If it turns out that it might fail the expectations of those who only praised, what then? Will they keep praising despite being disappointed so that the series keeps getting content, even if it might be the same quality or even worse?

I think that will send the message to the bigwigs that those people are willing to consume anything.

Like I've mentioned thought out the post, I personally would have appreciated humbleness instead of someone trying so desperately to please everyone.

I'm not sorry for what I said and I know there must be others who share my opinions.

If you have made it this far, I thank you!

[ten-simm]

[oneroomjestershow]

when

[arttsuka]

Jedediah and Octavius

Some wips (but I forgot to take pictures of most of the steps) + the 'clean' version (basically without the hearts because I posted this on Instagram too and people I know irl follow me there 🥲)

[neurospiczzzziee]

So I've been thinking about your post all day. I saw it before I went to work and I knew I wanted to come back to it.

Okay so first of all thank you for sharing your insight. I feel it is really amazing and vulnerable of you to share your own feelings and perspective of a child who experienced divorce.

I personally didn't have my parents get divorced but grew up in a very vitriolic home life situation where my parents should have separated.

So a lot of my perspective comes from an educator who works with high schoolers. Octavia's behavior does check out for me as a common 17 year old child who is dealing with trauma/difficult time. From my experience a lot of teenagers will lash out at adult figures they value deeply when in a state of distress. I've seen it a lot of different ways. The most common way I see it is I am going to say the most hurtful thing possible to see if you still actually care or if you are going to leave me. Another one I see is I will ice everyone out and become overly independent that way I am not a burden to others. The second one is really common for kids who have unreliable caregivers. They become almost identified children (I was one of those). Kids react in multiple ways due to stressful situations including within family dynamics. You might have one child who is getting straight A's while experiencing trauma and a sibling who is partaking in extreme risk taking behavior.

When looking at Octavia I really appreciated 3BSkyen's perspective of her character in his Sinsmas reaction and rating of season 2.

He made a really lovely point that what Octavia is doing and why she is reacting the way she is, is that she is most likely trying to protect Stolas.

Octavia just witnessed her father become suicidal in order to see her and actively try to risk his life. She had to step in to save his life.

She is icing Stolas. I think she is doing this so Stolas is less likely to risk his life trying to go back to the palace again. She is not taking into account Stola's feelings at all this moment. She is trying to be an "adult" and in a way sacrifice her own relationship and love for him so he is safe from Stella and Andy.

Octavia was mainly raised by Stolas who alway made choices for others without really factoring in others own voices. Stolas has the problem of assuming other ppl wants/feelings and not actually listening to them. He takes the burden of making choices all on himself. Think about what happened in Full Moon. Stolas was so set in his own emotions he didn't realize that he needed to give Blitzø time to think. He immediately got wrapped in his own head and made the decision to shut Blitzø out with magic. He makes the choice for Blitzø that there is no longer a relationship. In his mind he is taking the emotional burden. Self-sacrificing. I will suffer if it means someone else will be happier. But he isn't acknowledging Blitzø's own feelings he is just assuming that Blitzø will be happier. (Hi I just want to say I love Stolas. Blitzø definitely was also in the wrong in the full moon situation. I love my flawed demon dad's)

Octavia is doing in a sense a similar thing. I think She is saying all these awful things, so her dad wouldn't put himself in danger. Because in her mind she is preventing her Dad from being happy and safe. So what she is doing is she is actively trying to cut the string in the most awful way to hope he wouldn't go after her. So he wouldn't risk his life again to see her. Punishing herself and making herself miserable. not at all acknowledging what her dad actually wants/needs. She is so sad by this choice. This burden she put on herself with that all she can do to cope is display hurt and anger. I would imagine in her mind it is something like this

"Maybe if I say the most awful things to my dad as possible he won't be killed or hurt by my uncle and mother anymore. I will suffer. I will be sad alone if it means he can be happy. He won't have to know me. I'll be sad and he'll only know my name. But at least he will be safe and one day happy"

I think a way to think of it is that Via is extremely sheltered (girlie has no friends) in an abusive household. The only friendship/security she had was her dad. He kept her safe. With him she wasn't alone. Now she thinks that he finally has a chance to be happy and out. To be with someone. To be safe and happy. But she is the one in the way. His only chain tying him to the abuse. In her mind she is like that's easy. I'm dispensable. I'm a burden. I'm in the way. I just have to sever this chain so my dad can be happy. So she lets him go in the most hurtful way possible. Not acknowledging her dad's own thoughts and feelings. She doesn't realize that she is irreplaceable. That he cannot be complete without her. That he needs his daughter to be happy. Because she doesn't see her own worth.

