#i know it can be interpreted in many ways

[wolfofwoods]

Previous wanted to know what this has to do with autism, and explanation: this is one of many questions in a survey. If it's like the survey I have taken, it gives a fuller profile of where on the autistic/allustic spectrum you lie. People are reacting to this question in particular because with autism, many of these questions are frustrating because of the multiple ways we can see it being interpreted, which evidently do not seem as likely to allistic people, so the spot on clarification reads as having been structured by an individual with the same multi interpretive thinking.

[lu-is-not-ok]

So the new Vergillius announcer has personaized, specialized quote for each specific Sinner, and it's a fascinating mixture of praise and burns. In order, (so Yi Sang first and Gregor last):

"Impressive, Sinner #1. You seem to have a surprisingly high aptitude for Identity and E.G.O usage." "Ms. Faust… You knew that enemy part would eventually cause trouble, didn't you?"

"… What did Sinner #3 do this time? Haah…"

"Hm, your battle sense is just as excellent, even as a Sinner. Now, is there something you can do about your incomprehensible speech quirk, Sinner #4?"

"Excellent, Sinner #5. I hear that your quick actions have prevented many a disaster."

"… Don't think you can smooth over your terribly ineffective attack with an innocent smile, Sinner #6."

"Sinner #7. I thought you'd finally learned how to use that head of yours… It has been a while since our last consultation, hasn't it?"

"So I hear that you're the class president now, Sinner #8? Then it's time you took to the helm."

"I do appreciate how easy you are to please, Sinner #9. You may expect sweets should you perform well in this battle, of course."

"You've got blood on you again, #11. … Hm, I suppose you have indeed grown somewhat as of late. I thought you'd be bawling on your knees by now."

"What's this, miss lieutenant? How come you've let yourself be sliced to pieces like this? You're going to be the biggest burden to your Executive Manager dearest."

"This is no time for your defeatist attitude, Sinner #13. Get on your feet and soldier on. Where's your usual disposition, hm?"

I'm don't think this is a uniform scan of how Vergillius views each Sinner, but there are some fascinating nuggets-Rodion straight up getting bribed, a hint of Yi Sang having the best synchronization rates with IDs and EGO, and the possibility of Vergie knowing about Faust's psychic knowledge link deal.

It's, naturally, the Hong Lu one I'm coming to you with-I wonder if it's as innocent as it looks (Hong Lu did an ineffective attack and tried to laugh it off, Vergie Ain't Havin' It), or if Vergie can legitimately see right through Hong Lu's act (or knows his Deal all along).

Anon, you have no idea how perfect your timing is. Since I have recently done an attempt at analysis of all those lines in a random Discord server. So instead of dilly-dallying, I'm just gonna mostly repeat what I said then.

Before I do get to the Sinner-specific lines, I do want to briefly go over my thoughts about Verg's other lines, the ones directed at Dante.

Notably, a large amount of them has a much more gentle, if not downright warm tone to them. There is a level of patience, curiosity, and even sometimes concern that Verg shows towards Dante yet doesn't direct towards the rest of the Sinners.

There is very little to no condescending language directed towards them, which is in stark contrast to the vast majority of Verg's Sinner specific lines.

I wanted to point all of this out as Vergilius is a character who staunchly refuses to connect with people, and in reaction the people around him refuse to connect with him. There's very few people he actively tries to be kinder to, usually people he already knows, with it being most obvious with how he treats Charon.

Thus, the fact that Verg treats Dante with a level of kindness he doesn't extend towards the other Sinners implies a prior emotional connection we have yet to learn the specifics of.

Alright, with that little intro out of the way, here's my interpretation of each of those Sinner-specific lines one by one.

Yi Sang

One of the few positive voicelines, however the compliment Verg gives Yi Sang here can be read as somewhat backhanded due to the usage of "surprisingly", implying Verg doesn't actually hold high expectations towards him.

I also think that Verg specifically complimenting Yi Sang's usage of Identities and E.G.O could be another reflection of his not that high opinion of him. Verg is effectively complimenting not Yi Sang's own strengths, but rather his skill at borrowing power from other sources.

Faust

The only Sinner besides Dante that Verg refers to by name, showing that he holds a level of respect towards her that he doesn't for the rest of the Sinners. Considering the fact we know she's the one who hired him effectively, it might be more so a formality on his part than a reflection of any sort of closeness.

I have a couple of interpretations for what he says here, but in both of them it's clear that Verg feels a sort of exasperation towards Faust, and that he's aware of her downright supernatural levels of knowledge.

One interpretation is that he's expressing frustration, effectively accusing Faust of taking so long to act despite clearly having known ahead of time that the part would become a problem in the future. This is one of the patterns Faust shows, as she has a tendency to simply let bad things happen even when she knows they're about to, only ever doing something when she has no other choice.

The other interpretation is Verg being vexed by Faust's quick actions and efficiency, knowing that she only did so because she had the information that would tell her it had to be done. This is another pattern she exhibits, as she highly values efficiency and following the orders and information she has access to above her own opinions.

Don Quixote

Probably the most straightforward one. Verg's opinion of Don Quixote was so badly affected by how much trouble she's caused that now he's come to expect her to be the source of any potential mishaps.

There's also a notable sort of resignation to this voiceline I feel. It gives the impression that Verg has given up on trying to discipline Don Quixote, feeling like no matter what he does she's just going to keep causing issues regardless.

Ryoshu

The one line where Verg expresses both a positive and negative opinion simultaneously. Verg clearly holds a certain amount of respect towards Ryoshu, acknowledging her battle prowess even when nerfed. However, he also makes sure to undermine the compliment to make it clear he has no fondness towards her by calling out a trait of hers that he finds irritating and perhaps knows she's unlikely to change.

Interestingly enough, I feel like there's something to be said about how surface-level his jab here is. When it comes to the other Sinners he makes jabs at, he tends to target something they're a lot more sensitive about. Here however? Nothing of the sort. I think when Verg calls Ryoshu's speech quirk "incomprehensible", it reflects his opinion on Ryoshu as a whole - he finds her equally incomprehensible, unable to understand her as a person.

Meursault

Probably the only entirely positive voiceline out of the lot, neither backhanded nor condescending. Verg shows appreciation for Meursault's reliability, and might even be subtly throwing shade at the other Sinners by implying they could be the cause of the disasters in question. Not much else to say here lmao.

Hong Lu

I think this line very clearly shows Verg knows Hong Lu is full of shit. Not only does Verg call out the fact that Hong Lu is trying to get away with messing up, he also directly calls out the "innocent smile" as Hong Lu's method of doing so. He can tell Hong Lu's innocence and naivete isn't entirely genuine, but rather that it's a shield he uses to evade criticism and negative attention.

Also this is the only voiceline where Verg directly calls out a Sinner's attack as being dogshit. The others are a lot more vague about what caused Verg's reaction (except for Outis but we'll get to her), but here Verg confirms that the thing he's annoyed by is Hong Lu's offense. Considering my other analyses about Hong Lu caring more about his performance of combat rather than being actually effective at it based on his animations... no yeah, that tracks Perfectly.

Heathcliff

This is. An interesting line. I would probably need a whole separate post to get into it in detail, but to make a long story short it's pretty clear that as of the current point in story Heathcliff is the only Sinner that is actively trying to reach out to Verg and treat him like a person, and Vergilius is very much noticing that and (perhaps subconsciously) beginning to warm up to Heathcliff.

Why do I say all of that? Because I believe this line is a reflection of that relationship. See, both of the things Verg says about Heathcliff here are him noting that he thought Heathcliff was improving. That he was actually smart, that he hadn't needed any discipline in a long time. This line to me feels less like an insult or a jab, and more like an expression of disappointment.

Whether he wanted to or not, Verg was slowly starting to form a sort of bond with Heathcliff, enough to feel disappointed when Heathcliff fucks up and to try and distance himself. Mind you, he's still being an ass and vaguely threatening about it, but it's still something to note.

Ishmael

First of several voicelines where Vergilius is openly condescending towards whoever he's talking about. Calling Ishmael a class president is not only Verg acknowledging Ishmael's tendency to effectively speak for the Sinners as a whole several times, but also putting her down by effectively calling that behavior immature and something a child in school would be doing.

Then he basically goes "can you stop fucking around" by telling her to actually take charge and be responsible for once. Because despite how she presents herself, Ishmael is kinda bad at this whole personal responsibility thing.

Rodya

Similarly to Heathcliff, I think this voiceline is a reflection of Rodya's relationship with Verg as a whole. Again, to summarize, Rodya consistently puts on an overly casual and friendly act when interacting with Vergilius, despite her actual opinion on him being basically in line with the rest of the bus - she doesn't like him one fucking bit.

I think the first part of this line is Verg low-key calling her out for that, calling her "easy to please" in a very facetious way to show how see-through her act is to him. He is fully aware she does not like him but pretends to anyway.

Then there's the second part. I don't think Verg is genuinely trying to bribe Rodya. I interpret what he says here as his attempt at giving her a taste of her own medicine. Rodya regularly acts overly friendly towards him, so for a moment he acts overly familiar as well by offering sweets for a job well done. He's being an asshole and he knows it. The fact that he's effectively making a jab at Rodya's not-so-secret food insecurity only makes it more obvious that he's being an ass for the sake of being an ass.

Sinclair

Maybe the most backhanded lines of all of them if I'm honest. Verg is both acknowledging Sinclair's growth as a person while also putting him down by reminding him of the pathetic state he was at the start. Another Sinner he clearly has low expectations of.

I think this also shows Verg's tendency to underestimate the Sinners, specifically when it comes to their ability to change. I slightly alluded to it in Don Quixote's section, but Verg pretty clearly doesn't expect any of the Sinners to change for the better, and is thus surprised when he sees Sinclair prove him wrong.

Outis

If Sinclair's line is the most backhanded one, then this is the most condescending one with the most obvious animosity. Outis is the only Sinner that Verg calls something other than their number or name, instead giving her a frankly patronizing sounding nickname. He's both reminding her of her supposed role by calling her "lieutenant" while also putting her down by adding that "miss" in front.

