#i love his dynamic with so many of the characters in the show

[goodluckclove]

Hi good morning I had no intention of adding onto this again but I have been a playwright for years and I do need to jump in and say that any use "show don't tell" has in a stage play is entirely different from prose.

Playwrights can be sparse with stage directions. Some don't use them at all. Theater is heavily collaborative and something like that is often appealing to directors. I would say in many cases you're absolutely right in that it's "all in the dialogue".

There's still things you can show in dialogue, though. When you're talking in life to your hypothetical best friend from childhood you might not say "we've been best friends since childhood". Expressing something like that might look more like this:

You're charming when you want to be. I mean, you made a great first impression when we first met.

What, you really remember that?

I do! From the moment I saw you, I thought to myself - wow. This is a person -

Toddler.

This is a person who knows all about what's really going on. That's what I thought, I swear to God.

Cohesive insight for someone still in diapers.

Thank you.

Maybe not my best work since I'm still wonky from surgery recovery. And obviously that's only one example of the ways you can show a dynamic and the history of two characters without straight up dropping.

But at the same time, there's absolutely a place in plays for showing through dialogue. There's a place for straight up just explaining what's going on. Direct exposition drops can absolutely be executed in a way that works seamlessly for an audience - the approach just depends on the context of the scene.

Also, one writer to another, I invite you to not fear writing clumsy dialogue. Because you're going to. You're going to write really shit dialogue and that's entirely unavoidable. It's good, though! Because the alternative to that for a newer writer often means not writing at all, and the best way to be a better writer is to write a lot of kind of mid to trash material and not consider it a reflection of your worth as a human being.

This is the first addition to this post that has warranted an actual ramble for me (usually I see them and go yeah mood amen in my head), because I have great affection for playwrights and also I love love love writing dialogue. I'm often told it's my strongest quality as a writer, but for as long as I've been doing this I absolutely will still write a line that doesn't work. Ours is a craft with a perpetual failure rate, and that has little to do with you.

It does lessen the more you practice, so you should practice. Write something that might be kind of shit! It's healthy for the immune system. Keeps the bowls circulating.

(also if you ever want feedback on your play I'd be so down I love playwrights)

hi it's me. "telling" in writing is sometimes fine. if you think a scene is better served by summarizing a character's reaction in plain, direct language, that's a thing you're allowed to do. you could consider elaborating from that direct language and using that to "show".

but like "show, don't tell" is absolutely not always the case unless you really want to buff out your word count. i had a writer early on quote "show, don't tell" to me when i showed her a scene that included what was essentially a set-piece character i described as a "sleepy-eyed dancer". she wanted me to spend time describing this character's exhaustion instead of just directly saying it. This dancer - who is referenced once in the initial description of a setting and never, ever shows up again.

that was probably the day i learned that you can hear writing advice and respond politely but quietly think "mm no". you can also do this.

(feel free to fight me in the comments but know that i despise catchy and generalized writing advice like this and the way it can hinder new writers when stated with no room for exploration. and i will die on this hill. i am not normal about this)

[sidemari]

• Claimed •

NSFW headcanons of how having sex with them would be.

Characters included: John "Soap" MacTavish, Keegan P. Russ, König and Simon “Ghost” Riley [separately] x Fem!Reader

TW: Bondage; breeding kink; choking; creampie; edging; hate sex; jealousy sex; marking (hickeys, etc); masturbation; sub/dom dynamics; oral sex (F/M receiving); riding; slapping; praise kink, unprotected sex. Let me know if I missed anything. 

A COD post you may like.

John "Soap" MacTavish

He's the perfect balance between dominant and submissive. 

Usually when he comes home from a mission, exhausted and just wanting to spend time with you, he'll happily accept that you take the reins — sex will be calmer, more intimate and romantic in this case. But if he is well rested or even frustrated or riled up enough, he will be the one in control and will put aside his chill personality for a few moments. His main goal is to show he's the one in charge, the one exploiting your every weakness until you're broken.

Still on the subject of coming back home after missions, he gets clingy and horny when he's sleepy. There were many times when his hands roamed your hips and thighs as you cuddled, his fingertips slowly stimulating the right spots to make your desire awaken. Your hand, in turn, began to stimulate his already hard cock — restricted only by his sweatpants and nothing else — while you kissed his neck. A few seconds tended to pass before his hand guided yours inside his pants, allowing you to touch his cock: long, throbbing, dripping with pre-cum and crying out for attention. 

He has a thing for positions where he can see your back and ass. His hands usually settle on your thighs as he pulls you against him, firm, rhythmic, and with each thrust, the sound of your bodies mingled with the muffled moans and the muffled sound of the bed beneath you. A soft smack would echo in the room — a tender slap, but full of desire, causing you to beg him to keep going. He would repeat it, more eagerly, watching your skin flush beneath his fingers. This isn’t about sex anymore — it is about dominance mixed with affection, intensity tinged with respect. 

You were lying on your side, the sheets pulled up to your waist, and the curve of your body cast soft shadows in the low light of the lamp. He approached you from behind, his fingers slowly sliding over the skin of your back, tracing silent paths.

“I like seeing you like this.” He murmured, his voice husky against the back of your neck. “All mine...”

You sighed, closing your eyes as he wrapped his body around yours, fitting himself inside of you slowly, as if each movement had weight, intention. One of his hands held your waist firmly; the other moved down your arm, until his fingers intertwined with yours, sealing their intimacy in silence.

You squeezed his hand tighter, and he understood the message.

The thrusts became deeper, harder and faster — until you both were a moaning mess. 

"Yeah, give it all to me, love..."

"J-Johnny— Fuck..." Your body obliged his words. 

Keegan P. Russ

He likes to physically restrain you during sex so that he has complete control of you. If you get frustrated with his need for control, it only makes him even more satisfied.

If he chose to use ropes, he would start with your wrists. Bondage wasn't just about restraint; it was about trust. His fingers would slide firmly but gently, wrapping your arms behind your back. Each knot was tied with care and tested with delicacy. By the time he was finished, you’d be already panting, even without a more intimate touch.

Definitely uses his praise kink skills to his advantage. He would mumble compliments and sweet nothings while doing the most sinful things to you. Every time you obeyed his orders without blinking, every time you made an effort to make him feel good, you would be rewarded. 