Now is it a healthy reaction. Absolutely not. This is very much a child. This is very much some self-sabotaging behavior an older teen would do.

I do agree that I wish they explored Via's personality more this past season and developed more of her character. Going forward I would really like more character exploration. I having sisterly relationship with Loona would be really good for this.

I hope at least some of this made sense. I kinda just word vomited my thoughts 😭.

As always I love your amazing analysis and opinions 💕

The Octavia Dilemma (Vent/Rant Post)

TW: Divorce

I want to make it abundantly clear that this post is about myself and my feelings on Via. This does not reflect the greater fandom or all Stolas Stans.

This is a reflection of my feelings and my feelings alone. Do not utilize this post to generalize all Stolas Stans since many of them are going to agree with about 60% of my post and I'm fine with that.

Moving on,

Hello everyone! It is I, Amalthea, the Ultimate Stolas Kinnie and Stan, reporting to you live on a topic I was initially going to not talk about, but became more compelled to talk about since well- I didn't want to talk about Stella. (I'd rather not lol)

When it comes to Octavia and her rejecting Stolas I have very, very mixed feelings on the topic. While many of you may think she was right or wrong, I'm going to give you the perspective from a person who lived this stuff during my preteens.

I won't go into details, but my parental unit picked another person over my family. Parent A decided to pick Person C over Parent B and that will never not mess me up till this day.

When Parent A left, I was alone without the only thing I wanted, closure. I didn't understand why I was abandoned. I didn't understand how Parent A just thought I didn't matter anymore.

Parent B had to struggle and I just had to- watch morbidly as my world fell apart.

One of the things I absolutely can't agree with Octavia doing is walking away from Stolas when he came back to her.

She has this entire speech, victimizing herself solely(not faulting her for it, just stating it), and not asking the question why and that is where I will say the Hellaverse team failed. Kids of divorce always ask the question why. We seek a reason and yet Octavia just makes baseless accusations at Stolas that hold no water.

I mean your father, the man who has stood by your side, and loved on you for ages suddenly has an affair with a strange imp from his past and you don't even- think to ask why? Or let him explain?

Octavia willingly parentified herself to cope, which again as someone who is parentified, that makes no sense to me. Parentification happens when no one is around to help you or support you, but Octavia had her dad right fucking there. She rejected him, and seemingly can't understand he's depressed???

Again, I am speaking for myself, but this entire rant of hers makes no sense to me. She's seen him light up around Blitz, be more open (maybe to open), and be happier, but doesn't acknowledge it???

My issue, a reminder I am talking about myself , with Octavia is she makes everything solely about herself and asks no important questions about her father. I know she is a rich girl, but she is shown to be empathetic and kind overall, so it feels out of character she doesn't even- try to understand. Even if it's hard.

When Parent A came back into my life I begged for a reason why. Why the hell did you leave!? What did Person C have that I didn't!? Why did you raise their child you didn't birth but not me!? What did I do wrong!? What was so bad you left!?

None of these questions were asked, Octavia goes straight to making accusations which makes no sense. The fact she expected Blitz to die??? Like Loona wasn't going to be fatherless??? Like she's 17. Via is a bright and smart girl. Did she really look down on Blitz that much??? (genuine question, not tryna be a smart ass)

Octavia: You lied to me.

Stolas: What?

Octavia: *pushes Stolas away* You lied to me! You said you would never leave me! You promised!

Stolas: Via. I-I didn't leave you I-I- I would never, it wasn't my choice.

Octavia: It was your choice. You chose HIM!

I also think this whole scene is why Stolas made the choice he made. While he had an inclination he could die- he knew his privilege could possibly save him. It's why he was a bit confused and not sure of what was going to happen.

He was hanging onto the hope he'd not die. Afterwards the reality sets in as to what he had just done and what he truly lost. Stolas took a risk on a hunch.

The man had no choice. As a father, as a person, as a soulmate, he was in an impossible situation where he had to use his privilege. He had no other option or Loona would be fatherless.

Stolas: Via, no! I didn't I just- I had to. You don't understand.

Octavia: *clenches fist as magic forms* I do understand! I understand that we were never enough for you! You never loved mother, and you don't love me, you love him. *holds up happy pills* And you needed THESE! Was this my fault that you needed these?

Stolas: No! No, never Via! *grabs Octavia's hands* Sweetie, please. You have always been the only good thing in my life!

Octavia: So does that mean you just stayed miserable because of me? *tearing up* Was I some fucking obligation? Is that why you didn't even hesitate when you got a chance to leave?