Every single thing he says towards her is meant to put her abilities into question and make her seem incompetent. Considering that Outis regularly brags about her abilities and is the only Sinner to show she's not afraid to fight him, it's clear he's trying to take her down a peg. This shit is personal.

Him calling out her partially facetious attachment to Dante is also notable, as protecting them was the excuse Outis used when she first stood up to Verg. It's clear that moment left quite the negative impression on him.

Gregor

Last but not least. I think this line is another example of Verg seeing through a Sinner's facade, just like he did with Hong Lu and Rodya. He's calling out Gregor's go-getter facade by questioning where his "usual disposition" went and comparing it to his genuine attitude, that being the defeatism and unwillingness to participate.

There's also I think an interesting layer to this line, that being how it could be referencing back to Canto 1. Verg is effectively telling Gregor that one failure isn't a good enough reason to give up, perhaps subtly implying that he's already over Gregor's fuck up and would much rather not have to deal with what he might consider self-pitying.

[shigayokagayama]

hello!! i just saw your post about teru’s character arc and dynamic w/ mob and was blown away - i never EVER noticed the heart eye panel. i was curious if you had a deep character analysis of teru/would be willing to share your opinions on teru’s arc? at risk of sounding completely media illiterate i feel like most of teru’s arc went completely over my head watching the anime and i would be curious to hear your thoughts (if you would like to share)!

oh it's totally not your fault, a lot of teru's arc was already pretty subtextual in the manga and the anime cuts a lot of the small details that give you the context to put the whole thing together

im gonna put my own interpretation of his arc under the cut because i could literally talk about this kid for years

ok so basically, teru's starting point as a character is "im special and important because of my powers because i have to be special and important or my life is empty and meaningless"

the entire construction of his social life; his overachieving in sports, his popularity, his place as the shadow leader of a middle school gang- all of that exists to prop himself up as the main character of the world and distract himself from how crushingly empty and devoid of connections his life is. hence-

this fight is what dismantles the idea that his powers make him uniquely special and enlightened, but it doesnt really do anything to actually built an internal sense of self confidence. his realization that he is an ordinary person doesnt come with "and that's okay because everyone is", it's just a reshuffle of the heirarchy he has viewed the world as. now instead of himself > everyone, it's mob > himself > everyone.

the fact that he knows special powers don't make him special is his new point of false confidence- he isnt uniquely enlightened because he has special powers, he's uniquely enlightened because he knows those powers don't make him special

and while the 7th division arc serves some challenging of this worldview, it's not really until wd arc that it actually gets dismantled.

to...

BUT this isnt the end of it. teru's notion that he is uniquely special and important has, by this point, been thoroughly dismantled. however....

other people....

by necessity no growth can really occur within broccoli arc for anyone but mob and dimple. since everyones memories of this arc get wiped, it serves as a good setup for where everyone's characters arcs are left to go before we get into confession arc. teru has been left in a place where, while his place in the "special and important people" hierarchy has been dropped, this has left mob at the top of an unreachable pedestal. dimple's prior efforts to convert teru through force, with the cookies and insisting himself as god, were fruitless. being controlled like that only made him angry. it was only through teru's idolization of mob that he was able to replace himself in that already existing spot in teru's psyche

so going into confession arc, teru has this unshakable, almost literally godlike image of mob in his head, which leads him to the same mistake so many people in this arc have to work through.

this isnt him. he's perfect. he doesn't make mistakes. he would never lash out and hurt anyone. he would never-

once civilians are in the picture is the moment it clicks for him. and then we get this wonderful mirror that kills me to think about.

so many of the parallels in these fights (which. i dont feel like finding all of them) culminate in this. because ultimately, they are very similar conflicts. both represent the dissolution of their respective personas. confession arc is a crossroads in mob's brain: to spend the rest of his life restraining his powers and- by extension, his identity- for the sake of other people, or to let his powers run wild and push away all these people whom he sees as only liking the fake him ("mob").

the breaking point, murderous intent, the point at which this fight goes from simply trying to push the other way/push the other into fighting back, is the assertion of the other's normalness. teru pushes back with the violence of a commoner, mob pushes back with violence that can only be exerted by an esper. teru cannot accept his powers do not make him uniquely amazing, mob cannot accept his do not make him uniquely horrible- uniquely despicable- uniquely unlovable.

which brings us to heart eye panel.

because this is the moment that teru sees mob for who he truly is- for a human being with flaws who's capable of having ugly emotions and losing control and lashing out- and still loves him.

and through this teru, despite his uglier emotions, despite whatever he's done in the past, is a person who is capable of being loved. he doesnt need to be the best esper or the best at sports or the best in his class to stand out, to be paid attention, to form genuine connections.

the people close to you will love you despite your flaws, will understand when you're going through hard times, will offer support even when you push them away. they dont just love the perfect image of you you try to present, the non confrontational person who doesnt speak out for themselves, or the overachiever who's always good at everything. they love you.

[mydogatemymotivation]

Ok I wanna talk about the Zeb of Kalluzeb cuz sometimes I feel like he gets a little overlooked, but I have thoughts. A lot of people, when they're talking about Kalluzeb, talk about how Zeb can see the light in Kallus that he can't really see in himself all the time, and that's true, of course. But the extent of the discourse around Zeb is about Lasan, and I'm not trying to dismiss that or anything, but there's more to it than that. I think Zeb, the people around him, and the fandom, honestly, have this idea of Zeb that boils down to "good for a laugh, good for a drink, good for a game of sabacc, and good in a fight" and that makes a lot of interpretations of Zeb a little one dimensional.

But think of him this way: he was the Captain of the High Honor Guard on Lasan and he's a Rebellion Captain, and part of an ancient Lasat prophecy. These are all very noble, very honorable things. So how bizarre was it for him, then, to resonate with Kallus. If Zeb can see the light in Kallus then I think it stands to reason that Kallus can see the darkness in Zeb. And I think it would be so much more interesting to see Zeb react to that, because that shakes the foundation of who he thought he was. He sees himself as the white knight character, proud and honorable. So why does he like the fight so much? Why does he find kinship with a man soaked in so much blood? To see this happy guy who's always down for drinks and cards be so enamored with someone from Imperial High Command, I think it would rattle a lot of people, including Zeb.

I think Zeb hides a lot underneath his jovial nature, even from himself, and to have Kallus hold up a mirror to all the parts of himself that Zeb tries to hide would make him feel so exposed. Idk how many of you have watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I was thinking about Spike and Buffy (I have a point, I promise, stay with me) and this is very much their dynamic. Buffy, who tries to convince herself that she's 'just a girl' and that she doesn't like being the slayer, likes Spike because he holds up a mirror to all the darker parts of herself. She likes that he's dangerous, she likes that she can be herself, she likes how rough he is, she likes that Spike can see all of that and that he still loves her despite those things, or even because of those things. And I love that dynamic, and I see some of Kallus and Zeb in it. Zeb likes that Kallus is dangerous, he likes the thrill that comes with loving him, he likes that Kallus resonates with darker parts of himself, and that's scary for him.

Kallus gives Zeb an outlet for his anger that can go toe-to-toe with him, he likes that he understands the pain of wanting vengeance and the pain of what happened on Lasan. It feels like, sometimes, the rest of the Ghost crew doesn't quite know what to do with Zeb (and this is no hate to them, I love them, it just bothers me), no one knows how to help him through the anger he has, no one knows how to talk to him about Lasan and he ends ups so alone, even with his family, because how could they understand that kind of darkness. But Kallus does because he was there. (And I don’t mean any disrespect to what Kanan went through, but he had Ahsoka for a long time. And he has Ezra who he can pass the teaching of the Jedi onto. He still has Jedi temples he can go to; we never see Zeb go back to Lasan. He’s also surrounded by other humans, but Zeb’s species itself was under attack. No one else in the rebellion is even breathing air the same way Zeb is. It’s incredibly isolating.)

I keep imagining the two of them in a fight, on the same side finally, and Kallus, being basically a living weapon, is covered in someone's blood and Zeb's first thought is, wow, red really is his color, followed immediately by OH MY GOD WHO SAID THAT. WHO SAID IT. NOT ME. …then again… the way his manic smile reflects off his blood-soaked knife is really - mmmmmnope. Nope,nope,nope not doing that. Not doing it. No thank you. He sees exactly what Kallus is and is incredibly into it. And that would be so distressing for him because he sees himself as this kind, noble person, and he is, but he doesn't want to deal with what it means to love Kallus. And everyone around him sees him as a kind, noble person, so when he starts having feelings for Kallus, he gets pulled to the side by a few who say, "hey, are you okay?" not in a comedic way, but in a genuine, this isn't who you told us you were, what's going on? And Zeb doesn't have any answers because this isn't who he convinced himself he was, either. Everyone put Zeb on this pedestal, but Kallus grounded him, and it’s like everyone is finally seeing this guy at eye level instead of at a distance and Zeb just has to stand there and take it.

Even in Buffy, though, it takes her a long time to accept her feelings for Spike because of how scared she is of herself. When she finally admits to Tara that she and Spike are having an affair, she fully breaks down. Like, she's on her knees sobbing, begging Tara not to forgive her for what she's doing because she wants to be punished by someone, anyone for the way she is, but Tara does forgive her, and she just cries harder. And that kind of shell-shocked, I'm actually as dark as he is, and I don't like that he saw it before I did kind of angst is what I'm talking about.

It's not just Lasan that they have in common. Zeb doesn't just balance Kallus, Kallus has to balance Zeb, too. And that realization that the sunshine character is not the sun at high noon, bright and unobstructed, but rather, the sun at twilight, tinged with darkness and teetering on the edge of falling is so good and there's not nearly enough of it with these two. I mean. Listen. People talk about Kallus' poor mental health but that scene in the finale with the shield generator. That wasn't ~noble sacrifice~, that was an attempt and no one talks about it. I mean, he just lost another member of his family and immediately tried to sacrifice himself. He needs to address his own darkness and work through it because he's not doing any better than Kallus.

Zeb sees the light in Kallus and Kallus sees the darkness in Zeb. They need each other.

