#i found out abt it at the same time i read the cruel prince

[xoxzso]

not to be That kind of swiftie but rep tv when ☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️

[midi4ri0love]

identity ask in honour of my 17th bday by @yup-im-a-werewolf i found on pinterest

1. if someone wanted to really understand you, what would they read, watch, and listen to? Psych, ATLA, MLP, Cars, Lilifee, Dionsaur Train, Middle Ages picture book, The Cruel Prince, Anne with an E, Spider Man.

2. have you ever found a writer who thinks just like you? if so, who? Nope

3. list your fandoms and one character from each that you identify with: AnnE (Anne), Marauders (Peter+Regulus), The Cruel Prince (Jude), MPL (Luna), Psych (Shawn).

4. do you like your name? is there another name you think would fit you better? I like my name, but maybe Angelina.

5. do you think of yourself as a human being or a human doing? do you identify yourself by the things you do? I consider myself a part of earth, and identify by my emotionally extreme actions.

6. are you religious/spiritual? i consider magic and believe that there is a reason all this exists. i believe in the multiverse.

7. do you care about your ethnicity? i care about my ethnicity's culture, so yeah

8. what musical artists have you most felt connected to over your lifetime? Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Meghan Trainor, Robbie Williams, Rachel Platten, Imagine Dragons, Linkin Park.

9. are you an artist? Yup: drawing/painting/animating, dancing, writing.

10. do you have a creed? nope.

11. describe your ideal day. i sleep til abt 9, the sunlight and a good smell of flowers and food wake me up, a loved one comes to my room and talks to me and we go to (warm/lunch-y) breakfast together, we and other 0-2 people i'm close to talk for hours at the table and drink tea, we get dressed and go skating, we come back and eat a warm meal, we paint, dance, talk and listen to music and then we read, we take a nap under the warm afternoon sun, i am left alone and can dance to music or draw or sleep and go to sleep early because i don't feel like i need to make up for lost time.

12. dog person or cat person? i always used to think i'd be a dog person and wished for one my whole life, but since i have one i love him, but realised that i'm a cat person

13. inside or outdoors? if it's warm but no sunscreen and no sweat kinda warm then outside, if it is windy outside, otherwise inside.

14. are you a musician? yup, i play the piano and the trumpet.

15. five most influential books over your lifetime: percy jackson (what mr d said abt science), the cruel prince (poisoning oneself to be immune, (war) strategies, empowering), harry potter (ruled my daydreams for abt 5 yrs now), Das Blaubeerhaus (made me a curious person), the spanish love deception (just an enjoyable read)

16. if you'd grown up in a different environment, do you think you'd have turned out the same? nope, i realised, that as a human, i am easily influenced. the power lies in actively knowing that.

17. would you say your tumblr is a fair representation of the "real you"? usually only the side i don't like, not the side i show.

18. what's your patronus? a normal cat, but i feel like it should be a horse, a tiger or a goat

19. which Harry Potter house would you be in? or are you a muggle? i'm a ravenclaww

20. would you rather be in Middle Earth, Narnia, Hogwarts, or somewhere else? HOGWARTS (narnia would be cool too tho, riding around with a sword)

21. do you love easily? maybe, i'm not sure what loving is. if what i do is loving then yes.

22. list the top five things you spend the most time doing, in order. sleeping, in school, listening to music, on my phone, eating.

23. how often would you want to see your family every year? depends on what part of my family.

24. have you ever felt like you had a "mind-meld" with someone? yeah, my ex-bff, sometimes it still hurts.

25. could you live as a hermit? probably easily, but maybe human contact every 2 weeks, it'd be amazing.

26. how would you describe your gender/sexuality? female, bisexual.

27. do you feel like your outside appearance is a fair representation of the "real you"? no, but it wouldn't be able to be shown in one physical appearance.

28. on a scale from 1 to 10, how hard is it for someone to get under your skin? 2 (so easy, i seem dumb)

29. three songs that you connect with right now. Enjoy the silence (Depeche Mode), My Love All Mine (Mitski), Beautiful Life (Ace of Base)

30. pick one of your favorite quotes.

"The scariest moment is always just before you start" ~Stephen King

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

hi i’m rereading the cruel prince bc. i love it and i jsut read this line that was like “three is an odd configuration of sisters. one is always on the outside” and idk if u have siblings but i have a bro and a sis n they like each other way more than me n that line rly just got to me. i swear every time i think abt this series or reread it i fall in love w another part of it. anyways i don’t have anyone else to tell this to so u get to know bc u post abt it lol. i love jude n that line 🥺

hi there, nonnie!

gosh i can't even describe how happy it makes me that you thought of me when you needed to gush about tfota 🥰🖤 an honour. also rereading tcp is PERFECTLY UNDERSTANDABLE (and encouraged by this blog).

i remember that line!! i only have one brother, but i think it stuck with me because i have two friends who i've known since i was in diapers and are basically sisters to me. i know it's not the same thing really, but i feel like i can relate to at least a shadow of what it must feel like to have two siblings. and i can definitely relate to feeling on the outside when it comes to them.

