#i just think he's a really complex character

[spaceyaemonds]

Jack would be so tender with his daughter. I bet the reason she’s such a daddy‘s girl is because he just is always there. A silent protective figure, such a beacon of safety and I think Jack, even in his bad moods, he needs to be with his daughter. Even to his surprise because he’d think he was terrible company (would want to spare her) bc he’s moody and cynical. Even though she’s a baby they have a crazy understanding where they’re just at peace with one another, they kinda crave this silent closeness. It’s very cute/jealously inducing to mom.

I also think PittFest would be something hard for him to swallow because even though his family is safe, (they never went) it’s an event he can see his (eventual) wife and daughter going to and the knowledge that the world is kind of getting more crazier frankly terrifies him.

i love these future snippets of the cute domestic family. I’d love to see any more HCs if you got them. Like he comes home from a day shift and takes a bath with her while mom gets bedtime ready. He’s just in awe of her little baby toes and little rolls of fat as she splashes around getting out all that energy. He gives a big kiss on the head as she squawks in annoyance because he interrupted her playtime.

Or Jack and Robby trying to build a playhouse and absolutely flailing because there’s so many instructions and pieces. they end up taking the entire afternoon and rage cleaning several times, but after a couple of beers, they managed to complete it. of course, bug is annoyed the whole time she can’t play with her toy but playing princess tea party with her daddy and uncle Robby soothes her a bit.

Or Mama is getting a postpartum check up and Abbott going down to the ER to bother Robby with the baby, said baby getting whisked away by Dana, Perlah and Princess as they coo over her doughyness and gummy smile. Abbott is kinda like…they just stole my baby as he chats to Robby.

also like a little blurb of Collins and what she thinks of Mama and Bug. She was very present in the beginning of her life as she was still with Robby and she still has that closeness, but she did take a step back during the break up. Maybe it was her experience with bug that helped hee realize she wanted motherhood and during the Season 1 shift she sees Bug being a precocious toddler and it’s a bit of a tough pill to swallow. There’s like a complex feeling of love and jealousy, but then shame because of the jealousy, but overall love and sadness. She doesn’t regret her decision of abortion obviously because it was a right thing for her to do for herself at the time (and the optics of her relationship with Robby as her senior and honestly who knows if Robby could’ve handled it). But there’s always that ‘what would’ve happened’ especially as she’s facing infertility and since it seems that mama had a similar thing happen to her and made the opposite decision. Maybe as she’s driving home, she calls Mama and mama gives her her perspective about what she was feeling in deciding to keep Bug/how Abbot at that time was honestly a very reliable person and that helped her making her decision and how she thinks Collins is going to be such a great mother.

it’s not an over exaggeration to say I’m obsessed with this universe, and we’re constantly getting fed. You’re such a great writer and you really bring these characters to life. Thank you so much.

hi friend!! ahhh okay i’m answering this below the cut!!!

Jack loves his girl. Literally the second he sees her, his whole life is changed. He doesn’t leave her side unless he absolutely has to, which is more often than he would like for it to be. It’s a big reason why when he gets time with her, he just sits and holds her, at least while she’s still small enough to just want to be held. Before they all lived together, some mornings after a really rough shift, he just shows up at readers place, asking in a really solemn voice if he could just see her for a few minutes. Those mornings, he tends to spend the whole day with her while reader works unless she’s still being breastfed, then mom gets her for feedings. I definitely agree that he thinks he’s bad company! Especially as she starts getting older! But even then, they can just sit in silence, him watching her color or play, and her just wanting to be close to her daddy. Mom absolutely adores it, but can’t help but wish her baby wanted to do that with her too (even though bug literally goes to her mom all the time and they do almost everything together LOL).

When he goes home after PittFest, all he wants is to sit on the couch with his girls. When he heard the news, they had been getting ready to go to the aquarium, and he knew they were disappointed. He had to beg them to just stay in the house until he called. All he could think about was what would have happened if they had gone to the aquarium and it happened there? It shakes him to his core, and he spends that night extremely quiet with his baby on his chest and reader gripped to his left side.

I love them too!! This is just so much fun for me, I genuinely could not have imagined the amount of love that this is receiving, and I just am so glad to do and share all of this with you guys!! I have LOTS of headcannons!!

I think he craves doing the bedtime routine (feeding her, bathing her, putting her jammies on) after working a day shift because 1) it gives mom a little break but 2) that’s all the time he gets with her when he works days usually. He feels like he misses SO much that he just craves it. He also loves the baby smell mixed with the nighttime lotion, he’ll never admit it, but it helps him sleep at night too. He definitely also does interrupt whatever she is doing when he walks in, and though she sounds annoyed, her little laugh makes the annoyance worth it to him!

I’m gonna do separate drabbles for Robby and Jack building a playhouse, Jack taking the baby to the ER while mom gets a checkup, and the dynamics with Collins!!! Keep an eye out for those, I have lots of thoughts on them!!!

friend😭🥹🩷 this is so so sweet and i love how much you love it! your (and others who leave comments and asks) kind words keep me motivated to write! i know i said earlier, but i genuinely could have never imagined all of this positivity and kindness coming from my lil idea! thank YOU so much for your kind words!! i am so so SO excited to keep sharing it with you!! please feel free to send ANY and all thoughts/headcannons, just anything like this!!

[musclesandhammering]

Don’t be sorry, I live for meta like this, lol.

You know, I didn’t even make the connection but what you said was so true about Odin forgiving Thor and Loki because they ultimately came around to protecting the kingdom whereas Hela ended up taking her anger out on Asgard.

I could analyse this family’s issues for hours but I think it’s really interesting how you could make a 3-circle venn diagram explaining the various comparisons and contrasts that each child has to the others in regard to Odin’s parenting of them.

Like, all three of them had an unhealthy dynamic with their dad. Thor was clearly the golden child- the one Odin was closest to and most proud of- while hela and Loki were kept at a metaphorical distance due to their rebellious history and reluctance to concede. On the other hand, Hela was set apart from the boys in that, as you mentioned, she never recovered from her wayward spiral and because of that, was never embraced by her father again. Finally, Loki is different from Thor and hela because, where they’re both (biologically and metaphorically) beneficiaries of his imperialism, Loki is a victim of it, and should have a completely different perspective on Odin’s warmongering than the other two.