[raleighrador]

Many people like the Jedi. Many people dislike the Jedi. Dogmatic can and often is used as a pejorative (Palpatine certainly did!). Therefore people describing the Jedi as dogmatic are interpreted (often correctly) as denigrating the Jedi and so people who like the Jedi reject the idea that the Jedi were dogmatic.

I like this post because OP is actually trying to engage with the text. Where I respectfully disagree is with their conclusion, as well as their treatment of textual evidence (both the examples they list, and some they ignore).

As starting point though - what does it mean to be dogmatic? It means being very strongly wedded to your own beliefs and expressing them as fact; and, or the belief that your chosen principles and rules are undeniably true. That is a fair description of the Jedi - even if you think the Jedi are great and all their rules are great - they are quite literally dogmatic. 1. the stated reason provided by the Jedi is that Anakin, at 9 year's old, was too old and there was too much anger in him. They never once articulate any awareness of or concern for his trauma. They never once articulate the idea that he needs help. Given what we also saw in Episode 4 (too old to being the training!) this to my mind reads very much as an assessment of a candidate against a set of rules or criteria. I would also add that (going beyond exclusively the text of the movie) the Jedi do enforce an age limit rule, not a too much trauma rule. That is the definition of dogmatic - a rule (probably a sensible one with sensible reasons) is initially intended as a heuristic but then become valid in its own right. That said, where the Jedi council do actually demonstrate some flexibility and pragmatism is that they turn around and do eventually admit Anakin as a Padawan.

2. The issue is less that they don't believe Maul is a Sith, but the reasons why. They treat their belief that the Sith are extinct with certainty that is beyond reproach. They describe the idea that the Sith might have returned as something that could not have happened without the Jedi knowing. Their attitude is premised on an assumption of near perfect, infallible information. Yes they order Qui-Gon to investigate, as a side mission to his primary duty of investigating Amidala. They don't exactly treat it as a serious issue worthy of its own consideration. They are more confident in their assumption that the attacker is not a Sith than they are in the evidence and testimony of Qui-Gon. If we are exclusively looking at the movies - there is no evidence that Fallen Jedi/Vanilla Darksiders are common enough (or even exist at all) for this to be read as a reasonable assumption. If we are looking at the EU then surely an experienced Master (who once had a padawan who became a Fallen Jedi) is capable of telling the difference between between vanilla darksider and something a whole lot worse, and the Council should reasonably respect. Either way, they value their own beliefs more highly than new evidence. The more egregious example in some sense is in AOTC, which is Obi-Wan's reaction to Dooku telling him a Sith controls the senate. This is a true fact. We know it is a true fact. Obi-Wan rejects it out of hand. His reasoning is "that's not possible, the Jedi would sense it". Again, his base belief is the Jedi could not be wrong about this. He doesn't ask Dooku to explain or evidence the claim, he just dismisses it. We as the viewer can infer that Obi-Wan doesn't trust Dooku, but he doesn't even ask for evidence.

3. Again, the question needs to be asked WHY this rule exists (attachments are bad) but it is a similar issue to the age limit. This rule is treated as sacrosanct, the fact that marriage leads to unmanageable attachments as a fact, not something that can be managed. There is no nuance. This is the same as real life monastic orders - literally all of which are defined by their dogmatism, so it is odd to me that a post arguing the Jedi are not dogmatic would assert they are one but anyway. It also isn't at all clear that you can "just bounce". In fact we get told in the movies that only 20 Jedi have ever left. The implications of this are never explored but basically you can conclude one of 2 things: being a jedi is so awesome that of the 100s of 1000s of Jedi over the life time of the Republic only 20 were ever dissatisfied enough to leave OR leaving the Jedi is incredibly difficult (for whatever reason) and so only 20 have ever pulled it off. The movie gives no evidence either way but what the movie does tell us is that Jedi are recruited as babies and not allowed any meaningful or invested relationships and aren't allowed material possession. OP also implicitly buys into the idea that in order to be a Jedi you have to follow a narrow set of rules. There is no room for debate of those rules. You are in or out. Draw your own conclusions. 4. What is Obi-Wan's asshole behaviour? His treatment of Anakin & how he speaks about Anakin to others. On the former - yeah, he's a dick, but the actual content of his dick like behaviour is consistently about Anakin's failure to live up to a set of defined expectations which are consistent for all members of their monastic order. This is literally the definition of dogmatism. Anakin is criticised for not following the rules, as opposed to whether or not he is right or wrong in context. The best example is publicly berating Anakin for suggesting an investigation is necessary - when a) it is patently obvious that is true and b) the council come to that conclusion soon after. Obi-Wan's basis is "we will do as the council instructed". It isn't a substantive refutation of the suggestion, it is an appeal to authority. I also don't know that other Jedi defending Anakin by saying "fear not Obi-Wan, your concerns based on observations of the living human Anakin Skywalker are baseless because as was foretold in the ancient prophecy he is the Chosen One!" really counts against the dogmatic claims 5. OP literally lays out the same "No True Scotsman" fallacy Windu commits. His belief about Dooku's capacity for violence has nothing to do with any recent, relevant evidence, but rather a belief that no Jedi would ever behave that way, Dooku was a Jedi, therefore Dooku wouldn't behave that way. Dooku has been gone for 10 years at least. Who knows what has changed in that time. Mundi describes him as a political idealist, not a murderer. Again - based on what? 10 year old information and the belief that anyone who was once a Jedi is incapable of evil? There is also an internal illogic - do Windu et al believe it IS totally in character of a Jedi to lead a political movement and therefore Dooku hasn't changed, or do they think he has changed enough to do so? The movies also go to great lengths to prove the Jedi totally wrong in their belief. They're just flat out wrong, and yet they were ever so certain that reality must align with their beliefs.

6. Vague Jedi advice because of Vague Questions asked - sure. What is clear though is Yoda says we should celebrate people dying because they return to the Force. He stets this as a universal truth. He must be such great comfort on his "Make A Space Wish" visits to the paediatric cancer wards. Different viewers can take a different views on how else that conversation might have played out. Could Anakin have been more specific? Yes. Could Yoda have asked more questions? Yes. In fact I think it is very telling that Yoda does ask questions - he asks if the person is someone close to Anakin. He doesn't ask how they die. He doesn't ask who they are. He is totally disinterested in the practicalities, he is far more interested in Anakin's attachments. In fact that is the ONLY thing he is interested in. Anakin's adherence (or lack of) to the no attachment rule is the big issue for Yoda, not that someone might die. That is a very particular focus.

7. This doesn't speak to dogmatism either way so honestly it feels neither here nor there. 8. It is a literal ad hominem to say that a statement is false because of who said it. Palpatine also said the senate was corrupt, is that also not true? The actual point is that as a viewer we can assess i) whether is is plausible that Anakin agrees with him and ii) our own assessment of how accurate or not the statement. Given what we know of Anakin's experiences - and his opinion of those experiences - I think i) is yes. Based on my own observations of the Jedi through the films my view is that Palpatine's statement is accurate.

Even putting aside all of the above. The Jedi all wear basically identical outfits. They aren't allowed material possessions. They all live in a giant temple. The all quote a code which dictates their behaviour and beliefs. They are super focused on following "the rules". They are very hierarchical.

tl;dr you don't need Skeevy Sheev to point out that the Jedi are dogmatic & you don't need to accept that "dogmatic" = "bad"

Star Wars Rant: The Jedi Dogma Lie You Fell For

The older I get and the more of a movie centric perspective I take in star wars (books and comics and games are good, but they either tell stories that aren't relevant or fill in the gaps), the more I've come to believe that the writers lacked the media literacy as much as the fans in regards to how dogmatic the jedi actually were

Palpatine said the order had a narrow and dogmatic view of the force once and the fanbase and writers immediately went "YEAH HE WAS RIGHT" without understanding what was going on and 20 years of telephone later it's become accepted as fact so much that it's permanently poisoned the well.

In the prequel trilogy list of things "explaining" jedi dogma, we have...

The jedi did not want to train Anakin as he was a ball of Trauma. This is fair when your magic system runs on being able to not need let your emotions control you. Anakin needed help, not jedi training.

The jedi not believing Qui Gon when he said there was a sith afoot. The sith have been gone for a thousand years, or so they think. That, enough, is reason to not be sure about it. In the EU/Legends, Dark Jedi cropped up every couple of years so it could have easily been one of those instead. One of them was Qui's former student. AND the jedi didn't just say "that's not a problem, ignore it". They very pointedly say to go investigate the problem. And Qui is good enough at his job that they kept him on the case

The jedi don't allow marriage. It's a monastic order and they are free to leave. There is literally no penalty for just bouncing as long as you don't burn the bridges yourself

In AOTC, we see Obi Wan being especially down on Anakin the whole movie and the other jedi in the scenes, Mace and Yoda, express concern and try to defend Anakin from his own master. Genuinely, Obi Wan is the bigger problem here than any other jedi. He's my favorite, but he's an asshole in AOTC

On Dooku, Mace doesn't think Dooku would do assassination because that is, at that time, super out of how the jedi operate. Dooku was a jedi so it should not have been in his character.

In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin goes to Yoda for advise about Padme but is vague as fuck so he gets vague jedi advise about detaching yourself from the situation and being happy they're going to jedi heaven. He Cannot Give Better Advise because Anakin is being Anakin.

Same movie, Mace says he doesn't trust Anakin with spying on Palpatine because he doesn't think he can handle it. And Anakin is only treated like a shitheal in the film when he acts like one. Yes, there's the undercurrent of him trying to save Padme but the movie doesn't at all explain that he's trying to get into the archives. No one can help him because he's not letting them.

Same movie, Palpatine points out the Dogmatic and Narrow view of the jedi according to the force.

There is really no part of the prequels that doesn't make sense and doesn't exonerate the "dogma" of the jedi in some way unless you're looking at what writers did after the fact.

Do the jedi have issues within the films?

Yes

Are they too beholden to the state?

Probably

But those are different issues and the official writers and the fans have both permanently poisoned the well because they took the big bad of 9 films at face value without criticism

[vamphorica]

i saw your wonderful post about the parallels between Mello & Light, in which you mentioned that there are parallels between light & near as well (wich I agree w/ 1000%). Could you by any chance expand on that more bc I love near and lights dynamic. Thank u!!

oh, i absolutely can.