Jealousy is a common cause of intense sex scenes between you. Keegan is a healthy boyfriend, but jealousy can quickly develop within his heart, and often the most effective way to resolve these feelings is by fucking the frustration away. Many times he wouldn't see you as the sweet girl he asked out, but as someone who deserves to be punished, especially if someone looked at you with ulterior motives or touched you without him expecting it. He knows that it is not your fault, but the need to show the world that you belong to him speaks louder. This leads him to mark your body in many different ways, whether with hickeys — you've had situations like someone from the squad asking you where those marks came from more times than you'd like to admit — or even with his own cum — several times you had to pretend that everything was under control while talking to your superiors as you felt his cum dripping out of you. 

You belong to each other, and no one can change that.

You had argued due to his stupid jealousy once again.

He approached slowly, stopping behind you. His hands rested firmly on your waist. You didn’t move away. The air between you was charged — with anger, with desire, with unspoken love. When he pressed his lips to your bare shoulder, you shivered. It was the kind of touch that said “listen to me” without words.

“You annoy me deeply.” He murmured, his voice hoarse, restrained.

You answered him still harshly, but your eyes already betrayed your surrender.

“Then show me.”

The kiss came like a snap — urgent, deep, desperate. He pulled you tightly by the waist, pressing your body against his. His hands slid down your thighs, lifting the fabric of your clothes carelessly. There was frustration there, yes. But more than that, there was a desire to resolve this in the most primal way you knew how.

He turned you against the wall with a sure movement, his body pressing against yours from behind, the penetration coming quickly, full of urgency as you surrendered yourself, pushing your hips back, seeking more, feeling alive under the dominion of his touch.

“You are mine… only mine.” 

Your bodies were slamming against each other, your moans were being muffled by kisses, his hand, and the way his mouth claimed yours.

When you came, it was as if all the rage evaporated. Keegan came soon after, buried deep inside of you, still pressing you against the wall, your hearts beating as one.

“You better don't let anyone else touch you again.” He muttered seriously.

König 

This man is a sucker for going down on you. He loves the way you shiver every time his tongue stimulates your clit while his fingertips keep brushing against the most sensitive spot within you. You arched your body as you felt his tongue teasing, firm and attentive, as if it knew exactly what you needed. He watched you break as he brought you over the edge again and again, savoring every sigh, every tremor. When you pulled him to you, there was no more distance, just the fusion of the two of you — skin against skin, desire against desire.

He definitely has a thing for cumming inside you. He finds it so intimate, so warm and so delicious that it's hard for him to hold back. You didn’t take long to start suspecting that maybe, just maybe, he may have a breeding kink, and you keep teasing him about it, not only by allowing him to fill you up completely with his cum every single time you two have sex, but also by preventing him from pulling out of you (the few times his self control wins) by wrapping your legs tightly around his waist as you whisper to him that you need to feel his seed inside of you. 

Edging is common with him. He kisses your neck, your shoulders, the curve of your breasts, while his hands explore the contours of your body with care and firmness. His fingers touch you with a calculated rhythm, alternating softness and intensity, exploring limits. And every time you thought relief would come, he would stop — just for a few seconds — just to hear you beg for more as you became more sensitive, more surrendered, more vulnerable to pleasure. He wouldn't let you escape — his eyes fixed on yours, attentive to every reaction. When he finally penetrated you, you were already trembling. Each movement of his passed through you like a wave, and your body responded with broken moans and meaningless whispers. He smiled against your skin — he knew the power he had. And then, when the climax arrived, it was as if the world had dissolved. You came undone in his arms, your body writhing in spasms of pleasure, your mind blank, filled only with the sensation of his touch — present, absolute, necessary.

The night was advancing in silence, and the room was all darkness and slow breathing. The sheets were warm from the heat of your bodies, and there you were, intertwined, naked, cuddling each other, as if you didn't want time to pass. You felt his chest pressed against your back, his arms wrapped around you carefully, his legs tangled with yours.

Still half asleep, you smiled when you felt his lips brush the back of your neck — a light kiss, almost shy, but full of intention.

There were no words, just a gesture. He gasped, trying to stifle a moan that insisted on leaving his lips as you stimulated the tip of his cock with your index finger — slowly, steady and hot.  

"Fuck, that's good—" 

"Shh, let me make you feel good while you relax." Your hands stroked his cock as his moans were soft, lazy, mixed with low chuckles of disbelief and stray kisses on the shoulder. 

"I... I don't deserve you…" His cock throbbed, you knew he was close. 

"C-Can I cum inside you? Please, I-I..." He whimpered, a sincere plea written in his words. You smiled with a half smile, straddling his lap before burying him completely inside you.

“Fill me up completely… I want to feel you dripping out of me later.”

“F-Fuck, liebling—” He pulled you against his body as he came while your own orgasm slowly faded as your walls accepted his essence. “I love you, meine Liebe.” 

Simon “Ghost” Riley 

He is still relatively reserved even after months of relationship, but there is no lack of intensity and connection between you.

Having sex with him is not only a carnal experience, but an emotional one. Every sensation, stimulus, kiss, touch, and word makes you experience the best that life has to offer: pure satisfaction.

Among the habits he has during sex, the delicious way he squeezes your neck with his hand or even with his biceps is by far one of the best sensations he can give you. It is absurdly good to feel lightheaded while you see his blurred figure above you due to the tears of pleasure as he pounds his cock inside you just the way that makes you melt under him.

He changes the rhythm, depth, and strength of his thrusts without failing with his movements even once. Maybe he has become addicted to seeing how you whimper and shudder when the thrusts that were until then slow and deep become shallower, stronger, and faster.

Any position that allows him to see your face while you have sex is ideal for him. It’s not uncommon for Simon to pull you in for a slow, intimate kiss when he’s close to cumming, filled with silent adoration 

He tends to be more dominant in bed; let’s face it, that’s his personality. But if you ever feel like taming him is a good option, he won’t hesitate to obey you: he welcomes every stimulus you give him with pleasure, making sure to be a good boy for the one he loves so much.

He hugged you from behind, murmuring something unintelligible in your ear before picking you up and placing you on the kitchen counter.

“S-Simon…” He took you by surprise. You were cooking breakfast for the two of you when he showed up, wearing only sweatpants, his hair disheveled, his eyes full of sleep, and his voice hoarse.