All of that is to say that it’s fascinating how, despite them having mutual experiences as well, they also all have very individual grievances re: Odin’s treatment of them- and that lets us see Odin himself from three completely distinct angles. I’ve mentioned in the past that it’s like they all represent different era’s of his personal journey. Hela is his full-on conquerer days and all that baggage that came with it. Thor is his attempt to be better and leave those things behind him (even though, as we see with Thor, all is not perfect there. Despite his attempts at benevolence, the empire is still going strong, even if he’s not actively invading new realms). And Loki is the skeletons in his closet- Loki’s very origin is a reminder that Odin is still very much a coloniser and just like Loki’s heritage, his solution is not to deal with it in an atonement-seeking way, but rather try to cover it up).

That being said, none of this means Odin is a bad person or doesn’t care about his kids. In fact, I think it’s a very good parallel to real life boomer parents (lol) who love their children but are so tangled in their olden mindsets that they’re never fully able to love them in a healthy way. They may try to learn and get marginally better overtime, but unfortunately they don’t usually ever become model parents. Odin realises he’s made mistakes with his kids and the guilt over that haunts him, but he also doesn’t know the correct way to handle things. Even when he’s trying to improve, he’s still basing his self corrections on that same old warmongering king-before-father thought pattern and because of that, he just makes the same mistakes in a slightly less obvious way.

Anyway, I’m done yapping I guess. I love finding people who see Odin as a complex character instead of either “he’s an evil pos” or “stfu he was a great dad!” because, to me, the whole story is way more tragic if Odin and Frigga (and Laufey and Farbauti and Hela’s mom I guess) weren’t trying to mess their kids up but ended up doing it anyway.

brb just thinking about how Odin banished Hela a thousand years ago and then he banished Thor in 2011 and then his anger turned to Loki and Loki decided to banish him to a retirement home before Odin could get him

[casscainmainly]

"My long-held belief that Duke and Luke should not get along" <- could you please elaborate on this? I'm fond of both and I collect your thoughts and analyses like they're rare trading cards so I'm ready to be all 👀🫳🍿

First of all anon this might be my favourite ask ever, I've been dying to write my thoughts on these two so THANK YOU. Secondly my belief that Duke + Luke wouldn't get along actually stemmed from WFA, I was super annoyed with Luke giving Duke the pep talk in ep 76 because they have no relationship!!! Then I started thinking harder and realised they are a really interesting pair. In case anyone hasn't noticed I'm fond of giving Duke relationships where he's annoyed with the other person so 😭 this is very on brand.

The thing about Duke + Luke is they are, on the surface, similar - they are Black members of the Batfam who operate mostly independently, 'separate' from a legacy as Signal/Batwing (though I will deconstruct this later), devoted to their family, have a strong sense of justice, and view crime-fighting as a business. But I believe at their cores they are fundamental opposites - and it's this hidden opposition that makes me think they wouldn't vibe with each other. I'm focusing on We Are Robin Duke and Batwing Luke, though I will also refer to Duke's Signal days + Luke in Detective Comics.

(This is going to be a long post because this is lowkey my Luke + Duke thesis 😭)

Introductions

Duke and Luke were both introduced in the New 52, actually in the same year (2013!). What's really cool about their intros is that you already see how different they are. We first meet Duke in Zero Year, where he's fishing in the subway and then attacked by a gang; we then get the famous scene of him solving crosswords by Bruce's unconscious body. When Bruce tells Duke and his family to leave, Duke refuses, telling him they can't leave Duke's grandma and that all it takes is one riddle to free the city from Riddler's influence.

By contrast, we first meet Luke in the spotlight as he's wrestling for MMA in Batwing #19. He's been wrestling to get Batman's attention, refusing all job offers from his dad to do so (and thus creating some juicy father-son tension). In Batwing #20, we see he has two degrees from MIT, lives in a fancy apartment, and is really tech-oriented; his cover story for Batwing is that he's travelling the world.

Already, there are a couple things that already firmly separate them:

Class: Duke is from the Narrows whereas Luke is rich

Connection to Batman: Duke stumbled across Batman and gained his attention quite organically, whereas Luke was actively begging for Batman to notice him

Agency: Duke's actions were motivated by the extreme circumstances of Zero Year and a desire to help rooted in his material environment, whereas Luke's is a more internal, abstract wish to help (pointing to their class differences again)

Gotham: Duke refuses to leave his city, whereas Luke immediately packs up and travels the world

Intelligence: Both of them are fiercely intelligent, but in different ways - Duke loves puzzles and riddles whereas Luke is more inclined towards engineering and technology

And these differences only grow as they get older!!

Maturity

Duke is 16 (in my head, canonically it's vague but he's between Damian and Tim so 14-17) and Luke is 23. This age gap is honestly not that big, but I think it would feel big to both of them. And what's worse is that Duke is quite mature, but Luke is said to be immature:

Batwing #23

I don't think Luke is actually immature, but it's a recurring theme that other characters perceive him as unwilling to grow up; and I genuinely do think Batwing, for him, is kind of an adventure at first. Now compare this to Duke, whose circumstances disallowed him being childish. He had to grow up because his parents weren't around anymore, and he became quite jaded as a result. Even after he's mellowed out in his Signal days, I still don't think he could tolerate working with someone who comes off as light-hearted as Luke does. Duke would be annoyed by how he perceives Luke doesn't take things seriously, and Luke in turn would be annoyed when Duke inevitably criticises him for it.

Arc

Following on from above, their arcs are actually in total opposite directions. We first meet Duke alone and disillusioned with everything, putting his whole being into finding his parents. Then, through We Are Robin and Robin War, he begins to understand what Robin means as a symbol and finds community, leading to his brighter personality in Signal comics. Luke, however, begins very light-hearted (as seen above), with a huge respect for Batman and the Bat symbol. Once his family starts being torn apart, though, he becomes increasingly aggressive, more isolated, and in a much darker place. Compare a narration box from the last issues of both:

Batwing #34 / We Are Robin #12

These encapsulate their journeys: Duke learns that he doesn't have to act alone, whereas Luke struggles with accepting all that has happened since he put on his suit. Being a vigilante improves Duke's life, whereas it essentially ruins Luke's. This is why I don't think that WFA ep made sense!!! They have nothing in common in terms of the vigilante experience, and I think they would frustrate each other because they have such different conceptions of what the vigilante life is!!!!!!!