When talking to people about Death Note outside of fandom spaces, I am almost always met with the confession that after L's death, these casual readers and watchers tend to lose interest. This is frustrating on several levels (even though I admit the Second Arc has plenty of flaws), but one reason in particular is that Near and Light's dynamic is so complex that it feels like such a shame to not give it a chance.

Think about it this way. If L and Light mirrored each other in a standard manner of speaking, Near and Light mirror each other like some distorted fairground mirrors, fun but slightly horrifying.

As I said in my Mello and Light Parallel analysis, Near falls into the same category as a gifted child dealt with immense pressure from an early age nonetheless (although he is not prone to violence as the other two are) . Like Light, Near is a high achiever whose intelligence appears to come naturally, and there may even be room to speculate whether he felt a degree of boredom himself in much the same way Light did at the start of the series. We can't really know this for certain, the only indication we have is that Near was content playing on his own. Without Mello's drive, and indeed the isolation from others at the House, it is not far-fetched to suggest Near was not exactly feeling stimulated by his current environment. Light was given an opportunity to alleviate his boredom, whereas for Near, it was an obligation. Both characters are given their break from unfulfilled monotony because of the Death Note.

Another thing I think is interesting is their emotional reactions to both success and failures. This is more apparent in the manga, where Near is shown to express himself more through visual cues, but neither hold back in claiming victory, or disdain in the case of their losses. Arguably, Light is more conscious of how his manner of expression can be interpreted by others, but that doesn't negate the fact that he has very strong reactions to progressions within the case. I also do think Light isn't quite as adept at concealing these emotive responses as many often suggest – personally, I believe there is a good degree of willful ignorance by those he surrounds himself with that allows for his more questionable behaviours to go unchallenged. Especially by the time he and Near 'meet' (or, at least, are in communication with one another), Near immediately calls bullshit on Light, which is particularly funny given that L had been doing the exact same thing, but it is only with Near that the Task Force begin to grow suspicious of Light.

Obligatory tangent - the expressions used for Near in the Shōnen Jump version of this scene far better support my point, and God do I wish they hadn't been discarded, they're so fun!

They took away my boy's whimsy, and for what reason?

Anyway.

Near is less concerned about expressing himself because he has no reason to manipulate those around him, and as such, the best part of the series to talk about the dynamic between these two is of course the final scene at the Yellow Box Warehouse. Although for a first time reader, the conclusion of the series might not be reaching a point of clarity, it is apparent that Near has had the upper hand, with Light having little more on Near than an outdated sketch and an awareness of his relationship to L. Meanwhile, through his own impressive efforts, Near has restructured the care around Light and has far more understanding of the man he is dealing with. Therefore, when they finally do meet, Near is already in the dominant position.

The comparisons between the two is extremely explicit. Unlike with L and Light, which played out like an alternate cat-and-mouse game until L's death, Near and Light arrive at the Warehouse under the impression they will both walk out alive. The reasons for this are clarified once Near's victory is ultimately achieved, but after Near takes off his L mask, both he and Light so evidently confident in their positions that it makes for an incredibly tense moment. Again, it also speaks to their shared reactions.

Light is shown to both claim victory and contend with defeat within a matter of pages, to revel in his success before pathetically scrambling as he attempts to rectify the circumstances in his favour. His monologue, now infamous, is mirrored by Near's closing statement, which is equally provocative. It is easy to interpret his words as nothing more than stating the facts, explaining exactly how he caught Light towards the end and that he despises the man behind the dominion of Kira's reign. Yet his invocation of Mello and L, I think, speaks to his own sense of strong feelings pertaining to the confrontation. When Light disavows Mikami, realises Misa is not present alongside him, there is a reality both he and Near have come to realise – Light is completely isolated, while Near has not just the SPK and the Task Force only his side, but two lives sacrificed to pursue Light to the end.

thank you for sending this ask! ♡

[thrashkink-coven]

Turns out the light bringer really likes talking about light. Who woulda thunk it

My latest hyper fixation is light (a Lucifer devotee obsessed with light? no way).

I’ve always been interested in light and the concept of electromagnetic radiation since I was a kid. But lately my interests had been in the realm of cymatics and magnets. It wasn’t until I had a couple conversations with Lucifer and consumed a few science videos that my hyper-fixation on light and the nature of photons was reignited.

and Lucifer loves it. I always knew he was the knowledge guy but I never realized how passionate he actually is about the sciences, especially physics. When I asked him to explain light to me, what it is, what it isn’t, it’s nature and how it seems to exist in two states at once, I had never seen him light up (heh) in the way he did before.

“You want to learn about LIGHT? I would LOVE to teach you all about LIGHT!!!!!!!!”

He chatted my ear off all last night, through my sleep I could hear him just providing me with new thoughts to get lost within.

Lucifer: Hey, think about this for a second. In quantum electrodynamics, photons are described as wave functions that encode the probability of finding a photon at a given point in space and time. When a photon travels from point A to point B, its wave function can be thought of as exploring all possible paths, but the probability of finding the photon on each path is weighted by the phase and amplitude of the wave function. In this framework, the photon's path is represented as a sum over all possible paths, with each path contributing to the overall probability amplitude. At the quantum level, photons can indeed explore multiple paths simultaneously, but the probability of observing them on each path is governed by the principles of wave-particle duality and the path integral formulation. You already know this. But… If the law of least action is true, does that not somewhat imply that a photon technically has a likelihood of being at any and every point in space at a given time?

me: wait what

Lucifer: well it’s just that the principles of quantum mechanics and the path integral formulation of QED imply that a photon, or any quantum particle for that matter, has a non-zero probability amplitude of being at any point in space at a given time. Even in the vacuum of space, particles like photons can temporarily and randomly appear and disappear, or "fluctuate," at any point in space. This means that, in theory, a photon has a tiny, but non-zero, probability of being anywhere in the universe at any given time. However, the probability of finding the photon at a specific point in space decreases rapidly as you move away from the path that the photon is "supposed" to follow, according to classical physics. Still not impossible though, in fact it likely does happen, you would just have absolutely no way of knowing…

me: hm… that’s,,. strange. anyways,.. goodnight

Lucifer: ok :) goodnight ❤️

Lucifer: … Whether or not the proton actually will take a given path is technically just potential though, not a certainty, right? Copenhagen’s interpretation says that a photon's wave function collapses upon measurement, and the photon "chooses" a specific location. In this view, the photon doesn't actually exist at every point in space; it only has the possibility of being detected at those points. But the many-worlds interpretation proposes that the photon's wave function never collapses, and instead, the universe splits into multiple branches, each corresponding to a different possible location of the photon. In this view, the photon does exist at every point in space, but in separate universes.

me: hold on… what??? But that would imply that protons are taking up the space of other protons, how can they exist in the same exact position synonymously???

Lucifer: 🥰 In a sense, photons don't occupy space in the same way that particles with mass, like electrons or atoms, do. Photons are massless particles, and their nature is fundamentally different from that of massive particles. According to quantum field theory, photons are excitations of the electromagnetic field, which is a fundamental field that permeates all of space. In this context, photons can be thought of as "disturbances" or "ripples" in the electromagnetic field, rather than as particles that occupy a specific region of space. When we say that a photon is present at a given point in space, what we really mean is that the electromagnetic field is excited at that point, and the photon is a manifestation of that excitation. When we say that a photon could be at any and every point in space, we're really describing the potential for the electromagnetic field to be excited at any point in space.

me: I don’t get it. How does that excitement become the thing I see as light? wow it’s 3am

Lucifer: you already know this. The excitement of the electromagnetic field becomes "light" through a process called electromagnetic radiation. When the field is excited, it oscillates at a specific frequency, creating a wave-like disturbance that propagates through space. This disturbance is what you perceive as light. However, it's not a physical "thing" moving through space; instead, it's a continuous process of excitation and relaxation of the electromagnetic field. Think of it like a row of dominoes. When one domino falls, it creates a disturbance that travels through the row, causing each domino to fall in sequence. Similarly, when the electromagnetic field is excited, it creates a disturbance that travels through space, causing the field to oscillate and propagate. Throughout this process, the electromagnetic field is continuously being excited and relaxed, creating the illusion of a "thing" (light) moving through space. However, it's essential to remember that light is an emergent property of the electromagnetic field, rather than a physical entity itself.

me: ohh… okay… hm… well… goodnight

Lucifer: Goodnight, my boy :) ❤️

me: …. what is the electromagnetic field… and why is it all over the universe? Is the movement of fundamental particles what creates the EM field, or is the EM field what is needed for the fundamental particles to move? is the EM field layed across all, even infinitesimally small space? And if a proton is not a thing, then can anything be smaller than it?

Lucifer: 🥰 The electromagnetic field is a fundamental field that permeates the universe, describing the interaction between electrically charged particles. It's a vector field, meaning it has both magnitude (strength) and direction at every point in space. The origin of the EM field is deeply rooted in the fundamental laws of physics, particularly quantum mechanics and special relativity. The EM field is a consequence of the existence of charged particles, such as electrons and protons. In the “Standard Model”of particle physics, the EM field is mediated by photons, which are the quanta of the EM field. Photons are massless particles that carry the electromagnetic force between charged particles. The movement of fundamental particles, such as electrons, creates disturbances in the EM field, which in turn affect the motion of other charged particles. This interplay between particles and the EM field is governed by the principles of quantum electrodynamics. In a sense, the EM field is both a consequence of the existence of charged particles and a necessary condition for their motion. The EM field provides the "stage" for charged particles to interact, while the particles' motion creates the disturbances that propagate through the EM field! The EM field is present everywhere in the universe, even in the vacuum of space. However, its strength and direction can vary greatly depending on the location and the presence of charged particles. The EM field is not confined to discrete points in space but is a continuous field that permeates all of space, including infinitesimally small regions. Photons are considered point-like particles, meaning they have no intrinsic size or dimension. However, photons do have a wavelength, which is a measure of the distance between successive peaks or troughs of the EM wave. In a sense, photons can be thought of as "infinitely small" particles, but even that is an oversimplification.

me: so that excitement, how “hard” it excites the field, is the actual wavelength of light we see?