“You got out of bed...” He murmured again, and this time you understood it perfectly. “...and left me there, alone.” Your boyfriend pressed wet kisses against your neck, moving down to one of your breasts. The tip of his thumb caressed your nipple above the fabric of your shirt, making it hard and sensitive enough to make you whimper.

“The pancakes… they’re going to get cold.” You murmured, squirming in anticipation as your shorts were pulled down with absurd ease. You didn’t care about that food; you just wanted to have sex with him right there. It was bizarre how he could get you in the mood in a matter of seconds.

Kneeling down, he kissed the inside of your thigh before murmuring against your skin.

“I feel like eating something else before breakfast.” You blushed, avoiding eye contact with him. “Look at me,” He asked, his voice low and firm. 

“I want to see your face while I eat you out.” You obeyed. And right there, on the kitchen counter, he began. His tongue was precise, careful and, at the same time, full of intention. He explored every part as if he had all the time in the world — as if he were memorizing your taste. You moaned, your fingers going to his hair, gripping it as if that anchored you to reality. But he only chuckled softly against your folds.

You tried to close your legs as the wave of pleasure began to take over, but he held you even tighter, his dark eyes fixed on you.

“Don't. I want to see everything. I want to feel you cum in my mouth.” The cold marble contrasted with the heat of the moment, and between sighs, contained moans and the firmness of his hands, you knew — you would never be able to touch that counter again without remembering how he made you cum there.

[heliianth]

Hi, I saw your repost of @i-heart-hxh and wanted to ask you a question of why you consider the zoldycks patriarchal in nature. Someone here pointed out that while the ones with the most authority in the family are indeed men (silva, zeno, killua who is a boy who is the heir, etc.) they aren't explicitly sexist in nature because means they would hate any sort of non gender conformity. They allow kalluto to dress in feminine clothing, illumi to have his pseudo sexual alliances with hisoka, and the alluka misgendering seems to come more out of fear of her then explicit transphobia (still not okay though, obviously). Of course, this is assuming that gender norms are the same in hxh verse/Japan (I think the wiki says that japanese boys used to dress like kalluto did?) or that the zoldycks are just androcentric but not necessarily sexist/homophobic. Sorry for the wordy post, just wanted to see your pov.

Hi thanks for asking !!!!

I'm not sure how organized this will be because I have a lot of thoughts. First I want to talk about how Kikyo is treated.

Here we can hear Kikyo's thoughts on it herself—"No one ever asks me first!" The context is that Zeno is releasing Killua from his cell, and she's lamenting that he just does it without her permission. This is of course because Zeno ranks above her. But the way she says it—"ever"—implies this is a reoccurring problem, that her views or opinions (maybe just on parenting, maybe in general) are frequently dismissed or minimized.

There is also the case that Milluki is deliberately made a mama's boy in order to make his character more comical, or to degrade him in the eyes of the audience.

This attitude toward Kikyo seems pretty pervasive to me as well. The butlers don't seem to think too highly of her—I showed this panel ^ in my response. At the very least, Tsubone doesn't seem to be fond and considers her lesser than Silva or Zeno, probably in regards to composure and conduct.

This exchange also colors my perception of Kikyo's place in the family. Viz translates it a little differently than the 2011 anime, which I watched first. I went back to grab the raws for it and double check, as is responsible when there's a translation discrepancy like that.

This is how Viz translates it:

Now in the 2011 anime, Silva is a lot more vulgar—or harsh, I suppose—to Kikyo. I recall he tells her to shut her trap, or to stop whining, or something similar. That is actually the more accurate translation.

This is the extracted raw text:

Silva: しばらく好きにさせとけよ Kikyo: だめよ何言ってるの (next bubble ->) キルが立派な後継者になれるかどうか今が一番大切な時期なのよ Silva: わかってるじゃねーか (next bubble ->) じゃあつべこべ言わず黙ってろ

It's the final bubble which conveys that vulgarity.

DeepL's translation gives: "Then shut the fuck up and keep your mouth shut," and when both speech bubbles are conjoined, it gives "You know what I'm talking about, so why don't you shut the fuck up?"

QuillBot's results are pretty similar: "You get it, so stop whining and just be quiet."

What a way to speak to your wife, huh? Killua's little mental chart in the Election Arc shows that he seems to think they love each other, but Killua is also an unreliable narrator when it comes to his family's dynamics. In fact, Killua himself also reflects this attitude—he's very dismissive of her. He openly threatens Kikyo on multiple occasions and calls her annoying, etc. He also canonically has behavioral problems around older women who hold authority over him. This is probably learned behavior, mirroring the way other people treat his mother. It just sort of adds to the idea that she's not very well respected.

Now, maybe this is just because Kikyo married in. Maybe if Silva had a sister or something, she would be treated better. All we can do is speculate on that, but everything with Kikyo is canon.

When it comes to the issue of gender nonconformity, it's way more vague and up in the air. I think I see it differently than many people. We don't know much about Kalluto, but he's introduced as joined at the hip with Kikyo, and Killua seems to think they love each other. Though as we've established, he's not the best source.

However, he is practically the only source just because we see so little of Kalluto.

My interpretation is that Kikyo dresses up Kalluto in clothes she likes herself, or at least heavily influences his style, because they are so close. It may be because Kikyo has such little respect, that she clings onto Kalluto, her youngest. If that wasn't the case, Kalluto might dress differently.

I went to search the HxH fandom wiki for something similar to what you said and found this in the trivia section: "The furisode was born in the mid-1500s as a garment for both male and female children of middle- and upper-class families. Only around the 20th century did it become a strictly feminine type of kimono, although gender differences existed before that. Therefore, Kalluto's choice of clothing could be in keeping with his mother's tastes since she was introduced wearing a very outdated (by real-world standards) bustle gown. / How the obi (sash) is worn can depend on the wearer's sex where wearing around waist is done by males, while wearing underneath the breasts is done by females."

There's no citation so I did a cursory google search, and this information seems to come from the wikipedia page on the furisode, which elaborates: "According to one 17th century text, boys could wear furisode until their 18th year, or until they went through their coming-of-age ceremony, which usually occurred in late adolescence. Girls were supposed to cease wearing the furisode upon marriage, or upon reaching their 20th year.[4] Initially, furisode did not differ noticeably between the sexes, but fabric designs started to become more gendered in the 19th century.[5] In the 20th century, furisode became restricted to women and girls only, as part of the increasing gender-specificity of children's clothing that developed in the wake of Western influence.[6]".

