#i project on him SO MUCH

[phtalogreenpoison]

Reynie Muldoon Part 2

To start off this second post about my blorbo Reynie Muldoon, I would like to correct a former vagueness.  To credit the person who mentioned the Heart and Leader roles, I would like to give a shoutout to @sophieswundergarten!  I would also propose that this contributes to why Constance is so kidnappable and chased after, but I digress. 

So besides Reynie’s roles in the society, something that I find absolutely fascinating about him is that he is repeatedly described as a completely “average boy” and easily the most personable of the four (with maybe Kate coming as a close second in a different kind of people smarts way though).  But though he is seen as the most “normal” of the group, not everything adds up.  Before the Mysterious Benedict Society formed, he really didn’t have any lasting friends, and the only people he could maybe count as friends would be Seymour the orphanage cat (meow!), the significant portion of time he spent alone with himself, and his teacher Miss Perumal (I love her, but this is more of a mentorship/parent role).  Even considering them, one is a nonhuman animal, and Miss Perumal is not his age, certainly does not give any cool points for people his age, and has not been in his life until more recently.  But yet the fact remains that he is still able to appear friendly.  All of this is not to say I don’t think Reynie is a good person (because he really, really is a good kid), but it points to the fact that he gets his people skills from something a little more mentally ill.  And to me, that points to neglect.  As someone expected to be a golden child situations paraded out for the orphanage in certain situations, with his further development being ignored by the director until Miss Perumal, and as someone who is also able to evade his longtime bullies (for being a nerd or something I don’t remember) by seemingly being uninteresting and boring, he learns to adjust how he presents specific aspects of his personality to people.  Again, most people have different sides of themselves they show to different people, but this errs more on the side of having different masks for survival.  On a related note, as an emotionally neglected child myself, you learn that if you want something done, you have to do it yourself and cannot ask for help, contributing to Reynie’s desire to control the situation he’s in and in a weird way, forcing him to develop his leadership skills.

I feel like to some people, this could seem that I am painting him in a bad light.  I am not, merely that he is a deeply hurt child who has found certain ways to cope.  Obviously, once he meets Miss Perumal and the society, he begins to develop these coping mechanisms in a way that is healthier for himself, which really points out the fact that how people develop is so tied to what support they receive in childhood or adolescence.  Again, while the other kids have had to fend for themselves in similar ways, it is specifically this that brings out Reynie’s traits of intelligence, even though they could have developed in better circumstances.  Anyways, I am trying to say here that his ability to read a room is tied to his life experiences, which leads me to my next point that Reynie’s form of intelligence is often tied to cleverness.  For example, I heavily relate to the way that Reynie took the entrance test for the Mysterious Benedict Society, in that he viewed it as a puzzle to solve.  He did not know all of the facts straight up, but he did know how to use the information provided to him and extract what he needed out of that.  While he is also a certain level of book smart, he uses what knowledge he has available to him a shrewd manner. 

While I won’t finish in this post how this all ties in, he occasionally uses these abilities to manipulate the situation around him.  This for the most part is redirecting his bullies (considered acceptable), working information out of Mr. Curtain (considered acceptable), and later throwing the radio out from his friends (considered not acceptable).  But remember the false dream he has which causes him to fear that he would side with Mr. Curtain in the first book and betray his newfound friends?  This fear roots out of the fact that he is unsure of where to draw the line with his manipulative abilities early on, but he is ultimately different because of his care for the people around him.  While he may make mistakes, he is doing this for the people around him, and he is able to listen to others’ opinions.  He does not always think that he knows best, and if there is a better, easier way, he will probably take that route.  And as I hinted before, I do not necessarily think this is a bad thing to utilize, but the key thing that makes its usage a mistake is if he rates his opinion higher than the people he trusts.

This is all a really long way of saying that I love Reynie, and he is a nuanced individual who learns how to direct these same impulses in a far healthier way once he receives proper support, leading him to grow into a wonderful person.  I may seem a little morally gray here, but I just want to emphasize that sometimes, it is the situation that pushes a kid in a certain direction with their natural abilities.   (Next up will be parallels to Mr. Benedict and Mr. Curtain!  Among other things!)

[greykolla-art]

Charlie: “I’m so glad my most villain-coded friend is at full power again! 🥰💕”

*throws this to you angst goblins like raw steak* ❤️

(No I will not do a part 2!❤️)

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

News spreads fast.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[jinaxxo]

to whom do i surrender my heart?