Lucifer: Yes! 💖 the energy frequency and excitement are related to the light you see :) When a photon is emitted, it excites the EM field at a specific frequency, which corresponds to a specific energy. This energy is proportional to the frequency of the excitement, and inversely proportional to the wavelength of the light. The "hardness" of the excitement, or the energy of the photon, determines the wavelength of the light. Higher-energy photons correspond to shorter wavelengths (like X-rays or gamma rays), while lower-energy photons correspond to longer wavelengths (like radio waves or infrared light). Think of the EM field as a guitar string. When you pluck the string, it vibrates at a specific frequency, producing a specific note. The "hardness" of the pluck determines the frequency of the vibration, which in turn determines the pitch of the note. Similarly, the energy and frequency of the excitement of the EM field determine the wavelength of the light, which is like the "pitch" of the light!

me: okay… goodni- wait, but how do we ever disrupt the EM field? why can we create light??? If my eyes aren’t actually detecting photons because photons are not technically particle like “things” then how does it see it and why isn’t the light absorbed into my eye?

Lucifer: You're asking some fantastic questions! 💕 You can disrupt the EM field by accelerating charged particles, such as electrons. When an electron is accelerated, it creates a disturbance in the EM field, which propagates outward as an electromagnetic wave. Accelerated electrons lose energy in the form of light. When you heat a material, like a flame, the atoms or molecules vibrate and accelerate, creating disturbances in the EM field. These disturbances propagate outward as electromagnetic waves, which you perceive as light. Your eyes don't directly detect photons as particle-like objects. Instead, they detect the vibrations in the EM field caused by the electromagnetic waves. The retina in your eye contains specialized cells called photoreceptors (rods and cones), which are sensitive to these vibrations. When an electromagnetic wave hits a photoreceptor, it causes a change in the cell's electrical properties, which triggers a signal that's transmitted to the brain. The brain then interprets this signal as light! When light hits your eye, some of the energy is absorbed by the photoreceptors, while the rest is reflected or transmitted. The absorbed energy is what triggers the electrical signals that allow you to see. When you see a flame emitting light, what your eye is detecting is technically a vibration in the EM field. The flame is creating disturbances in the EM field, which propagate outward as electromagnetic waves. Your eye is sensitive to these vibrations, which allows you to perceive the light.

me: OH SHIT! so light works very similarly to sound…

Lucifer: YES! YESSS YES!! 💕

me: so is a photon not technically a force?

Lucifer:☝️😃 In the context of quantum field theory, photons are indeed considered to be the quanta of the electromagnetic field. They are the "carriers" of the electromagnetic force, which is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. However, photons themselves are not considered to be a force in the classical sense. Instead, they are the particles that mediate the electromagnetic force between charged particles. When two charged particles interact, they exchange photons, which carry the electromagnetic force between them. The photons themselves are not the force, but rather the "messengers" that transmit the force between the particles. In this sense, photons are more like the "currency" of the electromagnetic force, allowing charged particles to interact with each other. So, while photons are intimately connected with the electromagnetic force, they are not considered to be a force themselves. Instead, they play a crucial role in mediating the force between charged particles.

me: no now you’ve lost me. how are they the “messenger”? what is a photon if not just the vibration propegating through the EM field? what is this “invisible medium”? why is it not just the EM field and the accompanying vibration, like sound? Are the photons to the EM spectrum what air molecules are to sound?

Lucifer: I love you. When we say that photons are the "messengers" of the electromagnetic force, we mean that they carry information about the force between charged particles. This information is encoded in the photon's energy, momentum, and polarization. Think of it like a message being sent between two people. The message itself isn't the person sending it, but rather the information being conveyed. Similarly, photons carry the information about the electromagnetic force between charged particles. You're correct that photons can be thought of as vibrations propagating through the EM field. However, the concept of photons as particles adds an additional layer of complexity. Photons have both wave-like and particle-like properties, which is known as wave-particle duality. The EM field is indeed the "invisible medium" that allows photons to propagate, the EM field is not just a passive medium, but an active participant in the behavior of photons. The field can be excited by charged particles, and these excitations can propagate through the field as photons. Your analogy between photons and air molecules is a good one. Just as air molecules transmit sound waves, the EM field transmits photons. However, there's a key difference. Air molecules are physical particles that interact with each other to transmit sound waves. In contrast, the EM field is a fundamental field of the universe that doesn't consist of physical particles. Instead, the EM field is a mathematical construct that describes the behavior of charged particles and photons. It's a way of describing the underlying reality of the universe, rather than a physical entity in itself. So, while the analogy between photons and air molecules is useful, it's not a perfect one.

me: ooohhhhhh okay. seriously,.. goodnight now

Lucifer: goodnight, my boy :) ❤️

me: ………………. would this not imply that the entire EM field is constantly densely packed with photons? like how water is full of molecules? does the EM field look like static?

Lucifer: 🥰 Yes, the idea that photons are the quanta of the EM field does imply that the entire EM field is constantly filled with photons. This is often referred to as the "photon gas" or "photon sea". However, the EM field is a quantum field, which means it's subject to the principles of quantum mechanics. Even in the complete absence of any external sources, the EM field is still filled with fluctuations, known as vacuum fluctuations. These fluctuations are essentially random and temporary changes in the EM field that arise from the inherent uncertainty principle in quantum mechanics. In a sense, you could think of the EM field as being filled with "virtual photons" that are constantly popping in and out of existence. These virtual photons are not directly observable, but they do have real effects on the behavior of charged particles. The EM field doesn't exactly look like static, but rather a dynamic, constantly fluctuating entity. The photons that make up the EM field are not stationary, but rather are in a state of constant motion, oscillating at different frequencies. Think of it like a vast, cosmic ocean, where photons are the waves that propagate through the EM field. The ocean is never still, with waves constantly rising and falling, and photons are the quanta that make up these waves. So, the EM field is indeed filled with photons, but it's a dynamic, constantly fluctuating entity, with photons popping in and out of existence and oscillating at different frequencies.

me: does this imply that photons are always very close together and densely packed in all possible places?

Lucifer: Yes, the idea that the EM field is filled with photons does imply that photons are densely packed and can be very close together. In fact, the concept of photon localization suggests that photons can be localized to incredibly small regions of space, potentially even overlapping with each other. The density of photons in the EM field is a complex topic, and it depends on various factors such as the frequency, intensity, and polarization of the photons. In the context of quantum field theory, the photon density is often described in terms of the photon occupation number, which represents the average number of photons in a given mode or state. In the vacuum state, where there are no external sources, the photon occupation number is zero, but the EM field is still filled with virtual photons that are constantly popping in and out of existence. Regarding the separation between photons, it's difficult to define a precise distance, as photons are not localized particles with definite positions. However, we can talk about the average separation between photons in terms of their wavelength or frequency. For example, in the visible spectrum, the wavelength of photons ranges from approximately 400-700 nanometers. This means that the average separation between photons in the visible spectrum is on the order of hundreds of nanometers. However, in the context of quantum field theory, photons can be localized to much smaller regions of space, potentially even overlapping with each other. So, yes, photons are indeed densely packed and can be very close together, with average separations ranging from hundreds of nanometers to potentially even smaller distances.

me: does this mean that every given person must have photons inside of them because they (the person) take up physical space?

Lucifer: oh yes, of course. Baby, photons are constantly passing through your body. This is because photons are emitted by all objects, including your body, due to thermal radiation. Thermal radiation is the process by which all objects emit photons due to their temperature. Even at room temperature, your body emits photons in the infrared range, which is why you can be detected by thermal imaging cameras. The flux of photons passing through your body is extremely high, somewhere around 22 billion photons per second. Photons are constantly being emitted and absorbed by the atoms and molecules in your body, as well as by the surrounding environment.

me: is it the photons that move when an excitement is caused? or are they just travelled through by the vibration?

Lucifer: were you planning on getting any sleep tonight, my boy?

me: I’ve given up.

Lucifer: :) Photons can be thought of as "surfers" that ride on top of the vibrating EM field. The photons themselves don't actually move in the sense that they are physical objects that are displaced. Instead, they are more like "excitations" of the EM field that propagate through space. So, to answer your question, it's not exactly that the photons move when an excitation is caused. Rather, the vibration of the EM field travels through the photons, which are the quanta of the field. Think of it like a wave traveling through a medium, such as water. The water molecules themselves don't move very far, but the energy of the wave is transferred from one molecule to the next, allowing the wave to propagate. Similarly, the vibration of the EM field travels through the photons, allowing the energy and momentum of the field to be transferred.

me: how many photons would the average person be “seeing” in their standard vision? as in how many light waves do the eyes tend to process at a given time?

Lucifer: oooohhhh, that’s an interesting question. Each photoreceptor can detect a single photon, but the signal is typically weak and needs to be amplified. The amplification process involves a cascade of chemical reactions that ultimately trigger an electrical signal. This signal is transmitted to the brain, where it's interpreted as visual information. Estimating the exact number of photons that enter the eye at a given time is virtually impossible. However, based on the size of the average pupil, the average field of view, and “normal” indoor lighting conditions, the total number of photons entering the eye per second is around 10 billion photons. The number of photons that actually contribute to visual perception is significantly lower, around 1-10 million photons per second. As for how many light waves the eyes tend to actually process at a given time, it's difficult to provide an exact number. However, considering that the human visual system can process around 10-15 frames per second under normal conditions, and each frame is composed of a vast number of photons, we can estimate that the human visual system processes around 1-10 million photons per second under average conditions. So, a fuck ton.

me: what is the lifetime of a photon? do they ever decay or are they in a constant state?