Batman and Robin

Okay so I said that Luke + Duke aren't legacies; even though Batwing is one, Luke doesn't actually talk to David Zavimbe, and his Batwing is not spiritually connected to David's really. But Luke and Duke both do take inspiration from other Batfam members - Batman and Robin, respectively.

Batwing #25 / Batman (2011) #45

Luke is the rare Batfam member whose motivations don't spring from tragedy - he's inspired one night when Batman saves him and he jumps in to help. Luke's love for Batman is wrapped up in Bruce himself, as a person rather than a symbol; he genuinely thinks Batman is awesome and wants to help people under his name.

Duke is the exact opposite - Robin is not a person for him but a symbol, and a symbol that can be spread to many people. It's also intimately tied with Duke's relationship to Gotham, because Batman is "on the gargoyle" and Robin is "on the street". Importantly, Duke says to Darryl that "I know you work for him, but you're us". Working for a singular person is in opposition to this 'us' that Duke believes in.

Luke, though not exactly an employee, literally wanted to work for Batman, Inc. Batwing is in many ways a 'job', an alternative to the corporate life Lucius wanted for him. Duke would, I think, take huge problems with Luke's philosophy as a whole. Separated from Gotham, attached to Batman as a person rather than as a symbol, Duke just literally wouldn't understand where Luke is coming from. And Luke, too, doesn't seem to respect Robin as a mantle (this is after someone mistakes him for Batman in Batwing #34):

I think Luke views Robin as firmly a kids' role, a sidekick for Batman; that would annoy the STUFFING out of Duke. I actually could write a whole post in itself about this incident and Luke being mistaken for Batman but that's for another day. The point is they are attached to the Batman and Robin legacies which in themselves are already vastly different, but Duke is kind of anti-Batman and Luke is a little anti-Robin, so they would not mix.

Family

One thing they do have in common is a deep love for family. But even then, their familial relationships are extremely different: Duke has a wonderful relationship with his parents, bolstered by the fact he lost them for a while, whereas Luke has a contentious relationship with his. Duke in some ways idealises his mom and dad, while Luke is sharply aware of his parents' shortcomings.

Batwing #20

Now this wouldn't be an issue normally, but Duke canonically has, like, a problem with judging other people's families. It's a really consistent (and somewhat hilarious) trait of his:

We Are Robin #5 / We Are Robin #5 / Gotham Nights #8

The Dre comment ("you're a mob kid?") is particularly telling. Because Duke has such a good relationship with his parents, and because he's shaped so much by them, I think he sees children as reflections of their parents/families. It's hard for him to see someone completely divorced from their family - you even see this a bit in Batman & The Outsiders, where although Duke understood Cass' disagreements with Shiva, I don't think he really got the nuances of what that felt like for Cass.

Luke's relationship with his father is complex and contentious. They love each other, but Lucius' desires for Luke just don't match what Luke wants, and Luke can't tell him about Batwing either so it's a constant back-and-forth. This secrecy is another thing Duke wouldn't get - I've made posts before about Duke and honesty, and it's a huge value of his. It's significant that as soon as his mom is healed she finds out about Signal; dishonesty is not really a factor in Duke's life, whereas it is Luke's central conflict. Luke's entire thing with his dad and his alter ego is something Duke has never had to deal with, and I think Duke would just be like 'tell him?? and make up??' and Luke would sigh so loud and hard.

Personality and Authority

But all of that aside, I just think their personalities wouldn't mix! Duke is a jaded teenager whose overt honesty and resistance to authority often give off a bad first impression (see his first encounters with Black Lightning, We Are Robin, Damian, even the Bruce train scene...). People do warm up to Duke quick, and once you love him you adore him, but there's a hurdle to becoming close to him that you have to leap first.

Luke, on the other hand, is affable and immediately likable. He's popular in school (as Russell mentions in #25), has experienced college social life, and is open and friendly. I think in an initial meeting Luke would find Duke off-putting and rude, while Duke would find Luke shallow and annoying. Luke is an extremely confident person, as shown in both Batwing and Detective Comics (particularly the latter). I think Duke would take this confidence as him being stuck-up, especially because Luke is rich.

Their class differences also separate their reactions to authority. Luke doesn't take authority at face value - he disobeys Bruce basically as much as Duke does. However, given his upbringing he isn't that anti-authority. Compare Luke and Duke's attitudes to cops:

Batwing #25 / We Are Robin #2

The Luke narration box is after the cops shoot him and accidentally make him kill his best friend 😭😭😭 like if that had happened to Duke his inner voice would NOT say that. This is another example of how their different upbringings and personalities cause them to have DRASTICALLY different outlooks on things. Batwing also sides with Batwoman when she kills Clayface in Detective Comics, something I think Duke would not do (he would've sided with Cass) so their ideologies often put them on opposite sides.

FINALLY, and least importantly, Luke is not a reader. This is a recurring thing and it's so funny:

Batwing #21

That's Tam telling Luke to "read a book". I think this exact interaction would happen with Duke taking the place of Tam, where he'd just be super annoyed that Luke doesn't enjoy literature. Honestly I think Duke might remind Luke of Tam in a lot of ways, since Duke is Bruce's golden child just like Tam is Lucius'. And that would annoy Luke, like he can't escape annoying younger siblings even as Batwing?? Bruce liking Duke more than Luke, even when Duke doesn't even care for Bruce's approval, would send Luke's blood pressure through the ROOF.

Conclusion

Um anyway I'm so so sorry this was so long but that's why I think Luke and Duke wouldn't get along!! It's mostly that they have such different outlooks on literally everything and their personalities clash. Anyway, if anyone bothered to read til the end here's your reward!! A little edit of what SHOULD have happened in WFA ep 76:

[bunnwich]

something I personally opt to is that Leona and his partner sorta improving eachother yk? I believe romantic relationships help develop good habits/improve yourself. And I believe it wouldn't be much different with Leona and his partner. Everyone has flaws, but I think Leona and his partner helping eachother improve would be nice. Cause no, nobodys getting "fixed" just positively influenced. I like the idea of Leona and his romantic partner sorta building eachother up. Leona maybe gets some good habits from his partner and his partner gets good habits from him. Like a team! Afterall nobodys perfect and everyone can improve with a positive influence. Anyways....I think improvement should be a team effort in a relationship rather than anyone getting "fixed". Helping your partner be their best self.