[heartorbit]

figure skating set right now please. thanks

[inkskinned]

one of the things that's the most fucking frustrating for me about arguing with climate change deniers is the sheer fucking scope of how much it matters. sweating in my father's car, thinking about how it's the "hottest summer so far," every summer. and there's this deep, roiling rage that comes over me, every time.

the stakes are wrong, is the thing. that's part of what makes it not an actual debate: the other side isn't coming to the table with anything to fucking lose.

like okay. i am obviously pro gun control. but there is a basic human part of me that can understand and empathize with someone who says, "i'm worried that would lead to the law-abiding citizens being punished while criminals now essentially have a superpower." i don't agree, but i can tell the stakes for them are also very high.

but let's say the science is wrong and i'm wrong and the visible reality is wrong and every climate disaster refugee is wrong. let's say you're right, humans aren't causing it or it's not happening or whatever else. let's just say that, for fun.

so we spend hundreds of millions of dollars making the earth cleaner, and then it turns out we didn't need to do that. oops! we cleaned the earth. our children grow up with skies full of more butterflies and bees. lawns are taken over with rich local biodiversity. we don't cry over our electric bills anymore. and, if you're staunchly capitalist and i need to speak ROI with you - we've created so many jobs in developing sectors and we have exciting new investment opportunities.

i am reminded of kodak, and how they did not make "the switch" to digital photography; how within 20 years kodak was no longer a household brand. do we, as a nation, feel comfortable watching as the world makes "the switch" while we ride the laurels of oil? this boggles me. i have heard so much propaganda about how america cannot "fall behind" other countries, but in this crucial sector - the one that could actually influence our own monopolies - suddenly we turn the other cheek. but maybe you're right! maybe it will collapse like just another silicone valley dream. but isn't that the crux of capitalism? that some economies will peter out eventually?

but let's say you're right, and i'm wrong, and we stopped fracking for no good reason. that they re-seed quarries. that we tear down unused corporate-owned buildings or at least repurpose them for communities. that we make an effort, and that effort doesn't really help. what happens then? what are the stakes. what have we lost, and what have we gained?

sometimes we take our cars through a car wash and then later, it rains. "oh," we laugh to ourselves. we gripe about it over coffee with our coworkers. what a shame! but we are also aware: the car is cleaner. is that what you are worried about? that you'll make the effort but things will resolve naturally? that it will just be "a waste"?

and what i'm right. what if we're already seeing people lose their houses and their lives. what if it is happening everywhere, not just in coastal towns or equatorial countries you don't care about. what if i'm right and you're wrong but you're yelling and rich and powerful. so we ignore all of the bellwethers and all of the indicators and all of the sirens. what if we say - well, if it happens, it's fate.

nevermind. you wouldn't even wear a mask, anyway. i know what happens when you see disaster. you think the disaster will flinch if you just shout louder. that you can toss enough lives into the storm for the storm to recognize your sacrifice and balk. you argue because it feels good to stand up against "the liberals" even when the situation should not be political. you are busy crying for jesus with a bullhorn while i am trying to usher people into a shelter. you've already locked the doors, even on the church.

the stakes are skewed. you think this is some intellectual "debate" to win, some funny banter. you fuel up your huge unmuddied truck and say suck it to every citizen of that shitbird state california. serves them right for voting blue!

and the rest of us are terrified of the entire fucking environment collapsing.

[mintybagels]

my hc for sherlock from s&c .. i love this interpretation very much.

[mongeese]

I think Kim's psychological problems are so compelling to me because he doesn't even realize he has them. Like, I think Kim is extremely self aware in a lot of ways, knows where his failings are and what his insecurities are and what upsets him. I don't think he thinks of himself as perfect. But he does think of himself as normal. Healthy. He's too repressed to realize he's repressed, yknow? He tells Harry he doesn't talk to himself, he writes his thoughts down, not recognizing that that is a conversation with himself. He tells Harry it's better to focus on work, don't let yourself be weighed down by petty things like emotion, push that aside, and thinks that's absolutely the healthiest and best way to deal with difficult feelings. He knows that the RCM can be corrupt and that there are officers who intentionally abuse their power but still wholeheartedly believes in the institution -- and refused to recognize any cognitive dissonance there. I think this is a man who definitely intellectualizes his own brain and emotions, and when he can't do that, he ignores them. And then he calls that normal. Kim Kitsuragi the man that you are

[sharkylad]

Thinking about the fact that Mabel and Dipper didn't know they had two great uncles.