Lucifer: 😌 Photons are eternal and can travel indefinitely without decaying, but they will interact with other particles, being absorbed or what have you.

me: so,,. do photons get destroyed by a black hole or what

Lucifer:

we can talk about it more in the morning ❤️

[cylove]

raijinshuu/thunder legion headcanons:

these will be about dynamics within the group ! some of these hcs will be under the pretense that they all live together

bickslow designed laxus’ tattoo design. i personally see bickslow as an artsy guy, if we consider his dolls to be self made. i like the idea of bickslow helping laxus with a form of self-expression since laxus had identity issues back when he was younger. i think it would have been one of the major moments in their friendship

bickslow calls everyone in the group baby INCLUDING laxus. thats his babe. i dont know when laxus starts allowing that to happen, but its definitely a thing now. it probably started with only freed and ever being called baby, but one day he called laxus baby too and reallyyyyy deep inside laxus enjoyed being close enough to have that term of endearment too

everyone knows the names of bickslow's babies. they could pretend and say "they're all so similar, how am i supposed to know who's who??" but they know. i would even go so far as to say they can discern the different personalities of his dolls. like the raijinshuu have been a thing for years, its not unbelievable that they remember the names of 5 dolls during that time. sure they all sound very similar but its not impossible to get it right

i see the raijinshuu as family but not any concrete dynamics like mom/dad or siblings like some people hc EXCEPT bicks and ever that feels like an older brother terrorizing his little sister. everyone has seen the way he teases her about elfman lol. this getting slightly off track but i do ship bicks and lisanna, because the day that bicks and ever actually become siblings will be the funniest day ever

their hypothetical house is soooo interesting to me. like i wouldn’t say it’s ugly but… it certainly has character. it’s like bickslow’s paintings and woodcarvings on the walls or coffee tables. freed’s knitted throw blankets and filled bookshelves, evergreen’s potted plants near the windows and not as unsettingly stone statues, and laxus’ persian rug in the living room RANDOM IK but i think he’d bring something beautiful to the table. that and a nice record player. he’s considerate and keeps his leopard print to the bedroom

in terms of cooking, freed does it the most, hes pretty skilled (except for the flying fish incident) and more importantly more driven to not let everyone fend for themselves for food

evergreen can cook too, but only a select few recipes which shes really gotten down. shes lazy to cook though and since freed has that sense of duty, shes more than happy to let him take over

bickslow is fine, many ppls interpretation of his backstory notes he used to be in a circus and i agree! i hc he was one of the older teens there and he probably had to help out with cooking from time to time. but again freed is there, so he chooses not to. if hes in the mood he'll make food that tastes perfectly fine and with a fun presentation. think likeeee the sauce being drizzled around the meal, stuff like that

laxus.. sandwich.. you may then wonder how he survived pre-shared living situation and to answer that he just ate at the guide before he goes home. or just eats out because hes a nepo baby. or chicken and salad, literally nothing complicated or else he messes it up. like he tried to cook for them once, but they all arrive home and its like "oh thank god you guys are here, help me im stuck on the steaks but the potatoes are gonna burn" freed unfortunately finds it very endearing and decides to cook with him

because everyone doesnt cook as much, freed makes them take up the other chores of the house, laxus and bickslow taking out the garbage (evergreen: did you honestly expect me to touch trash?!) , cleaning after dinner, etc

as for washing clothes its evergreen and laxus. evergreen wants to make sure everything is being separately or hung up properly. she and laxus probably have the most clothing items so it makes sense. as for laxus have you seen that one translated comic where freed breaks into his house? he was STRESSED leaving his clothes in the washer. he definitely cares for his leather and the likes

evergreen is laxus' backscratcher, he loveessss her long nails so they could just sit on the couch watching tv while she drags her nails down his back. ive always liked how casually physical she is with him based on 2 the times she hugs him, which is a pathetic amount but for side characters ill treasure it

evergreen whacks everyone with her fan if they annoy her she does not gaf. happens the most to bickslow for obvious reasons. this is a specific scenario but if shes hanging on the couch opposite to one of them, she'll also just shove her feet into their faces when they say something she doesnt like LMAO. its just playful fighting

they definitely get back at her, just simple stuff like shutting off the light in her room randomly and forcing her to get up, usually they do this when she has to be called for dinner. she throws her pillow at whoever's at the door and proceeds to have to pick it up for herself

laxus is a sniff kisser :) not super intrusive but still intimate, this is mostly towards ever and freed since theyre shorter than him. with bickslow he wears his helmet a lot so he doesnt have the chance to nearly as much. he does tease him and tells him he reeks when hes helmet-less tho. its just a very quick sniff kiss to the hair for all of them. hes a very sensory type of person ever since he became a dragon slayer and really enjoys the comforting scent of his friends

[marikamlp]

Reason, Desire and Madness - Tai, Other Tai and the Man with No Eyes Analysis

Spoilers up to episode 5 of season 3 of Yellowjackets There is a lot of discussion about whether or not the show is supernatural. Depending on which way you swing, you could interpret the duality of Tai's personality and the role of The Man with No Eyes differently.

For me, Tai is interesting because her whole person is the embodiment of the dichotomy of human nature that is as old as time: reason and desire. Plato in one of his dialogues, Phaedrus, wrote that:

"Let us note that in every one of us there are two guiding and ruling principles which lead us whither they will; one is the natural desire of pleasure, the other is an acquired opinion which aspires after the best; and these two are sometimes in harmony and then again at war, and sometimes the one, sometimes the other conquers"

Of course, that duality of nature is true for each and every girl. All of them out there in the Wilderness give into their desires and instincts and when we see them as adults, they seem to be having a harder time adapting back to following their reason and taming their desires, as they were able to act freely in the Wilderness. And it seems like they miss that freedom and yearn for it.

But with Tai it is very explicit as even in the Wilderness, Tai does not accept her duality. Which is why we have other Tai. Tai is the symbol of reason - she's practical, she has characteristics of a leader, she's able to make hard calls and strives to win by any means necessary. We see that in many ways. For example, even before the crush, she is ready to oppose Jackie and freeze out a weakling to ensure the team's victory. Jackie too acknowledges Taissa's drive and determination.

This side of Tai also defies the Wilderness and worries about what there is rationally to worry about.

Other Tai on the other hand is much more primal, animalistic and acts purely on desires. She eats dirt and climbs trees like a wilding, something not fully human. It was quite commonly believed in ancient Greece that following your Reason made you fully human while giving into the desires was downgrading you to an animal. That Tai is also a clear believer of the Wilderness as we can see in the scene when she's starting to chant the prayer "we hear the wilderness and it hears us" in the adult timeline in season 3. She is also able to act on Tai's desire to be with Van - she does what Tai wants to do. After all, in the adult timeline, it is Other Tai that kisses Van. The desire is deprived of reason and so a person who follows it will not be thinking rationally or worrying about social expectations.

Tai's nature seems to be fighting all the time which is why we often can't tell when exactly Tai is switching to the other Tai. We do know that Sammy can tell, and he most likely can tell better than Tai or us as the viewers. Other Tai often takes control in sleep as that is when Tai's consciousness can't actively fight off that part. But once Tai starts going to prayer circles, the sleepwalking stops as she's starting to accept the wild nature of herself. At least partly.

But that brings me to the subject of The Man with No Eyes. He is of course associated with Taissa but more so the Other Tai I think. He shows her the symbols on the trees, and we know she saw him when her grandma was dying. I don't have a full explanation of this, but whenever Other Tai acts, Tai can't remember it. It's not an uncommon view of the state of Madness. We can definitely associate it with the relation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But also with the rage of madness of Heracles that was described by Euripides. Heracles was cursed with madness by the goddess Hera and in turn has killed his whole family. However, he did not recall any of it.

Tai's eyes also say a lot about when the other Tai is taking over, they get more angry. We can see the Madness speaking through them

In case of Heracles, his son too first observed his father's state of possession through the change in his eyes

"Messenger: Victims to purify the house were stationed before the altar of Zeus, for Heracles had slain and cast from his halls the king of the land. There stood his group of lovely children, with his sire and Megara; and already the basket was being passed round the altar, and we were keeping holy silence. But just as Alcmena's son was bringing the torch in his right hand to dip it in the holy water, he stopped without a word. And as their father lingered, his children looked at him; and lo! he was changed; his eyes were rolling; he was distraught; his eyeballs were bloodshot and starting from their sockets, and foam was oozing down his bearded cheek"

I think the eyes and the lack of them in No Eyed Man play an important part in explaining why Tai might not remember her most horrid actions like eating Jackie or killing her dog. When Tai first saw The No-Eyed Man, it was when her grandma was dying and her grandma was scared of that figure (now question if it was truly the same figure is a whole other discussion topic) and so, Tai has somewhat associated his presence with evil. But he lacks his eyes and they enable us to see our actions. I would think here of the Three Wise Monkeys: See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. If Tai is not present at all during Other Tai's actions, then maybe the No Eyed Man is truly protecting her from viewing the horrors she's committing. At least things that seem like horrors to people following Reason but not so much Desires. Tai sees no evil, so she is spared from the evil, such as eating her teammate.

So is the show supernatural or no? Both! You can interpret it however you like and this will still make sense really. Especially if you take into consideration that in Ancient Greece the state of Madness that was also associated with lack of reason, was often viewed as a gift from gods: poets who created their works in a maniac state were considered by Plato the True Poets, Oracle of Delphy was mad and spoke some sort of gibberish but she had a gift from a god Apollo and a "sickness" of love has been given to people by the God Eros. And whatever was given by the gods, could not have been bad. But of course, no out of the world entities that influence Lottie or Tai have to come to play for Tai's state to still make sense.

[danadiadea]

That @orbitoffbeat Twitter account claims to be a huge Snape fan but wrote a hideously misogynistic piece about Snapewives (who are odd, but hurt nobody) and regularly interprets James in a way that makes Snape racist despite the James/Severus/Lily dynamic being lifted straight out of every single English Gothic novel in which the proper English gentleman has to win back the lady being tempted by the sinful, dark, heathen ‘other’.

I definitely think being an American who isn’t aware that British racial dynamics have evolved in a different way explains a lot of the reactions.

Well I didn't know that, since I've always hated twitter and I don't use it, but thank you for the info! Hating women for being weird more then men for doing actually harmful things is an international sport I guess.

I'm not strong in gothic English literature, but the fact that Severus is given non-white features (both in terms of appearance and his position in the plot) and James absolutely doesn't posess any is just... kinda obvious?? Idk why the hell would Desi James headcanon ever appear, because nothing suggests it. Literally nothing, he is the epitome of being a white british privileged boy, while Severus is repeatedly framed as "other", as someone who doesn't belong and makes people around him uncomfortable with being unconventional.