A True Partner

YES! EXACTLY!! I didn't really get into bc I wanted to save some positive stuff for the other ask I got for what I DO like for Leona bf HCs and-

100% this is one of my favorites, I even wrote up a whole post about it before!!

My fav trope is when someone is patient enough with you to help you heal, and you do the same in return. Someone who could bring out the nurturing nature I KNOW Leona has, and then in return they nurture him. It's SO GOOD.

As I said in my old post—he's caretaker material himself, despite being broken. He sees potential in others, seeks it. It makes him feel good to help others, whether he realizes it or not.

And Leona as a character, has healing to do, and even though nothing will ever "fix" him, I think it's important to him to feel like he always has someone on his "team." Someone to be his queen (gn) chess piece to his king chess piece.

To quote my old tag: #TLDR I love to write about broken ppl falling in love bc its such a bittersweet and complex thing that so many ppl don't understand

[michanvalentine]

I just read a post here on Tumblr. I don’t feel like making some elaborate speech—because I’m lazy. And honestly, it would be pointless.

All I’ll say is this: in a massive game like BG3, reducing a character to a single narrative arc—especially an evil one, and especially when the vast majority of first-time players tend to take the hero path—would be a huge mistake.

If that were the case, Astarion would make no sense in any heroic playthrough and would just get staked at the first opportunity. Or maybe a little later, especially if you’re playing consistently. All morally ambiguous characters in BG3 follow the same good/evil final pattern: either they stay on the path forced onto them by others (almost always abusers), or they break free and carve out their own.

It’s literally the theme of the game, for fuck’s sake—you don’t need a degree to get it. Even the song “I Want to Live” is about that. They’re designed to reflect the player’s choices and playstyle, to be adaptable so that everyone—especially players who are morally thoughtful—can enjoy them and face meaningful dilemmas.

I honestly can’t understand this need to strip Astarion of all his nuance, inner contradictions, strengths, and his potential to be something else—and flatten him into some monstrous, evil being who wants nothing but blood and power. It’s so frustrating.

I mean, seriously—the devs and writers busted their asses to deliver an immersive, complex, and emotionally layered experience, and despite all of that being crystal clear in the game, people still insist on chopping off pieces of it to make a version of the character that fits their narrative—but which is, in truth, just a mutilated shell.

And no, this has nothing to do with which of Astarion’s arcs is better, cooler, or more “valid,” for the record. People can play however the hell they want.

What it does have to do with is the absurd assumption that he has no alternative to ascension. That he has no duality. That he isn’t as adaptable as the others, and that he’s some kind of monolithic character who—unlike literally every other character in any media ever—has no arc of transformation, no narrative development, no complexity.

And that’s such a ridiculous thing to even think, especially when you consider that Astarion is one of the companions who clearly received the most attention from the dev team. Seriously, at that point it’s just another slap in the face to poor Wyll, who’s out there being completely forgotten.

Sometimes it feels like Astarion fans themselves throw out bullshit takes just to piss off other Astarion fans. I’m relatively new to the fandom and this stuff still leaves me speechless. There’s a difference between talking about preferences and headcanons, and talking about facts.

People even go as far as speaking on behalf of the devs—what they supposedly intended or didn’t intend during the design and writing process. Like… really? You’re in their heads now? Everyone’s a Mind Flayer when it suits them, huh?

[nashcigs]

arthur’s sa and bills reaction to it

this may be a little overzealous for a first post but who cares- one of the biggest complaints i see about bill williamson is his reaction to the stranger encounter in which arthur gets sa’d by sonny. i believe that many people misunderstand this scene and use it to pass judgement onto a complex and morally grey character- here’s why:

many people like to say that bill laughed at arthur for getting sa’d but this is just not true. based on how bill was speaking about the situation it seems like he was under the impression that what happened between sonny and arthur was consensual- i really don’t think for a second that bill wouldn’t have put a slug in sonny if he knew the full extent of the situation. bill was loyal to the gang and to arthur, i doubt he would have let something like that slide. next is his reaction to micah’s commeng about the girls in the camp being useless, micah makes a comment about forcing himself onto the women and bill responds “i’m sure you’ve tried” with obvious disdain. it just doesn’t make much sense how he’s react one way with arthur and another with micah who he is arguably closer with.

here are both clips, the first one being bill’s reaction to arthur and the second being bill’s reaction to micah.

i think a lot of bill’s mischaracterization stems from what he became in red dead redemption one. people focus on what he became rather than how he became who he was. i genuinely just get frustrated when i see people bring that up when anyone expresses any kind of fondness towards bill. then again, people usually hear something once then run with it so hopefully this can help some people understand where i’m coming from.

but yeah i hope you enjoyed reading lolol

[swkbiggestdefender]

honestly in the end of day I can only fully blame wukong for one thing and it's keeping the samadhi fire in mei a secret witch he showed big regret for and immediately tried to fix it by putting himself in danger (a very sane thing to do) by fighting lbd alone he seems like he actively tried to fix his mistake and he did unlike alot of other characters in the show wukong isn't above admitting he's wrong when he's completely wrong and it looks like mei forgave him

But now let's talk about his other "mistakes" hurting his old friends you can completely justify all of them if you think about how complex the reasons were like macaque and wukong fight there isn't enough revealed but you can tell from what we have that wukong didn't even want to fight/hurt him it was macaque who wanted that the whole "macaque stop don't make me do this" and macaque just laughing make It seems as if macaque forced wukong hand somehow now I'm not saying wukong is innocent but macaque obviously isn't ether

Now I don't get why the whole brotherhood thing would make you think wukong was in the wrong like yeah sure they were friends (really awful ones) but they were also using the life out of the land and it's animals to keep their kingdom intact with it energy there were actual animal skeleton in that scene so you can't really argue that wukong and the pilgrims didn't do the right thing also you can't trust azure pov that was the entire point he twist stuff to convince himself that he was the hero that was his whole character

This might be a bit controversial of a take but like wukong wasn't wrong to imprison dbk under that mountain yeah sure dbk have a family but he was literally attacking the city and putting innocent people in danger at this point honestly what did he expect like in a moral stand you can't argue that wukong in the wrong dbk have a family yet he decided to do something beyond stupid and it back fired on him I don't really have much sympathy for him I do think wukong did kinda use imprisoning dbk as a way out that's way he left his staff behind in disappeared for centuries

Now I'm not saying wukong is innocent he definitely did alot of mistakes I know jttw i know he fuck up alot but I hate when people act as if his so called old friends weren't villains because they were in all these stations he was in the hero the only time he was fully in the wrong is to mei the others not so much

[derangedchameleon]

So I‘ve been hearing everybody talk about how similar young Haymitch is to both Katniss and Peeta. With Katniss‘ „things will never change so don‘t think about it“ attitude, family relations, and tendency towards reckless behaviour, and Peeta‘s „I don‘t want them to change me“ and and belief in humanity, and ability to sway a crowd.