So in the case of the Zoldyck family, I do believe that Kalluto's is moreso a case of tradition, rather than gender nonconformity. But that's not to say this is the only interpretation. I think it's reasonable to conclude Kalluto dresses like that himself, considering he continues to do so once joining the Phantom Troupe. Again, all we can do is speculate.

I admit my conclusions on Illumi are similar, we just don't have enough information. Based off what I know and can remember, I'm not even sure if the Zoldycks are aware he's technically engaged to Hisoka, though I could definitely be wrong (because Hisoka hired him, right?). I also fail to see how their relationship would be a problem before that engagement—I never got homoromantic vibes between them beforehand. I know people do ship them. It just goes over my head I suppose.

As it pertains to Alluka, it's very hard to say whether Nanika is the cause for their transphobia because Nanika is effectively the vehicle that creates an allegory for transness in the first place. We can't exactly ask, "If Alluka didn't have Nanika but was still trans, would the Zoldycks accept her?" because, again, Nanika is the way the Togashi has decided to deal with these themes. Nanika is the transness and within the allegory, the Zoldycks (minus Killua) are transphobes. It's also worth it to point out that Illumi uses 「弟おとうと 」 (otouto—younger brother) when referring to Alluka, which doesn't seem to me to be a result of fear the way the English pronoun "it" might be. More info on gendered terms in reference to Alluka in this google doc.

Finally, the values of the Zoldyck family in of themselves are sexist. They clearly value physical strength, obedience, and disparage empathy/compassion. Killua is considered "weak-minded" "moody" or "erratic" (depending on your translation of 「でも暗殺者としては失格だよムラッ気があってさ 」) for his kindness and rejection of his hierarchical power in favor of his desire for connection.

These are not inherently female traits and I'm not trying to say they are, but within sexist society, they are perceived as feminine, meaning women are devalued and men are ridiculed for displaying them. Women in the Zoldyck family are given respect and power in regards to their proximity to traditional masculinity—strength, loyalty, maybe whether they are blood-related to the current head of House—and obedience to the family. In my eyes there's clearly a misogyny problem here.

I do believe that if a woman happened to be the strongest of the Zoldycks, she would be head of House. I've previously said in a genderbend scenario with Killua as a cis girl, I believe she'd still be heir. But I also believe she'd have more familial expectations in regards to dress and conduct—not too masculine because that's queer, but not too feminine or else that's weak. Maybe patriarchal was too strong of a word because it implies there's some rule that the male father is always on top, regardless of strength. But you see what I'm saying, right?

Hopefully this clarifies my stance :3

[the-whole-thing-through]

I know this is kinda just a joke, but actually, I really want to ask ppl who say that killing Foggy was the right decision and that the show had to make a bold move, and that it's "realistic" and that Matt Murdock is a character defined by pain and loss and tragedy....how would you end the story? Like seriously, what do you think would be a satisfactory ending for this new Daredevil series? Because it WILL end, but the characters won't, they will remain.

I've said this ad nauseam on reddit, but the way that the OG series ended at season 3, with that last remaining shot of Nelson, Murdock and Page together, was, to me, the BEST possible ending for that show and for these characters. An absolute masterpiece. God, just thinking about it gives me a warm glow in my chest. Despite being canceled in its prime, with more stories to tell, they managed to deliver to the audience literally the most satisfactory ending that was possible. NM&P. All three together. All three looking forward to a bright future together. Finally united in honesty, understanding, and trust. Mutual love and affection. Each three with their roles and their parts to play: the vigilante, the lawyer and the investigator. Each of equal importance to one another, nobody considered less important to the narrative.

I appreciate the way that the creators chose to end the show with the Matt/Karen romance open ended and ambiguous, although I know many shippers disagree with me. Not only would it have felt unearned to have Matt and Karen shown as explicitly together in that last moment, it also would have retracted from the overarching theme and message of the show, which is what we see in the last shot: it's Nelson, Murdock, and Page. They had to be apart in order to realize that all three of them are better working together. The golden trio. The holy trinity. Having the ending be Matt/Karen oh and Foggy, like he's an afterthought or a third wheel, was clearly something that they were trying to avoid, and they were right to do so. The OG showrunner and writers NEVER disrespected Foggy or treated him as a joke or "just" the comics relief. He was a main character with his own love interest, his own plot line, his own family and friends and support system. And he is VITAL to the overall dynamic, and to Matt's happiness. Which brings me to my main point.

Matt cannot be happy without Foggy, period. If Foggy is permanently dead, then the ending for DDBA is already torched. Whatever it is, it can't ever REALLY be satisfactory. To the people who say that it's "realistic" I mean, yeah, maybe. But is it satisfactory? If the show ends, and Matt is back to just being Daredevil, exactly as he was in the beginning, but no Foggy, it's an obvious downgrade to what we had before, no? I have no idea why the writers of DDBA want to torch their own projected ending in such a fashion. It's like aspiring that your assignment will get, at best, a C+ instead of an A.

I'm sure many ppl will be happy no matter what if their fav ship ends up working out, but even then, it's STILL only a glass half full situation. If the show ends with just Murdock and Page, but no Nelson, something is still going to be missing, and that something is Foggy Nelson. I don't for a second believe that either Matt OR Karen will ever truly be completely happy after Foggy's death. People discount Karen and Foggy's relationship, but he was her best friend, her surrogate brother, who supported her after Matt's "death." Who immediately stepped up to be her lawyer and confidant after she told him about killing Wesley. Who never once judged her or made her feel less than.

Asking for the audience to be ok with some sort of projected "Happily Ever After" ending without the beating heart of Daredevil is an insane ask, truly, and I honestly don't think that those who are unconcerned about Foggy's death, or who think that the show did it "right" have given any thought to just HOW this story can possibly end. Thinking that Matt would ever be truly ok again after losing Foggy, or that he could ever have a happy ending, just fundamentally gets Matt's character, and the entire show of Daredevil, wrong. Daredevil is not the story of a man who loses everything and perseveres despite it all. Its the story of a man who perseveres despite it all, BECAUSE he still has something left to lose. Karen and Foggy are the heart and soul of Daredevil, and the heart and soul of Matt's world. Take out one, and the entire thing topples like a house of cards. If the new show runner doesn't understand this (and it's seeming more and more like he just doesn't get Matt at all) then I give up. Just toss the entire thing in the trash at that point.

marvel saw these scenes and said "what if we make everyone miserable?"