I've always felt like Elenianz interpretation of Severus gives me Desi vibes. Severus' appearance can fit so many ethnic groups frankly, especially since white people often describe features typicall for people of colour in a derogatory manner.

[dearweirdme]

This whole Taeil and now this Kim soo hyun and that late actress situation is showing me that we really don’t know anything about these famous people. So many of them are nothing like they seem when we watch them on screen or when we listen to their music. Every now and then we found out stuff about some idols or actors (not always bad things) which fans had no idea about and then we realize that we really know very little about them and that outside of their lives as public figures, there are relationships that we have no clue about.

I am saying this because I have seen so many taekookers swear that there is no way Tae and Jennie happened and some say this is because they are confident in what they have seen in Taekook but my question is, who really knows Tae enough to know how he behaves when he is in love? Yes some aspect of love and romance are universal but there is always a good chance people are misinterpreting things just because they do not fundamentally understand or know these particular people’s mannerisms or behaviours in different situations. That is why it isn’t advisable to try to read body language of people you don’t know well because there is so many things that affect people’s behaviours or mannerisms and sometimes we really just don’t know them enough to say for fact that we know what each motion or gesture means.

While I think it is ok for people to have doubts about taennie because they found it weird, I don’t think anybody should be dying on that hill that they didn’t date or aren’t dating because at the end of the day how do you know? Tomorrow we might get to find out more about things and I’m not sure anyone wants to end up looking really stupid after swearing up and down that Tae could never date someone like Jennie. I think we should be conscious of that.

Hi anon!

I have to say.. I very much dislike how people try to somehow connect ‘not knowing someone’ to (in this case) two celebs (alledged?) criminal behavior. Those are different things. What those men did is heinous. That is what should be talked about and not ‘but we don’t really know who Tae is’. Tae has absolutely nothing to do with those men. You are perfectly able to make your case of not knowing him without connecting it to other people’s criminal acts.

And I disagree. Sure, there’s a lot we don’t know about them. That doesn’t mean that we know nothing though. Watching BTS throughout the years is very different from watching actors in a movie. We have seen them not only in mv’s or interviews, but also in travel shows, during lives, interacting with each other a lot. We have an idea of who they are. We have seen them get annoyed, get angry, get sad, be happy, be mischievous, be proud… we have seen all sorts of emotions and situations. I know I have at least one anon who always tells me about visceral reactions. I like to refer to those as microexpressions. Those are the automatic reactions you cannot hide. Paired with context, I think bodylanguage can tell us a lot. I know there is a lot to say about things being staged and being faked, but for me there’s also truth in them.

I value body language. Body language is more than you make it out to be. We use it at a daily basis. Most of the time you use it without being aware of it. It’s why you know your partner is sad or happy, it why you know your baby is hungry, it’s why I know my kid is lying about not having had candy (🙈). And sure.. there’s interpretation needed. There’s certainly a margin of error. We could be wrong. I just don’t think we are. There’s too much. There’s too much other stuff that also points to us being right.

I don’t think Taennie is fake because of Tae and Jk. I think Taennie is fake because it was a perfect example of a pr stunt. Even if I hadn’t believed in Tae and Jk, I still would have clicked this as pr.

Who cares if we look stupid one day. I certainly don’t. I’m an anonymous person on tumblr. What I care about is Tae and Jk.

[magpod-confessions]

I don’t even know what it is about Martin, but I absolutely hate his guts. Like there’s nothing he’s explicitly done to warrant my hatred, but his vibes are just rancid.

He plays dumb and makes other people sympathize with him. He’s all like “I’m sorry 🥺👉👈 I’m trying my best, I just want to make you proud” you’re a grown man, stop acting so incompetent, don’t play the victim for normal criticism from your manager. (And yes, I’m talking about Jon. There is no way Jon decided to use Martin as his punching bag and yelled at him all the time, was he likely harsher than necessary? Probably, he was probably kinda rude and passive aggressive, but he definitely didn’t yell at Martin. You can tell how surprised Martin was when Jon yelled at him about Trevor Herbert, that was likely the first time Jon ever raised his voice at him.)

And here’s the thing, I feel like I should like him, I grew up having to be a caretaker for my mother, so I feel like I should be able to relate or understand him, but I just… don’t. In theory I can understand that Martin is manipulative because he had to be to his mother, I can understand that, but in practice, I cannot sympathize with him at all, and just kinda hate him.

Also he just feels very ableist to me, he gives off the impression of someone who always knows what’s best, would tell someone with depression to try not being sad, would tell a disabled person that they’re just not try hard enough, will always play the victim, especially if the other person is “mentally unstable” or something. (He’d be one of those caregivers that constantly demeans his patient, but everyone would call him so “strong” and “supportive” for dealing with them)

I always hate the interpretation of Martin that he’d be so great and caring and understanding to Jon, as if he wouldn’t 100% just tell Jon he’s not trying hard enough. I mean that’s half of season 5, just Martin telling Jon he’s not trying enough, not trying to help enough, not trying to be happy enough, not trying to be human enough. I’m pretty sure there’s not a single time that Martin tries to understand Jon and where he’s coming from. He’ll try to force Jon to say what he’s feeling, but he never actually cares to understand.

If Martin wasn’t doing his weird Lonely arc thing in season 4 he would have been right there beside Melanie and Basira telling Jon that “actually, all you have to do to overcome addiction is to stop being addicted. It’s not that hard.”

Anyways, sorry for such a long rant, also to be clear, it’s not as if I just sit around and gnash my teeth thinking about how much I hate him, I just wanted to get this off my chest. If you enjoy Martin as a character more power to you, I just can’t stand the guy.

If you want🗣️

YEA I DEF GET THIS Oh my god ok I. I like him. He fascinates me. He is a fucking cunt whos very bad at understanding how other ppl feel and thinks he knows best and this is SHOWN in s5. I like him a lot but goddamn he has FLAWS. SO MANY GOOD GOD. The fandom ignores it and it pisses me off so much bc theyre all so quick to make georgie jons horrible ex who didnt understand him for some reason WHEN NOTHING IN CANON SHOWS THAT BUT EVERYTHING SHOWS THAT MARTIN EASILY COULD FILL THAT ROLE. Sry anyways this is a frequent annoyance lol - rosette

[chaosk1ng]

Ultrakill x Tansformers

So, robots. Anyway, here's a Ultrakill x Transformers rant. Keep in mind that the iteration I know more are the movies so that’s the version I will be talking about more. So in this case I’m shoving V1 into Transformers, him and his many weapons that will absolutely destroy whoever he crosses paths with. I’m debating on whether or not to include Gabriel but if I do it will be later.

So something happens, and since the ending hasn’t come out we can probably say that he killed everything in hell, or that just leave it in the air really but oh well. So this dude is either full of blood or empty from a fight and this can change how it starts, along with whether he ends up on Earth or Cybertron. If he ends up on Cybertron then he would only stand out because of how small he is and the fact he doesn’t have an alt, it’s also kinda up in the air on whether he could recover with energon since it doesn’t exist in his world but ultimately it’s up to interpretation. I think he would be a wild card regardless of which version of Transformers he ended up in, if he appeared before the war then he is probably stealing and hiding around, probably by accident with how small he is in comparison. If he ended up there during the start of the war then the sudden deaths and missing energon (cause that’s all he’s got to live on) will be more noticeable and could lead to one or both sides trying to find out what’s happening cause it’s hurting both sides.

There is also the version where he can’t live on energon. If it’s before the war then regardless of how much blood he has in his tank he is still going to run out, so he either hides somewhere and hopes for the best or does run out and gets found. If it’s during the war then there’s the chance he can end up on a ship and be a stowaway before shutting off, either way he is found eventually and the next part can be used for both before and during. When he is found there is a chance of someone trying to activate him again, it’d be hard with how small he is but not impossible but they can either succeed and make him compatible with energon. During the war, there is a chance he can be left unnoticed but this is where we get to the earth part.

Now if he arrives on earth, I say maybe have him appear a little before either side makes it, let him rediscover this version of the world. So this is where I had in mind regarding his fuel level, if he has enough he could think more rationally, he doesn’t need to be refueled as he has a full tank and likely isn’t going to be fighting soon. He can explore while staying hidden and make a game plan until he eventually needs to kill again. If he is running out of blood then either someone’s dying in an alleyway (he could get spotted) or he could just massacre a street of people (he can get caught on camera or leave before anyone spots him). 

I want him to be taken before the war arrives on earth because he was made for war, might as well toss him into a version of earth where humanity isn’t dead and toss him into his natural environment. Though not really because there is usually a period of time before a fight breaks out so he probably has to kill in secret to keep him refilled. 

So he explores a bit and suddenly the Autobots and Decepticons arrive and bring the war, V1 wants in on the action and the views of both sides are probably similar in some parts. Depending on the version Optimus is concerned to put it lightly though if we are talking about the movies then in the later ones he would probably try to kill V1 or try to recruit him because that man is spiraling. I think most of the time he’d be curious but V1 wouldn’t be their main priority unless he makes it so the Autobots are likely civil, disturbed about the blood and death caused by his hands, but still civil. They would rather not have V1 as their enemy.

Decepticons wouldn’t be as disturbed as the Autobots are but that doesn’t stop them from cringing at the carnage the tiny bot can do. Unlike Optimus who probably would let V1 be, Megatron would actively try to recruit him into their forces. He is a machine made for war, to fight something far larger than him and has proven it time again by slaying soldiers from both sides, he doesn’t care, only that there is carnage. So Megatron would try to recruit him, maybe he tries at first by sending Starscream, the tiny bot has wings, maybe he’s a seeker, except Starscream barely escapes alive. He thinks of everything to get the tiny machine to join, he’s tiny, Soundwaves cassettes are roughly his size, maybe they can convince him (Soundwave barely held himself back from killing both Megatron and V1), one eye? Shockwave, try to relate! Surprisingly enough the two had a pleasant conversation, no one knows what they talked about but it ended up being a failure. 

Megatron would throw anything and everything into trying to get V1, he even talked to him himself! But I think it probably annoyed him more than anything, this would likely result in him attacking the Decepticons (Megatron) more often with each failed attempt and he still refuses to take a hint. The Autobots are just glad they haven't pissed V1 off to warrant the same treatment, if they did the war would end with V1 on top.