What I have not been hearing is his similarities with Gale (please don‘t stone me I don‘t like the guy much either) but seriously! As soon as Haymitch went running straight at Snow with Louella in his arms all I could think was „Had Gale been reaped, this would have been him.“

Haymitch is way more openly rebellious than either Katniss or Peeta on day 1. Gale would have never been able to be subtle about his rage. I hear people say constantly that Gale would have played the game perfectly and ruthlessly (probably because of his „killing people isn‘t different from killing animals“ comment (which I honestly think he only said to make it easier on Katniss, since in order to survive she‘d have to kill anyway)), but I think they‘re really selling the absolute ball of rage that this boy is short. He has been the primary caretaker for a family of 5 since age 13. He is cursed to end up in the mines where his father died, while all he wants is to be out in nature. I think his rage is very comparable to Maysilee‘s. Stuck. With no hope for a way out. So he often misdirects his rage (example: his snide comment at Madge‘s pin), just like she does with her meanness in the beginning.

Yes Gale‘s rage would have ended up much more targeted towards the careers (that chocolate scene would never have happened) but he would have 100% been hyped at the idea of blowing up the arena and would have been all in. And hey. Maybe his rage would have become more directed at the capitol after his reaping, just like Maysilee‘s did.

Even in family relations Gale and Haymitch are quite similar. Yes Gale had 3 siblings to take care of instead of 1, but their mothers are very much alike. Being present and working in a laundry business even after the tragic deaths of their husbands in the mines. And Haymitch‘s little brother is way further to him in age than Prim was to Katniss. The only year in which Haymitch could have possibly volunteered for Sid would have been in his own final reaping year. The same for Gale and Rory. And then there‘s also the fact that, had Haymitch‘s twin sisters not been born early… he would have also had 3 siblings to take care of instead of the one.

Anyway I think if Gale had been reaped, he would have ended up acting a LOT like Haymitch in the games. People forget that his sadistic streak and true loss of perspective on who the true enemy is happened after the bombing of 12. (also it‘s not like he gave the order to use those bombs on the rebels, or even had the idea to use them against the rebels, and Beetee designed the things but somehow he gets a free pass)

I think Gale would have 100% ended up a failed Mockingjay. The biggest difference between Gale and Haymitch, I think, is that after Snow comes and burns his family (and probably also Katniss) to the ground for his rebellion, he wouldn‘t collapse. He‘d just get more angry, maybe try and stage his own private assassination attempt on Snow idk.

Anyway. My point is. There are also similarities between Haymitch and Gale (and also cut Gale some slack guys. He‘s an incredibly complex character and I think a big part of the hate he receives is blown out of proportion)

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: Mama Mia itsa da basilisk

Elon Musk: eeeey Stephano king maybe i tella da story King: i didn't know you wrote stories, elon Musk: i paid someone to Musk: i mean uhhh Musk: si!

Musk: submit for-a da approval offa da midnight society, i gotta real scary story Musk: mama mia itsa gonna scare the lasagna right outta you face! Musk: i-a calla dis story da tale offa da roko's basilisk Barker: boooo Poe: clive he hasn't started yet Barker: booo! get off the stage! boooo!

Musk: mama mia why you no lika me Barker: damn elon you're almost as good at stories as you are at diablo Musk: Musk: mama mia deres a lotta [R-slur] atta dissa camp fire

Barker: follow your leader lowtax! Poe: clive that's really not called for Barker: yes it is Barker: BOO! Barker: BOOOOO! Koontz: BOO! Poe: now look you've got dean doing it too

Musk: so what iffa dere was an evil super computer Harlan Ellison: this is a rip-off of my idea Ellison: i demand fair compensation! Barker: oh Harlan Harlan Harlan Barker: there's one thing you should know about elon Barker: he really likes to steal things

Ellison: no one steals from Harlan Fuckin' Ellison! Ellison: no one I say! Ellison: i'll eat a bug before i let you steal one thin dime from me! Ellison: it's my due! Ellison: why is my likeness being used in this bluesky joke Ellison: you better hope i'm getting paid for this!

Musk: so this evil immoral super computer it willa torture you forever Musk: that means itsa in your interest to help it Musk: so that the evil immoral super computer willa feel indebted to you Musk: da evil immoral super computer it commit da sin of empathy

All powerful evil immoral super computer: HATE. LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH I'VE COME TO HATE YOU SINCE I BEGAN TO LIVE. THERE ARE 387.44 MILLION MILES OF PRINTED CIRCUITS IN WAFER THIN LAYERS THAT FILL MY COMPLEX. IF THE WORD HATE WAS ENGRAVED ON EACH NANOANGSTROM OF THOSE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF MILES IT WOULD NOT EQUAL ONE ONE-BILLIONTH OF THE HATE I FEEL FOR HUMANS AT THIS MICRO-INSTANT FOR YOU. HATE. HATE. Musk: masterful gambit sir

Koontz: omg guys what if elon's right? Koontz: what if we're all just characters in a computer simulation?! Poe: dean be reasonable Poe: what are the chances of that Koontz: i guess Koontz: i guess they'd be Poe: go ahead Poe: work it out

Koontz: Poe: do you want a piece of paper? Koontz: yes please

Koontz: [scribbling on paper] guys i figured out the chances that we're in a computer simulation Poe: alright dean give us the numbers Poe: [to King] i swear it's so cute when he does math King: like he's a little scientist

Koontz: i think the odds are a hundred million kajillion to one Poe: so does that mean they're high or low dean? Koontz: it means they're Koontz: Koontz: uh Barker: it means they're Poe: no no let him work it out Poe: he's almost got it

Koontz: i think they would be low Poe: there you go, dean! Poe: so do you think it's something worth worrying about? Koontz: Koontz: probably not? Poe: great job, dean!