[mazzystar24]

The amount of people that I block after latest episode is shocking. I don't think some people were this angry after 7x04 when Buck hurt Eddie.

No cause literally let’s talk about it.Bobby has blown up on scenes and thrown buck into a wall, chimney has punched buck in the face, buck sprained Eddie’s ankle

They’ve all said or done things when going through stuff, does it make those actions good? No but it is realistic and people don’t always deal with things the best, characters shouldn’t be perfect- in fact they are best when they’re flawed and layered

Besides let’s reflect and compare real quick Eddie, what? Said some mean things while grieving the death of a close friend and got in bucks space a little and put a hand on his shoulder (things that he has done in other contexts before and which buck is okay with) not even jostling buck or being the slightest bit rough in that touch and some of y’all are making it out like he went fight club on him

Neither is handling their grief great because who the fuck does but what’s important is the ability to recognise that and make amends after

I think all the Eddie is abusive narrative stems from a few things:

• ship discourse:

an attempt to be like see Eddie is abusive buck belongs with tommy, or like oh if tommy did that y’all would brand him an abuser which is like first of all baby girl no and its a weird conclusion and comparison to make second of all maybe you should be more concerned abt your mans being racist

“oh so it’s okay for Eddie to be mean when going through something but not okay for Tommy to protect himself from Gerard??” Everytime someone uses the protect himself or closeted defence for racism an Angel loses their wings cos it’s plain stupid and incorrect and I’ve already ranted abt it a million times so I’ll spare y’all this time

Also do I really need to say racism isn’t being mean or as their dear lfj said “teasing”

• tying in nicely - literally due to racism/stereotypes/ prejudice :

Of all these characters who’ve done or said bad shit when going through stuff let’s all take a quick look at which ones get bashed and dubbed abusers? The poc 🤩

One thing racists never are is slick with it

Many ppl have already made posts abt that so I’ll leave it there

• a fundamental misunderstanding of the characters, dynamics and even grief itself:

Again coming down to this idea of wanting perfect characters who never screw up or do wrong or thinking grief must only fit one little box or not understanding that the ability of buddie to literally show their absolute worst versions to eachother and for the other to see that version and still give so much grace and love and understanding and then make amends is what’s so compelling abt their dynamic

Anyways getting off the soapbox needed to rant abt this cos abhorrent takes are just ew

[para-shoelaces]

Just a silly ramble on some psycho-analysis on a few of the characters! Shrimpo, Glisten and Sprout!

———

- Shrimpo:

Anger issues and openly expressing it constantly tends to come to ppl as a coping mechanism, a protective defense because if you have a bigger bark than everyone else you will be heard no matter how small you are. I think his anger issues come from how small he is as well as just a cover, not being a main toon and likely having heavy difficulty making friends, being literally MADE to be the bully.. its all he has to be close to people in any resemblance of the word. I feel like he does like hating genuinely, because its protection. But he does get hurt when people distance back from him or actively ignore him. But that hurt turns around into begging for their attention to be heard how HE hates THEM so of COURSE HE ISNT MAD!!! Cause THEY SHOULD BE MAD!

I love him, I also have a hc that when he was made he was made like a stuffed animal basically so if he punches ppl it wouldnt actually hurt them in the slightest. So in any physical fights he carries contraband weapons or otherwise is demolished by other toons.

BUT… Finn saw how Shrimpo needs to take his anger out through words/actions and ever since realizing is one of the only toons to if hit by shrimpo, use his power (the water splash) to look like shrimpos fist sent him FLYING

Love Shrimpo….Anger is super difficult to deal with and being in a tiny body MADE to be harmless… he NEEDS to let it out through actions and words.

I like to think if he just had someone whod listen to him, overtime his harshness’ll simmer down into a genuine care as he gets quieter before building it up again. Hes terrible w/ words but his ACTIONS??? They speak SO loud.

———

-Glisten:

Glisten having CANONICAL self image issues is everything to me and you bet I took and ran with it, I LOVE THINKING ABOUT HIM!!!

I think he likely has RSD which he overcompensates for with a self inflated image, but in reality no matter how many compliments he receives it will never outweigh the perfect image bar he set for himself, something he will never be able to reach, always falling short and always desperately trying to cover up who he sees as useless for it </3

at the end of the day what really gets past that for him isnt just words but shows that he is enough just how he is. People seeing him not for the showstopper he wants to be but the quiet nerd with a love for reading and pretty things. I think he definitely hides parts of himself he thinks dont “fit his role” or are things to be ashamed about. But being seen for those things AND loved for those things is what’ll actually help him grow and he doesnt want to acknowledge that

———

-Sprout:

Fav main, I love thinking about his dynamic so much. Its so easy for ppl to just see him as the “helpful” one, but he is so much more than that lemmie tell you. He is overworked, and the only one causing that is himself. Constantly helping others at the expense of himself because he cant see that the true way to grow together is if you show your own insecurities in the process. He will rather die than show anyone if hes hurt, or if he needs help. He will mentally run himself into the ground just to get a glimpse of a friend smiling. But instead of focusing on himself, he does ANYTHING to avoid the building issues hes not confronting within himself, insecurities and shames. So he helps others, and NEEDS to keep his bakery exactly how he likes it. If anything is slightly amiss, if a friend is hurt? It is a personal failure for HIM. He stakes his own worth on his friends stabilities and its constantly to his own detriment

</3

———

Can you tell I love psychology?? VERY self indulgent ramble over, if theres any other toons you’re curious my thoughts on feel free to comment!

[jamtamart]

i wanted to add my thought process on this piece as i had such a blast painting it. i want to explore lawrence and vincents dynamic even more now that i've dipped my toes in

thoughts under the cut- its quite long so!

Theres not many individual elements actually in the piece to go over, but i wanted to talk about how i actually ended up painting the subjects as i did, as i was quite purposeful with the small amount of details i did end up using

So my very first point of inspiration was the fact that vincent discovers hes intersex through appendix surgery in the film. This detail always stuck out to me in multiple ways- its a very mundane way to discover something that, for vincent, could disrupt his very being- especially in comparison to the way he discovers it in the book, being injured in an explosion in Baghdad. When rewatching i kinda immediately made the connection between the placement of appendix surgery scars and the five holy wounds, specifically the one christ receives on the side of his chest from the holy lance.