idk i think there's something about having people who care about you, but not as much as they should or could, that makes life feel incredibly lonely sometimes. i think both jude and cardan feel this deeply, and imo, it's part of what makes them a perfect pair- they understand each other's loneliness.

the thing i love about jude is that she doesn't let her "third-wheelness" stop her from loving her sisters fiercely, wholly. jude would do a n y t h i n g to protect them. which is probably why taryn's betrayals cut so deep, and why jude gets so angry at vivi's obliviousness when it comes to mortal safety.

when it comes down to it, jude's energy is not quite reciprocated by her sisters. and that smarts a little. but in the long haul, it doesn't matter. jude knows she's completely incapable of shallow love. she's either all in and in the deep end, or out of the water completely. if anything, this is probably why the idea of loving cardan scared her so much in the beginning- she was afraid she'd be consumed by it.

anyways, one of the great things about rereading is falling in love with things you didn't notice before. and i'm so glad you found this gem of a line again, bc it's beautiful and poignant and true. this was all a very long winded way of saying: the point is love of any kind and also we stan jude duarte 😌🖤💫

[violet-sabres]

Some quick observations re: TROS and some "reylo"musings (spoilers)

- the editing removed A LOT of emotional pay-offs for so many scenes. The decorations and actors change quickly, a bit randomly - in fact it takes a while before this movie finds its tempo and footing. Something weighty happens and no reflection is allowed even in briefest sketch of a reaction. Next scene. Next scene-

- Poe, Finn, Rose and two new female characters were absolutely robbed. Both by the ungodly pace of this movie (there is much potential for scenes that could mean much much more in the whole storyline. As is, they are discarded as soon as they happen). The bond between Finn and Poe got severed in the beginning with some awkward finnrey moments and strange jealousy (was that what it was???) from Poe. I say either carry out the finnrey thread (which was also beautiful actually, though Finn deserves so much better than how she treats him in TROS...) or finnpoe, something which JJ himself built up. Rose should be given an independent arc with no romance involved, or a love interest of her own.

- Rose's infatuation with Finn is never touched. Rose herself is absolutely erased - she is a statist, providing some dialogue with absolutely no weight behind it. JJ treated her terribly - it was his privilege and responsibility to utilize whatever he got from Johnson as he saw fit; but throwing away her potential only underlines the racist sidelining he did to all characters of colour.

- the heteronormativity I can't understand - Finn and Poe are JJs babies after all (and yeah, I know - shareholders...). Why tease hetero relationships for both and STILL leave even them hanging?? Like, he discarded Rose bc first of all racism, second - Johnson's 'leftovers' I guess? Unacceptable. The lady of Poe's was sketched boldly - but still sketched. Her inclusion wouldn't feel so random if Poe wasn't shown to be this randomly emotional abt her all of a sudden. Why now? It felt a bit forced and this is a shame bc she (and Janah, omg Janah...) is super cool. I'd love to read and see way more about all of them.

- Finn and Janah - wonderful rapport, so much empathy and loyalty, they are wonderful together. I definitely could see them together as well - so many threads to explore! There was so much potential to embed meaningful relationships for Finn into the plot. Janah is one of those that felt quite right but deserved more still. She deserves a story of her own. Not for the first time it is a secondary character of colour who carries so much potential and substance and gets sidelined. I dont mind Kylo content btw - but this series was shown to concentrate on 3 people and a villain. Keep to this proportion or perish I say. They didnt keep them and the movie feels unfairly skewed towards the force dyad of Rey and Ren. Hence, robbed. We were robbed of much of quality content here.

- the implication/suggestion that Finn may be Force sensitive held so much promise. I love Finn and Boyega played him with so much passion and dignity. He grew into leadership without pretense or drama, was competent and knowledgeable about the inner workings of the Fleet and found hope he was struggling for. Honestly the problem here is that his prominence was teased to be greater than the actual time and the weight of scenes he was given. This movie should be longer, scene order less abrupt and random - so the characters that were shown to matter in the first part could matter here as well.

- JEDI FINN please. The potential of it was teased - they should scrap some of the scenes and build those kinds of plot points more thoroughly. Finn's arc should be more - but that doesn't mean Boyega played it any other than magnificently. He got what he was given and made it his. I hate that this still means it was not as much as he and Poe deserved it. Same with Rose.

- galactic generals (*husbands) Poe and Finn. It could be marriage, it should be - Isaac played a man in love. I enjoyed this new romantic angle with the spice smuggler lady as well - but it required more buildup. As it was, it made for an awkward and frankly homophobic ersatz for finnpoe plotline of the first and even second movie. I hate wasting the potential of new characters in the movie, and this is what happened here. Also Poe's smuggling past - no previous setup that felt offensive to many bc of its randomness and no previous grounds in existing media. Felt like unnecessary sensationalism here.