Yeah they are 12 and at 12 I had a shotty understanding of my family tree- But really? Nobody brought up their great uncle? Stanley? Especially since they'll be staying with his twin brother, Stanford?

Shermie never went to Stan's fake funeral, which to me means the twos relationship was strained on some level. If Shermie is older that means his view of Stan was poisoned in some way, that even as kids they weren't close. If the Shermie is younger then he never even got to meet Stan and all he knew about him was how he failed his family. Hell, people probably barely mentioned Stanley TO Shermie.

The fact that Stan had become a black stain upon the Pines family name makes me so vividly upset. Stanley faked his death and the family just- seemingly decided to strike him from the record. To pretend he didn't existed to spare themselves the sadness and shame.

Stanford and Shermie Pines. The only children worth mentioning of Filbrick and Caryn Pines.

It was never Stanford that was lost to the world. It was Stanley, ever since he had to leave New Jersy- it was always him that had to be struck from the record. Change his name, change his state, change his affiliations, destroy the remains of ghost that was Stanley Pines. Kill him so the family doesn't bring him up, doesn't ask questions, stops asking "Stanford" about his twin.

I just keep thinking about the fact that since the day he made one single mistake all the way up until Ford walks out of that machine- Stanley Pines was killed and did not exist. And Stan himself had no one to blame, he had to play the part in his own demise- He is the only one who ever knew Stanley was alive and has been for decades.

He lives in the multitudes of every personality he's ever taken, all in the hope that he himself can stop being Stanley Pines.

[knightingale]

The "Sansa reminds Sandor of his sister" motive that some people try to hitch to his character really just flies in the face of his actual attachments to her, doesn't it? Sansa reminds Sandor of himself. He sees the little boy who used to love knights in this girl who's been swept up by the same romanticism. He sees his abuser in her abusers, the much larger knight(s) beating on the helpless child. He sees how she is betrayed by every level of authority that should have saved her and remembers his father's neglect and Tywin and Robert's apathy for Gregor's crimes. He's protective of Sansa because he was Sansa.

And GRRM's design, that one of the strongest warriors in the series, a fearsome and cynical 6'8" guy who's "muscled like a bull" and has the face of death itself, sees himself in this soft and effeminate teen girl, and empathizes with her because he was an abuse victim too, is INFINITELY more compelling than "Oh yeah I bet she just reminds him of his sister," who he's never mentioned and who we know literally nothing about. Way to unnecessarily water down a character, you couldn't have ignored the black and white text more efficiently if you tried.

[annamationsart]

everyone loves talking about little jon in correlation to mr. spider but no one ever talks about how insufferable this kid was. i wouldn’t wish sitting next to him in class upon my worst enemy

[dykedvonte]

I think depictions of Anya being cruel to Curly or drawing out his suffering are artful and chilling but completely miss the point of the story and her character.

I'm not saying she doesn't deserve to have that "I told you so" moment with him but not in something callous or cold. Even if that is how it happened, she'd immediately feel guilty cause at that point she's not tormenting her tormenter or even the person truly at fault. She's doing something cathartic, similar to how Jimmy likely hits Curly to release rage he can't against the rest of the crew. She'd see herself as no different when she'd come back from the moment and see Curly cowering at her. She wants someone to take responsibility but how does being cruel to the defenseless help? Why would she want the power Jimmy has over her over Curly?

The idea of her extending someone else's pain is just so against the struggles she already faces and how she can't even bring herself to cause someone pain even to help them. Her very desire is to release herself from her own suffering and I doubt she'd even fine some sort of guilty release in being cruel to another.

[secretsoftheuniverse1987]

I see a lot of references to the scene in Goodbye Stranger where Dean, on his knees, begs Cas to come back to himself (and to Dean), and I see a lot of reference to Dean referring to praying as begging, but not a lot about how these scenes are literally in back to back episodes? Dean Winchester really said I don't pray because it feels like begging, but I'll pray to you, and then in the literal next episode said fuck it, let's drop the pretense, I am begging. I need you.

[mikonez]

no one look at me I had a difficult day alright

[cry-ptidd]

Most pathetic man ever experiences one positive experience in bed

[hinamie]

quick lmhs itafushi because god help me i have Not been able to get the concept of yuuji smiling/laughing into kisses out of my head

jjk atla!au with @philosophiums