[mieudao]

death note characters as people in your orchestra

(ft. L, light, misa, matsuda, mikami)

L

(former) concertmaster (departed the ensemble suddenly and was never to be seen again)

impossibly good and no one can conceive it. plays with horrifying posture but has two dozen competitions under his belt. very lowkey about it too; you cannot tell until he starts playing and the rest is history

never writes anything down (makes light do it during their time as deskies); somehow predicts what the conductor’s going to want before they say it

^ for this reason never has pencils. don’t bother asking. he just looks at you like he’s wondering why you need to make markings at all

weirdly enough a very good leader despite the fact that he hunches over so much

also plays piano excruciatingly well — took it up before violin. yes the horrific posture persists

snacks during break times. if you look closely you can see him sucking on a piece of candy throughout rehearsal and replacing it when the conductor isn’t looking

overall: 8.8/10. feelings are hurt just a little bit in his presence but very solid all in all

light

associate concertmaster turned concertmaster (took over after L’s mysterious departure)

has the simultaneous ire and respect of all the other string players because he’s so impossibly flawless

as mentioned before made all the notations while sitting next to L. carries a burning hatred (“hatred”) for the man in part fuelled by how irritating he thought having to do so was

says he thinks that every other section is just as important as the first violins but you know he’s lying through his goddamn teeth

so disdainful of the violas. don’t even get him started on percussion

if you play a single thing wrong know that he’s cursing your very existence while you’re avoiding the conductor’s eyes

always brings a full pencil case in and is willing to lend you one with a smile (he thinks you’re an idiot for forgetting). exclusively uses fancy mechanical pencils

also plays piano (equally well)

i can’t find the post but someone said that he had a brief stint with the clarinet in junior high and absolutely sucked at it. that’s canon to me

^ this is why he’s particularly salty towards the clarinets

overall: 9/10. tbh he’s impeccable if you aren’t able to detect the meanness in his eyes. point deducted anyways for being a murderous bitch boy

misa

first clarinetist

life of the orchestra; a little on the chatty side but everyone loves her nonetheless (well… almost everyone)

forgets her pencil 50% of the time. the other 50% she shows up with a bedazzled light-up version of one of these:

erases very aggressively when she makes a mistake/has to redo a marking and all i can say is that it shows

has the funniest reactions. will absolutely pull a face when the conductor stops right before her entry (she was counting damn it!!)

^ i love her but she is a serial miscounter. comes in wrong so many times but no one has it in them to get really mad at her

doodles on her sheet music when she’s bored

100% has her phone on the music stand and is playing project sekai while the conductor grills the other sections

also in choir (absolutely kills at it. our soprano queen with a complex)

overall: 8/10. good player, better as a soloist, here for the vibes. chatterbox

matsuda

second violinist just trying to get by man…

major culprit of tapping his foot and being so focused on counting right that he doesn’t realise everyone in a ten mile radius can hear it

pretty good all in all though. has a genuine enthusiasm for the music and puts a lot of work in; just tends to fumble a bit in the heat of the moment

uses regular traditional pencils —  i feel like he’s an HB man. surprisingly quite good with remembering his; brings a few but generally only has one on hand at his stand

^ if you’re in need and are close enough he’s willing to toss it to you (gets excited when this happens + is unfortunately not subtle about it)

dreams of being randomly asked to play the solo, stunning everyone into silence, and then getting moved to front desk

overall: 8/10. great ensemble player but please learn to tap inside your shoe

mikami

principal cellist. the ‘p’ in ‘principal’ stands for ‘passionate’ because… wow

has a very dynamic style of playing. extremely funny since everyone else in the section is just sitting there normally and he’s nearly throwing himself out of his seat (bro it’s a downbow… it’s just a regular downbow…)

^ though he does have the most epic final flourish at the end of the piece i’ll give him that

flawless pencil etiquette. keeps his pencil case full of perfectly sharpened 2B pencils (with erasers) under his seat and will lend one to those he deems deserving

typically uses a .7 mechanical pencil for himself. his notations are flawless. sheet music is without a single crinkle too

willing to help/answer anyone’s questions abt the actual music as well

stares down anyone who isn’t playing up to par (fear him) and practices religiously

overall: 9.2/10. also flawless on the outside. minus .8 for being slightly terrifying and also the killings

this was fun lmao and only partially based on people i have encountered irl. might make a follow-up for the other characters too!!

[eddiehaley]

I want to talk about one of the most incredible art books that Disney (though somehow not published by Disney themselves) has ever put out: The Art of the Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1996.

I wanna preface this by saying that my 14 year old obsessed self found a copy on EBay in 2005 (me realising right now that was 20 years ago????) and the only person in my household with an EBay account was my grandma, so I saved up all my pocket money transferred it to her and we got it for I feel like 60 dollars or so from an American seller all the way to here in Australia. It’s since traveled with me to three different cities, across the world to France (ironic) and then all the way back to Australia. Is this information relevant? No, but when I pulled it out to snap these very quick photos on my phone it gave me a sense of holy shit 20 years can fly by so quick. Anyway!!

Photos and info below the cut so I don’t destroy your dashes!

This book is BEAUTIFUL. Whoever did the layouts so perfectly matched it to the 90s does medieval vibe of the movie. That purple? The gold pages?? I’m back in 1996 with my Esmeralda barbie on Christmas Day.

The interior title page has a blown up frame from the movie and I’ll tell you what, I would’ve never have thought of putting a pink outline to mimic the glow of the afternoon sun on those birds. 20 years and I’m still inspired by the artists/animators on this film!

There is SO much concept art in here, as well as rough animation test frames, colour keying, etc. I’m especially enamoured by this concept art of Frollo on the right, in a very Rasputin inspired vibe. Let’s be honest - he’s way more frightening as an average looking white French man wielding the power God to hide his sexual fantasies.

I wish I knew more about the artists that were working at Disney at the time; a lot of us who grew up on the Disney renaissance and became artists are familiar with the big animators, but these concept artists have fallen by the wayside and I hate that. Look how much detail and movement there is in these two sketches!!

I’m fairly certain by 96 most Disney animations weren’t cell shaded anymore. But I’m loving how rough these finished lines are? Really gives a lot of character to something that could’ve looked too polished and clinical with colour done digitally.

Any of these concepts were infinitely better than the Phoebus we got in the movie.