- Rey is complicated here. I didnt like her attitude towards Finn and wished for more appreciation of their own idiosyncracies between them. Finn deserved his love (whether romantic or platonic) to be recognized. It was lacking here.

- I loved the fight scenes, the dialogues with Ren that should begin in TFA if they wished for the romance to be acceptably wet up. Driver is so fucking physical and huge, a bit awkward and very strong. To me it was attractive - but to me Kylo always lacked the threat in him when it came to Rey; I know this isnt so for others and respect that.

- Choreography is super effective here, the body work of Rey and Ren is wonderful.

- lighting, the sith locations were one of my favourites

- the creatures - while in the background, theybwere lovely. They made for lusher world out there.

- Palps was eh. Needed for the ending setup, ultimately fell a bit flat. The twist re his endgame would feel better if the whole scene didnt play this fucking quickly.

- the death (you know whose...) is quick and abrupt, passing fleetingly with no real depth or importance. They are rushing to another scene so quickly they forget that if you love somebody enough to accept them fully, this person's death tends to leave some kind of impression. As it is, Rey is hardly the first character robbed of emotional engagement in TROS.

- sigh. Ren. I love to hate him and hate to enjoy him still. Also feeling like a hypocrite bc would I enjoy him if not for my prefernce for how Driver looks like? Would anyone who I respect a bit more than his most fanatical reylo fans? I have no answer really.

I've never seen a character ripped into shreds from so many angles. For incels and dudebros he is a pussy (a lot of girls I know also mentioned that). He is supposedly not cruel enough, not awesome like Vader, whatever.

For others he is a genocidal criminal, and that he is. You can't sidestep Tuanul or his passivity in front of Star Destroyer wiping out whole planets. He is implicated in this genocide - and that scene where he is supposedly mutely watching it from the distance falls flat if its intention was to show he wasn't entirely behind Hux's agenda. He still never stopped him. So yeah, it is obvious that for many he is absolutely undeserving of any empathy, much less a romance plotline with movie's heroine. Especially when the first scenes setting it up were so messed up.

Now I hate the word reylo and I'd rather choke than call myself that. But I did enjoy their enmity and idk love?? towards each other? It should be plotted more consequently and I believe if JJ didn't muck it in tfa people would be a lot less opposed to the whole villain x heroine thing. Nobody opposes it bc of that - it's the torture bed and it's the "whatever I want" line that made so many recoil. It's the absolute lack of coherence at a time where more self awareness was needed from the director of the very first part in the series.

I believe there is a kind of generational divide on topic of their romance. Youve got gen z "antis" who argue about the abuse (and have a lot of good point more reylos should think hard and long about) - and mostly adult to older women (this includes older milennials also!) who grew up steeped in gothic romanticism that, up to gen z growing up, was a dominant romance paradigm in the West.

Youve got your Wuthering Hills, your Pride and Prejudice and Beauty and the Beast. I hate it. I absolutely abhor it, and the more the reylo fandom hammered their whole relationship from this angle, the more I was distancing myself. I believe the whole genre is steeped in toxic masculinity and yes, you can look at reylo from this angle as well - and I understand that when you saw those scenes from TFA, and didn't feel convinced by entirely paradoxal romance teasers (bc JJ mixed them both in equal measure, and thus killed wide enthusiasm for reylo for good) then what happened in TLJ and TROS must look like the embracing toxic hetero romance in entirety. And to some degree it is - entirely by JJs fault. The other elements that you mightve ignored in tfa suddenly get amplified in tlj, in tros and youre left wondering why the hell Kylo Ren could ever be seen as romanceable?

But the thing is, while the analogy of angry white male pursuing a pure young woman seems fitting, it doesnt work for me here. I also acknowledge that it may be in part bc I'm used to the gothic paradigm, attracted to Driver as Ren and feeling safe and assured that Rey would stay herself despite whatever he wanted from her (and she did in my opinion, she never caved even when she loved him). Kylo is white, and he is aggressive - he is a villain, he tortures and hurts Poe and Finn and plays psychological games with Rey, he shouts a lot and is very physical, which in itself looks threatening.

All those could end up somewhat accepted bc he is a villain - people will accept the consequent villain, or paradoxical one done with self- awareness on side of their creator. JJ was absolutely unaware of what a mess he did I bet - the worst elements that crossed "reylo" off the list for so many people I'd argue were first sown by JJ himself in paradoxical chase of I tease this-now I don't. Here's what I mean.

It was JJ who put Rey on that horizontal torture bed, even when Poe's was upright. It was JJ who had Ren say those gross words abt taking what he wanted. It was also JJ who irreaponsibly and paradoxically played with symbolism normally reserved for gothic princes DESPITE the gross elements he himself planted - the mask going off to reveal a goofy Disney prince, the crouching so as not to scare her, the freaking bridal carry, the humanizing via showing Ren's vulnerability. I actually hated some of those scenes - I loved the face reveal no lie, but what followed was unacceptable. Why style your villain this lush and vulnerable when you're shooting your own foot a few minutes after, with dialogue that had whole groups of young women discard him as trash? Why not polish your villain with more self awareness so that the ground for the romance is understood and cautiously accapted?