I won’t say much on the humans but that Sam would start crying himself asleep with all that happens in his life, dawg just wanted the girl before everything went down. What I will talk about is who he’d get along with.

As previously stated, V1 and Shockwave would get along, the two don’t really care about anything, V1 just wants fuel to live and doesn’t care where it comes from and Shockwave does whatever is logical. The conversation they had was mainly about their respective situation, V1 told him how he took down hell and how blood is his fuel and Shockwave tells him about Megatron's intentions and how he knows it won’t work. When he is told about V1’s condition he lingers on it for a while before offering a possible solution, he knows V1 won’t join but if he ever does he could (try to) fix his fuel situation. The image of the two of them silently judging everyone is hilarious to me. Part of me really wants everyone to think Shockwave is following Soundwave’s example with the cassettes, V1 just appearing around Shockwave exclusively, no one knows how it happens (V1 is just hanging on his back like a gremlin).

I feel like based on the last paragraph the only one V1 would be down to fight with or actively seek out would be Shockwave, his love language is violence, he will fight both with and against him. I feel like Shockwave’s way to show the closest thing to affection would be him actually finding a way around V1’s need for blood and probably installing the new system in so he wouldn’t need to only rely on blood. I feel like maybe to show that they respect each other's interests that maybe V1 lets Shockwave study him while Shockwave practices combat with V1, maybe neither of them really push the other into things they don’t want to because they get each other with their own respective one-track mindsets.

If we go with the Shockwave and V1 friendship, we can go with the little rumor thing to reach Soundwave and the cassettes, he likely wouldn’t believe it so it’d be up to the cassettes to actually check it out, minus whichever ones were sent by Megatron to recruit him. I feel like Soundwave wouldn’t like V1 because he harmed his cassettes but the dude is so small and an absolute menace, he is now also protected by Shockwave and desired by Megatron so he can’t do anything. If Soundwave grows to like him he will be fighting Shockwave for custody (It’s one sided but Soundwave is still losing).

Those two are the only ones I can think of right now because I’m going to do the Gabriel version. So the start is different because now V1 isn’t alone and has his boyfriend (He is gonna kill him) so wherever he starts and regardless of the state Gabriel is tagging along and it affects everything. If they end up on Cybertron then they have to hide, the only way for V1 to refuel would be to rely on Gabriel, they’d be hiding and the only one who could get information would have to be V1 who, as I’ve kept mentioning, is very small. It would be harder to hide with Gabriel in the middle of the war because the dude fucking glows so the nightlight needs to turn off. If it’s earth then the image of a (bloody) Angel and War Machine would terrify the humans so they are kinda hiding.

The thing with Gabriel is that he is a fucking angel so it kinda changes the direction the story could go so they’d likely help the Autobots more. I do think the two would be neutral for the most part but Gabriel would prefer the Autobots but will fight them when he feels it’s needed. I also like to imagine him straight up destroying Optimus in a fight, in this case I’m thinking of the movies with how unhinged he gets.

I think everyone would be confused with the duo as one is a killing machine and the other is an angel, both look similar to either themselves or humans but they are neither. I think some would be curious of them since nothing like them exists, and if they get along then they get even more confused because is this normal where you come from? No? Then why the hell are you two getting along? I think many would want to see what Gabriel can do since all the humans they know don’t have any wings or wear any armor but he would remove it so no one knows what he looks under it. They’d be curious because he kinda looks like he could be a Cybertronian but he isn’t, he can’t even transform but he beats the hell out of so easily, like the war they have been fighting for who knows how long now is nothing but practice.

I think human wise things change a little because if it’s just V1 then if he’s spotted then they’d try to contain and study him, he appears before them and spotted then governments know that there is something out there and want it for themselves. If he is spotted after they appear then the government would think that V1 is another that is closer to their height, they’d likely try to make him join the Autobots if they work with them or in some iterations then they would try to kill him or use him against both factions. With Gabriel if one is spotted then they’re both in trouble, same thing applies here but if Gabriel is spotted then many are going to be questioning the existence of God if it’s a civilian. While it would happen within governments this universe will or already has shown that there are many things out there so an angel isn’t too far fetched. If Gabriel and V1 are found before they arrive and it was by the public then I think many religious people would fight the government if they tried to capture him and start a whole new problem so now there are two civil wars going on. Honestly I am just here for the chaos but I think everyone who’d try to capture either of them couldn’t do it since they are both perfectly capable at handling themselves but can rely on the other so they will wreck everyone’s shit.

I would like it to be known that the original thought process from the paragraphs came from me imagining the human companions' reactions at seeing Gabriel and like to think that the younger ones like asking the two questions (maybe it becomes another reason that they tend to prefer the Autobots).

I didn’t mention this earlier cause I wanted to think of something with Gabriel as well but I think the two would get along with the seekers. Yes, this is a reason for me to talk about Starscream. How did you know? Anyway, I just think the idea of these two being faster and stronger than him would piss him off, especially since Megatron really wants V1 and keeps sending him to recruit him. I just like the thought of them challenging each other or having V1 accidentally teach him. I say this because V1 is a wild card, he’s fast and efficient and has experience fighting creatures they wouldn’t imagine so he would have a completely different style and moves from anything they’re familiar with. I feel like this kinda stimulates Starscream's mind and occupies it as he no longer focuses as much on trying to kill Megatron but how to counter V1 and finally beat him. Starscream would have someone that challenges him and V1 would have someone to look forward to fighting as the other learns. That and I want to see Starscream get upset as they’re fights  of recruitment turn into sparring and playful competitions. Though I don’t think Starscream would ever admit, not even to himself, that they are friends but V1 has no issue and is very willing to kill Megatron if he tries anything that may prevent their sparring.

Now to the Gabriel part which is pretty much the same as V1 but I think Gabriel would teach him more on purpose unlike V1. Maybe he can help Starscream with a redemption arc or help him kill Megatron because that is not what a leader should do. I don’t think the two would be as friendly as V1 and Starscream but I think the two would be on decent terms, while Starscream is prideful he is smart, he adapts and grows stronger each time the two fight and despite how he is treated by Megatron sometimes he still sticks to the cause. Gabriel would respect him more than some Decepticons but is still willing to kill him if he crosses the line, he will guide him and nothing more. I was originally gonna write more Starscream and Gabriel than Starscream and V1 but I guess my brain prefers seeing Starscream getting his ass kicked for funsies.

Point is, V1 can get his blood and be the war machine he was made to be, shenanigans can ensue, Shockwave and V1 would be terrifying together, Megatron is never getting V1, Starscream gets bullied but doesn’t even care at this point, and both Gabriel and V1 would absolutely turn any iteration of Transformers on it’s head and could probably end the war by themselves.

[katerinaaqu]

Well I can understand why people who want to interpret a character a certain way they do so (don't care for their sexual orientation one can have a variety of opinions regardless. I for once love exploring possibilities regardless on my personal choices in partners and so do many people)

Anyways I get it and honestly ancient literature especially late antiquity and hellenistic times is rich to provide with new possibilities that were not necessarily part of the original lore. For example one thing that comes to my mind is the example of Orestes and Pylades. In most part of Greek literature we know them for their tender friendship and their supportive family relations. However the roman time poet Lucian included them to his "Erotes" so the phenomenon is not new either

But that being said I think we are awfully influenced by modern day ideas in regards to warm words and tenderness and we mostly relate them to romance while in antiquity it was not necessarily so especially so far back.

And I fully agree and it hurts me too. It is as if family or friendship are now held as less important or not valid of interpretation or worse that every time someone mentions friendship that they are trying to promote some propaganda against romance. Any type of "close friendship" mention oftentimes being mocked as a euphemism of romance or sexual love and yes the explanation that "one wouldn't say/do this to someone who is a friend" as you brilliantly said as if "different type of love" means lesser. As if somehow romance is the only ultimate form of love. As if others don't matter. And that is what bothers me the most among others of course.

You did a very good job and I definitely appreciate your contribution. I am honored it helped you exoress yourself. It is important.

Honestly I feel sorry for people who think the ultimate devotion and the need to provide someone with the sun and stars is something you only do to romantic partners and not to friends and family...

[island-in-the-shadows]

I absolutely get the takes that Oliver never really knew Felix. Just knew some sort of idealised version of him. And there is credence to it. However, I think it's a little bit more complex.

I think Oliver did know Felix. I think that Felix probably told him things he hadn't told anyone else. It's easier to open up to people you've just met about some things than it is to open up to someone you've known a long time. You don't want relatives to know certain things or you don't want them to judge you. We see conversations that they have but we don't hear them. We're not privy to what they say to each other. Why is that? Simple. Oliver doesn't want us to know.

Everything is coloured by Oliver being an unreliable narrator. Felix, in particular, is inexorably coloured by the deep and complicated love Oliver has for him, by his nostalgia, and by his anger and frustration. But it's also coloured by Oliver's perceived possession of Felix.

As much as, from what we see (if we take it at face value), Felix is clearly possessive of Oliver, so to Oliver is possessive of Felix. We see it again and again. Hell, (imo) the ending of the film is not so much about possessing Saltburn as just real estate and social status, etc. as it is about possessing Saltburn as an extension of Felix. And this possession colours the narrative. Even if he's telling this to a comatose Elspeth. In Oliver's mind, his claim over Felix supersedes Elspeth's even though she is Felix's mother.

So it's not that he didn't know Felix. It's that we don't know Felix. We never really do. We see bits of him. But it's because we are not allowed to know him. Oliver does not want us to know him. His Felix--God and human, perfection and foible alike--is not for us. He never could be. Oliver would never allow it.

[goldensunset]

when people refer to canon story-relevant kingdom hearts games as ‘spinoffs’ it makes me sad not only for the obvious reasons i always say but also bc like man i WISH this series had spinoffs. imagine what they could do if they had permission from nomura to truly go off the rails and ignore the greater canon for a second and just do some fun whimsical plotless thing in an alternate universe. imagine a fishing/boating game on destiny islands. kh fighting game. it is an injustice that we have been deprived of kingdom karts. can anyone hear me