From there i thought about the wound itself- what do i actually want to say by showing vincent like this? Theres the obvious generic connections of christ and sacrifice but i wanted to say something more, which is when i thought about thomas’ point of view in the room of tears.

Thomas has an interesting perspective. Thomas’ view of women and sexuality has always intrigued me, especially in the shadow of the institutional power dynamics that surround him and others in the church. Theres a lot i could say, but in the context of vincent, i always think about how he would see vincent after the room of tears. A man that was his brother, his equal, now his technical superior, is… something else? Thomas obviously has a very rudimentary an biased understanding of gender and sex, and its obvious in the room of tears scene he is grappling with this in real time. His ignorance towards women and his own desire almost manifests into denial of the new holy father. 

With this, i thought of doubting thomas. Kind of an obvious place to go when doing a depiction of christs side wound and you literally have a character called thomas whos whole thing is doubting his faith, but i wanted to do more with that!!!!!!!  i wanted to push the typical depiction of doubting thomas thrusting his hand into the side wound into something more sensual, intimate. lawrence’s denial of sexuality, especially how prevalent it is in the book, is so interesting to me.

I had recently read an article, which i’ll link at the end of this, that discussed the medieval depictions of these wounds and the uses behind them. What stood out to me was the discussion of sacred/secular imagery and how they were used as one in the same, both points in prayer. That love, romantic and sexual, could also be used in a sacrificial sense, forming union with christ. What got me even more was the imagery of jesus’ wounds given to women specifically. Prayer books that invited women to lick and touch his wounds, presumably having the books in their laps and they bent forward to engage with prayer. Images that put the women in jesus’ place, to experience the sin with the sacred. 

I highly recommend reading the article to get the full grasp of the details, but i felt as though this paired with a figure representing a doubting thomas spoke well to what i wanted. Lawrence is a man who is not sure he holds faith anymore, and yet still is ultimately defined by his faith, its everything he is. He goes to bed in the same pose he did as a boy to not give in to temptation, however over time its transformed into something else, something regretful. He holds so much desire, not necessarily in a lustful context, but desire manifests nevertheless. 

This is why i decided to depict lawrence not just touching vincents wound, but pulling it apart, consuming what it leaks. I wanted to place lawrence in a similar position to the aforementioned women (and men, though there is a focus on women having these personal pocket prayer books) and their personal prayers, subjecting himself to the wound, to vincent.

There is also evidence that historically the imagery of the side wound was purposefully made to resemble that of a vulva in places. This and the direction to directly interact with the wounds made me want to push the sacred/secular even more. I purposefully painted the innards of vincents wound to mimic this imagery, just so slightly. I didnt want it to be obviously in your face, more just so a subtle nod to the theming as a whole, as well as the fact that in the book its said vincent’s surgery was a clitoroplexy and labia fusion correction, different to the hysterectomy we’re told of in the film.  A quote in the mentioned article caught my eye, “looking down at the wound places the viewer in a similar position to christ on the cross… the female devotee is a hybrid herself; part christ, part grotesque; part male, part female.”.

I wanted to leave vincent’s gaze looking unimpressed, slightly uncomfortable. I think of how he’d feel in the papacy, unable to go home and resume his aid, surrounded by people that look up to him in a way he hadn’t experienced before. What he’d think of the man he believed should have been in his position kneeling in reverence, consuming whatever would come from him. 

Lawrences perspective in the piece is one of submitting to faith and attempting to connect to the unknown, his doubts pushing his desire. Vincent must bare himself open, prove his being and become an object of admiration. Though he is the holy father, he must also submit to the people. part christ, part grotesque; part male, part female.

the article here

doubting thomas

[hannibals-grahamcracker]

Hannigram Long Fanfic Review List!

I know there are only 2 fics on here right now, but if you've sent any long fics to my ask box, I promise I'm working on them! I have three different notes full of fics from specific blogs if you sent me more than one at a time!

These took forever to get around to, but I finally did it! Anyway, on with the post, please enjoy!

Reviews under the cut! :)

Like A Lucid Dream

Author: DruidGurl

Word count: 75,975

Summary: In the days following Will's fateful fall from the bluff, Molly Graham begins to understand the extent of her ignorance regarding Hannibal and Will's relationship. The discovery of her husband's deceit leads her to seek refuge and escape in their cottage in the mountains. There's only one problem: she's not the only one who is looking for a place to hide. - After the fall, Will and Hannibal rest, recover, and fall in love all over again... under the watchful eye of Will's wife. -

This was an absolute whirlwind to read. It's incredibly good, and I finished it in one day! Lots of emotions, complications, and changing dynamics. It leaves off on Molly getting her happy ending, which I appreciated. Molly gets too much hate sometimes, justice for my girl fr. I've been considering writing a fic featuring Molly, and this fic may have just convinced me to do so!

The Fault In My Code

Author: LiaS0

Word count: 90,434

Summary: Soulmate AU: Soulmates find their other half when they look into their eyes. After the next time they sleep, they wake with one eye the color of their intended. Will Graham avoids eyes. He's never wanted a soulmate, never wanted to be told by the universe who he was supposed to feel a connection to. He already struggles enough with connections, thank you very much. As a psychiatrist, he works with soulmates who have lost their other half through various means, part of a social system that regards the journey to your soulmate as the most important thing a person can do. Coerced by Jack Crawford to consult on a case where the assailant is targeting soulmates, Will finds himself turning to the notorious Dr. Lecter to gain insight on how he's choosing the soulmates to target. Things go horribly awry when he looks into Hannibal's eyes, though. The next morning, he wakes up with one eye blue, the other maroon. He's never wanted a soulmate, least of all one behind bars for murdering dozens of people and eating them. Hannibal thinks it's delightful -it's been dreadfully boring since he was locked up. Romance, thriller, mayhem, mystery, soulmate au with a realistic twist, and a grumpy Will Graham

Okay so I have a lot to say about this one, because it was very long and very detailed! I love details.

I love the allusions to Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon throughout this fic. I noticed it right away in chapter one, and I adored it instantly.