So youve got an internally cracked TFA that for some was obviously teasing reylo but for others made it unacceptable forever. This is one hell of a difficult mix to continue with and I believe if JJ was given the 2nd part to work with, perhaps he might be able to somehow work with Ren so that TLJ wouldnt feel like slap to the face to those who saw mostly the worst parts of Ren that JJ himself designed. Perhaps he would also polish the romance teasers or got rid of them altogether, idk. TROS shows that while he was eager to discard anything that Johnson had put into motion, he chose to leave reylo content still. This is really paradoxical to me, today as it was back then.

Now reylo isnt super mainstream - if he got rid of it, it would surely anger a lot of people but also satisfy an equal amount of others. Yet he chose not to and I'd argue it is because he planned for reylo to happen from the beginning, just in a shitty way we first witnessed in the worst scenes of TFA.

I'll also argue another point - if Johnson was given the saga from the beginning, reylo wouldnt be nearly as much hated and regarded as abusive for so many. It is this particular humanization of Kylo that was criticized by so many that would protect the 1st part from that torture bed, and from taking whatever Kylo wanted. As it was, when all this sudden humanity followed JJs paradoxical mess, only opposition could come bc it kind of must - it looked for many as woobifying somebody who was already irredeemable. The irony is that JJ probably never planned for this - maybe he thought he could pull this off, somehow work out the agreement between ugly Kylo and Kylo worthy of Rey. Johnson just put a fat line between TFA and his own vision, and irresponsibly ignored all the ugly heritage that should be better worked on if he ever hoped to rectify JJs paradoxes. He didnt do this and thus the mess.

I dont know if it would ever be possible though. Perhaps theres been a shift in ethics, in aesthetics even, so big that for the gen Z this kind of relationship is unacceptable. I dont see anything bad in this - even if I enjoyed a lot of reylo's potential, there will be better content, better romances done by those kids who despise reylo now as well. Meanwhile I plan to stay on this weird pole stuck deep into my ass between reylo enthusiast and haters bc I cant for shit choose a side fully.

Bc I dont see the abuse this clear cut - but am also unsure how much of it is my cultural baggage, the history of normalizing toxic masculinity etc. I bet it's both to some degree, like with all gothic romance genre, - and that there wouldnt be this whole rift at the heart of tfa without toxic masculinity normalization at all. Without it there would be no torture bed and no threats. And the irony is that Johnson would probably see to that better. But not as good as a woman behind the camera to begin with - if you want a heroine at its heart that is.

Like, you can see JJs initial vision as pretty homogenous - the bed, the words, and ignore all the paradoxical romance symbolism in there. You can also look at it as fractured and absolutely lacking coherence, and fish for the elements youd like to stay in next parts. I welcomed Johnson bc he took the best in Kylo and left JJs mess behind. This is also the very reason youre gonna hate the TLJ if TFA felt coherent for you. Bc you cant ignore that which felt threatening and cruel and very much obvious.

I have no easy recipe at dealing with this saga. I cant throw my weight behind reylo fully, ever, but will cautiously accept the potential it could have should it be more coherently written. I love so much of art and those fics that are in line with my wishes towards how Ren should be done from.the beginning.

When I was considering what to.think abt all that, back in the beginning, I didnt want for Rey to cater to emotional demands and baggage of an aggressive male, and I believe she actually doesnt - time and time again she asserts herself, maybe messily but she has the right to her anger and pain so the messy it has to be. She is shown to hope for him becoming better - and isnt manipulated or groomed to do so, and if loneliness was the only reason to stick to him then any other person would suffice, which isnt the case. She is loyal to the cause to the end and happily carries on despite Ren dying, even if it's clear she loved him. She is her own woman and the magnitude of his emotions, the physicality of his behaviour hardly influence her - she neither cowers before Kylo nor caters to him, ever. I love her for this, actually.

So there you have it, my messy thoughts on both TROS and 'reylo' dynamics. I cant say Im satisfied with both. There could be more, Ren could be fleshed out better in the beginning. The potential of so many characters was left undeveloped. I dont feel satiafaction even with elements I loved abt reylo bc there is no counterpart in other aspects I hoped to see developed. I wanted Rey to have more time with Finn, for Finn to have more time with Poe, for Rose to matter in tros as well. I wanted more of Rey and Leia, and for Ren to have more coherence to his character. Ultimately I got crumbs and some bits unable to be stomached.

Go and watch tros, stay in the place of engaging with this series that feels best to you, closest to your needs abd perceptions. Tros will not satisfy anyone in full, also bc of editing and the pacing - which is terrible. Reylo will either frustrate you or frustrate you for entirely different reasons. Dont take JJs shit, dont take Johnson's. Take from the saga whatever works for you.