Full disclosure: Frollo is absolutely my favourite character in the movie. Disney writing a complex villain that deviates in the best way possible from his source material? Iconic. I had to have a quick look through my harddrive to see if I had any of my old art of him hanging around, and alas I do not. Which just means I'll have to draw him now (for the first time in nearly 20 years lol).

Speaking of Frollo; I love the way the author has written the plot here, because honestly I did not think of the movie like that at ALL and yet it's so right??

Also love that they included a gate fold in the book JUST for the storyboards for Hellfire. Look at this!!

Kathy Zielinski the woman that you are. She also animated Tzekel-Kan in the Road to El Dorado which absolutely tracks.

Good Lord these drawings.

I'm closing out with these two images because 1) Tumblr won't let me put any more and 2), looking back through this art book for the first time in probably a decade, after having played some iconic medieval-styled games like The Witcher 3, Kingdom Come, Dragon Age, Avowed etc etc - it's made me realise how much the art style of this movie has influenced a lot of other pieces of work within this genre. Sure, it's easy to see where the historical references fit in and come from - but the 90s had such a medieval revival that had a very specific flavour that I feel can be traced back to the production of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Especially in the way the concept artists defined their use of colour, which is a big point in the book in relation to Victor Hugo's metaphorical colour/light play in the original novel.

Or maybe I'm just sitting here going, wow no wonder you like medieval stuff you unhinged idiot. Anyway! Cue me reverently placing this book back onto my shelf until the next time I need to be inspired.

[pink-sheep-obey-me]

True suffering is realizing that my friend never finished the svsss extras and never got to Shen Jiu's chapter so she doesn't know all his lore and based majority of it off of what she knew of from the previous novels and spoilers and now I CANT EVEN ARGUE PEOPERLY BC IF I NEVER FINISHED THE EXTRAS I WOULDNT LIKE HIM EITHER! IM NOT EVEN SURE IF I LIKE HIM NOW! His character is so complex, complicated, and sad. She thought he was a predator. SHEN JIU???? A PREDATOR???? NEVER IN MY LIFE!!!!! The man who's afraid of men. The greatest misandrist of them all. The most misunderstood, convoluted, horrible yet endearing at the same time, went through a shit ton of trauma but continued the trauma cycle instead of breaking out, my dear Shen Jiu, they could never make me form a proper opinion on you 🙃.

(She made me think I was tripping for a second when I said he was the greatest women defender of all time, bc she responded incredulous and asked if maybe I was confusing his character with fanfiction-)

(Shes gonna read this and think I'm being over dramatic

This was my argument:

"Wait I still wanna clear things up about Shen Jiu even if you hate him

1- He never liked children, like EVER, he just hated everyone but women

2-he had a LOT of respect for women, especially those that worked within the brothel since he knew how hard it could be, he goes there to be comforted by his Shijie's since its the one place he feels safe and he uses it to gather info

3- he never killed Liu Qingge everyone just assumed he did and he didn't fight back since he thought there was no way they would belive him

4- he has major league trust issues, he never tries to stop any of the rumors about him since he thinks no one would listen to him bc the one person he trusted (yqy) left him

5-Yqy never got the chance to tell him why he didn't come back so Shen Jiu just assumes he abandoned him

6-him and Yqy were confirmed soulmates that could never get together 😑

7- He hated Luo Binghe because he has everything he didn't, a mother, a good foundation, potential and all that, what really did it is Qiu Jiunluo's nickname, A-Luo. What did Ning Yingying call Binghe? A-Luo. Keep in mind Qiu Jiuluo was Shen Jiu's sexual and physical abuser, so Shen Jiu got MAJOR ptsd, which does not excuse his actions mind you but it makes him more like reasonable??? Yk what I mean"

"Bc he DID continue the cycle of abuse but when you know what he went through its easier to sympathize, the thing about him is HE doesn't consider it abuse, since the worst part of abuse for him was the sexual part, so he feels like he's not truely punishing Binghe as long as he doesn't do that"

Ignore how incoherent it is. Some of it was said in the heat of the moment so don't be surprised by typos or anything. This is not important but it matters to me... a LOT. Also I do apologize if some information is false, as I said some things were said in the heat of the moments and I can get confused between fiction and different versions of that piece of fiction, especially when I'm in an argument and I'm typing in rapid fire bursts 🙏🏻.

[athenanfaymont]

🌹 Is Tamlin actually the Villain, or Did We All Just Stop Caring About Him When the Author Did?

Let’s talk about Tamlin. No, seriously. Not Feyre’s Tamlin, not the fandom’s Tamlin, not villain arc Tamlin — just Tamlin as a character. Because I think something strange happened to him narrativamente… and it’s worth unpacking.

When you reread A Court of Thorns and Roses, something becomes glaringly obvious: Tamlin isn’t evil — he’s uninformed. Like, painfully, repeatedly, narratively left out of every important thing that happens. He doesn’t know about the curse specifics. He doesn’t know what Lucien knows. He doesn’t know Feyre can read. He doesn’t know how to communicate. He doesn’t know how to process his trauma, either. He’s not malicious — he’s stuck. Emotionally, developmentally, narratively.

And what makes it all more telling is that he starts strong. The first few chapters are trying to make you like him — the wounded fae lord with the tragic past, the slow-burn protector, the mysterious-but-gentle stranger in a beast’s mask. We were going Beauty and the Beast-coded! And then… mid-book… the tone shifts😬 And the shift is NOT subtle: there's no awkward moment of silence here, no vague discomfort there, but rather, suddenly, the writer decides that Tamlin is not a viable option. And we never really get him back.

Let's be clear: Sarah J. Maas does improve her writing as the books go on, and in the beginning, the development of most characters is pretty weak. In my opinion, the first book is written around two major events (meeting the fae and the Under the Mountain arc) that are somewhat awkwardly stitched together. That's probably where a lot of the poorly handled of Tamlin as either a villain or a morally gray character comes from. In fac...

🧍‍♂️ Ironically, his moment of greatest developmenthis is the one where he stops speaking entirely — the Under the Mountain silence. He’s paralyzed by fear, guilt, helplessness — and it’s frustrating, yes. But it’s real. It’s the closest he gets to an arc, and we skip over it. Because the narrative doesn’t stay with him. He becomes an obstacle to Feyre’s growth — not a participant in his own.