This next part always pisses me off because Via's expectation of her father are so high. That he cannot have autonomy outside of their family. She is so attached at the hip to him that anytime he deviates from loving her entirely it is a slight against her.

Also the obligation part of that statement boils my blood, because girl- you don't even know what it is like to have your parent look at you and tell you to your face "you're just a responsibility to me". Because I lived that shit. I lived knowing Parent A didn't want me because I was just to much.

Stolas stayed and loved on this girl. He gave her the whole universe and more and somehow that isn't enough.

Of course I sympathize with the sentiment, but nothing in Stolas's behavior nor him being with Blitz suggests she was ever solely an obligation to him.

If Stolas truly viewed her as a responsibility he wouldn't show any concern for her. Parent A in my life acted distant and emotionally withdrawn. They didn't take care of me anymore, acting like a ghost of their former self. They took care of my most basiepc and fundamental needs while Octavia is borderline spoiled and-

FUCK why couldn't I have that!? She sits there and complains but her parent came back for her?! She had a chance at closure and denied it! What kid of divorce does that!? What person does that?!

I know I shouldn't have this much turmoil over this. I really shouldn't. If anything I should be sympathizing with her entirely. Theoretically I should hate Stolas, but I can't because I know what it's like to be guilted for choosing yourself! I know what it's like to be forced to feel bad for being depressed! It's why I love Stolas so much and understand him completely.

But when it comes to Via, the character who borderline mimics my trauma I just- can't fully empathize. I can rationalize her thinking and- understand where it may stem from, but it still leaves me aggravated and unsatisfied.

While I may be ranting and rambling at this point- I may just be projecting and it's why I said to not take this post as something to generalize the collective- but I am thoroughly dissatisfied with Octavia's writing.

So much of it tries to mimic divorce related trauma, but none of what she has been through would initiate such a response.

She hasn't been abandoned, her father is right there.

She isn't an obligation, all of her needs are met and she gets all she wants along with a nurturing environement.

She was enough for her father, he came back for her. If she wasn't enough he'd never come back.

All of the claims she makes are easily debunked with rational thinking and do not make sense when you have lived through divorce yourself. Again, I can be projecting, but FUCK I needed to vent about this.

It just feels like such a fickle iteration of what real divorce looks like for us.

Ask Box is Open ofc.

[butterflysonnets]

yes i'm rooting for m*leven breakup because byler is neat but mostly? i'm rooting for m*leven breakup for the sake of el and mike.

to me, their romance was always a puppy love born out of a combination of social pressures, naïve curiosity, and a lack of true understanding regarding intimacy and romantic love and what it really is. it was real in that they do truly, deeply care about each other and they are close friends, maybe even shared an attraction, but a maturing romance is so much more than that. they've grown up and out of being boyfriend/girlfriend, and that's okay! i think television/film needs to show more often that most of us don't have definite "soulmates" or first childhood loves that we spend our whole lives with. it doesn't mean these relationships meant nothing and didn't impact us, it just means they've run their course and that something else is in the cards, and this is part of life!

i've always felt el was at her best and most confident self when broken up with mike, discovering who she was and what she liked alongside another girl her age instead of just relying on mike for mentorship on how to live in the real world. she deserves more of an opportunity to find herself, her autonomy, and her independence, and to love who she is, and she's made it clear she's felt insecure in the relationship with mike because she isn't being loved and understood the way she wants, needs, and deserves from someone who is her partner.

also, it's okay if mike doesn't love her in "the way he should". he is not obligated to love her romantically and stay in a relationship with her just because she's a girl, because she "needed someone", or because he cares about her a lot. he shouldn't be pressured into a romance if it's not truly coming from his heart. he deserves freedom to find out and honour who he is, too, instead of just staying in his non-functional first relationship — one he got into as a child, essentially — and defining himself that way because it's what's expected when a boy and a girl are close. he loves her in some way, yes, but it's okay if he doesn't feel comfortable or secure being her boyfriend anymore, for whatever reason that is. he's felt insecure too, and that's valid and it matters.

they are their own people and are steadily growing and changing every day. they need time to figure out who those people are, and it's become clear (at least in my opinion) that those people aren't meant to be a couple at this stage.

they deserve freedom. they deserve to grow up and be authentic to themselves and not feel like they need to lie for the sake of a relationship. they deserve to move on from this version of their relationship that isn't making them happy and rekindle the best part of their bond: their strong, beautiful friendship. they don't have to be a couple if it doesn't make them stronger and better and happier people.

i think it would be healthy and wonderful for a show, especially one consumed frequently by young adults, to show a relationship starting, progressing, and ending on good terms in this way. sometimes things don't work out, and that is okay.