I dont think it's possible to fully embrace reylo, without reservations. There are grounds for the so called antis to point out the toxic masculinity and potential for abuse. There are tropes suggesting romance despite this still, all in just TFA. It was a mess from the very beginning and it's normal people took sides.

I'm just glad it's finally over.

[homestucky]

ok ok this is like not anything new but still since i havent been on here i havent fully ranted about this yet. big long rant incoming

re the epilogue (spoilers etc)

ok. i have onl y read meat. but fucking? dirk? dirk? ok? dirk??

no.

i am aware of what happens in candy. i know he dies.

i also know in the version i read, in meat, he becomes his ultimate self, all versions of dirk. as many people have said, this includes AR, this includes bro, this includes even to some degree, LE. its an interesting idea ill give you that. but its also.... shitty and not backed enough by well, anything?

so heres my personal rant about the shitty things in Meat.

when i first finished it i couldnt help but think. was the dirk narrative even necessary? on the one hand it was meant to be the MAIN PLOT and it defined the narration etc, but.... it honestly didnt seem to have any importance. i know it was likely  a set up to imply future stuff like making the next sburb or whatever but like

who CARES? why on earth would that be interesting or important? maybe im crazy but like, the ‘b plot’ which was mostly about character relationships and jobs in earth c, was compelling and enjoyable. the narrative with john ‘not important and not the main character anymore’ egbert had details and conclusions ACTUALLY RELATING TO HOMESTUCK, THE COMIC I LIKE AND WANTED TO READ AN EPILOGUE FOR. it was tragic and frankly very upsetting! im not saying i liked it!! but the tragedy felt compelling and significant. 

i appreciate that dirk as narrator IS BIASED so him saying that these narratives are less important is inherently like. not to be trusted but. just. i cant help but feel like you could have cut the whole ‘main dirk reality affecting’ narrative OUT 

and that seems to me maybe like... not good? if such a central part of your narrative has almost no bearing on homestuck or anything anyone cares about?

but im sure there are other people who found it compelling and necessary. thats fair. cant relate but you do you. there are other issues. 

me saying that the dirk narrative felt weirdly isolated and insignificant sounds pretty weird given that it put jade into a coma, manipulated kanayas mind, effectively killed rose and destroyed rosemary right? WELL that brings me on to the next thing. people have noted that meat barely passes the bechdel test. and hey, sometimes things like that can just be a coincidence or unlucky. but the repeated erasure of the female characters minds, motives, identities and autonomy was????  a little too consistent to dismiss. like ok terezi was still her dope self in a lot of ways. jane kinda did some stuff (under dirks direction, and only shitty stuff but . whatever). 

(sidebar: ofc it doesnt make sense to talk about calliope and roxy in the context of the female characters in Meat but either way they were very in the background. like cool an all, and i always love roxy. and i respect they were mostly just minding their own businesses??? which is fair)

 i just. urgh. homestuck has such a genuinely good track record of giving female characters genuine motivations and powerful abilities etc. the fact that almost ALL the female characters involved were working for or manipulated by DIRK. DIRK of all people. is like... is this even based off the real comic? idgi????

roses loss of autonomy.... rose is such an important character. and she goes along with everything dirk says because dirk is suddenly all OP and ‘theyre basically the same person anyway’ like i get that there was some magic bullshit going on or whatever but at the end of the day rose was still written as weak and passive. dirk as strong and skilled and decisive. i get the undertones.. hes a prince of heart. a destroyer of souls, and identities. he messed with kanayas identity , destroyed roses, repeatedly ignored roxys and calliopes, and god i wont even get started on jake yet. but that doesnt make it satisfying to read. or even really feasible.

so theres a possibility im missing something. but im confused about WHY dirk is allowed this power. in the narrative its waved off as a kind of ‘i guess because im like a prince of heart or whatever and im just super good at managing identities and being a strong boy’ like ok if theres some implication somewhere that that is MEANT to be a bogus explanation id be interested to know because it sounds pretty goddamn bogus. why would this happen to dirk? why? literally? one reason? one that makes sense? because there arent any i can think of. why, in the new universe, would dirk, a prince of heart, manifest into a narrative controlling supergod. and fucking WHEN has dirk showed any actual capabilities in this area before?? he KINDA sucked at it in the game. dirks an idiot! hes smart and capable in like, some ways but. its like

why is dirk so powerful suddenly -> its because hes become super ultimate dirk -> ... ok why -> uh because like. hes just so naturally inclined towards being a great manipulator yknow..... canonically.... uhhhh

it just. canon dirk to epilogue dirk is the most ridiculous leap character wise, skill wise, arc wise, personality wise, with minimal reasonable explanation. 

which brings me on to the next thing. so i roasted dirk and said he wasnt strong enough to be able to manipulate things this well. well, obviously through some other means dirk HAS been afforded this power. but what about his personality? its obviously gonna be warped with self importance and knowing how things ‘have to be’. but hes heartless, cruel and hateful. in some ways it seems like canon dirk levels of ruthlessness, especially when it shows that he is actually doing something dumb and petty like his treatment of jake. that shows that he STILL has emotional connection to people as dirk. he also seems to care about some people, like dave and roxy, and cracks jokes and wants to have ‘fun’. this makes the ways in which hes so warped and cruel seem even worse. maybe on the one hand im giving dirk too much credit, everyone knows he has the potential to be a real bastard. but i dont think that was the trajectory he was on when we last saw him. and if this is truly due to him just.. becoming other versions of himself too including LE and bro and stuff..like. i dont see how it could have gotten that bad without say, roxy or dave noticing. 