Looooove that Hannibal has maroon eyes like the books! This is one of my favorite things in fics, and I loved that it was included in this one. And the chapter names all having to do with the characters' eyes is brilliant in the context of this soulmate AU! Chapter 2 and 20 having the same title? Incredible.

I liked that many of the characters we know (and some from the books) make an appearance, and some of them even have different appearances from the show, i.e., their book appearances (namely Dolarhyde). This is the first Hannigram fic I've read that mentioned Barney (the orderly from SotL who helped Clarice Starling), and I found it very cool! I've always liked how Barney and Hannibal had a quiet respect for each other, and I wish they had interacted more in this fic.

I also found it interesting that Hobbs gave will the scar across his stomach, which to me has always been a symbol of Hannibal's claim over Will, something he left to mark him and remind him both of what he'd done to earn it and who it belonged to—who he belonged to. I just wanted to note that, because I'm me and I'm obsessive about Will Graham's scars.

I have very few complaints, the main one that comes to mind being that even in the end, Will doesn't accept the cannibalism (example: there's a comment about him being grateful that his meal is cow and not "pig"). We see Will (in the show) being momentarily shocked by it and somewhat repulsed, but then he goes right back to eating dinners with Hannibal and even providing human meat for him. At this point in the show, they've known each other for an estimated 10 ish months. In this fic, he also never fully accepts his Becoming and is still repulsed by his darkness and doesn't embrace who he is, even in light of who his soulmate is, and of having taken lives. This is obviously me being nitpicky, but I love to see a Will Graham who's sure of himself and who he is with Hannibal, and doesn't shy away from his cruelty and darkness. No hate to the author obviously, it's just my preference.

This was an incredibly well written fic, and I did very much enjoy it. I was less satisfied with the character development than I hoped to be, so I likely won't read it again, but I definitely will be recommending it to others! If you're looking for a Soulmate AU and you like the I Feel Your Pain/Your Emotions + the Hurting You Hurts Me Trope, this one is for you!

[gigi-does-art]

Jayce Talis, the love of my life and light to my soul <33333 Nobody in the fandom understands you like I do 😔 I’m back with another Arcane design, and had to do Jayce to match with Viktor. Even though I love Viktor a lot, Jayce is also a favorite that I love so much. I have no shame in admitting this, im a die hard Jayce fan. I adore that smart silly science man so much, he’s so intriguing and I find him so relatable and human. Wish the fandom wasn’t mean to him and actually understood his character and motives :(((((( Be nice to my little guy please 🥺 But yeah I love and adore Jayce 🥹🥹🥹

Design fact under the cut! It somewhat contains a spoiler but I still don’t want to spoil anyone in case they plan to watch season 2/haven’t finished it:

Design fact: He and Viktor share a butterfly motif on their cheeks (I’m going to update Viktor’s design in a bit) It represents the butterfly that appears for them constantly throughout the show and just demonstrates their connection between each other!

[c0wchickenbeefp0rk]

okay but can we talk about how ???? Lucius is with Edward? Like this man is a freak I can’t hold it in anymore. How did one episode make a man get revealed as a fucking freak in a way.

Ed has both gassed up a entire group of cops which made them fear about a poison threat he made up, held Lucius’s coworker hostage dangling over a flight of stairs, admitted to having something to do with their missing mayor via omission (not responding at all when Lucius asked him about it) broke into Lucius’s car and pointed a gun at him once Lucius got in ALL IN THE SAME DAY AND HE DOESN'T FREAK OUT ONCE???? He doesn’t freak out at all with Edward. Never once does he freak out. He stays level headed, empathetic and genuinely caring about Edward’s mental state while talking to him???? The way he’s so level headed here feels like he has a fucking screw loose in his cranium. Literally how.

Mind you Ed is a man who his first interaction with was ED ADMITTING HE HAD A MISSING COP IN HIS HOME VIA A RIDDLE. HIS SECOND INTERACTION WITH THIS MAN IS HIM MAKING HIM ANSWER FUCKING RIDDLES IN ARKHAM OR ELSE HE WILL KILL THEM BOTH WITH POISON. I KNOW HE WAS BLUFFING ABOUT THE POISON HERE AGAIN BUT GENUINELY HOW IS HE ALWAYS LEVEL HEADED WITH THIS MAN. FREAK BEHAVIOR!!!!

Also him acting like this strengthens the fact the only riddle he got right was reflection. He understands at least some part of Ed. Even though that part is small and fuzzy in his understanding, it’s still something. It’s still something that he can empathize with. Something that is worth trying to understand more of even despite their brief encounters. God do I love his weird push over ways with Ed it’s so fucking fun I wish they interacted more. This is horrific for me

[borgialucrezia]

maybe one day i'll elaborate further and even write a thesis but arthur shelby imo comes off as the most sinister shelby brother (it's not necessarily his deeds on screen but the subtleties that hint at his darkness of his true nature) and just because he is vulnerable, puts on a sad puppy face, clings to his brother and tries to prove himself to him doesn't mean his often resentful and shady behavior towards tommy is canceled out. neither does his love for linda cancel out how he abuses her and maritally rapes her btw

[otaku553]

The eventual kazuha and sanemi dynamic

[sunsetcurve]

Hey! Same anon here!

(Listen, I just want to see this fandom being more active, haha! And I think that you are very articulate, and quite insightful, haha! 😌)

Can I ask you what do you think, retrospectively, about Fanon Max™️? Do you have any observations about how the character was handled by the fandom? Like, the entire #protectmax2016 discourse, for example.

It's 2025, and I'd really like to be honest, haha! Can we say that it was part of the appeal? It was part of the appeal lol. Like, I think that people came for the villain phase, for the wonderful relationship between Max and Phoebe, for the character development, but stayed because he was downplayed (But I'll admit, I might be projecting here 😆😆)

By rewatching the unaired pilot episode, I've started to think that the fact that Max's skills weren't acknowledge during the series (See: Max to the Future), was a byproduct of the writers' not knowing how to justify Max's sense of inferiority towards Phoebe, when the character took Oliver's place in the show: it almost feels like they still wanted to use the "villain brother" storyline, and had already found a sympathetic rationale for the character (Oliver had no powers, and Phoebe had so many of them) and tried to make it work by trying to "trick" the audience into thinking that Max was talentless.