[juststicktoit]

answering these in a post because i love questions and talking. i am so sorry x

1. hello i'm sterling! i am in my early 20s, i use she/he prns, i'm enough of an extrovert that i handle a lot of the social interaction stuff (is the term for this just 'social alter'?? i literally can't think of anything else lolol) and i'm a cohost 🤞

2. tim key, specifically in that one british comedy panel show that i'm still slightly too scared of the fandom to mention by name

3. i rollerskate & do roller derby training as my main thing. which is not source-adjacent at all but i also write (shitty) poems which aligns a lot more w my source lol. i like cryptic crosswords too even if it takes me upwards of an hour to complete one

4. we as a collective are really into biology & paleontology so my instinct is to say some nerdy shit like "oh i really like Trilobites. have you hears about The Trilobites? i fucking love Trilobites man" but my normal answer is cicadas :) as for plants - we all have the same favourite flower, it's SO weird. we disagree on a lot but by jove do we all love alliums

5. i don't have too many source memories that don't align with what happened in source lol but i do know i bullshitted my way through more of those tasks than i was called out on.

6. yes :) major comfort show for us since like. forever. it's cool.

7. weirdly enough, glasses. i personally wear reading glasses sometimes (really difficult to describe how that works because we don't have an inner world but i promise it makes sense to me!) but remembering to wear them 24/7 is Strange.

8. really boring answer. i'm sorry. i'd be a great sheepdog. i'm sorry.

9. yes i've been described as "tim key if he was a hobo with disposable razors". in other words, source w longer hair (like, chin length; think 2007 wallis island key, if you're familiar w my source) and i actually shave my face. i think my general facial features are softer too but again we don't have an inner world so that's mostly based on my system's strange subconscious perception of me lol

10.

1. your heart is a muscle by ramshackle glory

2. g for gendetta by cheap dirty horse

3. caught by the fuzz by supergrass

11. hahah i hope i have! i split off when we were a preteen and now i'm studying for our driving exam. i think i struggled with anger management more when i first split off; this confuses parts that split more recently because i am notably chill nowadays. also, i'm addicted to nicotine now. back then, i was just an alcoholic. what? cringe. lmao

12. i feel like i struggle with this question because the lines are extremely blurry and i'd have to do a similarities/differences chart to explain it properly. i go by a different name. i'm queer as fuck. i'd say i've got ADHD as a difference, but sometimes i look at my source and wonder if he ever considered getting assessed. i have the same sense of humour. same weird speech patterns - i promise it makes sense if you hear me talk compared to a different part. i think i'm still him, in a way. just not x

tl;dr i still have a connection to source, but you wouldn't be able to tell who i'm a factive of if i didn't tell you.

13. is black too boring of an answer?? grey?? is that boring too??? i'm a monochrome girlie soz

14. i feel like i've already covered most of them with q12 sorry haha. is a stupid fashion sense a 'habit'??

15. josh i will never forgive the HORRORS they put you through (/j). alex! i miss alex regularly!! that's bff. i don't really Miss sourcemates anymore because i'm a fucking grown up (again, /j!!!!) but it'd be nice to see him again ^^

16. literally nobody (that i remember). defo nobody from my season at least

17. yeah? i don't actively look out for them but i'm not against them.

18. on main, we'll, like, reblog TM stuff, because special interest show. i don't know if that counts as participating.

19. NOPE and i am not even remotely interested in entertaining the idea of it. i am steering clear of any of that x

20. i shoulda won that season* idc if it's been 10 years i am nothing if not a petty old man (gender neutral)

*if - big if - josh wasn't a contestant lmao

Freakoville's Introject Ask Game

OP is Anti-Endo

!!!

1. can we get an introduction to you?

2. what's your source? do you like it?

3. do you have any hobbies? do they align with your source at all?

4. do you like animals? plants? what's your favorite?

5. do you have any source memories? would you like to share one?

6. do you like your source?

7. is there anything about the body you have to get used to?

8. if you had to turn into an animal, which would you want to be? if you're already an animal, choose a different species!

9. do you look different from your source? how so?

10. what's your top three favorite songs?

11. would you say you've changed since you first split? how so?

12. how different are you from your source?

13. what's your favorite color?

14. do you have any little habits developed from source?

15. (if applicable) who is your favorite person/character from source?

16. (if applicable) who is your least favorite person/character from source?

17. are you interested in talking to sourcemates?

18. if your source has a fandom, do you participate in it?

19. do you ever read fanfiction involving you/your source?

20. what's one thing you want people to know about you/your source?