‘oh they didnt notice because hes just so good at hiding’ why on earth would i believe that!! dave especially this is kinda insulting for. dave is shown to have an almost supernatural ability to detect danger. partially this might be timeline stuff, knight stuff, but also notably im sure his upbringing is involved too. he was trained to be hypervigilant. who was he trained to be hypervigilant for? bro. bros manipulation and traps. near the end of the epilogue we show that dave IS capable of detecting the mindfuckery thats happening. how would that not set off 1 million alarm bells? theres literally apparently a twisted dirk-bro mutant INSIDE HIS HEAD telling him what to do. i just. know that scene was played for comedy and romance but at the very least thats gotta like???? mess with u if ur traumatised? and thats like , why i think dave should have had an inkling abt what was going on!! this is exactly the thing he hates and fears and was traumatised by! and it just going under his nose n him not even knowing , and still pretty recently being all buddy buddy with dirk seems just stupid and infeasible to me. maybe this is me being naive or kind of a stretch but i just feel like daves danger instincts would have been kicking up a whole assed ruckus that whole time. 

also kind of unrelated but i associate sunglasses with strider style toxic masculinity and hiding things so like. ok transitioning or changing gender presentation is one thing but roxy apparently permanently wearing sunglasses makes me NERVOUS

and ill probably wrap up this mighty rant soon but i wanna also say jake was done so fucking dirty. i know he was like, meant to be, because for some reason god dirk just hated him? like ok petty much. but. urgh jake is such an interesting character with a lot of potential and while i appreciate that him being manipulated by someone who may reasonably have a problem with him may make him do stupid and embarrassing stuff, all the narrative seems to have taken a backward step in how hes represented. jake isnt stupid, dirk clearly knew this in canon and he maybe was the only one even including jake. and there was some acknowledgement of this near the beginning of the epilogue. but then for some reason it goes back on itself. everyone still thinks jake is just completely stupid, including the embittered superdirk. so yeah i guess hes upset with jake or whatever but. its still dissatisfying to be like oh yeah jake isnt stupid he actually has a complex set of motivations and potential etc BUT over the X number of yrs on earth c no one else has realised this yet?? hmm. then his narrative is just gonna end up with him being a total joke and essentially becomes as stupid and incompetent as his worst critics say he is. feasible given the mind control ? yeah. enjoyable to read or having any kind of satisfying bearing on anything? nope!

so anyway. i feel like any criticism i have could be argued back with ‘but oh it has to be this way’ or ‘mind control!!’ or ‘not everything has to be nice and happy !!’ but like. dude. there are flaws. many of them. and seeing characters just get shat on is never gonna be good writing. 

[witchfmiliar-blog]

 intro  post  4  the  birb  boy .     finally ,  you  all  say  with  a  sign  of  relief ,  cosbo  didn’t  pick  up  another  b.atb  character !     shocking  i  know .     &  truly  this  ?   was  an  unexpected  character  for  me ��to  pick  up .     i’ve  never  played  di.aval  but  i’ve  always  loved  his  part  in  mal.efic.ent  &  i’m  excited  to  see  how  it  goes !     anyway ,  everyone  this  is  devil  bird  &  under  the  cut  you  can  learn  more  about  him !

 WINGS .     I  NEED  YOU  TO  BE  MY  WINGS .

 diaval  has  a  sharp  nose ,  beady  eyes ,  dark  feathery  hair ,  &  a  laugh  that  sounds  a  bit  like  squawking .     raised  marks  along  his  neck ,  chest ,  &  around  his  eyes  also  suggest  that  his  skin  doesn’t  perhaps  fit  him  right .     &  that  would  be  because  it  probably  doesn’t .     diaval ,  due  to  a  life  debt ,  serves  as  the  raven  familiar  to  maleficent  of  the  moors .     he  preens  under  compliments  &  usually  has  little  to  no  mind  in  saying  what  his  opinions  are  to  most .     despite  this ,  however ,  diaval’s  vanity  is  not  something  grossly  egotistical .     he  is  respectful  when  need  be  &  he  doesn’t  think  himself  above  others ;  he  simply  does  not  think  himself  below  others  either .     he  has  a  good  sense  of  self  worth  &  does  not  allow  others  to  make  him  feel  insignificant .