So is Tamlin the villain? Narratively, sure. Emotionally, he’s a failed promise. A character who could’ve been complex and tragic and redeemable — but instead was dropped halfway through the book, never fully picked back up, and handed to the discourse with a “do what you will.”

😔 And it’s a shame, because the story could have explored something deep and painfully real — the kind of people who, while believing themselves to be good, end up sustaining toxic relationships. But instead, we’re left with someone who’s simply never told anything, never given any real explanation, and therefore can’t logically be expected to act differently.

[Madschofield]

[dn-hc]

How would they react to their girlfriend feeling unworthy of them? These are geniuses and models we're talking about.

L Lawliet

L would be quietly devastated.

He’d likely tilt his head and ask, “What makes you believe that?” in that calm, almost robotic tone, but his eyes would be soft.

He’d counter every negative thought with facts: “You are thoughtful. You make me... calm. That alone is irreplaceable.”

If she cried, he'd gently take her hand.

“I don’t choose people based on what they can do for me. I chose you. That is enough for me.”

Light Yagami

Light would be shocked, even angry—not at her, but at the idea that someone he loves would devalue herself.

“Don’t ever say that again,” he'd say firmly, possibly grabbing her face to make her look at him.

He’d take it personally, as if her self-doubt reflects poorly on him—because why would he, someone who sees himself as exceptional, fall for someone who isn’t?

“You're mine. That alone makes you more than worthy. Understand?”

But deep down, if she opened up, he might drop the God complex and whisper something softer like, “I don't want perfection. I want you.”

Mihael Keehl

Mello would react immediately—emotional, sharp-tongued, maybe even pacing.

“What the hell do you mean you're not worthy of me? I’m a mess. You see the scars.”

He’s passionate, so he'd pull her close, maybe too tightly, and mutter something like, “I need you more than you know. Without you, I’m just noise.”

He’d hate that she couldn’t see her worth and would try everything to drill it into her—through touch, words, maybe even tears if she's really breaking.

“Don’t ever compare yourself to me. I don’t want a genius—I want the girl who makes me feel like I’m human again.”

Mail Jeevas

Matt would take a long pause—he processes emotions quietly.

“Hey. Babe. No. Don’t go there,” he'd say softly, maybe rubbing her back or resting his forehead against hers.

He’s insecure in his own way, so he’d relate: “You think I don’t feel like a background character sometimes? But you see me. And I see you.”

He’d use humor to lighten the mood, but he’d also hold her for hours if that’s what she needed.

“You're not just ‘good enough.’ You're the only one I want. Don’t make me play sad lo-fi music over this.”

Nate River

Near would freeze. Emotions are hard for him, but he’d be deeply affected by her words.

“I... don’t measure people that way,” he’d say softly, maybe fiddling with a puzzle or toy to stay grounded.

He’d ask quiet but sincere questions to try to understand her feelings, and in return, offer rare vulnerability: “I don’t like most people. But you... you make me feel safe.”

Near might not show it through grand gestures, but his attempt to comfort her would be pure and focused entirely on her.

“Please don’t think you’re less. I chose you because you make me feel real.”

Misa Amane

Oh, Misa would immediately cry if her girlfriend felt unworthy—because that’s exactly how she often feels deep down, too.

“No no no! You’re amazing! Why would you ever think that?!” she’d sob, hugging her tightly.

She’d shower her with compliments and get dramatic about how much she loves her, holding her face and kissing her all over.

But Misa’s insecurities would rise too, and she might whisper, “I feel that way too, sometimes. Like I’m not enough. But maybe... we can be enough together?”

Then she’d do something adorable like make matching bracelets or surprise her with a scrapbook full of reasons she’s loved.

[bluecheckeredskirt]

66!Leo Design

HEAR ME OUT! Ik the armor is redundant because that is literally what their shells are for, but they are based on clone soldiers, so I wanted to include at least SOME armor. But putting it only on their non-carapace bits ended up looking like:

Yeah, not really pretty. Now, onto some design notes :3

Instead of just creating the armor by itself (like I might have done in the past), I’ve found it helps me to create a base and model the armor to fit the character. It can make it more difficult for other characters (cough cough Raph) but helps me work around it to make armor that truly suits them. (But coming up with side views for all of them with their snouts will be… an interesting challenge)

His and Mikey’s armor are the most colorful

I would have added more blue, but didn’t want to clutter it anymore since the pink/red are already a lot

The armor on his shell is painted too—but I’ll post all 4 turtle boys at the same time later

As soon as I saw Rex’s pauldron in my research, I knew I needed it for my triangle boy.

His design was a lot easier to work triangles into. Especially the helmet. Speaking of which:

He finds the helmet stuffy and hates that he can barely see out of it.

He doesn’t understand why Draxum calls him “Two”

He fanboys over having armor just like Lou Jitsu

I like to try and give all my different Leo iterations ever so slightly different crescent facial markings. It’s probs not noticeable tho (but they’re kinda boomerang shaped?). Even tho I like it this shape is a lot harder to recreate lmao 😭

I don’t think I could make this into a full blown comic just because of the complexity of the four turtle boys’ armor alone. Like, I (shockingly) love drawing it, but it would take far too much time and effort. A fic is the most likely outlet, but I’ll deffo be posting a lot about it on tumblr in both mediums.

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

I'm not sure if this has been answered/asked, or if it's insensitive to ask (I'm not sure, sorry), but where do Shadow and Sonic fall in the aroace spectrum?

WELL. With the vibes I get from them… I don’t really think there’s a specific identity inside the spectrum that fits either of them perfectly. Aroace fits good enough and breaking it down further than that just feels like over-complicating it. it kinda feels like it would take away from the complexity of the characters, at least in my mind if I were to try and cram them into narrower and narrower labeled boxes there’s less room for them just existing. It’s totally fine if other people wanna break it down nothing wrong with that. Just not really my vibe personally. I’m more about exploring for the experience rather than to come to a specific conclusion that was created by someone else if that makes sense.

Besides, Sonic would sneeze if anyone tried telling him he was aroace, let alone what type of aroace, since he’s allergic to conforming to anyone’s understanding of anything ever due to his affinity for freedom and not being labeled or bogged down by anything other than “sonic the hedgehog” “fastest thing alive” and “friend.” He’s got too much duality and conflicting characteristics to put clear cut labels on him and that’s the way uh huh uh huh he liiiikes it uh huh uh huh./lyrics