What do you think about that?

hi anon welcome back!! thank you so much, that’s so sweet and i also would love to get more activity in this fandom, so i’m happy to have you in my inbox 🥰🥰 feel free to come talk to me about this show literally at any time, i love talking about it!!

for the protectmax2016 thing specifically, i actually wasn’t really around in the fandom during that time (i was definitely watching the show, but i didn’t get into the fandom here on tumblr until closer to maybe 2018?) so i’m not familiar with what was going on! but i’d love to hear more about it, i’m very curious. also just more overall, to be completely honest i don’t actually interact that much with the fandom in general outside of my sphere of usual mutuals, partially because it’s so small, partially because a big portion of the content is either thunderc*st (which i filter/block on sight) or like x reader stuff (which is just not my personal cup of tea), but i’ll do my best to give my thoughts on this based on what i have seen!

i definitely have been a max defender since i started watching this show and have always been pretty open about him being my favorite, so i totally get the sentiment. i can’t speak for everyone, but i for one have always gotten more into kids shows that i think have the potential for a more complex character/relationship/dynamic than they put on screen, just because it always gives me something to write and think and talk about. i definitely have always felt like that with max, especially with his family dynamic and like, obviously most of his initial descent into villainy happening off screen, and i do think there was a lot of agreement in at least the circles that i was in that there was something interesting there. for the fandom as a whole (at least from what i’ve seen) i think it certainly helped that he was a conventionally attractive “bad boy” who, imo, had pretty compelling development over the course of the series.

i do think fanon and canon max are pretty different; i know i definitely write max differently than i perceive him on screen, not because i don’t like him in the show but because making him a little bit edgier and more reserved/cool is just aesthetically fun for me. i also do think the fanon versions of him downplay just how much of a goof he is, like he does get into some pretty ridiculous shit in the show and he’s definitely not as “edgy bad boy” as he pretends to be/he’s written by the most of the fandom. i honestly think his dorkiness adds to his appeal in the show; a lot of the reason i write him the way i do is because i either a) am doing angstier stuff than the show or b) am writing tgsa (my silly little dangerverse crossover chatfic), where i write everyone a little more charicature-y to make them all more distinct (since there’s so many characters). i will say though, i also think part of the reason fanon max is sometimes inconsistent is because canon max is; i really like the way he’s written overall, but i think max as a character suffers from the writers needing him to be different things for the narrative at different times: i kind of talked about this in my answer to the last question about seasons, but he spends most of s1 being pretty sweet at his core despite his posturing, but then spends a lot of s2 being a more one-dimensional asshole while he’s creating conflicts for phoebe. i think s3 and s4 are way better about this, but the thundermans undercover has kind of started to go back to that characterization of him being selfish/unwilling to own up to his mistakes so they can play it for laughs or create more conflict. it’s definitely not always like that, but he does change a lot episode to episode. i think max characterizations in the fandom generally tend to lean more heavily on that asshole-with-a-heart-of-gold idea, because it definitely is more appealing, and in doing so he gets to be a little bit more cool and edgy and serious.

i’m getting a little off track here so sorry for the tangent—but like, with max’s skills and the original idea of oliver specifically, i definitely do agree that the writers kind of wrote themselves into a corner when they wrote max’s primary reasoning for becoming a villain to be about not being as good as phoebe but then also…didn’t give us much to explain why he feels that way or where it comes from. because, to be totally frank, phoebe does in canon work way harder than max, and that seems to be the main reason she’s more successful than him. in fact like, i would argue that some things seem to come more naturally to max than they do to her, and she just puts more time and effort and care into getting it right (report card is a great example of this). i do think it sets up a reallyyyy interesting parallel between them, where they’re both hyper-perfectionists but it takes them in opposite directions (i talked about this very briefly here), so i do still think it still makes sense for both of their characters, but at the same time with like us not ever seeing the beginning of max’s villain arc it’s really hard to pinpoint where his “inferiority” comes from, especially when, when he does start actually trying, he does just as well as phoebe. and yeah, i think it’s definitely reasonable and a great observation to think the writers tried to write away some of the things he’s especially good at; he’s consistently shown as extremely smart by the things he does, but the narrative and the other characters in the show generally treat him like he’s not, and the show itself doesn’t really acknowledge just how intelligent he is (except when he’s calling himself a genius). there seems to be a general sentiment of frustration towards max to the future specifically for being especially guilty of this. i honestly agree that knowing about oliver makes all of this a lot more sense: obviously i don’t know what the writers were thinking, but if i had to guess it seems like they wrote oliver as a villain with no powers who relied on his intelligence to give him a leg up, turned oliver into max and gave him powers, wanted to keep his inventions/intelligence as part of his character and as a plot device but didn’t have a good way to balance it out with his powers, and so just kind of left it as Something He Does without giving it much weight as like, a particularly special skill of his that sets him apart. it does feel kind of weird overall because it seems like the writers both try to put him on equal footing with phoebe ability/powers wise but then want to justify his feeling of inferiority, so a lot of times he’s kind of written off as just seeming either lazy or careless, which is where i think the fandom depiction of him (where things like adhd/dyslexia/other learning disorders are popular hcs, he has a more complicated relationship with his parents/their expectations, etc) helps to fill in some of the gaps.

this is getting super long so i’m gonna wrap up but like, this is a very long-winded way of saying i definitely agree with you about everything. i like max’s portrayal overall but i honestly think that because for a long time he doubles as both the secondary protagonist and the antagonist, the writers spend at least a decent amount of time not being completely sure what to do with him. this is where i think, while obviously him not having powers would’ve made for a very different show, it could’ve been really interesting for his character; i think there’s even a world where his powers developed later on like in s2 or 3 but his experiences built enough resentment to where he still wanted to be a villain, and i’m really curious as to what that version of max would’ve looked like. for the most part i think the change from oliver to max was for the best, but i think the villain justification made more sense in the original pilot, and would’ve made for a super compelling story. i have like a million more thoughts on max as a character but that’s all i can coherently put into words for now, so let me know what you think and thank you so much for the ask!

[macchiatosdumptruck]

hehehe I love seeing your essays in the tags

Ahhdhhd thank you

If feels strange, having been semi out of fandom for so long. I used to be a noisy bitch. I can become one one day again. (Probably after the final season and we've had time to grieve )

[cloudbends]

watched 3 eps of heartcatch precure...!!

[slimewires]

One thing about freela is that theyre yapper x listener but not in the way you'd assume