SHORT INFO CHEAT SHEET !

 everything  i  have  for  diaval  is  based  off  the  storyline  of  the  2014  maleficent  film !     WARNING  IF  YOU  HAVENT  SEEN  THE  2014  MALEFICENT  FILM :  THIS  WILL  CONTAIN  SPOILERS  FOR  THE  ENTIRE  PLOT  OF  THE  FILM !     if  you  play  a  sleeping  beauty  character’s  who’s  backstory  differs  from  the  maleficent  film  then  we  can  discuss  something  ooc  but  generally  i  will  assume  them  from  an  alternate  universe  from  diaval’s .   

 diaval  was  once  no  more  than  a  common  raven .     then  he  was  caught  &  nearly  killed  by  a  farmer  until  maleficent  saved  him  by  transforming  him  into  a  man .     for  saving  his  life ,  diaval  pledged  his  loyalty  &  servitude  to  maleficent .     after  maleficent  cursed  aurora  both  she  &  diaval  realized  quickly  that  the  pixies ,  who  were  sent  to  raise  the  princess  in  the  woods ,  were  incompetent  in  caring  for  a  child  &  that  aurora  would  die  before  the  curse  could  even  take  effect  if  left  alone  with  the  pixies.    therefore  the  two  secretly  cared  for  aurora  from  afar  until  she  finally  met  them  when  she  was  around  14 .     maleficent  &  diaval  both  developed  a  parental  care  for  aurora  overtime  &  maleficent  even  tried  in  vain  to  revoke  her  curse .     when  aurora  eventually  did  fall  under  her  curse ,  despite  diaval  &  maleficent’s  efforts ,  it  was  not  prince  philip’s  kiss  that  awoke  the  princess  but  the  motherly  kiss  on  the  head  from  maleficent .     when  attempting  to  flee  the  castle  with  aurora ,  stealing  her  away  from  her  mad  king  father ,  the  three  of  them  were  confronted  by  king  stefan  &  his  men .     aurora  fled  the  scene  while  maleficent  transformed  diaval  into  a  dragon  &  they  attempted  to  hold  off  the  men .     they  won ,  king  stefan  eventually  falling  to  his  death ,  &  aurora  went  on  to  be  the  queen  of  both  the  moors  &  the  human  kingdom ,  uniting  them ,  &  diaval ,  though  no  longer  needed  as  maleficent’s  wings ,  remained  by  maleficent’s  side  &  would  until  death .

 SUMMARY :

 diaval  was  a  raven  &  maleficent  saved  his  life  from  a  farmer  killing  him  by  turning  him  into  a  man  so  diaval  owes  her  a  life  debt

 bc  the  pixies  were  Not  Smart  with  raising  a  kid ,  diaval  &  maleficent  basically  raised  aurora  from  a  distance  so  she  wouldn’t  die  before  the  curse

 both  diaval  &  maleficent  ended  up  caring  abt  aurora  like  parents

 sadly  she  was  still  cursed  but  maleficent’s  kiss  on  the  forehead  of  true  maternal  love  woke  her

 they  killed  king  stehpen

 diaval  remains  by  maleficent’s  side  &  his  loyalty  to  her  is  never  changing

DETAILS !

 DIAVAL’S  PAST :     there’s  not  much  to  say  about  his  life  before  maleficent .     he  was  a  common  raven  from  ireland  who’s  life  was  no  more  extravagant  than  the  next  though  he  thought  he  was  sometimes .     in  a  foolish  task  of  attempting  to  constantly  irritate  an  angry  human  farmer ,  though ,  diaval’s  life  found  it’s  change .     caught  under  a  net  &  mere  moments  away  from  being  beaten  out  of  his  senses ,  diaval  sure  he  was  going  to  die ,  maleficent’s  magic  took  hold  him .     wings  grew  to  arms ,  talons  to  feet ,  beak  to  nose  &  mouth  &  soon  he  was  standing  as  a  very  confused  man  as  the  farmer  ran  in  fear .     in  exchange  for  saving  his  life ,  diaval  pledged  his  servitude  to  maleficent  &  she  had  him  act  as  her  “wings” ,  flying  to  &  from  king  stefan’s  castle  to  bring  maleficent  information  on  the  king  so  that  she  might  plot  her  revenge  on  him  for  robbing  her  of  her  wings .     becoming  a  human  wasn’t  something  he  was  at  all  fond  of  at  first  but ,  with  his  life  now  in  maleficent’s  debt  &  the  transitions  happening  more  frequently ,  his  human  form  became  nearly  as  comfortable  as  his  raven  form .     maleficent  would  also  turn  him  to  anything  ( wolf ,  horse ,  dragon ,  ect. )  she  possibly  needed ,  however ,  all  his  forms  would  constantly  retain  raven  like  features  within  them .

 DIAVAL’S  FAMILY :    as  a  raven  . . .  he  hasn’t  seen  any  of  his  family  in  years  &  he’s  certain  many  of  them  have  died .     he  hardly  thinks  about  this ,  though ,  as  he’s  more  concerned  about  his  current  family .     the  raven  watched  maleficent  grow  close  &  attached  to  the  young  princess  aurora  &  at  the  same  time  he  also  grew  in  fondness  of  the  girl  in  a  similar  parental  fashion .     often  the  raven  would  be  the  one  to  soothe  the  baby’s  crying  at  night  with  milk  to  drink  &  would  rock  her  crib  until  she  fell  back  asleep .     as  she  aged  he  would  play  with  her  as  she  tried ,  giggling ,  to  catch  the  “pretty  bird” .     he  tried  never  to  think  about  the  curse ,  unless  nagging  maleficent  about  it ,  until  it  was  upon  them .    excitedly  he  had  hoped  prince  philip  would  save  the  girl  but  was  pleasantly  surprised  when  it  was  not  the  prince’s  romantic  kiss  but  maleficent’s  motherly  one  to  aurora’s  forehead  that  woke  the  girl .     he  never  thought  he’d  feel  such  warmth  in  his  heart  from  what  he  saw  that  day .     aurora  was  crowned  after  king  stefan’s  death  from  his  battle  with  maleficent  &  maleficent  regained  her  wings  . . .  his  place  was  pointless  but  he  never  dare  leave  maleficent’s  side  now .     he  truly  cannot  imagine  parting  from  the  fairy  &  aurora  is  a  bright  spot  in  his  heart .     they  are  his  familiy  &  no  raven  could  have  better .     he  truly  thinks  himself  the  luckiest  bird  in  the  world .

 the  point  i’m  taking  from  is  shortly  after  the  end  of  the  film !     the  last  thing  he  remembers  is  soaring  down  to  land  &  nearing  the  ground  as  maleficent  was  waving  her  hand  to  transform   him .     however ,  as  he  transformed  he  assumed  something  went  wrong  as  his  feet  did  not  land  in  the  moors  but  rather  here .

 MISCELLANEOUS HEADCANONS !

 he’s  been  turned  into  a  human  often ,  near  daily ,  &  is  used  to  being  in  that  form  but  he  has  never  remained  in  human  form  for  over  twenty  four  hours .     as  a  raven  he  would  fend  for  himself  with  food  or ,  on  rare  occasions ,  maleficent  or  aurora  would  bring  berries  for  him .     other  than  that ?     he’s  never  eaten  a  meal  as  a  human  &  doesn’t  quite  know  what  to  eat  as  one  but ,  from  raising  aurora ,  he  does  know  the  general  rule  of  what  not  to  eat .     he’s  also  fairly  unaware  of  some  biological  human  functions .     one  example ?     dude  has  never  used  the  bathroom  as  a  human  being  . . .  need  i  say  more ?

 he  misses  flying  beyond  belief .     ties  into  how  he’s  never  been  human  this  long .     he  wouldn’t  miss  being  a  bird  so  much  when  he  was  with  maleficent  simply  for  the  fact  that  he  got  to  spend  time  speaking  with  maleficent  but  by  himself  here  he’s  quite  dreary  being  stuck  on  his  two  feet .

 dude  is  incredibly  enamored  with  maleficent .     he’d  seen  her  with  wings  before  &  thought  her  magnificent .     after  becoming  her  familiar  he  grew  close  to  her  &  learned  that ,  truly ,  she’s  not  as  cold  &  cruel  as  she  likes  to  seem .     she’s  just  been  hurt ,  badly ,  &  she’s  rightfully  angry .     she’s  strong ,  though ,  &  powerful  &  confident  &  while  they  may  bicker  often  diaval  truly  worships  her .     he  cares  for  her  with  his  whole  heart .     her  lack  of  belief ,  or  rather  trust ,  in  true  love  does  break  his  heart  sometimes  but  he  does  well  to  keep  that  buried .     he  wishes  she’d  care  about  him  the  same  but  he’s  almost  certain  it’s  one  sided .

 does  not  like  dogs .     might  not  be  a  cat  person  either .     he’s  a  bird  person  (  literally  )  &  was  nearly  ripped  apart  by  the  farmer’s  dogs  the  day  maleficent  saved  him .     dogs  are  vile  &  vicious  bird  hunters  in  his  mind .

 he’s  not  extremely  literate .     while  diaval  can  speak  perfect  english ,  &  perhaps  some  irish  gaelic  being  as  that’s  where  he’s  from ,  reading  is  a  different  story .     he’s  learned  some  simple  words  but ,  mostly ,  diaval  has  hardly  any  reading  skills .     he  never  once  had  to  read  when  a  raven  nor  did  he  as  maleficent’s  servant ,  he  only  needed  to  listen .

 calling  him  a  crow  will  insult  him .     ravens  =/=  crows .     the  two  are  distantly  related  &  somewhat  similar  in  appearance  but  are  two  entirely  different  species  of  bird .     ravens  are ,  in  basic  differences ,  larger  &  their  call  is  more  a  squawking  sound  while  crows  are  smaller  &  have  more  of  a  caw  sound .     diaval  is  a  raven  &  you’ll  ruffle  his  metaphorical  feathers  if  you  call  him  a  crow !

 more  to  be  added  later  !